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American Morning: Wake Up Call
Occupy's New Target; The FBI & The Russian Spy Scandal; Justice Official Apologizes; Justice Dept. Sues South Carolina
Aired November 01, 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: "Occupy Wall Street" protesters are setting their sight on a new goal: GOP presidential candidates. This morning, we're learning new details of the group's plans.
New developments in the Russian spy scandal. The FBI releases video of Russian spies taking part in Cold War era techniques like dead drops.
And it looks like a couple more banks are changing their plans when it comes to charging you for using your debit card.
Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, November 21st.
This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live from New York this morning.
We begin with what may be the "Occupy Wall Street" move's biggest target so far, the Iowa caucuses.
CNN has learned protesters plan to disrupt the first of the nation contest on January 3rd. Organizers hope to have enough demonstrators on hand to occupy the campaign offices of President Obama and all the Republican candidates. They say their goal is to get them to start talking about the issues facing the 99 percent.
Also, in Tennessee, a federal judge has now ordered officials to stop arresting occupy protesters. The temporary restraining order blocks a curfew imposed by the governor last week that limited the time protesters could gather at a popular downtown spot in Nashville. The order will remain in effect until a hearing in three weeks.
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is denying allegations of sexual harassment. He came out swinging yesterday against claims of inappropriate behavior toward two female employees while he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the '90s. But for the first time since "Politico" broke the story on Sunday, Cain has discussed details, not once, but several times. In an interview on PBS "NewsHour," Cain acknowledged he knew an agreement had been reached with one of the women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was aware that an agreement was reached. The word settlement versus the word agreement, you know, I'm not sure what they called it. I know that there was some sort of agreement. But because it ended up being minimal, they didn't have to bring it to me.
My general counsel and the head of human resources had the authority to resolve this thing. So, it wasn't one of those things where it got above a certain authority level and I had to sign it. If I did, and I don't think I did, I don't even remember signing it because it was minimal in terms of what the agreement was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: On two other occasions yesterday, Cain said he was not aware of any settlement, any settlement at all that had been reached with either of the two women. Politico says the two women agreed to separation packages, each in the five-figure range.
It is crucial day for the doctor charged in the death of Michael Jackson. Dr. Conrad Murray has until the start of court today to decide whether he will take the stand in his own defense. In testimony yesterday, an expert defense witness said that no amount of money could have convinced him to do what Murray did, sedate Jackson nearly every night at home with Propofol. The trial is expected to wrap up this week.
It's a long way from teaching engineering to leading a nation that's just emerged from eight months of Civil War, but that's what the new Abdurrahim El-Keib finds himself today. He's been elected Libya's interim prime minister by the National Transitional Council.
Here's a little more information about him. El-Keib represented Tripoli in the National Transitional Council. He lived in the United States since 1975. It's unclear exactly when he returned to Libya. He's a former professor of engineering at the University of Alabama. He received his bachelor's degree from University of Tripoli, his master's from the University of Southern California and his PhD from North Carolina State University.
Water everywhere. That is the dire situation this morning for much of Thailand, including parts of the capital Bangkok. This is a live picture of Bangkok right now. Officials say the monsoon triggered flooding in the city could have been much worse. More than 370 people have died. A major concern right now: diseases like diarrhea, dengue fever, malaria.
CNN's Sara Sidner explains just how bad it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you are looking at is a road. The road is covered with water. What we're seeing is people getting boats, anything that floats basically and taking their belongings out of their residences.
This is a residential neighborhood. There are shops along this neighborhood as well. And people are seeing this water rise and rise and rise. There are people that had to be rescued. You're seeing people getting into boats. That's the only way to make it across this stretch of the freeway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Officials in Bangkok says they're especially concerned about the lack of food and drinking water in communities isolated by the flood waters.
Here in the United States things are improving ever so slowly for parts of the Northeast pounded by that freak snowstorm over the weekend. Temperatures are expected to be on the rise today. But nearly 2 million people are still without electricity. Officials say it could be Friday before power is back on everywhere. At least 13 deaths have been blamed on the storm.
Let's head to Atlanta now and check in with meteorologist Rob Marciano.
Hopefully it's a brighter day all across America.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and warmer weather on the way for the folks in the Northeast. And, you know, if this was January or February like our typical ice and snowstorms, you know, that would be a big issue. But, you know, temperatures have rebounded. It's not so much that they're in the freeze. It's that all those trees are down because of the leaves and the way it was snowing -- you know the how deal.
Hey, another storm? Another nor'easter? Well, trying. Here it is on the radar scope. And, thankfully, it's not going to have a whole lot of luck. It's going to go out to sea. It's not going to pass anybody much more than the next couple hours. So, just a little bit of wind on the back side, and maybe some low clouds in Philadelphia and D.C. So, that may cause some delays.
But we don't have much red on the map. We don't expect to see delays much over an hour in some of these spots. But if you're traveling through Miami, Orlando and Tampa, also some gusty winds along with Chicago.
Our next storm system will be dropping out of Canada and into the Intermountain West. We have got winter storm watches and warnings that are posted for the more typical areas that are above 7,000 feet or so. Eight to 14 inches of snow with this.
Daytime highs today will be warmer. Yes, 77 degrees in Kansas City, 64 degrees in Chicago and 56 degrees in New York City and 54 degrees in Boston. Tomorrow's high temperatures are similar. So, we'll take those numbers getting close to the 60-degree mark.
Well, as you know, trick-or-treating last night across America -- well, it was not as smooth across the Northeast with all the power outages and the trees in the roadways. So, they had a solution.
In Woburn, Massachusetts, they basically had a little trunk or treat. Everybody came to the parking lot. They popped open the trunks and that's how the kids went around in different cars and got their treats that way. Pretty good solution to the problem.
That may catch on next year. It's pretty convenient for the kids, doesn't it?
COSTELLO: Trunk-or-treat?
MARCIANO: Yes, trunk or treat.
COSTELLO: Somehow it's not the same. But they looked like they had fun.
MARCIANO: Did you have any trick-or-treaters last night?
COSTELLO: No. When you -- well, you know, I'm temporarily staying in the heart of New York City. And there aren't many kids there any way.
MARCIANO: You can get out of the streets, you know, like --
COSTELLO: Yes, you might get those. And some people dressed in really weird clothes. But you're not sure whether they're dressed just like for a normal day because, you know, you do see some strange kind of people in New York City or if they're dressed for Halloween.
MARCIANO: Well, we hope everybody had a happy Halloween. Good times in Atlanta. Good weather and good kids in my neighborhood.
COSTELLO: Awesome.
MARCIANO: OK, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. Since we're talking about Halloween, are you ready for some Halloween punch lines? Here is comedian Jay Leno.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH JAY LENO": President Obama invited trick-or-treaters to the White House Saturday night. A very scary party they had. They sat in a circle, turned off all the lights and the kids read the president his poll numbers. Ooh!
Earlier tonight, a bunch of rich kids came to my door, took all the candy, the other 99 kids in the neighborhood are now occupying my front lawn. Yes.
I saw a woman wandering around aimlessly. Nobody was with her. She seemed confused. I said, who are you supposed to be? She said, Michele Bachmann. I said, oh, of course.
One kid wanted 5 bucks for me to give him candy -- wanted 5 bucks for me to give him candy. I said, who are you supposed to be? He said, Bank of America. Get out of here!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The FBI being forced to release video and documents connected to the case that led to the arrest of 10 Russian spies last year. It will be hard to turn away from these incidents caught on camera. We'll show you more.
But, first, our quote of the day. This is the quote -- quote, "Sometimes things don't work out as planned," end quote. A simple phrase but it's generating a lot of international buzz this morning. Find out who said it in 90 seconds.
It's nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 10 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Quote of the Day." This is the quote, quote, "Sometimes things don't work out as planned," end quote.
That came from Kim Kardashian describing her marriage in part of a statement she released yesterday. As you probably know by now, she filed for divorce from NBA basketball player Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage. Kardashian went on to say the two remain friends and, gosh, they only wish the best for each other.
Halloween is over, but we're still hearing of new ghost stories. That's the name of a 10-year FBI investigation that targeted Russian spies here in the United States. CNN's foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty has more on these newly released documents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI releases a treasure trove of videos, photos, and heavily- edited documents from Operation Ghost Stories -- an undercover peek of how a Russian spy ring collected and passed on information, how the FBI trailed them, and finally cracked the operation.
In one video from January, 2010, Anna Chapman, the red-headed bombshell who later went on to fame in Moscow as a TV host, sits in a New York coffee shop wearing designer sunglasses, unknowingly talking with an undercover FBI agent about problems with her laptop that she uses to communicate with Russian officials.
"You are ready for the next step, OK?" he asks. "OK," she says. "This is not laptop to laptop, this is person to person," the agent says.
In another video, the classic spy technique, a brush pass, as another spy trades off a bag full of cash with a Russian official as they pass in a train station.
The FBI was forced to release the material recorded over the decade the FBI had the 10 Russians under surveillance as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. And it looks just like a spy movie, including one Russian digging up a package of money from what in spy lingo is called a "dead drop."
This spy ring is over but the FBI says it's not the end of the story.
FRANK FIGLIUZZI, FBI: The U.S. remains the target of most of the world's spying. And again, as long as we have policy information, technology and research that the rest of the world wants, and as long as foreign intel services want to gain a strategic advantage against us, we'll continue to be the target of that kind of spying.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Anna Chapman and others were sent home in a spy swap next year. But their techniques live on.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Fascinating. GOP front-runner Herman Cain is fighting back against allegations of sexual harassment. Just ahead, yes, he remembers -- he finally remembers some new details. Seems the more he talks about it, the more his answers change. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 15 minutes past the hour.
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain denies ever sexually harassing anyone. But now, he's acknowledging the accusations leveled against him did occur.
Listen how his answers seem to have changed since first confronted about the story on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
REPORTER: Have you ever been accused, sir, of harassment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last one guys. Last question. Last question.
REPORTER: Sir, have you? Yes or no?
Have you ever been accused, sir --
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm trying to --
REPORTER: -- of sexual harassment, have you? Have you, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the last question. Thanks. Thanks.
REPORTER: Have you, sir, yes or no?
CAIN: Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?
REPORTER: Have a nice day.
CAIN: If the restaurant association did a settlement, I am not even -- I wasn't even aware of it and I hope it wasn't for much because nothing even happened. So, if there was a settlement, it was handled by some of the other officers that worked for me at this association. So the answer is absolutely not.
I am unaware of any sort of settlement. I hope it wasn't for much because I didn't do anything. But the fact of the matter is, I'm not aware of a settlement that came out of that accusation.
I was aware that an agreement was reached. The word settlement versus the word agreement, you know, I'm not sure what they called it. I know there was some sort of agreement. But because it ended up being minimal, they didn't have to bring it to me.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: Time now for our Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS, live from Washington.
Good morning, Tim.
TIM FARLEY, SIRIUS POTUS: Good morning, Carol.
This seems like what you would call a developing story. It is developing all the time, is it not?
COSTELLO: Yes. And it developed quickly throughout the day. I mean, early in morning, he was still saying, I don't know, there was no settlement. And by, what, two hours later he said, oh, yes, there was a settlement.
The big question for Herman Cain is how will this affect his campaign and does he need to release more information about what happened so many years ago?
FARLEY: It struck me as you were speaking earlier that this relationship with the United States and maybe Republican voters have with Herman Cain, maybe going the same way in the graphic arc as Kim Kardashian's wedding. I mean, 72 days, right? He has been -- he's run right to the top of the charts.
The problem is that the way people, I think, look at this, is that they see Herman Cain is either not in command of the facts or he's lying about them. He's either fudging or he just can't remember. Neither sounds good because if you're talking about even a case that took place 15 years ago, a case where you were being accused of sexual harassment, that would seem to me to be pretty prominent in your memory. It would have to be a fairly dramatic event unless it was one of several, which nobody ever said.
So, either -- I think what he needs to do is figure out exactly what the story is, get out there, sit together with his advisers, find out what exactly he needs to say and then just say it so that he can leave it behind because these changing stories never works for anybody. You just have to come out with something and finally definitively say it -- either apologize and say this is what it was and you decide.
COSTELLO: Well, the interesting part -- I was talking to two lawyers who represent women in sexual harassment claims, a couple of interesting things just to throw by you. One, it's not unusual for women to settle cases in this way. Most women don't like to take their cases to trial and don't like to report to it the EEOC because they don't want to be branded this, you know, woman who's been accused of sexual harassment.
I'm not saying that these women were sexually harassed by Herman Cain. Let me get that out of the way. I'm just saying that that's a normal way to settle things within companies, within organizations.
Number two, Herman Cain probably isn't tied to any confidentiality agreement when it comes to those settlements. The women are, but not him. So, he can give us every single detail. He's not tied in anyway legally to not giving anybody information about exactly what happened.
And, thirdly, these women say it's important that he do this, even if he is not guilty of sexual harassment because, as president of the United States, you're in charge of the biggest body of employees, what, in the United States. You have to set the gold standard as the boss of all of these federal employees now under your care. And it's important that he just clears the air so that people know where he's coming from.
FARLEY: Exactly. To your points, a settlement does not indicate guilt. And, as you said, he doesn't have to abide by any kind of confidentiality agreement. He can say what he needs to say.
The problem is he keeps saying different things. For example, now he remembers even the gesture that he made, that according to one of the interviews he did last night, what exactly may have led to one of these accusations of sexual harassment. And the standards have changed over the past 15, 20 years, to the point you just made though. He needs to lay out exactly what the case is, tell people, look them in the eye and say this is what the case is. He's done that several times.
The problem is he's looked them in the eye and said different things. That doesn't play well.
By the way, by leaving some factors out, I think he's telling people what they need to know, what he thinks is important for them to know. I don't believe people like to be told that. I think they want to be given the facts so they can decide what's important and what's not important about this.
And Herman Cain needs to do that and he needs to do it pretty quickly I think.
COSTELLO: Even the amount of the settlement. I mean, if it was $10,000, most people would probably say, oh, that was just like a nuisance case and they wanted this woman to go away. If it was $95,000 maybe that says something different about the case, but we don't even know those facts.
FARLEY: Sure. Let people know what the case is and let them decide for themselves. That's what Herman Cain needs to do. He hasn't done that so far. He shifted his story.
That never looks good for somebody running for office, let alone the presidency of the United States.
COSTELLO: I'm sure you're going to have a fascinating show, Tim Farley. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
FARLEY: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius morning radio.
A former guerilla fighter wins a top elected post. More on the man who went from working against the government to being part of it, next.
But, first, gather your favorite book and have the family gather around. That's because it is National Family Literacy Day. It was first held in 1994 and designed to showcase the importance of parents reading to their kids.
It's 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 24 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
After reports of yet another round of Syrian government crackdowns killing more than a dozen people, the Arab League wants to hear from Syria after it demanded the violence end in that country. So, let's head around the world with Zain Verjee in London.
So, what's this about from the Arab League?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the Arab League, Carol, is telling Syria that they want to see a total end to the violence in that country. They're also saying they want armored vehicles and tanks in Syria and any city in the country totally off the streets. They're also requesting that Syria release all of its political prisoners. They've given Syria a deadline to respond. But they're still waiting for the Middle East country to give them a response.
The Arab League has also been proposing Syrian officials meet with Syrian opposition in Cairo so they can talk things out. It's unclear where exactly that will go. But, you know, there have been months of this kind of violence and brutality in Syria, the government is saying they're only targeting terrorists.
But this is something that has really worried the entire world and the region because Syria, many analysts say, is the middle of the Middle East. If there's any destabilization in that part of the world, it really has an effect on the entire region -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Absolutely. Let's talk about Colombia now because the leader of Colombia, an interesting guy. He was a one-time guerilla and now he's the head of a country.
VERJEE: Well, he -- you know, this is really interesting. I mean, his name is Gustavo Petro. He's going to be the new mayor of Bogota, the capital of the country. And he's actually used to be part of this guerilla force called M-19. It was a leftist guerilla group that was known for attacking against Colombia's government.
And he was put in jail for a couple years. When he came out, Carol, he decided to become a big crusader and kind of fought against corruption and political -- just using positions for power and wealth. And so, now, he's become mayor. And he's saying his priority is to build homes for the needy and to build an education system.
So, it's a total transformation for this ex-guerilla but they voted him to Bogota.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's the head of a city, not a country. I misspoke.
But thank you for not pointing that out. I appreciate that. Zain Verjee --
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee live in London, thanks so much.
The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor is just about to wrap up. Will Conrad Murray take the stand in his own defense today? Plus, big banks are backing out of their plans to charge you for using your debit card. The consumer wins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, November 1st. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live this morning from New York. It is 30 minutes past the hour.
Today, we may get an answer to a question post since the start of the trial against Michael Jackson's doctor. Will the accused take the stand? CNNs Ted Rowlands has the latest for you from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When court resumes, we'll find out one or another whether Dr. Conrad Murray takes the stand in his own defense. At the conclusion of court yesterday, the judge, this is after the jury left the room, asked Murray point-blank, are you going to testify, and Murray replied that he hadn't made up his mind yet.
So, the judge said, in an essence, you better hurry up and gave him until 8:30 a.m. pacific time to decide whether or not he will take the stand. On Monday, there were some fireworks in the courtroom with lead prosecutor, David Walgren, attacking the defense star witness, Dr. Paul White on cross examination.
Walgren tried to dismantle the theory that Michael Jackson killed himself with an injection of propofol. He also attacked White in that he asked him about standard of care issues, specifically, at one point, he talked about Michael Jackson being found unresponsive, yet, Dr. Conrad Murray waiting 20 minutes to call 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no justification for what Conrad Murray did in failing to call 911, is there?
DR. PAUL WHITE, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: As I said earlier, I think he should have called 911 sooner. I do not, however, think it would have made any difference in the outcome of this case.
ROWLANDS: Dr. Paul White is expected back on the stand when court resumes. We're expecting one more witness for the defense after white is finished. That is assuming Dr. Conrad Murray doesn't take the stand in his own defense.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: You can watch these last moments of the trial unfold as it happens on our sister network. HLN is carrying complete coverage of the Dr. Conrad Murray on trial throughout the day.
You remember that ill-fated plan by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to let illegally purchased guns to basically walk over the border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels? A justice department official is now apologizing for his part in the plan.
Assistant attorney general, Lanny Breuer, says he regrets not alerting others within the department. Breuer appears before a Senate subcommittee later today.
And the justice department has issues with South Carolina, and it's suing. It says the state's new immigration law is unconstitutional and preempts federal law. It says the South Carolina law could lead to authorize visitors, immigrants, and citizens being harassed or detained. The South Carolina governor's office defends the law and says it's time for the feds to do their jobs.
Warmer weather is expected today in the northeast after a rare October snowstorm caught many by surprise. Nearly two million people in at least five states remain in the dark this morning. It could be Friday before their power is back on. The storm dumped more than two feet of snow in some areas. One New Jersey mayor even postponed trick-or-treating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JORDAN GLATT, SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY: If you look at our streets, we really don't have one full street that's passable. It's just a disaster area throughout the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, power lines are still down. So, it's dangerous. That's why they canceled Halloween. You know the storm is blamed for 13 deaths.
Some of the big banks are backpedalling when it comes to those controversial debit card fees. We'll have all the details for you in 60 seconds. It's 34 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 35 minutes past the hour. It's one of the most popular stories on CNN money right now. Some big banks are backing out of their plans to charge debit card fees. For morning money news, let's head to Christine Romans. She's live here in New York. So, Christine, is this a consumer win?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sure is. Hell has no fury like a debit card user scorned. And listen, people really were fed up with all of these debit card fees and the new fees that were being tested. And these banks are saying, a couple of banks are saying that they're listening to their customers. The response was overwhelming, and they're going to get rid of their $5 or $4 fee.
The Regions Bank is one of them, SunTrust is another. This all happened after JPMorgan said it would stop issuing the fee as well. And for these banks I just mentioned, if you did get one of these fees in the last few weeks, they're going to credit your account for that $5 fee to use the debit card.
Now, that leaves Bank of America, the lone big bank standing out there, standing by its $5 fee, but it's standing by it kind of backing up a little bit, too, because it's going to offer -- it's going to test some more ways that customers will be able to avoid that fee like having your paycheck automatically deposited into the account or doing some kinds of automatic bill pay or something so that more people would be able to figure out how to avoid that fee.
Of course, by doing more business with the bank in the first place. But this really shows that that consumer anger, I think, really resonated in the corporate suites at some of these banks, and a lot of people were walking. I mean, there's no question.
When you just look at the traffic for credit unions and small community banks, they were starting the say that their phones were ringing off the hook, Carol, because people were looking for a new way to do business.
COSTELLO: Power of the people. I love it. Let's talk about Greece. Greece. It's pulling this surprise move connected to the bailout deal that was just reached last week by European leaders. Everybody was like, yey, but now, Greece has thrown a wrench into things. ROMANS: And it cast a poll over the whole thing, because it just adds another level of uncertainty, and how many times have you heard me say that, you know, world markets don't like uncertainty, and that's true. So, the Greek prime minister announcing a referendum on the EU debt deal saying that the people of Greece will be able to talk about it, will be able to vote on whether it is OK for, you know, reducing 50 percent the amount of debt that Greece is owed.
We know that a weekend survey in Greece found that nearly 60 percent of people, Carol, oppose that debt deal reached in Brussels. So, 60 percent oppose it. Now, the Greek prime minister is saying that there'll be a referendum about the debt deal. You know, because Greece, essentially, is at the core of all these problems, right?
So, what do the Greek people think about it? Well, I think we know what the Greek people think about it. We've seen them protesting in the streets.
COSTELLO: Yes, we have, definitely. I'll catch you in just a few minutes. Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: OK. Bye.
COSTELLO: Herman Cain and allegations of sexual harassment and how his campaign has handled the controversy. Let's just say it's not been good. That's coming up next.
But first, it's time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. Americans handed out thousands of pounds of candy for Halloween and one popular treat is the Tootsie Roll. So, can you guess how many Tootsie Rolls are produced every single day? Is it A. 775,000, B. 29 million, or C. 64 million. That's a lot of tootsie rolls. We'll have the answer in two minutes. It's 38 minutes past.
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COSTELLO: It is 40 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Get Smart" question of the day. Americans handed out thousands of pounds of candy for Halloween. One popular treat, Tootsie Roll, the Tootsie Roll. Can you guess how many Tootsie Rolls are produced each day? 775,000, 29 million, or 64 million. Well, according to the Tootsie's website, the answer is C. Can you believe that?
Sixty-four million Tootsie Rolls made every day. The candy was first sold in 1896 in a New York candy shop before becoming an iconic treat sold all over the country. Now, you know.
Herman Cain is waking up to another day facing an issue that is not likely to go away any time soon, allegations of sexual harassment. CNN's Joe Johns looks at how the Republican presidential candidate's campaign is handling the scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's never a good day for a presidential campaign when the candidate's name appears in a morning headlines in a story about alleged sexually inappropriate behavior, but from a campaign management standpoint, this may be a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis.
Politico, which broke the story, says there was plenty of warning. It first asked the campaign about this ten days before this confrontational interview outside CBS on Sunday.
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going -- I'm not going to comment on that.
JOHNS: And when the campaign's chief of staff was asked about Politico's allegation two women received settlements, he seemed confused, too, saying he was not aware of any, just hours before the candidate said publicly that he'd been falsely accused, Herman Cain's words, of sexual harassment. CNN political analyst, Rich Galen, says it sounds like there was plenty of time for the campaign to prepare for the story to hit.
RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This is the kind of thing that you see with campaigns that aren't very skilled and very experienced. Every campaign will have a bad time. Every campaign is going to have to explain something they didn't think they were going to have to explain. You practice it, you try to get ready for it. When it does happen, if it does happen, you just kind of execute on the plan.
JOHNS: Here's how one reporter at Politico responded when we asked if the story came from another Republican presidential campaign.
JONATHAN MARTIN, POLITICO.COM: Now, my colleagues and I have been reporting this story for the last three weeks n. In the course of that time, we've talked to dozens of current and former employees at the organization, current and former board members at the organization and a lot of folks in Washington were close to the organization.
So, this has been an extensively reported story, a thorough story, and we have a half of dozen sources telling us about various aspects of these claims against Mr. Cain.
JOHNS (on-camera): Herman Cain calls it a witch hunt and says there was an internal investigation at the National Restaurant Association where he worked in the 1990s. He says that investigation determined there was no factual basis for what he calls false allegations against him of sexual harassment.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Cain actually discussed the details of the allegations for the first time yesterday. He was asked about the claims on several occasions, and each time, he strongly denied any wrongdoing. Here's what he said on PBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Never, never accused of any sort of sexual harassment. I have never sexually harassed anyone. And so, this false allegation to now come up is kind of baffling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Politico says the two women who made the allegations agreed to separation packages, each in the five-figure range.
They've targeted banks and government institutions. It seems Mexican drug cartels are next on the list for an illusive hacker's group. Details next.
But first, on this day in history, 43 years ago, the Motion Picture Association of America unveiled its new film rating system, G for general, M for mature, R for restricted, and X, of course, for adults only. Before that films were approved or disapproved based on whether they were deemed moral or immoral. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: So, good morning to you. Happy Tuesday. It is November 1st. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello joining you live this morning from New York. It's 47 minutes past the hour.
A group of hackers who've gone after banks and government institutions in the past now says it's targeting a Mexican drug cartel. Let's head around the world with Zain Verjee. She's live in London. This is pretty interesting. So, this group anonymous is going after a Mexican drug cartel. Why?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're saying they want to target the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico. They say that they can publish names, addresses, homes. They have information on people that support and are involved in this cartel, and they can do it.
They essentially say in this video here that, "we can't fight you with weapons, but we can do this essentially by exposing information and publishing stuff about cars, homes, bars, people, and things like that. Now, this video, Carol, was posted on October 6th. CNN reached out to a contact that we have in this group, Anonymous, and that contact was not able to verify the authenticity of this video.
But then, the vice president (ph) came out and said actually this video is authentic, absolutely, he said. So, CNN continues to reach out and try and verify this video, but it's pretty tough because anonymous is a very decentralized group. It's a little bit murky. It's kind of hard to find out who you need to talk to, but that's essentially what they're doing. They want to target the Zetas drug cartel. COSTELLO: And that would be fascinating. So, a part of me hopes it's true. Let's talk about China, though, because China is taking another big step in becoming this giant player in the space game. Tell us about the rocket that just went up.
VERJEE: Yes. The Shenzhou-8. It's always beautiful no matter what country is launching one, to see it take off and have a successful launch like that. Now, the interesting thing about this, Carol, is that the Shenzhou-8 is going to dock with another vessel or just over earth's orbit in space. And this is a really big deal for China, because it is a key step in building an international space station.
They want this, the Shenzhou-8, to dock with what else they have up in space. And if they can do it successfully, they can go on with their space program, and they want to have a space station by 2020. These were pictures that was seen live on China's state TV. And you know where the United States and Europe have really cut back on their space programs, China is really taking off.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: That was a nice pun. i like that.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: Thanks, Carol. You know, the last time they launched a satellite into space, they accidentally or maybe not accidentally they played "America The Beautiful," and no one can figure out why that was CCTV. Whether it was an accident, the CCTV wouldn't comment.
COSTELLO: Or maybe they were just taunting us. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Zain Verjee.
CNN has learned occupy protesters plan to disrupt the Iowa caucuses on January 3rd. Organizers just hope to have enough demonstrators on hand to occupy the campaign offices of President Obama and all the Republican candidates. They say their goal is to get them to start talking about the issues facing the 99 percent.
And in Tennessee, a federal judge has ordered officials to stop arresting occupy protesters. The temporary restraining order blocks a curfew imposed by the governor last week that limited the time protesters could gather at a popular downtown spot in Nashville. That order will remain in effect until a hearing in three weeks.
It's a long way from teaching engineering to leading a nation that's just emerged from eight months of civil war, but that's exactly where Abdurrahim -- this is a tough to say (ph), but I'm going to get it this time -- Abdurrahim El-Keib, that's where he finds himself today. He's been elected Libya's interim prime minister by the National Transitional Council. Here's a little bit of background information on him. El-Keib represented Tripoli in the National Transitional Council. He lived in the united states since 1975. It's unclear when exactly he returned to Libya. He's a former professor of engineering at the University of Alabama.
He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Tripoli. He has masters from the University of Southern California and his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.
Let's head to Atlanta and check in with Rob Marciano. Any travel delays to think of this morning?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I will see a few later on today, but all in all, a fairly quiet day across much of the country after all the excitement over the weekend. Another nor'easter trying to get itself together off Delmarva right now, but not having a whole lot. So, we'll look at this radar image kind of go bye-bye over the next few hours, but a little bit of light rain across parts of the east coast this morning.
That will go away, and then, some low clouds may cause some issues. Here is the bigger picture. Snowstorm dropping into the intermountain west, now will bring several inches of snow below 7,000 feet, maybe over a foot of snow above that, and temperatures will be, well, on the mild sight (ph). Actually, 56 degrees is a couple degrees below average for New York City.
So, even though it will feel much milder than it was over the weekend, we're still below normal. We'll see a bit of a warm-up as we go through time. we're going to take you to Bartlett, Illinois, carrying on the Halloween theme. This couple, Carol, so crazy coo-coo about Halloween.
After 13 years of dating, they finally got married. He arrived by popping out of a coffin, she arrived in a body bag and Shelly and Don were wed and will forever live happily, I guess, as husband and wife. Look at that.
COSTELLO: That's so beautiful.
MARCIANO: Party at their place next Halloween, I guess. I bet they're going to throw a good one.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: That's really strange, but whatever makes you happy, right?
MARCIANO: Exactly. Welcome to November.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob. I know. I can't believe it's November.
MARCIANO: See you soon. COSTELLO: Think home values have hit rock bottom? Still ahead, why one financial analyst says we have not seen the worst yet. We'll have details on a live report from the NASDAQ MarketSite.
But first, let's take a look at the "Word of the Day." It's exoplanet. Find out what it means and why you need to know after a short break. It's 53 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: It is three minutes until the top of the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL.
Now, back to our "Word of the Day." It's exoplanet. What is an exoplanet? Well, that refers to a planet outside the solar system. It's in the news because NASA officials are proposing a mission extension for the Kepler space telescope. In its first four months, Kepler discovered more than 1,200 exoplanet candidates. Now, you know.
Let's head to the NASDAQ MarketSite and check in with Carter Evans. He's taking a look at the numbers this morning. Good morning.
CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Carol, October was a great month for stocks except yesterday. Yesterday was an ugly day, and our futures, they're not shaping up so good right now. Dow futures down triple digits. NASDAQ futures off 33. S&P 500 down about 19.
We've got a couple of reports coming up today that could change that, one on manufacturing, another on construction spending, and we're going to be getting auto sales numbers throughout the day. We're also going to be hearing from a lot of companies as far as quarterly earnings today. We're going to be hearing from Dollar Thrifty, Pfizer, and Sirius XM Radio, just to name a few.
COSTELLO: All right. Tell us about home prices. Everybody's wondering when oh when will they bottom out?
EVANS: And you know, we've been looking at the numbers, and over the last couple of months, the last four months to be exact, from month to month, home price haves been creeping up. This is one of the big stories on CNNMoney.com suggesting that home prices may be headed for a triple dip -- ditch, I almost said. Don't ditch your home just yet.
This is a company called Fiserv that takes a look at home prices and basically says that it believes there's more downward room, believing that home prices could fall another 3.6 percent by next June. The company is blaming it on an increase in foreclosure activity.
There are so many foreclosures on the market right now. If you go to one of those websites like Trulia or Zillow and look at it, homes will pop up all over the place, and I'll tell you, like, half of them are foreclosures. COSTELLO: It's just so disturbing because you don't know what to do if you have to move. Should you sell your house now? Should you wait? Should you rent it out? What should you do?
EVANS: I wish I knew.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: CNNMoney.com, I bet it has all the answers on that website.
EVANS: Probably.
COSTELLO: Yes. Thanks so much Carter Evans live at the NASDAQ MarketSite.
"AMERICAN MORNING" continues right now.
