chilean miners could be rescued next week. also, operation rail safe. u.s. authorities reportedly stepping up security along amtrak routes this week. homeland security officials say they've been planning the security exercise for some time and say it is not connected to the terror threat in europe. up first this tuesday morning, new developments in a deadly drone attack in pakistan. possible links to the new terror threat in europe. pakistani intelligence now confirming that five germans were among the eight suspected mill at that particular times killed in the strike. it happened in the north waziristan of pakistan yesterday. the other three were also foreigners and it all may be the result of al qaeda's efforts to train terrorists who already have western passports to go home and launch attacks. frederick pleitgen is live for us in islamabad this morning. and this seems to be some sort of example of the worst-case scenario that homeland security

experts are telling us. nationals from a country, going to pakistan, being trained, and being sent back home. >> reporter: yeah, it possibly would be. if these were indeed five germans killed in that drone strike, that would be something that european and american authorities would be very concerned about. we're still looking into that information as you said to pakistani officials have confirmed, indeed, it was five germans. but you know when a missile hits a building, it's hard to determine who was inside without dna evidence. we're still waiting to get further information. as you said, if these were indeed five germans, then it could be related to that plot in europe, which apparently also originated in germany. and when thing we know from u.s. officials is one of the reasons the drone strikes were stepped up last month was in relation to that terror plot in europe. this could be the case, we're not sure, but we are looking into it, john. >> and do we know how many foreign nationals may be in pakistan being trained?

>> well, some believe that it could be up to 200 foreign nationals in that north waziristan area. one of the countries of great concern right now is, in fact, germany. and the talks with german authorities say they're very worried, they say up to 70 of their nationals in recent times went to that area to try to get terror training. people from other places could be doing the same thing. it all comes down to that north waziristan area where apparently a lot of that is going on. it is something that pakistani officials are worried about. they say they're trying to curb the influx of foreigners into that area. and of course, something that america is very, very worried about for exactly the reasons that you mentioned because the biggest worry is people with so-called clean passports, western passports try to propagate attacks in western countries like america and of course also european countries. >> fred, thanks. coming up on three minutes past the hour to politics now.

we're entering the home stretch. in just 28 days, americans will go to the polls to decide who ultimately controls congress. there's a new poll out this morning offering a snapshot of where the voters stand right now. according to a new "washington post" abc news poll that came out overnight, 40% of likely voters plan to back a republican, that's compared to 43% who will vote for a democrat. senior political editor mark preston is live at the cnnpolitics.com desk. that's the generic breakdown, which often during elections we see track pretty much in line with how things shake out in the congressional elections. let's start in delaware where we're talking about christine o'donnell, the senate republican nominee. >> yeah, we are, kiran. look, this election was supposed to be about a referendum on the economy and the democratic control of washington. but it's also gotten a little bizarre. you know, we're talking about witches and secret recordings. in delaware, christine o'donnell has embraced this idea that she is not a witch.

our viewers will remember, she was caught on tape from about ten years ago saying she dabbled in witchcraft. she is the tea party favorite, she's also a social conservative. and this morning she has an ad running in delaware right now saying that, in fact, she is not a witch. so she's embracing it, trying to make a little bit of fun -- poke a little bit of fun at it. she goes on in this 30-second ad to say she can go to washington and fix things. but speaking of these secret recordings out in nevada, another very bizarre story. we have sharron angle, another tea party favorite, another republican nominee for senate out there who was caught on tape trying to get one of her rivals to get out of the race. this other rival says he is a tea party candidate, he is not the republican nominee. and in fact, sharron angle offered scott ashton access, so to speak, here to washington, d.c. she says she's got the juice with big names here in washington, d.c. she also had some very

unflattering things to about the gop establishment as well as the republican party. a very embarrassing episode for sharron angle caught on this tape. >> that's the interesting thing. i was wondering, how embarrassing is it for her, mark? she's sort of saying, listen, i need you to back out for me to be able to win it because the margin of error is so slim between harry reid and myself. i understand that it's hard because she sort of talked against the back room dealing and it sounds like that was happening. but are those conversations that typically take place, you know, in races across the country? >> you know, they are conversations that take place. in fact, let's take a quick listen to what she said on that tape and we'll come out of it and talk a little bit more. >> that's really all i can offer to you is whatever juice i have, you have, as well. you want to e see demint, i have juice with demint. i go to washington, d.c. and i say i want to see jim demint, i

say i want to see tom coburn, he's right there. >> now, that recording was recorded secretly by scott ashton, and that's what's embarrassing, not the fact she attacked the republican party, but she said she has juice here in washington, d.c. and can get scott ashton access to jim demint who turned out to be a very powerful player in the republican party. >> and this has been a very interesting race in nevada because you don't really have a lot of popularity for harry reid or sharron angle. this guy jumps in and is gleaning a small percentage, single digits. there's an ad out against him from the tea party express saying he's a fraud, i don't know why he's running under the tea party because he has nothing to do with us. >> yeah, and of course, scott ashton says, in fact, he is a tea party candidate in that he feels like he can win. polls show he has no chance of winning, but sharron angle is correct, he could throw the election in harry reid's direction if he stays in the race and that's what sharron

angle was trying to do, trying to get him out of the race. >> well, we're going to hear from him later on in our show in the 8:00 hour. it'll be interesting to see what he says. if you stay and harry reid gets elected, is that what you wanted in the end? we'll see what he says to that. mark, thanks so much. >> thanks, kiran. and coming up at 6:40 eastern, we'll break down some of the other races with tom bevan. also new this morning, time square bombing suspect shahzad, set to be sentenced today. the bomb failed to detonate and he was arrested days later while trying to flee the country. prosecutors are seeking a life sentence. the port of houston still closed this morning because of an electrical tower leaning over the ship channel. the country's second largest port has been closed since sunday when a vessel pushing barges crashed into the

300-foot-tall tower. the power lines are hanging too low to allow ships to pass underneath. at least 50 ships are waiting for the channel to be cleared. the folks at travel and leisure magazine are out with the list of scariest bridges in the world. and the chesapeake bay bridge in maryland made the cut. if you ever driven over it and hit a storm, you'll know why. it's five miles long, 200 feet high, you can't see land in front or behind you. >> that's right. and if you live in maryland or virginia, you have to cross it to get to some of the popular resort beaches, and it's not fun, i'll say. freaks me out a little. anyways, eight minutes after the hour. our rob marciano in the extreme weather center for us this morning. >> i think that would freak about anybody out. especially a storm, if there's fog rolling in. there's some west coast bridges that do the same sort of thing. we do have wind that will be

rotating in again today across the east coast. here it is. the storm kind of stubborn, kind of keeping things rather unsettled from the mid-atlantic back through the ohio river valley. and that's where most of the rain is right now. we'll see showers on and off throughout the day. right now, not a whole lot going on. coastal flood advisory because these onshore winds are pushing some of that water in. during the high tide, you might see -- couple of feet above average. but that should be about it. and we'll see this unsettled weather, i think, for the next day and a half. behind it is cold air. we have more in the way of frost and freeze advisories from st. louis and chicago, all the way back through the tennessee valley and that means, well, fall is in the air. breaking news from minnesota. check out this video. out of minneapolis, oh, yeah. break out that beautiful fall foliage video. the sugar maples and the fluorescent red and orange and ash and golden yellow. it's peaking, baby, in many places. st. croix river, take in a

football game while you're out there. love this time of year, guys. and we should see things to peak across the northeast, as well. get out there and enjoy. >> nice. what says fall more than football and beautiful leaves changing color? >> oh, yeah. little apple cider and a trip across the bridge. >> right. >> thanks, rob. well, an a.m. follow-up now. we showed this video yesterday. this safety dance of sorts that's become viral. it shows the crew from the philippines jazzing up their normal routine with music of lady gaga and katy perry as they show you how to follow the safety procedures. the airline took a little heat, they said this was not the actual safety demo. there was a serious one that was performed the traditional way before takeoff in keeping with regulations. >> especially if they're going to do the serious one to do something not so serious afterwards because lord knows flying on an aircraft is miserable enough. and anything the crew can do to show you they're having a good time is a good thing. >> which one are you going to

listen to more? you might learn something from watching the second one. >> you might learn to dance. coming up, a circus performance in ukraine goes horribly wrong as a trainer is mauled by two lions. the attack is captured on video by a cnn i-reporter. he'll tell us what he saw. also, lebron james ready to put on a miami heat uniform. for the first time, our soledad o'brien sits down with james to find out why he still has cleveland on his mind. 11 minutes past the hour. ♪ ♪ no. no.

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14 minutes after the hour. some shocking moments during the ukrainian circus performance caught on camera by a cnn i-reporter. a lion tamer in the ring is suddenly mauled by two lions. circus workers quickly tried to hose down the cats. he said there wasn't much to protect the crowd from the attacking animals either. >> a one-ring circus with about, you know, 1,000 people, 1,500 people around. and then the gate that goes in and out of the ring is held up by aluminum with some netting. and throughout the video you see

it open and closed for people to come in and out. and there's nothing between that between the lions and the kids and the moms. it's mainly moms and kids in the audience. >> the lion trainer underwent emergency surgery. he is said to be this morning in stable condition. >> wow. some amazing video, though, disturbing to see. a nighttime explosion at a magnesium plant in venice, illinois. here are the pictures. people in the surrounding communities were asked to leave their homes for a couple of hours. no reports of any injuries. they're still looking into what caused that blast. a rescue drill is within 160 meters of the miners now. officials believe they may be able to bring the miners up as early as next week. the men have been trapped more than 2,000 feet beneath the surface for 61 days now. we're live in chile with a report on the very latest coming up in our next hour this morning. well, on the cnn security watch, federal officials launching a security surge on

amtrak routes this week. it's part of an exercise and they do it each year at different times called operation rail safe. homeland security officials say they've been planning the exercise for some time. they say it is not connected to the terror threat in europe. joining us on the phone this morning is fran townsend, cnn contributor and former homeland security adviser under president bush. thanks for being with us this morning. the reason we wanted to bring you on about it is, of course, we heard about these threats at potential soft targets in europe, some of the warnings going out from our state department as well as british officials. and then, of course, the timing of this operation rail safe. what's your take? >> you know, kiran, you're right. it does happen every year. but it takes on a new meaning given the current threat. this is -- it really is -- what happens is this threat that we're watching now unfold in western europe, we hear that it's related to open transportation systems. systems where unlike the airport where you go through screenings,

open system buses, trains, are ones you don't go through that, which makes them more vulnerable, and that's why they plan these exercises each year. this one is just particularly well-timed. one, the it will raise the level of awareness because on open systems, you need the public to help you protect them by telling you if they see suspicious packages and that sort or people. and two, it gives them a sense of confidence when they see a uniform presence and bomb-sniffing dogs and that sort of thing that there is security related to their presence on those open systems. it's well-timed if it wasn't planned this way. >> fran, we've seen the results of terror attacks on rail systems in the past. the bombing in madrid, the 2005 bombings of the london subway system. is there any way to secure the rail system in such a way that allows people to have easy access? the fact that we haven't been attacked here in the united states, is that a matter of luck more than anything? >> well, if you take an open system -- because people going back when i was in the white

house and prior administrations, have looked at whether you can close these open systems and you can't and not have them be an attractive means of transportation and an effective means of transportation. the best thing you can do, the bomb-sniffing dogs are the least expensive, most effective way to look for explosives. and two, commissioner ray kelly here in new york has used these random surges where you'll come into a subway station one morning and all of a sudden they're randomly screening people and you don't know where that's going to be or who they're going to choose. both of those things tend to be more effective ways than trying to close the system. >> thanks so much. >> you're welcome. verizon's blaming a software glitch for millions of dollars in bogus fees it charged to customers. we first told you about this yesterday. they're promising to give the money back. but now the fcc is asking why did it take so long for verizon to notice and make good on the refunds? it's 18 minutes past the hour. [ commentator ] lindsey vonn! she stays tough!

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. but the way, christine, i guess the prediction from the drunk guy at the deli yesterday turned out to be so. >> it wasn't true. glad i didn't have money bet on it. >> we joke people like to give you their stock picks in the middle of the night. we're the only ones up at 3:00 in the morning except for people in the clubs. minding your business now, the fcc is investigating verizon and those mystery fees they've been charging customers for data

they didn't use. well, verizon now blames a software glitch and says rebates will show up on bills in october and november. the fcc wants to know why it took the communication giant two years to disclose the bogus fees and begin the reimbursements. the federal government is suing visa, mastercard, and american express. claims they're engaging in anti-competitive practices, using swipe fees to stop merchants from offering discount prices to customers. american express denies any wrong doing and says it's going to fight those charges. well, for an unprecedented fourth year in a row, utah's deer valley is the top ski resort in north america. 20,000 readers of "ski" magazine vote. they voted the park city resort number one for grooming, for mountain service, and for dining. deer valley beat out 60 ski resorts across the u.s. as well as canada. have you been there? >> never been there, no. i've been to snow bird, but never deer valley. >> wouldn't you go for the skiing? they said it's for the mountain

service and for the food. >> which is why i like snow bird. it gets so much powder coming off the salt lake and it's got beautiful terrain, a big tram that takes you up to the top, view of the wasatch mountains from the top of the mountain. it's nice. it's also my first western ski experience. frito-lay banning those noisy sun chip bags. how noisy are they? oh, my gosh, the sacks are getting the sack. 18 months after they were introduced. it seems customers have been complaining. some 44,000 people joined the facebook group called sorry, i can't hear you over the sun chips bag. >> this is just touching them. this is not even trying to be loud. >> let's actually dig in -- >> which flavor should i open? original? >> it's like it's like hail on a tin roof. >> it really is. >> that's a good analogy. >> they tried to do the right

thing, but -- >> but by doing the right thing, they did it the wrong way. >> how noisy is it when you chew your sun chips while i'm doing my next topic. i'm telling you about a new way to watch television. watching television at home, interactive television, google tv coming out probably later this month or next month with its first set top box, the box that will go to the new google tv. what is google tv? we don't know how much they're going to charge for it. but you'll be able to watch tv, surf the web, play online games, connect with friends. more seamlessly moving between web content, facebook, your phone, online games. look, this is all changing. we have some applications on our phone, some on our laptops and computer, some on our television. the idea here is this is all merging together. what isn't clear is the tv content providers, the traditional network tv content providers, how they're going to feel about this and whether they're going to sign up to allow all of their shows to be on a google tv.

now, there's also apple tv. this is $99 to buy the hardware, you rent shows, anything on itunes for 99 cents. you can access movies and your favorite internet content. >> that could add up. >> that could add up. that could add up. but look, we -- this -- obviously not popular with, for example, the satellite tv people and the cable tv people who they present you -- >> they sell packages. >> they sell packages. this is the idea of unbundling that stuff and letting people pay for what they use. so interesting things starting to happen. and we're going to see more of these new programs. we'll know more in the next few weeks. >> and people in the older generation are going why do i need this? one of the things they talked about is say watching a game with your buddy. everybody can see each other interactively and watch the game. or you could invite people over to your house. >> you don't want to do that. why invite them over to your

house when you can put them on the computer screen. >> or you all sit there on your iphones and facebook each other and no one can talk over the sound of the sun chips bag. anyway, so we're going to be watching for some exciting -- this is technology and traditional television and technology colliding and we'll see how it will change our viewing experience. >> well, at least you won't have to clean up your house after a football game. president obama's hosting the first ever white house community college summit. it's taking place today. he says the two-year schools are key to fixing the economy. what you may be able to learn for a new generation of jobs. we're live at the white house next. it's 27 minutes past the hour. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week,

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coming up on the half hour now. time to check our top stories this tuesday morning. homeland security officials reportedly stepping up patrols around amtrak routes this week. part of an exercise called operation rail safe. the heads of the biggest mass transit systems have been briefed about it. and britain and europe are holding similar exercise. the exercise was planned and is not connected to the new terror threat in europe. attorney general eric holder is denying charges that a victim's race is a factor in deciding whether to pursue civil rights cases. a veteran justice department attorney made that accusation last month saying key officials openly refuse to prosecute cases against white victims saying race plays a role in the decision is quote false. a university of chicago study found a lack of sleep

increases a certain hormone that makes you hungrier. where are those chips? chips around? researchers say dieters who slept for 8 1/2 hours lost 55% more body fat than dieters who slept just 5 1/2 hours. do you find that? >> well, i think that sleep is restorative, you know, and if you can get the right amount, you can get the right amount. >> who's is this? >> that's mine. what? everybody needs a little eggs in the morning. >> how much did you sleep last night? >> not much. i'm also not on a diet. they also said it increases your insulin levels, cortisol levels, everything that makes you stressed. >> and your metabolism slows down at the same time. working the sort of hours we work, exercising is the only way the to stay sane, isn't it? >> that's right. you're certainly not sleeping. you're hungry all the time and you're not sleeping. well, preparing millions of people for a new generation of jobs. president obama says that community colleges are the key to fixing the economy.

today, he'll be hosting the first ever white house summit focusing on the two-year schools. and ed henry live for us at the white house. a lot of this seems to be about retraining, getting skills in the areas that are now hiring. >> reporter: absolutely, kiran. and you know, the summit could not be more timely for so many of our viewers. just this morning, they're revealing details of a new survey saying because of the recession, a lot of families are scaling back what they can sort of save in terms of money for their kids' college educations. many of them turning to two-year colleges as an alternative. and as you noted, the president is basically saying all of this comes amid the backdrop of a lot of companies in the private sector saying they want to hire people who are more highly trained and they'll take two-year college grads if they can't get four-year college grads. and that's why the president and dr. jill biden, the vice president's wife who works at a community college in the d.c. area are holding this summit. basically what they're now calling a skills for america's future.

here's what they want to basically do. talking about making sure every state has at least one high-impact partnership between the industry and community colleges to sort of link them up. also, talking about promoting training programs, offering incentives, as well, to get people to go to community colleges. the president saying all of this is aimed at his goal of getting 5 million more graduates of community colleges between now and 2020. >> the idea here is simple. we want to make it easier to connect students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire. we want to help community colleges and employers create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the board rooms. >> now, the president says for some people, this will just be about getting some short-term training like you were talking about, kiran. and then moving on to the workforce. others will use this as a gateway, these two-year community colleges as a gateway

to a four-year education. if you take a step back from this, is the president promoting this as an economic issue? and a lot is about long-term growth, not short-term job growth. just a few weeks ago, the president was talking about a whole slew of initiatives, tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and trying to stimulate the economy in the short-term. congress has now gone home to campaign. they're not going to get any of that stuff done. any of the president's agenda between now and the election. that's why his focus now is on the learn. . >> thanks so much. to an a.m. original now. and all this year we've been counting down katie. following wife, mom, and astronaut katie coleman. today, some of the stuff they didn't show you in space camp. our john zarrella live in miami this morning. i'm intrigued. what do you got? >> reporter: boy, john, that is absolutely the truth.

critics say it hasn't led to the promised scientific breakthroughs, that could be changing. you know somebody with oss osteoporosis? the studies they're starting to conduct, could change their lives forever. several times a day, katie coleman has to stop what she's doing and spit. you heard me right, spit on a little tab of paper. >> that's it. a little spit on there and they can actually see -- they can measure basically how your immune system is doing before flight, during flight. >> is there a spit doctor? >> there is a spit doctor. >> some of the potentially ground breaking medical science astronauts do here on earth and once they get to the space station goes largely unnoticed. they are, in essence, guinea pigs, lab rats, and what they do may some day change our lives. >> you have one big enough for my massive biceps.

>> reporter: katie is fitted with a blood pressure collar, she'll wear it for 24 hours so researchers can get baseline measurements. in space she'll repeat the experiment. up there blood pressure is lower. these researchers believe gravity on earth may contribute to high blood pressure. >> high blood pressure is one of the most dangerous conditions presently. it kills about 8 million people a year, so we really want to know what is the cause for high blood pressure in so many people? >> reporter: and the heart muscle, it may actually shrink in weightlessness because it doesn't work as hard. >> does that happen all at once or is it something that happens gradually over time? >> reporter: what doctors and researchers learned from astronaut ultrasounds may help develop better exercise routines for people who are bedridden or wheelchair bound. >> all right. you ready? >> yep. >> ready and push. >> reporter: her ankles and legs, lower back, abdominal

area. when she gets back from six months in space, they'll measure the changes. they image her legs too for bone density. >> arm high, bar at 22. so the arm is high. >> reporter: this is a duplicate of an exercise machine on the station. with her trainer, katie works on how to use it in proper settings. much of what they learn from exercise and bone density tests could have major implications for people with osteoporosis. >> so your typical person with osteoporosis would lose bone mass at 1% a year. and without these kind of countermeasures, we can lose that same bone mass in a month. >> in a month? >> in a month. >> reporter: at the end of a gruelling day, katie and fellow astronaut scott kelly take off. i mean that literally, they take off in a t-38. it's an opportunity to get in those required flying hours and leave all that poking and prodding behind.

now, katie is actually in germany. she just got there today at the european space station to spend a couple of weeks there, then back here to the united states. and then when she leaves in november, she'll be going to russia. and you know, john, kiran, 2 1/2 months, less than 2 1/2 months now she'll be flying. it's hard to believe we've been following katie now coming up on a year. it's amazing. john, kiran? >> couldn't hardly wait to talk to her when she's aboard the space station. so the theory is the process happens so much quickly in the weightlessness of space, they can compress a study that would take years into a number of weeks? >> reporter: that is absolutely part of the equation. and they're able to do these experiments on not just one astronaut, but numbers of astronauts. so they've got within there, the ability to see how each individual astronaut reacts to these experiments. if it's one in the same for all of them or if one is different

than the other. so yeah, absolutely. and all of these experiments will also be pivotal if we ever do decide that we're going to go to asteroid or on to mars. you need to know about density and high blood pressure and whether the muscle gets smaller. all of those will help on earth and on space flights. >> thanks so much. we're taking a quick break. when we come back, we're talking about election day now just 28 days away. and democrats are scrambling to hold on to their majority in congress. can they pull it off at the polls. we'll break down some of the biggest races up next. this one card i had -- there were all these rules. rules and restrictions. oh, and limits. [ scoffs ] forget about it. but i love this card. bankamericard cash rewards credit card. 1% cash back on everything i buy. period. no limit to the amount of cash back i can get. no hoops to jump through. simple. [ male announcer ] the refreshingly simple bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

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42 1/2 minutes after the hour. the most politics in the morning

now. in just 28 days, voters will be headed to the polls, casting ballots in 37 senate races and 435 house races. so what can we expect next month? joining me now with his predictions is tom bevan, the co-founder and executive editor of real clear politics.com. great to see you this morning. >> hey, john, great to be here. >> let's get a look at the lay of the land currently and what the predictions are. currently in the senate, we've got the democrats holding 59 seats, republicans holding 41 seats, actually 47 for the democrats, but two independents caucus with them. you are predicting that for the democrats, 49 seats will be safe, likely, or not up for election. the gop, 47 seats, leaving four toss-up races, illinois, nevada, washington, and west virginia as the deciders. and who are they going to go to? >> well, right now, if you look at those four races that are considered toss-ups, the gop is

leading slightly in two of them in illinois and west virginia. and the democrats are leading slightly in the two others. harry reid has a small lead in nevada and patty murray has that small lead out in washington. >> if the election were to be held today, then, it would be status quo, democrats would have a narrow majority in the senate? >> if they were held today and the four seats were to split two and two, the gop would end up with a net gain of eight seats, which would leave them still in the minority, 51 to 49. >> the question is, what happens over the next four weeks? and can republicans make good on their promise to take control of the senate? when we look at a bell weather state like wisconsin? >> well, we all know this is a bad year to be running as a democrat. you look at a place like wisconsin where this is a state that voted heavily for barack obama in '08 both in the primary and the general election. and you've got a candidate even

just a few months ago, no one considered russ feingold toss be that vulnerable. and now you look where he's at and he's down ten points in a poll to a guy named ron johnson, a no-name in the states. that gives you an idea of how dramatically the ground has shifted here. and democrats fighting to hold on to places like california, washington, and nevada. and those are going to be the deciders whether they can keep the majority. >> let's take a look at what's going on in the house. 256 seats currently held by the democrats, 179 held by republicans. you're predicting for the democrats, 190 seats are safe, likely, or leaning their way, the gop, 207, so you've got them in the lead, and then there's 38 toss-ups, 37 of those held by democrats. what do you think is going to happen four weeks from now? >> well, look -- it's going to be close. whether the republicans can take the majority -- i think most

prognosticators think it's sort of right on the edge there. we predict sort of an average gain of about 47 seats, which would give republicans control of the chamber. although there's a band there, whether it's in the 30s or all the way up to 60 plus. gallup came out with a generic ballot. and that gives you the lay of the land overall of the landscape, political landscape. among likely voters in a high turnout model, they predict the high turnout points. that's the dynamic the democrats are fighting. they want to make these races local, use the money to try to hold these losses down as far as they can. >> enthusiasm is the key in any election, particularly in these midterms. we had tim kaine from the dnc last week, he predicted the democrats are going to hold on to the house and senate and pointed to the enthusiasm gap which was in favor of the republicans now narrowing. if we continue to see it narrow, could that affect the calculation four weeks from now?

>> absolutely. and there is some evidence, and democrats are, you know, they see some green shoots here and there. and they're pointing to them and making the argument that hey, our voters are coming home and getting energized. and we have seen that happen. there's a washington post poll out this morning that still shows republicans, though, within, you know, republican voters are still more energized. and so the question is, can democrats narrow that over the next several weeks? it'll be interesting to see. >> things getting exciting. great to see you this morning, tom bevan. thanks for stopping by. i don't know if this happened in your house yet, we had to turn the heat on last night. i didn't know it'd happen so quickly. >> well, the house is in atlanta and it's fairly warm there. >> you're lucky -- >> we're still running the air-conditioner. >> we're already up there running them. but a chilly start to the day in the ohio valley this morning. they had their temperatures dip

into the 40s overnight and it's still early october. rob's going to have this morning's travel forecast. 47 minutes past the hour. also, in ten minutes, the start of the commonwealth games in india. it's a big deal, a big security concern for spectators and athletes, monkey attacks. how are they fighting back? ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize i better start doing something. we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think, "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. ♪♪ check the news online weather, check the time ♪ ♪heck the wife, eck the kids ♪ ♪ check your email messages ♪ check the money in the bank ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm about to drop some knowledge right on top of you ♪

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good morning again, i'm rob marciano. rain on the east coast in between rain on the west coast. and mountain snow, some nice weather and warm temperatures and some also some cold temperatures. check out some of these numbers. gaylord, michigan, 23 degrees. texarkana, 41 degrees, and we'll probably see a few more records fall this morning. frost and freeze advisory as far south as arkansas, once again the ozarks and the tennessee valley. a little bit more mild across the east coast where moisture is spinning in off the atlantic ocean and some of that is getting back towards parts of ohio. that's where the heaviest rain is right now. throughout the day today, we'll see on and off showers from d.c. up through boston, kind unsettled today and through about half of tomorrow, and we'll see things clear out a bit. 61 for the high in new york. look at the warmth across parts of the plains. all-time record highs in parts of the inner mountain west and

montana and wyoming yesterday and a little bit cooler out in parts of california. do want to touch on one thing, that's this guy. higher chance of this becoming something more tropical here around puerto rico. we do not think that it'll get close to the u.s. probably steered out to the sea. but nonetheless, could become our next tropical depression. you're up to date weather wise, american morning is coming right back.

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. the commonwealth games are underway in india. and security's very tight. as many of the world's greatest athletes compete for gold.

>> at some of the venues, there are more security officers than there are spectators, and they're dealing with a lot of monkey business, literally. our sarah sidner life to explain that monkey business. good morning, sara. >> reporter: good morning, yeah, it is literally monkey business. we're talking about some of the wild monkeys that tend to roam the streets and the buildings and every now and then have a run-in with us humans. and when that happens, sometimes there's a problem. so they've got this special security force out on the streets to help take care of that. these are some of the 100,000 security forces on patrol in delhi for the commonwealth games. it's not just the guys in khaki, but the guys in fur too. they are three of the ten dedicated to cracking down on monkey business around the stadiums. their job, to keep the wild

monkeys away from people. they're just doing what wild monkeys do, searching for food and a bit of fun, but in a big, busy city, they can't help but have run-ins with people. they snatch their food, chase them, and sometimes they bite. in order for our foreign visitors not to have problems so the monkeys don't bite them, we have langors, he says, so the monkeys stay away from the stadium. the trainer says it takes two years to train his workers to jump on the transportation provided. he says one of his large primates can scare off dozens. >> reporter: these monkeys aren't just used for the commonwealth games, but the government hires these guys every day to make sure there's no trouble at government offices. they're also being used in government buildings because monkeys go in and rip apart files, he says. private home and building owners hire them too. even when there are no games,

there are 28 on duty in this city. one of india's leading primetologist says using them to scare them away is not a solution because they just move elsewhere for a while. they question using them for labor. handlers, though, say they treat the langors like family. >> reporter: i've lost if-b, can you reconnect if-b? >> we're going to get one of those langors on that right away. >> they seem to be enjoying those rides. >> we've got our seagulls and crows which are annoyances. >> and the canada geese. >> don't be talking about the

canada geese. >> they're bullies of the duck world. >> don't get near them with an airplane. top stories coming your way right after the break. stay with us. now i can stop pain from any angle-- with no mess.

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ahead on "american morning." light at the end of the tunnel. new hope that 33 trapped chilean miners could be rescued in days. paid less per swipe. the changes coming your way after the feds sue the credit card companies. and magic bullet. dr. sanjay gupta on a breakthrough brain cancer vaccine on "the most news in the morning." good morning, thanks so much for being with us on this

tuesday the 5th of october. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. we want to get you caught up on what happened overnight. new developments on the deadly drone attack that took place in pakistan. we now know the target and it may have a direct link to the terror alert we heard about in europe. we're live in pakistan with the latest. sentencing day for time square bombing suspect shahzad. he faces life in prison for trying to set off a car bomb. also, operation rail safe, u.s. authorities reportedly stepping up security along amtrak routes this week. they say they've been planning the security exercise for some time. they say it is not connected to the terror threat in europe. up first on this tuesday morning, new developments in a deadly drone attack in pakistan. possible links to the new terror threat in europe. intelligence is confirming that five germans were among the eight suspected militants killed in that strike. it happened in the north waziristan of pakistan yesterday.

the other three were also foreigners and they may all be the result of al qaeda's efforts to train terrorists who already have western passports to go home and attack. frederick pleitgen is live for us in islamabad. what's the latest from there, fred? what do we know about this plot? >> reporter: well, we have two pakistani officials telling us, in fact, that five germanys were indeed among those killed in that drone strike. right now we're still treating that information carefully because, john, as you know, when there is that drone strike in many cases, it's difficult to determine who was in a building. it takes dna evidence to actually determine who was inside such a building. the pakistani military doesn't have a presence in that area, which is is exactly why it's been so lawless. however, it is something that the pakistani authorities are looking into is whether or not if these were, in fact, germans, it might be connected to that terror plot which we know originated from germans who

traveled abroad to pakistan. and we also know that the u.s. has stepped up drone strikes here in pakistan, especially in that area, at least in part due to that terror plot that was originating in europe with those germans involved. so there are some links that appear to be there. we're still chasing that story down and we'll obviously give you the latest when we hear more, john. >> terror experts have been warning for years about the possibility of nationals being trained in pakistan and afghanistan and sent home to carry out acts of terror. couple of things. do we know how many people might be be being trained in those areas of pakistan? and why germans? >> reporter: well, the one thing about the germans that apparently there is a mosque in hamburg, which has been frequented by people sent into jihad. it is something that has quite a history. it's been a big thorn in the side of the germans for a long time. those so-called people with so-called clean passport have

been a big concern for officials. people who don't arouse suspicion when they go back home. and certainly there's various intelligence sources that tell us it could be several dozen of these people who are in that area and them moving across the border into afghanistan also moving back to western countries with the jihad training that they've received in that area is a very big concern, john. >> fred pleitgen for us this morning with the latest on that. thanks so much. also new this morning, a belle, california, councilman has resigned facing criminal charges following a salary scandal that allegedly bilked city taxpayers out of millions of dollars. it's a story we've been following closely here on "american morning." now luis ortega is one of the city officials arrested last month accused of paying themselves six-figure salaries and benefit packages. the port of houston remains closed because of an electrical tower leaning over the ship

channel. it's been closed since sunday when a vessel crashed into the 300-foot-tall tower. officials say the lines are hanging too low for ships to pass and 30 ships are waiting for the channel to be clear. a lot of backup of traffic. >> probably loads of cargo sitting idle there. we're getting new developments this morning from chile where efforts to rescue 33 trapped miners are actually going ahead of schedule. officials now say they think they'll be able to bring the miners back to the surface as early as next week. joining us on the phone from chile is cnn's patrick opman. this is way ahead of schedule. they were saying they thought it may take into november for them to rescue them. what's changed? >> reporter: good morning, kiran. and rescuers are tantalizingly close to rescuing these p 33 trapped men.

they said the drill bit could reach them as early as the next few days. they're only about 500 feet. the plan b drill of the three drills at work here trying to free these men is only about 500 feet away from them. there could be a breakthrough within days for them. officials were asked yesterday how soon they could get these men to the surface. it's about -- the chilean president said it's his preference that the men would be out as early as next week. officials said that their time line is still looking around the second half of the month, but they're trying to rescue them as quickly as possible, of course. even though the drill bit is expected to breakthrough in a matter of days, getting to the surface will be an ordeal in and of itself. they'll have to prepare, that 2,400 foot hole. then they'll lower two rescuers down to the men who will begin the process of bringing the men

up by rescue capsule to the surface. what they've said so far to us is that the healthiest men, the men in the best shape will be able to travel the quickest, will go first and then the men who need a little bit more help may not be feeling well. psychologically may have had some breakdowns, will then be transferred toward the end. they haven't said, yet, the list, the order of the men and how they'll get to the surface. so very, very close to rescuing these men. still just not quite there, though. >> all right. patrick oppmann for us this morning. at least some good news in the midst of all of that. and they've been working hard. a laborious process to eventually free them. >> you see that rescue almost like a bullet, that cage going in that pipe. what would it like being in that cage coming up 2,300 feet after being under ground for as long as they had. >> my stomach started to turn when they had to figure out the

order based on health. could you imagine seeing everyone go? >> and is some of those miners were overweight and they've lost weight, but can they fit inside that cage? that's a question to be answered. shocking moments inside a circus. a lion tamer in the ring. watch the video here, suddenly mauled by two lions. circus workers quickly tried to hose down the big cats. doug shepard was there with his family. there wasn't much to protect the crowd from attacking animals. >> and it's a one-ring circus with about, you know, 1,000 people, 1,500 people around. and then the gate that goes in and out of the ring is held up by aluminum with some netting. and throughout the video, you see it open and closed for people to come in and out. and there's nothing between t t that, the lions and all the kids and moms. it's mainly moms and kids in the audience. >> well, the lion trainer underwent emergency surgery and

is said to be in stable condition. police are investigating the cause of a nighttime explosion that took place at a magnesium plant in venice, illinois. people in the surrounding area were forced to leave their homes for a couple of hours. there were no reports of injuries and they're still trying to determine a cause this morning. well, after a beautiful summer, the weather has literally gone, you know where in the last few days in the northeast. let's get a quick check of the morning headlines to see where we're going today. rob marciano is in atlanta. >> jour stuck in it for another day, day and a half. but everyone south of you is enjoying good weather, including folks in the carolinas. but in some spots, eastern parts of north carolina, they're still dealing with the flooding. a number of rivers still in flood stage. we thought they'd be down below flood stage by now, but swiss creek, cape fear river, these are all areas that are still seeing flooding. and some of the statements that i'm reading, basically the forecasters have given up on it.

flood warning until further notice. so that's not what these people want to hear as some of their homes and businesses continue to be flooded out. as far as the -- but the good news is they're going to experience dry weather until further notice, as well. northeast, not so dry at least right now. but i think once we get through tomorrow, you will see some dry weather. but the northeast through the ohio river valley seeing rain from the stubborn low that refuses to go away, at least for now. but it'll be on the move as we go through tomorrow. but until then, very unsettled and on the cool side. backside of the high will be warm, and actually some mountain snow. there are winter storm warnings up for parts of the southern sierra. yes, john, it is that time of year. >> all right. does that mean there's going to be another weather summit at steam boat? >> we might have to dial one in, yes, john, there's one scheduled. >> you like the sugary powder, i know it, rob. >> champagne powder. figure out a story, we'll do a whole show from there. >> thanks, rob. still to come this morning, new credit card changes could

impact the wallet of almost every american. how you could save just by choosing one credit card over another. an experimental vaccine for people with brain tumors. one that appears to help patients live longer. dr. sanjay gupta has been following the progress of the research. it's ten minutes past the hour. . hey!

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well, prosecutors have their ways, shahzad will spend the rest of his life in prison for his failed attempt to detonate a car bomb in new york's time square. shahzad is scheduled to be sentenced in just a few hours time. our deb feyerick is live outside the courthouse. how long is he going away for, deb? >> reporter: that's exactly right. and prosecutors say that faisal shahzad showed no remorse, in fact, he spoke about great pride. that he had watched realtime videos of feeds of time square trying to determine the busiest times and locations which would

cause maximum damage if that bomb actually detonated. now the sentencing memo that we've had a chance to read through really details this plot. how he parked the car, lit the fuse, then walked away listening to hear whether, in fact, there was an explosion how he was armed with a semiautomatic rifle, which he planned to use if he were stopped by police as he was walking away from this vehicle. if successful, this memo says he was actually planning a second attack within a two-week period. now, the joint terrorism task force, john, recreated the bomb. they rebuilt the bomb based on the device itself, but also details provided by shahzad. their conclusion is that the effects would simply have been devastating. and clearly, they're not just talking physical, but also psychologically the impact that it would have had on the area and on this city. shahzad has already pleaded guilty ten counts. he is facing a maximum life prison term. he says the reason he did it, well, u.s. forces in iraq and

afghanistan, but also the drone strikes. that was his reason for doing it. he said he would do it again and again and again and had been thinking about doing this for some ten years after 9/11. he wanted to join his brothers in jihad. prosecutors say he was given every chance. he went to the university here, he married, he worked, he had children, and he turned his back on all of that. now he is spending -- now he is facing a very long prison term. john? >> deb feyerick for us this morning in lower manhattan and, of course, we'll be checking in with deb throughout the morning to see what the official outcome of this will be. in the meantime, putting mure money in your pocket. it's the goal of a new agreement reached between two credit card companies and the department of justice. one credit card company, however, not onboard. christine romans joins us we details in a moment. 16 minutes past the hour. where you're going. it can find the best price on gas.

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♪ 19 minutes past the hour right now. welcome back to the most news in the morning. christine romans is here with us with some news about credit cards. >> okay.

when you use your credit card, you know about the interest rates, the late fees, all the things you pay for the privilege of using your credit card. there's something called swipe fees. this is what the merchant pays for the privilege of you using your credit card and allowing that money to flow so freely to buy goods. >> and that was a big point of contention with the new york cab drivers, they don't like you -- >> because they have to pay -- when you go and buy a $3 greeting card, you can pay up to -- your merchant pays up to 15 cents to the credit card company for that privilege of you to make that purchase. yesterday the attorney general cracking down. he wants you to be able to see how much money your merchant, your small business or big business is paying to the credit card companies. that might be money that's passed on to you, $35 billion in fees a year. how much is $35 billion? that's more than we spend on say fresh vegetables or books. things like that. it's an awful lot of money. that's what merchants pay so that they can have that ease of using the credit card and it does makes thing easy. and there's no question about it. let's take a look at what they

want to do this. this is one of those high rewards credit cards. for rewards credit card, a merchant might pay 5% of your purchase back to the credit card company. but for a more nuts and bolts not a lot of miles or anything attached to it, it might be 2%. the merchants want to be able and will be able to tell you. they'll be able -- >> i thought that you meant if you're flying it costs 5% and if you're purchasing a small little kitty, it's only 2%. >> no, what they want to -- the attorney general wants you to be able to see so that you know what you're paying for and how much more your merchant is paying because you might, if you choose to use the cheaper card or cash, you might get something like a discount, you might get something like free gift wrap, a little bit of a perk, free delivery perhaps. so this will give consumers more choices. visa and mastercard say, yes, we'll go along with this, american express is fighting it. they said we don't think the merchants are going to pass the savings on to the consumers.

>> the other day, when i went to swipe my credit card, they said what happened to cash is king? >> they give bigger tips, otherwise they round up to the nearest dollar, when it's on a credit card -- >> it's a little easier. >> plus they get to use the suggested tip. >> precisely. the projection's always too high for me, but whatever. >> thanks, christine. statistics say 1 in 3 kids in america are bullies or victims of bullies. how do we stop kids who bully? and how do you protect children who are victims? we're going to talk solutions when carol costello joins us next. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. 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. but we've parted ways with our old airline credit card that promised flights for 25,000 miles. it was always... [ laughing ] that seat's not happening without a big miles upcharge. a miles upcharge wasn't part of the deal. was i supposed to go without my wife? [ elevator bell dings ] [ grunting ] haha, that was awkward. so we upgraded to the venture card from capital one. we've had it with the games. [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet?

♪ coming up now 25 minutes after the hour, your top stories minutes away. but first an a.m. original. something you'll see only on "american morning." if you have children, chances are one of them is either a bully or a victim of a bully. >> the problem has become so pervasive because it's pretty complicated. what do you define as bullying? how do you discipline a bully? and do you go after the parents? how do you teach your kids to protect themselves? we've been focusing on it this week. carol costello looking for solutions. >> and there are no easy answers, unfortunately. was we decided after yesterday's story, which was so very moving, we needed to do a story of how

can you protect your kid against a bully? and how can you effectively stop a bully? should you charge a bully with a crime? should you charge the bully's parents with a crime? how do you help your kid who is being bullied without making it worse for him or her at school? hopefully i can provide some answers for you this morning. >> i can make a difference. >> reporter: at oklahoma city's western heights high school, students are pledging to protect the bullied. it's especially important to susan lay, she knows how bullying feels. >> is it worse with words, do you think? >> i think it is because when i was little, like, people always said i was like really ugly. and it -- i never knew it affected me so much. and like, people would ask if i was a boy or a girl. and i was hurt. and i never wanted that to happen. and like, it lowered my

self-esteem really bad. and i never wanted to go to school. >> so i see it hurts you. i see it hurts you so much. but you know you're beautiful, right? yes. >> reporter: it's the kind of pain that affects so many children. 1 in 3 kids are bullied or bully every year. so how do you stop it? >> we have to take it seriously. we have to have rules -- >> reporter: rachel simmons wrote "odd girl out," she's an expert on bullying. >> the way an adult intervenes is just as important is the fact they're intervening at all. don't communicate with anyone, another child or the school until you are calm and able to have a respectful conversation. because it's very easy to get marginalized as the crazy parent in a school. >> reporter: next, document how your child is being bullied. and then ask your child what he or she wants you to do.

>> remember, you are not the one who has to walk back into that school for eight hours a day. and you may want to do solution a. but if you do that solution, your child may be mercilessly retaliated against. >> reporter: simmons says bullies are often popular, socially skilled kids who can enlist an army of bullies. >> kids being bullied don't always tell you about it. >> reporter: melissa who is also participating in the anti-bullying campaign knows exactly what simmons is talking about. in junior high school, she was a bully. why? >> i don't really know if there was really a reason. it was just an easy target, i guess. >> is it because other kids were making fun of those kids too? >> yeah, there was a lot -- there was also bullying. >> so sort of a mob mentality. >> yeah. >> reporter: when you were calling people names, did it make you feel better? >> it's not that it made me feel better, i knew they felt worse. >> reporter: which brings us to how bullies ought to be stopped. don't humiliate them.

>> if you humiliate a bully publicly, you are much more likely to have a retaliation. if you sit down and say this is what i'm seeing, it's not acceptable, i know you're capable of more, and if it happens again, these are the consequences. >> reporter: they certainly know the consequences. they're hoping to make this school year bully free. >> wouldn't that be nice? making the school year bully-free? what about criminalizing bullying? a lot of people say you should charge the kid or the parents. according to our experts or most i talked with, if you charge a kid with a crime for bullying, it doesn't necessarily set an example for other kids. because kids look at examples and say, that'll never happen to me. it doesn't really resinate with them. so it's not going to do anything, it's not going to teach the bully to behave properly. it's not going to teach future bullies to behave properly. because a lot of times kids don't know they're hurting

another person and their parents don't have any idea they're bullying. >> isn't it just an expression of insecurity? >> no, it's not. most of the kids who bully are very confident kids. they're very secure. they have adults wrapped around their little finger. they're socially skilled. so they get away with it. it's all about power. and if you look at our wider culture, bullies win. bullying works. it's about power, it's not about insecurity. it's about gaining power. >> you talk about -- we as a country talk about wanting to equip our children with life skills. so if we make a bully-free zone or make an unrealistic world and hop out of the new one. what happens? >> there's a limit to how much you bully, right? there's teasing which happens, and it's okay because it does teach your kid to be tougher. but there's a difference between teasing, being mean every once in a while to another person and consistent behavior, bad behavior toward another person. bullying is persistent behavior over time.

>> and you can see the effects with susan the young woman you talked to at the top of your piece. she's just still to this day devastated by the memories. >> and she's doing great. she's going to go to college, she's a senior now and she's still so affected by this behavior. so, it's a tough problem. but, it really starts at home. i mean, parents really have to sit down and explain to their kids how words hurt. how writing something nasty on the internet about another person hurts them. in fact, the young woman that i talk with, marissa who was a bully. she didn't know why she bullied, she just did it, right? >> i wonder, though, if deep down inside some of it is well, if they're picking on so-and-so, at least they're not picking on me. that's a set reality. >> she turned around when she was bullied. she said, oh, now i get it. and the only thing will stop if kids stand up for other kids.

>> thanks, carol. tomorrow on "american morning," what happens when the bully won't back down. how parents are turning to martial arts to bully proof their kids. bullying not only in our schools but online. how do we stop it? don't miss an "ac 360" special report tonight at 10:00 eastern on cnn. >> you can also find coverage of cnn's efforts to stop bullying, send us an i-report, go to cnn.com/bullying. crossing the half hour. here's this morning's top stories. federal law enforcement stepping up security patrols along amtrak routes this week. it's part of an exercise called operation rail safe. homeland security officials say it was planned for some time, is not connected to the terror threat in europe. however, earlier when we spoke with cnn national contributor fran townsend. she said although it is a yearly exercise, it takes on new meaning given the current threat. well, in just a few hours faisal shahzad will be sentenced

in new york federal court. the 30-year-old pakistani-american faces a sentencing. and christine o'donnell is launching her first television ad of the general election. and she is trying to assure voters that she is not a witch. in the ad, o'nnell says "i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you." some republicans have criticized o'donnell for waiting this long to start airing ads. well, one state critical to the ultimate control of congress is west virginia. as we mentioned this morning, we're one month out, and right now the contest to fill the long-time seat of the late democrat robert byrd is considered a toss-up. >> our dana bash is live in morgantown, west virginia. and, you know, this was supposed to be a shoo-in for the popular joe manchin, why is it suddenly a toss-up? >> reporter: joe manchin is one of the most popular governors in

the country. and being popular as a politician is a pretty big feat right now, especially a democrat in the conservative state. the problem he has in his run for senate is his party in washington is not so well liked. >> reporter: joe manchin in the pumpkin day parade, and it's obvious voters really like him. >> boy, everybody's out, huh? >> reporter: but do they want to send manchin to washington as their senator? a stunning number say no. >> i think he's doing a great job here and i voted for him both times he's ran here in west virginia. but going to washington, that scares me to death. >> reporter: frustration with democrats in washington is making the popular race for senate surprising. >> reporter: they're not sure they want you, a democrat, to be the one they send to washington, d.c. because they're so mad at washington, d.c. >> the democrats in washington are in control, so absolutely it resinates to that. the bottom line is that people

don't want governments on their back and they want them out of their pocket. >> reporter: how much is the president dragging you down and making this race competitive for you for the senate? >> i think it is -- it has made a big difference in my race. it truly has made a difference. >> reporter: in what way? >> president obama's not on the ballot. >> reporter: his republican opponent is trying to convince voters otherwise. >> i won't be a rubber stamp. >> reporter: luckily for you this fits on a bumper sticker. >> no rubber stamps, that says it all. >> reporter: a wealthy gop businessman who has won and lost three statewide races. >> i always kid the tea party they're a little bit left of me. >> reporter: now he says people are more receptive to their anti-government views. he wants to abolish the departments of energy and irs and wants to end minimum wage. >> something that franklin roosevelt put in during the depression. it didn't work during the depression.

>> argues he is out of step with west virginia. still the governor trying to distance himself from his own democratic party. take health care reform. earlier this year, manchin said he supported it. now he wants to repeal all but a handful of provisions like no discrimination for pre-existing conditions. >> that's a pretty good start. why don't you start with that. repeal the rest of it. start with what -- >> and the stimulus bill. >> had you been in washington then, a senator, would you vote against it? >> you know what? the expansion of that, that's not who i am. >> reporter: now, for the record, the federal government gave the state of west virginia about $1.5 billion. and the governor did not take it all and said he would allocate what he did take judiciously. now whether this popular governor can separate himself enough from a president who i can tell you is very unpopular here, that's an open question, but john and kiran, republicans do think that he can move this seat from the democratic to the republican column. and we know that because they're

putting their money where their mouth is. they have said they're going to spend $3 million on this race here in west virginia. that is a lot of cash. it goes very far in campaigns and politics in this state. john and kiran? >> dana bash for us this morning. thanks so much. well, as we've been talking about. one month now until the midterms. democrats making some gains, but still quite a bit big disadvantage. we're going to be talking to tom davis. and former democratic congressman martin frost. 28 days out. how do both parties try to maximize their wins in this midterm? [ male announcer ] it's luxury with fire in its veins. bold. daring. capable of moving your soul. ♪ and that's even before you drop your foot on the pedal. ♪ the new 2011 cts coupe from cadillac.

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40 minutes past the hour right now. welcome back to the most politics in the morning. we're just a month out to the midterm elections and signs the democrats still swimming upstream as the party in power could, though, be gaining ground on the gop. a new "washington post" abc news poll out this morning shows the gop with a six-point edge in a generic congressional race. the democrats are making gains with voters. and joining us now from washington, former republican congressman tom davis and former democratic congressman martin frost. thanks to both of you for being with us this morning. >> sure. good to be here. >> let me ask you, congressman frost, first. what do you think about the narrowing of the gap? is this a good sign?

or is there a long way to go for democrats? >> of course, it's a good sign, the 6% gap that the "washington post" showed is about half of what it was six weeks ago. elections always get closer toward the event. democrats are going uphill. we understand that. this is not a good year for the democrats, republicans have got to take 43 seats back to win the house. we're going to take three or four seats away from them. this is a series of contests, one-on-one across the country and democrats running good races the question is whether it'll be enough or not. >> congressman davis, you think the republicans will gain control of the house, right? >> i do. six points is pretty substantial at this point for the out party, the democrats, controlling the house, the senate, and the presidency, basically going to be the object of voter anger this year. and if history shows anything, a pretty high tide. as martin says, you still have 435 house races to run, you've

got 30-some-odd house races to run. but a six-point generic even cutting that to a three-point generic would dictate republican control of the house. >> it is also about the individual races. you still have to run on the local issues and in many of these districts, the number one concern is economy and jobs, if you're advising the democrats, what message do they get out there. what do they hit home with their voters in order to get votes? >> well, they have to say a couple of things. one, they have to remind voters that we were on the verge of going into a depression two years ago. and while not everything the democrats did was perfect, we at least managed to dodge that bullet. we're headed back in the right direction. secondly, they need to talk about what they've done in their particular districts. they need to draw a sharp contrast between the particular republicans. some of the republican candidates are not that strong and need to work until the end.

i'm a former campaign committee, don't spend your money all on television. save your money back for get out the vote, election day activities, a lot of these races are going to be very close. when we lost the house in 1994, we lost a number of races by 1,000, by 500 votes, can't let that happen again this time. >> that's where the enthusiasm of the voters, of the potential and likely voters comes in. and that seems to be in your favor, congressman davis. how do you still ride that wave? don't alienate independents in the process? >> our base is going to be out there. they're angry with what's going on. frankly they were despirited in the election last time. it's difficult to do in the last month. and independents seem to be trending toward the republicans this time. they don't like either party. but the only way they can put a

check on the obama a administration is to vote for the republicans. >> what i have told the candidates also is don't forget what the republicans have been saying. some of the republican leaders, some of the republican candidates have come out for privatization of social security and medicare. run with that issue. that's a good issue, seniors vote in off-year elections in high numbers and also talk about what you've done to bring jobs to your district. this -- well, these are determined on local factors. things are moving back in our direction whether it's going to be enough by election day, remains to be seen. but this is not over. this race is yet to be determined. >> and congressman davis, he brings up an interesting issue. overall, people don't want the government to spend a lot of money, but then when you bring it home locally and say that means we are going to have to possibly cut your unemployment benefits and the social services your family needs, how do you make sure you're still sticking with the right messages? >> voters don't like republicans. they fired us in '06 and '08. we've got to remember that. but what they're doing is they're concerned about the direction and the spending,

perhaps the tax increases coming. and so they're casting their protest vote for the republicans. right now the democrats, and until they can get their base rejuvenated at this point, looks like a long night. >> i believe we're coming back. we've got a little time yet, let's watch the next couple of weeks. >> 28 days, we'll be watching and covering all of it. congressman tom davis and martin frost, great to get your perspectives this morning. thanks. >> thank you. thank you. storms in the northeast, kiran, plus we're watching a tropical disturbance in the caribbean. rob marciano tracking it all and he's coming up next, 45 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] this is steven, a busy man.

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bit of a traffic mishap yesterday on a busy toronto highway. a trailer carrying pigs overturned and the little piggies got out there and blocked traffic there for a little while. no word on injuries or whether or not they made it to market or whether they made it all the way home. good morning, again, i'm rob marciano. you might see some rain across parts of toronto and other parts of ontario today as areas of moisture continue to roll in from this low that is pretty much sitting in there and creating unsettled weather across much of the northeastern corridor of the country. philly to new york to boston, you'll see on and off showers throughout the day. most of the heavier rains across pennsylvania and new york and parts of ohio. west of that, we continue to see cold temperatures, frosty morning for some folks. as far south as the tennessee valley and the ozarks, temps starting out close to freezing

in some of these spots. in gaylord, michigan, yesterday 23 degrees, oklahoma city saw 37 degrees. and texarkana, 40 degrees. so on that side of the high, it's chilly. on the west side it's warm. sto of arizona and nevada yesterday with some flash floods and mountain snow across parts of the southern sierra. national hurricane center upgraded this to a moderate risk of seeing it develop into something. if it does, we're hoping that it tracks out to sea. we think we are protected from this thing but we'll keep an eye on it for sure. "american morning" is coming right back. on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... (announcer) general mills makes getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check. [ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ]

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54 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. time for your "a.m. house call." a vaccine could help people with the most aggressive type of brain cancer live longer. >> dr. sanjay gupta is following the trial, meeting with parents and doctors involved and joins us now from atlanta. this is a sort of i guess you might call it a hoe ri grail of treating cancer is getting an immune system of the patient to try to attack the tumor. >> that's exactly right. with this particular type of brain cancer it's been particularly important because we have really made hardly progress for so long. it is the deadliest and most common form of brain cancer. about 10,000 cases a year. the type that affected senator ted kennedy. but you're absolutely right. what are the new strategies? one to use the body's immune

system. we're following this for two years. >> i heard you volunteered to do a spinal tap today for us. >> yes. >> reporter: this is karen, bracing for another painful procedure. you see, she's got cancer, brain cancer a. killer tumor. glemo blastoma, thought of as the worst type of tumor? why? >> left untreated the patient succumbs to disease very quickly. >> reporter: average survival is barely a year. >> good to meet you. >> how are you? >> fine, thank you. >> reporter: here at the brain tumor center, karen found hope and experimental vaccine. the vaccine has a futuristic name, cdx-110. uses the body's immune system to attack tumors. it just works on the 40% or so

whose tumors make a particular protein. in those patients, it goes off like a smart bomb. now, karen gets a shot, a painful one every month but look at the results. we were able to pay her another visit, a full year later. remember, most patients don't even live that long. >> about a year and a half. as long as the vaccine works, i'll be getting the monthly shots and when it doesn't work, then i'm in trouble. >> it's just so heartbreaking to hear the stories because the prognosis is so grim but where does this leave the patient? the new vaccine. >> well, you know, right now part of the reason i wanted to tell you because the early results have been so promising but not available for wide use yet. it's still in clinical trials. but the way it works, fascinating, again, cancer cells, particularly this type of cancer have a special little marker on their surface and it's that marker that's unique to

cancer and it's what the body is trained to attack so it's sort of attacking the cancer almost like attacking a foreign body and that's what you're training the body to do. hopefully withen the next couple of years, another trial and make sure it's what they think it is and then become more widely available. >> remarkable progress, at least in the one particular area. thank you so much. >> thanks, guys. top stories right after the break.

good morning on this tuesday, the 5th of october. thank you for joining us this morning. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. following two developments on the terror front. there's new information on the drone strike in pakistan. we now know the target an we also know that there may have been a direct link to the terror alert in europe, plus some new information, as well, on some

arrests in france. a potential political embarrassment for sharron angle in nevada caught on tape in a recording of a meeting she had last week with a third candidate, third-party candidate in the race of the tea party. the tape was made by the candidate himself. we'll talk to him about it at 8:10 eastern and what the fallout might be from all of that. a gold rush. the price hitting new highs. we'll tell you when's driving the rally and whether or not it makes sense to try to get in on the action now. there's also new information this morning on the deadly drone attack in pakistan. yesterday, more possible ties to the terror threat in europe. pakistani intelligence confirming that five germans were among the eight suspected militants killed in that strike. >> the other three killed in the strike were also foreigners and they may also be the result of al qaeda's efforts to train terrorists who have western passports to go back home and launch attacks. joining us from hamburg, germany, paul crookshank.

we have talked about this for years, worst-case scenario where nationals are sent to pakistan or maybe afghanistan, trained in the ways of terrorists and then sent back home. does this seem to be a real example of that potential program and problem? >> well, that's exactly right, john. it does seem to be that sort of trajectory. since 9/11, 200 people left germany to go and get training in these terror camps. dozens have come back and dozens are still there and now a drone strike in pakistan. hamburg cell and reporting at the heart of the plot in europe and some people, three of them, still at large in the tribal areas. may be a link between this drone strike and these individuals still at large in the tribal areas of pakistan. but the german authorities here have no confirmation of that. we have just asked them. >> the other interesting part about is it arrests took place from the afghani national living

in germany possibly giving information. do we know of links of that intelligence and this drone attack that took place yesterday? >> reporter: well, it's quite possible there's a link. we don't know at this point. we know that the individual in question speaking to american investigators of bagram air force base. chapter and verse about this terrorist plot against europe we're being told. >> paul, the other thing that folks at home might not be completely familiar with is why germany? we have seen attacks in spain, england, here in the united states. what's the nexus between germany and pakistan? >> well, what animate it is jihadist is germany has a strong presence in afghanistan. they want to punish germany because of that. lack last year before the election here in germany, there was a series of threats of germans in the tribal areas of pakistan threatening germmy be attacks and may be following on from that, john.

>> the other connection, of course, the hamburg mosque, right, where one of the 9/11 hijackers worshipped and where they recently made the decision in germany to shut it down. >> yeah. this is really extraordinary. nine years after hamburg cell carried out the terrorist attacks, you have a cell at the heart of the plot against europe. it's extraordinary and we're being told that the ringleader of the new hamburg cell, a close friend of atta, the lead attacker in the attacks. >> paul, this morning from hamburg, good to talk to you. breaking news this morning. part of the worldwide terror crackdown and told police in france arrested nine people in new terror raids a couple of days after the u.s. issued a travel alert in europe but to be clear we do not have any confirmation or suggestion that the two events are related. >> for more on this, we are

joined by correspondent jimmer bitt bittermann on the phone from paris. what do you know? >> reporter: exactly. two sets of arrests by two different police agencies here. the anti-terrorist squad an french domestic intelligence, a group of three were taken into custody this morning. two in marseilles and one in bordeaux and believed to be connected with an accused terrorist in italy. was picked up in italy. a fran coalgerian and found to have bomb-making materials and believed to be connected with that. then another nine people in southeastern france were arrested by another misagency a police agency. there was some notion they perhaps were trying to obtain arms and said, as well, frequently a case here that the french police round up the usual bunch of suspects and then put them under intense questioning

and do it for six days without bringing charges and it is a way for them to interrogate suspects without necessarily charging them. so we have to see if anybody gets charged out of this. so far none of the people picked up this morning charged with anything. >> you said, jim, no connection at this point to any potential terror plot there in france. but last week when the terror alert came out, we saw the eiffel tower closed for a day. is it just a general sense of a heightened alert and a heightened police -- at least heightened police activity across europe? >> reporter: i think so. i think that's basically it because no one can put their finger on or has put their finger on yet a very specific m target that's involved. what we're seeing is a lot of generalized concern. eiffel tower evacuated twice on the basis of anonymous telephone calls and nothing turned up.

so i think there's a real heightened nervousness and sense of alert. they're hearing about the drone strikes in afghanistan. and the german cell. i think there's anxiety at a high official level and the consequence, cracking down wherever they crack down and wherever they have suspects. >> just to reiterate, you said in one of the arrests, possible franco-algerian arrested? >> reporter: that was last month in italy and in custody in naples and the three that were arrested this morning believed to have a connection to him so that's the connection with what happened today. >> all right. jim bitterman for us in paris. homeland security officials set to launch "operation rail safe," a yearly exercise and takes on new meaning in light of what we have been covering for few days as a heightened terror

alert in europe and alerts from the british government, as well. fran townsend said that the security surge will come at a pretty good time to test the safety of the rails. times square bombing susp it to be sentenced in a few hours. the bomb failed to detonate. he was arrested days later trying to flee the country. prosecutors are seeking a life sentence. we should know about that a little later on today. also politics now. entering the home stretch. 28 days until america votes. and up for grabs, who controls congress? just four weeks to go, republican chris ten o'donnell has the first tv ad of the general election. >> our senior political editor mark preston is live at the cnnpolitics.com desk for us. good morning, mark. >> hey, good morning to you john and kiran. you would think just about a month into -- before election

day that candidates would be talking about the economy but christine o'donnell, that tea party favorite, that upset everybody and became the nominee up in delaware is actually talking about witchcraft and addressing the issue head on dealing with christine o'donnell admitting some years back she dabbled in witchcraft in high school. in fact, let's take a listen to the first tv ad, a little bit of it. >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. >> you have christine o'donnell. she is the republican nominee in delaware. the tea party favorite that is addressing the whole issue of witchcraft head on. she goes on in that 30-second ad to talk about how she would come to washington and change things. but moving on, how about this advice from vice president mondale to president obama? ditch the teleprompter. mondale on "the situation room"

yesterday said president obama will connect better speaking to the people. let's hear what the vice president has to say. >> he's very bright. as a matter of fact, brilliant and i think he tends to -- and he uses these idiot boards to read speeches and television. and i think he loses the connection that he needs emot n emotionally with the american voters. >> of course, that's vice president mondale on "the situation room" yesterday talking to wolf blitzer. basically saying that mr. obama connects with the voters talking to them directly and not staring off side to side as he's looking at the teleprompter. as you know, the teleprompter is much discussed here in washington with president obama and some people made fun of it including vice president biden. kiran, john? >> idiot board as mondale refers to it. how many political ads, mark, can you recall in history

beginning with the words "i'm not a witch"? >> you know, who -- it's an unbelievable thing for her to do. honestly, very smart, right, john? for her to come out of the gate saying, look, i'm not a witch. i'm just like you. because her whole message is i'm going to go to washington, not career politician and doesn't say she's run for office several times in the past. >> not seen anybody put a parsnip on the nose. >> it was interesting, though, because, i mean, she is very stark background and she's just saying this is the ridiculous stuff they have thrown at me and trying to tell you i'm just like you. we'll see if it works. >> we'll see if it works. >> see if she weighs the same as a duck or not. it's monty python test. >> might be next. go to cnnpolitics.com. shocking scene in a circus performance caught on camera by a cnn ireporter. a lion tamer mauled. the circus workers trying to

hose down the lions to get them. doug shepard was there with his family saying there wasn't much to protect the crowd from the attacking animals. >> it's a one-ring circus with about, you know, a thousand people, 1,500 people around and then the gate that goes in and out of the ring is held up by aluminum with some netting and throughout the video you see it open and closed for people to come in and out and there's nothing between that, the lions and all of the kids and moms. it's mainly moms and kids in the audience. >> the lion trainer underwent emergency surgery and said to be today in stable condition. scott ashton, said he needed to protect himself and record a meeting that took place between himself and sharron angle, also seeking election for nevada's senate seat. we'll talk to him live about why he did it and whether any of what she said made sense.

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welcome back to the most politics in the morning. 14 minutes past the hour right now. a secret audio tape shaking up a close senate race in nevada. harry reid is running against sharron angle. angle was on tape trying to persuade the third party candidate scott ashton to drop out of the race and throw his

support behind her. let's listen. >> that's really all i can offer to you is whatever juice i have, you have as well. you want to see demint. i have juice with demint. i go to washington, d.c. and i say i want to see jim demint. he's right there for me. >> well, right now, if you'll look at the polling, ashton is polling at just 5% in the most recent cnn poll and others put him 1% to 4%. look at how close the race is, it is clear in the senate race in nevada every vote counts. scott ash jian is with us this morning. thank you for talking to us. >> how are you? >> great. first of all, i want to ask you about the tape. this was a recorded conversation that she apparently or her campaign asked you to speak to her for a meeting. right? what did you think would come out of it and why did you decide to tape it initially? >> the night before i got a call from a d.c. lawyer that was

asking me to drop out of the race. that wasn't an option. the following day, we got a call from the angle campaign that said they wanted a meeting. i agreed to it. i said, no problem. >> and but why did you decide to tape it? >> i decided to tape it because we have been in a heated race for the last year. the press whether it's tv or newspaper usually comes out with misinformation after we have had meetings and for my own personal information and security i decided to tape the meeting because -- in case there was ever an issue and there's been in the past it came out. after the meeting, i had -- i never intended to release the tape. i was on vacation with my family. we were in denver. a friend of mine called and said, hey, what about the secret meeting? this is what they're saying.

a, b, c and d. i said, okay. i got a call from a local tv reporter here john rolston saying they left several voice mails on random people's phone saying all kinds of crazy stuff about me and i said, no problem. i sent my campaign manager over with the copy of the tape to john rolston and i hadn't even listened to it. i said, knock yourself out. >> you did it basically because you felt that the nature of that meeting was being misrepresented. when we take a look at the audio it shows that, you know, she did certain things to you and one thing she said is she thinks your candidacy can do her real harm and the chances which is understandable because of the slim margins here. i want to play a tiny little bit laying it out of why she wants you to drop out. >> sure. >> i believe that you can do some real harm, not to harry reid but to me.

and i'm not sure you can win, and i'm not sure that i can win if you're hurting my chances. >> what was your response to her saying that? do you see where she may have a point that in the end your candidacy could tilt the balance to get harry reid back in the senate seat? >> well, i understand. i understand the concern from her end. it really isn't my fault that the republicans put up a candidate that was weak. our campaign has been the same. the nexus between reid and age sl the same. you know, at least with reid you see a pirate's flag on the ship. >> you're sort of saying if it's between the two you'd rather see reid re-elected than sharron age snl. >> no, no. i'm not saying that. i don't see a difference between the republican and the democrat. i think politics in general is corrupt. i think both parties are corrupt and the problem we have in washington, d.c.

we need to stop spending. it is a credit/debit situation. the reason i taped the meeting for the truth. and i have had a problem with here in nevada in this campaign with reporters reporting on the truth. i never intended to release the tape. it was the angle campaign that misrepresented the meeting in the beginning. three days later, after this -- after these voice mails came out, i said, here it is. you guys listen for yourself. >> what do you think should come of it now that this is out there? >> listen. people can listen to it, read it. here in nevada we have an interesting situation. we have people from washington, d.c. trying to affect the nevada race. we have a tea party express out of california that put in their candidate, sharron angle. they gave her the boost that she needed with 30 days left. they unfused the race with money. the republicans put 12 or 13 people on the ballot. the most popular didn't get in.

it wasn't scott ashjian. we'll put on a good race. the people in nevada will have a third choice and hopefully they vote for me and see through the political rhetoric throughout. >> even if it means putting harry reid back in the senate seat? >> i don't look at it like putting harry reid back on the senate seat but nevada having a choice to change and to start something to move across the country with. >> all right. well, it is great to get your perspective this morning, scott ash jian. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, kiran. >> john? why the price of gold is still rising and is this a good time for you to invest in the precious metal? christine romans coming right up. was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks.

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♪ 23 minutes after the hour. christine romans is minding your business joining us now. she's talking tant price of precious metals. however, i like the off camera conversation. >> it's my husband lost his wedding ring and i went to go

get a new one and gold prices at record highs. $1,000 an ounce. hold on a minute until there's a dip and buy a ring after that and going up and up and up and because i'm cheap it cost me more. honey, remember you are married. >> go sterling silver. be a placeholder. >> there you go. a producer said get a tattoo. more permanent than a gold band. >> a price tag on love. you can have a ring but only when it's discounted. >> we are both market reporters and understand the whims of the precious metals markets and he understood and now giving me a hard time. >> yeah, i'll take you out for dinner doing the blue plate special. >> dinner between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. pick the place. >> look at the gold chart. you'll see what i mean. it's up and up and up and up. for ten years in a row. back when gold was heading towards $750 an ounce -- >> when you should have bought the ring. >> there were a bunch of people saying, oh, after $750, going to be a big pullback.

you have very bullish gold people, gold people saying, look, it could be $2,000, it could be $5,000. others say no, no, no. it is a bubble. it is not a safe bet and gold going down. >> waiting looks prudent on your part. >> i know. then the tattoo is cheaper. take a look at how you can get in on the gold thing if -- if you have decided now's the time to get in. gold bars, storage and you can kind of throw out an arm carrying them home and also gold coins and gold-related etfs, exchange-traded funds and most popular is tld. hugely popular. goes up and down every day, mostly up. it is a way to not own gold getting it into and jewelry. people buy gold jewelry and seen the ads on tv. i caution you there. prices vary a lot and not getting close to $1,300 an ounce for the gold.

why going up? it's a safety, a place to park your wealth afraid of the economy. so the fact gold is going up before the financial crisis is a bet by people with money they're concerned about the way things are going. usually a hedge for inflation. we don't have inflation. we have consumer prices -- >> deflation. >> right. that's within of those little riddles about the gold market right now. very, very low interest rates. money going into the gold, silver, platinum. all of the metals markets and keep going up. i'm sorry, honey. i didn't buy a ring a long time ago. >> a fear of what is a safe bet these days. >> it is. such a thing as a safe bet? no. there's money going into gold. some people just diversifying, 5% of the wealth in a metal anyway. you know, will it go up? i don't know. will it go down, i don't know. >> how did he lose the ring? >> pushing the kids on the swing. they couldn't find it in the grass. >> at least he lad one. honey? thanks, christine. still ahead, how do we stop

kids who bully and protect kids being bullied? carol costello joining us with solutions next. [ male announcer ] when it comes to energy bills, let's see how low we can go. let's do some little things... that help us save big. add some insulation here. a little weather stripping there. maybe an energy star-rated appliance, or two. let's save money on the things that keep saving money. that way, we can turn a little energy into a lot of savings. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we're lowering the cost of staying at room temperature with owens corning insulation --

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across the half hour, top news tops the stories. new terror crackdown in france. police in france say they arrested nine people in two separate raids this morning. it comes a couple of days after the united states issued a travel alert in europe. it is not clear if these raids are connected to that alert. federal law enforcement will be stepping up security on amtrak routes this week. it is a yearly exercise and officials say it is not connected to the terror threat in western europe and earlier fran townsend told us it takes on new meaning. just a couple of hours, faisal shahzad will learn his punishment for trying to set off a car bomb in times square in may. he's being sentenced in new york. prosecutors want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. well, time now for a "a.m.

original," something to see only here. three kids in the house chances is one of them is a bully and one is a bullying victim. >> the problem of bullying so pervasive because it's so com y complica complicated. do you go after the parents? how do you teach your kids to protect themselves? carol costello looking for solutions for a problem faced by millions of young kids every day. good morning. >> good morning. how do you deal with a bully? do you stand up to him and punch him in the nose? he or she will run away like the cowards they are. now the bullying seems meaner and the consequences more tragic. so, how do you protect your child and what should happen to the bully? there are no simple solutions but we're going to try. >> i am -- >> i can make a difference.

>> reporter: at oklahoma city's western heights high school, students are pledging to protect the bully. it's especially important to jew san lay. she knows how bullying feels. >> is it worse with words do you think? >> i think it is because when i was little, like, people always said i was, like, really ugly. and it -- i never knew it affected me so much. and like, people would ask if i was a boy or a girl. i was hurt. i never wanted that to happen and, like, it lowers my self esteem really bad. and i never wanted to go to school. >> reporter: so i see it hurts you -- i see it hurts you so much. you know you're beautiful, right? yes. it's the kind of pain that affects so many children. one in three kids are bullied or bully every year. so how do you stop it?

>> we have to take it seriously rmp rachel simmons quote "odd girl out." >> the way is adult intervenes is just as the fact they're intervening at all. >> reporter: a good first step, calm down. >> don't communicate with anyone. another child or the school until you are calm and able to have a respectful conversation because it's very easy to get margalized rrn document how your child is bullied and then ask your child what he or she wants you to do. >> remember, you are not the one who has to walk back into that school for eight hours a day you may want to do solution "a" but if you do that solution your child may be mercilessly retaliated against. >> reporter: they're often popular, socially skilled kids who can enlist an army of bullies. >> they don't always tell you about it. >> reporter: marissa who's also

participating in the anti-bullying campaign knows exactly what simmons is talking about. in junior high school, she was a bully. why? >> i don't really know if there was a reason. it was just that easy target, i guess. >> reporter: is it because other kids making fun of those kids, too? >> yeah. there was a lot of others, also, bullying. >> reporter: sort of like a mob mentali mentality? >> yeah. >> reporter: when you were calling people names, did it make you feel better? >> i knew they felt worse. >> reporter: which brings us to how bullies ought to be stopped. don't humiliate them. >> if you humiliate a bully publicly, you are much more likely to see retaliation. if you sit down with a child sunny and say, this is what i'm seeing. if it happens again, these are consequences. >> reporter: they know the consequences. they're hoping to make this school year bully free. both of them are working

together to do that this squool year. what about charging bullies or parents with a crime? as for criminalizing bullying, simmon thinks generally it's a bad idea. making an example of a kid or a family by throwing the book at them is not going to change the behavior. kids don't care about other kids who are made examples of. what you want to do is help your kids become better citizens. a tougher road perhaps but in the end much more effective. >> tougher road and a longer one to travel, as well. how do you change behaviors? mete out punishment you can change behavior immediately. the change takes longer. >> it does take longer but in the end they'll become better citizens. you have to sit the bully down and explain why it's wrong, how it affects the other person and there are consequences and those consequences may be you don't get to participate in activities, you get detention. i don't know if that works anymore. but there has to be a consequence. not criminalizing the bullying

behavior. most of it is mean and teasing and hard to pin a certain crime on, right? because most kids who bully are socially adept children. they know what they're doing. they're good kids. they excel in school so when you sit them down and explain to them and say these are the consequences, they'll get that. but you can't huhumiliate them. they have an army of friends who will do the bullying for them. >> such a nightmare to think about. like you want the best for your kids and hope they avoid the situations and as you've showed it,'s more pervasive. >> most difficult thing for parents and both of you are parents is you can't protect your children. you have to teach them to somehow deal with it and i guess we're going to present another idea for people tomorrow. >> yeah. all right. tomorrow on "mitt romnamerican what happens when some bullies won't back down. bullying is not only in the

schools but we have seen it online but how do you stop that? don't miss a special report tonight 10:00 eastern on cnn. >> see the efforts to stop bullying and get involved. in your school is trying to stop bullying, send us an ireport. we're trying a tropical disturbance in the caribbean. rob marciano live is in a few minutes. there's a look at where it is now but will it gain strength and where will it go? plus, tough security at india's commonwealth games. the security? the monkeys. running wild through deli in check. a live report coming up next. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ]

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19 minutes to the top of the hour. commonwealth games are under way in india. the security is tight as the world's greatest compete for gold and some of the venues more security officers than spectators and they're dealing with an awful lot of monkey business. real monkey business. live in new delhi for us this morning. real monkeys, sarah. >> reporter: that is right. now, these guys work eight-hour shifts. ride bicycles to work and trainers say they can take on up to 50 potential attackers all at once. i don't know anybody but super-man to do that. they're definitely a part of a special force. these are some of the 100,000 security forces on patrol in

dehill for the commonwealth games. not just the guys in khaki but the guys in fur, too. these are three of the ten roughians dedicated to cracking down on monkey business. their job, to keep the tirelessly mischievous monkeys away from people. they're just doing what wild monkeys do, searching for food and a bit of fun but in a big, busy city, they can't help but in have run-ins with people. they chase them, get their food and sometimes bite. in order for the foreign visitors not to have problems and the monkeys don't bite them, we have langors. this trainer says it takes two years to train his workers to jump on the transportation provided. he says one of his large primates can scare off dozens of ma cats. they're not just used for the commonwealth games but the

government hires them every day to make sure there's no trouble at government offices. they're also being used in government buildings because monkeys go in and rip apart files, he says. private home and building owners hire them, too. even when there are no games, there are 28 on duty in this city. an expert says using the land gors is not a long-term solution to a real problem because the wild monkeys just move elsewhere for a while. animal rights groups question using them for labor. handlers, though, say they treat them like family and in turn these furry security guards leap into action when duty calls. and if you've ever come to delhi and, john, i know that you have, you have certainly most likely seen monkeys because they're all over the place and a lot of people feed them because many of the hindus which is the main

religion here will honor them a deity is the monkey god. john? >> you see those long hatails hanging down and you worry about them. you say it's controversial because they're being made to work. but how different from here in the united states, bomb-sniffing dog or a cute beagle to sniff out illegal goods that people bring back from overseas? >> reporter: it is a controversy, especially with animal rights groups and the difference there being that normally these monkeys are wild and in the wild and the dogs normally domesticated and so there is a conversation going on and also, you know, prime toll gists saying, you know, look, this is the real answer. the real answer is to figure out how to deal with the monkey population and bring it down. you have the clash of, you know, big cities growing and more and more people coming into them and squeezing out the animals who have been here for a long time.

john? >> sara, thanks so much. i remember when we were at nepal, a same, they would push the prayer wheels and pushing the prayer wheels. it was funny. if you're just seeing it for the first time, as a visitor, it is a kick. >> like anything, too much of a funny thing is just too much. >> exactly. sun chips. storms in the northeast. watching a tropical disturbance in the caribbean. rob marciano will tell us when the yucky weather is finally going to kick out of the northeast and whether the storm is going to turn into anything. at northern trust, we understand... that while you may come from the same family... you know, son, you should take up something more strenuous. you have different needs and desires. - i'm reading a book. - what's a book? so we tailor plans for individuals, featuring a range of integrated solutions. you at your usual restaurant? son: maybe. see you tomorrow. stairs? elevator. to see how our multi-faceted approach...

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good morning again. i'm rob marciano watching this area of disturbed weather in the lesser antilles, near puerto rico. the national hurricane center upgraded this to a high chance of becoming a tropical storm in 48 hours. for us, though, we have a lot of dry air in the gulf of mexico, western caribbean and troughiness including this guy on the east coast to protect us from the storm if that develops. we'll track it for you, certainly. a lot of cool, damp dreary conditions in the northeast once again today. this guy slow to move. it will finally begin to move tomorrow and really another day and a half of unsettled weather from philly up to new york and boston and slicing back to parts of the ohio river valley and southern great lakes, as well. temperatures below that

certainly cool and warming up now that the sun is up and frost and freeze advisories once again. record lows yesterday in gaylord, michigan, 23. we'll probably see records this morning, also. some record highs in montana and some mountain snows out west in the sierra-nevada. "american mornmorning" is comin back next. we got it. thank you very much! check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. [ man ] if it was simply about money, every bank loan would be a guarantee of success. at ge capital, loaning money is the start of the relationship,

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♪ he's got to top himself on a daily basis. this is phil's challenge. >> in a special series, dr. sanjay gupta is introducing us to truly amazing people with stories that inspire us. >> sanjay joins us from atlanta with the latest installment of "the human factor." how are you? >> doing fine. good morning. if you get to know the stories sometimes you find remarkable things, you can find their human factor. dr. alfredo is a fellow neuro surgeon and the path to medicine started differently than just about anybody else you have ever met. take a look.

this is dr. hionoso. here taking out a life-threatening brain tumor. >> this is quite an operating room, huh? got all of your scans up. john hopkins, one of the finest hospitals in the world s. this your room? >> this is my room. they build this specifically for our service. >> reporter: at 42, dr. q is at the top of his game. life wasn't always like this. it is a long journey from mexicali, mexico. he started working at the age of 5 at his father's gas station. his family was poor and things got worse when the business collapsed. in 1987, the young doctor headed north to the border. >> there became one choice that i knew i had to make and i hopped the fence. i climbed the fence between mexico and the united states. at age 19. >> reporter: his first job? pulling weeds.

in california's central valley. >> i remember, i tell you, dr. gupta, my hands, they're very same hands that now do brain surgery right around that time they had scars everywhere from pulling weeds. they were bloody. >> reporter: this trailer was his home. but he knew he could do better. he worked for the railroad, he got a job as a welder. that money paid for night school. he got a scholarship to the university of california-berkeley and from there he went to harvard medical school. did you ever think to yourself, you know what? i don't belong here. >> yes, many times. but i think that that's also what's kept me on the top of my game. you know? back then when i was in medical school i remember thinking, wow, i look at my classmates. as you know, you had some of them train at the best prep schools in the country, most distinguished families in the united states and tradition of education and there was me who barely had an education but i

was eager to learn. and i had -- i always knew that i had something that all of the others didn't have. that was that fire in my belly that keeps me going. there's my girl right there. >> good morning. >> reporter: the fire, still burns today. as dr. q takes out brain tumors and does research he hopes to lead to better treatments. do you sit around, you and your wife, pinch yourselves? your wife seen you from a migrant farm worker to being here. >> yes. i do. we think about it but i feel very blessed that every day when i walked out of the operating room, of this operating room and i go and give the patients the news that everything went well in surgery, and they hug me, it's just the most rewarding moment that i can think of. >> that story is nothing short of incredible the way he pulled himself up by his bootstraps but a reminder he did come to the country illegally.

now through there's a serious crackdown of illegal worker and won't see another dr. q to come down. does he say that's a big mistake? for every dr. q thousands and thousands of people who never do what he did. >> it's worth point og ut. he is a u.s. citizen now and became one in '97 and he is not what people typically think of as an undocumented worker by any means. his answer i thought was very candid and simple which was as long as there are opportunities in the united states that are greater than there are mexico, no matter what the crackdown occurs, this is still going to happen where you have people coming over the border, crossing the fence like he did. he was sent back and came back again. so, you know, he's an example of a real life example of what can happen there. >> must be a relief for people who were facing, you know, the prospect of dealing with brain tumors, already scary enough and if you have a doctor especially a spanish-speaking patient to

feel your pain and sort of communicate with you on a different level. >> you know, there was an interesting study about that very issue showing if a doctor communicates with a patient in hair first language, spanish, for example, outcomes are actually better. could be because they better understand how to take care of themselves after the surgery or therapy and can make a huge difference. >> what a remarkable story. thank you, doc. >> you got it. take care. a quick break. three minutes until the top of the hour. fiber one chewy bar. how'd you do that? do what? it tastes too good to be fiber. you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. do it again. turn it into something tasty. this guy's doing magic. there's chocolate chips in here now. how'd you do that? right! tasty fiber, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. what's she thinking? that's right! i'm not thinking anything!

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