Transcripts For CNN The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20101011

the republican candidate for new york governor is denying he hates gay people. remarks about homosexuality and whether it's a valid way of life. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room. powerful explosives found, in all places, a cemetery in new york city. it's raising lots of questions right now about who put it there and what they might have planned for the explosives. let's go right to our senior correspondent, allan chernoff. in new york, what are we learning? >> very bizarre story. eight bricks of military grade explosives found in a very small cemetery in the east village of manhattan. this at second avenue and second street. apparently found in a plastic garbage bag. eight bricks. this is strange the way they were found. it was found by a volunteer yesterday. but they didn't call it into the police today. not set to go off. no imminent danger to anybody. the bomb squad was called. no buildings were evacuated. they mentioned they were found on the ground in the back of the cemetery yesterday by a volunteer. this is usually closed to the public. the police did a little bit of digging. they found out this has been dug up last year, last may or june. by a cemetery worker planting some bushes. what are they doing there? nobody knows. the police commissioner said there was a note nearby. have a listen. >> initially discovered or dug up in 2009. down the sidewalk here is a statement that says -- i really hope one of you find this. the significance of that statement, we're not certain. there was another note found on the card. a rambling note and we hope you find this and signed "jesus christ." how those explosives were in that cemetery. wolf? allan chernoff, thank you very much. i'm sure commissioner kelly and his team will get to the bottom of this hopefully soon. thank you. the democrats' new line of attack right now. 22 days before america votes. the president and his party are targeting influential figures with the accusation karl rove is calling, quoting now, beyond the pale. dan lothian is working this story for us. what's going on. rolled out this theme in maryland last week. some critics may see this as a hail mary pass leading to the midterm elections. the president and his fellow democrats are trying to seize on a message they believe will resonate with voters. president obama lifts off for another political fundraiser. destination, miami. it's only one of the arsenal they're using to try to win the midterm elections. >> karl rove -- >> the new tv ad from the democratic national committee with the ominous voters beware voice targets republican heavyweights karl rove and ed gillespie, along with the u.s. chamber of commerce. it suggests they're taking secret money to influence the elections. rove fired back on fox news sunday. >> they're tossing out the baseless charges. >> this teem was pushed by the president himself in a sunday rally in philadelphia when he went after republican-leaning groups at the source of their ad money. >> even the corporations, we don't know, they don't have the disclosure. >> on "face the nation," david axelrod was asked for proof that the chamber was pouring foreign money to the campaign, a charge the organization denies. >> the fact is that the chamber asserted that. but they won't release any information about where their campaign money is coming from. >> foreign money influences become the new target for democrats, much like house minority leader john boehner was release in the cross hairs. >> when mr. boehner was here. not to mr. boehner. mr. boehner and the republicans in congress. >> a way to draw a sharp contrast to voters. do the voters care about it? >> once you fight proxy wars with the chamber of commerce as the bad guy, you're off on a tangent for the vast majority of voters in middle america. >> white house officials told me this is a debate that americans should care about. again, he points out that it shows the difference between what republicans are for and what democrats are fighting against. wolf. >> the president is in florida right now, south florida specifically. but he's not doing a major big public rally for the democratic rally candidate for senate, kendrick meek. he's meeting behind closed doors with fundraisers. what's going on sneer. >> we tried to get at that particular question. we don't know why he's not holding a large rally or event for him. i can tell you that when the president landed in miami, kendrick meek was at the airport. he did greet the president. earl inner this year, back in august, there was a time when off the record session with the president did go to a deli with him and they held a small private event. back in april, there was a dnc-sponsored event where meek was in attendance. but beyond that, we don't know why there isn't a big rally. no comment on that from the white house, wolf. >> if you get something on that, i'm curious. it looks like a real snub of the democratic candidate in florida, kendrick meek, a loyal member of congress. the president comes to his home state in the midst of a three-way race there with charlie crist and marco rubio and the president doesn't do a public event with tv cameras there. it looks like something is going on. let us know i want to discuss this with james carville and ed rawlings later as well. a closer look at campaign ad spending and the final critical days before the elections. specifically the outside groups that aren't required to reveal who they are and how much they're paying to influence your vote. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is in the situation room working this story. lots of big money. but the transparency, not necessarily there. >> that's right. dan lothian's report about the white house attacking karl rove and his group, american cross roads. but that's hardly the only group spending all of this money. millions of dollars to attack candidates. both sides are doing it. it's just that republican groups had the enthusiasm and along with that, the cash -- an-- anonymous cash. embattled congressional candidate said he's never had one like this one. his opponent, a third-party republican group running this add. >> boucher has failed to protect our jobs. it's time rick boucher loses his. americas for jobs security is responsible for this advertising. >> americas for job security is responsible. you know who they have? >> we have no idea. it could be a foreign entity. someone with a corporate identity in the united states. it could be a very wealthy individual who has some grudge against me. >> americans for job security is one of those outside groups likely benefitting from a supreme court decision which on free speech grounds said corporations can spend unlimited money to promote or defeat candidates without disclosing donors. it has this website which says it promotes free market ideas and its more than 1,000 members are businesses, business leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the country. but bluntly states it won't disclose donors because too often politicians or the media define an organization or a message not by the merits of the argument but by the perception of the people associated with it. republican sources say americans for job security only has one fulltime employee, steve demura whose offices are across the river here in alexandria, virginia. we left multiple phone messages to get more information about his group but never heard back. we came here no to the office, knocked on the door, and were told he wasn't there. >> because of the type of group they are, you don't know if that's one american for job security, a million americans for job security. >> what we do know with the help of the nonpartisan, opensecre . opensecrets.org is americans for job security has spent $8 million for candidates nationwide and overall, conservative outside groups have spent $100 million. tim phillips for americans for prosperity, another gop group did talk to us. it's been singled out by the president. >> they're posing as nonprofit groups with names like americans for prosperity. >> by the time we reach election day, how much has your group spent? >> $35 million. >> that money funds ads like this. >> small businesses that see marquee as the same as nancy pelosi. >> who are the donors? the texas billionaire coke brothers are the founders and give significant dollars. besides them, who knows? >> most of it is private individuals. buff but we're glad to have the support. we're going to tell them, look, we're going to protect your privacy as the law allows them to do. >> that's a key thing to remember. it is legal for the particular groups to spend tens of millions to affect elections but without anyone knowing who's funding them, consider this statistic from opensecrets.org, in half of the senate races, outside groups are spending more on candidates. today, we focus on republican groups, those are the ones that the president is pointing his finger at saying they're hurting the electoral process. democrats do it too. they have groups that are well funded. we bring you that story tomorrow. >> in 2008 a lot of outside groups that helped to get that democratic win in 2008. >> had a lot of money in 2008, both for the president's campaign, of course, to members of congress, and all across the board. that's a big part of the subplot here that the enthusiasm gap is out there in a big way. that's affecting everything, including money. >> money talks in politics as we all know. look forward to your report tomorrow. thank you. small cities hit with big corruption scandal. why so many officials in one area right now under arrest, in prison, or on trial. >> second floe of poisonous mud is unavoidable. the damage is being called a crime. compromise what i like . i take care with vesicare, because i have better places to visit than just the bathroom. 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[ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. the craftsman cordless multi-tool. the power and versatility of six tools. packed into one. craftsman. trust. in your hands. an emergency dam they're building to try to prevent a second flood of toxic mud is nearly complete and should be completed by tomorrow morning. there's a crack of the wall of the reservoir half a meter high and 20 meters wide. authorities say they don't know when it may collapse, when that wall may collapse. but they expect it to happen at some point. that is why work is so fast and so furious. there's mud still encase in the reservoir which if the wall does break might be unleashed again in a second floe on this village. on monday, also, an eighth body was discovered. there were seven already counted amongst the dead, and eighth body was found today bringing the death toll to eight. the chief executive whose reservoir it was that leaked the initial toxic spill has been arrested. part of the ongoing criminal investigation into who was responsible for this spill. he's currently in police custody and is being questioned. and the prime minister added today that he will be taking it under state's control in a temporary basis in order to safeguard the 1,100 jobs here in this region dependent on that company for work. cnn, hungary. the military psychiatrist accused of gunning down dozens of people and killing 13 of them will be in a military courtroom tomorrow in ft. hood, texas. the hearing which will go on for weeks will determine if there's enough evidence for a court-martial for nadal hasan. set the scene for what's about to happen, chris. >> the mood here. we talked to a dozen people today. and all of them told us they just want this to be over. one of the mps told us nobody likes it when hassan comes on base. we do our job, we protect him. but really we just want this man to go away. we spoke to the fiancee of one oh the seriously wounded soldiers in that attack. this is a young sergeant, coming back from iraq. he was going to officer candidate school, that's why he was in the career center going through some of the processing when the shooting took place. been in the hospital for ten months trying to recover. the fiancee told us what he's gone through, what other families are going through, there's an intense interest in what is going to be said at this hearing. >> we just want to be informed and for a lot of us means being present and some of us it means reading it in the newspaper, some people means not reading or seeing it at all. we cope in different ways. in my situation, i just like to know all of the facts as i can get them and for me, i'm anxious for the article 32 to begin so the public can see the facts of what really happened that day and what led up to that day. >> as for hassan himself, he's being held in a county jail nearby. he has a koran, a tv. spends most of the time in a bed. his bathroom is a pale inside the bed. wolf? >> we expect the prosecutors to lay out the what. in other words, alleging that hassan went out and bought the guns, that he practices aim and he carefully planned this attack. what we probably won't hear is the why. until this case moves to a full court hard shl, prosecutors are not going to get to some of the areas of the motivations, the alleged ties to islamic radicals. remember, just about a year before this attack, the fbi admits they saw e-mails between hassan and al bar al aki that urged western muslims to wage jihad and we found a military report found that the army did find some warning signs in the behavior. wolf? there are dozens of it in this attorney. how are they deplanning on dealg with that? >> they're not going to try to prove that hassan did not shoot at the base that day. that's a well established fact. but what the attorney will look at is just what i alluded to that perhaps hassan wasn't mentally stable. he exhibited some of the symptoms for months, even years going back. and that the army, the military in federal officials missed these signals. but you can see a scenario as the government is trying hassan, hassan's attorney may be trying to put the government himself on trial, wolf. >> chris will be watching it for us in ft. hood. thank you. monitoring other stories including a desperate hunt now under way for two suspects now want in the disappearance of an american citizen jet skiing along the texas-mexico border. also, who's dick cheney's favorite republican president? going to find out how he's hansing that question just ahead. 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[ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. read it? kate bald wynn monitoring top stories in "the situation room" right now including the situations for a dramatic rescue for the 33 chilean miners could happen very, very soon. >> such an amazing story. it gets more and more amazing every day. the rescue of the 33 miners trapped thousands of feet underground could begin wednesday or even sooner. officials say the tests of the hole through which the miners will be brought to the surface are coming back positive. in preparation, the miners will have to switch to a diet of liquid and vitamins. each trip is expected to take 15 minutes. the miners have been trapped under the ground since august. mexican police, they are searching for two suspects in the case of an american citizen who disappeared along the mexican-u.s. border. the wife of david hartley said her husband was shot and killed and she's pleading for help in finding his body. the state department says authorities for both countries are conducting investigations. the first patient -- this is interesting. an fda-approved clinical trial is injected with embryonic stem cells. the cells were injected directly to the patient's spinal chord friday. scientists are trying to determine the safety of introducing these cells in humans. only about 8 to 10 patients have been approved for the trial so far. and former vice president dick cheney worked for four presidents over the course of his long career. but he's not revealing his favorite. the former vice president was interview bid his wife, linlin at a conference in california. he said the reason why he's got to work for so many presidents is he's never told anyone who his favorite was. interesting thing about dick cheney, interesting that he was in the hospital for five weeks. glad he's out and about. he's going to do some speaking over the next few months. a book coming out next summer. glad to see him out and about. >> his career never ends. >> invite him to "the situation room." >> we'll get his favorite president out of him. he just won the nobel prize for economics. why are some republicans, one united states senator holding up the nomination to join the federal reserve board? some are calling it the corridor of corruption. 18 public officials in one area. 18 accused of being gluttons for illegal payoffs. 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>> eight officials in tiny bell california are awaiting trial for bilking the city out of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in salary and benefits. as it turns out, they are not alone. in the industrial corridor southeast of los angeles, sit five small cities, vernon, maywood, bell, south gate, and lynnwood that form a question mark on a map. the question is, why are so many officials here either in prison, under investigation or arrest, or on trial for corruption? most people now know about bell, eight city leaders charged with dozens of counts of fraud. >> it isn't just bell. bell were the gluttons at this trough. but there are other cities where folks are definitely eating at that same trough. >> the state assemblyman first began his crusade against crooked politicians more than a decade ago in south gate when he joined the city council. he can tell you about former south gate treasury albert robles who served ten years in prison for taking bribe, money laundering, and corruption totalling $20 million. the former mayor of neighboring lynnwood. he's doing 15 years for corruption. throw in maywood and vernon and we count at least 18 current or former officials in five neighboring cities implicated in recent corruption scandals. >> what is it about these cities that attracts these type of officials that seem to want to prey on the public coffers. >> i think it's a combination of two things. one, these are all working class communities. the people are just trying to survive day-to-day. they don't show up at the meetings, they just trust that things are being done the right way. >> the long-time ally in political reform, former south gate mayor henry gonzalez survived after being shot in the head in his driveway in 1999. >> i hit the ground, broke my glasses. i couldn't move. i was stunned. >> police never solved the shooting. but gonzalez now a city councilman points to a motive. >> i was shot because i was trying to clean up city government. the corruption involve in our city was bad. we have a lot of people who are documented and undocumented. they're not very knowledgeable in city government so many give jobs at the minimum wage and they're working two jobs and don't have time to get informed. >> gonzalez likes to point out southgate is scandal free for now. advice to two other cities? >> unite, find out what the government is about. attend meetings, get involved. you'll have a clean government. >> that's been in short supply in these cities for years. citizens' groups have organized in bell to demand more accountability from their city officials. but meanwhile, they're losing a significant ally in sacramento. delatori, the city member who represents that district has been lobbying trying to get the bills passed to allow the city aofficials to rip off the public. he's been turned out later this year. it's not a bulletin many americans don't have a lot of trust in public officials right now. but they have a little bit more faith in one party over another in this -- just over three weeks until election day. our senior political analyst gloria borger is here. she has new poll numbers for us. what story line are you seeing? >> just doesn't look good for the democrats as we head to the midterm elections. the policy is going from the right direction to the wrong direction. do republican policies move the country right or wrong, of likely voters it's very important. those are the people who are going to come out and vote. time after time again on the economy, on terrorism, on afghanistan, on ethics. you see the republican party is more likely to move you in the right direction -- immigration, taxes, spending, and even on health care, wolf, which is democrats spent nine months on, they believe the republican party is likely to move you in the right direction on that issue. it shows you the likely voters, the passion is there for the republican party, not for the democratic party. in 2008, those numbers would have been flipped and it would have been for the democrats. >> we don't really care that much about registered voters because more than half, probably 60% or 70% of the registered voters won't show up and vote. >> that's what happens when you have a 40% turnout in a midterm election as opposed to a 60% turnout or so in a presidential election. these numbers really matter for the democrats. >> we're seeing the new numbers no great love for either party. >> very clear the public is completely conflicted. as you look here, congressional approval ratings. that's what we're voting on, right, in the fall. republicans only 29%. republicans only 32%. so i think in this election, wolf, as a yes or no election. people aren't voting democrats or republicans, they're voting, yes, i like what's going on in washington or, no, i don't like what's going on in washington. and a lot of folks and the enthusiasm is there to vote no. the problem is -- say the republicans take control of the house. they're going to have to deliver. the public is going to have to demand that they do something they like so they can be different. or else, guess what? an anti-incumbent republican election next time around if they can't prove that they can get something done. so, yes or no. and they're voting no. >> the key issue is we keep pointing out jobs, jobs, jobs. 'm want jobs. they want to see action. and they want to see it soon. >> that's right. >> gloria, thank you. a republican congressional candidate is now explaining why he's photographed wearing a nazi uniform. will voters buy that? another piece of the puzzle in an anti-gay hate crime that new york's mayor is calling sickening. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthec genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands. (announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. 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. ♪ monitoring some of the top stories in "the situation room" right now including a development in what authorities are calling a brutal new york city hate crime. what do you have? >> brutal story. it is, wolf. the final suspect in the anti-gay hotline is expected to turn himself in tomorrow. eight suspects were arraigned yesterday and the men held three victims in the bronx against their will and beat and sodomized them. bloomberg says he's sickened by the attacks. the next court date is set for thursday. the other stories is benjamin netanyahu says he's willing to renew a moratorium on settlement construction in the west bank if palestinians acknowledge israel as a jewish state. the moratorium expired last month creating a potential stumbling block in the ongoing peace talks between the two sides. palestinians have consistently rejected acknowledging israel as a jewish state. this just in, tropical storm paula, another tropical storm, has just form in the caribbean. the national hurricane center says right now the storm is packing maximum sustained winds at 60 mile-per-hours. hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of the yucatan peninsula including cancun and cozum cozumel. tropical storms still in the middle of it. wolf. >> hurricane season continues. we've been lucky. hope it stays that way. >> knock on wood -- or plexiglas glas. >> or whatever. >> thank you. he's considered an up and coming republican candidate. will a photo of him dressed as a nazi drag him down? stand by to hear his unusual explanation. 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(announcer) everything you need to stretch out on long trips. residence inn. get to the strategy session. the two cnn political contributors. democratic strategist, james carville and the republican strategist, ed rawlings. the president of the united states is in south florida right now. holding a couple of fundraisers behind closed doors. print reporters inside. no tv cameras. he's there, the democratic senate candidate. a tough race against marco rubio and charlie crist. but i don't understand. maybe i'm confused, james, why isn't the president doing a big public rally for the democratic nominee for the united states senate in florida? >> in the interest of disclosure, i think i sent out something to help him save money. i'm a supporter of his. it may be that the president isn't that powerful. maybe they would want that. i'm not sure that's the case. but one has to consider that's a possibility. >> i had him on my show last week, ed. and he bragged about the fact that the white house, the president, bill clinton coming down to campaign for him. i don't see that public campaigning for him on the part of the president of the united states. he is going to do some sort of radio ad for kendrick meek that they'll send out some voiceover. but do you understand what's going on here? >> i don't. i think it's a total misuse of the president. he was in philadelphia yesterday. he didn't say a whole lot about the candidates there. the problem is that meek is a congressman, a member of the black caucus with a lot of credibility back home. he's going to spend the next two or three days explaining why the president isn't doing more for him. the end of the election cycle, a lot of members are going to say, the president needs to go over the cliff for us. i think it's a bad strategy. wherever the president is, he ought to be campaigning for democratic candidates, period. >> maybe there's a better explanation. if the white house shares it, we'll let our viewers know. let's move on to the nobel prize for economics. peter diamond got that prize today, james. hi's been nominated by president obama to serve on the board of federal reserve. he's held up. not even letting on republicans richard shelby from the banking committee. they're holding up the confirmation process. robert gibbs saying today despite being heralded by the nobel committee for the ground breaking work, the nomination for the federal reserve board of governors continues to be held up by a partisan minority in the senate, constructing a nominee as well qualified as peter in a time of economic crisis is a harmful attempt to score political points. go ahead and weigh in on what's going on here. >> i think the reason they said he feelsn't qualified, not sure how you score political points by denying employment to the fed board, the fed just wants a nobel prize. just a case of out and out obstruction if the truth be known. and maybe the nobel committee knew this and wanted to make him look ridiculous. who knows. >> he's a distinguished -- he's a distinguished professor. 70 years old. he's been teaching a lot of economists over the years, ed. go ahead. >> including the chairman of the fed reserve. this is inside baseball. one senator can hold up somebody. senator shelby had some concerns about the monetary policy. but someone else put a hold on it. at the end of the day, he'll be cleared. he's got a vote out of the committee in three republicans join the majority of the democrats to vote him out. my sense is that he'll be confirmed very quickly. otherwise you're going to have an embarrassing situation here. >> speaking of embarrassing situations. i'll start with you on this one. rick -- he's running for the united states senate -- the united states congress, house of representatives from ohio. and all of a sudden, it emerges that on weekends, he likes to dress up as a nazi and go to the historical re-enactments if you will. he explained what he was doing to our own brooke baldwin earlier today on cnn. let me play a little clip. >> i was absolutely one of the low points in human history. and it's a tragedy that we don't want to forget, we can't sweep it under the rug. >> eric cantor of the republican leader and one of the republican leaders in the house. and one of the other republicans, they're walking away from this guy quickly right now. do you understand what's going on? >> you know, for whatever reason, some men like to dress up in army uniforms. there's always a union-confederate battle. this guy wore union -- in a campaign, he's going to spend the next week explaining what he's doing in a nazi uniform. at the end of the day, it has to distract from the campaign. since it's not one of the top targeted races, it would make it difficult for him to win this thing. >> james, go ahead. you've got a smile on your fail. >> i heard he said he did it to bond with his son. my dad used to play catch with me in the front yard. just kind of -- dressing up like nazis. somebody is going to find out who the other people are. my guess is, you know, we're going to find out some kind of peculiar people who do this. that's my guess. i don't have the evidence. but i'm sure some enterprising reporter will look into it. >> james and i question the candidates. in if future, we'll have to ask if they're witches wear nazi uniforms or what have you. >> i think it feels an ss uniform, wasn't just a mark uniform. >> the more i cover politics, the stranger and stranger it gets. thanks for coming in. cnn gets rare access inside north korea for the unveiling of the new leader. stand by for this incredible report from the heart of pyongyang. ♪ 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 ? usually shrouded in secrecy, north korea has briefly pulled look the iron curtain to show off its new leader. we got a rare invitation to witness the event and take you behind the scenes. >> reporter: the most reclusive dictator in the world opens his arms and his doors to the world. an unofficial and elaborate coming-out party for kim jong-un, the son of kim jong-il, who one day will becommikcommie leaders. he was named a four-star general last month. just after touching down, we're whisked to pyongyang's mayday stadium for the first event. the mass games. there are 100,000 people performing in a massive display of coordinated song, dance, and gymnastics. they practiced eight hours a day every day for a year. there's never a guarantee that kim jong-il will be in attendance. tonight, he is. . what's different this time is that kim jong-il appears alongside his son. when the show is over, north koreans in the audience applaud not for the performers but for their leader. next up, a massive military parade billed as the country's largest ever. a show of firepower by one of the largest armies in the world. kim jong-il said to be in frail health and rarely seen in public shows up again. for the second time in two days, walking unaided but with one hand on the railing. she says long live the general and long live his son. here kim jong-il flashes a rare smile as his son jokes with elders. the crowd goes wild, jumping, clapping, even crying. then as night falls, yet another spectacle. tonight's is the third such event in 24 hours, and it is pure pageantry. look at the colors, the choreography. thousands of dancers in traditional dress. the media has been invited as guests. this is the invitation. make no mistake, the real guests of honor are up there in the balcony. kim jong-il and his son, the heir apparent, kim jong-un. >> i think it was fantastic. >> reporter: this man, an actor from denmark, one of a handful of private citizens invited by the north korean government, is among those watching. >> what about all of the reports of oppression and the people starving and -- >> i can't see it. maybe it -- it is there, but i can't see it. i can just see lucky people. >> reporter: this secretive nation will soon close its doors again, leaving many questions about its future. how will the young son rule? how long can north korea continue as an isolationist state? the world watches. this transfer of power is something that has been expected. this week of events, just another sign that the plan to keep the kim family firmly in power is well under way. elena cho, cnn, pyongyang, north korea. it was supposed to be a hostage rescue, but u.s. forces trying to free a british aid worker may -- may have been responsible for her death. ver f. ver f. to late bloomers... full-time moms... and everyone who is good at something but wants to be great. welcome to kaplan university. the university that's changing the face of education... to undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees... degrees that can give you a leg up... in a tough job market... in any job market... welcome. welcome to kaplan university. call kaplan university now or visit us on-line to take our free learning assessment. 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. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own business site with intuit websites. just choose a style, then customize, publish and get found. sweet. get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. hamid karzai is confirming his government is holding talks with taliban insurgents. he says he hopes those contacts will become official and more regular in the future. mr. karzai described the negotiations to cnn's larry king in an interview will air tonight. >> the "washington post" is saying, mr. president, that there are secret high-level talks over negotiations to end the war between your government and the taliban already under way. how do you respond? >> we have been talking to the taliban as countryman to countryman talk in that manner. not as irregular official contact with -- with the taliban, but rather unofficial personal contacts have been going on for quite some time. now that the peace council has come into existence, these talks will go on and will go on officially and more rigorously, i hope. there has also been the -- the peace and stability council that has been working under the chairman of the president that has been a part of talks as well. but now official contact with a known entity that reports to a body of taliban and that comes back to protest regularly, that hasn't happened yet, and we hope it can begin as soon as possible. but contacts, of course, have been there between various elements of the afghani government at the level of community and at a political level. >> president karzai denied a report that he's manic-depressive. you can see that tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, a new revelation raising questions about the failed attempt to rescue a british hostage in afghanistan. was she accidentally killed by american forces? also, trapped underground for two months. those chilean miners are getting ready for the long journey to safety. details of what they're doing to p prepare. and she's locked in a tight battle in california. republican carly fiorina, she is here in "the situation room" this hour. she'll talk about the heated race and the hot issues. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com linda may not have died at the hands of her captors as originally believed. that evidence and subsequent interviews with the personnel involved suggest that linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault. >> the british prime minister, david cameron, speaking just a little while ago. a hostage rescue that now appears to have gone horribly wrong. the british aide worker possibly killed by an american grenade thrown by the very forces trying to free her from her taliban captors. brian todd is here. he's working this investigation for us. the stunned reaction to linda norgrove's death. what are you learning? >> nato and british officials said that linda was killed by her captors. today, america's top candommand in afghanistan told the british prime minister of the new disturbing nnc ining informatio raises new questions about this mission. colleagues of linda norgrove are shaken by her suden and violent death over the weekend. she was held hostage by taliban commanders in eastern afghanistan. she may have been killed by a grenade thrown by american essential forces closing in on her captors. the british national had been working for a contractor called dai helping afghans rebuild their local economy. officials here at dai's headquarters in washington let us into the building and spoke to us extensively, but they didn't want to be filmed and they didn't want anything filmed inside. they're trying to absorb the shock of linda's death and they also want to cooperate with the investigation and don't want to compromise that in any way. what they're saying is that she was here a couple of months ago, meeting with the staff here. they were all inspired by her seriousness and her commitment to her mission. on the actual mission to rescue her, they don't want to speculate at this point. they don't have the information to second-guess the decisions that were made on tactics. retired major jeffrey beady, a former delta force assault troop commander, has been on several top hostage rescue teams. he says these are the hardest of missions for special forces. >> because of the danger of the hostage-takers killing the hostage and having someone dedicated to that job should there be a rescue attempt, every effort has to be made to try to identify all the hostage-takers and take them all out at once as the assault begins. >> beady says u.s. forces must have had norgrove and her captors under surveillance and would not have moved in unless they felt that surveillance may be compromised. other officers told me in these situations, they're often trained to use grenades first. no one is saying at the moment whether that was the intent here or not. a full investigation is about to start led by u.s. central command. wolf? >> they announced that investigation today. what are going to be the keys, brian, to determining exactly what happened? >> often in these special forces operations, it's the surveillance of the operation, the surveillance footage, that is key. we're told by the u.s. military in this case neither the surveillance footage nor the discussions with members of that special forces team conclusively prove what caused her death. the autopsy is going to be key here. that's going to be carried out by british officials. >> what a heart-breaking story. thanks, brian todd. chile's mining minister now says the rescue of those 33 men trapped a half a mile underground may not start until thursday. that's a day later than some thought was in the works. officials are optimistic, though, following tests of the rescue capsule, which was lowered within about 40 feet of the chamber where the men have spent the last two months. cnn's patrick ottoman is on the scene in chile. first, let's get the details of had rescue from chad myers. chad, what else do we know about this rescue operation? i understand the actual lift out of the mine will not be entirely vertical. >> that is correct. it is actually at an 80-degree an angle to the vertical. that only matters because what they did to this capsule. unlike the capsule that was used in the cue creek mine, which was the yellow one, they installed wheels. wheels on the phoenix to go up better at the angle because they knew that this thing would just bounce all the way up and down along this -- kind of this inverted shaft here because it is not quite on the vertical. wheels on the top and wheels on the bottom. also inside will be oxygen. it's been very hot down there. it's been in the 80s and the 90s. you think, wait a minute. the mines in america, it's like 60. isn't it always like cool down there? that's why they made wine kellecel cellars. but when you get too deep, you get closer to magma really, closer to what is underneath the ground, closer to the warmer part of the core of the earth rather than just the top crust. so the men -- we know now that all men will be able to fit in here. that's good. for a while, we didn't know whether they would have to actually do something drastic like break clavicles to fold these men in. that doesn't look like that will be the case. all men should be able to fit in here. believe it or not, this was an amazing feat of surgery by getting this drill, a small drill originally, down into the cave. and then they brought in the larger drill. in fact, one made in america. the t-130. you'll be able to find this -- this drillbit that came down. they broke four drill bits trying to get down to these men. they expected to only have to use one. this was very hard ground. very hard earth. very hard dirt and rock. that actually turned out to be a good thing. now this sleeve, if you will, of rock that they're going to be going up is smooth. if this was an easy task, they would have torn up sandstone, li limestone, and it could have been a rough way up. they would have had to line that with a casing of metal. that won't have to happen. they had this thing down to 40 feet above the men today. the phoenix capital. down to 40 feet above them. they wouldn't go any farther because they thought that somebody might try to obviously climb in at the very last minute. >> and that capitsule when theyo up, it will be about a 15-minute ride. will there be any light or will it just be a dark capsule. >> there will be electronic equipment in there with small little lights. they're going to have -- literally they'll have these goggles on. you can imagine what your eyes must have happen to them over these months now, two months of darkness down there. some small amounts of light have gone down. but they'll put big goggles on them so when they get to the surface, they're coming out into a desert. it will be a very bright event. they'll have goggles on to keep their eyes from getting burned out because of how big the pupils are right now. no lights that we know of. this is going to be a quicker event than originally thought. because of the way this is engineered, we thought this could be a one-hour or -- at least a half-hour trip going up. now because they know this bore is so smooth, it will only be a 10 to 15-minute ride to the surface. >> chad, thanks very much. let's go to the surface over there at the mine. patrick ottoman is joining us on the phone right now. what's going on, patrick, right now? >> wolf, we're seeing practice runs being done. they're gearing up for this rescue. they've done quite a bit today in terms of lining the mine hole, doing that first test that chad discussed, lowering the capsule down to almost the mine floor. we've seen help coicopters taki off and landing. that's how they'll transport the miners to the hospital. it's quite a large operation. they want to get every detail just so. >> how are they going to determine the order of the miners leaving, patrick? >> you know, it's become something of a point of contention. the government officials want to go like this. they want the five most technically adept miners, the miners who are quite competent, have been in good shape throughout this ordeal, to go first. if there are any issues in the capital ride, those are the koi kinds of men that can troubleshoot it. they'll be on their own. the next ten or so men will be men who have had problems with the claus trophobia, men suffering from hypertension and diabetes. the next men will be the men that are strong enough that when their colleagues are leaving them, they'll be able to hold it together for the final hours and be able to leave the mine at the -- at the very end and not break when they're basically left in the mineshaft alone. >> patrick ottoman, we'll stay in close touch. patrick, thank you. president obama's asking congress for $50 billion to upgrade aging u.s. infrastructure. he's proposing a six-year plan to rebuild roads, railways and more. senior administration officials suggesting that they could be paid for by closing tax loopholes rather than by incurring new national debt. the president says the united states is following behind global competitors. >> today as a percentage of gdp, we invest less than half of what russia does in their infrastructure. less than 1/3 of what western europe does. right now, china's building hundreds of thousands of miles of new roads. over the next ten years, it plans to build dozens of new airports. over the next 20, it could build as many as 170 new mass transit systems. everywhere else, they're thinking big. they're creating jobs. but they're also planning to win tomorrow. so the bottom line is our shortsightedness has come due. we can no longer afford to sit still. >> the president says investing in infrastructure will create good middle-class jobs will also helping the overall u.s. economy. the israeli prime minister says he'll extend the freeze on jewish settlements in the west bank if palestinians recognize israel as a jewish state. the settlement issue is threatening to derail the latest u.s.-sponsored peace efforts. palestinians rejected such calls in the past saying they've already recognized israel's right to exist as a state and that recognition as a jewish state could hurt efforts of rou refugeies who want to return the israel. he's taking heat for anti-gay comments. his latest remarks about gay pride parades are likely to throw fuel on the fire. >> i've been to one in toronto, all right? i saw the men in their little speedos gyrating on each other. i think that's disgusting. >> the candidate, the republican nominee, carl paladino, and he doesn't hold back. also, an exclusive interview with a death row inmate who came within minutes of his execution. relatives of those he's accused of killing. we'll tell you what's going on. will dna testing exonerate him? plus, carly fiorina is being endorsed by sarah palin. so why is she skipping sarah palin's fund-raising event right in fiorina's backyard? she's here in "the situation room." i'll ask her. yup, there's a new head chef in the kitchen. introducing new quaker mix up creations. does your breakfast make you amazing? 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. ♪ the craftsman hammerhead goes everyday. driving home nails quickly and easily in the tightest spaces. more innovation, more great values. craftsman. trust. in your hands. but, i'm a home. i'm always outside. i make being inside possible. look, do me a favor. get flood insurance. floods can devastate your home. fred, how you doing over there? 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[ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. the republican candidate for new york governor is facing some sharp criticism for anti-gay remarks he made over the weekend. the defense he's offering is unlikely to make any of his critics any happier. mary snow spoke with carl paladino about these new controversy. what's he saying? >> well, he's trying to frame this controversy into a debate over same-sex marriage, but critics aren't swayed. and now paladino is criticizing gay pride parades. republican carl paladino on the defense, marching in the columbus day parade, he insisted he's not anti-gay after saying this to a jewish group on sunday. >> i just think my children and your children wid be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family. and i don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. it isn't. >> reporter: we caught up with paladino and asked him what he meant. >> i'm 100% in favor of all gay rights and always have been. there's one reservation. i don't think they should be married. >> reporter: he then criticized his democratic opponent, andrew cuomo, for attending a gay pride parade. >> andrew says he takes his daughters, young girls, okay, to the gay pride parade. i've been to one in toronto, okay. i saw the men in their little speedos gyrating on each other. i think that's disgusting. >> reporter: andrew cuomo also at today's columbus day parade fired back. >> he's probably the last person i'll take advice from on how to raise my daughters. i thought it was reckless. i thought it was cynical. i thought it was divisivdivisiv >> reporter: there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual, paladino said. he didn't read it as prepared. >> there was a couple of lines in there that i deleted and never spoke, purposely because i didn't want to. >> reporter: who wrote those lines? >> i don't know who wrote them. somebody wrote them and gave them to our staff as a -- as a -- their suggested position on something. >> reporter: are you saying your campaign didn't write them? >> absolutely not. >> wolf, paladino's campaign manager told us the campaign collaborated with jewish community leaders in writing the remarks that paladino delivered sunday and a jewish leader involved told us that did happen. paladino's camp says the draft handed out to reporters was not the speech that was delivered. wolf? >> is he saying that the orthodox jewish leaders wrote the speech for him and that he read most of it but he deleted a line or two? is that what he's saying? >> yeah. the campaign is saying they worked with jewish community leaders in writing that, that they had gone over drafts, and that carl paladino said that he edited it yesterday on the way to this event. but they said that they collaborated with this. i asked the campaign manager about that, and he said, you know, that he said that was not unusual. >> as you say, he's also arguing that as a catholic, the views he expressed were consistent with catholic doctrine. is that what he's saying? >> right. that is a point that he made. you know, today at the columbus day parade, he stopped at st. pattrick patrick's cathedral and greeted the cardinal. he says this is a position that the catholic church has in terms of same-sex marriage and that his position is not any different than that. in the heart of new york city, streets around a cemetery shut down. what the caretaker discovered to put the bomb squad on high alert. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah! ah! whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that? how come my dap wasn't like that? huh? it's just an "us" thing. yeah, it's a little something we do. who else is in this so-called "us"? man, i don't know. there's a lot of us. 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[ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. kate baldwin has a chose eye on some of the top stories in "the situation room" right now, including the unnerving discovery of explosives right in new york city. >> we're talking about c-4 explosives. this is a story we're talking about. paul brown tells cnn nine bricks of military-grade c-4 explosives were found in a garbage bag near a cemetery on manhattan's lower east side. a caretaker at the cemetery called police when he made the discovery this morning. no one was evacuated and the bomb squad did remove the package. the c-4, fortunately, was not wired to explode. taking a look at microsoft, microsoft is upping the ante in the smartphone wars, unveiling its own windows phone 7. the ceo says the new phones will be available from a variety of makers on at&t's network. the software giant has struggled to sell smartphones since the iphone and android burst on to the scene. the blackberry is three times bigger. now, after decades of neglect, renovations are under way at washington's world war i memorial. a bill to make the site a national monument has stalled, but there's a race to complete the renovation renovations. >> there's a world war ii memorial. >> which is beautiful. >> there should be a world war i memorial. >> i agree. here rival is blasting her jobs record as a ceo, so what would republican carly fiorina do differently to bring jobs to california? the candidate is standing by to join us. and he's treading where president obama can't. the former president, bill clinton, on a campaign swing sending some democrats swooning. copd doesn't just make it hard to breathe... it makes it hard to do a lot of things. and i'm a guy who likes to go exploring ... get my hands dirty... and try new things. so i asked my doctor if spiriva could help me breathe better. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better for a full 24 hours. and it's not a steroid. spiriva does not replace fast acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain... or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate... as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take... even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. i'm glad i'm taking spiriva everyday because breathing better is just better. ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you. ♪ when it's planes in the sky ♪ ♪ for a chain of supply, that's logistics ♪ ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ there will be no more stress ♪ ♪ cause you've called ups, that's logistics ♪ two decades hold on california senate seats. carly fiorina is one of the most powerful women in the u.s. tech industry. she was ceo of hewlett-packard for six years, executive at lucent and at&t before that, having worked her way up from receptionist and secretary positions. she was an advisor to senator john mccain's presidential campaign. now she's challenging the california senator barbara boxer. carly fiorina is joining us now. thanks for coming in. >> it's great to be back with you, wolf. thanks for having me. >> let's go through the issues out there. barbara boxer, her campaign keeps saying that when you were ceo of hewlett-packard, you laid off 30,000 workers. is that true? >> you know, barbara boxer is saying just about anything to try and distract attention from her record of 28 years of failure. i managed hewlett-packard through the technology recession, the worst in 25 years, the dotcom buzz. but we created jobs. sadly here in california, however, jobs are being destroyed every day. we have 23 counties with unemployment above 15%. where has barbara boxer been for the last six years, the last 12 years, the last 18 years, the last 28 years she's been in washington, d.c.? she has she been? she's been voting for more taxes, voting for more borrowing and spending, she has been profiting from her own time in public office as has her family members. so it's time that the voters of california understand what's at stake in this election. jobs and out of control government spending and the fact that barbara boxer has acted as if she isn't accountable to the voters of california. >> so the 30,000 figures that were laid off during the dotcom bust, if you will, i guess that's true even though you say you created more jobs than you -- than you had -- were forced to lay off? is that what you're saying? >> yes. net, we created job. >> what does that mean? >> well, it means there were more employees working for hewlett-packard the day i left than the day i arrived. and a lot of those jobs were important manufacturing jobs. we are destroying the manufacturing base in our country because of the policies that barbara boxer has pursued. that's why the california manufacturing and technology association has endorsed me. their first endorsement in 92 years. we are also losing our competitive advantage and our edge in innovation. that's why i believe we need to make very clear strides to improve our competitive position, like, for example, making our r and d tax credit number one in the world. it's now number 17 in the world. barbara boxer has had plenty of time to grapple with the huge issues we have in this state of unemployment, of a declining manufacturing base. she's had plenty of time to deal with out of control government spending. she hasn't dealt with any of it. >> let's get to other issues. do you see yourself as part of the tea party movement? >> you know, i see myself as a citizen running for public office for the very first time. i see myself as serving the voters of california. there are tea parties, and i would say pleural, in california. there's a tea party in marin county. there's a tea party in san diego. but there are many independent voters, democrats as well as republicans who are endorsing and supporting my candidacy. this is about how to get our state and our nation back on the right track. believe it or not, 78% of the swing voters here in california believe that our nation is headed in the wrong direction and believe that barbara boxer has been in washington, d.c. too long. >> you're neck in neck in this most recent reuters poll. barbara boxer, 49%. carly fiorina, 45%, but 4.5% sampling error. sarah palin is coming to california to do this big event there, but you and meg whitman, who is running for governor, you'll stay away from that event. how come? >> well, because i'm doing a whole series of other events including an event with veterans with john mccain. as you, of course, can appreciate, your campaign schedule gets set quite far out in advance in terms of commitments. sarah palin is here to endorse her book, i believe, and to raise money and i am here running for office. so we're all busy and it's important that i continue to meet with as many voters as possible. because this is a very important election. and i believe the voters of california agree with me that the direction of our state and our nation is at stake here. >> i remember during the campaign the mccain campaign, you said at the time you didn't think sarah palin was qualified to run a major corporation like hewlett-packard, but she's endorsed you now. do you think she's qualified to be president of the united states? >> i certainly think she's qualified to be president of the united states. you may remember, wolf, i also said that barack obama, john mccain and joe biden weren't qualified to run a major corporation. look, you need technical skills to run a company. i couldn't fly a jet airplane tomorrow either. ours was intended to be a kit zn government. that is what of, by, and for the people means. somehow we've grown accustomed to purear politicians like barbara boxer who has done nothing else in her professional life virtually other than be a politician. it isn't what our founding fathers intended. i think a lot of people in california want someone who hasn't been in washington forever, who isn't a bitter partisan who has accomplished nothing virtually. that's why her own hometown paper wouldn't endorse her. they called her ineffective and bitterly partisan. they want, instead, someone to go to washington who has a track record of solving problems. who has a track record of reaching out and working with other people to get something done. that's what we've got to do now, get something done. >> you can probably give me quick yes or no answers on these. barbara boxer supports medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription. do you? >> well, if it's with a doctor's prescription, if we're using marijuana as a medicine, then let's regulate it as a medicine. i'm a cancer survivor. i battled breast cancer last year. i remember well the doctors that i had warning me about the dangers of medicinal marijuana. it's not truly well-understood. it's abused terribly in this state. if it's truly going to be a medicine, then it should be prescribed as a medicine. >> she supports gay marriage. do you? >> you know, i believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. i certainly support civil unions. i am where the president of the united states and the vast majority of the u.s. senate is on this issue. >> abortion rights, she supports abortion rights for women. i suspect you don't, but explain. >> well, i personally am pro-life. and i know that not all women agree with me. but it is barbara boxer who is extreme in her views here. she supports partial birth abortion. she says that babies don't have rights until they leave hospitals. you know what, wolf, all the issues that you just asked me about are not the issues on voters' minds this year. what's on voters minds are jobs. where are they? we have a 12.4% unploymeemploym rate here in california. our debt has grown to 13 trillion -- >> whoops. unfortunately, we lost that signal. we apologize to carly fiorina. hopefully we'll have her back. carly fiorina, the republican senate candidate. we've invited barbara boxer to join us as well. hopefully she'll say yes. so far, we have received a no answer from barbara boxer. hopefully she'll say yes down the road. we thank carly fiorina for that. a texas death row inmate says dna evidence will prove his innocence. kate baldwin speaks exclusively with him about his supreme court case that could have far-reaching implications. and he calls president obama's charges beyond the pale. karl rove is hopping mad at the president. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. a hechtic swing for bill clinton in kentucky, west virginia, and new york. our congressional correspondent, brianna keilar, is joining us now from west virginia where president clinton was at a rally for the governor and would-be senator joe manchin. how's it going? >> well, wumolf, i spoke to one man here and he said ex-presidents rule because you have forgotten why you didn't like them. the question here may be how much more popular is bill clinton than president obama? and the answer is a lot. >> thank you. thank you. >> he was the last democrat to carry west virginia in a presidential election. >> when i ran for president in 1992, all of you know that west virginia was one of my three best states. you were so good to me. >> reporter: now three weeks before the midterms, bill clinton is stumping for democrats in states and districts where president obama may not be so popular. places like west virginia. >> bringing obama in right now to our state just would not be a good thing for the democratic party. i think they're more accepting of bill clinton. >> reporter: clinton is on a multistate blitz, speaking to moderate and conservative voters. later this week, he'll hit nevada, arkansas and new mexico. monday he backed up jack conway in kentucky before stumping for west virginia governor joe manchin. >> you have got to elect him to the united states senate. >> reporter: manchin is in a neck-in-neck race for the state's open senate seat. john rasee is trying to tie the democrat to his party's leaders in washington. >> joe manchin will do anything to avoid talking about being a rubber stamp for barack obama. >> have you heard this commercial about a rubber stamp? let me tell you something. the only rubber stamp that i have ever been or i will ever be is for you in the state of west virginia. i can assure you of that. >> reporter: and to make his point, manchin is out with a new ad of his own. >> i'll repeal the bad parts of obama care. i sued epa and i'll take dead aim at the cap and trade bill. because it's bad for west virginia. >> manchin isn't the only one getting national star power. just today -- >> brianna keilar, thank you. a reminder, another close race in delaware. the candidates, christine o'donnell and chris coons, will face off wednesday night. you can see it right here on cnn. the debate begins after "the situation room," 7:30 p.m. eastern. the debate in delaware. could dna testing exonerate a death row inmate who came within minutes s of execution? >> all the district attorney has to do is turn over the evidence and test it. if i'm innocent, i go home. if i'm guilty, i die. what's so hard about that? >> an exclusive death row interview with the accused and the family of his alleged victims. i don't want you going out on those yet. and leave your phone in your purse, i don't want you texting. >> daddy... ok! ok, here you go. be careful. >> thanks dad. >> and call me--but not while you're driving. we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. ♪ we need to finish those projections ♪ ♪ then output the final presentations ♪ ♪ sally, i'm gonna need 40 copies, obviously collated ♪ what's going on? when we're crunched for time, brad combines office celebrations with official business. it's about efficiency. [ courier ] we can help. when you ship with fedex, you can work right up until the last minute. it gives you more time to get stuff done. that's a great idea. ♪ i need to speak with you privately ♪ ♪ i found your resume on the printer ♪ everyone! ♪ i found your resume on the printer ♪ [ male announcer ] we understand.® you need a partner who gives you more time. fedex. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the softness we need, and an unbeatable lifetime stain warranty for whatever life throws at it. then let's save big on the installation. ♪ we're lowering the cost of going barefoot. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for only 37 bucks. president obama's not holding back. over the weekend, he unleashed a torrent atr republican campaign tactics. >> thanks to citizens united, they are being helped along this year by special interest groups that are spending unlimited amounts of money on attack ads, on -- attacking folks like patrick murphy, attacking folks like joe sestak, just attacking people. without ever disclosing who's behind all these attack ads. you don't know. it could be the oil industry, could be the insurance industry, could even be foreign-owned corporations. you don't know because they don't have to disclose. now, that's not just a threat to democrats. that's a threat to our democracy. >> the president's charges have republican strategist karl rove hopping mad. >> have these people no shame? does the president of the united states have such little regard for the office that he holds that he goes out there and makes these baseless charges? this is -- this is just beyond the pale. how dare the president do this. >> let's discuss with john king, the host of "john king usa" at the top of the hour. these charges made by the president, they're very tough. are they fair? >> are they fair to say disclose your books? welcome to politics. all is fair in life and politics. the chamber of commerce says it's not using any foreign money. what the white house says in turn is, okay, you may be following the law, but doesn't the public have a right to know? there are democratic and liberal groups that spend this. the problem for the white house is if they're fought spending near the scale that the conservative groups are spending. they have tested this message and it tests well with the democratic base to go after the chamber of commerce, to go after karl rove, the architect of the bush administration, go after people, democratic base voters don't like and try to use it as a motivational tool for the democratic base. these groups are within the law. they don't have to disclose who gives them money. whether that's good or bad, the president tried to get a bill passed and couldn't get the votes. >> do we see evidence that this money is making a difference already? >> yes. that's why the president is so mad. if you go to congressional direct after congressional district, mostly in the senate and in the -- in the house races, what this has allowed the national political parties to do, they can't coordinate with these groups, but they know that they have friends out there. they've proven that democrats are vulnerable by going in and spending hundreds of thousands, more than that, on these ads that have weakened democratic incumbents. then the republicans see they have been weakened and they're vulnerable and they come in with more traditional party money. so this one-two punch from the conservative groups and the republican party without a doubt is having a negative effect on the democrats. >> and very briefly, why are the conservatives -- why is the conservative money so much more plentiful right now than the liberal money? >> because they're angry. when you're angry, you get more active in politics. there are a number of deep-pocketed business leaders and groups that don't like the health care bill, think this president is anti-business. they have diedecided they want republicans to run the congress. they are anti-obama. >> thanks, john. after 17 years in prison and a brush with execution, a death row inmate gets a supreme court hearing. in a cnn exclusive, he says dna will set him free. dochuck wo it chucking my wd!ang woodk, the craftsman cordless multi-tool. the power and versatility of six tools. packed into one. craftsman. trust. in your hands. a texas death row inmate who came within minutes of execution says he's innocent and dna evidence will prove it. the u.s. supreme court will hear what could be a landmark case. in a cnn exclusive, our own kate bolduan spoke with the convicted killer and the victim's family. >> reporter: we met hank skinner on the texas death row. i wanted to ask you, mr. skinner, about the supreme court case. skinner is lucky to be alive today. what has it been like behind bars for 17 years? >> living hell. there's hell on earth, this is it. >> reporter: in march he came within 45 minutes of lethal injection when the supreme court stepped in agreeing to hear his case. >> i kind of slid down the wall. i felt so light i thought i was going to float away. >> reporter: you were ready to die? >> i wasn't ready to die. i didn't have any choice. >> reporter: did you commit this crime? >> no, i did not. >> reporter: to prove that, skinner wants untested dna evidence from the triple murder crime scene analyzed now. >> the district attorney has to turn over the evidence and test it and let the chips fall where they may. if i'm innocent i go home, if i'm guilty, i die. >> reporter: skinner has maintained he is innocent. now the case has made its way to the supreme court. the question, do death row inmates have a basic civil right to have forensic evidence reviewed post-conviction? this almost two decades after the gruesome crime that rocked this small community. >> it still makes me sad. >> reporter: lisa busby who is developmentally challenged is the lone surviving member of the busby family. new year's eve, 1993, her mother and two older brothers were murdered in their home. she was hank skinner's girlfriend. skinner admits he was there but told cnn he was passed out on the couch at the time of the murders. lisa busby and her uncle remain certain skinner is guilty and certain any additional evidence will further prove that. >> they should kill him. >> they should kill him. >> yeah. let him suffer. for what he did. >> cash the dna, execute him and get it over with. >> reporter: prosecutors argue if skinner wins now, it will open the flood gates to frivolous lawsuits clogging the criminal justice system. >> mr. skinner has tried and failed to make any showing that there's any reasonable probability that this testing would likely show him to be innocent. >> reporter: are you prepared to deal with any consequence that comes if it would further prove your guilt? >> without sounding like a smart ass, lady, i've been here 17 years and i'm ready for anything. >> reporter: no matter how the high court rules this decision will have far reaching implications for every death penalty case and any inmate innocent or not seeking to overturn a death sentence. kate bolduan, cnn, in north texas. the u.s. supreme court, by the way, will hear oral arguments on this case wednesday. we'll follow-up. "john king usa" starts at the top of the hour. first, a young pianist takes china by a storm. he plays in a most unusual way, with his toes. 3q did you know vitamin d helps our bones absorb calcium so they can stay strong ? and sunshine gives us vitamin d. so if you've got osteoporosis, get out there, soak up a little sun. but you may need more than vitamin d, calcium, and exercise. ask your doctor about once-monthly boniva. boniva worked with my body to help stop and reverse my bone loss. in fact, studies show, one year on boniva worked for nine out of ten women. ( announcer ) don't take boniva if you have problems with your esophagus, low blood calcium, severe kidney disease, or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems. if jaw problems or severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain develop, tell your doctor. i've got this one body and this one life. so i take boniva, which has helped me stop losing and start reversing. ask your doctor about boniva today. to get one month free, plus more tips, visit boniva.com or call 1-800-4boniva. finally, a pianist who brought chinese music lovers to their feet by playing with his toes. cnn's jeanne moos has the story of the most unusual musician. ♪ >> reporter: you know how people talk about someone having the hands of a pianist? well, make that the feet. you're listening to the winner of "china's got talent," talent down to the toes. 23-year-old lee uway has no arms but disarmed the judges with his feet. ♪ you're beautiful ♪ you're beautiful >> reporter: his first appearance back in august, he played an all instrumental piece. ♪ a piece that brought at least one judge to tears. after losing both arms, he learned to dress, swim, use a computer, and even write. so it wasn't such a stretch for him to start tickling the ivories with his toes at the age of 19. ♪ four years later he's helped make "china's got talent" the country's most popular show. he was 10 when he lost his arms in an accident. he touched a wire and got shocked while playing hide and seek. now he's the one electrifying audiences. he told the judges, at least i have a pair of perfect legs. we've seen legwork before on piano keys. from the movie "big" to a swedish stairway. designed to entice people into taking the stairs rather than the escalator. but this type of toe work led to cramps and abrasions when he first started. ♪ i don't know what to do >> reporter: a bit of irony, guess who sponsored the competition won by an armless guy playing piano with his feet? >> head & shoulders. >> reporter: head and shoulders above the competition with toes that are truly touching. jeanne moos,

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