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BlackBerry Service is Improving; RIM Founder: We've Let You Down; Herman Cain Now Leads GOP Polls; Salon Suspect's Ex-Wife Among Dead; "Occupy Wall Street" Makes a Mess; AirTran Will Charge Large Passengers; School Promotes Anti-Bullying Policy; Warren Buffett: Tax My $62.9 Million More; Congressman Challenges Buffett; "Buffet Rule" Sparks Challenge; Arrest in Celebrity Hacking Case; Swank Sorry For Chechnya Visit; Maxim Names "Hottest Female TV Chef"; Amish Men Charged In Beard/Hair Attack; Harrisburg, P.A. Declares Bankruptcy
Aired October 13, 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: So if you're waking up at the top of the hour and you're looking at your BlackBerry and wondering, ok, what's up? Well, you may be chained to it for pleasure, for work, it could be another very long day. Now the good news is the company says it's slowly, but surely getting users back on line, however, the global outage that impacted millions of people cannot be fixed that quickly.
We've got a team coverage of the story. Christine Roman is going to tell us why this is pretty bad news for RIM, the company that makes BlackBerry.
But we're going to start with Dan Simon. He's in San Francisco. Dan, you know, we've seen the RIM CEO apologizing profusely for this. What's next?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a good question. I mean, the bottom line here is they think they got this problem fixed, but look, you had three days of no service across the globe.
I mean, that is a problem of the highest magnitude for RIM. They feel like they got this problem under control. This was an infrastructure problem, something with their switch, as they call it. I want you to listen now to the CEO of RIM who issued this - earlier today. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LAZARIDIS, RESEARCH IN MOTION CO-CEO: Since launching BlackBerry in 1999, it has been my goal to provide reliable, real-time communications around the world.
We did not deliver on that goal this week, not even close. I apologize for the service outages this week. We've let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working round the clock to fix this.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SIMON: Well, you still may be experiencing some problems, but the bottom line here is your e-mail should be restored. You might have some internet problems if you're trying to access the mobile web through your BlackBerry, but for RIM this really couldn't have come at a worse time, Kyra.
They're now entrenched in third place. This is a category they dominated just a few years ago, now they're in third place behind Google's Android system and of course, behind the iPhone, and tomorrow the iPhone 4S goes on sale, so a PR nightmare.
If you have a BlackBerry and you're thinking about upgrading, you might be thinking twice and that's really the problem that RIM is facing right now. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: OK, we'll keep talking about it for sure because it impacts so many people worldwide. Dan, thanks.
Let's bring in Christine Romans. Christine, tell us more about RIM. Their people have been in damage control mode for a number of hours now.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, you know, there is some criticism that they weren't out in front of this quickly enough and weren't explaining exactly what was wrong quickly enough.
You know, I asked a U.K. Managing Director Stephen Bates earlier today about exactly if they fixed the problem, why are we still having problems in the U.S., and here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN BATES, U.K. MANAGING DIRECTOR, RIM: We expect some customers to still see a little bit of delay in the messaging and browsing. This is due to the backlog of messages we have to clear in the system.
So due to the time this has taken to solve, we've got this backlog to clear up. We believe we've gotten top of the main issue in Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. We do expect some customers to still see a delay due to this backlog of processing of messages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So that's why even though you're hearing from the company they figured out what the problem is, you still might having a backlog issue as Dan Simon pointed out. There is a webcast right now with the company at 10:00, we'll hear more about its update on where we are in terms of that backlog.
But you know, customers are ticked off, Kyra, but investors in this company, shareholders of this company are really ticked off, too. The stock is down today. It's down more than 60 percent so far this year, exactly for those reasons that Dan was pointing out.
I mean, it has struggled to keep up with the increasing popularity of other smartphones like the Android, and, of course, the Apple product, and it has just been one of these companies that has a reputation for outages and for delay and for not being as cutting edge as its competitors.
And of course, that was even before this particular outage, so it is definitely trouble for shareholders. It's a public relations nightmare, really.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to see how this outage actually impacts that competitive technological part of the story. Christine, thanks.
All right, let's talk about the presidential race now, shall we? For the third time in a month, the Republican field has had a new frontrunner. Herman Cain, he is a political newcomer who was virtually invisible just a few months ago.
Mark Preston our senior political editor. So, Mark, what do you think? Does this say more about Cain or maybe more about how unenthused Republican voters are right now?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, Kyra, I think it's a little bit of both. In fact, you know, we've seen - as you said, Herman Cain come out of nowhere. You know, I was in Las Vegas probably about three months ago. I was at the baggage area, and Herman Cain was standing right next to me.
And we had a little bit of a discussion, but nobody knew who he was at that time. Now, he's surging in the polls. In fact, let's take a quick look at this NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll. It shows that Herman Cain is on top at 27 percent followed by Mitt Romney and then Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.
Now this is the first poll where Herman Cain is actually on top. It is within the margin of error, but it does say something that Republican voters right now, Kyra, are not that enthused about the field and they haven't absolutely rallied behind Mitt Romney's candidacy. We should say though that this poll was taken before that Bloomberg debate that happened just a couple of days ago -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now over the last few weeks, we've seen Rick Perry surge to the top and then fall off the cliff. So how likely is Cain going to hold onto his new frontrunner status?
PRESTON: You know, highly unlikely that he'll stay at the top spot. Look, this race I think at this point is still between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney and for two reasons. One is the super pacs that you hear us talk every once in a while.
That is where we're going to see these -- these donors, these spenders come in and starts spending millions and tens of millions of dollars to try to prop up the candidacies of Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. We haven't seen that on Herman Cain's side.
Also the whole idea of electability, if you look at these numbers, Herman Cain does not match-up well against Barack Obama. Mitt Romney does. So the big question is will the Republicans in the end decide to vote for somebody who they think can defeat Barack Obama or try to vote with their heart someone like Herman Cain? -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Mark Preston, thanks. It's almost time to clean the park. New York City is asking "Occupy Wall Street" protestors to leave just for a little while so they can clean up the mess. That story coming up.
Warren Buffet rebats the Congressman's challenge to release his last tax return. He does, however, release the data. We're going to Representative Tim about his battle with Buffett.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A quick look now at news from cross country. New details on that salon shooting near Los Angeles. Police at Seal Beach, California say the suspect's ex-wife was among the eight people killed. Another victim was critically hurt. Neighbors say the suspect and his ex were locked in a custody battle over their son.
Exercising your First Amendment Rights can be messy. Tomorrow the city of New York will clean the private park where the Wall Street protestors have been basically living for the last four weeks. Park's owners were worried about unsanitary conditions and wear and tear.
An AirTran Airways will do what Southwest does when it comes to large passengers. AirTran will make, quote, "passengers of size" buy the seat next to them if they're flying coach. That policy takes place in March. Southwest bought AirTran last year.
Homosexuality, some say it's a matter best left outside the classroom. Others say it's best to discuss it, understand it and ultimately, there will be less bullying.
CNN's Chris Welch takes us to a school district that actually adopted this policy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not bully others. So let's think of ways we can be kind to each other today.
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the start of the school day for this 7th grade class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes it's not what you say, it's like how you say it, the tone of voice that you use.
WELCH: That's just one of the themes discussed on any given day in the classrooms of the Minneapolis public schools, where five years ago, they started aggressively incorporating anti-bullying messages into daily life. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the whole lesson is about empathy because you need to understand a person's point of view.
WELCH: That person could be anyone, but in particular, this district is unabashedly showing its pride for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.
JESSI TEBBEN, LGBT GROUP DIRECTOR: I think we as a school district have seen this is an important issue. Kids don't learn well if they don't feel safe. They can't learn at all.
WELCH: In January, the school board passed a unanimous resolution mandating that all incidents involving LGBT harassment and bullying be tracked. It also adds LGBT components to sex education as well as an elective class on gay history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just been like a really accepting in my experience.
WELCH: High school junior, Jared Pettingill says the new provision will only enhance an already supportive environment.
JARED PETTINGILL, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: We're going to be reading a book called "Jovani's Room," which is all about a bisexual character living in Paris and it hinges on a lot of his relationships. So there are a couple other books that deal with lesbianism.
WELCH: The district is one of only a small handful in the nation to have a designated LGBT support program. A step in the right directions staff say, but they want more schools to catch on.
TEBBEN: It's not new that LGBT kids get made fun of or bullied or kids who are perceived to be LGBT get made fun of or bullied or face harassment and violence. It's just that hopefully we've moved far enough as a culture that we're actually standing up and starting to take notice.
WELCH: Chris Welch, CNN, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All this week at 8:00 Eastern, Anderson Cooper on CNN brings attention to America's bullying crisis and on Saturday night, watch "The Bullying: It Stops Here." It's a town hall led by Anderson Cooper. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Coming up, young Hollywood is resting a little easier today. The guy suspected of hacking into their e-mail accounts and stealing sexy pictures is busted by the feds.
Plus, Paula Deen tops "Maxim" magazine's list of hottest female chefs, but they didn't use her picture for the story. Find out what "Maxim" replaced it with. Showbiz headlines are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about billionaire, Warren Buffett, and his drumbeat for tax reform. He's stepping up his campaign to raise tax rates on ultra rich Americans like himself. And Poppy Harlow of CNN Money got a chance to speak to Buffett joins us with more -- Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Buffy, I love that. Good morning, everyone. Here is the latest. We know that Warren Buffett had that offer in the "New York Times" in August basically saying to Washington, increase taxes on the ultra rich in this country and we need tax reform.
Well, he's stepping out and stepping up his drumbeat on that note. Here's the back story, very interesting what happened just this week. Republican Congressman Tim Huelskamp of Kansas sent a letter to Warren Buffett earlier this month requesting that Buffett release his tax returns.
Because he says that Buffett's name is on the White House's proposal for tax reform, the Buffett plan and therefore, Americans should see exactly what Buffett pays in taxes. Well, Warren Buffett responded to that letter. We obtained both letters and in it, Warren Buffet said he would be happy to release his tax return if other ultra rich Americans would as well.
I should note, the congressman said that he indeed also would release his tax returns if Buffett did. Now I want you to take a listen because I spoke with Buffett on the phone about this yesterday, and I asked him if he had asked his ultra rich friends to release their tax returns.
He said he had not, but perhaps the congressmen should ask them to release those tax returns as well as asking Buffett. Take a listen to part of our conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY (via telephone): The "Wall Street Journal" also suggested that I release it. Maybe the "Wall Street Journal" can get their boss, Rupert Murdoch, you know, he's one of the ultra rich like I am, he's a friend of mine.
You know, I'd love to have his return published with mine and people can see what we're paying, and they can see whether they really regard that as the proper system or whether some adjustments in our system should be made. I welcome the congressman's inquiry into this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And Kyra, he went on to say to me that if the ultra rich released their tax returns. He said, quote, "A lot of congressmen will get educated on just how inequitable the system is."
Before we bring the congressman, I want to read you a statement that his office issued on this after reading Buffett's response. He said, Mr. Buffett still refuses to release his tax returns.
What he does disclose may be accurate, but it is incomplete and fails to explain how he shelters millions of dollars in income. It is unprecedented that we would write an entire law based on one man's anecdotes without actual proof." -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, you just mentioned, we do have Representative Tim Huelskamp with us. He's joining us live from Capitol Hill and Poppy, I'm going to ask you to stay with me and weigh in if you don't mind on this.
So Congressman, I'll just get right to it. Why do you want to see Buffett's tax returns? He's already disclosed how much he paid in taxes last year, $6.9 million, and how much he made last year, $62.85 million, so why is that not enough?
REP. TIM HUELSKAMP (R), KANSAS: Well, let's go back to the claim that Mr. Buffett was claiming that he paid a greater or smaller percentage in income tax compared to a secretary, and that's why we said, well, let's show his tax returns.
But I think what we've learned by the information he gave us, and again, he still refuses to release his tax returns even though I offered to show him mine if he shows me his, but what we found out, I think, is that he has given apparently a lot of money to charity, has a lot of capital gains.
And a lot of Americans don't understand that capital gains have already been taxed at the corporate income tax level, and that's probably what he's paying on. Plus the fact that apparently, he's giving away millions and millions of dollars to avoid paying federal income taxes.
COSTELLO: Because you say Buffett is sheltering millions of dollars of income from taxation through charitable giving. That's your quote. Now when you hear sheltering, you think shady and we're talking about charitable giving here, so why such strong language?
HUELSKAMP: Well, that's perfectly legal, but I think Mr. Buffett's point is we should raise taxes on somebody else. If you look at his tax returns, I don't think he paid a single dollar more than he was legally owed to pay.
He's fairly able to pay that. He is able to pay any more than he would like to do that, and I think we should lead by example. If he wants to pay more, send the check in.
COSTELLO: Poppy, you interviewed Buffett, please, weigh in.
HARLOW: Sure, Congressman, you know, it's interesting. Michelle Bachmann, Republican presidential candidate, also suggested along with the Conservative Heritage Foundation recently that Buffett should do that.
But if he wants to pay more taxes like he said many times he's willing to do, he should send a check to the U.S. Treasury. My question to you, sir and I want to give you some background. I sat down with Buffett last week and what he told me that's just not a realistic system for American taxpayers.
He admitted even if we have all the ultra wealthy in this country increase their taxes that's not going to fill the massive budget gap that this country is facing, America's debt crisis. But he says it's going to be a portion of it.
So I would like your response to that. Do you really think it's a realistic call for the ultra rich that if they want to pay more taxes to do that? Is that realistic, or do you think, sir, that we need comprehensive tax reform in this country?
HUELSKAMP: Well, the House Republicans have passed a comprehensive tax reform proposal in our budget. We're the only entity in Washington that actually has something on the table. We need comprehensive tax reform. We also need to deal with spending.
It is not a revenue crisis in Washington. It is a spending crisis and Mr. Buffett knows you raise taxes on all his super wealthy friends. You raise taxes on all the super wealthy donors to the president of the United States that's only going to fund the government for a few days. The real issue is spending.
HARLOW: So Warren Buffet has said many times and this is the way he puts it. He says if I make money with money, I'm taxed at a lower rate that means investors. People that get what you call capital gains.
But if I make money with labor, the way most of us work then I'm taxed at a higher rate. My question to you, when it comes to capital gains in this country, do you think that they need to be taxed at more than 15 percent when this country is facing such a debt crisis?
HUELSKAMP: Well, apparently, I agree with the president from last year where he said the last thing you want to do is raise taxes in this recession. The last thing you want to do is raise taxes on people who create jobs.
The last thing you want to do is raise taxes on investment. That's capital gains. That's why we reduce the tax rate. That's why the president signed an extension of that last fall because we don't want to raise taxes particularly on things that generate and create jobs.
PHILLIPS: Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Poppy Harlow, thank you both.
HUELSKAMP: Thank you.
Time now for your showbiz headlines. An accused hacker could face up to 121 years in prison for leaking private e-mails and nude pictures of stars like Christina Aguilera, Scarlet Johanssen and even Mila Kunis.
Let's get the details now from CNN entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter. Kareen, let's talk more about the suspect's arrest.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, first of all, this is a huge break in the case of what authorities have been calling "Operation Hackarazzi," which has been looking into computer intrusions of people all over the entertainment industry.
The feds, Kyra, announced Wednesday that they arrested a 35-year-old man named Christopher Cheney. He's from Jacksonville, Florida, for hacking into accounts on computers, other electronic devices belonging to more than 50 people, including some big stars here, Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis even Scarlet Johanssen.
A nude photo, by the way, of Johanssen, it was widely circulated on the internet. It was part of this investigation. Cheney also allegedly took financial information, movie scripts and private conversations from the stars' devices.
He's charged on 26 total counts, which include identity theft, illegal wiretapping and hacking. So, Kyra, this was a big story, big story when this happened. You know, when all those photos were leaked. So a lot of these star you can bet breathing a huge sigh of relief on his arrest.
PHILLIPS: And also we're talking about entertainment headlines, it was a potentially embarrassing moment for actress, Hilary Swank. We talked a little bit about this yesterday.
WYNTER: Yes, she's doing a little of a back pedalling this morning after a PR disaster. Listen to this. The Oscar winner is being blasted by human rights watch for appearing at a big multi- million-dollar birthday party for the leader of Chechnya who is accused of quote, "a litany of horrific human rights abuses."
Swank was one of a handful of stars, Kyra, who attended the lavish bash. Jean Claude Van Damme was also in attendance. Kyra, here's the thing. You know, it's not unusual for stars to be paid a lot of money, tons of money to attend these glitzy parties and events like this.
Human rights watchers called Swank's appearance though shameful and demanding that she return any money she may have received to party with this leader. Hilary is now apologizing and her rep just e-mailed us a statement.
Here's what she's saying. I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply held commitment to the protection of human rights. I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitments. There you have it.
PHILLIPS: So do we know or not that she received money?
WYNTER: I don't. That may come out. She hasn't stated, of course, in that statement, so we'll have to see what happens. But usually when this happens, Kyra, a lot of stars don't want to talk about the dollars, but sometimes it comes out. PHILLIPS: Something that is out there, a big stick of butter. That's what we're talking about -- my goodness. This quote is just classic.
WYNTER: I'm so happy I'm talking about it with you because you're going to help me get through this. Get ready. A pleasant surprise, it seems like the "Maxim" for them sexy equals a season to southern woman wielding a stick of butter. Gosh, that vision in my head.
The magazine has bestowed Food Network star Paula Deen with the title of Hottest TV Female chef. The 64-year-old, she beat out some pretty, pretty big hot stars. She beat out the likes of top chef Padma Malaksmi. She came in at number two so not bad.
While some may find Deen's frequently caloric fare to be dangerous, they find her rich dishes to be a bit of a turn on. The magazine says thinking about Deen apparently make some, and I'm quoting, folks. I'm quoting this, "Hungry for a bacon wrapped (inaudible) stick of butter.
I'm going to leave it at that, Kyra, because I'm speechless. I'm going to toss it right back to you.
PHILLIPS: Those at "Maxim" magazine know exactly how to promote their cause. Thanks, Kareen.
WYNTER: I think you're right on the money.
PHILLIPS: If you want more information that is frankly in the entertainment world, A.J. has always got it, or Kareen, who is part of the showbiz team. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" airs on HLN every night at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right, Herman Cain tops a new poll and he says he's got staying power just like (inaudible) black walnut ice cream. But is he just the flavor of the week? Our political buzz weighs in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now, is your BlackBerry working? Well, RIM said it has fixed the problem and it's restoring service. The problem now is the backlog of e-mails and other messages that got clogged up in the system.
Free trade deals with South Korea, Columbia and Panama now heading to President Obama's desk. Congress passed the deal last night. Supporters say it will create jobs in the U.S. South Korea's president is actually the White House today.
And a Propofol expert will testify next for the prosecution of Dr. Conrad Murray's trial. He might be the prosecution's last witness. Yesterday, a cardiologist testified that Michael Jackson would be alive today if Dr. Murray had called 911 sooner.
All right. "Political Buzz." Your rapid fire look at best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock, and playing today, CNN contributor, Will Cain, Democratic National Committee member, Robert Zimmerman, and founder and editor of Citizen Jane Politics, Patricia Murphy.
First question, guys. Herman Cain on top in a new poll, and he says he's got the staying power. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Will I be the flavor of the week? Well, the answer is an emphatic no! Because Haagen-Dazs Black walnut tastes good all the time.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: OK. Is this a threat to Mitt Romney, and does Romney need to worry about this? Will.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Kyra, in our discussion of Herman Cain an hour ago, I was told I was very passionate. So, I'm going to be very subdued in my answer this time.
PHILLIPS: No, don't be subdued, please. It's much more exciting when you're passionate.
CAIN: I don't think Mitt Romney thinks Herman Cain is a real threat. At times, it seems like he's tried to elevate him, saying, vote for me or vote for Herman, whatever you think, but I do think Herman Cain is a threat to Mitt Romney. He's the anecdote to so many things Mitt Romney isn't.
He seems to be straightforward, blunt. He has specific policy proposals. I think when you combine that with his biography and his incredible and charm, I think he could be around in a couple of months. Not one of these other candidates that boom and bust (ph).
PHILLIPS: Robert.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBER: Well, since Will missed Patricia and I last Tuesday, this past Tuesday in our panel, I'll bring him up to speed. Last Tuesday I made the point that, really, Herman Cain's campaign is running on political Viagra, which means it's going to be a short-lived and temporary as we saw with Donald Trump or Michele Bachmann or Rick Perry.
The bottom line is, he's this week's answer to none of the above. What Mitt Romney has to worry about is that his numbers have not changed from 23 percent this past August. He's still not made his deal with the extreme right-wing of his party, which is running the operation.
PHILLIPS: Patricia.
PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER & EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Yes. Mitt Romney needs to be very, very worried about these poll numbers that we saw today. First of all, Herman Cain is an outside the box, outside of Washington, totally unpredictable candidate at a time when this Republican electorate has picked out by the box outside of Washington totally unpredictable candidate.
So, he is really the answer to what a lot of these activists are looking for. The other problem for Romney is that if you dig into these poll numbers, it's not just to be second (ph) 23 percent, is that the 77 percent who don't want him, who aren't looking for him are highly educated, highly motivated -- (buzzer) -- and highly likely to be the voters that he faces coming up in the primaries.
PHILLIPS: Can we just see the (INAUDIBLE) ad coming up with regard to his ice cream comment. All right. David letterman's top 10 list takes aim at Chris Christie's endorsement. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: Number three, mistook Mitt's repeated bipartisan references to mean two kinds of cheese.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: Really. Two kinds of cheese. Number two, movie star good looks? Who could resist.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: And the number one reason Chris Christie endorsed Mitt Romney, the only other options were the nut job, the crackpot, the pizza dude, and Newt?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. Even Christie says he's probably vice presidential material guy. So, who's on your VP short-list? Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: Well, look, Chris Christie will obviously be a strong addition to the Mitt Romney ticket. His problem is he's too mainstream for the Republican Party today, because he believes in science and believes that he saw weapon's band (ph), and because he doesn't think the Earth is round.
The bigger issue is going to be when you choose a vice president, the first rule is do no harm. That -- and who's got an organization to deliver? That's why Governor Bob McDonnell, Governor Nick Hailey of South Carolina, and also, Marco Rubio of Florida become very attractive propositions from Mitt Romney because it brings in the far right into his ticket. (BUZZER) PHILLIPS: Will.
CAIN: Is there a question you could ask Robert where he doesn't have something negative to say about the Republican Party? Who's going to win the American League championship series? I don't know. Republicans don't believe in science.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
CAIN: At least Robert had some right names there. The goal on this has got to be pick a non-White guy from actual battleground state. Brian Sandoval in Nevada, Susana Martinez in New Mexico, Nikki Hailey in South Carolina, these are names, but the main two would be Marco Rubio in Florida. I mean, although, he's just a white guy, he is from Ohio. Senator Rob Portman, Ohio and Florida are very important states.
PHILLIPS: Patricia.
MURPHY: Well, I hate to beat up on the -- just the White Guys, but somebody like Marco Rubio, you'll hear his name again and again and again. This is the young senator from Florida, key swing state, has an incredible life story. His parents are Latino immigrants from Cuba, and he also has a very different vision from a lot of these other Republican candidates.
He'd be very refreshing. But, a great White guy that they, I think, could and should go for, Bob McDonnell, most popular governor in the country, 62 percent approval rating. Virginia has the strongest economy of any state in the country. It'd be hard not to put him on your very, very short list.
PHILLIPS: All right. Guys, your buzzer beater now. Twenty seconds each on this one. Millions of BlackBerry addicts still suffering withdrawal this morning. So, what should Americans try to accomplish with all their free time? Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: Well, the extreme right-wing -- I'm sorry --
CAIN: Here we go.
(LAUGHTER)
ZIMMERMAN: Here we go. Actually, what Americans should be doing is trying to complete real sentences by talking to each other and avoiding initials, but I think, unfortunately, they're going to be online trying to buy alternative phones. LOL.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Will.
CAIN: Flip on your TV and watch the Texas Rangers march through the American League champion series to their second World Series in two years.
PHILLIPS: Patricia.
MURPHY: Get online. If you find a computer, you can't do it on your BlackBerry. Buy an iPhone. I joined the cult six months ago. I love it. And you can buy it its own outfit. I bought mine its own outfit.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And she used the word cult. OK. That's very -- that's a buzz word nowadays. You have to be careful, guys. Thanks so much.
All right. Don't forget, next Tuesday night live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president gather in Las Vegas to debate the issue. The western Republican presidential debate on CNN, Tuesday night, 8:00 eastern.
There are two more deaths to report now from those cantaloupes contaminated with listeria bacteria. That actually pushes the death toll to 23 people nationwide. This is the deadliest outbreak of food- borne illnesses in more than a decade. 116 cases have been reported in 25 states now. The tainted cantaloupes have been traced back to a Colorado farm, and health officials say they should now be off the store shelves.
Still ahead, a U.S. city drowning in debt files for bankruptcy, but this desperate action may be just the beginning of a whole new set of problems. Alison Kosik joining us from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
And nearly 20 years after he was executed, several of John Wayne Gacy's victims are being exhumed. More on that when we check news cross country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Check news cross country now.
Last week's helicopter crash in New York City has claimed a second victim. She's the partner of the other woman who died when the chopper plunged into the East River.
An aide of serial killer, John Wayne Gacy's, victims have been exhumed with the hopes that they can finally be identified. Illinois police are reaching at the family members of males who disappeared in the 1970s for DNA samples.
And in Ohio, several Amish men have been indicted in a pretty unusual kidnapping case. They're accused of bursting into an Amish home forcibly cutting the residents' hair and beards. Head and facial hair have spiritual significance, by the way, in the Amish faith.
Now, the cost of bad decisions in a lousy economy, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has filed for bankruptcy. Local leaders say that the city is buried under almost a half billion dollars of debt. Alison Kosik is there in Harrisburg with more. So, Alison, what exactly plunged the city into so much debt?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I tell you what, the financial problems here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, they run deep, but they really hit a boiling point a few days ago when the city council actually filed for bankruptcy, because the city is essentially sitting on $310 million of debt it can't pay for.
And you'd think that it was the slowing economy or the recession that pushed the city into this mess, but it was really its trash incinerator that really got Harrisburg into this financial mess, because this big trash incinerator was very technologically advanced, and it was thought that it was going to bring in a lot of revenue for the city, but it really didn't.
And then, upon that, they went ahead and updated the incinerator, plugging (ph) even more money into what many call a money pit at this point, but it really just has not delivered. It led the city council to take this vote earlier this week and file for bankruptcy. It was not a unanimous vote.
One of the city council persons, one of the city councilwomen, Patty Kim, she voted against it. She was not happy about this decision. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTY KIM, HARRISBURG CITY COUNCIL: Those attorneys from our state, our creditors are going to sue us out the wazoo even before we get into bankruptcy court. That is not a good plan for residents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And the mayor of Harrisburg, Linda Thompson, she's challenging this bankruptcy filing saying, it's illegal. So, it may essentially be up to a judge to decide whether this goes through or not. But, you know, you take this more broadly and you look at how cities across the country are doing, and this really could be any city and kind of a case study on public projects gone wrong in a very tough economy -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alison Kosik, thanks.
And two weeks of the NBA season are lost. The whole season could disappear now, but our loss could be Europe's gain. We're going to talk about that coming up in sports.
But first, "Money" magazine's list of the best jobs for parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parents looking for the perfect career might want to try physical therapy. "Money" magazine ranks this as a top job for moms, because it has great flexibility and you can average about $76,000 a year. Physical therapists say their job is rewarding, but it isn't easy to break into. Entry level candidates are now required to have a Ph.D.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to Karina Huber at the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks selling off -- Karina.
KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a good day for Wall Street, Kyra, and it's really the bank stocks that are filling (ph) the majority of the pain today. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, basically, all of them are down by between three and five percent each.
Now, some of it is just some good old profit taking and a bit of a pullback from yesterday when bank stocks rallied, but it also has to do with JPMorgan's earning results. The first of the big major banks to come out with their report card, profits, and revenue beat estimates, but they had to lower their expectations, so that's nothing to get too excited about.
At the same time, JPMorgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, says the bank is being extremely cautious. He also called the economic environment challenging. So, that's putting it mildly. And in general, Wall Street has just been worried about banks, of course, because of Europe's debt crisis and the market volatility here.
And JPMorgan is basically saying that it shares in those worries. We've also got week of unexpected trade data with China. That isn't helping matters. So, that's why we're seeing the markets slowing off today with the Dow down by 112 points. That's just a little under one percent -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Karina, thanks.
Well, federal mediator will step in and try to bring the NBA lockout to an end. So, could the season actually be salvaged? Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, we're going to bring in Don Riddell from London. So, Don, if there's no resolution, you might see lots of very tall Americans playing on your side of the Atlantic.
DON RIDDELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, maybe, Kyra. This is actually being described as, perhaps, one of the most overblown stories of the lockout. As you know, the lockout has been going on for four months now. Earlier this week, we lost the first two weeks of the NBA season.
We may be losing even more, but if you look at the numbers of NBA players that have actually gone to play overseas, we're talking about -- only about 65 players of the 400 that play in the NBA. And of those 65, hardly any a household name. We've heard about Deron Williams is going to Turkey, and Tony Parker going to play in France. But beyond that, a lot of these guys or players that you wouldn't have heard of. And I think there is quite a compelling argument to say that even if more weeks they lost this season, it might not result in a massive migration of NBA stars going over the Europe, and perhaps, over (INAUDIBLE) as well, partly because the European season is already under way.
And I think European teams, while they like to have a couple of stars on their roster, they're not going to muck up their teams in their rosters by really dropping everything for these big stars who, let's be honest, would have to return to the United States the moment the lockout was resumed.
So, I don't think these teams really want to take the risk. And of course, also, there's lifestyle issue. Do these NBA stars really want to go over and play in a country where they, perhaps, don't know the language, and, where they're not going to be paid really anything compared to the fortunes there in the NBA.
So, it's going to be an interesting one to watch. I'm not so sure we're going to see that many more players coming up, but we'll see.
PHILLIPS: Well, speaking of taking risk, I hear you're quitting your job and joining NASCAR?
(LAUGHTER)
RIDDELL: I would love to quit -- no, I wouldn't love to quit my job.
PHILLIPS: Careful what you say.
(LAUGHTER)
RIDDELL: Is the boss watching? I'm very fortunate, as you are, Kyra, that we get to meet many of our heroes and people that we really respect and look up to. And I was very lucky to be taken for a spin by a racing driver who's very well known. He's a professional over here. That's me trying to get my race suit on.
I'm a quite tall guy, Kyra, 6'3". They don't have many tall racing drivers. So, as you can see, the suit didn't fit me, but this was an absolute thrill. We took a Mercedes C63 out on to the track. This car can go up to 300 miles an hour.
PHILLIPS: And how fast did you go?
RIDDELL: Well, this is the thing. I don't know how fast I went, because if you look down at the speedometer, you'll probably crash. You don't want to take your eyes off the road.
(LAUGHTER)
RIDDELL: So, it can go 300 kilometers an hour. I don't know how fast we were going, but I tell you what -- PHILLIPS: It was fun.
RIDDELL: It was an absolute thrill, and it was exhausting. And I've got a lot more respect for these guys now than I had before.
PHILLIPS: You're an adrenaline junkie like me. I'm jealous. Thanks, Don.
All right. For full disclosure, I have no idea how to say this designer's name. Does anybody know? Louboutin. But probably the way Alina Cho says it, it's a got a lot more sass to it. Well, apparently, these red-soled shoes are pretty famous. Even J.Lo sings about them.
"Sex in the City" fans, I guess, drool over them as well. Celebrities are flocking to get them custom-made, and guess what, we got a rare glimpse inside the designer shoe lab, so stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The shoe designer to the stars whose red soles became red hot after they were spotted on "Sex and the City," and now, Alina Cho has a backstage pass to the famous shoe laboratory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Made famous by Jennifer Lopez --
(SINGING)
CHO: And "Sex and the City" --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, lover.
CHO: Christian Louboutin is the shoemaker to the star. A man who doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. The designer behind those iconic red-soled shoes.
CHRSITIAN LOUBOUTIN, SHOE DESIGNER: And then, it comes from the person, from the head to toe. (INAUDIBLE)
CHO: They're on Oprah, Beyonce, and the first lady of France. This year alone, he sold 700,000 pairs of shoes. But don't call this comfortable.
LOUBOUTIN: If the only comfort were to come out of the design, I would be unhappy. So, I have to gain the comfort, but it's not sort of fighting for.
CHO: So, what are you fighting for?
LOUBOUTIN: Beauty. That's different.
CHO: Beauty doesn't come cheap. Louboutin's shoes start at $395 and can skyrocket to 6,000, more if they're custom-made. (on-camera) These are 42,000 Euros. That's nearly 6,000 U.S. dollars. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?
(LAUGHTER)
CHO (voice-over): This is his laboratory. Each season, Louboutin sketches 400 to 500 styles. About 150 are produced. Each pair is carefully handmade, taking anywhere from a day to a year to make. And on the walls --
(on-camera) Mademoiselle Renee Zellweger.
LOUBOUTIN: This is a bit of a secret.
CHO (voice-over): Shoe mold for his A-list client. Louboutin is celebrating 20 years in business with a commemorative book and a lawsuit against YSL Laurent, which recently came out with, you guessed it, a red-soled shoe.
LOUBOUTIN: You cannot say that you can't own a color. I do not own the color. I own a red lacquer sole on the back of my shoes.
CHO: Just how did he come up with the idea for the red soles? Louboutin says an assistant who happened to be painting her nails.
LOUBOUTIN: I polished the sole which became red. (INAUDIBLE) a pop top.
(SINGING)
CHO: Roll them on, but run at your own risk.
LOUBOUTIN: It's not a good thing to run for life. Appreciate life.
CHO: Appreciate shoes, beautiful shoes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, don't miss Alina's special fashion, "Backstage Pass from Paris." It airs this Saturday, October 15th, 2:30 eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, with all the talk about Republican candidates, President Obama and the Democrats have been quietly raising a millions of dollars. Let's check in with CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's got the numbers for us -- Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. There's some big bucks we're talking about here, Kyra. Listen, the president's reelection campaign out this morning announcing that between them and the Democratic National Committee, and they're teaming up for this fundraising, they pulled in $7 million. That's a good chunk of change, huh?
They did that in the third quarter, which is July, August, and September. Now, it's not as much as the 86 million they brought in in the second quarter, but it's more than they said they would do. They try to lower expectations and put out this bigger number, but why does all this matter, Kyra? Two reasons.
Well, first of all, the money can be used down the road for the president for campaign ads when he's out there stumping and forget out the vote efforts. And also, when you compare what the Republicans have raised to what the president has raised, you can invite all those Republicans and they're not up to the president. So, that's why we keep a close eye on campaign cash, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, you keep an eye on everything, including the fact that we're hearing that another state is considering moving up its primary date.
STEINHAUSER: Here we go again. Remember, we talked about this last week. Now, New Hampshire is threatening to move their primary. Remember, they're always the first in the nation when it comes to the primaries. They're threatening to move it to December. Why? Here's why. Take a look at the calendar. It's Nevada that's the problem for New Hampshire.
Nevada have recently said they're going to have their caucus on the 14th of January. New Hampshire's got this state law that says they have to come a week before. But look, Iowa now says they're on the third. So, New Hampshire is like running out of room, where is the real estate?
That's why they're asking Nevada to move their primary -- their caucus back. If not, the secretary of state of New Hampshire says, guess what? We could have the primary in early or mid-December. Oh, boy, Kyra. I don't think anybody wants that. Stay tuned.
PHILLIPS: OK. We will, Thanks, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: That does it for us. Thanks so much for joining us. We're back here bright and early tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. Fredricka Whitfield in for Suzanne this morning. Hello.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you. Have a great afternoon.
PHILLIPS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Be careful as you walk with your Louboutins.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Yes, right. I have to learn how to say these fancy, you know, fancy designers. I'm a DSW girl.
(LAUGHTER)
