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The Ripple Effect of Aqua Buddha; The Battle for Latino and Hispanic Voters; CNN Equals Politics Update; Faith Healing's Skeptics and Believers; Skateboarding to Save a Life
Aired October 22, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. We're talking about the politics of anger and the power of change. Congress bracing for what could be its biggest upheaval in years. Two weeks from today, Americans take part in the crucial midterm elections, and the control of Washington hanging in the balance.
Some campaign workers are hoping to tip the scales with something as innocent as a cell phone camera. Believe it or not, they quietly follow a rival candidate and wait to pounce a political blunder. A five-second clip can erase months of campaigning. CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash takes a closer look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Moore, in this election, would you support Nancy Pelosi for speaker?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's not a reporter asking the question. It's someone with Kansas House candidate Stephanie Moore's opponent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you support Nancy Pelosi for speaker?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Dakota. He follows me and asks me that question.
BASH: Dakota is what's known as a tracker, an opposing campaign's aide or supporter who follows candidates to events, looking for gotcha moments to turn into 30-second ads. Here's an ad in New Hampshire where Democrat Carol Shea-Porter is caught making what Republicans think is a politically unpopular admission.
CAROL SHEA-PORTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: I think I have a 90 percent rating with the president. 93 percent with the House. All along, I have said, you know, this is what I believe.
BASH: It's an exploding trend in political ads this year, using candidates' own words against them, often with video captured by trackers.
EVAN TRACY, CAMPAIGN MEDIA ANALYSIS GROUP: It's that candid camera, gotcha moment. Any time you can get your opponent on film saying something that is not popular with voters and you can put that in your ad and feed it out 30 seconds at a time, it's a much more effective way to run a negative ad.
BASH: Remember Republican Senator George Allen's 2006 infamous macaca moment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This fellow over here, with the yellow shirt, macaca or whatever his name is, he's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere.
BASH: A tracker shot that, and what appeared to be a racial slur by Allen helped sink his campaign. Now, four years later, flip cams, cell phones and advances in technology make this brand of negative campaigning much easier.
TRACY: This is the macaca moment on steroids this election.
BASH: And it's a bipartisan phenomenon. Colorado voters see it from both Senate candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you pro-life? And I'll answer the next question. I don't believe in the exceptions of rape or incest.
ANNOUNCER: Ken Buck, he's too extreme for Colorado.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reckless spending becomes a habit. Bennet voted for Obama's failed stimulus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for it, and I'm glad I did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Dana now joining me live from New York. So who exactly are these people behind the camera. Who do they work for, and are they getting paid, Dana?
BASH: Some are, and some aren't. Really it depends on the campaign but I got to tell you, Kyra, talking to campaigns across the country and the strategists who had run them and are in touch with them on a national level, they say pretty much every campaign, Democrat or Republican, has somebody like this, tracking the candidate's opponent.
To answer your question, there are some who are paid by opposition research firms that the campaign has hired and some are just supporters, or volunteers who kind of walk around and do this. And the point here is that there is so much clutter and there's so much information that is you know, that is hitting voters right now, what these candidates and campaigns believe is that if they want to have a negative ad against their opponent, it is much more powerful to not have a narrator say something, but to capture the candidate saying something or their opponent saying something in their own words. That is the money ad from the perspective of these campaigns.
PHILLIPS: So if everyone has these types of trackers, you would think that candidates would always be on guard.
BASH: You would, wouldn't you? But look, I mean, we're all human, even politicians, and you know, they're out there, and many of them are tired. It's not just somebody like you saw at the beginning of a piece, walking with them with a camera in their face or a cell phone in their face. Many times it's just a candidate at a town hall and innocently, perhaps, answering a voter's question, and if that answer doesn't necessarily go on message it can instantly be used against them.
PHILLIPS: We will keep following every angle of this as it gets more nasty and shadier in some ways.
Dana, thanks.
Vice president Joe Biden is in San Francisco for a closed fund- raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer. From there he heads over to Vancouver, Washington for Patty Murray. He ends the night in Reno, Nevada.
Former President Bill Clinton begins three days of appearances in Florida. Firs stop, Tampa, where he is campaigning for gubernatorial candidate, Kendrick Meek. And the man who wants to be the next speaker of the House, minority leader John Boehner is in South Georgia for a campaign event with veterans.
Nearly two years ago, young voters helped sweep Barack Obama into the White House. They were energized, organized and mobilized. Today, well, they are largely standing on the sidelines. T.J. Holmes traveling the southeast with the CNN Election Express, joining us now in South Carolina. So T.J., what are the young voters telling you?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN, ANCHOR: You just summed it up there about standing on the sidelines. Listen to these two guys. Let them sum up for you just what they're thinking as we go into the midterm and I'll tell you more about what I'm doing here in Aiken. But I want you to listen to this two very telling and hopefully Washington is listening as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (on camera): How closely are you guys following these midterm elections
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not too closely.
HOLMES: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You work 60 hours a week. There's not really a lot of time left for anything else. You know, I mean, it's all business here.
EDIN KENNY, COLUMBIA RESIDENT: here's this whole problem of voting in America where not enough people go out to vote but at the same time there are a lot of people going out to vote and they don't even know what they are voting for. So you know, where does the real problem lie there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, the worst thing is to have an opinion on politics and not really know what's going on. So it's probably this classic story of young people that don't really know what's going on in politics. Alvin Green, all of the way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You hear them there, and they sum it up and explain it well. Young people don't really know what they're voting for this time around. Some people go in uneducated when they vote. Adults do that. Young people do that. Don't just put it on the young folks. The last time around, young folks could see this hope and change and this historic figure in Barack Obama.
Well, he is not on the ballot right now. That's the difficulty. That young man was talking to me from Columbia, South Carolina, up the road from where I am now. I made my way down to Aiken, South Carolina. This is a community of about 25,000 or 30,000. This is a community that has been able to stay below the unemployment rate nationally.
The reason they have been able to survive in such a way is because, yes, it's a small community, but they have a formula for success that works here. There's a history here of nuclear materials, if you can believe that. After World War II, this site, there was a site here, the Savannah river site that was used to make a lot of the materials that were used for nuclear weapons. About one-third of those materials came out of this area. Of course, those materials aren't still being made, but the site is still here and still employs thousands.
You also have of all things, Kyra, an equestrian industry here. Who knew? But that is been able to maintain itself and maintain people here. Retirement community, a lot of people continue to come down here to enjoy their time off. That works, and, quite frankly, other people tell me, you got just true blood southerners down here. so they have a formula that specifically works for them, Kyra, here in Aiken. It doesn't work for everybody but they found something that works here. And they've been able to make it through tough times OK or at least a little better than most.
PHILLIPS: T.J. Holmes on the campaign trail. We'll keep following you as the bus moves. Thanks, T.J..
As you know, the election bus is on the road. T.J. will be there in the next stop tomorrow in Macon, Georgia. We're going to follow the Election Express every day in the CNN NEWSROOM and bring you what voters are saying from each stop.
Is it a labor of love or money? More and more military wives serving as surrogate mothers for cold, hard cash. We're going to tell you why in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Military wives as surrogates, few out of pocket expenses, and nine months later, it's a pretty big payday that taxpayers like you actually helped bank rolled. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been looking into this for us. And it's an interesting trend, a lot more of these military wives are doing it.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is interesting because, you know, getting by on the salary in the military is really tough. Often the salaries are relatively low, so some wives are saying, you know what, this is not a bad idea. It's a way to make income, and sometimes doubling the family income by becoming a surrogate. And help out an infertile couple at the same time.
Now there are no hard numbers as to how many military wives are becoming surrogates, but we spoke with someone who runs a surrogacy agency called Reproductive Possibilities. It's in New Jersey, and she said about five to 10 percent of her surrogate moms come from the military and she said she thinks it's higher at other agencies. She's not even near a military base and still five to 10 percent of her moms are military.
PHILLIPS: And what kind of military wives are becoming surrogates?
COHEN: Well, this agency said they have a requirement that they want the mom to already have two children. There's two reasons for that. One reason is they want them to know that haven't they want to know she's capable of carrying and delivering a baby. If you have got two, you have your proof there.
The other reason is that they don't want the mom to say, "oh, you know what, I want to keep this baby. If you already have two of your own, it decreases the chances. So we spoke with a woman named Darcy Swartz, who was a surrogate, a military wife. Her husband is in the Army. He is a master sergeant. And when she was 40 years old, she carried a surrogate, and she said that, you know, it brought in some money. She said she got the idea from the show "Army Wives," brought in money and also she said it was a wonderful thing to see the look on the parents faces that couldn't have a baby on their own and she gave them their baby. It wasn't her eggs, and it wasn't the other husband's sperm. So she was not genetically connected to the baby at all.
PHILLIPS: How much did she get paid?
COHEN: We said that we heard that surrogates were getting paid about $20,000, and she said, "Yes, I was in that ballpark." Really, it's probably more like 20,000 to 35,000. You get paid more if you have been a surrogate before and you've proven yourself and you also get more if you're carrying twins. And a lot of these women, probably about half of them, end up carrying twins.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Who pays for the pregnant woman's medical care?
COHEN: This gets sticky because Tricare has been paying for it. That's the military insurance, because well, the military wife is one of their customers and she's and she's delivering and they paid for it. But we spoke to Tricare and they basically said we would like to get out of the business of paying for surrogate's prenatal and delivery care. They want the other parent's insurance to start paying for it. so Tricare said we are going to try to hit them up for the money.
But you know what, that's going to be a hard thing to do. Because if a woman walks in and she is pregnant, you assume it's her baby, right? Unless she comes out and days I'm a surrogate. You assume it's her baby and you pay for the care as her insurance company.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting in these tough economic times. Military, a lot of men and women don't make a lot of money and they have to go to different extremes to make money.
That's right. They say they do what they have to do, but they say, plus it makes them feel good that they are giving this gift of life.
PHILLIPS: A beautiful gift.
COHEN: It is a beautiful gift.
PHILLIPS: That's true. Thanks, Elizabeth.
Well, shoplifting, you might not do it, or know anyone else who does it but the old five-finger discount could be costing you hundreds of dollars every year. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a big coat you're wearing. Lots of pocket room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you. I'm sure I'll bump into you.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yes, the old "Five-Fingered Discounts," as shown in the movie "Empire Records." It's funny on the big screen but in real life, it's pretty darn expensive. And don't think shoplifting doesn't affect you, it could be costing you actually hundreds of dollars a year. CNN's Josh Levs here to explain just in time for the holiday shopping.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just to make everybody feel great, right? We are talking about some whopping figures here. There is this thing that comes out every year called the Global Retail Theft Barometer and it's from this agency in England that follows this, the Center for Retail Research. Look at this here, $39 billion - this is just in the United States. This is the cost to U.S. retailers of theft and also of employee errors along the way. So nearly $40 billion, it's costing to the retailers every year, and that cost trickles down. We wind up paying more because of it. Look at this, every family on average is paying $423 extra in your bills at all of these retail stores because of this theft that's going on and these goods that are disappearing.
Now I will tell you this, figures substantially higher in the U.S. than it is globally. Retail theft is damaging the economy all around and we're talking about all steps of the supply chain. So the shoplifting, there's a also employee crimes, various steps along the way before those good actually get to the store.
In fact, here in the U.S. and North America in, general, retailers are different from the rest of the world in saying that here employee theft is a bigger than shoplifting is. Retailers are losing 1.5 percent of all their sales.
But I also tell you there's a little bit of good news in here. Losses are down, they actually dropped about seven percent since the previous year. That's probably because retailers are pumping al this money now into protecting those goods. They have increased spending to protect their goods by about 12 percent. So what we're seeing here is that there's a lot of efforts going on and Kyra, it seemed they are paying off but still a huge problem in this country.
PHILLIPS: All right. So what are they stealing specifically?
LEVS: Let's take a look at this. Some of the most stolen items are they include cosmetics and perfumes. These things makes sense. They're relatively small, some people stem them in their pockets, get out.
Take a look at this, there's also there's a lot of theft of auto parts. And again, we're talking the whole supply chain. Some might be retailers, some might be before they get to the stores themselves and employees. So auto parts and building materials, those are disappearing at a faster rate. Also among the most stolen things in this country, fashion, especially in this country we're told name brand fashion. Anything that's an actual recognized name disappears pretty quickly as well as accessories, going pretty fast.
I posted the whole link for you on Facebook and Twitter. Josh Levs, CNN, take a look there. And what it does is that it shows you from our folks at CNN Money, how this is trickling down to your wallet. So Kyra, it's good to see that there's some improvement in the effort against shoplifting et cetera. But still we got a long way to go when our economy is paying $40 billion a year.
PHILLIPS: Yes. A lot of cash. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Talking top stories now. Bank of America restarting foreclosures in 23 states. It reviewed more than 100,000 cases after complaints that documents were not being properly vetted.
Former Jetblue flight attendant Steven Slater due in court this hour. How can you forget him? You remember the outburst to the passengers and then he cruise down the emergency slide. Well, Slater has been working out a plea bargain, apparently.
Police don't plan to charge the former NFL star Junior Seau for driving his car off a cliff. It happened hours after he had been arrested on domestic violence charges. Police say neither drugs or alcohol were involved in that driving incident.
Now take a look at something that some folks thought was cool but that others thought was a really bad idea. It's United Airlines 747 flying really low in San Francisco as part of a Blue Angels Air Show. Take a look as it buzzes the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Now some people found it thrilling to be so close to the roar of a huge jet. Others thought it was too reminiscent of 9/11 and so others didn't like the thought that a commercial plane was involved in a military air show.
So have you ever traced your family ancestry? Well, there can be some real big surprises for those that do. At least that's what our Stephanie Elam found out. She's going to explain right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Tracing your family history can lead to some pretty big surprises. Our Stephanie Elam found out firsthand when she decided to learn more about her ancestors. Steph, tell us about this and what gave you the idea?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I've always been interested, Kyra. I can remember as a little kid tracing pictures of my great grandfather, trying to like hold on to these records. It has always intrigued me, so maybe now that I'm a mom, maybe that's it. I wanted to find out a little bit more. I wondered if I took three different DNA tests, would they tell me three different things. After all, I knew there was a lot of stuff that had gone in to make me, me.
Well, the results that I found out were kind of surprising. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM (voice-over): I'm going on a journey to find my roots by taking DNA tests from three different companies, African ancestry.com, 23 and me and ancestry.com.
The question is, will these tests give me the same results.
JOANNA MOUNTAIN, SENIOR RESEARCH DIR, 23 AND ME: Each of us have surprises hidden in this.
ELAM: First up, my mom's DNA, which each company traced back to Africa. African ancestry told me I have some of the same DNA as the (INAUDIBLE) people in Guinea-Bissau today. On my dad's side, the results were in sync but unexpected.
What this is showing is R1B, which is a line of very, very successful European men. The relatives there that we know of is John Adams.
ELAM: John Adams?
(Voice-over): But mountain put that into some perspective.
MOUNTAIN: It's the most common line in western Europe.
ELAM: Oh, but here's my dad. So why are his results so European?
MOUNTAIN: Many African-Americans have at least one paternal line that traces back to Europe because of the relationships between, probably, between slaveholders and slaves.
ELAM: So while perhaps shocking, history helped me understand the results, but the lack of a family history is often a reason why blacks trace their roots.
GINA PAIGE, CO-FOUNDER, AFRICAN ANCESTRY: We're the only group in this country that can't point to a country of origin. The only one. And so that's why DNA testing for ancestry has particular importance for us historically and psychologically.
ELAM: Ancestry.com's John Pereira points out there is more to every one's story than just DNA.
JOHN PEREIRA, ANCESTRY.COM: You really need to look not just the DNA whether you get that at ancestry.com or some other DNA service but you really need to look at all the family history.
ELAM: Genealogist Anastasia Tyler did reveal some history about my dad's father Roland, his father, John, and his father, Creed.
ANASTASIA TYLER, GENEALOGIST, ANCESTRY.COM: You have such strong people in your family tree. You look at Creed and John, who go from not being able to read to owning land, you know, born into slavery and becoming landowners, always improving themselves. It's quite a legacy that you have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM: It was pretty amazing to go on this journey and for anyone who's interested, I definitely suggest doing it. But when you take a look at all of the things that they told me here, especially about my mom's side, Kyra, the way they pretty much broke it down is that if you have some - it's called a (INAUDIBLE) test.
If you have African ancestry, that's what African ancestry.com is testing for. If you have some, they will be probably be able to pinpoint it. They're looking at modern day. So this DNA that I found relates to Guinea-Bissau, the Jola people there. What 23 and Me and ancestry.com was giving me my deep ancestral roots into Africa. All of it very fascinating. All of them pretty much in sync but each give me a kind of a different view point on the data that they called for me. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You got some prestige in that family line.
ELAM: Whatever. That's the thing. At first, you go, John Adams, but really when you think about the fact like half of Europe is walking around, western Europe is walking around, actually half of England is walking around with the same ARB-DNA, not so presidential around here, not really, no.
But what is great is to see that, you know, like my great grandfather being born into slavery, 18 years old when the civil war ends and then learning to read, learning to write, owning property, finding out that all these elders owned property is something, that gives it a well-roundedness that you can't really put a price tag on, you know.
PHILLIPS: Yes. What a fabulous story, Steph. That was great.
Thanks so much.
ELAM: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
This Thursday night, CNN's Soledad O'Brien examines how some are fighting the financial crisis from the pulpit. "Almighty Debt, a Black in America Special," Thursday night 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking "Top Stories." A message from President Obama about bullying. It comes in the wake of several recent suicides by young people who are taunted for being gay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I want to say is this. You are not alone. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything to deserve being bullied.
And there's a whole world waiting for you filled with possibilities. There are people out there who love you and care about you just the way you are.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The White House released that video last night. The president urges children being bullied to get help from caring adults.
An American businessman could face three strokes with a cane for overstaying his visa in Singapore. His legal team could also face six months in jail if convicted.
Kamari Charlton was in the country to see his wife. Court documents show he overstayed his visa by 169 days.
Troubling news about diabetes. The CDC says by mid century, the number of American adults with diabetes could triple. The health agency says right now 1 in 10 adults are living with that diseases and nearly 6 million of them don't even know it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Halloween just nine days away. No doubt you've noticed a spooky Halloween store pop up in your neighborhood.
Stephanie Elam can explain what the heck is up with these pop-up stores.
They're popping up more than ever, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are, Kyra.
You may have noticed. You may have walked down the street. Nothing was there maybe in August and then go back a couple of months later, it's like wait a second, that wasn't there before.
Well, it's true. Total Halloween spending is expected to reach nearly $6 billion this year. And that's an average of 66 bucks a person. So to tap into all of that consumer spending, Halloween stores are literally popping up all over the country. So we stopped by one such haunt here in New York run by Spirit Halloween.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to be Catwoman for Halloween.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm looking for a really cool hippie costume.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harry Potter.
STEVEN SILVERSTEIN, CEO, SPIRIT HALLOWEEN: We have 870 stores now all over this country and also in Canada, which we -- which really pop up right around the first couple weeks of September and we're here like through Halloween, and on November we run a 50 percent off sale and then we're gone.
ELAM (on camera): When these stores pop up, it's enough for you guys to actually turn a profit doing this?
SILVERSTEIN: Well, yes, I mean, look, it's -- Halloween is a unique niche business, and it's unlike any other retail business out there. This entire Halloween process is 24/7, 365.
I'll tell you that we close our store on November 1st.
ELAM: Right.
SILVERSTEIN: On November 4th, I'm taking a trip with my buyers overseas to start putting the -- beginning touches on 2011.
ELAM: So since you kind of pop up.
SILVERSTEIN: Right.
ELAM: Are you then doing some pop-up employment?
SILVERSTEIN: Yes. As a matter of fact -- and it is seasonal but they are jobs. We will hire by the end of the season 12,000 people.
ELAM: What about the trends? Because I know you've already got people talking about Lady Gaga. You've got people talking about The Situation and Snooki.
SILVERSTEIN: Right. The costumes, as you mentioned, those were they -- you know, the licenses are there, but this is a year we're seeing a lot of trend within zombies. You know? There's something -- I don't know whether it was Michael Jackson last year, I think there's some ode to that. Vampires, of course.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be a vampire.
ELAM: What do you think/ Are you spending more on Halloween this year or less than you did last year?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More. You know, it's always more. Unfortunately, but, you know, little boys love costumes with a lot of pieces.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I'm spending more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel guilty for spending money. I hate it and, you know what, I'm kind of just -- I'm telling myself, you know what, go for it.
SILVERSTEIN: There's a great Halloween enthusiasm in this country. It's sort of become our national party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about what you want to be for like one day other than yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM: Yes. Being somebody else. You can just do that whenever you want to around Halloween. And people love that. And actually, Kyra, 35 percent of the store's inventory gets refreshed every year. We're talking about those pop culture things like "The Jersey Shore" folks and also Lady Gaga.
But the rest are stored, the witches, the vampires, all that classic spooky stuff, that's their bread and butter. And that's really what makes their money. It's not about those other little things that come in and come out.
And also, we are in crunch time. Fifty percent of the business is done in the last 10 days leading up to Halloween, which means, Kyra, if you haven't gone out there to the store to figure out what you're going to be, you might want to get on it before all the good stuff is going to be sold out.
PHILLIPS: Listen to you the new mommy that hasn't even decided what baby Simone is going to be in nine days? I'm totally calling you out.
ELAM: I know. I know. And then I keep going, well, should I do it because it's a Sunday? And then I go, I have to because it's the first Halloween. I'm going back and forth. But I'm going to have to come up with something and then I'll send you a picture.
PHILLIPS: OK. That's perfect. See you.
ELAM: She'll be cute. I tell you that. No matter what, she'll be cute.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I know. No matter what. She'll be adorable. Whatever she is. She's your daughter.
All right. See you, Steph.
ELAM: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, an ugly Senate fight in Kentucky, the two rivals agree on one thing. They're tired of talking about Aqua Buddha.
All right. And Terry Kennedy. He refused to allow other people to tell him who he is or what he can do. That's why he's now a black star in a sport that's almost exclusively white.
He overcame long odds before simply surviving the family tragedies in his gang-infested neighborhood and he's going to tell us all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Demonstrators still defiant, trash still piling up, and gas stations still drying out. All of this in France in the face of a possible vote in parliament today.
Protesters are angry over a plan before the French Senate to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Strikes at all 12 of France's refineries have forced a nationwide fuel shortage and union say those strikes will continue.
All right, let's talk about a chilling criminal case that's wrapped up in Canada but still leaves a lot of questions.
Here's the deal. A Canadian Air Force commander -- we're talking about Colonel Russell Williams, who you see here -- highly decorated, respected and powerful, sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
His crimes, killing two young women, sexually assaulting several others, and a bizarre string of fetish burglaries. Now a nation wonders how such a monster could have been hiding underneath all that honor.
We're talking about it with CNN's Paula Newton. She's with us from Ottawa.
So, Paula, tell us how Canada is reacting to this.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's been quite shocking all week long and they've also seen lots of evidence in court. They have seen this man and his confessions in court, and it's difficult to believe.
Kyra, this is a man who this country entrusted with its top military secrets. They trusted him to pilot the Queen around Canada on an official visit, and here he is confessing to being a serial murderer.
But it was nature of the crimes, too, Kyra. I mean this is a person I spoke to, you know, a couple of his neighbors last week. Neighbors who were with him for 14 years cannot believe it.
Premeditated and then he seemed to take such pleasure out of not just the murders but the sexual assaults and torture that he inflicted on this young women.
Incredible scenes here in Ottawa where he had actually, in these fetish burglaries, had taken also trophies from these crimes, photographed them, and get this, cataloged them meticulously and hid them in his home -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, he was married, right? Have we heard from his wife? Does he have children? What do we know about his family life?
NEWTON: I mean in terms of a family man, he didn't have children. Longtime husband to Mary Elizabeth Harriman, you know, an executive for a charity here in this city. She says in a legal statement only that she had no idea and she was devastated by this.
But I say, Kyra, you know, it's making everyone wonder here what is the profile of a serial killer. This was indeed a monster and he confessed to being that type of a monster himself yesterday in court, you know, saying that look, I hope my guilty pleas at least take away some of the pain.
But you are talking about a man who sadistically videotaped what he was doing, obviously, because he wanted to be able to retrieve it later and look at it, and this, really, as people are wondering, how does this happen?
This is man that on the same day he murdered a woman went back to his home base and startled dealing with military aid to Haiti after the earthquake.
Kyra, people are wondering, do we have to look at the profile of serial killer and really cast the net a lot wider than we have been? The only way he was caught, Kyra, was through a police roadblock that had been set up. It just so happened the truck he was driving matched the tire tracks from one of the victims' homes, Jessica Lloyd.
And also, it was the escalation. He went from stealing underwear from people's homes in this city, in Ottawa to these very violent scenes, gruesome scenes, a lot of which there was a huge debate here in Canada as to whether we need to know some of these details.
PHILLIPS: Paula Newton from Canada. Appreciate it.
Voters, you have 11 days to make your decisions now. And we're counting down to the midterm elections for you. One race that's really grabbed our attention and gotten really personal is the Senate rate in Kentucky.
Jim Acosta, member of The Best Political Team on Television, joining us live from Louisville now. Hey, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, that's right. And we have been following this race for the past few days here in Kentucky. We got a chance to catch up with Rand Paul and Jack Conway, his Democratic opponent in this race. And one thing we found when we talked to both of these candidates. They do have one thing in common. They are both sick and tired of talking about Aqua Buddha.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul stopped at this factory to talk taxes, but the issue in this Kentucky horse race this week can be summed up in two words. Aqua Buddha.
RAND PAUL, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Do we want to have a religious test in our country?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible a hoax that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The Aqua Buddha ad run by Democrat Jack Conway accuses Paul accuses Paul of belonging to a group in college that mocked Christianity. The ad cites an anonymous woman who told the "Washington Post" Paul's group had her pray to a false idol named Aqua Buddha. Paul denies it all.
PAUL: I've never written or said anything un-Christian in my life. And for him to accuse me of that I think is just inappropriate and he really ought to be ashamed of himself.
ACOSTA (on camera): And to set the record straight once and for all, you're saying what was said in that ad is untrue?
PAUL: Absolutely. ACOSTA: All of it?
PAUL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jack.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But Paul's not the only candidate who's finished with Aqua Buddha.
JACK CONWAY, DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not questioning Rand Paul's faith, I'm questioning his actions.
ACOSTA: As we tried to press Conway on the ad and other issues, the Democratic contender fired back.
ACOSTA (on camera): I was told we were going to have an interview with you and that's not happening.
CONWAY: I'm happy to sit here and answer your questions. I answer --
ACOSTA: Is it because of the ad? Is it because you felt like maybe I shouldn't have done this?
CONWAY: Have I failed to answer any questions about this ad? Have I failed to go answer for CNN? Have I failed to do it on Matt Lauer?
Where's my -- let me finish this -- we're --
ACOSTA (voice-over): Conway who opposes the bailout but supports the new health care law is fighting to win in a state where President Obama is deeply unpopular. No surprise then that he prefers former President Bill Clinton.
CONWAY: And I'll just wrap up by quoting Bill Clinton. He was in last week and I think he's probably coming back.
ACOSTA: Instead of Mr. Obama on the trail.
ACOSTA (on camera): Do you want the president to campaign with you here in Kentucky between now and Election Day?
CONWAY: Look, this campaign is about me versus Rand Paul.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Conway's latest line of attack is that Paul once supported scrapping the income tax in favor of something called the "Fair Tax". It's essentially a 23 percent national sales tax on all purchases. Paul told CNN he's open to it, but not sold on it.
PAUL: I've always said that I support any tax reform that lowers taxes on everyone and so that's sort of the rule of thumb that would have to be. And that simplifies the tax code. There are various ways to do that. That might be one of the alternatives. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, as for that Aqua Buddha ad, Rand Paul says he is so fired up over that spot he is considering drooping out of the upcoming candidate debate between he and Jack Conway that is scheduled for Monday. And Rand Paul is supposed to have an announcement on that later this afternoon.
As for Jack Conway and this issue of whether or not he's going to appear with President Obama, it's pretty safe to say he will not appear with President Obama between now and election day, but he did announce he will have an appearance with former president Bill Clinton the day before the election. That's his show stopper in this campaign, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jim Acosta, thanks.
We have other big stories on the campaign trail to tell you about. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser at the CNNpolitics.com desk. Hey, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Kyra. Good morning.
Let's talk about this, the battle for Latino and Hispanic voters. The Democratic National Committee saying they're going to put out a brand-new ad between now and election day. It's going to include President Barack Obama in it, television and radio. The idea here, remember, Latinos and Hispanics came out in big numbers in '06 and '08 for the Democrats, and they hope that Latinos and Hispanics will do the same thing again.
Univision will run the ad. In it, tthe president will say, help me defend what we started. The president will be speaking in English in the ad, and, of course, it will be translated into Spanish.
And I'm going to ask (INAUDIBLE) our cameraman to zoom right in here. Where is the president today? He is in California and Nevada, campaigning with Barbara Boxer. Also campaigning with Senate majority leader Harry Reid, two states where Latino and Hispanic voters could be very crucial in those close contests.
One other thing I want to talk about, and that is the president and what he does next week, Kyra. He's going to be in the Midwest. We just learned this. He's going to be campaigning all next weekend, a bunch of stops in the Midwest. And the first lady, Kyra, is going to be doing events straight through until November 1st. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Any big name surrogates out on the campaign trail?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, the Republican side, too. We keep talking about the president, first lady and the vice president. What about the other side? Well, this is interesting. Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, also chairman of the Republican Governors Association, they just announced he is going to be crisscrossing the country over the next 11 days, helping Republican candidates. And he's also going to be joined by New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.
What do all three of those men have in common? Besides wanting to help Republicans this year, all three may -- may, want to run for the White House in 2012. So, we are kind of mixing 2010 and the next race for the White House, Kyra. It starts immediately after this election.
PHILLIPS: All right. And Paul, of course, when we don't have you live, and we update every hour, you can always go to CNNpolitics.com.
Now, let me ask you a question. You were a skateboarder, right?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Many years ago, and I was pretty average to mediocre.
PHILLIPS: Oh, you weren't really good?
STEINHAUSER: I fell a lot more than I should probably should have, yes.
PHILLIPS: What kind of board did you have?
STEINHAUSER: In those days - and I'm going back. I'm old school. It was about this big. It was a Skitch Hitchcock. I think that was the name of it, and it was pretty small.
PHILLIPS: Oh, OK, well everybody made fun of me because they didn't know what a GNS skateboard was. That's what I had. So, we're old farts.
Terry Kennedy is more hip than we were, let me tell you. And he breaks the mold of professional skateboarders. But his athletic skills are only a small part of his remarkable story.
He's joining us live with his story and some moves right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about faith healing. One thing is certain. Comedians have definitely gotten a lot of mileage out of it over the years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rid this man of these headache demons, of these migraine demons. Heal this man.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen!
AUDIENCE: Amen!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hallelujah! Good golly, Miss Molly. How do you feel son?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My headache is gone. God bless him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rid this man of these headache demons. Of these migraine demons -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: You might remember the movie. "Fletch Lives." Chevy Chase poking fun at faith healers. Maybe this is how you view it, as fraud healing, you know, the stuff of parody.
But if you do, just suspend your disbelief for a couple minutes and watch this story from Lorey Shultz of WIVB in Buffalo. It's about a family getting ready to see their daughter walk for the first time in 23 years. Take a look for yourself, and we'll tell you how you weighed in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMELIA ROMAN, DELIA'S MOTHER: Bless me, Lord.
LOREY SCHULTZ, WIVB, BUFFALO (voice-over): Amelia Roman has waited 23 years for this moment. With family and friends by her side, was about to see her daughter, Delia, walking home.
SCHULTZ: Did you pray every day for Delia?
ROMAN: Every single day.
SCHUTLTZ (voice-over): Others were just as excited.
MILAGROS FANCHER, FRIEND: I can't wait. I cannot wait to see what God was able to do.
CASIMIRO RODRIGUEZ, FRIEND: Our faith has always been that God does miraculous things.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): For more than two decades, gospel singer Delia Roman-Knox was the woman in the wheelchair. At 25, she was paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a drunk driver.
DELIA ROMAN KNOX, GOSPEL SINGER: I'm feeling your hands.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): Now the Buffalo native, who resides in Alabama, can be seen all over YouTube. Eight weeks ago at a Christian revival, she shocked everyone when she got out of her wheelchair and walked.
Since then, she couldn't wait to return to western New York to see her parents. Our camera rolled as she arrived and took her first steps outside the family home.
(CROWD CHEERING)
KNOX: That was one of my things, I just wanted to walk up the stairs and see my mom and my dad. I just thank God that they're alive to see this.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): Delia claims she had no idea that on the night she was wheeled into the revival, she would leave on two feet.
KNOX: I would stay away from revivals because I've been pulled, plopped and dropped. This time, I walked. I didn't sing. I didn't talk. I just walked.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): Miracle?
KNOX: All I know is once I couldn't walk, and now I walk.
ROMAN: My house is as a house of miracle. I tell you that it's all -- it's only one way. The Lord.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, again, there's been no medical explanation of why she is now able to walk. Delia Knox didn't want to talk about what her doctor or this physical therapist think and wouldn't go into detail about the medical condition that actually caused her paralysis.
Now, one skeptic says maybe she had the ability to walk but just didn't before that revival.
Faith or fraud? Walking after 23 years, do you believe her? Here's some of what you had to say.
Kurt said, "I'm disabled from a spinal cord injury, and I'm disgusted from something like this. She's obviously never been paralyzed, and knowing what I know about the spinal cord, something like this would be impossible. She would have been suffering atrophy and would have to learn how to walk again. It's medically impossible to repair a spinal cord! People like this make me sick, and it give some people false hope."
Eduardo says, "This is so fake. First, the woman could barely walk getting out of the wheelchair, which would be normal if she couldn't walk for 23 years. But then woman is shown walking normally in high-heeled shoes. C'mon, who are they kidding? Is she going to be dancing next?"
And then Dwayne wraps us up by saying, "Faith can't be explained by medical science. Those who believe in Jesus know his power. Sometimes it's as simple as having the courage to face the challenges of life; other times it's the evidence of the miracles of physical healing. Unfortunately, when it's unexplainable from a medical perspective, the world wants to discount it as a hoax."
Well, remember, we always want to hear from you. Just log onto CNN.com/kyra. Share your comments. We really appreciate it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you think skateboarding is a white boy's sport, your stereotyping is about to get kick flipped. Terry Kennedy used to hide his skateboard while cruising through his neighborhood that was immersed with gang members. Why? Because the other boys just couldn't understand why a black kid would want to be a skater. So, they called him white boy. Even his brother jumped in on that.
But Terry ignored that and believed skateboarding could keep him out of trouble. He was right. And now not only has he made his mark on the skateboarding world, he is now being called a mogul in the making.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY KENNEDY, PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER: My name is Terry Kennedy. I'm a professional skateboarder. Between my skate career, sneaker line and rap group, I got a lot going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Terry Kennedy does have a lot going on. He used his street smarts and business savvy to become a rapper, entrepreneur and star of his own TV show. But it sure wasn't easy getting there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: Life hasn't always been so easy for me in this town. My mom passed away from drugs. I don't know where my father is. He left me when I was three. Things got even worse in 2006 when I got shot.
I knew I had to make a big change in how I was living. So, I started skating like my life depended on it. And the next thing you know (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Terry Kennedy joining us live to talk life, success and of course, the moves he's going to demonstrate for us live. So, Terry, who introduced you to skateboarding?
KENNEDY: My friend Ed (ph) Hernandez, this kid I played basketball with in middle school. I was 14 years old -- 13 years old. That's when I got introduced to it.
PHILLIPS: So, I'm curious, was he white or black?
KENNEDY: He was Hispanic.
PHILLIPS: He was Hispanic.
KENNEDY: Hispanic.
PHILLIPS: So, was it okay for Hispanic kids to skateboard?
KENNEDY: No. what's so funny is it wasn't typical for us to hang out because we were from different neighborhoods. Down in Long Beach, Hispanics and blacks didn't get along at the time. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's like that still now. But yes, at the time I was coming up, we couldn't even get along. So, that's why we used to have to meet at this place called Cherry Park and skate up, skate all of the time because in our neighborhoods we couldn't hang with each other.
PHILLIPS: Well, did you find by skateboarding, you could you hang with each other, white, black, Hispanic? And how did you white boys respond to you when you showed up at the park?
KENNEDY: Like I'm saying, that was the only place I went to when I showed up, like I said, downtown, Cherry Park, where everybody accepted each other because we all loved one thing, skateboarding. So, that brung us all together. And I'm glad I did skateboard, because if I didn't, I still would have still had that stigma where I wouldn't hang with a Hispanic or a white guy an Asian or anybody outside of my race.
So, I'm glad I skateboard because it unified all of us. Skateboarding is a multicultural sport. You can be any ethnicity from any background.
PHILLIPS: That's pretty cool. How did the other black kids give you hell? What did they say to you? You even got shot because you were rolling in this kind of world, right?
KENNEDY: Yes, yes. Just because they wanted me to gang bang. My brothers did it. I never was into it like that. And for me growing up in the neighborhood and not wanting to gang bang, not wanting to sell drugs or to (INAUDIBLE) negativity, it was like an open season for them to kind of pick on me. Because it was like, well, at the end of the day, you're not gangbanging, you ain't selling drugs, but you're skateboarding.
So, they called me white boy and all of that typical stuff. I prospered through it. I just always had faith in skateboarding. I always loved to do it. Like I said, it saved my life and kept me out of trouble. So, early on, I seen that. I didn't want to, you know, confine myself to what was going on in the neighborhood.
PHILLIPS: And I'm curious, you know. Your brother even called you white boy. Did he change his tune? KENNEDY: Yes, yes, he did. All he wears is skate clothes now.
PHILLIPS: Of course.
KENNEDY: That's all he wears it is skate clothes. He doesn't even skate. He's a poser. He doesn't even skate.
(LAUGHTER)
KENNEDY: So, I get to call him names now. He don't skate, and he wears the clothes.
PHILLIPS: You get to call out your brother. All right. Terry Kennedy's brother is a poser. Now, we are both in trouble.
Now, serious, though - yes, exactly. We're going to team up on your brother. Oh, boy. He's going to come after me.
KENNEDY: Yes. I got your back.
PHILLIPS: OK, good, good. I'm glad you have my back. I'm with you. Hey, I grew up in the skater crowd, so I know how tough you guys are.
KENNEDY: Sweet.
PHILLIPS: There was a situation that you did get popped on gun charges, and you felt you had to do that for your own protection. Why? Did you still feel that the black community was after you?
KENNEDY: No, no, no. At that time -- I was young. So, I was 18 years old when that happened, so at that time it was just a life-threatening situation. It was messed up already for me because I already had to deal with so much in the neighborhood just from skateboarding. Once that really happened, it sent me into a state of paranoia.
I'm not the police, and I didn't think I could take things in my own hands, but I was more scared for my life at that point. There's nothing you can do in a situation like that. But like, I should have stepped back. I should not have tried to take matters into my own hands and feel like I could protect myself. I should have stepped back and let God and the police deal with it.
PHILLIPS: I tell you, I know you have moved on. And I know a big influence in your life. Before we go to break here, because we're going to take a quick break. We're going to come back and have you do some moves for us.
But your grandma has been a huge influence in your life. When you lost your parents, she stepped in, and she raised you. Let's give a shout out to grandma. Why she's been so important to you? KENNEDY: Please.
PHILLIPS: Yes! And tell us what's so special about grandma.
KENNEDY: I love grandma. All I can do is just grin any time my grandma comes up because like I said, she always had to play the mother and father role for me. She's always been a backbone for me. She's still a backbone for me to this day. I love her.
No matter -- the older she gets, it seems like the stronger she gets. She always, like I said, had to be my mother and father and always had to be my backbone throughout everything I've been through in life. I love her until there's no tomorrow. That's why enjoy doing this because I can provide for her and we live the lifestyle we need. The positive way. So, I love her.
PHILLIPS: You do. You take great care of her. Hopefully, we'll see her on a skateboard coming up next.
All right. We're going to take a quick break, and Terry -
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: -- you get ready to show us some moves. We're going back to the skate park. Terry Kennedy joining us live with some tricks, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Terry Kennedy, rapper, businessman, professional skateboarder. You heard his professional story just before the break. Now you see what makes him so famous.
Terry, grab your board and take us away.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PHILLIPS: Oh, and he does the ramp. There you go, Terry Kennedy, watching him live in Long Beach where he grew up, broke racial barriers. Almost broke his neck, but no, he's too good for that! He will tie his shoe, grab his board, give us a little more.
Tony Harris in the house. Tony, check out Terry Kennedy. Did you see his new show on B.E.T.?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You might as well have gone ahead and jumped.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Of course, we play the whitest song for him possible, right?
(LAUGHTER) HARRIS: What? Van Halen?
PHILLIPS: What happened to Lupe? We were supposed to play the skates on (ph) Lupe for him.
All right, Terry, give us the ramp again. Here we go.
HARRIS: Oh, this is terrific.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HARRIS: C'mon, baby, make it happen.
PHILLIPS: There he is. He's going to do it.
HARRIS: The tease, suspense, run-up. Awesome!
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes! There we go. What a way to kick off the weekend. That's for Terry Kennedy's grandma right there. Check out the show on B.E.T.
Tony Harris, take it away.
HARRIS: Love it. Love it. Woo!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
