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American Morning

Kentucky Horse Race: Rand Paul-Jack Conway Bring the Heat; Countdown to Midterms in Tampa; Illinois Senate Fight; Too Hot for "Glee"; Losing the American Dream

Aired October 22, 2010 - 07:00   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 and thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's a Friday. It's the 22nd of October. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for being with us this morning. A look at the top stories now.

A retired marine leaps off a subway platform onto the tracks to rescue a commuter who had a medical emergency and could not get off the tracks. They came within feet of disaster. We're going to find what was going through his mind when he talks to us live in less than five minutes.

ROBERTS: It's what the Democrats have been waiting for -- thousands of people showing up for president Obama's rallies in the west as Democrats try to hang on to their Senate seats. Just 11 days left now. Is it too late to make a difference? "The Best Political Team in Television" is breaking down the stretch to the polls this morning.

CHETRY: "Glee" gone wild. They're adults but they play high school kids on the hottest TV show watched by many nine and ten year olds in some cases.

Well, now the cast of "Glee" is taking heat for a naughty schoolgirl spread in "GQ" magazine. We talk about whether they went too far or whether it's on the parents to draw the line.

ROBERTS: One of the questions, what are nine-year-olds and 10- year-olds doing watching that program?

Up first, the Most Politics in the Morning. Now 11 days until America votes. Republican, Democrats, the president all out stumping and struggling to either get or hang on to power in Washington.

CHETRY: Yes, the power is what it's all about here. Right now as many as six Senate seats are considered a tossup, 45 tossup races in the House of Representatives, and 13 governor's races up for grabs, as well.

"The Best Political Team on TV" has every corner of the country covered this morning. We have Jim Acosta in Louisville, Brianna Keilar in Chicago for this morning, T.J. Holmes on the election express in Tampa, Florida, this morning, and Ed Henry traveling with the president out in California.

ROBERTS: We begin with the president on a long campaign swing right now, five states in four days through Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and Minnesota, stumping across the west for many Senate incumbents, including Barbara Boxer and Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Critics say these races will be a referendum on his leadership. But the message at every stop has been the same, that it's not the Democrats' fault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The Republicans took America's car and drove it into the ditch.

(LAUGHTER)

And it was a really deep ditch.

And we had a whole bunch of folks like Joe Sestak helping us push that car out of the ditch. And we're down there pushing, pushing, pushing on the car.

And so we pushed and we pushed and every once in a while we'd look up and up on the road you'd see the Republicans standing there, fanning themselves, sipping on a slurpy.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: Ed Henry joins us live from the campaign trail in Burlingame, California. Oh, my goodness, an interesting theme the president has got going there. But an indication this whirlwind trip of his, just how dire the situation is for Democrats?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No doubt that the Democrats are on the defensive. Now that we have a calendar of where the president is going to be going that final weekend in addition to this swing, we now know from the Democratic National Committee the president is going to be going all out that final weekend, Halloween weekend, couple days before the November 2nd election.

First of all, Sunday, we should point out, October 31st, he'll actually be going to Cleveland, Ohio. This is going to be his 12th trip to Ohio. You've got a big Senate race there, but also a much closer gubernatorial battle there, the president trying to pull out the stops there.

But Saturday, what's really fascinating, that final Saturday of this midterm election season, the president's going to be hitting Philadelphia, significant because Joe Sestak, who you heard the president mention there, had been given up for dead by pundits a couple weeks back. All of a sudden he's in a dead heat with Pat Toomey, the Republican there. Pennsylvania, a critical one the Democrats want to have.

The president also going that Saturday Bridgeport, Connecticut, trying to help Dick Blumenthal. That's going to be a big Senate race as well.

And then finally, worth noting, the president is going to his home of Chicago that final Saturday. This is a city they never wanted to be going to so late. They thought they'd have even the president's home state locked up by now, but with the Democratic candidate having a hard time beating Mark Kirk, the Republican, even the president has to go to his hometown that final weekend. It shows how much they're on the defensive in the final days, John.

ROBERTS: And in these final days, the Democratic National Committee is throwing lots of money into Hispanic media, more than $1 million invested so far. That's the largest in a non-presidential election year. President Obama doing Hispanic radio interview in Los Angeles this afternoon, really going after the Hispanic vote.

Do they -- do Democrats think that's solid ground for them to get some votes out of it, because a lot of the Hispanic community not too happy with the Republican Party these days?

HENRY: Yes. They think they're going to try to capitalize on that. It's significant. The president is going to be speaking Spanish in some of those ads they've been running on Univision.

But also they believe here in this state of California, those kinds of ads, that radio interview you mentioned he's doing right here, that will be important with the Hispanic population.

But also, Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the president going to Las Vegas later today, strong Hispanic population there as well. To give you a sense of how worried the White House is about Harry Reid, not only is the president going there today, Vice President Biden was in Nevada a couple of days ago.

We now know first lady Michelle Obama on November 1st, the day before the election, she's going to Las Vegas, as well. They're very nervous about Harry Reid.

ROBERTS: All right, Ed Henry for us this morning. We'll see if the president locks up the 7-Eleven vote, as well.

Our election coverage continues this morning. At ten minutes after the hour Jim Acosta covering what has become one of the nastiest Senate races, the one in Kentucky between Rand Paul and Jack Conway.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, new this morning, a new full-time job for fired NPR newsman Juan Williams. FOX News now signing him to a two- year -- reportedly -- multimillion dollar deal. He had been a contributor at the network, but his role will now be expanded. Williams' contract with NPR was terminated Wednesday, two days after he told Fox's Bill O'Reilly that he gets nervous when he sees people wearing Muslim garb on planes.

ROBERTS: And effective immediately, only five senior officials at the Pentagon now have the power to discharge an openly gay member of the military. That order coming in a memo from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Some people are calling it a moratorium on "don't ask, don't tell" until the future of the policy is decided in court.

ROBERTS: Well, what would you do if a stranger fell off a train platform on to the tracks right into the path of an oncoming train? Would you jump in and help?

CHETRY: Well, it wasn't even a question for 57-year-old Dimas Pinzon. He didn't hesitate. He jumped over a fully electrified third rail and dashed across a set of tracks to help save the victim. Dimas Pinzon joins us on the phone from Rosalind, Virginia this morning.

Thanks for joining us this morning. Congratulations on this act that many are saying is really heroic. You saved this guy's life. What were you thinking when you saw him fall?

DEMUS PINZON, RESCUED MAN (via telephone): That's a good question, because you know, things happen so fast. You have no time to really think. You're -- you're just not thinking, you're just reacting.

ROBERTS: You reacted and reacted quickly. We pointed out that you're a retired marine. Did combat training have anything to do with this? Have you ever seen action?

PINZON: Actually, I have not seen action. I've been close to it, but I have not actually been in a fire fight. But in actuality, the training that you get in the Marine Corps does prepare you for situations like this where you have an instinctive reaction to a situation.

CHETRY: Right. And let's show the video again so we can walk people through what was happening as this happened. We see the guy fall on the other side. There he is, apparently. There's reporting that he may have had an epileptic seizure. You knew those tracks were electrified, right?

PINZON: Oh, yes, yes. My father was a -- was a third rail man at a power distribution supervisor up in New York City subway system. And when I was -- when I was a kid back in the '50s my father used to take me on the job and take us down into the subway system and taught me all about what to touch, what not to touch.

So I attribute all my knowledge and experience of the subway system to him.

ROBERTS: Wow, even so, though, Dimas, you leapt on to two of those third rails with such confidence. And there's either -- I know in New York City there's a piece of wood on top, there's a piece of wood or concrete in the metro system in D.C.

But there's a guy who follows behind you, the guy in the orange shirt. He gets close to doing what you did and thinks better of it. But, my goodness, if one little slip there and that would have been it for you.

PINZON: Well, thank god I had pretty good footing. But I think that -- I knew where I was stepping. I stepped on the second rail, jumped up on to the center platform, and I knew where the third rail was on the other side. And I jumped very clear of that.

And my next -- my next position was right behind that gentleman that, you know, we helped up on to the platform.

CHETRY: Just amazing. You were certainly the guardian angel for the man that was injured because you were supposed to be in California. Your travel plans were canceled. And there you were and you knew exactly what to do. Congratulations. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

PINZON: Thank you, I appreciate.

ROBERTS: Guy doing the right thing.

CHETRY: He's a marine, his dad -- he grew up knowing what to do when it comes to the third rail.

ROBERTS: It's interesting the way he said the military training, the instincts just kicked right in and off he went.

CHETRY: Congrats. He saved a life, most likely.

(WEATHER BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up, the Kentucky Senate race is heating up over a controversial attack ad. Jim Acosta goes one-on-one with both candidates, Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway.

CHETRY: Also, do you have problems reading street signs when you're driving? Now the federal government rules say you do and now your state and city is going to have to figure out a way at the cost of the taxpayer to make those signs more readable. Tell us what you think. It's 12 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back. We're covering the Most Politics in the Morning now at 14 minutes after the hour. Well, 11 days and counting until the all-important midterm elections. One of the country's nastiest races is in Kentucky. Republican candidate and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul has five-point lead over Jack Conway in the latest poll.

CHETRY: Yes, the Senate race is getting a lot of attention because of a Democratic attack ad that questions Paul's religious beliefs and suggests that he worshipped a false god. Jim Acosta spoke with both candidates. He is live in Louisville for us this morning. And what's been the reaction to that ad?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you talk to people on the street here in Kentucky, I mean, they will tell you they have seen this ad running over and over again. And frankly, they're a little sick of it. And they're not alone after catching up with both of these candidates, Rand Paul and Jack Conway on the campaign trail, we found out that they do have something in common, they're both tired of talking about Aqua Buddha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul stopped at this factory to talk taxes, but the issue in this Kentucky horse race this week can be summed up in two words. Aqua Buddha.

RAND PAUL, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Do we want to have a religious test in our country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible a hoax that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The Aqua Buddha ad run by Democrat Jack Conway accuses Paul accuses Paul of belonging to a group in college that mocked Christianity. The ad cites an anonymous woman who told the "Washington Post" Paul's group had her pray to a false idol named Aqua Buddha. Paul denies it all.

PAUL: I've never written or said anything un-Christian in my life. And for him to accuse me of that I think is just inappropriate and he really ought to be ashamed of himself.

ACOSTA (on camera): And to set the record straight once and for all, you're saying that what was said in that ad is untrue?

PAUL: Absolutely.

ACOSTA: All of it?

PAUL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jack.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But Paul's not the only candidate who's finished with Aqua Buddha.

JACK CONWAY (D-KY), SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not questioning Rand Paul's faith, I'm questioning his actions.

ACOSTA: As we tried to press Conway on the ad and other issues, the Democratic contender fired back.

(on camera): I was told we were going to have an interview with you.

CONWAY: I'm happy to sit here and answer your questions.

ACOSTA: Is it because of the ad? Is it because you feel like maybe I shouldn't have done this?

CONWAY: Have I failed to answer any questions about this ad? Have I failed to go answer for CNN? Have I failed to go on Matt Lauer?

ACOSTA (voice-over): Conway who opposes the bailout but supports the new health care law is to win in a state where President Obama is deeply unpopular. No surprise, then, that he prefers former President Clinton.

CONWAY: And I'll just wrap up by quoting Bill Clinton who was in last week and I think is probably coming back.

ACOSTA: -- instead of Mr. Obama on the trail.

(on camera): Do you want the president to campaign with you here in Kentucky between now and election day?

CONWAY: Look, this campaign is about me versus Rand Paul.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Conway's latest line of attack is that Paul once supported scrapping the income tax in favor of something called the fair tax. It's essentially a 23 percent national sales tax on all purchases. Paul told CNN he's open to it but not sold on it.

PAUL: I've always said that I support any tax reform that lowers taxes on everyone. And so that's sort of the rule of thumb that would have to be and that simplifies the tax code. There are various ways to do that. That might be one of the alternatives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And getting back to that Aqua Buddha ad, Rand Paul says he's so fired up over this that he may drop out of the upcoming candidate debate between him and Jack Conway that is scheduled for Monday. And he is supposed to have a definitive answer on that later today -- John and Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning. Thanks so much.

Also coming up at 7:30 Eastern, the Illinois Senate race, also a major battleground for Democrats trying to preserve the majority. Brianna Keilar is going to be live in Chicago with the latest.

ROBERTS: And a nasty message to a congressman, a toxic delivery, white powder in an envelope. And that's not all. Details on that coming up. Nineteen minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-one and a half minutes after the hour. We're back with some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. First up, Mel Gibson dropped his cameo role in the sequel of the hit film "The Hangover." Not going to happen. Director Todd Phillips said too many members of the cast and crew just simply did not want to work with him.

CHETRY: Should have figured that out before they actually told people and publicized it.

ROBERTS: He announced it. But I know how much you're looking forward to the "Hangover 2."

CHETRY: Can't wait. Number one was such a masterpiece.

ROBERTS: It was.

CHETRY: Well, talk about an expense that no one needs in these tough economic times. The federal government is now ordering some communities or all communities across the country to tear down every street sign that has all caps. I think they have to exempt stop signs, correct?

ROBERTS: Yes. That's probably got to be in all caps.

CHETRY: Well, they want them to be replaced with signs with upper and lower case lettering claiming that it's easier especially for older people to read. Some of these cities though say it's going to cost millions. Where is this money going to come from?

ROBERTS: Right. They're claiming that there will be fewer traffic accidents and the whole thing eventually will pay for itself.

Well, we're asking the question this morning, what's hotter than Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima? How about Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima in a $2 million bra? There it is, eye-popping to say the least. The bra and the model will be seen on a Victoria's Secret fashion show special on CBS next month. The bra is set in 18 karat gold, features more than 3,000 white diamonds totaling 60--

CHETRY: And can we look at her for a second? You know what's even more not fair?

ROBERTS: You can look at her for more than a second if you like.

CHETRY: OK. This is her first big modeling big debut post baby. So that's what she looks like after being with child.

ROBERTS: Another reason to hate her, right? Sixty carats of diamonds, by the way.

CHETRY: Well, another big bunch of money -- I keep staring, just keep looking at that picture. That's not natural, I just mean like the whole bra, the whole -- defying of gravity.

Anyway, everyone is wondering who stuffed --

(LAUGHTER)

$10,000 into the box, what did you think I was talking about? Into the donation box at the 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial site.

ROBERTS: Mention the word.

CHETRY: Usually they fill it with coins, you know, $1, $10. Well, this one was jammed with 99 $100 bills and five 20s.

ROBERTS: Isn't that great?

CHETRY: And rescue workers now say they want to meet the donor. They know that they wanted to be anonymous, obviously, but they really want to say thanks.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, I guess the donor does want to remain anonymous.

Well, you rarely see a bike rider without a helmet these days and if you do, you can tell them to put one on. But would you wear this thing on your head? It's a new high-tech cycling helmet from our pals (ph) in Sweden. It's got motion sensors, rapidly inflates into an air-filled cushion when it detects an impact. Yes, that's how they test these things. Goes on sale next year for 50 bucks. As a person who's fallen on his head off of a bicycle, with a helmet on I can say it's probably a great idea.

CHETRY: Yes. I was going to say is that, is that video of you in Central Park?

ROBERTS: No.

CHETRY: You never know when you're biking and the taxis are racing through there.

ROBERTS: I didn't get hit by a car. I got cut off by a car and that caused me to go down.

CHETRY: Yikes. All right. Well, they're taking no prisoners in the race of the Illinois Senate seat that was once held by President Obama, of course. Well, now, we're going to be live in Chicago where this race is getting heated. Brianna Keilar is there just ahead.

Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning. We're in the final days of the midterm election campaign. CNN has it covered like no one else. The Election Express has been rolling coast to coast taking America's political pulse. And this morning, the big bus is making a stop in Tampa, Florida. Our T.J. Holmes is talking to young people about their job search in this tough economic climate about the state that has been hit especially hard.

Hi, T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The big bus? That sounds so offensive. You have to be sensitive, Kiran. You have to be a little sweeter and nicer.

CHETRY: No, I was looking -- it was totally in control of the road. We had a great shot of it rolling down the road.

HOLMES: That's what you mean?

CHETRY: The big bus.

HOLMES: The big bus. OK. That's all right.

Good morning to you, Kiran. Always good to see you. I fear you guys put me in the wrong block. I heard you all talking the last block about, you know, "The Hangover," a masterpiece of American filmmaking and also bras or something I heard you guys talking about. But I will take this block here, nonetheless.

We're here on the campus of the University of South Florida. Home of the Bulls here. This is our second campus in two days. But again, this is day five, stop number six on this bus tour. We landed here and ended up here in Tampa because it's going to be a big weekend in politics here in the state of Florida. A big Senate race going on. Also, a big gubernatorial race happening. And CNN is going to be playing a role on Sunday and Monday. Our Candy Crowley is actually going to be here on the campus. We're next to the Marshall Student Center here where she is going to be moderating the Senate debate on Sunday and then on Monday, John King is actually going to be doing the gubernatorial debate here.

So a big weekend. We made our way down. We have been hitting college campuses. A couple, certainly being talking to college students along the way about what their concerns are. Everybody talking about these young people going to come out. They're going to be engaged. Are they going to support the president this time around?

Well, you take a listen to the theme now what we found on our road trip this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think most of the people at the university right now are worried about jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little concerned about when I get out of college.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You start off in January and you get kind of nervous because you're immediately thinking you don't know what you're going to do soon. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's because we're all going to graduate and enter that job market. And if there's nothing available, suddenly that's a wake-up call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, Kiran, you hear the theme there. And they know there's a lot on the line. They know there's a lot going on. But quite frankly, Kiran, a lot of them we found are busy looking for jobs, working jobs now to pay for tuition increases, a 15 percent increase in tuition hike in the state of Florida at universities just this year. So they know what's going on. They know what's at stake. They know what's happening out there, but just not engaged in the midterms because unlike last time, as we know, they don't have that transformational figure at the top of the ballot. Someone that can click his name. So not engaged, necessarily, even though they have a whole lot on the line.

CHETRY: Yes. It's interesting. These dashed expectations. A lot of young people say they don't know if anybody can really solve it. They didn't feel that way two years ago. So it is a tough situation. T.J. Holmes for us on the Election Express. The tiny little compact wonderful bus. Thanks, T.J..

Well, this Sunday morning on "State of the Union," host Candy Crowley will be moderating a debate between the three candidates in the Florida Senate race that is Sunday at 9:00 a.m. right here on CNN.

Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour right now. Time to look at the top stories. One out of three kids born today will develop diabetes at some point in their lifetime. These are troubling new projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the next four decades. Right now they say it's one in 10. The report says obesity is a big factor.

ROBERTS: Supersizing of America, no question.

The FBI trying to figure out who mailed a toxic powder to Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva's office in Tucson. Also inside the envelope, swastikas that were drawn on two sheets of paper. Agents are analyzing the powder at a lab, trying to figure out exactly what was mailed to the congressman.

CHETRY: Part of the California shopping mall in ruins after a tense standoff with a fast-food clerk. Police say the man who claimed to have a gun barricaded himself inside of a video game store just north of Sacramento and then set a fire. He was arrested, no one was hurt.

ROBERTS: Well, now to the race to the Senate Chicago style. The battle for the Illinois seat once held by President Obama has been a rough and tumble affair. Getting into the campaign's final days, the polls show the Republican candidate Mark Kirk leading his Democratic opponent Mark Giannoulias by four points now.

Brianna Keilar is tracking this one for us and she is live in Chicago. This one pretty rough and tumble, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, John. And it just goes to show you really what a tough election season it is to be a Democrat when for this Senate seat, a Republican really has a shot. And this is a race that has become a down and dirty fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (Voice-over): The race for the Illinois Senate seat once held by President Obama is getting nasty. Illinois's young state treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, the democratic candidate has been billed by Republicans as a "mob banker."

ANNOUNCER: He'd make Tony Soprano proud.

KEILAR: They point to the years Giannoulias spent as an executive in his family's bank, which lent money to a convicted bookey and was seized by the government in April. Giannoulias is hitting back against allegations of wrong doing.

ALEX GIANNOULIAS (D), ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: I say that's offensive. Hurtful, wrong, inaccurate, that's shameful. No one has ever, ever even suggested the bank has ever done anything illegal, elicit, or improper, and I'm very proud of the bank that my father started, the community bank that my father started 30 years ago.

KEILAR: The Republican in the race five-term congressman Mark Kirk has his own Achilles heel, multiple misstatements about his military service as an intelligence office in the Navy Reserves. Service he highlights on his official web site.

ANNOUNCER: Mark Kirk lied about serving in Iraq and a lot else.

KEILAR: Kirk said he was shot at in Iraq, that he served in the gulf war, and that he won the Navy's intelligence officer of the year award. All of which are not true.

(on camera): Were you careless in your remarks?

KEILAR: Absolutely. And you correct that. That's right. And I misstated parts of my military record. But in the Navy, we're trained to take responsibility and be accountable for your people, for your unit, and for your mission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Something else that really makes this race here unique, it's one of three Senate races where the winner doesn't wait until the new congress in January to be seated. They will actually take their seats some time after the November 2nd election because they are being elected to replace someone who is appointed to fill a vacancy. So John, that's somebody, possibly here if it's a Republican who can really affect President Obama's agenda immediately and perhaps no coincidence, the president will be campaigning here next weekend. ROBERTS: All right. Certainly could, you know, put more of a dent in that majority they once had that was filibuster-proof. Brianna Keilar for us this morning. Brianna, thanks.

KEILAR: Exactly.

CHETRY: Well, for a number of reasons, we're upset that coffee is getting more expensive. It's the only thing that keeps this ship running sometimes. Prices are taking off with coffee futures breaking through to $2 a pound. This is the first time it's been that high in 13 years. They're blaming some wet weather in parts of the Caribbean, also heavy rains which hurt crops there.

ROBERTS: Engineers in South Carolina are wrecking homes on purpose. Check out this $40 million state-of-the-art hurricane simulator. It was built for the insurance industry. Dozens of gigantic fans blow gusts close to 100 miles an hour. Two houses are tested side by side, one of them especially designed to withstand hurricanes.

CHETRY: And the other one clearly not.

ROBERTS: Clearly not.

It's like the big, bad wolf. Do you want the house of sticks or do you want the house made of straw or the one made of brick?

CHETRY: Yes. I definitely want the one on the left.

ROBERTS: Slides right away. They should've nailed that one down.

CHETRY: Yes, maybe.

Well, an ugly free (INAUDIBLE) junior league football game in Hamilton, Canada. A team visiting from Montreal rushed the grand stand. They started fighting, the brawl began with just seconds left to play. The players claim that a fan behind the bench hit one of them with a beer can. Montreal coach has now resigned. The league is investigating. So far, though, no one's been charged.

ROBERTS: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: Oh, Canada.

ROBERTS: There's my peeps.

CHETRY: Proud moment.

ROBERTS: So diplomacy, Canadian style.

The "Glee" girls strip down for "GQ." All the actors are really in their mid-20s. Of course, they play teens, but the Parents Television Council says the shoot borders on pedophilia. So is it too hot for "Glee?" We'll debate it coming up next.

Thirty-six minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHETRY: The hubby is a Phillies fan and I told him last night that he can't watch it because of the Cablevision-Fox dispute, he can't actually see the game.

ROBERTS: And you haven't gone with a different, Direct TV or Verizon?

CHETRY: Yes, they'll get back to us in what, six months?

ROBERTS: Actually, they may get back to you in about 30 seconds now they we mentioned it on television.

CHETRY: I said don't go watch the game, they'll stay alive. If you go watch it, they'll be out. So that was my little prediction. I end up being right. The Phillies do stay alive. They were playing the San Francisco Giants and they beat them last night 4-2. And that means the NLCS goes on back home to Philadelphia for game six. Phillies fans hoping for a game seven as well. The Giants, though, still lead the series.

ROBERTS: Now, I have nothing against either Philadelphia or Texas, but I think that a Yankees-Giants series would be a great cross-country battle. That's just me.

CHETRY: In interest of harmony in the home front.

ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Reynolds Wolf is in Atlanta for us this morning. Good morning, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Guys, this is interesting. That'd be a great match-up when you think about it. The Yankees and the Giants. (INAUDIBLE) that could have been, you know, those old New York series, now you have an east and west coast thing.

ROBERTS: Exactly.

WOLF: Hey, the game tonight, guys, take a look at this. The Yankees and the Rangers, is going to get started first pitch around 8:00 p.m., chance of storms, yes, very likely. In fact, by the first pitch, we could have temperatures in the 80s. That rain cool air moves in, it could change everything, be in the 70s at this time.

And speaking of that game which will be taking place in Arlington, probably just a little bit further out to the west, there was rough weather near Lubbock. In fact, in (INAUDIBLE) Texas, we have some video to share with you of some pretty intense hail that came in, not baseball size but certainly close to golf ball size at this point. We could see more of that develop in parts of west and central Texas as well as central Oklahoma as we make our way through the mid day and afternoon hours. But it's all due to this frontal boundary that we that's zooming through there. 72 degrees would be your expected high.

Let's go back to the maps. Here you go. You can see a lot of impulses right here on parts of i-40, i-35 also. (INAUDIBLE) west Texas and we're also going to zoom in on parts of the northeast where we're seeing a little bit of light precipitation from Rochester back to Syracuse, along 81 and down towards Binghamton. Much of the precipitation very, very light. Not affecting much on the ground in the low, but in can tell you just to wrap things up, any regional flights in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, might have some delays due to crosswinds. So just keep that in mind.

More on your travel weather coming up in mere moments, plus we're going to take a look at the tropics. Things very active with tropical storm, Richard.

Back to you.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to that. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

Well, the show is about teenagers in high school. But the actors and actresses are all in their 20s. So the new spread for "GQ." Is it too much for gleeks? We'll debate that coming up next. It's 42 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: It's 45 minutes after the hour. It's one of the hottest shows on television, but many critics are saying a photo spread of the cast of "Glee" in "GQ" magazine is way too hot for many young Gleeks as they call themselves.

The women dressed as naughty schoolgirls. Now the actors are in their 20s, they just play high school girls on television. But the Parents' Television Council has gone as far as to say these pictures border on pedophilia.

Joining us now is Melissa Henson. She's from the Parents' Television Council and Robert Thompson, a media professor at Syracuse Universtiy.

Melissa, let's start with you and first of all, our apologies you're on the television with us this morning. We had some technical difficulties there in Los Angeles where you are, but the council issued a very, very strong statement calling these photographs, quote, "near pornographic."

They border on pedophilia, as we said. The fact, though, while they play teens, the actresses are in their 20s. Is that a fair statement?

MELISSA HENSON, PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL (via telephone): Well, absolutely you're right. The actresses that play these characters are in their 20s, but they are fetishizing high school girls in a way thing is very damaging not only to the adult male readers of "GQ" magazine, but also to the teenage fans of "Glee." You know the young girls that watch the show and admire the actors and actresses on that show are going to walk away with the impression that this is acceptable, that this was even desirable behavior. This is what's expected of them.

ROBERTS: What do you say, Robert, to that argument? And also, you know, when you look at the show, the show itself is not exactly tame.

ROBERT THOMPSON, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, BLEIER CENTER FOR TELEVISION AND POPULAR CULTURE: That's right. I think there's two claims made by the Parents Television Council that really have to be examined.

First, this bordering on pedophilia. This is not bordering on pedophilia. There is nothing even close to pedophilia here. These actors as you point out are in their mid-20s and, I think that's a pretty serious charge that might be bordering on litigatable.

I mean, it minimizes what real pedophilia is. It's also not near pornography. Those are racy photographs, but I get unsolicited catalogs in the mail weekly with similar kinds of things and any trip to the beach would show that, as well. The second claim they make --

ROBERTS: Go ahead.

THOMPSON: The second claim they make, though, is this masquerades as a family show. This has never been masqueraded as a family show. The pilot episode has the teacher, the main character buying pot from a former teacher who's no longer a teacher because of inappropriate touching.

He then plants that pot on the -- or main character so he gets kicked off the football team so he can join the Glee Club. This never masqueraded as being appropriate for young children. It's been a racy show from the very first episode.

ROBERTS: And the point is also being made to the "GQ" is not a magazine for teens or kids who are younger. Melissa, Diana Agron who plays Queen in the series Glee said this on her blog.

She said, quote, "If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. And if your 8-year-old has a copy of our "GQ" cover at hand, again, I'm sorry, but I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?" What do you say?

HENSON: The concern really isn't the likelihood that 8-year-olds are going to wind up with copies of "GQ." However, these images have been now spread all over the Internet. So they are very easily accessible to young fans of the show.

But beyond that, it is, again, the issue of fetishizing the high school-aged girls. These women are wearing as you said at the beginning of the segment, naughty schoolgirl outfits, they are posed in a high school-like setting.

They are known only for their roles as high school-aged characters. They are promoting the image of sexualizing of young girls, which I think as I said before is a very dangerous message to be sending to the adult male readers of "GQ" and a damaging message for young girl who is are fans of the show.

To the point the show's appropriateness for young viewers, I absolutely agree, it is completely inappropriate for young viewers, but that does not mean it has not been aggressively marketed to the young viewers.

With only one episode having aired, it was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards. That was not enough for it to have built a substantial following. So therefore it's pretty obvious that Fox was intentionally trying to market it to young viewers by getting it in the nominees list.

ROBERTS: So what do you say to that, Robert, the argument by Melissa that this is fetishizing teenagers even if the actresses and actors aren't teenagers. Do they bear some responsibility? And does the show bear some responsibility to their teen audience even though this really is a show by adults for adults?

THOMPSON: Well, do we -- I mean, do we sexualize young women in this culture? Absolutely. "Glee," commercials, everywhere it has been for a long time.

Fetishizing teenagers, however, is one thing if we're talking about actual human beings who aren't teenagers. We also have to distinguish what we mean by a young viewer.

The AP story talked about how many people loved this show that are 8 and 9 years old, which I think a parent shouldn't be letting 8 and 9-year-olds watch it though they do.

Let's remember. It comes on with a big TV 14 rating on it at the very beginning. To simply say OK, parents aren't keeping their 8 and 9 year olds from watching this so therefore we've got to quit doing it.

Then I suppose you have to make the argument that we shouldn't let anybody with the little kids in the house have a gun or a liquor cabinet or a car because if they're such incompetent parents that they can't control them.

Those things are more dangerous than the chance that may see a picture of a couple of pretty girls in their panties.

ROBERTS: Well, certainly, this whole thing is getting a whole lot more buzz than it maybe the "Glee" would have gotten and certainly will draw a lot more people of all ages to watch it. Robert Thompson, Melissa Henson, thank you for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

HENSON: Thank you.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The other problem -- I'm sorry. I mean, my kids are not watching "Glee."

ROBERTS: I hope not. They're 2 and 4.

CHETRY: Yes, I'm just saying --

ROBERTS: That would be very young.

CHETRY: Right, but -- all the billboard hits right now, "Glee," you know, the songs, I mean, it's just out there. It's out there and the kids hear it whether it's pop radio or not. Why are their friends talking about it? I mean, it's difficult.

ROBERTS: And I'm sure that a lot of teenagers really get involved, too, in the storyline.

CHETRY: You're a father of a now older teen but -- daughter.

ROBERTS: Yes. She is 19.

CHETRY: Right. When she was 14, would you want her idolizing --

ROBERTS: No, I wouldn't.

CHETRY: Would you want her wearing those, you know, sport socks and pink heels.

ROBERTS: No. She went to a concert once, and she and friends all did this. They all -- they went to a Britney Spears show. One of the most famous episodes of "Glee" of course, is the Britney Spears episode, which the Parents Television Council called it an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation and school sanction burlesque.

But she and her friends went to the Britney Spears concert dressed in various incarnations of Britney Spears and I know that it was just fun, but I was a little uncomfortable with it.

CHETRY: To say the least.

ROBERTS: I mean, I won't show you the photograph, but I was a little uncomfortable with it.

CHETRY: All right. Well, anyway, we'd like to hear your opinion, as well, cnn.com/amfix. A lot of good thoughts out there this morning.

Meanwhile, he spoke his mind about Muslims on planes. He lost his job because of it. Well, now, ex-NPR analyst Juan Williams has a new gig at Fox News and a bunch of allies in the Republican Party. The latest on a growing free speech controversy at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: It's 56 minutes past the hour right now. It's the American dream, a home to call your own, a swimming pool in the backyard. But for millions of Americans, debt is a slippery slope that can turn that dream into a nightmare. Soledad O'Brien now with a couple's story. Their middle class lifestyle in jeopardy and they have turned to a higher power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not nervous. I'm just not nervous. Are you nervous?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going with positive thoughts, bringing a positive spirit, positive vibe.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doug Jeffries is a luxury car salesman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the one with the big family?

O'BRIEN: His wife, Mary is a high end real estate broker, but they haven't paid their own mortgage in two years and now they could lose it all. Today, they're headed to a meeting with the housing counselor who's working to save their home.

(on camera): Do you remember the day you moved in?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: October 12th, 2002. It was rainy, cold.

O'BRIEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a messiest day.

O'BRIEN: That's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it was sunshine in our hearts.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): They lived in a 3,500-square foot four bedroom home on a corner lot complete with a three-car garage for their BMWs.

MARY JEFFRIES, LOSING HOME TO DEBT: This is the living room. I'm a girl from Newark, New Jersey. We grew up in a one-bedroom apartment and it was four girls and one boy.

So I would always say, I can't wait until I get grown. I'm going to buy the biggest house. I'm going to do this. The pool probably would have been back there, the deck, the pool and a tennis court.

You don't know what the next person is doing, but I think there's some psychology in the African-American community around spending that's connected with having felt less than and wanting to feel as good as.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's give God some praise.

O'BRIEN: The Jeffries are drowning in the kind of debt their pastor Buster Sories preaches against just about every Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live within your means. People that don't manage their money wisely are not managing our lives wisely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: So do they keep their house? Soledad O'Brien's special documentary "Almighty Debt" air Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 Eastern here on CNN. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming up in just a moment.

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