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Senate Adjourns With No Deal; Conservatives Rally at WWII Memorial; Bracing for Markets on Monday; "Lawnmower Man" Cleans up Memorials; Redskins Nickname Out?
Aired October 13, 2013 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope you're having a good afternoon or evening, depending on where you are in the country. I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Some Washington lawmakers still talking tonight. But on this Sunday evening, the eve of a workweek and just four days until the debt ceiling deadline. There is a new level of tension over what happens next. Believe it or not, most House members are out of town. They will return tomorrow.
The Senate did meet for a few hours today but they adjourn a little over an hour ago. They, too, will reconvene tomorrow.
We've got every single angle covered for you on this story. Our Mark Preston is at the Capitol. And Jim Acosta on duty at the White House. They'll be stationed there for quite a bit in upcoming days.
Mark Preston, we're going to start there at the Capitol.
You have some information on behind the scenes talks, going on at the capital, who is talking today and is there really any progress to report?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Don, we saw a little bit of movement between the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell did speak by telephone. They had a conversation about how they actually get out of the situation that they are in right now.
Two different things they have to address. One is funding the government, passing a resolution that would allow money to flow into the federal government put workers back into their jobs. In addition to that and perhaps more pressing, is the debt ceiling -- is increasing the debt ceiling. We're told by the U.S. Treasury, that if we do not get the debt ceiling increased by Thursday, then the United States would have a default.
This is what Harry Reid had to say about his conversation with Mitch McConnell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: I had a productive conversation with Republican leader this afternoon. Our discussions were substantive, and we will continue those discussions. I'm optimistic about the prospects for positive conclusion issues before this country today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: Well, Don, let me be perhaps negative there. Speaking to a source familiar with these discussions, they said do not expect anything substantive to actually happen tonight. These conversations will probably pick up in earnest tomorrow morning. That is very problematic as we'll see markets opening up around the world overnight and, of course, the U.S. market will open up around 9:00 tomorrow morning.
But in addition to that, Don, what's probably more telling is that the Republican leader Mitch McConnell was not actually in the building today. He was close by. He does live here in Washington, D.C. But he was never here in the building. Hence that's why we had the conversation by telephone with Harry Reid.
LEMON: Let's continue to look forward here, especially over the next couple of days. The question is, are they going to wait until the very last minute to reach a deal here? Remember the last time, right?
PRESTON: Well, I've got to tell you, that is a big concern. And it's certainly a concern we're going to see more from New York. We'll start to see Wall Street weigh in, in earnest starting tomorrow. They'll realize overnight that, in fact, no deal was able to make any progress, if there was nothing done.
But I've got to tell you, in the coming days, there's going to be a lot of effort, at least put forth, we expect in the Senate to get something done. If that doesn't appear to be moving though, look for the House of Representatives, look for the Republican leadership, which is not part of the conversation right now, perhaps to try to send over another measure to increase the debt limit, even if it is for a short period of time. By doing so, they protect themselves politically. They are involved in the conversation but also in the conversation and at this point they are not -- Don.
LEMON: All right, stand by, there, Mark Preston.
I want to get to Jim Acosta now at the White House.
Jim, senator -- first of all, though, there was a conversation between the president and Nancy Pelosi today. You want to tell us about that?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. The White House is confirming that the president did speak with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by phone. And they read out some elements of that conversation, basically said that the president reiterated his position, that he is not interested in anything other than debt ceiling increase that is clean with no strings attached. Same for a measure that reopens the government.
Why would they read that out? Not because they want us to know what Obama and Pelosi talked about, they wanted to send a signal to the rest of Washington, Don, and that is that this White House believes, Democrats believe that they have the upper hand in this. That these polls show that Republicans are at historic rock bottom lows when it e comes to approval ratings and they feel like they can drive negotiations here.
So the president has said, he will talk about the larger issues like the budget, like health care, but wants it done after the debt limit is increased, and after the government is reopen.
And to pick up on what Mark Preston was talking about a few moments ago, about what Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell are talking about, we are reaching a critical stage. Remember the last time during see the debt ceiling talks in 2011, we came right up against that cliff in 2011, and yet the nation's credit rating was downgraded. So they are concerned here at the White House that this is getting too close to call, Don.
LEMON: I wonder if the Republicans will take the nation's, you know, credit rating down with them, because, Jim, you have heard the term self awareness, right? Self awareness. You said that the president thinks, and Democratic leaders think that they have the upper hand. That, you know, especially with the Republican Party. The polls have shown just how badly Republicans are faring with this. Everyone sees that except for Republicans.
What the heck is going on here?
ACOSTA: Well, a lot of Republicans do see it, don. You have heard John McCain on one of the talk shows this morning saying that strategy, that Ted Cruz and other Republicans have adopted to force changes to Obamacare through this debt ceiling impasse did not work.
Now, one thing that we did hear also from John McCain today is that some Republicans are starting to feel frustrated with Democrats. Earlier today, Republicans were campaigning that Harry Reid was seeking changes to the sequester as part of the debt ceiling government shut down negotiation. John McCain and others are saying that that is starting to sound like a little bit too much like touchdown, you know, dancing in the end zone after a touchdown, that perhaps the Democrats need to show some magnanimity here, back off a little bit, just get this stuff done that needs to get done now, and then they can deal with the touchier subjects like the sequester, like the budget later.
LEMON: Hey, Jim, there is so much to get through this hour. You're going to be standing by for us. But I really want to know about these protests today.
Did you witness them? They happened at the White House. What's going on?
ACOSTA: Well, we are standing here at the White House, Don, watching the developments unfold with debt talks and all of a sudden people were talking about the World War II Memorial protesters moving from the National Mall over here to the White House. So, we went outside the White House gates, the fence to the north lawn here, and just to show you this video, it's pretty dramatic. Many of the protesters, there's a big veterans' march in Washington, as you know today, Don, they are there protesting the fact that that memorial is shut down while the government has been closed. They were over there at the memorial with Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Mike Lee.
They are not satisfied to have the protest there. They picked up barricades and carried them to the White House, Don, and dumped them in a pile in front of the fence to the North Lawn of the White House, almost to the point where conceivably someone could have climbed up the pile of barricades and entered the White House grounds.
Obviously, all of that caught the attention of U.S. Park Police. They came out on horse back. Some in riot gear. There is even an armored vehicle that arrived at one point, Don.
There were protesters who were obviously supporters of the veteran's cause of seeing these memorials, but there were also Tea Party protesters, other fringe groups that were sort of glomming on to this protest. There was one man waving a Confederate flag, other folks holding up "Impeach Obama" signs.
It was a really rowdy, sort of intense scene until the park police were able to settle things down now. And I can tell you, out on Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the White House, everything is back to normal. Everything is calm. But it was pretty tense there for about 30 minutes there.
LEMON: Yes. And one of protesters saying something about, take your hands off the Koran and put your hands up. It's just crazy.
Thank you, Jim.
ACOSTA: It's getting ugly. You bet.
LEMON: Yes, and embarrassing as a matter of fact. Thank you.
A few minutes ago, I talked to CNN's John King in Washington. He sees this failure to compromise as something deeper than the typical cross- party bickering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is not only a debate between the Republicans and the president, the Republicans and the Democrats, but this is an internal family feud, even a civil war some would say within the Republican Party. Speaker Boehner's position all along has been that he didn't want to shut down the government but once the government was shut down, his position was, let's do this in one deal, reopen the government and deal with debt ceiling in one bill.
Why? He thought, number one, he'd only have to one tough vote for members. And number two, the Republicans thought they would have leverage over the president who in the past negotiated on the debt ceiling issue.
However, the president at the moment believes he has the upper hand. He says, I'm willing to negotiate but only after you reopen the government, only after you raise the debt ceiling. Now, they can wink and nod in sequence and put all that together in a package where the Republicans can say the president negotiated and the president can say he didn't if they get all done.
The problem is, there's so little trust, even within the Republican Party, Don, Tea Party members and their own leadership, that it looks like once again, Washington is going to dance up to a deadline and we're going to watch those financial markets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was John King. If anything is going to get Washington's attention, it could be what happens on Wall Street tomorrow morning at 9:30.
Our Alison Kosik is in New York.
Alison, what's the market expected to do tomorrow?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You're probably going to see the market react it anything that comes out of Washington. You're going to see Wall Street basically react to the rhetoric coming out of Washington, and that if there is no indication that there's a deal in place, you're probably going to see a sharp turn to the down side.
Now, this is after a lot of optimism running through Wall Street at the end of last week, from Wednesday to Friday. You saw the Dow make up all of its losses that it had since the government shut down back on October 1st. But you can quickly see those gains turn into losses and then some if the market perceives that there isn't a deal on the table.
And this is serious because although many believe that lawmakers are not that -- they are not going to let the debt ceiling deadline come and go without getting some sort of solution, there is preparation sort of being made, at least in the mindset. Because if this happens, you can see interest rates skyrocket, you can see stocks tank. The higher interest rates would really affect consumers because they certainly feel it in their wallets. They feel it in their monthly mortgage payments and in their car loans -- Don.
LEMON: Are investors really worried about this, or are they sort of sitting tight to see what happens?
KOSIK: I think they are just sitting tight. The markets believe that some sort of solution is going to happen. But it's the uncertainty that's there and possibility for down side that's there. And that's kind of keeping the market on its toes. You know, some there are some banks saying that the S&P 500 could sell off as much as 45 percent if the debt ceiling isn't raised and the government starts to miss some key payments. And one thing not to get lost in all this is consumer confidence. You know, as consumers, as Americans are watching all this drama play out on Wall Street, in Washington rather, you know, we are watching consumer confidence fall to its lowest levels since 2008, and that's not a good sign as we get closer to the holiday shopping season, because you have to remember, if the debt ceiling -- if a solution doesn't happen, you're going to see the credit markets freeze up. That's going to scare consumers, that's going to make them pull back on spending. Of course, that creates a domino effect throughout the economy -- Don.
LEMON: This is ridiculous. I can't believe our government has gotten us here -- and just certain members of our government. Not all of them. Not all of them.
KOSIK: Right.
LEMON: Listen, can we look forward to the Asian markets that are going to open up pretty soon? What can we expect?
KOSIK: What I saw at last, the market opened about 10 minutes ago. I still saw markets in the green. But you know how things go. That could quickly turn.
So, the night is still young, Don.
LEMON: All right. Alison Kosik, we'll be watching that for us. Appreciate it, Alison.
And we want to bring you this. Happening right now: police are in the middle after huge counterterrorism operation in London. Officers have already made four arrests and raids are taking place at six other locations across the city. The men were arrested on suspicion of planning or committing a terrorist act. We're going to get more to you on these arrests just as soon as we get it.
So stand by. This is all developing in London right now.
In the meantime, it seems Congress has angered some people -- people who don't anger easily. Even the Senate chaplain, with senators right there, had something to say about this mess. You want to hear this. It's coming up.
And by popular demand, my interview with the lawn mower, Chris Cox. He's been cleaning up around Washington monuments because no one else was.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.
We're going to talk about the shutdown, in this week's default shutdown with two of our favorite political commentators. You know L.Z. Granderson, CNN contributor. He joins from Chicago. And in Dallas, CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson. I want you two to get -- to look at the scuffle outside the White House today. Protesters demanding that D.C. memorials be reopened. They moved some barricades and confronted police outside the White House. It got a little rowdy but it ended peacefully.
First to you, L.Z., is this where things are headed this week? Are people this upset as we head towards Thursday's default deadline?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's a combination of things. I'm not sure if you can look at this protesting with which is significant, I think the name of it was supposed to be the million veteran march, veteran march or something like that. And the numbers is significantly less than a million veterans, obviously.
I think what you saw is seeing frustration coming from people that was funneled by the Tea Party. With that being said, we shouldn't dismiss it. I think the White House did kind of mess up. It should have made concessions beforehand to make sure this sort of optics wasn't there present to further drive home the point the Tea Party is trying to make about the silliness of it all.
But I wouldn't look at this video, this footage here and assume that the entire nation is ready to burn down.
LEMON: Yes. I mean, Ben, you have to be embarrassed looking at that video. You're not embarrassed for some members of your party?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think there are a lot of members of my party out there. There are people that do things I importantly wouldn't do. And I think this is a small group --
LEMON: You don't think that is members of your party? Aren't you Republican?
FERGUSON: You say people out there that had -- sir, there are people out there with signs that said I'm of no party and were saying liberate America. There are crazy nut jobs in that group. Let's be candid about it.
LEMON: Who initiated this protest? Tea Party Republicans. Come on, Ben, cut the crap. Don't give me that.
FERGUSON: I don't -- I'm not -- OK, cut the crap? I love how you assume that everybody that's a conservative or Tea Partier was going to be out there today. If what you're saying is true, why isn't there a million Tea Partier people out there? There wasn't because this is not the mass majority of the Tea Party.
So I'd say to you cut the crap and quit trying to label with blanket --
LEMON: I did not say that all of the people out there were members of the Tea Party. I said, it was initiated by the Tea Party.
FERGUSON: You said members of my party. LEMON: Yes, there were members of your party.
FERGUSON: Again, did you see who can (INAUDIBLE) people out there? You've got a bunch of --
LEMON: I need to hear him, stop talking to me. Go ahead.
FERGUSON: Yet, there are very few members of the Tea Party that were out there right now. There were very few members of the Tea Party that I --
LEMON: OK, let's just say there are very few. So for the very few members of the Tea Party out there, you're not embarrassed by that? And second of all, it is misplaced emotion, because the person in the White House, quite frankly, did not shut the government down. The Republican Party, Tea Party members shut the government down. If they should be putting barricades up, maybe they should do it in front of the Capitol.
FERGUSON: Don, Don, Don. You have people on record that work for the park services that were told to make the shutdown as painful as possible.
LEMON: Now, you're going on to something else. Can you --
FERGUSON: No, no, no --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: No, no, no, don't finish, stop, Ben, unless you are going to stick to what I said, don't take this and turn it into something else. Stick to the question and to the subject -- hang on, Ben. I'm talking here. Then you can finish. Stick to what I said. Don't go on talking about something else.
That's what's happening in Washington. That's been happening the whole time. First it was health care, now it's over the budget. Now it's over this.
FERGUSON: OK, are you finished?
LEMON: Can you just find one particular thing and stick to that point. So, let's get back to the point. Are you embarrassed for the members -- hang on. Let me finish. Are you embarrassed for the members of the Tea Party who are out there on this display?
FERGUSON: I would not have been out there taking up the barricades. I also understand why they were there taking up the barricades. You spent more money blocking off these veterans memorials than you ever did protecting them while they are open. That is doing on purpose, Don.
You are smart enough guy to know when you send seven guards to barricade a memorial that were never there when it was open, that is doing that on purpose. You know that. I know that. And they were mad about it. And I can understand why they were mad about it. LEMON: It sounds like you are making excuses. We will continue this on the other side of the break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So we're back talking about the shutdown with Ben Ferguson and L.Z. Granderson.
L.Z., I promise I'll let you get in, but I'm just -- it just frustrates me so much when I hear so much rhetoric. We are talking about Thursday's default deadline with two of our favorite commentators here again, L.Z. and then Ben Ferguson.
So, we are told the Senate has taken the lead, trying to come up with a bipartisan solution to reopen the government and avoid a default.
So, Ben, let's get back to the protests though. I want you to listen to this. This is outside of the White House today and then we can talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KLAYMAN, FREEDOM WATCH: I call upon all of to you wage the second American nonviolent revolution, to use civil disobedience and demand this president leave town, to get up, to put the Koran down, to get up off his knees and to figuratively come up with his hands out. Up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ben, really? Really?
FERGUSON: Yes, you found the crazy guy. Congratulations. There are 360 million Americans and you found the crazy guy, and now you put him on national TV. Of course I don't agree with that guy.
Don, seriously, did you actually think that I would sit here as conservative and act as if in any way I agree with the ridiculousness of that guy saying Barack Obama should leave town? There are dumb, stupid people in the world. Congratulations, you just confirmed it. But it's not the majority of American conservatives or Republicans that believe what that crazy guy just said.
LEMON: The people, this crazy guy, people like that crazy guy, Ben, are the reason that people are furloughed. It's the reason why there's gridlock right now. The reason there is that we have a government shut down because a small minority, small faction of the Republican Party, people like that guy are holding Americans hostage.
FERGUSON: Do you actually believe, because I'm going to name names, do you think that Ted Cruz thinks that Barack Obama should take his hand off his Koran? And you think Ted Cruz and others like him think that --
LEMON: I would say that you should have Ted Cruz answer that question. I'm not Ted Cruz, but I did -- FERGUSON: Of course he doesn't. I have talked to Ted Cruz this week.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: -- compare the president to Satan the other day at the Value Voter Summit. So, what's worse, saying that he has his hand on the Koran? There is nothing wrong with being Muslim if he did have his hand on the Koran. And number two, it's much worse to be compared to Satan and someone who is a Muslim.
GRANDERSON: If I could interject one thing --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Let L.Z. get in. Go ahead, L.Z.
GRANDERSON: Ben, you said enough. Ben, you actually said a lot already.
I just want to point out before we leave air here, that you know, it's important that American people, that the viewers remember, that Ronald Reagan, during his time as president, the debt ceiling was raised 18 times, and this is at a time when poverty was at a high in this country. People were dying of AIDS and the debt ceiling was raised 18 times, and we didn't hear any of the rhetoric right now that you see right now happening in the streets of Washington.
Debt ceiling raised seven times under W. We still didn't see Tea Party members.
We're looking at raising the debt ceiling for a fourth time --
FERGUSON: There's different.
GRANDERSON: I'm not done!
This is a time in which we have this president here and we are hearing how this president is destroying the nation, he's driving the debt, he's doing all of these things and he is asking for the debt ceiling to be raised for the fourth time since his presidency the fourth time. It was raised 18 times with the Reagan administration -- I'm not done!
FERGUSON: I heard you the first time.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Let him finish, Ben.
GRANDERSON: I let you talk. I'm going to finish making my point. Then can you go ahead and have the floor.
What people must remember is that the Tea Party, there are members who are certainly concerned about the growing debt, which is the reason why they originally came into power in 2010. But what we have seen time and time again is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy loosely based on a multitude of factors including fear of religion, fear of race, fear of other, homophobia and other ills that we worked very hard in this country to get rid of.
So, Ben, as you can tend to try to defend every element of your party, I encourage you instead to be a surgeon, and get rid of those crazy people so that we can be focused on the debt conversation and not be sidetracked --
FERGUSON: All right. Are you done? I raise my hand.
GRANDERSON: No. And not to be sidetracked by other factors that continue to paint your party as the party --
FERGUSON: OK.
LEMON: OK, Ben, you make a very good point. He makes a very good point.
As I said in the beginning of this, aren't you embarrassed? This makes your party look bad. And he's saying the same thing. Go ahead.
FERGUSON: OK. Let's go back to what he started with, which was raising the debt ceiling. This president never passed a budget as president of the United States of America, including when he had Republicans in charge of the House and Senate. The reason we are having problems with the debt ceiling now --
GRANDERSON: Democrats --
FERGUSON: Let me finish. It because Barack Obama --
GRANDERSON: I'm helping you, actually.
FERGUSON: -- has never run a financially secure government under his leadership with the budget ever.
The second issue is this. Let me finish. The second issue is this. Barack Obama has had the debt go up under his time in office more than all other presidents combined, including all those under Reagan. He's has more debt added to --
LEMON: Do you understand why that happened?
FERGUSON: That's a fact.
LEMON: You don't understand why that happened? Oh, my God!
FERGUSON: Of course you do. When you don't have a budget, you spend a ton of money.
LEMON: Oh, the worst financial economic crisis since the Great Depression happened before Barack Obama.
FERGUSON: You can't blame everything on that, sir!
LEMON: I agree with you. Listen, the president --
FERGUSON: Well, you are. (CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Six years now, he has to take responsibility for the economy and help get us out.
FERGUSON: But you just said he is not.
LEMON: But getting into was not all of his fault. You can't just make a blanket statement like that.
Listen, I'm sorry I've got to run. My producers are yelling at me. No, I don't have a budget. I live below my means so I don't have to have a budget.
FERGUSON: Well, you should probably get one.
LEMON: Thank you very much. Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate it.
L.Z., next time you get a chance to talk.
GRANDERSON: Thank you.
LEMON: He is just a guy with a mower, cleaning up around Washington monument. So what Senators Reid and McConnell can't take care of right now, Brigs and Stratton is. My interview with the lawn more man, Chris Cox, coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the hills up above Los Angeles.
LEO GRILLO, FOUNDER OF DELTA RESCUE: Hi, kids.
FOREMAN: A down to earth journey goes on.
GRILLO: A good girl.
FOREMAN: Every day, Leo Grillo takes one more step down an unexpected trail.
GRILLO: These dogs are all abandoned in the wilderness. I bring them here with the promise it will never happen again. My promise to them is I'm keeping you safe.
FOREMAN: It started in 1979 when Grillo, an actor, found an abandoned dog and took him in naming him Delta and found another dog and another and another.
And 35 years later, Delta Rescue now covers more than 100 acres, land filled with animals, every one of them found after being abandoned.
GRILLO: We'll have anywhere 850 to 900 dogs; cats are 600, 650; horses are about 40; and I have a hand full of goats and a pig and you never know. FOREMAN: An $8-million budget fuelled by donations provides food, water, housing and a full-time veterinary hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy here had some bad teeth and I'm pulling some bad molars.
FOREMAN: No animal is ever put up for adoption and in many ways Grillo helped pioneered the idea of a no kill rescue center and every animal you see.
GRILLO: They are here for life. Hi, Bentley. Come here, come here. It's OK.
FOREMAN: It much bigger, more time consuming, more exhausting than Leo Grillo ever imagined, but when he looks out over this mountain top home he's given to thousands of unwanted animals, he knows they have given to him, too.
GRILLO: I know I saved all their lives. They definitely changed mine. You're a good girl.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: His simple action turned heads in Washington after the government shutdown left no one to mow the grass around the memorials in D.C. This week, Chris Cox pushed a mower, emptied the trash and just cleaned up. At today's Million Death March on the memorials, Cox told the crowd civilians should seize the opportunity to serve our country.
I talked with Cox about why he decided to take matters into his own hands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Has it really come to this? At first it looks just like a guy, just mowing the grass. But that's not just any grass. That man is mowing the grass at the Lincoln Memorial. The political standoff in Washington has shuttered many government operations.
So Chris Cox took it upon himself and began mowing the National Mall. He also took his mowers to the areas between the Lincoln and World War II memorials.
Chris Cox joins me live from Washington.
Let me just say this. Before we get started here. You're a great American. And you're a patriot and, thank you. I'm humbled by --
CHRIS COX, MOWED LAWNS AT NATIONAL MONUMENTS: Thank you. I'm really happy to be here today.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I'm humbled by your presence. You say that it's your duty to be there mowing the grass and cleaning up around the monuments. Why?
COX: Well, it's not about our government. It's more about our country. And as a civilian, we don't get a lot of opportunity to serve our country so when we get one we need to step up and seize it.
LEMON: They asked you to leave. Police did at some point, right?
COX: Yes, sir.
LEMON: What happened?
COX: I explained to them that it's not against the law to pick up litter. It's against the law to throw it on the ground. And that being said, I told them if they were going to arrest me then take me right now or back off and let me finish what I started.
LEMON: Chris, people joined you today to help in the clean-up efforts. Why do you think they joined you?
COX: It was unbelievable. Today we had volunteers -- had a volunteer that heard about it yesterday in Ohio. They drove all through the night to get here today so that they could teach their children what activism is. We had people reach in their pockets and buy airplane tickets from as far away as Seattle, Washington, California, Colorado.
People flew in from all over the country. It was just unbelievable, the response that we had today. We were a true militia today. We marched down the sidewalk and emptied every trash can, picked up every cigarette butt. And I couldn't be prouder of this country for rallying behind a memorial militia and making a difference.
LEMON: Yay to you. And to the people who helped. And I ask you, I said -- during the break, before you came on, I was like, man, why don't you have a riding lawnmower, and you said?
COX: Well, I didn't become an artist for the love of money. Therefore I have pockets that are a little more shallow than I'd like it admit. So instead of making a donation, I had to clear my schedule. And I've been here since day one and I plan on being here and seeing this out.
LEMON: I want to tell our viewers that here's where you can go. Go to crowditforward.com. C-R-O-W-D-I-T-F-O-R-W-A-R-D, just like it sounds, crowditforward.com. And that's where you're raising money. And so far crowditforward.com has raised $680 already to help you buy a riding mower. What do you make of that?
COX: No, sir. I am not asking for any money. The moment I take money, I will set myself up for criticism. And I won't be as well received as I have been. I don't --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: No, we're not saying that you did. No, they are doing it for you. They're doing it for you.
COX: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What do you think of that? They're doing it for you. With you will take the mower, right?
COX: I'm flattered. I want to keep the attention on America and standing behind America. It'd not about Democrats or Republicans or independents. We are coming together to become Americans to show that we are fed up. We need to have a contest in Washington on who's got the biggest set of ears. Last time I checked ears were made for listening. And these politicians need to start listening to the people who put them in office.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And for the record, crowditforward, a nonprofit funding site, has reached its goal of $1500 donated to Chris Cox to purchase a riding lawnmower.
Congratulations. And thanks again, Chris.
It's our job at this hour to get you ready for next five days. You can't hit Monday morning without your weekly rundown. It's next.
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LEMON: Well, this you certainly have to see. Tonight our Christiane Amanpour interviews Malala Yousafzai. You remember her story, right? She is the Pakistani girl who was shot by Taliban gunman for trying to organize education for young girls. And she knows terrorists are afraid of her and what she's trying to do.
MALALA YOUSAFZAI, ACTIVIST: We all know that the terrorists are afraid of the power of women as well. So now at that time we realized that yes, education is important because it was snatched from us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: See the rest of that interview tonight. "The Bravest Girl in the World." At 7:00 Eastern. Just a few minutes here. Just more than 15 minutes right here on CNN.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With your "Weekly Five," I'm Rosa Flores.
Want to get up close and personal with an American icon? The assembly plant that turns out the new C-7 Corvette sting ray reopens its doors to the public on Monday after a major renovation. Touring the facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky costs $7. If you want it to drive away with a pricey souvenir, a new Vette will set you back around $52,000. High honors at the White House when President Obama awards Army Captain William Swenson the medal of honor. Captain Swenson, a trainer and mentor to afghan border in the Kunar province in 2009. Swenson becomes the six living recipient of the medal for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Voters in the garden state head to the polls on Wednesday. They will elect a new U.S. senator to replace Frank Lautenberg who died in June. The race pits Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Steve Lonagan. It's been a messy campaigns both sides took aim at each other launching personal attacks.
Thursday a treasure trove of historical documents from Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Hit the auction block. Handwritten notes from Dr. King and a page of his "I Have a Dream" speech are part of the rare collection. King's personal secretary Maud Valou is selling the documents with some of the proceeds going to Alabama state university.
Also on Thursday, millions of people will be prepping for the billing one. The great shake out. Are earthquake drills being held from coast to coast. It's all part of the effort to make people more aware of what it do when an either quake strikes.
And that's your "Weekly Five."
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LEMON: Thank you, Rosa.
The fight over the Washington Redskins name. Should it be changed? The team owner says no. But pressure may be mounting. We're going to talk about it with Terrence Moore next.
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LEMON: So this Washington Redskins nickname debate it just won't go away. So let's talk about it now with Terence Moore. He's a sports contributor to CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.
Terence, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seems to be evolving on this. In the past he has defended the name. But this week, Goodell said, we need to listen carefully. Listen and make sure we're doing what's right. And President Obama even weighed in and told the AP that if he owned the team, he would think about changing the name.
So, Terrence, is it now a matter of time before the name, Redskins, goes away?
TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I mean, Let's start with this. When you have the most powerful person on the world saying they should change the name, that's Roger Goodell. Actually, it's Barack Obama.
And the second most powerful man on the face of the earth, commissioner of NFL perhaps And Roger Goodell saying he thinks they should consider it, it is going to get done. I tell you what, Don. This is somewhat analogous to what you have been dealing with the last few weeks with the government shutdown eight now where as Daniel Snyder who is the Redskins owner, sort of like House Republicans. It is not a matter of if he will change the name, it is a matter of when it is going to happen and how it's going to happen.
LEMON: Redskins owner Dan Schneider told "USA Today," that the team would never -- he said you can use capital letters, said never changed its name. I mean, you just said, it's a matter of when but think he's going to eat hi words?
MOORE: Yes. I mean, because I mean, never is a very, very strong word. You know, and Daniel Snyder has taken this hard stance. Like George Wallace standing in front of that school door 50 years ago. And now he's kind of being bought (INAUDIBLE) a kind of gentler types desk.
Are we just days ago. Snyder just said that he could understand why people would be upset and he can sympathize with them. So you can see some movement even with Dan Snyder.
Lm: OK. Just -- the Redskins and Dallas play later tonight, correct?
MOORE: True.
LEMON: So what could they change their name, too, that would make at least some fans happier? I mean the warriors, senators --
MOORE: Yes, well, you also got to think, what would please Daniel Snyder? And remember, all these guys and these NFL owners, they have huge egos. I'm serious, when I say this, they should change the name and name them after Daniel Snyder. Call them the Washington Snyders. OK. For everyone who's laughing remember a precedent for these.
LEMON: Like me.
MOORE: Yes, right, but in the national football league. I mean, you've got the Cleveland Browns and the Browns were named after their original owner, Paul Brown. So just do it, call it a day, and everybody is happy.
LEMON: Yes. It is a tough one because if a certain group of people are offended by something then you should probably respect what they have to say. If Native Americans are offended by this then we should respect --
MOORE: That's exactly right.
LEMON: And people always say, well, Don, how would you feel -- I've been asked this question before. How would you feel if it was the black skins or the brown skins? I'm not easily offended. That wouldn't offend me. Because I have brown skin and in the summer I have black skin. So none of that would offend me. But Redskins might offend Native Americans and we should be mindful and respectful of that. MOORE: Sure. No question about it.
LEMON: Let's stick to football here and the tale of the two Mannings. Peyton, we all know having a great season. His Broncos are undefeated. But his younger brother, Eli's season so far is -- god, it's -- it's a disaster. Eli's Giants team off to its worst start since 1976. And he's already thrown 15 interceptions.
Is he having little brother syndrome? I mean, what is --
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Or is it -- you know, his confidence? He loses and his confidence gets worse and worse? Or is he just not as good a quarterback as we thought?
MOORE: Don, it's all of the above. Maybe a little less of the last point. But remember, this guy has been around the National Football League for a deg decade. And you've never seen him so lot of emotion out there on the field or even with press conferences, you're seeing a lot of it now.
And let's put in some perspective now. He's always thrown a lot of interceptions. He's led the National Football League in interceptions twice. The difference is, he's going on a record pace right now. I mean, the record for interceptions in pro football is 42 in 1962 by a guy named George Blanda. Right now after six games, this guy has exactly the same amount of interceptions that George Blanda had. That's enough to make your head explode.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Mr. Moore. Terrence Mo. As we say, Terrence Mo.
MOORE: Thank you.
LEMON: I appreciate it.
Our five questions for the week ahead, next.
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LEMON: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock still number one at the box office. A space thriller "Gravity" held the top spot for the second straight week. More than $44 million in ticket sales. Tom Hanks' "Captain Phillips" finished second with $26 million. The movie is based on the 2009 hijacking of a cargo ship by Somali pirates. And rounding out the top five, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls 2" and "Machete Kills," and "Runner Up". There you go.
Meteorologist Karen Maginnis shows us what we can expect for the start of the workweek now.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, in the west they're not really looking at fall any more. It looks a whole lot like winter. That's because of this area of low pressure, going to be tracking towards the north central United States, or the northern tier states. And on the back side of that, some much colder air. This is what's happening. That jet stream is taking a pretty good dip past Utah and into the great basin.
Temperatures running 15 to 20 degrees below where they should be. And here are the dynamics. Little pressure as I mentioned treks off towards the east and northeast and on the back side from Billings to Yellow Stone to the front range. Expect some snow fall.
And then going in towards the next 48 hours as it moves into Minnesota, we'll expect some wet weather but some colder air behind this system. So a lot of dynamics taking place. But let's spell this one out all the way from the saw tooth mountains and to the wind river mountains and Yellow Stone Park and then into the front range and Gunnison Grand Junction. All those places. Expecting some snow fall. And maybe a little bit blustery as well.
So your Columbus Day, pretty nice start in the northwest. A little stormy for the interior west and big thunderstorms rumbling around again across Texas.
LEMON: Thank you, Karen. Appreciate that.
More snow, just what these skiers want to hear. Colorado ski season open today. Skiers couldn't wait to take their first run at Arapaho Basin. Congratulations to them. Good day.
Five questions for the week ahead now. Up first, the big one. Is America going to default on its debts? I wish we could say no, but as of now, I can't say that. Number two, will the partial government shutdown end? Same answer as I gave you for question one. Number three, is it time for Dennis Rodman to go back to North Korea? The North Korean government this week warned of an all-out war on the Korean Peninsula. Sounds like basketball diplomacy is fading fast.
Number four, for the four teams left in the baseball playoffs, who will play in the World Series? We'll know for sure by a week from tonight. And is the week -- and is this the week Google finally crosses the privacy line? Google Plus, users say, they may see their own faces next to advertisers and endorsements without even giving their permission. Got a problem with that? If you do, you might want to log on and opt out.
OK. As promised, we're going to close tonight with the Senate chaplain Barry Black. Black gives a prayer at the start of each Senate session. Usually his prayers are apolitical. But the Senate chaplain seems to have had enough.
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DR. BARRY BLACK, SENATE CHAPLAIN: Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable. Forgive them for the blunders they have committed. Help our lawmakers. They can know the right, but not do it. They can comprehend their duty, but not perform it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: He's had enough. A lot of Americans have. And people are very passionate about it.
I want to thank you so much for joining me tonight. I'm Don Lemon in New York. Our CNN special about the amazing "Malala Yousafzai: The Bravest Girl in the World" begins in just a few seconds right here on CNN.
I'll see you tomorrow morning on "NEW DAY."
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour. And welcome to a CNN special presentation, THE BRAVEST GIRL IN THE WORLD.
Tonight, a question. Where does courage come from? Real bravery. The sort that changes the world. In just a moment, before a live audience here in New York, some of them even here on the stage with me, I'll be talking to 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai, along with the remarkable man who raised her, her father Ziauddin.
