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GOP Debates in Las Vegas; Almost 500 Palestinians Swapped for Israeli Soldier; Latino Vote Key for GOP; Interview with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren; Tough Times in Las Vegas; Prince William Wants to Protect Parks; Wheldon Died of Blunt Head Trauma
Aired October 18, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys.
This hour we are counting down and anteing up in Las Vegas. Seven presidential candidates ready to rumble in the CNN Western Republican Debate. It gets under way less than 11 hours from now. And the stakes are extremely high. A new poll shows two of three Republican voters have still not decided on a nominee.
Here's how things are stacking up right now. Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are deadlocked in a virtual tie, according to our latest CNN/ORC poll. Former frontrunner Rick Perry slides to a distant third and Ron Paul is nipping at his heels.
Our Jim Acosta is in Vegas. We're going to talk to him about who is under the most pressure to perform well tonight. We'll be going live to Las Vegas to catch up with Jim in just a second.
All right, meanwhile, let's go to senior political Mark -- editor Mark Preston. He's also in Vegas while we're waiting to hear from our Jim Acosta.
Mark, we just have been talking about these new polls that were released a few moments ago as we are preparing for the presidential debate tonight.
OK. This is live television, folks. It's like a juggling act when you've got about three live shots to get to in Las Vegas.
Jim Acosta, are you in place? There we go. We got you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a -- this is of no fault of my own, Kyra. I promise you.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: This has not been a long night on the strip for me.
PHILLIPS: Well, did you have a late night in Vegas, Jim? Yes, exactly.
ACOSTA: It was not -- listen.
(LAUGHTER) ACOSTA: What happens in Vegas, Kyra, OK, that's all I've got to say. No. You know we -- the lovely Carol Costello, we had to strike in a sec, Carol had to move off, Mark Preston and I had to move in. This is live TV. So we've to roll with the punches here.
We've got a little debate tonight, what do you think, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Yes, we do. And we've been talking about, you know, just who -- I guess the latest polls, who the frontrunners are, Herman Cain, obviously, we've talked so much about whether he can hold this top status right now.
What's your take?
ACOSTA: Right.
PHILLIPS: I mean what are you looking forward toward tonight? What's the buzz?
ACOSTA: Well, what I'm watching tonight, Carol, is Mitt Romney. You know, he is sort of the kid who's at the head of the class when it comes to these debates. He's aced nearly all of them and, you know, I think if Romney continues to play it safe, he is going to start feeding into this narrative that he is the inevitable nominee.
Now I don't want to steal the thunder of my colleague here, Mark Preston, but he's going to have some poll numbers here in just a second that's going to talk about how Republicans feel at this point. They're sort of becoming Vegas oddsmakers. They sort of see at this point Mitt Romney as the guy who's going to take this nomination.
And if he doesn't make any big mistakes tonight, he's going to put himself, again, on that path toward the nomination.
Herman Cain, on the other hand, he is the likable candidate. He is the candidate that all Republicans like to talk about and like to listen to. The problem for Herman Cain, Kyra, is that he gets out there on the stump, he makes statements like he did over the weekend about immigration, talking about building an electric fence along the U.S./Mexico border.
This is the problem for Herman Cain. People like what he's saying, people like the simplicity of his 999 economic plan. But they're not sure he's presidential and it's in part because of these white hot controversial remarks that he makes from time to time.
So that is the challenge for Herman Cain and, of course, Rick Perry who has fallen to a distant third, he's basically switched places with Herman Cain as the un-Romney at this point. Rick Perry has to find a way to get back into the conversation among Republicans and get back into some kind of contention with Republicans as to whether or not he could be this nominee. He's got a big case to make tonight -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jim. Now I know you're in the same location as Mark Preston, are we -- am I safe to -- OK, there we go. I'm safe to talk to Mark. ACOSTA: You can -- Mark is here.
PHILLIPS: OK. Good.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Don't worry, he's here.
PHILLIPS: Another late night in Vegas.
ACOSTA: And good to go.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I see the thing. Jim and Mark were out very late on the Strip last night.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: So, Mark, you've been talking about these new polls that were just released a few hours ago. Let's talk about the shifting landscape for a moment and what are you paying attention to? What are you noticing now as these new numbers come out?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Carol, we are getting so close now to a point where candidates are actually going to have to face the voters, you know. They've been on the campaign trail now for most of the year. We're only a couple of hours away from tonight's debate.
So the question is, who is the most likable candidate right now among Republican voters and I don't think we should be surprised that in fact it's the charismatic Herman Cain. Look at these new CNN/ORC poll numbers just released just a couple of hours ago. Herman Cain on top at 34 percent followed closely by Mitt Romney who most people think that he is the most electable candidate.
Then there's quite a bit of a drop after that. We see the Texas Governor Rick Perry down at 13 percent. Now Rick Perry has had a pretty tough time, Kyra, in the past few debates. I think tonight that his campaign is hoping that he can turn it around. After that, it is the rest of the field al in single digits -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Also, we've got the primary voting season starting to firm up. What's the latest developments there?
PRESTON: The latest developments. Iowa will hold their caucus night on January 3rd. This is the night they held it in 2008. Why is this significant? Significant because the candidates will have basically one day, perhaps one and a half days around Christmas to spend some time with their families and then they will be on the campaign trail in Iowa, and perhaps in New Hampshire.
Now to make this all very confusing and very difficult, New Hampshire might hold their primary in December. Might not even be in the month of January. So the primary calendar, very confusing right now. But we do know right now that Iowa will be on January 3rd. Where we sit here in Nevada, they'll hold their contests on the 14th. South Carolina on January 21st and then Florida later in the month.
But before we even get to that, of course, we are going to focus on tonight's debate here in Las Vegas, but there is a new debate now, Kyra, that has just been announced just in the past few hours overnight CNN has announced that they will be working with the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute.
These are two conservative think tanks that focus on domestic issues, but also foreign policy. We haven't heard a whole lot of talk in these debates over the past several months on the issue of national security and foreign policy. So the national security debate will take place on November 15th in Washington, D.C. -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK, Jim and Mark, thanks so much.
And tonight, live on CNN, Republican candidates, as we've been telling you, are going to go head-to-head in Vegas. The Western Republican Presidential Debate. Our Anderson Cooper there at 8:00 Eastern tonight on CNN.
All right, we'll have your next political update in just about an hour. You can always go to our Web site, too, for all the political news, CNNPolitics.com.
Well, one Israeli soldier exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. It's a prisoner swap that might get the peace process moving again.
We've got team coverage this morning. Matthew Chance is in Gaza where some freed prisoners were sent. Fred Pleitgen is in Gilad Shalit's hometown in Northern Israel, and Zain Verjee is going to join us from London with international reaction.
Fred, let's go ahead and start with you. Tell us about the homecoming. It's been five years.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is going to be a big homecoming and a big welcome that Gilad Shalit is going to receive here after five and a half years of course in Hamas captivity.
The people here of this hometown have basically draped it in blue and white. Posters of Gilad Shalit have been hung up saying, "Welcome home, Gilad." They have put white roses on the sidewalk outside of his home.
Now the big question right here right now is the health of Gilad Shalit after having been released. It appears as though during an initial helicopter ride from the Israeli-Egyptian border to an Israeli military base he had some health issue there. He's undergoing some evaluation at that military base right now and then they'll evaluate whether or not they're going to be able to chopper him from that military base here to his hometown or whether or not they're going to have to drive him.
We've seen those initial pictures of Gilad Shalit after having been released for Hamas captivity for the first time meeting his family. It looks as though he's very frail, he's very weak, and so we'll wait and see how and what the Israeli defense forces, the medics there evaluate. But certainly once he comes here, he is going to receive a big hero's welcome.
PHILLIPS: OK, Fred, we'll be talking more to you throughout the morning. Also we'll be connecting with Matthew Chance out of Gaza. But let's go to Zain Verjee in London.
Now, Zain, let's talk about the world reaction to the news this morning.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, there's been a lot of international reaction, Kyra. Let's go straight to the newspapers.
The "Jerusalem Post" has this headline. "Mixed emotions on Shalit's deal," it says. It goes on to say, "Feelings fluctuate from joy at the prospect that Shalit will finally be free after more than five long years from captivity to trepidation that the release will lead to more terrorism and violence."
Take a look at "Gulf News." "Shalit deal a win-win situation for all." It says, "There is a debate raging in Israel over the wisdom of the swap, which some believe is unethical or a betrayal of victims' memories. Others fear it might encourage further abductions. The majority, however, are too busy savoring the euphoria of the moment to care."
And finally the "Wall Street Journal Asia," Kyra, its headline, "Israel's unequal exchange." "Sooner or later Israel will learn the name of its next Gilad Shalit. Sooner or later, too, it will learn that the better course is to give its enemies reasons to think twice before taking hostages in the first place."
A lot of analyst I spoke to today, Kyra, said that today was basically win for Hamas. It was a big propaganda coup. They played their trump card and they have the upper hand here. Some of the fear now is, is that will they do this again? Will there be more Gilad Shalits to give them that kind of leverage -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee, out of London, thanks so much.
And we are still going to connect with our Matthew Chance joining us live out of Gaza City with the celebrations that are taking place there. We will go to him as soon as we are able to connect.
Also later this hour, we're going to talk with Israel's ambassador to the U.S. We're going to ask Michael Oren why Israel decided that now was the right time to make the deal. That's coming up, 9:30 Eastern Time.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just arrived in Tripoli. Her plane landed there just a couple of hours ago. She's the first top U.S. official to visit Libya since Moammar Gadhafi was driven from power.
CNN's Jill Dougherty is actually traveling with the secretary, joins us by phone now.
So, Jill, what will Secretary Clinton tell the Libyan people as soon as she has a chance to speak?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via phone): You know, Kyra, I think you can say this visit is half of it is a pat on the back for the Libyans, for the bravery that they showed during their revolution. And the second part is a push to the political leadership here to make good on their promise for a democratic transition.
After all, they're trying to put together a government. Election is still months away and not to mention the fact that, you know, you have Gadhafi, Moammar Gadhafi, still in hiding and fighting is going on.
So you could say, is this the right moment to be here? And they say it is. Her message really is that this is now when the hard work begins even after they have their revolution. So she's been meeting with President Jalil and just finished a meeting with Prime Minister Jibril. They're talking about that transition. What they do to get the election. How do you include parts of this society? How do you get women and young people involved?
There's going to be a news conference in just a couple of minutes with the Prime Minister Jibril. And then a university town hall that will feature kind of an open forum with students -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Our Jill Dougherty there there traveling with Hillary Clinton. We will follow that live event that she just mentioned and continue to follow the trip and the story.
Well, attention Republican candidates. If you want it be president, you better win over the Latino vote. Coming up, we're going to ask why no one in the current GOP field is really doing it for Latinos.
And a Boston firefighter catches a 6-year-old boy dropped from a third floor window. We'll hear from both of them right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories now "Cross Country."
In Oakland, California, freed U.S. hiker Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal spoke at an "Occupy Wall Street" rally last night. It's their first hometown appearance since being released from an Iranian prison just one month ago.
And take a look at this video. It went from day to looking like night almost immediately in Lubbock, Texas, right after a monster dust storm just blew through there. Strong winds turned up a rolling cloud of dust about 8,000 feet high.
The Boston fireman is being called a hero today. He rescued a 6-year- old boy dropped by his grandmother from the window of a burning building and he caught him, right in his arms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
LT. GLENN MCGILLVRAY, BOSTON FIRE DEPT.: His one free arm was flailing and his legs were flailing. So, I wasn't sure when she dropped him exactly where he was going to end up.
XAVIER DELONEY, FIRE VICTIM: She started to drop me down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that big fireman was right there?
DELONEY: Yes.
MCGILLVRAY: Happened to be at the right place at the right time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say it him when he caught you?
DELONEY: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PHILLIPS: Fifteen people were rescued from that fire. Police arrested a man on suspicion of arson, too.
Well, the Census Bureau says that Hispanics made up 7 percent of voters in 2010, that was a new record. And a recent Gallup poll put President Obama's approval rating among Hispanics below 50 percent. Plus, he made some Latinos pretty angry last summer when he bailed on a key conference of Latino leaders. Republicans might have an opportunity here.
We're talking with CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Also, Republican strategist and CNN political contributor Leslie Sanchez.
All right, Maria, you say that not one of these GOP candidates even knows how to speak respectfully to Latinos about issues that they care about. What's the problem?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's exactly right, Kyra.
What we have seen in the past debates is they have either completely ignored the issues that are important to Latinos or when they were actually asked what they would do to attract the Latino vote, not one talked respectfully about how they would create jobs, which, like other Americans, is one of the key issues that are important to Latinos. They went on to talk about illegal immigrants, the government dole, the fence with Herman Cain's joke about electrifying the fence and putting a sign saying, we'll kill you if you come over.
I got to tell you, Kyra, they keep digging their grave with Latinos because -- and this is according to President Bush's former pollster Matthew Dowd -- the GOP candidate cannot win the White House with at least 40 percent of the Latino vote. The GOP is now in the low 20 percentage points and the GOP candidates themselves, neither -- none of them are going to be able to break 30 percent at this point.
PHILLIPS: Leslie, do you agree with what Maria is saying? LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think there's some aspects that are really important when it comes to the GOP and Hispanics. And a lot of that has to do with tone, message, inclusion and really what the vision is for all Americans. I think to look at Latino as if they're only going to look at a few issues, like immigration, for example, or just a certain aspect of jobs is to be thinking like my parents' generation or going back to the '60s.
We have to become more modern in understanding this is a very dynamic Latino voting population. You're seeing a lot more independent voters.
Maria's point about the tone on immigration, though, and the fence is critical and I think we have to be sure that Republican candidates are sensitive to how they talk about immigration. It is not the number one issue, but it is a lens by which Latinos look at the GOP in general.
PHILLIPS: So, back in 2004 when Bush got about 40 percent of the Latino vote, what did he do that these Republicans are not doing? Maria?
CARDONA: Well, first of all, the first thing he brought up when he was elected in 2000 was the immigration issue of all Republicans. He was actually on the right side.
But, clearly, what we saw is that he could not get the right wing of his party to come along with that change. Then what he also did very well is he actually spoke to Latinos. He ran ads on Univision and Telemundo and the other Latino-speaking networks and prints and radio. He actually went to Latino gatherings and spoke to them.
What is this GOP group doing? The last thing that I heard was that they were actually boycotting an important debate on Univision which is the largest Spanish language-speaking network. That is not how you try to convince Latino voters --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Leslie, let me ask you, because we're going to have to wrap this up. Rick Perry, you know, wasn't he the candidate for Latinos? I mean, he's the one that defended free education for the children of undocumented immigrants and he actually said last month at a debate and I've got the quote here, if you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no reason, then they've been brought there then by no fault of their own, I don't that they have a heart. I mean, those are pretty strong words.
SANCHEZ: Those are strong words. I think his appeal is correct and that's a long history in Texas. Governor Bush did that, as well. I mean, the idea of in-state tuition for undocumented students is something that started its genesis at the state legislature level, especially in Texas, especially in Houston.
Going back to that -- there's some confusion. Let's not forget that Al Gore dropped between the Democrats and going to George Bush, there was a 19 percent swing in support for Republicans.
It's the candidates; it's the message, the inclusion. Yes, advertising. Are they simpatico? But do they understand?
They were talking about education. Bush was talking about jobs and the future, very Reaganesque in terms of bringing people together, not tearing them apart. And I'll tell you, the biggest disadvantage the Democrats are going to have right now once we do have a nominee is looking that president's failed record on expectations and meeting the expectations of much of the Democratic base.
We have a long way to go on the Republican side. I think this is going to be an example if we do have a Hispanic, for example, on our ticket as a vice presidential nominee. There's a lot of things that can shift in this debate and I think that's what we have to pay attention to. What is the vision for all Americans, not just particularly a lens of immigration.
PHILLIPS: Maria and Leslie, thanks for the conversation this morning.
CARDONA: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Tonight, live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president go head- to-head in Vegas. The Western Republican Presidential Debate, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
Richard Branson is trying to make dreams of going to space a reality. We're going to tell you what he's doing, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get your "Showbiz Headlines" now.
Teen star Selena Gomez is receiving death threats. According to TMZ, the singer has obtained a restraining order against a 46-year-old man. He reportedly told a shrink he had conversations with God about killing Selena.
J.R. Martinez continues to wow the judges on "Dancing with the Stars." Martinez and his partner Karina Smirnoff scored last night's highest marks after performing a samba.
HLN's Nancy Grace danced the rumba, by the way. One judge told Grace, "I think it was your best performance."
And Paris Jackson making history. Michael Jackson's only daughter became the first female at her exclusive L.A. private school to join the flag football team. According to TMZ, Jackson joined to prove that girls can play football, too.
One thing you can say about British billionaire Richard Branson is that he thinks big, and he's always looking to the future. Now, he's opened a home terminal and hangar for Virgin Galactic, his commercial space tourism airline. CNN's Zain Verjee in London to tell us all about it.
I don't know -- time to buy a ticket? How expensive will this be, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it's going to be easy for you, Kyra. It's only $200,000 a ticket. You can afford it.
But the rest of us, you know, I don't know. I don't think so. You're going to have to take a few pictures of earth when you're up there for us, you know?
So, about 450 people have already bought these tickets, 150 were at the opening of this new really cool hangar. It's in New Mexico in the desert and Richard Branson and his typical flair celebrated its opening by kind of scaling down the wall of the exterior of the building and popping a bottle of champagne -- and then, there you go, taking a good old swig there.
And you can see in this video, this was actually the space vehicles. This is White Knight 2 that actually carries spaceship two in the middle of it.
Well, they're doing these final rocket tests before they actually go out to space and all the lucky space tourists you, Paris Hilton and everyone else can enjoy that. This hangar, by the way, looks fabulously futuristic. It costs $209 million -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I don't know, that's a lot of cash. I hope you get to skip on the moon for that amount of money. Thanks, Zain. Yes?
VERJEE: You know, they actually, for that amount of money, it's two and a half hours of flying and only five minutes of actually being in space. Sorry.
PHILLIPS: That's OK. That's what you call not enough satellite time. Sorry about that.
Alison -- Zain and I got caught up there talking about Richard Branson and 200,000 bucks and who knows what you get when you soar up into space.
Why don't we get down to the sell-off yesterday? The Dow falling 250 points. Hopefully, we'll get some better news today.
What do you think?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I don't know if we're going to get any other good news today because so far, it's really only bad news all morning. We've got new signs of a slow down in virtually every corner of the world.
China, for instance. We found out today that China's economic growth is slowing. It's still very strong, though, when you consider what other countries are doing. China's GDP is up more than 9 percent compared to our 1.3 percent. But fact is, it's still slowing in China.
Then we got some weak bank earnings here. Goldman Sachs posted its first quarterly loss since the recession, this coming after warning bells from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup and then you pile on more. We've got the European debt crisis still a big problem, futures sitting on the fence. But my guess we'll start lower today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Alison, we'll watch the numbers just a couple minutes away from the opening bell.
Also, we're going to talk about Israel's ambassador to the U.S. We'll ask Michael Oren why Israel decided that now was the right time to make a prisoner swap deal.
And ahead of tonight's Republican debate in Las Vegas, a look at the city's economic struggles. More unemployment, more foreclosures, fewer tourists.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Seven candidates will face off tonight at the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas. Our new national poll shows that two-thirds of GOP voters haven't made up their mind.
President Obama on a second day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia. The president is pushing his jobs package, but Republicans blast the trip as a taxpayer funded re-election swing.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Tripoli today. She's meeting with new Libyan leaders and plans to offer U.S. medical help in those wounded fighting with Gadhafi loyalists.
Well, one Israeli soldier exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. It's a prisoner swap that might get the peace process moving, again.
Listen to what Gilad Shalit said after she spent five years as a captive of Palestinian militants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILAD SHALIT, FREED ISRAELI SOLDIER (through translator): I hope this deal would achieve peace between the Palestinian and Israeli side. And that this would support the cooperation between the two sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, joins me now live from D.C.
Ambassador, good to see you.
What do you think about what Shalit had to say? Is this going to push peace forward? MICHAEL OREN, ISRAEL AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good morning, Kyra. Good to be with you.
Well, first of all, we share in the joy of Gilad's release. After five years of being held as a prisoner by the terrorist organization Hamas, without so much as a single Red Cross visit. Gilad Shalit today has been reunited with his family. But we also partake of the pain of the victims of the terrorists we had to release in order to obtain Gilad Shalit's freedom.
Will it advance peace? I think, above all, what this deal has proven is that the Israeli government has taken a very hard decision here, and it proves that the Israeli government is capable of taking the hard decisions whether in strengthening our society to better defend ourselves or to perhaps make a peace deal once the Palestinians actually return to the negotiating table.
PHILLIPS: Well, Mr. Ambassador, what makes this so different? This deal so different versus the past discussions. I mean, both sides have been talking about these numbers of released prisoners for some time. What really changed here and why it's happening now?
OREN: It's happening now because Hamas greatly reduced its demands. Hamas is having a hard time in Gaza, the economic situation there is not good. It's headquarters in Syria is being threatened by the uprising for democracy there.
So, Hamas was able to reduce its demands and enable us to conclude this deal.
And, again, we are delighted that Gilad Shalit has been reunited with his family. All of Israel is celebrating today.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let's recognize the fact that it's convicted murders that are being released here and there's tremendous concern about these prisoners committing new attacks. I want to go a step further here, though, and ask you -- has your government now strengthened Hamas by doing this, at the expense of a more moderate Fatah?
OREN: I think we've strengthened ourselves. Keep in mind, we have a citizens army, Kyra. We don't have a volunteer army. We send our kids out to defend ourselves. I sent two sons and a daughter into the army out to defend the state of Israel.
And those kids have to know that if God forbid anything happens to them, if they're captured or worse, the state will do everything in its power to get them back -- and that strengthens us. That has strengthened us since the day of Israel's creation 63 years ago and we had similar exchanges in the past.
After the 1967 Six-Day War, we exchanged over 6,000 Arab prisoners for two Israeli pilots. That type of commitment to our children who are out to defend our country has enabled us to remain strong in the face of terror.
PHILLIPS: Ambassador Michael Oren, thank you for your time this morning.
OREN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: We're less than 12 hours away now from the start of a CNN Western Republican Debate in Las Vegas. For the candidates, it's another chance to whack at their opponents. Well, for the city, a chance at hundreds of visitors and money in their wallets. That's a big deal, too.
As T.J. Holmes has been finding out -- pretty tough times in Vegas right now, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you there, Kyra. No doubt about it.
I tell you they brought in $8 billion in revenues here in Las Vegas last year. Eight billion dollar, that sounds pretty good. But if it was closer to $10 billion a couple years ago, it gives you an idea of how much trouble this place is in.
And that is why Las Vegas and Nevada as a whole going to be a very captive audience for our debate tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Welcome to Las Vegas.
Underneath the glittering lights and entertainment, a city that's struggling in the down economy. Just ask the cab drivers.
(on camera): You think people don't get it how bad you hurt?
LANCE OLIVIA, TAXI DRIVER: They don't. The Strip will be busy to them. We know it's not.
ANDY ABBOUD, V.P., LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.: People are coming to Vegas but they're hesitant to spend money.
HOLMES (voice-over): Andy Abboud helps to run the Venetian. He said business is starting to pick up, but it's not enough by itself.
ABBOUD: So, while other people in other parts of the country are rolling in, locals still don't have the confidence that they can go out and start buying homes again and making money.
HOLMES: Construction, the engine of the Vegas boom has come to a standstill. The unemployment rate is at 14.2 percent. The foreclosure rate is higher here than anywhere else in the country.
One of the few places that's bustling -- VetServe which provides meals for threat veterans that can't afford them.
SHALIMAR CABRERA, VETSERVE: The economy is closing down businesses and they're losing jobs. So, the number one reason veterans coming to us right now is unemployment.
HOLMES: One idea to help Vegas rebound, trying to put the focus back on the people who live here.
ZACH WARE, ZAPPOS.COM: So, this is Fremont Street.
HOLMES: Zach Ware works for the Internet premier shoe shopping network site, Zappos.com. The company is in the process of relocating more than 1,200 employees downtown, to old Vegas, the heart of an economically depressed area.
WARE: For us the community and the locals are first. And if we happen to create something that's really, really cool as a community and they want to come to visit, that's awesome. We love that.
I think the most important thing we can do as a community is really focus on creating the elements in downtown Las Vegas that serve the community and not fall into the trap that the Strip has fallen into for all the right reasons, which is we need to serve the tourist community and make sure it works for them first and then the locals second.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: So, no doubt the economy is a big part of our conversation tonight at our debate. And a big part of the economy here and coming back as not just about visitors coming in and spending more of their money down here on the Las Vegas Strip. It's a diversification of the economy.
Yes, gambling is always going to be a big part of it, but the diversification comes with you coming and seeing a show. You coming and actually -- I don't know, having a good dinner. And also, the diversification, Kyra, comes with the outside, the outside of the Las Vegas Strip.
People here in the local economy making this economy look a little different than it has in the past -- kind of hard to imagine, if you will, Kyra. You come to Vegas and I can't imagine what you do, but I assume you're on the Strip. You're spending a little cash.
But they need people to do a little more than that, all right?
PHILLIPS: When I go to Vegas, I go to church, T.J. Unlike your big night out last night. But that's a whole other story.
HOLMES: There is not a church. I haven't seen a church in Vegas in years.
PHILLIPS: T.J. Holmes, live from Vegas.
Don't forget, the CNN Western Republican debate tonight 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
Coming up, four GOP candidates say they were called by God to run, speaking of church. So, which does he actually want in the White House?
L.Z. Granderson mulls that over in his latest CNN.com op-ed. He's going to join me live.
And hands off our land. Prince William speaks out against land development. We're live from London on why he's so passionate about protecting parks.
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PHILLIPS: Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum all say they were called by God to run for president. So, either the Creator is hedging his bets, or somebody's mistaken -- that's according to L.Z. Granderson. The title of his latest op-ed on CNN.com, "Who does God want in the White House?"|
All right. L.Z., aren't you being a little harsh here? If these candidates say they're running for president is a calling, what's wrong with that?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: You know what? Absolutely nothing, up until last week. That's when I just sort of looked at the political landscape and almost blew a gasket because if you heard the words of Anita Perry, Rick Perry's wife, in which she pretty much said the other candidates may have felt like they were called by God, but I know that we were, and then Rick Perry goes on "Good Morning America" and says he supports what his wife says.
And at the same time, Herman Cain is on the Christian Broadcasting Network and he said he had a full conversation with God in which God had to convince him to run and that he was like Moses.
So, once again to that level of conversation, that level of rhetoric -- I felt that I needed to say, hey, wait a minute. We got these four candidates, two of them are saying that it's me, and I think we should probably have a larger conversation about it and not just dismiss it.
PHILLIPS: Are you saying that they're disingenuous?
GRANDERSON: No. I'm saying that people who interviewed them or I would like during tonight's debate that we actually ask them about these proclamations. If they're going to be using their spirituality as a way to corral the evangelical vote, then I think it's fair that we say, hey, four of you have also said you've been called by God or led by God or said that God want you to run. So, can you explain to me how all four different people are told by the higher power to run for the one office?
I think that would be an interesting conversation and one that Christians should want to hear.
PHILLIPS: L.Z. Granderson, I'd want to listen, that's for sure.
And you could read L.Z.'s entire op-ed on CNN.com. If you would like, you can join the conversation, leave a comment for him.
Well, Prince William gets political. Up next, the message he has for the government and their plans to develop park land.
And Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video comes to life in the form of a flash mob. You might be surprised by who organize the event.
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PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country now. In L.A. thousands of people are camped out in a parking lot for free health care. They're hoping to get one of 5,000 wrist bands that guarantees them a visit to see a doctor and a dentist. A non-profit organization is offering the free services for the next four days.
And this was a star-studded performance in Austin to benefit Central Texas wildfire victims. Willie Nelson, Dixie Chicks, George Straight, they are just a few of the singers that came out; the goal to raise $500,000.
And its Springfield, Mass. people stopped in their tracks to watch a flash mob perform the classic moves from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Springfield Symphony Hall planned the stunt to promote a show being held later in the week.
Well, Prince William is getting political. He's launching a campaign to protect parks from developers. Max Foster has a copy of the video that he's using to spread his message. So Max, why is Prince William so passionate about this cause?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've gotten this video today, he was speaking at Clarence House, his father's house and he's concerned. There is this background here in the U.K., lots of pressure on housing and lots of people don't own houses. So the government is under some sort of pressure to allow more development at areas that haven't been developed before.
But Prince William is a concern that green space is in cities and in the countryside should be protected. He's most concerned about the local park, you know, the playing field where people do their sports and he wants to protect that.
So what he's doing is speaking to people across Britain saying, look, if it's a local park, a local bit of grass that you want protected, e- mail my charity. We're going to try to get that protected long term for you. He's saying in this video, many of these sites may be lost in the future if they're not protected and he's concerned looking ahead to the London Olympics next year that people aren't going to have a local playing field. And he's there to really try to protect those fields of people, he's saying.
PHILLIPS: All right, well and also a big change in the way the whole royal family gets its money, right? What's that all about?
FOSTER: Yes. We have to go back to 1760 to understand this one, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That's a long time, Max.
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FOSTER: You know, taking you back a bit, if I may. The way the Queen is funded right now is through a grant. And it goes back to 1760 when she -- when the monarch basically handed over all of the royal property to the government and in return they get this annual grant. At the moment it's around $20 million a year and she uses that to support the whole royal family, including Prince William.
That system is changing today. So, the crown estate, this property that I'm talking about makes profits every year. It's actually going to change now so the Queen will get 15 percent of the profits from the crown estate, streets like Regent Street and much of the coast line, they are all made up for the crown and say and they're going to get that. It does mean that instead of having a set income each year, it's going to go up and down depending on the state of the economy and the property prices.
But people say that means that the monarchy sort of has to grin and bear the ups and down of the economy like the rest of us. So getting a bit more realistic, maybe.
PHILLIPS: There we go. There's nothing wrong with that. Times are changing. Thanks, Max.
Dan Wheldon's final sign of love for his wife. The Indy Racer got a tattoo the night before he died. You'll see it in sports, seven minutes from now.
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PHILLIPS: Well, here's a look at some stories that are making news later today.
At 11:20 Eastern President Obama speaks at a community college in Jamestown, North Carolina to sell his jobs plan.
In New York, protestors of the Occupy Wall Street Movement will join other social activists at a vigil outside Lincoln Center around 7:00 Eastern.
Then at 8:00 you can tune in to the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate, seven candidates squaring off in Las Vegas.
All right. We're following lots of the developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with our senior political editor, Mark Preston -- Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well Kyra, as you said, later today seven candidates for the Republican presidential nomination will take the stage here on the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip to make their case as to why they should be the Republican presidential nominee.
I'll have new national poll numbers as for Republican voters' choice for president at the top of the hour.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Zain in London and I'll be telling you what newspapers around the world are saying about a dramatic and extraordinary day. The Israeli/Palestinian prisoner exchange, one Israeli soldier for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Has the coffee business run its course? There is talk that coffee giant Starbucks could be looking to squeeze profits out of the juice business. Kyra I'm going to have more details in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right guys, see you soon.
Also next hour, more heartbreak after the death of a beloved Indy Car driver. The owner of Dan Wheldon's team says that he may not be able to go on. And a Nascar driver is raising some serious safety questions.
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PHILLIPS: Well, we are now hearing from Dan Wheldon's family.
JEFF FISCHEL, ANCHOR, HLN SPORTS: Yes, you know, it's obviously has been a very tough couple of days for the entire family. The family is shaken and the racing world is still reeling. The coroners confirm Wheldon died from blunt force trauma to the head when his Indy car careened into the turn at Las Vegas Speedway on Sunday.
Yesterday, Wheldon's heart-broken father had to read a statement just to get the words out.
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CLIVE WHELDON, DAN WHELDON'S FATHER: Daniel was born to be a racer and yesterday left us doing what he loved to do. He was a true champion and a gentleman on and off the track. Words cannot describe how much our family will miss him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISCHEL: We did find this out, the night before the crash Wheldon and his wife each got each other's initials tattooed on their wrists. The pic was posted by Mark Waters who ran into the couple in Vegas. Waters sent the photo to Dan's sister Holly after Dan died.
Monday night football last night, the New York Jets were taking on the Miami Dolphins. Miami looking for that first win. Matt Moore going for a touchdown, instead intercepted by Jets quarterback Darrelle Revis. And he is going the other way a long way 100 yards on the interception return for a touchdown. It's the NFL's longest pick for a prance (ph) this year. The Jets end the three-game losing streak; they beat the Dolphins 24-6. Miami is 0-5.
NHL now, Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, this is the opening face-off of the game and the Penns are in immediate trouble. A 3-2 for the Jets and Kyle Wellwood scores just eight seconds into the game, the Jets hold on to beat the Penguins, 2-1. It's the first win for the franchise since moving from Atlanta.
And we have to check out this stunt from a dunk contest. Wagner College's Josh Thompson, that's his mom in front of the basket with her back to him. Thompson, oh he is ready to go. Mom, you're a loving mother, because you're willing to test that out. Thankfully he elevated plenty. That's some love between a mother and son being willing to do that.
PHILLIPS: That's great. A lot of trust.
FISCHEL: Oh man, he had to earn that, for sure.
PHILLIPS: And hopefully he'll be earning a lot of money to take care of her when she retires, right? Yes there you go, thanks, Jeff.
FISCHEL: Ok.
PHILLIPS: And as we reach the top of the hour we are counting down and anteing up in Las Vegas. Seven presidential candidates ready to rumble in the CNN Western Republican Debate. It gets underway less than ten hours from now and the stakes are high. A new poll shows two of three Republican voters have still not decided on a nominee.
Senior political editor Mark Preston is live in Las Vegas. Mark you've got the new polls released just a few hours ago. Let's talk about what's shifting.
PRESTON: Yes. No doubt, Kyra. Yes look at these poll numbers from CNN/ORC. As you said, just a few hours ago, the mood of the country right now from Republican voters who they want to see as their presidential nominee.
Let's take a quick look at these numbers. Mitt Romney at 51 percent right now. The big argument for Mitt Romney is that he is the most electable, he would be the best candidate to go against President Obama. Followed by Herman Cain at 18 percent; somebody who has come on very strongly in the polls in recent weeks. And then after that Rick Perry, who when he entered the race back in August, was considered the frontrunner. And then after that everyone else drops down into the low single digits.
Looking at these poll numbers right now, it just shows you how important this debate will be tonight, Kyra, here at the Venetian. All these candidates are going to be trying to make their case to Republican voters why they should be the GOP nominee against President Obama in November of 2012.
