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Weekend Early Start
Obama Office Hit By Bullet; Debate Over The VP Debate; Tough New Election Laws In 19 States; Teen Activist Fights For Life; Are You Better Off Now Than Four Years Ago?; Tips for Healthy Living; Buzz for 'Argo'
Aired October 13, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND.
A gunshot at the Obama campaign headquarters in Denver. Police are investigating. Was this a coordinated plot or an act of criminal mischief?
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Playing politics with voters and their IDs. Both parties fighting it out in battleground states about who gets to vote and how. All morning we are putting voter ID laws in focus.
KAYE: And, the long road home. Space Shuttle Endeavour is on the move, cruising the streets of L.A. toward its final resting place. We'll track it all morning.
It is Saturday, October 13th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. As always, it's a pleasure to have you with us this morning.
We are starting with the shooting in Denver aimed at the Obama campaign headquarters. Joining me now on the phone for -- from Denver is Vida Urbosa from affiliate KUSA.
Vida, can you tell us where this investigation is happening right now and do police have a suspect?
VIDA URBOSA, KUSA REPORTER (via telephone): Victor, this morning I can tell you the focus really is shifting to who shot out that window. Police do say -- they are saying that someone fired one shot -- at least one shot at that Obama campaign field office in Denver yesterday afternoon.
Now, that office, it's near Ninth Avenue and Acoma (ph) Street. To give you an idea where that is, it's just on the south end of downtown Denver. Now, police are telling us that question you asked, that they do have a description of a possible vehicle of interest. They're talk about a vehicle only, but they have not released any information to us just yet.
We just put a call in to get to the public information officer and I haven't heard back. But detectives tell us that they are reviewing any available video footage of the incident and they are pursuing the leads. However, they have not released a vehicle description or a suspect description or even any video at this time.
Now, we did hear from an Obama campaign spokesperson who declined to comment on the incident and, of course, diverted it back to the police, the Denver Police. And we are also hearing reports this morning that the Secret Service also diverted the questions to Denver Police. So they really haven't heard of any threats against the Obama headquarters at this time and this incident, as we we're talking, happened around 3:00 in the afternoon.
A Friday afternoon, yesterday. And that one shot fired into the structure. People were inside the office when the shooting happened. Luckily, nobody was hurt. And by early evening, they had replaced that window and it's all back to normal.
But again, this morning, that's what we're waiting for this weekend. Are Denver Police going to release a vehicle description, perhaps some surveillance footage of that area there. So, of course, we'll keep you posted as we learn more.
BLACKWELL: And we know that police are reviewing surveillance video from that area. Vida Urbosa from affiliate KUSA, thank you very much.
URBOSA: You bet.
KAYE: And now to the actual campaign. Mitt Romney has been on a roll since the first presidential debate. Check out this new CNN Poll of Polls. You can see that Mitt Romney has a two-point lead over President Obama in that national poll there. And here's the story in Ohio, where President Obama holds a three-point lead. Romney will be in Ohio today campaigning.
BLACKWELL: Now, he's looking to capitalize on the momentum from the first presidential debate. Debate number two is Tuesday. But Thursday's VP debate is still a hot topic on the trail. CNN national political correspondent Jim Acosta has more.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi and Victor, the debate after the debate has not only been about Joe Biden's style, it has been about substance. Most notably, the vice president's comments on Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel great.
ACOSTA: At breakfast after his fiery debate with Vice President Joe Biden, Paul Ryan still had his sunny side up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you feel knocked around by him?
RYAN: No. No, it's what I expected.
ACOSTA: Ryan offered no complaints about Biden's aggressive performance, which appear to be designed to put some sorely needed points on the president's scoreboard. Whether it was on Ryan's past request for stimulus money --
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sure he (INAUDIBLE).
RYAN: I did. On two situations we --
BIDEN: By the way, he --
RYAN: We advocated for constituents who were applying for grants. That's what we do.
ACOSTA: Or Ryan's attempt to compare the Mitt Romney tax plan to Jack Kennedy's.
RYAN: Jack Kennedy lowered tax rates, increased growth. Ronald Reagan --
BIDEN: Oh now you're Jack Kennedy.
ACOSTA: Ryan was able to fire back with a few zingers of his own.
RYAN: Mr. Vice President, I know --
BIDEN: Oh, no, (INAUDIBLE) --
RYAN: Mr. Vice President, I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground.
I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way.
ACOSTA: Republicans in the post debate spin room tried to make the case Biden filed not only on style --
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: Quite frankly, I was embarrassed for the vice president. I mean the laughs -- we counted 82 times that Joe Biden interrupted Paul Ryan.
ACOSTA: But also on substance. Declaring victory for his running mate, Romney seized on what his campaign has dubbed Biden's Benghazi bungle.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because the vice president directly contradicted the sworn testimony of State Department officials. He's doubling down on denial. And we need to understand exactly what happened.
ACOSTA: But back in the spin room, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said Biden proved it was Ryan who was unprepared.
JIM MESSINA, OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He got past Paul Ryan's index card talking points and got into the details. And that's exactly what the American voters wanted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Romney will be spending part of his weekend campaigning across the battleground state of Ohio, the other part in debate prep. While both campaigns agree the vice presidential debate probably didn't change the polls very much, it may have set a combative new tone for the next faceoff between Romney and President Obama on Tuesday.
Randi and Victor.
BLACKWELL: Jim, thanks.
Let's get back to Libya for a moment. It's become a focal point for the Romney/Ryan campaign. California Congressman Darrell Issa was on "Real Time with Bill Maher" last night and he attacked Vice President Biden's assertion that he did not know about requests for more security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: That when president -- when Vice President Biden says, we didn't know about their need for more security in Libya, he's only talking about the president and the vice president because, as it turns out, he doesn't hear what his own people say at the State Department and all up and down under sworn testimony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, Issa should know of the details of the testimony. He's the chairman of the House Overnight Committee that is investigating the Libya tragedy. But "The New York Times" reports that Biden and the president probably did not know about the security requests. They were handled at the State Department. "The Times" also reports that those requests were largely for Tripoli and not for Benghazi.
KAYE: Earlier I was talking about Ohio and where it stands in the presidential race. Mitt Romney is there today. But the really big political event is coming up on Thursday. That's when Bruce Springsteen, "The Boss," and Bill Clinton appear together on stage in Parma, Ohio. Clinton will talking about the economy and the middle class and, you never know, maybe he'll break out the sax to jam on a few tunes with "The Boss," like only he can.
BLACKWELL: A former top ranked cyclist and teammate of Lance Armstrong is speaking out against him. Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times. Tyler Hamilton road with him on the U.S. Postal Service team for four years. He's one of 10 former teammates who testified to the U.S. Anti Doping Agency that Armstrong had doped.
The agency released its damaging report this week showing that it had uncovered, quote, "overwhelming evidence" of Armstrong's illegal drug use. Hamilton told Anderson Cooper there was no question why the U.S. Postal Service team members doped for the big races.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER HAMILTON, FORMER PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST: The first time I ever blood doped was with Lance and it was certainly for Lance, basically. You know, it was -- it was -- I had blood doped myself. You know, it was done by the team, but it was done for the Tour de France, so I could be a good teammate for Lance Armstrong. Yes, I mean, a lot of it, you know, he wanted you to be riding at your best when -- in the biggest races. And for Lance, it was all about winning the Tour de France.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, Lance Armstrong has always denied doping and his attorney calls the report a witch hunt.
KAYE: People in Los Angeles are used to seeing big stars on the streets, but today they have got one of the biggest ever hanging around town. How big? Well, let's try 85 tons. It is the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The shuttle is being moved through the streets today to its new home at the California Science Center.
Just a couple of hours ago, they had to take the shuttle off its big rig. It actually had to be pulled by a pickup truck over the 405 freeway. Highway officials were afraid it might actually collapse the bridge. But the shuttle made it across without any problem.
Now it's moving through neighborhoods toward its new home. People will have plenty of time to take pictures along the way. That's because it will probably take until around midnight tonight to actually get there.
BLACKWELL: Just sitting at a red light near the Shell station.
KAYE: Not something you see every day.
BLACKWELL: Pulling up for a cup of coffee, some corn nuts.
KAYE: That is pretty cool. Pretty cool.
BLACKWELL: All right, no photo, no vote. That's the law in a lot of states. But that has not ended the debate. We're focusing on voter IDs this morning and we have both sides of the argument.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Twelve minutes past the hour.
We are putting voter ID laws in focus this morning. With just 24 days to go until the election, Republican legislatures in several states have enacted tough, new election laws. They say that it's to prevent voter fraud. Democrats say they're trying to prevent their supporters from voting. Now, here's a bit of Joe John's upcoming documentary, "Voters in America: Who Counts."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: While Florida's law may be the toughest, 18 other states, most under Republican control, also tightened election laws since the 2010 election. Kansas is one of many states that now requires picture IDs, which they say will prevent voter fraud. KRIS KOBACH (R), KANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE: The argument that you should always, always push to the most easy, imaginable system that you can think of, well then you're going to open up the doors wide to fraud. We do want it to be easy to vote, but we want it to be hard to cheat, too.
JOHNS: Kris Kobach is Kansas secretary of state. He rejects the charge that tighter election laws, like requiring photo IDs, are politically or racially motivated.
KOBACH: I think it's a despicable argument to make. The number one factor driving people to the polls is the candidates and the excitement of that contest. It's not the mechanics of the election.
RICK HASEN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE: Democrats use the issue in a political way, as well. They use it for fund-raising. They claim voter suppression on a broader scale than I think it actually exists as a way to gain additional turnout and fire up the base.
JOHNS (on camera): They say you're over exaggerating this.
LAVON BRACY: No.
JOHNS: You're making it up.
BRACY: It's we're not making it up. It's real.
JOHNS: Making it bigger than it is to raise money for Democratic causes.
BRACY: That's not true. And I register Democrats and Republicans. I want them all to vote.
JOHNS: This is the kind of issue that gets everybody fired up, right?
GERALDINE THOMPSON (D), FLORIDA STATE HOUSE: Yes.
JOHNS: They send money as soon as they hear about it because they think the right to vote is being taken away, right?
THOMPSON: Yes.
JOHNS: Why wouldn't you all push this thing a little bit harder than it's worth just to get people racing to the polls?
THOMPSON: Because it has a chilling effect. When some people read about what's going on, some people will throw up their hands and say, I told you so and so I'm not going to -- I'm not going to bother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: You can see more from Joe Johns on the voter ID issue in the CNN special "Voters In America: Who Counts." That's tomorrow night at a 8:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
Many African-American churches in battleground states like Florida are pushing an initiative known as souls to the polls to rally voters. Next hour we'll talk to a Miami pastor about a new restriction in Florida that could hamper this effort. That's at 7:15 Eastern Time.
BLACKWELL: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warns that the U.S. is facing a potential cyber Pearl Harbor. Top officials say Iranian hackers are striking U.S. banks and companies. Details are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Egypt's capital is on edge this morning. Fierce clashes erupted in Cairo yesterday. Supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi's new government hurled rocks at each other and set cars on fire. More than 100 people were hurt. Sparking the fury, the acquittals of officials who had ordered men on horses and camels to charge into a crowd of Arab Spring protesters last year and attack them.
BLACKWELL: Relations between Syria and Turkey are becoming even more contentious.
Now the Turks are diverting civilian planes from Syrian air space. The Syrian regime has been fighting for months at flash points like Aleppo. But recently shelling in border towns has killed Turkish citizens.
Iranian hackers have launched a cyber war on U.S. targets. That's according to "The Wall Street Journal" which cites top U.S. officials. They say there's been a string of hacking attacks on American banks and on oil and energy companies in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is sounding the alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These kinds of attacks could be a cyber Pearl Harbor. An attack that would cause physical destruction and the loss of life. An attack that would paralyze and shock the nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Doctors in Pakistan say the next 48 hours are critical for a gravely injured Pakistani girl who has become an international symbol of courage. The Taliban gunned down the 14-year-old last week. Her crime, speaking out about her right to go to school. Thirty-eight suspects are now under arrest. CNN's Reza Sayah has more now on the attack that has shocked a nation and the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blood stains cover the seats of an old canopied pickup truck. Malala Yousafzai and her classmates road together to get home from school. This is where Malala was sitting, police say, when gunman shot her in the head. Kainat Ahmed, Malala's friend, was sitting next to her, she says, when one of the attackers stopped the truck. Another came around the back, Kainat says, gun in hand. "When we saw the gun, we started screaming," Kainat says. "He asked, who's Malala. I don't think anyone told him, but he recognized Malala and started shooting. Malala fell down, but he kept firing. That's when my friend and I got injured."
Kainat is recovering from a bullet wound to the hand. The 14-year-old Malala, who had a high-profile blog critical of the Taliban, is clinging to life following major surgery. The passenger truck now part of an intense investigation to find the gunman. The Pakistani government, under increasing pressure to solve the case, has given conflicting accounts of the probe.
The interior minister says the two gunmen have been identified and arrests are coming soon. The foreign minister told CNN, 100 people were detained for questioning. A regional police chief says 35 people are in custody for questioning. Three blame Malala's shooting on a man with suspected links to the Taliban. The Taliban have already claimed they plotted the attack, but police say still no hard evidence who pulled the trigger.
On Friday, the outpouring of support continued with a message from the prime minister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have to (ph) unite and stand together.
SAYAH: And vigils across the country. Pakistanis, young and old, praying for Malala, a 14-year-old human rights activist whose legend grows by the day.
TAHIRA ABDULLA, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: She, a little child, gives all the people hope and inspiration and sanity and brings us back from depression and dejection.
SAYAH (on camera): A top government official says in the coming days doctors will be keeping a close eye on the swelling in Malala's brain. Swelling after brain surgery, a big concern. Of course, the brain is enclosed in a hard casing, the skull, unlike other parts of the body. The swelling doesn't have anywhere to go, that's why doctors say they're going to keep a close eye on it. Much of this nation, much of the world, keeping a close eye on Malala's health, as well.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: It is probably not the workout they expected. Shocking allegations against a woman using a gym to run a prostitution ring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. Just about half past the hour. I'm Randi Kaye.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for starting your day with us. Here are five stories we are watching this morning. Starting with a manhunt right now in Colorado for whomever killed a 10-year-old girl. Police say they found the body of Jessica Ridgeway. She was reported missing a week ago. And Jessica was last seen leaving school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF LEE BIRK, WESTMINSTER, COLORADO, POLICE DEPT.: It's with a great deal of sorrow in my heart that I regret to inform you that the body that was found in Arvada has been positively identified as Jessica Ridgway, the missing girl from Westminster. The family has been notified. We can't begin to comprehend the grief that they're going through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Investigators say a dismembered body found in the park, again, is Jessica.
KAYE: In Georgia, the body of a Florida journalist who went missing in August was found incased in concrete, buried in a backyard. Investigators used dental records and CT scans to identify 30-year-old Sean Dugas, a former crime reporter, at the Pensacola News Journal. Twin brothers, William and Christopher Cormier, are charged with his murder.
The death toll climbs to 14 in the fungal meningitis outbreak as the CDC says there are now 185 cases of the non-contagious illness in a dozen states. Meanwhile, a Minnesota woman has filed what appears to be the first lawsuit in the outbreak, claiming she suffered bodily harm and emotional distress after being injected with a contaminated steroid. Some 14,000 people may have received those injections.
BLACKWELL: Shocking allegations for a Zumba instructor, accused of using her fitness studio to run a prostitution ring in Kennebunk, Maine. Prosecutors say 29-year-old Alexis Wright had sex with dozens of men with the help of her business partner. She faces 106 counts of various prostitution charges. Both Wright and her business partner have pleaded not guilty.
KAYE: Zumba class instructor.
BLACKWELL: Zumba class.
KAYE: You know, you usually buy those classes in packs of 10.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
KAYE: I'm just curious, you know, what kind of deal these people got on this.
BLACKWELL: Listen --
KAYE: You get a discount when you buy in bulk.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, listen, the ladies typically take the Zumba classes, right?
KAYE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: The students had to know something was up when like all these guys started taking the class and they're in the back row there.
KAYE: Yes, pretty --
BLACKWELL: Must have been pretty confusing.
KAYE: Must have been a really interesting class, I will say that.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.
KAYE: Oh, boy.
Well, it is a question posed by candidate Ronald Reagan. Over three decades ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN: Are you better off than you were four years ago?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And it's a message the candidates are still actually using today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president has no record to run on. In fact, every president since the Great Depression who asked Americans to send them into a second term could say that you are better off today than you were four years ago, except for Jimmy Carter and for President Barack Obama.
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If people think they're better off, I would say, well, take a look at the numbers when it comes to median household income, which is down every year for the last four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The Obama administration, however, is taking the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: You want to know whether we're better off? I got a little bumper sticker for you. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!
(cheers)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: "Bloomberg Businessweek" took a look at that very question in this week's election issue asking about the price of your food, the value of your home and your paycheck. Staff writer Elizabeth Dwoskin took the question to rural North Carolina where a light switch factory closed just two weeks before the president's inauguration. Elizabeth, good morning to you. So, tell me what you found there.
ELIZABETH DWOSKIN, BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK: We found about 60 people out of 211 that had lost their jobs in the first month that Obama took office. And what we found is that people have done lots of things, some people have changed careers, they went back to school through trade adjustment assistance, which is a federal program that gives money to workers whose jobs have been offshored.
We found many older people who were in their late 50s and would have liked to keep working, but because of their health issues or because they were too old, they couldn't get jobs and they ended up retiring early.
And we found many people who are still unemployed. And many people who did find jobs, but those who found jobs often, that doesn't tell the whole story. Many people found jobs after long periods of unemployment where there was total panic in their households.
One guy, his name is Ray Wyatt (ph) that I interviewed, he actually was able to get out early because he went to Mexico to surprise, to train the people who are going to take over his job. He went to the factory in Camargo, Mexico for some training and when he was there, he was given a tour and he looked around the factory and the person giving him the tour said, this line is going to China. This assembly line is going to China, this is going to China and he said, well, if everything is going to China, then where are you guys going to go? And he says, oh, you don't know, your factory in North Carolina --
KAYE: So he knew.
DWOSKIN: Your production is coming here.
KAYE: Yes.
DWOSKIN: That's how he found out.
KAYE: So, overall, I mean I guess the general theme in talking to these people, I mean are the workers feeling like they are better off than they were four years ago or no?
DWOSKIN: I'd say no. And the reason is that even though many people have been able to find jobs, when you actually trace people's life stories, you find that most people are earning less than what they did and some people dramatically, so you have women that -- a woman that worked for 35 years at Leviton. Her name is Shirley Miller (ph) and she is just one example. She went back to school for accounting and she ended up, she actually had to write her congressman for money to go back to school, because she already had an associate's degree and that was considered too much education. She is now working at a credit union and making $30,000 a year. She was making $45,000 at Leviton.
KAYE: Yes. DWOSKIN: So, these are pretty small margins.
KAYE: Looking ahead, though, I know the magazine also took a look at which industries were actually hiring. So, where should people be focusing?
DWOSKIN: There are actually surprisingly a lot of booming jobs in America. Those jobs don't pay much. But in the top ten growing jobs, we have the biggest are jobs like nurses and home health care workers, personal aides, that's because of our aging population. Those jobs pay about $20,000, a year, not a lot, and that's actually the fastest growing job in America.
We also have carpentry and people in the construction trades. Those jobs through 2020 are expected to boom and the reason for that is because they lost -- they shed about 50 percent of their jobs during the housing downturn and then we have some other interesting professions that are growing that you wouldn't expect.
For example, biomedical engineers that also has to do with health care and those jobs pay a lot or even veterinary technicians, people who work as assistants to vets. And that's because of people are actually paying a lot more to care for their pets now than they had before.
KAYE: Yes, even in the downturn, the pets come first, that's for sure. Elizabeth, thank you very much.
DWOSKIN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: It's been a busy seven days, hasn't it? Here are some of the headlights, the head -- headlights, headlines, highlights, the same thing. President Obama says he was too polite in the first debate. Mitt Romney walks into and then out of another contradiction and the two number twos go at it. Here's a look back at the busy week that was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There aren't enough rich people and small businesses to tax to pay for all their spending.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: With all due respect, that is a bunch of malarkey.
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, what I'm saying is, that the words that came out were not what I meant.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Wow, here's old moderate Mitt.
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, (R ), UTAH: With more assets, more resources, we could have and should have saved the life of ambassador Stevens.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it true that you voted to cut the funding for embassy security?
CHAFFETZ: Absolutely. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politics rule this week that was, but the V.P. showdown, that took the cake. Of course, sprinkled with a few zingers.
RYAN: I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zing.
RYAN: Lower tax rates increase growth.
BIDEN: Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy.
RYAN: Ronald Reagan --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zing.
BIDEN: This is a bunch of stuff. Stuff. Here is the deal.
MARTHA RADDATZ: What does that mean, a bunch of stuff?
BIDEN: Well, it means it's simply inaccurate.
RYAN: It's Irish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zing.
As for that first debate --
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it is fair to say, I was just too polite.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not an issue with these guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really turned into this sparring, and it was very, very personal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personal and partisan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have got to be kidding me.
In fact, the congressional hearing on the attack in Benghazi got down right testy.
CHAFFETZ: It was the terrorist attack on a U.S. asset in Libya and it was never exposed.
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY, (D), VIRGINIA: I certainly hope that today's hearing is not going to be perceived as an effort to exploit the tragedy for political purposes 27 days out from election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, about that election, the polls have been good to Romney this week. The contradictions, that's another story.
ROMNEY: There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that, that would become part of my agenda.
CLINTON: Wow. Here is old moderate Mitt. Where have you been, boy? I missed you all these last two years.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A day later he clarified that.
ROMNEY: The actions I'll take immediately are to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It will not be part of my budget and, also, I have indicated I'll reverse the Mexico City position of the present. I will reinstate the Mexico City policy, which keeps us from using foreign aid for abortions overseas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Spain's unemployment at the 25 percent, jobless people are rioting in Greece, but, hey, the European Union got a Nobel Peace Prize and that's the week that was.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Paul Ryan got pretty fired up during this week's vice presidential debate, as you just saw there. When Joe Biden said the Romney team's proposal to cut taxes isn't mathematically possible. So, is it? We crunched the numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Mitt Romney promises to pay for his $5 trillion in proposed tax cuts, so they don't add to deficits and says that he would do so in large part by curbing tax breaks on the rich. He also has promised not to raise taxes on the middle class. Now, this triggered a pretty hot exchange between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan at Thursday's vice presidential debate over whether it's mathematically possible. So, let's bring in Christine Romans to separate fact from fiction. Christine, good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi. You are right, Paul Ryan claimed you could cut income taxes by 20 percent across the board, keep the middle class deductions in tax, all while keeping this deficit neutral. Listen to that fiery exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: You can cut tax rates by 20 percent and still preserve these important preferences for middle class taxpayers.
BIDEN: Not mathematically possible.
RYAN: It is mathematically possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Well, Randi, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says it's not mathematically possible with the amount of information we have about Romney's tax plan. They said it's not possible to cut rates as much as he would like without also eliminating deductions that would hurt the middle class. They say you can't do it without changing rules on capital gains taxes and investment taxes, dividend taxes, which the Romney campaign has said it wouldn't do. So, for those reasons, our verdict here is that it's false. You can't cut taxes and keep middle class deductions, you can't cut taxes and keep lower rates on capital gains. The Tax Policy Center says it can't be done, Randi.
KAYE: The question is, what would the Romney/Ryan team have to do then to make the math work? Can it work?
ROMANS: Well, that's a really good question. And I asked that question this week to Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics and this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZANDI, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Romney campaign could adjust their plan. They could say, OK, I'm not going to lower tax rates as much as I'm saying right now and they could make the arithmetic work. But under the current plan with the current numbers, no, it doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: You know, Randi, basically we need more specifics about what kind of tax breaks for the rich would be scaled back, what exactly their tax plan would look like for deductions and loopholes and the campaign had said, Randi, that they want to work with Congress on that. That they plan on working with Congress, so they don't have those details because, of course, that would be something the administration and Congress would do together. So until then, Tax Policy Center says, you can't make the math work.
KAYE: Well, specifics could certainly change the whole picture. So I guess we'll wait for those. Christine, thank you very much. And don't forget to catch Christine on "Your Bottom Line" at 9:30 a.m. Eastern today.
BLACKWELL: Well, if you want to eat healthy, but you don't know how to start. You want to stick around for this. Our health expert takes us to a grocery store to show us how to shop.
Plus, wait until you hear which celebrity just endorsed presidential candidate Mitt Romney. And this might be a bit of a surprise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: All right, dieters, which is, I guess, everybody, right?
KAYE: Yes..
BLACKWELL: Everybody is a dieter.
KAYE: We're always on a diet somewhere.
BLACKWELL: What if I could tell you that you could lose weight, but still have all the foods you love. I know it sounds too good to be true.
KAYE: But that is exactly what celebrity fitness and nutrition expert Mark MacDonald teaches. So, we sent Mark to the grocery store to show us how with moderation you really can have it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MACDONALD, NUTRITION AND FITNESS EXPERT: So, right now I'm going to educate you, we're going to educate you as we shop with Lexi here on how to get the foods that you love quickly, efficiently and affordable.
When you look at veggies. You want to get a variety of colors because each vegetable provides you with a different level of antioxidants that help protect yourselves and keep your bodies healthy.
Choose the fruits that you love. Make sure that they look fresh and, remember, just get enough that's going to last you for a week because they will go bad.
Now, it's about what are some quick facts that you can do. And my favorite are nuts. They're all great for you. So, just choose the raw ones.
In a perfect world, hot cereals like oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, those are the best for you, and if you do want some cold cereals, your goal is to find something with low sugar in it.
You can get some string cheese, do two of those with an apple, that's a nice balanced meal.
The biggest thing about yogurt, is much of it has too much sugar in it. So, a lot of the yogurt you want to avoid. The yogurt that I recommend, Greek yogurt has much lower sugar and much higher quality protein, so it keeps your blood sugar balanced.
I like wheat pasta that is gluten free. You also can do a different grain that you like, just make sure you're not overdoing these carbohydrates.
Find the fish you like as a great source of protein. You also have all your different other types of meats and your beefs and your cuts of steak.
OK, so we are set up to win. The biggest thing, make sure that you set up a weekly time when you grocery shop. You want to make sure that there is an equal amount of protein and carbohydrates, lower fat, you want to choose things that are low in sugar, high in fiber and not a lot of sodium. Really make it a lifestyle. You can do this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And Mark MacDonald joins us now in studio. So that looks like a lot of food. I know you have Alexa who is with you on a program with you --
MACDONALD: Yes.
KAYE: But you can really eat that much food? MACDONALD: Yes, and that's the key. That the most important thing is if you can keep your blood sugar stable and you eat frequently throughout the day, you maximize your release of stored fat. And you maximize your metabolism.
KAYE: Smaller meals, though, right?
MACDONALD: Smaller meals, balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates.
KAYE: OK.
BLACKWELL: There was one section you didn't go into that grocery store --
MACDONALD: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And that is the frozen section, but there are meals there for us, right?
MACDONALD: Totally. You know, they're not the highest quality, so your natural food is going to be your best --
BLACKWELL: Yes.
MACDONALD: But we're in a jam with a nice frozen meal in a microwave you can eat within about seven minutes. You want to make sure that your protein and your carbohydrates are balanced. Be careful to get that frozen meal that has like 15 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein, make sure that your protein and your carbs are equal.
BLACKWELL: All right.
KAYE: It's still better off they are going fresh, right, over the frozen, which is more processed?
MACDONALD: Always, because frozen is going to have more preservatives, more sodium, it makes you hold water. So, always go fresh, if you can.
KAYE: All right.
MACDONALD: And it's affordable. You can find food now in any grocery store. That's the cool thing about it.
KAYE: OK, Mark MacDonald, great tips. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: OK, so now that you started eating well, feeling healthy, time for a little dessert. Entertainment news. Here's entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner about all the latest gossip and headlines.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, Victor, her impact on the music industry will be felt for many years to come. And we are definitely seeing some evidence of that, some of the biggest names in music gathered in Los Angeles Thursday night to celebrate the late singer for taping up "We will always love you." A Grammy salute to Whitney Houston. Now, here are some of the names that were there: LL Cool J, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion and Britney Spears, just a few of the stars who were at the event. Now, before the taping, CNN caught up with Britney Spears and she talked about Whitney Houston's influence on her. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRITNEY SPEARS: I loved Whitney Houston. I totally got my deal with my record label. I mean, I worshipped the ground she walked on. She was my idol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Now, this special airs November 16th, on CBS, you know, Victor, with a guest list like that, you have to know this is going to be quite an event and a really good show.
BLACKWELL: And I'm looking forward to it. Something that a lot of people are looking forward to, is this movie that's coming out this weekend and our producers are really referring to this one as the Ben Affleck one, you know, with the beard.
TURNER: Yes, I mean Ben Affleck has the beard. This movie really has everyone here at the L.A. Bureau of CNN really buzzing. Now, some may say it's a little early for Oscar buzz, but we're talking about Ben Affleck's new movie "Argo." This is already generating that kind of chatter from critics. The film is based on the true events surrounding the U.S. hostage crisis that resulted from the 1979 embassy attack in Iran during that country's chaotic revolution. Now, Affleck who also directs the film portrays Tony Mendez, a CIA specialist credited with devising a downright crazy plan to say the least to rescue the hostages. This plan, sneak into Iran as a movie producer on a location scout, rendezvous with the hostages, then smuggle them out disguised as a film crew and, guess what, it worked. Now, we actually spoke to the real Tony Mendez last week. He says the movie is accurate in spirit and credits the illusion of Hollywood and the illusion of the CIA for making his outlandish idea actually work.
BLACKWELL: Yes, once you add some A-list actors and nice scores of theme music, it looks like a movie --
TURNER: Yes.
BLACKWELL: It sounds like a great plot. Let's talk politics for a moment.
TURNER: OK.
BLACKWELL: And the groundbreaking, game-changing endorsement from one, Ms. Lindsay Lohan. I want to put up a quote on the screen. She says --
TURNER: OK.
BLACKWELL: "I think unemployment is very important for us now. So, as of now, I think my vote is for Mitt Romney." I'm just going to stop, read that and give it back to you.
TURNER: You're just going to pause and let me take this one, huh?
BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes. Go ahead, enjoy that.
TURNER: Well, let me just say, this may not be the endorsement that Mitt Romney is going to brag about, but, yes, she is backing the Republican candidate for governor. A spokesman for her confirmed this to us that Lindsay was, quote, at an event Thursday night and was asked who she will be voting for. She told the reporter that as of right now she is supporting Mitt Romney. Now, she did like you said, cite the employment concerns as concerns of her and one of the reasons why she supports him. So, listen, we've heard just about everybody else voice their opinion, so, why not Lindsay?
BLACKWELL: Now we know where Lindsay stands. Michelle Turner in Los Angeles, thank you.
TURNER: Sure, Victor.
BLACKWELL: If you want more, make sure to check out cnn.com/showbiz for all the latest entertainment news.
KAYE: Souls to the polls day. That's when African-Americans leave church on Sunday and head to the polls for early voting. So, why did a Florida state legislature actually end the practice?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We have all the news you missed overnight in just minutes, but, first, some late night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we should play a drinking game where every time Biden says my friend or Paul Ryan won't give specifics about your tax plan, we'll take a shot.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. That's an awful lot of milk to be drinking on a Thursday night.
(laughter)
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Watching TV last night and I see this stupid infomercial for Crest white strips, have you seen this? Because like an hour and a half, this guy just smiling, and then I realize, it's Joe Biden. I'm watching the debate.
(laughter)
DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Vice President Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, they're debating and they're both going to try to appeal to the working class. And I laughed, I enjoyed that one. America still has a working class?
(laughter) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, look, look at Biden, watch him go. You know, yes, oh, I have known him for years and I have never seen him speak so coherently.
(laughter)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it was just Biden (inaudible).
LENO: You know, there were a couple of really funny jokes during the debate, like when Ryan referred to the Saudis as our allies.
(laughter)
LENO: Killed me. And the way Biden kept referring to Ryan as my friend. He'd go my friend, and my friend this, and my friend believes -- as you know, my friend is political talk for up yours. OK, that's what it is, up yours, there's no such word as my friend.
BILL MAHER, TALK SHOW HOST: The polls this week reveal that Romney gained a lot of ground on Obama, and the Obama campaign is now seriously considering a new and untested campaign strategy called trying.
(laughter)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like the debate just ended, so, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday at our debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, actually, I think I might skip that one.
(laughter)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: What are they going to do after the election? They'll have nothing to play with anymore.
BLACKWELL: Oh, no, they are going to find something to talk about.
KAYE: No, but these two together are good.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
KAYE: They are very good. Well, thanks for watching. "CNN SATURDAY MORNING" starts right now.
