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Obama Tries to Rally Democrats; Police: Boy Randomly Stabbed; Karl Rove Lashes Out at Obama; Larry King Asks Afghan President About His Mental Health; Chilean Miners Rescue Close; Research Says Your Pose Can Effect Job Search

Aired October 10, 2010 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The president in Pennsylvania and the governor of that state is here live. Ed Rendell tells us if Mr. Obama can help struggling Democrats, not only there, but all across the country.

This truly is beyond every parent's nightmare. You're out with your kids when, for no reason at all, a deranged person stabs your child not once, but five times. Why on earth? Well, doctors say, sadly, it is a sick thrill.

And striking a pose isn't just for yoga, the dance floor or the catwalk. Try the job interview. It could make all the difference between work and the unemployment line. We'll explain.

(MUSIC)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.

We're going to start with this, President Obama on the campaign trail. You saw it here live, in Philadelphia, trying to rekindle the magic that propelled him into the White House back in 2008. This time, though, he is working not for himself, but for his party. Democrats are struggling with only 23 days left until the midterm elections.

"The Best Political Team on Television" is here, including White House correspondent Dan Lothian. He is traveling with the president. Our senior political editor Mark Preston is in Washington tonight,.

And we're going to ask Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell if there's still enough time for the president to rally the Democratic faithful and keep control of Congress.

First to Dan Lothian, though. Dan, the president turned up the volume today. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They think you're going to be willing to let the same politicians and the same policies that left our economy in a shambles back to Washington. Well, Philadelphia, I think the pundits are wrong. I think the pundits are wrong. I think we're going to win, but you got to prove them wrong. It's up to you to show the pundits that you care too much about this country to let it fall backwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Dan, here's a question. We have heard a lot about the enthusiasm gap between supposedly the demoralized Democrats and excited Republicans. Did the crowd respond today?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think partly. I mean, at the beginning, we really heard them responding, "Yes, we can," chanting, but then dying down towards the middle and then picking up towards the end.

But, you know, what we saw here today was the president, as you heard in that sound there, focusing on two big themes. First of all, the economy -- what his administration has done and continues to do to fix the economy. And what is the president describes Republicans have done to mess things up.

The other theme we heard from the president, as you've pointed out, is that people need to get engaged. Yes, in 2008, there was a lot of enthusiasm, so much has been said, we see in the pollings that there's this enthusiasm gap because, for one reason, the president is not on the ticket. And so, what you heard from the president here today is that these folks need to get engaged. They need to go out there and knock on doors. But they also need to show up and vote on Election Day.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think you're working even harder in this election than you did in the last election. We need you -- we need you to fight their millions of dollars with our millions of voices. I look out on this crowd and I see millions of voices. All across the country, we've got to finish what we started in 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Now, Democratic officials like these kinds of events because large crowds, they can get fired up -- that real campaign style that worked in 2008. This is the second of four events. Recently, the president was in Wisconsin, speaking with young people there, trying to get them energized. They played a key role in getting him elected and he's hopeful that he can energize crowds now to make a big difference in the midterms -- Don.

LEMON: So, Dan, 23 days left until the Election Day, as we've been saying. How many more events like this between now and Election Day that the president will do?

LOTHIAN: Many more. We know two more big rallies like this and then, many day trips. They're adding those not on the schedule yet. But, again, the president believes that he can get out there and make the case that his administration has been doing everything it can to fix the economy, that voters will buy it, and will end up, you know, that will energize them and get them out to the polls on the midterm.

LEMON: Dan Lothian, travelling with the president in Pennsylvania -- Dan, thank you very much.

So, why all this attention on Pennsylvania? So often, a reliable winner for the Democrats.

Let's bring in our senior political editor, Mr. Mark Preston. Why is Pennsylvania so important here?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, it's very important for the midterm elections, but it's also very important for 2012.

Let's start with the midterm elections, Don. You have a Senate race, you have a governor's race and Republicans think they have a chance of picking up at least five Democratically-held House seats. So, this could be a treasure trove for Republicans if they're able to win back that Senate seat. Of course, that's Arlen Specter's Senate seat. He was a Republican who turned Democrat. If they're able to pick up the governorship, which, of course, Mr. Rendell is a Democrat; and if they're able to pick up at least five more seats in the House. Five more seats in the House would help Republicans take back the House majority, which is right behind me.

For 2012, Don, we're seeing President Obama go to states that could be very important to his re-election. We saw him in Wisconsin already. We'll see him in Ohio. Today, we saw him in Pennsylvania, 21 electoral votes on the table in Pennsylvania, Don.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: All right. Mark Preston, thank you.

We're going to keep this conversation going with the top Democrat in that state, Governor Ed Rendell, fresh off speaking at that rally in Philadelphia. You see him there. He's going to join us in just a few minutes here on CNN.

In the meantime, I want to tell you about some developing news in North Korea. Extravagant, a day-long celebration today signaled Kim Jong-Il's youngest son as his chosen successor. Father and son appeared publicly together at a massive military parade. The symbolism was very important. It was to show the world that the younger Kim has the support of the North Korean generals. Kim Jong-Un appeared in civilian clothes even though he was recently made a four- star general.

In Chile right now, another step closer to freedom for 33 trapped miners. Crews are reinforcing the first 100 yards of the rescue tunnel with steel tubing. Once that is done, they'll send down a doctor and a rescue worker to prepare the men for their journey back to the surface. If all goes according to plan, the first miner could be back up by Wednesday.

Still ahead here tonight on CNN: Why would somebody stab a random young child at an arcade in suburban New York? We'll dig deeper to a story that has everyone talking.

And don't just sit there. We want you to be part of the conversation tonight, part of our political discussion. Specifically join us on Twitter or Facebook, or check out our blog, CNN.com/Don. Look for us on Foursquare as well.

And don't forget, governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, on the other side of the break. Just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama trying to rally the Democratic base in Pennsylvania just a few moments ago. You saw it here live on CNN -- a state where Republicans think they have some of their best shot to pick up seats currently held by Democrats.

The state's top Democratic, Mr. Ed Rendell, is leaving office, due to term limits. But he's still looming large in these midterm elections.

Governor, thank you so much for joining us this evening. How you doing?

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: My pleasure. Nice to be with you.

LEMON: Hey, listen, you have done some national strategizing as a former head of the DNC and you spoke at the rally with President Obama today. Why does he have to hit the campaign trail so hard even in blue states like yours?

RENDELL: Well, because I think you probably identified that there's a lot at stake in Pennsylvania. There are seven seats that could go either way. In fact, there's one seat in the Lehigh Valley where Mayor Callahan of Bethlehem, a Democrat, has a chance to take a seat, so there are seven seats up for grabs. There's a Senate seat that's up for grabs and, of course, the governor's office and governors do play a very important role in keeping the party organization together for national elections like the one we're facing in 2012.

And, look, when there's a bad economy, people tend to reflexively blame those people who are in power. So, it's important to focus, even on the state, and we're not a really blue state. We've had a Republican legislature for a long time. We're more of a purple state than blue or red. But it's very important for the president to talk to our base.

Philadelphia and the turnout in the greater Philadelphia area will determine the statewide elections for sure.

LEMON: Let's talk -- let's go beyond Pennsylvania and Philadelphia because you -- in your speech, let's see, you characterize it as life-and-death struggle in Pennsylvania, and you said the choice is clear. You've got to go to the polls. I'm wondering there if you're just talking about in Pennsylvania or if you're talking about, really, across this country -- it's do-or- die for the Democrats right now.

RENDELL: Well, there's no question. And I think this election is so important for the direction of the country. You know, Michele Bachmann and you might classify her as sort of out there in left field, but, Darryl Issa, who will be the chairman of the oversight committee, has said the first thing they're going to do when they control Congress is start issuing subpoenas and having investigations.

Well, given the challenges that this country faces, that's the last thing we need. It's the last thing we need.

And give President Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid credit. We didn't do that to the Republicans. We didn't start investigating all the things that could have been investigated from the prior administration. We tried to focus on the challenges facing us.

I think to have the Republicans back in control of the House of Representatives would be very destructive. I think they've said very clearly they want to go back to the policies, the economic policies, that have ruined the country, brought the country to the brink of its knees, and they want to start this investigation stuff, which the country absolutely doesn't need.

LEMON: So, listen, Robert Gibbs, even, you know, Howard Dean has said, many people have said -- hey, listen, the voters are apathetic and some voters are upset by that saying, you're blaming us, you're blaming us. Do you feel, as a former head of the DNC, do you feel that Democrats or just voters are apathetic, especially towards the midterm election?

RENDELL: Well, Democratic voters aren't as wildly enthusiastic as the Tea Partiers are and there's no question about that. But remember, there's an age-old adage that a tepid vote counts the same as a wildly enthusiastic vote.

LEMON: Yes.

RENDELL: What our task is, is to get our voters to the polls and say to them, look, what's going on hasn't been perfect. There have been some mistakes made and we know you're disappointed by what's going on in the country, but this is not a referendum. It's a choice between two parties, two individuals, and the choice is absolutely clear.

For the people who were at that rally today, you've got Republicans, a lot of them, across the country, talking about repealing the minimum wage. Well, that would be disastrous for the people of Germantown, for example.

You've got people talking about repealing the health care bill. That health care bill is going to give a lot of people in that crowd access to health care for the first time in their lives. It would be disastrous. So they do have a stake in this election and they've got to get out and vote.

LEMON: OK. Listen, would that be your strategy? And I want talk about the Tea Party, because you mentioned that. If you were the head of your party now, would that be your strategy, that whole apathy strategy? What would you do now to get people to the polls?

RENDELL: Well, I think the president's done an excellent job in the last 2 1/2, three weeks, sounding the alarm. And people like me, not running but Democrats, we have to do our job, too, and say to them, look, consider the options. Consider the alternatives. It's dark enough and different enough in terms of the quality of your life that you ought to get out and vote.

You know, I said to the crowd today, financial reform -- Democrats supported it, Republicans were with the same people who brought us to the brink of economic disaster. Student loans -- the Democrats and the president got rid of $60 billion that was going to companies and made it available for students.

LEMON: Mr. Rendell, with all due respect, even that, you mentioned all of that and also, with health care, I see the ads in my state and, actually, Republicans are voting -- or at least campaigning against that, saying that those, I guess, wins are -- that the Democrats have gotten, the president have gotten, they're using that as a negative in campaigns, and you're saying that the Democrats should be touting that.

RENDELL: Certainly when we talk to our base, no question about it, because our base has to understand that there have been some real achievements. You look at the seven things that have gone into effect in the health care bill today already. Not one of them people object to.

I just give you one. No longer can children 25 years of age or under be denied coverage for preexisting illnesses. Well, everyone agrees with that. When I said it on Bill O'Reilly's show, he said, well, that's a good point, and he doesn't like the health care bill.

LEMON: So then why aren't Democrats running on that? Why is the president so unpopular? Why isn't the president talking about that when he goes out -- at least a lot when he goes out on the campaign trail? Why aren't Democrats campaigning, at least on health care, if it is such a positive for the party?

RENDELL: Because, of course, in the spin world over the last two years, health care got a bad name, and they got it because people don't understand it. When you break the health care bill down in its components, and when you tell people that the CBO says over the next 20 years, it's going to cut the deficit by $1 trillion, all of a sudden people say, wow, I didn't know that and, yes, you're right.

Seniors are getting money back to fill the donut hole and small businesses are getting a 35 percent tax credit. Wow, that's amazing.

And high-risk pools are giving people coverage who might otherwise die. Yes, it sounds pretty good to me. You mean they can't cap us for expenses in a year? They can't drop us of health care because we're sick? Boy, those are great.

We just haven't done a good job of explaining it.

LEMON: I've got to go. I have one last question for you. You mentioned the Tea Party. Do you think Tea Partiers have tipped balance when it comes to midterm elections and has it changed the landscape politically for Democrats and Republicans?

RENDELL: Well, we'll see. I think the Tea Party has certainly been a positive force for the Republicans. A lot of the Tea Part-ites are talking about things that a lot of sensible people agree with, but obviously, there are some extremes in the Tea Party movement and those extremes, I think, are starting to generate some idea among Democrats that we better get out and vote.

LEMON: All right. Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, thank you, sir, for your time. We appreciate it.

RENDELL: My pleasure.

LEMON: So, listen, we were talking to the governor there and we've been talking about the race in Pennsylvania. We want to mention that we invited Pat Toomey, the Republican running for Senate in Pennsylvania to join us on this program. He declined but the invitation is still open to you, Mr. Toomey.

Let's move on now and talk about this story. What on earth would make somebody stab a young boy at an arcade? It happened in suburban New York and I'll talk about it to a criminal profiler. How often does this happen? You'll be surprised at what she has to say.

And a convicted murder insists he's innocent and that DNA will prove it, but he remains on death row right now. Our exclusive interview with Hank Skinner, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Listen up -- it is one of the scariest crimes because there's almost no way to be prepared for it. Listen to this. A family out for a good time at a Long Island Dave and Buster's, right, when police say a man randomly stabbed their 8-year-old son five times. The boy's father and a witness helped the suspect until -- held the suspect, I should say, until police arrived. Now, the boy is recovering from a punctured lung, among other wounds.

We're joined now by Pat Brown, a criminal profiler in Washington.

Pat, this is really horrific and I'm sure it makes every parent stop in their tracks, especially. How common are these random attacks? Are they common?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, luckily, Don, they're not very common. Usually in a public location where the guy's bound to get caught is not someplace they usually attack because that's exactly what happened in this case. Usually they're out there, if they're mass murder types, we usually see that happening in the teens or mid- life crisis when people think, my life is going down the toilet, I'm a loser, I might as well take everybody out with me, and they attack the school that they go to or they attack a place of business.

But to just go into this particular place where the kids are having fun and stab somebody, it's very unusual. So, thank God we don't have to worry about it too often, but it's a horrific crime.

LEMON: Here's what I find interesting -- I think you said that you can't predict them because the person obviously finds some sort of thrill in stabbing someone and catching them off-guard and just the really spectacle of it all. Is there anything you -- is there anything you call it? I notice there's Munchausen by proxy and all of those things. Is there a name to describe this sort of behavior?

BROWN: Not really, except for psychopathy. Obviously, this man did plan this because he said he wanted to go kill somebody in a note. So, we know it's not purely a psychotic type of thing where he thought aliens were inside the child and he had to get rid of them. He actually wanted to kill someone.

He picked this little child because he thinks that's the meanest thing he can do to society. He hates society. And to attack a little child is going to really tick everybody off and really to show everybody how much he despises them.

So, you really can't tell. I mean, maybe people around him could see him, what we call decompensating, in other words, his life is tanking. He was -- you know, he had a job that he was working a movie theater. So, he obviously -- you know, there was nothing wrong working a movie theater, but obviously, not the highest paying job at 23. So, maybe he was frustrated with life. Who knows what his love life was doing.

LEMON: Yes.

BROWN: He might have had some other psychological problems. But psychopathy is underlying this one and he proved it by writing that note that says he wanted to do this and he planned to do it. So --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And really no precautions anyone can take especially parents --

BROWN: Nothing really that you could do.

LEMON: -- because it's so random.

Pat Brown, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

BROWN: Not at all. Thanks, Don.

Up next here on CNN: he's a convicted murder on death row, but insists DNA will prove his innocence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HANK SKINNER, APPEALING MURDER CONVICTION: All the district attorney's got to do is turn over the evidence and test it, and let the chips fall where they may. If I'm innocent, I go home. If I'm guilty, I die. How hard -- what's so hard about that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hear more from Hank Skinner in our exclusive interview, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: No doubt, most every case that reaches the Supreme Court is critically important, but this Wednesday, the case before it means life or death for one Texas prisoner. He's set to be executed. But his lawyers say before he dies, there should be more DNA testing of evidence.

CNN's Kate Bolduan has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We met Hank Skinner on Texas death row.

(on camera): I wanted to ask you first, Mr. Skinner, about the Supreme Court case.

(voice-over): Skinner is lucky to be alive today.

(on camera): What has it been like behind bars for 17 years?

SKINNER: Living hell. Living hell. There's hell on earth, this is it.

BOLDUAN: In March, he came within 45 minutes of lethal injection when the Supreme Court stepped in, agreeing to hear his case.

SKINNER: I just kind of slid down the wall. I felt so alive that I thought I was going to float away.

BOLDUAN: You were ready to die?

SKINNER: No, I wasn't ready to die, but I didn't have any choice.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you point-blank, then, did you commit this crime?

SKINNER: No, I did not.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): To prove that, Skinner wants untested DNA evidence from the triple murder crime scene analyzed now. At the time of the trial, his attorney made a strategic decision not to test the evidence fearing it would further implicate him. SKINNER: All the district attorney's got to do is turn over the evidence and test it, and let the chips fall where they may. If I'm innocent, I go home. If I'm guilty, I die. How hard -- what's so hard about that?

BOLDUAN: Skinner has always maintained he is innocent. Now, the case has made its way to the Supreme Court. The question: do death row inmates have basic civil right to have forensic evidence reviewed post-conviction, these almost two decades after the gruesome crime that rocked this small community.

LISA BUSBY, DAUGHTER OF MURDER VICTIM: It's been what? Seventeen years? And still it makes me sad.

BOLDUAN: Lisa Busby is now the lone surviving member of the Busby family. New Year's Eve, 1993, her mother, Twila and two older brothers were murdered in their Pampa, Texas, home. Twila Busby was Hank Skinner's girlfriend. Skinner admits he was there but told CNN he was passed out on the couch at the time of the murders.

Lisa Busby now lives with her uncle. They remain certain Skinner is guilty and certain any additional evidence will further prove that.

BUSBY: They should kill him.

BOLDUAN (on camera): They should kill him?

BUSBY: Yes. Let him suffer, for what he did.

DAVE BRITO, LISA BUSBY'S UNCLE: Test the DNA. Execute him and get it over with. He's guilty.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Prosecutors say Skinner had his chance to appeal and argued that if he wins now, it will open the floodgates to frivolous lawsuits clogging the criminal justice system.

GREG COLEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR TEXAS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The process has worked in this case. Mr. Skinner has tried and he has failed to make any showing that there's any reasonable probability that this testing would likely show him to be innocent.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Are you prepared to deal with any consequence that comes if they would further prove your guilt?

SKINNER: Without sounding like a smart ass, lady, I've been here 17 years and I'm ready for anything.

BOLDUAN: No matter how the high court rules, this decision will have far-reaching implications for every death penalty case and any inmate, innocent or not, seeking to overturn a death sentence.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, in North Texas.

LEMON: All right, Kate.

As midterm elections get closer, is the country leaning Democrat or Republican? We'll have the results of a new CNN poll, next.

And Afghan President Hamid Karzai has now reacted to allegations that he is manic depressive. We'll tell you what he told our Larry King.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Former President Bush's one-time top adviser is lashing out at President Obama. He's upset that he's targeted in a new Democratic Party campaign ad. We're just 23 days away from the midterm elections and it is getting rough out there.

CNN senior political editor, Mark Preston, joins us. Of course, he is part of our best political team on television. He is at our political desk in Washington.

Mark, what's up with Karl Rove? and what else is making headlines in the political world this Sunday?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, Karl Rove is very upset that President Obama is on the campaign trail this past week and said that there's a shadowy group that is taking foreign donations and trying to influence our democracy. There is a new ad out, as you said, just there in the introduction from the Democratic National Committee. It actually mentions Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie by names Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie by name. Let me just give you a little of what it says. "Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie, they're Bush cronies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they're shills for big business and they're stealing our democracy. They're spending millions from secret donors to elect Republicans to do their bidding in Congress."

And what they mean by doing their bidding for secret donors is, is that Gillespie and Rove are somewhat affiliated with a group that is a nonprofit. It's an issue advocacies group. They don't have to say where their donations are coming from. Democrats are very upset by that.

Chris von Hollen, who heads up the House Democratic efforts, Don, was on "State of the Union" this morning and he said it shows the strength of the party that, in fact, Democrats don't have to embrace President Obama going into the midterm elections. It said it shows how ideologically diverse the Democratic party are. They're not all just liberals. Some of them are conservative. and they don't always back the president. Chris von Hollen this morning on "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley.

Bad news for Democrats. It seems every Sunday, Don, I have that term, bad news for Democrats, but the new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that Republicans have a seven-point advantage on the generic ballot. Right now, the number is 52 percent to 45 percent. What that means is 52 percent of Americans would rather vote for a Republican than a Democrat at this point.

We talked about the enthusiasm gap. You spoke to Governor Rendell earlier. The fact of the matter is there is an enthusiasm gap right now, 23 days to Election Day. Democrats really need to re- ignite that gap. We saw President Obama try to do that in Pennsylvania -- Don?

LEMON: Mark Preston, stick around, because we'll see you again in our next hour with another update.

And for the latest political news, go to CNN politics.com.

Passions are high this political season, including on CNN's newest program. It's called "Parker Spitzer." Watch it every night here on CNN at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Here's what the always-outspoken filmmaker, Oliver Stone, had to say about Sarah Palin in an exchange with the show's co-host, Kathleen Parker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, PARKER SPITZER: Could you see making a movie about Sarah Palin? Is she movie fodder? I would think she's --

OLIVER STONE, FILM DIRECTOR: I think it's a bad idea because I think you're already empowering her. She's a moron, in my opinion. She doesn't say anything but she's very colorful. But you give her more and more power, like Father Coughlin in the 1930s or -- she's an Andy Griffith character.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: For more opinions, ideas and analysis, don't miss CNN's newest show "Parker Spitzer" weeknights at 8:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.

Coming up here on CNN, Larry King asks Hamid Karzai about all those rumors about his mental health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: Are you a manic depressive? Do you take medication for it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What the Afghan leader has to say in response, we'll show you that.

Plus, designing homes from trash, it's the ultimate in recycling, and keep one Texas couple very busy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's take a look now at the week ahead, what it will bring. From Washington to Hollywood, these are the stories expected to grab the headlines. We begin tonight at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at White House where this week, the president will be campaigning in key states like Florida and Ohio. but the big story is that his wife will also be hitting the trail, going to Wisconsin and her home state of Illinois. After all, she's the most popular Obama, with an approval rating of 65 percent, about 20 points higher than her husband. .

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Coming up next week, home and away. Here at home, the Article 32 court-martial hearing begins for Major Nadal Hasan. He's the Army officer accused of opening fire and killing multiple people at Ft. Hood, Texas. Away, Secretary Robert Gates. He'll be joining Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Belgium, laying the groundwork with their NATO allies, talking about Afghanistan ahead of the big meeting coming up at the end of the November.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. This week is a busy one for Wall Street. Reports are due out on consumer sentiment, also retail sales and inflation on both the consumer and wholesale level. And a lot of focus will be on Washington. The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its latest policy meeting midweek. And also we will get the Treasury's latest report on the federal budget. And a lot of earnings ahead for major corporations. We'll get a trio of reports from Dow components, including Intel, JPMorgan Chase and General Electric. They're all set to report third quarter earnings. Google is also set to report their numbers. We'll have it all for on "CNN Money."

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson. Here's what we're watching this week. Lisa Rinna opens up to "Showbiz Tonight" about her headline-making plastic surgery revelations. And dancing's big "D" day, will Bristol Palin or the situation survive the next round of cuts? We're going to have a lot of fun with that and more. "Showbiz Tonight" is live at 5:00 p.m. eastern on HLN and still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That's what's happening in this country domestically.

Let's take you internationally now with Azadeh Ansari.

And we hope it's good news. By Wednesday, the Chilean miners could -- the first one could come up.

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. So final preparations are under way. If everything goes as planned, they're saying, like you said, as early as Wednesday, the first miner could be rescued. These 33 miners, Don, have been trapped underground, 2,300 feet, for over two months. A lot of anticipation that they're going to make it out safe. and they're going to send down a rescue capsule down the shaft and load them up one by one and pull them up.

LEMON: That's one thing we will be following very closely here on CNN. You heard it yesterday, Azadeh, when the miners come up, everyone started applauding, the horns were honking. Camp Hope, as they call it down there, in Copiapo, Chile, where it is a makeshift, really, tent city of families and friends who are trying -- there for those miners. So we'll be following that. We have crews down there. Make sure you stay tuned.

OK, it's fun to be here, you know, at the CNN center doing the news, but boy, wouldn't it be great to be on this fancy cruise ship?

ANSARI: You know what? And wouldn't it be better to have it named after you?

(LAUGHTER)

I guess that's what you can do when you're the queen, right?

LEMON: Right.

ANSARI: Seriously, roll out the red carpet. Her majesty will be presiding over a naming ceremony for a ship that bears her name. It's called the "Queen Elizabeth II." It will happen on Monday in Southampton. Don, it looks like the Buckingham Palace of the high seas.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I'm looking at it. It says a 90,400-ton vessel, the second largest ever built by the line, behind the six-year-old "QE II" or "Queen Mary II" I should say.

ANSARI: Right.

LEMON: Christen Monday.

ANSARI: They said it cost half a billion dollars to make. It's making a tour around the world in 2011. We should try to get tickets.

LEMON: A 2,092-passenger vessel. Very nice. May get a ride on it. Get a discount. Something like that.

Azadeh Ansari, thank you very much. Have a great week, OK?

ANSARI: Thanks. You, too.

LEMON: We want to go now to a CNN exclusive and a sneak preview of tomorrow night "Larry King Live." One of the united states' most important allies, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, is talking about rampant rumors that he is emotionally unstable, even manic depressive and bipolar. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: In his recent book, "Obama's Wars" -- I want to get this right. Bob Woodward says that you were diagnosed as a manic depressive. He writes that sensitive intelligence reports on you claim you are sometimes delusional, sometimes don't take your medications. Is that true? Are you a manic depressive? Do you take medication for it? Had to be asked.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: Right. The only -- yes, the only medication that I've taken is an antibiotic called augmentin, the strongest drug that I've taken when I had a bad cold two years ago. And I, from time to time, take multivitamins and Vitamin C. And, of course, a popular medicine in the U.S., Tylenol, is something that I use from time to time when I have a headache or when I'm tired.

KING: What do you make of the stories, then, about your being a manic depressive, which is, by the way, a common disease -- millions of people around the world have it -- and of being delusional? Where does that come from?

KARZAI: Well, like, like, like, like all other stories.

KING: Not true?

KARZAI: Oh, definitely not. Rather funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And you can hear much, much more from Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the Taliban, the ninth anniversary of the U.S.-led Afghanistan war and his push for peace. He's telling it all in a CNN exclusive on "Larry King Live" tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

You have heard the saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? Well, that holds true for a Texas couple who designs and builds homes from one thing that you might normally toss out. Ed Lavandera shows us in today's "Edge of Discovery."

(EDGE OF DISCOVERY)

LEMON: Coming up on CNN --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY CUDDY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL: The question that Dana and I wanted to ask is, can it work the other way around? Can you actually use these poses and make people more powerful?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We're going to talk to some researchers who can tell you job hunters how to strike a pose to help you stand out above the rest. Their advice next, so stay tuned.

And it's a race against the clock in Hungary where another wave of toxic sludge is threatening an already devastated area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: If you're looking for a job I want you to listen. How do you sit during a job interview? Like this, like this, do you cross your legs? How do you sit really? The way you sit or stand during a job interview, we're told, can make a difference. This is the wonder woman pose.

Two university researchers say you can pose in certain ways to feel more powerful. Their just-released study found these positions change a person's chemical output, so the poser feels more assertive and more willing to take risks.

There it is. That's the wonder woman pose. That's the power pose right there.

I spoke with the study's authors, Dana Carney, an assistant professor at Columbia's Graduate School of Business; and Amy Cuddy, as assistant professor at Harvard Business School.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUDDY: This is a classic, high-powered pose. She's sort of expanding her body, stretching out her limbs. She's taking up more space. These are the signatures of high-powered poses in humans and other animals. As we know, we've know for a long time, these poses reflect power, so high-power individuals do these things. They take on these non-verbal behaviors.

But the question that Dana and I wanted to ask is can it work the other way around? Can you use the poses and make people more powerful? That is exactly the question we were asking. So what we wanted to say is that for both men and women, you can change their biological and psychological profile to match the profile of very effective leaders who can think quickly, make decisions well or --

LEMON: OK, I get you. I get you. I get you. I understand that. That is a typical guy pose with the hands behind the head or whatever. That's like a guy pose.

CUDDY: Correct.

LEMON: If a woman does that, especially with a dress, someone may go, what's going on.

Professor Carney, let's take a look at the low-power pose. This is the kind of pose I can see someone doing during an interview. Why is this not good to do?

DANA CARNEY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: You can see she's collapsing inward, sort of contracting on herself. When you're in an interviewer, the interviewer is presumably higher on power than you. We know from research that we counter the person we're interacting with. So if we're interacting with a powerful person, we're going to collapse inwardly. The problem with is that your testosterone, which is your dominate hormone, is going to drop and your cortisol is going to rise. This is not going to be good for you internally, nor is it going to be good in terms of your performance in the interview. The key is that --

LEMON: That's what this is really about, testosterone, cortisol, chemicals in your body that you release, maybe even pheromones, or whatever. And certain ways you sit will cause a certain number of them to be released or not released.

There is a very high powered pose that you say, especially for women and you call it -- show us. What is it, the wonder woman pose? Can you guys show us that?

(LAUGHTER)

CARNEY: There you go. I think you've got to have the legs spread as well.

CUDDY: We were doing it in the back room before we came on. Hands on the hips.

CARNEY: Yes, that's right, getting ready.

LEMON: Doing the wonder woman pose.

CUDDY: Get the hands on the hips.

LEMON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

I want to say, listen -- some people may be sitting at home saying, oh, come on, really, but in this job environment, in this environment, any edge that you can have over someone else, I think I would take it.

CARNEY: Absolutely. And I think one of the key points we wanted to get across is that you don't actually have to do these high powered poses while in the interview. You can do them beforehand in preparation for the interview, to kind of pump yourself up, get yourself ready to do as well as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Any edge, you should take it.

Up next, a closer look at exactly what's happening in Hungary, where killer toxic sludge is threatening again. Jacqui Jeras will be here to tell us all about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: They thought the crisis was behind them. We told you about Hungary, where the toxic sludge came into people's neighborhood, homes. Thousands of people are fleeing what could be a second wave of poisonous metal-laced sludge.

Let's get to Jacqui Jeras right now for the very last on that.

Jacqui, a second wave?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. It's so horrible. It's already the worst environmental disaster to hit Hungary. And now, there are fears a new wave is coming in.

There was heavy rain and that caused subsidence within this reservoir and that created a big crack in one of the northern walls of this thing. Officials are telling us now that this is inevitable, there is no question about it. They just don't know when. Maybe this could happen in hours, maybe in days as well.

In the meantime, you have hundreds of people working now build a new dam so that they can transfer the remaining sludge to it and then hopefully contain it. 8,000 people -- there you can see some of them -- have been evacuated. Seven have lost their lives and more than 100 people have been injured, some of which are still hospitalized with severe burns.

One of the concerns we've been dealing this week is that they were worried that some sludge could get into the river system. Take a look at this map. This will show you where the spill site is in western Hungary. They're worried it will get into the Danube River, the second largest river in Europe, which empties into the Black Sea. So that is certainly one of the concerns there.

They've been taking these levels of P.H. And so far, they've been OK in the Danube. So that's some good concerns. And this is a little map that shows the P.H. levels. A seven is good. That sludge is registering at 13. That's very much on the high end of the scale.

We'll be watching this situation. And once that happen or if it happens, of course, we'll bring that to you.

Even if the second wave didn't occur, Don, it looks like it's going to take 12 months to clean up this mess. Millions of dollars to clean it up. One of the other things they're worried about is, once the sludge dries, if they don't clean it all up, it's going to dry and turn to dust and they're worried about that dust getting to people's lungs. An aluminum processing plant has that cyanide in it as well as chromium. And these are very, very harmful chemicals.

LEMON: And not to mention as you said seepage and leakage and the leeching or as they say in all of that.

Jacqui, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.