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Legally Getting High; Jobless Claims Fall, But Still High; Turning Seasonal Jobs Into Full-Time Jobs; Countdown To Election Day; What's Hot; Church Helping Families

Aired October 21, 2010 - 12:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: 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.

Pot's proposition. Marijuana legalization is on the ballot, but wait until you see just how easy it is to get a prescription for pot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Getting a card is simple. It took me about 20 minutes and cost $80. I told a doctor that I was suffering from back pain and that I had some trouble sleeping. I did not have to undergo a physical examine and didn't have to provide any medical records.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow.

"No damn rent." A candidate for New York governor may have to rethink his campaign slogan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY MCMILLAN (I), NEW YORK GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Rent, it's too damn high!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Your online right now, and we are, too.

Sandra Endo is following "What's Hot."

Sandy.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, a police car chase in South Carolina ends with a surprising twist. It's in "What's Hot" later on -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Sandy. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's get started with our lead story.

Twelve days until midterm elections, the marijuana debate heating up. It is on the ballot in four states, including California, where voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Right now weed is legal with a prescription.

Our Ted Rowlands reports on how that works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Twenty-one-year-old Justin and his buddy, 19- year-old John, are using their marijuana prescriptions to buy some hash and a bag of pot at a dispensary in Oakland. It's John's first time getting medical marijuana. John claims he suffers from insomnia. Justin says he has anxiety and trouble focusing.

(on camera): Do you really need weed?

JOHN, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER: Oh, yes.

JUSTIN, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER: It's much safer. You don't have to deal with anybody that's going to - to rob you, out to get you, out to get your money.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Some people at the clinic seem legit like Chris Ellis, who says cannabis helps him with the pain of being shot seven times. But a lot of other people seem to fall into Jane Klein's category.

JANE KLEIN, MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT: I use it for emotional balance. In our society, we tend to use external substances to help us celebrate, help us recover from a shock, and I use cannabis that way probably since - since the "Sgt. Pepper" album was released.

ROWLANDS: California voted yes to medical marijuana in 1996. Many people assumed at the time it was for cancer and AIDS patients. Fourteen years later, many argue it's a free for all.

BOB WEINER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE DRUG POLICY SPOKESMAN: What we have found is that law enforcement is saying that between 90 percent and 95 percent of the people that go to the medical, quote-unquote, "clinics" in California are going there just to get marijuana and aren't really sick. So that's a fraud to begin with. It's a front, a fraud and a - and a red herring.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Getting a card is simple. It took me about 20 minutes and cost $80. I told the doctor that I was suffering from back pain and that I had some trouble sleeping. I did not have to undergo a physical exam and didn't have to provide any medical records. I found my doctor on the Internet, but there are some doctors here in L.A. that actually advertise on billboards.

(voice-over): One of them is Dr. Sona Patel, who in Los Angeles, is known as "Doc 420."

DR. SONA PATEL, PRESCRIBES MEDICAL MARIJUANA: I'm not doing anything wrong. I strictly follow all the laws. And since I really believe in what I'm doing, I see nothing wrong with aggressively marketing.

ROWLANDS: Dr. Patel says she screens all her patients rigorously. Reading the law, there's a list of very serious illnesses that qualify patients to use medical marijuana. But at the end of that list it adds any other illness, which opens the door to hard-to- prove complaints like insomnia and back pain.

ROWLANDS (on camera): It's pretty easy to get a medical marijuana card. Is that accurate?

PATEL: The law's worded loosely (ph). There's a lot of loopholes on there and a lot of people are capitalizing on that.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): And a lot of people are legally getting high.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Ted Rowlands joining us from -- Ted, the one woman said in your piece she's been using since the Sgt. Pepper's. I've had back pain since the Purple Rain Tour, but I don't think -- anyway, look, this is a very serious issue. We're having a little fun with it, but for a lot of Americans, should California's experience be something of a warning to other states considering medical marijuana?

ROWLANDS: Yes. I think absolutely Tony, that when voters approved this 14 years ago, the sense was that this was going to be for patients that really, really needed it.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROWLANDS: And it has evolved into this free-for-all. But the proponents argue that California hasn't really had any problems with it. So, maybe not a warning, just an illustration of what you might expect in your state.

HARRIS: Yes. How many people actually have marijuana cards? And does the government even keep track of the patients?

ROWLANDS: No, there's no database at all. So I have my card, but the government doesn't keep track of me or anybody else.

The loose estimates are that about 300,000 people have cards now, and that number is growing on a daily basis. The doctor's office I was in was packed with people. Not a lot of them looked sick. And the cannabis clubs, these dispensaries, are jam-packed as well. On a daily basis it's growing, but it's about 300,000 right now.

HARRIS: So, what are you hearing about in terms of predictions? What happens if Prop 19 passes and pot is legal for everyone?

ROWLANDS: Well, the first thing, if it passes, of course the federal government has the next move.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROWLANDS: If they come in and stop it, you're going to see medical marijuana continuing sort of to be the base. If it becomes legal for everybody else, I think you'll definitely see a shift from these patients moving over to just getting the legal marijuana.

The dispensaries that are up and running right now, they are in the catbird seat. They're the ones that most likely already had the relationships with cities. They'll be dispensing it to everybody. But you'll see a big shift in the amount of patients signing up, if indeed it becomes legal in California.

HARRIS: All right.

Ted Rowlands for us in Los Angeles.

Ted, good to see you. Thank you.

I've got to tell you, one of the biggest arguments people are using in favor of legalizing marijuana, money. It could have a huge impact on California's struggling economy.

Josh is back with that story -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you and I have talked about this. These numbers are kind of staggering.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

LEVS: But they are believable, given how much marijuana is grown in California, and just this undercurrent of sales that already exists. Let me show you a couple of stats about this.

Take a look at this. This is the way "TIME" points it out. And it's a fact.

They say as far as anyone can tell, it is California's single biggest cash crop. In fact, here's a figure you're hearing a lot, $14 billion in sales every year in California.

HARRIS: My goodness.

LEVS: This figure actually comes from a study that was done in 2006 called "The Marijuana Production in the United States Study" by a researcher who follows all of this, $14 billion in sales just in the state of California itself. Then, the California government, they have something called a Board of Equalization. They looked at it and they said, look, we have to deal with some guesses, some imaginings here, but they believe the state could raise $1.4 billion a year if they were able to conduct levies and taxes of these marijuana sales that go on.

And one more thing to point out just on a national level. The Cato Institute looks at this, and they have said that they believe that the U.S. would save $8.7 billion. That includes if you could tax and levy and save spending, money that's currently spent to enforce these laws.

But, Tony, I will also tell you that there are people who say that this is only one side of the story and that, really, if you want to understand what happens with the use of marijuana, you would have to think about all the costs of legalizing it. And they point to things like more accidents, potentially more crime, lost productivity at work, the ways that our nation could actually lose money if more people are doing it, if this kind of thing becomes legal.

One of the people who makes those arguments is someone you got to talk to in the NEWSROOM. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL KERLIKOWSKE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: You know, we looked at the number of people going into treatment in California, and it is for marijuana, and it is much higher than in the rest of the nation. The other important fact is that it's a younger age.

Younger people are using marijuana in California. And again, that's higher than the rest of the nation.

So I think voters need to know all the facts. And, of course, as you know, this administration is opposed to legalization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, Tony, how it would ultimately play out if this were to pass in California? It does involve a lot of predictions, a lot of guessing. A lot of people saying, look, you're talking about a struggling economy, and that state needs the money it can get, and there are a lot of reasons on each side there.

But the fight is going to continue. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

HARRIS: OK, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks.

HARRIS: How about this? One hundred thirty-four tons of marijuana going up in smoke in Mexico. The burn is expected to take two days.

Mexican army officials seized the marijuana after a clash with drug traffickers in the border town of Tijuana earlier this week. They arrested 11 (ph) people and confiscated several vehicles, weapons. Authorities say it was the largest drug bust in Mexico's history.

A group of young women taking on Mexico's crime lords. A 20- year-old female college student just took over as police chief in a crime-ridden town near Juarez. Now, the police force is almost -- is mostly female, and none of them carry weapons.

Their approach to crime fighting? Visiting folks in the town to find out their needs, and prevention programs in schools.

A setback for gays in the military. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibits openly gay troops from saving is back in place, at least for now. The White House says it wants to repeal the policy in Congress, not in the courts. And a federal appeals panel has granted the administration more time to do just that.

Hiring for the holidays. Some of those seasonal jobs could lead to more permanent employment. That story, plus new numbers on Americans filing for jobless benefits.

But first though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh, boy. OK. So, remember this candidate who stole the show at the New York governor's debate?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCMILLAN: It's a simple message which I say all the time. Someone says I'm a one-issue kind of -- but it all boils down to one thing -- rent. It's too damn high!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Apparently, Jimmy McMillan doesn't pay rent and hasn't since the 1980s.

Now, you've got to admit, that's pretty random, right? "The New York Times" says "The 'Rent is too damn high' party candidate missed payments on his $800 a month apartment in Flatbush." That's after he left his job in the postal service on disability.

His landlord has been letting the Vietnam vet live there in exchange for maintenance work. By the way, Jimmy McMillan is joining us in the CNN NEWSROOM tomorrow in the noon Eastern hour. Wow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: New figures out today on the number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits. The numbers are still stubbornly high, but they fell last week.

Poppy Harlow of CNNMoney.com breaks down the jobless report. And Christine Romans is with us to tell us about some signs that some temporary holiday jobs could lead to more permanent work.

Poppy, let's start with you. Let's run through the numbers.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I think it's a little better than it could have been, but still pretty abysmal -- 452,000 new jobless claims alone last week. And what we're seeing is that for two years now, those weekly claims have not been below 400,000.

That is why we still have a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, nearly 15 million Americans out of work. And the real sticker here is that almost half of those are long-term unemployed people, meaning they have been out of work for six months or, for many, even longer.

We sat down this week and we talked to Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz. He had a really great point, Tony, on what the long-term severe impact is of having all of these people out of work for months on end. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH STIGLITZ, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIV.: The consequences is that if you have a long period of high unemployment, 8, 9, 10 percent, for an extended period of time -- and ours has already been high for too long of a period -- that it becomes increasingly difficult to get it down. And when these guys get re- employed, it will typically be at a much lower wage simply because their skills have deteriorated.

HARLOW: Is that where we're headed?

STIGLITZ: That's where we're headed unless we have a second round of stimulus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So he's one of the few, I guess you could say right now, pushing for a second stimulus in this political climate. Very difficult.

But look, ,he says if these people get back to work, they are going to be at much lower pay. Their skill sets will have deteriorated, Tony. So, a huge outlying problem here.

HARRIS: Better not call it "stimulus."

Poppy, the midterm elections around the corner, and the pressure is certainly on the administration to address the job crisis. And I've got to tell you, it really is critical in some states that you can highlight for us.

HARLOW: That's exactly right. So, tomorrow morning, we're going to get this state-by-state unemployment report. And we pretty much know what it's going to show us.

Nevada and Michigan, they've been reeling from this recession the entire time. They're two states with the highest unemployment rate consistently, but there's different reasons. We want to outline for you why that is.

Let's take a look first at Nevada.

Their unemployment rate is actually rising. It's getting worse. You see it there. It's almost 14.5 percent.

They have the most foreclosures in the country. They have had a huge loss of construction jobs, 65,000 construction jobs lost since December, '07.

And, of course, Nevada, you think Las Vegas. The leisure/hospitality business hit very hard, 36,000 of those jobs lost. That's Nevada. That's one of the top two worst when it comes to unemployment.

Take a look at Michigan.

Michigan's unemployment still very high. Detroit in particular. It's 13.1 percent as of August, but it's actually been falling since January.

Part of that has to do with some people leaving the state, but some jobs are coming back. And that's what we want to highlight, 8,000 manufacturing jobs added in the past year. Good to note some of those are actually auto workers coming back to work.

HARRIS: Good. Good.

HARLOW: Fourteen thousand jobs added, temp jobs, business services, et cetera. But what we did see in the jobless number today, Tony, is that jobless claims showed an increase of 1,000 or more in 25 states, so in half the nation. So you've got to expect that that state-by-state unemployment we read tomorrow morning is going to be pretty abysmal -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. We've to get that first-time claims number down below 400,000. It's been there seemingly forever.

HARLOW: Two years.

HARRIS: Poppy, it's good to see you. Yes, exactly. Thank you.

Let's get Christine Romans in on this.

So, you get hired for a temporary job during the holidays. What are the chances of that seasonal job turning into permanent employment?

Christine, what are the chances that temporary work, seasonal work can become permanent?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: About 40 percent. Careerbuilder did a survey that said about 40 percent of employers say they're going to -- at least some of those people are going to be moving into permanent jobs. But, Tony, I want to be really clear.

Any discussion -- any discussion of the labor market, there are some real grim realities here. It's going to be hard to get that job, and it's going to be hard to stay on.

When you look at this first chart I prepared for you, it shows you the percentage of the working population of America that is actually working right now, Tony. Look at that, 58.5 percent.

HARRIS: Wow.

ROMANS: Some people like to turn it upside down. They like to say, well, if it's almost 10 percent unemployment, that means 90 percent of adults are working. No -- 58.5 percent.

It's way too low. It's still been too low.

So, you can do everything right and still not get one of these seasonal jobs. So, I just want to be very clear about that and not blame the victim. I don't want them to think that "I didn't get a job." It's not because I'm doing the right things. It's because the economy is not working in your direction.

That said, there are openings and they are hiring for seasonal jobs in a lot of different kinds of areas. Wells Fargo is hiring some jobs right now. Not necessarily seasonal on that one, too. Hewlett- Packard, Toys "R' Us. UPS is hiring a lot of jobs, some 50,000 to be shipping those packages around.

And we told you -- we talked about it yesterday at this time. Intel hiring some high-tech jobs. There will be construction jobs that go along with that.

How do you get and keep the jobs? You've got the job, you've walked in, you've gotten one of these seasonal jobs. You've got to provide great customer service from the get-go, because, look, I mean, your boss wants somebody who's going to be delivering. You've just got to deliver.

HARRIS: Oh yes.

ROMANS: Let the hiring manager know immediately and up front that you would like to work full time if there's something available after the holidays, because if business is improving, they are sitting on a lot of cash. If you really knock their socks off and they have another opening somewhere, maybe you're going to be the one who gets it.

Ask for more responsibility. Say, you know, I'd like to try something else. I see something over there that I could maybe do that could be a little bit more responsible, and maybe it will save you some money, too. So you've got to get in there and you've got to really knock their socks off.

There are 4.6 workers for every available opening in America right now. And gosh, if you can get in there in one of those temp jobs, there's some handy tools to try to figure out how to keep it.

HARRIS: And you're not just competing against the folks in your neighborhood, you're competing against the world for these jobs now.

ROMANS: Yes.

HARRIS: So you really have to be on your skill set.

All right, Christine. Good to see you. Thank you. A new concern in the Caribbean. We will find out who should be keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Richard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let's take a break. We're back in a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Twelve days until the midterm elections. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell challenging Democrats to stand up tore beliefs and accomplishments and give the base reason to get out and vote. The former DNC chairman not mincing words on CNN's new show, "PARKER SPITZER."

ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": Where is the Democratic story that's an affirmative story that explains how we're going to solve the problem?

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, you're absolutely right. And I have said consistently during this campaign season we're a bunch of wusses. We're running from the things that we've done, running from the things we believe, instead of saying, here's what we stand for. If we're going to lose, let's go down fighting for the things we believe in.

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": Well, everybody who is running -- and I wanted to ask you about that. I mean, everyone has abandoned President Obama now. And since you're from Pennsylvania, and you're the governor, what about when he said it was Pennsylvanians that he said cling to their guns and their religion when they're feeling frustrated? Has that hurt him and do you think it's Democrats in general, in your state particularly?

RENDELL: I think we got over that.

PARKER: You did?

RENDELL: I mean, he carried Pennsylvania in the general by 11 percent, which is the highest of any president in about 30, 40 years. But look, the bottom line is what are we for? Let's talk about the health care bill.

All of our guys shy away from the health care bill. But as you guys know, there are six things that have come on line with the health care bill, all wildly popular with people.

Just one example, children 25 years or younger cannot be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. So, if you've got a 5-year-old daughter suffering from leukemia, in the past no insurance company would take her. Now they have to take her.

SPITZER: Right.

RENDELL: Ninety-one percent of people think that's a good thing. And that's true with all of the health care bill stuff that's on line. Let's talk about that stuff. We should be proud of the things we've done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: "PARKER/SPITZER" focus tonight -- I love this, taxes in their "name your cuts" quest. Many candidates and experts say the federal deficit need to be slashed but they are offering few suggestions.

Well, that's tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern "PARKER/SPITZER." We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Just 12 days to go until the midterm elections. And ,ost of us are getting bombarded by campaigns. From the left and the right. What about the Americans caught in middle between the political extremes? Comedian Jon Stewart talked about that last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": I do know this. We have a false sense of nostalgia that was. It feels to me like the right wants to take us back to a time in America that never really existed, and the left wants us to advance to a utopian environment where no one can say anything about anybody. It would be sort of this weird, you know, we're all just worried about the fragility of stepping on each other's toes.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Where's the middle in all of this?

STEWART: The middle is at the Rally to Restore Sanity, Larry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You may have seen Lady Gaga and Alec Baldwin pushing for gay rights. They're just two celebrities lending their voices to national conversations and issues. Voices that get a bit louder the closer we get to the midterms. Twelve days away now.

Here's entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK BLACK, ACTOR: Did you hear Obama's going to kill our grandmas?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jack Black takes on critics of health care reform.

LADY GAGA, SINGER: I thought equality was nonnegotiable.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Lady Gaga is all over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: Gay New Yorkers don't have the right to marry the man or woman that they love.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Alec Baldwin just released a video backing gay marriage in New York state.

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: Just had a nice meeting with the president.

ANDERSON (voice-over): And George Clooney is speaking out on Sudan. In the build-up to the midterm elections, stars are getting political. But in this volatile political year, Hollywood Democrats are mostly steering clear of specific races. Variety's Ted Johnson blogs about Hollywood and politics.

TED JOHNSON, MANAGING EDITOR, "VARIETY": A lot of celebrities are thinking, you know, is it really worth it to get involved in these campaigns that have really gone negative? And have really gone negative very quickly.

ANDERSON (on camera): Instead of publicly endorsing candidates, many stars are focusing on issues instead. Lady Gaga rallied opponents of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

LADY GAGA: We're going to war for you, and you, and you, and you, and you, but not you because you're gay!

ANDERSON (voice-over): And stars posted anti-"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" videos to the Web site "Funny or Die," using humor to make their point.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think you can fit in the cockpit of an F-16 if you're wearing a tutu, and I don't think it's safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when Russia is going to get the drop on us, when I'm in the middle of some hot lesbo army shower action.

ANDERSON (on camera): George Clooney appeared on Capitol Hill to sound another alarm about Sudan, joined by a Republican senator.

JOHNSON: George Clooney isn't out there on the campaign trail for midterm candidates. He was at the White House talking to the president about Darfur.

ANDERSON (voice-over): A few left-leaning celebrities are wading into choppy partisan waters.

BLACK: Don't tell anybody. Obama's the devil.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Jack Black plays a devious character spreading misinformation about health care reform in a new series of web videos. BLACK: Obamacare is a socialist plot.

ANDERSON (voice-over): And away from cameras, liberals like Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, and Steven Spielberg have attended fund-raisers for Democratic candidates. Celebrity conservatives are the ones actually hitting the stump.

JOHNSON: People like John Voigt, people like Janine Turner, people like Pat Boone, who had a Tea Party rally in Beverly Hills.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Another sign that this election, even in Hollywood, is far from politics as usual. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: So Tony, yes, a lot of voters say that jobs and unemployment are actually their biggest concerns, but that Hollywood seems only too happy to avoid that. So, I spoke with "Variety's" Ted Johnson about that very thing. He told me yes, in general stars do avoid delving too deeply into those bread-and-butter issues. And I asked him, hey, is it because they are in a higher tax bracket, maybe are more removed from issues like unemployment and jobs? He said sure, that's one reason.

Although Hollywood, which is predominantly Democratic, has a tendency of voting against its own economic self-interest. Johnson believes the bigger reason the celebrities see the electoral landscape, the voter anger and don't want themselves to become an issue. Because things are so volatile he feels that stars have a fear about how they come across as liberal elites preaching to middle America.

So, it's a very delicate balance that they try to strike. But Tony, there are exceptions, of course. Ted reminded me of examples like Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, and even Matt Damon who narrated the documentary "Inside Job," which is about the financial crash.

HARRIS: Hey. Good report. Hey, Brooke, just because we don't get you often. Tell everybody about your show and when they can find it and where they can find it.

ANDERSON: That's right. I'm over on HLN, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We're live every day at 5 p.m. Eastern and back again every night at 11:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific. So, check us out then.

HARRIS: It is good to see you. Thank you, lady.

Still to come. A city council meeting gets nasty. Nothing new there. But wait until you hear what was said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Taking a look at top stories now.

The prosecution has rested in an early military hearing for alleged Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Hasan. The former Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people during a shooting rampage on the Texas military base. The defense is set to present its case next month

Michigan authorities announce two more homicide charges against a suspected serial stabber. Elias Abuelazam is suspected in 14 stabbings in Michgan, Ohio and Virginia.

And a disagreement at a city council meeting in Warner Robbins, Georgia, leads to a racially tinged exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was disrespected last Monday. I'm getting about tired of y' all talking to me any kind of way. I'm sorry, I'm not working in a cotton field. OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I should be?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Council member John Williams denies the remark was racial. Williams says that he in fact has worked in a cotton field in the past.

Election day drawing ever closer, and interesting new poll is out. It asks Americans if they think President Obama will be a one- term president. We have got the numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A dozen days until the midterm elections, and we're looking at the lighter side of politics. When it comes to loving America, comedian Jon Stewart says Republicans and Democrats take a different approach. Here's Jon Stewart on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Republicans, they never have to prove they love this country. Democrats always seem to have to prove to America that they love America.

Republicans love America. They just seem to hate about 50 percent of the people who live in it.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: Democrats, for their thing, they love this country, they just somehow wish it were a different country.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: With Democrats, they are always like, you know, America is the greatest country in the world. Have you seen Finland's health care system? You get back rubs at work. You're surrounded by sandwiches.

KING: I saw Senator Harry Reid at (INAUDIBLE).

STEWART: You saw Senator Harry Reid at (INAUDBILE) Deli, and I have to say to you, was he applying for a job? That's all I said.

KING: That's all you said.

STEWART: All I was concerned about is he okay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, just 12 days until election day. And we have new polls to tell you about. Our chief national correspondent, John King, part of The Best Political Team on Television, the host of "JOHN KING USA." Joining us live from the political desk in Washington.

And John, what are you following, sir?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you know, President Obama is not on the ballot in 12 days in the midterm elections, but this is, in many ways, a referendum on the first two years of his presidency. And so all the polling out that's asked questions about the president, Gallup Poll has some interesting numbers today. They asked the American people, does President Obama deserve to be re-elected. Yes, 39 percent, no, 54 percent. So at this point in his presidency, a majority of Americans say this president should not be re-elected.

He also had the lowest favorable rating in the Gallup Poll over the first -- last 21 months. Fifty percent now view him unfavorably. Tony, I'll tell you this, that's an interesting number, but Bill Clinton had bad poll ratings at this point. He was re-elected.

HARRIS: Yes.

KING: George Bush had bad poll ratings at this point. He was re- elected. So it's an interesting talking point. I wouldn't pour it into concrete, as they say.

These polls are interesting, though. Pennsylvania's Senate race, one of the closest, if not the closest in the country. It is Democrat Joe Sestak against Republican Pat Toomey. This race is tough. It is nasty. It is personal. Here's the latest polling.

Quinnipiac University, Pennsylvania's Senate race among likely voters, Toomey at 48, Sestak, 46. That's essentially a dead heat. And it backs up Muhlenberg College in a poll for the "Morning Call" newspaper, Toomey 43, Sestak 43. So essentially a dead heat there 12 days out. A lot of money going into a decisive Pennsylvania Senate race.

Hard to see Republicans capturing control of the Senate unless they win that seat. So we'll keep an eye on that one. And tonight, Tony, do you know what 18 acres, you know what that term means here in Washington?

HARRIS: No. What does it mean?

KING: That is the size of the White House complex. The White House, the old executive office building. The grounds of the White House is 18 acres. And Nicolle Wallace, who worked for George W. Bush, that's the title of her new novel. I'm trying to get it on the camera here.

HARRIS: There you go.

KING: There we go. I'll get it to figure out. You know, I'm not the brightest guy. I've got to figure out how that works.

HARRIS: Oh, yes, right, whatever.

KING: Nicolle Wallace is going to going us on the program tonight. This is a great, fun new novel. It's about a woman president, a woman chief of staff and essentially it's -- it's fiction --

HARRIS: Yes.

KING: But there are characters in the book that Nicolle has drawn on from her days working for George W. Bush, working for John McCain for president, working for Jed Bush down as Florida governor. She'll be on the program tonight. We'll talk a bit about the book, but also about the interesting, you might say, dynamics in this campaign and what she sees as the up side and --

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

KING: The down side, my friend.

HARRIS: Yes, let's see that as a movie maybe.

All right, John King, the host of "JOHN KING USA."

KING: I can see you in that movie.

HARRIS: You can. Thank you.

KING: I can see you in that movie. I can.

HARRIS: Your thoughts to my agent.

Thank you, John. And we'll see you tonight for "JOHN KING USA."

Your next political update coming up at the top of the hour. And for the latest political news, just go to cnn.com/politics.

Here's a sure-fire way for a kid to get in big, fat trouble. Hop behind the wheel of a big white truck and floor it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Sandra Endo is giving me grief here because I'm slightly taller, just slightly taller than you.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: So when I move forward, that's a problem. How far do I need to stand back to make you feel comfortable?

ENDO: Well, stand back because I've got -- I've got "What's Hot" for you today, OK.

HARRIS: So stand back. Sandra Endo, "What's Hot." Yes.

ENDO: I've got "What's Hot" for you this afternoon. And let me tell you, look at this video. Here's what we got. You see a police chase.

HARRIS: Oh, this is the kid. Yes. Yes.

ENDO: Don't give it away yet.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. I'm sorry.

ENDO: All right. This looks like a police chase, right. That white pickup you see is actually a Marion County Fire Department vehicle from South Carolina and police are in hot pursuit, right. It looks like an ordinary chase. This goes on for a while. The driver, driving about 45 miles per hour. Hits a light post, actually. Reverses, then continues.

HARRIS: Oh.

ENDO: Yes, this is a dash cam video you see there from South Carolina. But the big twist is, it's an 11-year-old boy driving.

HARRIS: It is not!

ENDO: Yes. He hopped into the vehicle, stole it, took it for a joyride basically and only stopped when his mother got in front of the car in tears -- in front of the truck and stopped him.

HARRIS: Oh really?

ENDO: Yes.

HARRIS: Oh, man.

ENDO: So you know he's going to court later this week and he's probably grounded.

HARRIS: Ah, you would think so.

ENDO: Yes.

HARRIS: What else do you have for us?

ENDO: And so you were telling me that you know the difference between "Penthouse" and playhouse -- "Playboy."

HARRIS: "Playboy" and "Penthouse."

ENDO: See, I don't even know.

HARRIS: Yes, I --

ENDO: So you know the difference?

HARRIS: Yes, I kind of do.

ENDO: All right. Well, what's hot in the news today is "Penthouse." And, unfortunately, we're talking about a death here. The founder of the magazine, Bob Guccione, lost his battle with cancer. He was 79 years old. But apparently, Tony, you know, he certainly left his mark in the world.

HARRIS: Oh, he did. No question.

ENDO: Yes. Here's a guy who at one point was considering priesthood but then did a complete 180, launching a rival to "Playboy" in the late '60s with this publication, showing scantily clad women.

HARRIS: Right, right, right.

ENDO: And, you know what, at the height of it all in the '80s, this magazine published the first photos of the first black Miss America.

HARRIS: Oh, that's right. That's right. Vanessa Williams.

ENDO: Yes.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

ENDO: And she was forced to give up her crown because of that.

HARRIS: Yes, the difference, the articles are better in "Playboy."

ENDO: Right, articles, right? Pictures.

HARRIS: Wouldn't you agree with that, Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I've got nothing to say. Thanks very much.

ENDO: All right, let's move on. Let's move on. One more "What's Hot."

HARRIS: OK.

ENDO: And I like this one. Check this out. It's an iReport actually sent to cnn.com. Dozens of choirs from across the country singing the same song, "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power." Have a listen. That is nice. It's very tasteful after our discussion about those magazines, OK.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. We had to bring it back down.

ENDO: Yes. So the clips were of all these choirs pretty much mashed up together and created one big video and that's "What's Hot" on cnn.com.

HARRIS: Well done, Sandy, as always. Appreciate it so much.

All right, here's the thing. The video we're about to show you was "What's Hot" yesterday and we had to show it to you again. It's a -- we're calling it a "What's Hot" rewind. A man dancing gets a bit out of control here and, take a look. Just know that he is OK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In this economy, all Americans are hurting. Bt in almost every category, African-Americans are hurting the most. For example, the foreclosure rate is more than double that of whites. Soledad O'Brien's new documentary "ALMIGHTY DEBT," a "Black in America" special, introduces us to the Jeffries (ph) family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY JEFFRIES: I'm not nervous. I'm just not nervous. Are you nervous?

DOUG JEFFRIES: I'm going with positive thoughts. Bringing a positive spirit. Positive vibe.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doug Jeffries is a luxury car salesman.

M. JEFFRIES: So the one with the big family.

O'BRIEN: His wife, Mary, is a high end real estate broker. But they haven't paid their own mortgage in two years and now they could lose it all. Today they're headed to a meeting with the housing counselor who's working to save their home.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you remember the day you moved in?

M. JEFFRIES: October 12, 2002.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. JEFFRIES: It was rainy --

O'BRIEN: Oh, no.

M. JEFFRIES: Cold.

O'BRIEN: Oh, no.

M. JEFFRIES: Just the a messiest day.

O'BRIEN: Oh, that's terrible.

M. JEFFRIES: But it was sunshine in our hearts.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): They lived in a 3,500 square foot four bedroom home on a corner lot, complete with a three-car garage for their BMWs.

M. JEFFRIES: This is the living room. I'm a girl from north New Jersey. We grew up in a one bedroom apartment. And it was four girls and one boy. So I would always say, oh, I can't wait until I get grown. I'm going to buy the biggest house. I'm going to do this.

The pool would probably have been back there. The deck, the pool and the tennis court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know what the next person is doing. But I think there's some psychology in the African-American community around spending that's connected with having felt less than and wanting to feel as good as.

PASTOR BUSTER SORIS (ph): Let's give God some praise.

O'BRIEN: The Jeffries are drowning in the kind of debt their pastor, Buster Soris, preaches against just about every Sunday.

SORIS: Live within your means. People that don't manage their money wisely are not managing our lives wisely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Tonight, Soledad O'Brien examines how some are fighting the financial crisis from the pulpit. "Almighty Debt," a "Black In America" special coming tonight, 9:00 Eastern, on CNN.

This man's show is stacked. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Do you want me do that move that you did in that's "What's Hot" thing? That guys spinning around. You better stay close if I try that, because I'm going to injure myself.

HARRIS: Oh, OK.

VELSHI: Tony, you have a fantastic afternoon.

That's Tony Harris.