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U.S. Embassy Attacked in Kabul; U.S. Hikers to be Freed from Iran; GOP Candidates Gang Up on Perry; GOP Candidates Gang Up on Perry; Recession Hits Students Hard; When Stimulus Becomes a Dirty Word; Bobby Bowden Reveals Secret Cancer; Legendary Coach Reveal's Cancer Battle; Longshoreman's Profanity-Laced Rant

Aired September 13, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much.

We actually open this hour with breaking news on two big stories. The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, coming under fire in an intense attack. And word out of Iran, the two American hikers convicted of espionage could soon be free.

Let's go ahead and start with the bold attack on America's signature presence in a war-torn country. Rockets and machine gun fire aimed directly at the American embassy in Kabul. Gunfire coming from every corner of the building. Take a listen.

And we're now being told that it was a well-coordinated attack.

I want to bring some more information straight from a man that I'm going to talk to now. He's actually taken cover there in the embassy. I have known him for a long time. He works at the embassy and has been in Afghanistan about five years now, but for security reasons, we are not going to identify him.

Can you hear me OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I sure can, Kyra. Good morning.

PHILLIPS: OK. Good morning. And I sure appreciate you calling in. It seems a little quiet behind you now. When I talked to you earlier, I could actually hear the gunfire. Why don't you tell me what happened about 5:15 Eastern Time this morning when you came under attack?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Kyra, you're right, it has been quiet here for about 30 minutes, but the attack started about four hours ago. It was three rockets that hit and then a lot of small arms fire around it. It continues, actually, pretty intense for about three and a half hours of fighting.

PHILLIPS: Now there was one point you were telling me you actually had to get a Gloc, a 9 mm Gloc from one of the guards there at the embassy. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we were concerned that there might be a breach here, Kyra. But, I'll tell you what, the guard force here did a really good job. And although there were threats, you know, breaches, again, we were well protected by the guard force.

PHILLIPS: Now I understand that you, among a number of others, were calling for helicopters. There were some individuals that were wounded. How long did it take for you to finally get a Medivac and get one of your guys out of there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a matter of fact, we took care of very quickly, Kyra. And again, without going into details, there were more than one place hit. I don't even have the details on that, but I think some of the other reaction forces, including the air, were also busy else where. So, again, it took a while, but again the guard force here did a really incredible job.

PHILLIPS: And finally, you know, what was going through your mind when you heard the gunfire, when you heard the rocket fire? Did you realize it was going to be as bad as it was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first we thought it was just a sporadic attack, but then it became very apparent that we were being attacked from really around the perimeter and that it was a well-coordinated attack. And again, I don't have the details but outside the perimeter, there was heavy fighting, I assume by the Afghan police and army engaging and it took a while but it seems like they finally got things quieted down, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's good to hear that no one was able to breach the area that you were in specifically, that you are safe now. And we sure appreciate you calling in. We'll obviously follow the story. Thanks so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Kyra, thank you.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Let's get to the other breaking news this morning. Let's take you to Iran where two-year international tug of war between Washington and Tehran appears to be ending.

Two American hikers serving eight years in prison for espionage could be released, but it's coming at a pretty hefty price. $1 million.

Let's get live to our Max Foster in London.

So, Max, give us more of the details.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, this is the first problem, really, for the families of these two men. They've got to raise $1 million in bail for the two men between them to get them released. That's the first problem.

Also the State Department saying actually they've had these promises from Iran before, they haven't materialized, so they're very cautious. But actually, President Ahmadinejad was very, very clear when he did speak to NBC's "Today" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: These two persons will be released. Is it going to be over?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): We do it, for example, in a humanitarian gesture.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is it going to solve the problems?

AHMADINEJAD (Through Translator): I hope so.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, there you go. Could be over in a couple of days. Could be back in the U.S. by the end of the week if the Iranians keep their promises, and Kyra, if they can raise that bail money.

PHILLIPS: Well -- now is there any idea what Ahmadinejad means when he says that he hopes this is going to solve problems?

FOSTER: Well, this is interesting because he did refer to the number of Iranians in U.S. custody. So the implication is that he expects some Iranians in U.S. custody to be released and returned. We don't know what conversations have gone on with the U.S. about that.

But that's clearly what he's expecting here. So that's a big question for the Americans. They're trying to get as much information as they can, the State Department. And they have to work through the Swiss authorities because they don't have direct diplomatic relations with Iranians.

So they're working with the Swiss. So quite complicated but if the president of Iran is to be believed, this could be over soon.

PHILLIPS: All right. Max Foster in London. Max, thanks.

All right. Let's turn to the CNN/Tea Party debate, shall we? This morning Rick Perry is waking up with a few new bumps and bruises. Consider it the cost of being the frontrunner.

CNN's Jim Acosta is in Tampa.

So, Jim, did Perry lose any ground last night?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, that remains to be seen, Kyra. This all started as sort of a heavyweight fight between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney but it ended up being a battle royal, and the Texas governor was taking most of the abuse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How will you convince senior citizens that Social Security and Medicare need to be changed? And get their vote?

ACOSTA (voice-over): The first question may have been on Social Security, but it was really about Rick Perry, who once called the program a Ponzi scheme.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It has been called a Ponzi scheme by many people long before me. But no one has had the courage to stand up and say, here is how we're going to reform it.

ACOSTA: But as Perry tried to turn down the heat, Mitt Romney cranked it up.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But the question is, do you still believe that Social Security should be ended as a federal program as you did six months ago when your book came out, and return to the states? Or do you want to treat for that --

PERRY: I think we ought to have a conversation --

ROMNEY: We're having that right now, Governor.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: We're running for president.

PERRY: If you'll let me finish, I'll finish this conversation.

ACOSTA: That teed up what might have been the one-liner of the night.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not particularly worried about Governor Perry and Governor Romney frightening the American people when President Obama scares them every single day.

(APPLAUSE)

ACOSTA: But that wasn't the only flash point. Take the economy. Asked whether the Lone Star governor was responsible for jobs created in his home state, Romney said, pro business taxes deserve the credit, not Perry.

WOLF BLITZER, DEBATE MODERATOR: Go ahead and tell him how much credit he deserves.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMNEY: Well, look -- you know, I think Governor Perry would agree with me that if you're dealt four aces that doesn't make you necessarily a great poker player.

PERRY: Well, I was going to say, Mitt, you were doing pretty good until you got to talking poker.

ACOSTA: But it was Michele Bachmann who was coming up with some winning hands, hitting Perry on his executive order to require that school girls receive vaccinations against the sexually transmitted HPV virus that may cause cervical cancer.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don't get a mulligan, they don't get a do-over.

ACOSTA: Then she suggested that Perry was interested in doing more than saving lives.

BACHMANN: I just wanted to ad that we cannot forget that in the midst of this executive order there is a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate. We can't -- we can't deny that.

BLITZER: You got to respond to that.

PERRY: Yes, sir. The company was Merck and it was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raised about $30 million and if you're saying that I could be bought for $5,000, I'm offended.

ACOSTA: And Perry found himself on the wrong side of the Tea Party when he defended his support for in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, a policy that got boos from the crowd.

BACHMANN: That is not the American way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Perry took his hits, but he walked out of the CNN/Tea Party debate with front-runner status largely in tact. Tomorrow he goes on to take his campaign to Virginia. That's not a terribly important state for Republican primary voters but it is a crucial battleground in the upcoming general election.

That is a sign of Perry's Texas-size confidence. The trick now for the rest of the GOP field is to convince voters that this race is not over yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Indeed. All right. Jim, thanks.

And you know, Rick Perry knew that he'd have to defend his controversial comments on Social Security when he called it a Ponzi scheme.

Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser here.

So, Paul, other candidates definitely tried to capitalize on that.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No doubt about it. As Jim laid out in his piece, it was the topic right off the bat.

And Kyra, we had a feeling that was going to happen. Take a look at this. We asked in our brand new CNN/ORC international poll about Social Security. Look right there, 55 percent of Americans say, yes, major reforms are needed. And that's what a lot of the candidates were saying last night.

Adding that at the bottom, 12 percent say, you know what, it needs to be replaced. And look at the next number. Let's go to this next number. Because this is very fascinating and telling.

And right here almost more than 7 in 10 Americans say no, Social Security is not a lie, it is not a failure.

And Kyra, that may be one of the reasons it seemed that Rick Perry seemed to pivot a little bit last night from the debate last week and more talking about reforming Social Security for younger Americans rather than bringing it down, Kyra. Really interesting and fascinating how our poll plays off the dynamic of last night's debate.

PHILLIPS: Well, it wasn't just these eight candidates, but two other names popping up, right? Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin, what's the deal with that?

STEINHAUSER: Sarah Palin, we still don't know what she's going to do. Whether she's going to run or not. Time is running out for the former Alaska governor, no doubt about that.

She was asked last night in an interview about the debate and she seemed to go after Rick Perry, criticizing him for trying to push that HPV vaccine in Texas as Jim was talking about in his piece. And she emphasizes as well that she fought against that vaccine in Alaska. She said she still hasn't made up her mind. Maybe by the end of this month.

As for Bobby Jindal, a big surprise endorsement yesterday for Rick Perry from the Louisiana governor, and that followed just a few hours earlier the endorsement by Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor. Remember he dropped out of the race about a month ago. He endorsed Mitt Romney.

Jindal was asked, does he want to be Perry's VP if Perry wins the nomination, he said, nom, thank you, I've got a job as Louisiana governor -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paul, thanks.

Well, Rick Perry in front and under fire. Who scored points and who squandered opportunities? Well, we're going to hear from two leading voices of the Republican Party.

And bystanders pull a motorcyclist from a fiery crash in Utah. We'll have the incredible images when we go "Cross Country" right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stories "Cross Country" now.

Former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez has been arrested in South Florida. He's been charged in a domestic dispute. Ramirez retired from baseball in April. He was suspended for 50 games in 2009 for violating the league's drug policy.

And in Pennsylvania, residents of one town along the Susquehanna River are getting a first-hand look at the damage from last week's flooding. They returned to find four homes in their neighborhood gone and others severely damaged.

And you got to see this. Take a look at the power of strangers. Bystanders in Utah saw this fiery wreck and immediately jumped into action. They lifted the car and actually pulled out a motorcyclist who was pinned under that after the crash. He was taken to the hospital where he's now in stable condition.

Now the CNN/Tea Party debate. You had to know this was coming after frontrunner Rick Perry blasted Social Security calling it a Ponzi scheme. Now the rest of the presidential hopefuls were ready for the counterattack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: Governor, the term Ponzi scheme is what scared seniors. Number one. And number two, suggesting that Social Security should no longer be a federal program and returned to the states is unconstitutional is likewise frightening.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And Alex Castellanos, one of the Republican Party's best known and most successful media consultants and strategists is with us. Also, Erick Erickson, editor in chief of RedState.com. Both men are CNN contributors.

Alex, let's go ahead and start with you. So, what do you think? Who won this debate?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, Michele Bachmann gave the strongest performance of the night. She took Rick Perry on, the frontrunner, and scored. When she talked about Perry-care, the Texas governor's mandate that 12-year-old girls in Texas had to take, I think, an anti-cancer HPV vaccine. But when Perry took that decision out of Texas parent, big government -- Republicans don't like big government and don't like mandates.

PHILLIPS: Erick, who was the winner for you?

ERICK ERICKSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I think Perry probably by default because by the time he had got to those issues, a lot of people I think it probably turned over to the NFL and U.S. open. But then the HPV vaccine issue really hurt him last night.

As to the immigration issue, I'm kind of surprised he wasn't prepared for those. Ultimately, though, I think he went in the frontrunner and came out the frontrunner. And I think Mitt Romney's attacks on him on Social Security and some of the fiscal issues actually hurt Romney with Tea Party activists. I don't think it's an issue that's really resonating with Tea Party activists who I think are the real drivers of the nomination fight right now.

PHILLIPS: There was a lot of sports competition last night, that's true. We are going to interview the U.S. Open winner, guys -- I'll take advantage to just plug that -- later in the hour.

OK, Alex, biggest disappointment?

CASTELLANOS: You know, it's such a critical time for the country that Americans are so concerned that the country's in decline and we're leaving the kids a country less than what we were given. And that's a big job, to inspire the country, take it forward.

I didn't see on that stage last night anybody getting that big and stepping up and saying, hey, follow me, I see the future. I know the way. We can re-nourish, we can rebuild this great country and keep America number one.

It wasn't an inspiring performance. There was a lot of back- and-forth on small stuff, but I didn't get the big stuff.

PHILLIPS: Erick, do you agree? There's just not enough fire?

ERICKSON: I would tend to agree with Alex, there wasn't an inspiring performance. I would also say that by the time the debate started, we knew what the president's plan would be on paying for his jobs bill and Perry touched on it very briefly, no one else did. Even Perry -- they just -- it was a shot that they could have taken and they didn't take on a very bad bill, and no one raised those very current issues.

I realize the debate format how it's structured, but I there's a lot of current news they could have brought into the debate last night, and they didn't.

PHILLIPS: All right. So --

CASTELLANOS: This debate was important.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Alex.

CASTELLANOS: This debate was really important because I think we learned more about these candidates in this debate than any debate we had so far. And I think that is a key debate because now, it's not just the people who watched last night, it's how many people are going to see the great moments that came out of this over the next two weeks. The post-debate spin is going to affect more people than the debate itself and that debate spin is going to be about Perry, the HPV vaccine, it's going to be about immigration, and that's going to be a problem for Perry I think in Iowa and South Carolina.

PHILLIPS: So, bottom line, what do you think would have changed the dynamics within this debate for the race, guys? I mean, did they need to come out more on the economy, on jobs, Erick?

ERICKSON: You know, I think Michele Bachmann changed the debate last night by having a strong performance. The Bachmann we saw in the early debates came back last night. And I think we may see a slight uptick in her poll, again, that had gone down tremendously in the past few weeks.

She's held on. She's bought herself more time. I'm not sure she can turn it around completely, but I really think she personally changed the dynamic last night in a way that no one else on the stage changed the dynamic.

PHILLIPS: Alex?

CASTELLANOS: I think I agree with that, absolutely. I think Michele Bachmann's strong performance and that's a problem for Rick Perry. It makes Mitt Romney smile.

PHILLIPS: Alex, Erick, thanks, guys.

More and more grads can't pay their bills and falling into bankruptcy. We're going to fine out why, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get straight to your showbiz headlines now.

The new Miss Universe is making some history. Angola's Leila is her country's first ever winner. Leila Lopes is her country's first ever winner. The 25-year-old hopes to bring attention to the fight against HIV around the world.

Tyler Perry, the highest paid man in Hollywood, according to "Forbes" latest list. The writer, director, producer and actor just banked 130 million bucks in one year.

And the last song Amy Winehouse recorded before she died is about to be released. The duet with Tony Bennett comes out tomorrow on what would have been her 28th birthday.

Well, tonight, Piers Morgan primetime exclusive, the life of Amy Winehouse. Her father opens up to Piers. Plus, an exclusive look inside her home. "PIERS MORGAN," CNN tonight, 9:00 Eastern.

College grads having some big money problems.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

So, how bad is it, Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Kyra? The situation is pretty stunning. More and more college grads are actually defaulting on their student loans and filing bankruptcy as well. There are two studies on this. They paint one dismal picture.

The first study coming from the government showing that almost 9 percent of students who took out federal loans defaulted last year. That's up 7 percent in 2008.

The second study is from a nonprofit financial education group that shows that the number of college grads filing for bankruptcy jumped 20 percent over the past four years and people without a college degree, bankruptcy filings actually fell. So, that's an interesting twist -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, with stats like that, how do parents and kids even justify the price of education?

KOSIK: I'll tell you, it really makes you wonder, right. But the numbers on this really don't tell the whole story because people with a college education, your odds of finding work are better. So, if you've got a college degree, the unemployment rate is at 4.3 percent. But if you don't have a degree, the rate is at least double that. The unemployment rate I'm talking about.

But the studies show that people are just having a real hard time paying off their loans. So, what you really want to think about when you're going to college is kind of treat education as you would any other purchase that you'd make.

You know, don't sign up for more than you can afford. And you know what? It doesn't always matter where you get your degree. A degree is still a degree and, of course, it doesn't guarantee, Kyra, that you're going to get a job right away.

PHILLIPS: That's true. You and I know, there's a lot of people that depend -- it's up to you, you know, how much you want it, how much passion you have. You can make anything happen, for sure.

KOSIK: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about the numbers. You know, the fears yesterday about Greece plaguing the market yesterday. Is it still a concern today?

KOSIK: And it's going to be more of the same today, Kyra. All eyes are still going to be on Europe because the Euro zone, it still needs to get a handle on its financial issues. And many are questioning at this point if it's possible.

"Reuters" is reporting that French President Nicolas and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are going to be making a joint statement on Greece today. Also, there are other reports that Italy, another country having problems with its debt may get some help from China. But these are just reports.

Still Dow futures moved off their lows on that news. We are still set for a bit of a lower open in about five minutes when the opening bell rings -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Alison, thanks.

Well, the CNN Tea Party debate, the candidates brought the heat. And just ahead, a CNN fact-check on some of the claims and accusations.

And Bobby Bowden had the spotlight shining on him as Florida State's football coach and kept something hidden near the end of his career. We're going to ask him why he was so silent, later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

Taliban militants have opened fire on the U.S. embassy in Kabul. No casualties reported at the embassy. But an Afghan police officer and two attackers are dead.

Iran says it will free two imprisoned American hikers after $500,000 bail is paid for each of them. The Iranian lawyer for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer says that the men's families are trying to get the money.

And President Obama makes a pitch for his $447 billion jobs plan today. He'll speak at a Columbus, Ohio, high school this afternoon.

A CNN Tea Party debate -- we've seen the highlights and heard pundits, but did we get the truth?

CNN's Tom Foreman has a fact check on some of the claims made by the Republican candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jobs, jobs, jobs. That's what all the candidates said it was about and they all went after President Obama over this issue of creating jobs. Listen to Governor Rick Perry and the question of whether or not the stimulus helped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He had $800 billion worth of stimulus in the first round of stimulus. He created zero jobs. $400 plus billion in this package and I can do the math on that one. Half of zero jobs is going to be zero jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: That's a big claim when you look at it there. He is saying that the stimulus effectively created zero jobs. The problem is, the Congressional Budget Office, which is still quite respected here despite all these disagreements says that's not the case. It created or saved between 1.4 and 3.3 million jobs. Now that's a big range and it's kind of a squishy term. Created or saved.

And undeniably, other independent economists have said, there's no question, the stimulus spending made employment in this country. It helped some people pay their bills when otherwise they would not be able to.

So as much as the governor would want to say that this is true, it is flat out false. But he wasn't the only one to stray a little bit from the straight and narrow. Listen to what was said by Michele Bachmann about Obamacare, as they like to call it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: We know that President Obama stole over $500 billion out of Medicare to switch it over to Obamacare. We also know that Medicare hospital trust fund will be bankrupt within nine years. These are programs that need to be saved to serve people, and in their current form, they can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Again, this is a very explosive claim. The notion that the president stole over $500 billion of Medicare. Well, first of all, no, he did not steal it. This is legislation. You may disagree with it, but it is the law. There is nothing illegal or theft involved in something like this. Beyond this, though, you have to have some framing here.

This money was not taken from Medicare in the sense that it was being taken from the benefits that people would get. In fact, this was about trying to control the cost as it grew over the next ten years. Money that would be paid to doctors or hospitals saying that money could be contained and spent in better ways.

We're also talking, she talked about that one particular program about just one of four different programs under the same umbrella. So, again, it would be easy to think it's the whole program, no. It's just one of them and her prediction on when it would go broke was the most dire of the predictions. Others say it could stay around for a longer time.

So, again, as I said, there should be some framing here. She did have a kernel of truth to what she said, but overall, it ended up being misleading.

PHILLIPS: Oh, one of the greatest college football coaches ever reveals a secret that he hid for three years. I'm going to talk live with Bobby Bowden about his battle with prostate cancer. That's in 10 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Controlling the message. CNN.com columnist LZ Granderson says Republicans are doing a masterful job of dictating the conversation in Washington. The latest example, he says, is the word "stimulus." A word, according to LZ that President Obama is just afraid to use as he pushes his latest jobs plan.

LZ, make your case. What are you talking about?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Did you hear the word during president's speech? I mean, I didn't --

PHILLIPS: No.

GRANDERSON: -- hear the word stimulus, but let's face it. I mean, it is a stimulus package, right? It another stimulus package and he has to find a way to get people to not feel bad about hearing that word because Republicans are going to use that word and relate it to his jobs plan.

PHILLIPS: So you're saying it's giving Republicans credibility.

GRANDERSON: Well, I mean, absolutely. Every single time that he does not say that word or does that correlate the fact that the two packages are similar, and in the fact that they are stimulus packages. What he is basically doing is somewhat saying, you know what, maybe the first one didn't work or maybe the Republicans are right.

And if they have that doubt, if voters have that doubt that the first one was a complete failure, then where is the confidence with the second one? He's got to take control of the message and he can do that by using that word.

PHILLIPS: Well, do you think Republicans have boxed him in?

GRANDERSON: Well, you know, I think that Republicans always have done a masterful job of boxing him in. They control the message. They've been controlling the message now for much of his administration. But I think he's at a critical juncture right now because this is pretty much is going to be his last big shot to tell voters that he is the person to get the economy back on track. And if he can't now step up and control this message and control that word, and get people to believe in his job's plan package, his chances of getting re-elected gets a lot slimmer.

PHILLIPS: LZ, great talking to you this morning. Thanks for weighing in.

GRANDERSON: You, too.

PHILLIPS: You bet, you can weigh in with LZ. Read his entire column at CNN.com/Opinion. If you like, you can join the conversation. LZ would love to get into it with you.

All right, stories across the country now. Wildfires threatening homes in California in Kern County just north of LA. Residents are being urged to evacuate. Three groups of fires there are burning across 87 square miles.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And no school today for students in Tacoma, Washington. Teachers there voted to strike. It's the second time Tacoma teachers have voted to strike after contract talks fell through.

And hospice nurses in Colorado went above and beyond to take care of a patient. 55-year-old Tom Driscoll is dying of brain cancer. He is a life-long Denver Broncos fan and really wanted to go to last night's home opener against The Raiders. Well, as you can see, he went. His nurses actually called The Broncos' organization and managed to get him one of the coveted tickets.

Well, it was easy for Bobby Bowden to talk about football when he coached at Florida state, but he couldn't talk about cancer. Why did he wait so long to reveal it? Coach joins me next -- live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Bobby Bowden is one of the biggest names in college football. He retired in 2009, but still ranks second in all- time wins. Coached for 33 seasons. Secured in a profession where firings are pretty common, but not secure in talking about his prostate cancer. He was diagnosed during the 2006 season and he kept it a secret until now.

Coach joins me live from New York. Great to have you, coach.

BOBBY BOWDEN, FORMER FSU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: Hey, it's good talk to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you. Why were you so ashamed to talk about your prostate cancer?

BOWDEN: I wasn't ashamed, I was protecting myself. In other words, it was actually in 2007 when my doctor told me that, hey, you got cancer in your prostate, you know what. And so, anyway, we had it treated. Now, I sneaked into the clinic to have it treated. I mean, I didn't do it in the daylight where people could see. I did it early in the morning. The doctor, Joe Camps, who used to play for me, helped me on it.

Why didn't I? I really wasn't ashamed of it. But if your opponents find out you got cancer, man, it would have been headlines all over the state. Bobby Bowden has cancer. He is 77 years old. He ain't going to be alive this time next year, you know, so don't go to Florida state. So I didn't let it get out because I didn't want my opponents to be able to use it against me.

PHILLIPS: So, you were afraid that -- so, you weren't afraid -- were you afraid of getting fired, or you're just afraid of -- because I heard mixed messages. You were afraid more of it being used against you?

BOWDEN: I wasn't afraid of nothing. I was concerned that our opponents, if they -- I mean, just picture now. We're trying to recruit this kid out of Tampa.

PHILLIPS: Right.

BOWDEN: OK, I go down and see him. An opponent coach comes in and said, hey, you don't want to go to Florida State. Bobby Bowden has got cancer. He's 77 years old. He's not going to be alive next year. That's the kind of -- that's what would have been --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Does that get that nasty, coach? Does it really get that nasty?

BOWDEN: You don't know half of it, girl. Yes, it gets pretty -- it's get pretty -- you know, every coach is looking for an angle. Everybody is looking for an angle, you know, to try to get that great kid.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask, OK, so here you are. Everyone loves you. You know, you've got a great run at success, and you're dealing with prostate cancer. How did you show up for work every day? I mean, did you even realize you had it? Were you in pain? Were you feeling fatigued?

BOWDEN: I had no idea. My doctor, Chris Stowers, who was a football doctor, Florida State, always examined me when he examined the players. And he took half my blood tests. And then he called me and said, Bobby, I got a little problem with your PSA. I hope I'm saying that right. He said, I got a little problem with it.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

BOWDEN: I want you to meet me tomorrow morning at 6:00 at Joe Camp's Clinic. We'll sneak in the back door where nobody can see you. We got a little problem. And then he said, bring your wife. Now, that scared me. Bring my wife. They're going to tell me something bad.

So anyway, Ann and I go over there early the next morning. Nobody knows we're there. And they tell me my problem. I got cancer in my prostate, you know. And so, then they told me how we could treat it, and we think we got it early enough and we'll do this and do this and we think we can solve it.

PHILLIPS: Coach, what happened? Tell me what went through your mind when they -- when they told you, you had the cancer?

BOWDEN: You know, all of your life you think about, I wonder how I'm going to die. Am I going to die in a car wreck, plane wreck, will I have cancer, am I going to have this. I'm going to have -- you always wonder and kind of the things that popped into my mind, is well, I guess this is the way it is going to be.

Now listen, I never worried about it. I mean, every -- everybody is going to die sooner or later. You know what? And I'm not anxious to die, but I am prepared, you know.

And so anyway, they treated me and -- and I thought nothing of it. I didn't feel bad. No, I just kept coaching and kept working.

Now, when I -- when got the call from my doctor and I told Ann, I think Ann called all my children. She probably said, your daddy is fixing to have an operation, you know your daddy has got this. They -- she -- I never said anything to them. I think me and Ann and my doctors and maybe my children only people that knew about it. I never talked about it.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So -- so let me --

(CROSSTALK)

BOWDEN: Now, that's where I've changed.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you Coach, I mean, there you were with -- with Joe Camps. I mean this was the captain of your football team and now he's your doctor telling you have cancer.

BOWDEN: Yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: You know how -- what was that conversation like? Did he say, Coach, you know, you got to -- you got to tell the team or you got to share this with the boys, you've got to share this with your fans? Or did he -- how did he handle that because he's seeing you as not only a patient but also a beloved coach.

BOWDEN: Well, Joe -- Joe and I used to coach him, you know that, and Joe didn't try to tell me what to say. And that -- that really never really came up. I guess Joe probably assumed, well Coach, you're smart enough to tell your family, aren't you? But you know, if I were doing it, if I hadn't been a football coach, I guess I would have told everybody, if they wanted to know.

But you know, here is the message and if you'll -- by it's on -- on OnTheLine.com. The whole story.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: That's right, this is your campaign now. I want to tell everybody, OnTheLine.com.

BOWDEN: That's it.

PHILLIPS: You've came out now --

(CROSSTALK)

BOWDEN: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Yes and here we are prostate cancer awareness month and you're part of this campaign. Coach, why are you breaking your silence, why are you being so vocal now?

BOWDEN: Well, gosh, hey, now I can. Now I can. I mean, they -- they -- they wanted somebody that was a survivor. And they found out that I was a survivor. You know it. So they asked me to kind of be the calendar boy, you know.

And so that's good. I mean, I -- am at the stage of my life where I like to -- I like to pay back. I like to pay back somehow all the good things that -- that happened to me. You know what and so -- so we've got, see, now ladies -- ladies don't have this problem. They don't mind discussing their problems.

You know, their -- their breast cancer and men's prostate cancer are very much the same. Women will talk about it. Men, you ever hear a man talk about his prostate? No.

PHILLIPS: It's not a comfortable thing to talk about I can imagine.

BOWDEN: That's on you they're going to bring it up to you anyway. But anyway, but so anyway, the idea is trying to get men to talk -- talk about it and do something. The main thing, go see your doctor.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

BOWDEN: Go see your doctor. Once you get 40 years of age, one out of six men have prostate cancer, you know. Go see your doctor.

PHILLIPS: Well, you've won a lot of football games, Coach. And now, you're winning one of the biggest challenges of your life now and you're doing incredibly well. What a pleasure to talk to you, Coach. Great, great to talk to you.

BOWDEN: Thank you very much. We'll see you later girl.

PHILLIPS: It sounds good. I look forward to that, as matter of fact.

Well, we've got another huge sports figure joining us next hour. Novak Djokovic just won the U.S. Open capping a season for the ages. We're going to talk to him about his exploits on and off the court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, checking stories making news later today.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor speaks at a jobs summit in Washington at 11:00 Eastern.

At 2:15 Eastern, President Obama talks about his jobs plan during a visit to Columbus, Ohio.

And at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, former President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton help launch a cervical and breast cancer screening program for women in sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America.

All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Brianna Keilar at the White House -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Kyra. The President's big push for his jobs plan continues. You know, he was in Virginia on Friday. Well, today he's in Ohio. And I'll have a live report at the top of the hour.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser in Tampa, Florida at the site of last night's CNN Tea Party Republican Debate. That showdown definitely have an impact on the race for the GOP nomination. Details at the top of the hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. At that debate last night, there was a brouhaha over HPV. I'll be separating facts from fiction at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys thanks. And behind bars for two years in a foreign country and fearing for their future. But this morning, hope for two American hikers accused of spying on Iran. That story coming up in the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, in sports the Patriots' Tom Brady showed once again why he's one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. Brady threw for 517 yards against Miami, fifth best in league history, by the way. Here is the highlight -- 99-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker that put that game away.

Brady had three other touchdown passes. And Welker's still going. New England beat the Dolphins 38-24. Take a breath.

Oakland Raiders' kicker Sebastian Janikowski really gets his foot into this. Watch this -- 63-yard field goal, ties the record for the longest field goal in NFL history. Who was the first one? That's coming up. The (INAUDIBLE) victory as the Raiders beat the Denver Broncos 23-20.

And the sausage race held before the bottom of the sixth inning at the Milwaukee Brewers' home game. It happens every year. Somebody should have told the Phillies' Pete Ore -- Ore gets trapped while running on the field he escapes before becoming a sausage sandwich. And the Phillies went on to win the game. It's not quite sure who won, hot dog surprise, I don't know.

All right, Novak Djokovic is the U.S. Open men's champ. Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in a four-set, four-hour match. Djokovic's first ever U.S. Open title for the third grand slam title this year.

Well, guess what, I'm going to be talking to him there, Novak Djokovic. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We'll talk about a sensational season on court and of course his many funny moments off court.

Well, reporters are accustomed to verbal abuse. But when an angry Longshoreman gets loose, well, extra long on the curse words, I guess you could say.

CNN's Jeanne Moos, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's a little knock-knock story you might not want the kids to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey? Get your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) camera out of here. That's none of your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) business you (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Unless you are trespassing, get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of here now.

MOOS: Like if he swears like a Longshoreman, that's because he is one. He belongs to a Longshoreman's union local in Washington State. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's none of your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) business, you (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You're trespassing. Get out of here.

MOOS: He threatened to bust the camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) jammed or broke you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucker --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to hear your --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said bye.

MOOS: He threatened glasses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what you dumb (EXPLETIVE DELETED), you glasses -- don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) threaten me you (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of this parking lot right now.

MOOS (on camera): Now he may seem touchy, very touchy. But the union is in the midst of a bitter fight with management it involves jobs at the EGT Grain Terminal. The other day police say 500 union protesters broke windows, pushed a security vehicle in a ditch, cut brake lines to boxcars and dumped grain. The union says what it calls a scab worker drove into union pickets blocking the terminal entrance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MOOS: Tensions are high. The perfect height for dropping f- bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me, partner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not on the PR staff, are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) worry about who I'm with.

MOOS: Later, someone who actually is on the union's PR staff told CNN the longshoreman lost his cool when he saw media shooting on private property. "He felt his union and American jobs are under attack, and he lost his temper."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cold cock him in a heartbeat. Get out of here now.

MOOS: Hey, this guy makes even Serena Williams look like a Zen master. After a run-in with the chair umpire at the U.S. Open -- Serena was fined $2,000 for verbal abuse. But there's no fine for verbally abusing the media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we get your name, sir? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucker. That's my name. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.

MOOS: When we called the union -- hi, there I'm trying to reach Mr. -- Mr. F-u-bleep-sucker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's not available.

MOOS: Monogram your towels with that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my name, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucker.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)