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Tea Party Big Win in Delaware; Charlie Rangel Wins Primary; American Hiker Freed by Iran; New Twist in Controversy Over Shooting of Guatemalan Day Laborer by LAPD Officer; Daughter of Civil Rights Photographer Accused of Informing for FBI Doesn't Believe Charges; Looters Hit San Bruno; Gloomy Personality Equals Higher Heart Risk

Aired September 15, 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: All right. We're working on a lot for you, too.

A San Bruno couple actually feels pretty darn lucky that the huge blast and fire spared their home. Too bad those looters didn't feel the same way.

The primaries are done. Now the real battle begins. You know it's going to be a fun couple of months when one side's breaking out "The Wizard of Oz" references.

And we're going to tell you about a link between your attitude and your health. Turns out if you're a Debbie Downer or a Grouchy Gloom and Doomer, you could be a lot more likely to have a heart attack.

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.

Well, the primary elections are over. The results are in. And the voter anger is pretty darn obvious.

In Delaware and New York, voters put their support behind candidates backed by the Tea Party movement and what's more they shunned the candidate who had been backed by Republican national leaders.

Last night's results are the latest examples of the growing frustration with Washington. Throughout this bruising and blustery primary season, voters in seven states ousted their incumbents from Congress.

Let's begin our coverage in Delaware where the Tea Party movement is celebrating a pretty big victory and the GOP establishment is pretty worried.

National political correspondent Jessica Yellin joining us from Dover.

So, Jessica, we're talking about a pretty big upset, yes?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Huge, Kyra. Huge upset. Christine O'Donnell was far behind in the polls. Had significantly less money and was being gunned for by national Republicans and Republicans in her own state who are running -- running in a campaign essentially against her.

She was up against the establishment supported candidate Mike Castle, a nine-term congressman from this state. Very well-known. But she surprised everyone and won last night.

The big question now is can she go on and win in a general election? This is a state that's heavily Democratic and there's news now, Kyra, the national Republicans have said essentially because they think she cannot win they're not going to pour money into her race.

I got a chance to talk to her last night and I asked her what she thinks of the fact that the national Republicans won't support her. Here's a bit of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: We've already been told this evening that the national Republicans, party organization that often funds campaigns like yours is not going to fund yours and that many national Republicans have said simply you cannot win in November.

Do you need their money? Can you win without it?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, good. They don't have a winning track record.

(LAUGHTER)

O'DONNELL: But you know, of course, there's a greater good here. And I would love their support but they're the same so-called experts who said that I couldn't with the primary.

If we just had that, you know, "throw in the towel" mentality every time there was a fight that needed to be fought, our country wouldn't be what it is. It wouldn't be what it's worth defending.

So, you know, there's a lot of visionaries and leaders that you've seen here in this room who believe we can win and if they're too lazy to put in the effort that we need to win then so be it.

We're going to win without them. I'd love their support but we're going to win without them.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So there's a lot of frustration and internal fighting within the Republican Party today, Kyra. She does, though, have the support of one very important national Republican -- Sarah Palin. Called the campaign last night to congratulate O'Donnell. Palin endorsed her in the final days of this campaign -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Democrats speaking out, as well, right?

YELLIN: Yes. Democrats this morning are basically doing a victory jig. They think that they've got this one locked up, that O'Donnell cannot win and this is a seat they thought they were going to lose and now they might keep.

And that that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate for Democrats but one should always caution against overconfidence. Their candidate is out making campaign stops today.

They're already, I should add, attacking O'Donnell as another excessively, quote, "extremist" Tea Party candidate so that's the theme you'll see going forward in this race -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And what exactly does a victory jig look like, Jessica?

(LAUGHTER)

YELLIN: I'm not doing it but that's a good try.

PHILLIPS: Shoot.

YELLIN: Very happy.

PHILLIPS: You've got a little Irish blood in there. All right, Jessica. Thanks.

Voter frustration also boiled up in New York. Tea Party candidate Carl Paladino scored a stunning upset in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Paladino defeated former Congressman Rick Lazio who was also supported by some conservative groups.

Another interesting race in New York involved legendary Congressman Charlie Rangel. The Democrat faces an ethics trial later this month.

And CNN's Joe Johns has that part of the story.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A slightly surreal night and a bit of history here in Harlem as Charlie Rangel, the 20-term congressman, looking for his 21st term, faced a crowded field of challengers but none of them was able to rise to the level of creating the kind of excitement necessary to knock off an incumbent who's been entrenched in this district for so long.

They're sort of popping the champagne very early here at Rangel headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: I can only say that this victory has to be yours. It has to be --

(APPLAUSE)

RANGEL: My wife and I were able to stand up to the criticism and the attacks. Looking at the problems that our country has, I don't say this because of lack of modesty. I say at the time we are in our history, President Obama needs people like me more than ever.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) JOHNS: So why was that Charlie Rangel was able to pull this off with 13 ethics charges against him still unresolved back in Washington, D.C.?

Part of it had to do with the institutional Democratic support he got from people like the former Mayor David Dickens, the current Mayor Bloomberg, the former President Bill Clinton, all of whom did robocalls for him in the final days of this campaign.

He was also able to raise a lot of money and some of the other challengers were not able to. Now Charlie Rangel faces a Republican in the fall who many believe simply will not be able to overcome the Rangel fire power. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, here's a look at the results from some of the other big races, as well. The nation's capital now on track for a new major. Incumbent Adrian Fenty has lost his Democratic primary to city council chair Vincent Gray.

And in New Hampshire, the Republican primary too close to call for the Senate candidates. Ovide Lamontagne has claimed to be the only true conservative in that race. Kelly Ayotte is endorsed by establishment Republicans including Sarah Palin.

Now for all the latest political news and our constantly updated results, go to our Web site, that address CNNPolitics.com.

An American hiker held as a spy now out of an Iranian prison and back in her mother's arms, free after more than 400 days in custody. Sarah Shourd hugged her mother in the runway of Muscat, Oman following a 2 1/2 hour flight from Tehran.

Pretty joyful moment made possible only after her $500,000 bail was paid. But Iran is still holding her fiancee and a friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHOURD, RELEASED HIKER: Today is the work that my day begins and all of my efforts starting today are going to go into helping procure the same freedom for my fiancee Shane Bauer and for my friend Josh Fattal because I can't enjoy my freedom without them.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Shourd thanked everyone involved in her release from the sultan of Oman to the president of Iran.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson standing by now in Muscat, Oman.

Now, Nic, she spent 14 months in this Iranian prison after allegedly wandering over the border from Iraq with her group back in July of 2009. Let's talk about why she was released now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, one reason certainly seems to have been a health condition. She had a lump on her breast. She had a preexisting gynecological condition.

And the Iranian government appears to have decided that it's on humanitarian grounds that they decided to release her after demanding $500,000 be paid in bail money.

Now obviously she says the priority to get her fiancee and her other friend freed, but that's going to be very tough because the Iranians are saying these two, we still consider them spies, we're not going to release them. They're going to charge them.

So -- that is going to be a very big hurdle for her to overcome because she was released apparently just on humanitarian grounds -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, Nic, and we heard her thanking the Iranian government. I think we all know what kind of happens behind the scenes here. Is she afraid to say anything negative because of the other two hikers that are still there in prison? And the repercussions that may take place?

ROBERTSON: It really seems to be so. The statement that she made in Tehran before she left, the statement that she made here in Oman, both very similar. Both very carefully considered.

And before she left Tehran she said I'm not going to change what I say or what I think. A clear indication that whatever discussions she's had inside jail, whatever influences -- the Iranian influences she's come under there about the reasons for her release, the reasons for her detention, et cetera, she's not going to come out and say saying something completely different and denigrate, if you will, the Iranian leadership.

So that really seems to be very focused on that single mission she has now of getting her fiancee released -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And there have been -- also been mixed messages about who paid her bail. Do we know for sure if it was Oman?

ROBERTSON: It's not clear. Oman really seems to have played a sort of middleman here. U.S. officials saying behind the scenes Oman has helped decisively behind the scenes. Obviously Swiss diplomats in Tehran helping secure Sarah Shourd's release.

But what's interesting about this, both Tehran and Oman untypically publicized the fact that she was going to be coming to Oman.

Oman has helped before with the release of people in similar situations around the region. It doesn't go public in this way. It hasn't done this before so clearly Tehran and perhaps Oman here wanting to -- and one could imagine perhaps President Ahmadinejad on his way to New York next week wanted to get all this out in the public domain.

And so it's strange here for people familiar with the way Oman has worked to help secure the release of people before. That this is done so publicly and of course her family now also sort of wanting to get her to rest, but clearly on top of her agenda, as well, is seeing what she can do while still in the region to help secure her fiancee's release -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson, thanks.

Earnest Withers was like the eye of the Civil Rights Movement. He took some of the most iconic pictures. But he might have been an ear, too. An ear for the FBI. Keeping tabs on Dr. King and many others.

Withers' family is talking about this revelation and they say they just can't believe it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go cross country. New twist to a controversy in Los Angeles. People have been protesting since police shot and killed a day laborer from Guatemala.

Now the LAPD claims that that man was drunk and tried to attack a woman and then an officer with a knife but now community groups say he didn't even have a knife and they want that cop charged with murder. Last week, the LAPD chief actually showed a bloody blade at a heated community meeting and said it was the weapon. The officer's been taken off patrol during that investigation.

And in Tennessee, a woman can't believe her late father was an informant for the FBI. The "Memphis Commercial Appeal" reports that Earnest Withers was giving the feds info about the civil rights movement back in the late 1960s.

Withers was a photographer, and you may -- I'm sure you've seen his pictures. He took a number of famous pictures, and especially that one of Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Motel, and had insider access to the movement's leaders.

The paper dug up the information, with help from the Freedom of Information Act, and linked Withers to an informant number. This is all news to the Withers' family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALIND WITHERS, DAUGHTER: We as a family, none of us never heard anything like that. We don't believe it. I think that the whole thing is based on one thing, which is a number. And do we know that number was assigned to him? Where's the proof of that? You know, it's -- and then is that number only assigned to an individual, or is it assigned to a project? So it's just so many speculations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Earnest Withers died in 2007 at the age of 85. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is still planning to use some of his photos in its redesigned exhibit.

All right, triple threat swirling around in the Atlantic right now. The latest Tropical Storm Karl is nearing hurricane strength as it closes in on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Hurricane Igor remains a powerful Category 4 storm, but is still far from land in the eastern Atlantic. Hurricane Julia also grew to a Category 4 storm overnight, with sustained winds of 135 miles an hour. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has been watching all that for us. Busy.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really busy. And we got word in from the NHC now that Karl has officially made landfall. So, it's over the land now, and that means it's going to gradually weaken a little bit and be feeling that brutal impact at this time.

Here you can see the latest satellite imagery of Karl, and you can see, man that's got close to being a hurricane, but that's not going to happen, at least not while it makes the way across the peninsula. But as it gets into the Bay of Campeche, which we think late tonight into tomorrow already, it will likely regain strength. And we'll watch it probably move up to a hurricane.

So, there you can see Karl's 65-mile-per-hour maximum sustained winds, and we're going to see some torrential downpours with Karl, but it is a pretty fast mover. And we'll go ahead and show you that track of this storm and look at that. Overnight tonight and into early tomorrow morning we'll watch that make its way back over that open water.

And we don't think at this time, by the way, that it's impacting the US. We'll have to watch maybe southern Texas for some outer bands and some rainfall, but right now my best estimate is that it will stay south of there.

There's the trifecta of all those storms. They don't go in alphabetical order here. There you can see Igor in the middle of the central Atlantic. And wow, look at that defined eye. You can see a little bit of that dry air trying to wrap around in that system, 145 mile per hour winds. So it's a big-time Category 4 storm. And there you can see Julia back there.

Do we need to worry about these storms, where they're going? Well, right now, it doesn't look like it's going to get anywhere close to the US. Very near Bermuda, though, as we head late weekend into early next week.

One other thing to keep in mind, though, with Igor here, Kyra, if you remember what Earl did and also what Danielle did, they were out in the open water, but they brought some big-time waves and big-time swells. So if people going to the beach this weekend, you have to watch for those red flags flying and the risk of rip currents.

PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You're a football fan. You watch NFL.

JERAS: Yes, I like football.

PHILLIPS: Who's your team? JERAS: Vikings.

PHILLIPS: Vikings, of course. Hometown girl.

JERAS: What can I say?

PHILLIPS: You've heard about the whole Heisman trophy, having to give it back.

JERAS: Yes, Reggie Bush.

PHILLIPS: Yes. It's college football's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy, of course. It's been around 75 years. It looks great on a mantle. No player has ever given it back until now. Jacqui and I were talking about this. Reggie Bush won it in 2005 when he played for USC. My alma mater, Jacqui.

JERAS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Go Trojans. We've had a lot of scandal, by the way, in the football arena. Of course, a lot has happened since then. Investigators claim that wannabe agents actually gave Bush and his family money and also lots of gifts when he was back at SC. Bush says that he doesn't want all the speculation over his college years to hurt the Heisman's dignity, so that's why he says he's just giving it up. But it's -- You know, OK, if you broke the rules --

JERAS: Rules are rules.

PHILLIPS: Rules are rules, right?

JERAS: You sign a contract, right? When you sign, you say "I'm not going to take any money."

PHILLIPS: Still though, having to give that back, never has happened before.

JERAS: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean, he's a fantastic football player. He earned it.

JERAS: Yes. And all the money in the world doesn't impact whether or not you're a great player, right?

PHILLIPS: That's true.

JERAS: You either play well or you don't.

PHILLIPS: And he plays well still.

JERAS: Still.

PHILLIPS: Yes, all right.

JERAS: At least he'll have that.

PHILLIPS: That's true. He knows that he did win the trophy --

JERAS: Right.

PHILLIPS: But then again, it's like, will we ever know if he really did break the rules?

JERAS: You have to respect him, though, for stepping up and saying, "You know what? Before they say 'We're going to take it from you'" --

PHILLIPS: Right. "Let's end it here. Take it."

JERAS: And he said, "You know what? Go ahead."

PHILLIPS: That's right. Didn't have to come and get it. He gave it back.

JERAS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right, I've got something else for you.

JERAS: OK.

PHILLIPS: What's the worst song you've just ever heard in your life?

JERAS: Worst song?

PHILLIPS: Can you name the worst song ever?

JERAS: Oh gosh. I don't know. Not off the top of my head.

PHILLIPS: AOL radio has actually ranked the worst 100 songs ever. Now, the key word here is "rank." Some of these songs really stink. We're going to play a number of them over the next couple of hours. This is number 39 from Olivia Newton John. You know, the song that got heart rates really going back there in the early '80s. Pretty bad.

(MUSIC - "Physical")

JERAS: Yes. Almost as good as "Xanadu."

PHILLIPS: Great flick at the time, "Xanadu."

(CROSSTALK)

JERAS: The song, though, not so much.

PHILLIPS: Her name was Kyra, by the way.

JERAS: Oh, was it really?

PHILLIPS: Remember that?

JERAS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's get physical. Let's go to break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, checking top stories. More victories for the Tea Party movement in last night's primary elections. The biggest upset is in Delaware, where Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell beat nine-term US congressman Mike Castle in the GOP Senate race.

First responders and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks head to Capitol Hill this morning. They'll lobby Congress to pass a bill that provides them free health care. The measure didn't pass in July.

American hiker Sarah Shourd reunited with her mother in Oman after spending more than a year in an Iranian prison. The rice for her freedom was a $500,000 bail reportedly paid by Oman. Shourd's fiancee and a friend remain in a Teheran prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pope Benedict arrives in the UK tomorrow for his first papal state visit to that nation. And there's talk that he could meet with the victims who were sexually abused by priests. Atika Shubert just attended a news conference given by some of those victims. She joins us live from London. Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are expecting to see angry protests when the pope comes here this week a. A lot of that is coming from victims of child abuse at the hands of church officials. I did go to that presser earlier, where a number of victims told their stories, but also said what they want to hear from the pope. Here's what one victim said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This panel here, I feel sure, is saying to the pope, "Why don't you speak the truth? Why don't you tell us where all these sex offenders are? Why don't you open the file? Why don't you have inquiries? Why don't you lay aside priests? Why don't you give us truth, justice and accountability now?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Kyra, as you can hear there, a lot of anger, and that anger is expected to spill out onto the streets. Up to 10,000 protesters are expected on the streets of London on Saturday, which will be the highlight of the pope's trip here.

PHILLIPS: Now, Atika, the pope has met with victims of abuse in the past. Any idea, can you even gauge, if he will do it this time around? Or is that pretty much kept under the radar?

SHUBERT: It's pretty much kept under the radar. There have been reports that he may meet with survivors. What we've been told by church officials, though, is that if it does happen, it will be done in private away from the media, and we wouldn't probably find out about it until after it's done. And that has always been the church's policy, to do so in private, without any of the media around it. PHILLIPS: Got it. Atika Shubert there in London for us. Atika, thanks.

Throwing Nancy Pelosi under the bus. Republicans kick off a cross- country tour to fire the Speaker of the House. We'll take you to the roll-out of the nationwide campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well the primary elections are over and the results are in and the voter anger is definitely obvious. In Delaware and New York, voters put their support behind candidates backed by the Tea Party movement and once more that they shunned the candidates who had been backed by Republican national leaders. Last night's results are the latest examples of that growing frustration with Washington. Throughout this bruising and blustery primary season, voters in seven states ousted their incumbents of Congress.

One incumbent who wears a bull's eye is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Republicans are hoping to win the House and bump her from the speaker's seat, but her GOP challenger in the November election is trying to chase her out of Washington altogether. He's unveiled an ad that casts her as the Wicked Witch of Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, my pretty. I will save you from those evil Republicans. My first pay $18,000 a month for my downtown office. And then go into massive debt for Wall Street bailouts. And here are my monkeys to make you pay for it all..

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The anti-Pelosi campaign not just limited to the Yellow Brick Road. Today the Republican National Committee is rolling out a "Fire Pelosi" bus tour and it'll visit more than 115 counties across the country.

CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston outside the RNC headquarters, where the tour is about to being.

Mark, things are getting nasty. Tell us about this magic bus ride.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, they sure are, Kyra. I'll tell you, a busy day on Capitol Hill. This is the first week Congress has been in session after their August recess. Congressmen behind me, getting back to work.

Some person who is leaving Capitol Hill, though, is Michael Steele. Within the next hour, he is going to get on the big bus called the "Fire Pelosi" bus. He is going to head across the country, they're going to try to rally Republican voters leading into the midterm elections. But they don't only need just Republican voters that were energized by the Tea Party, Kyra, they need to reach out to independent voters. 39 seats is all they need to take back control of the House of Representatives, which is right behind me, Kyra. They need 10 seats to pick up the Senate. Republicans are energized.

The question, is, can they remain energized heading into November?

PHILLIPS: All right. Mark Preston. We'll keep checking in with you as it gets interesting, nasty, all the above.

We're also waiting to hear from the Democratic National Committee. It's scheduled what it calls a major announcement just a few hours from now. We're going to bring you the details as we gather them.

American hiker Sarah Shourd is finally free, released by Iran, more than 400 days in prison. She's back in her mother's arms, reunited on a runway in Oman, after she was bailed out for $500,000. But Iran is still holding her fiancee and her friend on espionage charges more than a year after they allegedly wandered over the border from Iraq. Shourd says she can't fully enjoy her freedom until Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are set free. The mothers of those young men echo that call saying their fight goes on.

They spoke last hour on "AMERICAN MORNING." And that brings us to today's AM Extra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY HICKEY, SHANE BAUER'S MOTHER: Absolutely. You know, I'm very happy Sarah's out. She's my daughter-in-law to be. I love her very much, but I want Shane home. I want Shane and Josh home connected with their families, and the biggest thing for me at that moment was what was it like for Shane and Sarah to separate along with josh because they're very close right now.

ACOSTA: And what are your hopes right now? I mean, what do you know about their condition, and how soon they might be able to come home?

LAURA FATTAL, SON, JOSH FATTAL: OK. Well, we don't have any new information, but Cindy and I have not talked to nor heard from Josh or Shane for four months on Tuesday. From the time we left Tehran May 21st until today, we have not had a letter or a phone call from Josh or Shane. And of course, we're more than eager to. But what we really want, of course, is their release. It is almost 14 months of detention. We're so happy that Sarah's home with Nora, but it's our turn. It's our turn to have our kids back with us.

CROWLEY: You know, I know that probably you all are in touch, at least, periodically with state department officials. Iran has a way of doing things in their signals. What do you take from Sarah's release? Do you think this makes it more hopeful that your boys will be released without a trial? Do you think it makes it more likely that Iran may hold a trial? What have you been told?

HICKEY: You know, we're always hopeful. What have we been told, we really haven't been told anything. And I really try hard not to speculate or look into that. Our task is to do what we do as moms to get these three home, and you know, we could speculate all we want and that's not going to change what's happening.

ACOSTA: And the Iranians have said that they plan to try your sons on espionage charges. And I guess, what would you say to the Iranians, to the world, about what your sons were doing when they were detained?

FATTAL: Iran knows they have three innocent hikers. One of whom they've let free. And we're hoping very, very much they will let the other two free, Josh and Shane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the mothers are calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bring their sons with them when he comes to the United States for an upcoming United Nations presentation.

A San Bruno couple feels lucky that the huge blast and fire spared their home. But too bad some looters didn't. Just amazing how some low-lives will take advantage of people during their darkest hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories.

Tea Party-backed candidate Christine O'Donnell has won a shocking victory in Delaware's COP Senate primary. The national Republican Party backed Congressman Mike castle. O'Donnell says that says she can win in November without the support of national Republicans.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joining Middle East peace talks in Jerusalem today. The possibility of new Israeli settlements is a sticking point. Palestinians say the construction could kill the talks.

And our Weather Center following three named storms. Hurricane Igor, nearing category 5 status. Julia, now a category 4. No watches or warnings for either one yet. Tropical storm Karl expected the make landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: Remember that one? Starship, "We Built this City," 1985. With lyrics, like "(INAUDIBLE) plays the mamba; listen to the radio." Are you surprised it made AOL's list of 100 Worst Songs Ever? "We Built this City" ranked number 22 on the dubious list.

We're going to play for more you over the next hour, including revealing the top three worst songs at the end of the show. We also want to hear what you think. Go to my blog, CNN.com/kyra. Tell me what you think was the worst song ever.

Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser built the Best Political Team in Washington and he joins us from the CNNPolitics.com desk.

Paul, your worse song ever? PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Kyra, I hate to admit it but I probably got a couple of those on 45s, which young people may not know what those are.

PHILLIPS: Do they have scratches all over them and you used to push down hard on the needle so it would play through the scratch?

STEINHAUSER: You're with me. You remember those days. Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: I'm with you, pal. Yes, indeed.

All right. When's topping the political headlines right now?

STEINHAUSER: Hey, well, let's start with that Delaware Senate race, you guys have been talking . It is the huge political story of the morning.

Check this out: brand-new on the CNN political ticker at CNN Politics right now. The top two non-partisan political handicappers have changed their ranking now of the race in Delaware. They were rating it "likely Republican." Now that O'Donnell has won, they've moved it to "likely Democrat." I just spoke to one of the two people that cooked the political report and they're changing their ranking. So has the Sue Rothenberg report.

Remember, Castle was considered the overwhelming favorite if he won the primary. He didn't. This is a seat the Democrats want to keep in party hands. It used to be Joe Biden's old seat.

Let's talk about Sarah Palin and how she did last night. Of course we know Palin endorsed O'Donnell. O'Donnell won. A big victory for Sarah Palin. But next door in Maryland, Palin also endorsed a guy named Brian Murphy, a businessman. He was running for the gubernatorial nomination there in Maryland. Well, he did not do very well. He lost out to the favorite there, the former governor Ehrlich.

Up in New Hampshire, the verdict is still out. Palin has endorsed Kelly Ayotte who is the establishment pick for the Senate nomination up there. Still have no winner in New Hampshire, they're still counting the votes.

Also on the ticker this morning from last night's primaries, this is a great one, check this out. They've come in here on the political ticker. Real world star wins Wisconsin primary. We're talking about Republican Shawn Duffy. He was a star on the reality TV show back in 1997, the "Real World: Boston." He's also - catch this, Kyra, he's also a two-time champion professional lumber jack. He's a Republican. He won the nomination for Wisconsin's 7th district. He is going to face off against the Democrat. This is a battle for David Obey's seat. Obey a long-time Democrat retiring rather than running for re- election. I can't make this stuff up, it's all true.

KYRA PHILLIPS: Our own Paul Bunyan. All right, thanks, Paul.

Well, if you're a glass half empty type then you may want to cheer up for the health of your heart. Pessimists are apparently more prone to heart problems. But here's something that will make your smile. There are things that you can do to lower your risk.

But it's kind of hard to be grumpy for this flashback moment. Think "Green Acres" the 60's television show about city slickers turning the "country bumpkin". You remember, at least in our era. The series made its debut on this day September 15th, 1965. It was Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, remember that?

And who can forget the theme song? "Green Acres is the place for me." Hit it.

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(CLIP FROM "GREEN ACRES")

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PHILLIPS: You know what? I understand that not all looters are created equal. Sometimes in a disaster and other extraordinary situations, you do what you got to do to keep yourself and your family alive and safe and pray that God waives the commandment in that case.

Of course, when you are talking about big TVs like we saw after Katrina or priceless artifacts like we saw in Baghdad, or just plain plundering like we saw after the New York blackout of '77 or the L.A. riots of '92 you've really crossed the line.

And now, we've seen the inexcusable after the San Bruno gas explosion and fire. At least four people were killed. Three are still missing and more than three dozen houses gone. Survivors are trying to get their lives back together again.

One nervous family goes back to find that their house is ok but their priceless items gone.

This story now from David Guingona (ph) from KRON TV.

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DAVID GUINGONA, KRON TV (voice-over): Jody Ravelo was showing a San Bruno police officer the rooms where someone had broken into the house and stolen small but irreplaceable belongings. Like her engagement and wedding rings that had stones reset from her grandfather's ring.

JODY RAVELO, ROBBERY VICTIM: It's an heirloom --

DANTE RAVELO, ROBBERY VICTIM: It's an heirloom, you know, a piece of jewelry which you know, that's going to be hard to just put a value on that.

GUINGONA: Dante and Jody Ravelo talked about the emotional rollercoaster that they have been riding on since Thursday's explosion.

D. RAVELO: We are already so glad just to be able to come back to our house after having anxiously waited for three days. So we were really glad to find out that our house was in relatively good shape and then all of a sudden, I hear this, you know, Jody is already screaming about how we've been robbed.

So from there it was really just an awful feeling, I mean, just being on pins and needles the whole time for the -- you know the whole time since the explosion happened and waiting. And then we get back -- finally get back in our house, and then we have this happen to us. You know, it's just an additional thing, just unbelievable.

GUINGONA: Both Jody and Dante had birthdays and their anniversary within the last month, so the burglar was able to take gift cards and gifts certificates along with jewelry and small items that could be carried out easily.

But what's worrying them the most is the loss of items that could lead to identity theft.

J. RAVELO: The scary part is that they took our passports, our whole family's passports: mine, my husband's and our three children and both of our Social Security cards and like we had wallets with, you know, leftover credit cards and things.

D. RAVELO: This guy potentially has all our identity, all our crucial documents.

J. RAVELO: My checkbook. Yes, everything.

GUINGONA: San Bruno police said that they have received a few other reports of burglaries in the surrounding areas but have not yet linked this burglary to any others pending their investigation.

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PHILLIPS: Yes that fireball showed that couple -- that couple rather more mercy than a number of other people did. And police have been trying to protect that burned out neighborhood from looters. In fact, they arrested a man who they thought might be casing houses. He allegedly tried to drive away on his motorcycle when the cops asked him for ID and he ran over the officer's foot.

Here's what we're following in the next hour of CNN NEWROOM. Let's begin with CNN's senior political editor, Mark Preston -- Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra, I'm outside the Republican National Committee headquarters, the Fire Pelosi bus has pulled up behind me. We will learn more about this 48-bus tour in the next hour.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And you know, practically every day we hear President Obama talk about the need to help small businesses to create jobs in this country. But what do those small business owners think of the administration's latest efforts? We spent the day at a manufacturing company in New Jersey; they say they need any help they can get.

We'll bring you that in the next hour.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras. We've got three storms that we're tracking down in the Atlantic basin. Karl has just made landfall and even though Igor -- Igor won't be hitting the U.S., it will be impacting the coastline.

We'll tell you what you can expect with that coming up in the next hour.

PHILLIPS: And underage girls disappearing into the underworld of online sex trafficking. We're shining a light on this dark practice. Putting names and faces to girls gone missing believed to be sold as prostitutes.

That's coming up next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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PHILLIPS: Grumpy, grouchy, gloomy -- call it what you will, but if you are pessimistic type of person, a new study says that you might be at higher risk for heart problems. Take note, Eeyore.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just as I thought, no better from this side.

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PHILLIPS: A study pinpoints people with the Type D personality characterized by negativity. Sound familiar, Charlie Brown?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate myself for not having enough nerve to talk to her. Well, that isn't exactly true. I hate myself for a lot of other reasons, too.

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PHILLIPS: All right, I'm getting really down. Anger and stress are also Type D signs. Oscar the Grouch knows all about that.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yuck. What? You think it's easy for me being a grouch who's green? Well, think again because it's not.

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PHILLIPS: And who's the complete opposite of all these characters? Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen; she's one of the most positive individuals I know in this place. There is a lot of danger with being negative, right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to know who is Eeyore's cardiologist? All right. He needs one. Who takes care of Eeyore, or Oscar or Charlie Brown because their hearts are in danger? And you know, it sort of intuitively makes sense. I mean when you're pessimistic and the world is out to get you, people might even say, like oh, you have a bad heart and they might mean it kind of figuratively.

But it also seems to make sense literally. There is a new study out that looked at people with this Type D Eeyore personality, and here's what they found. They found that they're at a three times higher risk of having a heart attack. So what we all sort of feel intuitively, apparently there's some science behind it.

PHILLIPS: And it's the whole mind/body. Right? If we're more positive, we keep a good attitude, it's amazing what we can overcome physically.

So let's talk about what exactly happens in the body then when we have this attitude and we act this way.

COHEN: Right, the Eeyores of the world see the world as a threat. They think that the world is out to get them; their colleagues, their family, whoever it is. And when you see that the world is out to get you, you get this kind of fight or flight effect in your body and you think you have to be fighting everybody.

That raises levels of cortisol in your body, cortisol is a hormone and that in turn raises blood pressure. So that probably helps explain why they see this effect.

PHILLIPS: And so, you know, typical question, are people hard-wired that way, or can they change? It really depends on who is in their life, right, influencing them and if they decide that they're going to make a change.

I would like to tell Charlie Brown and Oscar and all those guys that they should do some yoga. That would help.

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PHILLIPS: Meditation and yoga.

COHEN: Can he do that? I don't know if it's possible. But that's part of the answer. And the answer is that you are not hard-wired to be a Type D personality. You can change.

And there are a couple of ways to do that. One is with medications that doctors have had some success with, anti-depressants, giving anti-depressants to hostile people and that's helped. Also psychotherapy, yoga or meditation and exercise can all help people get out of that Type D personal. It's important to do, not just for yourself. Not just for the people around you for whom it is unpleasant but also for your heart.

PHILLIPS: Yes. The hardest thing is how we react to things. To get control over that is always a challenge.

COHEN: Life is there, it's going to happen. It's how you react to it.

PHILLIPS: Right. That's true. I think Chuck Swindal has some sort of inspirational quote around that and I'll look that up.

COHEN: Ok. Sounds good.

PHILLIPS: Thanks Elizabeth.

COHEN: Ok. Thanks. All right.