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After Jackson Was Pronounced Dead; Terror Plot Using Model Planes; House Votes on Disaster Fund Deal; Cain: Black Voters "Brainwashed"; GDP: Economy Grew at a Rate of 1.3 Percent; Weekly Jobless Numbers Fall; DSK Faces Another Assault Accuser; Alabama Immigration Law in Effect; Hotel May Collapse from Flooding; 6,000 Job Applicants in 50 Minutes; Closing Arguments in Knox Appeal; Senate Delegation in Libya; Will and Kate Open Kid's Cancer Center; Fey, Longoria TV's Highest Paid; Marilyn Monroe's Ring for Sale; Stocks Rally; Baseball Playoffs Kick Off; Obama Courts Black Voters; Health Officials Fear Outbreak's Spread; Perry Dials Back on Heartless Comment
Aired September 29, 2011 - 09:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's day three in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor getting underway in less than two hours. We're expecting more gripping testimony about the day that he died including how Dr. Conrad Murray reacted after Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital.
CNN's Don Lemon is outside the courthouse in Los Angeles. So Don, go ahead and tell us about the testimony.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the testimony today we're going to hear about what happened in the final moments of Michael Jackson's life. We're going to go inside the bedroom. We did that yesterday.
We went inside the bedroom. They showed us pictures and told us what happened when the security guard got there, when he saw Conrad Murray trying to revive Michael Jackson with one hand on the phone with the other all the while his children watching.
And then finally once paramedics arrived and then two hours later after around 12:15, two hours later about 2:30, Michael Jackson is pronounced dead. The family is there. Everyone is concerned. Everyone is worried. They can't believe what happened.
And they said that Conrad Murray had one thing on his mind and that was getting back inside the house. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What, if anything, was the request of Conrad Murray to you?
MICHAEL AMIR WILLIAMS, MICHAEL JACKSON'S PERSONAL ASSISTANT: Well, we were making small talk about how horrible this is and both of us was tearing and he asked -- he said that there is some cream in Michael's room or house, I believe room, that he wouldn't want the world to know about. He requested that I or someone give him a ride back to the house to get it so the world wouldn't know about the cream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To get the cream so the world wouldn't know about it?
WILLIAMS: Yes, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So that's what Dr. Conrad Murray said. So prosecutors are hammering this. They believe that this Propofol, this bottle of -- not this exact same bottle, but this is a bottle of Propofol, they think this creamy substance is what he was going back to try to retrieve and to clean up the evidence so that in essence he wouldn't be embarrassed and not Michael Jackson. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: What was the reaction from Murray's attorney, Don?
LEMON: The defense is saying that, listen, Conrad Murray is not alone here. That Michael Jackson had a drug problem. He was seeing other doctors. He had other stuff in his system.
One particular drug that they are hammering home, they're talking about Demerol. They're saying that -- that personal assistant and others, the security guards, took him to Arnie Klein's office, his dermatologist.
Sometimes as much as five times a week where he would get Demerol shots and those shots were believed to be the reason he couldn't sleep. They said he was addicted to Demerol. That's going to be what the defense will hammer home.
Of course, the prosecution is going to say that it was all Conrad Murray and that it was acute Propofol intoxication that led to his death.
PHILLIPS: All right. Day three and we're expecting more gripping testimony. We'll be talking to you again tomorrow, Don. Thanks.
Now to that bizarre terror plot using remote controlled airplanes, but before you dismiss it, some farfetched scheme consider this, the accused mastermind has a degree in physics.
He was arrested after sharing the plan with FBI agents posing as al Qaeda operatives. The Massachusetts man is a U.S. citizen and planned to fly the explosive laden planes into the Pentagon and U.S. capitol.
Fran Townsend is former Homeland Security adviser to President Bush. She's now a CNN national security contributor. Last hour, she told me how serious this threat was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: This is a guy who not only had intent, but capability in the counterterrorism world that's where the real serious threats are. This is a guy who literally had gone to Washington, done surveillance to understand distances, to the capitol, to the Pentagon to use these remote drones.
He rented a storage facility. He made clear to a cooperating witness according to the complaint that he was driven to do this. That he had to do it. It was the only way to sort of take revenge on the enemies of Allah and so I think this was a pretty serious case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The FBI said the man planned a second phase of those attacks after the plane struck the Capitol and Pentagon. He wanted teams of snipers to actually mow down the people as they evacuated the burning buildings.
Later today lawmakers in the House are expected to approve the spending bill that got so much attention earlier this week. CNN's Athena Jones on Capitol Hill. So Athena, is it now a done deal?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it's definitely not a done deal, Kyra. This is really just a band-aid to get the govern through Tuesday, October 4th, just get them past the weekend.
The House is still going to have to take up a longer short-term measure to fund the government. That would fund them through November 18th. So this is a pro-forma session. The House is in recess this weekend. So they hold a session like this where only a few members are needed to be present.
At 11:00, we're told that Maryland Representative Andy Harris will double in to start the session, to preside over the session. Texas Representative John Culberson will be the one to formally present this motion, which is called a continuing resolution to formally present that motion to be taken up, the measure to be taken up.
It will be passed by unanimous consent. These are all technical terms, but what it really means is that the House is giving their stamp of approval to what the Senate passed last week. The compromise the Senate was able to reach last week.
But it's all a temporary thing. As I said, it just gets us through the weekend to keep the government from shutting down tomorrow night at midnight. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. Athena, thanks.
Then from the Hill to presidential politics now, GOP candidate Herman Cain may not be winning a lot of new support from his fellow African-American voters. He says that most of them are brainwashed.
Deputy political director Paul Steinhouser in Washington. Paul, sharp words getting a lot of attention. What do you think? Did he hurt himself?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Kyra, if Herman Cain's goal was to win the Republican presidential nomination, maybe not. There are not a lot of African-Americans who are Republican voters.
Take a look at this. This was 2008 exit polls. You can see right there, African-Americans overwhelmingly voting for then Senator Obama against McCain. African-Americans traditionally voting for Democrats. Our Wolf Blitzer asked Herman Cain about that on "THE SITUATION ROOM" yesterday. Here's how it went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because many African- Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. So it's just brainwashing and people not being open-minded pure and simple.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": That's a strong word to talk about your fellow African-Americans brainwashed.
CAIN: For two-thirds of them, Wolf, that's the case. Now, the good news is I happen to believe that a third to 50 percent of black Americans in this country, they are open-minded. I meet them every day. They stop me in the airport.
So this whole notion that all black Americans are necessarily going to stay and vote Democrat and vote for Obama, that's simply not true. More and more black americans are thinking for themselves and that's a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Herman Cain has a good way of making news. He did it once again with those controversial comments, Kyra. The story has been trending online big time.
PHILLIPS: As you can imagine. We'll probably keep talking about it too for a bit of time. Paul, thanks.
A little later this hour, we're going to look at President Obama's relationship with the black community. Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian reports on that.
This morning, there are some glimmers of optimism in the economy. Christine Romans in New York. You know, the new numbers on jobs and economic growth pretty bad, but not quite as bad, I guess, as we expected.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. That's what this is all about. When you can find any little sign in the economic data, Kyra, that it might not be a double dip recession, that's something. That is encouraging for investors and certainly encouraging for people who are trying to fight a foot hold in the labor market.
What we have from the latest weekly jobless claims is 391,000 people in the most recent week that government measures signed up for unemployment benefits. Anything under 400,000 is seen as a sign of improvement in the labor market. The government itself cited some technical issues that's what they called it and seasonal adjustment volatility saying that there were a couple of technical factors that might have kept it low.
But when you look at the four-week moving average, I looked at that too, that's also down. Also there was a GDP report that showed the economy grew in April, May and June at about 1.3 percent. That's a little better than people thought. Certainly we want an economy growing more strongly than this. No question.
Certainly that's not enough jobs growth or economic growth to start creating a whole bunch of new jobs. But it does step us back from the brink of is it a double dip recession? It certainly does that, 1.3 percent better than we have thought shows a little bit of stability in the economy.
And many economists this morning are telling me quite frankly they think the third quarter might have been a little bit better. They are certainly hoping it was. That's one of the reasons why you have stocks up 200 points on the Dow.
Also Europe, some positive signs overnight from Europe. So at least for today, in the horse race that is the stock market these days, at least for today, Kyra, we are winning the race at least your 401(k) isn't getting hammered today. Kyra --
PHILLIPS: There you go. We like seeing that rally. We like being in positive territory especially at 213 points at 10:09 Eastern Time. Christine, thanks.
In Paris, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former disgraced chief the International Monetary Fund goes face-to-face with another accuser. This time, it's a French woman who claims he attacked her eight years ago. CNN's Zain Verjee following that story for us out of London. So catch us up on this alleged rape first, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. Well, you know, this idea of a confrontation in France on a case like this tends to happen often. You get them face-to-face in a room over at the police station. No lawyers are present and the police is.
That's pretty much what happened. They didn't talk to each other directly, but the police were asking them individual questions just to see what exactly they were saying or if there was anything incoherent or weird that they could pick up that was going on.
Now the woman is a writer. Her name is Tristan Banon and she's accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape and of trying to rip off her clothes and said that she was kicking and punching him, but he was trying to force himself on her. Strauss-Kahn says that he made advances, but there was nothing violent at all.
In fact, he is suing her for slander. The woman, Tristan Banon, also says that she wanted to be in front of Dominique Strauss- Kahn and look him in the eye and make sure that he knew that she didn't imagine anything that was going on.
So what happens next, Kyra? Basically, the police, they write a report. They hand it over to a judge. The judge will decide whether to drop it, whether to investigate further or go straight to a trial, Kyra --
PHILLIPS: All right. Zain Verjee, thanks so much.
Still ahead, an imprisoned American enters a decisive day in court. We'll tell you about the final arguments challenging the murder conviction of Amanda Knox.
Prince William cuts the ribbon of a new cancer treatment center for children. We'll tell you his connection to his mother, Princess Diana.
Later, you may have seen the ad about those tennis shoes that firm up your backside, well, if you thought it was too good to be true, you're right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Cool live pictures coming out of Washington for us right now. These are engineers that you are seeing rappelling down the Washington Monument. You may remember after the earthquake some cracks were discovered there in the monument and it was closed down while they decided how they were going to assess the damage and how to fix it.
So for two days now, the engineers have been rappelling on this landmark to try to figure out how bad it is and how exactly they're going to fix it. Still closed down by the way hoping it will open up soon once all those repairs are made.
Other stories cross country now. Today, the state of Alabama begins enforcing what some call the toughest immigration laws in the nation. It comes amid protests and after a federal judge upheld key parts of the measure as constitutional. The law allows police to verify immigration status of suspects already in custody.
In Eastern Pennsylvania, more flooding woes for residents still trying to dry out from Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month. Recent heavy rains have made cleanup more frustrating.
In Wokesberry, there are concerns a hotel may collapse from the flood damage there.
And plenty of job seekers in Louisville, Kentucky. Yesterday, GE discontinued taking applications after 6,000 people applied in less than an hour. Well, this morning in an Italian courtroom, final arguments have wrapped up in the case of Amanda Knox, the American woman convicted of killing her roommate. Paula Newton is covering the proceedings for us. So, Paula, how is the appeal going?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, the language that I'm hearing this morning, her defense basically saying that Amanda Knox was crucified, their words, in the media during this entire trial.
And that not only did the media crucify her, but afterwards the prosecution used a lot of that opinion against her to use what they call a lot of flawed evidence, contaminated evidence, DNA that doesn't make sense in order to convict her.
Now to remind everyone right now she's serving a 26-year sentence and what she's trying to do is to get that sentence overturned. Her lawyers right now calling for her to be completely absolved of this crime.
I was here two years ago for the verdict. This is a completely different defense that I see. I spoke with Amanda's father briefly and he said he agrees. He believes the defense is much more sure about the way they can fight this case right now and also saying that, look, they've gotten to know Amanda.
They are passionate about the fact that she's innocent and he feels that's a good sign. At the same time though, Kyra, you know, you watch that prosecution. They're sitting there and they want to get out of their seats.
And a couple of times they've actually interjected in the proceedings, which they're not supposed to do. This is still an incredibly contested case and the media attention I think even more heightened than it was during the original verdict about two years ago. Kyra --
PHILLIPS: So, Paula, what do you think the verdict would be handed down?
NEWTON: So what's going to happen is we're really reaching a climax here, very dramatic event Monday morning. Both Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito will get about 15 minutes to have this personal appeal to the courtroom.
After that they start deliberations. That's Monday. We do expect a ruling on Monday and I'll tell you why. Most times these jurists, they are eight of them, they sit in a room and they can go for hours and hours, but mainly they try and take the one day and sort it out.
And they'll decide whether or not they reduce the sentence or uphold the original ruling or throw out that original conviction and give her full exoneration.
PHILLIPS: Paula Newton live from Italy for us. Paula, thanks. A U.S. senate delegation is in the Libyan capital to assess the situation there and meet with transitional leaders. Senator John McCain is part of that group. He says that the new government faces huge challenges, but they are making progress.
I asked him about the old government when he joined us live last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: How active is the search for Moammar Gadhafi right now?
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think it's very active. Just recently heard a rumor that he may be in Algeria now, but you know, you have heard all kinds of rumors. There's no doubt that he's done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The other members of McCain's delegation, Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and Mark Kirk.
Helping the youngest victims of cancer. We're going to tell you what Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are doing and the connection to his mom, Princess Diana.
What TV actresses make the most money? "Forbes" says Tina Fey is tied for first. We'll tell you who she's sharing her title with coming up next in showbiz headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Prince William and Kate have picked up the baton once carried by the late Princess Diana and they're helping the youngest victims of cancer. Max Foster has more on today's ceremony. Tell us about it, Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, still taking place here in the hospital. This is a new ward for children with cancer, 31 beds dealing with 5,000 day patients a year, a very big unit here for the U.K. What's interesting about it is that this was a hospital supported previously by Princess Diana and William became president of the hospital after Diana passed away.
So a cause very close to William's heart and also to Diana's of course. They've arrived just a short time ago. The Duchess arriving and everyone making parallels with the Duchess and Diana because this was a cause so close to her heart and arriving here a short time ago.
This ward was paid for entirely by charity nearly $30 million worth of charitable donations. The prince is one of its key fundraisers here to see how it went and everyone pleased to see them.
PHILLIPS: We understand that, Max, Prince William didn't get much sleep last night, did he? FOSTER: No, he didn't. He was out. He's an RF helicopter search and rescue pilot and he turned up looking a bit weary and we're told that he was on a 24-hour shift. And he only finished that shortly before arriving here and there were two rescues overnight.
He rescued a young sailor from a Royal Navy vessel and someone mountaineering in the mountains. He had a head injury. That was all overnight U.K. time and he came straight here, but he's still in there throwing himself into it. We'll get pictures of him in the ward coming up as well, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Max, just quickly, everybody behind you, I'm assuming those are all folks that just want to get a glimpse of the royals, the very popular couple, right?
FOSTER: Yes. It's interesting you say that, but not really on the scale of Diana's day I have to say. In the back they are general public and in front you see some volunteers. I have to say there are children here earlier on.
And the Duke and Duchess went past them without picking up their flowers so they were crying. I've arranged for children to come back out and see them on the way out. So hopefully they'll pick up flowers on the way out.
PHILLIPS: There we go, Max, you need to orchestrate that better. Those kids need the love for sure. I'm glad you paid attention to that, Max. Max Foster there in London.
All right, let's get to your showbiz headlines. A letter addressed to "Dancing with the Stars" caused a brief scare at CBS studios. Inside white powder examined and tested for anthrax, but ultimately the L.A. Police say it was harmless.
According to "Forbes," Tina Fey and Eva Longoria are highest paid actresses in television. Each one of them hauled in $13 million this past year. The top ten collectively earned 94 million.
You can own the wedding ring that Joe Dimaggio put on Marilyn Monroe's finger in 1954. It's expected to fetch as much as $500,000 at an auction of Hollywood memorabilia and also for sale, a pair of ruby red slippers from "The Wizard of Oz." Three-day auction begins December 15th.
Coming up, Herman Cain says there's a disconnect between his party and some black voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Many African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded and not considering a conservative point of view.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We'll tackle that in "Political Buzz" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now. Outgoing joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen is sticking by his controversial comments about Pakistan's spy service. Mullen says elements in that agency are very active with insurgent groups attacking U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Update on the case of Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting spree that wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The "New York Times" reports a judge has ruled that Loughner will spend four more months in a psychiatric facility then a decision could be made on whether his confident to stand trial.
And Dominique Strauss-Kahn faced off today with the French woman who's accused him of attempted rape. The ex-IMF chief and his accuser answered questions by police in Paris.
All right, "Political Buzz." Your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock and playing today, Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, founder of Susan Jane Politics, Patricia Murphy and CNN contributor, Will Cain.
Guys, first question. Herman Cain tells our Wolf Blitzer why he thinks there's a disconnect between his party and black voters. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Why is the Republican Party basically poison for so many African-Americans?
CAIN: Because many African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. It's just brainwashing and people not being open-minded pure and simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Brainwashing. What do you think, Maria?
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Herman Cain always said that he was going to bring humor to the White House. Look, I think this is more of a frustration from an African-American candidate who is running for a political party who has done nothing for the last 20 or 30 years.
But shun and methodically and systematically ignore a very important voting population, which is African-American voters, but instead of whining and insulting two-thirds of African-American voters, he should go reprimand his own party.
And ask them to stop protecting the wealthy 1 percent of Americans and do something for the middle class and working class voters in this country. The majority of which fall within the category of African-American voters in those.
PHILLIPS: Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Eighty-five percent, Kyra. African- Americans vote overwhelming in the mid 80s for Democratic candidates. That's much higher than any other racial group. And I don't care what your beliefs are, that's not a healthy characteristic.
That lack of diversity of thought is not a healthy characteristic. Now I wouldn't use the word brainwashing, but I would use the word groupthink. And I would say it's very frustrating as a conservative because conservatism values individualism over identifying people in groups whether racial or economic groups, and for a group of people, black Americans, who have been so consistently denied to be thought of as individuals, I find it very frustrating they would not -- this ideology would not appeal to them.
PHILLIPS: Patricia?
PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER AND EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: I think that I would not use the word brainwashing. I would use the word loyalty. There is an enormous amount of loyalty among African- Americans to Democrats. But Democrats made the exact same argument about white evangelicals -- they said that white evangelicals suffer from groups saying they're being brainwashed. And that they're not open minded to -- to Democratic argument.
So I think you see these kinds of accusations on both sides. What this doesn't give voters credit for, they're just voting for the group that they trust. They're voting for the group that they think they have a lot in common with.
To Herman Cain, specifically, he does have an incredible life story. I think Democrats would be more open to him if they paid more attention to his life story. He gets -- I think because he's a conservative, he's not getting enough of a look from Democrats.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, it looks like as many times as Chris Christie says no we're going to still continue to talk about him because now Mitt Romney is weighing in on Chris Christie running for the White House. He tells "The Wall Street Journal," quote, I think it would be fun if he got in," end quote.
Would voters have as much fun, you think, or are they ready to whittle down the pack instead of adding yet another player? Will?
CAIN: I don't understand this. I don't understand people that suggest we should be whittling down the pack and they're frustrated by the prospects of other candidates jumping in. I mean unless you're just a fan boy of Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann, and you picked your candidate and you've got your pom-poms out, and you're cheering for them already, I don't understand why it would be problematic to add another possibly smart, logical principled conservative to the field. I -- I fail to see the problem here.
PHILLIPS: Maria? CARDONA: I would certainly find it fun, Kyra, but I think it represents a frustration on behalf of Republican voters because they are clearly still looking for their knight in shining armor. They're not satisfied with the current crop of candidates but I think it's sort of interesting that it's now down to the point of harassment and almost stalking Chris Christie who has said very clearly that he doesn't feel that he is ready to be president right now.
If he jumps in now, he's basically already written the ad for his opponents in that very same quote. He says he doesn't have the fire in the belly. Let's take him for his word. But it's a frustration on behalf of Republican voters.
PHILLIPS: Patricia?
MURPHY: I think that Chris Christie would be pure entertainment on the campaign trail. I would give anything for him to get in. I think that's why reporters are writing about it so much. He is totally unpredictable. He's somebody who is a competent governor. He's very popular in New Jersey.
But he also does things that you would never expect a politician to do. He had a New Jersey woman call him and say -- call into a radio show and say, why are your kids go into private schools, and he looked into the camera and said, it's none of your business.
You know that's the kind -- that's the kind of reaction from Chris Christie you wouldn't get from any other politician. And it would be great for reporters if he get into this race. I don't know it would feel for the rest of the Republican field, though.
PHILLIPS: All right, your buzzer meter. Twenty seconds on this one. My guess is it might go a little longer once you see the pictures. Take a look at a 6-foot Rick Perry Chia head for sale on eBay. Are you ready for this? It's $4,500. OK.
Now in 2009 you might remember this one, President Obama, he got the Chia treatment. I can't remember how much that went for.
So let me ask you guys this. Who would you like to see turn into a Chia pet and what seed would you like to plant in their head? Will?
CAIN: You know what, Kyra, I guess on a serious note. I'm going to go with Anthony Kennedy. Anthony Kennedy is the only vote that matters on the Supreme Court. He is the swing vote. And as of today we know that the Obama care health care plan is going to make its way to the Supreme Court in the next year.
Anthony Kennedy's vote is the only vote that matters. I'd plant the seed of originalism in his brain and hopefully this all worked out.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I could see that as a Chia pet. But OK. I'm trying.
Maria? CARDONA: A six-foot Rick Perry Chia head. That is just enough to give me nightmares, Kyra. I just don't even want to think about that. But in terms of who I think would be fun, I think a Ron Paul closet cannabis seed in there. Imagine how popular that Chia head would be. Or Newt Gingrich with fig leaf seeds and you would have the Gingrich Fig-Newt?
PHILLIPS: My gosh. She's so clever. Patricia?
MURPHY: I think Will should not go into the Chia pet business. Nobody would buy Anthony Kennedy.
(CROSSTALK)
MURPHY: Worst idea I ever heard.
PHILLIPS: Will prefer a philosophical response obviously.
MURPHY: Yes, I know. But I would go with -- I need a Sarah Palin Chia pet and she doesn't need any more seeds planted in her head.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: All right now, admit it, guys, each one of you has owned a Chia pet at sometime in your life?
MURPHY: I never did.
CAIN: No.
PHILLIPS: My gosh, you're so boring.
CARDONA: I got one as a gift, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK.
CARDONA: And I actually loved it. This was when I was a lot younger, of course.
PHILLIPS: Yes, of course.
CARDONA: But I'll take a Ron Paul cannabis Chia pet tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. All right, guys. I will talk to you again very soon.
MURPHY: Thank, Kyra.
CARDONA: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, let's go to Carter Evans at the New York Stock Exchange where stocks are rallying thanks to some pretty positive economic reports.
Carter, what's the take now? CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, both of the economic reports we got today are better than expected. And you know it's surprising because we pretty much have been set up for disappointing economic reports recently.
We got -- this week we got new home sales. We found out they fell. We got consumer confidence. That barely budged. But today we find out that layoffs are slowing and the economy is still growing. Good news. Keep in mind we need to see a downward trend in jobless claims. Not just one week of declines. And we're not there yet.
And economic growth is pretty weak right now but Wall Street is focusing on the positive today. The Dow currently up about 177 points -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I'm so disappointed. All this talk about these tennis shoes that shape up the backside, it's just -- it's not true.
(LAUGHTER)
EVANS: Who would have guessed, right? Well, if you've got --
PHILLIPS: It's too good to be true.
(LAUGHTER)
EVANS: Yes. So we're talking about these Reebok shoes that's supposed to shape your butt, easy tone or run tone. Also included in this. If you own those, you could get a refund. Here's why. Just go to the FTC Web site. There is $25 million settlement between Reebok and the FTC. Now the FTC basically said that Reebok used deceptive advertising.
You're watching one of the commercials right now. The ad say that the shoes tone your butt and legs more than other shoes. Well, the FTC says those claims need to be supported by sound science. No buts there.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Carter Evans, thank you so much.
Well, baseball's playoff dreams go on for two clubs but end for two others. We've got the highlights from last night's big games next.
And in politics, African-American voters helped sweep Barack Obama into office. Can he count on their support now? Dan Lothian reports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, baseball's playoffs start tomorrow but no way they can top last night's excitement.
Don Riddell is here. So what do you think, Don? Best ever regular season ending?
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think so. Unless you're a Red Sox fan or a Braves fan. How could you possibly disagree? I don't think any sport anywhere around the world could match last night for the incredible drama and I think it will be remembered as the most dramatic night in regular season history.
And this of course goes back a month when you consider how this has built up. We're going to start with the Red Sox game against the Yankees. Remember, the Red Sox had a nine-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays on September 3rd. But it all came down to that. Carl Crawford dropped the ball. Nolan Reimold came home to score, giving the Orioles a 4-3 win against the Red Sox. That coming after an hour and a half rain delay.
Let's go to the Rays game against the Yankees. The Rays -- if they won this would be going into the playoffs. They were 7-0 down going into the eighth inning but Evan Longoria's second homerun of the game gave them an absolutely thrilling win there.
You can see what that meant to them even though they were so far back in the wild card race just three weeks ago. They are the wild card team from the American League.
PHILLIPS: So what happened in the National League?
RIDDELL: It was just as dramatic. The Cardinals, they did it. They came from way back from just a few weeks ago. They were 10-and- a-half games behind Atlanta but they got a pretty easy win last night. They were in action against the Astros. You're watching a montage of their RBIs. They won that game comfortably. They could then retire to the locker room to see what would happened with the Braves.
The Braves had to win by this point but they lost a ninth inning lead. It went to the 13th inning. And then the Phillies' Hunter Pence scored the winning run in the 13th inning. You would expect that result from the Phillies. They're the best team in baseball this season. But the Braves will be absolutely kicking themselves. They threw it away in the last month as well.
And you know what? Both the Braves and Red Sox, if they were able to keep ninth inning leads, they wouldn't be in this mess that they're in. And for the Red Sox they just suffered their worst ever September. For a team that won the World Series twice in the last eight years, that is pretty catastrophic. And I do wonder if heads will roll at the Red Sox.
PHILLIPS: Kind of sounds like you're a Phillies fan.
RIDDELL: I'm just a baseball fan and that was brilliant.
PHILLIPS: Don, talk to you later.
President Obama won the White House with overwhelming support from African-Americans but now some of that support is fading.
Dan Lothian takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On 95.5 FM, one of Washington, D.C.'s top urban radio stations, Darian "Big Tigger" Morgan serves up a blend of music, edgy morning talk and commercials. But off-mike there's a more serious tone when he's asked about President Obama.
DARIAN "BIG TIGGER" MORGAN, 95.5. WPGC: His level of expectations in the community however unrealistic is higher for him to, quote-unquote, "help" us. That being said, I still think that lots of people are very, very supportive of President Obama.
LOTHIAN: But in a searing opinion piece in the "Washington Post," columnist Courtland Milloy wrote, "It's hard to see how the plight of black people could get any worse even under a President Cain," referring to the conservative Republican hopeful.
The managing editor of "The Root," a daily online African- American magazine has heard the exasperation.
JOEL DREYFUSS, MANAGING EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: There's a segment in the community that feels that he could have targeted more efforts toward the African-American community. I don't think politically it's feasible in this country.
LOTHIAN: One big criticism, that the president has not addressed the high unemployment rate among blacks, which the Bureau of Labor statistics puts at 16.7 percent. Much higher than the national average.
DREYFUSS: For African-Americans it has been absolutely devastating in the last four or five years. You know, as badly as the majority community, the white community has been affected, it's been even worse for blacks.
LOTHIAN: Courting his base, the president sat down for a one-on- one interview with BET and also gave a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus where he acknowledged the economic crisis had taken a toll on an already hard hit black community.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've got to be a little crazy to have faith during such hard times.
LOTHIAN: Representative Maxine Waters was pleased that the president gave recognition to a problem some feel he's ignored.
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: And that's extremely important that people understand that the president gets it.
LOTHIAN: But a little air leaked out of that warm feeling when the president seemed to chastise African-American leaders in the same speech.
OBAMA: I expect all of you to march with me and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining.
LOTHIAN: Representative Waters found the comment, quote, "curious" and speculated Mr. Obama had gone off-script. A White House official confirmed it was an adlib but insisted it was meant as a rallying cry.
While some African-Americans may be frowning at the president, they aren't smiling at the options.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to talk about that whole situation coming up --
LOTHIAN: Which is why Morgan who voted for Mr. Obama remains optimistic.
MORGAN: I think that they'll come back out again. It's about engaging them. It's about speaking to them directly or indirectly about what issues affect them.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The question is will the president be able to generate the kind of enthusiasm that sent a lot of young black voters to the polls for him in 2008? If in fact the race is tight, some believe that could be the difference.
Dan Lothian, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, coming up, with 13 deaths already from tainted cantaloupe, the FDA is fighting to track down every last bad fruit. We'll have details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Contaminated cantaloupes are blamed for at least 13 deaths across the country now. Dozens more people are sick and while a big recall has been issued, health officials expect this listeria outbreak, well, it's going to get even worse.
Joining us from the CDC, Dr. Chris Braden. He's a medical epidemiologist.
So, Dr. Braden, tell me why you are so worried at this point.
DR. CHRIS BRADEN, CDC MEDICAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Well, there's a couple of things about this outbreak that make it very difficult. Number one, as you had said before, we expect that there may be more cases involved and this is for two reasons. One is that we expect that cases will increase because the incubation period, that is the time between when a patient or a person actually eats the cantaloupe and when they get sick, can be quite long.
Average one to three weeks but can even be longer than that, up to two months. So even if people were exposed before, we would expect probably to see more cases coming and the case numbers to increase. And likely they may be more deaths even in that number. So that's one reason why we think that this might be getting bigger.
But the other thing is, that even though the cantaloupe has been recalled, we want to make sure that people don't have this in their homes. So the way that they can make sure that they don't have it in their homes is to identify where the cantaloupe came from. If it has a label that says Jensen Farm, it needs to be thrown away. Don't eat it. If you're not sure, it should be discarded.
Other ways to find out is you could also contact, you know, the grocer where you bought the fruits and see if they know where it came from. But again, if you're not sure, it's better just throw it away. In that way we don't get more cases because people are still getting exposed.
PHILLIPS: Now this is actually the first time that we know of that listeria has been found in cantaloupe. So have you figured out how the fruit got contaminated?
BRADEN: Well, that's something of an ongoing investigation and as you say, it's the first time that cantaloupe has been identified as a source of an outbreak for this deadly bacteria called listeria. So it's a bit of a puzzle for us as to where in the whole process of growing and packaging and distribution it might have been contaminated and that's a part of an ongoing investigation, a very important piece of the puzzle.
PHILLIPS: Before I let you go, isn't it just safe just to toss cantaloupe out, period, if you have it? I mean why take the risk? It's killing people.
BRADEN: Well, if it's not this particular cantaloupe from this farm, there's no indication that it's a risk and so if you know it's not from this farm, it's OK to eat that.
PHILLIPS: OK.
BRADEN: So fruits and vegetables are a good thing for healthy lifestyle. We need to remember that.
PHILLIPS: Of course. Dr. Chris Braden, thanks so much.
Well, coming up, lots of Republicans hot for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to jump into the presidential race. We're going to tell you about a meeting today that could spark even more speculation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're still monitoring those engineers there on the Washington monument. Yes, we've been talking about this for a number of weeks now. When the earthquake happened, pretty much rocking D.C., shocked a lot of people, some cracks were discovered in the Washington monument.
There were actually tourists inside that monument when the earthquake happened. And after that -- well, everyone of course got out safely but after that engineers noticed that some damage did occur. So what they've been doing inch by inch, literally, for two days now starting from the top slowly working their way down each side of that monument looking for cracks and assessing how dangerous it could be if they need to repair them or not, and so we're following it hoping that it will reopen for tourists soon.
Stories that are making news later today. Next hour the House of Representatives is set to vote on a temporary funding bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown.
And at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, NASA holds a news conference on when its asteroid hunting spacecraft called WISE has recently discovered.
And at 5:30 Eastern in Baton Rouge, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joins Governor Bobby Jindal for a GOP fundraiser.
And next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, day three of the Dr. Conrad Murray trial. Court starts 11:45 a.m. Today's testimony is from paramedics on the scene as well as Jackson's security guard who's expected to testify about Murray's actions at the time of Michael Jackson's death.
And next Texas Governor Rick Perry backtracks on something that he said during last week's debate. We're going to talk about it next in our "Political Ticker."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Looks like Texas Governor Rick Perry is dialing back his heartless comment.
Jim Acosta, give us a little more context and what's happening now.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as you know Texas Governor Rick Perry has been doing some damage control this week after that debate performance last Thursday and it was during that debate when Rick Perry said that perhaps his other challengers might not have the heart when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration.
This all came up because of this subject of whether or not the children of undocumented workers should get in-state tuition. It's a law that was passed down in Texas and it's a law that has haunted Rick Perry out on the campaign trail and in these debates.
Well, Perry said well, maybe you guys don't have a heart when it comes to this issue and then yesterday in an interview with "Newsmax" magazine which is a conservative magazine, Perry seemed, as you said, to dial back those remarks. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For people who don't want their state to be giving tuition to illegal aliens, illegal immigrants in this country, that's their call. And I respect that. And I was -- you know, I was probably a bit over passionate about using that word and it was inappropriate. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So there you have it. Perry calling that inappropriate, a sign that he knows he's got some explaining to do on that comment that he made at that debate.
Another story that we're watching, Kyra, is Chris Christie. We've been talking about him all this week. The New Jersey governor is flirting with a presidential run. He meets with the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, later on this afternoon and you're going to have a lot of politicos basically saying, look, maybe this should be the ticket for 2012. We'll have to wait and see.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks.
We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can just go to our Web site, of course, 24/7, CNNPolitics.com.
That does it for us. We're back here bright and early, 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Suzanne Malveaux in the hot seat.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: In the hot seat.
Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
