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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Gadhafi Buried in Libya; Day 2 of Obama's West Coast Trip; Vote Today Whether To Vaccinate Boys; Novartis To Cut 2,000 Jobs
Aired October 25, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Developing news right now.
Moammar Gadhafi has been buried. The news coming to CNN from a spokesman from the National Transitional Council based out of Tripoli. We'll have more details for you ahead.
Also today, the HPV vaccine, it's recommended for young girls, but should it be routine for boys? Medical experts are said to vote on the proposal later this morning.
And while you were sleeping, an amazing sight in the southeast. Red and pink streaks filled the sky across parts of the country. Some saying these northern lights were the strongest seen yet.
Good morning you to. It is Tuesday, October 25th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York this morning.
Police in the Dallas area are hunting for a suspected serial rapist who has attacked at least four members of the same sorority. The victims are all African-American women in their mid-50s to early 60s. They're alumnus of Delta Sigma Theta. All were assaulted in their homes at night over the past few months. The most recent attack was 11 days ago in the town of Corinth. Police say they're somewhat mystified by the apparent sorority link to the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. GREG WILKERSOIN, CORINTH POLICE: Right now, we don't understand how he's obtaining the information. We don't know by chance if he has a list of members or just simply looking for members that may be out there sporting different paraphernalia, t-shirts for the sorority, jewelry, license plate placards, things of that nature. So, we put out a request to all the members to at least not advertise their affiliation for that sorority right now for their own safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All four victims offered similar descriptions of the man showed in a video. Police believe he's the man responsible for the attacks. Investigators are urging Delta members not to advertise their affiliation. You heard that.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is hoping to renew momentum for his presidential campaign when he lays out a plan today full of goals dear to conservatives. Perry spells out his plan called "Cut, Balance and Grow" in "The Wall Street Journal." It includes personal accounts for Social Security, optional flat tax, major spending cuts, and a series of tax cuts. He's formally unveiling his plan this morning in South Carolina.
Perry started out strong but he's taken a beating in recent debates and in the polls.
President Obama in Los Angeles today continuing a Western trip mixing fund-raising and presidential business. This morning, he's supposed to tape a segment of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno before he heads to San Francisco and Denver.
Before arriving in Los Angeles, yesterday, he stopped in Vegas, where he discussed changes to his mortgage refinancing program with a group of homeowners. No accident why he picked Vegas.
Nevada leads the country in bad mortgages. The rules will allow homeowners who owe more than 125 percent of the market value of their homes to get new loans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you meet certain requirements, you will have the chance to refinance at lower rates, which would save hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year on mortgage payments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In addition, there will be lower closing costs and certain refinancing fees will be eliminated. The administration is touting the president's plan as a way to stabilize the housing market and help jump-start the economy. Some critics say that unless the glut in foreclosures is cleared up, the effects of the plan will be very limited.
New developments out of Libya to tell you about. Moammar Gadhafi has been laid to rest at a secret location. That's according to Libya's governing National Transitional Council. Gadhafi was killed five days ago in his hometown of Sirte. His decaying body had been on display in a cold storage unit in the city of Misrata. The revolt against him erupted eight months ago.
Both the NTC and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation to determine exactly how Gadhafi was killed, whether he was executed or caught in the crossfire.
WikiLeaks is in danger of going belly up. The founder Julian Assange says he stopped publication of the secret data in order to devote full time to fund-raising. He says that a financial blockade by U.S. financial companies has wiped out 95 percent of WikiLeaks' revenue. Many of those companies stopped doing business with WikiLeaks after it published scores of confidential diplomatic cables late last year. The government says disclosing the information was illegal and caused risks to individuals and national security.
Let's head to Atlanta now and check in with Jacqui Jeras.
Any flight delays expected today?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, quite a few, Carol. Mostly, we're looking at places across the Upper Midwest and into the Great Lakes. We've got strong area of low pressure moving in there. It's going to be on the windy side and we're going to see some occasional showers, too. And that's why we're going to expect to see some of those problems.
So, let's go ahead and take a look at that list.
In Chicago, we think it will be one of worst cities for travel today, and that's predominantly going to be in the afternoon hours. We'll see some thunderstorms and those winds gusting around 25, maybe even 30 miles an hour.
Delays under an hour today for you in Boston due to the wind. That rain pushed out of there.
Minneapolis, especially in the afternoon, we'll see some of that rain. Windy for you in Dallas and Kansas City. And Denver will see P.M. rain showers, but we could be seeing some snow in Denver late tonight and into tomorrow.
We've got winter storm watches which are already posted there. We could get over a foot up into the high country. Warm conditions across parts of the south from Texas into Central Plains states. We're talking 10 to 20 degrees above where you should be for this time of the year.
Look at that: 83 in Kansas City, 72 in Chicago today. We're seeing a little cooler in the Northeast. Sixty degrees in New York City.
We're also keeping our eyes on the Tropics. If you have travel plans, say, to Cancun or have friends or family going there, they need to pay attention here to Rina. A hundred per hour winds, category 2 storm right now. And the forecast is developing into a major hurricane with potential landfall late on Thursday.
All right. Do you drive your car? Do you beat it into the ground? How many miles do you have on that odometer? Quit a few?
Well, can you compare to this? Take a look at this. How about a million miles on a 1990 Honda Accord? Yes, a million miles.
Joe LoCiero has been working on this for years and years and years. This is in Saco, Maine. And they held -- look at this. Look at the people in the street in their costumes.
They had a big parade and celebration for him. Of course, Honda has taken high note in all of this, Carol. They've been recording this and they're giving him a brand new car.
COSTELLO: Wait a minute.
JERAS: A brand new car!
COSTELLO: Well, let me get this straight. They held a parade and all this stuff because a man reached a million miles on his car?
JERAS: What an accomplishment, right? He's a mechanic, of course. After a million miles, you got a lot of work to do, right?
COSTELLO: Well, congratulations to him.
Jacqui Jeras, many thanks.
JERAS: Sure.
COSTELLO: Late night comedian Conan O'Brien wasted no time poking fun at a few rivalries last night, and that included one of his own. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: A bank in Washington was robbed by who men in George W. Bush masks. Yes. Luckily right afterwards, two guys in Obama masks came and bailed the bank out.
President Obama was back in Los Angeles today where he will appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. No, Obama is appearing with Jay Leno to highlight the one job that was saved during his administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It's a GPS device that is being used to make sure parents know where their children are to help locate long distance runners. Now, the technology is being targeted to a population that is growing every day, those suffering from Alzheimer's. We'll have details in a live report.
But, first, our "Quote of the Day." This is the quote, "You associate yourself with a nutty view like that, and you damage yourself," end quote. This advice given to a Republican presidential candidate. Find out who was offering up help in 90 seconds.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
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COSTELLO: It is nine minutes after the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now back to our "Quote of the Day." This is the quote: "You associate yourself with a nutty view like that, and you damage yourself," end quote.
That was Karl Rove offering advice to Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry during an interview FOX News. Rove was the deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to President George W. Bush. He was warning Perry not to get involved in the birther debate that surrounded President Obama.
In an interview published Sunday in "Parade" magazine, Perry said he believes the president was born in the United States but was less confident. The birth certificate the president released earlier this year was the real thing.
A Dragon spaceship and shoes that can track your loved one's every move -- let's head to Hong Kong for some tech/sci headlines.
Good morning, Kristie Lu.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hey there.
Now, let's first talk about the Dagon capsule. It's designed by SpaceX, the private developed to fly cargo first and then eventually crew to the International Space Station. And Dragon's next liftoff could be as early as December 19th. But the final launch date will be set by NASA, which is sponsoring the flight. The Dragon -- it will carry food, water and other space station supplies and tests will also be carried out to look at its communications system and how it maneuvers.
And with the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, NASA is depending on partners like SpaceX to deliver cargo and eventually crew, astronauts, to the International Space Station. So, many will be looking to see how the Dragon performs out there in orbit.
Back to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, before you go, tell us about these new shoes that can help people find their loved ones.
STOUT: Yes. This is a really fascinating piece, a ground- breaking technology. It's finally available for sale in the U.S. It's been out already for about two years. It's called GTX.
And these are walking shoes to help find wandering patients who are suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. Now, the shoes -- they have built-in GPS transmitters in the heels. There are other tracking devices out there.
But since patients tend to take off, GPS bracelets or pendants, the shoes are said to be more effective. Now, they will retail in the United States for about $300. Buyers will need to set up a monitoring service. And, again, if you're interested, the brand is called GTX.
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: Pretty cool. Kristie Lu Stout, live in Hong Kong this morning -- thank you.
The "Occupy Wall Street" movement has taken on a life of its own. But just how will Americans view the protests? And what does it mean for Democrats and Republicans? We'll take a closer look. That's just ahead.
Twelve minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fourteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back.
No one seems to have an answer on how to end the bipartisan bickering in Washington. But now, that may have changed.
Our Erin Burnett got a visit from "Sesame Street's" Elmo last night. So, why don't we let's take a stab at it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, HOST, CNN'S "ERIN BURNETT'S OUTFRONT": Elmo, you could solve the world's problem right now.
ELMO: Really? How?
BURNETT: OK. So, in Washington --
ELMO: Yes?
BURNETT: -- everybody hates each other. Nobody will do anything together.
ELMO: Really?
BURNETT: And it's hurting America. How do you fix it, Elmo?
ELMO: Play dates.
BURNETT: Play dates?
ELMO: Yes, everybody has play dates.
BURNETT: Like put a Democrat and Republican play date?
ELMO: Play dates.
BURNETT: Harry Reid, John Boehner, play dates?
ELMO: Yes, play dates. And everybody brings their own food.
BURNETT: OK. Yes.
ELMO: And they have to sing songs.
BURNETT: I think that might solve it. It's better than anything we tried so far, Elmo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Play dates. Why not?
Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS live from Washington.
I can see John Boehner and Harry Reid -- no, I can't.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS POTUS: No, I can't either. Talk to the hand. Or the hand puppet I guess if you want advice on that around the politics of United States.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Let's talk about the polls. We've got two new polls this morning that show split opinion on the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, including a CNN/ORC poll. So, Tim, let's take a look at these polls.
What does it mean and what can Democrats and Republicans draw from it?
FARLEY: Well, this has been the problem all along, Carol, is how do you associate yourself or dissociate yourself with or from the "Occupy Wall Street" movement? As you mentioned, the CNN/ORC poll, you're looking at about the same amount of people oppose as support the movement, about one in three.
And it's not too different from the Pew Research Poll which indicates about 39 percent to 35 percent. These are numbers that just say that this movement is not being widely embraced. The only positive for Democrats is that some Democrats do embrace it. But that's only about 50 percent.
So, at this point, it's probably not a great idea to get too much on to the band wagon. I think if you dig deeper into these polls, what you find is even more interesting, though, and that is that when it comes to the Tea Party movement, and this is specifically one of the things out of the Pew Research poll, the Tea Party movement has a lot of negatives attached to it, even most Republicans don't care for it, one in five. And I think when you go to that, you can see that Republicans run the danger of being cast as the radicals.
This is something Democrats have used fairly successfully, and at least based on these polls that we're seeing could be an effective strategy moving forward. That is that Republicans are enthralled with the Tea Party and that's why they're not doing what they need to be doing to make this country a better place to live. That's at least the line the Democrats can use based on some of what we're seeing here.
COSTELLO: And they have been using that line over and over again.
Let's talk about Rick Perry because he is regrouping. He's actually hired some GOP veterans to recharge his White House bid. The question is, is it too little too late?
FARLEY: Well, you know, the people ask the question of John McCain in 2007 when he started making changes. In this case, Rick Perry number one is coming out with some more bold proposals today. He has an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal" and he is making an appearance in South Carolina. He is rolling out his flat tax plan, a 20 percent flat tax.
Additionally, he has hired on Joe Allbaugh who had worked as President George W. Bush's campaign manager in 2000. This is kind of a strange addition given the fact that the team Perry and team Bush have not played well together. As a matter of fact, Karl Rove has been very critical, as you mentioned before, Carol, of some of the things that Rick Perry has been saying.
Whether it makes a difference or not sort of depends on whether or not you can make that good second first impression. Do you get a second chance at that? And that's what Rick Perry is gambling on at this point. He's not giving up easily and we'll see how it plays out. But, certainly, some changes, maybe inject some fresh life into this campaign, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. He certainly has a lot of money to play with. So, we'll see how it all pans out.
Tim Farley from POTUS Sirius Radio this morning -- thank you so much.
A disturbing report out of Syria from Amnesty International. It says that some people consider it's safer to leave their wounds untreated rather than go to a government-run hospital. We'll have more on that just ahead.
But, first, pack some pizza or even a hamburger for lunch today. That's because it's National Greasy Food Day.
It's 18 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 21 minutes after the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Here are three things to put on your radar:
It is day two of President Obama's trip to the West Coast. He'll be in Los Angeles this morning and will tape an appearance on the Jay Leno show. He'll also take part in fundraisers in San Francisco and Denver.
At 10:00 a.m. Eastern, it's the sentencing phase in the case of the man found guilty of raping and killing a woman and her two daughters in Connecticut. Today, the jury will decide if he deserves the death penalty.
And at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the CDC's vaccine advisory board will vote on whether the HPV vaccine should be on the schedule for boys and not just for girls.
Accusations out of Syria that the very place the sick go to heal is being used for torture.
Let's head around the world with Monita Rajpal. She's live in London.
It's just an unbelievable actually.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Absolutely unbelievable, Carol.
Amnesty International is saying that Syrian authorities have given security forces a free rein in hospitals. Now, the report is alleging that patients needing treatment at government-run hospitals in Syria are being tortured at the hands of not only security forces that are there but by doctors and nurses as well. According to the 39-page Amnesty report, those patients who have been suspected of being involved in any protests or dissent and have been injured during the protests are subjected to beating, so much so that people are now even afraid of going to hospital to seek treatment.
The report also describes that even hospitals that want to help patients are facing major dilemmas. For example, if a patient needs blood, the hospital would need to contact the defense ministry which controls the blood bank, thereby notifying security forces of patients with certain types of injury. Now, Amnesty says that hospital staff were also subject to torture for treating patients.
Unfortunately, CNN isn't allowed to report from within Syria. So, to verify this information is quite difficult. The U.N. has said that more than 3,000 people have been killed since the unrest began seven months ago. Syria is saying that they're blaming the unrest and the need for security crackdown on terrorists and armed gangs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to say, it's so difficult to get into that country. How do you stop such a thing?
RAJPAL: Well, this is the thing. No one really knows what is going on inside the country. So, what CNN has to rely on is our sources within the country, also from the YouTube and video that come out of there that people are brave enough to post online. So, it's very difficult to actually verify and confirm what is actually happening within the country.
Unless we're allowed inside for ourselves to see with our own eyes what is happening, it is difficult to actually know what's being done and I guess to be able to report to the outside world what is happening.
COSTELLO: Yes, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon that Syria will say yes, come on in. Take a look at what's happening. It doesn't appear that way anyway.
Monita Rajpal live in London, thanks so much.
Two days after a devastating earthquake in Turkey, rescuers hope to find more survivors even as the number of dead keeps going up. An update coming your way just ahead.
And it's already recommended for girls but should boys get the HPV vaccine, too?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, October 25th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello, joining you live this morning from New York.
It is just about half past the hour. Rescue workers are using shovels, machines, even their bare hands to search for survivors following that deadly earthquake in Turkey. Overnight, we learned the death toll now stands at 366 with more than 1,300 people injured. More than 2,000 emergency workers are doing their part to help. Many of the victims have lost everything they own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEZIHE CICEK, SURVIVOR (through translator): I have no house left or furniture left, she says. I only managed to save my children's lives. I came outside and saw I have nothing left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Sunday, the 7.2 quake hit one the regions poorest areas. And with near freezing temperatures, some are collecting wood from collapses buildings to burn for heat.
A moderate Islamic group is claiming victory in Tunisia's historic election although official results are not expected until later today.
The North African country was the first to overthrow its long time ruler following the so-called Arab Spring. Voters waited for hours in lines that looped around polling stations. The turnout rate: 80 percent. And Tunisia's the first national election since it became independent in 1956.
It is day two for the defense in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. CNN's Ted Rowlands has more for you from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When court resumes, a nurse who treated Michael Jackson will be on the stand. Her name is Cherilyn Lee. And she is testifying that at some point in the year 2009, the year that Michael Jackson died, he asked her to give him Propofol.
Before she took the stand, we heard from another health care provider, one of Michael Jackson's long-time doctors, Dr. Allan Metzger. And he, too, told the jury that in February of 2009, Michael Jackson was looking for somebody to give him Propofol.
DR. ALLAN METZGER, JACKSON'S PHYSICIAN: He asked me about intravenous sleep medicine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he happen to mention the name of this medicine?
METZGER: I think he used the word juice.
ROWLANDS: Also today, we're expecting to hear some character witnesses that's the defense is hoping will build up Dr. Conrad Murray's reputation which took such a beating during the prosecution case. We're going to hear from a couple of witnesses that we have met in year's past. Ruby Moseley is a woman in Houston, Texas, who was a patient of Dr. Conrad Murray.
She'll say that Murray has helped her community in Houston by serving in underdeveloped area. Then, we'll hear from a guy by the named Jerry Cause. He says he had a heart attack ten years ago, and Dr. Murray saved his life.
GERRY CAUSE, DR. MURRAY'S PATIENT: I had a heart attack ten years ago, he saved my life. And he's been my friend ever since.
ROWLANDS: Janet Jackson has cancelled a few of her tour days in Australia to come back to Los Angeles to attend portions of the rest of the trial. She was not in court yesterday. We do expect to possibly see her and the rest of the family in court later today.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Ted.
Medical experts are expected to vote later today on a proposal that boys should get the HPV vaccine. It's already on the Centers for Disease Control's vaccine schedule for girls. Today's vote will decide if boys ages nine to 18 should get it, too. The vaccine helps prevent cervical cancer, genital warts, and other cancers. HPV is spread through sexual contact.
Time to wake up now to today's morning Monday news. The Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, says that it will cut 2,000 jobs over the next two years. The majority of those cuts will happen here in the United States and in Switzerland. Profits for Novartis were up 12 percent for the third quarter. The job cuts are said to be part of its $300 million restructuring plan.
FedEx is marking its calendar for December 12th. The shipping giant predict that will be the busiest day in the company's history. FedEx is also planning to hire 20,000 holiday workers to help with the holiday rush. It expects to handle roughly 260 million shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a 12 percent increase from last year.
More trouble for Netflix. Final numbers show the company lost 800,000 subscribers in the third quarter. You will remember this past July, Netflix outraged customers when it decided to increase prices for its DVD and video streaming services. Then, things got worse when it looked to rebrand its movies by mail services as Qwikster. They expect to lose more customers by the end of the year.
A tough talking campaign ad for Herman Cain, but wait until you see how it ends. We will play this ad for you. This is an ad. You got to see it though, and we'll get reaction from our deputy political director, because I don't know what this ad means. Maybe, you can figure it out. Maybe, Paul will help us. We'll have more on that after this.
But first, it's time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. The U.S. government is in a huge deficit, and a new study shows one way to save money is to phase out the dollar bill and replace it with a dollar coin. So, how much money would that save over the next 30 years? Is it A. $500 million, B. $5.6 billion, or C. $1.2 trillion? We'll have the answer in two minutes. It's 33 minutes past.
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COSTELLO: It is 36 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Now, the answer to our "Get Smart" question of the morning. The U.S. government is in huge deficit. You know that. A new study shows one way to save money is to phase out the dollar bill and replace it with a dollar coin. So, how much money would that save over the next 30 years? Is it A. $500 million, B. $5.6 billion, or C. $1.2 trillion?
The answer will surprise you. The answer is b, $5.6 billion. A nonpartisan group called the Government Accountability Office did the study. They found switching to coins would save money in the long- term because coins last forever and paper currency lasts about three- and-a-half years. Now, you know.
Time for our "Political Ticker" with our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He joins us on the phone this morning from Washington. Good morning, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR (on the phone): Hey, Carol. Good morning to you.
COSTELLO: Good morning. Let's talk about Rick Perry first off. He's got this big op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal." He finally outlines his tax plan, and it's complicated. The 20 percent flat rate, unless you don't want it.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. It's not as simple as 9-9-9, and 9-9-9, of course, worked wonders for Herman Cain Taking him from an after thought to right up there as a frontrunner in the battle for the GOP nomination. So, this morning, Rick Perry, the Texas governor, whose poll numbers, I think, Carol, we can both be honest, that has definitely dipped over the last couple of weeks.
He's going to be in South Carolina. He's going to introduce his plan. It's call cut, balance and grow. Catchy title there. Cut, balance, and grow. As you mentioned, he was also out this morning with an op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal." You've got a choice between a new flat tax rate of 30 percent or you get to keep your current income tax rate. So, you get a choice there. It's like a menu there. New flat tax would preserve mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions according to his plan. That's for families earning less than half a million year. That's a lot of us. And it will increase the standard deduction to 12,500 for individuals and independent.
He wants to abolish the debt tax. A lot of Republicans are saying that. And he wants to lower the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Carol, one of the quotes I thought that spelled out most to me in the "Wall Street Journal" was he said, this simple 20 percent flat tax will allow Americans to file their taxes on a postcard. There you go.
COSTELLO: We'll see if it catches on, if it catches fire. Let's talk about someone who has caught fire and that would be Herman Cain. His campaign has released this new web video that minces no words, but it has the strange ending. I can't put any other way. We're just all going to have to watch it. Let's watch, and then, we'll discuss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mark Block (ph) here. Since January, I've had the privilege of being the chief of staff to Herman Cain and the chief operating officer of the friends of Herman Cain. Tomorrow is one day closer to the White House. I really believe that Herman Cain will put united back in the United States of America, and if I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be here.
We've run a campaign like nobody's ever seen. But then, America's never seen a candidate like Herman Cain. We need you to get involved because together we can do this. We can take this country back.
(SINGING) I am America. One voice, united we stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, as I was watching that, Paul, I thought to myself, oh it's kind of boring, but then, he smokes that cigarette, and I'm just trying to figure out what he's meaning to convey.
STEINHAUSER: Unusual is the word that came to my mind when I saw it. Let's start with the cigarette, because what's most bizarre about this is, of course, Herman Cain is a colon cancer survivor. So, maybe that's not the best symbolism that his chief of staff is taking a drag on a cigarette at the end of the commercial there or the web video.
Carol, this thing came out last night, and it went crazy online, right? It was definitely talk of the online world. We were trying to figure out is it real or not. And one of us (ph) reached out to the Cain campaign, and here, they answer, yes, this is ours. This is our new video, our new commercial. So, bizarre. The guy there, Mark Block (ph), is the chief of staff to the campaign just if you're curious. Bizarre commercial. We'll see if it catches fire.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's a good one if it catches fire. I can see it on "Saturday Night Live" right now.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. I think we can already bank on that for next weekend.
COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
Now, to today's sports headlines. Game five of the World Series, Texas Rangers hosting the St. Louis cardinals. The game came down to some clutch hitting. The Rangers, Mike Naply, broke a 2-2 tie in the eight inning with a rocket to right field. Two runs would scores. Those were his eighth and ninth RBIs of the season. Three times more than any other Ranger.
Rangers take a 3-2 lead in the best of seven series. Game six tomorrow in St. Louis. Mr. Napoli is quite the hero of Texas these days.
A big upset on Monday night football. The Baltimore Ravens trail the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth quarter before scoring on a five-yard touchdown pass. They couldn't recover the outside kick and time expired. Jags beat the Ravens 12-7. Jacksonville kicked four field goals to get their second win of the season. The Ravens offense, well, would you even call it offense? It was ugly.
More bad news for NBA fans. "The New York Daily News" is reporting the NBA is canceling two more weeks of the season. League had already canceled two weeks. NBA owners locked out the players because of a labor dispute. The two sides are discussing players' salaries as well deviating up the total revenue.
The White House announces changes to help struggling homeowners. We'll run down the president's plan to curb foreclosure. That's just ahead. It's 42 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning you to. It is Tuesday, October 25th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York this morning. It is 44 minutes past the hour.
Police in the Dallas area are hunting for a suspected serial rapist who has attacked at least four members of the same sorority. The victims, all African-American women in their mid 50s to early 60s are alumni of Delta Sigma Theta. All were assaulted in their homes at night over the past few months.
The most recent attack was 11 days ago in the town of Corinth. Police say they're somewhat mystified by the apparent sorority link to the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. GREG WILKERSON, CORNITH POLICE: Right now, we don't understand how he is obtaining the information. We don't know if he, you know, by chance has a list of members or just simply looking for members that maybe out there sporting different paraphernalia, T- shirts for the sorority, jewelry, license plate placards, things of that nature.
So, we put out requests to all the members, at least, not advertise their affiliation with that sorority right now for their own safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All four victims offered similar descriptions of the man shown in a surveillance video. Police believe he's the man responsible for the attacks. Investigators urging Delta members not to advertise their affiliation.
President Obama is in Los Angeles today continuing a western trip that mixing fundraising and presidential business. This morning, he's scheduled to tape a segment of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno before heading off to San Francisco and to Denver.
Before arriving in Los Angeles yesterday, he stopped In Las Vegas where he discussed changes to his mortgage refinancing program with a group of homeowners. No accident why he picked Vegas. Nevada leads the country in bad mortgages. It's also a swing state. The new rules, by the way, will allow homeowners who owe more than 125 percent of the market value of their homes to refinance the mortgages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you meet certain requirements, you will have the chance to refinance at lower rates which could save you hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year on mortgage payments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In addition, there will be lower closing costs and certain refinancing fees will be eliminated. The administration is touting the president's plan as a way to stabilize the housing market and help jumpstart the economy. Some critics say that unless the glut in foreclosures is cleared up, though, the effects of the president's plan will be limited.
Moammar Gadhafi, he's finally been laid to rest. It happened just this morning. Let's get right to our Dan Rivers. He's live in Tripoli. Will there be a funeral, Dan?
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, not as such, no. He has been buried in secret in the desert with the kind of minimum of ceremony. We're told that by one of the military council spokesman here that the burial took place along with his son, Watsim (ph), and the defense minister, Abubakar. Members of the Gadhafi tribe were praying over the body, and then, all three bodies were moved in convoy into the desert and that's as much as we know.
They want to keep the location secret to avoid it becoming a shrine. And this after five days of the bodies being on public show in that market on the edge of Misrata, they come under singing criticism, the transitional government here for the handling of all this. But finally now, Moammar Gadhafi has been buried.
COSTELLO: Why did it take so long? I'm sure there was a lot of debate behind the scenes. But, why did it take days to decide what to do with Gadhafi's body?
RIVERS: Well, I think there's a mixture of reasons. Firstly, they wanted to allow the public to see the body. A lot of people, hundreds of people cued up to take that opportunity because they wanted to see for themselves that he was really dead. There was also the question of an autopsy. That took some time to organize, although, they did not in the end have international independent observers in for that autopsy.
We don't know the details of that autopsy other than Moammar Gadhafi was killed via shot in the head. And I think there was really a lack of control of the people guarding the body from the leadership of the country. And that is symptomatic of the situation here. You've got a bunch of different rival militias across this country, many of whom just don't really listen to the transitional government and to their wishes.
And even though they were being ordered to stop that public viewing going ahead, it continued. So, I think that just illustrates how difficult the next few months is going to be here.
COSTELLO: So, the National Transitional Council is probably relieved that Gadhafi has been buried because they can now, you know, I guess, close the book on that chapter. So, what's the next step?
RIVERS: Well, they're now going to look towards organizing some sort of body commission of some sort to write the constitution. I would imagine this will be a similar process as we've seen in neighboring Tunisia where there will be some sort of vote to elect the people who will then draw up the constitution.
They will go away, write a constitution, come back, and then, we will have elections here, we're told by the chairman of the NTC within eight months which will put it at next summer.
COSTELLO: Dan Rivers live in Tripoli. Thanks so much.
WikiLeaks is in danger of going belly up. Founder, Julian Assange, says he has temporarily stopped publication of secret data in order to devote full time to fundraising. He says that a financial blockade by U.S. financial companies has wiped out 95 percent of WikiLeaks' revenue.
Many of those companies found doing business with WikiLeaks after it published scores of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables late last year. The U.S. government says that disclosing the classified information was illegal and caused risk to individuals and national security.
Let's head to Atlanta now and Jacqui Jeras. Nasty weather over much of the country today. JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Parts of it, but you know, there are a lot of areas that are going to see awfully decent weather today, especially the southern plains. Gorgeous, sunny, great weather, but, we're going to have a little bit of a lousy stuff, too, and that's going to cause some travel delays today. We're really focusing in especially across the nation's midsection for that potential.
And we head into the afternoon hours, we think things could get pretty nasty in the Chicago area. Windy conditions along with the chance of showers and thundershowers. Boston, your rains moved out now already, but it still be windy today. Delay is expected to be under an hour. Minneapolis looking for rain, especially this afternoon. Dallas and Kansas City, it's going to be the wind for you but a very warm wind, anyway.
And Denver, looking for some afternoon showers, but, late tonight and into tomorrow, Denver, watch for that to change over to some snow. We actually have a winter storm watch in effect for the Denver area this after a record high of 80 degrees yesterday. You get up into the high country. We could be talking about well over a foot of snow. There you can see the rain showers across the northern tier across the south.
It's nice and warm, but watch for that change as the cold front moves on through, but in the meantime, enjoy that 83 in Kansas City, 87 in the Dallas area. We also have to mention the tropics. Hurricane Rina producing winds now 100 miles per hour. That makes it a Category 2 storm. Expected to be a major storm with possible landfall near Cozumel or Cancun later in the week, most likely on Thursday.
All right. We have some spectacular video I have to show you. If you're brushing your teeth or if you're away from your TV, get over to it now and take a look at this from Michigan. We had a geomagnetic storm on Saturday night and that caused an amazing display of the aurora borealis. Look at the reds, and those greens, and those purples. What a great show for people to see.
On a scale of one to five, by the way, this was kind of on the low end. We call it a number two. So, it's not enough to cause any problems with cell phones or GPS's. So, that's the good news at all. And Carol, believe it or not, you know, aurora borealis, you have to be pretty far north usually to see these things. My husband is a pilot. I know you know that, and he was in Atlanta flying in last night, and he saw it all the way down here in Georgia.
COSTELLO: You're kidding.
JERAS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Was he flying at the time?
JERAS: He was flying at the time, yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, I can't even imagine how spectacular that would have been.
JERAS: I know. They saw it in Arkansas. They saw it in Tennessee, Ohio, New York. What a great display.
COSTELLO: I guess he couldn't take pictures because he was flying the plane.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: Probably not an ethical thing to do.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, thank goodness for that. Jacqui Jeras, many thanks.
Still ahead, it's a company that became a household name, but it is in serious trouble. So, why are Google and Microsoft looking to throw billions of dollars at it?
But first, let's take a look at our "Word of the Day,". Find out what it means and why you need to know after a break. It's 53 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is three minutes until the top of the hour. This is you're A.M. WALE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Word of the Day." Xenophyophores. OK. What is that, you ask? Well, they are single celled animals exclusively found in deep sea environments. They're in the news because a dive team documented the deepest known existence of the creatures more than 6 1/2 miles down. Now, you know.
No one seems to have an answer on how to end the bipartisan bickering in Washington, but now that may have changed. Our Erin Burnett got a visit from Sesame Street's Elmo last night. So, why not let him take a stab at it?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Elmo, you could solve the world's problem right now.
ELMO, SESAME STREET: Really? How?
BURNETT: OK. So, in Washington --
ELMO: Yes.
BURNETT: Everybody hates each other. Nobody will do anything together.
ELMO: Really?
BURNETT: And it's hurting America. How do you fix it, Elmo?
ELMO: Play dates. BURNETT: Play dates?
ELMO: Yes. Everybody has play dates.
BURNETT: Like put a Democrat and a Republican play date?
ELMO: Play dates.
BURNETT: Harry Reid-John Boehner play date?
ELMO: Play dates. Everybody brings their own food.
BURNETT: OK. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
ELMO: And they have to sing songs.
BURNETT: I think that might solve it. It's better than anything we've tried so far, Elmo.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Just the image of that is making me a little nauseous. I don't know about you. Let's head to the NASDAQ MarketSite and check in with Carter Evans. He has a look at the numbers this morning. Good morning.
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. That Elmo interview is a pretty big get for Erin, huh?
COSTELLO: It was. The best yet.
EVANS: That guy's got some great ideas. Let me tell you.
Hey, today, we're going to get a report on home prices, the Case Schiller home price index. The (INAUDIBLE) home prices in 20 major cities around the country were also going to get a report on consumer confidence. And it's a big day for earnings. Among them, we will hear from 3M, BP, Delta, DuPont, UPS, before the bell, Amazon, after the close today.
In the meantime, all green yesterday. A pretty good day for stocks. The Dow up 105 points. Today, our futures, they're a bit lower, but they're starting to move higher. We've got those reports coming in ahead of those reports. They're a bit lower right now, but markets in Europe and Asia are looking pretty good this morning.
COSTELLO: OK. Quickly now, what's the big story on CNNMoney right now?
EVANS: Well, you know, a lot of people are talking about Yahoo! and Google and Microsoft and what's going on? It's really a big game of chicken. This is a story on CNNMoney.com. This is kind of like the two most popular guys in the school, both competing for a girl that's maybe not quite as popular.
And everybody is going well why do you want this girl so much? And it's because they don't want the other guy to get the girl. I mean that's basically what we're looking at here. Yahoo! is not a great match (ph) for either Google or Microsoft, but in the hands of the competitor, it could be a dangerous situation, and that could spell good news for Yahoo! in the long run.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. It could drive up that branch (ph) right now. Carter Evans, thanks so much. Live at the NASDAQ MarketSite.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
