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Magnets Dangerous for Children; Fugitive Canadian Porn Star Arrested, in Berlin Jail; Queen's Diamond Jubilee Ends with Gun Salute, Flyover; Wisconsin Recall Election Today

Aired June 05, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 on the West.

A whirlwind week of celebrations has winded down in England, as her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, marks 60 years on the throne. The Diamond Jubilee has been marked with all kinds of pomp and circumstance and pageantry. The Brits are, of course, famous for that. Even off-and-on bad weather hasn't been able to dampen all the spirits of those loyal Brits.

Richard Quest is one of them and he had a front-row seat for the entire weekend of celebrations. How are you feeling besides wiped out there, Richard?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the next thing I'll be having is a prescription for some form of antibiotics. The tell me it's only Prince Phillip who's unwell.

No, it's been amazing. Look, the rain is still pouring, my suit is drenched, but we have seen over four days a carefully choreographed, constructed routine from the Epsom Derby spectacle to the spectacle of the river through to the formality and ceremony of today, right the way through to the balcony at the end, Kyra, and the fly-past by the World War II planes.

Now, if that isn't really showing with 1.5 million people standing outside your front doorstep, if that isn't showing an element of appreciation, I don't know what is, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I'm just curious. Can you mix antibiotics with Pimm's?

QUEST: The Pimm's are over there and I assure you there's plenty of them. I think what we have -- there were an enormous numbers of levels you could have taken over the last few days, to be serious for the moment.

At its most basic, you can take it as being a tourist attraction for people to come to London ahead of the Olympics. Go up a notch and you can take it as being gratitude for 60 years of service by one woman.

And go up to the top notch and you really come to something that's very British. The monarchy, which is in the very backbone of this country, an appreciation of the stability and the way in which it interacts with the people of this country.

And I'm aware I'm talking to you in a republic and a monarchy is not for everybody, but the U.K. has had a monarchy for 1,000 years and the queen is that unbroken lineage from then to now.

PHILLIPS: It was quite an amazing moment in history, indeed. I know it was special for you. Richard Quest, thank you so much.

Here's an angle to the Jubilee that you may not have heard about. Taking an official part in all this pageantry is a man from Harlem. Lance Corporal Denton John went across the pond as a member of the cavalry which escorted the royal family on today's carriage procession through London.

So what's the catch? He's a dual citizen, so he's able to serve in the British army.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE CORPORAL DENTON JOHN, MEMBER OF THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY: What they always think about is it's just ceremonial. What they forget is that Household Cavalry is an operational unit, first and foremost. We are soldiers first. Ceremonial is our secondary trade.

I always try to keep to keep them knowing I'm like the only American to do this, so I'm kind of psyched up for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And this isn't the first time at an event like this for Lance Corporal John. He also took part in last year's royal wedding.

Noticeably absent from the final day of celebration, the Queen's mate, Prince Philip, who's spending his first full day hospitalized with a bladder infection.

It was a pretty cold and wet weekend. And doctors say that definitely played a part. He's also turning 91 this weekend. So at the royal concert, Prince Charles gave a shout-out to his dad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES, BRITISH ROYALTY: The only sad thing about this evening is that my father couldn't be here with us because, unfortunately, he has taken unwell, but, ladies and gentlemen, if we shout loud enough, he might just hear us in hospital and get better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wow. CNN's Dan Rivers is actually joining us from outside that hospital, Edward VII Hospital, with the latest.

If he didn't hear it, he definitely felt the good energy being sent his way, Dan. DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We couldn't hear the cheering. We could definitely hear the fireworks and see the glow of them here last night and I'm sure Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, would have been watching some of the coverage on television from his hospital bed behind me.

He's just had some visitors actually in the last hour or so. Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, his wife, Sophie, and their two children, Louise and James, went in for about half an hour and they came out and Prince Edward said he's getting better. He just needs more rest.

Sophie said he's in good spirits. He's on good form. And they looked very relaxed and reassured by all accounts, so I don't think that would give the impression that there's much to worry about here. Really just letting, I would guess, the antibiotics that he's probably being given take their course. And I'm sure he'll be discharged within the next few days.

PHILLIPS: We'll definitely check in with you and follow the progress. Dan, thanks so much.

You may not know that the Duke was pretty good at playing polo all the way to the age of 50. He also gave up smoking before he married the Queen back in 1947. And, as we mentioned, Prince Philip turns 91 on Sunday.

Here in the U.S., a bitter and bruising election, an angry electorate, historic amounts of money. You don't even have to wait for the big showdown in November because it's happening today as we speak in Wisconsin.

Democrats succeeded in forcing a recall election for state's freshman Republican Governor Scott Walker. But actually voting him out is another story. No less than Bill Clinton has come to campaign for Walker's opponent who happens to be the same guy Walker defeated in 2010.

Tom Barrett is the mayor of Milwaukee and apparently still the underdog. A late poll from Marquette University shows him seven points behind the incumbent.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is watching the voting from Madison. So remind us how this unscheduled election in a small state became such a national bellwether?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, because of the implications, nationally, and basically just follow the money.

$60 million poured into this state, the bulk of that coming from out of state. It's either coming from folks that are trying to destabilize unions or folks that are trying to be pro-unions and that's basically the crux of this.

Walker came in, a year ago February, with this budget reform bill that slashed union rights for public employee unions and this is the end result.

You mentioned those poll numbers. Walker up by 7 percent in a fairly recent poll. It has gone down a little bit in terms of the latest polling, but he does have a lead coming into today.

Tom Barrett, Milwaukee mayor, is going up against him. Talked about how he thinks he might be able to overcome that differential today at the voting booth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BARRETT, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We have just seen over the past week the largest ground-game we've ever seen in the state of Wisconsin. Literally hundreds of thousands of volunteers were out on the doors. And I think what we're going to see is a huge voter turnout here in Wisconsin today.

And so a lot of the projections are based on 2010 elections where there was a very low voter turnout, but we are very, very confident today that there are going to be hundreds of thousands of additional voters and that's what buoys our confidence so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: And, Kyra, it's an absolutely gorgeous day weather- wise here in Wisconsin, so we are expecting very high voter turnout today on both sides. And both candidates are out trying to push the vote today.

PHILLIPS: Well, both sides and you heard Barrett there, how much the Dems want it to be just like it was when we saw that support for President Obama in 2008.

Republicans say also a victory for them would give them the big play come November.

ROWLANDS: Yes. And then give them a big play in terms of replicating what's happened in Wisconsin in other states down the line. They look at this as a template. If they can destabilize unions, they believe that it saves money.

It also politically is huge for them because, of course, unions funnel money into typically Democratic candidates. So it's a twofold win for Republican. If they can do what they're doing in Wisconsin in other states, that's the goal, basically.

And that's why all the money is coming in here. People aren't putting money into Wisconsin because they want to improve the lives of Wisconsinites. It's all political and it's all based on that union yes-or-no question.

And that's why it's so divisive here in this state. People are either for Walker or against and, boy, you can really feel it here.

PHILLIPS: Ted, thanks so much. And our colleague, Dana Bash, has been following the dollars in this election. She'll be up live from Milwaukee at half past the hour.

Persona non grata in Syria. Diplomats from 11 countries, including the United States, are being kicked out a week after those countries kicked out diplomats from Syria. In some cases, the envoys were long gone anyway, but it's a further show of Syrian isolation as government troops and militias wage war on their own people.

Speaking of isolation, survivors in the town where more than 100 civilians were massacred last week say the government is cutting off vital supplies of food, electricity and medicine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And just a quick note for those of you heading out the door, you can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone or, if you're heading to work, you can also watch CNN live from your desktop. Just go to CNN.com/TV.

A big political upset could be shaping up in Fullerton, California, right now. Several of its city leaders face a recall by voters for what some say was a failure to leave. The quaint, unassuming town is now on the map and in the national conscience.

We're talking about the beating death of Kelly Thomas, who was homeless and schizophrenic. For nearly a year, the community's outrage has exploded over the gruesome details of Kelly's beating and as revealing recordings, like this one, have surfaced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY THOMAS, BEATING DEATH VICTIM: I'm sorry, dude! I'm sorry, dude! Please! Please!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Kelly died from his injuries five days later. The city's response that followed Kelly's death has raised many questions over accountability and Fullerton's leadership. Now, that may come to a head today.

Casey Wian is standing by in L.A. So, Casey, the issue of Kelly Thomas is key to today's recall elections. We're talking about three, key city council members facing a recall.

Let's go ahead and get some perspective on this and why these members, specifically.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I'm standing on the spot where exactly 11 months ago Kelly Thomas received that fatal beating. And you can still see behind me there are memorials to Kelly Thomas and it sort of speaks to how angry some members of this community remain about that beating. These three city council members who are up for recall, including the former police chief, are looked at as sort of the old guard, the old leadership of this city. Many younger, newer residents have come into this city over the last couple of decades. They say it's time for a change.

The spark was the Kelly Thomas beating. There are now 13 different candidates who are running to try to replace these three longtime city council members and city leaders. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Now, we actually spoke with one of the city council members who is being recalled, Pat McKinley, and he used to be the police chief. And he actually owned up to the fact in an interview with Randi Kaye a number of months ago that he had actually hired these cops when he was active in the force before coming councilman and before becoming involved in this controversial death.

Let's just listen to a part of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you know any of the officers involved?

PAT MCKINLEY, FULLERTON MAYOR PRO TEM: Oh, I'm certain I do. I probably hired them all.

KAYE: You hired them all, you think?

MCKINLEY: Well, probably. I had 16 years ...

KAYE: How do you feel then considering that the officers that you hired might have been involved in this, appear to have been involved in this?

MCKINLEY: Well, I'm going to guess now. I'm going to guess that there may be two that are deeply involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Casey, I understand you actually talked with McKinley recently. How's he responding to all this?

WIAN: That's right, Kyra. I just spoke with him at length yesterday and he talked about hiring one of those officers, in particular, Officer Cicinelli, who is being charged right now with manslaughter in the death of Kelly Thomas.

He said that that officer went through a very detailed vetting process, including interviews with two different psychiatrists, because he had suffered an on-duty injury as a member of the LAPD several years earlier. He lost the sight in one of his eyes.

He went through a battery of psychiatric tests, went through a two-year probationary period, said there were no red flags that is came up in the hiring of that particular officer or any of the other officers involved in this beating.

But McKinley does say that he would do one thing different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKINLEY: If we would have let our feelings be known that we were appalled by all this -- just like anyone else, we're very appalled by it -- perhaps it would have at least quelled it a bit.

But I think it would have went forward anyway. There's so much money behind it, so incredible much money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Now, McKinley says one of the reasons, the main reason, that he and other members of the city council were silent in the days after the Kelly Thomas beating is because they had legal advice not to say anything, not to prejudice the investigation or the trial that's ongoing. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: So what are the implications here, Casey?

WIAN: Well, it depends on who you talk to. One of the leaders or the leader of the recall, we spoke with him yesterday. He's a local businessman named Tony Bushala. He has given $200,000 of his own money to finance this recall effort.

Here's why he says it's important to do that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BUSHALA, RECALL ELECTION ORGANIZER: Somebody has to do this. Somebody needs to step up to the plate and, when there's something that happens in the community that's wrong, if you have the money and if you have the time, you need to stop what you're doing and focus on getting your community back on track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Now, McKinley and the other city council members who are up for recall, they say they expect that perhaps this recall will be successful. They say what this is really about is a power grab by Tony Bushala, a local businessman, a local developer who wants his own slate of candidates on the city council to further his business interests.

He says that's absolutely not the case. This is all about changing the old guard in the city of Fullerton.

We're just going to have to wait and see how this election turns out. Definitely going to be a big change if this recall is successful. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sure is. We'll stay on the story. Casey, thank you so much. We'll bring you the results of the recall elections as soon as they come in. Now, last month, a judge ordered these two Fullerton cops, Officer Manuel Ramos and Corporal Jay Cicinelli, to stand trial. Both are charged with involuntary manslaughter. Ramos also faces a second-degree murder charge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Imagine finding 12 people in Central Pennsylvania who don't have strong opinions on Jerry Sandusky. That's the former Penn State assistant football coach who's charged with 52 counts of child sex abuse and seating an impartial jury is the challenge under way right now for prosecutors and Sandusky's lawyers.

CNN contributor, Sara Ganim, is on the story and she's been ever since she broke it for the "Harrisburg Patriot News." Sara, we've just learned something that a lot of people here find pretty surprising.

Can you hear me OK, Sara? Did we connect with you?

SARA GANIM, REPORTER, "HARRISBURG PATRIOT NEWS": Yes.

PHILLIPS: You can hear me OK?

GANIM: Yes, sorry. Sorry.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. We are live and we are connected.

GANIM: What we're learning inside is about 30 of the last 40 people that were interviewed as a group are now individually talking to the judge and to Jerry Sandusky's attorneys and prosecutors, moving forward with this jury selection.

What we know so far is that about 14 of them have ties to Penn State, have either worked there or retired from there. Four knew Jerry Sandusky. Two knew his wife. Two worked for The Second Mile.

And what they're doing basically from this pool that started about 220 people is whittling it down, trying to get 12 jurors from this county, which is very -- a lot of ties to Penn State, a lot of ties to the Penn State football program, the charity that Jerry Sandusky started. And they're working to try to get 12 people.

The judge said to them this morning, look, I know this isn't going to be easy. I'm not naive. I know you've heard about this case. What I'm asking you to do from here forward is put all that aside and do your civic duty and hear this case without bias and make a decision after hearing the facts.

PHILLIPS: Which, of course, leads me to the question of why hasn't the trial been moved? If you could answer that in just a second, but let's get to the news of the moment. The judge has announced the jury will not be sequestered.

GANIM: Right. That's what the judge decided. It was after he gave this speech where he kind of -- he took off his robe, he stepped off the bench and he said to them, you know, I'm going to -- I want to have a conversation with you. I trust you. I'm not going to sequester you. You're going to get to go home every night.

But the challenge is that you don't listen to media reports. You don't read newspapers. You set aside all of your thoughts that you might have had leading up to this point and, in exchange for that trust, he's going to allow them to go home at night.

PHILLIPS: Which leads me to the point that you just made. One in three people in the county there attend, graduated or works for Penn State University, so why hasn't the trial been moved?

PHILLIPS: Well, prosecutors -- no one necessarily wanted it to be moved from this courthouse behind me. What prosecutors wanted was to bus in jurors from somewhere else in Pennsylvania.

But Jerry Sandusky said he didn't want that, he wanted a jury from Centre County, where he lives, where he works, and the judge gave him that with the caveat that they would try. He basically said we will try to pick a jury from this county and that's what they're doing this week.

And the judge did say he expects it to take about a week because he'd like the opening statements to begin on Monday. Whether or not they will get to the point where they have 12 jurors and four alternates remains to be seen.

PHILLIPS: Sara Ganim, thanks so much.

Two other people face charges in the Sandusky scandal. Penn State's athletic director and a former senior vice president are charged with perjury and failing to report Sandusky's alleged crimes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So I'm pretty sure you've probably seen a number of these things. They're called high-powered magnetic toys and they're sold as sculpture balls, puzzles and even jewelry like this.

You can just pull the magnets apart and you can make these bracelets. You can make necklaces. You can actually find them online in stores like Brookstone, Urban Outfitters.

But you have to be really careful if you have kids because apparently if you swallow these tiny pellets, they can attach to each other inside your intestines and cause some serious damage, even death.

Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins me now to talk about these magnets. What makes them so dangerous?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I want to tell you. Do not wear that home. You have two small children and they're exactly at the age where they put everything in their mouth. PHILLIPS: They do. They grab everything. They suck on it and they swallow everything. It's probably the last thing I'd want to put in front of them right now.

COHEN: Right. Absolutely and, actually, I'm going to show you a picture. You just made that little bracelet. There is a 13-month-old in New York whose mother made a little bracelet out of these and the child ate them and that's what you have.

You can see it right there. Do you see that circle inside that child? That child ingested those and they had to be taken out.

So what happens is that if you just were going to swallow a bunch of little balls, it's not that big of a deal, but when they're magnets, they clump together and, if it gets into the intestines, it can be deadly.

And so you've got these little things. You're playing around with them as a parent. You're just playing with them. A couple of them roll away. Your kids see them. We're in trouble.

PHILLIPS: I thought a magnet is a magnet is a magnet. But these are high-powered magnets.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Right. They don't just come apart and go all over the floor. They stay together really well. What kind of -- let's talk about the death in a minute. Let's start first with the permanent damage this can cause by doing this -- like for example what we saw in this picture.

COHEN: I'm going to show you an animation from the Consumer Products Safety Commission. What it shows is that if more than one of these magnets gets into the intestines, it will pinch off -- you've got these two -- it will pinch together and it will perforate the intestines. And that is a huge medical emergency because then all sorts of things can happen including what's inside the intestines, which is not sterile, can leak out and cause septicemia. These kids are incredibly sick. I was talking to a child's mom who's child in the hospital, has been there more than two months. That child needs an intestinal transplant. Because they clung together, it ruined a huge section of her child's intestines. This child is 2 years old. He can't eat or drink anything except water and they're now waiting for some intestines so -- from a cadaver, so that he can get an intestinal transplant. This child is in the hospital for two months.

PHILLIPS: One reported death so far?

COHEN: One reported death so far. There was a survey of 33 pediatricians. The 33 doctors had seen 80-something cases.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

COHEN: I talked to a doctor who had three magnet injections per month. These are bucky balls, the most well-known version of this. There's a warning here. There's a warning here. They say these should be out of reach of children. But the doctors who are meeting today with the Consumer Product Safety Commission say, how can you keep these away from kids? What is a couple roll away. You're really in trouble.

PHILLIPS: Just don't buy it if you have kids.

COHEN: That would be an option too.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth, thanks a lot.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

For more on the dangers of these magnets, check out CNN.com/health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You got me. That's what the porn star, dubbed the Canadian Psycho, told police after being nabbed at an Internet cafe in Germany. Luka Rocco Magnotta is now in solitary confinement at a Berlin jail. He's accused of killing and savagely dismembering a student before mailing the body parts to Canadian police and politicians.

Let's go back to Diana Magnay has been covering the story for us.

Diana, Magnotta went before a judge today, right? What can you tell us about the hearing?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, this was really explained to him, the extradition process and to give him the chance to say whether he would fight it or not. He said that apparently he won't, which means that the whole thing will go fairly quickly. Germany and Canada have an extradition treaty together. There's no death penalty in Canada, which might have had a reason why Germany wouldn't extradite someone like Magnotta. But it means this whole process could go as quickly as a week for him to face justice back home on those charges, first-degree murder, indecent assault of the body, and then mailing those body parts to politicians in Canada -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Just to put this in perspective, this was an international manhunt. Apparently, officers in 190 countries?

MAGNAY: Huge, huge operation. INTERPOL issued an alert, a red alert, which is its highest warning, really, to try and find this man last week. And that goes out to 190 countries. Now, the Canadian authorities thought that he'd gone to Paris and apparently he left Paris for Berlin on a bus on Friday. But I spoke to the Berlin police and they said that they'd had no sightings, no tip-off until shortly before his arrest, that Magnotta had actually been here for the past four days. So it really was luck that that man in the Internet cafe who had been reading the papers, who noticed his picture, recognized him apparently as soon as he walked in and thought, this is the man that INTERPOL are looking for. An amazing stroke of luck there which eventually led to his arrest -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Diana Magnay, thanks so much.

After four days and tens of thousands of loyal supporters and royal watchers, the celebration marking 60 years on the throne for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II just ended this hour. The Diamond Jubilee ended with a gun salute and a jet flyover at Buckingham Place. Massive crowds of well-wishers gathered outside to take it all in. Despite the cold and rain, it was a picture-perfect ending to the celebration. With one exception, Prince Philip being hospitalized.

Let's get the latest from Simon Perry in the London bureau. Actually, no, he is there at Trafalgar Square.

Simon, good to see you.

(LAUGHTER)

First of all --

(CROSSTALK)

SIMON PERRY, BUREAU CHIEF, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: Thankfully, under cover in this lovely wet weather.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you are. This is typical, rain in London at this time of year makes perfect sense.

Do we know how the prince is doing, first of all?

PERRY: Well, we haven't been given an update since almost this time yesterday. But we just understand that he's resting in the hospital not too far from here, in fact. Hopefully, we would have heard some of the joy and the celebrations and the cheers for his wife, the queen. There were about a million people in the streets around here.

PHILLIPS: You are there in the London bureau. You're the bureau chief for "People" magazine, so you are covering the royals on quite a regular basis. And a lot of people here in the states were saying, how is it that the queen stays so healthy, that she has the energy that she has? What's it like to live like a royal? And is there somebody specifically tied to her, dealing with health and diet and relaxation and trying not to stress?

PERRY: Well, I don't know if there's anyone who gives her diet advice. We know she doesn't eat particularly large quantities of food or anything like that. She eats well and she measures the amounts and she leads a healthy life. She's rarely ill. Has these wonderful hearty holidays up in Scotland, where the weather isn't much better than this. Maybe it creates a strong constitution. Maybe that's why she was able to stand so long on that boat the other day on Sunday, four hours standing in the cold on the Thames. PHILLIPS: Well, it's pretty remarkable what she was able to do throughout the weekend, considering the weather and all the excitement and all the various celebrations.

Final question, Simon. The fact that her husband could not be by her side, we're used to always seeing them together. I know that interviews are not possible and it's not -- "People" magazine can't sit down and have a one-on-one with her. But from what you know, the years that you have covered her and her husband, their relationship, what do you think that was like for her with such a huge celebration and not having her other half by her side?

PERRY: Sure. I'm sure she missed him. Today, she attended the service at St. Paul alone. There she was in one of its grand cathedrals without her husband by her side. There was a sense that she was a bit alone today. But by the time she got on the balcony, she had a son, Prince Charles, with her in the carriage. Camilla, as well. She was all smiles, which was great. I understand that she's been incredibly touched by the warmth of the cheers and the adulation from the people here today.

PHILLIPS: Simon Perry --

(CROSSTALK)

PERRY: It certainly helped her loneliness.

PHILLIPS: Indeed. Indeed.

Simon Perry, thank you so much. London Bureau chief for "People" magazine. Thanks so much for joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: If you're leaving the house right now, a reminder you can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your desktop. Just go to CNN.com/tv.

Let's get back now to the state election with national repercussion. Voters in Wisconsin are deciding whether to keep or remove the governor that they elected in 2010. Talking about Scott Walker, a conservative Republican, whose battle with organized labor made him a target of Democrats everywhere. The Dem on your right is Milwaukee's mayor.

The recall contest has been noisy, angry and, as we hear from Dana Bash, very expensive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- you plan to vote tomorrow.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Phone calls, voter lists, door hangers, TV ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOM BARRETT, (D), MAYOR OF MILWAUKEE & WISCONSIN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The politicians in Madison aren't counting their calories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: All this frenetic activity in Wisconsin's gubernatorial recall comes at an unprecedented price tag, upwards of $63 million raised so far.

MIKE MCCABE, WISCONSIN DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN: When we come up with a final tally for this race, it's going to be in the $75 million to $80 million range.

BASH: That shatters Wisconsin record, $37 million, just set in 2010 when Republican Governor Scott Walker was first elected.

MCCABE: This is way out of proportion to a state this size.

BASH: What's also out of proportion, Walker has raised 7.5 times that of his challenger. Tom Barrett pulled in $4 million, Walker, $30.5 million.

A quirk in Wisconsin law let Walker raise unlimited funds since he's targeted with a recall and a lot of Republicans seeing this as a prove of the presidential race wrote Walker huge checks. Some names will probably sound familiar -- Texan Bob Perry, gave $500,000. He bankrolled the infamous 2004 Swiftboat attacks against John Kerry. Los Vegas Casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, and Michigan money man, Dick Duvas, each gave $250,000.

70 percent of Walker's donations came from outside Wisconsin, contributions large and small from all over the country.

Phil Frangay (ph) raised money for Wisconsin Republicans for 25 years.

(on camera): Had you suggested that somebody donate here, they probably would have laughed at you in the past?

BILL FRANGAY (ph): They did laugh, so, yes.

BASH (on camera): Outside groups supporting both candidates flooded Wisconsin with $25 million, a who's who of Washington interest groups, from big labor to Planned Parenthood to the NRA. One group, the Republican Governors Association, got $1 million from GOP high roller, David Koch.

Then there's those stealth super PACs with anonymous donors --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AD NARRATOR: This is a battle we need to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: -- blanketing airwaves to the tune of $8.5 million. MCCABE: Our elections are being poisoned here. But the people of Wisconsin can't know who's paying for most of the poison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Dana joins me live now.

Will all that money make a difference, Dana?

BASH: that is what is really even more stunning. It's unclear. Tens of millions of dollars and according to almost all polls, the number of undecideds, is very, very small. So they're targeting very few people here in Wisconsin.

What people on both sides of this do tell me is they are using that exorbitant amount of money for get out the vote operations. On the Democratic side, unions have really gathered. They've spent about $8 million in total. A lot of that is to get out the vote. They are making, according to them, hundreds of thousands of calls. Same on the Republican side. So they always say getting out the vote is important. In this particular case, because there is so much money, they can actually spend it in order to really, really try to make the difference in the end.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, there in Wisconsin. Thanks so much.

If you want to know what life is really like on the campaign trail, coming up at noon eastern, join the "CNN Election Roundtable" with Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team. Logon to CNN.com/roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's take a check of the markets. Dow Industrials down 16 points, but it's dipping in and out of negative territory all morning despite a better than expected service sector report. Here in the U.S., a lot of investors worried over Europe's debt crisis. We're following it.

Democrats in Washington are trying to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which they say will prevent pay discrimination against women. President Obama says, if Congress passes the act, quote, "women are going to have access to more tools to claim equal pay for equal work." Republicans are expected to block the bill when it comes up for a vote in the Senate today. They argue that the measure would lead to over- burdensome government involvement in private-sector pay practices.

Houston, we've got a problem. Space shuttle "Enterprise" suffered minor damage when the tip of its wing hit wood pilings under a New York railroad bridge. The shuttle was en route to a port when the accident occurred. It has never flown in space but was used for tests in the late 1970s. Due to bad weather, the shuttle will make its final journey on the "Intrepid" tomorrow.

We don't have to be a space geek to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime sighting of Venus. Grab your solar eclipse glasses. Here's the location: Between earth and mercury. Description, tiny black dot. Speed -- floating and just for a few hours.

(LAUGHTER)

I made that up. Did that make sense?

(LAUGHTER)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it did.

PHILLIPS: I guess I forgot to say floating in front of the sun.

MYERS: In front of the sun.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

MYERS: You know, to me, this isn't all that cool. But to scientists with cameras and telescopes looking at this, this is going to make scientific history.

PHILLIPS: OK. That's cool.

MYERS: But to you and I, look at the sun, that's all I see, I'm underwhelmed. This is the most underwhelming story for people. What does this do for the science community?

This is how we're looking for planets in other solar system. We're looking for stars, suns, to be dimmed by planets passing in front. So this planet will pass in fronts of the sun. And by the detection of really, really very optically perfect lenses they will be able to tell the sun did dim a little bit.

So when we're looking at a star, all of a sudden we see it dim for seven hours, we know that another planet just passed in front of that star. So we know that solar system has planets around that one sun.

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of parties being planned, by the way, to check this out.

MYERS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: There is one here in Atlanta at the park.

MYERS: Yes. Right. Right.

PHILLIPS: State by state there are people waiting to see the transit of Venus.

MYERS: Starts at 6:00. It's cool. It's not going to happen until 2117. I'm not going to see that one. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be there.

PHILLIPS: You're not going to be around?

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: No. But almost the entire world will be able to see that. Sometimes --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You'll have a better view. You'll be up in heaven.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: You hope.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

MYERS: This is the only part of the world that will not be able to see it because it will be dark when this is happening. We'll see it at sunset, the rest of Asia and Europe at sunrise and all of the pacific will see it right during the middle of the day. A lot of times you get the solar eclipse, only happens like right there or there. This you'll be able to see everywhere. The best place to see it, I think probably, watching NASA TV. Watch on television.

PHILLIPS: Then you don't need the glasses.

MYERS: Don't look at the sun. Please don't look at the sun.

PHILLIPS: Isn't that dangerous?

MYERS: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Oh, really, so you're saying --

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: If you have welder's glasses or something, if you are prepared with these number 14 goggles and you have real solar eclipse glasses, great. But if you don't, don't, like, stack sunglasses. They aren't worth it.

PHILLIPS: As we mentioned you can watch it without the special glasses by logging on to NASA's web site. Looks like -- no, web cast. It's going to be Saturday at 5:45 p.m. eastern standard time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SINGING)

PHILLIPS: Tell you what, after all of these years he is still hot.

Isn't he, Suzanne Malveaux.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, he is.

PHILLIPS: She loves some Bon Jovi. We all do.

(LAUGHTER) They traveled -- they have traveled the world. He's one of the hottest rock stars. He got a rare treat yesterday, getting a lift with President Obama on Air Force One. Bon Jovi front man was performing for the president at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The tickets started at $2500 for the 500 guests.

Healthy food in for the Disney Company. The chairman and CEO, Robert Iiger, is teaming up with Michelle Obama to pull junk food ads off Disney Channel, Radio Disney and disney.com. The company has pledged to reduce the amount of sodium in kid meals at its theme parks as well. The first lady has partnered with Disney in the past and says she hopes other U.S. companies will follow Disney's lead.

You definitely feel old when you hear about a 20-year-old retiring. Gymnast and "Dancing with the Stars" winner, Shawn Johnson, decided to give up her bid for a second Olympics because of recurring knee problems. Last night, she spoke to Erin Burnett about her decision to step away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN JOHNSON, OLYMPIC GYMNAST: It was definitely one of the hardest decisions to make. Being a professional athlete, you know, having that kind of period of my life over with, is surreal. I don't think it's settled in yet. But it just came to a point where my body couldn't take any more and kept telling me, you know, I had to kind of face the signs and kind of finally accept the pain and say that it just wasn't going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Even though she can't compete, Johnson says she still wants to be in London, and quote, "cheer her head off" for her former teammates.

Well thanks for watching, everyone. You can continue the conversation with me on Twitter, @KyraCNN, or on Facebook. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with the lovely Suzanne Malveaux.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Kyra.