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Republicans Prepare for Vegas Debate; Hillary Clinton Visits Libya; Philadelphia Dungeon of Horrors; Israeli-Palestinian Prisoner Exchange; GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Debate in Las Vegas; Herman Cain's Former Boss Interviewed; 911 Calls Concerning Hair Salon Shooting in California Released; Equipment from Presidential Van Possible Stolen; Nevada's Economy One of the Worst in Nation

Aired October 18, 2011 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And with that, one more hour to go. Watch.

Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we go, Republicans rolling the dice in Vegas; coming soon to a McDonald's near you, TV breakfast, TV lunch, TV and dinner; and time for some flannel P.J.s. It's time to play "Reporter Roulette."

And I want to begin in Vegas with Mr. John King, scene of the big GOP debate tonight.

And, John, what's the one thing you're going to be watching for starting at 8:00 Eastern?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you, a lot of attention has been focused on Herman Cain. But here's my big question. Does Rick Perry show up? He has been marked MIA by many conservatives over the past few debates, guy who has a lot of money, who started off way at the top of the polls when he got in the race late and now is in a freefall.

So does Rick Perry show up? Is he combative defending his economic views and how does he defend his immigration views and is he as feisty at the end as he is at the beginning? Because a lot of people have said over the course of these two-hour debates, he seems to fade.

So that's my biggest question.

Mr. Cain obviously will be a center attention as well.

BALDWIN: OK. John King, the man who analogizes politics to dating -- that was a fun video I watched on your Twitter page -- let's talk Herman Cain vs. Mitt Romney specifically. Is it a fair fight?

KING: Well, is it a fair fight? Everything is fair in love and politics, right? We don't expect them to take a gondola ride or anything like that.

Is it a fair fight? You know, it depends on how you look at it. In the sense that Herman Cain you could say, no, it's not a fair fight. Mitt Romney has this huge fund-raiser operation. He ran for president last time, he's an experienced politician. He's got an infrastructure in all of the key states. Wow. He has this overwhelming advantage. Right?

However, look at where are in today's politics. Look at what the Tea Party did in 2010. A guy who has no political infrastructure, no political baggage, if you will. He's run for office before, but he's never been elected to any office before. A lot of voters like that.

Do enough voters like that? Do enough voters want a president who has never held office, never been a senator, never been a governor? That's a key question for Mr. Cain. But a lot of things that we traditionally would view as liabilities for Herman Cain in today's "don't like the politicians" environment, and I'm using very kind, friendly language there -- I could get more harsh -- somehow Mr. Cain benefits.

A lot of people, to put it more simply, want to send a bull to the china shop. If Washington is the china shop, they want to send somebody in who is going to tip over everything, and break everything, because they think Washington is broken. In the long run, Mitt Romney has more advantages by the traditional rules of politics that most likely will help him.

However, every now and then, the rules get broken. That's why we're watching this race with such fascination.

BALDWIN: It's fascinating indeed. And we will be watching all of you and all the contenders tonight 8:00. As Wolf told me this week when it comes to the debate, what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. John King, thank you very much.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want you to take a look at this piece of video, this monster that rolled over West Texas yesterday. That is more than a mile-high of brown Texas dust, nearly blocked out the sun there. This is around Lubbock, Texas.

People say it went from light to dark just like that. And lifetime Texans say they have never seen anything like the size of this dust cloud going all the way back to just the dust bowl days of the '30s.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Now, most of us are not exactly thinking Christmas just yet. However, Neiman Marcus is. Their famous Christmas catalogue is out today. You may be surprised to hear what fantasy items they are now offering up.

Also, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pays a surprise visit to Libya as the first Cabinet member of the Obama administration to visit since Gadhafi was ousted. And she did not hold back when it comes to her thoughts about the disgraced leader's future -- that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: And welcome back.

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now this:

GILAD SHALIT, FREED ISRAELI SOLDIER (through translator): I hope that this deal would help to achieve peace between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides and this would help support the cooperation between the two sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Huge international story here today, celebrations in both Gaza City after Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was set free after five years. Israel gave back many Palestinian prisoners just to get back just this one -- his story and the emotional family reunion.

Plus, chaining people in your basement all as part of this alleged scam to get their federal benefits, get some money. It's a troubling story out of Philadelphia. Holly Hughes is on the case coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A father-son reunion five years in the making.

Hamas freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit's father reuniting with him today, clearly in this embrace didn't want to let him go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We can say that we have experienced the rebirth of a son. I would like to thank everybody who has come here today and who has come to support and to welcome Gilad so warmly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And keep in mind, this one man, Gilad Shalit, was freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. About 500 Palestinians boarded buses as they started their journey home here. Huge crowds of Palestinians celebrated in Gaza's streets.

The United States government hoping that Moammar Gadhafi is either captured or killed, and soon -- those words today from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She said that in Tripoli shortly after arriving on this surprise visit.

CNN's foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, is there in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wheels down in Tripoli, Libya. The first cabinet level U.S. official to visit the capital since 2008 and since opposition forces liberated it from Gadhafi loyalists two months ago.

Gadhafi remains at large. Battles rage in two major cities, but a senior State Department official traveling with the secretary told reporters, I think it is exactly the right time for us to be coming.

Clinton's mission, congratulate the Libyan people on what they have achieved so far, offer a partnership with the U.S. and meet with leaders of the ruling National Transitional Council to discuss its challenging political road map.

One of the biggest issues, treatment of wounded fighters, 15,000 of them, including 1,500 amputees according to U.S. officials. Secretary Clinton plans to unveil a five-part program to help them, including spare parts for medical equipment and possibly bringing some of the wounded to the United States for specialized care.

Clinton is also bringing more money for hunting down and destroying shoulder fired heat-seeking missiles. Clinton's short visit to Tripoli was conducted under tight security. Gadhafi and the State Department officials still have henchmen, loyalists and thugs, although the officials deny Gadhafi is coordinated the resistance.

I wouldn't estimate his ability to be a lethal nuisance the officials say, but I'm also convinced the Libyan people are going to prevail.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Tripoli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up, they were a smiling, happy couple back then holding up team jerseys -- how the Los Angeles Dodgers wound up in the midst of this nasty divorce settlement. And today we now know who won.

But, first, some financial help from the CNN's Help Desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions.

Joining me this hour, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com. And David Novick is a certified financial planner and adjunct professor at NYU.

Guys, thanks for being here so much. Appreciate it.

Lynnette, first question to you. This comes from Harold in Maryland. Harold wrote in that he filed for bankruptcy a year ago and he is still making those payments on his high-interest credit cards, wants to know how long it is going to get build up that good credit again?

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, WWW.ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Probably not as long as he might think.

The bankruptcy is definitely going to stay on the credit report for 10 years, but you can rebound by doing things like opening a secured card. Checked out cardratings.com, for example, to get the best one based your current status and how you are spending every single month.

You pay the bill on time every single month. You load some money on to your secured card and then after that you start to build a more positive credit rating.

HARLOW: Maybe a little bit better than he thought.

KHALFANI-COX: Yes.

HARLOW: David, this question comes from Frank in Chico, California.

Frank is 67 and has a 401(k) in an annuity. He wants to know when he should start drawing that down and if he can use that money to pay down his mortgage and avoid any taxes.

DAVID NOVICK, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Well, it's not very likely that if he takes the money out of his 401(k), he's going to avoid any taxes.

There's a couple things he needs to be aware of. If it's an annuity, the annuity may have what is known as surrender charges, where there may be a percentage of the value that may be taken out up front.

If he has a low rate on his mortgage, he may want to keep it for now because he's getting a tax deduction. If he has other assets such as savings, that might be a better place to look at paying the mortgage, if he's insistent.

HARLOW: All right, thank you, guys, so much. We appreciate it.

And, folks, if you have a question that you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time to CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And we are now on the case today with Holly Hughes talking about two different legal cases today.

I want to begin with a pretty high-profile divorce case. I mean, dealing with divorce is tough enough. When you're talking about who gets the Dodgers, is it him or her? We now know it's him, Frank McCourt.

HOLLY HUGHES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. He came out on top of that deal.

And they have been fighting about this for a long time, Brooke. And basically it's another piece of property. It's part of the estate, if you will, that they own. And so like who gets the silverware and who gets the leather couch? Who gets the Dodgers?

BALDWIN: That's really how it's treated.

HUGHES: Absolutely. It's something that they jointly own. And who is going to come out on top? And apparently it's Frank McCourt today.

BALDWIN: What About Dodgers fans? Does this affect them whatsoever? Because didn't he drive the Dodgers into bankruptcy?

HUGHES: Right. But there's a couple different types of bankruptcy.

BALDWIN: OK.

HUGHES: And we're not talking bankruptcy where the team is going to dissolve. It's not going to go away.

When the general public hears the term bankruptcy, they think that's the end of it. They are closing their doors, as it were. That's not what is going on here. What he's doing is attempting to restructure and rebuild the franchise, rebuild the team. So the fans will not be affected. They will still be able to go and cheer for their favorites.

BALDWIN: OK.

Story number two is that horrific story out of Philadelphia, those four who were people Saturday sort of, I think one of them -- one of the four chained to a basement, filthy conditions. Now also coming out today, this 15-year-old Florida girl who was missing back on July 4, now her mom is elated she has been found. Apparently, she is a runaway.

So a couple of directions I want to go with you. First, let's talk about these victims, mentally disabled victims.

HUGHES: Yes.

BALDWIN: We're hearing from them. If you're their attorney, assuming they have one, is that smart for them to be talking?

HUGHES: Right.

Well, absolutely, because at this point in time, what we're looking at criminal charges. And remember that private attorneys do not bring criminal cases. That's going to be on the prosecutor's office. So the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has already come out and said these people will be charged with a host of crimes.

They are talking about kidnapping, false imprisonment. If there were beatings, you're talking about aggravated assault. Then on top of it, we have the impetus or the motive for this whole thing. And the police have said this is a fraud case. This is a case where they are stealing -- the defendants, the three defendants who were arrested, have been stealing the Social Security checks and the mental disability waivers that some of these folks are getting.

So they are holding them captive, taking their money. So there is an entire host of charges we're going to see against the three defendants. And then on the civil side, you may see a private attorney representing these poor victims if in fact there is anything that the defendants still have that they can sue to recover, because, remember, you have got to show actual injury.

Well, that's a done deal, Brooke. These poor people have been through horror after horror. And we hear that they started in Texas. They moved some of them from Florida.

BALDWIN: Multiple states.

HUGHES: Now they're talking about Virginia. Yes.

BALDWIN: Not only multiple states. According to Lieutenant Evers, who I spoke with, with Philly P.D. last hour, he also said, Brooke, I can pretty much guarantee there are other victims.

I want to just play just a piece of that sound.

HUGHES: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And these people -- you mentioned one person been missing since '05?

LT. RAY EVERS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, 2005. Her relatives made a missing person report in Philadelphia 2005. And when the detective from Northeast, detectives visited the relatives, the detective described it as the relatives were actually falling on the ground with being so happy that we actually located their family member.

BALDWIN: Lieutenant, might there be other victims involved here?

EVER: It's -- again, with this, it's going to be a long-term investigation. We are actually pulling more detectives into this investigation because there's so much items to go through. So many interviews have to be conducted. Will there be other victims? I guarantee there will be, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And, quickly, in terms of the three defendants, what charges do they face?

HUGHES: Multiple kidnapping.

We're talking about federal charges, as well as state charges, because if they have taken them over state lines, then they have federal charges they're facing as well, aggravated assault, fraud, theft, theft by deception, kidnapping, false imprisonment.

You name it, they are going to be charged with it if there's any possibility, because what they did to these people is unconscionable. And these people could testify. We all keep saying mentally disabled, but that does not mean stupid. And that does not mean they don't know exactly what happened to them and what they have lived through and what they have survived. So we're going to see a whole package of charges. And these people just need to plead guilty, Brooke, because it's pretty much a done deal with all the photographs.

BALDWIN: We will stay on it. We will stay on it.

HUGHES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Holly, thank you so much--

HUGHES: Thank you.

BALDWIN: -- on the case today.

Coming up, as you know by now, a big debate tonight in Vegas. We're just a couple hours away -- only 12 more debates left before the primary season. are these presidential candidates, are they benefiting from all these opportunities to debate one another? We're counting down with Gloria Borger live from Vegas next.

Also, we have Herman Cain's former boss joining me live. What does he think about Cain's future bid for the biggest job in the country? Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time for your "America's Choice" 2012 politics update. Gloria Borger joins me once again from Vegas. Here we go, hours ahead of the big debate, talking about tonight's Republican presidential debate. And Gloria, as we look ahead here -- and here's the countdown. Thanks, guys. As we look forward to tonight's debate, one person certainly with lot riding with a lot on it is Rick Perry. What does he need to do in order to gain some traction?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: He needs to perform well. He needs to do a better than he's done in these last debates. He needs to show up with a plan, maybe a plan for the economy. He needs to take on Herman Cain and Mitt Romney, in particular, because Herman Cain has been taking away all of his votes and all of his momentum among Republicans.

And so I think in a way Rick Perry has the most to lose tonight if he doesn't really bring it. You know, last debate we were all remarking about how passive he was during the debate. So today he's really got to show up and become a plausible president sitting next to all of those other folks.

BALDWIN: What about, Gloria, in terms of the bigger picture of these debates, the role that they play, how significant are they overall in the primary season?

BORGER: You know, it's really interesting. A lot of people say, including some of the candidates, why do we have to have so many debates? Counting tonight we will have had eight debate. We've got about a dozen more coming up. And Pew research just did and interesting poll. I happen to have for you, Brooke. And it said in this survey that about a third of Republicans have actually watched a debate. That's a huge amount. Three quarters of Republicans have said that they are very helpful.

But here's the key. About half of Tea Party members say that these debates have helped them reassess the candidates, which means it's helped them change their minds. And that's why you see Herman Cain on the top today, Rick Perry on the top another day, Michele Bachmann. It's because those Tea Party candidates have really been -- I mean, the Tea Party supporters have been watching these debates and it's really helped them decide who they like. And we got the gondola in the background and the singing.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Thank you. You know we enjoy that. Gloria Borger --

BORGER: I don't know what I'm going to do without it.

BALDWIN: No gondolas in D.C., I suppose.

BORGER: I know.

BALDWIN: Gloria, thank you so much. Let's remind everyone coming up tonight live on CNN from Las Vegas, the Western Republican presidential debate. Tune in, 8:00 eastern time, hosted by Mr. Anderson Cooper.

You know, Herman Cain is on a roll and head to head with Mitt Romney in a lot of those polls. Well, we have one thing the debate does not tonight, Cain's former boss of godfather's pizza fame. We'll talk to him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Tonight is Herman Cain's big audition, his interview for the job of Republican nominee for president. Our Republican debate starts at 8:00 p.m. sharp live from in Las Vegas. And joining me now from San Diego, a man who hired Herman Cain to run godfather's pizza. He is form Pillsbury executive Jeff Campbell.

Mr. Campbell, good to have you on. First question out of the gate, really, when and why did you hire Herman Cain?

JEFF CAMPBELL, HIRED CAIN TO RUN GODFATHER'S PIZZA: Well, I met Herman sometime in the early to mid ''80s. It's all getting fuzzy to me now. But he was visiting Burger King headquarters representing our parent company Pillsbury. And the first time I met him I was impressed and tried to figure out a way to get him on our team, which is did, and brought him in to run our Philadelphia region, which he did very well. And then when we acquired the Godfather's Pizza in late 85, needed to make a change, needed a leader for that business, he was the first person I thought of. So I offered him the job. I believe that was 86, and he went in there and did a terrific job.

BALDWIN: So just let me ask you a little bit more specifically. A lot of people can be impressive, but then why did you pull the trigger and hire him? Can you be more specific?

CAMPBELL: Yes. That's a great question. He is impressive on the surface. What you want to do, particularly if you're trying to choose somebody to run a business, is find out if there's really any substance beneath that. And I had years of watching him operate in Philadelphia before making the call. And then, of course, I've watched him since. So with Herman you get somebody who is impressive on the outside but who can deliver the goods on the inside.

BALDWIN: We were listening to Herman Cain today, heard him say something pretty interesting. He said that in order to solve a problem, you first have to know precisely what that problem is. So can you just tell me a problem, an anecdote, something Cain solved at Godfather's Pizza and how he went about correcting it?

CAMPBELL: Well, I would say in a slightly general terms what he found was an organization that was not performing, that needed to drive its revenues, improve its performance on -- in terms of operating profit. And in the process of making that happen, he needed to energize a fairly demoralized organization and get them all on board and leaning forward in their foxholes, as we would say. And that's what he did.

BALDWIN: Did he make any mistakes?

CAMPBELL: I'm sure he did. I don't remember any.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Not at all? Not a single one off the top of your head?

CAMPBELL: Not on the top of my head. Maybe someplace deep inside. But I'm getting to an age where those are getting harder and harder to find.

BALDWIN: Well, how about this one, was he a good boss, a bad boss? Did people enjoy working for him? How was he as a communicator? Was he fair?

CAMPBELL: I shared the air this morning with Spencer Wiggins who worked for Herman when he ran Philadelphia, and if I'm remembering correctly he said that he was a very fair boss. Tough and demanding but fair. He is a very good person. He's great with people. And he has that wonderful sense of humor that certainly in a business environment comes in handy, particularly when you're facing adversity.

BALDWIN: OK, so I've been taking notes as we've been talking - "sense of humor, impressive, leader, fair." So Jeff Campbell, you hired Herman Cain to run Godfather's. Would you vote for him for president?

CAMPBELL: I am not endorsing anybody as yet, but I will watching him and everybody that's attempting a run against him very carefully. I think that --

BALDWIN: You hired him. You can't give me a yes or no right now?

CAMPBELL: No. Different job. BALDWIN: Different job.

CAMPBELL: Different job. And there's a huge amount at stake this time around. We can't get it wrong. So he is a personal favorite of mine as a leader and a person, but I'm not making any decisions on who I'm voting for until we get a lot closer.

BALDWIN: OK, not yet. Jeff Campbell, thank you so much live from San Diego.

Coming up next, we have one of the chilling 911 phone calls from last week's deadly hair salon shooting in Orange County, California. It was a town often referred to as Mayberry by the sea.

Also, President Obama continuing on his jobs tour, talking about his proposal, what he's saying today, next.

And we're going to take a moment to point out the importance of the city and state that are hosting tonight's big debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are now hearing some pretty 911 dramatic phone calls detailing the horror of last week's rampage at this hair salon in a once sleepy Seal Beach, California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to answer my questions, OK? Do you know who the hairstylist is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's one of the hairstylist's husband. Why do they have the door open?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys need to shut the doors and hide somewhere, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's just shooting everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In another call, a woman clearly shaken up describes how she got away and feared that she would be next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got down and put my hands over my neck like an air raid drill. I was just hoping wasn't going to kill me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, that's OK. We have police and paramedics on the way. Do you know how many he's shot? OK. We're on our way. And you're at the hair salon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hiding behind a car in the parking lot. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is this your cell phone that's --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Go ahead and wait there. We're on our way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I get off the phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We're on our way. OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Frightening. In total, eight people were killed in last Wednesday's massacre, middle of the afternoon, broad daylight, ninth person is seriously wounded. And police say they believe the suspect, Scott Dekraai, was out for revenge in a custody battle with his ex- wife. She is among those dead. Dekraai was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder Friday, and as he left court, one of the victim's loved ones was there, lashed out at him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate you! I hate you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The Orange County district attorney's office says he will seek the death penalty in this case.

And a father goes into a Michigan gas station, convenience store right around 3:00 in the morning, and he's bragging about having a designated driver, a chauffeur. You can hear this exchange on surveillance tape. Here's the issue, and watch closely. The driver's side, his chauffeur, his nine-year-old daughter. She has been turned over to relatives. The dad, 39-year-old Sean Russell Weaver, is charged with child abuse. A witness spotted them leaving the gas station earlier this month and then decided to follow them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just watched a van pull out of a gas station. A seven-year-old girl was driving it and her dad is drunk and he's in the passenger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the vehicle staying on the road?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, she's driving pretty good. I'm telling you, I can't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: She was nine-years-old. He reportedly refused to take the breathalyzer test. Police say they found the girl sitting on a booster seat behind the wheel when she was driving. She reportedly told police her dad had been drinking whiskey and that he had let her drive before. Also, update here. Weaver just appeared in court. His bong was just set at $25,000. He cannot leave the state without court consent and he cannot have unsupervised contact with a minor.

We've talked a lot about Republicans this hour with regard to this debate upcoming tonight. But let's not forget about the president of the United States, jobs tour, campaign tour, whatever you want to call it, here he is appearing in Jamestown, North Carolina. This is the Ragsdale YMCA. And take a look at some of the faces there in the crowd. These are North Carolinians. In 2008 they voted for Barack Obama, but only by the slimmest of margins. North Carolina went for Obama by just about the width of a banjo string, four tenths of one percent. That's one of the reasons he's there. He's talking about his jobs proposal and what it would mean for taxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to be clear -- the vast majority of Americans would see a tax cut under the jobs bill. We have been cutting taxes. We haven't been raising taxes. We have been cutting taxes.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And we can continue to keep taxes low for middle class and working families if we ask those at the very top to do their fair share. And a lot of them are willing to do it if they feel it's going to make the country stronger and reduce our deficit, and put people back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So a three-day bus tour through two states. You have North Carolina and Virginia. The president will be back at the White House tomorrow.

And we have just a couple of hours to go until tonight's big debate. We want to take a moment to point out just the importance of the city and really the state that's hosting it. As you know, Nevada already has the highest unemployment rate in the entire country. Las Vegas, specifically, which thrives on tourism, isn't seeing as much in this down economy. Here is T.J. Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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're hurting?

LANCE OLIVIA, TAXI DRIVER: They don't. The strip will be busy to them. We know it's not.

ANDY ABBOUD, VP, LAS VEGAS SANDS CORPORATION: People are coming to Vegas, but they are hesitant to spend money. HOLMES: Andy Abboud helps to run the Venetian. He said business is starting to pick up, but it's not enough by itself.

ABBOUD: Locals still don't have the confidence they can go buy 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 -- Vet Serve, which provides meals for veterans who can't afford them.

SHALIMAR CABRERA, VETSERVE: The economy is closing down businesses and they're losing jobs. So the number one reason veterans are hurting 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, the original strip.

HOLMES: Zack Ware works for Zappos.com. The company is in the process to relocating more than 1,200 employees to downtown, 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 visit, that is awesome. We'd love that.

I think that 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 sort of fall into the trap that the strip has fallen into for all the right the reasons, which is we need to serve the tourist community. We need to make sure it works for them first, and then the locals second.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: T.J. Holmes in Las Vegas. By the way, don't forget, we are a mere four hours away from the big debate live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president go head to head in Vegas, 8:00 eastern time right here on CNN.

A teleprompter, sound system, podiums, and presidential seals stolen from a presidential van in central Virginia, what? Joe Johns all over it. "Political Pop" in the studio is next. Hey, friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now let's take a quick look at tomorrow's news today. Let's fast forward. First, first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will be attending game one of the 2011 World Series. Major League Baseball's Welcome Back Veterans program and the first lady's Joining Forces initiative kicks off tomorrow between the Texas Rangers at the St. Louis Cardinals. And the John Bon Jovi Soul Foundation expands tomorrow. They're celebrating the opening of the soul kitchen in Red Bank, New Jersey. This community kitchen allows anyone to pay what you can.

And Grammy winning Natalie Cole, daughter of Nat King Cole, will be in D.C. promoting public health and Hepatitis C awareness at the National Press Club.

And now to this. Have you heard about this one today? President Obama gets his teleprompter and podium, poof, stolen.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I know. I'm laughing about this a little bit with you, Joe Johns.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Could you imagine what would happen if they took our teleprompter?

BALDWIN: Some days we don't need it. Some days we do. How did this even happen?

JOHNS: I'm kind of skeptical about this story and I would be more so except for the fact there's been kind of a back door confirmation that there's a big investigation going on. But, I mean, how does the president's teleprompter and the podium with the seal get stolen?

It's a government vehicle. This is in central Virginia. This is also based on the report by WWBT-TV in central Virginia. And as I said, the administration really hasn't shot it down. I've called and sent e-mails. A bunch of people have gotten a little bit of information about it, not much. This happened before the president got there on his trip. This was actually part of the advanced process. What we do know is, number one, it's not the Secret Service this time.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Meaning they're not the ones in trouble?

JOHNS: Right, they're not the ones in trouble, precisely. This is controlled by the Defense Department of the United States. It's something called the Defense Information Systems Agency. I always thought it was the White House communications agency, but that's what you call it here.

BALDWIN: They're the ones in charge of his van and all the stuff.

JOHNS: Exactly. Whenever the president goes somewhere, they come along and do the set up and they take it down and they go to the next place.

BALDWIN: And it wasn't just -- it was the teleprompter, podium. What else?

JOHNS: I don't know what else. And they haven't said. They're not answering anybody's questions. They've got an investigation going on. They won't even tell us if something was taken out of the van, just that it appeared op the parking lot of a Holiday Inn. It's very mysterious.

BALDWIN: So, is the entire van and all of its contents gone or just the contents itself?

JOHNS: The mystery continues. I wish I knew.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Sorry. So many questions.

JOHNS: They won't answer an email.

BALDWIN: But you tried. We appreciate it.

The other topic I wanted to ask you about was Claire McCaskill and Twitter.

JOHNS: This is pretty interesting. Back in May she apparently got very motivated that she was going to lose some weight. And she went on Twitter to talk about it to make it a public issue. And then you know, we actually I think the first tweet. Do we have it somewhere? "I'm tired of looking and feeling fat," she says. "Maybe talking about it publicly will keep me on track as I try to be more disciplined." That was May 12th.

BALDWIN: Oh, my goodness. Can you imagine going on Twitter and it didn't work?

JOHNS: Apparently, October 8, the next one. "Goal, I did it. I lost 50 pounds thanks to team Charles and my new BFF, my treadmill." So we also have, a before and after picture. There you go, gig difference for Senator McCaskill. By the way, she running for reelection. So she's not only running the treadmill. She is running another campaign.

BALDWIN: Wow. I don't know if I'd want to talk about dieting on Twitter.

JOHNS: I know.

BALDWIN: I know we were talking about our time on the treadmill last night, but good for her.

And now with a little bit of time we have left, let's talk Halloween. We wanted to play this again. This is from "TIME" magazine. These are the most topical, best ideas for costumes. Fifth, Rebecca Black. You know Rebecca Black? She sang that song -- I won't sing it.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Move on to number four. I'm thinking of going as her for Halloween. Think I should do that.

JOHNS: Totally. BALDWIN: Rock a blue sapphire ring, maybe a blue dress.

OK, number three. Reveal Moammar Gadhafi. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of good --

JOHNS: He's got so many good costumes. He's kind of a changling.

BALDWIN: He does, all of his uniforms.

So number two, you can be any of these guys, the GOP candidates for president. And first place --

JOHNS: I want to be Romney.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: You could be a pregnant Beyonce.

JOHNS: Wow.

BALDWIN: It's even more fun if you look at TIME.com. You can go through and they'll explain what you need to buy. They were talking about the baby bump, the unitard, the eye shadow. It's kind of hilarious.

JOHNS: I just want to go as Wolfman.

BALDWIN: As in Mr. Blitzer?

JOHNS: Yes. He's coming up next.

BALDWIN: OK, coming up next -- thanks for reminding me.

JOHNS: Perfect segue.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, take it away live in Las Vegas.