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CNN Saturday Morning News

Hurricane Earl Weakening; College Football Begins; Fans Pay Tribute to Pop Culture; President Blames GOP for Blocking Jobs

Aired September 04, 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: Good morning, everybody.

Earl is high tailing it out of here. The storm is getting weaker. It is moving away from the Eastern U.S., but could still cause some problems for your Labor Day weekend. We have live team coverage. And Reynolds Wolf keeping a close eye on where this storm is headed.

Also, in New Zealand, a state of emergency after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Major damage reported but no deaths and not many serious injuries reported.

It is midnight there in New Zealand right now. Meanwhile, it's 8:00 here in Atlanta, Georgia. It is 7:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. From the CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this September 4th. Glad you're here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Also coming your way over the next 90 minutes of your CNN SATURDAY MORNING, we've seen protests over mosques. We see another protest now but this one is a dangerous protest or a proposed mosque and not the one near ground zero. This one is in Tennessee and a reward being offered. Investigators say that a suspicious fire at the site was, in fact, arson. We're taking a closer look.

Also, new jobs numbers came out. Just saw those yesterday. Employment is, in fact, up. Not all bad news here though. We will hear the president's reaction to the much anticipated economic report.

Also, science fiction taking the spotlight. We're going to be visiting with the star of the hit show "Eureka" that on the Sci-Fi channel. His name is Colin Ferguson. You recognize him there. He is in town here in Atlanta, will be in studio with us talking about dragon con.

But, let's start with Earl. Can't call him a hurricane anymore. It's still a severe weather threat. It is a tropical storm now and it's racing up the New England coast, brushed the eastern seaboard yesterday. Our Susan Candiotti live for us in Cape Cod. Allan Chernoff is in New York for us, on Long Island in particular. They're going to be updating us this morning, but we need to start with Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on where this thing is going.

It seems like it's in a hurry to get out of here.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS CORRESPONDENT: It really is. A couple things are happening right now with this particular storm. We see it. It is tropical storm winds of 70 miles per hour. Wind gusts have been up to 85. You see it's now moving to the northeast of Cape Cod, very close to Canada and Nova Scotia at this point. What we are seeing in this picture that's really driving it away is something that you can just barely make out and that would happen to be an area of low pressure, this kicked up right there. And at the same time, a frontal boundary that extends from it and that frontal boundary is going to help kick out that storm deeper into the Atlantic and pushing then it farther to the north out of harm's way.

The question is where exactly is it going to go? The latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center has it moving up towards Nova Scotia. I'm thinking landfall right around noon, maybe a little bit beforehand. It's moving to the northeast at 30 miles per hour. Just yesterday it was around 18 miles an hour. Definitely has really increased its progress, certainly some good news.

The bad news is though, we still have a lot to deal with this particular storm. You've got Earl located right about here. We're going to put that down as an area of low pressure. At the same time, we have Fiona, what is left of Fiona, right over in this particular spot. Those two entities, the issues that we have now is you're going to have a lot of wave action that is going to be pushed towards the Eastern seaboard. With that in mind, you have the issue with the rip currents up and down the coastline for a lot of people who are heading out for this final big weekend of the summer season. There's a lot of danger still with these storms in terms of those rip currents. It's really a dangerous time to be out in the water. If you do, be very careful out there. The situation won't be quite as bad for much of the Gulf of Mexico. Quick look on your tropics and the effect that we may have with those two systems. We're talking about Earl and Fiona, more on that coming up in a few T.J..

HOLMES: I do appreciate you Reynolds as always. You were telling me yesterday there was a possibility Cape Cod could take a direct hit. Well, our Susan Candiotti is at Cape Cod. Susan, not a direct hit but they felt a little something, none the less.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They did. Good morning, T.J.. We have some brand new information for you. Good news to New Englanders and anyone who might be planning to travel here. Just talked to the office of emergency management and they are in the process of lifting the state of emergency. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick finishing up with a conference call. They had very little damage to report, if at all. In fact, so little that they didn't send any damage assessment teams to go out onto Cape Cod or throughout the state, for that matter, including Nantucket Island which certainly bore the brunt of it being so close to the path of tropical storm Earl. Because of that, again, they're lifting the state of emergency here.

That means the National Guard can stand down. That means that all those assets that they pre-positioned across the state won't be needed and will probably stay in storage for the rest of the hurricane season. They have received reports of, oh, I would say, maybe three to six inches of rain in Nantucket Island, less than that in other parts of Cape Cod and throughout the state. They're now down to reports of about 600 power customers without power at this hour. But they expect that to be restored very soon. And they said less than half of those who lost power were located here on Cape Cod and Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard, that kind of thing.

So if you look around 24 hours ago, T.J., this is how it looked out on the beaches of Cape Cod. It's a beautiful, beautiful day, very little wave action at all. They do expect to be reopening some of the beaches that have closed mainly due to the fact that because of the storm conditions, as well as not having enough lifeguards to go around. And that condition might remain the same here because they're not sure whether they can get enough lifeguards out here. So the thing to keep in mind and this is the message that they are stressing, they want to make sure that as people go back to the beaches today, that they try to avoid going to the water because of the high winds. There is a high surf and of course, the possibility of dangerous rip currents. T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Susan Candiotti for us in Cape Cod. Susan, we appreciate you and so telling to hear her say that, in fact, they're not even sending damage assessment teams out. So that is great news, quite frankly. Our Allan Chernoff is on Long Island now, another beautiful place right now. But again, looks so different just a short time ago.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., absolutely gorgeous this morning. And when we think of storm damage, we think about downed power lines, we think maybe about flooded basements or perhaps even worse. Well, there was none of that here out on eastern Long Island. We are right near the tip in Montauk, Long Island. But there was damage here. Come with me close up and have a look at the sand dunes here. The roots of this sea grass here, they are exposed. The waves yesterday just took a bite out of these sand dunes. This is a very, very important ecological niche along the coast here, very important to birds, a surprisingly diverse group of insects and, of course, vegetation as well. And, of course, the sand dunes also protect the rest of the land beyond the sand dunes.

So there was damage here, ecological. Those waves yesterday, they were better than 10 feet high, just pounding, pounding away, extremely powerful. The police here spent the entire day trying to keep tourists and locals off the beach. They didn't want anyone here. Why? Have a look at this. This log was not here yesterday. Yes, the waves were powerful enough that they carried in massive logs like this. We've got four logs like this on this very beach that were brought in yesterday. T.J., just an example of the power of mother nature. Back to you.

HOLMES: And people need to keep in mind no matter how beautiful it is, a lot of those beaches up and down the east coast got dangerous rip currents. You need to be careful out there. We appreciate you as always Allan Chernoff for us and to our viewers, you can stay here with us. We will have complete coverage of this storm which is yes, still a storm, even if it's not a hurricane. Could still cause some problems going up and down the east coast right now. Our live team and also our Reynolds Wolf keeping a very close eye on that storm. Also, emergency officials, they're keeping an eye on what's happening in New Zealand right now where a state of emergency has been declared after a massive earthquake, a 7.0 magnitude quake. You see some of the damage here. But the good news and some might even say the miraculous news is that no one was killed. And there are very few serious injuries to report. It's eight minutes past the hour, quick break. And we are right back here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look here at 11 minutes past the hour at some of the stories that are making headlines. Earl no longer a hurricane, but still it's going to be giving us fits for a minute or two. Tropical storm Earl now, it brushed past Long Island overnight, slight impact on Cape Cod as well. Some of the biggest danger right now is going to be those rip currents. You need to watch out. A lot of people are going to see the beautiful weather as they head to the beaches for this Labor Day. Yes, the weather is going to be great, dangerous rip currents still you need to keep in mind.

Also, Christchurch, New Zealand, 7.0 magnitude quake near there has damaged several buildings, some pretty amazing damage in the pictures we are seeing. But even more amazing possibly is the fact that we have very few injuries to report. There are issues with some water mains being broken. The power is out. But again, no deaths and very few serious injuries to reports at that point.

Also, the ATF is ruling a fire at a construction site for an Islamic Center and mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was arson. The fire happened last week in Murfreesboro. Construction equipment was burned. This is another controversial project that has now been delayed.

Well, we do just about everything else online, can you possibly get fit online as well? Sounds good. We're looking at the latest trend in exercise. Is it really possible though? Get fit online? Twelve minutes past the hour. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Climb on board with us next week, the CNN election express bus. We are heading out, myself included. We are focusing on some of the important races and issues out there in several swing states. We are hitting the road, on the bus, starting Monday. We will be reporting live from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That will be me, that's Gloria Borger, Jessica Yellin, also John King all aboard the CNN election express, going to go from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, you can catch us live in Covington, Kentucky and then wrapping up on Thursday in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can tune in all day and all week for our reports, next week as we kick off the political season heading towards the midterms again. CNN election express all next week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning, Atlanta, Georgia. This is right outside of our door here at this CNN world headquarters, beautiful day here in Atlanta. You see people already gathered down there in Centennial Olympic Park. They're gathered because there is a big game happening, North Carolina versus LSU at the Georgia Dome today. It's going to be kicking off really a big Saturday for college football. A lot of folks excited. They're already down there hanging out, beautiful, beautiful morning. Always a good morning to bust a move here in Atlanta with the young emcee. Maybe you need to bust a move and try to stay fit. A lot of people trying to do that, want to share in shape, but how can you turn to the Internet? Is that really the way to stay fit? You can find nutritious meal planning to a virtual trainer online. My doctor, Sanjay Gupta now, he is showing you some websites that can help you keep track of your health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We live our lives online these days. We buy plane ticket, we pay bills so why not fitness?

ROBERT DOTHARD, FITNESS EXPERT: When people want help, a lot of times the Internet is the best way to search for it. And if you can get that help immediately online, that's great.

GUPTA: So we put some of our fit nation experts on the hunt to look at some of the latest and greatest online fitness tools. Check out the fit orbit, a real life fitness trainer online.

DOTHARD: I love the fact that you can pick the type of activity level you're in, whether you have a desk job, whether you're a frequent traveler.

GUPTA: Your fit orbit trainer can adjust your fitness goals on a daily basis and keep track of your nutrition. The biggest downside?

DOTHARD: Once it's online, that intensity can be removed a little bit.

GUPTA: Next, if you're in the mood to run, Gmaps pedometer, it's a cool free tool from Google.

DOTHARD For a business traveler, it's great. As you travel you map out your course, you see the distance and I guess once you check the weather, you're good to go.

GUPTA: If nutrition is more your focus, check out on a online meal plan tool called (INAUDIBLE).

CHERYL WILLIAMS, CLINICAL NUTRITIONIST, EMORY UNIV.: You have the option of choosing from frozen dinners, fast food, home cooked meals. Each of those mealtime options, there's an emphasis on healthy food choices.

GUPTA: The plan comes complete with recipes, shopping lists and a cost per meal calculator. But if all you need is a little inspiration, a free healthy tips e-mail service called healthy Mondays may be your one -stop shop. WILLIAMS: It really focuses on promoting small sustainable changes. Healthy Monday is a great program when used in conjunction with other wellness initiatives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, 20 past the hour. All day today Atlanta, all weekend really, Atlanta going to be crawling with aliens and super heroes. Is that one of the "Avatar" guys right there? All of this is going on because of the annual dragon con extravaganza just rolled into town. If you're not familiar with it, you see stuff like this. But it's premier science fiction and fantasy event of the year. So we got a Sci-Fi channel star, Colin Ferguson is going to join us. He's a star of a show "Eureka" that is on the Sci-Fi channel. We're expecting that interview to come up here in just minutes, but we're a little concerned about Colin this morning. Let me show you why. He sent out this Tweet just a bit ago. Where is my Tweet? I was going to share my Tweet here. Well I'll just read it to you. There it is. Colin sent out a Tweet saying due to an horrible oversight, my room is above the bar in the noisiest hotel in the world and the CNN interviews are at 7:00. Oh, dear. Well, we hope Colin makes it. We're expecting him any moment. And we'll bring him to you live.

Now, let me go back to telling you about this Earl, hurricane Earl, or the former hurricane known as Earl. It's just a tropical storm now. But still, that doesn't mean necessarily that we are out of the woods yet. This holiday weekend, we've got some potential danger out there as you are heading to the beaches, 22 past the hour, quick break. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Over here hanging out with Reynolds now. A lot of people - we were worried about the storm, what it was going to do with the vacation plans. For a lot of people, clearing out, clearing out nice weather, too. So people will get to, go to the beach. There's some danger to look out for it. Let me remind you about this storm, tropical storm now.

WOLF: Right.

HOLMES: It was just not too long ago we were talking about a tropical -- or a category four.

WOLF: Cat four, which is a major hurricane, enormous. We had winds that were just incredibly strong. Had it made its way onshore, made landfall say in the Carolinas, we would be talking about a different story, millions without power. We'd have all kinds of big problems. Right now it's not a problem at all. It's very close to Nova Scotia. Here is of course, Cape Cod. Moving away from Candiotti right in that area. And, of course, we've got crews also farther down the coast that are actually on their way home today after watching all the events unfold on the outer banks. But the storm is moving to an area of cooler water, also interacting with sheer which is going to cause the thing just to kind of rip apart. I would say by tomorrow at this time, it should be all together dead. Let's show very quickly you what else is happening around the rest of the country. One of the reasons why the storm is fizzling out and moving out of the area is due to this area of low pressure in this frontal boundary that's going to continue to push it to the north- northeast. High pressure is going to build in which means it's going to be a beautiful day for much of the nation coast to coast. Temperatures are going to be pretty comfortable, too, high 70s, 80s out there, a few 90s on the Gulf coast. New Orleans, 89 degrees in Tampa with a chance of scattered showers, 107 in Las Vegas, 109 in phoenix. 80s in Los Angeles. But when you get up to San Francisco, upper 60s, pretty comfortable, Seattle with 64. Coming up, we're going to take another look at your forecast including a football forecast. We can get a few football fans that might be tuning in today. We got that coming up straight ahead T.J..

HOLMES: Big day for a lot of folks. This is kicking off the season officially today. All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you, buddy.

Do want to turn now, a story we were telling you about out of New Zealand, a major earthquake. When you see the pictures, you're kind of amazed that no one was killed and no reports of wide spread injuries, I should say. Josh Levs here with us for us this morning. Again, Josh, the reports of injuries and deaths don't necessarily match some of the pictures we're seeing.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't. What's also striking about this, is you got a 7.0 magnitude quake which is actually the same magnitude that we had in the Haiti earthquake that wreaked so much devastation and that tell us a lot about probably the time of day but also the kinds of buildings and what was in the area where it struck.

You're looking here at New Zealand. Basically where it was right off of Christchurch, New Zealand. We have some video of the destruction. We can go to that, the city council in Christchurch has declared a state of emergency. This area is a population of just under 400,000 people. They actually called for a curfew throughout the night. It's just after midnight there now. I spoke with a man who was affected by it, who was there when it happened, went out and took some pictures. His name is Hadley Wright (ph). Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADLEY WRIGHT: At 4:30 This morning, I am working -- it sort of felt like -- not like earthquakes have felt before, which is shaking left to right but sort of a rolling motion, like it felt like it was on wheels, like it was rolling around, like marbles.

LEVS: So your whole house felt like it was moving all over. Did things fall, did things topple?.

WRIGHT: Yes. Moved from one side of the living room to the other, the fish tank's water was all over the ground. Animals everywhere making were sort of barking and making noise, that sort of thing.

LEVS: Do you live near other people? Did you hear screaming? Did you hear people reacting?

WRIGHT: I didn't hear any people reacting, but soon after I went outside and people were on the streets. Then I went into the center of the city, and it's a bit more a disaster area, I would say. Rumble crossing whole streets and that sort of thing. Buildings on the sides of what used to be walls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Just to give you a stronger sense of what kind of destruction we're seeing. I want to see if the camera can zoom way in, take this picture here because this is one of the pictures that Hadley Wright sent us and basically what he's saying is that this was once upon a time a two-story building. It was flattened at the top. It became just basically one story full of rubble, this big mess. I was going into Google maps and I was finding a building that actually matches this, what building it was. So this building before the quake looked like this. You can see, two stories there. So it is the kind of destruction that we're seeing throughout the area. But such good news, we're not hearing any stories of major casualties, not hearing any stories of anyone killed. And, of course, T.J., we're keeping on this as all the reports continue to come in from that part of the country.

HOLMES: Hopefully we won't get any reports of anything more serious than we are seeing, the video is unreal. Josh, we appreciate you as always.

Also, as we've been talking about today, a lot of people are going to have their eyes on the television because football is here. College football is back. Officially kicked off with a couple of games on Thursday but this is the first Saturday, major college football taking off.

And look at what we have here. Thank you for paying a little respect to my Razorbacks by making just an absolute fool of yourself this morning. Our Rick Horrow --

RICK HORROW, CNN BUSINESS SPORTS ANALYST: It's not hard to do man.

HOLMES: He's the business and sports guy is here to talk a little college football and money this morning. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

Stay here you don't want to miss that guy there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Oh, it is that time of the year; it's college football time, folks. And no other athletic program brings in as much money to a university as the college football team. Many schools seeing a drop in money from athletics, however, but college football keeps on keeping on, bringing in huge dollars.

We'll talk about that as we kick off here on this Saturday. Also, we're talking about tennis again this morning. And not just how they're playing but what they're wearing. You might remember a particular tournament not long ago where we saw a little more of Venus than some people thought we should. We'll talk about fashion here in a second.

But let me bring in our business and sports analyst, Rick Horrow who donned a pig hat for me this morning for my Razorbacks. Rick, always good to see you buddy. Good morning. You all right this morning?

HORROW: Yes. A lot of people have called me a pig but now I guess they have reason to.

HOLMES: It's legit now.

We're talking big money here. A lot of fans out here are just excited. But this is a big deal for schools because big money is on the way.

HORROW: A lot of schools have cracked the $100 million revenue barrier for the first time: the Ohio State and Texas and the SEC schools, the LSUs, the Alabamas, the Floridas, but a new study says that there are only 14 of the division 120 schools actually making money in the traditional sense. It was down from 20 last year.

So the haves are getting richer but the have-nots are not and they've got to find other ways to raise revenue, obviously, T.J., especially in this economy.

HOLMES: Now where is all the money coming from? We are talking -- and I know there a lot of TV deals for schools but also are we talking about tickets and ticket prices and are those going up?

HORROW: Of course we are. And that's one of the standard ways to deal with it, $7 billion total in television rights deals. And that's one of the reasons why all of these conference teams are changing around.

But ticket prices are going up. Ohio States are pushing $500 bucks. You've got teams like Alabama, won the national championship, increased their prices. So for those six or so home games, people are prepared to pay a pretty penny, even if they're 90,000 seats, even to watch you guys.

HOLMES: Yes. Even to watch the Razorbacks. Yes, we do have a lovely stadium and a good team worth watching actually this year, Rick.

Well, let's talk though about, you know, as big as this business is, fans love it, people get excited about it. Are they ever going to get so upset with college football because of this BCS system and how the national title is determined? Are we ever going to get so upset that we'll stop tuning in and stop showing up to games? HORROW: You have the better chance running the network than you do having it converted to a no football playoff right now.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: There is no chance for that. No chance for that.

HORROW: But that's your comment, not mine. The bottom line is the teams that are in the tens to 20 ranges, your buddy -- our weather friend at Auburn and yours at Arkansas and LSU and North Carolina and all of those teams, they're starting in the mid 15, 20 ranking. They have a longer way to go to get up to national championship consideration. It's possible.

You know, Boise State, Virginia Tech five and six. They're playing Sunday night -- Monday night. But listen, the fact that we're talking about this is good for college football because everybody has an opinion. It's good water cooler conversations.

HOLMES: All right. So I'll take your word for it. Boise State, a lot of people have their eyes on what they're going to do on Monday. They could run the table if they get past Virginia Tech. A lot of people say they have an easy walk, just not a hard schedule to get undefeated into the national championship. We'll see what happens there.

Let's turn to tennis for a moment. We're not just talking about the U.S. Open and Andy Roddick's out and how Federer is playing. We're once again, you and I, Rick, talking about women's fashion.

HORROW: Yes we are. Yes, we are. And hey, the bottom line of all of this is, Maria Sharapova is a great tennis player. Venus Williams is a great tennis player. But that's not all we're talking about. There are uniforms, dresses that you can describe as risque.

Now, when you look at it, the Bloomberg Business Week Power 100, Venus is at 42. Maria Sharapova is at 80. She just got a $70 million deal with Nike. There she is right there.

Listen, if they keep winning it's a wonderful story. If not, we talk only about their clothes and, you know, that's not half bad. But these are tennis players.

HOLMES: What is that?

HORROW: And by the way -- we have --

HOLMES: What is that, Rick? What is she wearing? What is that? What is that she has on?

HORROW: Look, that's for you to -- it's a -- it's a -- it's a dress that highlights her fashion sense. And she can also serve the ball much faster than you can see it. And she's a world class athlete, OK? So let's just leave it at that.

The bottom line is, 43 percent increase in tennis players over the last 15 years, and it's not just about the tennis game. It's about the entertainment. And let's say that's entertainment. What do you think?

HOLMES: Yes, sports is about entertainment. We forget that sometimes. Professional sports. We got -- we got Reynolds here standing by. And a lot of people are keeping an eye on the weather.

No, no, really. We might start doing this every week because people are interested in what's happening with the game.

WOLF: Yes good, these are important thing, I mean, these are -- there are big outdoor games. We've got some -- about five games. They have ranked teams. We're going to start things off with San Jose State, Alabama, they are playing in Tuscaloosa. Alabama, I have to mention them I'm an Auburn guy.

And speaking about the Crimson Tides about it -- as but as appealing as one might like say scabies, typhoid fever, diphtheria, but there they are. The Crimson tide, they never won, they played the kickoff is at 7:00 this evening. Temperature of 81 degrees, plenty of sunshine in Florida.

The John Brantley season era begins, Tebow is gone. They're going to get things under against Miami over in Ohio, that's 90 degrees kickoff in Texas and Rice. They are playing in Houston in 86 degrees.

Arkansas and Tennessee Tech, Arkansas 17th rank, playing in Fayetteville it should be a beautiful game kickoff, 77. Auburn number 22 playing in Auburn against Arkansas State, the Red Wolves; they get under way the ball is in the air, at 80 degrees. It should be pretty nice.

We did not have -- because both teams are unranked, Northwestern and Vanderbilt. They don't deserve to be up there because they are unranked as of the time. Sorry, Rick. But conditions there about 70 degrees.

HORROW: Hey Reynolds, what kind of commentary, hey Reynolds excuse me. Just stick to weather, OK? Tennessee Tech and Arkansas State both of you guys? It might be a beautiful game. I'm not sure it's a beautiful -- beautiful contest for both you guys. And -- and we'll see that Arkansas game that you guys played in Auburn -- in a -- in a -- in October, that -- that will be a fun game -- a fun game to watch.

WOLF: There's the good time.

HOLMES: But everybody is looking forward to Northwestern and Vanderbilt.

WOLF: Oh, yey, teams.

HOLMES: It's a great schools. It's a great schools.

HORROW: You have -- you have a very small constituency to begin with. You better be very careful. Hold on to what you've got. That's all I've got to say.

WOLF: Very true.

HOLMES: Our Northwestern guy, we appreciate you. He couldn't get in so --

HORROW: I'm in. You go Wildcats.

HOLMES: Yes we'll see you. Reynolds, I appreciate you as always, buddy. Thanks so much.

WOLF: You bet.

HOLMES: Well, coming up, we're going to be talking about another school, another college, not going to be playing any football necessarily today but their secrets might be out. I'm taking you to a little town with a big draw; free college and not just any college education. We're talking about a college education that costs upwards of $180,000 over four years. And you can go for free. A little catch, though. We'll tell you about it.

It's 40 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Yes, I've been blogging for a long time to be able to dress like that when I come to work. We'll talk about that more in just a second. We've been telling you this morning about Dragon Con, this pop culture event going on right here in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now if you look at it you'll think it's some kind of a Halloween costume, Halloween on steroids if you call it. But it's a pop culture thing here. Comic book literature, sci-fi fantasy, gaming, music all coming together. And part of it is a little weird if you will and people just want some kind of an escape. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ever since I was a young kid I've always enjoyed dressing up in costume. And here it's really fantastic because there are so many people with similar interests of mine. I mean, all the -- the science fiction fantasy comics, video games, everything.

And to be able to dress up as these characters that we enjoy and have people recognize you, it's just a lot of fun. Just something we really enjoy doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK.

Well, one guy that a lot of folks out there really want to see is Colin Ferguson. He plays Jack Carter, the main character from the Sci-Fi Channel hit show "Eureka". Take a look at a piece of it here and then we'll talk to him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN FERGUSON, ACTOR: Nice to meet you Trevor. Nice suit. You're doing Eureka proud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer not to. And you are?

FERGUSON: Already sick, if I understand. Doc, could you give me a lift back into town? My phone is down. I have some tree shrinkage to deal with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Colin plays this guy, a sheriff there in a town full of geniuses and he is here with us this morning. Kind sir, thank you for coming in.

FERGUSON: Well, good morning.

HOLMES: Good to see you. I hear you had kind of a rough night, they're partying pretty hard over at Dragon Con.

FERGUSON: Yes. There's -- I'll call it an oversight in my room at the Marriott is actually above the bar which goes until 4:00 in the morning. So, yes.

HOLMES: Well, appreciate you being here even if you didn't shave. It's quite all right, my man.

FERGUSON: Casual Saturday, right?

HOLMES: Good to have you here. Tell me, how familiar were you with Dragon Con before you started doing a show on the Sci-Fi Channel? Before you started doing "Eureka"?

FERGUSON: Totally unfamiliar with all of it. The whole world, the whole convention world, the whole thing; never heard of it, was completely off my radar.

HOLMES: Now that you're in it, what do you think about it?

FERGUSON: I think it's crazy. I think it's -- it's beyond what you can imagine. These costumes, people spend like thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars and a full year to make them. And they're so proud of them.

It's not just sort of one person, it is like you've got, you know, there's like a 400-pound Wonder Woman next to a 85-pound Conan the Barbarian and they're having a conversation. Strange relationship (ph) and every time it's the best time.

HOLMES: Now how do you -- who are these people? Who are they?

FERGUSON: They're everybody. It's like -- it's everybody from every walk of life. It's the strangest -- you think it would be sort of a niche group like, oh, it's sort of these people. But they come from -- like national security people. It's people you wouldn't think. It's the strangest thing.

HOLMES: Now, you have had to, you don't have a choice but to embrace this. These are your fans. You don't have a choice.

FERGUSON: I don't have a choice. No. But what I love about it is that everyone is really nice. You sort of hear stories of like all the fans are crazy, you have to sort of really -- I have never had that experience.

HOLMES: I'm sure you see some crazy stuff. We just did an interview with a woman; we couldn't even see her face because of her outfit.

What are some of the craziest things you have seen over there that made you just stop and go what in the world?

FERGUSON: Oh, there are some people who do their costumes where they're like 12 feet tall. You know, they sort of walk around. And simple one -- this is a simple one. Yesterday I was talking to a lady and we as actors, we frequently get the -- they put the contact lenses in our eyes to do stuff. They're really uncomfortable.

Like I said to this woman, do you find, is that uncomfortable? She's like, yes. You know, completely happy, yes, this is really uncomfortable. That's the sort of thing like, OK. I mean, I go to an interview in a t-shirt so I couldn't do it.

HOLMES: That's quite all right. We hope people understand who maybe don't understand Dragon Con or even the sci-fi phenomenon. That channel, it has a fan base that a lot of people, if you don't watch it, you just wouldn't believe.

FERGUSON: Yes. Yes. It's a station that they'll watch -- it's almost about their community more than it is the shows on TV. I mean, they'll watch our show but as they're watching our show they will be online talking to other people about the show and then will get together and talk about the other shows.

And so it's this whole world that then breeds or bleeds into the social thing at the conventions. So it's a whole fraternity that's set up around television.

HOLMES: Can you ever imagine a time, and you've done other acting, but you're doing something science fiction related now on the Sci-Fi Channel. Could you ever imagine a time if you're not doing that show one day down the road that you would start attending something -- is it in you to be a part of that sci-fi Dragon Con dress-up?

FERGUSON: I hope so.

HOLMES: Really?

FERGUSON: I mean it's so fun to see people go so far for something, in a day and age where people would, you know, they tweet before they cross town. Nobody gets together anymore. Nobody does anything.

There's this place where people go for the silliest of reasons. And I think that's why I like it because it's not an important thing. It's a completely silly, superfluous thing and that's why I think it's so great.

HOLMES: How have you been received, if you will? You've done several -- the show has been picked up again for the fifth season.

FERGUSON: Fifth season, yes.

HOLMES: A fifth season. So I guess you've attended a few of these before, I guess. What is the reaction to you and your show when you go to these things?

FERGUSON: Over the years, it's been deeper and deeper, sort of market saturation increases through the years. They've always been welcoming. Always been encouraging and, oh, we love the show. I mean, you know, when your day job is working on a stage for 16 hours a day, you forget to interact with the audience. You forget that that part of the exchange is missing.

When you go to the conventions you fulfill the loop. You get this sort of -- you meet the people for whom you're making the show and you get the reaction of what they like and what don't like and they give you feedback on stuff. And that's -- it's unbelievably important to make the show and it sort of makes the whole thing a lot more satisfying.

HOLMES: For the rest of the folks out there who are not a part of this community, Dragon Con. It maybe just dismissed -- it's a mistake to dismiss something this big. I think 35,000 to 50,000 is some of the estimates I've seen people attending. It's a lot of money in there.

FERGUSON: Oh, yes, and the San Diego one is -- it's 150,000 people. I mean, it's big, big money. And all the major companies are there. You've got Sony and they're doing all their stuff and promoting this. It's a big deal.

HOLMES: All right.

What's next for you? "Eureka" got picked up again. You want to stay in the sci-fi world?

FERGUSON: Yes. Well, I'm doing a lot of directing mostly on sci-fi. But yes, winter's coming. I think rest is in order. I think come November, rest.

HOLMES: All right. And maybe right now rest, again. Sorry for what you went through at your hotel.

FERGUSON: It's pretty funny.

HOLMES: Whoever booked your room for you, maybe that's who you need to have it out with. FERGUSON: Yes, Danielle. Where is she?

HOLMES: Oh, is that Danielle. Maybe you were not paying attention. All right.

Colin Ferguson, good to see you. Enjoy the rest of your time over there. Again Dragon Con continues throughout the weekend, if you want to check it out, happening here in Atlanta.

All right. Well, coming up, President Obama says the economy is recovering but are you feeling it? We're checking in with our political folks crunching some numbers; find out how with the money out there, how it will impact the midterm elections.

Fifty minutes past the hour; stay here with us.

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About seven minutes to the top of the hour now.

The President taking on the Republicans; he's going on the offensive now, blaming Senate Republicans specifically for blocking jobs, specifically a bill to help small business.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are certain measures that we know will advance our recovery. This small business jobs bill is one of them. And I'm confident that if we're willing to put partisanship aside and be leaders the American people need us to be, and if we're willing to do what's next, not for the next, what's best not for the next election, but for the next generation, then we are not only going to see America's hard-working families and America's small businesses bounce back but we'll rebuild America's economy stronger than it's been before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The back and forth on the economy is going to dominate the discussion heading into the crucial midterm elections. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has more on that battle and the reaction from the American people.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J. It's arguably the most important number in politics right now. An unemployment rate hovering just under 10 percent could spell trouble for the Democrats come November when they try to hold on to their majorities in Congress.

Here's why. Economy remains by far issue number one with American voters and jobs remains the top economic issue. And it appears Americans don't think Barack Obama is doing all that great of a job on jobs. Forty percent of people we questioned in our new CNN Opinion Research Corporation national poll say they approve how the President handling the economy but nearly six in ten saying they disapprove. That 40 percent is a new low for Mr. Obama in our surveys.

What about those crucial independent voters? Two-thirds disapprove with just 32 percent giving the President a thumbs up.

Mr. Obama's not on the ballot in the November midterm elections so why should this matter? Here's why. The President and his party run the White House and Congress so the buck stops with them. And the Republicans are trying to frame the midterms as a referendum on the job the President and the Democrats have done on jobs -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

Also, you can climb aboard the CNN election express bus. We are heading out. Next week we are focusing on the important races, the important issues, and some key swing states.

Monday, we are making a stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We'll start reporting live there; myself along with Gloria Borger, John King and our Jessica Yellin aboard the express. Tuesday we're hopping over to Columbus, Ohio. Wednesday, it's on to Covington, Kentucky. Then Thursday, we wrap things up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tune in right here to CNN all day and all week from our live report along with the rest of the best political team on television.

Stay here.

Right stay here because we are keeping an eye on what was a hurricane threat. What kind of a threat is it now?

Our Reynolds Wolf is keeping a very close eye on a storm that is not what we, well, what we were calling it for the past several days. We went from a Category four to a three to a two to a what?

WOLF: To a nothing.

HOLMES: To a nothing. Right.

WOLF: Category 4 was a major hurricane, there's no question about it. Now, I mean T.J., you're right. This thing is really just falling apart. You're taking a look at it now, moving to the northeast of Boston and Cape Cod at this time, taking an eye on Nova Scotia.

We've got some video to share with you that's going to really give you the story of the impact that it's having on Nova Scotia as we speak. This just in; take a look -- see the wind, you see the waves, everything's coming in. The rain has been very heavy, some places up to six inches of rain, most of the rainfall falling offshore.

Onshore though, we've got around five inches of rain up in Cape Cod; the rain is going to continue to actually impact this particular area in Halifax, Nova Scotia I would say over the next several hours as the storm comes on shore. And once it gets on shore, it's going to continue to die out because it's going to be away from the primary power source -- that warm water.

But I'm telling you what, the water they've been getting off the coast there fairly cool. That's going to help kill the system out.

So the big question is what is next for this storm? Well, the storm, as I mentioned, is expected to continue to track past Nova Scotia moving up to (INAUDIBLE) eventually go into the Arctic Circle, just dying out all together. But what's coming in behind it is something that's actually quite nice. This area of low pressure, this frontal boundary is going to bring very dry air for the eastern third of the country, could see some scattered showers in parts of Florida.

But one threat is going to remain even though that storm is gone. That's going to be the threat of rip currents all along much of the Eastern Seaboard. (INAUDIBLE) with swimming say off the coast of Nantucket clear down to Florida, you have to be really, really be careful out there and just take it easy.

In terms of your weather though for the rest of the nation, dry conditions out for the Central Plains into Rockies, pretty nice for you, too. In California, you might have a few scattered bits of fog around the Bay Area but by midday and into the afternoon, it's going to be perfect. It's going to be beautiful for you with high temperatures in the Bay Area going up into the 60s, 88 in Los Angeles.

As we wrap things up in Phoenix 109, 80 in Kansas City, 74 in St. Louis, 71 in New Orleans, Tampa, 89 degrees. That is a quick snapshot of your forecast T.J. Let's kick it right back over to you.

HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you, buddy. And you can stay tuned right here. Our team is still covering the remnants of this Tropical Storm Earl. We'll have live reports up and down the coast and again, Reynolds Wolf always keeping a close eye on where this storm is headed.

So we have a mess going on right now in terms of motivation and it's leaving one family looking for some help.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we have David who is still in bed. I have to go to work, and I don't know if he's going to get up and make it on the bus today or not. So that's really -- really some behavior that we could use some help on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. Call my mama, she'll help you out. This sounds like it might be time for some intervention here. And we have got our education contributor helping out. Going to hear all about it coming up next. Stay here.

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