four hours or so. morgan stanley come out with a global note cutting its global growth forecast and saying the u.s., the world is dangerously close to recession quite frankly and naming a couple of different reasons why they think that global growth will not be as strong as they thought. among them, europe's debt problems and also mentioning what they call policy mistakes in the u.s. and also the drama about the debt ceiling. they say, overall, consumer confidence, business confidence, almost this negative feedback loop we are on the verge of people being so worried and not able to break out of that. lowering their global growth forecasts and enough to shake a shaky market which bank stocks in europe are down and real concerns about the debt crisis in europe. still even after france's aaa rating was reaffirmed. an icky situation here this morning. the dax and ftse is down and cac is down also. bracing for a big sell-off this morning. saw new data from the united states. jobless claims above the 400,000 mark. you know last week was the first time they fell below 400,000 and new unemployment benefits filed in four or five months. returning on that upward trend for jobs in this country. basically, shaky situation, kyra, and just one more reason to be a little concerned about it. this report from morgan stanley which is raising the possibility of weaker than expected growth for the rest of the world. >> got it. chris steen, thanks so much. the other story breaking in the investment world. the federal investigation into s&p and claims it allowed greed to dupe investors. we have "the new york times" reporter at the end of the half hour on that. breaking news out of the middle eastship it's usually a quiet border area but this morning talking about shoot-outs and attacks. six people have now been killed and in syria, the u.s. is about to call for bashar al assad to step down. we have our reporters with us. let's get straight to kevin flower, our jerusalem bureau chief. kevin, tell us exactly what is going on right now. >> reporter: kyra, what israeli military is calling an intricate and ongoing attack by militants in southern israel. this is what happened. after noon local time today, a group of militants in a car attacked a bus with gunfire. shortly after that attack, another attack, this was an improvised explosive device or a roadside bomb, detonated against an israel military vehicle that was responding to the attack of the first scene. this was followed by mortar attacks in southern israel and then the firing of an anti-tank missile at a vehicle in southern israel as well. all of this happened about 20 kilometers north of the southern israeli city of eilat. the israeli military said this incident is still going on. the death toll is thus five, at least five people have been killed in this attack. israelis. we don't know whether those are israeli military or civilians at this point and seven of the attackers have been killed the israel military tell us as well. >> we mentioned it happened there on the border. kevin, thanks so much. let's head to cairo now. ben wedeman, with mubarak now gone, what does this tell us about the security situation right there on the border and could we see more attacks like this going forward? >> certainly, kyra, the security situation in the sinai peninsula which abuts israel is shaky indeed. the egyptian army last three days conducting a security sweep in the northern part of the sinai because they are worried about the growth of al qaeda affiliated groups in that area. just to give you an idea of how dramatically the situation in egypt has changed since the revolution in february when 23,000 prisoners escaped from egyptian jails and according to senior egyptian security sources, only around 7,000 to 8,000 have actually been brought behind bars. among those escaped prisoners are, for instance, the former doctor to osama bin laden. there are members of palestinian militant groups and members of egyptian militant groups who have escaped and on the run and widely believe many of them are in the sinai peninsula. egyptian officials say they are investigating the claims coming out of israel that some of the militants may have come from egyptian territory but, at this point, no solid information. >> also breaking this morning. syria in the fate of its long time syrian leader bashar al ass assad. secretary of state hillary clinton has called for a news conference. arwa damon is live in beirut. what are you hearing about secretary clinton and this announcement that is supposed to take place? >> reporter: well, there has been widespread speculation that the u.s. is going to call for the president to step down. now, if that is, in fact, the case, one would have to assume that they are not going to be the lone voice on this because the u.s. has already clearly stated that it is not going to stand alone and calling for the president to step down, saying that that would basically not have any sort of an impact. one would have to assume if that is going to take place there are other countries that will follow shortly. this is all part of an ongoing bid to exert even more international pressure on the assad rah jej regime to try to satellite news center the anti-government demonstrators on the street. regional voices also. we are seeing a country moving into further isolation. it's only real solid partner right now in the region is iran. >> do you think assad cares? do you think this even matters to him that secretary clinton will call for him to step down? >> reporter: i think if the u.s. is the only voice to call for him to step down, then it's not going to have any impact whatsoever. in fact, the us has gone so far to acknowledge that. if this then leads to other countries joining into this course, if this then leads to a growing amount of international pressure, if it leads to more pressure from the united nations, remember there is also the briefing that is set to take place by the u.n. high commissioner for human rates later on today. widespread speculation that syria is recommended to the international criminal court. those sorts of actions, analysts are telling us could put enough pressure on this regime at least to begin implementing some sort of a reform but at the end of the day analysts will tell you this is a government that is backed into a corner right now and its soul strategy appears to be survival and it seems as if it will go to any length possible to try to ensure that. >> as we watch the video straight out of the there at the beginning of the week. arwa, thanks and we will follow that news conference next hour. zain verjee has more on the world view of the situation. some would say a stronger response from the united states should have happened a long time ago, but basically critics say what took so long? >> reporter: well, the u.s. is going to come out with this statement shortly. we should be hearing from the secretary of state hillary clinton in just under an hour or so. the u.s. has to tread carefully here. fact of the matter is according to analysts the u.s. doesn't have a whole lot of leverage against syria. the purpose of doing this would be to encourage opposition groups in the country and to really stand with the syrian people that want to go out on the streets here. but it's important that the u.s. doesn't come off doing this alone. frankly, assad doesn't care what the united states has to say. though syria cares about the credibility of the united nations and other countries too from the european union, turkey also. a very key player in the international and diplomatic world and important to hear what they have to say. the true that assad's strategy is survival. the regime hasn't experienced this kind of pressure from all around the world and within its own country. this is a very important formal move the u.s. is expected to make. >> zain verjee, thanks so much. president obama is taking off on vacation and as you can imagine, his challengers are probably criticizing that as they are going to begin a bit of an offensive wondering, okay, we have a lot of business to do. why is the president taking off on vacation? senior little editor mark preston at a rick perry event that is getting under way. i can see behind you there, mark, all about the economy and sure to say something about is this the right time for the president to be taking a vacation? >> reporter: well, it will be interesting to see if rick perry criticizes president obama as he comes to this cafe here in port smith, new hampshire. we will hear him talk about the economy. the laugh few days he is talking about. not surprisingly we are hearing this from all of the candidates and heard it from mitt romney who was up here in new hampshire as well yesterday. that is the number one issue on people's minds right now and become the number one issue on the campaign trail. >> mark, let us know once again when that gets under way and we will dip in to hear what rick perry has to say. you remember ris christine o'donnell? she ran a tlf commercial with the extraordinary claim she is not a witch. she is back in the news pitching a book and pitching a fit over questions asked by our piers morgan. >> i'm asking you a question based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book. it's hardly rude to ask you that. surely! >> well, don't you think as a host, if i say this is what i want to talk about, that is what we should address? >> not really, no! you're a politician. >> yeah. okay, i'm being pulled away. we turned down another interview for this. >> o'donnell says she only wanted to talk about tea party principles outlined in her book and asking any questions beyond that was being a little rude. next hour, our piers morgan will join us to discuss this testy exchange. that is at 10:15 eastern time. coming up, frustration over unemployment boil over in the black community. now one african-american lawmaker tells voters to unleash them and put pressure on the president. a big promise from presidential candidate michele bachmann. 2 dollar gas. that's right! 2 dollar gas. is that really possible? releases armies nology of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. 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. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. we'll never stop sharing our or getting lost in a good book. we'll always cook dinner, and cheer for our favorite team. we'll still go to meetings, make home movies, and learn new things. but how we do all this, will never be the same. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. checking stories across the country. in san francisco for the second time this weeks, hackers targ the website of b.a.r.t. this time someone posted home addresses and e-mails of more than 100 b.a.r.t. police officers. it's not clear who is to blame for the latest incident. six different looks at one bank robbery suspect. police arrested the bad hair ban died. 46-year-old sintian vanhollit wanted for a string of bank robberies last summer wearing a bunch of bad wigs along the way. we can never get enough of these stories. an army mom what hasn't seen her daughter since february surprised her little one yesterday at school. mom and daughter have 15 days to catch up on what has been going on in staff sergeant smith's life before she leaves to go back to her post in iraq. a lot of anger and outrage over the economy. the african-american unemployment rate has nearly doubled the national rate now. heated discussions dominate a congressional black caucus town hall in detroit last night and voters demanded accountability. maxine waters asked to unleash her and other black lawmakers to unleash the president on jobs. >> we don't put pressure on the president because y'all love the president. you love the president. just a minute. just a minute. you're very proud to have a black man. when you tell us it's all right and you unleash us and you tell us you're ready for us to have this conversation. we're ready to have the conversation! >> now that town hall took place right after a detroit jobs fair one of several responsed by the black causeus. another one kicked off this hour in atlanta. this is cohosted by georgia congressman hank johnson who joins me live now. as you know, congressman, maxine waters and what she had to say to voters there has made news across the country this morning. i guess i want to ask you straight off, do you agree with what she said? >> well, i believe that there is a lot of frustration about the pace of change in this nation, particularly for middle class and working people, and it's justified. i would point out the fact that it's the house republicans and the senate republicans, the republicans in congress who are the ones obstructing the progress that president obama has been working on since he came in office and despite that opposition, he has accomplished quite a number of progressive accomplishments during his administration and there is a lot of congressional business that has been put off. >> let me ask you this. >> because of these false debt ceilings. >> are you afraid to criticize barack obama? maxine waters was saying to black voters, hey, you know, you like him so much we are afraid to go after him and criticize so unleash us. let us criticize the president and hold him accountable. i want to ask you, are you afraid to criticize president barack obama? >> no. i don't see the need to criticize president barack obama. i believe our criticism is directed at the house republicans and the senate republicans. that's where the problem is. it's not president obama. president obama must be reelected in 2012 for us to have an opportunity to do the business of america that we need to be about and that is reestablishing the american dream. >> let me ask you this. with the black unemployment rate so low, you know, do you feel -- excuse me so high. >> so high. >> yes, so high. thank you. do you feel that president obama is -- he is touting jobs and creating jobs. is he creating the kind of jobs that resonate with the black community? >> well, unfortunately, our history in this country has been that blacks are the last hired and the first fired. that still holds true regardless of who is president, that has been the course of action in america, something that we certainly don't want to live with and we want to continue to fight and it's by having president obama in office and having democrats in charge in the congress that we will accomplish that. >> congressman hank johnson, appreciate your time this morning. two dollar gas. michele bachmann is making that a campaign promise but is that promise really achievable? we will take a look at the numbers. inking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. 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. with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] nourish plus. only from aveeno. michele bachman is making a pretty big promise. 2 dollar gasses. >> under president bachmann, you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again. that will happen. >> alison kosik, she sounds pretty confident. is that really possible? >> reporter: you know what? i have to say so michele bachmann. good luck with that. she says she will push down prices prices. what she wants to boost supply but analysts say it's not going to do much good because opec would respond by squeeze the price and making it higher. oil makes up almost 70% of that gas price. and the price of oil depends on how the economy is doing and if you look at the economy since 2009 the global economy has picked up, which means we have rising demand and those higher prices. the thing is gas prices are likely to fall to that 2 dollar mark but only if we fall into another recession and i don't think that is the way any of us want to go, especially michele bachmann. >> now let's talk about the markets. we hear a sell-off today. what is going on? what do you think? >> reporter: the bears are back. dow futures down about 200 points following on the heels of europe and asia where there were sell-offs there as well. morgan stanley lowering its outlook for global growth saying the u.s. and europe are hovering dangerously close to recession though morgan stanley isn't forecasting that will happen but spooking the markets before the opening bell. >> thank you. allegations of greed, deception and corporate bullying. part of the federal investigation into standard & poor's. yep, the agency that downgraded our nation's credit rating. we will talk to "the new york times" reporter who broke the story. rick perry talks about jobs created because of his policies in texas. does the hype match the reality? tinted moisturizers t with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. great! did i mention no hands in the bundler? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. checking top stories now. sources tell cnn the u.s. will call for syrian president assad to step down. secretary of state hillary clinton will make a statement on syria at the top of the hour. president obama heading to martha's vineyard for a summer vacation and plans to unveil a new jobs growth plan after labor day. all right. just about half past the hour and within moments you're witness yet another gut-churning plunge on wall street. let's break it down, she with? ali velshi is still with us and alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. let's start with you, ali. the countdown clock has begun. what do you think is causing all of this anxiety today? >> reporter: we had weak markets overnight in asia and going into europe and a report from morgan stanley that has downgraded their growth estimates for the entire world. gdp growth. keep in mind this is how economists arrive at this. the calculations that everybody makes as to how much the world is going to grow and then consensus look what goldman sachs