Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hate Crimes Increase in New York; Obama, Biden Campaign for Dems as Tea Parties Hold Rally; Date Web Site for Ugly People Launches; Rescue Drill Reaches 33 Men Trapped Chile Miners; Pennsylvania will Play a Huge Role on Election Day; Dozen College Students Overdose at Roslyn Party; Young Men Arrested in Bronx in Anti Gay Attacks

Aired October 09, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN, a developing story. At least a dozen college students overdosed at a house party and we're just learning that police fear some of the victims were targeted for sexual assault. We have an update from investigators in just moments.

If you're out of work, we want you to stay tuned. A lot of employers are hiring right now. We'll tell you where to go and what to do to get a job before the holidays.

And a dating website, really like none other. It caters to the not so pretty. We're talking about the so-called Ugly Schmucks website. It's having a lot of success for users who say they are lonely no more.

Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. We begin with the developing story out of Chile where freedom is now in reach for 33 trapped miners after 65 days underground.

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

The celebration on the surface as the rescue drill finally reached the men more than 2,000 feet below ground. Cameras captured the moment when the drill bit broke through. But there's more work to be done before crews can start the dangerous work of pulling the miners up one by one. And that means a few more days before they feel the sunlight again and see it as a matter of fact. Our Karl Penhaul has been in Chile since this whole started. Carl joins us now live. What's next, Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's next is that first of all, they have to pull the bars out of that rescue shaft. That's where the drill hammer is attached and that's a process that's going to take six to eight hours. Once that is completed, the miners themselves on the ground will have to place about four pounds of explosives around the base of the hole that is been left by that drill and blast that dynamite. What that will do is create a small, inverted cone at the bottom of the rescue shaft, so that when they finally come to dropping down that rescue cage, that it's been dapped to phoenix capsule, then it will be able to move around freely towards the bottom of the rescue shaft. And so the miners can actually board it. But before that rescue shaft does get dropped down, engineers will drop a camera down the shaft to make sure that there's no risk of rock falls. If they do things with risk of rock falls, they're going to have to encase the whole shaft with steel tubing. But engineers think they're going to get away with just encasing the first 100 meters, now, 100 yards. Now, what does that mean? Because the question on everybody's lips is, so when, what day, what time? Well, the Chilean government rescuers believe that the first miner could be extracted as soon as Tuesday, Don.

LEMON: Hearing a lot about Camp Hope, that camp that has been set up around that site by the miner's families. How are they reacting tonight, Karl?

PENHAUL: Well, you should have just seen the faces this morning even at 8:05. That was the local time when breakthrough came and we were on hand here. And as soon as word came out to the families, they erupted in jubilation. They were hugging all around. And they were cheering. And then a few moments later, it just seemed to dawn on them that this really did mean that the final countdown had now begun. And at that point, (voice gap) joy. In talking to one young lad, an 8-year-old boy in fact, Brian, his granddad is one of the miners down there and he said to me, he said, when that mine caved in, he said I asked why did it happen? He said, I've been a good boy, I didn't deserve this.

And he said, in a small voice, he said, I lost all hope. But then when the bells started to ring and when the car horns started to go to say that breakthrough happened. He said to me, he said, now I do hope, now, I do dare to hope and he said, I've already got the words ready to tell my granddad. He said, I'm going to say, I love you, Papito. Well, of course, the family's joys, the grandchildren's joy, the wives, the daughters, the brother's joy has also been mirrored by the joy of the Chilean president himself and this is what he had to say when he heard breakthrough had been achieved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. SEBASTIAN PINERA, CHILE (via translator): What started on August 5th like a possible tragedy, with the help of God, is ending as a true blessing. The miners, their families, the rescue workers, the government and all the Chileans have shown unity, strength of faith, of hope, that is recognized and admired by the whole world. This shows that when Chileans unite for great causes, regardless how grand or ambitious they may seem, we are always able to reach our goals and conquer the highest peaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: But now, of course, everybody just has to take a deep breath and arm themselves with patience to let the engineers do their job and hopefully as the Chilean government rescue workers say, maybe on Tuesday, we'll see that rescue cage going down the phoenix capsule, going down into the bowls of the earth to pull those miners back home one by one -- Don. LEMON: The eyes of the world on Chile right now. Thank you, Karl. And as you can imagine, these miners must be going stir crazy after more than two months down there in that space. Can you imagine? But they'll have to endure just a few more days hopefully while rescue workers put everything in the place to get all of them back up safely.

Let's go now to our Jacqui Jeras, she has been working on this story. And to give us -- just give us a critical idea just how dangerous these next steps are and really just how confining it is, as well.

JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, there's so much hope out there right now. I hate to be a pessimist, but there's still a lot of obstacles that we're going to have to go through before we see those miners actually make their way on up towards the surface. Now, you know, first of all, it's very deep, under the ground. This isn't like the Pennsylvania, you know, mine rescue where they were just 200 plus feet under, this is 2,000 feet. So that's a half mile and this is rock. Let's show you the animation, Ed. You know, this is rock, so when you drill down through this, it isn't like you're creating a very smooth hole that goes straight down. This is rock, so it's a very bumpy ride all the way down, and it's not straight down, this is a curved line, kind of what we're talking earlier, like the St. Louis arch. Have you ever been up on the St. Louis arch with the elevator as like?

LEMON: Yes. It goes back and forth, it's almost like a stairway, on a stairway.

JERAS: Right. It's bump back in force. So, imagine that kind of ride. So, the camera is going to go down as we heard Karl talking about. It's going to inspect what the walls look like and see what the integrity looks like. Now, if you can imagine, if you try to take the capsule down through that without any kind of smooth casing, it's going to bump up against those walls, it's going to maybe make some of those walls crumble. And so you could get a big enough rock that would get stuck between the wall and the capsule and that could be a problem. So that's what they're worried about. So, they're talking about putting this casing in there and the first 100 yards are critical.

LEMON: And this case, this is the one that's 28 inches.

JERAS: That's right. The capsule goes through there. So you make a nice casing, slides right through. Hopefully no problem.

LEMON: Yes.

JERAS: We'll see how much of that they have to do. Now, the other thing is that capsule itself, how tiny is that thing?

LEMON: Yes. It's really small, 21 inches.

JERAS: Twenty one inches. So this is -- can we get a straight on shot, so people can see that at home -- 21 inches around, yes, so that's not very big. Tidy (ph), you want to do it?

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Put your hands down and it that's, you know, a barely goes over the shoulder of an average size man.

JERAS: Yes. So, it's going to be a tight squeeze. And nine of these miners were too big when this all started, 65 days ago, but they've all lost some weight because they haven't have a lot to eat down there.

LEMON: Thirty or more pounds, some of them have lost. So, let's keep our fingers crossed.

JERAS: Yes, we're not -- go ahead.

LEMON: We'll be following this story. We'll going to move on. We have some other developing news to talk about. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

JERAS: Sure.

LEMON: We appreciate it. Let's talk about politics right now. Because time is short and the political pressure really is rising. We're just 24 days away from the midterm elections. Key states like Pennsylvania could tilt the balance of power in Washington and have a huge effect on all of us.

Our deputy political director, Mr. Paul Steinhauser is in Pennsylvania aboard the CNN election express. Oh, I hear the president is headed to Pennsylvania tomorrow. So, why is this state so important, why would the president heading there?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: There is so much at stake here, Don. You're absolutely right, the Republicans feel confident, they can maybe win back the governorship in the state. They think they can win back a democratically held Senate seat. If they do that, they may have announced -- maybe taking back the Senate. Some predicts they could. And here in Pennsylvania, Republicans feel confident they may be able to win back four to six House seats. They need a net gain of 39 House seats to reclaim control of the chambers. So, Pennsylvania, a lot of stake, that's why you're going to see, as you mentioned, the president and the vice president tomorrow in Philadelphia, that's a pretty democratic strong hold, area of a lot of democratic voters.

It's one of the reasons they're going there, Don, to try to energize democratic voters to get out to the polls on November 2nd. Don, with all this very serious and important raises here in Pennsylvania, you can imagine, people, voters being inundated by television campaign commercials, radio ads, direct mail, some people getting frustrated that it's just too much negativity, too much attack ads. Take a listen to one voter we spoke to just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Everyone that's running seems to be saying oh, this person didn't do this or this person has failed you as a state, as a city, but no one is offering actual solutions for the problems. Like if I'm going to vote this person out and vote you in, I want to know why I should replace this person with you. And they're not offering those answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: A lot of people feel that way. I'll tell you Don, it's something else we asked a lot of voters here, what's the most important issue to you and just about every one of them of course that the economy, jobs -- Don.

LEMON: Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.

Coming up, we're going to tell you, we're following a developing story out of Washington State right now. And it's just getting started, this investigation. This is where police are trying to figure out whether young women who overdosed at a college party were actually targeted for sexual assaults. We're going to talk to the police chief after a quick break here. So, we want you to standby and we want you to be part of the show tonight, make sure you logon to twitter or Facebook and send us a message there or you can go to our blog at CNN.com/Don. You can check for us on Foursquare.com. We're back in a moment with that story from Washington State.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Now to that developing story, we had been telling you about out of Washington State where police there are looking into a house party that went violently out of control. Here's what our affiliate KING reports. They're reporting at least a dozen of the partiers overdosed and one victim was sexually assaulted. And investigators are looking into whether women who attended that party were drugged on purpose. Police say it happened last night at a gathering in Roslyn, Washington. About 50 people were there. Many of them students at Central Washington University.

Joining us now live is the local police chief there, his name is Scott Ferguson. Thanks for joining us, sir. What evidence do you have that people were targeted? Was it all women targeted and how many people was it?

CHIEF SCOTT FERGUSON, CLE ELUM-ROSLYN POLICE (via telephone): We unfortunately had 12 individuals that needed to be transported to the local hospitals. Of those 12, 11 of them were females, which leads us to believe that the females were predominantly targeted.

LEMON: What leads you to believe they were targeted?

FERGUSON: Just based on the conditions of the individuals, and comments that were received upon investigation. Individuals were reporting being extremely dizzy or intoxicated.

LEMON: What did they tell you about their condition, how they got that way? Did they say, you know, I don't understand what happened, how I got this drunk or I didn't take anything that would put me in this condition? FERGUSON: Yes, we pretty much believe that whatever -- they're certainly wasn't consensual. People reported feeling more intoxicated, more different than what normally would have occurred having consumed just one or two alcoholic beverages.

LEMON: Did they go to this place willingly?

FERGUSON: Yes, it was a planned party.

LEMON: Planned party by just someone who lives in this house?

FERGUSON: We believe it's a -- this is a weekend home in our community. We believe that the person involved in putting the party together was actually a student from central Washington.

LEMON: The student, does the student own the home or is his family own this home?

FERGUSON: No, it's believed to be owned by the parents who were not there at the time of the party.

LEMON: Any suspects, do you have anyone in custody?

FERGUSON: Right now we're working with our local sheriff's department as well as University Police Department. We have got numerous individuals to be interviewing. At this point, no suspects identified.

LEMON: No suspects. And what was -- what was the type of drug believed to be used, was it a roofie of some type? What was it?

FERGUSON: Yes. I would be hesitant to comment on that. As the individuals were received in the hospital, there was blood and urine samples taken. So, depending any -- tests results, I'll be hesitant to comment on that.

LEMON: OK. And so, again, the status of the people who are in the hospital, we were understanding that one was in very serious condition. At least one of them.

FERGUSON: As of this morning, we had three remaining in the hospital, two have since been released and that individual that was in critical has been upgraded to stable, and he's conscious and alert.

LEMON: Why would you get the idea that this was sexual in nature?

FERGUSON: What made it sexual is as the officers were sweeping the house for additional victims, one of the members of the sheriff's department walked in and actually observed an individual, male individual engaged with sexual activity with a semi unconscious female. That's were the sexual assault had occurred.

LEMON: And that was the only person who was believed to be sexually assaulted or were the other victims who were taken to the hospital, were they believed to be sexually assaulted?

FERGUSON: No, no indication of any other situations or incidents similar to that, no.

LEMON: OK. Thank you very much for that, the police chief there in Roslyn Washington. His name is Police Chief Scott Ferguson. Thank you very much. We're going to continue to follow this developing story. Several students had to be taken to the hospital there for an overdose of some type of drug and as you heard the police chief say, it was believed that they were targets of sexual assaults. We're going to follow this story. So, stay tuned.

And still ahead here on CNN, with the unemployment rate hovering at 9.6 percent, we've got tips to help you get a job. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Our economy lost 95,000 jobs last month. Many unemployed Americans are hoping the upcoming holidays will offer at least some temporary work. But as CNN's Kate Bolduan explains, the weak economy has left a big question mark over how many seasonal jobs are out there this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sounds of the holiday season have long meant big retail business.

FAY CARTER, OWNER, CHRISTMAS ATTIC: Sixty percent of our sales are in the last three months of the year.

BOLDUAN: And also big job opportunities for part-time and seasonal workers.

KIM GRIFFIN, CHRISTMAS ATTIC EMPLOYEE: The extra cash that I can make while the kids are in school definitely helps pay for, you know, piano, ballet lessons, it's going helps at Christmas time. So if I can continue after Christmas, I certainly will.

BOLDUAN: The economy though lost another 95,000 jobs last month, and the jobless rate remains stalled at 9.6 percent, with stubbornly high unemployment across the country, many retailers wonder what will this holiday season bring.

SCOTT KRUGMAN, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Be cautious in terms of looking at their staffing models but also with the amount of inventory they're bringing in.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Overall, the National Retail Federation is forecasting a 2.3 percent growth in sales this holiday season. This following a tough couple of years. In 2008, holiday sales dropped almost four percent and last year, bumped up only slightly. Retailers approaching this season with the recession still fresh in their mind.

(voice-over) Toys R Us plans to hire 45,000 seasonal workers, 10,000 more than last year to stuff so called Pop-up temporary stores. UPS expects to bring on 50,000 seasonal workers, the total unchanged from last year. But Department Store Kohl's plans to increase its seasonal staff by 20 percent from 2009. Many stores like Big Carter's (ph) Christmas Attic in Northern Virginia have already started bringing on the extra employees.

CARTER: We need two to three weeks just to train our staff. So we try to get everybody ready for the first of October, which is when we actually start our Christmas season.

BOLDUAN: A season, retailers big and small are hoping brings a lot more holiday cheer this time around. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We certainly can use a lot of that. Seasonal jobs are not limited to the large retailers and shopping malls. Keep that in mind. Some companies need workers who can work from home during the holidays. That would be nice.

Christine Durst can tell us about that, she's a co-founder of Staffcentrix which specializes in helping people find legitimate home based jobs. He joins us now from Newton, Mass. Christine, you have five tips for people trying to land a temporary job this holiday season. What are they?

CHRISTINE DURST, CO-FOUNDER, STAFFCENTRIX: We do. First of all, apply early. Companies are interviewing, hiring and training even as we speak. So don't doddle. Secondly, be sure that you let employers know that you are flexible and available. If you can work weekends, evenings and even holiday hours, that's so much better. Be positive during the interviews. Holiday seasons can be stressful, these are customer service jobs, so express that positive attitude. If you do like seasonal work or that's what you're looking for, think beyond Christmas, start thinking about who might be hiring. For example, flower sales around Valentine's Day, working with the IRS around tax time. And finally, stress that you have customer service or sales skill, if you do have those. Those sorts of the utmost importance for these types of job.

LEMON: All right. Good, and I've had seasonal jobs when I was trying to pay my way through college, I worked my way through college and many times they do become permanent. So those are sometimes some good jobs to have especially when the economy isn't going well. So listen, tell us what companies were looking at hiring these stay-at-home workers.

DURST: There are a lot of them, Don. But, just for example, Convergys is hiring right about 800 people to service their client, Harry and David, a gourmet food chain that works a lot around the holidays filling orders. Arise Virtual Solutions is hiring right now, they're looking for 4,000 customer service agents before the end of this year. And also, Live Up (ph) is looking for thousands of agents as well. So, there are a lot of opportunities out there for people who are qualified to do that kind of work.

LEMON: And I heard some of the delivery companies like UPS and whatever, are hiring and many of the stores that deal with home improvement, hiring seasonal workers as well. Thank you very much, Christine Durst.

DURST: Absolutely.

LEMON: We appreciate it.

DURST: Thank you.

LEMON: Still ahead here on CNN, we're watching a developing story out of New York City right now where the mayor is holding a press conference on the investigation into some really horrific hate crimes. We'll going to bring you the latest after a break.

And Sarah Palin out on the campaign trail tonight. Is she gearing up for a presidential run? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A number of young men in New York City have now been charged with hate crimes against gays. The attacks happened in the Bronx neighborhood. Police say the suspect even beat and sodomized one of their victims because someone they thought was gay tried to join their gang.

CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us now. And Susan, I understand that Ray Kelly, the police commissioner just held a press conference. Originally, there were seven people arrested and charge in this. What about now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, as you know, that is the case, seven already in custody but tonight, police revealed that an eighth suspect has surrendered to them. They have him in custody now, and they also announced that they are looking for a ninth person as we already knew, but they said that they're still looking for him. They have his name and they also showed his photograph. So they feel that they will be making considerable progress if people can just help out to find that ninth suspect. Imagine nine people they alleged to be involved in this. All day long we were also told there would be a possibility that the seven already in custody, now eight, would make their very first court appearance, but prosecutors tell us that they're still working on the charging paper work, the documents that these people will be charged with them. So, they're not ready yet to have them appear in court. Those charges include assault, a sex act, some says robbery, unlawful imprisonment and that's just some of them, Don.

LEMON: Prolific details in this case. Apparently the older man, I think, he's like 30 years old, was lured to an apartment, he thought there was going to be a party there. And that's when these men held him captive and then beat him and even burned him?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it started with the first youngster, 17-years-old. That's the one you talked about earlier who was an aspiring member of the gang. And when this police say, the gang members found out that he wanted to be a member of the gang, that he had sex with this older man, the 30-year-old, that's when they lured first the 17-year-old to this apartment, and also attacked him, beat him, and then sodomized him with a plunger. And then afterwards, separately they lured the 30-year-old man with whom he allegedly had sex, got him to the apartment, plied him with liquor and forced the teenager to beat him, to cut him, to burn him with cigarettes and then the gang, nine of them allegedly, sodomized the second victim, the 30-year-old.

LEMON: Take us to the community there and tell us about what was happening around the home and the sense -- is there outrage there? Is there outrage around the country?

CANDIOTTI: Oh, yes, we're hearing it from all parts of the country. And today in that neighborhood, community leaders, as well as politicians, started going door to door and business to business, asking for help to find this ninth person that they're looking for. And all of the community leaders and people in the neighborhood, told us how disgusted they were about this crime, called vile. And in fact, New York's City council speaker Christine Quinn, who is openly gay herself, talked about the bravery of the victims who did in fact confide to police about what happened and how important that was. Here's what she said. But she talked about how courageous these people were that they came forward. And I also talked with New York's governor about these horrific crimes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE QUINN, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: They hadn't taken that risk, these vicious, vicious cowards would still be on the streets free to prey on other gay men and other New Yorkers. They literally saved people's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Well, as it turns out, we did have Speaker Quinn after all.

We want to tell you that this is just a terrible pattern that's happened here in New York, Don. At least 44 hate crimes so far this year, about on par with how many occurred last year. And many people are saying it is time to put -- to increase and improve the education, particularly of young people in this country and in the New York area. They said you're not born with hate. You are taught hate. So we need to teach people not to hate.

LEMON: I'm wondering what is going on lately. Just a terrible, terrible story.

Susan, thanks for following that for us.

We'll update you throughout the evening here on CNN.

Still ahead, a former NBA all-star introduces us to one of this year's ton-ten "CNN Heroes," a man who saves lives by building foot bridges over dangerous waterways.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: 24 days until Election Day. Not much time to make an impact on potential voters. But President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, they're out giving it their best shot.

CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, joins me from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Paul, where are the president and the vice president headed?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They're going to be headed to Philadelphia tomorrow, tomorrow afternoon, Don, and it's going to be a rally in the northwest part of the city, right in a park by a school there.

The whole idea is with so many crucial races in this state, like the governorship, the Senate seat and a whole bunch of House seats up for grabs, the president and vice president trying to motivate Democratic voters, the base, to get out there and vote in the midterm elections. So we'll have a lot of coverage of that tomorrow from Philadelphia.

Also happening right now in West Virginia, a Tea Party convention wrapping up. A two-day Tea Party convention, about 2,000 people attending. Among them speaking today, two people who may want to run in the presidential election in 2012. I'm talk about Representative Ron Paul from Texas, who ran last time, and the former Senator from this state, Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, who we also think may want to make a bid for the White House.

Don, happening tonight in San Diego, California, former Alaska governor, and former John McCain running mate, I'm talking about Sarah Palin. She's teaming up with Joe Miller, the Republican Senate nominee in Alaska. They're going to be in San Diego at a Combat Vets for Congress fund-raising dinner. This is interesting because Palin, she endorsed Miller and helped him upset Murkowski, the sitting Republican Senator in Alaska. But there's been a little back and forth between the Miller and Palin camps lately. Looks like all is forgiven. They're teaming up tonight, Don.

That's what I got, the latest from the "CNN Political Ticker."

LEMON: I will ask you this. So I will run if the people want me to, that's what I hear Sarah Palin saying. Will she or won't she?

STEINHAUSER: She made those comments to "Newsmax," a conservative news organization. She's made comments like this in the past. Yes, I think she's giving everybody a little bit of an appetizer, a little bit of a tease. We really don't know if she will make a bid for the presidential nomination in 2012, but if she does, she's got a lot of devoted followers in the Republican and conservative circles, Don?

LEMON: Thank you, Paul. We appreciate that update.

And for the latest news, go to CNNpolitics.com. We'll have another political update in the 7:00 hour right here on CNN.

Sarah Palin's political future, you heard Paul talk about it, this has been a big topic, including on CNN's newest show called "Parker and Spitzer." Here's what co-host, Kathleen Parker, had to say earlier this week. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, PARKER SPITZER: It may be that Palin is waiting for a thunder bolt or a voice from beyond to instruct her next move. In the meantime, she's teaming with RNC Chairman Michael Steele to raise money.

Come on, Sarah, drop the tease and just tell the American people you're not running.

As consolation, maybe you and Michael Steele can turn your road show into a money-making show for real, a TV show perhaps. You could call it "Steele Magnolia."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: For more opinions, ideas and analysis, don't miss CNN's newest show, "Parker Spitzer." It's weeknights at 8:00 p.m., right here on CNN, 8:00 p.m. eastern.

A couple of weeks ago, we announced the top-ten "CNN Heroes" of 2010 selected by our blue ribbon panel. We're calling on friends of "CNN Heroes" to help us tell you about these extraordinary people. Former NBA star, Dikembe Mutombo, introduces us to Harmon Parker, who has built 45-foot bridges over dangerous rivers in Kenya, helping to save lives and enabling thousands to gain access to schools and medical care.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO, FORMER NBA STAR: Hello, Dikembe Mutombo. As 2007 "CNN Hero," blue ribbon committee, I help recognize the strong work of everyday people who are changing the world. As the founder of my Dikembe Mutombo Foundation (ph), which works to improve the quality of life in my homeland of the (INAUDIBLE), Congo, I see how much the world need heroes. Now I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's top-ten honorees.

PARKER HARMON, CNN HERO: What strikes me about this place is the beauty and the feeling of being insignificant. The beauty of this place also becomes dangerous because of these mountains when it rains.

I've worked all over Kenya. Every community has the same story of people drowning, crocodiles and hippos and loved ones lost.

Look at this, here comes some kids helping. The very first bridge I built, I saw how it can transform a community. So I carried on and I love what I do.

My name is Harmon Parker, and I build bridges to transform people's lives.

The community has to initiate the project. They have to participate and make some sort of financial contribution. It's hard, and it takes a lot of determination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

HARMON: The bridge is a beautiful metaphor for many things. I'm feel I'm privileged to do what I'm doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And we're honored that joining us now and joining us by phone from Kenya is Harmon Parker.

Harmon, thank you so much for joining us. How did you find out you were one of the top-ten finalists for "CNN Hero" of the year?

HARMON: Hi, Don. Thank you for inviting me on your show. It's a pleasure.

To answer your question, I was out in the middle of the Bush working on a new bridge project and I received a phone call from CNN New York headquarters, and this kind man just said, you are a top-ten hero. And I said, oh, my god. So that's how I find out.

LEMON: I'm sure you're very excited about it. and I think your life is probably going to change because of this. Listen, we are so proud of you.

HARMON: Thank you.

LEMON: And we wish you the best of luck in becoming the top-ten hero of the year, OK?

HARMON: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Harmon Parker from Nairobi, Kenya.

Vote online for the "CNN Hero" who inspires you the most. The winner will be honored Thanksgiving night, hosted by our very own Anderson Cooper.

Now we want to go to a story of human triumph.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SURGEON: The very same hands that do brain surgery, right around that time, they have scars everywhere from pulling weeds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This surgeon had much humbler beginnings. How he rose out of poverty. That's next.

Plus, we're going to talk to the founder of a dating web site for ugly people. Yes, you heard me right. And it's -- one of its members really is also here to join us after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, this really perked -- peaked our interest around here, a dating web site for ugly people. It may sound like a gimmick, but supporters say it's all honest intentions behind UglySchmucks.com. It launched about three weeks ago here and in Canada.

That's according to Joey DeLuca. He's the creator. He's live via Skype from his home from his hometown of Toronto. Also joining us is one of the web site's members, Keeli Wheeler, a widowed mother of two boys who lives in Houston.

It takes a strong, confident person to proclaim on TV that she's using a site called UglySchmucks. I don't think you're ugly. Why did you join?

KEELI WHEELER, UGLYSCHMUCKS.COM MEMBER: Yes. Well, I joined because I'm looking inwards at the people that I want to meet. I find beauty is within the soul. And besides that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So I leave that to each person no decide.

LEMON: So on the traditional web site you, think they were too focused on beauty and body and all that stuff, so you decided to do this?

WHEELER: Uh-huh. They focus on beauty, but also on material possessions, your income, things that, that are irrelevant to me. I really want things that can't be stripped away. Something that will last forever.

LEMON: They say beauty is in the eye though.

Joey, is that why you started UglySchmucks.com, to get rid of the superficiality of the other dating web sites?

JOEY DELUCA, CREATOR, UGLYSCHMUCKS.COM: That's pretty much it. Our goal pretty much is we want our members to be looking for genuine personality rather than outer appearance. And in return, they don't want to be judged for how they look. They want to be judged for their personality.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: How is it going, then? What is the success of this web site? Have you had people who have met each other? and are you getting people to go and sign up?

DELUCA: We've definitely had a lot of interest. You know, this is a really unique idea. So far we've had 2,000 registered members on the site. But we've only been live for about a month now. We're waiting to hear of successful couples and we're pretty optimistic that we will hear from some.

LEMON: So, Keeli, how long have you been on?

WHEELER: About three weeks.

LEMON: Have you found anyone that you would like to spend time with?

WHEELER: I haven't actually communicated with anyone. But there has been a little action, flirting back and forth. I haven't explored that yet, but I plan on it.

LEMON: OK. We're going to keep in touch with you Keeli and Joe as well. It's called uglyshmucks.com. We'll see.

Thank you, guys.

WHEELER: OK, thank you.

DELUCA: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: Still much more ahead here on CNN. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a man who hopped a fence from Mexico into the United States at age 19 and went on to become a top neurosurgeon.

Plus, why a trip to the DMV to renew your license could save your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: "The Situation Room" is straight ahead.

Wolf Blitzer, what do you have for us?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: Don, thanks very much.

Lots coming up right here in "The Situation Room." Jobs, unemployment, the economy, issue number one just before these midterm elections. What's going on? Robert Reich, Steve Moore, they're here. We'll assess.

Also the former vice president of the United States, Walter Mondale. He has some advice for President Obama if he wants to be a two-term president.

And Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, she weighs in on some personal issues, including her husband's diet and the wedding.

All that and a lot more coming up right here in "The Situation Room."

Don, back to you.

LEMON: Thank you, Wolf. We'll be watching.

In our new series, "The Human Factor," we introduce you to truly amazing people with stories that inspire us. In learning their stories, we discover remarkable things about them, including something we like to call "The Human Factor." This week our Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a neurosurgeon who took a unique path to medicine.

(THE HUMAN FACTOR)

LEMON: Straight ahead here on CNN, a trip to the DMV could save your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Every weekend we like to bring you interesting news items you might have missed throughout the week.

First one is gospel music fans are mourning the death of Albertina Walker, a singer who recorded a string of hits with the Caravans in 1950s and 1960s. Walker was a protege of Mahalia Jackson. She won a Grammy in 1995. And in 2001, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Albertina Walker was 81 years old.

Kenya's ultimate family man has died. Known by the nickname, Danger, for his ability to woo women, he reportedly had 100 wives and nearly 160 children. He said the size of his family made it impossible to keep track of them. Danger was in his 90s.

A routine trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles could save your life. Drivers in the nation's capital have the option of getting a free HIV test at the DMV branch in southeast Washington. They get $15 if they do it. This pilot program is funded by a $250,000 grant aimed at crushing one of the highest HIV rates in this country. The branch was chosen because of the infection rate in that part of Washington. Reportedly, it is on the rise.

A new study finds obese workers are a big drag on workplace productivity. Researchers from Duke University say obesity is costing employers more than $70 billion a year. The big hit comes from the lack of work on the job due to health problems. Researchers reported in the "Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine." Duke says it is the first study to put a number on how much is lost from obesity in the workplace.

I want to tell you this. Keep watching CNN tonight because a few hours from now North Korea is expected to hold a very important and very flashy public parade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM JONG-IL, PRESIDENT OF NORTH KOREA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. We want to tell you why this symbolism is significant. Because it is intended, intended to introduce the North Korean people and the world to Kim Jong-Il's son as his possible successor. CNN will have live coverage for you from Pyongyang at 10:00 p.m. eastern. Again, it's supposed to be a very flashy occasion. We're going to be live from there to introduce Kim Jong-Il's son to the world as his possible successor. Certainly, a spectacle there and you want to stay tuned to CNN for that.

Stay tuned to CNN. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here in one hour. Meantime, "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer starts now.