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American Morning
High Treat of Terror Attack in Europe; Anti-Tea Party Rally to Energize Dems; Verizon to Pay Millions in Refunds; Welcome Back, Donovan; Celebrities Speak Out Against Teen Bullying; Who Approves Of This Message?; Brown Vs. Whitman in CA. Governor's Race
Aired October 04, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks so much for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Monday, it's the 4th of October. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Monday. Great to be with you again.
CHETRY: Happy Monday. Your binder is on my side of the desk.
VELSHI: Oh, sorry. Rules, we've got to learn rules around here. I'm Ali Velshi, the new guy. John Roberts is off this morning. Let me get you caught up on what happened overnight.
An alert from the British following a weekend warning from the State Department that there's a high threat of a terrorist attack overseas. We've got new information this morning about the potential targets and who's behind the threat. Live reports from Hamburg, Germany and the nation's capital right ahead.
CHETRY: A huge crowd turning out for a vigil to remember the Rutgers student who took his own life. Reaction from across the nation. A lot of celebrities speaking out about cyber bullying and harassment of gay and lesbian students. Plus, we're going to have a broader discussion about bullying in our schools.
VELSHI: Here's a little good news for you. A multimillion dollar mistake. Verizon Wireless admits to charging customers for data services they didn't want, maybe didn't use. Now the company announcing a massive customer refund. If you are or were a Verizon Wireless customer, we'll tell you how much money you could be getting back.
CHETRY: All right. Up first this morning, a CNN security watch. And it will impact every American with travel plans in Europe. British officials are now echoing a U.S. State Department warning that came out over the weekend announcing a, quote, "high threat of a terror attack in Europe. Now among the potential targets, France and Germany.
VELSHI: This morning we're finding out more about a jihadist group in Germany that may have triggered this alert. We've got the story covered like no other network can. Nic Robertson live in Hamburg, Germany, this morning with new information about the plot and the people behind it. But first, let's begin with CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve live in Washington this morning -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ali and Kiran, the State Department is not telling Americans don't go to Europe, but it is urging them to take precautions when they do go. The alert issued Sunday read in part, "Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."
A U.S. official says the alert was prompted by the high volume of intelligence on possible terror threats. The intel community has been following a number of different threads including information that Al Qaeda and its affiliates might be planning synchronized Mumbai-style commando attacks on multiple locations in Europe.
So how do Europeans feel about this travel alert? A senior administration official says the European allies are in sync with the U.S. assessment of the threat and the belief that governments have to keep their citizens informed. In fact, Britain has changed its travel advisory for British citizens in France and Germany from substantial too high. Back to you.
CHETRY: You know, of course we all paid a lot of attention to this when it came out.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean, you hear from the government saying there's a high threat level out there. But if you're actually a person, an American traveling in one of these countries, what should you be doing differently?
MESERVE: Well, the State Department has made a number of suggestions. They said you can register with U.S. embassies abroad, avoid several disturbances, don't discuss your travel plans with others. They say, you know, don't put tags on your luggage that clearly identify you as an American. If you hear a loud noise, see a suspicious package, move away. The basic bottom line, keep your eyes open. Be vigilant, report anything suspicious. Back to you.
VELSHI: That's a good piece of notice to avoid public disturbances. I mean, it's a tough one. It is not specific to country. It's a continent. It's really hard to make sense of what to do. And we've talked to some people in Europe who are saying I'm not quite sure what to do with this information.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: Well, thousands of troops based in Hamburg, Germany, by the way, are being told exactly what to do. They're being told to lay low so that they don't become targets.
CHETRY: Nic Robertson is live in Hamburg this morning. You're working your sources and what are they saying about who may be behind this heightened alert? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, what we know from our sources here is that a man who attended this mosque behind me, the mosque has now been closed by federal authorities here, went to Pakistan, the terror training camps there about a year and a half ago. He went with about 10 other people from this mosque. He was picked up by U.S. authorities in Kabul earlier in the summer. Ahmad Siddiqui (ph), he is the one that's been telling his captors about this Mumbai-style plot. This is where it all seems to be coming from.
But you may wonder about this mosque. It looks like just very plain doors on a building here. This is the same mosque that Mohamed Atta, the 9/11 -- one of the 9/11 hijackers attended and had a group of supporters. Some of the people that went with Ahmad Siddiqui (ph) to Pakistan, we're told, had strong ties and connections with Al Qaeda. So this is a known mosque, it's had a known radical issue here for some time and that's where all these seems to be coming from -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It was interesting, Nic, because there was some debate. Should they leave the mosque open? Should they shut the mosque down? Because they were also getting intelligence from what was going on there.
ROBERTSON: Yes. It was a big dilemma for the sources that we're talking to here. Because when they were here, the radicals were here, they had people listening in, human intelligence. There were about 45 different radicals in this city that they were aware of. But what's interesting is they weren't able to stop this group before they left. And they say although we were watching them, they came together in a group and made their plans very quickly right at the end of 2008, early 2009. And they say they just weren't able to move in fast enough to stop them, Kiran.
CHETRY: Nic Robertson for us this morning. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning as we get new information on this. Thanks.
VELSHI: All right. For a third straight day in Pakistan, militants are attacking and burning tankers carrying oil to U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. At least 20 were destroyed in today's attack near Islamabad. Three people were killed. The tankers were stalled on a supply line because the Pakistanis closed a border to protect the NATO helicopter attack that killed three of their troops last week. The Pakistani Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack in a phone call to "The Associated Press."
CHETRY: Well, back here at home, hundreds come together in silence to remember Tyler Clementi. He was the Rutgers University freshman who took his own life after a sexual encounter with another male was broadcast on the Internet, according to police, by his roommate. Organizers called for more understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and also for an end to bullying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESTY GORDON, ATTENDED CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR TYLER CLEMENTI: Him and everyone else should be able to live the life that they want to live without fear of things like this happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Fellow students Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei have been charged with invasion of privacy in Clementi's death. Later in our show, Stephanie Elam will be having more reaction to the case including some shocking revelations from openly gay singer, Lance Bass.
CHETRY: Yes. He's one of the many celebrities that have come out after this, I believe, Eve, Ellen DeGeneres and denounced bullying, not only in general but also specifically --
VELSHI: Lance Bass actually points out that he bullied gay kids when he was in school. You know, almost to compensate for the fact that he wasn't comfortable coming out and being gay. But a lot of people coming out and saying we really need to start a movement about this kind of bullying.
CHETRY: That's right. And we have some new poll numbers out. Surprising just how many people say they were bullied or are currently being bullied. They interviewed some kids about it. Also, we're going to have more on the subject on AMERICAN MORNING. Coming up in about an hour and a half, Carol Costello gets a handle on bullies in our schools. Are administrators doing enough to crack down on those responsible? And how are they protecting children targeted? Also, programs meant to stop bullying from happening in the first place.
Coming up at 8:40, we're going to talk to Lee Hirsch. He has an upcoming documentary, "The Bully Project," that aims to educate with an imminent look at both the bullied and the bullies themselves. All of this week on CNN, the Cartoon Network, CNN, "People" magazine, the entire Time Warner family actually taking a closer look at the problem and what solutions are out there, and that includes the "AC 360" week- long series "Bullying: No Escape." The report caps off with a special town hall on Friday.
VELSHI: Other stories in the news this morning. New York City police say the imam behind a planned Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero has received death threats. A spokesman says threats against Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife began several weeks ago and they're being investigated. Police are not disclosing any details or saying if the couple is receiving police protection. Although in a television discussion, Imam Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, said that they have not been, they've not looked for protection, they're not asking for protection.
CHETRY: Well, it is the first Monday in October. That means it's back to work for the nation's Supreme Court justices. The court begins its new term with a new member, Elena Kagan, and there are now three women on the bench for the first time in the court's history. Some of the most prominent cases on the docket test the limits of free speech. One involves the rights of protesters at military funerals.
VELSHI: And firefighters in Colorado battling a wildfire in the mountains northwest of Denver. Officials say some 300 acres have now burned. Residents in the town of Frazier have been asked to prepare to evacuate. But so far, no evacuations have been ordered.
CHETRY: Wow. So you look at those flames, meanwhile, it's rains and flooding that we're worried about on the east coast. 8:22 right now, eight minutes past the hour right now. Let's get a check of what's going on. Rob Marciano with us this morning. Sorry, working up the kinks. Monday morning. How are you doing, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good. I'm a little rusty, too. Good morning, Ali.
Listen, we do have some rain across the east coast again. Had a nice Saturday for a lot of folk, but then a little wave developed over North Carolina where they had that record-shattering flood event late last week. And now that rain is moving up the Eastern seaboard. But this shouldn't last but more than another -- 24 to 36 hours. But it is wet from D.C. up to Boston, so bring along the gear and it's getting up into upstate New York and northern and eastern Pennsylvania where they had some of the heaviest rains last week. So no rest for the weary here as far as the receding flood waters. But we don't expect the flooding event but it's just adding insult to injury.
All right. Cool weather, you bet, temps in the 30s. We've got frost and freeze warnings and advisories from as far south as the Tennessee Valley and in through the western Great Lakes. Temperatures there in some spots starting out in the 30s and close to freezing. So in some cases, our first frost of the fall. Sixty-one the high. In Chicago, 158, but a wet 58 degrees in New York City.
We'll talk about what's cooking in the tropics in about 30 minutes, guys. Good morning. Hope you had a great weekend. Back up to you.
CHETRY: We did. We did enjoy Saturday. You're right, because it looks like it's going to be a wash the rest of the week.
VELSHI: He's going to be back in 30 minutes. What time will that be?
CHETRY: It will be 9:30 --
VELSHI: You're a little ahead of us this morning.
CHETRY: Hey, it's Monday. Ten minutes past the hour. Rob, thanks.
VELSHI: Time flies when we're together.
CHETRY: It sure does.
VELSHI: That was an hour, two hours and a half and eight minutes.
CHETRY: Well, get out the vote rally to support the president. Also to try to keep Democrats in control of Congress. How did it work out? Jim Acosta takes a look at the anti-Tea Party rally just ahead.
VELSHI: It is 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning.
CHETRY: Do you remember when they took the cougar out of John Cougar Mellencamp?
VELSHI: I do. I remember that very well. I'm still a little confused about the whole thing.
Hey, big rally this weekend in Washington, what was supposed to be a very big rally. One nation working together, that was the theme, the message behind this weekend rally on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall.
CHETRY: Yes, this is the season of rallies. And here organizers were trying to fire up Democratic supporters ahead of next month's midterm elections, trying to offer an alternative to the Tea Party. Our Jim Acosta live in Washington for us with more. Monday morning quarterbacking, how did it go?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm thinking about having my own rally down on the mall calling it one guy, but that's just me. Anyway, Kiran and Ali, with all the experts predicting a huge wave of victories for Republicans in November, Democrats know they have an enthusiasm gap to overcome between now and election day. So progressives try to throw a Tea Party of their own over the weekend, except they weren't calling it a Tea Party.
The one-nation event, as it was dubbed, drew thousands of liberal activists down to the National Mall in Washington. It was put together by the nation's biggest unions and civil rights groups. Organizers say the march and rally were designed to fire up the progressive base and turn out votes for Democrats. One of the events headliners where presidential candidate Al Sharpton were in the crowd, Republicans would try to undo many of the laws Democrats have passed in the last 18 months and generally make life difficult for President Obama over the next two years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: We've got to go home and we've got to hit the pavement. We've got to knock on doors. We've got to ring that text (ph) bells. We've got to get ready for the midterm exam. We can't stop in '08. We've got to get ready in '10. From '10 to '11, we're going to pass the midterm exam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now unlike the Tea Party rallies, which generally call for small government and low taxes, demonstrators at the "One Nation" event were after more assistance for the unemployed and a boost in spending on education. But you could say there were some similarities. While Glenn Beck was not on hand, the crowd did have liberal talk show host Ed Schultz on stage, and there were a few provocative handwritten signs in the crowd like the one that read and I'm just quoting here, "Axis of Ignorance -- Tea Party, Republicans and FOX News" - Ali and Kiran.
VELSHI: Hey, Jim, what - what can we glean from the idea that this was supposed to be, or the organizers would've wanted it to be, as big as some of these other rallies we've seen, including the Glenn Beck rally. Look, there were a lot of people out there, but certainly nowhere near the numbers that - that conservative rallies have been able to attract.
Well, what - has anybody tried to glean anything out of that?
ACOSTA: Well, I think it means that Republicans are very unified heading into the midterms. The Tea Party Movement has really been just a gift that keeps on giving for the Republicans. But the Democrats are going to try to pull out all the stops.
Look, they had a huge fund raising quarter, according to the Democratic National Committee, and you saw President Obama trying to fire up college students up in Madison, Wisconsin. Last week, there's another rally that's aimed at a core constituency of the Democratic Party.
Later on this week, the president is supposed to go to Bowie State University just outside of Washington D.C. and Maryland. That's a historically black college, and that event will be aimed at getting out the African-American vote, which, as you know, Ali and - and Kiran, was crucial to the president's victory in '08.
So they're going after those core constituencies between now and Election Day and trying to get those folks fired up and ready to go, as the president used to say out on the trail.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much.
VELSHI: Good - good to see you, buddy.
ACOSTA: You bet. Be seeing you (ph).
CHETRY: Good luck with your rally, by the way.
VELSHI: One Man.
CHETRY: If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, this may be some good news for you. You may be getting a refund -
VELSHI: Free money from the phone company.
CHETRY: Yes, but how much? Did you say on average $6 a person?
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE) $6. Yes. I mean, some might - there might be some out large (ph), but on average $2 to $6 a person.
The reason is that the company admits to charging customers - some millions of customers - for services they didn't sign up for. Details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cabin crew, who will demonstrate the safety features on this aircraft.
CHETRY (voice-over): Check it out. This is one of the airlines' safety dances. Yes, to the music of Lady Gaga. Flight attendants with a Philippine airline choreographed a routine to jazz up the demonstration. The company says their customers get standard instructions too, but most prefer the Gaga "Just Dance" version, which usually attendants receiving a rousing applause.
VELSHI (voice-over): It would work for me. I'd pay attention if that were the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. We have some important news for Verizon Wireless customers. Christine Romans - boy, this is a fun morning. I've got to - I get to work with you and I get to work with Christine, my co- host on "YOUR MONEY." Great to see you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Waking up with Ali, boys and girls.
VELSHI: And you're announcing free money?
ROMANS: Free money - no. You already paid for this money.
VELSHI: Oh. OK. Sorry.
ROMANS: It's your money back that you didn't know somebody took from you.
Verizon Wireless is a - Verizon is saying that they're going to give refunds to 15 million customers. These are Verizon customers who were charged for - for data sessions that didn't really exist, or for opening the web when they didn't mean to or they shouldn't have had to pay for it.
In fact, it looks as though there have been months and months of customer complaints about these unusual charges, and now Verizon's message is, OK, we were going to - we're going to give you a credit.
$2 to $6 is your refund, so it's free money you didn't know you were getting. It's going to be in October and November notice. You're going to get a credit on your bill if you're a current customer. If you are a former customer, they're going to send you a check in the mail, so I guess make sure they have your current address if you want your $2 to $6. It's not really free money because you paid for it in the first place.
This is what Verizon has to say about it, "The majority of the data sessions involved, minor data exchanges," - do you say data or data? What do you say?
VELSHI: I'll say the data one usually.
CHETRY: I say data.
ROMANS: I don't know. I -
VELSHI: This is why - this is why it's a great country (ph).
ROMANS: I go back and forth. I go back and forth.
OK, "minor data exchanges caused by software built into their phones; others involved accessing the web, which should not have incurred the charges."
I mean, by my math, if you look at $6 a person, 15 million customers, you're talking about maybe as high as $90 million in over charges, nickeling and diming over months and months and months. It raises the question to me -
VELSHI: Who else is doing this?
ROMANS: What else - what else are we paying for that we don't know? And, you know, at some point, a few pennies here and there becomes real money for somebody.
CHETRY: Yes. I mean, I think about it all the time. Electric bill, I mean, you know - VELSHI: How would you know what's what? Yes.
CHETRY: How would I know and how would I prove that I didn't really use that much electricity.
ROMANS: I mean, look at all of those access fees and charges and taxes.
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: You know, like 15 cents here, 17 cents there.
VELSHI: I'm curious about all the people who were complaining that led to this, how they all knew, you know? Or what -
CHETRY: Some people read their bills with a fine-toothed comb.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Some people and such, they have teenagers who are checking to see how much they're texting and they're probably like, what - what is this?
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: But to be charged for accessing a - data programs when you don't have a data plan, data -
VELSHI: I like when you use both of them here, because for a moment there you took Kiran's side on this thing and - I don't know if you noticed my body language or --
ROMANS: Data sounds very intelligent. Data sounds like what I would normally say. CHETRY: Hey, that's great. Better to sound intelligent than -
VELSHI: Than be -
CHETRY: -- than not. So, if you -
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE). I'll either be or that (ph).
ROMANS: If you're a Verizon customer, massive refund coming your way, $2 to $6. October and November they're going to give you this credit. If you are no longer a Verizon customer, make sure they have your correct address because you're going to get a check in the mail that you can take to McDonald's and buy a Happy Meal.
VELSHI: Are you going to come and talk about your book later on?
ROMANS: I am going to talk about my book later on.
VELSHI: It's very exciting to see that.
ROMANS: Thank you for that, building the momentum for the plug.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: "Smart is the New Rich", out in hard covers. We're very happy for you.
ROMANS: Yes. Thank you.
VELSHI: Or we'd rewrite it to say "Sounding Smart is the New Rich."
CHETRY: That's right.
ROMANS: "Appearing Smart is the New Rich."
CHETRY: We need some help. We know that.
So, thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Please, help me be smart.
CHETRY: Still ahead, what would Tiger Woods' late father have to say about his son's serial infidelity? Well, Tiger's half brother says that he knows.
Max Kellerman's going to be joining us with reaction just ahead.
VELSHI: It is 24 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
They are famous for booing Santa Claus.
CHETRY: Yes. And, full disclosure, my husband is an Eagles fan. VELSHI: I mean (ph) they are an unusual breed. How did Philadelphia fans respond to former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb when he returned as a Washington Redskin on Sunday to play in Philadelphia?
CHETRY: Yes. And you got to think division rival.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: He was there for 11 seasons. They were probably going to boo him out of the place?
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: You know, instead, the Eagles fans -
VELSHI: Look at that.
CHETRY: -- in a big show of class stood up, gave a standing ovation to Donovan McNabb. Pretty amazing.
CNN contributor Max Kellerman, our resident sports guy, is here with his thoughts on that and a couple of other stories. Of course, then they booed him in the first huddle. But, still, you know, at least for a small amount of time, they said, you know what?
VELSHI: Well, he was in a different (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Here's a shout out.
MAX KELLERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Donovan was - here's something that a little known fact about Philadelphia sports fans. It's true, they booed Santa Claus. They have cheered career-ending injuries and severe injuries to the opposition.
CHETRY: Sure they have.
KELLERMAN: But they treat their returning heroes, even when they haven't won championships like Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and now Donovan McNabb, extremely well. And they treat them better when they come back than they did when they were there.
CHETRY: Oh, that makes up the booing of Santa Claus and cheering career-ending injuries.
KELLERMAN: And then - and then, of course, Michael Vick. Yes. Oh, he did -
VELSHI: How long did he last, last night?
KELLERMAN: Yes, I mean, he's out now and reports are he's not feeling that great. And Vick has been injury-prone throughout his career, which is the thing about it. Even though he's become more of a pocket presence, meaning that, you know, a pocket presence in football for those who don't know, means someone stays there -
VELSHI: Right. KELLERMAN: -- doesn't run away from those - from those guys running at him -
VELSHI: Right.
KELLERMAN: -- as a quarterback and looks to pass the ball. Vick, when he was younger, would kind of run first.
CHETRY: Right. So it seems he got sandwiched -
KELLERMAN: Yes.
CHETRY: -- right there. And he has some -
KELLERMAN: He, on a running play but -
CHETRY: -- rib and chest injuries.
KELLERMAN: -- he still can run and it makes him very valuable. He's a much better pocket passer now, too. But when you run like that, you expose yourself to injury and Vick is frequently injured.
CHETRY: And if we're on the same subject of Eagles players and T.O. had a great - he had a great - he set a record, right?
KELLERMAN: Well, T.O. is now second all-time in receiving yards. And the reason that's significant is there's a - there's some people who like to think there's no Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan of football.
VELSHI: OK.
KELLERMAN: But in fact they're kind of this. It's Jerry Rice, who was the greatest receiver ever. No one is ever going to be as great as Rice. He's the all-time receiving yards leader.
So, if T.O. comes in second - the argument is for second place.
VELSHI: Right.
KELLERMAN: And now T.O. has another credential to say, hey, maybe I'm the second greatest wide out (ph) of all time.
CHETRY: There you go. And also, just a little pea in history, so he and Donovan McNabb had some, you know, dust-ups when they were both Eagles, but they hugged -
KELLERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: -- yesterday and made up. I want to -
VELSHI: Do you have more Eagles stuff you want to talk about?
CHETRY: No. I'm a Redskin fan.
VELSHI: This is AMERICAN MORNING Eagles edition.
CHETRY: I was born into an Eagle. I mean -
KELLERMAN: Giants looked good last night. The Giants -
CHETRY: -- born a Redskin fan, I married an Eagles fan. It's hard.
But let's switch topics and let's talk golf, because I could care less about golf.
KELLERMAN: That makes two of us.
CHETRY: But that's how we (INAUDIBLE) around here.
KELLERMAN: Anyone here like golf at all? No. OK. There you go.
But, by the way, do you know how rare it is -
CHETRY: Ali is more of a darts man.
KELLERMAN: -- do you know how rare it is to be on a set with three other people who work in television and no one likes golf? It's a pleasure. Let me just say it.
CHETRY: All right. Cool.
VELSHI: It's rare.
CHETRY: OK.
VELSHI: So we're talking about Tiger Woods. And Tiger Woods, you know, he did that commercial where he had his father's voice talking to him. And - and now his brother has come out and said his father would not approve of -
KELLERMAN: Half brother.
VELSHI: His half brother. I'm sorry. He says he would not - his father would not have approved of - of Tiger Woods.
KELLERMAN: His - his half brother said a lot of things, they're 20 years apart. And -and most - he said a lot of good things about Tiger, too. Of course, you know, he'll be back. He's going to be better than ever, et cetera.
Of course, the thing that - that the media has picked up on is his father would have dis -
CHETRY: Right.
KELLERMAN: But what's he supposed to say, his father would have been thrilled?
CHETRY: Well, but let's hear it. Just because, I mean, there's not many people in Tiger's inner circle that are willing to say anything. Not knowing whether his half brother is in his inner circle, but his family. So, let's just listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EARL WOODS, JR., TIGER'S BROTHER: I think my dad would be very disappointed with him. And he would probably want to know how he's going to fix it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: It's been a bad year for Tiger. 2010 worst for him in his career?
KELLERMAN: Maybe. The thing about Tiger is the latest problem for him involves like the graphic depiction of some of the charges against him potentially. And the upside for him is that when there's a graphic depiction of Kim Kardashian or someone, people are really interested in watching that.
VELSHI: Right.
KELLERMAN: And I'm not so sure the same holds true for Tiger Woods. So, maybe that's a silver lining if, in fact, such a graphic depiction exists.
CHETRY: Right. There's some allegation or rumor out there that there might be a former paramour --
KELLERMAN: Yes.
CHETRY: -- who claims they have a sex tape. This not confirmed. But yes, if that's the case, it's not good thing.
KELLERMAN: I said graphic depiction, just for the record, I said graphic depiction.
VELSHI: Max, it's good to see you, my friend. Always a pleasure.
KELLERMAN: Always a pleasure.
CHETRY: Thanks, Max.
VELSHI: All right. It's time -- it's 31 minutes -- what do you say when it's 31 minutes after --
CHETRY: Half past the hour. Now, we're checking up the top stories.
VELSHI: Little more than half past the hour. We're going to check out the top stories now.
British officials are now echoing a U.S. State Department warning over the weekend, announcing that there's a high threat of a terrorist attack in Europe. Among the potential targets: France and Germany. The suspect is a group of Islamic jihadists operating out of Hamburg, Germany.
CHETRY: Well, rallies to the left of us, rallies to the right. Washington's National Mall is the scene of yet another pre-election event this weekend, what some have called an anti-Tea Party rally, a coalition of liberal and progressive groups promising to get out the vote next month and keep Democrats in control of Congress.
VELSHI: And Verizon Wireless says it will refund about 15 million of its customers because the company incorrectly charged them for data use. In most cases, the refunds range from $2 to $6. The money will be paid back in the next two months. If you're not an account holder, you'll get a refund check.
CHETRY: All right. Well, there are new developments this morning in the tragic death of the Rutgers University student who took his own life after discovering that his roommate had secretly taped his intimate moments with another male and then put it online. Hundreds of students attended a candle light vigil for Tyler Clementi last night.
VELSHI: And Clementi's death is not only causing a ripple effect across campus at Rutgers, but across the country. A lot of celebrities are weighing on this tragedy.
Stephanie Elam joins us this morning with more on that.
Good morning, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It's a story that I've been covering since last week. And I have to tell you, as a business correspondent, we cover something different, you know if someone is moved by the story. And the messages I've seen on my Facebook page and the messages I hear all weekend long of people talking about this, people are definitely moved by this story.
And you look at Tyler Clementi's life and the fact that he felt that the only way out was for him to take his own life has been motivating a lot of people. And it's really brought this conversation to a national conversation. And, you know, as we were looking at over the weekend, the celebrities that were involved in speaking out about this.
And you take a look at someone like Ellen DeGeneres, and if you saw what she was saying, she got a little bit emotional, saying that, you know, we can't let intolerance and ignorance take another kid's life. You see here, she gets a little -- she gets a little emotional talking about it, speaking out about that.
We also heard from Lance Bass over the weekend. And he's one of the members who used to be 'N Sync. And what's really interesting about what Lance had to say, he said that when he was in high school in Mississippi, he was one of the first ones to jump on the bandwagon to make fun of a gay person and, "Look how I turned out," he says. "I had the secret the whole time. And so, if people can look at me and see that I was one of those bullies that like always made fun of gay people and I had this huge secret, there's always more to the story than you can see."
Remember, when he first came on the scene and became famous, no one knew that he was gay and he came out later. So, speaking out about that.
We also heard from a bunch of other celebrities. But really making this conversation something that everyone is talking about because it's so different from when we were kids. You know, bullies are nothing new, but when we were kids, you couldn't do it on the Internet. You couldn't get it out to hundreds of people that quickly.
VELSHI: It reaches way more people -- far more people now. You don't have to be stronger or more popular than the person you're bullying because of the Internet. So, it's a whole different dynamic.
ELAM: It's completely different. And that's what everyone's talking about here.
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CHETRY: But it's very easy to be nasty if you're anonymous online.
ELAM: It's true.
CHETRY: And you don't have to face the person.
So, lots to talk about this morning and we're continuing to follow this story and a larger issue of bullying in general here on CNN.
ELAM: Yes. It's a big story and it's getting people talking because it's just -- it's new and different, and something we haven't encountered before.
VELSHI: Don't miss our special series, as Kiran said, "The Bully Pulpit," coming up starting at 7:30 Eastern. Carol Costello shows us how schools across America are dealing with bullies.
Well, generally, political attack ads begin or end with the phrase "I approve this message." But thanks to a new ruling from the Supreme Court, it's hard to say who is behind so many of these ads now. So, we're going to talk about the ads, the flood of corporate money, and the heartburn that it could cause some candidates, when we come back.
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VELSHI: Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled corporation can spend as much as they want on political ads because it falls under free speech rights. The decision came from a dispute over a film made by the group Citizens United which was critical of Hillary Clinton. The case led to a flood of advertising targeting specific candidates, mostly negative ads, mostly Republicans. In fact, in federal races, pro-GOP groups outspent pro-Democratic groups almost three to one. In state races, it was almost two to one.
Joining us to talk about the flood of money and the impact on candidates is media analyst Evan Tracey.
Evan, good to see you.
In fact, the spending so far in this election substantially outpaces the last midterms that we were in?
EVAN TRACEY, PRES. & FOUNDER, CAMPAIGN MEDIA ANALYSIS GROUP: Yes, absolutely. Citizens United is just one factor. But you've got one of the most competitive landscapes out there we've seen. And these groups are making it even more active down the stretch here in this race.
VELSHI: One of the interesting things about this is that under this new Citizens United ruling from the Supreme Court, corporations, in some ways, have been channeling their money through these nonprofits. And hence, we don't actually have to know who is paying for these ads.
TRACEY: Right. Corporations, wealthy individuals, this is an area for them to park money that is certainly going into a lot of these races. And as you showed in your graphic there, it's advantaged Republican Party so far. And they're well outpacing the Democrats in this area, and they're in dozens of races right now where Democrats are really in just a few.
VELSHI: Let's take a couple of the ads that we're talking about. This one is from MoveOn.org, a liberal organization targeting Tea Party favorite, Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate, Rand Paul. Listen to this.
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NARRATOR: Senate candidate Rand Paul is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of help from the Chamber of Commerce, a group recently accused of tax fraud for diverting money meant for charity toward their partisan agenda.
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VELSHI: An interesting one, Evan, because it's MoveOn.org paying for an ad criticizing somebody else paying for an ad for Rand Paul.
TRACEY: Yes. This is -- this is where the groups on the Democratic side and Democratic Party for that matter have really -- really focused their attention right now is talking about process, talking about special interest, and trying to shine a light back on these groups and not so much on the candidates.
VELSHI: Let's talk about this one. It's targeting Florida Democratic candidate Allen Boyd. Listen to this.
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NARRATOR: It's the worst economy in decades, and the folks in Washington are living it up, spending our tax dollars like there's no tomorrow. Leading this big strong dance -- Obama, of course, and Nancy Pelosi. But there's one face you might not expect to see, our old friend Allen Boyd.
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VELSHI: This is, of course, the worst nightmare for Democrats, to be associated with the spending that Americans -- our polling indicates Americans are frustrated with.
TRACEY: Yes. And this is the role of these groups. It's really to go out there and be disruptive. And a lot of these groups that are out there helping Republicans are on in races all over the country where they're really going and trying to just re-enforce these themes about Democrats are basically voting for Nancy Pelosi for speaker and supporting Barack Obama's agenda.
So, that's where these groups could really help these candidates, is by adding tonnage by the amount of ads they're spending, but also really help them just push this message across.
VELSHI: Evan, we got a month to go. What are we likely to see more? More negative? More personal?
I know the Democrats, in some cases, are targeting the personal histories of some of the Republican candidates running against them. What's likely to be the trend for the next month?
TRACEY: Well, for these groups, especially, it's going to be to be disruptive. They're not on the ballots. A lot of the ads they're going to run are going to be very negative.
It'll be interesting to see. Some of these groups may actually end up hurting candidates they're trying to help. But it's going to be a lot more money and a lot of negative ads down the stretch in these very competitive races.
VELSHI: Evan, good to see you.
TRACEY: Good to see you.
VELSHI: Evan Tracey is president and founder of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
TRACEY: Thanks.
CHETRY: That was one of the controversial decisions you remember at the State of the Union the president made reference to.
VELSHI: And the Supreme Court judges were, you know, shaking their heads.
CHETRY: Shaking their heads and saying not true. So --
VELSHI: Basically, they were saying you're not on the Supreme Court so don't comment on what we do.
CHETRY: Pretty much. Balance of power.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's 42 minutes past the hour. Still to come on the Most News in the Morning: we have rain in the Northeast. In fact, concerns about some coastal flooding. Will it affect your morning commute? Rob Marciano is tracking all of that for us. We'll have the forecast right after the break.
Also coming up in 10 minutes, could Donald Trump be testing the waters for a 2012 presidential run? We have details on speculation out there on it -- coming up.
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VELSHI: All right. It's 45 minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: That's right. And we get a check of this of morning;s weather headlines with our Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Hey, Ali. A little bit of wet weather across the northeast today, so a bit of a soggy way to start your Monday. And it may hang around for a couple of days as a matter of fact. From D.C. up there Boston, I mean, areas that saw that torrential rainfall to the end of last week now seeing it again, but this isn't a flooding rain. But it is going to stick around. So, it'll be awfully damp. We'll add with the saturated ground.
This is going to be kind of soggy here for the next few days. We're all experiencing some breezy conditions, pretty strong onshore flow. So, there are coastal flood warnings and advisories during the high tide which is pretty much happening now along the Jersey shore, and later on this afternoon and evening, it will happen again. But for the most part, not a tremendous amount of heavy, heavy rain with this and that's good, because, really, some of the soil here couldn't take any more.
A little bit further to the west, we got some cooler air. Yes, fall has arrived. So, frost and freeze advisories are up for as far south as the Tennessee Valley and then up through the Western Great Lakes. Temperatures in the lower to mid-30s right down in many spots. So, little frost on pumpkin in some areas. Yes, we're getting towards the end of the growing season if it already hasn't happened.
And some showers and thunderstorms out west, there are going to be some issues there. They've had some whacky weather in parts of Southern California over the past week and those that continues. Boston, you need to see some delays. If they go over now or both there in the New York Metropolitan Airport because of the rain, and at times the wind. And Philadelphia, you're on the cusp of seeing some of that rain, as well, 30 to 60-minute delays and L.A. and San Francisco might see some issues too. Here is a look at what's going on in the tropics. Eastern Caribbean, we've been watching this area of disturbed weather for a couple of days. National Hurricane Center gives it a decent chance of developing over the next couple of days. But generally speaking, I mean, even if it does, we don't have to deal with it for quite some time. The Western Caribbean is clear, nothing happening in the Gulf of Mexico, little disturbance there in the Bahamas right now.
We're not too terribly worried about that. And the way the atmosphere is set up, things aren't coming right at the U.S. We had little issue with Nicole last week, certainly, and the remnants thereof just socking the east coast. But as far as getting a hit from a strong or major hurricane, that hasn't happened yet. And it's been a very, very busy season so far. The U.S. ,for the most part, has been lucky. We'll highlight that graphically for you a little bit later on in the program -- guys.
CHETRY: Yes, that has been amazing. I mean, it's been all about the track. There've been powerful storms out there, and they've rolled toward us, but we just got lucky.
MARCIANO: Let's all go to Vegas or Atlantic City.
VELSHI: Rob, good to see you, my friend.
MARCIANO: All right. You too.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) or Atlantic City.
VELSHI: Or Atlantic City, right.
So, about $350 million has been spent on gubernatorial races or races for governor as I like to say in this election cycle. What proportion do you think Meg Whitman has spent?
CHETRY: I think a third of it.
VELSHI: A quarter.
CHETRY: A quarter of it.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Just all her personal fortune as she attempts to become governor of California.
VELSHI: That race is heating up. The two candidates square of over Meg Whitman's former illegal immigrant housekeeper. We're going to have details from the best political team on television when we come back. It is 12 minutes till the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning. Eight minutes till the top of the hour right now. And crossing the Political Ticker this morning, the California governor's race turned personal as the two candidates crashed over Republican, Meg Whitman's hiring of an illegal immigrant housekeeper.
VELSHI: That's probably the most expensive gubernatorial race in the country. Our good friend, the senior political editor, Mark Preston, live at the CNNPolitics.com desk. Good morning to you, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Ali. Good morning, Kiran. Fireworks were exploding this past weekend when we saw Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown face off in their second debate. Of course, California is in this huge fiscal crisis. Both brown and Meg Whitman are trying to succeed Governor Schwarzenegger.
They say they have the answers to help turn the state around. But illegal immigration, a major issue in that state accentuated by the fact that Meg Whitman has been revealed had an illegal undocumented worker working in her house. In fact, let's listen a little bit to that exchange between Brown and Whitman at the debate.
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MEG WHITMAN, (R) CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Jerry, you know, you should be ashamed. You and your surrogate put her deportation at risk. You put her out there, and you should be ashamed for sacrificing Nicky Diaz on the altar of your political ambitions.
JERRY BROWN, (D) CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Don't run for governor. If you can't stand up on your own two feet and say, hey, I made a mistake.
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PRESTON: Wow. You can just imagine that. The back and forth between the former eBay executive, Meg Whitman, and of course, the former governor, Jerry Brown. Looking at the polls out in California right now, it looks like it's within about ten points. The CNN Opinion research Corporation Poll taken a couple weeks ago has it at nine. A USC poll taken last week has it at 5. Meg Whitman could spend up to $150 million of her own money to try to win that race.
But, just talking about business executives, Ali, another person that you probably are well aware of and know very well, Donald Trump. Will he run for president in 2012? "Time" magazine reported late last night, Mark Alperin (ph), that there was a television -- a telephone survey that was conducted last month where a lot of 2012 candidates were questioned and their names were asked and voters were asked their opinions on them.
But, there were about 30 questions about Donald Trump Alperin is recording. Now, we don't know if this was conducted on behalf of Donald Trump or somebody else put this survey in the field. But could you imagine if the Donald decided to run for president again? -- Ali, Kiran.
CHETRY: Maybe they were figuring out whether they should do an "Apprentice 4" or something and whether it would get ratings.
VELSHI: You know, in the California race, lots of different polls are showing different leads. I think our poll shows a lead for Jerry Brown. You said it's within ten points. Is Jerry Brown who were showing is being in a lead?
PRESTON: Yes, I'm sorry. So, Jerry Brown is up by nine in the CNN poll. He's up by 5 in the USC Poll, and you know, where this all hinges on is the Latino vote right now which is 21 percent of the state, and that's for Meg Whitman.
CHETRY: Right. And that's the interesting part, though. So, this whole personal issue, I guess, she said she did not know that her housekeeper who worked for her for nearly a decade, right, was an illegal immigrant. But her stance on immigration and she actually opposes a path to citizenship, right, for people who came to this country illegally and that her personal issues seem to be colliding here.
PRESTON: Well, that's exactly right. She doesn't -- she doesn't agree with the path to citizenship for those who are here illegally. She does believe in a guest worker program, but the fact she had an illegal worker in her house working for so many years is very complicating for her, and it's very embarrassing for her.
VELSHI: And she said in the debate that as soon as she found out, she fired this woman and accuses Jerry Brown of using --
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: In fact, she accuses him of in some way being the feed stock for the story, the fact that this actually came up. Mark, always a pleasure to see you. Thank you, sir.
PRESTON: Thanks, guys.
VELSHI: We're going to check back in with Mark later on in the show. And for all latest political news, go to our website, CNNPolitics.com.
CHETRY: All right. Four minutes till the top of the hour. We're taking a quick break. We're coming back with your top stories, including the latest on this terror warning coming out of the UK this morning. If you are a U.S. citizen abroad --
VELSHI: What do you do?
CHETRY: What should you do?
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