fraud or to keep minorities from voting? >> the slogan is believe in america and it should be business in bermuda. that's what mitt romney's all about. >> offshore and out of sight. a new "vanity fair" article explores mitt romney's buried treasure in bermuda. millions of dollars. so how much of his wealth is tucked away on an island? we'll talk to the investigative reporter who broke this story. wow, boom. thunder and lightning. the rangers' manager saying he thought he was dead. and next time you drive past your corner gas station, check out how much the price has shot up. what's behind it and if those prices will at this point to skyrocket. "newsroom" begins right now. and good morning to you. happy, happy monday. i'm carol costello. we begin with your money and your vote. this morning president obama is focusing on both. he'll call on congress to pass a one-year extension of the bush-era tack cuts. here is the key. he wants the cuts only for families earning less than $250,000 a year. mitt romney and the republicans put t want the breaks to include the wealthy. the campaign message this week. the obama message, he's the defender of the middle class while romney only wants to protect rich people like h himself. cnn's dan lothian is at the white house and the president is going to put on quite a show. >> reporter: that's right. and turning a little bit of the attention away from what we saw last week, those disappointing jobs numbers. the president turning his focus on extending the bush-era tax cuts for those making up to $250,000 a year for only a year. the president really has been on this push, the narrative from the campaign has been one of helping the middle class or those trying to get into middle class. by doing this the president is drawing a contrast between those that he says need the most help and are suffering in this down economy compared to those he says his opponent is pushing for and that's those wealthy americans. the president will be out there pushing this theme in iowa, virginia and also some private citizens and state and local officials will also be what the campaign calls amplifying the message in key battleground states like new hampshire, florida, are colorado, and nevada. remember, two years ago in 2010 when the president agreed to a two-year extension of the tax cuts. at the time the president had been pushing that he wanted it to be extended only for those making up to $250,000. but, of course, he did it in order to get the deal done. republicans say this is not the economic environment to be doing something like this because you are essentially raising taxes on those creating jobs. but it's not just coming from republicans. even some democrats, nancy pelosi, for example, thinking that that threshold should be up to a million dollars. this will be a testy debate, carol. >> a testy debate. we have heard many, many times before. dan lothian live at the white house this morning. when the president visits those battleground states this week, he'll be lobbying for the very things that can decide the election. voters don't lean heavily toward either party, though, and they will soon settle on their choice. but not just yet. the presidential race is locked in a statistical tie. obama has a razor thin edge of two percentage points but that falls within the margin of error. a major fight gets under way over voter rights and a state's authority to protect the process. in a washington courtroom the justice department will challenge texas' proposed law that would require voters to show identification. last hour on "starting point" we heard from one texas lawmaker who scoffs at claims that minorities are being unfairly targeted. >> what we really want are people eligible to vote. we want them to get to the polls and register to vote. we don't want those who are dead. we want actual real ballots from real people and this law does that. >> joe johns joins us now. what's the core issue before the court today? >> reporter: this is a texas case and the question in court is about ensuring the integrity of the ballot versus making sure voting rights of minorities are protected. it will be determined by your party affiliation. republicans arguing for a long time now that voter fraud is a big problem. we've heard that argument and so something numerous states have enacted laws that require voters to present photo identification though some have been challenged. democrats say a lot of democratic voters especially segments of the african-american and hispanic populations tend to lack the kinds of photo identification, military i.d., the passport, et cetera. the question before the court is whether the law in texas prevents anyone from voting based on race, justice department says it could. the state of texas says it would never do that. >> this has pild over to eric holder. he was held in contempt of congress over fast and furious. so what do you suppose the american people think of his insertion into this controversy? >> reporter: right, right. you are looking at this thing from the 30,000-foot view and you see the congress found the attorney general in contempt for not fully complying with the subpoena. the attorney general and his supporters, carol, have long contended that republicans and congress went after holder because of the very voting rights value. he has been attacking the voter i.d. laws. not quite clear that is getting through to the public. it shows 553% of voters think i was proper. others say there was a political motive. the public is split on this and not sure what to think of it, carol. >> joe johns reporting live for us. to afghanistan now where six u.s. troops have been killed. an official who wishes to remain nameless says it happened in the eastern part of the country. it was a deadly weekend. over 26 civilians were killed in roadside bombings and two international troops were killed as well. also this morning tens of thousands of americans will find their morning routine interrupted when they try to logon to the internet and they won't be able to. their computers were affected months and even years ago. they kept them on line. they won't be able to access the internet and later this hour mario armstrong will join us to explain. over the weekend millions got a reprieve from the record heat wave. heavy rains and severe storms plowed across the country. they scrambled for cover as winds peeled off roofs. trying to tape up the window and told everybody to get in the dance roop. >> we were that close to it hitting us. we stepped in there and we saw it. just came in on us. >> virginia's governor is pleading people to be patient. more have been without power for a week when those stormed rolled in. at least 30 deaths are being blamed on the brutal heat. the death toll in chicago and another five in philadelphia. the victims tend to be very old, very young or dealing with other health issues. the rest of the weather with alexandra steele, we're praying for cool winds. that's right. the winds of change, they are blowing. we have seen some extreme weather. this was just kind of the end of the heat wave yesterday. raleigh-durham 105. tying their all-time warmest temperature ever. richmond at 103. washington yesterday 102. today much cooler. but that heat, of course, coming at a price and getting that heat knocked down. today here is where we'll see the threat. of course the threat carol was just talking about 50 miles south of washington, d.c. further south than that virginia and through north carolina, raleigh-durham yesterday 105 degrees. certainly much cooler today. here is the front bringing the cooler air. with that moist, unstable air you throw in the front, that lifting mechanism, the recipe for severe storms. much more comfortable. to the west and southwest there was the heat to the east of the central plains and now with this trough digging in, that's the cool air but the ridge means hot weather and that's what we'll see 0 today in places like phoenix and vegas, 115 degrees. at least they are used to it. the a couple of 30-something showed they had a lot more to give on the court. serena williams won her fifth championship at the all-england club and on the men's side roger federer won a record tying seventh wimbledon title beating andy murray. cnn's becky anderson sat down with federer this morning. did you ask him about murray's tears? >> reporter: i did ask him. i'd be happy to swap with you. it hasn't stopped raining since the middle of may. thankfully they were able to pull the roof over on centre court to finish the match. he is exhausted by elated, that being roger federer, only to match pete sampras. seven wimbledon titles, 17 grand slam titles. that is a record breaking number of majors. now he totally understood that this game was going to be a big one given that the hopes of a british nation were riding on one 25-year-old andy murray. it would have been the first victory for the british man at wimbledon since 1936, 7 years ago fred perry. as you can imagine the cheers from an entire nation at the end of this match when he won were quite justified. this is what he said to me about how he felt about this victory. >> i didn't feel good about it and i was disappointed for andy but his emotions were nice to see and it shows that he really cares about tennis and how much he would like to win a grand slam, and that's why i think he will make it. it did feel bad, you know, crushing many people's dreams here in this country. i am convinced that andy will win a grand slam. >> yeah. he's such a delightful man. no ego to this guy at all. he's really quite remarkable. you think about what he's done at the ripe old age, carol, of 30. he's just shy of his 31st birthday. it was wonderful yesterday at the end of what were quite emotional speeches as you can imagine. he said he couldn't look up to the box where his family was because his mom and his wife had his twins there. they are now just shy of 3 years old. they were waving away at him. he said he couldn't look up because he would burst into tears as well. i asked him whether the dpirls were playing tennis. he said they just chucked it away. they have other things to do at this point. but he's such a nice guy. really even as a britt, we were all behind murray yesterday. even as a britt you can't fail to like roger federer. >> i know. that was a lovely thing to say, although i couldn't help but feel that inside he was not saying -- but it was a lovely hinge to say. becky anderson, thank you so much. turns out the u.s. government was way too generous with those unemployment checks last year. yes, uncle sam wants your money back, unemployed americans. we'll tell you how much. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. in every way, shape, and form. it's my dream vehicle. on a day to day basis, i am not using gas. my round trip is approximately 40 miles to work. head on home, stop at the grocery store, whatever else that i need to do -- still don't have to use gas. i'm never at the gas station unless i want some coffee. it's the best thing ever. as a matter of fact, i'm taking my savings so that i can go to hawaii. ♪ but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. 16 minutes past the hour, checking our top stories now, president obama will likely talk tax breaks at a briefing just before noon eastern today. he's widely expected to call for a one-year extension on the bush-era tax cuts for middle class americans. really anyone earning less than $250,000 a year. a campaign adviser says the president is 100% committed to ending bush-era tax cuts for wealthier americans by the end of the year. the united nations and arab league special envoy annan finished meeting with al asad about ending the violence in syria. annan says they agreed on an approach to piece that annan will now share with opposition forces in syria but there's no stop to the violence yet. at least 17 people were killed today. if you have been receiving unemployment benefits, you can could be asked to pay some of it back. the federal government and states overpaid about $14 billion in benefits last year. now the department of labor and states are launching a massive effort to recoup some of it and avoid future overpayments. in weather, finally, finally a break from the scorching two-week heat wave. now some states are back to just regular old summer heat. thunderstorms moved through parts of the midwest and mid-atlantic yesterday and that cooled things off just a bit. check out this video. keep an eye on the top right of your screen. you see that runis away tractor-trailer coming? it maneuvered between two cars and then toppled over just inches from some gas pumps. apparently the brakes failed as the driver was getting off an exit ramp. no one was seriously injured. i don't know if that was skillful driving offer just luck but, man, i wouldn't want to be in that minivan or i would feel lucky today. back to the presidential campaign and the subject of mitt romney's wealth. democrats continued to pounce on how much money romney has and where he has it. >> i pick a bank because there's an atm near my home. mitt romney had a bank account in switzerland -- >> nothing illegal, right? >> this is a guy whose slogan is believe in america and it should be business in bermuda. that's what mitt romney is all about. >> americans need to ask themselves why doesn't american businessmen need a swiss bank account and sequence of investments like that. >> okay. so is there any there there? joining mae now is the author of "treasure island." a book about tax havens and an in-depth article on mitt romney's finances for the august edition of "vanity fair." welcome. >> thanks. >> so is there any there there? >> well, what there are is an awful lot of questions when you look into his finances, you come up against an awful lot of brick walls when i researched this, there are lots of things you can speculate about. a few things you can say for sure but this is -- his finances are still very mysterious, a lot of things we don't know about. >> well, let's talk about this. it is based in bermuda. what is that exactly? >> well, it is an entity, an offshore company that contains -- we don't know exactly the value of that company. it contains -- it could be, it's possible, that it's just an old entity that has no real significance, something that is left over from earlier deals, but he has treat it had it very carefully inged, transferring it into his wife's trust before he was inaugurated as governor of massachusetts, having his lawyer as the director of that company. so this is a very carefully treated company and we found 0 out about it on his 2010 tax return but we have very little information about it. it doesn't appear to be much in it at the moment but it's possible there will be profits flowing into it in the future but, again, it's one of these questions we don't know about. >> from what i understand, it was part of a cluster of hedge funds run by bain capital which is the private equity firm romney founded and led until 1999. so what was it used tore in 1999? >> well, again, we don't -- this particular entity is just one of the sankady family. it is a much bigger bain entity with various different funds in it but this entity is a particular company that was closely controlled by mitt romney, 12,000 shares held by the family but, again, you only have this information from the 2010 tax return and a little bit of information out of bermuda. but beyond that it's hard to know. we don't have details, for example, of mitt romney's severance agreement from bain capital so we don't know what he's entitled to, where that money is. so it's, again, a lot of questions. >> in light of these entities, is there any way to really determine how wealthy mitt romney is? >> well, the campaign has said that his wealth is close to 0 a bit less than $250 million u.s. dollars. there is a lot of flexibility when you say what something is worth. if you have a profit's interest from a bain capital fund, for example, you may value it at zero at the moment because no income is flowing but some years down the line there might suddenly be a huge payout. so there's a lot of flexibility both from the point of view of tax law and what you will declare. as to what you say you're worth. it is a squashy concept. there was good reporting by i think it was forbes that estimated his wealth at close to $250 million u.s. dollars. >> as far as we know, though, mitt romney has done nothing wrong? he's done absolutely nothing wrong. so why should voters care about these things? >> well, this has been the mantra of the campaign we have followed every law scrupulously. my article decided to explore is this actually true that he has broken no laws, paid all the taxes he owes and no more. in fact, the answer to that question is not completely straightforward. in tax law and in other laws there is generally a gray area between the legal and the illegal, tax avoidance and tax evasion and there's quite a big gray area and financial players such as mitt romney have routinely strolled into this gray area and romney has shown on a number of occasions that he's content to stroll confidently into this gray area where you are not sure until there's been a resolution by the irs or someone else that this is strictly legal or not. there is a question mark. it is the mantra that it is completely legal and there's nothing wrong with it. that statement needs questioning further. >> nicholas, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. still ahead, when it comes to your vote, if you don't like the party's candidate, is it okay to vote for them anyway because you just can't stand the other guy? that's our talk back question this morning. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. now is your chance to talk back on one of of the big stories of the day, the question for you this morning, is it right to vote for a candidate because you hate the other guy? can you make me love mitt romney? according to "roll call" a woman popped that question at a fund-raiser in west virginia and republican house speaker john boehner ran with it. his answer, quote, listen, we're just politicians. i wasn't elected to play god. the american people probably aren't going to fall in love with mitt romney. i'll tell you this. 95% of the people that show up to vote in november are going to show up in that voting booth, and they are going to vote for or against barack obama. and there you have it. voters in 2012 won't vote for a guy they love. they'll vote against a guy they hate. heck, a whole online telethon based on that very idea last week. its goal? to raise $250,000 not to elect mitt romney but to defeat barack obama. one of the telethon's guests, former "saturday night live" comedian victoria jackson. >> tell us about -- first, tell us about the movie, first of all. >> well, thank you for what you're doing. we have to get rid of obama. it's the most important thing about saving our country. thank you for what you're doing. >> there is a lot to criticize about barack obama. after all, the economic recovery isn't exactly robust, but don't voters want a guy with ideas to replace him, not just anybody? so the talk back question today, is it right to vote for a candidate because you hate the other guy? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. .. ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. [ male announcer ] this is our beach. ♪ this is our pool. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun, and we have ours. now during the summer event get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz for an exceptional price. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st. 30 minutes past the hour. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. the first time ever rung in the uk. stocks set for a lower open as investors are keeping a close eye this week on quarterly corporate earnings. it's texas versus eric hold they are morning and it's all about voter rights. federal judges will review a x texas law requiring voters to show photo i.d. holder has been fighting efforts that could make it difficult for some americans to vote. and google has launched a gay rights campaign it calls legalized love. the program will promote safer conditions interest gays and le lesbians. we want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do inside the office. tax cuts, extensions, a combo, yeah, we're back to that. president obama will gather round middle class joes and extend tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 a year. he'll do this all in the east room in contrast, he hopes, to mitt romney's fund-raising in the hamptons, the playground of the rich and famous. joining me now to discuss this long and well traveled road, democratic strategist maria cardona and will king. thank you to both of you. >> good morning. >> thanks, carol. good to be here. >> i'm glad you're here. i'm going to ask a really long first question, so bear with me. >> thanks for the warning. >> thanks for the warning, okay. actually, i'll ask a shorter question just to make things simple this morning and, maria, i will start with you. this idea of extending the bush tax cuts for people making less than $250,000 a year, we've been down this road before. nothing will come of it. nothing. >> well, we'll see if that's the case this time around, carol. what we do know is that the majority of americans actually a agree where this president is in terms of making sure that tax cuts do not go up are for the majority of americans, 98% of americans who are in the middle class who make less than $250,000 a year. the majority of americans are with this president, with him on this, and making sure that the wealthy don't get additional tax can cuts that, frankly, they haven't asked for and that they don't need. it also helps him with his coalition, carol, that he needs to make sure is with him come november and that includes african-american. that includes latinos, the labor movement. it includes young voters. it includes blue collar voters. it includes, frankly, everybody who has been really hurt by this recession. so this is a good message for the president, a good contrast with mitt romney, which i think not so much that he was fund-raising in the hamptons because the president could raise money there, he'd be there, too. in contrast with all the stories about his offshore accounts, his secret bermuda corporation and other offshore cayman island accounts, swiss bank accounts, et cetera. >> let's talk about the contrast and you saw the president in ohio. he's wearing a blue collared shirt, you know, a blue shirt, it had a blue collar, is yosurrd by middle class americans, hey, he was drinking a miller lite. what could be more middle class and american than that? romney in the hamptons, the playground of the rich and famous, donors there reportedly gave him $3 million this weekend. so the contrast is there. is mitt romney worried? >> no. the contrast is there this week. i think maria was honest giving a month or so you might see the president in the hamptons. it's only been a couple of weeks we've seen him on the upper east side of manhattan raising money. they are going to go where the money is. so this is something that we could probably judge both by. >> yeah, but what about the swiss bank accounts? democrats came together on all the morning talk shows and blasted romney about his secret offshore accounts and his swiss bank accounts, et cetera, et cetera. >> you know what's interesting about that? the timing. as the economic message fails, as we have a weak jobs report last week, the second one in as many months, we're revert iing back to this politics of personality. and the politics of personality is very obvious going forward are for the next couple of months is going to be attack mitt romney as a person which means attack him for his wealth. this is quite clearly, quite clearly going to be the message and, by the way, carol, it dove tails with let's let the tax cuts on the wealthy expire, those that make over $250,000. this concept of fairness, mitt romney is scrooge mcduck. that is going to be the message barack obama runs on. that's becoming very, very clear. >> all right. well, we have to end it there sadly. thanks so much. you see my question was long. >> thanks, carol. >> thanks to both of you. >> next time. >> i know. from politics to hollywood's big drama, it seems tom cruise and katie holmes are keeping things cool while their lawyers negotiate a hot divorce settlement. you know what's exciting? graduation. when i look up into my students faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. hollywood legend ernest borgnine has died. who can forget "mchale's navy"? >> i just can't understand it, captain. we went out of our way to make them feel at home. >> jesse james might feel at home with you and your mob. >> he won an oscar for his portrayal in "marty." his manager says he died from kidney failure. his wife and his kids by his side. he was 95 years old. let's head to los angeles and nischelle taylor. he was working up to the end in "spongebob square pants." >> absolutely, carol. he lived a very full life. in a way he kind of outlived his fame because there's a lot of people under the age of 30 today who are wondering just why this guy deserved so much attention. he had more than 200 films and television credits on his resume and that doesn't include his career on stage. now this was a man who starred in films like "from here to eternity" and the original "poseidon" adventure. shows ranging from "little house on the prairie" and "e.r." to "spongebob square pants." he took theater classes after he served in the navy during world war ii. he was also married, carol, five times, and that included a very brief kim kardashian-type marriage to ethel. he lived a very, very interesting life. >> oh, you're not kidding. i'm picturing that couple just shot into my mind, wow. >> you know? >> i know. >> exactly. >> we have to talk about another couple because you know my fascination with tom-kat continues. i want every single detail. >> you are not alone. a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen. what's going on now and what's happening next and reportedly at this point it's some sort of divorce negotiations. but part of these negotiations would appear to be a media blackout because both sides have really kept their public statements to a minimum. now we have reached out here at cnn to attorneys and representatives from both sides over the last few days. they really haven't responded to our questions so, really what is going on here is a lot of speculation that is filling the void and the perception today is that katie has done this sneak attack that has given her leverage that she is trying to use this leverage now in a private way to get this whole divorce taken care of and certainly most people believe right now the did divorce battle is over custody of their 6-year-old daughter and interestingly katie holmes is due to start production in new york on a new film called "molly. "now she co-wrote and co-produced the film and the movie is, carol, reportedly about a single mother and her daughter. >> how timely. >> interesting. very interesting. >> nischelle turner, always fun. >> all right, darling. see you later. >> "happy days" cast members have set atled a lawsuit with c. you can't get online today it's probably because of the fbi trying to rout out a nasty virus. do not fret. our tech guru will be along to tell what you to do to get your internet service back on. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful c250 sport sedan. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. the mercedes-benz summer event ends july 31st. we take it on ours. this summer put your family in an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz now for an exceptional price during the summer event. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st. 45 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, president obama will talk tax breaks in a statement just before noon eastern today, just in about two hours and 15 minutes, he's we hadly expected to call for an extension on the bush-era tax cuts for the middle class. anyone earning less than $250,000 a year. a campaign adviser says the president is 100% committed to ending bush-era tax cuts for wealthier americans by the end of the year. arizona governor jan brewer has filed a petition with the supreme court to stop same-sex benefits in arizona for state employees. that's according to "the huffington post." a lower court place add preliminary injunction on a state law that would have band those benefits. plaintiffs in the case have until august 6 to respond. in money news, would you pay more to be the first off a plane? if you said yes, you are among a growing number of americans according to a new survey and that "usa today" is reporting, yes, that could mean yet another new fee when you buy that airline ticket. in weather, finally -- finally -- a break from the scorching two-week heat wave. now some states are back to regular old summer heat. thunderstorms moved through parts of the midwest and the mid-atlantic yesterday and, boy, did that cool things off a bit. and check this out, this brilliant, beautiful light show. this is time lapse video of the aurora borealis or the northern lights. the spectacular show happened last night just before midnight near st. cloud, minnesota. lasted about a half hour. wow. no trouble getting online this morning? then were you not affected by a malicious software known as dns changer and it's hit hundreds of thousands of internet users after the fbi dropped a malware safety net at midnight. what's that, you ask? joining me now from baltimore is mario armstrong, hln's digital lifestyle expert. so i will ask you, mario, what is that? >> what is it? so here's the deal. the fbi busted this cyber criminal ring back in 2008. actually they were aware of this. but it was the virus was so infected into many computer users, over half a million or more people were interforgeted with thinfected with this virus but they couldn't pull the plug. so they've created basically a copycat system of their servers and now the fbi is saying, look, we've given enough people enough time, we have to pull the plug on this copycat system and that day is today. it happened already. so many people that are still -- if they are still infected with the virus on their computer when they pull up the internet, they won't be able to get to the websites they want access to. >> so they are probably freaking out right now and calling all sorts of people, but who should they call? >> well, you know, they should call family, friends, relatives, especially those that aren't computer savvy. we're talking about people who don't get on the internet that much, may not watch the media that often. so maybe these are folks who have been away on vacation, sleeping under a rock or just don't know what steps they can take. it's very easy for you to determine whether or not your computer has the virus. you can do it in one step and then if you have the virus, there are several stems you need to take to remove it. >> where do you find the several steps to remove it? >> so the first thing people should do is they need to go to a website, and you have to pay attention, folks, i'm going to list it out. dns-ok.us. you go to that website. it will instantly tell you -- i just did it on my screen here. as you can see, my screen shows up green. my screen shows up green. this particular computer is safe. if it shows up red, you will be given steps on how to remove it. if it gets too complicated, i made it simplified on my blog at marioarmstrong.com. >> i'm glad you did. okay, so this brings up a larger concern like has the fbi like, handled this kind of problem now? do we need to worry in the future about these kinds of viruses? >> that's a really great question. absolutely we need to worry about this. we need to be vigilant as users of the internet, protecting our data and information. this is happening every single day where they're investigating and trying to track down the source of this criminal behavior. this goes all the way across the globe to estonia. this is something easy to handle and just do without our help and without our vigilance. so a couple of things i think folks need to do. number one, i'm still surprised, carol, a lot of people don't update their anti-virus software. many people buy computers. it comes with the anti-virus software on it but they fail to know that know you have to subscribe every year to make sure it is active. so, that's first and foremost. secondly, back up all of your important data, your movies, your files, your irs forms, any documents, anything, back that stuff up on an external drive so you always have another copy of the data in case your machines become infected. >> okay. i'm doing that right now. >> please. >> i know. >> i don't want to scare people, but this is real. we have to pay apension to it these things. we are computing. we are doing everything from banking to searching for health information to looking up jobs to connecting with relationships through the internet so it is a big deal that we be a little bit more vigilant about protecting our systems. >> yes, sir. mario armstrong, thank you so much. >> take care. don't forget the talk back question of the day is it right to vote for a candidate because you hate the other guy? your responses on the other side of the break. well hello, welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com we asked you talk back on the stories of the day. the question this morning is it right to vote for the candidate because you hate the other guy? more of your responses in the next hour. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. okay. jeff fishle is here and he is going to talk about a very emotion a.m. moment at wimbledon. >> andy murray going for his first major title t wasn't just about him but it was about an entire country rooting for him at the all england club yesterday. attempting to become the first british man to win wimbledon in 76 years are. murray face the best player of all time, roger federer. could it have been any tougher? even through the first two sets, murray hanging tough with him, won a set. but then after a rain delay, it was all federer. federer took control, winning the third and fourth sets. federer wins again. his 17th major title, his seventh wimbledon title, tying pete sampras, the most of all time there is match point. murray could not pull it out, despite getting the huge crowd roar throughout the match. afterwards, he was so emotional when he spoke to the crowd. >> i'm gonna try this and it's not gonna be easy. everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at wind, how tough it is. but the -- it's not the people watching. they make it so much easier to play. the support has been incredible. so, thank you. >> i don't know that i can remember a time where an athlete had a crowd in tears after a match. >> i know, the royal family was crying. everybody was crying. >> truly an emotional moment. you have to say after this, please, andy murray win one, please, for your country. anyway. let's do some baseball now the pittsburgh pirates have the best record over the last two months, thanks in large part in andrew mccutcheon. he went deep twice yesterday, this one off tim lincecum. mccutcheon leading the pirates to the 13-2 win. mccutcheon will play in tomorrow night's all-star game, also in the home run derby tonight and the pirates are in first place in the nl central at the break. scary moment for players and fans at yesterday peas twins/rangers game in texas. listen. >> to the -- >> that was thunder rocking the ballpark at arlington. the players and umps go running for the dugout. josh willingham on the first base, he hit the ground like he had been shot at. no one hurt. the game continued after the storm passed. ben rivera tweeted, glad no one heard me scream like a little girl. it's true. >> usually you just flinch. man, they were out of there. >> i think royals balked but no one would call them on them. ricky weeks, a home run into the right field seats yesterday. everyone wants to catch a ball, right? a woman, not a glove, not a cup, she puts up her baby's car seat to try to catch it. >> baby wasn't in it, right? >> exactly. >> fortunately she was wise enough not to keep her baby in there while she tried. >> why did she have a baby seat at a baseball game? >> resourceful. i don't have a glove there is the baby, safe and sound. >> thank god. so bizarre. maybe she was afraid someone would steal it from the car. >> must have been easy to lug in but certainly not size enough to hold it up and -- >> that's big baseball mitt. thanks, jeff. >> all right. the next hour of cnn newsroom starts right now. in the voting booth, should you be required to show an i.d. to vote? that question front and center in federal court today. so, is it about protecting voter fraud or preventing minorities from voting? plus this -- it's almost become another symbol and getting the gold, the golden arches, but now controversy may mean that mcdonald's cannot sponsor the olympic games. and the next time you drive past your corner gas station, check out how much the price has gone up. we will tell you what's behind it and if prices will continue to skyrocket. newsroom starts right now. good monday morning to you, i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us. right now, a major legal fight gets under way over voter rights and a state's authority to protect the process. in a washington courtroom, the justice department will challenge texas's proposed through would require voters to show identification. early this morning on cnn's "starting point," we heard from one texas lawmaker who scores at claims that minorities are being unfairly targeted by these laws. >> what we really want are people who are eligible to vote. we want as many as possible to get to the polls and register to vote. we don't want people who are dead. >> of course not. nobody want that. >> we want actual real ballots from real people and this law does that. >> cnn crime and justice correspondent joe johns joins us now from washington. so, what's the core issue before the court today? >> carol, the question in court is really about simply ensuring the integrity of the ballot making sure that fraudulent votes are not cast while also making sure voting rights of minorities are protected. and what side you're on is likely going to be determined by your party affiliation. republicans have been arguing for a long time now that voter fraud is a big problem so several states, including texas, have enacted laws that require voters to present photo identification. democrats say a lot of democratic voters, especially segments of the african-american, hispanic populations tend to lacked kinds of photo identification that these laws require. talking about driver's license, military i.d., united states passport. so the question before the court is whether the law prevents anyone from voting based on race. the justice department says it could, which is why it blocked implementation of the law back in march after the state passed it. the state of texas says the law wouldn't unfairly discriminate against minorities. of course, this issue is really just heating up in time for the fall elections. part of the reason this case is in federal court now is because both the state of texas and the justice department simply want a ruling before the voting begins in november, carol. >> okay. so every election year, joe, we hear about some dead person voting. but when you get right down to it, is voter fraud a huge problem in this country? >> there are a lot of people who contend it is a very small problem, almost diminimus, as lawyers would say. but on the other hand, there are some who say even if one person gets through who isn't a legitimate voter, then that's big problem for the system. now the other thing i think we have to talk about here is eric holder, the attorney general. he has been under tremendous pressure, as you know. he has also been hit with contempt of congress citation, a lot of republicans have said they went after him because of the fast and furious investigation, you know all about that. but democrats and holder have said they went after him because he's been the guy attacking voter identification laws. he is giving a speech at the naacp, likely to make that case, of course. republicans would deny that charge. they say it was all about fast and furious and the fact that justice department had not turned over certain documents to republicans on capitol hill. there is a new cnn/orc poll that shows the public sort of agrees both sides. on one hand, 53% of voters think it was proper for the congress to find holder in contempt, at the same time, 6-10 said there was a political motive for the contempt citation. so the public is split on this issue and not sure what to think about t. >> joe johns reporting live from washington. now we want to turn your attention to money and your vote. in the next hour, president obama is focusing on both as he prepares for an announcement at the white house. he will call on congress to pass a one year extension of bush era tax cuts. here is the key. he wants the cuts only for families earning less than $250,000 a year. mitt romney and the republicans want the breaks to also include the wealthy. that contrast will fuel obama's campaign when he visits battleground states. obama's message, he is a defender of the middle class while mitt romney only wants to protect rich people like himself. when the president visits those battleground states this week, he will be lobbying for the very folks that could decide the elick. in these 12 swing states, voters don't lean heavily toward either party and will soon settle on their choice but not just yet. according to a "usa today"/gallup poll, the presidential race is locked in a statistical tie. obama has a razor-thin edge of two percentage point bus that falls within the margin of error. congress is back from its fourth of july break and tops on the agenda, repeal obamacare. of course, the repeal effort may pass the republican-controlled house but it doesn't have a prayer in the democratic-controlled senate. so is the vote pointless or not? dana bash is our senior congressional correspondent. so, half of america dislikes mr. obama's health care law. this repeal effort probably will go down in flames. so is there a bigger strategy here? >> it is all about, hold onto your hat, carl, politics. can you believe it? and setting the narrative and continuing to repeat the narrative over and over again which, in politics, is the only way to have that message effective v to listen to what mitch mcconnell, senate minority leader said to our candy crowley yesterday over what they are trying to say after the supreme court. we talked about it last week but it is clear now. they are going to hammer home over and over again what the chief justice said which is that the mandate is a tax. listen. >> the president said it wouldn't raise taxes. it is raising taxes. the president said -- >> on very few people, you would concede that? >> it is important to those people and they are middle-income people. more tax revenue raised from middle-income people than the buffett tax would raise from high-income people from a president who promised no to the raise taxes. >> so carl, you were exactly right, the house is going to hold a vote. they can. they run -- the republicans runt house it is likely to pass, as it has several times before. it, meaning a repeal of the health care law. and then in the senate, it won't go anywhere because the democrats control the senate. and they are simply not going to hold that vote. but the reason why you're hearing mitch mcconnell say that the reason why republicans are continuing to beat this drum is because they feel that the best argument, one of the best arguments, i should say that they have, at least to get control of the senate on the campaign trail is to say if you elect enough republicans, 51 republican, then they will have enough votes to overturn the health care law. only one caveat, they have to have a clean sweep because that won't work unless mitt romney is in the white house. >> okay. you will keep your eye on all things congressional. thanks so much, dana bash reporting live from washington, d.c. >> thanks, carol. the fbi is looking for a georgia bank director accused of embezzling $17 million of bank funds. aubrey price was last sighted boarding a ferry boat in key west, florida, on june 16th. he vanished after telling acquaintances he had lost a large amount of money that he planned to kill himself. also this morning, tens of thousands of americans will find their morning routine interrupted when they try log on to the internet and they won't be able to. that's because their computers were infected months or even years ago by a nasty virus. the fbi set up servers to keep the infected computers online but the agency is shutting them down. beginning today, infected compute letters not be able to ac sense the internet. if you have been receiving unemployment benefits, you could be asked to pay some of it badge the federal government in states overpaid about $14 billion in unemployment benefits last year and now the department of labor and states are launching a massive effort to recoup some of it and avoid future overpayments. with the london olympics just two and a half weeks away, it seems that olympic off officials are requesting the renewal of mcdonald's sponsorships of the games. the restaurant is one of four in olympic park, building the largest restaurant in the world, able to seat 1500 customers. the international like's president, jacques rogge told the financial times he is concerned about mcdonald's olympics sponsorship because of the growing fight against global obesity. sports anchor, carlos diaz, joins me now. >> the big question is -- 20 years from now, going to be looking at this and saying like we used to look at the ads for cigarettes and would you have those baseball players from the '50s and '60s and endorzing cigarettes, make fun of that today. will we be doing that 20 years from now with mcdonald's sponsoring the olympics. you have the most well-tuned at fleets the world competing f they ate at mcdonald's every day, i don't think they would be in the olympics. the olympic president does say that mcdonald's has a fresher menu these days, a menu that is healthier these days and points out that coca-cola, another sponsor been around since the 1920s, has diet beverages and coke zero and this and that. >> most customers go in and buy those things when they go to mcdonald's because you know you always get a salad, not hamburgers. >> exactly. >> i think the core issue is the olympics it has always tried to promote good health. athletic prowess. this is the best humanity has to offer. now you can buy a big mac. >> didn't we the consumer make mcdonald's a multi, multibillion dollar company that has enough money to spend on. with the olympics in the thing that confuses me is most of the olympic money comes from tv rights. the four years leading up to the olympics, they get $4 billion, the like, $3.9 billion in it. v rights, where the 11 national -- 191 worldwide sponsors contribute $957 million, not even $1 billion in sponsorship money. so the bulk of their money comes from tv rights, would you think they would be more selective but even the president of the like basically said we don't have that many options. >> we need the money. >> we need the money. so, if -- you're right. if there was an alternative restaurant out there that was only healthy and that was a multitrillion dollar industry, then they could go to that, but it's not out there. >> i just have this vision, those little teeny, tiny gymnasts that weigh, what 60 pounds, at the most, eating a big mac. that gigantic mcdonald's. >> michael femmes putting down 4,000 calories a day. it is one of those things where you are going to wonder in years to come, are we going to laugh at ourselves in the 2012 games, you say mcdonald seas a worldwide sponsor when it is not the healthiest fare. >> carlos diaz, an interesting conversation as always. thank you so much. a thrilling stunt goes terribly wrong. a tight rope walker falls hundreds of feet into a ravine. no, he is wearing no harness and he is doing this without a net. oh. he is okay. we will be back. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's 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[ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ it is 15 minutes the past the hour. checking our top stories, president obama will talk tax breaks in a statement in about 45 minutes or some he is widely expected to call for a one-year extension on bush era tax cuts for the middle class, really, anyone earning less than $250,000 a year. a campaign adviser says the president is 100% committed to ending bush era tax cuts for wealthier americans by the end of the year. remember the lifeguard we told you last week fired for saving swimmer outside his post boundaries? today, the mayor of half lan dale beach, florida, is giving tomas lopez a key to the city. the company that fired lopez offered his job back but he turned them down saying he wants to move on with his life. in british news, british airways goings its vips. 1,000 crew members armed with ipads look up google images of a select group of its frequent flyers. the executive insists the airline just wants to be able to recognize them. rocker federer back on top of the men's tennis rankings this morning after beating andy murray in the wimbledon finals it is federer's seventh wimbledon crown, tying him with pete sampras for the all-time record and ties sampras for most time as number one on the tour, 286 weeks. check out this video out of china. a tight rope walker walking blindfolded backwards, he trips and falls hundreds of feet into a ravine r accident have a harness or a net. he told the chinese media he landed in a wooded area. he landed in a bush, in order. amazingly, the video shows him later walking under his own power. apparently, he is perfectly fine today. wow. oh. a major legal fight now under way over voter rights and the state's authority to protect the process and its integrity n a washington courtroom, the u.s. justice department will challenge texas's proposed through would require voters to show identification. it claims my nor ritz being unfairly targeted. >> each of the jurisdictions we are proposing have no discriminatory purpose or effect will follow the law. where jurisdictions cannot meet this threshold, we will object. the voting rights act of 1965 and other laws. in order to guarantee that all eligible citizens have unrestricted access to the ballot box. >> eric holder, the u.s. attorney general, made those remarks at the national council of larazas convention in las vegas. the c echeo of that organizatio with us. if welcome. >> i'm the chair of the board. >> i apologize getting your title wrong. >> no. no. >> i wonder what you thought of what eric holder saidsome there a war on minority voters in that country? >> nclr is a nonpartisan organization but i should say that obviously, we want all citizen toes come out and vote and don't want minorities to feel disenfranchised by showing up to the polls. we hope come november all hispanics feel like they can come out to the polls and not feel intimidated anyway. >> a lot of people in this country wonder, just because you have to show a photo i.d. at ale toing station, what's big deal? why would that keep a loft voters home? >> if is not about showing the photo i.d. it is do these laws -- we all have voter registration cards, we have our i.d.s, but is it these laws in any way single out minorities? i think is that the bigger question. >> do you think that these laws are singling out minorities? >> you know, it -- again, it's -- i would say that, you know, we want as many people, citizens, there's -- you know, there's about 20 million hispanics that are eligible to vote and we are hearing that about 12 million will show up this november. we want to make sure they show up and that they don't feel, again, intimidated in any way. that's all this is. >> do they feel intimidated by these laws? >> do i? >> no, do they. >> i couldn't hear you. >> do some latino voters feel intimidated by these laws? >> you know, it's -- we are going through an interesting time, as you know, in the history of our community and obviously, there's been a lot of, you know -- on both sides, conversation about latinos and laws so any law in any state and texas is a very important state with a lot of hispanics. so, any of these laws that any in any way make our community feel like it can be disenfranchised from our process here in this country, obviously, we are concerned about we are concerned if this would stop somebody from going to a poll. >> you seem to be tremendous treading very carefully in your answers around this issue. why? >> i don't tread carefully, i just obviously, like i said, nclr is a nonpartisan organization and we are gonna keep our ear to the ground on this issue. and you know, we applaud eric holder for coming out to our conference to speak -- for speaking to our community and the, you know, and we feel that obviously, this is an issue that is very important and we just want to get as many hispanics out as possible, that are eligible to vote, that are citizens to vote. i was at a naturalization ceremony here in las vegas on friday where folks from 18 countries, hispanic and nonhispanics, you know, made their pledge as americans at thor is is mony and we want all those folks to come out to vote we want this-to-make sure that they rebel gist and that they get to the polls. >> if you look at polls, and i'm talking about general polls out there, it shows that president obama's way far ahead among late teen know voters than is mitt romney. do the polls show the entire picture? >> you know, it's interesting. you know, historically, you know, the democratic party has, you know, has definitely gotten more of the vote in the hispanic community. in 2004, in the general election, george w. bush got 44% of the vote. so it is going to be interesting to watch this time. recent gallup poll showed how more and more hispanics are actually feeling disenfranchised with both parties and are -- may vote in the -- may be independent at this point. so i think our vote is definitely up for grabs. that said, like you're saying, president obama is showing like he is ahead obviously in the polls in our community. thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you, carol. thank you so much. still ahead, when it comes to your vote, if you don't like your partiers a candidate is it okay to vote for him anyway because you can't stand the other guy? that is our talk back question of the day. ♪ you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. you now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning is it right to vote for a candidate because you hate the other guy? can you make me love mitt romney? that question at a fund-raiser and john boehner ran with it. his answer, "we are just politician irk wasn't elected to play god. the american people probably aren't going to fall in love with mitt romney. i tell you this 95% of the people that show up to vote in november are going to show up in that voting booth and they are going to vote for or against barack obama." and there you have it. voters in 2012 won't vote for a guy they love. they will vote against a guy they hate. heck, there was a whole online telethon based on that very idea. its goal to raise $250,000 not to elect mitt romney but to defeat barack obama. one of the telethon's guests, former "saturday night live" comedian victoria jackson. >> tell us about -- tell us about the movie, first of all. >> well, thank you for what you're doing. we have to get rid of obama. it is the most important thing about -- to save our country. thank you for what you're doing. >> there is a lot to criticize about barack obama's policies. after all, the economic recovery isn't exactly robust but don't voters want a guy with ideas to replace him, not just anybody? so the talk back question today is it right to vote for a candidate because hate the other guy? facebook.com/car facebook.com/car facebook.com/carolcnn. i will read your comments later this hour. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? checking our top stories now. if you have been receiving unemployment benefits, you could be asked to pay some of those benefits back. federal government and states overpaid about $14 billion in benefits last year and now the department of labor is launching a massive effort to recoup some of those losses and avoid future overpayments. google has launched a gay rights campaign it calls legalize love. it will promote safer conditions for gays and lesbians in countries that have anti-homosexuality laws. in the words of a company executive, we want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do inside the office. it's texas versus eric holder this morning and it's all about voting rights. federal judges are reviewing texas through requires voters to show photo i.d. holder has been fighting efforts that could make it difficult for some americans to vote. and just over an hour from now, president obama will call on congress to extend the bush era tax cuts. he wasn't middle class taxpayers to keep more of their money but he won't bend to republican demand that is wealthy also benefit. so the contrast sure to fuel new passions this week on the campaign tray. cnn's dan lothian is at the white house. let's start with the extension of the bush tax cuts for some americans that the president is about to announce. >> that's right. and let the old fight begin, right? the president pushing for those -- extension for those making $250,000 or less. the white house says that is really based on the policy of it, but make no mistake, this -- out on the campaign trace, especially last week in the states of ohio and pennsylvania, the president's message was about lifting the middle class or those who are looking to get into the middle class. and so he is out there on the campaign trail to draw a very stark contrast between what he says he is pushing for, which is assistance for those who need it most and that is middle class americans compared to those he says his opponent, mitt romney, is trying to help and that is the wealthy. so the president will be pushing this message when he heads out on the road tomorrow to iowa and later in the week as well in the state of virginia and thin others, surrogates, full, for the president, also pushing that message in key battleground states like new hampshire, florida, colorado and nevada. you know, republicans though, are pushing back and attacking the president, saying that this is not -- in this economic environment it is not the time to be raising taxes on millions of americans and the romney campaign in a statement saying, "president obama's response to even more bad economic news is a massive tax increase. it just proves again that the president doesn't have a clue how to get america working again and help the middle class." and again, the romney campaign and republicans saying that this is just an attempt by the white house, by this president, to distract the american people from those bad job numbers or dismal job numbers last week. >> dan lothian reporting live at the white house. when the president visits battleground states this week, he will be lobbying for the very votes that could decide the election. in these 12 swing states, voters don't lean heavily toward either party though but they will soon settle on their choice, just not yet. according to a "usa today"/gallup poll, the presidential race is locked in a statistical tie. mr. obama has a razor-thin edge of two percentage point bus that falls want margin of error. to syria now, where kofi annan met today with president bashar al assad about ending the violence there. annan says the two agreed on an approach to peace that annan will now share with opposition forces in syria. no stop to the violence just yet though. the opposition says at least 17 people were killed just today. a disturbing story out of afghanistan. president hamid karzai calling for justice for a woman killed in a public execution. two taliban commanders who had apparently do had a dispute a woman shot her dead while a group of men around them cheered. this is part of the video. joining me now cnn's mohammed jam june. i thought the taliban had, well, maybe i was just too naive, but is this pervasive still in the country? >> carol it is such a horrible place for women in afghanistan. there was a report by human rights watch just this year that nine out of ten women there suffer physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage at least once in their lifetimes. this atrocity that we are talking about today, this chilling video, this is something these reminding people of when the taliban ruled afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001. the video is horrific. you see a woman -- you see the woman sitting there on the ground. she is not moving. the man with the rifle comes up behind her. he shoots at her nine times. six more times after she slumped over, he is still shooting at her and then after she is dead earthquake the men in the hills that are surrounding the area that have witnessed this atrocity are cheering and crying out "god is great" so it really goes to show you just how bad the situation there is in afghanistan and continues 11 years after the war started there, with billions of dollars of foreign aid being invested in that country to try to improve the plight of women in that country. carol? >> let's talk about that money because that video -- it take makes sick, i mean, sick to your stomach. so the united states is thinking of sending, whads 16 billion to afghanistan if, of course, it can, you know, get rid of some of the corruption in the afghani government? should it do that? >> that is the key question. this story was americaning yesterday at a time when there was a conference going on when afghanistan was looking for more money for that country for the situation to be improved, asking for donors continue to sport country. the foreign donors are asking should we do this right now there is fatigue about putting money into afghanistan when there's so little to show for it. a month a and a half ago, i was there when we were finding out it was getting better for women because of certain programs in infant mortgage eighth. afghanistan has gone from the worst place in the world to be an expectant mother, according to save the children to the second worst place in the world that is not a lot of improvement, maybe in afghanistan, but not according to the rest of the world that is the concern now and women rights activist there is are saying we can't afford to have people leaving. the troops are with drawing, we are afraid what is going to happen if the taliban takes more control but the international donors supporting afghanistan are saying should we continue to put our money in this country where the situation is still so bad, especially for women? carol. >> a final question, har mid-karzai, the president of afghanistan, is he doing anything about this? >> well, karzai has announced that there is a manhunt under way for anybody who was involved in this atrocity. he is saying they are marshalling their forces, these people will face justice. when you are in afghanistan and talking to the local there they don't believe that men like this will face justice this thank they will face had repercussions them don't believe they will be caught. there is very little to show over the years for incidents in which people have been abused or killing in public the men that carried out the crimes have been brought to kabul and faced that kind of justice. so a lot of skepticism, even though interior ministry off ufgss and government officials in afghanistan are swearing that they will hunt these men down and bring them to justice. carol? >> difficult to even call them men e just unbelievable. mohammed jamjoom, thanks so much. heavy rains following massive wild fires in colorado created mud slides in some areas. that's what happened in lar rimer county. you can see the black soot polluting you the river. the high park fire left the area without grass or brush to hold the soil in place. residents are helping to make sandbags to prevent further damage. at least 2 3 0 deaths now being blamed on the brutal heat that smothered much of the country these last two weeks. >> the death toll includes at least 18 heat-related deaths in chicago, another five in philadelphia. and as is typical, the victims tend to be very old, very young or dealing with other health issues. check out this brilliant, beautiful light show. this is time lapse video of the aurora bore rielle lass, or the northern lights, the spectacular show happened last night just before midnight near st. cloud, minnesota. it lasted just about a half hour. just weeks before trial, cbs has settled a lawsuit with some of the cast members of "happy days." more details about who was awarded what in showbiz headlines. uh, forgot jack's cereal. 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[ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. but they can be really well thexpensive.ted a puppy, so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. some cast members of the hit television show "happy days" have settled with cbs over merchandising payments. oh that could mean some cash for somebody. "showbiz" correspondent michelle turner is live in los angeles to tell us how happy the happy member crew is. >> very happy, carol. everybody's happy this morning. four cast members from the classic show, anson williams, marion ross, don most and erin moron, as well as the widow of tom bosley, were suing cbs for $10 million, claiming they have not been paid what they are owed for the worldwide sale of "happy days" merchandise. there have not been any detail about the actual amount the actors will receive from this settlement but anson williams is telling cnn that he is very satisfied with the settlement. now, this could also be a big break for erin moron, because she has been the subject of tabloid reports saying she and her husband have been living in a trailer in indiana since losing their home to foreclosure here in california. now, she did not respond to cnn about the settlement. we put in a call to her. by the way, if you were wondering, carl, the two biggest stars to come out of the show, ron howard and henry winkler did not participate in this lawsuit at all. >> still making lots and lots of money on their own, right? >> absolutely. that's probably one reason. they really didn't need to, 'cause ron howard, you know, has massive success on his own as well as henry winkler and he still does a lot on television. so neither one of them decided to get into the fray of this. but the reports are that the other people that are involved in the lawsuit really did kind of get what they wanted out of this and kind of go on with -- >> poor erin moron. >> what they deserved. >> i know, i know, i'm hoping this can help her out. >> i hope so, too. thanks so much. >> yeah. turns out the government was way too generous with unemployment checks last year. now, it's trying to collect. yes. uncle sam wants its money back, unemployed americans. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is our beach. ♪ this is our pool. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun, and we have ours. now during the summer event get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz for an exceptional price. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st. 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[ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine®... power to your mouth™. a bit of news just into cnn and read off my compute birth obama campaign released its fund raising totals for the month of june. i will read you what his campaign sent out, "our fund raising numbers for june are in together with the democratic national committee, we raised a total of $71 million from more than 706,000 individual donors. the obama campaign says it was our best month of this election so far." but they add, "we still got beat and not by a little, romney and republicans raised $106 million. if we lose the election, it will be because we didn't lose the gap enough when we had the chance. the obama campaign goes on to thank everyone for making donation and, of course, asks for more $5 donation or more. the obama campaign and democratic national committee raised about $71 million in the month of june but the obama campaign said the romney camp beat them. it raised $106 million for month of june. checking other top stories this morning, president obama will talk tax breaks in a statement an hour from now he is widely expected to call for a one-year extension on bush era tax cuts for the middle class. really, anyone earning less than $250,000 a year. a campaign adviser says the president is 100% committed to ending bush era tax cuts for wealthier americans by the end of the year. this morning, tens of thousands of americans won't be able to log on to the internet. that's because their computers were infected months or even years ago by a nasty virus. the fbi set up servers to keep the infected computers online but the agency is shutting them down today so infected compute letters not be able to access the internet. in sports, a heart-stopping scare during a twins/rangers game in texas. wow. i would freak out, too. a loud thunderclap came out of nowhere yesterday and rocked the ballpark at arlington. josh willingham was on first base for the twins. he immediately hit the ground as if someone fired off a shot. most players and the umpires raced for their dugouts. the game continued after the storm passed. $14 billion, how much the labor department says states overpaid in unemployment benefits last year alone. but the government now wants that money back. felicia taylor is at the new york stock exchange. so, they, the government, actually wants money back from people who are unemployed or who have been -- or who are recently unemployed. is that gonna happen? >> yeah well it's sort of like that. there's a little bit more to it th than that. the government want $14 billion back, about 10% paid now the fiscal 2011. the government is making a maps sive effort to recoup the funds. most of the payments ends up in the hands of three types of people who really aren't emjib to collect benefits. for instance, those who aren't actively searching for a job. you can't just collect benefits and not be out there working the pave tonight try to find work. those who were fired or quit voluntarily or those who continue to file claims, even though they have actually returned to work t is usually some kind of administrative error either on the part of the government, the former employer, possibility individual or all three in some kind of combination. jobless benefits has the second highest rate for "improper payments" after the national school lunch program. but overall, the imagine jurority of ben i got go to people in need. keep in mind, according to the census bureau, kept 3 million americans out of poverty in 2010 alone. that is good news. >> these are people who should have known they were not eligible for unemployment benefits. that changes the whole thing? >> yeah. >> felicia taylor, thanks so much. a mysterious illness is frightening parents and stumping doctors. 64 children have died in cambodia. doctor sanjay gupta is there. he will have the story. 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[ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums talk back question of the day. is it right to vote for a candidate because you hate the other guy? this from james. i'm sorry, but if you vote like that or are considering, please do this country a favor, stay at home on election day. this would be the reason the electoral college still exists. this from clyde you certainly, on the other hand, what to do if you dislike both candidates? this from jim you most people decide who they will vote for the morning of the election based on if they are happy with their breakfast or not. they listen to the radio for the soundbites about the candidate a or b and they make horribly uninformed decision. and this from christopher, it is the right of every american to vote for whomever with whatever reason they want. that would be called democracy. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments and thanks for watching newsroom today. i'm carol costello. thank you very much for joining me. cnn newsroom continues right now after a quick break, with ashleigh ban