Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Rescue Near for Chilean Miners; Mmmm.. Doughnut Burgers; HIV and the Black Church; Fraudulent Foreclosure?; Inside North Korea; Secret Campaign Ad Spending

Aired October 12, 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 to you. Thanks so much for being with us. It's Tuesday, the 12th of October. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Let's get you caught up on what happened overnight.

An attempt to rescue the 33 trapped Chilean miners could begin as early as midnight tonight. Their escape tunnel has been tested. Everything is a go. The men have been stuck underground for 69 days now. We're live with the latest from Copiapo, Chile in just a moment.

CHETRY: Also a CNN exclusive, a rare glimpse inside North Korea, a place that only got its first traffic lights as it pursues nuclear weapons. Our Alina Cho is one of the few outside journalists allowed to look around, to film, and to talk to people. She's going to be joining us live from Pyongyang this morning.

ROBERTS: And secret campaign cash. People and organizations are spending millions of dollars to try to influence your vote. And they're trying to do it without ever revealing who they really are. So where's all that money coming from? The Best Political Team on Television follows the money trail this Tuesday morning.

CHETRY: First up, it could be just a matter of hours before the 33 trapped Chilean miners are free. Work crews have finished reinforcing a 2,000-foot-long escape tunnel with sheet metal.

ROBERTS: After four successful tests now, the rescue is set to begin in the next 18 to 24 hours. That's when a steel cage will hopefully take the men on a tight, twisting, 20-minute ride to freedom. Karl Penhaul joins us live from Copiapo, Chile this morning.

And, Karl, you can feel the anticipation building here.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we have been here for seven weeks now watching this rescue operation unfold. And I have never seen things moving as fast as they are now.

Just look over my shoulder there where you can see the lights. That is where the rescue, where the extraction point is going to be. And things, as you say, everything is a go.

The steel encasing is in place. The cement platform, we're told, the cement has dried. And then we saw video of one of those test runs of the Phoenix capsule, a capsule that is going to haul these men back to the surface. And that was dropped down, right down to depths of almost 2,000 feet. And you can see they've attached the camera on it as it went down that shaft. It's going to be a tight fit, but you can bet as each miner comes up that shaft, it's going to be the ride of their lives, John.

ROBERTS: So, Karl, what's left to do? What are they waiting for before they send that capsule down there, I guess, with a paramedic and another official in it and then start to bring the men up?

PENHAUL: Yes, in fact, what they've told us is that there are going to be four rescuers that are going to be lowered down before the miners start to be hauled up. That's two paramedics, two rescue experts, that just because of the volume of work. You know, they really don't want any last-minute hitches. And so their job down there in the mine is going to be to sort out these miners, to set up the batting order, which miner comes up first.

And now, in probably just a couple of hours from now, the miners will go on to a liquid diet that has been supplied by the NASA space agency. That's so they can get vitamins and proteins, but that there won't have solid foods, just in case on that ride up in the Phoenix capsule, if it does begin to twist and turn, so they don't get nauseous and also that special diet to help them against becoming dizzy and even fainting in that capsule. They've got an enriched supply of oxygen in there and also have video conferencing system up to the surface. So they're hoping all will go smoothly there, as well.

ROBERTS: Well, the next 24 to 48 hours going to be pretty remarkable. Karl Penhaul for us this morning in the Atacama Desert. Karl, thanks so much.

And in the next half hour, by the way, we're going to talk about the difficult challenges the miners will face once they are back on the surface when we're joined by Dennis O'Dell. He is the safety and health administrator for the United Mine Workers of America. That's coming your way at 6:40 Eastern.

CHETRY: Also, when big stories break, CNN is, of course, the place to be. We'll have live coverage of the dramatic miner rescue when it happens tonight and tomorrow, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: To the Most Politics in the Morning now, and we're learning more about the man who threw a book at President Obama over the weekend. The incident was caught on video at a rally in Philadelphia on Sunday. The Secret Service says the man was just an over-exuberant author who was hoping to get the president's attention and have him read his book. Agents detained the man, interviewed him and eventually determined that he wasn't a threat. Probably haven't read the book, so maybe he is.

CHETRY: It's an odd thing to do. Hey, did you read my book? Here, I'll toss it at you.

ROBERTS: Read this, Mr. President.

CHETRY: Well, that wasn't the only thing that kept officers busy at the rally. Earlier they arrested another man. This guy was trying to run naked through the crowd.

ROBERTS: Trying to draw attention to what?

CHETRY: I guess himself. And he certainly did that. But the man was reportedly responding to a Web site that was offering $1 million in cash to the first person who could successfully streak in front of the president. No word on whether he'll actually get the money, but he did get something else, a charge of indecent exposure as well as public lewdness and disorderly conduct.

ROBERTS: I actually snort listening to that.

On other news this morning, more serious. The alleged gunman behind last year's Fort Hood massacre has a hearing today in a military court. Officials are trying to determine whether there is enough evidence against Major Nidal Hasan to put him on trial. He faces 13 counts of premeditated murder. We're going to have a live report from Chris Lawrence in Fort Hood coming up in our next hour.

CHETRY: It's not clear this morning whether Mexican authorities are pursuing two suspects in the disappearance of an American man reportedly shot to death by Mexican pirates on Falcon Lake, a dangerous border area between Texas and Mexico. A spokesman from the attorney general's office in Mexico says that two well-known brothers are the chief suspects in the shooting. Another spokesman from the same office says there are no suspects.

ROBERTS: Well, a medical breakthrough may have been discovered. A potential link between jaundice and autism. A new study suggests that newborns with jaundice are at a higher risk of developing autism. Danish researchers found jaundice babies were 67 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism during early childhood. The study doesn't tell whether jaundice actually causes autism, instead it shows that they are often found together. You know, potentially not a cause and effect but when you have one condition, maybe you develop the other.

CHETRY: And oftentimes, babies who were born preterm tend to have autism -- I mean, tend to have jaundice more than others. And they also found that link, so obviously it's an area of intense interest for more people. So hopefully they'll learn more.

Meanwhile, a rare sight on the streets of New York City. Hail yesterday. It looked like an early snowfall in one Brooklyn neighborhood with nearly an inch of hail on the ground. The storm also dumped heavy rain in some areas causing severe flooding in others, as well. It was quite a night. The lightning show itself was spectacular.

ROBERTS: Yes. Did it keep you awake last night?

CHETRY: Yes. It sure did. How about you? ROBERTS: Between that and coughing up a lung all night, yes, didn't get a whole lot of sleep. It was so loud, in fact, you could hear it in Atlanta. No, I'm just kidding.

Rob Marciano is down there, though. He's tracking the weather forecast today. What are we looking at, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're looking at more showers and thunderstorms at least this morning across parts of the tri-state area, especially in central New Jersey. There were several counties yesterday that really got hammered with the hail, as you mentioned, some of it piling up in Brooklyn. But Essex, Middlesex and Bergen County, New Jersey, those counties had over an inch diameter hail and same deal with Nassau County out there on Long Island. So we'll see what's unsettled weather again today across the northeast. It's kind of a stalled frontal boundary there that's wavering around.

Also, some thunderstorms across southern Louisiana including New Orleans this morning, so be aware of that if you're heading to the area of the I-10 corridor in Chafalaya (ph) Basin. Those are your daytime highs today.

Now, the other news that we have this morning. That disturbance in the western Caribbean yesterday has blown up into a hurricane. The ninth hurricane season of the season. Hurricane Paula, 75-mile-an- hour winds. Right now, it's 220 miles south of Cozumel, Mexico and heading to the northwest at about 10 miles an hour. We do expect it to strengthen somewhat. As far as the forecast track, I know folks who live in south Florida are very interested in that. Here it is.

We expect it to scrape the coastline of Cancun and the Eastern Yucatan Peninsula and then kind of hang out in the northwestern Caribbean for a couple of days, maybe banging around western Cuba.

Does it get into the Gulf of Mexico? Well, if it does, there's a lot of dry air in there. So I think the folks that are most threatened with this system in the U.S. would be the Florida straits in southern Florida, but we'll have to wait and see on this. Mother Nature doesn't seem to know what to do with it. This time of year it gets a little bit dicey. So we'll talk more about that later a little bit later on in the program -- John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: And how are we describing the hail that fell in New York last night? Golf ball size? Ping pong balls?

MARCIANO: Well, one inch in diameter.

ROBERTS: Very small basketballs.

MARCIANO: Somewhere between pea and golf ball.

CHETRY: Paint gun? Paint ball gun?

MARCIANO: Maybe paint gun. I didn't have to get scraped. I felt that way too.

CHETRY: Yes, it does not feel good on the skin.

ROBERTS: If a quarter were spherical -- all right, thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: You remember Oprah Winfrey. She came out and --

ROBERTS: I have a vague recollection of her.

CHETRY: You remember when Oprah Winfrey came out to talk a little bit about what happened at her school in South Africa. She's very upset about the situation.

ROBERTS: Right.

CHETRY: Well, now there's a verdict in the case of the woman who was accused of student abuse there. Oprah not happy with this verdict. We're going to get more when we come back.

Eight and a half minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's coming up now on 11 1/2 minutes after the hour. And new this morning, the former matron at Oprah Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa has been acquitted of child molestation charges. In a statement, Winfrey said she's disappointed at the outcome of the trial, but proud of the nine girls who testified.

CHETRY: Well, bring on the Phillies. That's what they're saying in San Francisco after the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 last night to take the National League Division series in four games. It's the Giants' first playoff series victory in eight years. So they're pretty thrilled in California today. They'll now meet the defending National League champion Phillies in the NLCS game one in Philadelphia on Saturday.

ROBERTS: And with the Braves' loss comes the end of an era. Kind of the end of a generation. Their manager Bobby Cox retiring after an incredible 25 years. A quarter century as the team skipper. The crowd paid tribute to Cox after the game, so did the Giants who delayed their locker room celebration to stay on the field and join in the applause.

CHETRY: Nice and classy of them to do that.

ROBERTS: What a remarkable career that was. I remember Bobby Cox when he was coaching -- managing the Toronto Blue Jays.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: And they went to Atlanta.

CHETRY: It's a shame he couldn't have gone out on a win, you know, and continued a little longer, but --

ROBERTS: Well, if he'd gone out on a win, then maybe they'd win the World Series.

CHETRY: Maybe.

ROBERTS: Not to be, though, but what an amazing career. And we salute Bobby Cox.

CHETRY: Absolutely.

Well, schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have voted unanimously to close their schools for one Muslim holiday every year beginning next year. The vice chairman of the Cambridge school committee says that Christians and Jews each have a holiday and that it was only right to do the same for the city's Muslim community. Muslim students also requested a designated prayer area and have been granted use of the dean's office.

ROBERTS: Well, coming up, new trouble in the housing market. Major banks are freezing foreclosure sales amid signs that people are being wrongly evicted from their homes. Allan Chernoff with one woman's incredible story. Coming up right. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Seventeen minutes past the hour.

We're "Minding Your Business" now, and foreclosure sales are getting new scrutiny because of questionable practices by lenders that have allegedly caused struggling borrowers to be evicted from their homes.

ROBERTS: A CNN exclusive reveals another problem with the mortgage industry's foreclosure process. Not only are the signatures on legal documents in question, in many cases, the documents themselves are not entirely factual.

Our Allan Chernoff has been investigating. And this whole thing is a real mess.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It is a very complicated process, and that's the reason that the financial industry is able to get away with this. But very interesting angle we have here.

The biggest mortgage lenders jointly own a company that allows them to manufacture documents banks need to foreclose on homeowners. Now, if the paperwork were entirely accurate, that might be OK. But, in fact, some of the documents are filled with made up details, allowing banks to expedite foreclosure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPLIQUE D'AMELIO, FIGHTING FORECLOSURE: Oh, man.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Replique D'Amelio bought her dream home in Wappingers Falls, New York four years ago. Hard times hit, and she fell into default on her mortgage.

This summer, D'Amelio declared bankruptcy, hoping to head off foreclosure.

CHERNOFF (on camera): How important is it to you to hold onto this home?

D'AMELIO: Outside of my children and my family, there's nothing more important.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): The threat of a foreclosure looms from CitiMortgage, a division of Citigroup. Even though the company doesn't own Replique D'Amelio's mortgage, Fannie Mae owns it, along with millions of other home loans.

Yet Fannie Mae's name is nowhere to be found on the assignment of (ph) mortgage document CitiMortgage produced in the D'Amelio bankruptcy case. Instead, the document states the mortgage was assigned to CitiMortgage. D'Amelio's lawyer says the bankers are not following proper legal procedure.

LINDA TIRELLI, ATTORNEY FOR D'AMELIO: This is an improper assignment of mortgage that's meant to shortcut the system. It's less about the truth and more about how fast can we get this property foreclosed on?

D'AMELIO: What did you get wrong?

CHERNOFF: CitiMortgage, which collected D'Amelio's monthly payments as the servicer of the loan, says there's no foul play here. It's normal procedure. And Fannie Mae agrees, pointing out this is how it operates all the time.

CHERNOFF (on camera): In fact, CitiMortgage owned the D'Amelio loan very briefly, for only a couple of months back in 2006. The original lender, Home Loan Center, sold the mortgage to CitiMortgage on November 3rd, 2006, the very day Replique D'Amelio borrowed the money. Less than two months later, CitiMortgage turned around and sold that loan as an investment to Fannie Mae on January 1st, 2007.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Yet the assignment of mortgage document stating CitiMortgage still owned D'Amelio's loan is dated June 24th, 2010. That information on the document comes from a Virginia company owned by CitiMortgage, Fannie Mae, and other big mortgage players - MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.

When banks sell mortgages, they use MERS as an electronic repository to keep track of the real owners. MERS has 64 million loans in its database. If a bank wants to foreclose, it simply turns to MERS for the necessary documentation, much faster and cheaper than retrieving local title records.

But the MERS papers, like those for Replique D'Amelio's home, sometimes don't reflect the true status of the mortgage.

PAULA A. FRANZESE, SETON HALL REAL ESTATE LAW PROFESSOR: We're seeing forgeries. We're seeing back datings. We're seeing post datings. Largely because lenders are scrambling to come up with a chain of title that MERS was ill-equipped, from its inception, to provide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: MERS says it helps the mortgage finance process work better because its technique of tracking mortgages and holding title provides, quote, "clarity, transparency, and efficiency" to the housing finance system. But several recent state court decisions have ruled against MERS serving as a nominee for the actual mortgage owner and then ordering documents tailored for a foreclosure.

CHETRY: So we understand she's challenging this right now, the filings. What - what does that mean for her, potentially?

CHERNOFF: Well, it does mean that the homeowner probably will be able to stay in the home longer. I mean, ultimately, this may not save the homeowner, but it certainly can delay the process very much.

And there are a growing number of legal challenges on this very angle. This very angle, a lot of homeowners are beginning to realize, hey, wait a minute. Not all the documents have the right dates. Not all the documents are entirely accurate. So they're using that now in the courts to fight back.

ROBERTS: Yes. They're actually fighting the foreclosure process, too.

We saw Bank of America, too, freezing all of its foreclosures across the country.

CHERNOFF: Right. Well, the other - the other banks, so far, what they've announced, that has more to do with the documentation being notarized properly, being reviewed properly. But here, it's the actual documents that are in question. And this clearly could be a growing problem for the banking industry.

ROBERTS: Wow. As - as we said at the beginning, a real mess out there, and a lot of people being unfairly targeted.

Allan Chernoff, great investigation this morning.

CHERNOFF: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thanks so much.

Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, inside North Korea. A CNN exclusive. It's a place infamous for its labor camps and propaganda, but would you believe it has an amusement park? Alina Cho is going to take you there.

It's 22 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Back now to the Most News in the Morning. A CNN exclusive at 25 minutes past the hour.

It's a rare look inside of North Korea, the politics, the pageantry, and the propaganda. As a nation closed off to the world for 60 years opens up just a little to introduce a new dictator to the world.

And our Alina Cho is one of the few foreign journalists allowed into the country this week. She joins us live from Pyongyang. Hi, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good evening once again from Pyongyang. We are live outside North Korea's most famous monument, an enormous statue of Kim Il-Sung, the founder of North Korea.

You know, for all the pomp and circumstance that we've seen over the past several days, what we really wanted to know is how do average North Koreans live? Now to be honest, it is hard to get a true picture. Our movements are tightly controlled by the government. And remember, this is a communist country.

But, having said that, there have been remarkable signs of progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is communist North Korea. Its newest attraction - this western-style amusement park, and it's packed. There's a ride called Power Surge. And take a look inside the food court, you'll find western fair.

The An (ph) family comes here often to unwind.

CHO (on camera): (SPEAKING IN KOREAN).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He says words cannot explain the excitement after working so hard, General Kim Jong-Il has given us this park to relax. We really love it.

CHO (voice-over): If North Korea is Stalin's last playground, this is its version of Disneyland.

Not far at this outdoor food market, they're serving up more traditional fair, like soybean pancakes, and people are paying like their enemy neighbors in South Korea, North Korean currency is also called the won, but this money features a hammer and sickle. One hundred North Korean won equals $1. That will get you two sweet potatoes, one ticket to the amusement park or a hot dog at the food court.

In the two years since I last visited North Korea, I've noticed some changes. For one, more average North Koreans speak English.

CHO (on camera): Do you like coming here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very much.

CHO (voice-over): For the first time, there are traffic lights installed this spring. Most notably, in a country closed off to the rest of the world, North Koreans are now talking on cell phones.

This girl says everyone in her family has one. But international calls are forbidden. Word is, punishable by death. In that way and others, time stands still.

We can only see what our government minders want us to see and undeniably, it's North Korea's best face. Many North Koreans live in poverty, there are very few cars. In this city, there's no such thing as a traffic jam.

CHO (on camera): This is Pyongyang's Puhung (ph) Subway Station, one of two main hubs and one of the main forms of transportation for average North Koreans. Many don't own bikes let alone cars so this is how they get from point A to point B. And today the trains appear to be running on time.

CHO (voice-over): And many travel on foot, on the streets, there are no ads. Just propaganda. And listen. They not only see the message, they hear it. North Korean propaganda songs blaring across Pyongyang.

CHO (on camera): So look at what we happened upon here. I have - you know, we're in the middle of week-long celebrations here in North Korea commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Workers Party of North Korea. This is how people are celebrating. They're literally dancing in the streets.

CHO (voice-over): It's possible they're also celebrating the choice of their next leader, Kim Jong-Un, son of the ailing dictator Kim Jong-Il.

For all the small changes we've seen, the larger question remains, will a change at the top affect the average citizen? For now, North Korea remains sealed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: And in a place where there is rarely any descent, we have learned tonight that the eldest son of Kim Jong-Il has spoken out against his younger brother, the heir apparent, the chosen one in an interview with TV Asahi in Japan. Kim Jong-Nam says he opposes the line of succession here in North Korea. But, John and Kiran, he says he will not fight it and he will even help in any way he can - John and Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, that's amazing and also amazing to get an inside look, like you've been able to show us over the past few days. Alina Cho, thanks so much.

ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.

Crossing the half hour now, it's time for this morning's top stories.

Thirty-three trapped Chilean miners could be free by this time tomorrow. Work crews have successfully tested a 2,000-foot tunnel and could begin lifting the miners out by midnight tonight.

CHETRY: Wall Street on track for a record pay day. According to the "Wall Street Journal", three dozen firms are set to pay $144 billion...

ROBERTS: -- crews have successfully tested a 2,000-foot tunnel and could begin lifting the miners out by midnight tonight.

CHETRY: Wall Street on track for a record payday. According to "The Wall Street Journal," three dozen firms are set to pay $144 billion in compensation and benefits this year. That's a 4 percent increase from 2009. Wall Street revenue is also expected to rise to $448 billion despite a slowdown in activities like stock and bond trading.

ROBERTS: And in Hungary, the chief executive of the aluminum company involved in last week's deadly toxic sludge spill has been arrested. He's accused of public endangerment and harming the environment. Hundreds of people have fled in fear of a second wave of toxic waste with a dam at the same plant on the brink of collapse.

CHETRY: And to politics, the tens of millions of dollars being poured into these final critical days before the midterm elections, and the money from outside groups are trying to sway your vote. According to OpenSecrets.org, Republican groups have already spent $108 million, Democratic groups have already spent $69 million.

ROBERTS: Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is live for us in Washington.

And the big question today is: whose money is this?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, for the most part, John and Kiran, we just don't know. You've heard the president lately step up his complaints about Karl Rove's group and the Chamber of Commerce for attacking Democrats without disclosing donors.

But they're hardly the only ones. Both sides are doing it as you just pointed out. It is Republicans, though, that have the most cash this year. And it is for the most part anonymous cash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. RICK BOUCHER (D), VIRGINIA: We're doing far more than we've done --

BASH (voice-over): Embattled 14-term Democrat, Rick Boucher, says he's never had an election quite like the one he's facing now. Not his opponent.

BOUCHER: This is an organization that's truly shadowy.

BASH: A third-party Republican group running this ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Boucher has failed to protect our jobs. Now, it's time Rick Boucher loses his.

Americans for Jobs Security is responsible for the content of this advertising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH (on camera): Americans for Jobs Security is responsible. You know who they are?

BOUCHER: We have no idea who these individuals are. This could be a foreign entity. It could be someone who has a corporate identity in the United States. It could be a very wealthy individual who has some grudge against me.

BASH: Americas for Job Security is one of those outside groups likely benefitting from a Supreme Court decision, which, on free speech grounds, said corporations can spend unlimited money to promote or defeat candidates without disclosing donors.

(voice-over): It does have this Web site, which says it promotes free market ideas and its more than 1,000 members are businesses, business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the country. But also, bluntly states it won't disclose donors.

(on camera): Republican sources say Americans for Jobs Security only has one full-time employee, Steve DeMaura, who's offices are right across the river from Washington, here in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, we left multiple phone messages for DeMaura to try to get more information about his group. And we never heard back, so we came here to his office, knocked on the door, and we were told he wasn't there.

DAVE LEVINTHAL, OPEN SECRETS/CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: Because of the type of group that they are, you don't know if that's one American for job security, a million Americans for job security.

BASH (voice-over): What we do know with the help of the non- partisan OpenSecrets.org is Americans for Job Security has spent nearly $8 million against Democratic candidates nationwide.

Tim Phillips with Americans for Prosperity, another GOP group, did talk to us.

(on camera): By the time we reach Election Day, how much will your group have spent?

TIM PHILLIPS, AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY: This year, we'll have spent around $35 million.

BASH (voice-over): That money funds ads like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To small businesses, Betsy Markey is the same as Nancy Pelosi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Who are its donors, the Texas Billionaire Koch brothers are the group's founders and give significant dollars. Besides them, who knows?

PHILLIPS: Most of it is private individuals, but we're glad to have their support. And we do tell them, look, we're going to protect your privacy as the law allows us to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And that is the key thing to remember about this. It is legal for these particular groups to spend tens of millions to affect elections without anyone knowing who's funding them. Now, the Supreme Court, when they made their decision earlier this year, left it in Congress' court to fix Democrat's legislation to do. It was blocked in the Senate.

Now, John and Kiran, we should point out that, as you noticed, today we focus on Republican outside groups, but there are Democratic groups pounding GOP candidates, too. They're not as well-funded, but they're out there. And we're going to look at the Democratic side of the equation tomorrow -- John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: And the Center for Responsive Politics certainly does a great job of trying to track all of that, that campaign cash. But even it has its limitations.

BASH: Exactly. I mean, I said to them and to folks, this online foundation, this is your job. Even you can't help us try to figure out who these donors are? And they said, our hands are tied, it's the law.

ROBERTS: Great story. Dana Bash this morning -- Dana, thanks so much.

Well, in these final weeks before the election, both Democrats and Republicans are trying to convince voters that they're part of the solution to America's economic problems.

CHETRY: Last night on "PARKER SPITZER," the two talked about a new documentary "Inside Job" about who's to blame for the financial crisis. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, "PARKER SPITZER" CO-HOST: What I really loved about this movie is that it helped me understand the complex series of events. But what really struck me was, and you can't -- you just can't blame only Republicans, you can't blame just Democrats either. You can't pin it on President Bush or President Clinton. And it really didn't matter who controlled Congress. It's really just a story of runaway greed, of a relatively small number of people who nearly destroyed our financial system.

ELIOT SPITZER, "PARKER SPITZER" CO-HOST: Well, the only thing I'd say it's all of the above. It was President Bush. It was also President Clinton and the folks around him, the Fed, the SEC, Congress sitting there -- everybody bought into this notion that Wall Street could just make everybody rich. But you know what they did? They made themselves rich and we are poor. This is one big Ponzi scheme because we had to bail them out. And they kept all the money and they gave nothing back to us. And that is what's outrageous and, I think, has people really angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You can watch "PARKER SPITZER," weeknights, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

ROBERTS: In about 18 hours time, the rescue operation to free 33 trapped Chilean miners could get underway. The men have been stranded underground for 69 days now. They're going to face a lot of challenges, many of them emotional, once they're freed.

We'll talk about that next with Dennis O'Dell. He's the safety and health administrator of the United Mine Workers of America.

Thirty-six minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

ROBERTS: It's 40 minutes after the hour now.

Thirty-three trapped Chilean miners could be reunited with their loved ones by this time tomorrow. Rescue crews are set to begin lifting the men out by midnight tonight. But even if all goes well, the ordeal for the miners will be far from over.

Joining us live now to discuss the challenges facing these men after their rescue is Dennis O'Dell. He's the safety and health administrator for the United Mine Workers of America. He's in Charleston, West Virginia, for us this morning.

Dennis, great to see you. You know, these miners have been in such terrific spirits for 69 days, particularly considering their ordeal. But you have some concerns for them?

DENNIS O'DELL, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA: Yes, I do. You know, there's going to be a lot of things that the miners have to go through. Initially what you're going to have to worry about is the immediate health effects that you have to watch as they bring them out through the capsules. That capsule is so enclosed, it's like 28 inches and it will spin 360 degrees as it goes about, probably 10 or 12 times.

So, immediately, you got to worry whether these guys would be nauseated. Then there's temperature change that you have to worry about, you know, going from 90 degrees underground to the colder temperatures outside. So, you have to worry about acute hypertension, sudden drops of blood pressure because of how fast they have to bring them out.

So, those are the things that you have to worry about immediately as far as their health issues go. And then there's the mental part of it.

ROBERTS: Yes.

O'DELL: You know, there's going to be separation anxiety because it's going to be the first time that they're actually away from the rest of their group that they're with. And they have to contend with that. And then, of course, we all know once they get outside, you know, that's when the big changes -- the big worries start.

ROBERTS: Yes. That's an interesting aspect to it. They've been separated from their families for more than two months now, but you say that they may have separation anxiety when they're separated from their fellow miners. What about, you know, reintegration into society? Chile's president has said that there may be some problems on that front.

O'DELL: Well, because these guys have become immediate heroes throughout the world. And so, that's something they're going to have to deal with. And it's going to be tough for them, you know, to reunite with their families. And all this notoriety and attention that they're going to get, sometimes, it's tough to deal with. And it's going to be tough for them to be able to blend back in.

And then you've got to think about, too, you know, weeks from now, they've got to figure out, OK, this is how I provided for my family. This is what I did for -- you know, and do I really want to go back in a mine? I mean, a lot of these guys, because of the ordeal they've been through, they're -- you know they don't want to go back underground and they're going to have to figure out where they go from this point.

ROBERTS: Yes, that area of the country, there's not a whole lot of employment around other than the mines. It's, you know, way up high in the Atacama Desert. There's not a whole lot else around there.

So, unless they want to move to a bigger town or maybe, you know, Santiago or something like that, they would have to go back in the mine if they want to continue to provide for their family. That's going to be -- that would have to be a really tough decision.

O'DELL: It will be a tough decision. And some of them won't be able to handle that. Some of them may be able to go back underground and then, I'm sure, a majority of them may not want to. And they may have pressure from their family members to not go under too because you've got to realize the emotions they put their loved ones through. So, they're going to get pressure from them, don't go, don't go.

ROBERTS: Yes, yes.

O'DELL: We don't want to go through this risk again.

ROBERTS: Well, in your experience here in the United States, miners who have been involved in accidents, did they want to go back into the mine? Or do they have personal feelings about it? Or succumb to family pressure to find some other form of employment? O'DELL: You know, I've seen both. It's a mixed bag out there. I've seen miners go through such trauma that they won't go back underground. I saw it happen at the Jim Walters explosion. I saw at Quecreek. We saw it at Upper Big Branch, you know, some of those that got out.

Some of them will go back and some of them won't. So, it just depends on the individual really.

ROBERTS: Yes. We should say, just as a point of reference, the Quecreek Mine was that mining disaster back in 2002 where the miners were trapped underground and were actually lifted out with a similar capsule to the one that they're going to be using there in Copiapo.

So, what I think is really incredible here, Dennis, is that the miners, in preparation for being extracted, have asked for shampoo and clean clothing, which they're going to get, and, as well, they want some shoe polish because they want to make sure they present themselves the best they can to their families. I mean, that's incredible, you think these guys just be like, get me out of here, but they say, no, we want to look neat and presentable to meet with our families.

O'DELL: You know, people don't realize miners are a prideful bunch. I mean, they really are. It's family-oriented, just ordinary guys, but they are concerned, you know, that they present themselves well. I mean, that's throughout any cold mine or any gold or copper mine anywhere.

Miners throughout this world are like that. And they like to be able to present themselves, you know, properly to people. So, it doesn't surprise me.

ROBERTS: Just amazing. And this will be an incredible story unfolding over these next 48 hours.

Dennis O'Dell, it's great to see you this morning. Thanks so much.

O'DELL: Good to see you. Thank you.

ROBERTS: All right -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, still to come on the Most News in the Morning, Rob Marciano is going to be along with the morning's travel forecast right after the break. He's going to let us know what it's looking like across the country. He's also keeping an eye out for another storm, Paula -- still ahead.

Forty-five minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. As we know, they deep fry just about everything at state fairs. Now, they're upping the ante as well as the calorie count with the Krispy Kreme cheeseburger. It's a burger, but it has doughnuts for buns. It started out at as a minor league ballpark snack in Georgia, then made the state fair rounds, and then for sale this week at world's fair in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, $5, 550 calories that's without the chocolate covered bacon.

ROBERTS: 550 calories is not bad.

CHETRY: It's not telling the whole story, though. I'm sure the salt content and the fat content is probably a little high.

ROBERTS: Oh, a lot of those calories will be made of fat, but I've seen burgers that are 1,300 calories, so --

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: Comparatively speaking, your doughnut burger maybe not --

CHETRY: Compare it to (INAUDIBLE) that's healthy.

ROBERTS: Yes. We can compare it to an elephant ear or funnel cake, as well.

Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. Would you eat a burger with a doughnut for a bun?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, but, you know, it doesn't surprise me that that concept was born here in Georgia.

ROBERTS: Yes.

MARCIANO: We take pride in stuff like that. Hey, guys, listen to Hurricane Paula. This is the ninth hurricane of the season. This thing flared up yesterday, quickly became a strong tropical storm. And hurricane hunter aircraft have been in and out of this for the past 12 to 18 hours now, and we think it's got hurricanes and frank (ph) winds for sure.

It's heading towards the Yucatan Peninsula, northwesterly moving at about 10 miles an hour. Waters here are really toasty. So, we do anticipate some further strengthening, but the further north it goes, the more it gets into those westerly stronger jet stream that happens this time of year. So, here's the forecast track. We've taken it to a category one status. We keep it there. We bring it to about Cozumel during the day tomorrow and late tonight and then scrape the coastline of Cancun.

Of course, it could make landfall directly and get into the Yucatan. And then it gets caught up in the westerly's a little bit and gets kind of suppressed down below all the heat and the high pressure that's been in control across parts of the north. So, it looks like it wants to hang around here. This is going to be a dicey forecast. I'll tell you this. So, we'll be watching that very, very carefully. And then, you know, it's in the same spot that Wilma developed back in 2005. All right. Showers and thunderstorms across the northeast again today. Shouldn't be quite as severe and rough as last night. Boy, that yesterday evening was something, wasn't it? And New Orleans, you're seeing some thunderstorms. If you are traveling today, New York metros will see a little bit in the way of delays as well Detroit, and Cleveland, and Denver with some low clouds.

We saw record highs from San Francisco to Louisville, to D.C. yesterday. We'll see slightly cooler weather today, but the unusual warmth continues -- John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: I felt bad for all those people trying to fly back in to the northeast last night. I bet they were frustrated.

MARCIANO: But it was quite a light show for the folks who are on --

CHETRY: Yes. It sure was a little scary out there last night. Thanks, Rob.

This morning's top stories just minutes away, including counting the days and months. Now, they're counting the minutes. Final preparations underway right now to rescue the 33 trapped Chilean miners, and we're live at the mine with the very latest.

Plus, a mind-blowing medical breakthrough. A real rip van winkle story. A baby born 20 years after he was conceived. Keeping embryos on ice and the ethical questions that's raising. Those stories and more beginning at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Coming up on five minutes before the top of the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

More than a million Americans are living with HIV. In the black community, many times the stigma of the diagnosis means hiding it or, in some cases, not even knowing. But for one man living with HIV, the courage to open up could change things. Here's Soledad O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two illnesses threaten Jeffrey Gavin. His church knows only about one.

JEFFREY GAVIN, MEMBER, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: I have what's called Marfan syndrome. That makes me very tall. I'm constantly in pain.

O'BRIEN: He feels compelled to tell his pastor, Pastor Soaries, the rest of his story.

GAVIN: I'm living with HIV.

O'BRIEN: Jay Gavin as his friends know him found out he was HIV positive four years ago. He's never mentioned it in church. Keeping that kind of a secret is common in the African-American community.

REV. DEFOREST "BUSTER" SOARIES, SR. PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: If the average person in this church knew how many people they interacted with in this church who were HIV positive, it would be scandalous.

O'BRIEN: The CDC says it's the stigma in the African-American community that's putting many blacks at higher risk of contracting the disease. Nearly half the people living with HIV in the United States are African-American. Gavin is gay and contracted HIV from sex, but the message he wants to send to his community is anyone can get it.

GAVIN: Thank you so much. Well, thank you for this.

O'BRIEN: You look so relieved.

GAVIN: I am -- I want to shout for joy, because I see the avenue that this is leading to.

O'BRIEN: Gavin sees himself as an ambassador, leading open discussions, but his pastor has a more tempered response.

SOARIES: Whether or not he is a symbol of something that can be healthy for the church and inspiring for people who are HIV positive, I think, that remains to be seen.

O'BRIEN: Regardless of the outcome, Gavin says he'll keep pushing.

Reporting for in America, Soledad O'Brien, Somerset, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Jay Gavin is also a member of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and that church has the focus of almighty debt, a Black and America special. Black church has fought for civil and human rights, and now, it's waging a war on debt. And you can watch the special Thursday, October 21st, 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us. We got three minutes now to the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)