Transcripts For CNNW American Morning 20110804

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 economy. another big day of earnings reports today. general motors, fortune brands, cigna, southwest airlines all expected to report profits from the left quarter. lots of talk on wall street also about the japanese government's decision today to intervene to lower the value of its currency to help the country's exporters. that's the third intervention on the japanese yen this year as the country continues to struggle through economic losses from the tsunami and earthquake back in march. all of the safe haven rush into japanese yen actually hurting its own recovery. next time you head to the supermarket, brace yourself for more price hikes. clorox announced it's raising prices. hidden valley ranch, formula 409, glad wraps, several clorox cleaning products all going to be a little more expensive for you. ooo whatcha got there? uh oh, sesame stir fry from lucky dynasty. oh, me too! but mine's lean cuisine, so no preservatives. [ female announcer ] lean cuisine has 90 dishes with no preservatives and quality ingredients like farm-picked broccoli and tender white meat chicken. lean cuisine. just crossing the half hour. time for this moing's top stories. the white house is right now considering what options it has to get thousands of federal aviation employees back to work. they've been off the job for days after congress left town without approving a funding extension for the agency. because of the dispute, the government is losing up to $30 million a day in tax revenue. cargill, a major meat processor here in the u.s. is recalling nearly 36 million pounds of ground turkey because it may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. 76 people in 26 states have gotten sick. it's also believed one death in california may be linked to the outbreak. extreme heat is being blamed for dozens of deaths across the u.s. heartland, including the deaths of two high school football players and a coach as practices opened this week. temperatures are expected to approach record highs for dallas to raleigh today. he may have been your teen idol. ali. >> as we heard earlier, the justin bieber of a different generation. >> partridge family star david cassidy. he was famous around the world playing keith partridge in the 1970s tv show. >> i loved him! i loved him! >> his brother shawn cassidy was a less known star. >> he was the chubby, nerdy one and you loved him? >> what's wrong with the chubby,ers inny guy? just asking. >> nothing. i love shawn cassidy. >> the reason we're talking about david cassidy is because we -- a very interesting. you would think his name was on, gosh, i can't even talk. lunch boxes. >> satin jackets. >> satin jackets? >> yeah. keychains, the whole bit. >> the real cute jogging shorts we used to wear in the '70s. >> cassidy is vowing a battle to get paid for all that merchandise with his image on it. >> poppy harlow who has no idea what we're talking about has this story. >> let's listen in. ♪ i think i love you >> it's 1970 and a 20-year-old named david cassidy is starring in "the partridge family." ♪ i think i love you >> not only did the show and sold out concert goes on to make him a star but the teen idol's success spawns an avalanche of merchandise. >> this is a dress-up set. remember these? oh, gosh. nice outfit, david. >> would you please put your hands together for the one and only david cassidy! >> reporter: 37 years after the partridge family went off the air, cassidy still performing and producing. and now he's on a personal mission to get paid for that merchandise from sony which owns the show. >> you say you've been robbed for the last few decades. >> how would you ca it? if somebody does not pay you and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits and you know they are making profits, is that stealing? >> reporter: cassidy says according to his contract, while the program was on the air he was entitled to 15% of net merchandising profits when his image was used. half that if he appeared with other cast members. >> were you paid for that? >> i was told by my manager i received a check for $5,000. and i never heard another word. >> reporte cassidy's lawyer sent this tloeletter to sony requesting a prompt and full accounting and payments of proceeds for merchandise using his name, likeness or voice. sony responded it could not locate any merchandising statements but found letters showing that mr. cassidy's representatives audited such statements. therefore, they must have been rendered to him. the company went on to say it was not aware of any new merchandising licenses with his name, voice and likeness after the partridge family went off the air and said the statutes of limitations had run out on any claims. sony had no other comment to cnn. ♪ >> i don't want to sue you. just be fair. be real. be nuine. don't be greedy. >> reporter: you are probably wondering about the other cast members of "the partridge family." we were able to reach ryan forester. he played chris partridge. he told me he got about $1100 for merchandising in the 19 sfents, only after his mother demanded it. but all of the other cast members said they either didn't have a merchandising deal or don't remember getting paid for any of the items. of course, cassidy's battle follows a story we reported on, the cast members of "happy days" suing cbs over merchandising money. we may be seeing this trend happening from the stars in the '70s. >> is there any resolutn besides david cassidy suing cbs? >> for david cassidy, it's a suit against sony and he hasn't filed suit yet. his lawyer has sent a letter to sony. sony has responded and, as david told me, he doesn't want to sue if he doesn't have to. he also told me he's not backing down. we tried many times to get a comment from sony on the record and they wouldn't tell us anything on the record. so it's going to be interesting to see how far this plays out. the cast of "happy days" has sued cbs for $10 million. for david cassidy, at this point it's a request to sony for full accounting of the merchandise. >> 30 years old now. the interesting thing for these stars, these former child stars is they've had multiple managers in many cases. you have to go back to the old contracts and see what kind of language is in there that says we own your likeness. a lot of people in that kind of business, the lawyers for the studios really had a lot of power. but that will be interesting to see how this one plays out. >> i read the 1971 long contract and, you know, it's not like you have an e-mail form. they had to fax it over. he found it in a box he hasn't opened since the 1970s. why is he going after the money now? because he said, look. i didn't know. i moved across the country. i had different managers. i didn't see my contract. the issue is the statute of limitations. how is that going to play out in a court of law if it goes that far. >> thank you. >> what a great story. >> you can see the full story on david cassidy's battle with sony as part of an all new "cnn presents" at 8:00 eastern. you can read more of the story right now on cnnmoney.com. >> i think you meant to say sunday. >> did i say saturday? >> you did. but it's sunday. >> he's so disturbed by all this talk. >> jon huntsman, one time governor and now presential candidate. more just ahead. >> and imagine running into the president on your lunch break and he picksp your check. it happened to a woman at a capitol hill burger joint yesterday. 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[ blower whirring ] [blower stops] the safety was off. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. ♪ let me make you smile ♪ let me do a few tricks ♪ some old and then some new tricks ♪ ♪ i'm very versatile ♪ so let me entertain you ♪ and we'll have a real good time ♪ [ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad. get it now for $100 off, starting at $399.99. ♪ sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do. here's a look at your headlines. president obama and transportation secretary ray lahood are urging dong resolve the faa funding dispute. it's left hundreds without a paycheck. it's also costing the government $30 million a day in tax revenues. meat processor cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey. it's been linked to dozens of salmonella illnesses in 26 states. authorities believe it may be related to one death in california. three of japan's top nuclear officials have been fired for their handling of the crisis at the crippled daiichi power plant. workers just recorded the highest radiation levels at the facility since it was hit by a tsunami back in march. polygamous sect leader warren jeffs will continue presenting his own defense today. his sexual assault trial. the prosecution rested yesterday after playing an audiotape of jeffs' allegedly with a 12-year-old girl. tropical storm emily could bring more misery to haiti with 600,000 people still living in tents. it's unleashing heavy downpours on the nation. u.n. peacekeepers on alert for floods and mudslides. ♪ happy birthday dear mr. president happy birthday ♪ >> and the president turns 50 years old today. he attend an early birthday bash last night in chicago, attending two campaign fund-raisers. chicago native jennifer hudson sang "happy birthday" to the president. you are now caught up with the headlines. "america morning" back after this. okay. they were part of the troop surge in afghanistan. now a group of army soldiers is talking to jason carroll about what they do when they're not out there. we often see them when they're out there fighting their battles. what do they do when they've got some down time on the base. jason carroll joins us now. >> not a whole heck of a lot. >> play cards. >> play cards. that's one of the things they do. >> camel spiders? >> we talked about those yesterday. this is a side of soldiers we rarely get to see. i really pushed for the guys to give me a peek at what they do when they're not out on these missions, when they have time to themselves. it's a very interesting look. a very rare look at what soldiers get an opportunity to do when they're not out fighting the war. we see them on missions. raiding taliban strongholds, apprehending insurgents. everything one would expect to see of soldiers fighting a war in afghanistan. but there's a part of their life rarely seen by civilians. it's when soldiers have time to themselves. a moment for first sargent randy shorter to thank his men. >> i love you guys like brothers. i'm pretty sure you all feel the same about each other. it's not over until it's over and we're on that plane. the next couple of days, fourth of july. let's go and have some fun. >> reporter: the reality of what lies just outside the base's protective perimeter here almost seems far away. >> this is my family right here. this is dallas, texas. that's my dad adrian cook, my mom anerva cook. >> reporter: anthony cook waits his turn for a cut. >> i've been cutting hair since about seventh grade. >> reporter: specialist robert blackburn does the honors. >> and it gets old sometimes because everybody needs haircuts and you are just like, i want to go to sleep. they are like, no, we need haircuts. >> reporter: there's time for poker. to show off a few moves. and to show us their version of a homemade justin bieber music video. ♪ baby, baby >> everyone has two or three people that they are really close to. they all have something they like to do together, whether it's playing video games, playing cards. and that's the thing. you have to find to get through the hard times. >> reporter: their deployment almost over. time to reflect on the past year. >> how do you think being at war has changed you as a person? >> i look at everything different now. i look at the whole entire picture instead of just a moment at a time. >> you know how they say, don't go to bed mad at somebody. seriously have to take that to heart here. tomorrow morning you can wake up and you can lose that friend if you are mad at him. you always regret that. >> it's affected me in so many ways because i realize how much i give to the army. >> how would you say it has affected you? >> i take my job very seriously. i enjoy training the men. but on the other hand, i have a family. you sacrifice so much. and then when you are out here you realize that. the little things you miss. birthdays, anniversearies, graduations. >> i'm glad you're okay, man. >> so again, just a brief look at how they get through the hard times. it's cards, video games, hanging out with each other. but it also shows you the bond. the very strong bond these soldiers have. and once again, a very rare look. sometimes you see these soldiers at the one dimensional kinds of people you see in the media who are always out there. >> doesn't hurt they dress the same. they do the same stuff. but it's hard to distinguish. do they get to go off base much? can you go for a drive? >> no. >> in afghanistan? >> that's the thirngs ali. these bases are big. but when you are there for a year, you are away from your family, your loved ones, and when you do finally get a chance to sort of have some of that down time, you know, your mind can go to a dark place very easily. and so you really have to find ways to entertain yourself, find ways to keep your spirits up. >> is there a lot of down time? how much down time do they actually have? is it a lot? >> they would say not as much as they would like. but it really depends upon the amount of missions you are going on. you can find yourself suddenly with 12 hours of doing nothing. and then what do you do? maybe there's a place for you to work out on the base. maybe not. so that's why it's very important for them to have these strong bonds and find ways to entertain themselves. >> thanks for bringing us all the dimensions of these soldiers this week. more coming up tomorrow. >> final one tomorrow. >> all right, jason. thanks. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day with president obama in campaign mode and congress leaving town when it could have saved thousands of faa jobs. when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? this from gail. when the people's business is completed and private industry vacations are not allowed when there's work to be done. why should it be allowed in government. if they know this is hanging over their heads, they are a lot more likely to curtail posturing. this from molly. on holidays like the rest of working americans. until the day that the law guarantees paid vacation that is comparable to europe, they should do the daily drudge just like the rest of us. she is saying that why do they get five weeks all in a row? why can't they get a week here and a week there. this is from brad. i really couldn't care less. it's not like they'd be getting anything done in washington anyway. keep your comments coming, facebook.com/americanmorning. and we'll share out your thoughts. >> it makes me curious when they said, in the rest of the world, you don't get to go until the work is done. i'm not sure that's true at all. people book off their vacation when they book off their vacation. >> if there's a huge project, though, that your boss wants you to get done, that it is important to the company, you aren't going to be taking your vacation. >> if you are a good employee, right. >> have you ever been in the middle of something and everyone is on vacation. like, we didn't finish this. >> the earthquake in haiti. if they said go there right now. my vacation is scheduled. >> you aren't going to do that. >> you're right. ahead, former presidential candidate mike huckabee under fire for trying to sell a cartoon about 9/11. he claims it will teach kids about the tragedy without the filter of political correctness. we're going to play you a clip so you can decide. re. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful c300 sport sedan. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. the mercedes-benz summer event ends august 31st. setting that goal to become a principal. but, i have to support my family, so how do i go back to school? 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[ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. ♪ 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 august 31st. better check the freezer this morning. 36 million pounds of ground turkey has to be chucked. a massive recall was called over a massive salmon ail outbreak that appears to have killed one person and made dozens of others sick. people desperate for ways to beat the heat with another 100-degree day on the way. alex rodriguez getting some unwanted attention. again this time for his possible role in an underground high stakes hollywood poker game where stars allegedly did coke and fought over 500 grand. they are calling him supercop. the suspect ran him down with a stolen car and still couldn't get away. the man of steel is here to tell his story on this "american morning." >> good morning. it is thursday, august 4th. and welcome to "american morning." a lot going on today. let's get you right to it at the top of the hour. >> a health alert. cargill, a major meat processor in the united states is recalling ground turkey because it may be contaminated with salmon ail bacteria. this is one of the largest meat recalls ever. 36 million pounds of ground turkey are being pulled from stores. it appears to have killed one person, sickened 76 and hospitalized 22. >> officials are especially worried since the bacteria is proving resistant to drugs. >> they share the exact same strain of salmonella. there are many strains of salmonella. this one is very dangerous because it is resistant to antibiotics. >> if you want to see if the ground turkey in your refrigerator or freezer could be recalled, this is what the packaging looks like. it's sold at most major supermarkets. if you have ground turkey at home, go to our fridge or freezer and you'll want to look for this code that you see on the screen there. it's est p-963. also this morning, reseerchers out of france have identified a superbug strain of salmonella. they say the bacteria is ghly resistant to antibiotics. there are about 500 cases of this strain that scientists are aware of. so far i has been contained to just france, denmark, england and wales but scientists say they fear it could spread worldwide. how does america keep its food safe? you may remember last year congress passed a landmark law giving the fda new powers. but there's one problem. money to fund the agency's new authority just isn't there. sound familiar? back in june, the house slashed more than $200 million from the fda's food safety budget. one reason america has struggled to control problems with contaminated food is according to the center for science and the public interest, less than 1% of the food that comes into the u.s. is inspected. for complete information about the recall food inspection or how to keep your food safe go to cnn.com/health. this is just another example of y we've seen so much anger directed at america's elected officials in washington because lawmakers didn't do their job, thousands of americans are out of a job. it all revolves around a pretty routine matter, extending the faa budget. >> add some $30 million in taxes that are being lost every day because of a stalemate. athena jones is live for us in washington. the tempers are starting to flare about this issue. what's going on? >> well, absolutely. we've heard what's at stake. it's not just these thousands of workers who are being furloughed. not collecting paychecks. and, therefore, not spending their paychecks in this weak economy. it's also this nearly more than a billion dollars in uncollected tax revenues that this will amount to if this stalemate passes or continues all through the congressional recess. that is to say past labor day. it really depends here on capitol hill who you talk to in terms of who is to blame. let's listen to what republican connie mack had to say from florida and then we'll listen to steny hoyer from maryland. >> so we passed a bill in the house reauthorization bill. it went to the senate. the one person that has the power to bring it u for a vote chose not to. and that is senator reid. so i would say that and maybe the secretary didn't want to say it, but senator reid should call the senate back in, take up the bill and pass it. >> we need to get this done and we should get it do today. unfortunately, republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage taking. and it is severely damagi our economy and the livelihoods of people across our nation. >> now at issue is -- are his two big issues, one is funding for rural subsidies to airport service in rural areas. small towns and places like nevada, montana, new mexico. republicans say that they want to see -- to save some money. they don't want to spend these subsidies to these rural airports. democrats say it's not about that. democrats say republicans are using the smaller issue to try to force democrats to change on a larger issue about making it easier for airport workers to unionize. and so we don't know how it's going to end here. we've heard the president and transportation secretary ray lahood urge congress to get together and solve this very, very soon, guys. >> ray lahood will be joining us a little later on for update on this. thanks very much. we want to talk to one of the furloughed faa workers. mark deplasco joins me from washington. thank you for being with us. you used to be an air traffic controller. now you manage a team that works on technical systems in the towers and radar facilities. first of all, were you surprised to get furloughed? because this budget authorization has come up time and again and it's just routinely been extended. >> absolutely shocked. again, you are right. we've had this happen before. we've gotten to the deadline and then it just -- we're back to work. so this was quite a shock. found out friday night that we were all furloughed and really didn't think it was going to last this long. i had no idea that it could last into september. >> you were an air traffic controller for 30 years. if anybody knows about safety, you do. there are ten people on your team right now. seven are still working. three have been furloughed. give me your honest opinion. we've had different opinions as to whether safety is in jeopardy now or could be if this extends for a little while. what's your view of that? >> honestly, i don't believe safety is impacted because we have such a professional group of air traffic controllers, managers, technicians, engineers that are picking up the slack for those of us that aren't there. and they are covering. we have testing going on on a system that -- a software update for one of our air traffic systems. we're doing it with less people, but we're getting it done. >> how long can that go on without it becoming an issue? >> well, at some point, we're -- some of our programs are definitely going to be impacted. some of our next gen programs could be delayed as a result of not all of us being on the job and certain engineers being gone. >> all right. let's talk about you. you got a mortgage payment. you got a family. what's your situation financially in terms of how long can you withstand being off a job? >> this is something i've been working on for the lst week and a half as i'm off. i'm president of our local chapter for the faa managers association. we've been working very, very hard to help my colleagues, employees and this issue. personally, this is devastating. i spend most of my day trying to figure out what can i not pay? what can i pay? where can i get extra cash? we're pretty much going to burn through all of our savings within a month and then now we're working on prom programs out there to give us no-interest loans. >> you are the president of the local faa chapter, so you are seeing a lot of the people in your situation. what's the buzz about how long this likely goes on for? do you think it's going to be a quick resolution or are you preparing for this to be five weeks? >> i am an optimist. and i have thought every single day that this was going to end that day. and we kind of have to keep that optimism going because i don't think any of us can even fathom going without a paycheck for another month and a half or even longer. we're not sure that it's going to be resolved in september. so i am hearing from my colleagues. i'm hearing from my employees just how hard it is. i have one individual wrote me and said she wakes up crying and she just doesn't know how she's going to pay her bills. she's a single person with a very expensive mortgage. as a lot of us have. she doesn't know how she's going to pay it. >> mark, we wish you the best of luck. and to your colleagues who are also not working during this time. mark deplasco say furloughed faa worker. coming bup 8:15 eastern, we'll be joined by transportation secretary ray lahood. he's been urging lawmakers to come back to washington. the u.s. is condemning bloody crackdown on demonstrators this morning. at least 45 civilians were killed in a tank assault by security forces. said to be part of a new campaign targeting anti-government demonstrators in hama. more than 40 people are recovering after their tour bus flipped over and landed upside down. happened on interstate 81 in whitney point in upstate new york. the bus carrying mostly tourists from poland was traveling from niagara falls to new jersey. police say most of the injuries were minor except for one. >> one subject that was pinned underneath the bus. and they were able to dig underneath the bus and actually extricate the lady that was trapped underneath. it was tributed to the weather. the rainfall and speed too fast for conditions. >> the tour bus industry has come under scrutiny after the march 12th crash of a bus returning to new york city's chinatown. 15 people were killed when that bus flipped over on its side. the driver of that bus had a suspended license. the searing heat wave is expanding. it's getting even deadlier this morning. it hit 115 degrees in ft. smith, arkansas yesterday. that shattered a record of 107 set back in 1896. temperatures are expected to approach record highs from dallas all the way to raleigh again today. >> texas is bracing for another sweltering day, too, after breaking its power usage record for the third day in a row. could be over 100 degrees there, too for the 34th day in a row. that city suffering more in the intense heat than anywhere else. ed lavandera is live there this morning. good morning, ed. how are they trying to protect people's health in this extreme heat? >> obviously, a great deal of concern for the elderly. making sure people have proper air conditioning. as you mentioned, there's so much power use, so much stress on the electrical grid and the electrical system that during those peak hours in the late afternoon when people are getting home from work and the temperature is at its most inte intense there are emergency measures being taken asking feem conserve energy. we're seeing rolling blackouts and people being left without air conditioning which is an extremely dangerous situation. we've had more than two dozen people die because of heat related incidents in texas, oklahoma and arkansas. it will be another day of record-breaking heat across the southern plains. as you mentioned, those record-breaking temperatures in little rock, for example, reaching 114 degrees. that's an all-time high. they had never seen anything like that. in wichita falls, that's a town we haven't really talked a whole lot about but they've been taking it on the chin all summer long. yesterday they broke their own record for the longest stretch of 100-degree weather. 43 straight days. and it would have been 63 days had it not been for one day where they dropped down to 98 degrees. it's been incredibly intense all across -- mostly here in the southern plains but really all of this stretching into the southeastern united states. great concern over, especially now that we start heading back into school. students heading back into school. in oklahoma, classrooms that air conditionings broke down. they had to move those students out of those classes. school buss that don't have air conditioning. they had to load them up with ice chests and bottled water to get those students home safely. of course, students practicing football, starting to do that. two-a-day practices out in this heat. a great deal of concern. we've seen a number of students killed because of heat related illnesses and a coach here in dallas who fell and died because of -- partially because of the heat related situation as well. so this is a dire situation. and it will continue for the foreseeable future here, perhaps into next week. >> ed lavandera, many thanks. reporting live from texas this morning. >> high school football is obviously bigger in texas than it is in many places but it does seem a little -- >> i think they should cancel all of this. if every school has to cancel them, then nobody -- >> everybody is at the same disadvantage. >> and that's incredible. running around is one thing. running around with a whole bunch of gear on. >> or schedule them really nearly the morning. >> it's still 97 degrees nearly the morning. >> that's true. still to come, major league baseball wants to talk to alex rodriguez. he was -- they say he was sitting at a high stakes poker table where drugs were passed around and tempers flared. he says he wasn't there. congress leaves town and leaves faa players on standby. what happened to putting america back to work? 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[ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. welcome back to "american morning." presidential candidate -- former presidential candidate mike huckabee is get something heat this morning for selling a children's cartoon about 9/11. the video is on sale for $9.95. part of a series of videos about time-traveling kids who go back to learn about the most important events in american history. one of them, the attacks of 9/11. here's a clip. >> no! >> who would do something like this? >> al qaeda is led by osama bin laden. >> the time for jihad is upon us. death to the americans. >> wow. look at the police and firefighters. they are right in the middle of it. >> some of the passengers learned about the other hijacked planes and decided to fight back. >> what's our plan? bring down the taliban and al qaeda. >> the u.s. and its allies broke apart al qaeda and cut off bin laden from his followers and his money. >> i can hear you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. >> interesting. critics are blasting huckabee saying he's trying to cash in on the attacks. the company that produced it pledges that the videos are, quote, free from distorted messages that dilute the signature canc of our nation's most important events. >> the purpose of this was to set the history record right because children in school don't learn history in a fair and unbiased way. so mike huckabee is putting this series of cartoons out to right the wrongs of what children are being taught in school. >> without political correctness, he says. >> without political correctness. so -- >> yeah. interesting. we'll let you decide on your own what you think about that. let's talk about another question of the day. now it's a chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. our question -- when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? some republicans are hopping mad that president obama is in chicago raising money for his re-election cam plain. reince priebus says, 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 americans struggle with trying to make ends meet. mr. romney who hopes to beat mr. obama in 2012 even put out a campaign ad complete with apocalyptic 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. >> this from a candidate who politico accuses of gheeg the mittness protection program because he didn't take a stand on the debt deal until it was done. senators left capitol hill for a five-week paid break without approving funding for the federal aviation administration. doesn't sound like a big deal until you learn that 4,000 federal employees, along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. one furloughed faa engineer has 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 question today, when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? send us a message on facebook. facebook.com/americanmorning. write out american morning. we'll read some of your responses later this hour. >> you are so cynical. they aren't on vacation. they are just getting ready for their next election. just kidding. >> i think some of them are doing important work while they are away from washington. >> it's a recess. many of them are holding town halls. they are going on fact-finding missions. >> but i still think most of us can agree that this is pressing work. this doesn't -- so that's -- we'd love to hear from you. >> please weigh in. still to come -- the rising costs of sending your kids to school. you may be in for a shock next time you shop for supplies. if you are drinking a cup of maxwell house, we have big news from the brand's parent company to tell you about right after the break. you are watching "american morning." it's 21 minutes after the hour. the stronger the rapids, the more we loved it. took some wild risks when i was young. but i was still taking a risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol, stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60 percent. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. 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[ coughing continues ] log on to lungusa.org and tell washington: don't weaken the clean air act. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. a growing crisis this morning in cities across america. unemployment is rising. jobs are vanishing. and bills can't be paid. mayors from coast to coast making painful choices on this "american morning." good morning, everyone. it's thursday, august 4th. welcome to "american morning." >> a lot going on this morning. the obama administration is plead with members of congress to return to washington and settle a political dispute that's forced a partial shutdown of the faa and kept thousands of people out of work. the government could also lose a billion dollars in tax revenue. a massive recall of ground turkey. cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of the turkey meat which has been linked to a salmonella outbreak in 26 states. it's believed the tainted turkey was processed at cargill's springdale, arkansas, plant between february and the middle of this month. the white house unveiling a new plan to combat home-grown terrorism. it enlists the help of local communities to identify the early warning signs of violent extremism. the new strategy is designed to counter efforts by al qaeda to recruit and radicalize americans. cities across america are facing a crisis. simply put, there's not enough money to pay the bills. that means painful cuts to essential services like police and fire. and it also means in some cases tax hikes. in flint, michigan, one of the highest crime areas in the country, they've been forced to cut 30% of the police force and they are privatizing city services. in trenton, new jersey, 150 government employees are being laid off next month, including 79 police officers. we're joined by the mayors of those two struggling cities. trenton new jersey mayor tony mack is here with me in new york and flint, michigan, mayor, dane walling is live from the stloit suburb of madison height welcome to both of you. >> thank you. >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> the first thing i'm curious about. we just went through this debt ceiling debate in washington. i'm sure you were riveted by that, right, as we all were. republicans say we need a balanced budget amendment, that the federal government should be required, as you are, as city mayors, to balance their budgets. mayor walling, do you think that's possible for the federal government to be required to balance its budget just like you are? >> there has to be fiscal responsibility in washington, but i don't believe now is the time to have a debate about a specific balanced budget amendment. we need our federal government to have the flexibility it needs to help states and help citie the constraints we work under at the city level of very extreme. i wouldn't want to see those imposed on the federal government. the federal governme needs to take a long-term view. >> mayor, what do you think? do you think that comparing the federal government to city budgets is the same thing? >> well, there's a difference in that -- in city governments, our debt ceiling is just that. i mean, we don't have the ability to raise our debt by any length. what we have to do in our cities is -- our debt ceiling is our roof and ceilings in our homes. families worrying about paying for those bills. so it's very, very difficult for us to have the same kind of restraints placed on us as federal governments would have. one of the things i think can happen from our perspective, we can have a real dialogue at the ground level, whereby the federal government and the president and his representatives come to cities and talk to us about what's going on in our cities so that the fiscal policy can reflect the things that are actually happening on the ground. >> mayor walling you laid off 30% of the police force. and that's a tough decision because flint does have a crime problem. you tried to raise taxes to achieve at balanced approach that we always hear about. what happened? >> the voters were split on the issue of reopening the city jail with a new property tax. it did lose narrowly in the may election. so we've had to go back and continue to look for cuts in other nonessential areas. it's been an ongoing process of making changes. i've been in this position for two years coming out of that difficult recession. and we just had to contin to look for ways to stretch every doar as far as possible. >> so if you don't have any revenue coming in, new revenue, what have you done? i mean, besides lay off people? >> there have been a number of cuts to our nonessential, nonpublic safety departments. we've also started the process of getting businesses and non-profit partners in to run our city golf courses. we're having to review our sanitation service and just be creative with how we deliver youth services, what we do in our parks. throughout the entire system, we've had to make some substantial reforms. >> and mayor mack, you raised property taxes and your constituents were not happy. why didn't you just lay off more city employees instead of raising taxes? >> what we've done -- when we came into office a year ago, we were facing a $55 million budget deficit. so we had to put in place -- we had to do our due diligence as to who would be laid off and what the impact would be on our city. so the last place we wanted to lay off was police officers and firefighters because they are our front line employees. so what we did, we waited a year. we did our due diligence and we made certain that all cuts reected the need. so the last area we had to cut where we could get the best impact or best bang for our cut was our police service. they make up 70% of our salary line item so that was where we could receive the largest economic benefit at the time. >> so you felt you had to raise taxes and deal with the consequences later, far as your constituents were concerned, right? >> absolutely. no question. >> so both of you, both mayors. you are doing the difficult things that politicians have to do. you are making decisions that don't necessarily make your base happy. as you look washington and watch this debate go down, were you looking at federal lawmakers and were you shaking your head and saying, this is unbelievable? mayor walling? >> yes. i was very impressed by the president's leadership, though, because there were a lot of members of the legislature who i think were taking ideological positions, and i don't think we have time for that approach right w. i've had to make some gut-wrenching decisions. other mayors, including mayor mack, have had to do the same thing. i was proud to see that our president was willin to compromise. that's what i feel like i have to do every day. and i just came out of a primary myself. a seven-way race with 48% of the vote. i think the public does understand. there has to be some give and take. there has to be some change. and our federal and state governments need to take that lesson from the voters. >> mayor mack, the last word. as you were watching these debt ceiling debates were you scratching your head and saying why can't anyone negotiate in good faith and get things done quickly? >> you know, i think there were so many elements that came into play. people were trying to make their points. they were trying to make -- i believe the congress was trying to make america aware of the concerns -- the fiscal concerns of our country. but i think it was the wrong time to do it. and i am in agreement with mayor walling in that i think the president did a job of keeping the debate about the issues we face about health care, about the medicare costs, about social security and things of that nature. that's the dialogue the american people want to hear and that's what we're hearing on the front lines. >> we should point out, you are a democrat. mayor wallg, do you lean more democrat than republican? >> i do. this is a nonpartisan off. i have the responsibility to serve the entire community. >> mayor tony mack, mayor dane walling, we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. christine? >> really good conversation. >> going on across the countr >> yep. that's absolutely right. you are talking about big math and little towns around the country. big city budgets aren't the only ones stressed. parents of elementary school students are getting shocked and socked this fall with more and more schools adding curricular fees for things like sports and music. parents can expect to spend about $530 per child this year up 12% from last year. imagine playing to pay -- paying to play on the football team. a lot of schools are having to do it now. changes may be coming to the top-selling cholesterol drug lipitor. >> and the man they are now calling supercop is here. he was hit by a car, flown through the air. he still got his man. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank, we treat all our customers fairly, with no teaser rates and no minimum deposit to open. it's just the right thing to do. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives use clean american natural gas today. it costs about 40 percent less than gasoline, so why aren't we using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. just in. we're getting some big news out of detroit. general motors just announced its second quarter earnings nearly doubled to $2.5 billion. getting a big, big boost from overseas sales, which is where gm does very well and did do very well even when it was in the worst of troubles here in the united states. those earnings, by the way, are well above wall street's expectations. that should help our futures have been looking lower all morning. they've been getting less lower as the morning is going on. this should give it a little -- >> i like that. not higher, but less lower. >> it also shows the reaction from these companies is coming from not here but overseas. >> many international earners. >> welcome back to anytime american morning." he may have been your teen idol. partridge family star david cassidy was famous around the world playing keith partridge in the 1970s tv show. >> now nearly 40 -- >> i was hot for him. >> and christine likely -- >> i liked his little brother. >> who carol says was the -- >> chubby,ers inny one. >> to which i said, what's wrong with being chubby and nerdy? >> he wasn't chubby. he had feathered hair. >> this was 40 years ago. and nearly 40 years later, the partridge family -- nearly 40 years after it stopped airing as a regular series, cassidy is mounting a battle to get paid for all his merchandise with his image on it. poppi harlow who has no recollection of watching this on television joins us. >> you have no idea what i did in my early days. i sat around and watched the "partridge family" and "happy days." the reruns. just as good as the original. >> this is a very interesting twist. david cassidy says he is owed a fortune for those partridge family lunch boxes, board games, all that merchandise produced from the hit show. now he is waging a battle against sony trying to get paid. ♪ i think i love you >> reporter: it's 1970 and a 20-year-old named david cassidy is starring in "the partridge family." ♪ i think i love you >> reporter: not only did the show and sold-out concerts go on to make him a star, but the teen idol's success spawns an avalanche of merchandise. >> this is a dress-up set. remember these? oh, gosh. nice outfit, david. >> please put your hands together for the one and only david cassidy! >> reporter: 37 years after the partridge family went off the air, cassidy still performing and producing. and now he's on a personal mission to get paid for that merchandise from sony which owns the show. >> you say you've been robbed for the last few decades. >> how would you call it? if somebody does not pay you and you are entitled to a percentage of the profits and you know they are making profits, is that stealing? >> reporter: cassidy says according to his contract, while the program was on the air, he was entitled to 15% of net merchandising profits when his image was used. half that if he appeared with other cast members. were you paid for that? >> i was told by my manager i received a check for $5,000. and i never heard another word. >> reporter: cassidy's lawyer sent this letter to sony requesting a prompt and full accounting and payment of proceeds for any merchandise sold using his name, likeness, voice or other exercise of such merchandising rights. sony responded that it could not locate any merchandising statements but found letters showing that mr. cassidy's representatives audited such statements. therefore, they must have been rendered to him. the company went on to say it was not aware of any new merchandising licenses with his name, voice and likeness after the partridge family went off the air. and said the statutes of limitations had run out on any claims. sony had no other comment to cnn. ♪ >> i don't want to sue you. just be fair. be real. be genuine. don't be greedy. >> reporter: very interesting to follow this david cassidy story. see if he indeed does file the lawsuit against sony. you are probably wondering about the other cast members of "the partridge family." brian forester says he did get paid about $1,100 from merchandising back in the '70s when his mom demanded he get paid. these actors were kids in the show. the other actors we spoke with didn't have a merchandising deal or they don't recall getting paid for any of those items. this follows the ongoing fight between the cast members of "happy days" who are suing cbs for $10 million over merchandising money. >> and just, you know, we were talking about danny bonaduce because he's a name the younger generation remembers. he said what to you? >> i called all these other cast members to say did you get paid? a lot of them said i was 12 years old. i don't have my contract. danny bonaduce said i didn't get paid for merchandising and didn't have it in my contract. i said i'm not angry about it. i don't hold a grudge. that's just the way it was. he clearly isn't going after any merchandising money. it's interesting to see how david cassidy clearly feels like he was really ripped off and he did have a merchandising clause. we read the contract. but danny bonaduce said i don't know if i had a clause or not. >> his relationship with that program made his career. this is what -- so this is what launched his career and many of them have been living on that career since then. >> yeah, it's going to be interesting to see. sony says, look. statute of limitations ran out a long time ago. so we'll see if this -- >> do you all get paid for your images on lunchboxes? >> like anyone would want them. >> i brought my carol lunchbox. >> a little thermos. >> i bought it for her for her birthday. >> you can see the full story this weekend. it's an all new cnn presents sunday night at 8:00 eastern on cnn. you can read more of the story on cnnmoney.com. "american morning" coming right back. on the powerful c300 sport sedan. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. the mercedes-benz summer event ends august 31st. uh oh, sesame stir fry from lucky dynasty. oh, me too! but mine's lean cuisine, so no preservatives. [ female announcer ] lean cuisine has 90 dishes with no preservatives and quality ingredients like farm-picked broccoli and tender white meat chicken. lean cuisine. 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 august 31st. 49 minutes after the hour. here's what you need to know. meat processor cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey. it's been linked to dozens of salmonella illnesses in 26 states. authorities believe it may be related to one death in california. president obama and transportation secretary ray lahood are urging congress to resolve the faa funding dispute. it's left tens of thousands of federal and construction workers without a paycheck. it's also costing the government $30 million a day in tax revenues. you may soon be able to buy lipitor without a prescription. pfiz cher makes the cholesterol drug is reportedly trying to convince the fda that it's safe to use without a doctor's supervision. pfizer loses its patent protection in november and with it billions of dollars of revenue against generic interpretations of lipitor. the cw channel ranks number one when it comes to their portrayal of gays and lesbians on tv. that's according to ing ting t. the hair salon made famous by sarah palin's is getting its own show called big hair alaska and will air on tlc. no word if palin will make an appearance. president turns 50 today. the seventh president to hit that milestone while in office. you're caught up on today's headlines. "american morning" is back in 60 seconds. welcome back to "american morning." now is your chance to talk become and one of the big stories of the day with president obama in campaign mode and congress leaving town, when it could have saved thousands of faa jobs, we asked when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington and here are some of your responses. when the job is done all of your troops can't just get up and take vacation during a war. it's like an entire firefighting force going on vacation while a fire they are fighting is still burning and spreading. this from nate. absolutely glosdeplorable that political leaders leave this critical piece of faa legislation untouched to go on vacation. that is the equivalent of feeding the cattle and then leaving the gate open. this from gregory. i couldn't consciously have a good time on vacation knowing there were problems at work that were solely my responsibility. do you have a conscience, congress? guess not. you're getting paid at our expense. >> that firefighter one is interesting. the whole firefighting department can't take vacation. if congress -- if things depend on congress passing it how can they all leaving? that is interested. maybe staggered breaks like we would. >> maybe they should look at the bigger picture and try to tweak it. >> keep the conversation going. facebook.com/"american morning" and thank you for your comments. they are calling him the super cop. this video from yesterday, an officer who was run down by a stolen car, flung like a rag doll and gets right back up and chases down the suspect. everyone is still talking about this video, including us. >> wow. look at that. >> amazing. dan pascoe joins us from london now from the police department. thank you for joining us. i know you have a day job but you certainly -- you're this picture of you really captivated a lot of us yesterday. we wanted to know what in the world were you thinking when you popped back up or were you not even thinking? >> i wasn't thinking really. it was straight back to work mode. dust myself off to make sure i'm all right and then someone needed to be arrested. >> that just sounds so, i don't know. proper and dignified like what you're supposed to be doing. i know it's just your job but sort of interesting because it was on tape. looking at it here. you got whamed. whoa. do you remember what it felt like when you got hit or was it just so quick? >> initially, it didn't hurt. the first thing i know of the accident is when i was flying in the air. and then after i tasered the suspect and we had him in handcuffs, then my right hip started to hurt a lot then. >> are you feeling well now? i'm assuming you're all healed up? >> all fine now. back on duty seven days after it happens. so no -- >> you mentioned you tasered the suspect so you ran down the embankment and tasered him. what did he say to you, financinif anything? we never spoke. i asked him to stop running and that didn't work. after he was handcuffed, i stepped aside and my crewmates and another colleague joined us very quickly and they let him away. >> it turns outs this was a stolen blue bmw. you were trying to set up a roadblock, is that right? >> we were told a stolen car on the m-25. we were looking out for it. another police unit had seen it just a short time ago. and it had gone on the shoulder most of the way and driven at speeds around 90 miles an hour. >> wow. >> and we were up at the next junction. >> now, it turns out in the end that the guy who you nabbed had multiple offenses, multiple driving offenses, is that right? >> yeah, that's right. he has been through the system before, shall we say. >> been through the system. now, do you think the car was going 90 miles an hour when it hit you? that is my question. you could get tapped five or 6 or 10 miles an hour and get hurt. >> i think it's safe to say it wasn't doing 90. i think conservative estimate would be about 40, 40 to 50 miles an hour. >> are you surprised, dan, how, you know, people around the world are looking at this video and this is their morning piece of video they are watching? whoa! >> it is pretty amazing. yeah. it's not something i signed up for, which is standing in front of a television camera in the morning or now in the afternoon in london. yeah, it's been a different experience the last three days. >> dan pascoe, we are calling you the super cop. we don't love how you got hit but we love how you popped back up, nabbed your man and went on and said this is just my job. we like it. thanks so much for joining us. have a great day. >> thank you. bye. >> that man should be the recruiting picture for cops everywhere in the world. >> he really should! >> is that the most impressive thing. >> i was so charming and well-spoken, too. he has it all, man. >> "american morning" will be right back. they agreed. 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[ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad. get it now for $100 off, starting at $399.99. ♪ i'm christine romans. burning up. 110 degrees and higher. high school football practice starting during one of the longest heat waves in history and it's already proving deadly. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. former presidential candidate mike huckabee under fire this morning for trying to sell a cartoon about 9/11 at the he claims it will teach children will the tragedy without the filter of political correctness. we will play a crip so you can decide. >> i'm ali velshi. it's the president's birthday. he turns the big 5-0 yesterday. it started last night with two campaign fund-raiser in chicago and a birthday song from jennifer hudson. after nearly three years in office and economy in the tank we are asking has the president lost his magic touch on this "american morning." ♪ come on, can't the guy turn 50 and just turn 50? >> i know. >> i guess if you're raising money to turn 50, it does -- >> a lot of people saying i'm turning 50, have i lost my magic? >> there you go. good morning. it's thursday, august 4th. i'm christine romans. >> i'm carol costello. that ali elshi. the extreme heat blaming for deaths that now includes two high school players and a coach as practice has opened this week. a live look at dallas where it could crack 100 degrees for the 34th day in a row. temperatures expected to approach record highs from dallas all the way to raleigh. 15 states under heat advisories today. >> texas power companies are bracing for another brutally hot day after the state broke its power usage record for the third day in a row. so far, they have been able to avoid rolling power outages. but officials say the electricity supplies are very tight. ed lavandera is reporting live for us this morning from a solar flare from dallas. good morning. it is really hot. you've been showing us some of the spots people usually like to roller blade, they like to bike. it's kind of treacherous out there this morning. >> reporter: you know what? this is probably the most comfortable time of day. funny. you can be out here and in a couple of hours it just is really miserable. very quickly. the fascinating part of all this is we have been talking a lot about the high temperatures. we are even setting records for the highest low temperature -- 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 into his garage. you got a mess on your hand. cars everywhere? >> yeah. we got people coming. >> reporter: so this car overheated? >> overheated. >> reporter: this car? >> the rail busted because they saw heat. we put a brand-new engine in this one. >> reporter: this overheated? >> the oil come up. >> reporter: gonzalez opened dave's garage three years ago and named it after his son but it wasn't until temperatures shot up over a hundred degrees more than a month ago that business erupted. now there's little time to rest. kind of struggle to stay cool and hydrated. i think you like it because business is good. >> exactly it, yeah. people got a lot of problems and we got the chance to make some money. >> reporter: miguel gonzalez is one of the few enjoying the record heat. most people around texas, oklahoma, and arkansas, are down right miserable. little rock, arkansas, reached an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees on wednesday. in oklahoma city, ice chest 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 were all down and everyone was like sticking their arms out the windows and stuff. >> reporter: for a few hours on thursday, cheyenne, oklahomaed look like old faithful. a water main break nearly drained all of the city's drinking water. it's all been fixed now. across texas so much demand on the power grid has left thousands temporarily without electricity. >>he high usage is causing people to use more electricity to stay safe and comfortable and making it harder for our equipment to cool off. >> reporter: many high school marching bands and football teams are working under the punishing sun and scorching heat. how are you feeling? these players had to leave the field because it got too hot. >> we give them gatorade and replenish them and they will be good. >> reporter: you think about the town of wichita falls, teas, northeast of where we are, along the border, it broke a record yesterday. 43 days of straight days over a hundred degrees and had it not been for one day where they dropped down to a chilly 98 degrees, that record would now be at 63 days. how bad is that? >> that is just incredible. let's head to the weather center now and check in with rob marciano. not only here in the united states do we have to worry about the heat but haiti is concerned about this tropical storm right now? >> we have go two things to be concerned with the heat for one. more heat advisories out today again. a slew of states and counties under the gun over 20% of the u.s. will see temperatures that will exceed over a hundred as far as the heat indexes go. these are the records from yeerday. little rock, arkansas, 114 as ed mentioned. tulsa 113. 15 records tied yesterday and 147 broken of unreal heat. are we going to see a break? not today. 110 expected in dallas. tomorrow, cool down to 10. how about saturday? not much better. there are indications that next week, this hot ridge will begin to break down but until then, three, four, maybe another five days of the heat. here you go. tropical storm emily. nearly stationary as of 8:00 advisory about a hundred miles south of port au prince haiti. a tremendous amount of rain in the mountainous areas and they don't need and prompt mudslides and dangerous situation and suffering country for sure. here is the forecast track across the islands we go. uncertainty arises once that happens. florida, the east coast tlest is under the gun friday night into saturday morning. to the west, talking about a more serious consideration. florida could use the rain so want to keep it at a tropical storm. forecast to bring it to hurricane status but the track hopefully will stay offshore. guys, back up to you. >> i hope so. the poor people in haiti. 600,000 of them still in tents. this is left over from the earthquake that happened almost two years ago now. it's just incredible. >> thank you, rob. troubling news about a product that could be in your refrigerator right now. meat giant cargil is recalling 10 million pounds of ground turkey after it's linked to salmonella and said to come from a plant in springdale, arkansas. government says it has sickened 26 people in 26 states and appears to have killed one person in california. authorities are worried since the bacteria has proven resistant to antibiotics. in the warren jeffs case, defense attorney is jeffs himself. he fired his attorneys earlier. jeffs is said to be assaulteding a 12-year-old girl. >> what happened in this dio tape, warren jeffs says it feels good and how do you feel he says and little girl voice said very good. she is small for her age and red hair and described by witnesses having red hair and freckles and looks like pippi longstocking. >> jeffs is accused of marrying these young girls. if convicted, jeffs faces a possible life sentence. casey anthony can stay in hiding a while longer. orange county judge issued a stay that issued anthony to serve probation for a check fraught conviction and emergency hearing scheduled fr tomorrow to hear arguments from casey anthony's attorneys. they claim she served her probation while in jail awaiting charges or awaiti trial on murder charges rather. a new report says major league baseball could suspend yankee third baseman alex rodriguez for playing in an underground poker game. it allegedly involved several big stars. a-rod denies he was there. there are also allegations that drugs were involved. mike huckabee is getting heat this morning for selling a children's cartoon about 9/11. this video is on sale for $9.95. about time traveling kids who go back to learn about the most important events in american history. one of them, the attacks of 9/11. here is the clip. ♪ >> no! >> who would something like this? >> al qaeda is led b osama bin laden. >> death to the americans! the time is upon us! ♪ >> wow. look at the police and firefighters. they are right in the middle of it. >> some of the passengers learned about the other hijacked planes and decided to fight back. ♪ >> that's our plan, bring down the taliban and al qaeda. >> the u.s. and its allies broke apart al qaeda and cut off bin laden from his followers and his money. ♪ >> i can hear you! and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. ♪ >> so some critics this morning are blasting huckabee accuse him to cash in on the attacks. the can that produced this pledges the videos are free from distorted messages that dilute the significance of our nation's most important events. . that is their quote. >> remember the criticism against rudy giuliani when he was running for president? one of his supporters threw this bash and, you know, you could buy rudy giuliani paraphernalia for $9.90. he was accused of basing his entire president campaign on 9/11 to people criticized him for that. now we have this but it's ten years later. is it time? i mean? >> to tell history through cartoons in the first place, that's another part of the story altogether. >> yeah. and whether he wanted to set the historical record straight because children weren't learning it correctly in school and does this do that? you saw it. you can decide. still ahead, congress flies away, leaving badly needed faa projects grounded. now the transport secretary is begging congress to come back. >> that's why i'm here. i'm calling them bap. come back to washington! leave your vacations! just for a couple of hours, come back, congress! help, help your friends and neighbors get back to work. >> he should know. he was a member of congress for a long time. transport secretary rayahood joins us live coming up next. the worst airport in the country is? we will have the drum roll. 10 minutes past the hour. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's a fact: your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge! e♪ re! ♪ ♪ ♪ introducing purina one beyond a new food for your cat or dog. that's how it is with alzheimer's disease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. 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[ female announcer ] ask the doctor about your loved one trying the exelon patch. visit exelonpatch.com to learn more. ♪ ♪ put me on a plane hurry hurry hurry ♪ >> beautiful new york city. i don't care there are clouds there. 70 degrees right now. that is beautiful! only going to get up to 80 later on but it's going to have those -- >> compared to the middle part of the country, that is fantastic. that is like fall! >> unbelievable. that's right. it is so hot in some parts of the country. >> i feel bad. poor ed lavandera, never mind him. it's the kids playing football, football practice. >> i would like to be on the record i think they should not have football practice. i don't think they should. i think they should go in the gym where it's cool and do drills and not have football practice. if every school does it nobody on is on the playing field. >> if you're thinking of making a quick get-away to the new york area you may want to think twice about flying into newark. it has earned the dubious distinction of having the most delayed flights according to the wall street and the bureau of transportation statistics. >> of the 100 most delayed flights over the past year, 40 began or ended at newark and the most delayed flight delta's 5:00 p.m. flight from newark to atlanta which on average is delayed by 83 minutes. >> what is the whole flight? it's under two hours. >> average is 83 minutes? >> but my rule in the new york area or chicago area or even atlanta is if you get a fly book a flight at 5:00 p.m. from any of those places, you're not getting there on time. >> you're a sucker. >> the whole day has piled up to work against you. >> i think you could drive from atlanta to new york quicker than that. the heat is on this morning for congress to finish its business. we have been reporting that, you know, you know congress left washington this week and didn't settle the dispute over the faa and that has resulted in thousands of workers not getting a paycheck. last hour i spoke to mark diplatso a furloughed faa worker how difficult it's been with him to be without a job. >> personally, this is devastating. i've spent -- i spend most of my day trying to figure out what can i not pay, what can i pay? where can i get extra cash. we're pretty much going to burn through all of our savings within a month and then now we're working on -- there are programs out there to give us low interest loans, no interest loans, so we're looking into that. >> mark went on to say he is worried the stalemate could continue after congress returns to washington next month. transportation secretary ray lahood is urging congress to come back to washington even a day to get this done. come back now. joining me now live from washington is transportation secretary ray lahood. secretary, thanks for joining us. a lot of questions here. a lot of puzzled heads around america about this one. you were a congressman for a long time. these are your colleagues that you're talking to. you're asking them to come back. can you just explain for americans out there what this is and why it happened? >> what it is, it's an extension of the faa money that can be available to pay for the work that employees do. we have 4,000 employees furloughed because congress didn't pass the 21st extension the way they had done on 20 other occasions. they left town on their vacations. they are receiving their paychecks. over 70,000 americans are not receiving paychecks because congress left town without taking care of providing the money to the faa so construction projects could continue and so faa employees could continue to do their jobs. >> secretary, explain to me the difference between the 4,000 faa employees who are not getting paid and the 70,000 number you just used. >> yeah, good question. 4,000 faa employees work directly for the faa. they work on research, they work on development, they work on next generation technology. some of them are people who do very, very important work. they are faa employees. the congress didn't pass the money to continue them receiving paychecks while they went on vacation. on the 70 plus thousand construction workers and other people that are involved in construction, this money comes from a pot of money that was also suspended because congress didn't extend the faa bill. >> oh, okay. >> this is the money that actually pays the contractor to do the work so he can pay the workers. >> got it. >> look. there's a lot of talk about washington over the last several months about jobs and politicians talking about jobs and putting people to work. laying off 70 plus thousand people is not my idea of putting people to work. congress ought to come back and do their work, come back from their vacations, do their work and put hard-working americans to work so they can get a paycheck just like congress is receiving on their vacations! >> let me ask you this, secretary. you have said repeatedly that, at the moment, no safety concern. yesterday, we spoke to a former chief of staff at the faa. he agrees that at the moment, is there no safety concern, but says on the margins if this goes on for a long time it's not a good idea. at any point this starts to affect safety? >> this is the reason i am on the air waves doing everything i can today to persuade congress to come back, do their job, put these people to work. safety not compromised. it never will be compromised. thousands of people are boarding planes. they will arrive safely today because our people are on their jobs doing the jobs that they know how to do, which is making sure that flying is safe. now, congress ought to do their job. come back from their vacations. they are receiving their paychecks. if they really want to create american jobs for the friends and neighbors, come back, pass this bill so people can start going back to work on construction project and faa can come back and do their jobs. >> let people know we are talking about 25 million to 30 million a day in lost revenues and could add up to billions of dollars if this does wait for congress to come back. help me understand what this is about, because some people say congress left and didn't get anything done. others say it is about funding for certain smaller airports and harry reid said yesterday it's about unionization rules. can you give me some sense of what is behind why this didn't get done? >> there are these controversial items that have been put in bills but that didn't stop congress on 20 other occasions from passing the extension and that is what we want them to do now. pass the 21st extension. if you've got issues with labor -- if you've got issues with money going to small airports to help airlines fly in and out, work that out. don't hold the american jobs and american people hostage over controversial issues that were not a problem on 20 other times when congress passed an extension. come back from your vacation, come back and put americans to work the way that you would do for your friends and neighbors so they can receive a pay thek li paycheck like congress is. >> you served with a lot of them. are you gaining any traction in asking them to come back? >> well, we are going to find out. the idea that they have left town on their vacations and they are receiving a paycheck and they talk a lot about jobs. they give good speeches about it. i want them to walk the walk. come back to d.c., walk up, cast their votes, put americans back to work. if they want to talk the talk, then walk the walk and let's put our friends and neighbors back to work. this is not fair to american workers. in a very, very hard economy, a tough economy, people trying to figure out how they are going to make their house payment, how they are going to make their car payment and how to buy school supplies for their kids as they head back to school. this is not fair to american workers. come back, congress. pass this extension and then you can go on your vacations. >> secretary ray lahood, thanks for joining us and thanks for coming on and giving this message. >> thanks for your interest. >> what a great interview. futures are down big right now. . dow down more than a hundred business. 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"minding your business" this morning. a stock futures trading much lower ahead of the opening bell this morning. right now, dow futures are down more than a hundred points in premarket trading and s&p futures are down big as well. the debt ceiling fears may have pass odd wall street but still a lot of concern over a weak recovery and there are big moves in the currency markets which may be driving a lot of this interconnected activity this morning. investors are waiting on a new report also about the number of unemployment claims filed for the first time last week. that number comes out in just a couple of minutes. big news out of trite. general motors announced second quarter earnings nearly doubled to 2.5 billion. getting a big boost from sales in the u.s. but also overseas and those earnings are well above wall street's expectations. just about an hour ago, kraft foods announced it is splitting in two publicly trading companies. one focused on the global snacks business and the other on north america's grocery business. kraft foods is one of the country's largest corporations, the parent to some of the world's most iconic brands including cadbury and nabisco and you probably have it in your 401(k). it's the president's 50th birthday. after nearly three years in office, has he lost his magic? 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"miss stacy, this class is changing the way that i look at things." sparking that interest and showing them that math and science are exciting... it's why i teach. ♪ i know they can, even when they think they can't. ♪ ♪ good morning, washington. it's cloudy and 77 right now. partly cloudy and 90 later on today. president obama turns 5-0 today. a party in the rose garden at the white house and public money will not be used to pay for it. last night the president flew to chicago to celebrate the milestone at two campaign fund-raisers there. ♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday ♪ ♪ >> that is the president but that voice is jennifer hudson doing the honors at one of the fund-raisers the president attended at the other donors that paid out, oh, something like $35,000 each to have dinner with the president. let's bring in presidential h historian nick ragone. the president created excitement especially among young people when he was elected nearly three years ago. is there something about 50 that is an important milestone for a president? are you suddenly a baby boomer at 50? i don't know. >> as i explained to my 4-year-old, 50 years old is not that old. you know, it is pretty rare for a president to turn 50 in office. we have only had it a few times. teddy roosevelt and bill clinton was the most recent in 1996. the point i like to make is 50 is a milestone as we all know. and it's rare that presidents turn 50 in office. i think we can allow the president, particularly during an election year, to use it as a moment in time to raise some money. it seems appropriate. >> his predecessors, his democrat predecessor, bill clinton, you mentioned he it turn 50 in office well with a big bash, i think in 1996. he did it up even bigger, didn't he? >> that was an extravaganza. if i remember it was at radio music hall. he raised, i think, $10 million was the largest single day fund-raiser and had all sorts of celebrities. not unusual for a president to take advantage of a big 5-0 in a meaningful way during an election year. >> there are seven presidents overall who turned 50 in office but only since 1900, there are three. you mentioned them. teddy roosevelt and bill clinton and president obama. we have sort of pictures of president obama at 50 compared with bill clinton at 50. there is something about looking at the pictures of our presidents as they have turned 50 and then also looking at pictures of our presidents as they have aged in office. they certainly all do, don't they? is it the job or is it just happens to be -- >> i think it's the stress. there is a recent study that showed that for every one year the presidents in office, he actually ages two years which is a pretty sad thing. i think it's a combination of the stress of the job and the aging process, but certainly if you look at franklin roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 he was in office quite a while but only 62 when he passed away so he looked dramatically older. lynn done johnson, the stress of vietnam. so the stress of the job certainly exacerbates the aging process. >> fda, he had at least four births in office when you think about that. that was a tolly different time and i think we even have a picture of him from his first year in office and in his last year. >> 1934 just to show this is not unusual. he had 6,000 house parties to celebrate his birthday. he turned 52. >> wow! >> he used that money to -- he raised money for his warm springs, georgia, for the facility to help people with polio. that was the predecessor to the march of dimes. some good came out of that. >> you will hear criticism. you are a historian. criticism about using your birthday to raise money but it is common to raise money on your birthday when you're president of the united states, especially when it's a milestone. >> it's absolutely common. it's no different than us blowing out candles. this is what politicians do. this is what presidents do. like i said the big 5-0 only happens once and not that often for a president. i think it seems par for the course. >> sad will, the most famous birthday is probably john f. kennedy and the famous marilyn monroe singing to him. he didn't get to get to that milestone, did he? >> yeah. it is sad. i was thinking out that this morning. the 1962 fund-raiser at madison square garden when marilyn monroe serenaded him in that famous dress and song. his life was, obviously, cut short but i'm sure his 50th would have been an interesting bash as well. >> all right. so happy birthday. carol and i, by the way, believe that 50 is the new 30 and the 50 today isn't what fs 50 before the year 1900 was more like 80. and that 50 is pretty young and still pretty cool. >> ali is creeping up to that line so tell him to let me know how it is. >> i'm selling tickets to the events. it's poorly subscribed! >> nick ragone, thank you. >> thank you. >> if only 30-year-olds thought 50 was the new 30 then we would have something there. >> relationships. now it's your chance to talk back at one of the big stories of the day. our question this morning. when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? i asked you that because some republicans are hopping mad that president obama is in chicago raising money for his re-election campaign. ryan told reporters i suppose the white house thinks he should stick to the job he raels like. while the rest of america struggles to make end's meet. mitt romney who hopes to beat mr. obama in 2012 even put out a campaign ad comple with apocalyptic music. >> yes, we can. thank you. >> if i don't have this done in three years, then there is going to be a one -term proposition. >> this from a candidate saying mr. romney didn't take a stand on the debt deal until t debt deal was gon. democrats are hopping mad at lawmakers. senators left capitol hill for a five-week paid vacation without approving funding for the federal aviation administration. it doesn't sound like a big deal until you learn that 4,000 federal employees along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. one furloughed faa engineer is hot. >> 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 talk-back question today -- when okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? e-mail us, give us a tweet, tell us on facebook and we will read through some of them later in the show. make sure you spell out american morning. >> it's hard sometimes to point fingers as to why they are not getting paid. this isn't. this is entirely avoidable. that's the frustrating part. i mean, to add anybody to not getting a check right now because somebody didn't do their job, very frustrating. >> ray lahood is so mad about this is their job. it's congress job to fix this. whatever the underlying policy reasons they can't agree on. >> why take this out on these people. >> why use them? they are like pawns on this thing. >> a new low in the decision-making, don't you think? i think we've had many new lows. tiger woods is back on the pga tour today. golf's new favorite son. rory mcelroy is not afraid. he is talking some smack. tell but that when we come back. . proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge! the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs. ♪ ♪ i'm back i need a little steven tyler in the morning. >> i like the way he says it because he is back. tiger woods set to return to the pga tour after a three-month absence and tee off in akron, ohio, without his long time caddie steve williams. >> ted rowlands is live for us in akron. acurimony in akron about this, ted? >> reporter: yeah, well first of all, so much anticipation about this. the golf world will be watching very closely. they have been waiting for tiger to come back. the big question what will tiger come back as? the dominant player of the past or someone struggling on the course. he says he feels better than he has in years and is healed and ready to go. you mentioned the other drama that has unfolded and that is the parting of ways between he and his long time caddie steve williams. they were together for 12 years. they have split. tiger said it was time to move on. we're not sure of the exact details of what happened there. however definitely some hard feelings and that is adding a layer of drama today. tiger last played in may and he walked off the course at the tpc. he had a knee and achilles heel injury that was bothering him since the masters of this year. he says that unlike other times in his career when he came back too quickly he took his doctor's advice. right now he is ready to go. >> the great thing is i don't feel a thing. it feels solid. it feels stable. no pain. so as i said, that is only reason i took as long as i did to come back is i wanted to get to this point where i can go ahead and start playing golf like this again. >> reporter: now, of course, in his absence, they did go ahead and play tournaments and there are some fantastic young golfers out there that have been dominating the field as well. not all of them are just ready to hand over the dominant factor to tiger on his way back. take a listen to rory mcelroy, the u.s. open champion, talking about tiger's return. >> no one expects him to come out and play, you know, well. i mean, i'm sure he expects himself to come out and play and compete, but, you know, given the length of layoff and considering he only has been able to hit full shots for the last two weeks or whatever, it would be, you know, it would be an unbelievable effort if he was to come back and compete, but i think just get through 72 holes and, you know, maybe finish in the top 20, i think, would be a really good effort. >> reporter: tiger doesn't think that that would be a good effort. that's not his goal. he says he is here to win and we will find out what he is bringing to the table in a few hours. he tees off at 1:40 eastern time. he has won this tournament, guys, seven times. so we will see coming up today in what condition he's in. >> i wonder who will have the bigger crowds around them? will it be mcilroy or tiger woods? >> mcilroy has the moment now, ted. he has the momentum. >> reporter: i got my money on tiger woods, though. a lot of more drama there. obviously, both players are huge draw and people will be watching them both, but i think tiger -- tiger will still yaw draw everybody here. >> obviously, ted rowlands is there because of tiger woods and not because of rory mcilroy. >> i was impressed at his golf knowledge. you usually don't cover golf, but you are fabulous! >> reporter: thank you. yes, i play golf. not very well, but yes. >> ted, good to see you, my friend. >> our morning headlines are next. 45 minutes after the hour. now 46 minutes past the hour. here rur mornl headlines. stock futures trading lower ahead of the opening bell this morning. debt ceiling fears may have passed but wall street is still on edge over the weak recovery. the labor department announced 400,000 jobless claims for the first time last week. stock futures pushing lower on that news right now. meat processor cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey that is linked to dozen of salmonella illnesses in 26 states and authorities believe it may be related to one death in california. 15 states under heat advisories today. highs approaching 110 degrees and higher in the heartland. the heat now being blamed for the death of two high school football players and a coach. who would do something like this? >> critics accusing mike huckabee cashing in on 9/11 selling a cartoon about the attacks. he is one of the persons about learn our video history series. huckabee says it's important to show how america responded. president obama turns 50 today. a party in the rose garden at the white house. we are told no public money will be used to pay for it. last night the president flew to chicago to celebrate the milestone and had two campaign fund-raisers. you're caught up on today's headlines. "american morning" will be back after the break. ♪ good morning, indianapolis. partly cloudy there. a beautiful morning there. 70 degrees and mostly sunny. an awesome day. >> we are working around the places in america that are beautiful, 70 and 80 today because a big section that is not. >> cameras are melting in all of the other places. a star on the gridiron and big screen, bubba smith has died. the l.a. coroner's office has not determined the cause of death and not believed to be suspicious. smith won a super bowl with the baltimore colts. whole new generation of fans knew him as moses hightower from the "police academy" movies. he was 66 years old. he battled against muscular dystrop dystrophy. now jerry lewis is out. mda spokesman says they will be forever grateful to lewis for his contributions. the 85 lewis has hosted the telethon since 1966. >> according to a new study found 3 out of 4 of those prescriptions for antidepressants are written for people when aren't psychiatrists. many of the patients who take these medications are dealing with stress or physical illnesses and there's no evidence that antidepressants can actually help these patients. if you're in the mood to reward yourself before a workout, do what i do, try a little chocolate. research he's say mice were given a small amount of chocolate were not as tired on a treadmill as those that were given water. a small treadmill for mice, by the way. according to a study ingredient in chocolate allowed the mice's body to -- >> i like that study. according to the british government a girl born today has a 1 in 3 chance of living to 100 years old. she is also eight times more likely to reach 100 than her grandmother. >> if you hope to live a long, healthy life, you may be surprised to learn you can do so even if you don't exercise or eat very well. >> once again, falling into my lap! senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us today. this is my lucky day. chocolate helps mice run longer and possible to live longer with a few bad habits. pile on. >> isn't it amazing? i wish i could say more. i'm trying to make this the ali velshi morning. ali, what i ought to do is get you a dna test. what i learned doing this story, you don't have to be perfect to live to be a hundred, but you do have to be genetically lucky ♪ happy birthday dore happy birthday to you ♪ >> reporter: guess how old this woman is? 80? 90? 100? sno. think higher. she is turning 104 today! >> congratulations. i hope i make it to 104! >> reporter: she is what scientists call a super ager. >> she has all of her marbles! >> i would love to have a little of your strength. >> reporter: she lives on her own independently in florida. >> dore has to go to work! >> reporter: and once a week, she even delivers mail at memorial regional hospital. >> i'll slow down, if you want me to. >> reporter: you're all over this place! you're walking here, you're walking there. >> yes. >> reporter: where do you get the energy at 104? >> i don't know. i often wonder, you know? i feel good. >> reporter: at 104, most people are -- well, dead. so what has kept dorpy alive and thriving? it hasn't been exercise. no running, no working out at the gym? >> no, no. >> reporter: it hasn't been diet. >> i cook every single day. >> reporter: a new study reported says what deps super agers like dore alive so long seems to be their genes. the study looked at nearly 500 people ages 95 to 112 and find their lifestyles were nearly no different. they were as likely to be overweight and drink alcohol and that makes sense to dory. her mother lived to be 99 and her daughter is 76 but looks way younger. you got some pretty good genes, huh? >> i have some very good genes, yes. >> reporter: a genetic blessing that may be the most important secret to an exceptionally long life. >> many more, dory! many, many, more! >> reporter: i had the pleasure of spending dory's birthday with her. i will tell you she is so with it and she is so strong. as a matter of fact our photographer had a hard time keeping up with her as she traipsed through the halls of that hospital. >> elizabeth, unlike ali, this is sort of a depressing story for me. i look really hard at living a healthy life. i eat right and exercise in the hopes of living longer. it turns out if it's not in my genes, why do i bother? >> the guy who wrote this story you can live to be a hundred if you don't have the genes but having the genes is a huge boost. they are seeing that jeanetgene clearly plays a big role but you can live long without having the genes. >> we will be right back. whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. uh oh, sesame stir fry from lucky dynasty. oh, me too! but mine's lean cuisine, so no preservatives. [ female announcer ] lean cuisine has 90 dishes with no preservatives and quality ingredients like farm-picked broccoli and tender white meat chicken. lean cuisine. snochlt oh, this has got to be good life ♪ >> nice day in washington. 79 right now. up to 90, a little hot for my taste but for washington, it's a spring day. further south, it gets hot. >> it's muggy in washington because washington is built on a swamp, as we all know. speaking of washington. with president obama in campaign mode and congress leaving town when it could have saved thousands of faa jobs we asked you this question this morning. when okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? steve says if a student procrastinates on a project all month he is not excused from other assignments because he has been working so hard. the debt and deficit issues should have been put to bed months, if not years ago. the irresponsible way congress handled this does not relieve them from other responsibilities. >> well said. >> brian says the following. when they have time to do the people's business? more like they treat it like their business and they are looking to make money for themselves. thank you for your comments this morning. facebook.com/americanmorning if you'd like to continue the conversation. >> insightful comments from people. ray lahood said i get there are things they are arguing about, policy, he didn't weigh in on the policies whether to finance, you know, the taxpayers to finance some of these remote rural air strips and the like. >> or deal with concerns about union unionization but congress, their job is to compromise, not to hold things up. >> such a partisan body right

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