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Condemnation of Koran Burning Grows; Reaction from Egypt on Koran Burning; Tropical Storm Igor Expected to Become Hurricane and May Threaten US. Last Week's Jobless Claims Dropped Significantly; Anger in LA Over Police Shooting of Day Laborer Could Spark Riots; President Calls Plans to Burn Koran "Recruitment Bonanza for al Qaeda"; Woman Regrows Pinkie Tip Lost in Slammed Door

Aired September 09, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Well, we've got some fascinating pictures and stories for you this hour, including an unwelcomed visitor to Dallas. Imagine looking out your window and seeing that.

And imagine this. A pinkie fingertip that got cut off then grew back. Like a lizard's tail. The woman attached to this hand says that's exactly what happened.

And a show that's like "Punk'd." Baghdad style. Using death and fear for some cheap laughs. It could be one of the most insensitive TV shows ever.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, I'm just going to say what so many of us are thinking. This small-time Florida pastor who is still planning to mark the anniversary of 9/11 with a Koran burning is just beyond explanation. His attitude beyond explanation.

However, the subject matter is not. Burning the Koran is not only the ultimate sign of disrespect to the Muslim community in a time like this when we're involved in two wars, trying to build peace with the Middle East, it's just plain wrong.

Now the president is weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda. You know, you could have serious violence in places like Pakistan. Or Afghanistan.

This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And he's not the only one. General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, believes the book burning could endanger U.S. troops, saying it will inflame public opinion and incite violence.

The Vatican calls the plan an outrageous and grave gesture, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls it a disgraceful plan.

Still, Pastor Terry Jones says he and members of his Dove World Outreach Center are not convinced that they should back off from burning Islam's holiest book at the end of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.

Our John Zarrella has been following this story for us and joins us by phone from Gainesville.

And, John, I really want to put in perspective that this Terry Jones pastor is no Billy Graham. And even the mayor who he used to have a lot of time with admits that he's an embarrassment to the community.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Kyra. And, you know, in fact, when we went over to this prayer service yesterday, this interfaith prayer service in downtown Gainesville where about 300 people gathered to talk about unity and tolerance and peace.

People from all faiths, some 20 ministers prefaced it by saying that when I asked the ministers, I said -- so have any of you reached out to Terry Jones? Was he invited to this? No, he wasn't invited. No, we haven't reached out.

They themselves have distanced themselves as far away as they can from Jones. And when I asked the mayor, I said, well, Mayor, have you reached out? Have you tried to talk some sense into him? And the mayor said, well, I'm not the right person to do that.

And I said why. He said well, during the run-up to the election, the mayor is openly gay, and Terry Jones had come out -- Pastor Jones had come out, the mayor said, and really gone after the candidate now mayor along those lines.

And so there is a lot of bad blood there. And quite frankly, they just that Terry Jones, if anyone, is the fringe person in all of this.

PHILLIPS: And not only that, the fact that it's a fringe group. But his congregation is not even that big. Right? There's only 30 something members?

ZARRELLA: Yes. That's exactly right. In fact, when I talked to Jones the other day I said to him, I said, well now, how many members? I understand you lost some members. Maybe you had 100. It's down to, what, about 50?

So it's somewhere between 30 and 50 members maybe. Now I did not see yesterday they had a service late in the afternoon there. And this was right after the word came down that the Web site had been pulled by the Web provider, because in fact that the Web provider saying that what was being put out there was -- basically saying it can lead to violence and it's incendiary and it falls -- violates the agreement we had with Jones. And they pulled his Web site off. And after that Jones said, we're going to go into this -- to our prayer service. But I didn't see 20 people going inside the church.

And, you know, another interesting aspect of all this, Kyra, the first day we got there, one of the ministers was walking around the outside of the church carrying -- you know, with a gun openly visible strapped to his side.

And Jones has a gun, you know, that he keeps on his desk. And when I asked, what is this about? They said, you ought to know. It's protection.

There's a fear factor that they're carrying with them as well. What if there's any, you know, basis for that or not is another story.

PHILLIPS: And final thought, John. You know, critics say -- and we've even all talked about this. Why give this guy so much attention when so many people are saying he's just -- he's extreme, he's crazy, he's just a nut job.

But it's the subject matter that we should point out. This is a very sensitive issue. And that's why Hillary Clinton and the president, even the Pope is weighing in on this. Because here we are involved, as I pointed out, in two wars. We're trying to build peaceful relations in the Middle East.

And this guy, unfortunately, because of mass media, sends out a very negative message. Whether he's small or large, it's the message he's sending out that is just not good for our relations right now.

ZARRELLA: Right. And -- and the fact of the matter is that the perception in much of the -- you know, the Muslim world, the Islamic world is going to be, you know, this act, this singular act is what they will see. They will not see, as Hillary Clinton pointed out, that there are 330 plus million Americans who, you know, want nothing to do with this kind of stuff.

But the only thing that they will see and that the extremists will point out is look, see this one act that's being carried out by this man, trying to make it as if it's indicative of the way -- the rest -- and one final thought, Kyra.

I talked to a young man yesterday, a physician here in Gainesville who is Muslim, who runs a center here. And, you know, we were talking about the fact that out of all this, if you can believe it, there may be a grain, a nugget of something positive that could come out of all of what has transpired in the last few days because he said -- and others at this prayer service said -- more people are talking about Islam.

More people are talking about it. And picking up and reading the Koran. People that are not Muslim who want to now start to learn. You know, it's that, gee, maybe I need to learn a little bit more about these people. And the Muslim world. And Islam.

And that is what -- so that may be a positive nugget that at least comes out of this.

PHILLIPS: Well, I definitely love wrapping on a positive note. And that's a point well made.

John Zarrella, thanks so much.

Well, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida says that he has spoken with Pastor Terry Jones in hopes of talking him out of the Koran burning. Imam Muhammad Musri says that the pastor was attentive and courteous during their meeting, but Musri had this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMAM MUHAMMAD MUSRI, PRESIDENT, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: If one human being is hurt anywhere in the world because of this, I think it will be squarely on Pastor Jones.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, a major Islamic group says that it's planning to pass out 200,000 Korans to replace the 200 copies that Pastor Jones and his congregation plan to burn. It's part of the "Learn, Don't Burn" initiative by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The group will speak about the plan later in just about an hour or so in D.C.

The controversy has ballooned from that tiny Gainesville church to envelope the entire globe. World leaders, as we mentioned, calling on the White House to stop the event in the name of world peace.

The president of Indonesia has even written a letter to President Obama asking him to intervene. But this morning our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is taking us on our "Morning Passport" to Cairo, Egypt, gauging reactions from the streets there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is Al-Azhar mosque, a symbol of Islamic orthodoxy. Egypt's Muslims, who make up around 90 percent of the population, are marking the final days of the fasting month of Ramadan.

That's followed by Eid ul-Fitr, a three-day holiday of festivities, merry-making and gift giving. And that holiday coincides this year with September 11th, which is the day when a congregation of a church in Florida plans on burning copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book.

Now it's hard to understate just how offensive this is to Muslims. It's like burning the Christian bible on Easter or torching the Jewish Torah on Yom Kippur. So let's go talk to people and see what they have to think about this.

Were they responding calmly?

(Voice-over): Will they respond in kind, I asked. "No," says shopkeeper Ragab (ph). "We believe in the bible and the Torah. If we did the same thing we'd be extremists just like them."

"Our lord," says his neighbor Anwar (ph), "is almighty. He knows what he does and he does and he does. We leave this up to God."

"If some crazy guy curses Islam, what should we do? Kill him? No," says Abdul Rahman (ph). "Islam is sweet and tolerant. I'll teach him about the religion, and then he'll probably convert."

(On camera): Historians recounted in medieval Cairo, Muslims, Christians and Jews would occasionally jointly celebrate their respective religious holidays.

Now in modern Egypt there are fanatics, there are extremists. But religious leaders are calling upon people to simply ignore the Koran burners in Florida because they say God will deal with them.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Turning now to the imam behind the planned Islamic mosque and cultural center near Ground Zero. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf says that he wouldn't have proposed the center if he could have predicted the firestorm that's erupted since it cleared a final legal hurdle last month.

But now he says the center must stay because turning back could be dangerous to national security. He broke his silence to CNN last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, FOUNDER, THE CORDOBA INITIATIVE: I am extremely concerned about sensitivity. But I also have a responsibility. If we move from that location, the story will be that the radicals have taken over the discourse. The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack.

And I'm less concerned about the radicals in America than I'm concerned about the radicals in the Muslim world.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And coming up next hour, we're getting perspective from Muslim scholars, religious leaders and commentators. We'll dissect what the imam said, whether he changed any minds, and if scrapping building plans now could threaten national security.

It's coming up next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, what's left of Tropical Storm Hermine is heading into the Midwest after smacking Texas. And the pictures are pretty compelling. Take a look. More than a foot of rain triggered the flooding here.

Swift water rescue teams deployed to get motorists to dry land. One driver is still missing after his car was washed away.

That storm system also spawned four tornados in the Dallas area. One injured this trucker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN BURNS, RESCUED TRUCKER: Yes, I'm OK. I'm OK. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all right? You need help?

BURNS: Yes, I'm going to need some help.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stopped to see if there was anybody was hurt. And that guy over there was pinned inside that truck. I needed some other people to pull the door open to get him out.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How is he doing? Is he all right?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that tornado actually picked up the truck, spun it around and slammed it into a warehouse.

The tornado also forced Dallas's Love Field Airport to close for a time.

Rob Marciano, is it getting better?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is. I was occupied with something else. Did we show the video of the actual tornado before the damage in that --

PHILLIPS: Right before the trucker we did. You want to show -- you want me to bring it up again?

MARCIANO: Yes. It's just --

PHILLIPS: Can we do that, Scottie (ph)? There you go.

MARCIANO: You know, it's not every day, Kyra, that you see a tornado touchdown on a metropolitan area. There was one that touched down just to the east of Love Field and luckily -- I mean, I think we got off real lucky here as far as not doing more damage and maybe putting more -- yes. I mean --

PHILLIPS: Spinning up in there and then he ended up being all right.

MARCIANO: Yes. Minor injuries so we'll take it. Because yesterday afternoon it looked a lot like a spring tornado outbreak with super cells thunderstorms. Not what you would typically see even after a land falling hurricane.

All right. We had eight reports of tornadoes. About four in Dallas. One right in downtown. And then another one just south and east. And then another four that kind of rolled across the Red River over towards Oklahoma.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: This just in. New measures of the economy. Minutes ago, we learned that jobless claims dropped significantly last week, 451,000 Americans filed first-time claims. That's a drop of 27,000 from the week before. The decline is greater than expected and is the lowest weekly figure in nearly two months.

LA's police chief ran into a tough audience last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(ANGRY CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There's a lot more where that came from. Heckling, booing, hissing. The audience wants to know why a cop shot and killed a day laborer. And it doesn't like the chief's side of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been a tense few days near downtown Los Angeles. On Sunday, an LAPD officer shot and killed a day laborer. Police say the Guatemalan man was charging toward the officer with a knife. People have been in the streets pretty much ever since. Some hurled bottles and rocks at the cops, who fired back with foam bullets and flash bang grenades. Fires, arrests, just an ugly scene outside last night.

And there was an ugly scene inside, too. LA's police chief actually held a meeting with the community to give people the department's side of the story to try to calm things down. There were no rocks or bottles, but plenty of boos and hisses. Serene Branson from KCAL was at that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERENE BRANSON, KCAL CORRESPONDENT: Minutes into the meeting, the crowd booed LAPD chief Charlie Beck, and changed "justicia," justice.

Guatemalan native Manuel Jamines was fatally shot Sunday afternoon at 6th and Union Avenue. Police say he was drunk and threatening officers and women with this knife. And when he didn't obey commands to drop it, a bike officer fired. Chief Beck read what he said was a woman's statement to police.

CHARLIE BECK, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE: She referred to the officers as her angels, the descendent from heaven, and she said --

(BOOING)

BECK: And she said that the officers saved her life. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know Mr. Jamines should not have had a knife, but cobarde (ph) Hernandez should not have had a gun and should never have one again. Why haven't you even suspended him?

BRANSON (voice-over): A man claiming to be Jamines's relative spoke in Spanish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is, why did they have to shoot him instead of just disarm him?

BECK: We don't teach police officers to take knifes away from people.

BRANSON (voice-over): Jose Larrios claimed the officer was known in the community.

JOSE FELIX LARRIOS, WESTLAKE DISTRICT RESIDENT: I'm very angry. Because the officer that killed Manuel, the people is -- the officer is very bad person. Very bad.

BRANSON (on camera) Why?

LARRIOS: It's every day. He -- every day, he working in the area. Many incidents, him.

BRANSON (voice-over): The past two nights, tensions escalated in the streets. Officers in riot gear kept a rowdy and destructive crowd under control. They hurled bottles, set dumpster fires, and charged LAPD's Rampart Station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys need to stop portraying my people like we're the ones causing all this ruckus around this community. Because there's a lot of people that are just waiting for an opportunity to erupt so they can start another LA riot.

BECK: I promise you a fair and transparent investigation. While that investigation continues, we have peace in our streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Chief Beck also says that he thinks outsiders are stirring up a lot of anger to turn people against the police. The officer who killed the man is off patrol duty for now. That's part of LAPD policy for cops involved in shootings. We're pushing the story forward next hour. We're going to talk with an LA city councilman who encouraged people in his district to attend that meeting last night. We're also going to talk to an advocate for day laborers and get his bigger picture view of this story.

A woman's finger gets slammed in the door, and she loses the tip of her pinkie. Doctor says there's just no way it can be reattached. We're going to tell you what happened when she took matters into her own hands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine spawned four tornadoes that hit the Dallas area. One twister picked up a big rig, spun it around, and hurled it into a warehouse, actually injuring the driver.

President Obama calls a Florida church's plan to burn Korans a recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda. The pastor wants to burn dozens of Korans on Saturday, the anniversary of 9/11. The president told ABC's "Good Morning America" the demonstration could endanger US service members overseas.

And just in, first time jobless claims dropped last week to 451,000. That's the lowest level in nearly two months. The opening bell just a few majorities away. We're going to watch how Wall Street reacts to the latest economic snapshot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's painful slamming your finger in the door and losing the tip of it. What's even worse, your doctor says, hey, it can't even be reattached. That's exactly what happened to a California woman, but she wouldn't accept the doctor's prognosis. So, what did she do? Elizabeth Cohen has the pretty interesting details. We actually didn't believe it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, it is so amazing.

PHILLIPS: It's one of those water cooler story.

COHEN: Right, like oh, my goodness kind of thing. A definite OMG story. So this woman, Deepa Kulkarni, I think she may be the ultimate empowered patient. You've got to hear this story.

She -- as Kyra said, she slammed her finger in the door, and the pinkie broke off at the tip, right at the base of the nail. She went to the emergency room, and they said, "Sorry, we can't reattach it and, in fact, we're going to have to amputate more."

So Deepa said, "No way, I'm not taking that." And to make a long story short, she spent weeks doing her own research, and it grew back. You can see it there. It is perfectly fine now, through something called regenerative medicine.

I'm going to show you a picture that is very graphic. I realize that it's 9:27 in the morning, and this would not be everyone's cup tea.

PHILLIPS: So close your eyes.

COHEN: So close your eyes if you don't want to see this. But I think it really spells it out. That is the fingertip, she saved it to this day. And that is her finger now. So that tip was off of that finger, and there it is, it repaired itself. But Deepa had to tell her doctor about it. She had to convince her doctor to try this approach. And she said the doctor she was talking to hadn't even heard of it before. She had to get them to do it.

PHILLIPS: OK, so explain, then, how it happened. How the pinkie actually regenerated.

COHEN: Well, it's this incredible drug. It's research being done out of the University of Pittsburgh and a few other places. Basically, what it does is that this medicine that she put on her finger told her finger not to heal, because once something heals up, it forms scar tissue and it won't regenerate.

Instead what it does, is it activates some cells that are already in the body and tells those cells, hey, regenerate, sort of become what you were before. So it really is quite a huge step for people with amputations. And as you can see, her pinkie is fine. She says it's a little shorter than her other pinkie, but she's fine with that.

PHILLIPS: But that's OK.

COHEN: That's OK.

PHILLIPS: I don't -- I know this, I'm kind of skipping ahead, and I don't know if we know the answer to this, but is this sort of -- is this giving hope to folks that are losing entire fingers or limbs or -- how big could this go? Do we even know yet?

COHEN: I don't think they're growing entire limbs now. Most of the people who've been helped that I've heard about are very much like her. Sort of losing from here up.

PHILLIPS: Just little pieces.

COHEN: Little pieces of things. Exactly.

PHILLIPS: OK.

COHEN: But it's so cutting edge that a lot of doctors haven't even heard about it.

PHILLIPS: Got it. So she disagreed with her doctor. And basically talked the doctor into doing this, right? So if we're in that position, you can't always talk your doctor into what you think is right.

COHEN: Right. That's true.

PHILLIPS: Because you're the patient, they're the doctor, and they think they know what's proper.

COHEN: Exactly. And you know what? What you have to do is what she did in the emergency room. She said, "All right. Is this -- do I have to do what you're saying?" And they said, "No. You don't have to do what we're saying. You can just bandage this up, we'll give you some painkillers, and go do your own research."

So, what you want to do is, if you're not happy with what a doctor tells you, don't assume that the doctor knows everything. This doctor in the emergency room had never heard of regenerative medicine. What she did, was she did her own internet research. She e-mailed specialists and said, "Hey, I need your help. It looks like you have a great approach. Will you help me?" And you know what? She got an e-mail back the next day from the researcher at the University of Pittsburgh offering help.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

COHEN: And also, be organized. She -- this woman was on it. She had a collection of photographs. She had Excel spreadsheets about everything that had happened.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: That's exactly what she said. She said, I'm fond of that pinkie. I'd like to keep it.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly, before we go, you've got a documentary coming up. And, by the way, Elizabeth's book is now on its third reprint. Am I saying that right? Very good. Very popular.

COHEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Get her book if you haven't gotten it. You have a documentary when?

COHEN: We do. It's based on the book. It's called "The Empowered Patient," 7:00 p.m. October 2nd and 3rd.

PHILLIPS: October 2nd and 3rd. There we go. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Good news on jobless numbers this morning. We're going to find out how the news affects Wall Street. We're going to have the opening bell in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Well, the midterm elections are less than two months away. That means it's been two years since candidate Barack Obama won support across party lines. In Indiana, for example, he became the first Democrat to win the state in 40 years.

This morning T.J. Holmes is in Indianapolis. He's traveling with the CNN Election Express, talking to everyday people across the country.

Hey, T.J..

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra, for getting me a little distracted after hearing you talking about bachelor pads and taking a shot at Tiger Woods, there.

(CROSSTALK) HOLMES: Yes, I'm here in Indianapolis, standing in a place that was so important for then-candidate Obama. It was two years ago. This mall here in Indianapolis, American Legion Mall it's called. This is where the president had 35,000 people come just two weeks before he was elected. Huge rally here. People thought that was extraordinary. Not because of the crowd, extraordinary that a Democrat was here two weeks before an election trying to win because this state hadn't gone for a Democrat in some 40-years.

What a difference two years makes. At that point, the president came here, 6.7 percent unemployment in the state. Now it's 10.2. And a lot of young people now are starting to get into the job market. They're concerned now, what it's going to look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MERCHO, INDIANA VOTER: People were telling me it's so hard to find a job that it was just like, maybe I should go back to school for a little bit. I thought about getting my Masters for a minute. It played a little bit, definitely a little bit of a role in deciding to go back to school.

HOLMES: How scary is that as you go through four, five years of school you're getting close to graduation and you're like, oh, snap, it's hard to find a job. How scary is that?

MERCHO: That is pretty scary, man. I'm not going to lie. It's a kind of a wake-up call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOMES: We just had our director there, Kyra, ask why there's always booze in many of the live shots and many of the stories I've done this week. It's easy to get people to talk they're drinking.

Another note here in Indiana, this is a state people wonder how can the Republicans take the Senate back? In places like Indiana, there's an open Senate seat here that is being vacated by Evan Bayh, popular Democrat who decided he wasn't going to run for reelection. Now the Republican Dan Coats is ahead in the race here, against the Democrat Brad Ellsworth by most polls show some 20 percentage point. Kyra, this is one of those states where a difference could be made up in Washington, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: T.J. Holmes sharing a few brews from state to state as he's on the CNN Election bus getting people to talk. Always making them feel comfortable.

HOLMES: Well, I haven't been driving the bus, though, Kyra. So the beer is OK.

PHILLIPS: That's good. Makes us feel better. Thanks, T.J.

Still ahead the Best Political Team on Television takes you inside the story with the latest news crossing the ticker. Joe Arpaio loves the headlines and being called the toughest sheriff in America, but he may soon chase a new title -- Mr. President. Our CNN Equals Politics update, just three minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Time now for CNN Equals Politics and our update. We've got a few that we're following this morning. The so-called "toughest sheriff in America" may be considering a run for the White House. Joe Arpaio's bold moves have grabbed headlines before. But this could be probably the most jaw-dropping one. Also, on our 2012 watch, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty logs a lot of miles on what appears to be an early campaign for the White House. Now he's headed overseas.

Here's CNN's political editor Mark Preston, part of our Best Political Team on Television.

So Mark, what else is crossing right now?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Kyra, let's talk a little bit about Sheriff Arpaio. You're right, America's toughest sheriff has tangled with the White House over illegal immigration. Look at the story we have right here up on the CNN political ticker. Kyra, Sheriff Arpaio from Arizona, is actually heading to the presidential proving ground of New Hampshire.

I'll tell you, his political advisers tell me he's not necessarily testing the waters, but they acknowledged, Kyra, that Arpaio wouldn't be there if he didn't have some interest in running for president. So, take a look at this story on the political ticker.

Let's head back east, Kyra, when you talk about Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor, he is heading to Japan and China. He's going over there for a trade mission. His political advisor just told me, look, there's a lot of Fortune 500 companies in Minnesota. But. Kyra, let's not underestimate a candidate's ability to talk foreign policy, especially when you're running for the Republican presidential nomination.

And let's close with this last story. Let's take you a little bit closer to hope. Less than 60 days until the midterm election. Kyra, look at this story on the CNN political ticker. This is from my colleague, our colleague Robert Yoon (ph). Every day we are highlighting one of the top 100 races of the midterm elections. Right here, Robert Yoon has a story on Representative Glenn Nye. For our viewers, Kyra, you're probably wondering, who is Glenn Nye? Well, Glenn Nye is one of these Democrats who could be in danger of losing his seat. And if that happens, Kyra, if enough Democrats lose seats, Republicans take back Congress.

There you are.

PHILLIPS: Mark Preston, thanks so much.

We're going to have our next political update in about an hour. Mark, thank you. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can just go to our web site, as well, CNNPolitics.com.

Some things just aren't funny. You'd never see a reality show that milks the pain of 9/11 or the tragedy of Katrina for cheap laughs. But apparently that's not a problem in Iraq. A TV show plays on real fear and terror for entertainment. It could be one of the most insensitive programs ever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The TV show "Punk'd" did wonders for Ashton Kutcher's career. The show was such a hit because let's face it, most of us love to play practical jokes at our closest friends.

Here's the episode when Ashton punked his buddy Justin Timberlake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Mr. Timberlake?

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, SINGER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Agent Shepherd U.S. Tax Enforcement Agency.

TIMBERLAKE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lien has been placed against a lot of your possessions. We have some back taxes to the tune of $900,000. We tried to contact your people several times and --

TIMBERLAKE: Where did you try to contact someone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are all registered letters sent to your various production companies and whatnot that were never returned. And you have an outstanding balance of $904,000.

TIMBERLAKE: Oh can you step inside please for a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house itself has been seized so it's now property of the government. We can't go inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Poor Justin.

All right, the American version of "Punk'd" pretty funny. But tell me what you think about this imitation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PUNKED -- BAGHDAD STYLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: This is "Punk'd" Baghdad style. And let me tell you what's happening here. It's a real check point in Baghdad. An Iraqi Army officer actually looks under the car and shouts that there is a bomb and to get away.

Well, Iraqi soldiers accuse the men in the car of being al Qaeda terrorists and then threaten to put them back in the car and let the bomb explode under them. You can actually see how freaked out the civilians are.

But here is the punk. The bomb is a fake. And the Iraqi soldiers are in on it. The punkee is a comedian. The unwitting star of one of Iraq's most popular shows called "Put Him in Bucca".

Terrorism, bombs, the threat of death; oh yes, it's real hilarious. Many Iraqis say that the show is in horrible taste and should be yanked.

I've got to say, I saw this and members of my team saw this, and we were pretty horrified. Why? Well, I can tell you I've actually driven through those check points, and you just hope and pray that all you have to do is flash your ID through the window and just keep moving.

When I was in Baghdad, check points were on almost every main corner. And let me tell you they are no joke. They're some of the most deadly targets in Iraq. And if you have to stop, well, you're a sitting duck. Attackers love to bomb these spots, easy prey when you have to stop and get out of your car.

How many times since the Iraq war started have we reported on our troopers, innocent women and children and Iraqi police being blown up and shot up at these check points. Sure Iraqis what to laugh, we get that point, but this would be like having candid camera at Ground Zero. There's just nothing funny about terror and senseless death.

I want to know what you think about the show. Go to my blog CNN.com/kyra. Tell me if you think that the show is insensitive or if you think, I'm just being too sensitive. Weigh in I'll read your response this next hour.

Tensions in L.A. boil over outside and inside after a cop shot and killed a day laborer. The police chief tried to calm a community and tell the cop's side of the story. Many folks aren't buying it.

Coming up, we're going to talk with a city councilman, who encouraged people to attend that meeting. We're also going to talk to an advocate for day laborers and get his bigger picture on this story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: All right, time to go cross country. First stop, Arlington, Texas, dozens of people rescued from their apartment rooftops. They were trapped by flood from the remains of Tropical Storm Hermine.

One man says that the water rose at 10 feet in his backyard and poured into the house that he called home for 40 years.

Near Boulder, Colorado, rain and cooler temperatures today could help dowse a dangerous wildfire. Four people still unaccounted for in that blaze. It forced the evacuation of 70 subdivisions; about 140 structures including homes and other buildings have been destroyed.

One very lucky woman in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Joann Frechette was ironing in her basement when she was struck by lightning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOANN FRECHETTE, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING: I just felt like it shot -- like something shot through my whole arm up into my neck and to my face and had -- I went to my hand on the iron and I just -- it's just zapped me. I went probably like five or six feet across the room, and landed on my butt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Lightning also zapped another Lakefield resident. He was hit when he climbed on his roof to take storm photos.

President Obama is in full campaign mode trying to save the House from losing its Democratic majority to Republicans during the midterm elections. Outside Cleveland yesterday, the President pushed a new $350 billion plan to lift the sagging economy, but in an ABC interview, "Dose of Reality" the President admits that Democrats are at risk in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the election is a referendum on are people satisfied about the economy as it currently is, then we're not going to do well because I think everybody feels like this economy needs to do better than it's been doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the economy is being felt everywhere, even in school districts, and they're finding a lot of heart-wrenching and creative ways to cut back. For example, a district in Framingham, Massachusetts, is considering a plan to charge parents hundreds of dollars to bus their kids to school. Some parents are outraged.

Jonathan Hall with our affiliate, WHDH, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN HALL, REPORTER, WHDH (voice-over): Let's look at this traffic jam outside the Barberry (ph) Elementary School as parents who find themselves without school bus service wait to pick up their young kids. Cars back up outside with some impatient drivers zipping into the wrong lane just to get by and there is not a cop nor crossing guard anywhere in sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait until winter comes, this could be even worse.

HALL: In an effort to cut costs, Framingham announced over the summer school bus service would be severely cut.

(on camera): The original plan was to do away with ten buses, saving $500,000. But that would mean no student who lives within two miles of his or her school would get bus transportation, free or otherwise.

(voice-over): Outraged parents called their opposition a safety issue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think two miles is kind of far to ask young children to walk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible and I think it's terrible and given the fact Framingham -- a lot of streets in Framingham don't have sidewalks. I think it's another huge issue and they didn't hire any extra crossing guards. So, you know, not a good plan.

HALL: Now, it could be a money issue. The school committee looking at restoring bus service but at a big cost, $4,500 per student depending on how many people sign up.

This woman has two kids.

(on camera): Can you afford 1,000 bucks?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heck no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's outrageous what they're charging. I don't think it should be that much. You are really penalizing the parents and it's not fair.

HALL: School officials say they're looking at reality, $6 million worth of cuts that have to come from somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to do the best we can. The biggest issue is how do we get better funding for schools so that we're not put in this situation of making a series of really bad decisions?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the superintendent says that the current budget is set in stone, so if more services are added, the parents have to pay for it.

CNN NEWSROOM continues in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)