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Obama's $3 Trillion Plus Plan; Life Or Death For Troy Davis; Abbas Presses Statehood Bid; Netflix CEO Says "I Messed Up"; 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards; Setback For Americans Held In Iran; Reno Air Show Crash; Floods Kill Hundreds In Pakistan; Petit Family Murders; Jose Padilla's Sentencing Thrown Out

Aired September 19, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Grand, yes. Bargain, no. At least not yet. While a bipartisan congressional super committee tries to find $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, President Obama, today, unveiled a $3 trillion plan. It's a combination of spending cuts and tax reforms on the scale of the so-called grand bargain the president tried to negotiate with House Republicans earlier this summer.

The cuts would come from Medicare, Medicaid and other so-called mandatory programs, from reduced war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, and from interest payments that dropped as we borrow less.

On the revenue side, the president wants to let the Bush era tax cuts expire, we've heard that before. He'd also cap deductions for high earners and close a variety of loopholes. We should point out a chunk of those revenues would pay for the jobs plan the president proposed last week. Mr. Obama chided House Republican -- House speaker Boehner for ruling out tax hikes but then issued a warning of his own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will not support any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans. And I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And that brings me to what's being called the Buffett Rule, named for billionaire who says the super rich are undertaxed. The president is insisting people that who earn is million a year or more pay at least as much in federal taxes, percentage wise, as ordinary wage earners do. Republicans are up in arms but Mr. Obama says it's not class warfare -- it is math.

CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger joining us now from D.C. Gloria, does the president's math actually add up?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what he did today really was lay down a political marker. You know, this is a president who's been accused by his base of not participating enough in his own health care reform plan or of negotiating with himself too early. So, what he did this time was he said, look, if this were a perfect world for me, this is what I would do, and you'll notice in here that there aren't real entitlement cuts to beneficiaries, there are some to providers in Medicare.

So, he largely left Social Security untouched, Medicare cut-backs to providers. So, what he's saying is, I'm leaving that off the table, let's talk about taxes now. And in the end, I think you can see some kind of a compromise that people are looking to that would reform the tax code and have cuts in entitlements, but we ain't there yet.

KAYE: Yes. Taxes and compromise, those two words, they don't really seem to go together very well in Washington. I mean, it seem to me that this really puts the White House, or certainly the president, on a collision course with house speaker Boehner. I mean, he has said they will not accept tax increases.

BORGER: It does. And I think what we're seeing now is kind of the Alphonse, Gaston routine that you see, but the real deal is going to be cut by this super committee. That's what's really important here. I think you see the political posturing going on right now, but in the end, they've got something hanging over their heads. If they don't agree to a compromise by Christmas, then these draconian cuts are going to take effect because they weren't able to do their jobs. And Congressional approval rating is down at, what, 13 percent or 14 percent? So, they know that they have a job that they have to get done. If you reform the tax code and you lower the top rate for wealthiest Americans but you get rid of a lot of their deductions, will that be a tax increase or will that just leveling the playing field? We may be playing semantics here in the end.

KAYE: Yes. And that's one question, but another question is, really, is this just a complain platform or is this really a viable plan? Because in some ways it seems as though the president is trying to I guess force the GOP to look as though it's protecting millionaires in this case.

BORGER: Right. Look, I think this is the opening bid, so in that sense it is political because this is the president's opening bid. And honestly, there isn't anything in here that's really shocking or surprising to me. But the president did go on the record saying this is what he wants and he would veto something that did not include some amount of tax increases on the wealthy if you had benefit cuts in entitlement programs. So, it is political but again, opening round, it's not a piece of legislation telling the super committee where he stands. We know where the Republicans stand, now the super committee has to do its job and come up with something that both sides can swallow, or else they'll really be in a political pickle when these other cuts take effect.

KAYE: Opening round, round one. Can't wait to see round two.

BORGER: All right.

KAYE: Gloria Borger, thank you so much.

BORGER: Welcome to my world, right? KAYE: OK, I'll leave it with you. Thank you.

And now to Atlanta where five people are deciding whether troy Davis lives or dies. Davis is the convicted killer of a Savannah, Georgia police officer. But in the years since, he was sent to death row in 1991, seven of nine prosecution witnesses have recanted or change their stories. A campaign for clemency has spread around the world, and I am not exaggerating. But today the only views that matter belong to the Georgia board of pardons and paroles. Unless the board votes to spare Davis' life, he is set to die by lethal injection 7:00 p.m. local time Wednesday.

My colleague David Mattingly just outside today's hearing joins me now on the telephone. David, whom is the board actually hearing from today?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi, just a few minutes ago, I spoke to Davis' attorney. He says that they are now finished with their presentation before the board. So, the board has heard everything that is going to be said in this case now in Troy Davis' favor. He said that the board members had been looking at this case, studying it for months prior to today. He said that they were taking it very seriously. They asked a lot of questions, even questions about evidence, he says, that has not been submitted in the courts in the past. He considers this as an encouraging sign that they are working very hard on this and apparently very interested in all the details that his supporters have been talking about publicly so much now for the last 20 years.

So, that means that Troy Davis' case is done. There's nothing else to be said. It's now going to be in the hands of this board. The board will now hear from prosecutors. They will also hear from victims in this case if they wish to speak. Again, all of this behind closed doors but everything winding down so that this five-member board will be able to make its life and death decision -- Randi.

KAYE: And David, do you expect that we'd get an answer on that today? I mean, what is the time line here?

MATTINGLY: It's hard to say. There is really no time line. Everyone is very critically aware of the scheduled execution Wednesday evening. Keep in mind, though, that this board did deny clemency to Davis once before and this board has never, ever in its 30-plus-year history gone back on a decision like that. But I pointed that out to his attorney, he said, well this is an extraordinary case. It is a once in a lifetime case so it's difficult to compare or try to guess how this board is going to act from here.

A lot of attention was being paid to three board members who were not on the board back in 2008 when Davis was denied clemency and he said those three board members also appeared to have done their homework and were asking a lot of relevant questions.

KAYE: And there is still the victim's family in this case, the dead officer's family, and also the D.A. from all those years ago, who still insist that troy Davis does deserve to die. MATTINGLY: That's right and they now have the floor. They will have the last word before this board as the board starts to make up its mind.

KAYE: All right, David Mattingly continuing to watch that for us. David, if you get any news at all during the next couple of hours, please bring it to us. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: You bet, Randi.

KAYE: And checking some other stories that we're following, the man leading the charge for Palestinian statehood arrived in New York this morning. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will attend this week's U.N. General Assembly. He's due to speak on Friday. Afterwards he says he'll make a formal application for full U.N. membership. As expected, both the Obama administration and Israel have spoken out strongly against that move.

KAYE: If you're outraged over Netflix big price hike, the latest word from the company's CEO may make you hotter than ever. Reid Hastings apologized for, quote, "messing up." The admission comes after subscribers quit the service in droves, a backlash that caused Netflix' stock to plunge. But don't expect a rollback in fees, instead Hastings unveiled a new name for his DVD by mail service to, get this, Quickster. Netflix will remain the name for the online streaming service. And if you want both services, well you'll need to take out two separate subscriptions.

There was a little bit of everything at the 63rd prime time Emmy awards in L.A. last night. "Madmen" won a fourth straight best drama series Emmy. The sitcom "Modern Family" took top comedy honors and the best mini-series Emmy went to the masterpiece production of "Downtown Abby." Best lead actress in a comedy series, Melissa McCarthy for "Mike & Molly."

More than a little drama was provided by bad boy Charlie Sheen who took the stage to present the trophy for best lead actor in a comedy series. That prize went to Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory." We'll have much more on this later in the hour.

Another setback for two American hikers held in Iran. Their Iranian lawyer was unable to get a needed signature on paperwork for bail, because a judge is on vacation. The lawyer says bail has been paid for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer but to prove it he needs the signature of two judges. He attempted to get that done yesterday but was told he'd have to wait until one of the judges returns to Iran tomorrow. Fattal and Bauer were arrested two years ago and charged with spying after crossing into Iran from Iraq. They say they entered Iran by mistake.

A plane flying in an air show nosedives into the crowd killing now 10 people. The deadly crash caught on tape and the evidence that may explain what went wrong, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: You are looking at video of the air races in Reno where a plane nose-dived out of the sky on Friday slamming into the crowd below. Watch as you see the vintage World War II plane just crash right in front of the stands there. Here's another angle of the horrific crash. The impact killed 10 people, including the pilot. Close to 70 others were injured.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The NTSB does a very comprehensive investigation. We're going to be looking at the human, the machine, as well as the environment. In this case, the environment is not just the weather but the oversight for example of the FAA. It actually has a specific division that looks at air races and air shows. We will be investigating what kind of comprehensive plan was created for this particular show and race, and then determine whether or not it was met and we're going to actually find out not just what happened but why. That's what will allow us to make safety recommendation so something like this doesn't happen again. The NTSB has three investigators that were on site at the air race, and so they were immediately -- they not only had a chance to witness the accident but were immediately on scene obviously for the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Now investigators say there is new critical evidence that may help determine what caused the crash. Joining us from Reno now, Dan Simon. Dan, what evidence has been uncovered?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well a few things. The first thing I want to talk to you about, Randi, is we know that from the pilot's own words before the crash, the plane was modified substantially where the wing span was actually reduced by about 10 feet. And according to the pilot, he wasn't exactly sure how the plane would perform, so there's a lot of speculation that maybe those modifications may have caused something to go wrong. But in the meantime, the attention is clearly focused on the tail of the aircraft. Videos and pictures show that during this flight, a part of the tail actually broke off from the plane, fell to the ground.

Crews, over the weekend when they were searching the debris field, actually found what they believe if part of that tail. It's going to be shipped off to the NTSB lab for analysis. In the meantime, we all should know that there was a camera onboard that plane, it's a memory card is what recovered, they're not sure if it's actually from that camera but they're going to be analyzed nonetheless.

And we also know that the plane had sort of a crude black box attached and wirelessly transmitted information to the flight crew. So that's another key piece to all of this.

In the meantime, we're still getting some very chilling accounts from eyewitnesses who were among the first to see the scene. We talk to a nurse who was among the first to arrive. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JULIE MORGAN, NURSE: The impact of the aircraft was significant and the debris field was wide and it was very traumatic. They have a long road ahead of them. They will have prosthetics. They'll have therapy. They'll have to learn to reuse their body. We're trained for this. But training is different than reality. And the reality is -- it's horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, of the more than 70 patients who were taken to area hospitals, we know that there are about two dozen who are still there and several of them -- several of the patients, Randi, are still in critical condition.

Back to you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Dan Simon, thanks for the update from Reno. Appreciate that.

Flooding affecting millions of people around an area half the size of Delaware. Parts of southern Pakistan under water. We'll take you there live for the latest in just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: I want to take a moment now and head to Pakistan for today's "Under Covered." A segment highlighting news that deserves your attention but is, we believe, under covered. The flooding in Pakistan is a major concern right now for the United Nations and other humanitarian groups. Now, keep in mind, the country was ravaged by last year's deadly historic floods. Now communities barely recovering from last year are getting hit again.

Now, take a look here with me. This is actually a satellite image from NASA of Asind (ph) province in the south. So this is before all the flooding. Now look at this. Watch this. Watch as it changes here, if I can get it. Uh-oh. OK. Well, we thought -- OK, no. Let's see. We'll try it one more time for you. All right. It doesn't want to work. But we did have an after effect for you. And you can see how much of the area is actually under water now. We're talking about 7.5 million people impacted. Nearly 350 people have died there.

From the ground now, this is what we're looking at. Thousands of homes are destroyed, affecting an area nearly half the size of Delaware. This is the scene that's playing out across a number of cities in southeast Pakistan. The country's national disaster agency says half a million people are living in refugee camps. Nick Paton Walsh is monitoring the situation for us from Islamabad.

Nick, has the situation gotten worse?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The rain has stopped. But I think what we're seeing over the weekend is these numbers rise exponentially. The government was saying last week we were talking about 5.3 million people. Now it's risen to 7.5 million people affected. And that's not necessarily because the damage has got exponentially worse over the weekend. It may be the accounting, the numbers crunching has kind of caught up with the reality.

But what we definitely saw when we were there last week was large amounts of water covering farmland, which isn't normally used to draining that amount of water. The water is simply staying where it was. That's the huge concern. Large parts of the countryside there rendered unusable by basically farmers, by countryside people who can no longer live in their villages because these -- the feet of water has suddenly appeared over the past few weeks, Randi.

KAYE: And which are the areas that are hardest hit?

WALSH: Well, Sind (ph) itself is a place with a large commercial capital. Karachi. Eighteen million people living there. The flooding there dissipated quite quickly. But what we've seen, really, is these large, flat areas all around it. Adine (ph), one particular town. Also a place called Marahas (ph). These places have really seen the rain land, but also stay in place. The government really, I think, struggling to reach some of the areas we saw to deliver the scale of area we're talking about. I mean just simply imagine this drinking water per person. The U.N. would like to see each person see five liters a day. Simply imagine the 7.5 million people being given that much clean water. Disease a real issue, Randi.

KAYE: And we know that Pakistan's prime minister has actually canceled his address to the U.N. The U.N. is asking for $357 million in flood aid. What will happen if that aid doesn't find its way there?

WALSH: I think it's a strange thing when you see these people on the ground. They have a phenomenal coping mechanism. Of course they'll go hungry. They will be sick. But there seems to be, I think, a feeling amongst many of them, they're not going to see help. We saw instants of protest, blocking roads. People taking it upon themselves to stop aid getting through, using that as a kind of political bargaining chip to get aid for themselves. So strange anger on the ground there. And also I think people are really not actually expecting the government to come hugely to their aid. They believe maybe one day the government will provide a solution for them but I don't think they're really sitting there expecting large amounts of food to turn up on government trucks in the very near future, Randi.

KAYE: Such a tragic situation. Nick Paton Walsh, appreciate -- oh, actually, I'm told now that we have those pictures that I was trying to show our viewers before. So this is the before picture that I was -- showed you earlier. Now take a look. You can see here as we slide it. That the damage that's been done. You can see the difference as the floods have hit that area. Mainly the area of southern Pakistan. You can see how it's been just overrun by water there. So we're glad we were able to bring those pictures to you finally.

All right, coming up in "Crime & Consequence," a mother and her two daughters beaten, bound, tortured and then burned. Unspeakable cruelty in a gruesome crime. Today, suspect number two finally has his day in court. We'll take you live to New Haven, Connecticut, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: It was one of the most gruesome crimes in the nation's recent history. Three members of a wealthy Connecticut family -- the Petits -- brutally murdered in their home back in 2007. A mother and her two daughters beaten, burned and worse. The first defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted and sentenced to death last year. Today the trial begins for the alleged mastermind, Joshua Komisarjevsky. Let's turn now to CNN's Deb Feyerick live outside the courthouse in New Haven, Connecticut.

Deb, you were in court today. I understand the prosecution opted out of an opening statement?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they did. They passed. They basically said, you know what, the evidence speaks for itself. And, for that matter, the defense agreed. They said it's not the evidence that's in dispute, it's the intention. And they say that Joshua Komisarjevsky never intended to murder anyone. In fact, he told his accomplice when he knew police were on their way, he said, we've got to get out, quote, "I'm not killing anyone." And then later, after they were apprehended, as they tried to escape in the family's stolen SUV, he said, quote, "the family, they were compliant. They did what they were supposed to do." He, of course, referring to Jennifer Hawke- Petit, who went to the bank to remove $15,000 in cash. She is the one who initially tipped off the police, saying that they were in a hostage situation. And that's when the police showed up.

Also what was interesting, Randi, is you saw the blame change. Basically what the suspect now -- what the defense is saying, they're blaming the guy who's sitting on death row. They're saying it was Steven Hayes who strangled and then -- and raped Jennifer Hawke-Petit. That he is the one who bought the gasoline and that he is the one who lit the house on fire. The two daughters asphyxiating because of this smoke.

Also, they really tried to minimize Joshua Komisarjevsky's role in this whole thing, saying, yes, he is the one who initially saw Mrs. Petit and followed her home thinking that it would be a good house for a home invasion. And he says, yes, he did hit Dr. Petit in the head with a baseball bat. But really it's almost as if everything else was almost erased. The defense trying to soften his image by even pointing out that he had a job in construction and that he had physical custody of his daughter. So really a very interesting dynamic.

And remember, Randi, so much has already been heard in the first trial that they're really going to have to bring in energy so that the jurors will focus, will pay attention, so that it sounds fresh again. But right now the defense saying, we will show that you cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Komisarjevsky intended to kill these people.

Randi.

KAYE: It's interesting, though, to see how his own words, how Komisarjevsky's own words might be used against him, because he has spoken about this case. He's written in a diary that CNN has actually gotten from prison. And you can see where he takes credit -- I hate to use that word -- but he does. He takes credit for what happened in that house. So I wonder how that will play at this trial.

FEYERICK: Yes, he spelled out his role. He spelled out his role and then he even calls the youngest victim, Michaela, 11-years-old, the angel of his nightmares. They're very sort of obsessive. I don't know whether they're ramblings or writings, I guess.

Randi.

KAYE: All right, Deb Feyerick, appreciate it. Deb, thank you.

A federal judge has just thrown out the sentence in a terrorism related case because it wasn't harsh enough. We'll have the details for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Now let's get you caught up on some of the stories that you may have missed. A federal court in Atlanta has just thrown out a 17 year prison sentence for Jose Padilla. You may remember Padilla was accused of plotting to build a so-called dirty bomb but convicting of aiding terror groups overseas. The appeals court nullified his sentence, not because it was too harsh but because, in the judge's view, it's too light. The court did not overturn Padilla's conviction. There will be another sentencing hearing.

President Obama released his $3 trillion debt reduction plan today. It includes $1.5 trillion in new taxes, primarily on the wealthy. Mr. Obama dismissed GOP arguments that higher taxes on the wealthy are a form of class warfare.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I'm saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that made our success possible. We shouldn't get a better deal than ordinary families get. And I think most wealthy Americans would agree, if they knew this would help us grow the economy and deal with the debt that threatens our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: A Norwegian judge has decided that Anders Breivik will remain in solitary confinement for another four weeks and will remain in police custody for four weeks beyond that. Breivik has admitted killing 77 people during a bomb and gun rampage in July but he has not pleaded guilty. Today's ruling will keep Breivik in custody until at least November 14th.

For the first time since his arrest in May, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is telling his side of the story. The former head of the International Monetary Fund broke his silence in an interview with French television. He admitted that his encounter with a New York City hotel maid was a "moral failing" but he denied that there was any sexual assault. He noted that prosecutors dropped criminal charges against him, citing doubts about his accuser's credibility.

(VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN: You need to read carefully the report of the prosecutor. What does it say? It say that Nafissatou Diallo lied about everything, not only about her past but about the facts. The report says that she gave so many different versions of the facts that the prosecutor could not believe it any longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The Transportation Security Administration has fired 28 employees at Hawaii's Honolulu International Airport. The move follows an investigation into reports that checked bags were not being screened for explosives. The TSA also suspended 15 people and three more workers resigned or retired. The fired and suspended workers have the right to appeal.

A popular reality TV show has fired four cast members. The Bravo network confirms that Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Cindy Barshop and Kelly Bensimon will not be returning for season 5 of Real Housewives of New York. The network is reporting a friendly departure but cast member Cindy Bishop tells ABC News that the women genuinely don't like each other. Bishop joined the show in season 4 and it would be her last. Following the mass layoff only two of the original cast members remain.

Putting more (INAUDIBLE). That's part of the President's plan to cut the deficit but is it for real or is it just a political ploy? It is fair game. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time now to go beyond partisan talking points to the heart of the political debate where all sides are fair game. Today, we want to dive into the prospects of the President's so-called Buffett Plan that he unveiled this morning. It's named after billionaire Warren Buffett who says people like him don't pay their fair share in taxes.

Apparently, the President took that to heart so he put Buffett's name on his proposal to propose a new minimum tax on people who make more than $1 million. Joining me to talk about the plan and its prospects is CNN Contributor Will Cain and Democratic Political Consultant Ed Espinoza. Will, to you first on this one. Is this political grandstanding here a chance for the White House to make Republicans look like they're squeezing the middle class maybe and protecting millionaires?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. That's absolutely what it is. It's a political ploy Randi and you know that because it has -- it doesn't substantively do what President Obama gives lip service to doing and that is making a fair tax code. It's true that it's not fair that millionaires often pay less in effective taxes than middle class people such as their secretaries but whether or not -- whatever category you pick, whether or not it's home owners versus renters or people that get their medical insurance through their -- their company or buy it on their own. The tax code is chock full of unfairness. The point I'm making is the only way to make the tax code more fair is to simplify it and adding another line to the, what, 500 page or more of code of the IRS to catch millionaires isn't going to resolve anything.

KAYE: Ed, your take?

ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, this isn't about politics. This is about math, just like the President said. What the plan does do is it restores a lot of much needed revenue. What it doesn't do is ask millionaires or anybody in the upper class to pay any more than what the middle class is already paying. Now, Mitch McConnell came out and said we've tried these things before and he's right, we have tried them before. We tried them in the 90's and things were pretty good. As a matter of fact, we had a balanced budget.

CAIN: Hey, Randy, let me say...

KAYE: Yes, go ahead Will.

CAIN: ...I like Ed a lot but this is so clearly a political ploy. It needs to be made exactly clear. In addition to this millionaire's tax, President Obama is offering up the -- the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. He's offering up some Medicare reform but only on the providers. The point is, he's tacking so far to the left, so far outside the realm of possibility that there are only two interpretations: One is that this is a populous campaign and he's setting up for his reelection in 2012 or it's a negotiating tactic that after getting hammered by progressives for always seeming to be in the middle and having Republicans win the debate he's now tacking so far to the left that he can compromise back.

KAYE: So, Ed, what are the odds, really? I mean, honestly here, what are the odds that they can get even one Republican to agree to this?

ESPINOZA: Well, I think that it's -- it's probably not too far out of the question to think that Republicans probably would want to vote for a jobs plan, especially right now. But, to Will's point about where the politics are in this, I don't know that you can say one side plays politics any less than the other. But, New York Times on July 28th published an infograph. I Tweeted it this morning, showing where our spending has come over the past 10 years. Nearly half of that was revenue that was lost due to the tax cuts that Bush passed in 2001. So, you can say it's politics but what we're saying all along is it's math.

KAYE: But, if you look at the numbers, I just want to share a CNN/ORC poll with -- with the two of you and our viewers. We asked the question should deficit reduction include tax increases on businesses and the wealthy, 63% of those polled said yes, 36% said no. If you look at the other side of that poll the Democrats, you had 80% saying yes, Independents 62%, and Republicans 39%. So, is this what the country wants?

CAIN: Well, I'll take that Randi.

ESPINOZA: (INAUDIBLE) and Democrats and ...

CAIN: Go ahead.

ESPINOZA: Go ahead Will.

KAYE: Ed-- Ed you finish and then we'll give Will the final word.

ESPINOZA: Ok. Well, I -- I tell you. I think it's definitely what Democrats and Independents want right now. As for Republicans, well, you know, I mean, they've dug in their heels on a couple of things but sooner or later we've got to negotiate. There's got to be an answer. It won't come from cuts alone, whether that's entitlement cuts or programs or anything else, we've got to restore funding that we've lost and this is only one part of the proposal.

KAYE: Will?

CAIN: That's fair enough. I totally agree with Ed that we can't do this on the back of spending cuts alone but what I would say is we have to be smarter about the substantive way to -- to effect the tax code here. Yes, the rich could pay more in their effective tax rate but it's not by playing these games of tax the rich guy alternative minimum taxes, it's to really reform the tax code where, quite honestly, the rich people can't manipulate it the way they do now. Just make a fair tax code, a simpler tax code, and we'll all understand what we have to pay.

KAYE: All right. Well done both of you, Will Cain, Ed Espinoza. Thank you so much for taking part in Fair Game today.

ESPINOZA: Thanks.

CAIN: Thanks a lot.

KAYE: Palestinians taking their case for statehood to the U.N. Why the U.S. is vowing to block the move. A live report, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A big showdown is shaping up at the United Nations and the ramifications for Washington, Israel, and the entire Middle East are, quite frankly, huge. The issue: Palestinian statehood and no one is pushing for it harder than this man, Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas. He arrived in New York this morning to attend this week's U.N. General Assembly.

In a meeting with the U.N. Secretary General Abbas said he will formally apply for full U.N. membership after his speech to the assembly on Friday. The Obama administration says it will block any statehood move by the Palestinians and, of course, the Israelis also strongly oppose the bid. Fionnuala Sweeney joins us now from Jerusalem. Fionnuala, any reaction today to the meeting with U.N. Secretary General?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not of yet but there are a plethora of high-level Israeli officials who are in New York, arriving today and throughout the week. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister due to go there, really to present their case and what Benjamin Netanyahu says is Israel's version of the truth. Now Israel isn't opposed to Palestinian statehood, it's opposed to this unilateral, as it sees it, declaration of a state without direct negotiations and that really is the issue and the United States working very hard to try and dissuade those members of the U.N. Security Council who may be wavering on this issue not to vote for it. It's not expected, I should say, Randi, that any vote or that it would go before the Security Council on Friday when Mahmoud Abbas makes his speech. He will submit the application and, essentially, what Israeli officials are saying today here, (INAUDIBLE) , an Israeli Cabinet Minister saying that, perhaps, in New York that there might be, actually, the opportunity to have some kind of direct talks between the Palestinian leaders and the Israeli leadership on this issue.

KAYE: So, it doesn't sound like there's any chance that this whole move is a bluff, is there?

SWEENEY: On the part of the Palestinians?

KAYE: Yes.

SWEENEY: No, it is not a bluff on their part at all.

They are saying that there is no way that they can achieve a state at the moment because they do not accept that Israel is committed to direct negotiations. They say the issue of settlement building is the stumbling block, continued settlement building.

Benjamin Netanyahu would argue that Israel offered to stop settle settlement building for 10 months and that didn't achieve anything in terms of the moving the peace process forward. And, so, really, for the Palestinians, they are operating against the backdrop, as are the Israelis to a certain extent, of what has been taking place in the Middle East over the last nine months or so, the self-determination that's been taking place in various countries by the masses, and the Palestinians now wanting to harness that momentum for themselves and galvanize the world's attention while the U.N. and General Assembly is taking place.

We will have to see how it all pans out, both on the ground here, both sides prepared for potential trouble, but hoping there won't be, but taking steps in case there are, and also really looking ahead to what both Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will be saying in their speeches on Friday.

KAYE: All right, Fionnuala Sweeney from Jerusalem, Fionnuala, thank you very much.

No, it isn't a scene from the next "Terminator" movie. Two-legged machines with knees can run as fast as humans. Stick around for more video and why these freaky things are being built. I'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: That was a scene from "Terminator 3" by Warner Bros. Pictures, owned by CNN's parent company, Time Warner. In the sci-fi thriller, Skynet machines battle humans for control of the planet. This is video of MABEL, one of the fastest two-legged robots in the world today. OK, not exactly the same, no guns, of course, no action heroes, but still pretty freaky, right? It really looks human. Look at her run around, MABEL.

MABEL can run -- get this -- a nine-minute mile -- that's pretty darn good -- and keep her balance while reacting to rough terrain, like an eight-inch blind step down. Of course, try doing that in high heels. Trust me, not easy.

MABEL's creators say she's been built to save lives in search-and- rescue missions and to create exoskeletons for people who are paralyzed. Pretty amazing and the subject of today's "Big I."

Joining me now is one of MABEL's creators, Jessy Grizzle, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan.

Thank you, Jessy, so much for joining us on the show today and bringing it looks like MABEL with you.

First, MABEL doesn't exactly sound like the name of an amazing futuristic robot. So what does it actually stand for?

JESSY GRIZZLE, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Well, MABEL is short for Michigan Anthropomorphic Biped with Electric Legs.

And the last part sounds a little strange, electric legs, but MABEL is powered by four electric motors. And when we were naming the robot, I wanted a name that would have M. for Michigan and B. for biped. The rest of it just kind of fell into place, so MABEL.

KAYE: And I'm fascinated honestly by MABEL's knees. This is not -- this is pretty rare, right, for a robot to be able to move like this?

GRIZZLE: Yes. What we're doing in this lab is working on the feedback algorithms. So, these are the algorithms that are measuring the position and speed of all the robots' various joints.

They are doing that once every millisecond. So, 1,000 times per second, we are monitoring the position and speed of the robot's joints. We calculate what these joints should be doing and then we adjust the power commands to the motor such that the robot does play out the right responses to variations in terrain, et cetera.

So the general field is called feedback control. I'm a feedback control theorist who applies these methods to robots like MABEL.

KAYE: So MABEL is really cool. We all agree with that, but it's also on a pretty serious mission. How would MABEL help save lives say on a search-and-rescue mission?

GRIZZLE: Well, one scenario I kind of have in mind that motivates me is if -- imagine a home is on fire and you're pretty sure everyone has gotten out, but there's a small chance someone is in. So is it ethically right to send in a firemen when there's really 98 percent chance we're sure we got everyone out? But if there's a machine that you could send in and do it, well, then the ethical dilemma becomes much less. We want a robot that could go into an environment that is occupied by humans, so it needs to be able to go in, step over the babies' toys, go running up the steps, grab, open the closet doors, make a quick reconnaissance of the building, come charging out.

And so having a robot that can function in a human environment is important. Now, the reason we want it to be able to handle this very rough terrain is that if you're in a dangerous situation once again like a fire or an industrial building that has problems, then there will be smoke, dust and debris. And cameras are easily fooled. So you want the robot that even if the foot placements are not what the camera tells it to be, it's not going to fall flat on its face with a small change. And that's what MABEL is doing in a brilliant way.

KAYE: Right. As we're talking to you, we're also watching some video of MABEL at work. And it's just so humanlike. It's really creepy, but it's amazing to watch.

What about helping paralyzed people? How would MABEL be able to do so?

GRIZZLE: Well, there are groups of people that are taking the technology that a whole wide community of us working in the robotics field are trying to push forward.

So the idea with the exoskeletons is you build a robotic structure that is outside of your leg, for example, so the outside -- it goes outside of your leg. That's why it it's called an exoskeleton. And then the knee joints, the hip joints, perhaps the ankle joints as well, are powered just like on bipedal robot like MABEL.

And so if you can take the principles of having a machine that is able to maintain its balance and walk at a brisk pace, stop, change directions, et cetera, then you can take those principles and apply it to this kind of merger of a human and a machine.

And I do want to underline that people working on exoskeletons have a much more difficult problem than the one I'm facing, because you have all the complexities of the human body, plus all of the mechanical and electrical complexities of the exoskeletons.

KAYE: Yes. It's fascinating. She's fascinating.

And, Jessy, I would love you to bring MABEL to our studio one day. If you can get her on a plane, we'd love to meet her. So, appreciate your time. Thank you so much and good work.

GRIZZLE: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: For much more about these bots, you can check out my Facebook page, Facebook/RandiKayeCNN. If you missed the big show last night, the one-word headline for the Emmys? Repeat. But if you're a certain cast on a certain show or two, well, that's a very good thing. We will tell you what went down, including the night's big surprise appearance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, repeats usually aren't a good thing in the television world, but at last night's Emmy Awards, well, repeats ruled. The casts of "Mad Men" and "Modern Family" mopped up the golden statuettes again this year, but there was one big surprise of the night.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" correspondent Kareen Wynter was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Emmy goes to -- "Modern Family".

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Emmys celebrate the best in original television but in the end, it was all about repeats."Modern Family" repeated as best comedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

WYNTER: The show about a non-traditional extended family has won TV's top prize in each of its first two seasons.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Mad Men".

WYNTER: "Mad Men's" repeat was even more impressive. The '60s era series won best drama for the fourth consecutive time, beating back a challenge from newcomer "Boardwalk Empire".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- for us and our families this is an incredible dream. Thank you.

WYNTER: While the show was honored "Mad Men's" leading man lost out as best actor in a drama. That went instead to Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights". Best actress in a drama went to "The Good Wife's" Julianna Margulies.

(on camera): Glee's Jane Lynch pulled double duty Emmy night, not only was she nominated in the best supporting actress comedy category but she also hosted the show. She pre-taped a vid with the cast of "Jersey Shore" and tossed gentle zingers at the stars, including an 89-year-old nominee.

JANE LYNCH, ACTRESS: Oh, there's Betty White. She's the reason we start the show at 5: 00 p. m.

WYNTER: Lynch may have scored as host but she lost the Emmy to "Modern Family's" Julie Bowen. Not that she was bitter about it.

LYNCH: There are losers and I am one, and it hurts.

WYNTER: Julie Bowen's TV husband Ty Burrell won for supporting actor in comedy. On stage, he paid tribute to his late father acknowledging he might find it strange that his son wears makeup at work.

TY BURRELL, ACTOR: -- I would say, Dad just think of me as a very masculine lady, and he would say, I do, son.

WYNTER: One of the nice surprises came not in an award but from a presenter. A subdued Charlie Sheen fired from "Two and a Half Men" last season made a surprise appearance to announce best actor in a comedy. He offered best wishes to his old show.

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: -- and I know you will continue to make great television. WYNTER: Best actor in a comedy went to Jim Parsons of the "Big Bang Theory" in another repeat. He won last year, too, but best actress in a comedy did got to a newcomer. Melissa McCarthy of "Mike & Molly" who was jokingly topped to wear the tiara.

MELISSA MCCARTHY, ACTRESS: Oh it's my first and best pageant ever.

In a billion years, I didn't think that was going to happen, not at all.

WYNTER: It was a night for all of TV's best to claim their crowns.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)