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Quran Burning Planned on 9/11; Trying to Pump Up the Economy; Talking Unemployment in Ohio; Meet Indo-Pak at the U.S. Open; GOP Jewish Group Targets Hagel; Muslims Tone Down Holiday

Aired September 07, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 at CNN headquarters, the big stories for Tuesday, September 7th.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says a Florida pastor is putting U.S. troops at risk. His church is planning to burn the Quran this Saturday. You know that day. That's the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Meantime, some American Muslims pretty anxious about their safety. The end of Ramadan coincides with 9/11 this year, pushing fear into whole new levels for those different communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBOO PATEL, INTERFAITH YOUTH CORE: Frankly, I have not felt this fearful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And a pair of tennis players raising a racket at the U.S. Open quarter finals today and asking, why can't neighbors get along?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AISAM-UL-HAQ QURESHI, PAKISTANI TENNIS PLAYER: Me, as a Pakistani, him being an Indian can do so well on the court and be friends off the court. There is no other reason why those Pakistanis and Indians can't be friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And good morning, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Tony Harris has the day off.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We want to begin though with this dire warning about a pastor's plan to burn the Quran. Have you followed this story out of Florida?

Now, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan says this plan by this Florida church would essentially put the lives of U.S. troops completely in danger. And if you haven't heard from this pastor, here's just a snippet.

This morning on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," Pastor Terry Jones said he is weighing the concerns from General David Petraeus, concerns about our troops, but right now he told our own Kiran Chetry he still plans to go through with the burning this Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH CENTER: We first declared September the 11th "International Burn a Quran Day" actually for two reasons. Number one, we wanted to remember those who were brutally murdered on September the 11th, and actually wanted to send a very clear message to the radical element of Islam. We wanted to send a very clear message to them that we are not interested in their Sharia law, we do not tolerate their threats, their fear, their radicalness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, he says he's sending a message. How's that message being received?

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joining me now.

And Barbara, we're talking Florida, all the way to Afghanistan and beyond. This event is already raising concerns and it hasn't even happened yet.

Talk to me specifically about General Petraeus' concerns and how this could affect our own troops.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, why is General Petraeus, Brooke, even getting involved in this? This is a very small church in Florida, by all accounts, somewhat of a fringe element, does not represent the mainstream Evangelical or Christian movement. And they say they are going to burning Qurans.

Why does General Petraeus even care about this happening so far away? Look at this video.

These were the riots in Kabul yesterday as people learned about this. This is a world of viral communications, and the people in Kabul have heard about it and have taken to the streets. This is General Petraeus' concern, because if there is unrest in Afghanistan, if there is unrest in the Islamic world as a result of this, or as a result of the Internet or the blogs talking about it, he has to cope with it.

General Petraeus issued a very unusual but strongly-worded statement about all of this, saying in part -- and I am quoting him -- "I am very concerned about the potential repercussions of the possible Quran burning. Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday. Were the actual burning to take place, the safety our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and the accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult." So right from the top there you see the level of concern that even the prospect of this, even the discussion of this is having. And here at the Pentagon, I think it's fair to say nobody in an official capacity really knows how to react to all of this.

Just a few minutes ago, the Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Dave Lapan, told reporters here, "The Pentagon doesn't necessarily have a position on it." The Pentagon doesn't have a position on Quran burning. It really just reflects the unsettled feeling about what may happen here, about the level of concern about these viral communications.

This is spreading across the blogs, it's spreading across the Internet. It may already be sparking the kind of demonstrations we saw in Kabul even before it happens, if it does happen -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I mean, I think, Barbara, it's worth going back a couple of years to 2005, and as we're all perhaps trying to ask the question, why would Petraeus even jump into this since this pastor is fringe, perhaps what happened in 2005, right -- there was that "Newsweek" paragraph about that interrogator at Guantanamo Bay who was said to flush a Quran down a toilet, and that sparked deadly riots.

STARR: Right. I mean, that's exactly right, Brooke.

The military has been down this road before. In 2005, rioting broke out in Afghanistan after "Newsweek" published a very short paragraph alleging that interrogators at Guantanamo had desecrated the Quran. Now, "Newsweek" later retracted all of that, but rioting broke out, people were killed, people were injured, and it certainly was problematic, to say the least, for U.S. troops.

Even General Petraeus has raised the issue of the Abu Ghraib mistreatment of Iraqi detainees back in Iraq. You know, it's these things that come to the fore that cause so much concern -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: A lot of concern. Barbara Starr, thank you.

A lot of you are concerned. And you perhaps are asking, is this really going to happen? And the answer is, as of now, yes, the Quran burning demonstration is still on for this Saturday. But the pastor says the church is going to pray for guidance. That's what he told our own Kiran Chetry this morning.

Here's a little bit more of their conversation from "AMERICAN MORNING." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: You don't really care if you are offending Muslims by burning the Quran, right? That doesn't bother you, if they're offended?

JONES: We realize that we are definitely offending them, yes.

CHETRY: OK. So I want to ask you this -- does it bother you though --

JONES: But we actually think that Muslims should --

CHETRY: I just want to ask you about this. Does it bother you that the military and the military leaders believe that by doing this, you are very likely putting the lives of U.S. soldiers at risk in Muslim countries? David Petraeus, the general, this is what he said: "Their actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of young men and women who are serving in uniform over here, and also undermine the very mission that they're trying to accomplish."

Are you willing to have the blood of soldiers on your hands by this demonstration?

JONES: Yes, we are actually very, very concerned, of course. And we are taking the general's words very serious. We are continuing to pray about the action on September the 11th. We are indeed very concerned about it.

It's just that we don't know -- I mean, how long do we back down? When do we stop backing down?

CHETRY: So you're saying that you might well not go through with this? You're saying that you're praying about it, you may not burn the Quran on September 11th?

JONES: I'm saying that we are definitely praying about it. We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time we are definitely praying about it.

But like I said, how long -- I mean, when does America stand for truth? I mean, instead of us being blamed for what other people will do or might do, why don't we send a warning to them? Why don't we send a warning to radical Islam and say, look, don't do it. If you attack us, we will attack you.

CHETRY: Well, I'm not questioning your intelligence, but I am wondering if you've thought through the consequences of doing this, of what may happen and whether or not you will end up doing far more harm than good?

JONES: We are definitely doing that. We are definitely weighing the situation. We are weighing the thing that we are about to do, what it possibly could cause, what is our actual message, what are we trying to get across? How important is that to us right now?

That is very, very important, that America wakes up. It's very important that our president wakes up. It's very important that we see the real danger of radical Islam.

CHETRY: All right.

JONES: And that's what we're talking about. Actually, everyone should be in agreement with us.

CHETRY: We have to go. JONES: There should be no disagreement there. We are not against Muslims. We're not against a mosque. We are against the radical element of Islam. Even moderate Muslims should be on our side.

CHETRY: No moderate Muslim is going to be on your side when you are burning their holy book. I mean, that just sounds silly.

JONES: Of course, it's not silly. You can separate yourself from that.

CHETRY: You're burning their holy book. They're supposed to be on your side? I don't get that part.

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: You can say we are not for the burning of the book, but we are for what this man is saying. What he is doing, we're not for that. We don't believe in burning our holy book or burning the Quran. But what he is saying, we are actually for that.

CHETRY: Just reasoning this through, don't you think you could possibly reach out to more people by not burning the Quran on September 11th?

JONES: We are against radical Islam. Excuse me?

CHETRY: I said don't you think you could possibly do more good about bringing attention to your concerns over radical Islam by not burning the Koran on September 11th, by saying, you know what, we're going to take the higher road here, we're not going to do this?

JONES: At this time, no. I believe that we are dealing with an element that you cannot talk to. We are dealing with an element that must be shown a certain amount of force, a certain amount of determination, and putting a stop to it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Now, keep in mind, all of this happening as more than one billion Muslims all around the world are marking the end of Ramadan this weekend. That's the end of their long month of fasting, but it's also the anniversary of the worst terror attack on U.S. soil, and some Muslims are worrying that this all-out celebration during this symbolic weekend might come across the wrong way.

We're going to get a report on that from Mary Snow a little later this morning.

Meantime, President Obama has a relief plan for some small businesses out there, how your company could possibly get some new tax breaks.

And you heard about Hermine. Rob Marciano has -- he's talking about some more rain in Texas.

Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, rain. Good morning, Brooke.

And some threat for tornadoes. We've had a couple tornado warnings.

We'll run those down and who's going to get the rain from Hermine when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. So most of the economic news lately has been, dare we say, discouraging. So which party would do a better job handling the economy?

Take a look at this poll here. This is a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. And 46 percent of you say Republicans -- Republicans would do a better job, ,43 percent say Democrats would. The sampling error is plus or minus 3 percent.

Now, President Obama is trying to reassure you that he and the Democrats are working very hard to jump-start the economy.

Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins me with the details on the president's latest proposal.

Ed, let's talk specifically about how much money the president is proposing and what sort of incentives he's offering these businesses.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, good afternoon to you. It's interesting. It's a whole flurry of proposals, really, just in the last 48 hours. Three different pieces to it.

First we heard about a $100 billion tax cut for businesses over the weekend. Then yesterday, the president talked about $50 billion for infrastructure spending.

The new details we have today is that the president, tomorrow in Cleveland, will announce a $200 billion tax cut named at small businesses, basically allowing them to write off 100 percent of any new plants they build, new equipment they purchase, all aimed at trying to spark the economy. It's interesting, because the way the White House is trying to frame this, they insist this is not a second stimulus plan, but if you add up everything I just noted, that's at least $350 billion, and he could unveil more tomorrow.

And so, regardless of whether you call it a stimulus or not, it's a big package at a time when Republicans, some Independent voters, even some conservative Democrats are saying that Washington is spending too much money. The president, though, is making clear he wants this to get the economy going, and he was pretty feisty yesterday in Milwaukee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no silver bullet, there's no quick fix to these problems. I knew when I was running for office, and I certainly knew by the time I was sworn in -- I knew it would take time to reverse the damage of a decade worth of policies that saw too few people being able to climb into the middle class, too many people falling behind.

(APPLAUSE)

We all knew this. We all knew that it would take more time than any of us want to dig ourselves out of this hole created by this economic crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So, a full-throated pitch from the president there yesterday in Milwaukee. He'll do the same tomorrow in Cleveland. But a little reality check.

It's unclear whether or not Congress is really going to have time between now and the November midterm elections to even deal with this, debate it out, and maybe pass it. So this could end up just being a lot of rhetoric on the eve of the election -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right. And then let's also, Ed, throw in the Bush-era tax cuts. Right?

I mean, if you pick up "The New York Times" today, you have the op-ed from former budget director Peter Orszag making his thoughts known. And it seemed to me the crux of it -- he writes in the face of the dueling deficits being jobs deficit and budget deficit, the best approach is this compromise, extend the tax cuts for two years, and then end them all together.

But, Ed, what are you hearing from the administration? I mean, might this change the president's tune, or not so much?

HENRY: No. I mean, what I'm hearing immediately from the White House is that they don't think this is going to affect the president's thinking. You're right, the important context is, Peter Orszag, the former budget director here at the White House, he's now writing a column for "The New York Times." He's saying make this compromise here. They are not ready to do that yet -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Not yet.

Ed Henry, senior White House correspondent.

Good to see you. Thank you, Ed.

HENRY: You too.

BALDWIN: We'll see you next hour.

Meantime, on the road with CNN Election Express, the best political team on TV, stopping through Ohio. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Before we talk politics, I want you take a look at some of these pictures that CNN is just getting.

This is a story happening out of Pakistan. We don't know a whole bunch, but here is what I can tell you.

There's been this massive blast that shook police headquarters in Pakistan. I'm talking about northwestern Pakistan in the town of Kohat.

This happened today. We understand a number of people were killed, according to police. We are digging, we're picking up the phone. As soon as we get information as to when, specifically, what might have caused this blast, any information in terms of injuries, we will bring it to you here at CNN.

But let's talk unemployment, and specifically in Ohio. If you check the numbers, it's running at about 10.3 percent in the battleground state of Ohio, which, by the way, is well above the national rate.

The CNN Election Express parked today in Columbus with the best political team on TV. And CNN's T.J. Holmes got to hop a ride on the bus. He joins me there live.

And T.J., I heard you made some time to eat a little breakfast and talk politics, perhaps, this morning with people in Ohio.

Good morning. How was your breakfast? And what are people saying?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know what? I'll give you two guesses, Brooke, what people are saying here, but you will only need one.

They're talking about the economy, of course. The president's about to make his tenth trip to this state as president. He might want to look into buying a place here, he's been here so often. But there's a good reason he's coming here so often.

You can call it whatever. You've heard the names -- a bellwether state, a battleground state. This is a state that has voted for the winner in the presidential election the past 12 elections, so this place means a lot. It's a place that still has 10.3 percent unemployment.

But you talked about breakfast this morning. No shortage of politics. Take a listen to these two gentleman. I sat down with one of them who hasn't voted in his 50 years because he says, what's the point?

Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MILTON, DEMOCRATIC VOTER: This campaigning seven days a week, you know, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and never stopping, eternal campaign, they can't get anything done in Washington because everybody's worried about who is up and who is down instead of doing their job.

HOLMES: What worries you most in this country right now?

CHARLES SCALL, HAS NEVER VOTED: That the Republicans get back in power. That worries me more than anything.

HOLMES: Some would say there should be some kind of check on the president, you shouldn't have a Democratic super majority and you shouldn't have a Democratic White House, there should be some kind of check.

MILTON: We've already tried -- things are so fouled up.

SCALL: I don't get it anyway, Democrat, Republican, Independent. I don't get it at all. The government ought to be a government. It ought to be a government for the people.

MILTON: I don't understand the people in Kentucky electing a guy like Mitch McConnell. This guy is against everything except tax breaks for his rich friends.

HOLMES: But you guys just have a disagreement. You have a difference of opinion, right? Some people might be thinking --

MILTON: Well, there's a difference in what I believe. What I believe is right and what he believes is wrong. You can't cater to two percent of the population and think you're going to get anywhere.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Well, if everybody has that attitude, then we're not getting anywhere. If you're just telling him he's wrong, that you're not willing to listen to him, and you guys can't sit down at the table, then that's part of the problem..

MILTON: That's the problem. I've listened to him. The man gives me a headache. I mean, he's so far off track, it's ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, you hear him there talking a bit and making light of it in some ways. And we were laughing and smiling, but really kind of -- the attitude that gentleman took, who clearly is a Democrat, clearly a liberal, he doesn't mind saying so, is that we are not sitting down and talking to each other.

They complained about that type of attitude they have in Washington. You can't just tell the other side they're wrong. You might not like their ideas, you might not like their opinions, but sit down and come to an agreement.

That's not happening. That man wasn't willing to give much in his opinions there either, Brooke, but maybe his attitude would be different if we were sitting down over a beer versus having breakfast.

But we're hearing a lot of those attitudes. The president, like I said, on the way back. This is a place to where he came to first, where I am, in Columbus, Ohio, the first stop after his passed his stimulus bill to come here and sell it to the people, tell it how it was going to help. And literally months after he came here to tout that stimulus bill, the unemployment rate went up almost two percentage points.

So they have seen it and hear it all before, but some willing to give the president another chance -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now it is, what, I think the ninth worst in the nation? You can hear the frustration on whatever side of the aisle you're talking to.

T.J. Holmes for us in Columbus.

T.J., thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: Also, talking politics again, a Democrat who held out against the president's health care -- in fact, one of the very final holdouts -- now under attack, could lose his job. Who is he? What's going on?

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A vote for health care reform is coming back to haunt more than one Democratic incumbent this campaign season. Such is the case in Ohio's 16th congressional district. Now, the CNN Election Express parked today, as you know, in Columbus, Ohio, with the Best Political Team on TV.

On board that bus is senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash, who's joining me live to talk specifically about this one congressional race here. I know you get to follow these candidates, Dana, to the Stark County Fair where you have pecan pies and politicians all about.

Dana, I want to first start with this incumbent in this particular race. This is the Democratic incumbent John Boccerri, who was one of the last holdouts, right, on that health care bill?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was one of the last holdouts on health care, and not just that, I'm calling it the tough vote trifecta in his first two years in Congress. Not only health care but cap and trade and on the president's stimulus package, all of which have been very controversial in his very controversial district.

It is east of where we are. We did visit him. It is one of those districts that in any other year besides 2008, perhaps he wouldn't have won because a Republican held that seat for nearly 60 years before him. John McCain won that district, and he is fighting to keep his seat right now.

It's very interesting, Brooke, with regard to all of those votes, he's not running from them. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOCCIERE (D), OHIO: I've campaigned on reforming our health care system. I've campaigned on finding a national energy policy that creates jobs here that can't be outsourced. I've campaigned on a way of getting our economy jump-started and working for the people of our congressional district. So, you know, those are my ideas. At the end of the day the people vote for me to be their Congressman, not some Congresswoman in California or the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, not some Congresswoman in California or the president. Go ahead, I'm sorry.

BALDWIN: I was going to bring in the fact that he is your incumbent, as you mention, he's the Democratic incumbent in this right-leading district. But he's not being challenged by Jim Renacci, this entrepreneur, self-made millionaire who perhaps is running on the idea of capitalizing on the fact that a lot of Ohioans aren't happy.

BASH: Absolutely.

That is his first, second, third, and fourth argument about why he should be in office and not the Democratic incumbent because of the very, very bad situation. It was already bad here in Ohio, and especially in that district and over the past year, for example, unemployment has doubled in that district in eastern Ohio.

But, you know, it's very interesting. Still, he is using the play book that we hear nationally from Republicans. He is talking about the fact that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker and the president don't represent that conservative district. That's why you heard the incumbent Democrat saying he's the one who's taking the votes, not some Congresswoman from California.

But what we wanted to ask the challenger Jim Renacci, is, well, OK, you want to be a congressman. What would you do different, specifically on the issue of spending, that's another thing he is campaigning on big time, deficit spending in Washington.

So where would he cut? That's what we asked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM RENACCI (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Congressman Pence has an idea of a statutory cap. I like that idea. You have to live within your means. We don't do that right now. Once you live within your mines and then you start looking for places to cut. There are tremendous amounts of places to cut. I chuckle about some of the things we do. We spend millions of dollars on signs promoting that we're putting dollars back into the economy. How about not putting up the signs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That's right. You heard that right. One of the ways he would cut is by taking down Joe Biden's signs. You've seen them, Brooke, we've seen them all over the country saying that this particular site, if it's a construction site is a stimulus project. He said, why do we need that? That's one place to cut with regard to federal spending.

But this race really is fascinating because, as people who have been watching us all morning and have been paying attention to this incredible political year, know Ohio is very, very important and the House of Representatives, whether or not it will go Republican or not, that particular race could help determine whether or not that would happen.

BALDWIN: Game time in Ohio.

Dana Bash for us there in Columbus. Dana, thank you.

Next, the U.S. Open. Let's talk tennis. U.S. Open's odd couple, unlikely teammates with a message of peace. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Taking a look at your top stories. We've been talking about this massive fire burning in Colorado. Fire departments there have their hands full in battling this thing, a wildfire that's burning through the rugged mountains. This is west of Boulder. 3,000 people we're hearing have already cleared the area and at least four homes and burned. Several more are threatened. Boulder County Sheriff's Office described the situation just a couple minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK BROUGH, BOULDER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: They're going to implement structure and point protection. Basically what they're trying to protect residences that we have that are being threatened at this point. And they're going to try to contain the fire to the following areas, south of Leftland Canyon, north of Boulder Creek or Boulder Canyon, east of Mount Alto and west of Poorman, Sunshine, Pine Brook Hills and Lee Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Also, in an interview, Joran van der Sloot admits he tried to extort money from Natalee Holloway's family. But now his attorney calls it a possible, "mistranslation." Aruban police arrested him twice in connection with Holloway's disappearance but never actually charged him.

The communications chief for the British Prime Minister could get a visit from the Metropolitan Police. Andy Coulson, he is at the center of this investigation of into a phone hacking scandal involving the Royal Family. The scandal is tied to a tabloid Coulson worked for before he joined the Prime Minister's staff.

Team USA knew who they were up against for golf's Ryder Cup. It was their own completed roster they were unsure about and whether a certain Tiger Woods would make the cut. He did, indeed. Team captain Corey Pavin named Tiger to the team an hour ago with the New York Stock Exchange. Now that the team is officially complete, the players begin preparing to face Team Europe in Wales in October.

A beautiful morning in New York City. Look at that. Central Park, I'll be there today. A good day for golf or tennis. 10 miles away, though, in the borough of Queens, the U.S. Open tennis tournament is in full swing. Two players in today's quarterfinals are raising a quite racket for peace. Call it doubles diplomacy.

CNN's Richard Roth tells the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are called the Indo-Pak express. Unlike the rocky relationship between the two neighboring nations, this Indian and Pakistan pair avoids conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AISAM-UL-HAQ QURESHI, PAKISTANI TENNIS PLAYER: Me, as a Pakistani, him being an Indian can do so well on the court and be friends off the court. There is no reason why Pakistanis and Indians can't be friends.

ROTH: They reached their highest seated ranking 16th at the U.S. Open. The Asian doubles team reached the finals in the run-up Pilot Pen tournament in Connecticut. This unique pair of a Muslim and Hindu care about their backhands but also brotherhood.

(on camera): So You think sports could possibly make a difference here?

QURESHI: Definitely. I think any sport, you can send a very positive message of all kinds of things. Nelson Mandela did it in his time. And Arthur Ashe also.

ROTH (voice-over): They may their message public at Wimbledon. Jackets proclaiming, stop war, start tennis.

SHAYAMAL VALLABHJEE, STRENGTH AND MENTAL COACH: Hopefully it hopes doors and minds, and people listen. ROTH (on camera): Of course, if you win the U.S. Open, there will be a full peace agreement on all fronts between Pakistan and India, cashmere (ph) will be -- ?

(LAUGHTER)

ROHAN BOPANNA, INDIAN TENNIS PLAYER: I don't know about that. There's a lot more deep stuff going on about that.

ROTH (voice-over): Their matches around the world attract plenty of Indians and Pakistanis who root for the team.

QURESHI: It was great to see all of the Indian supporters, most of them wearing Pakistani flags on their faces, holding Pakistani flags and cheering for the same team. That's a moment I will never, ever forget in my life, having so many Indians supporting us.

FAZAL SYED, FORMER DAVIS CUP PLAYER: It's great that two people from across the border are doing something great for sports and for their individual countries. It brings people together and that's what's more important.

ROTH: Speaking of borders, the players want to stage an exhibition match at the only foot-crossing border of the countries.

Now Pakistan, especially is reeling.

QURESHI: We've been dealing with the terrorist attacks, now flooding. We recently had the cricket issue, also. And me winning more and more matches with him and him helping me out sends some good news back home from Pakistan.

ROTH: Born just 13 days apart, they first met as friends and now it's a partnership.

BOPANNA: I think it's the fact that we really practice well together and work as a team together.

QURESHI: We complement each other. Our trainer calls us, the nukes (ph) are on the loose, you know, because both of nuclear powers.

ROTH: Do they agree on everything?

QURESHI: He likes the spicy food. I can't take spicy food at all.

BOPANNA: That's a huge difference there.

AJ SINGH, TENNIS FAN: It's excellent for the game and two countries that tennis players can come together, I think other people can come together, also.

ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: The nukes are on the loose. Good luck to them.

Also, I wanted to tell you this, Ramadan is over this Saturday. Saturday is also 9/11. And on that day, Muslim worshipers are marking it very differently. We'll explain. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time now for your CNN=Politics update. Senior political editor Mark Preston is part of, of course, our "Best Political Team on TV" and he joins me from Washington.

Hello, Mark Preston. Good to see you.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Brooke. Hello, welcome to the beginning of the fall campaign season.

BALDWIN: I know, and I know this is totally in your wheel house and I know you are ready to talk specifically first about DNC Chair Tim Kaine, right? He's getting out tomorrow to talk to voters, to get Democrats, obviously, specifically, out to the polls. But he's appealing to one very specific group of voters to tell them, hang on a second, this economy, this is not Democrats' fault, this is Mr. Bush?

PRESTON: Yes, absolutely right. Look, we saw the president, yesterday in Wisconsin, deliver what appeared to be a very strong campaign speech. Tim Kaine, the head of the Democratic National Committee will be in Philadelphia, tomorrow, Brooke, a battleground state certainly in the midterm elections and definitely 2012 when President Obama will be on the ticket.

But, look, what we'll hear from Tim Kaine tomorrow, and I've been told just in the last hour, Brook, that he will hit two main points, Brooke. The first point is going to be, look, this economic problem is the Republicans' fault. They are the ones who put us there, and he's going to really try to emphasize that and emphasize that it was Democrats that are trying to find the solutions.

In addition to that, Brooke, he's really going to make an appeal to the Obama voters, those folks who came out for the first time in 2008. He's going to try to convince them to come out again. Look, there were a lot of Democrats, Brooke, in 2008, who won, a lot congressional Democrats who won because of the coattails of President Obama.

BALDWIN: So that is Tim Kaine's message for tomorrow, but what about the message -- what are we to make of the Republican/Jewish Coalition now taking aim at former Senator Chuck Hagel -- what, he's been out of office like two years. Why are they coming after him?

PRESTON: Again, you see the Republican-on-Republican fight, and we've seen this just happen again in the last couple of hours. The Republican Jewish Coalition is coming out -- we have a story, actually, Brooke, right here. Let me take you to our website, CNN.com/politics, the political ticker, "The Republican Jewish Coalition Takes Aim at Hagel." They are very critical, Brooke, of Chuck Hagel for this reason and this reason alone. They say that he is not pro-Israel enough. However, there is this little underlying thing, Brooke, the fact is Chuck Hagel has endorsed the Democrat in the Pennsylvania Senate race, Joe Sestak. And we should point out that both Chuck Hagel and Joe Sestak they both are war veterans.

BALDWIN: What about -- I was talking to Dana Bash about a pretty interesting congressional race in Ohio, but let's talk Nevada. There is a race in Nevada that a lot of people are watching, and a lot of people are watching it because big money is being spent there.

How much are we talking?

PRESTON: Big money, lots of money being spent out there. And because it's the Tea Party is involved out there, and we're talking about Republicans trying to knock of the Senate majority leader.

Brooke, since the Republican Primary in June, more than $7.5 million has been spent on TV ads in Nevada, if you can imagine that, just in the few short months there. And look, Evan Tracy, our friend over at Campaign Media Analysis Group, says $7.5 million, expect another $7.5 million, Brooke, to be spent in the closing days of this election.

And who are they going after, Brooke? Well, my friend out in Las Vegas, John Rolston, he's the guru of Nevada politics, tells me that they're going after between 5 percent and 8 percent of the electorate. So they're spending all this money to try to convince 5 percent or 8 percent of people in this state. Amazing.

BALDWIN: Whew! A lot of money, Mark Preston. Keep your eye on all the races for us, as I know you will.

And I'm glad you did the show and tell, but I just want to remind our viewers, look, you can always get the best and latest political news as it's coming in thanks to Mark and Paul and I see Steve back there. You know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Six minutes till the top of the hour, two stories we're working on for you next hour.

In a jailhouse interview, that young Dutchman accused of murdering the student in Peru, Joran van der Sloot, says he is remorseful but denies any connection to the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway.

Also, you will not want to miss this, this bittersweet reunion for a nurse in the Bronx who had not seen her father in 41 years. How a remarkable twist of fate brought them together.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Coming up in just a couple minutes, we could be finding out some more details as to where things stand at New York's Ground Zero building site, you know the whole memorial. A lot of people are going to be there -- New York Governor Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, developer Larry Silverstein.

What they're doing, noon Eastern, they're holding this news conference to talk about the progress or some may argue lack of progress in rebuilding at the World Trade Center location. We're going to watch that on one of our monitors for you, and as soon as something happens newsworthy, we'll turn it around, we'll bring it to you here at CNN.

Also keep in mind that whole controversy over plans for the Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of Ground Zero. It's causing some Muslims in New York City to tone down celebrations marking the end of the Ramadan holiday. The holiday, by the way, falls on the exact same weekend, in fact, the same day as the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Here with that is CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Afternoon prayers at the Islamic center of Long Island. As Ramadan draws to a close later this week, these worshipers are being advised to tone down what's usually a celebratory occasion.

SAJID SHAH, PRESIDENT, ISLAMIC CENTER OF LONG ISLAND: After 30 days of fasting, you know, this is the month that ended our celebration.

SNOW (on camera): How will it be different this year?

SHAH: This year, will be a little different. You know, we are not celebrating the way we suppose to do, normally would do.

SNOW: Because?

SHAH: Because of 9/11.

SNOW (voice-over): The end of Ramadan or Eid, depending on the moon Thursday night, falls on either Friday or Saturday, which is September 11th. But many Muslim have decided to mark it on Friday.

Imam Al-Amin Abdul Latif is the head of the Islamic Leadership Council in New York, an umbrella group of Muslim organizations.

IMAM AL-AMIN ABDUL LATIF, MAJLIS ASH-SHURA: I guess people may think -- look at Eid as a protest, you know, against -- against people who may be celebrating.

SNOW: One Muslim who, for example, celebrates Eid at Six Flags parks. This year, organizers have been careful not to schedule their events for September 11th. It comes against the backdrop over anger about the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero and protests at other mosques around the country. Muslims are trying to send out their own message like this public service announcement created through grassroots efforts.

(VIDEO CLIP, MYFAITHMYVOICE.COM)

SNOW: One Muslim leader who works with an interfaith youth group in Chicago says he feels the attitude towards Muslims this year is unlike any other.

EBOO PATEL, INTERFAITH YOUTH CORE: Frankly, I have not felt this fearful.

A mother came up to me at my Muslim house of worship earlier this week and said to me, Eboo, when will my 8 and 10-year-old sons stop being bullied on the playground because of their names, Ahmed (ph) and Akbar (ph)? And what I said to her is, very soon, very soon, because the forces of inclusion in America have always defeated the forces of intolerance, and they will defeat the forces of intolerance again.

SNOW: This 9/11, this mosque in Westbury, New York, will dedicate a peace garden with other clergy, but it is also asked local police for protection following suspicious incident of broken windows at the mosque.

Imam Latif says his group has also decided not to hold a counter- protest Saturday supporting the Islamic center near Ground Zero after the families of 9/11 victims requested they not hold the rally.

LATIF: We've been encouraging our people to be calm, to be patient, but be firm and be strong and to reach out, you know.

SNOW: And this Islamic center for one is opening its doors to open houses with the aim of promoting understanding.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York

(END VIDEOTAPE)