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Global Rout: Markets Dive in Asia and Europe; Who Won Round Three of Presidential Debates?; Choosing a Health Plan
Aired October 16, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, investors stay strapped in. The financial roller-coaster ride is not over. Dow blue chips are waffling between positive and negative territory this morning. And right now let's take a look at the stocks.
You can see we are in negative territory, the Dow down 279 points. As you know, the Dow just staggered, 733 points Wednesday, a nearly 8 percent fall.
Also this hour, the Senate Banking Committee is looking at ways to stabilize world markets and stop the hemorrhaging. Investors rattled by news today that America's factories turned out less in September. Industrial production skidded the most since -- look at this -- 1974. Claims for unemployment insurance fell by 16,000 last month, more than expected. And inflation for September came in flat as fuel prices eased just a bit.
Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi talking with listeners on CNN Radio right now. We will drop in on Ali in just a couple of minutes.
Let's talk about Asian markets. They tumbled fast and hard today, but the sell-off moderating somewhat in Europe.
CNN's Charles Hodson is in London.
And if you would, Charles, give us the view from overseas.
CHARLES HODSON, ANCHOR, "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY": The view from overseas is certainly seeing the very, very lamentable figures we had from the U.S. real economy. Everyone seems to have taken fright.
Bank bailouts are no longer the issue. They're just seen as some kind of shock absorber, along what will be a very bumpy road. And the perception in markets is we could be looking at a prolonged global recession.
So even the safe havens like gold are being pummeled, but if you look at stocks, take Japan, for example, the Nikkei, that was off by nearly 11.5 percent in Thursday's trading. Hong Kong, off 5 percent. Moving over to Europe, again, we're seeing a similar sort of picture with, here, the FTSE 100 off by more than 4.5 percent last time I looked. Same story, more or less, for the DAX in Germany. France losing 5.8 percent. Swiss market off by 2.9 percent.
And we're seeing commodities taking a hit. We're seeing oil stocks, oil companies taking a hit as a result of lower oil prices. This is the theme, the "R" word -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Charles, let's go back to the Swiss markets for just a moment. We're hearing of another bank bailout in Europe. Any truth to that?
HODSON: That is true, and this is one reason why we're seeing a little bit more buoyancy in the Swiss market than maybe we're seeing in some of the others. It is only off by around 3 percent last time I looked.
And what is to happen is that UBS, which is the country's largest bank, is to receive up to $54 billion. And also, the government will be pumping in some $5.25 billion to that bank -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Charles. Good to see you. Thank you so much.
Let's talk about debate night in America.
So the debates are over. The sprint to Election Day is on. In the final match-up, John McCain went on the offensive against Barack Obama on the economy, taxes and character. Obama pushed back.
Ed Henry now has debate highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally in the third debate, the gloves came off.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You launched your political campaign in Mr. Ayers' living room.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's absolutely not true.
HENRY: From the start, McCain was crisper and staying on offense, pouncing when moderator Bob Schieffer brought up Obama's ties to former 1960s radical William Ayers.
MCCAIN: Senator Clinton said in her debates with you, we need to know the full extent of that relationship.
HENRY: Eager to avoid a gaffe that might knock him out of frontrunner status, Obama was flatter than before, but he held his own by calmly pushing back.
OBAMA: Mr. Ayers is not involved in my campaign. He has never been involved in this campaign. And he will not advise me in the White House.
HENRY: On a day the Dow lost another 733 points, McCain had his best performance yet on the economy, repeatedly citing "Joe the Plumber"...
OBAMA: Nobody likes high taxes, right?
HENRY: ... an Ohio man who recently pressed Obama about whether his tax plan would hurt small businesses.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama wants government to do the job. I want, Joe, you to do the job. I want to leave money in your pocket.
HENRY: An attack Obama sidestepped with a joke.
OBAMA: I'm happy to talk to you, Joe, too, if you're out there.
HENRY: Some undecided voters in Joe's home state told CNN McCain repeated the story too many times, and he continued to struggle with the shadow of President Bush.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy.
HENRY: A softball for Obama to drive home his underlying point about change.
OBAMA: Now, you've shown independence, commendable independence on some key issues like torture. But when it comes to economic policies, essentially what you are proposing is eight more years of the same thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN's Ed Henry there.
So who won round three? Polling shows a majority of debate watchers think Barack Obama did better in the final debate.
Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider live from Hempstead, New York, with the numbers.
And Bill, let's start with those overall numbers. Good morning.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
Well, it certainly was a scrappy and feisty John McCain versus Barack Obama Joe Cool. The viewers of the debate clearly preferred Joe Cool.
The numbers, Obama 58 percent thought he did the better job in the debate. McCain, 31 percent. That's nearly 2-1 said Obama did the better job.
One of the things they did note, and it was the clearest difference in the entire debate, who spent more time attacking his opponent? Overwhelmingly, the voters said that was John McCain, 80 percent. Only 7 percent thought Obama was on the attack.
But apparently from the overall results of who did the better job, viewers of the debate didn't particularly like it. They didn't want to see attacks. They wanted to hear what you were going to do to turn the economy around.
And on that question, who would better handle the nation's economy, that's where Obama really scored some points. He kept bringing the debate back to the economic crisis. Fifty-nine percent said Obama would handle the economy better, 35 percent said McCain. That was the critical issue facing the country, and on that Obama outscored John McCain.
And finally, we asked the debate watchers an interesting question, I think. "Would you like to see some more debates?" And the answer was loud and clear, 2-1, no, please, spare us. We've seen enough. We're ready to vote.
And in fact, some people are voting. There's early voting in a lot of states. But a lot of people who aren't early voters are just going to have to hold on for three more weeks, because that's the end of the campaign -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Bill. Appreciate it. Thank you for a look at those numbers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Stocks, credit inflation. Ali Velshi's listeners have a lot to talk about on his CNN Radio show this morning.
Ali, good to see you. A couple of issues we want to get to. I don't know how much time we have, but we want to spend as much time as we can with you.
What are you hearing from your listeners this morning? Kind of a two-parter here. And are any of your callers talking about last night's debate and how the candidates performed on issue #1?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, I'm still getting, Tony --I'm getting a lot of e-mails and calls right now. And the topics tend to still be connected to what the government is doing about this bailout.
HARRIS: You're talking about the bailout and back and forth?
VELSHI: Right. I mean, I'm getting questions about golden parachutes. I'm getting questions about where exactly the money comes from. And that was sort of touched on in the debate, but the presidential candidates were very much talking about what they would do once in office.
I'm still getting a lot of questions about today, "my 401(k)," what exactly is going on. And obviously with that Dow down 300 points or more right now, people are very, very concerned about their 401(k)s and investments.
HARRIS: Can I ask you a question on that?
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: And this has been bugging me just a bit here. I'm wondering if you're hearing any frustration reflected in your callers on the point of, you know, we're talking about a huge bailout here.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: We're talking about the American people bending over backwards here to try to clean up this mess from the really smart people on Wall Street and in the banking sector.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: And I'm wondering, have you heard "thank you" from any of these -- have you heard a "thank you"?
VELSHI: No.
HARRIS: I mean, it bugs me a book.
VELSHI: I can tell you, in the weeks of doing this, I have not -- that's not one word that comes out. But here's the thing.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: People are remarkably frustrated.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: You might get a "thank you" if you actually saw the effects of something. Now, some of this, as you and I have described, it's medicine that takes a while to work. So you're not going to see the effects of this immediately.
And by the way, even if we start to see the market either steady, or trade in a range, or go up, that doesn't solve the problem of home prices, it doesn't solve the problem of jobs. The only good news on the horizon these days, it seems, is that oil prices are coming down.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: And I don't think in the history of oil or gas prices, anybody said thank you for the lower price. They're just a little relieved that it's there.
So I think, really, honestly, Tony, Americans are just feeling so overburdened right now for things that in many cases are not their doing.
HARRIS: Sure.
VELSHI: So not hearing a lot of that yet. HARRIS: I just want one of these bankers, I just want one of these CEOs to say thank you to the American people for ponying up the way we're being asked to pony up here. One more quick one.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: You know, when we read in the papers, as I did this morning, that there is still a lack of confidence being reflected in what we're seeing with the stock -- what do we mean specifically, a lack of confidence in the markets and a lack of confidence in the overall economy? What does that mean?
VELSHI: Well, confidence -- there's two ways of looking at confidence.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: One is employers and businesses and the other one is consumers. Consumers have to have confidence that one of three things is going to happen, preferably three of three -- your home value will go up, your investments through the stock market will go up...
HARRIS: Nice.
VELSHI: ... or your wages will go up.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: At the moment, we don't have confidence that any of those three will happen. And as a result, what you do is you make a choice. And by the way, this choice has been made by Americans across all economic spectrums to curtail your spending. There are people who are saying, I just don't think it's the right time to buy the new flat panel or to go on that trip because I don't know that I'm going to have the money to pay for it letter. This has been a big lesson in credit for all of us.
HARRIS: Absolutely. Ali, I'll let you get back to your radio show.
VELSHI: All right.
HARRIS: Great to talk to you, as always. You the man.
VELSHI: Thank you. And if any of your viewers have questions, I'll just give you that number...
HARRIS: Oh, great.
VELSHI: ... 877-266-4189. We're here for the rest of the hour, Tony. I'll talk to you in a little bit.
HARRIS: OK, Ali. Appreciate it. Thanks.
He is no longer your average Joe. How a plumber from a battleground state entered the fight for president. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know Senator McCain, he was ready. He waited for the perfect opportunity. This was the winning line: "If you wanted to run against George Bush, you should have run four years ago."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: These i-Reporters are amazing.
Outing non-voters, that's how one newspaper is pressuring people to go to the polls this year. "The Tennessee Tribune" has published the names and addresses of thousands of registered voters who didn't cast ballots in the last election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSETTA MILLER-PERRY, PUBLISHER, "TENNESSEE TRIBUNE": We need to live up to the civil rights that have been given to us.
TERRENCE ALEXANDER, REGISTERED VOTER: I intend to vote. Will they come and pick me up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: No ride to the polls. Illness and work are some of the reasons people on this list people gave for not voting in the last election. But the newspaper's publisher says her pressure tactics have actually worked in the past. She says one district went from a 37 percent turnout to 65 percent after the publication. She's hoping this year's list will also make a difference.
Nothing is certain in this election. Take the guy now known as "Joe the Plumber."
Barack Obama ran into him on the campaign trail. Joe wants to buy a business but worries about his future taxes. The candidates used his situation to make their point throughout the debate. But Joe's story is not necessarily resonating with the average Joe.
Here is a look at what undecided voters told CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about "Joe the Plumber," who happens to be a real guy. And not only is he a real guy, he's a real guy here in Ohio. Again, "Joe the Plumber" stories, everybody dialed down, did not like "Joe the Plumber."
Liz George (ph), we've given you a mike. Why no resonance with "Joe the Plumber?" UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I appreciated the story. I know a lot of people in his situation. I needed less personal story and more specifics. How are McCain and Obama going to really crack the code on supporting small and medium-sized businesses in this country, because that's really what's going to drive the economic growth. And they just kept going back to telling the story again and again and again.
O'BRIEN: Did you think it was a gimmick, or did you think it was a genuine story and it just wasn't resonating?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe his -- his story was genuine but about the third or fourth time I heard it, it started to get gimmicky.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
Nancy Kenny (ph), we started with you a little bit earlier today. "Joe the Plumber"...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love "Joe the Plumber."
O'BRIEN: You're about the only one, I've got to tell you, on the panel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... why it was. Because I saw "Joe the Plumber" on TV and then I heard him call into a TV shoe. It is a -- I have a small sales and management training business, and my clients are small-to-medium-sized sales organizations. And that's my audience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, he was mentioned over and over during the debate last night. And today he will be forever known as "Joe the Plumber."
Veronica De La Cruz has been following the discussion online. She joins us now from New York City.
Veronica, what have you found online? Good morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Good to see you.
Well, you know, I don't think Joe is that happy being known as "Joe the Plumber." He is Joe Wurzelbacher. He is a plumber from Ohio.
And Tony, you know, his life has been pretty much changed forever. He's been thrust into the national and the international spotlight.
For example, Tony, let's take a look at the Web.
If you check out Google Trends, you see that "Joe the Plumber" is already charting. He's falling somewhere in the top 20. I think he's at number seven right now. And looking at that chart off to the side, you notice around the time that his name was mentioned over and over again, there was a spike in people searching for him on the Web. And then you see it fall overnight. And then it picks back up once daylight hits. And now as you know it, "Joe the Plumber" is a household name.
And if you search him on Google, you get more than 200,000 results. If you search the blogs, Tony, you get more than 4,800 results. And the name "Joe the Plumber" is appearing in national and also international publications online.
HARRIS: He should trademark it if he can. Sorry.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Seriously. I mean, his name is a headline on some of the blogs.
This is "Talking Points Memo," which asks McCain's best hope, "Joe the Plumber." Or this, Tony, from the "L.A. Times": "The star of Wednesday night's final presidential debate was neither Senator John McCain, nor his rival, Senator Barack Obama. It was 'Joe the Plumber.'"
"The New York Times," Tony, had this to say: "Barack Obama looked like a prosecutor delivering a polished summation in a long civil case: 'Joe the Plumber' versus George W. Bush."
And then check this out, Tony. the blog Jossip Jokes, "Who knew to put 'Joe the Plumber' down in your debate bingo square instead of 'maverick?'"
HARRIS: That's something. All right. OK.
DE LA CRUZ: So all over the Internet, like I was saying, check this out. This is on Zazzle.com. There's "Joe the Plumber" merchandise. You see the T-shirts, the buttons.
I mean, if you log on to Cafe Press right now, I believe there are already 10,000 "Joe the Plumber" items. Also, on eBay, Tony, where Web sites with the URL JoeThePlumberTaxPlan.com. That's going for, what, $3,500?
HARRIS: Wow.
DE LA CRUZ: Now, in the meantime, there already is a site actually dedicated to "Joe the Plumber." It's joetheplumber.com. Unfortunately it is the wrong Joe. This one lives in Amarillo, Texas.
I can only maim imagine what kind of traffic he's been getting. There's actually a Twitter user out there who claims to know him and he says that the guy is overwhelmed. He's already been getting offers from people who want to buy this Web site.
And this is a Facebook page, Tony. Almost 1,000 Facebook users want to be fans of "Joe the Plumber." So there you go, this guy overnight a Web sensation. A pop culture icon, if you will. HARRIS: Well, he's a businessman. And I loved one of his comments this morning. He says, "I hope I can use all of this newfound fame and celebrity to build my business."
Let's hope he can.
DE LA CRUZ: "Joe the Plumber" is going to be OK.
HARRIS: And then franchise that thing.
All right, Veronica. Good to see you. It's the American way.
If your health plan is a headache, you won't want to miss our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis live with tips just for you. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: HMOs, PPOs, co-pays and deductibles. You've got so many choices during open enrollment. What health plan is the best fit for you? That's what really counts here.
Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has tips.
Gerri, great to see you. Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, Tony.
Where do we get started here?
WILLIS: Well, you know, hopefully you do have lots of options.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: You know, look, if your employer is offering you some kind of health insurance plan, you have to take it, because it's going to be the cheapest thing you're going to find. But what you should do is compare costs of these plans and the amount of coverage you'll have.
Make sure you know what those premiums are, figure out your access to doctors, hospitals, other health care professionals. And then you want to know what your out-of-pocket costs are going to be, co-pays and deductibles. Pay particular attention -- this is the fine print stuff -- to exclusions and limitations.
Now, a great place to go to crunch the numbers, compare the plans, Consumer Reports helps you do that, consumerreports.org/health. Click on "insurance."
Now, remember, Tony, once you choose the health plan, you generally can't switch until the next open enrollment season.
HARRIS: That's right.
WILLIS: So you don't want to make a mistake here. You've got to get the right thing right away.
HARRIS: So you dig deep, you do all the work that you suggest. And then comes that moment of truth. How do you decide on the best plan, the best?
WILLIS: All right. So here is how you do it.
If cost is your bottom line, your most important criteria, think about an HMO. You'll pay lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. But choice of doctors can be restricted.
Now, if that's your most important thing, what you really care about is the doctor, think about a PPO. You'll be able to choose any doctor. Your costs are higher if you go out of that provider list. But more and more companies are also offering high deductible health care plans.
I think you probably heard about these.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
WILLIS: Generally the premiums are lower, but your deductible is through the roof, $1,100 to over $10,000.
Now, whatever plan you consider, get the report card first at the National Committee for Quality Assurance. I know that's a mouthful -- NCQA.org.
HARRIS: All right. Now, if I don't have coverage through my employer -- I do, but for a moment I don't -- what are my options here? What do I do?
WILLIS: This is tough, Tony. You know, getting insurance on your own is really expensive. So what you want to do is piggyback on a group. OK?
If you belong to a professional organization, see if they have a health insurance option that you can take advantage of. If you were laid off, you're going to have to use something called COBRA.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: Now, COBRA guarantees group coverage for up to 18 months. It's expensive. If you have no choice, then you have to do your homework.
Go to ehealthinsurance.com. That's ehealthinsurance.com. This site lets you compare plans nationwide.
Keep in mind that if you have a health condition, you could be denied coverage in some cases. Your state's insurance department Web site may have a list of insurance companies that do business in your state. That's another option, another place to go. So you've got to do your research here, really understand what you're paying, make the best choice for your family.
HARRIS: Terrific.
And you know what, Gerri? I don't want to let you go before you give us a quick preview of what's coming up this weekend on the big "OPEN HOUSE" show.
WILLIS: "OPEN HOUSE," Saturday morning, right here, 9:30 on CNN. We're talking about protecting your money. I know you care deeply about this.
HARRIS: Oh yes.
WILLIS: This is important. Your money, your vote. And finally, we take a financial bus tour. There's a bus tour across the country that's giving free financial advice to folks out there who can catch up with it. You're going to want to see that, Tony.
HARRIS: Terrific. With all due haste, as always, you were terrific, Gerri. We've got so much in the NEWSROOM program this morning.
Good to see you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: Take care.
The world view of the U.S. election -- global reaction to the race for the White House from our team of international correspondents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Smiles one day, frowns the next. It's the ups and downs of the market. Take a look right knew, the Dow down 271 points, off of session lows to be sure, but still in negative territory. Yesterday the markets plunged 733 points, nearly 8 percent . Stocks have given up Monday's 936 point gain, and then some. Monday is the only day this month the Dow has finished in positive territory, helping fuel insecurity.
The Federal Reserve says industrial production dropped almost 3 percent in September. Much of that blamed on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. New claims for unemployment insurance by more than 16,000 last week, that is more than expected. The Labor Department reports inflation for September was flat.
How in the world did we get in such a mess? Live pictures now. That is something the Senate Banking Committee is hoping to get a handle on this morning. The committee is holding a hearing on the problem and origins of the financial crisis. One positive out of this, a drop in gas prices, right now a gallon of regular is averaging $3.08. Good news on that front.
On the road again, with 19 days to go, the presidential candidates back on the trail today after the third and final debate. Debate season is now over. Barack Obama campaigns in New Hampshire next hour. We will take you live to his rally in Londonderry, New Hampshire. The following hour, John McCain holds a road to victory rally in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
In their final face-off, the presidential candidates traded low blows over taxes and economy. After the smiles and handshakes, John McCain accused Barack Obama of trying to spread the wealth around through tax hikes, while Obama said he would cut taxes for 95 percent of families in the country. Both vowed to help Americans get through the current financial crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: American are hurting right now, and they're angry. They're hurting and they're angry. They are innocent victims of greed and excess on Wall Street and as well as Washington, D.C. And they're angry. And they have every reason to be angry. And they want this country to go in a new direction.
OBAMA: I think everybody understands at this point that we are experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And the financial rescue plan that Senator McCain and I supported is an important first step. And I pushed for some core principles, making sure the taxpayers can get their money back if they're putting money up, making sure that CEOs are not enriching themselves through this process. And I think it's going to take some time to work itself out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The global economic crisis just one of the factors focusing worldwide attention on the presidential race and the debates. Our correspondents have been following the international reaction to the election here in the United States. We have reports from Lagos, Nigeria, Beirut, Lebanon and Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY CHANG, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Emily Chang on one of Beijing's busiest shopping streets, where Chinese shoppers are definitely watching their spending.
They're well aware the world is in the midst of a financial crisis. Many of them blame the United States and say the next U.S. president needs to do something to stabilize the global economy. Some of them like John McCain. They think he's experienced. And he has the wisdom to lead the way forward. And that he'll be softer on trade with China. Others want a fresh perspective. If the Bush administration got us into this mess, they think Barack Obama got us out of it. They think he's different and he means change.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Christian Purefoy in Lagos, Nigeria, where most people here haven't seen the presidential debates.
Your average my Nigerian hasn't yet been affected by the global economic crisis. However, this is the most populous black nation in the world. There's an estimated 150 million people here in Nigeria. They've been following U.S. presidential race as avidly as the rest of the world. Everyone here is throwing their support behind the one man they think can help the world's problems, Obama.
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anthony Mills in Beirut, where some people fear that if Barack Obama is elected president, he may make good on a pledge to engage Syria and Iran, thereby reversing political gains made when the current U.S. administration help force Syria end an almost 30-year military occupation of Lebanon. They believe that John McCain, if elected president, would be more likely to safeguard Lebanon's independence.
On the other hand, you have those Lebanese who regard biased in favor of Israel, the United States' approach to the Middle East in general. They welcome the approach of Barack Obama and his pledge to engage Syria and Iran. Their fear is that John McCain would fuel the fires of further confrontation. >
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Both presidential candidates are trying to win over swing voters in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll 57 percent of independent voters say Barack Obama did a better job at last night's debate, compared to 31 percent who said John McCain did a better job.
Let's check in, once again now, with Reynolds Wolf in our severe weather center.
Reynolds, boy, let's talk a little bit about the wildfires in Southern California, although I believe you have a map of the tropics behind you, sir.
Let's start there.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tropics and Omar.
HARRIS: Yes.
WOLF: Now, wouldn't it be just a perfect world to have at least some of this moisture of this storm over in parts of Southern California.
HARRIS: Now you're talking.
WOLF: See, but unfortunately we can't do that.
What we can do is tell you some good news. That is this storm system is dying out and doing so fairly quickly. We've seen it lose intensification significantly going from Category 3 storm, weakening even more. Moving to the north, winds right now, continuing to weaken as the storm marches to the north.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A medical mission for a one-year-old girl goes bad. Chopper down, possibly playing a part in the crash -
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE KELLER, CNN IREPORTER: The debate was pretty much a draw. I think both men presented themselves well and outlined their ideas pretty specifically. If you're an Obama supporter before the debate, you were all the more convinced of his character and his courage and vision for leading us out of the mess you're in. If you're a John McCain supporter, I'm sure you were just ecstatic that he took the gloves off and hit him with William Ayers and ACORN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We've been showing you our post-debate i-Reports throughout the show. It is not too late for you to contribute. Go to CNN.com and send us your take on the final debate and keep watching for more of your opinions.
Good news, for millions of Americans, Social Security benefits are going up. But will it be enough to make a real difference here? Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details and a check of the market action.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Well, 50 million Americans will see their Social Security checks increase starting in January. The 5.8 percent jump, the biggest in more than a quarter century. For the typical retiree, the monthly check will go up $63 to $1,153. The government increasing the amount because consumer prices have jumped nearly 5 percent over the past year.
That CPI report, which was released today, shows a slight easing over the past couple months. But a big drop in industrial production is pushing stocks lower today. That drop in industrial production can partly be blamed on Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as well as the continuing strike at Boeing.
Right now the Dow industrials off the lows for the session. Right now down 188 points or 2.25 percent. This coming off the second- biggest point drop of the year, not exactly reassuring numbers. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is down slightly less, down about 1.1 percent, Tony.
HARRIS: So, you know, Susan, let's talk about this. The Social Security increase couldn't come at a better time, particularly since many Americans have seen their retirement accounts take a hit, right?
LISOVICZ: No question about it, Tony. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Americans' retirement plans have lost more than 20 percent of their value over the last 15 months. It's not just this market upheaval that's a problem. Retirees are seeing their purchasing power decline because energy and food prices have soared over the past year.
The good news is oil is down under $70 a barrel today --.
HARRIS: Can you believe that?
LISOVICZ: -- on a better-than-expected supply report. It's pared half of the rise that we've seen since July.
HARRIS: That's right.
LISOVICZ: It's just incredible. It was approaching $150 a barrel. We're seeing it play out every time we go to the gas station. We should see it on our heating bills as well, Tony.
HARRIS: Look, a bit of solace in the all of this, in these rough waters.
Susan, great to see you. See you next hour?
LISOVICZ: You got it.
HARRIS: Some other news, now, of four people killed in the crash of a medical helicopter on its way to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. A horrible story here. It happened late last night, just west of Aurora, Illinois. Our affiliate WGN reported last hour that a witness saw the chopper clip a radio tower wire. The chopper was carrying two crew numbers and a nurse and a one-year-old girl. And 16 apartment buildings in the area were evacuated while crews determined if the 750-foot radio tower was stable.
Doctors say Nancy Reagan will be in the hospital for a few more days recovering from a broken pelvis. A spokeswoman says Reagan fell last week, at her home in suburban Los Angeles. She checked into Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this week after experiencing persistent pain. The 87-year-old former first lady is undergoing physical therapy. Doctors expect her recovery to take six to eight weeks. The hospital reports she is in good spirits.
Vice President Dick Cheney resuming his normal schedule after a brief heart procedure yesterday. A spokesman for the VP says doctors were called to his White House office yesterday morning. Seems his heart rhythm was off. Doctors at George Washington University Hospital delivered an electrical impulse to restore his heart's normal rhythm. Cheney has had four heart attacks.
The accusations were flying fast and furious during the final presidential debate last night. Sounds like a job for our Truth Squad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So here is the story here, the CNN Truth Squad worked through the night, I'm told, Josh, checking the facts on the candidates' claims during the debate.
Josh Levs is here now with some Truth Squad verdicts, that perhaps the candidates won't like -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, are you skeptical about the through the night thing?
HARRIS: Uh-uh.
LEVS: Are you skeptical?
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: No, no, no. I know you weren't here through the night. I know the other members of the Truth Squad were here during the night. But you?
LEVS: Yes, you're right. I got back in at 4:00. That doesn't quite count as through the night. Thanks for the shout out.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Sure, whatever I can do.
LEVS: Let me take over before he disses me again?
Here's the thing. We have a lot to piece through today. Let's take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: He voted twice for a budget resolution that increases the taxes on individuals making $42,000 a year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. The verdict there, as you can see, misleading. McCain is referring to this. I'll show it to you on the screen for a second -- Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 70. Here is the deal, this was meant to outline Senate budget priorities through 2013. I got a couple of key points about it, on a graphic for you. It assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will expire. That is what McCain calls a tax increase. But Democrats offer their own tax cuts inside that same resolution.
So, Tony, that is how the Truth Squad arrived at the verdict there of misleading.
HARRIS: Hey, what about Barack Obama going after John McCain's education plan? Did you do some work on that?
LEVS: Yes, we did. Let's take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The centerpiece of Senator McCain's education policy is to increase the voucher program in D.C. by 2,000 slots. That leaves all of you who live in the other 50 states without an education reform policy from Senator McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: All right, you saw the ruling on that, false. Here's he issue Obama was focusing on. Let's go to a graphic for a second. McCain supports providing government money in the form of school vouchers to parents who seek to send their children to private schools. He wants to expand the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which offers vouchers but he also offers plans for the whole country.
As you can see here, on his web site. Let's zoom in for just a second. He lists a whole bunch of things that he wants to do to education in America. And he calls for a series of reforms. We have empowering teachers. He talks here about working to ensure children have a higher quality education. This here about bonuses for teachers. So, it is actually not accurate to say he has the rest of country would have no educational reform policy from Senator McCain.
Obama was just looking at one specific policy. Tony, that does have McCain does support that.
HARRIS: There he is, heading up the Truth Squad.
LEVS: There you go. You got it.
HARRIS: Hardest working man in television.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Weekends, nights, overnight, mornings.
LEVS: Issue #1, you got to work a lot these days. (INAUDIBLE)
HARRIS: All right, Josh, thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Reaching out to the blind in Baghdad. Precious gifts from the U.S. with love. Kyra is here next with a pretty amazing story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Wonderful story. You need to get to it. Sorry.
Desperately needed donations arriving for the blind in Baghdad. The outpouring and response to a story from this lady right here about some incredible kids in the war zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Al-Noor Institute is Baghdad's only school for the blind. I thought I was coming here as a reporter, but I ended up a student, learning unforgettable lessons.
MURTADA, STUDENT: One, two, three, four, five. Six, seven, eight, nine -
(CHEERS)
MURTADA: 10, 11, 12.
PHILLIPS: Yes!
MURTADA: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
PHILLIPS: Ten-year-old Murtada counts more than numbers; he counts his blessings.
"God gives me things, and takes things away," Murtada tells me. "Even though I'm blind, God gave me cleverness. The lowest grade I ever received is 85. And thanks be to God, I succeed every semester."
And his teacher, Amar Ali, is making sure of that.
PHILLIPS (on camera): You were a student here, now you teach here?
AMAR ALI, TEACHER: No, it is a kind of feeling that cannot be described, really, really. The kind of happiness that cannot be described.
PHILLIPS: Are you sharing that happiness with these children?
ALI: Yes, yes. I feel myself with them.
PHILLIPS (voice over): But we realized quickly Amar needed much more than just love for these kids. He needed supplies.
So what better resource than the school where Helen Keller studied. Perkins School for the Blind in Boston didn't even hesitate about a donation. And the next thing we knew, Braillers, paper, dictionaries in Braille and sunglasses were headed to Baghdad.
But it wasn't easy. From Boston to Baghdad delivery in a war zone can be life threatening, but these boxes made it with help from the charity IRD., International Relief & Development.
"Here we go," says this teacher, who immediately types a thank you note with the new Perkins Brailler, a special machine for the blind that types Braille. But it only got better. Meet Jacalo (ph). She has never owned a pair of sunglasses in her life.
"Not on your hair," her teacher says. "On your eyes. It's to protect them."
And remember teacher Amar Ali?
ALI: I'm really, really happy. I can't believe myself, to have is a dictionary.
PHILLIPS: When is the last time you saw a grown man cry over a new dictionary?
DAVID ELKINS, INT'L. RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT: The school didn't have one until now, in English, and it was -- Mr. Amar, who was the teacher interviewed, made that request so he would be better in his teaching. That was one of the important deliveries that was made.
PHILLIPS: And you know what else is so remarkable about these students? Their humility. All these gifts received with wonderment and soft thank yous.
"I thank everyone for this symbolic gift," says this 13-year-old Youseff. "Things will be better now."
Better? Maybe. Hopeful, absolutely. Grateful, always.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Amazing. But, come on. How did this happen? How did you -- you go to Iraq. You do this reporting. You report on these amazing kids and then how did the train move down the track, until we see this thing with the shipment?
PHILLIPS: Honestly, it all goes back to my amazing mom. I mean, she worked with deaf kids and deaf/blind kids, and blind kids her whole career. So, I'm very sensitive to that. I've grown up with kids like this. When I went over to Iraq, I said, OK, Mom, I want to enterprise some stories. I want to look into kids that are challenged. And she said, does Baghdad have a school for the blind?
HARRIS: Wow.
PHILLIPS: That's a great question. So, sure enough, there is one there. And you go and you see -- I mean, blind kids here in the States have so many amazing resources for the most part. And you go into this school and you see how they have absolutely nothing. And they're so smart. You saw Murtada.
HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: He's was so proud to count to -
HARRIS: Sixteen, 16 is the funny one.
PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. Oh, I just loved him. So, and Perkins School for the Blind, where Helen Keller studied, you know, they have amazing resources. An incredible foundation. So it took six month, but it happened.
HARRIS: How about the work did you in Iraq and we report on a lot of violence there all the time. But you did something really extraordinary. You went over there and jumped outside of the green zone. You found these stories that, let's face it, are certainly underreported. This is one of them, and hats off to you.
PHILLIPS: Yes, our security team. I stress them out on a regular basis. But, I mean, that's the beauty of those stories. We can actually make a difference.
HARRIS: Terrific stuff. See you in an hour?
PHILLIPS: All right.
HARRIS: Kyra, thank you.
If would you like to get involved in relief efforts for those in need in Iraq, visit CNN.com/impactyourworld.
