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CNN Sunday Morning
Abdullah Withdraws From Afghan Runoff; Interview With Abdullah Abdullah; 77-Year-old Man Attempts To Finish College; IReporters Share Halloween Images
Aired November 01, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is November. Yes, November 1. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy November. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Betty has the day off.
It is 6 a.m. Yes, 6 a.m. You're reading your clocks right. We went - we - we gained an hour overnight.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: 3 a.m. in Los Angles. Hopefully you remembered to change your clocks.
But first, really, big news here in Afghanistan.
HOLMES: Huge story. We were talking about this yesterday, wondering what he might do. Now we do know that the challenger in Afghan's runoff election, Abdullah Abdullah, has decided to drop out.
So that election is coming up in a week. Hamid Karzai, the president, essentially will be the only candidate participating in that runoff. We heard from Abdullah Abdullah just a few hours ago.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The legal implications and - and consequences of my decision, but as far as I'm concerned, I have decided for myself not to participate in the November the 7th election (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So that was Abdullah Abdullah in a press conference just a short time ago. And at that press conference was our Nima Elbagir.
Nima, we were talking to you all day yesterday about the possibility of this happening. Now, this has happened.
Tell us initially just what the reaction has been there on the ground from - from - from people there who are now wondering about the future of their country. NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think even though - as you said, we were talking about this yesterday off the back of a week of fevered speculation about whether or not Dr. Abdullah would withdraw.
In the press conference, when he - when he told the supporters that he had decided, yes, I will not be taking part in the second round, he was met with ecstatic applause. You have to remember, T.J., that this is a process that has been seen as fatally flawed inside Afghanistan. Most of the Afghan people, when you speak to them, their - their sense of this really is it was utterly fraudulent.
(INAUDIBLE) is going ahead is as a pantomime of credibility for the international community to pretend that they have some sort of partner in Afghanistan. But for the Afghan people, this really is the outcome that they were hoping for, to - to kind of give a sense that the second round really wasn't going to be a credible one.
HOLMES: Nima - Nima, so what in the world is an election supposed to look like now when you essentially have one participant. I guess Abdullah's name will still be on the ballot, not being withdrawn in that way. But his - his supporters, he's not telling them, he says, to boycott.
So what in the world is an election there supposed to look like in a week?
ELBAGIR: That is a very good question. In fact, when we asked Dr. Abdullah that, that was one of the questions that he quite successfully, actually, managed to duck.
I mean, all we're going on on this are - are the - the comments that we got from President Hamid Karzai where he said that if Dr. Abdullah was to withdraw, that he would not go ahead, he would not automatically declare himself the winner. But that he would not go ahead, and that it would go to the Supreme Court, that it would go to the chief justice.
So really, that's what we're waiting to hear from. We're waiting to hear from the Afghan Supreme Court. And also, you have to remember, T.J., this is only the second presidential election. So there's no legal precedent. So you can imagine that for the - for the Afghan Supreme Court, this is going to be a very intense and serious deliberation.
HOLMES: Well, they are quickly learning about democracy and about how complicates, sometimes messy, it can be.
Nima Elbagir, thank you so much all weekend for your reporting. We're going to be checking in with you again. Thank you so much.
ELBAGIR: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: And after his announcement just a couple hours ago, as you mentioned, Dr. Abdullah spoke with our own CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. HOLMES: Yes, she's actually in Abu Dhabi. Spoke with him via telephone. Take a listen to their conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Abdullah, can you tell me, you are pulling out of the election, of the runoff on Saturday. Can you tell me precisely why?
ABDULLAH: I think I - I took too many things in consideration.
First of all, the election process in itself is under big question after what we went through in the last round election. That was the main issue.
And apart of that, looking at the - at the situation, security and many challenges which area ahead of us. And so I thought that this was in the best interest of my supporters, the people of Afghanistan for me not to participate in the November the 7th elections.
AMANPOUR: Are - are you calling on your supporters to boycott the election?
ABDULLAH: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I will not infringe into the rights of our citizens. This is my decision, and the people of Afghanistan will judge it for themselves and make decisions based on that.
So it's - it should be only Taliban who boycott the elections in Afghanistan. So for me, it was based on those principles and values. And I'll pursue my efforts in order to reform, to bring reforms in this country and to bring changes in my capacity, wherever I will be.
AMANPOUR. Dr. Abdullah, can you assure people that your considerable base of support are mostly in the north, the Tajik north, which has luckily escaped a lot of the violence that has plagued quite a bit of the south of Afghanistan - can you assure people that there will not be any outbreaks of violence by your supporters/
ABDULLAH: Yes, of course. Of course.
First of all, my supporter - support base is not just in the north. It is in the north-central Afghanistan, and also I have good support from the south as well, where the election was possible in the areas where elections took place.
And as far as my supporters are concerned, I - I am quite confident and I have called upon them to stay calm, patient, and this is - take it as another stage. And we will pursue - I will pursue those agendas for reform and change in this country for the rest of my life. The people of Afghanistan deserve better opportunities, and hopefully we will - I will be able to contribute to that, and the support of the people will help me in achieving this.
AMANPOUR: And Dr. Abdullah, apparently President Karzai is saying that a runoff still will happen. Who is he going to run against?
ABDULLAH: I think if you're - if you - if you get him a line, or - or - or on the air, you can ask him. But I'm not going into - getting into the legal implications and constitutional implications of my decision. But my decision was final, and the rest of it, I leave it at the state (ph).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And we'll have a whole lot more of Christiane's interview. It runs about 12 minutes more on the possibilities of power sharing, and his - how his announcement might affect U.S. strategy there. More today on "AMANPOUR," 2 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
HOLMES: Want to take a look at - now some of our other top stories.
A Cleveland man has now been arrested after six bodies were found at his home. Police had been looking for that man there, 50-year-old Anthony Sowell, since Thursday. All ix of the victims are female. A coroner tells CNN it appears the women were strangled, and their decomposing bodies could have been at the home for weeks, possibly months or even years.
BALDWIN: And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Jerusalem trying to restart peace talks between Israel and Palestine. She met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Tel Aviv yesterday. Clinton also flew into Israel after meeting in Abu Dhabi with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Palestinian negotiator described the process as - one word here, that one word being "stuck."
And Iran backing out of an agreement it made with the International Atomic Energy Agency just last week. An Iranian lawmaker says they will need further discussions here with other nations on how to supply fuel to their reactor in Tehran.
Under that initial agreement backed by the United States, Iran would ship low-grade uranium to other countries to refine it. But Iran now wants more control over how its uranium is enriched.
HOLMES: All right. It's time (INAUDIBLE) to welcome in Reynolds Wolf, who's over in the Severe Weather Center, as it is today.
Reynolds, what you got an eye on today?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Actually, my - my - my sugar fluctuation from last night and dealing with the Halloween candy. Crazy times guys, that will pass.
BALDWIN: Did you eat a lot?
WOLF: Just not - well, my daughters inhaled about four pounds of candy each.
BALDWIN: Nice.
WOLF: Crazy when that happens with a 3-year-old and a - and an 18-month-old. Good times.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: And Reynolds, we're not letting you off the hook, because you have a great story about a septuagenarian who is back at school?
WOLF: That's right. I have no idea what that is that you just said or what it meant - yes, I know what it means.
Yes, he's 77 years old and he's a student and expects to graduate - hopes to graduate when he turns 80. We got that story coming up in just a few moments.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: All right, Renny. We will see you shortly, buddy.
Also, please know, we will continue to update the breaking news we're getting out of Afghanistan. Runoff election just a week away. One of the two candidates calls it quits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, CHER, "IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME")
HOLMES: You like that, huh? You just thought we'd get down here, Brooke. (ph).
BALDWIN: Olden goldie (ph), you guys.
WOLF: We all like that. You know, it's a common thread.
You know, a lot of people I'm - I'm convinced have a common thread. I mean, for - for example, we all have dreams. Everybody has got a dream, you know?
HOLMES: Yes. Yes.
WOLF: And - and I've got a story to share with you about a guy who has a dream. Not unusual, but he happens to be a father. Also not unusual. But he's also a grandfather and a great-grandfather who's attending Strayer University in North Charleston, South Carolina. But he's also 77 years old.
Meet this guy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Seventy-seven- year-old Edward Guest may look like a professor, but the Navy veteran and cancer survivor is actually a student.
EDWARD GUEST, STUDENT: This is one for tonight.
WOLF (on camera): English comp.
E. GUEST: English comp.
WOLF (voice-over): Guest is attending Strayer University in North Charleston, South Carolina, working toward a degree in marketing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What fuels your passion? What motivates you? What - what drives you?
WOLF: For Guest, that question is like fuel stoking fires of a dream that began more than a generation ago.
Married with four sons, Guest retired from the Navy after 21 years of service and started college at the age of 42. He reached his junior year but had to stop taking classes.
E. GUEST: I've always wanted to finish out what I started several -- about 25, 26 years ago. And I decided now is the time.
WOLF: So in December of 2011, at the ripe age of 80, Guest will obtain his degree. That decision has made him a source of inspiration.
(on camera): You're a father. You're a grandfather. You're a great-grandfather. And (INAUDIBLE) that you're - you're also a role model for all these people in your family.
E. GUEST: I sure hope so.
WOLF: Well, especially the younger ones, what do you hope they can take from your experience?
E. GUEST: That it is possible to obtain a college degree, if you want to.
WOLF (voice-over): His wife of 57 years agrees.
JOAN GUEST, EDWARD'S WIFE: I thought it was a great idea, because if he's doing something, he's not driving me crazy.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: But Ed isn't driving his schoolmates and teachers nuts. In fact, he's the big man on campus. And he's the oldest among Strayer's 50,000 students nationwide.
(on camera): Is it kind of an inspirational thing to see someone who's 77 years old, who some people would say should be fishing, maybe on the golf course, maybe doing something else besides being in school?
RON SILBERBERG, STRAYER UNIVERSITY: It's incredibly inspirational. In -- in classes that I have taught, I've had students in their late 50s. I haven't had anyone as old as Ed. But it's - it is just a - a - a very exciting aspect of what we do to realize that we're that relevant to people throughout their whole lives.
WOLF (voice-over): Proving that you are never too old to learn.
(on camera): What do you hope to - hope to achieve long-term?
E. GUEST: I hope to be alive to get my degree.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: What did he say?
WOLF: He said - he said he hopes to be alive.
BALDWIN: Alive.
WOLF: I - I - I think he's going to outlive us all.
BALDWIN: Yes. Yes. Good for him.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Yes, a determined guy. He's smart as a whip. And I think this is going to be pretty simple for him. I mean, just a - just a great, inspiring story, letting you know that...
BALDWIN: Seventy-seven.
WOLF: Yes, you're never - never too old. So...
BALDWIN: Right on. That's a good story.
WOLF: You bet.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Renny.
BALDWIN: Hey, Josh Levs, how was your Halloween?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Actually, we did pretty well. My - my son scored just a giant pumpkin bag full of candy.
BALDWIN: That's nice.
LEVS: We had to bribe him with a piece though to get him to stay out a little longer than he wanted to.
But you know what we got from all over the country? We got so many wild, impressive and sometimes crazy Halloween pictures and videos. We've been picking out the best IReports. We're going to show you coming up.
HOLMES: All right, Josh. We will see you here shortly. Also, we are following a breaking story out of Afghanistan. We have all been watching and waiting for the upcoming runoff election incoming in a week. But a week before, the man who was challenging President Hamid Karzai has decided to drop out of the race.
What does this mean moving forward for the U.S., for U.S. troops and also for the people of Afghanistan?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right. Checking our top stories here.
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah calling it quits, withdrawing overnight from the runoff election that was scheduled for next Saturday. Abdullah says the Afghan people should not accept results of an election from the current election commission. Remember, the first election in August was marked by widespread fraud.
HOLMES: A search-and-rescue operation continues for nine people who disappeared after their aircraft collided off the south California coast. Two pilots on a Marine helicopter were on a routine training mission when their aircraft collided with a Coast Guard plane that had seven people on it. Other agencies, including the Navy and Marine Corps, have all joined in the search that began on Thursday.
BALDWIN: And an Iraqi father who has been on the run after police said he ran over his own daughter. Well, he's back in Arizona, booked on charges of aggravated assault. Police arrested Hassan Almaleki after he refused entry into London.
He is accused of running over his daughter because he felt she was abandoning her traditional Muslim upbringing for more conventional Western values. Police say he drove into Mexico before boarding a plane into London.
His daughter, by the way, still in the hospital in serious condition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: All right. We invited you to send in your Halloween photos and videos. I'm sure these are interesting. We have a team going through them, picking out the best and the most airable...
BALDWIN: Most airable.
HOLMES: ...ones. Because...
BALDWIN: Most creative.
HOLMES: There's some strange stuff out there on Halloween.
BALDWIN: Yes. Josh Levs, take a look at ...
LEVS: Yes.
BALDWIN: ...some of those IReports and Halloween pictures. What - what are you finding?
LEVS: Well, T.J.'s right about airable. There's certain things can't quite make the cut.
Speaking of cut, take a look here. Some people do get kind of ghoulish, even bloody about this. But some people go all out. It's kind of amazing. This is a spread we have up for you now of CNN.com that takes you through some of these. You can just click on which one you want to see.
Let's take a look at this. This is a vampire castle. We got this from Wendy Bell (ph). She saw this home in Oakland, Florida. Oh, she's even got some music going along with it. These people spend weeks, maybe months preparing whatever it is they're going to put out there. And I'll tell you, some people go crazy.
And this is a home near Hollywood.
(MUSIC)
LEVS: Toluca Lake, California. It is kind of amazing how far people will go.
Now some people, of course, doing the more-innocent version. You can see, this is some scarecrow images that were taken in - at a - kind of a - a scarecrow, I guess, themed party that took place in - in Central Park in New York. People going all out. Really, some people taking weeks, months.
And this is just the cute stuff from Malibu, California. Julie Ellerton (ph) sent us this. Little tiny kids having a party in a safe area, dressed as Shirley Temple, bumblebees and that kind of thing.
We also have a spread I think people are going to have a lot of fun with. This is Heidi Klum over the year - this was on the main page of CNN.com last night as our main story. It's still one of our most popular stories. She has a big Halloween party every year, and each year, she goes kind of crazy. You can check out here over the year.
And you know what? Since Brooke wasn't here yesterday and didn't get to see this, we're going to revisit what people are all over the country are now talking about thanks to us.
An IReporter sent us this song that he thinks just might be the new Halloween anthem. It's his own rap. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(RAPPING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: He calls it "Ghost on a Stick." He even has this refrain, we can see it now. It says, "Put your hands in the air if you've got on a ghost on a stick."
You know, it's really catchy. We played it once yesterday and dozens of people were walking around the newsroom singing after that. Is it going to catch it on or is it dead? Who knows?
But look, we'll keep them coming. Lots of people waking up this morning, you've got your photos, your videos.
There it is. Send us your photos, your videos, your stories, all to CNN IReport. We'd love to see what you've got. And we'll keep updating you right here, guys.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) ghost on a stick.
LEVS: Seriously, I could take over the airwaves.
HOLMES: I think Jay-Z can sleep well.
BALDWIN: Yes, I think so, too.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right.
BALDWIN: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: All right. We were asking a lot of you - did you get to dress up? Did you do the Halloween thing?
BALDWIN: I didn't.
HOLMES: You did not. OK.
BALDWIN: I went to a little party and dressed up my dog. I have become that person.
HOLMES: You (INAUDIBLE). OK.
BALDWIN: I have. (INAUDIBLE).
Did you dress up?
HOLMES: Of course not. I don't do Halloween. I was a sports fan. I was watching the games and all that.
BALDWIN: Your house was dark. No love for the kids.
HOLMES: I turned the lights off. I'm sorry.
BALDWIN: Awful.
HOLMES: All right.
BALDWIN: Awful. HOLMES: But we were asking you all for the past couple days what you all were going to be for Halloween. And you wrote in, and some of these are quite good.
I will start with some of the simplest ones.
BALDWIN: Airable one.
HOLMES: On the face - yes, certainly - well, I might be crossing the line on a couple.
Well, the first, Shaleesa (ph), says she's going to be a naughty kitty. That's simple enough.
Somebody else says a football player.
Someone else says, "I'm going to be asleep."
Someone else, "King Leonidas of the Spartans." Hope you have the body to pull that off.
Someone else says, "I'm going to be a Republican holding a "no" sign.
Someone else, "A candy-giving mom at the door."
But my favorite comes from the Twitter page. Someone says, "I'm going as Taylor Swift. My man is Kanye West. I'll be prepared to be interrupted all night."
BALDWIN: Hmm.
HOLMES: Very nice.
BALDWIN: Did you see - did you see the guyphone?
HOLMES: The guy - I saw him, yes.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) - the guy, yes. We - the costume cost this guy, like, a thousand bucks.
HOLMES: Yes, that thing was heavy.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: With 42-inch TV (INAUDIBLE).
BALDWIN: Wonder how many Balloon Boys and Sarah Palins there were.
HOLMES: You know there were some Balloon Boys out there.
BALDWIN: I just - I love to see how creative - creative people get.
All right. Well, we (INAUDIBLE) HOLMES: Well, thank you all for sending those.
BALDWIN: Speaking of politicians...
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: ....there were some politicians last night gearing up for some big races here. The Democratic candidates for governor both in New Jersey and Virginia counting on the president for their support. But the question is: Will it be enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello again, and welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Good morning, I'm Brooke Baldwin sitting in for Betty Nguyen.
It is the first of November and we have a breaking story overnight out of Afghanistan. Let's get right to it, checking our top stories here.
Just overnight, Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah announced his withdrawal from next weekend's runoff election. Dr. Abdullah says he believes a second round of voting would be just as fraudulent as the first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AFGHANISTAN: Whatever happens, at the end of the day, it's the interests of this campaign, this nation, which matters most.
But at the same time, the people of Afghanistan have struggled for so long. And I mentioned, that 22 years of war, one character of that time, the people of Afghanistan were denied of their votes -the right to vote. The people of Afghanistan do have the right to vote. It's for all of us to make it possible and turn it into a credible process, but unfortunately, in the past few years, as we see, the situation has been deteriorating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: After his news conference earlier today, Christiane Amanpour had a one-on-one interview with Abdullah Abdullah. We'll bring that to you at the top of the hour and we'll also take you to Washington, get some reaction from the White House, coming up.
Also, if you heard this story, in Ohio, six bodies, all women, all apparently strangled. A Cleveland, Ohio man has been arrested in connection with the discovery of these bodies at his home. Police have been looking for the 50-year-old since Thursday. And a coroner tells CNN it appears the decomposing bodies could have been at his home for weeks, possibly months, possibly years. And a senior Iranian lawmaker is opposing a draft plan to enrich the nation's uranium abroad. He says more talks are needed on how to supply fuel to the reactor in Tehran. The U.S.-backed deal calls for Iran's uranium to being refined outside of the country, and then shipped back in a form usable for civilian purposes.
HOLMES: The first week in November is always a hot week in the world of politics. Democratic candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia are counting on one more boost from President Obama before Tuesday's election. And the man who ran President Obama's campaign has written a new tell-all. The book is out on Tuesday, but the revelations starting to leak out, as they often do. Paul Steinhauser, always getting a bit of a preview. Here to give us one now, he's out deputy political director
Let's start with this book then. What is the biggest revelation we've been able to get through these leaks so far?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR: We've gotten some excerpts from the book, which comes out on Tuesday, election day. One written (ph) since President Obama got elected, the book by David Plouffe, of course, who was the campaign manager for Barack Obama.
What we've seen in these excerpts is interesting. Hillary Clinton, remember back in 2008 right after Clinton dropped out, that tough primary between her and Barack Obama. Well, Plouffe writes in the book that Barack Obama was very seriously considering, even more so than we thought, very seriously considering Hillary Clinton to be his running mate. That so-called dream ticket.
But Plouffe writes in the book, according to the excerpts, that the thing that probably dissuaded Obama, in the end, was the complications that could a rise because of Hillary Clinton's husband, the former President Bill Clinton, T.J.
HOLMES: Just want to call those complications, huh? There are a lot of words for what that could mean.
Let's turn to the president and doing some campaigning. He's been campaigning for maybe his health care reform plan. This time he's campaigning in some other elections. We'll talk about New Jersey here. Back there, a race there, how close is it in that governor's race there? Is it close enough that the president can make a difference?
STEINHAUSER: Yeah, its it's as you can get. All the most recent polls basically show the race a statistical tie. And you have two days away now until election day, and Jon Corzine, he is the governor there, he's the Democrat. He's an incumbent governor in a Democratic state, a Democratic governor, he should have an easier election, but because of the tough economic times, he is fighting for his will life.
But there's a third party candidate in the race, which means really, for Corzine, what does he need to do? Get those Democrats out there to vote big time. How do you do that? You bring Barack Obama up there. And that's what he's doing. He's coming back again, later today, a rally in Camden, then a rally in Newark. And the hope here is that Barack Obama, the rock star, that is he among Democrats, can excite the crowds and make sure that Jon Corzine gets those Democratic voters to the polls on Tuesday, T.J..
HOLMES: What about Virginia? Can he help out there?
STEINHAUSER: He has been to Virginia twice. He was just there a couple of days ago, but the Democrats are in a little bit of trouble here. The most recent polls in Virginia suggest that the Republican candidate, Bob McDonald, is up by double digits, over Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate.
This race is interesting, T.J.. This one, since there's no incumbent here, this race, while it's a state race, with state issues, is also partially considered like a referendum, an early referendum on Barack Obama and how he's done so far in the White House. But as of now, the Democrats aren't so motivated in that state it seems, and the Republicans have the upper hand, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you. We appreciate your insights.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: You have heard and probably seen video of all these long lines for theH1N1 vaccine. You're looking at video from Washington County, thousands of people waiting for the shot. Ten drive-through clinics, the wait, they say, lasted for hours and hours, causing all kinds of traffic backups. The clinics had 28,000 free shots to give out, but they had to start turning people away by 10:15 in the morning.
HOLMES: However, have no fear, the government says more of the vaccine is on the way. That's at least according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who spoke to us yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY, HHS: This piece of the puzzle is relying on manufacturers, and we're dealing with five of them, to give us numbers of what they thought their production schedule was, when we thought we would get the vaccine. Unfortunately, they were overly optimistic and we gave those numbers to the American public. And we're now in a situation where we have less than we initially predicted.
The good news is that we have, as of yesterday, 26.6 million doses out and around the country. We are expecting another 10 million doses next week. So the vaccine is beginning to roll in larger volumes, and it's being distributed as quickly as it comes off the line.
HOLMES: And Ma'am, you mentioned there, 26.6 million. At this point, I believe you were expecting and hoping for about 40 million doses. So what does that do for us moving forward and for the health of in this country, quite frankly? A lot of people, as we know, this thing continues to spread, become more widespread. So I guess how much does this essentially hurt the health of this country by being behind on these numbers?
SEBELIUS: Well, we have a vaccine that works, and in the meantime, believe me, I can fully understand the anxiety of parents who are really worried about their kids. I'm a mom. I share that. I know how frustrating it is to stand in line, for hours, and many not get what you came for in the first place. That's infuriating.
We really want to remind people, though, that there are some people who will likely get very ill, and could potentially die, who are in much more priority situations. Children with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, we need them to get to the front of the line. A lot of people will get the flu and it will be the flu. A couple of days feeling really lousy, but they'll be fine at the end of the day. So as the vaccine rolls out, the priority groups are so important to make sure we don't have hospitalizations and more deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Secretary Sebelius says she and her family have not been vaccinated yet, and that is because they do not fall into one of those priority groups.
Also is this one of the topics you can find on our blog here at CNN.com/tj, or CNN.com/betty.
All right. What are you doing in Guatemala, climbing things? What's going on?
BALDWIN: Climbing stuff. Yeah, at the top of what may be the largest pyramid, by volume, in the world. Kind of a cool trip.
HOLMES: Sounds like.
BALDWIN: Can't say I'd ever been to a jungle before. Talked with some anthropologists who are trying to preserve this pyramid. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN (On camera): The shear size of this area that is El Mirador, just one single Mayan city, archeologist Doctor Richard Hanson says it size is larger than all of Downtown Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Why it is such a mysterious place and maybe one of many more to find.
HOLMES: All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: I'm going to check out some of our top stories, now. Rescue crews searched overnight for nine people who disappeared when a Coast Guard collided with a Marine helicopter off Southern California. Coast Guard officials says last night that there was still a chance of finding survivors because they have access to heat retaining dry suits.
BALDWIN: An Iraqi dad, who has been on the run after police said he ran over his daughter, is back in Arizona booked on charges of aggravated assault. We're talking about Hassan Amalaki (ph). Police arrested him after he was refused entry into London. This man is accused of running his daughter over, in a parking lot, because he felt she was abandoning her traditional Muslim upbringing for more conventional Western values. Police say he drove into Mexico before boarding this plane into London. His daughter is still in the hospital listed in serious condition.
HOLMES: And a somber All-Saints Day being observed in the Philippines after the fourth major storm in a month; 14 people died, four missing now, after Typhoon Mirinae roared ashore Saturday. Because some cemeteries are submerged beneath those floodwaters people can only get there by boat. More than 800 people have died in the string of storms since late September.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We turned the clocks back an hour last night.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we did. So we were supposed to get an extra hour. However, the game last night, the Yankee game, Phillies it was delay by about an hour and 10 minutes. Didn't help much.
WOLF: Didn't seem to hurt the Yankees, though.
HOLMES: Didn't hurt them at all.
WOLF: No, they hit the ball very hard, and very far.
HOLMES: Very far.
WOLF: Yes, just sort of -the Yankees are just the Yankees.
You know, New York, by the way, this morning, a lot of sports going on there. We're talking about the marathon that gets understand way in a very short time. Temperatures there mainly into the 50s, scattered showers. We have a live image for you out of New York.
We will show that for you in mere moments. And there it is. Take a look at that. You've got the lows which you had, looks not that bad from this point. You see a little bit of sunshine coming through.
But if you look back towards the weather computer, and you look at radar, it's an entirely different story. You see the scattered showers popping up. Here is downtown New York, right here, you farther north up towards White Plains, even back out to Long Island. This rainfall just keeps on coming down.
It's not going to be particularly heavy. We're not looking at like flooding situation, but there could be some slick spots on roadways, possibly some ponding, and some -- T.J., come here for a second. Let's turn the camera.
HOLMES: I was trying to catch the weather for the marathon today.
WOLF: That's right.
HOLMES: All right, thanks.
WOLF: We had to catch him. We had to.
All right. Meantime, what we'll see with those raindrops is we'll be seeing that area of low pressure continue its march out to the sea. And it does so, we'll see that moisture coming in from the Atlantic. Scattered showers going to be an issue not only from New York, as far north as Boston, but as far south as the Carolinas. High pressure building into the Ohio Valley, should give you pretty dry conditions. Same story in Texas; West Coast same deal. And then when you get back up into the Northern and Central Rockies, Yellowstone National Park may see a foot of snowfall in the high peaks. Maybe a light dusting in the valleys. That is a look at your forecast.
Let's head back to you guys and I guess, a very humiliated T.J.
HOLMES: I like to give you an audience and let you know that I'm paying attention -
BALDWIN: And standing by the camera and doing this deal.
HOLMES: It was not doing that.
WOLF: I really is heartfelt.
BALDWIN: Sure.
HOLMES: We appreciate you, Reynolds,
WOLF: Thanks, guys.
BALDWIN: Thanks, Reynolds.
HOLMES: All right. We've got 2,000 kids showing up at the White House to trick-or-treat yesterday. But the kids weren't the only ones wearing costumes.
BALDWIN: No, we have some pictures from the first lady. Consider this a new cat, if you will, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. She looks good.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Psycho? BALDWIN: Psycho, maybe?
WOLF: Think so, yeah.
HOLMES: All right.
BALDWIN: So, obviously you guys I'm sure yesterday talked all about Halloween?
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: Now today we get the pictures to prove what some people were up to, including, a the White House. How cool would this be, to be able to say, hey, I trick-or-treated with the Obamas?
WOLF: That would be cool. Knock, knock, Mr. President, give me something.
BALDWIN: Pretty good candy, too. Right? Look at the pictures about. They lit it up, a nice bright orange there in Washington. 2,000 kids from 11 area schools, Virginia, Maryland, D.C., got to go. The president and first lady handing out treats.
I guess apparently one of the cooks from the White House kitchen actually made these cookies, special, and they were also handing out these M&Ms. And we have pictures maybe of --- I don't know what that is.
HOLMES: You got me.
BALDWIN: Some leaf thing?
HOLMES: Maybe that was Robert Gibbs, dressed up as something.
BALDWIN: Darth Vader, wasn't he Darth Vader?
HOLMES: I don't know.
BALDWIN: Look at that, though.
HOLMES: That's cool. To go to the White House on Halloween that's cool.
BALDWIN: Mrs. Obama was a cat, a cat woman. There she is.
WOLF: There she is. Looks good.
BALDWIN: There she is. She does look good.
How about you guys?
WOLF: There's Gibbs. Is that Gibbs? Yes, as Darth Vader without the helmet.
BALDWIN: Darth Vader. Susan Rice.
HOLMES: Ann Rice, excuse me I've got vampires on the brain. Forgive me there, about that, Ambassador Rice.
WOLF: There's a poor man's Big Bird that we saw a moment ago.
BALDWIN: There is the president.
WOLF: There is the president. The president looks good.
BALDWIN: Not dressed up.
HOLMES: He went as himself.
BALDWIN: Himself, hmm.
BALDWIN: What about -- did you dress up?
WOLF: I did not. And I have no idea what that last thing is that we just saw, but that was probably the spookiest thing of all, which is probably best unsolved just who and what it might have been.
HOLMES: All right. We have these pictures now, some of our people here.
WOLF: Ah, come on. I know you're proud.
HOLMES: This is where we're going to start here. This is --
BALDWIN: This is my mom and my dog.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness gracious.
BALDWIN: This is what happens when my boyfriend leaves the country to work on a story.
HOLMES: When does he get back?
BALDWIN: He's already like -he is so mad at me. I gave him a little picture of it, but, yeah, had this is my pug. Let me just say I've never dressed him up in a costume ever, and my mom got a hold of this -uh, a fairy princess.
Look at now - how cute was this? We went to the neighborhood party and this is another adorable little girl, in the neighborhood. So we had two princesses.
WOLF: All right.
HOLMES: I don't even know what to -
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Let's go to Doug, yes! One of our fabulous writers, a dear friend of our, and a his son, Mikey here.
BALDWIN: So cute.
WOLF: Handsome boy. HOLMES: The skull -yes, good looking kid there. Skull and boy, that is some normal stuff.
Now, here is the Wolf playing here.
WOLF: Yes, that's casa de Wolf. My wife took that shot. That's in our front yard, front door. That is Landry, that is in the purple. The green that is Tinker Bell, my oldest daughter.
BALDWIN: Tinker Bell, with pea green shoes, so cute.
WOLF: Yes, she was an angry Tinker Bell that night.
HOLMES: She is preoccupied, it appears, in the picture.
WOLF: Again, four pounds of candy consumed. Good times.
HOLMES: Aaah!
BALDWIN: Aahh! Look at everyone, in the newsroom. Aaah.
HOLMES: This is Miles Murphy, he is the son of one of our copy editors here, Tracy Murphy. What is the outfit? Somebody help me.
BALDWIN: Somebody yell at us?
WOLF: Handsome kid.
BALDWIN: Dragon.
HOLMES: A dragon? OK?
WOLF: Good looking dragon.
HOLMES: That's OK, Tracy, we'll go with that.
BALDWIN: Love those pictures.
HOLMES: So we have to share that stuff. A big night for a lot of folks, it is supposed to be ghosts and goblins and scary stuff. But it is a big family night for a lot of folks and a lot of folks got out with their kids or their dogs, or whatever it may be.
BALDWIN: Right, lots of candy. Good.
HOLMES: Thank, Reynolds and thanks for our crew for sharing those pictures.
The breaking story, in the pictures, and he's been in a lot of pictures here lately. And all eyes on this man. That is Abdullah Abdullah, who has decided he does not want to participate in the runoff elections, so Hamid Karzai is the only man participating. What will this mean now, moving forward for the future of that country?
BALDWIN: We will be going live to the capital city of Kabul to find out how this affects the election. Again, that happening Saturday. Apparently ballots already printed, Abdullah Abdullah's name still on them.
And then we'll go to Washington, we'll get some response from the White House, the Obama administration, on how this may affect the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: For years, thousands of years really, an ancient Mayan city covered by the canopy of the jungle in Guatemala, lost to civilization until just recently. This team of archeologist has found this forgotten city of El Mirador and it contains what is believed to be the largest pyramid, in volume, in the world. It's called Le Danta. I was recently in northern Guatemala to get the story, which is a story you'll only see here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice over): From the air, it looks like just jungle, but these forests in Guatemala hide an ancient secret, the city of Mirador, often referred to as the cradle of Mayan civilization, the size of a modern-day metropolis.
This is no mountain. It is a pyramid. And according to Mirador Basin Project, it may be the largest pyramid, by volume, in the world. CNN is traveling with the project's director and lead archeologist Richard Hanson and the founder of the Global Heritage Fund Jeff Morgan.
The pyramid La Danta, is a structure the world should know, because of the -- because it represents an investment of labor, unprecedented in the word history. Every single stone in that building, from the bottom to the top, was carried by human labor.
BALDWIN: And the work to save this pyramid is delicate, done by hand. Guatemalan archeologists painstakingly help uncover pieces of history built by their ancestors. And the view from the top of La Danta, spectacular.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the summit of the Mayan world.
BALDWIN (On camera): Here at the top of La Danta, we are 72 meters, or about 224 feet from the forest floor. And when we talk about shear size of this area that is El Mirador, just one single Mayan city, archaeologist Doctor Richard Hanson says its size is larger than all of downtown Los Angeles. And, he says, there are still thousands of pyramids yet to be uncovered.
(voice over): Then Doctor Hanson shows us something few people have ever seen. A relic referred to as the Popol Vuh, the Mayan story of creation.
(On camera): Oh, my gosh.
(voice over): CNN cameras are the first to capture this fresh discovery, which Hanson says will rewrite Mayan history.
(On camera): But this is the creation story, of the Mayan people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the creation story. And it goes back to at least 300, 200 B.C.
BALDWIN (voice over): For decades historians believe the Popol Vuh was tainted by the Catholic views of Spanish conquistadors. Finding this frieze changes everything because it predates the Spanish arrival by more than a millennium.
The challenge now is preserving this area, a jungle constantly under threat by narco-traffickers, loggers and cattle ranchers. Hanson's guards are on constant stand by to keep looters out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are we have had guards in cities, throughout the basin, we haven't (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Where we haven't had the resources for that, we have lost 100 percent.
BALDWIN: Hanson has made Mirador his life's work and hopes to share these Mayan secrets with Guatemala and the world.
HANSON: Science for the sake of science is sterile, if it doesn't bless the lives of people. And by conserving this, we're blessing the lives of an entire nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And speaking of La Danta, obviously, one of the reasons we went down, we were the first crew in the world, it's pretty cool for me to be able to say, to be able to shoot this piece, on what may be the largest pyramid in the world, by volume, and the question is, our first questions is how is it maybe the largest. Because you think about the pyramids in Egypt and they're still looking into the base of this pyramid.
You are looking at the Popol Vuh, that is the Mayan creation story.
But the base of this pyramid, they're not quite sure if the Mayans, if it is actually man-made, or if it's part of the hill. So that's what they're looking into. But with the Popol Vuh, I mean, it really will be rewriting Mayan history. I got Mayan 101 going down there. And I've become a total geek when it comes to archeology.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: That's not a bad way to become a geek. You know something -
BALDWIN: Get to see it first hand, right?
HOLMES: How was the climb?
BALDWIN: It was nothing.
HOLMES: It was nothing?
BALDWIN: Yes, you could do it. Wasn't that bad.
HOLMES: OK, it wasn't bad then.
BALDWIN: When you think about what you may be able to see when you go to the top, it is just total adrenaline.
HOLMES: Well, thank you. Glad we have you here to walk us through it this weekend.
BALDWIN: Thanks for having it on.
HOLMES: No, thank you for bringing that to us. Thank you for being here.
And thank you all for being here, as well, on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And it is November 1st. We are sitting in Atlanta, Georgia at the CNN Center. Good morning to you all. Thanks for being here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Good morning, happy Sunday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Betty Nguyen is off this Sunday morning.
Remember we got to gain an hour overnight. It is 7:00 a.m., check your clock. It is 7 a.m., here East Coast; 6:00 o'clock in Chicago, 4:00 a.m., nice and early for folks in Seattle. Thank you for starting your November with us.
HOLMES: Yes, and we are starting with a major development we got overnight -- really just a few hours ago. Official word that the man who is challenging Hamid Karzai in the presidential election in Afghanistan has decided to drop out. We are going to be talking about what this means moving forward. Also, you will be hearing from that challenger who dropped out, Abdullah Abdullah, in a one-on-one interview with our Christiane Amanpour.
BALDWIN: We'll also be talking about the economy. The latest number we're getting: 7,000 jobless Americans a day losing their life lines. But hopefully, help will be on the one. We'll talk and delve more into the economy and Afghanistan.
HOLMES: All right. Let's talk about Afghanistan now. That new twist -- major twist -- in Afghanistan's efforts to elect a president, Abdullah Abdullah says he will not take part in the runoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whatever happens, at the end of the day, it's the interests of this country and this nation which matters most. But at the same time, the people of Afghanistan have a struggle for so long and I mentioned that 22 years of war -- one character of that time, the people of Afghanistan were denied of their votes and the right to vote. And the people of Afghanistan do have the right to vote. It's for all of us to make it possible and turn it in into a credible process. But unfortunately, in the past few years, as we see, the situation has been deteriorating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Nima Elbagir is with us from Kabul this morning.
Nima, just break this down to the simplest possible. He says he's not participating. Why?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dr. Abdullah had made a series of demands, including the dismissal of the chief of the Independent Electoral Commission, as well as the dismissal of three cabinet members who had been campaigning on behalf of President Karzai. And he said that once he realized to those demands wouldn't be met, once you realized that -- as he puts it -- the infrastructure of fraud was still in place, he said he believed that it would be impossible to go through a second round election and reach a legitimate result. And at that point, he said that he felt the Afghan people deserved better, which is why he decided to withdraw from the second round runoff.
HOLMES: How does he or does he plain how -- he says it legitimate with him in the race, so how is it going to be legitimate with him out of the race?
ELBAGIR: Well, interestingly, we spoke to the chief of the Independent Electoral Commission. He says that they're currently deliberating now, and that the IEC will officially -- will formally meet, the seven commissioners will be meeting tomorrow morning, but interestingly, people within with Abdullah's camp have been saying to us that the only option now for President Hamid Karzai to achieve legitimacy is to go back to the traditional Afghan message to a loya jirga, which is a gathering of the political and tribal leaders in the country and try and really thresh this out at the grassroots level, doing it the old-fashioned way.
HOLMES: Have you gotten much reaction yet on the ground there? What are the people there think who had already had to go through one election process, then being told they had to go out and vote again in a runoff after -- under the threat of the Taliban, and now, they're being told that one candidate has dropped out? Whether they're supporters of Abdullah or Karzai, what are you hearing?
ELBAGIR: Well, I think you really have to bear in mind, T.J., that people were very, very disheartened by the wide scale fraud that happened in the first round of these elections. And I think almost in a way the fact that Dr. Abdullah has pulled out, is giving a lot of people here hope that perhaps something might be salvaged from this election.
But interestingly, what we're hearing from members of the international community is that there really isn't any appetite for a second round runoff to go through when there is so many -- when it will be at such a cost in terms of resources, in terms of -- as you said in the first round this was such a risk for the lives of both the observers, the monitors, the troops on the ground and the people voting. So, the sense that you're getting here is that people want to try and resolve this without going to a second round runoff in the absence of Dr. Abdullah if they can.
HOLMES: Nima Elbagir for us in Kabul -- thank you so much as always.
And after his announcement, Abdullah talked with CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
BALDWIN: Christiane is in Abu Dhabi. She spoke via telephone hookup with Dr. Abdullah. Here's a piece of that interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): How do you think your decision will affect the U.S. and NATO military posture on the ground going forward? Because I know you say you've supported the intervention of the U.S. and NATO forces to try to stabilize your country.
ABDULLAH: Of course, it's a major factor, or perhaps the main factor for stabilization of this country -- though as an Afghan, I would have liked to see Afghanistan moving forward of that eight years of international engagement upon us and being in a position to call for lesser troops or lesser engagements. But that's the reality that we are faced with. The future of that engagement will depend on the partner, the Afghan partner -- legitimacy of the partner as well as credibility of the partner and effectiveness of the partner to deliver on its own mission to the people of Afghanistan.
So, together Afghanistan -- the situation in Afghanistan could change. So I have no doubt in my mind that this is an important factor, the -- who are you dealing with in Afghanistan, who is your partner, and -- or what team or what ideas are pursued here in Afghanistan. Is it helpful in terms of -- terms of contributing to you democratic process -- contribution to the democratic process or stabilization of this country.
AMANPOUR: So do you think that there should be a ramped up U.S. involvement there?
ABDULLAH: I didn't get your point. Sorry.
AMANPOUR: I just said -- do you think that there should be increased U.S. involvement, increased NATO involvement in Afghanistan now?
ABDULLAH: There is no doubt. There is no doubt that that is needed at this stage. But that alone on its own, as a sole factor, for stabilization of this had country -- if this is your question, whether that would work or not, so unfortunately, there are a lot of doubts. There is a need for more increased involvement in Afghanistan, but together, it should reverse the situation. It should stop the deterioration of the situation and Afghan side should assume increasing responsibility in that course. Do we see that happening or not that? That will decide the outcome of the engagement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We will have a whole lot more of Christiane's interview. Christiane has more on the Afghanistan election today on "AMANPOUR." That is at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
So, that is the situation in Afghanistan. We want to see now what is coming out of the White House this early Sunday regarding this major development in Afghanistan.
And Elaine Quijano -- up early for us there in Washington.
And, Elaine, really in the last week, the question wasn't if Dr. Abdullah would quit this race but what he would say when he dropped out. So, that can't be a surprise to the Obama administration. Are we hearing at all from the president yet?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nothing from the president just yet. But you're absolutely right, this certainly was not a surprise.
A senior administration official told me though that this in no way, from the White House's view at least, affects the credibility of the process and in no way affects the legitimacy in the U.S.'s mind of the Afghanistan government. This official says that the administration thinks that the political system is working, that back on August 20th, there was some first round election, fraudulent ballots were investigated and thrown out, and now, the official says this runoff is in accordance with Afghan laws.
And it's interesting, it's pretty much the same sentiment that we heard from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She's traveling right now in the Middle East. But she was asked about this very issue yesterday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I do not think that that in any way affects the legitimacy. And I would just add that when President Karzai accepted the second round without knowing what the consequences and outcome would be, that bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward, and Dr. Abdullah's decision does not in any way take away from that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: So, as for the next steps, the senior official would only tell me that the U.S. is looking forward to working with the next Afghan government -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Elaine, let's say legitimacy and constitutionality aside here, how might this move affects the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan? We know the president met with the Joint Chiefs Friday. How may this affect U.S. strategy going forward in Afghanistan?
QUIJANO: You know, that's still pretty much an open question, Brooke. But, again, legitimacy and credibility are the two buzz words that we've been hearing about.
It was a few weeks ago in fact that the White House was saying, "Look, it doesn't matter how many troops you send, if you don't have a legitimate, credible pardoner in place." Well, now, again, you heard from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, we heard from a senior official what they were saying, that they don't think the legitimacy of the Afghanistan government is in question here.
How is that going to translate to additional troops? We'll just have to wait and see -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Elaine Quijano live us in Washington this early Sunday -- Elaine, thank you.
And just to explain here, there were a lot of factors at play when it comes to the situation in Afghanistan. And really it intricately links back to our national security. If the Taliban goes unchecked, it could mean the ranks in al Qaeda will grow. National security analyst Peter Bergen -- he will be here on CNN, joining us in less than an hour to truly bring the story home. T.J. will have that.
HOLMES: Also, a last-minute campaign push from President Obama today. He'll be at rallies for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. The Democrat is in a tight race with Republican Chris Christie and also independent Chris Daggett.
And tomorrow, the president meets with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. And Tuesday, he's attending a summit between the U.S. and the European Union. Wednesday, he's visiting a middle school in Wisconsin to talk about, what else, education. Thursday, the president is hosting the White House Tribal Nations Conference.
BALDWIN: Well, this is the week that jobless benefits might be extended -- a lot of people waiting for that decision to come down. So if you are unemployed, if you don't have a job, you will want to hear what you will be getting paid and, of course, when.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And a quick programming note for you. The USS New York, that's the ship made using the same steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, sails in for a very special homecoming tomorrow morning. CNN anchor Heidi Collins will be talking to some of those closest to the attack. She will take us to the preparations currently underway to honor the men and women lost on 9/11. That is beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning, of course, in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Are they -- are they going to make it through this race up in New York today, weather permitting? Is the weather going to permit?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They are going to run. These people are going to run.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: If there was a blizzard, these folks are so excited about going there. I mean, it's not something you design after joining. You actually have to qualify to be in the marathon. So this is really something that people have really been working hard to get to. This is the climax after a great deal of work they've been putting into it and they're going to out and run.
Do you run, T.J.?
HOLMES: I do not, on the treadmill.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: I had a friend trying to encourage me to do a marathon, a half marathon. But, I -- no.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Well, I mean, these guys are going to have a good time out there today. Temperatures...
HOLMES: Forty thousand people out there.
WOLF: Forty thousand people with temperatures in the 50s, this is going to be fine. Some scattered showers though may be in the works, and we've got that shot we're going to show one more time again. If you're not much of a runner and you prefer from just kind of being back and watching it from a distance -- hey, there's some live images for you right there.
You see folks out there. They're not running just yet. They were limbering up, doing some stretching, making some small talk, getting ready for what should be a great afternoon for going out there. It should be just phenomenal.
You know, if you want to take a look from radar, the radar really tells the story. Any spot we happen to see greens or blue blips that pop out on the radar indicates very light precipitation. We're talking about tiny teeny rain droplets, nothing particularly heavy this time. And then right behind this frontal boundary that's moving to places like New York and then the White Plains in Westchester, that frontal boundary s going to push a little bit deeper in to the Atlantic, and when it does so, it's going to be replaced by a very dry air mass that's going to be coming through.
So, later this afternoon in New York, although you have the rain now, you may see some sunshine especially around 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 or should be just nice for you. Meanwhile, back as we make our way to, say, parts of the Great Lakes, it would be not out of the question to get a little bit of sunshine popping up in a few spots here or there. But the farther north you go, you're going to be mixing in with a few scattered showers. It might even have some snowflakes in the air of Minnesota or even into parts of the U.P. of Michigan. So, just be aware of that.
There's something else you might be dealing with, as we make our way into the afternoon, breezy conditions through parts of, say, Wyoming back up towards, say, a few spots like, say, Yellowstone National Park, you could see up to a foot of snow fall into the highest elevations, the central and northern Rockies.
Temperatures, though, in Denver, not bad, 54 degrees is the afternoon high. Temperatures outside the Staples Arena in Los Angeles, 81. Near Pier 39 in San Francisco, you're going to be in to the mid to upper 60s by the afternoon hours; 73 in Dallas, along parts of I-35, southward into Austin, same story. Houston with 75 degrees; 84 in Tampa.
Miami still feels kind of like summer out there with 87 degrees, but with the high humidity, it's going to feel like it's in the 90s. So, get out there and enjoy yourself.
That is the latest on the forecast. Let's send it back to you guys at the news desk.
BALDWIN: Good luck to all the runners in New York.
WOLF: Absolutely. It's hard work out there.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: You bet.
BALDWIN: Well, thousands of jobless Americans losing their unemployment benefits each and every day.
HOLMES: And Josh Levs is tracking down when the benefits might actually come back.
Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you guys.
The Senate might actually vote this week to extend it, but even if it does, there are more steps ahead. I'll explain -- I'm going to clear up my voice during the break -- coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Another check of our top stories now.
A runoff election with only one candidate, that's what's going to happen in Afghanistan apparently. Earlier today the opposition candidate, Abdullah Abdullah announced that he will not take part in Saturday's runoff with President Hamid Karzai. The runoff was forced after complaints of widespread fraud in the initial August election. Abdullah says he doesn't think the runoff will be free of fraud. BALDWIN: And a gruesome story out of Ohio. A Cleveland man has been arrested in connection with the discovery of six bodies, all at his home. The police have been looking for the 50-year-old Anthony Sowell since Thursday. All six victims, all female.
A coroner tells CNN it appears the women were strangled and their decomposing bodies could have been at that house for weeks, maybe months, possibly years.
HOLMES: And they are trying their best to get the bridge open for the Monday commute, but no word yet if that is going to happen. You see the bridge here, the Bay Bridge, the major artery from the East Bay over in Oakland to San Francisco has a double-decker bridge here, 280,000 cars pass it every single day. We need this thing up here in the Bay Area. Well, it has been closed -- this is a live picture -- been closed since Tuesday because some debris fell, totaled a few cars, thousands of pound.
Well, you got to get that fixed. They've been trying to. They're stress testing the thing how to make sure it can hold up, but still, they don't know for sure if they will have it open and up and running by the Monday commute. It's been closed since Tuesday evening.
And so, now this is the longest stretch of the closure of that bridge since the Loma Prieta earthquake. You remember the World Series quake, if you will, back in 1989. So what will they do? They're trying. I know it's a headache out there for you, folks, but they want to make sure that thing is safe. But this -- anybody who has been to the Bay Area knows they need that bridge to be opened and fully operational and functional every day.
BALDWIN: I feel like the last time we were sitting here we were talking about the Bay Bridge.
HOLMES: We were talking the Bay Bridge.
BALDWIN: So, again, we're talking about the Bay Bridge. Fingers crossed.
HOLMES: Yes. We hope they get it worked out.
BALDWIN: All right. The Senate might vote this week on a bill that would help many Americans struggling with unemployment.
HOLMES: Yes. This has been heavily debated actually. A lot of folks are running out of those jobless benefits, hoping for a badly needed extension. Josh Levs is following the story for us this morning.
Hello to you again, Josh.
LEVS: Hello to you guys. Seven thousand jobless Americans every day are losing those benefits. That's how bad it is. And there are some estimates that say that if they're not extended by the end of the year, there could be more than a million who lose their benefits right now.
Let's just show you what is happening at the Senate this week. I got a graphic for you, trying to make it really simple so you can understand. Basically, the Senate is looking at this bill right now. In their version of the bill, it would add a 14-week extension to unemployment benefits in all states.
And the next screen, we show you that in some states, it would actually be even more. Twenty-week extension in the states where unemployment is really high, it's over 8.5 percent. So, there's a bunch of states like that where people will get 20 weeks of unemployment.
Now, even if the Senate passes that, here's what's in the House version. The House version is different. The House version has a 13- week extension in states with high unemployment.
So what would happen is the Senate and the House would have to get together, kind of merge their two bills and come up with a final bill which then hopefully can make it through, and make to the president for signature.
Let me show out screen here how you can know whether your state is one of those states that would get the 20 weeks. Right at CNNMoney.com, we have that map for you. It's interactive. And it shows you the unemployment percentage in your state.
Just click on it right here. You can't miss it. Go to the main page of CNN.com. Click on "Money" on the top, every state you click on, we have updated unemployment figures and you just click on your state.
So, if you are in that 8.5 percent or higher, people inside your state would get 20 weeks. Obviously, there's a lot of financial concerns, as well: how do you pay for this, what happens with the money, what other kinds or varieties or what other legislation gets put inside that same bill, but that's where things stand now.
And we want to hear from you. Here's your graphic. You can get in touch with us with your stories, CNN.com/Josh, also Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. We definitely want to hear your stories about facing joblessness or looking for a job in this economy.
And, guys, next hour, I'll be back. We're going to look at why economists -- a pair of good news today -- are saying that jobs will not really return en masse until 2012. We're also going to have the best places to find green jobs in America and resources right here to help you find jobs that meet your skill set when they become available. All that next hour, guys.
BALDWIN: Josh Levs, thank you.
LEVS: You bet. Thanks.
BALDWIN: We are continuing our coverage of the breaking story out of Afghanistan overnight. The number two candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, former foreign minister, he is calling it quits, dropping out of this runoff. So, the question is, given the situation in Afghanistan, how might that affect our national security? We talk a lot about Afghanistan. We talk the Taliban and if the Taliban goes unchecked, it could mean the ranks of al Qaeda could grow.
HOLMES: Yes. We're going to be talking to our guy, who we always, of course, have his insights -- national security analyst Peter Bergen is going to be with us in less than an hour.
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HOLMES: That little thing, stay on that for a second.
BALDWIN: What is that thing?
HOLMES: That is a jack-o'-lantern, I guess, but it's made out of an old TV. One of our writers, Karen, came up with that. She makes these and I was giving her a hard time. She was telling me about it, but now that I saw it, that's pretty cool. That's pretty creative.
BALDWIN: It's very cool. How they -- is there just a covering over the TV, I guess?
HOLMES: Just a covering over the TV. She paints the TV orange.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: I hope she patents that because I just gave away her secrets.
BALDWIN: Saw it here, saw it here first, Karen. It's awesome.
HOLMES: You can get more information from our blog, if you'd like to order one of those fine television jack-o'-lanterns.
OK. We're going to turn on the same subject, still, Halloween, scary, spooky stuff. Edward Scissorshands, a lot of people remember that. Well, a guy is actually doing that at his barber shop.
BALDWIN: And just a guy, a barber.
HOLMES: A barber. He's been doing it for the past between years actually.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You see he's got little -- his fingers aren't sharp hopefully.
(INAUDIBLE)
BALDWIN: We kind of hear him. Yes, I guess, you know, kind of get the gloves on, and look (INAUDIBLE) scissorhands. But I guess he's been it doing it for a while. (INAUDIBLE). Remember the movie, 1990 -- would you believe? 1990, "Edward Scissorhands," Timothy Burton. This could have been worse. Would you trust this guy?
HOLMES: I don't trust anybody to cut my hair actually. This guy -- certainly not this guy. But, no, I do not.
But what we got -- we got a few seconds here that we need to share right quick some of your thoughts. We'll turn -- go ahead (INAUDIBLE).
Yes, my Twitter page. We asked people -- what are you going to be for Halloween?
We'll start just there from the top. Someone says, "I'm going to be Obama." Probably a lot of that. Someone says Jessica Rabbit.
BALDWIN: I saw that.
HOLMES: Mike Bates says, 'I'm going to be trick or treating as Barackula. He's like Dracula, but instead of sucking blood, he sucks tax dollars."
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You get that? It's pretty good, right?
And then I have to give a shout out to my dear Christine Romans who works up in New York. She says she is going to be a mom pushing a dragon and a tiger in a stroller. So hope she had a good night.
BALDWIN: So cute. I've seen her...
HOLMES: Yes, the little one.
BALDWIN: ... little one in New York. Adorable.
HOLMES: All right.
BALDWIN: All right. Sanjay Gupta -- maybe people will be Sanjay Gupta, I don't know...
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: Sanjay is coming up here at 7:30 with "HOUSE CALL." We will be back at top of the 8:00.
