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Obama Tells Congress to Fix FAA; Weekly Jobless Numbers Fall; Fake Bomb Strapped on Teen; Congressman David Wu Steps Down; Over 100 Degrees in Dallas; Tiger Back on the Tour; Emily Spins Toward Haiti; Rescuers Rush to Save Buried Teen; Stocks Selling Off
Aired August 04, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi guys, good morning. It's 99:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.
Thanks for joining us, everyone.
Outrage growing against Congress as the summer recess shuts down much of the FAA. Four thousand employees furloughed, plus thousands of others working on airport construction projects.
No relief today from the deadly heat wave. Baking in the south and Midwest. Now dozens of deaths in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
After a salacious sex scandal and two-year losing streak, Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour. In less than five hours he tees off in the Bridgestone Invitational.
Well, Congress celebrated its long overdue deal on the debt crisis by racing out of town for summer recess. Lost in that cloud of dust, funding for the FAA and thousands of workers who now can't be paid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK DEPLASCO, FURLOUGHED FAA WORKER: Personally, this is devastating. I've spent -- I spend most of my day trying to figure out what -- what can I not pay, what can I pay, where can I get extra cash. We're pretty much going to burn through all of our savings within a month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Athena Jones is on Capitol Hill.
Athena, the numbers are huge, too. As we mentioned 4,000 FAA workers furloughed, tens of thousands of other workers idled, and that doesn't even include the billion dollars in tax money that won't be collected.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. We know what's at stake here. It's not just those thousands of workers who aren't getting a paycheck and therefore not spending their paycheck in this fragile economy.
It's all that money in tax receipts the government is not going to get and it's all because the two parties can't agree on a temporary funding measure for the FAA. This has been a rather routine measure these last several years. They've done it 20 times since 2007. But as always, who is to blame? Well, it depends on who you talk to here on the Hill.
Let's listen in to what a couple of congressmen had to say about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CONNIE MACK (R), FLORIDA: So we passed a bill in the House, reauthorization bill. It went to the Senate. The one person that has the power to bring it up for a vote chose not to and that is Senator Reid. So I would say that -- and maybe the secretary didn't want to say it -- but Senator Reid should call the Senate back in, take up the bill, and pass it.
REP. STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY WHIP: We need to get this done and we should get it done today. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage-taking. And it is severely damaging our economy and the livelihoods of people across our nation.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now what are they fighting over? They're fighting over funding for the FAA temporarily. The Republican House passed a bill that included a provision that would eliminate funding for some rural -- services to rural airports that subsidizes services to these airports that might get, say, 500 passengers over the course of the entire year. Republicans believe that's a waste of money.
On the Democratic side, though, they say the Republicans are just using this issue to try to force a larger issue on union organizing. They want -- Democrats want to make it easier for airline workers to unionize, Republicans don't want them to. And so that's part of this whole fight.
I should add one thing, though, Kyra. I spoke with a Democratic aide here on the Senate side this morning and they said that there are discussions ongoing and that they are optimistic that something may be able to be worked out in the next day or two on this so we'll stay on that.
PHILLIPS: OK. But the question, does Congress have to -- have to come back to town to fix this?
JONES: Well, they don't have to come back. There is something called unanimous consent. If both sides can reach an agreement on this, on how they should go forward then they don't have to all come back in town. They can pass it with this sort of technical unanimous consent method -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Got it.
Athena, thanks.
For millions of Americans the state of the economy can be summed up as we know in one word -- jobs. Or more specifically, lack of jobs. And just minutes ago, we learned that the number of people filing for the first time changed little last week.
Ali Velshi back with us from New York.
OK. So Ali, break it down for us.
ALI VELSHI, ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: All right, so every week we get a report that tells us the number of people who signed up for unemployment benefits for the first time the previous week. So we get that number today. Turns out that it's about 400,000. That's in fact very similar to the number it was last week.
It's a little bit less than what economists had expected so that's a little bit of good news and that's helping the market right now. But not much. I mean when you're at 400,000 people a week signing up for unemployment benefits that's a pretty bad sign. It's just that that is the new normal.
But here what we've got now is with the debt ceiling largely behind us, the -- investors all around are turning their attention to the economy and whether or not we're looking at a double-dip recession or another recession. It wouldn't be a double-dip really.
That discussion has sort of taken the forefront. Now how does that apply to regular people who are looking at jobs or looking for jobs as you said, Kyra? It doesn't. But all of this talk about uncertainty, about whether we're going into another recession means that companies who might have been thinking about expanding or hiring more people, all of a sudden get a little bit scared and say, hold on, maybe I better hold on to my money and not spend it. Let me hoard some cash.
By the way, consumers are doing exactly the same thing, right? If we tell you that the job situation is not getting any better, you start to think, well, what if I'm unemployed for a little while, I better keep my savings with me. That's not a bad plan, Kyra, but it's a very hard way to get out of an economic rut. So that's where we are right now.
We're looking at a market open that is probably going to be low. The Dow was off in triple digits. The futures were -- at least a little while ago, it's starting to improve. The jobless numbers probably didn't hurt that situation but tomorrow is the important day, Kyra.
It is the unemployment numbers for the month of July.
PHILLIPS: Those are complete numbers, yes.
VELSHI: I'm not expecting a strong number. We're expecting about 75,000 job gain. As you know, we've talked about this for years, Kyra. That's not enough.
PHILLIPS: Yes. All right. Ali, thanks.
We're going to turn overseas now. After nearly 50 years of Baath Party rule Syria's president has actually authorized a multi-party political system. Bashar al-Assad decree comes just one day after the U.N. Security Council blames his leadership for the ongoing violent crackdown against opposition protesters. Now his critics say the reforms he promises are all for show.
Meanwhile the Syrian military keeps pounding Hama, the rebellious city, at the heart of the five-month uprising. Tanks and (INAUDIBLE) fire ratcheting up to the streets for hours yesterday. We showed you the pictures. Opposition activists report dozens more deaths already this week.
OK, so you remember that bizarre standoff that we told you about yesterday? It was about the teen girl in Australia and a suspected bomb possibly strapped to her? Well, it was a hoax.
CNNi's Monita Rajpal has the latest for us now out of London.
Monita, we could barely get the information yesterday. We knew it had a different (ph) factor to it and it did turn out to be a hoax.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, you know, as you described it perfectly, it's a really bizarre story. I think everyone is really scratching their heads about how all of this -- what is this really all about?
Let's just give you the back story on all of this, what happened, what unfolded on Wednesday afternoon in Australia time. Well, police were called to this upscale suburban neighborhood on Sydney Harbor to this home where they found an 18-year-old girl who was strapped to a -- what was considered a very suspicious device.
It took police about 10 hours to detach this device from this girl who was then taken to a hospital and looked over. She was OK, just very -- I guess, a bit injured just in terms of having this device strapped to her.
Now police have said they found out that actually it was a -- it was a hoax. It wasn't -- it wasn't a bomb at all. It just seemed as though -- they called it a very, very elaborate hoax.
Now police were told by this 18-year-old that this man had -- in a disguise, had broken into her home and then attached this device on to her and they have no suspects right now. They are saying that, again, this is just was a -- according to police, they're saying, it was an attempted exploitation but still, there's so many questions surrounding this case because there must have been some TV cameras.
This is a very upscale neighborhood. It's a very wealthy neighborhood. One would wonder someone must have seen something, specifically the fact that there are -- must have been tight security around these houses.
So, again, so many questions surrounding this story but the girl, she's doing OK.
PHILLIPS: And her parents, I believe, talked this morning, right? What did they say? RAJPAL: Yes, they had -- they were saying that she's doing fine now. She's doing much better in that she's just in a bit of pain. But she is doing OK. But, again, they are asking for people to just respect their privacy at this time.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Understandable. Monita, thanks.
Well, President Obama turns 50 today. But his big birthday bash kicked off last night in Chicago.
Jennifer Hudson you see right there. She led a crowd about 2400 people in singing "Happy Birthday" to the president.
It wasn't all a celebration, though. The event was also about politics and doubled as a fundraiser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't have time to play these partisan games. We've got too much work to do. Over the next several months, I hope Congress is focused on what the American people are focused on. Making sure that the economy is growing.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the president also had dinner with about a hundred supporters most of whom paid more than $35,000 each to attend.
Brianna Keilar at the White House now with our political ticker.
Brianna, Congressman David Wu officially resigning overnight.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra.
It went into effect at 11:59 last night. Congressman Wu had announced last week that he was resigning after he was accused of unwanted sexual advances towards a fundraiser's daughter.
So he announced last week that he was going to resign but it didn't go into effect until last night. He hung around so that he could cast his vote in favor of increasing the debt ceiling or his vote -- pardon me -- on the debt ceiling vote.
This was a story that broke by the "Oregonian Portland" newspaper. It was last month and it was actually reported that the daughter of the fundraiser had called Wu's office in May complaining about this incident that had happened all the way back in November around Thanksgiving.
The daughter was 18 at the time. So this caused quite an uproar on Capitol Hill. and Wu's district, we should mention, is strongly Democratic so, you know, the political wing of Democrats in the House, they're hoping they can hang on to this seat but we're expecting the governor of Oregon is going to announce a special election.
And then, Kyra, I mean you probably -- you know, we cover politics, we cover presidential candidates. Jon Huntsman, Republican hopeful, a former Utah governor --
PHILLIPS: A great musician.
KEILAR: A former -- a great musician as it turns out. He dropped out of high school to join a band.
PHILLIPS: Right.
KEILAR: What a weird tidbit is that. So he used to be the ambassador to China. You know I have to tell you, we covered these events, campaign events, where there are kind of like the main street walks down main street. They're normally pretty predictable but check this out. Kind of a weird moment. Let's listen.
Yes, that's right. That's Jon Huntsman sort of rocking out on the keyboards there to the Charlie Brown theme song.
He is going down main street, Kyra. He's walking through the stores meeting people in Manchester, New Hampshire. Of course, a must-win state. And walked into a music store and he's persuaded to play a song and so he does.
PHILLIPS: Now here's the big question. Why the Charlie Brown theme? That's what I want to know. That is the one question reporters didn't ask, Brianna. I'm counting on you on find out.
KEILAR: OK. So here's -- I'm just going to speculate. But were you in band as a kid?
PHILLIPS: Actually, yes. And you'll probably laugh at the first song that we learned how to play, but yes. Is that what you learned?
KEILAR: Yes, this is actually one of the songs that I learned on my clarinet in band. So I remember playing this. So I think -- it also is a crowd-pleaser.
PHILLIPS: OK --
KEILAR: Let's be clear. It's a crowd-pleaser.
PHILLIPS: Brianna, it's the next thing I just learned about you. We're both big golfers, I played the clarinet, too. But it was "Star Wars" --
KEILAR: Oh my gosh.
PHILLIPS: Yes. That I learned how to play.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: That's way better, Kyra. Way better.
PHILLIPS: Well, maybe you and I and Huntsman can join a band, you know, after we finish our various careers.
KEILAR: Yes, next -- next career. PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk to you again. Thanks.
Your next political update and maybe a clarinet duo with me and Brianna coming up as well.
A reminder for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Well, still ahead, the persistence of a cold case detective leads to new evidence from notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. We're going to tell you how her work actually could unlock dozens and dozens of unsolved murders.
And Dallas could hit 34 days in a row of 100-degree plus heat. Is there any relief in sight? We'll take you there live in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's check news cross country, shall we?
At least 30 people injured, one critically after an accident in New York state. A bus carrying Polish tourists actually flipped over on the interstate. Police say the driver was going too fast for the rainy conditions last night.
And listen to this for these young campers in northern New Jersey. A black bear wandered into their camp site, grabbed one sleeping boy by the foot, and then went into another tent and swiped at a second boy. They are fine, thank goodness. Superficial wounds.
That bear, by the way, just wandered off on its own.
Well, turn on the faucet in small town in Oklahoma and guess what? Nothing. Two hundred homes bone dry. Apparently, they can't get water to one section of Keatonville. There's like 12 feet of water in that tower. They're supposed to be 115 feet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK STULL, MANAGER, RURAL WATER DISTRICT 3: This is one of the most serious conditions that this district has ever experienced. By the time I get the water to Keatonville, all of the people in this area have used the water. Well, the town is buying 2,800 gallons of water per minute from Tulsa now. But other areas could go dry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And it isn't quite as dry as Dallas, but it's sweltering. If it gets over a hundred degrees in Dallas today, it will be the 34th day in a row for that. And this has set a power usage record for the city, too.
Ed Lavandera has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside this Dallas auto repair shop, Miguel Gonzalez is hot and thirsty.
MIGUEL GONZALEZ, AUTO MECHANIC: Feel good now!
LAVANDERA: But victims of the heat wave just keep pouring into his garage.
(on camera): So, you got a mess on your hand. You got cars everywhere?
GONZALEZ: Yes. We got people coming.
LAVANDERA: So this car overheated?
GONZALEZ: Overheated.
LAVANDERA: What happened to this car?
GONZALEZ: The rail busted because, you know, they saw heat. We put a brand-new engine in that one.
LAVANDERA: This one overheated as well?
GONZALEZ: Overheated because the oil come up.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Gonzalez opened David's Garage three years ago and named it after his son. But it wasn't until temperatures shot up over a hundred degrees more than a month ago that business erupted.
Now, there's little time to rest -- kind of struggle to stay cool and hydrated.
(on camera): I think you like it because business is good.
GONZALEZ: Exactly it, yeah. People got a lot of problems and we got the chance to make some money.
LAVANDERA: Miguel Gonzalez is one of the few enjoying the record heat. Most people around Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, are downright miserable.
Little Rock, Arkansas, reached an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees on Wednesday.
In Oklahoma City, ice chest with bottled water were loaded on to school buses that don't have air-conditioning. It all made for a long ride home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The windows were all down and everyone was like sticking their arms out the windows and stuff.
LAVANDERA: For a few hours on Thursday, Shawnee, Oklahoma looked like the home of old faithful. A water main break nearly drained all of the city's drinking water. It's all been fixed now.
Across Texas, so much demand on the power grid has left thousands temporarily without electricity. CATHERINE CUELLAR, ONCOR SPOKESMAN: The high usage is causing people to use more electricity to stay safe and comfortable and making it harder for our equipment to cool off.
LAVANDERA: Many high school marching bands and football teams are working under the punishing sun and scorching heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling?
LAVANDERA: These players had to leave the field because it got too hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We give them Gatorade and replenish them and they will be good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera is live just outside of Dallas for us. You know, that -- you know, the coach, rather, Ed, sounded like he wasn't too worried about his players, but we have been hearing all of these stories about kids, even coaches, collapsing, in some cases dying from the heat.
LAVANDERA: Right. You know, and it doesn't have to be over a hundred degrees to make this a really serious problem. You know, the deaths we have seen, one in Florida, Georgia. There was a coach that collapsed here in the Dallas area.
Really the heat index is what they monitor a lot of times. We have heard of teams monitoring that heat index once it gets to a certain point, they take them off the field. And we've seen some marching bands here in north Texas area not practicing outside. They've taken their rehearsals indoors.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. Ed Lavandera, we will definitely follow this story closely. It's starting to impact so many more people. Thirty-three days now of a hundred-plus heat.
Well, Tiger Woods has a new caddie and he's got a new swing. He's also got a new start. But can he get back to the old Tiger? We are on the course for his return to the tour, next.
And coming up, he's been the face of the Muscular Dystrophy Association for decades. But Jerry Lewis has hosted his last Labor Day telethon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's hit some showbiz headlines for you.
The Securities and Exchange Commission says Hugh Hefner's son-in-law traded Playbook stock using insider information. He's accused of using that knowledge to move stocks before anyone knew another was in talks to buy Playboy. He's agreed to pay $168,000 to settle the SEC's lawsuit. Dolly Parton has apologized to a lesbian couple upset by their treatment at Dollywood theme park. One of the women was denied entrance because of her marriage is so gay t-shirt. Park employee made her turn it inside out. Dolly said she totally supports the gay community and all families welcome at her park.
And after more than 50 years supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jerry Lewis is out as the national chairman. In a statement, the MDA thanked the comedian for his service, calling him a world class humanitarian. Lewis, of course, hosted the MDA telethon every Labor Day.
Well, all eyes on Tiger Woods today as he comes back to the PGA Tour after a three-month layoff. And it's been a lot longer than that -- almost two years since Woods last won a tournament.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for Tiger's return.
And, Ted, you know, a lot of things going on, not only the injuries, but also, let's not forget -- a sex scandal that completely rocked his head in the game.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, you know, it's been about two years of inconsistent play on the course and then off the course, all of the troubles, too. He says he is ready to go, though.
He was injured in the spring. He walked off the course at the TPC with a knee injury and Achilles heel injury. He says that he took his doctor's advice. So, physically, he's taken enough time off to where he says he is feeling better than he has in years.
So, physically, he is ready to go. We will see how he does. He tees off 1:40 Eastern Time today.
PHILLIPS: And, Ted, something else all of us golfers are paying close attention to is his caddie. This is interesting. It's his childhood buddy and he also is going to be teeing off with one of his best friends Derek Clark. It's interesting that he is surrounding himself by a very familiar posse here. It will be interesting to see if that makes an impact on his game, how relaxed he is and if he actually performs better by doing this.
ROWLANDS: Yes. You know, Steve Williams thing, this is his caddie for the last 12 years, they have won it all. I mean, they have had a great run. There are some hard feelings there.
Tiger announced that he was parting ways with Steve Williams and Williams told a reporter he felt like he wasted the last two years of his life. So, that's sort of the subplot of drama. You mentioned Clark, that's just the luck of the draw who is he playing with today. A good pairing likely because they do get along well together.
But as you have already said, the golf world is watching very closely today and for this entire tournament. He's won this tournament seven times. Which Tiger is going to show up this weekend? PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of people are paying attention. Ted, thanks.
Well, Tiger Woods still needs five more major wins to pass Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer of all time. So, can he do it?
We're going to ask "Golf" magazine senior editor Mike Walker later this hour.
The Dow managed to snap its eight session losing streak yesterday, but the bulls are heading back to the sidelines this morning. We're going to go live to the New York Stock Exchange.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Meat processor Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey. It's been linked to dozens of salmonella illnesses in 26 states and authorities believe it may also be related to one death in California.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg putting up $30 million of his own money to fund a new program.
He wants to improve economic and occasional opportunities for young black and Latino males in the city.
(VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's Chicago native Jennifer Hudson singing happy birthday to the president. He turns 50 today. He attended an early birthday celebration last night in Chicago, going to two campaign fund-raisers right after that.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange where the trading day just getting started.
Alison, what do you think? What can we expect today? I guess I ask you that every day, don't I, especially in this time when we're re really watching those numbers.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And we really are. And, you know what? It looks like yesterday's gains, they were just a mirage. We're watching stocks drop right now. The Dow down 72 points.
Hey, but let's look on the bright side. The blue chips did manage to snap their eight-session losing streak on Wednesday ever so briefly. You know what? Investors, they continue to worry about where the economy is headed. And there are new concerns about how serious Europe's economic problems are right now.
Back here at home, weekly jobless claims edged down by 1,000 to 400,000. It's better than expected, but, you know what, still nothing to write home about. I do have one good piece of news, though. General Motors earnings, the automaker posted big jumps in both quarterly sales and profits. GM saying it sees solid improvement this year, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, we talked about this yesterday and I'm curious after watching the markets, you know, the way they ended up at the end of the day, this talk about the possibility of another recession. You mentioned it.
What was the reaction by the end of the day?
KOSIK: You know what? Traders and economists, they continue to be increasingly worried. You know, just in the past week or two, I'm hearing these whispers get louder about this R word again. Even we saw in an op-ed by Larry Summers, he was the treasury secretary under President Clinton and the first director of the National Economic Council under President Obama. He said there's a 1 in 3 chance of a new recession.
And, you know what? All of this talk is stirring up more talk of the fed possibly stepping in with another stimulus package to boost the economy. And that chatter, Kyra, is the reason we saw markets end a bit higher yesterday.
Still, even though all of these odds for a recession are increasing, many people are still saying it is unlikely a second recession will actually happen. But we really need to see is this economic data improve before everybody is absolutely certain of that -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, thanks.
Well, Congress is on summer break and they're getting a lot of flak for it too. Why? Well, they left town without funding the Federal Aviation Administration so now 4,000 FAA workers are facing a month or more without a paycheck. And tens of thousands of private workers are also cut off because airport construction projects had to be shut down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ZEMLOK, LAID OFF CONSTRUCTION WORKER: We're like anybody else. We're just trying go to work, get a paycheck, have a good job, get our medical benefits back.
PETE FIGUEIREDO, SPOKESMAN, ALAMEDA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL: Put people before politics. Let's get America back to work now and let's start right here on this project.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And President Obama says that all Americans stand to lose from this impasse because more than $1 billion in taxes may go uncollected.
Brianna Keilar, get back to you at the White House. So, you know, what is the president calling for now?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's calling, Kyra, for Congress to come back and he's saying this is a self-inflicted wound. And, boy, is the White House really putting the full-court press on.
I've been out here for about 20 minutes and I just want to tell you what I've witnessed. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has really been the voice here calling for Congress to come back to town and pass this. I watched him do the cable rounds here in the last 20 minutes. He was on MSNBC, then he was over to my left on FOX News. He was on CNN this morning -- earlier this morning, and then he's just gone over now to do Bloomberg TV.
So he's all over the map here doing the full-court press, as there's really two things going on surrounding this FAA funding bill. First off, the House did pass a bill. Of course, the House is Republican- controlled and there's something in that bill the Democrats don't like. It eliminates subsidies for rural airports, specifically an emphasis in Nevada, Montana, and New Mexico, where, Kyra, as you know, there are influential Democratic senators. Democrats do not like this.
But behind the scenes, there's actually a larger issue going on and it has to do with the recent decision that Republicans don't like. A recent decision that would make it easier for airline workers to unionize.
Now, I should tell you and you heard this earlier, Kyra, our Athena Jones at CNN, she was talking to a Democratic leadership aide earlier and she says that there is an optimism from this aide that the Senate can come back and perhaps resolve in this the next day or two, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Perfect timing as the construction workers behind you continue. Sorry about that. Sorry, Brianna. All right. We'll get back to you in the next hour.
Well, a detective looking for evidence in a decades-old cold case find DNA from notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. How that find could help close dozens of other uninvolved murders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now a search for evidence in a decades-old murder that leads a detective to DNA from notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. We're talking about this little girl. Eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr from Tacoma, Washington. She vanished from her home in 1961, when Ted Bundy was just 14-years-old. Ann Marie's home was a daily stop on Bundy's paper route.
Now this newly discovered of vile of Ted Bundy blood that has been setting on a shelf unnoticed could actually break this case.
Lindsay Wade is a homicide detective in Tacoma, Washington. It was her investigative instincts that led to the discovery of Bundy's blood.
Detective, you know, Ann Marie Burr, tell me why you're still on this case and what led you to lead to this evidence in this murder? LINDSAY WADE, HOMICIDE DETECTIVE: Well, the Ann Marie Burr case is the oldest unsolved case with the Tacoma Police Department and we are in the end stages of developing our cold case unit here with our police department.
We have approximately 190 unsolved cases here and hers being the oldest case and the fact that she was a child, of course, made the case very intriguing. And Ted Bundy's name has been a suspect's name that pops up in that case over the last year, however, there has really been nothing to inclusively link him to the case.
PHILLIPS: Wow. So here's what is interesting, Detective. You started looking through the files. You're going through this one specific cold case and you find the name of this detective in Florida that may have some DNA evidence. But what he comes back with is actually a vile vial of blood.
How did that happen? How did it remain on the shelves unnoticed for so many years?
WADE: The blood vial was discovered actually by the lab director for the Tallahassee Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab. And I had contacted him early on back in December of last year to find out if Ted Bundy DNA was in the national database. And he told me that it wasn't. And so we got to talking and sort of putting our heads together and trying to figure out how we could come up with a sample of his DNA. He had been trying for years to come up with a sample and was unable to locate one.
PHILLIPS: And now you could find out in a week if, indeed, there's a match.
Final question, detective.
Could this vial of blood actually help you solve other cold cases there that could be tied to Ted Bundy in Washington, and possibly other states across the country? WADE: Absolutely. We're hoping that his DNA profile will be uploaded into the national DNA database within the next week or so and the word getting out that his DNA is now available, we're hoping that other detectives around the country will take a look at their old cases, cases from the '70s, and determine whether or not any of those cases could be (INAUDIBLE) related to Ted Bundy. And, if so, you know, submit those items of evidence to their crime lab and see if they are able to generate anything (INAUDIBLE).
PHILLIPS: Well, what a way to kick off the new cold case unit in Tacoma.
Detective Lindsay Wade, congratulations and we'll follow up for sure.
WADE: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Tiger woods is returning to the PGA tour, but is his head in the game and is his game enough to return? We're going to talk about it with Golf magazine's Mike Walker. Also ahead, it looks like Old Faithful smack in the middle of Oklahoma. But the water main break drained one city dry.
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PHILLIPS: Let's check news Cross Country.
A hiker stranded three days in the Oregon wilderness has been upgraded to fair condition. The 28-year-old woman was rescued by a helicopter crew after getting lost and wasn't carrying survival supplies or a cell phone.
Two teens have been arrested for vandalizing a historic church and cemetery. They actually broke windows and toppled tombstones and spray painted graffiti causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage to a site that dates back to the Civil War.
And after days without drinking water, things are finally getting back to normal in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Multiple water main breaks left folks there high and dry right in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.
Well, tropical storm Emily could bring more misery to Haiti now; 600,000 people are still living in tents and that storm is unleashing major downpours on the nation. U.N. Peacekeepers on the alert now for flood and mudslides.
Rob Marciano tell us what the latest is on Emily.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know Kyra, it's hard to say exactly how much rain they have gotten but this thing has been parked over the island of Hispaniola now for a good 10 to 12 hours. And as of right now, it's stationary. The latest observation show, the center of it somewhere around here about a 100 miles south of Port-au- Prince and the torrential rain they've been follow across the higher country here.
As it get -- traverses it's not only will dump a lot of rain it'll lose a little bit of its punch. So the 50-mile-an-hour winds -- we're not sure how much -- how well that's going to hold as it emerges in the southern Bahamas going forward.
Here is the forecast track. We expect it to pick up steam and head to the west northwest and then get into the southern Bahamas and the East Coast to Florida will be a threat, Friday night into Saturday and then Sunday. I'm pretty confident about it eventually going off towards the north and east.
What we're not confident about is how far to the west it gets. So southern Florida and southeastern Florida, it has to be -- pay close attention to this -- because it's a very good possibility that it makes a direct landfall or at least scoots the coastline enough to where you get some wind, maybe some storm surge and maybe in some cases, some beneficial rain. That's the other thing with this.
And we have another tropical system that we can get it closer I'm sure Kyra, at a tropical storm or a very, very weak hurricane, it might bring some beneficial rains. But for the folks in Haiti and the Dominican Republic none of the rain they receive right now is beneficial. Back up to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, a California teen digging a sand tunnel is buried alive.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: whoa, whoa, whoa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy. Easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relax, relax.
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PHILLIPS: And he's pulled out after about a hundred people rushed to rescue him. He apparently had been digging this tunnel and it started to collapse. He was trapped for about half an hour. So lack of oxygen was definitely an issue there.
He was disoriented when they pulled him out but he's going to be ok. We're hoping to talk to a member of the Newport Beach fire department about that rescue next hour.
Tiger Woods tees off in four hours. He's got his boyhood friend caddying for him at the Bridgestone Invitational. So can that help Tiger break his losing streak and get his head back in the game? We're going to ask "Golf" magazine's Mike Walker.
And a new controversy for another badly behaving sports star. A-Rod facing questions about reported illegal poker games. That story in ten minutes.
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PHILLIPS: Ok, Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange, the trading day is just getting started and the number is not looking so good?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we've got another selloff on the Dow, the Dow now dropping 186 points. You know, Kyra, some comments from the head of the European Central Bank, there's one factor that's unsettling the markets today. Jeanne-Claude Trichet says risks to economic growth in Europe, they may be growing more intense, so you add that to the troubles here at home, this sort of constant litany of bad news on the economic front here in the U.S. about our own economic growth, that's what's got Wall Street selling right now.
Also we've got investors bracing for a big jobs report, tomorrow. Economists surveyed by CNN Money, they expect the economy created only about 75,000 jobs in July. I've got to tell you that's pretty weak, you know, we need at least 120,000 jobs added consistently every month just to keep up with population growth.
You have to remember, there are 14 million people out of work, and we're just not creating enough jobs. Wall Street is getting worried to say the least -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes Dow Industrial is down 182. Alison, we'll keep talking.
Now, checking stories making headlines later today, a U.S. Army Private accused of plotting to bomb a Texas restaurant frequented by fellow soldiers is expected in court today.
NASA will announce details about a new Mars science finding during a briefing at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
And Leon Panetta with his first news conferences later today as Defense Secretary.
We're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Athena Jones -- Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, if you thought the fighting was over on Capitol Hill with Congress in recess, think again. This time the battle is over FAA funding. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar at the White House, President Obama turns 50 today, so how is he celebrating? A little politics, a little partying, a serenade from Jennifer Hudson. I'll have details at 25 after the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, a lot of activity as Brianna just told you in Washington. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. An interesting story remember; David Cassidy, the star of the "Partridge Family"? Well, now almost 40 years after the show went off the air he is going after Sony, the company that owns the show for merchandising money he says he was cheated out of. Sony says that's not the case. We'll have the exclusive in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.
And Dallas could hit 34 days in a row of 100-degree plus heat. Any relief in sight? We'll take you there live.
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PHILLIPS: Ok, in less than four hours, Tiger Woods tees off for the first time in three months. Considered one of the greatest golfers ever, it was his personal shame that actually caused that status to shift. Secret calls, salacious texts, his cheating scandal. It not only shocked all of us but it truly rocked his game.
So, with the divorce, the losing streak, firing his caddy, losing sponsors and dealing with numerous injuries, is it even possible for Tiger to get his head back into the game and win?
Mike Walker is senior editor of "Golf" magazine and we love to talk Tiger. So what do you think, Mike?
MIKE WALKER, SENIOR EDITOR, "GOLF": Yes. I mean it's like today golf's -- sports greatest reality show starts up again. I think this course, I think he's going to play well. I think that -- I think that he's going to get back. But certainly with all the changes going on, it's almost like you know a football team is playing bad and they fire the coach and they do this, he can't fire himself.
So I think he's just -- he's making a lot of changes. This is almost like, sort of pink slip season on the PGA tour, when guys aren't going well, they have to make changes and Tiger's number one on that list.
PHILLIPS: Ok. As the Bridgestone Invitational begins today, I have got to talk about his caddy. I mean this is his childhood buddy. And then he's got one of his best friends Darren Clark that's going to be playing right there alongside of him. How do you think this familiar posse, this tight posse could impact his head as he begins play again today?
WALKER: I mean that stuff matters. I think playing with Clark helps I mean obviously they're old friends. And Brian Bell -- I mean, not a professional caddy is, you know. When everybody seems him this week and it's going to look like Tiger (INAUDIBLE) in a lot of his fans when he was drinking a beer. But I think having him there, in some way, Tiger's not ready to go through a new caddy and build up that whole rapport again. Brian's caddy firm before. I think the comfort levels going to be good. And that's probably what he needs right now. And next week going into it.
He doesn't need to start fresh with anybody.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's -- for full disclosure, Brian was the one that was tied to bringing, one, possibly more mistresses to Tiger. So, you know, can we read into this? Does this tell us anything about Tiger's personal life? His ways? You know what I'm asking here.
WALKER: Yes. I mean has he changed his ways? I think Tiger's looking at this as if you stuck with him during the scandal then you're his guy for life, and that the people who maybe tried to distance themselves, which I think Steve Williams definitely did a little, then you're out.
Yes, whether it's just him drawing the circle tighter -- I mean there only must be like two or three people left in the circle. But yes, it's definitely an acknowledgement of you stuck with me when times were tough and I'm going to stick with you.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's going to be interesting to watch him play and see how he does. You and I both will be watching close.
Mike, we'll talk after the tournament, sound good?
WALKER: Thanks, Kyra, sounds great.
PHILLIPS: You bet. Other stories making sports headlines today, Major League Baseball plans to interview Alex Rodriguez about allegations that he took part in illegal, underground poker games. ESPN is reporting the Yankees superstar could be suspended if it's proved that a-rod took part in those games. Reportedly they included actors people like Leonardo Di Caprio and also Matt Damon.
Now, the commissioner's office previously warned A-Rod against playing in illegal poker games so we'll see what happens.
Now the Boston Red Sox stay ahead of the Yankees (INAUDIBLE) thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury. He got the winning homer against Cleveland with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Anthony happy it seems. It was the second night in a row that Ellsbury got the walk of winning hits.
And check out this amazing soccer goal. Marshal Fabian takes the pass, it makes terrific bicycle kick for the scorer. He works on that shot in practice, by the way. (INAUDIBLE) scored another at The Mexicans Sack Barcelona 4-1.
