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Cain: Wife Was Unaware of Accuser; Senate Blocks Payroll Tax Cut; Stocks Rally on Wall Street; Unemployment Rate Falls To 8.6 Percent; Al-Zawahiri: We Captured American; Santa Ana Winds Hit 140MPH; 100MPH Winds Batter Utah;

Aired December 02, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Today, Herman Cain faces the toughest day of his presidential bid. It's far from the campaign trail. He meets with his wife about allegations of a 13-year sexual affair with someone else. Cain says it was only a friendship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My wife did not know about it, and that was the revelation and the surprise that my wife found out about it when she went public with it.

Her text messages to me were asking for financial assistance because she was out of work, had trouble paying her bills, and I had known her as a friend. She wasn't the only friend that I had helped in these tough economic times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is in Washington. So Paul, is the future of Cain's candidacy riding on this confrontation, conversation with his wife and family?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, it sure seems like today could be judgment day for Herman Cain. No doubt about that, Fred. But he doesn't even start the day in Atlanta with his family.

He starts the day in South Carolina. He has a campaign event there early this afternoon. We'll have a live coverage of that, of course. And then he heads back to Atlanta to talk about these allegations of that 13-year affair.

In an interview last night, Herman Cain for the first time gave us a time line of when he will or won't decide whether he continues on with his bid for the White House. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: Before Monday, I haven't set the exact date, before Monday we will make a decision. We will make a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: That decision, of course, will be whether he continues on with his bid for the Republican presidential nomination or whether because of concerns he says from his family or how his family is dealing with all of these, he drops out. So stay tuned.

We'll monitor Herman Cain all weekend long. You know what's odd about this too is you know what he's scheduled tomorrow in Atlanta. Herman Cain is scheduled to open up his national headquarters.

Also at the same time in Iowa, right now, Herman Cain's campaign is up with advertisements, TV advertisements as an independent group that is supporting him.

But if you want evidence of how this latest allegation and of course, the sexual harassment allegations from about a month are hurting Herman Cain's bid for the nomination, look at this brand new poll out this morning, from the Des Moines register of the Iowa poll.

Look at that, in late October, Herman Cain was at 31 percent support among people likely to take part in those Iowa caucuses. Now down to 8 percent. This poll was conducted just before and after those revelations came out Monday, Fred.

So you can see right there from that poll this is trouble for Herman Cain.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure his staffers are trying to figure out too what's next for them. Interesting. All right, Paul Steinhauser, appreciate that.

Of course, much more on Herman Cain coming up at the bottom of the hour. We'll talk about it with our political panel in "Political Buzz."

All right, for Americans who do have jobs, the future size of the paycheck is being decided on Capitol Hill. Last night, the U.S. Senate rejected partisan plans to extend the Bush era tax cuts.

Now lawmakers are scrambling to find a compromise that will prevent a hike of more than $1,000 a year for the average American family. Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill. So, Kate, how likely is a compromise?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there's general sense up here, Fredricka, that in the end Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate will be able to reach some compromise to extend this payroll tax cut.

But by how much and how it will be paid for seems to be the big question. What we saw last night is really the latest fight between Democrats and Republicans around this payroll tax cut that's set to expire at the end of the year.

The payroll tax, of course, is a percentage of a worker's paycheck is taken out to fund Social Security. Democrats, they want to extend and expand this payroll tax cut for a year to employees as well as to extend it to employers to help spur job creation.

Republicans, they want to extend the current payroll tax for one more year and to this point, at least up to this point the fight has really centered around at least in part how to pay for this tax cuts.

Democrats are proposing a surtax on income over a million dollars. Republicans have rejected that many times before. Republicans, they want to extend the current pay freeze on federal workers as well as cut the federal work force by 10 percent to pay for this tax cut.

While it was expected that both of these opening salvos, these opening offers that they voted on last night, while it was expected they would fail, as they did, you can see if you listen here that both sides are clearly trying to win a political edge, a political advantage with this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR DICK DURBIN (D), ASSISTANT MAJORITY LEADER: When we have stood up for those working families and middle income families for a basic payroll tax cut to help them survive, the Republicans opposed it. They opposed it because they wouldn't impose one penny of new taxes on the wealthy people in America.

SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: There's no reason folks should suffer even more than they already are from the president's failure to turn his jobs crisis around. But there's also no reason we should pay for that relief by raising taxes on the very employers we're counting on to help jolt this economy back to life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: As I said, these two proposals that they voted on last night that were both rejected in the Senate, you can really see it as kind of the opening offers for both sides. I'll tell you though that it is interesting on the Republican proposal when they voted on it last night, the Republican proposal did not even garner a majority support among Republicans themselves.

Something very interesting that we'll continue to follow today, but now the real negotiating begins, Fredricka. I assure you that it is already underway. House Republicans are meeting as we speak right now to figure out their position on the payroll tax, how to extend it and how to pay for it.

That, again, will be the big question going forward. But again, the latest fight on Capitol Hill will be no surprise that they don't agree, but it is a very sensitive issue. They're both trying to win a political edge on because it's an important issue to many Americans.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kate Bolduan, thanks so much.

All right, shifting now from Capitol Hill to Wall Street, stocks have been in the positive territory since the opening bell. Investors got quite the jolt of optimism for the latest jobs report. We'll have more on that in a moment.

The Dow is up 102 points. Let's hope it stays in the positive territory, especially now with the unemployment rate dipping to 8.6 percent. More on that now. The jobs report that is helping to drive the markets or is it? Earlier this week we learned the jobless rate has plunged to its lowest level in nearly three years.

Christine Romans is in New York. Christine, should this be a short- lived celebration or one that people can feel fairly comfortable about?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting House Speaker John Boehner had a statement saying this is the 34th consecutive month of an unemployment rate above 8 percent. It's proof that President Obama's policies have failed.

The White House meantime issuing its own statement saying this is more proof, more evidence that the economy, the labor market is slowly healing after the worst crisis since the great depression.

So those are the two political interpretations of these numbers. Let me give you what the numbers are overall. We saw jobs growth, we saw hiring and there's no question about that. You saw low-wage jobs being added to the roster, in particular retail trade, leisure and hospitality saw some gains.

Food, drinking places, restaurants and bars added workers in the month. Professional and business services also added a lot of different kinds of jobs in this category. There was also some job creation on medical campuses and education campuses as well.

Government jobs though fell. Health care, as I pointed out, going up. Government jobs fell, no surprise there because you're seeing state and local governments really tightening their belts.

So why do you have an 8.6 percent unemployment rate? The lowest in, you know, a couple years, three years almost, but only 120,000 jobs created, two different surveys.

One of the surveys asks employers how many they've hired and another one asks people whether they have a job. There's some speculation among economists, forecasting among economists this morning, that you have people who were counting themselves as self-employed when asked by the government, do you have a job or they've been working for small companies that wasn't caught in the other survey.

Also you had women dropping out of the work force and you had men above the age 28 getting a lot of jobs, finding jobs in the month. Those are some of the little trends. We can't tell you the why of any of those things. We can tell you those are the trends the numbers show -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Overseas now. Al Qaeda's new leader has claimed responsibility for capturing a 70-year-old American aid worker in Pakistan three months ago. He reportedly posted a statement online listing his demands.

CNN's Zain Verjee is following this story for us from London -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT, CNNI: Hi, Fred. There are a bunch of demands, about eight specific ones. But generally, they essentially say from Ayeman Al-Zawahiri, that the U.S. has to release everyone in Guantanamo Bay.

They have to release all of Osama Bin Laden's relatives that are being held in custody and the U.S. has to totally stop bombing of Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

U.S. officials have been quoted as saying that they're following every single lead that they possibly can to try and find out exactly where Warren Weinstein is. He was kidnapped back in August.

He's an aide worker for U.S. government programs operating in Pakistan. He actually had been living in Pakistan for about seven years or so when this happened. His family obviously is so worried and really concerned about this.

They're really appealing to his captors because they say he has a serious health issue. He has a heart condition as well as asthma. So they're begging the captors to let him go or make sure that they give him the kind of medical attention that he needs -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, I know it's frightening moments for his family in particular. Has his family spoken out? I know they talked about his medical condition, but have they said anything more about any kind of interaction or demands being made to them directly?

VERJEE: No, nothing to them directly. I mean, this is significant because the leader of al Qaeda Al-Zawahiri has surfaced allegedly on these militant web sites and making these demands. So the family is likely to be in close contact with the U.S. government. They're the ones really trying to figure out where exactly he is.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, Zain Verjee, thanks so much. Keep us posted.

Coming up in this country, weather wise, wow. The winds were stronger. The concerns grew even louder. New insights into the moments before this tragedy unfolded at Indiana State Fair.

Coming up, NFL quarterback Tim Tebow does not have the stats, but he has the faith and that faith is spreading. We'll talk about it with our belief blog guest next.

Plus, apparent marital problems for Mega Church Pastor Bishop Eddie Long. The story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The wife of Bishop Eddie Long, the controversial Georgia pastor has filed for divorce. Vanessa Long says the decision came, quote, "after a great deal of deliberation and prayer," end quote. It comes a year after Bishop Long was sued by three young men for allegedly coercing them into sex. The cases were settled out of court in May. Mrs. Long is the pastor's second wife. They have four children together.

Checking news cross-country now. This morning new insights into this summer's disastrous collapse of the stage at the Indiana State Fair. Seven people were killed and at least 40 people injured.

CNN affiliate WTHR has compiled all the emergency radio traffic, including the growing sense of alarm as strong winds swept into the area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All units, all units, severe thunder storm warning until 9:45 for Marion County. Use your best judgment. Find shelter when needed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have they released fans from the grandstands yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no information. I will check and advise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Southern California wicked Santa Ana winds have toppled trees and scattered debris for miles. Nearly 500 power lines were down just in Los Angeles County alone.

Gusts as high as 140 miles an hour were reported. Hurricane force winds also battered Utah. Some 50,000 homes and businesses lost power and at least 16 semi-trucks were knocked over by the winds.

Let's check in again with Rob Marciano. Incredible winds, hurricane force winds.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What makes this incredible really is what you just said. It happened in Utah, happened in Nevada, parts of Arizona as well. This is widespread. I'd rather call it a south western wind event than a Santa Ana because it included all these other places.

Mamouth Mountain, 150-mile an hour wind gusts and actually the instrument just failed to record anything higher than that. This is at 11,000 feet, but it gives you an idea of the strength both of the upper levels and the lower levels of some of these winds.

Centerville, Utah, not nearly at that altitude, 102-mile an hour wind gusts and then Salt Lake City seeing 69-mile an hour wind gusts. All right, right now, across parts of Southern California, we are looking a relatively calm weather.

I mean, especially the closer you get to the coast line so that's good news. But we do think that the winds are going to pick up as we go through the morning hours today not to this extent. You're not going to a 100-plus mile an hour winds again. But 40 to 60-mile an hour winds possible across parts of southern California around mid-morning to mid-afternoon today and they'll calm down a little bit. Then maybe kicking back up again during the overnight period tonight with another little impulse.

Then the whole pattern should break down just a little bit. But the next two days regardless of the winds, the humidities have dropped. Near the canyons and near the mountains we have critical fire danger.

The other aspect to this, Fredricka, that makes it extraordinary is as the storm moves east into Arizona and New Mexico, significant snows and eventually some snow and ice across parts of plains and the panhandle of Texas. So this thing is affecting millions of people.

WHITFIELD: Boy, this is already shaping up to be a pretty crazy winter.

MARCIANO: Yes, we're off to a fast start. That's for sure.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, thanks, Rob.

All right, up next, the iPhone's newest feature is accused of being pro-life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're standing outside of a Planned Parenthood Clinic here in New York. Where can I find an abortion clinic? This is the latest iPhone with the Siri app.

SIRI: Sorry, I couldn't find any abortion clinics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We reached out to the company and you'll be hearing their explanation after the break.

Plus the Ebenezer scrooges out there are being put on notice. No foreclosures for Christmas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk your money and the economy. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange where stocks popped right out of the opening bell up like that. Gains are holding. Alison, is this all in large part because of the stronger jobs report?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a little bit of the jobs report, Fredricka, a little bit about Europe. Some positive signs coming out of Europe for one, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, she is pushing for more concrete action to fix the debt problem.

Wall Street sees that as a good sign. Also analysts are telling me you're also seeing some of that lingering feel-good effect from the central bank's move on Wednesday to boost liquidity. Yes, you're seeing stocks rally because of the jobs report. That 120,000 new jobs in November. That was a good number. You're seeing those additions in almost every sector except for government positions. Also September and October numbers, those were revised higher.

Everybody's also keying in on that unemployment rate, the lowest in almost three years now at 8.6 percent. Now the question is for everybody, not too sure if it's going to hold, but Wall Street is going to be focusing on the positive -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, and we're hearing that some big banks are getting in the spirit of the season and giving folks a break as it pertains to foreclosures in what way?

KOSIK: Yes, a bit of a reprieve. You're looking at about a one to two- week reprieve for homeowners who are looking to be foreclosed on. But it does mean that people won't be losing their homes during the holidays and that means something.

So Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to stop foreclosing on properties between December 19th and January 2nd. Now the paperwork will still be filed for eviction. But people can stay in their homes during the holidays.

Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, they'll also be holding off on these foreclosures though their dates are a bit different. Realty Tracks that, they show that an average of 89,000 foreclosure options happen a month.

So it could make the holidays a bit less stressful for a lot of people, but then, of course, after those weeks are up. It's back to the harsh reality -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Alison.

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich says he's going to be the Republican presidential nominee. Is he jumping the gun a bit? Our political panel will be weighing in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, when you think of the U.S. Justice Department, the word billion dollar money maker probably don't come to mind. Crime doesn't pay, but it turns out the ill gotten gains of white collar criminals are paying off big time for the feds. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Name any luxury item, yachts, mansions, art collections, race cars, diamonds, even ancient artifacts. The chances are the U.S. government likely owns it. That's right, your government. It's all legal. In fact, it's justice.

PREET BHARARA, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Whether they're narcotics traffickers, arm traffickers, terrorists, publicly corrupt officials or your standard securities fraudsters, in every single type of case we bring, we try to make sure that we are looking at ways in which we can take the profit out of the crime and to return the money to the victims.

FEYERICK: It's called asset forfeiture. This year alone, the Justice Department made $1.6 billion seizing property. Almost half of that money, $800 million came from cases prosecuted in New York's southern district run by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

BHARARA: In the last fiscal year alone, we had managed to bring in through the concept of forfeiture approximately $800 million in funds or in property, which is about 16 times what our annual operating budget is, which I believe is better than most hedge funds these days.

FEYERICK: Prosecutions of white collar crime, Ponzi schemes and financial frauds are at an all time high.

(on camera): Given the caliber of criminals you're going after in certain cases, the Bernie Madoffs, are you ever surprised it's simply what certain people own? Do you think, my God?

BHARARA: You know, not much surprises us these days. Oftentimes, the motivation for engaging in some of this criminal conduct is greed. The fact that some of these items are so abstentious is a reflection of what the motivation was in engaging in those crimes in the first place.

FEYERICK (on camera): This is just a small sample of what the government has right now. Want a Bentley? A new one will cost a quarter of a million dollars like most everything here. These two will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

(voice-over): Ponzi schemer, Bernie Madoff's home sold for almost $9 million. Jewelry given as a gift to actress, Ann Hathaway by her currently incarcerated ex-boyfriend sold for more than $63,000.

(on camera): Some people might wonder do you ever think about the cases you're going to pursue based on the amount of money you'll likely to bring in.

BHARARA: No. We pursue cases for one reason only to hold people accountable for their crimes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: The $800 million will be distributed to victims and different law enforcement programs. U.S. Attorney Bharara expects next year to be an equally good year financially.

With the government hiring freeze, it's going to be a bit more challenging to keep up the current pace of these intensive investigations. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now. Al Qaeda leader Al- Zawahiri is claiming responsibility for the capture of this 70-year- old American consultant in Pakistan. Eight demands have been made for the release of Warren Weinstein abducted in August.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain e-mailed supporters today. He wants to know where they stand as he reassesses his campaign. Cain said that he plans to speak face to face with his wife today about an alleged extramarital affair.

Doctors at a North Carolina hospital are treating Billy Graham for pneumonia. The 93-year-old Evangelist is responding well to antibiotics.

All right, "Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today CNN contributor, Maria Cardona, Pete Dominick, host of CNN's "WHAT THE WEEK," and Cheri Jacobus, Republican strategist and columnist for "The Hill."

Good to see all of you this lovely Friday. First up, it looks like Newt Gingrich is getting a little ahead of himself. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high I'm going to be the nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So will his momentum really last until Iowa. Pete, you first.

PETE DOMINICK, HOST, CNN'S "WHAT THE WEEK": Well, he is getting a little ahead of himself, Fred. He's got a lot of momentum. There's only 32 days left in the Iowa caucus.

He set up his first office in Iowa. There's still time for other people to get in the race. I mean, Rick Santorum could be a frontrunner, maybe Ron Paul. Maybe Jeb Bush will jump in. Maybe Nancy Reagan will get in.

There's time for somebody else to be frontrunner here. I mean, why not? Jon Huntsman maybe but he's making too much sense. I think he'll probably implode. We'll see Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ok, Cheri, too much too soon?

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, on one level you can say that, but then on the other hand there are very few people on the national stage who can get away with that kind of confidence. Newt Gingrich is one of them. When you look at what he's accomplished, he has a great -- a great deal to be confident about. He understands this game. He knows what his record is in terms of being confident.

Bringing his party into the majority in the mid-90s, being largely responsible for welfare reform, for balanced budgets, for the surplus, he gets this. And he understands what his surge is about. So while he's also very clear about his failings, I think he has every right to express confidence. I'd rather he say that if he's the nominee he'll be president, though.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The problem with this, Fredricka, that now is when Newt becomes Newt's worst enemy because he becomes cocky, he becomes full of himself, and that's when the famous undisciplined Newt can come into play.

And we also know that what voters hate most is a self-anointed candidate. They hate candidates who have crowned themselves before even one vote has been cast. He would be wise to take a little slice of humble pie and not act like he knows more than the voters before the Iowa caucuses. And the voters are the ones who are going to make the decisions.

WHITFIELD: Ok, let's talk now about Herman Cain acknowledging his wife didn't even know about what he called the 13-year friendship with Ginger White. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It may appear now that why didn't I tell her about this when it was going on. You're absolutely right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In retrospect.

CAIN: You know in retrospect. But retrospect, you know, doesn't necessarily change what we're dealing with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But your wife knew that you two were friends anyway?

CAIN: She did not know we were friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Until she came out?

CAIN: Until she came out with this -- with this story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. All right. Prediction time. Will Herman Cain still be in the race come Monday? Sherry?

JACOBUS: The bigger question is will he still have a marriage come Monday.

CARDONA: I can't hear. I can't hear.

JACOBUS: So I think the problem. I have a column by the way in today's edition of "The Hill" where I call for him to take a page out of Barney Frank's playbook and pull out of the situation, to pull out of race. I think it's time.

And I don't -- he's a distraction. We have a serious primary campaign going on. I don't think he belongs there. I think he needs to leave the stage and let the serious people who have a shot at this take over.

WHITFIELD: Ok Maria, can you hear me now? And if so do you --

CARDONA: Yes, I can.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Do you see Herman Cain being able to last until -- this race until Monday?

CARDONA: You know yes, it's going to be, it's actually so sad to see this. And it's going to be interesting what happens on Monday. This has become, it's gone beyond being a political tragedy to now becoming a human tragedy. And I so feel for his wife in this situation. And -- and my heart goes out to her. And I'm sure everybody feels for her in this situation. And I think what people have to understand, and I agree with Sherry, it is time for him to go.

Even if you can get past the ick factor, the fact that he has absolutely no experience, no knowledge and no expertise on issues that you need to be commander-in-chief says it all right there.

WHITFIELD: All right, Pete?

DOMINICK: Fred, listen, his wife did not know about a 13-year friendship with this woman? I know women that would be upset about a 13-minute friendship with certain women this way. Come on. I mean if she takes him back, she's got to be the world's most patient and forgiving wife of all time. The only reason he's not going home is because he doesn't want to see his bags packed.

The only reason why Herman Cain is still in this race, it will be a couple of weeks, is so he can try to repair his image. And the only way cameras are going to pay attention to him is if he's running for president. This guy is trying to repair his image and that's why he's hanging out for a couple of more weeks.

WHITFIELD: Ok, speaking of image, trying to repair it, or poke fun at -- your "Buzzer Beater" right now -- Rick Perry, trying to poke fun at the recent string of his mistakes. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: What happened with the brain freeze that night? You had the three things to remember.

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, one, two and --

LENO: Yes.

PERRY: Then -- it happens, man. Let me tell you. It happens. Every now and then I call my dogs by the wrong name. I get that wrong too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ok. So will voters get the joke; 20 seconds each. Maria, you first.

CARDONA: The voters I think have already gotten the joke. And unfortunately the joke is Rick Perry himself. I think though that he's doing -- there's nothing else that he can do. So I guess he's doing his best in terms of laughing at himself, poking fun at himself perhaps as -- as Pete said earlier, he's trying to repair his image. Which I think is the only thing left for him to do in this campaign.

WHITFIELD: Pete, you had your head in your hands.

DOMINICK: The only comedian he hasn't sat down with is me. Rick Perry, you're invited on my radio show. Come on over, listen show of hands, show of hands if anybody has ever seen Rick Perry and Sarah Palin in the same room. Come on.

I don't get it. This is the least funny guy. The only people that are still hanging on are Texas voters that are predisposed to voting for Rick Perry for Governor. He's done, too.

WHITFIELD: All right Sherry, last word.

JACOBUS: It was a good move when he first made the gaffe to poke a little bit of fun at himself and show he's not taking himself too seriously. But now I think it's a bridge too far. I think it was time for him some time ago to get very serious and do better at the debates, which he did to a degree. But he hasn't recovered completely. So I'm not sure poking fun at himself again and again and again is all that good for him.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sherry, Pete, Maria thanks so much. You all have a great weekend.

JACOBUS: Thank you.

DOMINICK: Yes Fred thanks.

CARDONA: Thanks Fred you too.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up in "Showbiz," we'll tell you why Flavor Flav is swapping wives with a rock star.

And why Elvis Presley is being sued for, at least the estate that is, being sued for $130 million. A.J. Hammer joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the folks at "Celebrity Wife Swap" have just announced the new line up for the show. A.J. Hammer joins us with more on this one. And it's quite the Motley Crew, huh?

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, to say the least, Fred. Now "Wife Swap" has already been a big hit with their formula of everyday couples swapping partners. The drama is just guaranteed when you do that. So why not bring celebrities into the mix.

WHITFIELD: Why not? HAMMER: And you know there's going to be some serious drama when you're talking about Gary Busey swapping with Evangelical Minister Ted Haggard. You think their lives are just a little bit different?

Also I want you to picture Flavor Flav swapping wives with Twisted Sisters' Dee Snyder; former "Growing Pains" star, Tracey Gold swapping with Wilson Phillips star, Carney Wilson. We'll also get to see comedian Niecy Nash who will switch families with "Family Ties" star, Tina Yothers.

And of course, Fred, when you look at this list, it's hard not to miss the fact that a lot of these stars are now almost more famous for the reality shows that they've done rather than the shows or whatever it is that made them famous in the first place.

WHITFIELD: It's weird, very weird.

And talking about, you know, reality shows or is it a kind of reality, "Jersey Shore"? I don't know. Who's reality is that anyway?

HAMMER: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Well, apparently one of the characters or one of the people on it has landed himself a music deal with 50 Cent. Tell me more.

HAMMER: Yes. And by the way, just because it's Snooki's reality it doesn't mean it's not reality, ok. I want to be very clear about that.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Just checking.

HAMMER: Here we're talking about DJ Pauly D. He's doing all right. He actually signed up with 50 Cent's G-Note Record label. Pauly and 50 both announced the move on their respective Twitter feed. They posted this arm in arm picture. And 50 tweeted his prediction of good times with his new addition.

This venture does make a lot of sense actually when you think about. G-Note specializes in bands, pop, and the ever popular Jersey Shore fist-pumping music.

And in addition to his reality show fame, Pauly D has been a DJ since he was a teenager. You may have heard that he toured with Britney Spears as an opening act. So he's actually gotten some high profile experience as DJ and is really doing something with his reality fame that I think is fairly respectable in the grand scheme of things.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Meantime you mentioned Britney celebrating big 3-0. 30 years, who can believe that one?

All right. Meantime, let's talk about a pretty sizeable lawsuit that has come by the way of the Elvis Presley estate by the so-called real daughter. Tell me more.

HAMMER: Yes. This is not some claim by some long lost daughter of Elvis. It's a Swedish woman named Lisa Johansen who claims she is the real Lisa Marie Presley. And now she wants a major payday. She actually filed a lawsuit in Tennessee against Elvis's estate. She's asking for $130 million in damages for defamation and emotional distress.

Now back in 1998 she wrote a book where she claims she was whisked away to Scandinavia after Elvis died to be raised in safety. The book got a bit of attention back then but that went away after she Johansen refused to step up to the plate and take a DNA sample.

Well, here we are some thirteen years later and now she's reportedly saying she has taken this DNA test. She is ready to prove her claim. A lot of people Fred are obviously saying this is a hunk of, hunk of -- you know what. We'll just have to wait and see.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Not burning love, huh? All right. We'll see. It's going to be interesting.

A.J. Hammer. All right. If you want any more information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has it this evening, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

Tim Tebow has Denver in the playoff picture. The quarterback's running on faith and teammates and fans have caught the fever. We'll talk about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking stories, cross-country now.

A young boy turned away from a private school in Pennsylvania because he's HIV-positive. The 13-year-old is suing Milton Hershey School for discrimination after it refused his enrolment because of his status last February. The school says it made, quote, "the right legal decision under the law", end quote.

In San Francisco BART says it will no longer blackout cell phone usage at its train and bus stations. The transit service came under fire after it blocked the communications during summer protests. BART says that action will be used only in the most extreme of cases.

And 72 hours under water. That's the goal for Florida diver Allen Sherrod. He is attempting to break the current world's record for the longest saltwater scuba dive. He began his three-day dive yesterday.

Say the name Tim Tebow and you're likely to get into an argument among football fans over the Denver quarterback's merits. But there is no disputing Tebow's faith and faith could be key to Tebow's success this season, Stephen Prothero's point on the cnn.com "Belief Blog". Stephen is a Boston University religion scholar.

All right, do tell.

STEPHEN PROTHERO, CONTRIBUTOR, CNN "BELIEVE BLOG": Well, you know, we know about the main religion in America which is Christianity. But we also have this religion of football that we see every Saturday and Sunday. And now it seems like there's another which is the religion of Tim Tebow who, according to his fans at least, is performing miracles on Saturday morning without a lot of -- Sunday morning, sorry, without a lot of skill.

WHITFIELD: Ok. What do we think is behind this? I mean people certainly are arguing whether it is purely athletic ability, whether it's his faith that's behind his phenomenal season.

PROTHERO: Right. Well, of course, there's the whole issue of faith which is not just his faith in Jesus. Maybe that's propelling him forward but then there's also the faith of the fans in him which is sort of blurring between is it faith in Tebow, is it faith in Jesus; you know, what exactly is it?

And what's interesting to me is this bringing of Christianity into the public square with, you know, after a touchdown Tim Tebow is there praying on the side lines while his teammates are celebrating. It's sort of calling attention to Christianity in the arena now, not just of politics but also of sports.

WHITFIELD: Does it seem like there has been a kind of turn in tide where initially people are a little uncomfortable, apprehensive his willingness to talk about religion out loud. But now it seems that there is a greater embracing of his psychology, his approach, his willingness to talk out loud about this?

PROTHERO: I think we're equally divided about it, as we always have been. There's a debate about whether he's any good. You know, the guy can't really throw very much. Maybe the team is winning because of defense and because of running and not because of his capacity. But we're equally divided about what's the appropriate level of demonstration, public display of religion in the public square.

And a lot of people just want to say, hey just shut up and play football, stop talking about Jesus, stop getting down to pray. But then there's others who think, you know, this is great. We have a country that's 75, 80 percent Christian. People who are Christian ought to be able to come forward in the public space and say who they are. And Tebow's definitely done that and he's being celebrated for it in a lot of circles.

WHITFIELD: Stephen Prothero, thanks so much. Good to see you from Boston University.

And you can read Stephen's piece at cnn.com/belief. You can join the conversation by leaving a comment for him as well.

Speaking of the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles took on the Seattle Seahawks last night. The Eagles season continues; it's been out of control. Seahawks intercepted backup quarterback Vince Young four times last night. Took one back for a touchdown. Eagles starting quarterback, Mike Vick, well he's still out with broken ribs.

And Seattle's running back Marshawn Lynch had a huge game. Take a look. Well, actually you can't, because he gets lost in the pile there and then pops up, boom, and scores right there. 148 yards rushing, two scores and after each rewarded with Skittles; that's his flavor of choice. It's a tradition his mom started when he was just a kid.

Seahawks roll 31-14. The Eagles a disaster.

All right. Coming up, some positive news for the millions of Americans with Type 1 diabetes -- your "Daily Dose" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Checking stories making headlines later on today:

More than 60 members of the California National Guard will return home from Iraq at 1:30 Eastern time.

Three members of a breakaway Amish group charged with hate crimes will be arraigned in federal court in Youngstown, Ohio at 2:00 Eastern.

And at 2:20 Eastern, President Barack Obama will deliver remarks at a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the White House.

All right. It's long been thought to be the Holy Grail for diabetics, artificial pancreas to control their blood sugar. Well, the FDA just took one step closer to making that a reality. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joining us now with on this; tell us why a fake pancreas could actually be great for diabetics.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fredricka, I bet you don't spend much time thinking about your pancreas. It is working hard for you all the time. I want to show you where the pancreas is.

WHITFIELD: Take it for granted.

COHEN: Right. it's one of those things you take for granted because it's way deep in you. If it's not working, you're in trouble. There's the pancreas. You can't even see it from the outside. Diabetics have pancreases that don't work, which is a huge problem because the pancreas is what makes insulin which processes sugar. If your pancreas isn't working, you will die unless you give yourself artificial insulin.

What this artificial pancreas does is it gives you that insulin throughout the day. You don't really -- there's very little worry for you. It just gives it to you. It detects what you need and when you need it.

WHITFIELD: So this artificial mechanism is going to help a patient. How is it going to help them I guess moderate their blood sugar level, etc., keep them healthy?

COHEN: Right. So right now what diabetics have to do -- like let's say a diabetic has a pump. This is a real pump that a diabetic uses. And so you think, oh, I'm going to eat something I have to dial up insulin. I'm about to exercise, I need to dial down the insulin, or whatever. You have to think about it every day, every time you eat.

WHITFIELD: Pretty labor intensive.

COHEN: It's labor, and imagine if you're a kid. Imagine a 6-year- old doing that, ok? So with an artificial pancreas the theory is that you don't have to do that. It just detects what you need and gives it to you.

WHITFIELD: When is it going to be available?

COHEN: You know, one type may be available within the next year or two. But a better -- you there are others in the pipeline that are better and those may take, you know, several years to become commercial.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I'm sure they're constantly going to be improving each time.

All right. Thanks so much Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate that.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. A new ad campaign is causing quite a controversy. It suggests that Israelis shouldn't marry an American Jew and it's coming from the Israeli government. Coming up Suzanne Malveaux will talk to a rabbi here in the U.S. who is rather offended by the ads.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: White House candidate Rick Perry is making fun of himself in a new ad. CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston has it for us. Mitt -- all right, gosh, Mark, is this a hit or a miss?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: It's a brain freeze is what it is, Fredricka. You know what; I've got to tell you what, in a situation that Rick Perry has gotten himself into regarding the brain freeze during the debate, he is trying to make the most of it.

You know shortly after having that brain freeze he went on the Letterman show and he did the top ten and of course, he made fun of himself. Last night he was on Jay Leno where he addressed the subject. He was asked the subject. During the show he ran this ad in Iowa which also addressed the subject.

Take a quick look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's the third one there?

Department of Energy. We've all lost our train of thought before, but not many have done it on national TV. If you want a slick debater, I'm obviously not your guy. But if you want a clean house in Washington with a balanced budget amendment, a flat tax, and a part-time congress, I'm your man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: So there you have Governor Perry right there poking fun at himself but the fact of the matter is there is a hidden message in there. He calls himself not the slickest debater. What does he mean by that? He means he's not Mitt Romney. That's what we've heard from the Perry campaign now for several months. They continue to try to hammer that point home. As we're heading into the home stretch now where the first votes are going to take place on January 3rd, the Iowa caucuses -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Home stretch, indeed. All right. Thanks so much, Mark Preston. This is quite the horse race, isn't it?

All right. We'll have the next political update one hour from now. And a reminder: for all the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, our Web site -- Politics.com.

That's going to do it for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Suzanne Malveaux, much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Have a great weekend.

WHITFIELD: You too.

MALVEAUX: Thanks Fred.