but makes us grope people? i think that's a bit of a stretch, don't you? >> i think if something happens where you're driving and speed up too quickly or something. >> no. not groping. >> not so much. >> being in places you're not supposed to -- let me go to a volleyball game when i'm not supposed to be will and just grope people. >> joey jackson, on the case. nice to see you. thanks so much. it's time now to turn things over to my pal, wolf blitzer, who's in "the situation room." >> ashleigh, thanks very much. happening now the battle for the white house becomes the battle of the buses. president obama kicks off a major campaign tour in a critical battleground state. with the romney campaign hot on his trail. we'll explain. and romney weighing in on the chances her husband will pick a woman to be his running mate. what she's now saying in a candid new interview. and the d.c. fire department puts medical emergencies and reports of dangling electrical wires on hold. guess why? to fill up a swimming pool right in the aftermath of friday's

devastating storm. what happened? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." all right. look at this. this was then pf president obama us bus last august making its way through the midwest. look a this. this is now president obama's bus with a seemingly new accessory front and center. we're talking about a presidential seal. it's a bold reminder as he kicks his campaign into full gear in ohio, a major battleground state to be sure, that he has rivalled mitt romney. they are both trying to win in order to become president. at least in his part to remain president of the united states, romney's part to become president of the united states. the romney campaign though is trying to steal a bit of the thunder in the area. the president certainly didn't shy away from mixing policy with

politics taking key action just hours before his speech to help bolster the economy. our white house correspondent, dan lothian, is traveling with the president in ohio right now. dan is joining us with the very latest. what is the very latest, dan? >> reporter: well, we're here in sandusky. this is the president's second official stop. but the reason this event has not gotten underway yet is because the president made two unscheduled stops, one at a farmers market and another at a diner on the way here. this is a state that the president is leading his opponent, mitt romney, in by nine points. but it remains a very competitive race. so the president getting out there, meeting voters face-to-face hoping he can hang onto this state come november. it's a more retail-style approach. but unlike the president's other official bus trips last year, this one has campaign written all over it. there's a big presidential seal on the door. and the venue in the small city in ohio has been carefully

staged. white picket fences, a large american flag and a soft story about his daughter. >> and then it was malia's birthday yesterday. when she was small i could say all these fireworks i had arranged for her birthday. [ laughter ] but she doesn't believe me anymore. >> reporter: but his speech turned tough when the president took on his opponent's business experience. >> governor romney's experience has been owning companies that were called pioneers of outsourcing. that's not my phrase. pioneers of outsourcing. >> reporter: it's a message that resonates with this crowd. unemployment in ohio is below the national average of 8.2%, but the people in this city have experienced the highs and lows of the manufacturing industry. from gm and chrysler on life support to a recovery and new investments in the region that the president said were possible because of his administration's auto bailout. >> governor romney said we

should just let detroit go bankrupt. i refuse to turn my back on communities like this one. >> reporter: and as if on cue, although the campaign eyes political motivation, the administration is filing a complaint against china for alleged unfair tariffs on some american-made autos. >> we're going to make sure competition is fair. >> reporter: while the president was making that case and defending his economic policies, not far away romney surrogates were knocking down what mr. obama was playing up. former presidential candidate, tim pawlenty, and louisiana governor, bobby jindal, are on their own bus tour shadowing the president. >> his presidency has been a losing hand for ohio and for america. >> we know that we are not better off than we were four years ago. >> reporter: the president says the republicans don't have real solutions and that a full recovery will take time. the president will make a total of six scheduled stops in two key battleground states

following a final event in parma, near cleveland, he'll visit pennsylvania on friday. now, in addition to those romney surrogates, we noticed something else this morning at that first stop before the president arrived, there was a small plane towing a large banner around the venue there. and on that banner it said "romney 2012." wolf, one other matter, the china filing by the administration, this complaint, at the briefing or at the gaggle on air force one this morning, reporters peppered jay carney, white house spokesman, questions about the timing saying that this has to be more than just a coincidence. but he pushed back hard saying that this was something that was in the works for months. >> i'm sure he did. all right. thanks very much, dan lothian, on the scene for us in ohio. this just coming in to "the situation room" right now. record fund raising for the

romney campaign. we're learning the campaign and the republican national committee raised at least, get this, at least $100 million in the month of june alone. our political editor, is joining us with more on what's going on. big numbers for the romney campaign. what's the latest, paul? >> very big numbers. remember in june he had some big fund raising through other states. go back to may, remember, mitt romney and the rnc raised $77 million and they outraised the democratic national committee. i was at a briefing with obama campaign officials about two weeks ago with our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. at that briefing obama campaign officials said, guess what, we will get outraised again in june. and they predicted that romney would raise $100 million. remember, wolf, the campaign money is only part of the story because the independent groups, the so-called super pacs.

on the republican side they're outraising the democrats, they're outraising them and outspending them. that's a big story here. wolf, remember, campaign cash pays for commercials, get out the vote efforts among other things. >> super pacs are outraising the democratic by five or ten or more to one. looks like money factor will be a huge advantage potentially for romney as of right now. you're also taking a closer look at some potential romney vice presidential picks, paul. what are you seeing? >> it's interesting. while mitt romney is pretty much laying low this week on vacation, some of the people he may be considering his running mates are up front and center picking up the slack. >> he is dubbing his tour the betting on america tour. well, of course we should all bet on america. but we shouldn't doubledown on barack obama. >> reporter: former minnesota governor, tim pawlenty, and louisiana governor, bobby jindal, teaming up on the romney campaign bus tour to shadow president barack obama's swing through ohio and pennsylvania.

>> this president can't run on his record. so he's going to do everything he can to distract our attention to try to attack mitt romney. >> reporter: it's another example of the campaigns trying to follow each other out on the campaign trail. but what's eye-opening about the jindal/pawlenty tour is that romney may seriously be considering both men as possible running mates. along with senator rob portman, of ohio. what about a woman as the vice presidential nominee? ann romney tells cbs news she's been speaking to her husband about that possibility. >> we've been looking at that. and i'd love that option as well. >> reporter: her comments came as her husband marched in a july 4th parade in new hampshire with the state's junior senator whose name also mentioned as a possible running mate. is romney giving any hints. >> i have an idea in mind, but that's something i'm keeping close to my team. >> one thing we know for sure, wolf, mitt romney has to reveal his cards by the time of the

republican national convention in tampa. that starts just seven and a half weeks from now. one more thing, it's no surprise but these possible running mates aren't well-known nationally. our brand new poll released this hour indicates nearly two-thirds of americans say they're unfamiliar with portman. and more than four in ten saying the same thing about jindal and pawlenty who briefly ran for president last year. and even republican voters, our poll indicates the unfamiliar factor remains pretty high. our polling director tells me this is no surprise because presidential nominees rarely want to get overshadowed by their running mates. >> i suspect they're not going to get overshadowed by these individuals if one of them becomes the actual running mate. paul, thanks very much. let's dig deeper into politics right now. our political director, mark preston, is here in "the situation room." you just heard ann romney saying they're looking at maybe a woman as a vice presidential running mate. how close is ann romney in this whole process in making this really important decision? >> we talk about mitt romney's inner circle who has been

criticized over the past couple of days by the likes of rupert murdoch and jack walsh. really this closer advisor is ann romney, a person he's been chasing since his high school years. and in fact when he was supposed to go on his mormon mission over to france, he almost didn't go. part of the reason was because he did not want to leave ann romney. what was telling in that cbs interview yesterday is that she said we're looking at women at this point. so she is very much a part of the process. it will be a small group of people right now who will help him decide to choose for who's going to be his running mate. she'll be part of that. >> not surprised. she's his life partner and she's very important in his life. i'm sure she'll be very much involved in this decision. it's a gut decision every candidate in the end has to make. a very important decision, obviously. now, they're going through ohio, pennsylvania, these are all important states right now. buses are important, but what's also important is the air waves. the commercials, the advertising. that's pretty important as well. >> that's pretty important

because while president obama right now will be in ohio for two days, he won't be there come sunday. he will not be there on saturday. what does he do? he turns to the air waves as does mitt romney. look at our new numbers from our consultant on television advertising spending. since january 1st, wolf, right there barack obama has spent $9.2 million on television commercials while mitt romney has spent $3.1 million. now, what we're not showing here is all the super pac money, which adds up even more. so while we talk a lot about ohio, president obama has been there 22 times since he was elected president back in 2008. he's going to have to rely on tv as will mitt romney to be there when he's not. >> usually pennsylvania goes for the democratic presidential candidate, but this campaign the obama campaign, they're spending a lot of time there in pennsylvania. are they really worried about potentially losing pennsylvania? >> they are. if they lose pennsylvania, they lose the race. i think we can say that confidently. republicans have not won

pennsylvania since 1988 when george h.w. bush carried it that year. look, we see the likes of joe biden now spending a lot of time in pennsylvania. let's not forget, go back to 2008, wolf, when president obama back in 2008 said that very ill-fated phrase. he said people are clinging to their guns and their religion. that is something that will not play very well in pennsylvania. but also in pennsylvania it also shows that in fact when you look at these numbers right here as far as television advertising right now, we've seen barack obama is spending money right now. more than $3 million right now, wolf, he is spending on tv advertising so far to carry his message. >> yeah. he doesn't want to take any chances. by the way, he said those less than artful words out in san francisco. >> he did. but it carried back. >> everybody heard it immediately all over the place. thanks very much. take a look at this. we have some live pictures of the president of the united states in sandusky, ohio. there he is at the top of your screen in the middle there. he's shaking hands, meeting with

folks. the president working the crowd in sandusky, ohio. one of the most influential conservative newspapers in the country, the editorial page to be sure, publishing a blistering editorial accusing mitt romney of letting republicans down. ahead, i'll speak with the key advisor, former governor of new hampshire, he will respond to this editorial in "the wall street journal." and a major london terror scare only weeks before the summer olympics. the latest on a string of arrests and just how concerned authorities are. and george zimmerman, yes, george zimmerman, he could soon be a free man out on bail. it will only take $1 million in bail to get him out of jail. ♪ [ male announcer ] we believe small things can make a big difference. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food,

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hey america, even though slisa rinna is wearing the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. new proof today there's a very, very real fear of terror attacks connected with the

upcoming london olympics. british police shut down an important highway after a bus passenger reported suspicious activity. it turned out to be a false alarm. but in a second incident, london police arrested six people on terrorism charges then searched several homes and businesses around the city. nick robertson is joining us from london. what do you hear about all the counterterror preparations in advance of the olympic games? >> well, we know these latest arrests, for example, were treated by an ongoing intelligence investigation and that the police decided this was the right time to activate it. but the broader picture is the police appear to be taking no chances with any terror groups they're coming across right now. although the threat level is substantial, that's third below the top level, it hasn't changed and hasn't gone up, there's a very real acceptance that al qaeda or another organization will want to target the olympics.

and inside britain they have perhaps some of the operatives who could make that possible. so the concern and threat is very real. and that's what we're seeing happening on the ground, wolf. >> and i take it, nic, they're more concerned about what they call these home-grown sort of lone-wolf kind of terrorists as opposed to terrorists coming in from afghanistan or pakistan or some place else? >> there's a very big concern about that. what you have in britain are about 8,000 muslims in jail here. the probation service, the prison service believe that one in ten at least of those being radicalized in jail. when they come out, they are there for potentially attractive to what they call clean skins, the lone wolf type operative who will be attracted to some radical who's been in jail, served time for the cause, if you will. we've also seen in britain add to that that over the past 18 months between 50 and 80 terror convicts, people convicted of terrorist offenses have been released for time served. some of them are out on license

still considered dangerous. these are the people who may not take part in a terrorist act themselves but would certainly gather around them or attract at least people who would, these clean skins, lone wolfs, who would be inspired to attack. early indications are the arrests in the uk that have taken place in the last 24 hours may involve some people who have been drawn to radical extremists, themselves not terrorists, but they've been drawn in by those angry voices, wolf. >> i suspect we're going to be doing a lot more discussion on this subject in the days to come. nic, thanks very much. closer to home right here in the united states the man who shot and killed trayvon martin has been granted a $1 million bond. george zimmerman's bail was revoked last month over allegations he misled the court about his finances. cnn's david matingly is in florida. the judge set bail at $1 million

but still has strong words for him. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, the cost to zimmerman may go far beyond the $100,000 cash in collateral he has to put up to make that bond. there is a tremendous loss to his credibility throughout this entire process. the judge having some very strong words for him in the ruling. and they run like this saying that george zimmerman flaunted the system, tried to manipulate the system and had no justification for his deception when he tried to tell the court that he didn't have any money and didn't have any means to live when in fact he had $100,000 in donated cash and a passport on him. the judge also went on -- and this was a real surprise, that george zimmerman he believed was preparing to flee to avoid prosecution but plans were thwarted. the judge doesn't go into detail about how those plans were or how they came undone, but they believe george zimmerman was a flight risk. now we see him with a $1 million

bond. that's the price now for his freedom, wolf. >> now, to be able to get out on that $1 million bond, you don't necessarily have to put up a whole -- that whole number, $1 million. you put up a percentage of that million dollars. do we know how much he needs to put up in order to get out of jail? >> well, $100,000 cash. we know he's got that. his attorney said there was about $200,000 in donations raised for his account, but he's going to have to come up with some kind of collateral to cover the rest just to make sure he doesn't jump bail. but on top of that, they're looking at the possibility that he might be a flight risk. so there were some other conditions placed on this. he's not allowed to go to an airport. he's not allowed to have a bank account. and he's not allowed to leave the county. now before george zimmerman was free to leave the state of florida if he wanted to because they felt that his safety was in danger. now he can't do that. he has to stay right there in seminole county. if he wants to go outside the county, he's going to have to

get the court's permission. >> what's the reaction from the trayvon martin family? >> well, we've asked for reaction from both sides. so far we have not heard from zimmerman side. but the reaction from the attorney representing the parents of trayvon martin, he said that trayvon's parents would rather that the killer of their unarmed child remain in jail until the trial, however they respect the ruling of the judge and the strong message that the judge sent, and the strong message that judge sending today was that george zimmerman's credibility is in danger throughout this process. >> david mattingly on the scene for us. thank you very much for that update. one of mitt romney's senior advisors is in "the situation room" today. i'll ask the former governor of new hampshire, john sununu, about today's rather stinging editorial in "the wall street journal" which says romney's letting republicans down. and another look at the fourth of july's most intense fireworks show, but it wasn't supposed to be this way.

after nearly six months of house arrest, the captain of the cruise ship that capsized off italy has a little more freedom. lisa sill vest ter is monitorin

that. >> hi, wolf, thanks to an italian court, the captain of the costa concordia can leave his house but not supposed to leave the town. 32 people died when that cruise ship hit rocks and capsized in january. the captain now faces charges of multiple manslaughter causing the accident and abandoning ship prematurely. and check out this map that recently turned up inside an old book at a german university. it turns out to be a copy of the first map to label the new world as america. look on the right side. it kind of looks a little bit there like florida. the map's in segments that can be folded over a globe. the original map dates from 1507. this is only the fifth copy we know of. no one's sure when it was made. and stocks closed mixed this afternoon, but there was plenty of drama earlier. the day started with a sizable drop fueled by pessimism about europe's economy. but investors turned hopeful after three reports came out suggesting a pickup in the u.s.

labor market. oh, for what it's worth, san diego's fireworks show last night was really spectacular for about 30 seconds. because of a technical glitch, everything prepared for what was supposed to be a 20-minute show launched from four separate barges, it all went off at once. they're still trying to figure out what went wrong. oh, boy. yeah, the noise really scared people who were close to the barges. in the end though nobody was hurt. everybody was a little disappointed, but what can you say, wolf? it was great while it lasted, a whole 30 seconds. that was the length of their show. >> barely 30 seconds. i think some people timed it at 27 or something like that.

sad. could have been spectacular. i feel bad for the young kids who didn't get to see 20 minutes of what would have been an excellent fireworks demonstration. >> i'm sure they're going to have to figure out -- deconstruct and figure out what went wrong there. fortunately no one was hurt. it could have been serious. >> could have been a lot worse. thank you. "the wall street journal" slamming mitt romney's campaign today calling his campaign confusing and politically dumb. romney's senior advisor, john sununu, he's here in "the situation room." he'll answer the criticism. latder, outraged questions about why a fire department in ha major american city was filling someone's swimming pool instead of helping people cope with a killer storm. major ameri someone's swimming pool instead of helping people cope with a killer storm.

i'm wolf blitzer in washington. here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. we're checking into reports that an important general close to syria's inner circle has just defected to syria. standby. also an alarming new report pinpointing why a jet carrying 228 people plunged into the atlantic ocean. and the people fired a life guard for saving a man from drowning, they're offering to

rehire him. you're going to want to hear his answer. standby. you're in "the situation room". but first, today scathing new criticism of the republican presidential candidate, mitt romney. not by democrats, but it's coming from a very different source, from the staunchly conservative editorial page of "the wall street journal." listen to this and i'm quoting, "mr. romney promised republicans he was the best man to make the case against president obama, whom they desperately want to defeat. so far mr. romney is letting them down." campaign advisor -- senior advisor i should say, former new hampshire governor, john sununu is in "the situation room" right now. he's joining us. governor, it's one thing for democrats for the obama campaign to be saying tough words about mitt romney. but when the editorial writers of "the wall street journal" do so, you've got a problem. >> well, i think the governor took care of that issue yesterday with his very strong

statement that even though he had hoped for the position of the dissent in the court to be the position that came out, which was based on it not being a tax, that the court has spoken. the court supported president obama's position as pleaded by the solicitor general for president obama that it was a tax. that it was a tax in its own right and a tax adjacent to the income tax. and governor romney says the court has spoken. it's the law of the land. it's a tax now. and i think he's moving on the issue that the journal had some concern about. >> but the journal writes about that switch from monday to wednesday from what eric said on monday to what mitt romney said yesterday. and he said it underlines a bigger problem for romney right now that his staff is simply not up to it. they need some better staff work. and you've heard the same criticism from rupert murdoch. you've heard it from jack walsh.

you're a pro on this. is the romney campaign staff weak? >> no. i think it's a good staff. and i think they've demonstrated that in the primaries. they not only can get a message across, but they're pretty tough when they have to respond. and they are going to have to respond. in the last day or two president obama and his surrogates have been all over the place trying to claim that this is not a tax and that they want to go back to their original dishonest claim that it's not a tax. and you have them out there trying to confuse the american public. and i think the romney campaign understands this. they're going to make sure people understand how dishonest that is. and they're going to emphasize the fact that this is a pattern of dishonesty. you have it in the ads. governor obama's running an ad claiming the governor outsourced jobs and yet independent fact-checkers have made it very clear that that is not true. and so i suggest to folks that when president obama affirms

that ad by saying i'm barack obama and i approve this message or when mr. labolt comes on for the campaign and says this is not a tax referring to the health care issue, or when jay carney comes out and says this is not a tax, or when the white house itself says it's not a tax, the first thing that ought to come to mind when you hear that dishonesty is a phrase "liar, liar, pants on fire". >> here's what the editorial in "the wall street journal" among other things said. referring to this confusion, the reaction coming from the romney campaign to the supreme court decision. this latest mistake is of a piece of the campaign's insular andstaff strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity. mr. obama's being hurt by an economic recovery that is weakening for the third time in three years, but mr. romney hasn't been able to take advantage. and if anything, he is losing ground. in the scheme of things, you know the editorial writers of

"the wall street journal," you know the influence that this newspaper has among republicans, the conservative base. when they say these things about the romney campaign, the romney staff, how significant in your historic assessment is it? >> look, everybody in the campaign pays attention to what their friends say. and "the wall street journal" is a friend of free enterprise. and mitt romney is the free enterprise candidate in this campaign. so they're going to pay attention to what they hear from "the wall street journal." but i can assure my friends at "the wall street journal" that the campaign understands where it is in terms of the pattern of the campaign, the cycle of the campaign, the focus the campaign has to take on the failure of the president's record and the focus the campaign has to take on what is really a character defect in this presidency, a tendency to exaggerate aggressively and be slightly dishonest, if not aggressively dishonest. >> so what is -- give the romney campaign now -- and you've got

four months before the election, some advice, on national television. what's the most important thing they need to fix in order to get going? you know, when bill crystal and these others are saying there's some serious problems there, but romney is at risk right now squandering this opportunity, "the wall street journal," rupert murdoch, all these others saying it, what's the most important thing they need to do to fix? >> i think they have to recognize that we're in a campaign mode where simple, tough declarative sentences are required that this is not a campaign to be won on nuance but to be won on making sharp distinctions with the failure of the obama administration economically, the loss of jobs and pain that americans across the country are feeling. i think you're going to see that enunciated very clearly by governor romney and his campaign who frankly i think has a great asset because it is in the political sense quite ruthless in the long run. >> now you know why john sununu was a co-host of "crossfire"

here on cnn for several, several years. governor, thanks very much for coming back. >> thanks. nice to see you, wolf. >> thank you. ann romney slams the obama campaign strategy. ahead, why she claims the president's message is "let's kill this guy". and president obama declares his controversial health care law is here to stay. but is he going too far? we'll talk about that and more in our strategy session. t clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine... power to your mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge.

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joining us our cnn political contributor democratic strategist, donna brazile, and former newt gingrich press secretary, rich gaylin. pretty good advice from governor sununu to the romney campaign speak in short, simple, declarative statements. don't get confused by a lot of rhetoric. pretty good advice. >> the problem is mitt romney is the one that has a problem with consistency. we consistently call the mandate a penalty. and now that the republicans -- now that he's the republican nominee and the republican congressional leaders would like to call it a tax, he's trying to now back away from what he said originally. originally his senior advisor said he agreed with president obama that it's a penalty. >> that's why the advice from sununu is good. don't do all this confusing stuff. give us a bold declarative statement. >> i say this with all understanding, they were out there after about an hour, it was 193-page decision from the

supreme court, say we're going to do this at 3:00 in the afternoon. we decided what it was in massachusetts. is that different? which as we talked about yesterday, it is. then a federal case. >> that's staff work. >> exactly. >> if you're not ready to make a statement, you haven't read the entire thing, don't say anything. say we're reviewing it and we'll get back to you. >> just say the court had six months to consider it. >> right. >> they gave themselves like an hour and a half. they just don't have to do that. >> rich, first of all, eric made the comment on monday. >> no, i was talking about the speech. >> 72 hours -- >> the speech that romney gave like an hour and a half later. >> that's because mitt romney said over and over again, article in 2009 clips that we have on youtube and other places where he's called the individual penalty a mandate. mitt romney is a person that has a problem with consistency. president obama said it's a

penalty and not a tax although it was upheld by the supreme court as a tax. >> his solicitor general called it a tax. >> if you read the transcripts -- >> his solicitor general called it a tax. >> until that conversation started -- i went back and looked at the transcripts. it was on the third day. >> still did it. >> it's a penalty. >> it's both. >> impacts less than 1% of the american people. >> people care because there's a reconciliation issue. >> that is right. if it's a tax it's 51 votes. >> it's not just rhetoric. it's not a rhetorical thing. it's an important issue that will have to be adjudicated down the road. we're not going to do that right now. what we are going to do is listen to a little clip. jan crawford interviewed mitt romney and ann romney -- >> i feel like what he's doing is say, let's kill this guy. i don't feel that's a very good campaign policy. >> she's talking about the

president of the united states. and she's suggesting saying all he's saying is let's kill this guy, referring to her husband, mitt romney. she doesn't mean obviously physically kill this guy. but she's meaning make him look as bad as possible. >> look, poor choice of words because she went onto say something -- but look, poor choice of words. when there was a democratic strategist, and i don't know who this person was because i would personally speak to this person, who last year said we are going to have to "kill" him referring to his policy -- >> anonymous strategist quoted in politico. >> yes. and david axelrod came down hard. >> here's the unanimous quote. unless things change and obama can run on accomplishments, he will have to kill romney, set a prominent democratic strategist aligned with the white house. that's what ann romney was referring to. >> yeah. poor choice of words. and no one believes that. and, look, i don't like to even put any of that kind of stuff out there in the public relations. it's just terrible.

i hate it. >> i absolutely agree with what donna just said. the issue i think for the campaign -- the obama campaign, is that they had to use a big arrow in their quiver in this outsource -- the bane outsourcing stuff in june and july. i think if we'd been running the campaign we would have wanted to extort that about a week before the republican convention and throw them off their game. but obama can't separate himself. that's why we were laughing about this, this calls for a new dissent -- he's like 2.6 points behind in the real clear politics average. obama can't separate himself. >> it's a very, very close race. four months to go. it's not going to be easy for either of these guys. >> which i think by the way is okay for the country. >> are you surprised by the way that romney raised with the republican party $100 million last month? it's going to be a lot more than the democrats. >> as long as i've been involved in politics with one exception,

republicans have always outraised us. i'm not surprised that the big must be, these sec ret donors are contributing a lot of money to help mitt romney. >> what does that tell us about the side? >> it means we will welcome a contribution from you if you so choose. >> the $100 million is not from the secret donors. this is the real money. that's not the super pac money. >> wolf, look, mitt romney is now the nominee. republicans have a lot of money. they want to try to defeat this president. we're going to have to work twice as hard to get as many votes out. >> so the president has to make fund raising calls from air force one. >> but he did it on the campaign phone. >> i just think it looks bad. >> did you know george bush made fund raising calls, george h.w. bush -- >> i don't know. >> i will give him my cell phone next time. >> i do know obama did it. i didn't say it was illegal. i'm saying it looks bad. >> president obama, vice president biden, everyone is out

there raising money and we would love a contribution from rich and everyone else. >> if he's in the white house, can he make a fund raising call from the white house? >> yes. they have separate phones. >> separate phones. >> members of the house and senate can't do that. they have to physically leave. >> i remember about air force too because i often had to make sure the bills were paid. >> nice. thanks very much. >> you bet. if the democrats want to keep control of the u.s. senate, north dakota is certainly a must-win. yet the democratic candidate is now running away from president obama as fast as she can. and a brand new report blames both the equipment and the pilots for an airliner crash that killed 228 people. standby for the very latest on what went wrong.

a huge question in this year's election is whether democrats can hang onto control of the united states senate. one democrat figures her only chance to get elected is to run away from president obama's record and his policies. cnn's dan lothian takes us inside a fascinating race. >> how are you doing, buddy? >> i'm doing well. >> reporter: heidi is a democrat running to fill some big shoes in north dakota's heated senate race. >> it is going to take a lot of old friends to win this campaign. >> reporter: but she's also stepping on some important toes

along the way. >> let me tell you, i believe everything i say. what? is he on a diet? >> i guess. >> there really isn't much of a filter on me. >> reporter: not even when it comes to what she says about president obama. >> you seem to be going after him sort of as a leader saying he's failed. >> what was the single task that the president, you know, was given? i think what the great hope was is that we would see partisanship decline. it hasn't. and when you're the leader, you share responsibility for that. it's essential that we get this taken care of for rural areas. >> reporter: a former state attorney general is running because long-time democratic senator kent conrad is retiring. democrats had all been conceded this contest. conventional wisdom said it will flip and right time, right place and message for rick berg. >> north dakota's voice heard in

washington. the private sector creates jobs. >> reporter: but berg's opponent fiercely independent with strong ties to the state's booming energy industry. >> we'll provide you power. >> reporter: has made significant strides by walking away from the president. she's publicly criticized him for rejecting the keystone pipeline. something that plays well here. so the president was wrong? >> i think he was. keystone is part of that overall solution for energy independence that i see so vital. >> in north dakota at the size of our newspapers, you pretty much have to cover everything. >> reporter: mike jacobs, editor of the grand forks herald, has been covering the state for more than 25 years. >> i think she senses this is an election about the president more than it is an election about her. and she's betting that the president, at least in north dakota, is not on the winning side. >> reporter: but republicans are trying hard to pin the president's coat tails on her. they're reminding voters of her past enthusiastic support for his health care law. >> we can make a difference in the lives of human beings.

we can be a better country. >> reporter: cross roads gps led by republican operative carl rove, is pouncing with tough ads. >> but heidi endorsed obama care bragging -- >> reporter: the stakes are high in this heated race that could decide the balance of power in the senate. >> i tell you, it's exciting. i mean, across the state we have thousands of volunteers and they're fired up. >> no one in the entire state of north dakota is going to work harder than i am. >> reporter: she's fired up too stepping away from her own party and president in a neck-and-neck race. dan lothian, cnn, bismarck, north dakota ncht the strategy by the way of apparently running away from president obama may be working. politico now reporting the north dakota senate race looks more competitive than it should be because, quoting now, because of heidi's articleful campaign. new signs the embattled syrian president's days may be

numbered. ahead, latest on reports of a major military defection inside the regime. and the d.c. fire department puts medical emergencies dangling electrical wires all on hold to fill up a swimming pool right in the aftermath of friday's devastating storm. matters. pioneers in outsourcing us jobs supports tax breaks overseas. insourcing. industry and favors bring jobs home. it matters. this message.

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here's a look at this hour's hot shots. check them out. in india people stand by the water side as giant waves crash against the seawall. in china rescue workers struggle to carry a boat through their village after massive floods. in cambodia, a woman and corn outside her home. a helicopter hovers over the tour de france cyclists as they battle through the race. hot shots, pictures from around the world. the fire department here in washington, d.c., is fighting a major fire of its own right now. struggling to explain why units took almost an hour away from the intense fear and devastation across the city to fill up a private swimming pool in the hours after friday's devastating storm. how could this happen in the nation's capital? our lisa sylvester's been investigating. she's getting some answers for us. a lot of outrage on this story

here. >> certainly, wolf. the d.c. fire department does take community requests, for example, to bring a fire truck to school or to have firefighters out at a parade. this was one of those special requests. and this one though it should have been immediately denied, but oddly enough it was not. and now the d.c. fire department is in hot water. tree down, dangling electrical wires and medical emergencies in the aftermath of the storm. as a result, the fire department had triple the number of normal calls. but in the middle of it all, what was this d.c. engine fire crew tasked with? filling this private small aboveground pool in someone's yard. the neighbor watched it all happen. >> i was more in shock. i couldn't believe it. i didn't know they can come and do that. >> reporter: they're not actually supposed to do that. >> i kind of figured that. >> reporter: this fire hydrant had to be opened to help fill up the pool with a total of about 1,000 gallons of water. it took firefighters about an hour to get the job done.

we knocked on the homeowner's door, but there was no answer. so while the fire department was filling up this one person's private pool, the neighbors here say they were suffering in the heat. they didn't have electricity for four days. the firefighters' local union president says even the engine 30 fire crews thought the request was unusual. the fire department doesn't go around filling up private pools. >> i did talk to some of the firefighters that were involved and had concerns they thought that, you know, they could have been out doing other work especially given the storm. >> reporter: but these firefighters had their orders. and they're trained to follow them. so how could this have happened? the homeowner made the request on thursday. friday the storm hit. and the job was done on saturday. i asked the d.c. fire chief what in the world his people were thinking. he says the request to fill the pool was immediately denied. >> they ran it up the flag pole and they were told not to do it. but unfortunately that information was not communicated down to the company level. we found out where the breakdown

is. going to have to take appropriate action. >> reporter: a battalion chief is now being rep remanded and the fire chief is now saying to dc residents, sorry. is this ever going to happen again where you'll fill a private pool? >> no. >> the fire chief insists there is no personal connection between that homeowner and anyone at the fire department. but it's amazing that this even got past that initial homeowner's phone call. because, let's face it, the fire department doesn't serve as a pool company. by the way, wolf, when we went by that home, that pool has since been emptied. >> what a story. >> what a story. lisa, thank you. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com you're in "the situation room." happening now, a stunning new sign that the syrian president, bashar al-assad, may be in serious jeopardy right now. a key military general closely tied to the regime has reportedly fled the country. a horrible plunge from seven miles high. 228 lives lost over the

atlantic. the final report from investigators largely blames pilot error for that air france crash. we're taking a closer look at whether it could happen again. and a florida life guard is fired for saving, saving the life of a drowning man. but that's just the start of the story that stirred up a lot of outrage around the country. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." if the syrian regime is about to crack, this is almost certainly how it will start. an important general with close family ties to bashar al-assad has now reportedly fled to turkey. he's a friend of the syrian leader. and his father served as the

defense minister to bashar al-assad's father for three decades. a powerful, powerful man. just recently the israeli deputy prime minister told me here in "the situation room" that bashar al-assad can't hang on for much longer if he starts losing his senior officer core. former top general says when the military starts to desert in large numbers, it will be and ooichl quoting him here, the end of bashar al-assad. led to the oust of their leaders. we saw libya's moammar gadhafi dragged through the streets. we saw hosni mubarak caged in a courtroom. after a bloody conflict, could bashar al-assad be next?

arwa has been watching this unfold. if he has fled to turkey, that's a huge development, a huge crack in the wall that's been protecting bashar al-assad. >> reporter: it potentially could be, wolf. and it could potentially -- this is what opposition activists would be hoping, encourage other senior members of the military to defect as well. reportedly according to a source close to the family, very, very close with bashar al-assad. he was very friendly with bashar's brother who was killed. the two reportedly attended the military academy together after he died in that car accident, remember he was being groomed to take over the presidency. that was then when bashar al-assad came on to the scene and the two carried on that close tie. however, it would seem that since the beginning of the this uprising there was perhaps some suspicion surrounding him when it came to his loyalty to bashar

al-assad because for months he'd been given a desk job. seems the regime was trying to keep something of a close eye on him. we are waiting for video to emerge from this defection. it would be a significant gain for the opposition, wolf. >> i know you've had a chance to sit down in beirut with senator john mccain who's been a very, very vocal critic of the obama administration's handling of the crisis in syria. what's the basic point that senator mccain is now making? >> reporter: well, he's trying to hit home a few points that he has been making for quite some time now. the cost of inaction, and that is the growing radicalization of the revolution potentially causing syria to become a very fruitful ground for organizations like al qaeda. the gains that certain powers would see if the assad regime would fall because that would greatly weaken iran's hand. and of course at the core of all of this is ending the daily

price that the civilians are paying time and time again. senator mccain continued to push forward this idea of trying to establish a safe area potentially along the border with turkey or jordan creating a no-fly zone that would then allow the opposition to really gain and move forward. but he says that there needs to be drastic international action. that the u.s. needs to really start leading the effort instead of trying to maintain something of a behind-the-scenes approach to all of this. because at the end of the day, this is something that everyone has been following syria is very well-aware the consequences are not going to be confined to syria. they are going to be regional. and it is going to lead to a significantly higher degree of bloodshed. >> arwa damon reporting for us in beirut. i want to update you on another important story we've been following closely in "the situation room." for the first time in seven months trucks carrying vital supplies for u.s. and nato troops have crossed from pakistan into afghanistan. pakistan had shut down the

crucial route back in november after coalition forces mistakenly killed 24 pakistani soldiers. pakistan had demanded an apology. on tuesday the secretary of state hillary clinton complied saying the united states is sorry for pakistan's losses. the u.s. had been paying an extra $100 million a month to use alternative ground routes and air routes, if you will, to bring supplies into afghanistan. here in united states a new list of america's most disliked companies is now out. and given that hundreds of thousands of people still, still are without power after that devastating east coast storm, certainly no surprise that two utility companies top the list. in first place, long island power authority. in second place, niortheast utility. lizzie o'leary has more on this. the difficulties of turning the power back on. and the folks are really pretty angry still. >> they are. and there's an understanding that this is hard, but after a

while, the frustration of being hot, being without power and in some cases without water, really reaches a boiling point and say, all right, it's time for these companies to just do better. take a look across the country where this storm knocked out power. when the lights go out, patience does too. >> so really after the third or fourth day, it's like, okay, we're done. >> reporter: they have sympathy for the workers, but not much for the power companies. >> this is ridiculous. i wish we could find another electric company. pepco is just no good. i bet the man who owns the place -- >> well, it's not that. pepco is trying the best they can. >> they're not either. we haven't seen one pepco truck all week. >> well, we have now. >> big deal. >> reporter: that company last year voted the most hated in the u.s. even inspired a youtube video we can only play you a

slice of. ♪ >> reporter: the bill is the catch. storm damage is expensive. >> and if they say we've had a lot of damage from this storm, we have to pay for it somehow, we're going to raise your rates? >> i don't know why we should bear the brunt of this cost. we're bearing quite a cost as it is from this storm. i don't see where raising the rates would, you know, help us any. >> reporter: one key change in the past couple of years, regulators have gotten more aggressive saying damage like this isn't just unfortunate, but actually irresponsible on part of the utility companies. many states forbid companies from charging customers for preventable storm damage. connecticut's attorney general is pushing utilities to pay for their bad storm plan in last year's hurricane and nor'easter. >> in a climate change, global warming, these kinds of severe

weather events are going to be much more frequent. they already are taking place on a more frequent basis. that means that the utilities themselves, the regulators and the policymakers, legislators, need to step up our game collectively to protect the public. >> that could mean fines, but it's a pretty long timetable for that. and it's also important to understand the changing face of utility companies and how this works. we're not talking about one collectively owned company here anymore. we went through all the companies that are effected here. and we talked to some -- looked at some 25 different companies. most of these are investor-owned. their public companies. they have pressures to the people who pay for electricity and their services, but they also have pressures to shareholders. some of this is because they're caught between trying to satisfy multiple masters, wolf. >> frustration meanwhile is intense. >> yes. >> to put it mildly. lizzie, thank you. reminder for our north american viewers. don't forget there's an extra hour of "the situation room" coming up at the top of the hour with a new report on terror

arrests in london just ahead of the olympic games. an extra hour of "the situation room" right at the top of the hour. but first, this hour, he's blamed for running his cruise ship on to the rocks. and at least 30 people died when it capsized. now the captain of the costa concordia is free from house arrest. and he's a sprinter known as "blade runner." he's about to become the first double amputee in the olympics. and air france flight 447 plunged into the atlantic three years ago, could it happen again? brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover.

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the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. it was horrible, horrible plunge from seven miles high that end at the bottom of the atlantic ocean. now investigators have released their final report detailing why 228 people aboard an air france jet plummeted to their deaths. that shocking crash took place

just over three years ago. cnn's richard quest takes us back. >> reporter: it all began may 31, 2009. shortly after 2200 acc, air france flight 447 took off from rio de janeiro heading for paris. it was an airbus 8330 00 series carrying 228 people or souls as they say in the industry. 216 passengers, 12 crew members. four hours into its 11-hour journey things started to go wrong. at 0200, the plane entered a thunderstorm with strong turbulence. and the pilots made a short course correction to avoid the bad weather. then a problem with the plane's pitot tubes, the small probes

used to measure the speed of the airplane. it's believed they got clogged with super cooled ice. the speed sensors iced over. in the cockpit, the computers behaved as they were supposed to. the auto pilot disengaged. the plane's co-pilot, who was the pilot flying, reacted by pulling back on the side stick. and the plane started to climb. within a minute the plane had climbed to 38,000 feet and was outside its certified parameters. there was a stoall warning as te speed dropped dramatically and the plane fell out of the sky falling at nearly 11,000 feet a minute. as earlier reports made clear, over the next three and a half minutes there was confusion in the cockpit as the pilots tried and failed to regain control of the aircraft. so far in the early reports the accident investigators from

france have been focusing on a series of sustained mistakes by at least one of the pilots. finally, after falling 38,000 feet unable to regain control, the plane plunged into the sea and sank to the ocean floor. days later crews found wreckage in the equatorial waters between brazil and africa. it would be two years and several searches later before the so-called black box, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorders would be recovered. >> richard quest is joining us from london right now. richard, what's the bottom line in all of this? what's your bottom line conclusion? >> my bottom line is basically that today's modern airliners have to be designed with technology and protections and computers for an entire range of

experienced pilots. from the lesser to the greater. and what this incident has shown is that there needs to be a return to basic airmanship skills in many cases. a culture where you fly the plane first, where you understand what the plane is going to do in all its different extremities. and most crucially, wolf, that you can no longer be complacent about the technology. understanding the aircraft first is what really comes out of this report. >> what surprised you the most, if anything? >> what surprised me was the lack of what's called crm, crew results management with the relationship between the three members of the crew. and for 54 seconds there was a stall warning, stall, stall, stall, stall. this thing blares out in the cabin. and yet not once do the two co-pilots or captain refer to

this. time and again you hear them wondering what's happened, what's gone wrong. and yet the captain doesn't take control. and the most senior first officer doesn't take control. so those come back to this big picture that this is about piloting. it's about airmanship. it's about a culture in the cockpit. and that's what this has been about. not whether there was this bit of technology or this bit of protection or this bit of fly by wire. >> good record, richard. thanks very much. richard quest reporting from london. so what's being done now to avoid human errors aboard passenger jets? brian todd has been investigating this part of the story. brian, what are you learning? >> wolf, a compelling part of this new report deals with how the crew responded emotionally to what was happening. it alludes to breakdowns in communication, highly charged interaction in the cockpit after those speed sensors malfunctioned and the autopilot disengaged. as air france flight 447 was stalling over the atlantic before it plunged from the sky,

the crew was in a state of almost total loss of control, according to the chief investigator. first, the plane's speed sensors malfunctioned. that should not have caused the catastrophe. but "poor management" what's called the startle effect, generated a highly charged emotional factor, according to a new report. are commercial pilots trained on the so-called startle effect? what to do when something suddenly happens like that? >> what i was trained to do is take a deep breath, get control of yourself and then control of the situation because it's startling. >> reporter: mark weiss with more than 20 years of experience, says red box items, events like a stall which occurred on the air france flight or engine fires, the new report says the crew progressively becoming destructured never understood they were faced with a simple loss of information. weiss says that shouldn't happen.

the cockpit is orchestrated like a ballet. everyone knows their roles. i'm a co-pilot here, you're a co-pilot, we get the signal something's wrong and then we take a deep breath. what do we do? how do i communicate with you? >> typically the person in the left seat is going to be flying the airplane. doesn't make a difference co-pilot or cap pain. they will generally say i've got the airplane, you work with the problem. >> reporter: that may have happened, but other communication broke down. the report says the crew never understood they were in a stall despite repeated warnings from the control panel. a key question now, are commercial pilots being retrained to make sure these breakdowns don't happen again? >> this is going to be a textbook case now for when pilots go back through training. you'll either train for it in a simulator, or they'll at least talk about it. they're going to talk about high altitude stalls. they're going to talk about loss of certain instrumentation, multiple signals, how do you deal with that? >> weiss says airlines will also

talk about crew resource management. you heard richard quest refer to that a minute ago. how to work together and communicate better. this new report recommends that specifically saying airlines should review training in behavioral responses to surprising events, wolf. >> there was one very important piece of training, technical training, this crew didn't have. >> that's right. the report says that the co-pilots had not gotten training for flying the plane manually at high altitude. they needed that for when the autopilot disengaged in that moment. mark weiss says "you sink to the level in your training." they didn't have that training in the manually flying high altitude. that's a big part of what happened. richard was talking about it as well. the emotional response, the communication breakdowns were just awful. >> i suspect they're going to have that training from now on. >> probably. >> they better. thanks, brian. a girl falls face first into a sinkhole. what's especially scary, it was hidden in the corner of her own

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watching fireworks turns

deadly. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on, lisa? >> wolf, three children are sadly dead after a boat capsized off long island. it's not yet known what caused the boat to turn over. 27 people were on board. and officials are looking into whether it was overcrowded. children under 12 are required to have life jackets on, but not when inside the cabin, which is where the children appear to have been trapped. and the time to buy a house appears to be right now. mortgage rates are at an all-time low. the tenth time in the past 11 weeks they set or tied a record. mortgage giant freddie mac says a 30-year fixed rate is now just 3.62%. a mortgage information provider says he expects rates to stay low for a while. and a girl in florida is lucky to be alive after falling head-first into a sinkhole in her backyard. she says she was in pain because she slammed into the side of the hole on her way down but knew no one else was nearby. so she managed to climb up the

roots to escape using light from a handheld video game. and oscar miss trous takes a closer look at the man called "the blade runner." >> reporter: he's a self-confessed speed freak. he's loved motorbikes and action sports since he was a child. >> yeah. i've got these ones we just use for sports or running. >> reporter: that's south africa sprint champion oscar pistorius and also a double amputee because of a birth defect. he's been wearing prosthetic legs since he was 1 year old. he doesn't just change his shoes before practice, he changes his legs. taking off his everyday walking prosthetics and putting on his

running blades. a man who refuses to see himself as someone who needs a helping hand. pistorius is now looking ahead to london 2012. obviously a longer term plan is the olympics. >> you know, i've set a qualification time. my goal is just to be consistent where i am. if you look at what i'm going to have to do to be consistent, there's a lot of hard work in the next year ahead of us. >> reporter: but the sprinter's journey his coach believes is not yet over. >> he is special. he's a champion. champions are born. i know it. i'm almost going for 40 years in training and i can see it. he's got all the abilities as a champion. and we did it gradually. >> reporter: he's become a bit of a hero. fans and sponsors lining up to meet the man known as "the blade runner."

oscar pistorius, south africa sprinter, who defines the olympic spirit. cnn, south africa. >> i just love that story. i feel a feeling he's going to have a lot of folks out there rooting for him worldwide when he competes in a few weeks, wolf. >> we wish him only the best of luck at the games. thanks, lisa. thanks very much. meanwhile, outrage over the firing of a florida life guard. he gets terminated. guess why? he gets terminated for saving the life of a drowning man, but guess what? doesn't end there. all the media attention leads to an unexpected twist of events. and more disturbing details emerging about a cruise ship nightmare. a passenger says the crew told him to skip the safety instructions and instead go gamble at the casino. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what?

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so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? outrage over the firing of a florida life guard. he saved the life of a drowning man then was promptly fired for doing it. cnn john zarrella is following this story. i understand he's now been offered his old job back i assume because of all of the uproar, but why was he fired in the first place for saving someone's life? >> reporter: you know, wolf, this story of the fired life guard is one of those cases where an apparent hasty decision by a local manager has led to

the absolutely kind of publicity that no company ever wants. tomas lopez gave the news to his friends and fellow lifeguards. he had just spoken with the company president. after three days, the decision was made they could have their job back. >> do you think you'll go back? >> reporter: lopez had already made up his mind. >> i said i humbly decline the invitation to get the job back. it's another chapter in my life closed and i'm going to continue to get my schooling finished and get on with my career. >> reporter: on monday lopez had no clue he would soon be the central figure in a you've got to be kidding kind of story that literally went viral. lopez was working a lifeguard stand. a beach goer runs over asking for help telling lopez someone is drowning.

>> he was guarding his zone to make sure it's still safe while he was off tower performing the rescue. and when he gets back a few minutes later we were informed he was fired. they let him go after he performed the rescue. >> reporter: that quickly? >> just a few minutes later, yes. they fired him basically on the spot. >> reporter: why? lopez says because he left his zone. and he didn't call 911 instead of running to help with the rescue in an area of the beach that as the sign reads is swim at your own risk. the orlando company, jeff ellis management, that provides under contract the lifeguard services for the beach told a local newspaper there are liability issues if lifeguards go out of their zone. city officials say it appears the company's decision was a bit hasty. >> the company made a knee-jerk reaction, the local management. that's why the president is coming down to make sure a full investigation is done. >> reporter: three lifeguards quit after the incident. two others were fired.

how come? because they say they told company officials they too would leave their zones breaking company policy if they had to. >> told us we were liabilities and had to be let go. >> reporter: we have not been able to reach the company for comment on any of this. lopez says he'd do it again every time. no regrets. >> i ended up going to bed knowing that i did the right thing and i could sleep sound at night that i tried to help. >> reporter: the man he helped is alive and recovering at a nearby hospital. and thursday the company was training new lifeguards on the beach. city officials told us the contractor with ellis runs until the end of september. they'll take a look at that point whether they're renew or open it up to bid. if they sign a new contract, city officials told us, wolf, they expect that all lifeguards will be retrained and that there will be some new policies in place. >> i guess the company is going

to review its entire structure. its policy in the aftermath of this huge, huge blunder. >> reporter: absolutely. the company in fact told tomas when they offered him his job back that, look, we're going to take a look at this policy to see if it makes any sense to not allow lifeguards to leave their zone because of liability issues. yet to see what actually happens with that policy. but i sure -- it's a tough position to be in certainly for this company, wolf. >> thanks very much. at least a life has been saved in the process. >> yes. >> john zarrella reporting. let's dig deeper now. erin burnett is joining us. you spoke to the lifeguard and his boss. give us the details. what did they say? >> it's not a story of what happened how he was sitting there and what they call guests, it was an interesting term to use. obviously very, very professional here. the company and the lifeguards.

he said two guests came running over saying someone is drowning, someone is drowning. so he immediately ran over. he said he didn't even think twice about it. that he wanted to do something to save someone's life. the question is now will there be a review of the policies, as john was saying. and will he get his job back? let me play a little clip of the conversation that i had with tomas and how i told him that his boss was with us. >> i've made it very clear beforehand that we will lose our job if we did violate this rule. but i wasn't going to let that stop me, you know. a stupid rule over someone's life. >> i wanted to bring in jeff ellis, we have him with us, tomas. he is of course -- >> okay. >> -- the man who runs the company. there he is. and, wolf, very interesting reaction between the two of them. i can tell you there was a conversation about whether tomas would come back and take his job. joe had a very specific question for him. i can also tell you joe said he's going to completely revamp

those policies. they said they're going to do that in conjunction with the city there and try to make some changes in exactly whether you know, you should be allowed to go outside your zone or not. but what i found most interesting was tomas getting offered his job back, which happens on our show and his response to whether he's going to go back and work as a lifeguard on that beach. >> yeah. a lifeguard is supposed to save lives. the first rule not necessarily to go through the guidelines and all of that. first rule is to save someone's life if you can. >> that's what he did. >> absolutely. we'll be watching 7:00 p.m. eastern later tonight. >> thanks, wolf. >> right here on cnn. president obama calls for help. is he worried that campaign weary voters are losing interest or losing heart? "time" magazine's editor rick stang el is standing by. soccer gets some new rules and new technology.

president obama kicked off a bus tour today. and he's urging supporters to keep fighting in that key battleground state. listen to this. >> it's easy sometimes, i think, to lose interest and lose heart when you hear what's going on in washington. and i'll be honest with you, i think there are some folks who

are betting that you will lose interest. i'm betting you're not going to lose heart. i still believe in you. i'm betting on you. and the country is betting on you, ohio. >> critical battleground state, ohio. joining us now is "time" magazine editor rick stengel. you heard the president there saying people are losing interest with what's going on in washington. here's the question, do you think the obama campaign is deeply, deeply worried about what's called voter fatigue? that they've lost the glimmer, shall we say, of the 2008 campaign? >> well, wolf, you can only be the first african-american candidate for president one time. now he's the president. he's campaigning as an incumbent. and i think he does need to get his groove back. but it can't be the same glimmer as you put it as 2008. he's now campaigning on his record. and he has to point people

towards the future, what he plans on doing. so he needs a whole different type of campaign than he had in 2008. >> he's got to get that spark, that interest, he's got to get huge voter turnout like he had in 2008 if he's going to win some of those battleground states. he won north carolina, virginia, indiana, last time states that don't necessarily always go to the democrat because of that huge voter turnout. now, look at this. research center out with new numbers today. they asked this question, do you expect this year's presidential campaign to be exhausting or annoying? among democrats 66% said exhausting. 53% said annoying. republicans, 67% exhausting, 66% annoying. independent, 69% exhausting, 70% annoying. that doesn't necessarily translate into a lot of voter enthusiasm on the democratic or republican side. >> well, wolf, let's be honest

about it. the campaign does go on too long. it is exhausting. i mean, we lead the world in exhausting campaigns. i mean, there was just an election in france. i think they did it in three weeks. the british elections take four weeks. i mean, it's not the kind of thing that we want to lead the world in. i think people are exhausted. they are exhausted by the republican primaries. so there definitely is an enthusiasm gap between 2008 and 2012 particularly for obama. and part of that is that people are fatigued from the campaign. and by the way, neither candidate is articulating or enunciating anything that's very exciting. >> you're absolutely right. but i do remember, i'm sure you agree, four years ago at least on the democratic side it was thrilling for so many people to see this campaign go on. they were just so excited. originally hillary clinton was potentially going to be the democratic nominee, then barack obama. for a lot of these democrats, it was just a thrilling, thrilling campaign. and that thrill seems to be gone right now. >> well, as i said, it was an

historic campaign because we elected the first african-american president. and now he's running on his record. he's running as an incumbent. and the thrill is gone in that respect. >> what about ohio? they've been to ohio so many times. the president i think has been becom20 times since he'se president of the united states, what, in the last few weeks romney has been there six times in the last few weeks alone. no republican has ever been elected president without carrying ohio. this is going to be tough for both of them. >> i think it is. i mean, there's that amazing persistence, as you were suggesting, wolf. with ohio being the ultimate battleground state. romney needs it to get to 270. and right now, i mean, ohio is an anomaly. their unemployment rate is lower than the national rate. the detroit bailout helped among ohio workers. and it looks good for obama.

he still struggles with the same group, white working class voters in ohio. >> rick, thanks for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. you may see a lot of different commercials at the olympics this summer. a group in london wants to ban, yes, ban two huge american companies including one that sponsored every olympic game since 1928. for our north american viewers, don't forget we have a lot more news coming up at the top of the hour. our new third hour of "the situation room" including some new storms hitting west virginia where many have been without power since friday. i'm an engineer and founder of little bits. these are little bits. little bits is a system of electronic modules stuck together with magnets. to teach kids about electronics and science and technology. one of my favorite things is

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here's a look at some of the hot shots this hour. look at this. in china rescue workers bravely evacuate residents from massive floods. in iraq, a policeman guards the shrine of a revered islamic leader during citywide celebrations. in moscow, a unique plower plant in the hood of a car is displayed at an international flower show. in england, prince charles holds a rare tree frog, i should say, the species was named in the prince's honor because of his environmental work.

those are some of the hot shot pictures coming in from around the world. some very well-known companies may be banned from advertising during the olympics. lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. lisa, what do you have? >> hi, wolf. a powerful governing "the situa" a powerful governing body in london is calling for a ban on sponsors that produce high calorie foods and beverages saying it sends the wrong message to kids. that would include coca-cola which has sponsored every olympic games since 1928 and mcdonald's, a partner since 1976. the international olympic committee still has to approve the measure, which seems very up likely considering the hundreds of millions of dollars that would be lost. and big news for soccer fans, especially if you've ever felt your team got robbed by a bad goal call. the sport's lawmakers have unanimously approved goal line technology. this is a historic step for a sport that's been resistant to that technology for years. it will help referees determine whether questionable goals crossed the line and will start

being used at the end of the year. archaeologists are calling is an exciting find. an ancient synagogue dating back to the fourth and fifth accept trees has been discovered in israel. it has an intricately crafted floor. an expert in the field calls the find significant and the floor is very high-quality artwork. and you never know what might pop up when you're picking up trash. a group in maine found a message in a bottle 12 years after a girl set it afloat in can today. it had her name, date and a brief message about where she launched that bottle. unfortunately, the girl was only 3 years old at the time and she says she doesn't remember floating the bottle with her parents' help. her brother wrote a note too. that bottle hasn't turned up as far as we know. >> maybe it will one of these days, you never know. judges are now releasing the captain of the infamous costa

concordia from house arrest where he's been since january. cnn senior international correspondent dan rivers is looking at the captain's involvement in that crash and what's being done to protect people now. >> reporter: immediately after the concordia disaster, the captain became a target for media around the world, especially when a caustic call between the captain and the coast guard was released showing the coast guard ordering the captain back on ship. >>. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: coastal executives like the vice president of marketing insist the company was blameless action given the

captain's actions. >> just like an airline captain who was going to land at charles de gaulle in paris going over the eiffel tower. you can do it but nobody expects a captain to be so irresponsible. >> the chances of something happening to somebody is so much greater because of the compaction. >> reporter: but u.s. senator jay rockefeller, who chaired a hearing into the industry weeks after the disaster says the company bears responsibility. >> the cruise ship is the captain. right? i mean he's not -- he didn't wander in on his own and start turning the wheel or pushing buttons. the company is the captain. the captain is the company. >> reporter: costa and some other lines have made changes since the concordia disaster. current regulations say there must be an assembly drill within 24 hours of embarkation.

those drills are held before a ship leaves port. that wasn't the case with the costa concordia. hector perez said safety officers went so far as to encourage passengers to ignore the lecture altogether. >> he told everybody that we're all adults here, that we came here to have fun and to go spend your money at the casinos, there's nice restaurants, to go to the restaurants and to basically just place your red emergency drill cards in front of the table and he will scan them on the way out. >> reporter: just last week, clia, the largest lobbying group announced changes in the way ships will handle emergencies. passengers will be given 12 instructions including how to don a life jacket, where to gather in an emergency and what to expect if an evacuation is ordered. some cruise lines are also beginning to look at the way the bridge is managed. as cruise ships have taken on more passengers and more size,

the captain's responsibilities have grown proportionately. a ceo says other officers need to be given more authority on board. >> we need to learn from this tragic accident and we have to move more towards a collective management of the bridge, through training. >> reporter: but european officials tell cnn they are deeply concerned by a shortage of qualified junior officers throughout the industry. there are concerns about the support staff as well. many of the service crew members are contract workers. they have little job security and often less than $1,000 and many don't speak english. costa insists on its ships there is rigorous training for every member of the crew, and they generally have a higher pay scale. >> the crew members are well

trained for sure. furthermore, we are checked by inspection from the italian coast guard. >> reporter: but many of the passengers who fought for their lives say the company was as much to blame as its captain. >> there was no real emergency plan. on ship or on shore. >> that report from dan rivers. the captain may be able to leave his home but he's been ordered to remain in his hometown while the case against him continues. to our international viewers, the news continues next but there's much more for our viewers here in north america, including a new and huge record for mitt romney. what it means for his campaign going forward. a scary day in london. police arrest six people on terrorism charges. what's even scarier, the olympic games are only three weeks away. the postal service is critical to our economy,

delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident,

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and outrage when firefighters stop to fill a private pool after a killer storm. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with mitt romney's latest headache, the "wall street journal." the newspaper's highly influential and conservative editorial page is blasting the republican presidential candidate big-time point after point after point. here's just one example. mr. romney promised republicans he was the best man to make the case against president obama, whom they desperately want to defeat. so far, mr. romney is letting them down. that's the quote. the newspaper is owned by rupert murdoch and is echoing what he's been tweeting the last few days, namely that romney's campaign

staff is weak and disorganized, desperately needs an injection of some top-notch professionals. the editorial blasts the confusion coming from the romney campaign following the supreme court ruling on health care. here's another quote. the latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign's instance lar staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity. mr. obama is being hurt by an economic recovery that is weakening for the third time in three years, but mr. romney hasn't been able to take advantage, and if anything, he is losing ground. so why is this a serious problem for mitt romney? because he desperately needs to really energize the republican base if, if he's going to win the presidency. the folks have to turn out in big numbers for him, especially in those critical battleground states. one of romney's top advisers, the former new hampshire governor, says the message is clear. >> everybody in the campaign pays attention to what their

friends say, and "the wall street journal" is a friend of free enterprise and mitt romney is the free enterprise candidate in this campaign. so they're going to pay attention to what they hear from "the wall street journal." >> i've covered politics for a long time and i know that the republican leadership around the country, the people who actually bring out the vote are very influenced by the editorial writers of "the wall street journal." when they see the headline "romney's tax confusion" they worry. when they also see the newspaper start comparing mitt romney to the 2004 democratic presidential candidate, john kerry, they worry even more. let's get the news right now from kate bolduan. she has some of the important headlines that are happening right now. >> i like your take but i'd like to take our viewers first to london. police arrested six people on terrorism charges. one of them worked for the police a few years ago as a security support officer.

the arrests came at an early stage of plotting relating to islamic militancy rather than the upcoming olympics. but with the games just over three weeks away, british authorities soon will be installing anti-aircraft missiles like these on top of apartment buildings around london and that also is getting a lot of attention. for the first time in seven months, trucks carrying supplies to nato troops crossed from pakistan into afghanistan today. islamabad shut down the crucial supply routes in november when coalition forces mistakenly killed 24 pakistani troops. finding new routes cost the u.s. an extra $100 million a month, but this week secretary of state hillary clinton apologized for the incident and the routes have been reopened. we now have the final word on what happened to air france flight 447. poorly trained pilots and bad sensors caused the plane to plunge belly first into the atlantic ocean three years ago killing all 228 people on board. that's according to the final

report from the french safety board. it says the plane started losing speed seven miles in the air and one of the pilots pulled back the throttle instead of pushing the nose down. that triggered even more problems. the plane stalled, then crashed just four minutes later. wolf spoke to richard quest just a short time ago about this new report. >> what surprised you the most, if anything? >> reporter: well, what surprised me was the lack of what's called crm, cruise resource management, with the relationship between the three members of the crew. for 54 seconds there was a stall warning. stall, stall, stall, stall. this thing blairs out in the cabin. and yet not once do the two co-pilots or the captain refer to this. time and again you hear them wondering what's happened, what's gone wrong. and yet the captain doesn't take control and the more senior first officer doesn't take

control. so those come back to this big picture that this is about piloting, it's about airmanship, bts it's about a culture in the cockpit and that's what it's about, not whether there's this bit of technology or this bit of protection or this bit of fly by wire. >> air france released a statement acknowledging that it was a, quote unquote, cop nation of several factors, technical and human, that led to the loss of the aircraft. also the bodies of two turkish pilots shot down by syria two weeks ago have been found off the syrian coast along with pieces of their jet. american ocean explorer robert ballard actually helped with the recovery. he's most famous for discovering the wreckage of the titanic back in the 1980s. a spokesman for the turkish foreign ministry says he reached out to ballard because his crew and his vessels specialize in deep-water missions. that same foreign minister said they were lucky, wolf, that the

nautlist was docked in istanbul at the very same time. >> lucky is one thing but also solid professional work. >> being good is also important. >> thanks very much, kate. if the syrian regime is about to splinter, it may begin like this. a key general with very close family ties with president bashar al assad has fled to turkey. his father served as the defense minister to bashar al assad's father over three decades. just recently the deputy prime minister told me here in the situation room if bashar al assad starts losing his officer corps, he can't hold on for long. a top general says when the military starts to desert in large numbers it will be, and i'm quoting the israeli deputy prime minister, quote, the end of bashar al assad. last year mass uprisings in tunisia, egypt and libya led to the ouster of their leaders.

we saw moammar gadhafi dragged through the streets, we saw hosni mubarak caged in a courtroom after a long and bloody conflict. could bashar al assad be next in line? let's talk about it with fran townsend, a former homeland security adviser to president george w. bush. if this report is true, that he has now defected, a huge guy in syria and the syrian military, fran, this would be huge. >> absolutely, wolf. not only is he in the republican guard, which is a very close -- it's meant to protect assad and the senior members of the regime. it's meant to sort of enforce regime stability, but this is a close personal friend of bashar al assad's and that makes the defection all the more damaging. let's remember his father was the minister of defense for decades when bashar al assad's father was ruling the country. and so this is really a blow, not only sort of in fact but sort of to the psyche of the military. we understand him to have been very well respected and well

regard eed by his troops. look, this isn't the first. remember we had the jet pilot who defected with his plane to jordan recently. but this is certainly the closest senior military person that we're aware of defecting most recently. >> here's what i know, and tell me if you can elaborate on this, that all sorts of actions are now happening, a lot of them covert, to encourage top generals in the syrian military to defect. whether they're being warned, for example, of war crimes tribunals, international criminal court or whether some in the region are offering money to them, safety to their families, there's a major effort right now to break the syrian military away from bashar al assad. what are you hearing? >> wolf, we should assume that's the case. after all we know such tactics were used during the war in iraq, during the action in libya. this is sort of a standard tactic of western governments

and their allied intelligence services around the world. if you can get people -- remember, in libya they got the foreign minister, a very close ally of gadhafi's, to defect to italy. so this is sort of a standard tactic of western governments. you can be certain that there's a coalition of countries working on that as we speak. >> it's not just western governments, countries like the united arab emirates, qatar, saudi arabia, other countries in the region who have a lot of money and a lot of influence, as you well know, fran, they are working behind the scenes i have been told as well. >> absolutely, wolf. and they have, because of their connections both family and tribal, those arab governments have some of the best connections into syria. remember, you know, the assads are an alowite family but there is a majority sunni, there is a shia population. this general was a sunni general so when you talk about the influence of arab governments,

governments like saudi arabia, qatar, the uae are hugely influential with the sunni population in syria. >> i remember covering the defense minister of syria for a long time, the father of this general, so that's an important issue. one of the things i'll just add and i'll let you go is that what's motivating a lot of these arab countries is that they recognize that if bashar al assad goes down, this is a huge loss for iran, for the ayatollah, for president ahmadinejad and they would like to see a strategic setback for iran. a battle of the buses. president obama hits the road in his big black bus, but the romney campaign isn't very far behind. what's going on? we're live with the duelling tours in the battleground state of ohio. plus, disturbing video that's getting a lot of attention. a mother egging on two kids in a

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the campaign battle for ohio is now a battle of the buses with both the obama and romney campaigns driving across this critical battleground state. while romney only has surrogates on the ground, the president himself is rolling through ohio. so is dan lothian, traveling with the president. dan, what was the president's message today? ir >> reporter: well, it's all about the economy, wolf, that he is pushing to create more jobs, make sure that some of those jobs that were outsourced can be brought back here to the united states. we're on the bus right now headed to parma, ohio, right outside cleveland where the president will continue talking about the economy. this is a state where the president is currently leading his opponent, mitt romney, but this race continues to be very competitive so the president is getting out, meeting folks here,

hoping that he can repeat his 2008 victory here come november. it's a more retail style approach, but unlike the president's other official bus trips last year, this one has campaign written all over it. there's a big presidential seal on the door, and the venue in the small city of maumee, ohio, has been carefully staged. white picket fences, a large american flag and then a story about his daughter. >> and then it was malia's birthday yesterday. when she was small, i could say all these fireworks i had arranged for her birthday. but she doesn't believe me anymore. >> reporter: but his speech turned tough when the president took on his opponent's business experience. >> governor romney's experience has been in owning companies that were called pioneers of outsourcing. that's not my phrase. pioneers of outsourcing.

>> reporter: it's a message that resonates with this crowd. unemployment in ohio is below the national average of 8.2% but the people of this city have experienced the highs and lows of the manufacturing industry, from gm and chrysler on life support, to a recovery and new investments in the region that the president said were possible because of his administration's auto bailout. >> governor romney said we should just let detroit go bankrupt. i refused to turn by back on communities like this one. >> reporter: and as if on cue, although the campaign denies political motivation, the administration is filing a complaint with the world trade organization against china for unfair tariffs on some american-made autos. >> we're going to make sure that competition is fair. >> reporter: while the president was making that case and defending his economic policies, not far away romney surrogates were knocking down what mr. obama was playing up. former presidential candidate tim pawlenty and louisiana governor bobby jindal are on

their own bus tour shadowing the president. >> his presidency has been a losing hand for ohio and for america. >> we know that we are not better off than we were four years ago. >> reporter: the president says the republicans don't have real solutions and that a full recovery will take time. that's the message he took to his second stop at an ice cream social in sandusky. >> it's not enough just to recover and get back to where we were before the crisis, we've still got to address this basic challenge of how do we build a strong middle class and make sure that the next generation has the same opportunities that we did. and that's a long-term project. it's not going to happen overnight. >> reporter: the president will make a total of six scheduled stops in two key battleground states. following a final event in parma near cleveland, the president will visit poland, pennsylvania, and pittsburgh on friday. we're live again back on the bus. it's the press bus headed to

parma, ohio, the president's final event of the evening. now, one other thing the romney surrogates in addition to the surrogates here on the ground, we noticed something else up in the air. at the first event before the president arrived this morning, there was a small airplane pulling a large banner. on that banner it said "romney 2012." so this is obama's bus tour, but romney's presence certainly being felt here. >> dan lothian on the bus. very, very cool to get you live from the bus. thanks very much. what a month for mitt romney in june. he took in a huge fund-raising haul, more than $100 million. that's a big jump from the $77 million he raised in may. let's bring in our chief political correspondent, host of "state of the union," candy crowley. a huge hall for mitt romney and the republican party. what kind of reaction are you hearing from the democrats? >> reporter: first of all, just on the money scene, the impression you get, and i talked to several democrats in and around the president's

re-election campaign, do not expect that they are going to beat that number this month. they sort of set that stage a couple of weeks ago, saying mitt romney is going to have some good fund-raising months. he's going to outraise us. they certainly expect that to be the case in june, although they're not willing to put numbers to that yet. so they will not raise as much money as mitt romney has. but they also say, listen, the reason they put these numbers out is that he wants to draw the attention away from what they believe has been a very rough couple of weeks for mitt romney. so they believe that romney and the romney campaign wanted to get some good news out there. as far as why is romney raising so much that democrats are saying, listen, in essence he's getting a lot of low-happeningilow-happeninnging fruit. now he can go back to the folks that supported him in the primary and ask for general election money and go back to those who supported others in the primary and say now is the time to give to the guy that's going to be the candidate.

they also say, listen, john kerry outraised george bush nearly every month after kerry sort of secured the nomination. they're not saying that's going to happen, but they point that out and we all know that george bush won the election. i think that's the lesson we're supposed to draw that anecdote. >> one difference is those huge super pacs and the pro-republican, pro-romney super pacs will get a lot more money than the pro-obama, pro-democrat super pacs. the republicans will have a lot more money. i think that's a fair assessment. candy, thanks for coming in. kate. >> money is a huge, huge part of the game this election cycle. i want to get everyone caught up on what is trending now in "the situation room." a fourth of july boat trip to watch fireworks ends unfortunately in disaster when the boat capsizes off of long

island. three children are now dead. number three on our trending list, a very old map that labels a new world as america has been discovered in germany. it's a centuries old copy of a map from 1507 that krieschriste the continent on paper. the original list is -- the rest is coming up. you are in "the situation room." great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing.

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congressman jesse jackson jr. is sicker than previously thought. his office says his medical condition is worse than first disclosed, but they won't say what exactly he is suffering from. we've made some calls, but they are remaining tight-lipped at the moment. the son of the civil rights leader, jesse jackson, has been on leave from congress since early june. he's currently at an in-patient facility and his office says he will require extended treatment. of course we wish him the best. and a new bail and new

restrictions on the man charged with shooting to death an unarmed black teenager, trayvon martin. a judge has set george zimmerman's bond at $1 million, of which he'll have to put up $100,000. the judge has imposed a curfew on zimmerman and barred him on getting a passport or going to any airport. we talked a lot about this story last night. tonight we can report things look a little better in storm-ravaged west virginia where some 240,000 people still have no electricity and many have little food. the state's homeland security department tells us 45,000 meals were delivered today. they also dispatched 22 trucks, each one capable of supplying clean water to 5,000 people. new storms today, unfortunately, didn't help repair cruise. tv station wowk report lightning hit the state capitol's 911 system but it is still working. here's important we wanted to make sure we told you all about. to find out how you can impact

your world and help hungry storm victims in west virginia, we talked a lot about this yesterday, go to cnn.com/impact to see how you can help. it's getting better. i can't believe they got hit with another storm last night. >> that's sad. the fact that people are still hungry. they're working, doing the best they can to get food. >> it's getting better. >> it's still shocking. >> something people can help with. there's some video i want to show you are viewers. it's almost too disturbing to show but we're going to do it anyhow. it's generating a lot of attention around the country. it shows a mother allegedly encouraging a fistfight among children, not even out of diapers. watch this. [ crying ]

>> hit him back. >> painful to watch this. our affiliate ktvi in missouri got ahold of the video which was posted on facebook. missouri's department of social services tells them it isn't able to comment on specific cases. it's pretty shocking. >> it was tough to watch. the affiliate had spoken to, i think, someone -- they had someone else on the piece that they had put together and everyone is just horrified by what they were looking at. i had a hard time watching myself. all right. we've got a lot more news coming up. a critical jobs report out tomorrow. what it might mean for president obama and for the mitt romney campaign, we're going to debate that next. plus a fire department fiasco. emergency calls pouring in after a killer storm but one crew is busy. guess what, they're filling

someone's swimming pool. that's coming up at 47 past the hour. i'm feeling a very strong male spirit present. it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator?

happening now, outrage. firefighters tending to a swimming pool instead of helping storm victims. the republican veep stakes and a closer look at two top contenders. plus a spectacular fourth of july failure. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room."

president obama and his challenger, mitt romney, they are now bracing for the new jobs report that's due out tomorrow morning, 8:30 a.m. eastern. kate, they're going to be looking at this, studying it. there's going to be fallout. >> they're going to be looking at it, we're going to be looking at it, that's absolutely right. we are going to get the june unemployment numbers from the labor department 8:30 eastern tomorrow morning. if it's good news, the president will use it as ammo to show he's boosting the economy. if it's bad news, you can be assured mitt romney will say it's evidence the president's policy aren't working. the unemployment ralt is 8.2%. but there's something else to keep an eye on here, the number of jobs added. it's been steadily going down this year. take a look at this. in january, 275,000 jobs were created. in february, it was 259,000 new jobs. that dipped 143,000 new jobs.

in march, 77,000 new jobs. in may 69,000 new jobs. analysts say the economy needs to create about 125,000 new jobs each month just to hold the unemployment rate where it is. this is definitely something we're going to be watching. >> see if that trend continues to go down or begins to go back up a little bit. we'll see what happens tomorrow. let's talk about what's going on with our panelists right now. joining us our cnn contributor, ryan lizza, a washington correspondent for "the new yorker." also neara tanden, the president for the center of american progress. a former senior adviser to president obama on health care, douglas a kin is president of the action forum, former director of the budget office under the former george w. bush administration. also helped john mccain four years ago. thanks for awfll of you coming .

the trend lines we've seen not good. it's got to start picking up over the next four months. this right direction, wrong direction is a critical factor in getting an incumbent re-elected. >> that's true. we've seen people's views of how they're going to be a year out, two years out is improving. we had a poll that 58% of americans think they will be better off in the next year. that's an important issue. trend lines are important. gas prices are coming down. we still have headwinds from europe. so we'll all be anxiously looking at this set of issues. i think for this election the question is really not only what these numbers are saying but really who has the right vision. today bill crystal really criticized mitt romney for not having an economic vision. and i agree with him. >> he's a conservative. he's a republican. you agree with him for different reasons than what he was suggesting. >> but doug, on the unemployment numbers, this is definitely your area, it seems for the challenger the it's kind of a catch-22. the romney campaign of course

wants the unemployment rate to go down. it's good for the country but in a catch-22 situation, it might not be good politics because it might help president obama. >> well, i think actually there's a bigger opportunity than that, because almost regardless of tomorrow's report, it's not going to be good enough to put the p in good standing. most people are expecting something that looks a lot like the last two months, which are very disappointing. the unemployment rate could tick up or down but the real opportunity lies on the insides of this, which is in this recovery, we've seen no real growth in incomes. so for those who have jobs, they're not getting any better off. and tomorrow's report you ought to look inside and see if that changes. if that doesn't change, that's a big problem for president obama. that's the swing state problem. >> he makes a fair point because there's a lot of people who do have jobs now, but not necessarily at the salary they used to have and not necessarily full-time jobs, but they're listed as being employed. >> absolutely. if you look historically at the best economic indicator that's correlated with who wins the

presidency, it is disposable income. it is money in your pockets. not necessarily the unemployment rates, although the direction matters, but it's how much money do you have in your pocket when you go into that voting booth. i think we're getting into the area here, july and august, where these -- you know, voters are myopic. they look at the most recent economic indicators and the most recent status of their situation. we're getting into the danger zone for obama where he won't be able to reverse these numbers if they get bad. i think the worse the economic numbers get, the harder the obama campaign will hit mitt romney. if they can't win on their record and the economy, they have got to destroy romney. >> we're talking maybe 10% who are undecided or might switch their votes. 45% or so are basically going to vote for president obama. 45% or so are basically going to vote for mitt romney. so this 10% that's fluid, they're going to be influenced by economic trends over the next few months. >> yeah, but i think i really want to focus on this point about what the solutions are. i think the challenges -- i do

think people recognize it's not just a question of the economic circumstances, it really is who has the best vision going forward. and i think that the reason why mitt romney is taking this level of criticism that he is, even in a time where he's doing well by some measures, is because people are really -- people on the right are concerned that he doesn't have a vision for this economy. and i think that is a real challenge for mitt romney. >> the "wall street journal" lead editorial -- >> it's true and that's a wake-up call. i certainly didn't need coffee this morning as i read it. but i think there's going to start to be the same challenge to the president who has said not one thing about what he would do in a second term. so i think you can make that claim only so far and then both are going to be challenged to say what are you going to do, you know, come january 2013 exactly. >> the president has put forward ideas over and over again to get this economy moving that have been stalled by republicans. a transportation bill that should have been a no-brainer

had to wait until the last minute. he has put forward ideas. i agree he should put forward additional ideas. >> stick around, you guys are not leaving. up next, president obama had some company on the campaign trail courtesy of the romney camp. we'll talk about the dueling bus tour. stay with us, you're in "the situation room." an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy?

let's get back to our discussion here. ryan lizza is here, neera is here and douglas is here as well. let me start with you, douglas. all these potential vice presidential running mates for mitt romney. when you take a look at them, they're all pretty qualified, they're serious guys, if you will, but most of the american people have never heard of them outside of their respective states. we've got some numbers we'll show you. tim pawlenty, bobby jindal. not necessarily well known to people out there. >> well, i don't think actually that's a big concern because in my view, the vice presidential choice never takes a ticket upward but it can hurt a ticket. you have to make sure you pick someone who is qualified to step in should the circumstances arise and all of these have been mentioned. >> are you surprised, neera,

that they're following the obama bus in ohio? these are governors, former governor, a current governor. they're the surrogates. usually you send somebody like you or somebody else. >> oh, my god. >> get out of here. go! >> i think you meant to say doug. >> you send doug sometimes. you send a robert gibbs, a stephanie cutter, somebody like that, axelrod occasionally. but to send sitting governors, is that a little unusual? >> i think it's a little humiliating honestly to try to be a vp and to do that you always want to say yes. when they ask you to do something like be a surrogate against the president, a sitting -- >> it's like the romney olympics that they have up there. romney's family, they get together and compete. he's sending these guys out. it's called bracketing. >> so you think they're being tested? >> i think he's making them work for a little bit. but it is new. >> it's shallow. >> i don't remember this happening in '08 or in '04. he's much more aggressive.

>> we also know ann romney, mitt romney's wife is also getting into veep stakes. take a listen to what she said. >> do you think you should nominate a woman? >> we've been looking at that and i'd love that option as well. so, you know, there's a lot of people that mitt is considering right now. >> that was in an interview with cbs. we were kind of thinking of the list of possible women that mitt romney could be considering. we're talking senator kelly ayett, who knows, condoleezza rice, governor nikki haley, maybe governor mary falland. what's the likelihood that you think there's going to be a woman that's in real contention here for the vice presidential slot? >> i think senator ayotte could be in real contention. >> she wasn't very experienced. >> she's not. >> do you think she's qualified to be president? do you think she's got enough domestic, economic and national

security experience to, god forbid, step in and be president? >> i think she's going to get serious vetting, i do. will she get over that hurdle? i don't know. the real issue is that so many of the one that say we see, governors and the like, have taken themselves out of the running. it's going to be hard to find -- >> condoleezza rice said -- >> i was looking at the list of female republican senators, female republican governors and depressingly there are not too many. >> kay bailey hutchison, she is a talented, smart, energetic -- >> congressman kathy mcmorris rogers -- >> her people have been whispering to us in the press in washington trying to get her name out a little bit more. conservatives really like her. she's the only female republican in the house leadership. >> she took a big role with health care. >> i would say with the challenges that mitt romney has had with women over the last several months, i am surprise that he had they aren't putting out a woman or a few women out there more.

i mean they are putting her name out but it seems clear she's not in the first four categories. the first four is all men. and what's surprising about them is they're not particularly exciting candidates. >> isn't that a good thing maybe? >> they may not be exciting, but they're qualified. if you look at like rob portman is not exciting, the senator from ohio. former budget director, former special trade representative. i mean from ohio too. he may not be the most lively kind of guy, but he's very intelligent and certainly qualified, don't you think, to be president? >> and these picks say more about the candidate, the guy at the top of the ticket, than the person who's underneath. i think romney will go with someone safe. he'll overcompensate for the lessons of 2008 when palin is judged as a disastrous candidate for mccain and he'll do something -- he'll do another governor who's competent, qualified and tell you about his decision-making. >> that's right. he's going to overcompensate. i think good vp candidates have really brought out or accentuated positive elements.

al gore with bill clinton sent a message. i'm not sure what the tim pawlenty/mitt romney message is. >> tim paw lenty is a smart guy, two-term governor of minnesota. he's qualified. may not be the most dynamic -- >> we can talk about it until then. >> we'll continue to talk about it. stand by, guys. more news coming up, including an outrage right here in the nation's capital, and it seems ridiculous, but listen to this. filling a swimming pool instead of helping storm victims. what was the washington, d.c., fire department thinking? we have details.

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back to our list of what's trending in "the situation room" right now. number four, three children die off the coast of long island when a boat capsizes during a fourth of july trip. number three on our list, check out this very old map that labels the new world as america. it's a centuries old copy of a map from 1507 that christened the continent on paper. and number two on our trending list, goal line technology is coming to the soccer field. it was unanimously approved by soccer's governing body after months of exhausting tests.

the technology will help refs determine when a goal is actually a goal. and number one on our trending list today, a florida lifeguard who got fired for saving a swimmer outside of his coverage zone can have his job back if he wants it. but 21-year-old tomas lopez tells cnn he doesn't plan on going back. you can hear his side of the story next hour when he'll appear on "erin burnett outfront." >> saved a life, he's a good guy. >> i think everyone is on his side on this one. >> i think you're right. the fire department here in washington, d.c., is fighting a major fire of its own right now, struggling to explain why one of its units took almost an hour away from the fear and devastation across the city to fill up a private swimming pool in the hours immediately after friday's killer storm. lisa sylvester has been looking into this story for us and it's the nation's capital. it's not supposed to happen, but what happened? >> this is one of those stories that's hard to believe but it is true. the d.c. fire department does take community requests. for example, to bring a fire truck to a school or to have firefighters out for a parade.

well, this was one of those special requests, but this one should have been immediately denied. but oddly enough, it was not. and now the d.c. fire department is in hot water. trees down, dangling electrical medical emergencies in the aftermath of the storm. as a result, the fire department had triple the numberrmal of no calls but in the middle of it all, what was this d.c. engine fire crew tasked with? filling this private small above ground pool in someone's yard. neighbor fredda brooks watched it all happened. >> i was more in shock. i couldn't believe it. because i didn't know they could come and do that. so yeah. >> reporter: they are not actually supposed to do that. >> i kind of figured that. >> reporter: this fire hydrant had to be open to fill up the pool with a total of about a thousand gallons of water and took firefighters about an hour to get the job done. we knocked on the homeowner's door but there was no answer. while the fire department was filling up this one-person's

private pool, the neighbors here say they were suffering in the heat. they didn't have electricity for four days. the firefighters local union president says even the engine 30 fire crews thought the request was unusual. the fire department doesn't go around filling up private pools. >> i did talk to some of the firefighters that were involved and had concern thought they could have been out doing all of the work, especially given the storm. >> reporter: but these firefighters had their orders and they are trained to follow them. so how could this have happened? the homeowner made the request on thursday. friday, the storm hit. and the job was done on saturday. i asked the d.y. fire chief what in the world his people were thinking. he says the request to fill the pool was immediately denied. >> i ran it up the flag pole and they were told not to do it but, unfortunately, that information was not communicated down to the company level. we found out where the breakdown is and we are going to have to take appropriate action. >> reporter: a battalion chief is now being reprimanded and the

fire chief is saying to d.c. residents, sorry. is this ever going to happen again where you're going to fill a private pool? >> no. >> reporter: the fire chief insists there is no personal connection between that homeowner and anyone at the fire department but it's amazing that this even government past the initial homeowner's phone call, because the fire department doesn't serve as a pool company and, by the way, wolf, when we got to that pool, it was actually empty. >> why? >> exactly. >> we looked at it and they have been part of the problem but they have been taking a lot of heat for this so i think it's very possible that the homeowner just emptied out the water but in the middle of that pool you could see a gaping hole. >> maybe the water just seeped out. >> i think the water just seeped out and i think a lot of people are frustrated after all of that there is no water. >> the fire department has more important things to do than fill little people's little pools. >> i would agree. >> lisa, thank you. 20-minutes fireworks display in 30 seconds? they all went off at once. jeanne moos is next.

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the closest taco bell was a thousand miles away. people were disappointed to say the least enough to attract the attention of taco bell executives to arrange for this special taco air lift. >> smart work on their part. >> i think we should start a twitter campaign to get something air-lifted to cnn lunch tomorrow. look at this. pfs supposed to be a fireworks spectacular. instead, it was a spectacular failure. here is cnn's jeanne moos.

>> reporter: you're looking at fireworks where the fire worked just not the timing. ♪ we will we will rock you ♪ >> reporter: it really rocked san diego. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: all of the fireworks intended for an entire 20-minute show went off at the same time. it was over in under 30 seconds. >> thank you. it was a sensation. >> reporter: it's always hard to tell when a fireworks display is over. you're always asking, was that the finale? was that it? same here. >> that was it! >> maybe that was everything! >> that wasn't supposed to happen, was it? >> no. >> no way. >> they set them all off at once? >> reporter: you betcha. gardenstate fireworks, a company famous for its shows, says the snafu may have been caused by a

corrupted file in a computer glinch that launched every firework. >> i wish i could unring a bell, but i can't. >> reporter: at least unring the car alarms. the short, but intense, show, was a disappointment to some but not all. >> i was not expecting that! that was awesome! >> that was a good start. you don't often see the grand finale at the beginning. >> reporter: on the intent thr they call this an epic fail. the ultimate fireworks fail compilation set to music. ♪ i wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me ♪ >> reporter: at least no one was hurt in the san diego blowout. the coast guard had a technical term for the fireworks fiasco. >> a, quote, premature ignition.

>> reporter: leaving one poster to quip, i square to you, this has never happened to me before. even after the fireworks were spent, the music played on. ♪ what so proudly we hail ♪ >> reporter: in the land of the free, feel free to cheer. feel-free ignition. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> america, woo-hoo! >> at least no one was hurt. my favorite segment is we call the "ask wolf" segment and you can ask wolf a question and we will answer it on air when we have an opportunity. matthew writes via twitter. wolf, how difficult would it be to repeal the health care law if romney is elected? >> it would be difficult if the democrats continue to maintain a majority in the senate. it would be a lot easier for the republicans to do it if romney