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PETA Files Lawsuit Against SeaWorld on Behalf of Killer Whales; How To Deal With Student Loan Debt; Occupy Clashes Lead To Arrests; Super Committee Goes Public; Dog Titan Saves Owner; World Population Hitting Milestone; Dr. Conrad Murray Trial; Obama's New Campaign Slogan; Bracing for Hurricane Rina; You Don't Know Sharia; Boy Wants to be a Girl Scout; Perry Releases First Paid Ad in Iowa

Aired October 26, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I'm with you right there, T.J. Thank you very much. Nice to see you. Nice to see you, everyone.

We begin this hour with allegations of modern-day slavery, forced captivity, cruel and inhuman conditions not involving humans at all.

Take a look. This is Tilikum, one of five killer whales named as plaintiffs in a novel federal lawsuit filed against SeaWorld, the whale's owner and guardian. You may not be surprised to hear who's behind it, PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA blows the whistle on what it considers animals cruelty any way it can. Undercover video of fur farms one day, actresses in body paint the next, PETA argues the constitutional ban against slavery is not confined to people and SeaWorld's Orcas sometimes kept in tanks not much bigger than they are, qualify. They are denied freedom, PETA claims, and everything else that is natural and important to them while kept in small concrete tanks and reduced to performing stupid tricks.

The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and these orcas are, by definition, slaves. SeaWorld, of course, couldn't disagree more. I want to read you its statement to CNN, quote, "This effort to extend the 13th amendment's solemn protections beyond human beings is baseless and offensive. SeaWorld is among the world's most respected zoological institutions. There is no higher priority than the welfare of the animals entrusted to our care and no facility sets higher standards in husbandry, veteran care, and enrichment than SeaWorld. Having these animals in a zoological setting serves an invaluable educational purpose and makes direct contributions to species conversations."

Now, if the name Tilikum sounds familiar, it is the whale that killed its trainer back in February of 2010. Tilly was captured 30 years ago off Iceland and reportedly has fathered many of the baby orcas born at SeaWorld.

We're going to dig a lot deeper into this. The claims, the facts, the tactics, in our next segment with a former SeaWorld trainer and our own legal guru, Jeffrey Toobin. That's at eight past the hour right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Other news we're following right now. President Obama is highlighting two measures today that may help you manage your student loan debt just a little easier. One proposal pushes up the start date for better terms on a loan repayment program which would be based on income. Another would encourage graduates with two or more kinds of federal loans to consolidate them and get a small break on interest rates.

Then there's this. For aspiring college students and their parents, is described as a financial and shopping sheet. It's a new website from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will tell you how much debt college will really put you in. It breaks down the amount of aid you'll qualify for at a particular college as well as how much debt you'll end up with at graduation.

Tensions coming to a boil again in the Occupy Wall Street protests. Police making dozens of arrests on both ends of the country. Police fire tear gas into a crowd in Oakland, California. Police say they were retaliating after the crowd refused to disperse and threw paint and other objects at them. In Atlanta, police arrested protestors gathered at a park last night. The city's mayor said he sent ministers there first to try to find a way to resolve this amicably.

Last night on CNN, filmmaker Michael Moore talked about what he considers the wealthy's need for greed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: The wealthy have not been paying their fair share. Again, when I was younger, I remember there were rich people then and they seemed to live a good life when they were paying 50 and 60 percent of their income in taxes.

And yet, they still had their yachts and their mansions and their summer homes and all that, and nobody really minded because they also built factories, and created jobs and let all of us who grew up in that kind of existence have a roof over our head. That's not the way it is anymore. They weren't satisfied with what they already had, they wanted more and more and more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Moore told Piers Morgan he is not part of the one percent of rich people the Occupy protestors are focusing their anger on. He said he does well but doesn't associate with other people who do well.

After meeting almost exclusively behind closed doors, the Congressional Super Committee is going public today with an open hearing on Capitol Hill. The 12-member bipartisan panel is tackling an enormous job, ironing out a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction deal in a matter of a few weeks. Since they've been meeting privately, it's been hard to gauge how much progress they've made or haven't made. The panel's co-chair says there is plenty of time. He also said he's encouraged and that his fellow committee members are committed to the November 22nd goal. Four Nebraska children are in state custody after police say two of them were found inside an animal cage. Their mother, 22-year-old Ashley Clark and three other adults face child abuse and false imprisonment charges. An anonymous tip led police it to a welfare check on their home in North Platte.

Police say they found trash, dirty clothes, food and animal waste throughout the home. They say two young kids, five and three years old were in metal kennels secured with a wire tie. Two other kids in the home weren't in the kennel but were considered to be living in unsafe conditions.

The plaintiffs, five orcas; the defendant, SeaWorld. The main question, do animals have rights? The answer may not be as simple as you think. But first, time now to give a shout-out to somebody who's just a bit awesome, and today that someone is this guy, Titan the pit bull.

You see, back in July, Titan alerted his owner that something was urgently wrong just as the owner was about to leave for work. Turns out, Titan was right, the man's wife had suffered a brain aneurism upstairs. If Titan hadn't sounded the alarm, chances are she would have died. Titan got his due props it Atlanta receiving a neighbor of the year award from the neighborhood association. The first ever canine to win such an award.

Titan, you are today's "Rock Star."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Killer whales are a lot of things, but human beings they are not. Still, people for the ethical treatment of animals, PETA, claims they enjoy the same constitutional protections against slavery that you or I do. As we reported at the top of the hour, PETA is suing SeaWorld on behalf of five orcas that it wants to see removed from small tanks and forced performances and placed in a more natural environment.

I'm joined now via Skype by CNN's Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, this is quite a story. Let's start here with the 13th amendment, OK? Let me read it to you. Quote, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States." Now, it doesn't specify people, does it, Jeffrey?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via Skype): It doesn't specify people, but if there is one court or one judge in the United States who thinks it applies to anything other than people, I would be very surprised. I mean, it is implicit that it only applies to people.

KAYE: Well, I want to bring in Thad Lacinak, he's on the phone with us. Fad, you're a former head trainer at SeaWorld. You work with marine parks around the world. I mean, what do you think about this? Are SeaWorld's killer whales enslaved?

THAD LACINAK, FOUNDER, PRECISION BEHAVIOR (via telephone): Well, I have spent my life doing what I do and taking care of animals, and I can tell you firsthand that SeaWorld does a terrific job with everything they do with the animals at SeaWorld. And I just think this thing is crazy. It really does beg the question of why does PETA do something like this? And it shows how ridiculous they are. I mean, what's next? Are we going to say that animals have -- if they have the same rights as people, are we going to, if a killer whale in the wild kills a seal, are we going to bring them up on murder charges next?

I mean, this is just craziness. If they would spend their time doing something that really counts about taking care of animals like SeaWorld does, like I have done in my entire career, it would make so much more sense. But I think it really does show how PETA really doesn't have a clue. I mean, this is just ridiculous.

KAYE: PETA's general counsel, though --

TOOBIN: Randi?

KAYE: Yes, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: Well, I was just going to say, you know, it's not like all people have carte blanche to mistreat animals as much as they want. I mean, there are laws against animal cruelty, they are --

LACINAK: Exactly.

TOOBIN: They are enforced. I mean, I don't know how SeaWorld treats its animals, but if, in fact, they mistreat their animals, there are California state laws that can be enforced against them. That's why this lawsuit seems especially silly. I mean, it doesn't -- it's not hard to draw out the crazy implications here. I mean, can a cow sue McDonald's to get an injunction not to turn the cow into a hamburger? I mean, it's just silly. But the issue of animal cruelty is not silly, and, fortunately, there are laws on the books to it stop it.

KAYE: Right.

LACINAK: Well --

KAYE: Well, now Thad, let me get back to you because Jeff Kerr, PETA's general counsel, in the lawsuit they say the orcas are slaved, kidnapped from their homes, are forced to live in small environments, in tanks that aren't much bigger than they are. Is there any benefit, do you think, for these orcas at SeaWorld or any park that might be similar?

LACINAK: Oh, absolutely. I mean, look at what SeaWorld has done. They were responsible for returning many animals to the wild that they bring in and take care of at their expense. Everything they he have done with the killer whales has been documented. And there's been tons of research done with killer whales at SeaWorld that would have never been done. We now know exactly what the gestation period is for the killer whales. We know their milk samples. We can do so much now. We do -- SeaWorld has done artificial insemination with killer whales. So now, you can say that because of SeaWorld, no matter what happens in the wild, we'd be able to keep the killer whale populations going. I mean, it is just craziness what they're talking about.

KAYE: So, Jeffrey, where do you think this is going to go? I mean, if you look at the orcas, I mean they are considered property. They're under human control there at the park. I mean, will this case be heard?

TOOBIN: Well, every case is heard before it's thrown out. This case I would bet my last dollar is going to be thrown out. You know, PETA does a lot of different things. Many of the things they do are publicity stunts. Many of the things they do are sincere and important. I mean, I think this is very much in the publicity stunt category, but, you know, I think there are a lot of people who are not as extreme as PETA who care deeply about how animals are treated, and, you know, we have laws, sometimes enforced, sometimes not enforced, on the books to try to it stop animal cruelty.

LACINAK: Absolutely. I mean, I have spent my entire life, and I continue to spend my life, making sure that animals are taken care of. And I can say without a doubt that SeaWorld is continuing to do that, even though I have not worked there since 2008. But I was the corporate vice president for them and for the animal training department for years. I had a 36-year career with SeaWorld and SeaWorld has never done anything to hurt the animals.

I mean, think about it. Why would they want to hurt the animals that is the draw for people to come to their park? I mean, they take the absolute best care of those animals as you could possibly do. So, you know, the whole thing -- this whole lawsuit I think is a huge publicity stunt. And it's just a shame that PETA does not spend their time doing something that would be worthwhile.

KAYE: Thad, I know that -- I know that you care -- Thad, I know you care deeply about the animals, and we certainly appreciate your time and your contribution today. Jeffrey Toobin, you as well. Nice to see you both. Thank you.

Seven billion. That's how many people will occupy the earth as of sometime Sunday into Monday. But can the world handle a population of that size? First, a look at the top videos trending on cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Come Halloween, there will be so many of us on earth that it's actually kind of scary. And it's a story that we think has been undercover. The U.N. just released a staggering report about the world population and Errol Barnett joins us to break the numbers down.

Errol, I guess that we're about to hit a milestone?

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Randi. While we'll be celebrating Halloween next week and the kids will be trick-or-treating, the world's global population will hit 7 billion. I mean if you look at previous growth, this is just exponential. Twelve years ago, the global population was 6 billion. Back in 1987 it was 5 billion. In fact, the number of people living in our world has tripled since 1940. But the question is why. The simple answer is that more babies are being born and people are living longer. But let's dig deeper into that for you and give you an international perspective on this. Where is all the growth taking place?

Well, if I touch this here for you, I can show you countries where the birth rate is about five children per woman. And you see that it's in the developing world. Mostly on the African continent. You're seeing here, Mali, Nyjer (ph), Chad. This country here, Nyjer, in fact, has the highest fertility rate, seven children per women there.

Now let's look at the flip side of that, where the birth rates are lowest. And you see different regions. The developed world. Russia, all throughout Europe, Brazil, Canada. Here in the United States, the birth rate is just above two children per woman. So you can see that while the developing world has high fertility rates, it's the developed world that's not contributing as much to the global population. In fact, in Bosnia, in Europe, that's where the fertility rate is the lowest in the world.

So, why is the developing world having this baby boom? According to the Earth Policy Institute, about 215 million women in the developing countries, they don't have access to family planning. And 40 percent of pregnancies throughout the world, they're unplanned. Here in the U.S., that number's higher, actually, at about 48 percent.

So one of the key questions is, how much would it cost to get birth rates under control? Well, providing family planning resources to all women who don't have access right now would cost about $6.7 billion a year. That's by one estimate.

So how much money is that really? We were talking about Halloween. Consider this. Americans will spend $6.9 billion on Halloween this year.

And there's a different trend, though, we're seeing in Japan. There the aging population is increasing. Over the past two decades, Japan almost doubled its population of those over the age of 65. So you've got the developing world having its own baby boom and the U.S. and other developed countries, people are living longer. And this means, Randi, that by 2050 the global population could hit 9.3 billion.

KAYE: Wow. That is something. How are we going to handle all this? I mean certainly it's getting pretty crowded. So what are the experts saying? Can we handle it?

BARNETT: Yes, I spoke earlier today with Joel Cohen. He's a professor at Rockefeller University and wrote a book, "How Many People Can the Earth Support." And he told me that that number is dictated by how we all manage resources. He says the way that we're doing it now isn't good. Number one, he says, family planning can help bring the population to a more tolerable level.

But he also says it's not just population you have to look out for, but the number of households, which is also increasing, because that's an indication of how much energy is being used, how many resources are being absorbed all over the world, including the United States. And his advice is that, as we look at this future surge of humans on the planet, more than 9 billion in 2050, access to fresh water will also be a major issue. So we're all going to have to do much more sharing in the decades ahead.

KAYE: It certainly -- it sounds that way. Thank you very much, Errol. Appreciate it.

BARNETT: Sure.

KAYE: And for those of you at home, you can check this out. Do you want to know where you fall in the 7 billion? Population.org has a live counter but also has a place where you can put in your birthday and it will then calculate where you fall. We've made it easy for you, though, by adding a link to my Facebook page, facebook.com/randikayecnn. And you will find it there.

The defense claims Dr. Conrad Murray saves lives. But after more than two weeks building a case against Michael Jackson's doctor, can they reverse the damage that's been done? The latest from L.A., next.

But first, on this day back in 2002, Chechen militants took control of a Moscow theater, taking 800 people hostage. The Russian military retaliated by pumping an unknown chemical into the theater's ventilation system before raiding it. Thirty-nine of the attackers, along with at least 129 hostages were killed. That is this shame in history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Now to the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's former doctor, Conrad Murray. Court resumed this morning with the defense calling on character witnesses. This is a live picture from inside the courtroom. These are folks that they hope can redeem Dr. Murray's reputation after weeks of damaging testimony.

Yesterday, things got emotional in the courtroom. The defense got Jackson's nurse, Cherilyn Lee, to admit that the singer begged her for Propofol just months before he died. But, on cross, the prosecution pounced at an opportunity to show that no one should have been giving Jackson this powerful anesthetic at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were not willing to give Michael Jackson the Propofol or Diprivan or IV drip, correct?

CHERILYN LEE, MICHAEL JACKSON'S NURSE: Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Joining me now for today's "Crime & Consequence," former Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau.

Tom, great to have you here again.

Let's talk about what took place in court yesterday because the defense kept trying to show that Michael Jackson was really asking anybody he came into contact with, it seemed, for this powerful anesthetic Propofol or Diprivan, the other name, to help him sleep. What was the point of that?

THOMAS A. MESEREAU, JR., PARTNER, MESEREAU & YU, LLP: They're trying to paint a portrait of Michael Jackson as desperately addicted, as knowing what he's doing, as knowing about this powerful, dangerous drug called Diprivan or Propofol, and they're trying to tell a story that will lead up to an expert witness suggesting that he may have done this himself because he was so desperate.

But they're paying a price for it. Every time you call a witness, you pay a price when that witness is cross-examined. And I think, in general, the prosecution benefitted yesterday because these witnesses hammered home that Propofol should not be in a home, it should not be administered the way technically Dr. Murray did it.

KAYE: One of the witnesses on the stand we were just showing here, Cherilyn Lee, his former nurse, who he also asked for this Propofol, she got very emotional in court about the last time that she had spoken with Michael Jackson.

So let's listen to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You indicated to Michael Jackson, I understand you want a good night's sleep, you want to be, quote, and you used quote, knocked out. But what if you don't wake up? Correct?

LEE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he responded, again, I will be OK. I only need someone to monitor me with the equipment while I sleep.

LEE: Yes, that's exactly what he said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So you have someone like Cherilyn Lee. She knew a lot about Michael Jackson. She knew that he -- she testified that he would drink an obscene amount of Red Bull and all these other things that keep him awake. But these are things that Dr. Murray didn't apparently know.

So will that play here in terms of, you know, did he do his due diligence on this patient?

MESEREAU: Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The defense is hoping to paint Michael as desperate and knowledgeable. The flip side is, that here's someone who is in great need of professional assistance, needs a very professional, caring doctor to give him the right advice. I think she helped the prosecution tremendously.

KAYE: Today in court they have these character witnesses speaking about Dr. Murray. Some of them saying that he saved their lives. How important is that? How will that play with the jury?

MESEREAU: A very smart move by the defense. They're trying to humanize Dr. Murray, whom the prosecution has completely dehumanized for weeks. There's a jury instruction in California the judge will read to the jury and it says that character evidence alone may create reasonable doubt. And they'll be banging on that in their closing arguments, the defense lawyers that is.

KAYE: Also in court today, Dr. Murray showed some tears. He showed those early on in the trial, but today again for the first time he was very emotional in court. Does the jury notice those type of things?

MESEREAU: The jury notices everything. These 12 people are at their most acute intellect, instinct, intuition. They see everything. If one person doesn't see it, someone else does. You have to assume, as a lawyer, that everything that happens in that courtroom the jury will see and talk about and think about.

KAYE: So no doubt that they see Michael Jackson's family sitting there. His mother, his siblings. Does that have an impact even on the jury and even on the witnesses?

MESEREAU: When I defended Michael Jackson in his criminal trial in 2005, after the trial, a number of the jurors commented that Katherine Jackson was there every single day supporting her son and that they really were affected by it.

KAYE: Well, I know tomorrow's the big day. This is when we think the defense's key witness will take the stand. So we look forward to that. And we look forward to having you back tomorrow, as well, to talk about that.

MESEREAU: Thank you very much.

KAYE: Thank you, Tom. Appreciate it.

Is President Obama changing his campaign message from change to this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we're going to have a government that tells the American people, You are on your own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Sounds like the president is saying, Go Democrat or go it alone. Is this really a winning strategy? It is all "Fair Game," and it is next.

But first, political junkies, let's test your knowledge. Who was the first U.S. presidential candidate to run political ads on television? The answer when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Before the break, we asked you a question about political ad campaigns, specifically who was the first U.S. presidential candidate to run political ads on television. The answer, General Dwight Eisenhower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big question!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General, if war comes, is this country really ready?

GEN. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (RET.), GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is not. The administration has spent many billions of dollars for national defense, yet today, we haven't enough tanks for the fight in--

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: This was the first of his "Eisenhower Answers America" ads, which aired in 1952. Up until then, most campaigns booked 30-minute blocks for speeches. Eisenhower was the first to use spot advertising, which is still used today, in fact.

Here is something you may not have noticed. The White House doesn't really mention or blame former president George W. Bush anymore. There is a new slogan in town. See if you can figure out what it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we're going to have a government that tells the American people, You are on your own. If you get sick, you're on your own. If you can't afford college, you're on your own. If you don't like that some corporation is polluting your air, or the air that your child breathes, then you're on your own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: There President Obama seemed to be going after the GOP candidates in general. Here the DNC goes after a specific opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), FMR. GOV., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up, and let it turn around and come back up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So does "You're on your own" seem to be a winning formula? Is it even accurate? That's all "Fair Game" for my guests today, Republican strategist Ron Bonjean is with us, and CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona is here, as well.

Ron, let me start with you. If you were part of the president's team, would this be a strategy that you would advise?

RON BONJEAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, I don't think so, because this is what Congressman Paul Ryan said. This is a strategy that's based on fear and resentment. And what it is, is a -- it's a base strategy. That was a speech -- he's trying to get people to donate to his campaign so he can build up his coffers to go after the Republican opponent in the general election, and frame him and make it a choice instead of a referendum on his own record, which is no job creation, high unemployment and high taxes.

KAYE: Maria, I want you to weigh in on this, but I want to share a poll with everybody first. Take a look at this, all right? This was a poll that was just taken last month, and it shows that over half of Americans still blame Bush and the Republicans for current economic problems.

So in light of this, Maria, should the Democrats continue to blame Bush instead of using this new strategy, do you think?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that this new strategy is an extension of blaming Bush without actually using Bush's name because, you know, let's face it, while Americans, according to your poll, still blame Bush and the Republicans for eight years of horrible strategies, fiscal strategy that put us in this hole to begin with, they want to hear what the choices are in 2012.

And that's exactly what it's going to be. It's going to be a choice between someone and a party who is looking out for the middle class and working class families, and a party that is only looking out for the richest 1 percent and big corporations in this country. And the Republicans, basically, have become our best spokespeople in underscoring that by using their own words.

For example, that's why the DNC ran that ad about Romney, saying he doesn't care if the foreclosure market hits bottom. That's basically telling the middle class, You're on your own. Ron Paul in one of the debates basically said that if you're uninsured and you are dying in an emergency room, you know, that should be your problem. You need to take responsibility.

So in essence, that is exactly what the GOP is saying, and it is a choice.

KAYE: Ron, why go after Romney?

BONJEAN: Well, they think that Romney is going to be the likely general Republican candidate that they're going to have to take on. And they're trying to frame him right now because, you know, frankly, any Republican is going to have an advantage over President Obama, including Governor Romney or anyone else who gets the nomination, because he has a dismal record on jobs.

And that's what this election is going to be about. It's an economic election. It's going to be on jobs and the economy. And do we have high unemployment a year from now or do we have lower unemployment a year from now? Do people feel better or do they not?

Going after a Republican and going negative is not going to get him elected. It's going -- you have to show a positive vision for the future, and that's what Republicans are doing. They're laying out their plans, Here's how we're going to give businesses certainty so they can start hiring more workers again, instead of saying, You know what? If we elect a Republican, you're not going to get your health care, you're not going to get your education.

That message turns off independents and it certainly turns off conservative voters in swing states, as well.

CARDONA: Let's talk about--

KAYE: Maria, just very quickly, I'll give you the last word here.

CARDONA: Let's talk about a message that turns off Americans, and that is when Mitch McConnell, the head of the Senate Republicans, basically says that his main goal is not to create jobs for the American people, is to make sure President Obama is a one-term president.

That is not a goal that Americans want to hear. That is not leadership. And that's why President Obama is going to get elected.

KAYE: Maria Cardona, Ron Bonjean, thank you both. That is "Fair Game" today. Thanks for playing.

CARDONA: Thanks so much.

BONJEAN: Thank you.

KAYE: Well, it separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. It also is a popular resort area featuring beautiful beaches and ancient ruins. But a storm is on its way. We'll take you there next in "Globe Trekking."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We are here, Cancun, Mexico. Hurricane Rina is creeping closer, but is no longer forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane. The news is little comfort, though, to people who live in the Yucatan peninsula and tourists visiting Cancun.

Senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo is there in the thick of it. Rafael, what are the conditions like there right now?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (via telephone): Well, Randi, just a few moments ago, It was raining pretty heavily, and all of a sudden, it stopped. It seems the first effects of Hurricane Rina have begun to be felt here in Cancun. I see cloudy skies. The wind is picking up. And the main concern right now is that it's going to hit this part of Mexico as a hurricane 3, which is something they haven't had since 2005.

State officials tell me that there are as many as 83,000 tourists, including domestic, international, of course, many Americans. This is a favorite destination for Americans, Randi, as you well know. And many of them didn't really have a chance to evacuate. When I got here last night, all the flights were booked, and the people who didn't make any arrangements before last night, they're going to have to ride it out, Randi.

KAYE: It sounds like it. But it sounds like it is weakening a little bit, so that is some good news for the people there. Rafael Romo, thank you. Appreciate that.

The drinkers and gamblers are whipped, women who commit crimes stoned. Do you think you know sharia law? But you may not know everything there is to know. We break it down for you next.

But first, a warning. What you're about to see may be disturbing and may cause heartache, not to mention heartburn. OK, Michael. Toss it up on the screen, please.

Yes, folks, McDonald's is once again bringing back the McRib. There it is, the faux barbecue sandwich complete with pork fat, onions, pickles, and of course, those fake McBones molded in the shape of ribs. There really aren't any ribs in there.

I'd be remiss not to mention that the sandwich does have a cult following, like the folks who use the McRib Locator. Yes, there really is one. But for the rest of you out there, I say to the McRib, Your 15 minutes are up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It may be late October, but the Arab spring is still bearing fruit. Last weekend alone, Tunisians, who kicked off the movement, voted in free and democratic elections and Libyans declared liberation from the tyrant they overthrew, captured and killed. But while many of their friends in the West celebrated with them, some were given pause by six seconds of the transitional leader's address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSTAFA ABDUL JALIL, LIBYAN TRANSITIONAL NAT'L COUNCIL (through translator): As a Muslim country, we have adopted the Islamic sharia as the main source of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The Islamic sharia -- to many non-Muslims, it conjures images of medieval justice potentially as repressive as the dictators who are being ousted or are trying to avoid that fate.

But my next guest says that the West don't understand sharia law and wouldn't fear it if it did. Abed Awad is a lawyer and internationally known expert on Middle East studies. Mr. Awad, welcome to the program. Thank you so much.

Let's talk about sharia because it isn't new. So why does it have such a stigma in the West today? ABED AWAD, ATTORNEY: Unfortunately, it's politics, politics and the aftermath and consequences of 9/11 and the marginalization of the Muslim community, and this view that anything related to Muslims has to be tantamount to some sort of totalitarianism, a terrorist inclination that is based in Muslim heritage, which is exactly the opposite of what the sharia is all about.

The sharia is not simply law in a prescriptive sense. It's much more than that. The sharia is a methodology. It's a process, a process through which you engage the divine text to construct divine meaning, to ascertain divine will. And that outcome leads to certain guidelines that we would call fikah (ph), which are legal.

But in the end, it's the moral anchor of a Muslim in everything about his life. The way he deals with his parents, the way he deals with his children, the way he deals with the environment, the animal, the closeness to the divine, all comes under that rubric of sharia. So that's the problem, is that there is a -- the nuances and the subtleties are lost in the political debate.

KAYE: Well, one of the concerns about the transitional council taking on sharia there in Libya is for women's rights. I mean, will that have an impact? I mean, should Libyan women fear new restrictions on their lives?

AWAD: Well, the interesting point here is that the sharia has been a primary source or a source of legislation, is the law of the land in almost every single Arab country. Egypt, for example, in article 2 of its constitution provides that the sharia is a primary source. The Libyan civil code, which is a copy of the French civil code, has in its first -- second paragraph a provision that says that the sharia is a source.

Now, just like we have gone through adaptations and evolution as it pertains to gender equity -- in fact, in New Jersey just last month, the governor, Christie, repealed seven or eight laws that were archaic and anachronistic regarding women in the sense that we needed a law to say that women should be entitled to keep their wages because prior to the 19th century, the wages of women were considered property of their family unit, the husband.

So women in Libya should not be fear -- should not fear. The egalitarian underpinnings and the moral underpinnings of a jurisprudence for equity is present in the sharia. But it requires hard work. It requires that we allow the Libyans and Muslims, just like we allowed ourselves, to evolve and adapt to modernity, to allow them to have that internal combustion to adapt and anchor their legal system and anchor their conception of equity in gender based on their indigenous culture, their indigenous heritage.

KAYE: I understand. Mr. Awad, thank you very much for your expertise in shedding some light on that for us. Appreciate it.

AWAD: Thank you. Thank you, Randi. Have a good--

KAYE: You, too. Every day on this show, we call out someone who has done something to make us all shake our heads. And today, it is radio host Linda Harvey of Mission America, a self-proclaimed Christian publication and Website. The Wisconsingazette.com reports that she used her radio show to urge parents to keep their kids away from nurses and doctors who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. She actually warned them that exposing kids to gay or lesbian health care professionals could turn them gay. Can you imagine?

Sure, Harvey acknowledged LGBT health care professionals, quote, "can be certainly competent workers." But she asked this on the radio. Quoting here, "Say your 11-year-old has broken her leg rather badly and needs to be in the hospital a few days. Which would you prefer, a nurse who's proud of her lesbianism, who has rainbow identifiers on her work clothing, or a nurse who is not?"

She's urging parents to put letters in their pediatricians' files saying they didn't want their child to be cared for by a gay person.

Now, everyone has a right to choose who cares for their child, but to suggest that a gay health care worker will turn a patient gay is a bit much. Hello? It is 2011. Time to wake up! For your out-of-touch- with-reality radio comments, it is time for you, Linda Harvey, to face the music.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Going to "Street Level" now for stories making headlines across the country. Take a look. Let's start in Galveston, Texas, where a local hospital is pushing to get a paralyzed patient out of its care and out of the country.

Francisco Martinez broke his back in an on-the-job fall back in August, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. But Martinez is an undocumented worker and isn't covered by worker's comp or Medicaid. So the hospital is urging him to go back to Mexico, even offering him a free flight back. But Martinez refuses to leave behind his wife and 6-month-old son, both of whom are American citizens.

Next, to San Francisco, and a not so typical case of whodunnit, or in the case of this church bell, when did they do it? This past weekend, a parishioner at St. Mary's cathedral noticed that the church's 122- year-old bell had vanished. The 2.7-ton bell had sat on a wooden platform outside the church since the 1970s, when it was replaced by a set of electronic chimes. Police say they're not sure when the bell was stolen, but some church members think it could have been as long as a month ago.

And finally, to Denver, Colorado, where one little wannabe Girl Scout was turned away -- not because of age but because she is actually a he. Seven-year-old Bobby Montoya's mother says he started identifying himself as a girl when he was just 2 years old. Bobby wants to be a Girl Scout, just like his big sister. But when his mom approached the local troop leader, she was told, No way.

Anastasia Bolton (ph) of our affiliate KUSA has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOBBY MONTOYA, 7 YEARS OLD: That's Barbie's strawberry shortcake and these Mexican dolls. I like any girl stuff.

ANASTASIA BOLTON, KUSA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Everyone has favorite toys, no matter what age they are. Bobby Montoya just likes stuff, some would say, is not quite for him.

MONTOYA: I named her Smurfaliyah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) what?

MONTOYA: Girl stuff, like me.

BOLTON: He's happy -- most of the time, but says sometimes in school being a boy and dressed like a girl even occasionally is tough.

MONTOYA: It's, like (INAUDIBLE) hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it feel like when they talk down to you?

MONTOYA: It hurts me and my mom both.

BOLTON: Bobby's mom tells us the troop leader told her 7-year-old he couldn't be a Girl Scout. Bobby cried.

MONTOYA: It was like somebody told me I can't like girl stuff, and I have to change my name from a girl to something else.

FELISHA ARCHULETA, BOBBY'S MOTHER: I said, Well, what's the big deal? She says, It doesn't matter how he looks like, he has boy parts. He can't be a Girl Scout. Girl Scouts don't allow that. I don't want to get in trouble by parents or my supervisor.

BOLTON: Girl Scouts of Colorado wouldn't go on camera, but told us in part, quote, "Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout. Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families, and the volunteers who serve them."

COREY BARRETT, LGBT COMMUNITY LEADER: There has definitely been this increase of questioning at an early age, certainly exploration. And you know, I think it's all about sort of providing a healthy environment for that to happen. Everyone needs to be prepared, or at least have an idea from a policy and procedure standpoint, how they're going to address that and make sure that the public is aware of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: That was Anastasia Bolton from our affiliate KUSA. And Broadway, the Girl Scouts of Colorado say they're working on ways to get Bobby involved in the troop. Time for some political news right now. Let's check in with Paul Steinhauser at the political desk in Washington. And Paul, it sounds like Rick Perry is trying to turn up the heat in Iowa.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIR.: He sure is, Randi. We're just over two months away from the first votes, of course, in Iowa with the caucuses there, and what's Rick Perry doing? He's going up with the first paid TV commercials of his campaign in Iowa.

Take a look at this. This is an ad by Rick Perry where he explains and touts his record on jobs, of all those jobs created in Texas.

Listen, Randi, Rick Perry had about $15 million cash on hand for his campaign at the start of this month. That'll spend -- that'll buy some ad time in Iowa, so expect to see more ads.

Let's talk about "Joe the plumber." Remember him from the 2008 campaign? Two things about Joe the Plumber. His first name isn't Joe. It's Samuel. And he's not really a plumber. But he's running for congress as a Republican in Ohio's 9th congressional district. Maybe he's trying to extend that 15 minutes of fame. Stay tuned. We'll keep our eyes on Joe the plumber, whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, it'll be interesting to see what name he actually puts on the voter form there.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: All right, Paul, thank you very much.

And thank you for watching today. As always, I'd love to hear what you think of the show. You can continue the conversation with me on Facebook or on Twitter at randikayecnn.

That will do it for me. I'll hand it over now to Brooke Baldwin in Atlanta. Hi, Brooke.