kosik joins us from the new york stock exchange. first tell us what is happening in the market today? >> much, much quieter than yesterday. the dow is down only 40 points. you are seeing exhausted investors taking a breather at this point. we're see volatility at the dow. during this session we saw the dow go up 96 points. we're seeing the fluctuations. this has been a market headline driven lately, but there are not many headlines out today, and not a lot of economic data to trade on. that's why you are seeing some of the volatility, because there's not one thing traders are trading on. what is interesting, you may have seen the dow dip into positive territory and it may have stayed there if it were not for hewlett packard. they are spinning off the personal computer business and killing the tablet. the shares are tumbling 20%. that's keeping the dow in the red. >> all right. of course as we mentioned, much

of the turmoil on wall street has been triggered by fears over the european debt crisis and the anemic economies. and richard quest, one of the best people to turn to when we want perspective on the global economy. he joins us from london. what happened in the european markets today? >> reporter: the europeans went down initially and then down further and they rallied with wall street. we closed down 1% in london, and paris 1%, and frankfurt, once again the german market is being creamed by what is happening at the moment, by far and away being breutally attacked. and the german industry has made much from the exports and those promised to be hit by the u.s. slowdown and elsewhere in the world. putting it altogether for you, and as we look at the weekend, i cannot agree more with alison,

and basically what we are seeing this afternoon is market exhaustion. people have literally just have been gasping there way. there will betrayeding because of triple witching. but by and large this is what is happening today. >> richard, seems like a lot of american investors are selling off stocks of the companies that might have global prominence, and of course we're watching what is happening in europe closely. i know that you know that french president, sarcozy, and german chancellor merkel met earlier to talk about the euro, and did anything concrete come out of that meeting? >> oh, absolutely not. other than talk. and i am being slightly cynical and perhaps even a little unfair. they talked about corporate tax. they talked about a financial

tax, which is a nonstarter. they talked about more eu meetings. the core of what they talked about, this is a long-range project to bring the euro closer together. they are trying to make it look more like the 50 united states with the central u.s. treasury. it is so far off. a necessity. don't misunderstand me. my scynicalism in that sense shouldn't be taken off. gold raised -- it rallied sharply and came off the top. gold is over 1849 an ounce. when you get gold and oil both rising at the same time, that's quite an unusual concoction, and it suggests that markets, as i said, are somewhat trying to find that direction that they

seek. >> good news or bad, it's always exciting to watch the markets with you. richard quest live from london. richard, thank you. in other news happening this hour, president obama is spending his first full day of a 10-day vacation on martha's vineyard, but given what is going on in the markets and unemployment, some of his gop critics say he should be back in washington. and they created a website to send post cards mocking the president's coastal getaway. a white house spokesman said it's a working vacation while the president takes time with his family to, quote, recharge his batteries. and then rick perry taking his presidential campaign back to south carolina today. he began the day with a meet and greet breakfast. he announced his presidential bid in charleston, and he's back again today. following the u.s., they are

now considering imposing stiff economic sanctions on syria. they continue their offensive against protesters today. there are reports 17 people have been killed in today's fighting. for months syria has been the scene of mass demonstrations each friday after muslim prayers. yesterday, the u.s. called on assad to step down in the wake of the government's brutal crackdown on its citizens. and then the coach of the university of miami says his team is moving forward after the scandal. the new coach, al golden, says miami's current team has nothing to do with the allegations and adds the scandal is quote, going to keep us closer together. meanwhile, the players say their focus is on winning. >> we're focused on football. that's all we can focus on and

control. we're working hard and busting our butts to be the best team we can be. the former booster is a one-time miami businessman who is now serving a 20-year of federal prison term for fraud. a court has just freed three men convicted of killing three young boys in west memphis, arkansas, 18 years ago. the men known as the west memphis three have gained national attention like johnny depp wanting their release. dna evidence has failed to link the men to the crime and now they will be freed after some complicated legal maneuvering. we will take you live to arkansas and have more for you in the next hour. also, be sure to watched "presumed guilty, murder in west memphis," tonight at 11:00 right here on cnn. the top stories, we're watching the markets closely today and that means a lot of

you are watching your investments, your life savings, and maybe even your job. in a couple of minutes, we will give you good tips on protecting your assets. back after this. it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough.

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vivint. simply smarter. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. welcome back. you have taken a peek at your 401(k) or portfolio lately? probably not. many are afraid to, and with good reason. of course we have our eyes on the market, and what this means for you and your finances, let's look at the numbers. the dow is down about 28 points but been up and down all morning. the numbers have been up and down all day today in line with what we have seen in the past few weeks. all of this, a major punch in

the gut to many of us. 401(k)s, and retirements and investments, and your job could be at stake. now, let's bring in my friend and financial expert, valerie coleman morris for some advice. always great to see you. tell me, every time i talk to one of my friends, they say i will not look at my 401(k) right now. is this the right approach? >> i think it's definitely the right approach. there's nothing you can do about it. i say let's control what you can, and try to just ignore that which is not within your control. you cannot control what washington is doing, and you cannot control the global economies. what you can do is say this is an opportunity for me, rather than saying i am so frightened i am paralyzed. being active in a good way is what i suggest, and that does not mean go and shift your money and try and rearrange everything. i want you to be paralyzed in

the sense of not reacting to what is going on, but be positive in the sense of creating a plan. this is an opportunity now for you to renew and recalculate your relationship with your money. >> so what i am hearing from you, don't make any major decisions at this point, maybe stay put? >> i think you should stay put. here is the reason. whenever you make decisions about money under pressure, it's usually a wrong decision. let's look at the warren buffets and the billionaires of the world. warren buffett always says you sell into a rising market, and you buy into a declining market. so is this not an opportunity? sometimes people say here is the negative side of it. don't get me wrong, i know people are greatly concerned and are wondering how this will trickle down to them. it's an opportunity for you to say, you know, i need to buy if i have money on the side there. there are great companies available now. >> is that what you are doing? are you buying?

>> yes, absolutely. but it's from a small list of companies that i always wanted to buy. so i will keep my eye on them. >> shoe be buying blue chips right now? is that a smart bet if you dip back into the market? >> the thing is, i am not an analysts, i am a financial literacy specialists so i want to talk to your mind and heart. it's not about saying here are the sectors you should buy or stocks you should buy, i want to talk to people about what is their plan and what do they need. there's such a thing as the rear view mirror approach, and it's so you know where you have come from. if you look at that too long, you won't know what you will run into, and he didn't mean an accidents but an opportunity. and everybody out there nervous and wondering what is happening with their money, say do i have a budget? if you don't have one, now is the time to get one. do you have a certified

financial planner, and if you don't, now is the time to look for one. that way you will have a plan rather than reacting, and say maybe i should move my money because something bad can happen. making future plans is a very important thing to do. remember, the market is down now, and buy if you can. but the main thing is, don't look at your portfolio every day and say what do i do now. it will only make you nervous and serve no good purpose. >> always good advice. morris financial expert joining us today. thank you and great to see you. coming up, recent gridlock between lawmakers in washington has some calling for a big change in the way we do business. is it time for america to have a prime minister? that's ahead in your money.

and gridlock in washington is not exactly a new thing. many are not happy about it, but it's passed off as the way washington works. a new idea suggests that america should maybe think about adopting the parliamentary system used in great britain and maybe have a prime minister. he talks about the idea with our own, ali velshi. >> he controls the majority in the legislature so you can get stuff done, and whether you agree or not he has been able to do impressive stuff on the british budget. >> yep. >> in our case, we have a whole bunch much solutions out there which are sensible and middle of the road, a little taxes and a lot of spending cuts, but we

can't get it done because our system has two centers of power. they are not fused the way the british is. >> the president and congress, and congress, by the way, two sides of it, both claim to have the mandate. >> they both claim to have legitimacy and the mandate, and it's a complicated story. the tea party says we won the most recent election. president obama says i am the only guy elected by all of the people, and the democrats say we're in control of the senate, and whose voice do you listen to. the system has gotten worst, because the ability of the minority to veto increased. the filibuster is a bizarre invention the senate came up with, and it allows senators to hold up everything and veto everything. and that was used once every ten years. in 2008, the republicans used it

or the threat of it to block 80% of major legislation. senators now routinely put holds on all nominations to an agency because of some obscure thing that has nothing to do with the agency, they want something -- >> they stop this from happening so that can get done. >> all of that stuff, you're putting more monkey wrenches in the works, and i don't think that was how it was meant to function, and we don't have the constitutional system, we have that plus lots of monkey wrenches. we want to bring you an update on a case we're following today. three men convicted of a brutal killing of three second greaters in arkansas in 1993 have just been freed after a court hearing. the news conference is scheduled to start in just a moment. let's listen in.

>> we're just waiting for the rest of the family. >> it appears we're still waiting for this to start here. those are presumably the three men charged in the crime. from what our david mattingly is telling us from jonesboro, arkansas, the conviction has not been thrown out, but this release is the result of some sort of deal that has been made in court today. the three men that you are looking at right now are damian echols, and misskelley jr., and baldwin. and this case has gotten a lot of attention, including from johnny depp calling for the release of these men. this was a case where three second graders were killed, and they were hogtied with their own

shoe laces. you hear the applause there from the news team. the breaking news that just broke in the past half hour, these three men will be released. we will be waiting for the news conference to start, and we will take you there when it does start, but we are monitoring the case from jonesboro, arkansas. bank of america says it is cutting 3,500 jobs, and that's on top of the jobs cut earlier in the year. a spokesman said cuts will be spread throughout the company and occur internationally. an outside analysts says bank of america is selling off parts of the business including credit card and life insurance port folios to comply with international banking rules. and thousands of striking verizon workers have been told they will lose their medical benefits if they don't stop

striking. they have been striking for the past two weeks as the company asks union workers for concessions in pensions and health care coverage. here is an indication of just how desperate so many people are at finding a job. about 20 of the thousands that blocked to a jobs fair right here in atlanta apparently were treated for heat exposure, after standing in line in 90-degree heat. 80 employers were on hand and it was hosted by the congressional black caucus. you heard changing your diet can change your life, but can changing your diet make you heart attack proof? our dr. sanjay gupta will join me after the break. and then money magazine is out with the best places to live. most of america lives in these small towns and cities. we will look at one of the towns that made the top ten right after the break. >> it's a place with killer

views, and is in good economic shape. we will visit a town easy on the eyes and wallet after the break. e to make a difference in people's lives. [ carrie ] you're studying how to be an effective leader. [ cherie ] you're dealing with professionals, teaching things that they were doing every day. [ kimberly ] i manage a network of over a thousand nurses. [ carrie ] i helped turn an at-risk school into an award-winning school. [ cherie ] i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah. [ kimberly ] and university of phoenix made it possible. learn more at phoenix.edu. morning starts with arthritis pain... that's two pills before the first bell. [ bell rings ] it's time for recess... and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

what town is on the economic upswing? it's located on the punlget sound, the views and affordable homes draw people to the suburb. >> there are wonderful opportunities, both with employment, and it's family friendly. >> a community center opened earlier this year, and the historic light house park is a great way to get the specific northwest experience. mukilteo, washington, is number nine on "money" magazines list of best place to live. welcome back, everybody.

dr. sanjay gupta has been more than a year documenting his new report. >> it was a bit of a personal journey. one of the things i heard early on when i was investigating this, it's possible to make yourself heart attack proof, to have a guarantee you will not have a heart attack. a lot of things has to do with what you might not expect. and this is the position incidentally that former president clinton, as you well know, found himself back in 2004. >> for a few months before this happened i noticed whenever -- not every time, but when i would do strenuous exercises, and there are hilly areas, where i

would climb the hill and then stop and take a breath. i did not take it seriously, because when it happens i lowered the exercise level, and got my breath back. it was never painful, but just tight. >> if this isn't good for my heart, i don't know what is. >> the tightness in his chest, and his heart disease was advanced. it had been years in the making. >> you develop blockages, really, in your whole life. >> what the doctor told me next should ring a bell of hope for just about anybody who has ever worried about a heart attack. it doesn't have to happen. >> one of the best kept secrets in the country in medicine is that doctors who are practicing aggressive prevention are seeing

heart attacks and strokes disappear from their practices. it's doable? >> you are saying with what we know right now, we don't have to have anymore heart attacks in this country? >> i will not say any, but a great majority, absolutely. >> it's the biggest killer in this country? >> and it's completely preventible. >> those are bold claims by the doctor, but there are a lot of people that agree with him as well, sort of believing that this is a food-borne illness. >> when i asked if it had teeth, and you said, yes, it's extraordinary if it's true. >> you develop plaque in your blood vessels and it's there to say, and the best bet is you can keep it from getting worse, and we were told we could not reverse it. and these doctors say you can reverse it, not with surgery or meds, but lifestyle changes.

>> what does that say for the hundreds of thousands of people that die of a sudden heart attack each year, and so what does it say about risk factors? >> that's a great question. what we think about risk factors because of the way he looks and because of his celeska choleste numbers, and there's so much now that we know. the size of the particles of your cholesterol makes a big difference. i think this is going to change a lot of things. >> this also means you have to watch your patients a lot more closely, too, right? >> right. but they told me, at least for the next several years, i am heart attack proof, which is exactly what i wanted to hear and get out of this. but it takes a little bit of work. what a great exchange. >> that's music to your ears. >> yeah, i can be around a lot longer than you. >> that's the vegan lifestyle. be sure and tune in to cnn this

weekend, dr. sanjay gupta reports "the last heart attack," and he talks to doctors on the cutting edge of heart attack prevention, and the surgeon that came up with the radical diet. he said anybody can be heart attack proof in just a month. stick around for this. a goodwill basketball came in china goes bad in a big way. we've got the unbelievable video next. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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hour. here is a look at the headlines and other news you may have missed. a look at the big board at the new york stock exchange show the dow is down about 37 points. we are not seeing the market ji rations we have seen in the last week. the big dow is up and down, and a focus on the europe debt crisis is another concern. and then rick perry is taking his campaign back to south carolina today. you will recall that perry announced his candidacy last week. and then in this hour, three men accused of killing three young boys have been freed.

after complicated legal maneuvering, the group known as the west memphis three pleaded guilty and were released with credit for time served. let's listen in to the news conference from arkansas. >> either you say you didn't or you take the regular plea. but this deal they took, and they took it because they wanted finality. they wanted it as much as we wanted damian off death row. as strongly as they may think their convictions are valid, we think they are invalid. history will judge that. you made some of the history, joe, so thank you. >> do they have to stay in arkansas? >> no travel restrictions. >> what is the first thing you will do after 18 years? >> rest. every since we found out about this, i have not slept.

i have not slept for four days now, and i am completely and absolutely exhausted. >> you have been fighting, and single handedly helped get this accomplished, and tell me how you feel. >> i would not say single handedly. but i am just thrilled with the results that we have these three men out, and i have this man that i love very much at my side. i'm thrilled. >> jason is not used to this, and he is ready to go, so jason and i will excuse ourselves, and we will excuse ourselves. jason wants to send his greatest regards to our cocounsel, and all -- >> we're watching the story from jonesboro, arkansas. the three men accused of murdering three second greaters in 1993 have been freed. we are monitoring the story closely, and will have much more

throughout the hour. also, be sure and watched "presumed guilty: murder in west memphis," and that's tonight right here on cnn. let's look at the building right here, if we could show it. there it is. looks like any other building in brooklyn, new york, right? it's the 81st precinct, and history is being made right here as we speak. we will fill you in next. ordinary rubs don't always work on my arthritis. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis.

will welcome back. before we went to break i showed you a picture of a building. we want to take a look at it again. there it is. that's the 81st precinct building in brooklyn, new york. for the first time in the 166 year history in the police department, two african-american women are the top cops of the precinct. joining me to talk about this from my hometown, deputy inspector juanita holmes promoted a year ago, and then vanessa, who just got her promotion. thank you for joining us. you are the top cops in the precinct. what is the first thing that came to mind when you found out your colleague would be the second in command, did you know you were making history? >> no idea i was making history. i enquired about captain kype

because of her ability to command and assist me in running the precinct. it was not until i got a call that informed us we were making history. and it just never crossed my mind. i wanted somebody capable of doing the job with me and had the same goals and aspirations as far as commanding the commands, and i thought vanessa was that person. >> i have to say that police commissioner ray kelly said the fact that they are both african-american women is k coincidence. captain, when you got the job, what was your first reaction? >> i was happy to go to the 81st precinct, but at the time i did not think too much about it. they gave me the assignment and said you will go to the 81st

precinct and work with holmes, and i was delighted about that. >> how has your precinct responded to the news? i am sure you have gotten a lot of kudos from those on the streets? >> yeah, and i received calls and in addition to the people coming by and congratulating us, and i think they were thinking it was a promotion more so than we were making history, but the community was very, very happy and welcoming. >> i know you grew up around the corner from the 81st precinct, and came from a family of police officers, and was there a doubt you would follow in their footsteps? >> i have one sister that came on the job before me, so they will follow in my footsteps. >> oh, got it. >> but, yes, i do have a huge

amount of family members that are in the job. >> and captain kight, tell me, how did you get interested in being on the police force? when you look at the numbers, it says women comprise 17% of 17 uniformed officers in the nypd and that's less than five. >> when i was younger i wanted to be a teacher. when i was graduating from college, at that time the city was laying off teachers and there were no teachers jobs, and i saw this advertised and it sounded interesting and gave it a shot, and no complaints at all and it has been a wonderful career for me. >> and look at you now, making history at the nypd in new york city and in the nation. thank you so much for joining us live today. >> thank you. >> thank you. we want you to look closely. take a look at this.

a goodwill basketball game in china goes bad in a very big way. ouch! we'll have that story next.

43 minutes after the hour. deadly ae tacks in afghanistan today, the latest target the british council in the capital of kabul. 18 people killed and more wounded. david, what happened? >> reporter: well, one has really become a hallmark of

taliban silent attacks. five militants basically drove towards the british council. one detonated a truck laiden with explosives allowing the other four to enter the compound. these individuals according to police were also wearing suicide vests and heavy armed. they engaged in gun battles with security forces and was held up inside one of the compound buildings. we headed down there, and you could hear gun shots and explosions throughout the day. billowing smoke that presided over the compound itself, and eight people dead, including one special forces member from new zealand. >> you have been in the area for quite sometime now, you have noticed things have gotten worse in the past few weeks? seems like we're hearing more

and more about attacks. >> reporter: yeah, and the spring offensive announced by the taliban seems to have turned into a summer one. the strong holds have been the southeast. these areas predominantly where the 33,000 u.s. surge was supposed to take care of, and they have to some extent. but they say the taliban is playing to their strengths. they cannot contend with u.s. forces on the front line battlefields, but there's not much of a front line here in afghanistan. so there's a targeting of high profile officers. back in june, in an area very near where the attack happened today, we saw a similar insurgent attack on the intercontinental hotel. all of this taking place in the nato drawdown, a transition under way. a critical moment here in recent

afghan history. >> david, thank you for that update. checking top stories now, following the u.s.'s lead, u.n. nations are considering imposing stiff economic sanctions on syria. they continue the offensive against protesters today. reports are that 28 people have been killed in today's fighting alone. for months syria has been the scene of mass protests after friday prayers. they are calling for assad to step down. and then free from jail and on an anti-corruption hunger strike. crowds cheered as hazare left a prison in new delhi. he is seeking stronger anti-corruption measures in india. supporters say he will continue a fast he began in jail to carry

out what he calls, quote, india's second fight for independence. they say his demands undermine democracy. and then what happened at the indiana state fair, the concert stage collapsed. this time it happened in belgium. apparently five people were killed and 50 more injured. the storm struck just hours after the concert began. belgium authorities are now investigating. here is something you don't see every day. a melee on the basketball court in china. with about ten minutes left, a would-be goodwill game between a chinese military team and georgetown university went really, really bad. here is some amateur video of what happened. a chinese player pushing a georgetown player, and then the teams get involved and chairs flying, and the exhibition game between the chinese and the

americans had been pretty physical from the start. i'll say. up next, why one of the world's largest tech companies have decided to get out of the pc business. does the ipad have anything to do with it? don't go anywhere. we're coming right back. ore you. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse,

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welcome back. hewlett-packard, the world's largest tech company by annual revenues is seeking to sell off its pc division. this is big news. hp is taking the hatchet to the latest product launched just last month. that would be the touch pad tablet. wasn't going well at all. cnn's dan simon joining me from san francisco to talk about

this. does this have anything to do with something called the ipad? >> reporter: yeah, the ipad has really, you know, destroyed all the competitors and hp is just the latest victim. this is a situation i was trying to compare it to something that you make the most expensive hollywood movie in history and then it completely flops. no one comes to the theaters. that's what happened with hp and its touch pad. it bought palm a couple of years ago for $1.2 billion. it took its operating system from the palm called web os. it made a smartphone and a tablet. we were there when they unveiled this thing a few months ago. take a look. >> this is the hp touch pad. [ applause ] the touch pad is all about you. how you want to work, how you want to play and how you want to connect to the things you value the most. >> reporter: well, no one wanted to connect. everyone liked this product

except the public really got lackluster reviews as well. one of the big problems, you know, for hp is when they made this thing, there were only 300 apps available for the hp touchpad and you compare that to the ipad. they have 90,000 apps. hp saw the writing on the wall and pulled the plug on this project two months after the launch. >> dan, it's incredible. they spent millions and millions of dollars on this product. it looks exactly like the ipad from far away. hp is really taking a hit. it's the biggest dragon the dow today. stock is down about 20%. this is on the news that it's thinking about selling off its pc division. what are you hearing about that? >> reporter: that's really stunning. because hp is the largest computer maker in the world. i mean, they beat dell when it comes to making computers. suddenly, they're saying they don't want to be in the computer business anymore. the reason is the margins when

it comes to computers are so razor thin. hp not making a ton of money on its pc line. so the thinking is that they'll spin off their computer division entirely and then try to get more into the enterprise business, try to compete with ibm for some of that enterprise software where the margins are better and they can make more money, frankly. >> the world is changing in that world all because of apple. dan simon live for us from san francisco. dan, thank you very much. coming up, governor rick perry hasn't been in the race for president very long, but his opponents, well, they're not wasting time going after him. i'm going to tell you about a oc new feud he's involved in after the break. or ces another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com where we belong. > four minutes before the t of the hour. itr itit's timp it's i update. we go to paul steinhauser. paul, john huntsman and rick perry are in a feud over global warming. say it isn't so. >> reporter: yes, i guess you could say the story is heating. jumped for the race -- he was in new hampshire and asked a question about global warming at a political forum. take a listen. >> i don't think from my perspective that i want america to be engaged in spending that much money on still a scientific

theory that has not been proven and from my perspective is more and more being put into question. >> reporter: well, about 24 hours ago, that elicited a response from john huntsman. remember him the former utah governor, former u.s. ambassador to china, also running for the white house. not getting as much attention fair to say as rick perry. theers what we tweeted. i believe in evolution and trusts scientists on global warming, period. call me crazy. interesting. you normally don't hear that from a candidate going after another candidate. that's something more the campaigns would do. we'll see what happens next on this one. >> we're all on twitter these days. what are you going to do? paul, i have to ask you, though, with all this talk about global warming, do any of us really care? i mean, a lot of people are worried, frankly, about the economy and their jobs. >> reporter: fair point. the economy, by far the number one issue with americans and global warming, climate change

much, much, much further down the list. look at this. the recent poll in december, what americans think about global warming. do they believe it's real or not. by a two to one margin, yes they do. but if you go to the next number, democrats a lot more than republicans believe in global warming. that it's man made or generated by mankind. so maybe in a republican primary, this issue could be -- it's going to work to perry's advantage or huntsmans. i want to talk about the president taking time at martha's vineyard. he's taking some heat from that. tell us what he's up to today. >> the president, of course, in martha's vineyard, doing a little work, working on the jobs program that he's going to come out with after labor day. dan lothian did good reporting up there. a lot of the candidates are criticizing him for taking a vacation. i guess they're supposed to.

they're trying to oust him from office. they won't say anything good about him. mitt romney spoke out about that vacation that the president is taking. >> the white house spokesman is calling it a working vacation and said he's going to spend time with his family to quote "recharge his batteries." paul steinhauser with that political update. thank you, as always. great to see you. talk about a wild roller coaster ride at the opening bell on wall street. the dow was up, then it moved up, then back down again. that is a massive improvement over yesterday, 419 point drop triggered by the sluggish u.s. economy and fears over the european debt crisis. as for europe, more doom and gloom today. our richard quest tells us in a nutshell what happened. >> reporter: the europeans were down initially and they went down further. they rallied with wall street. we closed down 1% in london. in paris 1%.

one and a half percent. frankfurt, once again the german market is absolutely being creamed by what's happening at the moment by far and away being pruittly attacked. that's because it did see the best of the gains and german industry has made much from exports and those promise to be hit by the u.s. slowdown elsewhere in the world. >> that was our richard quest in london. now, to the floor of the new york stock exchange, alison kosik is there. alison, tell us what's happening in the markets today. is it fair to say it's a little more quiet than yesterday. >> reporter: definitely, much quieter. even though we're seeing the swings you mentioned, we opened the bell, 121 points lower on the dow than we saw it go up another 96. we're down now about 71. expected to get a little more volatile as we get closer to the closing bell. to talk more about the markets is jason wiseburg from seaport securities. this is a headline driven

market. today, not many headlines. is that why it's the calm here? >> the combination of a very news slow day or news light day and you couple that with the fact that it's a friday, a lot of people certainly event driven traders, they want to go into the weekend flat, don't want to have any exposure or too much exposure with any news that might come out over the weekend disrupting their portfolios. >> reporter: is volatility going to be the trend these days? looking ahead to next week. >> i think volatility will be the trend at least for the next month out the. i know the president plans to speak on a form of economic stimulus in september. until things calm down in europe, until things are right -- have been righted here in terms of the political atmosphere, the corporate underlying story is very good here. but it's being overridden by the negative macro overhangs in the marketplace.

i think certainly the last two weeks of summer is traditionally slow. we mielt see volatility because of a lack of participation. very easy for markets to swing one way or the other when there's a void on either side. until we have positive direction from washington, we can expect to see this volatility for quite some time. >> what's the number one worry for wall street at this point? >> the administration, coupled with congress don't instill confidence in the u.s. point it in the right direction. >> reporter: is this a crisis of confidence morning anything else and how do you fix that if it is? >> this is clearly a confidence issue. i think if you look at the earnings this period, earnings have been very good for the most part. companies have figured it out. we have -- we're record time now for companies participating in corporate buybacks. they're putting their money to work buying their own stock. and plus, that is also due to some instability in not knowing where the uncertainty of what

the government is going to do. >> but they're not hiring? >> that's right, they're not hiring. they can't plan long-term, investors can't plan long-term. no one can plan long-term until there's a clear message from washington. >> we can count on volatility and uncertainty. there you go, alaina. >> just a quick question. the dow is down only slightly. 62 poibts. but we're still below the key benchmark of 11,000. how important is it to close above 11,000. >> you know, i don't know how much we're really watching the level as much as the headlines that come out. you think about morgan stanley yesterday, it's note saying the u.s. and europe are getting dangerously close to a recession. it's headlines like that, that grab more attention than that psychological benchmark of 11,000. even though of course, investors would love to see the dow pop above that 11,000 mark. >> alison kosik from the floor of the new york stock exchange.

thank you very much. investors are jittery over europe's debt crisis and the future of our own economy. all of this a major punch in the gut to many of us. 401(k)'s, retirement, investment, jobs. let's get down to it. how do you ride this volatile market to safety? earlier i spoke with financial expert valerie coleman morris for some answersment. >> being active in a good way is what i suggest and that does not mean go and shift your money and try to rearrange everything. i want you to be paralyzed in the sense of not reacting to what's going on. but be positive in the sense of creating a plan. this is an opportunity now for you to renew and recalculate your relationship with your money. >> is what i'm hearing from you, don't make major decisions at this point, maybe stay put? >> i think you should stay put. here's the reason. whenever you make decisions about money under pressure, it's usually a wrong decision. let's look at the warren

buffetts and the billionaires of the world. warren buffett always says, you sell into a rising market. and you buy into a declining market. so is this not an opportunity? you see sometimes people just say here's the negative side of it and don't get me wrong, i know people are greatly concerned. they're wondering how this is going to trickle down to them. but it's an opportunity for you to say, you know what, i need to buy if i have a little money on the side. there's some great companies that are available now. >> valerie has other tips for you. these are the main things she says. you need to keep in mind. take a look. other financial experts agree. this is not the time to react to this volatile market. instead, take this time to make future plans. make or revise your budget, hire a financial advisor and, of course, who would wouldn't agree with warren buffett that a declining market is a good time to pie. other news, president obama

is spending his first full day of a vacation on martha's vineyard. given what's going on in the markets and unemployment, some of his critics say you should be back in washington right now. the republican national committee has created a website for voetders to send postcards mocking the get away. >> this is a working vacation while the president also takes time with his family to "recharge his batteries." following the u.s.'s lead, european nations are considering imposing stiff economic sanctions on syria. syrian security forces continue their offensive against protestors today rmt reports at least 23 people have been killed in the fighting. for months, syria has been the scene of mass demonstrations each friday after muslim. the u.s. official i called on syrian president al assad to step down in the wake of his government's brutal crackdown. >> we'll have this update with you. you a sixth person just died from the stage collapse last

weekend at the indiana state fair. 40 others were hurt when a gust of wind toppled the stage moments the country music duo sugar land was set to perform. and it happened again this time today in belgium. the stage collapsed there -- correction, there last night during a violent storm at one of europe's largest music festivals. five people were killed in that incident. 50 others were injured. the storm struck hours after the concert began. belgium authorities are investigating. the head football coach of the university of miami says his team is moving forward despite a growing scandal surrounding the team. a former booster who is now in prison says he gave away millions of dollars worth of improper gifts, travel and entertainment to athletes on the team during the past decade. now, the new coach, al golden, says miami's current team has nothing to do with the allegation and adds, this scandal is "going to bring us

closer together." players, meanwhile, say their focus is on winning. >> we're focused on football. that's all we can control. we come out every day, work hard, bust our butts. be the best team we can be. >> the former booster is a one-time miami businessman serving a 20-year federal prison term for fraud. breaking story we're following. three men convicted of murdering three boys in arkansas back in 1993 have just been freed. they have been talking to the media. after some complicated legal maneuvering, the group known as the west memphis 3 pleaded guilty and they were sentenced to 18 careers with credit for time served. one of the men, jason baldwin, told reporters this was not justice, saying the only thing the state will do is let us go if we admit guilt. critics of the prosecution argue that no direct evidence tied the men to the murders. we'll have much more on this story throughout the hour.

also, be sure to watch presumed guilty, murder in west memphis, tonight at 11:00 right here on cnn. the fbi in orange county district's office join the investigation, then an independent consultant. now the fullerton police could be looking at a federal lawsuit. following the beating and death of a california homeless man. we'll have the very latest next. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused.

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development that's happening right now. it's connected to the case of a homeless man in fullerton, california. orange county. kelly thomas, who police are accused of beating to death. we're hearing that a federal lawsuit involving the fullerton police department is being filed today. a press conference is taking place at this moment in los angeles. we're told the thomas family attorney is briefing reporters about this federal lawsuit and you are looking live there from our affiliate kcal and ccbs. we have a crew there to bring us the latest. this comes in the wake of kelly thomas' beating and death in the public outrage that has followed. we've followed this case on this show very closely. i have to warn you, the photo we're about to show you is graphic. it's hard to look it, but it's important. this is kelly thomas before and after the alleged beating. now, thomas was homeless and schizophrenic. witnesses say what you're seeing was done at the hands of six

fullerton police officers back on july 5th. what began with reports of car burglaries and a search of thomas' backpack, witnesses say ended like this. thomas being hogtied, tasered multiple times and brutally beaten. thomas died from his injuries five days later. the police chief, michael sellers, took paid medical leave last week as calls for his resignation have intensified. the six officers, meanwhile allegedly involved in the beating have been placed on paid administrative leave. all of this, kelly thomas' family and their attorney say could have been prevented. thomas' family attorney also represents another alleged victim, a man named veth man who claims one of the police officers involved in the beating of kelly thomas viciously attacked him too in a separate earlier incident last year. which brings me back to the press conference going on right

now. i remind you're looking live. the attorney is officially announcing he's filing a federal lawsuit in mam's case today that allege the police used excessive force, made a false arrest and ultimately lied. randi kaye was told that kelly thomas could still be alive today if one of the officers had been held accountable in mam's case. >> and had the police department and the da taken note and brought mr. [ bleep ] to the foreground and questioned him about falsifying reports and bringing false charges against mr. mam. he would not have been there that night beating kelly thomas. >> on the other side, fullerton issued this statement about the mam case saying. "based upon the information brought to our attention over the last week, acting chief hamilton is very concerned and has ordered an internal affairs

investigation into the matter to determine what happened that evening in october of 2010 and the court case this year. there is a strong possibility that we arrested the wrong person that night. veth mam". the attorney for ma'am and kelly thomas' family is preparing to file a similar state and maybe even federal lawsuit in thomas' case at a later time. meanwhile, the fbi, the orange county district attorney's office and now an independent consultant are all investigating the fullerton police department and the kelly thomas case. being, we'll continue to watch every moment in this case very closely. now look at these pictures. one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. there may be only four months left to save it. so that's why film star bo derek is going to join me with more on this effort next.

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it's 18 minutes after the hour. we want you to look at this. amazing images of the national rainforest in ecuador. it's in the amazon and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. full of exotic birds, rare frogs and home to nearly two dozen threatened and near threatened species. it is truly amazing. but its survival is coming at a cost. the ecuadorian government is asking for $3.6 billion with a b dollars. $100 million by december in their initiative for paying to keep one billion barrels of heavy crude oil under ground and leave this biological and cultural diversity undisturbed.

joining me for more on this is bo derek. she's the actress, model and goodwill ambassador appointed by the president of ecuador to the yasuni initiative. she's joining us now. great to see you. i laid it out a bit. what makes this area so very special? >> you know, this is one of the last places of a.m. sdplon rainforest that's completely untouched and pristine. so many of our conservation programs are trying to put back what we've already spoiled. this is unspoiled. there are two indigenous tribes living there in voluntary isolation. if you went there as a tourist, you couldn't go by motorboat. you have to go two hours by canoe to get to the heart of this park. it's so beautiful, so spectacular. this is the way it comes across, it sounds as though ecuador is looking for dollars and to sell this in a sense.

what they've done is put this in trust at the united nations, this project. and by asking for a $3.6 billion from the world to keep this oil in the ground forever, they are contributing $5 million in income they will never see by presenting this project. >> bo, you're hoping to raise in partnership with the united nations $100 million just by december. how much have you raised? how much more is there to go? what are you doing to raise that money? >> you know, various countries have already contributed and pledged to contribute for the next 13 years. the project is just now being open to the private sector to foundations, to the ngo's and i think this $100 million by the end of the year is a sign of good faith and intent from the rest of the world that they value this idea and this historic project. >> so what you're looking for are promises from countries and

corporations and people to make good on those promises. you know, i think what's extraordinary about the yasuni national forest is the fact as i mentioned earlier, an oil-rich area. ecuador could make billions of dollars on this land and yet, they're choosing not to. they're doing something really extraordinary and they're setting a precedent, aren't they? >> yes, they are. it's a developing country, so this income is a big sacrifice to them financially. 78% of the people support this initiative: the president there, i met with him five years ago. his passion and his commitment to this project is unquestionable. i think that -- i think the ecuadorian -- i've spent a lot of time there, they have a sense of the nature. they have the galapagos island, this last piece of amazon rainforest. oil is their number one source

of income. they've seen, frankly, good drilling and bad drilling. the adverse effects from it. this is an opportunity for all of us to contribute and save this last garden of eden on earth. >> garden of eden, good way to put it. i know it means sacred land, yasuni. >> i have to ask you, you have a great life, cute boyfriend. kr did you get involved in this project? >> you know, on hesly, i get a lot of credit i don't deserve for taking on projects like this. sometimes it's as simple as sitting next to someone at a dinner party and you become enthralled and almost you want -- what they're doing is so important, they have the answers,they have the solutions. they're so dedicated and so brilliant and they say, will you help? i'm only too happy to help them. >> you're a great public face for this project. bo derek, actress, model,

goodwill ambassador. we thank you for joining us. i think you have a birthday coming up as well, don't you? >> thanks. yes, i do. >> happy early birthday, bo. it's great to see you again. bo derek, thank you so much. checking some of the top stories we're following today. it's been an up and down day on wall street but an improvement over the massive selloff yesterday triggered by the sluggish u.s. economy and fears over the european debt crisis. markets in europe and asia also down today. right now the dow is down sharply 136 points. bank of america says it's cutting 3500 jobs. that's on top of the 2500 cut earlier in the year. a spokesman for the north carolina-based bank says cuts will be spread throughout the company and occur internationally. an outside analyst says bank of america is selling off parts of its business, including credit card and life insurance portfolios to comply with international banking rules. get a load of this. a florida woman has been charged

with child neglect after police dashcam video captured her riding in her -- her pab i, rather, riding in the back of the truck. take a look at that. according to cnn affiliate several people called 9-1-1 after seeing the pair in the back of the truck. it's her with her baby in the stroller. investigators say davis was baby-sitting for a friend when the incident happened. she told the court she didn't realize it was considered endangering the child since she had a grip on the stroller. there you have it. up next, desperately facing starvation, thousands of children depend on the work of this week's cnn hero. ♪

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we've all seen the heartbreaking images from somalia. tens of thousands of children literally starving to death. victims of famine and war. the drought that's ravaged somalia extends across ethiopia and kenya. that's where one group founded by a 2010 cnn hero has stepped up its efforts to reach thousands of the youngest victims. >> as millions struggle across

the drought-ravaged horn of africa in what the refugee agency is calling the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. magnus mcfarland barrow's mary's meals is in the crisis. >> we've been working in northern kenya for four years now. the situation has worsened. one-third of the children are malnourished. we have a situation of life and death. because of that, we're planning desperately to expand our program to reach more children at risk. >> since 2006 mary's meals has been feeding thousands of young children in schools around the region. >> it's about linking food through education. without education, the poverty for the whole community. >> magnus's organizations responded to the drought crisis by feeding an additional 6,000 children daily. 24,000 in all. the important global work for which he was named a top ten

cnn hero last year and received an order of the british empire from queen elizabeth. magnus remains laser focused on the critical work in africa. >> as part of the response, we intend to reach many more thousands of children and we'll do as funds allow us to. >> many more thousands of children to be supported by an organization already feeding half a million children daily in 16 impoverished countries. >> so much about the will of people to share a little of what they have in order that these children can be fed. >> to learn more about mary's meals or to donate to the relief work, visit cnn heroes.com. there's just little more than a week left to nominate someone you know who is making a big difference in your community. remember, every cnn hero is chosen from people you tell us about. we need you. visit cnn heroes.com to nominate someone today. just ahead a scientist warns what we're doing right now might

grab the attention of extraterrestrial life? we'll have details next.

it's about half past the hour. here's a look at the headlines and other news you may have missed. look first at the big board at the new york stock exchange. stocks are down about 112 points after yesterday's big selloff. the dow has been up and down all day as investors focus on europe's debt crisis and other economic concerns here at home. a woman whose ill-fitting wigs earned her the name the bad hair bandit has been arrested in california. police say cynthia van holland and her husband were arrested monday after being accused of a

bank robbery near sacramento. her husband is accused of being the get away driver in that heist in which cynthia was not wearing a wig. a sheriff's department spokesman says she's been cooperating and providing enough information to confirm her as the bad hair bandit. she's accused in more than a dozen robberies. a sixth person just died from the stage collapse at the indiana state fair. 40 others were hurt when the gust of wind toppled the stage moments before the country music duo sugar land was about to perform. it happened again in belgium. a stage collapsed during a violent storm at europe's largest music festivals. five people were killed, 50 others injured. the storm struck hours after the concert began. belgium authorities are investigating. in philadelphia, three teenagers pleaded guilty in a flash mob attack on monday. among the charges against them, felony assault, robbery and

inciting a riot. investigators used text messages between two of the older teens to tie them to the attack. the judge in the case has denied the request that the teens be freed on bail until their trial next month. listen to this one. one of my favorite stories of the day. a nasa affiliated scientist at penn state university has released a report about how alien contact might affect human life. along with his colleague, shawn gold man, they have broken down a alien to human contact into three categories. beneficial, neutral or harmful. he says greenhouse emissions may send a message that we are a population out of control and a threat to the universe and that those greenhouse gas emissions may make us more vulnerable to a martian attack. that's right. facebook and twitter have been mostly social platforms until

recently. websites are now the way in which revolutions, pro-tests and criminal activities are planned. next, we take a closer look at the global impact of this social media revolution. ordinary rubs don't always work on my arthritis.

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the power of social media, it fueled riots in london, sparked protests in syria and helped lead a revolution in egypt. we take a global look now at social media and its impact, starting in san francisco where metro transit police blocked on-line communications to stop a protest. here's dan simon. >> reporter: we're at a bart station in downtown san francisco and the saga all began when protestors threatened to disrupt passenger trains and put a wrinkle in the commute for thousands of people who rely on b.a.r.t. on a daily pay sis. that prompted them to shut down the cell phone communication on several of its platforms. they thwarted the protest but angered bart critics, including the hacking group anonymous. it hacked into a bart website and since then they've been on the defensive. they said it was a matter of public safety. bart has been battling an image

problem. there was a couple of shootings involving its police officers. the most recent one in last month when officers shot and killed a homeless man allegedly carrying a knife. that's what's prompted a flurry of protests and everything that's followed. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. here in britain, we've already had two people sentenced to four careers in prison for inciting a riot very a facebook. social media played a critical role. twitter and blackberry messenger were two of the ways that rioters organized some of the looting on-line. it was considered such a threat that prime minister cameron told lawmakers he was consulting with police to see whether or not it was appropriate to stop communication on social media if there was any evidence of plotting disorder, violence or criminality. as you can imagine, a backlash from critics who said that would

be a violation of free speech. i'm in london. >> the authorities in the uk and elsewhere might think that shutting down communications networks is a good way to bring unrule elements back under control. but before they touch that kill switch, a cautionary tale from egypt. for five days during the revolution here, the former regime shut down the cell phone networks and the internet for five days hoping to nip the revolution in the bud. but it was a blunt weapon that hurt friend and foe alike. it damaged the egyptian economy, damaged its reputation and for many people who had been sitting on the fence, it convinced them that the regime was willing to do anything, even bring the country to a screeching halt in order to hold on to power. power which, of course, in the

end is lost. ben weedman, cnn, cairo. >> the syrian government regularly monitors and tries to regulate communication, taps phone lines. this is not even something that it necessarily tries to hide. state-run television has broadcast what it said were secret phone calls between activists. activists for their part, fully aware of this, och will only make a brief phone call on their cell phones or send a quick text message before they remove the battery to make it more difficult to trace them. when it comes to military operations, we've regularly seen the government shut off the internet, land lines, cell phones as well. so activists developed a smuggling network to try to get satellite phones and other technology to various areas under siege to continue to get their message out and post the videos that we keep seeing

emerging on you-tube. when it comes to the internet, interestingly, the government unblocked access to social media sites like facebook. activists say it's so they can continue to spy on them on-line. either way, despite the government's effort to try to control communications, activists have always found ways to circumvent the government's various blockades and efforts and demonstrations most certainly have not let up. arwa damon, cnn, beirut. that's a look at how social media is perceived around the world. the men convicted of brutally murdering three young boys in a satanic ritual get what they've been fighting for, for sl years. their freedom. we'll take you live to arkansas for the latest on the west memphis three, next. cheer clear clear it's good for the entire community.

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44 minutes after the hour. they served nearly two decades in prison for crime they say they never committed. now the three men dubbed the west memphis three convicted of pruittly killing three young boys in west memphis, arkansas,

walk away today free men. the court made a ruling just a couple of hours ago. prosecutors argued that jason baldwin, damien echols and jessie misskelley, jr. who you see here. these are old photos were driven by satanic ritual, that they hogtied these three boys with shoelaces and mutilated their bodies before tossing them in a ditch. but this case has gotten national attention. even like eddie vetter and the dixie chicks and johnny depp were rallying for their release. why? because of what investigators could not do. which is provide direct evidence that tied the three men to the boys' murders. dna evidence later failed to link the men to the crime. i want to go straight to jonesboro, arkansas, now where david mattingly is standing by outside the courthouse. david, this case has gotten so much attention, not the least of

which because -- the conviction, rather, was not overturned and yet, they were set free. so explain to us exactly how this happened. >> reporter: that's right. this attention that's been focused on this case for so long is not going to go away because there's still plenty to argue about here. it was a very complicated deal that went down in that courtroom today. we watched the three of them walk in, but then they had to agree to put in a guilty plea to first degree murder charges. if they did that, then they would be able to go free with time served. it's called an offered plea where they're not actually saying that they're guilty even though they are entering a guilty plea. this allows the prosecution and the defense to both claim a victory. but when you talk to the defendants themselves, they found that their first taste of freedom was somewhat bitter. because it wasn't the clear statement of innocence that they had wanted. listen. >> this was not justice.

we told them nothing but the truth that we were innocent. they sent us to prison. we had to come here and the only thing that state said we would let you go only if you admit guilt. that's not justice no matter who you look at it. >> it's not perfect. it's not perfect by any means but at least it brings closure to some areas and some aspects. we can still bring up new evidence and continue the investigation. we can still try to clear our names. the only difference is we can do it from the outside instead of sitting in the prison and do it. >> reporter: prosecutors say that they believe that their prosecution of these three was just and that they are not reopening this case because the case is now closed. that the people responsible for it have been punished. a defense attorneys say, however, that you would not see this deal being done, the state of arkansas letting these three go if they truly believed that

these three were guilty. the arguing goes on. this case may never be settled. >> david mattingly watching it from jonesboro, arkansas. for more, watch presumed guilty, murder in west memphis tonight at 11:00 eastern right here on cnn. with no clear end in sight to the current turmoil in the world's markets, even here at home, are fears of a potential global recession a double dip recession valid? our stream team weighs in next. , the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer ] chevrolet is honored to celebrate the unveiling of the washington, d.c., martin luther king jr. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28th.

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while you were sleeping, markets in europe and asia suffered big losses last night. today on wall street, stocks

wavered between gains and losses. simply put, it's been an ugly august. this month alone, the dow dropped 9.5%. that's more than a thousand points. we closed below 11,000 yesterday. economists, including morgan stanley, are warning that europe and the united states are dangerously close to a recession. joining me to talk about this political analyst, roland martin, ihs global insight, nigel galt and the president of apartment mum capital management, ryan mack. roland i want to begin with you. are these fears legitimate or are economists yelling the sky is falling? what's going on? >> no. americans have been sitting here acting like we somehow are separate from everybody else. if anybody was paying attention to what's happening in greece, italy, what's happening in spain, germany, the world economy is totally linked and so we've been acting like the politicians saying oh, forget anyone else, we're sort of on our own.

we're not. we've always been affected by what has happened globally. it's exacerbated over the financial system over the past decade. >> nigel, you're a chief economist at ihs global insight. you know a thing or two about this. you ask ten people opinions on whether we're headed for a recession, we might hear ten different answers. what's your best guess? >> well, i think we are on very thin ice here. we place recession odds at 40%. u.s. economy even before we hit the latest problems, the latest market volatility. was showing almost no growth. barely above zero during the first half of the year. the euro zone crisis has gotten substantially worse. we have a crisis on policy making on both sides of the atlantic and the latest evidence we're getting from consumers says confidence has fallen sharply. unfortunately, yesterday we had

a bad survey of manufacturers from the philadelphia region indicating a steep drop in orders. recession risk, i'm afraid, are very high right now. >> that is not news that i want to hear. ryan mack, i want to turn to you now. several analysts are saying in terms of the euro debt crisis that there is "no solution in sight." for people who think the u.s. economy is the biggest and best, you know, i mean, i think we need to remind our viewers that europe and asia are tied very closely to us, right? >> absolutely. i think what we're seeing here i don't think we'll see another double dip. but i do think we'll see a correction because for quite some time, again, we've been going up from the dow jones at 6700 up to 12,800, thinking that the housing and credit and job crisis corrected themselves and they haven't. pre-recession, you've gotten

used to a level of unsustainable existence using debt level excessively and borrow for today what we hope to earn for tomorrow. that was not working when the rug was pulled beneath us. what we're seeing now is we've come to a new -- companies, the bright side is they have solid corporate earnings but the housing market and job market a little bit too far, overlooked. we're seeing a new normal. quite frankly, companies are not hiring as much because of demanding more productivity from the workers they have. dividend yields, kelloggs x procter & gamble they're paying high dividend yields because they have healthy balance statements. not something as hard as before. companies are still healthy but the systemic issues will be -- until we see growth from the individuals laid off -- >> roland, i want to ask you quickly. i see you nodding. why are you nodding so much? >> for the last several months

on the show and here, i've been talking about how average americans have finally gotten into their heads, you know what, i can't live on debt. that was part of the problem we had beforehand. so what is happening, had we talk about consumer confidence, that's based upon do we still want to go out and spend money. are we still thinking the economy is going to get better. people have decided, you know what, i can't live above my means. 70% of the u.s. economy is based upon consumer spending. when americans begin to say, i've better save more and stop living off credit, guess what? that has an adverse impact on the economy. this is the new normal. get used to it. ben bernanke is saying, get used to a longer period of time to rebound. americans don't like to hear that. we want to see a six-month fix. it's not going to happen. >> roland, you sound like my mother. political analyst, chief u.s. economist at ihs global insight, nigel gault and the president of optimum capital management, ryan

mack. we've got to end the conversation there. thank you to all three of you for joining us today. meanwhile, former advisor to president reagan calls a republican candidate for president not that smart. kate baldwin will bring you the details after the break. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's.

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with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com news from wisconsin that democrats may be disappointed to hear. to explain all of this kate baldwin is at the political desk in washington with details.

what's this all about, kate? >> hey there. it's an announcement that is likely to disappoint many which is ws democrats. russ fine gold announced that he will not be running for public office in 2012. he lost his reelection bid in 2010 to ron johnson. but former senator fine gold has been involved in politics since then. the public action committee and a strong voice against the governor during the budget battle over collective bargaining rights for state employ ice. there has been talk of him running for governor or taking another shot at running for senate since there will be an open seat once democrat herb cole retires. he said simply, "in my case, i don't need an excuse and will simply say that the time with family, friends and loved ones in the past few months has been among the best in my life and i am not eager to give that up." so there you have it.

>> all right. kate baldwin from washington. thank you for joining me. i'm elena cho. cnn continues with brooke baldwin. >> nice to have you here. thanks very much. hello to all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. i want to begin this hour with the west memphis 3. >> i'm 36 years old. released today from death row for a crime i did not commit over 18 years ago. >> 36 years old. serving 18 years for a crime i didn't commit. >>. [ inaudible ] >> just a short time ago, the three men who have been in prison since 1993. half of their adult lives. they are free today. but back then, they were convicted of brutally killing three young boy scouts during a satanic ritual in the