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Security Incident at Philly Airport; Afghan War Enters 10th Year; Pursuing O'Donnell; Toxic Sludge Threatens Danube; Whitman Campaign Spending $140 Million to Date; Films of the Future
Aired October 07, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. It is go time. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Don Lemon, in for Ali Velshi.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, sir.
LEMON: Hey, listen, just reading up and following up with some breaking news that you told us about just moments ago. We're going to start with some breaking news out of Philadelphia, out of the airport right now. That's where bomb-sniffing dogs are searching the Bermuda- bound passenger plane. The 102 passengers and five crew members were evacuated after one of three people loading a plane failed to produce I.D. and then disappeared.
Now, apparently, two of the baggage handlers didn't recognize the third guy who didn't have a badge. He didn't have a badge when they confronted him, and then he supposedly just left the scene. The U.S. Airways plane has been towed to a secure area while authorities are searching for the luggage. They're searching luggage there, and they're searching for the man in question.
Here's what the passengers had to do. They had to be re- screened, and again, nothing suspicious has been found, so far. And we're going to keep a close eye on this developing story and bringing you new details as we get them.
I want to turn now to the war in Afghanistan. Today, America begins its tenth year fighting a determined enemy that shows no really concrete signs that they are throwing down their arms and surrendering any time soon. Now, we're going to talk about the Taliban. To the Taliban, this is a fight to the finish. Last man standing wins. Now, they are fighting the best trained, best equipped fighting force in the world, American servicemen and women and their NATO allies.
Now, as this map shows you that you're looking at right now. It's really (INAUDIBLE). In Pakistan, some Taliban forces and elements of al Qaeda use the mountainous border area as safe havens and staging points to launch attacks against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. U.S. officials complain that the Pakistani government is not doing enough to stop these cross border raids.
The past nine years had been witnessed to fierce fighting and mounting casualties, I should say. As this graphic shows you, the one that you're looking at right now, 100,215 Americans have been killed in that war. 2,119 soldiers have died in the war. Fighting the Taliban right now are about 1,000 American troops and some 20,000 NATO troops from 46 countries. These pictures serve as good examples of the immense problems facing U.S. and NATO forces.
The Taliban is blowing up vital supplied trucks bound for Afghanistan. Now, Pakistan last week, closed a major border crossing point and has given no indication when it will reopen. One major campaign underway right now is in the Taliban birthplace of Southern Kandahar province. Now, the Taliban is vial (ph) to defend this area regardless of the cost. A key strategic issue for the coalition is the fact that the Taliban's presence is felt over vast parts of the country.
And in some areas, they're much stronger than in others. Critics argue that a key turning point in the war occurred very early on in the process when the U.S. invaded there where no American troops in Iraq simply because that invasion did not happen until two years later. This graph gives you an idea of what happen next, when the U.S. did invade Iraq in 2003.
The Bush administration turned virtually its full attention to that war. Analysts say that provided an opening for the Taliban to regroup. Now, the key question now, what happens next? This is a war that recent polls show a majority of Americans really oppose, and President Obama has said, he doesn't want to fight this war any longer than necessary. In that vein, he has already announced that a troop withdrawal will begin next summer.
The long Afghan war has produced its share of true American heroes, brave men and women, who, for the past nine years, have put themselves in harm's way and they do it every day. One of these remarkable soldiers was a young man who served a total of 12 tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, today, he finally did return home, and CNNs Martin Savage joins us now from Hunter Airfield in Georgia with the story -- Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Don. Actually, we're outside of the funeral home where Sergeant Lance Vogeler has now been brought and lays in rest. He will be buried on Saturday at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah which is you don't notice an absolutely beautiful place. He died last Friday in Afghanistan, and yesterday, we had the opportunity to talk with his family.
And you can imagine, it's an extremely emotional time for them. They are so full of pride about their young soldier, but their hearts are breaking at the very same time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM VOGELER, FATHER: My heart breaks.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Ask Tim Vogeler what kind of person his son was, and his hands begin to move while his younger son Chris translates.
VOGELER: I wish the world could meet him. It's just amazing.
CHRIS VOGELER, YOUNGER BROTHER: He thinks his son is really awesome.
SAVIDGE: He and his wife, Donna, are deaf. They may not be able to speak about how proud they are, but they certainly can still tell you.
DONNA VOGELER, MOTHER: Loved to help people. Very joyful man. Great son.
SAVIDGE: Twenty-nine-year-old Sergeant First Class Lance Vogeler was an army ranger, a special breed of soldier. Nothing proved that more than the number of times he put himself in harm's way. Vogeler did four rotations in Iraq and eight in Afghanistan. A dozen combat tours overall. Hugh Williams served alongside him for four years.
HUGH WILLIAMS, FORMER RANGER: He led by example. The man led by example. He was not going to ask you to do something he himself was not willing to do.
SAVIDGE: Growing up, Vogeler was a boy scout. He loved rollerblading, soccer, golf and God. And it's the latter that's helped his family through since his death in combat last Friday.
DONNA VOGELER: It's very hard. Very hard.
TIM VOGELER: We cope because of our faith. God's blessed us a lot.
SAVIDGE: But along with the grief comes moments of laughter as Chris Vogeler remembers.
CHRIS VOGELER: Both being children of deaf parents, we got away with a lot.
SAVIDGE: But there was no escaping the danger of so many rotations, even after being wounded in the leg, Vogeler came home, healed and went back. I asked his mom if she ever thought he went back too many times.
DONNA VOGELER: Yes, she thought it was a lot, and yet she expected more too. That was his wish.
SAVIDGE: Did you ever think this day would come?
DONNA VOGELER: No.
SAVIDGE: And that's when our conversation ended. You didn't need words or hands to understand why.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Thunderbolt, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (on-camera): In addition, of course, to his mother and father and younger brother Chris, Sergeant Vogeler is also survived by his wife and two children, and there is a third child on the way. Here in this particular town, when the casket arrived, it was published in the paper at the route that the hearse was going to take. People came out, lined the entire way, all way to the funeral home here to pay their respects. This is a military town -- Don.
LEMON: Martin, sadly, so many stories just like it all over our country. Thank you, Martin Savidge.
We're going to take a closer look at the state of the war and the state of the enemy. A live report from the Afghan capital coming up straight ahead here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We've been talking a lot about Afghanistan. We're going to get you there live in just a moment. I want to catch you up on some of the other day's news before going there. On this 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai is trying to find a way to end the conflict. Karzai has convened a peace council of 68 clerics and elders. Its aim, to try to broke a peace for the Taliban.
Critics say the so-called peace council is filled with war lords and lacking civic and business leaders.
In Chile, rescuers are getting close by the day to reach 33 trapped miners. It could happen soon. Here's what a source close to the rescue operation says. He says the plan B drill is fewer than 330 feet from its target. That's pretty close. It's like that rescuers could break through to the underground chamber in the next few days or so if there aren't any delays. If that happens, the first miner could be pulled out by early next week.
And time now for your money. Allied financial and its subsidiary, GMAC Mortgage, are being sued by the Ohio attorney general for allegedly fraudulent foreclosure. Now, let's break this down for you and tell you what's been going on. In a normal foreclosure, when you can't pay your mortgage anymore, the bank reviews all your loan information to make sure it is correct.
If it is, the bank takes it over. That sounds, you know, like what should happen, right? But we think -- what we think has been happening with a few banks, not just GMAC, is a much uglier picture to tell you about. They may have rubber stamped those foreclosure documents without reviewing the documents to make sure everything was right.
Those banks have frozen foreclosures in 23 states. Ohio is one of them, and the attorney general there is going after GMAC. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joins me now live from New York to give us some perspective on this. Poppy, what's going on?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's interesting. I mean, this has been developing for a few weeks on it just getting more and more notice now because, as you've said, the attorney general is accusing Ally of fraud. It's a massive charge here. Ally is going to fight it in court, but what they have done for their part is they suspended eviction in Ohio and 22 other states, but only evictions from foreclosures that they believe might have been impacted by that robo signing, by employees signing off on foreclosure documents without properly reading and verifying all of them.
You've still got new foreclosures in those 23 states going as normal, and the Ohio AG is saying, no, we want to stop all of them. We think there is fraud here. And Don, he's also calling for civil penalties up to a $25,000 penalty for each violation. So, for Ally's part, they say, look, and I want to show you the statement here so you can get fully what they said, but they say, "look, there was nothing fraudulent or deceitful about our foreclosure practices."
They say they fixed the document problem. And they say, again, that they're going to be vindicated in court on. I mean, this is serious. It's getting political. You've got the AG stepping in here and saying, halt all your foreclosures in my state. I think something is terribly wrong here, Don.
LEMON: Is this just the beginning of it? I mean, is there going to be a domino effect, and we're going to find out a lot more this happened?
HARLOW: It's a great question there. Easily could be. You know, I talked in the phone last week, and we talked again today. One of the lawyers in Maine, one of the 23 states, he's representing some of these homeowners that got evicted from their home because of foreclosure through Ally. He's representing them pro bono, and he said this is definitely the tip of the iceberg.
I've had paperwork come across my desk from these folks that has had a ton of errors on it. The bank says, no, we still think that these people should have been foreclosed on, but we're going to review all of it, anyway. So, you've got sort of he said/she said here, and you go through each person. It could be the tip of the iceberg.
We also know that JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America have also taken similar action. They've hold to foreclosures in those 23 states that need judicial reviews. So, it very well could be the tip of the iceberg in what could be a huge nationwide issue, Don.
LEMON: You said they said most of them, they believe, most of these people should have been foreclosed on. They didn't say all of them, because there is a definite possibility that someone who was kicked out of their home and they were foreclosed upon may not -- supposed to have that happened to them.
HARLOW: Right. And can you imagine the mess that causes if that home has already been sold in foreclosure and someone else is already living in there? If you look at the volume of foreclosures, I think it's about 300,000 foreclosure filings a month. So, we're talking about a lot of people here, a huge volume here.
But it's funny. I've talked to some experts on this. Some who say, look, this is the inevitable. Most of these people should have been foreclosed on. Others did say this could be a paradigm shift in the housing crisis. This could mean that people will get back into their homes. It just depends if the folks that signed off robo sign on all those documents whether or not those people actually -- it was justified to kick them out of their home or not.
I think that's a big question. I also want to clarify why 27 states are not included in this. Why we keep talking about 23 states? Twenty-seven states in this country don't require judicial review foreclosures. It doesn't have to go to the court process. That's in places like California and Texas, but guess what? California Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, taking action on this just this week.
A few days ago, Don, they called for federal investigation into this. Texas's attorney general wants 30 loan servicers to halt their foreclosures as well. So, you've got a lot of states acting on this. We'll keep you posted on this, so you can check it out right here.
LEMON: Yes, when you talk about financial overhaul and all that, something definitely needs to be done about this because we wonder who's in charge and do they really know what's going on. Poppy Harlow, thank you.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
LEMON: And Poppy is part of the best financial team on television. You can catch more of them on "Your Money" at Saturdays 1:00 p.m. eastern and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: As we mentioned at the beginning of this show, the war in Afghanistan enters its tenth year today. The battle rages over vast areas of the country. No end is in sight. So, the question is, what happens next? What does the year 10 look like? CNNs Ivan Watson has covered this war from day 1, and he joins us now from the Afghan capital. What does the tenth year look like, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's dramatically different from what it was nine years ago, Don. Nine years ago, the first shots of the U.S. war on terror were fired here in Afghanistan, beginning with the series of air strikes on Taliban positions. The Taliban ruled more than 90 percent of the territory in this country.
And within a month, the combination of U.S. air strikes, a fair amount of CIA dollars to buy off Taliban commanders and a rebel rug tag army of northern alliance troops were able to shatter the Taliban government. Well, fast forward to today. There are some 150,000 foreign troops on the ground here, nearly 100,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground here.
This has been the bloodiest year yet of this nine-year conflict, for not only the U.S. troops with more than 300 American soldiers killed over the course of this year, but also for Nato forces as well. Meanwhile, the Afghan government is once again trying to give in to the Taliban to sit down for peace talks. It launched what it calls a high peace council, a council of elders, and they are being assigned the task of trying to find somebody within the Taliban movement who is willing to sit down at the negotiating table with them and trying to reach an end to this bloody conflict -- Don.
LEMON: So, here's the question. There are many people in this country who believe, whether it is true or not, that the U.S. and NATO forces can't trust, really, the Afghan government or the Pakistani government, because they believe in some way that they are harboring the Taliban and other insurgents. So, even after nine years that there is no progress because of this or little progress.
WATSON: Well, certainly there are a lot of accusations thrown against the Pakistani government. And if you need evidence, Afghan and western officials will say, well, we know that serious Taliban commanders have been captured on Pakistani territory. The Afghan government, it's lost a lot of lives due to insurgent attacks. There are governors and high-level officials who are assassinated every week here.
So, it's unlikely that they are actually harboring any Taliban militants or Taliban commanders. I think there's some distrust also from the side of the Afghans toward the U.S. government, believe it or not, which is providing a lot of money here, because of some criticism of U.S. policies to supply money and/or weapons to certain war lords which are viewed to subvert the authority of the central Afghan government as well.
What we can point out are a couple of trends here, Don. As we've ramped up the number of U.S. troops, of international troops and international aid coming to Afghanistan, for some reason, the violence has only continued to spread. And I don't have an answer for why that is happening -- Don.
LEMON: Ivan Watson, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting.
Straight ahead here on CNN, what women are not telling their gynecologist could end up hurting them? Elizabeth Cohen tells you what you should never keep secret.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You would think you would hear this story about men, right, when they go to the doctor, but the nation's gynecologists say many women are not as open about their sexual relationships as they should be and that could hurt them. You see her right there. She's our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. She joins me now with some secrets that you should never keep. As I said, I would even think it would be guys would be like -- I don't want to tell my doctor, because we hate to go to the doctor.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Women don't hate to go to the doctor necessarily, but I think, this is just my theory that women are kind of people pleasers. They don't want to disappoint the doctor. They don't want to tell the doctor, hey, I drink heavily, I had sex with a lot of people, and I had five abortions, you know, or I mean, maybe it's not quite that bad, but --
LEMON: No, I get what you're saying because it's, you know, it's sort of how we view women in this society, and they should be, you know --
COHEN: Good.
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: Right.
LEMON: Ladies. Ladies.
COHEN: Ladies. Exactly.
LEMON: And not ladies of the evening.
COHEN: Exactly. Exactly. Ladies in the morning. So, anyhow, so, I was hearing 11 (ph) gynecologists that they said, you know, women go on Twitter and Facebook and share all these different things, but they don't often tell us what the truth is and that's a problem. So, I wrote my entire patient (ph) column this week about the five secrets you should never keep from your gynecologist and here are three of them.
Drum roll, please. Number three, the number of sexual partners you have. If you're sleeping with, you know six people at one time, you got to be open about it, because, you know, you want to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. You don't want to pretend to be monogamous if you're not. Also, if you need to say how many abortions you've had, and the reason for that is that later, that could be involved with infertility.
That could have ramifications for other surgeries you have. Your doctor needs to know if you've had that procedure done, not for ethical reasons, but because there are physical reasons. And the thirdly, the number one -- I should say firstly, thing you don't want to hide is who is the baby's daddy.
You don't want to keep that. If it's not your husband, some gynecologist said like a woman will come in with her husband, she's pregnant, everyone is happy, and they don't find out until much later that the husband is not actually the father.
LEMON: OK. So, I understand the father. I understand the number of abortions, but I mean, do you really know -- wait, there was Jason, there was Rob, there was -- do you know what I mean? Do you really keep a count? Maybe should. I don't know. Just asking.
COHEN: Not so much historically, but more currently.
LEMON: OK.
COHEN: I mean, historically about the (ph) important too, but the reason why it's important to know who the father of the baby is is that if the father has a certain blood type, that could be a problem for you. If the father is of a certain ethnicity, you might need certain kind of genetic testing. You don't want to keep that a secret. You may want to wait until your husband is out of the room before you say, hey, I had an affair a couple weeks ago. Guess what? But you got to say it.
LEMON: Good information. Okay. I'm glad this conversation is behind me.
(LAUGHING)
LEMON: The women in the control room are like, you can breathe now.
(LAUGHING)
LEMON: You can see it's like -- ahh -- not here. All right. Thank you. Talking about gynecologists with Liz Cohen. Appreciate it. OK.
On the trail of Christine O'Donnell, the Delaware Senate hopeful has been lying low after some bad press. And our Jim Acosta tracked her down. See what she told him, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK
LEMON: Less than a month, really just 26 days from the mid-term elections, and four new polls are giving both parties reasons for hope and alarm. These are Senate races, 37 of which will be settled by the voters come November 2nd. In Connecticut, the Democratic attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, has a 13-point lead over Republican Linda McMahon in our latest poll of likely voters. All right, to Missouri now. The parties' fortunes are flipped there. Republican Senate candidate Roy Blunt, a seven-term member of Congress, has a double- digit lead over Democratic attorney general Robin Carnahan.
Nevada, though, is the nail biter. There Senate majority leader Harry Reid is neck and neck with Tea Party challenger Sharron Angle. Everyone's been talking about that race. That 2 percentage point gap is within the poll's sampling error. OK, third party candidate Scott Ashjian is actually running under the Tea Party banner, but leaders of the movement say he's not one of them.
In New York, incumbent Democrat Kristen Gillibrand is hoping to fill out the rest of Hillary Clinton's term, and this poll indicates she very likely will. Gillibrand's running 14 points ahead of her Republican challenger.
And as for Delaware, Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell today picked up the support of a gun rights group, but several polls indicate she's still a long shot for Joe Biden's old seat.
CNN's Jim Acosta has been trying to snag an interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Any chance we could get a couple questions, Ms. O'Donnell?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot.
ACOSTA (voice-over): And with that, Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell blew past our camera and into what was billed as a Republican forum. The event was staged in the shopping center, and oddly enough, just two doors down from a Halloween costume shop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to welcome Christine O'Donnell!
ACOSTA: The discussion, moderated by a Republican Party official, started off with a softball that ended up being a curveball.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where did you grow up? I'm confused about the (INAUDIBLE)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: OK, I thought I was going to share some remarks and then take audience questions. I thought -- are we not doing that?
MADDEN: No, we're not doing that.
O'DONNELL: OK.
ACOSTA: But the evening did get into specifics, and O'Donnell repeated her vow to vote to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
O'DONNELL: Make sure that the taxes, the tax increases that are coming in January, do not happen.
I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
O'DONNELL: O'Donnell, whose past statements about dabbling in witchcraft have come back to haunt her, is in damage control mode these days. Her events are tightly controlled.
(on camera): Any chance you could answer some questions from the press just for a few moments?
(voice-over): And she rarely takes questions from the national news media. But her opponent, Democrat, Chris Coons insists he's taking nothing for granted.
(on camera): Do you take her seriously?
CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I take her seriously. She is the Republican Party nominee. She is my opponent. She's raised -- if you believe her Web site, she's raised, I think, $2.8 million over the Internet in the last three weeks.
ACOSTA (voice-over): A University of Delaware poll shows Coons with a commanding 19-point lead. Still, the professor who conducted the poll says O'Donnell can turn her campaign around. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are an awful lot of "don't know" or undecided voters still, and this is across all three counties.
ACOSTA: One of her volunteers told us she's sticking with O'Donnell despite her missteps.
(on camera): Hasn't changed your mind at all
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all. Not at all. If anything, I support her more.
ACOSTA (voice-over): At the end of the event, while taking questions from the audience, O'Donnell complained of being under siege.
O'DONNELL: I've put my name on the line and I've taken a lot of hits, a lot of slander, a lot of character assassination.
ACOSTA: Then she left out the back door, where she promised she would give us an interview soon.
O'DONNELL: Call Dave, and we'll set something up.
ACOSTA (on camera): Promise?
O'DONNELL: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Jim Acosta reporting. Jim, hold her to that. And I want to tell our viewers our "CNNPolitics.com Update" less than 15 minutes away.
You know, trying to get ahead of this. I've been telling people here at work all day this is really like a real-life version, not a fictional version of "The Blob." Remember that movie? We're talking toxic sludge. Hungary's ecological disaster could soon be spreading to other countries. We're going "Globe Trekking" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's go "Globe Trekking" right now because we are witnessing something that, really, we haven't seen before except for in the movies in a fictional way. This is a toxic disaster in Hungary that has the potential to grow in leaps and bounds now that a dangerous chemical sludge has reached the Danube River.
Now, take a look at these pictures. It's amazing. Earlier this week, a wave of highly toxic mud broke out of an aluminum plant reservoir devastating the area. Four people are dead. And it is so bad that in one town, they aren't just evacuating, they are abandoning it. Now, the nearby Markol (ph) River is already ruined. Disaster officials say that fish -- the fish there are all dead.
Let's look at the Danube. If the sludge isn't neutralized, it could float all the way to the Black Sea. Our senior international correspondent, Mr. Nic Robertson, joins us now by phone from inside the toxic disaster zone in western Hungary. I don't ever remember seeing anything like this, Nic Robertson. Take us inside.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Don, it's just all too real for the people here. We've been inside some of the houses today, the houses that were hardest hit by this tide of red sludge that slammed into their buildings. The tide is over my head height. That's more than six feet.
People (INAUDIBLE) trying to salvage stuff, but they know they can't salvage it. Anything that's been touched by this sludge they're just throwing away. And I talked to people -- talked to people who are trying to pull stuff out, and they showed me their hands. Their hands have got blisters and burns on them. That's from this caustic, toxic flood. And it's everywhere. They can't avoid it. You watch them eating sandwiches out in the courtyards. There are contaminants getting into their systems, Don.
LEMON: Do they even know the ramifications of this, what long- term health effects that this might have on people there, for generations maybe?
ROBERTSON: They don't know. And the prime minister today admits that he didn't know how bad this was all going to be. The people here are sort of putting a bit of bravado on it. They say, Oh, it's just a couple of, you know, small scabs. It's nothing to worry about. But no one here is telling them what this will do to them in five years time, ten years time, what else could happen to them. They're all saying, though, the houses need to come down and they need to get new houses, new lives (ph), Don.
LEMON: Now, let me ask you this. Usually for disasters, most of the world -- most of the world -- knows how to respond, you know, unless they're overwhelmed by floods or most natural disasters. But when you have sludge like this and just stuck to everything you own, is there a precedent for this at all, Nic?
ROBERTSON: Well, what we're seeing with the army here, it seems to be that the army has got whatever sort of chemical disaster contingency put into place. They've got chemical decontamination teams sort of coming in and out of the zones that are affected. As far as Hungary is concerned, they haven't had anything like this before. As far as toxic spills in the region, there have been a couple before that have gone into some of the major rivers. Massive amounts of river life have been killed. And this one, though, getting into the Danube with ramifications that no one really knows, heavy metals, such as cadmium, toxic, chromium, toxic, arsenic, toxic -- all these things -- there are far more unanswered questions right now than there are answers, Don.
LEMON: Hey, listen, I got two questions for you. And I know we are short on time. Number one, I want to know what the smell is like. And number two, who's being held responsible? ROBERTSON: That's the strange thing. There is no smell. I thought there would be an awful smell. We don't smell anything. The people we talked to in houses, they hold the bosses of the aluminum company responsible. They said they should have known that the pit wasn't working. They should have done something about it before. But the government is investigating, and so far, no one's holding the aluminum bosses accountable as of yet. Indeed, there's pressure on them to reopen the plant and get it working again, Don.
LEMON: Oh! Nic Robertson, I can't -- I just can't imagine. Thank you, sir. We'll be following this story for you, trust me, until it's over there in Hungary.
In the meantime, crashing the tea party. Florida's Charlie Crist talks tough during a debate. Your "CNNPolitics.com Update" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: How many shopping days until the mid-term elections? I don't know how many shopping days, but I know there are 26 critical days before the critical mid-term elections. So let's get your "CNNPolitics.com Update" right now.
Wow! To what do we owe the honor of this -- the pleasure of this honor? Or something like that. Our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, not at the White House right now, but he's at the Politics.com desk in Washington.
So what's crossing? You've got your shirtsleeves and you're all rolled up and ready to go.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, got them all rolled up. Only 26 shopping days to get some more shirts and ties for election night.
Basically, I'll start in Delaware. Christine O'Donnell has been under fire in recent days, and she's blaming some of her recent stumbles on what she calls the liberal media, saying, quote, "I put my name on the line. I've taken a lot of hits, a lot of character assassination." Don't forget, next Wednesday night, there'll be a big debate in the Delaware Senate race moderated by our own Wolf Blitzer. That's going to be Wednesday night.
Speaking of debates, a big one last night in Florida, that three- way Senate battle. Charlie Crist, the independent governor, has been trailing Republican Marco Rubio. He spent a lot of this debate on this attack and basically suggesting Rubio was a tool of the Tea Party. At one point, Crist saying in this debate he's the only candidate who can, quote, "crash that Tea Party." Democrat Kendrick Meek, of course, trailing pretty badly right now, a third place in that three-way race.
On to California, Meg Whitman shattering all spending records so far in that big, big gubernatorial battle. She has now spent $140.1 million on her bid for governor, if you add up what happened in the primaries, now in the general election. Most interesting part to me, Don, is that she right now, after spending $140 million, is in a dead heat with Democrat Jerry Brown.
Now, if you're going to spend $140 million, you got to win because if you lose, it's kind of a heck of a lot of money.
LEMON: It's -- it's a heck of a lot of money anyway! Who has $140 million sitting around? Maybe she does, but most Americans wouldn't.
HENRY: Yes, I mean, if you got that laying around -- I mean, and the other part of this is California deep in debt, a lot of problems. What's worse, to win or lose? If you spend $140 million to win a job that is going to be pretty tough -- I mean, a lot of these governors facing huge budget crises. So you know, same thing with Rahm Emanuel, now running for mayor of Chicago. When I was there last week, a lot of people on the ground saying, Who wants to be mayor of Chicago right now? Huge budget cuts, real problems in the city, Rahm Emanuel saying he wants to serve. Meg Whitman on the Republican side saying the same thing about California. That's still a lot of coin, Don.
LEMON: Yes, I always wonder what the payoff is when people spend all that money because it would be nicer to have that money and have a nice, comfortable life without everyone digging in your business, but...
HENRY: Some of us would run off to Antigua, others would get into public service. And you got to take the hat off to the people who want to get into the arena. But you're right, it's still a lot of money.
LEMON: Yes, I respect them wanting to do it, but man, I still don't see the payoff. Thank you very much, sir. We'll see (INAUDIBLE) so be sure you stick with CNN for complete coverage of the key races and key issues heading into the critical mid-term elections. Your next "CNNPolitics.com Update" -- .com update -- just an hour away.
OK, here, the campaigner-in-chief we're talking about, back on the road today. That's probably why Ed Henry's not at the White House today. President Obama stumping for Democrats in Maryland and Illinois. One of his main topics on the trail is the economy, but some question whether he can deliver a compelling argument.
That was one of the topics they tackled last night on CNN's "PARKER-SPITZER."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People respect a president who's willing to have enough kischkes (ph), enough toughness that it tells you that there is something you're willing to fight for.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... draw blood.
ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST: It is so true. The defining moment, I think, was when President Obama had the CEOs of Wall Street down to the White House, and they were all happy together. FDR in that context was saying, You are the enemy, and Barack Obama...
(CROSSTALK)
SPITZER: That's right. And Barack Obama said, We are all in this together.
KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST: Obama wants to be liked, ultimately. I mean, he is a pleaser, and I think that's the problem. I think...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a pleaser, but it's not just toughness, it's also empathy. You know, I mean, we now have had two immediate presidents, George Bush and Bill Clinton, who could show public empathy very effectively. I think it's not a skill Obama has.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You can catch a new edition of "PARKER-SPITZER" tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern.
The movie "Avatar" broke box office records, but it also broke new technological ground. So what's going to dazzle us next? What will it be? We're talking to two "Avatar" artists about the future of film. And you haven't seen anything yet. Remember that. You haven't seen anything yet. It's the "Big I."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, if you're a movie buff, or even, you know, if you are not, you watch the occasional movie, you're going to want to know about this. So it's time for today's "Big I." The "I" stands for, of course, "Idea," and there's no denying that the movie "Avatar" and the technology behind it have really broadened ideas about what films can be, what they can do, what they can become.
James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular shattered domestic and worldwide box office records, crossing over two -- grossing over, I should say, $2.7 billion. Boy, I didn't even know that was possible. Now, add to that nearly 150 million bucks in U.S. DVD sales alone. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and brought home three. Then there are the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTAs, and you get the picture, on and on and on.
Well, these two gentlemen right here helped bring "Avatar" to life. His name is Richie Baneham, and he was the animation supervisor and winner of Visual Effects, that Oscar. And then Matt Madden was the motion capture supervisor -- these are long titles -- and the VP of production and development for Giant Studios, whose technology helped birth the Na'vi, right?
RICHIE BANEHAM, ANIMATION SUPERVISOR, "AVATAR": Not easy to say, not easy to do.
(LAUGHTER) LEMON: Not easy to do. If anyone knows about the next big thing, it's these two guys. So here's what I want to know. You know, "Avatar" was a game changer, as they say. So I'm going to go right there. I think one day -- you tell me if you believe this -- that movies will be interactive, almost like when you watch the movie, "The Matrix," like, you won't know -- you can sort of put yourself in the process one day. Is that the goal?
BANEHAM: I don't know if it's the goal, but I think it's somewhat -- it's the future. I mean, the interactive nature of the film process, making it, has already become somewhat -- we have what's called a virtual production. So a virtual experience in the audience, I think, is a relatively (INAUDIBLE) the next step, you know?
LEMON: So this goes way beyond 3D, then, because 3D is the next process. You're looking beyond 3D, obviously, with what "Avatar" did. You're looking way beyond that.
MATT MADDEN, VP OF PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT, GIANT STUDIOS: Yes, we're looking to leverage advancements in computer graphics, too, not just three-dimensional space, not just...
LEMON: What does that mean?
MADDEN: The CG is the -- the photo real (ph) elements that don't really exist, like the world Pandora, like the Na'vis and avatars. Of course, they don't exist in real life. So it's really the technology to allow you to interact and be immersed with that level of graphics, and like you said, feel like you're in the matrix. I mean, that's something where I think it's headed. But it also -- in terms of story telling, there's the camera aspect, you know? That's really a critical component to movies like "Avatar." And if you take that away, then it affects the story. So immersive technologies and story telling, they're related, but they are a little separate.
LEMON: So what why do you say the camera is so important for that?
MADDEN: Well, the camera frames the action. That's -- and helps tell the story and really dictates the composition of the actors, their relationship. And so we have a tie to that. That dictates how we respond to the information that's being presented. So -- and Jim is very receptive to that. And so if we remove that and just immerse people in a virtual world, we lose that aspect. And it's very exciting and interesting to be in an immersive virtual world, but it's a different experience than, say, just a passive movie-making experience.
LEMON: OK, I'm going the play devil's advocate here because, for one, I'm not averse to technology. Obviously, I have the iPad and every new thing that comes out. But when it comes to what I see visually on the screen, whether it's on television or at the movies, I prefer simplicity and I prefer old-time story telling and character development. I haven't seen "Avatar." It's not something that I would be interesting in seeing. I'm sure I would enjoy the experience. But for the most part, I would not go out to see "Avatar." And obviously, I'm different. You've made so much money on it. But I would prefer that.
BANEHAM: Well, we've made a concerted effort to not let the technology get in the way of the art.
LEMON: Yes.
BANEHAM: I mean, the foundation of the movie is the story. And again, it may not be -- sci-fi may not be your thing, but I think there's a love story in there. There's lots for everyone. We literally came across hundreds of thousands of people over at this last on line or -- who said they wouldn't necessarily have gone to see "Avatar." They didn't think it was their cup of tea, but -- and have responded very, very well. Again, I think it's just a matter of whether you go for the movie or you go for the experience. If you see it in 3D, it's very much an immersive experience, and some people dig that. But again, at the forefront of the film making is the story. So that's what we tried to keep...
LEMON: So you're telling me to give it a chance.
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: It's really not about the technology at the end of the day, right? I mean, that really helps the visual and allows you to create these worlds that don't exist. But if the story isn't there and the characters aren't there, you're not going to get the viewers.
LEMON: Right. Yes. You need pull me because I'm still watching Turner Classic Movies, you know? That's...
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: The basic premise hasn't changed...
LEMON: Yes.
MADDEN: ... in movie making. It's just that some of the tools now have evolved.
LEMON: I think it looks amazing. And obviously, you guys are very successful and you know where it's going. So thank you so much for coming in, and best of luck to you. And then you can take me to the movie and explain to me what's going on and...
BANEHAM: Hopefully, it'll explain itself.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Thank you, guys. Richie Baneham and then Matt Madden. We appreciate you coming in.
MADDEN: Thank you.
LEMON: All right, let's talk about a more serious subject. Bullying is in its form (ph) has been a network focus right here on CNN all this week. And we have been following the story of a young man who knows more than anyone what it's like to be bullied, cyber- bullied. Straight ahead, we'll hear from an openly gay Michigan college student who's been the target of a top state official.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Listen, the student assembly president of the University of Michigan says kids who are bullied should know they can find support and things can get much better. And Chris Armstrong should know. We have told you his story. It's a really sad story. He's the first openly gay student to hold his position, and for months, he has been the target of a venomous blog by an assistant Michigan attorney general. His name is Andrew Shirvell. Now, Shirvell claims Armstrong is pushing radical homosexual agenda and calls the student a so-called "racist, elitist liar," a "privileged pervert." Now, through it all, Armstrong has kept silent, at least in public, until now.
Last night, he sat down for an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS ARMSTRONG, CYBER-BULLIED STUDENT: It's really been a personal issue in a lot of ways. You know,I've dealt with it. Given what's happened in the past week and given the suicides that have happened in the past, like, three weeks, it's been -- it's been -- I think -- it's hard not to say something and...
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360": That's really what is motivating you to speak out now, the suicides that we've all been witnessing and reporting on.
ARMSTRONG: Right. Yes, and I think, like, I honestly -- I didn't really ask to be put into this position in a lot of ways, and I didn't really...
COOPER: In just about all ways, you didn't ask to be put into this position.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. But you know, I -- you know, I felt that, like, seeing these kids, you know, like, feel like they needed to take their life. It's important to understand that things can get better and it's important to know that you -- you can reach out in your community. You can reach out to friends, and they can -- they can support you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, Shirvell is now on a voluntary leave of absence, and Armstrong is seeking a restraining order in the courts.
And finally, a program note for you. All this week on "AC360," a special report on bullying, "No Escape." Anderson Cooper will conclude his coverage tomorrow night with a town hall talking about bullying.
