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Obama Signs Fourth Extension of Ryan White Act; Battle Lines Forming Over Democrat's Health Care Reform Bill; Hill Harper Wants Men and Women to Talk Again

Aired October 30, 2009 - 11:58   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get to the White House now. And President Barack Obama. Can we see it at least, so we know it's there? There we go. President Obama. Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... right here in Washington D.C. and right here in the United States of America. And today, we are taking two important steps forward in the fight that we face here at home.

It has been nearly three decades since this virus first became known. But for years, we refused to recognize it for what it was. It was coined a "gay disease." Those who had it were viewed with suspicion, and there was a sense among some that people afflicted by this somehow deserved their fate and it was acceptable for our nation to look the other way.

A number of events and advances over the years have broadened our understanding of this cruel illness. One of them came in 1984, when a 13-year-old boy from central Indiana contracted HIV/AIDS from a transfusion. Doctors assured people that Ryan White posed no risk to his classmates or his community. But ignorance was still widespread. People didn't yet understand or believe that the virus couldn't be spread by casual contact. Parents protested Ryan's attendance in class. Some even pulled their kids out of school, and things got so bad that the White family had to ultimately move to another town.

It would have been easy for Ryan and his family to stay quiet and to fight the illness in private. But what Ryan showed was the same courage and strength that so many HIV-positive activists have shown over the years and show around the world today. And because he did, we didn't just become more informed about HIV/AIDS, we began to take action to fight it.

In 1990, the year that Ryan passed away, two great friends and unlikely political allies, Ted Kennedy and Norman Hatch came together and introduced the Comprehensive Aids Resources Emergency act, the CARE act, which was later named after Ryan.

In a few minutes, I'm going to sign the fourth reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act. Now, in the past policy differences that made reauthorizations of this program divisive and controversial. That didn't happen this year, and for that the members of Congress that are here today deserve extraordinary credit for passing this bill in the bipartisan manner that it deserves.

Tom Harken and Mike Enzy (ph) in the Senate, we are grateful to your extraordinary work. Speaker Pelosi, who's always leading the charge on so many issues, Frank Malon Jr. (ph), Joe Barton, Barbara Lee, and Donna Christianson in the House, thank you for your extraordinary work. Don't worry, I'm getting hammered and (ph) is looking at (ph) for members, but we got a special section for Henry.

And, Chairman Henry Waxman who began holding hearings on AIDS in 1982 before there was even a name for AIDS was leading here in Washington to make sure that this got the informed attention that it deserved and who lead the House in passing the original Ryan White legislation in 1990.

I also want to acknowledge the HIV community for crafting a consensus document that did so much to help move this process forward. Some of the advocates so important to this legislation are with us here today. Ernest Hopkins from Cities Advocating for Emergency AIDS relief, Frank Oldem Jr., President and CEO of the National Association of People with AIDS, and Julie Scolfield (ph), Executive Director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.

And, I'm respectfully honored that Ryan White's mother, Jenny Whitegender is here today. For 25 years, Jenny had an immeasurable impact in helping ramped up America's response to this epidemic. While we lost Ryan at too young in age, Jenny's efforts have extended the lives and saved the lives of so many others, and we're so appreciative to you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: You know over the past 19 years, this legislation has evolved from an emergency response into a comprehensive national program for the care and support of Americans living with HIV/AIDS. It helps communities that are most severely affected by this epidemic and often least served by our healthcare system, including the minority communities, the LGBT community, rural communities, and the homeless.

It's often the only option for the uninsured and the under insured, and it provides life-saving medical services to more than half a million Americans every year in every corner of the country. It has helped us to open a critical front on the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS, but let me be clear, it's a battle that's far from over and it's a battle that all of us need to do our part to join.

AIDS may no longer be the leading killer of Americans ages 25 to 44 as it once was, but there are still 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and more than 56,000 new infections occur every single year. Some communities still experience unacceptably high rates of infection. Gay men make up 2 to 3% of the population, but more than half of all new cases. African-Americans make up roughly half of all new cases. Nearly half of all new cases now occur in the south and a staggering 7% of Washington, DC's residents, between the ages of 40 and 49 live with HIV/AIDS, and the epidemic here isn't as severe as it is in several other US cities.

Tackling this epidemic will take a far more aggressive approaches than we have seen in the past, not only from our Federal government but also state and local governments from local community organizations and from places of worship. But, also take an effort to end the stigma that has stopped people from getting tested, that has stopped people from facing their own illness and that (ph) the spread this disease for far too long.

A couple of years ago, Michelle and I were in Africa, and we tried to combat this stigma when we were in Kenya by taking a public HIV/AIDS test and I'm proud to announce today we're about to take another step towards ending that stigma. Twenty-two years ago, in a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, the United States instituted a travel ban on entry into the country for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of the disease yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic, yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combatting HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.

And that's why on Monday, my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year. Congress and President Bush began this process last year and they ought to be commended forth. We are finishing the job. It's a step that will encourage people to get tested and to get treatment. It's a step that will keep families together and it's a step that will save lives.

(APPLAUSE)

And, we are continuing the work of crafting a coordinated and measurable National HIV/AIDS strategy to stem and suppress this epidemic. I'm pleased to report that the Office of National AIDS Policy led by Jeffrey Crawly has already held 8 in is series of 14 community discussions in cities across the country.

They've brought together faith-based organizations and businesses, schools and research institutions, people living with HIV and concerned citizens, gathering ideas on how to target a national response that effectively reduces HIV infections, improves access to treatment and eliminates health disparities.

And, we are encouraged by the energy, enthusiasm, and great ideas that we have collected so far. We can't give Ryan White back to Jenny, back to his mom. But what we can do, what the legislation that I'm about to sign has done for nearly 20 years, is honor the courage that he and his family show. What we can do is take more action and educate more people. What we can do is keep fighting each and every day until we eliminate this disease from the face of the earth.

So, with that, let me sign this bill.

(APPLAUSE) LEMON: President Barack Obama signing the fourth extension of the Ryan White Act which provides much-needed services for people with HIV and AIDS, and, also, this travel ban, getting rid of that for people with HIV and AIDS from coming into America.

Just real quick, some of our viewers may not know that Ryan White diagnosed with HIV in 1984. He was a hemophiliac. They believe he got it through a blood transfusion possibly. When he tried to go back to school, even though he could not infect other people, they rallied against his attendance and thus he became the person who represented the fight for equality for HIV and AIDS.

This is the fourth reauthorization that act and this bill increases the authorization level of each part of the Ryan White program by 5% a year for the next four years. The Senate passed the bill early this week so the bill now goes for president's signature and he signed it today.

Also, here is what is very important the president talking about as well. I want to make sure I get this right because he announced that regulations formally ending the 22-year ban on travel and immigration by HIV-positive individuals. So, the president said that he's trying to get rid of the stigma, HIV/AIDS also mentioning, he and his wife, the first lady taking an HIV test in Africa a few years ago. President Barack Obama at the White House today dealing with HIV and AIDS, and travel and immigration.

He has a lot on his plate, including Afghanistan, and whether or not to send more troops. This is a difficult decision to focus on now. The strategy of the session next hour. President Obama sits down with members of the Joints chief of staff at the White House has well.

I want to go down to our Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr. She joins us now.

Sounds like the ultimate high stakes powwow, who will be at this meeting today, break it down for us, Barbara please.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it's starts in just about an hour and 15 minutes at the White House. Around the table, Secretary Gates, Admiral Mowen, the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and the Chief themselves.

Who are these men? These men have no direct combat responsibility right now. The joints chief of staff under law are the men, the heads of -- right now they are men. The heads of the military services, the head of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

Under law, their responsibility is to provide trained and equipped troops to the war, to General McChrystal in Afghanistan, trained and equipped. That's the bottom line concern for so many American families, possibly sending their loved ones off to war to, make sure that those troops have the armored vehicles, the armored protections, the weapons, everything that they need to be as safe as possible and be successful in the war.

So, that's their major concern, but the chiefs are also quiet concern about strain on the force. In particular, General George Casey, the head of the army, General James Conway, the Commandant of the Marine Corp, those two men are expressing their concerns in the recent weeks and months, that if they have to send thousand, tens and thousands of additional forces to Afghanistan, the stress on the force could be so great that they could, could face the possibility of having to break their promise to these young troops if they will get at least a year at home with their families in between combat (ph). That's a real moral breaker. It's the thing they're going to try and avoid the most. But, that's going to be part of the conversation today. Don?

DON: All right, Barbara Starr, thank you very much for that.

A massive search is going on right now for nine people missing in the Pacific after a plane and helicopter collided. It happened shortly after seven, West Coast time last night just east of (INAUDIBLE) Island. That's near San Diego.

A C-130 Coast Guard plane searching for a missing person collided with an AH1 Cobra Marine helicopter. The chopper was on a training mission and water temperatures are in the 60s there. It's estimated a person can survive up to 20 hours in 60 degree water.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton wrapping up a 3-day trip to Pakistan after some blunt words for Pakistan's leaders. More from Foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, who caught up with the secretary this morning.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: What is really grabbing attention here in Pakistan are the comments by Secretary Clinton to some local Pakistani reporters. She said that she finds it hard to believe that no one in the Pakistani government seems to know where al Qaeda is or seems to be able to get al Qaeda. I asked her what she meant by that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What I was responding to is what I've been really doing on this trip which is that there exist trust deficits certainly on the part of the Pakistanis toward the United States, toward our intentions and our actions and yet we have so much in common that we face a common threat. We certainly have a common enemy in extremism and terrorism.

DOUGHERTY: In this interview we also talked about Iran and its apparent lack of commitment as to what it said it would do and that is, ship out the low and rich uranium for reprocessing. I asked her is it time to stop talking and move towards sanctions?

CLINTON: We are working with IEA, with the France, Russia, the other members of the (ph) plus 1 who are all united and are showing resolve in responding to the Iranian response and seeking clarification. So, you know, I'm going to let this process play out but clearly we are working to determine what exactly they are willing to do whether this was an initial response or whether it's the beginning of where we expect them to end up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY: And finally on the Mideast, Secretary Clinton will be in the Mideast this weekend and she'll be meeting along with the special envoy, George Mitchell with the Palestinian leader, (ph) and also with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin (ph) and the effort, obviously, is to bring these talks and negotiations on track moving toward a peace agreement. She said in spite of all of the difficulties and she said there are great difficulties that this sign, this being involved at the highest level is a sign of the seriousness of intent by the United Sates.

Jill Dougherty, CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Let's talk about health care now. The battle lines are forming over the nearly 2000-page health care reform bill. While House Democrats say it will lead to more accessible, affordable coverage, Republicans say it will mean higher taxes and more government bureaucracy. Big government, they say. The debate is expected to begin next.

Today, we're talking with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

Democratic representative Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, and Republican Representative Charles Boustany of Louisiana, my hometown. He is a surgeon from Baton Rouge.

Good to see you, sir.

REP. CHARLES BOUSTANY (R), LOUISIANA: Great to be with you.

LEMON: And good to see you, Ma'am, as well.

OK. So, listen, what gives here. 2000 pages. Had either of you had a chance to go through this bill yet. We'll start with Ms. Schwartz.

REP. ALLYSON SCHWARTZ (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, certainly, I've been working on this for months and been very, very much involved in some of the decisions being made and some of the drafting of this bill. So, it is really -- there's some changes obviously from when we first introduce the bill back July. Having listen to the American people and made many, many hours of conversation completely on the Democratic side to make sure that we get this right to the American people. Find that uniquely American solution to health coverage for all Americans. Working with the private insurers --

LEMON: OK.

SCHWARTZ: Absolutely, it's a mix of public, private partnerships here to address the important challenges in health care for Americans. LEMON: I'm going to Representative Boustany in just a minute. But since you said all of that, Ms. Schwartz -- Representative Schwartz, do you think that this is a workable bill?

SCHWARTZ: Oh, absolutely. We have really listened in many ways to make sure that we are getting some of this numbers just right. And, look, what we're doing is, we are going to -- at the end of the day, with this legislation have 97 percent of Americans have access to affordable, stable coverage. Those with coverage can continue to have their coverage, but they also will have better consumer protections. For those who have coverage. It's very, very workable, Don. It's an important day.

LEMON: All right. Let's let Representative Boustany get in here.

I'll ask you the same question.

Have you had a chance to go through the bill?

And I say that a little (INAUDIBLE)

BOUSTANY: Don, I'm in the process of looking at the difference and the changes that have been made, and I don't see anything that I like so far.

I mean, we're seeing higher taxes. This is not going to bring down the cost of health care. The cost of health care is going to continue to skyrocket. In my opinion, as a doctor, who is familiar with these things. And this is not a uniquely --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Well, you bring up a good point. As a doctor, then, what's the best care for your patience? Wouldn't a public option be the best? It's like you come in and get care.

You're a heart surgeon. So what's the best care really?

BOUSTANY: We have to look at quality and cost. And the public option, the government option is going to run up costs without any control. The problem is you've got to get a good doctor, patient relationship established. And the best way to do that is to create an open transparent market in the insurance industry and to focus on how we improve efficiencies and how health care is delivered so that we make sure that patients have good access to doctors, high quality doctors and that's going to make a difference. This bill fails on those counts.

LEMON: OK, Representative Schwartz, do you want to respond to that?

SCHWARTZ: Oh, absolutely. The legislation when Dr. Boustany gets a chance to read through all of it. As you know, there's new focus on making sure that we have adequate primary care physicians and nurse practitioners across the country. There are not enough now. (CROSSTALK)

BOUSTANY: But these steps don't go far enough.

SCHWARTZ: And there are important steps here. And also in making sure that doctors, of course, have a strong relationship with their patience, and that we have access. That all Americans have access to the health care they need when they need it. Not more than they needed, but not less than they needed.

BOUSTANY: But this system is building on a system that's already failing financially, and it's going to hurt access in the long run. We're already seeing that same problem with Medicare.

LEMON: And you made that point just a little bit ago. But I want to -- what would you like to see in the bill? What would be a good bill to you, Representative Boustany?

BOUSTANY: I think we have to focus on opening up the insurance markets and have true competition across state lines. Let folks buy insurance across state lines. Let them pull together to drive the cost down for families and small businesses who are trying to purchase insurance. And at the same time, let's really focus on the fundamental facets of this that will drive the cost of health care inflation down. Get that skyrocketing health care cost under control.

LEMON: Those are specific provisions that you'd like to see in the bill. What are the specific provisions you'd like to see there?

BOUSTANY: Well, I want to see the ability to buy insurance across state lines. I want individuals and small businesses to pull together to buy -- to get greater purchasing power to buy insurance. I want to see changes to how health care reimbursement is done to make it much more efficient. The meaningful incorporation of information technology and not this top heavy proposal creating programs that are unusable by physicians. I've seen this happen too often, in my experience as a doctor.

LEMON: OK. Representative Schwartz, you heard what he said. He said insurance across state lines. He wants business to be able to pull together for greater access to insurance. And also, reimbursement. He wants to look at that. Do you agree with these points, or do we have any common ground here?

SCHWARTZ: Well, I hope that he gets a chance to really read this bill because much of what he talked about is in this legislation. There is a real drive to improve quality and access to care, making sure that -- again, there's a strong patient-doctor relationship, personal responsibility, really encouraging better delivery systems. And, yes, people will be able to insure state compact to be able to buy insurance across state lines. And through the exchange, that's exactly what we're doing is enabling individuals and small business to be able to find...

BOUSTANY: But this exchange is going to have no choice.

LEMON: Hey, listen, guys...

SCHWARTZ: No, no -- more options and -- you should read the bill.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes, the debate is going to have to continue because unfortunately we have to move on here. But thank you. And this really is the only way -- one of the only ways that the American people can get to find out what you guys are doing there on Capitol Hill.

BOUSTANY: We need an open substantive debate.

LEMON: Yes, we do.

SCHWARTZ: Thank you. We were having it. Thank you.

LEMON: More than anything, we need health care reform, so we need you guys to work together.

BOUSTANY: And we need health care reform. You're right. Yes.

LEMON: OK. So thank you both for coming on. We appreciate your time. Get back to work, will you?

BOUSTANY: Thank you.

LEMON: All right, thank you.

SCHWARTZ: We will.

LEMON: Actor Hill Harper is trying to bring black men and women together. He'll show us how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Top stories now in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour. Strategy in Afghanistan on the president's agenda today. He meets this afternoon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hints the president will take a different approach to the war.

A manhunt in Los Angeles. Police are looking for the gunman who shot and wounded two people in a synagogue parking garage. Police say Thursday's attack appears to be isolated. The victims are recovering today.

Bernice King, the new president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She is the youngest daughter of SCLC founder Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We'll take another look at the top stories in just about 20 minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILL HARPER, ACTOR: I've interviewed over 400 people. One of the most dangerous themes that started to emerge is what I called, "The He Say, She Say."

For instance, he say, "I'm just tired of paying the price for all of the men in her life who hurt her, disappointed her, or left her high and dry. She say, "Black men are lazy." He say, "Whenever we get into an argument, my ex-wife would tell me, I don't need your (BLEEP). She say, "Black men are players."

With men, it goes on a more physical journey. And with women, there's financial consideration. The number one line I would hear from women is, I want someone on my level.

What I did, when I first interviewed them, I had them put down basically extremely detailed information about their life. Later on, I had them list the characteristics that they want in a partner. And I would take their real level, and I will compare it to what they wanted in a partner. And those things went on the level. The person that they wrote that was supposedly on their level was way up there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: "CSI New York" actor and author, Hill Harper, is on the level in his quest to bring black men and black women back together again. Harper's book "The Conversation" is what we're talking about in our What Matters segment today. The highly acclaimed book is on "Essence" magazines must read list.

Our Tony Harris recently had his own conversation with Hill Harper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I love the first question from the Essence.com piece.

What are we doing right in black relationships right now?

What are we doing right?

HILL: Well, you know, if you look at the numbers, they would suggest that we are not doing a lot of things right. You know, in 1966, 84 percent of African-American children were being raised in two-parent households. Fast forward to just 40 years later to 2006. That number drops to 31 percent. What we're doing right to answer the question, though specifically, is that we care. We really do.

It's clear, you know, after interviewing hundreds and hundreds of people for this book, it's clear that we want to be in a relationship with each other. Black men and black women. We want to but we haven't figured out a way to really get it together. And so the answer is in the conversation, first with self, being open and honest and willing to look in the mirror, second, in conversations with partners or potential partners, open and honest. And then, third, conversation with community, family, and those of us that surround us and having honest conversations about it.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Honest conversations are tough, Hill. I mean that's at the root probably of the breakdown.

HARPER: Well, that's why, as a single man, I wanted to write this book about relationships because what happens is, is that a lot of us dance around the issues, you know.

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

HARPER: A lot of us don't talk about what's really going on, particularly, you know, women, in many cases, from doing my research for this book, I found that women, in many cases, feel like they have a monopoly on relationships. They believe they talk about it amongst themselves so much that they believe they have a lot of information in this area. The problem is, though, a lot of times they're spreading misinformation amongst themselves.

Whereas we as men, we don't talk as much about it, but we're still just as -- just as big a part of the problem, if not a bigger part, because what happens is, we don't step up and say, this is what I really want. We're not willing to be venerable. We're not willing to actually step up. And so it's about really having these honest conversations cross gender.

I'm so proud that "Essence" chose this book. It's their first non- fiction book to be the must read from their book club. You know, all their other books before have been fiction books. And in that partnership, that, you know, the female editors at "Essence," reading a book by a man, is kind of, in substance, what I'm trying to get to with the book. It's us figuring out ways to work together and support each other and celebrate each other.

You know, we have so much -- we run to this he say, she say stuff so much, misogynist language, so much the h word, the b word. We call each other things. We run to the negative so quickly. Why can't the b word be that every time I see a beautiful sister I say, you are beautiful, hey beauty, how are you? Often times you hear women, when I was interviewing them, say, the first thing that will come out of their mouth, you know, black men are players. You know, that's -- I have to have my guard up all the time. And so that's where we're running to first. How are we going to get past and actually really start the honest conversations.

HARRIS: Hey, Hill, are you going to take this on the road. I mean, you've got something here.

HARPER: Well, I'm taking it on the road. What I'm attempting to do is, when I go to cities, not just do traditional book signing, but actually bring them into place where is can hook up singles. I mean the goal of this book, "The Conversation," is to get people married. There's a joy and celebration in partnership. And the reason why as a single man I think it's more powerful to say that because a lot of single guys, you know this Tony, a lot of single guys are very skeptical of married guys. They think that most married guys are encouraging them to get married because they're like, you know, I took -- I jumped off the plank, I want company, you know.

HARRIS: Yes, I want company. HARPER: But as a single man to say it, after doing this book, I realized part of where we're failing is that we're not finding our way to partnership.

HARRIS: Hill, what's the name of the book? I'm holding it up right here for everyone.

HARPER: The book is called "The Conversation." And let's, you all, let's start having "the conversation."

HARRIS: Hill, it's great to see you again. Thanks for the time, my friend.

HARPER: Great to see you, Tony. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And, you know what, for more relationships (ph) on the book and the latest book club, I should say, read, make sure you pick up the current issue of "Essence" magazine. It's on newsstands right now.

Speaking of our partnerships with "Essence," tomorrow night, Angela Burton Murray and I are taking an in-depth look at the first anniversary of President Barack Obama's election. The excitement and expectations and whether or not they have been met.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE PERRY (ph): If he sends his child to a D.C. public school, he's making a very clear statement that I value this education. This is where I live. This is where I'm going to send my kids to school. Or, he says, you know what, I won't send my kids to these school, so therefore I'm not going to make any body else send their kids to those schools. And he's going to offer up other options.

LEMON: Have you spoken to him about that?

PERRY: No, he didn't call me this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Educator Steve Perry talking about the president sending his children to private school. He believes they should be in public school. And the conversation gets much more intense and in-depth tomorrow night. "Black Men in the Age of President Obama" airs tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

A lot of new economic numbers are out today. We'll check in with Susan Lisovicz to see how they are playing on Wall Street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Wall Street got a treat yesterday when the Dow soared 2 percent on word the economy grew for the first time in more than a year. But on this Halloween eve, we have new numbers and stocks are selling off. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, on the floor.

OK. So this is the trick today. The treat was yesterday. Usually the trick comes first and then the treat.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, no matter (INAUDIBLE), no question about it, Don. You know, we talked a lot about the GDP, about the economy growing and that it grew because of all the stimulus that was spent. Concerns about the sustainability of that without taxpayers largess.

Well, today we got a few interesting reports that showed consumer spending without stimulus. Consumer spending in September dropped 0.5 percent. It was the first drop in five months. September's an interesting month because it was the first month without Cash for Clunkers. Furthermore, personal income was flat and consumer sentiment fell. So three reports, not particularly good.

When consumers say they're worried about their personal finances, they tend not to spend. It's as simple as that. They tend to save more. Not a good thing for the overall economy, for the pace of recovery. Good for keeping your own house, fiscal house, in order. But that's one of the worries about the pace of recovery.

And that's one of the factors weighing on stocks right now. I mean, check it out, the Dow has basically erased what we saw yesterday. Down 185 points. The Nasdaq, again, hit pretty hard, too.

Don.

LEMON: All right, can we -- should we keep up with the Halloween puns here? So Wall Street is spooked on this Halloween eve?

LISOVICZ: Yes, I go back to my Charlie Brown days and the great pumpkin.

LEMON: We're just asking for it, aren't we? We're just asking for people to make fun of us.

LISOVICZ: We are. Yes, we are.

LEMON: It's Halloween eve. Come on. Have a sense of humor.

LISOVICZ: Comes easily enough. Well, you know, you can't smile that easily when you look at what's happened over the last week or so. The Dow's -- this will be its fourth triple-digit decline in six days. Some folks are saying that this is a correction. Too early too tell.

For the month -- this is the final trading day of the month -- it's actually been real good for the blue chips. We're up 2.5 percent. More than 2.5 percent. Of course, the Dow is off 10,000, but hit 10,000 for the first time in a year this month. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500, a little bit mixed. But one of the things, yes, that investors are spooked about, a lot of us are spooked about, is jobs. The jobs report for October comes out a week from today. And that is certainly a market mover. LEMON: Yes, sometimes, you know, when things are bad, they're not so great right now. They're getting better. You just have to have a sense of humor and you have to laugh and smile.

LISOVICZ: You do. Sometimes it's all we have left.

LEMON: Happy Halloween to you. Doing anything fun?

LISOVICZ: Good to see you too, Don. Yes, I am.

LEMON: But you're not going to tell. And I won't either. Enjoy whatever it is you're doing. Be safe, OK.

LISOVICZ: Thanks, Don. You too.

LEMON: Thanks, Susan.

Our top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hints President Barack Obama is about to take a different approach to the Afghan war. The president is expected to talk strategy with the Joint Chiefs of Staff later this afternoon.

No word yet on any survivors from last night's collision between a Coast Guard search plane and a Marine helicopter over the Pacific. Nine people are missing. A debris field has been located east of San Clemente Island and that's the focus of the search.

On the run for nearly a week, an Iraqi immigrant from Arizona is now under arrest in Atlanta, Georgia. He's accused of running over his daughter because he thought she was too westernized. Cheap gas prices have been one of the silver linings of this recession, but prices are suddenly on the rise again. That's nothing to smile about. CNN money.com's Poppy Harlow joins us from New York.

Poppy, more pain at the pump. What is going on here?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM: Yes. I mean when you look at the numbers, it doesn't really seem justified, right? The economy is still hurting. A few good headlines. The stock market's way down today. What is going on? Gas, the national average today, $2.70 according to AAA, Don. A lot higher than that here in New York, in California and a bunch of American cities. We're higher than we were a year ago. Gas is up 21 cents in the last 17 days, rising every one of those days.

We talked to some folks in Florida. They're kind of scratching their heads saying, what's going on here? Take a listen to what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrible. It's ridiculous. It's going up like 10 cents every week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's $2.29 two weeks ago and now it's $2.65? That's like 30 some odd cents. It's crazy. It's ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have no clue why the gas prices are going up again. After they went down from almost $4 something, and then they all go down and now they're going up again? No, I don't know why. I don't understand at all because we have enough oil. It shouldn't be that high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: She's got a good point. The latest report on oil inventories, up. So the supply, at least, of that finite resource, we've got enough right now at least.

This is what's going on. Take a look at this oil chart from the beginning of the year. We had oil under $70 at the beginning of the year, hitting the lows there way down in March. That's when the stock market hit the lows of the year. Surging since then.

But, Don, this is the last few weeks. And it's been interesting to watch oil keep going up. It was $82 last week. Right now it's just about $78 a barrel. We're heading down to the NYMEX, right here in New York, the exchange where all that oil is traded every day, to ask the guys that trade it what's going on. Here was their answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Is there a fundamental basis for oil rising as it has?

TOM REILLY, SCS COMMODITIES: No, not if you're look at real supply/demand. But if you're looking at it as a hedge against the weak dollar, that's pretty much what we've been following lately.

MARK SOLAZZO, M. SOLAZZO TRADING CO.: I just think this run up has been unwarranted, mostly because of the devaluation of the dollar. If you see a pickup in the valuation of the dollar against other currencies, I think you'll see a sell off in the crude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. Well, they are exactly right. I want to show you why. Here are two charts. The runup we've seen in oil since the beginning of the year, Don, and exactly what we've seen with the dollar. It's an inverse relationship. People around the world trade oil in dollars. And, Don, as you know, most of the folks that trade these oil futures, as they're called every day, they never take delivery of the oil, so they don't actually have to use it like drivers or airlines have to rely on it.

So that's what's going on. The traders said, most of them, we could see $100 oil next year. Translate that into gas prices. It would be about $3.25 a gallon. So save your pennies. Gas is going up.

LEMON: Yes. Hey, you know what, were you at the NYMEX? Weren't you like, there? Did you do your live shots from there? Somewhere like that. It's a big . . .

HARLOW: Yes, we were there. We were down on the floor.

LEMON: No, but you used to do your live shots from there a while ago. In the old days.

HARLOW: Ah, we did. We used to be at the Nasdaq. We did in the days when the market was completely falling apart. We did. And, you know, Don, I've got to say, I know you like to call me Katherine, my real name. One of the producers just said that to me in my ear. So, stop letting that secret out, OK.

LEMON: I don't do that. Even my mom's name is Katherine. So it's a good name.

HARLOW: That's right. I forgot. Say hi to your mom. Say hi to your mom.

LEMON: Good thing. They're telling me move on. We'll -- I'll call you later.

HARLOW: Right, move forward.

LEMON: Thank you, Poppy. It's good to see you. Have a great weekend.

Possibly stormy weather across the deep south and a typhoon hits Manila. Chad is watching it all for us.

Hello, Chad Myers. See you in a minute.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: One minute, two minutes. OK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Whatever you are doing, in your office, you're cooking with kids, I want you to look at this video because talk about reality TV. A woman in Arkansas gets in big trouble after driving her SUV into flood waters in downtown Little Rock, right? Within minutes, you can see the car starts to go under water and a man swims out to pull her out. He tries to break the window with his hands, right? Other crew members come out. They wade out and they break it with some sort of equipment. It was a joint effort. Her dramatic rescue broadcast live by CNN affiliate KARK. She later thanked her rescuers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA STEWART, RESCUED FROM SUBMERGED CAR: I thanked them. I was thanking them. I said, oh, I'm so happy to see you guys. Oh, thank God. I just thank you all for coming. I said, thank you all for helping me. Because I thought we was dead. I thought we was going to die. I did. I thought we was going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I just got a note from my producers. Tomorrow at 5:20, she's going to be live. Do a live interview with her. Amanda Stewart is her name and she had her child in the car. And you can see the child sitting there with her. Another good example of why you should not try to drive through high water.

Chad, we say it every single time. You give that advice. All of our meteorologists. Not a good idea.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: And this is developing in San Francisco. In the San Francisco Bay. We'll have details of the new fuel spill there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're getting word that an oil tanker is leaking fuel into San Francisco Bay, just south of the Bay Bridge. The oil slick is reportedly spreading from a Panamanian flagged ship called the Dubai Star. Right now Coast Guards support vessels are in the area.

And speaking of San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge, the bridge is still closed for repairs after chunk of steel from the structure fell onto the roadway on Tuesday. The Bay Bridge is the main artery in and out of San Francisco. No word yet on when it re-opens.

A man held captive by pirates against a chance to speak out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The family and friends of a retired British couple are anxiously awaiting to hear from them. Rachel and Paul Chandler's sailboat was boarded by pirates off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. And CNN's Phil Black has more on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A floating mystery, the yacht Lynn Rival (ph) and the sail in the Indian Ocean with no one on board. It was found by a British war ship. A tantalizing clue but there was no sign of its owners, Paul and Rachel Chandler, missing for almost a week. The retired British couple was sailing between the Seychelles and Tanzania when their yacht's emergency beacon activated. Then, silence. In these dangerous waters, Somalian pirates were always the obvious suspects, but that was only confirmed when CNN's British affiliate, I-TV, made contact by phone with the couple's captures. And they were allowed to speak directly with Paul Chandler.

PAUL CHANDLER: We were in the waters 60 miles from Victoria in the Seychelles. Three, four boats came alongside. I was off watch. I went to sleep and men with guns came aboard. Then we were forced to sail six days, sail and motor towards Somalia.

BLACK: It was a brief conversation, but Chandler said he and his wife were now being held upon a Singapore flagged container ship, hijacked by the same pirates two weeks ago. He says it's anchored just off the Somali coast. For the Chandler's relatives in Britain, hearing this conversation was difficult, but also encouraging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're both very tough people. They've been used to long times traveling on the ocean. BLACK: Tough people, but not wealthy, and security experts believe that's where the pirates have miscalculated. They're used to negotiating and getting millions of dollars in ransoms with big companies that own ocean-going cargo ships.

CRISPIAN CUSS, DEFENSE CONSULTANT: It depends on the value of the cargo, the value of the vessel, and the number of crew. In this case, though, two middle-aged British couple without a vessel, they're going to be lucky to get anything at all.

BLACK: The British government has demanded the couple's freedom. Experts say it's likely a military operation to rescue them will at least be considered, but it's risky. A French assault on pirates in April resulted in the rescue of four hostages but another died.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: OK. So, here's the very latest right now.

Rachel Chandler confirms that she and her husband have been moved from a captor (ph) container ship, where they were being held yesterday, but she cannot say where they are now.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Kyra Phillips. There she is, hobnobbing with the big shots in New York City. Hello, Kyra.