good morning, it is thursday, july 21. this is your "a.m. wake-up call," i'm joining you live from new york. two big stories this morning, the final space shuttle landing and dozens of people here in the united states believed to be dead because of this incredible heat wave. let's start with the shuttle. we are now less than one hour away from the final space shuttle landing. just in the last half-hour, we got a go for landing from nasa. the deorbit burn took place in the last couple of minutes. in the burn, the shuttle's engines are fired to help it slow down before it hits the atmosphere. in less than 30 minutes the shuttle and crew will start to

feel the effects of the atmosphere. they'll be about 80 miles above the earth at that point. as the shuttle comes through the atmosphere, it heats up to about 5,000 degrees on the outside. when it breaks through the atmosphere, many of the folks in florida will hear those famous son iic booms. about five minutes before the landing, the commander will take manual control of the shuttle and pilot it to the grounds. when the orbiter hits the runway, it will be going 220 miles an hour. the shuttle will land for the last time ever at 5:56 a.m. eastern time. and just so you know, nasa is considering this a night landing. the landing time is 42 minutes before sunrise in florida. once the shuttle touches down on the runway, you want to listen for the commander of the "atlantis," chris ferguson, to say the words, "wheels stop." when this happens, the shuttle program is officially over. let's go to houston mission control where ed lavendera joins us live. so our viewers know, the space

shuttle takes off from kennedy space center in florida, but as soon as it is up houston takes control for that time and for the rest of the mission. how's it looking down there at mission control? >> reporter: everything we've kept hearing all morning long is that everything is looking absolutely perfect, especially the weather. no complaints so far that deorbital burn that you were talking, but everything there went smoothly, as well. look behind me. these are the men and women who have been working on this last, final shuttle mission, ali. and you can tell there are a lot of emotional people in there. we've seen a lot of smiles this morning. several people with cameras taking pictures of themselves. nasa has photographers inside, as well, documenting these final moments. these are the men and women who round-the-clock man the shuttle mission, make sure everything goes smoothly. in the middle, there's a man by the name of tony zacacchi,

flight commander, bringing the shuttle down for the final minute. an hour ago, they were going through the final checks to prepare for the deorbital burn. he said, i never thought this this moment would ever come. talking about making the call for the final systems check. so you can -- i think it speaks stroms what these men and women are experiencing. there's a great number of people who filled up the visitor gallery off to the side. families of those who have worked so many space shuttle missions. an emotional moment. mission control, this is the area where the astronauts live. this is where they train. this is where thousands and thousands of people who have worked on the space shuttle mission for 30 years have -- and they're watching this moment closely. in fact, just outside of the mission control building outside, many people gathering, setting up a viewing location to watch the shuttle "atlantis" come home. you can imagine that this is an extremely emotional moment.

and everyone here hoping everything here goes smoothly in the next hour. all of these people, you imagine after the shuttle lands and everything goes so well, everything looking to go smoothly, these people will have a lot to say and a lot to feel based on everything that they've been through the last 30 years. ali? >> about a half-hour ago we got word that it was go for landing, which means it was beginning its final orbit, probably the final orbit, 200th orbit of earth. what are the contingencies if it doesn't land at 5:56? does it take another spin around and try and come back? >> reporter: yeah, they have contingencies for a lot of that, and what might happen. you know, i don't get any sense here that any of that is actually a concern at this point. we've heard repeatedly here this morning that the weather is absolutely perfect. that everything, all the machinery, everything on board

the space shuttle is working perfectly. so any other contingency plans, i'd be shocked if we go to at this point. so everything seems to be clear to -- for the space shuttle to land within the hour. >> ed, thank you very much. we will be staying with us through the course of the hour. we're watching this closely. as we said, the space shuttle "atlantis" now on its final orbit of earth. it's got a go for landing, the landing is expected in the next 50 minutes. we'll stay with it closely. it's going to be another extremely hot day on earth as a deadly heat wave dprips much of the nation. it's already been blamed for 22 deaths. the high temperatures are affecting 141 million people in more than 30 states. there are heat watches, warnings, or advisories. rob marciano is live in atlanta. rob, what's the situation? and when might we get some relief from this? >> well, we'll get relief across the northern tier. a little cool front will clip the northern plains in through the western great lakes. as it presses off to the east, it kind of shoves all the heat that was in minnesota and

wisconsin to the south and to the east. so places like new york city now, philadelphia, baltimore, d.c., are going to see some of the hottest weather this season. we'll see it for quite some time. we have these heat advisories that have been posted for the area. basically almost 1/3 of the country under heat advisories with indices that could be up over 110. dangerous if you're out for any extended period of time. be aware of that to the south and the east. it's a fact we don't say too much, but we've seen it in the past. a few years ago in europe, in the '90s in chicago, heat is the deadliest form of fatality. take care of yourself and do what you need to do to stay cool. we'll talk more about this. >> what's the weather doing for flight delays, for viewers who are traveling this morning? >> so far, so good. we'll have pop-up thunderstorms in spots. for those folks there will be

cooling, but if you're traveling, you know, airplanes have to fly around those. that will add time in various spots especially across the eastern 2/3 of the country. >> and in this weather, some of those are unpredictable. we'll check in through the course of the morning. rob marciano in the weather center. the debt ceiling deadline is closing in, and there's no deal even though the president said he wanted something worked out pie tomorrow, giving it enough time to get through congress by august 2, the day at which we don't have money to pay all our bills. that's had the federal government starts -- that's when the federal government starts defaulting on its obligation. the white house is opening the door to an idea that was off the table a few days ago -- a short-term hike to buy more time. >> we would not support a short-term extension absent an agreement to a larger deal. that's not acceptable. obviously if both sides agree to something significant, we will support the measures needed to finalize the details of that. this time yesterday we reported a burst of enthusiasm for a bipartisan plan put forward by the so-called gang of six in the senate. today, that excitement might be

fading. some republicans complain that it raises taxes too much and cuts spending too little. democrats, meanwhile, don't like it because it makes changes to social security and medicare. a new terror report warns that an insider at a utility company could plot sabotage, giving would-be attackers detailed information about what goes on at specific facilities. homeland security officials say they are on their toes about the ongoing threat after a series of incidents. the agency stresses there is no credible intelligence about an imminent security threat but says it will work hand in hand with state and local officials to keep the country's infrastructure safe. two convicted killers were set to die by lethal injection overnight. one execution went through, the other was delayed. in texas, mark anthony strohman died at 9:53 p.m. eastern time. the admitted white supremacist went on a post-9/11 shooting rampage, killing two men and injuring a third. the surviving victim created a web site hoping to stop the execution, but it didn't work.

in georgia, andrew grants deyoung is alive. his execution pushed back to tonight. the videotaping is at the request of a separate death row inmate that worries the drug in the needle causes needless suffering. deyoung was convicted of stabbing his parents and sister to death for inhair tan money in 1993 -- inheritance money in 1993. self nfl players are sug the league saying they knew as early as the 1920s how harmful head injuries could be but they kept the information a secret from players, coaches, and trainers until june of 2010. in a statement the nfl told us, "we have not seen the complaint but would vigorously contest any claims of this kind." the company that makes helmets for the nfl is named as a defendant. they told us they don't comment on pending lawsuits. for a check of world markets, the nikkei closed slightly higher. the hang seng closed down.

the dax and ftse are down at this hour. let's go across the world to kristi live from hong kong. good morning. investors cautious about a euro zone meeting, important meeting of european leaders to discuss the greek debt crisis. >> that's right. and you can see the signs of that clearly because there's been no clear direction for markets in asia or europe. a lot of uncertainty before the e.u. debt meeting. word of a possible deal to bail out greece, that generated some cautious, early optimism in trading in europe. that has since diminished. a european policy -- the policymakers are set to discuss a range of measures today including a new loan package to greece and the role of private investors in any debt restructuring. angela merkel has warned about too much optimism so we have to wait and see. >> no kidding. tell us more about the $100 million deal between tesla, the electric car company, and toyota. >> it's interesting. tesla motor has announced a $100

million deal with toyota to provide parts for an electric rav 4. tesla will supply toyota with all the parts to power an electric version of the suv including a battery, charging system, and software. and the production is slighted to start early next -- slated to start early next year. sales of tesla enjoyed a pop on the news, jumping nearly 5% wednesday. toyota's stock was flat. aly? >> i know you get to china from time to time. we heard about fake purses in china and fake watches and fake software. now we're hearing stories about fake entire stores. >> this is an incredible story. a blogger in china has been reporting that three fake apple stores have popped up in her neighborhood. she says she was initially duped by the quality of this rip-off retailer. and it's not hard to imagine when you see the pictures. look at them, you see the iconic clean wood interiors, the apple branded poefsters.

employees in blue shirts. they appeared to sell real products. here in hong kong i've come across a fake ipad, fake iphone, but never a never fake apple experience. >> that's something. we'll check in with you later. reporting for us in hong kong. she is one of the top contenders in the republican presidential field. will michele bachmann's migraines hurt her bid? should it even be an issue? we'll look at that after the break. plus, we're counting down to a history-making moment. the shuttle is flying east of australia. it is scheduled to land in less than an hour. watch it live right here. first, here's the quote of the day, "i'm in better shape than he is." can you guess who said this about the president of the united states? [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models,

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is," who said this about the president of the united states? that would be first lady michelle obama. she said she's able to stay in better shape because she has more time to work out than her husband does. check out her interview in next month's "better homes and gardens." time for the morning punch line. late night comedians are not about to let the rupert murdoch pie-throwing contest fade into memory. >> i was horrified. he is 80 -- he can't digest pie! the instant murdoch was hit with the pie, news corp. stock spiked, regaining $395 million in market value in five minutes. this is brilliant! he needs to be hit with more pies! perhaps a scalding mincemeat or savory steak and kidney or snout and pancreas. >> what about england's second most powerful man -- david cameron -- who -- whose hiring of andy coulson as press

secretary despite his rencently resigned after the first count of allegeds. >> how can he smell a rat when he has one in his midst? >> that was awesome! that's your c-span? i imagine the prime minister never had a chance. >> i've asked this question once already. i can set the answer to music if you like. just once in a while it would be nice to hear a little bat squeak of responsibility from the party opposite. i don't recall every single conversation i had. and you would be mad to try and pretend that you do. >> england is awesome! >> certainly was fun to watch some of that testimony. time for your political ticker with tim farley, host of "morning briefing" on serious xm in washington. it strikes me if we had more exchanges like that the debt ceiling thing would be more exciting than it is. we've gotting in august 2 to raise the debt ceiling. president obama said he's not going to extend it for 60 days,

90 days, he didn't say for a week or ten days. now it looks like he's opening the possibility of a short-term deal. >> you had the money quote at the top of the show, that was the press secretary saying the president would not sign a short-term deal absent an agreement to a larger deal which means that there is the possibility that as long as there are -- there in general is an agreement on some larger picture that he could sign. the proposal can't get done by august 2. we know the cut cap and balance is not going to get through the senate. if it does, it would not get the president's signature. essentially it sounds like there's going to have to be a stopgap or agreement in principle to something along the lines of this gang of six proposal. president obama met yesterday with democratic and republican leaders separately. no word yet exactly on where they are. we'll have to wait and see. >> tim, let's talk about michele bachmann, doing particularly well in the presidential race, probably a lot better than anybody would have thought she would have done six months or a year ago. she says a lot of thing that -- that beg closer examination. but now everybody's examining the fact that she gets

migraines. should this be an issue in her ability to run and win the presidential nomination? >> that's classic politics, you know. my opponent's debilitating illness should not be an obstacle to his election. and you can insert the debilitating disease in here. the question is how she handles this. so far she's handled it well. she issued a statement yesterday that says, look, i appreciate people's concern for my health, but the debate is in washington over raising taxes and the debt ceiling. and despite the fact that there's been a push from the press, it may wind up actually backfiring because people would have sympathy for a woman who suffers from something that about 30 million americans suffer from. so it's how she handle it that's key. >> she tends to handle things a lot that way, though, pie saying that this isn't the issue, it's something else. in this case, she might be right that people should push off and worry -- >> she's disciplined. >> that's right. thank you, my friend. our big story, big story this morning. "atlantis" is heading home. right now it is flying over the

pacific ocean. this is not just any shuttle landing, this is the final landing of the space program, of the space shuttle program. watch the landing live this hour right here on cnn in less than half an hour. first, get ready for the struggle today. it is national day of tug-of-war. when you go to work, have some laughs, get out some frustration, take the staff out back for a quick tug. if that's just too much for you, there are tug-of-war apps for your smartphone, believe it or not. it is national day of tug-of-war. 21mint after the hour. [ diane lane ] is your anti-wrinkle cream gone... but not your wrinkle new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula smoothes wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®.

23 minutes after the hour. here are three things you need to have on your radar today. 10:00 a.m. eastern -- the federal election commission holds an open hearing reviewing an audit of john edwards' 2008 presidential campaign books. it could decide whether he has to repay more than $2 million. also at 10:00 a.m. eastern, entrepreneur and former nba star magic johnson set to make an announcement out of detroit. magic tweeted yesterday that he's looking forward to helping put people back to work in his home state. and on capitol hill at 10:00 a.m., ben bernanke testifies along with other regulators to update us on whether there's been progress in setting up a new framework to better protect consumers and oversee wall street. let's go around the world with monita rajpal, joining us with an update on, what else, british prime minister david cameron, downright combative with lawmakers yesterday while he faced questions in parliament over this hacking scandal.

what's your take on it this morning? >> yeah. he was really feisty yesterday when he answered -- when he attended that special session of parliament. he faced over 130 questions in 90s in that session. -- 90 minutes in that session. many questions were surrounding his special relationship as the opposition described it with news international executive or his cozy relationship with news international executives. and of course the hiring as his director of communications, the former editor of "news of the world," editor andy coulson. this is what he had to say about that. >> it was my decision, i take responsibility. people will, of course, make judgment about it. of course i regret and i am extremely sorry about the furor it has caused. with 20/20 hindsight and all that has followed, i would not have offered him the job, and i expect that he wouldn't have taken it. >> many are wondering if he can survive this. politically he did give a good show yesterday, but still many are saying he did not offer a

complete apology. ali? >> certainly for americans who are more used to the staid ways of congress, it was entertaining to watch the question period in parliament. hey, monita, tell us about chile. chile's got a lot more snow than it should have right now. >> yes, amazing. of course, it's the southern hemisphere so it is wintertime there. right now, parts of the country are blanketed by a massive snowfall that they've had that the leader of the country's calling it a white earthquake. eight municipalities, a cot strofy has been declare -- catastrophe has been declared in eight municipalities and 600 people are isolated in one town alone. they are expecting more snowfall. the army has been called to get to people that are in areas hard to get to. it's a difficult situation, even though, again, it is winter right now. they are still expecting more snowfall. amazing pictures that we're getting out of there. >> yeah. they are. all right, you'll stay on top of that for us. good to see you. as always, monita rajpal in

london. in the united states, the tsa is revealing a less invasive version of the bodies scan technology. new scans will show a generic outline of a person, meant to protect your privacy but hold up security standards. with the new software, passengers will be able to see what the officer sees. officers won't be cooped up in a separate viewing room and you have to wait for them to say you're clear. body imaging machines are in use at 78 u.s. airports. good-bye google labs. the most popular search engine is doing away with a web site that lets adventurous users play with google products that are being tested. over the years it gave us google maps, google reader, and google group. why shut it down? the company says it's streamlining. check this out. check this picture out. see that fish that i'm about to show you in the boat in this picture? hard to see, but see it? it's a great white shark. it's ten-feet long, weighs 1,100 pounds. jumped on to the boat off the coach south africa. passengers said it -- coast of

south africa. passengers said it gave them the fright of their lives. the researchers used a crane to get it back in the water. wells fargo gets hit with the biggest fine of its own. if you have a mortgage with wells fargo or wachovia, money could be coming your way. and the space shuttle "atlantis" coming back to earth as we speak. we'll take you to kennedy space center and mission control in houston for the latest updates. that's going to happen within the next half-hour, by the way. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car iance. ♪

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it is thursday, july 21. this is your "a.m. wake-up call," i'm joining you live from new york. 31 minutes after the hour. the space shuttle "atlantis" is

less than a half-hour from landing. you're looking at a map here of where it is. it appears to be on that trajectory. you see where it is at the bottom of the screen, heading between south america and north america. it's heading to somewhere around the panama canal. it will head directly for landing in florida. it will touch down as scheduled at 5:56 a.m. eastern time this morning. right now it should be about 80 miles above earth and starting to feel the effects of the atmosphere. our john zarrella is live at the kennedy space center which is where it is expected to touch down. it's dark over there right now. it's going to be a nighttime landing. john, how's it looking on your side? >> it's great, ali, as far as the weather goes. absolutely couldn't ask for better conditions as you mentioned. "atlantis" now on the last leg, coming home. the last time a space shuttle will come back and land. this is it. the last flight in the 30-year history of the shuttle program. it's going to come over the

yucatan, as you mentioned. it will cross the united states at naples, florida, before landing here at the kennedy space center. you know, a couple of months ago i had an opportunity to sit down with commander chris ferguson, who is, of course, at the controls of "atlantis" right now. and ferguson talked about what he thought it would be like when he made this historic landing. >> we want to make sure we get the job done. and when the job is done, we can look back and reflect and think about where the place in history lied for this final shuttle flight. >> you know, ferguson added that he was bound and determined that he was going to be the last person out of the vehicle. and of course, later today, ali, after "atlantis" comes home there's going to be a ceremony on the runway. then a little bit later in the morning, there will be a ceremony back over at the

orbiter processing facilities as they call it, where thousands of workers will be allowed to gather and see the vehicle for the last time. and you know, more than 2,000 workers are actually going to be laid off tomorrow, day after "atlantis" lands. pretty terse times here. >> and mission control in houston is going to be steering them, taking over the landing. explain that because you were with me where you are when it took off on the 8th of july. after it takes off, it gets handed over to houston? >> reporter: right, hands over to mission control. they handle the entire flight until it's back on the ground. and you may hear noise behind me -- there's a whole convoy of vehicles waiting to go out and meet the vehicle. and as soon as its wheels stop on the ground here, then it's turned back over to the folks here at the kennedy space center. you're right, as soon as it cleared the tower on liftoff, it

was handed off to mission control in houston, and they have commanded the entire flight until this point when it comes back and lands here. and as you mentioned, it's re-entered the earth's atmosphere now, going through that maximum heating now on those tiles on, that thermal protection system. several thousand degrees they are feeling as they're coming through the atmosphere. >> and this will happen for the next couple of minutes or so, then they'll finish peak heating, and thenner that going to come in -- and then they're going to come in. you will hear the sonic boom three or four minutes before it lands? >> reporter: yeah, twin sonic booms. it's interesting because the first sonic boom is created by the shockwave off of the nose of the vehicle. then the second shockwave is actually created off the tail of the orbiter. so kind of an something fact. but that's why we have the double sonic boom. >> all right. john, we'll check in with you in a bit. john zarrella in florida.

for more, we'll go to carter evans, live at the nasdaq market site. how are markets looking this morning? >> you know, our futures are a bit lower again this morning, ali. yesterday at this time we were talking about really good-looking futures, great earnings the day before. as soon as the market opened, it was debt ceiling fears that current back in. we closed yesterday lower. i think the fears are still here today. even though we had some sclentd earnings after the close yesterday. >> let's talk about the earnings. that's what's sort of driving markets these days. we've got more good news on wall street. what are we looking forward to in terms of earnings? >> right. at least the earnings should be driving the markets these days. there's a lot more in the mix. intel reporting after the closing bell. it's reporting record sales. up 11% when it comes to its bread and butter personal computer business. this is really an accomplishment, ali, considering u.s. pc shipments fell nearly 6% compared to the same time last year. net income in the second quarter is also up to $3 billion, up 2% from a year earlier.

overall, sales are up 21% to a record $13 billion. that topped forecasts. this is intel's fifth consecutive quarter of record revenue. still, shares of intel now are down about 2.5% in the premarket. also, after the close yesterday we heard great news from american express, the company's second quarter earnings up 31%. the reason -- record cardholder spending. amex says card customers increased spending 18% to an all-time high. it appears amex cardholders at least are feeling a little better about the economy. we've got a lot of earnings coming out today, as well. >> yeah, just a few days for you. you'll keep us posted. good to see you, carter evans at the nasdaq market site. we have 20 minutes away from the final historic landing of the space shuttle "atlantis" and the final space shuttle program. looking at dark pictures of the kennedy space center in florida. this is a satellite image. you can see the space shuttle approaching. right between south america and north america. that's how it's going to make its entry.

it is probably about 70 to 80 miles above earth right now. everything looking to be on schedule. before we take a break, i want to give you our "get smart" question. compared to a commercial airplane, how much faster does the space shuttle hit the runway when it lands? about the same, five times faster, or 20 times faster? boy, i'm glad we got aflac huh. aflac! oh, i've just got major medical... major medical. ...but it helps pay the doctors. pays the doctors, boyyy! [ quack ] oh yeah? what about your family? ♪ we added aflac, so we get cash! it's like our safety net... ♪ to help with the mortgage or whatever we need! so my family doesn't feel the pain too. ha! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ pigeons ] heyyy! hooo!!! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com.

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might be closer to entering the 2012 presidential race as a republican candidate. what are you hearing? >> you know, what we've learned in the past day or so now is that rick perry has start the meeting with people to talk about foreign policy. specifically, his advisers reached out to the former defense secretary, donald rumsfeld, to ask for advice about who he should talk to on these issues. you know, rumsfeld offered up some names and, in fact, some of the pentagon officials that worked for rumsfeld during his era, during the bush era, went down to austin to talk to him about foreign policy and give him some advice. now, rumsfeld wasn't there and is not advising perry himself on the issue. and in fact, a source close to rumsfeld told our own barbara starr that rumsfeld will actually meet with any serious contender for the republican presidential nomination to talk about these serious issues. the fact that rick perry is reaching out and really looking into domestic issues and talking more about foreign policy is a

significant step. >> all right. we're watching this closely because rick perry is polling in recent polls third after mitt romney and michele bachmann and hasn't even declared. a distant third, but he's being talked about. thank you, i love that guy, mark preston. we're following closely, less than 15 minutes from the loftlanding of the -- loftlanding of the space shuttle "atlantis" and the last landing of any landing at all. it will enter florida airspace at naples, florida, crossing over to the other side and landing at kennedy space center at 5:56 a.m. eastern time. we're getting very close to folks in florida hearing those twin sonic booms. and we're looking at -- that map says that it is over cuba right now. so we're getting very, very close. we'll stay on that for you live. first, let's look at this day in history. on july 21, 1925, the monkey trial ended in tennessee. john scopes convicted of teaching the theory of

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good morning, it's thursday, july 21. this is your "a.m. wake-up call," ali velshi joining us from new york. two big stories this morning, the final space shuttle landing, and dozens of people believed to be dead in the united states because of an incredible heat wave. let's start with the shuttle. we're less than ten minutes away

from the final space shuttle landing. it's expected to touch down at 5:56 a.m. eastern time. you see it is just about entering florida airspace right now. right now astronauts are feeling the effects of breaking through the atmosphere. they've gone through that now. as the shuttle went through the atmosphere, it heated up to about 5,000 degrees on the outside. when it broke through, many of the folks in florida, they may be hearing it in the next couple of minutes. they're hell the -- they'll hear the infamous sonic booms. the commander will take manual control of the shuttle and pilot it to the ground. when the orbiter hits the runway, it will be going about 220 miles an hour. once again, the shuttle will land for the last time at 5:56 a.m. eastern time. just so you know, nasa considers this a night landing because the landing time is 42 minutes before sunrise in florida. let's if straight over to houston, mission control. our ed lavendera is standing by. how is everything looking at mission control with less than ten minutes to go?

>> ali, everyone very calm here. and this is a fantastic vantage point to watch this final space shuttle landing. this is mission control, a lot of calm people in this room. everything has been looking so great this morning in terms of the weather and the way all of the machinery is operating. so people here in this room able to enjoy these final moments of the space shuttle program. one of the men with his back us to, second from the left, that is tony zacacchi, the flight director, communicating constantly with the space shuttle "atlantis" crew. you can kind of sense the emotion of this moment weighing on him. a little while ago, they were talking about going through some of the final checks. and before he went around the room and got all that, he said, "i never thought this moment would ever come." so here, ali, participate preparing for the end of the space shuttle mission. >> 9:15, according to nasa's clock. thank you very much. going to be another extremely hot day when these astronauts get out of that spacepaceship.

a deadly heat wave has been blamed for 22 deaths across the country. the high temperatures are affecting 141 million people in more than 30 u.s. states. there are heat watches, warnings, or advisories. rob marciano live in atlanta. rob, what's it looking like? >> the temperatures that will feel like they're up over 110 to 120 degrees. we saw record-breaking amounts of humidity the past couple of days across parts of the western great lakes and the northern plains. and now that is beginning to shift farther to the south and to the east. including some of the bigger cities including d.c., baltimore, philadelphia, and new york city. some of which will see the hottest days of the year coming into tomorrow and even saturday, as well, with heat indexes that will definitely be in the danger zones. take care of yourself, and certainly keep it here as the shuttle makes its trek toward ksc. >> absolutely. all right. we'll check in with you later. for sports fans, football fans, the nfl lockout could end soon. the league's 32 owners are meeting in atlanta in just a few hours. david mattingly is live for us.

david, we keep saying the lockout is close to ending. how close are they really? >> reporter: well, ali, this is all taking place behind closed doors. no one's being very specific. but both sides are indicating that they are ready for some football. but in washington, d.c., yesterday, the players ended their work yesterday without announcing that they were agreeing to the new collective bargaining agreement that's on the table. they have to do that before the owners here today can do anything with it. but we talked to a representative of the player -- of the owners yesterday. he sounded optimistic about what they might be able to do today. listen -- >> obviously a complicated agreement, but i think -- i think both sides are at the point where they can close. they should close, and we -- we should be in a position to take votes. >> and they're hope to get this done without any impact on the

season. the first preseason game is on august 7. the chicago bears were supposed to start their training camp tomorrow. everyone very conscious that the clock is ticking right now. so ali, all we can do right now is wait and see what happens. but the players have to make their move first in washington, d.c., before the owners here can do anything. >> you're on it, you'll tell us what it happens. david mattingly, thank you very much. we are six minutes away from the landing of the space shuttle "atlantis" for the last time ever. a dark shot, but that is a shot of kennedy space center right now. before we go, let's take a look at the word of the day. surprise, surprise, got to do with space. a phrase, it says "words are wheels stop." find out what they mean and why you need to know it after this.

and there it is. on the right of your screen. that is the space shuttle "atlantis" now in visual range of the kennedy space center. 54 minutes after the hour. two minutes to landing. back to our word of the day. it's wheel stop, a phrase from nasa. it's a phrase that will be uttered by the commander, chris ferguson, when the orbiter comes to a stop on the runway. it will be said once, and it will be the last time it is heard. that's when the space shuttle lands, when these words come out of chris ferguson's mouth today, it will signal the official end of the space shuttle program. that's it for "a.m. wake-up call." a special edition of "american morning" starts right now. this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning, we are now starting "american morning." a few minutes early, witnessing history. this is breaking news. the space shuttle "atlantis" is starting back to earth. it's streaking back to earth right now. you see it in that shot.

it's hard to see at some points, but it's pretty distinct when you can see it. it will touch down at exactly 5:56. 58 seconds. we'll get a first look at the shuttle. there you see it in the middle of the screen. >> it's the 30th and final voyage for "atlantis." when the shuttle rolls to a stop, so does the space program. the 30-year space shuttle program. truly an amazing era in american history comes to an end. we're also going to hear that commander christopher ferguson has prepared a special statement that he'll make from the orbiter once he calls the formal wheels stop. >> let's go to john zarrella standing by at the kennedy space center. john? >> reporter: hey, ali. we've already heard the twin sonic booms that we had talked about earlier. so we know that "atlantis" is now on the final leg home. i'm joined by astronaut kay heier, veteran of two space shuttle flights. we keep using the word bittersweet, but it really is now. there have been so many great

things about the program. but this is it. >> definitely mixed emotions today. we're excited to bring the crew of the space shuttle "atlantis" home. but facing the -- this being the last time, we're use today to immediately preparing for the next mission. but now we have to look forward to other missions but also to continue to support the international space station. >> reporter: we were talking about the fact -- we can see that's the heads up display right there. that's what commander ferguson is seeing out the window right now. he's looking at the heads up -- >> that's correct. yes, he can see the runway and is already lined up. >> reporter: lined up at the runway. we were talking, you know, tomorrow, 24 hours after the vehicle lands, another couple ni thousands of people will be laid off. there it is, there's the shumptsds he's lined up on the runway -- shuttle. he's lined up on the runway, ready to come in. it will be tough for a lot of people. >> absolutely. we're celebrating everything we've accomplished with the

space shuttle program. >> reporter: let's listen to nasa. here comes chris ferguson right now with the shuttle. >> main gear touchdown. hurley now deploying the drag chute. ferguson rotating the nose gear down to the deck. nose gear touchdown. having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage at an end.

>> mission complete, easton, after serving the world for over 30 years. the space shuttle has earn its place in history and has come to a final stop. >> we copy your wheel stop and will take this opportunity to congratulate you, "atlantis," as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great nation that empowered this incredible spacecraft which for three decades have inspired millions around the globe. job well done, america. >> thanks. that's great words, great words. you know, the space shuttle sees the way we view the world, it's changed the way we view the universe. a lot of emotion, but one thing's indisputable. america's not going to stop exploring. thank you, columbia, challenger, discovery, endeavor, and our ship "atlantis," thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end.

god bless all of you. god bless the united states of america. >> inspiring comments, "atlantis." we'll meet you on 5-3. >> see you there. >> you're looking at the end of an era really. the 135th flight of the space shuttle program. and you could hear it in the voice of the commentators from nasa out of houston, mission control. just talking about inspiring a generation, serving the world for 30 years. a job well done, america. it really is. it's a sad time. it's sad -- hopeful but sad. >> hopeful but sad. and there are a lot of lot of p watching knowing it brought their careers to an end. it has been a magical time in space.