Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning: Wake Up Call
Israeli-Hamas Prisoner Swap; Obama Pushes Jobs Bill; Examining China's Economy
Aired October 18, 2011 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Tuesday, October 18. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Christine Romans, in for Carol Costello this morning, joining you live from New York.
We're following breaking news in the Mideast right now.
An Israeli soldier held by Hamas for more than five years is a free man this morning. Gilad Shalit's release came as Israel freed 477 Palestinians, the first group of more than 1,000 being swapped for the young army sergeant. Some Israelis oppose the exchange because many of the Palestinians were serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israel.
We're going to be heading to Shalit's hometown where Fred Pleitgen is. But again, this one Israeli soldier exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in a very heart-wrenching moment for many Israelis who are concerned about potential retaliation given how many of these soldiers have been released and also with actual euphoria from many Palestinians who are so elated that some of these soldiers have been returned.
Fred Pleitgen is with us now in Gilad Shalit's hometown.
Good morning, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Certainly the people here in Shalit's hometown of Mitzpe Hila. As you said, there was some controversy here in Israel where people were saying that perhaps the political price is too high. And, really, one of the things they're concerned about is not only that some of the people they're releasing could become violent again, but also perhaps that this could spawn other extremist groups to try and kidnap other Israeli soldiers.
That is certainly not the feeling here in Gilad Shalit's hometown. People are saying they're happy he was back. There were scenes of jubilation as these first television pictures came showing Gilad Shalit. This is really the first proof of life that people here in Israel have gotten of Gilad Shalit in several years. So, this was certainly a very happy moment for them. People here are celebrating.
Now, of course, it's time for the process to come to an end. It's a very long process where he'll be flown to an Israeli military base. He's going to be reunited with his family. He's going to see the prime minister and then he's going to come back here to his hometown. We believe that will be in about two, maybe three hours, Christine.
ROMANS: Fred, how was Shalit captured? Why has it taken so long to he gain his freedom? You look at these pictures of him. He's still clearly a very young man.
PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, it has taken a very long time. You know, the interesting thing about all this is that the terms for Gilad Shalit's release have been on the table for a very long time, releasing about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners against this Israeli soldier, that's been on the table for a long time between Israeli and Hamas.
The big problem was which Palestinian prisoners will be released? Where would they be released to?
We know now under the terms that some of these Palestinian prisoners are not going to be allowed to go back to their homes. Some of them will be deported from the West Bank to Gaza. Others will be deported to other countries, Turkey comes to mind, Qatar comes to mind, Syria is one of the countries that was being talked about as well. So, the terms were an issue.
And then, of course, we have to keep in mind, Christine, that the entire political situation in the Middle East is changing dramatically. Hamas has its home base in Syria. Look what's going on in Syria. So, Hamas itself was on the edges for a very long time.
At the same time, the Palestinian Authority was declaring statehood. That also was a big blow for Hamas. So, they were looking for a public relations victory, if you will.
At the same time, Israeli is very concerned about what's going on in the Middle East as well. We've noted that Egypt was one of the main mediators. Well, they're, of course, going through a lot of political turmoil as well. And so, it wasn't sure how long the situation -- what the Israeli prime minister calls this window of opportunity would still be open. And that's why it seems now was the right time for both sides to strike this deal and see it through, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen this morning in Gilad Shalit's hometown -- thank you very much, Fred.
As we mentioned, in return for his freedom, Israeli released 477 Palestinian prisoners released. These pictures just in to CNN of some of the Palestinian freed today, the second stage of the swap involving the release of some 550 Palestinians is scheduled to take place later this year.
Israel and Hamas agreed to this exchange last week. But as Fred said, the numbers have been on the table for some time.
Turning now to the battle for the Republican presidential nomination here in this country, the candidates will square off in a debate hosted by CNN. That's tonight in Las Vegas. Much of the spotlight is expected to be on Herman Cain, his recent surge in the polls and his controversial remarks are drawing sharper focus from both of his opponents and the media.
One of Cain's issues in particular getting a lot of attention his, oh yes, 9-9-9 tax plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If he stays at this point in the polls, his opponents will start running ads against it saying if you like it, you'll pay more taxes. He concedes some people will pay more. And the people most likely to pay more if this passes, mind you, but under the plan are the people who have been hurt the most by the recession already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, how will Cain, Romney and other candidates handle the heat of the contest tonight? Find out by tuning in to the Western Republican Presidential debate live from Las Vega starting at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
President Obama will be back on the road for day two of his bus tour to promote jobs. He is urging lawmakers to pass his $447 billion jobs bill piece by piece since the Senate shot down his package.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This week, I'm asking members of Congress to vote -- what we're going to do is break up my jobs bill. Maybe they couldn't understand the whole thing all at once. So, we're going to break it up into bite-size pieces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The president is spending the night in North Carolina. He'll hold a roundtable meeting with educators at a community college in Jamestown before moving to Virginia.
All eyes on Wall Street this morning. The big question: will U.S. markets recover from yesterday's steep sell-off? The Dow ended down 247 points, or 2.1 percent. The NASDAQ composite lost 53 points. That's about 2 percent. The S&P 500 fell 23 points around 2 percent.
Here is what's happening overseas. The shanghai composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei all posting negative figures this morning. Right now, the markets in Europe are also down. Everything hinges on just what the fear or the hope of the moment is about Europe's debt crisis.
The three American hikers who were jailed on spying charges in Iran are throwing their support behind the Wall Street protesters. Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd took part in an occupy demonstration in their hometown of Oakland, California, yesterday. The trios say they applaud the protesters activism and idealism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JOSH FATTAL, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: In New York City, I went down to Wall Street and I saw people paying chess, saw a great water system, free food, camp similar to this and it was totally inspiring.
SHANE BAUER, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: To come back and see our country coming back to life and see the city coming to life like this is really, really a wonderful homecoming.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMANS: In Atlanta, a victory for Wall Street protesters. Mayor Kasim Reed now says the demonstrators -- they can remain in a city park through November 7th as long as they remain peaceful and nonviolent.
High cell phone bills can be a shock to anyone's system. But wireless carriers agreed to a new deal that could soon spell relief for all cell phone users. We'll fill you in.
But, first, our "Quote of the Day." "There's good creepy and there's bad creepy. Today's creepy is tomorrow necessity." See what tech giant said that in about 90 seconds.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's just about 10 minutes after the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Quote of the Day." "There's good creepy and there's bad creepy. Today's creepy is tomorrow's necessity." That's former Facebook President Sean Parker in an interview with "Federated Media."
That was his answer when asked about Facebook's tracking users' information and some people calling the site creepy.
All right. Back to our breaking news: Gilad Shalit has been officially handed over to Israeli defense officials. We've been watching this all day. This is the huge prisoner swap we've been telling you about between this one Israeli soldier and some 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
You're seeing two different kinds of groups of images here. You're seeing elation among some Palestinians that these protesters, half of them now have been released. And also, you're also seeing concerns but also happiness in Israeli with the return of Gilad Shalit. Concerns, I say, because there are those who have been victims of terrorist attacks by Palestinians who say that they are mortified, quite frankly, that some of these soldiers, dangerous soldiers are being allowed to go home.
He's being interviewed right here. That's Gilad Shalit right now on Egyptian TV. So, he has been turned over to Israeli defense officials. You're looking at pictures right now of Gilad Shalit being interviewed. We'll continue to follow this breaking story this morning.
All right. Now, let's go to meteorologist Rob Marciano live from Atlanta.
I hear there's a freeze warning for much of the Midwest. Already? I guess -- I guess it's about time, a couple weeks before Halloween. That's when you get your first cold snap, I guess.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. And this is the month where we'll have temperatures that will be record-breaking one day and snap back the next. That's what we're seeing right now. Temperatures in the Atlanta area in the 80s yesterday, record highs. And temps will snap down into the 20s before too long.
A couple weather systems heading across the country, this one through the Mississippi River Valley. Some rain and thunderstorms through St. Louis, stretching back down to Memphis, Little Rock and Shreveport, some of those little bit rough and tumbly getting through the Louisiana area.
And then the last system is heading up into parts of Florida. And that's going to be with this system which is a tropical one. It's going to feed in some tropical moisture. It's getting caught up in the jet stream. So, we don't think it will develop into a monster hurricane or anything, small chance of it becoming a depression or storm here in the next few hours.
But for the most part, heavy rain and gusty winds across Florida. And this will combine with another weather system that will be rolling across the Eastern Seaboard. So, there you go. System one, two, they all come together across the Southeast and the Atlantic coast and have a little bit of party and make their way towards the Northeast with some heavy rain. Miami, Tampa, Orlando, you're under the gun as far as thunderstorms that will cause travel delays. Same deal in Chicago, in Atlanta later on today, and some gusty winds across Fort Worth.
And you mention the cold air, as these two systems collide and make their way up the East Coast. It's going to bring some heavy rain. But back side of this is going to be on the chilly side.
That cluster of thunderstorms that is rolling through the Mississippi River Valley today kicked up some winds and some dust across west Texas yesterday. Check out this video out of Lubbock where a good old-fashioned dust storm kicked up. We call it a haboob technically and that kicked the famous dust in Texas into, you know, the atmosphere upwards of about 800, 900, even 1,000 feet high. So, a lot of residents that live there say they haven't seen one this bad in at least five years, even was strong enough to knock down some trees and fire lines for about 1,500 people and do a little bit of damage.
So, can you imagine, Christine, having something like that coming your way? That would be a frightening, frightening sight.
ROMANS: No way. I know. I've been in a dust storm before in Phoenix. I couldn't believe how -- I mean, I'm from the Midwest where -- I mean, it's flat as far as the eye can see and there are no dust storms. That was pretty impressive stuff.
All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. You bet.
The Catholic Church has an urgent need for new priests. Now, church leaders are hoping an app -- that's right, there's an app for that -- for finding priests. It could help them find the perfect recruits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The days of calling your wireless carrier outraged over your bill, hey, that could soon be a thing of the past. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout, live from Hong Kong, to explain.
For the long time, the wireless carrier said they didn't have the technology to be able to tell you before you went over their limit. But now, they are changing their tune, aren't they?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's right, because they made a deal. Cell phone sticker shock may soon be history.
On Monday, the vast majority of America's wireless carriers reached an agreement with the FCC. They agreed to alert consumers when they approach their monthly limits for voice, data and text, or when they're about to incur those steep global roaming charges.
And a second alert will be sent when customers reach those limits. This comes after a two-year government probe into bill shock. You know what I'm talking about -- it's a sudden hike in monthly charges to your cell phone bill. The FCC says some 30 million Americans have experienced bill shock.
The alert system, it will roll out starting October of next year. So, a bit of await there -- Christine.
ROMANS: And, you know, there's an app for everything. I can't believe this one. The Catholic Church getting creative in the hopes of recruiting new priests, Kristie.
STOUT: Yes, getting very creative. The Catholic Church has designed an app to promote vocations in the priesthood. The number of recruits has plummeted in recent years. So, the church is hoping that technology will end the trend. It's called the Vocations App, and it was designed by a Catholic priest in Ireland, along with a Dublin- based software firm.
And features include links to Twitter, and Facebook, news feeds and a series of tests, so the user can consider a future in the priesthood. It's available for free in the Apple iTunes Store.
And, Christine, you're right. There is an app for everything.
ROMANS: All right. Kristie Lu Stout -- thanks so much, Kristie.
You know, for weeks, it looked like the Republican presidential race would come down to Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. That was the optics for several weeks. But, now, Herman Cain and his 9-9-9 plan grabbed most of the attention lately. So, what will it take for Romney and Perry to turn things around?
But, first, ladies rejoice, and gentlemen, get out those razors, That's because today is National No Beard Day. And men, don't worry, if you don't like the clean-shaven look, you can always grow another beard against later.
It is 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: President Obama wants Congress to pass his jobs bill. And he's stopping at nothing to make sure you help him spread the message. But comedian Jay Leno finding it pretty hard to keep with it all. Here's your punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: You know, he wants us to do this stuff and it's hard to keep up with him if you try to do it. Well, here.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pass this bill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounding like candidate Obama, he urged the Richmond audience to pressure members of Congress.
OBAMA: I want you to call. I want you to e-mail. I want you to tweet. I want you to fax. I want you to Facebook, send a carrier pigeon.
LENO: I'm trying to help. I'm trying to do my part.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMANS: All right. Time now for our Political Ticker. We're just hours away from CNN's big Republican debate tonight. Seven of the leading GOP candidates will face off once again on a number of key issues, this time though in Vegas, vying to win their party's nomination.
For more on the debate, let's go to Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS live from Washington.
Good morning.
Herman Cain, he's everywhere. Spiking in the polls, grabbing most of the headlines, all of the serious tax analysis, his 9-9-9 plan.
So, will we see his Republican rivals pouncing on him at tonight's debate, Tim?
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS XM POTUS: It depends on who the rival is. And I believe Vegas, baby, Vegas, tonight is the night. And there will be no Jon Huntsman on the stage, which leaves only one centrist, if you will call him on that, that's Mitt Romney.
And that means I think that Republicans pretty much are trying to stake out the right side, if you will, of the spectrum. So, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich pretty much going up against Herman Cain. You may get some criticism, some pushback from Ron Paul.
But that brings up the question about where is Rick Perry is all of this because he was considered to be the top candidate getting to the right of the Republican Party. And he has somewhat fizzled. I still say that he's got a lot of money and he can still make it happen in some of the upcoming contests.
But Mitt Romney, as has been the case, I think, Christine, is going to be sitting back, watching it all happen. And at the end of the debate, once again come out if not unscathed, certainly in the lead. And despite what national polls say, I still think Mitt Romney is the front-runner among Republicans right now.
ROMANS: You know, Tim, Iowa moving its caucus to January 3rd. So, will the battle for the Republican nomination -- will it be over by the end of January? Will there be a nominee by the end of January?
FARLEY: Yes, I didn't hear the question fully, but I think if Ari Fleischer is right and there's a chance he's pretty strong about this, he understands these things, the way the compressed schedule is working now, if Mitt Romney can win in New Hampshire, which is likely, if he does okay in Iowa and he may actually pull off a win here depending on how well Rick Perry does, I don't see Herman Cain getting a win in Iowa.
And if Mitt Romney does well in those early contest, and we see South Carolina come next. That could be another good day for Rick Perry. But it's possible it could be OK for Herman Cain.
I do think, though, that if Mitt Romney does very well in all of those early contests, you're going to see him moving straight through. He'll get the big mo, and that will be it. And that will be all she wrote for Mitt Romney. But a lot of things have to play out between now and then, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius XM POTUS -- nice to see you this morning.
It should be an exciting night. I can't wait to talk to you tomorrow about what happened.
All right. Another reminding, the Republican candidates for president will gather in Las Vegas to debate the issues and just sway voters. You can watch the Western Republican Presidential Debate live right here on CNN tonight at 8:00 Eastern. Anderson is moderating.
Four disabled people found locked away in a dirty Philadelphia sub- basement. Now, investigators say this may be just the beginning as they look at possible connections in other states.
And Marines wearing bracelets that commemorate friends killed in action are told to take them off. That's right. What's behind that, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning. It's Tuesday, October 18th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
I'm Christine Romans, in for Carol Costello, joining you live this morning from New York. The time is now 5:28 in the East.
All right. Investigators poring over the horrific scene discovered in a dirty Philadelphia boiler room. They're now looking to see if there may be other victims. The suspects are accused of locking up four mentally disabled people. Those are the suspects there.
And police believe they did it to steal their Social Security checks. Locked away for nearly two weeks in filthy conditions, the victims are now speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Came with a bat in my head. All this was real dirty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was real dirty.
REPORTER: Did you guys willingly give you her information?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she asked for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She took it away from me.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMANS: The FBI is helping the investigation, which has turned up documentation for dozens of other people.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson manslaughter case watching their phones today waiting to hear when they'll head back to court. Dr. Conrad Murray's trial is on hold until at least Wednesday so defense attorneys have time to pore over fresh lab results. Prosecution's new report attacks a key defense theory that Jackson was taking the drugs Lorazepam without telling his doctor, in addition to the Propofol, when he died.
The worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl may be winding down sooner than expected. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan may reach cold shutdown by the end of the year. This is according to the plant's owner. That would be about a month ahead of schedule.
Experts say to fully clean up the aftermath, it will take years, maybe even decades.
Pentagon officials deny talks have stalled over an agreement to allow some U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after 2011. They say talks with Iraqi officials are on going. But sources tell CNN the issue continues to be legal immunity for soldiers who would stay. The U.S. military wants it. The Iraqis don't. December is the withdrawal deadline for some 39,000-plus troops still in Iraq.
Marines wearing bracelets to commemorate friends killed in action are told to take those off, please? Marine uniform codes label KIA bracelets as unauthorized jewelry. Some tell the "Marine Corps Times" they'll risk punishment to wear them. Others say they'll obey the rules, but hope Marine leadership reconsiders the ban. At least one top enlisted marine says he is looking into this issue.
China's economy, once again, the envy of many western countries. We're going to talk more with my partner in money, Ali Velshi, in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. For morning money news, it's my friend, Ali Velshi, live here in New York. Good morning, Ali. Corporate earnings today. All eyes on Europe. But corporate earnings, they will find out just how well companies are doing and how well consumers and investors are, too.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All eyes were on where is Christina. I walked in today, and we normally are sitting around talking. Here you are on TV, and I was all alone having to fend for myself.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: So, as you know better than anyone else, corporate earnings, it's like when your kid comes home with their report card and you got to look at it and decide whether the report card goes on the fridge or you're going to have a stern conversation with your kid. This is the report card for your investments. Many of these major companies reporting today are the investments that you'll have in your 401(k).
So, before the opening bell, before 9:30 eastern, Bank of America, which has been getting a lot of attention, much of it unwanted recently. How did they actually perform? A lot of people say, I don't like the company, I'm moving my bank, but you want to invest in their stock. How are they doing? We'll find out before the bell.
Goldman Sachs, another company will be very curious about, because it tends to be a bell weather for a lot of things that are going on in the economy. And, Coca-Cola, one of the most international of companies in the world, the company that, for a long time, has derived most of its revenue from outside the United States.
And then, after the bell, well, other points during the day, we'll hear from Intel and Yahoo!. We don't know a time yet for them. And then, after the bell, we will get earnings from Apple. There's no question that the earnings from Apple will be good, but as you know, when earnings come out, it's not just about being good or bad. It's about whether or not they meet the expectations that analyst and the company haves set for the company. And as a result of that, we'll see a lot of market activity today and leading into tomorrow. That's separate and apart from concerns about what's going on in the rest of the world.
ROMANS: That's right. And you know, speaking of meeting and blowing past expectations, China. This is my "Romans Numeral" today, by the way. Third quarter GDP in China, it shows you a stark difference of what's happening in China compared with the rest of the world and the United States in terms of how well it's doing right now.
VELSHI: Unbelievable. So, the China stuff is actually bad news. They've had to pair their GDP.
ROMANS: I know.
VELSHI: The expectations of what their GDP was back. Now, it's down to 9.1 percent from the third quarter. So, for comparison, take a look at India. Also place its faired back. It's only 7.8 percent economic growth. Look at the United States, the estimates for the third quarter, there's quite a variation there between 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent growth.
Most people I've talked to, Christine, don't think it's going to be 2.5. It will be really good if it is. And, the European Union, 0.2 percent which is statistically nothing. And as you know, that's what the world is concerned about that the two biggest economies in the world, the EU taken together and the United States have very weak economic growth. India and China continue to surge ahead.
ROMANS: Yes. And the question is, are they -- and 9.1 percent, there are those who are glad it's only 9.1 percent. So, maybe, it has less of a chance of overheating and having a hard landing.
VELSHI: Remember that one concern about these very high growth levels is inflation. China's got about six percent inflation.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Here, we've got it a lot lower.
ROMANS: All right. Ali Velshi, I'll talk to you in about 26 minutes, OK?
VELSHI: Good.
ROMANS: Who's in the hot seat and who's a no-show for tonight's Republican presidential debate? Answers in our "Political Ticker" coming up next.
But first, time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. A new study shows the world population will reach another milestone by the end of this month. So, how many people will be living on planet Earth by October 31st? Four billion, seven billion, 15 billion? It's getting crowded out there. The answer in two minutes. It is 35 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 37 minutes after the hour. This is you're s.
Now, the answer to your "Get Smart" question of the day. A new study shows the world population will reach a big milestone by the end of the month. So, how many people will be living on planet earth by October 31st? Is it four billion, seven billion, or 15 billion?
The answer is seven billion. That's according to a new report that to be released by the United Nations next week. The report projects we will hit eight billion people by the year 2025.
All right. We'll take you back to the Middle East where we're looking at live pictures right now of Palestinian prisoners who've just been released from buses. Some 477 of them will be released to the Rafah Crossing, crossing into Gaza. Again, live pictures of the celebrations among Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians as they get off the buses.
They greet friends and family, and they have been released from prison in Israel. 477 of the 1,027 prisoners released today. The rest of those prisoners' release will come later this year, but 477 today, that, of course, in exchange for the release of the 25-year-old Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who has been held for some five years now.
So, in the -- sort of in the few prisoner releases you've had or the handful of prisoner releases you've had over the past couple years, five or six years actually, the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli. And, it's causing some concern, I'll be quite honest with you, in Israel from families of victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks who say they're unhappy that some of these dangerous prisoners have been released.
Others who say they're simply concerned that high number, 1 for 1,027 quite frankly, might actually prompt to more kidnappings. Anyway, those are live pictures of the Rafah Crossing.
Time now for our "Political Ticker." Sparks expected to fly tonight in Vegas. CNN is hosting the western Republican presidential debate starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. Herman Cain, the candidate surging in the poll, he's expected to be in the hot seat in large part because of his controversial 9-9-9 tax plan. Here's how he explained the plan to CNNs John King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: You did concede some people would pay more by your calculations. Who would pay more, Mr. Cain?
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The people that would pay more are the people who would buy mostly new goods. That's how it would be determined. So, since I don't know what people's buying habits are going to be, I can't say who is going to pay more.
Secondly, most people, John, will pay less because embedded taxes will come out of all of the goods and services that are produced in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Carol Costello joins us now on the phone from Las Vegas. Carol, are voters going to buy Cain's plan?
VOICE OF CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big question, isn't it? I think most voters like Cain's plan, because it's a big, bold plan. And hey, at least, he has a plan. Most voters I talked with here in Nevada don't quite understand the plan.
I talked to the mayor of Las Vegas yesterday, Christine, and asked the mayor about this 9-9-9 plan and whether it would help Nevada, because Nevada has the highest number of foreclosures in the country. It's got the highest unemployment in the country. Mayor Goodman, basically, looked at me and said 9-9-9, how is that going to help create jobs right now? That's what we really need.
How is that going to help? She also said, what I'd really like to see is the federal government or some candidate putting pressure on banks to loosen things up so that they can sit down with people who have bad mortgages and work out a deal so those people won't have to move out of their homes. Everybody here is excited to sit down and listen to the debate tonight.
And they are excited to hear about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, but again, unless, it creates jobs right now, unless it helps people with their mortgages, in the end, they may not buy it.
ROMANS: Yes. And in Nevada, we know that the mortgage -- I mean, that is ground zero for the mortgage crisis. It's just unbelievable the number of foreclosures there, because it was the epitome of the bubble at the top. People made an enormous amount of money in the bubble, and now, they are hurting so badly.
Meanwhile, Carol, Jon Huntsman opting out of tonight's debate. You know, why and could it backfire?
COSTELLO: Well, Jon Huntsman has said he's making a point, because Nevada is thinking of moving its caucuses up. if Nevada decides to do that, that would affect when New Hampshire primary takes place. So, it's a big battle. Now, for the earlier your caucus is, the more money you make. And really, that's at the bottom of the saw.
Like, you pour more money into your economy and that's really what Nevada needs and wants, but something else Nevada wants. They want to be heard here. Mayor Goodman, I asked her about this, too. She said, we feel ignored during this political season, at this point, in this political season. We really are a microcosm of the entire nation.
Our population is diverse. You can't really say that about New Hampshire or Iowa. Candidates need to come here. They need to actually talk to people. They can't wait till the very last minute, until it's all over essentially. They need to come here and see what the real problems are in America. You're right, Christine. Highest foreclosure rate in the nation. They've been like pummeled by the housing market. They say they need candidates to come here and talk to people and find solutions. And they're not coming because Nevada's caucuses are held too late. So, Jon Huntsman decides, well, this really isn't good for the political process, because what's going to happen is our other states are going to like move their caucuses and primaries up.
But who knows? You could be voting for people in December of 2011 who will serve office in 2012. So, that's his big concern.
ROMANS: All right.
COSTELLO: And I'm just playing the cynic here, Christine. Jon Huntsman is broke. He doesn't have much money in his covers (ph). In fact, he's in debt and he's not getting much attention. And of course, this could be all part of an attention-getting thing as well.
ROMANS: All right. Carol Costello, we know you're going to be there with some surprises up your sleeve. So, can't wait to see what you've got for us. We'll talk to you again soon.
All right. CNN, of course, the place to be for every second of tonight's debate. The Republican presidential candidates locking horns in Las Vegas, an event to get their message across the voters. The western Republican president debate live only on CNN starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
All right. Freedom at last for one Israeli soldier in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. You're looking here at live pictures at the Rafah Crossing where hundreds of prisoners are getting off buses right now. Historic prisoner swap, one Israeli soldier for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. You're seeing elation among the Palestinians at that border crossing into Gaza. There you go.
But first, on this day in history, October 18th, 1867, the United States officially takes possession of Alaska. The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. That's less than two cents per acre. Russia wanted to sell the territory because it was sparse, difficult to defend. There you go, 1867. Forty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning. It's Tuesday, October 18th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Christine Romans in for Carol Costello this morning, joining you live from New York. It is now 5:47 in the east following this breaking news in the Mid East.
Live pictures right now of Palestinian authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, greeting those prisoners as they get off the buses. Some 477 Palestinian prisoners released today. The rest of total 1,027 will be coming in the next months and by the end of the year.
In fact, you're seeing elation at the Rafah Crossing into Gaza among Palestinians who are seeing hundreds of these prisoners released. They've been released in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. He's 25 years old. He has been captive for some five years, and there are all kinds of -- there you can see him just before his release.
We know he is now at the hands of Israeli defense officials this morning. Joining us from Shalit's hometown, Fred Pleitgen. Fred, what's happening here right now?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's going on right now, Christine, is that, as you mentioned, Gilad Shalit is now in the hands of the Israeli defense forces. He's going to be brought to an Israeli military base where he's going to meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his family.
His father and mother left his hometown early this morning. They were then helicoptered into this air base in Central Israel. Also, what's going to happen is he's, obviously, going to receive some medical checks. And then, in about, I would say that about one and a half, maybe two hours, we are expecting that Gilad Shalit will make it back here to his hometown. So, certainly a lot going on for him today.
And the people here in his hometown, of course, absolutely elated that he is coming back. There were some concerns here in Israel about whether or not the price that's being paid for his release might have been too high. However, none of that concern, of course, showing here in Gilad Shalit's hometown.
I spoke to one person who was a supporter of Gilad Shalit who kept his polite in the media here in Israel. Let's listen in to what that person had to say when he realized that the exchange had gone through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is marvelous for us. It's a big celebration. We're very happy that we arrived to the end of this story. We hope that this story will not happen again. I can't describe you my feelings this morning. I's incredible.
We feel that we are not only get Gilad Shalit back, we get also the values that soldiers go to fight in the battle, that he knows that if something will happen, our government will fight to bring him back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: And, of course, one of the things, Christine, that happened before Gilad Shalit was handed over to the Israeli defense forces was that he gave an interview on Egyptian TV. And in that interview, he said, of course, the past 5 1/2 years had been very hard for him. And the thing that he missed most was, that's no surprise, his family and friends and actually being able to interact and talk to people -- Christine.
ROMANS: And remind us when he was taken, 5 1/2 years ago you say, in the circumstances of his captivity.
PLEITGEN: Well, it happened 5 1/2 years ago. He was with the Israeli defense forces near Gaza. What happened was a cross border attack by Hamas and other militant groups. They essentially dug a tunnel under the tank that Gilad Shalit and some other Israeli soldiers were in. They, then, attacked that tank.
Two other Israeli defense force soldiers were killed in that attack, and of course, Gilad Shalit then dragged across the border. Now, it took very long several years before there was actually confirmation that Gilad Shalit was still alive. Hamas insisted that that was the case.
However, there was no real proof of life until a couple of years back, a video was released by Hamas showing Gilad Shalit reading a newspaper, speaking about what was going on. Just for that video, Israel freed 19 Palestinian prisoners at the time. The negotiations then were on going.
They were very difficult one. One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that the actual terms that are going on right now were on the table for a couple of years. Now, it seems as though the time is right, and as we can see, this exchange has now gone through -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen, you will be in his hometown all morning following this course when he returns there. We will return to you probably before then, too, for more analysis of the situation and the prisoner swap. Thanks, Fred.
Turning now to the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. The candidates will square off in a debate hosted by CNN tonight in Las Vegas. Much of the spotlight will, of course, be on Herman Cain. His recent surge in the polls and controversial remarks are drawing sharper focus from both his opponents and the media. One of the Cain's issues in particular getting a lot of attention, that 9-9-9 tax plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: If he stays at this point in the polls, his opponents will start running ads against him, saying, if you like it, you're going to pay more taxes. In the conversation with him earlier today, you (ph) can see, some people will pay more, the people most likely to pay more if this passes, mind you. But under the plan are the people who've been hurt the most by the recession already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So how will Cain and Mitt Romney and Perry and the other candidates handle the heat of the contest tonight? You're going to find out by tuning in to the western Republican presidential debate live from Las Vegas starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.
All right. President Obama will be back on the road for day two now of his bus tour to promote jobs. He's urging lawmakers to pass his $447 billion jobs bill, OK, piece-by-piece since the Senate voted the whole package down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This week, I'm asking members of Congress to vote -- we're going to break up my jobs bill. Maybe, they just couldn't understand the whole thing all at once. So, we're going to break it up into bite-size pieces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. The president spending the night in North Carolina. He'll hold a roundtable meeting with educators at a community college in Jamestown before moving on to Virginia.
If you are wondering when Iowa republicans will hold their presidential nominating caucuses, now we know. You can mark January 3rd on your calendar. They were going to be held in February, but that was before Florida moved its primary to January 31st, but, just who will be the first in the nation to vote isn't quite settled. New Hampshire is threatening to move its Republican primary to December.
If you've ever experienced bill shock from chatting or texting too much, wireless carriers are now promising those days are over. Details in a live report from the NASDAQ MarketSite.
But first, let's take a look at the word of the day. It's recapitalization. You've been hearing this about Europe, haven't you? Find out what it means and why you need to know it right after this short break. It's 54 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. It's 57 minutes after the hour or three minutes until the top of the hour.
So, if you slept through your alarm, get up. This is your A.M. WAKE- UP CALL. Today's word of the day is recapitalization. Recapitalization is restructuring debt and equity, the mixture of debt and equity, essentially exchanging one form of financing for another. Leaders in Europe are recapitalizing banks there with the hopes of pushing (ph) themselves against the possible default from Greece.
It is a big word. Oh, and it means so much. And recapitalization is such a political hardball right now, but, it was a pretty bad day on Sesame Street when hackers uploaded porn on its YouTube page Sunday, but, unlike in many situations, just leave it to the comedians to find a little bit of humor in it. Here is your morning punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST, THE LATE, LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON: Not such a great deal in one American street. On Sesame Street, their website -- this is true. Their website was hacked and filled with porn.
(LAUGHTER)
FERGUSON: Oh, yes. Sure, that's funny. Yes!
(LAUGHTER)
FERGUSON: Hacked with porn. Let's just see those hackers did a lot more than tickle Elmo.
(LAUGHTER)
FERGUSON: And it's still going on. Today's episode was brought to you by the -- o.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I kind of like brought to you by the letter "X," but, there you go.
Let's go to Joya Dass for a look at your money this morning. Good morning, Joya. You're at the NASDAQ MarketSite here in New York. How is the market shaping this morning? It didn't shape so high yesterday.
JOYA DASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know what, we actually saw a pretty steep sell-off yesterday which actually sent the markets back into the red for the year. Right now, as we look at CNNMoney.com, you can see the futures markets are pointing to a mixed open. Europe, of course, is always on the back burner, but we are waiting a glut of earnings news from a number of companies today including Intel, Yahoo!, and let's not forget, Apple, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes. All those tech companies. It's interesting, because when you got corporate earnings, you get a real sense of just how well -- Ali Velshi calls it the report card you bring home to your parents. You put it on the refrigerator or you throw it in the trash can, you know? So, we'll get a good sense of how these companies are doing.
Every day I feel like, quite frankly, we're looking at Europe, and it's either hopes or fears about Europe that end up driving stocks. So, let's talk about something in the U.S. that we all care about our cell, phone bills. Big win for cell phone customers. Tell us a little bit more about the supposed end of bill shock for cell phone users.
DASS: You know, I think of this plan as something that's probably good if you have that chatty teenager or maybe you're the chatty Cathy --
(LAUGHTER)
DASS: But basically, the FCC yesterday was able to convince the majority of the wireless carriers to send two kinds of alerts to consumers. One is basically when you're approaching your monthly limit for your voice, your data or your text messaging plan. A second one is when you actually hit the limit.
And all of that in an effort is to end something called bill shock, which is that sudden increase in your monthly wireless charge, but you didn't actually elect to change that. And that's happened to at least 30 million Americans that we know of.
One of the most egregious charges I've seen, I mean, you expect like, OK, a hundred more dollars, a thousand more dollars, but the most egregious charge that I saw was $68,000. Can you imagine talking that much?
ROMANS: And you know, the industry had said -- some people in the industry had said that they didn't have the technology to be able to actually do that, but the government pushed, pushed, pushed. Suddenly, oh, yes, there is an agreement. Joya Dass, really nice to see you this morning. Talk to you again soon.
DASS: Take care.
ROMANS: "AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
