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O'Donnell Dabbled into Witchcraft?; The Power of the Tea Party; Hurricane Igor Bruises Bermuda; Debating Genetically-Altered Salmon; Lady Gaga Leads Charge Against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; Paralyzed Soldier Fighting New Battle to Get Unapproved Surgery

Aired September 20, 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: Loved watching you guy this is morning. Nice dynamic. The two smartest people in -- in television news. That is for sure.

Candy, we'll miss you.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Excuse me.

(LAUGHTER)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": See you later.

PHILLIPS: I meant, Candy and that other guy to the left. Yes. No. Guys, it was great.

ROBERTS: You'll be hearing from me later on.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I'll be hearing from Candy, too, I have been all morning. Bye, guys.

Good morning, everybody. Lady Gaga wages war on behalf of gays in uniform. She has an army of diehard fans and the ear of D.C.'s most powerful. We gauge the pop star's potential to impact "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Genetically engineered salmon moves closer to your dinner plate. The FDA weighs in on the safety of the so-called Frankenfish.

And a district attorney puts the move on a domestic abuse victim sending her dozens of raunchy texts. And now he says he won't step down.

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, it's getting harder to be shocked by anything in politics. But here's a story that sure meets the challenge.

A politician admits that she dabbled in witchcraft. And it's not some local crackpot running for dog catcher. It's Christine O'Donnell, a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and a darling of the surging Tea Party movement.

Here's her surprising claim resurfacing from a 1999 interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven. But I did, I did.

JAMIE KENNEDY, ACTOR: Wait a minute. You were a witch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was a witch.

KENNEDY: You were a witch.

O'DONNELL: I didn't join a coven. I didn't join a coven. Let's get this straight.

KENNEDY: Wait a minute. I love this. You're a witch. You're going Halloween -- I was a witch. I mean wait a minute.

O'DONNELL: That's exactly why.

KENNEDY: How are you to be a witch?

O'DONNELL: Because -- because I dabbled into witchcraft, I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, O'Donnell's comments are raising eyebrows and some concerns from the GOP establishment. But what matters most is what voters are thinking just six weeks ahead of the midterm elections.

CNN's Jim Acosta will join with the results of a weekend straw poll in just a second. And CNN contributor John Avalon looks at O'Donnell's mission -- damage control.

John, let's go ahead and start with you. O'Donnell actually canceled two Sunday talk show appearances after this came to light. And now you are calling her the new queen of wing nuts.

JOHN AVALON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Ah, the queen of the wing nuts. Yes, and this week in the Values Voters she was very clear to say that she was not a wing nut. She was very specific about that. But this new revelations haven't helped.

And when you cancel Sunday shows in the last minute that is sign of a campaign in crisis and damage control mode.

This is just the newest revelation, but in reality, these sorts of claims have been dogging her campaign from early on. I mean the libertarian "Reason" magazine called her a crackpot of the first order before the primary. So this is just the latest information. And whether you find this witchcraft claim more controversial or offensive than statements like, say, that AIDS sufferers shouldn't be called victims, that's a judgment call. But there's a lot more where this comes from.

PHILLIPS: Well, and Karl Rove weighed in, of course, not showing her any love. And she actually tweeted Sunday night on that and said that if she did have the powers of a witch then Karl Rove would be backing her candidacy.

(LAUGHTER)

AVALON: Well, that's one way to spin it.

(LAUGHTER)

AVALON: Yes. I mean --

PHILLIPS: Well, does she owe -- does she owe an explanation to her fellow Republicans?

AVALON: You know, I mean, I don't think this should be taken that seriously. What it's indicative of this is that -- this is a comment made on "Politically Incorrect" 10 years ago. What it's indicative of it is that candidate who's got a huge amount of baggage, who will be radioactive to voters in the common sense center of America because of this and many, many other statements and questions about her candidacy.

Questions that other Republicans were raising before the primary saying hey, folks, we've got a good chance to pick up Joe Biden's seat of -- if the nominee is Mike Castle, but a really bad chance if it's Christine O'Donnell who's never held elected office before, but has run for the Senate three times in the last five years.

PHILLIPS: Now no one has come out -- well, Republican-wise and had her back. Mike Pence was even on "AMERICA" this morning, he skirted around the issues. We got six weeks and counting, John. And this is not her first obscure moment, shall we say?

You've talked about -- you know, I mean, we watched them, we've covered it. You mentioned the --

AVALON: Just the tip of the iceberg. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Well -- that's what we're wondering. Is this just the tip of the iceberg and how long --

AVALON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: -- until someone gets behind her or just says that's it, got to go? You're out.

AVALON: You know, I think she's in. Look, she won a close partisan primary. Fairly decisively. But the problem is that's not representative of the entire electorate. But she has the strong backing of the Tea Party express. But a quarter of a million dollars in her campaign in the last 10 days.

But this is going to keep coming out. There is a lot more where this comes from because throughout the 1990s she was essentially a professional social conservative activist, going on television shows, from MTV to "Politically Incorrect," and playing the kind of evangelical angel role here, and that is something that's going to create a lot of vulnerabilities.

There is videotape and a lot of it of her saying some things which can really alienate or raise some reasonable questions among reasonable- minded people.

PHILLIPS: I don't know, John. Can you imagine just kind of twitching your nose, doing a little bewitch action, being able to change policy? I don't know. That might be --

AVALON: That's the positive --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Yes. That's actually a nice way to look at it.

AVALON: Elizabeth Montgomery would be the positive witch model.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: There you go. Oh boy. Boy, did we age ourselves there.

John Avalon, great to see you.

AVALON: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's turn to the political movers and shakers who matter most. The voters.

CNN's Jim Acosta is in New York with the results of a straw poll that was held over the weekend.

Hey, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. You have to admit getting back to Christine O'Donnell was quite a vanishing act, you could say, on the Sunday talk shows this weekend. So, you know.

PHILLIPS: That's right --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: And it may take some hocus-pocus to get out of this fix for Christine O'Donnell.

PHILLIPS: She might need to switch something. Yes.

ACOSTA: Yes, exactly. But, you know, speaking of Christine O'Donnell, you know I saw her at the Values Voters summit as well as a lot of other conservatives. And her candidacy does bring up an interesting point. And that is she is sort of a hybrid candidate in the Republican Party of two very powerful political movements -- social conservatives, values voters, the people who put George W. Bush in office twice. They helped him win two elections as we know in the last 10 years. And this big growing political movement, the Tea Party movement.

So, you know, even though there's all this tape out there and Bill Maher, I think, said on Friday night on "Real Time with Bill Maher" that he's going to release a clip every week until she comes on his show, so this is going to get interesting as we go on here.

You know, she is very much supported inside both of those movements, and as we saw, she was able to beat a guy who was a former governor in Mike Castle up in Delaware and a congressman who had won multiple elections there.

Now getting back to the Values Voters Summit this weekend, you know, talking about those conservatives who were out there, there was another guy who did very well at the summit this weekend, and that is Mike Pence, the Republican congressman from Indiana.

He won a straw poll at that summit this weekend. It was kind of a surprise because Mike Huckabee won that straw poll over the weekend.

Mike Pence is another guy who also brings together social conservatives and Tea Partiers, so looking forward not just to the midterm but also to 2012, I mean, that could be a pretty good combination on any political candidate out there on the Republican side -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks so much.

Also happening right now, rapidly moving wildfire has forced the evacuation of more than 1600 homes in Harriman, Utah.

Investigators say that fire broke out at a National Guard base during a training exercise. Thirty-five hundred acres have burned and four homes have been destroyed. Two firefighters have been injured.

Winds are go blowing up to 50 miles per hour and fire crews are really concerned about more wind gusts today. Ferocious waves and high winds are also whipping through Bermuda even as Hurricane Igor spins away.

That storm brushed past the island overnight. Its eye turning about 40 miles off the west coast, but a near-miss still a big deal. Igor is enormous and hurricane force winds were clocked some 90 miles away from its center leaving beaches pummeled, trees and power poles splintered.

And now as the sun is coming up tens of thousands of people have been waiting out in the storm and darkness are getting ready to take stock of that damage.

Reynolds Wolf is actually live in Bermuda. Give us the latest, Reynolds. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the latest is, as you mentioned, the sun is actually peeking through the clouds a bit. But things are drastically improving but not before this island just got ravaged by winds for nearly 24, even 36 hours.

Tropical storm force winds intermixed with some hurricane force winds, the worst of which happened during the overnight hours and into the early morning.

It was not just wind, though. Pounding waves, incredible surf. We've got video for you showing you some of the tall waves, the wind at times impossible really to stand still with just being battered around by it.

Those winds and the waves created some flooding right along the coast, many streets impassable due to the water coming on shore. Tree limbs broken throughout the island. With the shattered tree limbs, of course, they tend to hit those power lines. Power lines of course -- toppled down and caused power outages across the island.

Kyra, this island is actually Bermuda's home for about 67,000 people. I can tell you that two-thirds are waking up without power this morning. And if this follows through very similar in terms of the recovery efforts we had back in 2003 with Hurricane Fabian.

In that situation it took some areas up to three weeks for power restoration. Hopefully won't be quite as bad then. But I have to tell you, as we wrap things up, despite widespread reports of roof damage, window damage, there've been no building collapses. Just thankfully no deaths, no major injuries.

So all things considered they did dodge a bullet. Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much.

Genetically engineered salmon moves closer to your dinner plate. The FDA weighing in on the safety of the so-called Frankenfish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: How about a little Frankenfish for dinner? Not a fish that you can actually find in the water but someday it might actually be at your local supermarket.

The Food and Drug Administration is holding a public hearing right now on genetically engineered salmon. The FDA says that the salmon are safe for eating but a lot of other people are saying not so fast.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us now.

So what's the difference between this salmon and ordinary salmon, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this salmon matures a lot faster so that it can get to market faster. That's really the only difference. Let's take a look at how they did this. It's kind of interesting from a scientific point of view.

This is a fish called an ocean pout. And you don't -- it's not eaten much anymore, which is probably why the name is unfamiliar. So what they do is these ocean pout, they have growth hormone in their systems all year round.

They take a piece of DNA and they put it into the salmon. The salmon only have growth hormone usually for a couple of months a year. So, in other words, by taking a gene from a fish that has growth hormone all year round, putting that into the salmon, the salmon then grow a lot faster.

Now the company that makes it says that is the only difference is that these salmon mature faster. They say they look and they taste and everything else just like a regular old salmon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, have they studied exactly what happens when humans eat this genetically modified fish?

COHEN: You know, Kyra, they haven't done big, huge studies or any -- really any major studies where they feed people this fish and they see what happens. So no, the answer to that is no.

The company says look, why should we need to do that. These salmon are exactly like any other salmon except for this one difference in this one gene. However, there is a coalition of a bunch of advocacy groups of nutritionists and consumer advocates and environmentalists, and they say look, we don't know what happens when people eat this. We think there should be long-term studies.

PHILLIPS: All right. So when would this salmon actually go into the marketplace?

COHEN: No, it would take a couple of years. The FDA is holding hearings right now. And even if the FDA says, let's go ahead, let's move with this, it would still take a couple of years to get to market.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right, so you heard what senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen had to say. What's your opinion? Genetically engineered fish. Good idea or something that should be thrown back?

Tell us what you think. Just go to CNN.com/Kyra. We'll read some of your responses in the next hour.

So, when you think Lady Gaga, you probably think about her outrageous outfits, the fact she's kind of an oddball, and she's a pretty big pop sensation. How about leading the charge against the military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy?

(MUSIC - "Just Dance")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now, Karl Rove calling on a Republican Senate nominee to explain her comments on witchcraft. In a 1999 interview, Delaware's Christine O'Donnell said she dabbled into witchcraft.

A wildfire has forced evacuation of more than 1600 homes in Herriman, Utah. The fire has burned at least 3500 acres and destroyed four homes. Fire officials say that the wildfire began on a National Guard base's firing range.

Hurricane Igor moving away from Bermuda after battering the islands with high winds and heavy rain. Igor not expected to hit the US, but it could cause life threatening rip currents on East Coast beaches.

From special forces to special accommodations. An army officer paralyzed in the line of duty hopes to get the necessary permission and surgery to walk again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC - "Paparazzi")

PHILLIPS: Well known for her wild outfits, among many other things, today pop star Lady Gaga actually goes to Maine promoting equally. Last night, she actually tweeted that she's going to attend a rally in Portland today that's being organized by a gay rights group. They're trying to convince the state's two undecided Republican senators to vote yes to the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Here's her message on YouTube, already more than a million hits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LADY GAGA, SINGER: I have called both of the senators that operate in my district. I will not stop calling until I reach them and I can leave them this message. I am a constituent of the senator. My name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga.

I'm calling to ask the senator to vote with Senators Harry Reid and Carl Levin to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and oppose John McCain's shameless filibuster. We need to do this for our gay and lesbian soldiers and finally repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The vote in the US Senate is slated for tomorrow. And stick around. In about 45 minutes, we're going to look at whether or not Lady Gaga has enough star power to actually take on the political powers in Washington.

An army soldier who was paralyzed in the line of duty hopes to embark upon another mission that could help him and others like him possibly walk again. Stumbling blocks being money and indecision involving cutting edge surgery that yet to be approved here in the United States. CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has the story.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, a military source told me about a badly wounded soldier here in Florida who's trying to convince the Pentagon to pay for an extraordinary medical procedure he believes will help him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Chief Warrant Officer Romy Camargo and his team were ambushed in Afghanistan in September, 2008. Romy was shot in the neck. This motorcycle-loving special forces commando instantly paralyzed from the neck down.

ROMY CAMARGO, CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER, US ARMY: I want to get better. I want to be able to hug my children. I want to be able to hug my wife.

STARR (voice-over): Still on active duty, Romy has a new mission, convincing the army to pay for an innovative surgery that might help him regain some movement and maybe even walk again.

CAMARGO: I was told once that when special forces I may be the first ones into a mission, that I guess this is the mission that I need, that I'll be sent on for the other soldiers.

STARR (voice-over): Romy and his wife Gabriela scoured the internet looking for help.

CAMARGO: We started researching it. Found out that Dr. Lima was doing this procedure.

STARR (voice-over): Dr. Carlos Lima in Portugal has been performing leading edge surgeries placing cells from the back of the nose onto injured spinal cords. It's worked in several cases. We spoke to Dr Lima via Skype.

CARLOS LIMA, DOCTOR, HOPSITAL DE EGAS MONIZ (via Skype): When I'm talking about recovering, I'm talking about patients walking with the walker again, and having movements on the legs again after years of paralysis.

STARR (voice-over): But military officials say it's not an approved procedure in the US. Romy recently made his case to a panel of military specialists, asking them to approve $60,000 in costs. The army is still reviewing Romy's proposal.

Lima has told him he'll have to be in rehab for years, a soldier still working out, getting conditioned.

CAMARGO: So for him to say that the physical therapy is the most important part --

STARR (on camera): That doesn't scare you. Doesn't scare you.

CAMARGO: Not at all.

STARR: Right. It's what you do.

CAMARGO: Exactly.

SCOTT NEIL, POST911FOUNDATION.ORG: I promised Romy that I was going to raise this flag over Ground Zero for him.

STARR (voice-over): Former army buddy Scott Neil stops by to say hello. Neil and others have even built this motorcycle side car so Romy can ride again. It's the Romy spirit.

STARR (on camera): Never quit.

GABRIELA CAMARGO, WIFE: Never quit. Thank God.

CAMARGO: I'm determined that I'm going to -- that I'm not going to be like this for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Military leaders like to say they'll do everything to help the wounded. In the case of Romy Camargo, we will see if that's a promise kept. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Army Ranger Romy Camargo is one of more than 8,000 coalition troops who have been wounded in the nine-year Afghan conflict. If you want to learn more about the men and women serving our country and the sacrifices they've made, just check out our web page, that's "Home and Away" on cnn.com.

For millions of people living along the Gulf of Mexico, it seemed that this day would never come. The BP well permanently sealed. Lots of long-term questions lingering. In a just few minutes, we get some answers straight from the head guy, Admiral Thad Allen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Guess what. You don't have to be afraid to check out your 401(k) statement. September actually has been a pretty good month for your investments. The Dow has risen the past three weeks, and it's on track to actually gain again today. Alison Kosik joining us with the good news from the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, this is a new twist.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a nice twist, isn't it? We are expecting to see some modest gains at the open. And more reason to take a look at your 401(k), so far this month the S&P 500 is up more than seven percent, on track for its best September in 56 years.

This week on Wall Street, it's going to be all about housing. We're going to get new numbers at the top of the hour on housing affordability. Later this week, we'll get some data on home construction and home sales.

Housing is really a major concern for Wall Street because it makes up a huge part of the economy. And as we learned three years ago when the recession began, housing has a big ripple effect. Since impact of the first time home buyer tax credit has faded, we're now going to be getting a more accurate reading on that sector, on the housing sector.

Meantime, shares of home builder Lennar, they're up four percent today. The company swung to a profit last quarter, and the average sales price picked up as well. And that is expected to give a boost to the market in the early going.

So, let me ask you this, Kyra? What do you like best about the fall? Could it be the cool, crisp air? The changing leaves? Or how about Oktoberfest, the grand daddy of all beer parties. It kicked off this past weekend in Germany. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the festival but there's something new, there's a ban on smoking. Six million people are going to be attending this event. It goes 17 days and more than 13 million pints of beer are expected to be served. Me thinks a lot of people are going to be calling in sick during this drunk fest. What do you think?

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. I wouldn't be surprised. Actually, I kind of like the dancing the best. But that's probably created by all of that beer.

KOSIK: Yes, could be all of the beer.

Let me tell you how the markets are doing, we are up across the board, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Up across the board?

KOSIK: We are. The Dow is up 19.

PHILLIPS: Had to pause for a moment. OK. That's all good news. There was nothing negative about this segment, really, Alison. I guess we're all still in a little bit of shock.

KOSIK: Beer got everyone in the mood.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. That's what it is. Everybody's pounding them from Oktoberfest.

Alison, thanks.

KOSIK: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, the worst oil spill in U.S. history is now officially sealed. We probably didn't expect to hear that either. But pressure tests actually officially confirm that the concrete is holding and BP's ruptured well is permanently plugged.

That announcement comes nearly five months after oil first started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. The broken well spewed more than 200 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf and it was temporarily capped more than two months ago. Oil is no longer washing up along the shore but Gulf residents say tar balls can still be found in ankle deep waters.

The government's point man on the crisis, Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen the subject of our "AM Extra" this morning.

He spoke to John Roberts, who joins us now, live from New York.

Boy, I bet this is a bittersweet moment for him, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Certainly a big relief, no question about that. Remember back, April 20th is when the Deepwater Horizon well exploded, killing 11 people. Almost exactly five months to the day, September the 19th, that the well was finally declared dead.

I talked with Admiral Allen this morning. I said, you know there's so much mistrust down on the Gulf Coast, of British petroleum, BP, and the government. Can you really give us a guarantee that this is dead. He said, they pressure tested it, we believe that this well is dead. We're not going to hear from it anymore in terms of the oil leak.

However, Kyra, of course, still a larger response going on to the millions of gallons of oil that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. 2,600 vessels, 25,000 people still working to clear the oil. And now there are other concerns, as well, raised by the folks from the University of Georgia, Samantha Joye, that there are sediments on the ocean floor that are filled with hydrocarbons and leftover oil that is settled down to the ocean floor. The government saying, well, maybe we can't say this is oil from the Maconda well. Researchers insist it is.

Here's what Admiral Allen said in response to that question this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THAD ALLEN, U.S. NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: What we really need to do is harness all the resources of the federal government and the state and local institutions, including academia and build a database that can tell us more about the Gulf. Right now, the readings we're taking don't show large concentrations. But really talking about microscopic particles of oil. We really need to understand better what's happening on the sea floor and that's what our intention is right now to actually do testing out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So this testing will continue, as well. The government investigation, Kyra, into what happened back there on April the 20th continues, as well.

BP released its preliminary findings and also has some new information saying that when that relief well tapped into that outer part of the well it's called the annulus. You have the well casing, the pipe that runs down the middle. Then you have the raw rock around it. That space is an annulus. It was believed that maybe there had been a collapse of that whole system and oil had come up that way which caused that blow-out. BP says they didn't find any oil or gas in that surrounding space between the pipe and the rock, the annulus. They're saying there was not a design flaw so they're trying to come up with some ammunition to beat back potentially against anything the government investigators find.

PHILLIPS: Well, and Thad Allen, his life changes quite a bit now.

ROBERTS: It does. He's going to stay on until the 1st of October, so really only another week and a little bit. And then he's going into private life. Looks like he's going to stay in Washington, he's joining a think tank, we've got the name but the name hasn't been released so we'll let the Admiral do that. But he will be going back into the private sector, but still staying very much in the policy field when he goes to this think tank.

PHILLIPS: Doesn't surprise me. He's done a lot of thinking for a number of months, a number of years. We need that brain in other places.

ROBERTS: He's done more thinking than any of us would ever hope to do.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. He's tired of thinking. Poor guy.

All right. Appreciate it. Thanks, John.

ROBERTS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Sarah Shourd freed after more than a year in an Iranian prison but part of her remains locked up halfway around the world. She's now vowing to work toward gaining the freedom of her two hiking companions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: American hiker Sarah Shourd is speaking out. She actually told reporters how part of her remains back in the Tehran prison cell where she was held prison. Shourd returned to the U.S. over the weekend after her release earlier this week from Iran. She and her two hiking companions allegedly crossed over into Iran from Iraq in the summer of last year.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sarah Shourd is back in the United States but her homecoming is bittersweet. Clutching her own mother's hand and staying close to the mothers of her two companions left behind, the freed American hiker called their arrest a "big misunderstanding."

SARAH SHOURD, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: We committed no crime, and we are not spies. We in no way intended any harm to the Iranian government or its people. If we were indeed near the Iran/Iraq border, that border was entirely unmarked an indistinguishable.

CANDIOTTI: Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Iran has promised to try the two other hikers on spy charges but has not offered any evidence that they were up to no good. Can their release be negotiated?

MAHMOUS AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (via translator): We're always prepared to talk but under fair conditions and respectful conditions. If somebody thinks that they can, like, order us around or rule us, and talk, that wouldn't work.

CANDIOTTI: Sarah Shourd did not stray from a prepared statement and did not discuss her treatment in one of Iran's most notorious prisons. She appeared composed and vowed to work to free her companions.

SHOURD: I stand before you today only one-third free. That was the last thing that Josh said to me before I walked through the prison doors.

CANSIOTTI: Shourd says doctors in Oman have given her a clean bill of health adding her spirit may be bruised but not broken.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: CNN Wednesday night, our Larry King will ask the Iranian president about the case against Sarah Shourd's hiking companions, plus Iran's nuclear program and more. Don't miss "LARRY KING LIVE" Wednesday night at 9:00 Eastern.

All right. Let's check our top stories now.

Hurricane Igor moving away from Bermuda, but strong winds are still causing concerns. There's been lots of rain, power's been knocked out to two-thirds of the island but no reports of serious damage.

A fire outside Salt Lake City, Utah, has forced evacuation of more than 1,600 homes near Herriman. Schools are closed and far 3,500 acres has burned along with four homes.

In Las Vegas, jetsetter Paris Hilton expected to plead guilty to cocaine possession. Hilton was arrested last month in a Vegas hotel casino. She's expected to serve jail time.

Christine O'Donnell, a darling of the Tea Party, a target of the Democrats. We're going to look at the ad wars that are heating up in Delaware.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The latest from the Best Political Team on Television now.

CNN deputy political editor Paul Steinhauser in Washington.

What's crossing?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra. Brand new -- you were just talking about earlier this hour. Christine O'Donnell and that crazy Senate race in Delaware. Well, yesterday - Democrats do not waste any time - Democratic Party up with a new ad, their first in Delaware, going after O'Donnell for what they call her "fiscal irresponsibility."

And just in the last hour I've learned that the Tea Party Express, remember, that's one of those major Tea Party organizations, they say they have new ads up in the works, TV, radio in support of O'Donnell. They, of course, were the group that pumped around $250,000 into help to her out in her primary upset over long-time moderate Republican Mike Castle.

Kyra, check this out. Jay McMichaels, you can go into here. On the CNN Political ticker this morning, also new, Obama to headline DNC fund-raiser Monday. That's right. The president playing the role of fundraiser in chief today. He's going to Pennsylvania, not only to headline and be the main attraction at the Democratic Party fundraiser, but also at a separate one to help out Joe Sestak, the Congressman from southeast Pennsylvania. It's the Democrat's nominee for the Senate there and polls suggest he is trailing his Republican rival in a number of recent polls. The Democrats, of course, want to hang on to that seat if they can.

Finally let's talk about the vice president. He's also out there, as well today. Vice President Joe Biden going to Ohio. Between the vice president and the president, this will be their fifth visit to Ohio within the last month. It's a crucial state. The vice president will be teaming up in two events with the Democratic governor out there, Ted Strickland, faces a very challenging reelection. Remember, presidential politics also important in Ohio, not just about this year's midterm. So we'll keep a close eye on that.

Kyra, a lot of stuff going on, on the political ticker. And you know where to find it, CNNPolitics.com.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Paul.

We're going to have your next political update in just about an hour. A reminder, for all of the latest political news, you can also go to our web site CNNPolitics.com.

A prosecutor who's supposed to advocate for the victims of crime actually makes a move on one instead. You're going to read some of the dirty text messages that he actually sent to a sex abuse victim while he was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a district attorney in Wisconsin says he won't quit his job. Even after sending a string of sleazy text messages to a sex abuse victim. This one is pretty hard to comprehend. I've got to start from the beginning.

A 26-year-old woman goes to the police and accuses her ex- boyfriend of trying to choke her to death. The ex-boyfriend is charged and the case starts working its way through the justice system.

Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz is prosecuting the case. But he allegedly starts hitting on the victim. Police records say that he called her a tall, young, hot nymph, asking if she was the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA. Are you kidding me?

The victim says that she felt pressured to start a relationship with Kratz out of fear that he'd drop the case. Now for a while Kratz called the whole controversy a smear campaign. Now he's apologizing saying he'll go to therapy. But he's not going to step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN KRATZ, CALUMENT COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: My behavior was inappropriate. And I'm embarrassed and ashamed for the choices that I made and the fault was mine alone. This behavior showed a lack of respect, not only for my position but for the young woman that was involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Yes. You think so? He's just the latest guy to be added to our sexting scandal list. Remember Nevada Senator John Ensign sending this to his mistress. "How wonderful it is, scared but excited." That's pretty innocent compared to the text that Tiger Woods alleged mistresses say that they got. "I want to treat you rough" and it gets x-rated from there.

Or how about the former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who reportedly talked sex and marriage with his chief of staff. "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself."

Whatever happened to fidelity, courtship, moral compass? It's time to give the thumbs a rest, boys.

All right, here's what we're working on in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM beginning with Stephanie Elam. Hi Steph.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kyra.

Well, we're talking about something that's a sensitive subject for a lot of people. Black people make less, save less and pass less money on to the next generation than their white counterpart. What's driving the financial divide? I'll have that story for you in the next hour.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And -- and the sun is out, Igor is gone and now it's time to assess the damage. I'll bring you the full report coming up from Bermuda.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, guys.

Also ahead from pop star to public policy shaper? Lady Gaga: voicing support to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LADY GAGA, SINGER: I'm calling to ask the senators to vote with Senators Harry Reid and Carl Levin to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and oppose John McCain's shameless filibuster. We need to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So will she make an impact? We're talking about it next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, weather plays a huge role in warfare, so an accurate forecast is critical before the troops move in. That forecast is provided by an elite military weather team and our own meteorologist Rob Marciano joined them on a training mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Here in the Florida Panhandle is the Air Force Special Operations Command. And this is the 10th CWS, Combat Weather Squadron. Let's go see what they do.

In a hopeless attempt to have me fit in they provided me with some fatigues and some safety gear. This is my country. Special Operations Weather Team; SOWT baby at least for a day.

(voice-over): There's less than 100 SOWTs in the Air Force. From World War II to Afghanistan, they've deployed on the battlefield working with the likes of the Army Rangers, Navy Seals and other special forces. Their weather call and environmental recon are key to a mission's success.

MAJ. DON GARRETT, U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: Now if you did lock in, you pull of this (ph) and then the plane crashes, this is how you get out of it. And you just grab this and pull this.

MARCIANO (on camera): What is that about plane crashing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be off to the west of the airfield.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Today is jump day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sound off for equipment check.

SOLDIERS: Sound off for equipment check.

MARCIANO (voice-over): They rehearse on the ground what they'll do in the air. (on camera): So we're on the tarmac now and they've got all of the gear, typically that they were bringing on a real mission. This is the plane they are getting on.

(voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel Joe Benson commands the Combat Weather squadron.

(on camera): How important is what you guys do to the overall mission?

LT. COL. JOE BENSON, COMMANDER, 10TH COMBAT WEATHER SQUADRON: Well, most of what we do is the collection part of weather. In other words, we go out into places that are either hostile, inaccessible to other troops and we go and we collect weather observations, we'll go and we'll assess a river condition, we'll do terrain.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Sometimes getting there requires a parachute.

(on camera): So this is the main.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, don't -- please don't pull that.

MARCIANO: One shot. What's this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the reserve.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Loaded into the back of this C-130 are 18 Special Operations Weather soldiers, if you want an accurate forecast of the battlefield, sometimes you got to jump out of a plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you guys ready back there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.

MARCIANO (on camera): One minute before they go out the back door. I legally can't jump. I'm not disappointed about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear six jumps in the way.

MARCIANO (voice-over): With the static line guys out at 2,500 feet we climb higher and the spotters eye the next drop zone.

(on camera): Six weather jumpers left, we're at 10,000 feet now. These are going free fall. They can go as high as 30,000. If we need weather data, the forecast behind enemy lines, they are the ones who do it.

You guys rock.

(voice-over:) What comes next is an adrenalin-filled minute falling as fast as 200 miles an hour. Deploy the chute, and get on the ground ASAP. This could be hostile territory, and the weathermen have arrived. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Certainly an eye-opening experience, Kyra. I've heard about these guys over the years but I -- have had a hard time reading up on them or seeing any pictures of them. Obviously, that's the idea when you're -- kind of working with these covert, small Special Forces unit.

And tomorrow we'll talk a little bit more about exactly what they do when they get on the ground. And you'll meet some of the heroes that are bringing the accurate forecast to their -- the soldiers fighting next to them -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Do they really have to be on the ground to forecast?

MARCIANO: Well, you know, we often say, there's nothing like good observations to get a good forecast, the computer model is only as good as the data that -- that we put in them. But, more specifically than that and something I didn't really think about until I -- I spent some time with these guys, because they do much more than just forecast the weather.

In the military, you know, everything is mission-specific. They get down on the there if they have to cross a river, well they have to make sure that that river is actually crossable for both men and equipment. If they've got to go over a mountain or a mountain pass, they've got to make sure that they can actually get over -- up and over that terrain, if there's avalanche danger and that sort of things.

So there's a lot more to this than just weather forecasting. And certainly these guys a little bit different than the guys I went to school with -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I don't know. Seeing you in those fatigues, it looks like you're ready to join the military.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- right in there perfectly.

MARCIANO: My skill set is not where theirs is, that's for sure.

PHILLIPS: That was a great piece. Thanks Rob.