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"Liberty at the Ballot Box"; Banking on Charlotte; "Stayin' Alive"; NATO Source Pins Bin Laden in Northwestern Pakistan; Chile's President Speaks Out About Miners' Rescue

Aired October 18, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is go time. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Drew Griffin, in for Ali Velshi -- Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks.

Stick around, take a look this. You know what that is, Tony? One hundred dollars. Well, it's part of our big idea, and the idea is one of these -- just one of these -- given to every single baby born in the world today ends poverty. That's the idea. We're going to talk about it during the show -- the guy who's pushing that idea on us.

Also, we have the CNN Election Express -- is in the second biggest banking center in the United States. You know where it is? Well, you can bet it's getting battered by foreclosure crisis. We're going to hit the streets to talk to those who live in that mysterious town we'll tell you about.

Also, you can sing to the Bee Gees, you can dance to the Bee Gees, now you can save someone's life to the Bee Gees. "Stayin' Alive" never sounded so good.

Well, if politics were a horse race, we are in the final stretch -- 15 days until state and local elections that will rewrite the national landscape. The Tea Party Express starting its fourth national road trip, as we speak. We're going to get to that in a minute.

But, first, let me show you the stakes. In the Senate, 37 out of 100 seats up for grabs. If Republicans pick up 10 of them, the Democrats majority disappears and Republicans take control. In the House, 435 seats up for grabs. Republicans need to just flip 39 to their side, and polls suggest they might very well do that.

Now, I mentioned 15 days, but the truth is -- several states have started early voting and several more are the ones in blue start today.

Also starting today, the Tea Party Express, for Liberty at the Ballot Box -- that's the name of a crisscrossing, zigzaggy bus tour that kicks off this hour in Reno, Nevada, ends on election eve in Concord, New Hampshire. The route, of course, is anything but random.

In Nevada, the Tea Partiers hope to topple the Senate majority leader himself, Harry Reid. He is in the fight of his political life, really, against Sharron Angle.

In Kentucky, the Tea Party is backing Rand Paul against Democrat Jack Conway.

And Delaware, of course, home to Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, who's fighting Democrat Chris Coons for Joe Biden's old seat.

And there they are, "The Best Political Team on Television" is on the job. CNN's Shannon Travis is with the Tea Party bus tour in Reno; our senior political editor, Mark Preston, in D.C.; and with the CNN Election express today in Charlotte, North Carolina, T.J. Holmes.

Let's start with bus number one and Shannon.

You are with that Tea Party bus, and you've got a marquee name coming to the faithful there. Who is it?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it doesn't get much bigger. Of course, that is Sarah Palin. She is the darling of this movement. She is the one that a lot of people want to see and hear from. A lot of people around the country want to hear from when it comes to spreading the Tea Party message.

We have been out here now for the past few hours. The crowd is excited. The crowd is pumped. It's thick, very close to the stage. It starts to thin out a little bit more behind.

I followed a lot of these rallies over the past few months. It's a little smaller than what I've seen before, but not smaller in terms of enthusiasm.

Sarah Palin will go up on stage, and she will lay out likely, if history serves us, a scorching -- a scorching criticism of Senator Harry Reid, the most powerful Democrat in the Senate. And a scorching and high praise for Sharron Angle for why she should replace be -- for why she should replace Harry Reid in the Senate.

Things are just getting underway. We're standing by for Sarah Palin to go up any moment now.

GRIFFIN: Shannon, this bus tour starts today in Reno, Nevada. It ends in Concord, New Hampshire, one of the first primary states in the presidential election. Is Sarah Palin going to be on both ends of this tour? Do you know? Do we have that schedule yet?

TRAVIS: We don't have that confirmed, that Sarah Palin will be on the New Hampshire end. Anything is certainly possible. There's a critical Senate race going on in New Hampshire also, which is likely one of the reasons why the Tea Party Express wants to go there, and play up that race, as well.

But it would be interesting if she does show up in New Hampshire, because that would fuel that speculation that's been running rampant about whether she will actually mount the White House bid. So, we don't have that confirmation just yet, but certainly, anything is possible, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Shannon, great. We'll hopefully get pictures of Sarah Palin when she gets there. Thanks a lot, Shannon.

Let's bring in our senior political editor now, Mark Preston.

Mark, watching all this from D.C., what are Democrats doing in this final stretch as we're calling it?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, they're trying to spend as much money as they can now, Drew, to try to protect incumbents such as Harry Reid out in Nevada, Barbara Boxer in California. What they're trying to do is shore up their defenses.

As you said at the top, 10 seats -- if Republicans are able to flip 10 seats in the Senate, they take the majority. If they're able to flip 39 seats in the House, they take the majority.

Now, I have to tell our viewers, it is more likely that Republicans will be able to take back the House of Representatives than they will be able to take back the Senate. However, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, is very much in danger of losing re- election, Drew.

GRIFFIN: How about some of the other Tea Party favorites, Mark? I mean, pretty much, we seem to have written off any chance in Delaware. But is that true?

And what about Joe Miller in Alaska? He's got a tough race on his hands, particularly because the Republican he beat won't go away.

PRESTON: Yes, and there, the Republican is Lisa Murkowski. She was the Republican-backed candidate. You know, she was the incumbent senator. She is launching a write-in bid.

What's unknown in Alaska is if the Republican Party establishment, which is now, by and large, behind Miller, can help fend off this challenge by Lisa Murkowski, and not siphon away votes that would allow the Democrat to go in and capture that seat.

But looking ahead, Drew, to what's going to happen on November 3rd, you will see Tea Party candidates who will win on Election Day, and who will come here to govern. For instance, Mike Lee out in Utah -- he is all but assured re-election or election. He defeated Bob Bennett, who was the establishment candidate in the primary. We'll see him come here.

Rand Paul is in a tight race in Kentucky. He could come here. We could see Joe Miller here. We could see Sharron Angle here. We could even see the likes of Marco Rubio, who is not necessarily considered a Tea Party candidate, but the Tea Party is what helps propel him in Florida.

So, potentially, on November 3rd, you could see a lot of Tea Party candidates in here, Drew. GRIFFIN: And that will change the dynamic not only with Republicans and Democrats, but with Republicans and Republicans because -- you know, let's face it, a lot of these Tea Party candidates, they don't really like the Republicans either, especially those who have been as they say, running us into the ground in D.C. for these last years.

PRESTON: And that's absolutely correct. What they are united in is defeating Democrats on November 2nd. So you'll see the Tea Party and the Republican establishment. We heard Michael Steele talk about it this weekend, that there was no rift between the two.

No, there's no rift for November 2nd, but come November 3rd, there is going to be a rift because these Tea Party candidates think that the GOP establishment sold out over the past eight years specifically on spending.

And we haven't heard a lot about social issues, Drew, in this campaign, because the economy has been so bad. But I predict this: should we get a handful of Tea Party candidates elected on Election Day, expect social issues to be put back on the table.

GRIFFIN: All right, Mark, I think I got so excited intro-ing you I said your name backwards. I apologize for that, and your entire family. I know your name is Mark.

PRESTON: That's OK.

GRIFFIN: Mark Preston, with "The Best Political Team on Television."

Hey, we have another bus to tell you about, right, touring the country, is ours -- the CNN Election Express. And today, it's in Charlotte, North Carolina. T.J. Holmes is taking stock of a sour economy and an equally sour electorate there -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Two weeks and one day before Americans elect a new Congress, the candidates on the move and so are we -- the CNN Election Express in Charlotte, North Carolina. That is a town that is home to a lot of your money -- right, T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You might not know it, folks, but here in this town, some of your money is tied up right behind me here in downtown. Some $2-plus trillion dollars in assets tied up right here in this city. A lot of money and a lot of mortgages you need to know about.

And so much about mortgages these days at home have to do with foreclosures. Record numbers of foreclosures across the country.

And now, a new mess -- with Bank of America headquartered here, put a stop to foreclosures because of maybe some inconsistencies and some of how they have been processed. And we have been talking to folks here on the front line. I've got another one I want to talk to. This is Steve Meckler. He's a business litigator -- and attorney here who deals with some foreclosures.

Thank you for helping us out here. You're on the fore front lines of this. You have been in Charlotte 10-plus years now. What have you seen the past few years when it comes to foreclosures in this town, in this state in particular?

STEVE MECKLER, REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY: Well, there's no doubt that charlotte has been hit like the rest of the country. We have seen a lot of foreclosures, but we got a lot of people who borrow a lot more than they can afford to pay back. And the banks have been working hard to work with people. But, you know, you get to a point where there is just no more work to be done. And a lot of these foreclosures are indicative of larger debt problems with the borrowers.

HOLMES: Something I asked you just a moment ago was -- is this crisis now that we've seen, this latest incident in that foreclosures have been put on hold, these foreclosure sales --

MECKLER: Right.

HOLMES: -- is that now giving some people a false sense of hope? They think that maybe there's a way now, and maybe not the thinking that they should have?

MECKLER: You're absolutely right. The problem with the halt on foreclosure is it is only delaying the inevitable. The reality is, the banks are going to go back, they'll get the paperwork right, resubmit it, and at the end of the game, the homeowner is still going to lose the house, unless they can come up with a pay to pay for it.

HOLMES: Something else you said to me was that you might be better off throwing up your hands, putting out the white flag of surrender. You might help yourself by going ahead and getting the process started versus what you say is delaying the inevitable.

MECKLER: Absolutely. If you're going to lose your home, go ahead and let the bank take it. It does a couple of things: cuts down on the legal fees that you probably are liable for under your note, and it allows your credit to start being repaired.

Now, what you need to do is you need to work with the bank and see if you can let the bank take the home without getting a deficiency judgment against you, which is the money which is the difference between what it sells for at auction and what you owe the bank.

HOLMES: How tough is that to get through to someone? Because some people just heard that and said, wait a minute, he wants me to just go ahead and give up my house? Some people just -- it doesn't sound right.

MECKLER: It's hard. You've got to open your mind. I've had a few family members of my own get their homes foreclosed on. And my advice to them was: don't fight it.

They don't intend to pay the loan back. They can't pay the loan back. Let the bank take the home back and try to repair your credit. Try to work out a deal with the bank so you don't have a deficiency judgment, and get your life moving again.

Otherwise, what you're doing is you're delaying for a year or two years the process you're going to end up being at anyways.

HOLMES: Does it feel like Charlotte has gotten a bit of a double whammy? It's dealing with what every other city across the country is dealing with, but also, this town depends so much on the financial industry, on mortgages. So people are getting hit like everybody else, and then on top of that, this town depends on financing so much.

MECKLER: It does. We have been hit hard, no doubt about it.

Now, I'll tell you, the leadership in Charlotte is smart. They have brought in some additional companies, (INAUDIBLE) moved in, Electrolux has moved in.

But no doubt, when we lost to Wachovia in the sale to Wells Fargo, we lost a lot of good people, a lot of high-wage earners for the city. Now, Wells Fargo has stuck with Charlotte and they've done a good job of retaining a lot of jobs. But we're in the promise of making that up.

Charlotte is a great place to be for business. There's no doubt about it. That's why we moved here 10 years ago.

GRIFFIN: Hey, T.J., let me ask you a question.

HOLMES: When it comes to these foreclosures -- go ahead. Go ahead, Drew.

GRIFFIN: I just came back from Florida doing a story on these foreclosure issues, and I know your guest doesn't have the ability to hear me, so maybe you can pass this on. He mentioned something very interesting to me, which was basically to give up, don't pay, right? But you are -- but he also said get in touch with your bank and see about some kind of loan modification.

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that have called their banks and the bank says, forget it, we're not dealing with you, there's no loan modification here.

HOLMES: That's a great point.

And you and I were talking about that. I was talking to Drew Griffin in Atlanta for us right now. He's talked to some folks who are dealing with foreclosure, as well. People will tell you to call your bank and try to work something out. For the most part, like you were telling me, banks do want to work something out.

MECKLER: Absolutely.

HOLMES: But once you get to a point, you run out of options, once that foreclosure proceeding actually starts -- and here in North Carolina, the law is they have to give a certain notice. So, Drew is kind of asking, explain -- some people say call the bank and get help, but then they think that the bank just wants to go ahead and wash their hands of it.

MECKLER: Yes. If the bank can work out a deal and it's good deal for the bank and for the homeowner, I think the banks will do it. In North Carolina, you've got to give a 45-day notice before you start the foreclosure proceeding.

Usually, once you hit that point, everybody has made the determination that there's no deal to be had, that the homeowner can't afford any payments, and that reworking of the mortgage isn't going to do it. So, the bank is going to try to work out a deal. And at that point, the foreclosure process starts, the court system starts, and there's nothing you can do other than get an attorney.

But if you owe the money and you can't pay it back, what's the bank to do? They've got to take the home.

HOLMES: And they don't have any incentive sometimes to work anything out when they know they can get something. Get something back, right?

MECKLER: Right.

HOLMES: All right. Steve Meckler --

MECKLER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Sir, appreciate you taking the time out.

Again, Drew, this town is going through it like everybody else. But again, they're with that bag drop, and literally of the financial industry, looming over them large right here in downtown Charlotte.

GRIFFIN: All right, T.J., thanks a lot.

And we're going to have T.J. and the CNN Election Express roll on. Next stop: Columbia, South Carolina tomorrow. And follow the Election Express every day, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But don't let those low inflation numbers fool you. Prices on a lot of things you use every day are on the rise. We're going to check that list, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: You know inflation has barely budged over the past year with consumer prices up only about 1 percent since September of 2009. But that number doesn't tell the whole story, because the prices of some things you buy every week are definitely way up. That's especially bad news for people who depend on Social Security. Christine Romans has "YOUR $$$$$."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-HOST, YOUR $$$$$: Drew, seniors will not get a cost of living increase in their Social Security checks, because officially, at least, the cost of living is not rising. Inflation is measured by the government is barely moving higher -- so much so that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says it's uncomfortably low, and some analysts are starting worry about deflation.

But that doesn't mean you won't notice some sharply rising costs right. Commodities of all sorts are rising sharply, because the dollar is weak, and investors are piling into hard assets like gold and oil, and corn.

Corn prices are above $5.60 a bushel. Grain crop failure in Russia and a smaller than expected U.S. crop means skyrocketing prices at the market. So, anything that is a derivative of corn will likely cost you more.

Grain prices since this summer have surged at higher rates than at any other time in the past 40 years. And it takes grain to feed animals. That's why meat prices are at the highest level since the 1980s.

Coffee prices are going up. Bagged coffee for Dunkin' Donuts, Green Market, Maxwell House, they're rising. But if you get your cup of Joe from a coffee shop or corner diner, those prices haven't gone up yet.

And your energy bills, they're expected to rise by about $24 on average per family. That's according to the government.

And airline tickets -- we talked about this a lot lately -- it's getting more expensive to travel. Ticket prices are increasing by 10 percent to 15 percent. According to FareCompare.com, you can expect higher prices at least through the end of the year -- Drew.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: What a surprise, Christine.

You can catch more of Christine, along with our own Ali Velshi on "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays at 1:00 Eastern, Sundays at 3:00.

Christine Romans is also the author -- "Smart is the New Rich" is her book. It's on bookshelves right now.

Checking our top stories:

Citigroup beats Wall Street expectations with quarterly earnings of $2.2 billion, the banking giant's third straight quarterly profit. The once struggling Citigroup got a big chunk of bailout tax dollars. The profit might be a sign that it is finally stabilizing. You may want to think twice before downloading anymore apps from Facebook. "The Wall Street Journal" found that many popular apps have been transferring information about you to advertising and Internet tracking companies. "The Journal" says millions of Facebook app users may be affected, even if they set their profiles to the strictest privacy settings. Facebook says it's taking steps to fix the problem.

The wife of an American reportedly shot dead on a lake along the Texas-Mexico border says she gave an eight-hour interview to federal and state authorities in Mexico. Tiffany Hartley tells CNN she's going to continue talking to police today. She says she and her husband, David, were riding jet skis on Falcon Lake when her husband was killed by gunmen possibly linked to a Mexican drug gang. David Hartley's body has not been found, despite extensive searches.

All right. Remember this? Ha, ha, ha, ha --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Staying alive.

GRIFFIN: Staying alive. Well, it may actually keep you alive. I'm not kidding.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: All right. You're back for more Bee Gees, I know. They can save your life or someone else's.

The American Heart Association is out with new easier guidelines on how to do CPR, and they're sure funky.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here, along with Jauve Cranston (ph), our excellent Turner security officer, who's going to demonstrate this, I guess.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's going to demonstrate, because CPR, this is sort of a new CPR. I don't know about when you were a Boy Scout. But when I was a little girl, they taught you, you know, thrust, thrust, thrust on the chest and then turn and do some breaths.

GRIFFIN: Right. Right. Five and three or something.

COHEN: There was some ratio. Right. And the fact that neither of us remembers is significant, because what they were finding was that, one, people weren't remembering, and that two, it was just easier for people to remember to do the chest compressions.

So, Officer Cranston is going to show us how to do what is called hands-only CPR. And the trick is, you have to do it really hard, don't worry about breaking a rib, just really hard and at a certain beat. And we're going to hear some music right now that's going to give him the right beat.

So, Officer Cranston, go ahead. (MUSIC)

GRIFFIN: Whew! Look at you.

COHEN: There you go. There you go.

GRIFFIN: Really? That's it? And you just keep doing that?

COHEN: You just keep doing that. And the reason why they're trying to get further away from this, doing these breaths, is because you're trying to keep the blood circulating, and if you're not really well-trained, taking the time to stop and do the breaths, you're not keeping it circulating. And, in fact, you were told in your training, to keep the song in your head, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's one of the ways that you can keep your timing down is with that song.

GRIFFIN: Timing was great. I mean, everybody knows that song and the beat.

COHEN: Exactly.

GRIFFIN: It's like you don't sing that slow or fast. You sing it right in that groove.

COHEN: And you were telling me, you've got to go down two inches keep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, one-and-a-half to two inches is where you need to be.

COHEN: And you said you bruise people sometimes and that's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's a normal part of the process, really. So, you're more concerned with saving that person's life.

COHEN: Right. So if you break a rib, you break a rib, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rather have them be bruised than --

COHEN: Right. Than dead, right. Exactly.

GRIFFIN: Is it also a fact that people get wigged out by the mouth to mouth?

COHEN: I think so. I mean, some people just don't want to do it and so, they're sitting there and thinking, do I want to do this, don't I want to do this, what diseases might this person have -- when in fact they're just finding that these compressions just work so well on their own. And they said that if more people did this, if more bystanders actually did this kind of CPR, you would save 20,000 lives a year.

GRIFFIN: Wow. Also kids -- now, we had special rules for kids when I was doing the whole Lamaze thing and everything, and it was like fingers and stuff like that. I don't remember any of that. But is there anything different about kids with this, or you do the same thing?

COHEN: Well, the age -- it's a little bit -- some of this gets a little bit confusing. But basically what they say with kids is that you should also do the chest compressions alone. When you're dealing with really little tiny babies -- that you do need to be more concerned about the airway. If you've got a kid choking on something, obviously, you need to think about that airway.

A drown -- a kid who's drowning, you need to think about the airway.

But sort of rule of thumb, everyone except little tiny babies, do those chest compressions.

GRIFFIN: Yes. And so when you are called on in an emergency, what's the first thing you do, just -- you call 911, and then start this. Or you get somebody to start this right away and call 911?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you want to have 911 on the way to basically back you up for anything further. But once 911 is called, then you continue with your care.

GRIFFIN: Wow. And you do it for the whole song?

COHEN: You do it until --

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: The long version or the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a verse.

GRIFFIN: Oh, really, just the verse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ha, ha, ha, ha, staying alive, staying alive. And that's basically -- anything else keeps you offbeat.

GRIFFIN: Wow.

COHEN: And you want to do it until help arrives. I mean, you don't want to stop and say, well, I finished the chorus, I'm done here. No, you want to keep doing that, keeping that song in your mind, keep going and then when help arrives, they'll take over.

GRIFFIN: Well, I'll tell you what, that is easy to remember.

COHEN: That's right.

GRIFFIN: That's for sure. And I hope it saves some lives.

Thanks a lot. Appreciate, officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No problem.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

GRIFFIN: OK. Well, this guy, he is the FBI's most wanted terrorist. But after hunting for Osama bin Laden for 12 years, about all we know is, he may not be hiding in a cave? The latest from one intelligence source is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: The hunt for America's most wanted terrorist has been going on for more than a decade now. As far as anyone knows or is willing to say, Osama bin Laden remains in hiding.

But now a senior NATO source tells CNN that bin Laden and is his deputy, Amman al Zawahiri, seen in this file video, are believed to be hiding close together in northwestern Pakistan, not in caves, but in separate houses.

The Pakistani government has long denied the two men are in Pakistan. Ever since bin Laden was blamed for the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, American and western intelligence agencies have periodically reported that bin Laden was or may have been or could be in a number of places in the vast rugged territory that makes up Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This map shows where the NATO source says bin Laden may have been at different times over the years. The sites include the far northwestern part of Pakistan border near China. And Tora Bora on the Afghan side where bin Laden is believed to have escaped U.S. troops in late-2001. Also the Kurram Valley on the Pakistani side of the border. Bin Laden has also been reported at various times to be in Pakistani cities of Karachi, Quetta. When you consider that the combined square mileage of Pakistan and Afghanistan are about the size of California and Texas combined, you get an idea why the best intelligence agencies of the western alliance have failed so far to capture him

Well, on top of this, U.S. officials have long said there have been no confirmed sightings of bin Laden or Zawahiri for several years. Another major player is Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, seen in these pictures. Like bin Laden, Omar has had close calls, but apparently has always managed to escape U.S. forces as they were closing in on him.

This map shows major areas of the heavy Taliban action, and the two cities of Karachi and Quetta. The NATO source says Mullah Omar has been moving between them over the last several months. The source also says despite U.S. ground and air attacks, the Taliban and other insurgent groups are able to generate more and more manpower every year.

He says the three major Taliban groups still have the potential to put a force of 30,000 fighters in the field. He says one insurgent leader, Mullah Abdullah Zakir commands some level of control in Kandahar, Zabul, and Farah provinces which you can see on our map. This Taliban video is believed to show insurgent fighting somewhere in Afghanistan. The NATO source says there are 500,000 to one million so-called disaffected men along the Afghan-Pakistani border who joined the Taliban to fight in Afghanistan to earn money, but not for any specific ideology. The course says it's vital for the Afghan government to reach out to this group and address their needs. The source is also warning that time is running out.

Well, Chile's president speaks out about the extraordinary rescue of those 33 miners trapped deep underground for more than two months. In his words, it was an explosion of joy. You'll hear him in detail. We're Globe Trekking, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Time for Globe Trekking. Our destination: Chile, a nation basking in the glow of the remarkable rescue of 33 miners. They were trapped a half mile underground for more than two months.

Chile's president, who was at the mine as each of those miner was pulled to safety is now visiting Britain and today he sat down with CNN's Becky Anderson to talk about the rescue.

Becky, this is kind of like a joyous tour for the president, I would imagine.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It is. And as you say, somewhat basking in the glory of the miners' rescue. He's here in Britain, on the first leg of what has been a long-planned trip that has to be said, to Europe. He's going to be here in London, then he'll go to Paris, and then to Berlin. He's here to drum up business and build political ties, of course, with the countries that he'll visit. And to that end, he today meets the Queen and the British prime minister.

I got a chance to sit down for a time and talk to him. And I started by asking him, to take us back to August, and to explain just how he felt after he knew that the miners were alive.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT SEBASTIAN PINERA, CHILE: We arrived to that magnificent Sunday, August the 22nd, which for me was a very special day because that day my father-in-law passed away. And I was with my wife, who spent the whole night with him. And that his last words were, don't give up, keep searching. It's your responsibility, it's your duty. So I decided to go to the mine immediately after. My wife said go there because something will happen today. And I arrive to the mine and we received this message. We are well in the shelter, the 33. It was an explosion of joy, happiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And I'm sure you remember that day. The miners held up what was this message. The Chilean president gave me this today when I met him in London. We are well in the mine, the 33. That on the 22nd. And that is what the president was referring to, as he spoke just then. A day full of jubilation, he said -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Becky, at any time did he condition filed in you that, you know what -- because he had invested so much time and energy into this project, getting these miners out alive. And at any moment, it could have really gone bad.

At any time, did he give you the sense, that whew, things aren't going well, or there was tension or they didn't think they were coming out?

ANDERSON: Drew, I asked him that. And he said, absolutely not. He was absolutely determined. He said he threw absolutely everything at it, All government resources that he had at his disposal and international resources, He threw at it.

This is a story that has galvanized the population. Let's not forget, a much polarized population since the dog days of Pinochet's past. And I wanted to know what he would do now to convince the people that the country really had learned a lesson and that the have-nots would be cared for as much as the haves in this society post this mine rescue.

This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PINERA: the lessons that we can take from this accident is when a country is united and committed with faith, with hope, using the best possible technologies and the best possible human teams, we are able to achieve goals that for some people seems as impossible. And now we have another challenge because at the end of the day, you are always facing challenge. Our new challenges are to defeat poverty before the end of this decade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's hope that he can stick to that promise. A remarkable man -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Becky, if he can turn his country around with the catalyst being this miners thing, it would be terrific. Let's watch and see.

ANDERSON: Absolutely, absolutely.

Thanks, Becky. Appreciate it.

Well, eliminating poverty, helping disaster victims get the aid they need and getting kids around the world vaccinated. Really? Could it all be done with just one of these? A $100 bill. Our next guest says yes. Absolutely. After the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: You know, Ben Franklin had a lot of great ideas in his life, and maybe just one Ben Franklin is an big idea we'll tell but next. Could be the answer to global poverty. $100. There's a new campaign that says if every child born in the world is given an initial deposit of $100 in an online banking account, that would guarantee everyone in the world would have access to financial services in just a few decades.

Well, this is the brain child of Bhadwan Chowdhry. He is the finance professor and faculty director of the Master of Financial Engineering program at UCLA's Anderson school of Management. Joins us now live from Los Angeles.

Professor, thank you so much for joining us. And I've got to -- you're talking to a very skeptical guy now. Is this just a theory of a professor sitting in his office who thought this would be a great idea, or has this been tried anywhere?

BHADWAN CHOWDHRY, FACULTY DIRECTOR, MASTER OF FINANCIAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM, UCLA ANDERSON: Well, this is not just a theory, because there are many people behind it. If you go to our Web site, you will see that professors, social entrepreneurs, simple people -- many people have, in fact, joined the campaign. So, that is my test that there is something more to this theory. And you will see that the various parts of this idea, in fact, have been tried at other places. We are hoping to integrate it in one place.

GRIFFIN: And how -- what is the idea behind it? we have had stimulus. It's not just giving somebody $100, right? because if you give somebody $100, they'll blow it, and that will be the end of it. What is the idea here?

CHOWDHRY: So, $100 is just the incentive. We know incentives work. Half the world population has no access to financial services, simple things that you and I take for granted. Like ability to save small amounts of money in an effective way.

So, what we are saying is that let's start at birth and integrate $100 deposit with the birth certification. On top of that, we are going to make it an electronic bank account, so that other services can be delivered inexpensively. So, this is just a catalyst that will make a lot of things possible.

GRIFFIN: 134 million babies born in the world every year. Of those, so many millions born into poverty. If you just went to their families and said okay, now you have a bank account for this child, they're going to look at you like they don't know what you're talking about. There would have to be so much education included in this program. I'm just wondering if you've thought through how to get over that hurdle.

CHOWDHRY: Yes, indeed. I think the banking that you and I think about is not going to be the type of banking we have to provide. We will have to provide them banking in a place that they feel comfortable. In grocery stores, in local pharmacy stores, where people go to buy food and their medicine in any case. I think that's where we have to deliver these services, not in bank branches that you and I are used to.

GRIFFIN: And when can the child or the child's protector or overseer have access to the money, and what should it be for?

CHOWDHRY: The initial $100 will be accessible when the child turns 16. The idea is that we don't want to give incentives for people to take money out immediately.

But that's just priming the pump. Once the account is set up, additional things become possible. So, I described it as an acronym called You Save. for every account that is set up, we are forced, giving them a unique identification. On top of it, savings become possible, and matched savings become possible. Third, delivery of aid can be much more effective.

The usual way we deliver aid is, we send supplies to an area that is hit by some kind of an emergency, and half the time, it doesn't really reach there because we send supplies, and local relief agencies are not as effective at delivering this aid. What we are suggesting is that if we had electronic bank accounts, we can zip the money in and send the services, we sell the services to local merchants who we know are indeed very effective in providing.

Everywhere in the world you go, you cannot find simple services, but you can always find a can of Coke and Pepsi. Melinda Gates gave a talk recently talking about precisely that point. So, we are suggesting in time of emergency, like an of emergency like an earthquake or a flood, we zip in the money, send the local supplies and sell it to local merchants, and the people can use the money to go and buy those services. I think there is a much more effectiveness in guaranteeing service like that.

GRIFFIN: Wow. Well, listen, professor, 134 million babies born a year, 134 million bank accounts. That is a big idea, and it could be a great idea. We're going to follow this as this program hopefully starts to affect poverty here in this world.

Thank you so much for joining us.

CHOWDHRY: Thank you.

GRIFFIN. All right. You can check out more information on the Financial Access at Birth Campaign, and to sign up you can go to Ali's blog, CNN.com/ali.

Well, Democrats are putting some last-minute money into the midterm election campaign. A political update. We'll have it for you. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Fifteen days until the midterms. We want to get you updated on the latest developments from the campaign trail. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, part of The Best Political Team on Television. Paul, what's crossing right now? PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Drew, as you mentioned, 15 days, just over two weeks, such a crucial time. And the get-out-the-vote efforts are so important. The Democratic National Committee announcing they are transferring about $5.5 million over to their House and Senate committees and also to some of the state party committees. The idea here is to use that money the last two weeks to beef up the get-out-the-vote efforts. The DNC says they've transferred about $20 million this election cycle over there. Republicans doing similar things. It is crunch time, Drew.

Also happening right now, and this is important. West Virginia. If the Republicans win back the Senate, and they need ten seats to do it, one of the states they may do it in is West Virginia. This was the seat the late Robert Byrd held since 1958. First and maybe only debate tonight in West Virginia right now between the Democrat Joe Manchin. He is the popular governor there, and John Raese. He is the businessman and developer, and he is the Republican nominee.

But there will be two other third-party candidates as well there at the debate, and that could change the complexion of the debate.

And finally, Drew, with 15 days left as we say, it is so important to get the top-named surrogates out there. That's why this week it's going to be busy. Crisscrossing the country will be Barack Obama. He's heading west as is Joe Biden to Washington state, California and Nevada where three Democratic senators face a little bit of trouble this year in re-election bids. Michelle Obama also out there helping Democratic candidates as is the former president Bill Clinton.

But also on the Republican side the Tea Party Express. We saw that earlier this hour as well. That big rally out there. They're going all weekend next week. Also, you'll see Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee Chairman. He's going to continue his "fire Nancy Pelosi" bus tour. And you're going to see the top Republican in the House, John Boehner and the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell out there as well.

So, it's going to be a busy, busy week for surrogates. Drew, that's what's happening right now on the Ticker. Back to you.

GRIFFIN: Man, there's so many of the election busses bopping around. They better be careful not to they'll bump into each other.

The money -- I want to ask you about the money, Paul. The Democrats dumping money into these local elections. Routine, or is that a last- minute gasp or do they think, hey, a little more money we might pull this out and stop the bleeding?

STEINHAUSER: It's a little bit of both. They do this, and so does the Republican National Committee. They raise a lot of money -- the Democratic National Committee raised $16 million last month. They've got to spend it right now. Why keep it? So, they're getting it out to the states where they think it can help the most, and the Senate and House races where they think it will help the most. Democratic National Committee outraising the Republican National Committee last month. But remember, a lot of these independent groups are raising and spending big money more on the Republican side than the Democratic side, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right, Paul. Thanks a lot.

Hey, get the ticker 24/7 on the Web site. Thanks, Paul.

Our next CNN political update an hour away. And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We want to tell you, the best, the brightest and some of the youngest minds are at the White House today. President Obama is hosting the White House Science Fair. It celebrates the top students in math and science.

His words from last year, if you remember: "If you win the NCAA championship, you come to White House. Well, if you're a young person and produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too. He's recognizing kids from S.T.E.M. areas, as it's called: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

But the hard truth is American students just aren't making the grade in S.T.E.M. In a recent survey of 15-year-olds from 30 developed countries, American kids played 25th in math literacy. We didn't do much better in science, either. Twenty-first. And only 17 percent of the U.S. college degrees awarded go to any of the S.T.E.M. subjects. That number has remained stagnant in the U.S. for years while other countries have seem rapid growth in those degrees.

Here's what the president had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't give these victories the attention that they deserve. And when you win first place at a science fair, nobody's rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But in many ways, our future depends on what happens in those contests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And the winners are remarkable. One girl taught herself chemistry. She's now working on a new drug that fights cancer. Other winners created water purifying systems and robotic wheelchairs. Kids.