today when he speaks in the white house rose garden. he's going to be calling for an extension of tax cuts only for people earning $250,000 a year or less. >> so the president is totally committed to getting rid of the tax cut for those making $250,000 or above. >> let's make progress on our spending by doing away with tax cuts for people that quite frankly don't need them and that haven't worked and have them pay their fair share? >> that a yes or no. the president is completed committed to this. >> 100% committed to this. >> i heard this before. dan lothian is here. a couple of years ago we were having the same discussion, the president did extend tax cuts for the wealthiest americans, sounds like this is going to be a high priority for this campaign/white house right now. >> the campaign is launching a major push in key battle ground states in new hampshire there will be a press conference with middle class families and other events in colorado, florida, and nevada involving small business owners as well as state and local officials. the president over the last few weeks or so has really been ramping up this message of providing help for the middle class families. as we heard last week during his bus tour in ohio and pennsylvania, not only those in the middle class but those trying to get into the middle class. and what you're seeing here appears to be a shift away from the negative job numbers that we saw last week in a shift towards tax cuts, these tax extensions rather, this will benefit the president. at least that's what the campaign believes because he's able to draw contrast between his message and message of the gop and message specifically of his opponent mitt romney. the president can say, i'm fighting for those who need the most help and that other guy is fighting for the wealthy. christine. >> dan lothian, i want to talk more about the president's tax plans now. marsha black burn of tennessee is here with us. our "starting point" team is here as well. you're the republican deputy whip. tell me, are you going to accept this line in the sand of $250,000 or is it all or nothing? >> what the american people tell us regularly is, look, just extend this. one of the biggest problems we have and i'm sure richard hears this, uncertainty about regulation, uncertainty about taxation. >> the republicans are vowing more uncertainty about health care reform too, not putting that uncertainty to bed. >> i would differ there. i think that there's a way to bring some certainty to this. but the uncertainty that is penetrating the environment in washington, d.c. is so difficult. i think that senator mcconnell had it about right yesterday when he said, let's take it as it is and extend everything, do it for -- >> let's listen to what he said, what senator mcconnell said yesterday. oh, darn it, we don't have it. sorry. she did a night bce buttoning i. >> the thing is, if you say okay, as they are, the o 103 cuts, let's extend them for another year and get to presencive tax reform. we're going to hear from congressman brady about that. >> comprehensive tax reform would be so nice if anything thought people in washington could get it done. >> we won't get it done this year. but i think next year you're going to see it on the table. >> when marsha says it, it sounds so reasonable. but -- >> because it is. >> the truth is is that we need to have this debate in this country about whether or not we're going to continue providing tax cuts for the super rich -- >> what is super rich? can we agree what is super rich? >> i certainly over a million, if you have $100 million i.r.a., you're super rich. >> some democrats are saying maybe $1 million should be the line. >> i think $250,000 is a reasonable number and the number that makes sense. i think we're going to have this debate in the context of the election. you said president obama talked about this before and then agreed to lower -- to continue the tax cuts for everybody. the truth is he did that evenly because he needed to do it to make a deal. now in the context of this election, we'll have a debate about where the line should be. >> jose, let me ask you, outside of this bermuda triangle of new york, boston and washington, d.c., what do people in the rest of the country? what is rich? >> you know -- >> a florida jury, do they think a million is rich, $250,000 is rich? >> when you look at other places in the united states, $250,000 sounds like a lot of money to a lot of people. but when you go into the more urban areas, it doesn't seem that -- like it's a whole lot of money. what i don't understand is what are we talking about when you say, marsha, about the uncertainty? what exactly does that mean? >> regulatory uncertainty, last year 80,000 pages were added to the federal register. over 4400 new regulations. and when you are a business owner -- let's take one agency for instance, epa. and you're trying to deal with rules and regulations, if you're a small business manufacturer in my district in tennessee, say you're a just in time supplier for the auto industry, the uncertainty that is there. if you are a community bank, we have a very strong state charter bank system in tennessee and you've got fdic regulators that don't really know the banking industry who are coming in to regulate you. that is a level of uncertainty that is there. if you're looking at the tax code and the irs is, you know, you don't know what the tax code is going to be this year and congress is late in passing the extensions, we do that extenders bill every year, it provides a level of uncertainty. what people want to know is what they are looking at so they can develop a business plan. >> i need to move on and we'll talk more about this when we come back. on top of this uncertainty is the fact that the economy is not doing well. >> that's right. >> that is the real problem here. it's demand for small businesses. they are not seeing the demand they like to see and can't quite figure out what is the magic ee lix ir that will fix this. we will talk more with marcy captor about all of this, the bush tax cuts, she's from ohio and she'll join this conversation. let's get to ali for the rest of the day's top stories. >> i'm not wearing my cheap business correspondent cap so i'm not going to do that right now. i didn't say anybody say the fdic is a problem regulator because this is the best regulator -- >> here we go. >> that's not my job. many people waking up in the dark with their computers dark. a crippling internet virus may be affecting hundreds of thousands of computers this morning. at midnight eastern time the fbi shut down servers that had been protecting as much as as 300,000 pcs from the internet doomsday virus that will knock you entirely offline, including those with macs and ipads. now it's past the deadline and if you don't have the internet, you'll have to call your internet service provider and they'll instruct you as to how to get back online. not much relief from a brief cold front that moved through the northeast this week because it brought with it a fresh round of storms slowing down recovery efforts in virginia, causing more damage in hard hit areas. more than 160,000 customers still without power this morning. some of those people have not had electricity for more than a week. well, now that needed rain has fallen and temperatures have cooled down a bit. colorado's governor has lifted a statewide ban on fires. the waldo canyon blaze which we've been covering, blackened 18,000 acres and destroyed 346 homes in colorado springs. the most destructive fire in the state's history and it is however, 98% contained this morning. let's check on the weather. alexandra steele is in for rob. good morning. >> good morning to you, ali. we are going to see heat relief in the mid-atlantic and northeast and the east. but at the penalty of severe weather. it is coming with a price. today the firing line, norfolk, raleigh durham, raleigh yesterday, 105 degrees. washington 102. these were the high temperatures yesterday. there goes the cold front. today washington how nice, 88 degrees. and you'll see that can move down farther south with the cooler air coming in behind it, 90 in columbus, but temperatures mid week, the 80s to about 90 degrees. temperatures much more comfortable than they've been. we are seeing the heat once again, a new heat wave will get its act together from vegas to phoenix. temperatures between 110 and 120. that heat will push eastward and make its way toward the southeast coming up. >> thanks very much. >> on the security watch, police in britain are arresting a terror suspect who may have been scoping out the olympic park in east london according to the sunday telegraph. the would be suicide bomber with ties to al qaeda traveled near olympic park on five separate occasions. security officials are on high alert with the games expected to begin later this month. a presidential power play in egypt. the parliament will reconvene, 12:30 local time after mohamed morsi's defiant protest of the militaries. they have called a emergency meeting and that's it for me, i'll see you in a little while. >> thanks, ali. a banker goes missing and so does $17 million. authorities saying his own suicide was just his latest scam. $44 million, not bad for a day's work. it will make the 99%'s blood boil. inside the casey anthony trial, her former attorney is out with a new book, making the case for her innocence. you're watching "starting point." an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back, i'mal velshi. second quarter earnings, i call it the report card for wall street. alcoa always the first big name to report. that happens today. already 42 public companies have lowered their earnings expectations, among them, ford a texas instruments, most blaming the slowdown from europe. markets are down worldwide after that disappointing jobs report on friday here in the united states. and a georgia banker has gone missing, so has $17 million. aubry lee price is accused of defrauding more than 100 investors. he disappeared and left what appears to be a rambling suicide note. but atlanta journal constitution says federal investigators believe that price is still alive and possibly in south america. $44 million, not bad for a day's work for a few hours this week, william johnson was the ceo of duke energy. the former ceo of progress energy, where he worked, signed a three-year contract to head up duke once the two companies merged. he assumed the position on july 2nd. the next day by so-called mutual agreement, he was out, replaced by duke's former chief executive. johnson leaves with a severance package worth $44 million. christine, we've got to do a little digging to see how he earned the $44 million. it sounds a little odd to get $44 million for a day's worth of work. >> mutual agreement isn't always mutual agreement, that could mean the board kicked him out and had to pay him out for the three years or the fact he was going to work there. >> i'm going to look into it. >> thanks. >> it's been a year since the whole country watched as casey anthony was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter caylee. since the controversial verdict, we know she's been serving probation in an undisclosed location in florida. we don't know much else about casey's life after the trial until now. jose baez was her criminal defense attorney and has a new book called "presumed guilty." welcome to the program. >> thank you for having me. i'm excited to be here. >> a lot of buzz in the newsroom. everyone has a lot of questions. fire away. >> let me ask you first, it's so interesting and the very beginning you thank casey anthony forgiving you permission to tell this story. are you still in contact with her? do you still talk to her? she is aware of the book. >> yes. you know, i talked to her about as frequently as i do other former clients. casey was -- because i represented her for so long and the trial lasted so long, she's somewhat special. we've spoken a little bit more frequently. but i've moved on to other cases and she's trying to get on with her life. writing the book provided me with an opportunity to get it all out there and be done with it. >> let's get it all out there. you see when caylee was report d missing, she led them on this wild goose chase and the police quickly made up their minds and arrested her. you call that a crucial moment in the investigation and horrible decision. this is what you write, you say they should have stopped and realized, wait a minute, we're not here dealing with someone who's playing with a full deck, rather than thinking this is a guilty person, why wouldn't they consider this is a person who has built some kind of fantasy world and lives within mythical reality? does she need mental -- is this a mental situation do you think? >> i think that there's a lot there. there's a lot there that has yet to be pursued. when law enforcement initially started investigating this case, the red flags were everywhere. she's walking them down to universal studios with purpose, to use their words, turning left in a building then going right, my office is over here. knowing that there's no office there. and all of a sudden stops when she reach az dead end and says, okay, i don't work here. the police already knew then that there was a fictitious nanny, that the nanny didn't exist and the apartment had been vacant for almost half a year. and every single thing she was talking about and every single thing that her family was talking about, just wasn't right. and rather than rush and arrest her, without any evidence, they should have taken a step back. >> you have a missing baby and a woman lying, lying. >> what are you going to do? water board her? no, i think the right thing to do at that point is take a step back and say, okay, let's see if we can get somebody in here to talk to her. there might be mental health issues. the police know that a majority of the people who commit crimes do it because they either have a drug problem or mental health issues. very few people actually commit crimes knowing right from wrong and do so. i think that given the circumstances, the gravity of the situation, that this was a child that was missing, could have been alive and was either in the hands or not in the hands of someone who is all there should have -- >> we know she wasn't alive. >> correct. >> we now know this child is gone, i think there was a spokeswoman for the department of corrections, called her one of the most hated women in america. she is the most hated woman in america. i couldn't think of anybody who got -- you called it presumed guilty, the title of your book. does she still live in a fantasy world? is she trying to rebuild a life? >> i haven't spoken to her about children and things like that. we usually spoke about her case. and in investigating her case, the fact she had so many imagery friends, i put up a big board in closing arguments with every single person. there was once where her and her mother waited in a parking lot for a person who didn't exist, waited an hour and a half. she didn't exist. these are the types of things -- >> the real most important person in her life was dead and buried and she was lying about it. >> quite say tra mattic event that spiraled out of control. >> these guys have a lot of questions. the book is called "presumed guilty." the federal government complains there's a lack of money. maybe it should stop playing unemployment to people who aren't eligible like people in prisons. wait until you hear who's getting it pretty easily? you can watch cnn live, head to cnn.com/tv. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. and deposits at the same time. for paying your friend back for lunch...from your tablet. for 26 paydays triggered with a single tap. for checking your line, then checking your portfolio. for making atms and branches appear out of thin air. simple to use websites, tools, and apps. for making your financial life a little bit easier. i'm barack obama, and i approved pioneeinbthis message.er is dift but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. welcome back, i'm ali velshi. a woman who witnessed the assassination of robert f. kennedy has agreed to testify on behalf of the man convicted of killing him. nina roeds hughes says she's been contacted by the lawyers fort upcoming legal challenge. she says she told fbi investigators that there was a second gunman. tragic news for usher's family. the singer's 7-year-old stepson has been declared brain dead following a boating accident. he was riding in an intertube when he was struck by a jet ski on georgia's lake lanier. ernest borgnine being remembered. he starred in mchale's navy then won an academy award for his film "marty." he was 95 years old. >> and a tremendous talent. tremendous talent. thanks, ali. time to get real. be careful before you cash that unemployment check. the government is trying to get back unemployment benefits it paid out to people who weren't eligible, billions in benefits, labor department and states paid $14 billion in fiscal year 2011. how much is that? that's about 11% of all jobless benefits paid out. let me say that again, 11% of all jobless benefits paid out last year were paid out to people who weren't supposed to get them. most benefits do go the right people but there are three types of people who get the wrong benefits. they go to the people not actively searching for a job and those people fired or quit. those who still file claims even though they returned to work. that happens a lot. sometimes it's because of government error. it's an employer or the worker or sometimes all three, sometimes this is because of fraud schemes, this is really interesting. people set up fake companies and people in prison who somehow manage to get benefits. there was one case somebody, i thnk he had $30,000 waiting in a los angeles county jail for a murder conviction. illegal immigrants, a lot of other categories of people who apply for benefits and get the benefits. what really surprised me about this, 11% of all benefits paid out last year made out to people who weren't supposed to be getting the money. we're already living in a country that is living beyond its means and people are legitimate people are seeing their benefits run out while people who should not be getting them are getting them. >> it is outrageous, when you're out talking with constituents, sometimes people will come up and say, marsha, where can i report someone who i know who they know is defrauding the system? and they want to make certain those individuals get turned in because if you're playing by the rules, if you're working hard and if you're searching for a job and working three or four jobs and see somebody getting benefits they are not entitled to. it really does cause people to get a little bit up in arms. >> even in good times this has been a problem. i can remember inspector general reports for the past ten years a survey of prison population, how many people are getting them. this is -- the government presumably, jose, can go in and try to get -- claw these backs. if you don't have money, they are no