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Recalled Vegetables May Contain Glass; President and First Lady Hit Campaign Trail Defending Democratic Incumbents; Massive Typhoon Heading Towards Philippines; Viral Videos from Sesame Street; John McCain's Daughter Calls Christine O'Donnell "Nut Job"; The GOP Alliance with the Tea Party; Whooping Cough in 50 States; Congo's March Against Rape; The Fox/Cablevision Feud; Heels to Wheels

Aired October 17, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, now. President Obama and the first lady are hitting the campaign trail together, more on that in one minute. But first, a look at today's headlines.

A senior NATO official in Afghanistan says classified war documents leaked by the website WikiLeaks have not led to retaliatory strikes against Afghans sited in the papers as cooperating with NATO forces. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said there was a risk of reprisals in a letter written back in August. Gates says the documents do not disclose sensitive material.

And for the second straight day, more than three million Cablevision customers in New York are not getting Fox channels. News Corp pulled the plug on those channels over a programming fee dispute. The two sides plan to talk again today.

Australia has its very first Catholic saint. Pope Benedict XVI has canonized 19th-century nun Mary MacKillop. The Catholic Church credits her with miraculously helping to cure a woman of cancer. She was temporarily excommunicated when her colleagues exposed an abusive priest.

First your politics, now. With just 16 days left until the midterm elections, pundits are predicting Republican victories, and President Barack Obama is doing everything he can to boost the Democratic turnout. After a fundraising stop in Cleveland this afternoon, the president and Mrs. Obama head to Columbus for a rally at Ohio State University.

"The Best Political Team on Television" is on the job. Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is in Columbus, Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser is in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Lisa Desjardins is in Washington.

So, let's get started in Ohio, Ed Henry in Columbus. It has been a while since the two -- meaning the first lady and the president -- have been campaigning together. Why do they feel like this is going to be a real pivotal moment for them to do this again?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, that's in part because the Buckeye state, here, really has some critical races. You mentioned the president starting out in Cleveland fundraising for Governor Ted Strickland, the Democrat who is under some heavy pressure from Republican Kasich. There's also an open -- a Senate race here, where the Democrat's trailing by double digits. Several House races that will help determine control of that chamber.

So, you can see, this, obviously, not just being a pivotal state in presidential years, but also in this midterm election, as well. You see people streaming into this rally behind me. The president's not going to speak for another three hours. They've already got the music going, they've got people here.

Beautiful weather here. They're expecting a decent crowd. Certainly, almost like autumn football weather. They're licking their wounds here on the Ohio State campus, though. They lost last night to Wisconsin, knocked them out of the top spot in the nation for college football.

But the president is hoping that maybe this rally tonight will get the faithful to come out for Democrats. We've heard all about the enthusiasm gap, that Republicans, a lot more excited about this election.

You'll also remember a couple of months ago, Democrats deflated a little bit when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs went on NBC's "Meet the Press" and suggested, well, maybe Democrats will not hold control of Congress. Today, he went back on that program, was much more optimistic, and afterwards, we caught up with him, and he basically suggested Democrats will stay in charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that Democrats are out effectively making a case for the steps that they've taken to rescue the economy, stabilize our financial system, to reform our education, and to get our foreign policy moving again. And I think -- I think, come November, that on election night, Democrats will retain control of the House and the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Problem for the president right now, though, is he's spending most of his time in these final days in largely either Democratic states or swing states where there are Democratic incumbents where he's playing a lot of defense.

You saw him yesterday in Massachusetts, a state normally very friendly to Democrats, he's having to bail out the Democratic governor, Deval Patrick, there. Here, trying to save a Democratic incumbent governor as well.

And then, later this week, I'll be going out west with the president, trying to -- he's trying to save some Senate Democratic incumbents in Washington state, California, the majority leader, Harry Reid in Nevada, as well. So, rather than going to Republican states trying to expand the playing field for Democrats, get some, maybe, Democratic pickups, go after Republican incumbents, instead, he's playing a lot of defense for Democratic incumbents. It gives you an idea of the map right now, nationally, for Democrats, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Henry in Columbus, Ohio. Thank you.

The week ahead, well, it's already shaping up to be a very busy one on the campaign trail. CNN's Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser is in Manchester, New Hampshire. So, what's the expectation?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, boy, 16 days left until the election. We're just over two weeks away and, Fred, Ed was just touching on this with the president. Also the vice president heading out west. He, in fact, goes first.

Washington state, where Patty Murray, the Democratic Senator, faces a tough reelection. California Senator Barbara Boxer also facing a difficult reelection. And then, to Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, battling for his political life.

The vice president goes first, followed by the president, Fred. Later this week, all three of those states and the president is also holding some big rallies, we believe, like the one he's doing today in Columbus, Ohio. He'll be holding those rallies, Democratic Party rallies in California and Nevada.

And as Ed mentioned, the whole idea, try to energize Democratic voters. Polls suggest Republicans more energized than Democrats. And Michelle Obama with the president today, does her own campaigning with other candidates throughout the week as well, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Hey, what about Republicans and -- are Republicans and Tea Party movement supporters becoming one and the same this week?

STEINHAUSER: It's going to be a busy week on the other side. Michael Steele continues his "Fire Pelosi" tour. That, of course, the Republican National Committee chairman.

But, as you mentioned, it's Tea time as well, tomorrow. Reno, Nevada, the Tea Party Express, a national Tea Party organization, is launching their fourth -- fourth cross-country tour, and it's going to start in Reno. They've been targeting Harry Reid before, and they're going to target him again.

And they're getting a little help. Once again, Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, who helped launch their third tour, will be in Reno, Nevada. And we'll be there as well, covering the event. That's all tomorrow. That two-week tour ends right here in New Hampshire the day before the election.

We were just talking about Sarah Palin. We saw her last night in California with Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee chairman. They're going to do it again next weekend in Florida, they're holding another fundraising rally, try to energize Republican voters, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much, in Manchester, New Hampshire.

And then, later on this hour, will a GOP takeover create tension within the ranks? We have a live report from Capitol Hill as "The Best Political Team on Television" counts down to the midterm election.

Imagine, you're living on a fixed income, and now you might have to cut back even more on some of the basics, like food. It's a big problem a lot of Americans who get Social Security are already having to deal with this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For the second straight year, Americans who get Social Security won't be getting a cost of living raise. That means a lot of them are having to cut back on the basics, like food, just to survive. Here's CNN's Sandra Endo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE BYERS, SENIOR CITIZEN: We're the forgotten generation. And it's sad. It's really sad.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior Jacqueline Byers is in tears. For ten years, she's been relying on Social Security as her sole income. Every month, she gets a $600 check, and it's getting harder to make ends meet.

BYERS: Everything has gone up except our checks. The groceries, gasoline, our gas inside the home, our electric bills. They're constant -- and don't mention the water bill. Everything has gotten sky high.

ENDO (voice-over): So, Byers goes to this senior center, where she can get a hot meal, socialize, and she even sews her own clothes to cut down on cost.

BYERS: You can't find a suit for my size for around $160, a lined suit. And I can probably make one for less than $10. So, yes, sewing helps a whole lot on our budget.

ENDO (voice-over): And that budget will remain tight. For the second straight year, based on a federal formula, there will be no increase in Social Security payments due to flat inflation rates. The Social Security Administration says Social Security has no leeway to increase benefits if the inflation measurement doesn't call for it. Still, the struggle is getting tougher for seniors.

BYERS: The things that we enjoyed when we were growing up, we can't afford to do it for our children now.

ENDO (on camera): For seniors like Jacqueline Byers, things aren't expected to improve anytime soon. Right now, nearly 59 million people receive Social Security or Supplemental Security income. And last year, recipients got a $250 bonus as part of the federal government's economic recovery plan. This year, no bonus, no cost of living increase, and seniors are unlikely to get one until January 2012.

DAVID CERTNER, AARP: What this emphasizes year after year is how important Social Security is for older Americans. And that cost of living adjustment every year is a critical component of helping them keep up with prices and helping them keep their heads above water. So seniors have begun to count on that money year after year.

BYERS: It's my prayer that our officials and our government people would take the time and see what's going on with the seniors. They need to know that people care about them, and they need to feel it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENDO: The White House and congressional Democrats are pushing to pass another bonus payment this year but, so far, a lot of this is caught up in politics. As you know, it's a very divisive issue between Democrats and Republicans. But the big picture is, there are millions of people struggling because of this, and it affects a lot of Americans.

WHITFIELD: And so they've got this coupled with the rate of inflation, it's really a terrible pairing.

ENDO: Absolutely. And when you think of the nation's seniors and retirees, we're talking tens of millions of people. They don't have a way to work, get additional income. And you're talking about high costs of Medicare, health care costs that they're struggling with.

But also, just everyday things, Fred, like meat. The cost of meat is actually the highest since the 1980s. Corn products, because of bad weather, bad crops, that has increased as well. And coffee prices, highest since 13 years. So just basic products that every day people enjoy all the time, those are going up.

WHITFIELD: It's hard, and it getting even harder. All right, Sandra Endo, thanks so much. Good to see you.

All right, we're going to look for a little comic relief coming up. Oh, of course, you can always get your latest on politics, cnn.com. Go there, get the latest on just about everything under the sun.

Comic relief coming up, viral videos, Josh Levs.

LEVS: Yes, we've got some fun stuff coming up for you today. It's kind of like our second dose for the weekend, right? Here's what we're going to have. We're going to have a "Sesame Street" video about hair that is going viral. Plus, we have this impressive performance, when a band had all their instruments stolen and then put on a show after that. Plus, Fred, we have this. Take a look. Make yourself, or anyone, look different in a video with a simple slide. Taller, thinner, bigger, whatever you want, one slide. I'm going to show you the story behind this new device. All that coming up in Viral Video Rewind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This powerful typhoon is targeting the Philippines. It could trigger dangerous flooding and mudslides. Karen Maginnis is tracking this storm for us. It's a whopper, isn't it?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It his huge. It is enormous. And it is making its way towards the Philippines. And we start off with this because this looks to be a system where there could be great loss of life over the next 24 hours as it marches its way towards Luzon. Luzon in the northern Philippines.

Now, the eye -- well, just missed that. Here's the eye, clearly defined eye, about 25 miles wide. Is probably peak at intensity, but here's the problem. As it moves across the Philippines and then it curves towards the southeastern coast of China, it looks like Hainan or Hong Kong may be also affected by this system.

Now, it does look like it's going to lose some of its intensity but, then, as it moves into the South China Sea, where the waters are very warm, it could pick up some intensity once again, and then we're looking at the possibility of dangerous flooding taking place there.

In the forecast track, as it makes its way across the Philippines, South China Sea, there you can see it, going in towards the end of the work week, this is what we're looking at, perhaps a Category 3 hurricane.

Across the United States, generally speaking, it's pretty quiet. But here is the problem that happens across California. Area of low pressure situated just off the coast. This low is going to take its time, move towards the Great Basin.

Southern California, yes, could see a couple of days where the rain comes down as some of those burn areas that were denuded over the last several years. We could see the potential for some mudslides there if the rainfall is heavy enough.

Now we take it back to Fred and, oh, I love this part.

WHITFIELD: Yes, me, too.

MAGINNIS: Love this part.

LEVS: She's such a fan, she's always laughing and applauding.

(LAUGHTER)

MAGINNIS: Especially the animal ones. WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: I've got one for you.

MAGINNIS: I'm waiting on that, see?

LEVS: We'll get to one.

MAGINNIS: OK.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karen, appreciate that. So, we've got Viral Video Rewind now.

LEVS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: We've got a lot of things that'll -- some things will make us laugh, some will make us go, "How do they do that?"

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And then, others that will make us a little bit more introspective.

LEVS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: We have that whole range for you today.

WHITFIELD: Good.

LEVS: As always. A veritable plethora of viral videos. As you know, always Viral Video Rewind, we look for the latest, greatest that are out there, starting today, with this thing from "Sesame Street" --

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: That as gone viral. A celebration of hair. Take a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - SESAME STREET'S "I LOVE MY HAIR")

MUPPET (child's voice singing): Don't need a trip to the beauty shop, because I love what I've got on top. It's curly and it's brown, and it's right up there.

You know what I love, that's right. My hair. I really love my hair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: This little girl's a good singer. And this has had hundreds of thousands of views online since it went up.

WHITFIELD: I love this. LEVS: And it's interesting to me, there are articles about how "Sesame Street" decided to encourage young, black girls to love their hair.

WHITFIELD: Good.

LEVS: And we've done --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I love that.

LEVS: Stories about that here.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: At CNN and cnn.com, we have entire spreads about it.

WHITFIELD: Because it is something that has persisted for so, so long. And it's really good for little girls, particularly little black girls, to love themselves.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Because the images often say the complete antithesis.

LEVS: That's right. And so this -- young, black girls getting the message from that, but also, all kids getting the message from that. Like, whatever, love yourself --

WHITFIELD: That's so cute.

LEVS: Love the way you look, love your hair. So, really, it's that total Sesame Street brilliance where they feel the group and everyone, love it.

All right, now. It's an interesting counterpoint to the next thing I'm showing you, which is this new technology -- I'm going to talk over this. There's a narrative voice in the background. Just play it.

It's this -- it's interesting, though. This new technology -- she's actually in a blue screen there --

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: And they show her walk and walk back. And look what they do. It's basically, you just use a slide. You can make the person taller, shorter, thinner, wider --

WHITFIELD: More deception.

LEVS: And they're saying that there's ways that this could be used in really clever ways, in movies, if you're aging someone, changing someone physically.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: Maybe you want to change them, they don't have to gain 100 pounds for a role. Skip to the next section of this --

WHITFIELD: Yes, except we know how they're probably more likely to --

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: Yes, and so you see --

WHITFIELD: Use it.

LEVS: The kinds of things that they have. Like, it's just this thing that you can control. It's from the Max Planck Institut Informatik in Germany. And this -- a lot of people talking about this, and how they can -- take this "Baywatch" scene. Make someone more muscular, more thin.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

LEVS: And then, it automatically applies it to every frame.

WHITFIELD: Oh, great. Talk about self image one more time.

LEVS: I know. Look at that.

WHITFIELD: Another way of messing around with people's heads.

LEVS: I know.

WHITFIELD: Because, ultimately, that's what happens, right?

LEVS: I'm thinking some people who get a hold of that --

WHITFIELD: Just can't appreciate what you are, what you've got.

LEVS: Love your hair.

WHITFIELD: Instead, it's got to be something else.

LEVS: See? See the counterpoint I'm giving you?

WHITFIELD: Drives me nuts.

LEVS: All right. So this won't drive you nuts --

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: Because this is so cool. This band in New York, Atomic Tom, had all their instruments stolen. So, the get on a subway and they play using only iPhones. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - ATOMIC TOM "TAKE ME OUT")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Please, rescue me, take me out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: They've got one doing piano, one doing drums, one doing guitar --

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

LEVS: They start singing. This video now goes viral. All these people talking about the fact that they lose their instruments, this is helping them gain fame on the net.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

LEVS: Isn't that fantastic?

WHITFIELD: This is fascinating.

LEVS: And you're seeing one -- and you and I have talked about how many videos take place on New York subways.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: It's like, now, I think if you're on a New York subway, you have a one percent chance of ending up in a viral video.

WHITFIELD: You know what? I was on a New York subway a couple weeks ago. And I was thinking about that time -- remember, you had the performers on the -- ?

LEVS: That was a while ago.

WHITFIELD: And I was thinking, "Is anything going to happen in the car that I'm in?"

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: No. Nothing happened.

LEVS: You made it.

WHITFIELD: Twenty minute ride, nothing happened.

LEVS: We're getting a little bit --

WHITFIELD: Nothing except the ordinary. You know, no one started performing or doing anything cool like that.

LEVS: Nothing crazy.

WHITFIELD: No.

LEVS: Well, it is New York. So next time, you'll get it. So, I promise you a viral relaxation video every week.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: And we didn't get to it yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we're ready.

LEVS: So here is one, thanks to the great folks at, I think fark.com, little green footballs, they have this. Listen to this. Tell me what you think of the music. Everyone loves the picture.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: People are split on whether the singing's relaxing or not. Let's take it full.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SINGING)

(HIGH STRING MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: This is out of Sweden.

WHITFIELD: Yes, very relaxing.

LEVS: Very relaxing, right?

WHITFIELD: I do like it.

LEVS: This is out of Sweden by the Swedish filmmaker Bart van der Gaag.

WHITFIELD: Anything with water.

LEVS: Especially with water, the beautiful pictures. The music is "Prituri se planinata" performed by the late Stefka Sabotinova. And I'll tell you, people tweet me, Facebook me, relaxation videos for Fred. They always pull through.

WHITFIELD: And I'm always happy. I'm always feeling much better.

LEVS: Ah.

WHITFIELD: By the end of the segment.

LEVS: Our moment of Zen.

WHITFIELD: Get a little laughs in, and now, ah. Relaxation. Just breathe.

LEVS: As always, all the links are up at Facebook. I show everyone the screen. Yes, and we can even go out on that, so it's all right there on Facebook.

WHITFIELD: And Josh brings down his voice and --

LEVS: Ah.

WHITFIELD: Just kind of punctuates the whole moment.

LEVS: Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. All the links there. Yes, you know? Just gives us this little moment, and then we get back to the news, of course.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Levs on the lookout, all the time.

LEVS: Just as we're letting go.

WHITFIELD: All right. Appreciate it.

LEVS: You've got it, Fred. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh, appreciate it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Updating the political headlines now. With just 16 days until the midterm elections, two Colorado Senate candidates face off on national television today. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet debated Republican challenger Ken Buck on NBC's "Meet the Press." Bennet defended his vote for last year's stimulus bill, saying it saved America from plunging into a depression. Buck called for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.

And Republican Senator John McCain's daughter, Meghan, is no fan of the GOP Senate candidate in Delaware. Meghan McCain says Christine O'Donnell scares her. She says O'Donnell is making a mockery of running for public office and is being seen as, quote, "a nut job," end quote.

And despite the predictions of many pundits, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is still predicting Democrats will retain control of Congress. Gibbs says Democrats will remain in control of both the House and the Senate, and he says both parties will need to work together to deal with the national debt.

And if Gibbs is wrong and the Republicans do win back control of Congress, a lot of people are wondering if the GOP regulars will get along with newly elected, particularly Tea Party-backed candidates. Lisa Desjardins is CNN Radio's Capitol Hill Correspondent and is joining us again from Washington.

So, Lisa, if Republicans were to take over the House, is it likely that there would be some power struggles within the ranks?

LISA DESJARDINS, CNN RADIO CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fredricka.

You know, right now, all everyone is focused on is the battle for control of Congress. But the truth is if Republicans win one or both chambers, there will then be . A battle already underway, but it would now be felt here in Congress because the truth is that the Republican leadership here in Washington is not leading this rebellion.

They're instead trying to survive it, and they would very likely have to contend with new, much more Conservative members coming up the ranks. And depending on how many of them win, Republicans will have an all-out battle amongst themselves.

Let's look at some of the potential device that they would face, specific issues that Republicans wouldn't necessarily agree on amongst themselves. First, which is more important, social or fiscal issues? The Tea Party all about fiscal issues but many Republican who've been around a long time up here care about social issues like gays in the military or abortions. That's one.

Number two, earmarks and pork. You know, outside of Washington everyone hates pork, the Tea Party hates pork. But the truth is a lot of the Republicans in power in this town love it. So there could be a huge fight over whether Republicans will really ban earmarks as they promised or not.

Finally, government shutdown. Those words are starting to enter the vocabulary again up here. Some who are more conservative, kind of this new young blood type thing Republicans would be smart to shut down the government rather than pass a large budget to try and keep costs contained. But, of course, those Republicans have been around a while, Fredricka.

And you might remember this. All remember the 1995 shutdown where Republicans by and large lost points and those established Republicans don't want that to happen. So there could be a fight even over the idea of a government shutdown among Republicans.

WHITFIELD: OK. And meantime, some people are already fast forwarding past November 2nd and thinking that it's time to start planning some of the committees in Congress depending on the outcome. And already there's some power struggle -

DESJARDINS: Right. Never too soon for power struggle. Right.

WHITFIELD: Right.

DESJARDINS: That's true. And we're going to run through a couple of the big committees that folks at home should really pay attention to.

First off, let's start with Energy and Commerce. Right now, the ranking Republican on that committee is Joe Barton of Texas. If you remember that name it's probably because he is the man who apologized to BP in those hearings earlier this year. He then retracted that apology, but the Republican - he almost lost his ranking membership because of it. He actually is term limited. He's not supposed to be chairman, but he's asking for a waiver so that he can do it. There will be a big battle over whether or not he gets the chairmanships.

And here are the folks waiting in the wings, really quick. Michigan's Fred Upton, he's someone to watch from Kalamazoo. Also Cliff Sterns of Florida. He's in the Tea Party caucus. Those are two members who could control Energy and Commerce.

Why does that committee matter? That is where Republicans could start or at least center their fight against the health care bill.

All right. Next, appropriations, the money committee, the folks that dole out the cash here in Washington. Right now, the most senior member of that committee is Jerry Lewis of California. There he is. He also has a problem that he would be term limited. He's asking for a waiver so that he could become - we expect he may ask for a waiver to become chairman. He has a lot of powerful connections.

But here's the thing, Fredricka. Jerry Lewis - he loves the earmarks. He's not a Tea Party guy. He's not a fiscal Conservative.

Waiting in the wings behind him, most likely there are a few. But Hall Rogers of Kentucky is most likely the candidate who could take appropriations if it's not Jerry Lewis. He also is someone where he was called prince of pork a few - by one of the local papers in Kentucky, but he's - both of those men indicate the problem that Republicans have.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DESJARDINS: They have some people coming into leadership who are spenders or at least like earmarks in a time when the public is clearly voicing opposition to those earmarks.

WHITFIELD: All right.

DESJARDINS: Does that make sense, Fred?

WHITFIELD: It makes a whole lot of sense, Lisa. Thanks so much for breaking it down. Appreciate it. And helping to look into the crystal ball.

DESJARDINS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Appreciate it.

All right. So for the latest on political news, log on to CNN Politics.com.

We're talking about whooping cough. Because guess what? It is making a huge comeback, particularly in California. We're going to find out exactly what is behind the rise in cases. Plus, try to help you protect you and your family.

But first, one more time, let's listen to three distinctive coughs and see if you can determine which one is whooping cough. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

(COUGHING)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Yuck, right? A, B, C, which one was it? The answer when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So that is what a whooping cough sounds like. Before this break, we gave you three distinctive coughs. This one you're hearing right here was the second cough that you've heard. So if you guessed B, you were right. That's what whooping cough sounds like.

And we're asking that question because it seems like there's an uptick in cases of whooping cough. Many people seem to think that whooping cough kind of went out of style with those high button shoes, you remember those? But nearly 17,000 cases were actually reported across the United States just last year alone. And this year, the potentially deadly disease is reported in all 50 states with more than 5,000 cases in California alone.

In fact, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon recently made a public service announcement to warn people about whooping cough, formally known as pertussis. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF GORDON, NASCAR DRIVER: I'm Jeff Gordon warning parents about pertussis. What's that? Well, imagine a cough barreling through your infant's body at up to 100 miles per hour, with enough force to make him gasp for air - again and again, for weeks, even months.

Pertussis or whooping cough is potentially fatal. Now, imagine you gave this to your baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the upper respiratory system that causes uncontrollable coughing.

Dr. Lawrence Ross joins us now from Los Angelese. So, you know, Doctor, are we talking about whooping cough being very preventable? We know that people are vaccinated at a very early age. What's going on that there would be an uptick?

LAWRENCE ROSS, PHYSICIAN, LOS ANGELES: Well, yes, it is very preventable. The vaccines that we have and we have been using for many, many decades now are quite effective. But the problem is, is that after five to seven years immunity from the vaccine wanes, and we need to re-immunize, revaccinate, if you will.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

ROSS: And what's really great in the last five years is that now we have two vaccines that we can give to teenagers and adults -

WHITFIELD: Really.

ROSS: -- that we didn't have before for re-immunization.

WHITFIELD: So, do people know this in a very big way? I mean, do they know this availability exists?

ROSS: Well, I think that is our goal right now is to make people aware of it. And one of the reasons we want to do this is that infants are at the greatest risk for catching pertussis and having complications, and the best way to prevent them from getting it is to prevent it in their family. And so we call this cocooning where we immunize mom and dad and household - other household members, we can diminish the risk of babies will acquire it before they can be immunized themselves.

WHITFIELD: So why California? Why does it seem that California has the most cases right now?

ROSS: Well, I think one thing we have to recognize is that every two to five years there are epidemics or increased recognition of pertussis in our country, and this has always been the case. And this happens to be one of the years.

But also in recent years we really are trying to sensitize health care workers to the diagnosis. Many people don't realize that teenagers and adults who are coughing for a week, two weeks or longer may very well have whooping cough, and they can be sick for weeks at a time. But more importantly they can then bring it home and give it to young infants who can get very sick, require hospitalization. And as we've seen in California, they can even have a fatal outcome from that.

WHITFIELD: So what are the symptoms? Yes, you said it maybe a cough that lasts for two weeks long, but how - how would you know that, you know, this is something that's serious?

ROSS: The most important thing for people to know about whooping cough in terms of how it presents is that it is a very prolonged cough and the coughing is very characteristic. It's as if the child or the adult, whoever has it, is trying to cough out all this very thick mucus on one expiration and trying to get it all out and they work so hard to cough. Then at the end of the cough, they have to whoop to bring air back in or they can throw up or they may turn blue in the face or what we see in young infants is they may actually stop breathing entirely.

WHITFIELD: So you've got to go to the doctor right away as soon as you are experiencing or witnessing something like this in your child?

ROSS: Well, yes. I think there's two reasons you want to go to the physician. You want him to make the diagnosis and we can give you antibiotics such as erythromycin or Clarithromycin which can eliminate your carriage of it. And that's important because then you wouldn't spread it to other individuals in the family or in the community.

The problem is, is that once the individual starts having coughing, the antibiotic itself wouldn't modify the prolonged course of this coughing illness.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Fascinating stuff. All right. Dr. Lawrence Ross joining us from Los Angeles. Thanks so much.

ROSS: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot of television viewers are very upset this weekend. FOX Network shows have apparently - the plug has been pulled on many of them, particularly if you live in the New York area. Why? We'll explain.

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WHITFIELD: All right. So in the Democratic Republic of Congo, thousands of women are saying no more to sexual violence and rape. They have gathered in Eastern Congo to protest the mass rapes of some 15,000 women there.

Nima Elbagir joins us now with more on what's taking place. Nima?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was really a demonstration against what the United Nations has called the epidemic of violence against women in the Congo. As you said, thousands of women took to the street, women from all over the world and all over the Congo. But it wasn't just about saying no to sexual violence.

A lot of the women on the march were telling us it was also about telling the word that the women of Congo are survivors. That in spite of everything that's been thrown at them, they're still here - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so I wonder, Nima, you know, a lot of women have been intimidated for a very long time because of the atrocities that took place, so many were raped. Are there women who are concerned about speaking out now and whether they put their lives in jeopardy one more time?

ELBAGIR: That's what was so incredible about today, Fredricka. There were some women actual rape survivors who'd left their hospital wards to come out on this march. And many of them were wearing the color yellow, which here is a very festive color, to represent themselves as rape victims.

As much as this march was about standing against sexual violence, it's also about reclaiming the dignity and rejecting the stigma and the intimidation that comes with these attacks. It was very much the women of the Congo showing the world how strong they are.

WHITFIELD: Are there any new protections promised to women and children?

ELBAGIR: Sadly, there's been a lot of conversation about the need for protection here in the Congo, and there was a pretty horrific attack in August where 300 women were raped in three days. The United Nations initiated the report into how possibly that could ever have happened.

But we've been here for less than four days, and yesterday we went to a village that have been attacked with a Congo-lead army base less than a kilometer away. Daily we're hearing these reports of attack - attacks. And at the moment it just seems like there's a lot of talk on an international level, but really nothing is changing here on the ground - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Nima Elbagir, thanks so much for your live report coming from Congo.

Back in this country, FOX versus Cablevision next.

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WHITFIELD: A dispute between the FOX Network and cable provider Cablevision left New York Giants fans in the dark today. This afternoon's game with Detroit was blacked out.

Brian Stetler is a media reporter for "The New York Times." He's covering this dispute. So how are you doing? Are they still in the dark - in the dark? No FOX channels on the air, Cablevision?

BRIAN STELTER, NEW YORK TIMES MEDIA REPORTER: Still in the dark. And this is pretty surprising. Normally, these things wrap up in half a day, maybe a full day if we're unlucky. We're going into the third day -

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy (ph).

STELTER: -- and it's pretty likely they're not going to have a deal before Monday.

WHITFIELD: So what's at issue? What's the sticking point?

STELTER: It comes down to tens of millions of dollars. We're talking about how much every Cablevision customer, really every American, at the end of the day, should pay for networks like FOX.

You know, for years, we've paid for CNN and other channels in our cable bills. We haven't paid for the big broadcasters. And now the broadcasters want to get paid. So are they worth 50 cents a month per customer, are they worth a dollar a month per customer? That's really what they're haggling over.

WHITFIELD: So in the end, I wonder, who is this costing more? Because if you're talking three days now, you say on average it takes something like a matter of hours. Are Cablevision customers going to be so annoyed with all this that they're going to decide, you know what, forget cable, you know, I'm going to go with - I don't know - Dish.

STELTER: Or DIRECTV or Verizon. You know, that's exactly what - that's exactly what Fox is telling people. They're suggesting a switch to an alternate provider.

But the truth is, at the end of the day, every company, whether it's DIRECTV or Cablevision is going to have to have a deal with FOX. You know, they all, at the end of the day, have these contracts. And, at the end of the day, we all end up paying for these networks. It's just a matter of, you know, honestly, it probably comes down to 10 cents or 15 cents at the end of the day -

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

STELTER: -- for these companies, but they're going to haggle it out and they're going to make us suffer in the meantime.

WHITFIELD: So what's the end game that you envision?

STELTER: You know, I think it's possible that they're going to come back to the table - they're going to negotiate again tomorrow morning. They'll be back tomorrow. They'll keep talking.

But I thought the fact they blacked out the Giants game today means they're in it for the long haul. Both these companies are digging in their heels. It's possible this could go on for - for a while to come.

WHITFIELD: All right. So New Yorkers have got to be hot over this. How did they watch their Giants today?

STELTER: Some people watched online, websites that may or may not be legal. A lot of people went to bars to try to tune in to the games. And some just followed on radio, the old-fashioned way, which is sometimes is the best way to listen to a game anyway.

WHITFIELD: OK, unless you've got a ticket, right?

Brian Stetler, thank you so much, with "The New York Times." Appreciate that.

STELTER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. October, as you know by now, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and breast cancer survivors recently took their crusade to the streets for the third annual "Heels to Wheels Ride". Many donned pink bandannas, motorcycle boots, you name it. And for those who didn't want to sit up front, well, there were bosom buddies as well.

CNN photojournalist David Jenkins shares their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENDA PAULSHOCK, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Today's ride is all about women and supporting women that have had breast cancer.

I'm a survivor of two and a half years. I have a to do list and I'm going to try to do all the things that never entered my mind until after I was affected with cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to be a bosom buddy today. I think - I mean, if we - if any ladies need a ride or want a ride, I'll take them on a ride with me today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just always enjoyed it, being on the back of the bike. So after I had my episode, I decided I wanted to be in the front of the bike. And it gave me the courage to go out and do it. It's very empowering, to be on the bike. It's something that just puts you out there and you can just feel like you're free and it's - you can just keep going forever. It's just wonderful. It's a very, very free feeling for me.

It's amazing how far we've come. And we've only gotten that far because of events like this that help to raise money to continue research and finding more things and more cures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A last look at our top stories for this hour.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says thousands of top secret Afghan war documents posted on the WikiLeaks website did not reveal any sensitive intelligence information, but he warns there are fears the Taliban could still retaliate against Afghans named in those documents. But a NATO official says so far that hasn't happened.

And two people are dead and several others seriously injured in a tour bus crash in Kingman, Arizona. Police say the bus drifted off the highway and rolled over several times. It was headed from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon west with 11 passengers on board.

And a feisty 19th century nun is Australia's first catholic saint. Mary MacKillop fought against priest abuse and headed to Australia's outback to minister to the rural poor. The Catholic Church also credits her with miraculously helping to cure a woman of cancer.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you back here next weekend. Don Lemon is up next. He'll speak live with former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders about legalizing marijuana. She's got a pretty interesting take on that issue.

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