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GDP Grows 2 Percent In Third Quarter; Hurricane Sandy Aims For Northeast; Mother Comes Home To Find Kids Stabbed; Courting the Women's Vote; Coulter and "The R-Word"; Berlusconi Sentenced To Four Years In Prison; No Significant Brain Damage For Malala; Fighting over Legalizing Marijuana; Schwarzenegger to Reprise "Conan" Role; Giants Take 2-0 World Series Lead; David Stern Stepping Down

Aired October 26, 2012 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM: New campaign ammunition for President Obama. Less than two weeks from the election, brand new economic numbers showing the economy improving.

It's a weekend of waiting all up and down the East Coast as Hurricane Sandy inches closer towards the United States as heavy rains could turn into heavy snow.

Attention women voters. The Obama campaign wants you but does a new ad cross the line?

And it's a happy reunion for a Pakistani teenager now recovering from an attempted assassination. She's with her parents at a British hospital and she's talking.

NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. Happy Friday to you. I'm Carol Costello. We start with better news on the economy. I said better, not great. With just 11 days left until the election, we're seeing a new indicator in the economy that it's growing.

Maribel Aber live at the Nasdaq market site to tell us what it all means. Good morning.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You talked a little bit early about ammunition for the president's campaign. This really could help President Obama's message that the economy is improving, but there's something in here for Romney too.

Growth isn't strong enough to really bring down unemployment. We learned that the U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent pace July through September. That's better than that 1.7 percent economists surveyed by CNN Money were expecting.

But look at the chart here for some perspective. It's better than the second quarter. The biggest reason growth picked up because Americans are spending more. That really has to encourage investors who have been worried about a slowdown in Europe all week long and the effect that that's having on American companies.

You know, the housing sector, the housing sector was a bright spot as was the federal government spending, which is a surprise. But there's still plenty bogging down the U.S. economy. You know, Carol, businesses aren't spending much money and they're exporting less confirming what we've heard this week from the likes of Caterpillar, 3M and Dupont -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, quick check of the markets before you go.

ABER: Sure. It's a good report, but it's not great. Stocks are up only modestly. Right now, you see the Dow, it's actually down 25 points here. This reading isn't strong enough to boost hiring in a meaningful way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Maribel Aber reporting live for us from the Nasdaq market site.

Now to that massive and deadly Hurricane Sandy, which will slam into the northeast in just a few days. Right now parts of Florida under a tropical storm warning. Huge waves are battering the coast.

Some school districts in South Florida have already canceled classes today, told employees not to bother to report to work. Here is Alexa Helms from our affiliate WSVN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXA HELMS, WSVN TV REPORTER: The rain has just started to come down. As you can see the winds are picking up as well. I don't know if you can see some of the rain drops. They're going pretty fast. The main issue is the waves.

This is what we've been talking about. These waves have not quit at all. They keep rolling in. So they don't look like they're going to be that powerful until you can see all of this sand that they've swept in all the way across the beach.

And then the waves dump over not just water, but sand and seaweed and everything in the area onto the sidewalk and in the middle of the road. Now this road A1A from Sunrise to northeast 20th Street completely cut off.

And this just kind of came to us right now. You can see this manhole just so you can get an idea of how much sand there actually is here. So it's at least a foot high just in this area alone. Cleanups, they still don't know when those are going to begin.

We just spoke with -- excuse me, we just spoke with the city of Miami. They don't know when the cleanups are going to begin but at this point they don't want anybody driving this area. It's way too dangerous and much less getting in the water.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, so that's a report from South Florida. Take a lack at Hurricane Sandy from space. It is so large it would cover the distance from Memphis, Tennessee, to Los Angeles.

It's expected to mix with a powerful winter storm, which could make it even stronger. Sandy has already claimed 21 lives in the Caribbean and now it could cause widespread damage in the northeast.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is here. I have heard this storm described as an atmospheric bomb.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, a bomb is a technical term that we use that means that when the pressure and the storm falls 24 millibars in 24 hours. So whoever you heard that from is wrong. It's not going to do that. We're already starting low.

COSTELLO: I like that you said that because that scared me.

MARCIANO: It is scary. This storm has been called other things, which is scary as well. I want to start off with what happened in Cuba. They got the brunt of this thing as a Category 2 storm. There are some of the damage video, big trees obviously taken down all the power lines, infrastructure damage.

We could see some of this across the northeast, not because it's going to be a stronger storm, but because it's going to be a longer duration event and we have other issues to deal with. Let's come back to the map and go over what is Hurricane Sandy.

An 80 mile-an-hour winds right now. It's starting its transformation into something other than a hurricane. Wind field is beginning to expand. That means it is going to affect a larger amount of people.

North westerly moving about 10 miles an hour, the center is 150 miles or so off the coast of Florida. It will stay off the Florida coast line. But they've been getting tropical storm force winds and wave action as you saw on that video.

There's some of the radar on the western edge of the storm as we do expect it to move up the coastline. Tropical storm watch is posted from Charleston right up through Cape Hatteras. There will be some big waves along the outer banks, maybe 30 or 40 footers as we go through the weekend.

Here's your forecast track scooting the coastline Sunday night into Monday. We make the turn and now our computer models, which have been hinting at something for the past couple of days are getting a little bit more firm in suggesting that this will make a left turn.

We have stuff blocking the action out in the ocean and forcing it back towards the northeast. Here's your solution. Anywhere from Norfolk to Nantucket as a Category 1-like storm, we say that because it's going to be morphed with an influence of a jet stream, which this time of the year, very strong.

That will wind it up more. Expand that wind field to the point where we probably will see damaging winds in a 300 mile, maybe 400 mile swath. That is a huge chuck of real estate to see areas of winds over 50 miles an hour. That's what has us nervous. You've heard comparisons, Carol, to the perfect storm of 1991. A little bit similar to that but that one didn't make landfall. That's why meteorologists are nervous. This one is going to make landfall Monday, Tuesday.

COSTELLO: I'm looking at the picture of Fort Lauderdale next to you. At least we won't be suffering alone around the country. We'll be suffering together. Rob Marciano, many thanks to you.

There's no other way to describe it, just a horrible tragedy in New York's upper west side. A mother, she comes home. She finds her young son and daughter in the bathtub stabbed to death. She finds the nanny on the floor unconscious, bleeding and holding knife.

Deb Feyerick has been following the story out of New York. What more do we know, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, parents take such a leap of faith whenever they entrust their children to somebody else, whether it's a nanny, a baby-sitter. Anyone, a background check no matter how thorough can't predict if someone will snap.

And that is what police believed happened. Detectives are waiting to question the nanny, Josie Ortega. She is in critical condition, heavily sedated in a New York hospital and she is under arrest.

She is suspected of killing 6-year-old Lulu Krim and her 2-year-old brother Leo. The mom, Marina, returned home with her 3-year-old daughter after swimming lessons yesterday about 5:30 and she is the one who discovered the horrifying scene.

The children in the bathtub bleeding from stab wounds. The nanny was on the floor, a kitchen knife next to her. Police say it appears she tried to slash her own throat, the nanny. The parents are beyond devastated according a source.

Kevin Krim is a media executive at CNBC. The company released this statement saying, quote, "The sadness that we all feel for Kevin, Marina and their family is without measure."

You're looking at some of the pictures there of those children. The parents were so clearly devoted to all three of them and the family's blog was taken down, Carol, within the last hour.

But the pictures and the entries show this happy, loving family and the three of them together in so many photos. You have to remember, there's one child by the grace of God survived because she was with her mother.

It's just so tragic. That's why it's resonating with so many people certainly here throughout Manhattan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I was going to ask you this. I mean, so many women across the country hire nannies or daycare workers to care for their children. I think this is just a really frightening story to hear. FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely. It's fascinating because the second we heard about this last night people just started e-mailing saying they were running home to go hug their children even more tightly.

You know, nannies are feeling this also because so many are deeply devoted to these children. To have one who does the unthinkable, people are really trying to get their heads around it today.

COSTELLO: Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much.

Turning our attention to the race for the White House now and a new ad from team Obama that is raising some eyebrows for comparing someone's first-time voting to that first time they had sex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LENA DUNHAM, CREATOR, "GIRLS": Your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy. It should be with a guy who is beautiful, someone who really cares about and understands women. A guy who cares whether you get health insurance, specifically whether you get birth control. The consequences are huge.

My first time voting was amazing. It was a line in the sand. Before I was a girl, now I was a woman. I went to the polling station and pulled back the curtain. I voted for Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: L.Z. Granderson, we called you specifically to talk about this because we knew you'd understand. L.Z. is a contributor and senior writer for ESPN. He is also a political analyst for CNN.

So L.Z., one Republican strategist calls the ad insulting to women. What do you think?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know what, I'm a big fan of the show "Girls" and I think anyone who's a fan of the show "Girls" absolutely loved the ad. I think if it comes out of the blue and you don't know the backgroud, I can see how you would get offended by it.

But, look, this isn't an ad directed towards anyone who is undecided voter. This isn't an ad trying to convince people. It's trying to fire up a base and I think it does exactly that. When I saw it I was really laughing. I thought it was great. Then again, I am a fan of the show.

COSTELLO: Exactly. You know, speaking of perception, another CNN contributor and Republican consultant, Alex Castellanos, you know, Alex. Well, L.Z., he has an op-ed today on cnn.com about the man he calls cool Obama versus square Romney.

He says actually cool will lose the election for Obama. This is a quote. Alex says, "President Obama hangs out with movie stars, makes no decisions without consulting the academic elite and sings like Al Green. Obama is the president of cool America." But when it comes to Romney, Alex writes, "Mitt Romney is the chaperone to be alluded at every prom. He's common sense, parental advice, not counter intuitive, academic insight. He has stepped in. He's fresh and perfect from a Norman Rockwell painting."

Alex says there's a silent majority in this country, square like Romney, who's afraid of cool Obama and that's why they're going to vote Romney this time.

GRANDERSON: Wow. Well, you know what, I know --

COSTELLO: You're cool. You have dread locks.

GRANDERSON: You know, I know there are three states in the country right now that are contemplating legalizing marijuana. I'm assuming Alex is very excited about that because I can't figure out why he would write that if you weren't high and crazy.

No one, I think, is looking at Romney as a fresh face. Someone who's been running for president for the last 10 years is not a fresh face. Someone who has been trying to be in politics for most of their lives is not a fresh face and for him to characterize Romney like that is absolutely crazy.

Is President Obama cool? Well, yes, he's cool, but he's cool because he's confident and he's comfortable in his own skin. It's not about hanging out with movie stars. There are a lot of people who are cool who don't hang out with movie stars.

It's about being confident. And the reason why President Obama is confident is because he believes in the work that he's doing and that radiates and people are gravitating towards that.

The reason why Romney is seen as square it's because he's not confident because he constantly changes what he says. That's what you're picking up. Not the movie stars, not the Al Green thing, but confidence coming out from the candidates.

COSTELLO: Well, I think specifically what he's saying is Romney believes in these old-fashioned values of hard work, putting your nose to the grind stone, taking responsibility for what happens in your life. That's what he's saying about square Romney.

America is ready for that kind of candidate again. They've had it with this cool dude who's in "Rolling Stone" who is going to say bullshit and he'll be on MTV tonight.

For some Republicans that's way too much for a president. It's like he's more interested in cool and image than he is about being presidential.

GRANDERSON: Well, Carol, you know, I'm just going to look at it this way. I don't know very many people who come from a single parent background who grew up poor, who didn't know their father, who got to a place of success in their lives without having hard work, without being - holding themselves accountable, without being intelligent. I don't know very many people like that, but I do know a lot of people who have gotten far in life by relying on their family to get them there, by having advantages like, I don't know, your father is the president of a large company and things like that.

When I look at the two candidates and I think about hard work and preservation I think about, which story seems like they worked harder, the one who came from nothing and became President of the United States.

Or someone who grew up in a rich suburb of Detroit, had their father be governor and then they became successful, not saying that Mitt Romney didn't look too hard. But it's very hard to look at those two stories and look at President Obama and say that he didn't.

COSTELLO: L.Z., thanks so much. By the way, we did invite Alex on the program, but he had another commitment. I'm sure he'll be talking about this on CNN later today. If you want to read his op-ed, cnn.com. Thank you, L.Z.

GRANDERSON: Read mine too. Read my op-ed as well please.

COSTELLO: Definitely so. We always do. L.Z. Granderson, thanks so much.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Conservative fire brand Ann Coulter who is not well known for her delicate use of the English language is embroiled in controversy again.

After Monday night's presidential face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney, Coulter took to Twitter to share her feelings. She wrote, quote, "I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retards."

In response to Coulter's use of that offensive word to describe the President of the United States, Special Olympian John Franklin Stephens wrote a heartfelt open letter explaining just why that word should not be an insult. Here's what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN FRANKLIN STEPHENS, SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE: Dear Ann Coulter, come on, Ms. Coulter, you aren't dumb and you aren't shallow, so why are you constantly using a word like the "R" word as an insult?

I am a 30-year-old man with Down's syndrome who has struggled with the public perception that people with disability means I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things. I do process information a little more slowly than the rest of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You can hear more from Special Olympics athlete Frank Stephens. He'll be live on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

She was the target of a Taliban assassination. Now Malala's parents are by her side as she continues to recover from a gunshot wound and doctors have good news. She's talking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some big news coming out of Italy this morning. This is just in to CNN. The former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has just been sentenced to four years in prison. He was found guilty of tax evasion.

We don't know many more details about that. But Silvio Berlusconi will be going to an Italian prison for four years. More on this story in the hours to come on CNN.

The young woman shot in the head earlier this month for speaking out against the Taliban continues her recovery in a London hospital. Doctors say the 15-year-old does not have significant brain damage after the assassination attempt in Pakistan.

Malala is visiting with her parents or they're visiting with her as she undergoes more treatment in Britain. This morning Malala's father spoke out about his daughter's recovery.

Saima Mohsin joins us now. Saima, it's remarkable how much better she is.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Malala is now able to talk freely. We're told that she's standing up and taking a walk almost hourly. Just a few weeks ago this was a young teenager who was shot in the head and a bullet narrowly missed her spine.

As you say, her parents and her brothers have been by her bedside. This is the first time they've seen her since she was flown out of Pakistan by air ambulance to the U.K. her father spoke today emotionally at one point.

He almost broke down when they said they were actually preparing for her funeral. This is what else he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZIAUDDIN YOUSUFZAI, MALALA'S FATHER: -- the right place at the right time and I'll say that, of course, an attacker who was -- who could be called -- he attacked, but things were on my side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: And I also went to visit Malala's hometown. I met some girls there at a girl's college where it's now going to be renamed in Malala's honor. This is the first girl's college in the whole area run by the government that's going to be named after a woman.

It's a significant step. The local government has done this deliberately to send out a message to the world, to send out a message to the Taliban. Let me tell you a little bit about the girls that I met there, Carol.

Absolutely meticulous and given the conservative society they've grown up in, they still want their rights to education. They believe women should have an education as indeed the men I spoke to there too. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GULALAI, COLLEGE STUDENT: I, myself, think that education is important because women have no rights in this society. So due to education they can get the rights in this society especially.

KAMRAN RERMAN KHAN, LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL: Want to send a message across the world that here we want to develop the female gender and we also want the females to come forward in this society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: And of course, these young girls that I met there said that they owe it to Malala to continue going to school despite any threats from the Taliban and as Malala makes that recovery it's great to see a story that's made such a positive turn.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Saima Mohsin reporting live from Pakistan this morning. Thanks so much.

Colorado just might be the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use, but not everyone has good vibes about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, why don't more white voters support President Obama?

We're more polarized than ever, not just politically. The "Washington Post" headline says it all, 2012 voters, the deepest racial split since 1988.

So even though we elected our first black president, race continues to haunt us. Romney surrogate John Sununu went there when Piers Morgan asked why Republican Colin Powell would endorse Democrat Barack Obama?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. GOV. JOHN SUNUNU, (R-NH) ROMNEY ADVISER: Frankly, when you take a look at Colin Powell you have to wonder whether that's an endorsement based on issues or whether he's got a slightly different reason for preferring President Obama?

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": What reason would that be?

SUNUNU: Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you're proud of being President of the United States. I applaud Collin for standing with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Didn't we have that discussion back in 2008? Let's pivot. According to a "Washington Post"/ABC News poll, Obama is trailing Romney 59 percent to 38 percent among white voters.

Clearly that is a problem, but saying it's all about race is just too easy. Fact is, white or black, no Democratic nominee has won a majority of whites since 1964. In 2004, Senator John Kerry got only 41 percent of white voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRANDERSON: What we're beginning to see is the Republicans becoming increasingly white and Democrats are increasingly losing white people. It's messaging. It's something that they're doing as a party that is not appealing to the white voter and so it isn't just about President Obama, it's about the platform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Polls show that most voters, no matter what their race, share a top concern this year, the economy. Why does the racial divide at the voting booth continue to grow between Democrats and Republicans?

"Talk Back" question for you this morning: Why don't more white voters support President Obama? Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Your responses later this hour.

Using marijuana -- smoking marijuana recreationally just might become legal in Colorado on November 6th, but some people are hoping the proposed change to the state's constitution goes up in smoke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining us and happy Friday to you.

It's 30 minutes past the hour. Time to check our "Top Stories".

Some new numbers to share with you on the state of the 2012 race. Our CNN poll of polls shows likely voters favoring Mitt Romney by a slight margin over President Obama, 48 to 47 percent.

A New York nanny remains in critical condition after police say she killed two young children in her care and then slashed her own throat. The children ages two and six were found by their mother in a bathtub last night. The nanny has been arrested but not charged.

Hurricane Sandy taking aim at the Northeast, it's expected to collide with a powerful winter storm which could turn it into a super storm. Right now a tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of Florida's East Coast. Hurricane Sandy blamed for more than 20 deaths in the Caribbean. In just a couple of weeks voters in Colorado will be able to decide if their state will become the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use. If Amendment 64 is approved, it would make it legal to possess up to an ounce of pot and allow people to grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes.

Supporters of the bill say it would create thousands of jobs but critics say if the measure passes it would hurt Colorado's image and discourage family-oriented business in the state.

Joining me now from Denver, Happy Haynes, a spokesperson for "No on 64" and Kayvan Khalatbari, co-owner of the Denver Relief Medical Marijuana Center. Welcome to you both.

KAYVAN KHALATBARI, CO-OWNER, DENVER RELIEF MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTER: Thank you.

HAPPY HAYNES, SPOKESPERSON, "NO ON 64": Thank you.

COSTELLO: I actually would like to know what the polls say. I mean, do voter -- are voters split down the middle? Happy, I'll pose that question to you.

HAYNES: I have not seen the latest polls and I imagine it's a pretty close -- a close race at this point.

COSTELLO: Why are you against the measure?

HAYNES: I think it's wrong for Colorado. First and foremost, this amendment does not belong in our Constitution. I -- I mean the right to get high right next to our freedom of religion and our right to vote, it's the wrong place and the wrong message and image for Colorado.

We have a state that relies heavily on tourism. And we work hard to attract businesses and families here who come for the quality of life and for our healthy lifestyle and, you know, not for a reputation of, you know, a party state and a get high state. I don't think that's -- that's the right image and it certainly does not belong in our Constitution.

I think secondly it would make Colorado an island, a Mecca and, you know, attract people from all over the country. This is the place, you know, that where you can get high. And I just don't think that's the right image, that's the right reputation and, you know, changing the law at the federal level, but I don't think this is the kind of first that we want for Colorado.

COSTELLO: And so Kayvan, will that -- is that what it will do? It will kind of like lure tourists to Colorado to smoke dope?

KHALATBARI: I don't think that should be really the main concern here. But to start, polling does show that Amendment 64 is in favor by Colorado voters right now. Jimmy Carter once said that the penalties against a drug's use should not be more damaging to an individual than a drug itself. And what we found here in Colorado is that we have created a huge social burden by arresting people for simple marijuana possession.

The Drug Policy Alliance recently came out with a study that showed that 108,000 people have been arrested in Colorado in the last 10 years for very simple marijuana possession. That is creating a social burden that is unnecessary. These are -- these are people that have used this drug, that will continue to use this drug and they're using it on an underground -- in an underground market.

They're -- they're giving money to drug dealers and to people in Mexico, to drug cartels. We can keep that money here in Colorado. It's shown that if Amendment 64 passes that we're looking at $60 million in tax revenue created here in Colorado not just through the social use of cannabis but through industrialized hemp and through all ancillary businesses that will be provided here. That's just not to count to --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And Kayvan -- Kayvan --

KHALATBARI: Yes.

COSTELLO: -- critics say that if this amendment passes in Colorado, it's a gate way for the rest of the country. If this thing passes in Colorado then it's likely that every other state in the union will then move to legalize marijuana and recreational use of marijuana.

KHALATBARI: Good. I think that's a great thing. It's -- it's been proven that people in -- in America, studies have shown, that they -- they want marijuana legalized. For the first time ever, well over 50 percent of the people in this country believe in the social legalization of marijuana while it's over 80 percent believe in the medical legalization of it.

That the old tired stigmas that it's a gate way drug, that it's hurting children. They are -- they are going away, teen use has gone down since medical marijuana was heavily regulated in Colorado while it's gone up nationwide. The studies show that this is the right thing to do. It's the reasonable thing to do. And people on the opposite side of it just aren't being reasonable they're being tire in their thought and it's very dated.

COSTELLO: And Happy, I'd like to pose this question for you because this marijuana issue in Colorado some say has a huge impact on the presidential race. Do you believe that's true?

HAYNES: No, I don't think the two issues are related at all.

COSTELLO: Kayvan, do you agree? Because I have heard that a lot of young voters approve of this amendment and the Obama administration hasn't exactly been vocally supportive?

KHALATBARI: I think that obviously Colorado is one of the largest swing states. You can tell by all the commercials we have to deal with on our daily basis. But this is bringing young voters out. And it is -- it's not just a young person issue. It shouldn't be made about that. But it will bring young voters out. And I do believe it will have some impact on the final results.

Gary Johnson, a third party candidate, has been taking a lot away -- a lot of votes away from Obama's people saying that could lean more towards Romney whereas Romney is not kind toward marijuana, period. So it's out there and it will get people out to vote and I think that's really the most important thing.

COSTELLO: Happy Haynes, Kayvan Khalatbari, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

KHALATBARI: Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right. Back to our breaking news. The former Prime Minister of Italy heading to prison. Just a short time ago Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years behind bars for tax evasion.

Our CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is on the phone. Tell us more, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes this court in Milan came out with a four-year verdict for the former prime minister, 76-year-old Silvio Berlusconi. This involves his media set, media group and the purchase of more than 3,000 films which were then sort of resold within his companies and obviously there's some tax fraud involved there.

Now this sentence is for four years for tax fraud but it's worth noting that according to the Italian judicial system he can appeal the verdict twice and in addition to that the statute of limitations applies in this case and it expires sometime next year. So there's a very good chance he will not actually be spending any time behind bars.

COSTELLO: Still, the fact that he was sentenced to four years in prison, how -- how are the people of Italy reacting to this? He's a former Prime Minister.

WEDEMAN: He is a former prime minister until last November but he's also a man many Italians blame for the current economic mess the country is in. His political party, in fact, basically has about 14 percent to 15 percent of support from the Italian population according to recent opinion polls.

So many Italians are actually very happy with this sentence given his unpopularity. But of course, there is a good realization among many that he may, as he has in the past, been able to use the appeal process and the statutes of limitations to avoid doing time.

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live for us by phone from Milan, Italy this morning.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to a role that made him famous, yes, "Conan the Barbarian." Details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Good thing he's still in shape because Arnold Schwarzenegger is about to reprise a role with an unforgiving costume, "Conan the Barbarian" the role that launched his career three decades ago.

A.J. Hammer is following him. He'll wear that, you can call it an outfit.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. I don't know if he's going to wear it again. And I don't know if people really want Arnold to be back, Carol. But Arnold is back. "Deadline Hollywood Daily" broke the news that Arnold and Universal Pictures are going to be releasing "The Legend of Conan" in 2014. The film will reportedly tell the story of Conan as a king facing a last battle.

It was back in 1982, 30 years ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger put on that loin cloth and picked up the broad sword for the first time. It was his first major role. He is looking forward to playing it again.

He did release a statement and here's what Arnold is saying. "I always loved the Conan character and I am honored to be asked to step into the role once again. I can't wait to work with Universal and develop the next step of this truly epic story."

And of course it's going to be very interesting to see how this movie does when it hits theaters. I think it's a big unknown at this point if people are going to actually look past his personal transgressions and flock to theaters. They certainly haven't been buying his book.

But, you know, two years can make a difference, Carol. It's not coming out until 2014 as they say.

COSTELLO: Maybe so. I never saw the original but I'm sure a lot of people -- a lot of people must have. Was it a good movie?

HAMMER: Yes, you know, I never saw it either. I have no recollection of it. I think it's more of an iconic movie than anything else. You know maybe this will compel people to go out and rent it although you know Arnold -- Arnold's not a very hot ticket right now.

COSTELLO: No. Sadly, no.

Let's talk about the former "Dallas" star, Jack Scalia. He's -- he's been arrested.

HAMMER: Yes. The actor is also known for his role in "All My Children." He was caught with a concealed handgun in a carry-on bag at the Los Angeles International Airport. Now the gun was unloaded but he was still arrested and booked by the airport police.

He is the latest in this long string of celebrities caught with concealed weapons. Something I've never understood, Carol. Who doesn't know that bringing a concealed weapon to the airport is going to land you in jail? It's that simple.

COSTELLO: A lot of people say they simply forget it's in their luggage.

HAMMER: Right.

COSTELLO: It happens a lot.

HAMMER: Right. Sure they do.

COSTELLO: A.J. Hammer, many thanks.

Watch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: 47 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

Just a horrible story out of New York. An Upper West Side nanny accused of stabbing to death two young children in her care. The mother returned home and found the children in a bathtub and the nanny nearby with what appeared to be a self-inflicted stab wound. The children were pronounced dead at the hospital. The nanny is now in stable condition.

The Pakistani teenage girl shot in the head by the Taliban for defending her right to go to school is doing better this morning and visiting for the first time with her family. Doctors say they don't believe Malala suffered serious brain damage. But the doctors do say she faces a long road in her recovery.

Turns out this little iPad is a big seller. Pre-orders for the iPad Mini and the 4th generation iPad started this morning online at 3:00 a.m. and sold out almost immediately. Apple says it will have the iPad Mini on stores on the expected launch date, November 2nd. But if you want to get one online you're going to have to wait.

Asking your doctor for a second opinion can be very tricky, especially if you're worried about the doctor's feelings or questioning their judgment. Dr. Travis Stork from TV's "The Doctors" gives us his dos and don'ts in daily dose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TRAVIS STORK, "THE DOCTORS": Don't worry too much about your doctor's feelings here. What matters is your health. And most doctors are more than happy that you're going to get a second opinion. But certainly don't hide the fact that you're going to get a second opinion because your doctor needs to be aware that you're going to get another opinion so they can incorporate that opinion into their plan.

Tell your doctor that it's not that you question their judgment but you want to get more information. But the big thing is this, if you're out there looking for a fourth, sixth, seventh opinion and you're trying to get a doctor to tell you what you want to hear, you will eventually hear what you want to hear but doing that can put your health in jeopardy. Make sure you're getting a second opinion because you need it and you want it. You want more information. At some point you have to accept the news even if it's not what you want to hear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Pitcher -- Detroit Tigers pitcher, he gets beamed. Doug Fister hit in the head by a line drive and then he stays in the game. Should pitchers wear helmets? We'll talk about that.

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COSTELLO: OK. So my Tigers are in a hole, a Giant 2-0 hole, but I have hope. Detroit's going home for Game Three in the World Series with San Francisco tomorrow night.

Vince Cellini from "Bleacher Report" is here. And you know, just as is a baseball fan,. the scariest moment in that game was when Doug Fister, the Detroit Tigers pitcher got hit in the head.

Let's take a look at that. The announcers immediately said, "Why don't pitchers wear helmets?"

VINCE CELLINI, "BLEACHER REPORT": Yes. That's a tough sell in the major leagues to get a pitcher to wear helmets. But it is any pitcher's worst nightmare. Gregor Blanco hit one up in the middle in the second inning and it wound up in center field. But the good news was that Fister was unfazed. And in fact, he let everybody know about it when they had a conversation on the mound to check him out. This hit him right above the right ear and ricochets into center field.

COSTELLO: It's just the thing -- I know what you said. That they had this conversation on -- let's listen actually because Fox had audio of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: San Francisco.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You know -- I don't know, in my mind, any time you get hit in the head with a ball that hard, isn't it safer just to take him out of the game?

CELLINI: Well, he said he's OK. He responded to all the tests so he was fine. The bigger problem now for the Tigers is being down 2-0 because teams with a 2-0 lead in the World Series have won 79 percent of the time. I hate to break that to you. I know you're a Tiger fan.

COSTELLO: Hey, they're going home, Vince. Detroit has great fans, too.

CELLINI: Sure, anything can happen. All right, moving on. End of an era in the NBA, Carol. On Thursday Commissioner David Stern announced that on February 1st of 2014 he'll be stepping down 30 years to the day when he took over. He took over a league that was basically riddled with drug problems, perception problems, attendance problems but he turned it around as a multi- billion industry under his watch.

International play has grown big time. Now we see not only the game globally but this talent from around the world participating in the NBA. That's become the final destination for great players no matter where you're from around the earth.

COSTELLO: Any idea who's next in line?

CELLINI: Adam Silver, the deputy commissioner, will take over the duties.

And I want to leave you with this. I know you love fashion.

COSTELLO: I do.

CELLINI: So check this out. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as part of their 80th anniversary season, are wearing 1934 uniforms Sunday against Washington. They wore these back when they were the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934.

Now Carol, I like history. I don't think we should wear it, necessarily. But that's that. And they'll wear it actually twice.

COSTELLO: It looks like -- it either looks like a prison outfit or he's dressing up for Halloween as a big giant bee.

CELLINI: You'll see them again against the Ravens on November 18th. So there's a celebration

For more stories like the ones you heard, go to bleacherreport.com. We have all of that information and more -- bleacherreport.com.

COSTELLO: I love Bleacher Report. Thanks, Vince, for being here.

CELLINI: You're welcome. Thank you.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

Talk Back question for you this morning: "Why don't more white voters support President Obama?" Your responses next.

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COSTELLO: Every morning we ask you to talk back on a big story of the day. And boy, did you respond this morning; more than 1,000 comments. Talk Back question, "Why don't more white voters support President Obama?"

This from Raffi: "Carol, it's not about race. Why do some of the media continue to suggest that race has anything to do with it? It's about ideas and ideology."

This from Adam: "Misinformed and wedge issue politics."

From Michael: "The reason why white voters are voting for Romney is because they voted for Obama last time and got screwed."

And this from Vicky: "I think there's still so much hidden prejudice in this country, however far we've come. It's sad that more people don't vote based on what's best for us."

Please keep the conversation going because it's a fascinating one this morning. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Thank you as always for your comments and thank you for watching me this morning.

I'm Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.