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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Occupy Wall Street in 24th Day; Battle for Sirte in "Final Stages"; Massive Protests Growing; Labor Deal Deadline Today; Crucial Vote On Obama's Jobs Bill
Aired October 10, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is set to be another eventful day involving the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. One group is calling for protesters to crash the New York Stock Exchange Web site.
In the meantime, the Reverend Al Sharpton is taking his radio show to the middle of where all of this is happening.
In Egypt, a violent and chaotic scene. Some are comparing it to what we saw during the revolution earlier this year.
And it appears researchers may have figured out why your brain rejects negative thoughts, even when things are looking really, really grim.
Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 10th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York this morning.
This is a crucial week for President Obama and his nearly $450 billion jobs bill. The Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on bringing the measure up for debate. President Obama has been pushing this bill ever since unveiling it about a month ago, saying it's what is desperately need for this country to put people back to work.
Among other things, the president's jobs plan would cut payroll taxes on workers and employers, extend unemployment benefits, and spend money on public works projects. Of course, Republicans oppose how to pay for this plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: Well, what's concerning about is, he put ideas in this jobs bill that have already proven to fail. Instead of trying to get compromise, he's embracing conflict. He's running around the country campaigning on a bill he knows won't pass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right. You didn't hear what President Obama said because we were having technical difficulty, but here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These independent economists say we could grow the economy as much as two percent and as many as 1.9 million workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Even if the Senate passes the president's bill, it stands virtually no chance of getting through the Republican- controlled House in its current form.
The "Occupy Wall Street" protests are now in their 24th day and show no sign of slowing down.
In New York where it all began, protesters today are asking parents to bring their children to a planned rally. Over the weekend, demonstrators were out in full force in several cities, loudly denouncing corporate greed and social inequality.
About 100 people demonstrated outside the White House yesterday. The Secret Service says one person was arrested after throwing a shoe at a uniformed officer. As you probably guessed, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have two very different views of the protesters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MAJORITY LEADER: I, for one, am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I didn't hear him say anything when the Tea Party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: So far, as far as we know, there's no one leader of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
An online hackers group also plans to take aim at New York's financial center. Anonymous is pledging to crash the New York Stock Exchange's Web site. It says it will launch a distributed denial of service attack around 3:30 p.m. Eastern. A message posted on YouTube says the protest will be an extension of the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations.
Attorney General Eric Holder is firing back at Republicans, suggesting he hasn't been forthcoming about a controversial federal gun running operation that was known as Fast and Furious. Federal agents allowed illegally purchased guns to enter Mexico from Arizona in the hopes of tracking down drug cartels. But many of those weapons were lost.
In May, Holder testified to Congress that he had known about the operation only for a few weeks. Holder took sharp issue with his critics in a letter to Congress on Friday saying, quote, "Such irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric must be repudiated in the strongest possible terms."
Republican Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee says that Holder knew about the operation earlier than he admits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R-CA), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, Eric Holder is acting like a politician rather than like the chief law enforcement officer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Issa says he may subpoena some members of the Obama administration as early as this week.
A tense situation once again in Egypt. The country's prime minister says instead of going forward, the nation has found itself scrambling for security. It comes in the midst of clashes between Christian protesters and military police. They killed at least 23 people.
The protests in Cairo were triggered by the burning of a Christian church in southern Egypt just over a week ago. The protesters demand equality and protection for their places of worship. Christians make up about 9 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, most of whom are Muslims.
Imagine if you can, treading water for 20 hours. That's what a 4-year-old girl and three others did off the Florida Keys before they were rescued by the Coast Guard. An 80-year-old woman drowned before she could be pulled from the water. Three others were picked up by another boat. All had been on a boat that sank on Saturday.
Let's head to Atlanta now and check in with Rob Marciano.
Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Listen, big doings in Texas over the weekend. You got to check this out. Much, much needed rainfall across a drought-stricken state. In some cases, seeing four and five inches of it, from Dallas up through west Texas and the areas that only have drought and saw wildfires this past couple of months.
So, they'll take it. They'll go out in their shorts and t- shirts. And no rain jackets. Absolutely celebrate that stuff. There was minor some flooding in spots, but they'll take the rain. That's for sure.
All right. Another spot that needs the rain, but probably not this much, they got some wind as well. Titusville, Florida, on the coast there on the East Coast. A tremendous amount of rain here. In some cases, up to 10 inches for the weekend, and the rain continues to come down this morning.
Winds gusting over 50 miles an hour as well. So, power outages has been a big problem with this system too.
Here are some of the rain totals we've seen across parts of Texas and Florida over the past couple days. Looking at 8.35 inches of rainfall, in Waco, Texas -- or 5.83. Wrong source up there, apparently.
Anyway, rainfall in Florida is going to be moving up towards the southeast coastline. And that may cause some delays across Atlanta later on today, but the bigger rains will come to the Atlanta metro area, I think, during the day tomorrow. But most of the rain will stay south of New York City, at least for now.
All right. I want to tell you about this story. A gentleman in Georgia loves Superman. Loves him so much he'll do anything possible to look like him and not just get the gear out. He's undergone a number of plastic surgeries, Carol, in order to become more like him. I'm not sure which one -- there he is.
Got the cleft chin, the nose, and the iconic swirl of the hair there and some make-up as well. I'm not sure if Superman wore that much make-up, but nonetheless, there it is.
COSTELLO: I'm not sure he did either. So he's trying to look like the comic book version of Superman, who was just redone, actually. Oops.
MARCIANO: Oh, he was. That's right. I remember that. So, yes. There he is. And there's the Green Lantern behind him. Not nearly as made up, but equally recognizable.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. I don't even know what to say about that. More power to him if that's what he wants to do, huh?
MARCIANO: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
If your name is in the news a lot, you might be likely, you might actually end up on "Saturday Night Live," especially if you're a politician.
This weekend, the cast went to town on Mitt Romney. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America needs a leader to return it to its position of the strongest nation on earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who do you think that leader is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, obviously, you know, I think it's me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but let's say you could pick anyone. Not just the candidates who've announced.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The deadline for candidates to file to be primary eligible is October 31st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you be in favor of pushing that deadline back to give the party more time to find a viable candidate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, obviously, I think I'm a viable candidate. I mean, I'm not just a guy who runs for president because I can afford to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This Tuesday, Governor Chris Christie announced he would not seek the Republican nomination. Have you considered calling him and trying to convince him to run?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know someone who is cheery all the time? To paraphrase Lady Gaga, maybe they were born that way. In fact, it turns out, most of us are wired to be optimists, really. That's coming up.
But, first, let's check out today's "Quote of the Day." This is the quote, quote, "I don't believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way," end quote.
Find out who said this in 90 seconds.
It's nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 11 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Before the break, we left you to guess the "Quote of the Day." This is the quote. "I don't believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way," end quote. That's what Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. Cain went on to say, he does not believe, quote, "people sometimes hold themselves back because they want to use racism as an excuse for not being able to achieve what they want to achieve," end quote.
The tributes to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away last week, are not over, but one is certainly raising some eyebrows.
Let's head to Hong Kong and Kristie Lu Stout.
So, Kristie Lu, tell us about this. Google paid tribute to the late Steve Jobs on the search engine home page, and now one of their, I guess, new products launch had been postponed.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's right, by Samsung. Samsung is delaying the launch of its new Google android smartphone, as a gesture to honor the death of the Apple cofounder. A spokesman of the company said, "We decided it was not the right time to announce a new product while the world was expressing tribute to Steve Jobs' passing."
Both Apple and Samsung, they are in the midst of this major legal battle. They're suing each other in 10 countries over 20 cases since April. Apple says Samsung's product, iPhone or its versions of the iPhones, its tablets, are copies of its own iPhone and iPad. Samsung rejects those claims and says Apple has infringed on its own patent. And as for its new Android smartphone, Samsung has announced this delay but has yet to decide on a new release date.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the computer in our head, shall we, our brain. There's new research saying most of us are wired to be optimists.
As a person who certainly is not an optimist most times, I don't believe that.
(LAUGHTER)
STOUT: You know, I'm with you. This is an interesting study. It turns out there is a reason, a scientific reason, why hardcore optimists always manage to stay positive.
It's a new study published by "Nature Neuroscience" and says that the brain is very good at processing good news about the future." And for some people, anything negative is ignored -- so, they can just keep that rosy view of the world.
They reached their conclusions by brain scans. And when subjects were given positive news, they had more activity in their frontal lobes, which is associated to processing errors.
Now, with negative news, the most optimistic people -- they had the least activity in their frontal lobes, which means they simply didn't process the bad news. Now, the authors of the study, they also said -- and, Carol, you're going to get a hoot out of this. They said about 80 percent of us, 8-0, are optimists. And that was a rosy statistic that stunned me.
What do you think, Carol?
COSTELLO: I don't know. I know a lot of my friends are optimists, but I just figured that I just like I'm not attracted to negative people. So, I choose optimists. But I didn't know that was the majority of people.
STOUT: Yes, the majority of people, according to this study out of the U.K., are optimists. I consider myself of more a depressive realist, meaning I think I look at view with -- I use a realistic view of the world and as a result sometimes get depressed. But like you, I surround myself with happy people, so it all balances out.
COSTELLO: And thank goodness for that. Thank you so much, Kristie Lu Stout, reporting live from Hong Kong.
STOUT: Take care.
COSTELLO: A depressive realist, I like that.
An influential pastor tells Republicans not to vote for Mitt Romney because he's Mormon. He calls Romney's religion a cult.
So, how are other GOP candidates responding to the controversy? We'll tell you. It's 15 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time now for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS, live from Washington.
Good morning, Tim.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS POTUS: How come you never give me the brain stories, Carol?
COSTELLO: There's a reason for that, but I can't get into that right now.
FARLEY: OK.
COSTELLO: You're an optimist.
FARLEY: I am.
COSTELLO: So, Tim -- you are an optimist. I like that about you.
Let's start with Mitt Romney's religion this morning because we know that what a pastor said at the value summit. He said that Mitt Romney is not a Christian, and Mormonism is a cult. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a Mormon. That much I know. I am not going to do an analysis of Mormonism versus Christianity for the sake of answering that. I'm not getting into that.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what the real focus here again is on religious tolerance. That's really what this is about. And I think, again, to make this a big issue is just ridiculous right now.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Of course, that's what some of the GOP candidates are saying about the charge that Mormonism is a cult religion and that Mitt Romney's not exactly Christian.
So, is this going to hurt Mitt Romney in the end? We talk about this in 2008, too.
FARLEY: Sure, we did. Robert Jeffress is the evangelical who made that comment at the Values Voter Conference this weekend here in Washington, D.C. And he said eventually, he said he would hold his nose and vote for Mitt Romney as opposed to Barack Obama -- and that is the key, is it not, Carol, whether they would vote for somebody who is a Mormon or not.
Gallup had done a poll in June which indicated that about 22 percent of Americans would not vote for a Mormon. Interestingly, if you dig down into it, 27 percent of Democrats would not. And the percentage is even higher among some of the groups that you might think philosophically would be different from Mormons. It had nothing to do with whether or not Mormons were a cult or considered that or not.
Look, this -- what's interesting to me is watching this and hearing people not necessarily say that Mormonism is not a cult. It's just sort of saying, look, I'm not going to talk about that. It's not important. So, they help to keep that alive a little bit.
But I think when it gets down to it, maybe we've gotten to the point that people are just going to make the vote based on whether or not the individual is qualified or not because there's another Mormon in the race, too. It's Jon Huntsman. So, I don't think it's been too much of an issue. Mitt Romney did address it in 2008. I don't think it's going to be that much of a major factor here.
COSTELLO: Well, at the Values Voter Summit, which, of course, took place this week and where, you know, the Reverend Jeffress said this stuff about Mormonism, there was a straw poll. Interestingly enough, Ron Paul came in first. And in second place came Herman Cain. Mitt Romney was way, way down there, as was Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry.
What did you make of this?
FARLEY: I think it means that Ron Paul is able to activate people because there were a lot of tickets that were for sale. And these are events, just like the Iowa straw poll, where you have to get people to show up to vote. And so, that indicates that Ron Paul is able to, as I say, activate those people who are on his side.
The fact that Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry were down low was a bit of a surprise to me. But, again, if it means that they were not focusing on this so much as they are on Iowa and New Hampshire where they have a big debate tomorrow night, maybe that was a part of the reason why.
But Ron Paul certainly showed he has some staying power, and Herman Cain once again doing well. And Rick Santorum had a pretty good showing, too.
COSTELLO: Yes, he did.
Tim Farley, thanks so much for joining us this morning as usual. Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS radio.
FARLEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Libya's new regime says it is on the verge of claiming victory in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. That could mean their struggle to finally gain control, complete control over the country will be over soon. We'll have more details just ahead.
But, first, don't forget today, here in the United States, we are celebrating Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus is said to have officially arrived in the Americas on October 12th, 1492, which of course, isn't today. Hmm.
It's 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Twenty-three minutes past the hour. Welcome back.
Libya's new regime says it is on the verge of claiming full control of Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.
Let's head around the world with Monita Rajpal. She's live in London.
These rebels have been fighting to take down Sirte for quite a while now. When they finally get it under control, what will this mean?
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, what we're seeing -- what we're hearing right now, Carol, is that these anti- Gadhafi fighters are saying it's just a matter of time before Libya is free. And that's why fighters loyal to Libya's new interim government say they are ready to take the center of Sirte within a matter of hours.
Sirte is Gadhafi's hometown and it's symbolic for the cause, in that if the revolutionary fighters take control of Sirte, they say they will have control of the country. It's a moral as well as a strategic, symbolic hometown -- town they need to take control of. Now, they say some of the key structures within Sirte are under their control, such as the hospital, the university, and even the conference center, which the fighters of the National Transitional Council say has been a major objective.
Also a major objective, Carol, was the control of the airport at Bani Walid, which the fighters say is now under their command. And now, while all of this is happening, there's still no word on the exact whereabouts of Colonel Gadhafi -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. Where the heck is he?
Let's talk about this ship off the coast of New Zealand, because this could end up a potentially serious blow to the environment.
RAJPAL: Not only the oil spill itself, but also the weather conditions. High winds and strong swells are now hampering efforts to contain and recover oil, masses of oil spilled from a ship off the eastern coast of New Zealand's north island. Thirty tons of fuel have already leaked from the cargo vessel, which struck a reef last week. Ten tons of that fuel oil was transferred to tanks before this recovery operation had to be suspended.
From what I understand from our meteorologist, that the weather is expected to continue to deteriorate today.
Authorities are saying that the oil has started to wash up on a popular beach in the area, and they're saying that this is highly toxic. The government has established a one kilometer marathon exclusion zone around the ship because of the health risks posed by the oil spill -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Monita Rajpal reporting live from London for us this morning -- thank you.
One of the Fab Four makes it number three. Sir Paul McCartney says he's feeling wonderful about his marriage to Nancy Shevell. This is the 69-year-old Beatle's third marriage. Sunday, he married the 51-year-old American heiress. In the same venue, he married his first wife Linda back in 1969. Ringo Starr was there. Also on hand was Nancy Shevell's second cousin, Barbara Walters.
Time is almost up for the NBA players and owners to reach a labor deal. Could we lose the first two weeks of the regular season?
And California tells teens they're now banned from tanning beds.
More on those stories just ahead.
It's 26 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 10th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York. It is just about half past the hour.
A big week on tap in Washington. The Senate is expected to vote on the president's jobs bill. It includes funding for infrastructure projects and for job training. The package will be paid for by a tax on millionaires. There is strong Republican opposition both to the bill and how it's being paid for. Unemployment remains at 9.1 percent. A reason Democrats argue that a jobs bill is essential right now.
Chicago mayor and former White House chief of staff says, Rahm Emanuel, says President Obama's re-election is far from a sure thing. Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," he said that Americans will hold the president accountable for the bad economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line -- you may say the president is looking at the long term. How much trouble is he in for re- election with this economy?
MAYOR RAH EMANUEL, (D) CHICAGO: There's no doubt there's a challenge politically because the economy is not where the American middle class family needs it to be for their bottom line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But Emanuel defended his former boss for making tough decisions that will benefit the country in the long-term.
It is day 24 of the demonstrations that began with "Occupy Wall Street" in New York. Massive demonstrations have popped up all over the country with protesters venting about the lack of jobs, social inequality, and what they call corporate greed. On Sunday, a group of about 100 gathered in front of the White House. The secret service says one demonstrator was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer after that protester threw a shoe at him.
Today is the deadline for NBA players and owners to reach a labor deal. Without one, Commissioner David Stern says he will cancel the first two weeks of the regular season. At issue, how to split the profits between the owners and the players. Both sides are still talking and will be back at the negotiating table this afternoon.
A number of death blamed on a listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupes is up to 21 now. The CDC says at least 109 cases overall of listeria have been reported in 24 states, but they're afraid that number could rise. All the contaminated cantaloupes have been pulled out of stores, but because it can take a while to get sick from Listeria, we may not have seen the end of this.
Better education opportunities now await legal immigrants -- illegal immigrants, I should say, in California. It's part of the state's controversial Dream Act. Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law over the weekend. It allows students who are on the path to citizenship to apply for state-funded financial aid starting in 2013.
Also in California, a bill barring teenagers ages 14 to 18 from using tanning beds is now a law. It's the first law of its kind in the country. Don't worry, kids. You can still use spray tans.
New developments in Europe as leaders there try to avoid a banking crisis. A major bank that has done a lot of business with the United States agrees to a bailout. We'll have details for you in 60 seconds. It's 32 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 34 minutes past the hour. Welcome back.
A major European bank, one that does a lot of business with the United States, agrees to a multimillion dollar bailout. Let's head to Christine Romans. She's here with me in New York. So, what does this mean for the United States?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means a lot. It shows you that what's happening in Greece and what's happening with European banks definitely matters to what's happening here. Why? Because this bank called Dexia, which has basically been bailed out, nationalized, if you will, by a consortium of governments of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.
This bank provided financing to local governments here in the United States. Municipal bonds financed by this bank, backed by this bank, some at its peak $54 billion worth. They also finance things like Greek debt. And now, this bank has found itself in an awful lot of trouble.
It turns out, though, Carol, that everything from, say, you know, Chicago's O'Hare Airport to municipal bond projects in Massachusetts and Connecticut, they've seen the writing on the wall and have been pulling themselves out of their relationship with Dexia. So, the impact here in the United States might be minimal. Also because they're bailing this bank out.
They're guaranteeing it to the tune of 90 billion Euros. It shows you, I think Carol, that what's happening on the streets of Greece, what's happening with the European banks definitely matters here in the United States. It's all tied up together. And I'll tell you something, the lead of the guardian story this morning kind of caught my attention.
It says Dexia has become the first casualty of the 2011 banking crisis. There you have it. It's been named. The 2011 banking crisis, and we're here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Don't like the sounds of that. Christine Romans, thank you.
ROMANS: Me either. See you in a bit.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Christine.
They've been springing up in cities across the nation, those massive protests against Wall Street. Just ahead, why some Republican presidential candidates say the demonstrations are going about it the wrong way. But first, today is Columbus Day, but there are three days that do not observe Columbus Day as a public holiday. Can you guess which states those are? Here are your choices. A. California, Nevada, and Hawaii, B. Arizona, California, and Oregon, or C. California, Nevada, and Utah. The answer after a break. It's 36 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Today is Columbus Day, but there are three states that do not observe Columbus Day as a public holiday. Can you name those three states? Here are your choices once again. A. California, Nevada, and Hawaii, B. Arizona, California, or Oregon, and C. California, Nevada, and Utah. The correct answer is, that would be A. California, Nevada, and Hawaii do not celebrate Columbus Day.
Time now for our "Political Ticker." So, let's bring in our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's live for us from Washington. Good morning, Paul.
VOICE OF PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Carol, how are you?
COSTELLO: I'm terrific. Let's start with the Republican presidential candidates, because they have a lot to say about these ongoing Wall Street protest. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHEL BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It seems to me that their anger should be directed at the White House, because Barack Obama's policies have put us in one of the worst tailspins economically that we have.
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If they're frustrated because they don't have jobs, if they're frustrated because the economy is not moving, they ought to be protesting the White House because of the failed policies.
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wish they were down picketing the Federal Reserve, and I wish they were down picketing the treasury because that's where the real grievance is. It's been bad management by Bernanke and bad management by Geithner that the American people should be angry about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But certainly, Paul, they say the anger should not be directed at Wall Street. And why might they be saying that?
STEINHAUSER: Well, all three of those people you just ran a sound from, well, they're all running against President Barack Obama or they want to be able to run against President Barack Obama next year in the general election. So, yes, they're trying to redirect that anger from the protesters towards the administration and say, listen, it's the administration's fault for all this because of Wall Street reform and all the other things they did to help prop up Wall Street. So, they're trying to, I guess, deflect the anger against them towards the Democrats, towards the president.
And you know, Carol, the Democrats are doing just the opposite. They're saying, we're with you supporters, protesters. We're with you. We understand what you're going through. And listen, it's the Republicans who are trying to stop all those reforms, repeal those reforms against Wall Street that the Democrats and President Obama passed. Carol, no surprise, both sides see a political opportunity here. Politics loves opportunities.
COSTELLO: That's true. I think Nancy Pelosi came out and said something about the protesters, but she said completely opposite of what those Republican candidates said.
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: OK. Another presidential debate this week. You know, you'd suspect that this debate will be focused mainly on the economy. It's also going to be a very important debate for Rick Perry.
STEINHAUSER: Oh, no doubt about it. The debate is on Tuesday night. It's up in Dartmouth University in New Hampshire. Remember, New Hampshire is the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House, so an important location. I think Rick Perry probably has a lot on the line. All the candidates do, but maybe him more than the others.
Why? Well, the last debate was about three weeks ago. He had that uneven performance. And since then, Carol, he was the frontrunner in the polls. Not anymore in the national poll. So, I think he needs a strong debate to show that he can debate well and that he can, maybe, change the dynamics of the race.
Who else has a lot at stake? Well, Mitt Romney. Why? Because, once again, he's back on top. He's the frontrunner in the national polls, and when you're on the top spot, they're always gunning for you. And I'll say (ph) Herman Cain, I think he has a lot at stake as well because he has been rising in the polls, and when you jump that high so quickly, you come under a lot of scrutiny. Stand by for that on Tuesday night.
COSTELLO: Oh, you mean Herman Cain is going to be the new pinata?
STEINHAUSER: He could be, carol. We'll see, but there's a good chance he's going to get a lot more attention now, because he has jumped up in the polls.
COSTELLO: All right. Paul Steinhauser, many thanks to you. Paul Steinhauser joining us live from Washington.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Just ahead on A.M. WAKE-UP CALL, a peaceful protest turns into the worst violence Egypt has seen since the uprising that topple their former president.
And a man born without hands or feet preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. That's next.
Before we go, though, time for a look on this day in history back in 2004. Superman, Christopher Reeve, dies at the age of 52. Reeve, best known for his role in four Superman films, suffered from heart failure.
As you know, Reeve spent the last nine years of his life in a wheelchair after being paralyzed in a horse riding accident. He was a leading advocate for spinal cord research. It's 42 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Monday, October 10th. This is you're A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York this morning. It is 45 minutes past the hour.
It's being called the worst violence in Egypt since the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. Let's head round the world with Ben Wedeman. He's live in Cairo. What's happening there, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what happened was last night, there was a demonstration by Coptic Christians here just, in fact, in the street below me. They were demonstrating against the burning of a Coptic church in Southern Egypt. Now, what happened was as this crowd of protesters came down the street, they apparently were -- came under stone throwing by people in the area.
Clashes began. The army became involved. They brought in some heavy vehicles, which according to eyewitnesses, ran over at least half a dozen of those demonstrators. At this point, it appears that 24 people were killed in this clash. More than 200 wounded, and it certainly has set off alarm bells throughout the country.
The cabinet this afternoon will be meeting in emergency session. There's been a curfew imposed in this part of town from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. And clearly, the concerns are that all the hopes of the revolution are now being dashed with these sectarian conflicts.
COSTELLO: I don't want to exaggerate here, but could this be the start of another revolution?
WEDEMAN: It's very early to tell. On the one hand, many of the people who led the revolt against Hosni Mubarak feel that really not much progress has been made, that the ruling military council is dead set against the sort of reforms they're interested in. On the other hand, the great majority of Egyptians are far more concerned about the deteriorating security in this country, the absence of law and order, and also the fact that the economy has really crashed. Just this morning, the Cairo stock exchange fell five percent on worries of the possibility of an outbreak of sectarian violence across the country -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from Cairo, thank you.
This is a crucial week for President Obama and his nearly $450 billion jobs bill. The Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on whether to bring the measure up for debate. President Obama has been pushing the bill hard ever since unveiling it a month ago saying, it'll do what's desperately needed, put people back to work.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These independent economists say that we could grow the economy as much as two percent and as many as 1.9 million workers.
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COSTELLO: Among other things, the president's jobs plan would cut payroll taxes on workers and employers, extend unemployment benefits and spend money on public works projects. Of course, Republicans oppose much of that plan.
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REP. PAUL, RYAN, (R) WISCONSIN: Well, what's concerning about it is he put ideas in this jobs bill that have already proven to fail. Instead of trying to get compromise, he's embracing conflict. He's running around the country campaigning on a bill that he knows won't pass.
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COSTELLO: Even if the Senate passes the president's bill, it stands virtually no chance of getting through the Republican- controlled House in its current form.
The "Occupy Wall Street" protests are now in their 24th day and show no signs of slowing down. In New York, where it all began, protesters today are asking parents to bring their children to a planned rally. Over the weekend, demonstrators were out in force in several cities loudly denouncing corporate greed and social inequality.
About 100 people demonstrated outside the White House yesterday. The secret service says one person was arrested after throwing a shoe at a uniform officer. As you've probably guessed, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have two very different views of the protesters.
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REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R) VIRGINIA: I, for one, am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) MINORITY LEADER: I didn't hear him say anything when the Tea Party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol.
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COSTELLO: So far, as far as we know, there is no one leader of the Wall Street movement.
An online hackers group also plans to take aim at New York's financial center. Anonymous is pledging to crash the New York stock exchange's website today and says it will launch a distributed denial of service attack around 3:30 p.m. eastern. A message posted on YouTube says the protest would be an extension of the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations.
Attorney General Eric Holder is firing back at Republicans suggesting he has not been forthcoming about a controversial federal gunrunning operation that was known as "Fast and Furious." Federal agents allowed illegally purchased guns to enter Mexico from Arizona in the hopes of tracking down drug cartels, but many of those weapons were lost or ended up in criminal hands.
In May, Holder testified to Congress that he had known about the operation only for a few weeks. Holder took sharp issue with his critics in a letter to Congress on Friday saying, quote, "such irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric must be repudiated in the strongest possible terms." Republican, Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee says that Holder knew about the operation much earlier than he admits.
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REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, Eric Holder is acting like a politician rather than like the chief law enforcement officer.
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COSTELLO: Issa says he may subpoena some members of the Obama administration as early as this week.
Let's head to Atlanta now to check in with Rob Marciano. Lots of people in the airports this morning wondering about flight delays.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Atlanta, San Francisco, those are going to be the big ones, but the northeast should be OK. You know, beneficial rains this weekend in places like Texas where the fires the past several months have been burning, and the draught is ongoing. Comanche, Texas, 8.35. Can you believe this? In some of these cases, this is more rain than they've seen all year. Possum Kingdom Lake, which is one of the larger wildfires was in the past few weeks, 4.46 inches of rainfall there. And Dallas and Fort Worth seeing similar numbers. The other big story this weekend, Newark, 88 degrees. Come on. Eighty-seven in Boston, 86 degrees in Providence, 85 in Hartford. These are all record high temperatures, even in Bangor, Maine seeing a record high temperature of 84 degrees.
Daytime highs today will be well similar. Eighty-four expected in New York City. So, Indian Summer in full swing. Seventy-seven degrees in Chicago. The cool air out west will slowly make its way off towards the east. Here are the more highlighted delays that we expect today, Atlanta. Orlando, Jacksonville to a lesser extent.
The rains and winds in Florida will be lifting it to Northern Florida today, but it's been damaging, and flooding there has been pretty intense, and that's getting into the southeast coastline of the U.S. Actually, I show you this particular graphic. Tornado watch in effect for the southeast coast of Georgia and Florida until one o'clock this afternoon.
On the west coast of Mexico, watching this, a major hurricane. Category 3 Jova heading towards Puerto Vallarta, expected to make landfall there later in the week, on Tuesday, actually, tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. It could be a Category 3 storm there.
Inspiring story, Carol, I want to share with you. A guy named Kyle Maynard (ph), 25 years old, is right here in Georgia. He's from Beauford, Georgia, and he was born without hands and without feet. And now, he is set out a goal to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. How about that? So, he's going to do a little practice run and get together with some of his supporters and test out some of his equipment.
Boy, he did that on Friday, and there's some of the video. Unbelievably inspiring. And tell you what, this young man can do that, it just shows you that, you know, people, when they put their mind to it, they can do just about anything no matter the obstacle. That's your Monday inspirational story for you.
COSTELLO: That's more than inspiring. You go.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, Carol.
COSTELLO: We're asking people what they're predicting the U.S. economy will look like in 2012. Details in a live report from the NASDAQ MarketSite.
But first, let's take a look at the word of the day. It's Juvisync. Find out what it means and why you need to know after this break. It's 53 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Welcome back day (ph) and wake-up call. It's just about three minutes until the top of the hour.
Let's get back to the word of the day, shall we? The word of the day is Juvisync. What does it mean? Well, if you've got the double whammy of type 2 diabetes and cholesterol, then Juvisync may be for you. The FDA just approved this pill from Merck. It is supposed to lower your glucose and cholesterol. Now, you know.
Everyday, you -- everyday, you hear -- they keep talking to me in my ear. Carter Evans, we're going to you. Every day, we keep hearing bad stuff about the economy. We've asked people to say something about 2012 that's remotely positive. Did anyone say anything like that?
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely not.
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EVANS: Let's go ahead and take a look at that. This is a new poll on CNNMoney.com, and it asks how do you think the economy's going to do next year? The overwhelming majority opinion is not so good. Thirty percent think it's going to slip back into a recession. Forty- two percent think the economy is going to stall and stagnate.
Only 22 percent think it's going to grow fast enough to spur hiring, and only six percent think it's going to be a strong bounce back. But I do have some good news to end on. Take a look at futures today. Futures are up. European leaders are basically saying, they will have a comprehensive plan to put an end to the debt crisis over there by the end of the month.
They also nationalized a bank. That's giving some hope on Wall Street. Dow futures up 110. NASDAQ futures up 25. S&P 500 up about 12 points. So, that's the best stuff (ph) I can give you today.
COSTELLO: We'll take it, because it is Monday, right? Did you hear that new research that came out that said most people's brains are wired to be optimistic?
EVANS: Yes, and I agree with that, I think, for the most part, because we want to be happy. We want to see good things happen, right?
COSTELLO: Yes, we do. Although, I think, I fall into that 20 percent, which disturbs me.
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EVANS: That's a little scary.
COSTELLO: It is. That's why --
EVANS: You also seem bright and happy, though.
COSTELLO: It's all an act. No, I'm just kidding.
(LAUGHTER) COSTELLO: I am bright and happy because I surround myself with optimistic people like you.
EVANS: There you go.
COSTELLO: Carter Evans, thanks so much.
"AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
