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What the Madoffs Knew; NATO Ends Libya Mission; Close to 2.5 Million Without Power in Northeast After Snowstorm; Haqqani Involved in Blast; Spooky But Safe; Talk Back Question; 7 Billion on Earth
Aired October 31, 2011 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.
Herman Cain's campaign is firing back against the report accusing him of inappropriate behavior back in the '90s. And we expect to hear from Cain live this hour.
Now the report by "Politico" says that two women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain when he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Cain denied the allegations in a FOX News interview just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: I have never sexually harassed anyone. Let's say that. Secondly, I've never sexually harassed anyone, and, yes, I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association, and I say falsely because it turned out, after the investigation, to be baseless.
The people close -- the people mentioned in that article would ones who would be aware of any misdoings, and they have attested to my integrity and my character. It is totally baseless and totally false. Never have I committed any sort of sexual harassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Folks in the Northeast, they're digging out today after getting walloped by a weekend snowstorm. Now, that storm buried parts of the region under two feet of snow.
It's heavy, wet snow. It sent trees crashing on to power lines. More than two million folks still don't have electricity.
And JetBlue Airlines, well, they're apologizing to passengers who were stuck on a plane for eight hours during that snowstorm. The flight from Fort Lauderdale to Newark had been diverted to Connecticut. Passengers, they were stranded, sitting on the runway, little food, little water -- no water, as a matter of fact. Some were even dealing with medical conditions.
And the pilot, if you listen to this, clearly fed up with the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, you know, we can't seem to get any help from our own company. I apologize for this. But is there any way you can get a tug and a tow bar out here to us and get us towed somewhere to a gate or something? I don't care. Take us anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The NATO mission in Libya officially is ending today, 11 days after rebels captured and killed Moammar Gadhafi. Well, the secretary-general of NATO says that Libyans have now liberated their country, it's their victory. The campaign started back in March with a mandate to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to protect its civilians.
Well, we got a big announcement today from NASA. The agency, it's opening up its facilities at Kennedy Space Center to private firms now. So Boeing plans to build a commercial space capsule right there. The move is going to jobs in an area that's pretty hard hit when the space shuttle program ended.
Bernie Madoff's wife and son say they were shocked when they learned his investment business was really a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. One of the sons committed suicide, and Ruth Madoff and the youngest son, Andrew, they talked with CBS's "60 Minutes." And Andrew says that he felt betrayed by his own father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MADOFF, BERNIE MADOFF'S SON: It was one of the hardest things to come to grips with in trying to get my head around this, was that feeling that I had been used almost as a human shield by him. It's unforgivable. No father should do that to their sons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. So talk about going out on top, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced today he's retiring after 33 seasons managing the major leagues. The Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers last week to win the World Series. La Russa told reporters it's time to do something else.
Good for him.
Here's a chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question about the allegations against Herman Cain.
Carol Costello is joining us from New York with more.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the political story of the week, and it's only Monday. Right?
MALVEAUX: Yes.
COSTELLO: The Cain train may be stopped in its tracks by -- what else? Sex.
According to Politico, two women accused Cain of sexual harassment back in the '90s, back when Cain led the charge for the National Restaurant Association. Some conservative Republicans are already crying "lamestream" media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN COULTER, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's outrageous the way liberals treat a black conservative. This it is another high-tech lynching. Even the allegations here --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the words of Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court justice.
COULTER: That's right. There's nothing liberals fear more than a black conservative. Ask Allen West, ask Michael Steele, and ask Clarence Thomas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Politico asked Herman Cain instead, "Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?" Reporter Jonathan Martin asked Cain that question four times, and Cain never said no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Well, you know, when you get to one of the people at the top, you know they are going to dig up all kinds of stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Politico also reports the two accusers received cash settlements and left their jobs after complaining about Cain. Still, Politico is not revealing the accusers' names, and the two women allegedly can't talk about what happened because that's part of the cash settlement.
So, the "Talk Back" question for you today: Is the right right? Are the Cain allegations high-tech lynching or fair game?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
MALVEAUX: Yes. And Carol, this story is moving pretty fast here. We're already heard Cain responding, and we'll see if he has more to say at the National Press Club, when he goes before a whole bunch of journalists in the next hour.
COSTELLO: I'm sure there will be questions.
MALVEAUX: Oh, yes. You can bet there will be.
All right, Carol. Thank you.
Here's a rundown of some of the stories ahead.
First, Bernie Madoff ripped off a lot of folks. Well, now his own wife and son say you can add them to the list.
Then, a freak super storm hammers the Northeast. Is this a preview of the winter expected ahead?
And as NATO congratulates itself for mission accomplished, millions in Africa are mourning the killing of Moammar Gadhafi.
Plus, waiting on Cain. We're going to see what more the Republican presidential candidate has to say about allegations of inappropriate behavior.
Then this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why did you decide to have a child, if I may ask, with so many people on the planet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live in Ohio, and it doesn't seem to be as crowded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, a good enough reason.
Celebrating a global milestone as the world population officially hits 7 billion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So it's an inside account of the greatest financial scam of all time. When news broke that Bernie Madoff had swindled thousands of investors out of billions of dollars, a lot of people assumed that his family must have been in on it. But now Madoff's wife and son tell "60 Minutes" they were victims, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUTH MADOFF, WIFE OF BERNIE MADOFF: And he said, "I have a confession to make. I've been running a Ponzi scheme." He said $50 billion.
A. MADOFF: He said, "Everything I've been doing is all a big lie." He said, "The business is a Ponzi scheme, and the firm is completely insolvent and I'm broke." And then he just started sobbing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, you know a lot of people including Madoff's victims, they're kind of skeptical about the story Ruth Madoff and her son Andrew are telling the media.
I want to bring in Diana Henriques. She is a senior financial writer with "The New York Times." She interviewed Ruth Madoff about her side of the story. She also got an interview with Bernie Madoff behind bars, and she wrote a book about the scandal called "The Wizard of Lies."
And Diana, you and I had a chance to speak last week about this as well.
First of all, did Bernie Madoff -- did he ever tell you about this confession that he made to his family, that everything he had been doing was a big lie?
DIANA HENRIQUES, SR. FINANCIAL WRITER, "NEW YORK TIMES": He did tell me about that scene, and the version he gave me matches very closely to what Ruth and Andrew have now described, the scene in this study, in his penthouse. Their account adds a few little touches.
I was struck by Andrew's recollection that the first thing his mother said was, "What's a Ponzi scheme?" And she actually is financially naive enough that I can find that plausible from my long conversation with her for today's story in The Times.
MALVEAUX: Yes. I wanted to ask you about that. How is that possible?
I mean, a lot of people would find that hard to believe, that she was that ignorant about what her husband's business was about and what he was doing. But for you that rings true?
HENRIQUES: It does, because remember, he had a legitimate business that was one of the most respected wholesale stock trading houses on Wall Street. He was in my Rolodex as a source for years, and many other financial journalists as well.
He was consulted by the SEC. He was former chairman of the Nasdaq market. He was quite a Wall Street statesman.
And, so as far as anyone knew, his legitimate firm was very successful. So it would have raised no red flags for anyone in the family that he made a lot of money and that he was very successful.
MALVEAUX: And Ruth Madoff says that she and her husband tried to commit suicide after the story broke. What did she tell you about that night?
HENRIQUES: She was very moved by that. In fact, it was one of the many points during our interview where she spilled over into tears.
She said that they were getting hate mail, lawyers. She never experienced the kind of hostility that was focused on her before in her life, and she said, "I told him, 'I can't get through this, nor do I want to.'" She said it was her idea, more or less, but they took all the Ambien they had in the house and decided that they just were relieved, she said, to be leaving this place.
I got an e-mail from Bernie Madoff himself over the weekend, essentially, but reluctantly, confirming those details. Madoff hates to admit failure at anything, and suicide would of course would be the ultimate admission of failure. But he said it was a feeble suicide attempt in a state of deep depression. So he confirmed that account.
And it gives us some idea of the kind of pressure they were under in those immediate weeks after the arrest, when there were literally people standing outside his apartment building saying, "Jump, Bernie."
MALVEAUX: Wow.
And Diana, in that e-mail that you got over the weekend, was there anything else you learned that you didn't know?
HENRIQUES: From Madoff?
MALVEAUX: Yes.
HENRIQUES: No. I had questioned him about the suicide issue before, Suzanne, and he had said, "Well, it crossed my mind." And that, of course, is pure Madoff. So I think this was a reluctant confession.
Ruth, of course, has nothing to gain from creating a story like this. So I find her account a good bit more credible than Bernie's on any score.
MALVEAUX: Sure. And then on "60 Minutes," we heard Morley Safer confronting the Madoffs, saying that some people believe their story, the Madoffs' story, is just a charade here, and that they're trying to get off the hook for their role in the big mess that Bernie Madoff played.
What do you think the Madoffs' motivation is? You know them, you know the family.
HENRIQUES: Yes. Well, I think we have got to look at the hard facts here.
They've been charged with nothing. Neither Andrew nor Mark have ever been the subject or target of a criminal investigation. We're three years into the case almost now, and they have been -- absolutely no accusations of wrongdoing have been made against them in any official capacity, except in the court of public opinion.
So I think they're trying to be heard, Andrew especially. Ruth clearly is participating in this because she is trying to rebuild her relationship with Andrew. But they're trying to be heard.
I don't know if they're going to succeed though. At some point I think you do have to say to the skeptics, well, if you think they're guilty, prove it, because it's very difficult for them to prove they're not.
MALVEAUX: Well, you've been in touch with the Madoff family and will continue to have those insights. We will continue to bring you back.
Diana, we really appreciate it.
Diana Henriques.
HENRIQUES: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: NATO's eight-month campaign in Libya officially ending today. Moammar Gadhafi gone, dead, but Libya has a tough road ahead.
Our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, was in Libya during the campaign. He's joining us live from Tripoli.
And Matthew, you actually had a chance to get on a flight, share a flight with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as you traveled from Brussels to Libya. What did he tell you in terms of the campaign and how it ended up, if it was successful?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, all of the NATO officials that you speak to, and particularly Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who's the secretary-general of NATO, are very upbeat about it. They're saying mission accomplished, sort of triumphant, coming to Libya to kind of congratulate themselves, essentially, on a mission that they see as being very clean-cut, having fulfilled all of its objectives, having limited civilian casualties, although that's disputed, of course, to the bare minimum. And so they're very much talking as if this was one of the most successful campaigns in NATO's recent history.
In fact, they are using those very words, it is one of the most successful campaigns as far as NATO officials are concerned. There's much more reservations though when you speak to officials in the Libyan National Transitional Council.
They're talking about their concerns that they have about NATO leaving possibly prematurely. They've still got concerns about the security threat here. But NATO's hearing none of it.
They're saying that from 12:00 midnight tonight, or one minute to midnight tonight -- so it's less than six hours from now -- the NATO air campaign which resulted in thousands of air strikes on various targets in and around Tripoli and elsewhere in the country, as well, will come to an end, and that is final.
Take a listen to what Anders Fogh Rasmussen told me when I spoke to him on the aircraft coming into Tripoli earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: We have been mandated by the United Nations Security Council to protect civilians, and that mission has been a great success. We have prevented a massacre. We have saved countless lives.
We have fully implemented the United Nations' mandate. That was our mission. And we have done what we promised to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHANCE: Well, so, mission accomplished as far as NATO's concerned. But still, a lot of concerns, a lot of questions about what kind of Libya will emerge from that NATO mission -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Sure. And Matthew, how's this playing for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?
CHANCE: Well, Hillary Clinton, of course, welcoming this, saying it's a huge military victory for the NATO alliance. It's a big victory as well for the Obama administration, as far as the United States is concerned.
President Obama has gone out on the record and said cost $1 billion of the U.S. contribution to basically change the regime, essentially. I'm not sure he used those words, but that's essentially the effect of what's happened here, and get rid of Gadhafi, who was seen very much as a brutal dictator in the United States, other countries as well, and replace it with what we've got now.
The big question, of course, is, we don't really know what we've got now. It's still very much in this fledgling moment, it's still very much decided now what kind of country this is going to be -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Maybe a little bit too soon to celebrate just quite yet. A lot of people still having questions in terms of what's going to happen on the ground there.
Thank you, Matthew Chance.
Well, hundreds of thousands are people are without power. The East Coast is digging out from a record-breaking snow. We're going to have the latest on the efforts to get things back to normal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Now for stories our iReporters are sending in from the nor'easter. I want you to check out the time lapse as the snow started to hit the region this weekend.
So, an iReporter in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, took one photo every minute for eight hours outside his home Saturday. That's amazing. You can see how fast the storm rolled in just by looking at how the trees are actually weighed down.
And this is what some neighborhoods look like in Putnam County, New York. An iReporter sent us pictures of giant trees knocked down by the heavy snow. Roofs, completely covered; roads iced over.
And in Denville, New Jersey, an iReporter sent us this video of a tree knocked down by the storm. It's over the road, but people were able to drive underneath it. It's kind of a dangerous move with all those downed power lines.
Now more on the freak October snowstorm socking the East Coast. We're talking about record snowfall. Hundreds of travelers were stranded, at least five people were killed.
Our own Chad Myers, he is weathering the storm in York, Pennsylvania.
Chad, I was out there this weekend traveling, had no idea this was going to hit. I was in Maryland. We were lucky. Just a little bit of snow. But where you are, more than two million folks still without power?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It had started late on Friday, early on Saturday, and we were the first ones.
We were the farthest south, really. We were the first ones to get the snow, but we were also the first ones to get the sunshine yesterday.
Look at this. I was standing in 10 to 12 inches of snow 24 hours ago. It is completely gone. But when the snow was here, it was also there, over on those big trees over there.
All of those trees still have leaves on them. And this is the problem. This is the rub with this storm.
This is not so much of a record-breaking snowfall in December, this is a record-breaking snowfall when the leaves are on. And when the leaves are on the trees, the branches came down, and so did the power lines. That's how we got four million customers without power.
Now those power lines are getting back up, but some of them are going to take a very long time when you have all of these power lines down -- and there are many. They're going to try to get as many people on line with one line as possible.
If you get one line up, you get 200 people back on, that's a bonus. If you get one line up with only one customer back on, you are the lowest priority. So it's going to take a long time.
The good news is now it has warmed up. I'll tell you, it may be, like, 50 degrees out here right now, but this morning it was 25.
And some people were telling me that inside their homes this morning this morning it was 55 degrees and it was very cold. That's why people have now gone to hotels, and all the hotels in this area were completely full last night again for the second night in a row.
Now, these are families that planned on not spending $125 a night for a hotel, and maybe planned on spending a little bit more for Christmas. So maybe their budget's going to be moved around a little bit, and they're thinking maybe four or five more days having to spend those nights in hotels, rather than spending it at home where it's essentially free.
MALVEAUX: Yes. That's too bad. Yes. I saw you all weekend, Chad, out there in that cold weather. I understand that in Worcester, Massachusetts, they're asking folks to postpone trick-or-treating until Tuesday. So, in York, is Halloween canceled there?
MYERS: We're OK here. I'm telling you, because the sun came out so fast here, compared to Massachusetts -- which might have been 15 hours later for that sun to come out -- today it will warm up in Massachusetts, but yesterday it was warm here.
All the snow is off, all the lines are down, all the trees are down and the lines are getting back up. That's not the case -- they're not to the point yet in Massachusetts.
There are still many power lines down. They don't want the kids walking around those power lines.
There are still trees that still could come down because there's still snow up there. They don't want those kids under those trees, so it's a safe bet to not trick-or-treat tonight, wait a couple days. The candy's not going to go stale in two days.
MALVEAUX: All right. It's not going anywhere. They'll be OK. A couple days to wait.
All right. Thank you, Chad.
It is Halloween. Expect some strange things. Right? Well, just outside of Atlanta zombies -- yes, I'm talking about zombies -- took to the streets, but it was for a good cause.
So, not the usual trick-or-treating that you see. This is the first annual Marietta Zombie Walk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need all zombies inside the corral! All zombies make their way inside of the corral!
GARY HASTY, ZOMBIE WALK ORGANIZER: Zombies are the new vampires. We're much cooler. We don't eat much. We don't glisten and glitter. We don't have love stories.
We're zombies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The undead keep living forever.
MEGHAN HILL, MUST MINISTRIES: The idea was Gary Hasty loves zombies, so he wanted to do a family-friendly zombie walk in his neighborhood. And he wanted to team up with MUST to make it a food drive, because he knew that we were low on food in our food pantry.
HASTY: We were expecting for the first year maybe 50, 60 people show up. I think we had 300 or 400 or so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Crazy.
White House hopeful Herman Cain, he's about to take on a roomful of journalists, and there are some controversial headlines. The accusations and what he's been saying so far.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.
Next, presidential hopeful Herman Cain says that he has never sexually harassed anyone. His comment comes after a report referring to accusations of inappropriate behavior in the '90s.
Then, CNN learns who may have been behind this weekend's deadly bombing that killed nine Americans in Afghanistan.
And later, the world reaches a major milestone. Today, 7 billion people living on Earth. We're going to talk to a few of them in New York.
And we're waiting to hear directly now from Herman Cain. That, within the hour.
He's been fending off questions all day about allegations of sexually suggestive behavior, but he is about to face a roomful of journalists. These are live pictures from the National Press Club. It's a gathering in Washington.
I want to bring in Joe Johns, who's in Washington.
So, Joe, I know you and I have both been there many times. Folks -- you know, you eat, you have a luncheon, you have your main speaker. Clearly, he's going to be faced with a lot of folks who want to know the details of this.
How has he responded so far?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, and interesting, too, there at the Press Club, Suzanne, as you know, they'll write out the questions and somebody will read them. So it's not the kind of forum where you're just getting pounded in front of the cameras. But Herman Cain is certainly the center of attention in Washington right now.
A scheduled appearance at the National Press Club. He says he's ready to take the arrows -- presumably tough questions about this controversy -- that went public with an article in Politico. There he goes right now.
These are allegations of unwanted sexual behavior, claimed by two women while he was working at the National Restaurant Association. The Restaurant Association hasn't commented so far to us.
Cain has now, on the record, denied engaging in sexual harassment. He says he was not aware of any settlement the association may have entered into on his behalf, though he says he hopes it wasn't a large pay-out. Here's a snippet of his appearance on Fox, if we can show that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have never sexually harassed anyone -- anyone -- and absolutely these are false accusations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: So the question of course is whether these people who made these allegations, accusations that he says are false, will come forward. And we'll hear a little bit more about the details. That's always the problem in a situation like this. The more details you hear, the harder it is for a campaign or what have you to stay on message, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Joe, talk about the campaign a little bit. Do they see this really as a make it or break it moment for Cain right now?
JOHNS: Well, it is not clear at all. I mean, they have been a bit all over the place and it looked like it was steadied somewhat when he finally came out and said when he had to say in his own behalf about these allegations.
We'd heard a variety of messages from other people who worked for the campaign, but it is clear that they know they have at least a public relations problem right now because this is a man who's doing very well in the polls, and a lot of people consider him, to some degree, to be the frontrunner.
So, you got to handle a situation like this and you got to try to clear up the nagging questions, if you can, and move on.
MALVEAUX: Joe, this is all the buzz in Washington, I imagine. Really, a lot of folks have been gathered there, and it was already kind of an interesting event at the National Press Club. Now it is even more so. Can you give us a sense of the mood here of folks who are covering politics and the campaign there?
JOHNS: Right. Well, there is plenty to talk about here with Herman Cain, because as you know, in some ways, it's been kind of lackluster covering this nomination race. As people sort of move to the front and then move away, up and down in the polls.
And so there is obviously -- there are a couple questions out there for the people who reported the story. We've asked "Politico," so where did it come from? Did it come from another campaign or what have you? They've said, look, we got a tip, and we're not going to say anything more than that. It would be interesting to find out more from them but reporters, just like we here at CNN, want to protect their sources.
A lot more to do on this, obviously, and it looks like the center stage story at least for the present time, Suzanne. MALVEUAX: All right, Joe Johns, thanks again. We're keeping a close eye on the National Press Club event. We know that Herman Cain -- we saw those live pictures of him actually going up to take the stage. He's going to get a chance to speak, and we'll be dipping in when we hear him and what he's got to say about all of this.
We're rolling out a new segment here on CNN today. We call it "Politicians Say What?". sometimes on the stump politicians go off message and off the radar. Here are some of the stranger statements out of Washington this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, my hair's a little grayer now. You noticed that. Huh? My girls say it is distinguished. Michelle says it just makes me look old.
RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know whether or not people are going to these debates or not, you know. There's going to be a lot of debates. Shoot. I may get to be a good debater before this is all over.
REP. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: And I've decided I'm going to start a caucus called the "why can't we all just get along caucus," because that's what people want us to do. And if I'll probably be one person alone, I'll sit there and have a beer by myself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hear you were at the Iowa State game (INAUDIBLE).
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you were of course cheering for --
SANTORUM: I was!
(LAUGHTER)
SANTORUM: Well, Rick Perry went to A&M, so that was -
(LAUGHTER)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Well, that's cyclical (ph). It's been a while since I read that one. Actually - (INAUDIBLE) I'm a good Catholic. You know, hey, I'm in trouble if I don't.
REP. ROB BISHOP (R), UTAH: The study I looked at said each individual in his lifetime will consume 9, 345 pounds of copper. I certainly hope the verb consume was not a literal word more than a hypothetical word because I really have not had much copper on my Cornflakes lately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Afghan officials point to a possible link in a suicide bombing in Kabul. Seventeen people were killed, including nine Americans. We're going to go live to Kabul, Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So, in this economy, it could get risky if you decide that you want to follow your passion. But "Smart Is The New Rich" author Christine Romans introduces us to a guy who said good-bye to the NBA so he could coach a bunch of kids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not the NBA but it's a job and it turns out, David Brown loves it.
DAVID BROWN, DIRECTOR/HEAD COACH, BASKETBALL STARS OF NEW YORK: I have a great passion for working with kids. I have a great passion for the sport of basketball.
ROMANS: Brown, a former Division One college basketball player, runs basketball stars of New York. Camps for kids. He launched the business this spring after leaving a job with the NBA.
BROWN: Freeze, freeze, freeze. ROMANS: Brown says, he's fortunate. He's still working in basketball given the league lockout and prospects for 400 more job losses. Career coaches say pursuing a passion in a job market with 9.1 percent unemployment, it's a big gamble.
BRAD KARSH, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, JOBBOUND: I love passion. I think it's great. And you never want to take a job that you're going to despise or hate or not be pleased with. But I think especially for people coming out of school, there's this almost romantic view of jobs, meaning like, I want a job that I'm going to love every day. And the fact of the matter is, there's probably not many jobs that anybody loves every single day.
ROMANS: After graduated from college, Brown coached at the high school level into a two non-division one universities. He loved to work but the pay was tight.
BROWN: I haven't had the chance to really earn a real paycheck to, you know, sustain living. So, I had to go out for another opportunity and what my mother would call a real job.
ROMANS: Brown got a job with the New Jersey Nets, selling ticket plans for games. He eventually was promoted to the team's marketing division. But after two years on the job, he felt he ran out of room to grow. He and the team parted ways in the spring. But Brown took what he learned and applied it to a new career, coaching kids.
BROWN: It's very important that you take stock of your current situation, you understand what your opportunities are and the areas that you're familiar with. But then stay active and also look at areas where you can transfer your skills, areas and industries where you can see growth.
ROMANS: For now, he's happy to be working with kids again and having the opportunity to grow his business and pursue his passion for coaching.
BROWN: Do what you love. If you do what you love, it's not going to be work, you're going to be successful.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: New information about a suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed 17, including nine Americans. Afghan officials say that they have uncovered direct evidence linking the blast to the Haqqani network. It is a militant group that is based in Pakistan.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is live in Kabul. Nick, first of all, what kind of evidence do they have, the Afghan officials, to to say that it is the Haqqani network in Pakistan?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a spokesman for the interior ministry in Afghanistan stresses this is the early part of their investigation, but so far they have what we refer to as contact information about vehicles and evidence, they say, which points to the Haqqani network being behind this. Now, that's significant because the Haqqanis have been behind two or three significant attacks here in the center of Kabul over the past five months or so.
Different parts of the insurgency accused by U.S. officials of having links and safe havens in Pakistan, not necessarily working as much with the Taliban or traditional insurgency in Pakist - in Afghanistan, but certainly sophisticated in terms of their reaching into what should be safe areas here in the capital of Kabul. Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Nick, I imagine this only complicates the situation between the United States and Pakistan. They've been trying to work together, but clearly U.S. officials and military have been very frustrated that you have that network just over the border that is creating such havoc.
WALSH: Well, I should stress that today ISAF says they have intelligence leading in the same direction. They don't believe at this point the Haqqanis were behind it. They're suggesting maybe (INAUIDBLE) target opportunity.
And you have to look at this particular moment in U.S.-Pakistani relations. Many suggestions the Americans are looking against the Pakistanis to assist in the peace process here, and would it, for example, help for them again to be accusing Pakistan of assisting the Haqqani network in yet another attack that killed a significant number of Americans here in the capital Kabul?
So yes, that relationship extremely strained and going to be under the spotlight again in the next day or so as the U.S. and Pakistan, and Afghanistan, all converge in Istanbul for a number of meetings. Suzanne. MALVEAUX: Sure. And, Nick, do we know -- do we have any more information, know anything more about those who were killed in this attack?
WALSH: Well, there were five Afghan, we understand, including one policemen, four civilians, who were passersby when this huge amount of explosives rammed into a NATO armored bus. Much of the confusion about who was on that bus stems from the passenger manifest and not having the people who were on-board the bus. So far we're hearing of four American soldiers, one Canadian, five American civilians, and Cosovan (ph) and a British -- two British civilians as well.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Nick Paton Walsh. Thank you so much, Nick.
Well, the world hits a huge milestone today. Seven billion people on earth. Now, how long do you think it took for us to grow from 6 billion to 7 billion people? A, 100 years, b, 65 years, or c, 12 years? That answer in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So the world is expected to reach a whopping $7 billion people today. Did you guess how long it took us to grow from 6 billion to 7 billion? A, 100 years, b, 65 years, or c, 12 years? Can you believe the answer is c, just 12 years.
Check out the graphic. In 1800 we had 1 billion people on earth. And you can see how fast the population grew after that, in part because of advances in modern medicine.
So it's a tough trade-off, right. If you're a kid in Massachusetts, you got a snow day, but you could be losing out on a lot of candy. That's right. That's because the mayor of Worcester has canceled Halloween after that monster storm dumped more than two feet of snow in some parts of the state last night. Well, I spoke to the Worcester city manager earlier and here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL O'BRIEN, WORCESTER, MASS. CITY MANAGER (voice-over): Well, we're postponing it. We here in Worcester are certainly a hearty bunch. Battle hardened and seasons to snowstorms. We're kicking this one in the pants, as expected. But public safety always is our priority. So we're pushing it off until Thursday night for our children and our parents to get out there trick-or-treating. We don't want them competing with snow piles, brush that's down, as well as power outages, right? The streets are dark. Porches aren't lit. And so all of that leads to concerns as to their safety and certainly doesn't take a holiday. So these few extra days are going to be critical for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. What do you think? Just a few hours, kids outside of Worcester, they're going to dress up like me in their Halloween costumes. Doorbells start ringing. One of America's favorite holidays in full swing. Carl Azuz to tell us how to keep your kids safe during Halloween.
I can't believe -- you said my hat is clashing with my outfit?
CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you should have coordinated better, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Oh, come on.
AZUZ: I mean the purple and dark teal just --
MALVEAUX: But do you like the hat?
AZUZ: It's beautiful.
MALVEAUX: You know, because I'll be out there.
AZUZ: I never thought of you as a witch.
MALVEAUX: I've got a witch side to me, let me tell you.
AZUZ: OK. Not on the air.
MALVEAUX: No, no, no.
Tell me about you story.
AZUZ: Well, we've got 41 million kids expected to be out tonight trick-or-treating. Forty-one million, for perspective, is about 13 percent of the U.S. population. Actual number might be even higher than that because that 14 million comes from a Census Bureau from 2010 -- excuse me, 41 million comes from the Census Bureau for 2010. Forty- one million is on the low side because it's only kids ages five to 14. We know that there are thousands of parents of toddlers, kids up to five, who are going to be trick-or-treating. And then there are going to be kids like me, who at ages 15, 16, 27, show up on your door asking for candy. So 41 million is a low estimate, but that's what they're saying this year, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And what do they recommend in terms of keeping your kids safe?
AZUZ: There are a number of recommendations that came to us from the National Crime Prevention Council. A few of them for you right now include keeping costumes short. If you have a kid going out as a princess or a ghost maybe, make sure they're not tripping over their costume.
Also, reflectors, flashlights, reflector strips that you can buy at a hardware store. Anything to help your child stand out in the dark.
Have a separation plan is a good thing if you're going out trick- or-treating. Have a time and place where you can regroup with your kid in case they get lost in the pandemonium. You can encourage group outings. Older kids want to go out with their friends. The bigger the group there is, to some extent, safety in numbers.
And also, this I didn't think about, eat -- feed your child before he or she goes out trick-or-treating because -- I mean there are a couple of reasons. One, it will keep them from consuming vast quantities of candy along the way.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Exactly.
AZUZ: But also it will keep the child from eating that candy before you have a chance to inspect it. Inspection, of course, always being my parent's excuse before they ate half of what I got.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
AZUZ: But it's still a good idea.
MALVEAUX: We always sat and traded our candy for hours, like after we'd -- do we know how much candy that Americans actually eat?
AZUZ: We do not. Now as far as Halloween goes, it's hard to say exactly that number, Suzanne, because, I mean, it depends on how much your kids get, how much you eat from them. But, overall, in 2010, this blew me away. Americans each ate 24 pounds of candy through the year. And the fact that that statistic was put in pounds makes it a little bit worse. Because if they say, Carl, you ate 24 chocolate bars, I'd say, you know, two chocolate bars a month, that makes sense.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
AZUZ: Twenty-four pounds of candy makes me start looking like at my waistline. Some pounds went here. Did they go to my hips? I don't know. But 24 pounds of candy last year, that's --
MALVEAUX: Yes, that's a -- that's a lot.
AZUZ: That's a lot.
MALVEAUX: That is a lot of candy.
AZUZ: And I'm sure it spikes at Halloween and as the holidays approach.
MALVEAUX: All right. We got to go, Carl. But happy Halloween.
AZUZ: Thank you. Happy Halloween to you too.
MALVEAUX: Well, you've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question. Carol Costello with your responses.
Carol, you like -- what do you think? Yes?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have never looked more beautiful.
MALVEAUX: There's a witch side to me. But go ahead. I understand. You've got more to talk about here.
COSTELLO: I do. The question this afternoon -- can -- are the allegations against Herman Cain high-tech lynching or fair game? That's the question.
This from Paul, "right or wrong, it's all been fair game. A candidate needs to know the skeletons in his closet and get out in front of them because eventually you know they're going to get unearthed. By not doing that, you look as though you have something to hide and perception is everything."
This from Mary. "Absolutely fair game. He's in the big leagues and needs to answer questions about his past, not to mention that I have to love it when Ann Coulter whips out the race card. Hilarious!"
This from Gerrard. "I'm nowhere near being a fan of Cain, but having said that, I feel this is just another sad example of gotcha politics which all too often drives qualified people from thinking about running for office."
And this from Michelle, "Sexual harassment is a serious problem and, yes, it does happen. It should never, ever be ignored. So, yes, it's fair game. If a payout was made to make these women go away, Cain will have a serious problem getting the women's vote."
Keep the comments coming. Keep the conversation flowing. Facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your commence.
Thank you, Carol.
And, Carol, you can stop searching for baby number 7 billion, by the way.
COSTELLO: Oh, who is it?
MALVEAUX: OK. So the stork made a special delivery to the Malveaux family this weekend. You've got to check them out. Baby Gabriel Remington Malveaux. He was born 4:10 in the morning, October 29th, 6 pounds, 6 ounces. His proud parents, my brother Greg, sister- in-law, Lisa Malveaux. Congratulations guys. I'm convinced, Carol.
COSTELLO: Is it really baby number 7 billion?
MALVEAUX: I am convinced he's 7 billion, number seven billion.
COSTELLO: Did you get a t-shirt?
MALVEAUX: I'm going to have to make t-shirts, too.
COSTELLO: You should.
MALVEAUX: Congratulations, guys. We'll have more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Thos babies entering a world that has grown by a billion people in just 12 years. Our CNN's Richard Roth took to the streets of New York to get a sense of what they think of their new neighbors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven billion. Hard to believe. And, hold up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a humongous number that's beyond most people's comprehension.
ROTH: Seven billion people on planet earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven billion?
ROTH (on camera): As in billion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow!
ROTH (voice-over): A symbolic but powerful number.
ROTH (on camera): Have you seen these people, the 7 billion?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I haven't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you created any of those 7 billion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope not.
ROTH (voice-over): Oh, baby. This hospital arrival looks like he wants to accept the prize, but emerged too early. Another baby's mother, not disappointed at just missing producing the 7 billionth human.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wow. No. I mean he came out at the time that he was supposed to come out. But he was close.
ROTH (on camera): What does the number 7 billion, as indicated in this sign in front of the U.N., what does that mean to you as a demographer?
JOHN BONGAARTS, POPULATION COUNCIL: That (INAUDIBLE) that we have increased the population of the world by an enormous amount in a very short time. We're adding 75 million people every year.
ROTH (voice-over): They're everywhere. It also seems there are 7 billion baby carriages in Manhattan.
ROTH (on camera): Why did you decide to have a child, if I may ask, with so many people on the planet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live in Ohio and it doesn't seem to be as crowded. So I moved out of New York.
ROTH: Why is your child now crying since I asked you that question? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you don't want people to have any more kids?
ROTH: I didn't say that.
As the secretary-general of the world, are you ready to tell people, stop having children, or at least in Manhattan?
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Let us make sure that the 7 billionth child can live without an (INAUDIBLE), can live in peace.
ROTH: Ladies, good evening. I'm Richard Roth of CNN.
ROTH (voice-over): I entered a womb-like environment in the back of a Mexican restaurant where few men had gone before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just living in Manhattan you feel so sort of claustrophobic and you think that number is just -- it's massive.
ROTH: It's a new mom support luncheon. Baby knows what's coming.
ROTH (on camera): What do you think about bringing a child into this world with 7 billion people? When is enough enough?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't even ever give it a second thought. Yes. It means nothing to me.
ROTH: The child or the 7 billion thing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The child means everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you toll people in the 1800s to stop having babies, where would we be now? So, it's -- I say, keep doing it.
ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Oh, we love that. Keep doing it.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.
Hey, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne. Happy Halloween.
