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Thirty U.S. Troops Killed in Crash; Sacrifice Sex for Smartphone; US Credit Downgrade Affects World Markets; A Look at the Elite Navy SEALs; Finding Cash in Your Home
Aired August 07, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, Sunday, August 7th. I'm Joe Johns, in for Fredericka Whitfield.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will discuss the U.S. credit downgrade during a conference call tonight with representatives of other G-7 nations. In the meantime, the financial world is waiting to see how Asian markets will react to the downgrade announced after the end of trading on Friday. It's already Monday in Eastern Asia and financial markets there will open in just a few hours.
There's already evidence the downgrade is making some investors very nervous. Middle Eastern markets were open today, and prices fell 3.7 percent in Dubai. The Israeli market had to halt trading for a time and it closed down more than six percent.
CNN's Kevin Flower is in Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN FLOWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): What analysts here are telling us is that this is not only a market reaction to the credit downgrade in the United States but also a response to broader losses posted last week and on Friday on global markets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Coming up in about a half an hour, Richard Quest will join us from London to talk about the global markets.
More than 45,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts all the way to D.C. are on strike. Their union contract expired at midnight and they are arguing the company refuses to bargain in good faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ANDERSON, CWA LOCAL 1300: They want to gut our contract, they want to gut our health care, our pensions, cut our wages and basically retrogress back 10, 20 years ago, 50 years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Now, union official says the strike could affect your phone, Internet or TV service, but Verizon officials say the services will not be affected. A new jet that is promising to revolutionize air travel will soon be airborne. Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was unveiled yesterday, three years overdue, billions of dollars over budget. It is the first commercial airliner that's mostly made of lightweight carbon composites and durable plastic which is supposed to make it much more fuel efficient.
Japan's own Nippon Airways will start flying the Dreamliners by the end of the year.
NATO troops are still on the scene of that downed army helicopter in Afghanistan, combing the wreckage to help them confirm what caused that crash yesterday. We're live from Washington in a minute with some of the details on the mission that ended with 30 U.S. servicemen dead, 22 of them Navy SEALs.
The Defense Department has begun notifying the families of those killed, and we're learning their names. Michael Strange, seen here in these photos, was 25 years old, from Philadelphia, a Navy SEAL.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES STRANGE, MICHAEL STRANGE'S FATHER: He was intense. He was funny. He had that dry humor, like Seinfeld.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Also killed in that crash, the deadliest single U.S. day in the Afghan War, was Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn, 30 years old, a husband, father of two.
CNN's Don Lemon spoke to Vaughn's grandmother in Tennessee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GENEVA CARSON VAUGHN, AARON CARSON VAUGHN'S GRANDMOTHER (via telephone): It was Aaron's birthday in June. He turned 30. And I told him to be careful, and he said, Granny, don't worry about me. He said I'm not afraid because I know where I'm going if something happens to me.
Aaron was a Christian, and he stood firm in his faith.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you said you know he's with the Lord now.
VAUGHN: He's with the Lord now, and I'll see him again some day. And that's - that's what we - the family is standing on now, is faith. We know that God is in control and we know that - that He took Aaron for a reason. We don't know what, but we know that he took Aaron for a reason, and the rest of them, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: We're going to bring in Barbara Starr now. She's been working this story all weekend. She's our Pentagon correspondent. Barbara, you're hearing more about what happened yesterday in Afghanistan. What do we know now about the purpose of this Special Forces mission?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Joe, what we know now is, as we've discussed, the Navy SEALs were brought in to try and help another unit pinned down on the ground. They were already in the middle of a firefight. They needed help. They called for it, and the U.S. Navy SEALs came.
We now know that the unit that was pinned down were U.S. Army Rangers, members of the Army's 75th (ph) Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning, Georgia. They have been deployed in Afghanistan for some time, part of this country's special operations forces that are conducting these anti-terrorism raids across Eastern Afghanistan.
They needed help, the SEALs came, and all indications continue to be, we are told, that that helicopter was brought down by enemy fire, Joe.
JOHNS: The more I'm hearing about this, just as an outsider and lay person, the more it sounds like this was a very atypical mission. Can you tell me if that's true as far as the size of the team goes, the way they were getting there, the type of helicopter? Was this a - a normal thing?
STARR: Well, if (INAUDIBLE) to the extent that a quick reaction force, these teams that go in when other units need help, are - there's no particular way they do it. They take as many people as they feel they need, as many helicopters as they can.
In this case, the original target for those Rangers on the ground was a known Taliban leader that had been responsible, the U.S. says, for attacks against U.S. troops. So they were going into a very dangerous, volatile situation, and when they needed help, you know, they called for it.
It was a very significant group that went in to help, but that is what happens in this part of Afghanistan, because they want to make sure they put down any firefight as quickly as possible. They want to go in with overwhelming force - Joe.
JOHNS: Before I go on, do we know what happened to the Rangers they were going to try to rescue?
STARR: Yes. You know, so far details on that part of this remain sketchy, to say the least. We are told the Rangers did not suffer - we - start by telling (ph) they did not suffer fatalities at this point. We don't know if they were wounded. We don't know if since then there've been any further developments with the Rangers. We are checking on that, Joe.
JOHNS: And a little bit more, if you have it, about this Taliban leader. Who was he? Is he still at large?
STARR: Well, that's the question, did they get him or not? And that's also something they're not telling us at the moment, which suggests that the U.S. Military will be returning to this area of Eastern Afghanistan to deal with what threat they perceived to be left.
He is a known Taliban leader in this region, somebody that they wanted to deal with, responsible for attacks against U.S. troops, and - and, sadly, there's any number of these guys up and down Eastern Afghanistan. So while we out here may think this is rather extraordinary, it's what they have been doing, what the U.S. troops have been doing in Afghanistan, you know, day and night, day after day, week after week, Joe.
JOHNS: Barbara Starr, really appreciate you staying on top of this story throughout the weekend. And if you hear anything else, please let us know.
STARR: You bet.
JOHNS: President Obama is offering his condolences and prayers to the families of the American SEALs and the Afghans killed in the chopper crash. He returned to the White House from Camp David just a little while ago.
CNN's Athena Jones is at the White House. And, Athena, any plans for the president to talk, given the current developments?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not so far, Joe. We're - there's no plans that we're going to hear from him today or see any more statements on this subject. As you know, he just returned. He didn't speak to the press as he walked back into the White House, but the White House did put out a statement a few hours after this crash, and I want to share with you some of what the president had to say.
He send his condolences and his thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed, and he also said, "Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan. We will draw inspiration from their lives and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied.
And so, of course, we're going to continue to follow the developments into this investigation, the more details we get out about this crash and the circumstances surrounding it. But from the White House today we don't expect any more, Joe.
JOHNS: Great. OK, thanks so much, Athena Jones, reporting from the White House.
In New York, the ultimate endurance test for athletes, the New York City Triathlon, kicked off this morning with more than 3,000 athletes swimming, biking and then running. Some of them were CNN iReporters.
This year's winner, Ben Collins.
Participants start off by swimming in the Hudson River, then biking along Manhattan's West Side highway. They finish with a run through Central Park. Boy, that looks like something that would be pretty hard to do. The heat that just wouldn't quit. Parts of the country are sweating through another 100-degree plus temperature day.
Jacqui Jeras is with us now. Jacqui, Texas and Oklahoma seem to be getting the worst of it, and I'm glad you and I aren't out there in that heat, trying to run a triathlon.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, my God. Well, you know, New York City was perfect for us this morning. I mean, they didn't get to -
JOHNS: Really?
JERAS: -- 80 degrees until 11:00 this morning, so -
JOHNS: Well, that's nice. That's not too bad.
JERAS: I know.
JOHNS: It's the best you can get.
JERAS: It's not bad. Even a little misty this morning, so hopefully that helped cool them off.
But, you know, I don't think I'm ever going to swim in the Hudson River.
JOHNS: Yes. It looks pretty nasty. I don't know.
JERAS: Good for those 3,000 people, however.
The rest of the nation wishes they didn't hit 80 degrees. In fact, they wish their night time low would hit 80 degrees. That's how bad it's been across parts of the nation's midsection. And, as Joe mentioned, Oklahoma and Texas have really been seeing the brunt of it. So the advisories still in effect.
We're going to start this see this start to cool down a little bit into the Plain States, especially by the middle of the week, and we'll get a little closer to normal across parts of the south. However, it's still summer, it's still August, and our average highs are in the upper 90s. So keep that in mind.
Now, something we want to show you are some of the records that we had yesterday. These continue to tumble and to fall. Oklahoma City hit 101 yesterday; Tulsa, Oklahoma had 109; all the way down to Shreveport at 106; and that's just a sampling here.
You know, we focused a lot on Dallas the last couple of weeks because they've had so many consecutive days above 100 degrees. Well, Oklahoma City has been near that bad. They've had 67 consecutive days above 90 degrees, and that is going to likely tie for number one. So, imagine that. That's over two months with temperatures like that.
We're also keeping our eye on Tropical Depression Emily. Take a look at the satellite picture. This thing is just getting sheared apart, lots of wind on the northeast side of this thing, so this will probably be downgraded later on today. But we don't want you to forget about hurricane season, because it's just starting to kick in. In case you missed it, Joe, NOAA earlier this week, they upgraded their forecast for the upcoming season and now they're expecting to see anywhere between 14 and 19 named storms.
JOHNS: Wow.
JERAS: So we've already had five of them, so that means we could potentially have 14 more.
JOHNS: Very busy season. That's - that's not good news for people who are planning to go to the beach late.
JERAS: I know.
JOHNS: You know? Yes.
JERAS: That's why I got it in last week.
JOHNS: Yes. Good for you.
All right. Thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
JOHNS: Yesterday's helicopter crash in Afghanistan not only affects the mission there but it's an enormous blow to a small but elite American warrior community. I'll talk to a former U.S. Navy SEAL next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: In a single combat incident yesterday in Afghanistan, 30 U.S. service members died, 22 of them members of the elite fighting force called the Navy SEALs.
Chris Heben is a former SEAL. He's with me now from Cleveland, Ohio.
Chris, let's talk a little bit about the impact of this news on what is a relatively small SEAL community. This clearly would send shockwaves.
CHRIS HEBEN, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Yes. That's - that's very true. It's a very tight knit, it's a very small community. Everyone knows each other.
There's - there's a pocket - there's a community on the East Coast and a community on the West Coast. Usually when something happens, good or bad, in either one of those locations, the other side knows about it in - in very quick order.
The impact on the operators themselves is significant, but, however, it's not going to keep these guys from doing their jobs. We mourn death differently in this community. We like to celebrate the lives of our comrades that have gone before us. So the best way we know how to do that is to strap that gear back on and get going. And I assure you that's what the guys are doing right now.
JOHNS: Are the rituals S.E.A.Ls have, is there a certain way S.E.A.Ls and, the family, the communities deal with this? What do they do?
HEBEN: There's a lot of rituals that take place. And, you know, on a personal level between the closest friends of the operators that were - that were lost and the community itself, when I say community, I mean the whole Naval Special Warfare community and Special Operations Command, they have ceremonies to allow the families to grieve and awards are given and commemorative items are created so that these men's lives are not forgotten. They are warriors. They're truly national assets and national treasures and they are commended as such in perpetuity for eternity.
JOHNS: The next question, obviously, is going forward now, we still have a war going on in Afghanistan, U.S. Special Forces very involved. Do you see this and what happened there affecting SEALs and SEAL teams the next time they go out on a mission?
HEBEN: I think if anything that comes out of it, it will be slight variances and changes in operating procedures. They're probably be new directives that come - come from the top that are injected into future operations plannings and scenarios and the way things are carried out.
Yes. But these guys do not quit. Quitting is not in a SEAL's DNA. If it was, he wouldn't make it through the training. The 30-month training is designed to weed out the weak. And these guys are never going to quit unless their government tells them to cease and desist.
JOHNS: And I've got to ask you on some of the morning shows, there's been some questions as to whether this many SEALs traveling together in a Chinook helicopter is a good idea. Is this a diversion for normal practice for SEALs? Do they travel together in large groups like that or smaller groups?
HEBEN: It depends - it depends on what's going on. It depends on the mission. It also depends on the mission that they're supporting. As it stands, these guys were part of what's called an IRF, not a QRF. There's a big difference.
The QRF is a Quick Reaction Force and they could be coming from many miles away. It could take 20 to 30 minutes to the get there. An IRF is an Immediate Reaction Force and these gentlemen were an IRF. They were loitering on station. They are within a second response time for the major or initial incident.
So, yes, it is not uncommon for SEALs to be in helicopters in large groups. This just - I'm not privy to the particulars of this situation, so I would be speaking out of turn if I was to divulge any further. But it's - it's on a whole not that uncommon to have, you know, 10 to 15 SEALs on a helicopter at any given time.
JOHNS: And there's actually a SEAL foundation. Will you talk a little bit about that to me?
HEBEN: That's correct, Joe. The SEAL Foundation is navysealfoundation.org. This is a very, very necessary support group. It funnels money right where it needs to go. It's used for bereavement. It's used for putting the children of these warriors through high school, through college. They give - the money that goes to the Navy SEAL Foundation gets right to these families.
And I think right now that is the best thing for Americans to be doing. The best thing that we can do is shut that website down with donations. They'll get it up and running quick fast in a hurry, believe me. But that's the best thing to do.
Another - another foundation is woundedwarriorproject.org. Another very, very necessary and needed foundation. So, America, check those two websites out and donate today. Donate right now.
JOHNS: Chris, thanks so much for coming in on a Sunday. And I'll check it out.
HEBEN: Thanks, Joe. Thanks for having me.
JOHNS: You bet.
Let's check some of our international headlines. This is the latest video out of Syria, posted on YouTube. The video shows Syrian Security Forces in the street, heavy gunfire can clearly be heard. This comes as the Arab League calls for Syria to stop the violence immediately.
Turning to London, almost 50 people have been arrested after a night of rioting there. Rioters burned buses, police cars and set buildings on fire. The violence erupted last night following protests over the shooting death of a man involving police.
And from Tehran, the world is still waiting to hear the verdict and sentence for three American hikers accused by Iran of spying. Their trial concluded last Sunday with a ruling expected within seven days.
Short on cash? A lot of people are these days. We're going to show you how everyday items, even something that looks like junk could bring in big money.
Want to hold it up? Let's take look at that thing. Now, what do you think? I've got a sword in my house. How much do you think that sword is worth? See you in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Tight economic times. People are getting creative to make ends meet. Some are turning to seemingly worthless items and trying to figure out how they can become big money like an old rusted tobacco tin bought for a dollar, sold at auction for $4,300.
Paul Brown is here with the Discovery Channel's "Auction Kings" and you've got some examples, aren't you here? PAUL BROWN, "AUCTION KINGS": I do.
JOHNS: We just got go to go through some all of this stuff and -
BROWN: Thanks for having me, Joe. We do. I got a cavalry officer sword, Civil War period.
JOHNS: Yes. I mean, this thing is a little dangerous, too, right? I'm sure.
BROWN: Yes, man. It can break some people's collar bone on top of a horse.
JOHNS: It doesn't like say Confederate Army, so how do we know?
BROWN: Well, the officer wear (ph), the Confederates used canvas dipped in tar instead of leather where the United States Army had leather. Also the crudeness of the design, they could feel it.
JOHNS: Right.
BROWN: You're supposed to be on the horse -
JOHNS: Yes.
BROWN: -- dropping it down, breaking a collar bone.
JOHNS: How do you know it's not fake?
BROWN: How do I know it's not fake? Look at it, man.
JOHNS: Yes. I know it's heavy. It's for real.
BROWN: I mean, it wouldn't be - it wouldn't be -
JOHNS: See, I have a heavy sword in my house, but it's not cool like this.
BROWN: The thing about swords and antique weapons in general, they're worth money always. This sword is about $2,000 to $3,000 for the sword.
JOHNS: Wow.
BROWN: But even if it wasn't, even if it were just a replica, for example, it's still worth a couple hundred dollars as a decorative piece, as a collectible.
JOHNS: Sure.
BROWN: And so, the way - the way it goes is boys like weapons -
JOHNS: Right.
BROWN: -- and women love jewelry.
JOHNS: Yes.
BROWN: So look in your closet for jewelry. This is probably, you know, $150 worth of silver and, you know, another $100 worth of gold.
JOHNS: Right. Is it - are those real pearls?
BROWN: Those are real pearls but not much scrap value in pearls. But people are, you know, going about we buy gold plated and scrap, but we can get better money for that in a secondary market, whether it'll be an auction gallery -
JOHNS: Is this old?
BROWN: No. That's contemporary. But we're talking about finding money in the house, you know?
JOHNS: Yes, and check it. All right.
BROWN: And, you know, if you remember also, anything silver pre-any quarters pre-1964 are silver.
JOHNS: Now, I want to go to the other stuff, but I would really like you to do this, because I want it away from me before I break it.
BROWN: Right,
JOHNS: Let's talk about it.
BROWN: I mean, you may want to raid the China cabinet.
JOHNS: Right.
BROWN: This is actually a Lalique vase and Chris Lalique is a well known -
JOHNS: Can we show the little face on there? That's pretty cool, right?
BROWN: Yes. It seems like a little bit of (INAUDIBLE) going on there.
JOHNS: Can we get in that close? Yes. I mean, that's very nice. So something like this is actually worth something in the house.
BROWN: Yes. This in the store probably cost $300 or $400 on a secondary market, maybe get $150 to $200 for it, but still it's better than just sitting in the closet, you know?
JOHNS: It's grandma's old vase, right?
BROWN: Grandma's vase. You can raid grandma's closet. I had an aunt that was a a big Beatles fan.
JOHNS: Yes.
BROWN: There's a lot of this stuff here. That was the original fan mag from the '60s. That's probably, you know, $50 to $75 worth of magazine that's probably sitting in a closet, you know, in a stack somewhere all these years.
JOHNS: Does it still have the giant color pin-ups in it?
BROWN: You know, I haven't looked at it to be honest with you.
JOHNS: Yes. All right. There you go. OK. Now, we got this very cool watch. This is another thing guys like, right? And that thing looks like pure silver and heavy.
BROWN: It is coin silver, which is about 90 percent silver. But, again, it would be a shame to scrap it. It's probably - silver is $40 an ounce, give or take. So this is probably, you know, maybe $150. But as a collectible it's probably worth a little bit more than that, maybe $200, $250 or something.
JOHNS: How old is it? Do you know?
BROWN: This is probably about 1880s or 1890s and it actually ticks, I mean, it's worth.
JOHNS: Now, what are these cards? These are old baseball cards.
BROWN: You know, these are tobacco cards when -
JOHNS: Tobacco cards.
BROWN: -- they used to smoke in the '20s and '30s, you get a little baseball card with it and -
JOHNS: Who is that anyway? Ty Cobb or somebody?
BROWN: No. But Ty Cobb - this one got a little crease in it. Ty Cobb, obviously, a good one.
JOHNS: Yes.
BROWN: But who is this guy?
JOHNS: You got me. He's got a P that must be Pittsburgh.
BROWN: Yes, man. That's it. Now, these are quite valuable. These are anywhere from $50 to $250 depending on condition and the player, and that sort of thing.
JOHNS: All right. This is good stuff.
BROWN: Thanks for having me, man.
JOHNS: I wish I could have you in my house and we could go through all the junk, right?
BROWN: You can still have me in your house. Watch "Auction Kings."
JOHNS: I've got a lot of grandma stuff, too, so maybe I'm going to call you.
BROWN: Do you?
JOHNS: All right.
BROWN: Have them watch "Auction Kings," Tuesday on Discovery.
JOHNS: Thanks, man.
BROWN: Thanks, brother.
JOHNS: All right.
Markets are reacting to the downgraded status of the United States. Just ahead, our Richard Quest breaks it down on how it affects you and the rest of the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Checking our top stories now, the Defense Department has begun notifying the families of those 30 U.S. troops killed when a transport helicopter went down in Afghanistan yesterday.
One of them was Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn, 30 years old, a husband and father of two. CNN spoke to Vaughn's grandmother in Tennessee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENEVA CARSON VAUGHN, AARON CARSON VAUGHN'S GRANDMOTHER (via telephone): I say pray for our military every day, hold them up to the lord and support them in any way that you can. Pray for their families because the wife and children are the ones that they really have to be brave because when their husband goes away, they don't know if he's coming back or not. And this time Aaron didn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Dignitaries from around the world came to Tacoma Washington to pay final respects to Retired General John Shalikashvili, the former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff died two weeks ago at age 75. He will be buried October 7th at Arlington National Cemetery.
If you live in the southeast, don't be surprised to see these faces on digital bill boards. The FBI is going all out in a manhunt for a brother and sister and half brother. The trio are wanted for an armed bank robbery in South Georgia and attempted murder of a Florida police officer.
This may look like any ordinary airliner to you but it is not. Boeing 787 Dream Liner was unveiled yesterday. The $200 million jet promises to revolutionize air travel because it's made of lightweight carbon composites and durable plastic making it much more fuel efficient. Japan's Nippon Airways will start flying dream liners by the end of the year.
In New York, the ultimate endurance test for athletes. The New York City Triathlon kicked off this morning with more than 3,000 athletes swimming, biking and running. This year's winner Ben Collins who finished in just over one hour and 48 minutes.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will participate in a conference call tonight with world financial leaders. He'll discuss Friday's U.S. credit downgrade with representatives of other G7 nations.
Prices were down on some Middle East in exchanges today and Asian trading begins shortly. Let's bring in Richard Quest, host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" on our sister network CNN International. Richard, the Middle Eastern exchanges were the first test. How is that going?
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNNI's "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Not very well as the numbers will show. What they are showing us, Joe, is the relationship between what happened with the downgrade and the international financial community.
U.S. AAA bonds have been the cornerstone of the global financial system for decades. So when that AAA went, it had ramifications. Look at the numbers and you'll see what I mean.
Israel which often has used U.S. securities as guaranteeing debt was down more than 6 percent. Dubai was down 3.7 percent, that of course has huge, Dubai, the U.A.E. has huge investments as indeed to Saudi Arabia.
Do not be fooled by that Saudi Arabian number, it actually went down 5 percent on Saturday's trade and could barely nudge on the Sunday. That gives you an example of how those markets, which have huge dollar investments or dollar liabilities and credits have responded.
So now we turn our attention to Asia and the Asian markets. The times the Asian markets open, they will start in Sydney and New Zealand working their way through Tokyo, Shanghai and Hongkong, Japan opens at roughly 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Shanghai, 9:30 Eastern and Hongkong opens at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
We'll of course have our special coverage tonight and we'll be continuing to look at that Joe, as to how those markets will perform. At the moment, those phone calls that you talked about are taking place, policy makers from the ECB, the G7, G20, Tim Geithner, everybody doing what they can to try to find some oil to pour on those troubled waters.
JOHNS: Now, Richard, what are the realities here? We've had a credit downgrade from one of three companies. The two others keep the highest rating for the United States. Is there reason for real volatility or is there just a little bit of panic?
QUEST: No there's reason for volatility. John McCain this morning, I have seen one quote from Senator McCain and he pretty much summed up the market's view. It doesn't matter whether you think S&P made an error or got it right or wrong.
John McCain said this morning, is there anybody that believes S&P was wrong in its fundamental assessment of the U.S. economy? And that's what the markets have been saying for some time that there is something going on in the U.S. economy that needs to be addressed that wasn't properly addressed.
Now that's one shoe. But the other shoe waiting to drop is the European debt crisis. Spain and particularly Italy, they are very firmly now in the firing line of the bond market vigilantes. If the Europeans have to bail out Italy, it's a different ball of wax as you would say.
Italy has a debt to GDP ratio over 100 percent. It is a simply a mammoth amount of debt. Italy says it doesn't need help, but we heard that from Greece and Portugal. So these two trans-Atlantic stories, on the one hand, the U.S. debt downgrade. On the other hand, the European debt crisis and they both come together at exactly the wrong moment.
JOHNS: Do you suspect that a downgrade like this leads to large increases in, for example, interest rates for consumers, or would it be very small at least at first?
QUEST: Unbelievably small and the reason for that is U.S. treasuries are the only game in town. They are not properly rated in terms of investment grade anyway because they are considered to be an asset class on their own.
And as Alan Greenspan said this morning speaking on "Meet the Press," the U.S. can always pay its bills because it issues its debt in its own money and you just get the printing presses rolling. It didn't have inflation worries. It would have other problems, but the U.S. can always pay off its debts.
So to some extent, it is what happened on Friday in the pure default technical sense is a red herring. The fact it has stimulated this firestorm of debate between left and right over what it means for the U.S. economy in the global economy is what this is really all about. And it has come at a time when there is rampant volatility on every side.
JOHNS: Richard Quest, thanks so much for that. We'll be checking back with you.
Imagine eating out and ordering your meal when you want it without a waiter or a waitress. See how it happens coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Just how addicted are you to your Smartphone? A new survey says some cell phone users would give up sex for a week rather than their phones and others are willing to sacrifice personal hygiene.
According to the Telenof survey, 22 percent of mobile phone users would give up their toothbrushes for a week. That number jumps to 40 percent among iPhone users who say would gladly tempt halitosis.
In fact, 83 percent of iPhone users say they think other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners, probably so given those facts. Atlanta residents addicted to high tech toys can now get an extra dose of technology when they eat out. A local restaurant provides iPads to customers so they can take control of their own orders. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your iPad. Basically, you're going to do all of your ordering through the iPad.
CHRISTIAN RUFFIN, OWNER, DO RESTAURANT AT THE VIEW: We got the idea to use iPads in our restaurant, we notice that we're always having to get a waiter's attention. We felt we could help consumers and guests in our restaurant to have iPads at the tables to order food and drink and call for valet at a press button without waiting for anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can order as you go along. So you get your drinks first then order an appetizer, so you don't have to wait on anyone. When you're ready, you just order it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put the order into the iPad and get it exactly the way you ordered it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I want one now.
RUFFIN: When we came up with the concept, there was nothing available. We had to actually solicit a certified Apple programmer to actually write our program for us.
NACASHA RUFFIN, OWNER, DO RESTAURANT AT THE VIEW: There's a system we use that can tell us everything that was sold, hourly sales, and we use that for inventory and everything else.
CHRISTIAN RUFFIN: We can make changes on the fly with the iPad programming. We're able to actually customize and do advertisements as well with the iPad so it let us announce specials.
We also use iPads to control a lot of media production. At any moment we can change what you're looking at now as a back stage of the city of Atlanta to for example at the press of a button a water stream.
NACASHA RUFFIN: They type their valet ticket number into the iPad and the valet has a heads up that they are on way out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got 596 and 603.
CHRISTIAN RUFFIN: We've had no theft. We had no breakage of any of the iPads. On the back there's a sensor so when anyone walks out of the door, it will send off a sensor. There's a nice security guard that's also at the door too to greet them when that does happen.
The coolest thing about it, there's no more wrinkled menus with ketchup on it or pizza sauce on it. What we're doing here is definitely the way of the future. Giving people a whole different way to experience eating.
(END VIDEOTAPE) JOHNS: For more tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for all of the gaming and gadget, even the gaming and gadget tab.
Take a look at these four guys, they all have something in common. Here's a hint. One year ago they and 29 others did not know if they would live or die. Their ordeal deep underground in a Chilean mine. What they are up to when we come back.
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JOHNS: One by one they came to the surface from a half-mile below ground. You've got to remember this. This is the part where we all marvel that it has been a whole year since their ordeal began.
Thirty three men became trapped in a gold and copper mine in Chile. They were rescued an amazing two months later. Since then the miners have been guests of honor, toasts of the town everywhere except their own country. CNN's Rafael Romo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): They spent 69 days in the bowels of the earth not knowing if they would survive. The story of the 33 Chilean miners trapped at a depth 700 meters and their miraculous rescue made headlines around the world.
This week four of the miners traveled to Washington, D.C. to commemorate the anniversary of the mine collapse by opening an exhibit in their honor at the Smithsonian Museum.
MARIO SEPULVEDA, RESCUED CHILEAN MINER (through translation): In spite of our painful experience, it is very important to us that what is being exhibited will show the world what happened.
ROMO: Since all 33 of the miners were rescued alive and well last October, they have traveled the world and appeared on multiple TV shows.
They were all invited to Disney World for a week during which they served as honorary grand marshals of the Main Street USA Parade. At home in Chile, one of them says celebrity has not been what he expected.
JORGE GALLEGUILLOS, RESCUED CHILEAN MINER (through translation): They love us move abroad. They congratulate us. They want to touch us and get a blessing from us. That is not the case in Chile. Only a few greet us with affection. Many more say hi with envy.
ROMO: Adison Pena (ph), the miner who worked underground in the darkness ran the New York marathon. The eldest fan was also a guest of honor at Graceland in January.
A movie and book about their story are in the works, but at home relations with the Chilean government are strained. Thirty one of the 33 miners filed a lawsuit accusing the agency that oversees mining of failing to ensure safety measures.
CARLOS BARRIOS, RESCUED CHILEAN MINER (through translation): We're not suing the current president. This has been happening for a long time. This happened during the administrations of other presidents. Why didn't they take a closer look?
ROMO: Chilean government officials say they respect the miners' right to sue.
HERNAN DE SOLMINIHAC, CHILEAN MINING MINISTER (through translator): As any Chilean citizen, the miners have the freedom and the right to file any lawsuit they wish. They had chosen to do so and our judicial authorities are evaluating the suit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: The miners are seeking 60 million U.S. dollars in damages for the collapse of the mine where they got trapped last year in the Chilean Apacama Desert. They say their lawsuit isn't about the money, but about raising awareness about the working conditions for miners in the country, which they say have been neglected for a long time. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is saying he will stay on the job, but one former governor is offering up someone else.
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JOHNS: Time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all of the latest headlines on the CNNPolitics.com desk. Here's what's crossing right now.
California Governor Jerry Brown warns the 2012 election could be calamitous for the country. He says the U.S. will suffer if Democrats and Republicans don't compromise on budget issues, but Brown says Republicans' unyielding stance on taxes makes that highly unlikely.
Another political message from the leader of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference, that's a Christian-Evangelical group both Democrats and Republicans are courting. The Reverend Sam Rodriguez says both parties need to address immigration reform or risk losing the Hispanic vote. His organization has started a voter sign up drive encouraging Hispanics to vote.
Mike Huckabee is giving President Obama some unsolicited advice. The former Arkansas governor says the president should replace Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner with Donald Trump. Huckabee says the move would be a political game changer for the president.
For latest political news, you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Jobs, compact cars and talk of a new stimulus program, we're checking new business news from Wall Street to Main Street. First to Alison Kosik. ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Joe. After a string of dismal economic reports, we finally got some good news on Friday. The government said the economy added 117,000 jobs in July and unemployment rate ticks lower to 9.1 percent.
Disappointing job numbers from May and June were revised higher. The report was welcome relief, but still we have a really long way to go. There are currently about 14 million Americans out of work and at this pace it's going to take years to make a serious dent in that number. Felicia.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison, "Consumer Reports" has marked down the ratings on one of its long time favorites and that's the Honda Civic. The publication actually says the new Civic is worse than the old one and scored too low to earn the magazine's recommendation.
"Consumer Reports" is a very influential publication naturally for car shoppers. Except for one year, the Civic has been the best selling compact car since 1995. The "Consumer's" review wasn't all negative.
However, it did say the vehicle's fuel economy is impressive and there's lots of room in the back seat. Poppy Harlow has a look what's coming up in business news. Poppy --
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Felicia. Well, the Federal Reserve holds its next policy meeting on Tuesday and while fed observers are pretty sure that the central bank won't raise interest rates, there's still a lot of speculation about whether or not the federal will introduce a new stimulus program to try to help shore up the struggling U.S. economy.
This is going to be the fed's first meeting since the recent massive sell-off of the stock market and also since Congress's deal on the debt ceiling. It will likely impact the market. We'll be following it all on cnnmoney.com. Joe, back to you.
JOHNS: Thanks and remember, you can get your financial fix every day on cnnmoney.com.
Checking our top stories, we're getting the first results of how the world markets are reacting to the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Israel's stock market dropped nearly 7 percent after its open was delayed for almost an hour due to pre-opening jitters. Across the Middle East, markets are down. Markets in the region operate on a Sunday through Thursday schedule.
President Obama is offering condolences to the families of the Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan. He returned to the White House a short time ago from Camp David. The president said the deaths of the 30 troops, including the 22 Navy SEALs killed in the chopper crash are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families.
I'll be back in one hour while the downing of the U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan is dominating the news out of the war. There is another side of this conflict to consider. There are Americans quietly working on the ground to make a difference.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just kind of had to look at myself and say what do I want to do as an American or farmer, where can I serve?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Find out about the work this guy is doing to help farmers in Afghanistan in our 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour. Stay with CNN, "YOUR MONEY" starts now.
