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Foreclosure Investigation; Fiery Debate in Delaware; All Miners Out, Shaft Sealed in Chile; New Mexican Prosecutor Leading Investigation of Missing Man on Falcon Lake After Former Investigator Beheaded; Court Hearing Today in Michigan for Underwear Bomber. Hurricane Paula Threatening Cuba; President Obama Taking Message to Young Voters; Goldie Hawn Develops New Program to Help Children Learn Better; Countdown to Election Day; Mosque Vandalized with Bacon

Aired October 14, 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. And good morning, everybody.

Some of those Chilean miners getting their first glimpse of morning light in more than two months.

All the guys out of the mine. Now the recovery, the quality time with family and telling all those personal stories.

A Texas man allegedly murdered on a lake. Now the head of the lead -- now the head of the investigation -- the Mexican investigator, his head handed over in a suitcase.

And yet another example of hate and ignorance at work. The word "pig" spelled out in bacon, laid out in front of this mosque. We're going to talk about it.

I'm Kyra Phillips and you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're going to begin this hour with a dismal measure of the economy and a staggering number of Americans who have run out of hope. Just last month alone, banks seized more than 100,000 homes. That's a record.

And if you broaden that focus to the last three months, the breakdown is even more bleak. Across the nation, one of every 139 homeowners received foreclosure filings last quarter and in some places it's even worse. Much worse. Like in Nevada.

One in every 29 homeowners got those papers. And amid the heartbreak of growing sense of outrage. Many foreclosures have skirted the law and all 50 states are now launching an investigation.

Christine Romans is joining us with more on that.

Christine, it's pretty devastating for folks.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. And it started as a real big mess and it's only getting bigger. Fifty states investigating whether the mortgage industry was rushing through foreclosures without really checking properly the paperwork from the banking perspective.

They're saying that they have a time-out on many of these foreclosure sale. They're going to just double and triple check their work to make sure thing everything is OK. But attorneys general in every state say they want an investigation to make sure there were not -- nothing illegal happened here. And people weren't kicked out of their houses for the wrong reasons.

I want to tell you just how big the scope is of this foreclosure problem. Last month, according to RealtyTrac as you just reported, Kyra, more than 100,000 homes were seized by the sheriff and repossessed by the bangs.

We have never seen that many homes turned back over to the bank ever. That's about two homes every single minute.

In many cases, Kyra, people have been long gone out of these houses. They've stopped paying their bills months or years before and the banks is just repossessing. Many people think that these numbers are going to go down in the next couple of months because the banks aren't repossessing right now because of this -- all these problems with the paperwork.

But the bottom line here is we still have a lot of problems and a lot of uncertainty in the housing market and until you fix this foreclosure problem, you're still going to have trouble getting the housing market back on its feet -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Well, then you've got the issue of -- you've got all these homes that are seized, then you've got late payments for mortgages, right?

ROMANS: Absolutely. And think if you're the person who's living in a neighborhood where there are three or four of these homes that have been seized and you thought that maybe they'd be sold at auction, you'd be able to get that supply off the market.

You haven't now. Now your own home value is going down, as well. So there are a lot of concerns about what this means for neighborhoods, about houses sitting empty. In some cases there are people, Kyra, for the first time ever were going to be able to buy a home, they were going to buy a foreclosed home at sale.

Those sales have stopped so now they have missed this opportunity at least for now to buy a home.

And, Kyra, one -- more number I want to leave you with before we go. Five million people in this country are late on their mortgage. At least 5 million are late in some stage of the foreclosure process.

That means we still have a very, very big problem. And a lot of work to do in the housing market.

PHILLIPS: All right, Christine, pretty dismal news.

Well, just minutes ago we received more dismal news actually. New numbers on how many Americans are filing for unemployment benefits for the very first time. Initial claims actually rose by 13,000 last week.

Here's the new number. 462,000. That's pretty much what we've seen over the past year. Initial jobless claims have been stuck in a tight range since November and economists say that it's another sign of a glum economy.

They say that the real economic recovery can't even take hold until those weekly claims drop to 400,000 or less.

Well in Delaware, Joe Biden held the Senate seat for nearly 40 years and now the battle to replace him captures the voter anger and apprehension that's swirling around this year's midterm elections.

With less than three weeks before the vote, the two candidates squared off in a debate carried last night on CNN. They sparred over a lot of familiar themes, too. Democratic loyalty to an unpopular president and the GOP's uneasy alliance with Tea Party politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I've had to fight my party to be here on this stage, to win the nomination and to some extent I am still fighting my party.

So my -- when I go to Washington, my allegiance will be to the voters of Delaware. Not any special interests.

CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I have a real practical record of having reached bipartisan solutions here in county government, of working with the elected Republicans who served with me on county council, and on council while I've been county executive.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now let's get straight to our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger. She was there through the night. She's back at the University of Delaware this morning.

So, Gloria, what do you think? What does it mean for the next 19 days? Is this initial romanticism of a candidate being so against the grain wearing off?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I think that's what she clearly was trying to do tonight in that clip you just showed. Both of those candidates were trying to appeal to the independent voters.

Independent voters are going to be very, very important in this state. There's a lot of disaffected Democrats as well that you saw her trying to appeal to. But right now in our recent CNN poll just released yesterday, she's 19 points behind, Kyra.

So she's got quite a heavy lift right now. Last night she was on the attack. She was quite aggressive. And so she's trying to change the storyline from the way she was introduced to the voters of this date which is somebody who said she dabbled in witchcraft, et cetera, to somebody who really is like them and is frustrated and cares about the issues and will take that to Washington. And not be owned by the special interests or her Republican Party.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Gloria, thanks so much.

And the other big story we were talking about last night in addition to the debate, you just couldn't have scripted the Chile miners' rescue any better. Overnight, rescuers actually pulled out the last man. Chile's president sealed the shaft and now the miners are getting their health checked.

Take a look at the greeting that they got at the hospital.

It wasn't just around the nation but it's the hospital, too. I think every place in Chile. One of those miners actually is in intensive care, though. He got pneumonia and a couple of others are going to need some dental surgery. But apart from that, all 33 miners are expected to be fine.

Let's go ahead and check in with the hospital now. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is there.

Are we still seeing that kind of excitement this early or I guess this late now?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Absolutely. And CNN photo journalist Todd Baxter and I were there last night when they were admitted to the hospital.

I don't know if there's ever been an admission to the hospital where the patient got a standing ovation. But that's what we saw. People up on chairs, crowded in this hallway just cheering their heart out.

And the amazing thing is, as the miners went by, some in wheelchairs and their scrubs and their Oakley sunglasses, they were just as interested in us and who we were doing and what we were doing there as we were in them.

Kyra, I want to show you very quickly the local newspaper here. "Diario de (INAUDIBLE)," and it says here, really says it best. "Mission Accomplished, Chile." And what a spectacular rescue last night. What a spectacular end to an incredible story.

You know, while those final rescues were going on, we were out here reporting live, Kyra. And we can hear from the second and fourth floors of this hospital the miners cheering with each rescue. They're getting very loud, getting very boisterous.

You know these men have been told to take it easy and of course they really don't follow any one's instructions. They do what they want to do. And they were cheering along last night.

We were told that every single patient in this hospital last night was -- had their TV set tuned to the rescues including the most important patients, the miners.

They're all here, Kyra. The president of Chile will be here a little bit later this morning and will be -- again greeting them as he did with each rescue each time they're pulled to the surface.

And some more good news, Kyra. Some of them are expected to be released from the hospital here behind me here today. These are strong guys. They're going to pull through. And some of them are going to get to go home to the families today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's so great. And I'm just, Patrick, real quickly, do we know if we're going to hear from any of these guys? I had heard that they had made some sort of pact that they weren't going to talk to the media. Do we know?

OPPMANN: You know, we just don't at this point. You know I've talked to a couple of relatives quickly who've been in to see them. And they just say that they're doing well, they're fine and, you know, these guys have got a -- need a little bit of space for everything they've been through.

You know it's hard to imagine someone like Mario Sepulveda keeping quiet. And he seems to have so much to say. I surely hope that we'll get to talk to him. Surely hope we get to hear their stories because what a story it's going to be -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. No doubt. Patrick, thanks so much.

And in just a few minutes, we're actually going to take a look at all the rescue highlights and there's a lot of them, 33 of them. You love the story, you're going to want to see it. It's at half past the hour.

Well, we're not sure how the Falcon Lake story is going to turn out but it won't have a happy ending. An American man is still missing. And the Mexican investigator who was looking for him, his head turns up in a suitcase.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, there's fear that a missing Texas man's body might never be found. David Hartley's wife says that he was shot and killed on Falcon Lake on the Mexican border.

Authorities said the gunmen were probably pirates linked to a drug cartel. The lead Mexican investigator in the case, well, his head turned up in a suitcase this week. Authorities think drug cartel members killed him.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in McAllen, Texas to tell us where the investigation goes now -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, investigators on the U.S. side are continuing their search, they say. They will continue to do that. The sheriff in the county where Falcon Lake is says that it has -- for now, he has no plans to stop. And really, it's mostly he said to send a message that they're not quitting and essentially kind of read that as a message to the other side where given the news that has happened this week that the beheading of the investigator, the lead investigator on this case, the sheriff on this side knows full well that that sends a chilling message down through the ranks as the next investigator has to fill those shoes.

We spoke yesterday with Tiffany Hartley, the wife of David Hartley, the American believed to be killed on Falcon Lake. She said she met with this investigator last Wednesday and then six days after their meeting he turned up dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARTLEY, WIFE OF DAVID HARTLEY: I met him. He sat right next to me. We talked through to a translator and he just seemed like a really good guy who really wanted to just do good for -- you know, his country.

LAVANDERA: But do you worry that the next person is going to say, hey, look, I saw what happened to the guy before me, I'm not interested?

HARTLEY: Yes. It is. It is. It's -- you know, it definitely makes me worried that nobody is going to want to take over but right now they're still searching and until, you know, they decided that, you know, they needed to back off or whatever, I mean, until that day comes, but right we're still asking please search for David. Please, you know, find him so we can, you know, go home.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: The sheriff in Zapata County says it looked this murder of this investigator is a clear message to those other investigators to back off from the investigation, to stop the search.

This area on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake is an area believed to be heavily controlled by drug cartel members and an area that even investigators don't feel safe going into at this point -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Ed, we'll definitely stay on the story. We appreciate it.

We also want to bring in CNN producer Nick Valencia. He's actually been talking with the Mexican investigator whose head later turned up in a suitcase. Now there's this new Mexican prosecutor leading the investigation, but before we get to that, you were having communications with this investigator that turned up dead. That's got to be kind of eerie. Did he ever express to you he was worried about his life or something like this could happen?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN PRODUCER: No. He never said anything that his life was in danger, that he was threatened, but when you take a job as a lead investigator in an area controlled by Los Zetas, which has a reputation of being one of the most ruthless, if not the most ruthless cartel in Mexico, you know the chances that you're taking. And he was very open, very transparent with the investigation, was very good with information, the information that he offered to reporters. So, he never mentioned, though, that he was threatened, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now you've got this new prosecutor. Is he returning your calls? Is he being as open with you as the man who just turned up beheaded?

VALENCIA: That's interesting. I called him about 15 times yesterday, maybe more, and left several messages with his secretary in his office. He's not gotten back to us or any other media, for that matter. He's being very tight-lipped about the investigation.

And folks over there on the other side of the border, on the Mexican side, are very nervous. Now, Rolando Flores, the lead investigator's head turns up in a suitcase, put on Mexican military outpost, and now what we're seeing is very strong intimidation by the Zetas.

PHILLIPS: Sure. So, you've got this new prosecutor, I guess you could understand why he's not returning your calls. He probably wants to limit all communication. When you're dealing with a drug cartel, it's like a death wish.

VALENCIA: Yes. And he has categorically denied in past statements to the media that the incident occurred as Hartley -- as Tiffany Hartley is saying it occurred. He wants more information. In fact, yesterday we spoke to the spokesman for the state attorney general's office, and they're asking for more information from Tiffany Hartley. They want a -- she already submitted a formal inquiry about eight days ago through the US consulate in Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo, but now they want more information so that they say that they can solve this case faster.

PHILLIPS: Now, a lot of people are not believing her story. Any kind of inside information you might have gotten from this Mexican investigator? Because the Mexicans still don't believe her story for the most part. Why?

VALENCIA: There is an interesting intelligence report that came out yesterday by Stratfor, which is a global security intelligence agency. And what they claim is that this was a case of mistaken identity. That these folks, the Hartleys lived on the Mexican side of the border in Reynosa. They had Mexican plates. They were in an area that wasn't often -- that's not frequented by tourists. So, for them to be there, they could have been mistaken for drug traffickers. This is not an area that the police go, let alone anyone else.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. We'll keep following the case. Nick, thanks so much.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. She's one of the big screen's biggest stars. Now Academy Award-winning actress and producer Goldie Hawn has a new passion in life, helping kids master their emotions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. A court hearing set today in Michigan for the so-called underwear bomber suspect. It is the first hearing since Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab fired his lawyers and chose to represent himself last month. The 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound airline flight on Christmas day.

Hurricane Paula could pass over western Cuba, threatening flash flooding and mudslides. Forecasters predict up to six inches of heavy rains. A tropical storm watch has also been issued for the Florida Keys.

President Obama taking his message to America's younger voters this afternoon. He's holding a town hall meeting sponsored by MTV, BET, and Country Music Television. We'll bring it to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN MARTIN, SINGER: I always wanted to get to know you and find out what you're really like.

GOLDIE HAWN, ACTRESS: Oh.

MARTIN: Yes. Because whenever I watch you on -- I watch you on television, you're always pretending to be so dumb. You know what I mean?

HAWN: Yes. I'm not pretending. I really am dumb.

MARTIN: You are?

HAWN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: No. She is not dumb. And you know when you see a TV clip this old and you see Dean Martin with a cigarette in the hand, boy times have changed. And so has Goldie Hawn. She's not that ditzy blond you remember from "Laugh-In." Hawn is putting her trademark smile to some really serious good. She's developed an innovative teaching program called MindUp through her non-profit foundation. The program is designed to help kids master their emotions so they can realize their real academic potential.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER ABOAGYE, SECOND GRADE STUDENT: I do it at home sometimes when my sister is, like, bothering me.

TAMIA MITCHELL, SECOND GRADE STUDENT: It can help you to relax your brain. Like, if you're taking a test and you think about the MindUp, it will help you to relax.

MRS. BRUNO, SECOND GRADE TEACHER: Children learn to focus more on it and they realize what they're doing instead of just reacting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our John Roberts got to speak with Goldie just a little while ago. OK, those kids are adorable.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The kids are adorable, no question about it. But, of course, so is Goldie Hawn. I've been speaking with her -- and don't take offense at that. Because she's -- she's just a lovely, lovely person.

PHILLIPS: Hey, she's looking good, yes.

ROBERTS: I've been talking to her a lot over the last couple of months about this new program called MindUp. It really is a way of reducing stress in a child and having them be more aware of how their brain works so that they're better able to learn. She teaches them -- the program teaches them optimism, mindfulness.

The theory, very quickly, is that if a child is under stress, any learning, any knowledge that comes in gets bottled up in the reptilian, the very primitive part of the brain, the fight or flight response. Doesn't get into the executive functioning parts of the brain. But if a child is not stressed, if they're calm and relaxed while they're learning, they learn better. Here's what she told me about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAWN: We know that we can change the brain by the way we think. If we think positive thoughts, our brain will actually lean toward that area. So when a brain is frenzied, when we're upset, when we're fearful, all these aspects of neuro-biological firing, right? In this limbic system, which is in the center part of our brain, when that's active, when a child is afraid, when there's sense of failure, when there's problems at home, they come in every day in school with real issues. We don't see them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, when she talks about these brain breaks, I mean, that sounds like meditation but she says it's not meditation. So, what's the difference?

ROBERTS: Well, I guess it uses certain meditative practices, such as controlled breathing, just kind of clearing the mind. But really, what it's all about is just sort of relaxing and getting focused, which is a part of meditation. The meditation can go much further than that.

Really, though, Kyra, what the whole thing is about is just keeping those pathways in the brain open by keeping them free of stress. They've actually done tests on children who have been in the MindUp program. They find that they exhibit lower levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, than many of their peers who are not in the program do. It's Newark schools, it's in other schools across the country. So, it could be something that we're going to hear a lot more about.

PHILLIPS: It's interesting. It'll be interesting to see if it does take off, and if more schools implement it. John, thanks so much.

ROBERTS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: For the 33 Chilean miners, the future's so bright, they got to wear shades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We just can't get enough of Super Mario or Mr. Gomez here, if you remember, who dropped to his knees in prayers when he was able to get up from the mine. In just a few minutes, we're going to look back at all the highlights. One from each of those 33 miners.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Back in early august, we had no idea how the Chilean miner drama would end. Thirty-three guys trapped half a mile underground, no quick rescue possible. Well, you couldn't have scripted a better ending. And today, all the guys are out, the shaft is sealed and most of them are doing just fine.

We want to take a look back now at an extraordinary few hours in Chile's history and in human history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incredible excitement here in Copiapo, Chile, a mining town that is very proud tonight of their 33 miners.

There's Mario Sepulveda, the second rescued miner (INAUDIBLE) is brought to the surface.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're bringing the pictures live from Copiapo, Chile, which is probably the most famous mining town in the world and Camp Hope, the informal community that's set up around it. But his sister's watching on the left of your screen. His sister's watching a live television broadcast from Bolivia, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jimmy Sanchez. This is the youngest of the 33 miners. They're about to open that capsule. He does not like confined spaces. Mining was not the profession for him and there he is. On solid ground. Stepped out of that capsule that took him 700 meters to the surface from that (INAUDIBLE) been in for 68 days. And Osman Araya, the sixth miner. We see the emotions that he's making there in the capsule. He looks OK. He's 30-years-old. He's married with three kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sincerely dramatic and emotional pictures we're seeing because I think everyone wants to look at the (INAUDIBLE)'s face to see how he looks, to see how he seems. He is the one that had some medical issues, as well. He is diabetic and required medication. But I think more than anything we just want to see him be with his family. There he is with a smile on his face.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We are now watching live about to bring miner number eight up to the surface right now. A man by the name of Claudio Yanez, 34 years old.

Can't imagine what it might be like, married for 30 years. They have children together. And she has waited there day and night in the cold saying, I'm not going home until I have you with me.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching special coverage on "AMERICAN MORNING" of the mine rescues and here he is. He's out.

Let this scene unfold. As Alex is coming out, his wife Jessica will greet him in just a second.

CHETRY: Here's his wife Jessica. Let's watch this reunion.

ROBERTS: Here comes Jorge Galleguillos to the surface. He's going to be met -- his brother Carlos is there to greet him and say hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any moment, we are waiting for the 34-year- old miner, Edison Renaldo (ph) Pena. There you see it, the 12th rescue, the 12th miner to be brought to the surface. Thirty-four year-old miner Edison Pena from Santiago, Chile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An emotional reunion.

PHILLIPS: We're talking about the 14th miner to reach the surface here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Victor Antonio (INAUDIBLE). A 48-year-old miner hugging his president as he emerges from so many days underground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to bring you live pictures now from San Jose. The San Jose mine. You are looking at the mother of miner number 16, who's making his way to the surface now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was really the best plan to get them out the soonest. Some estimates had the miners returning to the surface as late as December. And you just have to imagine already the amount of emotional trauma they've through. The physical stress of the two months and now this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the view from inside, by the way.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: There is Pablo, number 19, emerging from the hole. This is the 19th miner to be rescued.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That is Dario Antonio Segovia Rojas. He is 48-years-old. He is coming up now.

And we're going to look at miner number 21 coming up, His name is Yonni Barrios Rojas, 50-years-old. He is the chief paramedic for the group due to his previous nursing profession. That's what he served as.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 22nd miner, Samuel Avalos is making his way to the surface. There he is. Samuel Avalos, the 22nd man to emerge from what's been nearly 69 days. What it looks like as a miner emerges from the depths, really is the ride of his life.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There you see Jose Henriquez, 54- years-old. He just came out. Sixty-nine days stuck in that mine.

That's Renan Avalos, miner number 25 as he's called right now. He's 29-years-old. He just came up on this capsule. He has now been rescued. And you can see the emotion.

Let's listen in and just watch for a moment.

(CHANTING)

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we welcome you back as the Fenix 2 gets to the surface yet again on board number 26 of 33. Claudio Acuna from Copiapo.

Let's listen.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is, up by the extraction hole. Franklin Lobos stepping out of the Fenix 2 capsule.

(CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see the chanting is Chile's miners. He, hey, hey. Chile's miners. That's what they do every time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have the privilege to inform that all of the miners have been rescued, including the leader of this group and everybody is in perfect physical condition.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's it. All the miners have been rescued.

(SINGING)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That was definitely one of the stories that inspired us all across the world watching it unfold live. And we're still wondering if we'll hear from the miners now and the personal stories. Apparently they made some sort of pact underground that they weren't going to talk to the media individually. So we're still waiting to see if, indeed, it's going to happen.

Meanwhile, countdown to the midterm elections. Nineteen days and the balance of power could be shifting. We're going to look at the power brokers, hidden from view, shadowy groups who fund campaign ads to win votes. Both parties do it and today we look at the Democrats.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories real quickly. Too many Americans losing jobs. The Labor Department say that the number of people filing for jobless benefits rose 13,000, to 462,000 last week. Economists say there's little reason to celebrate an economic recovery until weekly jobless claims actually fall below 400,000 mark.

And a bridge soaring above the Colorado River, just south of the Hoover Dam, will be dedicated to the former Nevada governor Mike O'Callaghan and Pat Tillman today. Tillman is the Arizona Cardinals player that gave up his football career to serve as a U.S. Army Ranger in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's just 19 days before the midterm elections and campaign ads are filling the air waves. Those big budget productions are often funded by shadowy groups that are hidden from you -- from view rather. And both parties take the cash and then they blame each other.

CNN senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, in New York with a closer look at both parties that are doing it -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra.

You know, groups outside the candidates' campaigns are having a really big influence by running ads and pouring money into the elections more than ever before. And you may not know it listening to the president lately but those outside groups are helping Democrats as well. And some of them are also not disclosing their donors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): The president rails against Republicans for flooding the air waves with money from shadowy outside groups.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have these innocuous names like Americans for Prosperity or Americans for Apple Pie.

BASH: But take a look at these innocuous sounding names, America's Families First Action Fund, Citizens for Strength and Security Action Fund and these are Democratic outside groups set up just like Republican groups the president slams. They don't have to disclose who's funding them.

BASH (voice-over): They run ads supporting Democrats like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Murray knows small businesses are the engines of job creation.

BASH: And pump money into hard-hitting ads against GOP candidates like this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman Steve Pearce named one of the most corrupt members of Congress.

BASH (on camera): America's Families First Action Fund helped pay for this ad. This is an outside groups run by a Democratic insider. CNN is told it's someone who used to head up party efforts to elect House Democrats and he started the group five weeks ago to try to compete with Republicans.

DAVE LEVINTHAL, OPEN SECRETS/CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: This is not something that is exclusive to Republican organizations or Democratic organizations. Not to the left or the right. This is in a way a free for all, a kind of the wild west of campaign contributions.

BASH (voice-over): Democrats are also using a new weapon in the big money game, Super PACs. One of the biggest, Patriot Majority, is running ads against Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid's opponent in Nevada.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a victim or incest, Sharron Angle would force her to have the baby. Angle says --

SHARRON ANGLE (R), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, NEVADA: Two wrongs don't make a right.

BASH (on camera): Super PACs work independently of candidates and unlike regular political action committees they can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to try defeat and promote candidates. They also must disclose their donors and Democrats who formed these groups say that adds transparency.

(voice-over): Patriot Majority is funded mostly by unions and liberal-leaning groups. Craig Varoga runs Patriot Majority and says it's poised to pound Republican candidates with $10 million this election cycle. That's a lot less than some of the big Republican groups, but Varoga says he believes Democrats must try.

CRAIG VAROGA, PATRIOT MAJORITY PAC: They are goliath. And we are David and we are fighting back. And, you know, we're going to -- we're going to use the slingshot that we have in order to fight this fight. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, to be clear on that point, Republicans are outspending Democrats with regards to those outside groups, Kyra, 9 to 1 -- 9 to 1. And you know, multiple Democratic sources say tell me there's a good deal of frustration in some Democratic circles with the president's attacks on what he calls shadowy Republican groups because these sources say it's actually made it harder to convince Democratic donors to contribute to their groups which for better or worse are a big part of this year's election -- Kyra.

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

Legalizing marijuana: a lot of folks are for it. Well, a lot are against it. The issue actually sparked a lot of debate on CNN's new primetime show "Parker-Spitzer".

Here's how host Kathleen Parker weighed in on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CNN HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": And I have been convinced by people in law enforcement and -- and the judicial system that we can really allocate our -- our resources in a much better ways than arresting people for simple possession of marijuana.

In 2008, for example, in California, there were 60,000 arrests just for simple possession of marijuana, and it seems to me a very huge waste of man power, resources, et cetera, et cetera. There are so many arguments you can make in favor of legalizing it that I really -- I can't come down on the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Provocative issues, lively debate. You don't want to miss "Parker Spitzer" week nights 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Yet another example of hate and ignorance at work; the word "pig" spelled out in bacon laid in front of a mosque. We're going to talk about this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We are pushing ahead to the next hour, and there's a lot to tell you about. Let's go ahead and start with our correspondents. Take it away -- let's start with Patrick Oppmann in Chile.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra. We'll have an update for you on how those rescued 33 miners are doing.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House, and the First Lady is not here today. Why? She's out on the campaign trail. That's because she's more popular than her husband. But can she save her husband's majorities in Congress? I'll have that story at the top of the hour.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Josh Levs. A record this morning, and it's not a good one. It's about homes in America and what banks are doing. How you can protect yourself. I'll have that for you at the top of the hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys, thanks.

Now we're going to tell you about medical history being made right now. Human embryonic stem cells put to the test on a human patient. We're going to talk to the pioneer in the field about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, yet another example of hate and ignorance at work here in the United States. Check out what some insensitive, uneducated punk did to an Islamic center and mosque in South Carolina. Yes, he wrote out the word "pig" right there if front and he did it with bacon. That just adds to the insult because most Muslims don't eat pork products as we know.

The head of the center says that apart from a broken window, he has never really had a problem here before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSHTAQ HUSSAIN, ISLAMIC CENTER CHAIRMAN: He was in fear for himself, you know, because he should be doing something wrong to somebody else and God will take care about it. If I see that person particularly, I will just ask him simply, I will tell him, go and get some knowledge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There you go. And police are looking into this as harassment, not a hate crime because nothing was actually done to a person.

I see stories like this, and it makes me wonder. How can we ever expect to make peace with Muslims when we carry out ignorant and shameful acts like this? When we take advantage of freedom of speech and combine it with fear and ignorance without realizing or caring about the international implications.

Like the Florida pastor of that tiny church who wanted to burn Korans. Remember him? That tiny church riled up the entire Muslim world and had the president, the secretary of state, even the general in charge of the Afghan war weighing in.

The Internet and social media have made the world so much smaller when some yahoo burns a Koran or spells out "pig" with bacon at a mosque. The Taliban can actually see it in Afghanistan minutes later. We really have to take responsibility for our actions.