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Terror on "Pirate Lake"; Terror Alert for Americans; Encounter with Pirates on Mexico; Texas Border; Checking the Political Ticker; Obama Economic Team 2.0

Aired October 04, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now, I want to welcome the men and the women watching us on American forces network all around the world. Hour two starts now.

Serious warnings overseas. Are terrorists right now gearing up for attacks across Europe and are we a target?

I'm Brooke Baldwin. It's now. It's urgent. It's happening here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): More countries on high alert. What are the targets? Who's at risk? And who's behind it all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting at them and shooting at them until they hit the husband.

BALDWIN: Pirates hit close to home. An American couple on jet skis under attack. I'll tell you about the dramatic chase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (on-camera): We begin this hour with frightening and a deadly encounter involving an American couple and some Mexican pirates. Here's what we know. It happened on this lake. Take a look at this map with me. This is a lake that straddles the border between Texas and Mexico. You see it? It's called Falcon Lake. Now, these pirates reportedly shot a man who's riding, you know, a sea do on the lake with his wife.

His wife is Tiffany Hartley (ph). She told the witness that she and her husband, David, had gone to the Mexican side to take pictures of this old Spanish mission. There are the pictures. They were still on their way back to the U.S. side of the lake when they were approached by these three boats flying along carrying pirates waving guns. Imagine, what would you do?

In this heart-wrenching phone call to 911, Tiffany Hartley describes what happened. Let me read this for you. Here's what the 911 operator said. She says, are you sure that your husband got shot? Caller, yes, in his head. Caller, he was thrown off of the jet ski, and I couldn't pick him up to get him on mine. She begins to sob. 911 operator says, uh-huh. Caller say, he's just too big. Tiffany Hartley has asked if she saw anybody. She said she saw those three boats, quote, "and they came back looking at me." She had to make this difficult decision -- imagine -- to leave her husband behind, who'd been shot in order to save her own life. David Hartley is listed as presumed dead. His body still has not been recovered from Falcon Lake. Now, that shooting happened on the Mexican side.

As I mentioned, it happened last Thursday. And U.S. authorities don't have the jurisdiction to go and look for it. By the way, this is not the first time pirates have been spotted in Falcon Lake. The Texas Department of Public Safety actually started urging Americans, and specifically, fishermen to stay away from the Mexican side of the lake since last May. The sheriff of the Zapata County is calling this lake a danger zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF SIGIFREDO GONZALEZ, ZAPATA COUNTY, TEXAS: Pirates on the lake trying to steal some money from these individuals. It's also notorious because there's a lot of drug trafficking there. A lot of drugs are stored in that area from what I understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There have been at least four other pirate encounters since last spring. Let me go back and show you the timeline here. It actually goes back April. Since April 30th, heavily armed men approached two boat loads of fishermen. They claimed they're federalis and demanded drugs and cash. They got away with $200.

Moving on, May 6, three fishermen robbed by two men pointing semiautomatic rifles. A couple of days later, May 16th, five armed men board a boat on the U.S. side of Falcon Lake, U.S. side. August 31st, pirates in a boat with game warden -- misspelled, in letters made out of duct tape tried to stop some fishermen during a fishing tournament.

So he took off, outran the pirates, and Zapata County sheriff, Ziggy Gonzalez good enough to join me on the phone to walk me through some of this. And sheriff, thanks for calling in. First, I just have to ask, I know again this isn't your jurisdiction, but it's Mexico's. But any word on David Hartley's body. Still missing.

GONZALEZ: Nothing whatsoever, Brooke. Nothing whatsoever. We have been contacted the Mexican authorities on a daily basis. We're trying to coordinate within volunteers from Mexico to be able to go out there and look for something. The Mexican government has not responded to our request for a search mission or a rescue mission. So, nothing yet. We still have a missing person in Mexico.

BALDWIN: Now, sheriff, I keep reading about this region and this Falcon Lake, specifically. A lot of people calling it this vortex of violence and you because this is, basically, your backyard. Explain to all of us that this is home turf for a brutal deadly drug cartel Los Zetas. Set the scene for me. Explain the turf and perhaps even a turf battle. GONZALEZ: Well, the territory we talk about is really territory that's clamed, just as the gangs claim territory inside the city, this gang, there are cartels claim territory along the river bank, on both sides border, unfortunately. And this (INAUDIBLE), we're trained our government and get rid of our warfare. There would be military elite or special forces when they detected and went to the gulf cartel. And I'm trying to make this short as I can, but then they were able to defect from the gulf cartel (INAUDIBLE) the gulf cartel themselves, trading their own cartel.

Therefore, another fighting. We got the bullets that are hitting buildings on the U.S. side of the border, specifically, colleges and city hall like in El Paso, Texas and homes across the border in the United States. So, they can disturb. Anybody wants to go through those, they have to pay attacks.

They got to bring in drugs or human smugglers. These people protected turfs very, very well. I think what may have happened with the Hartleys really went over not really thinking what would happen, and they were chased out of here and shot just to make sure they get out of the turf.

BALDWIN: Sheriff, who -- forgive me for interrupting here, but who, though, do you think the pirates are? As you described, this is sort of a turf battle between Gulf Coast cartel, the Zetas cartel, but these pirates. These are actually young boys, are they not?

GONZALEZ: My understanding is they're 15, 16, 17-year-olds that have been given automatic weapons. They barely know how to use them. They don't even know where the safeties are at, but they are the forces. Like I said, the lookouts for specific cartels. So, they're the ones who protecting the territory. It's very (ph) dangerous.

BALDWIN: It's dangerous. They have a lookout. So, maybe B-team, perhaps, for the Zetas. I've heard them referred to perhaps you referred to them as Zetitas. So, they're trying to make it to the big league, become part of the Zeta carte, and in the meanwhile, these innocent folks caught in the cross hairs.

But what's the situation, is this a turf battle or is this essentially about money? Because if you look at the different instances when some of these American fishermen are perhaps on the wrong side of the pond, if you will, it's about money. It's about robbing them.

GONZALEZ: My understanding is since they've started this war -- the Gulf cartel against pacific cartel in mid January. Since then, they spent a lot of money. They're not able to pay some of their employers (INAUDIBLE). They're no longer getting paid whatever this thing (INAUDIBLE). So, therefore, people go fishing onto Mexican waters and they rob them because they need money. They haven't been paid.

BALDWIN: And they're posing as game wardens. They're posing as federalis.

GONZALEZ: The reason they do that is because U.S. fishermen are so used in fishing Mexican waters. You know, in Zapata County, you can buy a Mexican fishing license at any time to be able to fish in Mexican waters. And these individuals would fish like always in Mexican waters. These guys, however, are approaching them on boats used for Mexican commercial fishermen.

They -- of course, U.S. fishermen thought they were just, you know, Mexican commercial fishermen, but they realize that there's machine gun pointing at them.

BALDWIN: AK-47s, AR-14s. I mean, these guys are heavily armed.

GONZALEZ: AK-47s, AR-14s. Yes, they are very heavily armed, but the main thing is, they're going to Mexico.

BALDWIN: But, sheriff, I have to ask, though, is there going into Mexico? I mean, we know that the Texas Department of Public Safety is telling Americans, hey, stay out of the Mexican side of the lake, but are you getting any help from the Mexican government? What is Mexico saying?

GONZALEZ: No. We're not getting any help at all from the Mexican government. We've contacted several of them again, and to no avail. That lookout of this place by the Department of Public Safety was joint news brief by my office, the DPS and by (INAUDIBLE)

BALDWIN: I might have lost you, but that was Zapata County sheriff, Ziggy Gonzalez explaining this horrific situation in this lake straddling Mexico and the U.S. Sheriff, thank you.

There's, by the way, a whole lot more to this story. Local authorities say these pirates used to run away from them, but they're attacking them instead. How real is the threat on this water? Coming up, I'm going to talk with another man who claims he was attacked by pirates, too.

Also, a major cell phone company -- you may be using this company, is now admitting to overcharging millions of customers, and it's shelling out some big bucks to try to make up for it. So, should you be expecting a check in the mail? Here's something you definitely need to stick around for. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Here's what's happening right now. One person is dead, ten others are injured in this school bus crash. This is Carroll County, Georgia that is just outside of Atlanta. You can see there. The rear wheels are off of the bus, kind of to the right of the bus, it's on its side. A public safety spokesman said it looks like the driver lost control, ran into a ditch, and the bus simply overturned.

The coast guard says the Houston Ship Channel will be closed at least until tomorrow night. Why? Because a barge hit this electrical tower yesterday. There it is, knocking down this power line. The coast guard says 33 ships are waiting to move through that waterway which leads to the busiest petrochemical port in the U.S. It serves five refineries. It is the first Monday in October. Do you know what that means? Supreme Court begins the new session today. The newest justice, Elena Kagan, on the bench for her very first term. And -- you know that got right to work, in fact, in decision, the justices already rejected efforts by some families of 9/11 victims who wanted a more thorough processing of material from the World Trade Center site.

And Verizon users, listen up here, you may be in for some moo la, some cash. Maybe not so much. Probably less than $6, but an FDC investigation found the company charged millions of cell phone users about $15 million in so-called mystery fees. So, if you are still a customer, look for a credit on your bill this month or next month. Former customers, we're told, will get a check in the mail as well.

And travelers beware. There is this heightened international alert, but what is it based on? And what is the security community's response? That is ahead.

And what state election is critical to the ultimate control of Congress come November? West Virginia -- why does that state have all this clout and a whole lot of GOP attention? I'm going to drill down with our senior congressional correspondent. There she is in West Virginia. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Wild and wonderful West Virginia. That's what they call it. I lived there. I know. And this little state is critical to which party has control of the Senate. And right now, that race, it is a tossup. In this contest is we have a long-time seat of the late Democrat, Robert Byrd. The race is a tossup. According to two very well respected polls, at play here, you're looking at two-term Democratic governor. That is Joe Manchin. He is in this nail biter with Republican, John Raese.

And I want to show you why this is such a surprise. When Manchin won his race for governor, he did it in a landslide. Look at these numbers. He won with 70 percent of the vote beating his Republican challenger by 44 percentage points. Now, the unexpected closeness of this particular Senate race has led to racy getting this huge cash infuse (ph). And I'm talking $3 million.

From national Republican, this is money to be used, obviously, against Manchin in some of these television ads. So, how did such a popular governor end up in such a close Senate race? I want to bring woman who definitely knows the answer to that, senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She is there in Morgantown, West Virginia. Following this race, very closely for us.

Dana, good to see you. The obvious question is, in having lived in West Virginia, I met the governor. Everyone seems to love Mr. Manchin. So, why, Dana, is this race so tight?

DAN BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is so fascinating. The answer, it seems to be because of the anger that we have been talking about at Washington and specifically Democratic control of Washington. You are absolutely right in the numbers that you cited in your recollections of the state and of the governor. I witnessed it yesterday. He is popular. People like him Democrats and Republicans.

But as popular as he is, that is unpopular as the president is in the state. We should not (ph) vote for him and still does not -- probably likes him less now that he has been in office for two years. So, they -- Republicans are very much trying to tie the governor they like to the Democrats that they don't like in Washington. So, what Manchin is trying to do, Brooke, is desperately trying to remind him that he's an independent voice.

He is somebody who's centrist. And that he actually says he'll be somebody like the man he is trying to replace, Robert Byrd, who he says never listened to anybody who told him how to vote. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOE MANCHIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I think at the end, when the people look at who they want representing, we have Senator Byrd, the spirit of Senator Byrd. There's no president ever told Senator Byrd how to vote. There's no president going to tell me how to vote. Only the people in West Virginia and the interests of West Virginia are going to control my vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: But then Dana, you have to look at the side which is John Raese. And he says, you know, I knew his name was familiar and he's definitely played politics before. You know, he's somebody who's run for statewide three times before in West Virginia, twice for senator alone. So this time, what makes him think he's going to clinch this thing?

BASH: I just talked to him right up the street here in Morgantown, Brooke, and he says that the difference between now and the other times that he's run is that people have come more his way in terms of being angry at government and too much government regulation, too much government control.

He is somebody -- he actually says that he's to the left of the tea party. He opposes or wants to get rid of the Department of Education and wants to get rid of the Department of Energy. He says he wants to do away with the minimum wage. And listen to what he said about the IRS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN RAESE, (r) WEST VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I also have to look at the Internal Revenue System. Does that work? Obviously, we paid billions of dollars every year, every year, just for the right to pay our taxes. But once again, do we really need to do that? Why don't we simplify it?

And I've certainly looked at fair tax. I've look at flat tax. But if I get to the United States Senate or if I do get to the United States Senate, I'd like to review that. We have over 100,000 federal agents who work for the IRS right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, he is unabashed and unapologetic, Brooke, about the idea that he wants to shrink the government and do away with a lot of federal agencies. But his biggest talking point, you see it on television here, you hear it every other word out of his mouth is that he says Joe Manchin will be a rubber stamp for Barack Obama and for the democrats in Washington. That is Manchin's biggest challenge is convincing voters, no, he's not. That he is independent.

And you know, this is a state that has actually done relatively well compared to the national average. Unemployment is lower than the national average. So, the deficit has actually gone down since Joe Manchin is the governor. And you talk to others who say they get that, they recognize that. That's the reason why they like him as policies and they like him personally, but some of them just say they are worried about electing somebody to the Senate who is a democrat and will continue to vote with the Democrats, they say.

And he says, look, I'll be my own guy. This is such a fascinating race, really -- really an illustration of what's going on in the national mood and the frustration with the Washington.

BALDWIN: It's a small state. It could have a very large impact when it comes to the senate, which way it goes come November. Dana for us in Morgantown. Dana, thank you.

Hey, do you play golf? I'm trying to play. I'm taking lessons. Take a look at this. This is one for every golfer whose shot has gone a little bit off course. Take a look at this picture. This is Tiger Woods in the background, white blur -- that is the ball headed straight for the camera. We'll tell you what happens next

Also ahead, that terror alert for travelers headed to Europe. We're going to break down the chatter, the tension that has the whole world -- has all of our attention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We are just getting out, getting some brand new information about those possible terror threats overseas. Intelligence is, in fact, so credible and so urgent that the state department is warning Americans in Europe to be careful, but we're wondering, what does that mean? What should people be doing differently over there? Here's where everything stands this minute.

As we have reported, arrested a German citizen in Afghanistan, and he is talking. He is apparently spilling details about this Mumbai-style terror plot in multiple European cities. We are also told that there are no specific details about the targets or even the timetable. But I want to begin by talking about Europe with a look at what is going on there today.

In fact, we're talking basketball here. The L.A. Lakers are on a tour in this mega arena in London, the '02 arena. Here is Phil Black.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beneath that dome behind me, the '02 arena, there are 18,000 people cheering on the L.A. Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That big crowd has traveled here from across Britain, across Europe, even. There are many Americans among them. It's the sort of large public event, but the U.S. government and others are warning people to show greater vigilance at.

And I spoke to some of the fans as they were coming in about whether they had any fears or concerns about coming to this sort of event. This is what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I worried about it, I wouldn't leave the house at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In London, that's the case all the time. You can say that all the time about London. So, absolutely not. Business as usual.

BLACK: And it's not going to stop you from seeing this game?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, never, never. Nobody is going to stop me to see this game. I love this game.

BLACK: If I blow today, then I'll be happy to die tomorrow. At least, I'll watch Kobe Bryant play.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that's the scene. That's the sentiment in London. But now, as all of this is going on, we are learning today, in fact, just in the last couple of hours, more about this drone stripe that may have something to do with these plots. It may. we Don't know yet. Jill Dougherty joins me from D.C. And Jill, we know strike, this drone strike. It happened in North Waziristan. What more do we know about that?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, you know the information that we do have a lot of it is coming from Pakistani officials. And they say that it happened, as you said, in North Waziristan. That is in Northwest Pakistan. They say this -- the drones hit a building in which there were some alleged terrorists. They believe that they hit some German nationals who are part of that terror plot.

Now, the -- again, the Pakistanis are saying that they were members of jihad-al-Islami. Important here, Brooke, is the timing of this, because it comes just one day after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said that they were warned of plotting against European targets. And then also, European intelligence officials saying that German nationals were behind some of that plotting. So, put those together, it looks as if it could be connected, but there's no definitive statement that it actually is. And another part of this is that warning that the state department has been issuing. And you know, today, at the briefing, here at the state department, Brooke, we asked, why weren't specific countries named? P.J. Crowley, the spokesman for the state department saying there simply, at this point, isn't enough specific information to name those countries. But nevertheless, that alert is out there warning Americans to be careful.

It's all very sensitive because Germany -- it's a very important relationship with the United States. They would want to make sure that there actually is a connection before they said something like that.

BALDWIN: Jill, I know as you mentioned with this warning, specifically in some of these Western European countries and they're telling Americans, hey, be vigilant. What about us here at home? I just have to ask, is there any reason to believe that we, here, in the United States may also be a target?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that's a constant concern. At this point, it seems to be targeting Europe. But that said, you know, al Qaeda, as the United States has been saying, is plotting to carry out attacks against various targets. So, although specifically, there's nothing dealing with the United States. You can certainly bet that the -- the concern about the level and the possibility of attacks continues to be raised behind the scenes.

It's a very fluid situation, but it is notable that these warnings, I should say, alert coming from the state department is being issued at this point.

BALDWIN: Jill Dougherty, thank you.

We talked this hour about these pirates. They're accused of killing an American on this lake and then they chased his wife. And this isn't the first time this has happened.

I'm going to talk with a man who has witnessed this incident. We have got him. That is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. We have more on this developing story, the day trip that turned into this horrific encounter with pirates on a lake that spans the Texas/Mexico border.

Tiffany Hartley, her 30-year-old husband David were chased by Mexican pirates while riding Sea-Doos on the Mexican side of the lake. In this heart-wrenching 911 call, Tiffany Hartley describes trying to save her wounded husband as bullets flew past them.

The 911 operator picks up and says, "Are you sure that your husband got shot?" She said, "Yes, in his head."

She goes on to say, "He was thrown off of the jet ski and I couldn't pick him up to get him on mine." She begins to sob. The 911 operator is listening and she says, "He's just too big."

Tiffany Hartley had to make a very difficult decision to leave her husband behind, to get out of there and to save her own life on her own Sea-Doo. In fact, we have the good Samaritan -- we got him on the phone here -- who helped her make her that 911 call, potentially helped her save her own life.

He doesn't want to be identified, but he's willing to join me by the telephone.

So I'll just say hello to you. And I realize that you are risking your life talking to me. You're live on CNN, but I appreciate you jumping on the phone to tell this story. It's a story that needs to be told.

Sir, if we can just begin with, this whole thing happened last Thursday. Set the scene for me. This is Falcon Lake.

Where were you on the lake? Were you on the U.S. side? Were you on the Mexican side? And at what point did you see Tiffany Hartley?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was actually on the U.S. side. I was out and about making my weekly rounds.

This time around, it was my second weekly round. I usually make one. And I was just checking out the property, making sure my plants get enough water and what have you, when I noticed there was this boat behind a jet ski.

And I said, well, it's a nice day out there in the lake for boating and stuff like that. People are having fun.

I had just gotten in from work, and I was, like I said, watering the plants when I see this jet ski start coming towards me. I noticed the boat behind it turned around and left the area.

And as that boat gets closer, I can see the lady in distress looking back over her shoulders, and she looked frantic, sobbing. And she asked me -- the first words out of her mouth were like, "Can you speak English?"

And I nodded while I said, "Yes." And she right away asked me to call 911.

BALDWIN: Did she explain the situation? Did she explain what had happened to her husband? How did she describe that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's when she said, "My husband's been shot," been shot in the head. And it sent chills down my spine. It changed my mood. I was scared.

I went ahead right away and started dialing 911 as she got off the jet ski. She kept explaining to me that all they were doing was taking pictures. They weren't doing anything wrong out there, just taking pictures when --

BALDWIN: These three boats come upon them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they went ahead and surrounded them, started waving guns, from what she was telling me. As they started to take off, because they got scared themselves, they started to leave the place, the bullets start coming in.

BALDWIN: Were you not afraid? Were you not afraid that these people on these three boats with AK-47s could come after you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but at the moment, I was scared. And it didn't take very long for our sheriff's department to get there.

As soon as I was able to contact 911, we must have had about -- and it's too much by saying five minutes. They were there in less time.

As soon as they got there, they started to question and make sure everything was -- the scene was secured. Border Patrol got there. The game warden was there. The sheriff's department was there. And it was pretty -- pretty scary, yes, it was.

BALDWIN: Now, I won't ask you, I won't get into details as to what you do, why you were there. But needless to say, it sounds like you're familiar with Falcon Lake.

Were you aware that there were warnings, that there had been these warnings since April 30th of this year that the young boys in their teens have been frequenting this lake, and specifically the Mexican side, robbing some fishermen? Were you aware of those warnings? Were you worried at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. Again, we were worried. Very worried.

BALDWIN: Yet, you still went out there for whatever reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I have a house that's right next to the lake. So, yes, I used to live in it. I don't live in it at this time. So I check up on it from time to time and make sure it's not being used for illegal purposes without my consent or any notice or what have you.

BALDWIN: Sure. And let me just -- sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted to get this question out there.

I'm just curious as to why you're willing -- we thank you that you are -- but why you're willing to get on the phone with me and risking your situation and telling me about Falcon Lake. Why is it so important to get this story out? What's your message?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the government needs to really look at this corner of the world and do something about it. It doesn't have to take a tragedy or two before somebody gets out there and looks at this a little closer.

Our sheriff's department can't handle it. They're stretched out on their resources. And it's very difficult to live in peace in an area where it's known for drug traffickers and again having a lake where pillars are that division of international waters.

BALDWIN: Right. We heard from the county sheriff that this is basically a turf battle between two different Mexican cartels. And I hear what you're saying. You're saying you want federal government intervention.

I thank you for calling in. I thank you for sharing your story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Election Day is a month away, and that means plenty of news from the campaign trail. "The Best Political Team on Television" has one more update for you. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's check in with Paul Steinhauser at the CNNPolitics.com desk. He of course with "The Best Political Team" on TV.

Paul, what you got?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Brooke. Hanging out here with Pete Hamby, our political producer.

Hey, I've got something brand new for you. In fact, it's not even on the Ticker yet. I'm writing it as we speak. I've got it on my BlackBerry.

I've confirmed that two top political senators right here in Washington tomorrow are going to be hosting a big fundraiser. I'm talking about John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota.

They're going to be hosting this fundraiser for six people who would love to join them right here in Washington next year. Those people are Sharron Angle, the Senate nominee in Nevada; Kelly Ayotte, the Senate nominee in New Hampshire; and John Boozman, the senate nominee in Arkansas; Dan Coats from Indiana; Dino Rossi from Washington; and Marco Rubio from Florida.

The idea here is to raise some big bucks for these candidates so they can spend it in the last couple of weeks in the campaign. Spend it on ads, spend it on "Get Out the Vote" efforts.

That's what I have.

Peter, over to you.

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: We're also looking at Texas today, the governor's race there. It's pretty interesting.

Talking about this election cycle, Rick Perry, three-term governor, Republican. The Democrat though, Bill White, former mayor of Houston, still hanging around. And there was a big investigation in "The Dallas Morning News" yesterday which looked into whether or not Perry used a state technology fund to dole out $16 million to tech firms backed by his campaign donors. Perry saying there was no political influence in giving out that taxpayer money. Bill White came out hard today, hit Rick Perry on not being a true fiscal conservative, and saying that he needs to come clean about whether he played politics and giving taxpayer money to political donors.

And let's go to Colorado. One more thing we're watching.

There's a poll every day it seems now. In Colorado, Ken Buck, the Republican, kind of the insurgent candidate who came out of that Republican primary out there, is winning by eight points, according to a Marist-McClatchy new poll that came out today against Michael Bennet, the incumbent who was appointed to office last year.

Never won a statewide race. If the polls keep trending the way have the last month, you might not ever win a statewide race. So, Ken Buck up in Colorado, that's what we're looking at -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, gentlemen. Thanks.

STEINHAUSER: Brooke, remember, 29 days now until the election.

BALDWIN: Twenty-nine days. The countdown is on.

Paul, thanks for that news hot off the BlackBerry. We like that.

Gentlemen, thank you both.

Of course next hour, you've got another political update. If you want the latest "Political Ticker" fix, hop on the Internet. Just go to CNNPolitics.com, or they're on Twitter.

Up next, Tiger Woods' one in a million shot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So, we don't talk too much sports here on CNN NEWSROOM, but when we see a highlight, hey, I am duty bound to share this with you. In fact, I pitched this, this morning. I love this picture.

Here's the deal. This is golf. This is the Ryder Cup. It happened this weekend.

Now, I don't want to talk about the final result. It actually didn't end so well for the U.S. team. Oops.

But, without doubt, the best picture taken at the Ryder Cup is this one. Look at this.

Tiger Woods, there he is. This is yesterday, ducking his chip shot at the final green. And if that white thing in the middle of your screen kind of looks like a ball -- yes, you're right. And if you think it's about to hit the camera, right again.

The ball smacked right into this guy's camera lens, bounced off the photographer's chest, in fact. The guy wasn't in the way. We wondered, we asked, was it in the way? Tiger's shot was just that bad.

But, hey, why dwell on that? Here's the best part of the awesome picture. Take a look closely with me on the right side of your screen.

And some of you have even tweeted about this. Like, "Did you see this guy?" Yes, I did.

Take a look at him. I'm talking about the guy with the mustache.

He gets the best view of this epic "oops" moment and looks a little bit surprised and a little bit delighted than anyone in the crowd. So, who are you, I ask, Mr. Red-Haired Mustache Cigar Dude?

No clue? You may be part of the best golf photograph we have ever seen.

Something tells me that mustache and the cigar and that -- what is that, a toupee? Not so real. But funny, nonetheless. And we love that picture.

The voters have spoken. The economy, priority number one. And today the president unveiled his new economic team.

Wolf Blitzer has the details next.

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BALDWIN: President Obama today saying it is time to buckle down and get serious about the deficit. He talked about it today with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and the main focus, an effort to strengthen partnerships between community colleges and the private sector.

The president says he will not sacrifice education funding. Here he is.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I realize that we're facing an untenable fiscal situation. There was a $1.3 trillion deficit staring at me when I took office. And although the economic crisis and the steps we took to stop the free-fall temporarily added to our fiscal challenges, it's clear that we're going to have to get serious about the deficit.

And that's why I've proposed a three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending. That's why I've launched a bipartisan Deficit Reduction Commission which will be reporting in a few months. What I won't do is cut back on investments like education that are directly related to our long-term economic performance.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: And on that note, Wolf Blitzer watching everything of course that happens in Washington, including, I'm sure, the president speaking today.

And Wolf, the president mentioned this mega deficit. Yet, at the same time, he says, you know, no sacrificing education.

What do you make of that?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, education is a priority for this president, and they're moving forward with their education proposals. This is an opportunity to create jobs.

It's clear that the higher someone is educated, the less chance that there will be of losing the job. The lower education level, the greater the chance of losing the job. So they want more and more people educated, especially in this global environment where the U.S. is competing with countries around the world.

We used to be number one in education. Now we're number 20 or 25 worldwide in education. It's a serious problem in terms of global competition.

The president is determined to move forward. There are areas to cut spending. He doesn't see education necessarily being one of them.

BALDWIN: One to 20. That's too bad.

What about "THE SITUATION ROOM," Mr. Blitzer? What do you have coming up?

BLITZER: We have a special interview with the former vice president Walter Mondale. He's here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

I sat down with him. He's got a new book that's out. But one of the things that he's recommending to the president is the president show more empathy when he goes out there and drop the teleprompter. He called it the idiot board.

Don't start reading from a teleprompter, he's telling the president. Go out there and speak directly from the heart. In a bunch of words, show your pain, show that you feel the American public's pain. Do more of those backyard town hall meetings, a little one-on-ones. But stop reading from canned speeches with teleprompters.

Mondale is very specific on that. And he has a lot more advice for our viewers as well. I think our viewers will like this interview. It's coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BALDWIN: That is the criticism we've been hearing, that the president just seems too perfectly put together. Not, I guess, empathetic enough.

Wolf, thank you. We'll see you in seven minutes.

Coming up next here, the U.S. Supreme Court starts a brand new term today, and the most heeded case on the docket centers around this soldier's funeral. Jeffrey Toobin is going to look at the constitutional consequences of this case right after this.

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BALDWIN: God is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality." This through events, including the death of U.S. soldiers.

This is all according to Pastor Fred Phelps, his Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. I'm sure you've seen these pictures before. We don't like to show them a lot on our air, but it's part of this story, it's part of the Supreme Court case.

You may remember his group has protested very loudly at the funerals of U.S. service members. Well, Albert Snyder -- that's the father of this young man -- this was a U.S. Marine who was killed in Iraq a couple of years ago -- he sued the group. Sued them after members conducted an angry demonstration at his own son's burial service.

Now, the family of the Marine won a $5 million judgment, but that ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court, and then appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, where it will be heard this Wednesday.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin joins me now by the phone.

And Jeffrey, this is a story, this is a case a whole lot of Americans are paying attention to, of course, because it has to do with freedom of speech. And this is the perfect example of what the First Amendment is sometimes called, freedom for the thought that we hate. Is it not?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: It sure is, Brooke. And if you look at the history of the First Amendment, the tests of the First Amendment often involved very unpopular speakers, whether it's anarchists after World War I, whether it's people who would not salute the flag during World War II, whether it's people who burned the American flag during the 1980s. These are the test cases.

And it is hard to imagine more offensive, more hurtful speech that what went on at these funerals. But at least one court has said this is what the First Amendment protects.

BALDWIN: Help me understand, because a lot of Americans have a hard time understanding what in the world -- how in the world a court could side with this church group that appears full of hate. And we know the ACLU is already supporting them, arguing that they have this freedom to say what they want, to demonstrate, even though this is a soldier's funeral, many soldiers' funerals.

Help me explain that argument.

TOOBIN: Well, the contest here is between what is clearly the right to express unpopular views. There is no doubt that even very offensive views can be disseminated, can be told in the public square. The real question here is, it is also true that the government is allowed to impose certain restrictions on what's called the time, place and manner. You can't go with a bullhorn in a residential neighborhood at 3:00 in the morning and say that you have a First Amendment right to give a political speech.

The question here is whether the government can say that a funeral is the kind of place where restriction on speech will be allowed. That's really where the heart of the conflict is.

BALDWIN: And then at the end of the day, once this court ultimately rules -- and obviously this is the highest court -- this would set a massive precedent.

TOOBIN: It would set a precedent. But I do think it's important to remember that this is a fringe, fringe group. There are not a lot of churches or political activists out there imposing themselves at this incredibly painful time for these military families. So --

BALDWIN: It's a fringe group, Jeff, but they also go demonstrate at thousands of ceremonies across the country every year.

TOOBIN: I think hundreds maybe more accurate. But it is certainly true that they have made a terrible, terrible nuisance of themselves, and they have preyed on families at their most vulnerable time. But I think most Americans respect these families and respect their desire to be left alone at this time.

But, you're right, this --

BALDWIN: Jeff Toobin, got to go. I've got to hand it off to my colleague Wolf Blitzer. But I have a feeling we'll continue this conversation come Wednesday.

Jeff Toobin, appreciate you calling in.

It's 5:00. Time to send it up to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."