> i'm ali velshi. the obama administration trying to defend its decision to award stimulus money "> > i'm ali velshi. the obama administration trying to defend its decision to award stimulus money " property="og:description"> > i'm ali velshi. the obama administration trying to defend its decision to award stimulus money ">
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"american morning" continues right now. >> i'm ali velshi. the obama administration trying to defend its decision to award stimulus money to solyndra. a solar power company that went bankrupt. taxpayers are on the hook for more than half a billion dollars. >> i'm christine romans. u.s. officials concerned about terrorist groups setting up long-term residence in post-gadhafi libya. >> should our lawmakers cut back? we will talk to one senator that says yes on this "american mornin morning". >> good morning. good morning. it is thursday, september 15. welcome "american morning." good to be back with you guy. >> nice to have you back. >> havena lot of good news. you will love it. up first, taxpayer, you are on the hook this morning more more than a half a billion dollars. here is why. solyndra, a solar panel company in california, declared bankruptcy after receiving $535 million in federal stimulus money from your tax $. the white house trying to defend its decision to award this loan only providing more political fodder for republicans. >> solyndra alone was touted to create 3,000 jobs. the president outed that. it will be a great success story. of course we have seen the failure there. a lot of us are questioning this kind of double down stimulus approach where they are going to come back and do more of this kind of same failed policy of just spending money we don't have. >> will you go. stimulus. this is why we shouldn't do it again. a lot of questions being raised about how this loan went down. republicans using it to say the president shouldn't be allowed to spend any more money. >> the white house is pushing back on criticism and mounting questions even though in that hearing there were e-mails that suggested there was a rush to get this deal done in order to meet a timeline. one e-mail from a white house staffer read in part, quote, i would prefer that this announcement be postponed. this is the first loan guarantee and we should have full review with all hands-on deck to make sure we get it right. another e-mail from the department of energy staffer saying in part, woet, the model runs out of cash in september 2011. in an off-camera briefing yesterday with reporters, white house spokesman jay carney said the only thing that these e-mails show is that there was a decision about a scheduling matter. he offered another defense in another briefing more than a week ago suggesting that in business, not everything works. >> there are no guarantees in the business world about success and failure. that's just the way business works. everyone recognizes that. that's why, you know, there are over 40 companies, as i understand it, 40 guarantees involved in this program that they are looking at. there's no individual -- can you not measure the success based on one company or the other. >> carney said yesterday there's no evidence that the administration did anything wrong. he pointed out the program through which this loan guarantee came through was set out by the former administration but bottom line sheer that this money came from program stimulus dollars and now there are a lot of questions about how that money was accident according to "the wall street journal," the former administration declined to go ahead with loan guarantees for this company because they just didn't have enough information or didn't have enough confidence about it. it is interesting a bunch of venture capitalists in politico saying sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some. that's the way capitalism goes. the clearly this has become a political story as much as an economic story. residents are fleeing the gadhafi loyalist strong hold ahead of a showdown with rebel fighters. the rebel leadership gave people 48 hours notice to leave the city before a deadline tonight. u.s. officials are concerned the fall of ousted libyan leader moammar gadhafi could lead to a rise in terrorism. cnn's barbara starr is following that side of the story and is live at the pentagon. >> good morning to you. during gadhafi's regime everything was kept under tight control. now u.s. intelligence officials say they are concerned that terrorist groups may be taking hold in the confusion if you will that is libya. what they are telling us is that it is not like there's thousands of terrorists. it is in the like al qaeda has set up shop. but they do believe that dozens of potential fighters have moved in and they are concerned that terrorists, including al qaeda, are getting ready to set up a long-term presence in libya, that they are taking advantage of this current situation when maybe nobody is watching the borders too carefully and that they are moving in setting up networks and setting up their influence and, of course, one of the concerns is that weapons control inside libya is minimal if at all. we know that there's thousands of surface-to-air missiles believed to be there. hundreds of thousands of small arms. who is getting their hands on all that stuff? that's the concern. >> libya, always international concern about libya's official ties to terrorism and what the government had to do with it. what about terrorists possibly working inside what we are calling rebel government, national transitional council? >> right. u.s. intelligence officials say they have some concerns about that. they -- again, they don't see official links. they don't see, you know, here is the terrorist member of the tnc. they do believe that there are people within that organization with those types of sympathies and something to watch very carefully. tough to get a handle on it at all at least right now. >> barbara, thanks very much. barbara starr at the pentagon. potential good sign for the american hikers jailed in iran on spying charges. a lawyer for the two men says all necessary paperwork has been filed for them to be released on bail. but he does not expect judges there to act on it before saturday. yesterday the iranian judiciary says it was only consideringing a request to set bail. contradicting the iranian president's earlier statement that the men could be freed in a couple of days. a rogue traitor may have caused ubs $2 billion. according to the bank unauthorized trading could result in ubs reporting a loss for the third quarter of this year. it could potentially be among the largest cost to bank in rogue trading. the incident is still under investigation. no customer money was affected. cnn is learning thatting a 31-year-old man was arrested in london on suspicion of fraud by position of -- abuse of position. that's what the charges -- late last night. officials will not confirm if this case is linked to ubs although everyone is saying that they are pretty sure this is the guy they are looking for. striking teachers in tacoma, washington, are ordered back to work. the judge suspended the strike and ordered schools to reopen for 28,000 students. the teachers walked off the job monday after negotiations broke down. the judge also ordered new hearings on the legality of the strike and on the stalled contract talks. dakota myers, medal of honor from president obama today. the former marine from kentucky cited for charging through heavy gunfire five separate times to rescue other soldiers during an ambush in afghanistan in 2009. he is credited with saving 36 people. meyer and the president have already met actually. the white house release thing photo of the two men talking over a couple of beers last night on a patio outside of the oval office. should become like the beer garden of the white house. he is 23 years old. he was a 21-year-old young man in afghanistan serving his country. amazing what these guys are doing. >> so tough and down the other. he wanted to have a beer with the president. what i really want is i want to have a beer with the president. >> when you are that much of a hero you get to call that in. good for the two of them. it didn't look like the most comfortable place for a beer. >> the white house photographer. not like your normal -- >> sitting back. >> maybe they got up later and pounded a few. who knows. >> ahedrick perry, he's not having a few beers. he is dining with the donald pulling away in the polls. >> fine wine. >> is the texas governor getting overconfident? jim across that will have that excellent report. >> did you see this? the latest on street strange light in the sky. we are getting a lot of reports of this spotted over parts of the west coast last night. check that out. we will tell you what it is when we come back. tom brady has advice for fans when it comes out of "animal house." the comment that has the new england patriots in damage control mode. 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[ male announcer ] supply chain solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. ♪ ♪ i'm back in the saddle again ♪ ♪ out where a friend is a friend ♪ [ gulps ] ♪ where the longhorn cattle feed ♪ ♪ on the lowly gypsum weed ♪ back in the saddle again see how affordable an rv vacation can be. visit gorving.com and watch a free video. go affordably. go rving. josh fattal . we have this bit of breaking news to share with you. a cruise liner carrying more than 200 people caught fire off norway's western coast. at least three people have been taken to the hospital. we are told the fire was in the ship's engine room. we will continue to follow the story and bring thank you latest information as we get it. turning to politics now. presidential hopeful rick perry and donald trump having a little pow wow in the big apple. he spent an hour with the donald before hopping into a limo for dinner at the highly acclaimed restaurant jean george. no chicken fried steak on the menu there. >> no. >> quite a month for rick perry. quickly established himself as the early front runner in the race for the republican presidential nomination. unless he stumbles all the other candidates is k do is watch rick roll. here is jim across that. >> great governor of texas, rick perry. >> reporter: what primaries? rick perry is already running in virginia. a state that's much more crucial to the general election than it is to the republican nomination. >> i know it is time for a change in this country. what i'm talking about change, i'm not talking about the rhetoric of change. i'm talking about a record of change. i have that record. >> reporter: he gave two speech necessary virginia, one to christian conservative students at liberty university and another to republicans in richmond. both events perry barely mentioned his competition. >> it seems as if you are already looking past the primaries into the general election.aren't you being a tad overconfident? >> i understand who the opposition is in this election. there are seven other individuals on that stage who are quite capable. >> reporter: michele bachmann. the attack blew up in bachmann's face after she mistakenly claimed that the vaccine can cause major health problems. >> she told me her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter. it can have very dangerous side effects. >> reporter: the american academy of immediatate ricks slammed batch man's comments saying there is absolutely no scientific validity to the statement. >> do you think that was irresponsible of her? >> i think that was a statement there was no zprutruth. i hate cancer. this is what this has been about for me. >> reporter: the appeal is a winner with young christian conservatives in this state. >> walked away with the candidate. >> possible i walked away with a candidate. >> reporter: perry also wants to walk away with some endorsements like that of virginia's popular governor. >> i think governors because of their decisiveness and know how to balance the budgets and being fiscally responsible. >> reporter: how about a perry/mcdonald ticket? too soon? >> that is thinking too far ahead. >> reporter: bachmann campaign released sharply worded statement accusing governor perry of abusing his power of the executive order and imposing mandatory vaccines on 12-year-old girls. the statement is a sign this fight is far from finished. jim across that, cnn, richmond, virginia. republicans will offer up their ideas for getting economy back on track. house speaker john boehner will deliver the gop plan called liberating america's economy. meantime, president obama continues to pressure congress to pass his jobs bill after stops this week in three key battleground states. the president, you know, he was still pitching last night at a congressional hispanic caucus event in washington. he accused republicans who opposed the bill of playing politics and of not listening to the voice of the people. >> if we are being honest we know the real problem is not the members of congress in this room. it is the members of congress who put party before country because they believe the only way to resolve our differences is to wait 14 months until the next election. i have news for them. the american people don't have the luxury of waiting 14 months. >> according to the white house the president's jobs bill will include tax breaks that will help 25 million hispanic workers. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning. what would it say to you if congress took a pay cut? don't laugh. stop it. a nonpartisan group called the taxpayers protection alliance sent this letter to lawmakers urging them to cut their extravagant salaries of $174,000 a year by 10%. they say it would save taxpayers $100 million over ten years. before you say fat chance, democratic congressman brown has introduced legislation calling on lawmakers to wait until the age of 66 before receiving a pension. right now lawmakers can retire as early as age 50 with a full pension depending on years of service. you are still laughing, aren't you? i know why. because we have heard it all before. last february as americans faced the possibility of a government shutdown, senator barbara boxer had a dandy idea. >> if the government is forced to shut down, members of congress and the president should be treated the same way as all other federal employees. we should not be paid. >> well, the government didn't shut down so i guess congress got a pass on that one. but seriously, if law mmakers tk a pay cut or raised their retirement age, dare i say it, would that be patriotic, responsible, moral? we would like to hear it from you. our question this morning, what would it say to you if congress took a pay cut? facebook.com/americanmorning. i will read your comments later this hour. >> $100 million over ten years. that's like -- when you talk about money they are trying to save. that would be easy. just do it. >> in fairness, although many of our lawmakers millionaires, some are not. they have to keep homes in two different states. >> we have to be careful not to eliminate the possibility of those people who are not independently wealthy but maybe really smart? maybe want to compromise, don't run for office. >> true. >> keep all of these things in mind. pli we want to hear what you think about this. patriots in damage control after tom brady made a huge error of having an honest moment. telling fans to get sauced. check it out. >> yes. they are drinking early. nice and rowdy. 4:15 game. lot of time to get lubed up. come out here and cheer for their home team. >> he's so cute. >> patriots media relations came out and said he didn't mean drinking alcohol early. he meant water. >> come on. >> stay hydrate. >> lubed up on gatorade. >> that's what i say all the time. >> what a stupid p.r. statement. >> let me give you water, i need to get lubed up that was an honest moment. >> regional. i guess you guy just don't say it up here. >> rob marciano -- >> rob, don't you say that all the time? >> absolute. >> i it is good to be responsible. come on, everybody knows fans have tailgate parties and they drink before games. that's just a fact of life. >> it is. nothing gets a crowd more rowdy than funneling water. no doubt about that. hey, guys. i don't know if -- has anything to do with somewhat none pc controversial statements of tom brady but the ground is shake thing morning. we had earthquakes in cuba or just outside of cuba, new zealand. just off the coves new zealand. also japan. 6.0 between jamaica and cuba. they definitely felt it. probably maybe some, you know, pictures falling off the wall, slight damage in southern cuba. they felt it in jamaica. 3.5 quake just like minutes ago across southern california. right in l.a. yeah. tom brady, maybe -- may want to zip it because i don't want to see a 7.0 or 8.0 magnitude quake. temperatures in the fall category. 30s, 40s, 20s in some parts of the upper midwest. here's that front. very october-like front pushing off to the east. we have rain ahead and thunderstorms as well. little bit wet across the northeast. the cool air and some of that moisture is going to make its way down into texas. 104 was the high in waco. houston, again, 46 days of 100-degree plus temperatures. dallas hit 107 days. cooler weather is finally making its way there. maybe a little bit of rainfall here as well. further out to the south and west. these pictures in the night sky from arizona across southern nevada and in through southern california. look at that fireball streaking across the night sky last night. thousands of people saw it and reported it in. they had no idea what it was. got nervous, i might say. scientists are saying likely was just a meteor or meteorite. hopefully splashed into the ocean or somewhere where it was safe to do so. there you go. meteors, earthquakes, tom brady talking about getting sauced. >> oh, my gosh. apocalypse. thanks, rob. still to come on "american morning," life in a tent city. victims of the recession forced to do with a lot less. see what their lives are like and what their hopes are for the future. >> nasa unveiling what will be the fastest rocket ever built. a look inside the space agency's new program when "american morning" continues. see what their lives are like and what their hopes are for the 25 minutes after the hour. welcome back. ubs says it discovered an unauthorized trade that's cost the bank $2 billion. it is a loss so big it could push the bank's balance sheet into the red. in the third quarter. a third day of gains for u.s. stocks yesterday. dow gained about 1.3%. nasdaq was up more. 1.6%. s&p 500, best indicator for stocks in purchase 401(k) gained about 1.4% for the day. pushing markets higher this morning, german chancellor angel a merkel and sarkozy are vowing support for the greece bailout. they held a conference call late yesterday. the three insist greece will remain in the euro zone. this morning european stocks are up. right now stock futures for the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500 are all trading higher ahead of the opening bell. investors here are keeping their eyes on the initial jobless claims report that comes out in about two hours from now. this weekly report is especially noteworthy as the president tries sell his jobs plan across the country this week. we will get you those numbers as soon as they come out. the united autoworkers unio