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President Obama on Tour to Push Jobs Plan; Two-Time Indianapolis 500 Winner Dies in Fiery Crash; GOP Campaign Cash; All the Single Ladies, A Trend?; Cain's 999 Plan Attacked; Long-Term Care Plan Dropped; Researcher Rescues from South Pole
Aired October 17, 2011 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
Want to get you up to speed for Monday, October 17th.
President Obama is hoping to tap into Americans' frustration over jobs today. He's also going to be jabbing Republicans who killed his bill to create new ones. He is speaking in Fletcher, North Carolina. That is where he is starting a three-day bus tour.
Now, the president says that Congress needs to pass any smaller parts of the jobs bill it can agree on, and he wants that action this week.
Race fans are heartbroken. A horrific crash takes the life of Dan Wheldon, a driver who won the Indianapolis 500 twice.
Now, the pileup happened during the Las Vegas Indy 300. It's a shorter track where speeds can top 200 miles per hour. Fifteen cars went airborne, collided or burst into flames. It was just awful. Some drivers had questioned the safety of the track because of its small size.
We can see there drivers returned to the track for a five-lap salute to Wheldon. "Amazing Grace" played in the background. Fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway also paid respects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People come to this place because they love this sport and they love this race and they love this series. And Dan Wheldon exemplified everything about this series and about why people continue to come to this place. This is the racing capital of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Two other drivers spent the night in a Las Vegas hospital for observation. Dan Wheldon leaves behind a wife and two sons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We are the 99 percent! We are the 99 percent!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Occupy Wall Street movement is marking one month of protests today at a campsite in lower Manhattan. Now, the group says it has raised $300,000, received hundreds of boxes of food, blankets and medicine from supporters. Protesters are angry over the widening pay gap between corporate executives and everyday Americans. Over the weekend, protests in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street spanned cities around the globe.
Princeton professor Cornel West was among 19 people arrested at the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday. Authorities say that the group refused to leave the court grounds, and West and the others were protesting corporate influence in politics.
Three families are asking Israel's supreme court to stop the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. They lost loved ones to terrorist attacks. Now, Israel has agreed to free the first batch of those prisoners tomorrow. In exchange, Hamas will release an Israeli soldier who was captured in 2006.
President Obama says because of Martin Luther King, Jr., the nation is more fair, more free, and more just. The president, celebrities, veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, dedicated the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on Sunday. The stone statue of the civil rights icon towers three stories above the Washington Mall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let us remember that change has never been quick, change has never been simple or without controversy. Change depends on persistence. He kept on pushing, he kept on speaking, he kept on marching until change final came.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: One musical highlight, Aretha Franklin there singing one of Dr. King's favorites, "Precious Lord."
Well, the FBI is investigating an unbelievably disturbing situation in Philadelphia. A landlord discovered four mentally disabled people who were being held captive in a basement apartment. That's right. Police say that kidnappers were stealing these victims' Social Security checks and the four appeared malnourished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. RAY EVERS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: It looks like a dungeon. These people were stored like surplus meat in the basement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Awful. Three people are in custody, charged with kidnapping, assault and false imprisonment. Now, police believe the group moved from Texas to Florida before relocating to Philadelphia.
Well, after eight weeks stranded at the South Pole, if you can imagine that, a stroke patient finally makes it to civilization for medical treatment. Now, researcher Renee-Nicole Douceur left the Antarctica today aboard a cargo plane. Now, the severe cold weather, the winter storms made it impossible to evacuate her until today.
Douceur flew to Christchurch, New Zealand for an evaluation, and doctors say the South Pole base didn't have the equipment or expertise to treat her.
Well, Sesame Street's channel on YouTube is down today. That is because hackers broke into the site on Sunday. Now, kids who wanted to watch "Sesame Street" characters, they got pornography instead. That's right. YouTube says it took down the site as soon as it figured out what was going on.
So, does your cell phone bill look like it's going to surprise you? Well, the FCC is announcing a deal with carriers today to end what is called bill shock.
It requires companies to alert you when you are nearing your monthly limit for texts, voice or data. And that's important, as tablets like iPad explode in popularity. Now if you are charged for going over your limit, at least you're going to know it's coming.
President Obama won North Carolina back in 2008, eking it out by less than 15,000 votes out of four million cast. Well, he returns today on a bus tour to try to drum up some support for his jobs plan. But the road there this time, far bumpier. The state is struggling now with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
Karina Huber is here to break down the numbers for us from the New York Stock Exchange.
And Karina, the job situation in North Carolina, really not a good situation for the president and what he's facing.
KARINA HUBER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Not at all, Suzanne.
I mean, North Carolina is one of the hardest-hit states. It's number six when you look nationwide, with an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent in August. Compare that to the national average of 9.1 percent, and you see how dire the situation there is.
And unfortunately, the situation has been getting worse lately. Currently, there are about a half a million people out of work right now.
One big issue, Suzanne, is that North Carolina is a big migration state, so a lot of people are coming to the state, moving in there. There's been a nearly 20 percent jump in the population over the past 10 years. The problem is, you've got all these people moving there, but there's just not enough jobs to go around -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And is North Carolina unique in that way? HUBER: Well, yes and no. Like most states, North Carolina has some major industries that were really hit hard during the recession; notably, mining and logging, construction and manufacturing.
Now, the slowdown in these industries is going on nationwide. Of course, mining and construction are tied to the housing market. And a drop in global demand hit manufacturing during the recession. So that's not unique to North Carolina.
But at the same time, it is a financial services center, with Bank of America headquartered there. And we all know there have been thousands of job cuts when it comes to Bank of America, and analysts are talking about even more layoffs in banking.
So, you put all this together, and you have a state that is really struggling. And, of course, with Obama there talking up his jobs plan, this is an issue that will resonate really strongly with North Carolinians, as it does with the rest of the country -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Karina, we're looking at live pictures there of the president speaking. We know this is going to be a critical stop for him because it is such an important swing state.
Thank you, Karina. We appreciate it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
MALVEAUX: A tragic ending to the Indy 300 this weekend in Las Vegas. A crash involving 15 cars took the life of one of the racing's most talented drivers. And you may find this video quite disturbing.
Dan Wheldon, two-time Indy winner, died from what doctors called unsurvivable injuries. He never had a chance after his car careened off another car, caught fire, and slammed into a crash fence. He was going more than 200 miles an hour.
HLN anchor Carlos Diaz is standing by live in Las Vegas.
Carlos, first of all, is there any way that this could have been avoided, that he could have avoided this crash?
CARLOS DIAZ, HLN ANCHOR: Well, Dan Wheldon did what he could to avoid this crash. He went low, as most drivers are told to do when you see a crash of this magnitude. And I was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. I have been around racing all my life. I have never have seen a crash like this.
Drivers were saying the same thing. Danica Patrick said it was like out of a movie set. I've interviewed people here who said it looked like a bomb went off.
And if you look at the footage, there are three racecars that get airborne in a matter of two seconds. And seeing one racecar get that kind of air is unbelievable. Three cars in the same turn, when completely airborne, and you had 15 cars, and the wreckage was strewn all over the track. You had a car basically on fire coming down the back straightaway.
So, as far as Dan Wheldon being able to avoid this wreck, impossible, because, basically, the entire track caught fire. And as one person told me just a few moments ago, it was like a bomb went off. It was unbelievable.
MALVEAUX: Carlos, can you explain to us how this happened? I understand it's a smaller track than what drivers are used to, and there were more cars than normal. Did the organizers in some way put these guys at risk?
DIAZ: Well, in hindsight, it's always -- you can always point fingers, but a lot of the drivers were saying before the race that you have a large field, 34 cars. That's more cars than are in the Indianapolis 500.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is two-and-a-half miles, the oval, so it's a bigger track. This is a mile-and-a-half oval. It's a much smaller track, but it's a wide track where the cars can get four wide, which means you have a smaller area where cars can get compact, and they're going 220 miles an hour.
So a lot of the drivers were saying there was a capacity for there to be a wreck like this before the race. So they are really going to have to look into whether or not this track should be run in the future, and it being the last race of the season, they have to live with this now through the rest of the off season.
MALVEAUX: And Carlos, you bring up a good point there, the fact that it was so compact, there were a lot of cars there. Why do we suppose that happened? Are people beginning to wonder that they just wanted an audience, a big show, a better show, that they decided that they were going to do it this way?
DIAZ: Yes. You know, Dan Wheldon said before the race, this is going to be a very exciting race.
He started from the back of the pack and was working his way up to the front of the field. And that's the thing about racing. The more exciting they try to make racing, the more risk comes into it.
And you have a very small track, with cars doing 220, open cockpits with these cars, with these drivers, and it's a recipe for disaster. And we saw that yesterday.
The sad thing is, Dan Wheldon, one of the most nicest, most charismatic drivers you're ver going to want to meet. And when you saw the tears on the track yesterday, they were heartfelt. Those were heartfelt tears, because Dan Wheldon, two-time Indy 500 champion, one of the most charismatic, great guys you're ever going to want to meet in racing.
MALVEAUX: And Carlos, what happened after that crash? Did they continue with the race? Was there some sort of tribute? DIAZ: No. You know, the track was immediately red-flagged.
They airlifted Dan Wheldon to a hospital. There were some reports that he was doing OK, and then, of course, the report came down that he was, in fact, gone, that he was dead.
And the drivers, they could have easily just said we are going to just walk away from this, but instead, the drivers got together and said, we want to take a five-lap tribute to Dan Wheldon. And all the drivers got back in their cars, did five laps as a tribute to Dan Wheldon. A very heartfelt moment, and not a dry eye in any of the crowd here.
MALVEAUX: All right. Carlos, thank you very much.
Our condolences to his family.
In the Republican race for campaign cash, it is now a two-man show. The Federal Election Commission says that Texas Governor Rick Perry has $15.1 million in cash on hand. Mitt Romney, close behind, with $14.7 million.
Our Jim Acosta, he's in Vegas with more on the money race.
So, Jim, give us a sense -- how significant are these numbers early on that you've got this kind of cash to work with?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are very significant numbers, Suzanne. This is the reason why Rick Perry and his campaign are not that worried right now, despite what their poll numbers are showing, because of those figures you just put out there a few moments ago, Suzanne.
He is right there neck and neck with Mitt Romney in the money race, and it's really going to give Rick Perry a lot of ammunition going into these early voting contests. Republicans in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, they fully expect Rick Perry to unleash just an onslaught of negative attack ads hitting Mitt Romney as they get close to those primary dates. And he's going to have the money to do it. You look at somebody like Herman Cain, who only got about $3 million in the last quarter, it shows you that even though he's doing very well in the polls, he is still putting together a campaign at this point that is capable of raising a lot of money to compete as the days go on.
MALVEAUX: So he's getting those big headlines, not yet the big bucks here.
What do we suppose, Jim, are going to be the issues that are really going to pop tomorrow night?
ACOSTA: Well, I think Herman Cain is going to be the center of attention once again at this debate, and that's partly because of some very controversial comments that he made over the weekend. You saw, Suzanne, that he was campaigning in Tennessee, and at a couple of events, at least at one event, he said to a crowd that on the issue of illegal immigration, that he would build an electric fence that would have a sign on it saying, "If you cross this fence, it will kill you."
He went on to say on one of the Sunday talk shows yesterday that he was just kidding and that Americans need to get a sense of humor. Obviously, that is not going to play well with a lot of Republican Hispanics. And being out here in Nevada, that is a key voting bloc, Suzanne.
Just last year, we saw the midterm elections, Harry Reid going against Sharron Angle. Harry Reid won his reelection contest out here primarily because of the Latino vote.
Now, Herman Cain is going to Arizona later today to meet with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has sort of become "Sheriff Trump" in the Republican Party. You know, he is the sheriff, he is the law enforcement figure on the issue of illegal immigration that Republicans have been flocking to. Michele Bachmann has talked to Sheriff Arpaio, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry have both called Sheriff Arpaio.
So I think immigration is going to be a big subject of discussion at this debate tomorrow night. In addition, I think taxes and the economy, obviously, will be a big issue here. The Nevada economy is struggling. Its unemployment rate is well above the national average -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Yes. I have spoken with Sheriff Arpaio on a number of occasions. He really represents kind of a get-tough approach when it comes to immigration. It will be interesting to see if Herman Cain, what he brings when he gets out of that meeting, and what kind of stance he takes.
Jim Acosta, we look forward to seeing you at the debate tomorrow.
Don't forget, it's tomorrow night. CNN hosts the Western Republican Presidential Debate. It is live from Las Vegas. Anderson Cooper is going to moderate, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, right here on CNN.
Locked in a basement, with no food and a bucket. The story behind why a group of mentally challenged adults were left in a basement and the alleged motive as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories ahead.
Up next, a disturbing discovery inside a dungeon in Philadelphia, four mentally ill people in chains being ripped off by their disability checks.
Then, we look into why the Obama administration is slashing a key part off the new health care program.
And later, an article suggesting more women are embracing the single life. Is it by choice or circumstance? Well, the writer, she joins me later to explain. But first, this outrageous story. A landlord finds a group of mentally disturbed -- disabled people, rather -- locked in a basement in Philadelphia, malnourished and injured. Police believe the people who locked them in there stole their Social Security checks.
Our Sarah Hoye is following the story closely from Philadelphia.
And Sarah, this is just so disturbing when you first hear about this and the details that we are learning today. I understand you even have new information about some of the suspects.
SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right, Suzanne.
So, two of those arrested over the weekend are being held on bond to the tune of $2.5 million each. The third, Linda Ann Weston, who is somewhat known as the ring leader, is still being processed, so we don't know what her bail status is at the moment.
However, over the weekend, things here were a little chaotic. You heard from neighbors, as well as the landlord and even the police, what they found here was disturbing. And I think we have some sound from that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TURGUT GOZLEVELI, LANDLORD: I am the one who cut the chain and let the men free.
HOYE: What were they saying to you? Did they say "Thank you"? Did they say, "Help"?
GOZLEVELI: No. They weren't talking anything. They were half dead almost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOYE: And Suzanne, with that landlord, he had first just intended to find somebody storing a dog here in the building. What actually drew him to the room was a neighbor who is known as a block captain here in Philadelphia, who noticed suspicious activity and gave him a call, and he saw a dog in the basement and just thought somebody was hiding a pet here that wasn't supposed to be here.
Unfortunately, to his surprise, is when he opens a sub-basement door, which is about a 15 by 15 room, and found four people inside. He was scared, he called 911, and the rest is history.
MALVEAUX: Sarah, do we know what kind of condition they were in when they were found?
HOYE: According to police, speaking with the neighbors, speaking with the landlord, they seemed malnourished, someone beaten, if not run down. They didn't speak very much.
And the landlord described it as talking to 10-year-olds or young children, because when he had asked them questions -- "Who are you? Where are you from? How did you get here?" -- they had little to no response. So there was definitely some confusion as to who they were even as people, where they were from, and what they were doing here. So just all around, somewhat sad.
MALVEAUX: Yes, absolutely. Sarah, do we know how long that they were actually locked in this basement? Do we have any idea? Do police know?
HOYE: Police are guessing possibly a week or so. And if you think about it, it's a 15 by 15 room in a sub-basement. You need a key to get to the basement, which, according to the landlord, really is just for tenant storage.
So, if you didn't have a key or have something stored in the basement, you wouldn't go down there, nor would you even go to the sub-basement door. So, you could easily, as they did, hide people in this back room.
And they were extremely quiet. The landlord -- like I said, the only reason he thought to even look in this back door was because he heard a dog barking.
MALVEAUX: And I understand, Sarah, they've set bond for the suspects. Is that right?
HOYE: That's right. So, the suspects -- two of the suspects, they are being held on $2.5 million bail each. And the third, known as the ring leader, this Linda Weston, she is still being processed. We don't have her information yet. She's still going through the system.
MALVEAUX: All right. Sarah Hoye, thank you very much. That's a disturbing story. We really appreciate it.
The trial of Michael Jackson's personal doctor, that is on hold now. Prosecutors were set to wrap up their case against Dr. Conrad Murray. That was supposed to happen today, but the father of their final witness died over the weekend. Dr. Steven Schaefer (ph), who is the state's expert on Propofol, still has to be cross-examined by the defense.
Well, more Americans are choosing not to tie the knot these days. My next guest, she wrote an article about it that says there are not a lot of good men out there. I'm going to talk to her next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX,: All the single ladies, not just a Beyonce song, but more and more women hit their upper 30s and 40s not getting married. I want you to check it out. The chart, the last 50 years. You can see the rate of marriage the women has dropped 50 percent. Other women aren't getting married, they're living with their partners instead, or they're getting married later in life.
So my next guest has written a very personal account of why this is, in the "Atlantic," it is called "All the Single Ladies." She says it's time for society to acknowledge the end of traditional marriage.
Kate Bolick, she joins us from L.A.
And Kate, great to see you, first of all. You know we love that song. Your article has generated --
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: A lot of discussion with our production team.
KATE BOLICK, THE ATLANTIC: Yes.
MALVEAUX: A lot of folks -- this is all that we're talking about this morning. And the women in my team, kind of surprised, but they wanted to give you a little bit of pushback here on this. They are suggesting that maybe you're taking this angle to make yourself and other single women feel a little bit better for being single, that you'd actually like to be hitched. Yes?
BOLICK: That's funny. Of course a lot of people are responding that way or saying that I've written this to justify my single state. I think it's a little in between, that when I hit my mid-30s, up until then I thought I would get married. I looked at my relationships that way. And then I realized I wasn't and that I was actually completely happy.
I wouldn't mind it. It's just a change of emphasis, I guess. It's not something I'm thinking about in a way that I was as -- in as focused the way as I was when I was younger. And then I think that that's something -- go ahead.
MALVEAUX: No, I was saying, not as important, yes?
BOLICK: Exactly, not as important. And so, sure, I wouldn't mind it if I found the right person, but I feel very happy that I never married the wrong person, which a lot of people do because we hold on to this idea that marriage is something we have to do. And I think that's what changed a lot is that we don't have to marry the way that we once did. So we can spend a lot more time single in looking for the right person.
And so that's -- it's a subtle difference. I'm still looking but it's not a frantic looking for Mr. Right.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Sure. Fair enough. I'm going to bring that back to my team to see what they think about that.
BOLICK: OK.
MALVEAUX: All right. You also say in your article that women no longer need to -- need husbands to have children, that adoption and IVF are changing the stigma of being a single mom. We also know 40 percent of children are born to single women. Do you think that's a good thing for the kids?
BOLICK: That's again a very complicated issue. No, I'm not championing single motherhood as the way to go over two-parent families, but it is increasingly common. And, again, it is more than I think we need to be acknowledging the realities of how change is happening right in front of us instead of holding on to old ideas about how things should be.
It's the fact is there are more single mothers than ever before, so how do we support them, how do we make that a more positive experience for the child and the mother?
MALVEAUX: Sure. Sure. And one of the reasons you cite in your article for women not getting married is the lack of good men, basically. You say increasingly her choice is between deadbeats whose numbers are rising and playboys whose power is growing.
Do you think that women aren't getting married so much because the quality of men is dropping in the United States?
BOLICK: I actually don't think that. And that's another subtle point I'm trying to make that I think that it could be increasingly the case, it's not the case now. I don't think that accounts for why I personally am single. There are a lot of really great men out there, but there are certain demographic realities that if they continue on the way that they are, that sort of bifurcation becomes increasingly the norm. That is true.
MALVEAUX: How have your readers responded to your article?
BOLICK: Oh, God, it's been incredible. I knew it would hit a nerve. I knew there are a lot of single women out there, but I've been getting e-mails from men and women of all ages all over the globe, writing in and telling me their personal stories about marriage or divorce. Someone just e-mailed this morning offering to set me up with his sons.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLICK: So it's been -- it's been really, really interesting and really fun to hear people talking about this.
MALVEAUX: That's great. I want to play a clip for you actually from the "Golden Girls," because -- yes, we want to ask you something kind of similar. I want you to take a listen.
BOLICK: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEA ARTHUR, "DOROTHY": We're divorced because Stanley cheated on me. He's a loathsome repulsive creature and even the thought of pretending to be married to him makes me physically ill.
HERB EDELMAN, "STANLEY": Fine, but I'm still staying for dinner.
ESTELLE GETTY, "SOPHIA": Dorothy, if you don't do this, I'm going to speak to you again.
ARTHUR: I don't care.
GETTY: I'll cut you out of the will.
ARTHUR: I don't care.
GETTY: I'll invite Stan every night for the rest of your life.
ARTHUR: How bad can it be, it's just for the day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. So Kate, I don't know if you follow "The Golden Girls," but Dorothy, even though she hated her ex, right, she got remarried later -- years later. Do you think you might change your mind? Change your tune a little bit?
BOLICK: Oh, and get married or --
MALVEAUX: Yes.
BOLICK: Of course. I think -- I think you know we're always in flux, and I'm talking about how I'm seeing things right now. And I don't think at all polemical or pedantic. I don't think there's one way of doing things. If anything, and what I'm saying there are so many ways to do all -- to do all of this that we shouldn't be prioritizing one arrangement over all others.
MALVEAUX: All right. Kate, thank you. Your article has created quite the buzz there. I'm going to bring this back to the newsroom to see what the folks think about all of it. But thanks again. I appreciate it.
BOLICK: Thanks so much.
MALVEAUX: All right. Good luck to you.
One of the promises of the new health care bill was extra help for a long-term care, but the administration has now dropped that from the plan. We're going to tell you why next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. A little bit of late-night humor.
The GOP debates providing a lot of fresh material for the crew at "SNL." Let's -- here's the take on Herman Cain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENAN THOMPSON, COMEDIAN: If America is looking for catchy, unworkable solutions to complicated their problems, Herman Cain will keep them coming. How to fight terrorism, my 555 plan. For every terrorism, America will send five airplanes, five soldiers and five of those dogs that caught Osama bin Laden.
How do we fix health care? The 333 plan. Every time you get sick, you get three pills, three days off and three chicken noodle soups.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That's great. Seven of the eight Republican contenders including Cain, they're going to be rolling the dice in Vegas. That's right. During tomorrow night's debate.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser already in Vegas for the big one.
And, Paul, let's start off with Herman Cain, the frontrunner now. He is backing off on some controversial comments that he made over the weekend. Do we think that's even going to help?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Suzanne. He was definitely in the spotlight all weekend, not just on "Saturday Night Live," as you just showed, but for some comments he made on immigration and on his 999 tax plan.
Let's start with the immigration stuff, Suzanne. He made these comments on the campaign trail in Tennessee. And he was talking about if he was elected president what the fence would be like with Mexico. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I'm in charge of the fence, we're going to have a fence. It's going to be 20 feet high. It's going to have barbed wire on the top. It's going to be electrified. And there's going to be a sign on the other side that says it will kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, Cain was on the Sunday talk shows yesterday, Suzanne, and he said, listen, that was a joke. And he was backtracking from those comments, but today he's in neighboring Arizona. He's meeting with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, somebody who's known across the country as somebody who's pretty tough on immigration reform and border security.
So it's going to come up again most likely today and of course tomorrow right behind me at the Venetian where we're having our CNN "Western Republican Presidential Debate", you can pretty much bank on it that immigration and border security is coming up.
The other thing that he got maybe in a little bit of trouble this weekend, his 999 tax plan. Take a listen to what he said about that plan on the Sunday talk shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Some people will pay more, but most people will pay less is my argument.
DAVID GREGORY, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": Who will pay more? CAIN: Who will pay more? The people who spend more money on new goods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, a lot of people pay money on new goods, that's a lot of us in this country. You're going to hear more candidates go after Herman Cain on that plan. We saw it last week at the debate.
And Suzanne, listen. He's been jumping in the polls. When you rise in the polls, more scrutiny comes to you on what you say and what you're proposing -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And I understand that Ron Paul making some news today proposing to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget? Can you explain?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, Ron Paul right behind me again at the Venetian today is going to be making a major announcement on his tax plan, his economic plan for the country. And he is proposing, Suzanne -- take a look at this. He's proposing cuts of $1 trillion in his first year if he's elected president.
And along with that he says he would eliminate five federal Cabinet departments, and they are Department of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Interior, Education and he said he also would scrap the Transportation Security Administration.
So Ron Paul proposing some very, very large cuts later today -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. We'll be watching closely. Looking forward to the debate, Paul. Appreciate it.
Don't forget, tomorrow night CNN hosts the "Western Republican Presidential Debate." That is live from Vegas. Anderson Cooper is going to moderate at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.
Well, the Obama administration is now suspending a major initiative in the new health care reform law before it even gets off the ground. The Voluntary Insurance Program was supposed to help people pay for long-term medical care in their home or a nursing home. Well, now the administration says the program would be too costly.
I want to bring in our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to explain this.
How expensive do we think this program would have been?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The problem is that real people were supposed to pay for this. I mean, you and I and all sorts of other young people who are working were supposed to put in, like, let's say, $200, $300, $400 a month. And that was going to -- you know, we pay premiums for years and years and then we'd use it when we were old and in a nursing home. The problem is they realized is that people our age, let's say, 30s, 40s and 50s, they don't really want to do that. There's not a lot of enthusiasm for that. Let's take $300 out of your paycheck for something you might need when you're older. Especially in this economy people aren't very enthusiastic about doing that. And that's basically why they scrapped the program.
MALVEAUX: And on the other end, how was it supposed to work?
COHEN: It was supposed to work that you put money in for a period of time every month, just like any other insurance premium. And then when you needed it, it would help you pay for things like nursing home and home health care. Now when you take a look at these numbers you'll see why people need help.
I mean you really have to be fabulously wealthy not to need help. A nursing home is about $75,000 a year.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
COHEN: And consider that many people spend years in a nursing home, home health care, having someone come to your home and take care of you, is $18,000 a year. And remember, you're retired by this point, you're not -- you're not earning very much of an income, so that's why it's such a huge problem in this country, is that even the middle class, even upper middle class people can't do this.
MALVEAUX: And the fallout from this so far? I mean are people angry? Are they upset about it and think, OK, this really was too expensive?
COHEN: The Republicans I get the feeling are sort of secretly gleeful about this. They're saying, I told you so, I told you this is never going to work, and it appears that it won't. AARP on the other hand says, you know, let's give this another chance, maybe this will work.
You know they know this is a huge problem. This is one of the very biggest problems in health care today is that you can't afford to get old and sick. And so maybe this isn't the solution, but you know someone needs to come up with a solution.
MALVEAUX: All right. They've got to look for somebody.
COHEN: Got to look for something.
MALVEAUX: All right. Elizabeth, thank you. Appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: One presidential candidate said he thought it was a pizza price. Another candidate linked it to the devil. So what's the real 411 on Herman Cain's 999 plan? We're live at the New York Stock Exchange for a complete breakdown.
But first, if you're looking for a job, there are almost a half million openings for holiday retail helpers. Best Buy, Party City and JCPenny, good bets to send your resume there. In two minutes we're going to show you the top three employers looking to hire.
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MALVEAUX: All right. If you're looking for some holiday cash, the top three retailers looking to hire more than 200,000 workers this holiday season include Target, Macy's, Toys R Us. Experts say get your applications in pronto.
Now to CNN "In-Depth" decoding Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's 999 plan,
Karina Huber is standing by live at the New York Stock Exchange.
So we're going to be hearing about these digits, I suppose, for a little while. Explain to us how real they are.
KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are certainly real for Cain as a huge part of his platform, but of course skeptics are not convinced that this plan will actually work. Essentially, it's an overhaul of the tax system. It's meant to simplify it to bring basically a flat tax of 9 percent. So that means a 9 percent income tax, a 9 percent corporate tax, and a 9 percent national sales tax where there currently isn't one out there right now.
It would also get rid of the payroll tax that funds Social Security. It also gets rid of a lot of deductions which a lot of people won't be pleased to see. Some say though it's too simple and that the poor will end up paying more than they do right now. But others say the time is right with all the economic problems, change is more likely. We'll see what happens -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Karina, it sounds like it's a less complicated taxing system but there does seem to be -- some people believe at least -- a catch.
HUBER: Yes. There are a couple of catches here, Suzanne. First of all, excise taxes. Those are those extra taxes or add-ons, taxes for specific things. Under Cain's plan you will not get around them and that's because the government has to make money to run. And these excise taxes are a big money maker, about $90 billion was collected last year.
Also that 9 percent national sales tax is on top of individual states' sales taxes. And so that could substantially make it higher if you put the two together. And that is some concern to some people -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Those are things that you're still going to end up paying for, I suppose. When you talk to economic analysts what do they say overall about this plan? Do they think that it actually is worthy, that it would work?
HUBER: Most skeptics do not feel that it would work. I mean a lot of them are saying that it is too simple and in fact that it is not really feasible. So the word on the street is that we need more details. I mean it is an interesting, it's a nice catch phrase, that 999, so it's definitely getting a lot of buzz but a lot of the economists not sure that this could actually tackle the problem long term -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Karen, how are the markets performing today? How are they reacting to all this today?
HUBER: Not a great day. We're definitely snapping our wins from last week with the Dow down 157 points. That's down by about 1.3 percent, Suzanne.
There was some optimism after the G-20 meeting in Paris this weekend when financial leaders said that they were -- we're going to come up with a plan about October 23rd to tackle the sovereign debt problems in Europe. But then we heard from the German finance minister who said that the -- that the plan on the 23rd will not definitively take care of the problem, so sort of tempering some of the optimism we initially had.
And that's why we're seeing the market sell off right now we're seeing some of the banks that Wells Fargo down by about 6 percent, this after their earnings came in below estimates. Now Citigroup handed in their report card. They're up by about .5 percent. They beat when it comes to profits but some cautionary words coming out of the CEO of the bank. He said that we're in difficult times.
Sort of echoing what we heard last week from the CEO of JPMorgan Chase. So the banks -- you know it's a mix today but still a lot of concerns when it comes to financials -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Karina Huber, thank you so much, Karina.
Up next, a risky rescue mission to the South Pole. We're going to update you on efforts to evacuate a woman who believes she suffered a stroke while working at a research station there.
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MALVEAUX: After weeks of waiting, an American researcher has been evacuated from the South Pole.
Renee-Nicole Douceur believes she suffered a stroke in August after suddenly having trouble speaking and seeing. Well, doctors say -- that she contacted say a tumor may have caused the problems but it is winter now in the South Pole. Officials who run the research center say it has been too dangerous to send a rescue plane.
Our own Chad MYERS is at the weather center taking us through this rescue mission. And you know it was such a fascinating story to see. Do we know how that rescue mission unfolded and how she's doing?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it still was well below the threshold where they wanted it. They wanted it at 50 degrees below zero and no colder and they landed that plane at 72 below. And they didn't want to do that because they didn't want the fuel to turn to jelly and then all of a sudden that's a risk.
MALVEAUX: That's a risk, right?
MYERS: That's the risk. Right. This cargo plane took out of Chile, it landed not at McMurdo, not without problems, there was wind everywhere, they couldn't hardly see but then they couldn't pressurize the cabin either because there wasn't enough pressure around it, the air is so cold, so low there that they couldn't pressurized. They had to fly this plane very low to the ground to get her to McMurdo, and then finally on the way to New Zealand 2400 miles later but she finally landed.
Let's go through it.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Yes. Please.
MYERS: This is truly something because I remember this story from last week how everybody was saying, you know, it has to be this, it has to be this. Well, it never got to that. So I guess they can fly when they want to. But think about this now. The sun is always up because it is getting to be spring in Antarctica.
Take your fist, hold it away from you and from the horizon, from the bottom of your fist to the top of your fist, that's how high the sun is now all the way around. The sun actually goes all the way around the South Pole. No twilight, really. Just the sun is always up. It's a little eerie feeling.
But it wanted it to be 50 degrees below zero. They're still having winter temperatures, 70 degrees below zero and there is the current temperature -- 72 degrees below zero. So it has been and it still has -- right now -- kind of a risky flight.
So here you go. This Amundsen-Scott Research Station, this is at the South Pole. Not the one that's a little bit closer to the edge of the Ross ice shelf which is the McMurdo station up here. And see some of the buildings here.
This was the first stop as she came out of the South Pole to McMurdo, and then back in the plane and up in the sky for 2400 miles all the way to Christchurch, New Zealand. Now if you remember that name from someplace, they had two major earthquakes this year in New Zealand right under Christ church.
And this is the closest location for a significant hospital to get there. And this is the problem. Because she doesn't really even know if they she had the stroke or not. They're going to have to do tests, they're going to have to do blood tests to see if those chemicals are in her system or not from a stroke. Then Christchurch obviously equipped to do that.
I was worried when I heard some of the doctors today say something about, you know, it could have been a tumor that did the same thing. And you're thinking about that, even a benign tumor can get on your ocular nerve back here and kind of blur your vision, weird your vision out a little bit, so let's hope there's other things going on and she could get really good -- I know she can in Christchurch -- very good care there.
MALVEAUX: We're so glad that she was airlifted out of there but it sounds like it was a very risky --
MYERS: It was.
MALVEAUX: Still a very risky venture.
MYERS: The reason why they went is because the winds were only 10 miles per hour, and it wasn't really kicking up the dust, wasn't kicking up the sand. The snow, it just wasn't going everywhere. They had good visibility so they landed there. This is the exact day 12 years ago, October 16th, that the last rescue mission happened.
Remember where she had -- the rescuer -- the researcher had breast cancer.
MALVEAUX: Yes. That's right.
MYERS: And she was treating herself for months and months. Finally -- but this is the date they scheduled the plane. There was nothing else scheduled for her to get a research plane to the South Pole and then back because for a long time, for six months, it's been dark.
MALVEAUX: Yes, absolutely.
MYERS: No lights on the runway.
MALVEAUX: No light, freezing, freezing cold.
MYERS: There's no lights in the freezing snow. Yes.
MALVEAUX: I wonder if she had any medical assistance on the plane, too.
MYERS: She did.
MALVEAUX: That was one of the things that she wanted, to have a doctor or a nurse on-board to help her in her transport over there.
MYERS: There was a medical physician on board there, yes, absolutely. And the fact that they couldn't go higher to fly the plane faster, they had to stay down near the surface because there was no way that that plane at those temperatures, 72 below, could pressurize the cabin so they couldn't pressurize the cabin so they had to stay down very close to the surface, couldn't fly 8,000, 10,000 feet high to get her there a little bit faster but now she is there and now she's getting treatment now.
MALVEAUX: That's good. Good for her.
MYERS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: All right. Fascinating story. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
