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North Korea's Heir Apparent; Anxious Times for Miners' Families; Countdown to Election Day; Police: Gang Members Tortured Gay Men; Mass Overdose at College Party; Stormy in the Southern Plains; Microsoft to Unveil New Smartphone; Rove Responds to DNC Ad; Clinton to Campaign in West Virginia; Ohio Candidate Explains Nazi Uniform; Financial "Fast" Could Trim Your Debt
Aired October 10, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: A powerful Democratic double-header. President Obama and Vice President Biden team up for a big rally in Pennsylvania, a state that could have a dramatic impact on midterm elections. We'll take you there live.
Cancer genes, they are a threat to millions of people. We'll tell you who is at risk and what options are out there if you test positive. That's coming up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
And then at 5:00, a key panel for the disabled gets its first autistic member. But his views on autism are generating controversy. We'll ask him why in a live interview.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Randi Kaye, in for Fredricka Whitfield.
And we begin with an extraordinary look into North Korea's reclusive communist regime. A massive military parade is marking the 65th anniversary of the Workers' Party. In a rare move, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il attends, along with his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, seen here in civilian clothes. He could be the country's next leader.
CNN's Alina Cho says some consider this his coming out party. She's in North Korea and was cleared to file this report last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening from Kim Il-sung Square here in the center of Pyongyang, where tonight, the North Koreans are holding what they call a soiree. The third such event in less than 24 hours officially marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of North Korea. But make no mistake, what this is, in effect, is an elaborate coming out party for the man who will be the next leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, the son of the ailing leader Kim Jong-Il.
And take a look behind me. It is pure pageantry.
The colors, the choreography, literally thousands of dancers, men and women dancing to North Korean propaganda music. There were fireworks earlier as well. And earlier in the day, right here in Kim Il-sung Square, there was also a military parade billed as the country's largest. Some 20,000 military personnel, and also a show of North Korean military might, the hardware, if you will, the tanks, the missiles, the shoulder-fired rockets.
Clearly a show of the military strength that this country has. Remember, this is a country the size of Portugal, the size of the U.S. state of Mississippi. And yet, it still has one of the largest standing armies in the world.
The media, we should mention, has been invited as guests, about 100 of us from around the world. But make no mistake, the guests of honor tonight are in the balcony, Kim Jong-Il and his son, the heir apparent, Kim Jong-Un
Alina Cho, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Not much in known about the younger Kim. There he is, if you take a look again, on the left of your screen standing between two military leaders applauding his father.
Kim Jong-Un was educated abroad and is believed to speak some English, German, and perhaps even some French. Author and North Korea expert Gordon Chang describes the younger Kim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": He's the youngest of Kim Jong-Il's three acknowledged sons. He went to school in Switzerland, as you pointed out, but he was there as the son of the driver of the North Korean Embassy, not as the son of the leader of North Korea.
He idolizes Michael Jordan just like his dad, but the one thing that we truly do know is that he is as ruthless and as calculating as his father. He's the one son who has got the dictator gene.
KAYE: So -- that's interesting. So do you think that he will rule the same way as his father?
CHANG: I think he probably would, because first of all, it's the North Korean system that's important, not so much the person who is on the throne.
Kim Jong-Un has been exposed to the West. He likes things that are western. But so did his dad, and his dad is one of the most ruthless and most horrible tyrants at this time.
I think the problem is that the North Korean regime has its own logic. He's going to be in that regime. And in the beginning, he's not going to be very powerful because he's just only 27. And there are a lot of older people.
You've got to remember that the North Korean regime is a snake pit, and this kid is a hamster. He's not going have that much effect on the way the regime goes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some experts say Kim Jong-Un's recent appearances in civilian clothing are an attempt to avoid North Korea's senior military officials. He was named a four-star general last month.
Thirty-three trapped Chilean miners could be just days away from rescue. Workers hope to start bringing the men up on Wednesday.
The rescue shaft which they finished drilling yesterday has been widened, and engineers are now reinforcing the top part of it with steel tubing. They plan to send down a doctor and a rescuer to check on the miners before hauling them up, a journey that's expected to take around an hour to an hour and a half per miner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIME MANALICH, CHILEAN HEALTH MINISTER: There are going to be some rescuers, very experienced, at the bottom of the mine, at the beginning of the whole operation. And also, they are going to be received by a physician and two nurses as soon as they arrive on the surface.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Rescuers say all of the trapped miners could be out by Friday. Depending on their conditions, they could be reunited briefly with family members before being taken to the hospital. Relatives have been at the mine since the cave-in happened.
Homer Hickam knows what they are going through. He grew up in a mining town in West Virginia. In fact, his father invented the rescue cage on which the one in Chile is based.
Remember the movie "October Sky"? It was based on Hickam's memoir, "Rocket Boys."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "OCTOBER SKY")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things are bad at the mine. Your daddy's stuck in the middle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to put all this nonsense behind you, Homer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It isn't nonsense.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure was exciting watching the rockets go up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I'm going to be a miner. I have known my entire life. I have no choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as you are alive on this planet, you have a choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "OCTOBER SKY")
KAYE: Hickam's latest novel out next month is "The Dinosaur Hunter." He's joining us via Skype from Huntsville, Alabama.
Good to see you.
HOMER HICKAM, FMR. MINER: Well, thank you, Randi. It's great to be with you today.
KAYE: Let's talk about these miners. They've been trapped now underground for more than two months. You've been down there in the mines.
How do you expect that they are holding up?
HICKAM: Well, you know, coal miners are pretty stoic, pretty strong. They have a philosophy of life that kind of holds them together, and also their families together.
They tend to be very religious. When under stress like this, they usually turn to God. And they feel like they will pray to God, but they will also depend on themselves to get themselves out.
And in this case they have a wonderful organization topside. I am very impressed by the step-by-step sequential approach that the rescuers have made getting these miners out.
KAYE: Yes, it's pretty impressive. But we do know that mining is a dangerous job. Emotions run high for not only the miners, but also the families every day when they go off to work.
What do you expect that the miners' families are feeling and going through?
HICKAM: Well, as I said, miner families tend to be as strong as the miners themselves. They have a philosophy of life. I read about that in a book called "We Are Not Afraid," that allows them to overcome fear.
They are proud of who they are. They stand up for what they believe. They keep their families together, most of them, because they know that's where the real strength of everyone is really. And they trust in God, but they rely on themselves.
And you put those four philosophies together, and you're not going to be afraid. And I've seen that everywhere.
Even the miners over in China that I've met, they seemed to have this same philosophy of life. They are very stoic, but they also trust in God. But they are also well trained, and they rely on themselves as well. And the miners' families are the same way. They know that miners are smart, they're well trained, and typically, if there's a way to get out, they will.
KAYE: I have to ask you about this rescue cage that your father developed because now they're using the Phoenix, this capsule. They're planning to use this to bring the miners up in Chile.
Tell me about the rescue cage that your dad created and how it worked.
HICKAM: Well, my dad noticed that there was a ventilation hole -- and his mine was 700 feet deep -- that was wide enough for a miner to come up through. So he devised this rescue tube, as he called it, and had it made in the machine shop, the same machine shops that made my rockets, by the way. And got in it with another guy, and they had a crane, and they lowered this tube down in the hole.
It got stuck halfway down, and they had to bring in a fire hose, basically to try to lubricate it and get it back out. The other guy got out. My dad got back in and says, "We're going to do this until we get it right."
Down they went, and he got off, got back on, pulled it right back up. And everybody said, well, "Homer Hickam Sr., you are a great hero," except when he got home.
He wasn't a hero with my mom. My said -- he said, "But Elsie (ph), that's my job." And my mom said, "No, Homer. I'm your job, buddy."
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Good for her. That's pretty funny.
What do you expect from these miners? Do you think they're going to want to go -- after this ordeal, will they want to go back -- straight back down into the mines? I mean, is that the mentality?
HICKAM: I think the largest percentage of them will. In the first place, if they want to live in that area, mining is the job of choice. That's what's available.
I hope that a lot of them don't think they're going to get rich out of this. We saw that with the Quecreek miners back in Pennsylvania a few years ago. After a while they all thought they were going to get rich, and that just didn't occur.
And with 33 miners, with what media money will come toward them, it will all spread out a little bit. So what I hope is that they come back. It obviously is going to be a while for them to reflect a little bit, and then decide to go back to work, or whatever that they decide to do.
KAYE: I think they'll just be happy to be home, probably. So --
HICKAM: Well, certainly they ought to be. They ought to just be happy to be alive and with their families.
KAYE: Absolutely.
Homer Hickam, a pleasure to speak with you today. Thank you so much.
HICKAM: Thank you, Randi. KAYE: Battleground Pennsylvania. The Democrats are pulling out the big guns today hoping to get their voters fired up for the midterms. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It's just 23 days until the critical midterm elections, and the Democrats are putting on a full-court press in Pennsylvania. The president and the vice president are both there today.
CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian is also there.
And Dan, tell us, what is the real motivation here behind the president's visit?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, the bottom line here is that Democrats, the president in particular, trying to tap into some of the energy that they saw in 2008 during the presidential race that ushered President Obama into the White House. A lot of Democrats have been discouraged, and so they think that these large events are just the right setting that can really energize the base.
This is a second of four such events. Just recently, the president was in Madison, Wisconsin, where more than 17,000 students, young people, came out. It was a big rally there aimed at young voters.
Some of the young voters -- and I spoke to them about a week or so ago in a story that I did -- are discouraged because they don't believe that the administration has been moving quickly enough and delivering on some of its promises. And these young people played a key role in getting President Obama elected, so that's why you see that big push to reach out to these young voters as we move toward the midterm elections.
The big message that you'll hear here today is don't be discouraged, make sure that you show up on Election Day -- Randi.
KAYE: And is that why the president has been spending so much time in Pennsylvania, to get that message out there?
LOTHIAN: Well, listen, this obviously is a very key state. The president has been here, along with the vice president, former president Bill Clinton.
The big race here that's been getting so much attention is that Senate seat, Joe Sestak running in that very tight race with Republican Pat Toomey. The latest CNN polling showing that Toomey is leading by a single-digit lead.
And so this has been a very important state where control of the House and Senate certainly could be at stake by what happens here. And so that's again why you have seen the president and other top Democrats spending so much time here doing fund-raising.
KAYE: All right. Dan Lothian for us.
Thank you very much.
And be sure to stay with CNN for live coverage of that event in Philadelphia. President Obama is scheduled to speak at 5:30 Eastern Time. We will, of course, bring it to you live.
With just over three weeks to go, candidates are turning up the heat with their ads. In some cases, Democrats are actually running ads distancing themselves from President Obama and Speaker Pelosi.
On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," one Democratic leader said it's nothing to worry about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: We're very proud of the fact that we have an ideologically diverse caucus. We have a whole range of different political views.
CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": But it's a caucus (ph) against the Speaker.
VAN HOLLEN: No. What they are doing is talking about their independence on certain issues. There are issues where they stood with the Speaker and the president, and there are issues where they opposed the Speaker and the president.
That's their job, as opposed to on the other side, where you have this ideological purity test. And it's being moved even farther to the right by the Tea Party candidates, which are moving the Republican Party way off to the right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: Success is getting the country back on track. Success would be setting a new tone in Washington and creating a new culture there as well.
That's what the pledge lays out to do. But we're running to win the majority. We're not running to be a minority party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: For all of the latest news and notes from the campaign trail, be sure to check out CNNPolitics.com.
There's nothing new about schools sending notices home with students, but a school district in Massachusetts wants to sell ads on those notices. Is that a good idea?
We'll talk it over.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
KAYE: With tax revenues way down, school districts are coming up with all sorts of creative ways to raise more money. But some say school officials in Peabody, Massachusetts, are going way too far. They want to put ads on notices that they send home with the children.
CNN Student News anchor Carl Azuz joins us now with more.
Really?
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hey there. And this is at the elementary school level, too.
And what they are talking about are classified ads that would appear in the back of those school notices. So we're thinking about permission slips, maybe report cards.
Anything that kids take home for their parents to look at, for their parents to sign, could potentially have ads just like these. They would look like these.
It's a way for the school to raise money. We saw in another part of Massachusetts earlier this school year that they are thinking of charging $400 per student for bus routes for kids who live within two miles of schools, because those bus routes had to be canceled due to budget cuts.
So this is another way for them to try to bring in revenue. And if you listen to a representative from Peabody schools discuss it, you'll understand why they're thinking this, why they're thinking classified ads instead of some other booster project.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE MCGENEY, PEABODY SCHOOL COMMITTEE: We can only go to the taxpayers so often. They are tapped out. The parents are certainly tapped out with all of the fees that they are incurring. And so I thought it was time to bring in the business element and make it entirely voluntary, and try to raise some money that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, as you can see, Randi, it's just, you know, they are out of money, they're out of avenues. And so they are just looking for a new, and it's sort of a creative way to try to bring in that revenue.
KAYE: It is creative, but I'm sure it has plenty of critics. So what are the critics saying about it?
AZUZ: Oh yes. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is one of those critics. And we have a response from them we'd like to show you right in a second. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is saying, "It's not hard to imagine that students who serve as couriers for ads for pizza parlors and ice cream shops will lobby their parents to go to these locations the second they get home."
So, there are people opposed to this. And one thing I do want to point out about these ads is they wouldn't include, let's say, alcohol and tobacco companies. They would be restricted to certain businesses like local restaurants, like maybe sporting goods stores and the like. But regardless, there are some people who are saying putting ads in the back of notices that elementary school kids take home, that's not going to work.
KAYE: So the ads aren't going to go home on homework or anything like that? They're not going to get you coupons for ice cream or something on their homework?
AZUZ: We'll have to find out. I mean, you know, what also remains to be seen is if it would have an influence on whether the kids would then go to their parents and say, hey, listen, I read this on the back, we should go there tonight.
KAYE: Right. Well, that's what they do with the commercials, so --
AZUZ: Yes. I mean, it could be. It could go either way.
But, you know, on CNN Student News, we always want to know what our student audience has to say, our middle and high school student audience. And I have a couple of comments for you, because they fell on both sides of this.
This one came from John, saying, "Well, the good is the school would earn some extra cash for things that are needed. The bad is you would be making a little kid be your billboard."
But one other comment from Nicole. She brings up that Massachusetts bus route charge I mentioned a little while ago. She's saying, hey, listen, ad space on the back of school notices better than 400 bucks per kid for bus service.
KAYE: Wow.
AZUZ: So they are really split on this. And the comments continue to come in to us. Students always have interesting stuff to say at CNNStudentNews.com.
KAYE: They do, especially at that age. They are always fun to talk to just to hear what they have to say.
AZUZ: Oh yes. And insightful. We enjoy it.
KAYE: Oh, yes. Of course.
All right, Carl. Thank you so much.
AZUZ: Thank you very much, Randi. I appreciate it. KAYE: Very interesting.
Police in Washington State face a puzzling case. What caused dozens of people at a college party to overdose?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A bizarre story out of Washington State now. Police there are investigating a massive overdose at a college party this weekend.
CNN's Ted Rowlands joins us now on the phone from Clallam (ph), Washington, where this story is unfolding.
Ted, what is the latest there? What can you tell us?
All right. Well, it doesn't seem as though we do have Ted there on the phone. We will get the very latest from him as soon as we can get him back on the phone with us, because it is really an interesting story that we want you to know about.
Now let's take to you New York. This from New York.
Police are seeking a ninth suspect in what's being called a series of brutal anti-gay hate crimes. Eight members of the Latin King Goonies gang have been arrested so far. Police say three victims were held against their will by as many as nine assailants who beat them and sodomized two of them. New York officials are describing the crimes as the worst anti-gay attack in recent memory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I was sickened by the brutal nature of these crimes and saddened by the anti-gay bias that contributed to them. No one in this city should ever, ever have to feel afraid because of race, religion or sexual orientation.
CHRISTINE QUINN, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: These crimes are not jokes. They are not games. They are things that eat away at the fabric of our city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some of the suspects are teenagers. Police say they will be charged as adults. They face charges of abduction, sodomy, assault and robbery.
Now we do want to get back to Ted Rowlands in that bizarre story we were just mentioning out of Washington State where police are investigating a mass overdose at a college party this weekend. Ted, are you with us?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Randi. Bizarre is the way to characterize this. Police here are trying to figure out who brought this substance whether it was GHB or roofies or some sort of drug to this party, which was mainly college freshman out of Central Washington University. They had come to one of the freshman parents' cabin and it started according to police as a small gathering, but it went viral via text and a number of people showed up. Some of them the host didn't know.
And then when police arrived, they say they were shocked by what they saw. They saw people passed out in varying degrees of consciousness ended up taking 12 people to the hospital, 11 of those were female students between the age of 18 and 21. One was a male.
This morning the last of those students was released from the hospital, but police say literally they were within minutes of having a possible tragedy on their hands because of the health condition of all of these young women. A couple students who were at the party described basically what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were having fun and then all of a sudden all of the girls were puking everywhere. Girls were outside on their back and people were so drunk they didn't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were roofied. They were falling down. Their drinks were going everywhere and we were just picking them up. I carried about four people downstairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And again the last of the hospitalized women was released this morning here in Central Washington and now they are trying to figure out how this happened, who brought whatever it was to the party they have urine and blood samples taken off to the state crime lab.
There was one person who was detained, Randi. Nobody was arrested. One person was detained because he was having sex with a woman who was semi conscious and it turned out that that couple was boyfriend and girlfriend.
However, that young man still is facing possible charges because of the condition of his girlfriend where police say she was almost unconscious when they literally caught this young man with her in a bedroom.
KAYE: Wow! That is enough to make any parent who has a student or child in college just shiver. Any idea, Ted, were all of these college students who were there, are they looking into the fact that maybe someone might have come in that wasn't one of the students who might have been behind this?
ROWLANDS: They believe at this point, there were about 50 kids there and all of them were either students or friends of students and had all received information about this party the afternoon before.
This took place Friday night and they have a pretty good idea of who was there. Now it's a matter of going back and interviewing all of these people to track down who it was that brought this substance to the party and basically poisoned these young women.
They don't believe it's the young man that hosted the party. They say he's been very cooperative and at this point, they're not looking at him as the source of this.
KAYE: And how long did they think that it will take them to figure this out? How long will this investigation go?
ROWLANDS: Well, there are two problems. One you have an eight-person police force so they are asking for hem from university police and the county. They have to interview these kids.
At the time these happened, they just got names and phone numbers because they were not in condition really to be interviewed and then there's the toxicology. They are waiting for the crime lab to come back to see exactly what that substance was.
But they didn't find any evidence of the substance when they searched the home, another problem. But they do think they have a handle on who was there and eventually they will find out who brought what.
KAYE: All right. Ted Rowlands for us in Cle Elum, Washington where that story is unfolding. Thank you, Ted.
ROWLANDS: Thank you.
KAYE: And now let's get to Jacqui Jeras who is keeping an eye on some possible storms for today. What are you watching?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're watching the nation's mid section especially the southern plains states today, Randi.
We've got what we call an upper level disturbance or an upper level area of low pressure and you can kind of see that little swirl here on the map across parts of central Nebraska.
And to go along with it, we've got a little cold front kind of trailing on down and we think things are going to be triggering later on this afternoon.
At this hour, we do have some showers and thunderstorms. Some are little bit heavy and you're hearing the thunder and you're seeing the lightning. There you can see the thunderstorms across parts of Kansas and Oklahoma.
But it's a little further south of there that we think conditions will be more favorable for large hail and damaging winds. Can't rule out an isolated tornado, but we don't think this will be a big tornado day.
This is the area we're concerned with. It does include you in the Oklahoma City area so we'll keep you up to date as those storms develop later on this afternoon.
As we head into tomorrow, that front will advance toward the east. So places like Dallas-Fort Worth on into the Houston area, we'll see that chance of rain. We also see some scatter the showers across parts of the northeast. Keep that in mind if you have travel plans for your Monday.
Tomorrow is a holiday, by the way, Columbus Day so some of you don't have to work and maybe some of you are making it a long weekend with some travel.
Now temperature wise, take a look at this. This whole red area that I highlighted here from the coast stretching down into the southeast, temperatures are going to be unbelievably warm for this time of year.
We're talking 10 to 20 degrees above average pushing 80 degrees in Minneapolis for your Monday as well as into Chicago, 85 in St. Louis, 87 in Atlanta even D.C. up there at 86 degrees.
Hopefully, you can get outside and enjoy some of this nice fall weather. Now, we are keeping our eye on the tropics. It's October. We're still in hurricane season.
You've got until November 30th before that is over with. And the National Hurricane Center has identified this cluster of thunderstorms as having a high risk of becoming our next tropical depression. That could happen in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Either way it will bring heavy rain to Honduras as well as Nicaragua and some of the models are bringing this up towards the Gulf of Mexico. So we'll have to keep our eye on it.
What a great weekend. Picture perfect weather in Albuquerque, New Mexico and this was for the International Balloon Fiesta. They had a mass ascension there yesterday morning. The weather is in the mid 70s for highs.
We're talking mid 40s for lows. It's just fantastic. Great pictures and last but not least, speaking of beautiful conditions a quick peek at the map to show you where peak conditions are out there. If you like to get out there and be a leaf --
KAYE: I do. I'm looking for leaves coming up next week actually in Connecticut.
JERAS: Yes? Should be good.
KAYE: All right, I'll check with you so you can tell me where to go exactly. All right, thanks, Jacqui.
Popping the question on a unique day in history. Ten couples got engaged at a very special ceremony in Las Vegas today, which happens to be the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the century, 10/10/10.
The future grooms got down on their knees not surprisingly at 10:10 a.m. They were chosen out of more than 200 couples competing to take part in the event.
A veteran husband was the host. Singer Donny Osmond, he's been married for 30 years.
Microsoft is about to unveil a new Smartphone. So just how much brain power does it have? The answer coming up in today's Tech Time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Let's check the top stories now.
As early as Wednesday, Chilean officials say that's when they hope to start pulling 33 trapped miners through a rescue shaft. Right now, workers are placing 16 tubes into the completed shaft to make sure the miners can be lifted safely to the surface in a rescue capsule. The miners' ordeal began August 5th.
North Korea celebrated itself and its leaders with a massive military parade. Twenty thousand troops took part in the spectacle. Leader Kim Jong Il made a rare public appearance marking the 65th anniversary of the workers party of Korea. Perhaps even more significant, his son and heir parent Kim Jong-Nam was also on the reviewing stand.
A Russian spacecraft docked with the international space station yesterday. Two Russians cosmonauts and an American astronaut joined three other crew members already on board. Two more space shuttle missions in November and in February will complete U.S. assembly of the space station. Construction began in 1998.
Smartphones are one of the hottest high tech products of the year. Sure to be on the top of a lot of holiday wish lists. Maybe even yours. High tech guru, Marc Saltzman joins us via Skype from Toronto.
And Marc, I understand that you are heading to New York tomorrow for let's call it the big unveiling as we will of the Windows phone 7?
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: That's right. Steve Balmer will be on the stage tomorrow a little earlier in the day to unveil and officially announce Windows Phone 7, formerly Windows Mobile.
So this is a refresh if you will, the re-entering the Smartphone race. Let's say before it's too late because as you know it's currently dominated by the likes of Research in Motion with their Blackberry Smartphone, Google's Android and of course, Apple's iPhone.
There are a number of advantages from what I've seen so far. These phones, by the way, they look great. They're not static icons on the screen. They have something called tiles. They're more organic. They move around and show you real-time photos and info and video.
There is a consolidated contacts list that has all your friends and their social networks all on one page. There's Xbox integration if you're a gamer. One touch search and a number of really cool advantages and they're hoping of course, Microsoft wants this to be enough to really compete against all the big guys out there.
KAYE: And you think it will be?
SALTZMAN: Well, I think critically they will be well received. You know, like I said, I've had a chance to play around with Windows Phone 7 for the past, off and on, the past five or six months.
So I think critically it will do well, but I do think Microsoft sees this as a marathon and not a sprint. They have very low market share right now with their Windows Mobile 6.5 phones.
They are really hoping to make a bang and according to some analysts a marketing budget of up to $400 million to try to get these Smartphones into the minds and of course, wallets of consumers and businesses alike.
So I think it might take some time, but one of their advantages, they are going the Android approach. Instead of RIM only making Blackberry and Apple only making iPhone, they partnered with a bunch of handset manufacturers like HTZ, LG, Samsung. So they all create Windows Phone 7. So you will have a choice in styles and carriers.
KAYE: Let's talk about the Smartphones because, you know, a lot of commuters, we see all the time. While they're driving, they're checking their e-mail or they're texting somebody, you know. So now there are apparently these new apps that will actually read your e- mails to you and you can even respond to them?
SALTZMAN: Yes, some of them let you respond. You know, of course nothing beats driving and concentrating on driving. But there are those who want to increase their productivity while behind the wheel and if you must listen to your e-mail, then you know you're going access your e-mail, at least, do it through audio.
So, yes, let's take a look at two applications. The first one is called drive safely or drivesafe.ly and it works with Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Windows phones. And it's free app that will read you the first 25 words of every e-mail.
It's a female voice that will read you the first 25 words for free. If you upgrade to the pro version, which is eight bucks a month or $80 a year then it will read you the full message.
You can have your choice of female and male voices and it does sound pretty good. It's not like an overly synthetic or computerized voice. It actually sounds quite good.
Another option, one that I like even better is called text and drive. Very controversial name, but it is called text and drive. So it reads you the first 50 words of an e-mail for free and if you upgrade to the pro version, which is $10 a year for Blackberry or $10 for a lifetime for iPhone.
You can respond with your voice and the sender gets an MP3 clip like audio attachment they hear. So you are not typing or anything like that while behind the wheel. KAYE: Right, I've used that actually on my Blackberry. Not for texting while driving, but I used that feature. It's really cool to be able to record an outgoing e-mail and then you wait for it to be cleared and approve and then you send it. So it sounds like that would be safer for drivers?
SALTZMAN: Much safer, again, you know, I'm not here to endorse talking or even typing, of course, while driving. It's probably illegal in your state anyhow, but if you're going to do it.
If you spend a lot of time commuting then at the very least have one of these free apps that will read your e-mails to you or cup up a couple of bucks a month and have the ability to respond if you need to. So the idea is that it's going to be safer for drivers.
KAYE: Well, let's hope so. Marc, Thank you so much for your time.
SALTZMAN: Thanks for having me, Randi.
KAYE: All right, talk to you soon. Has this ever happened to you? You use your Smartphone during an international trip only a little, but you get hit with a mega bill when you get back home?
Yes, experts say you can avoid excessive charges with advance planning. See if your carrier has an international data plan. Keep your phone off when not in use to avoid those unnecessary charges.
Use Skype or maybe Google voice to make calls when possible. Both apparently have discounted rates and take advantage of free Wi-Fi wherever it is offered.
A congressional candidate dressed as a Nazi soldier and it wasn't for a Halloween party. Your CNN Political Update coming up next.
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KAYE: Time for CNN Equals Politics update. With just 23 days left until the all-important midterm elections, we're keeping a close eye on CNN.com Political Ticker. Here is what is crossing right now.
Karl Rove says he's being attacked unfairly by the Democrats. The DNC is running ads alleging that the former White House adviser has ties to a group that may be circumventing campaign finances laws. Rove says the charges are baseless.
Former President Bill Clinton is heading out on the campaign trail this week. He'll be in West Virginia tomorrow to support Democratic Governor Joe Manchin. Manchin is in a tight battle to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Robert Byrd.
In Ohio, a House hopeful is now defending himself against charges that he's a Nazi enthusiast. Republican Rich Iott admits he took part in World War II reenactments where he portrayed a German soldier, but says he doesn't abide by the Nazi ideology. Iott is running against Democrat Marcy Kaptur who's seeking her 15th term in Congress. Beefing up your bank account by going on a financial fast. It will only take 21 days. We'll tell you how to do it right after the break.
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KAYE: The nation's 58 million Social Security recipients will most likely not be getting an increase in their monthly benefits for a second year in a row.
The official word won't come until next week when the Social Security Administration announces whether there will be a cost of living adjustment for 2011, but experts who have crunched the numbers say there hasn't been enough inflation to justify a bump in benefits.
Want to put money problems behind you? Here's an idea, a 21-day financial fast. Fredricka Whitfield talks with personal finance author and columnist Michelle Singletary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about this 21-day diet. You actually have a subject here in Atlanta that you are putting on a diet. You met with her recently.
Before you even, I guess, ask someone to reveal their finances, et cetera, you say you have to make this commitment. You have to be really dedicated about where you spend your money and how you spend it and in other words you're really asking them not to spend any money except for essentials.
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: That's exactly right. I'm shutting you down everything. No eating out, no gum, no potato chips. Nothing, no lattes, no doughnut. Nothing. Nothing and people think you're crazy.
I can't do this. But look, I ask people to look at their finances. We're talking about people not just making $20,000, but I know people making six-figure salaries who are struggling.
If they lost their job tomorrow would be broke. So I'm just saying cut it out. Spend some time looking at your budget and what you're doing with your money.
And listen, all I'm talking about is consumption. I don't say drop your kids off at a corner somewhere. People go nuts when I say this.
But just think about that in itself. All I'm saying is don't shop. Don't use your credit and people freak out. What does that say?
WHITFIELD: So you are also telling them don't even use your ATM card because, you know, there was that, I guess, that mentality if you have cash, you can spend your cash just don't put it on credit card. But you're saying at least during the 21 days to kind of discipline yourself and know where you can spend money. You can pay your bills. You can pay your mortgage, your rent.
Here they are right here, but you're not going to be using your plastic in any way. You are not even going to window shop or browse online because of temptations.
SINGLETARY: Right, if your drive to work is past the mall and that's your thing, you know, take another route and the thing about the debit card is we think that's the great card.
But it is still plastic and studies show that when you use plastic debit or credit you still spend more money than if you had cash.
If you walk in a grocery store with $20, you are limited to $20. With a debit card you can overspend what's in your account. That's called overdraft. Lots of people pay those overdraft fees. They are listening right now.
WHITFIELD: So you are still spending more than you need to. So this single mom that you've been introduced to is on a tight financial diet. She's only allowed to spend her money on those essentials. She's got a 10-year-old son, correct. Let's take a listen to how challenging this might be.
SINGLETARY: So I listed exactly the order that you wanted to do, retirement, saving for college and not sure about having a job. Now where does savings fit into that? Do you have any savings? I can already tell the answer is no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have some savings, but not as much as I know I need to have.
SINGLETARY: Do you have a budget? OK, that would be a no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't. You know what, to be honest, there's something that I want, I will probably just purchase it and figure out the rest later.
WHITFIELD: And that's probably very common. Just figure it out later. How do I pay for it?
SINGLETARY: That's right. We don't have a budget. No one wants to call it a budget. They want to call it a spending plan. It's a budget.
You have to know what's coming in and what's going out. And if you don't have that plan, that budget, you won't be able to save. You won't be able to get rid of that debt. You won't know where your money is going. People just spend and they don't even know that they're spending.
WHITFIELD: And you want people -- when it means not spending, where do you want people to put their money? Your savings should go into that reserve, that emergency fund or are you wanting them to, you know, put that money into savings for kids' college? Where do you want that money to go?
SINGLETARY: You know, you dictate where you want your money to go. If you're behind in retirement, boost that. If you have children, rug rats I call them, I have three, you don't want them to graduate with a ton of debt.
Start saving. You may not pay all of the education, but save what you can. You know, get rid of that debt. There's an emergency fund and a life happens fund and that is the amount of money you pay for things in life that happens.
Car breaks down and that kind of thing because if you only have an emergency fund, you will dip into that and when you lose your job it won't be there. So you know what your values are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That was Fredricka Whitfield talking with personal finance expert Michelle Singletary. For other financial tips, go to CNN.com/money.
Check out the qualifications of this help wanted ad to see if this is something you're interested in. Wanted: Patient person, physical fit with basic knowledge of biology, able to take pictures.
Sounds like your kind of job maybe? Here's the catch or rather here's the job. Find bigfoot. Wait, there's more. Find bigfoot in China. That's right.
According to China's state run news agency, China is actually recruiting international researchers to hunt the phantom known as Wild Man in China. We know it here as big foot or -- if you're interested, you can contact the Hubei Wild Man Research Association in China. Good luck.
A new study finds a link between divorce rates and the gender of your first born child. Find out if boy or girl babies are harder on a marriage. That's coming up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Then at 5:00, President Obama takes a road trip to help fellow Democrats just 23 days before election day. We'll bring you his speech at a DNC rally, and that will be live.
"YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
