i'm susan hendricks in for t.j. holmes.hanks for starting your day with us. >>> former first lady betty ford, widow of late president gerald ford, died last night. beyond her public battle with breast cancer her lasting legacy may be the treatment abuse center that bears her name. >>> in africa congo state news agency reporting the deaths of at least 90 people after a passenger jet crashed yesterday at an airport in the northeastern part of the country. the plane was trying to land in bad weather when it hit an obstacle on the ground. >>> in los angeles, it is day two of the duke and duchess of cambridge in tinseltown. plenty of hand shaking and sight seeing for the recently married royal couple. today prince william is set to play in a charity polo match while kate watches from the stands. >>> more arrests in a tabloid phone hacking scandal in britain. andy coulson, former aide to prime minister david cameron, turned himself in. he was released. he wias editor of "news of the world" at the time of the scandal. the paper's

i'm t.j. holmes, welcome to this cnn saturday morning, and it's a holiday weekend where minnesota's state government is shut down. that could take a toll on some of the more vulnerable people in that state. we're talking about services for the deaf, child care subsidies for the poor, and help lines for the disabled. none of those services are available because lawmakers could not compromise on a budget. also, 20,000 state workers are without their jobs right now. cnn's chris welch joins me now from st. paul. good morning to you. and you help us understand just how many people in the state right now are being affected by this shutdown. >> t.j., i'd be surprised if anyone would say they weren't affected, you know, in any way. but first of all, it's the fourth of july weekend and all these state parks and rest stops, they're all closed, and a lot of people are traveling today. that's just a minimal impact on -- with what's going to be happening with this. because you mentioned it in the intro. a lot of

t.j. holmes. >>> good morning. we are almost out of time. now less than three days away from a possible u.s. default. democrats and republicans were scrambling last night and they will be scrambling again today in washington. both houses of congress will be in session, trying to find a way out of this legislative standoff. >>> meanwhile, governments, local governments, have problems of their own right now, facing a major crisis in alabama where one county is getting set for what could be the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history. >>> good morning to you all. thank you for spending part of your weekend with us. i'm t.j. holmes. we do need to start with a debate that was supposed to be over already. we are less than three days from a possible u.s. default. this clock is still ticking and a deal is not done. we are expecting a lot of action on capitol hill today. both houses in session, but whether there's going to be any real progress, that's anybody's guess. this is what we've got going on today. the house starts debate at noon with th

i'm t.j. holmes.pecial guest in the studio here with us coming up. >>> let's go to the big story. we have less than three days to raise the nation's debt ceiling or we have a problem. the house and senate are both in session this afternoon. they are planning debates and votes on a democratic proposal from senate majority leader harry reid. >> the bill has passed. without objection, the bill to reconsider is laid upon the table. >> that is the gavel falling on boehner's plan. it passed by one vote after john boehner made changes to attract more republican support. >> a lot of people can never say yes. this house has acted. it is time for the administration and time for our colleagues across the aisle. put something on the table. tell us where you are. [ applause ] >> now the boehner bill didn't go anywhere in the senate. they are now focusing on senate majority leader harry reid's proposal. he is change the plan from the republican plan. republican leaders might end up blocking that vote. >> what these

i'm susan hendricks in this morning for t.j. holmes. she is being remembered as an incredible woman, extraordinary first lady. betty ford dies at the age of 93. we'll take a closer look at her life. >>> and while the country's unemployment line got longer last month we had some positive job news. ford is hiring at one of the plants. plus this -- celebrations are in the air if world is welcoming its newest country today. we will take you to south sudan live. >>> we begin with this. the death of former first lady betty ford. she was 93 years old. ford was surrounded by family when she passed away last night. she became first lady when her husband gerald ford became president in 1974. to heing the resignation of richard nixon. betty ford made headlines when she revealed her bat with breast cancer. then she entered a rehab center. it was a place for sentity and others to get the help they needed to fight addictions. president obama spoke out. mrs. ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much

i'm susan hendricks in for t.j. holmes this morning.o much for starting your day with us. checking top stories, former first lady, betty ford, the widow of late president gerald f ford, died last night. mrs. ford's lasting legacy may be the substance abuse treatment center that bears her name, helping millions. betty ford died at the age of 93. >>> the republic of south sudan is hoisting the flag of the new nation. people there voted overwhelmingly to separate the government in khartoum. >>> and in los angeles, it is day two of the duke and duchess of cambridge touring tinseltown. plenty of sightseeing and hand shaking for the recently married couple. today the prince is set to play in a charity polo match. >>> want to take you live now to washington, where the dalai lama has taken the stage. you're looking at it as it is happening. he is there to promote world peace. >>> two, one, zero, and liftoff! the final liftoff of "atlantis," on the shoulders of the space shuttle, america will continue the dream. >> what a sight to see. that was

i'm t.j. holmes. glad you could spend part of our weekend here with us. we've been talking about that clock. we didn't think it would get down to this, but it keeps on a-ticking on congress. both houses in session today. here's a rundown on what they plan on doing today. and there's that clock that we speak of. just under two days away from a time when we're told by the treasury, this country will not be able to pay all of its bills. so let me give you the rundown of what's happening today. the house gets to work around noontime today. that's just about two hours from now. after some debate, they'll vote on a proposal from senate majority leader, harry reid. that proposal is expected to fail. then on the senate side, they open debate on that same reid bill at 1:00 eastern time this afternoon. the debate there could go on for some 12 hours. now, it may not be until a lot of us are asleep that the senate gets to vote on that reid bill. the senate has moved on to the reid bill after deciding not to vote on the bill from house speaker john boehner. >> the nay

i'm t.j. holmes. let's start with new video.t on the town with his wife. hours before this scene, a judge released him from house arrest. he, of course, the former head of the international monetary fund who is accused of sexually assaulting a new york hotel maid. there were problems with the accuser's testimony. susan candiotti has more. >> reporter: prosecutors laid it out for the judge in court and in a letter to the defense. they said they turned up troubling outright lies by the maid. among them, her story changed about where she was and what she did right after strauss-kahn allegedly assaulted her in his hotel suite. at first, she said she waited in the hallway until her supervisor came. she later admitted she cleaned another room and came back to dsk's suite. she lied about a gang rape in a political asylum application. she admitted faking information to the irs about her dependents and income. she told other lies they did not detail. the maid's attorney would have none of it. he made an impassioned defense about her. he

i'm t.j. holmes, coming to you live from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia. thank you for being here. as always, we want to say good morning to the servicemen and women watching us right now on the american forces network. thank you for being here and what you do. >>> it will be a big day in the casey anthony murder trial. closing arguments in that murder trial is just a few hours away. court is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. casey anthony, as you know, accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee yesterday. there was a vigil for caylee near the spot where her body was found. the case expected to go to the jury after closing arguments. this all began in late may. casey anthony facing seven charges, including capital murder. that means she could face the death penalty if she's found guilty. the defense and prosecution both wrapped up their cases last week. casey anthony decided not to testify in her own defense. more on that throughout the morning. >>> also, a jailhouse phone call is raising more questions about the accuser in the dominiq

i'm t.j. holmes. glad you could spend part of your weekend here with us.y and 17 hours, as you see there, we could be in unchartered territory. that clock is ticking but in the meantime, there are three important deadlines we're keeping an eye on. so yes that one is one. the first one today is at 1:00 eastern time. 1:00 this afternoon is when a vote is scheduled in the senate. majority leader harry reid's plan, that's the vote that was supposed to take place overnight but was delayed late in the evening. the second deadline we're watching is at 8:00 eastern today. what's that? when the asian markets open. you'll remember the u.s. stock market had its worst week last week in over a year. so what happens today in asia could set the tone for what could be another rough week on wall street. and then finally, the clock we just showed you, tuesday, that is the big deadline we're watching. that's when the federal government says it will be out of money, not going to be able to pay all of the bills. they'll have to decide which ones to pay. that's when the u.s. co

i'm t.j. holmes. maybe you missed a few things on your friday night.'t close to the television. let me tell you what you missed. a wild day in washington d.c. this was all a big back and forth with president obama and the house speaker john boehner. the two got off the usual script and called each other out last night on the debt ceiling. it resulted in boehner walking away from the debt talks. that was really what got this whole thing going. he said he did not want to negotiate with the white house anymore. he will turn to capitol hill. president obama called him right back to the white house with other congressional leaders today. that meeting will take place at the white house here in just a few hours. let me now let you listen to the back and forth. the tit-for-tat that you missed last night. >> that is what the american people are looking for. is some compromise. >> they refuse to get serious about cutting spending and making the tough choices that are facing our country on entitlement reform. listen, that is the bottom line. >> the only bottom li

i'm t.j. holmes.urder trial of casey anthony is close to being in the hands of the jury. she, of course, accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, both sides have wrapped up testimony. we are covering this case for you this morning. shawn lavin has been watching the proceedings for us in orlando and joined by holly hughes, an attorney in atlanta with me in just a moment. shawn, let me start with you and talk about the schedule essential essential essentially. they wrapped up when yesterday and their enot in court today, even though we've seen them on most saturdays? >> yeah. they wrapped up yesterday afternoon. just because they're not in court does not mean both sides are not working hard. the judge gave them the time off so they could prepare for the crucial closing arguments. those are going to start tomorrow about 8:30, 9:00 in the morning, both sides will give their closing arguments. after that the judge will read the jury some instructions and the jury will go into deliberations. theoreticall

t.j. holmes. >>> good moerng morning to you all. a day closer to default, and still, no deal. that clock continues to particular. the tone of the debate took a bit of a nasty turn and the tone seems to have changed overnight with more talk of compromise. >>> now, we are standing by to here about two hikers held in iran. >>> and then you will hear from the men who sin tau grated the marines. hello, i am t. j. holmes, and thank you for spending part of your sunday with us. >>> this is what we're keeping an eye on today in the debt debate. 1:00 eastern time, that is when a vote is scheduled in the senate on majority leader harry reid's plan. that was the vote that was supposed to take place overnight but it was delayed late into the evening. listen to the senate majority leader. >> i have spoken to the white house quite a few times this evening and asked me to give everybody as much time as possible to see if a deal can be reached. >> the only way that can be done is with the president of the united states. and we're going to continue to work on that, and get this problem solved

. >>> i'm t.j. holmes from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia.k look at the stories making headlines. this morning, the casey anthony murder trial just going to recess. they are in session on a sunday. this was moments ago that the prosecution wrapped up its closing arguments. it took up about 90 minutes. casey anthony as you know is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. she's charged with capital murder which could mean the death penalty if she's found guilty. when they get back from recess, the defense will be up to give its closing. the jury is then expected to get the case. >>> also, rhode island has now legalized same-sex civil unions. governor lincoln chafee signed the bill into law yesterday. this will gave same-sex new state tax breaks, health care benefits and eother legal perks. some people were critical because it did not go far enough and grant marriage. >>> well, that's it for me. "fareed zakaria gps" continues for you right after the break. so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven

i'm t.j. holmes. so glad you could spend just part of your weekend here with us.t a half hour away from a very important meeting there at the white house. it's being called an emergency meeting between the president and congressional leaders. at stake right now, a lot. raising the debt ceiling. if that doesn't happen, a lot of other things will happen. we could lose our stellar credit rating in this country. that could lead to higher interest rate for you. this could lead to social security checks not going out. there's a lot of stuff at stake. these talks have been tough, and yesterday speaker boehner walked out. said he didn't want to negotiate with the white house anymore. that was yesterday. the president said, uh-huh, get right back here to the white house at 11:00 at saturday, that's today, and that meeting is about to take place. but last night in washington was dramatic and it was an extraordinary night. dueling news conferences between president obama and speaker boehner. you may have missed it if you were out last night on your friday night, like a lot o

. >>> i'm t.j. holmes. let me tell you what we're watching at the white house this hour. president obama and congressional leaders are just beginning as we speak, scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. eastern time, right now what they are calling an emergency meeting. the president is demanding an explanation from lawmakers as to why republicans walk wied away m talks yesterday. we'll take you there live in just a moment. >>> and also still developing this morning, the death toll from two terror attacks in norway continues to live. a suspect is under arrest. more information is emerging as well about who exactly he is and what his intelligences may have been. >>> also, this triple-digit heat in the u.s. millions of people are trying to deal with this deadly heat wave. we'll tell you which states are suffering the most and when we can ever expect some relief. but, again, i need to go back to that still-developing story in norway. the death toll is now up to 92 after a pair of terrifying attacks have sent this entire nation of norway into shock. people are questioning, or, rathe

i'm t.j. holmes. well, you know the story by now. the world's biggest economy is on the brink of possible default. we are all watching and waiting as the fight over the nation's debt ceiling just drags on and on and on. congress has just under three days left to come up with a deal. we are live in washington to find out where things stand. and yes, they are in session this weekend. >>> also, in this tough economy, would you believe that things are actually getting cheaper? not all things, though, specific things. and we will read them off for you this morning. >>> but first, we need to go right back to capitol hill. both houses of congress are in session this weekend. both parties are scrambling to pass some kind of a debt limit plan. our joe johns is there for us. joe, good morning to you. this is about to get started here in about an hour. >> reporter: that's for sure. and there's also a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, we think. we don't know of any meetings between members of congress, say, or senators right now. but a lo

i'm susan hendricks, sitting in this saturday for t.j. holmes. a royal reception in california, in los angeles. britain's prince william and wife catherine begin a trip to the u.s. >>> and hundreds of thousands of people are in spain for the running of the bulls. some are already hospitalized, though, after jumping into the fray. why do they do it? we will have the story behind the ancient festival this hour. >>> and you better keep an eye on your cell phone bills. many of them may be on the way up. find out why and which way customers will be affected by it. few will be. >>> today, americans are remembering former first lady, betty ford. she died late yesterday at the age of 93, her family by her side. ford was thrust into the limelight when her husband, gerald ford, became president back in 1974, after richard nixon resigned. she was known for her candidness on issues like abortion, equal rights, and her own struggle with breast cancer and drug and alcohol addiction. barack obama released a statement, "today we take comfort in the knowledge tha

i'm t.j. holmes.part of your day here with us. >>> for more than 20 years, joanne shane and dr. kennedy have been living together as a married couple for 20 years. they won a lottery and that means they get to skin the 24-hour waiting period that's normally required after couples get marriage licenses. that also means they are getting married today. we called them to take some time-out on their wedding day to come and do an interview on national television. joanne and dr. kennedy, it's here. thank you for being with us. how many years, actually? i think i might have been a little off. how many years have you all been together? >> 29. 29 years. >> 29 years. so after being together 29 years, essentially living as a married couple, you get married today, you wake up tomorrow, what's going to even feel different? do you imagine anything? >> i don't think it will feel too different, but we at least get the legal recognition of being married and it's a wonderful thing. >> now, why this day? you could have w

i'm t.j. holmes. thanks for spending part of your weekend with us.of the weekend we will see casey anthony walk out of jail a free woman. i say we are going to see it. we likely won't see it. she was at the center of one of the most watched and talked about trials in the country. the florida jury found her not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. our david mattingly is in orlando with us this morning. good morning. i said we will see something this weekend. actually, we are not going to see it. it doesn't seem like there is a chance we will actually see her walk out of the jail. >> reporter: well, the big questions of where, when and how have not been answered. it is possible we won't know those answers until after the fact. we know that there has been arrangements made for three journalists to essentially embed at the jail. a video photographer and still photographer and reporter from the associated press. all three will be embedded in the jail to observe casey anthony's departure from the facility. it is a sprawling facility that yo

eastern time and i'm t.j. holmes. two developing stories. first the president summoning congressional leaders back to the white house for a saturday morning conference. this comes the day after the house speaker, john boehner walked out on debt talks. the president calling them right back. >>> also the developing story out of norway where at least 91 people have been killed in two separate attacks in norway. police there say these two attacks are, in fact, linked. still a developing story. we'll have the very latest for you live in just a moment. we need to begin in washington, d.c. with that looming deadline on the nation's debt. you may have missed this last night but it was an extraordinary night in washington, d.c. the president and house speaker john boehner each holding news conferences, calling each other out for the break down in the debt ceiling talks. where are we right now? we talk about the debt ceiling needs to be raised but we actually hit the debt ceiling back in may. we hit the limit. the treasury secretary has been doing int

i'm t.j. holmes and casey anthony is a free woman. that's her.ing right out the front door of a florida jail. where is she headed now? also a woman gets carted off to jail for recording a traffic stop with her cell phone. so before you whip out your phone and hit the record button, maybe you should think twice. >>> also, the u.s. women may be the odds on favorites to win the world cup final today but they are maybe not the sentimental favorites in this match. details on all that this morning. but let's start with the case everyone has been intrigued by for some time. well, this is how it's wrapping up with the woman accused, casey anthony, free, walking out of jail this morning. walked out just after midnight and after 12 days -- 12 days after she was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter. she walked out the front door with her attorney. some of the details of how she would be released were kept secret by the sheriff's department. they opted in the end to let her walk out the front door. she was found guilty of lying to police, whic

i'm t.j. holmes. give you a look at some of the stories you feed to know about.st in atlanta, teachers and principals implicated in the widespread cheating scandal have been given a choice, option one, quit your job. option two, get fired. the letter went out to them this week with that ultimatum. they have till wednesday to decide. nearly 200 educators are suspected of helping falsify answers on standardized tests. >>> also today, is casey anthony's last full day in the orange county jail. she's expected to be released sometime tomorrow. but an inmate in the south carolina wants florida authorities to serve anthony a paternity motion before she leaves. the guy apparently wants to note if he fathstthered her deceased daughter. not word on what relationship the two may have had. in los angeles, they've been talking about it quite some time. never has the lack of traffic been so news worthy. you see construction workers there. what they're doing here is shutting down the 405, the infamous los angeles highway. there it is, this freeway there being shut down. a live

i'm t.j. holmes brooke baldwin is off today. right now we're expecting congressional leaders to walk into that place, the white house, and once again face president obama and each other and negotiate over the nation's dead ceiling. meanwhile, the treasury secretary tim geithner made a rare appearance warning congress to act now or this economy will face severe consequences. we are live outside the white house just minutes from now. first we are getting still more disturbing details of that 8-year-old boy's gruesome me have murder victim leibbkle it. zky. he -- we're learning the boy may have fought back. the boy's neighbors and friends devastated by this crime. >> this is like a horror story in your own backyard. it's crazy. >> it's all about submission to the will of god. we accept what comes, but there is a strong palpable sense of anger. >> well, the assemblyman from new york helped with the massive serve for the little boy after he disappeared. we appreciate you giving us time. given all that the community poured into trying

>>> cnn "newsroom" continues right now with t.j. holmes. >> thank you so much. we are seconds away from seeing the position of the units stepping into the briefing room. as you may know, the many has been busy with meetings over this debt ceiling. we're told unless it's raised by august 2nd, all hell will break loose on the economy. at least that's what many people will have you believe. nobody wants us to go without raising that debt ceiling. the president said he wants to make comments. here he is. >> hello, everybody. i'm going to make a brief statement. i completed a meeting with all the congressional leaders from both chambers, from both parties. i have to say that i thought it was a very constructive meeting. people were frank. we discussed the various options available to us, everybody reconfirmed the importance of completing our work and raising the debt limit ceiling so that the full faith and credit of the united states of america is not impaired what we decided is staffsally with his as leadership will work during the weekend. i will reconvene congres

"cnn newsroom" continues with t.j. holmes who is in for brooke baldwin. >>> the u.s. is one day closer to missing the deadline for paying its bills. a lot of people, you may be one of them, looking for signs that the white house and republicans are getting ready to do a deal. today is not that day. you may have heard that senate leaders, mitch mcconnell and harry reid are trying to hash out a plan palatable to both sides, and there's a separate push for the balanced budget amendment. the president suggested this morning that the u.s. doesn't have time have for any proposals. >> we don't need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs. the constitution already tells us to do our jobs and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices. so it this notion that we're going to go through a multi-year process instead of seizing the moment now and taking care of our problems is a typical washington response. we don't need more studies. we don't need a balanced budget amendment. we simply need to make these tough choices and be willin

"cnn newsroom" continues with t.j. holmesn for randi kaye. >> hey there, fredricka. >> a weekend again.

"cnn newsroom" continues with t.j. holmesn for randi kaye. >> hey there, fredricka. >> a weekend again. >> just like the weekend. good to see you. maybe see you this weekend? >> well, i'll be here. >> yeah. i might not be. >> that's what i hear. >> all right. >> you know. this is like the weekend but then it's not going to be like this weekend. >> glad we got our moment at least. thank you. i will