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CNN Sunday Morning
European Travel Alert Expected; D.C. Rally Energizes Liberal Voters
Aired October 03, 2010 - 08:00 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 your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this October the 3rd. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be here with us. A story we are keeping a close eye on this morning. We're expecting to get a travel alert from the State Department, a travel alert for American citizens in Europe. There's a growing concern that militants may be planning a terror attack there.
Now, this advisory is expected to urge Americans to be vigilant, especially when they are in public places like airports or other places that, of course, tourists might gather. U.S. military is responding as well to the ramped up terror threat. Military installations are taking appropriate security precautions. One U.S. official is saying, quote, "This is a serious situation."
Now, I want to be clear about what we're talking about here. This is a travel alert. It's expected -- now, this is just to mean for people to be vigilant, to keep a good eye out. What they're telling people to do pretty much since 9/11 -- you should always be vigilant and aware of your surroundings.
This is not a travel warning. It is not telling people: don't travel to Europe. It's not telling Americans who might be in Europe to leave Europe. This is just an alert telling people to be aware. It's expected to highlight the need for vigilance, as I'm saying.
Our Atika Shubert is in London, keeping an eye on things.
Atika, we are getting this alert here for American citizens. But what about the citizens of London where you are? What kind of alert are they on?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no alert so far here. The British -- the terror threat level remains the same. There's serious concern but there's certainly no indication of an imminent attack, and therefore, the terror threat level has not been raises.
However, British security sources have told CNN that they don't believe this new travel alert that may be issued by the U.S. is based on any new information of an imminent attack. There's nothing specific about targeting any particular tourist destinations or European cities, but it's simply that the volume of intelligence and information that's been coming in, particularly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, has triggered more concerns about a possible Mumbai-style attack.
You might remember the Mumbai terror attack a few years ago consisted of a dozen men with guns storming certain locations like hotels and train stations. Now, according to British security sources, this was very much in the planning stages when they -- when they found out about this. But there is that concern, and that's why they are asking people to remain vigilant in these areas according to what could be coming out from the travel alert.
HOLMES: Atika, has there been any reaction from officials there that don't really believe it was necessary to put this alert in place? And again, it's not a warning telling people not to go or to leave, but still, just hearing that there's a travel alert, it might turn some people off to going to Europe and traveling, and that tourism -- all-important tourism.
SHUBERT: Well, British government officials are waiting to see if this travel alert will be released what it will say, before they make any be official comment. But it's certainly a concern for a lot of businesses here. Even having an alert like this, specifically asking tourists to be vigilant in tourist destinations could have a big impact on the business.
The U.S. tourists are some of the biggest numbers of tourists that come here to the U.K., it's the top destination for Americans. Even though the peak tourist season is over, there are still tens of thousands of Americans that come to visit Europe at this time, London, Paris, Berlin, all of these places. So, it could have a tremendous impact on the tourism industry.
HOLMES: All right. Atika Shubert for us in London -- we appreciate you this morning, Atika. Thank you so much.
I want to take a look now at some other stories that making headlines. Three people found shot to death in northwest Pakistan today. And Pakistani security is telling CNN that letters were attached to the bodies that called them spies for the U.S. and the Pakistani military.
Also, Rutgers University is remembering a student with a memorial on campus -- also, a moment of silence before the game yesterday. Eighteen-year-old Tyler Clementi, who's a freshman, he committed suicide after video of his intimate encounter with another man was secretly streamed online. His parents say they hope his death will serve as a call for compassion and human dignity.
And the U.S. Supreme Court goes back in session tomorrow. Welcoming a new justice, Elena Kagan -- there she is. Among several issues being considered: restrictions on selling video games to people under the age of 18.
Turning back to the weather situation, which has been a serious one over the past several days certainly on the East Coast. Still trying to dry out there, after all of that rain led to all of that. At least eight people died in storm-related accidents, seven of those deaths in North Carolina. Much of downtown Windsor, one particular town there, is underwater still. It could still be that way for the next several days.
Give you a look also in New York. Whitney Point, New York, a video from one of our iReporters here.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf -- as we take a look at this here, Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on the weather situation now.
Did they have to deal with any more rain? They only have to wait for this stuff to recede. But nothing's going to come on top of it, is it?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are going to see a chance of rain move in today. So, I would say the chance of seeing more precipitation is pretty likely, at least 80 percent. However, the rain that will fall in those areas should be fairly light. That's the good news.
Also, another bit of good news, much of it is going to form actually farther out to sea. In fact, if you look at this -- you see, of course, the Eastern Seaboard, you see some images popping up on radar, that's your heaviest precipitation forming off of the outer banks, off of the Jersey shoreline, that's certainly the best news of all.
And we've got is an area of low pressure and a frontal boundary, and all of that is going to be kicking out deeper in the Atlantic. And as that pulls away from North America, what it's going to do is leave a little of a -- a kind of void behind it. And that void's got to be filled with something. It's going to be filled with high pressure that's going to be building into the Great Lakes.
But it's also be filled with something else. It's going to be bringing in some cooler and drier weather. In fact, this morning, people are waking up in Milwaukee, in Chicago, with temperatures that are currently into the 40s; 36 in Green Bay outside of Lambeau Field; Minneapolis, Twin Cities, you got 40 degrees; 41 in Omaha; 43 in Kansas City; 44 in Motown; and 50 degrees in Pittsburgh. Also 50 in Charleston.
Now, that's what you have for the time being. Later on today, we're going to see those temperatures warm up just a little bit. It's certainly too oppressive in parts of the Great Lakes or back in the portions of the Midwest.
Highs are going to actually just rise in many spots, 50s and 60s -- 63 in St. Louis, 57 in Chicago. Out west, a bit warmer -- 88 along the Strip in Las Vegas.; 75 in Las Angeles; 64 in San Francisco; 100 in Phoenix; 70 in Atlanta -- oh, yes, you got to like that -- 63 in New York and 88 in Miami.
So, it looks like the fall is finally coming to parts of the southeast. Let's send it back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: Oh, yes, to you, too, Reynolds.
WOLF: That's right, man. HOLMES: Appreciate you, buddy. Talk to you again here soon.
It has been a summer of rallies -- rallies to the left of us, rallies to the right of us, rallies in D.C. One more to tell you about, this one comes with a lean to left, some would say. But we're going to get a Tea Party representative to weigh in on what we saw yesterday.
It's seven minutes past the hour here on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We saw some 400 different groups come together yesterday representing the spectrum of liberal causes. They organized the One Nation Working Together rally in the nation's capital. They were trying to get people enthused about the upcoming election. But the people that were trying to fire up were supporters of Barack Obama, many would say.
CNN's Kate Bolduan was there for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The rally here at Lincoln Memorial was organized by a coalition of liberal and progressive- leaning groups, including union groups and civil rights groups, among them. Talking about a range of issue, but really focusing on the need for job creation, improving public education, also touching on immigration reform -- all of this setting as the backdrop of the upcoming midterm elections.
AL SHARPTON, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: We got to go home and we've got to hit the pavement. We've got to knock on doors. We've got to ring those church bells.
We've got to get ready for the midterm exam! We can't stop in '08. We've got to get ready in '10, from '10 too (ph), to '11 too (ph) -- we go passed the midterm exam.
(CHEERING)
BOLDUAN: With polls showing that Democratic members of Congress are in trouble in the upcoming election, people turning out here said they wanted to present a show of force and to have their voices heard.
Why did you, guys, coming out here today? What -- what's the motivation? Why did you, guys, show up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in solidarity with everybody out here, I guess, and the agenda to make America a more progressive place. We want America to be something that represents every kind of diversity in this country. We're here -- we want to show that we have a presence and we want America to head in the right direction.
BOLDUAN: A major theme here today was, as they call it, One Nation, organizers trying to rally the Democratic base, rally voters with a get-out-the-vote message with an aim today, really, of trying to stir same emotion and the same energy that they've already seen amongst conservative groups, among conservative rallies, right here at the Lincoln Memorial, like the Glenn Beck and the Tea Party rallies over the summer, all of this with an eye toward the upcoming election one month away.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, it seems like it's been the year of rallies in Washington. We did see it, conservative Glenn Beck and the Tea Party gatherings there.
Now, this one, the One Nation rally, a liberal, as you heard, kind of a left-leaning, progress-leaning groups getting together there. Thousands came together. This is at the Lincoln Memorial. You're seeing this video again. Again, the focus, they say, was on jobs and education and a pledge to support Democrats in November.
Well, joining me on the phone now is National Tea Party Federation spokesman David Webb.
Mr. Webb, thank you for hopping on the line with us this morning.
After seeing what happened yesterday, would you have liked to have been there at that rally yesterday? Do you think there was something you and other Tea Party movement folks could have contributed to it?
DAVID WEBB, NATIONAL TEA PARTY FEDERATION SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Well, I think the more important message is not that we sit and counter each other, which this is being kind of set as the rally versus rally atmosphere.
HOLMES: Yes.
WEBB: They don't reflect the majority of Americans. Well, the liberal progressive agenda has been rejected by America, we have seen it fail, stimulus and 15 million people out of jobs, and they want to continue this entitlement mentality. Plus, when you look at groups involved in this, like La Raza and other groups that have had hateful messages against other Americans, playing the race card, playing the race game -- this is about getting voters to come home for the elections.
HOLMES: Well, Mr. Webb, would you say on some issues, though, whether that's education, jobs, that there are some issues that the folks at the rally yesterday, folks we saw at Mr. Beck's rally, folks we see the Tea Party Express tour that goes across the country -- aren't those a couple of issues, the jobs and education, that no matter what we think on some of the other things, that we clearly, a lot of folks disagree on, that everybody can come together at least on some things?
WEBB: Well, it would be great if we did more than agree on the headlines. What we don't agree on is the approaches. Education is a major civil rights issue. It has been mismanaged. Throwing money at it has not fixed it.
So, why continue a failed policy? We need to have that choice in our education system that helps especially urban communities regardless of the ethnic makeup.
HOLMES: And, Mr. Webb, you said there that you don't agree on the approaches, even though -- yes, we want more jobs. Yes, we want better education. You don't agree on the approaches.
But does that preclude us all, and I say "us," I'm just talking about Americans, does that preclude us all from being able to have civil conversation and debate? It sounds like you're saying, hey, we don't agree on approaches so it's us against them.
WEBB: No, it's not about us against them. And we should be civil on the debate. But what we have seen is a pervasive hateful response from the left. When someone on the right does something -- and look, there are people on right that have made that -- that have done things wrong also, to be fair. On the extremes, neither one belongs in the discussion.
But they don't have discussions. The ones on the extremes simply come out and use invective and stir up emotions. We need to sit down and figure out what's needed in America -- what needs to work from a policy point of view, not an ideological point of view.
HOLMES: Well, on that point there, I was talking to Ben Jealous, the head of the NAACP, yesterday, head of the rally -- and I want you listen now to what he told me about the rally yesterday and what it was in response to. And I do want to give you an opportunity to respond to it.
So, let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT & CEO: We're not the answer to the Tea Party. We're not the alternative to the Tea Party. But we're very much the antidote to the Tea Party.
We're a different response to the same situation. Some folks see tensions going up and prosperity going down and they want to inflame tension. We say, let's push up on prosperity. Let's create a tie that lifts all votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You know what? I will just -- not even ask a question, I will just let go ahead and respond to what you just heard.
WEBB: Well, Ben Jealous has little credibility with me. This is a man who is the head of an organization, and there are great local chapters of the NAACP. But the national chapter would not answer a lie told by them in their own press release to me on "LARRY KING." So, his credibility is shot.
The problem is that we don't have a discourse going on, as you mentioned earlier, in the country about need solutions. What we have is a constant attack by the left and when they are in the minority, which they are, and when they are in trouble for the elections, they play the race card for the black community, they play the immigration card for the Hispanic community, they play the anti-war card for the anti-war activists.
They're not looking for American solutions. They're looking to get their agenda through, regardless of whether the policy is good for America or not.
HOLMES: Mr. Webb, I hope we can find a time, find a day, where that conversation you and I are speaking of can take place and accusations don't continue to fly and some of that nasty rhetoric doesn't continue to fly.
Mr. Webb, I appreciate you hopping on the line with us, hope to have you part of the conversation here with us at least over the coming days, weeks and months ahead. Thank you so much for your time.
WEBB: Thank you. I would love to have that conversation.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we look forward to it.
And I want to remind viewers out there, you can always get the latest political news by going to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Sixteen past the hour. Quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there. Welcome back, everybody. Eighteen minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
We got the fellas here. We are taking a look at a piece of video here. A lot of us ignore in-flight safety demonstrations when we travel. Do you guys? Do you ignore?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
WOLF: What are they, huh?
HOLMES: The safety instructions.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. I pay attention, sure.
HOLMES: You know, it's all flight attendants, we feel horrible, because they're up there doing their job.
WOLF: They really are.
HOLMES: And a lot of people is doing something else and reading and talking and I hate it. I feel rude, often times. OK. I just wanted to get you that public apology. Once I've gotten past that, check out these flight attendants, though. You would not ignore these flight attendants. They choreographed their tutorial to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance."
And somebody tells me we don't have this video?
WOLF: Oh, there we go.
HOLMES: All right. There we go.
(VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Yes, it definitely does attract the eye. Yes.
LEVS: Well, that's the idea. They need something to put extra attention, right? This is -- is this working? It must be working.
HOLMES: It has to be.
LEVS: They've got to be working.
HOLMES: They've got our eye. But you would not ignore them. Even if you thought it was silly, you would stop and listen to what they're doing. They had Katy Perry's "California Girls." OK. That's cool. Exits.
LEVS: Oh, is this the wave of the future? What to expect now on our planes?
WOLF: Delta did something like this a while back, where they kind of spruced up in-flight safety recording and everyone, you know, we talked about that. And this is obviously, I'm sure, a branch off of that.
HOLMES: You know what? That lady, that was Katharine Lee (ph), she was my flight attendant on the way to Mexico City once. We got to know each other, and she's actually someone I keep in contact with, a friend of the family now.
Everybody loves -- she did the finger
WOLF: The finger thing.
HOLMES: No smoking and she did the thing with her finger.
WOLF: Smoking is not allowed.
HOLMES: Oh, you paid attention?
WOLF: Oh, yes, absolutely, which backs your point.
LEVS: Viral video star. Is there anything that Lady Gaga is not helping improve? Look at this. I've got to tell you --
HOLMES: She's helped improve? LEVS: You know what's going on and people are actually starting, we've seen -- that's the 20th Lady Gaga viral video that we've shown on the show in the past year, right? She is changing the nation of the net, I've got to say.
HOLMES: All right. So, if you're flying today, for -- your instructions are going to suck, aren't they?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Twenty past the hour here now.
Coming up: getting kids to eat healthier may not be that hard after all. We'll take a look at how students are teaching each other to eat green.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Carl Azuz, our guy, last week talked to us about the choice students make when it comes to school lunch, and why they don't always pick what's good for them.
And, Carl, of course, shaking his head now. They don't always pick what's good for them.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: No, sir.
HOLMES: He's back. We've been doing a lot about food the past week on "Eatocracy." Now, we're hearing it from the kids about choices they make.
AZUZ: Yes, we are. And a lady named Dr. Marilyn Hughes who happens to be the director of Atlanta Nutrition Services, the director of nutrition services for Atlanta public schools, she's telling us that if you give kids healthier choices when they're really young, like maybe the celery sticks, the vegetable options, as opposed to some of the chicken nuggets that we know kids love, we know they want, she's suggesting that they'll develop a taste for that. That's what we've heard from the students we spoke to and we've also talked to them about how their families influence the choices they make.
Have a listen to what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: What kinds of foods do you eat at home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eat what my mom cooks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pakistani food at home from scratch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom has recently packed and made lunches for me. DR. MARILYN HUGHES, DIR. OF NUTRITION SERVICES, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: With my children, it became an essence of following what they saw parents do, looking at what was in the refrigerator, limiting the choices that I provided in our home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lettuce, cheese, salsa.
AZUZ: How has your family influences the nutrition choices you make?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother, obesity kind of runs in our family, and she also has both osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. And so, being overweight increases the chance of us getting that.
CARMEN BOOKER, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: My grandfather had a stroke, and he has heart problems and he's a full diabetic. We took him in and he lives with us now. So, we have to take care of him. We changed our whole, like, eating diet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually eat a lot of organic food at my house. When you first start off eating it, you don't notice a difference. But after a while, once you taste something that's not organic, you can really taste the difference.
BOOKER: My grandfather can't have too much sugar, so we use like all-natural sweetener and we go to the farmer's market, like, every month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you eat now really affects it later. You might not know it now, but in the long run, it will catch up with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: I thought that was great insight from a young person to understand that, you know, a lot of people criticize kids for not having foresight, and this is somebody who, when it came to nutrition, certainly had an idea of what was downed road and she was suggesting to her friends, do the leg work, find out how many more calories are in the fried food than, let's say, the grilled chicken salad, and then maybe plan accordingly.
But there is more homework involved and it's not just eating the first thing you see in the menu when you're out with your friends on a Friday and you're at a fast food.
HOLMES: You're young, you think you're invincible. That's a problem down the road.
Do kids actually -- and the nutritionist, I was curious, talked about choices. Is it a matter of giving them the option in the line? And do they think they would pick the celery sticks or the carrots? Or is it a matter of you have to force the kids at home and just serve them that, and that's really what gets them into the habit? AZUZ: Force is such a strong word.
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: I think her advice really was, you know, if parents give these kids these choices to begin with, parents encourage the young ones, right, to start, then hopefully as they get older and at the high school level, they will make these choices on their own, as we saw some of these students making at Grady High School.
HOLMES: Does peer-pressure play into it? Kind of kid -- you can talk a kid into doing something bad, but can you talk a kid into right thing, like eating the right thing at lunch?
AZUZ: These students seem to think so.
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: A couple of them have said their friends follow their advice. They saw that, you know, the fried stuff might not have been as healthy. But another girl was saying, you know, it pretty much falls on deaf ears, you know, I'll eat my friend's French fries and that's just how it goes.
HOLMES: How it goes.
Good stuff. Always -- really always enjoy hearing from the kids you've been having.
AZUZ: Appreciate it, T.J.
HOLMES: Good to see you, Carl, as always, buddy.
AZUZ: Thank you, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, coming up, new time for the court. Supreme Court back in session tomorrow, got some new cases.
But, first, let us pray. We're heading to Sunday service. Coming up in our "Faces of Faith," a closer look at red mass and what the Sunday morning service could mean for dozens of new cases before the Supreme Court.
It's 28 past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now bottom of the hour here, now. And welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
The State Department expected as early as this morning to issue a travel alert for Americans in Europe. The alert expected Americans to urge Americans to be caution at tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and also cautious around transportation ports, you know, the train stations, the airports, and things like that.
Here now is CNN's national security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: T.J., the State Department is expected to issue a travel alert to Americans in Europe, perhaps as early as today, urging them to be vigilant, aware especially when in public places like airports and tourist sites, according to a senior U.S. official.
A second senior U.S. official says that U.S. military installations are also taking prudent precautions, quoting this official, this is a serious situation. U.S. and European officials have been saying for several days that they're concerned about the possibility of terror attacks against targets in Europe.
They have said they're following several threads of intelligence, one of which concerns Mumbai-style commando attacks, possibly against multiple locations in Great Britain, France, and Germany but they've also said they do not have specific information about timing, mode, or places of attack.
U.S. officials have also told CNN that Osama bin Laden has been in communication with al Qaeda affiliates within Pakistan and elsewhere, urging them to act. One official says, this alert to travelers is being prompted by the volume of intelligence on terror threats rather than any new intelligence.
T.J. back to you.
HOLMES: And thanks to our Jeanne Meserve.
But the growing terror concern in Europe comes as intelligence experts point to increased volume of chatter -- the so-called chatter about possible attacks.
Our Stephanie Elam in New Jersey for us at Newark Airport -- Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: T.J., at this point this morning, we -- took a tour inside the terminal to see if we could talk to a few people and we found a couple of Europeans who are pretty much saying, you know what, you've got to go home. So they're flying home, regardless.
A lot of the international flights leave in the evening here. So we'll see more Americans coming at this point. But the few people that we have talked to are pretty much like you have to go on with your life, you have to do this. This is what we've done since 2001. And we did hear from a few people in Miami. Here is what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOROTHY LEVY, TRAVELER: Frankly, this is all paid for, certainly no one would turn back, and -- you know, what can one do about it? You go, you try to be as safe as possible, even here there could be a bomb scare here. CLAIRE SCOTT, TRAVELER: And to be honest with you, if you took it all to heart you wouldn't ever leave the house so I mean, for travelers I would be worried that we're not -- after New York after September 11th I was worried but -- you know everybody's going to have live with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: So of course, it's something to really take into account. You know, with the way the economy has been a lot of people are like, look, if I've put out the money for a plane ticket I'm getting on a plane and I'm going where I say I'm going to go. I think a lot of people at airports are still saying, if I'm going to be there, I know have to keep my eyes about me, look around, and see what's going on. And for people in big metropolitan airport likes Newark or JFK or Chicago or Atlanta, where you are, that's what they've been doing.
So that's pretty much been the response. And the other thing, I think, people have been mentioning is the fact that this is what we are expecting to hear that we're going to get this alert. We haven't actually gotten it yet. So as -- as for now, it's business as usual here at Newark -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, business as usual and isn't the usual business of a lot of travelers, especially New Yorkers, is that they're used to being vigilant?
ELAM: Yes. And we're also used to being in really crowded places, right and in cities and areas like this.
So going through security, you are paying attention, you're looking for anything that's looks suspicious or different. And a lot of people are saying that they're doing that now. So they don't see there's anything different as they get on the plane. Once they do, once they get to Europe, well, that's what we'll have to see. But it looks like people are saying I've already put out the money, I'm -- I'm getting on my plane.
HOLMES: All right, Stephanie Elam for us at Newark this morning. Stephanie thank you, as always.
Elam: Yes.
HOLMES: Well, some strong words in the California gubernatorial debate last night. Republican candidate Meg Whitman and Attorney General Jerry Brown a Democrat sparred over jobs, the economy, over immigration. And Whitman accused her Democratic opponent of orchestrating the scandal over her former housekeeper who was in the country illegally. She said Brown exploited the situation for political gain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MET WHITMAN (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You should be ashamed. You, and your surrogates, put her deportation at risk. You put her out there and you should be ashamed for sacrificing Nicky Diaz on the altar of your political ambitions.
I took accountability. We hired someone who I thought was here legally, she was not. We unfortunately had to let her go. And what would you have had me do? Would you have had me call the attorney general's office to have her deported? What would have had me do, other than the exactly what we did?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Jerry Brown of course, fired back suggesting Whitman's actions were inconsistent with her stance on immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You're the one who says, hey, I -- I you know we're -- everyone's got to be accountable, this is a terrible thing we have all these millions of people but you don't want to pass the citizenship. Don't run for governor if you can't stand up on your own two feet and say, hey, I made a mistake, I'm sorry, let's go on from here.
You have a -- a few -- a blamed her, blamed me, blamed the left, blamed the unions but you don't take accountability. And you can't be a leader unless you're willing to stand on your own two feet and say, yes, I made a mistake, and I'm going on from here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, that debate was aired on Univision, translated for Hispanic viewers. And for the latest political news as always you can go to our Web site CNNPolitics.com.
Speaking of politics, the president, let's take a look at his schedule for the upcoming week. Tomorrow he'll convene a meeting with his economic recovery advisory board at the White House. Then on Tuesday he joins Dr. Jill Biden at the first ever White House on the Summit on Community Colleges. That evening the president will address the most powerful women summit in Washington. And then Wednesday, he's scheduled to award a U.S. Army Sergeant the Medal of Honor.
Then later, the president will travel to New Jersey for a Democratic National Committee dinner. Then we move to Thursday, the president goes to the Baltimore area for an event on behalf of the governor there. And then on Friday he has more meetings at the White House.
HOLMES: Now, each Sunday before the Supreme Court resumes, Court Justices and other Washington power brokers, attend what's called the Red Mass at Washington's Cathedral of St. Matthew. This annual tradition has been celebrated some 57 years now and that's the focus of today's "Faces of Faith."
And the mass celebrates the legal profession, but the invite-only event is attended by congressional leaders, diplomats, and other dignitaries including presidents over the year. Well, President Obama not scheduled to make an appearance there today. Six Supreme Court Justices attended last year's Red Mass. Critics of the mass, though, say, they find attendance of leading decision-makers, including members of the highest court in the land, to be inappropriate.
Church officials have insisted they do not attempt to sway or persuade anyone who attends that service. But look now at some of the issues coming up before the high court. One of the more high profile cases on the docket, whether federal laws trump state efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Arizona companies are now required to use a federal database to verify documentation for employees. The Chamber of Commerce, though, argues the federal law prohibits making use of the database mandatory. The outcome could become a blueprint for dealing with future illegal immigration issues.
Another issue before the court, protesters, free speech rights at military funeral; no matter how disturbing the message might be, the Federal Appeals Court ruled it was protected speech. Several states have tried to put limits on where and when protests like these can take place.
Also before the court, should states be allowed to ban selling violent video games to people under the age of 18? Video game makers say a ban violates their free speech rights. The State of California says it has a legal obligation though to protect the children.
Well, we're taking a look at the Internet. You can do just about anything on the Internet, right? But can you save your own life by using the Internet?
Our Elizabeth Cohen lays out strategies you've probably never heard of. She'll have tips on how to go online to revolutionize your health care.
Also in our morning passport with the mudslinging and the personal attacks began. It's politics as usual. Not here this time, though. We'll tell you where.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, we were expecting this to come down, and it has come down now, this travel alert we've been telling you about all morning. It has come across from the State Department. We're expecting it, but now it is official. The travel alert to Europe, I'm just going to share with you a couple of sections of it.
The State Department alerts U.S. citizens for the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe. It says the current information suggests that al Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terror attacks. I want to remind you, this is a terror -- excuse me, a travel alert. This is not a travel warning, not telling Americans not to go to Europe, not telling Americans who are there that they need to leave Europe. They are just telling folks to be aware, to be vigilant. Yes, we're supposed to do that already and certainly in this post-9/11 world. But again, they felt it necessary to issue this travel alerts.
A couple of other lines of the alert that's in my hand here that I will share with you, saying, "That U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorist attacks and their attacks on public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when they are traveling".
One more thing here they do say they recommend that U.S. citizens register their travel plans with the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration Web site. It's so important there that they are advising people if you are traveling to Europe, that they are advising U.S. citizens to register their plans.
So the travel alert we were expecting has come down.
I want to turn now to Candy Crowley, host of "STATE OF THE UNION" who's going to be coming up at the state -- excuse me, at the top of the hour. Candy good morning to you.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Good morning.
HOLMES: Always some alarm when we have to hear about a travel alert. But help us here with some perspective to put something out like this, yes, telling us to be vigilant, but what -- what would have had to have been going on behind the scenes? How much would they know that would prompt them to make this kind of a move?
CROWLEY: Well, it's the sort of thing that we never know what they know, but it is unusual, particularly we're talking about Europe here. You know, we've had travel alerts and have had actually some travel warnings, which is the next step, for countries that you know intrinsically are dangerous. I -- I think probably -- at -- at-- I know at some level they have had these -- all of this information because we heard about it this week of, you know, possible al Qaeda attacks coming from, among some places, perhaps being hatched in Pakistan.
So they have been talking about this for a while, we know, and did sort of signal that they at least wanted to let the public know that this is a time to be alert, not just at home, but overseas, if that's where you're traveling.
HOLMES: You mentioned Pakistan there. Pakistan will be a topic of discussion on your show, I believe, this morning. And a relationship that is also critical, but it's a relationship that doesn't seem to oftentimes be so Kumbaya.
CROWLEY: No. And it -- it certainly isn't now. I think the tension level is incredible right now. Mostly because the U.S. has stepped up its drone attacks, those man-less assaults into Pakistan. Pakistan has trouble at home keeping its domestic audience on the side of the Pakistani government, and it has, of course, trouble with the U.S., which is expecting Pakistan to take out some of these terrorists who are occupying the mountainous regions next to Afghanistan.
So we do have the Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. coming on to talk about those sorts of things. As you know, tensions got high enough that in Pakistan they have blocked out -- they have blocked one of the supply routes from Pakistan into Afghanistan, and that's the route -- one of the routes, were the U.S. takes in supplies for NATO and U.S. troops.
So that's one of the things we'll be talking to him about.
HOLMES: All right. Candy, thank you.
I know you've got a couple of senators who are head of their respective parties' senate campaign committees. Let me have those names.
CROWLEY: Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, both heading up their senate committees. As you know, a lot of people don't think the Senate is in play but certainly Republicans feel as though they can make a lot of inroads, pick up enough seats to really have an impact in the Senate.
HOLMES: Yes. Candy always a pleasure. Thank you so much. We'll see you here in just a few minutes; "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley coming your way in 15 minutes at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
And back for a moment to this travel alert we were telling you. We were expecting it all morning. It has officially come down.
Let's bring in our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, who is on the line with us. Jeanne, you tell us, I was asking Candy Crowley there, what does it take -- what does the U.S. have to know before they take this kind of step to issue not a travel warning, but the travel alert?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, what U.S. officials have told us is that they are concerned about the volume of the intelligence that's coming in. We've been reporting of course for several days that they have been concerned about the possibility of terror attacks in Europe, some of which talked about the possibility of Mumbai-style attacks.
And now we have the specific alert which is urging U.S. citizens to take action. It says that information suggests that al Qaeda and affiliates continue to plan. It suggests that U.S. citizens be reminded of the potential for terrorists who attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. It says terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime services.
U.S. citizens, it says, should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling. It also says that the terrorists have used a variety of means and weapons, and have targeted both official and private interests.
So, a very broad-ranging warning here, one could question just how useful it may to be Americans overseas to hear this. But clearly, what you gather from the warning that modes of transportation must be of particular concern in line with the intelligence that's come in.
HOLMES: And one more thing to you, Jeanne, as these things go, as travel alerts go, they don't necessarily have an expiration date on them. What does it take for the U.S. government before they would actually rescind one of these things?
MESERVE: Well, I think they're just going to be very carefully tracking the intelligence and see if they get any indication that the temperature has dropped. It may also hinge on whether or not they take some people into custody. I think those are the sorts of things it's going to take.
What the time frame will be, I'm totally unable to give you an estimate on that, T.J.
HOLMES: Jeanne Meserve, we appreciate you hopping on the line with us, our homeland security correspondent. Thank you so much.
Again, travel alert officially now issued for U.S. Citizens traveling to Europe, just to be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings as you go to tourist sites and also to other places -- public places and also places of public transportation.
Quick break, we're right back.
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HOLMES: Just about ten minutes to the top of the hour. Big day today, it's election day and there is some scandal going on and we are not talking about here in the U.S. when it comes to politics.
Let me bring in Nadia Bilchik once again. You know we're so used to talking about dirty politics and scandal here, nice to hear it somewhere else for a change.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, actually this scandal is not seeming to affect the Brazilian election. What's happening is you have Dilma Rousseff who is apparently going to be the next president of Brazil because she is supported by Lula. And we can talk about how popular Lula is, what he's done for Brazil.
HOLMES: A larger than life figure.
BILCHIK: Absolutely. It's now the eighth largest global economy in the world. Do you know that the Brazilian currency is the most stable in the world?
HOLMES: Wow. BILCHIK: So what's happening now is she was chief of staff, and then her chief of staff whose name is Erenice Guerra, apparently Guerra's son is involved in some kind of illegal activity in getting paybacks. So that's where it comes in. And the opposition to Rousseff is using that against her. But I can assure you, it's to no avail.
It's quite interesting because when Rousseff came in, in 2005, nobody had heard about her and she replaced a chief of staff that there had been some scandal with. But in this particular case, it is the son of the chief of staff; the chief of staff has now resigned.
HOLMES: You know, this sounds familiar. People trying to make a connection through some connection of somebody -- you knew somebody ten years ago who dated somebody who had a neighbor who did something.
BILCHIK: Exactly. And of course, politicians will use it against her. But let me tell you, Dilma Rousseff is not flinching. She will be the first female president of Brazil.
If you want to know how to say election in Portuguese -- so we are learning Portuguese as well. So maybe with all that's go on in Europe today, maybe we should be going to Brazil.
HOLMES: Instead --
BILCHIK: Exactly.
HOLMES: So it sounds like -- and you said she's going to be the next president. That's because -- I mean, so many at the polls --
BILCHIK: It's the legacy of Lula. He has supported her. Nobody had heard of this woman five years ago. Five years later she's becoming the president. But look what he's done for the country. Look what the working party has done for the middle class, for the lower class.
There were 17 million undernourished people. People now have food. There's a story about a particular school where all they ate were rice and beans, they were so impoverished. Because of Lula's farming policies they're now eating.
People love him, he has a legacy. So he supports this woman. She is actually -- she has a Bulgarian father, Brazil being a country of immigrants. So a very interesting, fascinating woman, she is.
HOLMES: So we will hear more -- what -- by the end of the day today right?
BILCHIK: We will be hearing more and about Dilma Rousseff and about Brazil and remember World Cup, 2014 in Brazil.
HOLMES: That's right. That's right.
BILCHIK: And then, the Olympics.
HOLMES: My goodness.
BILCHIK: Let's hope we get to Brazil.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: We do need to get to Brazil.
BILCHIK: Let's hope we get to meet Dilma Rousseff. Election in Brazil today.
HOLMES: Quick break. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Got an exclusive coming up for you on "FAREED ZAKARIA, GPS".
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA, GPS": May I ask you what lesson you have drawn from the financial crisis? Have you lost faith in American macro-economic management? A Chinese friend said to me, he said we would like the students and class and we would always listen to what the Americans would tell us. And now we look up and we think, maybe the teacher actually didn't know what he was talking about.
PREMIER WEN JIABAO, CHINA (through translator): As far as the U.S. economy is concerned, I always believe that the U.S. Economy is solidly based, not only in a material sense, but more importantly the United States has the strength of scientific and technological talent and managerial expertise. It has accumulated a wealth of experience in its economic development over the past more than 200 years. In spite of the twists and turns --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" this morning 10:00 a.m. Eastern right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And just a reminder we did get word from the State Department a short time ago, a travel alert now officially issued for Americans traveling in Europe. A travel alert just to be alert, be aware of your surroundings, and to be vigilant. Also recommend that you register with the embassy, the U.S. Government, before heading out to Europe.
Thank you for being here with us. Want to hand this thing over to Candy Crowley.
