Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20101104

turned out to be wrong, but pups don't mind eating anything, even crow. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. thanks for being with us. we're back here tomorrow. that does it for us. don lemon handling the duties now. >> crazy, crazy times we're living in, kyra. live from studio 7 at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta, the news and information you need for this thursday, november 4th. republicans power up in washington. you know, they promised to fix the country's long list of problems. but here's the question, what's the plan? money's no problem for a couple that won the lottery, but why are they giving their millions away? >> you can't buy happiness. >> not so sure about that. a grown man doing cartwheels on stage. one politician is so happy to keep his job, he is doing a victory dance. good morning, everyone. i'm don lemmon. tony is off. those stories, your comments, more cartwheels right here right now in the cnn newsroom. we begin with politics and your money. republicans regain power in the house by focusing on jobs and the economy. we expect to hear from senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. if they talks about the gop plans for reviving the economy and creating jobs, we will bring that to you in just a little while. right now, we want to focus on what the new congress means for your personal finance, your taxes, your job and your investments. christine romans took a look on cnn's american morning. >> how does the republican house matter to you. let's go to the wall and break them down. taxes, a really big issue on the campaign trail. the bush tax cuts expire on december 31st. the white house says it would like to keep them for middle class, everyone making under 250,000 a year. the republicans say they want them to be kept for everyone. look for compromise here. also look for a hiccup because if this current congress doesn't deal with the issue of the bush tax cuts immediately before it adjourns november 15th, you could see your tax bill go up in january until this is handled by the new congress. so watch for that. let's take a look at your job leer. the republicans have said they would like to see less federal money. they would like to see smaller government and less federal spending. they could very well mean that jobs like teachers, jobs like local and municipal workers could see no new federal money coming in to replace it and you could see job cuts in that area. that could be a fallout there. the jobless benefits extension. will the republicans be so quick to keep extending jobless benefits. this needs to be addressed by this congress first, before we start talking about the next congress, and, in fact, in indiana, they're putting armed guards in the jobless benefits office because it is stuch a stressful situation with so many people potentially losing their jobless benefits they're relying on. watch that as potentially jobless benefits extension not continuing through again and again as we have seen now. the dow, generally, the stock market has been up, affecting your 401(k), it was up in anticipation of a republican victory. the politicians and pundits are already talking about the 2012 elections but the dust is still settling from tuesday's midterms, two u.s. senate races still undecided. in alaska, lisa murkowski appears to lead joe miller, and in washington state, patty murray leads republican challenger dino rossi. qantas and singapore airlines are jound'd grounding jumbo jets after a scare over indonesia. passengers were terrified by a loud blast and fire when an engine failed. it took place minutes after they took off. the engine fell right off the a380. the air bus did return safely. on indonesia's yild, mount mer rauppy has been spewing a steady stream of ash. disaster workers report five more people have died, bringing the total to 44. nasa has scrapped today's shuttle launch because of bad weather. storms make friday's liftoff really doubtful right now but engineers will wait until tomorrow morning to decide. this is the last scheduled flight of "discovery," the oldest oshler in the shuttle's fleet. "forbes" magazine is out today with the list of the world's most powerful people. five, the pope, fourth, russian prime minister putin, and the king of saudi arabia number three. the top two are coming up. who do you think they are? you might be surprised by who they picked for the top spot. rob marciano is in the severe weather center. >> smart money is that's not me or you. >> are you sure about that? >> pretty sure. powerful storm gaining strength. a pretty severe storm rolling up the east coast. weather coming up in a little bit when cnn newsroom returns. was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com. [ commearlier, she hady vonn! an all-over achy cold... has everything you need. what's her advantage? it's speedy alka-seltzer! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. indulge in endless servings of your favorite shrimp. including crunchy new parmesan shrimp in a buttery garlic sauce. our best value of the year ends soon. at red lobster. a very first story in the newscast, mitch mcconnell speaking in washington at the heritage found. >> they demonstrated to all of us that constitutional conservatism is actually alive and well. there isn't a reason for republicans to gloat. rather, it's a time for both parties to realize who is really in charge, the people. to be grateful for the opportunity we now have to begin to turn this ship around. tuesday was, indeed, a referendum, not a choice. it was a report card on the administration and anyone who sported its agenda plain and simple. it doesn't take a roomful of political scientists to figure that out. the americans voted for change in the last two elections because two long and difficult wars and because they hoped a changing of the guard would stabilize the economy and get america moving again. and then the people they elected set about dismantling the free market, handing out political favors at taxpayers' expense, expanding government and creating more -- a more precarious future four our children. democratic leaders used crisis of the moment to advance an agenda americans didn't ask for and couldn't afford. and then they ignored and dismissed anyone who dared speak out against it. so the voters didn't suddenly fall in love with republicans. we know that. they fell out of love with democrats. and while they may have voted to send more republicans to washington, they're sending them here with clear marching orders. very clear marching orders. stop the big government freight train and respect the will of the people who send you there. as churchill once observed, courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. and i can't think of a better way to sum up tuesday's election than that. this morning, i would like to talk a little bit more about how we got here and the task ahead. i wanted to do it here at the heritage foundation because for nearly 40 years heritage has played a crucial role in promoting and defending the principle of free enterprise, limited government, free and a strong defense. in other words, the very principles the american people voted to uphold in tuesday's historic election. >> you are listening to the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell at the heritage foundation in washington talking about tuesday's historic election and now with the republicans having the majority in the house of representatives, here's talking about how to move the government forward. of course, he opposes president obama's health care plan, and that's one mission on his agenda is to repeal that health care plan and health care law and also, he said, his major mission, main mission is to make sure president obama only has one term. we'll follow up on that if there's any other news to come out of it. in the meantime, more concerns about the struggling job market. first time claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 20,000 last week. the labor department says the number of americans filing initial jobless claims rose to 450,000. that's discouraging news, discouraging sign ahead of tomorrow's monthly jobs report that we'll have for you. that 457,000 number measures only new claims or people who just lost their job and are up for benefits for the first time. there are millions more who have been drawing unemployment over the long-term. alison kosic on the noew york stock exchange. >> this is the kind of number when you hear it, it really stops you in your tracks and you want to say, wow, 8.7 million people in this country are collecting unemployment benefits, and this includes those people who are collecting those emergency long-term benefits, those federal benefits that kick in when the state benefits run out. the average weekly check the people are getting is $290. not a lot but it pays some bills. the federal benefits are looking to expire on november 30th, and if the lame duck congress doesn't extend, 2 million people will stop getting the check. this could be a big fight. in the past, republicans have fought tooth and nail against extending the benefits because they say who will pay for them? we have a ballooning deficit of $1.3 trillion. of course, the bigger problem is when the republicans move into their new seats in the house in january that could be an even bigger blockade. not blockades here on wall street, the dow industrials rallying almost 200 points. one of the stories getting you talking today is in san francisco. it's the passing of the oh called happy meal law. have you heard about it? kids craving fast food will no longer find a free toy at the bottom of the box. can you do that? we want to know what you think. end us your thoughts cnn.com/newsroom. someone said it was unamerican. host: could switching to really save you fifteen percent or m insurance dochuck wo or m insurance it chucking my wd!ang woodk, or m insurance huge night for kobe bryant. the laker star backed up his claim that he is fully recovered from his off-season knee surgery. tnt nba be analyst joins us now. how old is coby now? i guess can he can fully recover from an injury like that because the older you get the harder it gets. >> he's not quite as old as i am. i can tell you that, don. it was a great performance. that was his 17th triple/double in his career but in the last five years he had only two triple/doubles. now after the off-season knee surgery he comes back and in five games he has his first one in that season. this guy is like that good wine that keeps getter better with age. >> he had 30 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and the lakers won 112-100. definitely a good sign for them. where do you see them when it comes to his year? >> i don't think there's anyone that would say this team is not going to be fighting for another nba championship. they are clearly the best team in the west right now and arguably the best team in the nba now early in the season. obviously, injuries do take itsle to on certain teams. odom had his thumb pulled back severely during the course of the game. they had to come out and retape him, but if you can go through the season with just small injuries and make it to the playoffs, this team is talented enough to have another chance at another championship. >> it helps their chances having him back on the court. the washington wizards, great dance moves. look at that. what do you think of that? >> well, according to what i was told, he did this only because his teammates had asked him to do it. this is part of the routine that he had at the university of kentucky when he was playing for head coach john calipari. his guys asked, would you do it tonight at home to get the crowd into the game. he says, oak kark i'll do it. i'm not sure he wants to do this every night. nor would i recommend this every night. i seem to remember another player that had routines before their games in cleveland. >> you can do the stanky leg. >> that's not my favorite dance. i couldn't do that on dancing with the stars. >> let's talk about the giants opinion they had her parade yesterday in san francisco but you know what people are talking about the most? brian wilson's beard. the fans were wearing it. people against him are saying shear the beard. he caused more people to grow beards in two weeks than anyone i've known. >> i don't even want to tell you how old i am but i tried all these years to try a beard. i can't grow one. it takes me too long to get to the point where it starts to show. i think it's a tremendous thing for fans to identify with someone like brian who came on in relief, and the city after all these years can celebrate a championship together. >> thank you for helping us out today in the world of spores. the best political team on tuition got a ribbing as well. we're pulling up a chair at the kid's table. is it a seder, thanksgiving? there's a lot of folks. for haiti, it's one nightmare after another. right now, tropical storm tomas is swirling toward the country. it is expected to grow into a hurricane by the time is brush brushes past haiti. people are still living in tents after january's earthquake and they are also coping with a cholera outbreak. 422 deaths are rotted so far in that country. rob marciano joins us with the latest. the last thing they need. >> exactly when we talk about hurricanes, we are concerned about the winds and flooding. the two things you point out, tent cities, so you don't need a tremendous amount of twoind do damage. two, this a mountainous area outside of port-au-prince. you don't need a lot of rain to see the hillsides go. we are going to get a decent amount of rain and wind, either way, don't pay attention to the track. winds 45 miles an hour. that's a good thing, dialled down five miles an hour since the last advisories. making inroads to jamaica. the first few outer bands reaching the western pennsylvania -- peninsula of haiti. it's shooting the gap as a strong tropical storm potentially gathering strength to become a hurricane. they will see strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall. eastern cuba now is under a hurricane warning, expecting to see potentially hurricane strength winds in the next 36 hours. florida, rainfall today, wind tomorrow. cancelled the shuttle launch today, and with the wind tomorrow, they may cancel that tomorrow. heavy rain in eastern pennsylvania through northern new england. this is a front side of this system, a cold, nasty rain with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. traffic is it a nightmare at metropolitan airports in the northeast. not just rain but cold air will drive down into the deep south and in some cases, flakes in the great lakes. top stories right now on cnn. just glad to be alive. that's the words of a qantas passenger after emergency landing in singapore. an engine cover on the air bus a380 ripped off minutes after the takeoff. qantas airlines have grounded their a380 until the investigation is complete. 30 tons of marijuana found at the end of a 600-yard tunnel used to smuggle drugs from tijuana to san diego. it is equipped buy a rail system, lighting and ventilation. the highly anticipated dbox kinect goes on sale today. forget hand controllers. kinect uses your whole body as a control through cameras and censors. >> if you want to play the xbox with the kinect motion control, you don't need a controller, no buttons, no pointing at the screen, but i needed a bit of help to learn how to play one of the new 19 games designed for the kinect and turned to alex kipman. >> you see the game is simple and fun. no buttons, to controllers. the sensor understood who you were and is tracking your body as we go down the river. >> xbox has exploded in popularity in the last few years. microsoft says there are about 25 million exbox users in the world and they spend about 1 billion hours a month on their gaming consoles. that's a lot of time and a lot of digital fun as well. so, i come over here to find out what is hot and we're bringing you the hottest videos trending on the internet. josh levs what do you have? can i stand in front of this? >> take a look at this karate competition. everyone else is chopping away at the wooden block. one guy tries and tries and can't break his wood. meanwhile, the guy in the background is asking a bigger problem. let's slow this down a little bit. he breaks the wood but completely falls oust stage. apparently he's fine. >> we're laughing at other people's expense. >> you know what, it's a competition. none of us can do what he's doing. >> you can fall off the stage? >> look at this guy. colorado congressman so overwhelmed with joy over winning the election, check out what he does. he does cartwheels. cartwheels, democrat. from colorado's 7th district. 57 years old. not bad. >> when is the last time you did a cartwheel? >> third grade. >> c'mon, do one. >> that would violate a cardinal rule for tv. you were talking about this earlier in the show. stephen colbert. >> i knew it was going to happen when i saw it. >> it's okay to have fun at our expense. >> we enjoy it. fun at our election coverage. >> while republicans made a lot of headway last night, the biggest gains of all were seen in the cnn newsroom with 33 analysts on hand. they picked up an unprecedented number of opinions. it looked like a bunch of people trying out laptops at best buy. each of the 33 analysts brought a unique, a unique and indispensable, perspective. you have your liberal, your far left liberal, your near left liberal, your left handed liberal, your moderate, your moderate conservative, your moderate, moderate, your fiscal family conservative, your strategist, your tactician, your liberal minority, your minority minority, your bond villain, and, of course, your eye candy. >> that is so you a -- awesome. where's ali. >> it looks like the kid's table at thanksgiving or christmas. how many more tables can we get, did they have two or three? >> i think we have three but that was the mega one we were talking about. i'm being told we got to go. >> what would you be? the nerdy candy? >> ouch. president obama's next move. ] [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. princess of the powerpoint. your core competency... is competency. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. 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[ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. we asked earlier in the show, who are the most powerful people in the world today according to "forbes" magazine? coming at you right now, number two, president obama, barack obama is number two, and can you believe who number one is? do you want to guess? chinese president h ruchlt jintao. he presides over 1.3 billion people. we are myopic and think we are the only country on the world. the chinese leader, the most powerful person in the world. meantime, the white house sends a message to the speaker in waiting. president obama announced a november 18th meeting with republicans john boehner, mitch mcconnell swells harry reid and nancy pelosi. >> tuesday was a big election. i congratulated the republicans and consoled some of our democratic friends about the results. i think it's clear that the voters sent a message, which is that they want us to focus on the economy and jobs, and moving this country forward. their concerned about making sure that the taxpayer money is not wasted. and they want a change of tone here in washington where the two parties are coming together and focusing on the people's business as opposed to scoring political points. >> there he is, white house correspondent suzanne malveaux in the room for that announcement. he was asked yesterday, the president, about a so-called slurpee summit. is this the one we have been hearing about? >> reporter: you could take it as a slurpee summit. we got details about what the president will be doing. this is november 18th, when the lame duck congress, not the new congress, but the lame duck congress comes back into session. he invited eight members of congress and the republican leadership as well to the white house for a working meeting. he says this is not the kind of thing that's going to be a photo op but it's going to be substantial and deal with real issues because he says that he is going to be sincere and consistent in working with republicans to try to get things done. what is he talking about? the president specifically said that he would be negotiating with republicans when it comes to the bush tax cuts expiring. we asked robert gibbs in the off-camera briefing this morning to be more specific. is he talking about possibly allowing those tax cuts to continue for everyone, like the republicans want, at least for the next two years? and robert gibbs says he would be open to at least those discussions. there may be some maneuvering in there, don, regarding the tax cuts. the other thing he mentioned is that there are some things that have bipartisan appeal, like the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia, both sides reducing their nuclear arsenals. that is something they can agree and discuss on and move forward. these are the kinds of things they wants to get done right away in the lame duck session before january. so he's going to try in ernest to get them here at the white house and, don, they will be having dinner at the residence. maybe they will serve slurpees for desert. we'll have to see. >> watching the president today, his body language and tone, it wasn't quite somber but very moderate dad. yesterday, it was -- i'm not sure if conciliatory was the right word but definitely a degree of self-examination that he took after what he called a shellacking on tuesday night. what's the mood there? is it different? do you get a sense that things are different now and there may be more working with the other party? >> reporter: sure. i thought the president was very reflective and that he struck the right toned a least towards the second half of the press conference when he seemed to be taking it all in, digesting it and acknowledged that he had some responsibility. robert gibbs said we have been try for a consensus with the republicans since the beginning. he says when you look at the map, it's a much different equation. it much harder for them and i think you will see a real ernest effort from the white house and the president to reach out to republicans. they are trying and there are things they can do initially that have bipartisan support that they can get done right away, and that's what they're going to be working on to prove to the american people it's not the total gridlock that everybody is so frustrated with. we'll see. >> suzanne, malveaux, before i let you go. a serious question. did you have a happy meal as kid or adult? >> sure. >> you get did for the toy, right? >> reporter: yeah, the toy. >> i knew i'd throw you off. >> reporter: i also get slurpees. >> i do, too. i love slurpees. >> reporter: i'm waiting to see if they serve them for the dinner. there are so many jokes about it, i think it's going to happen. >> i would ask your favorite flavor but i have to go. i think you are right on. i think they will serve slurpees. one american city is taking the toy out of the happy meal. what's going on. that story and your comments. ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere. let's keep it moving. ♪ what has this world come to? because san francisco is taking the happy out of happy meals. for kids that means no toys. what about adults who like them? >> my children are so glad we don't live in fraens. they love the toys. >> it's a happy meal. it's happiness for the tongue and for the taste buds. >> exactly. >> our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here. why does the city want to do this? >> it's about nutrition. ef an epidemic of obesity among young people. this is one way to combat it. if you want to get a cheese bugger, fries and soda happy meal, you don't get a toy but if you get chicken and milk and fruit, you can have a toy. >> it is like rewarding bad behavior? >> i guess you can look at that. >> what about choice. if you want a happy meal, don't take your kids to mcdonald's. why do you take away my choice? >> that's what mcdonald's said. they say, we're extremely disappointed. this is not what our customers want and it's the parents right to make a decision, not the government. that's what mcdonald's says, too. >> what's in a happy meal. i feel bad because i'm sure it's not good for you. >> we will look at one of the happy meals that would not get you a toy. take a look at this. if off cheese burger happy meal with a small fries and soda, 640 calories and 24 grams of fat. that is more than half of the calories that an 8-year-old is supposed to have in a day. so in one meal you get more than half the calories you are supposed to have in an entire day. you see why they aren't crazy about the meals. >> as a like at our viewer feedback. you're not supposed to do it every day but the problem is, sometimes that's the de facto meal. >> that's what mcdonald's says in their statement. most kids eat at home. they don't always eat here. sure, maybe -- they say this isn't supposed to be every day. >> i know it's not good for you, but i think we should have a choice. that's just me. >> and mcdonald's says, if you don't want the fries, get the fruit. if you don't want the sewed dark get the milk. >> these are viewers comments from our blogs. most people take issue. this is what jason writes. he says it's not the government's job to be parents to the kids. it is up to you. so kind of what people have been saying. this is from little sweeter, all of the child abuse going on in america and they are worried about a happy meal. here's what bill writes, the nanny's state run amok. more later. keep your comments coming right here on cnn. !e!e!e!e!e!e!e!e!e!e it is all over but the shouting. the voting may be done, but the counting continues from the 2010 midterms, what is it, two days after the election. paul steinhauser joins us live from the political desk. he's in the washington bureau right now. what's crossing, paul? >> two days after the elections it's still not over. we have four gubernatorial contests undecided, 10 thousand races, and in the senate, two states left. washington state, they vote by mail. up in alaska, that three-way race still too close to call because you have lisa murkowski, running as a write-in candidate. they don't count them until next week. enough about 2010, that's so tuesday. let's talk about the battle for the white house in 2012. brand new numbers this morning from cnn opinion research corporation. we asked republicans on this one, who would you most likely vote for for your nomination for your party. muck huckabee, 21%, mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor. they both ran last time. sarah palin the vice presidential nominee, gingrich, 12%, paul 7%. let's keep going, hey buy barbour, the mississippi governor, 3% as well as tim pawlenty and mike pece, 3%, and rick santorum, 2%. they all may want to run for the white house but no one has jumped in and made it official. two years is a long time from now. >> you look at mike huckabee at the top and double the numbers of sarah palin. i wonder if that says anything about how much air time she gets. it is deserved or she's manipulating the media. who knows? >> don, if she jumps into the race, look at this number, what would it be like, her versus barack obama. let's say she won the nomination. look at this, head to head between sarah palin and the president, 52%, and this is everybody, not just republicans say they would vote for obama and not palin. look at romney, obama, 50% for romney, 45% for the president. huckabee, 52% for huckabee, 44% for the president. a long time from now. we will be polling a lot more between now and then. >> oh, you think so? >> i they so. go figure. >> your next political update one hour and for the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. ♪ [ rock ballad ] ♪ ahh-ah-ah-ahh ♪ ahh-ah-ah-ahh [ announcer ] the name has endured... because the car has. ♪ ahh-ah-ah-ahh only one car can be called the most durable, longest-lasting in its class. ♪ here i am presenting the one. the 34-mile-per-gallon accord. from honda. imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. okay. she's still talking in my ear. rob's moment of the day. what are we going to call it? deep thoughts by rob marciano. >> the guy said, maybe we should bring him on the show. i didn't think we would name is rob moment because now that i'm older, i have several moments, including senior moments throughout the morning. >> this morning on the television, this video came and i'm not surprised it's your moment. >> using an animal video is cliche in the television world. this has something to do with weather. this just west of seattle. this river floods every now and again and this dog, honey, did some fishing. look at the size of that salmon. >> it's huge! no salmon were hurt in the taping of this video? >> i can't guarantee that. this one doesn't look happy and honey presumably brought it back to the owner and they had a nice fillet later that night. >> pacific northwest, there are plenty of salmon to go around, right? >> yes, it's improving. >> that is "rob's moment of the day." >> we'll have to change that. >> lottery winners give it all away. >> it made us feel good that we could do something to help other people. >> we will meet a couple whose hearts are bigger than their bank account. so who wants to learn about saving? me, me, me! great! because priority mail flat rate shipping from the postal service can save businesses time and money by making shipping really, really, easy. any questions? yeah. um, how easy? well, for one you don't have to weigh packages up to 70 pounds. they come in all different sizes too. so if it fits, it ships for a low flat rate. me, me, me yeah. do you need to know math? no, not really. that was my question. with priority mail flat rate boxes and envelopes you can ship anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. international too. envelopes me, me, me so how do we get these? just call or go online and we'll send your free flat rate shipping kit with a free supply of flat rate boxes and envelopes plus a free shipping guide delivered right to your door. that looks nothing like me. if anyone wants to stay after, i'll show you how to sort mail. call or go online now to order your free priority mail flat rate shipping kit, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. you go in every day, you put money on that lottery ticket and then you hope you win. but most people who hit the jackpot, right, they splurge on themselves. why not? but this couple says they don't need anything, so they're giving away their $11 million lottery prize. here's kevin harvey with the cbc. >> reporter: they still live in the same 147-year-old home. there are no new cars in the garage and no giant tv in the living room. the larges say they haven't spent any of the money on themselves. >> nothing. we haven't bought one thing. that's it because there's nothing that we need. >> you can't -- you can't buy happiness. >> reporter: or health. 78-year-old violet is just getting over surgery and six chemo treatments for cancer, but it hasn't changed her outlook on life. >> it could be worse because i'm not bedfast. and i haven't been sick to my stomach. so, i mean, i'm very fortunate. >> reporter: one of the things the couple isn't worried about is what to do with all that money. that's because most of it is gone. some to family, but the majority they hand-delivered to charities. >> we've made the donations, which were -- which really has perked us up. we've helped hospitals and the fire departments and churches and the cemeteries and all charitable donations, we have given to. and they've all been well-appreciated. >> reporter: the couple doesn't want to talk about how much each received. >> but when they seen the check, their eyes really opened up wide. >> it made us feel good that we could do something to help other people. >> reporter: the couple knew the money couldn't help with viol violet's health problems, so with the money out of the way, they are spending more time in violet's recovery. >> she says, i may not be able to get up and dance. i may not be able to get up and swing to the highland fling or anything, but she said i'm very happy. i'm coming every day and feeling a little better. a little better every day. >> and i've never been down and out. so what more -- what more do you want? >> reporter: al and violet have kept some money for emergencies and, yes, they are still buying lottery tickets. >> oh, good for them. the number one issue for most americans right now, jobs. how do republicans plan to turn their campaign talking points into real jobs? our chief business correspondent, ali velshi, breaks it down for us next hour. and the federal reserve's 6$600 billion treasury purchase. what does that mean for main street america? christine romans will give us that, too, in plain english, coming up. [ woman ] alright, so this tylenol 8 hour lasts 8 hours. but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? good, how are you? [ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal. hostcould switching gei real a bd in the hd or more worth 2 inhe bush? praiser: well you rarely see them in this good of shape. appraiser: for example the fingers are perfect. appraiser: the bird is in mint condition. appraiser: and i would say if this were to go to auction today, woman: really? appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. praiser: it's just biful, thank u so much for brinit i woman: unbelievable appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. creating jobs. creating jobs. cut spending. well, republicans ran on those praum promises. we asked earlier this hour, now what? what happens next? josh has been going over some of the republican plans that we're seeing so far. what are you seeing, josh? >> i've been piecing through these documents. it's inside the documents that you find specifics where people lay out what they want to actually do if given the chance to do it. from the gop, from the presumed next speaker, john boehner, much of it surrounds tax cuts. when you look at what they'll do to build jobs, a lot of this is tax cuts. that's where you get into the debates. republicans saying it's a necessity to build jobs. democrats say that's the last thing the government can afford right now. one thing they're talking about doing to build jobs, the gop says they want to give income tax breaks to small businesses, up to 20% of income would be deductible by small businesses. along with that, a lot of focus on spending, cutting spending. one specific example that they talk about, they want to cancel unspent stimulus funds. now, as you know, that stimulus bill is still very, very controversial. there are those out there who say it has achieved a lot, especially on the democratic side. the president says that. the republicans say it has gotten nothing done. john boehner sweeted a litweete. let me touch on a couple more things here. there's a lot of talk about free trade agreements. this gets into another controversial issue here. there's a lot of talk about how more free trade agreements around the world would, they believe, ultimately lead to more jobs here in this country. and one other thing that i just think is so striking that's interesting, talk about creating additional rirnequirements for to receive unemployment insurance. if you're out of a job and you want that insurance, they're pushing for requirements saying you have to have more education, enhanced training, or show that you're doing additional job searching in order to get those benefits all the way until they exhaust. don, what we're seeing here as we look at these items on the platform is really the debates that we're now setting ourselves up for in january when republicans take over the house and have the power there, fighting with the democrats. they are fighting with the senate, fight with the presidency. hopefully get some stuff done. these are the key points we can expect these debates to be about in the hopes that jobs will ultimately come about. >> all right. good description of what at least the plans are. but, josh, of course, will this plan work? will it create jobs? ali velshi has been going over the details for you. he'll be here in a few minutes to give us his take on this. will it work? -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com emergency in the air. pieces of an airline engine fall off forcing an emergency landing. now some similar planes are grounded today. investigators want to know what went wrong there. jobs, the economy, and the gop agenda. how do republican leaders plan to get america back to work? small business owners sound off on what they need. what is the one thing that they need small business owners like yourselves, from the government, that you're not already getting? >> i think people feel the government has to get out of the way. >> the costs of doing business have become almost out of reach. you're online right now and we are, too. one of the top stories, the top ten places not to flirt. do you hear that, ali velshi? he's standing by. not to flirt. not in the newsroom. that story is on cnn.com. let's get started with our lead story right now. up first, of course, we're talking about jobs. 15 million americans are out of work. today, the labor department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 20,000 last week. jobs and the economy were key issues for republicans in the midterm elections. we've heard that over and over again. john boehner said this. >> we are humbled by the trust that the american people have placed in us. and we recognize this is a time for us to roll up our sleeves and go to work on the people's priorities, creating jobs, cutting spending, and reforming the way congress does its business. >> all right. we're taking a closer look right now at the republican ideas for creating jobs. ali velshi is here to run us through some of them. and whether or not they'll work. we've been hearing that. it's anbeen a talking bout. >> not a new idea. they released a 20-page document. there isn't a new idea in this. this is not the republicans' fault or the democrats' fault. our economy has shifted. one reason is labor is cheaper in other places and technology has made us all more productive. what we haven't done, what this government hasn't done, what this administration hasn't done or the prior administration or the prior administration is say as our job -- as our -- our entire labor force shifted, we didn't shift to make up for that. we are bearing the fruit of that in this recession. we've been losing manufacturing jobs for 15 years. we lost more in the last few years. this doesn't solve any problems that weren't already being solved. >> the first example of that is what? >> well, one of the things -- here's what i like about what the republicans have said. what you just heard in a story that poppy did, she talked to small businesses and she said businesses need to get out of the way because -- the government needs to get out of the way of business because the cost of doing business is too high. these guys will have a small business deduction of up to 20% of income. that's what they're suggest iin. the problem is this. there are all sorts of regulations in place. it is making it onerous and costly to do business. accounting fees and forms that are being filled out. it's more than income tax. it's -- it's making the system smaller and making there fewer barriers to entry if you want to run a business. >> it's not that the talking points were without merit, but you said there was nothing new and there was no explanation. >> that's right. it's not without merit. we are at a point where we're starting to see jobs created and we'll see that. these guys are going to say, see, our system works. it's going to take two years to make any of the changes we need to make. nothing new. >> all right. cutting spending by unused stimulus funds. >> that's an interesting one. that is something they want to do. this is a shift that great britain has made. conservative government was elected on the basis that they would cut stimulus spending. and now they are going to do that. this is a disagreement between economists. some people say wrong thing to do because the economy is still recovering. people are not spending so government needs to. these guys are saying, we came in on a platform that says we're not going to do this, we're not going to do it. >> are we going to see much movement in this between now and january? >> no. >> it's lame duck and they'll go in and say we've got to focus on this. the president said we'll meet with them, focus. >> john boehner and the president said the same words. john boehner said people's priorities. the president also said that. the message is people don't think they're being heard. they think a bunch of people in washington and economists are just yapping around the edges. they'll talk to people and ask what do you need to make your life better? what do you need? but stop with the talking points. it's hard to do business, too expensive. what do you need? let's do it. >> very eye-opening. we sit here in this bubble, right, being out among some people last week. and tuesday down in florida, and hearing what they had -- you know, some people didn't even know there was an election on tuesday, they were so busy trying to feed their families. >> people are busy with their lives. we are guilty of engaging in conversations that happening up here when money is being made, jobs are being lost down here. and that's what has to be addressed. bottom line, when people go back to work, if we have a 6% unemployment rate, business will be booming in america. the stock market is going up already. housing prices are going up. we need to get people to work. not new ideas. they make work, but they're not new. >> if you ask people what they care about? jobs. the economy. that's what they want. >> if everybody has a job, your other problems go away. >> that's right. they want more focus on jobs. >> right. >> all right. thank you, ali. we'll see you at 1:00 p.m. eastern. the dow surges after the federal reserve's announcement it will pump $600 billion into the economy. allison cossack has the mood from the new york stock exchange for us. >> hi, don. what's interesting is that we are seeing the numbers rally right now. the dow is rallying almost 200 points. it's really the mood that i've noticed has changed overnight on the floor from when the fed went ahead and said it's going to buy up $600 billion worth of treasury bonds. traders over the past few months have really been losing faith that investors would invest again in the stock market. i mean, they've been talking about the hay days of long past. well, today i'm noticing these traders today, they are really downright giddy. they think this rally is really going to stick. they see people coming back into the market because of what the fed did yesterday. investors are moving out of treasuries and putting their money back into the stock market. and the fed inadvertently was hoping this would happen, traders are telling me. what this essentially does t puts money back into the market and also it boosts up everybody's 401(k)s and that gives confidence to everyday americans and gets them the confidence that they need to go ahead and spend again. we're seeing some highs for endow and nasdaq that were sit yesterday and we're building on those highs today. don? >> allison, thank you very much. minutes into a quaantas flight, something went horribly wrong. ♪ this one thing i'll eat, any time of day ♪ pancakes! ♪ from dawn 'til sunset, i'll never walk away ♪ ♪ blueberry pancakes are so good ♪ [ male announcer ] bisquick. pancake lovers unite. we always mark the unusual things that i have to say as a new s anchor and this is one of them. the random moment of the day. please, no bathroom humor. toiletmaker american standard is teaching people how to flush the toilet. seriously. new water-sacving toilets have options to control the amount of water used in a flush and the choices are confusing some flushers. american standard has titled it "the toilet tour." it's called "join the movement." no joke. another random moment of the day. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal. all the airlines have crashed at one time or another. that doesn't mean they're not safe. >> qantas. >> qantas? >> qantas never crashed. >> qantas? >> never crashed. >> well, that's -- >> never crashed. >> that's going to do me a lot of good. qantas doesn't fly to l.a. out of cincinnati. you've got to get to melbourne. melbourne, australia too, get the plane that flies to los angeles. >> that's a scene from "rainman." qantas really does have a good reputation. it's known for its impeccable safety record. today the australia carrier likely averted a tragedy. an engine cover on one of their planes fell off just after the plane had taken off. then came that emergency landing. zain verjee is covering this story for us. what did the passengers on that plane tell you? i understand you've been talking to them. >> i have. i mean, just imagine being on that plane. every passenger dreads being on a plane and hearing a loud bang. that's exactly what happened today. i spoke to one passenger who told me that they heard a loud bang, a jolt and then there was a flash. he described it kind of like being struck by lightning. he said, though, that people were pretty calm. he did hear a few people crying. he said that when he looked out at the wing, he saw four holes. there was one large one and three small ones. but can you imagine, don? you travel a lot, i travel a lot. i would have been pretty freaked out in a moment like that. what's happened now is that all the passengers have come back to singapore and they're all staying around hotels in this area and hoping to take off on another flight tomorrow to australia. >> so that's the people's word, that's what they say. what about the investigation, though? >> yeah. well, the investigation is kicking into high gear. they're going to be taking a very close and careful look at the parameters of that engine. they'll be looking at things like the speed of it, the temperature at the time. they'll also look at the black box to see what some of the last communications were before that engine failed. don? >> listen, how is this impacting other flights, this incident? i know there are a number of them that have been grounded and especially those a-380s. what's going on? >> right. well, qantas has said that they are going to indefinitely ground six of their a-380s. and then a little while after that, we heard that singapore airlines were going to just take a little extra time and hold some of their flights. they have 11 of those a-380s and just check them out. you've got emirates airlines as well that fly that kind of airbus. there's a lot of concern. when you look -- so damaging. it's a very serious incident. >> hey, we had a little hiccup there with zain verjee. we're having trouble with your satellite there. thank you very much. let's bring in chad myers now. you know, with this near tragedy, a-380, is that the biggest in the world? >> yeah. it was the big story. it's obviously airbus' giant flagship, but it's not the airbus. >> how can the engine just, though, come off like that? >> it didn't come off. it's not -- it's not the -- the plane's fault. >> okay. >> this is a rolls-royce trent 900 engine. i know the story has been told and i've heard it over and over all day. part of the engine cover fell off. that's not what happened. okay. let me -- i'm going to take you through pictures of the engine. the engine came apart literally. the engine -- see, if a piece would have fallen off, it would have been nice, clean lines and a little bit would have fallen off and gone to the ground. that didn't happen. internally, this engine came apart. pieces of the internal mechanism of the jet flew off the jet. it shattered like shrapnel that cover that is cover of the engine itself. so, yes, pieces fell to the ground. yes, when you see those pieces from singapore, the pieces it looks like he's holding part of it. they were blown off that engine. the engine came apart and we don't know why, but i'm telling you, there are not that many a-380s out here are that engine. all these rolls-royce trent 900 engines on the airbus have been saying, wait a minute, we're not flying those today. rolls-royce has people already in singapore. they're tearing this engine apart to see what happened. bird strikes can do this, overheating can do this. anything internally could be doing it. this is a major event. a major, major event for this engine. >> i've got my hand up, professor. i don't want to cut you off. listen. it's fair to say that parts of the ensign fell off after they -- >> the engine exploded. and no one got killed. the engine exploded and put pieces of engine through the wing. >> let me see behind you. what is that? if this does happen, you've got, what, three other engines? >> this plane can fly with two. this plane is fine. this plane not having that one engine is fine. the problem is that the plane engine came apart, pieces flew out of this plane like shrapnel, went through the wing in four spots and could have gone through the fuselage but just didn't happen to go that way. the rest of the pieces landed in singapore. they thought a plane has crashed, there's pieces on the ground. but they landed safely. >> if you were on that plane, you'd be scared you-know-what. >> absolutely. >> i won't say it on tv. thank you for that explanation. >> all right. >> the engine did not fall off. it disintegrated. >> just about. >> chad myers, thanks. this couple say they have everything they need and you'll be floored when you find out what they're doing with their lottery jackpot. "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now. this chicken tortilla soup has such a wonderful zesty quality. that's the chipotle and cilantro. it's one of our new mexican soups. it reminds me of guadalajara. a special man. his delicious soups. sheila? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. it's a very busy news day. let's check your top stories. first-time jobless claims jumped to a 457,000. that's 20,000 more than the week before. a spectacular show of nature's power in indonesia right now. the volcano is spewing out more gas and ash. the eruptions that started last month have killed several dozen people. a canadian couple is getting a lot of attention and praise for their act of giving to others. they won $11 million, but they say they don't need the money so they're saving a small nest egg for emergencies and giving most of the money to charities and family members. >> when they seen the check, their eyes really opened up wide. >> it made us feel good that we could do something to help other people. >> good for them. now back to reality for us. stocks are surging today, though, after the fed takes extraordinary steps to prime the economy with cash. a lot of cash. tony is off today. lucky him. i'm in. don lemon. the fed is printing 600 billion brand new dollars to flood the system with fresh cash. it's a stimulus package for the economy that doesn't need approval from politicians. christine romans, part of the best money team on television, in the business. how does this work? we always hear about, oh, they're printing money. they're printing money. they actually are. >> right. they actually are. it's fascinating, too. so many people about stickulo bs a dirty word. republicans and democrats would never be able to pass another stimulus. but the fed can do it, and the fed is printing money. $600 billion to buy back other assets, other treasury securities and securities in the market. that means it's pushing money into the system. pushing new money into the system. $600 billion worth over the next year, year and a half or so. we've done this before. it's called quantitative easing. they're calling this qe-2. what it can do, it can weaken the dollar. we're already seeing that. even the anticipation of this, weakening of the dollar. why? because if you print new dollars, that means the dollars we already have in our pocket are worth less, right? >> yeah. >> all of this is meant to lower interest rates. they're already so low, the fed can't essentially lower interest rates anymore. it has to print this money to do it. but the whole goal here is that it would help bank s increase lending by making more money available and you'll see companies investing and hiring again. this is about jobs. and ben bernanke, the fed chief, in the "washington post" today, these are the times we live in when the fed chief does opinion pieces there the "washington post." but he laid out why he thinks this is a good idea for actually stimulating jobs. that is their most important issue here. i talked to a fund manager this week who said all this talk about the -- the election, but the entity that has the most chance of creating a new job, if it doesn't it right, is the fed right now, by pulling off this qe-2 in the right way. >> you know, it'sinterest ing listening to you and seeing the printing of $600 billion. this really is our creation? it's not that we're out of money, it's just the allocation. so i find that interesting. there's so much more that we can't control. you've written about that in a new book called "smart is the new rich." >> that's right. and, you know, don, one of the -- one of the reasons i wrote this book is that things like the fed and quantitative easing and a big election, what republicans and democrats do, will they actually cooperate or will it be more gridlock, there are a lot of things happening right now in the economy that we have no control over, like the fed, like interest rates, like housing prices. and so there are a few things that you can control. i wanted to put it all on paper so that the things that you do have the ability to control, you can. one more thing about -- about this whole quantitative easing, what the fed is doing right now, it's not a good time to be a saver because you're not getting any return on your cds, on your savings accounts and mutual funds, money market accounts. no. especially for older people, right now is not a great time to be a saver, at a time when we're all supposed to be saving more. that's a real conundrum for people. >> what do you do with the money then? >> i know. some people are putting it in the stock market. some people are putting it in commodities. commodities prices are going up because eventually some worry that all of this new money in the economy is going to be inflationary. it's going to mean there will be inflation down the road. right now the fed is fighting very low inflation. a lot of things we can't control, don. we're living in pretty intere interesting times, with the fed pumping $600 billion into the economy. they want to get something done. >> that's interesting. i'm old-school. not old-school enough to put it in the mattress, but i like to have a reserve beyond stocks and -- >> cash is king. savings -- not having enough savings is what goss t us into s mess, but now we're not getting return on that money. it's not fair. >> we appreciate it, christine romans. a quick quiz for you right now. who is the most powerful person in the world today according to a new ranking by "forbes" magazine? is it president barack obama? is it bill gates? is the hu jintao? or is it ben bernanke? we'll have that answer for you coming up. 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[ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. ♪ or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ right now, during the sign and drive event, get the all-new 2011 jetta for practically just your signature. hi. we're ready to switch our car insurance to progressive. today just seemed like a great day to save. oh, it's not just today. with our free loyalty program, you earn great stuff like accident forgiveness and bigger discounts just by staying with us. oh! ooh! so, what you're saying is, it gets even better with age. oh! tell me we're still talking about insurance. rewarding loyalty. now, that's progressive. call or click today. are you looking at the most powerful men on the screen? who is the most powerful person in the world? is it president barack obama, bill gates, hu bernanke? the answer is, drumroll, hu jintao. he presides over the world's second largest economy and 1.3 billion people. that is a fifth of the world's population. a whole lot of people. let's check our money right now. specifically, yourmoney.com. here's christine romans and i talking about this. stocks soar on fed's $600 billion gift, printing 600 billion new dollars, pumping that into the economy. let's check the dow and the nasdaq. the dow is up 187 points. the nasdaq up 31.75 right now. let's go to new york. there you see her right there, pop pop poppy. there's a lot of anxiety and talk about what small business owners need. tax cuts, that sort of thing. you've been talk itting to people. what are they saying? >> we focus on the big corporations. 2/3 of americans either own or are employed by small businesses in this country. now, you heard campaign promises leading up to the midterms, saying their party was the one that would really kickstart small businesses and help them the most. so what we did, right after the election we headed upstate to westchester, new york, and went to a diner where we met with a lot of local business owners. they have very different thoughts about what party is better, but they all have one overarching thought about what the government needs to do to help them. take a listen. >> i think it means when you have a balance between republicans in the house and democrats in the senate that they'll have to work together. and they're going to have to listen to what america said. america said we're not happy with taxes going up, up, up. >> when i speak to small business owners throughout the county y don't know someone who has high hopes. the most optimistic projections or predictions i hear are, i just want to get through this still in business. i think people feel the american dream is slipping away. they're very, very concerned about spending. >> what do they need? what is the one thing they need from the government that you're not already getting? >> i think people feel the government has to get out of the way. >> the costs of doing business have become almost out of reach. >> in my opinion, republicans are more pro-business, more pro-small-business than the democrats are. i think it's positive. >> see, i feel that democrats are pro-small-business more so. >> why do you think that? >> well, i mean i feel like every time they speak, they want to infuse money into small business. they feel that so many people are out of work. they're trying to boost the economy through the small business. >> is that the rhetoric or the action? because you disagree. >> i yeah, i think it's the rhetoric more than the action. taxation and taxation, taxation of the businesses and the people and stuff. it's really anti-small business. >> so what would your advice be to the new congress and to the president? what would it be now? >> we need to stay -- you know, kind of stay out of our business, if you will. let us run our companies. don't tax us so much. don't tell us what we need to do on health care. sometimes it takes a natural course and that's what you need to do. and don't incentivize people to stay home by continuing to support them when they could get out to work. >> lift us up and support us. we are the blood in the veins of this economy, the small business. and i would say give us the incentives to hire people. make the money that you're making available accessible to us. make it easy so that we can utilize that money to throw money back into the economy and stimulate it. >> poppy, great stuff. it's always interesting getting out and talking to people one-on-one. it would be amazing if our lawmakers would do this and find out what people really need and what's really on their minds. >> it's interesting. with that group of attorneys, they said -- one of them, he said i think we need term limits because the politicians are -- after they take office, they're running again six weeks later. he said if he had politicians that weren't focused on being reelected, they'd make the hard choices that may not be popular, but the hard choices that we need. that's a very good point. you see politicians stumping about certain issues and they have all said we'll help small businesses. now we're going to see if they really are going to do that, help small businesses, and the one point that that woman made in the piece, it's very important, i think, is the aid to small businesses. look, the obama administration just infused $44 billion to aid small businesses. she said she's having an incredibly hard time, don, tapping that money. so much bureaucracy, so much red tape. the applications for the money alone. it's so hard for small businesses to get that. yet taxpayers are funding that. you know, you really need to get it a direct line to these businesses so they can hire americans and get that demand picture better. >> and their responses were so good. they just want to be heard. you know? do you hear me? do you hear me? thank you, poppy. good work. >> you got it. >> all right. you know, you've seen the m m mudslinging throughout the campaign season, but have you seen this? cartwheels and other funny moments from the campaign trail coming up. had to offer. ingenuity. integrity. optimism. and a belief that the finest things are the most thoughtfully made -- not the most expensive. today, the american character is no less strong. and chevrolet continues as an expression of the best of it. bringing more technology to more people than ever in our history. inventing new ways to get around our planet while preserving it at the same time. exploring new horizons of design and power. and making our vehicles amongst the safest on earth. this isn't just any car company. this is chevrolet. and the strength of our nation can be found in every car and truck we make. it's why, today, tomorrow, and on into a bright future, we can proudly say... ...chevy runs deep. ♪ the politicians and pundits are already talking about the 2012 elections. 2010 election was just two nights ago. but the dust is still settling. two races are still undecided right now. in alaska, lisa murkowski app r appears to be leading. and in washington state, patty murray leads republican challenger dino rossi. after all the mudslinging was over, the votes counted and the victories declared, the political nastiness turned, well, funny. check out congressman ed perlmutter of colorado. yeah. that's a cartwheel. two of them. he held on to his seat, but he is hardly sitting down. jeanne moos has more memorable election funnies for you. >> reporter: if you didn't manage to catch every confetti drop, let us help you catch up with a few of our favorite moments. >> it is a big darn deal. >> people are looking for something new, but i'm something old. >> you have not heard the last of carl paladino. >> reporter: and that was his concession speech, wielding a bat he'd promised to use to knock sense into albany if elected governor. but the oddest post-election comments came from another losing candidate, alvin green. >> some people said your campaign was a joke. was it a joke? >> no, no, no, no, no. this -- well, hey. serious. >> are you going to run again? >> run for what? >> reporter: run from the press. >> check this out. check this out. >> reporter: our favorite unscripted tv moment came when chris matthews was interviewing tea party favorite michele bachmann. check out the parody cover being held up behind her back. >> one second after midnight -- >> reporter: it's a parody of sarah palin's book. lasted 15 seconds and then this happened. >> people have been saying -- >> reporter: but seconds later, a bigger sign appeared saying, how's the tingle, chris? a reference to chris matthews saying he felt a thrill up his leg listening to barack obama speak about america. representative bachmann wasn't really answering matthews questions. >> are you hypnotized? has someone put you under a trance tonight? you give me the same answer no matter what question i put to you. >> i'm guessing the thrill isn't quite so tick lly on your leg anymore. >> reporter: and what an election season be without a few tears spread. for example, john boehner. >> chasing the american chemo. >> reporter: and his team won. christine o'donnell lost, but he didn't cry. her brother did. >> odown comforted her brother, then mentioned he's a democrat. >> and we had arguments. you know, ploorly about the mice with the humans brains. >> human brain cells. >> reporter: and talk about arguments. >> there's a dead body on the ground. excuse me. >> i'm not finished. >> actually, you were. >> you're talking to a lady. >> reporter: and while the human pundits occasionally snapped, how did the puppy pundits do at prognosticating? >> release the puppies. we'll see who they're going to go for. >> reporter: jimmy fallon used two dishes of dog food to make the pups pick between paladino and cuomo for new york governor. >> the puppies have voted. >> reporter: the pups picked paladino 3-2 and turned out to be wrong. but pups don't mind eating anything. even crow. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> they should have gotten that octpiece. if would have predicted everything. it is a first in college basketball. a transgender athlete on the cou court. let's talk about the weather, shall we? let's talk tomas. is it going to grow into a hurricane? >> it could be a hurricane by the time it gets to jamaica and also kind of off to the west of haiti. notice, though, what's happened, don. over the past couple of runs, computer runs, which did have the model taking it right over port-au-prince, which is that red dot right there, it has shifted back off to the west. it never did shift outside of the cone. it's still well within the forecast cone, which was the cone that went all the way out to puerto rico and almost to havana. we're well within that. so the -- the air is still very good. but it's a 70-mile-an-hour storm, but not close enough to port-au-prince to make wind damage. not really worried about that at this point. what we're worried about is 6, 10, 12 inches of rainfall in a city that already has problems and people are trying to stay dry by blue tarp its and tents. there is the storm. it has intensified, continues to get stronger. it may not get to be a hurricane until it gets up into the turks and caicos. here's what the computer models look like. there it is there on the model. it's passing over that western peninsula there of haiti. this is a little bit closer to port-au-prince than the official track is, but what i want you to see, look under the word haiti and see how much rainfall could fall there. for hours and hours and hours, very heavy rainfall. you get six inches of rain on top of people that basically have an open sewer problem, we're going to have more problems there than you can even think about. the issue, again, will be whether the wind makes people try to run for cover. don, there's no cover. >> we were talking about -- you were talking about people who are already dealing with cholera. does this help or hurt? >> it hurts, absolutely. it takes more of that dirty water, that gray and black water, and mixes it around, moves it around, brings it down into places that are at least at this point still sanitary. >> all right. thank you, chad myers. really appreciate it. president obama versus sarah palin in 2012. we'll tell you what the polls say about the hypothetical matchup. details in our political update. here's the truth. at allstate, safe drivers can save forty-five percent or more on car insurance. protect your home with allstate, too, and you can save an extra ten percent. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. ♪ but i really love my bank ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally. do you love your bank ? 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[ laughing ] but don't let me or anyone see it except your doctor or their staff. and don't tell anyone your card or social security number over the phone. guard your card. [ woman 2 ] i hear unauthorized card use is a big source of fraud. the new healthcare law lets us crack down on criminals and win against fraud. making medicare stronger. and speaking of winning... [ man 2 ] not again! [ man ] learn more at stopmedicarefraud.gov. an interesting hypothetical matchup in the 2012 presidential race, even though it's only two days after the 2010 midterms. brianna keilar joins us now from washington. hello. give us an update. what's crossing? >> hi there, don. on the ticker, this may surprise you considering the democrats just got creamed in the midterm elections, but one of our latest polls by cnn opinion research corporation shows that when you hypothetically pair up president obama in a presidential run for 2012, he does pretty well. specifically when you're talking about sarah palin. the breakdown on all registered voters, 52% for obama, 44% for palin. and if you check out this poll on the cnn ticker, you'll also see that when you look at -- because this is really already the unofficial start of the gop presidential nomination process or seeking that nomination. there really doesn't appear to be a front-runner at this point. let's take you to alaska on the cnn political ticker. joe miller, he is the republican candidate for senate there in this still-unsettled race. he's urging caution and he's urging time as votes are counted. lisa murkowski is the incumbent republican who he unseated as the republican nominee in the primary. she is actually leading right now in the polls. if she were to win, don, she would be the first -- or the second, pardon me, person to win a u.s. senate election as a write-in candidate. she was a republican, obviously running not as a republican but says she would caucus with republicans. so not a whole lot expected to change if she does come on board or back on board here in the senate, don. >> certainly interesting, write-in. as a write-in. >> exactly. >> that's what everybody is talking about. i was down at rubio in florida, and people were saying, what's going on with murkowski? it's an interesting matchup. >> and she has a tremendous, obviously -- well, she's an incumbent, but she's part of this political family in alaska. you can understand how being a write-in candidate did work for her. >> brianna keilar, and it's very busy around you. thank you very much. your next political update coming up in one hour. for the best political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. since his death, there have been endless tributes to michael jackson. guess who is honoring the king of pop now. broadw broadway, the new york ballet or the l.a. lakers? the answer in 100 seconds. been right there ♪ this life was saved... ♪ soothing sadness ♪ healing pain and this life was made easier... ♪ making smiles appear again because of this life. nursing. at johnson & johnson, we salute all those who choose the life... that makes a difference. ♪ you're a nurse ♪ you make a difference ♪ [ male announcer ] your first day. you try to lie low, get the lay of the land. but then autoblog.com calls your interior lexus quiet. and automobile magazine goes comparing you to a cadillac. ♪ so much for the new kid fitting in with the rest of the class. the all new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. ♪ on your next business trip, pack your marriott rewards visa card. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay. you've got staying power. time now for "what's hot." i'm not talking about me or josh. we're talking about on the internet. >> this is what happens when he fills in for tony. can i just get to the video? oh, man. >> all right. >> stick around. >> all right. >> we have congratulatory ads. we thought former vp candidate sarah palin has the best one by far, especially her use of animals as a metaphor. mama grizzly, as she calls herself, says this is the gop's time. that gets us to the favorite part of the ad. >> we've got to do this together. >> roar. people loveliing that online. >> did you see the lumberjack? >> yeah. >> michael jackson now. so who is going to be paying tribute to him next? the answer is -- >> is it the lakers? >> no, it's cirque du soleil. they're calling this the immortal world tour. the secrets of michael's inner world are unlocked, the website says. his love of music and dance, fairytale and magic. salon.com explains this as a $57 million product that they're mounting in coordination with the jackson estate. >> it's an interesting concept. it's like a ballet circus. >> when he died, he was $400 million in debt, and now they've generated billions of dollars in revenue. one more thing. the police, you know, round up criminals all the time. they rarely round up these guys. sheep. >> oernlh, my gosh. where is the water-skiing girl? >> this is a slaughterhouse breakout. this was in new york. officers had to round up dozens of animals and lead them back with their police cars. back to where they escaped from. can you imagine getting that call? we have a few dozen sheep running around. >> something baaaad is happening out here. >> wow. >> thank you, josh. get out of here. >> i'm looking forward to that. a transgender player in ncaa basketball. the details of self-acceptance, coming up. and cilantro. it's one of our new mexican soups. it reminds me of guadalajara. a special man. his delicious soups. sheila? 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