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Stocks Brace for a Choppy Session; European Markets Fall Overnight; Asian Markets Tank Overnight; Pressure Builds on White House; Obama Approval Rating Holds Steady; Gold Spikes to New Record; Stocks Rising at Open; Violence Flares in British Streets; Bodies of 30 U.S. Troops Arrive Today; FBI Manhunt for 3 Siblings; Ditching "Date Night"

Aired August 09, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

Well, Wall Street just minutes -- only hours removed from its gut-wrenching plunge. New fears now churning a global sell-off overnight, putting investors on edge.

Riots erupt across Great Britain. Dozens of police officers hurt, hundreds arrested and a government desperately trying to tamp down public rage.

And Diana Nyad says she has no regrets sending her swim from Cuba to Miami. She was halfway on the 109-mile journey when she became too sick and too sore to continue.

Well, this morning, millions of us are waking up to a smaller nest egg. And in less than 30 minutes all of us will be looking at that big board on Wall Street wondering where the numbers will be headed today.

Yesterday hurt. It was the worst day in nearly three years. The Dow spiraled down 635 points and overnight dragged down markets around the world.

We are covering all the angles from New York to London to Hong Kong and Wall Street to the White House. CNN reporters are all there. Let's go ahead and start with Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, this has been pretty brutal.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It has been. And volatility is still the word of the day here on Wall Street. But after making wild swings overnight, Kyra, futures are actually now pointing to a rally at the open. The Dow looks like it could up 150 points.

Some here on Wall Street, they call it a dead cat bounce. Yes, that means stocks fell so hard they got a bounce back at some point. You know it's not to say that the wave of selling we've seen is over but a rally at this point is normal. And you know even if we do rally it's not based on fundamentals. The economic indicators are still weak.

Also expect more big swings in commodities. Oil prices are falling. We're watching gold prices rise. Gold price is hitting a new record high. Oil is actually down 16 percent this month. Gold is up about the same.

Now gold is considered a safe haven, safe place to put your cash in these crazy economic times. Oil is driven by demand. Part of the reason it fell so much in the past few sessions is because the expectations is the command will be weaker because of the slowly economy and also finally, Kyra, get ready for the volatility to heat up this afternoon.

The Fed is coming out with its decision. And most important more than the rate decision is what are they going to say? Will they put in place any new stimulus program to help the economy or the market?

I'll tell you what, it's hard to ignore the obvious slow down and Wall Street will be watching what comes out of that meeting -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. We'll be watching it, too, Alison, for sure.

All right, so what is the Federal Reserve going to do today?

Christine Romans, how much can the policymakers move the markets?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They have a lot of -- a lot of power in that way and there's going to be a statement at 2:15, Kyra, on whether they signal that the Fed is ready to try some new things to keep the economy going, to keep juice in the economy, and money flowing. That could really move markets here.

People are going to be parsing that statement, as you know, they always do, to see if Ben Bernanke and the FOMC have any new ideas. Because remember, interest rates are zero. They can't lower the Fed fund's target lower interest rates. They've already lowered it to zero. Now they've got to come up with some other ideas.

There have been two rounds of bond purchases. You've heard it called quantitative easing. The second round has died down. It's almost done. What will they do next, if anything? So that's what people will be closely watching.

Here is the risk, though. You can't really predict how stocks or global markets are going to react, Kyra, because here's the risk. Some are saying the Fed comes out too strongly and says the economy is very, very weak and they're going to do X, Y, and Z to keep it -- to keep it moving.

That could actually scare people, scare them into thinking that things are worse than we thought. So that's why what the Fed says this afternoon will be very important for market -- fragile market sentiment -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. About 2:15 like you said but we'll talk about it plenty more before then. Christine, thanks.

ROMANS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Well, the doom and gloom on Wall Street has definitely rattled investors around the world.

Let's go ahead and head over to Europe now and Leone Lakhani joining us from London.

So, Leone, now a day later from what we saw yesterday. How are you feeling it over there?

LEONE LAKHANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it's a bit of a mixed bag at the moment in Europe. If we take a look at the numbers. I'll just break it down for you.

The FTSE is up just slightly in London. The DAX is down about 1.5 percent. The CAC up just a tad. And Zurich SMI down about 1.5 percent.

Now we shouldn't look too much into the numbers because what we have noticed in the past three sessions is that most of the losses are clocked in the last half-hour of trade. Now today people on this side of the Atlantic are also looking out to see here, see what the Fed has to say. But we're still seeing a lot of volatility in the markets.

Kyra, for example, on Monday, almost not a single stock made any gains on any of the big four European markets. So we'll have to see what happens today.

PHILLIPS: We'll be watching. Leone, thanks so much.

All right, let's head over to Asia. Anna Coren is in Hong Kong.

So, Anna, how volatile were the Asian markets overnight?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, certainly a violent sell-off at the start of the trading a day here in the Asia Pacific. Obviously following Wall Street's lead, some of the major indices just plummeted throughout the day.

Seoul's Kospi was down more then 9 percent. The government there had to intervene. It closed to 3.6 percent.

A similar story for Japan's Nikkei. It was down throughout the day more than 5 percent. It took back some of those losses to close at 1.7 percent.

Here in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng down 5.7 percent. A different story in China. The Shanghai Composite was relatively flat. And then down in Australia, a fascinating situation down there. At the end of the trading day, the markets, in fact, rallied. It recouped some of the $55 billion in losses to end the day in positive territory up over 1 percent. So a happy day certainly for investors down under. Some analysts here in the Asia Pacific are wondering whether we're getting to the bottom of the market but others say we're not even close -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Anna, thanks.

All right, we've tackled the economics for you. Let's talk about the politics of this crisis. The White House is facing heavy pressure to shore up confidence and they are doing it pretty fast.

Brianna Keilar, so what are some of the things that the administration could do today to ramp this up?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, one of the things that we've heard frequently from the administration is that the markets, the ratings agencies, these are things they can't control, and it may not be very reassuring but the strategy is certainly slower moving than the panic.

You've seen the White House and they continue to emphasize this deficit reduction process. Of course, you know that Congress is away for this month, and what we heard yesterday from the president trying to be reassuring was that he was going to try to intervene in the process in terms of sending recommendations on entitlement reform and tax reform to that bipartisan commission that is going to be tackling this issue.

And there's also this issue of jobs that the president is very eager to try to get back on the road and emphasize.

And the strategy remains the same there, Kyra. Payroll tax, holiday extension, unemployment benefits being extended, dealing with the free trade deals before Congress, and also infrastructure spending may be the thing that causes the most problems because of all that is a proposal from this White House, from this president.

There are a lot of Republicans in Congress who are certainly not going to be allowing spend like that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So why did the president change his schedule today?

KEILAR: We don't know, Kyra. There's been speculation. He was supposed to be going to Virginia to talk about fuel efficiency standards and meet with industry leaders. He'll now be having a meeting at the White House.

There's been a lot of speculation that he would be going to Dover Air Force Base where the remains of those 30 U.S. troops will be coming home, but certainly that's not confirmed and not something that the White House puts out publicly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Brianna Keilar at the White House. Brianna, thanks.

The ugly debt debate, the credit downgrade and now the markets tanking, are Americans blaming the president? Our senior political editor Mark Preston has the new poll numbers.

Mark, what do they say?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Kyra, you know, 15 months before Election Day and President Obama's poll ratings are upside down. In fact let's look at this new CNN/ORC poll just released late yesterday.

It shows that only 44 percent of Americans approve of how he is handling his job as the president, while 55 percent disapprove.

Now if there's kind of silver lining we can look at these numbers is that this number, this disapproval rating has remained steady in CNN's two previous polls. And these polls were taken, of course, before this big fight over the debt ceiling and of course the downgrade of the credit.

PHILLIPS: What about when it comes to the economy? How do the Americans feel about the president?

PRESTON: Well, Kyra, I'll let you drill down and look at President Obama's real weakness right now. This is really troubling as we head into his election year. Right now only 34 percent approve of President Obama's handling of the economy. It's only a third of the country. That is terrible news. While 64 percent disapprove.

Now we shouldn't be too surprised given the times that we're in right now. That the president's approval ratings certainly on this subject alone is this low -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mark Preston, thanks so much.

We're making sense of the stock market crash. It's been a tough time on Wall Street. Tough time for all of us. So coming up after the break, we're going to talk to a financial expert. Brian Mack is with us. To talk about what this means for you as an investor.

And a third night of rioting rocks London. And the British prime minister promising to put thousands more police on the streets. We go live to London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's check the news "Cross Country."

In Philadelphia so far there's no official explanation for the gangs of kids you see here, anywhere between 20 to 40 minors at a time just assaulting residents at random. So now curfews have been put into place. If you're under 13, you have to be home by 10:00, midnight for those under 18. And the mayor is putting out a pretty stern warning and telling parents, hey, it's not our job to watch your kids, it's yours.

And next hour, in Texas closing statements in the penalty phase of the Warren Jeffs trial. The polygamous sect leader was convicted last week on two counts of sexual assault on a child. He could get life in prison.

And remember these protests? Today in Wisconsin voters decide if six Republican state senators get recalled. The push for the recall came after Republican Governor Scott Walker yanks collective bargaining rights from public workers. Democrats are hoping to take back the state Senate.

Well, market's loss is gold's gain. You've seen it. It's the ultimate safe haven in hard economic times. Gold actually hit a record high on Monday, closing for the first time over $1700 an ounce.

CNN's Poppy Harlow here.

Now I'll tell you what, we should have sold off all those gold necklaces. Not a few months ago. But changed that.

(LAUGHTER)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I was just saying your gold earrings are beautiful, Kyra. Keep them. They're going to be worth a lot more in a few months if this trend continues.

Yes, I want to show folks a chart here just to give you a sense of exactly what's happening. It's a complete inverse relationship between where stocks are going and where gold is going.

I think we can pull it up. Look at that. The green line, that's the Dow. You know how your stocks have done lately if you've been watching the markets at all. Look at gold just spiking higher.

And this morning, Kyra, we're up again 2 percent already out of the opening gate. Gold right now is trading at $1744 an ounce. This is a record high. But if you were just for inflation we'd have to get up to about $2200 but we're still very, very close to that. We just talked to one gold trader who told us something interesting. He said usually when you see gold prices spike and you see demand for gold ETFs or what have you, investors going into gold you see the price of gold jewelry go down.

That's not what's happening -- and the demand for gold jewelry go down. That's not what's happening right now. You're seeing demand for gold jewelry go higher. People are buying it to wear it and use it as an investment. They're also buying into gold exchange traded funds and things like that. So people are fleeing away from the stock market that they see is so dangerous, so much volatility, and they're jumping into a safe haven like gold.

They were jumping into other currencies, Swiss francs, the Japanese yen, now they're even pushing away from that and they're going right into gold.

I wish I could predict how high it was going. No one knows. A lot of folks say gold was too expensive at $800 an ounce and we're more than double that now, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I think you can expect anything at this point, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Now, there are some companies that are still out there that have its AAA rating.

HARLOW: You know, this is really interesting. I'll pull them. You see them here. ADP, that's a payroll processing firm; Johnson & Johnson, you know that company; ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil company; Microsoft. These are the only four remaining companies in the United States with AAA rating.

Now, according to its rules, when S&P downgraded our country's sovereign debt, they technically had to downgrade these companies. They didn't do that. And they haven't done that a lot in the past. They've broken that rule.

But they are saying is that these companies' debt, their ability to pay back that debt is even stronger right now than the United States.

Now, why do you care about this? You very well may hold these companies in your pension plans, your 401(k), your IRA. They are widely traded big global companies. And what we may see more money flooding into these companies, Kyra, because there's a lot of mutual funds out there that require that their money is invested in AAA entities.

Well, now, U.S. treasuries are no longer AAA. So, you may see more money flowing into these.

But just to give you some perspective. If you back to 1983, we had 32 AAA-rated companies in this country. Now, we only have four. And even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was downgraded from AAA during the financial crisis.

So, it's not only our country that's losing that rating, a lot of big, well-respected companies have also lost it.

So, four left, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wow. OK. Poppy, thanks.

And also, the opening bell on Wall Street is just moments away. Markets around the world sold off overnight after the Dow plunged more than 600 points.

So, how will Wall Street open today? We are all watching. We'll take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. So, you probably thought your 401(k) take a huge hit in yesterday's stock market crash. So, now, what? And do you make big changes or do you sit tight?

Ryan Mack is president of Optimum Capital Management, also a CNN contributor.

Ryan, it seems like the same discussion every single day. We have to have it because there are still a lot of people out there wondering, you know, what the heck to do. And you are actually taking an interesting approach here. You're calling what we are seeing now the new normal.

Tell me what you mean by that.

RYAN MACK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, essentially, the new normal essentially means that, you know, back in 2005, '06, there were businesses that were essentially borrowing excessively and hoping that today, for tomorrow, they're going to be able to earn excessively to pay off their debt that they acquired today.

So, essentially, what they are doing now is paring back. They're not hiring as many individuals as before. They're keeping their cash on hand in order to sustain themselves. So, they are a whole lot more moderate with their approach to actually putting individuals.

So, we are going to be in this quite some time. If we think businesses are going to be hiring at the same rate that they were before, acquiring that level of debt that they were before, it's just not going to happen. So, they are being a lot more prudent and wise as a matter of fact with this -- with their debt acquisition levels.

PHILLIPS: So, are you saying that what we have seen take place is, in some way, a blessing?

MACK: Well, I actually do believe that. Again, we are taking a little bit of pain. And sometimes, when there is no pain, there is no progress. And so, we -- again, we went from Dow Jones 6,700 to Dow Jones 12,750 off the hope that the housing market was going to improve, of the hope that the credit crisis is going to loosen, of the hope that the unemployment levels were going to start to decrease.

But all those things had never materialized. And we were still seeing and we stabilized market, but not improved market, enough to really merit the level that we were seeing at the Dow. So, I've been quite calling for contractions for quite some time.

And I do think that now, we are starting to get used to the fact we are going to start growing at slower levels but sustainable levels to make sure that we can continue to grow in a responsible rate and not putting on this irresponsible levels of debt that we saw back in 2004 through 2007.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, let me ask you this then. Five years from now, could this just be a blip on the radar?

MACK: It's going to be a blip on the radar. If individuals are trying to make one day decisions based upon five-year investment strategies, I mean, that is, quite frankly, very irresponsible. If you have a 401(k) program, this again, you're going to look at this long term five years from now, this is going to be one blip from a long-term strategy that you probably won't even recall that much.

And for the average investors, they probably even won't recall at all.

So, all we have to do is just making sure that your asset allocation strategy is appropriate for today, for right now, for your age, for your level of risk tolerance, and for what you think in some small level of what the market is going to do.

If you're 21 years old, you might have 90 percent stock in your portfolio and have more time to deal with the ebb and flow of the market.

If you're 50 years old and you have -- or 55 years old, and you have 90 percent stocks in your portfolio, then shame on you! You should have been really over time, not according to what the market is doing, but according to what you feel your asset allocation structure and what your risk tolerance level is appropriate for your age and when you're trying to plan on retiring and what your long-term financial goals are.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Mack, thanks for weighing in.

MACK: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK. Opening bell just minutes away. And, of course, our money team is ready.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. Christine Romans still with me live out of New York.

Alison, let's start with you. What are you feeling? What's your sense?

KOSIK: You know, futures have been all over the map but still pointing higher to green arrows. Looks like the Dow could open in the triple digits but you know what? It's still going to be a very volatile day.

And, in fact, Wall Street has got an index that measures that. It's called the VIX. It's known as the fear index and it really shows how volatile the market has been lately. And, lately, it's been surging up 50 percent yesterday and opening today at the highest level since March of 2009.

And there are a few things that affect the VIX lately. It's not just the market certainty that we're seeing. It's also the slowing economy, the European debt problems.

But I want to point this out. With all of these big dramatic moves that stocks have been making lately, you know, there have been a lot of comparisons to 2008. But keep in mind that this VIX, this fear index is nowhere near where it was back then during the financial crisis because believe it or not, the economy is in better shape now than it was back in 2008. Doesn't mean it's easier to take today, but that is the reality here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Christine, you know, you talked -- you were the first talk about it yesterday, the downgrade of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. So, what do you think? Are we going to see more downgrades today?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, that's a good question because we're watching the insurance companies and the financial companies. But Freddie and Fannie is interesting because so many people hold that debt or that stock, frankly, in their portfolios. And what's that going to mean for homebuyers. So, in theory, it could make it harder to get a loan, but we just don't quite know yet.

Later this afternoon, the Fed that will be really important what the Fed says about the level of strength of the economy or weakness in the economy, quite frankly. And, you know, the Fed, Kyra, first, kept interest rates at about zero. So, that's basically free money pumping through the economy, that since 2008.

Then they were buying back bonds -- $2.9 trillion of bonds, that's keeping money flowing in the system and they stopped doing that in June. You know, that wound down.

Will they announce something else they can do -- some other tool to keep the economy going if they have to step in to keep -- you know, to keep the liquidity they say in the system? So, we'll be watching very closely for that. That will be pretty important this afternoon, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It sounds good. Christine and Alison, thanks so much, ladies.

ROMANS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And just minutes from now -- well, the markets will get going. We are talking about less than five minutes. We'll take you live as soon as it hits 9:30.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

The remains of 30 American troops shot down in eastern Afghanistan are being flown home this morning. The solemn transfer ceremony is closed to reporters.

And London police have hauled in so many rioters. All their jail cells are full. More than 450 arrests in three nights of violence. All police vacations have been cancelled and thousands of officers called in from across the country.

And 29 hours into her Cuba to Florida swim, Diana Nyad has to quit. The 61-year-old endurance athlete was vomiting and had horrible shoulder pain. She says it was a tough break but absolutely the right call.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: Pretty rough session for global markets after yesterday's Wall Street plunge. U.S. futures are pretty turbulent as well. The opening bell is just about to ring less than a minute. Alison Kosik and Christine Romans with us, both are out of New York.

Alison, what's the mood there at the stock exchange?

KOSIK: We are about 40 seconds from the opening bell.

You know what? The folks here are a bit more optimistic. You know, they see those future arrows pointing up, pointing in the green, the major averages are expected to open more than 1 percent higher.

But you know what? The fact is, it's anybody's guess if we're going to end up there at the end of the trading day, because you have to remember what happened yesterday. We began down 200 points and look where we ended up -- we actually ended down 634 points. It was the sixth biggest point drop ever.

We've got a lot of volatility, a lot of emotional trading. And, you know, you see investors not necessarily trading on the fundamentals or logic of what's going on. And that's not necessarily good for the market.

And if we get a bounce today, it's mostly because of yesterday's big sell-off we had last week.

And look, we're seeing green arrows starting up just a bit as things rev up. It is expected to go higher as the session goes on, at least in the first few minutes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. So far, so good.

Christine, and, of course, the Fed watching the markets closely?

ROMANS: You know, the Fed really likes to watch inflation. It likes to watch job creation. At least on paper, it's supposed to take a longer view of what's happening in the economy.

But, clearly, no question they must be very aware of what's happening in the markets.

You know, the S&P 500, Kyra, is up 64 percent since those very dark days of March 2009. Something to remember since so many people said that after that huge bull market, after the crash of '08, '09, that you needed to have a pullback. So, that was one thing that buyers and optimists are talking about this morning.

But another thing to consider is that it's very rare for us to see markets come unglued so quickly. It really is. I mean, you've seen an 18 percent decline in the S&P since just this summer basically, and that is more than a correction. I mean, that is a very painful period for investors in stocks.

The S&P 500, that's what the stock portion of your portfolio and your 401(k), your retirement plans, is probably based on. So, it's something that we're all going to feel and it happened quite quickly. And that's what the pessimists in the market, they point to.

They say it's not necessarily a rationale selling that they're seeing. It's people pricing in a slowing global economy and lots of uncertainty, political and economic-wise, and they are just very concerned after this big run-up there is not much more to go.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: So, what could the great policymakers do today?

And, right now, we're looking at the numbers. OK, still positive, up 86 points.

ROMANS: The policymakers, we're going to be looking for the Fed to tell us what their assessment of the company. But also, is there something they are going to do?

I mean, I suspect, and many of the who are the real experts on the Fed say the Fed will say they stand ready to do whatever it takes to keep the system strong, that wouldn't be a surprise. That is basically what the G-7 said this weekend. They stand ready to do whatever it takes to keep the economy -- you know, keep the economy going in the right direction.

But since the Fed has basically been paused for a couple of months after its second round of big bound buying, you'll be looking for any kind of signal there might be some other tool in the Fed's tool box maybe that we don't even know that as the Fed would have to try to use.

So, there's also this other kind of a little bit inside baseball -- but Ben Bernanke may want to do one thing, but there are other people at the Fed who have a vote, too, on what happens next for Fed policy. So, there's also the internal dynamic of what's happening among those very smart economists, about what they think should or shouldn't be done in the economy at this point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, you say, though, do whatever it takes.

ROMANS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: So, Alison Kosik, how do we define whatever it takes?

KOSIK: You know, if Wall Street has any say on this, you know, Wall Street is really looking for the Fed to do something.

And part of the reason for this rally, not only because we saw such huge drops, is because there is an expectation, at least here on Wall Street, that the Fed is going to ride to the rescue and do something. You know? Looking to do something to help the economy that would maybe juice stocks, create that wealth effect, make everybody feel at least richer than they were, let's say, you know, a few days ago, because it's worked before, some say it hasn't.

But because others say, you know what, more stimulus that the Fed may put into motion may not have much an affect. You know, some say, you know what, at some point, you just have to take those training wheels off and see if the economy can stay upright on its own. You know, the economy is wobbling a lot right now, and I think what Wall Street is looking for is for a little assistance and really looking for the Fed for -- for the Fed to do something or at least indicate that it's going to do something, so they will be watching closely today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We all will.

Alison Kosik, Christine Romans -- ladies, thanks so much.

Well, London police say the violence on the street is the worst they have ever seen, three nights of riots there. And now, the rage has spread to other British cities. We go live to London next.

And they were killed in a single deadliest attack on U.S. troops since the Afghan war began. Now, new questions around what happened. We'll go live to the Pentagon right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: After a gut-wrenching plunge yesterday, we're all wondering how the markets are going to turn out today. And so far, we're in positive territory, up 113 points. We are watching the markets closely for you. Stay with us here on CNN.

And then, there's another major story that we are following this morning. London on fire and the violence is now spreading to other cities. The riots started after a man was shot to death but have grown more intense because of anger over high unemployment and benefit cuts.

CNN's Atika Shubert is joining us from London.

So, Atika, what's it like on the streets right now?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, in west London, in Ealing, and this is normally a quite, residential area, and really a charming row of shops.

But as you can see behind me, they've been smashed in by rioters last night. They just started to cleanup. Firefighters have cleared the area now and quite a few shops were on fire, but they have said they are structurally OK. So, people have been going in, cleaning up, boarding up some of these windows to make sure the glass doesn't come out.

But people are angry. They are upset. They're wondering -- why was Ealing, this place, targeted if the shooting happened in north London? And a lot of people are saying this is just criminal opportunism basically where gangs and packs of teenagers are taking the opportunity to loot, riot and generally vent their frustration and anger.

But people are saying it's gotten completely out of hand and when are the police going to get a handle on it. Their big concern is that when night falls tonight, are we going to see a fourth consecutive day of rioting?

PHILLIPS: And tell us about this death that started the rioting, Atika.

SHUBERT: Well, it started last week on a Thursday. Mark Duggan. He's a 29-year-old resident of Tottenham, was shot and killed by police. We don't have many details. And it's an investigation that's ongoing.

But his family feels there was excessive police force and they are very upset and they held a protest. It was a very small, a very peaceful protest. But somehow, that generated into a riot, a full- blown riot with pitch battles with police and building and cars set on fire.

It went from that to sporadic looting on Sunday night, and looting and more fires on Monday night.

People are wondering how long is this going to go on and are we going to see it happen again?

PHILLIPS: We'll keep following it with you. Atika Shubert there live out of London -- Atika, thanks.

And it's going to be a really emotional day for the families of more than 30 troops killed in chopper crash in Afghanistan over the weekend. The bodies of those killed are now being taken to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Meantime, a lot of new questions being raised about that attack that took their lives.

CNN's Barbara Starr is joining me from the Pentagon.

So, Barbara, what are the new details that you have for us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we do now there is a full investigation under way about what happened.

But a real indicator of how sensitive this is for the United States military, and for the Special Operations community, they will not tell us four days into this who was conducting the investigation and how it's being conducted and, specifically, what they are looking at. They will only say there is an investigation, they are looking at everything.

But we have talked to a number of sources and we have begun to understand some of the key issues that they are going to look at. I want to put up for our viewers some of the things that the investigators are going to look at as they try and determine what happened.

One of them, of course, is going to be: what were the Taliban firing at the helicopter? Is there any possibility that they have some sort of advanced weapons that the U.S. needs to understand very quickly? Was it a conventional rocket-propelled grenade? What exactly did the Taliban have?

Another question, was the helicopter carrying the Navy SEALs a conventionally equipped Chinook helicopter, which is a large transport helo? Did it have all the necessary special electronic equipment to defend itself against the possibility of being shot down? Were there any other armed helicopters nearby that might have been able to fire against Taliban positions on the ground?

So far, we're not hearing word of any other helicopters.

And the very fundamental question: why were the Navy SEALs, a very covert, very elite unit, sent in to this job, into this mission in the first place? They were going to reinforce Army Rangers on the ground -- a unit of Army Rangers that were in a firefight.

We are told now the Rangers were not pinned down. They were not in a necessarily extreme position. The Rangers just wanted more help, more firepower. That is what we are being told, and this very elite unit of Navy SEALs was sent in.

There is going to be questions about why them or were they the only forces in the area? Maybe there was nobody else around that could respond.

But these are all going to be the key questions that we believe now investigators will be focusing on -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll stay close to the investigation.

Meanwhile, the ceremony at Dover today -- a lot of dignitaries I understand are going to be there. And the press is not allowed to cover this, right?

STARR: Very difficult. Yes. The news media will not be allowed to cover the return of the remains and the honors being rendered to the fallen.

The reason we are told is that the remains at this point cannot be identified to complete satisfaction, that -- you know, as the news media, we are only allowed to cover the return of remains at Dover when a family gives permission. And since none of the remains can be identified, the families then, by definition, we are told, cannot grant permission.

All of that aside, with even with the news media not being there, I think everyone will pause, remember, reflect, and render their own honors to the fallen, whether the television cameras are there or not, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good point. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon -- Barbara, thanks.

The FBI is looking for three siblings accused of robbing a bank and trying to kill a cop. We got new dash cam footage now that may give investigators clues. That's next.

Plus, some tough times, togetherness is good but date nights? Maybe not. L.Z. Granderson joins us to explain from his latest op-ed.

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PHILLIPS: Oh, after that gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching plunge yesterday, it's amazing how quickly these numbers are changing. We were in negative territory about 65 seconds ago. And now just as we come up live, DOW Industrials up 54 points. The numbers all over actually the board this morning so far since the opening bell rang at 9:30.

We're watching closely.

All right, let's check some other news that we're watching close -- closely cross country.

The hunt is still on for the Dougherty gang. Police say that a sister and two brothers, Leroy and Dylan, robbed a bank in Georgia and were chased by police in Florida.

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PHILLIPS: That's gunfire that you hear. And police say when they were caught or when they are caught, they'll face attempted murder of that police officer.

Well, recently a woman came forward and said her uncle had been the infamous DB Cooper. Well, DNA test from this guy compared to a necktie that belonged to Cooper do not match. Still it's now 100 percent because the FBI isn't sure if the DNA on the tie is Cooper's to begin with.

On Monday, Miami Heat star Lebron James led on a bike ride through his hometown of Akron, Ohio. His Wheels for Education attempts to spotlight the high dropout rate in Akron's schools; 360 third graders get a free bike, free lap type -- laptop rather and school supplies.

Well, the economy keeps getting socked. Retirement accounts are shrinking and people are pretty much scared. You'd think that setting aside time was somebody's special and seeking a little comfort would be extra important.

Meantime, LZ Granderson' latest piece on CNN.com is about ditching date night. Interesting direction LZ, make this connection for me. LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Well, as you were saying, you know, times are -- are hard and people are under stress, kids are busier this generation than any other generation that we've seen before.

And so date night seems like a good idea. But what I found in my experience as a busy parent was that -- it made sex boring because I knew I was getting it on this day every week so I wasn't chasing it. And because I wasn't chasing it became kind of routine, and routine and boring and I didn't want it. And my partner didn't want this, we ditched date night.

PHILLIPS: Holy Molly, you're just laying it out there. I'm not sure how to respond.

All right, though, let's -- let me ask you this then, ok? Whoa, aside from your personal --

GRANDERSON: I made you blush?

PHILLIPS: Yes you guess.

GRANDERSON: Oh my God.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I am -- I know LZ, I am blushing, I'll be honest with you. Ok.

All right, but seriously you would think that spending time with the person that loves you the most and being with your family and -- and setting the -- the moment, the day, is exactly what we need in a time where we feel so uneasy.

I mean, what would be your advice to families in these tough times, though, that need that comfort. When you're looking at your 401(k) -- can you tell you I'm trying to work my way out of this -- when you look at your 401(k) and you see that you're in huge trouble and you're thinking about your kid's future and your future and what you're going to do next.

GRANDERSON: Right, right.

Right, I'm not saying don't find time to be together. I'm just saying that I found or we found in our relationship that when you had a set date night, that was -- and ours was Thursday night. Routine. Between 8:00 and 10:00, that was date night everybody knew it. About 9:30, you know, we start winding up.

I mean, then there becomes like everything else in your life, right? You work from 9:00 to 5:00, date nights from 8:00 to 10:00 and kids have school from this time and this time. And I think the energy of the relationship, the passion gets sucked out a little bit. Spontaneity is, I think, missing.

And so, that's why, for me, and I'm just sort of putting it out there, school starts, is that you know, I know the temptation is to schedule time for a little nooki, but I think the chasing of it week in and week out and not knowing when you're going to get it is actually more exciting.

PHILLIPS: Ok, no longer do we need Dr. Ruth, we have Dr. LZ. Go ahead, read his piece, "Ditching Date Night". Thank you LZ, CNN.com/opinions.

He definitely took us off the course of all the depressing news with regards to the stock market bombing yesterday.

All right. And if you'd like you can join the conversation, leave a comment for him. I'm sure he'd love to chat with you.

All right, a soccer powerhouse signs a top prospect. This rookie is just 7 years old. That's right, 7. We're going to tell you about this big deal in sports.

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PHILLIPS: And you know, we've been talking all night about the global sell-off; the fact that investors are on edge, which is why we are watching these numbers closely, minute-by-minute. Dow Industrials showing positive territory -- up 120 points right now. It's good. It's staying up there. Hopefully it'll get even better throughout the day.

We're keeping a close eye on it and continuing to analyze what we could see for the next couple of hours.

All right, some other stories that are making news later today.

At 2:15 Eastern the Federal Reserve board announces the results of its August meeting. It could move to try to reverse yesterday's stock slide.

Then at 2:50 Eastern, President Obama has scheduled a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to talk about the economy, and at 4:15, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with baseball great Cal Ripken and some young, Japanese baseball players as part of the first international sports exchange with Japan.

All right we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go and check in first with Christine Romans out of New York -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it could keep -- keep getting interesting, right? The Fed meets today, so after an S&P downgrade, after a summer stock swoon; what, if anything, can the Fed do to try to prop up the economy, maybe markets and the job market? I'll have that for you at the top of the hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange, where I'm keeping a close eye on the markets after yesterday's massive 600-point drop. The Dow is now in positive territory, but the question is, is it going to hold to the close? I'm going to have an update next hour.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar at the White House, where the President is under tremendous pressure to take action on the economy. But the question is, what can he actually do in the near-term? I'll have that near the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: All right, ladies, thanks.

Also next hour, Tea Party Congressman Joe Walsh is joining me to talk about the country's credit downgrade. And the Democratic blame game.

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PHILLIPS: I know it's hard after yesterday, you want to look at that 401(k) every probably 20 minutes or so. Here's the good news, Dow Industrials is up 133 points right now. We're watching it very closely for you.

Speaking of investing, Jeff Fischel, how about investing in this 7-year-old who's hitting the soccer field?

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: It might be a smarter investment these days.

PHILLIPS: Yes, really. He is showing some proof that it's worthwhile.

FISHEL: Yes, you know, Kyra, it's nothing for big soccer clubs around the world to sign kids to contracts. When is young to young, right? Keeping them -- it keeps them from having to pay large transfer fees later on. This may be a record, 7-year-old Leonel Angel Coira of Argentina -- Argentina.

PHILLIPS: You get it right?

FISHEL: As they -- they keep contract with Real Madrid in Spain. His family moved there, he moved to Madrid three years ago. Leonel caught a scout's eye while playing for a youth club coached by his dad. Lionel will start in Real Madrid's Youth Academy. No pay for play just yet. But if he develops Leonel could cash in when he's 16. You know, when he's old enough.

All right, let's do some baseball. The best teams, the Phillies, they keep on rolling. Last night against the Dodgers, Roy Halladay strikes out Jamie Carroll looking, Doc arguably the best pitcher in baseball. He leads the National League in wins.

And Shane Victorino, the flying Hawaiian, he's appealing his suspension for that brawl the other night. His swing was appealing last night, a homerun and a couple of doubles. The Phillies win 5-3.

And Rednecks in New England. They're proud. There were a lot of them over the weekend. The Redneck Olympics in Maine, some of the more popular events, the mud run. Tire popping. Toilet seat horseshoes and bobbing for pig's feet. There was also wife-carrying, and a thing called the greased watermelon haul, which you can picture.

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy, I just -- yes, I can. Hey, again, go big or go home. That's what I say. Thanks, Jeff.

FISCHEL: Ok.

PHILLIPS: All right.