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S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating; GOP Candidates React to Downgrade; Dozens Dead in War Zone Crash; Midwife Helps Low Income Mothers; Heat Taking a Toll on Texas; President Obama Announces Tax Credits for Hiring Veterans; Jury Hears Testimony in Jeffs Penalty Phase; Comedy Giant Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday

Aired August 06, 2011 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Topping the news at this hour, the U.S. credit standing takes a hit. After taking the country's top rating down a peg for the first time ever yesterday, the S&P said there is plenty of blame to go around and it wouldn't be easy to get the top rating back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CHAMBERS, STANDARD AND POOR'S MANAGING DIRECTOR: Well, it's going to take a while to get back to mid-AAA (ph), because once you lose your AAA, it doesn't usually bounce back in that way.

But I think a key debate will be coming up regarding the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, because if you did let them lapse for the high income earners, that could give you another $950 billion. And I think the question there is, A, would it be on top of what we've already achieved, with the $2.1 trillion, or would that, if it was agreeable, which is big a if, you know, you could envision that being counted toward the 1.5 that the Congressional Committee is looking to achieve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Moody's and Fitch, the other leading rating agencies, have affirmed the top rating, but they have raised concerns about the U.S.'s long term prospects.

So, in practical terms, what does a AAA versus a AA-plus rating mean for you? A bump in interest rates? That mean you may see a bump in your mortgage bill, car loans, student loans. Market strategists say it might also be a good time to take a closer look at your investments, including your 401(k) and consider dialing down your risk.

So just how big a deal is this? Poppy Harlow is here to break it down. And, Poppy, a big deal, not such a big deal? Do we know yet?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Can I say all of the above, Joe?

I mean, look, this is a very big deal in that it's never happened before in this country. We have enjoyed a pristine AAA credit rating as far back as we can remember. This is the first downgrade in history. To your point, we don't know yet. And not a big deal is, what does it mean for the people at home? What does it mean for the stock market? Since this is uncharted territory, we don't know what it means. It could be dramatic on either side.

But, you know, I think that what's critical here is the timing. This comes at a point in time when our economy is so weak fundamentally, at a point in time when we saw the worst sell-off for stocks last week that we've seen since 2008, the height of the financial crisis.

I talked to New York Stock Exchange traders after the close of trading on Friday, and this is the one thing that they were worried about heading into Monday's session, is whether or not S&P would downgrade the credit of this country. A few hours later, the rating agency did exactly that. So how Wall Street reacts, how the stock market reacts is yet to be seen.

Historically, when we saw the downgrade in Canada in the '90s, Japan in the '90s, their stock markets actually rebounded over the 12 months following. Their economies are very, very different than the U.S. economy, so it's yet to be seen if that's how it will play out here.

But, psychologically, this is very significant. This is a huge blow to an already weak economy, with very, very high unemployment, and an American public that is very frustrated with the lack of leadership in Washington coming to a deal which - on the debt ceiling until the 11th hour, which - which was part of, as you know, Joe, S&P's decision here to downgrade.

JOHNS: So they really sort of got into the politics of the deal, if you will. Isn't that kind of unusual for a rating agency to sort of weigh in on a sovereign government's politics?

HARLOW: That is a very good point. It - it is a bit unusual, but I think it was necessary here. You'll hear people argue on both sides that that wasn't their place, but I - I want to read you what they said, because pretty harsh language that came here in their decision, Joe.

S&P said the political brinkmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policy making becoming less stable, less effective and less predictable than what we've previously thought.

That was really the headline of their report. They looked at the fiscal path that this country is on and said the numbers just don't make sense for you to hold that AAA credit rating. And also, and possibly more importantly, your political system is not as strong and effective and working the way that we think it should be to give you a AAA credit rating.

It - it is not unprecedented for a rating agency to do this, but it - it certainly is not necessarily what - what we were expecting to hear. But I think it's the most interest part of this, is that it clearly says that if Washington had acted together, acted more quickly and didn't wait until the 11th hour, this may not have happened. We don't know, but that was part of their decision making, and a - a pretty big part of it, Joe.

JOHNS: Poppy Harlow in New York. Thanks so much for that.

Not surprisingly, reaction to the downgrade from Republican presidential candidates was fast, and it was furious. Mitt Romney released a statement saying, "America's credit worthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama's failed record of leadership on the economy. Standard & Poor's rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country's decline under President Obama," Romney says.

This reaction from Michele Bachmann, "I call on the president to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work."

And Jon Huntsman says, "For far too long we have let reckless government spending go unchecked and the cancerous debt afflicting our nation has spread. We need new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job friendly policies to get America working again."

Another big story today, it may be the deadliest single incident involving U.S. troops in 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan. An Army Chinook helicopter crashed overnight in an eastern province. At least 31 U.S. Special Forces troops were reported killed. U.S. officials confirm that most of them are members of the U.S. Navy's elite SEAL teams.

A retired army general told me why he thinks those troops were operating in such a remote place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RETIRED BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: On the ISAF operational update, public operational update today, there was a report in that same area that coalition forces had been going against some IED makers. There may be a connection between the two, but I think all of us understand the tremendous cost that IEDs have had both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if they've got a major cell if IED makers, that's the type of mission that they might want to send a special operations unit up against.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Stay with CNN. We're going to have more on this live with our Pentagon correspondent in just a minute.

Back in this country, a verdict in the controversial shootings case of the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. Four current officers and a former officer were found guilty yesterday of depriving victims of their rights and other civil rights violations.

Two men were fatally shot in the bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, four others wounded. The families of the victims welcome the verdict.

The FBI is searching for three Florida siblings. They're accused of shooting at a police officer during a high-speed chase near Tampa and robbing a bank in Georgia with a machine gun. The two brothers and a sister are all in their early 20s.

Police say they sent an ominous text to their mom saying, there's a time for all of us to die.

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is back in court today for more testimony in the penalty phase of his trial. Jeffs faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault. The 12 and 15- year-olds were called his so-called spiritual wives.

Thirty-one American troops are dead in a military helicopter crash in Afghanistan. We've confirmed several new details.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent joins me live, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Thirty-one American troops were killed overnight during a Special Forces raid in Afghanistan, almost all of them Navy SEALs. We do have some fresh details.

Straight to Washington and our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, you picked up some new information. What are you learning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Joe, new details just in. We now know what these Navy SEALs were doing when they flew into this remote area of Eastern Afghanistan, an administration official confirming the SEALs were on a mission to try and rescue other troops. They were functioning as what the military calls a quick reaction force, moving into these remote mountains to try and help out another unit that had been pinned down in a firefight and needed help.

As you say, 31 Americans dead in this helicopter incident. Of those, 25 were U.S. Special Forces, 22 of them, Joe, U.S. Navy SEALs. The majority of the SEALs came from the same unit that sent the SEALs in to the Osama Bin Laden raid in Pakistan earlier this year, but several sources are telling us that the military has run a check on all of the names, and that none of the killed in action today were on the Bin Laden raid themselves.

This, however, is shaping up to be one of the most tragic days, not just for the U.S. military but for the special operations community which has really been carrying a very heavy combat load in Eastern Afghanistan, doing these raids, doing these missions day after day, night after night - Joe.

JOHNS: So you say we also know that they were under fire at the time, or at least there was some enemy fire at the time.

STARR: Absolutely. What our administration sources are telling us is, yes, there were reports at the time of enemy fire in the area, and although there will be a full military investigation, at least one official tells me, at this time, there is good reason to believe that it was brought down by enemy fire.

And, you know, clearly this other unit that the SEALs were going to try and rescue, they were pinned down in a firefight with insurgents. So this was a very hot combat zone when they flew in - Joe.

JOHNS: Do we know any more about the people they were essentially going in to try to rescue?

STARR: We do not at this point. That information so far has not been revealed or discussed by the military other than to say this was a unit of military personnel, the way it was described to me, already in contact with the insurgents, clearly meaning that they were already engaged in a firefight, pinned down. They called for help. The SEALs come as a so-called quick reaction force, a QRF.

They - they are always on standby, these reaction forces, to help any troops in trouble. They move very quickly. They're trained to do this. They're very highly trained, and they moved very quickly to get on their helicopter and get to this area to try and help. Tragically, they ran into some serious trouble on the way - Joe.

JOHNS: Now, we know the president of the United States is out of Camp David in Maryland right now. The White House released a picture of him on the phone. Do you have any idea who it was that alerted the president to the fact that this had occurred and - and who's keeping him updated?

STARR: Well, Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the White House Security, National Security staff, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta - these are the normal chain of command personnel in Washington that are immediately notified when an incident of this magnitude and tragedy takes place. And, clearly, they moved very quickly to notify the president, bring him up to date and continue to brief him throughout the day.

You know, I think one of the real indicators of the magnitude of this is the White House put out a statement, the NATO Secretary General put out a statement. This is a - they typically don't do that for each and every, sadly, combat death in the war zone. The fact that this went right to the level of a White House and a NATO statement really shows how serious this incident is unfolding and how it's taking place, Joe.

JOHNS: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Barbara Starr, in Washington, D.C.

The Navy SEALs, of course, the best of the best. The United States puts a lot of time and effort and money, quite frankly, into making sure that these are people who can go anywhere and do anything the military asks them for.

Thanks for your reporting.

STARR: Sure.

JOHNS: The former prime minister of Ukraine went to jail yesterday. These people rallied outside the courtroom in Kiev after police took Yulia Tymoshenko away in handcuffs. She left office last year and is now on trial, charged with corruption.

Yesterday, the judge ordered Tymoshenko arrested and removed from the courtroom, saying she was disrupting the trial.

The president of Venezuela says this is his new look. President Hugo Chavez appeared on state TV a few days ago with most of his hair shaved off. He underwent a round of chemotherapy last month in Cuba.

Here's his more familiar look. This picture was taken in July in Caracas. Chavez acknowledges that he is a cancer patient but has yet to say what type of cancer he has.

And the president of Somalia says the rebel group that runs much of Southern Somalia has pulled out of the capital Mogadishu. The militant group Al-Shabaab is linked to al Qaeda and reportedly left Mogadishu today after fighting with Somali and African Union forces.

This week's CNN Hero gives hope to women as they fight for their lives. The story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: More than a quarter of a million women across the U.S. have been diagnosed with breast cancer before their 41st birthdays. Many don't have the emotional and financial support they need during treatment, and that's where Debbie Cantwell steps in, a CNN Hero who knows all too well the devastating toll the disease can take.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBBIE CANTWELL, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my kids were really young and I was working full time. We were struggling, and when you start adding hospital bills and medication costs, it just throws your world upside down.

My husband took care of me, took care of the kids. My parents and my friends did everything for me. But, through treatment, I was meeting women that just didn't have it as easy as me. All these people were there for me, and I couldn't possibly pay everybody back, so I decided I was going to pay it forward.

My name is Debbie Cantwell and I provide care and comfort to young women fighting breast cancer.

We get Subway, get 225 (ph) Subways.

We send out gas cards, restaurant gift cards, grocery gift cards and housecleaning services.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really bottoming out emotionally, and then, all of a sudden, I can buy diapers and I can get food.

Yes, there's a card. Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so much more than just tangible things. It's hope.

CANTWELL: I help young women that can't wait for a cure. These women are sick right now and they need help today.

Hi, Rachel, how are you? Did your groceries come?

"RACHEL", CANCER PATIENT: They did. I just got them.

I appreciate it. It's - it's such a huge help.

CANTWELL: They're my sisters, and I honestly would do anything to help them out.

I take it really personally. It's hard when I lose somebody, but it's just part of the job.

I'll probably die of breast cancer someday, but - and I want to really make the most of the time I have by doing some good in the world and being the best I can for whatever time I have left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: If you know someone who deserves special recognition, let us know at CNNHeroes.com.

Millions of Americans are out of work, but one group faces some particularly tough challenges landing a job. These are veterans. How President Obama plans to help veterans get back to work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: The head of S&P's Sovereign Ratings Committee said there's plenty of blame to go around over the U.S.'s first credit downgrade ever. He singled out the bitter politics of the debt deal, adding increasing the debt ceiling took too long.

It may be the deadliest single incident involving U.S. troops in 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan. An Army Chinook helicopter crashed overnight in an eastern province. At least 31 U.S. Special Forces are reported killed. U.S. officials now confirm that most of them are members of the U.S. Navy's elite SEAL team.

In Ohio, somebody took a shot at a MedFlight helicopter. No one was hurt. Police found fragments from a .22 caliber bullet near the fuel tank during a post flight inspection Friday. Because of the noise, nobody knows where the shooting took place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD CRANE, MEDFLIGHT PRESIDENT AND CEO: They're putting their lives on the line to save others, and this is totally inappropriate and just astounding that someone would take a shot at a life-saving aircraft such as this. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: And scary. Police and the FBI are investigating.

People in Tacoma, Washington are remembering the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General John Shalikashvili retired in the Tacoma area in 1998 and the city held a memorial service for the general today.

Shalikashvili died July 23rd at the age of 75. He'll be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The University of Alabama has finally been able to hold commencement ceremonies today three months after deadly tornadoes ripped through the state. The commencement, planned back in May, had to be postponed.

Six students from the university were killed when the storm hit Tuscaloosa. Their parents accepted posthumous degrees for them today.

Tonight the NFL's Hall of Fame inducts new players. Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk are both getting into the Hall on for their first year of eligibility. Shannon Sharpe is in his third year of eligibility, and he'll be joined on the stage tonight by his brother, former NFL wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.

Tiger Woods is back from his three-month injury layoff, but he's out of the mix at the Bridgestone Invitational. He shot a two over par 72 today, worst of the three rounds in his return. His ex caddie riding high, though. His new employer, Adam Scott, is topping the leader board.

In Texas, July was the hottest month on record there. A dozen people have died in Dallas alone and neighbors say at least one of those deaths should have been prevented.

That story from CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These days, when the sun breaks through the horizon, it comes with a sense of dread. It doesn't take long for triple digit temperatures to lock a suffocating grip on the Southern Plains.

LUCY HARRIS, HEAT VICTIM'S NEIGHBOR: The system was gone. There were nothing there (ph).

LAVANDERA: That dread struck the heart of Lucy Harris's Dallas neighborhood. Her 79-year-old neighbor Dolores Grissom (ph) died in her home. The medical examiner says the heat caused her death, but Lucy says her friend didn't have to die. Someone stole the elderly woman's air conditioning unit.

HARRIS: She had no idea. She said her house was hot. I says to her why your house is hot is because your air conditioning system is gone. LAVANDERA: The unit was ripped out of this cage. The family has put in a new one. Grissom reported it stolen. Two days later, she died.

(on camera): What do you think should happen to the people who stole this air conditioning unit?

HARRIS: They need to be put away. That's what's needed to happen.

They need to be - they need life in prison for doing some stuff like that because, I mean, they caused her to die, so they need to be in prison.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Protecting the most vulnerable is an urgent concern for social service agencies like the Salvation Army. It's opened cooling stations, targeting the homeless. They give out free water and they're keeping emergency shelters open 24 hours.

MICHAEL ALLEN, SALVATION ARMY: And this is every year.

LAVANDERA: Shelter director Michael Allen says it's a matter of life and death.

(on camera): Have you seen people who have come in here with heat exhaustion, just kind of on the verge of passing out? Anything like that?

ALLEN: Yes. Sometimes, we have some guys at the front gate, they're passed out at the front gate. We got to bring them in.

LAVANDERA: Passed out from the heat?

ALLEN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Occupants are out of their vehicles.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Some of the hottest spots in major urban areas are on the roadways.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Command center, this is -

(CROSSTALK)

LAVANDERA: Inside the command center of the North Texas Tollway Authority, they're on the lookout for stranded drivers. They can use heat sensors to monitor roadway temperatures in real time.

MARTY LEGE, NORTH TEXAS TOLLWAY AUTHORITY: When someone breaks down and they're out in these kinds of temperatures on a roadway system, it's very dangerous.

LAVANDERA: The numbers are staggering. Workers are recording temperatures of 105 degrees, 18 inches below the toll roads. That can cause roadways to buckle and crack.

But this is the most stunning number of all. If you're standing on a paved bridge in this urban jungle, temperatures are reaching almost 142 degrees.

LEGE: The actual temperatures are going beyond what we've experienced in the past and, you know, we've not really seen roadway temperatures like this probably ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: A hundred and thirty-five degrees 18 inches below the roadway? That's nuts, folks.

Unfortunately, there's no immediate relief in sight. These scorching temperatures are expected to continue into next week.

Jacqui Jeras, I mean, when is this going to back off.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It feels like never, doesn't it? I mean, you know, Dallas, where Ed (ph) was there (ph), today's day 36 in a row where they've had 100 degrees plus. That's a consecutive streak, not to mention, you know, what they had prior to that on and off. So imagine that, you know, over a month dealing with temperatures like this. And some of the worst of it is, is that you just don't cool down at night.

Now, there is some relief in sight primarily for the central plains. But you're going to get a bit of a break across parts of Texas and Oklahoma. We're talking about by the end of the week, our Jet Stream pattern is going to start to dip down a little bit. Some cooler air is going to filter in. And say by Wednesday into Thursday, and then into Friday, we'll see those temperatures. And they're going to be at or near normal. So put that in perspective. The average high in Dallas this time of year is 97 degrees. So when you're talking about 97 to 99 for heat relief, is that really heat relief? Well, it's a lot better than 108. You'll take anything you can get, at this point.

Let's take a look at a couple of other cities. Kansas City, your break is going to be more dramatic, 96 degrees for a high today. By Wednesday, we're talking about a high of 81. So that's incredible. You're also going to be getting showers and thunderstorms to pull on in.

Memphis looking at 100 today, dropping down to 92 by the middle of the week. So that's some improvement. But we're still going to stay hot, and we've got a number of days to go while it's still going to be feeling like 100 to 115.

There's been some brief relief across parts of the East in terms of showers and thunderstorms. That will bring in a little cloud cover and bring your temperature down, at least temporarily.

I also want to mention that these showers and storms are pulling into the northeastern corridor. So if you do have some travel plans, we do expect to see some additional delays at the airport, problems in San Francisco, Teeterboro and Miami at this hour. Joe, back to you.

JOHNS: Good enough. Thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras.

Millions of Americans are out of work. How President Obama plans to help veterans get back to work when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: The White House is renewing efforts to create jobs, and President Obama is paying attention to one group that faces some particular challenges finding work, veterans.

I want to bring in Athena Jones in Washington. Athena, how is the president hoping to spur hiring for veterans?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president wants to help returning veterans get a college education, get job training and make their transition back to civilian life easier. But he also wants to encourage companies to hired unemployed veterans by offering tax credits. We're told that as of June, there were about one million unemployed vets in the country.

Now, the president talked yesterday about the importance of taking care of our nation's veterans at this jobs event. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our incredible service men and women need to know America values them not simply for what they can do in uniform but for what they can do when they come home. We need them to keep making America stronger. Our companies need skilled workers like our veterans to grow, and there's no reason why we can't connect the two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And now, one quick thing about this, the way this tax credit would work. If a company hires a veteran that's been out of work for at least four weeks, they get a tax credit of up to $2,400. But if they hire a veteran who's been out of work for six months or more, that tax credit would double to up to $4,800. This is just one of the proposals the administration has put forward, Joe.

JOHNS: All right, sort of a tiered thing there. Thank you very much, Athena Jones in Washington.

JONES: Thanks.

JOHNS: So Arthur Barham's here now. He totally knows the difficulties veterans face in the job market. He's the president of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. This is a group that helps veterans get off the street, pick up their skills, get a new job.

So we heard what Athena just said, you know, and we've been following this kind of closely. The president is doing something that some other administrations have at least taken a stab at, if you will. But how is this different from what, you know, previous administrations have tried to pull off? ARTHUR BARHAM, FMR. PRES., NAT'L COALITION FOR HOMELESS VETS: Well, first of all, I'm the former president of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and I've been out of the arena for quite a while. However, the problems are still the same in that we have multiple layers of administration within every administration. In other words, governmental agencies.

JOHNS: Bureaucracy.

BARHAM: A bureaucracy process that will probably eat up roughly 35 percent in administrative costs for administering those programs and establishing the regulatory process.

JOHNS: So they're taking money away.

BARHAM: Oh, yes. Sure. Sure. There's no doubt about it. But then when you think about it, if you go back to the first George Bush administration, which the Homeless Veterans Reintegration program started under, if you go all the way back to when we had Health, Education and Welfare and we started within the U.S. Department of Education, veterans (INAUDIBLE)

JOHNS: Right.

BARHAM: All of these programs were designed to help veterans transition, or soldiers transition from military life to civilian life, either focusing on education or focusing on employment because you have Veterans Redeployment and Training Act. You have the...

JOHNS: So this is just what, tax credits. But this is...

BARHAM: Tax credits, which is somewhat different because it's a -- they don't put the front end in, the training, the transition...

JOHNS: Right.

BARHAM: ... and making that all a part. But they're putting it under one umbrella, one place, one administrative stream to manage that.

JOHNS: Less bureaucracy.

BARHAM: Less bureaucracy.

JOHNS: But they're doing it on the back end.

BARHAM: Yes. Oh, yes, because everybody wants results.

JOHNS: Right.

BARHAM: Everybody wants to see results...

JOHNS: So you tell the company, Well, hey, if you did this, then we're going to give you this tax credit, right?

BARHAM: Oh, absolutely.

JOHNS: OK.

BARHAM: And those companies will hire. Some companies will actually hire, get the tax credits. And then the first sign of trouble, you know, the first -- you know -- you know, last hired, first fired.

JOHNS: They're out.

BARHAM: Yes. Oh, absolutely.

JOHNS: So do you think it's going to work?

BARHAM: I think the concept is a great concept. I think the president's on the right page. I just would like to think that we have a patriotic population that says, We are going to put something behind our lip service and hire these vets, tax credits or no.

JOHNS: So you're talking about the companies. They need to go ahead and...

BARHAM: Oh, yes.

JOHNS: ... do it.

BARHAM: Yes, the companies need to step up. You know, this whole indecision they have about hiring people -- the best way to get the best workers is to hire those that are willing. And veterans are willing to work. They are ready to work. All they need is just a little bit of guidance to say, This is what we want you to do.

JOHNS: And you know, it's kind of funny, the president came with this this week, after all this talk about budget cutting. Do you all get a little bit worried that you throw a program like this out there, and it's going to end up on the chopping block because they're trying to save money?

BARHAM: Absolutely. Absolutely. There's not going to be enough to service everybody that's out there, so you start prioritizing who do you thank, what communities do you thank, which politician speaks the loudest. They'll get a piece of that pie, and ultimately, other places will, you know, be left out. So then when we start cutting back, what programs do you think are going to be the first ones to go? Those that don't have an effective track record.

JOHNS: And the thing we really haven't said is that, you know, these are people who have gone overseas. They've been shot at. You know, they've had all kinds of things. They've come back, and they've been injured or whatever. And the question is, What's the government going to do for them now?

BARHAM: Yes, well, it's a little bit -- we are the government. And if we stand by and we say, We support our troops, but then when they come home, we say, Oh, OK, do the best you can -- every war, we've done that.

JOHNS: A whole bunch of us have had people in our families in that very... BARHAM: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: ... not been in the military and done it ourselves.

BARHAM: Oh, yes. But look at the -- look at World War II vets. That was the only population where the country...

JOHNS: Got treated right.

BARHAM: Absolutely.

JOHNS: All right (INAUDIBLE) All right, Art Barham, thanks so much. Great to see you. Great for you to come in.

BARHAM: Great.

JOHNS: The jury already found him guilty. Now how to punish him. Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is back in court. We're live from the courthouse coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: His fate rests now with the jury. Talking about Warren Jeffs, convicted of sexually assaulting young girls who belonged to his religious sect. Today a jury in San Angelo, Texas, is hearing more testimony as they decide how to sentence him.

Beth Karas is there. She's with our sister network "In Session." And Beth, what on earth can the jury hear today that they haven't already heard today during the guilt or innocence phase?

BETH KARAS, "IN SESSION": Well, right now, the jury is hearing testimony about other acts that Warren Jeffs engaged in that weren't the subject of the two sexual assault crimes he's already been convicted of by this jury. Those acts include specifics involving group sex and homosexuality, as well as what the mandates of his father, who preceded him as prophet of the FLDS church, said about marriages.

For example, he said 20 years and older was the proper age for women to marry. And we now know that Warren Jeffs had 24 wives under the age of 17 out of his total of 79 wives. The jury is about to hear from a now adult nephew, who is going to tell them about how when he was 5, 6, 7 years old, his uncle Warren used to take him out of Sunday school and sodomize him in the bathroom. So that's coming up this afternoon.

JOHNS: So this guy could get what, life in prison, more, if that's possible?

KARAS: Yes. He's facing a maximum of life in prison, but the jury's going to decide that. That's what happens in Texas if a defendant asks for it, and they almost always do, this second phase of the trial in any other kind of crime, it's not just capital cases. They could sentence him to as little as 5 years on the aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old or as little as 2 years for the other sexual assault of a 15-year-old. But the maximum is life. And it could be any sentence in between, as well.

JOHNS: Now, this guy represented himself. And one of the interesting things is, usually, when you get somebody representing themselves, they don't do a very good job. How did he make out?

KARAS: Well, that rule wasn't broken in this case. I'll tell you, he asserted a religion defense. He kept saying, Religious persecution, I have freedom of religion in this country, this isn't right. That is not a defense. It didn't work with this jury and is probably the reason why he fired a number of lawyers he's had during the pendency of this case. That's been since the summer of 2008, and the raid of his ranch was in April of 2008.

He's now added another lawyer to his team, by the way, today, a lawyer who sits in the hall to consult with him. He's not in the courtroom. He's across the courtroom in another room. He's asked to be removed. He apparently doesn't want to face these witnesses who are talking about his history of abuse.

JOHNS: Just a fascinating case. Thanks so much, Beth Karas. And we will be following that closely.

Earlier today, I talked with our "Legal Guys" about the Jeffs case, asked if they were surprised that the jury in this case deliberated for just three hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It would have been much longer, except he didn't put a defense on. The -- it really, I don't think, was a surprise to anyone. And what we learned in the trial was that Warren Jeffs and his Yearning for Zion wasn't yearning for Zion, he was yearning for children. And the evidence was overwhelming. There was no question but that we were looking at both a sexual assault and then an aggravated sexual assault.

That's what the jury is thinking about right now in penalty, Joe, because they are now hearing evidence from many of the people that went through this experience, personal sexual experiences, as children. And that evidence will continue to be presented all the way through Monday, probably up to Tuesday, when they'll finally make a decision on how long he's going to spend in jail. You're looking at life, I think.

JOHNS: Right. Do you agree, Richard? This is a case where you've got, you know, all this evidence. We're probably going to reach some type of decision on the sentencing phase around Tuesday. Do you think this is life in prison?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Joe, if they could give him more than life, they would do that. This guy made a big mistake. He messed with Texas. And I -- you know, you don't want to do that. So now this ex-prophet, current child rapist, who is going to get sentenced, is going to get hammered by this jury.

The tape recordings that were played for this jury were devastating. It was not a complex case, Joe. It was a streamlined prosecution. Other prosecution should learn from this -- Orlando. Anyway, it was a streamlined prosecution, Joe, and the jury just ate it up. It was a horrific case.

And Avery's right. He put on no defense. He sat there like a lunatic. He fired all of his attorneys. Now during the sentencing phase, he stands up in court and tells the judge, Remove me from the court. I can't see my religion persecuted like this. So the judge said, Fine, you're out.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: But I got to ask you both...

HERMAN: ... put in one of his old attorneys to represent him. Yes, I mean, it's brutal. And now the testimony that's coming in is devastating, Joe. This jury is not going to tolerate it. He's facing 90 years on the 12-year-old and 22 on the 15-year-old. He's going to get it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: You can catch our "Legal Guys" every Saturday at noon Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: You know, Jacqui, I guess the danger in both TV and the movies is having to follow animals.

JERAS: Yes. Or children.

JOHNS: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: Yes, but -- and so we...

JERAS: You're always going to be one-upped.

JOHNS: Right. So we got now our viral video, and we're going to prove that point, I take it.

JERAS: All right. Yes. Well, let's take a look at this. This is Tillman, and he is a skate-boarding dog. He's been an absolute...

JOHNS: Oh, that's hilarious!

JERAS: ... sensation on YouTube. Look at him!

JOHNS: Oh, yes! That's what I'm talking about, right outside the pet supply store.

JERAS: Apparently, he's done commercials. There's talk now of him getting his own reality show.

JOHNS: I could never skateboard. But you know what?

JERAS: No?

JOHNS: We were talking about...

JERAS: Oh, come on!

JOHNS: Well, straight up. If you look at him, he has a really low center of gravity, right?

JERAS: Yes. Yes. Short legs...

JOHNS: It's the same with kids.

JERAS: ... wide body.

JOHNS: Right. But if you get a tall guy trying to, you know, skateboard...

JERAS: Right.

JOHNS: ... and you'll fall and break your head in a minute.

JERAS: Yes.

JOHNS: He looks like he could use some water. Where is that, anyway? It's got to be hot out there.

JERAS: This is Portland, Oregon.

JOHNS: Oh, that's not that bad.

JERAS: He's making some appearances, apparently, there this weekend. You know, I also looked up a little bit of info (INAUDIBLE) he's got his own FaceBook page.

JOHNS: Really?

JERAS: Yes. And the funny thing was, like, all the people who were posting and stuff had pictures of dogs.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: Yes, it's kind of hard for him to friend people, I would think.

JERAS: Yes! That's got to be why he's so good because he's low to the ground, he's kind of a stout dog, right...

JOHNS: Yes.

JERAS: ... so he's got that center of gravity and... JOHNS: Does he tweet, too?

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: You know, I didn't check the Twitter out, but yes...

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: There he goes!

JERAS: There he goes! Yes, you don't see a lab, right, or you know, maybe an Afghan or a greyhound.

JOHNS: But yes -- no...

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: No way. That just doesn't work.

JERAS: But he's really good. He totally gets it. You know, he had his little foot going and...

JOHNS: Sure. And he knows everybody loves him. So that's extra treats.

JERAS: I want to start seeing him doing, like, flips.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: Yes, I know.

JERAS: That's next.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: If you love Lucy, then this is your day. The first lady of comedy turns 100 years old, and people are turning out to pay special tribute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: If you haven't Googled anything today, check this out. It's a special Google tribute to the first lady of comedy, Lucille Ball, better known simply as Lucy. Today would have been her 100th birthday, and after all these years, Google shows us why we still love Lucy.

A lot of Lucy lovers are celebrating her 100th birthday in her hometown near Jamestown, New York. We get the story from Peter Gallivan (ph) of our affiliate WGRZ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER GALLIVAN, WGRZ CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Judging by the looks of Jamestown today, everyone loves Lucy.

TOM BENSON, LUCY-DESI CENTER FOR COMEDY: The town is buzzing like I haven't seen it in my 50-some-odd years of living here.

GALLIVAN: With people from around the country...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baltimore loves Lucy!

GALLIVAN: ... and around the glob. There's even a film crew from Japan here somewhere, capturing the crowds and doing a documentary on the life of Lucille Ball. And all this attention means great things for the local economy, says Mayor Sam Teresi.

MAYOR SAMUEL TERESI, JAMESTOWN, NY: Thousands of people and millions of dollars.

GALLIVAN: Spent on everything Lucy. People are dressed head to toe to show that they're the biggest fans. Then there are the ones who are actually dressed like Lucy. These friends drove all the way up from Georgia with a variety of outfits to complete their roles as Lucy and Ethel. And the look-alikes are apparently not just the tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you could pass for the young Ricky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awesome!

GALLIVAN (on camera): Well, OK, maybe a slight resemblance. But as big as the festival is this year, organizers are hoping this is just the start of something even bigger.

BENSON: There is no national comedy hall of fame. There is no Cooperstown of comedy.

GALLIVAN (voice-over): Tom Benson is the president of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center for Comedy and envisions a comedy hall of fame in Jamestown, he says something Lucy had hoped for and also an idea that's getting support from some big names, from Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone to Whoopi Goldberg and Carol Burnett.

BENSON: We're trying to take it one step at a time. I mean, we don't want to be out there saying that we -- you know, it's a slam dunk. It's not. I mean, this is a small town. But what we've got going for us here is that this is already a tourist area.

GALLIVAN: And from the looks of things, a very passionate fan base of Lucy devotees.

TERESI: I wouldn't want to build a local economy exclusively on a tourism industry, but I wouldn't want to try to build a dynamic local economy without a good tourism piece.

GALLIVAN: Whatever the future holds, the present certainly looks bright as huge numbers are coming to town to take in all the festival has to offer and say happy 100th to everyone's favorite redhead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Lucille Ball was nominated for an Emmy Award 13 times during her career. She took the Emmy home four times.