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Showdown in Nevada; Countdown to Election Day; Three Chilean Miners Home, All Expected Home By Sunday; Federal Judge Turns Down Motion to Dismiss States' Lawsuits Against Health Care Reform; Condoleezza Rice Meets With President Obama; Councilman Reveals His Bullying Story

Aired October 15, 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: Hey, guys. Thanks so much.

Well, today you're going to meet a young veteran of the anti- bulling crusade. This kid just couldn't turn away when bullies went after friend.

What do the Chilean mine rescue and Jerry Springer have in common? Salacious drama, of course. As the buried men are pulled out, their buried secrets come with them.

And Bill O'Reilly and the ladies on "The View." Come on, you knew this wasn't going to be a garden club meeting.

Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Felt that I was a meeting almost --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You'll get the full exchange. I promise.

Happy Friday, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Eighteen days to the midterm elections. Washington's balance of power at stakes and incumbents finding their jobs on the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: Senator Reid has voted over 300 times to raise our taxes. He's voted for poor public policy like stimulus and bailout. And he's voted for unconstitutional bills like Obama care.

HARRY REID (D), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: These ideas of my opponent are really extreme.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the House faces a withering challenge from Sharron Angle. The Tea Party darling like many challengers is seizing on that voter anger. Time is running out and tempers are running hot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: He is benefitting tremendously in this campaign from millions of dollars of these ads, and I am not. And I don't want them. You say you don't want them? Will you call on them to stop?

RON JOHNSON (R), WISCONSIN SENATE CANDIDATE: I have no control over that.

FEINGOLD: Well, you ask them this time.

JOHNSON: That's part of the problem. You have no control --

FEINGOLD: Will you ask them to stop?

JOHNSON: That's their right to free speech.

FEINGOLD: Will you ask them to stop? That's your right of free speech to say to them stop.

JOHNSON: People have a right to free speech, Senator Feingold.

FEINGOLD: Will you ask them to stop?

JOHNSON: People have a right to free speech.

FEINGOLD: The answer is no. So here we are in Wisconsin. We're here in Wisconsin. And we want to have our own election. And a guy who wants to be your U.S. senator will not simply use his free speech to say, will you please stop?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's Russ Feingold. He's in danger of losing his Senate seat in Wisconsin. The Democrats in danger of losing control of Congress.

We're going to look at the fighting words and the all important elections that are now less than three weeks away.

National political correspondent Jessica Yellin in Las Vegas. Jim Acosta in Milwaukee and in Washington, our chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley.

Let's go ahead and begin with Jessica and the showdown in Nevada. Jess?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there wasn't much show to the showdown. It was probably the dullest thing that happened in Las Vegas last night. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is known to sometimes get wonky and awkward, was both last night. He seemed so intent on being likeable that he missed openings to take on his opponent, Tea Party insurgent Sharron Angle.

That gave her the opportunity to be the real aggressor in this debate. But at the same time she often had difficulty recalling facts and got lost in her own answers.

I'll give you an example of one exchange between the two of them. One of the few times Harry Reid actually came to life where she accused him of zero evidence of using his office in the Senate to make himself rich.

We have no sound. I'm sorry. There was -- there was an exchange here but I -- I guess we don't have it, Kyra.

Anyway, he said that it was a low blow. He said it was unfair. And he gave plenty of evidence, came to life and really hit back.

The bottom line is, these two, despite their low energy appearances, did have starkly different visions of what government should do in our lives. He believes government should help create jobs here in Nevada, which has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. She says it's up to the private sector.

That is where this debate really turns. And early voting now begins tomorrow. The bottom line here, Kyra, neither one of these folks delivered a knock-out punch. But neither one of them made major gaffes. Now it's up to their formidable ground operations to see who turns out more voters -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jessica, thanks so much.

Let's go ahead and talk about the Senate race in Wisconsin now. And CNN's Jim Acosta. Russ Feingold is fighting for re-election.

But Jim, before we get to that you actually had some interaction with Sharron Angle.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I did about a month ago. Just like Jessica did. Had a chance to briefly talk to Sharron Angle. And what's interesting about that race up there, and Jessica really nailed, is that Harry Reid has had opportunities to put Sharron Angle away, and he hasn't done that. And he didn't do it last night from all appearances.

And that appears to be much of what's going on here in Wisconsin. Russ Feingold, Kyra. you would think, being a three-term Democrat, would be able to take out this Tea Party candidate, Ron Johnson, who has really came out of nowhere. He is a political novice who is running for election for the first time.

But at this point Russ Feingold has still not come up with the knockout punch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNSON: I'm just -- I'm just a guy from Oshkosh.

ACOSTA (voice-over): It doesn't get more outside the beltway than Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson.

(On camera): Have you been to Congress before? Have you lobbied up on Capitol Hill yourself?

JOHNSON: I've never been to Washington, D.C.

ACOSTA: You've never been to Washington, D.C.?

JOHNSON: Until this -- until this election. I've gone three times just to familiarize myself, you know, meet with some groups. That's it.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Suddenly this 55-year-old millionaire businessman is favored to take down three-term Senate Democrat Russ Feingold.

FEINGOLD: As of this moment I am no longer behind.

ACOSTA: Who disputes the latest CNN poll showing him eight points behind.

(On camera): What would you say to all those Democrats all over the country who are shaking their heads and saying, my goodness, Russ Feingold might lose? What's going on here?

FEINGOLD: Well, it's not going on anymore. See, Washington always has to catch up with the reality on the ground in Wisconsin.

ACOSTA (voice-over): For Johnson it all started when he picked up the backing of the Tea Party movement.

JOHNSON: America needs to be pulled back from the brink of socialism and state control.

ACOSTA (on camera): You don't think that was -- that was overstating the case that we're on the brink of state control.

JOHNSON: No, I don't. Take a look at what they're trying to do in terms of taking over one-sixth of our economy. They're taking over --

ACOSTA: Health care reform.

JOHNSON: Yes, health care reform.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Johnson wants to repeal health care reform. And he isn't sold on climate change.

JOHNSON: The point is it's unsettled science.

ACOSTA: Which may explain why this liberal with the occasional independent streak is making his own appeal to the Tea Party.

FEINGOLD: He's for the Patriot Act. And I'm one of the - I'm the only guy that voted against the Patriot Act. He's for these trade deals that ship the jobs of Wisconsin overseas. I'm against them. I was always --

ACOSTA (on camera): So you're with the Tea Party movement.

FEINGOLD: I agree with them on many key issues.

ACOSTA: They really don't like the health care reform.

FEINGOLD: That's something they don't like but you know why? It's because they weren't told the truth about what's in it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russ Feingold wants it both ways.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But this one-time architect of campaign finance reform is getting slammed by attack ads and billboards run by outside groups. Not to mention the millions Johnson has spent on his own bid.

But ask any voter like small business owner James Farrell and all of that takes a backseat to one issue. The economy.

But ask any voter like small business owner James Ferrell and all of that takes a backseat to one issue, the economy.

JAMES FARRELL, SMALL BUSINESS CO-OWNER: It's hard to be in business. You can't afford to be in business anymore. And something's got to change or a lot of people won't be in business.

ACOSTA: That's putting pressure on Feingold to save one job in particular, his own.

(On camera): Are you going to win this race?

FEINGOLD: Yes, I am.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Russ Feingold still very confident in this race. And, Kyra, you could not have a more sharp contrast when it comes to the issue of health care reform. Ron Johnson says it is the greatest assault on our freedom in his lifetime. Those were his words. Russ Feingold, on the other hand, he is running ads in this campaign touting his vote for health care reform.

So you couldn't have a better contrast when it comes to that issue, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jim, thanks.

Talk about being fed up with Washington. That's been quite the theme this election season. And savvy politicians are definitely seizing on it. We've seen unknown candidates just coast through the primaries. And we've also seen some of them lose momentum. Big time.

Candy Crowley, our chief political correspondent and the host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" joining us from Washington to talk about this.

Candy, there definitely has been this romanticism of someone that's challenging the power elite of Washington and feeding off all these voter anger and the Tea Party movement, yes?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And honestly, they're reinventing the wheel here. In many ways races have always been about I'm not that guy. I'm not the guy who's been there stealing your money, raising your taxes, whatever it happens to be.

Ronald Reagan, in his second -- in his second term bid for the presidency ran against Washington and all those insiders. I mean there are a number of people who go home after decades in Washington and sort of try to frame themselves as the outsider kind of guy.

The problem is it doesn't take. And the insider kind of patina sticks to you. And so that's why people tend to run this year, it's the Tea Party. You know in 2008 it was President Obama. And now look at the kind of questions he's getting in some of these town hall meetings. At the MTV meeting with kids and with faculty. You know he was asked -- I mean this -- some of his biggest supporters here in the 2008 election.

And what's he asked? Well, about your so-called support for gay rights. Well, why didn't you do this? I mean you pretty quickly become an insider who didn't deliver which is why so many people try run from the outside.

PHILLIPS: So, OK -- so it all sounds good at the very beginning. We saw it with Sarah Palin big time. And them once they sit down for a lot of these big-time interviews or debates, they're sort of caught well, shall we say, with -- you find out really the depth of your knowledge.

I mean take Christine O'Donnell, for example. Created quite the momentum. And then it came down to the debate. And she was asked about Supreme Court cases and she said I can't think of any right now. I'll post them on my Web site.

And I don't want to jus pick on, you know, Sarah Palin or Christine O'Donnell. But we're seeing that as sort of -- we're seeing that actually among more than just these two. And why is that? Is that they focus so much on the image? Once it gets down to the hard issues, they haven't educated themselves enough?

CROWLEY: Well, sure. I mean if you've never run for office before -- now that isn't true in the case of Christine O'Donnell, but she clearly has not been on the national scene before. Sarah Palin had not been on the national scene before. You would think that when people prep some of these people for debates, they would go back and look and see the kind of questions that other people get asked.

I mean about now, I think probably every candidate out there, I don't care what they're running for on a national level, ought to be able to figure out a Supreme Court decision and say we're going to get asked the Supreme Court decision question.

So to me that sort of a lack of preparation, a freshman sort of campaign. What happens is, of course, that these are people who are running on hope. Not on an experience. And let's face it, President Obama ran on here's why I'm a different kind of guy. Here's I don't have that Washington taint. I'm from outside Washington. I've only been there two years. I've been a community organizer.

And there is a learning curve there. And sometimes when they get to the debates -- I remember the first couple of debates President Obama did it, everyone said as new has showed, well, he's not this new to this.

Sometimes it works for you, I have to say. I don't know that people sat out there in Delaware -- I mean, certainly some people did. But I don't know that people went, oh, I'm not voting for her because she can't name a Supreme Court decision.

I think sometimes I think well, I couldn't name a Supreme Court decision. Or I couldn't do this. I mean what I want to know is how is this person going to bring me jobs. So it can certainly work against you, and I'll tell you what Democrats are hoping for this election season and right now.

And they say look, the polls are tightening and the polls are tightening because this whole year has been about angry. And I'm angry at the Democrats. I'm angry at the president. He hasn't done this. He hasn't done that. And now they say it's a choice.

And people are beginning to say it's this person or this person. And they want to take the more well seasoned person, i.e. the Democrat, they think, because they know how to get jobs.

PHILLIPS: Bottom line.

CROWLEY: At least that's what they're hoping. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, thanks so much. Always great to see you on a Friday.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, the miners are out, and their secrets came up with them. It's hard to keep your mistress under wraps and your wife in the dark when the whole world is watching.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center, watching a couple of things, including an earthquake that rocked Central Arkansas just a little while ago. 4.4 magnitude quake about 15 or so miles north of Conway, 35 miles north of Little Rock. And it's shallow enough at about three miles in depth that certainly some folks felt this one. We'll talk about that plus a nor'easter rolling off the New England coastline. Just a little bit.

CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Home at last. Three of the Chilean miners back with their families this morning. This is a video, actually, from late last night as they left the hospital looking healthy, happy, wearing those sunglasses at night. One is now talking about his time underground as well. He was just ten feet away from where the ceiling began to cave in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD VILLARROEL, RESCUED MINER (through translator): We were all waiting for that. We were all very thin. I lost 12 kilos. I was afraid that I was not going to meet the child that was on the way. It was the thing that most scared me.

I think the worst thing is to pass three, four, five days without food. To know that there may not be any future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Right now, it's looking like all the miners will go home by Sunday.

Talk about the definition of awkward. How about when your wife and your mistress show up at the same time at a prayer vigil. For you. Who knew the miners were such Casanovas? Love hurts. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His first glimpse of fresh air and freedom in more than two months. As Chilean miner Johny Barrios exists the rescue capsule and takes off the harness, he looks around to see who will greet him. And from behind, a woman comes to embrace him, kiss him, and cry on his shoulder. Not a wife, but a woman believed to be the mistress he lives with.

He may not be the only one in this situation. There have been several published reports saying the rescue operation brought together not just families, but the also the awkward mix of wives and mistresses. One report said one miner faced competing claims from four women. I spoke about that dynamic with a noted psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren.

TODD (on camera): How complicated does it make their lives now? When they've got to deal with girlfriends, mistresses, and wives who may be finding out about each other for the first time, and now they've got the added pressure. LISE VAN SUSTEREN, PSYCHIATRIST: These guys went down in the mine with their faults and flaws, just like everybody else. But they came out of those mines with these Klieg lights on them. So, every little mistake that they have made and will make in the future -- in the near future, at least -- is going to be broadcast. Everybody will be able to see it because the whole world is interested in them.

TODD (voice-over): Another complication, money. These miners are expected to be offered book deals, movie rights, and gifts that could bring life-altering sums to them and those closest to them.

VAN SUSTEREN: That can add fuel to the fire. Because there's going to be a reason to want to hang around them. Everyone is hoping that something beautiful and fantastic and easy will come for the future in their lives because of the money and the fame. The danger is, of course, that this will not be a solution and it will only exacerbate preexisting problems.

TODD (voice-over): Van Susteren says it's those new expectations that make this such a tough problem for the miners who had other women in their lives. They have wives with their own expectations for the future. Now add mistresses or girlfriends who are competing for attention, for money. She says that's about as combustible a mix as you can get. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the rescue was a source of national pride for Chile. A potential tragedy that actually became a triumph 33 times over, and the world watched it happen. Anderson Cooper takes a look back. Don't miss "Countdown to Rescue," an "AC 360" special, tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

Rob Marciano, now, focusing on that nor'easter we started talking about yesterday. What more do we know about that?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's getting stronger right now, Kyra. And with this system is going to come a number of things. Waves, wind, rain, and even a little bit of mountain snow.

Here it is developing across the coast of Cape Cod, and just bringing in that northeast wind across parts of down east Maine, and gusting to 30 and 35 miles an hour in spots. And yes, bringing in cold air as well.

Where it's not raining heavily, you're going to see some snow -- or some wind with this. That includes New York to Philadelphia. And the wind, I'm sorry, tonight and tomorrow with this. So we're already starting to see some cooler air beginning to mix in.

Where you see pinks, that's where the radar is trying to pick up a little bit of a mix of -- And we'll see that at the higher elevations, I think, especially later on today and tonight. We could see anywhere from two to as much as seven inches of snow, I think, above 2,000 feet. So you've got to go up fairly high up for these mountains, at least, to get to that snow. But it will be wet. And in some cases, the tree leaves -- the leaves are still on the trees. So that will cause some tree limbs to come down because of that heavy, wet snow. That's always dangerous this time of year.

So, that's our main concern with this. And, again, where it's not raining or snowing, it'll be windy with this system, 30 to 50 miles an hour wind gusts, potentially, over the next 36 hours, as far south as New York City. And then back through Philly and DC, it'll be chilly there as well, and a little bit on the blustery side. So, watching that very carefully.

Also watching this. This is Tropical Depression Paula, weakening very rapidly. You can see on the satellite picture, it's almost completely dissipated. And we haven't seen a whole lot with this.

And then again, this is a -- in the interesting note, here, Kyra, and I suspect our friends in Little Rock will be calling in with reports of having felt this earthquake, 4.4 magnitude just a little while ago at about three miles in depth. We've seen several smaller quakes in this zone over the past week. So, it's been pretty active. And, of course, just a couple days ago in Oklahoma, we had that 4.3, I believe, quake across parts of Oklahoma. The heartland, rocking and rolling just a little bit this morning.

PHILLIPS: It always is, isn't it? Did you see this burglary suspect?

MARCIANO: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Caught while in deep cover?

MARCIANO: Yes, sure.

PHILLIPS: OK. This was the highlight of the morning meeting. Shall we just roll the video? So, apparently, this is his mug shot, by the way. Dressed as a tree. He was trying --

MARCIANO: Well, you've got to go in character.

PHILLIPS: He was -- he's from where you used to work, Oregon.

MARCIANO: Yes, sure.

PHILLIPS: He was actually trying to break into the museum there. I'm trying to see what -- I don't know if you've been to this museum or not. We didn't name -- it's apparently natural resource museum. It's got pieces of gold and all kinds of unique rocks and minerals. And he was --

MARCIANO: I've been to Hillsborough, but I haven't been to that museum or the bathroom there, for that one thing. I guess I was under dressed.

(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: You didn't dress appropriately. But apparently, he was trying to work his way up, right? Hoping that nobody would notice. And then, the police dog smelled something weird, came up and bit him.

MARCIANO: Nice.

PHILLIPS: And he had to go to the hospital. And he didn't get his gold chips, unfortunately. He kind of -- yes. Didn't work out so well.

MARCIANO: Only in Oregon. Love it.

(LAUGHTER)

(MUSIC - "Pink Panther Theme")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Top stories. A troubling concern for allied forces in Afghanistan. A new report says the insurgency is getting stronger and picking up more recruits in areas where the Taliban has not been prominent in the past. Insurgent attacks are up 59 percent from the same time last year.

A legal victory for opponents of the health care reform law. A federal judge in Florida has turned down a government motion to dismiss some counts of a multi-state challenge to the law. The judge threw out four other counts. Florida and 19 other states claim part of this reform law is unconstitutional.

A visitor you might not expect in the Oval Office. Condoleezza Rice dropping by today to see President Obama. The president and the former Secretary of State will talk about foreign policy issues.

A Kentucky boy is only 11 years old, but he's already a veteran of the anti-bullying crusade. In fact, he's become the poster child for good behavior. His story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We head to Wall Street, now, where stocks are headed for a slightly higher open on this final trading day. Alison Kosik joining us from the New York Stock Exchange. Hi, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. We are expecting to see stocks make some modest gains in the early going. That's as investors react to some positive news developments, for a nice change of pace. And that includes some hopeful comments from the chairman of the Federal Reserve a short time ago.

Ben Bernanke just wrapped up a speech in Boston, and he said that the Central Bank has what he calls "a case for further action" to stimulate the economy, because of the high unemployment rate and low inflation. And that is exactly what investors really want to hear. Bernanke, though, stopped short of saying when and how aggressive the Fed will be. But he offered his clearest signal yet that the Fed will act.

All right. There's also a big batch of upbeat economic reports out today showing a jump in manufacturing, a rise in retail sales and an small uptick in inflation. We also have strong earnings from Google and General Electric.

All right. So, you roll that all together, and here's how it's playing out on the market right now. The Dow Industrial is up 29. The NASDAQ higher by 26.

And let's stay on this good-news theme, Kyra. Big bank is hiring. Bank of America. The company's CEO says B of A intends to hire about 1,000 small business bankers nationwide. The new employees are going to work out of offices in Dallas, L.A., Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Get those resumes out and get them out early, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Alison, thanks so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, Tyler Clementi. You remember him. And Seth Walsh. How about Billy Lucas and Asher Brown? These are all teens who were gay, or thought to be gay. They were all harassed, tormented and bullied to the breaking point. They all died by suicide within the last few weeks. These kids didn't think life would ever get better.

Now a gay city councilman in Fort Worth, Texas, has put his political life on the line to tell other kids that it does. That was Joel Burns speaking from experience. You'll hear from him in a second. This week, he used the city council as a forum to tell how bullies went after him when he was just a teen. That confrontation years ago left such an emotional scar - actually, let's listen to him quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL BURNS, FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCILMAN: I want to use my announcement time to talk briefly about another issue that pulls at my heart. Ron, would you go ahead and run the -

The parents of Asher Brown, who you can see above, complained to school officials in the Sapre Squarebanks (ph) outside of Houston that their son was being bullied and harassed in school. The bullies called him faggot and queer. They shoved him. They punched him. And in spite of his parents' calls to counselors and the principal, the harassment, intimidation and threats continued. For years, it continued.

A couple of weeks ago, after being bullied at school, Asher went home, found his father's gun, and shot himself in the head. His father found Asher dead when he came home from work. Asher was 13 years old. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, here's what's amazing, what the councilman did. He pointed out all these specific examples of these kids that died by suicide because they were getting bullied. And he actually came out in that council meeting saying that he's gay, that he was bullied as a kid, and this has to stop. It was a powerful and very emotional speech. And it's actually gone viral on the Internet. We're going to talk more about that in just a few minutes.

But you don't have to be a grown-up to take a stand. A Kentucky boy just couldn't look the other way either when bullies started picking on his friend. Now his classroom crusade has spread through the entire town. And our Joe Johns got to meet him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's nice to meet you. How are you doing?

(voice-over): Two years ago, Dylan Beckham took a stand. He was just 9 years old at the time, a fourth grader, a little guy with a big sense of right and wrong.

DYLAN BECKHAM, ANTI-BULLYING ADVOCATE: His name was Cole Jackson.

JOHNS (on camera): And what happened?

BECKHAM: He was getting called names. And I didn't think that was too cool, and I was wanting to help him out.

JOHNS: And how was he reacting?

BECKHAM: I knew he didn't feel good because he doesn't want people picking on him.

JOHNS (voice-over): Cole is autistic and had difficulty communicating. He was often bullied because of it. Dylan befriended Cole and sent the message to classmates that it wasn't OK to bully him.

BECKHAM: They were born with that disorder and they can't help that. They were born with autism. And they don't need to be treated different than anybody else.

JOHNS: Dylan didn't know it at the time, but he was about to launch an anti-bullying crusade that would spread from a classroom to a school and now, all over his hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. That moment when he stood up for Cole is now the subject of a public service announcement that's been posted on YouTube and played in every classroom in the school district. The message: stop the scarring that bullying causes and start the healing.

BECKHAM: I stood up for my friend Cole and you should stand up for anyone being cut down or scarred as well. JOHNS: The young activist is hoping to raise $30,000 for Western Kentucky University's Kelly Autism Program. Dylan's already raised $10,000 through drives like this one.

And he's encouraging other students to do the same.

But beyond the dollars, Dylan has also raised awareness and changed hearts, including his friend, Cade Lawrence (ph).

(on camera): Have you been one of the kids that sort of teased the kids for a while? Or what was the deal?

CADE LAWRENCE, DYLAN'S FRIEND: Yes, I've done it for a little while. But I went and apologized to the people that I did it to.

UNIDENTIFIED KID: Yes, ma'am.

JOHNS (voice-over): And Dylan is giving hope to students, especially those with autism who are bullied.

UNIDENTIFIED KID: It just hurts, you know. Believe me, I'm used to it.

JOHNS: Like 8-year-old Christian who has heard about Dylan and seen the video and now, is headed to meet the kid who started the anti-bullying movement.

UNIDENTIFIED KID: Dylan is a hero. I'm this excited. Hi. You are the best. Oh, thank you.

JOHNS (on camera): Why is he a hero?

UNIDENTIFIED KID: He helps kids with autism not to be bullied and to know that they're just like everybody else. And we are. We just -- we're not that different. We just have autism. What does that change with us?

JOHNS (voice-over): And so, that's the story of Dylan Beckham -- one 11-year-old, one idea, one simple answer to the bullying of autistic kids.

BECKHAM: I know that they all get picked on sometimes, but now, it's starting to turn around.

JOHNS: And just perhaps a model showing how kids can get results when they're allowed to lead the way.

Joe Johns, CNN, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we definitely want to keep this conversation about bullies going. So, go to my blog, CNN.com/kyra. Tell me what you thinks schools are doing. If it's enough or if they do have a good program in place, we'd like to know about it. And coming up, we're talking to a mom who had kept silent about her bullied son's death. She kept silent until the bullies have now gone after her daughter. Now she's got a lot to say since her son died by suicide, and she's concerned about her 12-year-old. She's also speaking to the president of the United States. We'll tell you about that next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. "Don't ask, don't tell." The military's policy that bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly. The Justice Department has requested an emergency stay on a California court ruling overturning the law. President Obama says he wants Congress to change the law, not the courts.

A mixed bag. The president's pledge to reduce the budget - deficit, rather. The Congressional Budget Office says this year's deficit is $125 billion less than last year's. But it's still $1.3 trillion.

And the toxic sludge disaster in Hungary. Nine people died after a river of mud broke through an industrial company's reservoir. The company's CEO is accused of public endangerment and harming the environment. He told CNN he will try to help the people of the devastated region but denied there was evidence of a dam leak weeks before that toxic spill.

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PHILLIPS: Going "Cross Country" now. Headed to outer space. Well, kind of. It takes a lot to freak out New Yorkers, as you well know. But apparently this did. Some strange, unexplained objects in the sky. Dozens of people actually called police and even the FAA to report UFOs. But it looks like they were just some party balloons that got loose.

In Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, not a good thing if you just got your driver's license. A teen driver passed his test and was parking the car when he slammed it into the testing office. The teen was dropping off the man who gave him the test. Three people were hurt. Thankfully, not seriously.

And the show is over for Mr. Showmanship. The Liberace museum closing its doors in Vegas. Say it isn't so. Tough economy and fewer visitors are to blame. So, no more pink feather boas on display. No more fur coats. No more big, gaudy rings. The foundation that runs the museum says it will now focus all the resources on scholarships.

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PHILLIPS: Yes, that was Liberace actually playing "Chopsticks."

Just 18 days until Americans cast their votes in the midterm elections. We're counting down and bringing you the stories to shape the voters' decisions.

Senior political editor Mark Preston in Washington at the political desk. Did you ever learn to play "Chopsticks," Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I don't know how to use chopsticks when I'm trying to eating sushi. I don't know if I could learn to play them, Kyra.

Hey, Kyra, I'm sitting here with John (INAUDIBLE) talking a little about what our plan is for CNNpolitics.com today. He has two very good stories up on the site regarding Senate races in in Wisconsin and out in Nevada. Of course, you talked to our own Jessica Yellin. She was covering that debate out there.

Another great story that I think our viewers should take a quick look at is from Deidra Wallace. She talks about how Democrats running away from Nancy Pelosi. And why are they doing that? Because Nancy Pelosi is not very well liked in their districts. Specifically down in Mississippi, for instance, and also out in Pennsylvania. In fact, one of them, at least one of them has an ad up saying, look, I don't vote with Nancy Pelosi all the time. I'm an independent person.

Some of these folks are Travis Childers down in Mississippi. Jean Tiller in Mississippi, and Mark Fritz out in Pennsylvania. So, just shows you Democrats are telling the folks, Kyra, they need to run local elections. They need to win no matter how they win.

President Obama had a very tough question, some would say, thrown at him yesterday during his town hall-style meeting. He was doing this -- this youth meeting here in Washington, D.C., with all students. It was on MTV and BET. He talked about the economy, talked about health care.

He was also asked a question about homosexuality. Did he think that it was something you're born with? Or is it something whoever that is learned, what-have-you?

He said, look, bottom line, we're all God's children. We don't make determinations about who we love. He also says he doesn't think homosexuality is a choice.

And, Kyra, today at the White House, Condoleezza Rice is going to be meeting with President Obama. Of course, she's a Republican. He's a Democrat. But you know what? Sometimes you can put politics aside -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Really? That's possible?

PRESTON: Well, at least for a few minutes anyway.

PHILLIPS: OK, thanks, Mark.

PRESTON: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: For more political news at the top of the hour. And a reminder, if you're away from your TV and you needed a political fix, you can always go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

Flashback 59 years ago today. That's when her 'splaining really began.

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PHILLIPS: This is one of the classics from the Disney Productions archives. On this day in 1951 the situation comedy, "I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS.

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PHILLIPS: The national conversation about gay bullying has a new voice. Joel Burns is an openly gay city councilman in Fort Worth, Texas. When it was his turn to speak at this week's meeting, his focus wasn't city business.

He actually revealed for the first time his own experience with bullies. One that stuck with him all these years and that he didn't plan to share until the recent rash of suicide among our kids. His passionate, emotional speech has gone viral on the Internet now.

Chris Haas of our affiliate WFAA talked with Burns about it.

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CHRIS HAAS, WFAA NEWS REPORTER (voice-over): This is the Joel Burn's Fort Worth knows, a confident, openly gay councilman were elected in 2007. But Tuesday night, Burns shared what his life was like as a young boy of 13, beaten up and terrorized, because bullies realized he was different.

JOEL BURNS, FORT WORTH COUNCILMAN: They said that I was a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and that I should die and go to hell where I belonged. That erupted the fear that I had kept pushed down, that what I was beginning to feel on the inside must somehow be showing on the outside.

HAAS: Burns has followed recent stories of teens who killed themselves after being bullied for their orientation, but it was an article that pushed him this week to make Tuesday's speech.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?

HAAS: A teenager who attended this debate in Oklahoma about whether his city would recognize a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender month in the city.

BURNS: And because of what he heard their, in part, one killed himself. And that was the thing that really drove me to, OK, I have to do something now.

HAAS: Burns says his message is that life does get better, pointing to his many friends and long-time partner. Today, that message resonated around the nation through the Internet.

BURNS: Literally thousands of messages and quite a few phone calls.

HAAS: He's received calls from national television producers and accolades from equality organizers.

BURNS: Perhaps it was not the political best thing for me to do. But that really wasn't the goal.

HAAS: The goal, he says, was to reach the children who needed to hear him.

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PHILLIPS: Well, bravo to Councilman Burns.

During his speech, he added that life gets so much better and he encouraged gay teens to stick around for the good times because they will come and the jerks will go. Burns is just what this national conversation about bullying needs, influential people with a voice and a platform to step up and speak out, set an example in a political position to affect policy.

Pushing ahead to our next hour, a lot to tell you about. Let's go and check in with our team of reporters and see what they're working on.

Let's go ahead and start with Poppy Harlow. She's here in Atlanta today. Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I am. Nice to be here, Kyra.

Well, we're talking all week about marijuana on the ballot. Guess what. We caught up with the first ever marijuana critic. We're talking about a guy that gets paid to smoke pot. We'll tell you his whole story coming up in the next hour.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can't wait to see that one. I'm Carol Costello in Washington. You heard the political ploy "I'm just like you, so elect me." Does that political ploy really work, though? Do you want a politician just like you? We'll delve into the matter in just a bit.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And how big an outsider is the Republican running against Russ Feingold up in here Wisconsin? Well, up until just recently, he had never been to Washington. I'll explain at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: Sounds great. Thanks, guys.

Also coming up: we're talking to a mom who kept silent about her bullied a son's suicide -- kept silent until the bullies went after her daughter. Now, she's got a lot to say to us and President Obama.

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PHILLIPS: Well, drama on the set of "The View."

FOX News host Bill O'Reilly was the guest yesterday and it started out nicely with hugs, kisses, until the topic of the Islamic center near Ground Zero came up.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you talking about?

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: Muslims killed us on 9/11.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: No. Oh, my God!

O'REILLY: Muslims didn't kill us on 9/11? Is that what you're saying?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Extremists.

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GOLDBERG: What religion was Mr. McVeigh? He was an extremist as well, and he killed Americans.

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JOY BEHAR, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: I don't want to sit here. I don't want to sit here. I'm outraged by that statement.

O'REILLY: You're outraged about Muslims killing us on 9/11?

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BARBARA WALTERS, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: I want to say something. I want to say something to all of you. You have just seen what should not happen.

O'REILLY: Here comes one of them back.

BEHAR: We're back because now you apologized. You apologized.

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PHILLIPS: As you can see, Whoopi and Joy did come back after Barbara Walters calmed things down a bit and after O'Reilly did come forward and say it was Muslim extremists, not all Muslims who are responsible for the terrorist attacks.

Well, as you can imagine, that outburst on "The View" generated a lot more talk.

Josh Levs has been following it.

They're all on social media, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a lot more talk from two of the key players last night, Bill O'Reilly and Joy Behar, both discussed on their programs, in fact, on their own TV shows. Let's take a look first at how O'Reilly summarized it in the few words at the beginning of his show, FOX News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor."

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O'REILLY: Fireworks on "The View," as the liberal sensibility regarding Muslims is challenged by me.

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LEVS: He then went on to discuss it in some depth. He said no one he knows wants to insult Muslims but that people are also tired of political correctness.

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O'REILLY: I'm not in the business of sugar-coating harsh reality. This program and my book state the truth as I see it. I enjoy jousting with "The View" ladies because, with the exception of Elisabeth Hasselbeck, they don't see it my way and I want their audience to hear both sides. I loved that exposition today, didn't you?

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LEVS: Meanwhile, on her program on our sister network, HLN, Joy Behar talked about this as well. Now, in order to understand what she says at the top, you need to know that the title of Bill O'Reilly's new book, it's called "Pinheads and Patriots." Take a look.

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BEHAR: Today on "The View," Bill O'Reilly had a real pinhead moment. I was really angry. I saw O'Reilly, I thought he was saying something, that I construe as hate speech frankly. I'm joined now by former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

I mean, it upsets me as you can see, because I really think that, to say Muslims killed us on 9/11 is like -- you could say that about any group, to lump an entire group like that.

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LEVS: She then went on to have a conversation with, as you saw, Jesse Ventura. By the way, this is one of the top stories on CNN.com, and has been ever since this happened. You're seeing it here from our marquee blog, in our Showbiz page, where we talk about the visit and you can see some of the key video.

And you know, I've been thinking about this. It is interesting, obviously, to see these people combat. But it's also potentially a touched on moment in America, in our society, for us to have a conversation about how you have respectful disagreements and how you talk about 9/11 and the Ground Zero mosque and some of the concerns people have without mistakenly or for any reason, grouping Muslims together into one unit.

And what we want to do is invite you to take part in that respectful, intelligent conversation.

Here's how you can do it. You got my Facebook and Twitter pages, JoshLevsCNN. We're following what you have to say about this.

And, Kyra, I will be back next hour with some more of the reactions, including reactions from our viewers who can weigh in right now.

PHILLIPS: All right. Josh, thanks.

LEVS: You got it. Sure.

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