Debt Ceiling Talks; Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown: Sunday Times Hacked Me
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed. A startling twist in the newspaper scandal that is gripping Great Britain. Former British prime minister Gordon Brown says the London "Sunday Times" obtained his personal financial records. This allegedly happened in 2000, well before Brown became prime minister. "The Sunday Times" is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns the "News of the World," the paper behind the phone-hacking scandal. Well, Brown says another Murdoch paper, "The Sun," obtained medical records on Brown's seriously ill son. A mob attacked the American Embassy in Damascus, Syria. That happened today. The crowd climbed the embassy fence, threw rocks at the building, but never got inside the building itself. The Syrian military eventually dispersed the mob, but a U.S. official says troops were slow to respond. President Obama still wants to big, comprehensive, long-term deal to bring order to the federal government's finances. He says both parties need to take on their sacred cows to get it done in a news conference just this last hour. President Obama pressed Republicans to compromise their no new taxes pledge. The president says he is willing to put Social Security and Medicare on the table, despite resistance from many Democrats.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have these high- minded pronouncements about how we've got to get control of the deficit and how we owe it to our children and our grandchildren. Well, let's step up. Let's do it. I am prepared to do it. I am prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done. And I expect the other side should be willing to do the same thing if they mean what they say, that this is important.</s>MALVEAUX: The idea of a grand budget deal grew out of talks to increase the debt ceiling. Now, the president and Congress have to raise the nation's borrowing limit by August 2nd, or the United States is going to default on its bills. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tells Iraqi leaders, crush militants who are attacking American troops. Panetta is on his first visit to Iraq as the Pentagon chief, and he says Iran is arming the militants and that that needs to stop. Attacks on U.S. forces are now increasing. The number of American forces in Iraq is going down under a plan to withdraw by the end of the year. At least 46 people are confirmed dead and dozens missing after a Russian cruise ship sank on the Volga River. Officials say the ship, the Bulgaria, was not licensed and had too many passengers on board. Eighty people so far have been pulled from the river. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a special government investigation. He called the ship built in 1955 "an old tub." A third of U.S. military aid to Pakistan, $800 million, is now on hold. The U.S. says that Pakistan needs to do more to get rid of al Qaeda and Taliban within its borders. Ties between the allies soured after the secret U.S. raid to kill Osama bin Laden. Pakistan has ordered dozens of military trainers home and refused visas to other American personnel.</s>BILL DALEY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The Pakistani relationship is difficult, but it must be made to work over time. But until we get through these difficulties, we will hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers have committed to give to them.</s>MALVEAUX: A funeral service in Brownwood, Texas, today for firefighter Shannon Stone. He fell over a rail at Texas Rangers baseball game last week while trying to catch a ball. Stone hit a scoreboard head first and died at a hospital a short time later. Texas Rangers fans paid tribute to Shannon Stone at yesterday's game. His 6-year-old son watched this tragic accident as it happened. Here's a rundown of some of the stories looking ahead. First, the United States pulls the plug on Pakistan funding. We're going to bring you reaction over losing over $800 million. Plus, another paper owned by Rupert Murdoch accused now of crossing the line. This time it is former prime minister Gordon Brown who says that he was hacked. We have also got more on the cheating scandal that has rocked Atlanta schools. I'm going to talk to a teacher who says he was fired for being a whistle-blower . And calling out the politicians. Tell the truth or face the Truth-o- Meter. Plus, days after a man is mauled to death at Yellowstone, a woman has a too-close-for-comfort encounter with another bear.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): As the bear approaches her, hiker Erin Profit (ph) runs out of ground to retreat to. The bear doesn't charge her, but isn't backing down either. Erin (ph) gets ready to make a swim for it.