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American Morning

Massive Storm strikes the Midwest; Historic Storm on the Move; Hacking Your Vote

Aired October 27, 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: Well, they're calling it the Chi- clone, an epic storm on the move right now, spotting at least 24 possible tornadoes. This morning, the massive storm barrels east.

Yes, got bad weather on the east coast now, as well. But what a pounding the Midwest went through yesterday. Good morning, thanks for being with us. It's the 27th of October, so Wednesday. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad to have you here this morning.

A look at our top stories this morning. Comedy Central campaigning with just six days before voters head to the polls, President Obama will be appearing tonight on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. It is the first time that a sitting president will appear on the show.

ROBERTS: Hacking your votes, after the dangle chad debacle, paper scanners and high-tech touchscreens are underway, but are they secure? You may be shocked by what a group of university professors found out.

CHETRY: Also, is your regional airline held to the same safety standard as the major carriers? The NTSB is looking into industry alliances called "code sharing" that could threaten your safety in the air. The head of the NTSB will be joining us this morning.

ROBERTS: Up first, it was a storm for the ages, maybe the worst to hit the Midwest in decades on the move this morning. We have live radar of where the storm is now. The east coast looking out for possible tornadoes after 24 reportedly touched down yesterday across the Midwest. It even caused 27-foot-high waves in the Great Lakes.

CHETRY: And the storm had a lot of everything, wind, rain, and as you can see, some snow up north. Those are pictures overnight from Duluth, Minnesota. They're comparing it to a mega-storm that hit almost 20 years ago.

ROBERTS: And heading down through the Midwest, trees are down, homes are destroyed, lives are a mess. These are also new pictures we're getting this morning from just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, much of the nation waking up stunned this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's that rare of an event.

ROBERTS: Everyone has a storm they'll talk about for the rest of their lives. For many folks from the Dakotas down through the south, this was it, their hurricane, their nor'easter. It even had a name -- the "Chi-clone."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds just like a train, like they say it does. And as fast as it came, as fast as it went.

ROBERTS: A historic storm stretching a staggering 1,200 miles from north to south that had it all -- hurricane-force winds, monsoon- like rain, blizzard warnings, and tornadoes reported in at least seven states.

This surveillance camera kept rolling inside one possible twister in Indiana as the tin roof came off a barn and a boat went airborne. Trees snapped and crushed cars in Kentucky. A rogue gust of wind tipped over a semi and tore off its roof in Michigan. And in Ohio, someone came home to find only half their house was there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were at work, got a phone call that you better get out to your house, the roof's gone off of it.

ROBERTS: Now the dangerous storm is moving on. But thousands of fliers aren't as grounded airlines struggle to catch up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to leave today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Well, this giant storm, by the way, is heading east as we've been saying. Rob Marciano tracking the latest forecast. Is it going to come in to the east coast with that much voracity?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The center, the core of it is still well up into Canada. And this thing moves so rapidly yesterday, some of these storm cells were moving 70 to 80 miles an hour to the east. So definitely not a chase-able storm and one just a difficult one to get out of the way.

Storms of the south this morning, the severe weather threat is to the south. These storms not moving nearly as fast because the jet stream not as strong down here. Anniston, Alabama, Talladega County, we have a severe storm warning for the next few minutes.

This storm is moving to the east at about 35 miles an hour. And now just issued out of Norman, Oklahoma, is a fresh tornado watch until 1:00 eastern daylight time. There you see the box going into effect, this line of thunderstorms rolls across the I-20 corridor.

Along the I-85 corridor including much of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, this is in effect through the next couple of hours, as well, as the potential of thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes in that region exists. D.C., Philly, New York, much, much weaker situation here. I don't expect extreme weather, but you will see showers and some thunderstorms and some wind at times and that will slow down your travel both on the ground and in the air.

Still, winds gusting to 40 miles an hour. Right now, Minneapolis, as high as 60. High-wind warnings persist across the upper Great Lakes and the northern tier as the center of this thing continues to slowly make its way to the north and the backside of it has some snow.

Blizzard warnings across much of North Dakota, and the snow's getting down into South Dakota. Probably see a few inches of snow out of this thing. But the big story's going to be the wind as it has been. Greenville, Indiana, these are category one hurricane winds.

So this is the equivalent of a Midwest hurricane. Unbelievable stuff and broke a record as far as the low pressure that got to, 28.22 inches of mercury. You go to your home barometer in the living room, that is nearly off the charts. John, Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: Amazing. Amazing. You guys talked about it yesterday morning and said this is going to be big and it certainly was. Rob, thanks.

Reminder, when you're away from your TV, go to CNN.com/weather.

ROBERTS: Also new this morning, big problems in Indonesia, more than 113 people dead there in a tsunami after a 7.7 earthquake and 25 people dead after a new eruption of the nation's most active volcano erupted three times yesterday.

Officials say some 22,000 residents have been evacuated from surrounding villages. And rescue workers are still trying to get into the remote island chain off the western coast of Sumatra there to see what the extent of damage is from that tsunami. We hope to get pictures of it, as well.

CHETRY: And also chaos after hurricane Richard. A jaguar excepted from its cage in an animal rescue center then mauls an American man. He died. A tree fell on top of the cage. That's how the animal broke out. Officials are now using traps baited with meat to try to capture him. The jaguar is still on the loose this morning.

ROBERTS: In Wyoming, still no sign of a small plane that disappeared from radar. Authorities have been unable to locate the single-engine aircraft since it took off from the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Monday.

CHETRY: Israeli police clashing with Arab protesters ahead of a planned march by extremists in northern Israel. Police in riot gear fired stun grenades. The protests followed the decision by Israel's supreme court that authorizes the right wing activists to march through the Arab town.

ROBERTS: Charlie Sheen out of a New York hospital and heading back to Los Angeles this morning after his latest brush with the law. Police took Sheen to the hospital early yesterday morning after responding to reports of an emotionally disturbed person at New York's plaza hotel. Sheen's publicist says the actor had an allergic reaction to medication that caused him to be hospitalized. But there are plenty of other reports that nothing else was going on.

CHETRY: Yes. Check that one out if you get time online.

MARCIANO: Well, the NBA's Miami Heat debuted last night with big three, with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and, of course, our personal favorite because he came on the show with us, Chris Bosh. Well, they came up short, dropping the season opener to the Celtics 88-80. LeBron, though, scored 31 points in the loss.

ROBERTS: LeBron took a lot of heat for signing with Miami and his made for TV decision. Coming up at 8:20 eastern, we're going to take a look at his new Nike ad. Will it give his image that boost? Our own Christine Romans and Max Kellerman will be here to talk about it.

CHETRY: Still to come, the manufacturers claim they're safe, and the research backs them up. But why are Smartphones coming with warnings to keep the device away from your body?

ROBERTS: Plus a beating outside of a Kentucky debate caught on tape, and the woman who was attacked is now speaking out. The question this morning, was the assault premeditated?

CHETRY: Also, some fairy tale animals and really, really scary ones on the list of more than 1,000 new species found in the Amazon. Pink dolphins -- amazing. Nine minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, according to the owners' manual, you shouldn't do this, or you shouldn't do this.

ROBERTS: And the reason why?

CHETRY: I don't know. You're not supposed to have your cell phone, iPhone, blackberry included too close to your person. It should be five-eighths of an inch away from your body.

ROBERTS: I used to put it next to my heart.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Let me get out of here before you run into trouble.

Well, critics always tell you, read the fine print when you buy something. Well, in the safety manuals in the major Smartphones, users are advised to keep the device five-eighths of an inch away from their body at all times. A lot of safety advocates believe the warnings are because we're being exposed to too much, what? Radiation? ROBERTS: Something, I guess. So it's in the safety manuals of the major Smartphones, which is probably exactly of what that $30 holster keeps it away from you.

CHETRY: Exactly.

ROBERTS: A woman who was beaten and stomped on by Rand Paul supporters Monday night in Kentucky reportedly suffered a concussion. Lauren Valley of the group Moveon.org also has a sprained arm and shoulder. One of her colleagues claims he overheard supporters say, quote, "We might have to take someone down."

CHETRY: Back to our top story this morning. A big storm that hit many parts of the Midwest spawning tornadoes, rain, hurricane- force winds, snow in some cases. The nightmare combination that's been battering the Midwest, the southeast, and is now heading northeast.

ROBERTS: In North Carolina, the system overturned cars, downed trees, destroyed some homes, as well. Joining us now from North Carolina, it's about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte is Ken Ward from our affiliate WSOC. What's it like there this morning, Kent?

KEN WARD, REPORTER, WSOC: It's a real mess out here. Luckily the rain has stopped. I want to show you what these strong storms did. This is a trailer pushed into what's left of this mobile home here. If I move further down, this is a refrigerator that's been thrown about.

Up here to my left, this is a tree that's been completely snapped in half, and a little lower, this is a range that's been thrown about like a toy. Now Lincoln County officials say at least five buildings were destroyed and there are at least 11 people injured. The storm that came through here last night flipped over cars and shredded this house, scattering debris throughout the area.

Lincoln County says one of the injuries is life threatening. The remaining ten are expected to recover.

There are also survival stories out here this morning. Residents doing whatever they can to live through this storm. We spoke to a mother of four whose family is OK, another family in serious trouble, they were clinging to a tree.

Now taking a look behind me here, there are a number of snapped trees. There are also some downed power lines. Crews are out here right now working to get all of the power restored to this area.

Back to you.

CHETRY: It's like a real mess out there. Thank goodness more people were not hurt. Ken Ward for us this morning from our affiliate WSOC, thanks.

ROBERTS: Ken, thanks so much. Well, those dangling chads are a distant memory. The old punch card voting machines replaced by scanners and high-tech touch screens, but they may not be secure. Why you should be worried about your vote being hacked coming up.

Fifteen and a half minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Feels like Groundhog Day, but we almost started morning talk like this yesterday, didn't we?

ROBERTS: I'm not sure.

CHETRY: With some Michael Jackson in the background?

ROBERTS: But you know it's the season, so why not.

CHETRY: It sure does.

ROBERTS: You'll be hearing a lot "Thriller" a lot until Sunday night.

CHETRY: Absolutely.

Here are the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. There's always the lady who gives out fruit, right, when you go door- to-door for pennies? It's OK, though.

Well, besides that, Halloween isn't exactly the healthiest holiday. My Health News Daily tried to rank the best and the worst trick and treats in terms of fat and sugar. So, Jolly Ranchers, the healthiest, 70 calories, no fat, and 11 grams of sugar. The worst -- and one of my favorite, of course -- Mr. Goodbar, 250 calories, 17 grams of fat and 23 grams of sugar.

ROBERTS: Well, there you go. Let that be a lesson. If you go out looking for Mr. Goodbar, take the Jolly Rancher instead.

ROBERTS: He told us that their grabbing and groping and prodding pretty aggressively. Now the commercial airline pilot who refused to pat-down, a full-body scan and a pat-down at the Memphis International Airport is suing the TSA saying that he is fighting for your rights under the Fourth Amendment. We had this guy on the other day and the comments that we got in support of his crusade, if you will, I mean, it's just amazing.

CHETRY: Yes. He's arguing on those grounds. It's also interesting, though, because people have said if you're a pilot and you have to go through these scanners four or five times a day, what are the health implications of that, as well?

ROBERTS: You know what's ridiculous about this though? What's ridiculous, they make you take off -- OK, my little soapbox here. They make you take off everything. Take everything out of your pockets -- well, not everything, but your belt, your watch, and then they still pat you down afterwards. CHETRY: Right. And if we're going off on our soapboxes about this, if you trust a pilot to fly a plane, that's the biggest weapon of all if you're in the air, he needs to go through a scanner. You're already trusting him to fly the plane.

ROBERTS: Yes. That points to a number of times and nobody has come up with a good answer to it.

CHETRY: Well, from balloon boy dad to pitch man. Remember Richard Heene who did the famous balloon boy hoax a year ago? Well, he's now back. He's in the back scratching business. OK.

ROBERTS: He's back in the back scratching business.

CHETRY: Yes, he sure is. He's selling homemade back scratchers on YouTube called the bear scratch back scratcher. It's 20 bucks, a small price to pay if, you know, you itch.

ROBERTS: Yes. It's like a son of a twitch as he says.

Well, some you might see in your dreams. Some you might see in your nightmares. The World Wildlife Federation has put out a list of more than 1,200 new species of plants and animals that were discovered in the Amazon since 1999. They include frogs with fiery-looking heads, pink dolphins, how about that one for you?

CHETRY: I want to see the pink dolphin.

ROBERTS: And the blue-fanged tarantula, which defends itself by flinging stinging hairs at you.

CHETRY: Oh, I see that one. Where is -- that's a beautiful frog. Gorgeous.

ROBERTS: Look at that frog. That looks like a Lord of the Sith.

CHETRY: It really does.

ROBERTS: Frog, Sith, lord (ph) and frog.

CHETRY: Where is the pink dolphin? I'm waiting. I want to see it. Is that the pink dolphin?

ROBERTS: That's it. But it was a kind of bleached-out shot. That's the dolphin.

CHETRY: All right.

ROBERTS: Believe it, it's pink.

CHETRY: Well, knock, knock, who's there? It's alligator. A guy in Florida says that he heard a knock on his door Monday night, found out it was actually a seven-foot gator on his doorstep. So the wife called 911. There he is. And they're smiling, trying to say hi. The gator trapper came, wrangled him, and he went off as we like to say to a more suitable habitat. ROBERTS: I think it's time to call the gator wrangler.

And membership in the Mile High Club could potentially surge. Air New Zealand is now offering customers cuddle class. Seats that can turn into couches or even beds. They'll be available on flights to Los Angeles starting in April of 2011. You'd have to want to join the Mile High Club pretty much out in public.

CHETRY: All right. Well, how about this one? Testify child. This is going to be the most viral thing ever we're guessing here. It's a baby who caught the holy spirit. Let's check it out.

ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness.

CHETRY: So cute. This happened at a church in Lakeland, Florida, according to the person who posted it. So adorable.

ROBERTS: Certainly feeling the inspiration.

Well, coming up, they call it code sharing. It lets big airlines sell you a seat on a flight that's actually run by a smaller regional carrier. And that is raising a big red flag about your safety and your rights as passenger.

CHETRY: Also, my one-on-one interview with Michael Caine, Sir Michael Caine. How he continues to stay hot in Hollywood after five decades in film. We're going to hear from him.

Twenty-four minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, remember those hanging chads? They've been replaced now by electronic voting machines in many places, paper ballot scanners in some places and even Internet voting.

ROBERTS: So problem solved, right? Not so fast. A group of university professors set out to test the new technology to see how secure it really is. And what they found makes those old punch card machines look pretty darn secure.

Our Deb Feyerick joins us with our ongoing series, "Does Your Vote Count?" And I guess the answer it might as long as it's not hacked.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Not if it's hacked, not if it disappears, not if someone reprograms the software, to switch votes from one candidate to another. All of that is possible. And computer scientists and cyber security experts speak computer the way we speak English only better. They say, well, the systems that currently exist are simply not secure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is the voter's choice.

FEYERICK (voice-over): In order to test its new Internet voting system for military and overseas ballots, the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections publicly challenged outsiders to hack in.

J. ALEX HALDERMAN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thirty-six hours after the server went public, we were in. We had complete control.

FEYERICK: For Professor J. Alex Halderman's team at the University of Michigan, it was like picking a cheap lock.

HALDERMAN: We could reprogram the system to do essentially whatever we want. Steal all the ballots, find out how everyone voted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The security (INAUDIBLE) unable to tell by looking at the box, but we had hacked into it.

FEYERICK: They also discovered apparently they were not the only hackers.

HALDERMAN: We found evidence that real hackers from China and from Iran were also trying to penetrate the system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

FEYERICK: D.C. election officials quickly suspended Internet-based voting days before the election, but only for the time being.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found some vulnerabilities, so we scaled back.

FEYERICK: Those who support Internet voting and voting by electronic machines say it's more efficient, more reliable and easier to use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of voters are flocking to the touch screen voting equipment.

FEYERICK: But computer scientists like Halderman and colleague Ariel Feldman say electronic machines are just as easy to tamper with as the Internet.

(on camera): Nine million voters vote on a machine like this.

ARIEL FELDMAN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Yes.

FEYERICK: And yet you programmed it to play Pacman?

FELDMAN: That's right.

FEYERICK (voice-over): That's right, Pacman.

Coming after you.

FELDMAN: When you have a general purpose computer, if you replace its software, you can completely change what it does.

FEYERICK: The brain of the touch-screen machine --

FELDMAN: Take it out, and this is just an ordinary memory card.

FEYERICK: And if that gets infected, watch out. HALDERMAN: We have found that we can make a voting machine virus that will spread from machine to machine and change the election outcome across the whole county and whole state. This is very, very scary. And it's a realistic threat today.

FEYERICK: And unlike the University of Michigan hackers who deliberately left their fight song as a fingerprint, real hackers would strike, disappear, and likely leave no fingerprint at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now, the most secure way to vote is a dual system, filling in a paper ballot then scanning it. The results are quick, they're easy. Election officials can then audit the paper ballots to make sure there's no discrepancy. If there is, then they count the ballots. But without a paper trail, voters have to take it on faith that their vote has registered and it's the vote that they want. And that's how scary this all is because you're never really sure. You have nothing to say, OK, yes, I voted for candidate "A."

CHETRY: That's unbelievable. Also, it's interesting, they're high fiving each other, cheering. I mean, it's just amazing what these guys can do, but how long did it take the D.C. officials to figure out this had been hacked?

FEYERICK: It took D.C. officials two full days to find out that their system had been hacked.

ROBERTS: Wow.

FEYERICK: And they did everything. They reprogrammed it. Not only that, they reset the security code because when the --

CHETRY: I mean, the hackers --

FEYERICK: The hackers reset the security code when they found out China and Iran computers were breaking in. But what was interesting is the way D.C. officials found out is somebody called and they complained about the Michigan fight song. Otherwise, they said no, they're like -- we like the system, we just don't get the music.

ROBERTS: What about --

CHETRY: It's all dropping.

ROBERTS: Did anybody get the computer that plays Pacman? That's another question. It's amazing to see what they can do.

FEYERICK: Well, exactly. But you know what's fascinating? When I was watching them hack the computer, this kid's fingers - they were moving so fast. I've never seen anything like it. Just the stream of information, sort of coursing through under that keyboard to change that program, rewrite it.

ROBERTS: So is there anywhere in this country using that system internet voting in next Tuesday's election? FEYERICK: Well, places in Arizona and West Virginia are. And it's very interesting, we asked them about it. And they said, look, what D.C. did was an experiment to see whether their system was secure. We didn't do that. They say their system is better encrypted. But one official in West Virginia told us, and by the way, it's illegal to hack into a system.

CHETRY: Yes, well -

ROBERTS: That'll protect them.

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: For all you hackers out there, it's against the law, don't do it.

FEYERICK: Don't do it. Exactly.

CHETRY: But it is stunning that they discovered China and Iran were well on their way to doing it. They should really hire these kids.

FEYERICK: They should hire these kids. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. But even the Pentagon system, we've seen stories that those aren't secure. Why they think these are is -

CHETRY: Yes. That's a big question, very eye opening.

FEYERICK: (INAUDIBLE) imagination.

ROBERTS: I detect a hanging Chad.

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks.

CHETRY: Thanks.

FEYERICK: Of course.

CHETRY: We're crossing the half hour right now. Time for a look at our top stories this morning. Fall fury, a rough commute, right now for the East Coast. A massive storm stretching from the deep south all the way to the northeast. You got wind advisories across the Midwest this morning and a lot of travelers are hoping to get out after the storm grounded hundreds of flights at Chicago's O'Hare yesterday.

ROBERTS: It's not clear whether Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina will be able to resume campaigning in California today. She spent the night in the hospital getting treatment for an infection that was related to reconstructive surgery that she had back in July. A "Los Angeles Times"-USC poll has the former Hewlett-Packard CEO trailing Democrat Barbara Boxer by eight points. CHETRY: Also GlaxoSmithKline agreeing to plead guilty and to pay a massive fine, $750 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that they sold defective and potentially dangerous medication. The Justice Department brought this suit after finding a Glaxo factory in Puerto Rico producing drugs that were mislabeled, had the wrong dosage, and also contaminated with microorganisms.

ROBERTS: To the most politics in the morning now. We're just six days away from the midterm elections. And there is important campaigning going on coast to coast.

CHETRY: If you've been keeping up with President Obama's schedule lately, you know that he has been out on the campaign trail day after day. Today he's heading to "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart which is taping in Washington because of Stewart's upcoming "Rally to Restore Sanity" this weekend. The first time the Comedy Central show has actually booked a sitting president as a guest.

ROBERTS: Also, tonight, four big debates taking place. We've got the Rhode Island and New Hampshire gubernatorial debates and the Illinois and Louisiana Senate debates.

CHETRY: Yes, and it's in Louisiana where Democrat Charlie Melancon is waging an uphill battle to try to unseat Senator David Vitter.

ROBERTS: A recent poll from WWL-TV in New Orleans, Vitter is ahead by 12 points. Our Brianna Keilar is live in the Big Easy this morning. And it's kind of stunning when you think about it. The degree to which people just really don't care what David Vitter was up to a while ago.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. How often can you ask a question, is it worse to be a Democrat or a family values Republican who has been linked to a prostitution ring? Well, this is the race here in Louisiana, and the answer to that question may really surprise you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): Just how tough of a year is it to be a Democrat? Take a look at the Senate race in conservative Louisiana. You've got Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon who touts his votes against Democratic priorities, including health care reform and the cap and trade energy bill. He also opposed President Obama's moratorium on drilling off the gulf coast. Melancon is challenging incumbent Republican Senator David Vitter who you might remember from this 2007 press conference.

SEN. DAVID VITTER (R), LOUISIANA: I want to again offer my deep, sincere apologies to all of those I have let down and disappointed with these actions from my past.

KEILAR: That was his vague apology after being linked to a prostitution ring run by the so-called DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. Three years later, Vitter is up in the polls over his Democratic challenger, even as Melancon takes Vitter to task for his alleged indiscretions.

REP. CHARLIE MELANCON (D), LOUISIANA SENATE CANDIDATE: It's hard for me to believe because I grew up in a house with three sisters, no brothers, that those same women are going to go to the poll and pull the lever for David Vitter who is the anti-thesis of what they're preaching to their children every day.

KEILAR: The ad Melancon features a New Orleans prostitute who alleges Vitter was her client.

VOICE OF WENDY CORTEZ, ALLEGED NEW ORLEANS PROSTITUTE: He went in, took a shower, spoke very little to me at first. He did his thing. He wasn't there 15, 20 minutes at that. It was $300.

KEILAR: Pretty shocking stuff. And Vitter had called it a desperate act by Melancon to distract from his own record. But talk to Louisiana voters and many of them just don't care.

ROBIN FALCON, LOUISIANA VOTER: That's between him and his wife.

KEILAR (on camera): Even though he ran on family values, it doesn't affect how you feel about him at all?

FALCON: Well, his opinion might be on family values, but he didn't follow it. But it's between him and his wife.

KEILAR (voice-over): Many who see past Vitter's apparent hypocrisy told us they can't see past Melancon's party affiliation. Stephen Sabludowsky is a political blogger here in Louisiana.

STEPHEN SABLUDOWSKY, PUBLISHER, BAYOUBUZZ.COM: Charlie Melancon is wearing the (INAUDIBLE) of President Obama around his neck.

It just going to be and is an uphill battle.

KEILAR: Vitter who denied multiple requests from CNN for an interview is running ads that tie Melancon to Obama.

ANNOUNCER: Charlie Melancon, he's voted for Obama's endless bailouts, reckless budgets, and $1 trillion stimulus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, Melancon insisted to me that he cannot be written off. He said in both state and federal races going into election day, he's been behind and he's come through. But guys, you were talking about that poll, that WWL poll, he's 12 points according to that behind David Vitter. That's that huge lift and even Democrats are saying if Melancon were to pull this off on Tuesday, it would be one of the biggest upsets of the election cycle, John and Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, it will be amazing. I mean, with six days to go, being down as far as he is, it's going to make it a tough battle. Thanks so much, Brianna.

ROBERTS: Brianna Keilar for us in New Orleans this morning. Make sure that you join the best political team on television all next week. "American Morning's" going to be on an hour early Monday and Tuesday. And what the heck? We're just going to stay up all night Tuesday night and be with you beginning at 3:00 a.m. the morning after to talk about the outcome of the election. So join us.

CHETRY: And don't worry if you usually don't get up in time for our show, we're going to be on until noon. So perhaps you'll catch us in one of those nine hours.

Coming up, if you think you booked a seat on a major U.S. airline, you get to the gate and you realize "Hey, wait a minute, this is a much smaller regional carrier." Well, now the question is, does it compromise safety? NTSB chair Debbie Hersman joins us, just ahead. 37 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: 20 minutes to the top of the hour. We're "Minding your Business" now. When you book a seat on a major airline, that's who you expect to fly, right? Well, often a funny thing happens on the way to the airport, a smaller regional airline is actually operating that flight. And as we've seen, it can compromise your safety.

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a two-day forum looking into the industry's so-called code-sharing agreements. Deborah Hersman is the chairperson of the NTSB. She joins us this morning from Washington. Debbie, it's great to see you this morning. What's the goal of this two-day forum that you're holding?

DEBORAH HERSMAN, NTSB: Good morning. Well, the goal of the forum is really to understand these code-share relationships a little bit better. They're becoming more and more prevalent both on the domestic side as well as the international side. And so we're really bringing all of the parties together from the industry, labor, from the regulators, to understand how these code-share arrangements work and what kind of safety oversight is occurring.

ROBERTS: The last six fatal domestic crashes have all involved regional airlines. And pilot performance was cited as a factor in four of those. You know you're investigating them all. And it's led to the question that a lot of travelers have - are regional airlines less safe?

HERSMAN: Well, I think the important thing to understand is that all carriers, regional, domestic, are held to the same minimum safety standards. The Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for setting those standards and all carriers meet those standards.

I think what the safety board is looking at is whether or not carriers go beyond those standards and how that happens. And what we heard yesterday was really that the bar is being raised in some areas, not necessarily by the regulators, but by the industry themselves. They're looking to do some more things. And those code share relationships result in more audits that occur from carrier to carrier and not just by other oversight entities. And sometimes those carriers are actually requiring higher standards. Voluntary reporting programs, data information, making sure they understand what's going on before they put their passengers on that other carrier.

ROBERTS: But as we learned from the Colgan Air investigation, the plane that crashed outside of Buffalo, and I know that you were very vocal about your findings. We learned a lot of things we didn't know about what these pilots are being paid, their level of training, the type of fatigue that they're flying with.

HERSMAN: Well, that's true. I think one of the challenges that we see some of those same issues across just not - it's not just regional carriers, it's major carriers too. And I think fatigue is a major issue. That's one that's being addressed. The president recently signed some legislation to addressed fatigue risk management for all carriers. And we're looking at a rewrite of those hours of service rules for all pilots. And that's very important.

ROBERTS: Now, you heard from the families of some of the people who were killed in the Colgan Air flight yesterday, lashing out at the major airlines that partner with these regional airlines, saying that they allowed their regional partners to operate with lower safety standards to save money. Do you think it's the responsibility of these major airlines that if they're going to partner with smaller airlines to reach some of the smaller municipalities that they need to step up? They need to take more responsibility for the people that they're contracting with?

HERSMAN: You know, I think it's everyone's responsibility that's part of this safety system to make sure that that bar is raised. And it doesn't matter where you get on an airplane. Whether it's in Detroit or Des Moines, you need to know that you can expect good service and safe service. And I think that's one of the reasons why we're holding this symposium is to make sure that the bar is raised for all carriers.

And so when we say we're in a safe period of aviation, that that safety is extended to all types of carriers and we continue to push the - push the limits of what we can do for safety to protect all passengers.

ROBERTS: So does the government need to really step in here? Because it's one thing for people to be informed to know that they're flying on a smaller aircraft. But for many people, they have no choice, you know, 400 communities across the country, regional airlines are their only way of getting out if you want to travel by air.

HERSMAN: That's right. The regional airlines are critical, especially to smaller communities. They would not have that essential service that they need for their business or for their personal life to be able to get out. And so they don't have a choice. What's interesting to know is that regional airlines are becoming more and more important in the aviation system. Over half of the scheduled flights are on regional carriers this year. ROBERTS: Yes. Well, we look forward to seeing the results of your two-day forum. Debbie Hersman, it's good of you to take the time for us this morning. We really appreciate you coming in.

HERSMAN: Thank you, happy to talk to you.

ROBERTS: Thanks. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, my one-on- one interview with Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine. He's been making movies for 50 years, still at the top of his game. How he continues to stay relevant and beloved by fans at the age of 77. Forty-five minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's the multimillion dollar question. LeBron James was asked it all summer. What should I do? The new ad called "Rise," by Nike, and he's still asking that question. But is it enough to restore his image? Fifty minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Seven minutes until the top of the hour. You know, two decades ago, Michael Caine thought that his acting career was over. He'd had a wonderful run. He played everything from a fearless bank robber to vigilante, to Batman's butler. He had an Oscar under his belt, just written an autobiography. Little did he know the best was yet to come. Well, now Sir Michael Caine has written a new book, "The Elephant to Hollywood."

I had a chance to chat with him about his life and his extraordinary career renaissance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Sir Michael Caine, a pleasure, by the way, to speak with you. Thanks so much for joining us.

SIR MICHAEL CAINE, ACTOR: My pleasure.

CHETRY: There are young kids. I always say "young kids" these days because now I'm a mom of two. So, there are young kids.

CAINE: Are you a mom of two?

CHETRY: I used to be a young kid but now I'm an old lady.

CAINE: I'd like to be a father and now I'm a granddad now.

CHETRY: I laugh because they know you from "Inception," or they know you from "Dark Knight," whereas I came up watching movies in the '80s and '90s. You were from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." I mean, this was -- and the great "Muppet Christmas." CAINE: Yes. I was, what's his name, Scrooge.

CHETRY: So what is it like to be known by vastly different roles by different generations?

CAINE: It was very funny. It was a funny scene the other day in Piccadilly. I was walking along Piccadilly in London, and there was a group of about 12 Japanese girls, all about 14, 15, all cute little Japanese girls. And suddenly one looked at me and said, Alfred, Alfred. They all started going Alfred. And I'm standing there signing, you know, this old man with all these young girls and they're all going, what the hell are they asking him for?

But with autographs, there is a thing that happens. When you're very young, you get mothers asking you for autographs for their daughters. I now get daughters asking me for autographs for their mothers.

CHETRY: You know you made it.

CAINE: But Alfred, you know, I'm recognized by youngsters because I'm Alfred to Batman.

CHRISTIAN BALE, ACTOR, BATMAN: You've crossed the line.

CAINE, AS ALFRED IN BATMAN: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed him, you hammered him to the point of desperation. And, in that desperation, they turned to a man they didn't fully understand.

BALE: Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred.

CHETRY: You actually thought in the mid-'90s that it was over?

CAINE: Oh, yes, I did. I did. It's rather like being an actor. And I was very happy because I'd been in this fabulous one-act play, If you can put it like that, my life. It was a great one-act play. And then suddenly there was this -- I found out there was a second act which was even better than the first act. Because what happened to me is I got old, you know.

I was 57 and I couldn't play lovers with young women anymore, you know, unless it was a criminal type film, you know? I started over. I was still movie actor but I started over as something different, which was being a leading actor opposed to a movie star. Movie start has a great, big dressing room and lots of money. A leading actor has a small dressing room and not very much money, but a lot of dialogue.

CHETRY: I also thought it was funny reading over your films how many have been remade. What does that say? Do you like that or does it bother you.

CAINE: I don't know. No, no. I suppose it's a compliment in a way but I think they have made -- they have remade successful films and came unstuck, you know? I think you should remake flops. We remade a flop in picture called "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

CAINE, AS LAWRENCE IN "DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS": You find a woman, set a price. And the first man to extract the correct amount from her, wins.

CHETRY: That was the funniest duo.

CAINE: Oh, yes. I love Steve Martin. We had the best time.

CHETRY: What was -- Emile --

CAINE: Dr. Emile Shaefhousen. And I did a thing on that. I kept wanting to hit him because I knew -- we had a situation where I'm a fake doctor. And wanted to hit him. And I did an ad lib, which always makes me laugh when I watch it. I saw it yesterday on the television. My name isn't Dr. Emily Shaefhousen. And on the take I went, the third.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you really think you can get him to walk again?

CAINE: Oh, I will have him running, jumping, shouting, screaming, or my name isn't Dr. Emile Scaefhousen, the third.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, doctor. He's so happy he's crying.

CHETRY: But his reaction was as if he was getting hit.

CAINE: Genius, those reactions. Because that's what got the laugh, not him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: You remember that?

ROBERTS: I didn't see that movie. That's probably the only Michael Caine movie that I haven't seen.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: We're going to play a little bit more of the interview coming up in the next hour. He talks a little bit about politics. He talks about the Tea Party and also what's next for the 77-year-old actor.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to that.

Meantime, top stories coming your way after a quick break. Stay with us.

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