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American Morning
Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Caught Cheating in Debate; Hawaii Terror Arrest: U.S. Citizen Charged With Lying to Feds; Nine Students Sickened by Four Loko; O'Donnell, Prayer and the Polls; State of the Housing Market; Bank Fees are Going Up; May the Forest Be With You
Aired October 26, 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 on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, October 26th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Let's get you caught up on what happened while you were sleeping.
Flag on the play, a foul call during the tense Florida governor's race debate seen live on CNN. An aide who sent a text message to Democrat Alex Sink has now been fired. The mood at the table reflecting how a lot of you are feeling with just one week to go until Election Day now. The highlights and another embarrassing moment for both candidates just ahead.
CHETRY: It's known as blackout in a can or liquid cocaine. A highly caffeinated malt liquor called "Four Loko" keeping college kids awake so they can drink more. Well, police say it's already sent nine students to the hospital. Now, there's a call to ban "Four Loko" and other drinks like it. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us why parents should be afraid of these kind of drinks.
ROBERTS: And may the forest be with you. Harrison Ford has made a career out of saving the day, but he also wants to save the earth's biological diversity. And coming up, we're going to talk to the actor live from Japan about this important role.
CHETRY: We look forward to that. Meanwhile, it's coming down to the wire. We're just a week away now from Election Day when people head to the polls across the country. Just seven days now until you vote.
Candidates across the nation throwing punches, trying to hit on the issues, as well. The president on the campaign trail and drawing fire from fellow Democrats this morning.
ROBERTS: It's prime time for "The Best Political Team on Television." And we're hitting all of the hot spots this morning with just one week now until the big day. Up first, some uneasy moments in the fight for Florida. A critical race for governor in what we all know is a key swing state. CNN's John King hosted the debate between Democrat Alex Sink and surprised Republican winner Rick Scott. CHETRY: Yes, and during the break, the Democratic candidate was caught essentially cheating. A make-up artist slipped her a cell phone that had a text from an aide and Rick Scott didn't let it slide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: First, Alex, you say you always the rules. The rule was no one was supposed to give us messages during the break and your campaign did with an iPad. All right, iPod.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, now this aide who fired off that text is out. The host of last night's debate John King joins us live from Tampa. And that was just one of the notable moments of the debate last night. They did get a quick response though from the Sink campaign. What ended up happening?
JOHN KING, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Kiran, they did get a quick response. Good morning to you and John. In part because you do not want -- this is the final debate. It's the final exam if you will. The election is one week away, as you know, and Alex Sink did not want the headline and all the buzz after this debate to be she cheated on the final exam.
So pretty quickly about an hour after the debate, her campaign released this statement. "One of my campaign advisers admitted he tried to communicate with me during one of the breaks. While he told me it was out of anger with Rick Scott's repeated distortion of the facts, it was a foolish thing to do. It violated a debate agreement and I immediately removed him from the campaign."
It was that aide we are told who sent a text message to the make-up artist. The make-up artist then only the make-up artist were authorized to be on stage. There were no communications allowed under the agreement negotiated by the two campaigns. And as you saw in that video you played, the make-up artist handed out Sink a cell phone and she looked down and read that message.
This was a very contentious debate. These candidates don't like each other. They don't trust each other. They accuse each other of lacking the character to be the next Florida governor. And when Alex Sink's singular central campaign message is that Rick Scott is a cheat, he was a fraud in his business and you can't trust him to be governor, this was an embarrassing moment. So they tried to deal with it as quickly as possible. And we'll watch how it impacts the final week of a campaign that heading into this debate, Kiran, was a dead heat.
ROBERTS: And problems for both candidates, John. When asked, they both wanted to be stewards of the economy. They're supposed to be the chief executive of the state. They had some problems when asked what Florida's minimum wage is.
KING: They did, John. Both stressed that jobs is the number one issue. The state of more than 18 million people, nearly 12 percent unemployment. At the end of the debate when we're short on time, we had a lightning round. Just asking some quick questions, trying to get very quick answers. And here's the question posed by Adam Smith, our partner in the debate. He's the political editor of the "St. Petersburg Time." Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SMITH, POLITICAL EDITOR, "ST. PETERSBURG TIME": What's the minimum wage in Florida, Mr. Scott?
RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: $7.55.
SMITH: Ms. Sink, is that right?
ALEX SINK (D), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Yes.
SMITH: $7.25.
SMITH: Close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Maybe that's this year's version of how much is a gallon of milk question or maybe, John, it probably won't turn out to be true. But maybe anybody in Florida who actually works the minimum wage knows they'll get a 30 cent an hour increase now, if either one of these guys is elected governor.
ROBERTS: Oh, I'm sure a lot of people are happy that the candidates are a little more generous than the federal government is when it comes to minimum wage.
John, thanks so much. Great job last night. Good to see you this morning.
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
KING: Take care, guys.
CHETRY: Meantime, he's part of "The Best Political Team on Television" and one week from today, we're going to showcase her stuff from the minute the polls open until the final numbers come in. CNN's special election night coverage starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. AMERICAN MORNING, by the way, will be an hour early next Monday and next Tuesday. And we'll be on three hours early and then three hours later the morning after the election.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Bring in your Red Bull.
ROBERTS: Hopefully, we get paid by the hour that day.
Also new this morning, he told President Obama to take his endorsement and really shove it. That's a quote. Frank Caprio, the Democrat running for governor of Rhode Island was a no-show at a campaign event with the president. A spokesman for Caprio tells CNN the candidate instead spent yesterday touring several small businesses.
The White House has said that out of respect for the president's relationship with Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican who's running as the independent candidate for governor, the president is withholding an endorsement in the race. You see Chafee crossed party lines and endorsed President Obama in 2008. That response prompted Caprio to make the following remark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF: FRANK CAPRIO (D), R.I. GOV. CANDIDATE: I've never asked President Obama for his endorsement. And what's going on here is really Washington insider politics at its worst. You have two former senators, Senator Chafee and former Senator Obama, who, you know, have behind the scenes tried to, you know, put together an endorsement for Senator Chafee. And you know, who knows, maybe there'll even be one coming. He can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I'm concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes. And then the next day, and he again seconded that opinion. He said he can shove it.
ROBERTS: Seconded his own opinion.
CHETRY: Instead of saying, well, you know, I may have misspoke.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: No.
ROBERTS: A little Johnny Paycheck moment in politics this morning.
Well, jury selection begins today in the trial of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. DeLay is accused of illegally funneling corporate donations to Texas State legislative candidates. That was back in 2002. DeLay denies any wrongdoing.
CHETRY: We're really going to be watching the weather today. There are some severe thunderstorms rolling through Tennessee. Heavy rains, 120-mile-an-hour winds knocked down trees, sparked at least one house fire. Meantime, a tornado decimated homes in Alabama. Again, when you look at the pictures, you just see destruction everywhere. But again, luckily no one killed.
Well, they don't call it wash away beach for nothing. A cabin on the coast of Washington State collapsed early Sunday after a month of storms had eroded some 30 feet of lawn. Washaway Beach has the most rapid erosion on the U.S. Pacific Coast. They say it's 100 feet per year for the last century.
ROBERTS: Wow. Well, the Midwest could potentially experience one of the worst storms in 70 years if not ever. Rob Marciano is back with us. He's in the extreme weather center. This one is going to cause a whole lot of problems today, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a ton of energy with this. And this is one of the storms that rolled into the Pacific northwest with incredibly through strong winds. A strong jet stream for this time of year. And this storm is just exploding across the northern tier. And up and down from the Canadian border, almost down to the Deep South, we have the threat for getting a piece of this storm. And right now, the main threat is tornadoes.
Looking at tornado watches, you see two -- about 2 1/2 watch boxes there. The main two to the east starting to effect until afternoon. And they'll continue to be pushed to the east as we go through time. Big threat I think for Indiana and parts of Ohio and southern Michigan later on today. But more immediate concern.
We do have a couple of warnings out for severe thunderstorm warnings and one tornado warning out for St. Clair County in southwest Illinois. You see that pink polygon there just east and south of St. Louis. But almost the entire line of these thunderstorms producing potentially damaging winds in excess of 15 miles an hour. And there are a slew of severe thunderstorm warnings that are out right now. And those will be on the increase as this very fast-moving front pushes off to the east. And the Storm Prediction Center out of Norman, Oklahoma has issued a high risk area for that pink area, notably parts of Indiana, Ohio and southern Michigan as the sun heats up and that front plows into it. And that's going to be a huge problem, I think, as we go through this afternoon for the potentials of seeing not just hefty winds, but potentially tornadoes also. And believe it or not, the backside of this system has some cold air, and there are blizzard warnings up, as well.
We'll run down more details on this storm a little bit later on in the program. John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Good to have you on the case this morning, Rob. Thanks so much.
MARCIANO: I got it.
ROBERTS: Well, are you looking for another reason to quit smoking? Coming up, new information that might help you make up your mind while you've still got one.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A security watch for you this morning. A U.S. citizen now at the center of an international terror investigation. The Feds say that he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army so that he could then go to Iraq, ditch the U.S., and fight with Iraqi insurgent forces. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live for us in Washington. This has been something that have been talked about as a potential plot in the past by national security officials. Now, it seems that somebody would actually try to make this happen.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. According to authorities, a U.S. citizen Abdel Habib Shehadeh (ph) tried repeatedly, but unsuccessfully to wage jihad against the U.S. According to the criminal complaint filed against him, he tried at various times to fly to Pakistan, Jordan, and Somalia. Pakistan and Jordan denied him entry. The FBI didn't let him get on a flight to Somalia telling him at that point he was on the no-fly list.
In 2008, after he was denied entry to Pakistan, court documents say he went to a recruiting station in New York's Times Square and attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army. The complaint says that his real intent was to desert and fight against the U.S. Military. The Army did not accept him because he had not revealed his attempt to travel to Pakistan. He was questioned several times by law enforcement about the purpose of that trip to Pakistan. He allegedly told them he was traveling to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's wedding. But later he admitting to the FBI that his true purpose was to join a group like the Taliban. He's charged with making false statements and a matter involving international terrorism -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Also, he was allegedly engaged in online activities, as well? What do you know about that?
MESERVE: Yes, according to the criminal complaint, he ran several Web sites which advocated jihad. Here's a sampling of a posting he made on the Web site of a group called revolution Muslim. It says, "It's time for the Muslims to start practicing our freedom of speech. My brothers of revolution Islam, I am with you as long as you keep struggling. Trust me, there are many brothers and sisters in America that are ready to speak up. They just need a push."
Some of the Web sites he allegedly ran contained video or links to video of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born cleric who's been linked to the Fort Hood shooter and the Christmas day bomber. At one point, Shehadeh (ph) allegedly told investigators that he had e-mailed Awlaki on several occasions but had never gotten a response. Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Jeanne Meserve for us on this this morning. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, one of the most familiar faces from Saddam Hussein's regime. Tariq Aziz, he was the eight of spades and card deck of the most notorious criminals. Well, he's been sentenced to death in Iraq. Anyone who followed the gulf war closely may remember who he is. He was the face of Saddam's regime at the United Nations, met with former Secretary of State James Baker for last- minute peace talks. Tariq Aziz sentenced to death in Iraq.
CHETRY: Well, you've heard that smoking damages your heart and lungs. A new study says it also damages the brain. Researchers found middle- aged people who smoke more than two packs a day more than doubled their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Researchers say that smoking may damage the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. The study was published in the archives of internal medicine.
ROBERTS: And a woman pulled out of her car on the railroad tracks just minutes before a freight train plowed into it. It happened in Magnolia, Texas. The officer arrested the woman and charged her with DUI. Well, there goes the train. She apparently hit a ditch, went airborne, landed on the tracks, didn't even know where she was.
And this just in to CNN, some sad news to report to you today. Paul, the World Cup psychic octopus dead. That news coming from the aquarium in Germany where Paul correctly predicted, I guess, all of the winners.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Yes. He - he forecast all six of Germany's World Cup games, including the loss to Spain in the semifinals. So -
CHETRY: I guess he was loved by some, reviled by others because of his predictions, but the poor guy died.
ROBERTS: You've got to wonder, maybe, if he was betting against Germany.
CHETRY: There is, however, an iPad app and an iPod app for Paul the Octopus that you can download, and, I guess, you ask - get a series of set questions and he makes your decision for you.
ROBERTS: Well, no more.
CHETRY: No, it's the - it's the app.
ROBERTS: Oh, the app does it? There's always this (ph) -
CHETRY: He can live on your - on your -
ROBERTS: It doesn't sort of, like ask Paul. It's -
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Oh, sorry. OK. I got you. So he lives on forever.
CHETRY: Yes. So if you can't decide at lunch if you get the burger or the salad -
ROBERTS: Just ask Paul.
CHETRY: -- just ask Paul.
ROBERTS: There you go.
What a shame. Can you believe it?
CHETRY: No. Poor guy. He was cute. Well, still ahead, alcoholic energy drinks. It's literally like drinking shots of espresso, maybe a Red Bull, and, in addition, a six pack of beer all at once. Well, this morning there are calls on the FDA to ban these drinks.
It looks like the culprit behind the mass group of kids getting sick on a Washington State campus. It's already banned at one New Jersey campus. We're going to talk to our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about the risks.
Sixteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: I swear to God, the last time I heard that song, I thought I was going to cough up a lung in spin class yesterday.
CHETRY: I'm just laughing because we used it - because we're going to Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" and she has a dollar sign in her name.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: She does have a dollar sign on her name.
And, you know - and if you're like most Americans, you have a lot of dollar signs in your house, and it's under water, right? A lot of people are living in a house right now that is - is worth less than the mortgage they hold on it. So, for you, you're really interested in how home prices are doing.
And yesterday we had a real kind of surprise. We had a surprise in existing home sales, a surge of 10 percent that really caught economists - it caught economists off guard, really. They've been looking for the housing market to limp along, and it did a little bit better yesterday than they have thought, up 10 percent in September.
We know we're trying to clear through all of these foreclosures and this foreclosure mess. We know that there are paperwork problems with foreclosures. We know that a moratorium from some of the big banks and servicers mean that there's going to be a little bit of uncertainty about the foreclosure situation. We know that a third of homes sold in the month - a third of them were foreclosure-related sales. So a lot of the activity you're seeing in the housing market is - is stress activity. It's people that are under duress.
But for you who are sitting on your biggest asset, your biggest investment, at least home prices seem to be stabilizing a little bit. We're going to get another read on this about 9:00.
Meanwhile, last week, remember we sat here and talked about bank fees, how I was concerned that bank fees were going to start to rise and free checking was going to start to go away because of - of banks trying to make more money after reform? Well, Bankrate.com has a new report, showing that indeed bank fees are hitting record highs in this country, and that fewer banks are offering free checking. Here's the rundown of the costs of maintaining a checking account, at an all-time high. ATM fees rose to $2.33 on average. They're higher, for some reason, out west, in case you were wondering. Out of network ATM fees $1.41. So you put those two together and you've got more than $3.50 that you're paying when you're go out of network to get money.
Overdraft fees, a record $30. I thought we were trying to get a hold of that, weren't we, with all that financial reform? But, still, $30. Minimum balance fee now about $13. You've got to keep money in the account, folks, because those banks - or a lot of banks are not letting you have your money - use your money for free anymore.
CHETRY: Wow. So the average person, $620 that they could be avoiding paying?
ROMANS: That's right. And bank -
CHETRY: Imagine if you could squirrel that away instead of -
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: -- putting (ph) it away.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) it's pretty easy - and we'll - we'll put a link on the AMfix blog - it's pretty easy to avoid $620 in fees every single year by doing a couple of real easy steps. One of them is making sure you go to an ATM that is for your bank, not somebody else's.
ROBERTS: Some good information.
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: You know, walk just a little further (INAUDIBLE) a little bit.
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Check out your credit union.
ROBERTS: Well, he's one of Hollywood's biggest stars, actor Harrison Ford. Ahead, he joins us live from Nagoya, Japan to talk about one of his biggest causes. Stay with us.
It's 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour now.
He's been the president, found the Holy Grail, and saved galaxies far, far away. But actor Harrison Ford is also a dedicated environmentalist. And this week he's joining delegations from 192 countries to focus on the loss of animals, plants and their habitats.
Joining me now from Nagoya, Japan, is Harrison Ford. He's also, by the way, the vice chairman of Conservation International. Harrison, great to see you. How did you get involved in - in the - in the cause to maintain the earth's biodiversity?
HARRISON FORD, ACCLAIMED ACTOR; VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: Oh, 20 - 20 years ago, I was introduced to Conservation International, the work that they were doing. I was really impressed with the quality of their leadership, the quality of their science. The people that they had on their board, the intellectual capacity of the organization that this strategic focus of the organization.
And so, I found a place for myself, a place where I could be part of - of the process of addressing the - some of the issues that face us in conservation.
ROBERTS: The - the importance of biological diversity is obvious to many people, but perhaps not so obvious to other people. How - how would you describe the importance of maintaining biological diversity on this planet, in ensuring that ecological systems don't fall prey to development and other, you know, potential pitfalls in the future?
FORD: Well, it's critical. I mean, it is the one critical issue. We can't provide - we can't create the technical means to provide ourselves with the services that nature - that a healthy, natural ecosystem, a reservoir of biodiversity can provide for us. We can't, you know, create the technical solutions to provide ourselves with - with a supply of fresh water, with clean air, with healthy soils, with pollinators for our food crops, with the potential for - for pharmaceuticals to address disease in the future.
These are things that biodiversity provides us. These are the - these are the free services of nature, which we can't really afford to create mechanisms to provide ourselves. So if we have a healthy biological community, if we have a healthy nature, healthy ecosystems, that will be provided.
And you're right, the conversion of - of healthy ecosystems to agriculture, other uses is - is really a serious threat. And that's why we're asking at this convention, we at Conservation International are asking for the protection of 25 percent of the land mass, 15 percent of the oceans, the protection of those areas so that they can provide these services to the human community that come from a healthy ecosystem.
ROBERTS: The Convention -
FORD: Right now, we've got 13 percent - yes, go ahead, John.
ROBERTS: I was going to - I was going to say, the convention on biodiversity was negotiated back in the early 1990s. It had a goal of preserving 10 percent of the world's ecological regions by 2010. Also a number of other important goals. Many of them have been missed. And so they're trying to renegotiate another set of goals for 2020. Where are we now since none of these - many of these goals haven't been met?
FORD: Well, we're in process. I mean, it's - it's a complicated process. I think there's - there is a general understanding of the issues and we just have to press for more ambitious goals. We have to press for action now. We have to get unified commitment to the goals. And we get - we've got to get the United States to step up to the plate.
ROBERTS: Right.
FORD: I mean, the United States is the largest funder of biodiversity protection in - in the world. But we don't have a vote here at the convention. Seventeen years ago, President Clinton signed the treaty, but - but he wasn't able to get it pushed through Congress, ratified by Congress. And that process has - hasn't taken place in 17 years. We need the president to establish this treaty as a priority and press Congress to advise and consent on the treaty so we can become a voting partner in the biodiversity convention.
This is the most important group, the only group addressing biodiversity in the world. And we've -- we've got to be part of it. We've got to be part of it because it so affects our future. We've got to be part of it because it represents us to the world as being an active part of the solution and not just, you know, the big -- the big country with the big stick which tells other people what to do but doesn't do it themselves.
ROBERTS: Well, I know there's still lingering questions about intellectual property and protection and things like that that the United States has to get over. But in terms of negotiating a new set of protocol, you've still got four days there in Nagoya, and we wish you a lot of luck.
Harrison Ford, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
FORD: Hey, thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. We're crossing the half hour right now. It's time -- it means it's time for a look at the top stories.
Just a week until Election Day, and an embarrassing moment in one of the most watched races in the country, the Florida's governor race. Democrat Alex Sink was caught sneaking a look at a cell phone in between breaks during last night's debate seen on CNN. And her opponent, Rick Scott, didn't let it slide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: First, Alex, you say you always follow the rules. The rule was no one was supposed to give us messages during the break, and your campaign did with an iPad, or an iPod.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the Sink campaign says that the aide who sent the text has been removed from the campaign.
In Australia, an audience member hurled his shoes at former Prime Minister John Howard during a talk show taping. Excuse me. Protester Peter Gray was angry over Howard's decision to send troops to Iraq. He was then escorted from the studio. No charges filed.
You may remember, back in 2008, the famous shoe-throwing incident. A protester threw his shoe at then-President Bush. I was hoping we're going to see because it was an amazing --
ROBERTS: They reenact it right here.
Bruce, you got a shoe?
CHETRY: Oh, gosh. Are you going to throw on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CHETRY: OK. Good.
In Muslim culture, throwing a shoe at one is considered one of the greatest insults.
ROBERTS: And honoring Team Esperanza. The 33 Chilean miners who were trapped for 69 days greeted by cheering crowds and honored by government officials. The miners battled the president and rescuers in a friendly soccer match. But after taking an early 2-0 lead, the miners ran out of steam and lost 3-2.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it's already been banned at one New Jersey campus, you may remember, after close to two dozen students were hospitalized.
Here it is. It's a highly caffeinated malt liquor. It's called Four Loko. It's also been known in some circles as "blackout in a can," liquid cocaine. The caffeine and other stimulants allow the drinker to ingest larger amounts of alcohol without passing out.
ROBERTS: Investigators in Washington state say the energy drink, not drugs was what sent nine college students to the hospital. Washington's attorney general wants the FDA to ban alcoholic energy drinks.
Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is live for us in Miami this morning.
And just looking at what's on the label here. It says premium malt beverage with artificial flavors. Well, we all get that. Guarana, taurine, caffeine and FD&C Red number 40. I mean, it's an awful lot of stuff in here. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is. It is not like drinking beer. It is a very different experience, experts tell us.
When you take a look at another part of the label, John, what you'll see is that this is 12 percent alcohol, all right? So, that is very high. And the bottle is nearly 24 ounces.
So, take a look at this. One bottle of that Four Loko is equivalent to drinking a six pack of beer. So you're chugging this stuff, you may not even realize just how much alcohol you're getting.
Now, we reached out to the folks who make Four Loko. And they say, look, mixing alcohol and caffeine, because that's the two things you have in there, is a practice that's been going on for a long time. That's what they say. Look at rum and coke, look at other kinds of beverages. And they say, "When consumed responsibly, our products are just as safe as any alcoholic beverages" -- John.
CHETRY: And the other interesting thing -- I mean, the thing about this is -- it's amazing, though that -- I mean, we're just hearing about this product. I don't know how long kids have been using it. But we've seen how many now? More than a dozen kids in two different instances college campuses taken to the hospital.
I mean, at one point, at this Washington state story, investigators thought the kids were actually dosed with date rape drugs because of how sick they were acting. I mean, what is it about these products that seem to have made the kids so ill?
COHEN: Right. You have this double whammy going on. One, as I said, you're getting a ton of alcohol and you're also getting the caffeine. Now, usually what happens is when you get really drunk, you pass out. And in some ways, that passing out is a good thing. It keeps you from drinking more.
But if you're also getting all that caffeine, you don't pass out. So you're wake enough to keep on drinking.
So, these kids had five times the legal amount of alcohol in their blood. So, when they showed up at the hospital, they looked sort of beyond drunk and that's probably what led to some people thinking that perhaps they'd been drugged.
ROBERTS: But when you consider that you got 24 ounces in this can and it's 12 percent alcohol, that's like drinking almost an entire bottle of wine. And if you put down two or three of these, I mean, you've ingested an awful lot of alcohol.
COHEN: Right. Exactly. And you don't think of it because you're just having one can of this stuff or one bottle of this stuff and then you probably don't realize just how much alcohol you're getting. Plus, the caffeine is keeping you awake. So, it's not like other alcoholic experiences that, you know, you've had in the past.
ROBERTS: Yes. And interesting, too, when you look at, you know, fruit punch flavor here, lemonade flavor.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I'm sure it doesn't feel like you're drinking, you know, six beers either.
All right. Well, as we said, they've been calling for the FDA to ban this. FDA's looking into it, right? They're not -- they approved this in the first place, right?
COHEN: Right. Nobody's banning this at the moment, but there certainly have been calls to do so.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: All right.
ROBERTS: CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, for us this morning -- Elizabeth, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we're going to be hearing from candidate out of Delaware, the Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell. She talked to David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, saying that God called her to run for office. And also despite her lagging behind in the polls, she says it's the power of pray that will propel her to victory.
Up next, we're going to check in with David, what else she talked about, coming up.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour.
There's a week to go now before Election Day. Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell has certainly gotten a lot of attention this campaign season. Well, in her latest interview, she said that God called her to run for the Senate and that the power of prayer will carry her to victory.
In a new interview with a Christian Broadcasting Network, O'Donnell says she's seeing prayer at work, in her poll numbers, even though she's down double digits. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: The day that we saw a spike in the polls was the day that some people had a prayer meeting for me that morning for this campaign. So I believe that prayer plays a direct role in this campaign. And I ask people, please pray for the campaign, please pray for our staff, please pray, specifically, that the eyes of the voters be opened. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, joining me now from Washington, David Brody, White House correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Thanks for being with us, David.
DAVID BRODY, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: You did an extensive interview with O'Donnell. You got a lot -- you talked to her a lot about her faith. And she certainly -- for some people, they think this seems so arrogant to pray to win a Senate race.
But how is it viewed in the evangelical community?
BRODY: Well, a couple of thing. She's really not praying for an actual victory as much as she's praying for god's protection and for, you know, people within her staff and for the eyes of the voters to be opened, so to speak. In other words, she's not actually saying, "God, please, I want to win." I mean, it's not so much like that.
But, look, in the evangelical world, you know how it's like you're on the side of the road and you see an accident, but there's not much to see there, so you just kind of move on. I mean, in the evangelical world, that's what this is about. Look, if you line 10 people up on the street and you say the power of prayer is important to people in their lives, they would say absolutely it is. And they directly link prayer to events in their life.
CHETRY: Right.
BRODY: And so -- so this is really a lot of much ado about nothing, but when a political candidate talks about it, obviously, it gets more headlines.
CHETRY: It does, but also it's because she referred to the polling ticking up.
BRODY: Right.
CHETRY: So, I mean, in a way, that is praying to win.
BRODY: Well, I mean, she believes clearly that God has her hand on this campaign, but does it mean -- does it translate necessarily to a victory? Maybe, maybe not. But there's -- you know, God has more important things to do than worrying about Christine O'Donnell winning in Delaware.
So -- I mean, I don't think she looks at it that way at all.
CHETRY: Yes, right.
BRODY: But she clearly believes that prayer definitely is very, very important. CHETRY: Absolutely. And what you noted in your interview is that you believe this is a very authentic feeling. That she -- that, you know, this isn't to drum up conservative support, but this is how she truly authentically feels.
The problem is, is that one of the things she's been knocked for is appearing to be a lightweight, not necessarily coming with substance to the issues. And as long as people are still talking about her religious beliefs and/or her social conservative beliefs, she's not winning over the independents that she's going to need.
BRODY: Well, that's a great point. And the campaign is clearly aware of the fact that social issues have dominated her Tea Party fiscal message. Whereas other candidates across the country, it really hasn't.
So, they understand to win independence, there's really no reason to get bogged down in the social issues. So, that's no doubt a big part of this, Kiran.
CHETRY: So, does she see this -- I know she talked about the ridicule she faced from witchcraft. She said it was a sort of gotcha moment about the Constitution. And, in fact, let's listen quickly to what she says is a double standard for conservative women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'DONNELL: There's certainly a double standard, you know? And I don't often quote Gloria Steinem, but she says, you know, you can look at double standard if they wouldn't attack the male opponent that way.
And there's no doubt that they wouldn't say the things they're saying about me, they wouldn't do the things that they're doing if I weren't a woman. I'm not whining, but there's certainly a double standard, especially when it comes to conservative women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: It's interesting that she's pointing that out. I mean, there was, you know, Chris Coons during the debate, we were down in Delaware, and when we interviewed people -- and this is in New Castle County, this is, you know, more of a Democratic county of the three in Delaware. They said, it seems that he's being dismissive of her. And that was something that bothered some of the voters who maybe aren't even Christine O'Donnell supporters.
BRODY: Well, that's right. I mean, I think she feels somewhat dismissed. Clearly, she feels dismissed by the mainstream media to a degree.
But look, I mean, she talks about this conservative woman double standard, and why is that? Why does she say that? Why does Sarah Palin say pretty much the same thing?
It's because they believe that they don't play right into -- forget the media for that moment -- they don't play into a societal stereotype of how women are supposed to think and feel. If she talks about sexual purity and abstinence, and if she's talking about evolution as it relates to conservative positions, you know, that is part of the biblically-based conservative woman out there, which, by the way, in the heartland, there's quite a few of them.
CHETRY: Right.
BRODY: But in the New York/Amtrak -- New York/Washington/Amtrak corridor, it doesn't play as well.
CHETRY: It's right that you had a chance to sit down and hear from her. David Brody, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
BRODY: Thanks, Kiran.
ROBERTS: There is a major storm that's heading towards Chicago that could really disrupt travel. It could be the worst storm that they've had there in 70 years. Our Rob Marciano is tracking it all for you this morning. He's got important information coming right up.
And in ten minute's time, the race for Senate in Pennsylvania getting more suspenseful by the day. And the balance of power in Washington could be determined by what happens next Tuesday. A live report from our Jim Acosta just ahead.
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ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Our Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center for us this morning, and we got some real bad stuff moving into Chicago and Milwaukee today.
MARCIANO: Yes. If not yesterday's storms weren't bad enough moving across the southeast, this one is quite the doozy. This was a strong storm that rolled through the Pacific Northwest a few days ago with a jet stream, with winds that had over 200 miles an hour with them. So, tremendous amount of atmospheric energy with this, and now, it's getting into the Midwest and just exploding.
You see the circulation on the radar of a more medial concerned of the tornado watches that are out until noon and 1:00 respectively, and they'll be extended, I think, as we go through time. So, pretty strong line of thunderstorms that's rolling through places like St. Louis. This one just rolled through St. Louis, and it's continuing to move to the east down the I-70 corridor. And these things are just humming along, at least 40 miles an hour, and they've got some straight-line winds with them that are damaging.
So, a number of severe thunderstorm warnings are posted right now as we speak. But, as this thing moves towards the east and gets a little heat action from the sun, we've got a high-risk area up for parts of Indiana, Ohio, and southern parts of Michigan. That is a dangerous situation for thunderstorms with the potential of producing not only straight-line winds and hail, but more importantly, tornadoes. And we could see several of them drop from the sky later on this afternoon. On top of that, the backside of this system is going to be cold. The blizzard warning up for parts of North Dakota. Can you believe that? It's not even Halloween. Just a few inches of snow, but the winds are going to be howling, so blinding blizzard conditions as this thing winds itself up and heads into Canada. Winds, wind warnings for at least ten states.
So, we're talking millions of people affected by this storm. Winds gusting 40 to 60 miles an hour at times from Minneapolis to Chicago. Chicago, you're going to get hit with thunderstorms right now for the next two hours. And then behind that line of thunderstorms, that's when these winds kick in. So, if you don't get damage from the thunderstorms, it's the straight-line winds that will be sustained for a number of hours after this front moves through.
You can kind of see the cool air behind this. Fifty-one degrees expected in Minneapolis and 65 degrees in Chicago. But obviously, the big story is going to be the wind with this. New York, Boston, affiliate, this thing kind of scoots up towards Canada before the bigger cities on the east coast getting any taste of at least damaging winds. It will be breezy over the next several days as this storm is very, very large and continues to intensify. John and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Speaking of that, Rob, St. Louis police are now confirming two reports of a partial building collapse. They say after a line of thunderstorms moved into the city a short time ago. This is exactly what you were warning about. They say there's no reports of injuries at this time, but Missouri's in the cross hairs, as well.
MARCIANO: Yes. That line now is passed through St. Louis and is moving rapidly to the east and up and down that line of thunderstorms. I think we'll start to see reports like that coming in throughout the morning -- guys.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much. We'll check back with you in just a few minutes.
MARCIANO: OK.
ROBERTS: It's nine minutes till the top of the hour. Don't go away.
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ROBERTS: The Most Politics in the Morning now. The midterm elections just seven days away. The balance of power in the Senate could come down to the competitive Senate race in Pennsylvania between Joe Sestak and Pat Toomey. Toomey just five points ahead in recent polls.
CHETRY: Our Jim Acosta is live in Philadelphia this morning with more on how this race could shake out. Hey, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran. That poll you just mentioned is very important because Joe Sestak has cut into Pat Toomey's lead in recent weeks. And that is crucial in terms of the balance of power. It's going to be very hard for the Republicans to seize control of the Senate if they can't win Pennsylvania. So, the stakes here, not the cheese steaks, the political stakes couldn't be higher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks very much, guys. Good to see you. Thank you.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Welcome to sus-Pennsylvania where the race for the U.S. Senate is too close to call, and candidates are getting personal. Former Republican congressman, Pat Toomey, labels his opponent, current Democratic congressman, Joe Sestak, a rubber stamp for his party, on both through the stimulus and health care reform.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman Toomey has voted 1,400 times with Nancy Pelosi. That's 1,200 times more than I did.
ACOSTA: So, you're saying he's more like Nancy Pelosi than you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's such a San Francisco liberal.
ACOSTA: In nearly the same breath, Sestak compares Toomey to Republican, Christine O'Donnell, who's running for the Senate in neighboring Delaware. Toomey, Sestak notes, has also spoken at tea party rally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening in Washington today is an unprecedented and frightening lurch to the left.
ACOSTA: Toomey argues he also has the backing of GOP moderates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be a tea party senator?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm delighted to have their support. I'm delighted to have the support that I have from, you know, Rudy Giuliani and Tom Ridge.
ACOSTA: This past president of the probe business group, Club for Growth, Toomey once pushed for privatizing Social Security and a national review editorial entitled, Personal Accounts or Bust.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in my book. So, there's plenty of information about my thoughts about how we make our big entitlement programs viable for future generations.
ACOSTA: Wouldn't that have --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. That's the last question.
ACOSTA: Toomey walked away, up walked Carlene Nevadi (ph), a voter with a life-threatening staph infection who carries this bag of antibiotics attached to her chest wherever she goes. She worries about Toomey's plans to repeal health care reform. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like Mr. Toomey's platform. I'm concerned about the insurance and the well being of our health care system for the future.
ACOSTA: There were also unscripted moments for Sestak, like this glass shop owner who's had to cut his staff by half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have four people working for us, and we used to have ten.
ACOSTA: A reminder of the recession on Sestak's watch.
And what would you say, though, to those independents, undecided voters, out there who would say, you know, we gave the Democrats a chance for two years and they blew it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say that Democratic Party took necessary steps. But you know what? The party didn't do it all well and I thought --
(END VIDEOTAPE(
ACOSTA (on-camera): Now, Joe Sestak has another unique way of drawing the distinction on the economy. He has an ad out right now showing him cleaning up after his dog saying this is what it's like cleaning up after the Republicans on the economy. But putting that aside, both men are counting their independents. Joe Sestak says if he gets to the Senate and Harry Reid somehow wins in Nevada, he's not sure he's going to vote for him for majority leader.
On the other side of the equation here, Pat Toomey says he's happy to have the endorsement of all of these Republican leaders who have come down here to support him, but he's not talking a whole heck of a lot about an endorsement he got last week from Sarah Palin, guys.
ROBERTS: I tell you these political ads, Jim, a whole new level of creativity. Thanks so much.
ACOSTA: Yes, that's right.
ROBERTS: Jim Acosta -- ACOSTA: I didn't want to show it. Yes
ROBERTS: Jim Acosta for us in Pennsylvania this morning.
Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us.
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