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Cain Denies Sexual Harassment; 2,400,000+ Without Power After Storm; At Least Five Deaths Blamed on The Storm; Some Areas Saw Up to 32 Inches of Snow; From Snowy Tarmac, Pilot Pleads for Help; Ex- British Leader at White House; Effort to Help the Economy; World Population at Seven Billion; Cain Makes Vague Comments Leaving Speech; $100K To Move To Pittsburgh; Trademarking "Occupy" Movement; Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa is Retiring; Cain Denies Sexual Harassment; Huntsman Girls Spoof Cain Ad; Halloween Buy Back Program; Kris Jenner Releases New Book; Taylor Swift Threatens Lawsuit; Singer Cancels Concert Dates; Housing Headed for Triple-Dip
Aired October 31, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Just moments ago, Republican candidate Herman Cain refusing to address questions about allegations of sexual harassment.
This is the live event that is taking place right now. He's speaking to a think tank in Washington, D.C.
Now, according to Politico, two women filed complaints against the GOP candidate in the 1990s. Joe Johns joining us now with more details about the story that "Politico," two women filed complaints against the GOP candidate in the 1990s.
Joe Johns joining us now with more details about the story that "Politico" broke. And, Joe, we were told by the campaign that he was going to address these allegations.
But when he was asked about it just moments ago it at the think tank here, he said he refused to answer that question. Here's that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you're well aware, there's a big cloud right now that is affecting your ability to get this out, which is this story in "Politico," and I was just wondering if you could clear it up for us right now, that you --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that question is kind of -- that question is inconsistent with the grounds rules that we have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One final statement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. I really -- he's going to be at the press club today.
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going by the ground rules that my hosts have set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: OK, he's going by the ground rules that his host had set. What is your take?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's sort of what you would expect. The American Enterprise Institute had a number of issues and questions that they wanted to cover and as far as they're concerned, that's what they want to talk about right now.
We do know Herman Cain is supposed to speak at the National Press Club here in Washington, D.C., a little bit later today, and at that time he said he'll go ahead and take the arrows, that's his word, from the media apparently on this issue and any other issue that people want to talk about.
Meanwhile, though, the Herman Cain campaign, Kyra, continues to issue denials on this sort of story of the morning. One of those denials coming from Mark Bloch, the Cain chief of staff earlier this morning on MSNBC, Block saying Cain has never harassed anyone period, which is interesting, however, not a precise response to the story that's been reported by "Politico."
What "Politico" reported was that Cain allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior, unwanted behavior, the assertion here is that some of this was sexually suggestive and that the behavior made the women in question who witnessed it angry and uncomfortable.
And that the result was the women left the National Restaurant Association where Cain worked and that there was some type of financial settlement and a nondisclosure agreement. So in the strictest sense, it it's not quite sure the words "sexual harassment" may have ended up in any settlement that's being alleged here.
Bloch, the chief of staff, has been plain in saying he's confident all parts of the story in "Politico" are incorrect, that the story is not true. Do we have that audio? Can we just run that now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BLOCH, CAIN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He said, emphatically, the story's not true, bring me some facts, bring me my accuser and that's really the way we should handle this in today's society.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: So there you have it from the campaign chief of staff, but what would be more helpful is a blanket denial from Herman Cain himself stating there was no unwanted behavior, no sexually suggestive behavior, that there was no settlement or nondisclosure agreement -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Joe, also, too, earlier this morning we did have a quick back-and-forth from a reporter who asked him about those allegations and he didn't answer a yes or no, he didn't give a direct response.
He just looks looked at the reporter and said, have you ever been accused of sexual harassment? So what's your take here? He's still atop the polls in Iowa with Mitt Romney.
Do you think there's enough here that could cause problems in his campaign? You know, this is a guy known for no nonsense, direct responses to pretty much everything he's asked. How is this going to play out?
JOHNS: Politically, that's the big problem, Kyra. As you know, time and time again, Cain has been asked questions and he's often given very blunt responses, if you will, off the cuff, if you will, very spontaneous.
Now to start parsing words or whatever, if that's what's going on behind the scenes, is a real problem for Herman Cain. So, you know, we'll wait to see what he has to say. Hopefully, at the press club today, and see if this thing gets cleared up.
But the bottom line, the answer to your question is, if these women who have apparently made these allegations according to "Politico" come forward and start talking about them publicly, that's a completely different ball game. But until that time, it's hard to see how this it story really affects him.
PHILLIPS: Real quickly, I'm going to the home page, do you know what time the National Press Club? What time he's supposed to speak about, Joe?
JOHNS: At 12:15, 12:30 I think is the time, after lunch is over and they actually begin with the speeches. That's my recollection. I haven't done it for a while.
PHILLIPS: OK. I'm looking it up here. We'll track it and I'll try to get that information because, of course, we'll be tracking that as well and see if he says anything at that time. Joe Johns, thanks so much.
All right, well, across much of the northeast, the workweek begins under a blanket of snow and a lot of misery from Maryland to Maine, the freak snowstorm dumped more than two feet of snow in many areas, shattering records for the amount that normally falls in the entire month of October.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roads are slick, it's heavy. It was nonstop all night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have no heat, no, like, electric, no nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We lost power around 6:00 yesterday in Kandia, and trying to fill the generator again so we can have heat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: More than 2.4 million homes and businesses are still without power. Those outages are scattered across five states now.
We're covering all the angles. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is in York, Pennsylvania, then Reynolds Wolf here in our severe weather center.
Chad, let's go ahead and start with you. Set the scene for us this morning.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The scene, as it it's always been, as it's been since Friday is over there. I'm going to take you to that ridge line. There is the issue. Those trees still have leaves on them.
If this snowstorm happened 30 days from now, this would be a non-event. I mean, the kids would be out playing in it, but the problem is the snow was so heavy that when it collected on the branches, on the leaves, trees went down.
The power lines went down. Even in this small county, of York County, we have 6,000 people still this morning without power. People have checked into hotels. They are weathering the storms inside their homes.
Talking to a couple of people up in Wyndham Hills earlier, it was 60 degrees in their house last night, very, very cold as temperatures went back down to 25 last night. Now the sun is back out, things are going great.
The problem is we're in a triage situation with these power lines now. If the power companies can get 100 people put back up online and back up on the grid with one line, they're going to work on that line.
If you're that one person with one line and all you're going to do is get that one house connected, you'll be the last one to get connected. They trying to prioritize and if you're just that one for one, you're on the bottom the pole.
It will take a very long time, some spots they're saying a week from now to get power completely back up.
PHILLIPS: OK, Chad. We'll keep talking. We've been talking about this as a freak snowstorm. So, Reynolds Wolf, how freakish is it for it to happen this time of year in October?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, really, the timing of it is really the bad thing. Just as chad mentioned, one of the big issues is the leaves with plenty of foliage, it gives the moisture. It gives that cold air to adhere, a lot of the ice and snow, too.
The big issue is, you have a tree maybe 40 feet in height with the heavy snowstorm, with the snow freezing to the branches, it can add about four tons, up to four tons, of weight to the branches. The braches break and then boom. Sure enough you have the power outages.
Speaking of the snow, take a look at this. We have just an atmospheric bull's eye, a blast of heavy snow, heaviest of which in the area shaded in blue. Some of the worst spots in terms of the heavy snow was also in places like New Hampshire and back into Vermont.
In fact, we take a look at some of our snowfall totals, voila, there it is. Jaffrey in New Hampshire had 31.4 inches of snowfall, over 30 inches snowfall also in Massachusetts, in Windsor, back to West Milford, New Jersey.
In New York, again, you see these numbers well in excess of a foot or so. In a few other places, not quite as interesting in terms of the amount of snowfall, but just the idea they had snow plain and simple.
It's pretty amazing especially in Central Park, New York, which marks the first recorded October snowfall above an inch. Now, we do anticipate a lot of the snow is going to be going, going, going fairly soon because tomorrow, notice this high temperatures going up to 55 degrees in Albany, Buffalo 60 degrees your high tomorrow.
Enjoy it because we're only a few weeks away before winter really kicks in, in earnest. Atlantic City, high tomorrow going to 60 and 55 in Providence, but still as Chad mentioned earlier, we're talking about days and days before power is restored to millions of customers throughout much of New England -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Reynolds, thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
PHILLIPS: The storm made a delay over for passengers aboard a JetBlue flight in Connecticut. They were stuck on a snow-covered tarmac for some eight hours.
Eventually, they had no running water, no use of the toilets, a screaming baby, and two passengers with worsening medical conditions. Listen to how the pilot was pleading for help from the tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: We've got the fire truck over here. I guess, they have some medical background here. I'm not sure who all the players are back there in the back, but it looks like they've got it covered medically. My priority right now is a tug and a tow bar. If you just get me a welding shop I'll be willing to make one myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, JetBlue subjected its passengers to a similar ordeal in 2007, and that actually inspired the passenger bill of rights.
It says that after a two-hour delay, passengers must be given food, water, access to medicine, and clean working toilets. JetBlue could now face some pretty hefty fines.
President Obama welcomes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair this morning. But the White House isn't saying much about what they'll be talking about.
So let's go to White House correspondent Brianna Keilar. Maybe she'll have some sort of insight, maybe speculation. Might be talking about the Middle East peace process? Have you heard anything, Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra. It is a private meeting so it's not like we got to listen to it, but we do know that they'll be discussing a range of issues. That's what a White House official tells me.
Yes, expect for them to be discussing the Middle East. Mr. Blair is the envoy for that quartet group of nations that is trying to make progress on the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Last week actually failed to hit the mark that they were aiming for, which was reviving direct talks. Mr. Blair was involved in separate talks with the Israelis and with the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
So that was certainly a setback. Between that and also the Arab spring and the implications that it has for Mideast peace, the president and Mr. Blair have a lot to talk about -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, he's also signing an executive order today to help the economy, correct? What's that for?
KEILAR: That's right. This one actually has more to do with prescription drugs. It's an executive order so he's able to go around Congress and don't need congressional action. It would compel the FDA -- pardon me. That's actually the sound of jobs at the White House.
I'm sure you can hear the construction noise, but it would compel the FDA to address some prescription drug shortages. It's part of a big effort we've seen, Kyra, not just on things like prescription drugs.
You've seen the president do it on education issues like "No Child Left Behind," but addressing jobs in the same way last week with jobs for veterans and certainly doing it on housing as well -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna Keilar, I can see the Halloween decorations behind you there at the White House and a few scary noises from the tow trucks. All right, thanks, Brianna.
Well, the world may seem a bit larger today. That's because the U.N. says the world's population will hit seven billion people. Zain Verjee is here. I guess the headlines are talking a lot about this symbolic number.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. They have. Let's me show a little bit about what they've been saying. Let's go straight to "Gulf News" in the United Arab Emirates. This is their headline, It's pretty predictable. It says, seven billion.
One of the editorials inside the paper says that it's now time for governments really to assess whether they have the right policies in place to do things like improving the environment, create jobs, and protect natural resources because we've hit this number.
Look at New Zealand's paper, "The Dominion Post." It says, how many people will boo share the beach with? It's kind of a cute, fun story. This is boo, a baby temporarily named, and it's about the parents who moved home to kind of escape all the people around them.
And they just want to bring her up in more un-crowded waters by the beach and teach her how to surf. But the questions raised in this article is, kind of like, what is she going to face when she grows up?
Finally, "The National" in the UAE, also the number seven billion grabbing the headline. Kyra, it talks about how the country needs to push for solutions to strains that they're going to face over the coming years because of the population growth on things like power, food, water, and just generally resources around the world.
The U.N. is saying that in 2050 we're going to hit nine billion, Kyra. So it really is going to put a big strain on our dear earth -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And I'm sure we'll be talking about it again. Hopefully one day you'll be contributing to that number, Zain Verjee.
VERJEE: I hope so, too.
PHILLIPS: All right.
VERJEE: More on that later.
PHILLIPS: Yes, stay tuned.
It could be a tense day in court in Los Angeles, prosecutors in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor will grill the star witness for the defense. That story is coming up.
And would you pack your bags and move to Pittsburgh for 100,000 bucks? The city is making that offer to the right person. It might be you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As you know, we've been talking about Herman Cain and the story that "Politico" broke and he's being accused of sexual harassment. It's some filings that were made by some women that used to worked with him in the '90s. Well, he was speaking live at a think tank in Washington, D.C., and he was asked specifically about those allegations and he didn't answer. He refused to answer.
However, at the end of the Q & A with those at the think tank, he didn't reference these allegations of sexual misconduct, but he just sort of ad-libed these remarks as he was leaving the room. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: By the way, folks, yes, I am an unconventional candidate and, yes, I do have a sense of humor, and some people have a problem with that. But, to quote my chief of staff and all of the people that I've talked to around this country, Herman be Herman. And Herman is going to stay Herman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Just want to make the point again. He didn't reference the sexual misconduct allegations. He was just leaving those parting thoughts. So you can make of it as you will.
We will obviously follow Herman Cain throughout the day because we are told that he will, his campaign did tell us he will directly discuss those allegations possibly, maybe, at the National Press luncheon in D.C., which happens about 12:30 Eastern Time.
He's set to talk there at the National Press Club about 1:00 Eastern Time. We'll be monitoring it. We'll bring you the latest.
All right, there are a lot of reasons to love Pittsburgh, the Steelers, the War Hall Museum, Carnegie Mellon University, that huge sandwich where they pile up the fries and the slaw on top of the meat and the cheese.
Well, here's another good reason. The city is offering the right person $100,000 just to move there. Fred Thieman is a civic leader in Pittsburgh. So tell me, you know, besides the sandwich, the football, the great university, what's this contest all about?
FREDERICK THIEMAN, PRESIDENT, THE BUHL FOUNDATION: Kyra, you know, Pittsburgh has gone through some dramatic changes in the last 30 years, and it's -- National Geographic just ranked it as one of the top 20 destinations in the world, the only other place in California was Sonoma Valley.
So it's pretty good competition. But we've been ranked the most livable city in America by economists, by "Forbes," by Yahoo, rated as one of the best places to retire, rated as one of the best places to raise a family, rated as one of the best places for a college grad.
So this is just one way to get people to take another look at Pittsburgh and a little teaser.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, tell me how the contest is going to work.
THIEMAN: The contest is open to anybody 45 years or older that has not lived in the city for 10 years and have to live more than it 100 miles outside the city.
PHILLIPS: OK, why 45 and older and why is it important 100 miles or more outside the city?
THIEMAN: Well, we want to get people to move to Pittsburgh to take a look at Pittsburgh. Actually, in the latest census, Pittsburgh is doing pretty good with young people. Showing a pretty significant increase in young people, ages 18 to 25.
But we think older people bring experience, they bring dreams, they bring wisdom it and some good ideas, and we want them to come and join the young people that are already here and give some great opportunities to the city.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll see what happens. Hopefully talk with the winners as well. Fred Thieman, we'll see if anyone bites. Thanks for joining us this morning.
THIEMAN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You bet. Big banks and big business, but is there a business element creeping into the "Occupy Wall Street" movement? Poppy Harlow has taken a look that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're going "In Depth" on the occupy movement, while it takes aim at big business, fat cat corporate types, there's money to be made on all of those shirts that you see. Here's our Poppy Harlow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You know what those are? They're trademark applications for this movement, "Occupy Wall Street" and this guy over here, you see him? He's one of the folks trying to trademark it.
ROBERT MARESCA, APPLIED FOR TRADEMARK ON "OCCUPY WALL STREET": I made these t-shirts just a few on the first day, then I made about 20 on the second day, and then it I realized that it's not very healthy to smell the fumes so I decided that I should get in touch with a silk screener.
HARLOW: Why trademark it?
MARESCA: Well, because when you start to go into a large order, you have to make a large investment and there's the chance of being sued, the potential that went through my head, something of a potential business thing.
HARLOW (voice-over): Amazon is full of merchandise with that slogan and an eBay search for "Occupy Wall Street" brings up nearly 5,000 results. And then there's Ray Agrazone, a self-title entreprotester we found online. He's made a few hundred bucks so far selling t-shirts at the occupystore.com.
MARESCA: If it's workable, someone is going to trademark it and why not me?
HARLOW: But can anyone actually trademark "Occupy Wall Street?" It's not a brand name, at least not yet.
RICHARD ROTH, TRADEMARK ATTORNEY: One would argue on the one hand it is just common words. It's in the public domain, just descriptive. But it does have a little ring to it that may very well pass muster with the trademark office.
HARLOW (on camera): If you get this trademark, are you going to keep it or are you going to give it to "Occupy Wall Street?"
MARESCA: I will give it to whatever legal structure that they organize, and they can do what they feel is best for it.
HARLOW (voice-over): Down at Zucotti Park, there's pretty overwhelming sentiment against owning the "Occupy Wall Street" trademark.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's something that belongs to the people and it's unnecessary to trademark it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bit of hypocritical and you know, it kind of counteracts why we're here.
HARLOW (on camera): What attracted you to this movement?
MARESCA: Separate money from politics.
HARLOW (voice-over): But Robert Maresca insists he doesn't want to profit from it and promises to funnel the money back to the movement. Just how he plans to do that is another question.
(on camera): How do you think you could get the money that you might make off of this, if you get the trademark, how do you get it back to "Occupy Wall Street," if that's your goal? How does that work?
MARESCA: Well, I don't -- I'm not going to say that I had this big giant business plan in my head. All I knew was I was getting sick off the smell of fumes.
HARLOW: You said that you would sell the trademark if you get it to "Occupy Wall Street" if that's possible for $1.
MARESCA: For $1, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool. Sold!
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: All right, Poppy joining us from New York. Poppy, this guy that you spoke with, how is he actually giving up making money off this movement?
HARLOW: I think it's yet to be seen. If he gets a trademark, it will be a few months, Kyra before he knows whether he actually gets it or not. He says, I don't want to profit off it at all. I'm going to give the money back to the movement.
He would somehow have to figure out the legal framework of either sell the trademark to the entity or funnel the money through probably the alliance for global justice, Washington, D.C. based non- profit --
PHILLIPS: Poppy, I'm so sorry. We've got an issue with your audio. But go to cnnmoney.com and take a look at Poppy's piece, "The Trademark Battle." Poppy, we'll try and get a better connection to you.
Meanwhile, we've got a live event going on right now. This just in -- Major League baseball has just tweeted that three-time World Series champion manager Tony La Russa is announcing his retirement. Do we want to take a listen to this, guys? Let's listen in.
TONY LA RUSSA, CARDINALS MANAGER: The fact that John Mcgraw is a legendary figure, I kind of like the fact he's second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you talk about the mood last night after the meeting with the players? Was it short meeting? Was it extended?
RUSSA: We did it pretty quickly. I said something and Bill and Mo said something. I thought it was pretty short.
PHILLIPS: He just made the announcement. Of course, his team found out late last night, but he's holding a live presser now. The champion manager announcing his retirement right now from Major League baseball.
All right, Jon Huntsman's daughter spoofed a Herman Cain ad and they got 150,000 views on Youtube. So should the former Utah governor tap into his daughter's popularity? Our political buzz panel sounds off.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, just last hour, top tier GOP candidate Herman Cain refused to answer questions about allegations of sexual harassment while speaking at a D.C. think tank.
According to Politico, two women filed complaints against him in the '90s. Here's how he responded when confronted by a reporter who broke the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to comment about two people that you won't tell me who they are. Ok? I'm not going to comment on that because, you know, I think that is one of those kinds of things that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer yes or no.
CAIN: Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Cain campaign issued a denial after that exchange.
Now, "Political Buzz" of course is going to talk about this. It's our rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. And Herman Cain is one of them. We've got three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. And playing today, is CNN contributors Maria Cardona, Will Cain and Dana Loesch.
All right, guys, first question, as you just heard, Herman Cain fighting these allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a pair of women while he was president of the National Restaurant Association.
What do you think, Maria? Can he survive?
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, it's certainly possible. Let's remember that Bill Clinton survived the Jennifer Flowers accusations and Arnold Schwarzenegger survived his accusations when he was running for governor.
And -- and so what we see though is -- he's got to do as a communications professional, this just completely is so flabbergasting every time I see it. If it's true, get it out yourself and get it out now. Don't let it trickle. If it's false -- and here's where I see the equivocation -- then do a blanket denial and say it didn't happen, categorical denial. Say it's not true. That's where the problem is.
PHILLIPS: Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This sound -- the question is, can he survive it? The answer is quite obviously at this point, yes. Because A, it it's full of unnamed sources and we have no idea whether or not the story is true or not. So that's one reason he can survive it.
Secondly, if he does what Maria just suggested and he gets out in front of it, this thing will be behind him in the news cycle within a matter of weeks. We're not talking about Rick Perry's ranch anymore.
And third we've seen many politician politicians as Maria just said, whether or not it's Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bill Clinton, survive these kinds of accusations. They definitely haven't proven to be campaign killers. So yes, he can survive.
PHILLIPS: Dana? DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's really early to see -- we need to wait and see what happens first. This is a very poorly sourced article and I think that Herman Cain deserves to face his accusers, number one. Number two there's a lot of variables in the story that don't make a lot of sense, the small settlement so and so forth, why the story has been around since the '90s and it's only coming out now.
I do think it's incredibly interesting that this story comes out on a Monday after a George Will's column on Mitt Romney on Friday and a developing story about how Romney doesn't want to do any national media anymore. I find it all very suspicious.
But the bottom line is that we've had John Edwards, we've had Bill Clinton and we had Vera Baker (ph) with Barack Obama and they all survived.
PHILLIPS: All right, CNN's Candy Crowley asked Ron Paul about the potential for a third party presidential run. Here is how he answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no intention of doing it. Nobody's particularly asked me to do it and they know what I'm doing and I have no plans whatsoever to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, if someone does ask Paul to run, should he do it? Will?
CAIN: No. Look, Ron Paul ran for president, what was it, in 1988 on the libertarian ticket? His relationship since then with the Republican Party has been mutually beneficial. He's moved from somebody you would not remember in history -- does anyone remember Bob Barr or any of the other libertarian candidates -- to someone who's highly influential within the Republican Party. He's moved the entire platform in a libertarian direction.
To run on a third party now would simply set all of that behind and kill the Republican candidacy no matter who it is.
PHILLIPS: Maria?
CARDONA: As a Democrat I pray that he runs, yes, Ron Paul run as a third party. Imagine how incredibly interesting that would be for all of us who do a lot of political commenting. I think it would be catnip for the media, it would be catnip for all of us. And as a Democrat, yes, please, run, Ron Paul. We would love it.
PHILLIPS: Dana?
LOESCH: Well, I've been one who's always been against the idea of a third party. I like to just consume from within like a cancerous tumor. That's how I prefer it. But that being said, I think it would be incredibly -- it would be incredibly dangerous because not only would you lose the White House, but you would also run the risk of losing a chance to capture a Senate Majority and possibly even maintain a House Majority because the nominee's coat tails are the things that which all of these candidates ride upon. And I think it would really endanger that.
PHILLIPS: All right, here we go guys, your buzzer beater, 20 seconds each on this one. Jon Huntsman's daughters are spoofing Herman Cain's famous ad, you know the one that shows his chief of staff smoking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We strongly believe that our dad has the experience and proven track record to revive America's economy and create jobs. Even if we didn't believe that, we'd still have to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Huntsman daughters eclipsing their father? Dana?
LOESCH: I think every candidate's daughter wants to be in the limelight at some point and I think they all want to be the Gore daughters of the '90s. And I think that this is just -- I -- I think this is just an attempt at that. I thought the original one was exponentially more hysterical than the parody.
PHILLIPS: Maria?
CARDONA: Yes, unfortunately, I think they are overshadowing the father. And here's what I think Jon Huntsman should do, he should quit the race and go be their manager. They're incredibly talented, they are beautiful, they're funny. That's a winning combination. So I think that's -- that's what he needs to do.
PHILLIPS: Will is shaking his head.
CAIN: Well, I find this incredibly frustrating; they're contributing to the death of their father's campaign. I mean, Jon Huntsman's campaign is so frustrating to me because he is substantively really one of the most conservative candidates out there. He's the only one to endorse Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal. But he's died by style. He tells bad jokes, puts out motorcycle commercials and continuously tries to be cool. All of it adds up to condescending.
PHILLIPS: All right, so -- so OK, I don't mean -- I know we have only a few seconds for this but I'm seeing here that Dana and Will had the big tweet battle going on here. It looks like Dana --
CAIN: I don't want to talk about this --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: All about the Cardinals. Will all about Texas Rangers. Maria, you want to weigh in?
LOESCH: Oh now I'm sorry, Will, about your Rangers.
CARDONA: Yes.
LOESCH: I'm sorry about your Rangers, Will.
CARDONA: Yes exactly.
CAIN: This is like a -- this like two or three times in a lifetime sports depression.
LOESCH: I'm sorry, Will.
PHILLIPS: Got to love it. All right Maria.
CAIN: One pitch. Twice.
PHILLIPS: You got a team, Maria? You got a team?
LOESCH: Cardinals. Come on, Maria. You can say it.
CARDONA: I know. I know, ok, yes, Cardinals. A lot of my colleagues were for the Cardinals.
CAIN: Bandwagon it's so easy now.
PHILLIPS: So Will women has got to stick together.
Still ahead, why home prices have yet to hit rock bottom.
And after tonight, kids across the country may be making an extra trip to the dentist, but they won't be getting a check up. They're actually going to be getting paid.
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PHILLIPS: So how about supporting our troops to prevent cavities? Hey, it's easier than flossing, right? And it's a great idea. Here is what we're talking about. Dentists around the country are actually buying back your kids' Halloween candy, $1 per pound.
So in exchange for all that sugar in your kids' mouth are men and women fighting overseas get a pretty sweet care package. Faith Bates is one of the pediatric dentists who's participating in Operation Gratitude.
DR. FAITH N. BATES, PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY AT VILLAGE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: So how can we all participate? This is something you just go online right and you can find out where it's happening across the country.
BATES: Absolutely. You can go online and put in your zip code and you should be able to find a dentist in your area that is participating in the program. You should get those details for your specific area.
What we're doing at our office is, you can bring your candy on Wednesday from 2:00 to 5:00, which is in Divining Smyrna (ph) area. We will accept the candy, send it to Operation Gratitude where they will put pack -- packages together for the troops.
PHILLIPS: Perfect and there's the Web site right there. So as we're looking at the Web site. Let me ask you a couple of other questions. How do you convince, Faith, a kid to give up their Halloween candy? What's the trick?
BATES: Well, I'll tell you what, a lot of times at my office we talk very, frankly about sugar bugs. And I paint the picture that the sugar bugs are there in your mouth and they are ready to go to town with all the candy that you're going to put in there. I've got some graphic pictures where they can see what the damage can be with all the candy that they eat.
So I get them on board very quickly and they don't want those sugar bugs staying in their mouth nor eating all that candy. So I tell them, you know, pick a few, choose just a few nice treats, and then you can take the rest of it, bring it to us and we can say thank you to our soldiers who are fighting for our country.
PHILLIPS: And you're also -- you're putting in another layer in there and you're saying, hey, go ahead and write a letter to the troops as well. Right?
BATES: Absolutely. Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: How do the kids -- I mean, this is the first year -- is this the first year you're participating?
BATES: This is the first year that we're participating in it.
PHILLIPS: Ok so are you getting calls about it? Or -- or --
(CROSSTALK)
BATES: We are. The response has been just wonderful. All the parents coming in, the parents love it. They say, not only is it getting the kids -- the candy out of the kids' mouths it's also getting it out of theirs because oftentimes they would also participate and eat all of that candy.
And they're very excited. They are convincing their children, we're going to pick a few but then you're taking the rest to us.
So I'm actually very surprised. I didn't think that we'd get people to come in. But they are calling in, we're bringing it. What time is it, Dr. Bates? So please, please bring it on in and save your teeth.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Kids get to save money, it's good for their teeth and our troops get a sweet care package.
BATES: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: And there it is, HalloweenCandyBuyBack.com. Check out the Web site, put in your zip code and help our troops out and your kids too. Thanks so much Dr. Bates.
BATES: Thank you for having me.
PHILLIPS: I appreciate it. My pleasure.
Well, next in showbiz, singer Taylor Swift says that a nude photo posted on a celebrity Web site is not her and she's demanding that they take it down -- or else.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Nearly 20 years after her death, a new book is shedding new light on the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. Kris Jenner memoir was previewed on RadarOnline.com this weekend.
"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host, A.J. Hammer, has the details for us. So in the book, Kris Jenner actually says she could have saved her best friend's life.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. She's apparently feeling very guilty about this years and years later. According to her new memoir, Kyra, Kris Jenner thinks that if she had only gotten together with Brown Simpson the morning before she was killed the whole murder might never have happened.
Jenner says that Brown Simpson had called her the morning before her death and asked her to come over for an important talk. Well, unfortunately Jenner says she was just too busy with her kids and she asked if they could get together the next day. By then of course it was too late. Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were dead. And so began the nation's fascination, of course, with the O.J. Simpson case.
Now Jenner think Brown Simpson wanted to give her some proof that O.J. had been abusing her. And she writes about how she's felt guilty ever since. Of course, one big bit of irony here, Kyra, is that Jenner's ex-husband, the late Robert Kardashian was one of the attorneys who helped O.J. with his acquittal in that murder trial.
PHILLIPS: The twists and turns.
All right. A possible lawsuit now from singer Taylor Swift? What is this about? Topless photos?
HAMMER: Yes. Swift is reportedly threatening to sue a tabloid Web site for posting topless photos that they're linking to her. Swift is saying these pictures aren't her. And it being Taylor Swift, you know, I think we can take her at her word.
But some topless pictures of a woman who people are saying looks like Swift, were posted on a celebrity Web site with the headline "Taylor Swift Topless Private Pic Leaked". Now according to TMZ, Swift's lawyers told the site that it's running false pornographic images and false news about the singer. And if the pictures and the story aren't removed, they are going to sue over trademark infringement Kyra. I can certainly understand why.
PHILLIPS: All right. British singer Adele apparently has been forced to cancel the rest of her concert tour dates. She's had surgery. What's the deal?
HAMMER: Yes. We hope she's going to be ok. Even Adele seems concerned about this. Her label is Columbia Records, and they're telling "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" that Adele needed surgery to alleviate some issues but a full recovery is expected.
However, since the issues have really been undefined thus far, there's a lot of speculation out there about just what Adele is going through. And since it's only speculation, at this point, I'm not going to repeat what the rumors. I'm just going to hope that her label is correct and that she's going to be just fine.
But Adele seems understandably worked up over this. Earlier this month, she posted a long explanation on her Web site where she says that the problems with her voice started in January and, "I'm heartbroken and worried to tell you that, yet again, I'm experiencing problems with my voice. Singing is literally my life, it's my hobby, my love, my freedom and now my job. I've absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully or I risk damaging my voice forever. Now, after the surgery doctors are ordering her to rest her voice completely so she can recuperate before she goes back to work. Of course that means no Adele concerts for the rest of year.
Some of these concerts were actually previously rescheduled around Adele voice issues from before. If you bought a ticket for one of the ten canceled concerts here in the U.S. or the six shows overseas in the UK, you can get a refund at your point of purchase.
And by the way, Kyra, her amazing album "21" is once again number one here in the U.S. At least she's got something to be very happy about this weekend to celebrate.
PHILLIPS: I tell you what, you're number one with our viewers because you're joining me live now at 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
HAMMER: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Because A.J. is so popular we get to have him live for two hours. Thank you, A.J.
HAMMER: It's just good to be with you. Absolutely, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I love my A.J. Hammer.
And if you want information breaking in the entertainment world, he's always got it; every night, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 p.m. on HLN or with us now live at 9:00 and 10:00 Eastern time.
All right. Still ahead, why home prices have yet to hit rock bottom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to Karina Huber at the New York Stock Exchange. So Karina what's this talk that the home prices could now be headed for a triple-dip?
KARINA HUBER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. What this means is that home prices could fall to a new low since the collapse of the housing market. You know, prices have fallen twice so far since then, and now here's the bad news. A financial analytics company says it expects home prices to fall once again by 3.6 percent by June of next year. Now, that would put prices at 35 percent below their peak hit in 200 civil.
You can see this chart right now, you can see the two big price drops, the first price drop came around 2007. That was due to the subprime crisis and the recession. If you take a look at the second big price drop, that happened last year. And that was due to the expiration of the home buyer tax credit which had artificially propped up the housing market. Then of course we had the robo-signing scandal; that dramatically halted the foreclosure practice, so prices went up again. And now that banks, though, have largely dealt with the scandal, foreclosures are on the rise again so that, along with high unemployment, is what is causing the dire outlook.
And you know Kyra, it could be a while before you'll be able to get a higher price for your property. These analysts expect that stabilization won't happen until the end of next year -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Karina, we're also seeing prices drop on Wall Street. What's the deal?
HUBER: OK. A couple of things of flight today; first of all, we've got Japan intervened in their currency markets today, that's driving the value of the yen down. That means the dollar has gone up dramatically. That is putting some pressure on commodity related shares.
Bank stocks are also feeling the heat today. They could be hitting by that bankruptcy at brokerage firm, MF Global. But keep in mind even though we have bad day today, we had a very nice month, we're closing out strong month -- the Dow and Nasdaq, S&P 500 are up about 12 percent to 13 percent just on this month alone. So bad on the day, but good on the month.
PHILLIPS: Thanks Karina.
All right. Let's check stories making news later today, shall we?
The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray is resuming at 11:30 a.m. Eastern in Los Angeles. The prosecution is expected to cross-examine its final witness.
Then a news conference dealing with one of Arizona's largest narcotics trafficking rings is being held in Phoenix at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
And then actor Mickey Rourke will leave his hand and footprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; that's at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, White House candidate Ron Paul says he wants to do away with the federal student loan program. Mark Preston, a lot of families saying, what are you talking about? That's how my kids get to go to college. Why does he want to kill it?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: No doubt. Especially with those -- with kids who are in junior high or in high school. Yes, that is what Ron Paul the candidate for the Republican presidential nomination is saying. In fact, he said it on "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday.
His idea, Kyra, is that if you end the federal student loan program, you're actually going to make it more affordable for more people to go to college. In fact, this is what he said yesterday, a very populist message here, why should people who are laborers who never get to go to college, why should they be taxed to send some of us through college?
So Ron Paul with a populist message. What's interesting, too, about this Kyra, is that Ron Paul has quite a following among young people. I just wonder what some of those are thinking right now -- some of those folks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Yes. Stay tuned, right?
Rick Perry says -- well, he had said he was going to skip future debates. Now it sounds like he's changing his tune. What's the deal?
PRESTON: He is changing his tune. In fact, he said it on Fox News yesterday when he was doing an interview. Rick Perry, you know, looked like he was wavering a little bit saying that there were too many presidential debates.
In fact, though, he is going to start attending them, including two with CNN, the first one is going to be on November 22nd; that's going to be here in Washington D.C. It's with the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation.
What's interesting about that debate, Kyra, it's all going to about national security and foreign policy, two issues we have not heard a whole lot about, if at all, in this race for the GOP nomination. Of course the second debate is going to be November 30th in Arizona -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Mark, thanks.
We'll have your next political update in just about an hour and a reminder -- for all the latest political news, you always can go to our Web site as well, cnnpolitics.com. That does it for us. We're back here tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Halloween.
PHILLIPS: Are you dressing up?
MALVEAUX: I am. Yes.
In my battle gear --
PHILLIPS: Yes, you battle every single day, my dear -- you don't even put on any fear for that.
MALVEAUX: Unprotected --
(CROSSTALK)
