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GOP Candidates Debate the Economy; U.S. Iranian Terror Plot Foiled; Israel-Hamas Prisoner Swap Deal; NBA Lockout Hurting Smaller Pro Cities; Celebs Party with Controversial Leader; U.S.: Iranian Terror Plot Foiled; Dissecting Cain's 999 Tax Plan; Jurors Hear Dr. Murray Tape; Antelope Crashes into Mountain Biker

Aired October 12, 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: Good morning, guys. Thanks so much.

This morning we begin with presidential politics and a reality check from last night's Republican debate. The focus on the economy, but the spotlight squarely on Herman Cain. His surprising surge in recent surge polls means he's wearing a bigger bulls-eye.

Jim Acosta was at the showdown. He joins us now from Hanover, New Hampshire.

So, Jim, what do you think? How did Cain do?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, with all of that talk about the 999 plan last night, Kyra, I thought it was the plug for the 9:00 show. That's what I thought about last night's debate.

No, you know, you probably could read the thought bubble coming out of Mitt Romney's head last night. He was basically saying, I could get used to this because so much of the attention at this debate was focused on Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza. Probably felt like one of his own pizzas because those rivals at that table were turning up the heat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's 999. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Herman Cain found out what happens to GOP candidates who shoot up in the polls. They become big targets.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, I think the devil's in the details.

ACOSTA: Take 999, Cain's economic plan to scrap the country's current tax system and replace it with one that sets rates for individuals and corporation at 9 percent. It would also create a new 9 percent national sales tax.

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's a catchy phrase. In fact, I thought it was the price of a pizza when I first heard about it. Here's what we need. We need something that is doable, doable, doable.

CAIN: 999 will pass. And it's not the price of a pizza.

ACOSTA: But it was getting sliced up by the other candidates sitting at the table.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many people here are for a sales tax in New Hampshire? Raise your hand.

There you go, Herman.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you keep mentioning 999 and Herman Cain, I might have to go back to him every other question.

ACOSTA: Feeling confident about his plan's dominant role in the debate, Cain served it up to GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney who promptly sent it back to the kitchen.

CAIN: Can you name all 59 points in your 160-page plan?

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Herman, I've had the experience in my life of taking on some tough problems. And I must admit that simple answers are always very helpful but oftentimes inadequate.

ACOSTA: The candidates were also pressed on whether the financial crisis should have led to more prosecutions on Wall Street. Newt Gingrich fingered Democrats in Washington.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you want to put people in jail -- I want to second what Michele said -- you ought to start with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and let's look at the politicians who created the environment, the politicians who profited from the environment and the politicians who put this country in trouble.

ACOSTA: Rick Perry who struggled in past debates did not get the breakout performance he probably needed. He seemed sluggish in plugging his soon-to-be-unveiled economic plan, designing to offer up any specifics.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Opening up a lot of the areas of our domestic energy area. That's the real key. Listen, I'm not going to lay it out all for you tonight. You know Mitt's had six years to be working on a plan. I've been in this for about eight weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And Herman Cain took most of the abuse last night. He probably should get used to that sort of treatment, considering his current standing at the polls, which is basically right at Mitt Romney's heels. During the middle of the debate last night, the Michele Bachmann campaign sent out an e-mail predicting that the Cain 999 economic plan would wreck the U.S. economy and for Herman Cain to trick now in terms of winning this nomination is to convince Republican voters that his 999 plan is more than just delivery pizza style marketing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Or plugging the 9:00 a.m. hours since you pointed that out at the beginning.

Jim Acosta there from Hanover.

ACOSTA: Exactly. That's right.

PHILLIPS: Jim, thanks so much.

Well, just after the bottom of the hour at 9:35 Eastern, we're going to talk to Julianna Goldman -- Goldman, rather. She's one of the journalists that took part in the debate last night. She's going to share her thoughts on the key moments with us as well. Who performed well, who didn't.

And don't forget next Tuesday night, live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president gather in Las Vegas to debate the issues and sway voters. The "Western Republican President Debate," CNN Tuesday night 8:00 Eastern.

All right, we're digging up new details on a terror plot that's being compared to a Hollywood who-done-it. An Iranian American man is in custody accused of plotting to kill a Saudi envoy on U.S. soil. A manhunt is under way for an alleged accomplice, a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Now Washington says elements of Iran's government plotted the assassination and this morning U.S. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to get tougher on Iran. But some lawmakers say that's not enough. Republican Congressman Peter King is calling the plot an act of war and says the U.S. should not dismiss the idea of military action.

Also this morning, Vice President Joe Biden says nothing has been taken off the table.

All right, we're covering all the angles for you this morning. Barbara Starr working your sources at the Pentagon. Reza Sayah is in Islamabad.

Barbara, let's go ahead and start with you. Is some sort of military action being discussed here?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, Kyra, the answer to that is no.

Look, you know the Pentagon always says all options are on the table. And that is the standard language. But all of our sources are indicating there's no indication of that yet. It would come, of course, at the direction of the president. One of the key problems is, if you want to do military action, what would you strike? What would your targets be?

What you're talking about here is the Revolutionary Guard core, Quds force, these are group of people that make up the most militant wing of the Iranian military. What they are still trying to pin down is whether this plot actually went beyond them. Did it really go all the way to the top, to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and to Iran supreme leader?

These are some of the key intelligence questions on the table. Right now, however, they are sticking with sanctions, financial sanctions, and the possibility of taking this to the U.N. Security Council. Look for this to stay in the diplomatic and the sanctions arena, at least for now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon -- Barbara, thanks.

Let's get over to Reza Sayah now in Islamabad.

So, Reza, what exactly is Iran saying about this alleged plot?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What Tehran's reaction, Kyra, has been predictable. They've issued a strong and sometimes mocking denial, the spokesperson for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, describing this as a children's story, saying this is all a fabrication by the Obama administration to distract the American public from problems at home like unemployment and a faltering economy.

When it comes to the two men who were charged, we asked the president's office if they knew who they were, they say they did not, but they say they're working to find out more about them and if it is determined, if it's verified, they say that they are Iranian citizens, they're going to reach out to them and give them some sort of help. It's not clear what that help is going to be at this point.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll follow the story, Reza, with you, as well as Barbara Starr out of the Pentagon. Thank you so much.

Now overseas an Israeli soldier captured by the Palestinian militant group Hamas more than five years ago will soon be heading home. This news comes after the two sides agree to a prisoner swap deal.

CNN's Max Foster is following this for us out of London.

Max, what do you know?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, Kyra, well, Gilad Shalit was only 19 when he was taken in 2006. He's been held ever since. There have been on-off negotiations to get him out and finally it does look as over there has been a deal reached and it seems welcomed on both sides actually.

You've had celebrations on the streets of Jerusalem and Gaza at the same time. And how often does that really happen? But it's worth noting that in terms of the Palestinians being released, they don't include the Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti or Hamas' Abdullah Barghouti. The high-profile Palestinian prisoners do stay behind bars, it seems.

But the world newspapers trying to make sense of what all of this really means. And the "Daily Telegraph" here in the UK saying, "Israel celebrates Gilad Shalit deal, but there is a price for his freedom." "The breakthrough that will lead to the most significant prisoner swap in recent history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was as dramatic as it was unexpected. No single recent issue has seared the collective consciousness of the Israeli public in quite the same manner as the plight of a young soldier."

And "The Global Mail" in Canada also takes on this story, saying, "Shalit's release is good news for Israel, but even better news actually for Hamas. Not only does Hamas get credit for winning the freedom of about one-sixth of the Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, it also catapults itself once again into the front ranks of the Palestinian leadership."

So there's certainly great developments on this conflict today, just because of one 19-year-old who was taken by the Palestinians back in 2006.

PHILLIPS: Well, we'll follow the release if indeed it does happen. Max, thanks.

The NBA lockout is more than just a bummer for fans, it's hurting people who aren't millionaire players and billionaire owners. People who depend on the games to make a living. That story coming up.

Plus, a family takes on a corn maze and the corn maze wins. They've got so lost in there they had to call 911.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So here's a look at stories making cross -- or making news "Cross Country" rather, starting with a huge drug bust in Arkansas. Seventy people charged with trafficking, five of them were police officers. Officials say that they took bribes to ignore the crimes.

And no one was seriously hurt when two motorcycles in President Obama's motorcade crashed last night. It happened on the way to the Orlando airport. The president was in Florida for fundraisers. Police say the bikes belonged to an Orlando cop and a Seminole County sheriff's officer.

And a Massachusetts family took too many wrong turns in a corn maze. They got so lost they had to call 911. Good thing mom brought her cell phone. The officers with police dogs found them about 25 feet from the perimeter and led them out.

Well, the first two weeks of NBA play are canceled. The entire season could be lost. Let's talk about what that means in places where the NBA is the only major pro sport, like Oklahoma City. The Thunder arrived last year and they were the toast of the town. They reached the conference finals, but the lockout is threatening to steal their thunder and, worse, take money from people who depend on that team to make a living.

Mayor Mick Cornett joining me live.

Mayor, how is that pro team changed your area? And it probably took a lot to get the team there.

MAYOR MICK CORNETT (R), OKLAHOMA CITY: Well, we certainly did go through a lot of trouble and certainly the team has been well supported. We sell out every game or nearly sell out every game. And as you mentioned, this lockout and the two-week cancellation does affect a lot of people in Oklahoma City.

Certainly the employees of the franchise. There's a lot of people that work the arenas on game night that count on this income for their livelihood. And so I'm just hoping that this lockout and the cancellations don't continue because the economic impact would start to increase.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about that economic impact. I mean, two weeks are already gone. The whole season in jeopardy now. What will suffer first from this if you don't get that cash?

CORNETT: Well, our economy is very strong. We're in some level of a boom-time economy in Oklahoma City. So we're very fortunate. We can handle the two games that I think have been canceled so far in that first two weeks of the season, the two home games. But if the entire season were to be canceled, that would be another story.

Plus Oklahoma City being a small market team gets a lot of very nice publicity from having a team that has advanced well into the playoffs, as you mentioned, last season. And so there's a -- you know, a superficial level of equality with bigger markets that when you have an NBA team your peer city seem to change and so we get a lot of branding opportunities and it allows us to promote Oklahoma City in a lot of ways that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise.

And so as you mentioned, it's our only team. And so if they don't play, we're hurting because of it.

PHILLIPS: So, if the season is lost, I mean that could mean that your city loses more than $60 million. How are you going to do deal with that? Is there any contingency plans for lost revenue?

CORNETT: There's not much of an effort to try and replace it. Certainly, you could do a few more concerts and get a little -- get a few more people into the arena. There'll be game nights that would open up, but you can't really replace an NBA season.

And we're fortunate that our economy is so strong, we can withstand it. But, you know, it's very regretful. And I'm just hoping that players and owners can get together on this. I know Commissioner Stern did not want to have to go this route. I know how much he cares about the employees and certainly those people that work on game nights.

And so, I'm hoping that they can get together and move forward.

PHILLIPS: Mayor Mick Cornett, thanks for your time this morning.

Up next, Hilary Swank and Jean-Claude Van Damme under fire for partying with a man accused of torture and human rights abuses.

Plus, if you're in the market for a time machine, you'll need at least 400,000 bucks. Details about a "Back to the Future" auction, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get your "Showbiz Headlines."

Pop star Rihanna is "Esquire" magazine's pick for the sexiest woman alive. The 23-year-old singer bares it all on the November cover which hit stands October 16th.

And singer Chynna Phillips and her partner got booted from the barroom on the "Dancing with the Stars." Phillips says she forgot some of the steps in this week's tango and takes full blame for being eliminated.

And if you have about $400,000, you might have a shot at this DeLorean used in the "Back to the Future" trilogy. That's predicted price of this time machine in an upcoming memorabilia auction in December. Part of the proceeds benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.

And little more Hollywood news for you. Hilary Swank and Jean- Claude Van Damme are being blasted for attending the birthday bash of a Chechen leader.

CNN's Max Foster with all the scoop -- Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is interesting this one, isn't it? Because you remember, Mariah Carey and Beyonce appearing before the Gadhafi family. It finally came out and they end up giving up a huge piece to charity.

And it looks like some new celebrities may be pressured to do the same thing after they appeared earlier this month on the 35th birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov. Just to describe him in the words of the Human Rights Foundation, they say he's linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses.

But he had this party and several people did perform. We understand that Van Damme, he stood on stage and proclaimed, "I love you, Mr. Kadyrov." So, it's a very awkward situation for him. People like Kevin Costner and Shakira, they turned down their invitations.

But this was a big event and he's a controversial figure. I'm not sure those stars got the advice from their agents that they perhaps should have done. Just to explain the sort of figures that they'll be getting to appear. The British violinist Vanessa Mae, not nearly as big a star, was paid half a million dollars, Kyra, just for appearing at that party.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, I mean -- and that was my question. You know, we knew what happened at Gadhafi's party, you know, with Beyonce and the like. You know, they got paid a lot of money to perform. And now, Swank and Van Damme -- do we know they received large amounts of money and are they even responding to this?

FOSTER: We haven't gotten the responses yet, but we know they appeared and we can assume that they did receive a fee for it. Swank, incidentally, reportedly wished Kadyrov happy birthday. These are sort of comments, along with Van Damme, are hugely controversial and upsetting to a lot of people. We'll see how they respond today. They may say see it's a legitimate performance, but there will be many human rights groups, particularly that don't agree.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And, finally -- I mean, do we even know, if -- are these two individuals that he's fond of? I mean, does he follow their movies and invited them because he likes their Hollywood work?

FOSTER: No. I mean, we don't know much about. But he's 35. You can imagine he watches these big Hollywood movies and follows American music. He's, obviously, interested in them, if you look at the guest list.

I'm assuming he invited all sorts of people. We know that Shakira turned down an invitation, for example. But these are the ones that accepted. So, it's difficult to read into the actual guest list because you don't know who he invited. But certainly a big interest in American culture, could say, the Chechens.

PHILLIPS: Sure. And we'd like to obviously hear from Swank and Van Damme to see why they actually chose to do that.

All right. Max, thanks.

Let's head to Alison Kosik at New York Stock Exchange with third quarter earning season is getting off to a pretty slow start.

Alison, what can we expect today?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Today, Europe remains in focus, Kyra. The issues in Europe is reaching ahead. We got more talk of a recession. Greece is getting closer to running out of money.

But sometimes, it's all about sentiment. It's why we're seeing stock futures in this country here higher because as things get worse, there is this optimism. There's this growing belief that something will get done.

In fact, today, we're expecting to hear more details about a plan to recapitalize European banks, basically getting their balance sheets in better order -- kind of a safety net if Greece should default. It sparked a small rally in Europe. That is spreading here once again. We've got arrows pointing up about 10 minute before the opening bell.

We've got investors looking past weak earnings from Alcoa, even though earnings could become a problem if Alcoa results are an indicator of what's to come this earning season -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A lot of people waking up to find their BlackBerrys weren't working. What's the deal?

KOSIK: What's the deal? I'm loving the serenity of not having my BlackBerry buzzing. How about you?

PHILLIPS: Actually. You know we need those minute by minute, especially on the working day. The weekends OK, not a problem.

KOSIK: You just said that for the bosses, Kyra. Come on. It's kind of nice.

But you know what? For RIM, Blackberry maker RIM, this is a big deal because these outages are happening all over the world, in Europe, in Mideast, Africa, India, Brazil it has been going on for three days now and now just hitting the U.S.

Now, what RIM is blaming what it calls a cord switch failure and says the backup switch didn't work either. Now, the company is apologizing, trying to get things up and running as quickly as possible.

You know what? There's not much margin for error at this point for BlackBerry because you know BlackBerry was once the leading corporate smartphone, but it's really losing market share as more and more workers are using their iPhones and iPads and Android-based smartphones. So, the competition is heating up and this certainly does not help the BlackBerry.

But it helps us who like the silence, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And take a little bit of a break. All right, Alison, I'll text you later.

All right. Coming up, the alleged assassination plot out of Iran gets stranger at every turn. A lot of questions about the motives and the methods. We're going to dig in to them with an FBI vet.

And Herman Cain in the hot seat over his 999 tax plan. He says it replaces death taxes, payroll taxes, personal income taxes and more. This morning, we're fact checking that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

Cheering in Israel and Gaza today after Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a prisoner swap deal. Israeli soldier captured by Hamas more than five years ago will be freed. In exchange, Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

President Obama says he's not giving up on his $474 billion jobs bill after it failed the Senate vote. The president says he'll try to pass the measure by breaking the measure into several smaller parts.

And in California, the trial for Michael Jackson's doctor could go to the jury next week.

Now, this morning, we've got new details on that terror plot to kill a Saudi envoy on U.S. soil. An Iranian American man is in custody and a manhunt is underway for his alleged accomplice, a member of Iran's revolutionary guard.

Now, Washington says that elements of Iran's government plotted this assassination. And this morning, U.S. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to get tougher on Iran. But some lawmakers say that sanctions are not enough.

Republican Congressman Peter King calls the plot an act of war and says the U.S. should not dismiss the idea of military action. Vice President Joe Biden even said this morning, quote, "Nothing has been taken off the table."

Well, this alleged plot has grabbed a lot of experts' interests because it's so unlike anything we've seen from Iran before. And it's unclear what they gain by it.

Tom Fuentes was assistant director of the FBI's international operations.

Tom, great to see you, again.

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Good morning, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We could easily talk about the long list of Iranian attacks on Americans, American interest overseas, but what makes this plot so talkable is it allegedly took place right here on our soil. Does that surprise you?

FUENTES: Well, in a way -- excuse me, Kyra -- in a way it does. But Hezbollah, which has been on extension of the Quds force and extension of Iran's terror network, generally has been fund-raising in the U.S. So, they have not committed an attack here. But they have done other attacks such as the Argentina attacks in the early 1990s and then numerous attacks in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other locations where they've attacked Americans.

I think what's different in this one, especially, is that they're doing a simultaneous attack against Saudi Arabia and the United States. And they're trying to reduce the influence of both in the Middle East region.

PHILLIPS: Now, this is a regime that we invite to the United States, to the U.N. We allow Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, to speak and roam freely in our country.

Does that need to change? And does that access that the U.S. give him actually empower actions against us?

FUENTES: I don't think that's ever going to change. I mean, any head of state from any country, whether we like them or not, has the ability to seek a diplomatic visa and make a visit to the United Nations. And the United Nations is basically considered an open area in order to do that.

I think another reason for not suppressing that is that basically he makes a fool out of himself when he speaks at the U.N., so why stop him?

PHILLIPS: That's a good point. Well, this plot now, this alleged plot, was foiled. But what about the next one -- will it be more sophisticated? Are we ready for that?

FUENTES: Well, they're trying to be ready for any possible plot no matter how many cut outs or how many assassins they attempt to hire or where they try to do these terrorist attacks. So, you know, you hope we're ready. We hope the intelligence network is strong enough and the relationship with other allies to assist in investigations like this.

It takes international assistance. The transferring of the money was tracked back through Europe to the Middle East -- in this particular case, the $100,000 that was transferred. The assistance of Mexico in facilitating a couple of meetings and then preventing a meeting so that the person had to fly back to the U.S. with FBI agents on his plane who arrested him when it landed.

So, the need to have foreign cooperation, to have robust gathering capabilities internally just another example of showing why it's necessary.

PHILLIPS: Tom Fuentes -- great talking to you this morning, Tom.

FUENTES: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Herman Cain has catapulted to the top of the GOP candidates and that made his 999 tax plan a favorite debate target. We're checking the facts.

And later, jurors in the Conrad Murray involuntary manslaughter trial hear the doctors in his own words describe what happened hours before Michael Jackson's death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Herman Cain is learning what it is like to be a top tiered GOP candidate. It comes with a big bull's eye. His 999 dominated last night's New Hampshire debate.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One thing I would say is, when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, I think the devil's in the details.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many people are here for a sales tax in New Hampshire? Raise your hand.

There you go, Herman. That's how many votes you'll get in New Hampshire.

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was the price of a pizza when I first heard it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Tom Foreman live in Washington, fact checking the Republican debate.

So, Tom, Herman Cain's jobs plan at the heart of it.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, if you're a message person, you would say he totally won last night because everybody kept talking about it. They kept saying the 999 plan, 999 plan -- he's sitting back there and saying, where is the beef? I got it. Everybody's talking about it.

Here's the problem, though -- what exactly does it add up to? One of his chief claims all along has been that this is revenue neutral, meaning that you can do this plan, you can totally change the tax code, and you'll get the same amount of money for the government.

Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It will replace the corporate income tax, the personal income tax, and the capital gains tax and the death tax and, most importantly, the payroll tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: So, it's going to be revenue neutral. That 999 plan will replace all current sources of revenue.

Is that true?

Well, I have to tell you right up front that a fair number of economic analysts are skeptical of that. They're saying, boy, there are a lot of details here as Michele Bachmann alluded to that we just don't really understand about this plan.

Among some of the things that they're concerned about, what exactly is going to be covered by this 9 percent sales tax? Will that include services? Because we have a lot of services in our country right now that maybe aren't covered, maybe they are. So, we don't know what that produces.

Will our spending habits change? If you suddenly were paying 9 percent more for everything you bought, would you buy the same things you're buying now? That's going to make a big difference in the amount of revenue we get.

And what about this corporate tax? How do you calculate this? So, in theory, it's simple. It's 999 across the board, but the simple truth is everybody is trying to go through this and figure out would it actually produce the same amount of money as right now.

Trust me -- if the other candidates could prove it wouldn't, they would say it. But the problem is nobody can prove that it will either.

So, we're going to call this true but incomplete, with the emphasis on incomplete. We just don't really know, Kyra, whether the 999 plan would work.

It's like this -- if you rebuild all the roads in America and you change all the laws, what's the speed limit? I don't know, because you're changing so much at once.

PHILLIPS: Right.

Let's talk about Romney's plan.

FOREMAN: Romney's plan -- one of the things that Mitt Romney talked about yesterday is the idea that in fixing the economy, you're going to have to make some big changes and he said, as this committee right here is deciding what to do about the deficit and everything else, that they should do what the American people want, and he thinks he knows what that is.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people want to see growth and jobs, and they believe that the right way to do is by cutting back on the scale of government and they're right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Government, government cutbacks. This is something that Republicans love to hear. Americans want less government spending.

Guess what? He's absolutely right. One of our recent polls here said 57 percent said this committee should consider major cuts to domestic spending. That's one way of getting our budget under control.

However, what he didn't mention was that 63 percent of those people also say we need higher taxes on wealthier Americans and businesses as part of that. So, the simple truth is for Mr. Romney to mention part of that, but not the other makes this absolutely true, but incomplete -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And final fact check -- where do you find a pizza for $9.99?

FOREMAN: You know, I think it's a pretty good pizza deal for $9.99. I don't know.

PHILLIPS: OK.

FOREMAN: But who knows? Maybe they're $9.99, maybe they're $8.95. I don't know. We'll find out when it arrives.

PHILLIPS: Tom Foreman, thanks.

FOREMAN: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, put the Republican candidates elbow to elbow at a round table and give them 90 minutes to spar and you're bound to have moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I'm proud of what we're able to accomplish. I'll tell you this, though. We have the lowest number of kids as a percentage uninsured of any state in America. You have the highest. You have -- I'm still speaking. I'm still speaking. I'm still speaking. I'm still speaking.

We have -- we have less than 1 percent of our kids that are uninsured. You have a million kids uninsured in Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, sitting right there at that table right along with them, Bloomberg TV's White House correspondent Juliana Goldman.

Here is what she had to say about that moment between Perry and Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANA GOLDMAN, BLOOMBERG WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I think that that exchange really gets to the heart of one of the takeaways from the debate, which is that Romney all but asserted himself and came out of that debate as -- in some ways, the frontrunner, particularly when it comes on the economy. We have been -- you know, in previous debates we have seen a lot of heated back- and-forths between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, and I think that some of us we're expecting that last night, especially with some of the ads that Rick Perry had been running leading up to last night's debate, really taking Romney on on his healthcare plan, saying it was essentially mirror image of Obamacare, the president's health care plan.

But as you saw in that exchange, Rick Perry really backed down and that sort of came to define what the exchanges were, particularly with Rick Perry during that debate last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We'll hear more from Juliana next hour.

And Tuesday night, live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president gather in Las Vegas to debate the issues and sway voters. The Western Presidential Debate, CNN, Tuesday night, 8:00 Eastern. Don't miss it.

Well, it's expected to be the only time that jurors get to hear Dr. Conrad Murray tell his side of what happened hours before Michael Jackson died.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DR. CONRAD MURRAY, MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR: I was gone, I would say about two minutes. His body was warm, there was no change in color, so I assumed that everything happened very quickly.

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PHILLIPS: Dr. Murray's taped interview with police next in THE NEWSROOM.

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PHILLIPS: Checking news cross-country.

A prison riot in Oklahoma leaves dozens of inmates injured, some critically. The violence rather broke out around lunchtime, lasted into the evening. Officials haven't confirmed what exactly sparked the riots.

In West Virginia, some frustrated cooks walked out of a training session on healthier school lunches. They say administrators' demands are unrealistic and wasteful. The school board is working on a compromise.

And about 100,000 angry bees have just been evicted from a Texas home. The owners say that the bees started moving in years ago but recently got out of control. They have been relocated to a honey farm.

Conrad Murray is not expected to testify in his involuntary manslaughter trial, so tapes of police interviews could be the only time that jurors hear the doctor's descriptions of what happened just hours before Michael Jackson died.

Ted Rowlands has the story.

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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time, jurors heard the story of what happened in the hours before Michael Jackson died, directly from the doctor blamed for his death. In a two-hour interview recorded by police, Dr. Conrad Murray recounted sleepless night for Jackson who was desperately looking for rest in order to prepare for his upcoming tour.

MURRAY: He was wide awake and then he complained. "I've got to sleep, Dr. Conrad. I have these rehearsals to perform. I must be ready for the show in England. Tomorrow I'll have to cancel my performance. I'll have to cancel my trip because, you know, I cannot function if I don't get the sleep."

ROWLANDS: Murray says he gave Jackson a series of sedatives, but nothing worked. Finally, at 10:40 a.m. he says he gave in to Jackson's pleas and administered 25 milligrams of Propofol, which Jackson referred to as his milk.

Murray: I then decided to go ahead and give him some of the medicine so he could get a couple of hours of sleep so that he could produce, because I cared about him. I didn't want him to fail. And I had no intention of hurting him.

But Murray's timeline of what happened next is under dispute.

MURRAY: I monitored him and I sat there and watched for a long enough period that I felt comfortable. But then I needed to go to the bathroom. So I got up and I went to the bathroom.

When I came back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. I was gone, I would say about two minutes. His body was warm. There was no change in color. So, it seemed that everything happened very quickly. Just about the time I was gone, within that time and coming back.

ROWLANDS: Murray says he was away from Jackson for only two minutes, but phone records show Murray spent 45 minutes on his cell phone before he discovered that Jackson had stopped breathing.

Still, the audiotape may work in Murray's favor. The jury heard Murray say repeatedly that he loved Jackson and wanted to help him.

Mr. Jackson was my friend. I loved him.

Michael Jackson may have had a dependency to substance. I was trying to wean him off.

ROWLANDS: Murray also talked about consoling Jackson's daughter, Paris, at the hospital.

Murray: I said, I tried my best. And she said, "I know that, Dr. Murray. I know at least you tried your best. I know you tried your best but I'm really sad. And I will wake up in the morning and I won't be able to see my daddy." She cried and was very sad.

ROWLANDS: The audiotape may be the only chance the jury has to hear Murray's story as it's not expected that he will take the stand in his own defense.

Ted Rowlands CNN, Los Angeles.

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PHILLIPS: You can see live testimony of the Conrad Murray court proceedings on our sister network. Be sure to check out HLN and all the listings for comprehensive coverage of the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor.

How do you think Lebron James would look in a helmet and shoulder pads? He's talking about spending his lockout time in the NFL. We'll talk about that later in sports.

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PHILLIPS: Let's check some stories making news later today.

At 11:00 Eastern, a sobering assessment on how vulnerable the U.S. is to a bio terror attack. A bipartisan research group issues a report card.

And at 11:35 Eastern President Obama due to speak at the American-Latino heritage forum, his remarks will celebrate the contributions of American Latinos.

And tonight, 7:35 Eastern, flag football game kicks off for charity. It teams up members of Congress with gridiron stars of the past.

We're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Brianna Keilar -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. The U.S. government looking to the international community to put pressure on Iran after the U.S. accuses Iranians of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Max Foster in London with more on the deal to release an Israeli soldier from Hamas captivity. More details on that deal at the top of the hour.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Jim Acosta on the campus of Dartmouth and last night's GOP debate was on the campus here of this college. So it's no surprise the GOP field was hazing Herman Cain. I'll explain in just a few minutes.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Thanks so much.

Also next hour, former hockey player Brendan Shanahan spent years on the ice dishing up on the bruises. Now he's making the players play nice -- or at least a little nicer. That's coming up in the next hour.

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PHILLIPS: Jeff Fischel, we'll start off with a little baseball playoffs.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Yes, the Tigers were thinking, you know what; the World Series is looking a little too close. The Rangers were up two games to none. If they'd won last night, three games to none. So the Tigers really needed a win and they got it. Thanks to their big bat, Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Drives this one to right field into the corner in the fifth for a double; that put the Tigers up. His next time up, makes Rangers' pitcher, Koji Uehara, wish his parents had never been in the same room. Tigers beat the Rangers 5-2. Rangers lead the series, 2 games to 1. This was the final hour of the game. Game 4 is today.

Game 3 of the NLCS is tonight in St. Louis. You are looking at a rally squirrel T-shirt. The Cardinals are counting on the squirrel factor against the Brewers. A squirrel ran around the field during the series in Philadelphia. It's turned into a good luck charm for the Cardinals and their fans.

Fans are buying up rally squirrel T-shirts. The Cardinals are handing out squirrel towels to fans tonight. Yes, maybe the Brewers do need to fear the squirrel. The Cards and Brewers series is tied a game apiece. Remember, a few years ago, the Angels were led on the rally monkey. Now there's the rally squirrel.

NFL news, Tim Tebow's time has come in Denver. The Broncos have named the former Florida Heisman Trophy winner their starting quarterback. It's kind of a desperation move. The Broncos are 1 and 4 (INAUDIBLE). Starter Kyle Orton has struggled. Tebow gave the team a spark this past Sunday though they did lose.

This is something the Broncos fans, some of them have really wanted for months. Remember they put up a billboard telling the coaches, it's Tebow time. Tebow thought was the third stringer for a reason but he's a great runner and great leader. We'll see if it work.

And to Lebron James; he's planning to jump into the NFL? He sent this tweet to ESPN, asking when the deadline is to sign as a football free agent? Of course, there's no deadline. Seattle coach Pete Carroll noticed and tweeted him back saying, are you aware of what the league minimum salary is, Lebron? Lebron responded, yes, more than I'm making now. Which is of course the point; he has nothing to do without an NBA season.

We found out it's delayed a couple weeks and perhaps there won't be any season at all. Right? I mean that's what Lebron and the rest of the NBA players are really worried about. We'll see if things gets worked out. The players' association meets Friday. But there's no time scheduled for meeting with the owners. And that's really the thing that really counts. PHILLIPS: In a lot of cities where that is the only sport, it's going to take a big economic hit.

FISCHEL: Yes. It's not about the players are not playing, it's about people that work at restaurants nearby. The rely on the business from fans coming to the games.

PHILLIPS: Remember the story you broke yesterday, by the way, on the antelope and the mountain biker? Remember this video?

FISCHEL: You're just going to watch it over and over again.

PHILLIPS: -- where somewhere in South Africa, a large antelope here was telling the rest of the herd, that mountain biker came out of nowhere.

Well, you thought -- Jeff had the scoop -- oh, Jeanne Moos digs a little deeper.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Biker zero; antelope, 1.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Holy cow.

MOOS: Imagine the story this South African mountain bike racer will have to tell, run over by an antelope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MOOS: The only thing is it's hard to tell a story --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ok dude?

MOOS: When you don't remember what happened?

EVAN VAN DER SPUY, TEAM JEEP, SOUTH AFRICA: As the buck hit me, I was knocked unconscious. So I actually don't know much of the actual experience myself.

MOOS: But we won't forget the moaning of 17-year-old, Evan Van Der Spuy (ph).

What was that noise coming out of you?

VAN DER SPUY: I didn't even know I can make those noises.

MOOS: For a minute I thought it was the antelope. Though Evan managed to stand up, he doesn't remember a thing until he was in an ambulance headed for an overnight stay in the hospital. Evan suffered whiplash and a concussion.

Meanwhile, the buck was later spotted grazing as it nothing had happened. Good news for Evan, hey, could have been a rhino.

The video was shot by a camera attached to his teammate's bike. How many times have you looked at the video?

VAN DER SPUY: Hundreds. I'm still trying to make sense of it myself. It's just, everybody time I look at it, it's one big shock.

MOOS: Maybe it's just payback. After all, we hit them all the time. Just last year I hit a deer and I had the deer hair stuck in my car's front grill to prove it. That was traumatic enough.

This Colorado man was biking down a little and hit a bear back in 2008.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This gigantic bear head with huge teeth -- was surprised to see me and I was surprised to see him. I think it was almost like a cartoon. We both screamed.

MOOS: Evan didn't have time to scream. He says his helmet, which was almost split apart by the impact, saved his life. He expects the helmet-maker to make a commercial.

We can see it now. The first ad for a helmet proven to be --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Antelope-proof.

MOOS: As the description on YouTube put it, the buck stops here. It's the human's turn to be road kill.

Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.

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