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Dow Set to Hit 11,000; Afghan Government, Taliban Talks; Free Speech Versus Compassion; International Firefighters Union Condemned Tennessee Firefighters Let Home Burn Rescuers Near Reaching Trapped Chilean Miners; Search for American's Body; When Lions Attack

Aired October 06, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Have a great day.

All right. Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips.

We're looking at a case of free speech put to the test. U.S. Supreme Court is taking a look at protests at military funerals.

We're also looking at a controversial story out of Tennessee. Firefighters are told to let a house burn down because the owner hadn't paid a $75 fee. That homeowner talks to CNN about it.

And if your workplace is too noisy your heart could pay the price.

It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, this morning, we're watching Wall Street as Dow Jones index takes another step in its long recovery. At the bottom of the hour, it opens on the verge of 11,000, an impressive milestone given its troubles over the last couple of years.

The sobering reality is that it's still down 23 percent from its record high just three years ago this week.

CNN's Carter Evans is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on what should be expected from this.

CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Well, we're certainly within striking distance of 11,000. That's for sure. The last time we hit 11,000, by the way, was on May 3rd. That was just before that infamous flash crash.

You know we had a huge day yesterday. The Dow up 193 points. We found out that the service sector is expanding and that's important because the service sector accounts for about 80 percent of the jobs in this country.

We also found out yesterday that the Bank of Japan is making some adjustments to its lending rates to get more money out there. That was encouraging, as well. Our futures were pointing a lot higher this morning. Dow futures were actually up about 45 points and, you know, that would have put us right about there at that 11,000 mark but then we got this employment report from private payroll firm ADP showing a loss of 39,000 private sector jobs.

Now this is not the government job report. The government jobs report comes out on Friday but ADP gives us an indication of what we might expect when the government comes out with its numbers. So it's not as good as many people were hoping.

We were expecting to see ADP say hey, the private sector added about 18,000, 20,000 jobs. So this is not so good. However, I've got to tell you, Fred, our futures were up pretty good before that report and they are still positive right now.

So it appears for the most part investors are shrugging this off. Now futures aren't always an exact indicator of how the markets are going to open but they are a pretty good indicator, and we are still slightly to the positive side right now.

We do have lots of factors going in to all this. So third quarter earning starts tomorrow. We're going to hear from aluminum maker Alcoa. So all of that could throw a wrench in the works but it does appear that we are marching toward 11,000.

Hopefully we'll get there today -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: OK. That would be some good news. We'll check back with you within the hour in the morning.

EVANS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Carter.

All right. Meantime, there's a report today that the Afghan government is involved in secret talks with the Taliban. "The Washington Post" says the talks are high level but preliminary in nature.

Sources involved in the talks are concerned that describing them publicly could undercut them.

This is not the first time that representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban have held secret talks. Saudi Arabia hosted talks just two years ago.

And let's get more on these secret talks. CNN's Ivan Watson joins us -- right now live from Kabul.

What is or isn't being said?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, I've just come from an exclusive interview with the Afghan Education Minister Farooq Wardak and he did reveal that there have been two days of closed-door meetings taking place here in Kabul at a hotel, described as track to diplomacy. Meetings of the Pakistani and Afghan political elites who have been trying to talk about ways to resolve the conflict that's been going on in this country.

This is the first real public news about these meetings. Some of the officials that have been participating are, for example, Assad Durrani, he says he's the former head of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, a former Pakistani interior minister, as well.

And this has been mediated by the government of the Emirate of Abu Dubai and a representative of the United Nations was evidently present and they even met with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as well. Was

Now was the Taliban participating? I asked the education minister this. And he said well, if you consider the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, a man by the name of Mullah Zaeef, who served several years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and has been living here in Kabul.

He has not fighting against the Afghan government. He was present at this meeting. He said if you consider him to be a representative of the Taliban, then perhaps you could say that.

He did go on to say that this is just a preliminary round of discussions. That this is the beginning of a process that's been under way for several years.

Tomorrow, here in Kabul, a so-called High Peace Counsel of some 68 Afghan leaders are going to gather and the biggest challenge, the Afghan education minister says, is trying to figure out who is leading the Taliban right now. Who can you sit down and negotiate with?

It's not a very hierarchical organization, according to the Afghan education minister. And that just shows you how far the party still has to go before they can try to even talk about ending this bloody war -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ivan Watson, thanks so much, from Kabul.

Meantime, the Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for an attack on NATO supply vehicles. Police say militants set 20 oil tankers on fire in Quetta, Pakistan. The attackers killed one person. And this is the sixth attack in a week on vehicles carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

A Pentagon spokesman tried to put that figure into perspective saying convoy attacks have only impacted 1 percent of supplies going through Pakistan into Afghanistan.

And the cruelty is almost unimaginable. A grieving family gathers to bury their loved one, a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq, but outside the funeral protesters taunt the mourners saying the death of U.S. soldiers is God's punishment for homosexuality.

The case tests the limits of free speech.

CNN's Kate Bolduan is outside the U.S. Supreme Court where arguments will be heard today -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka.

Yes, this is a case of free speech versus the privacy rights of grieving families. It's a highly emotional legal battle that has played out at military funerals across the country. The Phelps families, the protesters are here today outside the Supreme Court.

We should warn you as head into this piece some of the material some viewers may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was 20 years old when he was killed in Iraq.

(On camera): Tell me about March 3rd, 2006. The day you found out that he was killed.

ALBERT SNYDER, FATHER OF FALLEN MARINE: It was probably the worst day of my life. If you lose a parent, you're an orphan. If you lose a spouse, you're a widow or a widower. If you lose a child, there's not even a word to describe it.

BOLDUAN: Even after all this time, I mean, the pain is --

SNYDER: It's still there. It's still there and it's no different.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): But Albert Snyder says that was only the beginning of the nightmare for his family.

Members of the Kansas-based Westboro Church led by Fred Phelps picketed outside Matthew Snyder's funeral as they've done at military funerals hundreds of times before. The church believes soldiers are dying because God is punishing the country for, quote, "the sin of homosexuality."

Matthew Snyder was not gay.

FRED PHELPS, FOUNDER, WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: I'm sorry that they their raised their son for the devil in hell. I'm sorry that they let him had anything to do with the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here to tell them that they sent their child to hell.

BOLDUAN (on camera): The funeral was held here, St. John Catholic Church. Albert Snyder preparing to bury his only son.

And here nearby, on this public street, is where the Westborough Church members gathered for their angry protest triggering this constitutional battle.

SNYDER: It comes down to dignity. No one -- I don't care if you're not military. No one should be buried with what the Phelps did to him. BOLDUAN (voice-over): Snyder sued for defamation and invasion of privacy but the Phelps family argues they're protected by their rights of free speech and religious expression. The fight has now made it all the way to the high court.

Sean Summers is Albert Snyder's attorney.

SEAN SUMMERS, ATTORNEY FOR ALBERT SNYDER: When they protest outside of a private funeral, they're not trying to advocate for or against a particular position. All they're doing is harassing a family so they can hijack someone else's private event.

BOLDUAN: The Phelps family declined to be interviewed about the case but told the court they weren't targeting Matthew Snyder personally saying, quote, "The church's speech was public issue speech, highly disliked and needing protection."

Adding, quote, "The church does not require an invitation to be on a public right of way peacefully picketing."

SHIRLEY PHELPS-ROPER, WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: What they want to do is they want to litigate our religious doctrine. Well, you don't do that in America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each one of them are going to hell.

BOLDUAN: The Phelps' have the support of free speech advocates and some media groups. Albert Snyder has the support of 48 states and members of Congress.

(On camera): You and your family have suffered so much. Why do you want to take this fight on?

SNYDER: So other people don't have to -- have to go through the same thing that we went through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Separate state efforts nationwide have attempted to impose restrictions on protest targeting military funerals but so far those efforts have failed in federal court. Judges citing, Fredricka, free speech. And now the justices will weigh in. Oral arguments begin in just about an hour.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Kate Bolduan, from the U.S. Supreme Court.

All right, and this is something we also keep an eye on. It caught our attention. A homeowner doesn't pay a $75 fee to the city so firefighters are told to let his house burn. Well, now a firefighter's union is coming out against that pay-to-play policy. More on that after this break.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Severe Weather Center. Lots going on this morning including a subtropical depression our in Arizona. Already the thunderstorms are popping and there is a tornado warning out that includes, well, western parts of Flagstaff.

We're going to have a complete update for you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Taking a look at news across the country now.

A firefighters union has condemned one department's decision to let a house burn in Tennessee. Gene and Paulette Cranick has not paid the $75 fee for fire protection so when their house caught on fire last week, crews were told to let it burn.

The International Association of Firefighters says the town of South Fulton's pay-to-spray policy is ill-advised and unsafe and that firefighters should not have to stop and check a list before they jump on the truck.

Homeowner Gene Cranick appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Your house burned because they realized that you guys hadn't paid the $75 fire protection fee.

Is that a yearly thing --

GENE CRANICK, HOMEOWNER: That's right.

CHETRY: Is that a yearly thing and there's sort of a due date, if you don't pay it that's it?

CRANICK: Yes, that's a yearly thing. No, they -- you can pay later. They have waived that before. Be three years in December that my son's house up here caught on the fire. And we called them. And I said they probably won't come because I hadn't paid their fee but they came out and waived it, and the chief said, you come and pay this tomorrow. Well, paid it the next day and everything was fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So firefighters did come out to protect the house of a neighbor who had paid the fee. The mayor defends the policy. The Cranick's son says insurance will cover his parent's losses.

And the 4,000 people in Winfield, Indiana, don't have police patrols or other protection right now. The town missed a deadline to pay the county a $100,000 fee for services. So the county's 911 center got a memo that says Winfield is on its own for non-emergency calls. The sheriff says his department is looking at budget cuts and can't afford to pick up Winfield's slack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROY DOMINGUEZ, SHERIFF, LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA: We've had an agreement for almost two years that they were going to do this. And then, here recently they just said they weren't going to after all.

At least pay something this year and proceed forward some type of town marshal system. And here we are in October, and they've not paid not one penny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Last night, Winfield's town council voted against paying the fee and hold on to the money until January 1st when a new sheriff comes in.

And we're hearing more from a good Samaritan in Fresno, California, who might have saved a girl's life. Victor Perez actually saw news about a report about a kidnapper who had snatched a young girl and whisked her away in his truck. Perez was outside his house and talking to his cousin about the story when he saw a truck that matched the description that he saw on television. Perez got in his truck and followed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR PEREZ, CHASED ALLEGED KIDNAPPER: I was yelling, but I kept cutting him off so he'll get off the road. At first it was just like a simple question. "I need to talk to you."

He goes, "No, my truck's messing up. I need to leave."

So, I said, "OK." I didn't see no little girl until the second time I cut him off, and the little girl stuck her head out. And that's when I said, "OK, that ain't your girl right there." Because he was hiding her, like right here, like pushing her down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the girl eventually just jumped out of the truck. Perez believes the driver pushed her. Police caught up with the truck and arrested a 24-year-old man, and Perez is now a Fresno hero.

A rather rare rainstorm hit Phoenix yesterday. But worse than the rain, the hail. Just ask this live television reporter what he thought about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. Look at this. Those -- those pellets of hail falling are like bullets now. This is painful to be out here. And you can see --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm not laughing. It is not funny. But it looks like a hurricane or something, doesn't it? Look familiar, Rob? That strong, sudden storm dropped more than an inch of rain in less than two hours, along with a half inch of hail. And as you might imagine, it would cause a little bit of flooding, too. That is crazy. Very rare, huh?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And in that reporter's defense, nothing illustrates the power of Mother Nature than being out in it.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Reporter involvement.

MARCIANO: And I assume a Phoenix reporter would haven't an opportunity to report on hurricanes very often, so there it was.

WHITFIELD: It's quite the phenomenon.

MARCIANO: This continues to be active here across parts of Arizona, even at this early in the morning. And we're talking about 6:00 local time here. And we've got a tornado warning out just west of Flagstaff. This is very impressive.

And Steven (ph) has a little bit of a hook here. If we look at some of the other Doppler readings here where we turn on this -- the mode where you can measure the winds. And whenever you see bright colors like that, opposite each other, that means that the winds are opposite each other. It means there's probably some rotation here.

So, this is a very strong radar-indicated tornado. No reports of it being on the ground yet, but it is just to the west of Flagstaff, and it's moving north at about 40 miles an hour. So, western parts of Flagstaff are going to be under the gun here with this radar-indicated tornado right now and for 20 minutes. So, a scary situation. You certainly want to stay inside your home for the next 20 minutes or so until that particular cell rolls by you.

Meanwhile, the larger situation out west is this cell is not moving very much. It's causing snow across parts of the Sierra, rain across parts of southern California, and it continues to filter in this unstable weather across parts of Arizona, where there's also a severe thunderstorm watch out until noon local time. So we -- we'll continue to monitor these cells as they percolate up across the desert and the high desert.

Meanwhile, this low out east is not moving very much, and the backside of this is bringing down some cold air. I don't know if we've got that snow video loaded from Tennessee, but it's certainly impressive. Yes, you heard me. Tennessee OK? Just outside of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains there. The elevations here can be 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 feet or so --

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MARCIANO: But it snowed yesterday enough to make snowballs. Even a couple --

WHITFIELD: That's crazy!

MARCIANO: Yes, that's right, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: October?

MARCIANO: Just a couple --

WHITFIELD: Before Halloween? Come on.

MARCIANO: Just a couple hours north of Atlanta, so it gives you an idea of how crazy Mother Nature --

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MARCIANO: You know, if that's not enough, subtropical depression number 17 --

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

MARCIANO: Right about there. Rain heavily in eastern parts of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This is forecast to stay away from the US. But --

WHITFIELD: OK, that's good.

MARCIANO: It is forecast to become our next tropical storm. Its name would be Otto, and we'll let you know --

WHITFIELD: Otto.

MARCIANO: When that happens.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MARCIANO: Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Very good. Thanks so much, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, rescuers trying to reach those trapped miners in Chile could be done with the drilling by this weekend, but that doesn't mean the miners will make it out just then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our Morning Passport takes us to northern Chile where there's new hope for those trapped miners. The drilling to the miner's chambers could be done by this weekend. But the rescue could still take more time. CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us now from outside the mine. Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly feels like the beginning of the end, Fredricka, but nevertheless, there have been problems with the three drills. The three drills that you can probably see there behind me.

They've been working around the clock to get down to these miners half a mile underground. But over the last 24, 48 hours, all three of them have had problems. Some of them routine. They've had to change drill hammers and drill bits. And another one, the leading drill, Plan B. That's the one that's only about 500 feet away from the miners right now. Well, that ran into problems because it ran into extra-hard rock and so in the course of yesterday, it only drilled about six feet.

But if it does get a good day in, and if it gets past that area of very hard rock then, yes, rescuers do say that it could complete the distance in about three days. But then, of course, that rescue shaft will then have to be encased with a steel pipe at least part of the distance. That just to shore it up and make sure that there are no rock falls at the last minute. And only once all that is in place can that rescue cage that has been dubbed the Phoenix Capsule be dropped down and start process of pulling those 33 miners back to the surface and back to a new life, Fredricka

WHITFIELD: And so, Karl, everyone is of a different height and size, et cetera. Should that make a difference in any way to actually pulling them back up to the surface with that equipment?

PENHAUL: The height problem isn't going to be a problem. The internal measurement of that rescue capsule, the Phoenix Capsule, in meters is 1 meter 90. Now, I guess that puts it at about 6' 5", 6' 6", which is plenty of room for the miners. And then inside there, they're going to have an oxygen tube and also communications with the surface.

The diameter internally is only going to be 21 1/2 inches. And so, some of these guys who are pretty broad shouldered from a life of manual work, they might have to come up in that kind of a position. The rescue position. Others can come up in a more relaxed position with their arms at their side.

But there had been earlier on worries about some of the guys being, well, literally too fat to fit inside the capsule. But, of course, in the first 17 days of this ordeal, these miners had no contact from the outside world and each man had just four cans of tuna to survive those first 17 days. So some of them lost up to 30 pounds. so that's been a very slimming experience for them.

And also, since then, a personal trainer has been assigned to these men. And so, he has communication with them from the surface via fiber optic cable and, each day, he's sending them an exercise routine. There's one guy down there who we understand is jogging for one hour a day throughout the 1 1/2 miles of tunnels. But others have now been sent elastic bands, big resistance bands, so they can do some exercises there, work out and slim down just to make no doubt that they're going to fit inside that rescue capsule, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. These are some extraordinary men. They'll have quite the story once they finally reach that surface. Thanks so much, Karl Penhaul. Appreciate that.

Perhaps your workplace is a little too noisy. Your heart could actually pay a price. We'll tell you about a new study in just a few minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

WHITFIELD: A three-day conference in Washington features "Fortune" magazine's list of 300 Most Powerful Women in the World. Well, they heard from billionaire Warren Buffett, as well, one of the most powerful men in the world of finance and he told the conference buying bonds at prevailing high prices is a mistake. Hinting at a possible bubble in the bond market. Buffett said he sees another approaching problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN BUFFETT, CHAIRMAN, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: We are following policies that unless changed will result in lots of inflationary problems in my view down the road. Not next week, not next month. But, my partner Charlie Munger says, all I wanted to know is where I'm going to die so I'll never go there.

(LAUGHTER)

BUFFETT: Well, we have started down a path that you don't want to go all the way down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Buffett said the economy will recover in time and that investors will regain confidence in the stock market.

Next hour, we're taking a look at what you can do to improve your money health. Michelle Singletary (ph) will join us to talk about putting your finances on the diet and shedding that debt, especially credit card debt. You read her columns in the "Washington Post." We'll also be taking some of your questions so e-mail them right now at CNN.com/ fredericka. That's about an hour from now. You don't want to miss her invaluable advice.

So if you work in a loud place, your ears might not be the only thing that's suffering. Your heart could, as well. A new study found people working in loud environments for at least 18 months could triple their risk of serious heart problems compared to those work in quieter places. More than 22 million people in the U.S. work in areas considered hazardous, especially in the noise department level. Most of the study participants who work in loud places were men aged 40, and they were more likely to have other heart-risk factors, as well.

So it was a very un-presidential moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- not sustain -- whoops. Was that my --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yes, it was. It was the presidential seal falling during a speech. We'll tell you how President Obama kept his cool.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

There are reports this morning that secret, high-level talks underway between the Taliban and Afghan government. The two sides are said to be trying to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, FAMILY KILLED IN HOME INVASION: Most of you out here are, you know, are good human beings. I think that you probably would all do the same thing for your families if your families if your family was destroyed by evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That Connecticut doctor, husband, and father explains why he attended the trial of the man convicted of assaulting and killing his wife and two daughters. Steven Hayes now faces execution. Petit says he will also attend Hayes' penalty hearing, which begins October 18th.

And today the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a controversial case involving a case of privacy versus free speech. The family of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq gathered to lay him to rest but outside the funeral of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder protesters taunted the mourners, saying the deaths of U.S. soldiers is God's punishment for homosexuality.

There's quite the buzz about President Obama changing his running mate in 2012. The talk indicates that Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden make a big switch. A legendary reporter says it's not farfetched.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's CNN's lineup for tonight. Bill Maher is never short of opinions and tonight he talks politics with our John King. Watch "JOHN KING USA," 7:00 p.m. Eastern. At 9:00 on "LARRY KING LIVE," Hillary Swank and Sam Rockwell talk about the new film "Conviction." Then bullying in our schools and now online. Why do kids do it and what can be done to put an end to it? An "AC 360" special report you cannot miss. CNN beginning tonight, 10:00 Eastern Time.

All right. In news from politics, there's some buzz about Hillary Clinton becoming President Obama's running mate come 2012. Appearing on "JOHN KING USA" last night reporter Bob Woodward talked about the possibility of Vice President Biden switching positions with the U.S. Secretary of State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WOODWARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": It's on the table. And, some of Hillary Clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012. President Obama needs some of the women, Latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries. And so, they switch jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Not so fast says White House senior adviser David Axelrod. He tells the "Washington Post," quote, "There's absolutely nothing to it."

So that sound heard out of Washington last night was not president's poll numbers dropping, but instead his seal falling.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: -- Engineering and math. We cannot sustain -- whoops.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Was that my -- oh goodness.

(LAUGHTER)

That's all right. All of you know who I am.

(LAUGHTER & APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the president after the applause resumed the address to the most powerful women's summit without anymore interruptions that we know of.

So that brings up the political ticker for this hour. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is in Washington at the CNNPolitics.com desk.

Paul, what do you have for us?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I've got some brand new stuff for you, this morning, Fred.

Right up on a ticker just a few minutes ago, it's our first CNN Poll of Polls in the battle for Congress. We're 27 days from the midterms and we're out with our first CNN Poll of Polls of the so-called generic ballot.

Take a look at the numbers. We compiled them this morning. This is the most question that most pollsters, including us at CNN ask. If you had a choice in the congressional district between a generic Democrat or a Republican, who would you vote for? We took the most recent polls of likely voters, averaged them together. You can see according to our average, the Republicans have a six-point advantage over the Democrats, 54 percent to 44 percent. Fred, we are going to keep doing this until Election Day, 27 days to go. Let's talk about Sarah Palin also, brand new on the CNN Political ticker this morning. She is framing these midterm elections as a choice between -- and she says -- the culture of life and those who support the culture of death. Palin was making the comments last night in Houston, Texas, at an anti-abortion group. And her comments were framed and directed basically at Barack Obama, the president and Democrats who control Congress. She claimed that the president oversaw the biggest advance of the abortion industry in America and she was pointing towards the health care legislation. Obviously, the White House and Democrats in Congress don't agree with those comments.

Take a look at this. Floyd Yarmuth (ph), our cameraman, please zoom right in here. Also Brand new on the ticker at CNNPolitics.com. The president today and his wife both separately raising money for the Democratic Party. The president's heading up to New Jersey, suburban New York City later today for a big fundraiser. A source tells me they expect about $1 million to be raised. And separately the First Lady Michelle Obama is on a call today with the Democratic Party officials to reach out to supporters and those that backed her husband in 2008, urging them to give money and of course to vote again for her husband's party.

Fred, that's what we have brand new right now. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: OK. I guess the White House acknowledging and realizing she was quite the asset on the campaign trail when he was campaigning for president. They figure, hey, why not try this again?

STEINHAUSER: Very much so.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

And of course, we'll have your -- our next political update one hour from now and a reminder for all the latest political news go to our Web site CNNPolitics.com.

Also, straight ahead, we'll look at the mysterious case of a jet skier reportedly killed by Mexican pirates, the latest on the search for his body and the search for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Developing this hour, Mexican troops and sailors are now taking part in the search for the body of David Hartley. He is the American jet skier who was reportedly shot to death on a lake separating Texas from Mexico. His wife says gunmen ambushed the couple last week on Falcon Lake and open fire. She spoke with reporter Will Ripley of CNN affiliate KRGV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARTLEY, MISSING BOATER'S WIFE: You could hear him and feel him passing by you. And I saw two hit next to me. And then that's when I looked back and saw that David was shot and I -- I actually saw him fly over the jet ski. WILL RIPLEY, REPORTER, KRGV (voice-over): Tiffany hardly describes the terrifying moments. She says men on three boats opened fire on her and her husband David. They were sightseeing on jet skis near this old Mexican church.

HARTLEY: After I got to him and jumped off my jet ski and into the water, he was face down and I had to roll him over and that's when I noticed he was shot in the head. So I had to pull him to my jet ski. And that's when a boat came up to me and had a gun pointed at me. And telling them, don't shoot, don't shoot. And they left. They left me. I mean, they could have shot me. But they didn't.

RIPLEY: Hartley says she doesn't know why the men began shooting. She says she struggled to pull her husband's body out of the water but didn't have the strength.

HARTLEY: When I was pulling him up, I just kept hearing God say, you've got to go, you've got to go and I looked back at the other boats to see where they were, and they are heading back to me. And I had to -- I had decide to leave David or stay and ultimately if I stayed and maybe killed or kidnapped.

And so I let David back in the water and then I started heading back to U.S., but I had to pass them in order to get there, and then that's when they had started shooting again.

RIPLEY: You saw your husband with a -- with a bullet wound in the head. Do you think there's any chance that he is alive?

HARTLEY: No, I don't. It's been four or five days. I mean, since Thursday. No, I don't think -- I don't think there's any chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So how active is the search for the body of David Hartley? Now, CNN's Nick Valencia has been conversing with a number of officials there. They admit now -- Mexican authorities admit now they are looking and they've got quite the apparatus and detail in order to do so, right?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes that's right Fred. We just got off the phone moments ago with the lead investigator in the state of Tamaulipas who is in charge of the search for this body. He told us that they are going out this morning and they are using about 30 people with the National Defense, the Mexican Navy using helicopters and jet skis, and they as we speak are going out there to that area right now.

WHITFIELD: And originally authorities were saying we don't want to be in that area because this is an area that it's kind of commandeered by this organized crime, drug cartels. Are they changing their mind about that? That they are willing to take their risk or what -- what has changed in the couple of days?

VALENCIA: Well, that's the best word, is commandeered. This is run by organized criminals by all intents and purposes. The lead investigators Rolando Flores told us that his department doesn't even go there; they're outmanned, they're out gunned. He had also mentioned to us and cast a little bit of doubt on the story of Tiffany Hartley who you heard just talked there to our affiliate KRGV.

She -- he said, "How would we know that this incident even occurred?" This is an area that's says scarcely populated, steers and ranchers and organized criminals live in this territory.

WHITFIELD: But reportedly there's at least one eyewitness that come forward. That witness saying what? Or -- or do even authorities corroborate that eyewitness account? Take it seriously?

VALENCIA: Mexican officials that we've spoken to have not spoken to anyone that's witnessed what happened or said that witnessed what happened. They have spoken however to somebody in the spot, the kind of sheriff's office and they are collaborating with -- with the U.S. officials and they are working hand in hand and working together.

Again, it's you know, I want to -- I want to -- they want to reiterate of course that it is difficult to understand and know what happened in this area because it's so scarcely populated. And statistically this is not an area where much crime is recorded. You know of course, in areas that are run by organized criminals, you won't hear a lot of cases come out of there.

WHITFIELD: Because generally people stay away.

VALENCIA: Generally people stay -- stay away.

Which is -- you know leading this skepticism of the Hartley story. Why would they be there in this area? For what purpose did they have there -- Tiffany Hartley, Miss Hartley, the wife of this disappeared man had said that they were there to visit old Guerrero, to visit these old colonial grounds. You saw that in the report as well, a very beautiful area. Ancient ruins --

WHITFIELD: Particularly to see that church, that kind of sunken church?

VALENCIA: That's right, to see that church. Unfortunately, what Tiffany says that happened is very unfortunate.

WHITFIELD: This investigation, we know, continues. Nick Valencia thanks so much. Appreciate that.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. And this breaking news we also Right now, striking near Flagstaff, Rob Marciano, what is the situation?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. A couple of tornadoes confirmed touching down just to the west of Flagstaff in Belmont. Damage reports of some businesses there as this thing moved across I- 40. Now a tornado watch has been issued by the National Weather Service here until 11:00, local time inside the severe thunderstorm watch.

So live action across parts of the desert and high desert even as the sun shows its face over the eastern horizon.

We have much more on this throughout the morning. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: When animals attack -- well, it's not. It's hard to watch dramatic pictures like this when you see them on what looks the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet or National Geographic. A big lion moves in after a pack of hyenas take down a zebra and there you have it. It's what wild animals do -- survival of the fittest.

But wild animals in captivity are dangerous as well, and trainers at Washington's National Zoo do not go in their cages because as one official put it, quote, "They just might snap."

Well, Brian Todd has more on what happened in the moments before a lion at a Ukraine zoo went for the trainer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an instant, a massive lion turns on his trainer. This ferocious attack captured on video by an American family at a circus in Ukraine last weekend. As one lion strikes, another joins in, biting the trainer's left arm.

As people in the crowd scream, workers try to hose down the lions to keep them at bay, but seconds later, another strike. A similar incident occurred recently at the MGM Resort in Las Vegas and was posted on YouTube. At Washington's National Zoo, we got insight into the dangerous dynamic between predator cats in captivity and the people who interact with them up close.

(on camera): We are here to talk about what to do in these situations with Don Moore. he is the head of animal care sciences here at the National Zoo. We have a 400-pound male lion named Luke right back here; same size as the one involved in the MGM incident.

First of all Don, I guess, when you're in there in that yard with the lion, as a trainer or a handler and the lion either attacks or wants to play too rough, what's the first thing you're trained to do?

DON MOORE, HEAD OF ANIMAL CARE SCIENCES, WASHINGTON NATIONAL ZOO: Well, the first thing that we do is we don't go in with large dangerous animals. So we always have a protective barrier between lions, tigers, bears and our keepers.

TODD: Is that a mobile barrier? Do they carry it?

MOORE: No. It's a solid wall that has, you know, spaces in it so we can interact with the animals in a safe way.

TODD (voice-over): In this incident in Ukraine, these trainers survived. But one reportedly had to have emergency surgery.

(on camera): What triggers that kind of behavior in a lion? Are they territorial, anything encroaching in there, does that spur that kind of behavior?

MOORES: Well, there's -- in carnivores, there's a hard wired predator-prey response. So people with cats at home may have seen their cat in the living room chasing a dust ball. If you get down on all fours or if you're lower than a lion or a bear, they may just snap.

TODD (voice-over): Interlopers beware. Last year, a dear jumped into this lion's guard in Washington. The video taken by a visitor posted on YouTube.

(on camera): Now, in that incident, the deer jumped into the water of the moat down. The lions didn't go after it after that. Would you advise people in this situation if they're near water to jump in the water?

MOORE: I guess so, but we were very surprised that they didn't go in the water because they were very obviously motivated to hunt that deer that got in with them.

TODD: Female lions, Moore says, are no less dangerous. A fellow female inside just gave birth to four cubs. Don Moore says the female lions when they're in that state, just before and after giving birth they're much more irritable, much more likely to attack.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)