ilgts is ten minutes past the hour. back to your quote of the day. quote -- that was former new york city mayor rudy giuliani. he said that to piers morgan and said it just last night. he was talking about a presidential bid and if he might, you know, kind of ran, he could probably win. apple, and nike, are making our high-tech headlines at this hour. let's head straight to hong kong and kristie lu stout. this apple thing is getting weirder and weirder. >> weirder and weirder. new twist in the story. police in san francisco have launched an investigation into the search of a man's home by apple xwlooes employees. last month two apple investigators searched a man's home looking for what is believed to be a prototype of the next iphone lost in a bar. the man told sf weekly that he consented to the search when the investigators identified themselves as police. and he said it was not clear the pair searching his home were from apple and he would not have authorized the search if he had known. the police, they are not adding any comment. apple has declined to offer its side of the story. it's not going to go away, this story. carol? >> i don't think so either. let's talk about something fascinating, though. nike is going to introduce these self-lace-up shoes. it sounds so back-to-to the future for me. remember that movie? let's remember together, shall we? >> of course. >> let's remember together. one of the best movies ever. nike has reached out to a few select shoe nerds with a most interesting invitation. it came in a box and inside the box a number of things but 1980s candy and a personal message on an ipod from doc brown. these shoe nerds have been invited to, quote, an unveiling that could change the course of time. one year ago bloggers caught on to nike filing a pat tent for self-lacing sneakers like the pair marty mcfly wore in "back to the future 2." if this invite is any indication, seems the year in the movie, which is 2015, is closer than when think. everything will be unveiled tonight at a private reception in hollywood. if only we could be there. >> i know. i wish i could. that seems so lazy to me, but still kind of cool. kristie lu stout, thanks as always. eight candidates debated, but two seemed to steal the show. has it come down to a two-person race? we'll take a closer look. it's 13 minutes past the hour. but first today is your day to ask for forgiveness. i'm sorry. i forget to say this. september 8th is national pardon day. actually started back in 1974 when president gerald ford pardoned richard nixon in the watergate scandal. 13 minutes past the hour. and i'm sorry you have to wake up this early. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. just having some chicken noodle. starting my progresso soup for lunch plan, huh. nope, just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see... south western vegetables... 60 calories, oh beef pot roast... ...ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. the tragedy of september 11 united our country. this year, as we open the 9/11 memorial in new york city, we ask that you join us to honor, remember, and reunite. to learn more or to reserve your visit, go to 911memorial.org. good morning, washington, d.c. good morning to you. new polls have shown president obama isn't doing so hot when it comes to his approval rating and comedians certainly have taken notice. your punch line. >> this has been a rough summer for president obama. once again, his approval rating has hit an all-time low. right now his approval rating is somewhere between teen mom and "sex in the city 2." >> things are not looking good for president obama. he's getting hammered in the polls, and for a couple years there nobody touched him. now i think these people who do the polls are starting to pile on. >> president obama is expected to speak about the economy and job creation on thursday. but a new "washington post" poll shows confidence in his abilities has hit a new low. 62% say they disapprove of his handling of the economy, 47% can't stand the president's painting, 41% say his jump shot is terrible, 37% disapprove of how the president consumes a chile dog. 27% dislike his pregolf ritual and 34% don't care for his treatment of flies. >> it just seems -- >> oh, i really enjoy that, tim farley. tim farley joins us now, host of "morning briefing" on sirius xm. did you watch the big debate? >> here for every minute, did a postgame wrap-up. quite an evening of i think dynamic discussion, wouldn't you say, carol? >> absolutely. i thought it was really quite interesting. before we get down to our debate, let's talk about their debate. the republican frontrunner rick perry made his de beau last night, clashed with mitt romney and called it a ponzi scheme. >> it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today you're paying into a program that's going to be there. anybody that's for the status quo with social security today, is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids and it's not right. >> tim, that probably played to the base, but not so much to other kinds of voters. what do you think? >> well, even republican strategists that i've spoken to in the brief period of time between the debate and now seem to think this would be a problem for rick perry in some of those republican states where there are significant numbers of retirees. for example, florida, which is a big state, and if he needs to get the nomination he's going to have to do well in states like that, pennsylvania and so on. it is something that i think he's going have to do a little more explaining about, ponzi scheme and monstrous lie and mitt romney was quick, by the way, to sound almost reagan-esque in his defense of social security, not necessarily as a handout, but rather as a safety net which is the original design of the program. so i don't think americans are against social security. polls don't seem to indicate that. rick perry may be flying in the face of the polls even among republican faithful. it could be a problem for him moving forward, carol. >> yeah. mitt romney also says maybe we should fix social security, not annihilate it, something like that. another hot topic both men talked about and sparred over, was the jobs creation issue. here's romney challenging perry on that issue. >> texas is a great state. texas has zero income tax. texas has a right to work sfapts a republican legislature, a republican supreme court. texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. those are wonderful things. but governor perry doesn't believe that he created those things. if he tried to say that, it would be like al gore saying he invented the internet. >> and then, of course, perry responded by saying, michael dukakis created more jobs in massachusetts than you did, mitt romney. it was an interesting exchange, though. which side won? >> yeah. mitt romney hit back and said george bush created nor jobs in texas than you did or at a faster rate. one thing that did strike me about this, this discussion about jobs is germane to what president is talking about, romney, perry and former governor huntsman were able to reflect to their job creation, left someone like michele bachmann out of the mix and separated rick perry and mitt romney from the pack. you mentioned this at the top of the show, turned into almost a two-man show. i did talk to a lot of, again, people who follow this very closely and there seems to be an agreement we saw the eventual republican nominee last night, although there are not too many willing to say it is just a two-person race but seems to be closer to that, carol. >> just briefly on the subject of michele bachmann, she did so well in her first debate appearance. this time she just seemed, i don't know, just paled when it came to, you know -- >> they didn't ask her the questions either. they didn't direct questions to her, number one. number two, i think there was a sense people now expect a little more of her. when she first appeared it was a sense that she was a cartoonish character and dispelled those myths quickly but now, perhaps, they expect a little more than some of the talking points and she seems very adept at delivering those and looks good, but there seems to be a lack of depth and that's one of the things. but the big problem she just didn't get the questions last night so she didn't get a chance to respond. >> the first question posed to michele bachmann came 14 minutes into the debate. tim farley, enjoyed it as always. thanks so much. remember cnn's tea party republican debate is coming your way this monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. several hockey players with ties to the national hockey league killed in a plane crash. we'll have more details on what happened that's coming up after this quick break. it's 21 minutes past the hour. ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah it is 23 minutes past the hour. this is your "am: wake up call." thanks for joining us this morning. head around the world with zain verjee live in london. good morning, zain. >> good morning to you, carol. we want to focus a little bit about what happened in russia. there was that really tragic plane crash and most of the victims that were killed were actually team members of a hockey team and it was -- it's just so sad. it's unclear exactly what the cause was. we want to show you pictures, too, of a vigil, carol, that's being held by fans that went to a stadium, lit candles, put the hockey team scarves there, placed flowers, too. you know part of the problem with some of these russian planes, there's always a question about their safety of these passenger planes. so that's being thrown into question. it's a tragic story for russia and the russian leader gave his condolences. carol? >> and for hockey fans in the united states, three of those players played on the detroit red wings. we're grieving here as well. let's talk about mexico because the mexican government, correct me if i'm wrong, but they're training their residents to use guns to protect themselves? >> yep. that's exactly right. they're doing this in garcia in mexico, and it's a course they're offering. it's a new one and it's free. anyone who has a weapon, who has a permit, can be trained how to use it effectively because a lot of people just want to defend their families because of all the violence that's been going on in different parts of mexico. what they're doing is they're offering these courses and they've got something like 3,000 people that have already signed up, engineers, school teachers, and even housewives, who have handguns. this is a new project that they hope will be effective and that will allow people to use guns effectively. >> wow. zain verjee, reporting live from london, thanks so much. it's submerged in floodwaters for days now a nebraska nuclear power plant has been rated among the worst in the country. the big concern about that just ahead. it's 25 minutes past the hour. ♪ [ male announcer ] sitting. waiting. hoping. that's a recipe for failed investing. open an e-trade account and open doors, seize opportunities, take action with some of the most powerful yet easy-to-use trading tools on the planet all built to help you maximize the potential of every dollar you invest. successful investing isn't done by throwing ideas against the wall and hoping. it's done by lowering your costs and raising your expectations by using unbiased research and powerful screeners to build a diversified portfolio with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and every etf sold. and we'll help you every step of the way. with 5-star research and free education covering everything from the basics to advanced investing strategies. start now and we'll give you up to $500 and let you trade free for 60 days. visit our website, call us, open an account. e-trade. investing unleashed. 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[oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. good morning to you. thursday, september 8th. this is your "am: wake up call." i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me this morning. it is about half past the hour. just more than a week after irene came roaring through, what's left of tropical storm lee is hanging over the mid-atlantic and the northeast. it's bringing more heavy rain and more potential flooding from washington to new england. and a pair of tropical storms have popped up on the radar. maria is out in the atlantic and nate is in the southern gulf of mexico. it's likely to hit mexico by this weekend. a nebraska nuclear power plant has been named one of the worst in the nation for its safety systems. there have been concerns about the fort calhoun plant since it flooded back in june. now the nuclear regulatory commission has released a report claiming the plant doesn't have adequate procedures in place. >> we will not restart that plant until it's safe to do so, until we'll inspected every system, looked at every structure system and component to ensure that plant is safe before we start it back up. >> on a scale of a to f, the nrc gave the plant a d, as in dog, putting it in the bottom two of the nation's 104 nuclear power plants. a former nasa scientist pleaded guilty to attempted espionage. stuart david knowjet was accused of trying to sell classified information to israel. the crime caught on fbi under cover surveillance. he pleaded guilty in exchange for a 13-year sentence. a washington state man has pleaded guilty to planning an explosive device during a martin luther king march. he was accused of placing a device voois along the parade route in spokane, washington. authorities describe him as a white supremacist. no one was hurt. one drink a day may improve the health of older woman according to research at the harvard bring ham's women's hospital in boston. they based their study on the conclusion of 100 females. moderation is the key. this next story will definitely be a talker today. it's another black eye for pageant moms. >> here comes paisley. >> who watches this stuff anyway? this is 3-year-old paisley. her mom wendy dressed her up as a prostitute for the hit reality show "toddlers and tiaras." the outfit based on julia roberts character in "pretty woman." mom tells tmz she sees nothing wrong with it, adding her toddler has no idea she was dressed as a prostitute. wow. a new report out that shows the united states is slipping when compared to other world economies. we'll talk about what categories are causing the united states to slip. 32 minutes past. exclusive to th. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. ( singing along ) ( singing high note ) that should do it. enjoy your new shower. ( door opens, closes ) ♪ ♪ baby's coming home tomorrow ain't that news man ain't that news ♪ 33 minutes past the hour. for morning money news head it to christine romans here in new york with me. christine, the president's big speech slated for later today. tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern or 7:30 p.m. eastern to be exact. what do investors want to hear from the president tonight. >> they want to hear there's money bhoving throughout the economy, that the government has efficient and targeted ways and means to get the job market growing and hear there's not going to be a complete political disharmony and discord in washington to get it done. there were some hopes yesterday in the market that would happen and that's one of the reasons why they were higher. hopes that the president can find some things that -- and some ways, i guess, to get republicans on board with his plan and get money moving again and get jobs created, carol. >> there has already been some movement in the stock market because things have been slipping out about the president's speech. is that heartening? >> it's heartening to those who want to see money flowing. something interesting from the afl-cio on the left to the chamber of commerce on the right you've got agreement for infrastructure spending, agreement for some kinds of targeted tax cuts. you've got the big business community in terms of some of the groups on board with the president, some of the things he wants to do. the question is, does politics get in the way and campaign trail politics get in the way. are you starting to find some common ground on ways we can get jobs growing. remember, the stimulus, it promised -- the white house promised if we passed stimulus and all that money spent that the unemployment rate would stay below 8%. that didn't happen. and that's something that is going to be one of the criticisms i'm sure of anything the president comes up with. they promised before it would work and it didn't. >> at least there's agreement between the u.s. chamber of commerce and the afl-cio. >> can you believe it. >> that's a bright note before the next topic. the new report that shows the united states is slipping when compared to other world economies. explain? >> in 2008 the u.s. was the world's most competitive economy and after the financial crisis it has slipped to number five. the bottom line here is that below as you can see, switzerland, singapore, sweden and finland, down the list to number 26, china is moving up. the bottom line developed economies are moving down the list, developing economies are moving up the list and becoming more competitive. the problem in the u.s. is economic vulnerabilities according to the world economic forum who put this together. and some aspects of low public trust in our politicians and our institutions and concerns about government inefficiency, anemic growth, the things we're fighting about and gridlock in washington also at play in these numbers. >> i'm going to tell you, i think that the way that congress -- the way that congress is behaving now is hurting america and this is another example of that. >> christine romans, see you in a bit, thanks so much. from a gold medal to steel handcuffs, in two minutes, the former olympic gymnast who lost his balance in the back of a police car. but first, check out our get smart question. according to a survey done by ibm, which u.s. city ranks the worst for commuting? as in your car commuting. a, los angeles, b, new york city, or c, chicago. we'll have the answer coming up in two minutes. stick around. 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