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31 U.S. Troops Dead in War Zone Crash; S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating; Critic Grades New Summer Movies; Tiger Woods' Rocky Return; 104 Years Old and Going Strong; Day of Prayer in Texas; Feeding Thousands in Somalia; "Face to Face" with Margaret Cho

Aired August 06, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: It may be the deadliest single incident involving U.S. troops in 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan. An Army Chinook helicopter crashed overnight, and at least 31 U.S. special forces troops were killed. U.S. officials confirm that most of them were members of the U.S. Navy's elite SEAL Teams, and they believe the helicopter was shot down.

Straight to Washington, D.C., now and our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, any new details about that helicopter crash? What do the officials think happened?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed, Joe, at this point, 22 Navy SEALs have lost their lives, many of them, most of them, we are told, members of the same overall unit, the covert unit of Navy SEALs that went after Osama bin Laden, not the same exact commandos. They have run a name checklist and none of the men that were on the bin Laden mission were involved in this tragedy. But nonetheless, 22 Navy SEALs have lost their lives.

They were working as what is called a Quick Reaction Force. They had been called in to get on a helicopter, move very fast to try and help another unit that was pinned down, that was involved in a firefight and had called for some additional reinforcement, some additional help. That's when this happened.

At this point, full investigation under way, but an official telling us they do believe there's a very good possibility it was shot down. There was enemy fire in the area. But nonetheless, they will conduct an investigation.

And of course, right now, the prime mission really is for those casualty assistance officers to move very quickly across this country to hometowns, home bases, and try and get to the families who have lost their loved ones, notify them of all the details they can, and get them whatever help they need to get through this -- Joe.

JOHNS: So where does this crash stand compared to other deadly incidents? And there have been many in Afghanistan.

STARR: Well, I have to tell you, at this point, by all accounts, we think that, you know, this is perhaps the one with the highest casualty rate. There was an incident that involved both helicopters and a firefight in June of 2005, when 19 troops lost their lives in, essentially, what became a single incident.

You want to acknowledge, of course, that every single loss is a terrible tragedy for the families involved. But it is the scope of this one, 22 Navy SEALs. This will be felt across the Navy SEAL community for some time to come.

You know, think of it this way. It was 22 SEALs, a total of 25 special operations forces. There were some others from other services on board. They're going to have to replace them in Afghanistan very quickly. These are the units that go out every night on these helicopter assault missions into some of the toughest areas of Afghanistan, go after the insurgents, go after those so-called "high value targets."

Those missions don't stop. That job continues and will continue. And as difficult it may be to acknowledge so soon after this, the men who lost their lives, they are going to be replaced. The military says it will continue with its mission -- Joe.

JOHNS: So the president is out at Camp David, as we've been reporting, and we all know that he's, you know, kept in constant contact, especially on important situations like this one. But who is it that is talking to the president? There you see a photograph that was released by the White House.

STARR: Well, sure. I mean, an incident of this magnitude, of this scope, certainly notified to the president. As soon as word comes in to the White House Situation Room, into the National Security Council, there are people who are always on tap with the president who will wake him up in the middle of the night when one of these crises occurs.

He will -- has kept in contact today with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. military. They have continued to brief him on these developments as they move forward.

The next step, of course, will be for the arrival of the remains of those who have been killed at Dover Air Force Base. That is now where for so many years, we have seen these very somber ceremonies of flag- covered caskets come home. There will be quite a number of them coming in the next few days, Joe.

JOHNS: Barbara Starr, thanks so much for that, a very sad day in Washington, D.C., and around the country as we look for more details on that helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Thanks, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

JOHNS: A little while ago, I talked to a retire U.S. Army general who told me that the impact on the special operations community cannot be overstated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): My recollection, there are probably seven SEAL teams in the country. I don't know the exact number in each SEAL team, but probably not less than -- or not more than a couple of hundred, at the most. So when you start talking a total SEAL population of perhaps under 1,000, if, in fact, you've lost two dozen, it's not solely a tragedy for the families -- and it's a tremendous tragedy and our hearts go out to those families -- but there will be an operational consequence to the SEAL community of losing that large number.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Again, if the casualty figures are confirmed, this crash will be the deadliest single incident for U.S. troops so far in the Afghanistan war.

The U.S. no longer has perfect credit. After taking the country's top rating down a peg for the first time ever yesterday, the S&P said there is plenty of political blame to go around. But the agency's managing director says the downgrade could have been avoided.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN CHAMBERS, MANAGING DIR., STANDARD & POOR'S: I think you could have done a few things. I mean, the first thing you could have done is to have raised the debt celling in a timely manner so that much of this debate had been avoided to begin with, as it had done, you know, 60 or 70 times since 1960 without that much debate. So that's point number one.

And point number two is they could have come up with a fiscal plan, you know, similar, for example, to, you know, the Bowles-Simpson commission, which was bipartisan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: So just how big a deal is this? Poppy Harlow's here now to break it all down. Poppy, this essentially kicks the United States out of an exclusive AAA club. But what does that mean, really?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely does. And there are more and more that are saying right now, Joe, that this is a wakeup call that the United States needed, that it wasn't on a fiscal path that was sustainable. And it does.

Let's take a look at the countries that still retain their AAA credit rating, the United States not among them now, countries like Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland. The United States was part of that exclusive club up until 8:00 o'clock Eastern last night, when S&P downgraded it. It is no longer part of that.

Just to put this in perspective for you, we're still rated at AA-plus. That's still a very high rating. We're rated higher than China. This puts us sort of right in line with Belgium. This is still a high rating.

But the concern is, what does this do, on one hand, to confidence, to the American consumer right now, given the high unemployment, given the lack of consumer confidence? What does it do to the stock market? We'll know that Monday morning here in New York when trading opens. And overall, what does this do to the investor at home? Does this drive interest rates up across the board? That's the fear.

We don't know because this has never happened in the history of this country, so it's an unprecedented move and we head into uncharted territory, Joe.

JOHNS: Let's talk a little bit about S&P's reason for doing this. What are the factors they use to sort of make this decision to downgrade the U.S. credit?

HARLOW: So they follow five sort of different guidelines. We'll pull them up on the screen and show them to you. But there's two real key ones. You see "political climate," and that is number one for a reason. There was a lot of talk about the political fight in Washington over the debt ceiling deal that contributed to this decision. The real economy -- what's the state of the U.S. economy, and we all know how sour that is right now.

The fiscal situation, taxes coming in -- you heard the head of S&P talk last night about it will really determine how long they keep this downgraded rating on the United States if we see an extension of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. If we let those lapse, he said that will give us an additional $950 billion, so that that could help.

Also, the external situation -- how is the global economy? It's not strong right now. And finally, monetary policy -- where does the Fed stand? Where are interest rates? The two key parts of that, Joe, is the political climate and also the fiscal path that we're on. And as you know so well, being in Washington, Joe, politics played a huge part in this.

JOHNS: Right, and that's the thing that sort of set off some alarm bells because it's kind of surprising, isn't it, for an agency like this to make a decision on the country's credit based on the internal political infighting, if you will.

HARLOW: I think it is surprising. I was certainly surprised to read that in the statement that S&P issued. But at the same time, it's not unwarranted or uncalled for. I mean, we all saw how that debt debate played out in Washington and how unbelievable it was that it was carried to the 11th hour.

I want to pull up a statement here that came from Standard & Poor's. I think this really exemplifies it. 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 originally thought."

So what they're saying in this statement is that they do not believe that the political machine in Washington right now, lawmakers that we pay to handle our budget as a country, deserve a AAA credit rating right now. So you know, there's going to be a lot of arguing about whether or not it was warranted for them to take a political angle on this, but bottom line, they did, Joe.

JOHNS: It sure was brinksmanship, and it sure did make you feel as if it was unstable there in Washington, D.C.

HARLOW: Yes.

JOHNS: So hard to argue with that. Thanks so much, Poppy.

There's a lot of uncertainty here since this is uncharted financial territory. Fallout from the credit downgrade is reverberating inside the Washington Beltway. Our Athena Jones is in Washington with reaction from the White House. Athena, what are the congressional leaders saying about this?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the congressional leaders, it's interesting -- you heard what Poppy said about what Standard & Poor's said about Congress. This is really an indictment of Congress and the kind of dysfunction that we've been seeing over the last several weeks, with Republicans and Democrats not able to get together and agree.

And so they were able to agree at this last moment, but they kicked the can down the road. They put off the tough decisions on things like tax revenues and entitlement reform. And what you've seen is that even after this -- right after this decision was announced last night, you saw members of Congress sending out a whole slew of e- mails, and it looked like they're still in their respective corners.

You had people like John Boehner saying, Well, this S&P decision just proves that the Democrats have been overspending, we've got to cut, cut, cut. And you had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid come out and say, Well, this downgrade shows that we need to have a balanced approach that includes taxes and entitlements. And so it's unclear going forward whether the two sides are going to be able to come together, as the S&P wants to see, and as the White House has encouraged, Joe.

JOHNS: Wow. It's just pretty remarkable. And also on the campaign trail, you're actually seeing a lot of people out there, particularly Republicans, blaming the Obama administration, which is a very interesting dynamic, especially when you consider the fact that, clearly, the public blames both parties for not getting together on these things. Thanks so much for that reporting, Athena Jones in Washington.

JONES: Thanks, Joe.

JOHNS: In other news, 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 child sexual assault. The 12 and 15-year-olds were called his so-called "spiritual wives."

A New Orleans jury has convicted four current police officers and one former one in the controversial shootings at the Danziger Bridge. The five were found guilty yesterday of depriving victims of their rights and other civil rights violations. Two men were fatally shot on the bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Four others were wounded.

The FBI has launched a nationwide manhunt for three Florida siblings. They're accused of eluding police in a high-speed chase and shooting, and a police car -- running it off the road. They're also wanted for allegedly robbing a Georgia bank. Their mom is urging them to surrender, but that's doubtful. Police say the three sent a text to their mom saying, There's a time for all of us to die.

The University of Alabama was finally able to hold commencement ceremonies today, three months after a 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.

Mixing politics and religion in Texas. Critics of Governor Rick Perry's prayer rally want to know how he would separate church from state if he runs for president.

And a surprising retreat in Somalia. A militant group with ties to al Qaeda suddenly leaves Mogadishu.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Developments from the very troubled Horn of Africa now. The president of Somalia announced today that the rebel group that runs much of southern Somalia has pulled out of the capital of Mogadishu. The militant group al Shabaab is linked to al Qaeda and reportedly fled Mogadishu today after fighting with Somali and African Union forces.

That news comes at the same time the United Nations and International Red Cross announced a horrifying number of people affected by famine gripping Somalia now. The latest estimate 29,000 children dead from lack of food and water in the past month alone. Teams from CNN are on the way to Somalia this weekend. Look for reports from chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his team shortly after they arrive.

Other international news now. The former prime minister of Ukraine went to jail yesterday. These people rallied outside a courtroom in Kiev after police took Yulia Tymoshenko (ph) 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 is his more familiar look, this picture taken July 28 in Caracas. Chavez does acknowledge he's a cancer patient, but has yet to say what type of cancer he has.

They continue to break records in Texas, and as much as Texas likes being on top, this is one record Texans would rather leave to others. Also, comedian Margaret Cho knows part of her job is pushing the limits. Cho weighs in on a recent remark by Tracy Morgan that rattled the gay and lesbian community. Our Fredricka Whitfield sits down face to face with Margaret Cho this hour right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: There was so much rain in Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday afternoon, rescuers had to pull people from flooded cars not once, not twice but dozens of times. It was a flash flood triggered by heavy, heavy rain. And in some areas, streets were turned into rivers. That's just pretty amazing.

Now we're going to bring in Jacqui Jeras. That is just so much rain there in Charlotte. You know, I used to live there. I don't think I've ever seen it flooded.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGISTS: Yes, you know, this is two neighborhoods in particular that were hit so hard, low-lying areas. And so much rain just came in a short period of time that the waters came up. This is what we call flash flooding. So it happened very quickly, kind of unexpectedly for a lot of these folks. But we've really had day after day, believe it or not, of these pop-up showers and thundershowers across the Carolinas, down across parts of the deep South.

And today is no different. So it's more in the coastal areas, as opposed into Charlotte, as we speak this hour. So we've got a lot of activity out there. It's just kind of hit and miss. So some folks who are getting it are getting a lot, and then everybody else is just suffering in this unbearable heat.

Showers and storms are also moving in across parts of the Northeastern corridor, so keep that in mind if you have travel plans, or maybe if you're even heading out to dinner for tonight.

Now, we're also seeing a lot of rain across parts of south Florida, and this could get worse in the next couple of days. We're keeping our eye on this cluster right here, and this is the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Emily.

Now, we think, for the most part, it's going to be staying here in the Bahamas and skirting on up towards the north, so we may be getting brushed along the I-95 corridor or so in the next couple of days. It's going to be a close call, but right now, the best thinking is that this thing is going to continue to move up to the north and then swing away from the U.S. coast.

Now, here you can see the area better on satellite that we're talking about, and it's getting a little bit more organized. Hurricane hunters have been flying into this thing today, and we could possibly see this regenerate into a tropical depression or a tropical storm in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Our other top weather story, Joe, continues to be the heat, which just seems unrelenting. Many advisories and warnings remain in effect across the plains states and into the Southeast. We will get a break, especially in this area here, starting as early as tomorrow. But places like Texas and Oklahoma -- they'll just drop down a little bit, be a little bit closer to normal by the end of the week -- Joe.

JOHNS: Wow. You know, it's been a long time since you've seen those triple digits, like, regularly...

JERAS: Yes.

JOHNS: ... up and down the East Coast.

JERAS: Like 36 days.

JOHNS: Yes. I know. Unbelievable. And they've got even less (ph) in the plains. Thanks, Jacqui.

Forbes magazine has released its annual list of Hollywood's highest- earning actors. Coming in at number 5 is actor Tom Hanks, who reportedly made $35 million between May of last year and May of this year. Actor Will Smith came in fourth, raking in $36 million. And actor Adam Sandler came in third place, bringing in $40 million. So who are the top two highest-paid actors? You're going to have to wait until after the break. I'll tell you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: "Forbes" magazine has released its annual list of Hollywood's highest-earning actors between May 2010 and May 2011. Before the break, we found out the bottom three on the list, Adam Sandler, Will Smith, Tom Hanks. So who are the top two highest-earning male actors in Hollywood? Johnny Depp comes in at number two, bringing in $50 million. And -- drum roll, please -- Leonardo DiCaprio, number one, raking in a cool $77 million. Great work if you can get it.

Looking for an action-packed weekend? Well, you may want to head to the movies and check out "Rise of Planet of the Apes." Or if you're looking for comedy, "The Change-Up" is also out on the big screen.

Movie critic Matt Atchity joins us now, from Los Angeles. Matt, first let's talk about the romantic comedy, "The Change-Up," where two best friends, Justin Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, switch lives. One is married, one is enjoying the single life. Let's take a look at a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I envy your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I envy yours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I had your life!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I had your life!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why am I in your apartment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the door!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wished for my life when we were pissing in that fountain!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) each other's lives!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just trying to be nice!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: I know some guys I'd like to switch lives with...

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: ... at least for a little while. What about you, Matt?

MATT ATCHITY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: Yes, I think -- you know, Leo DiCaprio, $77 million a year, I'd switch with him.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: You got that right! All right, so what did you think of this movie?

(LAUGHTER)

ATCHITY: You know, it's pretty good. I was a little surprised. You know, body-switching comedies -- they're kind of hard to do them right. You know, I think that the ideas have been done too many times. It's a little cliched. But this movie really succeeds on the performances of Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman. Once they switch personalities, you get to see them kind of imitate each other, and that's really enjoyable.

The ending's a little bit cliched. The beginning starts out not so great. But you've got great -- like I said, great performances. Olivia Wilde has never looked sexier in a movie. And it's kind of fun and it explores some of the ethics of what might happen in that kind of situation.

(CROSSTALK)

ATCHITY: ... which I didn't really expect, but it's...

JOHNS: Oh, sorry. Going to cut to the chase...

ATCHITY: But it is a good movie.

JOHNS: ... here. Now, what's the grade? Give me your grade.

ATCHITY: I give it a C. I give it a C, better than I thought it was going to be. JOHNS: All right. OK. All right, here we go now, a sci-fi thriller, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," one man's experiment on genetic engineering leads to the development of intelligence in apes and a war for supremacy between humans and apes. Check out the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have no idea what you're dealing with!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: You know, this is not your father's "Planet of the Apes" movie. I mean, those...

ATCHITY: No.

JOHNS: They look realistic, don't they?

ATCHITY: You know what? The apes look great. They're almost completely CGI. There are a couple scenes where it kind of takes you out of the movie. You realize that it is all computer-generated. But like we've seen in some other movies, all of the major performances are referenced to an actual actor.

The lead chimp is played by Andy Serkis, who people might remember as Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" movies and "King Kong' in Peter Jackson's remake. He puts in a fantastic performance here and makes you really kind of empathize with this chimpanzee. And that's what really makes this movie work so well. The action scenes are great. I'm not sure I completely buy James Franco as a genetic scientist, but this is a really fun movie and I really do recommend it.

JOHNS: Really? So high marks on this one? What's the grade?

ATCHITY: I give it a high mark. I give it a -- I give it a B. It's not perfect...

JOHNS: A B? Really?

ATCHITY: ... but it's a lot better than I -- but it's a lot better than I expected. And I think if you go and see it, if you're looking for some, you know, fun ape violence, you're going to enjoy this movie.

JOHNS: Matt, thanks so much for that, and we'll be seeing you here next weekend. I think Fred'll be here.

ATCHITY: Great.

JOHNS: All right. Tiger Woods is back on the links and back in competition. So how did he do today in his comeback bid?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Checking our top stories, it may be the deadliest single incident involving U.S. troops in 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan. And Army Chinook helicopter crashed overnight. Twenty-five U.S. Special Forces troops are now confirmed killed. The Pentagon says 22 of them were members of the U.S. Navy's Elite S.E.A.L. teams.

A retired army general told me why those Special Forces troops regularly operate in the remote mountainous provinces of Eastern Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMIT, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): On the ISAF operational update - public operational update today, there was a report in that same area that coalition forces have 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 you've got a major cell of IED makers, that's the type of mission that they might want to send a special operations unit up against.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Since talking to General Kimmit, we learned that the Special Ops Forces on that helicopter were on a mission to rescue another team pinned down by insurgents. U.S. Military officials believe the Chinook was shot down.

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 head of S&P's sovereign ratings committee said there's plenty of blame to go around over the U.S.'s first ever credit downgrade. He laid out the main reasons to Anderson Cooper last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CHAMBERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, STANDARD & POOR'S: Two reasons, the first reason is the one that you've outlined being from our view of the political settings in the United States have been altered. We have taken them down a notch, taken the rating down a notch. The political brinkmanship we saw over raising the debt ceiling was something that was really beyond our expectations, the U.S. government getting to the last day before they had cash management problems.

There are very few governments that separate the budget process from the debt authorization process and we also think more broadly that this debate has shown that although we do have an agreement that will and we do believe will deliver at least $2.1 trillion of savings over the next decade, it's going to be difficult to get beyond that at least in the near term and you do need to get beyond that to get to a point where the debt to GDP ratio is going to stabilize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The other leading rating agencies are keeping the U.S. at their respective top rating, but they say they are worried about the U.S.'s long-term prospects.

Not surprisingly, reaction to the downgrade from Republican presidential candidates was fast and 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 & Poors' rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country's decline under President Obama.

And 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 John 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."

After a three-month layoff, Tiger Woods is back on a course he once could not lose on. But after today's round at the Bridgestone World Championship, he's way off the leader board. Joe Carter is at the tournament in Akron, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, after three rounds here at the World Golf Championships, Tiger Woods finds himself nowhere near the leader board. After three rounds, he's tied for 38, 13 shots back, but he says he's encouraged about his game. He says he feels good, he's hitting the ball flush, hitting the ball strong, hitting it long. It's just a matter of knocking down the short puts.

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Today, I didn't hit the ball well starting out. And I fixed it, put it together again and really hit it good coming home, starting the ball at the right flight, the right trudge (ph), every two shot was flush, everything was back to where it was at the beginning of the week. The only difference is, is I didn't putt well again today.

CARTER: All right. So you've got to think, since Tiger Woods is nowhere near contention that he's going to use Sunday his final round as a chance to tune up and get ready for next week's PGA Championship. He's always said his ultimate goal is to pass jack in those 18 major wins. If he picks up that major win off next week, that's 15, and puts him in the driver's seat to get back to dominance. We'll see, though, there's a whole lot of time left between now and then.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: What's the secret to living a long life? This woman who recently turned 104 years old and still going strong says it may not be what you think.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): No running, no working out at the gym?

DORRIE ABER-NOYEK, HEALTHY AND GOING STRONG AT 104 YEARS OLD: No, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Find out her secret after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Do you think that exercise and eating your veggies is going to lead to a long life? You may be right, but there may be more to it, according to a new study, living to 100 and beyond may depend on your genes. That's a subject of our weekly look at how to get healthy and stay healthy.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen caught up with a woman, who at 104 years old, is still going strong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Happy birthday, dear Dorrie. Happy birthday to you.

COHEN (voice-over): Guess how old this woman is. 80? 90? 100? No. Think higher. Dorrie Aber-Noyek is turning 104 today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations. I hope I make it to 104.

COHEN: Dorrie is what scientists call a super ager.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has all the love (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love to have a little of your - of your strength.

COHEN: She lives on her own independently in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dorrie has to go to work.

COHEN: And once a week, she even delivers mail at Memorial Regional Hospital.

ABER-NOYEK: I'll slow down if you want me to.

COHEN (on camera): You're all over this place, you're walking here, you're walking there.

ABER-NOYEK: Yes.

COHEN: Where do you get the energy at 104?

ABER-NOYEK: I don't know. I often wonder enough. I feel good.

COHEN (voice-over): At 104, most people are, well, dead. So what's kept Dorrie not just alive, but alive and thriving? It hasn't been exercise.

(on camera): No running, no working out on the gym?

ABER-NOYEK: No, no.

COHEN (voice-over): It hasn't been diet.

ABER-NOYEK: Everyday I eat cookies, every single day.

COHEN: A new study reported at the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society says that what keeps super agers like Dorrie alive so long seems to be their genes. The study looked at nearly 500 people ages 95 to 112 and found their lifestyles were really no different than anybody else's, similar diets, similar exercise patterns, they were just as likely to be overweight and to drink alcohol.

All that makes sense to Dorrie, her mother lived to be 99. Her daughter is 76, but looks way younger.

(on camera): You've got some pretty good genes, huh?

ABER-NOYEK: I have some very good genes, yes.

COHEN (voice-over): A genetic blessing that may be the most important secret to an exceptionally long life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many more, Dorrie, many, many, many, more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: That's really just incredible. 104 years old and she is moving around, too.

Coming up inside the crisis in Somalia, CNN has one of the few international reporters in Mogadishu, a report in the next NEWSROOM.

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JOHNS: In Houston, Texas, Governor Rick Perry's Day of Prayer is about to wind down. Thousands attended this Christians only event service puts the possible GOP presidential candidate in the spotlight and in the middle of a controversy.

Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Texas Governor Rick Perry is thinking about running for president, he took the stage at this football stadium in Houston for an event dubbed "The Response." It was a day of prayer and fasting. It was also part revival, part rock concert.

As you can see right now, musicians were on stage all day long, so were pastors, spreading what was basically a Christian only message. And as 30,000 people packed into this stadium to watch the governor offer up a spiritual message, he mixed his script with scripture.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: In these difficult times, Father, we pray for our president, that you would impart your wisdom upon him, that you would guard his family. We pray for our military and the families who love them. Oh, Father, especially, for those special operators who lost their life yesterday in defending our freedoms.

ACOSTA: The protesters gathered outside this stadium say this event tears down the walls separating church and state. They also blasted one of the events' key organizers, the American Family Association, which has made some white, hot, incendiary comments about gay rights activists. Still, many of the worshippers here told us they were here for the Christian message, not it's high profile messenger.

Rick Perry, by the way, is still thinking about running for president. He's going to be answering a different calling over the next couple of weeks and that is from GOP fund-raisers and conservative activists about whether or not he should make a run for the White House.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: And for the latest political news you need to know, you know where to go. CNNPolitics.com.

The International Red Cross is ramping up its emergency operations in South and Central Somalia, hundreds of thousands of people desperately need food and water.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is one of the few reporters inside Mogadishu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The humanitarian crisis in Somalia is deepening, and aid agencies are trying to use every means necessary in their fight against hunger and starvation.

The World Food Program through its local partners is supporting so- called wet feeding programs where food is pre-cooked before distribution.

(on camera): Wet feeding only happens in the direst of humanitarian situation. The last time aid agencies rolled out a wet feeding campaign was in Haiti. For those people that you see queuing here, this is the only guaranteed meal that they have.

(voice-over): And wet feeding is especially necessary in Somalia. Increasingly here, the hungry and vulnerable are being targeted for the little aid they're receiving.

CAPT. JACKIE AMONO, AU CIVILIAN LIAISON: It was their suggestion to move my office (INAUDIBLE) that their foods should be cooked and everybody benefits, it's better that way, other than their leaders taking away their food. ELBAGIR: But it's not just corruption that worries them. One woman who is to scared to speak on camera said her son was killed by members of the al Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab group caught accepting western aid. And these desperate communities is a seemingly never ending struggle, they must fight to protect even what little they have.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Mogadishu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The numbers are unimaginable. Nearly 30,000 children have died in Somalia alone in the past month.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, heading to the famine stricken region before this day is out. Let's listen as he explains the trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you're talking about this part of the world, you're talking about a primarily agricultural community, they live off the land, they grow crops and now you have lack of rain and several things start to unfold. The crops obviously die off, the livestock living of those crops die off and now you have hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who are without food and without water.

It's as simple as that. They walk for dozens of miles trying to get some sort of help, some sort of relief. They walk into these camps, but so many people are not, you know, not able to make the journey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Sanjay will be tweeting updates from the field during this trip. You can follow him at SanjayGupta.CNN.

You can get information on the many agencies trying to assist the people affected by the famine, just log on to CNN.com/Impact.

Comedy can be the route to discussing sensitive issues in our culture, but what happens when the comedians' remarks backfire? "Face to Face" with Margaret Cho, she talks about the recent Tracey Morgan episode.

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JOHNS: In the world of comedy, you can say or do just about anything, it's the just about, though, that gets most people in hot water. Take for example, Tracey Morgan, a very popular comedian and actor. But when he talked about the possibility of a gay child, really it crossed the line.

Fellow comedian Margaret Cho talks about pushing the limits herself in an exclusive "Face to Face" interview with Fredericka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARGARET CHO, COMEDIENNE/ACTIVIST: I never saw Asian people on television or in movies, so my dreams were somewhat limited. I would dream maybe someday I could be an extra on M.A.S.H.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In comedy, you have to push the limits. You poke fun at yourself, culturally, sex, all of those things, kind of, you know, all bets are off. So then when your colleague, Tracey Morgan, pushes the limits, you've worked with him, "30 Rock" -

CHO: I diffuse a bomb black partner. Hasta la vista, baby.

WHITFIELD: When you hear the language and the comedy that he recently carried out that a lot of people found offensive, how does a comedian kind of explain when you push the limits sometimes it is uncomfortable for people and then you have to take it back?

CHO: Well, it was uncomfortable for me. I mean, when Tracey Morgan said this - you know, he said that he would stab his son if he was gay, these things that were very - for me it was very hurtful, because I'm so hurt by homophobic speech. I've been affected so much by homophobic violence my entire life and I - so I was really in pain about it. And really sad about it, because I work with him, I really like him. I really love Tina Fey and I really love the show "30 Rock" and it's something that it just hurt my heart.

But then, you know, his apology was I thought was very sincere and the fact that he went to Nashville and met - met with the guy who wrote the Facebook post and that, you know, that he went much farther than I think a lot of other people would in terms of trying to rectify that error.

WHITFIELD: Was it necessary? Does that in a way impact or even hurt comedy that a comedian will then have to explain away his or her words when pushing the limits as part of the art?

CHO: I don't know, because now we can all make jokes about him. Because I think - well, Tracey Morgan said that he would stab his son if he was gay, and I would like to have a gay child, and, you know, I don't know if I would stab my child if they were straight, but there would be consequences. Like, you know, go to your room and redecorate it. There's a way to find the joy in something, like even though there's such sadness at the door (ph), you know, you can move past it.

And this is what - what comedy teaches us and this is what life teaches us, saying, you know, I feel like it's so interesting that this whole thing with Tracey Morgan happened and then gay marriage is passed in New York, you know? And I feel like these events could be connected because, you know, there was such incredible anger and - and fear over what he said that we realized as the gay community, we need to step it up, we need to step everything up.

And I think because of that, we were united enough to bring this about, you know, and we have been working for gay marriage for so many years. You know, I have been working for it personally as an activist since 2004 like everyday doing things and really working towards it. So I feel like these events, really, that there's - there's this connection there that can't be denied and that's really powerful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: And you can see more of Margaret Cho's "Face to Face" interview with Fredericka Whitfield, just log on to CNN.com/Fredericka.

That will do it for me. CNN NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Don Lemon.

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