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Many Voters Mad at Washington for Way Government Handled Oil Spill, Sherrod Cases; Newest Jobs Reports Are Last Ones Before Elections; National Security Adviser Stepping Down; The Beginning of the End for Chilean Miners as Plan B Drill Appears Successful; Phoebe Prince Bullying Case Revisited; Tyra Banks: I Was a Bully; Football Dad Sidelined Over Wheelchair

Aired October 08, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: 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. And that disaster zone brings up a question many Americans are now asking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA PRESIDENT: You know, it's Saturday. We're sitting here wanting to believe in our federal government. Wanting to believe. We're counting on NOAA and all of the monitoring they're supposed to be doing out there, and as we hear things like that, who are we to believe?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, those doubts about trusting our own government may be critical if enough people carry them to the polling places on November 2nd. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joining us live.

So, Ed, a lot of the critics are saying the administration has a serious credibility issue here.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you talk about the oil spill, certainly the administration is frustrated that this report has come out. We should say it's a preliminary report just by the staff of this commission investigating the oil spill, what went wrong and trying to prevent another crisis like that. And it was pretty blistering.

It basically said the administration was hiding information from the public, did not reveal, for example, at the beginning of all of this, that they were hearing information from BP suggesting that oil could be flowing at a rate of, you know, 60,000, 70,000 or even 100,000 barrels a day. Instead the administration was publicly saying it was just 1,000 to 5,000 barrels a day.

What the administration is doing is pushing back and saying, look, they haven't even had a chance to tell this commission their side of the story. They're upset that it leaked out and think that it's only part of the story but, frankly, it's going to be tough for them to push back when you have the fact that this is not a Republican committee up on the hill attacking the White House. It's a commission, as you noted, appointed by this president to investigate this now raising some serious questions about how the administration handled that oil spill, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's dive a little deeper into the e-mails concerning Shirley Sherrod. For the first time we actually got to read some of these. What do you have with you, and how damaging do you think these are?

HENRY: Well, I think there's no smoking gun, is the bottom line. There's nothing that proves Shirley Sherrod's allegation, you'll remember at the very beginning, that the White House pressured the Agriculture Department to fire her, but there is a whole lot of stuff here suggesting there were some people inside Agriculture initially having concerns that the full context was not being aired here, and yet there was pressure from the Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to push her out anyway. Let's look at these e-mails quickly.

One AG official Krysta Harden saying "we need to make sure someone has seen the video. I am quick to jump to conclusions but want to be certain it is what it is said to be before I tell the secretary," but within minutes you have others saying, look, "We need to take immediate action." "Well, the Secretary is absolutely sick and mad over the Shirley Sherrod issues. He wants her immediately on administrative leave." The other official says "Concur. She should be fired."

So this was happening real time. It's really our first inside look at the sort of the damage control that was being done. And here had you some people within agriculture saying, look, "let's not rush to judgment, and others saying, "the secretary wants her out now." That's bad for the administration. Not really shocking. We knew that was happening but this is laying it out in some pretty stark detail, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So for the next 25 days, what's the White House going to do to try and combat this bad publicity?

HENRY: Well, look, you know what connects these two story is the fact that both the oil spill and the Shirley Sherrod story sort of took them off message this summer and maybe they thought those stories were done with and they had moved on but this week with these new documents coming out, these two stories are back.

So what are they going to do? They're going to try to stay on message. You know, ever since they got past the oil spill and some of those summer controversies, the president has stayed on the jobs message, the economy, he realized especially with these new jobs numbers out today, he's going to be speaking at a manufacturing company in Maryland about employment in this country. And the fact is they are going to try to stay on that and they're going to try and stay away from these side issues which this summer pulled them off message, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Ed Henry at the White House. Ed, thanks.

Here's something else the voters are going to have on their minds as they head to the polls, the bad news on the economy. We've learned that the jobless rate stayed flat in September at 9.6 percent. 95,000 Americans lost their jobs. The silver lining is that the private sector added 64,000 people to its payrolls. Now keep in mind, this is the last monthly report is the last one that voters will see before they actually head to the polls.

Let's take a closer look with Poppy Harlow at CNNMoney.com. Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's interesting. You know, this was an abysmal report. As you said, a lot worse than we expected. But here's something people need to know. 83,000 state and local government jobs were lost last month. That's the worst on record. It's also the first time all year that we had a decline in those non- census jobs.

But there is a bit of a bright spot, there are still, according to experts, 3.2 million job openings in this country. If you're trying to get one, steep competition, 4.6 applications, Kyra, they say, for every single opening.

So we went out all over New York City to talk to small businesses who actually posted help wanted signs and ask them what they're looking for. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (on camera): You know, we know that this economy is still reeling from job losses, but here in New York City and in small towns across the country, there are small businesses that are actually hiring. We're starting to see more help wanted signs outside the businesses. So we went in to see what they're looking for, who they are hiring and what else they're dealing with right now.

When did you post that hiring sign outside?

JAMES ANGELO, CANINE COUNTRY CLUB: We've had it up and down for a couple months. We are taking our time hiring people because we can. We have a huge stack of resumes that we didn't have four months ago. Number two, the type of person coming in are more full-time professions out there, like a realtor, because that market has fallen off, bankers that were laid off.

HARLOW: What do you think small businesses need the most now?

ANGELO: Financial support but they have to be smart about it. I mean, we can't depend on the government to fix all of our problems.

HARLOW: From your perspective as a small business owner, is the economy better now than it was a year ago?

AVI LEVY, AROMA ESPRESSO BAR: I can't say it. I don't think it.

HARLOW: It's not better?

LEVY: Some numbers out there but we don't see it.

HARLOW: Why are you hiring? You need enough staff.

LEVY: We don't have enough.

HARLOW: What would you tell the administration?

LEVY: I need help from the banks. I don't need the money from the government but I need a way to get loans.

HARLOW: So you're actually hiring right now, even given the state of the economy?

ANDRIETTE FLEMINGS, ONLY HEARTS: Yes, we are. We're always looking for someone with good customer service skills.

HARLOW: Has the economy turned the corner that it makes you uncomfortable to hire as a small business?

FLEMINGS: I think so. Yes, because it seems like business has picked up. It has picked up this past few years. We're having a good year.

HARLOW: What kind of people are applying for jobs right here now, Roslyn?

ROSLYN RIVER, ROSLYN BOUTIQUE: Very, very sophisticated people. You know, a lot of people like doctors, teachers. I mean I'm getting -

HARLOW: Doctors are applying to work here?

RIVER: Yes. Premed that just left school and want to work for a year or two did and go back to school.

HARLOW: Why are you hiring given the state of the economy right now? Are you confident things are getting better?

RIVER: Things are getting better and you have to make it better. You have to be in the moment being today and be hopeful for tomorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: But you know, Kyra, that's good news from people hiring. I will tell you though that a lot of those employers I talked to said that they have people coming in, applying for jobs, getting signed off on their unemployment form that if they applied for a job, and then when they call back for a second interview, they're saying, I'm going to wait for my unemployment benefits run out to take a job.

So there is that problem as well that we have to keep in mind that businesses are facing right now. People have continued extensions on these unemployment benefits. At least some of these businesses, retailers, at least, are hiring. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks so much.

We got some breaking news to tell you about. I just got off the phone with a source closer than the person himself getting word that Jim Jones, the national security adviser, is going to be stepping down. The announcement is going to come at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. The president's going to step up to the podium with General Jim Jones and also his new replacement.

Ed Henry at the White House right now as well getting this information. So it looks like 1:00 p.m. that announcement's going to come, Ed.

HENRY: That's right, and the replacement, the significance here is going to be Tom Donilon, the president's current deputy national security adviser. Not really a shock. We've known for weeks, if not months really that General Jones was likely to leave after the midterm elections and told by people close to him, that he had told the president when he first signed on that he only really wanted to do two years.

As you know, retired - he had been Marine commandant. He had also been secretary-general, and he basically is somebody who is very close to this president in terms of crafting national security policy and somebody who has been influential in some ways, and in other ways you've heard a lot of back-biting here at the White House from some thinking that he has not been as influential as it could have been.

The significance that Tom Donilon is stepping up is the fact that Donilon has been rumored to potentially be a successor to Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff. But I'm told that in the last week or so, Tom Donilon told the president that he didn't want to be chief of staff. He wanted to stay in the national security realm. He'll now step up. That means one last candidate potentially for chief of staff because Donilon wants to stay where he is and move up now to national security adviser -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You know, Ed it was just at the top of the hour, you and I were talking about all of the changes within the administration. I mean, we're 25 days before the elections, and we are seeing high-level economic advisers to the president stepping down. We're talking about his closest adviser, Rahm Emanuel running for mayor in Chicago, and now General Jim Jones as national security adviser going to be stepping down. You have to wonder, what exactly is going on behind closed doors 25 days before these midterm elections.

HENRY: Well, look, I mean, we saw this after a midterm election in 2006 where then Defense secretary back in the last administration, then Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down. That was in part because the war in Iraq was not going well, but also because that administration wanted to shake things up a little bit, get some new faces in there. There had been a lot of criticism of Rumsfeld, and I think similarly now, there's not one person who is being criticized but there's this broad brush in this administration, a sense that about two years in now they need to refresh a little bit.

I mentioned General Jones - a highly respected - I think I mangled his title, he previously been Supreme Allied commander in Europe. And very influential. Somebody who is highly respected and he was expected to step down anyway. But after two years of grueling work here at the White House, and what I always try to remind people that it's not just two years for some of these people. Some of the folks who are working at the White House have actually been going at it for four years.

That was a two-year presidential campaign, early 2007 when Barack Obama as a senator first ran. So some of these folks are just plain exhausted, and you are right to mention the economic state. I think across the board, we're going to see a fair bit of turnover but we should point out, It's pretty normal for administration, for both parties to do this but I think you're right, also, that there is some special pressure on this administration now as they face what could be a very difficult midterm election, possibility of Republicans taking over Congress. They have to freshen some things up. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. We'll keep following all the developing news. Ed Henry, thanks so much.

Well in Chile, drillers are working around the clock. They could reach those trapped miners tomorrow. We're going to take you straight to the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it looks like Chilean miners may soon get a chance to kiss their wives, their kids, and smell some fresh air. The rescuers that are drilling could actually reach their chamber by tomorrow, maybe even late tonight.

The 33 men have been trapped a half mile below ground since the mine collapsed on August 5th. Rescuers have been working on three separate plans, and now one drilling operation is less than 100 yards away. But actually getting those men out is going to be pretty tricky.

CNN's Karl Penhaul outside the mine to take us through the most critical part of the rescue. Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, certainly the sense that we are at the beginning of the end right now, and as of 10:00 p.m. last night, one of the engineers on the plan B drill was telling us that the drill bit was about 180 feet away from breakthrough. Now take into account, they have been drilling all through the night as they have like other nights, that drill now could be in just the final feet before breakthrough. Now, officially, the government is still sticking to its plan and saying breakthrough is likely to come Saturday, but if you do the math and look at the technical specifications and the speed of this drill, we could get breakthrough sometime today.

Of course, that will be a huge moment of excitement for the families here, but imagine the excitement that there will be for the miners there as well. But there's probably nobody more excited right now than one of the engineers himself. We talked to him last night, and this what he had to say about the operation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK ALTMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You always think that you guys would be the ones to pull this off?

BRANDON FISHER, MINE DRILLER: I felt since we've been here, we had a good chance of it. You can't predict the downtimes, the breakages, the formation issues. I felt since we got here, that as long as we had some luck on our side, we would have a real good chance of poking through first.

ALTMAN: When you break through, what's that going to be like? Have you thought about that moment?

FISHER: Yes, I thought about that moment quite often. I think it's going to be an absolute overwhelming sensation, and at the same time, I think it's going to be a tremendous release of stress and everything that we've been going through here. I think it's just going to be a huge sigh of relief for everyone on here to know that we've finally made it through whenever that happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, that was my colleague, Patrick Altman, talking to Brandon Fisher, and compared to last night, that drill has got to be much closer now, but what happens once breakthrough comes? Well, that means that the rescue shaft is then cut through rock, and what the engineers will then have to decide is whether they encase the whole length, those whole 2,300 feet, with steel tubing to prevent risk of any rock falls during the extraction operation or whether they say, now, we think that rock and granite is pretty solid and will only encase the most unstable part, which is the first 100 yards or so.

Interestingly, on that point, just a few moments ago, just before we came to air, the health minister, Jaime Manalich, came out and was passing through Camp Hope. In fact, made some comments to reporters saying that he believed the extraction process could come as early as Tuesday. Now, that would tend to suggest, then, that engineers would only encase with steel tubing the first 100 yards, and that will mean that the miners can come home much sooner than later, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's good news. Karl, we will be monitoring every minute. That's for sure. Thanks.

Great bass fishing on one side, a potential death sentence on the other. Falcon Lake, between Texas and Mexico. It's a huge complex and dangerous crime scene as investigators look for a missing jet skier whose wife says pirates killed him and she's going to take a lie detector test to back up her story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. The White House just announced that national security adviser Jim Jones is stepping down. He will be replaced by the deputy national security adviser, Tom Donilon.

The FCC aiming to relieve cell phone customers of some of their bill shock. The "Washington Post" reports that the agency will unveil a proposal next week requiring carriers to tell customers of overcharges and sudden increases, but advocacy groups tell the "Post" that won't make puzzling bills any clearer.

And a woman who claims Mexican pirates killed her husband aboard the lake. She says she's willing to take a lie detector test. Tiffany Hartley addressed doubters on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARTLEY, WIFE: It's hard being judged and thought of that I might have done something to him, but, like I said, I know what I know, and as long as I know the truth, god knows the truth and other than that, it almost doesn't really matter to me, because I know what happened that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, U.S. and Mexican authorities are conducting separate searches for the body now.

Bullying is now a national conversation, and coming up, we're going to revisit the story that helped put it in a spotlight. There are questions that one victim actually might have been a bully herself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're seeing more people getting out to protest bullying, and that's a good thing, and, of course, it's taken some tragic deaths to make this problem a national rallying cry. Several hundred people turned up last night in Ridgewood, New Jersey, for a town hall meeting. And the topic, tougher laws against bullying and discrimination.

Ridgewood is the hometown of Tyler Clementi. He was the Rutgers freshman who died by suicide after a sexual encounter with another man and it was put on the internet. His death also inspired protests in St. Louis, more than 100 people held candles and marched through the streets last night. We're calling for an end to the anti-gay bullying. And the suicide of Phoebe Prince, a high schooler in Massachusetts seemed to be the beginning of bullying as a national conversation. And as that case goes to the legal system, we're learning a lot more about the victim.

CNN's Alina Cho reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She had the face of an angel, but behind those eyes, it turns out Phoebe Prince had demons.

EMILY BAZELON, SENIOR WRITER, SLATE.COM: I think Phoebe had a complicated mental health story. It's still sad story. It's still different and much more complicated sad story.

CHO: The story broke back in January when this newcomer from Ireland who moved to the U.S. for a fresh start hanged herself in the stairwell of her South Hadley, Massachusetts home and then two months later, the bomb shell.

ELIZABETH D. SCHEIBEL, NORTHWESTERN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It appears that Phoebe's death on January 14th followed a torturous day for her.

CHO: The district attorney took the unprecedented move of criminally charging six of Prince's classmates, accusing them of bullying her so relentlessly prosecutors say it became intolerable for her and she committed suicide.

All six have pleaded not guilty. Towns people pointed fingers at the kids, at school administrators. But until now, few have looked into Phoebe Prince's past. Emily Bazelon is a senior writer for slate.com, the only reporter to see hundreds of secret grand jury documents related to the case before they were sealed.

BAZELON: The narrative had emerged of a pack of mean kids who had really tormented Phoebe Prince for months, and that reality doesn't match.

CHO: (on camera): The truth is much more complicated?

BAZELON: It is much more complicated. Exactly.

CHO (voice-over): According to the indictments, Prince was bullied because she was seen as a boyfriend stealer, getting involved with the two male defendants who already had girlfriends.

(on camera): That's just part of the story what's now emerging according to those court documents that Bazelon saw is that Phoebe Prince for years suffered from depression, that she repeatedly cut herself, was taking anti-depressants and even tried to kill herself on another occasion and was hospitalized just two months before she died. What's more, Bazelon says, Prince, who has become a poster child for bullying may have been a bully herself.

BAZELON: Phoebe started at a boarding school called Viliars (ph) in Ireland when she was in seventh grade and that fall she became friends with another girl but at some time that spring, their friendship soured and Phoebe was part of a group of girls who really made this other girl's life quite miserable.

CHO (voice-over): By all accounts the big reason why Prince moved to South Hadley. Her aunt tells CNN "she went to school official and ask them to watch over her niece and to help her come in with the right group of kids. But did that happen?

DARBY O'BRIEN, PRINCE FAMILY SPOKESMAN: They knew, they looked the other way and attempted to sweep it under the rug. What they're doing is hiding the problems, they're just hiding the failures.

CHO: Keeping them honest, we went back to South Hadley high school where on this night the school held one of its anti-bullying task force meetings. After calls to the district that went unanswered, we tracked down superintendent, Gus Sayer.

(on camera): Nice to see you. A lot of people who are saying, had school officials acted sooner, Phoebe Prince might still be alive today, what do you say to that?

GUS SAYER, SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTH HADLEY SCHOOLS: Well, I don't think that's true. I mean, school officials acted promptly when they had -- when they first learned about the -- you know, about bullying that was taking place. It was reported to us by Phoebe on January, I think it was, January 7th, and we acted immediately at that point.

CHO: But what has changed in the past six months here in South Hadley?

SAYER: Well, the programs -- I mean, we greatly enhanced the programs.

CHO (voice-over): Superintendent Sayer says bullying prevention programs have been implemented at the elementary and middle school levels, but not yet at the high school. What has happened at South Hadley high is this:

SAYER: In front of each of the buildings in the school are large sign called "Respect."

SUSAN SMITH, PARENT OF SOUTH HADLEY STUDENT: It's mindboggling that with the tragedy in this school, that it hasn't been taken more seriously.

CHO: Susan Smith, whose son Nick was a pallbearer at Prince's funeral is among those calling for the superintendent and the principal to resign.

(on camera): You did hold a school committee meeting.

(voice-over): We spoke to Principal Dan Smith six months ago. This was all he would tell us.

DAN SMITH, PRINCIPAL, SOUTH HADLEY HIGH SCHOOL: We are working through and revising our procedures and policies and so forth, yes.

CHO: Six months later, little has changed.

(on camera): Dan Smith, a second to answer a question, not even a question about this? About the students?

(voice-over): As for those charged in Prince's death, the so-called South Hadley six -- all six have been suspended indefinitely until the case is resolved. For the family of Phoebe Prince, there may be no resolution. But Prince's father tells Bezalon he will ask the court for leniency if the defendants do something they've never done, simply apologize.

Alina Cho, CNN, South Hadley, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And former bullies, now adults, are even coming out of the woodwork.

CNN's Susan Malveaux actually talked with one you just might recognize.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You were teased relentlessly, and you also admit that you're a bully, a mean girl?

TYRA BANKS, MODEL: Yes.

MALVEAUX: So, we see the situation with this student from Rutgers who was taped, you know, having sex and killed himself because it was live on the Internet. Do you think it's a big problem? Why do people bully?

BANKS: Yes. Oh, people bully because they want their power back. People bully because they feel powerless and to get that power, you have to take it from somebody else, and you have to take it from the easy target.

I started as a bully at 7 or 8 years old was when I was a bully. Seven to 10 years old I was a bully. And the reason why I was a bully is because my brother used to say I was stupid. It was the sibling rivalry at home. You're stupid, you're dumb, you're this, you're that.

So, here I am at home getting bullied, so what did I do in school, I got my power back.

That flipped on me between 10 and 11 years old when I grew three inches and lost 30 pounds. And then I was bullied. I was the weirdo. I was the freak with the big, huge eyes and a huge forehead that weighed 90 pounds and was 5'9". There's nothing I could do to gain weight. I'd go home every day crying. My brother went from being the bully to being my protector and making chocolate peanut shakes for me to try to get me to gain weight. It was almost like I can pick on my sister, but you guys can't.

MALVEAUX: Right.

BANKS: So, it actually, kind of the whole thing flipped for me. And I think being on both sides me sensitive to young girls and the issues that they have with bullying. The very first episode of "America's Next Top Model," this cycle, which is cycle 15, I dedicated to bullying.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux joining us live.

Suzanne, I mean, that's probably one of the last people you would ever think would be a bully, Tyra Banks.

MALVEAUX: Yes, quite surprising during that interview for her to acknowledge that, and one of the things she talks about is so many people, whether in her show, her "America's Next Top Model," she talked about one of the models being bullied for her sexuality, for being gay.

And she talks about the fact that there's so many different things, whether it's your sexuality, whether it's your race, whether it's your size, that there are many different ways and reasons that people are bullied, and Tyra Banks says, look, you know, even as adults, we experience this. We all know people who are bullies in the workplace, and she says, as a young model, as a young woman, she felt like she was discriminated against, you know, because she says she's a black girl trying to become a model.

And then she was a model trying to become a producer and now, producer-turned-businesswoman, that there are all kinds of reasons that people look to one another and say you're different and try to pick on you and use it against you. One of the things she says that really inspires her and motivates her -- used to be very frustrating -- is when people say she can't do something and she defies the odds.

And it's one of the things that she talks about is so important, that brings everybody together, is this issue of self-esteem. If you can work on young people's self-esteem early on, they can protect themselves from so many of the things they have to face even as we know, Kyra, as adults.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And the more people that speak out from all different walks of life, all different ethnicities and sexual orientation, it's important that we hear these stories because we've got to empower our kids that think about bullying, and, then, of course, kids that are suffering from it. You know, we want them to be able to pull through.

Suzanne Malveaux, different perspective, that's for sure, and a different type of interview for you, too. You are usually at the White House.

MALVEAUX: It was -- it was a pleasure. It was an absolute pleasure. And it was a chance to talk to "Fortune" magazine's 50 most powerful women. They had a summit here in Washington. So, I had a chance to talk to Tyra Banks, a whole bunch of CEOs from corporations and companies.

And we'll be having more of that. We're going to be seeing more of that on our air.

PHILLIPS: Sounds great. Suzanne, thanks so much.

More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories:

A Chinese dissident has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Liu Xiaobo is the author of "Charter 08," which calls for political reform and human rights. He's now serving an 10-year prison term.

Rescuers could reach 33 miners trapped underground in Chile as early as tomorrow. Crews have less than 200 feet of drilling left. And once they reach those miners, they could be lifted to safety within two to 10 days.

And the dead are reportedly getting stimulus checks. According to "The Washington Post," the Social Security Administration wrong sent nearly 72,000 dead people stimulus money. The $250 payments were part of the Obama administration's economic recovery program.

Well, a dad who's 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 I'll tell you what, we're just the ones to do it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what -- there should be more dads like Merrill Staton. This is a guy in a wheelchair but he doesn't let it interfere with his dad duties or his relationship with his son. He's actually a coach for his boy's football team. He wants to be involved and is showing everyone that a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't have a normal and extremely engaged life.

So, it's a real shame that the league is putting limits on him because of the chair. It's a decision that I'm really hoping they reverse.

Alan Shope from KCTV brings us both sides of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MERRILL STATON, DAD: I don't think there's any difference between me and anybody else on the field.

ALAN 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 when it's done.

SHOPE: Two leading clubs of Johnson County say 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 CO.: 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, you know, one of our primary jobs.

SHOPE: Staten says he's not being treated like other coaches and it's not fair.

STATON: 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: He's proven to be completely capable on 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. You know, I certainly couldn't do what I do without Merrill's help.

SHOPE (on camera): Staton has appealed to the league and will meet with them 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 ever 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 (voice-over): As for this weekend, he'll be right back out there trying to help the team from his designated area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You heard what Merrill said. He can move fast in that chair. You saw it for yourself. And he makes another really good point. He doesn't think that he's any more of an obstacle than the metal down markers, the benches, fences or other equipment out on the field.

It's a real shame that the league is putting limits on an involved, engaged dad because of the chair -- limiting a guy who's 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 in a week.

Well, it's a story so horrific that you may remember it from 20 years ago. A father seemingly condemns his infant son to death by injecting him with the AIDS virus. Today, that baby is alive and well. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRRYAN JACKSON, HOPE IS VITAL: We can have a testimony and we can have a bright future, or we can continue to let the past control us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: He says he is living proof of the power of faith. You'll see his story next.

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PHILLIPS: At just 5 months old, Brryan Jackson made national headlines after his father did something almost unimaginable. He intentionally injected his son with HIV.

Now, two decades later, Brryan believes that faith and forgiveness are the main reasons he's still alive, and he's making his mark fighting for others who need his help.

Melanie Moon of CNN affiliate KPLR has the story from St. Louis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELANIE MOON, KPLR REPORTER (voice-over): It was a story that shocked the nation. In 1992, when Brryan Jackson was just 11 months old, his lab technician father injected him with HIV tainted blood to avoid paying child support. His father was sentenced to life in prison, and Brryan was left to fight a disease that at the time was considered fatal.

BRRYAN JACKSON, HOPE IS VITAL: When I was 5, I was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS.

MOON: As a child, Brryan's daily routine involved 22 oral medications and two injections. One of his medication affected his hearing and his speech.

JACKSON: I think it's about 70 percent, 60 percent.

MOON: But time and time again, Brryan defied the odds, and today, is a college freshman, has a girlfriend and a loving family and has gone from AIDS victim to activist.

JACKSON: We can have a testimony and we can have a bright future, or we can continue to let the past control us, let the past control your family, control of your environment, and you can stay there forever. You can be a prisoner to that. Or you can let it go, give it to God and then you can rise above it, and just apply it to something that's greater.

MOON: In 2009, he reclaimed the acronym HIV for his own nonprofit organization Hope is Vital, which spreads awareness and education about HIV and AIDS. He speaks at schools and other public events, like Lorenzo Jackson Foundation's Night of Giving last week in University City. JACKSON: People tend to put HIV and AIDS inside a box. People tend to say, hey, let's not talk about that.

MOON: And since Brryan was a teenager, he has lobbied on Capitol Hill for AIDS funding and has received numerous awards for his activism, including Nickelodeon's Halo Award presented last December by entertainer Nick Cannon.

But it's Brryan's heart that gets the most attention. Through his faith, Brryan has forgiven his father.

JACKSON: I pray for him and I just hope the best of him. I hope I can transform his heart somehow, you know? And I pray that he knows that I forgive him.

MOON: Brryan says right after he decided to forgive his father, his health began improving. His AIDS virus is now undetectable in his blood and he's gone from dozens of pills a day to just four.

JACKSON: Given me a (INAUDIBLE) chance of passing on the virus and say, you know, hopefully, God would bless me to have an opportunity to have kids of my own and show them I want to be the father that I never had to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The last jobs report before the election has just come, and the campaigns are already putting their spin on it. We got reaction to our Political Ticker next.

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PHILLIPS: Twenty-five days until the midterm election, and, you know what? It could change our political landscape.

Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington, at our CNNPolitics.com desk.

We got to get excited about this. A lot going on, Paul. We got to pump this up. Only 25 days.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, so much going on. Twenty-five -- I guess you mean you're stuck with me for another 25 days. Sorry about that, Kyra. But hey --

PHILLIPS: Hey, it could be worse.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, it could do a lot worse I guess.

Let's talk about a story that is generating so much buzz on TV. I just saw you talking about it last hour, also online. I'm talking about out in California, into gubernatorial contest there. An aide to Jerry Brown, the former governor who's now the attorney general, he's running for governor -- well, an aide to Brown called Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and a billionaire, he called her a whore in an inadvertent recorded conversation and he was implying that Whitman was selling out the special interest. But he used that word -- and let me tell you, that just went viral and is trending everywhere.

Now, the Whitman campaign called the language appalling and they demanded an apology, and Brown's campaign has responded. His campaign manager said, "This was a jumbled and often inaudible conversation of a private conversation. At times, our language was salty. We apologize to Ms. Whitman and anyone who may have been offended."

Kyra, the key today: What happens next? Does Jerry Brown actually talk about it himself? Does he say something? Does Whitman bring it up?

This is a very close race, poll suggests it's a single-digit lead for Brown. Very close, very tight. Of course, this the ballot to succeed moderate Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Another thing, and you were talking about this last hour and this hour. I'm talking about the jobs report. Of course, the last jobs report before the November 2nd election, staying at 9.6 percent -- troubling numbers for the Democrats.

Listen, Kyra, it didn't take more than a moment for Republicans to slam Democrats over this. Republican chairman -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele saying, "After nearly two years of weak leadership and broken promises, the American people will go to the polls in less than a month and reject this administration's economic mismanagement." Fighting words there from Michael Steele.

We'll hear what the president has to stay about jobs and about the economy a little later this morning.

And, Kyra, one more thing, we've got some brand new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national polls coming out in about two hours. I've been working with our polling director, Keating Holley, and he's crunching the final numbers. We'll have the latest on the battle for Congress, how Americans think Obama -- President Obama is doing, and who's more enthusiastic, Democrats or Republicans, about heading to the ballots.

So, we got a lot of stuff today, Kyra. Whew!

PHILLIPS: Yes, we do. All right, Paul, thanks.

We're going to have our next political update in about an hour. And a reminder: for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

All right. CNN's new primetime show "PARKER SPITZER" takes up the big issues of the day every night. Last night, a panel got really into it with a pretty heated debate on the Tea Party. But I want to make clear that this is only one side of the story here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL CAIN, NATIONALREVIEW.COM: It isn't an emotional movement at all, Eliot. It's not about fear. It's not about hatred. It's an ideological movement of people who believe in liberty and limited government. And they have seen this government grow to a point where they feel like it is so far removed from its original intentions that they are marching in the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: For more opinions, ideas and analysis, and the entire debate, you don't want to miss CNN's newest show, "PARKER SPITZER." That's tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. We'll be right back. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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PHILLIPS: Well, everyday at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given the ultimate sacrifice for all of us in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's called "Home and Away."

And today, we are lifting up Lance Corporate John Malone from Yonkers, New York. John's grandmother, Maria Suarez, actually sent us in the tribute this time. John was killed in Afghanistan in September of 2009. Maria helped raise John and his five siblings and she describes him as a polite, lovable, caring young man always ready to help others.

Before joining the Marine, John thought about being an artist or a rapper. But he grew to love the service and had dreams of staying in the Marines. He fought in Iraq and then he signed up to go to Afghanistan.

As John said, quote, "I don't want to leave my boys alone."

His platoon members said he always made them laugh. Maria had a nickname for her grandson. It was "Rambo."

But when he was just 12 years old, John actually showed a very sensitive side. He wanted to give Maria a Mother's Day present, but he didn't have any money. So, he wrote his grandmother this poem.

"Dear Grandma, here's a letter to show you how much I appreciate you. Loving and careful, I appreciate everything you do for me. Being there when I needed you, even fight with my brother, reminding me to do my homework, tying my shoes when I was little. You lifted me up when I was little, too. Love John."

Well, the first letters of each line actually spell out "liberty," the English translation for the Spanish word "Libertad," Maria's middle name.

Thanks for your story, Maria.

And if you got a loved one that you'd like us to honor, here's what you have to do, it's very easy. Just go to CNN.com/HomeandAway. Type in your service member's name in the upper right hand search field, pull up the profile, send us your thoughts, your pictures, and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.

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