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Jobs, Economy Critical Issues in Midterms; President Obama Talks Infrastructure; Miners on Brink of Rescue; Marijuana on the Ballots; HIV & the Black Church

Aired October 11, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that does it for us. We'll be back here tomorrow. Thanks for joining us.

Tony Harris picks it up from here -- Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, have a great day. Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. Good to see you.

HARRIS: And good morning to you, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Monday, October 11th. This is Columbus Day.

Marijuana a special focus this week. The drug, a potent issue this election cycle in four states. One, California, wants to make marijuana legal and tax it to fill the state's empty coffers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER REUTER, EXPERT, DRUG MARKETS & DRUG POLICY: Governments certainly, if they become promoters of legalized marijuana, legislate the stuff, it's clearly for -- in most cases would be for revenue reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A drill finally reaches Chile's trapped miners, giving light at the end of tunnel. If all goes as planned, the men are expected to begin resurfacing as early as Wednesday.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM. .

Just 22 days until the midterm elections, and President Obama is focusing on perhaps the most critical issue -- jobs. The president making a push for a new infrastructure plan designed to build up the job market by building roads and bridges.

So we begin with politics and the economy. From your job and the unemployment problem, to your home and the latest foreclosure crisis, issues that could affect your vote as we move closer to Election Day. We are breaking down the politics with White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. And Christine Romans of our Money team updates us on where we stand on jobs and foreclosures.

Let's start with Suzanne.

And Suzanne, we're minutes away from the president making remarks this morning. What are we expecting to hear from the president?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, as you can see, it's a beautiful day here in the Rose Garden. We expect the president in just moments.

He's actually meeting with several governors, as well as mayors, both Democrats, Republicans, a few of his members of the cabinet, to talk about, to unveil what he first talked about on Labor Day, at that is $50 billion worth of infrastructure projects, building railways, roads, repairing runways, those kinds of things. The big push here, Tony, is obviously before midterm elections to try to make the pitch here that he is doing everything he can, the administration everything they can, to create more jobs, specifically for the middle class.

So they are talking about three segments. They're talking about manufacturing, retail and construction. These three areas have lost tremendous jobs.

If they were able to create the numbers, the kinds of jobs in those sectors, they believe this would make a big difference for the middle class. That is what the president is going to convey today, hoping that voters will come out and support the Democrats in the midterm elections.

He has been making the case across the country at large rallies here. At the White House, he is going to be emphasizing that this is a different kind of approach than the Republicans, but to make clear, Tony, this is important for the president, to get Republican support as well as Democratic support, because he is asking members of Congress to put this legislation on the table, to consider spending more money to create these jobs. And that is something so far, Tony, that Republicans have been saying is not a good idea -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. And Suzanne, we have to ask about the timing all of this, certainly the Labor Day announcement of this initiative and remarks this morning in a couple of minutes.

The midterms, as you mentioned, just weeks away. What are the chances of Congress signing off anything? I mean, Congress is not in session, not in Washington right now.

MALVEAUX: Well, there's very little chance at all, there's very little hope that there is going to be any of this kind of legislation that is going to be introduced anytime soon. The White House in some ways recognizes that.

If you talk to senior administration officials, as I have, they will say, look, we understand it's going to be a lame-duck session. After the November midterm elections, very unlikely that this is going to be put on the floor, but this sets the political stage for next year.

This is going to be a high priority of the administration. They're certainly hoping that some members of Congress, if they lay this out in a convincing way, will, at the very least, take it on. But you know, Tony, right now, before the midterm elections, there are some Democrats who are really trying to keep their distance here from the White House.

HARRIS: Oh yes.

MALVEAUX: They're going to let all of that work itself out, the dust settle, see if, in fact, the Democrats can hold their majorities in the House and Senate, and figure out where to go from there -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Suzanne Malveaux in the Rose Garden of the White House. We will check in with Suzanne right after we hear from the president.

Let's do this -- let's keep that picture of the Rose Garden and the door there from the White House in the box there while we talk to Christine Romans. The White House says the infrastructure plan would put middle class people back to work.

So let's do that. Let's bring in our Christine Romans. She's part of our Money team and she's joining us from New York.

And Christine, if you would, let's do this -- two things here. Give us a bit of a reset on the jobs picture as it stands right now. And then I guess the follow to that would be, how much of an impact would this latest proposal have on the numbers?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, a look at the jobs market.

Clearly, the president wants to stimulate the labor market. And clearly, he wants to show the American people that he's at least trying, if indeed, as Suzanne pointed out, you're not going to see any kind of legislation until sometime next year.

We have 9.5 million people in this country who are working part time, Tony, but want to be working full time. We have 15 million who aren't working at all, and that doesn't count the millions more who have simply dropped out of the labor market.

So we have a situation that's untenable for a modern democracy, to have this many people out of work. And that's what they're going for here.

Now, we've spent a great deal of money on infrastructure spending through the stimulus, you might recall, some 48 billion on road-type projects. Of that, I think $39 billion is in the works, has been allocated, and is working on projects as we speak. So, $48 billion was already in there in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $39 billion has gone out the door, and now this would be $50 billion on top of that. The White House, Recovery.gov, says that that $39 billion that's already been spent, you know, it supported maybe 62,000 jobs and will continue to support jobs. So that gives you kind of a picture of how much money we're talking about when the rubber meets the road, so to speak, that they're trying to get out the door, and working on America's roads. Also, the railroads and also runway improvements as well -- Tony.

HARRIS: So, ,Christine, there is also a lot of news out. It started on Friday and there was more over the weekend on homes, people's homes, foreclosures, and that process. Bring us up to speed.

ROMANS: It's a total and utter chaotic mess. And people in the process know it and have been complaining about it for years, and now you've got judges in these 23 states, first, where a court has to approve a foreclosure.

They were beginning to notice something called robo-signing, where banks were not reviewing foreclosure documents and simply signing off on them. And that is something that many courts were starting to become concerned with and also many people going through the foreclosure process.

Now you have got the big banks, Bank of America, suspending foreclosure sales in all 50 states, Tony. That means if you're somebody who has been waiting to buy a foreclosed home and you're on the cusp of a deal, that deal is now on hold.

It's a national timeout on foreclosure sales, and it's unparalleled in the housing market. It raises all kinds of uncertainty about when we're going to get all of these bad loans through the system so the housing market can heal. And it raises a lot of questions about the shoddy paperwork on the way in, in the mortgage process, and on the way out as well.

HARRIS: There you go. There you go.

All right, Christine. Good to see you. See you next hour.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: And once again, we are waiting for the president at the Rose Garden of the White House. He's going to make additional announcements about the infrastructure program that he wants Congress to work on. And likely, in the lame-duck session of Congress after the November midterm elections.

So we'll keep that picture squeezed there as we go on to other news here.

The economy is -- OK -- a big-time ballot issue in November. Let's do this -- let's get you to the Rose Garden now. We're just moments away from the president of the United States.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody. I just had a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner; Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; and governors like Ed Rendell; mayors like Antonio Villaraigosa; and economists and engineers from across the country to discuss one of America's greatest challenges, our crumbling infrastructure and the urgent need to put Americans back to work, upgrading it for the 21st century. We are also joined today by two former transportation secretaries of both political parties, Sam Skinner, who served under president George H. W. Bush, and Norm Mineta, who served in the cabinets of both President Clinton and President George W. Bush.

They're here today because they are passionate about this task. Their cooperation and, indeed, this country's very history, proves that this is something for which there has traditionally been broad bipartisan support.

So, Sam and Norm have been leading a bipartisan group of more than 80 experts who, just last week, released a call to action, demanding a fundamental overhaul of how America approaches funding and building our infrastructure. And today, my Treasury Department and my Council of Economic Advisers have released our own study. And these reports confirm what any American can already tell you, our infrastructure is woefully inefficient, and it is outdated.

For years, we have deferred tough decisions, and today our aging system of highways and byways, air routes and rail lines hinder our economic growth. Today, the average American household is forced to spend more on transportation each year than food.

Our roads, clogged with traffic, costs us $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel. Our airports, choked with passengers, costs nearly $10 billion a year in productivity losses from flight delays. And in some cases, our crumbling infrastructure costs American lives.

It should not take another collapsing bridge or failing levee to shock us into action. So we're already paying for our failure to act. And what's more, the longer our infrastructure erodes, the deeper our competitive edge erodes.

Other nations understand this. They are going all in.

Today, as a percentage of GDP, we invest less than half of what Russia does in their infrastructure, less than one-third of what Western Europe does.

Right now, China's building hundreds of thousands of new roads. Over the next 10 years, it plans to build dozens of new airports. Over the next 20, it could build as many as 170 new mass transit systems.

Everywhere else, they're thinking big, they're creating jobs today, but they're also playing to win tomorrow. So the bottom line is our shortsightedness has come due. We can no longer afford to sit still. What we need is a smart system of infrastructure equal to the needs of the 21st century, a system that encourages sustainable communities with easier access to our jobs, to our schools, to our homes. A system that decreases travel time and increases mobility. A system that cuts congestion and ups productivity. A system that reduces harmful emissions over time and creates jobs right now.

So we've already begun on this task. The Recovery Act included the most serious investment in our infrastructure since President Eisenhower built the interstate highway system in the 1950s.

And we're not just talking new and restored roads and bridges and dams and levees, but we're also talking a smart electric grid, and the high-speed Internet and rail lines required for America to compete in the 21st century economy. We're talking about impacts with impacts both immediate and lasting.

Tens of thousands of projects employing hundreds of thousands of workers are already under way across America. We're improving 40,000 miles of road and rebuilding water and sewer systems.

We're implementing a smarter, more stable, more secure electric grid across 46 states that will increase access to renewable sources of energy and cut costs for customers. We're moving forward with projects that connects communities across the country to broadband Internet and connect 31 states via a true high-speed rail network. And what's more, a great many of these projects are coming in under budget.

By investing in these projects, we have already created hundreds of thousands of jobs. But the fact remains that nearly one in five construction workers is still unemployed and needs a job. And that makes absolutely no sense at a time when there's so much of America that needs rebuilding. So that's why last month I announced a new plan for upgrading America's road, rails and runways for the long term.

Over the next six years, we will rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads, enough to circle the world six times. We will lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways, enough to stretch from coast to coast. And we will restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next-generation air traffic control system that reduces delays for the American people.

This plan will be fully paid for. It will not add to our deficit over time. And we are going to work with Congress to see to that.

It will establish an infrastructure bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on the smartest investments. We want to cut waste and bureaucracy by consolidating and collapsing more than 100 different often duplicative programs. And it will change the way Washington works by reforming the federal government's patchwork approach to funding and maintaining our infrastructure.

We've got to focus less on wasteful earmarks, outdated formulas. We've got to focus more on competition and innovation. Less on shortsighted political policies and more on our national economic priorities.

So, investing in the infrastructure is something that members of both political parties have always supported. It's something that groups ranging from the Chamber of Commerce to the AFL-CIO support today. And by making these investments across the country, we won't just make our economy run better over the long haul, we will create good, middle class jobs right now.

There's no reason why we can't do this. There's no reason why the world's best infrastructure should lie beyond our borders.

This is America. We've always had the best infrastructure. This is work that needs to be done. There are workers who are ready to do it. All we need is the political will. This is a season for choices, and this is the choice between decline and prosperity and between the past and the future.

Our futures that never been predestined. It has been built on the hard work and sacrifices of previous generations. They invested yesterday for what we have today.

That's how we built canals and railroads and highways and ports that allowed our economy to grow by leaps and bounds. That's how we led the world in the pursuit of new technologies and innovations. That's what allowed us to build the middle class and lead the global economy in the 20th century. And if we're going to lead it in the 21st, that's the vision we can't afford to lose sight of right now.

That's the challenge that's fallen to this generation. That's the challenge that this country is going to meet. And with the help of these gentlemen men behind me, and I hope strong bipartisan support, I have no doubt that we will meet these challenges.

Thank you very much, everybody.

HARRIS: There you have it. The president wants to continue to invest in infrastructure repairs and improvements around the country, and he wants Congress to sign off on legislation to do just that, to spend more money on roads and bridges, and in the process streamlining procurement, adding new technologies.

The president making comments from the Rose Garden today.

Their escape route is ready, their families are more than ready. Now, the miners are preparing for the ride of their lives.

We will take to you Chile.

And the markets have been open for a while now. Let's take a look at the Big Board and see where we are to start the day.

The Dow in -- where are my numbers? There we go. A little closer there.

There we go. It's flat. It's a flat morning so far. Unchanged. It's a flat morning. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What seemed impossible just 67 days ago could now be less than 48 hours away, the rescue of 33 Chilean miners. The big breakthrough came on Saturday morning.

Listen to my colleague T.J. Holmes on the air with CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Chile.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are following a breaking story out of Chile this morning. The folks there are celebrating. Let me show you and let me tell you why.

At the site where 33 miners have been trapped since August the 5th, some two months these guys have been down there underground, some 2,300 feet below, but it just a couple of hours ago when rescuers were finally able to cut through. They've been drilling literally a 2,300 foot hole, if you will, down to the mine where these men have been trapped.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At exactly 8:01 this morning, the Plan B drill team broke through. And we've heard there was as much celebration among the drillers as with the family members.

The miners, we've been told, are taking this very calm. They're somewhat serene. They're preparing for what comes next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Searching for a job? You could actually catch a break from Uncle Sam if you follow some tips from our own Christine Romans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The jobs market took another blow last month. Another 95,000 people lost their jobs.

If you're looking for work, listen up here. You could get a break from the government.

Christine Romans here with some tax write-off tips.

Wow. All right, Christine. I'm all ears.

ROMANS: All right. You want to save every single job hunting receipt, Tony.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROMANS: You might be able to write off some of the expenses come tax season. And I want to tell you, some you can, some you can't. So you're going to need to grab Publication 529 from the IRS Web site, IRS.gov.

Last year's was about 24 pages long. It's called Miscellaneous Deductions. It's also tells you n here whether you can write off your gambling winnings. So it goes right in there.

Here's a quick and easy reference for you to tell you what you can deduct. I've gone through it for you.

You can deduct the resume and the cover letter printing and preparation. You can deduct travel to another city to research companies. No, not a family vacation for five days in Hawaii. No, no, no.

But if you can prove that you are researching companies and you've traveled to another part of the country with a lower unemployment rate, yes, you can deduct that. You can deduct fees that you've paid to an employment agency.

And you can even -- this one surprised me, Tony -- you need to get a baby-sitter and some travel expenses to an interview, you can deduct the cost of the baby-sitter so you can get out to an interview. That one really surprised me.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. I'm understanding here that you are sort of out of luck if you are a recent college grad. Maybe you can explain this one to us, Christine.

ROMANS: OK. So if you just graduated from college, you're not really a member of the labor market. That initial job search for new graduates, you cannot deduct that from your taxes.

Also, you cannot deduct, say, your clothes -- you need a new outfit. I want to get a laptop, some technology to surf the Web boards, no, you can't do the jobs boards. You can't do that.

If you've been out of work for a really long time and you're looking for a new career, there are no deductions there. So people who are stay-at-home parents, you're retired or you've been unemployed for a period of years, you cannot write off these jobs expenses.

And you cannot write off costs, Tony, if they're related to a new kind of field. So, say you were in manufacturing, now you are looking for a job in nursing. We keep telling people to do that. You can't write off the expenses of that job switch. Interesting.

HARRIS: Well, let me ask you a question before you move on. If you're a student right out of college, and you establish a shingle as a new online media company, right, and you get yourself a tax I.D., you become a corporation, can you then potentially write off some of those job expenses, search expenses through this new entity?

ROMANS: If you fire yourself and you're out of work? You have to be out of work. You have to prove that you're out of work.

So, if you put your shingle up, I don't know. I don't think that I would trust myself to be able to do that. I would consult a tax preparation professional before I did something like that.

HARRIS: You're smart. You're smart. You're smart.

ROMANS: You know, and you're not going to get a ton of cash if you do this as well. I mean, remember -- but every little bit helps. And if you are out there looking for a job and you've been recently unemployed, I would say, really, keep every single receipt. And it's just a little something, I guess, at the end of the year to get back.

HARRIS: Yes. And speaking of smart, you've got a whole book about smart, being the new rich, don't you?

ROMANS: I know. I put all of this in "Smart is the New Rich." And Tony, I also put some really -- there's about 100 pages in there about how to get the job, how to keep it, and how to excel at it.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: The experts are telling me -- and I've told you many times. The experts are saying now is the time to be moving up at work as well, and there's some tricks to the trade on how to do that. So it's all in there.

HARRIS: Really? OK.

Everyone, there it is, Christine Romans, the new book.

ROMANS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Good to see you, lady. Thank you.

ROMANS: Bye, Tony.

HARRIS: A look at marijuana initiatives that are coming to a ballot near you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Marijuana is on four state ballots this November. And California voters will decide on Prop 19, which would allow small amounts of marijuana on a person to be legal and taxable. In South Dakota and Arizona, the issue is legalizing marijuana to treat various medical conditions. And in Oregon, where medical marijuana has been legal for some time, the question before voters, should the sale of medical marijuana be available through dispensaries?

Over the next few days, CNN NEWSROOM will take a look at the marijuana argument as it stands today and ask what "yes" votes could mean for Americans in the future.

Joe Johns looks at a few states that want to turn marijuana, the s-called "gateway drug" into a major cash crop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Not one, not two, not three, but four states have initiatives on the ballot this fall that would change their marijuana laws in big ways, and one of those initiatives, the one in California, Proposition 19, it's called, would pretty much legalize retail sales of the drug for recreational use. That's right, if the voters go for it, what once was called the gateway drug, the so-called evil weed that led to cocaine, heroin, ruined lives and sent thousands upon thousands to jail, could suddenly after all these years become OK to do for fun in California.

The three other states with pending legislation - Oregon, South Dakota, and Arizona, are looking to either legalize marijuana for medical purposes or to modify the medical marijuana laws they already have in place. It turns out, coast to coast, 14 states and the District of Columbia already allow medical use, which is something a former national anti-drug czar sees as a problem.

To him this stuff is like booze and if legalized, it will have the same negative effect on society.

JOHN WALTERS, THE HUDSON INSTITUTE: An intoxicant does make people feel usually euphoric, in fact, it's part of the pathway to addiction. But it doesn't mean there's medical jack Daniels or that there's medical meth or medical crack or medical heroin. This is a sham.

JOHNS (voice-over): OK. So how did we get here anyway, especially considering all of the reminders we've had about the evils of marijuana, the old black and white movie "Reefer Madness" warning the public about it.

NANCY REAGAN, FMR. U.S. FIRST LADY: Just say no.

JOHNS: Or former first lady Nancy Reagan's famous "just say no to drugs" campaign in the 1980s.

Criminologist Peter Reuter says attitudes have changed about marijuana especially since medical marijuana, though controversial, has become a legal reality.

PETER REUTER, EXPERT, DRUG MARKETS & DRUG POLICY: It does give an aura of usefulness to this drug which previously in every public presentation by any official agency was always very negative.

JOHNS: Use of the drug hasn't exactly skyrocketed recently, but the one thing that has changed is the economy. Money-hungry states are looking for new sources of revenue and already wondering whether pot is the next cash crop.

REUTER: Governments certainly, if they become promoters of legalized marijuana, the legislature start (INAUDIBLE), it's clearly for - in most cases it will be for revenue reasons.

JOHNS (on camera): Still, some predict legalization in California could cause chaos starting in the courts. Such a state law, if passed would clash with federal law, launching a big battle that could end up in the Supreme Court. (voice-over): But for now, it's all just a pipe dream with a lot of speculation, though the world of drug enforcement could look a lot different when the smoke clears on Election Day.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And at noon, Elizabeth Cohen will join me with a look at what medical marijuana is used for.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You are watching CNN, the place for politics and that is the big talker this morning. In just 22 days, millions of voters will cast ballots in the hotly contested midterm elections. Voting is already under way in 10 states and let's get you up to speed on what's at stake.

Come November, Americans will decide the fate of all 435 House seats and 37 Senate seats. At the same time, 37 states will elect governors. They say all politics is local, but ultimately, it comes down to the balance of power. Republicans hope to take back enough seats to regain control over the House and Senate from the Democrats.

The House is the most contentious battleground. Republicans must win 39 seats to become the majority. Difficult, but not impossible. In the Senate, the GOP needs to take back 10 seats to become the majority.

Got to tell you, the midterm season is known for big, big time turnovers. The biggest in recent memory was 1994, when Republicans flipped 54 seats under the guidance of Newt Gingrich. In 2006, the Democrats rallied to snap up 31 seats in House, taking back control from the GOP after a 12 year reign.

Among likely voters, CNN polling shows Republicans with a seven point lead going into the election. But even more telling is what both sides of the aisle are calling the enthusiasm gap. Fifty-four percent of registered Republicans say they are pumped about going to the polls November 2nd. But only a third of Democrats are feeling the same mojo. How about that for a recap for you this morning?

Stay with CNN for all of your political coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control say one in every sixteen black men will contract HIV in lifetimes; for black women it is one in thirty. Even though the virus is common in the black community, it is considered a stigma to even talk about it.

Soledad O'Brien talks with one man daring to try.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Two illnesses threaten Jeffrey Gavin, his church knows only about one.

JEFFREY GAVIN, MEMBER, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: I have what's called Marfan Syndrome. That makes me tall. I am constantly in pain. I don't have the gene that produces connective tissue.

O'BRIEN: He feels compelled to tell his pastor, Buster Soaries, the rest of his story.

GAVIN: No longer am I dying from Marfans, but I'm living with HIV.

O'BRIEN: Jay Gavin, as his friends know him, found out he was HIV positive four years ago. He's never mentioned it in church. Keeping that kind of secret is common in the African-American community.

REV. DEFOREST "BUSTER" SOARIES, SENIOR PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: If the average person in this church knew how many people they interacted with in this church who were HIV positive, it would be scandalous.

O'BRIEN: Pastor Soaries doesn't know Gavin's HIV status yet. Gavin's going to tell him today. Gavin knows he's not alone. Statistically in his church of 7,000 people, there should be about 100 other members with the disease.

The CDC says it's the stigma in the African-American community that's putting many blacks at higher risk of contracting the disease. Nearly half of the people living with HIV in the United States are African-American.

GAVIN: Hi, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, how are you?

GAVIN: Good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

GAVIN: Jeffrey Gavin for Pastor. I have a 4:00 meeting with him.

O'BRIEN: Gavin is gay and contracted HIV from sex, but the message he wants to send to his community is everyone can get it.

SOARIES: How are you doing, man?

GAVIN: Thank you so much -- well, thank you for this.

SOARIES: How are you doing?

O'BRIEN: After an hour-long meeting, they finally emerge.

SOARIES: Man.

GAVIN: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: You look so relieved.

GAVIN: I am. I want to shout for joy because I see the avenue that this is leading to.

O'BRIEN: Gavin sees himself as an ambassador leading open discussions, but his pastor has a more tempered response.

SOARIES: Whether or not he is a symbol of something that can be healthy for the church and inspiring for people who are HIV positive, I think that remains to be seen.

O'BRIEN: Regardless of the outcome, Gavin says he'll keep pushing.

Reporting for "In America," Soledad O'Brien, Somerset, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: I got to tell you, the black church has fought for civil and human rights and now is waging a war on debt and fighting a financial crisis from the pulpit. Check out "ALMIGHTY DEBT" a "Black In America" on Thursday, October 21st at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Counting down and keeping you updated on the latest news hot off the Political Ticker. It is just 22 days until the midterm elections. Paul Steinhauser with "The Best Political Team on Television" joining us now from Washington, D.C.

Paul, good morning to you. What is crossing right now, sir?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Tony, in fact, this is so brand-new, you get it first. It's not even up online yet.

HARRIS: Love it.

STEINHAUSER: You got it. Our brand-new poll numbers. CNN Opinion Research Corporation, this is a national survey. And check this out, we asked whether you Americans approve or disapprove of how Democrats or Republicans are doing in Congress. Check these numbers out, it's interesting -- 34 percent of the people questioned in this national survey say they give the Democrats in Congress a thumbs up. That's a pretty low number, but even lower is the -- you can see right there -- that actually should be 31 percent for the GOP, Tony, not 64. So 34 percent, give the Democrats a thumbs up, only 31 percent give the Republicans.

Take a look at the next number, though, and this is also interesting. We asked economic policies who would do better, like would the Democrats if they keep control of Congress, would their better, or the Republicans? There 47 percent say Republicans, 41 percent say the Democrats. You can see it right there in that board, Tony.

So you know what? While they don't think highly of either party in Congress, they think the Republican policies on the economy would be slightly, slightly better.

Hey, let's go to some live pictures right now.

HARRIS: Let's do it.

STEINHAUSER: Lexington, Kentucky, this is the University of Kentucky, and who is there? The former President Bill Clinton hanging out today, the headliner at a rally for Jack Conway, he's the attorney general down there, he is running for the Senate seat, he is the Democrats nominee.

I tell you, this is a really busy day for the former president. Starts in Kentucky, you see him right there, then going to West Virginia to campaign with the Democrat Senate nominee there. Tony, he ends his day up in upstate New York near Syracuse where he'll be campaigning with a Democrat in the House facing a tough reelection.

What do all three of these places have in common? They are areas with more conservative and moderate voters, areas where former President Clinton may be arguably more popular than the current guy, Barack Obama. That's why you see Bill Clinton in these places.

And finally, talking about Barack Obama, how about this war of words between him and Karl Rove, the former senior adviser to President Bush. Karl Rove, of course, is one of the people who is associated with American Crossroads, that's a new group this year that's raising a lot of money and spending a lot of money for Republican candidates. The president calling him out and his organization out yesterday and the Democrats doing the same thing in a new ad and can Karl Rove firing right back.

Heated stuff, you can see it all on the CNN Political Ticker, Tony.

HARRIS: You're the president of the United States. Why do you -- ? All right, Paul. Good to see you. See you next hour, thank you, sir.

Your next political update in an hour and for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.

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HARRIS: OK. Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

A cruise ship fit for a queen. A new luxury liner is officially named after Queen Elizabeth today. Our Zain Verjee takes us on a tour give you a tour as the ship prepares for its maiden voyage. And medical marijuana, more states vote on the issue in 22 days. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen examines what medical marijuana is used to treat and how it works.

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HARRIS: Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer of our new prime time show "PARKER/SPITZER" talked with economist Paul Krugman about spending more while the nation has such an enormous budget deficit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": You're a big fan of deficits spending. You say to get something we have to spend more. But for the average American at home who may already be in debt, the idea of spending when you don't have money doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Can you explain why that's a good economic model?

PAUL KRUGMAN, ECONOMIST: Yes. Now, it's not at all times, right? When the economy has recovered, once we're back at a point where we have a self-sustaining expansion, when businesses are spending because they're using their capacity, then you actually want to try and pay down the debt, certainly stop borrowing so much.

But right now, nobody wants to spend. Businesses don't want to spend because consumers don't want to spend and the economy is deeply depressed and the only player out there who can get this economy moving is the government. So now is the time for the government to go ahead and borrow, spend, get this economy moving, and then be responsible, then pull back, but only after we have got this thing going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And for more opinions, ideas and analysis, don't miss CNN's newest show, "PARKER/SPITZER," weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.