Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

California Wildfires: Arson Investigation Intensifies; Not Enough Sleep: Link to Brain Disorders?; License to Drive: Should Citizenship Matter?

Aired October 29, 2007 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They're also aluminum, glass. Other ingredients for beer going up. And so, therefore, it's going to cost you more.
And they're saying some of the smaller breweries up at least 10 percent by the end of the year. So by the time the holidays and the new year get around here, Rob, it's going to cost you.

Just so you know.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: It's worth the price.

ELAM: I wonder if people care, if they even stop buying it, if they even pay attention to it.

MARCIANO: It's kind of like gasoline. You kind of need it. So it's one of those things that -- no, I'm kidding.

ELAM: Gas and beer prices with Rob.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Without gas, his car doesn't run, and without beer, Rob doesn't run.

ELAM: Run, there you go.

MARCIANO: It still tastes the same, though. No matter what price it is.

ELAM: That's not beer, I hope.

OK, guys.

CHETRY: Thanks, Stephanie.

ELAM: Sure.

CHETRY: Well, here's a look at a story coming up that you can't miss. Hey, if you're late for work or maybe you're just not into the assignment you got, you need a good excuse for why you're not coming in.

MARCIANO: Nothing like a good excuse. A new way you can get out of doing almost anything for a price. You can buy an official-looking excuse. We'll find out how.

The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice over): Deadly getaway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll always remember that house burning.

CHETRY: Seven college students killed in a beach house inferno. The dramatic video and amazing stories of how some made it out alive.

Lou Dobbs unleashed.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: It's clear arrogance and the man has no principle.

CHETRY: What he really thinks of a governor's changing plans to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Lou is going to join us live.

Also, from geek to chic. College computer nerds auction themselves off to sorority girls.

The high bids and the revenge of the nerds on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And it looks like everything worked out. We're going to hear more from them. It was their -- they describe themselves as nerds. A computer club trying to drum up a little bit more interest from the ladies.

MARCIANO: I wish those ladies were there to help me out when I was in college, that's for sure.

Good morning, everybody. How are you doing?

CHETRY: Welcome back, by the way. It is Monday. It's October 29th.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano.

John Roberts has the day off.

Good morning.

CHETRY: And we start off with some sad news on two college campuses this morning after an unexpected deadly fire at a beach house. Seven students were killed.

Here is video that was shot by a passerby as this fireball swallowed the home on Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. More than a dozen kids lived there. They were just on a little getaway. Six students from the University of South Carolina died, along with one from Clemson. Witnesses say there were people on the ground screaming and that one of the six survivors escaped by leaping out of a window into the water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY SMITH, NEIGHBOR: I opened the door. On the Tea Canal (ph), on the end, I could see this house just engulfed in flames. When we got out there, we could start hearing things exploding. Windows were like -- you could hear breaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All that was left was a charred frame and the stilts where that house stood. Both universities are open today. There are grief counselors on hand to help people. Federal investigators are on the scene. There is still no word on how it started.

MARCIANO: Kiran, hurricane season is not over yet. Tropical Storm Noel bringing lots of rain as it passed over Haiti earlier today. Still doing so. There's the satellite picture.

And we're getting all sorts of I-reports overnight from the Dominican Republic. There you can see what all that rain can do in one spot. Noel could dump an additional foot of rain across places like Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba.

Let's go to Jacqui Jeras now. She's in the severe weather center tracking Tropical Storm Noel.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Also new this morning, 23 schools now in southeastern Kentucky are closed this morning after a case of drug-resistant staph infection was confirmed. Workers will spend the day disinfecting the schools.

The young man at the center of a teen sex case that sparked national outrage is speaking out to CNN. Genarlow Wilson sat down with Rick Sanchez over the weekend. He said he felt his 10-year prison sentence for consensual sex with another teen was absurd, but he's not bitter about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENARLOW WILSON, FREED FROM PRISON: What happened that night, I don't think any of us made very wise decisions, you know. But I don't think that any of us can go back then and change what happened.

You know -- you know, for the most part, all I think we can do is mature from it, make sure it doesn't happen again, you know, and someone can get caught up in the same thing. But, you know, yes, I was young then. You know, I have done some idiotic things in my teen years. But, you know, every average teen does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, Wilson also said he's been studying for the S.A.T. and that he's ready to pursue a college degree in sociology or business.

Late last night, Iowa Democrats decided to make sure they will still be the first to vote on the presidential candidates. They're joining with the Republicans to hold caucuses January 3rd. As for New Hampshire, officials there say their primary won't be later than January 8th.

MARCIANO: Kiran, the winds are picking up again and the devastating toll is mounting as southern California residents survey the damage done by the wildfires. Twenty-eight hundred buildings have been destroyed so far. At least seven people have been killed. And officials say at least two of these fires were intentionally set.

Over the weekend, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out with a warning for the arsonists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: If I were one of those people who started the fires, I would not sleep soundly right now, I tell you, because we're right behind you. As a matter of fact, if I would be you, turn yourself in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Jeanne Meserve is live now in Santiago Canyon, California, at one of the sites officials believe may have been started by an arsonist.

Good morning, Jeanne. What are police telling you this morning?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, there's no evidence of concrete progress in this investigation. There are no search warrants, no suspects, no arrests.

We're in Santiago Canyon -- Santiago Canyon Road. This is one of the two spots where authorities believe these fires began. In fact, one of the theories they're working with is that someone came along this road in a vehicle and threw something out at two locations and started the blaze.

If you look down this very steep drop here, you can probably see some evidence flags down there, orange flags. This indicates where investigators picked up evidence or samples. While those are being analyzed, investigators are sifting through about 1,000 tips that they have received on a hotline.

Some of these are being discounted immediately as being efforts to get part of a $250,000 reward that's being offered in this case. But some of the others, we're told, have led to interviews. And there's one that was of particular interest. It led police, this weekend, to put out a picture of a Ford white F-150 pickup truck. A vehicle like this was seen in this area Sunday before last at about the time the fires started. They want to find the driver. They want to find the owner. As yet, they haven't done that.

The investigation still very much under way -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Jeanne, we have a vehicle that's kind of in question here. You say authorities say they think something was thrown out the window. Have they found anything at the scene, any sort of evidence, collected?

MESERVE: Well, it's only a theory that something was thrown, but it's one of them they're working with. And as to what they found, they aren't telling us specifics here. But the kinds of things they ordinarily look for in a case like this would be some remnants of an incendiary device. They may take soil samples, have those analyzed to see if they come up with traces of an accelerant.

And they might be looking for things that would give them a DNA sample, a Kleenex, a cigarette butt, a bottle so they might be able to identify any individuals who were up there at about the time of the fire. But, of course, arson is very difficult because the fire takes over and destroys some of the evidence in the case -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Jeanne Meserve, covering the arson investigation in Santiago Canyon, California.

Thanks, Jeanne.

Well, just down the road from there they are playing football. Qualcomm Stadium is back in business.

The San Diego Chargers crushed the Houston Texans 35-10 in their first home game since Qualcomm was used as a wildfire evacuation center. A special ceremony was held before the game to honor the police, firefighters and National Guardsmen. They got a standing ovation from the crowd and handshakes from Governor Schwarzenegger.

And the Red Sox, they got a few handshakes as well. They completed the sweep and won their second World Series since 2004, beating the Colorado Rockies in four straight games.

Pitcher Jon Lester got the win after coming back from cancer earlier this season. And third baseman Mike Lowell, was named most valuable player.

Fans in and around Fenway, of course, in a frenzy last night. Riot police were on hand to keep things under control. It was kind of a -- maybe a pre-game for their big parade scheduled for tomorrow. The city is expected to announce formal plans later on today -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Sounds good.

Meantime, we're going to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

CHETRY: And also, how much sleep did you get last night? Probably not enough. Well, if that's true, you could be at risk for certain psychiatric disorders.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at our medical update desk in Atlanta with more on that.

That's troubling news for all of us that work this early shift, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Probably many of us who work this shift aren't getting enough sleep. And we all know, Kiran, if you don't get enough sleep, you probably don't think as quickly or as clearly, you're maybe a little bit in a fog. But actually, not enough sleep can turn your brain into emotional Jell-O. That's the words of an author of a new study.

They did this fascinating experiment. They took 26 people and didn't let them sleep for 35 hours. That's about a day and a half with no sleep.

And then they put goggles on them and they showed them these really scary images. They showed them these spiders and tarantulas and houses on fire and things like that. And when the people didn't have enough sleep, their amygdalas lit up.

The amygdala is a certain part fo the brain. It's the fear center of the brain.

Here are some of the photos that they showed people. And most of the time if you saw photos like this and you've had plenty of sleep, it wouldn't really register in your brain. You'd be like, "That's a picture. What's the big deal?" But when people who were sleep deprived saw these pictures, as I said, their amygdala, that little, tiny fear center deep in the brain, it lit up 60 percent more than when folks had had enough sleep.

So the way the authors interpret this is that when people are severely sleep deprived, they have problems discerning what's truly a threat and what's not a threat. And you can imagine how that could lead to some behavior problems that sort of gives this fight or flight kind of response.

Now, these folks were severely sleep deprived, they hadn't slept in 35 hours. Most people who are sleep deprived, it's not that bad. So the next step is to see what happens when people are just sort of sleep deprived, that, let's say, have only five or six hours of sleep -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And did they say anything about the cumulative affect? Like, if you don't get enough sleep over a very long period of time, or your routine is just simply not getting enough sleep, can it actually cause or have some link with psychiatric disorders?

COHEN: Yes. What experts have found in the past is that, of course, sleep deprivation is much worse if it's cumulative.

One night of not enough sleep isn't nearly as bad as night after night after night. And what these authors say is they think there might be a link between sleep deprivation and things like bipolar disorder. That's manic depression. They say that maybe some folks who have manic depression aren't getting enough sleep, and maybe that's contributing to their psychiatric problem.

CHETRY: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, very interesting. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

CHETRY: Rob.

Oh, also, one quick thing. Sorry.

We're going to be looking out for you and your sleep. You, Rob, in particular, as well as all of our viewers.

MARCIANO: Yes.

CHETRY: Go to CNN.com/am. E-mail us your questions to our inhouse brain surgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's going to be answering them for you Thursday, especially if they relate to sleep. But any questions you have for him on AMERICAN MORNING.

MARCIANO: I am definitely less irritable with less sleep. Of course, some would argue I'm irritable all the time.

Spending a little too much? Make a wrong move in your 401(k)? Well, we've all made money mistakes. Gerri Willis is going to tell us how to fix them and avoid the traps.

That's just ahead.

And should illegal immigrants be given driver's licenses? The governor of New York says yes. CNN's Lou Dobbs says no way.

Lou weighs in on a controversial plan. He is live with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, there's a heated debate in New York State going on right now that's actually now on to the national stage as well. New York governor Eliot Spitzer taking heat from all sides.

First he announced a plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. This was about a month ago. Well, over the weekend, Governor Spitzer abruptly shifted course. He backed off his original plan and is creating what immigrant advocates say is a separate license just for illegal immigrants, and it basically amounts to three different driver's licenses. CNN's Lou Dobbs has been leading the charge against Governor Spitzer's original plans. His forthcoming book is called "Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit".

And Lou joins us this morning.

Lou, great to see you.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Great to see you, Kiran. Thank you.

CHETRY: So this was announced on a Saturday, this change from the original plan. You were one of the biggest critics. There were a lot of other critics of it.

DOBBS: Right.

CHETRY: So this new plan would create three different driver's licenses. One would be a federally recognized secure I.D. and one would be for illegal immigrants that is not federally recognized.

What do you think of the revised plan?

DOBBS: Well, I haven't seen the details of what the governor is trying to enact now. But I will say this -- at least it's showing some responsiveness to the will of the people.

Seventy-two percent of New Yorkers, Kiran, oppose the idea of this driver's license for illegal aliens, as so does the Department of Homeland Security. But Spitzer has been absolutely insistent, as has "The New York Times" and some of his supporters. But to the credit of the New York Senate, they have opposed it. The County Clerks Association in New York State opposing it, and, in fact, suing the governor.

So, this is a step forward. It shows some responsiveness. And in that, it's certainly an improvement. But until we see the details, it's going to be very difficult to say whether or not this is going to be a resolution.

CHETRY: Well, you talked about homeland security being against it. Michael Chertoff, the director, has now said he backs this new one.

DOBBS: Right.

CHETRY: Does that lend the program any more credence?

DOBBS: Oh, absolutely. Without question. But the homeland security secretary has also said he would prefer that illegal aliens not be given driver's licenses by state authorities. And he can't do anything about it, which he acknowledges. That's the -- that is the issue that's on the table.

Now, the fact that the so-called activist groups, the illegal alien amnesty and open borders activists, what I call the socioethnocentric interests in this country supporting amnesty and open borders, they're talking about this separate but equal, as if there is some reason for an illegal alien to have equal standing with a U.S. citizen. That's how far the propaganda machine has moved in this country. It is how far we have come as a society, that we can allow a group of people to use civil rights language and to describe what is an absolute invasion of illegal aliens because of illegal employers in this country.

CHETRY: Can a credible argument be made, though, that it's better to have people out of the darkness and on the record, meaning that there is some way to identify them, there is some way for them to be counted for various reasons? I mean, not to mention when it comes to the legal system and also when it comes to paying taxes.

DOBBS: Well, paying taxes, the tax -- unfortunately, a driver's license and any form won't solve that. The other part is they are counted, by the way.

Kiran, there are somewhere between 12 and 20 million illegal aliens in the country. The Census Bureau is counting them, and that's determining the number of seats, congressional seats, in every state. It is remarkable what is going on and people are oblivious to it.

I am for a rational, humane, effective immigration reform legislation. But first, we have to get first control of our borders, our immigration system.

CHETRY: All right. Well, before I let you go, last week you called Governor Spitzer an idiot. Then you took it back. You said you don't think he's an idiot but you think his policies are idiotic.

How much of a role do you think you, Lou Dobbs, played in him maybe reconsidering? You've been certainly a vocal opponent.

DOBBS: Right. Well, to the degree that we have focused on the issue, I think we have been helpful fo all the New York citizens who oppose it. I think we've been helpful to middle class working men and women in this country who are supporting illegal immigration while legal employers make profits.

So, I think we've been helpful in that regard. I think that the New York State Senate has been helpful. I cannot commend enough the County Clerks Association in New York for standing up.

The American people are beginning to have a bellyful of arrogant elitists in whatever office, whether it is the governor of New York or the president of the United States.

CHETRY: All right.

Well, Lou, thanks for being on our show. We would like to mention, you've invited Governor Spitzer several times on your program.

DOBBS: Absolutely.

CHETRY: He has not accepted the invitation. We've invited him on our program and I think he's considering that one a little bit more.

Also...

DOBBS: Why? Why? He should consider ours.

CHETRY: He should. I'd certainly watch.

By the way, you're moving to 7:00 p.m. coming up next week, right?

DOBBS: You bet.

CHETRY: All right. Well, we look forward to it.

DOBBS: Absolutely. Looking forward to it.

CHETRY: We look forward to the new time slot.

DOBBS: Thanks, Kiran. Great to be with you.

CHETRY: And the new book, also, "Independents Day".

Thanks, Lou. Always great to see you.

By the way, until then, he will be on weeknights at 6:00 pm Eastern.

MARCIANO: Well, pot's not a drug. It's just a leaf. That's what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. Well, he was quoted at least in the British version of "GQ" magazine.

His press secretary said it was just a joke and Schwarzenegger told the magazine he hasn't taken drugs, even though he admitted using marijuana in the '70s. He was shown smoking a joint in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron".

The magazine quotes Schwarzenegger as saying, "That is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron. Trust me."

And, well, if you're running late for work, maybe you want to ditch work altogether. Now there's a way to buy a good excuse, everything you need to know to get out of a jam. We're going to show you how here on AMERICAN MORNING.

And a few simple things to help you avoid making money mistakes that can haunt you for years to come. That is coming up. Gerri Willis is here on AMERICAN MORNING as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, there's a few simple things you can do to help avoid making major blunders, especially in your 30s, 40s and 50s. CHETRY: That's right. Here is personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR (voice over): What's your biggest money mistake ever? We put that question to people of all ages.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would just say impulse buying. Probably with gifts. Gifts. That's where I spend most of my money.

WILLIS: Impulse buying can break your budget. Experts say to avoid needless spending, always shop with a list of what you need and stick to it. Make as few trips to the store as possible. And, if you've seen something you want, wait 48 hours. You might find the same item for less somewhere else or you may decide you don't need it after all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like everybody, I bought the wrong stocks during the Internet -- the boom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buying high, selling low, instead of the other way around.

WILLIS: The stock market is the best way to make money over the long term, but that doesn't mean you won't buy some losers. To minimize the risk, experts suggest buy diversified index mutual funds so a downturn in one area doesn't affect your entire portfolio. Do research on mutual funds before you invest. And before you buy, consult a trusted financial adviser.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Borrowing too much on a credit card.

WILLIS (on camera): Tell me more. How much?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than a few thousand dollars.

WILLIS (voice over): The average American owes more than $8,000 in credit card debt. To help you get back on track, pay cash when you can.

If you have balances on more than one card, pay off the cards with the highest interest rates first. Consolidate your debt on to the card with the lowest rate and then try to negotiate a lower rate with your credit card company.

We all make money mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them.

Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: All right, Gerri. Thanks so much. Well, here's a look at a story coming up that you can't miss -- ballot jackpot, as we do every Monday and Friday. And we have a special treat for you today.

But here -- besides you being here, of course.

One of them is our Halloween nominations. We asked both of our pundities on the right and on the left what they would suggest would be the best costumes for our presidential candidates. They came up with some pretty creative ones.

NGUYEN: That will be fun as well.

On the topic of politics, Obama takes on Hillary, he said some things about Hillary. But just what did he say? We're not sure about that.

We'll talk to our experts as well.

CHETRY: And also, licenses for illegals. We just heard from Lou Dobbs a couple of minutes ago, certainly sparking a big debate with the decision by the governor of New York to offer driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. So we're going to talk about both sides of that issue as well.

MARCIANO: And this, which has people on Main Street and here in the TV news business scratching their heads, that fake FEMA presser. We'll get the Democratic and Republican take on what happened last week with FEMA.

CHETRY: Sounds good.

All of that, plus our top headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Good morning, Dallas. What was the forecast?

CHETRY: Oh, it's -- I'm telling you? This is a quick turn around. This a change of fortune.

MARCIANO: I find it entertaining.

CHETRY: It's 52 degrees and sunny. Going up to 73 degrees and sunny. That building almost looks like it's sideways. Pretty cool.

MARCIANO: KTXA. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Monday October 29th. We're wrapping up for Halloween. John Roberts is off. I'm Rob Marciano. Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: He's certainly not off picking out his Halloween costume, I hope.

MARCIANO: Maybe, who knows?

CHETRY: I think he's just taking a well-deserved break.

MARCIANO: That would be right (ph).

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for being with us this morning.

The GAP trying to reassure the public after undercover video appeared to show children working on GAP clothes at what, really, amounts to a sweat shop in India. Last night our own Alina Cho sat down with the president of GAP. And she joins us now.

They're trying to take these pro-active moves like bringing out their president to talk to the press.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They call it an isolated incident, Kiran. GAP's president told Marka Hansen told me last night the company takes full responsibility for what happened and has launched a full-scale investigation.

Now, a London newspaper first broke the story. Its investigation found children working as virtual slaves at a factory in India. "The Observer" reports children slept on the roof. And when they misbehaved, in some cases, they were hit with rubber pipes.

Now, the child laborers were helping to make beaded blouses for GAP Kids. GAP's president told me the subcontractor that was hired for the job actually farmed out the work to a factory that was not properly vetted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKA HANSEN, PRESIDENT, GAP NORTH AMERICA: It's absolute horror. You know, just -- it's sickening. There's nothing I can tell you. But as a mother, child labor is absolutely unacceptable for us as a corporation, for me as an individual. I can't think of anything worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Now, according to UNICEF, as many as 80 million children are working in India. It is widely known as the child labor capital of the world. The GAP, for its part, will be sending a top executive to meet with all of the Indian suppliers. That will happen by the end of the week.

Kiran, the products that were supposed to be shipped out by Christmas will never hit the store shelves, we're told by GAP's president. Those blouses have been destroyed.

CHETRY: How do they make sure it doesn't happen again? They're talking the talk. How do you really enforce those child labor laws?

CHO: That's a good question. Yes, enforcement is really the key to this. How do you enforce that? The GAP says it has a history of taking action. But, actually, just last year they fired 23 suppliers for non-compliance. They say they have 90 inspectors around the world that make unannounced visits at 2,000 plus factories.

But listen, this is a very big deal, a potential PR nightmare and exactly why The GAP farmed out its president to the media last night.

CHETRY: Hopefully, those changes will happen. Thanks so much, Alina.

CHO: You bet.

CHETRY: We want to know what you think. Given the report and the response from The GAP, will you continue shopping there? Cast your vote at cnn.com/am right now. Here is a look at our quick vote tallies: 26 percent say yes, they will; 74 percent saying no. Surprising, even though GAP's president try to come out and say this was an isolated incident. A lot of people feel differently. We'll get a final check at the end of the hour.

MARCIANO: Breaking news this morning. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that he's battling prostate cancer. He says he will have surgery, but the tumor is not life threatening and he is not planning on stepping down.

And grief counselors will be on hand to help students on two college campuses in South Carolina this morning, after a tragic fire at a beach house. Six students from the University of South Carolina died, along with one from Clemson. Six other students survived. Still no word on how it all started.

And we're hearing more incredible stories of survival in California after those wildfires. One couple managed to escape the deadly fire in Rancho Bernardo by jumping into their pool.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROGER BIELASZ, FIRE SURVIVOR: We ducked our head under that overhang.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For how long?

R. BIELASZ: Three hours.

DENA BIELASZ, FIRE SURVIVOR: I think about three hours.

R. BIELASZ: Three hours, yeah. Actually, it was about an eternity and a half. It's the longest wait I have ever had for a ride. Thank heavens we never filled the pool in. We talked about that. We were going to fill it in, not fill it in. But we needed the escape plan if it ever happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: That same fire killed some close friends of the couple. The winds are back this morning. Fires have now destroyed 2,800 buildings and killed seven people.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says heads may roll in the wake of last week's so-called FEMA new conference at which no members of the actual press were present. Here is what it looked like, and sounded like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Problem is, the questions being asked, softball questions, nonetheless, weren't asked from reporters, but from FEMA's own employees. When he heard about it, Secretary Chertoff did not mince words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government. I made it unambiguously clear in Anglo-Saxon prose and that it is not to ever happen again. And there will be appropriate disciplinary action taken against those people who that exhibited what I regard as extraordinarily poor judgment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: FEMA says the whole thing was put together at the last minute, which meant that the real reporters couldn't make it in time. John Philbin, FEMA's director of external affairs says it is absolutely a bad decision -- or it was a bad decision. Philbin begins a new job today. He has been named as the new head of public affairs at the office of the director of National Intelligence.

CHETRY: That one really takes the cake. Unbelievable on so many levels.

It's time now for our Monday version of "Ballot Jackpot".

MARCIANO: You know, I've been looking forward to this silly little box. It's been brought up, it's been ramped up. It's been modified.

CHETRY: Silly? Do you know how much time went into this thing?

MARCIANO: Big time. We stuff the hot box with political stuff and we talk to some experts and let the heavy hitters weigh in.

CHETRY: That's right. Today we have with us Democratic Strategist Jamal Simmons, in Washington, and also here with us, we have Republican Strategist Leslie Sanchez. She's in New York.

(CROSS TALK)

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning to both of you. CHETRY: Good to see you guys.

We may as well start off with this fake FEMA presser. Because it's in here. I would love to get to it.

Leslie, did they think they were going to get away with it? That's the strangest part, that no one would notice there was no reporters there?

LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It has to go into "Ripley's Believe It or Not" as one of the worst ill-advised press related events in history -- of anything, actually. The fact that this person is going to go on to be the head of the public affairs of for the intelligence agency, that's a little bit frightening.

I think Chertoff was exactly correct. It was ill advised, poor planning. I don't really know what they could have expected would come out of that except something like this.

CHETRY: Jamal, should there be repercussions? More so than what we've seen?

SIMMONS: There absolutely should be. I've been a press secretary for politicians and in the government. One thing you have to have is credibility, both with reporters and the public. I'm not sure how we have a person in charge of communicating our National Intelligence policy, who seems to exhibit this kind of lack of judgment.

You know, as a press secretary, the worst thing you want is to have a press conference with no reporters there. But you have to just suck it up. You can't go and do things like this.

MARCIANO: Jamal, Leslie, I am absolutely shocked that neither of you think that was a good idea.

Next topic out of the box is Obama takes on Hillary. I believe we have some sound to run. Do we?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hear some of the other candidates say well, elect me, because I know how to play the game better. Problem is not we need somebody who needs to -- who knows how to play the game better. We need somebody who is going to bring an end to the game playing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: OK, Leslie, let's start with you.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

MARCIANO: What did he say?

SANCHEZ: You know, Barack Obama made a point of saying he was going to run a different type of campaign, bring people together. It took a matter of time for him to show that he's just like every politician, is going to sling the mud. Really he has to do that, because the window of opportunity is closing. Hillary has all but secured the nomination. Unless Democrats push very hard and push toward her negatives, they don't have a chance.

MARCIANO: Tough to be a positive politician. Isn't it, Jamal? What did he say?

SIMMONS: Wow, Leslie should get a contract over at the Clinton campaign.

I think what's going on here, I think, Obama is trying to get his mojo back. He seems like he is really sort of stepping up the effort. And it's going to be tough to beat Senator Clinton. She's going to be very hard. I don't think politics of hope means you can't talk about the differences between campaigns. Senator Clinton will be a tough candidate to be. Now is the time to get at it if he's going to do it. He's only got a couple of months left. Caucuses are coming up soon in Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire.

MARCIANO: Jamal, let me apologize, let me jump in. This is much more pressing. This is breaking news. I wanted to be sure to get this in.

CHETRY: I can do this one.

The Halloween nominations. Both of you, we asked to go ahead and pick what top tier candidates should dress as for Halloween. Let's get Jamal's in first. Your choice for Hillary. Let's take a look. How about it?

SIMMONS: I put Hillary in as Xena, The Warrior Princess.

MARCIANO: Looking pretty hot.

SIMMONS: She's a tough one here.

CHETRY: Speaks for its, OK. Let's get your Mitt Romney now. We have to remember which side Jamal is on as he looks at Mitt Romney's pick. Pinocchio!

SANCHEZ: Oh, no. That's terrible.

SIMMONS: It's tough for him to figure out who he is.

CHETRY: It's all right, because Leslie gets you guys as well. Barack Obama, let's take a look at what Leslie picked for Barack Obama.

SIMMONS: Oh!

CHETRY: That's kind of creepy, actually, from our graphics department.

SIMMONS: See, I had him as King Solomon.

SANCHEZ: Right.

CHETRY: You did.

MARCIANO: Your reasons, Leslie, for that depiction?

SANCHEZ: Jekyll & Hyde? I don't think we know which Barack Obama is going to show up at the next campaign event. The positive or negative?

CHETRY: And finally, you picked for John McCain. This one is interesting. You picked for John McCain, he should be for Halloween -- Bill Clinton!

SANCHEZ: The Comeback Kid, you know, basically that's what we're hoping. I think his campaign is hoping.

CHETRY: So, you weren't saying for his policies?

SANCHEZ: Not at all! Not at all.

MARCIANO: That mask of Bill Clinton has a striking resemblance to Richard Nixon. But nonetheless --

SIMMONS: I have one more. For Rudy, I would have Rudy as Boss Hog from Dukes of Hazard. As long as he has Bernie Kerik as Roscoe P. Coltrane (ph).

MARCIANO: As long as Daisy Duke showed up at some point.

SANCHEZ: Very nice. We sit around thinking about this stuff way too much. That's the sad part.

CHETRY: You do. But that's why we love you. Jamal Simmons and Leslie Sanchez, thanks. See you guys Friday.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.

SANCHEZ: Bye-bye.

CHETRY: How much for a good nerd and his tech support? College nerds getting a makeover, auctioning themselves off. There they go. In fact, they actually had -- they videotaped their sorority makeovers. We'll see how it went. That looks like a lot of waxing going on. Ouch. See how it went for them and whether or not they raised money for a good cause coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Want to get straight to Jacqui Jeras, in the weather center been tracking severe weather across Florida.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Well, thousands of Red Sox fans may be getting a check in the mail. Back in March, 30,000 people took advantage of Jordan's furniture store's promotional offer for full rebates if the Red Sox won the World Series. The company's CEO says that some customers actually spent up to $100,000. The place forgot that these are the new Red Sox, free of the "Bambino Curse".

The owner did buy an insurance policy to cover the losses. It looks like those checks will be in the mail.

Joe Torre is gone. Alex Rodriguez is on his way out, and so is this fan. One angry fan, a Yankee fan that is, put up his loyalty on eBay. After 50 years of rooting for the Yankees, he's going to let the highest bidder decide which team he roots for next. So far, the bidding is about $232. Proceeds will go to charity. Although, that's not a bad idea. I'll consider that at this point.

CHETRY: All right, well, CNN NEWSROOM minutes away. Heidi Collins a the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.

Good morning, Heidi.

Good morning, to you, Kiran. That's right, we have these stories coming up on the run down this morning.

Sadness on campus. Two colleges mourn seven students killed in a beach house fire. We'll tell you what is surprising about the investigation.

Also, serving a 10-year sentence for teen sex. Now, a free man. Genarlow Wilson speaks to CNN.

Plus, she applied online for a nanny job and wound up dead. What you should know about responding to online ads. Join me in the NEWSROOM to get started right here at the top of the hour on CNN.

CHETRY: Heidi, thanks.

And some more choices for your TV, topping your "Quick Hits". FCC chairman says it will hand down a huge defeat for cable companies by voiding thousands of exclusive contracts with apartment buildings. That could give tenants the opportunity to shop around, maybe or go satellite, or get cable through their phone company like Verizon or AT&T.

And the movie, "Saw IV" cut through the competition at the box office this weekend. The fourth installment of the horror flick took in $32 million. Disney's "Dan In Real Life," starring funny man Steve Carell, coming in at only second with only $12 million.

And "Revenge of the Nerds" was certainly a popular movie. But this is the real life story of beauty and the geeks, self proclaimed, mind you. The auction for a few good geeks, their tech support, and how it all turned out, coming up AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: All right. You've got to see this. An amazing ending to a college football game this weekend. Take a look, and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thomas (ph) at the 30 yard line, Nelson (ph), now laterals it back to the Curry (ph) at the 35. They're running out of spaces. Curry (ph) fakes. He does a lateral --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thomas has it, it's a go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thomas had a chance to go. He laterals it. Now he will go to Maddux (ph). Maddux at the 30 yard line and now --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a lateral!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a lateral?! Curry's (ph) still going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way! No way!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Curry's still running to the touchdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Down goes Frazier! (ph) Down goes Frazier! (ph) That's great announcing. You couldn't hold that tiger. Trinity University Tigers pulled off the last play with two seconds left, against Millsap College, all the way from their own 39 yard line, it took 15 laterals and seven players. In the end, Riley Curry (ph) ran 34 yards for the game-winning touchdown to bring Trinity University to victory.

CHETRY: See, who says Division III isn't fascinating? Exciting?

MARCIANO: That was one, for sure.

CHETRY: How about it?

MARCIANO: All right, now to a very special AMERICAN MORNING follow-up. Earlier this month we told you about a group of self- proclaimed nerds. They were at Washington State University and they were going to get a makeover and then auction themselves off.

CHETRY: Right, they were trying to raise a little bit of awareness, get some more girls involved in their computer club. And also get a scholarship together for women in computer science. Well, they did it. Now two of the event organizers are here to tell us how it went.

Ben Ford, I talked to you last month as you were getting set to do this and Alexa Ludtke. Thanks for being with us both of you.

ALEXA LUDTKE, HELPED ORGANIZE NERD AUCTION: Thanks for having us. BEN FOREBEND, ORGANIZED NERD AUCTION: Thank you.

CHETRY: All right, Ben, so go ahead, tell me how everything went?

FORD: It went really, really well. We had 250 seats there. We filled them all. We had standing room only. We even had to turn some people away at the door, there was so many people there.

MARCIANO: The start of this, Alexa, was your sorority was going to make these guys over. How much of a job was this? What were the before and afters like?

LUDTKE: Well, it was a pretty big job. A lot of guys needed some work, but a lot of guys were actually OK. So, it took some time.

CHETRY: We saw a lot of waxing of the eyebrows going on. Guys were good sports. I remember, Ben, asking you -- I know you wanted to raise awareness for your computer club and help out women with scholarships, but were you willing to go under the hot wax? And you said, yes. You did it.

FORD: Yes, we did. We were expecting the full body wax there, so I was pretty relieved that all they want was the eyebrows.

MARCIANO: All right, guys, let's talk money. I mean, the goal was also I guess, raise some money. Alexa, your sorority actually did some bidding. Who did you win and for how much?

LUDTKE: Well, we won Haven Hash and we bid on him. I think we got him for $130. So, pretty happy about that.

CHETRY: That's not bad. There you go, a photo of Haven who looks pretty -- I mean, he looks like a real looker there. Looks like you've got a nice pair of boot cut jeans, dark denim wash, fancy button up shirt. He looks pretty hot. What are you going to use him for?

LUDTKE: Well, I don't know. Our computer needs, my Mac needs some fixing. So, I might be calling Haven up pretty soon.

CHETRY: I guess not up for love match, necessarily.

MARCIANO: You can't ask that question on national TV. His job was to help her with the computer. That's why they all got together.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Ben, you also went, by the way. You went for $60. Who swept you up?

FORD: Yep.

CHETRY: Oh, wait. You went for 250 bucks?

FORD: An MBA student.

CHETRY: Did you go for $250?

FORD: No, no, I went for $60. I went first and broke the ice. I kind of took one for the team.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: How about it? In the end, you guys did earned a good amount of money. You are going to be helping out with that woman's scholarship. Any love connections -- just as an aside, through all of this?

LUDTKE: Uh-oh.

CHETRY: Nope?

MARCIANO: Well, Ben, Kiran just whispered to me that she would pay $250 for you. Maybe there's a little bit of a connection there.

Ben Ford, and Alexa Ludtke --

FORD: Too bad she wasn't here bidding on me, wasn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Sorry about that. The hubby wouldn't free me up for the weekend for that one. But congratulations. You guys did what you needed to do and raised some money in the process. Ben Ford, as well as Alexa Ludtke, thank you for being with us.

MARCIANO: Good luck at WASU, this year guys.

LUDTKE: Thank you.

FORD: Take care.

MARCIANO: All right well, here's a quick look at what the CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS (voice over): See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Beach house fire, seven college students killed, investigation under way.

Freed from a teen sex sentence, we hear from Genarlow Wilson.

From first lady to first female leader, Argentina elects a woman president.

And Sox sweep Rocks. Boston wins its second World Series in four years. NEWSROOM at the top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Hey, this was certainly a trick and a treat. The morning team at News 10 in Sacramento, by the way, my old alma mater. I was there a couple of years, at KXTV. Well, they got option number one. They were certainly tricked. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: E-mails good morning at News 10.

(ALL SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Nothing like live TV. That was live on the air when monsters invaded the set. They were people from local area haunted houses. Traffic reporter made a run for it. The meteorologist not holding up well. We're all scaredy cats.

CHETRY: Didn't Elizabeth Cohen just say when you don't get a lot of sleep you are easily spooked. There you go.

MARCIANO: That will happen with morning TV.

CHETRY: There you go. The set hasn't changed a bit, by the way.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com