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American Morning
Housing Market Hit; Families Still Dealing With Memorial Hospital Deaths; $550,000 in his Pocket; GOP to Obama: Fire Economic Team; Midterm Battle Lines Drawn
Aired August 25, 2010 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 7:00 almost here on the East Coast.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Time to get up.
ACOSTA: That's right. Get up. Rise and shine. Lots to talk about this morning. Wednesday, August 25th. I'm Jim Acosta in for John Roberts.
BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Kiran and John are off, so Jim and Kate are here. Good morning, everybody. There's a lot going on, let's jump right in.
Could it be a miracle on ice?
ACOSTA: It could be.
BOLDUAN: We're closely watching the race in Alaska. Will Sarah Palin backed Joe miller pull out a win against sitting Senator Lisa Murkowski? It's a major test of how much power the tea party really has. We will run through all the major races and look for the message coming from it this morning.
ACOSTA: And I'm sure you heard about this. House Minority Leader John Boehner calls on President Obama to fire his economic team. The White House issues a hard-hitting rebuttal. We got the battle over rebuilding America's economy.
BOLDUAN: And a road block for the recovery. Home sales take their biggest plunge on record. What's behind the housing hit and what does it mean for the price of your biggest investment? We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.
ACOSTA: Those are some scary numbers.
But up first, battle lines drawn for November, voters heading to the polls in five key states last night.
BOLDUAN: We have some late results we're still watching this hour. A big test of the tea party in Alaska in the Senate race there, and we may not know the result for a week. But we'll -- it's getting close. While they have to count absentee ballots, that is why it could be a week. And that's how close it is between incumbent Lisa Murkowski and tea party favorite Joe Miller. Just over 80 percent of the precincts are reporting right now.
ACOSTA: And Miller is such an unknown on the national stage. You're seeing photos of Miller here we are showing. Not a whole lot of video out there. He is a bit of an unknown, but we are knowing more about him as we go throughout the morning.
He has the support of the state's former governor, Sarah Palin. Palin, by the way, beat Murkowski's dad in 2006 in the governor's race there. A short time ago we asked him whether he's caught in the middle of a family feud.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: He is lining up behind a challenger to take down Lisa Murkowski, frank Murkowski's daughter. Is there any bad blood there?
JOE MILLER, (R) ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE (via telephone): You know, I think the national media has attempted to make this into some sort of a family feud, but frankly, that has nothing to do with this at all. It is just simply a different perspective of the nature and role of government.
Frankly, we've got to rein in the federal government. People of common sense recognize that. If the only way out of this bankruptcy that's come upon us all is the only way out for Alaska to get out there and utilize its own resources to bring the state forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now Alaska is not the only flash point this morning. We're watching races in four other states, including Arizona, where Senator John McCain not a real big surprise but he pulled out one of the toughest victories of his long career against former congressman J.D. Hayworth.
BOLDUAN: And in Florida's race for governor, Rick Scott took the win. Scott will face Democrat Alex Sink and independent Lon Childs in November. In Florida's senate race, winners were Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek. Jessica Yellin is running though all the key races for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Arizona, Senator John McCain beat back a primary challenge, handily defeating former Congressman J.D. Hayworth for the Republican Senate nomination.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I promise you I take nothing for granted. I'll fight with every ounce of strength and conviction I possess to make the case for my continued service in the Senate.
YELLIN: After a primary fought over immigration policy, the senator's victory speech included only one brief mention of the issue. MCCAIN: We will secure our borders.
YELLIN: Perhaps a sign he'll moderate his position to woo independents and Latinos in the general election.
Across the country in Florida's Senate race, Democrat Kendrick Meek trounced billionaire Jeff Greene, who had spent millions of his own fortune.
KENDRICK MEEK, (D) FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: I made the case that I am the real Democrat in this race.
(APPLAUSE)
And I also made the case that I have the will and the desire and the energy to pull a double shift to get Florida back to work.
YELLIN: Now Meek enters a fierce three-way contest with Republican-turned-independent Governor Charlie Crist and tea party favorite Marco Rubio, who walked to victory in the Republican primary.
MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not interested in running to simply be against people. I believe there is a better way to do things.
YELLIN: But the big upset of the night came in Florida's governor's race. Multi-millionaire businessman and health care reform opponent Rick Scott narrowly defeated the establishment candidate, Attorney General Bill McCollum.
RICK SCOTT, (R) FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: Tonight we have sent a clear message to the Washington insiders, the Tallahassee insiders.
(APPLAUSE)
YELLIN: McCollum responded to the loss with a statement calling Scott a multi-millionaire with a questionable past who shattered campaign spending records. This one threatens to divide the state's Republican Party. Now Scott faces the Democrat Alex Sink in November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: We can draw one conclusion from these results -- the voters are in a deeply dissatisfied mood and almost no candidate can walk to an easy victory. This year, it seems almost every campaign will be a bitter, vigorous fight. Jim? Kate?
BOLDUAN: One of the most intriguing and surprising wins of the night came in the Florida governor's race. As Jessica just reported, Rick Scott narrowly captured the GOP's nomination. Or maybe it is not such a shock when you consider how much money he spent.
Here is a closer look. He only jumped into the race in April and spent $50 million of his own fortune. He managed two health care companies that went on to face some major legal problems, and he ran as a down-the-line conservative. He opposed President Obama's health care law. He supports Arizona's immigration law and says Florida needs something like that.
ACOSTA: And now to the state Senate primary race. Marco Rubio getting the Republican nod there. It sets up a three-way race for Florida Senate in November. And he'll face Democrat Kendrick Meek and Governor Charlie Crist who ditched the GOP to run as an independent. Rubio talked about the match-up earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: I am running against two people who support the direction that Washington is taking our country. We're offering a clear agenda, and particularly on things like the national debt, on job creation. Washington's agenda is destructive for America's future, and that's what we're focused on as our message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And at 7:40 eastern, breaking down all the key races looking for the national message with our political panel, Ed Rollins and Lisa Caputo.
BOLDUAN: Turning now to a desperate situation happening in South America, 33 miners in Chile buried deep under the earth for 19 days now. But they had a strategy to survive. The men had a two-day food supply, eating only two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk, a bite of crackers and some peaches every other day.
The men have been told it will take some time to get them out but they, but they don't know that it could take months. Experts from -- experts in Chile have been called to help with the rescue.
And the men have also been able to send message to their family waiting for them above ground. Our Karl Penhaul spoke with one of the families and has their emotional story for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the bowels of the earth, this message from the miner to his wife to say against all the odds he was still alive.
"Dear Lila, I'm OK, thanks to god. I hope to get out soon. Be patient. Have faith. God is great. We will make it out," he writes. "Give a lot of kisses to my daughters and my grandchildren. I love them. Stay calm. And to you, with all my love, I love you so much and we will be happy forever with our family. We will see one another again soon. Good-bye, my darling. A kiss. Mario."
At 63, Mario Gomez is the most experienced of the 33 miners trapped in northern Chile. His note was almost shredded as it came to the surface, taped to the probe rescuers were using to try and locate the missing men. Authorities had feared the miners were surely dead.
PENHAUL (on camera): Up on this barren hillside, relatives have planted a flag for each of the miners trapped underground, 32 Chilean flags, one Libyan flag. And as long as it takes, the Chilean government is vowing to bring each one of them home alive.
As day fades, families stoke the fires in the camp where they've been living since the cave-in and wave good-bye to some of the workers that have helped in the rescue effort. It may still take time, but they now seem sure they will get their happy ending.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, San Jose mine in northern Chile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: A very powerful story. If you want to find out how you can help, just head to the special section of our Web site, impact your world, the address, CNN.com/impact.
ACOSTA: After a race-related scandal caused Shirley Sherrod her job, she met with her former boss and got a new job offer. So why did she turn it down? Our conversation with Sherrod is coming up.
BOLDUAN: Plus, probably the most important question we'll ask today. Should that family with small kids be seated as far away as possible from you on your next flight? The crying? The annoying kicks to the back of your seat? The mess?
ACOSTA: Oh, they're just little babies.
BOLDUAN: You're not alone. We'll tell you what's being done about it. It is nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
The already-massive egg recall across the nation just got a little bigger. The 17 states with salmonella cases linked to the tainted eggs now turns to 18 with Michigan becoming the latest added to the list. So far, close to 1,300 people have become sick from eating the eggs. The FDA has traced the outbreak to two farms in Iowa.
ACOSTA: WikiLeaks is promising to put out another round CIA papers today. The whistleblower website announced on twitter that 15,000 additional documents will be released after already publishing 76,000 secret papers on the Afghan war. Both the Pentagon and military officials have criticized the leak.
BOLDUAN: "Thanks, but no thanks," that's Shirley Sherrod's answer. She is not coming back to the Agriculture Department any time soon. Sherrod still insists the White House pushed her to resign. She joined us in our last hour, and I asked her why she said no and what she's planning next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER GEORGIA DIRECTOR OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT USDA: I'm not sure I would have been free to do the job the way it should have been done. You know, when you've been bitten once, it's hard to go back and put yourself out there for more punishment.
Did anything change? I don't think so.
BOLDUAN: What job opportunities? What are you looking for coming up?
SHERROD: Well, I don't have any job opportunities at this point. I have to just look at what's possible. I do need to take a little time to think and look at the future. I do plan to be busy. I would like to explore locating others who think like I do, who are working on issues in their community dealing with race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Sherrod also says she hopes her experience will help further race relations in America because, quote, "We're not where we need to be," she says.
ACOSTA: Another hit to the battered housing market, like it needed another. We've learned home sales plunged last month. What's around the corner? We'll find out, we hope. It's 14 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Hello again.
ACOSTA: Yes, they're hard at work behind the scenes here at AMERICAN MORNING.
BOLDUAN: They are hard at work.
"Minding Your Business" this morning. Paying a premium for pork.
ACOSTA: What?
BOLDUAN: What? Bacon prices have skyrocketed more than 200 percent from a year ago. Blame high demand and a smaller supply from farmers. With the jump in retail prices, restaurants admit they've had to pass -- or they'll have to pass the price -- the cost on to consumers.
ACOSTA: I tell you, first the eggs, now the bacon? Go ahead.
BOLDUAN: Where's breakfast gone?
ACOSTA: Where's breakfast gone?
Go ahead and over pack. A number of hotels now, they're saying they're going to pay for your checked bag fees?
BOLDUAN: Love this.
ACOSTA: Most airlines are charging these days but there is a catch. Many times a deal only applies to weekend stays and some hotels will only reimburse you up to $50. But hey, that ain't bad. BOLDUAN: And kids on a plane. The two can make some people stir crazy at 30,000 feet. I'm going to hear this from my sister, I will tell you, which is why more than 50 percent of travelers polled by Sky Scanner say they're in favor of airlines creating a family-only section on planes. Nearly 20 percent want the industry to go one step further by creating child-free flights.
ACOSTA: That's just nasty. That's just mean.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: But what if your kids fly well?
BOLDUAN: Exactly. What if your kids fly well?
ACOSTA: I know.
ELAM: I just have to say, you know, the baby boy, two months.
BOLDUAN: I just got a pick up here.
ELAM: But we flew cross country to California and back, and she was fine. But you can see that people would look at her and they go, oh, baby.
ACOSTA: Yes, they tighten up.
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE)
ELAM: Yes, they're like you. And then afterwards, she was fine. Then they want to talk about how cute and wonderful she is. Right?
ACOSTA: Well, from minding your babies to "Minding Your Business," if you're like most people, your home is your biggest investment and the news this week on housing, sort of like a poopy diaper, if I can continue that theme. Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business."
ELAM: I know nothing about that at all right now. Yes. We're "Minding Your Business."
ACOSTA: Sorry, pardon the segue.
ELAM: And, yes, that's quite a segue. But we are talking about something that is not good news. And it does matter to you even if you are not in the market for buying a home or if you don't own a home. And that's why we're talking about it today.
We're taking a look at existing home sales for July. And they tumbled 27 percent. That is a huge number. That was twice -- more than twice what analysts were expecting.
ACOSTA: Yes, check those numbers. Can that be right?
ELAM: I know. Well, there's a couple of reasons why. For one thing, people don't have this tax credit anymore. Right?
ACOSTA: Yes. ELAM: There's a homebuyer tax credit that expired in April. You had to have a contract that was in the works closing in June. It was $8,000 for some people. So people who were trying to buy a home, they already did it. So obviously it fell off a cliff after that.
Home prices are still falling so if you're looking to go out and buy a home, you're probably saying, well, the bubble is not here yet.
BOLDUAN: Right.
ACOSTA: Right.
ELAM: So I'll keep waiting. And then on top of it, if you don't have a secure job, if you don't have a job, chances are you're not really going to go out and buy a home. All of that factors in to what we've been seeing here why people are not buying.
Another thing to point out foreclosures are still happening. We had about three million last year. This year they're estimating they'll be another one million homes that will be seized through foreclosure. That brings prices down obviously and it does not help out the market overall. So these are all reasons why we're seeing these prices, these sales at their lowest level in 15 years. And even with mortgage rates being cheaper, you know, you think about it --
ACOSTA: Yes.
ELAM: -- mortgage rates are cheaper but now you can have more money to put down. Right?
ACOSTA: Exactly.
ELAM: There's not a lot of leeway.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: Right.
ACOSTA: No more funny business.
ELAM: There's all these creative --
ACOSTA: Or so they say.
ELAM: So all of that factors in and that's why we're seeing such dismal numbers.
ACOSTA: We hear real estate agents will say, there are some buyers who are sitting out of the market right now, saying, maybe they'll bring that tax credit back.
ELAM: Yes.
ACOSTA: And they're hoping that they bring the --
ELAM: And it did happen before. ACOSTA: That's right.
BOLDUAN: They extended it or brought it back, right?
ELAM: It was extended and extended, 1st of December, so you see this happening but right now when you take a look at these numbers, there's still a lot of pain out there. Kind of like the poopy diaper.
BOLDUAN: So you could go back to that.
ELAM: I had to bring it back, like a good --
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
ACOSTA: The economy could use a fresh diaper.
ELAM: Yes, they could. Change it -- change it up.
ACOSTA: All right. Thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: Thank you.
ACOSTA: I swear I'll stop talking about it.
BOLDUAN: I hope you do and so does everyone else.
The battle over the economy is heating up. House Republican Leader John Boehner says it's time for top members of the Obama economic team to go. But the Obama administration is hitting back and hitting back hard. We've got details.
It's 21 minutes after the hour.
ACOSTA: Two thieves walk into a museum. No, this is not a joke. They walk out with a 17th century gold bar worth more than half a million dollars. Our John Zarrella is tracking this heist case from Key West, Florida. Where else? It's coming up.
It is 22 minutes after the hour. Just like you said.
BOLDUAN: One seated upright.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: And, Kate, may I say you're doing a heck of a job this morning.
BOLDUAN: Great. Thanks so much, Jimbo. Heck of a job, Jimbo.
ACOSTA: With me that's a compliment. And why are we talking about "heck of a job"? Well, because former FEMA boss Michael Brown, he is heading to New Orleans to bring his radio show with him. Like it or not, down in New Orleans. Both tonight and tomorrow night to mark five years since Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast. Brown, who is, of course, remembered for the infamous phrase uttered by the former president, George W. Bush, quote, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Brown resigned two weeks after Hurricane Katrina and became one of the public faces of the government's slow response.
And the Army Corp of Engineers is working feverishly to finish the new system of levees designed to protect New Orleans, telling our Tom foreman we are doing about 15 to 20 years of construction work in about 36 months. Wow. That's unbelievable.
The centerpiece being unveiled this week is a two-mile long storm surge barrier. But the problem, many critics still don't trust the government and they're asking for more accountability. And they deserve it down there in New Orleans.
BOLDUAN: Now five years after the deadly storm changed New Orleans forever, some families are still dealing with tragedies that played out after the levees failed. CNN's special investigations unit was the first to break the story about nine patients at the city's memorial hospital too weak to evacuate. They were all given painkillers and sedatives. Top forensic experts all call it homicide. But five years later, no one has been held accountable. For more, we're joined by our special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin.
Hey there, Drew.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate. You know, this is a tragedy that began in the height of the storm's aftermath when doctors and nurses were fleeing one particular hospital, but they didn't know what to do with the patients they felt at the time they couldn't take with them. Well, the relatives of those left behind that day say, plain and simple, the medical staff killed their relatives and left.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): There is no mystery for Lou Ann Jacob. She knows what happened to her 90-year-old mother, Rose Savoie, on the seventh floor of the New Orleans Memorial Hospital.
LOU ANN JACOB, VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: She was definitely murdered.
GRIFFIN: Her mother, one of nine patients found dead in the hospital that were part of an extensive attorney general investigation concluding they were literally sedated to death by the last remaining hospital staff and a doctor named Anna Pou.
JACOB: I still feel it was premeditated murder because they planned it. They got medicine together, mixed the cocktail, put it in the syringes and gave it to the patients.
GRIFFIN: It's not just Jacob's feelings that point to premeditation. CNN was the first to obtain this report from the Louisiana State attorney general's investigation revealing on September 1st, the day the hospital was to be evacuated, Dr. Anna Pou told staff lethal doses were going to be administered to the nine patients who could not be evacuated.
The pharmacist told investigators he was instructed to bring morphine. Others told investigators they witnessed Dr. Pou administering drugs through IVs and a tray of syringes. And within just a few hours, every single one of the nine patients died. One patient awake and alert when given the lethal dose, openly complained. Jacob said that patient was her mom.
JACOB: But I know in my heart that woman that got the shot that said "Ow! That burned." That was my mom.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Is that not killing a person?
ART CAPLAN, BIOETHICIST: That is homicide.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Art Caplan is director of the center for bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also one of five forensic and ethical experts consulted on the memorial hospital deaths by New Orleans coroner. All five concluded the hospital staff euthanized the nine patients.
(on camera): Is this a case though where doctors did their best and failed?
CAPLAN: We don't know whether doctors did their best and failed. All I can say in reading the record is that I think they assisted the death involuntarily of these patients. They didn't ask them, they didn't talk about it. They just said we better put these people to sleep.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): A grand jury was convened to investigate, but neither Caplan nor the other four experts were asked to testify. That grand jury failed to indict anyone. Five years later, despite all the evidence, the New Orleans coroner still classifies the deaths as "unknown."
JACOB: I want justice.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Relatives of these victims have good reason to be frustrated with the law enforcement community here in New Orleans. Their cases, the cases of their loved ones, remain unsolved homicides. And guess what else? Nobody seems to want to solve them, including the district attorney in open court last month.
Leon Cannizzaro, the new district attorney of New Orleans called what happened at Memorial Hospital a homicide. "I do believe human beings were killed as a result of actions of doctors." That's what he said in court. Then he went on to say that he has no intention of pursuing the case unless new evidence shows up at his door.
(voice-over): Like the coroner, Cannizzaro said in court he just doesn't feel he has enough evidence.
(on camera): And get this, the new district attorney, Leon Cannizzaro, he won't even come out and tell us why. (voice-over): After weeks of asking and one day of waiting, the district attorney we were told slipped out a side door. Through her attorney, Dr. Anna Pou, has consistently refused requests for interviews with CNN. But she has told other media outlets that, while she did inject some patients with the potent drug combination, it was for palliative care, comfort, not murder.
In the ensuing years, the state, which employs Dr. Pou, has paid out hundreds of thousands in legal fees to settle cases against her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: So Drew, the district attorney as you said in your piece, had enough evidence to go forward with this case, but do you think there is another reason the district attorney wants to keep this case in limbo?
GRIFFIN: Kate, the D.A. made those comments in court being asked questions by a CNN lawyer. CNN has been trying to get the records in this case released almost as soon as we found out about it and after the attorney general closed his investigation. A lot of people don't want us to have those records.
And by saying he believes a crime was committed, the district attorney is trying to keep the records sealed and potentially he's going to convince the judge that, look, in the future there may be a crime here so we have to keep these records sealed even though honestly, he's not pursuing this case in any way, shape or form, based on his own discussions.
BOLDUAN: Wow. Drew Griffin, thanks so much, Drew.
AMERICAN MORNING will be live in New Orleans this Friday, starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. You'll want to join us. Our John Roberts will be there with a special look at how the city's recovered in the past five years, as well as what work still needs to be done.
ACOSTA: It's about 32 minutes after the hour. And that means it is time for this morning's top stories. A key primary race still undecided at this hour. We're closely watching the contest up in Alaska. Sarah Palin backed Joe Miller is trying to pull out a win against sitting Senator Lisa Murkowski. It is a major test of how much power the tea party has. Alaska, officials say is going to could the absentee ballots and could take up to a week.
BOLDUAN: A wave of bloody attacks across Iraq this morning. Officials say 48 people were killed and over 200 were wounded. There were 20 bomb attacks in a dozen different cities, mostly targeting Iraqi security forces. A major test for them with the last U.S. combat brigade now gone.
ACOSTA: Former President Jimmy Carter is in North Korea right now. The Obama administration says the former president is on a private humanitarian mission to free another American. A 31-year-old Aijalon Mahli Gomes from Boston. He was detained in April at the border with China and sentenced to eight years of hard labor. And a great debate is unfolding over who's to blame for the struggling economy. GOP leader John Boehner has fired a shot at Democrats. He did it yesterday saying they have failed to shore up the faltering recover. But the White House was quick to hit back and with a big gun.
Our Brianna Keilar is live in Washington. And Brianna, they put the vice president out there. This is a debate we're going to hear for the next few months, I think.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a slugfest. It is a battle that's all about jobs and the sputtering economy, Jim. John Boehner, the top Republican in the House who would likely be the speaker if Republicans are able to gain control of the House, really put up his dukes yesterday saying that Democrats have failed to create jobs and grow the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): In the Republican corner, hailing from Ohio, John Boehner.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: President Obama should ask for and accept the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council.
KEILAR: Fighting for the president, but Delaware's own, Joe Biden.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: First let's review a little bit of history here. For eight years before we arrived in the west wing, Mr. Boehner and his party ran the economy and the middle class literally into the ground. They took a $237 billion operating surplus inherited from the Clinton administration and left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit.
KEILAR: Boehner jabbed at the president's plan to let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year for Americans earning more than $250,000.
BOEHNER: So let me be clear. Raising taxes on families and small businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster. For both our economy and for our deficit. Period. End of story.
KEILAR: The counterpunch from Democrats, Republicans are protecting big corporations and overstating the number of small businesses affected by the tax hike.
BIDEN: Let's have a little truth in advertising here. There aren't three percent of the small businesses in America that would qualify for that tax cut at the top two percent. It's a Wall Street tax cut, not a main street tax cut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Biden and other Democrats also hit Boehner for criticizing them without putting out a Republican proposal on the economy. But Boehner promised the Republicans do have a plan based on what they've heard from Americans in what's really been an online listening tour and he said, Jim, that they'll release that next month. Democrats, of course, say next month, you know.
ACOSTA: Yes. With all those boxing references, Brianna, I'm picturing David Axelrod as Burgess Meredith. You're a wrecking machine, Barack. You know, something along those lines but -
KEILAR: Yes, our imagination kind of got carried away with us as we did this.
ACOSTA: Love it. Thanks, Brianna. Appreciate it.
And primary battles happening across the country. This race up in Alaska. Everybody paying close attention to at this point. Unbelievable, Joe Miller just may pull off an upset against Lisa Murkowski up there.
BOLDUAN: Other big races going on.
ACOSTA: Other big races as well. That's right.
BOLDUAN: Big upsets.
ACOSTA: A lot to talk about. And we're going to have our political panel weighing in in just a few moments. It's 36 minutes after the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. It was a primary night to remember and the night is still going on for some of the candidates out there from the biggest fight John McCain has had in a long time to a big tea party test up in Alaska right now.
And joining us now to break it down is senior political analyst for CNN, Ed Rollins and former Clinton White House aide, Lisa Caputo. And Ed, let's start with you. We picked up this tweet overnight from Joe Miller, the insurgent Republican candidate up in Alaska, running against Lisa Murkowski. The tweet from Joe Miller - we'll put it on screen, "What's the moose hunting like in the beltway?" A little presumptuous there.
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: The last time I looked there wasn't many moose and two elephants that's been shot in the past year.
ACOSTA: They've been doing some light hunting in Washington.
ROLLINS: That's right.
ACOSTA: What do you make of that? I mean, you know, Lisa Murkowski was heavily favored to win this race. And out of nowhere the Sarah Palin-backed Joe Miller might pull it off. ROLLINS: It's not a big state. There is a very strong tea party movement. She was the leader of it of this battle that goes back and forth between the Murkowskis and the Palins. You know, Miller ran for Congress and came very close to beating Don Young last time and he is a good guy. So it is not like he is a perfect stranger.
ACOSTA: Right. If Murkowski goes down this would be, I think, the seventh incumbent in the Congress to go down in a big name -
ROLLINS: Right.
ACOSTA: Not just in Alaska but in Washington. And so that's going to be interesting to watch. A lot of people have been talking about this winning streak or lack of winning streak for Sarah Palin as she's been going into these states and picking candidates she likes.
Lisa, what do you think of the fact that if Joe Miller pulls this off, what that says about Sarah Palin's clout?
LISA CAPUTO, FMR. CLINTON ADVISER: Well, I think it only elevates Sarah Palin's clout. I think you have to remember, too, Lisa Murkowski, people were angry when she was appointed, right? She also spent a ton of money in Alaska.
ACOSTA: Right.
CAPUTO: So this goes against what may be a little bit of a momentum happening. Of people being able to buy their primaries. Not so here in Alaska and I think it is a big boost for Sarah Palin and the tea party.
ACOSTA: Yes. And speaking of the tea party, down in Florida, Marco Rubio had the backing of the tea party movement. It is basically what prompted Charlie Crist to get out of the Republican primary and run as an independent. And was interesting to hear Marco Rubio earlier this morning, on AMERICAN MORNING, because as some conservatives are pointing out, Marco Rubio didn't mention the tea party in his victory speech last night and he had this to say when we talk to him about how the race is shaping up down in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: Washington's got this all wrong. I think both parties were to blame, quite frankly, but Washington has put us on a road that's going to rob us of everything that makes America exceptional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Both parties to blame in Washington? That doesn't sound like a tea party-back Republican candidate.
ROLLINS: No, it doesn't. The Republican party lost its two established figures. The big upset is Scott winning the gubernatorial nomination, spending $50 million. Every Republican, nationally, state-wide, every business group supported Bill McCollum as the attorney general. So they have lost the attorney general, they've lost Charlie Crist.
In a sense he would not have won yesterday. I think the Republican party in Florida's at war with the tea party and I think tea party won big yesterday.
ACOSTA: And Lisa, what do you think about Marco Rubio saying that both parties had some problems in Washington? That doesn't sound like the Marco Rubio we've been hearing up until this point of the campaign. He seems to want to stake out some middle ground.
CAPUTO: Well, absolutely. I think again this is going to try to go after those independents, those independents that Barack Obama got in the presidential election who are feeling dissatisfied right now with where things are, the state of the economy and are looking for a place to go. And you see him trying to straddle the middle, so to speak, to try and capture those independents. You see Charlie Crist breaking from the party, again going in as an independent in this race.
And I think what Ed said about McCollum is very interesting because remember, you had about a dozen would-be hopefuls for the next presidential race backing McCollum for that post and you also in Florida had this dynamic where you had two other presidential hopefuls, Palin and Gingrich, on opposite sides for the attorney general seat.
ACOSTA: Right.
CAPUTO: So Florida has just been a fascinating I think bellwether for what's going on.
ROLLINS: One other point. I think Mike McAllister, nobody heard of, had no money, got 10 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial race. He wasn't on the debates, no TV commercials and probably get that balance and he ran against both of too. So that 10 percent is very important in this final.
ACOSTA: Let me lay out a scenario for you in Florida. Charlie Crist leaves the Republican party, runs as an independent. If he wins, he could potentially caucus as a Democrat although he isn't committing to that at this point. Because Rick Scott won the surprise victory last night, Democrats are smiling down in Florida because of this because they think Republicans and Democrats down in the sunshine state are concerned that Rick Scott may be sort of a wild card down there because of his colorful past.
There is a scenario that could emerge where you could have both the governor's mansion and that Senate seat that used to belong to Mel Martinez flip to the Democrats because of the way things are moving down there. Do you see that as being a worrisome -
ROLLINS: Certainly a possibility. I mean, the two big media states, California and Florida, which are all about television, you have independent people spending tons of money. And the thing about Scott is he spent $50 million in the primary. He could spend $100 million, that doesn't guarantee a victory. But it has changed the dynamics of politics. Totally independent people could come in, go against the establishment and still be victorious.
ACOSTA: Well -
CAPUTO: I was going to say or you have the establishment - look at what happened with John McCain in Arizona? Did whatever it would take. Spent $21 million which was more than the total that he spent in each of his Senate races dating back to 1986. So I think Ed's point is right, you can buy it. That's a frightening thing in politics, particularly when you have someone like McCain who's been a strong and outspoken proponent for campaign finance reform.
ACOSTA: Well, we're out of time but circling back to the Lisa Murkowski race, some people might start saying that Lisa Murkowski should have paid attention to her challenger the way that John McCain paid attention to his challenger down in Arizona.
ROLLINS: No question about that.
CAPUTO: No question.
ACOSTA: All right. Lisa and Ed, thanks so much for wrapping that up.
ROLLINS: Pleasure.
ACOSTA: Always appreciated.
CAPUTO: Thank you.
ACOSTA: And of course, CNN has complete coverage of the primaries as we get close to November on air, on-line at cnn.com/politics. We've got the best political team in television to break down the issues, races and analysis. That's at cnn.com/politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back, everybody, to the Most News in the Morning. Here's a question. Did you ever -- have you ever solved a Rubik's cube? A, my answer first of all is no.
ACOSTA: No.
BOLDUAN: Without pulling off the stickers, I didn't even know that was possible. Well, how about pulling it off -- pulling off that mind bender during a free fall from 14,000 feet?
ACOSTA: What?
BOLDUAN: What, you say? Well, it took 20 moves for this German sky diver to solve the puzzle. He had fallen 6,000 feet in 30 seconds by then, and he didn't deploy the chute until he solved the cube.
ACOSTA: And he's sitting on some kind of innertube there or something like that? What in a world?
BOLDUAN: And he's also crazy. No, just kidding. ACOSTA: Yes.
BOLDUAN: That's wild. The pressure.
ACOSTA: Certainly daring. That's for sure. And one thing that we've been talking about politics all morning, one thing that's bringing Democrats and Republicans together this morning, at least in New Jersey --
BOLDUAN: Oh, please tell me.
ACOSTA: Their hatred of the MTV show "Jersey Shore." And I would just join them in that bipartisan hatred at this point. According to a new Quinnipiac Poll, 54 percent of New Jersey voters agree with their governor and think the show is bad for the states image. How could that be true? I mean, look at the tanning, the working on the abs, the gelling, the mousing.
It's true across party lines by almost a margin of two to one. Jersey people blame a few -- this is in quotes here, I don't want to say this out loud, but few a quote "low-life New Yorkers for the shore's rep." Just one cast member saying his sweetheart is actually from Jersey. So, some New Jerseyites feel like it's New York's fault they have that rep.
BOLDUAN: And I will let that debate continue on.
ACOSTA: I'm not touching that.
BOLDUAN: This watching Tony (ph) and just don't think we should jump into that one.
ACOSTA: We're not weighing in there.
BOLDUAN: No. Not going to. Fifty minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Jacqui, would you like to weigh in on that?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not so much. Glad we can all agree that no one likes the show apparently.
ACOSTA: Yes.
JERAS: Apparently so. And I want to know how much hair gel you use, Jim Acosta.
ACOSTA: You know what --
BOLDUAN: That is a wonderful question.
ACOSTA: And I was offering to show the abs this morning like the situation but --
BOLDUAN: The entire control room goes dear Lord, no. Just kidding.
ACOSTA: They thought it would offend the sensibilities of our family from the audience.
BOLDUAN: OK. It's a more important news. The weather.
JERAS: We got some active weather going on across the east again. This has kind of been the same song that you've been seeing since Sunday. There are low pressure system kind of lingers in here. So, expect to see more rain showers and then you can see a cold front across parts of the Great Lakes down towards the Gulf Coast will move through, and this gorgeous weather you're getting today in the Midwest will eventually make its way through the Great Lakes and into the east.
In the meantime, you're stuck with the showers and you're seeing a lot of it across the Boston area as well as Providence. We're expecting to see quite a few airport delays as a result of that. It could be over an hour for you, Boston as well as New York City metros. Philadelphia should be a little lesser. We don't think you have as much rain, but you'll have the clouds.
Atlanta and Charlotte, looking for visibility issues. Some thunderstorms for you in Florida and then some wind delay is expected in Chicago, Detroit, and Phoenix. In terms of temperatures, we're really heating things up across the southwest. Record highs expected here today while you're cool in the northeast for today. We're going to flip-flop that as we head towards the weekend. That's the latest on the nation's weather. AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Two thieves walk into a Maritime Museum. And no, this is not a joke. They walked out with a piece of history. A gold bar from the 17th century found decades ago at the bottom of the sea.
BOLDUAN: And get this. It is worth over half a billion dollars. Whoo.
ACOSTA: Million.
BOLDUAN: What?
ACOSTA: Million.
BOLDUAN: Oh, million. See, I like to make it sound even more exciting.
ACOSTA: That's right.
BOLDUAN: Half a million dollars. Sorry. So, how did these two so-called modern-day pirates pull this off? Our John Zarrella is in Key West, Florida, taking a look in this "A.M. Original."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A week ago, two thieves walked into the Mel Fisher Museum here behind me and walked out with a gold bar worth half of million dollars. The question is where are they? What did they do with the bar? Or what do they intend to do with it?
ZARELLA (voice-over): The bullet-proof glass case sits empty. For more than two decades, until last Wednesday, it housed this gold bar. Visitors to the museum in Key West could touch it, lift it, but you couldn't remove it. At least that's what everyone thought.
MELISSA KENDRICK, MEL FISHER MARITIME MUSEUM: After your first five and your next ten, and when you get to 25 years, you know, you start to get to the point where you think this is never going to happen.
ZARELLA: It did. The surveillance video is remarkably clear. One of two thieves approached the case, does something, then walks away. While the security guard is out of the room he comes back, removes the bar, sticks it in his pocket, and walks out.
ZARELLA (on-camera): Authorities think that thieves may have been targeting this gold chain but couldn't get the case off. So, they came over here. Now, this is 3/8 inch bullet-proof Plexiglas, but somehow, the thief was literally able to snap the glass here at the weak points.
ZARELLA (voice-over): In 1980, while searching for the wreck of the Spanish mitocho (ph), Mel Fisher and his team of treasure hunters found the Santa Margarita. Both ships had gone down in a hurricane off Key West. 1622. The bar is one of dozens the divers found.
Pretty frustrating. Now, that you haven't had the kind of lead you thought --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I thought by now, we'd have this one, you know, solved.
ZARELLA: Even with the video and fingerprints, Key West Police Chief Donie Lee says they got very little concrete.
CHIEF DONIE LEE, KEY WEST, FLORIDA POLICE DEPT.: This is going to end up, you know, in somebody's house probably used as a paperweight. You know, other than melting it down which is the worst case scenario for everyone.
ZARELLA: Experts in the recovery of art and artifacts say thieves likely made a huge mistake. The market is small for high- profile items with distinguishing markings. Robert Wittman, head of the FBI's art crime team wrote the book "Priceless."
ROBERT WITTMAN, FMR. FBI ART CRIME TEAM: We recovered paintings and artifacts that have been missing for many years, 10, 12, 15, sometimes 20 years. And it's because the thieves never could get rid of it. They basically kept them in their closets. They were white elephants. They made no money out of the deals. They just -- they were stuck.
ZARELLA: Experts say if these thieves had any brains, the smart thing to do, return the gold they fingered.
ZARELLA (on-camera): Police say that with the surveillance video and the fingerprints, they believe they'll catch these guys. Experts say eventually 90 percent to 95 percent of artifacts are always recovered. It just may take years. Kate, Jim --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Top stories are coming your way after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
