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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bomb Kills U.S. Troops in Kabul, Afghanistan; Michael Moore Speaks at Occupy Oakland Protests; Rick Perry May Avoid Future GOP Debates; Political Commentators Analyze GOP Presidential Field; CNN Heroes Up for Prize; Trial of Michael Jackson's Doctor Continues; St. Louis Cardinals Win World Series

Aired October 29, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN Saturday Morning. It's October 29th. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is off.

Breaking news out of Afghanistan, a suicide bomber attacks a NATO convoy in Kabul, 13 U.S. soldiers are killed. We'll get a live report in just a moment.

And crazy, snowy weather is headed to the northeast. Yes, it's true a classic nor'easter in October. We'll tell you how bad it will get and where.

But we begin with that breaking news out of Afghanistan. A suicide bomb attack in Kabul today has killed at least 13 American troops. A suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in the center of Afghanistan's capital city. Our Nick Paton is there. He's live in Kabul for us. So Nick, what is NATO saying about this?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ISAF confirmed 13 of its service members killed on this attack on a NATO convoy. CNN's Barbara Starr, though, adding from a U.S. official that all 13 of these dead are U.S. soldiers as far as we know at the moment.

It appears that a suicide bomber driving a vehicle laden with explosives ran into this NATO convoy pretty close to the center of Kabul. Bear in mind, this should be one of the safest areas of Afghanistan. But this casualty toll making this one of the worst attacks since the August crash of a Chinook carrying forces to hit a NATO campaign so far this year. Alina?

CHO: And Nick, this is the deadliest attack on troops since a helicopter crash in August, killing 38, including 22 Navy SEALs. There have been other attacks in Kabul as well today, including one involving a female suicide bomber, right? Tell us about that.

WALSH: These other attacks happened around the country in what appeared to but a flurry of ones directed towards NATO and Afghan security forces in the country today. In Kunar in the northeast, a woman wearing a burqa, age 25 we hear, detonated a device injuring some people. In the south of country, near Kandahar, two ISAF service members were killed when a man in an Afghan army uniform who we understand was being trained by them turned his weapon on these two NATO soldiers, injuring seven others from an Afghan army commander in the area.

CHO: Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Kabul, thank you very much.

And moving on to politics, a gathering of Republican voters is getting under way this hour in Iowa. Iowa is a critical early voting state, the first in the nation's caucus. So why is today's event lacking in star power?

CNN political reporter Shannon Travis is in Des Moines for us. Shannon, great to see you. We want to get to that conference in just a moment. But you have an even bigger story you want to get to first. What is that about?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a story that's bubbling up concerning Michele Bachmann. We may be seeing our first allegations of political dirty tricks in this campaign, Alina. Michele Bachmann is alleging that the Perry campaign is basically behind a stealth move, a stealth political attack against her campaign. Take a listen on at what Michele Bachmann had to say to Wolf Blitzer just yesterday and I'll explain on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Governor Perry has something to say to me, he can come out to the debates and he can say it. But this is clearly egg on the face unfortunately for the Perry campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: "Egg on the face of the Perry campaign." Let's explain what Michele Bachmann is talking about. There's a Tea Party group, American Majority, that came out a few days ago and urged Michele Bachmann to drop out of the presidential race. They say she's not representing the Tea Party very well, that she's talking too much about social issues.

Michele Bachmann in response is not only taking aim at the Tea Party group, but she's taking aim at the Rick Perry group saying this group are supporters of the Perry campaign and that the Perry campaign put them behind this.

We're sure to note that the Perry campaign denies this. They say they have nothing to do with it. The group denies this, as well. They say this is bizarre. But Michele Bachmann, she's intent saying this is a political and dirty trick orchestrated by the Perry campaign, Alina.

CHO: Very interesting. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that Rick Perry is ahead in the polls and in some ways, that's probably not a surprise. Now, having said that, you're there in Des Moines. What do we need to know about today's event in Iowa inspect.

TRAVIS: This is a big gathering of the Republicans and conservatives, the national federation of conservatives. It's a gathering, a biannual gathering every few years. Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, we know they've been storming across Iowa hoping to make a really strong showing in the January caucus. You also have Rick Perry's wife, Anita Perry. She'll be speaking here as well.

CHO: Shannon, always great to see you on the campaign trail. Shannon Travis live for us from Des Moines, thanks.

And Rick Perry is not only skipping today's event in Iowa, he may take a pass on the next debate, as well, and may the one after that. That's because he calls debates a mistake. Smart strategy or running away from something he's not good at? We're going to talk to our political insiders coming up in about 30 minutes.

Right now, let's get you caught up on the snowstorm set to smack New York City. There's a live look at Manhattan. That's Columbus Circle. And that nasty rain there you see on the left of your screen is expected to turn into snow a bit later, three to five inches, as a matter of fact. That's Central Park on the right.

And here is the latest look at the radar picture, a relatively rare nor'easter for October. All the white there, that's snow. It's bitter weather for trick-or-treaters, not much weather for the crews charged with keeping roads and highways clear. They will have their work cut out for them in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester could get up to eight inches or more tonight.

Meteorologist the Alexandra Steele is tracking the storm for us from the CNN Severe Weather Center. This October nor'easter, as you've been saying, rare, but not totally unprecedented. But it's been a long time, hasn't it?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: In New York city, how about 59 years? So, really, all the big cities on average, it's about a month and a half early for this measurable snow. Did you not believe me? I told you, 5:00 this morning, there you go. It's a cool and interesting delineation that's right along the 95 corridor. That's the snow. Here is the rain and the pink where we're seeing the changeover.

And it's all about the cold. Here is Pennsylvania. Already reports of the five to six inches of snow and also we have reports east of 95 also from snow and in Virginia, even some power outages. That really might be the calling card of this. Additional snow, I think what will be the calling card of the power outages we see. The snow is heavy and wet.

I just want to show you New York State. Here is Kingston. The Berkshires, the cat skills, the higher elevations, that's where we're going to see it. Why are we seeing it? Well, here is the area of low pressure. This is what we're seeing. It's the nor'easter. It's been moving to the north and east and this has a history of snow. So it's got some history and it's got some punch.

So here is what's happening. We're watching this area. Again, the moisture is moving in, temperatures are dropping and with that, we're going to see some snowfall totals, incredibly substantial. Not unprecedented, but very, very rare. Pennsylvania already seeing four, five, or six inches being reported. The moisture has been there longer. We're going to watch that move north and east. Poughkeepsie, 13 inches possibly. Springfield, Hartford, Springfield, that's where the heaviest snow will be. But we will see it on the big city.

Here is New York City and what you're going to see. Wind and rain today, that's what you've got right now waking up looking outside. Like Christmas, is it snow out there? Not yet. This afternoon, two to four inches for you. It's been a long time, 359 years. Boston, we're going to see it last longer. And in Philadelphia, farther south, rain and wind happening right now mixing with snow tonight and potentially one to three inches.

So a few things we're going to mostly note about this. It's heavy, it's wet. The winds have strong power outages will be a story. And 60 million people impacted in one way or another with rain, wind or snow. Certainly this is quite a storm we'll be talking about for tomorrow.

CHO: I know it's going to move out pretty fast, but what a mess in the meantime. And I think I smell airport delays.

STEELE: Absolutely. Already have some delays. Already, actually, some of the airline carriers are offering those winter weather advisories. You can move and change your flights so look into that if you're traveling.

CHO: I will be tomorrow. Thank you, Alexandra.

A high tide in Thailand could mean even more flooding and more damage in the capital city of Bangkok. Residents were urged to leave but many stayed put. Many areas around the city are already under water. Nearly 400 people have died, millions more forced from their homes. Our Sara Sidner is in Bangkok.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This lady has told us that she has run out of money. She is afraid for the safety of her animals. These are her dogs. She has a few rabbit these. And she's just trying to get them to higher ground. She's starting to become very, very worried. That's what's happening in a lot of this area. We are seeing some of the elderly people also getting into trucks that the army has brought and jumping in there because their homes are inundated with water.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: This has been the worst flooding in Thailand in more than six decades.

The Occupy Oakland protesters gain a familiar face. We'll tell you what documentary film producer Michael Moore has to say about them and the movement. That's next on CNN Saturday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. Good news for some of you. JP Morgan Chase bank has deciding against charging a monthly fee for your debit card. Remember this story. They are the latest big bank to back off the monthly fee idea. Chase had been testing the fee for the last eight months or so. Last month, Bank of America announced its own $5 a month fee, and that led to a lot of criticism from customers. B of A now says it's considering a change in that policy.

Apple may have sold 4 million of its latest iPhones during its opening weekend, but it appears that another manufacturer may take the crown when it comes to shipments of smart phones. According to a research firm, Samsung shipped nearly 28 million smartphones between July and September compared to Apple's 17 million. When you look at the big picture, though, it is unclear if Samsung passed Apple in actual sales since the company doesn't disclose those figures.

Now those Occupy protests across the U.S., protesters are back in Oakland, California, and for now, the city of Oakland is keeping a low profile as for one demonstration that saw one demonstrator's skull cracked. Medical officials say Iraq War veteran Scott Olson should make a full recovery. Celebrity filmmaker Michael Moore made an appearance and spoke to protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MOORE, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: This happened organically. It is a true grassroots in my lifetime. I have never seen a movement like this take hold, this town, and this many people all across the country.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: In New York where this all started, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says there are no plans to move the protesters out. They've hunkered down in tents. Our Mary Snow tells us police are cracking down now in a different way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: An unexpected wake-up call for Occupy Wall Street protesters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city law does not allow for the storage and use of generators and fuel in the manner that threatens public safety.

SNOW: New York City firefighters accompanied by police showed up to inspect and remove generators and fuel containers the city says are a fire hazard sitting among the hundreds of protestors camped out in New York's Zuccotti Park. Both the city and protesters say there was no resistance.

But among people like Nicholas Isabella who shot this video, it's raised suspicious. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the city, while they publicly say we are allowed to be here, internally they are trying to find ways to wean us out slowly. And this is their way of doing that.

SNOW: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during an interview on WOR radio said the generators and containers are fire hazards that are against the law.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK: Our first two concerned, first amendment and safety. And this was safety.

SNOW: Protestors say they've taken precautions, including fire extinguishers, and questioned why the city is acting now.

BILL DOBBS, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTOR: The timing is a little odd because it's the first cold day. It comes after a terrible, violent attack by law enforcement on Occupy Oakland. Of course we're concerned, legitimately concerned, because sometimes the explanation we're given in this city is not what's really going on.

SNOW: The mayor of Oakland, California, apologized for recent violence against demonstrators. Tear gas was used and an Iraqi vet was hospitalized. In New York the mayor says there are no plans to move protestors.

BLOOMBERG: The property is not city property, and so far Brookfield hasn't complained and asked us to remove people, so that's not a consideration.

SNOW: And then there's the weather factor. Protesters like Nicholas Isabella are bracing for cold weather and snow, vowing to stick through it.

(on camera) You don't see the cold weather affecting this at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will turn some people away. I'm not going to stay everybody will be here. But for the most part, we're not going to stop. It's not going to have a negative effect on us.

SNOW: And in another development here in New York, one union of the NYPD, the Sergeant Benevolence Association, pointed to recent violence at other Occupy Wall Street movements across the country, saying it will sue protesters if officers here get hurt.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: It's time to vote. Not in the world of politics. This vote is all about celebrating inspirational people. Aren't they, Josh Levs?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely, yes, the CNN heroes. And the ideas that this many they come up with to help people in need are often amazing.

CHO: So many inspiring stories. Josh, thank you. But first, what do you think is the average student loan debt being carried by the average class of 2009? We're talking about four-year nonprofit colleges. So is it $2,400, $4,000, or $24,000? We'll have the answer when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: So we asked you before the break, what do you think is the average student loan debt being carried by the graduating class of 2009? We're talking about four-year non-profit colleges. Is it $2,400, $4,000 or $24,000? The answer is $24,000. That's according to the Institute for College Access and Success. Wow. It takes kids lots of years to pay off their student debt.

They go to great lengths to make personal sacrifices to help people in need. Now they're being honored in a big way. They're CNN heroes and you get to choose a hero of the year. Our CNN's Josh Levs is here to show us how they do it. How do they do it, Josh?

LEVS: First of all, it's amazing, the way they come up with great ideas is a lot of things people wouldn't even think of. This year, we have ten honorees, some people struggling with injuries, families living in hunger, kids affected by HIV, many others in need. Here is one of the heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAL DIMICELI, CNN HERO: I'm Sal Dimiceli, and my mission is to help my fellow Americans who have fallen on hard times. In a week, I'll receive 20 to 30 letters.

"Me and my family are in desperate need of help."

I want to verify it's genuine, and I want to get to them as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Just one of the examples there of the ten heroes. I want to tell you how you can learn about all of them. It's real easy. Go to CNNheroes.com. When you get to this main page, you learn about them. We link you to your organizations if you want to help or learn more about it. And each person has a fan page.

Here is an example. Amy Stokes, here is an interesting story. She is someone who works with kids I believe in South Africa, helping kids suffering from HIV with mentors. Here is how it's going to work. Every person who is one of the ten gets $50,000. And the one that you choose to be CNN hero of the year will get $250,000.

And here is how the voting works. When you get there, go to this page. Click on "vote." Once you click on whoever it is you want to be a hero, their photo will show up right here in the area where you vote pup hook it up to your e-mail address or your Facebook. What that will do is allow all your friends to find out how you're voting. You can get them involved and get others involved and push them to vote, as well.

And something new this year, Alina, we have this entire system set up on mobile, as well. If you go to CNN heroes.com on your mobile device, you will be able to place a vote there, as well.

CHO: Josh, I asked you this before, but it's not quite like "American Idol," but you can vote more than once, right?

LEVS: Well, you know, it's better than "American Idol" in that you don't have to fight to get through the phone lines. What we've got going here is a system in which you can vote up to ten times a day per e-mail address or Facebook account. So if you have multiple accounts like that, you can vote more. The deadline will be December 7th, midnight pacific time. And the announcement will be live, Sunday, December 11th at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 p.m. pacific here on CNN. Everything you just saw I've linked up for you on my blog, CNN.com/Josh. And while you're on Twitter, be sure to follow Alina Cho.

CHO: AlinaCho@CNN. Thank you very much, Josh Levs. I appreciate it.

The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor this week, jurors heard from several defense witnesses, including an expert witnesses who testified that Jackson gave himself that fatal dose. We'll have much more over the break.

But first, the state of the Internet quarterly reporter was recently released by Akamai Technologies, a company that collects local data about Internet use. One of the things they looked at in the report is the world's fastest and slowest internet connections. Here are the top five. Latvia, number five, the Netherlands at fourth. Third of the list is Japan. Hong Kong takes the number two spot. And the country with the fastest internet on the world? South Korea. By the way, the United States was number 12 on the list. After the break, we'll check out the fastest, fewest states.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor could wrap up next week. Jurors will hear from an expert witness who testified Jackson gave himself the fatal dose. And as we hear from CNN's Ted Rowlands, the defense took center stage this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we saw, first of all, after a few witnesses that did some timing issues and cleared some things up, then we saw the character witnesses. There were five of them. They each came up on the stand in an attempt to try to humanize Dr. Murray who had been beaten up considerably by the prosecution's case. And one by one, they got up on the stand and said Dr. Murray was the best doctor they had ever had.

GERRY CAUSEY, CONRAD MURRAY'S FORMER PATIENT: He was the best doctor I've ever been to because of the treatment because of the clarity of what he's doing and the follow-ups. And I just don't think he did what he's been accused of.

ROWLANDS: But the most important witness by far for the defense came on Friday, Thursday and Friday, Dr. Paul White. He is the expert anesthesiologist that was combating the prosecution's expert. And what he was able to do in his direct testimony was establish an alternative theory as to how Michael Jackson died. The prosecution believes Jackson died via an IV drip of Propofol, while White poked holes in their case and established for the jury an alternative saying Michael Jackson injected himself with the lethal dose.

J. MICHAEL FLANAGAN: Dr. Schaffer said his scenario reconciled with all the facts in this case. I want you to tell, does it reconcile with Dr. Murray's statement?

DR. PAUL WHITE, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: No.

FLANAGAN: Does it reconcile with the physical evidence found at the scene?

WHITE: No.

FLANAGAN: Does it reconcile with the urine concentration found at autopsy?

WHITE: No.

FLANAGAN: The scenario that we have up here, does it reconcile with Dr. Murray's statement to the police?

WHITE: It does with respect to the dose that Dr. Murray administered. I don't recall if he commented on the possibility that Mr. Jackson had self-administered. So I have to carefully check that report. In other respects, it does, yes.

FLANAGAN: Does it reconcile with the evidence found at the scene?

WHITE: Yes, it does.

FLANAGAN: Does it reconcile with the urine evidence provided by your reconciliation?

WHITE: Yes.

ROWLANDS: Now, Dr. White isn't finished with his testimony. He still hasn't endured cross examination. So whether he'll be able to withstand cross-examination and still have those points intact that he was able to establish, we'll have to wait and see. He'll be on the stand Monday for the cross.

We expect that closing arguments now because of all the delays that we've seen in the last couple of weeks won't occur until, likely, Wednesday or Thursday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Ted Rowlands, thank you. Coming up, we're talking election year politics with Maria Cardona, CNN contributor -- hey, Maria, you look great -- and Republican Lenny McAllister. You look great, too, Lenny. Among the topics, Herman Cain's smoking online campaign ad.

Also ahead, the deadly day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan after a suicide bomber hit a NATO military convoy. We're going live to Kabul after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: It is 32 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to CNN Saturday Morning. We'll we're glad you're with us. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is off.

And we begin this half hour with breaking news out of Afghanistan. A suicide attack in Kabul today has killed at least 13 American troops. Our Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Kabul. So Nick, what a NATO saying about the attack?

WALSH: They are confirming the deaths of 13 of their personnel in this attack. CNN's Barbara Starr also saying a U.S. official tells her that all 13 men were in fact American military personnel. So a huge loss here for the U.S. and NATO in what is the deadliest attack since august of this year when a Chinook crashed carrying U.S. Navy SEALs.

This appears to have been today a suicide bomber driving a car laden with explosives into this NATO convoy in what should have been one of the more secure areas of Kabul. So, again, concerns about the safety of basic NATO transport inside Kabul today.

Also, another attack in the south of the country adding to what's been a flurry of violence in the past 24 hours. A man in Afghan uniform turning his weapon upon two ISAF personnel also killed in that instance, as well. ISAF not confirming nationalities like that, but concerns today we might be seeing the beginning of an increase in violence in the important months ahead of the political process in Afghanistan. Conference both abroad and in Kabul trying to frame the political process, frame how American troops will stay here in the future, and how Afghans will stay charge of their own territory in the year ahead as U.S. troops and NATO troops begin a partial withdraw. Alina?

CHO: Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Kabul, Afghanistan, thank you very much.

Turning to American politics now, after a couple of tough debate performances, Rick Perry's campaign may be looking to cut back on his debate appearance. Here is what Perry's campaign spokesman said on CNN's "JOHN KING USA."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY SULLIVAN, PERRY CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: We certainly respect the process. But when you've got eight or nine candidates and 30 seconds to a minute, it takes valuable time away from campaigning in Iowa as those elections approach.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "JOHN KING USA": Do I take that -- are you saying he's going to look over the calendar and scratch some of them out?

SULLIVAN: John, they're having 18 more in the planning phase. There's no way that the candidates can do all those debates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: All right, so is it a good idea to start skipping debates? Joining me now is CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, and Republican strategist Lenny McAllister. Great to see both of you.

So Lenny, let's talk about Rick Perry. He hasn't decided yet whether he's going to bow out of some of these debates. I believe there are 18 in all left so far. But having said that, would he be saying this if his debate performances were deemed good and his poll numbers stayed up? Or is it only because the media has said he didn't do such a good job?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, of course he wouldn't be saying that if he did better in debates. What he's looking at is he's looking at the fact that he's won every election he's been in. And some of these elections down in Texas he refused to debate his opponent. Now he has to get on the national stage and debate, and he doesn't done well debating these folks. He is making himself look worse and worse. He is basically sinking in quicksand.

So he's trying to figure out a way to breach himself from the stumbling, bumbling candidate. The problem is this -- if he's running for governor of Iowa, it's OK to campaign with the people in Iowa and not touch the rest of the country. However, he's running for the presidency of the United States. He needs to speak to the American people as much as possible. The fundraising is going to be a national phenomenon.

And if he shuts himself out of being in these debates, he's going to limit himself once again. It looks like he's retreating. Let's be real, Texans and American presidents never retreat when it's game and the crisis on the line and we need leadership. This is not a good thing for him to do.

CHO: Maria, let's talk about Michele Bachmann. She's being urged now by one Tea Party group to quit the campaign. She's sort of blaming Rick Perry supporters and saying they're behind the move. What do you make of all this?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: If I was Michele Bachmann, I would completely ignore that, Alina, because she should stay focused on her message. And frankly, I think and a lot of conservatives think she has been the best messenger for the Tea Party's issues and ideology, much better than Rick Perry. So I wouldn't be surprised if Rick Perry is behind this. But I do think it's risky for her to go out and make an accusation if she has no proof, because I don't think that's going to help her. When I heard about this yesterday, I sort of got my back up for Michele Bachmann. I think I said this yesterday, I will tell her she should stay in this race and not let anything anybody tell her what to do.

CHO: It makes things interesting. As our Candy Crowley said, it doesn't hurt her any more than she has been hurt in the polls.

Lenny, let's talk about Herman Cain. He has an ad out featuring his campaign chairman puffing on a cigarette. He says the ad is what hilarious. What do you think is the impact of his campaign?

MCALLISTER: He's been doing thing unconventionally this whole time. This isn't a surprise. This is one of the types of things that endear the Tea Party folks to Herman Cain. But at some point in time, he's going to have to look more mainstream. This is great for the primary voter. But if he's going to be the mainstream guy that's going to win the presidency, he has to get out of this, he has to start speaking to a wider base of people.

This is part of the reason why Michele Bachmann has fallen off, part of the reason why Rick Perry has fallen off and I think this is going to be a reason why Herman Cain has fallen off. You have to speak to a diverse American if you're going to lead a diverse America. And so far, most of these candidates in the Republican field have not done the best job of doing that.

CHO: Very quickly, Maria, I want to ask about president Obama and his push for two programs that could help people who want to refinance their mortgages and people who are under water in items of paying of their student loans. Does either program help him overcome those low numbers on the economy and those low numbers on the poll? He says he wants to act on his own now, but is it going to work?

CARDONA: I think it's certainly part of his message that he is being decisive on the economy in the face of Republican intransigence, not wanting to do anything to help the middle class and the working class. And I think that it will help him. If he continues to underscore what he is trying to do for middle class and working class Americans in terms of student loan webs in terms of homeowners who are under water on their mortgage -- he also announced a program that would give tax credits to businesses who hire veterans. He announced a program for small business toes streamline regulatory laws.

So I think all of those do help him in terms of underscoring the message that he is doing everything that he can to help this economy while Republicans are trying to block him every step of the way, because what is their number one goal? Not to create jobs. According to Mitch McConnell, their number one goal is to keep this president at one term. That is not the kind of leadership we need in Washington.

(CROSSTALK)

MCALLISTER: There's doing absolutely everything they can do. If they focused on Obama care and all of these other things, that's not doing everything they can to get America back to work.

CARDONA: The Republicans aren't doing anything to create jobs, Lenny.

MCALLISTER: But you know what inspect they've got to get the president out of the way.

CHO: Kids, kids, kids. Oh, my goodness.

(LAUGHTER)

CHO: All right, we're going to have to end it here. Sad thing.

CARDONA: Thanks, Alina.

CHO: Great to see you, Lenny and Maria. Why don't you guys hug later?

(LAUGHTER)

CHO: Still ahead, severe weather winter alerts in effect for parts of the northeast. We are live with the latest on the storm track.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Winter weather is headed to the northeast today. The problem is it's not winter yet. It's places like Allentown, Pennsylvania, a foot or more of snow could fall, and that's putting a premium on snow blowers, shovels, salt bags, and much more. Gas generators aren't a bad idea, either, with possible power outages expected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trees, still plenty of leaves on them. You have forecasters saying heavy, wet snow, high winds. Those are all the perfect ingredients for potentially a large problem with the electric grid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: It's 44 minutes past the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHO: It was quite a journey getting there, but the Cardinals are this year's world champions. We'll tell you how they beat the odds. Plus, we'll check on the celebrations in St. Louis.

But first, for some, it's all about getting the candy. But for others, dressing up is the best part of Halloween. So which costumes are the most popular this year? Here are the top five for adults, according to the National Retail Federation. At number five, Batman, four, Zombie, three, Vampire, two, Pirate, and the number one costume for adults -- witch. After the break we'll have the top costumes for pets. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Before the break, we showed you the five most popular costumes for adults. Now we have the top costumes for pets. Number five, cats, number four, bee, number three, hot dog, number two, devil, and number one, pumpkin. By the way, the national retail federation says Americans are spending a little more than $300 million on pet costumes this Halloween. Are you kidding me?

Joe Carter from HLN Sports here with a look at all of the highlights. But first, your dog is a pumpkin.

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: You know, I didn't even know that was the case. I feel like I'm on board.

CHO: I feel a little embarrassed.

(LAUGHTER)

CARTER: No, no, the dog should be embarrassed.

CHO: All right, OK.

We were talking about the World Series earlier. This is huge. I thought that the Texas Rangers would pull through and get their first World Series.

CARTER: I think you had the sentimental favorite. But the Cardinals, you have to give it to them. Late August, it didn't look like they were going to make the playoffs. But then the Braves started stinking up the room and they started to get hot. They had a less than five percent chance to make the playoffs in late August.

Like I said, they got hot in the month of October. They got in on the last day of the regular season. And when they got in on the playoffs, they were the underdogs throughout the entire thing. They beat the Phillies, they beat the Brewers, and last night, they beat the Texas Rangers. It's incredible what the cardinals have done as the underdog. Vegas has them as a 500 to one odds to win the World Series. This is the franchise's 11th World Series championship. Only the Yankees have won more World Series titles.

There are a lot of great backstories to this team, as well. David Freese, the third baseman, went to high school 20 miles away from Busch stadium. He was the hero in game six, one of the greatest games of all time that I've ever seen in the World Series.

CHO: Big parade tomorrow, right?

CARTER: Big parade. Grab your Tums and Rolaids. They got the celebration and Halloween all in one weekend.

CHO: It's almost too much between the beer and the candy.

CARTER: The beer and the candy and the aspirin.

CHO: So what's going on with the NBA? They just can't figure it out.

CARTER: Yes. It's a fight over money. And I think the biggest loser in all of this is the fans are the loser, and then the merchants, the guy that works the second job selling the tickets, running the beer up and down the concourse. This has dragged on 121 days. The commissioner has said now that we're going to have no games through the month of November, which means up through November 30. The players and orthopedics have met 11 times this month for nearly 87 hours and they still can't seem to get a deal. The 82 game season the commissioner said is not going to happen at this point.

CHO: This is unprecedented.

CARTER: A few years back, they had a 50-game season because of a lockout. But this could be the whole season.

CHO: Joe Carter, thank you.

Coming up, frequent flyers, fewer risks -- the TSA unveils a new security plan that allows some to walk through airport security before ever getting on their flight.

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CHO: Welcome back. As any seasoned traveler will tell you, long lines at airport security can bring any trip to a grinding halt. But in this installment of "On the Go," our Reynolds Wolf shows us how some passengers cruise through airport security.

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REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Imagine getting through security in minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was great. I didn't have to pick up my laptop, my iPod, my cell phone. I didn't have to take off my shoes. It was awesome. It's so easy.

WOLF: The TSA is making this easy with its new pre-check program. They get information in advance about frequent travelers who in return get to literally fly through the line. Currently, pre-check is only available for selected flyers with Delta in Atlanta and Detroit and American Airline customers in Miami and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

MARY LEFTRIDGE BYRD, TSA FEDERAL SECURITY DIRECTOR: They can go through our website to give information and become part of the program.

WOLF: But even approved passengers aren't guaranteed every time and can still be subjected to extra security later. But when it's a body scanner versus security breeze, passengers seem to soar over pre- check.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a lot smoother. That's incredible.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: And we're following a developing story out of Afghanistan -- 13 U.S. troops are killed after a suicide bomber hit the NATO military convoy. We will go live to Kabul when we come back.

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