Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Ahmadinejad Angers U.N. Delegates; Senate Dems Split; Freed from Iran; Sarah Shroud Speaks; Deal's On Flat Screens; National Punctuation; Gaga's Jerky Dress; CNN Heroes; Synchronized Dogs

Aired September 24, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this Friday, the 24th of September. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. We've a lot to talk about this morning, plenty of good seats available in the U.N. General Assembly that was after Iran's president took to the podium yesterday.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accusing the U.S. of master minding the 9/11 attacks, U.S. and European delegates moved their translators, ear pieces and walked out.

ROBERTS: American hiker Sarah Shourd back home in the United States and talking about the ordeal in an Iranian prison. She was behind bars for 14 months. Two hiking companions including her fiance are still Iran's prisoners. Sarah Shourd joins us live just ahead.

CHETRY: We're tracking the tropics. Hurricane warnings in effect as Tropical Storm Matthew gains strength and prepares to make landfall. Our Rob Marciano has new developments on where the storm is headed.

ROBERTS: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: Iranian's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, thinks it's time, he says, for the U.N. to launch an independent investigation of the 9/11 attacks. The Iranian leader is telling the U.N. General Assembly yesterday that the U.S. was behind it and that the whole world agrees.

ROBERTS: And that was tough to take for the delegates from the United States and Europe. One by one, they stood up and left the hall in protest.

Jill Dougherty is following it all for us live in Washington this morning.

The Europeans at the very least, Jill, is saying it was outrageous.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And the Americans are saying the same thing, too, John. You know, earlier this week, we were looking at President Ahmadinejad who had pretty moderate comments when he arrived at the U.N. and people were thinking, well, maybe things have changed. Maybe he won't rail against the United States as he usually does.

But this time, yesterday, he goes over the top again, and that was claiming that the United States' government, in some fashion, had orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. Why? He said it was to help the U.S. economy which he believes is failing. And then, also, to help Israel.

Obviously, the comments are pretty over the top. And he also wants the U.N. to hold an investigation into 9/11. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): It is proposed that the United Nations set up an independent fact-finding group for the event of September 11th so that in the future, expressing views about it -- so that to ensure that the different views about it are not banned from discussion in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: OK. So, Robert Gibbs, spokesperson for President Obama, said that the president found it outrageous and offensive, those comments, especially the fact that they were made not far from Ground Zero and then also the U.S. mission to the United Nations called them vile conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic slurs and abhorrent and delusional. So, that was the level of conversation.

But, John, you'd have to say, at the same time, there is some hope, maybe slim, that the United States, that the countries that are allied with the United States and Iran can begin to talk about the really important issue and that is its nuclear program.

ROBERTS: Right. Well, if he wants dialogue, he sure shows it in a very strange way.

DOUGHERTY: That's true. And you have to wonder why -- you know, sometimes what the president says sounds really off base and almost crazy. But if you really tried to translate it, he's positioning himself as a spokesman for the rest of the world. The rest of the world that is angry at the United States, angry at the U.S. dominance, angry at capitalism, and that comes up and up again.

But again, behind the scenes, there are indications that perhaps there might be some type of dialogue and President Obama, in his statement which preceded the statement by Mr. Ahmadinejad, was holding out the possibility that if Iran comes clean and says that there is peaceful -- really proves there's peaceful intent for that program, then there might be dialogue.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll see. Jill Dougherty for us in Washington this morning -- Jill, thanks.

CHETRY: Coming up in just a few minutes, we're actually going to be talking live with Sarah Shourd. She is the American hiker who was freed after 14 months in an Iranian prison. Her fiance and good friend are still being held and she wants to meet face-to-face with Ahmadinejad to talk to him about their release.

Meantime, if you're trying to figure out just how much money you'll be handing over to Uncle Sam next year, you may have to wait a while, because any chance of a vote on tax cut extensions for middle class Americans has just abandoned by Senate Democrats.

ROBERTS: They have decided that they're going wait until after Election Day to take up the matter of your take home pay.

Candy Crowley, CNN's chief political correspondent and host of "STATE OF THE UNION," joins us now from Washington this morning.

So, Candy, if they want to raise taxes on the highest income earners but they have a sense that that's going to be very politically palatable prior to the midterm election, it would seem.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's -- I think there are a couple of reasons that this happened. First, any time a vote is postponed in the Senate, it means they don't have the votes. The majority doesn't have the vote to pass it. So, that's one thing. That's kind of Senate 101.

Politics 101 is, they have some senators and in the House, some congressional members, Democrats, who are quite vulnerable at this point in swing districts where they believe trying to defend the tax hike of any kind, even if it is the rich, will be difficult and they're already in races that are so dicey, they have said to their leadership, don't put us on this -- on this particular platform right now.

So, there were both political and practical reasons for it, no votes. Also, it made some Democrats uncomfortable and they want to try to save as many Democrats as they can.

CHETRY: You're saying -- they're saying it's because the Republicans are holding it up, but you're saying they don't have the votes in the Senate, or they would have held the vote?

CROWLEY: Well, they're not necessarily mutually exclusive statements. The Republicans were planning on voting against it, but they, in fact, had some Democrats, independent Joe Lieberman who also didn't like the idea of raising taxes on anybody, including the rich --

CHETRY: Right.

CROWLEY: -- saying it's just a bad time to do it.

CHETRY: All right. Well, speaking of Republicans, the Republican governor of New Jersey was helping out his buddy over in California, Meg Whitman, and some sparks flew at this -- at this event. I want you to listen and get your take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Hey, listen. Hey! Listen, you know what? You want to yell, yell at me. But don't give her a hard time.

We are here -- we are here talking about the future of the state of California and the future of our country. And you know what? And you know what? And you know what?

Let me tell you. Let me tell you this. You know what? It's people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country. We're here to bring this country together. Not to divide it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: I guess they don't call him the wrecking ball for nothing. What do you make of that whole thing?

CROWLEY: Well, listen -- I think it's classic Chris Christie. It's what we have come to see what he took over as governor of New Jersey in a tough race. They're so familiar with this in New Jersey. I mean, go online at any given point and there is Chris Christie taking on somebody, be it the teacher's union. I mean, he is like a -- this is sort of part of who he is. So, it's not at all surprising.

And I have to tell you, he is definitely the flavor of the month when you talk to Republicans here in Washington and elsewhere. I mean, I've even heard his name saying, you know, I'm kind of looking for somebody like a Chris Christie, you know, somebody that stands for true conservative principles, who tells it like it is. So, he is making quite a name for himself nationally and I think you saw part of that in that exchange out there in California.

ROBERTS: What do we got happening on Sunday morning?

CROWLEY: Among other things, we're going to talk to Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who, as you know, he is the Democratic whip -- the guy responsible for counting votes. So, we think he may know something about why these tax extensions have been put off until after the election and what actually are the chances then.

And we'll be discussing a little bit about the book that came out this book, you know, Bob Woodward's book and the infighting in the White House over policy in Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to it, Candy. As always, thanks so much.

CROWLEY: Thanks, John. Thanks, Kiran.

ROBERTS: And, again, be sure to catch Candy Crowley on "STATE OF THE UNION," Sunday morning, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

CHETRY: We'll be watching.

All right. We're going to take a quick break. It's seven-and- a-half minutes past the hour.

Again, as we said, we are going to be joined by Sarah Shourd in just a few moments. She was the hiker that was released by the Iranian government.

Meantime, let's check in with Rob real quick. He's keeping an eye in the hurricane headquarters for us on this storm Matthew gaining strength.

And you're starting to be able to get a better gauge of its track, as well.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's going to make landfall tonight, late tonight, early tomorrow across Honduras and Nicaragua. There you see in the satellite behind me, really exploding over the past 12 hours. It's got winds of 50 miles an hour. It could be to a hurricane-strength or at least close to it before it makes landfall and making a couple landfalls it looks like this weekend.

Here's the forecast track -- across Honduras and Nicaragua, then maybe scoot in across Belize and into the Yucatan Peninsula. And then what it does after that, we don't know.

It will die -- it will certainly weaken. But will it reemerge in the Gulf of Mexico? Will it get back to the northeast Caribbean? We just don't know. We just know that it's really close to us and for that reason, we're nervous about it and we're keeping a very close on it. Anywhere from Florida to Texas, you definitely want to have an ear and eye to the hurricane headquarters.

All right. The other issue across the U.S. today is rainfall and a cool front that is slowly marching eastward. This is what brought torrential rains and flooding conditions and evacuations that were ordered to parts of southern -- central Wisconsin and southern Minnesota. This will push east. It will cool down and dry out in those areas.

But ahead of it, we're talking about heat, record-breaking heat again today. Temps well into the 90s. But it will 90-plus in Atlanta and New Orleans (ph). And in D.C. -- boy, have you had a summer, 97 degrees expected there some patches of fog, 85 degrees expected in New York. A little bit of muggy and feeling more like July or August than the end of the September.

John and Kiran, back up to you.

ROBERTS: Pretty amazing that it's hotter in Washington than it is there in Atlanta.

MARCIANO: We are at 1,000 feet elevation. No. That's only a small part of it. But it's been that way all summer long seemingly. I think D.C. has had probably more 90-degree days than Atlanta or at least close to it.

CHETRY: Amazing. All right. Rob, thanks.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.

ROBERTS: Hiker Sarah Shourd -- she spent 410 days held in an Iranian prison, the notorious Evin prison. Inside her emotional captivity in Iran, when she joins us live -- coming up next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: American hiker Sarah Shourd is happy to be back in the United States after being held for 14 months in an Iranian prison. But her homecoming, as welcome as it is, is bittersweet.

CHETRY: Yes. That's because her two hiking companions, her fiance, Sean Bauer, and her friend, Josh Fattal, are still being held in that prison. If you recall, the three of them were arrested last year. They were hiking in Kurdistan, supposedly near the Iran-Iraq border when they were taken.

Sarah Shourd is here to talk to us about her ordeal and also her efforts to get her two friends, one fiance and one friend free.

Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

SARAH SHOURD, RELEASED AFTER 410 DAYS IN IRANIAN PRISON: Thank you.

CHETRY: I can't imagine the emotion that you're going through right now. How are you, both physically and mentally, after the release?

SHOURD: Well, it is hard to explain. I mean, of course, I feel grateful. I wouldn't be free if it wasn't for a huge groundswell of supports of governments and people all across the world, you know, from Desmond Tutu in South Africa, to a homeless woman that I heard about in San Francisco who's been organizing vigils and donating money for us. It's incredible.

And I know that those same people are doubling their efforts and no one's going to give up until Sean and Josh are with us. So --

ROBERTS: I can't imagine what the experience will be like. One moment be hiking out there in the country and then the next, you're in Iran's notorious Evin prison.

SHOURD: Nothing in life can prepare you for something like this. The only thick that got me through was just thinking about my mother and her suffering and my loved ones and just knowing I had to come back to them, you know, bruised but unbroken. I had to walk out strong.

And now, I have to be stronger than ever. I didn't expect it to end this way for me. I mean, it's not over, but I just didn't expect to have my freedom be so bittersweet.

CHETRY: Because they're still there and you, as you said, you know nothing. There's no information coming out.

Have you heard anything from the Iranian government or from anyone? Do you have any indication on whether Shane and Josh will be free?

SHOURD: No. I mean, it's always uncertain. There are no guarantees, no assurances. But, of course, we're hopeful. I mean, this is a good precedent. I was released on humanitarian and I feel confident that the Iranian government will extend the same gesture to my fiance and my dear friend. It's just -- I hope it's soon because this is just been too long.

You know, now, our pain was invisible. Everyone has been seeing the pain of our families, which is, in many ways, just as bad. And in many ways, worse, you know?

But no one can see your pain when you're in prison. You're invisible. No one -- you know, even the guards --

ROBERTS: Yes.

SHOURD: -- streaming down tears, slamming the door in my face and walk away. And now only I can - I know what Sean and Josh are enduring. I can see them in their cramped little cell with very little sunlight and they only get out an hour a day and, you know, they exercise side by side on a space like the size of a towel. And they're wonderful, wonderful people. And I want the world to meet them.

ROBERTS: We've certainly got an idea of what your families were going through because we had Josh's brother Alex and mom on a lot. We had your mom on one morning and we certainly know the pain that they were enduring but a lot of people wondering about the pain that you were in during and how you were treated. I know you have said that some of your captors were nice, some of them not so nice. Did they ever physically abuse you?

SHROUD: No. No. I mean, it is all psychological. And it's just the hardest thing, of course, is being so alienated from your family. You know I begged and cried for a phone call and I didn't get it until the -- I think the seventh month. I'm still unclear on the chronology. But, you know, by the time I got a phone call I lost hope that it was going to happen and there's just so many ups and downs. You think it will be over and then goes on and on and on.

CHETRY: More than a year - I mean we followed really the story every step of the way and you know some viewers also were wondering how it all started. Can you just walk us through or just explain that day? You guys were hiking in Kurdistan and you were looking at these beautiful waterfalls, as you described it and then everything changed in an instant.

SHROUD: Yes. You know well, my fiancee Sean Bauer and we have long been fascinated by the region. You know the Middle East is diverse body of cultures. We knew we wanted to immerse ourselves in that part of the world to learn more about it and to be hopefully more of a bridge between the people in that region and the people in our country so I taught in Damascus for a year and there's not a lot of green mountains in Damascus. You know it's a beautiful, beautiful country.

ROBERTS: Yes, a lot of brown.

SHROUD: Yes. A lot of beautiful desert and craggy rocks, but we wanted a little bit of green. And I had two friends that have already traveled in Northern Iraq. And it's a semi-autonomous zone. You know it's not a war zone. Americans have not been hurt there. You know? Even while all of the violence was raging in the south. It wasn't happening in the north so it was an easy place. I only had a week off of work of my teaching job in Damascus so it was an easy, quick trip to some green mountains and we'd been assured by our research that it was safe and really nothing like this happened there before. Our story was completely unexpected and tragic. We did nothing wrong.

CHETRY: And why didn't the Iranians believe you? I mean, they're accusing you of espionage-like charges. What was the point of that?

SHROUD: I don't know if I'll ever completely understand that but all I can say is we did nothing wrong. We meant no harm to the Iranian people. We did not intend to cross the border. It was unmarked. We were just on a trail behind the tourist site that was just recommended to us by the hotel. There were hundreds of families there. Very popular spot buy a waterfall where a family picnic and you know I -- I just think it's a huge misunderstanding that has a lot more to do with the problems between our countries than with us as individuals.

ROBERTS: Yes, yes at some point you said you got the idea, wait a second. This is not criminal here, this is all political.

SHROUD: Yes. Unfortunately, it's true. You know, I wouldn't be sitting here if there weren't countless people that believed in our innocence. I don't think there's a doubt in the world we didn't intend to go to Iran. And that we'd never do that, like risk our safety in that way and put our families through this. You know?

ROBERTS: President Ahmadinejad is here this week and I know that you have wanted to try to get in touch with him. He was on with Larry King on Wednesday talking about whether or not Sean and Josh would get out. He said that's in the hands of the judge. You know I've made my appeal. Do you think you will have a chance to meet with him? What kind of indications are you getting from the Iranians.

SHROUD: Yes, well, I don't see why he wouldn't want to meet with us. You know I have made it really, really clear that I have no animosity towards him or towards the government. I just want this to be resolved and I want it to be finished. And I think that it would be a really good opportunity to, you know, push this forward for us to meet each other. CHETRY: What would you say to him?

SHROUD: I don't know if it's going to happen. I would just ask him to release my fiancee and my friend for the same reasons he released me. You know? As a humanitarian gesture, This is not politics and governments and we don't deserve to suffer any longer and neither do our families.

ROBERTS: What do you think about the idea he fought for a prisoner swap, eight Iranians being held here in the United States in exchange for Sean and Josh? Would you support that?

SHROUD: Well, you know, I'm not a politician. I -- honestly, this is not my area of expertise. I don't know how it should be resolved. I just know it should be resolved and I just want to continue to emphasize it's a humanitarian issue and I hope that it ends in a way that, you know, can move us forward.

CHETRY: Yes.

SHROUD: Our country and Iran and create a better relationship between us.

CHETRY: You know, in reading your accounts it was amazing that there were these small and few and far between moments of joy that happened while you were in the prison. One was that Sean asked you to marry him there, right?

SHROUD: Yes.

CHETRY: I notice you have a thread on your hand.

SHROUD: Yes.

CHETRY: He made an engagement ring for you. Tell us about that.

ROBERTS: Hold it up. We'll get a shot.

SHROUD: Oh, sure. Yes. Sean's a romantic guy. It was just -- you know, we see each other an hour a day outside and Josh stayed in the room so Sean and I could have sometime alone and Sean said I have something to tell you. And I said, I hope it's not bad because I'm having a really bad day and he's like, no it's good. So it was a beautiful moment.

ROBERTS: You were planning on asking him if he didn't ask you?

SHROUD: Uh-huh. I was going to wait until after prison. Like a surprise, but he beat me to it. And I was glad because he said this was going to help us get through this because we are going to really be able to believe in our future together and that is going to sustain us.

ROBERTS: Well I know you're going to keep working as hard as you can to try to win their release and we'll keep following the story as well right through to its end. Sarah, it's great to see you this morning.

SHROUD: Yes, likewise.

ROBERTS: And good luck.

CHETRY: Best of luck. You're such a strong person to be going through this and we wish this ends as you said very quickly. Thanks so much.

SHROUD: Thank you.

CHETRY: We are going to take a quick break. It's 21 minutes after the hour, AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning, 25 minutes after the hour. We're watching your money. The price of flat screen TVs, plunging. You and I were just talking about this.

ROBERTS: Yes. People who have televisions in every room in the house.

CHETRY: In every room including the bathroom. We just have one. But hey, now that they're on sale, maybe I'll go for two. They're expected to drop to levels 12 percent lower than 2009 before the year ends. Inventories are bloated, more than usual they say and has analysts predicting that a 32 inch LCD TV could go for $199 by Black Friday.

ROBERTS: And just so you know, we have about 60 flat screen TVs here in the studio with us.

Well the world's largest social networking site is up and running again after crashing for two consecutive days. Technical problems are being blamed for yesterday's Facebook outage. On Wednesday, company executives say a third party network provider caused another crash. Oregon Public Broadcasting, its tongue firmly in cheek, put out a breaking news about the outage yesterday, it said, worker productivity rises, U.S. climbs out of recession.

CHETRY: If you're late to class, you have to fork over the lunch money. A high school in Salt Lake City is fining kids five dollars for being late. They have the option, though, of serving 30 minutes detention if they don't want to pay or they can't pay the fine. The school says the money goes toward paying the teacher to stay after school for the kids who chose detention.

ROBERTS: Well with all the texting and tweeting going on, I guess we need a day like this. It's National Punctuation Day. Who put a question mark in there?

CHETRY: National Punctuation Day!

ROBERTS: The California writer who created the holiday says the most common error is -- the misplaced or misused apostrophe. Oh the misaligned apostrophe. It's and its, two different forms get to us. So please, if you're going to punctuate today, punctuate responsibly.

CHETRY: And don't - you always think twice before you put the period after the quotes.

ROBERTS: It all depends, right?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: It's dependent.

CHETRY: Is the punctuation part of the quote?

ROBERTS: Or is it after the quote to finish the sentence? If the quote is continued -- I think we also need to have National Spelling Day as well because the one thing that drives me nuts, this happens with so many young people -- sorry.

CHETRY: Is this the lose?

ROBERTS: Don't mean to be your old uncle Bill here.

CHETRY: Loose and lose, Drives me crazy too.

ROBERTS: So many people spell lose l-o-o-s-e. It's got one "o."

CHETRY: That's right, OK? Don't forget that. You'll lose your mind.

Do you remember lay day Gaga with the meat dress?

ROBERTS: How could you forget that?

CHETRY: Grossed people out. Now it's beef jerky. So this is a good thing. You know it's getting repurposed. The designer of the meat dress that she wore to the VMAs is going to put it through a process where it becomes jerky sort of and it will be preserved so it won't look like you get a taste of it. Gaga said that she wore the dress in protest of the military policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy saying that equality is the prime rib of America.

ROBERTS: There's a lovely fashion item she was wearing.

Well are you disgusted with the state of the politics? If shaping up to be the year of the angry voter. So who's most angry? Republicans, Independents, or Democrats? The latest political news coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now. Your top stories this Friday morning. Stuck in space, a Russian capsule that was supposed to bring home three astronauts from the International Space Station got jammed up last night. They were sent back into the station after trying to get it loose for two hours. They spelled loose correctly. Glad to see that.

Engineers are going over pictures and video trying to figure out what went wrong. They are going to try again tonight.

CHETRY: And the search for a killer on this morning after a diplomat found dead in his New York apartment. His throat was slashed. This happening during world leaders meeting at the U.N. General Assembly to a Nicaraguan official that lived in New York for eight years.

ROBERTS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants the United Nations to investigate the 9/11 attacks because he claims they were orchestrated by the United States. Ahmadinejad delivered a fiery speech yesterday in front of the U.N. General Assembly. Didn't take long for U.S. and European delegates to say they have had enough and walked out after hearing this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT, (via translator): Some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order to save the Zionist regime. The majority of the American people as well as most nations and politicians around the world agree with this view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: A White House spokesman said the president found the remarks, quote, "outrageous and offensive."

CHETRY: Time now for the latest news form "The Best Political Team on Television." We're taking a look at what's crossing the Political Ticker. There's a new poll released that reveals who's most upset with Washington.

ROBERTS: Our senior political editor Mark Preston back with us again this hour live at the politics.com desk. Good morning, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, John, good morning, Kiran.

So really, what fuels an anti-incumbent year? Well, I think it comes down to one thing. It comes down to anger. Look at the new Associated Press AFK poll out showing 58 percent of the independents said the politics makes them angry. That number increases to 60 percent if you're a Republican.

Democrats, however, only 31 percent of them are angry. So what does this all mean for the midterm elections? Angry voters usually turn out so heading into November that probably spells good news for Republicans.

Moving on, in less than an hour Stephen Colbert will be on Capitol Hill testifying about the very authority issue of immigration. He worked as a migrant farm worker for a day up in New York. Take a look at this void owe of ABC's "Good Morning, America." It shows him getting down and dirty. So Colbert will be on Capitol Hill talking about immigration. Will he be in character? I suspect he will probably tell a couple jokes, but a very serious issue Stephen Colbert addressing later in less than an hour later this morning.

And closing with this. Sarah Palin, can we ever get enough of Sarah Palin? Of course, she is the darling of the Republican Party. And now she is focusing on 20 Democrats who voted for the health care bill. These are Democrats that when she was on the ticket in 2008, her and John McCain won these districts. So Sarah Palin trying to play a big role in the elections, and in fact on her website, she has the cross hairs to show she's closing in on them.

ROBERTS: She had a bearskin in the gubernatorial office. She's pretty good at aiming at things, I think.

PRESTON: I think so.

ROBERTS: All right, thanks so much.

CHETRY: A reminder for all of the latest political news, head to CNNpolitics.com.

ROBERTS: An unsolved medical mystery, the parents of a sick little girl desperate for answers. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta follows the disease detectives putting six-year-old kylie under the microscope. See what they found coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 38 minutes past the hour. We have an "A.M. House Call" for you now. We told you about the story of little Kylie. She's a sick little girl whose illness is a medical mystery. It's been such a torment to her family. He parents trying to find out what is wrong with her. Her case so challenging she is accepted into a specialized program at National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

ROBERTS: The teams of disease detectives who work there are the last hope for patients like kylie. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now to update us. Yesterday, doc, you showed us that they were subjecting her to literally every test known to medical science to try to figure out what's going on. When's the story today?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHEIF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and lots of clinical exams and trying to look at things that are not obvious I think is a good way to describe it. We're following this over a year now and Kylie and this whole place, UDP.

And as a doctor and reporter, it is fascinating. As a father, it is tough. She's gone -- been getting sick and getting sicker and then she's gone through the grueling tests. It's a tough thing to watch. But they do start to uncover a lot of clues and the big question, can they start to solve the puzzle? Here's what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Shortly before her 4th birthday, the mystery began.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to eat. I have to do shots.

GUPTA (on camera): How serious is Kylie?

DR. WILLIAM GAHL, DIRECTOR NIH UNDIAGNOSED DISEASES PROGRAM: Well, she's I would say real serious. I think that she has a disorder that will threaten her life is essentially the issue here, sort of racing against time.

GUPTA (voice-over): Kylie has already been at the UDP for a week. Dr. Gahl and his team have been sifting through the data they have amassing on her.

GUPTA (on camera): Do you have a diagnose no ses?

GAHL: We don't, no. We have a few good leads.

GUPTA (voice-over): For a time, they suspected a rare brain disorder called epilepsy partialous continua that affect the brains motor strength. But as tests came back clues showed the electrical charges were not coming from just one area but in fact, from all over. So, they were back to square one.

GAHL: Well, you try to differentiate whether this is something that was genetic or something environmental, in other words, that happened to her. Really, that's a dichotomy here.

GUPTA: In time, an analysis of Kylie's DNA revealed a genetic clue. They found a mutation in a particular gene that makes a protein.

GUPTA (on camera): Is it possible that what we're talking about here with regard to kylie is truly something that's never been described before?

GAHL: It's very possible. You know --

GUPTA: Brand new?

GAHL: A brand new mutation and maybe identifying a gene that is -- is not known previously to cause a human disease.

GUPTA (voice-over): Back home in Reno, Nevada, Gina and Steven are trying to focus on enjoying the time they have as a family. Although Kylie is deteriorating, she's happy.

STEVEN MCPEAK, KYLIE FATHER: Maybe someday we'll get that phone call -- hey, we think we might know what it is.

GUPTA: In Bethesda, Maryland, the doctors at the program are digging deeper into that genetic clue. They're doing a DNA analysis of Kylie's parents and sisters. They know it is now a race.

GAHL: Every new case that comes to us brings with it a human story. I think the important thing is for us as professionals to look at the successes that we have and to try to not dwell on the failures that we have, because we fail so often.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHETRY: I mean, it's hard to say when you're the parent, though, of the person suffering and Kylie's case is heartbreaking. How long do doctors search for a diagnosis before they have to tell you, sorry, we have to move on?

GUPTA: You know, Kiran, there's no rules here. Everything we're talking about and everything you have seen is unprecedented. So there is no absolute timetable. They tell me sort of at the early stages. This mutation, what exactly is it?

And I don't think I'm overstating it saying if they figure this out and that the mutation is causing problems with diabetes and her brain, this could be a new disease and maybe one day be referred to as Kylie Disease because of what you have seen transpire.

But it's a process and it will probably go on for months. Will it go on forever? Probably not. I think some point if they can't figure it out, they have to say they haven't done that. But they are not there yet. But they realize this is a race against the clock, though.

ROBERTS: So her brain is just sort of short circuiting?

GUPTA: Well, they don't know, John. I can tell you this. It affects the right side of the body. Not the left side. It seems to go away during sleep. Some people suggested, is this the first child described to have variant of Huntington's disease, for example? Is it something related to the motor areas of the brain?

They looked. They haven't found that specifically, but it might be an autoimmune problem that doesn't show up on the standardized tests and they have the look for that.

ROBERTS: Mystery to be sure. Doc, great story this morning. Thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

CHETRY: Keep us posted.

GUPTA: I will. Thank you.

ROBERTS: And for more on the rare medical mysteries and the detectives trying to find the right diagnosis, tune in to "Sanjay Gupta MD" Saturday mornings at 7:30 eastern right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, there's a flooding alert in the Midwest right now. And we're also keeping an eye on tropical storm Matthew moving quickly, gaining steam, and could be a threat to the U.S. Our Rob Marciano tracking it all from the hurricane center and will join us in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Here you go. Flooding in Arcadia, Wisconsin, yesterday; the Trempeleau River up and over its banks there and some areas in Wisconsin are under a flood warning through the weekend and this is -- this area had to be evacuated yesterday, over 2,000 people fleeing from their homes.

Here is where the radar is right now and most of the rain moving east into Chicago. I think the rain for the most part is over across southern Minnesota and Wisconsin but a lot of these counties are still under flood warnings.

The Wisconsin River, which is expected to crest probably Sunday afternoon it could very well get close to the record amount of flooding that they had back in 1993.

Here's the rainfall tallies, eight inches where you saw the pink. That's about 150 miles or so south of Minneapolis. That's where the heaviest rain was -- south of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

All right. As far as the other big weather story, the heat, 96 yesterday in Memphis; Jackson, Tennessee, 95; D.C., 93 degrees. They have seen a summer that goes beyond belief. Another record-breaking day expected today, 97 degrees is expected high temperature in D.C. and 85 in New York City.

All right, here's tropical storm Matthew heading towards Honduras and Nicaragua about 150 miles away. It's moving quickly westerly at 16 miles per hour. It will make landfall there as a strong tropical storm or even possibly a hurricane later on tonight.

And then make a secondary landfall across Belize late tomorrow night and then sometime next week either getting back into the south of northwestern Caribbean or southern Gulf of Mexico and that what is what has everybody who lives on the Gulf coast of the United States pretty nervous and rightfully so.

We'll keep an eye on it.

You are up to date weather-wise. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We have now nine minutes to the top of the hour. We're back with The Most News in the Morning.

All year long we've introduced you to remarkable, everyday people who were changing the world. And the top ten finalists have been announced.

CHETRY,: That's right. Now you can vote on CNN.com/heroes.

Actress Ricki Lake takes a look at the top ten CNN Heroes, one of them in particular, Susan Burton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICKI LAKE, ACTRESS: Hi, I'm Ricki Lake. The last two years I have had the honor of helping to recognize the great works of everyday people changing the world at "CNN HEROES AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE". As a supporter of 2008, top ten CNN Hero Marie Da Silva and the Jacaranda Foundation, I am committed to building schools, providing education and preventing AIDS in Malawi and I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's top ten honorees.

Now more than ever, the world needs heroes.

SUSAN BURTON, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: We all leave prison saying I'm going to get my life on track. And you end up getting off of a bus downtown Los Angeles, skid row. Many times you don't even make it out of the skid row area before you're caught up into that cycle again.

My name is Susan Burton. After my son died, I used drugs. I went to prison six times. Finally, I found rehab. And I thought I can help women come home from prison. I pick them up, bring them back to the house.

Here's some jeans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She offers you a warm bed, food. And like a real family. She made me want to change my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You found me Miss Burton.

BURTON: Sure. You came a long way. This is the life. That's what it's all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Just one of the many touching stories out there and the top ten finalists, as well. If you want to check out more about their stories, head to our Web site CNN.com/heroes. And you can vote. You can actually vote for more than one. You can pick who inspires you the most.

All ten will be honored by the way on Thanksgiving night, "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" hosted by our own Anderson Cooper; only one though will be named CNN's Hero of the Year.

ROBERTS: Well, Chicago rock band "Ok Go" a group known for its mastery of viral videos has done it again. And this time, with a crew of trained shelter dogs. And believe it or not, it's all done in one take.

Jeanne Moos shows us why it's got more than two million hits on YouTube, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning. Its 56 minutes past the hour.

Man, I can watch this video all day. This is amazing. These dogs haven't been this big since they barked "Jingle Bells." ROBERTS: They're starring in a new video that's just exploded on the Internet. From a band that has prove that it's certainly knows who to make a viral video.

"Ok, Go?" Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who cares about sits and stays when your dog gets to play in a music video? The band is "Ok Go." And they go to the dogs in one continuous take using a dozen mostly shelter dogs in their video called "White Knuckles". Oh sure there were plenty of mistakes, it took 124 takes; they wound up using take 72. The band says the dozen dogs loved it.

DAMIAN KULASH, OK GO BAND MEMBER: You could see, like, yes, I've done my job and like it was so, it was so, so fun.

MOOS: Ok Go is known for its complex, one continuous take videos like the one featuring a rouge Goldberg like contraption big enough to fill an entire warehouse.

But that was engineering. This required training each dog had its own trainer giving it cues.

(on camera): We were wondering, what had the dogs so focused? Looking like they were at the U.S. Open. The answer, tennis ball with cheese on it. By the way the brown dog on your right --

KULASH: That's my dog Bunny.

MOOS (voice-over): The doggy choreography featured everything from leaps to shelves. Note the band member feeding Riot the dog a treat. A couple of dogs walked the planks. How did Tin-Tin the Chihuahua and the rest of the gang react to Ok Go's music?

TIM NORDWIND, OK GO BAND MEMBER: Basically dancing to a -- to a click.

KULASH: It was like a metronome but with the vocals over it so we knew where we were in the song.

MOOS: It took six weeks spread over a year to train the dogs, train the people and get one continuous great take. Did we mention Ranger the goat?

KULASH: You don't potty train a goat.

NORDWIND: No, you don't potty train a goat.

MOOS: The video ends with a pyramid that the band called a dog- amid. That was the hardest part of the dogs getting commands to go up and down in unison.

KULASH: I think it was pure luck that he's barking to the beat.

MOOS: But the band leader's favorite part is called popcorn featuring Spike, the latest canine pop star.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Can you imagine if we had to do this show in one take? Oh, yes. We do every day.

ROBERTS: Sometimes we feel like a trained dog, don't we? I tell you, that's remarkable.

CHETRY: I love it. I mean, you remember the first one that really got viral -- the beginning of viral videos.

ROBERTS: That was the treadmill, right, where they were walking back and forth and the treadmill's going in different directions.

CHETRY: This had to be way harder than that.

ROBERTS: We are actually not like trained dogs. More like trained seals, right?

CHETRY: Or according to our producers, more like herding cats.

ROBERTS: That's the way I like it.

CHETRY: Well, that's going to do it for us today. Thanks so much for being with us. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. And continue the conversation on our stories by heading to our blog, CNN.com/amfix.

ROBERTS: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. What did you think of those puppies?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": You know I'm not a big animal fan. I'm just going to admit it. I'm just glad it wasn't cats; otherwise I really would have gone off.

Happy weekend, guys.

ROBERTS: All right. Take it away.

PHILLIPS: Great. Now everybody's going to call me under the sun.