watermelon haul, which you can picture. >> oh, boy, yes, i can. hey, go big or go home. that's what i say. thanks, jeff. >> okay. >> all right. at 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west, i'm kyra phillips. thanks for joining us. wall street just minutes after opening, only hours removed from the gut-wrenching plunge, u.s. investors seem to be shrugging off some of the concerns, at least for now. riots erupt across great britain. dozens of police officers hurt. hundreds of people arrested, and a government desperately trying to tamp down public rage. 61-year-old diana nyad back in the u.s. after abandoning her attempt to swim from cuba to miami. she was halfway on the 109-mile journey when she became too sick, and too sore to continue. well this morning, millions of us are waking up to smaller nesteggs, and, of course, looking at that big board on wall street and watching the numbers very closely, we're covering all the angles from new york to london and wall street to the white house. cnn reporters are there. let's begin with alison kosik here at the new york stock exchange. alison, what do you think? we're seeing a glimmer of optimism here. we're still in positive territory. >> that's right. got to take what you can get, right? it's still very volatile. but at least for now that volatility is moving in the right direction. we watched the major averages open up 1% each. we call the dow pop 141 points. we're still kicking the triple digit rally. but traders say the selling wave may not be over because the fact is no one wants to be the last person at the party without a chair. until we get a clear direction on where the economy is going, traders are telling me expect to see more selling, and sitting on the seedlines. it's not about day-to-day mood swings and gyrations, it's more important just to look at the overall long-term economic fundamentals here. you have to remember, economic growth is slowing. the job market is not great. the housing market is stuck. and that's really some of the big concerns for wall street. but i do want to end on a good note here. the vix gauges the fear in the market, it's trading sharply lower after soaring in recent sessions. once again it shows, kyra, there's less fear in the market. so some good news there. >> all right we like that. alison, thanks. let's talk about what the federal reserve is going to do today. christine romans, you know, we were talking these policymakers can definitely move the markets today. >> oh, they can. and you know, i'll tell you that last week, you saw european policymakers issue a statement, and that's what really unnerved the markets there, and then again here. remember on thursday, when everything was falling out of bed, it was because they didn't really show enough confidence to the markets that they were behind it, they were on top of it, and that they would stand ready to do something more if they needed to. that's what the market wants to see here with the fed. but it's a fine line. markets are finicky and fickle, as you know. if they come out too strongly or suggest something the market doesn't like in terms of what it could do to keep liquidity or money flowing in the marketplace, it could be seen as a desperation move. so that's a problem. those policymakers, they've seen the ferocity of the selling here. you've got the dow down 1,600 points from where it was on july 21st. so we're watching 190 points up right now. it's got 1,600 to go to get back to where we were just a couple weeks after fourth of july. so think of that. the ferocity in selling clearly something that the fed is very keen to make sure doesn't happen again, but just what can the fed today? interest rates are at zero. it's already had two big stimulus measures, pumping almost $3 trillion into the economy. what more can the fed do? that's a big question. >> we'll be waiting for that meeting. 2:15 eastern time, christine, thanks so much. all the numbers on wall street, it's definitely rattled investors around the world. we've been talking a lot about europe and asia. let's head to london down and nouk to leoni icani. how's it looking now? you even mentioned earlier europe will be watching what the fed does today and what it says today, as well. >> absolutely, kyra. it's been a bit of an up and down day in europe. the main markets opened sharply lower. they keep going up and down. if i can bring you the numbers now. the ftse has been going in and out of positive territory. the dax in frankfurt is down about a percent. the cac up about 1.5%, and zurich's smi about 1.25% down. kyra, we can't really look too closely at these numbers at the moment because, of course, we've seen three very brutal sessions leading up to today. i think the change we're seeing today is because investors are looking for some clear, decisions, and clear words from the fed. because that's what we've been lacking in the markets at the moment. we're seeing a lot of volatility. a lot of uncertainty. and that's why investors are cashing out. they've been looking to their policymakers for clear direction and that's been lacking. here in europe, it's been seen as the policy leaders are reacting to what's happening, rear than making preemptive decisions to see -- to try and stem all the nervousness in the markets. kyra? >> okay, leone, thanks. now we've tackled the economics. let's talk about the poll tinges. the white house facing heavy pressure. brianna keilar, what are some of the things the administration could consider? >> you know, kyra, it seems that at least the strategy that the white house is pursuing on jobs and deficit reduction, these are not things that move as quickly, certainly, as the panic that we are seeing on wall street, and the markets, rating agencies, these are things that the white house had long said they cannot control. so on deficit reduction, the strategy remains very much the same. and we heard the president say yesterday, he'll be making recommendations to that bipartisan congressional commission to deal with entitlement reform, and to deal with tax reform or tax revenues. but, of course, these are things that will have to go on farther down the road, because congress isn't even here right now. of course, they're on their august recess. and then the president also still pushing his jobs message, and that remains the same as well, kyra, extending unemployment benefits. the payroll tax holiday extension. infrastructure spending, for instance, which is something that a lot of republicans are not a fan of. government spending, and of course it's a very difficult atmosphere for that on capitol hill. kyra? >> but you mentioned last hour, the president has changed his schedule, and you got a little intel on what that might be about. what do you know? >> you know, the white house is being mum on this. they're not saying why he cleared his schedule. but this was kind of last minute. we found out that he was supposed to be going, of course, to virginia. he was going to be talking about fuel efficiency standards. he's no longer doing that. jay carney's white house press briefing has been canceled, as well, kyra. all i can tell you is there's a lot of speculation that he might be going to dover air force base, where, of course, the remains of those 30 u.s. troops will be coming in. but, officially we do not know and the white house is not saying what he'll be doing today. >> got it. all right. thanks so much, brianna. maybe you've heard democrats call it the tea party downgrade. tea party congressmen joe walsh sure has. he's going to join us to talk about that label, and what we should learn from the country's lowered credit rating. and also later this hour, marathon swimmer's attempt to cross from cuba to florida falls short. we'll tell you why she had to come out of the water. de me sne. 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®. so lily and i are back on the road again. naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. share a better life. woman: day care can be so to save some money, i found one that uses robots instead of real people. 'cuz robots work for free. robot 1:good morning... robot 1:...female child. sfx: modem dial-up noise woman: flaws? yeah, um, maybe. anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. 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. checking news cross country now, in philadelphia so far there's no official explanation for gangs of kids, anywhere 20 to 40 minors at a time, assaulting residents at random. now curfews have been put in place. if you're under 13 you have to be home by 10, midnight for those under 18. the mayor warns parents now, it's not our job to watch your kids, it's yours. and next hour, texas, closing statements in the penalty phase of warren jeffs' trial. polygamist sect leader was convicted on two counts of sexual assault on a child. he could get life in prison. and remember these protests? today wisconsin voters decide if six republican state senators get recalled. the push for the recall came after republican governor scott walker yanked collective bargaining rights from state workers. democrats are hoping to take back the state senate. okay, downgrading the country's aaa credit rating for the first time, standard & poor's blamed washington's long debt deadlock, more than the actual debt. well, when democrats heard that, they ran with it. >> this is, essentially, a tea party downgrade. the tea party brought us to the brink of a -- of a default. >> i believe this is, without question, the tea party downgrade. >> the tea party obstructionism here in washington is keeping us from restoring that balanced approach that america's always used. >> joining us now with his take on the blame game, republican congressman and tea party activist joe walsh. so, congressman, you heard it right there, tea party downgrade. pretty harsh words. how do you respond to that? >> kyra, if it wasn't so pathetic, i mean, it's almost comical. you listen to that austere voice of john kerry, blaming the tea party downgrade. look, this is what you do, this is what one does when they've lost an argument. when they know their policies aren't working. correct me if i'm wrong, kyra, but they began the talking point a week ago was, the tea party are terrorists. now, it's the tea party downgrade. we were told months ago that a downgrade was likely, because this economy is falling off a cliff, and we have a debt crisis. that's all on the door of the president. his policies are responsible for that this. and for him here at the last minute, him and his minions, to trot out this thing called the tea party downgrade, is comical, and it won't work, because most americans see right through it. >> you and i, a couple of weeks ago, had a huge discussion about the fact that, you know, the fingers were being pointed at you, and other tea party members, saying, look, it's your fault. you're stalling this whole situation. so now fast forward, we're hearing now that what has happened is because of the tea party. so let me just ask you this. as you watch the markets tank, as you watch all of americans suffer, you've, you know, admitted to me you've got financial problems. you're one of those americans that's struggling right now in the bad economy. you look at the recent "new york times"/cbs poll showing that 82% of americans disapprove of congress. that's you and other lawmakers, that's your credibility, the credibility of other lawmakers, how are you going to turf this country around? bottom line, that's what people want to know. americans feel hosed right now. >> kyra, absolutely. that's the question. so why -- why, again, this president never ceases to not provide leadership. why is he focused on name calling now? why is he focused on blaming the credit agencies, and finger pointing to us, when, as you said, he should be focused on how we're going to turn this thing around. >> no, i'm asking how you, and other members of the tea party, are going to turn this around. i'm asking you, the congressman, what are you going to do to help turn this around? >> well, and we're going to have to, because this president won't. the way we're going to turn this thing around, kyra, is to get government off of the backs of small businessmen and women in this country. this economy will not grow and we will not create jobs until this government moves away. right now, they're regulating businesses to death. businesses aren't hiring, and they're not growing because of that. because, directly because of the policies of this administration. the credit agencies, kyra, are clear that we have a debt crisis. government is spending too much money. and we're not growing. >> but this downgrade has happened -- >> we're not going to grow by creating more regulation. -- this downgrade is a reaction to what among lawmakers during the debt deal. so, you know, are you saying that the trillions of dollars that have been lost now in the stock market, you know, has been worth all that back and forth and that bickering? i mean, is partisan politics helping this country move forward at all? >> kyra, kyra, folks in the market, folks in the market are a lot smarter than you and i are. they understand what the fiscal situation in this country is. they understand what's going on in europe. look, the credit agencies began warning us in the springtime. and it had nothing to do with an august 2nd deadline. it had to do with our debt crisis. we've known about this for ages. and i got to tell you something, thank god for all these troublesome house republicans who came to this town. can you imagine what life would be like if we hadn't? we would have raised the debt ceiling without thinking about it last february or march. we'd be spending money every single day. we would have been downgraded months ago. and it would have been s&p, it probably would have been moody's, as well. these house republicans have forced this town to finally get serious about spending. that's a good thing. >> congressman joe walsh. appreciate your time today. >> kyra i love it. thank you. >> you bet. >> they were killed in the single deadliest attack on u.s. troops since the afghan war began. now new questions surround what happened. we'll talk to retired jaernld russell honore. 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[ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. checking the markets for you. still in positive territory. that's good news. dow industrials up 162 points. now, 66. 166 points. our money team is on it. we'll keep talking about how the downgrade is impacted our 401(k), and how the markets are going to turn out this afternoon. we'll keep watching them. all right, another major story that we keep watching, as well. three nights of rioting in london, and violence spreading to other british cities, as well. now prime minister david cameron vowing to get tough with a huge call-up of police. we have atika shubert following that story out of london. she's joining us live. atika, what do you know? >> well, basically what we know is that prime minister come ran has said he's going to put out more police on the streets and looters will feel the full force of the law. 16,000 cops will be out on the street tonight, compare that to just 6,000 that were out last night. but is that going to be enough? here in west london, it's a relatively affluent community, without any of the history of violence they've seen in some of the other areas. but look at what happened. i mean the windows have been smashed in and the grocery store on the corner here just was lit on fire. and firefighters have now cleared the area so the cleanup has just started around here. but residents here say it was an absolutely harrowing, that they narrowly escaped, as kids basically set upon the area, set cars on fire, and then completely ransacked and looted shops. so people here are encouraged to hear that there will be more cops on the street. but they're also wondering if more forceful measures are going to be taken. whether water cans, tear gas, maybe even a fur few should be imposed. >> thanks. it's going to be a very emotional day for the families of more than 30 u.s. troops killed in a chopper crash in afghanistan over the weekend. the bodies of those killed are being taken to dover air force base in delaware today. meantime, there are some new questions, new reports surfacing about that attack, and why it happened. retired general russel honore joining me now live. general, first of all, the reports that are out there about this u.s. helicopter possibly caught up in a taliban trap. what are your sources within the military telling you? do you think there's truth to this. >> well, the possibilities are there, kyra, till the investigation is done. i can say this. that the forces that were conducting this mission, the army rangers and the s.e.a.l.s, are the best-trained, most well-equipped we have for that mission. that said, this had to be a very desperate situation, for that chinook helicopter to go in, in daylight, to make that assault to try to save those rangers. because normally what would happen, kyra, and i only talk about normally the way the most well-skilled, and well-trained warriors we have in the world, come from that community, is normally they would have ac-130, shooting close support to them. normally they would have close air support from the air force. and normally, most of the time, be inside artillery range. this had to be a very desperate situation for them to launch this in the daytime, knowing that when they get in that helicopter, and when it's about to land, it puts them in a very vulnerable situation. no other forces are trained to do this. other than the s.e.a.l.s. >> and yet you put -- >> special forces. >> you make a good point with regard to the special forces, and you know, we're talking about air force, and we're talking about navy. we're also talking about army and we're talking about the best of the best here. and these reports are saying that allegedly a taliban commander put out some sort of notice about this meeting that was going to happen with all these taliban leaders. and that this news lured the special forces to head this way. and to head down this route, and the report's coming forward saying it was a trap. that our warriors, our most elite warriors, got caught in this trap. is that possible? and if so, what does that tell us about being in this war, ten years later, and falling victim to something like this? >> well, i think the taliban has the luxury to make that story paint to their tactical brilliance. but the report coming from the department right now, and the officials chains, said the ranger unit was in there conducting an operation, to go after a taliban leader, and in the process of doing that, they became so decisively engaged, they asked for immediate help, and the s.e.a.l. team, in that ch-47 helicopter, which is one of the few helicopters we have that can operate at high altitude, went in, in daylight, to try and rescue those rangers. and no other armed forces we have, none of our conventional forces, are trained to operate at that altitude in any, what we call, a contested lz, to be able to do th