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Kirk Kerkorian to Sell Ford Stakes; Federal Reserve Announcing Another Emergency Program; Early Voting in Florida; New Study Shows Men More Likely to Take Risks with Money; Saving Lives in Congo
Aired October 21, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: 14 days and counting, the candidates making a push to capture those key states. Voters lining up to cast ballots early. Some waiting for hours.
The best political team on television covers it all.
It is Tuesday, October 21st. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The last lap. Exactly two weeks to go until Election Day and the campaigns are busy hitting the hot spots.
Here's where they are today. John McCain, turning his attention to Pennsylvania again while running mate Sarah Palin is in the west and Midwest. Barack Obama fighting for Florida. Early voting, as you know, under way there. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is in another key battleground state, Colorado.
Obama is going on and we will be following all of that for you today. Thousands of people waiting in line to vote early. That is the scene across Florida. Barack Obama hoping to capitalize with several stops in the battleground state today.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in Lake Worth, Florida this morning. It's the site of Barack Obama's first campaign stop of the morning.
Good morning to you there, Suzanne. What's on tap for today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, obviously, Florida is critical for Barack Obama. And what he's doing is called kind of an economic summit here.
He has gathered four governors of Republican-leaning states to join him today, as well as members of his economic team to talk about his own plan when it comes to creating jobs and tax cuts, those type of things. Those governors from the key states of Michigan, Ohio, New Mexico and Colorado.
Obviously, one of the major issues here in Florida, home foreclosures, 44,000 home foreclosures, Heidi. That is only second to California when it comes to the kind of impact, economic impact that has been devastating for people here in Florida.
As you know, Florida, a -- a key swing state, one that Barack Obama has been working very, very hard to win over -- Heidi. COLLINS: We know that you have met with Barack Obama's family and have also traveled to Hawaii. What can you tell us about the relationship with his grandmother, who we know is not feeling well, to say the least?
MALVEAUX: Well, we know that actually on Thursday and Friday, he's actually going to leave the campaign trail for a little bit temporarily to go visit with his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. She is 85 years old.
I had a chance in doing a documentary to speak with Obama, with Michelle, and his sister, Maya, about his relationship with his grandmother. It is very, very close. He called her kind of a no- nonsense woman. Her nickname is Tut, that is short for Tutu, Hawaiian for grandmother.
She doesn't like to be called "Grandma.' But she is somebody who really has been very close to him. She spent part of Barack Obama's teenage years raising him along with Barack Obama's grandfather in Honolulu at a time when his mom was traveling in Indonesia. You know his father had abandoned him when he was very, very little.
Barack Obama himself has talked about her on the campaign trail. When he accepted the Democratic nomination, he thanked her and said it was because of her he is the man who he is today and that that night was for her.
He also bought her up in that speech on race in Philadelphia, as an example of someone who loved him more than life itself, but still was -- as someone who was struggling and got over some of the prejudices, the stereotypes in dealing with African-Americans.
As you know, he comes from a biracial family. And this is the one that he referred to as his white grandmother during that speech.
So clearly, this is someone who is very, very important to him and according to Maya, his sister, she's an avid news watcher. She loves to play Bridge. She loves to listen to books on tape, those type of things, and she is very, very close to Barack Obama.
And she is actually one of the few relatives who's still alive in his family. His parents are both deceased as well as his grandfather -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we, of course, are watching that situation closely, as well. Suzanne Malveaux, from Florida this morning, thank you, Suzanne.
John McCain is in Pennsylvania today, another stop of his tour of key battleground states. We get more on McCain's last lap strategy from CNN's Dana Bash, part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Missouri is the state John McCain's advisers told CNN just six weeks ago they hoped to secure and move on. Now it's neck and neck and he's back.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With your help, we're going to win Missouri and bring real change to Washington, D.C.
BASH: Several thousand people came to see McCain in this St. Louis suburb two days after Barack Obama drew this unprecedented crowd downtown.
But McCain aides are taking heart in several national polls showing Obama's wide lead narrowing a bit, which advisers attribute to McCain's relentless use of Joe the Plumber to hit Obama's tax plan.
MCCAIN: Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on some in order to give checks to others, it's not a tax cut. It's another government giveaway that the liberals have been trying to push on America for a long time.
BASH: And even sharper receipt rhetoric, talk of socialism from Sarah Palin who hammers it now in practically every speech.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe the Plumber said it sounded to him like socialism.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: And now is not the time to experiment with that.
BASH: Still, McCain's urgent challenge is not getting drowned out by Obama and his mind-blowing amount of campaign cash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did vote with Bush 90 percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Here in Missouri, Obama is outspending McCain on TV ads, 2-1. In other states, much more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's talk a little bit about your campaign here in Virginia.
BASH: To try to compete, McCain aides say they've doubled the number of his local interviews in critical markets and they're jumping on any opening from camp Obama, like Joe Biden warning donors at a weekend fund-raiser that America's enemies will quickly test a President Obama.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. And he's going to have to make some really tough -- I don't know what the decisions is going to be, but I promise you, it will occur.
MCCAIN: We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars.
BASH (on camera): And McCain may close out his campaign talking about something he long ago called out of bounds and vowed not to touch, Obama's relationship with controversial pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
A lot of Republicans inside and outside McCain's campaign say Wright should be fair game and now McCain's campaign manager is telling a conservative radio show that they're, quote, unquote, "rethinking their strategy," to just saying McCain may bring up Wright after all.
Dana Bash, CNN, Belton, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We, of course, will take you live to the presidential candidates' campaign events next hour. Just a reminder, John McCain is in Bensalem, Pennsylvania at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Barack Obama in Lake Worth, Florida, 10:30 this morning.
Things getting out of hand after a Sarah Palin rally in Grand Junction, Colorado. Protesters blocking Palin's motorcade, Monday. Police jumping in dragging them out of the way. The Grand Junction police chief said police had to act because the motorcade probably wouldn't have stopped.
No one was arrested. Police are reviewing videotapes and pictures. They say it's still an active, criminal investigation.
Early voting is under way across the country. Tens of thousands of people casting ballots already. Here's a scene in Denver, Colorado. People able to drive up, dropping off their absentee ballots.
Long lines in Dallas, Texas. At least 31 states are offering some sort of early voting there. Many allow you to vote in person, like in Texas.
It's the same story in Florida. The first day of early voting there saw some problems with broken machines. The wait time for some voters around three hours.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I've been standing in the line now for 30 minutes and I'm glad to say I'm not the end of the line anymore.
Are you going to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Yes, yes.
ZARRELLA: Did you brick a deck of cards?
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Our John Zarrella, stuck in line, waiting to vote early in Florida. You can see, he is not alone by a long shot, and he's talking. We have more from John coming up at the bottom of the hour.
It is, in fact, a half an hour before Wall Street opens. Do you have any idea where your money is headed today? We do get clues from overseas oftentimes.
The Asian markets, in fact, are mostly higher this hour. Japan's Nikkei index closed up more than 3 percent. The European markets are in positive territory as well. Benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France are higher.
Investors are seemingly bolstered by the Dow's big close yesterday. Can it build on yesterday's big gains of more than 4.5 percent? That's the question.
Want to take a look at the big picture. CNN's Christine Romans is in New York this morning.
So, is the big picture today another stimulus?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the question. One of the things that Wall Street seemed to like yesterday, Heidi, was the notion that maybe there's another fiscal stimulus package on the way.
The Fed chief Ben Bernanke, in testimony yesterday before Congress, saying that he thought that was appropriate. The White House saying they were open to it, would consider any of the suggestions out there.
And we know that the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for some weeks has been pushing through the idea of cash assistance for states, for infrastructure spending.
Let's look at what another stimulus package would look like. And all of this is what it would look like. It's a big guessing game at this point, but what to the Democrats want? They want to cut capital gains tax in half for the next couple of years. They've cut income -- actually, this looks like this one is the -- cut income tax for firms buying troubled assets.
This is actually the Republicans. OK. So Republicans want to cut the capital gains tax in half for two years. They want to cut the income tax for firms buying troubled assets. They want to expand capital gains exclusion on home sales.
That would allow people to buy a second or third home and get that capital gain exclusion if they hold it for, like, eight years. That might be good, they say, for getting some of these foreclosed properties off the market.
What the Democrats want is funding for more infrastructure projects to create jobs. I mean every time you build a road or a bridge, you create a lot of jobs. There's some concern that it takes a while to get those bridges and roads built and so it's not a very...
COLLINS: Sure.
ROMANS: ... immediate one, but extend jobless benefits and raise the limits on home loans backed by the government.
So a lot of talk out there about another goose to the economy in the form of a stimulus -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. All right. We'll check back with you later on that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Appreciate it. Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes.
COLLINS: President Bush on the economy. He says the financial crisis in the U.S. is not bad enough to ignore our commitments abroad. He says the U.S. and other developed countries still need to honor pledges of international aid.
Today, the president is hosting about 500 representatives from other nations at a day-long summit. The focus, international development aid.
The economy and its impact on the presidential race. Two weeks from today, will Americans vote their wallet? And it's part of our day long focus tomorrow right here on CNN. Make sure you don't miss that.
Feeling angry, scared or stressed out? You're not alone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CURRERI, CNN IREPORTER: What I'm really looking for at the two candidates is one enough to (INAUDIBLE) as a passionate (INAUDIBLE) that I know that they have but supports America, supports (INAUDIBLE), but more specifically, supports my generation, to show that they believe in my generation, that they're going to do everything they can to give us the ability to make America great.
ERIN MACK, CNN IREPORTER: There is nothing wrong with being an undecided voter as long as you go out of your way to find out about the issues and eventually have someone in mind.
Yes, it's first-time voters!
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So are you still undecided? Why? We're very curious to know and we want to hear from you. You can log in and weigh in all of your opinions, ireports.com.
The presidential campaigns going into their last lap. Elections, two weeks from today. The economy is weighing heavy on many voters' minds.
So what is the mood of the country as a whole? And what will that mean inside a voting booth?
Want to go ahead and check in with CNN's deputy political director now, Paul Steinhauser.
Good morning to you, Paul. We did a poll on this to find out exactly how some voters are feeling.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, and they're not feeling very well. Take a look at these brand new numbers from CNN Opinion Research Corporation, Heidi. We put them out this morning.
Three out of four Americans say things are going badly right now in this country and that is a number you don't often see. That's kind of rare that you have that many people saying things are not going well.
But this is the really interesting part. Takes a look at this, we asked Americans how they feel about things right now in the country. And check this out, three in four Americans say they're stressed out. Three in four Americans say they're angry about the way things are going in the country today, and two out of three say they are scared.
Keating Holland, our polling director, told me this is very interesting because Americans tend to usually downplay their emotions and their feelings when it comes to tough times, but not in this poll, Heidi. Not at all.
COLLINS: Yes. And we always like to give context to -- when we do this poll. So how many people are we talking about here? It's like 1,058 or so that we talked to, right?
STEINHAUSER: Exactly, 1,058 people. We polled these Friday through Sunday and we put these number out this morning. And, yes, again, people are not very happy right now and they are stressed out and angry.
And that -- you know, who will that help in the election? Well, maybe -- maybe a Barack Obama because he is more considered the candidate of change.
Take a look at this right now. The new -- our new Poll of Polls nationally, you've got Barack Obama up 7 points. This is an average of the latest national polls and Heidi, with just two weeks to go, 7 points nationally.
But remember, it's a battle for the states. We always talk about that. So take a look at Ohio. And in Ohio, this is a state with 20 electoral votes. This is the one that decided it all four years ago. It's dead even, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, dead even.
COLLINS: Well, it's fascinating. We've obviously got a lot of key battleground states to be looking at and to be watching really, really closely. We have a whole slew of reporters stationed in each one of those states so that we can make sure that we're covering them appropriately.
Paul Steinhauser, thank you.
Two weeks to go, we'll get more numbers.
Rob Marciano is standing by now in the CNN's Weather Center -- Severe Weather Center. No swish again today, so does that mean -- maybe it's an indication that things are calm, yes?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, we'll check back later on. Thank you.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: Game-changing error. Hundreds of people thought they won thousands of dollars in one state lottery, but it looks like they are out of luck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In play in North Carolina, not just the presidential contest but a Republican held Senate seat.
Here now CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jobs will be produced if we move forward quickly with a comprehensive energy policy.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): North Carolina Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, served in two presidents' cabinets, is married to one-time presidential candidate Bob Dole, and she's now fighting for her once safe Senate seat.
(On camera): Is your re-election in trouble?
SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Obviously, the climate is not the best and the presidential factor, but all I can tell -- say is our polling looks good. KAY HAGAN (D), NORTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE: Hello, everybody. Great day.
BOLDUAN (voice over): The challenger, a relative unknown. Democratic state senator, Kay Hagan, who's is benefiting from Barack Obama's strong showing in the state.
HAGAN: If Senator Helms what senator knows then Senator Dole has been senator nowhere in North Carolina.
BOLDUAN: Hagan is trying to tie Dole to the unpopular president and running ads labeling Dole as out of touch with North Carolinians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLITICAL AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's happened to the Lady Dole I knew?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's just not a go-getter like you and me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAGAN: Even in 2006, she was only in North Carolina 13 days. Now I've got family members who visit North Carolina more often than that. People in North Carolina want somebody that they can talk to, talk about the issues and then have somebody really represent them in Washington and be effective.
BOLDUAN: Dole denies being absent from the state and defends her record.
DOLE: When you get the VFW's endorsement because of your work for the military, you get the manufacturer's award because of your work for textiles and furniture, these are the things that I'm working on constantly whether I'm in Washington in session or here in the state.
BOLDUAN: Dole and her supporters are trying to paint Hagan as a tax and spend Democratic.
SHERRY CROCTOR, ELIZABETH DOLE SUPPORTER: I know that Kay Hagan's record is a big spender. I think that this is the time in the country when we need to rein in on the spending.
CROWD: We need change! We need change!
BOLDUAN: But Hagan's campaign theme of change is winning over some former Dole voters.
MARK FANNING, KAY HAGAN SUPPORTER: I want a change, like everybody else does.
BOLDUAN (on camera): One thing both campaigns are counting on here are the hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters. The State Board of Elections says those new voters are more than two-to- one Democrats.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Raleigh, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Not to lucky number seven, a new Virginia -- a new Virginia lottery promised a grand prize of 7,777 bucks if numbers on the ticket added up to 7. Hundreds of ticket holders thought they were winners only to be told a computer error caused misprints.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY WATERS, THOUGHT SHE WON LOTTERY: I don't see why that's my problem. I think it should be their problem. And I'm really very sorry that they had a computer glitch, but stand by what it did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The ticket says it is void if misprinted, but lottery officials are talking with the state attorney general's office now to see if they do actually have to pay up.
Seesaw on Wall Street. We saw a big gain on Monday. Will we see a sell-off today? Looking for signs of stability. The opening bell in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Opening bell, just a few seconds away on Wall Street. And it looks like stocks might back pedal a bit from yesterday's 400 point rally.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now to kick things off for the trading day.
Hey there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. Well, we had a nice rally on Monday.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And I think one of the most notable things about it, Heidi, was that stocks moved in one direction for the session. Kind of extraordinary, given the volatility we've seen. But we are looking at a lower open.
We should note that the market recouped about $500 billion in value yesterday. Ben Bernanke's encouragement for a second economic stimulus fund among the things that helped get the bulls running, along with a further easing in the credit markets, which we continue to see. And that certainly is helping sentiments.
We're also go looking for corporate earnings, nearly 150 as the S&P 500 companies set to turn in their results this week. American Express reporting a nearly 25 percent drop in quarterly profits. The credit card giant expects the economy to remain weak through next year. Also hinting a possible layoffs. AmEx said its bottom line has been hurt by the rising cost of credit and that it may obtain funding from the government.
And while we're talking about credit, the Federal Reserve announcing yet another emergency program this morning. The Fed will start buying commercial paper, which is this crucial short-term funding that so many businesses use. The fed will be buying it from money market mutual funds. They have been under pressure, a skittish investors demand withdrawals. And when there are redemptions in mutual funds, that in turn puts pressure on stocks. But the Dow has now rallied 10 percent from its recent bottom of a couple of weeks ago, still down 35 percent from its all-time high a year ago.
Let's check the numbers. Oh, just a minute into trading. We've got a triple digits move to the downside. Blue chips down 115 points or 1.25 percent. The Nasdaq is down 1.6 percent. Oil also falling today as the U.S. dollar gains strength. The fall comes even though OPEC is expected to cut production quotas by at least 1 million barrels per day this week.
And finally, real quick, a guy who's got a lot of dough and uses it, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian selling his stake in Ford, after becoming the largest individual shareholder in the automaker outside of the Ford Family. Kerkorian Tracinda Corp is shifting its focus to the gaming and hospitality, and oil and gas industries. For those who follow what he does, that's what he's up to, Heidi. He's getting out of the auto business.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. We are watching all of it. Again, Dow Jones Industrial Averages now down about 133 points right out of the gate this morning. Susan, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: The candidates making their last laps around the country now focusing attention on key battleground states before Election Day, now just two weeks away. Today, John McCain hits Pennsylvania while Barack Obama continues his campaign in Florida. Both are making appearances next hour, so make sure you stay with us for live coverage of those events.
Well, not everybody waiting for November 4th to vote. Early voting leading to long lines and long waits in several states. As many as one-third of all voters will hand in their ballots before Election Day. Some of the longest lines in Florida, a key battleground state. CNN's John Zarrella is one of those early voters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): With early voting beginning on Monday in Florida, I decided I better beat the Election Day rush. Now, both parties are urging their supporters to get out and vote early. Why?
Well, there's a million voters in Broward County alone and they expect huge turnouts between now and Election Day. Now, I got in line 11:15 here. Let's see how long it takes me to negotiate and actually get inside today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Change is on the way. It's worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always vote early but I've never seen the crowds like this ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live in the neighborhood.
ZARRELLA: So, it was easier?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not. I finished up at the golf course so I came here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone want a sample ballot?
ZARRELLA: I've been standing in line now for 30 minutes and I'm glad to say I'm not at the end of the line any more.
Are you going to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Yes, yes.
ZARRELLA: Did you bring a deck of cards?
(voice-over): Many people spent their time studying the sample ballot. The real ballot is four pages including a host of proposed constitutional amendments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they ask me for money, no.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Did you figure the ballot out? Did you figure out all those amendments, too?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.
ZARRELLA: I've been waiting an hour and a half now but we're almost inside the door.
Are you excited about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In order to vote for me, you have...
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Marty Ann Libby (ph) is reminding people she is running for a judgeship. Why? Someone else's name not hers was put on the ballot. Oops. Well, it is Florida.
(on camera): We're in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally.
ZARRELLA: Finally.
(voice-over): But it was hardly the end of the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) were down.
ZARRELLA: Just ask those finally coming out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I thought it was a big mess. Three hours. Machines breaking. Just exhausted on my day off.
ZARRELLA: It took me three hours and 15 minutes.
(on camera): There are two machines that actually print out the ballots. And both of the machines went down for a period of about 45 minutes, so that just brought everything to a standstill. So, first day, early problems, we'll see what happens as the week's progress.
John Zarrella, CNN, Broward County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: California making it even easier for early voters. Drive through voting. Yes, just like banking or fast food. Voters in Santa Ana, California, with the chance to just drive up and vote, not if you're a dog, though. Or register to vote at least. But the drive-through was only open for one day. And yesterday was the last day for Californians to register before the November election.
Voters have a lot to sort through with just two weeks to go until Election Day. The candidates making a lot of late allegations on the campaign trail. Our Josh Levs is here to take a closer look at a couple of the claims. Kind of a referee, if you will.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK.
COLLINS: So, I understand you're starting off with a look at whether Joe the Plumber, who we all know or we feel like we know by now...
LEVS: Feel like it.
COLLINS: ...is being attacked by the Obama campaign.
LEVS: Yes. That's where we're going to start. I like that referee thing, by the way. That's good.
COLLINS: Yes. We'll get you a whistle.
LEVS: That's like my dream, I told you, to be there during the debate. I'll bring that with me. (INAUDIBLE). Let's do this. We're going to start off with what the sound bite is and while we're watching it, you're going to see the CNN "Truth Squad" ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe didn't ask for Senator Obama to come to his house. And certainly Joe didn't ask to be famous. And he certainly didn't ask for the political attacks on him from the Obama campaign. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. Let's take a look at how the "Truth Squad" arrived at that ruling. Here's what happen. The McCain campaign gave us three examples of what they're calling attacks by the Obama campaign on Joe Wurzelbacher whom we all know now as Joe the Plumber. This was one of those.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me put it this way. I don't know the neighborhood I grew up and even the neighborhood I live in now, which is a really nice neighborhood, I don't know many plumbers are making $250,000 a year are worried about it. We're kind of worried about, you know, Joe the fireman, Joe the policemen, Joe the real plumber with a license.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And that last part there is a reference to the fact that Joe Wurzelbacher is actually not a licensed plumber. The other two examples that they gave us are similar. So, Obama and Biden questioning whether many plumbers in America make $250,000 a year because the Obama campaign says only families pulling in that much will see their taxes go up. So, our verdict on this one, let's zoom in on the screen for a second, I'll show you our verdict here.
This is how we got to that verdict of in dispute. You know what, it's a little tiny type there, but I made it bigger over here. Let's take a look there. In dispute -- McCain regards these comments as political attack on Joe Wurzelbacher, but the comments also can be interpreted as the Obama campaign's commentary on the McCain campaign rhetoric in choosing to make him a symbol. So, Heidi, that's why on this one, we were stuck with in dispute.
COLLINS: OK. In dispute, got it.
LEVS: In dispute. Once in a while that's where we land.
COLLINS: OK. Well, that's fair. From the other side now, you're looking at an attack by Barack Obama over Medicare votes.
LEVS: Medicare votes. Yes. You know, Obama has been focusing, a bunch of his attacks lately on --
COLLINS: Yes, on Medicare.
LEVS: Yes, you've seen that. It's really been getting a lot of attention lately. Here's one thing he said about McCain's voting record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In fact, Senator McCain has voted against protecting Medicare 40 times. 40 times. He has failed to stand up for Medicare. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: It's always interesting when you hear about numbers of votes. So, here's what happened. The Obama campaign sent the CNN "Truth Squad" a list of the 40 votes he was referring to there. And we broke it down. We have a graphic for you. These votes include a handful of fairly straight forward decisions on Medicare funding, but some are less clear cut. They include resolutions that express opinion on some issues, but don't change funding on their own.
Also, some votes were for massive budget bills with some Medicare funding cuts inside. And then there were some procedural bills like voting against Democratic amendment, sort of Republican sponsored bills. So when you put all that together, Heidi, that's where the CNN "Truth Squad" found this one to be misleading. And I'll tell you, of course, you can get more details at all times at CNN.com which is getting millions of hits every day on the "Fact Check" page, which we love to see, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. We've ordered up the whistle. We'll give it to you next time around. OK?
LEVS: Awesome. Thank you.
COLLINS: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: All right. See you.
COLLINS: We want to head over to the weather center now -- severe weather center with Rob Marciano, stand by, to give us the very latest.
There you are. Hey!
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How is it going?
COLLINS: Good.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Hey, we want to give you an update now on that bizarre case of the NASA astronaut accused of trying to abduct a romantic rival -- remember the story? Today, in Orlando, prosecutors will argue, evidence seized from Lisa Nowak's car should be allowed in her trial. Nowak is accused of trying to abduct the woman vying for the affections of the same space shuttle pilot.
Here's news of a voluntary recall. We also want to pass along to you. Delta Enterprises is sending out warning about nearly 1.6 million of its drop-side cribs. The cribs were made between 1995 and 2005. Two babies have actually died because of the absence or failure of a peg. The company will provide consumers with either replacement safety pegs or spring peg kits. The company has set up a Web site. If you like more information, you can see it on the bottom of your screen -- www.cribrecallcenter.com. There's also a phone number, 1-800-867- 5304. Need to place blame for the financial crisis? Well, why you shouldn't point your finger at a woman.
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COLLINS: So, where is Wall Street headed today? Well, right now, at least for the time being, down by double digits there. You can see it for yourself, about 80 points off. Dow Jones Industrial Averages, yesterday, was the big day that we were liking. Dow finishing up by about 400 points. We'll see what happens by the close of business today.
Blame the financial crisis on men? A new study shows men may be more likely to take risks with money. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now this morning from Los Angeles where he's on assignment.
So, Sanjay, what's this all about? What are the researchers saying about the role of gender in these really chaotic markets?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, people are going to have fun with this, no question. But there was a study done looking specifically at testosterone, which is predominantly a male hormone, and trying to figure out if there was a relationship between this hormone and risk taking.
In this relatively small study of about 100 people, they measured testosterone before giving people some financial decisions. You can measure testosterone incidentally just with someone's saliva, so it's relatively easy to measure. And what they found was those men with the highest levels of testosterone tended to be a little bit riskier, they tended to invest for example more money 10 percent more, so not an earth-chattering amount more, but certainly riskier by comparison to the people who had lower testosterone levels.
Now, the researcher incidentally went on to say there are some evolutionary reasons for this probably. Men who are the biggest risk takers in terms of hunting the biggest gain, or in this case risking the most money, could have greater gains, as well, and that could be from an evolutionary standpoint beneficial. But nonetheless, this testosterone and risk taking seem to have some correlation here.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. Well, it is fascinating. I don't want to have too much fun with it because it's just so easy. But does that mean then that women should be considering making the big money decisions, instead, you know, for their families or when we're talking about the stock market here?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting. You know, they look specifically at what testosterone does to people. So women, for example, have lower levels of testosterone. They still have some, but it's lower than men. One of the concerns was that stress, faced with stress in those situations, people who have lower testosterone levels may become more inhibitory. So they don't react as well to stress. Having said that, women and older men who have lower levels of testosterone could be making more even keeled decisions, at least according to these researchers. But again, the biggest gains financially came from those people who took the biggest risks.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: More gain, more risk. So, you can see it's sort of a double-edged sword here, Heidi.
COLLINS: You've got to bet big to win big. And I'm trying to find the part about how women are just infinitely smarter than men, anyway, but I still can't find that on her.
GUPTA: Much more rational, for sure.
COLLINS: What about women traders, though? I mean it seems like they might, according to this study, have some type of evolutionary advantage.
GUPTA: I told you you're going to have fun with this.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: But, you know, the thing about it is that one thing a lot of people don't realize is that testosterone can actually increase in response to being around a lot of people with high testosterone levels. For example, a trading floor. So if you're around a bunch of people who are amp up about trading, taking a lot of risks and making a lot more irrational decisions, your testosterone levels can start to go up, as well. And you may start to sort of get into that group think, at least, again, according to these researchers. Women may be a little bit more immune to that. So to your point, women on the trading floor could be a very good idea and it could dampen down some of those testosterone levels.
COLLINS: All right. I'm going to let you off the hook.
GUPTA: More women on the trading floor.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, yes, duh. All right. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: All right. Thanks, Heidi.
To this story now, and it's definitely one that you're going to want to stick around for. Saving lives in the Congo. One woman makes a difference. We'll meet her shortly.
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COLLINS: Home from the Iraq war to the cheers of family and friends. These 225 soldiers are the last returning troops from the Oklahoma National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade. In all 23600 members of that group shipped out. Every single one of them made it back home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was good. It's good to come home and see everybody, see all the flags flying.
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COLLINS: The soldiers were deployed to Iraq for one year. Good for them.
Mission accomplished. Months after U.S. soldiers rescued this pooch from a burning trash pile in Iraq. Ratchet has all four paws on U.S. soil. He'll spend a couple of nights in a kennel before continuing on to his new home in Minneapolis. There, he will wait for his master, one of the soldiers who rescued him, scheduled to be back home next month.
The heart of darkness and the bright light of hope. Our next guest has a personal story of both. For the past several years, she has sponsored a woman who endured unspeakable horrors in the Congo. Today that woman has new hope, but the horrors of course remain for many others.
Dale Haddon is trying to ease that suffering. She's a UNICEF ambassador and a best-selling author. You may recognize her as I'm sure you do, as a spokeswoman for a major cosmetics company.
Dale, thanks for being with us today. It's really an unbelievable story. Why don't you start at the beginning for us and tell us how it all came about for you and your connection there.
DAYLE HADDON, UNICEF AMBASSADOR: Yes. Thank you for having me. Enough Project Advocacy Groups out of Washington asked me to join them for a mission to go to Congo to see for myself firsthand on the ground what was happening with the women there. So I went to Goma and Bukavu, in eastern Congo where the problem is most extreme and the fighting is still going on.
It's one of the deadliest wars in the world since World War II. More than five and a half -- almost five and a half million people have been killed. And thousands and thousands and thousands of women and girls and children being raped. So, it's pretty brutal right now. And I've heard since I was there in July, it's been ramped up. I just spoke with Congo this morning, and the humanitarian workers are being attacked. Their vehicles are being attacked. And more and more people are in spontaneous IDP camps.
COLLINS: We're talking about, to be specific, we're talking about rape here. And the number of women in this area that have been brutalized and repeatedly raped by rebels. In fact, you were able to conduct an interview with someone there. Let's go ahead and just show a small portion of that. Hey, it's not easy to listen to.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Just a little bit of what has happened to some of these women. In fact, I know that you found someone there that you felt a personal connection to and that you were able to help. And from what I read, it was really by first just giving her a hug.
HADDON: Yes. You know, I listened to her story, and Jean (ph) told her story in horrific detail. But in such a simple way, and when I looked into her eyes, you could not be moved -- human to human, you know, it doesn't matter that the conditions were so different, just as -- you know, in terms of woman to woman, I was so moved by her. And I had some things I had brought with me, just small tokens that I thought would please her or you know little things. And nothing, nothing affected her. But when -- I don't know. I was drawn to kneel down beside her and I asked her if she would like a hug. And it's when I hugged her and put my arms around her, that she just wouldn't let go. She didn't let go.
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COLLINS: Yes. I mean, this is a young woman who would actually, as I'm reading through some of the information that you were able to put on CNN.com, actually, which we should also draw attention to here, she was 15 when she was attacked. She was with her uncle. They stabbed her uncle and then dragged her to the forest, tied her to a tree and raped her on and off...
HADDON: For a month.
COLLINS: ...or a month.
HADDON: Without moving her position.
COLLINS: Where is she now?
HADDON: She's at the hospital. But, you know, she's been pretty much abandoned by her family and village.
COLLINS: And this is what happens?
HADDON: This is what happens. Because they get ostracize. Being raped has a stigma. Oftentimes, the husband will just abandon them, leave them with children. They have nowhere else to go. They have no means of support. So at Panzi Hospital not only are they healing the women, body and soul, but they're teaching them different crafts and how to sew and embroider so that they can be useful back in the community, give them some power so that the village or the community will bring them back.
But at the same time, there is a community being built, you know, with the Eve Ensler, City of Joy, to help some of these women and bring -- help them develop as leaders and help them bring their voices out to be heard so this is not ignored and silenced.
COLLINS: Well, it is imperative of course that somehow they learn that voice and they are able to use it. I know how difficult it is. You have done several stories. And Dayle Haddon, we sure do appreciate your story. We'll check back with you later and see if we can get an update on Jean (ph). Thanks so much for being here.
HADDON: Thank you. I hope that the viewers will log into Raise Hope For Congo and really make a difference with their own voices. Thank you.
COLLINS: Very good. We do, too. All right, thank you, Dayle.
To politics now. Live from the campaign trail. John McCain rallying voters in a battleground state. We'll have it for you live.
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COLLINS: Geologists kicking up their heels over what they are calling a dinosaur dance floor. More than a thousand tracks are found on a three quarter acre rock site along the Arizona-Utah border. Go back 190 million years or so, and much of the U.S. west was desert. Geologists believe this site was an oasis where dinosaurs refreshed themselves before moving on. As one of the researchers put it, it was a place that attracted a crowd, kind of like a dance floor. And that's the dinosaur dance music.
