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Tornado Rips Through Navarro County, Texas; Problems With Electronic Voting Machines; Haiti Fights to Contain Cholera
Aired October 25, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's do it. Let's do it.
Have a great day.
Josh, see you in just a couple of minutes.
Good morning, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for this Monday, October 25th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC MEYERS, NAVARRO COUNTY, TEXAS, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR: We are in a tornado! We are in a tornado!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Look at that, in the eye of a ferocious storm. We will hear from the emergency management official who shot this video.
Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, a condom can't protect you from bed bugs. That, I think, is for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: People hoping for a hookup now have to worry about pesky bed bugs. The invasion taking a bite out of love lives.
And voting machine irregularities. What will you face when you go to the polls eight days from now? Countdown to the midterm elections.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin with a line of severe weather pushing through the southeastern section of the country. These satellite images show where the storms are right now. Have a look.
Tornado watches and warnings in several cities, including here and Atlanta. Storms have already whipped up at least one powerful tornado in Texas. Here's a view from inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEYERS: We are in a tornado! We are in a tornado! We are in the tornado!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Can you believe that? That's actually Navarro County emergency management coordinator Eric Meyers. He videotaped the twister as it tore the roof off a school and caused other damage.
Man, look at that. This tornado video from CNN iReporter Joey Romero. He tells us he and his girlfriend were driving from Dallas when hail started falling in Navarro County, Texas.
Joey is on the phone with us to tell us the rest of the story.
Joey, could you believe what you were seeing take shape here?
JOEY ROMERO, IREPORTER: To be honest with you, the first few seconds were completely surreal. I didn't know what to expect, and we were sort of just in shock. And after that, we just started thinking about everybody's safety.
HARRIS: Yes. Joey, what do you channel in those first few seconds when you see that funnel cloud taking shape? Are you calibrating your distance from the funnel cloud and what do you know?
ROMERO: Well, the first few seconds, I sort of just stayed there to see which direction it was going, and then I realized it was headed straight for us. So, after take some video for a few seconds, I decided the best thing to do was to make sure we got everybody in a safe spot, and that's when about 10 of us went into the freezer in the back. And that's sort of protocol for the area, and that's the safest part of the building.
HARRIS: So what did you hear? You're in the freezer. How many are in there with you? And what did you hear and what did you see?
ROMERO: There were about 10 people with us. And the first thing we did was remove some things off the shelves, so in case the building got shook up, nobody would get hurt.
It got really calm for a few seconds, and then the wind started to pick up and started roaring past us. And just after that, you know, the lights went out and everybody was a little bit scared. And we just tried to calm people down. And a few minutes went by, and people cried and prayed, and it just happened to pass and everything in there was fine.
HARRIS: Yes. Joey, was there a moment when you were in the freezer and you were wondering, did I make the right call, did we make the right call by coming in here?
ROMERO: To be honest with you, I thought that was the best place we could be at the time. So, yes, I think we did make the right decision. HARRIS: What was your girlfriend saying? I mean, take me back to those first couple of seconds? You're with your girlfriend, and what's her reaction to all of this?
ROMERO: Oh, she was holding onto dear life. She was right next to me. She was a little bit scared, but she prayed, also, and like I said, God was looking out for us that day.
HARRIS: Did you have that moment after you go through something like this where you're like, ooh, wow, that was really scary, that could have been really, really bad? Did you have that chill that kind of runs through your body?
ROMERO: Yes. Your body just sort of goes numb trying to recount what just happened. And I remember those first few seconds, I was just thanking God once again. But a pretty crazy feeling, I'll tell you that.
HARRIS: So, you get out of the freezer and you go outside, or whatever you do. What does the gas station look like around you, and then what do you see when you get outside?
ROMERO: Well, there was about baseball-size hail on the ground around us. There were a lot of windows broken on the vehicles, and there's a few people coming in who were bleeding on their arms and their legs from the glass that had broken from the windows and cut them up. A few people were bruised from the hail that hit them. Everybody was sort of in shock, also, but we got through it.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
Joey, well done. Glad you made the right call and got into that freezer, you and your girlfriend and others, and you're here to talk about it today. Well done. Good talking to you.
ROMERO: Thank you. Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Look, let's get to some politics now. We certainly hope you're into it.
Countdown to Election Day. The midterms are just what, eight days away? And as the calendar winds down, the debates are certainly heating up.
In the Alaska Senate race, the Republican nominee backed by the Tea Party squared off the write-in candidate he defeated in the primary, the Democratic candidate. In this exchange we're going to show you now, they sparred over the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
JOE MILLER (R), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm the only veteran that's running for the U.S. Senate cycle in Alaska. I'm a combat vet.
I think it's wrong to play political games with our servicemen and women in uniform. What happened just most recently -- this was a vote that Senator Murkowski missed, she ducked the issue -- was that they tried to play political games with the military that's out there trying to protect all of us. It is the military that ought to make the decisions for the policy within the military.
It's not the role of government to come into the military and socially engineer it. It puts our readiness at risk.
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), WRITE-IN ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: This is an initiative where we asked our men and women who are serving us, we asked them to weigh in on this. We owe them the decency and the courtesy to bring those response back in, to assess them, to make a determination as to whether or not it will impact the readiness, whether it will impact the level of preparedness for the fight, and deal with it accordingly. But to ask of them, and then for Congress to preempt that before we have gotten anything back from them, is wrong.
SCOTT MCADAMS (D), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: I support the full repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
(APPLAUSE)
MCADAMS: I believe that as our society, as our country has evolved, every single time there has been a demographic that has been allowed to fully integrate in the United States military, it's been done with great success. I believe that will also be the case when "don't ask, don't tell" is fully repealed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The Alaska Senate candidates go at it again tonight. In Kentucky, Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway meet in their final Senate debate. And the candidates for governor of Florida debate tonight. You can see that live on CNN, moderated by Chief National Correspondent John King, the host of "JOHN KING USA."
Debates are also set for tonight in the Massachusetts and South Carolina governors races.
Politicians will tell you every vote counts, but that's only if all the votes are actually counted. Glitches with electronic votes machines caused problems during the primaries. Will they happen again next Tuesday?
CNN's Carol Costello takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New York City, one of the most sophisticated cities in the world, primary Election Day was certainly not sophisticated.
In Mayor Michael Bloomberg's words --
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: That is a royal screw-up, and it's completely unacceptable.
COSTELLO (on camera): Would you agree with the mayor's assessment at the time that it was a royal screw-up? Was it a royal screw-up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I would leave that to the mayor.
COSTELLO (voice-over): And to voters who are confused by something they've never seen before -- an electronic voting machine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for voting,
COSTELLO: Not only that, they complained ballots were confusing or tough to read, saw broken down machines or none at all. The gothamist Web site captured that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry. You've come to vote? Miss, you've come to vote?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The machines are not here yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not here yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they'll be here about 11:00.
COSTELLO: Keep in mind other states are electronically challenged too. Illinois is having problems now. Gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney's name was spelled "Rich Whitey" on some machines, and poll workers are working feverishly to correct the mistake before the November 2nd. Ohio, Florida and California had had persistent problems too with things like improperly filled out ballots and machine malfunctions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open up the screen.
COSTELLO: The New York Board of Elections is now retraining 36,000 poll workers to better serve voters on November 2nd. It's also offering voters a pre-election day demonstration. But sit back, we'll show you now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A voter will get one paper ballot.
COSTELLO (on camera): Got you.
(voice-over): A poll worker will hand you a ballot. You take it over to a sort of cubicle. You use a pen to color in the circle next to your candidate's name. You put your completed ballot in a folder, and then you head to the machine.
(on camera): If I come over here to scan my ballot, the poll worker should be nowhere around me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nowhere near you.
COSTELLO: They should not handle my privacy for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.
COSTELLO (voice-over): The voter puts the ballot into the machine, it's scanned, and then it drops into a locked bin. Simple, right? So why the royal screw-up in New York?
Lawrence Norden who studies election problems says New York should've had a trial run before the primary. And he says New York may have avoided some problems if states actually shared information.
LAWRENCE NORDEN, BRENNAN CENTER, NYU: There's no central place where voting problems are reported. And somebody can screen them and then report to election officials, here's a common problem with your machine. Be aware of it.
COSTELLO: And that says Norden is one of the biggest reasons voters in every state experienced problems with electronic voting machines.
(on camera): Oh, but the number one reason? Human error, which certainly was the case in New York City. Poll workers weren't trained properly, and at times machines experienced a paper jam and no one knew how to fix the problem. New York election officials say that will not happen again. They've hired extra poll workers, retrained them, and are hoping November 2nd is glitch-free.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So, here we are, eight days until the midterm elections, and amid all of the mudslinging, nutty ads, the strategists, the pundits and all their talking points, it is easy sometimes to lose sight of what elections are really about. And they are about shaping what this country is, right, and setting a course for the future?
So, on this program, we want to get back to the basics, so we're asking you to help us answer one simple question: What does America mean to you?
It is a segment we're calling "My America Is..." Your personal experiences, your vantage point, right?
What does this country look like from where you're standing right now? Here's what some of you are saying.
This from Tom: "My America is poor, angry and tired of playing second to special interests."
Donald writes, "My America is a country with a government that benefits its citizens rather than the politicians in power."
And from Judy, "My America is so great because we have helped each other succeed." If you would, send us your thoughts and start your answer with "My America is..." I'm on Facebook, I'm on Twitter @TonyHarrisCNN. And you can also go to my blog at CNN.com/Tony, or my favorite, just give us a call. The number, 877-742-5760, and we will share more of your comments right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, first, Haiti is hit by a devastating earthquake. Now, a fast-moving outbreak of cholera. At least 253 people are dead, more than 3,000 sick.
CNN's Paula Newton takes us to the heart of this latest crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: While the death toll has risen here, and so have the confirmed cases, it's interesting authorities are showing some cautious optimism that the situation has stabilized. That's difficult to see from the chaos behind me here at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc.
Still, people receiving at times the most basic of care. But more and more, they are receiving care more quickly, and people are beginning to get the word out that if you have severe diarrhea and vomiting, you need to come to these health facilities. And also that public health campaign, people being told to wash their hands, make sure they're drinking clean water, watch where they are going in terms of using facilities, and also staying away from the river in this area, which is almost certainly contaminated with cholera.
Now, going to Port-au-Prince, there they have taken some measures again to come up with hand-cleaning stations, to really try and take the level of hygiene up a notch, as difficult as that is with about a million people still living out in the open in tent cities. But also, they have isolation units for cholera treatment, which is very important.
They really only got them up here today, earlier today. And they have people on standby to take people to medical facilities if that happens. But so far, authorities hoping, really praying, that they can keep this outbreak from spreading to the capital.
Paula Newton, CNN, St. Marc, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Let's do this -- let's bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
And Elizabeth, for those of us -- I had to remind myself about the facts behind cholera. Exactly what is it?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Cholera is a bacterial disease, and you get it basically because, to be blunt, sewage ends up getting into food and water. HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: So let's go over some of the symptoms of cholera, because what happens is, is that if you get to it early, when these symptoms happen, it is much more easily treatable and you can stop the spread. So, some of the symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, leg cramps, and dehydration.
And Tony, lots of people get cholera, but they don't even know they have it, or they only have mild symptoms. It's a relatively small percentage that end up getting so sick that they can die really very quickly from the disease.
HARRIS: Yes. So what can Haitians do about this situation right now on the ground?
COHEN: What they can do is wash their hands often. That's so important, and that's why you're going to see aid workers out there trying to distribute different things that they can do to wash their hands.
And the other thing that they can do is they can watch out for those symptoms that I just mentioned. And then the minute you feel them, go and get help, because they can give you oral rehydration salts.
HARRIS: Is that what it is?
COHEN: Yes.
HARRIS: OK.
COHEN: They can give you something to drink, or they can give you IVs. I mean, they can get you going again, but you have to get to that care.
HARRIS: Now, we are aware of the infrastructure problems in Haiti. Even for a country as challenged as Haiti right now is, is this a situation that that country can control?
COHEN: Yes. Public health workers are telling us that they think they can get it under control. And when you think about it, it's kind of amazing this hasn't happened earlier since the earthquake was nearly a year ago. But if you get people washing their hands, and you get people to health care situations quickly once they feel ill, that really can go a long way to getting this under control.
HARRIS: Elizabeth, that's good information. Thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: Elizabeth Cohen with us.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: So we are -- hi. We are always bringing you stories that people are talking about. But we like doing this. This is our "What's Hot" segment.
Jacqui Jeras --
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey.
HARRIS: High five.
JERAS: High five.
HARRIS: Helping us out with "What's Hot" today and tomorrow.
JERAS: Yes. Today and tomorrow and Wednesday even.
HARRIS: Perfect.
JERAS: Good times.
HARRIS: What are you rocking on today? What are we talking about?
JERAS: Well, you see them behind you there. You have the bed bugs.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
JERAS: So we've heard about it, right? We've talked about them. We talked about how bad they are, certainly in many cities, and how difficult it is to get rid of.
HARRIS: Oh, that's nasty! Look at that.
JERAS: It is. It's horrible. Yes. So not only is it disrupting people's regular routines, but now CNN's Richard Roth is going to tell us that it's also having a problem with people's love lives in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stacie Handwerker is always on the lookout for a good man.
STACIE HANDWERKER, REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY; Cheers.
ROTH: But for Stacie and millions of other singles in New York looking for love, there's a new fear to add to romance anxieties.
HANDWERKER: I was dating a guy, and he asked me -- he said, "Do you have bud bugs in your apartment? Because if you do, you won't be seeing me. I love you, but I'd miss you."
ROTH: Love now means never having to itch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know somebody that broke up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they were scared to death of bugs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they broke up because --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wouldn't date him because he had bed bugs, and she freaked out and was like, "I'm out."
DONNA BARNES, LIFE & DATING COACH: Bed bugs are definitely a very creepy aspect to dating at this point.
ROTH: Relationship coach Donna Barnes saw one client who admitted having bed bugs.
BARNES: And she was horrified. I think if that's the case, then you're better off to not date for a little while and to clean out the problem before you then go out.
TIMOTHY WONG, M&M ENVIRONMENTAL: I have here some samples of bud bugs, dead bed bugs.
ROTH: Tim Wong is the exterminator. His company is getting more calls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know it's a shock when you first hear you have bed bugs, but you know that half the city does. So you're not alone.
ROTH: Call with a boy versus girl blame game.
(on camera): You exterminated the relationship?
WONG: I did not exterminate that relationship. I got rid of the bed bugs, but I wasn't able to salvage that relationship.
ROTH: So I guess bed bugs are now giving a new meaning when a woman might say to a man, "You're really starting to bug me."
(voice-over): For some, the prospect of bed bugs is even scarier than a sexually transmitted disease.
HANDWERKER: Well, a condom can't protect you from bed bugs. That, I think, is for sure.
ROTH: With couples of all kinds in bed at night, it's the female bed bug who seems to have the most fun.
ISABELLA ROSSELLINI ACTRESS: Chase me. Mate with me. Seduce me.
ROTH: Actress Isabella Rossellini captured "Bed Bug Sex" in her Sundance Channel film series.
WONG: And they go on with this whole cycle up to about 100 to 150 eggs before they need to mate again. So it's actually not fun being male bedbugs because they don't get to mate for at least another six months.
ROTH (on camera): Does the female at least get to have a cigarette afterward?
(voice-over): It's love and fear at first bite, warns another bug company. Who is worried more, though, when you get under the sheets?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Men and women are different because a woman would care if a guy had bed bugs. But, a man, if he met a hot girl, probably wouldn't care if she had bed bugs.
ROTH: Confirmed further down the bar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come back to my bed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Let's toast to bed bugs. Bed bugs.
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Look, there are worse bugs to have.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. These are usually not your fault. It's hard to get rid of. You're a single guy, Tony. Would you say, bye-bye, if somebody had bed bugs?
HARRIS: I know people are watching so I will probably just -- thank you for the question, Jacqui, I'll send you a note with my response.
JERAS: Wouldn't most people say no, unless you knew about it ahead of time and didn't tell them?
HARRIS: This means the relationships aren't going anywhere to begin with. They're one-dimensional relationships to begin with because anyone in the room agree with me here? Because what you want is a partner that sees you through the best and the worst. Not a single hand is going up here on this one. Everyone is thumbs down on this one. All right.
Jacqui, see you next hour. What's more of what's hot.
You guys are a mess. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Ship jumpers all of you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We've got some serious news developing here. Let's get you to Reynolds Wolf. We've got an earthquake in Indonesia? A possible tsunami?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Possible. Local tsunami warning, a 7.5 just popped up.
HARRIS: That's big.
WOLF: It's fairly big, no question about it. You can see Indonesia here. This is the point of the quake itself. And right now as we mentioned, there is going to be a local tsunami watch for that region. We're going to keep a very sharp eye on it, let you know what to expect.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We have an amazing story we have to share with everybody. One Texas man literally kneeled in prayer as a tornado ripped apart his home. His wife and brother-in-law also lived to talk about their encounter with the twister. Details now from Brett Ship (ph), from affiliate WFAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRETT SHIP, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): Tom High was just outside of his sister's home when he felt the wind, heard the fury, then turned around and saw it.
TOM HIGH, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was standing in shock, like this can't be happening. And the only thing I could do is just run and bang on the door. They opened the door. We looked at it for a while and it happened so fast. Just like that.
SHIP: He and his sister Sonia Butler barely had enough time to do what they'd always been told. Get to the bathroom and cover up.
SONIA BUTLER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And the next thing you know, it was just like, you could just hear the wind coming through the house and it felt like a big suction. And then it sounded like a loud train. It only lasted not very long. But then after that, after we came out of the restroom, my house was just gone.
RAYMOND BUTLER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Excuse the house.
SHIP: Sonia's husband Raymond Butler did not make it that far but he somehow picked the only room in the house that was still intact.
I just got down right here and just said, Lord, be with us. And, oh, yes, that's our cat.
SHIP: The rest of his house, his two barns, his trucks, a trailer, and a giant pecan tree demolished. But then we heard him say this.
R. BUTLER: It bypassed my daughter's grave. It took up this big pecan tree we had here and the pecan tree -- didn't even touch my daughter's grave.
SHIP: Butler revealed to us his daughter Charla, a Rice track star, once featured by News Aid (ph) died nearly two years ago. As if a tremendous loss were not enough, now this, which he combats with an even more tremendous faith.
R. BUTLER: I'm going to say this. Satan, where's your best punch at? Because it still hasn't affected me yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow, amazing story.
It is "Saturday Night Live's" latest take on Brett Favre. You don't want to miss it. We'll run it for you. Or our trick shot of the day. Check out these hoopsters from Perth, Australia, sinking shots from the top tier of a stadium. Backwards, forwards, even down in the stairwell. Come, on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. It is World Series time. Starting Wednesday. Boy, the San Francisco Giants, really? And the Texas Rangers? What, no Yankees? No Phillies?
Max Kellerman in D.C., to talk some sports with me.
Max, good to see you. Let's do this on a regular basis. Hey, wait a minute here. What happened here? I know what happened, they got their butts kicked. No Yankees, you surprised? No Phillies? Not a repeat of last year.
MAX KELLERMAN, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: I can't say I am surprised. In the post-season, the kind of conventional wisdom that pitching and defense wins, actually by guys like Nate Silver, who appears on CNN a lot nowadays. They actually found that that's true. In the postseason, in fact, pitching and defense wins. And San Francisco is built that way and once Texas got Cliff Lee to go with C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis, two hard throwing young -- Cliff Lee, really the balance of power. The Yankees thought they had a trade for Cliff Lee at the trade deadline and the Rangers snatched him out from under the Yankees and went on to go to the World Series.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute, Max. We talk about business news here and getting return on investment. Look, this roster, right, for the Yankees, what is it priced at? Over $200 million?
KELLERMAN: About $200 million, yes.
HARRIS: And the Rangers? Where are the Rangers priced at? At $55, $60 million? What happened here?
KELLERMAN: By the way, Tony, the Rangers had bankruptcy proceedings this year. Major League Baseball had to float them a loan and yet, they did the smart thing. And rather playing it super conservatively went out and got Cliff Lee made $9 million this year, it's a lot of money. But by the standards of his excellence, it's actually half of what he would normally get paid if he were a free agent, which he is now, after this season. They went out and traded for Cliff Lee, added $9 million to the payroll and it was a bold move and it's paid off.
HARRIS: Hey, by the way -- go ahead.
KELLERMAN: Baseball's fundamentally probabilistic. It's not basketball, where the best team almost always wins because you can run your plays through your best player. They can dominate your game. Baseball you can stack the deck in your favor, which the Yankees certainly do, the Red Sox certainly do. That doesn't mean you're going to win.
HARRIS: Why should we care? We don't have the really big market teams involved here? We don't have the high profile Yankees and all of their stars. We don't have the Phillies and their stars, as well, right? East Coast, we don't have that in the Northeast playing for the World Series.
You think America will care about World Series with these two teams?
KELLERMAN: I don't think as much. I mean, the reason the big markets have more money to spend and the ratings are higher when they play is more people live there, so they have more resource and more people are watching the ratings go up.
But there are interesting components to this World Series, including Josh Hamilton, who is the best hitter in the American League right now. He had substance abuse problems. On "Real Sports: on HBO, they did a profile on Hamilton where his wife doesn't let him carry credit cards, he can only carry like $100 in cash on him even though he's this big super star because he could relapse at any second. And right now he's a feel-good story. because he could relapse at any second. Right now, he's a feel-good story.
Cliff lee, as I mentioned, the balance of power it seems in Major League baseball right now. San Francisco Giants, you have an excellent young pitching staff, no offense at all. But it is also the Coast versus the Heartland, right? Texas versus San Francisco. There's some kind of interesting dynamic there.
HARRIS: Yes. And before we go here, very quickly. Is it time for Minnesota, maybe Minnesota's a loss away from looking beyond Brett Favre into the future with a younger quarterback, somebody younger than 41? Come on, what do you think?
KELLERMAN: Eventually it seems that has to happen to Brett Favre, right? He threw some interceptions. I actually didn't think he played all that badly. I think he has played poorly in big games in the past. I didn't think he played that poorly in this game. He almost threw the touchdown to win it. He looks banged up right now. There's a scandal going around -- going on right now. He admitted to making inappropriate phone call to a young woman he was hitting on, essentially. He admitted that.
So it seems as though the end is near for Favre. I'm not so sure I look at the Minnesota team, they look very good to me. It's still early in the season. We should see how the rest of this year pans out.
HARRIS: All right. And, Max, look, we're going to get together tomorrow. We're going to talk about the start of the NBA season and LeBron Kames that Miami Heat team that seems to be so loaded, and we can't forget about the defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. But, as we go out, take a look at this. We've got fans of the San Francisco Giants whooping it up, getting ready for the World Series. Enjoy. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Eight days until Election Day and Vice President Joe Biden marks a milestone today. Paul Steinhauser, part of the Best Political Team on Television, joining us live from the political desk in Washington.
What is crossing now, sir? And what's this Joe Biden item?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I got brand new stuff for you, Tony, brand new stuff on the CNN political ticker.
Let's start with the vice president. President Barack Obama, you hear about him on the campaign trail, being a top circuit. Same thing with the former president. But today, let's talk about the vice president. He'll be in New Hampshire this afternoon, campaigning for a Democratic candidate for Congress up there. And guess what? The White House says this will be his 100th campaign event of this midterm election season. So he has been a busy man. Often the job, traditionally of the vice president to get out there and help the party.
Let's talk about California as well, Tony. We have a very tight and fierce battle out there for the Senate. Barbara Boxer, three-term Democratic senator facing off against the challenger on the Republican side, Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard. Well, National Republicans saying today they're going to spend another $3 million on ad buys. It's a very expensive state to put up commercials. They say this a competitive contest. They can win. A new poll that came out just over the weekend indicated Boxer was up eight. We're keeping our eyes on California.
And, check this out, as well. I'm going to ask Reggie Selma (ph) our cameraman, to zoom right in here. Brand new on the CNN Political Ticker this morning. The Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Rhode Island telling the president to take his endorsement and shove it. What's that all about? Whoa, whoa, fighting words there. The President's in Rhode Island today, Tony. He's up there for a fundraiser for Congressional Democrats.
He reportedly is not endorsing the Democrat in the gubernatorial race because there's an Independent candidate in the race, former Senator Lincoln Chafee, a Republican who at one time endorsed President Barack Obama in 2008. Looks like the gubernatorial nominee made these comments on the radio this morning. He's a little upset about all that. We're keeping our eyes on Rhode Island, as well, Tony.
HARRIS: Salty peanut. Do we just think we can say anything nowadays?
All right, Paul. Good to see you. thank you, sir.
Your next political update in an hour. And for latest political news, you know where to go, that is CNNPolitics.com.
Some of the stories we are working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Afghanistan's president acknowledges his office received bags stuffed full of cash from Iran, but he insists it was part of a transparent process. And I will talk with CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr about what it all means.
And how to get rid of debt. Jamie Tardy (ph) -- listen to this -- managed to erase $70,000 of her debt in less than a year and a half. She joins us to talk about how she and her husband did it.
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HARRIS: So student loan debt rising steadily for recent college graduates. So how do you pay for the education you receive when there is no job waiting for you when you graduate? Christine Romans of our Money Team is here with us.
How do you do that, Christine? I mean, not just students need to listen to this advice.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is tricky.
HARRIS: Yes. . We all need it to.
ROMANS: Mom and dad and grandma and grandpa do, too. Because listen up, college kids need to be living like a monk while they're still in school so they don't have to live like one after they graduate to pay off all that debt.
Student loan debt levels, Tony, on the rise up six percent last year for the fourth year in a row. The average student loan debt now for 2009 graduates, Tony, is $24,000. That's the latest numbers from the Project on Student Debt. $24,000.
HARRIS: That is crazy. What does monk-like really mean, practically, Christine?
ROMANS: Well, it means, first of all, you need to keep the student debt down in the very first place because you're going to have to pay off every penny and more with interest, right?
So first, choose public over private. According to the College Board, the average tuition for one year at an in-state public college is about $7,000. If you choose to go to a public school but you live out of state, it's $18,000 a year. For private colleges, you're looking at upwards of $26,000 a year. So choose wisely from the beginning of what makes the most sense for you and your family.
Also, Mark Kantrowitz at Fastweb.com, he's a real expert on all things student loans. He always tells me this: borrow federal first. When you're shopping for student loans, keep in mind that the federal loans, Tony, will be less expensive than private loans.
HARRIS: How about room and board and those kinds of expenses? Can students save there?
ROMANS: They absolutely can. You can use your student loan money frugally so, like I said, you don't have to live like a monk after you've graduated. You do it while you're in school. You want to make sure that you can stay -- live at home if possible. If you can do that, that's what you should do. Because you can save $8,000 or $9,000 on room and board.
And for books and all of that kind of stuff, look, shop online for the right books for the right books, for the textbooks. Buy used textbooks, turn them in right at the end of the semester if you have to. All of these are little things that can help you save some money. There's no reason for you to have a $200 textbook gathering dust under your bed. You know that. Everyone knows that, right?
HARRIS: Yes. Absolutely. So, terrific advice. Let's do this, Christine. Part of paying off that college debt, obviously is getting a good salary when once you've graduating.
ROMANS: That's right.
HARRIS: We'll take a break. We'll come back with Christine. And when we do, we'll get the breakdown of the highest and lowest paying college majors.
Quick break. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: OK. You just learned how to keep your student loan debts down from Christine Romans. She's back with us from New York. This time, top tips on college majors that pay the most.
Why don't you rifle through this for us, Christine.
ROMANS: Well, couple of things here. First, remember, if you are paying for this kid to go to college, you always pay for your own retirement before you pay for your kid's college because they can borrow the money, right?
Then they borrow the money and have to pay off the debt by finding a lucrative job once they get the degree. So I wanted to look for you, Tony, at the majors, at the college degrees that pay off according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
OK, the best paid majors -- I hope you can read this -- for the Class of 2010, average salary offer, $86,000 for petroleum engineer. $65,000 for a chemical engineer. Mining and mineral engineering, $64,000. Now I want to show mid career, what you get halfway -- you know, by the time you're in you're 30s, the ripe old age of early to mid 30s. Aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, are you sensing a theme here?
HARRIS: Wow. Yes.
ROMANS: Computer engineering, electrical engineering and economics, $101,000. The highest paid liberal arts major is an English major who does technical writing for one of those professions.
HARRIS: Are you kidding me? All right. So I'm looking at the board here. So, for my kids living here with me in Atlanta it's Georgia Tech.
All right, thank you. Christine, appreciate it.
ROMANS: There you go.
HARRIS: There you go. Thanks.
