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Countdown to Election Day; Tears of Joy as Drillers Broke Through to 33 Trapped Miners in Chile; Washington State Police Trying to Determine Who Spiked Drinks at Central Washington University Party; Richard Branson's Dream of Affordable Space Flight One Step Closer to Reality; President Obama Hosts Meeting on Infrastructure Investments; Attack on Falcon Lake
Aired October 11, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning guys and good morning everybody.
We're talking about how to get 33 guys out of a hole half a mile underground. Their escape route is ready. The trick now, getting the bodies ready.
We're talking about gay-bashing as well, something that gang- goons, right-wing Serbs, and a guy running for New York governor all have in common on some level.
And 22 days until the crucial midterm elections. The balance of power in Washington isn't the only thing at stake. 2010 could go down in history as the year pot goes mainstream.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. And you're live in CNN NEWSROOM.
We're talking about 22 days until the elections. And talk this morning is all about the blistering new accusations of, quote, "stunning homophobia in the New York governor's rate."
Democrat Andrew Cuomo is blasting Republican Carl Paladino for remarks that he made to a group of Orthodox Jews. Paladino says that Cuomo set a bad example for children by marching in a gay rights parade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GOV. CANDIDATE: I just think my children and your children will be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family.
And I don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid successful option. It isn't.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But Paladino is actually vehemently denying these remarks that come from a written political statement handed out at the same event. The comments obtained by CNN from New York affiliate -- New York One actually say, quote, "There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. That is not how God created us." Once the media pounced on those comments, Paladino responded with this statement. "I do not agree with this passage nor did I say it. Apparently a few reporters relied upon suggestive remarks distributed by my host at the synagogue in Williamsburg after my departure, not the actual statement that I made.
Carl Paladino is not the only politician launching damage control in this election. Remember this? In Nevada, Senate candidate Sharron Angle is caught on tape bashing the GOP. The problem is it's the same party trying to get her elected. She's the Republican nominee, after all.
Her counterpart in Delaware Christine O'Donnell has had several PR gaffes to explain. But the most haunting may be this old televised admission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I dabbled in witchcraft. I never joined a coven. But I did. I did.
JAMIE KENNEDY, COMEDIAN: Wait a minute. You were a witch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was a witch.
KENNEDY: You're a witch.
O'DONNELL: I didn't join a coven. I didn't join a coven. Let's get this straight.
KENNEDY: Wait a minute. I love this. You're a witch, you're going, Halloween's bad. I was a witch. I mean, wait a minute.
O'DONNELL: Wait. But that's exactly why. Because --
KENNEDY: How were you used to be witch?
O'DONNELL: Because I dabbled into witchcraft, I hung around people who were doing these things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having fun?
O'DONNELL: I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do they do?
O'DONNELL: And one of my dates -- one of my dates, my first --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait. I want to hear.
(CROSSTALK)
O'DONNELL: One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar. And I didn't know it. And, I mean, there was a little blood there and stuff like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was a date? Your first date was at a satanic altar?
O'DONNELL: Yes. Yes. We went to a movie and then like had a little midnight picnic at a Satanic altar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A movie and a sacrifice?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: O'Donnell is now running an ad proclaiming I'm not a witch. And then California Democrat Jerry Brown got caught on a voice mail that kept recording a candid conversation. Very candid in fact.
Listen to how his aide referred to Brown's GOP opponent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know Whitman will cut a deal that I won't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about saying that? She's a whore.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And in Florida, Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson isn't just reverting to name calling, he's calling his opponent Taliban Dan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daniel Webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us.
DANIEL WEBSTER (R), FLORIDA CANDIDATE: She should submit to me. That's in the bible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Webster tried to deny battered women medical care and a right to divorce their abusers.
WEBSTER: Submit to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wants to force rape women to bear the child.
WEBSTER: Submit to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taliban Dan Webster, hands off our bodies and our laws.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: John Avlon is CNN contributor and senior political columnist for the "Daily Beast." He's also the author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."
John, I look at all of this and it just seems like there is no such thing as extreme anymore. JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's exactly right. In the new politics of incitement we're seeing there is no such thing as too extreme. It's not a gaffe as much as it is a strategy to suck up the oxygen of attention and to kind of play to the base in a way that causes activist groups around the country to rally towards you in many way, in many cases becoming actually not just a recruiting tool but a fundraising driver.
The problem is, of course, it's fundamentally divisive strategy. And in the long run, I think it's hurting America.
PHILLIPS: It is hurting America. And let's talk about that because we're talking about issues that are very sensitive right now. Terrorism, gay bashing, I mean, we've got kids that are being called out and are taking their own lives because they are being bullied because they are gay.
And then, you know, this horrible -- I'm not even going to say the word -- we know what was said in Jerry Brown's camp about Meg Whitman. It's like where's the class? Where's the common decency? Does that just not exist anymore?
AVLON: Yes. Well, I think there are two things going on here. One, with the rise of technology all candidates and their aides are always on. And in the case of Jerry Brown's camp's comment, there's simply no place you can't go anymore where you're not camera. So you need to hold yourself to a higher standard and actually, not just in theory.
In the case of Carl Paladino's comments yesterday, you have something that seems to be very different. You have a scripted comment. It wasn't a gaffe. It was something in a script. It was an intentional attempt to play to the social conservative base in a state like New York.
And that is a remarkable shift it seems to me. That is a conscious attempt at positive polarization, quote-unquote. It's an attempt to divide in order to conquer. We've seen it in races across the country.
But given that we're in the middle of the gay civil rights movement in this country, it is a remarkably divisive strategy, attempt, tactic. And the fact that now he's trying to play the victim card on it, saying he was quoted out of context with the tape rolling, it's kind of amazing upon itself.
PHILLIPS: So -- you know, you talk about all these various comments that are being made. Why is it happening now? Do you think that they're -- we are just in a point where we've just got no boundaries anymore? That anything goes and it's OK? Are we accepting too much as a society?
AVLON: You know, I think -- well, first of all, we are deep in the weird season of politics. It's no longer just the silly season. It's the strange season. But I do think that the politics of incitement that we are seeing, the way the extremes incite and encourage each other, has created an environment where there is no such thing as too extreme.
You know it used to be that political leaders gave talking points to talk radio show hosts. Now talk radio show hosts give talking points to political leaders. And that's created a who different dynamic in our politics in which the shock jock approach, in which planting a flag and trying to gain the most attention possible through the most extreme statement as possible is seen as a politically smart move.
And that creates a race to the bottom that is having a demonstrably negative effect on our political discourse.
PHILLIPS: You bring up an interesting point. I mean that type of attitude within even just our news circle makes a lot of money and gets ratings, now our political leaders are turning to the same tactics.
AVLON: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: John Avlon, always great talking to you.
AVLON: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Thanks, John.
AVLON: You, too, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, breaking news right now. In a rescue mission of a hostage that went horrible wrong in Afghanistan. These are the reports that we're getting right now that U.S. Special Forces actually tried to save British aid worker Linda Norgrove on Friday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron now says that Norgrove may have been killed by a grenade that was thrown by American forces trying to free her. Earlier reports say that she died in a blast set off by her captors.
You may remember she was captured by militants last month. We're still working this story for you and more information.
And a drama that started back in August could finally be over in two days. The way out for those 33 trapped miners in Chile is finally ready. Now it's time to get the guys ready for their half mile trip to the surface.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Chile. He's been working pretty much nonstop since the rescue hole reached the minors -- miners, rather, on Saturday morning. And that was a tremendously exciting moment, Patrick.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Yes, it was. And even though there were these widespread celebrations here people just really got caught up in the moment.
For the workers, the rescue workers here, the pace has continued nonstop. They just finished the casing for that mine hole. It will now be ready starting Wednesday, to put a capsule down to those 33 trapped miners and as early as Wednesday start bringing them up.
It's going to be quite a ride, though, Kyra. You know even in the final moments of captivity it will still be really a terrifying ordeal. When that rescue capsule comes up it could spin 10 to 12 times as it makes its ascend to the surface. The miners are going to be on a liquid diet starting very soon. That's something that NASA has recommended to combat the nausea they're going to feel.
You know, despite that, though, despite the two months they spent underground you think everyone will be running towards the exits, but we're hearing from officials that quite the opposite. Miners are saying that they want to go last.
They're saying that they want their colleagues to go before them, to be able to see their families, to be able to enjoy their freedom before they do. So it's a bit of an argument now over who goes last, not who goes first.
PHILLIPS: And that's -- don't you find that remarkable? You would think they have been down there since August, that all of these guys would want to get out of there as fast as possible. And the fact that they are actually having debate on the order of people that go up, how are they figuring this out and how is it going to remain calm as they make these decisions?
OPPMANN: You know, this is how they survive. They had a hierarchy, a shift foreman down there. He, for the most part, is sort of the captain of this ship right now and he's the first who says, I'm the captain, I'm going last.
But there is so much respect for one another they want -- they say no, you deserve to go first. And that's how they really survived. Backing each other up, having solidarity and they had a job to do while they're down there. They've been clearing rubble, they've guiding the drill bits as they come down into the mineshaft.
So these guys have not been waiting for the rescue. They've been helping in their own rescue. It continues to be an amazing story -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it truly is. And we just can't wait for that moment when they start coming up out of that mineshaft. We'll be taking it live for sure.
Patrick Oppmann, thanks so much.
And hold on because we are going back to Chile right after the break. We're actually going to talk with the two American drillers who were the ones that literally opened the way for those miners to get out of there. They're joining us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you can just imagine how families and friends of those 33 trapped miners in Chile felt on Saturday with the rescue hole broke through. Tears of joy, thanks to the sweat of a dedicated drilling team.
And that included American Jeff Hart. Jeff is actually joining us live this morning to tell us more about that moment.
And, Jeff, it's so great to have you with us. I actually saw part of an interview with you yesterday and wanted to hear more just because of what you were telling various reporters about that moment.
What was it like when you actually reached the guys and knew you had finally gotten there?
JEFF HART, OPERATIONS MANAGER, LAYNE CHRISTENSEN CO.: You know, it was -- it's not explainable in words, I'll tell you that. It's a lot of excitement and a lot of emotion, all poured into one bucket at the same time.
Obviously we know what it's like to be away from our families in the work we do, and when you put yourself in a personal situation and come to work every day saying hey, if I'm down there and my family's up here, how do we -- you know, how do we make this day happen to where we get to them the quickest way possible.
It's been a struggle. So, yes, to actually break through and be into the mine was an incredible feeling. It was a sigh of relief, a little stress relief and, yet, very emotional because we know we've provided an avenue for these guys to get out.
PHILLIPS: Pretty remarkable. I mean, 30 days -- 33 days on your feet, constant drilling. What gives you the energy, Jeff, to keep going? And how do you get through those stumbling blocks, like for example, what was the most difficult moment where you had to troubleshoot in order to keep it going continuously?
HART: You know, we have those moments all the time. It's not an easy -- drilling business is just not an easy business. So every day, every moment, something can go wrong. And so, it's a -- it's an ongoing battle.
But at the same time, it is what we love to do. And there's 33 lives at stake. There certainly wasn't an issue with motivation at that point. There were some very long days, some very hard-working days, we have a great team, Layne and Geotech together. All the guys that worked on this, everybody just put in 110 percent. It just came together. The goal was met, and it's an awesome feeling.
PHILLIPS: Jeff, just to give our viewers and idea of what challenges you faced -- because this isn't where you just pop the drill in and, boom, get straight to the guys. There are obstacles along the way. Give an example to our viewers of an obstacle and how you troubleshoot at that moment. Because it's got to be a very clean, perfect drill, correct?
HART: That's correct. You have a lot of issues that, as you drill every day, you have to be on the rig to feel what it's doing. There's torque, there's so many things. You have to know the difference between good torque and bad torque. If we wait too long to pull one of the drill bits out and it's under gauge, the next drill bit won't go into the hole, so you have a lot of reaming to do, which takes time and additional bits. You have a guessing game along with luck. But that's basically the day-to-day thing of troubleshooting in the drilling business.
PHILLIPS: Jeff, were you able to say anything once you broke through and you knew you reached those miners, what was the first thing you said to the miners, to the crew around you? Give us a feeling for what it was like and what was said at that moment.
HART: You know, the few moments before that were real stressful. As we said, you can spend all this time on a well and in the last meter have something fail and lose the entire thing. So, when we actually broke through, it was more of a sigh of relief.
Jim Stefanic was actually on the phone with the miners, we had a video next to the rig so we could actually see it penetrate, so it was one of those things, I just turned to Jim Stefanic and I shook his hand, gave him a hug, and I said, "We did it. Congratulations. We're there."
PHILLIPS: That's fantastic. And Jim Stefanic, he's the operations manager for Geotech, Boyles Brothers, got to give a shout out to Jim and his company. Jeff Hart, you're the operations manager with Layne Christensen company, you're a driller from Denver that came in here to be a hero. You and Jim did an amazing job. And thank you so much for joining us, Jeff. It means a lot to us.
Straight ahead, 22 days voters in nearly two dozen states will decide on changes in their marijuana laws. A closer look at what's being proposed and what it means for you.
Also, the best jobs in America. Where are they? How much do they pay? Our friends at CNNmoney.com have actually compiled a list of 100 of those best jobs. You're going to see a lot of them within the next couple of hours. Here's just a few of them. Number 5 on the list, environmental engineer. Visit CNNmoney.com to see the full list, but we'll give you more throughout the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Police in Washington are trying to determine who spiked drinks at a party Friday attended by Central Washington University students. Apparently, 11 female students were taken to hospitals after the off-campus incident. Police suspect that someone spiked those drinks with the date rape drug known as "roofies."
Smooth sailing for billionaire businessman Richard Branson's dream of affordable space travel. This is video from the test flight of the VSS Enterprise in July That spaceship passed all its tests again yesterday over California's Mojave Desert at 45,000 feet. Branson says the test flight means the sky is no longer the limit.
President Obama hosting a meeting this morning of former secretaries of transportation and mayors and governors on infrastructure investments. After the meeting, he's going to make public comments. That'll be about 10:50 Eastern. We'll bring it to you live.
We are 22 days away from one of the most watched midterm elections in recent memory. Among all the ballot issues, marijuana. It's cropping up in nearly 20 states. Several have proposals that would actually loosen marijuana statutes. CNN's Josh Levs has all the details.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a big year for marijuana battles throughout the country. In fact, before we take a look at some specific ballot initiatives, I want to show you a map here. Take a look at this. This is from Stateline.org. Let's zoom in here.
And what they're doing is, they're showing how many states considered loosening marijuana laws this year. The states in light green considered bills to legalize medicinal marijuana. The dark green states looked at decriminalizing marijuana. And the yellow states considered legislation to legalize and tax marijuana.
Now, in a lot of cases, bills died in committee, didn't get very far. But there are four states we're looking at that have initiatives on the ballot. Let's take a look at those.
The main one we keep hearing about, obviously, is California here, where the conversation is about legalizing marijuana and taxing its sale. There's also two states here, Arizona and South Dakota, where there are ballot measures that would allow medical marijuana. If those pass, these states would join 14 other states and Washington, DC in allowing medical marijuana. There's another in Oregon that's very similar. This would allow and regulate the sale of medical marijuana through dispensaries.
Now, as we watch these heated debates over these laws, remember that there is also the political question of who gets drawn to the polls in those states partly because of these measures. It will be interesting to see how these measures influence turnout and which side gets more turnout.
I have some links for you about marijuana laws in your state, it's up on Facebook and Twitter. I'm @JoshLevsCNN. You can weigh in with your views as well. Look forward to hearing from you. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Josh, thanks.
And he might be the next dictator of North Korea or he might not. He might eventually take charge of its massive military and nukes or he might not. Welcome to the enigma that is Kim Jong-un. The mystery son of the mystery dictator of the mystery country.
And we're counting down America's best jobs of 2010. Environmental engineer came in at number five. Number four, physical therapist. Visit CNNmoney.com to see the full list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
PHILLIPS: North Korea is among the world's most sinister places. A place foreigners rarely see. But, what we do know is pretty scary. Exploding nuclear devices and testing long range missiles. So, who's in charge is crucial. This weekend in a rare public appearance Kim Jong-Il's son was announced as the new heir apparent at some pretty spectacular mass rallies. And right now all we can do is speculate what kind of leader Kim Jong-Un can be. It's not like he's going to come out and tell us.
CNN's John Roberts actually talked with an expert on North Korea, about the mystery son earlier this morning. And really we only know what we read. And it's not necessarily really encouraging news.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Yes. Even is what you read really accurate? It was the big coming out party for Kim Jong-Un, Kim Jong-Il's son, 27, maybe 28 years old. We don't know a lot about him. He looks like he's being set up to be the next leader of North Korea, that enigmatic country.
Gordon Chang of "Forbes" magazine, an expert of North Korea joined us this morning. I asked him exactly what do we know about Kim Jong-Un.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: North Korea is an enigma at the best of times. Abut Kim Jong-Un, the son, and I guess the expected next leader of North Korea is a downright mystery.
What do we know about this guy?
GORDON CHANG, FORBES MAGAZINE: He's the youngest of Kim Jong- Il's three acknowledged sons. He was educated in Switzerland until he was 15. He posed as the son of the driver of the North Korean embassy. You know, he likes Michael Jordan, likes basketball, just like his dad. The most important thing, though, is that he's as ruthless and as calculating as Kim Jong-Il. He's the son with the dictator gene.
ROBERTS: But there's so much that we don't know about him. We don't really know how old he is.
CHANG: He's 27, maybe 28. He's just like his dad. He's 68 or 69. He's following in the footsteps of pop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Pretty scary when you hear that he's as ruthless as his pop, as your guest said. There's been a lot of comparisons to Saddam Hussein and his sons, John. And also, do we even know if this transition is a sure thing?
ROBERTS: Well, that's the thing. With Kim Il-Sung, who was the father, the dictator of North Korea, prepared for Kim Jong-Il's ascension to power, he did it over the course of two decades. He introduced him to everybody, got everybody used to him and so it was a fairly smooth transition to power.
Kim Jong-Il hasn't talked about succession up until a couple years ago when he suffered from a stroke. He has had to, in the past two years, get used to the idea that Kim Jong-Un could take over. And by no means is there solidarity behind him either. As Gordon Chang told me this morning, it may be that if Kim Jong-Il passes away, that some general decides hey, I want to be the leader of North Korea. So if you have an unstable transition, perhaps one that might fall apart. And you have a country that has nuclear weapons, that could be a problem for the United States.
And Chang says that what the United States needs to do is develop some ties inside North Korea to find out who to called if everything falls apart and at the moment they don't know the right phone number.
PHILLIPS: Yes . It's going to be interesting to watch this unravel, shall we say.
John, thanks.
Better pay, more opportunities, we're counting down America's best jobs in 2010. Number three, management consultant. Stick around, we're going to get to the top two jobs coming up next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. Go to CNNMoney.com for the whole list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Checking top stories. President Obama host a meeting this morning with mayors and governors on a $50 billion plan to fix the nation's roads, rails, and runways. After the meeting he'll make public comment. It's about 10:50 Eastern Time, we'll bring it to the you live.
In Chile, the final steps underway to bring 33 trapped miners to the surface. Rescue crews have finished the drilling and reinforcing an escape shaft. Those men could finally be brought up as early as Wednesday.
In Afghanistan, the governor of the Kunduz Province was assassinated during Friday prayers. Nineteen other worshipers also died in that explosion. A few days earlier he had warned CNN in an interview that 40 percent of his province was under Taliban control. Afghan president Hamid Karzai talks about the Taliban threat tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Twenty-two days until the midterm election and the balance of power could shift in Washington. Enter the political clout of a former president. We're going to look at the campaign value of Bill Clinton, and other stories crossing our political ticker this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Twenty-two days until Americans cast their votes in the midterm elections. And the control of Congress hanging in the balance. Paul Steinhauser, part of the best political team on television in Washington, at our political desk.
What else is crossing, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You're talking about the battle for control of the House. And this is brand new. In fact, Kyra, you get this first. I haven't even finished writing it yet for the ticker. What I'm talking about is Florida's 22nd congressional district. It is a seat the Democrats control but the Republicans think they can win back.
Today you're going to have the president -- later today, President Barack Obama in south Florida for a fundraiser. And some of the money he raises will go to the Democratic candidate in the seat. This morning John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, the top Republican in the House, where is he? Down in that congressional district, as well, helping out the Republican candidate. You can see even race by race, just Florida 22, one race could make the difference. Remember the Republicans need 39 seats to win back control of Congress.
I'm going to ask our cameraman Reggie Sulman (ph) to zip in right in here to the CNN political ticker. Let's also talk about former President Bill Clinton. Man, he has really, Kyra, become the Democrats go-to guy, the man in demand this year on the campaign trail. Where is he going to be today? Well he starts this morning, Kyra, in Kentucky, teaming up with the Democrats Senate nominee down there. Then, boom, moves on to West Virginia, going to be teaming up with Joe Manchin, the governor there who is running for the Senate trying to keep a seat in party hands. And finally, the former president ends the day in upstate New York. He'll be campaigning with a Democrat there in the House who's facing a very tough reelection.
Kyra, what do all these three places have in common? They're all areas with a moderate to conservative electorate, areas where the former president may be more popular than the current president. And where Democrats are asking the former president to come and campaign. Interesting stuff, definitely. You're going to see a lot more of Bill Clinton between now and Election Day.
Finally, let's talk about this battle going on now for the last week or two between the White House. Between President Obama and the Republicans. A brand new Democratic National Committee ad going up tomorrow. You heard the president talk about this yesterday, as well. He is calling American Crossroads, an independent organization that raises money and spends money for Republicans. And he's going after the Chamber of Commerce, as well, which does similar stuff. He's saying, you know what, they may be using foreign money, raising foreign money and spending it on campaigns. Both of them pushing back.
And Karl Rove who has helped and associated with American Crossroads, he said, this is beyond the pale. How dare the president do this. This is a big battle here, Kyra, and it's all over this big money that's being spent by Republican groups that are independent but are backing Republican candidates and they have been butch freer now with how they raise their money and report it thanks to Supreme Court decisions earlier this year. A very nasty battle over money.
Kyra, that's what we've got. A lot more coming your way later. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Paul, thanks a lot.
More political news at the top of the hour. And a reminder, if you're away from your TV and just need that political fix, you can always go to our web site CNNPolitics.com.
Christine O'Donnell, one of the big stories of this year's political season. She's been a hot topic for the host of CNN's newest program, "PARKER SPITZER"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIOT SPITZER, CNN HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": I think when we look at the substance of what she says here, a lot of people are going to say you know what, we're not so sure she's ready for the Senate.
KATHLEEN PARKER, CNN HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": You know, I feel for the girl a little bit. She was a sweet girl when she was on the Bill Maher show. She was 20 years -old. If you look at some of those tapes, she had a lot of personality, she's spunky and cute. She was just saying things I don't think she intended to be taken terrible seriously.
SPITZER: I agree with you.
PARKER: And now it's taken a life of its own.
SPITZER: I think all that is not only fair to her, but accurate. And I even defended her with that sort of crazy ad, I'm not a witch, because she's trying to defuse a tough situation. But then, when you step back and as you get closer to November 2nd, and you say wait a minute, there are serious issues here. I don't think she passes that threshold.
PARKER: No, there are a lot of people who are cute and spunky that I don't want running the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And for more opinions, ideas, and analysis, don't miss CNN's newest show, "PARKER SPITZER," weeknights, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right. Let's head cross-country, shall we? Let's start in the Bronx, in New York, where eight suspects in a series of brutal anti-gay hate crimes have been arraigned. Those suspects, all between the ages of 17 and 23. Police say the men held three victims against their will and beat them and sodomized two of them. A ninth suspect has not been caught. Their victims, gay.
Next stop, Washington, where police are trying to learn who supposedly spiked drinks at a party attended by students from Central Washington University. Police believe someone put the date rape drug, known as roofies, into the drinks. Eleven female students were taken to the hospital.
And on the Texas border with Mexico, police say the dashboard cam on a state trooper's car shows two jet skis on the back of a trailer being pulled by David Hartley and his wife. The traffic stop came three hours before Hartley's wife called 911 to report that she and her husband were attacked by pirates on the Mexican side of the lake. Tiffany Hartley says that her husband was shot and killed. His body and that jet ski remain missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We live in a mechanized and electric society in the United States. We have been talked from generation to generation about this endless abundance of America's wealth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: "Flash Back" looks at history-making TV. It's fair to say the phrase "Live from New York, it's Saturday night," changed the face of television forever. The show debuted on this date, 35 years ago.
Remember this. Remember Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd? Well, it was live and unpredictable, irreverent, topical, NBC now had late night appointment dealing on the weekend, still does.
A group of young unknown comics formed that first cast; the show made them all famous. They are now household names. You can see Chevy Chase there and Dan Aykroyd, also John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Kurt and Garrett Morris and since then so many more.
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PHILLIPS: We know how New York's Republican governor for -- or candidate rather for governor feels about gays; Carl Paladino in his own words, here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I just think my children and your children will be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family. And I don't want them to be brain washed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, there you have it. In this climate, where you have gay kids feeling so isolated, so ostracized, so distraught and shamed that they are driven to suicide, is it really necessary to make statements like that? To use words like brainwashed when talking about people, many of them young who are -- being who they are, many of them struggling to come to terms with it.
And then listen to this; there are now at least eight suspects of a New York street gang accused of horrific crimes targeting gays. Crimes like robbing, beating, sodomizing with a plunger handle and baseball bat, putting out cigarettes on their alleged victim's skin.
And then it doesn't stop in the U.S., you've got gay bashing thugs in Serbia, trying to break up a gay pride march. Tossing Molotov cocktails, chanting "death to homosexuals"; 140 people hurt, some 200 arrested -- violent intolerance that could hurt Serbia's chances of getting into the European Union.
Now, you don't expect much stability from extremists or street thugs in New York City or the Westboro Baptist Church that uses homosexuality as its excuse to protest at military funerals.
But from a man who wants to be governor of New York, you would expect him to be above gay-bashing. What would be his solution to anti-gay bullying? Does he think that these kids like Tyler Clementi choose to be gay? That they would chose to be harassed to the point where they decided it was better to jump off a bridge?
This whole bullying problem is sad proof that words can do unspeakable damage. A man who expects to govern all the people of the Empire State should know that.
We've got a lot to cover in the next hour. Let's go and check in with Patrick Oppmann at the site of that mine rescue operation in Chile.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra at the top of the hour, we're going to have a lot more on the operation to get these 33 trapped men above ground and when that's going to happen.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Mark Preston at the CNNPolitics.com desk. Carl Paladino, the Republican nominee for governor in New York is under fire for some controversial comments he made critical of gays. I will have more on that story at the top of the hour.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange where we're keeping an eye on the Dow Industrials. That's because the blue chips closed above the 11,000 mark on Friday for the first time in five months. The question is, what it a one-hit wonder or will the rally continue? Kyra, we're going to take a look at that in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks to all of you.
Also, next hour, thousands of Hungarians wait for the inevitable. A cracked reservoir is about to unleash a giant wave of toxic sludge on their village. We're going to go there live for the latest.
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PHILLIPS: Imagine opulence on the open sea. Well, you don't have to actually. You can surround yourself with a luxury suite that costs $24,000 a person on a ship more than three football fields long.
Canary Cruise Lines' new Queen Elizabeth leaves on her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands tomorrow. And of course, CNN's Zain Verjee in South Hampton England takes us on board.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome aboard the Queen Elizabeth. And look at this. Isn't it magnificent?
This ship is about 12 stories high, and if you think about placing four big planes side by side, that is the length of the Queen Elizabeth. 2,092 guests will set sail to the Canary Islands and then steam through the Mediterranean.
The final price tag, $634 million and made in Italy. This is the grand lobby entrance, and if you take a look, you can see how it's don't in kind of an art deco style. Look at the chandelier.
A special portrait of the queen hangs in the grand lobby. Chef Jean-Marie Zimmerman (ph) tells me there are six kitchens, 140 chefs to make 10,000 meals a day. It took 1 1/2 years for Chef Zimmerman to source all the produce that we're seeing in this kitchen.
CHEF JEAN-MARIE ZIMMERMAN: As you can see, they want Chivas with a place by the table. Over here, we got veal cum limousine.
VERJEE: I've never had a potato souffle.
ZIMMERMAN: Now, you have. They're wonderful.
VERJEE: C'est bon.
For evening entertainment, theater and ballroom dancing in the evening. Some guests can retire into this $24,000 a person suite on this trip.
I mean has it been hard to sell these rooms?
ROBERT HOWIE, HOTEL MANAGER: Surprisingly no, because we have a lot of loyal (INAUDIBLE). I mean the maiden voyage itself, we've sold it in 29 minutes and 14 seconds.
VERJEE: And 14 seconds.
The bedroom suite leads to something special.
HOWIE: In the Jacuzzi bath, you can see out the window to watch the world go past.
VERJEE: Let's try it.
HOWIE: good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Kyra, there's a lot more excitement here as we are just under an hour away from the Queen's arrival. You can see the red carpets have been rolled out. Everything has been spruced up, and the guests are arriving for her majesty, the queen to wish her name sake bon voyage -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what. That is opulent. So what exactly is the queen going to go? Is she going to be hanging out in that 24,000 a night suite checking out the Jacuzzi bathtub?
VERJEE: Maybe not this trip, Kyra but what she's going to do is get on board immediately. I mean it's her -- It's a gift for her 60th anniversary as the monarch. So she's going to tour around. She's going to meet the captain, going to meet the crew. She's going to be in a new state of the art theater setup that they have, and they have all these private boxes, but only when the Queen stands in it, will it be designated a royal box.
And what's a boat like this without fabulous shops right? Because she's going to take a look at some of the great shops around there. And then she'll come down Kyra and she'll be standing at that podium there. There will be lavish ceremonies here, bands will be playing. There's an orchestra over here too.
But I went up on the podium. There's a large wooden button that she's going to press and as soon as she does, it's going to trigger a mechanism all the way to the front of the ship where there is a 2009 bottle of Rothschild white wine waiting to be whacked on the Queen Elizabeth ship -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: This couldn't be a more perfect assignment for Zain Verjee. All right. so I'm going to test you know. Do you know your port from starboard?
VERJEE: I do, actually. I just thought I better check. If I'm on a ship, I better know which one is which.
It's like stalactites and stalagmites -- it's just confusing sometimes. right? But Port I remembered because it's four letters, and the word "left" also has four letters. So I know, port is left- hand and starboard, that side of the ship is right.
PHILLIPS: Of course, when they say Rothschild wine, you'll go in any direction where that is.
VERJEE: Rothschild wine, darling. Only the best for the Queen of England. I asked why they didn't put a bottle of champagne there and they said it was tradition, so they're sticking to it.
PHILLIPS: I love it. All right, Zain Verjee always gets the fun gigs now and then. Zain, great to see you.
