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Rescue Near for Chilean Miners; Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger; Wall Street Record Pay; North Korea Disneyland; North Korea Celebrates Passing of Leadership from Father to Son; Cancer Comeback; Toes Got Talent

Aired October 12, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning on this Tuesday, October 12th. Thanks so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.

Midnight tonight, the rescue could start in Chile. And people are watching across the world to see if these miners will get out OK. Thirty-three miners trapped could be freed by this time tomorrow.

Their escape tunnel has been tested. Everything checks out. Rescue effort could begin, as we said, midnight tonight. We're going to get a live report from Chile -- just ahead.

ROBERTS: Here's something to consider as you try to make ends meet in this difficult economic times. Despite reform, the economic downturn and all of that, Wall Street salaries are still on track to reach a record high. So, just how big is the expected payday? We're live with new details.

CHETRY: And a rare look inside North Korea. Alina Cho takes us to the happiest place north of the 38th parallel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: It's an amusement park with a few things that might surprise you. Western fare, burgers, onion rings, and the last holdouts of the east.

ROBERTS: Well, this could be the last morning spent underground for 33 trapped Chilean miners. Work crews have finished reinforcing the 2000-foot long escape tunnel with piping.

CHETRY: Yes. After four successful tests, the rescue is set to begin in the next 18 to 24 hours.

Karl Penhaul has the latest from Copiapo, Chile, this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.

We've been here now seven weeks and I can tell you, that in all that time, we have never seen preparations moving as fast as they are now. If you look over my shoulder there, the lights there, as the dawn breaks here over the Atacama Desert, that shows that the rescue crews have been working around the clock. They have not stopped. And today is no different.

But we're told that now all systems are a go. Steel casing to reinforce the rescue shaft is now in place. A cement platform above the rescue shaft has now dried. The volume winch systems are in place, as well. And "The Phoenix" capsule, the cage that will pull those miners one by one back to the surface has now been tested, as well.

We've seen some pretty dramatic video of that sliding into the rescue shaft with a camera attached and that, technicians say, shows that the rescue shaft is solid, that the Phoenix capsule is operating well.

What does this mean? Well, it means around midnight tonight, Tuesday, into Wednesday, the first of those miners should be back to the surface.

Before they come up, of course, four rescue experts, two rescue experts, two paramedics will slide down into that hole with the miners and they will set up an order with the miners. They will give them a medical check and set up an order deciding which of the 33 comes up first.

In a few hours from now, as well, before all this unfolds, the miners will put on a special liquid diet supplied by the NASA space agency, vitamins and proteins. That will hopefully, the doctors on the surface say, prevent them from getting nauseous on the ascent and they also hope to avoid any problems with dizziness. For that reason, the miners will get a 40 percent enriched supply of oxygen.

But the engineers, the rescue experts, the government say all systems are now go and now, we could be in a position that by the next sun rise, many of those miners are back on the surface -- John, Kiran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: We certainly hope so. After more than two months of being trapped underground, the real test for those 33 coal miners could come in the next several weeks after they've been rescued and most of them are unaware of the challenges they'll be facing.

Joining us now on the phone from Amelia Island, Florida: Robert Hogan, president of Hogan Assessment Systems.

Thanks so much for being with us this morning, Robert.

ROBERT HOGAN, HOGAN ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS (via telephone): My pleasure.

CHETRY: So, you've worked with the Navy to develop personality tests for people who've been stationed in isolated environments. Of course, just getting out is going to be a huge feat for these men.

But what will they be dealing with in the weeks and days following their release?

HOGAN: Well, people's reactions to stressful events depend entirely on the people. So, whether about 30 guys down there, I would imagine for five of them, as soon as they get on top, have -- take a shower and have breakfast, they will be on their way. For five of them, the other end, they'll probably find -- this will be something to bother them for a very long time.

For most of the folks in the middle, they'll be good to go after a couple of months.

CHETRY: It's interesting. They have really planned for everything. One of the things that they want to do, I guess, the psychology team is advising that they will meet with one to three people, close family or friends who the miners have designated personally. They don't want a big crowd -- even though we've seen the pictures of so many family members being out there.

Why is it important to have this first meeting after escaping be with such a small group?

HOGAN: I think this is all part of the whole media package. I don't think there's a psychological reason for it.

CHETRY: Really?

HOGAN: There's going to be a media frenzy there.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: It doesn't matter if there's a hoard of people greeting them when they come out or if it's just one or two loved ones?

HOGAN: It could potentially be a media frenzy and they clearly want to get that, you know, under control.

CHETRY: All right. You say that doesn't have anything to do with what they're facing emotionally?

HOGAN: No.

CHETRY: The military people are trained for this. Civilians, not so much. I understand that the miners would at least have some comfort level with being in tight and enclosed spaces, but in terms of everything to deal with not knowing whether they would actually survive this, how do all of those factors play out after they're finally up from the surface?

HOGAN: Well, confined and remote location isn't the problem. The real problematic part of this is the lack of predictability and lack of control. You know, your fate is simply not in your hands and you have to, you know, rely on other people and just hope, and that's very stressful.

CHETRY: Now, is the physical and mental health of them when they're underground, does that sort of determine how they're going to be when they get up. As we've heard some of the men held it together better than others. Understandably, it's a stressful situation and some have been ill, some have been suffering physically and then others have been suffering mentally underground.

HOGAN: Yes. Just once again, people are really quite different. They'll be -- for a few people, this will simply not have been a big of a deal once they're out and on their way. And for others, people are very enormous susceptible to stress.

CHETRY: Got you. All right. Robert Hogan, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

HOGAN: My great pleasure. Bye-bye.

CHETRY: And when the big stories break, CNN's the place to be. We have live coverage of the dramatic miner rescue when it happens tonight and tomorrow morning, right here on the Most News in the Morning.

ROBERTS: Well, we got new developments in the tropics to tell you about this morning. Paula, now a category one hurricane.

Rob Marciano is tracking the storm. He's at the hurricane headquarters.

And where does this one look like it's going?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's heading towards the Yucatan Peninsula, potentially towards Cuba and potentially towards southern Florida. The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center is of 8:00. Still a category one storm with winds of 75 miles an hour. It's less than 200 miles now south of Cozumel, Mexico, and heading in that direction, northwesterly movement at about 10 miles an hour.

So, here's the forecast track now from the National Hurricane Center. It keeps at a category one status. Maybe some strengthening here in the next 24 to 36 hours, and then further north it gets, well, it starts running into some dry air, some westerly winds, that kind of thing, probably keep it below two strength.

But if it gets stronger than we think, then it will likely go a little bit further north in this track shows you. So, that's the general worry right now.

Back home, we've got some showers and storms that rocked New York City last night. They're moving offshore just a little bit. So, not nearly as turbulent after the light show and hailstorm last night. You'll see showers in D.C., 82, 84 in New Orleans.

There you go. There's some of that hail in Brooklyn, covering the streets and sidewalks in some cases. On top of that, record- breaking heat.

So, it's been unusual October to say the least so far and looks like it's going to continue at least for a couple of days -- John and Kiran.

CHETRY: They got hail in Brooklyn. Lightning all over the New York metro area. It was pretty crazy last night weather-wise.

MARCIANO: It was quite a storm. I wish I was there.

ROBERTS: Jets-Vikings game was delayed for, what, an hour and a half?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: And all those poor people trying to get home last night by plane. Oh my goodness. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: Well, the Jets won. So, I'm sure most of them were in good spirits.

ROBERTS: Yes, there you go.

CHETRY: Well, to the Most Politics in the Morning now, we're learning more of a man who threw a book at President Obama over the weekend at a campaign event. The incident caught on the video. It was a rally in Philadelphia Sunday.

Secret Service says the man was just an over-exuberant author. He was hoping to get the president to read his book. He was detained by Secret Service agents. They interviewed him and eventually determined that he was not a threat.

ROBERTS: As Rob pointed out, maybe he was better off throwing the book at Oprah than the president.

That wasn't the only thing that was keeping officers busy at the rally. Earlier, police arrested a man for trying to run through the crowd naked. Reportedly, he was responding to a Web site offering $1 million cash to the first person who could successfully streak in front of the president. No word yet on whether he'll get the money or if the offer was even legitimate. But he did get charged with indecent exposure, public lewdness, and disorderly conduct and got paraded through the crowd in handcuffs it with the full monty.

CHETRY: The funny is that people aren't even looking at him. They're still looking at the president or wherever they are.

ROBERTS: It's a political rally. Naked guy in the crowd, you know?

CHETRY: Like New Yorkers. You know, you just -- people just walk down the street. You could be doing anything and people don't notice.

ROBERTS: Exactly.

CHETRY: Well, Brett Favre reached unchartered territory last night on Monday night football. He threw his 500th career touchdown pass.

ROBERTS: Not that one.

CHETRY: That was the pickoff, right?

ROBERTS: Well, that was a touchdown pass.

CHETRY: Well, not for him. That was a pickoff for the Jets. All right.

That's terrible of us, though. It was the big shining moment and we showed the flub.

Anyway, he still couldn't shake the questions about racy text messages he allegedly sent to a Jets hostess a couple of months ago. Also, couldn't get out of New York with a win. His old team, the Jets, beat the Vikings, 29-20. "The A.P." says Favre apologized to teammates for bringing unneeded attention to the squad. He did though avoided reporters' questions about the scandal.

ROBERTS: Do you suppose somewhere on the great system of servers and video, we actually have the long bomb that he threw to Moss?

CHETRY: You want me to reenact it?

ROBERTS: Yes.

Reminded of that Bill Cosby skit. You go long.

Remember the Philadelphia area school district accused of spying on students through school-issued laptop web cams? The school is now trying to make amends. That story is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, doctors in Atlanta are attempting to treat a partially paralyzed patient using human embryonic stem cells. It is a beginning of the first clinical trial for the controversial therapy. They're hoping to regenerate tissue in an unidentified patient.

Also, in Santa Monica, California, researchers are hoping for the FDA's approval to begin injecting stem cells into the eyes of 12 patients who have macular dystrophy to see if their sight can be restored.

ROBERTS: Wow. You have a promising new field. We've heard so much about it. Now, they're actually doing experiments on humans. Pretty remarkable.

A school district accused of spying on kids via web cam has settled two lawsuits for more than $600,000. The Lower Merion School District outside of Philadelphia admits that it captured thousands of screen shots of students with remote technology on school-issued laptops. But it claims it was a misguided effort to locate missing computers and they're very sorry about it all.

CHETRY: Well, schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are voting unanimously to close their schools for one Muslim holiday each year, beginning in 2011. The vice chairman of the Cambridge school committee says that Christians and Jews have a holiday and that it was only fair to offer the same to 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, just thinking about this next thing could make you fatter. Behold, the Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger. It is a burger with doughnuts for buns. How about that? These are on sale this week at the World Food Festival in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. It's $5 bucks, 550 calories, which does not sound like much. But as you can see that's just kind of like a plain doughnut, a plain burger, and a piece of cheese. You add up the chocolate covered bacon, and all the other condiments --

CHETRY: The special sauce.

ROBERTS: The sauce, all that, and you're getting up there.

CHETRY: I think they stole the idea though from the McGriddle. The McGriddle was the original, hey, let's put the sweet thing with the salty thing.

ROBERTS: I have heard of that before. I can't remember -- oh, it started in Georgia. I think.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: You know, home of Krispy Kreme. Slice a doughnut in half, put it together with a burger. And then it's become the rage of state fairs across the land. Have that with your funnel cake.

CHETRY: Well, it is payday on Wall Street, for sure. Wall Street salaries on track to reach a record high for the second year in a row. Christine Romans breaks it down for us. Sixteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Little Led Zeppelin mashed up there.

CHETRY: Yes. Like it.

ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes after the hour. Bond girl, the stocks in Bond's girl, Anna Chapman, you remember her, the accused Russian spy who was sent packing last summer. Well, she's got a new gig, working for a Russian Bank. FondServisBank or FSB which coincidentally just happens to have the same initials as Russia's main spy agency.

CHETRY: Good to see that her career was not tripped up. Back on track. Well, the disgraced former city manager of Bell, California, had his hunting and beach house teepeed Sunday night. Police say that Robert Rizzo was not home when vandals littered his property with toilet paper. There you see, they got creative in doing it, not just haphazardly but actually making long stripes at the sides of the house there. Rizzo's facing 53 criminal counts in a corruption scandal. He and other public officials are accused of ripping off more than $5 million from Bell taxpayers.

ROBERTS: Nice house for a city manager. Turning out to be another great year for workers on Wall Street. According to "The Wall Street Journal," about three dozen banks and security firms will pay their employees 4 percent more than they did last year. Four percent doesn't sound like much, right?

CHETRY: No, but it adds up to $144 billion in compensation and benefits. Our Christine Romans joins us live Minding Your Business. People love to hate Wall Street. Obviously, it is good that people are making money. It is just that it seems a very, very small tiny portion of people are making money.

ROBERTS: And they are making an awful lot of money.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: $144 billion in pay and compensation that also includes benefits, that is up 4 percent as you pointed out and would be another record. Here's what's happening. Banks and the financial firms are borrowing money at very, very, very low interest rates and using that money in their business to make money and they are also moving into new areas making money. And they are benefiting from global international financial markets that have begun to heal over the past couple of years and there's some opportunities there so what's it going to look like? Up 4 percent to $139 billion, that's billion with a "b."

You look at revenue. A lot of times the big banks talk about it and the financial firms talk about revenue. They pay a share. This is going to be 30-some percent of their revenue is going to pay their workers. In 2009, their revenue was $433 billion. This year, it is looking like $448 billion. This is all very detailed analysis from the "The Wall Street Journal." We have a couple of months until we really know what bonus season really looks like but the journal has gone over a lot of documents and thinks that this is what it's going to be, a new record.

ROBERTS: So, what is it going to be? A couple hundred bucks in everybody's paycheck?

ROMANS: No, it is going to be more than that. You have to remember on Wall Street, the way the pay is structured is called you eat what you kill. That means, the revenue you bring in, you get a big chunk of that and that's how you are paid. So, you don't know what you are going to get paid in many cases until the end of the year. You get a salary, a nominal salary at the beginning of the year, and then the end of the year when the big payday comes because you get paid for what you do.

CHETRY: Right. So, there's a lot of talk about how the Wall Street system is centered around high risk because you have to take big risks and you have to take big risks to get money.

ROMANS: Right.

CHETRY: And there's a lot of talk about whether or not that would change. But, nothing's changed.

ROMANS: Many people say this will be a peak, a near-term peak in pay right now because many of these firms have come out from under Treasury Department rules, but the rules in the Doug-Frank (ph) Financial Reform, the rules that prevent being paid for risk have not actually been written and implemented yet. So, this could be the end of those good old days of big pays and going forward you could see a more static level.

ROBERTS: How much of what they bring in do they get to keep?

ROMANS: About anywhere between 30 percent to 40 percent. The average is between 30 percent -- it used to even be higher than that. A couple of years ago, 36 percent. So, the banks will say, look we used to give much more back to the workers which encourages risk taking but they have been slowly ratcheting it down. But you eat what you kill. That's the Wall Street way.

CHETRY: This could be the last year that we see this.

ROMANS: Perhaps. I never count out Wall Street pay. You write me the rules, you show me the laws, you show me the regulations and I will never count out Wall Street pay.

ROBERTS: So, what do you think the top check written is going to be for?

ROMANS: Tens of millions, no doubt. Tens of millions.

ROBERTS: Wow. Christine, thanks.

CHETRY: That wasn't on your list of best jobs?

ROMANS: That person probably brought in, you know, $20 million, $30 million, $40 million in pure revenue.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: Sure.

ROBERTS: What is old, is new again, if you are talking about the Gap, the store already scrapping its new logo design just after a week after people on social media totally smashed it. The Gap is going back to the classic blue-box design that it had for more than two decades. Already, Facebook fans are saying that the whole thing was just a publicity stunt. The new Coke, the old Coke.

CHETRY: I like the old Gap better.

ROBERTS: The new Tropicana. The old Tropicana.

CHETRY: The new Tropicana was very confusing. Didn't know where to find the orange juice.

ROBERTS: And it is still out there too. Looks like the most generic of generic versions.

CHETRY: They kept the little, cute little orange.

ROBERTS: You have to look hard for it, though.

CHETRY: We are taking you live inside North Korea. It is a place that is infamous for its labor camps, infamous for the propaganda. But would you believe it has an amusement park? What else has changed over the years? Our Alina Cho takes a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Your top stories just a couple of minutes away. First though an "A.M. original," something you'll see only on American Morning. A rare look inside North Korea.

ROBERTS: And in the middle of all of the politics, the pageantry, the propaganda, who knew that there was an amusement park in North Korea? Our Alina Cho was one of the few foreign journalists who were allowed into the country over the last week. She joins us now live from Pyongyang. An amusement park?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hard to believe, John, but as one of our government guides said, seeing is believing. And that's certainly true. You mentioned the politics, the propaganda. Certainly the pageantry. That's been incredible but for all of that, what we are wondering about is how do real North Koreans live? Now, remember, it is hard to get a true picture. Our movements are tightly controlled by the government. And this is a communist country. But having said that, we have seen 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 will find Western fare.

The Un family comes here often to unwind. 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. If North Korea is Stalin's last playground, this is its version of Disneyland. Not far at this outdoor food market, they are serving up more traditional fare, 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. 100 North Korea Won equals $1 US. 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 have noticed some changes. For one, more average North Koreans speak English.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I like it very much.

CHO (voice-over): For the first time, there's 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 subway station, one of two main hubs, and one of the main forms of transportation for average North Koreans. Many don't own bikes or 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): Look at what we happened upon here. We're in the middle of weeklong celebrations here in North Korea commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Worker's 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 have 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 we are standing in front of North Korea's most famous monument, an enormous statue of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. This is one of the holiest places in the country. Even at this time in the evening, people come, they lay flowers, go right up to the statue and bow.

There is music playing here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It truly is a reverential place, almost like being in a church, John and Kiran, in a country where there's no organized religion.

ROBERTS: Terrific look at the country and truly a side we have never seen before. Thanks, Alina.

CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.

Its 32 minutes past the hour. A look at the top stories. The 33 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.

ROBERTS: 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 fled in fear of a second wave of toxic waste with a dam at that same plant on the brink of collapse.

CHETRY: Also, tropical storm Paula, now hurricane Paula after picking up strength in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula overnight. The storm's about 230 miles south-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. A hurricane warning has been issued for the Mexican coast. Paula could dump up to six inches of rain over eastern Honduras, northern Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula before heading to Cuba later this week.

Major Nidal Hasan, the army's psychiatrist accused of opening fire on fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood last year, is about to face his victims in a military court.

CHETRY: A hearing begins today to determine whether there's enough evidence to put Hasan on trail and to court-martial him. He's charged with murdering 13 people, and 32 others who survived that massacre will be sitting just a few feet from him in the courtroom today.

Chris Lawrence is live from Ft. Hood, Texas, this morning with more on what's happening there. Hi, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Yes, right now they're shutting down part of this area for security sweeps because we're told Hasan will be brought into the courtroom here in the next few minutes possibly.

You know, we spoke with the military policeman yesterday who said no one likes it when Hasan comes on base. He said, privately, he said, we protect him. We do our job. But we really want this man to go away.

There's still clearly a lot of very, very raw feelings here about what happened last year. We spoke with the fiance one of the most seriously wounded soldier. He was on the way to an officer candidate's school, was processing through the center on the day of the shooting.

She talked to us about why so many of the families want to be there, want to tell their story and why so many of the survivors want to be in that room to confront Hasan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA HANSEN, FIANCE OF PATRICK ZIEGLER: We all cope in different ways, and, you know, I know in my situation, I just like to know all the facts as I can get them. And, you know, for me, I'm anxious for the Article 32 to begin so the public can start seeing some of the facts of what really happened that day, and, you know, what led up to that day.

You will hear more stories of how selfless those 13 people were and how many heroes are among the wounded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Prosecutors are expected to lay out the what and the how. By that, I mean they're going to describe, you know, how Hasan went about buying these guns, how he allegedly went to a practice range to improve his aim, and how he carefully planned the attack.

They're not going to get into the why. This is not the full court-martial. This is the hearing to decide if there's enough to go forward with that. So we won't get too much into the motivations, his alleged links to Islamic radical groups overseas.

So the bigger question is still going to be out there, whether this was a workplace shooting that happened to involve an American soldier or if this was truly a terrorist act. Kiran?

ROBERTS: All right, well, at least the process underway. Chris Lawrence for us. Chris, thanks.

Dozens of new political ads are popping up on television screens across America with just three weeks to go until the elections. But the big question, who's behind them? Dana Bash following the money trail coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to "The Most Politics in the Morning." Tens of millions of dollars poured into the final critical days before the election, the money coming from outside groups trying to sway your vote.

ROBERTS: According to opensecrets.org, Republican groups have already spent $108 million, and Democratic groups have spent $69 million. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is live in Washington. And Dana, the big question is, because it's not so much of a surprise they're spending all that money, but where it's coming from.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And the answer is for the most part, John and Kiran, we don't know. You heard the president step up his complaints lately of Karl Rove's outside group American Crossroads and of course the Chamber of Commerce for spending millions attacking Democrats without disclosing donors.

But they're hardly the only ones. Both sides are doing it and just that Republicans have a lot more cash this year, anonymous cash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Embattled 14-term Democrat Rich Boucher said he's never had an election enemy quite like the one he's facing now. Not his opponent.

REP. RICK BOUCHER, (D) VIRGINIA: This is an organization that is truly shadowy.

BASH: A third party Republican group running this ad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boucher has failed to protect our jobs. Now it is time Rick Boucher loses his. Americans for Job Security is responsible for the content of this advertising.

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

BOUCHER: We have no idea who these individual 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: America's for Job Security is one of those outside group likely benefiting from a Supreme Court decision which on free speech grounds said corporations can spend unlimited money to promote or defeat candidates without disclosing donors.

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

Republican sources say Americans for job security only has one full-time employee, Steve Demorro, whose offices are here in Alexandria, Virginia. We left multiple phone message for Demorro to try to get more information about his group and never heard back, so we came here to his office 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: What we do know with the help of the nonpartisan 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.

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

TIM PHILLIPS, AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY, PRESIDENT: This year around $35 million.

BASH (voice-over): That money fund ads like this. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To small businesses, Nancy Markey is the same as Nancy Pelosi.

BASH: 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 are glad to have support and we do tell them we'll protect your privacy as the law allows us to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And that's a key thing to remember about this. It is legal for the particular groups to spend tens of millions of dollars to affect elections without knowing who's funding them.

Now, we should point out that obviously today we focused on Republican outside groups, but there are Democratic groups pounding GOP candidates across the country. They're not as well funded, but they're out there and we're going to take a look at the Democratic side of the equation tomorrow, John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: They're spending, what, about two thirds of what the Republicans are spending?

BASH: Yes. The enthusiasm gap, you are seeing out there it in a big way across the spectrum. Cash is really reflected in cash, as well.

ROBERTS: Dana, thank you.

CHETRY: Following extreme weather, hurricane warnings now up in parts of Mexico including some very popular tourist hotspots. Is Florida also next when it comes to the path of Paula? Rob Marciano with the hurricane track after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. Check it out. That's not snow. That's hail, and it's in New York City in Brooklyn. In the middle of October -- are you kidding me? Hail in some spots, both -- both sides of the river or the harbor. Seeing hail in diameter of up to an inch and includes parts of Jersey.

So wow, that was some storm that rolled through the Big Apple last night in the tri-state area; lesser storms expected today but nonetheless there are a few showers that are rumbling across that area right now.

The other big weather story, the heat, Louisville, Kentucky saw 90 yesterday; Chattanooga, Tennessee, 89; San Francisco, 86; and D.C., Dulles, 86 degrees; and Atlanta tied a record high of 86 degrees, as well. And again, this is the middle of the October. And that was Columbus Day, yesterday. 82 expected in D.C., again, today with some showers; 91 potentially a record in San Francisco. Let's talk tropics. Hurricane Paula, winds of 75 miles an hour. It's about -- well, less than 200 miles now South of Cozumel and heading in that direction on the northwesterly move of about 10 miles an hour. Not a very big storm. Winds only go out about ten miles from the center on this thing but it will probably batter the Eastern shores of the Yucatan here over the next 36 hours and that would include Cancun.

Here's the forecast track. We bring it to Category 1 status. If it gets any stronger than that, then it will likely get caught up in the deeper layer of -- of the steering winds and maybe go a little bit farther to the north towards Florida.

But right now, here's where the uncertainty is and it does include parts of the Keys so watching this very, very tricky forecast and potentially powerful storm here as it moves north towards the Gulf of Mexico.

That's a quick weather update. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifty-one minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has brought us some inspiring stories for his special series "The Human Factor". And this morning Sanjay profiles a Boston college football star who's defied the odds, beating cancer and getting back on the playing field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he leads his team on to the field, you can see it. Mark Herzlich, number 94, is fierce. He's dedicated. He's a devoted team player.

MARK HERZLICH, BOSTON COLLEGE LINEBACKER: You know, football is really my life blood to be honest right now.

GUPTA: Few things have ever stood in this linebacker's way. Not his opponents on the football field but not even cancer.

HERZLICH: My whole left leg was completely white meaning there was a tumor that surrounded my whole femur.

GUPTA: It was during his junior year at Boston College, the former ACC Defensive Player of the Year developed a pain in his leg that simply wouldn't go away. Many doctor visits later, he was given a devastating diagnosis, Hewing sarcoma; it's a rare, often deadly form of bone cancer that strikes roughly one of every 600,000 people.

HERZLICH: And I went from -- when am I playing football again to -- when am I going to start treatments? What are my treatments are going to be and what's chemotherapy like? Am I going to live? GUPTA: He started a rigorous treatment schedule: chemotherapy for two straight months and additional radiation sessions before and after every chemo visit. His motivation always being to get healthy and to get back to playing football.

HERZLICH: If I knew that if I got back on the field, then I would have come full circle, I'd have beaten the cancer or I'd have gotten my physical strength back, and to be where I want to be and once again, you know, be happy doing the thing I love to do.

GUPTA: That internal drive, it's what helped Herzlich mount a triumphant return. Now, he's cancer free. He's back to playing football this fall. And football fans, young and old, well, they're celebrating with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we love everything about Mark Herzlich up here in these stands.

HERZLICH: You can do incredible things as a human being. You know? You can defy the odds. Even if someone says you're not going to be able to make it, you're not going to be able to do this or that you can push yourself and have that will to get there and I got there.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: A very fortunate young man.

CHETRY: Yes amazing.

ROBERTS: He looks scary on the field or what?

CHETRY: Yes. Well, I guess that's what -- that was the point when you have that makeup on.

ROBERTS: We wouldn't want to see that coming.

Well, move over Susan Boyle. Check out who just won "China's Got Talent" by playing the piano with his feet. It's the video that you must see coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's four minutes now to the top of the hour. This young man brought his -- brought the crowd to its feet with his toes.

CHETRY: Yes this is pretty amazing.

Jeanne Moos shows us the piano virtuoso with no arms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know how people talk about someone having the hands of a pianist? Make that the feet. You are listening to the winner of "China's Got Talent", talent down to the toes. Twenty-three-year-old Liu Wei has no arms but he disarmed the judges with his feet.

His first appearance back in August he played an all-instrumental piece, a piece that brought at least one judge to tears. After losing both arms, he learned to dress, swim, use a computer and write. So it wasn't such a stretch for him to start tickling the ivories with his toes at the age of 19.

Four years later, he's helped make "China's Got Talent" that country's most popular. Liu Wei was 10 when he lost his arms in an accident. He touched a wire and got shocked while playing hide and seek.

Now, he's the one electrifying audiences. He told the judges at least I have a pair of perfect legs. We've seen legwork before on piano keys, from the movie "Big" to a Swedish stairway, designed to entice people into taking the stairs rather than the escalator.

But this type of toe work led to cramps and abrasions when he first started.

A bit of irony, guess who sponsored the competition won by an armless guy playing piano with his feet?

Liu Wei, head and shoulders above the competition with toes that are truly touching.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: That is truly, truly remarkable.

CHETRY: It's unbelievable. And he's just as able to almost live a long, normal life.

ROBERTS: I can't flex my foot without getting a calf cramp, you know.

CHETRY: Well, he's -- I mean, obviously you get better and better and better at it over the years.

ROBERTS: I'll keep working on flexing my foot then.

CHETRY: Good luck with that.

ROBERTS: Do it without --

Finally, one more piece of video that you have to see. Brett Favre last night on Monday Night Football threw, here it is for you, 37-yard (ph) to Randy Moss. Oh. Perfect 500th career touchdown pass. Congratulations. Unfortunately, not enough, though because the Jets beat the Vikings 29-20.

CHETRY: Yes. Because of the other play that we showed you before when he's pass was intercepted. ROBERTS: There. He threw another touchdown pass, this one to the Jets, though. Look at that. Perfect. Laid it right up. So it's going to be good pairing for the rest of the season, I think. Looking forward to seeing more of that.

CHETRY: I thought you were going to say something else.

ROBERTS: No.

CHETRY: It will be good pairing for the rest of the season.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: Ok. Good.

ROBERTS: Yes. Definitely. Looking forward to more.

CHETRY: Go, Jets.

Meanwhile that's going to do it for us today. We will be back here tomorrow bright and early. And of course, we'll be watching all day as the rescue gets under way for those miners in Chile.

ROBERTS: Yes, meantime I'm going to see the doc because I sound like a Muppet this morning.

"CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Good morning, Kyra.