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Raw Politics as America Votes; U.S. Lost 95,000 Jobs in September; GOP Pulls West Virginia Ad; Search Resumes on Dangerous Lake for Man Reportedly Killed By Mexican Pirates; FCC Looking to Require Cell Phone Companies to Advise Customers of Overcharges; Chinese Dissident Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize; Drills May Reach Trapped Miners Today But They Still Have Rough Ride Ahead; Football Dad Sidelined over Wheelchair; No Food Stamps for Sodas
Aired October 08, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips starts right now.
Good morning, Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Good morning, everybody. Busy Friday here. You're going to see and hear just how ugly politicking is as the midterms draw closer. Whoever first said that if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all, well, clearly never ran for office.
Those miners who spent weeks trapped underground in Chile, their ordeal might soon be over. We've got a live report.
And a dad who's very involved in his son's life pushed to the sidelines because of his wheelchair. We're crying foul and naming names on this bad move.
I'm Kyra Phillips and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, we're now just 25 days before the all-important midterm elections. Time is short and the tone is ugly. And those bare knuckled tactics can definitely backfire.
Let's begin with some red-faced Republicans. The GOP has pulled this ad. It seems to show Washington bashing locals in West Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama's messing things up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spending money we don't have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stimulus, Obamacare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Joe Manchin supported it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe's not bad as govern, but when he's with Obama --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. No surprise that those are actors, but here's the problem, they answered an ad in Philadelphia seeking a, quote, "hickey, blue-collar look." That may not win many votes from the very people it offended.
Oh and speaking of offensive, how about this unscripted conversation about Meg Whitman, the Republican running for governor of California?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know Whitman will cut a deal that I won't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She'll probably do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a whore.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yes. You heard that word right. Really? Pretty unscripted moment there. And it comes after a conversation within Jerry Brown's circle. He was somebody there who was accusing Whitman of selling out to special interests.
Well, we got a lot of ground to cover. CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston taking a closer look at the gaffes and more.
Christine Romans looking at another issue that could shape the election. Those are jobless numbers that will still be fresh in the minds of voters when they head to the polls.
But, Mark, let's start with you. Twenty-five days before the election. Things always get nasty. We're going to get to that offensive word toward Meg Whitman in a moment. But first the political ads.
What do you think makes these any different from the usual mudslinging we see at this time?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Kyra, first off, terribly embarrassing right now for the Republican Party, specifically the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which paid for that ad. In fact on the front page of the local newspaper out in West Virginia, right on the right-hand side column, the headline is -- "GOP Pulls Hickey Ad in West Virginia."
A terrible message right now.
Now the backstory on this, though, Kyra, is that the NRSC had subcontracted to try to have this ad made. They didn't use the word "hickey" but it doesn't matter because they are still being tarred with it and it's only going to get worse, Kyra.
In fact, in the past 30 days, Evan Tracy, our campaign political ad consultant tells me that 62 percent of all political ads that have run in the past month or so have been negative and it's only going to get worse.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now let's get back to this phone conversation. Jerry Brown and his staff there in the room. They all thought that this call had ended and then somebody within that group calls Whitman this extremely offensive term.
What do we know?
PRESTON: Well, we know that it's a -- it's an unscripted moment on behalf of the Jerry Brown campaign. They were very frustrated because it looks like they were trying to cajole a union to support them, but what this really is, is that this is exactly what you said.
It's extremely offensive. You know, there's only a few words in the English language, Kyra, I think that are really offensive to women, and this is one of them. And in fact, where this could potentially hurt Jerry Brown is with independent women, women who say, look, Jerry Brown says one thing or his campaign stands for one thing, yet he says these things off camera or off mike.
That could potentially hurt him. We know the Meg Whitman campaign is really playing this up -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I'd be very curious to know if there were women in the room when that word was used.
Mark Preston, thanks so much.
All right, enough political mudslinging. Let's address another factor that could impact the elections. The economy.
Just last hour, we received the latest snapshot of jobless Americans. The monthly unemployment numbers are flat and that's going to be the last measure that voters will see before they actually head to the polls.
Christine Romans has the latest facts and figures -- Christine?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, 9.6 percent is the unemployment rate. And you're right. That is flat. It didn't get worse as many people have thought.
Many people thought it might be 9.7 percent, but 9.6 percent is the unemployment rate in this country right now. And the economy lost 95,000 jobs in the month, 95,000 jobs. Mostly because of government jobs being shed, those Census jobs were lost, that Census -- 2010 Census is expiring.
And also because a lot of local governments, Kyra, are shedding jobs because they have to balance their budgets and they don't have the money.
But we're looking at the private sector. Private sector job creation. This is key. Are independent companies adding jobs? And they did. Modestly, 64,000 jobs added in the private sector in the month.
Now that's not enough to absorb new people into the labor market, people graduating from college, people coming to this country. It's not enough to keep the economy plugging along and to cut into that unemployment rate but it is a little bit of something so that's where we stand right now.
No big, dramatic changes, as how I would call it, for this labor market report. The last labor market report as you point out until the midterm elections -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Christine, thanks.
So, Mark, while I still have you, these unemployment numbers, how do you think it will play at the polls?
PRESTON: Well, good news/bad news. Good news is that nationally it did not go to 10 percent. Bad news is that in many of these states, in many of these key states, Kyra, in fact the unemployment rate is over 10 percent.
What Democrats are telling their candidates right now is to try to make this a local election. What we're seeing from Republicans is they're trying to nationalize the election.
In fact, Paul Steinhauser who is just behind me. He is handing me some paper right here. He will have a story up on CNN Politics just -- in just a few moments with the Republican reaction to this jobs report.
Again, Republicans will try to nationalize this election and really try to tie the Democrats to President Obama and this bad economic news.
PHILLIPS: All right. Mark, thanks. Christine, thanks so much.
Great (INAUDIBLE) on side, a potential death sentence on the other. Falcon Lake between Texas and Mexico, it's a huge complex and very dangerous crime scene right now as investigators are looking for a missing jet skier.
CNN asked his wife what they were doing in such a notoriously dangerous area to begin with.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We are looking at tropical storm Otto, plus another tropical disturbance potentially. And a beautiful fall weekend for most. Who's in trouble? Weather is coming up in just a little bit.
The CNN NEWSROOM returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The woman claims Mexican pirates shot and killed her husband on a border lake is willing to take a lie detector test if she's asked to do so. Some doubters aren't sure if Tiffany Hartley's story adds up. Namely Mexican authorities.
They say they can't verify the shooting and so far David Hartley's body has not been found.
Also gunmen have robbed or threatened boaters on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake at least four times this year. The Hartleys were on jet skis.
CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Tiffany if they knew what they were getting into.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY HARTLEY, SAYS PIRATES KILLED HUSBAND: We knew that there had been pirates there. We didn't realize they were still -- you know, it would had been very active in the last couple of months. We hadn't heard anything.
We did discuss, you know, that that was a possibility. We didn't really discuss too much about what would happen or what we would do. We just figured -- you know, we would run and outrun them.
Our jet skis are super -- I mean, they're fast. They go up to 70, 75 miles an hour but you just can't outrun the bullets.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The Mexican side of the lake is so dangerous that investigators called off the search for Hartley at one point because of threats to their lives. They asked the Zeta drug cartel to turn over the body if they have it.
The search is back underway.
CNN's Gary Tuchman actually went out on the water with Texas investigators.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a horrifying scenario. A woman and her husband go jet skiing on a lake between the United States and Mexico. The husband is shot and killed by pirates, the woman escapes with her life.
But other than her word, there's no solid evidence a crime occurred but there's also no solid evidence that a crime did not occur.
So what's the status of this investigation? And just what kind of place is this lake?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): We have an armada of armed protectors. As we head off for a short voyage on what may be North America's most dangerous lake.
This is the sheriff of Zapata County, Texas.
(On camera): Are you 100 percent convinced she is telling the truth?
SHERIFF SIGI GONZALES, ZAPATA COUNTY, TEXAS: Well, we can never be convinced like 100 percent, 99.9 percent, yes.
TUCHMAN: So 99.9 percent.
GONZALES: Sure. Yes.
TUCHMAN: Would you be willing to have her take a polygraph test just to aid in the investigation, to be 100 percent sure?
GONZALES: I cannot force her to do it.
TUCHMAN: Would you like her to do it?
GONZALES: If she -- well, if she wants to do it on her own, sure.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is what Tiffany Hartley said at a news conference about suggestions by some she's not telling the whole truth.
HARTLEY: I know what I know. I know what I saw and I can just tell you what I know. Unfortunately, he's not here to -- you know, David's not here to verify, yes, we were chased and we were shot at and so it is hard to be -- to be judged.
TUCHMAN (on camera): What's the main reason you think that the story's 100 percent true?
GONZALES: The story's -- well, I look at it as what is there to indicate that it's not true?
TUCHMAN: There's no jet ski, there's nobody but you're saying that blood was found on a life preserver?
GONZALES: Yes, sir.
TUCHMAN: And what do we know about the blood?
GONZALES: We're working on trying to get it analyzed.
TUCHMAN: The sheriff's department here desperately wants to believe Tiffany Hartley's story but the fact is that public officials we talked to in this county who don't want to go on camera are doubting it.
Also the state police commander and the Mexican state right across the border also publicly doubting it.
It's a tragedy. It's also quite the puzzle.
GONZALES: We're really living yards away from actual war in a country. In a foreign country.
TUCHMAN: And it's your feeling that the Mexican half of this lake is not under any authority control? The cartels who are controlling it?
GONZALES: It's not just my feeling, sir. It's reality. It's controlled by the Mexican drug cartels.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The lake is huge. More than 80,000 acres. Some of the best bass fishing in North America, but on the other side of this border marker where Mexico begins is now a no man's land.
(On camera): Do the people know who come out on this water that this is the border marker?
GONZALES: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Do boaters generally know?
GONZALES: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Is there any chance --
GONZALES: I mean boaters that fish they know that this --
TUCHMAN: Is there any chance this woman didn't know she was in Mexico?
GONZALES: No. She has said that she knew they were in Mexico.
TUCHMAN: OK. But why would she do that?
GONZALES: She is saying that since the threats were in April and May, she is saying that she thought the threats were over with.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Mexican waters were barren when we were there. The threat is certainly not over with.
(On camera): Mexican authorities do say they're searching their side of the lake but so far there's no sign of the body of David Hartley and no sign of his jet ski.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, McAllen, Texas.
PHILLIPS: Let's turn now to meteorologist Rob Marciano. Looks like it's going to turn out to be a pretty good weekend after all the crazy weather all week. ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's been a little bit nutty this week, both on the East and West Coast, and we're starting to see the pattern shift. So, yes. The weekend looks not too bad.
This low, which brought the craziness to southern California and Arizona is beginning to weaken, although there were a couple of tornadoes that dropped down in southern Idaho yesterday. No damage report from that, and now we're just seeing a little bit of snow in the higher country.
And then the Pacific Northwest will probably see some action this weekend as far as some wet weather and even some wind both days, so that would be the exception of what should turn out to be a decent weekend.
Big blue H in control now. Northerly flow, northwesterly flow across the northeast. Temperatures today in the lower 70s, tomorrow in the 60s, very pleasant. And warm temperatures across part of the heartland and as far north as the Canadian border. We'll see temperatures that will be well above normal and -- if not record breaking in some of these areas today. Could see temps into the 80s and might even see a couple of lower 90s in spots.
All right, let's talk about Tropical Storm Otto. This thing's got 70-mile-a-hour winds, it's almost a hurricane. And it's not really close to any land mass but, boy, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands just getting hammered with a tremendous amount of rainfall from this. But you can see, it's starting to pull away, now, northeasterly movement about 14 miles per hour. So the rain should come to an end in Puerto Rico.
Here's the forecast from the National Hurricane Center. Probably will become a hurricane later on today. Looking pretty healthy on the satellite imagery. Winds at about 80 miles an hour, 85. And then, just scooting off to probably western Europe or western parts of Africa before too long.
And then finally, because it is that time of year, we break out the fall foliage forecast with animated falling leaves in tow. Aspen's in full bloom here. Some ash and sugar maples across the northern tier and parts of the northern Appalachian. And then, upper New England and upstate New York will be enjoying their peak of season, as well. Carve some pumpkins, too. Can't believe it's almost the middle of the October
PHILLIPS: Do you still do that? Be honest.
MARCIANO: Of course.
PHILLIPS: So do we.
MARCIANO: Good, clean fun.
PHILLIPS: That's right. It sure is. And then you toast the seeds, right? You do that?
MARCIANO: Salt them up, yes.
PHILLIPS: There you go.
MARCIANO: Good food.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rob. Feeling it.
All right. Rescue workers are now less than a football field away from those trapped miners in Chile. The drilling could actually break through tomorrow. We're going to tell you what's next in getting those men out of there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. The jobless rate holding at 9.6 percent. The government dropped 95,000 jobs last month.
The FCC looking to relieve cell phone customers of some of their bill shock. "The Washington Post" reporting the agency will unveil a proposal next week requiring carriers to tell customers of overcharges and sudden increases. But advocacy groups actually tell "The Post" that won't help make puzzling phone bills any clearer.
And a Chinese dissident has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Liu Xiaobo is the co-author of "Charter 08," which calls for political reform and human rights. He's now serving a 11-year prison term.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Chilean miners may soon kiss their wives and smell fresh air. Right now, drillers are less than a football field away from the trapped men and could reach them tomorrow. CNN's Karl Penhaul has been covering the story since the mine collapsed 64 days ago. He's joining us live with the latest. So, Karl, this is great news. Is it true?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is great news, and certainly the feeling among family members up here on the surface in this area where they've been camped out now for 63, 64 days, the area they call Camp Hope, there's an expectation this really is the beginning of the end.
The latest figures we've had from the drill teams is that there are now less than 180 feet away from the miners, and that means that, technically, if the current speeds are kept up, the breakthrough could come, in fact, sometime today. Although officially, the mine's minister is saying it will be tomorrow.
But I've got my suspicions, because the Chilean first lady is going to be here this afternoon to meet the families. And what a moment that would be if she were here at the same time as breakthrough happened.
But one of my questions to families has been, "How are you feeling in these final moments?" And also, "How has this agonizing wait been?" And this is what one of the wives had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YANEZ, PARTNER OF TRAPPED MINER ESTEBAN ROJAS (through translator): This is an eternal wait, but I must be patient. There's only a little while left.
ALBERTO SEGOVIA, BROTHER OF TRAPPED MINER DARIO SEGOVIA (through translator): When the moment comes, I think I'll forget everything I plan to say. I'll just tell him what I feel in my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PENHAUL: Another of the wives that I talked to, and I said to her, "How really have you got through this time?" And she said, "Karl, this feels like one of those itches that bothers you every minute of every day. There's nothing you can do about it." And she says, "What I really want to do when my husband comes out of that mine is just take him back home and forget that any of this ever happened." Kyra?
PHILLIPS: So Karl, do we know how long it will take them in this tube to actually get out of the mine?
PENHAUL: Well, there are several issues here. Once breakthrough does happen and, as we've been saying, that could be as early as today, scheduled possibly for tomorrow, then they may have to encase this whole 2,300-foot rescue shaft. And if they have to do that, then it could take anything between now and ten days before the miners get out.
If they only decide to encase the first few hundred feet to prevent any kind of risk of rock fall, then the miners could come out in about two days after breakthrough, so that up in the air.
As far as the speed of the rescue cage -- now, the rescue cage, as we know, has been dubbed the Phoenix Capsule, this is what will bring the miners back to life, so to speak -- and once that capsule is down at the mine, once the miner is on board, that capsule's going to move at speeds up to 40 miles an hour through the rescue shaft. And that could mean that the miners are out, if there are no hiccups, each of them, the journey would take about 15 minutes. And you can bet that that really is going to be the ride of their lives, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. And probably the longest 15 minutes of their lives. Now, will they all be able to fit into that capsule? I mean, that is a really tight fit. Looks about -- only about 20 inches. So do we know if they will be able to all fit in there? And what's the health of all of these miners, and how will they decide who comes out first?
PENHAUL: Now, those are questions that have been constant worries for the team of medics and psychologists here on the surface since these miners were rediscovered. Remember, they were 17 days under ground with no contract from the outside world. Nobody knew, really, if they were even alive. But since then, a personal trainer has been working with them to make sure that these men are shape. Because of those first 17 days, they had nothing to survive on except cans of tuna, four cans of tuna per man for the entire 17 days. And so many of them lost up to 30 pounds, so that was a kind of a natural slimming process. Since then, personal trainers have been working with them to get them into shape.
They have access to up to about one and a half miles of mine tunnels. So some of them, we know, have been jogging through those tunnels for up to an hour a day to get some of that weight off. And we now understand that all the miners are slim enough to get into that rescue cage. Now, some of them a bit broader shouldered than others, but bellies aren't going to be a problem anymore. Some are broader shoulders -- shouldered than the others, but they feel that if they can come up in that position, the rescue position, then they should all fit up OK, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow. I'll tell you what, we're all waiting for the moment. Karl Penhaul, we're glad you're there.
It's 25 days until the midterm elections, and Washington is casting a long shadow on a lot of elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And as governor, when he's with Obama --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turns into Washington Joe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Washington Joe does whatever --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Strong words. But that's not why the ad was actually pulled. We're going to tell you why some Republicans are pretty red- faced today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Wall Street focused one thing and one thing only: jobs. And just an hour ago, the government said the economy lost 95,000 positions just last month. Which -- well, it's worse than we all expected. But the unemployment rate held pretty steady at 9.6.
Carter Evans from New York Stock Exchange.
Nine-point-six -- put that in perspective.
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 9.6 percent. So, the unemployment rate stays same even though we lost a net of 95,000 jobs. And as you said that's worse than expected.
I think the full impact of this is yet to be seen. Analysts were expecting these numbers to essentially be flat.
But, Kyra, when you take a close look at a report, there are some bright spots. The job losses came primarily from government jobs, essentially. And 77,000 of those were temporary Census jobs. And the private sector actually showed a gain of 64,000 jobs. And that's essentially in line with expectations.
So, the fact that most of these are Census jobs and government jobs, I think, is important, and that's something that investors are taking into account. Now, when it comes to September's numbers, initially, we saw a negative reaction from investors, it is disappointing that we're still losing jobs overall. But it appears investors may be relieved that it wasn't worse.
This would be a very different story if this report showed that the private sector was losing jobs instead of adding them. But stocks have been on a good run lately, hitting five-month highs earlier this week.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the numbers now. And the Dow is actually in positive territory now, up about 11 points. The NASDAQ is down about two points. The S&P 500 up about half a point.
Looks like investors, Kyra, are still taking all of this into account, but essentially breathing a sigh of relief that this wasn't worse. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Carter, thanks.
Well, if you're planning holiday air travel this year, you don't want to wait. Now is the time to buy your tickets. Industry experts say that there will be fewer planes in the air and that means higher demand and higher prices.
In today's "A.M. Extra," CNN's John Roberts actually talked to FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney about what to expect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SEANEY, CEO, FARECOMPARE.COM: What happens is as planes start to fill up, the reservation systems for the airlines automatically kick up the prices even higher so they could go up into the 700s and 800s. We've seen this happened only a few times with really high demand times. People are shopping earlier this year because they've already realized they're looking at some of these prices.
You know, the bottom line is that you need to be out there. You got to be flexible on the days you travel. Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving are the busiest days and most expensive days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Seaney says that the best time to buy a low-fare airline ticket is on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., and that's the day after airlines post their airfare sales for the week.
Just 25 days before the midterm elections. Time is short and the tone is ugly. But as we all know, bare-knuckled tactics can backfire. Case in point: those red-faced faced Republicans in West Virginia.
Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A GOP ad aimed at many West Virginia voters' concerns about Democratic Senate candidate Joe Manchin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe's not bad as governor, but when he's with Obama --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he turns into Washington Joe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Washington Joe does whatever Obama wants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well, we better keep John Manchin right here in West Virginia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But get this: those men are not in West Virginia. They're actors 250 miles away in Philadelphia. Republicans paid a talent agency to hire them for the ad and the casting call obtained by CNN asks for a, quote, "hickey, blue-collar look. These characters are from West Virginia so think coal miner/trucker looks."
(on camera): Not only that, it asked the actors to bring specific wardrobe items, including a trucker hat, not brand new, it says, preferably beat up. You see that there. Flannel shirt -- check. And Dickie's type jacket with a T-shirt underneath. Well, here's the T-shirt.
(voice-over): A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee says they did not know about the cast and call (ph) language and pulled the ad.
The irony is: Republicans didn't have to use actors in Philadelphia to capture concerns about Manchin. We went to this real West Virginia diner this week and heard the sentiment unscripted.
NATHAN ROSE, FIRST CALL DINER CHARLESTON: I can see generally pretty happy here in the state. We had some people voting for senator. I'd be more voting for someone who's just going to straight up proposal on his agenda.
BASH: No trucker hat, no flannel. In fact, the real foul play with this ad seems to be stereotyping West Virginians.
TODD WEBSTER, DEMOCRATIC MEDIA CONSULTANT: Somehow they were hicks and rednecks.
BASH: Even Democratic ad makers admit both parties use actors. WEBSTER: If you have to go to paid actors as a second or a third resort, then, you know, because of tight timelines, you may have to go -- you may have to go there.
BASH: Take this Democratic Senate ad now running against Missouri Republican Roy Blunt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roy is the life of the party in D.C. His wife, great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: That woman is an actress.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And, of course, for all the latest political news, you can go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Out of work? Struggling to find a job? Well, you're not going to want to hear this then. Thousands of dead are people getting stimulus checks. We'll explain why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories:
A woman who says Mexican pirates shot and killed her husband on a border lake is willing to take a lie detector test if she's asked to do it. Some people, including Mexican authorities, are doubting Tiffany Hartley's story, but she told CNN she stands by her claim.
Well, the dead are apparently getting stimulus checks. According to "The Washington Post," the Social Security Administration wrongly sent nearly 72,000 dead people stimulus money. The $250 payments were part of the Obama's administration economic recovery program.
And rescuers could reach 33 miners trapped underground in Chile as early as tomorrow. Crews have less than 200 left to drill where they have been stuck since early August. Once they get there, those miners could be lifted to safety within two to 10 days.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Just 25 days to go until the election that could change the balance of power in Congress.
Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is tracking the latest for us there at the desk.
What you got going, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kyra. It's interesting. I've learned some new information about where the president's heading later this month, told by senior Democratic officials, he's going on a major campaign swing out west. The reason being, party leaders have privately decided they think control of the U.S. Senate could come down to the fate of three big incumbents out west. So, the president's going to Seattle for Patty Murray, San Francisco for Barbara Boxer and then Las Vegas at the end of the month for Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader.
Keep a close eye on Senator Reid in particular. We've known for a long time that he was in some trouble. But I'm hearing from party leaders that are in private, they're getting increasingly worried that his poll numbers seem stuck in the low to mid-40s -- a very bad territory for an incumbent.
A Reid adviser told they've known it's going to be a tough campaign for a long time. They're still confident he's going to win in the end.
Today, House Republican Leader John Boehner is going to be going out giving a major campaign speech of his own in his hometown in Ohio, focused on jobs -- very timely because we just had this new employment report coming out, very mixed numbers in some ways, saying that unemployment rate unchanged at 9.6 percent. A good sign that maybe some private sector jobs created but more private sector jobs were lost.
So, in the end, we're seeing some problems there, obviously. Boehner is going to be taking a few swipes at the president today, but the president will have his say. He's going to be at a manufacturing company in Maryland, also talking about jobs. And then finally, my favorite item on the ticker -- not just today but for the entire week. Vice President Biden, as you know, Kyra, he tends to just sort of speak his mind. And he was in Wisconsin yesterday. He had an audience, we've all been there. He sounded a little sleepy. He was getting a little tired of it.
So, he basically yelled at them and said, quote, "You are the dullest audience I've ever spoken to." Now, that might have offended to some people, but in fact, it worked it appears. He got the people to pep up, the rest of the speech we're told went pretty well. And our colleague Alex Mooney on the Political Ticker noting that the next stop for the vice president today is in Seattle, where as you know, they serve a lot of coffee. So, maybe his audiences there will be a little bit more caffeinated for the vice president, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, when you're tired, I just yell at you and say, you're boring and we'll have a really great live shot?
HENRY: You can do that. I mean, we've all been there. I mean, you've probably never had an audience tell you you're boring. You're just a -- you're awesome. Everybody knows that.
So, you've never had that, but I've had that problem.
PHILLIPS: I've been right there with you, pal. Don't worry. We'll talk to you in a little bit.
Well, our next political update, hopefully, very exciting and full of energy, in an about an hour. And a reminder: you can always go and get the latest political news at our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
All right. CNN's new primetime show "PARKER/SPITZER" takes up the big issues of the day every night.
And last night, French author Bernard Henri-Levy joined the hosts and dubbed -- well, he's dubbed the philosopher -- he's dubbed the philosopher, rather, as a rock star. He's actually traveled to America often and he's got a great love for our country.
He actually challenged a recent poll that suggests that the president's ratings have fallen. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN PARKER, "PARKER/SPITZER" CO-HOST: Why do you think, as an outsider looking in, why do you think Obama has lost his appeal with the American people because his ratings are way down? What do you think it is?
BERNARD HENRI-LEVY, FRENCH INTELLECTUAL: Number one, I'm not so sure he lost his appeal. We'll see. Two of November, my bet is that he will win much more than is expected by a lot of American observers and foreign observers today. The game is not over. You will see. I'm not so sure he will lose the Senate and the other chamber.
Now, we live in a strange society with very short-sighted way of considering politics. People in Europe, like as in America, want results immediately. We are in a short-term society, short-term --
PARKER: Right.
HENRI-LEVY: -- society. If you don't have immediate results, you say, OK, I'm disappointed.
PARKER: Yes.
HENRI-LEVY: Well, where is my dream?
PARKER: Yes.
HENRI-LEVY: OK. Come on. Politics is long term, long shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: For more opinions, ideas and analysis, don't miss CNN's newest show, "PARKER/SPITZER," tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right. We're heading cross country. First stop, Tennessee, and the anguished look on the face of a homeowner watching his house burn to the ground 10 days ago. He actually neglected to pay his $75 fee for rural fire protection. So, firefighters stood by and did nothing to stop the fire. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIRE CHIEF DAVID WILDS, SOUTH FULTON, TENNESSEE: This tragedy was not the fault of the South Fulton Fire Department or the city of South Fulton, but rather the failure -- the fault was the failure of the Cranick family not to pay that subscription.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just hadn't got around to paying it yet but, you know, if they waived it one year, why couldn't they do it the next year? People around here know us. They know that we we're honest people and that we would come in and pay it. They know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: At South California, two roller coaster cars made contact with each other at the Knot's Berry Farm theme park last night. Ten people wound up with minor injuries. Most complained of neck or back pain. One car failed to make an incline, rolled back hitting the other car at the station.
Last stop, South Florida, twin sisters describe themselves as built-in best friends gave birth on the same day. They call it proof of the amazing power of sisterhood. And by the way, they both had baby girls, Ava and Olivia.
A dad who is very involved in his young son's life pushed to the sidelines because of his wheelchair. Someone needs to call out the football league for this bad move. And guess what, we're just the ones to do it.
But first, flashback. This day, October 8th, 1957, a piano- playing singer, an amazing musician, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded "Great Balls of Fire" in the Memphis studio of Sun Records. The making of that song touched off Lewis's lifelong struggle with a strict Christian upbringing and his rock and roll career.
"Great Balls of Fire" became one of Lewis's biggest hits reaching number one on Country Charts and number two on the Billboard Charts. "Rolling Stone" magazine declared Lewis's rendition one of the 100 greatest songs ever made.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: I tell you what. There should be more dads like Merrill Staton. This is a guy who is in a wheelchair but he doesn't let it interfere with his dad duties or his relationship with his son.
He is a coach for his boy's football team and he wants to be involved. And he's showing everyone that a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't have a normal and very engaged life.
So it's a real shame that the league is putting limits on him because of his wheelchair. It's a decision that I'm really hoping they reverse.
Allen Shope from KCTV brings us both sides of the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MERRILL STATON, COACH: I don't think there needs to be any difference between me and anybody else on that field.
ALLEN SHOPE, KCTV REPORTER (voice-over): Merrill Staton feels like he's been benched and it's not because he did anything wrong. His wheelchair has been labeled a hazard to the players on the field.
STATON: It certainly is what it's done.
SHOPE: The football and cheerleading club of Johnson County says it's OK for him to be on the sidelines, he's just got to stay behind the play and another coach always has to be in front of him as a buffer to the players.
RICH HUNTER, FOOTBALL & CHEERLEADING CLUB OF JOHNSON COUNTY: It's a blanket policy about hard, mechanical things. Later on in the season when it rains and gets wet and the sidelines get muddy, it's hard for people that are standing there to get out of the way, and it does protect kids, which is our -- one of our primary jobs.
SHOPE: Staton says he's not being treated like other coaches, and it's not fair.
STATON: But I can move just as fast if not faster than a lot of the people that are out on the field.
SHOPE: And parents agree with him.
SHANNON WALSH, PARENT: I think he's proven to be completely capable at practice and on the sidelines thus far and my own son has never even once mentioned that he's in a wheelchair.
RUSTY MUDGETT, COACH: You know, I think there are various rules that need to be set up to keep the kids' safety in mind. I certainly couldn't do what I do without Merill's help.
SHOPE (on camera): Staton has appealed to the league and will meet with him on Monday night to try and get back on the field but he asks what message is being sent to the kids he's coaching.
STATON: None of these kids come to me and ask me why I'm in a wheelchair. Unless you're taught it to be an issue it's a nonissue.
SHOPE: As for this weekend, he'll be right back out there trying to help the team from his designated area.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you've heard what Merrill said. He can move fast in that chair. You saw it right there.
And he makes another good point. He doesn't think he's anymore of an obstacle than the metal down marker, the benches, fences or any of the other equipment that's out there. It's a real shame that the league is putting limits on an involved, engaged dad because of his chair, limiting a guy who is doing his best to overcome the limits of a neurological disorder.
We're going to follow Merrill's appeal and hopefully have good news about it next week.
We've got a lot to cover in the next hour. Let's go in and check in with our Poppy Harlow first. Hey Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And hey Kyra, happy Friday. A pretty sour unemployment report this morning -- 95,000 jobs lost last month. With so many Americans out of work, it feels like no one is hiring. But that is not true.
In the next hour, we're going to introduce you to some local businesses we found that are hiring, and they are looking for workers. They think this economy is turning around. That's in the next hour.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP)
PHILLIPS: All right. We just started to get the audio. That's our Karl Penhaul in Chile as we've gotten word that those miners may actually be rescued within the next two to ten days. It might even actually start tomorrow. So we're going to take you live back there as well.
And the midterm elections are 25 days away; the politics of trust looming large. Voters are mad at Washington, and some recent headlines remind us why. The credibility of the White House may have a lot to do with elections around the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Some call it soda, others call it pop; many dieticians think it's more like obesity in a can. Take a look at the top three sources of calories for Americans, this is from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Coming in number one: baked goods, cookies, cakes, pies, no shock there. The runner-up: pizza, gooey cheese, buttery frost, pepperoni, sausage, if you're a meat lover and again, not a shock. And number three, soda. Imagine washing down a big pizza with free soda refills. That's some serious calories.
With all those calories, zero nutritional value. And that's why New York's mayor is cracking down. Michael Bloomberg doesn't want people using food stamps for soda to use government money for empty calories in an age of obesity. But some folks wonder why soda is getting targeted. Why not the baked goods or pizza?
Both sides now from CNN's Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If New York gets its way, buying soda or sugar-sweetened drinks with more than ten calories will be banned if you use food stamps. New York's mayor and state governor say they're trying to reduce obesity and they're making their case to the federal government which administers the food stamp program and currently only ban alcohol and cigarette sales.
MAYOR MIKE BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: The government can make the decision that that should not include something else that the experts all tell you is very detrimental to your health, that contributing to the number one public health issue remaining in this city and in this country that's getting worse. It's not unreasonable and it's not picking on anybody.
SNOW: The city's health department reports that 58 percent of adults in New York City are either overweight or obese. Among public school children, that rate is close to 40 percent.
CHRISTIE LANCASTER, NUTRITIONIST: Soda is a huge problem.
SNOW: Christie Lancaster is a nutritionist who's been working to reduce high obesity rates in Harlem. One big problem she says, healthier food tends to be more expensive, leaving people with few options here and soda doesn't help.
LANCASTER: Soda, of course, has more calories, and the more calories you drink you don't compensate for them the same way as you do when you eat more calories.
SNOW: But not all public health doctors are applauding the city's move to ban soda for people on food stamps.
DR. CAROL HOROWITZ, MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL: Even if we could do it and it would work, is it the right thing to do?
SNOW: Is it?
HOROWITZ: I'm not so sure.
SNOW: Dr. Carol Horowitz has also been working in Harlem to help reduce diabetes which is associated with obesity.
HOROWITZ: Food stamps still pays for a bucket of junk food. And a bucket of unhealthy high-calorie too. They pay for things that are so full of processed chemicals that you really couldn't even call them food.
So out of this whole the bucket of food that food stamps covers, why are we picking out one thing? Why are we picking out soda?
SNOW: The U.S. Department of Agriculture which oversees the Food Stamp Program says it will review and consider New York's proposal. The city wants a two-year ban and in that time, health officials can study the impact.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: We're counting down to the midterm elections; 25 days and Washington's balance of power could be at stake. Many voters are mad at Washington, and all you have to do is look at recent headlines to see why.
Remember the Shirley Sherrod debacle, you remember. She was the victim of an Internet hack job. That rush to judgment was embarrassing for the White House even though it claims to have played no role. You're going to see the e-mails that led to her unjust firing.
Also, today, the feds have to explain a new screw-up. Stimulus checks sent to 72,000 Americans who didn't deserve them; that's because they were dead. We're still trying to unravel that one.
And the Gulf oil disaster, the leak is plugged, but the damage continues, especially at the White House. A panel appointed by the president himself says the Obama administration botched it handily -- handling rather -- and vastly underestimated the scope of that spill.
