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Government Appeals Order Against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'; Bright Spot in Jobs Market; After the Oil Leak
Aired October 20, 2010 - 11:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Blast from the past -- Anita Hill's sexual harassment accusation almost derailed the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Now his wife leave as surprising phone message for Hill.
Gays targeted -- a Ugandan newspaper calls for 100 gays and lesbians to be hanged. We are digging deeper on this story.
And just 13 days until critical election, we are taking a closer look at attack ads.
You're online right now. We are, too. Sandra Endo is following "What's Hot" -- Sandra.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, "What's Hot" today is the color purple. Find out why everyone got that memo today, and what the color stands for coming up.
HARRIS: All right, Sandy, appreciate it.
Let's get started with our lead story, the Pentagon now accepting openly gay and lesbian recruits. Its cites a recent federal court decision that struck down the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in the military.
A former Army lieutenant who was kicked out of the military for being gay is seizing the moment by reenlisting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN CHOI, SPOKESMAN, KNIGHTS OUT: A week ago, even with all of these qualifications, I would have been turned away, if I said I am gay and intend to be honest about it. Today was very different.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": And they handed you a pamphlet, too.
CHOI: They said "Stand up. Stand out. Stand Army strong." I was very excited.
COOPER: So you're paperwork was going through.
CHOI: It's going through, and they're processing it. I'm very happy about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And again, government lawyers just filed an injunction appealing that decision. The Obama administration wants Congress to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" through legislation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I agree with the basic principle that anybody who wants to serve in our armed forces and make sacrifices on our behalf, on behalf of our national security, anybody should be able to serve. And they shouldn't have to lie about who they are in order to serve.
And so we are moving in the direction of ending this policy. It has to be done in a way that is orderly, because we are involved in a war right now. But this is not a question of whether the policy will end. This policy will end, and it will end on my watch.
But I do have an obligation to make sure I'm following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out there. I've got to work to make sure that they are changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a national nonprofit policy organization dedicated to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis joining us from Washington.
And Aubrey, first of all, are you surprised at all by the government's decision to appeal the most recent ruling?
AUBREY SARVIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK: No, I'm not surprised at all. We were expecting it. And unfortunately, it's just something we're going to have to work our way through.
But this underscores that the Justice Department, the Defense Department is determined, at least for the moment, to keep this law on the books. The reality is the toothpaste is out of the tube, and I don't think that the Defense Department or the Justice Department can put it back in. That's an extraordinary feat to pull off, and no one has ever pulled it off.
The other reality is, no harm has occurred because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" being revoked by this federal judge.
HARRIS: Do you --
SARVIS: None of the things that the government has alleged would happened have occurred. There is no chaos. The only uncertainty is with the Justice Department and the Defense Department.
HARRIS: The president says he wants to end it legislatively. It was created through legislation, he wants to end it through legislation.
What's wrong with that position?
SARVIS: Well I think the president makes a good point, and it's only underscored by what's going on by his Justice Department. We're going to have uncertainty in the courts, unfortunately, probably for some time.
The best way to end that uncertainty is for the Senate to act next month in the lame duck when they come back to Washington. There's a bill on the Senate calendar. It provides a pathway for ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and that should be the best route this year to end this chaos and this uncertainty with respect to this law being reinforced, probably going back on the books in the next few days.
HARRIS: Yes. Let's talk about some practicalities here.
What kind of reception can gay men and women expect when they go to military recruiting offices today? What's your thought on this?
SARVIS: Well, again, I think there's some uncertainty with respect to how the Defense Department is getting the word out. Ironically, under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the one occasion when the military was not to ask about your sexual orientation was when you went down to the office -- the recruiter's office -- to enlist.
The memo that's been issued by the Defense Department now I think is an attempt to make it clear that recruiters should not ask. The problem is, this may only be in effect for a few days.
The stay that the Justice Department has sought, in all likelihood, will be granted by the Ninth Circuit Appeals Panel, and that means that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is going to be back on the books again. And statements that gay and lesbian service members use when they go in these offices to enlist, unfortunately, could be used against them next month or next year.
HARRIS: All right. Aubrey, appreciate your time. Thank you.
SARVIS: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: Thanks for being here. My pleasure.
Hiring, not firing. More companies are hanging out the "Help Wanted" signs. Details on some bright spots in the bleak job market.
And gays in Uganda, they're already a marginalized group. Now terrified by a newspaper story that calls for their hanging.
First though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, more companies are hanging out the "Help Wanted" signs. Wow. About time. They're adding jobs and hiring workers, providing a few bright spots in an otherwise bleak job market.
So, who is hiring and what does it mean for the overall job market?
Let's bring in Christine Romans of our CNN Money Team.
Christine, good to see you.
Give us a bit of a rundown here on some of the companies generating jobs.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of excitement yesterday, actually, from Intel announcing it was going to be upgrading a couple of manufacturing facilities. And, in fact, this morning, many of the politicians in Oregon and Arizona are real excited about the construction jobs that are going to be created by that, and also by the longer-term, well-paid, high-tech jobs that will be created by Intel.
But also, you've got Bank of America recently announcing that its going to hire 1,000 new small business bankers. Of course, critics immediately saying, yes, but they're cutting off a lot of small business lending. Of course they've got to hire somebody, because they cut back maybe too much.
But we know that seasonal employees, UPS, for example, 50,000. Macy's, for example, 65,000. You're going to see a lot of other sort of Christmas and holiday related package, shipping, and the like. You're going to see some jobs created there, partly because, Tony, they cut back so deeply during the recession.
They're now starting to see what was a frugal fatigue is turning into more careful and calculated consumerism from people who are starting to spend their money if they can. So they're going to need to hire up.
CareerBuilder, Tony, I wanted to show you this, because CareerBuilder had some great advice today that they're releasing to people about how to get those seasonal jobs, because they say 40 percent of retailers are going to take those seasonal jobs and keep those people on permanently.
HARRIS: OK.
ROMANS: So, if you get one of those jobs, you know, make it known to your boss there, you're seasonal boss, that you would like to stay on full-time, if you would. But also, how are they paying? This is what CareerBuilder found when it surveyed these employers who will be hiring people for the end the year.
Almost half of them will be paying $10 an hour or more. And, in fact, some of those are going to be above $16 an hour.
HARRIS: Good pay.
ROMANS: Thirty-two percent will be paying $8 to $9 an hour. Six dollars to seven dollars an hour, that's about 19 percent.
Obviously, the minimum wage is above $7 an hour, so those are probably retail and hospitality industry, where there's going to be tips involved in there. And then one percent of them are less than $6 an hour.
So that's where the seasonal pay is coming in there. But again, from CareerBuilder, Tony, they say if you get one of these seasonal jobs, if you get a temporary job, make it be known right away, look, I want to learn more about this company and I want to stay and move up in the ranks, because there could be --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Some opportunities there. Yes, that's good.
Christine, look, I want to go back to the Intel news, the Bank of America news, but really the Intel news. Could this be one of the moments -- someone has to lead us out of this. Corporations that have money, sitting on cash, have to start investing, we would think, at some point. Could this be the moment when the trickle becomes more of a stream here and we get more investment from corporations? Is it possible?
ROMANS: We need a lot more of it. We need a lot more of this.
The Intel news is great. We need it every day, again and again and again, from different companies and different industries.
It needs to be construction jobs for the initial manufacturing buildup, but then it needs to be the high-paid jobs that stay here after that. There's still a lot of concern among economists that many companies, Tony, are sitting on their cash, and where they are building R&D, they are building -- research and development -- they're doing it in other countries where they see markets that are opening to them as well.
So the Intel news is good. We need more of it.
HARRIS: OK. Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: The oil isn't leaking any longer, but the Gulf oil disaster is still far from over. We will take a tour of the region and find out where things stand six months after the leak started.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, it has been six months since the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the biggest accidental oil leak in history. The well is capped, but the disaster is still far from over.
CNN's Rob Marciano went back to the Gulf Coast for a firsthand look. ROB MARCIANO, AMS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, six months since the explosion and three months since we capped the well, we certainly have come a long way as far as cleaning up the mess that is out there. And the cleanup workforce and assets out there has pared down, rightfully so. The number of boats employed has gone from 6,000 to less than 300.
But make no mistake, there is still oil out there that needs to be cleaned up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: We arrived with the Coast Guard. That's the new Admiral Zukunft. Aerial tour, and then we're getting on a boat.
(voice-over): I strap in along with newly-appointed unified area commander, Admiral Paul Zukunft, whose workforce has shrunk to almost 48,000 this summer to just 13,000 now.
(on camera): There's been some criticism from local communities that BP is peeling back way too much.
ADMIRAL PAUL ZUKUNFT, UNIFIED AREA COMMAND: Right now, we're dealing with hot spots. Prior to the entire Gulf of Mexico was a hot spot.
MARCIANO (voice-over): What's surprising is how many hot spots there still are six months in. Even Mississippi's barrier island remained littered with oil.
The beach response here on the Cat Island is much like Florida and Alabama, men and machines still scrambling to clean the sand. It's a similar scene near Grand Isle, Louisiana.
In total, over 500 miles of shoreline still have some oil.
Examining the wetlands requires a different mode of transport. As we motor west, there are signs of encouragement. We cruise past clean water, clean grass, and even some fishing boats.
(on camera): Nice to notice a fishing vessel with fishing equipment versus booming equipment.
(voice-over): Forty minutes into the marsh, we arrive at one of Louisiana's hardest-hit areas, Bay Jimmy. Here, compression guns are positioned to scare off birds that might try to land in this still very oily wetland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time I was up here was a month ago. Back then, we had about 600 workers. And we were in there in the really shallow areas trying to vacuum up pockets of oil along this entire stretch. So real time-consuming.
MARCIANO: BP's George Carter knows cleaning the marsh is not easy. GEORGE CARTER, BP BRANCH DIRECTOR, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LA.: We've actually cut the grass. We've raked the grass. We've flushed (ph) them a couple of occasions. We've tried some chemicals to remove stuff.
MARCIANO: This area's for experimenting, hoping something will yield clean, healthy grass.
ZUKUNFT: There are patches of new growth that are already starting to come in.
MARCIANO (on camera): Yes, it is some grass trying to grow.
ZUKUNFT: As tempting as it is to go in and do something very aggressive, the worst thing you can do right now is tread heavily on this marsh grass. So, really, now, this is a test of patience.
MARCIANO: Talking about patience, we all -- we all want it. The people that live here may be out of it.
ZUKUNFT: Well, we're not done yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: No they're not. And they'll be here as long as it takes, still employing some local people.
But there are a lot of people that were employed by BP during this spill that are now technically without jobs. But most of the Gulf now is open to commercial fishing, and all of the fish that they have tested has come back negative as far as having hydrocarbons that is dangerous to humans.
So, the hope is that the fishing industry here will come back stronger than ever, and so will the economy -- Tony.
HARRIS: Rob, we need that to happen. Thank you, sir.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Gays in Uganda are on a hit list, published in a newspaper for all to see. And the paper is demanding they be killed.
Our David McKenzie is following this shocking story from Johannesburg, South Africa.
David, good to see you. What exactly did the paper publish?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they've published, really, is shocking details, as you say. It really was outing these people. They said they called it the top 100 homosexuals in Uganda.
Let's take look at this cover. Basically, it's got this big headline saying that these are the top 100. And in the corner there, Tony, there's a yellow banner that says, "Hang Them."
This is a very incendiary headline on a newspaper, a tabloid called the "Rolling Stone." No connection, obviously, to the U.S. magazine. And basically, the editor of this newspaper told us that they wanted to out the gays in Uganda so that the authorities, that ordinary people, can find them, can arrest them, can make citizens' arrests, and harass them, and even kill them.
I spoke to -- or we've spoken to some people who were named on that list. They say they are fearing for their lives since this newspaper has come out, and certainly tapping into some deep-seated homophobia in Uganda and really taking a strident approach in targeting gays in that country -- Tony.
HARRIS: Describe that. You mentioned the deep-seated homophobia in Uganda. Describe that for us.
MCKENZIE: Well, it's not just the culture. It's also the legislation.
In Uganda, and in fact in much of Africa, Tony, homosexuality, or the act of homosexuality, is illegal. In Uganda, about a year ago, they tried to go even further. They were going to put a bill through parliament (AUDIO GAP) even the death penalty or life in prison could be faced by people who were gay. So, certainly, there's a push, even, some people say, a more conservative push than there was even in the past.
Also, U.S. missionaries have gotten involved in this. They were, some say, the catalyst for this bill.
A year after that bill was pushed before parliament, now this newspaper coming up with 100 people. The newspaper, Tony, has been suspended by the Media Council in Uganda, but only because of a technicality. And their editor told us that right as soon as they get that paperwork started and finished, he's going to publish more names and continue his quest against gays in Uganda. But certainly the gay population and human rights activists are very worried about this campaign.
HARRIS: So, David, my understanding is that this is a relatively new newspaper. Is this just a ploy for attention for a new newspaper trying to make some kind of a mark?
MCKENZIE: Well, it's interesting. Yes.
It's been around only for about six weeks. But what I can tell you is that the editor of this newspaper used to work for a previous publication that kind of pushed for the gay legislation, anti-gay legislation about a year ago.
It's kind of one man's quest, but, you know, we shouldn't see this as someone who's an outlier. In many ways, the campaign of this newspaper and why they're trying to do this to sell newspapers is it taps into on some level some popular sentiment.
Kenya and other countries in the region, there have been some small steps towards gay rights, but within Uganda specifically, it's a very harsh environment for gay activists. And certainly, you know, the government says that the activists are overplaying all of this, but, you know, people we've spoken to who physically showed their photo in this newspaper, say they live in fear, they can't go out in public.
HARRIS: Well, is there any support for them?
MCKENZIE: There is some support. You know, I think it's a long process.
They say that, you know, this legislation that has been brought forward, at the very least -- I spoke to a prominent gay activist here in Johannesburg, and she said, you know, at the very least, it's bringing up even just the issue of homosexuality. Even the word "homosexuality," "gay," and things like this, might not have even been used in conversation in Uganda because of the stigma.
Even though this has all been sort of anti-gay, at least it's been able to start a conversation about human rights, about gay rights. The conversation has progressed further in Kenya, where I'm usually based, but in Uganda it seems to be going in the opposite direction.
Certainly in the continent overall, there's a big debate about how much -- how many rights gays should have, and whether this is an African thing or an un-African thing. A very heated debate, you know, across the continent, and one we'll be watching closely.
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
David McKenzie for us, Johannesburg, South Africa.
David, good to see you. Thank you.
Surviving the subprime mortgage mess. Meet a family who thought they did things right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really makes you feel bad, because -- and so many people are out there trying to work and trying to make their ends meet, but they can't do it because somebody's out there ripping them off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get to you CNNMoney.com, your favorite source for financial news. We know it is, CNNMoney.com.
You see the lead story here, "Obama Economy Stimulus is Fleeting." That's a story that we -- well, we report on it every day here.
What happens when the stimulus money goes away? Can the businesses survive?
CNNMoney.com for that story.
Let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange. Three hours are we? Three hours into the trading day here, and take a look at stocks.
A rally all morning, all day so far. We are up triple digits. 153 points. Let me check the NASDAQ here. Positive territory as well. Up 30.
Subprime lenders, as you know, built an entire industry by taking a big risk. They lent lots of money to folks other banks turned down. Now, we know how that all worked out. Stephanie Elam shows us how some of those homeowners are fighting back saying they were unfairly targeted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Linda Rhee (ph) and William Wilson believe they have limited time left in the home they've owned for five years.
WILL WILSON, HOMEOWNER: If I keep working, I probably can hold on a while. But I don't know how long my job is going to last now, you know.
ELAM: In 2006, the Wilsons took out a second mortgage to add bedrooms for their foster children. But those bedrooms came with a hefty price tag. A subprime loan with $12,000 in closing costs, $1,200 in monthly payments, and required lump sum payment of $100,000 in the final month to pay off the balance of the loan. When all is said and done, there will be no equity in the property.
LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: We have communities who for years didn't have access to mortgages, didn't have access to credit, and suddenly they're being targeted.
ELAM: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is a leader in the fight against both predatory and discriminatory lending practices.
Earlier this year, she sued Countrywide, now under Bank of America, alleging they used discriminatory lending practices in violation of federal lending and civil rights laws. Bank of America denies that and vows to vigorously defend against the allegations.
Last year Madigan sued Wells Fargo for similar practices; That lawsuit is still pending and Wells Fargo released this statement to CNN: "With the overarching goal of doing what is right for our customers, Wells Fargo has a longstanding history of being a responsible leading lender to diverse populations."
Richard Thomas was a widower when he first moved into this middle class Chicago neighborhood. Also claiming to be a victim of subprime lending, he's now part of a class action lawsuit against Ameriquest.
RICHARD THOMAS, HOMEOWNER: I just want a comfortable, you know, a nice, comfortable place to live. And I don't mind paying for it but just don't rip me off.
ELAM: The Center for Responsible Lending estimates 11 percent of black homeowners have already lost their home to foreclosure or are now in imminent risk. And it gets worse. Even living near a foreclosed property in black and Latino communities can drop the value of a home.
The Wilsons believe they will ultimately lose their home to foreclosure.
WILSON: All I can say is, is I'll go as far as I can go. Once I do that, then --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's in the Lord's hand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Stephanie Elam joining us now from New York. Boy, that's tough to watch. That piece. Stephanie, what do these families and others like them wish they had done differently? I've got to tell you, on the face of it, some of the deals that struck here, they've just -- they just seemed unaffordable.
ELAM: Right. Well, I think that's the thing here, Tony. It's one thing to hear about these crises that are going on and people who were saying, "I was hit by subprime living -- or lending and also by discriminatory lending practices." It's another thing to go and sit down and talk to these people and really see what they're dealing with.
And in all of the cases, both of these families when we spoke to them, they both say they wished they had gotten a contract. That they had gotten something in writing early on so they could really could make it clear. Hoping it would work itself out at the end, when allegedly someone was taking advantage of their situation.
So, that's one big difference. That they wish they got something in writing early on, and that's a lesson for all of us here to get something in writing so you know exactly what you're getting into and get a lawyer there. A legal counsel to help you out as well.
HARRIS: So, who are the people targeted here? Are we talking about first-time home buyers or are we people looking to refinance loans?
ELAM: In most of these cases, Tony, it's not people buying a house. It's people who refinancing for whatever reason. Like you saw with the Wilsons, wanting to add the bedrooms on for foster children.
And so, perhaps there is some equity in the house. And then someone comes along, sees there's equity and pulls it out. Homeowners are underwater on the house, they owe more than it's worth and they are never, ever going able to rover that. And as Lisa Madigan points out, that's taking people who finally moved that into the middle class. And it's taking them pushing them back two generations to have to work to get that money back in.
It's really an upsetting story to see this happening, and it's nationwide. As you've been hearing about the attorneys general working across the nation to help people, because there's just a lot of devastated family the out there.
HARRIS: The families you talked to, that you spoke with, did they accept some responsibility for making ultimately a bad decision?
ELAM: Yes. Definitely. When I talked to the Wilsons, Glenda Rhee, the wife there, says she hates going up there now. Hates going up to the top floor where the bedrooms are. Because she just knows they should have -- they actually had an inkling to say we're going to stop this. And then the people they worked with talked them out of this. That's what they tell me. That's their story.
So, yes. They definitely say we wish when he done things differently, and we wish we'd followed our gut. But that's the thing. Because there's so much jargon and technical lingo, it's easy to mislead people. That's feel that's where they got taken advantage of.
HARRIS: All right, Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you. Tough to watch.
The black church has fought for civil human rights for years. Now it is waging a war on debt. "ALMIGHTY DEBT." A "Black in America" special coming Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A case that first got Americans talking about sexual harassment in the workplace is back in the forefront. After almost 20 years, that's when Anita Hill single-handedly took on her former boss, Clarence Thomas, during congressional hearings for his Supreme Court nomination. Hill's testimony was shocking and explicit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANITA HILL, THOMAS ACCUSER: His conversations were very vivid. He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes. He got up from the table at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, who has put pubic hair on my Coke?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Today, Anita Hill says a phone message left on her answering machine by the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was inappropriate. Our Kate Bolduan has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Almost 20 years later, the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas is asking for an apology from Anita Hill, the woman who accused Thomas of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearings in the early '90s.
Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist, left Anita Hill, now law professor at Brandeis University, a voice mail at her office. Here's the message. Quote, "Good morning, Anita Hill. It's Ginni Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology some time and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband."
Thomas goes on to say, "So give it some thought and certainly pray about this, and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day."
Thomas says she was extending an olive branch after all of these years and that no offense was intended. But it seems Hill doesn't see it that way. She turned the message over to campus security, which then turned it over to the FBI.
In a statement to CNN, Anita Hill says, quote, "I certainly thought the call was inappropriate. I have no intention of apologizing, because I testified truthfully about my experience, and I stand by that testimony." You'll remember the allegations and Hill's testimony almost derailed Thomas' nomination and also sparked a nationwide debate about harassment in the workplace.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, this case was huge when it happened, 19 years on. Many people may not even remember it, but a lot of you are talking about it right now.
Sandra Endo is following a lot of the Internet chatter. What are you getting, Sandra?
ENDO: Well, Tony, this is big on social media today. Huge on Twoitter. And it's one of our top stories, of course, on CNN.com. A lot of people are commenting on why Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginny, made that call nearly two decades later.
Now, we have to admit we didn't see a lot of tweets supporting his wife, but here is what people are saying, just take a look at some of the tweets. Here you go.
Diane Dixon saying, "Anita Hill spoke her truth and she has nothing to apologize for. Why revisit this 20-year-old subject with such an insulting olive branch?"
Also, another one from Patty Brumsfeld (ph). "Odd call. Anyone think alcohol involved with voice message from Mrs. Clarence Thomas to Anita Hill for an apology?" And just to check another one. Laura K. Hill writes, "Clarence Thomas' wife called Anita Hill to ask for an apology after he got away with it, and no one cares anymore. Way to rub it in."
HARRIS: Wow.
ENDO: Of course, Tony, we all know Clarence Thomas himself denied all of these allegations. We should note that. But a lot of people talking about this on social media and, of course, lighting up Twitter all day long.
HARRIS: All right. Sandra, appreciate it! See you back in a couple minutes with more of "What's Hot" today.
Thirteen days until the midterms, and that means 13 more days of campaign commercials. Ad spending skyrockets. Details in our political update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Here we go. Thirteen days until Election Day, and Democrats say they're bringing in the bucks. Paul Steinhauser and Mark Preston from "The Best Political Team On Television" joining us live from the political desk in Washington. A tag team effort.
Gentlemen, what's crossing right now?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You get two for the price of one, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, brand new stuff this morning and this afternoon on the CNN Political Ticker.
Hey, I wrote about this a couple of hours ago. Interesting stuff. The Democratic National Committee, today, touting their number, their campaign fund-raising numbers, just for the first 13 days of this month. They say they raised $11.1 million already this month. They say it will be a record-breaking month for them for a mid-term election cycle. Remember, they raised almost $17 million last month.
The whole idea here, Tony, is this. They trying to say, hey, our voter are energetic, they're enthusiastic and our contributors are giving us money. Because, you know, just about every poll, every national poll has indicated that Republican voters are much more energized and enthusiastic to vote than Democrats. So maybe they're trying to push back here, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
STEINHAUSER: Mark, what have you got?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Tony, as you said, 13 days, right, to Election Day. And if you turn on the TV in certain states, including Las Vegas, Nevada, all you're going to see is political ads. In fact, just in the past week, nationwide, $182 million was spent on television ads for politicians and for interest groups.
What I've done is I've taken a quick snapshot at Las Vegas since we have our photojournalist Phil Littleton (ph) just come in and take a quick look at this story on cnnpolitics.com. Just last week, Tony, if you were to turn on the TV, two out of seven days was just straight political ads. Fifty hours of political ads were on TV.
So, as you can see, the airwaves are cluttered. Clearly the interest groups and the candidates are spending a lot of money to try to influence this election. We'll have more on it next hour. We're going to break down the numbers a little bit more.
And I'll kick it back to Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Tony, a busy afternoon ahead. Let's talk about a couple things that will be happening right here on CNN in the next couple hours. First of all, in Nevada, Reno, Nevada, a rally with Joe Biden, the vice president, and Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader. And you know President Barack Obama is going to be teaming up with Reid in a couple days in Nevada.
HARRIS: That's right.
STEINHAUSER: Also happening this afternoon, talking about the president, he's in Oregon. He's going to be teaming up there with the Democrats gubernatorial nominee. We're going to be covering both these things.
Plus, in Kentucky coming up real soon, maybe in the next hour or two, the wife of Rand Paul -- Rand Paul, of course, the Republican Senate nominee in Kentucky -- his wife will be defending her husband, we expect. She's having a news conference. Her husband's religion and faith has been under -- has been questioned --
HARRIS: That's right. That's right.
STEINHAUSER: By the Democratic nominee in the state. Fascinating stuff, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, guys, I understand that we may have some new polling information coming in later today. Is that true?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, we sure do. Here are the states -- Florida, Ohio, Alaska, Arkansas. We do this every Wednesday with CNN and "Time" and the Opinion Research Corporation. Mark and I and our polling director, Keating Holland, will be looking at the numbers real soon. Gloria Borger as well. Lots to come, Tony.
HARRIS: Wow, that's good stuff. Tag team effort. That worked out really well. Let's do it again.
Gentlemen, appreciate it. Thank you.
PRESTON: Let's do it tomorrow. HARRIS: Let's do it. And your next political update coming at the top the hour. For the latest political news, you know where to go. It's CNNPolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, have you noticed a lot of people wearing purple today? I failed to get the memo. Oh, I hate when I don't get the memo. Sandra Endo is here handling "What's Hot" for us today.
You can explain this to us.
ENDO: Yes, it's "What's Hot." A whole lot of purple out there, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: I can say that maybe your tie --
HARRIS: A trace? Just a trace?
ENDO: Yes, maybe I'll give it to you, but --
HARRIS: OK. Your TV's not color corrective. Yes, maybe that's -- OK.
ENDO: Yes. It's basically a whole huge Facebook and Twitter campaign sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. And they've encourage everyone to wear purple today in the spirit of standing up against bullying. It's a huge issue out there.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
ENDO: Just in terms of the social media, as well as out there in the celebrity world as well. A lot of people taking on this cause. So, clearly, a really important day. But that's why you see a lot of people wearing purple out there.
HARRIS: We've spent a lot of time on this last week and I'm sure we will again. And it's a good campaign. It really is.
ENDO: And what else is hot?
HARRIS: Yes, what else?
ENDO: You want to check out this video?
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: Here's one of the most watched videos out there. Love seeing people dance, right? And more so people who record themselves dancing, no less. Well, this guy, he puts his toothbrush down and -- oh, no. I should have warned you, Tony. I know you --
HARRIS: No, no, no, no, no, no.
ENDO: You like this one actually?
HARRIS: I need to see this again.
ENDO: Ouch. Yes.
HARRIS: Nice plant. One more time. Come on. Come on. One more time. One more time.
ENDO: That's basically like what you look like, right, when you dance, Tony?
HARRIS: I can't stop laughing. Sorry.
ENDO: I'm sorry.
HARRIS: Oh. OK, we've got one more piece of video?
ENDO: All right, well --
HARRIS: There's no recovering from has one, but OK.
ENDO: You've seen the movie "Blind Side," right?
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
ENDO: It's a story inspired by the Baltimore Ravens lineman Michael Oher. And it's a family who adopts an underprivileged kid. Well, this is a similar, real life story. You see that kid there --
HARRIS: Wow.
ENDO: Flipping, jumping. Well, a family adopted Ozell Williams (ph), and he was tumbling before he even learned how to walk. And Williams was raised by a single mother who apparently was a drug addict and he was really basically alone by the age of 15. And that's when another cheerleading family took him in, adopted him and now look at him. A huge sensation, cheerleading sensation, at the University of Colorado.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute. So this kid can do all of this and the guy we just saw can't take two steps without cracking his face?
ENDO: We have to give, you know, a balanced report here.
HARRIS: Yes. OK, and here it is. Look at this. Coming off the flippy guy. And this guy, work it, work it, make it happen.
ENDO: Oh, yes, break it down. Break it down.
HARRIS: Yes. Put down the cigarette or whatever that is. Big finish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
HARRIS: OK. We've got to go.
ENDO: And I hope that he's OK.
HARRIS: Not so much.
One other thing we want to show you here. It's "What's Hot." It's one of our favorites here in the CNN NEWSROOM and it's certainly a favorite moment from the political season. As we go to break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY MCMILLAN (I), NEW YORK GOV. CANDIDATE: It's a simple message which I say all the time, someone say, I'm a one issue kind, but it all boils down to one thing: rent. It's too damn high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, here's the deal. Dangerous and flagrant hits no longer being tolerated in the NFL. Players are on notice. The league is ramping up punishment for violent hits on the field. Pitts -- oh my goodness. Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker James Harrison was fines $75,000 for two hits in a game against the Cleveland Browns, plus Atlanta Falcons Dunta Robinson, you'll see it in a second here, and maybe not, and New England Patriots' Brandon Meriweather were fined 50 grant each for their helmet-to-helmet hits on Sunday. There's been, look, plenty of reaction to the crackdown. I talked about it earlier with former Falcon's star Jamal Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That's a deliberate head butt, right?
JAMAL ANDERSON, FORMER ATLANTA FALCONS RUNNING BACK: Well, what the NFL is trying to say right now, Tony, is, defenseless receivers --
HARRIS: Yes.
ANDERSON: When you leave your feet and you go after a football player, and you lead with your helmet, your forearm or your shoulder towards the neck, helmet or the helmet of the player who's defenseless, then it is a penalty.
HARRIS: From here? You're -- all right -- let's demonstrate (ph).
ANDERSON: Right. What you don't want to do, you have a wide receiver coming down the middle of the football field.
HARRIS: Right.
ANDERSON: Obviously they're looking back for the ball and you have a safety in that situation who comes up and he dives -- he leaves his feet, leads with his forearm --
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
ANDERSON: Or he leads with his helmet towards a defenseless player's neck or their helmet, then it is a surefire penalty and something that the league has got to protect.
HARRIS: Let's see this last hit here. This is, OK, let's see this. This is the Falcons quarterback or safety? Dunta --
ANDERSON: Dunta Robinson is our quarterback.
HARRIS: Robinson, right.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HARRIS: On DeSean Jackson.
ANDERSON: DeSean Jackson, right.
HARRIS: Of the Eagles.
ANDERSON: Here's the problem that most people were having with this hit. You see right there, Dunta Robinson takes -- he puts his head down.
HARRIS: Right.
ANDERSON: He does lead with his shoulder.
HARRIS: Right.
ANDERSON: But the problem is, when you lead with your shoulder on a receiver who's not looking back, a defenseless wide receiver but you lead with your helmet --
HARRIS: Right. Look at that.
ANDERSON: Or you lead with your shoulder towards the helmet or the neck area of the other player --
HARRIS: Right. Right, right, right.
ANDERSON: The NFL's going to try to protect you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow, that's tough, tough, tough hits.
All right. It is go time. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with the man, Ali Velshi.
Doctor.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: My friend, you have a fantastic afternoon, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, you too. You too.
