spread to half of the country. it's been linked to ground turkey. what you need to know about this recallo keep your family safe. i'm ashe velshi. burning up another day of searing heat. it's already proving deadly on this "american morning." good morning to you. are you awake yet? >> you will be. >> happy thursday. it's august 4th. this is "american morning." there's a lot going on today. >> we should get right to it. >> i want to talk first about the heat. heat is on congress to finish their business as we've been reporting. they've left washington without resolving a dispute over funding the federal aviation administration. that's resulted in tens of thousands of american workers not getting a paycheck today. on last night's "in the arena" with tom foreman, one worker voiced his frustration. >> running ourselves into debt, selling assets. unlike our congressmen and senators who are on vacation. nice congressional junket. i'm sitting here watching the grass grow. >> watching the grass grow. and not getting paid. >> the transportation secretary practically begged congress to come back to work. >> that's why i'mhere. i'm calling them back. come back to washington. leave your vacations. just for a couple of hours. come back, congress. help your friends and neighbors get back to work. >> our thea jones is live in washington. what is the stalemate all about? >> good morning. if anyone thought the fighting on the hill might be over or take a respite while congress left to go on vacation after passing the debt limit, they are sore mistaken. what's at stake is these 4,000 faa workers who have been furloughed, along with tens of thousands of other workers -- construction workers, airport support workers -- who are going without a paycheck. so they are costing the government also $1 billion it could be by the end of september if -- in uncollected airline taxes. and it's all over a dispute about not just airport subsidies to rural -- to service to rural airports but also about labor disputes. so there's still a blame game going on in washington. let's listen to what senator orrihatch had to say followed by representative steny hoyer from maryland. >> yesterday, senator burn went on the floor and offered an amendment that would have kept everybody going but would have deferred the issue on the labor law problem and the issue on the essential air services for just a few small airports. would have deferred that until september 30th and we wouldn't have this problem. >> we need to get this done, and we should get it done today. unfortunately republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage taking. and it is severely damaging our economy and the livelihoods of people across our nation. >> so you heard senator hatch mention this issue of support -- or subsidies for airline service to rural airports. we're talking about small airports in small towns in states like nevada, new mexico, montana. these are new places that might get only 500 passengers a year and yet the government is helping subsidize airline tickets to the tune of $3700. there's a debate over that in th temporary measure the house passed. democratic senators -- the democrats say it's over a allergic issue. we're not just talking about this rural airport services issue. where it's only a few million dollars. what they say this whole debate is over is the republicans wanting to force democrats to change a rule that makes it easier for airport workers to unionize. so it's really two issues caught up here. it's unclear how it's going to work. one thing is certain. the two sides don't necessarily have to come back in town to resolve this. if they can reach an agreement they can pass these bills by unanimous consent. and so we'll just have to see if that happens or if we continue to lose these $30 million a day in uncollected airport taxes, guys. >> athena, thank you. troubling news about a product that could be in your refrigerator right now. meat giant cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of grande turkey. it's said to have come from a plant in springdale, arkansas. the government says the outbreak has sickened 76 people in 26 states and appears to have killed one person in california. officials are especially worried since the bacteria is proving resistant to drugs. >> what we found uncommon with these cases in sacramento county is they share the exact same strain of salmonella. this one is very dangerous because it is resistant to antibiotics. >> government officials say don't freak out. contaminated turkey is safe to eat as long as you cook it to the internal temperature of 165 degrees. so break out those meat thermometers. >> health officials yesterday were warning of another strain they are concern about spreading around the world, also resistant to the biggest, most -- >> the one most people take. >> they are watching the salmonella story carefully. >> you have to cook it or just take it to dallas. temperatures are again going to soar across the southern plains. dallas is one of the hottest cities in the world. on the planet yesterda i mean, these temperatures are crazy. >> it could be their 34th straight day of 100-plus degree heat there. ed lavandera, crazy. is that an official meteorological term? >> well, i'll leave all the official weather talk to rob and those guys. i'm here for the drama and the therapeutic help. look at this little lake on the north edge of downtown dallas. this patch of mud is supposed to be under water. just one of those other depressing sights as you go around the southern plains here. and you know, the really crazy part about all of this is not only are we setting high temperature records. we're also setting records for the highest low temperatures we've seen in decades. inside this dallas auto repair shop, miguel gonzalez is hot and thirsty. >> feel good now. >> reporter: but victims of the heat wave just keep pouring in to his garage. >> so you have a mess on your hands. you have cars everywhere. >> a lot of people call me. >> reporter: so this car overheated. >> overheated. >> what happened to this car? >> it busted because the heat. >> this one overheated as well? >> overheated because all the oil come out. >> reporter: gonzalez opened david's are goage three years ago and named it after his son. but it wasn't until temperatures shot up over 100 degrees more than a month ago that business erupted. now there's little time to rest. they struggle to stay cool and hydrated. >> i think you like it because business is good. >> exactly. people have a lot of problems so we've got the chance to make more money. >> reporter: miguel gonzalez is one of the few enjoying the record heat. most people around texas, oklahoma and arkansas are downright miserable. little rock, arkansas, reached an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees on wednesday. in oklahoma city, ice chests with bottled water were loaded on to school buses that don't have air conditioning. it all made for a long ride home. >> the windows rolled down and everyone was like sticking their ar out the windows and stuff. >> reporter: for a few hours on thursday, shawnee, oklahoma, looked like the home of old faithful. a water main break nearly drained all of the city's drinki water. it's all been fixed now. across texas, so much demand on the power grid has left thousands temporarily without electricity. >> the high usage is causing people to use more electricity in order to stay safe and comfortable. and it's making it harder for our equipment to cool off. >> reporter: many high school marching bands and football teams are working under the punishing sun in scorching heat. >> how are you feeling? >> these players had to leave the field because it got too hot. >> we get gatorade and replenish them. they're going to be good. >> reporter: ali and christine, we focused a lot on dallas-ft. worth area and oklahoma and arkansas. one of the towns in america you really need to send your prayers out to, wichita falls. they set a record yesterday for the most consecutive days they've ever seen of temperatures over 100 degrees. they reached the 43-day mark yesterday. here's the crazy part. had it not been for one day where they dropped down to a chilly 98 degrees, they would have reached the 63-day mark yesterday. that's just downright awful. >> you can't do anything. >> yesterday morning when he was -- when ed was out there, there were people running around behind you. they say they are there for their early morning walks. kudohs to those folks because i wouldn't be anywhere close to running in 99 degrees. >> or 79. >> as carol just pointed out, i wouldn't be out there at 79 or 59 either. >> actually, you should not be out. there have been deaths because of this. in georgia, two high school football players. >> that football practices in that kind of heat are an issue. >> philadelphia, the eagles, one of the players suffered a seizure. doctors suspect it might be heat related during practice. so really, it's not wise to be outside. let's head to the weather center and rob marciano. is there any relief in the future? near future? >> the only the re leaf is coming in october. until then we'll sweat it out just a little bit. >> there were some thunderstorms that broke out around oklahoma and kansas yesterday. that at least gives us hope that we're trying to break down this ridge, this dome of high pressure and hot air sitting over this part of the country. we'll hope to break that down as we go through the next week. we're still under heat advisories. around 20% or more of the u.s. under advisories today. little rock, 114. all-time record. tulsa 113. mcalester 113. lawton, 112. over 110. i've never reported that in my career without including humidity. and these numbers don't include humidity today. 110 in dallas. 111 in oklahoma city. move the map to tomorrow. similar numbers. maybe a degree or two cooler. >> how about saturday? any relief there? we're looking at some problems going forward and obviously the drought is an issue, too. this would be a drought buster if it were to head to the u.s. there's still a chance of that happening. this is emily. tremendous amount of rain in haiti and the dominican republic. it does get close to the u.s. florida still in play here. really don't know what's going to happen once it gets past the dominican republic and cuba. this forecast a little dicey and the folks on the east coast of florida certainly want to pay very close attention to this. back up to you. >> we'll check back, too. casey anthony can stay under cover for now. a judge has ruled she does not have to return to orlando to begin serving probation for a check fraud conviction. not yet anyway. instead he scheduled an emergency hearing for friday. her attorneys are arguing anthony already served her probation while she was facing -- while she was in prison facing those murder charges. talked to sonny hostin and she said it's very unusual to serve probation during a prison sentence because it's meant to be something where you meet certain obligations. typically you can't do that while in prison. former nfl defensive great bubba smith has died. the l.a. coroner's office has not determined a cause of death yet but it's not believed to be suspicious. smith won a super bowl with the baltimore colts. a whole generation knew him at hightower from the "police academy" movies. he was 66 years old. there's a new report that says major league baseball could suspense alex rodriguez for playing in an underground poker game. the high stakes game involved other rich stars like ben affleck and tobey maguire and drugs on the table along with the shifts. a-rod has denied he was there. espn says the commissioner warned rodriguez not to play in those games as far back as 2005. new york mayor michael bloomberg putting up $30 million of his own money to fund a program aimed at helping the city's minority youth. bloomberg is going to unveil the program about an hour and a half from now. it's designed to tackle racial disparities and improve economic and educational opportunities for young black and latino males in new york city. it's the president's 50th birthday today. the party got started last night. the president back in campaign mode in chicago combining business with pleasure. raising cash for his re-election run while getting serenaded like only a president can. cue jennifer hudson. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday dear mr. president ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you >> the president greeted in the windy city by his former chief of staff rahm emmanuel. even though the debt crisis has cooled off right now, the president didn't duck the fact that tough decisions lie ahead. >> it's true that i turn 50 tomorrow. which means that by the time i wake up, i'll have an e-mail from aarp. asking me to call president obama and tell him to protect medicare. >> president obama attended two fund-raisers last night including a $35,000 a plate dinner. you are seeing him at the ball room. it was hot in there, i guess. you can kind of see people in their short sleeves. the president as well. the ac struggled to keep up with all of those people shelling out 36 grand for a chance. >> 36 grand and they don't have air conditioning? >> the ac worked. it just wasn't -- it wasn't a cool -- >> it was a hot party. >> it was not 74 degrees in there. >> in more ways than one, as they say. now is your chance to talk back. our question this morning, when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? i ask you that because some republicans are hopping mad that president obama is in chicago raising money for his re-election campaign. reince priebus said i suppose the white house thinks he should stick to the job he really likes, raising money from fat cat donors while the rest of america struggles with trying to make ends meet. mitt romney who hopes to beat mr. obama in 2012, put out a campaign add complete with abock liptic music. >> yes, we can. thank you. if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition. >> and this from a candidate who politico accuses of being in the midness protection program because mr. romney didn't take a stand on the debt deal until the debt deal was done. not to be outdone, democrats are hopping mad at lawmakers. senators left for a five-week paid vacation without funding for the federal aviation administration. doesn't sound like a big deal until you hear that 4,000 federal employees, along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. one furloughed faa engineer, he's had it. >> the debt ceiling argument ended on monday and tuesday. well, where are you at on wednesday? you don't have to go on vacation. take another day. get it finished. >> so the talkback today, when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? write to our facebook page. facebook.com/americanmorning. we will read your responses later this hour. >> fascinating. coming up, new pictures of a mother whale who is stuck in a river with her calf. scientists are trying all kinds of tricks to get these two out. and the one airport landing in last place when it comes to on-time arrivals and take-offs is -- you have to come back. >> i'm dieing to know. >> it's 18 minutes after the hour. it's true. you never forget your first subaru. you've been stuck in the garage, while my sneezing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪ lily and i are back on the road again. where we belong. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®. at exxon and mobil, we engineer smart gasoline that works at the molecular level to help your engine run more smoothly by helping remove deposits and cleaning up intake valves. so when you fill up at an exxon or mobil station, you can rest assured we help your engine run more smoothly while leaving behind cleaner emissions. it's how we make gasoline work harder for you. exxon and mobil. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. a whale and her calf took a wrong turn into a river in northern california. this isn't a joke. this is serious. jeremy miller sent in these pictures of the 45-foot gray whale. scientists say she's been stuck in the river since june. during her journey north from baja, california, to alaska. they took samples to make sure she's getting enough food in the fresh water. they've even played killer whale sounds through speakers to try to drive them back into the ocean. >> i hope they get out. this is from the i knew that file, right? if you are thinking of making a quick getaway to the new york area you may want to think twice about flying into newark. the international airport has earned the dubious distinction of having the most delayed flights. that's according to "the wall street journal." the 100 most delayed flights over the past year, 40 either began or ended at newark. coming up, a pop icon, david cassidy. the "i think i love you" song. he's suing over those partridge family -- not suing. he's concerned about these partridge family lunch boxes, a mountain of merchandise from the show. decades later he claims he's cheated out of merchandise profits and wants to get paid. we've got a cnn exclusive, david cassidy coming up. eeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. new splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. [ coughing continues ] [ gasping ] [ elevator bell dings, coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] congress can't ignore the facts: more air pollution means more childhood asthma attacks. [ coughing continues ] log on to lungusa.org and tell washington: don't weaken the clean air act. ♪ log on to lungusa.org and tell♪ shington: ♪ ♪ introducing purina one beyond a new food for your cat or dog. minding your business this morning. wow. u.s. stocks showed just meager gains yesterday after a wild ride. the dow had been down 166 points at one point but finally closed higher by the endev the trading day snapping an eight-day losing streak. big concerns yesterday about the potential for the economy to continue to weaken. maybe that could mean a slip into a new recession. right now, futures are trading lower ahead of the opening bell. people trying to assess just what is the risk of further weakness in the economy. kraft foods just announced it's splitting two into two publicly traded companies. caste is parent company to some of the most iconic brands including cadbury, nabisco and maxwell house. the economists surveyed by briefing.com forecast that 405,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the very first time last week. that report comes out about two hours from now. anything above 400,000 is considered a sign of weakness in the labor market. concerns about italy's debt problems also on investors' minds this morning. the italian prime minister silvio berlusconi finally admitted publicly for the first time that country is facing a financial crisis but also insists the confidence is the issue. the economy is on solid ground. italy is europe's third largest ec