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'Occupy' Protesters in Oakland Defy Demands From Police to Leave City Center; Wealth Gap Getting Bigger; Strippers in North Dakota Cash in on Oil Boom; What "Occupy" Means for Politics; Don King and the Presidential Race; Biracial Bone Marrow Challenge; Amazing Rescues in Quake Rubble

Aired October 26, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the top of the hour. We are in Studio 7.

I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Suzanne Malveaux.

Let me get you up to speed on this Wednesday, October the 26th.

There was chaos in the streets of Oakland overnight. Police fired tear gas, bean bags, trying to clear out the Occupy Wall Street -- or Occupy Oakland, if you will. The protesters there from a plaza at Oakland City Hall. Police say they cracked down after protesters threw paint and rocks at them.

And about the same time this was going on, Atlanta police moved in on Occupy Wall Street protesters camped in a downtown park. There were more than 100 arrests last night combined in both Oakland and Atlanta.

And rescuers pulled two more people out of collapsed buildings in eastern Turkey today. The number of people killed in Sunday's powerful earthquake has climbed now to 461.

Turkey is asking for tents and prefabricated homes -- or prefab homes, the ones that are essentially built elsewhere -- and they can bring them in and easily construct them on site. Police left -- people left homeless are spending the nights outdoors, and there are freezing temperatures there right now.

Also, look at this. A sea of people jammed a square in the heart of Damascus today to show support for Syrian President Bashar al- Assad. The rally comes as Arab League ministers visit Damascus. The delegation wants to mediate talks between Mr. Assad and the anti- government protesters. Human rights groups say about 3,000 Syrians have been killed in the government's crackdowns on protesters, and some have been tortured in state-run hospitals.

Well, President Obama will be in Denver next hour with an announcement that students will be glad to hear. This all has to do with student loans. He will let students cap their monthly payments at 10 percent of discretionary income starting in January. The president will also allow borrowers to refinance at lower interest rates. Students say this will help the economy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is going to be a big majority of us who are going to have a hard time looking for work or finding work, so we're going to be stuck with a lot of loans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm nervous about getting a job that's going to pay enough to make the payments every month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, if you add up everybody's student loans, the total is expected to top $1 trillion for the first time this year.

Well, a federal law enforcement source says a former Goldman Sachs director surrendered to the FBI in New York today. A number of reports say Rajat Gupta will face insider trading charges. He's accused of passing top secrets on to a hedge fund manager. His lawyer says the facts wills how Gupta did nothing wrong and always acted with integrity and honesty.

And Andy Rooney is in the hospital today. The veteran CBS journalist, he just signed of as "60 Minutes" commentator. That was just three weeks. He's 92 years old.

He had a minor surgery a few days ago, but now CBS says Rooney has developed serious complications.

Also, Chaz Bono has cut his last rug on "Dancing With the Stars." A tango from "Phantom of the Opera" got him booted last night. Chaz says he wanted to show America "a different kind of man," and says he accomplished that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAZ BONO, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" CONTESTANT: It's amazing. I got farther than I thought I would be. I had these people that, you know, were enjoying what we were doing, and I owed them something, and it made me try harder and get better and push myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And coming up this Friday, we'll be talking with HLN's Nancy Grace. She is still doing her thing on "Dancing With the Stars" right now. She'll give us a preview of week seven of the competition.

All right. This is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. And today's question: Would Jesus occupy Wall Street?

Carol Costello, we probably knew this was coming. People always asking, what would Jesus do? Here you go.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here you go.

Would Jesus occupy Wall Street? An interesting question, especially today, in light of what happened in Oakland, California.

Occupy Oakland protesters hurled paint at riot police, and riot police hurled tear gas. Jesus here? Some argue, yes. And the Vatican seems to be backing them up.

"The Sydney Morning Herald" reports a senior Vatican official says the Wall Street protests are justified. Pope Benedict himself has called for overhauling global financial rules because the gap between rich and the poor is so wide.

In New York, those of other faiths are joining forces with Occupy Wall Street. On Friday, a group of Muslims prayed in Zuccotti Park. Some Jews celebrated Yom Kippur.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Part of the themes of Yom Kippur are doing teshuvah, returning to a best self. I think our country has really gone off the track. I think we've forgotten about the poor, we've forgotten about the workers. And one of the major themes of Yom Kippur is to remember the poor, remember the workers, and to do what we can to make a better world. And I think this is a beautiful, holy expression of God's desire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But not all religious people support Occupy Wall Street. Jesus did repudiate the desire for personal wealth. He did advocate care for the poor and the powerless. But, they say Jesus also believed in community, people helping others, not government. Would Jesus walk alongside these protesters then?

The "Talk Back" question today: Would Jesus occupy Wall Street?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

HOLMES: Carol, we will see you here shortly. Thank you so much.

To our viewers now, here's what's ahead "On the Rundown."

Police and protesters clashing at Occupy demonstrations in California. We'll be live in Oakland.

Also, a new report finds government policy has done less over the past 30 years to even out the distribution of income in this country. We'll run down the numbers for you.

Also, North Dakota's oil boom means big money for a lot of a people, including, yes, strippers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe four or five years ago, it was hard to make $200. It was hard. It was just pulling teeth. Now, you know, you can pull in $2,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Also, today, boxing promoter Don King. He'll be talking about the political matches in the presidential race.

Also, rescue workers digging out survivors in Turkey. We'll be live at the earthquake zone.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A tense face-off unfolding in Oakland, California, where the Occupy protesters have defied demands from police to leave the city center. Tear gas filled the air in the early morning raid on the tent city there.

Our Dan Simon is live for us in Oakland.

And Dan, are both sides here blaming the other side for starting this?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question. Clearly, the protesters think that police overreacted in this situation. According to the police, however, some protesters threw objects at them, and so they had no choice but to unleash some serious force.

Let me show you what it looks like now, T.J.

You can see behind me these barricades, just a couple of police officers here now. Still, some of them in riot gear. Not too many protesters left.

This all started after these protesters were at City Hall for 15 days, part of this Occupy Wall Street movement, living in tent cities. And police decided that they needed to get these people out.

They were worried that there was going to be a safety problem there, maybe a health problem as well. So they wanted to force everybody out of this tent city, and they succeeded. And then, of course, you saw what happened later on in the night.

HOLMES: Give us an update on arrests and injuries possibly from last night.

SIMON: Well, we know about 100 people were arrested. We're told that a few people suffered some minor injuries, nothing serious.

And the question becomes, what happens now? At this point we're not so sure. We don't know if organizers have anything sort of up their sleeve, if they want to try to take that City Hall location back.

We're sort of waiting for their next move, if you will. It's still early here, so we'll probably get a better sense as the day unfolds. HOLMES: And last thing to you, Dan, what exactly is the point? They're trying to let their voices be heard, but I guess, what is the end game for these protesters to occupy this particular area and do what?

SIMON: Well, look, you know, given the Bay area's liberal leanings, it's not surprising that this area would be a major hub for the Occupy Wall Street movement. They have been there, as I said, for about two weeks, you know, part of this broader effort that we have seen across the country. And they were, you know, basically entrenched there.

They didn't want to leave, and they were going to be there as long as they felt like they needed to be there. But police, you know, they wanted to put an end to it.

People work there. That's City Hall. People go in and out of those offices, so they felt like, you know, enough is enough, and they wanted to push everybody back. And the protesters, you know, they felt like they still needed to be there.

So, you had this major sort of impasse, if you will, and it just kind of -- everything sort of clashed last night.

HOLMES: All right.

Dan Simon there for us in Oakland.

Thank you so much.

And we will be talking to one of the protesters who was there last night in Oakland coming up in just a bit.

Also, here in Atlanta, police arrested at least 53 people, Occupy demonstrators. There was another early morning raid, according to our local affiliate, WSB.

The arrests came after the mayor, Kasim Reed, sent religious leaders to speak with the demonstrators to try to find a "peaceful solution." When that did not work, officers swarmed the park, and the arrests were said to be orderly and peaceful, though some of the protesters reportedly had to be dragged away.

We turn now to some news that maybe is going to fuel some of these Occupy protesters, a new report that is out. And it plays into this political fight of whether or not there should be more tax breaks for the wealthy.

Let me bring in our Alison Kosik. She's down at the New York Stock Exchange for me.

And the report essentially says the rich keep getting richer.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. You know, and the wealth gap is big, T.J., and it looks like it's just getting bigger. I'm referring to a Congressional Budget Office report that looked at how much incomes have grown between 1979 and 2007. And here's what the CBO found.

It found that in the top one percent of the population, incomes grew 275 percent. You look at the middle class, incomes grew only 40 percent. But then you look at the poorest Americans here in the U.S., incomes grew just 18 percent.

It's what you said, T.J. It's really the core reason why those Occupy demonstrators are across the country day after day -- T.J.

HOLMES: So, Alison, the report give us the numbers, but does it give us reasons for the numbers?

KOSIK: Well, for one, you think about it, those who are wealthy, those who are rich have higher-paying jobs. Think about it. They're bankers, they're executives, they're big-time sports and entertainment superstars. They are high earners in our country.

Also, the rich wind end up getting a bigger portion of their income through investments, and those investments are taxed at a lower rate. I'm talking about capital gains and dividends.

So, yes, this is also what is fueling the big political debate over overhauling our tax structure here in the U.S. But analysts are saying the flat tax, the 9-9-9 plans would only favor the rich -- T.J.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HOLMES: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you, as always.

And President Obama, he's offering help for the college students out there maybe drowning in debt. In Denver, next hour, the president will promote two new measures to help graduates repay their loans. College loans have surpassed credit card debt in this country, and students that are borrowing money today are worried what happens tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We come to school to, hopefully, when we graduate, to get a nice job, to pay off our debts, to have a better life, but we're going to be drowning before we even start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't go to school, you can't get a good job and you can't make good money. So they're going to have to find a way to balance it out and bring down the tuition costs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a problem, because in order to go to school, I have to take out loans. I don't have the money to go to school. So I was trying to get the education that I need to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, one of President Obama's proposals involves a loan repayment program based on college graduates' income. Starting in 2014, loan payments will be based on 10 percent of their discretionary income, down from the current 15 percent. The president plans to move up the start date for the new lower terms.

The other proposal encourages graduates with different kinds of federal loans to consolidate them by offering a small break on interest rates.

When the president promotes the new measures and remarks at the University of Colorado's Denver campus, speech set for next hour, 12:45 Easter Time, we will take you there live.

Well, the oil business isn't the only thing booming in a small North Dakota town. Strippers say they're making more money there than they can in Las Vegas. Yes, you heard that right, more money stripping in North Dakota than in Las Vegas, as much as $2,000 a night.

Stick around for that one.

Also, traditionally, California has been on the cutting edge of being green, but did you know it is no longer the country's most energy efficient state? After four years, there is a new number one in energy efficiency. I bet you can't guess which one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour.

And we asked you, what state replaced California as the most energy-efficient state in the U.S. this year? It is Massachusetts. This is according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. California dropped to number two, followed by New York and Oregon.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: Well, what happens in Vegas doesn't pay as well as what's happening in Williston, North Dakota. Strippers there say they can make 10 times as much as they can in Las Vegas. The town is part of the oil boom in the region, and the dancers are cashing in.

Reporter Blake Ellis and photographer Jordan Molter (ph) filed this story for us at CNNMoney.com.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIT, DANCER AT WHISPERS: The money is here. My Vegas girls would rather dance here than in Vegas. They make more money here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vegas, now, it's seasonal. OK? You've got to hit when it's a golf tournament or some seminar. Here, it's just happening every day.

It's crazy. Anybody who needs a job, come up to Williston, North Dakota. MELISSA SLAPNICKA, CO-OWNER AND MANAGER, WHISPERS: I used to be, like, standing here, and I used to do crossword puzzle books, and we'd all just watch movies and TV. And, yes, ,now you don't have time to say hi to your friends that come in. They could just stand there and people will just throw money at them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came here when there was no money. There was no boom. Paddle fishing in Canada, there was just maybe one or two people here. Maybe four or five years ago, it was hard to make $200.

It was hard. It was just pulling teeth. Now, you can pull in maybe $2,000.

SLAPNICKA: I have tons of guys (ph) that get off the train and come in here, and they say they don't have a job. And I say, sit here for three hours, and they have a job when they leave.

They have more money, and they -- the ones that aren't sending it back home to their families, they are just -- they don't have anything to spend it on here. And there's not a whole lot of recreational things to do in Williston, so all they do is to go to the bar. And I see many guys just spend their whole pay checks because they have nothing else to do. In general, the boom has been good for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Other places, they wait for Friday, because it is payday. And here, we don't wait. It's payday everyday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yes, the oil boom is changing everyday life in smalltown North Dakota. Tomorrow, we'll talk with a local newspaper publisher and hear about some of the problems the boom has brought with it.

Well, they are getting media coverage, but could the Occupy protesters actually sway the election? We're talking to our good friend from "The Daily Beast," John Avlon, about what all of the drum beating on Wall Street means for the White House.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: Now, we are hearing a lot of sound and fury from the Occupy protesters, but a lot of people may still be asking what they really want, and what does it mean for the next election?

Let me bring in CNN contributor and senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast," John Avlon, to talk about it all.

Kind sir, good to see you.

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, T.J. HOLMES: And some of these images we've been showing from Oakland, is this, I guess, the danger for some politicians? They're not sure what to think of these protesters and this movement, and they are holding off on aligning themselves I guess with something that can look like this, no matter whose side might be at fault for triggering this.

AVLON: That's right, T.J. I mean, remember, we got the president of the WTO protests in the late '90s, and that's why some politicians I think are wisely saying hold on, let's get a clearer sense of what the protest actually wants to accomplish.

I read a Steve Jobs quote this morning from the new bio where he said, "The dividing line in politics isn't liberal versus conservative, it's constructive versus destructive." And I think the Occupy Wall Street protesters are going to have to decide whether they want to be a constructive force in solving the problems they're protesting, or whether they're going to go down as destructive force in American politics. It's an important choice to make, whether you choose to protest or political engagement.

HOLMES: Well, what do they do? How have they done now? Because we're in month two now of these protests. How are they doing in trying to find that message, that structure, and even maybe a leadership structure?

AVLON: Look, they have succeeded in capturing attention. And that's an important part of the process. But they need to focus on what their actual agenda is. What goals do they want to accomplish? What sort of change do they want to see move forward?

And it's a question of whether their goal is to change the financial system, which certainly there is a lot of room for improvement and need for dramatic change, or whether their goal is to simply protest American society at large. That's a lot more (INAUDIBLE). It's going to have a hard time attracting ultimately more people than you alienate if you take that kind of late '60s model and extend it forward.

HOLMES: Well, I had someone say to me that the protests, you don't necessarily have to offer a solution or fix the problem, you just need to highlight it. Is that enough? Have they done their job, quite frankly, in highlighting the problem?

AVLON: They have done a job in terms of bringing more attention to the problem, but ultimately, look, I think it's easy to simply criticize, but as the Tea Party has found, it may be easy to rally people in opposition to something, but it's a lot more difficult to take responsibility for solving the problem. In a democracy, that is a shared responsibility, and that's a key test for any political movement, whether they can make that transition from simply opposition to proposition.

HOLMES: Well, what would you recommend for the -- if you were a consultant for the Occupy movement? And tell them what to do that the Tea Party was able to do, because the Tea Party got political clout, they were able to get people elected and able to get people kicked out of office in some cases.

AVLON: I don't think "Occupy Wall Street" is engaging consultants, but I do think -- you know, for the Democratic Party in particular, I think they've got a real question. Obviously, a lot of folks like to see populous movements create an air of urgency behind their political wing, but there does become a question of what alienates more than it attracts.

If they focus on specific reforms that can help deal with some of the wealth disparity, help deal with some of the financial reforms, that segment (ph), people in Congress can get behind and say, how about this, the president today proposing new legislation to help ease some of the college loan pressure affecting over 1.6 million people.

That's not a direct response to "Occupy Wall Street" but could help appeal to some of that constituency. But folks would be advised not to get too terribly close as long as this is going to generate the kind of violence we saw the other night.

HOLMES: All right. Let me get to one last thing. You're latest column, you talk about "Occupy" quite a bit, then you're always talking about the wing nuts as well, is something you like to talk about.

AVLON: Well --

HOLMES: Are we seeing -- with the Republican candidates, we have too many distractions right now.

AVLON: Yes.

HOLMES: These are serious times. We've got serious problems. We need serious people quite frankly to correct the problems with -- now here we go with the birther controversy, with the the president coming back up again.

AVLON: Yes.

HOLMES: We're talking this week about a campaign ad from Herman Cain and the guy is blowing cigarette smoke into the lens. What is going on?

AVLON: Well, the cigarette smoke, aside, I don't think that's a problem, but Rick Perry stepping on his own flat tax message by resuscitating this birther nonsense is really absurd. And a symbol of the problem we got, when the fringe starts blurring with the base, candidates of these close partisan primary start to pander to the outreaches of politics.

And that's what we see. The side show starts to take control of the big tent. And that's a real problem in our politics right now. So it's up to folks to actually -- you know, punish those folks who engage in that kind of pandering rather than rewarding it. Because there are serious issues and these are serious times and they require serious debate. When Rick Perry starts bringing up the birther stuff again, that's not just an undisciplined candidate, he think there's a political benefit in that somewhere.

HOLMES: All right. John Avlon, always good to see you.

AVLON: Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: Thanks so much. I'll talk to you again here soon.

And 32 minutes past the hour, we get to go from John Avlon, a colorful character in his own right, to another guy. Boxing promoter Don King is joining me right after the break. He's going to tell me where I can get that jacket, and also, be talking about the presidential race and the "Occupy Wall Street" folks. Our conversation is next. Stay here, folks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: So 35 minutes past the hour. And news we're just are getting in one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons is set to turn himself in. This is coming to us from Reuters. But his son Saif al-Islam -- you may recognize the name and the face as you see it there. He was really one who was the spokesperson during the NATO-led, the coalition participation there in Libya, but you see him there.

He often did serve as a spokesperson, but now a word from Reuters reporting that he is prepared to turn himself in along with the former intelligence officer as well. So this comes just days after his father, Moammar Gadhafi, was killed there in Libya, and also just a day after we got word that Moammar Gadhafi was in fact buried at an undisclosed location.

But Saif al-Islam, one of the sons of Moammar Gadhafi, and someone who served as a public face as a spokesperson for his father, set to turn himself in. That information coming to us from Reuters.

We will pass along more as we get it.

We turn back now to the Republican race for the White House. There's been a lot of friction lately between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. You may have noticed.

Well, Don King knows all about friction and fights quite frankly. Best known as a boxing promoter, he is also politically active and he is also with me right now from New York.

Don King, good to see you. Now you voted for President Obama last time around. You've also supported Republicans in the past, so have you made up your mind? Are you set to support and vote for President Obama again next year?

DON KING, DON KING PROMOTIONS: Well, first, T.J., let me say how great it is to be on the -- on the screen with you.

HOLMES: All right. KING: And let me say that I -- I love our troops, our military, and they are coming home for Christmas.

HOLMES: Of course.

KING: So I want to say God bless them for being able to come home safe and sound and represent our country. This is what it's really all about that you and I can talk because we have those great military that will stand up and protect our liberties and safeties and our freedoms.

So now when you talk about fighting, you know, I have a fight on November 5th, I'm going to bring boxing back to the people. And that's what really counts because we had a lot of bad blows in boxing on the last several fights.

HOLMES: Yes.

KING: So now we're going to have Guillermo Jones and he's from Panama and so I'm getting the president of Panama, Ricky Martinelli, to come down. And we'll also going to have Governor Scott in the coalition in Florida.

Then we're going to work toward doing things that's going to be better for the country -- jobs, jobs, jobs -- is what we need and we are going to be trying to create those and make it happen. HOLMES: Well, forever --

KING: What's wrong with the chief --

HOLMES: Forever the promoter and if anyone ever had any doubts about your ability to promote, you just --

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: You got rid of all of those doubts and promoting that event just then, but back to the question.

KING: Yes, I'm going to get to it.

HOLMES: You supported the president. Are you ready to support the president again next year like you did last time around?

KING: I think that's just the most -- the miracle of America is that a black man is in the White House. You must understand he inherited whatever happened. I was with George Walker Bush, who I love. I think he was the man with the plan and he was dedicated in committed, he say what he mean and mean what he say.

Obama likewise. At this time I'm a Republi-crat. I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am a Republi-crat who's best for America. I am -- this is more. I think that in America, people -- we say, "we the people," we tend to forget that. We send people to represent us and we are governed by the consent of the governed. Sometimes those people lose their way and become a part of the problem of what we've sent them to resolve. (CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: So are you going to wait to see how the Republicans side shakes out? Or you're already set, you're sticking with President Obama?

KING: Well, I think I'm thinking with America. Let me put it the way it is.

HOLMES: OK.

KING: I liken Obama to be -- what the most succinct word of freedom and the first time they played a black man in a position of strength and honor was at the Alamo. And in the Alamo Jim Bowie gives a letter to release his slave. And the slave says, am I free? You say yes, you say, then I'm going to stay and fight for freedom.

That's was an honorable thing there to do what he'd been enslaved all the other times. And so -- and then they say freedom is to be able to make your decisions, and talk about your family, and how are you going to live? What are you going to do? And where are you going to do it at?

These are the things that they were fighting for at the Alamo. Now in Iowa, I want to liken that, too, starting on Obama's ring of power to be able to get the votes in the election, I will remember Iowa, when they started their movement that has turned into a miracle to put a black man in the White House, a man who has been categorized as a shippers, brokers and -- in the stereotype image of blacks in America.

HOLMES: Well, Don, what would you think then? You've got Herman Cain on the other side right now on the Republican side. You never thought you'd see the day where there might be a black president, but what you think about going into a voting booth and your option were to choose, one, the Democrat, a black man or a the Republican, a black man.

What would you think about and what do you think of Herman Cain?

KING: But it's not about color. That is what the whole thing is -- you know, is good to be able to see the inclusiveness.

HOLMES: Yes.

KING: You know? And it's about who has the content of the heart and the character and the conviction for all Americans, inclusively, black, brown, yellow, blue, every race color, creed and religion. This is the greatest country in the world bar none, the only country in the world, T.J., where they try to break in rather than to break out.

So you've got to understand, this country, my country, to the bee, sweet land of liberty. "A nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," and you must able to deal with that premise, we both the self-evident truth, we live the self-evident life.

We have to change that and bring it back to the founding father's wishes, we hold these two can be self-evident, that all men are created equal and God, by their creator, with certain inalienable right, among these which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is making happy --

HOLMES: All right, my man.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: I love you, T.J.

HOLMES: It's good to see.

KING: And T.J.

HOLMES: Thank you as always --

KING: Don't worry, we're going to have it on November 5th, bring it all down, we're going to make it. We have to do it and we got to help those college kids. We can't let them drown. That's our future.

HOLMES: OK.

KING: I love you. This is a great nation.

HOLMES: It's good to talk to you.

KING: This is a great nation. Write off them loans from them kids and let's go on with this great nation called America moving forward.

HOLMES: Yes.

KING: -- in progress and understanding one and another --

HOLMES: Don, thank you --

KING: -- the devil. We're back (INAUDIBLE) a lot.

HOLMES: They're going to cut me. They're going to cut me off.

KING: I know they are, T.J. That's no new to us. We understand that.

HOLMES: Thank you. Thank you, Don King.

KING: Only in America, the greatest nation in the world, T.J.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Folks, we are at 42 minutes past the hour now. He kind of just set up and promoted what we were going to be talking about next hour there with the college loans, so I'll play off that. The president is going to be making some remarks out in Colorado, coming up here just shortly, talking about a new program, trying to help the kids who are really underwater in their college debts. We'll have those remarks for you here coming up in just about an hour.

So as I try to take back control of my show here, Texas Governor Rick Perry says he's got some regrets about the Republican presidential race. We're going to be checking in live with our political desk in Washington to find out what Perry actually said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Texas Governor Rick Perry expressing some regret over taking part in the Republican debates?

Our senior political director Mark Preston is live from our political desk.

Hello to you, Mark. And what could he possibly have to regret about the debates? They went so well for him.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: They went so well for him, well, maybe not so much, T.J. As we've seen over the past few debates, Rick Perry has not had very good performances. This in an interview yesterday he said if he had one regret during this campaign, it would be participating in these debates.

Now we should point out to our viewers that when Rick Perry ran for re-election, which is last year, he didn't have to do any debates. He refused to do any debates. He's one of these candidates who doesn't seem to do very well on stage, certainly towards the end of the debate.

You know, T.J., he also has criticized the media saying that we set up the candidates on stage to get into fights which I think if anybody watched last week's debate here on CNN, he was itching for a fight with Mitt Romney, as was Mitt Romney itching for a fight with him.

They kind of just went at it together. So he has some regrets, but you know, he is trying to turn this campaign around right now, and there are a lot more debates ahead of himself, so which surely he'll be participating in.

HOLMES: Now, Mark, did he specifically called CNN out, or he just said media in the general -- in general?

PRESTON: No, media in general.

HOLMES: OK.

PRESTON: That media in general. Which of course, you know, it seems to make sense because he hasn't had very good performances and his campaign has acknowledged that as well -- T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. You're right about that last debate, we were there in Vegas together and he was the one who brought those things up specifically, even said, you know what, Anderson, you ask the question, I'll answer them how I want to. And that's exactly what he did several times there.

Let's move on to the president now. The president, we know he's a big sports fan. He usually gets questions every now and again when something is happening in the sports world. So something is happening now with the NBA and the lockout. He's a big basketball guy. What's he saying?

PRESTON: Well, you know, last night he was on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and he was asked about the NBA lockout. Now a very difficult question for a president to answer because he can't seem like he's influencing it but he did weigh in as a fan. Let's hear what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We should be able to figure out how to split a $9 billion pot.

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Right.

OBAMA: So that our fans who are allowing us to make all this money could actually have a good season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there you have President Obama and as you said, T.J., he is somebody who takes to the hard court himself, plays a couple of times a week, and in fact, if you're invited to play with him, that's a big, big get for people around here in Washington.

Now as far as the NBA lockout goes, the owners, the player reps are meeting today. They've already cancelled some games. There is hope that there can be some resolution over the profits and how the division can be made and -- well, look, perhaps we'll see some kind of resolution soon -- T.J.

HOLMES: Only in professional sports where a 50-50 split is not seen as fair in some people's eyes.

PRESTON: Yes.

HOLMES: But that's another story.

PRESTON: Amazing.

HOLMES: Mark Preston, always a pleasure. Thanks so much.

And for the latest political news, you know the spot, CNNPolitics.com.

Well, nine million people choose more than one race on the 2010 census. That's up from nine million who did so in 2000. Multiracial children are the fastest growing youth group in the country. Having a diverse background presents some unique challenges, though, when it comes to health care.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IMANI CORNELIUS, MDS PATIENT: One of my birthdays at Chuck E. Cheese.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. Your mom was telling me you love birthdays at Chuck E. Cheese.

CORNELIUS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Still?

(Voice-over): Imani Cornelius just wants a normal childhood.

(On camera): You look like a perfectly healthy 11-year-old girl.

CORNELIUS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Do you feel OK?

CORNELIUS: Yes, I'm OK. Sometimes I get my ups and downs. You have aches and pains everywhere. But it still hurts.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Imani has myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS, which means her bone marrow doesn't produce enough blood cells. It could lead to leukemia if she doesn't get a bone marrow transplant.

(On camera): And how did you feel when they first diagnosed her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean as a -- as a daddy, it took everything out of me.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Finding a donor match is always difficult, but it's more difficult for Imani because she is biracial.

LEILA JONES, MANAGER, NMDP REPOSITORY: Now with mixed race people, why it's so difficult, is that there's so many possible combinations. So just tissue type is very complex. That's one level. And then if you match that with half of one ethnicity, half of another ethnicity, the number of possible combinations just explodes into the millions.

O'BRIEN: Outreach groups like Mixed Marrow are trying to lower those odds.

ATHENA ASKLIPIADIS, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, MIXED MARROW: Me being mixed race myself I know that there wasn't any current organization or outreach specifically targeting the mixed race community. We do community events. We also do college events and then do that donor drives there.

JONES: If you're of a mixed race background, you know, consider joining.

O'BRIEN: OK. All right. JONES: It's really a wonderful --

O'BRIEN: I'm in. You talked me into it. OK?

JONES: Perfect.

O'BRIEN: That wasn't that hard.

JONES: Perfect.

O'BRIEN: The cheek swab is easy. Waiting for a match is the hard part.

(On camera): How does that make you feel?

CORNELIUS: Feels like you're cut off from the rest of the world. What they get to do, what --

TAMMY BERNDT, MOTHER: We don't want to have -- you know, I mean, sympathy case. We want a cure.

O'BRIEN: And that's a bone marrow transplant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we need a donor.

O'BRIEN: Reporting for in America, Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And you can look for "THE NEW PROMISED LAND: SILICON VALLEY" with Soledad O'Brien, Sunday night, November 13th, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

And you may have heard just a short time ago, our "Talk Back" question of the day -- would Jesus occupy Wall Street?

David Allen Dickens, his response, the guy says, "He may go there to preach. He occupies everything anyway."

Just one response there. Many more of them coming up. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And you have been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question of the day. Carol Costello is here with the responses to the question, would Jesus occupy Wall Street?

Hello again, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, T.J. And I enjoyed your interview with Don King.

HOLMES: That wasn't an interview.

COSTELLO: You two are my heroes.

HOLMES: See, I got talked back to. That wasn't an interview.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I was right behind Don King.

HOLMES: Yes.

COSTELLO: I was laughing.

HOLMES: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, back to our "Talk Back" question, the question this morning, would Jesus occupy Wall Street?

Responses are pouring in and I appreciate that. This from Abad, "Christ is certainly against greed and abuse against the working class. He purposely went out of his way to minister to those who struggled and were considered less by the wealthy and powerful. As to acts of violence, well, Christ is against that, too. So all protesting needs to be peaceful."

This from Brenda, "Isn't the government made up of people? Yes, Jesus would show up and support it. Not to mention, those Republicans who like to criticize and slam down 'Occupy Wall Street', call themselves Christians. Where is their Chris-like behavior?"

This from Ray, "Jesus would say, go to work, losers. Government is already big enough. No more giveaways. I have two jobs, and why can't you losers find one."

I think Jesus would be more gentle than that. I'm just saying.

This from Tad, "I would say Jesus would occupy those who -- or could occupy those who abuse their authority and power. In this case, Jesus would raise his voice to ask the rich to stop their selfish action and show concern for their community, especially the poor and powerless."

Please keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll be back with you in about 15 minutes or so.

HOLMES: All right. See you shortly, Carol. Thanks so much.

As we get close to the top of the hour now, we are seeing hope rise in the rubble. Two more earthquake survivors found in Turkey. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, the confirmed death toll from Turkey's massive earthquake is now at 461. Rescue workers are desperately digging in hopes of finding more survivors in the rubble. People are still being pulled out alive. Here we are now three days after that quake hit. Our Diana Magnay is in the village of Guvecli, this is near the hardest hit area.

Diana, let's start on the upside here, still rescues taking place, people being pulled out alive.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's true, T.J. There were two remarkable rescues today, a 27-year-old woman and an 18-year-old boy pulled out of the rubble in the town of (INAUDIBLE). So, you know, still good news stories.

I'm actually back in Van. I spent the day in Guvecli. It was a village that was pretty much destroyed, 200 buildings there nearly all of them literally razed to the floor. The whole village just looks like a pile of rubble. And the 2,000 people there having to squeeze into sort of between 50 and 60 tents. They say they're desperately in need of more.

And actually this site in Van where we've been the last couple of nights, search and rescue teams have stopped working here because they don't have any more information about people buried in the rubble.

But I do have something to tell you also, T.J., about that amazing story of the little 2-week-old baby that was rescued yesterday alongside her mother. They're both in a hospital in Ankara, they're both doing well apparently. The little baby is feeding and just to tell you how she survived in and amongst the rubble, apparently the mother breast-fed her throughout. And then when she didn't have any more to feed, she fed her own saliva which apparently kept her kidneys going. And so both mother and daughter are doing well, T.J.

HOLMES: You know we will end it right there on an up-note. We know the death toll but still we know there's still stories. And you know still hope, people holding out hope, that people are going to continue to be pulled out alive.

Diana Magnay, thank you so much.