Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Midterm Madness in Full Swing; How Will Obama Impact Midterm Elections?; Biden: Democrats Will Keep Senate; NTSB Probes Virgin Galactic Crash

Aired November 03, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Burst of momentum, new polls, new moves in key races. We're going to break down why Republicans are cracking a smile and how it shifts the balance of power. Signature candor from Vice President Joe Biden. Does he think Democrats keep the Senate?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And new clue. Investigators getting closer to learning what caused the Virgin Galactic space ship break up midair and crash. Did one of the pilots make a fatal error leading to the deadly disaster?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Death defying stunt. Nik Wallenda completing another incredible feat on live television walking between Chicago's skyscrapers blindfolded. We'll bring his amazing and heart pounding stunts.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. Happy Monday, November 3. Six o'clock in the East right now. Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota here with mid-term madness now in full swing. Candidates making final pitches in key races. Campaigns doing everything they can to get their voters out to the polls ahead of tomorrow's big day. Surrogate stars like Bill Clinton, Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton, out on the hustings (ph). The stakes are very high: if Republicans win key races, they take all in terms of control of Congress.

CAMEROTA: Sure. This as a number of polls show Republicans are gaining momentum heading into the race. So where do things stand less than 24 hours to election day? We have full coverage for you this morning, beginning with chief Congressional correspondent Dana Bash, live from Washington with the latest details. Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Democratic sources I talked to this weekend say they do see a path to keeping the Senate, but it's narrow and it's unlikely. It's always been a tough environment for Democrats. But now a day before the election, momentum is with the Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Political stars came out for the final election day push. For Republicans, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: When our Republican party is at its best, we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

BASH: For Democrats, Hillary Clinton hits three states for female Senate candidates.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Who's going to be there for you? Who cares about you? Who works for you?

BASH: Bill Clinton went to Iowa.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can tell you this, you need to go for progress, not protest. You need to think about what you want for the next six years.

BASH: Still Republican and Democratic sources say the GOP looks increasingly likely to seize the Senate majority. And Iowa, where James Taylor playing made it appear more peace rally than pep rally, is a big reason why. Democrats are down about Iowa's crucial Senate race after a weekend poll showed Republican Joni Ernst pulling ahead.

JONI ERNST (R), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: It's not just Republicans. It's independents, and it's a lot of Democrats, too, that see the need to change direction.

BASH: Iowa is so critical to the balance of power that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told volunteers in a conference call that if they lose Iowa, it will be very hard for Democrats to keep control of the Senate.

Here's why. Republicans need to flip six Senate streets take control. West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana, which was briefing in flux are now almost sure to be GOP pick-ups. Democrats are bracing for incumbent defeats in Arkansas and Colorado. Early Colorado voting shows Republicans 8 points ahead of Democratic ballots, according to U.S. Elections Project.

Democrats also say losing Alaska is likely him, though they have engaged in an unprecedented voter turnout operation, and polling is unreliable.

Democrats feel better about North Carolina and New Hampshire. But polls show both within the margin of error.

And there are wild cards. The Republican incumbent in Kansas could lose to an independent, who could caucus with either party.

GREG ORMAN (I), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Both Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid have been far too partisan for far too long.

BASH: Louisiana and Georgia are so close, they'll likely go into December and January runoffs, respectively.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BASH: Now, a senior Democratic source told me their best hope at this point may be to lose the majority but make the margins so narrow that Democrats could potentially win back control in just two years and, in the words of this source, make Mitch McConnell's reign as a majority leader very brief -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It is really coming down to the wire, Dana. Thanks so much for breaking that down for us.

President Obama also out stumping in some pivotal races, even though most Senate Democrats did all they could to distance themselves from the commander in chief. CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is live for us with details. Hi, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn. That's right. It's no secret that Democrats have been keeping the Democrat at arm's length during this midterm election cycle. And that was the case over the weekend.

The president was out on the campaign trail, but he was mainly appearing with gubernatorial candidates. He did appear with one Senate candidate, Gary Peters, in Michigan. But Peters is expected to cruise to victory in that Senate race there. But we did hear the president during that speech in Detroit return to a theme that worked for him before. We'll have to see if it works this time. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hope is what gave young people the strength to march for civil rights and voting rights and gay rights and immigrants' rights and women's rights. Hope that there are better days ahead. Hope that we can rebuild our middle class and pass onto our kids something better. That's what built America. That's what Motor City is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But Democratic Senate candidates did not have a lot of hope that the president would have a positive effect on their campaign. So that's why, as you heard in Dana's piece, a lot of these Democratic Senate candidates have kept the president away from their campaigns all election cycle long.

But I did talk to several Democratic strategists over the weekend, Chris, who are starting to question, second guess this keeping-the- president-in-isolation approach. They're wondering whether or not it made the party look like they were running scared. In the words of one Democratic strategist, it made them look like chicken blank or chicken expletive, an expletive that you heard bandied about a lot last week.

And I did talk to one White House official over the weekend who said, you know, it's not over yet. Remember those polls from 2012 that showed the president tied with Mitt Romney? The president went on to win handily -- Chris. CUOMO: There is a lot of that chicken blank talk going on, Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CUOMO: Very -- very gently handled. They are saying it's also the narrative about what this means for the Democratic Party will be huge. Because it can't just be about the president.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CUOMO: Thank you for the reporting. We will check back in with you.

Now, what's the big issue here? Well, it's about -- all about how control of the Senate shakes out. Vice President Joe Biden, he could wind up being the tie-breaking vote in the chamber. He could also wind up being just another bored guy in a chair if it goes the wrong way. But he is awfully confident he will not be a bored guy. He spoke exclusively with CNN's Gloria Borger. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, I don't agree with the odds makers. I predict we're going to -- we're going to keep the Senate.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You do?

BIDEN: I've been in 66, 67 races all told. And I don't get the feeling that the odds makers are giving.

BORGER: But what if that were to be the case?

BIDEN: Well, I don't think it will change anything in terms of what we -- what we're about. We -- we know we have to get done the last two years, and quite frankly, going into 2016 the Republican have to make a decision whether they're in control or not in control, are they going to begin to allow things to happen, or are they going to continue to be obstructionists? And I think they're going to choose to get things done.

BORGER: Will the White House have to change the way that it does business?

BIDEN: No, I don't think we have to change. I think we have to be -- I think we have to be more direct and clear about exactly or what it is we're looking to do. And look, we're ready to compromise. I think they're going to be inclined, because the message of the people, and I'm getting it all over the country, is they're tired of Washington not being able to do anything.

BORGER: So here we are out in Florida. And you were here campaigning for Charlie Crist.

BIDEN: Yes.

BORGER: And the president has stayed mostly back in D.C., largely because Democrats in red states wanted him to stay in D.C. Was that the right strategy, keeping the president off the campaign trail in a large way?

BIDEN: Look, I ran for the Senate sex times. And one of the things I know about Senate races off years and on races, and on years, the same as governor's races, is it's all local. It all gets down to what the specific issues in that -- in that district or that state is. And each senator makes a judgment about whether or not it will be -- he thinks it's helpful or hurtful.

BORGER: Yes, but this is the president of the United States. You've got a lot of Democrats up for reelection. Normally, you'd have a president out there.

BIDEN: Look, we've been seeing this a lot. There are lots of places where first term, second term, George Bush didn't show up, the older Bush, Reagan. I mean, you know, every state is different. And look, here's the deal. If you look at every single major issue in this campaign, the American public agree with our position: from federal support for infrastructure to minimum wage to marriage equality, every single time.

BORGER: Well, wait a minute. But our polls show voters are angry; they're fearful. They're frustrated, not only about domestic policy like a rollout of the president's healthcare reform but also on the handling of Ebola and ISIS. So you know, the question is, how do you fix that? I mean, the public isn't with you on that.

BIDEN: Two issues. What the republic -- the public is concerned and frightened because it's a frightening world. A lot has happened. And what happens, Gloria, is on every one of these crisis, there's all kinds of attention, understandably, from Twitter to major programs like yours.

But what happens is when the follow-up occurs, there's not much follow-up. For example, when -- when the Russians invaded, crossed the border into Ukraine, it was, "My God, it's over, and things are going to" -- you know, "Why'd they do it? To stop an election from occurring. To keep Ukraine from moving west." But all those things happened. We put it under control. Still a problem.

BORGER; So the public shouldn't be anxious about Ebola or ISIS?

BIDEN: No. No, I think the public should not be as anxious as they are, but it's understandable why they are. There is no existential threat to the United States right now. There are fewer than five cases of Ebola in the entire United States of America.

The American public is gaining confidence in the fact -- in the way this is being handled, that science does matter.

You look at what's happening with ISIS. ISIS is not an existential threat to something -- happening to someone in the United States of America. It's a serious problem overseas. But it's confusing and frightening. And it's totally understandable. We've got to figure out -- we, the president and I, have to figure out

how to better communicate exactly what's being done. That's part of the problem. That's part of the dilemma.

BORGER: Let's move to 2016 and you.

BIDEN: OK.

BORGER: I need to ask you, of course, where is your head right now on a -- on a race?

BIDEN: It's my job. There's plenty of time to make that decision.

BORGER: There is?

BIDEN: No, there really is. I mean, look, everybody talks about how, you know, everything is going to be done by the summer. And I don't see that at all. I'm confident and if I decide and I haven't made a decision.

BORGER: What is it, 50-50, 60-40?

BIDEN: It's -- I just haven't focused on -- I haven't made up my mind what I'm going to do.

BORGER: It's not about Hillary?

BIDEN: It really is not. I mean, you know me too well. I mean, if I run, I'm confident I will be able to mount a campaign that can be financed, and it will be credible and it will be serious.

BORGER: Would you run if she runs?

BIDEN: Absolutely. That's not the reason not to run or to run. The question is, am I -- am I convinced I am best positioned of anyone else to lead the country the next four years?

BORGER: Are you?

BIDEN: That's a decision I have to make.

BORGER: Everybody is talking about Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. Doesn't that kind of annoy you to a degree?

BIDEN: Not at all. I mean, it really -- I know you know me well. It really doesn't bother me at all. What I am focused on, for real -- I know I sound, more than I say. It doesn't sound real.

BORGER: Right.

BIDEN: That no, but I honest to God have not made up my mind. It's just that basic, that simple.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Only Vice President Biden can say, "Even when I say it, it doesn't sound real." That's that genuineness that people love or hate.

So did the vice president speak the truth? Does he help? Does he hurt? And what does it mean that he was allowed out of the house in the first place so close to election day?

John Avlon, CNN political analyst and the editor in chief of the Daily Beast Margaret Hoover and a CNN political commentator, Republican consultant.

Jon, I'll start with you.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Morning, guys.

CUOMO: Biden is out there. He's speaking. He's saying, "We have to do a better job with messaging, but I think we're going to win." Are you surprised to see him out there? And what's his impact?

AVLON: I mean, it would be political malpractice if he said he thought they'd lose.

CUOMO: But it would not be that big a surprise coming from Joe Biden.

AVLON: That's true, because the bar is very, very low. A slip of the lip out of Joe is one of the things you love about him.

But look, you know, he's trying to make a defiant case. I think the smartest point he's making is that the Republicans' closing arguments about ending gridlock, and that actually raises the bar for the day after election. If Republicans win, and it's six seats, and the average six-term gain is 8 seats, there is really enough to follow through on that rhetoric and show that -- should be governing rather than grandstanding or gridlocking. That's a good point. Putting Biden out to make your closing argument, maybe not the best.

MARGARET HOOVER, REPUBLICAN COMMENTATOR: OK. To his credit, he did OK, fortunately. I mean, Republicans would have loved to cut last- minute ads with Joe Biden's slip of the tongue. But that was the strategery [SIC] there, is you put him out too soon. You can't actually create an ad, package it, and get it on the air. He's going up on Monday.

CAMEROTA: But he avoided the gaffes. But he did say that if Democrats lose the Senate, that they are ready -- this is a quote -- to compromise. So what policies, John, would be Democrats' compromise?

AVLON: You know, people forget that President Obama campaigned on a form of tax reform, very different than, say, Paul Ryan's vision, but there should be common ground. Tax -- corporate tax reform, in particular. If Republicans can get over the idea that closing loopholes means raising rates.

There theoretically could be. I mean, obviously, the Senate passed immigration reform. The House flirted with it, then ran away after Eric Cantor lost. Maybe there's another run at that. But over and over again we've seen the gridlock, really, between

dividing wings of the Democratic -- of the Republican Party. Certainly, no love lost between Reid and McConnell. You know, I'd love to see a thousand flowers bloom and a new age of pragmatism in Washington if Republicans take over. There's very little rational reason to think that would happen.

CUOMO: Well, look, one part of this, Margaret, could easily be dismissed as the Democrats do an early spin about what it means if they lose control. Right? You know, oh, let's see what they do now.

But let's look at the real pragmatism here about being careful what you wish for. If the Republicans come into power, setting themselves up for the presidential election, they will be measured based on what they get done. Little daunting given the climate that they've helped create down in Washington.

HOOVER: Well, look, you have to keep in mind, as everyone does, that the Senate is an incredibly different institution. Just its DNA is very, very different than the House of Representatives. It is made, created by the founders to be the more moderating institution. You can't get things through the Senate that don't have a lot of consensus from Democrats and Republicans.

Immigration reform was the perfect example. While Republicans push it, Harry Reid let it happen, and it had enough amendments that it was able to get through a Democratic Senate.

What's really undercover here is how little the Democratic Senate has passed with the Democratic president. Three hundred-plus bills have gone out of the House of Representatives. Harry Reid couldn't even get gun control through his own body, which by the way...

CUOMO: Can we talk about that? Please, please, please.

HOOVER: Maybe you can let me finish my point first, and then I'm happy...

CUOMO: I apologize.

HOOVER: ... for to you interject. But gun control is something that 90 percent of Americans want some form of gun control passed, some sort of background check, some sort of measures. This is a bill that Democrats ought to have been able...

CUOMO: That 90 percent doesn't include the Republican senators, though, Margaret. They didn't want to get anything passed.

HOOVER: That's absolutely a totally unfair characterization, Chris.

CUOMO: How so?

HOOVER: You know that there are Republican senators who are willing to vote because their constituencies wanted some form of background checks or some measure passed, and Harry Reid botched it getting it out of his own Senate. CUOMO: Take her to task, John Avlon.

AVLON: No, no, I mean, this is a really good example. You've got 91 percent -- 91 percent of Americans support reasonable gun control in the wake of Newtown. You had a bipartisan bill, Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin. And then Mitch McConnell basically blocked it, a filibuster came into play. And that's why. I mean, the only time anything's gotten done in the last four years has been when there is bipartisan reform and Boehner ditches the hatchet rule. Mitch McConnell drops filibuster every day he possibly can.

HOOVER: I delighted that you didn't mention that the NRA was part of that blockage, because...

AVLON: Yes.

HOOVER: ... guess who one of the No. 1 supporters of the NRA and supported by the NRA? Harry Reid! So may be a bipartisan problem...

AVLON: What? The NRA owns the Democrats? It's not credible.

HOOVER: You know what? Go look at the numbers, honey. I mean, you and I both know that the NRA is part of blocking it. Harry Reid is one of their biggest supporters.

CAMEROTA: That's -- you don't often, in a political debate, hear "honey" invoked. That is derogatory. But he is your honey.

That is so great. We have so much to talk about this morning.

CUOMO: I'm seeing separate cars on the way home?

AVLON: No, no, no.

CUOMO: Separate cars.

CAMEROTA: I am not.

CUOMO: It can get heated before breakfast (ph).

CAMEROTA: You guys in the morning, what else is there to do?

You are telling us why the political debate is going on in this country. And we'll get back to the mid-terms throughout the program. Thanks so much, John, Margaret. Great to see you guys.

Let's go over to Michaela for other news.

PEREIRA: Good morning, everybody.

Good morning to you at home. Here are your headlines now.

U.S. airstrikes seemingly doing very little to stop ISIS from advancing in Iraq. ISIS forces slaughtering dozens of Sunni tribal members in Anbar province after killing hundreds in the last week. Many of them dragged from their homes in the dead of night and executed.

That extremist group continues to gain a stronger foothold now in Iraq's western desert.

The U.N. is issuing its starkest warning yet about climate change in its new synthesis report. The U.N. panel on climate change says it is more certain than ever that humans are causing temperatures to rise. The report warns that food shortages, mass extinction of plants and animals, and the flooding of major cities, among other issues, could result if nothing is done.

Forty-two people have now been removed from Ohio's list of people being monitored for Ebola. The total is down to 122, stemming from nurse Amber Vinson's trip to Ohio.

Meanwhile, an unidentified male patient has been admitted to Duke University Hospital in North Carolina for possible Ebola -- exposure to Ebola. His lab results are due back this morning. We'll keep an eye on that.

In New York, Dr. Craig CraiCraig Spencer is recovering. In fact, his condition was upgraded to stable over the weekend. And Dallas nurse Nina Pham has been reunited with her dog, Bentley, who has also tested negative for Ebola.

The woman who became the face of the controversial Death with Dignitary Act has died. Brittany Maynard ended her life -- her own life Saturday at her home in Oregon. Maynard had been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor and was told by doctors that she had six months to live him. She, of course, made headlines after she opted to die under Oregon's Death with Dignitary Act. Brittany Maynard was 29 years old.

CAMEROTA: That's sad. Even though we knew that was going to happen.

PEREIRA: I know.

CAMEROTA: Still when it happens, it's sad to report in here.

PEREIRA: It's very sad. It is.

CUOMO: That's confounding because she's only 29 years old. Life is not supposed to end then. We all know life is unclear. But it also raises this issue. I mean, so many of us are dealing with our parents getting older, and what you happen and how you see people's lives at the end and you can do nothing about it. It's a big issue that gets ignored, and this really brings it to light in a very stark way.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CUOMO: The best to her family.

CAMEROTA: And she started the conversation. Thanks so much, Michaela.

All right. Federal investigators may be close to finding the cause of Friday's deadly Virgin Galactic spaceship crash. They're focusing on something called a feathering system. Did the co-pilot activate it too soon?

CUOMO: Did you see this? Words don't cover it. Only sounds, like "ah, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi." Nik Wallenda blowing away the Windy City. Boy, the crowds just couldn't get enough. But are they getting too much? Is this man pushing his luck for the sake of ratings? And are you OK with that? When we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: ... the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The National Transportation Safety Board releasing new information about the events leading up to the crash of Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo over the Mohave Desert on Friday. The NTSB revealing that a lever controlling the spacecraft's feathers was moved earlier than it should have.

CHRISTOPHER HART, ACTING CHAIRMAN, NTSB: After it was unlocked, the features moved into the deploy position. And two seconds later, we saw disintegration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After combing the 5-mile debris field, the NTSB says they found most of the important parts needed for the investigation.

HART: We've got many, many issues to look into much more extensively before we can determine the cause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The aircraft was designed to launch six tourists into space. But only two pilots were on board for the test flight. Forty-three-year-old Peter Siebold survived the crash, parachuting to the ground, suffering moderate injuries.

On Sunday, Virgin's partner company said Siebold was alert and speaking. But investigators will not interview him until he's ready. His co-pilot, 39-year-old Michael Alsbury, was killed.

Virgin Galactic's founder, Richard Branson, tweeted this picture of the two together.

RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: We're going to learn from what went wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over the weekend, Branson rejected speculation about the program's safety.

BRANSON: And to be honest, I find it slightly irresponsible that people who know nothing about what they're saying can be saying things before the NTSB makes their comments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Virgin Galactic reiterated the importance of the investigation, saying, "Virgin Galactic is not in a position to comment on the incident itself or the test flight. The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation. All inquiries should be directed to them."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And Rachel Crane is here with us now to talk more. Let's also bring in CNN's space analyst Miles O'Brien. Great to see you guys.

So Miles, if this was the fault of the feathering system, why would a pilot have triggered it too early?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE ANALYST: Well, I think we should just back up a little bit before we impugn a deceased pilot here. We don't know what was going on there. The surviving pilot may provide some clues onto this. But let's remember a couple of things.

First of all, there might have been good reason to reach to unlock the feathering system. There might have been some sort of instability in the craft that might have led him to believe that he would have to prematurely return to earth, turn off the engine and thus engage the feathering system.

And secondly, what he did was, was he unlocked the feathering system. He did not deploy it. So there might be some flaw in the system, as well here. So I think we should be very careful when we start asking this question about pilot error so early in the investigation.

CAMEROTA: OK. Excellent reminders. Thank you for that.

Rachel, let's talk about the bigger picture. Because 700 people, regular civilians, basically, have signed up to go with, I think, Virgin Galactic into this space tourism, including all sorts of celebrities: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry. Do you think that Richard Branson has adequately communicated to the public how dangerous this really still is?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think everybody that has signed up to go on one of these flights has to be an adrenaline junkie or a space enthusiast. So they're aware that there is risk involved with these missions.

You know, I think Virgin Galactic is very keen on perfecting this technology, making sure that these missions are safe before they start flying anybody, any of these paying passengers into space.

So certainly, this is a setback for Virgin Galactic, for the entire space tourism community. But I think everybody that is involved is aware of the risk. You know, it's high risk, high reward.

CAMEROTA: Miles, what do you think? Has Richard Branson sometimes underestimated what it takes to get people into space?

O'BRIEN: He has consistently underestimated it in public. And I feel this is the real problem with Virgin Galactic, is there has been this disparity between the hard reality of what's going on there, testing this new rocket and new system in the Mohave desert, versus the public relations efforts of the -- of Virgin Galactic. This has been a great public relations campaign, which is after all, Sir Richard's forte.

And I think he's a wildly optimistic person. And I think he has made a lot of promises about flying, beginning, we were promised flights at the end of 2008, let's not forget. And this has been a very difficult program.

What I saw over the weekend was Sir Richard saying, "If we can overcome this." If we can -- he never said that before. He talked about patience. He's talked about this being for the long haul. So Sir Richard has been chastened in his public statements, but heretofore, he has been promising things, frankly, they could not deliver.

CAMEROTA: Rachel, only a few seconds. What do you think -- how do you think this changes the time line?

CRANE: I think this certainly sets it back. They do have another spaceship in the works that's 60 percent done right now. That's SpaceShipTwo, Serial 2. But certainly, this ongoing investigation is pressing pause on the creation of that spacecraft right now.

CAMEROTA: All right. Rachel, thanks for all the great reporting. Miles, great to talk to you. Thanks so much.

All right. And in our 8 a.m. hour, we are going to hear from Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, himself, about his company's disaster and the time line we've been talking about.

Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn. We've got to keep our eyes on the clock. It's less than 24 hours before mid-term voting begins where you are. And if the polls are right, Republicans are on the verge of making big gains in Congress. So what will this mean as a referendum on the last two years of Obama's presidency? We're going to take a look ahead, if the change actually happens.

And if oil prices are plummeting, why are airline fares skyrocketing? Have you looked on Expedia lately? Will this move backfire on carriers? "Money Time" has answers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)