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58 Days Until Midterm Elections; Tax Cuts among White House Fixes; Trapped Chilean Miners Get Encouragement From 1972 Uruguayan Rugby Team Plane Crash Survivors; Coast Guard Rescues Seven Off Coast of South Carolina; Tropical Storm Hermine Could Cause Problems for Texas; Women Surpassing Men in Pay in Some US Cities; Japanese School Run Like a Company
Aired September 06, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Thanks so much.
I'm Jim Acosta in for Kyra Phillips. Here's what we're working on for the next couple of hours on this Labor Day.
A crackdown on Craigslist. CNN showed you how the online ad service had become a refuge for prostitutes and even child traffickers. Today the adult section is shut down.
We're also chasing down the man known as the Jamaican jihadist. Terror experts say his followers have already struck and are sure to strike again.
And on this Labor Day, we'll show you which women are making more money than their male counterparts? I don't like the sound of that.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And we're grilling up some politics on this Labor day. We begin counting down to the midterm elections. For the next 58 days we'll look at the rage building among American voters.
Many are angry and calling for big changes in Washington. They'll have the chance to make those changes in the Senate, 37 seats are up for grabs. In the House, every single seat will be decided, 435 in all. And there are signs of a voter rebellion in the works.
It could give Congress back to the Republicans. Those are the stakes on the line.
And the CNN Election Express is on the road far outside the D.C. beltway. It's a good thing. We're talking to real people about what's driving them to the polls and what they think Washington needs to hear.
Our first stop is Pittsburgh. CNN's T.J. Holmes joins us live. And T.J. has got his ticket on the Election Express. I have been on that bus, it's a sweet ride.
T.J. is in Pittsburgh. What's on the mind of voters out there in western Pittsburgh, T.J.? T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think you said it best there, getting outside of Washington, that being such a good thing because you get to hear a different mood, and you also get to hear what's exactly on people's minds instead of hearing politicians argue back and forth in Washington all the time.
Now we're here in western Pennsylvania where, yes, they have some of the same concerns as a lot of people around the rest of the country. We remember, of course, it is Labor Day. The unofficial end of summer but the official begin of the campaign season.
And because this is Labor Day, a lot of people are grilling out and hanging with families. Doing that thing. They are thankful they have the day off. Remember so many other people wish they had the day off from work. They wish they had work. They've been off for the past days, weeks, even months.
Out of a job right now, employment is going to be number one and then the economy. Number one on people's minds.
Just take a listen now, just a small sample of some of the people we've been running into here in western Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you get a poll that suggests that, what, 25 percent of people who think that their president is a Muslim? Obviously they're smart enough to know that's not true. And to me that just says that people are operating out of emotions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're totally out of touch with what goes on in rural America. Don't think they have a clue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I wish people would be more patient because it does take time to come out of the bad recession that we were in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then you start taking pay cuts. How much money do they make a year is ridiculous, I mean, for what little work they do and for how much vacation they have in the summer, it's unfair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the whole Obama administration, along with every member of Congress, should be voted out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have gone back and forth between Democrat and Republican. So it just -- at this point I'm in the air with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're talking about Washington. It's always going to be the same.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's always going to be the same with politics.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And, Jim, keep in mind here. Listen to this statistic. This state, over the past year -- Pennsylvania -- has been below the national average in unemployment.
Now that sounds like a good thing, but the problem is this state has gone up a full percentage point over the past year in its unemployment rate, while the nation's unemployment rate has gone down or been flat each and every month over the past year. So this state seems to be possibly going in the wrong direction.
We're going to be talking to folks here in Pennsylvania. Also heading to Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana as well over the next several days.
As you know, the Election Express bus is on the road. We have Dana Bash with us, John King, Jessica Yellin, Gloria Borger. We'll be just getting started here right now, but a full week as we kick off this campaign season -- Jim.
ACOSTA: And, T.J., I was just listening to those comments from those voters you were talking to out there. Did anybody talk about any issue besides the economy or was it just the economy?
I mean it sounds like people are really focused on that issue this year.
HOLMES: No, the economy will certainly be the number one thing you'll hear about. But certainly there's a little sprinkle of other things in there as well, including, yes, in fact, the mosque in New York, the proposed Islamic center and mosque.
You heard people talking about the issue that some people out there still think President Obama is a Muslim.
ACOSTA: Wow.
HOLMES: You heard people talking about health care. You hear people talking about Afghanistan and Iraq. So all the things are in there as you expect, but the first thing is going to be the economy.
And let me leave you with this note, Jim. To be quite honest with you, when I first started asking people about the biggest concern they have, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback situation.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You know, Ben Roethlisberger is --
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
HOLMES: -- is out for the first four games, so they're on quarterback four. So -- you know, after they got passed that, they were ready to talk some politics.
ACOSTA: A little political football no less. T.J. Holmes there in Pittsburgh for us. It sounds like a volatile mix out there talking to voters. Appreciate your time. Thanks so much. Good seeing you.
And keep an eye on the CNN Election Express. As T.J. just said it will be on the road in four states this week carrying the best political team on television. Check out this -- this is a busload right here.
Jessica Yellin, John King, Gloria Borger, Dana Bash and T.J. Holmes. I don't think they're in the bus all at the same time. Just in case folks are wondering. They all start this week in Pittsburgh.
Tuesday the bus arrives in Columbus, Ohio. And then on Wednesday, the CNN Election Express rolls across the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky. Some exciting races down there as well.
Then on Thursday, our team reports from Indianapolis where there's also another crucial Senate election.
So the economy will drive many voters to the polls. Their worries are showing up in the latest CNN Opinion Research poll. Eight in 10 Americans -- look at his -- feel economic conditions right now are poor.
Forty-four percent of the polls respondents blame the Republicans for the economic mess. That's surprising. Thirty-five percent say Democratic policies got us to this point. And 16 percent blame both parties equally.
And we'll be going through those poll numbers all day long today on here on CNN.
Well, this week President Obama will try to convince Americans that he's doing all he can to jump start the economy. He's planning to unveil some initiatives including some tax cuts.
Our CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry has more on that.
And Ed, it also sounds like the president is talking about something that sounds like a stimulus, but I'm guessing they are not calling it that.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Jim. It's sort of radioactive to say there would be a second stimulus bill. The first one turned out to be fairly unpopular.
And also in terms of the price tag, they just don't have enough money washing around. We're so deep in debt to really pump enough money into the system to realistically call it a second stimulus.
But we are getting new information -- details this morning about what the president is going to roll out this week. Two big speeches, first in Milwaukee today. The president we're now learning will be rolling out a $50 billion infrastructure plan specifically rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, construct about 4,000 miles of rail, and rehabilitate about 150 miles of runways all across the country.
The president also today is going to lay out a new infrastructure bank whereas they hope they'll be able to sort of leverage federal dollars better. There's so much federal transportation money flowing in. Many different pots of money, not always spent well, so they're talking about creating this new bank to try to spend the more -- the money more wisely. Then on Wednesday, the president is going to be in Cleveland and we're learning details about that. He will lay out a permanent extension of this tax cut, $100 billion for research and development for businesses.
Again, they are trying to target the money, so businesses will invest more in their own economies, hire more workers, buy more equipment et cetera. The challenge for this administration, though, of course, is we've heard this before. Targeted tax credits as well as infrastructure highway money. Those were two key ingredients of the stimulus in the first 100 days of this administration.
There have been some positives of the stimulus, but it hasn't quite worked out exactly as planned, hasn't provided that sort of jolt to the economy they originally advertised. So some people may be hearing some of these details and say, look, we've heard this before, Jim.
ACOSTA: Right. And as -- and as we hear the White House tell us not all of the stimulus money from the original stimulus has been spent. Not all of those projects in that original package have been built.
And so I guess I'm just curious, Ed. How frustrated are people inside the White House about all of this, about how the economy just can't get out of this -- this gear that it's in because, you know, here we are seeing them trying some ideas that they tried, as you mentioned, in the first stimulus?
HENRY: Yes. I think there's quite a bit of frustration. There have been a whole series of late-night meetings here at the White House to figure this out.
The late one night last week I ran into Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He had been here. You know, they got the sleeves rolled up. They're trying to figure it out and everything they've tried hasn't exactly gotten this going.
Now in fairness to the White House, you've got to point out, there have been both government reports but also outside economists in the private sector, who have said, there are probably around three million, 3.3 million jobs were either saved or created by the stimulus.
But as you know, the problem is the hole has been a lot deeper than they thought. It was 18, 19 months ago, so those three million jobs is sort of helpful but a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things.
And also in terms of the marketing of all this, the White House called this recovery summer. And the fact of the matter is a lot of Americans around the country are just not feeling a recovery. And that's worrisome for Democrats just two months before midterms where the House and Senate, both up for grabs turning, as T.J. said, on the jobs issue -- Jim.
ACOSTA: All right, Ed Henry, live at the White House. Thanks, Ed. Appreciate it. HENRY: Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: A five-story, 300-ton piece of evidence is out of the deep and on the surface. It could tell inspectors what caused the Gulf oil disaster. Crews brought the failed blowout preventer -- remember that -- to the surface over the weekend and installed a new one.
BP plans to complete a new relief well to intersect with the broken well later this week. Then the company will launch a bottom kill procedure to seal the well for good.
If you look for the adult services section on Craigslist, you won't find it anymore. The online classified service has shut that section down. There's a censored label where it used to be.
CNN's reporting helped shed light on the site's seedy side. Critics said the section was an easy way to find prostitutes and 17 attorneys general urged Craigslist to stop the service. They say it also encourages human trafficking and assaults on women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm very pleased by this very solid and significant apparent step in the right direction. I say apparent because we have received no definite or definitive word from Craigslist itself that this shut down is permanent and complete, but it certainly is welcomed.
If it remains shut down, it will be a model for other sites, we hope, because Craigslist is by far the biggest. Its scope and scale are unmatched by any others. And it's a good step. But a continuing battle has to be fought.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: In fact users who access the account outside the United States will find that the link is still active.
The Chilean miners have spent a month trapped underground. No sunshine, no fresh air, no freedom. Can you imagine? But they're getting plenty of encouraging words from people who know a thing or two about survival.
Down in that part of the world, they've been talking to people who spent weeks trapped in the Andes, the ones who had to save themselves after rescuers gave up.
That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: All right. Our Morning Passport begins in Tehran. Questions surround the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. There are reports she's also facing 99 lashes, my goodness, for appearing in a photo without a head scarf. But her lawyer is contradicting the report. Some suggest the scarf incident is a case of mistaken identity.
In Guatemala, emergency service officials fear the death toll could top 100 after heavy rains triggered deadly mudslides late last week. And right now, at least 37 people are dead and another 23 are missing. Destruction to homes, farms and infrastructure is said to be widespread.
People in Christchurch, New Zealand are recovering after a powerful earthquake and its aftershocks that rattled the country over the weekend. A massive quake, 7.1 in magnitude. No deaths, but two injuries were reported.
In Chile, those 33 miners that have been trapped in the hole for a month now? Get this. They're getting some encouraging words from some folks you may not expect. From some of the most famous survivors on the planet. Survivors who weren't trapped deep below, but high above.
We're talking about members of the Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes back in 1972. Their incredible story was told in the move "Alive." And here is CNN's Patrick Oppmann with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHEERING)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The visitors came with a message.
GUSTAVO ZERBINA, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: This is going to have a happy ending.
OPPMANN: And they should know. The men were four of the sixteen surviving members of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains nearly 40 years ago. They survived 72 days on the mountain, enduring extreme conditions. They forced themselves to eat the flesh of dead friends in order to live. Their story inspired the movie "Alive."
ZERBINA (through translator): Our message is one of hope and kindness, and that everything is possible if one fights to the end.
OPPMANN (voice-over): A message well received by Maria Segovia, whose brother, Dario, is trapped in the mine's depths.
MARIA SEGOVIA, SISTER OF TRAPPED MINER (through translator): It's very important that people come from other countries to back us up. The miners need it. They're the ones inside. We are out here.
OPPMANN (voice-over): To show their solidarity, the Uruguayans place their flag alongside the banners representing the miners. Witnessing another desperate rescue, the crash survivors feel a connection.
MONCHO SABELLA, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR (through translator): Surviving being in the Andes at the high altitude is something that destiny decides. Some live, and some die. I understand what they are going through. I understand them completely. I feel a lot of things I felt on the mountain.
OPPMANN: "Don't give up," Sabella tells Luis Urzua, entombed under hundreds of meters of rock, but able to talk over the first video conference between the miners and the outside world.
"We thank you, as Chilean workers, for coming, and hope to be able to give you a hug later," Urzua replies. An embrace between survivors that for now, will have to wait. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, at the San Jose Mine, Chile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And in a couple minutes, we'll have another survival story for you. A boat load of adults and children trapped 25 miles off the coast of Charleston. The Coast Guard spent hours looking for them with no luck. Then, they finally got the break they needed with a little help from the moon. Look at those pictures right there. Those kids look a lot better than they were when they were out in the water. We'll get to that in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: The Coast Guard -- get this -- rescued seven people who were trapped in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. The four adults and three children had abandoned their sinking boat and spent 20 hours -- yes, 20 hours -- in the water. Luckily, they were all wearing life vests.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew was on the final pass of what had been a six-hour search when a crew member spotted them in the moonlight. Some of the survivors were clinging to a cooler. We talked with a member of the rescue team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN ROSEN, PETTY OFFICER SECOND CLASS, US COAST GUARD (via telephone): From what I could see, just obviously, they were exhausted from being in the water that long. And the two boys, they had been stung by a jellyfish numerous times. Other than that, though, as far as I could tell, they were just happy to be out of the water at that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: I bet they were happy. All seven were taken on to a South Carolina hospital for evaluation and treatment.
And Reynolds Wolf, turning to him now, we've got a great labor day in store, but getting back to the Coast Guard --
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unbelievable.
ACOST: You've been down in the Gulf Coast covering the oil spill for months. We've seen the great work the Coast Guard does down there, but that right there is just amazing. They didn't give up, and they found those folks.
WOLF: At night.
ACOSTA: Yes.
WOLF: In the noon moonlight. With a crescent moon.
ACOSTA: Unbelievable. Yes.
WOLF: Go figure. It's certainly a miracle. Hey, one thing we've been seeing in surf -- and speaking of rough surf, leaving that story to this one, we've got something else to talk about. A new tropical system. It's Hermine. Earl is gone, this is the next one up. Winds at 45, gusts at 50.
You see it right here, very easy to see some deep tropical convection. You've got the Yucatan Peninsula here. Of course, the Gulf of Mexico, and this thing is on the move. The thing is, where's this thing going to go? Where's it headed?
The latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center brings this to the northwest, and as we make our way into Tuesday at 2:00 AM, it may make landfall right in this area south of Texas, right into the Mexican border. And as it does so, it's going to then pull its way back into parts of central and south Texas This could be a major rainmaker and, with that, there's really the potential of flooding over the next several days and into the latter half of the week.
Speaking of flooding, there's also the chance of that occurring in the western Great Lakes and into portions of the Midwest. This area of low pressure, this frontal boundary, and all the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico combined with your daytime heating is going to give you a good chance of storms.
We could have some delays in places like Chicago, perhaps even St. Louis before all is said and done. Even some of the smaller regional airports in portions of, say, Nebraska and the Dakotas and, of course, the Twin Cities.
Very dry in the desert southwest. Flash-and-dash showers possible in Florida, with high temperatures as we wrap things up, going to 88 degrees in St. Louis, 86 in Washington, DC, 82 in New York with plenty of sunshine, 94 in Dallas, 98 in Las Vegas, and 74, your expected high in San Francisco. That is a wrap on your forecast. Let's send it back to the desk.
ACOSTA: Reynolds, it's a great day to be inside. Isn't it? It's just spectacular.
WOLF: If football is on, it's always a great day.
ACOSTA: If we look just out the window a little bit, we can sort of see some daylight in our studio in here, which is nice. WOLF: It's a beautiful thing.
ACOSTA: We'll take it. Thanks a lot, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
ACOSTA: Appreciate it. All right, good deal.
Get this. I don't think -- I'm not sure I really like the next story. The pay gap between men and women, we found a place where the ladies haven't just crossed the gap, they may be way past it. Get this. They're making more money than the guys. They pay the guys around here? Is that what we're talking about?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TEXT: Labor Day Fact: 26.4 million women and 24.7 million men in management, professional, and related occupations.
ACOSTA: All right. Some young women aren't just bridging the pay gap these days, they are shooting right past it, pulling in way bigger paychecks than their male counterparts. But there's a catch. Stephanie Elam, joining us live in New York. Stephanie, by the way, makes twice what I make in case anybody was wondering out there.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right.
ACOSTA: Stephanie, what is this all about?
ELAM: That's why you're at the anchor desk in Atlanta. Yes, well it's really about people who are --
ACOSTA: I get paid with barbecues.
ELAM: Is that it? Well, it has nothing to do with us, Jim, though, because we are both over the age of 30.
ACOSTA: Oh, boy. OK.
ELAM: So this has nothing to do with us particularly --
ACOSTA: You had to point that out.
ELAM: But it does -- Yes, I did have to point that out. Because it's really about unmarried women between the ages of 22 and 30 who do not have children. These are the women who are out-earning their male counterparts. They earn a median of $27,000 a year, and that happens to be eight percent more than what the men in that same demographic are making.
So that's the difference here. These women are out-earning men in 39 of the largest 50 cities, and they match their earnings in another eight cities. This is based on Reach Advisors study, according to 2008 census data.
Now, you take a look at the cities where the women have the biggest advantage, right there where you are, Jim. Atlanta is number one, 21 percent wage advantage. Followed by Memphis, with 19 percent. Maybe that's -- I don't know, maybe T.J. can tell us a bit about that, because he grew up not far from there. And then, New York City, 17 percent. And then, Sacramento, 16, and San Diego, 15 percent. So these are the places where women, young women, are really doing much better than their male counterparts, Jim.
ACOSTA: And what's driving this? Is it the economy? Is it because guys are more expensive? I can't imagine why that would be, but maybe we are.
ELAM: It's really about education. Because if you think about it, think back to college. Who were most of the people at college? Mainly women. More women going to college than men, and that's what's really driving this change here.
For every two men that graduate from college, three women do. And that's part of the drive here. Also -- we all know this -- college graduates make more money, on average, than high school graduates. They make about $30,000 a year more, so that's part of it here.
Also, when you go to these cities, you'll see that a lot of the industries are knowledge-based and not really about manufacturing. That's part of the difference there as well. The other thing I have to point out about this, too, Jim, is that it has to do with diversity, because more African-American and Hispanic women are going to school than their male counterparts, and so, therefore, they're also out-earning their counterparts in that demographic as well.
ACOSTA: Is there any place that we aren't seeing this reverse pay gap?
ELAM: Oh, yes. Actually, yes, there is. Places where there's a lot of software technology, where that is really the basis of what's going on there. And the military. So, places like Silicon Valley, where I grew up, yes. That's still very much all about the men. And the men are still in charge there, and still making more than women. You don't have to completely cry about the story, Jim.
ACOSTA: OK, I won't. And as for that guy to girl ratio at college, I wasn't -- I was focused on the books, Stephanie. So --
ELAM: Right. Sure.
ACOSTA: It didn't cross my mind.
ELAM: You didn't note that, right? Not at all. Right.
ACOSTA: Never noticed that.
ELAM: That's what every guy says.
ACOSTA: All right. Thanks, Stephanie. Appreciate it.
ELAM: Sure. ACOSTA: We are chasing down the man known as the Jamaican Jihadist. Yes, that's what they call him. Terror experts say his followers have already struck, and they are sure to strike again. Of course, Jamaica is a lot closer to the US than the Middle East, and his proximity is a real cause of concern for intelligence officials.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: He is believed to be the inspiration behind convicted shoe bomber Richard Reed, and accused underwear bomber Umar Abdulmutallab. But you may never have heard of Sheikh Abdul Al-Faisal until now. He's an Islamic cleric in Jamaica and he's called a cleric of hate. Experts say he's using the internet as a bully pulpit to recruit new terrorists.
And last month Drew Griffin from the CNN Special Investigations Unit went all the way to Jamaica at al-Faisal's request and quickly found out it was a false invitation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): We came to meet the radical Islamic preacher known as The Jamaican on his own turf. And up a winding road into the Jamaican hillside we climbed.
GRIFFIN (on camera): So we think this is it.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Where Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal invited us and interview, he said, to clear his name from an awful past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
GRIFFIN: But we quickly learned Sheikh al-Faisal had told us a lie.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Is the sheikh in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
GRIFFIN: Can you tell us where he is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not here yet.
GRIFFIN: Not here yet? He's not back from Kingston?
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Faisal, it turned out, had lured CNN to his island as part of a shakedown. CNN does not pay for interviews. The sheikh was asking for $15,000 just to talk.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Why are you charging us so much money just to talk to you?
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Most recently arrested in Kenya, authorities say this 46-year-old Jamaican was encouraging young Muslims to fight in Somalia. His arrest sparked riots, leading to five dead and leading Kenya to deport al-Faisal back to his native Jamaica. U.S. intelligence officials and Jamaica's Justice Ministry tells CNN they are carefully watching the Caribbean and its poverty has long been thought to be a potential new home for a terrorist message, and the sheikh has never stopped preaching - from internet chat rooms and sending out tapes.
GRIFFIN (on camera): The fear is that even isolated down that road in a home that this Islamic scholar, this preacher of radical Islam could have an effect on the population here, gather a following and perhaps influence others to follow the paths of the terrorists who have followed him.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): It's the reason we came to this island to interview al-Faisal. Invited by the sheikh himself who promised he would explain once we arrived. When we did arrive, his new agent explained to us there would be no interview unless we pay $15,000.
CNN does not pay for any interviews. During three telephone conversations and one face-to-face meeting, the sheikh did try to explain how he was misinterpreted when he said Muslims should fight and kill Jews, Christians, Americans and Hindus.
"That was the old sheikh," he told me. "I've reformed since then."
GRIFFIN (on camera): I'm just asking you, do you feel any guilt at all that these men listened to you and then went out and tried to kill people and some of them did kill people. They must listen to many clerics.
Do you feel any guilt that they listened to you? I'm asking you a question. So you - you will not answer that question right now.
He just hung up. He says he wouldn't do the interview. He wouldn't do the interview unless he gets paid - period and he wouldn't answer that question.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): There may be a good reason the sheikh needs to be paid. He's economically and even socially isolated here.
The vast majority of Jamaicans are Christian, a religion the sheikh calls paganism. The Islamic Council will not allow the sheikh to preach in any of Jamaica's dozen or so mosques until he denounces his radical teachings.
MUSTAFA MOHAMMAD, ISLAMIC COUNCIL OF JAMAICACOSTA: I have not spoken to him, not even for a minute since his return to - to Jamaica.
GRIFFIN: But that has not stopped the sheikh from preaching in homes around Jamaica, gathering followers and especially over the internet. Listen to this.
SHEIKH ABDULLAH AL-FAISAL, THE HATE CLERIC: My God is not Obama. My dean is Islam and our Sharia. It would rule America.
GRIFFIN: It is the sheikh in an internet forum at the end of July titled, "The Battle of Washington". He declares Sharia law would one day rule this country if Muslims make sacrifices.
AL-FAISAL: If we want that White House and we desire to conquer that White House, we need to be people who suffer hardship. I believe it is a matter of time when we will see the emir established within the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And Drew Griffin from CNN's Special Investigations Unit joins us live from New York with more on this "Cleric of Hate."
Drew, why is it that Jamaica seems to be popping up on this alert for possible terrorism threats?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, counterterrorism officials have been worried about the Caribbean for a long time, Jim. And the fact that this guy has finally now -- remember, he caused trouble in England where he was jailed, he went to Kenya where he started the riots there, or is alleged started the riots and was recruiting soldiers to go to Somalia to fight.
Now he's basically been deported, exiled back to his home country in Jamaica. The fear is that he could gather a following there and also inspire those here in the west who limited in number follow his preachings on the internet. You can get this guy live, seven days a week.
ACOSTA: And if he's isolated in Jamaica now, does that make him less of a threat, do you think?
GRIFFIN: You would think so. But it's the message. Remember, Osama bin Laden, wherever the heck he is, has been isolated in a cave for some 10 years or so. Anwar al-Awlaki is isolated somewhere in Yemen, but they still manage to get their message out.
While these guys aren't directly doing any kind of violence in it of themselves, it's believed they are the aspiring force behind a lot of the would-be terrorists who either take mare message directly, or take their message and misinterpret it to meant that they should perform some kind of attacks. That's the fear that counterterrorism officials have. And him being closer to the United States where anybody can basically go and basically visit him. It is a bit of a concern.
ACOSTA: Right. It's pretty incredible he would ask for $15,000 for an interview. It just shows you this guy may not be in touch with reality.
But Drew Griffin, thanks for that. Appreciate it.
GRIFFIN: Well, he certainly wasn't in touch with our reality here in CNN. We wouldn't basically buy him a lunch, let alone $15,000. But I think it did show his desperatism and he's being used by his handlers.
But the bottom line is this, Jim, he invited us down there to do a sit-down interview to tell us that he was a changed man. And it was the moment we touched down that we got word that I thought we were being shaken down by this guy.
ACOSTA: Amazing stuff. All right, Drew, thanks. Appreciate it.
A friendly program reminder. Be sure to watch Drew's special investigative report on "Bin Laden's New Jihadists," That is this Saturday, September 11, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
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ACOSTA: All right. Checking the top stories now.
The president kicks off Labor Day week with trips to Wisconsin and Ohio to stump for the economy. Less than two months before the midterm elections, Mr. Obama will lay out a plan that includes extending a tax cut that is popular with business.
The online classified service Craigslist has shut down its adult services section. Critics called it an easy way to access online prostitution. Seventeen Attorney Generals encouraged them Craigslist to stop the service saying it also encourages human trafficking and assaults on women.
And Hartz has issued a voluntary recall of its eight ounce bag of its Hartz Naturals real beef treats for dogs. FDA testing found they could be tainted with salmonella. So far, no reports of any pets getting sick.
Fifty-eight days until the midterm elections. The clock is ticking and the voters are ticked off. A new poll gives us an idea on what changes could be in store. And that is coming up.
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ACOSTA: All right. Time now for a CNN Equals Politics update. Fifty-eight days until the midterm elections. The stakes are high and anger is building. This morning we have a better sense of how voters feel. And our CNN political producer Peter Hamby is in Washington at our CNNPolitics.com desk.
Peter, we've got a poll that's crossing this morning, right?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Right. Brand new poll topping the political ticker today. The generic ballot, which basically asks voters in your district, would you rather vote for a Republican or Democrat in November? Republicans now have a seven- point advantage over Democrats. That is bad news for the party in power. That number has gone up three points since our last survey.
And, you know, there's good news in here for Republicans, but there could also be some good news for Democrats, because going back to last year, Democrats have the edge in special elections. So Democratic strategists here in D.C. --
ACOSTA: Right.
HAMBY: -- believe that local races do matter. So Democrats can have an edge if they localize these races.
ACOSTA: That's right. They've got to play the game to know who wins.
And on the economy, which is the big issue out there across the country, some surprising news for the Democrats, correct?
HAMBY: Yes, that's right. Voters still think that George W. Bush owns this economy.
ACOSTA: Wow.
HAMBY: By a significant margin. As you can see on the screen, when -- when you ask voters, you know, who is to blame, Bush and Republicans have a 53-point advantage.
Now, the numbers also say if you ask voters, do Republicans or Democrats, who is at fault there? It's a smaller margin for Republicans but when you throw George Bush's name in there, the number jump.
So expect to hear Republicans, President Obama out there on the stump this fall talking a lot about George W. Bush.
ACOSTA: Right and we are already hearing from Ed Henry over at the White House that the President may be unveiling some new stimulus- like proposals today. But another person in his cabinet, Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, she's going to the Middle East. That's also in our ticker?
HAMBY: That's right. Far, far, far away from the campaign trail. There's a primary here in many states on September 14th, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be going to Shalmalsheik (ph) in Egypt and Jerusalem for a second round of peace talks between the Palestinian authority and Israel.
ACOSTA: And yes far away from the Middle East -- we won't interpret that to mean Peter that far away from Iowa, New Hampshire, states like that, there's been a lot of talk lately about --
HAMBY: Yes.
ACOSTA: -- whether or not Hillary Clinton -- and it keeps coming -- the question keeps coming back up, it came up again, on -- on "Meet The Press" yesterday. But I want to get back to that poll because one of the interesting things that I saw at the very bottom of that poll that came out this morning, and because I'm doing a series on Tea Party candidates running for the -- for the Congress this year is that the negatives on -- on the Tea Party have actually gone up.
That they're actually more unfavorable than they were back in January; I think it went up from 26 percent to 40 percent. Does that mean that folks are getting more of a sense of who the Tea Party is?
HAMBY: It might be. I mean, perhaps that means that voters see more of the more extreme side of the Tea Party rhetoric. But listen, I mean, the core of the Tea Party is pushed back against government spending and you're seeing in this poll independent voters, those folks who are -- you know, may be sort of fed up with bigger government, they want lower taxes, those guys are starting to break toward the GOP.
ACOSTA: Right.
HAMBY: So, you know, it's a mixed bag with the Tea Party. It just depends what message voters are seeing coming out of there.
ACOSTA: And Republicans like the enthusiasm factor coming out of the Tea Party because those voters are fired up and they have been showing up in primary battle after primary battle, and they're -- they are going to show up this fall as well.
Peter Hamby with our CNN Political unit, does a great job, has tons of followers on Twitter. Everybody knows who Peter Hamby is.
Thanks -- thanks for joining us this morning, Peter. I appreciate that, thanks for breaking it down.
HAMBY: Great, thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: All right. And we'll be right back in just a few moments.
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ACOSTA: All right. Let's go cross-country. The people in Bell, California ran off their city manager and police chief. Now they are taking another step toward taking their town back. They are going door to door collecting signatures on a petition to recall the city council.
Remember Bell is the small L.A. county town where the median income is about $40,000 but its city manager you may remember was making nearly $800,000, the police chief nearly $500,000. They resigned after a loud protest and now citizens say the council's got to go, too. Some members were making about $100,000 for their part- time work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRISTINA GARCIA, BELL ASSOCIATION TO STOP THE ABUSE: It's not an expense. It's an investment in our community and in our future. So I think if we see it that way when it's well worth us doing it and better governance I think is priceless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to step up to the city like we're not going to take it. We have to do something about it. Because if we don't do anything about it, nobody's going to, like, do something for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: The Bell city council members took a drastic pay cut but refused to step down triggering -- triggering the recall movement. And we'll have more on this story coming up in our next hour.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, meet the Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi. His city also faces a financial meltdown so he voluntarily cut his own salary from $115,000 to just $27,000. He talked about it earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING" just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Is it going to change the way that you live?
A.J. HOLLOWAY, MAYOR, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: No it will not change the way I live. I don't live extravagant anyway. I'm pretty conservative guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And I remember Mayor Holloway after Katrina. He does earn his money. The mayor says he will make up the vast difference in his salary by dipping into his retirement money.
Now, let's take a look at what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We begin with Stephanie Elam live in New York. Hi, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Jim, yes on this Labor Day, we examine the state of your job. And unfortunately, studies show the middle class is shrinking. We'll look at this new job market next hour.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are kicking off the official beginning of the campaign season as we mark the unofficial end of summer.
We're here in Pennsylvania with the Election Express. Strange things happening here, they've been able to stay below the national unemployment rate but their unemployment rate is going up. We'll explain.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And hurricane Earl is long gone but now we've got tropical storm Hermine. Where is it headed? Who can expect it to make land fall nice? We'll let you know coming up in a few moments. The tropics are very active. We'll talk to you in a little bit.
ACOSTA: Say it isn't so, Reynolds. Thanks guys.
Also ahead: a plan for peace and quiet by turning up the volume?
All right, you may not be able to pick up on it. Those noisy beeps are for young loiterers. Is it another kind profiling? We will be right back to explain in just a few moments.
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ACOSTA: As you know, CNN's been reporting on innovative ways Americans are trying to fix our schools.
Let's travel outside the U.S. for a minute to see what's happening in Japan. It's a public school that is working out there. But it's run like a company. With the principal who is like a CEO and students who are like employees complete with 13-hour workdays. I can just hear the kid complaining already here in the United States.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The school day begins at Wada Junior High with drills, math drills, as fast as these kids can do them. The theory here, train the brain with drills. Much in the same way puzzles may prevent dementia among the elderly.
Principal Akihisa Shirota believes it so much he joins his students. School curriculum is the basics, plus lessons from real world business and community leaders to show kids where the basics will take them. Revolutionary, for a Japanese school system known for rigidity and formality.
But Shirota is not your average principal. He's not even a trained educator. He's a businessman who started and then ran publishing at high-tech companies. His lack of experience in the setting is what led the school to recruit him.
"Principals are people who became teachers right after graduating from college," says Shirota. "That limits any outside the box thinking," he explains.
He runs his school more like a corporation. Students, his workers, and he keeps track of them.
As you know, all the names of all the students.
AKIHISA SHIROTA, PRINCIPAL, WADA JUNIOR HIGH, JAPAN: Not only name but also in the testing scores.
LAH: You know their test scores and their names?
SHIROTA: Yes.
LAH: Every single one?
SHIROTA: All of them.
LAH: "He's different," said this student. "More like a friend sometimes but still the boss."
In the three years since Shirota has been principal, the school claims higher test scores. The result, he believes, of a number of innovations. It's 6:40 in the evening and students are still here at Wada Junior High School; the reason why -- night school is about to begin. This is an unusual move by this public school to try to boost its test scores.
It's where I meet 15-year-old Koya Nakamura.
"We start at 7:00 p.m., Nakamura explains. He's been in school since 8:00 in the morning and leaves at 9:30 at night. Critics call this too tough for a public school, but Shirota says the old must give way to new thinking and other educators in the country are taking note.
The bottom line, says this former businessman if Japan's corporations must adapt and compete in a global economy it only makes sense that, so too, must Japan's schools.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
