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CNN Saturday Morning News
Latest Jobs Numbers Debate; Focus on Indiana Manufacturing Plant Jobs; Terrorist Extradited to U.S.; The Impact of Latino Voters; Tunisians Questioned in Libyan Attack; Scottish Dialect Goes Extinct; Hugo Chavez Reelection Chances; Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal; Reading Politicians' Body Language
Aired October 06, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Victor Blackwell is off today. It is 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
We begin this hour with the latest jobs numbers. They are providing ammunition in the battle for the White House. The Labor Department says 114,000 jobs were created in September with the unemployment rate coming in at 7.8 percent. That's a drop of 0.3 of a percent from August.
The Obama and Romney campaigns jumped on these figures and, of course, they came down on opposite sides. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser joining us this morning.
Good morning, Paul. So there's one month, hard to believe, until election day and no issue bigger than jobs, right?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: No doubt about that, Randi, and you're right. After what you could consider a tough week for the president coming out of that debate in Denver, the jobs numbers are a good sign for his reelection bid, a happy sign for the re-election team.
But for Mitt Romney this is fascinating, Randi, because the unemployment rate is now below 8 percent for the first time since Barack Obama came into the White House back in January of 2009. You have heard Mitt Romney on the campaign trail over and over again, over the last year and a half, as he's been running for the White House, criticize this president on jobs for the unemployment rate being over 8 percent. Now it is under 8 percent. Now it's time for Mr. Romney to have to pivot from his favorite line.
Take a listen to both candidates on the campaign trail yesterday reacting to the jobs numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today's news should give us some encouragement. It shouldn't be an excuse for the other side to try to talk down the economy just to try to score a few political points. It's a reminder that this country's come too far to turn back now.
FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So it looks like unemployment is getting better. But the truth is, if the same share of people were participating in the work force today as on the day the president got elected, our unemployment rate would be around 11 percent. That's the real reality of what's happening out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You hear Mitt Romney there pivoting now talking about the real unemployment rate at 11 percent, so I -- I guess that's his pivot coming off the unemployment report yesterday.
Randi, why does all this matter? As you mentioned off the top, the economy by far the number one issue with Americans. Take a look at this. This is from our CNN/ORC International poll. We did it about a week ago before the first debate, but I don't think it's going to change peoples' perceptions.
By far the economy remains the top issue on the minds of Americans. It's been that way since late 2007 when the U.S. economy went into a recession and how do Americans feel about which candidate is doing a better job on the economy right now? They were split going into the first debate. We'll take a look at polling coming out that was conducted after the first debate.
Again, right there, can you see that number. That 48 percent, that really says it all. The economy is the most important issue on the minds of American voters, and what's the most important economic issue, jobs -- Randi.
KAYE: Which is why there is so much heated debate about those most recent jobs numbers.
Paul, thank you very much.
We added 114,000 jobs last month, look at the latest numbers when it comes to jobs in manufacturing. The industry lost 16,000 jobs. But manufacturing is an important industry for many swing states, especially along the rustbelt, including small towns like Goshen, Indiana.
That's where our Ted Rowlands gives us some context to those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Designs in Goshen, Indiana, which is in Elkhart County, Indiana. This is an area that was absolutely hammered during the recession. We're talking about 18 percent unemployment at its worse, but things are coming back.
Here at Wieland they make things like these seat covers which go on airline seats. They make covers for the automobile industry. They also make high-end furniture, custom furniture. They do a lot of different things and they have a lot of jobs open right now. In fact, they have added about 70 jobs over the past year alone, going from a workforce of 145 to about 210, and they are looking for more qualified people. The problem is they are having a difficult time trying to fill those positions.
Now, the unemployment rate here in this county is still at 8 percent, so one would think that people would be beating down the door for these jobs. We're talking about good-paying jobs with full benefits, but they are having trouble filling these spots and they have for a considerable time.
Kip Wieland is the CEO.
Kip, tell us exactly. You've got some openings right now. What's the problem? Why aren't you bringing people in? Why is it so difficult?
KIP WIELAND, CEO, WIELAND DESIGNS: Well, we have a great manufacturing base in this area, a lot of talented people. We just don't have enough of them. We're up about 70 people from as far as the employment here in the plant floor from about a year ago. We need about 15 to 20 more to really have the right amount of capacity and to get out of overtime situations on a consistent basis, so I -- I think that --
ROWLANDS: You're in competition with the RV industry, with the boating industry and two sectors that are really coming back, so there's pretty much a war going on here for the quality of talent.
WIELAND: Those are real volatile industries. When they are up, they are way up. They come back quickly, but they also drop off quickly. What happens here is a little bit more steady. We're able to level load a little bit better. So when they are up, we have to -- we have to fight a little bit more for the people that are employable here.
ROWLANDS: One of the things that's interesting, we found out that there are some people that are collecting unemployment. And those unemployment benefits, of course, have been extended and they are choosing not to come back to work because they think that when their benefits do expire, that these jobs will still be there. And that, of course, is the frustrating part of this equation.
WIELAND: There is some of that going on. We can't focus on that. There's not much we can do about that. What we did can try to do is do as much pre-qualification and testing on an initial basis as to who is -- who is -- who is in a good investment to -- to train. You know, we train as much as we can, a lot of training.
ROWLANDS: Bottom line, if you're looking for work, want to be a sewer or work on the line here, there's even some front office jobs, Wieland Designs in Goshen, Indiana. They have jobs available -- several.
CNN, Goshen, Indiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Ted, thank you.
Most of the job cuts in manufacturing last month didn't occur in places like Wieland Designs, but in computer, electronic products and in printing.
In other news overnight, three suspected terrorists arrived in New York after being extradited from London, including the notorious Abu Hamza a-Masri. He has a hook for a hand and has called Osama bin Laden a hero. The radical cleric and four others are wanted for several crimes committed against the U.S. in the 1990s. Some of them are expected to appear in court tomorrow.
A Texas teenager has been charged with capital murder in the death of two family members. Officers took 17-year-old Jake Evans into custody earlier this week. Investigators say he made a call to 911 telling the dispatcher he had just shot and killed his mother and 15-year-old sister. The shootings took place in the family home. Investigators believe the 17-year-old acted alone. His father was out of town on business at the time.
To Colorado where police are searching for a missing 10-year-old. That's her picture there. An Amber Alert has been issued for Jessica Ridgeway after she failed to show up at school. About 50 officials including police and fire fighters are looking for her, but she has not yet been found.
We've got much more ahead this hour. Here's a look at what's coming up.
With 50 million in the U.S. and nearly 24 million eligible to vote, some analysts are saying they might decide the next president. All morning we put the Latino vote in focus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Investigators have made progress into the investigation into agent Ivie's staff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A new theory behind the brutal death of a U.S. border agent. Why investigators are saying he may have died at hands of one of his own.
Five hundred convicted felons could be set free in Massachusetts. Why? This chemist allegedly tampered with evidence for the last nine years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So we're just making a public statement here to support big bird, protect him, you know, whoever you're voting for, big bird is the best, and we don't want to see him lose his job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You got to love our iReporters here at CNN. They are clever.
We are counting down to Election Day. There is one month to go. This morning we're focusing on one group that's drawing a whole lot of attention in this campaign and that will be closely watched on Election Day, Latino voters. Who is doing a better job at reaching out to the 23 million or so potential voters?
Take a look at this new CNN/ORC poll of Latinos. When asked who is doing a better job of reaching out to minorities, 77 percent said Democrats, only 33 percent chose Republicans and this may be even bigger. Sixty nine percent said the Democratic party cares more about Latinos. That's compared to just 24 percent for Republicans.
It is a stark contrast from a group of voters that could be key to many of those important swing states that we talk about so much, but remember, Latino voters don't always vote as a group. As our Soledad O'Brien reports, there's a growing diversity among Latinos themselves, especially in places like Manhattan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This store is called Escondido, hidden, but the Mexican wares it sells are no hidden secret.
LOUISE SALAZAR, CO-OWNER, ESCONDIDO: You see more and more products and cheeses and those kinds of medicinal products from Mexico, much more interest in Mexican chocolate and you see the changing demographics, people demanding higher quality products.
O'BRIEN: These high-tend chocolates and cultural artifacts are so popular they are not just fetching top dollar, Escondido has begun accepting pesos.
SALAZAR: More Mexicans, more pesos. It makes more sense to be able to accept them as a way of providing a public service to the people who come to the shop.
O'BRIEN: Mexicans have also taken Manhattan, moving in where Puerto Ricans and Dominicans once ran bodegas and beauty shops.
FRANCIS SANTIAGO, NEW YORK RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE) a lot of Dominican and Puerto Rican, also working in factories and hair salons, nail salons, everything, and, you know, from there they got better and some of them you see them now store owners, their own clothes stores, cell phone places, dealers, the same way that somebody I think from Mexico can come and do the same thing here.
O'BRIEN: Mexican births will soon outpace Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in New York while more Dominicans are leaving than arriving, not just moving up, but moving out.
MOISES PEREZ, LATINO POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Mexicans are now willing when they come straight from Mexico to take lower paying jobs and to endure some of the exploitations the Dominican endured, you know, years ago.
O'BRIEN: Rodrigo Abrajan says he finds New York immigrants friendly and rich with opportunity. He began working in New York's kitchens at age six and then sold tacos off a cart, a taco truck, a taco stand, tacos to go and now he's the owner of four Mexican restaurants.
RODRIGO ABRAJAN, OWNER, LA FONDA: You have to work very hard, and I -- I would never expect to be that successful as -- as we do right now.
O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And we've got much more ahead on the role of Latino voters in this election. Coming up in our 10:00 hour Eastern time, Maria Cardona and Amy Holmes will let us know what their respective parties have done right and wrong. It's always a lively discussion with those two.
And remember, be sure to tune in for a special CNN documentary, "LATINO IN AMERICA: COURTING THEIR VOTE". It is hosted by Soledad O'Brien. That's tomorrow night 8:00 p.m. Eastern only right here on CNN.
There's a new football team in town, but this one is in India. In fact, there's an entirely new league of American football teams there, but will it catch on?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In Turkey, two Tunisians are being questioned in connection with that deadly consulate attack in Libya last month. An official says the Tunisians were on a watch list given to Turkey by the United States. They are being questioned at the request of the U.S. Four Americans including ambassador Chris Stevens were killed in that attack.
And time is ticking away for 48 hostages held by Syrian rebels. In this video the rebels wanted their demands met within two days or they said they would start killing the hostages believed to be Iranian pilgrims. Rebels are demanding the Syrian regime release rebel prisoners and stop killing civilians. That's not expected to happen before today's deadline.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says a thank you instead of criticism would be welcome from Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the sacrifices American troops have made. His remark followed Karzai's accusation that the U.S. isn't doing enough to fight terror in neighboring Pakistan. Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have steadily been eroding in recent months.
Other stories making headlines around the world now, first to the Vatican where Pope Benedict's former butler was just sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking confidential papers. Paulo Gabriel was convicted this morning of theft. The book, based on his leaked papers, revealed possible corruption in the Catholic Church hierarchy. Gabriel told the court he leaked the papers out of love for the church and didn't feel like a thief.
And in India, American football is the new sport hoping to gain popularity. The new league is made of teams from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They have names like the Delhi Defenders. Some former NFL stars like Mike Ditka are backing the project and many coaches are actually Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY SIMMONS, EFLI COACH: We've got guys that were like all over the place, you know, we got some (INAUDIBLE) guys who never played sports. We had like one guy named Sticks, 6 foot 5, sitting at the hotel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Sports experts say the biggest challenge is combating cynicism and training players.
Now to Russia where an 11-year-old boy found the remains of, believe it or not, a woolly mammoth sticking out of frozen mud. Scientists named the mammoth "Zhenya" after the boy who found it. It may be more than 20,000 years old. Scientists say it may have been killed by an ice age man.
And a dialect in Scotland has gone extinct. The only remaining speaker of a Scottish dialect called Cromarty died yesterday. He was 92. Linguists say the dialect was unique because it's the only Germanic language that doesn't use the "wh" sound like what or where.
And in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez, he's controversial, a vocal critic of the United States and one of the leading leftist figures in Latin America and is now running for another term. Our Paula Newton joins us me now from Caracas, Venezuela.
So after 13 years in power, Paula, horrific crime across the country, soaring inflation, crippling poverty, do voters actually still want him?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been what we call here a Chavista revolution Randi and you know, for as much as all those things are true, he has nationalized industries which has allowed him to fill up those government coffers and his government proposes that, yes, they have shared the wealth and it's true that even according to the U.N., there are fewer people today living in poverty in Venezuela than there were when Chavez took office.
You know, Randi, there is a sense here that, look, his time is over and that's not just because he fought cancer. He claims he's cancer- free, but I can tell you on the campaign trail he isn't looking very health. and there is this sense that Chavez revolution, the very left wing socialist revolution that he started, could be waning.
And the problem here is Randi, is taking from those government coffers, they haven't really invested as much. If you start from that oil infrastructure moving right down to the roads in Caracas, in the capital or out to the regions where there's lots of power, this is a country hanging on by a fiscal threat. And they say next year default is perhaps possible and for sure financial restructuring will have to happen and that could mean a devaluation of the currency here -- Randi.
KAYE: Paula, what is at stake really for the U.S. in this election? NEWTON: You know, it might surprise many people in the United States that almost 10 percent of gas in the United States comes from this very country. This is an opaque nation. Any kind of destabilization could have a bit of a price shock when we go to fill up our gas at the gas station.
But beyond that, Chavez has been provocative with the United States. He still refers to the United States as the imperialists and he certainly has had a lot of people on his side and he has been seen as the leader of that kind of backlash against U.S. power really in the region.
You know, it's so funny. You were talking about Leon Panetta. He just yesterday said that, look, we want to relinquish that role. South America is a very different place. So it's interesting. This really is an end of an era in many, many different ways and it does mean a different era of engagement here in South America one way or the other. And Chavez perhaps may be the beginning, you know, of that whole routine changing.
Having said that, his opposition, Henrique Capriles, is a 40-year-old lawyer, a marathon runner Randi, really energetic, has been going house to house here for six months now up and down the side of the country. This is going to be as close as any election they have ever seen in Venezuela.
KAYE: Certainly one to watch. Paula Newton, thank you very much, live for us this morning from Caracas this morning.
What began as a request by Mitt Romney's campaign now has this neighborhood restaurant facing death threats. The campaign's request and the owner's response that's unleashed such an extreme backlash.
But first on a shady road near downtown Dallas, bail bondsmen, liquor stores and closed down strip clubs line roads to Fuel City Tacos.
Ed Lavandera takes you to this hidden gem that has become the ultimate Texas experience in this week's travel insider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What if I told you that some of the best tacos you'll find not just in Dallas, Texas, but the entire state of Texas are hidden in this gas station? Fuel City. You're not going to find this place in some fancy photo spread with the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. It's off the beaten path. You've got to drive past a bunch of bail bond stores, some liquor stores, even a couple of closed up strip joints, but it's worth the drive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to take you inside where the magic is made. Check it out. You've got beef. You've got chicken. You've got pork. You've got (INAUDIBLE). Check out the jalapenos and the grilled onions, delicious.
LAVANDERA: Fuel city is kind of like Texas on steroids, not many car washes where you can actually look at real longhorns, some donkeys, car washes, windmills. It's kind of like Texas over the top really.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Here are a few stories that we're watching this morning.
Some new developments in that shooting that killed a U.S. Border patrol agent -- the FBI now thinks he may have died by friendly fire. 30-year-old Nicholas Ivie was shot and killed this week in Arizona. Initially officials said Ivie and his colleague who was wounded in the incident, came under fire after responding to a sensor that went off, but authorities say the only shell casings found at the scene were those belonging to the agents. Ivie is the third border patrol agent killed in the line of duty this year now.
An amber alert has been issued in Colorado after this 10-year-old, Jessica Ridgeway, disappeared on her way to school. The search was delayed because the girl's mother didn't immediately know she was missing. The mother, who works the night shift, slept through phone calls from school officials saying that she hadn't arrived. Police have searched the surrounding area but have found nothing.
Death threats, threatening phone calls, vicious emails all because they declined to be a campaign stop for Mitt Romney. That is the response this Mexican restaurant in Denver, Colorado is now getting. The cafe has been a neighborhood institution for years and the owners who are from Mexico are Mormon. They say they just didn't want to be a campaign tool but weren't expecting certainly not this kind of extreme backlash. The owners say they have received hundreds of threatening phone calls and emails.
To politics and whoever coined the phrase October surprise clearly knew what they were talking about. Only six days in, and this month has been full of them. As we've told you, a jobs report jolted the campaign, but it isn't just the economy that's got people talking. Many are still buzzing about the first face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney and whether the President's re-election chances took a hit thanks to what even his team says was a lackluster performance.
Our John King and Wolf Blitzer talked about some of the game-changing moments in presidential debate history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's go back in history and take a look, Wolf, and let's start with 1980. Watch the Carter/Reagan race play out in the polls right here, this was their one and only debate.
And if you look at it, Ronald Reagan had come from behind and actually moved slightly ahead of Jimmy Carter. The question was he up to it, was this actor ready to be President? A lot of people think this was the moment that sealed the deal. RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected?
KING: Fast forward to 2000, the Bush/Gore race, we know how close it was at the end. Look at the gyrations in this race, this was right after the Republican convention. George W. Bush goes up and Al Gore gets back in the hunt after his convention. The come to the first debate with Gore ahead but this is when he sighed so much, he rolled his eyes. Look, Al Gore comes down. Then in the second debate, that moment you talked about a few moments ago, Rob Portman filling in for Al Gore prepared George W. Bush for this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's what the question in this campaign is about. It's not only what your philosophy and what's your position on issues, but can you get things done. And I believe I can.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right. What about the Dingell-Norwood bill?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: A priceless moment there from George W. Bush. He went on very narrowly, of course, but he built his little bit lead after that debate and kept it until the very end.
And then more recently in 2004, George W. Bush running for re- election; again, this is a very competitive close race with John Kerry for a long time. After the first debate George W. Bush came down, a lot of people said that he was shaky in that debate, didn't answer a question about the Iraq war very well but then he stabilized the race a little bit and in the end, in the final debate, look at this, almost tied coming in. Bush starts to pull away with a strong last debate performance where he made a connection on faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: It's very personal. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for our troops in harm's way. I pray for my family. I pray for my little girls. Prayer and religion sustain me. I receive calmness in the storms of the presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Calmness in the storms of the presidency from George W. Bush. He went on then from that debate to keep his lead and to win that election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And joining me now is CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen. Hilary, good morning. Both critics --
HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning Randi.
KAYE: -- and supporters of President Obama say that he was off at the debate particularly in his demeanor. Now, we've got numbers that simultaneously give the President a boost on the economy and take away key Republican line of attack that we all have learned well that the nation's unemployment rate remains above eight percent. 31 days from now, Hilary, what is going to resonate more with voters? Will it be style or substance?
ROSEN: That's a great question, Randi, because I think that, you know, there was a lot of theater, not just on the stage the other night but you know in the media the next day and people talking about performances.
But I think when we look at kind of dial groups from undecided voters and even the CNN groups and -- and other independent groups, you know, what people said was, OK, Mitt Romney won the debate on -- on style, but it didn't change their mind about the election, and I think voters are really looking for answers, like these jobs reports I think are -- are significant and that's why the Republicans are doing everything they can to discredit them because what we're saying -- what we're seeing is that we're moving in the right direction.
We found ourselves in a hole and we are moving in the right direction and I think President Obama has been pretty Steady-Eddie about that and that's what voters are going to respond to.
KAYE: So you think then that the jobs report is enough to cancel out Obama's debate performance, or will there be continued damage?
ROSEN: Well there is just, I just don't think there's any comparison. I mean the jobs reports are about real people and real lives and where the economy is going. The debate was, was -- as I said, just sort of important theater and -- but if I -- I actually watched the debate again yesterday just to try to get it. President Obama didn't do so badly. He was much quieter. He was more thoughtful. He got a lot of facts out. It was just very wonky.
But when -- when push comes to shove, the policies that President Obama's for, whether it's promoting the middle class, looking to support education, not wanting to see the health care cuts that are in the Romney/Ryan plan, those policies supporting women are much more popular than Mitt Romney's policies, and I think that the Obama team is going to kind of double down on that over the next few weeks.
KAYE: Let's talk about a piece on CNN.com. You gave President Obama some tips on how to win the first debate.
ROSEN: Right.
KAYE: Writing in part, I mean, this is a great little read. You wrote "My final piece of advice is most simple. Stay nice. No, you're likable enough comments, no jokes about dogs on top of the car, no snarking about how rich Romney is, no patronizing lecturing when he has his facts wrong. Just stay nice."
So but looking back I mean I know you say you don't think he did so badly but by all accounts the President remained calm. Maybe too calm really for some of his supporters -- didn't engage in the attacks, didn't use the Bain Capital, didn't use the 47 percent attacks, and -- and the overwhelming consensus, of course, was that Romney won.
So what's your advice for him for the next debate? Do you still say stay nice, stay calm?
ROSEN: Well you know the first two pieces of advice in that column maybe not quite as pithy but as important in my view, were number one that this election is a choice. It's not a referendum on the President. It's a choice. Which policies are you going to like better?
And what we found in the debate was that Mitt Romney kind of walked away from a lot of the policies he had been talking about, so President Obama I think didn't have the opportunity he should have had to compare their plans because every time he talked about what was in the Romney plan, Romney said oh, no, no, no, that's not in my plan when, of course, it had been for the last six months. So I think next time we're going to have to go back at that a little bit.
And the second point was that when we look at -- at America today, you know, we're not in a -- in a state -- yes, everybody's got the economy as their number one issue, but people don't live in that kind of binary world.
When an immigrant family is worried about whether their children are going to be deported, they just can't study as hard at school. When a woman -- when a mom is worried about, you know, paying for her reproductive health, on a different plan than a family plan, you know, that adds an extra burden to her economic struggles.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: All right let me --
ROSEN: When a gay and lesbian family doesn't have benefits or isn't recognized, you know, the workplace and where they choose to work becomes a much bigger struggle. So I actually think that bringing in some of those -- some of those issues, some of those more human issues where there's a great divide between the President and Mitt Romney are going to be really important.
KAYE: CNN contributor, Hilary Rosen, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
ROSEN: Take care, Randi.
KAYE: She tested drug samples connected to 34,000 criminal defendants in Massachusetts. Next, the mind-boggling story of a drug lab chemist accused of tampering with evidence and forging documents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: A Massachusetts chemist who worked for a state drug lab for nine years is facing allegations of misconduct. Annie Dookhan is accused of faking drug results, forging paperwork and mishandling drug samples. The damage she's accused of could be enormous. Police say she tested drug samples involving 34,000 defendants while employed at the lab.
Lawyers and judges are now scrambling to deal with the fallout and so are the people whose convictions were based on the science now in question.
Here's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Massachusetts chemist Annie Dookhan --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you tell us what happened?
CANDIOTTI: The State of Massachusetts is accusing Dookhan of tampering with drug evidence that could call into question at least 34,000 cases going back to 2003 -- 34,000. At the moment she faces only three charges. However, in Boston alone, the DA estimates as many as 500 convicted felons could be set free.
(on camera): How big of a mess is this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this point, Susan, we don't know.
CANDIOTTI: At this lab now closed by the state, Dookhan allegedly mishandled drugs seized by police for evidence at trial. She allegedly estimated the amount of drugs at times by simply looking at them and certified some drugs as cocaine that are now testing negative.
(voice-over): She didn't just write down the wrong thing. Prosecutors accuse her of doctoring evidence to change test results.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would take known cocaine from an area that she knew was cocaine and actually add them to the sample to make it cocaine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Incredible story.
Let's turn to CNN contributor Paul Callan for some legal analysis on this. Paul, good morning to you.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Randi.
KAYE: So what -- what kind of damage do you see here?
CALLAN: Well, this is a scandal of staggering dimensions. I mean, I've seen -- I've researched this and this has happened in labs elsewhere in the country, you know, a rogue -- one rogue person making a mistake on a case or testifying falsely in court. But this case involved 60,000 drug samples that were potentially tested and there are literally thousands of defendants who may be in prison now who could be affected by these results.
And how does it play out ultimately? All of their convictions could be thrown out and many of them by the way are the not just drug criminals, they are violent criminals. You might have had one drug count in the conviction, but it could have been a rape prosecution or a murder prosecution, so this is an enormous, enormous scandal and danger to the public --
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: -- in Massachusetts.
KAYE: I mean 34,000 cases going all the way back to 2003, and in one case this convicted rapist whose bail was reduced after the scandal was released and is now a fugitive, and you're saying then the public should be alarmed in case of these dangerous people out there.
CALLAN: Well, they should and I think, you know, some people are going to come forward and say well, you know, all right. They will just throw out the drug count, but if he's in for rape he'll stay in for rape.
Well, not true, because how do we know the jury wasn't influenced by the fact that the guy was a drug dealer or possessed drugs in evaluating his credibility on the rape or murder or whatever other charge there was? That's what I'm really worried about. I'm not worried about drug criminals; I'm worried about violent criminals being released into the streets of Massachusetts and elsewhere in the country --
KAYE: Right.
CALLAN: -- by the way, as a result of this scandal.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: So what --
CALLAN: Yes.
KAYE: -- what ultimately could happen to this accused chemist?
CALLAN: Well, she's in serious hot water. I mean, right now she's only charged with two things: obstruction of justice and, you know, when she testified in many of these cases, she claimed that she had a degree, a masters' degree in chemistry which apparently she did not have or she didn't have it from where she said she had it from.
KAYE: Right.
CALLAN: So they're going to get her on perjury. They're going to get her on obstruction of justice. The attorney general of Massachusetts says by the time they are done with her she will be facing 20 years in prison and very, very serious charges against her.
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: This is a blow to the criminal justice system.
KAYE: It's amazing that she was actually estimating -- allegedly estimating the amount of drugs just by eyeballing them. But I'm curious what you think about how this might affect drug labs in other states. I mean could we see a change in the role of the chemists who work there as a result?
CALLAN: Well, I think labs are going to be much more careful about vetting who works in these labs, and that procedure you were talking about, by the way, is called dry-labbing. It's sort of you look at a vile and if it looks like drugs you say "It's drugs." And that's what she was doing.
I guess she'd see a vial of white powder and she'd say it looks like cocaine. All right, it's cocaine.
So you have to -- these labs have to be monitored. We have to make sure capable people are running them, but you need auditing processes to make sure that people are doing their jobs. Ironically with the budget cutbacks and everything and people working hard to keep their jobs, she was trying to be extremely productive in Massachusetts. She was doing three times the work of other people in the lab to show she was a great employee.
And, of course, this is going to cost the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a staggering amount of money in lawsuits and in danger to the public when they try to clean this mess up.
KAYE: Yes. It's -- it's really an incredible story. We'll continue to follow it.
Paul Callan, nice to see you on this Saturday morning.
CALLAN: OK.
KAYE: Thank you.
CALLAN: Nice being with you, Randi.
KAYE: Here's a question for you. What do facial expressions, posture and finger-pointing and even hugs tell us about political candidates? A body language expert walks us through this week's big debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a 20-year-old student. I'm one of the undecided voters that President Obama and Mitt Romney have to sway over in this vote. And this is the first time that I'm going to be voting for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Voters, pundits and the media might have pored over every word the candidates said this week in the presidential debate but we're well, taking a different look at things and checking out how blinking, posture and finger-pointing and even hugs played a role. Body language expert Patti Wood joining me now in studio this morning -- good morning to you.
PATTI WOOD, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: Good morning.
KAYE: So I guess when you look at -- when you look at the debate, and we've done this even with the -- some of the other debates, but winning a debate isn't just about what you say, right. It's about what -- how you say it and what you look like?
WOOD: Exactly, because so much of the emotion and the power is communicated non-verbally. And so much of how we read that in the limbic brain -- that primitive brain is done through that non-verbal behavior.
KAYE: So when look at the, if we look at just the beginning of the debate from Wednesday night, the moment that Governor Romney and President Obama came on stage, tell me what you see.
WOOD: Well, I see the President going into what I call the politician's handshake. High in the arm there saying, I'm in control, I'm the alpha here -- setting the tone for how he thinks the debate is going to be going.
KAYE: That's the hand on the arm.
WOOD: Exactly. The higher on the arm, the more power and control that person is showing, and it's very typical of politicians to do that -- high on the arm handshake to show that control.
KAYE: And that's power. OK. And there's a lot --
WOOD: Do you notice they continue to hit each other --
KAYE: Yes -- what is that? Is that a guy thing or is that a debate thing.
WOOD: That's a guy thing. The hitting says, hey, I like you, but there's other people watching.
KAYE: So when you go back to the podium though, when they actually started the debate -- the President has taken a lot of heat, a lot of criticism for looking down --
WOOD: Yes.
KAYE: -- shaking his head, nodding a lot.
WOOD: Yes. And the downward motion, he wanted to stay contained. He was really, really upset with how much Romney was over speaking, overlapping, interrupting, going over the time and to keep that presidential look, unfortunately, he did that by putting his head down, and that made him lose his power to that visual realm of the audience.
KAYE: What does it tell the audience?
WOOD: It tells -- it makes the audience feel like he feels defeated.
KAYE: Which isn't good -- that's certainly not what you wanted.
WOOD: Not good. And it's interesting because though it was containment that's not how it felt to us.
KAYE: What about Romney? Many times during the debate he was blinking very rapidly.
WOOD: Yes. Yes. And that showed his tension, and often was when Obama won a point in the debate, you saw Romney respond to that by doing that frequent blinking -- over 70 blinks per minute that shows high stress level and then he would jump in and typically he would take the turn away as soon as that happened.
KAYE: And you also saw him -- I mean he's doing it here, a lot of big movements, the hands up and down and rocking back and forth.
WOOD: Yes. Yes exactly. And remember last time I said that's what he needed to do in these debates.
KAYE: Yes.
WOOD: He needs to bring up his energy and bring up his gestures. He listened. He did that right here.
KAYE: You think he was tuned in?
WOOD: I think he was. I also think he was a little bit caffeinated during this, like double espresso caffeinated.
KAYE: Look, I think he had been up for days actually. His eyes were bloodshot, just practicing and rehearsing maybe, I don't know.
WOOD: The energy completely changed -- I was so struck by that.
KAYE: Yes. What about we talked about his blinking, but what about Obama's smile?
WOOD: Well, he had a couple of real smiles when he won a couple of points, when he was talking about Obama care. He smoothly went into the points. He gave real smiles, but most of the smiles were in irritation to things he thought Romney was saying that were absolutely ridiculous, like "you have no idea how hard this job is" was the smile he was giving Romney.
KAYE: So eventually it ended.
WOOD: Yes.
KAYE: Let's talk about the hugs and the handshakes at the end. What did you see there?
WOOD: Yes.
KAYE: Well, remember we talked about Obama being in control at the beginning. That's the primacy effect. But there's a "recency" effect that occurs at the end of the debate. The last thing a viewer remembers and it's very interesting. Romney didn't want to leave the stage. He kept staying and stretching it out and stretching -- he wanted --
KAYE: He was enjoying the moment.
WOOD: He wanted to be the last visual that we had of "I won this debate." He just reveled in it and stayed and stayed and stayed, and Obama left.
KAYE: What about Obama's body language at the end though? Did he seem -- he seemed to sort of be hunched over a little bit.
WOOD: He did. I thought that was very interesting. Again, I do feel like he realized he didn't do well. And there was a point, even in his closing statements, where you felt like he'd given up. He was so weary at that close. And he didn't do what I wanted him to do and that's look straight at that camera and make that appeal.
KAYE: Right.
So the next debate will be in a town hall setting. Do you think we'll see different sort of body language there?
WOOD: Well, I'm very interested to see if Romney can keep up his energy like he did so well here. And I'm very interested to see if Obama comes up to the bar and he does so well when there's an audience. I want to see some of that charisma and warmth.
KAYE: All right. Always very interesting. Thank you so much, Patti. Appreciate you coming in.
WOOD: My pleasure.
KAYE: So that was just fun, but a serious look at the Colorado debate. But what are all the comedians, of course, saying about it? This best late night laughs of the week coming up.
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