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Charlie Rangel Wins Primary; Anti Pelosi Bus Tour; BP CEO Hayward to Testify Again

Aired September 15, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Primary passions, the results are in, the ballots are set, and the voter anger is pretty obvious. In Delaware and New York, the voters put their support behind candidates backed by the Tea Party movement. And what's more, well, 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.

Now, just how frustrated are voters across the country? A new CNN poll tells the story. Only one in four Americans say they trust the government to do what is right always or most of the time. That percentage has been steadily decreasing since 2002, and even then, that number was still less than half. With just 45 percent of Americans saying that they trust government.

And that growing frustration with Washington opened the door for some candidates from the tea party, most notably, Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, a conservative political commentator defeated nine-term congressman Mike Castle in the Republican primary for Senate. Republican national leaders backed Castle. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express supported O'Donnell, in other words, voters turned a deaf ear to the GOP establishment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: We haven't heard from anybody in the Washington party hierarchy. That's a shame. I think right now maybe their pride is hurt a little bit and they're licking their wounds because the so-called experts were discredited this morning.

But, we're hoping to hear from them soon. We will reach out to them, but I'm confident that if they choose not to get behind this race, we will get the support that we need and we can win in November because Delaware is a state that's small enough where I can be in every county every week giving the voters an opportunity to get to know me. I can get to know them and I can personally ask them for their vote in November. That's exactly what we plan to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: O'Donnell will face democrat Christopher Koontz in November for the seat formerly held by Vice President Joe Biden.

A congressman who served in Washington for almost 40 years fought off his biggest challenge in decades. Charlie Rangel, facing a House ethics trial over allegations of financial wrongdoing, yet he easily defeated five fellow Democrats in yesterday's primary and avoided a runoff. The 80-year-old had some last-minute help from former President Bill Clinton and was able to raise more money than his opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: In the final analysis, it wasn't just me that was responding in terms of support. It was you. Each and every day, if you ask who your congressman was, they knew who you were talking about. They knew in Washington. They knew in New York state and they knew in the city. And I suspect that if sometimes it may have been awkward for you, but you can go back tomorrow morning and tell them that we did believe in certain principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Rangel faces a House trial on the ethics allegations later this month.

Throwing Nancy Pelosi under the bus, this hour Republicans are kicking off a cross-country tour to fire the Speaker of the House. They will visit more than 115 cities across the country. CNN's senior political analyst Mark Preston outside the RNC headquarters where the tour is about to begin. So, Mark, why is there such Republican venom for Pelosi?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Kyra, Republicans smelled blood in the water. They think they can take back the House of Representatives. And in fact, this fired Nancy Pelosi bus just pulled up outside RNC headquarters. It's brand new inside. You can still smell the newness. It's like a new car, Kyra.

But I'll tell you, Republicans right now think that they can beat Nancy Pelosi and they can get they can get the 39 seats needed to take back control of the House. Over in the Senate, it's a little bit of a tougher fight for them. They need to pick up 10 seats. But Michael Steele will be coming out here shortly, Kyra, he give a bit of a rah rah rally and get on the bus and he's going to head across the nation.

48 states in the next seven weeks as we head into the midterm elections.

PHILLIPS: All right. So Mark, let's talk about the tea party victory in Delaware. Why is the GOP establishment worried that their nominee could actually hurt the Republican's chances?

PRESTON: Well, certainly in Delaware, there is big concern. Christine O'Donnell, the tea party favorite, was able to rally those tea party voters last night to beat Mike Castle. The problem for Republicans, however in Delaware is that it tends to be a Democratic state. This was the Senate seat held by Joe Biden, and Republicans, national Republicans, anyway, thought that Mike Castle, the more centrist Republican would have a better shot of winning that seat.

Christine O'Donnell on our ear this morning, of course, and last night said that she's not concerned. That she believes that she has the momentum, but I will tell you right now, the Republicans are a little bit frustrated that they weren't able to beat back the tea party attempts last night and get their candidate Mike Castle across the finish line, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Tell us more about this bus tour and what they hope to accomplish here.

PRESTON: Well, Kyra, again, 39 seats in the House of Representatives gives the Republicans a victory. They can claim the speakership. What does that mean for Washington? It means that the Obama agenda as we've noted over the past couple of years will come to an end.

President Obama has been very successful in marshaling his legislation through Congress. However, if the Republicans control Congress or even if they come close to controlling Congress, if they pick up say 30 or 35 seats, there's an argument to be made that the Democrats will lose functional control of the House of Representatives.

That means President Obama won't be able to get his things through. But I will tell you I will be able to spend some time with Michael Steele for the next couple of hours. I'm going to be able to take the first leg of this bus. They're heading into Virginia, and as our viewers know, Virginia was a blue state in 2008, President Obama won it, Kyra.

However, we saw in 2009, Republicans took back the governorship. They feel like they can win some Democratic seats in Virginia. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, update us and let us know how it all goes down. Mark Preston, thanks so much. And here's a look at the results from some other big races.

The nation's capital now on track for a new mayor. Incumbent Adrian Fenty has lost his Democratic primary chair to city council chair Vincent Gray, and in New Hampshire, the Republican primary to close to call for the Senate seat. Ovide Lamontagne has claimed to be the only true conservative in that race4. Kelly Ayotte is endorsed by establishment Republicans including Sarah Palin.

And for all the latest political news, and our constantly updated results, go to our website, that address again, cnnpolitics.com.

Well, there might be more bad news for the Gulf of Mexico. One scientist says that she's discovered oil on the sea floor miles away from the Deepwater Horizon site. We're going to take a closer look at what exactly that could mean.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Plus, coming up, hurricane season if it ended today, we'd have a pretty normal season. Unfortunately, we are only about halfway done. The latest on the trifecta storms in the Atlantic coming up in your forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. In the next few minutes, Tony Hayward, the outgoing BP CEO, and the long-time corporate face of the gulf oil disaster goes before a British government panel. He will talk about what the gulf oil disaster means for the future of deepwater drilling in Britain. The Brits are taking a closer look at their own moratorium on deepwater drilling and whether safety and environmental standards need to be changed.

Hayward steps down from his post at the end of the month.

And back in the gulf, a scientist might have found more cause for concern. Deep on the sea floor. CNN's Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deepwater CSI in the gulf and a potentially ominous finding. Researchers discover what they say is a substantial layer of oil in the sediment in areas near the Deepwater Horizon spill. The team led by a University of Georgia marine science professor canvassed an area as close as two miles from the wellhead and as far away as about 80 miles.

In several samples from the sea floor, they found concentrations of oil seeping as much as two inches into the sediment.

(on camera): We are going to go to the source of this new finding. We are going to speak to Dr. Samantha Joye on a research vessel about 10 miles south, about 25 nautical miles east of the well head. She's on the research vessel, the oceanias, we're going to call it right now.

(voice-over): I asked Joye about other scientists who question her findings, including those who say so much oil seeps into the gulf naturally every year that some of this might not even be from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

SAMUEL WALKER, SR., NAT'L OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN.: There is spillage from other vessels. There is leakage from pipelines and there's all sort of things like that. To find oil in the Gulf of Mexico either in its sediments or water column, is not an unusual thing.

TODD (on camera): How do you come to believe that the oil you found is from the gulf oil spill in the BP situation?

VOICE OF PROF. SAMANTHA JOYCE, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: We have samples that were collected in May, early in May, on the (INAUDIBLE) from many of the same sites that we're sampling right now. In May, this layer was not present. It was not here. This layer has developed over the past four months.

TODD (voice-over): Joye concedes they won't know for sure that this oil is from the Deepwater Horizon spill until they chemically fingerprint it when they get back to their labs. Joye discovered dead organisms underneath the oily sediment and worries about marine life that would feed off those organisms.

(on camera): What kind of organisms are exposed to this oil?

JOYE: Well, anything that goes to the bottom. I mean, any fish, any invertebrate, any squid, octopus, anything that is going to the bottom looking for food is going to be exposed to that material.

TODD (voice-over): Then, Joye says, "that could deprive other fish up the chain from a healthy food source."

An official with NOAA tells CNN this finding does not necessarily contradict a government study issued last month saying about 75 percent of the oil from the spill was either captured, evaporated naturally or dispersed into the water column in microscopic droplets. The official says the oil in these samples could be part of the 25 percent that got away.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

PHILLIPS: And a triple threat swirling around in the Atlantic. The latest is tropical storm Karl, and then there are Hurricanes Julia and Igor, both powerful category 4 storms. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has been tracking all that activity for us.

Busy woman, you are?

JERAS: It really is. You know, it's been a busy season. Typically throughout an entire season, we would see 11 named storms, and with Karl that's number 11. And unfortunately, we are only halfway done. So it kind of puts it in perspective for you, to let you know that yes, things have been very, very busy.

Now, Karl has made landfall about an hour or so ago on the Yucatan Peninsula here, across Mexico, and is bringing torrential downpours, three to five inches with isolated amounts up to eight inches. It's a pretty fast moving storm so it's going to move across the peninsula and then make it's way back over into open waters into the Bay of Campeche.

Here you can see the forecast tract for it. You can see that it will weaken as it moves over land as it typically does but it gets over that energy source, basically that warm water, and then it ramps right back up and may become a hurricane before making that second landfall in Mexico. And that will be in to the weekend.

Now Texas, you need to be worried about it and you need to be monitoring it. At this point, we don't think you'll see much impact from the storm but we have to watch, because if it grows larger in size, we might get some of those outer bands moving into southern parts of the state, say by Friday or this Saturday and of course, maybe a little bit of wave action.

Now wave action is going to be our big concern with Igor. This a very powerful hurricane that's packing winds, 145 miles per hour. It is not impacting any land at this time, so that's the good news, and it's curving on up towards the north.

We're going to have to watch Bermuda, however, down the line, as we head into Sunday and Monday, but with a storm this powerful, we're still going to see some wave action along the U.S. Friday through Sunday. So any beachgoers will have to watch out for that. And then last but not the least, we got Julia out there, also a major hurricane and this one also looks like a fish storm. That will be curving on up towards the north. So very busy out there, but so far things are looking mostly okay here for the U.S.. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Jacqui.

President Obama has a $350 billion plan to help small businesses jumpstart hiring. But one New Jersey small business owner says that the problem actually lies with government unemployment benefits. Poppy Harlow will explain just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PHILLIPS: Moving up the charts now of AOL's worst songs ever made. You may laugh at the lyrics but keep this in mind, at least it reached the Billboard's top 10 in the U.S. in 1997 and even topped the charts worldwide. It's close to topping AOL's worst 100 charts now. "Barbie Girl' is in the number five. So what are the top three. Well, hang in there with us because we'll heal them throughout the show.

Also, we want to hear from you. Go to my blog and tell me what you think the worst song ever made was. CNN.com/kyra.

All right. We hear President Obama say this all the time. Small businesses create two out of every three jobs in this country, so the economic recovery depends on them. CNN money.com Poppy Harlow joins us live from New York.

I know you are going to talk about small businesses and thinking that they're going to hopefully get the help that they need. But worst song, Poppy. Do you want to weigh in?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I hated that Barbie song.

PHILLIPS: Awful.

And not just because you're a beautiful blonde. It had nothing to do with that?

HARLOW: Nothing to do with you as the beautiful brunette. I think the "Electric Slide," I despise and any wedding I'm ever at and they ever play it again, I refuse to dance. I don't know if that's a Billboard song or not. But anyway -

PHILLIPS: I'll check. I'll do to the 100. But go on to small business. I'll check out "The Electric Slide."

HARLOW: Exactly.

On to important things here. You know, we heard the president last week, as you know, make this big announcement saying we need $350 billion in additional aid to help businesses and put more people to work. So that got us thinking, we should go to a small business and see if it would help them.

So we visited this family-run small business in New Jersey. They have gotten stimulus money but they say any extra aid could really help them. But listen closely. You'll be interested to hear what they say the government should stop doing.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (on camera): How hard is it to run a small business right now?

MICHAEL HORSBURGH, PRESIDENT, RIDGID PAPER TUBE CORP.: It's not something that you can take a back seat on. You have to always be involved in every aspect of the business.

How much more do you have to do? Is this your last box?

HARLOW: We hear so often, nothing is made in America anymore. It's not true. Your company makes paper tubes?

HORSBURGH: Made in America. Materials are purchased in America and Canada, and our workforce are local people. We have the opportunity to add more jobs locally.

HARLOW: Is the president's latest plan, a $200 billion tax break for businesses - is that what small businesses need right now?

HORSBURGH: We need anything we can get. I would look into additional equipment to replace the equipment we have now.

HARLOW: Would that mean hiring more workers?

HORSBURGH: It would. It would allow us to put on a second shift. We currently have about 27 employees now. I hope to have about 50 employees within the next two years. I'd like to modernize our production lines and get into a larger building.

HARLOW: What do you think the government could do that it's not doing for small businesses?

HORSBURGH: I think that as far as unemployment extensions go, they could limit the amount of extensions they put. We've had a help wanted sign out front for probably six months. People come in, they fill out applications, but ultimately, we end up just signing their slip that they have been here, that they've looked for a job.

HARLOW: To get unemployment benefits? HORSBURGH: Absolutely. They're telling me that they're happy with the unemployment benefits they are receiving now and maybe when they end, they'll consider it. There has to be a point in time when somebody start fresh, get back into a company, start even if it's less than what they're making before because there's plenty of upward mobility in my company. If you are an aggressive, hard-working person, there's plenty of opportunities for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Interesting, Kyra, this small business that is doing relatively well in this recession and they could use more help. But listen to what he's saying I mean, he's saying that jobs, it's about minimum wage job, but people come in and they just want them to sign their unemployment benefits certificate, if you will, and then he calls them back for a second interview, and they say, no thanks, we'd rather get the benefits. You don't hear that a lot. Some people of course need those benefits. But he's saying I've jobs I just don't have enough workers, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Poppy, the "Electric Slide" is not on the list but "Cotton-eyed Joe" and the "Hamster Dance." They made it. Yes.

HARLOW: "Cotton-eyed Joe," yes, I know. I'm not going to sing it.

PHILLIPS: Come on "Cotton-eye Joe" is fun. Do you go to a two- step in a bar?

HARLOW: Yes, I don't want to.

PHILLIPS: You never worked in Texas?

HARLOW: No, I didn't.

PHILLIPS: I have no idea what the "Hamster Dance" is.

All right. We'll stay focus on small businesses and how we want them to be successful in this tough economy. That's for sure.

HARLOW: Certainly.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Poppy.

Let's check other top stories. More victories for the tea party movement, and last night's primary election is the biggest upset is in Delaware where tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell beat nine-term U.S. Congressman Mike Castle, in the GOP Senate race.

And first responders and survivors of the 9/11 terror attacks on Capitol Hill right now. They are lobbying Congress to pass a bill that provides with free health care. That measure didn't pass in July.

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

A road to recovery for some U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan. Now a happy reunion after a long and trying journey home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A difficult journey home for thousands of U.S. troops who served in the war in Afghanistan. According to the Defense Department, 7,951 have been wounded since the war started nine years ago, 3,691 troopers actually returned to duty, 4,260 did not.

Well, that journey home for U.S. troops, that is the focus of a very special series here on CNN. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr actually caught up with a trio of those soldiers. They're still serving their country while recovering from injuries back home at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I don't know if you remember meeting me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, ma'am.

STARR: Can I say hi. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: pretty good.

STARR: I don't want to hug too tight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm good, ma'am.

STARR (voice-over): I first met Private First Class Miguel Garcia, Specialist Aaron Nuckolls, and Staff Sergeant Benjamin McGuire on stretchers, wounded in a massive IED blast in Afghanistan. They were making the journey home. Now, up and around back at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st airborne division, we checked in to see how their recovery was going. Maguire was the most seriously hurt, a shattered jaw.

STAFF SERGEANT BENJAMIN MCGUIRE, U.S. ARMY: I was completely unconscious, ma'am. The first memory I have of that whole event was - I started to come around as they were pulling me out of the truck.

SPC. AARON NUCKOLLS, U.S. ARMY: They pulled him out of the truck and it looked like someone just slit his throat because from that cut down to his jaw. It was a nightmare.

STARR: The men initially thought they had been separated by the blast.

NUCKOLLS: It was horrible. I didn't know where Garcia was. The worst thing about it was no one would tell me what was going on. I was like, how's McGuire? I was yelling that, and no one would actually tell me he was OK.

STARR: But still a bit of humor when they look at their trip home when they were all still on heavy doses of pain medication.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's morphine talk right there.

STARR: Now we learned more about what the men had been through. Garcia was the gunner and Nuckolls then joined the team.

MCGUIRE: The very first time he joined our crew on our truck, we actually got ambushed that day on a route heading north in our sector, and our truck was hit by RPG on that day. So I joked with him and said you're not allowed to be my driver anymore.

STARR: Nuckolls was driving on July 12th when they were hit by the IED that made them brothers in arms forever.

NUCKOLLS: I was worried about rolling off a cliff because where we were was not a good spot to be hit. I think what they really planned to do was blow us off the side of the mountain because if they rolled us over two feet further, we would have rolled down about a 2,000 or 3,000 foot drop-off.

STARR: On that mountain, no Washington policy or politics, a friendship under fire that these men say will last forever.

(on camera): Day to day is really not about what Washington says? It's about your buddies?

PFC. MIGUEL GARCIA, U.S. ARMY: I don't care about the politics, ma'am. They tell me where to go and I make sure I try to take care of them as much as I can. That's what I do.

STARR: You feel the same way?

NUCKOLLS: I know without a doubt these guys would die for me just like I would for them.

STARR (voice-over): All three soldiers will tell you they're doing well but they will tell you, yes, they are still having nightmares about the attack but still they all hope to return to Afghanistan.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Underage girls disappearing into the underworld of online sex trafficking. We're focusing on it today, putting names and faces on girls gone missing, believed to be sold as prostitutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Capitol Hill focusing on the heart-wrenching underworld of sex trafficking today as lawmakers hold a hearing on the issue. An official from Craigslist will actually be there following the Web site's sudden move to take down its "adult services" section.

That site was under immense pressure to crack down on prostitution, and our Amber Lyon found out many of the women advertised weren't adults at all. They were actually children, and the Department of Justice says as many as 200,000 children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. Pinning down a hard number is tough because the of shadowy nature of that crime.

And the problem goes much deeper than just one Web site. Here's Amber Lyon with a follow-up to her exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Where are we headed right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going upstairs to her bedroom. She's a normal 12-year-old. Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers.

LYON: Does she sleep in her bed at night?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just so I can feel basically have that connection.

LYON (voice-over): A mother's anguish. Her 12-year-old daughter lured away by a pimp on her way home from school in April. She's then sold for sex on craigslist before the site closed the "adult services" section. She's also trafficked on another website, backpage.com.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A friend of mine told me to look on craigslist and it almost blew my mind. I really didn't believe what I saw. She was there with a wig on. She had on a purple nightgown.

LYON (on camera): Your 12-year-old daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And another one was her rear end. She was bent over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody wants to know when you look at a website and you see a list of prostitutes, how many of them are children?

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Nobody knows what the real numbers are.

LYON (voice-over): Back in June, we asked Craigslist to estimate the number of potentially underage trafficking victims in its adult services ad. Their answer -- quote, "effectively zero."

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: That's not true. We have been able to find, locate, and return home 54 missing kids on Craigslist. Now, that is a tiny fraction of what the total scope of the problem is. We found 12 kids on Backpage.

LYON: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children gave us current missing child posters, all being sold for sex. LYON (on camera): There are 52 missing persons posters behind me representing 52 girls, all under age 18, all missing right now -- Christina, Monica, Rachel. And The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says all 52 of these girls are being sex trafficked. Erica, Ashley, Nicole. The vast majority of them being sold on the Internet.

We've got white girls here, black girls here, Hispanic girls, Asian girls. The youngest girl on this wall went missing when she was 13 years old. A lot of these have something in common. She may be in the company of an adult male. Over here, Christina may be in the company of an adult male. In this case, that adult male is most likely the pimp.

(voice-over): A group based in Georgia called The Future not a Past commissioned a study. They were focusing on the men who try to buy sex online with underage girls.

KAFFIE MCCULLOUGH, A FUTURE NOT A PAST: We wanted to know what's the scope of this problem in Georgia. And to me, the results were staggering -- 7,200 men a month buying sex from adolescent girls. It's like, just took my breath away.

LYON: There's no legal obligation for Web sites to report ads that might involve underage prostitution. Backpage.com told CNN the site includes links to help users notify The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children if they identify potential abuses. And back in 2008, Craigslist promised to, quote, "work tirelessly in tandem with key non-profits" and agreed to report ads to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when they seemed to involve adolescents.

But in a period of 15 months, Craigslist only reported 132 ads. That's 132 out of more than 700,000 adult services ads that it rejected. Ads that could have provided vital leads about children being bought and sold.

And that 12-year-old girl we told you about at the beginning, by chance she called home just as we were speaking with her mother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should be home with your family, with your friends, with the people that love you.

LYON: The first time they'd spoken in the two weeks since the little girl had vanished. Police rescued the 12-year-old girl and arrested a 42-year-old man and charged him with human trafficking. One girl rescued out of thousands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing? Just please, step away.

LYON: Amber Lyon, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you can sympathize with people who take stuff that they need to survive in a bad situation, but this isn't one of those cases. Unless someone in San Bruno absolutely needed a couple's wedding ring and passport to live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories.

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

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will join Middle East peace talks in Jerusalem today. The possibility of new Israeli settlements is a sticking point. Palestinians says the construction (ph) could kill the talks.

Our Weather Center following three named storms. Hurricane Igor, nearing Category 5 status, and Julia now a Category 4. No watches or warnings for either one yet. Tropical Storm Karl made landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I understand not all looters are created equal, and sometimes in a disaster you've got to do what you've got to do to keep yourself and your family alive. But when you're taking big TVs, like we saw after Hurricane Katrina, or priceless artifacts, like we saw in Baghdad during the war, well, my sympathy wears out. And now we've seen the inexcusable kind of looting after hell visited that neighborhood in San Bruno, California.

One nervous family goes back to find the gas explosion and fireball actually spared their house, but looters didn't. The story now from David Guingona from KRON TV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GUINGONA, KRON-TV CORRESPONDENT (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.

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

GUINGONA: Dante and Jody talk about the emotional roller coaster they have been riding on since the explosion.

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

So, from there it was an awful feeling, you know, just being on pins and needles the whole time since the explosion happened, and waiting and, then we finally get back in our house, and 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 gift certificates along with jewelry and small items they could carry out easily. But what worries them most is the loss of items that could lead to identity theft.

JODY RAVELO, ROBBERY VICTIM: 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. Like we had wallets with leftover credit cards and things.

D. RAVELO: This guy potentially has our identity and critical documents.

J. RAVELO: My checkbook. Yes, everything.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Yes, that explosion showed that couple more mercy than some people did with absolutely no conscience. Police have been trying to protect that burned-out neighborhood from looters. In fact, they arrested a man they thought might be casing houses. He allegedly tried to drive away on his motorcycle when cops asked him for I.D., and he ran over the officer's foot.

In just a few minutes from now, we're going to get the latest news from the CNN Political Ticker. Our own Paul Steinhauser walking us through this hour's latest developments.

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PHILLIPS: So, who can forget that classic? Vanilla Ice burst into the scene, and "Ice, Ice Baby" popped onto the scene in 1990. It was actually the first hip-hop single to top the U.S. charts. And it's still hip. Hip to AOL's Worst Song List, ranking at number three now.

And ten years ago, the Baja Men had all of America asking, "Who let the dogs out?" And it had us asking how that song ever climbed to the Billboard charts. It actually ranks number two on the Worst Song List.

And number one? We will reveal that at the end of the show along with songs that you wrote to me and said you thought should be on the worst song list.

All right. Time now for the latest news from The Best Political Team on Television. That includes deputy political director "Ice, Ice" Paul Steinhauser, "Baby," in Washington.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm dying to find out what's number one, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You are on pins and needles. It will cross the Political Ticker in just about two minutes.

STEINHAUSER: You got it. I can't wait.

We have brand-new news, though. This goes to what happened in Delaware last night. You have been talking about it all day. Christine O'Donnell, of course, pulling that huge upset, the conservative candidate ousting the more moderate Republican establishment candidate, Mike Castle in that primary. The big question, will the National Republican Party now, will they back O'Donnell? Will they spend money on her in the midterm elections in November, the general election?

ake a listen to this, our Dana Bash, senior congressional correspondent just teamed up with Mitch McConnell. He's the top Republican in Congress. She asked him about just that. Take a listen.

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DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I ask you about your reaction to last night?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I will be supporting the Republican nominee, and we wish her the best.

BASH: What do you think of the idea that the national Republican senatorial campaign says they won't give her money?

MCCONNELL: You have to ask them about that. I'm going to support the nominee.

BASH: Do you think she can win, sir?

MCCONNELL: I'm going to be supporting the nominee. And we'll hope for the best. We would like to win the seat.

BASH: Has the outcome endangered a possible sort of majority for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go.

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STEINHAUSER: Wow, some good stuff there from Dana, Kyra. Brand- new stuff we just got on Capitol Hill. Dana talking, of course, talking to Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate. He says, yes, we're going to support the nominee.

We'll see, though. The key will be if the National Republican Senatorial Committee - how much money they do, if they do, spend on O'Donnell. Now, she is in a real dog fight with Chris Coons. He is the Democratic nominee.

This is a seat the Democrats, Kyra, want to hold onto. It was held on for many, many years by the former vice president -- Vice President Joe Biden.

Here, really quickly, what else is on the Political Ticker? Hey, we have been talking about Delaware, but also another victory, I guess you could say, for the Tea Party movement and for conservatives in New York state. Carl Paladino, the outsider, the businessman and developer. He topped Rick Lazio, former congressman in the GOP battle for the governorship up there. And then from the nomination. So, another victory there for the outsiders against the more establishment candidates.

Other stuff on the Ticker, take a look at this right now. The Democrats, Kyra, they're kind of giving us a tease. You were talking to Mark Preston earlier about Michael Steele and his big day, but the chairman of the Democratic National Committee - right there -- Tim Kaine, the former governor of Virginia. He's got a big announcement about two hours from now. And that's what the Democrats are telling us. They are touting it as a major announcement, something that will really excite Democrats across the country. They're not telling us much more than that. We are trying to dig in and find out exactly what's going on.

And finally, I confirmed with the Democratic National Committee that they are forking over another $1.67 million to the state committee, to the state parties, and also to the congressional committees. This is part of their plan to spend, they say, $50 million on the midterm elections. They are hoping spending some big dollars will help soften what could be big blows in those congressional elections, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks.

We're going to give you your next political update in just about an hour. A reminder, for the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

Tattoos, fake babies and Nancy Pelosi featured as the wicked witch from "The Wizard of Oz." That's just some of the wacked-out ads that are hitting the airwaves this political season. We're going to show you the best of them.

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PHILLIPS: Time for "Home and Away," our daily tribute to men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq or Afghanistan. And today, we are lifting up Staff Sergeant Jason Michael Butkus from West Milford, New Jersey. He was killed in an insurgent attack in Baghdad in August of 2007. Staff Sergeant Mark Randals Anderson sent in a tribute because he wanted people to know what Jason did for the men around him. He said, quote, "He was a great leader of warriors and would really give you the shirt off his back or cut into his personal time and go out of his way to ensure that other soldiers were always taken care of. He should be remembered for how well he prepared his troops and that all of them made it home safely."

We couldn't do these tributes without you. And we need more. Go to our Web site, CNN.com/homeandaway to see a map of the U.S., click on that town, pull up a bio. Just follow the directions to upload your thoughts, your pictures, your videos . We promise to keep the memories of your hero, our hero, alive.

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PHILLIPS: Election season always means high drama, speeches, debates, mud-slinging, and, of course, airwaves saturated with campaign ads. But this year the political theater reaches dramatic proportions. Here's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to the season's best campaign commercials the Best Remake of a Classic Award...

MARGARET HAMILTON, ACTRESS: I'll get you my pretty.

MOOS: ... goes to the Republican who tried to get Nancy Pelosi by portraying her as the wicked witch of all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, my pretty. I will save you.

MOOS: But she can't save herself from Pelosi's opponent.

JOHN DENNIS (R), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Stand back, everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I melted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for saving us. Who are you?

DENNIS: I'm John Dennis. I'm running for Congress.

MOOS: He's also run into criticism.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Saying that, you know, you're a sexist pig.

DENNIS: Do you feel that way?

KELLY: No.

MOOS: This season's most oddball ads have featured tattoos, lunch boxes, sneakers, scary old people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're going to have to answer to us.

MOOS: Fake babies. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. I can't do this.

MOOS: And even demon sheep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tom Campbell, is he what he tells us? Was he what he's become over the years, a wolf in sheep's clothing?

MOOS: The sheep in this case was slaughtered by Republican Carly Fiorina.

Best horror movie remake goes to a doctor running for coroner in Orleans Parish, who portrayed his opponent as Frankenstein.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need a heart, a spleen, and a liver for tonight's sale.

MOOS: Frankenstein won. Too negative for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't stand negative ads. Every time I see one, I feel like I need to take a shower.

MOOS: Democrat John Hickenrucker (ph) is the cleanest candidate for governor of Colorado.

(on camera) This was an ad that required the candidate to make at least six wardrobe changes.

(voice-over) And when we say six wardrobe changes, we're not counting the hat.

The Best Shot Award goes to this Arizona congressional candidate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conservative Christian and a pretty fair shot.

PAMELA GORMAN, CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I'm Pamela Gorman, and I approve this message.

MOOS: Some ads are so macho...

DALE PETERSON, CANDIDATE FOR ALABAMA AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: I bet you didn't know that. You know why?

MOOS: ... they invite parody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bet you didn't know that. Well, it's true. But it ain't, because I made it up.

MOOS: At least this candidate for Alabama agriculture commissioner didn't open fire.

PETERSON: I'm Dale Peterson and I'll name names and take no prisoner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll kill a man. I'll put a gun right in someone's mouth and say, "You need more lead in your diet."

MOOS: Both gun-toting contenders lost, but guns don't kill campaigns; candidates do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So give me the Republican nomination for Ag commissioner or I'll shoot you in the god (EXPLETIVE DELETED) head.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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PHILLIPS: All right. We're counting down the biggest stinkers to hit the music charts. Hey, we didn't rank the 100 worst songs ever. AOL Radio did. We're going to have the best of the worst in just a minute. But right now, please enjoy number 22 from Starship. Admit it, you've got this cassette tape somewhere.

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PHILLIPS: Tony, are you dancing over there?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Got some things going on over here.

PHILLIPS: Yes, a little ice, ice, Tony Hairs.

We are moving up the charts now of AOL Radio's 100 Worst Songs. Sorry, Ice, you're only number three. Better luck next year. Baja Men got you beat. Remember when this dog was unleashed on the radio? And

The worst of the bunch, drum roll, please - "It's Time to Beat Dat Beat" from DJ Pauly D.

HARRIS: "Beat Dat Beat?"

PHILLIPS: And that brings us to today's blog question. We asked to you weigh in on the worst songs ever, and, boy, we got a lot of haters out there.

Tim says, "It has to be Achy Breaky Heart. It's the only time I remember getting sick from a song." It's on the list, by the way.

Sam said, "Leo Sayer's 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.' And "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez. Both of these songs were wretchedly awful.

And Katalya says, "The worst song ever has to be 'Bye Bye, Miss American Pie '."

HARRIS: Oh, come on!

PHILLIPS: "I literally get nauseous ever time I hear it."

LGM says, " 'Jump' by Van Halen. Absolute worst song.

Wendy says, "The worst song has to be 'I Shot the Sheriff'!"

And Harris says "Worst song ever: Debbie Boone 'You Light Up My Life.'"

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: Remember we always want to hear from you. Just log onto CNN.com/kyra. Tell us what you think.

What do you think, Tony? Worst song ever, in your opinion?

HARRIS: I'm thinking something maybe from the Starland Vocal Band, maybe England, Dan and John Porcoley (ph).

PHILLIPS: Give me a little something. Yes, I'm still trying to figure out "Dat Beat" from DJ Pauly D.

HARRIS: I can't even remember that.

PHILLIPS: I don't remember that one.

HARRIS (singing): Come on, ride the train.

I don't know.

Have a great day, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

HARRIS: Wow.