that's going to wrap it up for us. >> hey, fred. >> good morning to you. have a great day. all right. good morning, everyone. i'm fredericka whitfield in for kyra phillips. we're looking at free speech put to the test. u.s. supreme court taking a look at protests at military funerals. we're also looking at a controversial story out of tennessee. firefighters are told to let a house burn down because the owner hadn't paid a $75 fee. that homeowner talks to cnn

about it. and if your workplace is too noisy your heart could pay the price. it is 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. 6:00 a.m. out west. you're in "the cnn newsroom." this morning, we're watching wall street as dow jones index takes a step in the long recovery. at the bottom of the hour, it opens on the verge of 11,000, an impressive milestone given the troubles over the last couple of years. the sobering reality is that still down 23% from the record high just 3 years ago this week. cnn's carter evans at the new york stock exchange with more on what should be expected from this. >> hey, fred. well, we are certainly within striking distance of 11,000. may 3rd just before the flash crash, we had a huge day yesterday. the dow up 193 points. we found out that the service sector is expanding and important because the service sector accounts for about 80% of the jobs in this country.

we found out yesterday that the bank of japan is making some adjustments to the lending rates to get more money out there. that was encouraging, as well. our futures were iing higher. dow futures up 45 points and would have put us right about there at the 11,000 mark and then the employment report from private payroll firm adp showing a loss of 39,000 private sector jobs. now, this is not the government job report. the government jobs report is friday but adp is an indication of what we might expect when the government comes out with the numbers, so it's not as good as many people were hoping. we were expecting to see adp say the private sector added about 18,000, 20,000 jobs. not so good. i have to tell you, fred, our futures up pretty good before the report and still positive right now. so it appears for the most part investors are shrugging this off. futures aren't always an exact indicator of the market's open

but pretty good and slightly to the positive side right now. we are gong to hear from aluminum maker alcoa and could throw a wrench in the works but appears we are marching toward 11,000. hopefully getting there today. fredericka? >> we'll check back with you in the morning. thanks so much, carter. all right. meantime, there's a report today that the afghan government is involved in secret talks with the taliban. "the washington post" says the talks are high level but preliminary in nature. sources involved in the talks are concerned that describing them publicly could undercut them. this is not the first time that representatives of the afghan government and the taliban have held secret talks. saudi arabia hosted talks just two years ago. let's get more on these secret talks. ivan watson joins us live from kabul. what is or isn't being said? >> reporter: well, fredericka, i

have come from an exclusive interview with the afghan education minister and did reveal there have been two days of closed-door meetings taking place here in kabul at a hotel described as track two d diplomacy. the elite trying to talk about ways to resolve the conflict that's been going on in this country. this is the first real public news about these meetings. some of the officials that have been participating are, for example, the former head of pakistan's isi intelligence service, a former pakistani interior minister, as well. this is mediated by the government of the emirate of abu dubai and a representative of the united nations present and they even met with the afghan president hamid karzai, as well. was the taliban participating? i asked the education minister

this. he said if you consider the former taliban ambassador to pakistan, a man who served several years at the guantanamo bay detention center, not fighting against the afghan government present at the meeting saying if you consider him to be a representative of the taliban, then perhaps you could say that. he did go on to say that this is just a preliminary round of discussions. that this is the beginning of a process that's been under way for several years. tomorrow, here in kabul, a so-called high peace counsel of some 68 afghan leaders will gather and the biggest challenge the afghan education minister is figuring out who's leading the taliban right now. who can you sit down and negotiate with? it's not a very heirarkhical

organization. that's showing how far they have to go before they can talk about ending the bloody war. >> thanks so much. the pakistani taliban claiming responsibility for an attack on nato supply vehicles. police say militants set 20 oil tankers on fire in quetta, pakistan. they killed one person. this is the sixth attack in a week on vehicles carrying supplies for nato forces in afghanistan. a pentagon spokesman tried to put that figure into perspective saying convoy attacks have only impacted 1% of supplies going through pakistan into afghanistan. and the cruelty is almost unimaginable. a grieving family gathers to bury their loved one, a u.s. marine killed in iraq but outside the funeral protesters taunt the mourners saying the death of soldiers is god's punishment for homosexuality and tests the limits of free speech.

kate baldwin is outside the u.s. supreme court where arguments will be heard today. kate? >> reporter: this is a case of free speech. it's highly emotional legal battle playing out at military funerals. the phelps families are here outside the supreme court. we should warn you heading into the piece some of the material some viewers may find disturbing. marine lance corporal matthew snider was 20 years old when he was killed in iraq. tell me about march 3rd, 2006. the day you found out that he was killed. >> it was probably the worst day of my life. if you lose a parent, you're an orphan. if you lose a spouse, you're a widow or a widower. if you lose a child, there's not even a word to describe it. >> reporter: even after all this time, i mean, the pain is -- >> it is still there. it's still there and it's no different. >> reporter: but albert says

that was only the beginning of the nightmare for his family. ♪ members of the kansas-based westborough church picketed outside matthew's funeral as they have done at military funerals hundreds of times before. the church believes soldiers are dying because god is punishing the country for, quote, the sin of homosexuality. matthew was not gay. >> i'm sorry that they their raised their son for the devil in hell and had anything to do with the [ bleep ] army. >> here to tell them they sent their child to hell. >> reporter: the funeral was held, st. john catholic church. and here nearby on this public street is where the westborough church members gathered for the protest triggering this constitutional battle. >> it comes down to dignity.

no one -- i don't care if you're not military, no one should be buried with what the phelps did to him. >> reporter: he sued for defamation and invasion of privacy but the phelps family argues they're protected by the rights of free speech and religious expression. the fight has now made it all the way to the high court. sean summers is albert's attorney. >> when they protest outside of a private student rfuneral, the trying to advocate. they're harassing a family to hijack someone else's private event. >> reporter: the phelps family declined to be interviewed about the case but told the court they weren't targeting matthew personally saying, quote, the church's speech was public issue speech, highly disliked and needing protection. adding, quote, the church does not require an invitation to be on a public right of way peacefully picketing. >> what they want to do is they

want to litigate our religious doctrine. you don't do that in america. >> each one of them are going to hell. >> reporter: they have the support of free speech advocates and some media groups. albert snyder has the support of 48 states and members of congress. you and your family suffered so much. why do you want to take this fight on? >> so other people don't have to go through the same thing that we went through. >> reporter: separate state efforts nationwide have attempted to impose restrictions on protest targeting military funerals but the efforts failed in federal court. judges citing, fed ricka, free speech and now the justices will weigh in. oral arguments begin in about an hour. >> thanks so much, kate baldwin, from the u.s. supreme court. and this is something we also keep an eye on. caught our attention. a homeowner doesn't pay a $75 fee to the city so firefighters are told to let his house burn.

well, now a firefighter's union is coming out against that pay to play policy. more on that after this break. i'm rob marciano. lots going on this morning including a subtropical depression in arizona. the thunderstorms are popping and a tornado warning out that includes, well, western parts of flagstaff. a complete update for you. sweet! [ female announcer ] tastes like sugar and has 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon. use it almost anywhere you use sugar. even in cooking and baking. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® granulated with fiber.

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all right. take aing a look at news across the country. now. a firefighter union condemned a decision to let a house burn in tennessee. gene and paulette cranick did not pay the $75 fee for fire protection so when the house caught on fire last week, crews were told to let it burn. the international association of firefighters says the town of south fulton's pay to spray policy is ill advised and unsafe and firefighters should not have to stop and check a list before they jump on the truck. homeowner gene cranick appeared on cnn's "american morning" a little while ago. >> your house burned because

they realized that you guys hadn't paid the $75 fire protection. is that a yearly thing and sort of a due date and if you don't pay it that's it? >> yes, that's a yearly thing. no, they -- you can pay later. they have waived that before. be three years in december that my son's house up here caught on fire. and we called them. and i said they probably won't come because i hadn't paid their fee but they came out and waived it and the chief said, you come and pay this tomorrow. well, paid it the next day and everything was fine. >> hmm. so firefighters did come out to protect the house of a neighbor who had paid the fee. the mayor defends the policy. the cranick's son says insurance will cover his parent's losses. and the 4,000 people in winfield, indiana, don't have police patrols or other protection right now.

the town missed a deadline to pay the county a $100,000 fee for services so the county's 911 center got a memo saying winfield is on its own for non-emergency calls. the sheriff says his department is looking at budget cuts and can't afford to pick up winfield's slack. >> we have had an agreement for almost two years that they were going to do this. and then here recently they just said they weren't going to after all. at least pay something to year and proceed forward some type of town marshal system. and here we are in october and they have not paid not one penny. >> last night, winfield's town counsel voted against paying the fee and hold on to the money until january 1st when a new sheriff comes in. and we're hearing more from a good samaritan. in fresno, california, who might have saved a girl's life. victor perez actually saw news about a report about a kidnapper who had snatched a young girl

and whisked her away. perez was outside his house and talking to his cousin and saw a truck that matched the description dha he saw on television. perez got in his truck and followed. >> i was yelling and kept cutting him off to get off the road. at first a simple question. i need to talk to you. he goes, no, i need to leave. i said, okay. i didn't see no little girl until the second time i cut him off and she stuck her head out and i said, okay, that ain't your girl right there. he was hiding her like pushing her down. >> so the girl eventually just jumped out of the truck. perez believes the driver pushed her. police caught up with the truck and arrested a 24-year-old man and perez is now a fresno hero. a rather rare rainstorm hit phoenix yesterday. but worse than the rain, the hail.

just ask this live television reporter what he thought about it. >> look at this. look at this. those -- those pellets of hail falling like bullets now. this is painful to be out here. >> okay. i'm not laughing. it is not funny. looks like a hurricane or something, doesn't it? look familiar, rob? that strong, sudden storm dropped more than an inch of rain in two hours with a half inch of hail and as you might imagine it would cause a little bit of flooding, too. that is crazy. very rare, huh? >> in that reporter's defense, nothing illustrates the power of mother nature than being out in it. i assume a phoenix reporter would haven't an opportunity to report on hurricanes very often. >> quite the phenomenon. >> this is active in parts of arizona, even at this early in the morning and we are talking about 6:00 local time here. and we've got a tornado warning out west of flagstaff. this is impressive. it has a little bit of a hook here looking at the other doppler readings here and turn on this -- the mode where you

can measure the winds and whenever you see bright colors like that, opposite each other, that means that the winds opposite each other and probably rotation here. so this is a very strong radar-indicated tornado. no reports of it being on the ground yet but just to the west of flagstaff and western parts of flagstaff under the gun right now and for 20 minutes so scary situation. you certainly want to stay inside your home for the next 20 minutes or so until that particular cell rolls by you. meanwhile, the larger situation out west is this cell is not moving very much. it's causing snow in the sierra and continues to filter in this unstable weather across parts of arizona where there's also a severe thunderstorm watch out until noon local time so we'll continue to monitor this cells as they percolate up across the desert and the high desert. meanwhile, this low out east is

not moving very much and bringing down cold air. i don't know if we have the snow video loaded from tennessee but certainly impressive. yeah, tennessee. okay? just outside of knoxville and great smoky mountains there. the elevations can be 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 feet or so and snowed enough for snowballs. >> that's crazy! october? before halloween. come on. >> a couple hours north of atlanta so gives you an idea of how crazy mother nature -- you know, if that's not enough, subtropical depression number 17 right about there. rain heavily in eastern parts of puerto rico and u.s. virgin islands. this is forecast to stay away from the u.s. but -- >> that's good. >> forecast to be the next tropical storm. name would be otto. >> otto. >> let you know when that happens. >> very good. thanks so much, rob. all right. well rescuers trying to reach the trapped miners in chile could be done with the drilling by this weekend but doesn't mean they make it out just then.

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all right. our morning passport takes us to northern chile where there's new hope for those trapped miners. the drilling could be done by this weekend but the rescue could still take more time. cnn's karl penhaul joining us

from outside the mine. karl? >> reporter: certainly feels like the beginning of the end, fredericka, but there have been problems with the three drills that you can see there behind me. they have been working around the clock to get down to these miners half a mile underground but over the last 24, 48 hours all 3 of them had problems. some of them routine. had to change hammers and bits and another one, the leading drill, the one only about 500 feet from the miners right now, that ran into problems running into extra hard rock and so in the course of yesterday, it only drilled about six feet. but if it does get a good day and gets passed this area very hard rock then, yes, rescuers say it could complete the distance in about three days. but then, of course, that rescue shaft will then have to be encased with a steel pipe and at least part of the distance. that just to shore it up and make sure there are no rock

falls at the last minute and then only once that's in place can the cage be dropped down and start process of pulling the 33 miners back to the surface and back to a new life, fredericka. >> karl, everybody is of a different height and size, set ra. should that make a difference with pulling them up to the surface with that equipment? >> reporter: the right problem isn't a problem. the internal measurement of that rescue capsule, the phoenix capsule, in meters is 1 meter 99. that's about 6'5", 6'6" 6 which is plenty of room for the miners a enthen an oxygen tube and also communications with the surface. the diameter internally is 21 1/2 inches. and so, some of these guys who are pretty broad shouldered from a life of manual work, they might have to come up in that kind of a position. the rescue position. others can come up in a more

relaxed position with their arms at their side and had been earlier on worries about the guys being, well, literally too fat to fit inside the capsule but, of course, in the first 17 days of this ordeal, these miners had no contact from the outside world and each man had just four cans of tuna to survive those first 17 days so some of them lost up to 30 pounds so that's been a very slimming experience for them. and also, since then, personal trainer has been assigned to the men and so he has communication with them from the surface and he's sending them an exercise r routine. we understand one guy is running an hour a day and others have been sent elastic bands, big resistance bands to do some exercises there, work out and slim down just to make no doubt that they're going to fit inside the rescue capsule. >> wow. extraordinary men. they will have quite the story

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of course, we are watching wall street closely this morning. dow, nasdaq, s&p 500 powered to five-month highs yesterday. the blue chips within striking distance of 11,000. carter evans is following the action from new york stock exchange with more on this. lots of optimism today. >> yeah, lots of optimism which is kind of interesting, too, because october can be a rough month for stocks. yesterday's strong rally put 11,000 within reach and saw some earnings and buy-out news today. costco shares up better than expected with quarterly results of costco. good sign for consumer spending and johnson & johnson is buying a dutch bio tech company for

nearly $2.5 billion. it's a sign of confidence. 11,000 is just a nice, round number, a psychological barrier of sorts and i want to look at the numbers quickly because the futures pointing to a higher open earlier this morning and if you take a look right now, we are slightly lower. one of the reasons we're slightly lower right now is because of this report that we got from private payroll firm adp today. basically said that we lost 39,000 private sector jobs. that is a problem because a lot of analysts were expecting to see a gain of about 18,000 to 20,000 jobs. now, the adp report is not the government jobs report. that one is out on friday but it's often seen as a real good indicator of what we might expect when we get the government numbers. we also got some information from an outplacement firm of challenger, gray and christmas today and basically they measure planned job cuts saying emplo r employers planned 37,000 job

cuts last month and that number up 7% from the month before so it is moving in the wrong direction. nevertheless, when you look at the numbers, they're not affected too much. it looks like we could move into positive territory today. that would certainly be nice. the last time we were at 11,000 was back on may 3rd. that was right before the flash crash and remember we've still got a long way to go before the market highs. it was about this time about three years ago we were up above 14,000. we're 23% below that high right now. back to you. >> all right. carter evans, thanks so much for that. i appreciate that. >> sure. a three-day conference in washington with "fortune" magazine's list of 300 most powerful women in the world and heard from billionaire warren buffett, as well. one of the most powerful men in the world of finance and told the conference buying bonds at prevailing high prices is a mistake. hinting at a possible bubble in the bond market.

buffett said he sees another approaching problem. >> we're following policies that unless changed will result in lots of inflationary problems in my view down the road and not next week or month but, you know, if -- my partner charlie says all i want to know is where i'll die so i never go there. we have started down a path that you don't want to go all the way down. >> buffett said the economy will recover in time and investors will regain confidence in the stock market. next hour, what you can do to improve your money health. my sell singletary will talk about putting your finances on the diet and shedding the credit card debt. you read her columns in "the washington post" and also taking some of your questions so e-mail them right now at

cnn.com/frederi cnn.com/fredericka. that's an hour from now. don't miss the invaluable advice. so if you work in a loud place, your ears might not be the only thing that's suffering. your heart could, as well. a new study found people working in loud environments for at least 18 months could triple their risk of serious heart problems compared to those working in quieter places. more than 22 million people in the u.s. work in areas considered hazardous and especially in the noise department level. most of the study participants who work in loud places were men aged 40 and they were more likely to have other heart-risk factors, as well. so it was a very un-presidential moment. >> sustain -- whoops. was that my -- >> yes, it was. it was the presidential seal falling during the speech. we'll tell you how president obama kept his cool. raspberry cheesecake...

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destroyed by evil. >> that connecticut doctor, husband and father explains why he attended the trial of the man convicted of assaulting and killing his wife and two daughters. steven hayes now faces execution, petit says he will attend the penalty hearing beginning october 18th. and today the u.s. supreme court is set to hear a controversial case involving a case of privacy versus free speech. the family of a u.s. marine killed in iraq gathered to lay him to rest but outside the funeral of lance corporal ma shoe snyder protesters said it's god's pun initialment for homosexuality. there's a buzz about president obama changing the running mate in 2012. the talk indicates that hillary clinton and joe biden make a big switch. legendary reporter says it's not farfetched.

jeerk here's cnn's leanup for tonight. bill maher never short of opinions and tonight he talks politics with our john king. watch at 7:00 p.m. eastern. at 9:00 on "larry king live," hillary swank and sam rockwell talk about the new film "conviction." then bullying in the schools and now online. why do kids do it and what can be done to put an end to it? a special report you cannot miss. cnn beginning tonight at 10:00 eastern time. all right. in news from politics, there's some buzz about hillary clinton becoming president obama's running mate come 2012. appearing last night on "john king usa" reporter bob woodward

talked about the possibility of vice president biden switching positions with the u.s. secretary of state. >> it's on the table. and, some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real responsibility in 2012. president obama needs some of the women, latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries. and so, they switched jobs. >> not so fast says white house senior adviser david axelrod telling "washington post," quote, there's absolutely nothing to it. so that sound heard out of washington last night was not president's poll numbers but instead his seal falling. watch this. >> engineering and math. we cannot sustain -- whoops. was that my -- oh goodness.

that's all right. all of you know who i am. [ applause ] >> so the president after the applause resumed the address to the most powerful women's summit without anymore interruptions we know of. so that brings up the political ticker for this hour. our deputy political director paul steinhauser at the cnn politics desk. what do you have for us? >> brand new stuff, fred. a few minutes ago, on the ticker, the first cnn poll of polls in the battle for congress. 27 days from the midterms and first poll of polls of the generic ballot. look at the numbers. we compiled them this turn mog. this is the most question of pollsters to ask. if you had a choice in the congressional district between a generic democrat or a republican, who would you vote for? most recent polls, you can see according to our average, the republicans have a six-point

average over the democrats. fred, we are going to keep doing this until election day, 27 days to go. talk about sarah palin this morning. she's framing these midterm elections as a choice between and he say it is culture of life and those that support the culture of death. she was making the comments last night at an anti-abortion group and her comments were framed and directed at barack obama, the president. and democrats who control congress. she claimed that the president oversaw the biggest advance of the abortion industry in america and she was pointing towards the health care legislation. obviously, the white house and democrats in congress don't agree. look at this. please zoom in here. brand new on the ticker at cnnpolitics.com, the president today and his wife both separately raising money for the democratic party. in new jersey today for a big fund-raiser. a source tells me they expect $1 million to be raised and separately the first lady

michelle obama is on a call today with the democratic party officials to reach out to supporters and those that backed her husband in 2008 urging them to give money and vote again for her husband's party. fred, that's what we have right now. back to you. >> okay. i guess the white house acknowledging and realizing she was quite the asset on the campaign trail when he was campaigning for president and why not try it again? >> very much so. >> paul, thanks so much. of course, we'll have your next political update one hour from now and a reminder for all the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com. also, straight ahead, we'll look at the mysterious case of a jet skier reportedly killed by mexican pirates. the latest on the search for his body and the search for answers. . 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.

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all right. developing this hour, mexican troops and sailors taking part in the search for the body of david hartley, he's the american jet skier who was reportedly shot to death on a lake separating texas from mexico. his wife says gunmen ambushed the couple last week on falcon lake and spoke with will riply

of affiliate krgv. >> you could hear him and feel him passing by you. and i saw two hit next to me. and then that's when i looked back and saw that david was shot and i -- i actually saw him fly over then the jet ski. >> tiffany describes the terrifying moment. she said three men on boats opened fire on her and david. they were sightseeing on jet skis near this old mexican church. >> after i got to him and jumped off my jet ski and into the water, he was face down and i had to roll him over and that's when i noticed he was shot in the head. so i had to pull him to my jet ski. and that's when a boat came up to me and had a gun pointed at me. and telling them, don't shoot, don't shoot. and they left. they left me. i mean, they could have shot me.

but they didn't. >> reporter: hartley says she doesn't know why the men began shooting and she struggled to pull her husband's body out of the water but didn't have the strength. >> when i was pulling him up, i heard god say, you have to go, you have to saying, you got to , and you got to go and i looked back at the other boats to see where they were, and they were heading back to me. i had to decide to leave david or stay and ultimately if i stayed, maybe killed or kidnapped. so i let david back in the water and then i started heading back to u.s., but i had to pass them in order to get there, and then that's when they had started shooting again. >> reporter: you saw your husband with a bullet wound in the head. do you think there's any chance that he is alive? >> no, i don't. it's been four or five days.

i mean, since thursday. no, i don't think. i don't think there's any chance. >> so how active is the search for the body of david hartley? nick valencia has been conversing with a number of ols there. mexican authorities say they are looking and they have quite the apparatus and detail to do so? >> we got off the tone with the lead investigator from charge of the search for this body. they are going out this morning with 30 people with the national defense, next can navy, and they are going out there to that area right now. >> originally authorities were saying we don't want to be in that area because this is an area commandeered by these organized crime, drug cartels. are they changing their mind? are they willing to take the risk? >> that's the word, commandeer. this is run by organized

criminals. the lead investigators rolando flores tells us they don't go there because they are outmanned. he cast a little bit of doubt on the story of tiffany hartley. he says, how would we know that this incident even occurred. this is an area that's scarcely populated, steers and ranchers and organized criminals live in this territory. >> there is reportedly at least one eyewitness coming forward saying what? do authorities even corroborate that eyewitness account? >> mexican officials we have spoken to have not spoken to anyone who witnessed what happened or said they witnessed what happened. they have spoken to someone in the sheriff's office and are cooperating with u.s. officials and working hand in hand and are saying it is difficult to understand and know what happened in this area because it's so scarcely populated.

this is not an area where much crime is record. in areas run by organized criminals, you won't hear a lot of cases come out of there. >> because generally people stay away. >> which is why would they be there in this area? for what purpose did they have there somewhere tiffany hartley, the wife of this disappeared man had said they were there to visit this old colonial grounds. you saw that in the report as well. a very beautiful area. >> particularly to see that church, that kind of sunken church? >> that's right, to see that church. unfortunately, what tiffany says happened is very unfortunate. >> this investigation, we know, continues. nick valencia, thank you. right now, striking near flagstaff, rob marciano, what is the situation? >> a couple of tornadoes confirmed touching down just to the west of flagstaff in belmont, damage reports of some

businesses there as this thing moved across i-40. now a tornado watch has been issue bitd national weather service until 11:00. we have more on this throughout the morning. stay tuned. hi, we're looking to save some money on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes.

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when animals attack -- it's hard to watch dramatic pictures when you see them on the discovery channel. a big lion moving in after a pack of hygiene nas and take down a zebra. it's what wild animals do. but wild animals in captivity are dangerous as well, and trainers at washington's national zoo do not go in the chachs because they just might snap. brian todd has more on what happened in the moments before a lion at a ukraine zoo went for the trainer. >> reporter: in an instant, a massive lion turns on his trainer. this ferocious attack captured

on video by an american family at a circus in ukraine last weekend. as one lion strikes, another joins in, biting the trainer's left arm. as people in the crowd scream, worsers hose down the lions to keep them at bay. seconds later, another strike. a similar incident occurred recently at the mgm resort in las vegas. at washington's national zoo, we got insight into the danger between animals in captivity and the trainers. don moore is the head of animal care sciences here at the national zoo. we have a 400 pound lion, same size as the one at the mgm attack. when you have a lion who wants to attack or play rough, what are you trained to do? >> first thing is we don't go in

with large dangerous animals and have a protective barrier between the animals and the trainers. >> reporter: is it mobile? do they carry it? >> no. it's a sole laid wall with spaces so we can interact with the animals in a safe way. >> reporter: in this incident in ukraine, the trainers survived. what triggers the behavior in a loy on? are they territorial, anything encroaching in there spurs the behavior? >> in carnivores, there's a hard wired predator prey response. you may see your cat in the living room chatsing a dust ball. if you get down on all fours, they may just snap. >> reporter: interlopers beware. last year, a dear jumped into this lion's area. in that incident, the deer

jumped into the moat. they didn't go after that. would you advise people to jump in the water if they are in that situation? >> i guess so, but we were surprised they didn't go in the water. they wanted to hunt the deer. >> reporter: female lions are no less dangerous. a fellow female just gave birth to four cubs, and in that state, before and after giving birth are more irritable and likely to attack. brian todd, cnn, washington. the cruelty is almost unimaginable. a grieving family gathers to bury their loved one. a u.s. marine killed in iraq, but outside the funeral, protesters taunt the mourners saying that the death of u.s. soldiers is god's punishment for homosexuality. >> he's going into the beast house. ♪ off you go >> this emotionally charged case is not just about human decency

but the legal limits of free speech. josh levs is looking at this case. >> i want to start off with something different because i want to remember the man behind the case. this is our cnn home and away page about lance corporal matthew albert snyder, 20 years old when at the gave his life. he was in a noncombat related vehicle accident. it was outside his funeral that this group, led by fred phelps and his family members came from kansas holding signs like this. this is video of another similar protest they have done. they have done hundreds of these. they claim the death of u.s. soldiers is part of god's wrath for homosexuality and will protest at any funeral. snyder wasn't gay. we have some sound here from matthew's father. >> it comes down to dignity. no one, i don't care if you are

not military, no one should be buried with what the phelps did to him. >> and we also have a little bit of sound from fred phelps. >> i'm sorry that they raise their sons to the devil in hell and let him have anything to do with the army. >> let's look at what's happened in this case. let's look at the basics. it was in 2006 that this group protested outside snyder's funeral, and it was in the neck year, 2007, that his family sued phelps' church on alleged invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy, and they got a big award. the jury awarded them $11 million. that was later reduced to about $5 million, and it was the next year, in 2008, that a federal appeals court came along and overturned that judgment. their spoigs that this speech is protected by the first

amendment. now, i want you to understand how huge this case is. let's look at a few of the people who weighed in. dozens of lawmakers filed a friend of the court brief supporting the snyder family, harry reid, mitch mcconnell, barbara boxer, these are people who rarely find things they agree about, and they signed this. in the brief, it says that phelps group is not free to hijack this private funeral as a vehicle for expression of their own hate. not only that, but 48 states and d.c. also signed on spoet for the snyder family but there are media groups supporting the other side but saying as hateful as it might be, this is free speech that needs to be protected. we have a lot of details at cnn.com and have new pictures of the phelps group protesting outside the supreme court and getting their word out in advance of that. i want to encourage everyone while we watch this case today to keep in mind the sacrifice

and heroism of all of our people at war, including this young man who was 20 years old. i sent out his page at cnn home and away. >> we will talk about this further, the protests at military funeral seems cruel and outlandish but the issues will reach beyond the extremism of a small church group. avery freeman represents a group that specializes in first amendment rights. good to see you. why would this speech or why would you protesters, there actions, be protected by free speech? is it namely because it was a more general statement and they weren't necessarily targeting matthew snyder and the family specifically? >> primarily, fred, it was

content based the supreme court has consistently protested content based speech. in other words, they had a message. as heinouses a it is, it is a message, and, therefore, the laws involved here, the first amendment in particular protect that type of nasty speech and by and large what we have seen over the past 200 years is that cases like this usually involve nasty speech. nasty speech like what we saw coming from fred phelps, and the question is -- and josh levs teed it up perfectly. you have senators, attorneys general lining up, but 21 news organizes who depend on the first amendment say, you know what, because it's content based, this speech, no matter how terrible it is, should be protected by the first amendment because if we outlaw this, then what other kind of speech gets outlawed. >> it's interesting because the matthew snyder family got support all of the way through

various courts until the appellate court said know and now it's in front of the u.s. supreme court. why would they take the case? >> i think that's a great question because they could have simply ducked the issue. there's no conflict among the federal appeals courts, but because the case is so important, because we're dealing with the emotional issue of one of our brave young soldiers, marines, who we lost in this war, and because of the dynamic nature of the first amendment, you know what, i think the supreme court did the right thing in accepting the case to put to rest whether or not phelps' behavior as special as it is is protected under the first amendment. >> while this case is being argued, if fred phelps and his group continue with these protests -- are they able to do that, protected to do that until there is a ruling by the u.s. supreme court on this? >> yeah. i mean, the bottom line is they have on their side a federal

appeals decision, which essentially emboldens them. think about the irony of this. in the land of the free, these terrible, hateful people are out there saying and doing terrible things about our troops in iraq and afghanistan but the first amendment stands behind them and until the supreme court comes down with a ruling, they can exercise their rights. >> good to see you. of course, we'll see you this weekend as well. >> right. other big cases that the u.s. supreme court is expected to consider this session. next week, the court will consider whether pharmaceutical company wyeth can be held responsible for a defective vaccine. how much protection from lawsuits will be decided by the court. next month, the justices will consider whether miners should

be prohibited from buying violent video games. arnold schwarzenegger signed such a measure into law five years ago, but an appeals court struck it down. the supreme court could look at this as a free speech issue as well. and come december, the court will hear arguments over an arizona law that punishes employers who hire illegal immigrants. the national chamber of commerce is fighting the law along with various labor and civil rights groups. there's quite the buzz about president obama changes his running mate come 2012. the talk is that hillary clinton and joe biden make a big switch. a legendary reporter says its a. not farfetched. >> the dow up at 10,968.

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kyra phillips. this is usually where she is. she's in washington and she is helping to host one of the panels taking place during the most powerful womens summit sponsored by "fortune" magazine. she is helping to moderate a discussion there. we're talking about a leadership within the military. you saw general ann doned with dirk the first female four star general of the usda army and you also see admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. when kyra comes back tomorrow, she will have lots to share with you on the most powerful womens summit taking place in washington. speaking of that summit, president obama was also there last night. he was a featured speaker, and during the speech, the presidential seal kind of went crashing to the ground. just take a look at how he handled it.

>> in engineering and math. we cannot sustain -- whoops -- was that my uh -- oh, goodness. the that's all right. all of you know who i am. >> good laughs, good applause there, and there were no other interruptions that we have heard about. meantime, what do you think about this, obama/clinton 2012? bob woodward says its quote on the table but today the white house is saying not so fast. ed henry is in washington with the very latest on that. ed. >> reporter: well, fred, you are absolutely right. white house spokesman robert gibbs is pouring cold water on the red hot speculation fueled by bob woodward, promoting his new book on john king usa last

night and suggesting there would be a switcharoo. joe biden had his eyes previously on the secretary of state job but robert gibbs says no one is discussing this as a possibility and this is just something that's been cooked up outside the white house. there have been not just bob woodward, but some democratic activists who have been in private suggesting, maybe if president obama can't turn things around in the next year or so that they might need to bring a heavyweight in on the ticket and bob woodward really kicked this into high gear last night. >> it's on the table, and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012 president obama needs some

of the women, latinos, retires that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries, so they switch jobs. >> reporter: the key there, i think, is the fact that bob woodward attributed some of this to hillary clinton's advisers, that they think she would be a good essentially vice president and president down the road, saying 2016 or something like that. he was not attributing this to obama advisers. every obama adviser i have spoken to in the last 24 hours suggested that they don't think this is real, but it's going to stay alive in part because you remember joe biden said in 2008 he wanted to be secretary of state some day, and cnn polls suggest a that hk shalikashvili very popular, and some wonder if she would run against president obama in 2012. that's a possibility, highly unlikely as is this.

>> some clinton advisers are getting a tongue lashing today? >> reporter: upset with bob woodward as well. i'm reading his book and it looks like president obama and vice president biden have a good relationship. >> thank you for setting it up a straight for us. our own ed henry there at the white house. people who receive social security checks probably will not see an increase next year. for those of us who have lactose intolerance,

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hostcould switching gei real a bd in the hd or more ng worth 2 inhe bush?. praiser: well you rarely see them in this good of shape. appraiser: for example the fingers are perfect. appraiser: the bird is in mint condition. appraiser: and i would say if this were to go to auction today, woman: really? appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. praiser: it's just biful, thank u so much for brinit i woman: unbelievable appraiser: conrvativy it would be worth 2 in the bush. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. we are keeping a close watch on the markets right now. at 10,954, the dow up just barely nine points, going up and down this morning as it usually does. there's a lot of optimism with today's figures. carter evans is keeping a watch on that. also on this, how the expectations of people's social security checks, how much they

rely on them and how much they may or may not be getting soon. >> a lot of people are going to be unhappy about this, but every year, the government assesses whether a cost of living adjustment for social security is justified. the official announcement is not coming for a few weeks but cnnmoney.com says there is likely no increase in social security checks this year or 2011. this is the second straight year of no increase es. why? it's all about inflation. we haven't seen a lot of inflation. i guess that's good. if you aren't getting a raise, things aren't costing a lot to buy. in terms of social security, if there's no inflation, you are not going to get an increase. now, remember, people got a big increase back in 2008 because of those soaring fuel prices, but

no significant inflation, no increase. >> how many people does this affect? >> about 58 million people. for many elderly folks, this is their main source of income and it could limit people's purchasing power. when people know there check won't increase, they don't feel as confident to spend. there may be a silver lining here. social security checks can never decline. the congressional budget office says a slight increase is expected in 2012, and hopeful hopefully -- we don't like to see inflation but we like to see the checks keeping pace for seniors. do you want to see the numbers? >> yes, please. >> the dow currently up about 7 points. we got some disappointing employment numbers from ad p today showing that the private sector cut 39,000 jobs in

september. this is not the government report. that comes out on friday. it's a good report of what we might see on friday. the numbers are not good, investors are shrugging it off. we are seeing gains for the dow even if they aren't too significant. >> thank you. we appreciate that. we will continue to talk about money. this time is hits close to home. columnist michelle singletary will be joining us and explain how to shed that debt. your money questions, send them to cnn.com/frederica. take a look at how some kids are learning to deal with school bullies. >> listen to me, hamburger head. this is my school. leave your hamburger at home next time. good, good. tackle, tackle. >> that's one way to bully-proof your kids. that story coming up.

we have tornado activity. we want to check in with rob marciano. where? >> two reports of tornadoes earlier today, at least one doing damage west of flagstaff with businesses damaged there. a train derailed and a tractor trailer flipped over. we have similar cells rolling along the same path. there's one through belmont and here's another one, both have warnings on them and this looks pretty strong as far as rotation goes. that's moving along the same path. residents who live just west of flagstaff, across belmont

specifically, continue to take cover because it looks like even this cell down here might be strengthening as it heads off to the north. on top of damaging winds, you can imagine just how much heavy rain is falling out of these along the same path. i wouldn't be surprised if flash flood warnings are posted with this particular line of cells moving across parts of arizona. all in association with this stubborn low that refuses to leave southern california. look at the rain across parts of los angeles. snow across parts of the sierras and see the line of thunderstorms across phoenix. this is a watch on top of the warnings embedded on this line. they continue to redevelop. an active morning west of phoenix. if they drift 15 or 20 miles to the east, we're talking about a lot more populated areas. >> thanks, rob. representatives of the

afghan government and taliban are involved in secret peace talks. we have an exclusive interview from kabul. ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ you check a lot of things already why not add one more ♪ ♪ that can help your situation for sure ♪ ♪ check your credit score ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ free-credit-score ♪ you won't regret it at all! test.

there are reports that representatives of the afghan government and taliban are involved in preliminary peace talks right now. the washington post first reported on the secret meetings, and ivan watson will join us on that. the pakistani taliban is claiming responsibility for an attack on nato supply vehicles. 20 oil tankers were set on fire in quetta, pakistan. one person was killed. this is the sixth attack in a week on vehicles carrying supplies for nato forces in afghanistan. . so the american society for child and adolescent psychiatry say as manies half of all children are bullied at some time.

this comedian remembers it well and blames it on indifference by parents and says she takes it personally. >> when these things happen, it feels like a direct assault on me because i am that person that they are bullying. i am that person that feels like committing suicide. they're talking about me. i'm gay, and i have been ostracized my whole life in society, and i'm sent that message on a daily basis by the media, and it hurts, and i want to say to those kids out there, i have been through it. i came out. i am successful. i am happy. i am in love, and there is hope. >> so, degeneres has started a texting campaign. text word "kind" to 8944, and $5

will go to the trevor project. it's not easy to learn how to handle bullies. it takes preparation. cnn goes to a jujitsu academy sewing kids the way. >> listen to me, hamburger head. good, good, tackle, tackle. nice. >> reporter: 9-year-old trevor robertson is a student in a jujitsu class that says it can bully-proof kids. >> trevor had a transition into a different school and had a hard time fitting in. >> reporter: now trevor has earned a new stripe on his belt and new confidence. >> i was at soccer camp. an older kid, he was kind of picking on me, and then he tried to push me, so i got his arm and i put it behind his back, and i asked him if he would stop, and

he said, yes, and he didn't bug me. >> redirect! >> reporter: at the gracie jujitsu academy outside of los angeles, students learning that physically subduing a bully is the last resort. and they should never go looking for trouble. >> if the bully is harassing you, talk to them with confidence, eye contact, stand strong. if the bully still persists, you have to tell the teacher and get the parents involved, the principal and the skul administrators. should he punch me in the face? >> no, of course not. should he tackle me, no. if it ever becomes physical from the bully, we give the child the resources to neutralize the threat without becoming violent. >> reporter: michelle was bullied when she started kindergarten last year. >> she came home with her pants kind of like dirty and her sunglasses kind of like broken and we second hey, what happened

here? she said, i just fell. didn't want to say anything else, but i noticed the attitude change, kind of like angry. >> reporter: does he have problems with bullying anymore? >> no. she knows what to do. >> reporter: as part of this year throng class, they are taught respect, citizenship and manners. >> if you get something, say please, if they give it to you, say thank you. if you don't want it, say no thank you. we're teaching how to fight fire with water, the humble approach, and it can't be more emphasized the more they learn to defend themselves, the more confident they become, and the more confident they become, the less likely they are to be targeted by the bully. >> reporter: the academy has heard complaints from cools with zero tolerance policies for violence, even in self-defense. i asked how he would advise my

son. >> i don't want him to go against the school. how would you handle himself? >> it makes sense. no one fights at all. if you throw a punch or kick someone or respond to a fight, everyone's in trouble and gets suspended. the problem is that the bullies violate the rules, and they kids who are the victims now of the abuse, the violation of the rules are too scared of the policy to stand up. >> reporter: he stresses they should avoid conflict by giving the kids cfc. we're going to talk about your finances coming up. if you racked up a lot of charges on your credit cards and the debt is weighing you down, you don't want to miss our next guest. we are looking at your money questions. we are giving free advice here. go onto cnn.com/frederica.

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♪ [ male announcer ] try fixodent with a time released formula. use just once per day for all day hold. it is important to use the product as directed. for poor fitting dentures, see your dentist. for hold from dawn to dark... fixodent and forget it. let's talk about almighty debt in america. we owe a lot. take a look at some of the numbers. this is astounding.

u.s. consumer debt is at nearly $2.5 trillion. if those credit card bills are weighing you down, maybe it's time to go on a money fast and purify the finances. we are talking with michelle singletary, a personal finance adviser with the washington post and she's helping people with money makeovers. she has a book out "the power to prosper." so it can be done in 21 days. that's how you get your financial house in order, right? >> it's like going into rehab. i'm not calling everybody addicts. >> we're spending addicts. >> we are, we are. we're addicted to debt and credit and shopping, and living above our means, and this a 21-day fast where you shut it all down. you concentrate on what really matters to you. because when you look at how people are spending their money. it's not where their values are.

you ask them where their values are, college and savings, but when you look at their credit card statement, that's nowhere their money is going. >> we're going to break down how do you that. how do you tackle the 21 days and kind of show people a few little steps but first we have a lot of questions from people who want some financial advice from you. kenny wrote in saying i have a 401(k) through my work with possible layoffs looming, should i low are my contribution percentage and look into an ira or cd. >> he may want to roll back to try to save cash because we don't know how long he's going to be unemployed, and the unemployment checks on average per week are about $300. that's only if he thinks his job is in jeopardy. this is the one time i tell people don't aggressively pay

off your debt because you need to hoard cash. >> you still want six to eight months in a nest? >> exactly. most people don't have that. this is the only time that you do that, if he really fears for his job. >> sunny, i have a job in inventory and do numerous odd jobs. do you see the economy getting any better or do you have strategies from your successful career that can help? >> you know, i think that we are still ahead in terms of having a lot of trouble. i do. i know officially the recession ended last year, but there's another year or two that we are going to be suffering. so whatever extra money he's getting, i would try to save and little by little build up an emergency fund, what i call a "life happens" fund and attack the debt so if something happens, the job goes away or his income reduces, he has cash to deal with it. >> heidi, my bank sent a mortgage reduction offer to good

customers saying they will lower my mortgage down 75% with no closing costs of any kind, a simple modification to keep their best customers from going elsewhere for refinancing. should i have an attorney look over it? is there a catch? >> i would definitely have somebody look at that if they can. talk to another real estate agent who is familiar with this area. look at the deal. if it's a good deal and its's the mortgage lender they have been dealing with, definitely look into that. that's a cut in money, and hopefully they will save that money and not spend it. the rates are great, and if the refinance is low and they are staying in the house, definitely look into this. >> this 21-day diet, and saubt in atlanta you are putting on a diet. you met with her recently, and before you even ask someone to reveal their finances, you say, you got to make this commitment. university's got to be dedicated about where you spend your money

and how you spend it. you are asking them not to spend money except essentials. >> that's right. i'm shutting down everything, no eating out our gum or potato chips. >> no lattes? >> no. >> no coca-cola? >> nothing, nothing. people say, you're crazy, i can't do this. i ask people to look at their finances, not just people making $20,000. i know people making six-figure salaries who are struggling, and if they lost their job tomorrow would be broke. so i'm saying cut it out. spend some time looking at your budget and what you're doing with your money, and, listen, all i'm talking about is con sum shn. i'm not telling you to leave your home or drop your kids off at a corner. people go nuts when i say this. just think about that in itself. i'm saying don't shop. don't use your credit. people freak out. what does that say? >> you are saying, don't use your atm card.

there was that mentality if you have cash, you can spend it. you are saying at least during the 21 days to kind of discipline yourself. know where you can spend your money. you can pay your bills, your mortgage, your rent. here they are, but you're not going to use your plastic in any way. you are not even going to window shop or browse on line because of the temptations. >> if your drive to work is past a mall, and that's your thing, take another route. the thing about the debit card is we think that's a great card. it's still plastic and studies show when you use plastic, debit or credit, you still spend more money than if you have cash. if you walk into the grocery store with $20, you are limited to that. if you have your debit card, you can spend more than what's in your account. that's overdraft and many people pay those fees. >> you are still spending more than you should? >> you are spending more. >> this single mom, you are putting her on a tight financial

diet. she is only allowed to spend money on her essentials. chef a 10-year-old son, correct? >> yes. >> let's take a listen to how challenging this might be. >> so, i lifted exactly the order you wanted to do, retirement, saving for college and not sure about a job. where does savings fit in there? do you have any savings. i can already tell the answer is no. >> i have some savings, but not as much as i know i need to have. >> do you have a budget? that would be a no? >> no, i don't. you know what, to be honest, if there's something that i want, i will probably just purchase it and figure out the rest later. >> that's probably very common, just figure it out later, how do i pay for it. >> that's right. we don't have a budget. no one wants to call it a budget. they call it a spending plan.

look, it's a budget. you have to know what's coming in and what's going out. if you don't have that plan, that budget, you won't be able to save or get rid of that debt. you won't know where your money is going. people just spend don't know they're spending. >> when it means not spending, where do you want people to put their money? your savings should go into that reserve, that emergency fund? are you wanting them to put it into savings for kids's college? where do you want it to go, any or all of those places? >> you dictate where you want the money to go. if you are behind in retirement, if are children, rug rats, i have three, you don't want them to graduate with a ton of debt. save what you can. get rid of that debt. there's an emergency fund and a life happens sfwund that's the money you pay for things that happen, your car breaks down, that kind of thing because if

you only have an emergency fund, you're going to dip into that, and if you lose your job, it won't be there. you know where your values are. i'm trying to get you to put your money where your values are. >> michelle singletary, with the washington post, we're going to see you more with this black in america special. we love to see you on the weekends as well. >> i hope people watch the special because i think they'll learn a lot about the families profiled and a lot about themselves. you're going on the fast, right? >> yeah. i will continue to fast, maybe more than 21 days. that's just the starting point, right? >> that's exactly right. the pulpit. it has joined the fight against the financial crisis. the black church fought for civil and human rights and now is waiving a war on debt. don't miss almighty debt, a

black in america special here on cnn airing thursday, october 21st, 9:00 p.m. mark your calendar. top stories right now, there are reports this morning that secret high-level talks are under way between the taliban and afghan government. the two sides are said to be trying to end the war. wall street, we're keeping a close eye on it. there is speculation that the dow jones could top the 11,000 mark but early trading has been slower following a weaker than expected jobs report. we are at 10,952. today the u.s. supreme court is expected to hear is a controversial case in privacy versus free speech involving the rights of church groups to protest outside military funerals. the group staged a demonstration at the 2006 funeral of marine lance corporal matthew snyder. the u.s. supreme court will be weighing in on that.

a new study says the members of the tea party movement tend to be christian conservatives and not libertarians. we'll go deeper into that survey with the lead author. e can last. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? good, how are you? [ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster. sure, i can download directions for you now. 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.

time now for our political update. our senior political correspondent mark preston is it at the desk in washington. >> there's been a lot of talk about president obama on the campaign trail. a lot of democrats don't want to see him. not in nevada or california. yesterday, two senior senators, barbara boxer from california, and the senate majority leader

from nevada both released it web videos that emphasized their ties to the president. the boxer video is over a minute and taken from a speech that the president gave on her behalf earlier this year saying she needs to be re-elected. the harry reid video is showing him texting back and forth with his wife and, in fact, the president interrupts his texting. so two senior democrats trying to tie themselves to president obama heading into the mid-terms. out in arizona, republicans are trying to emphasize those august 2009 town halls, very contentious with democrats, very good for republicans. that's when the health care issue exploded on the scene. out in arizona, where we have the democrat in the fight for her life, ann kirkpatrick, being challenged by a republican out there. republicans think they can take back the seat and the republicans have a new ad up showing a contentious town hall

kirkpatrick was at back in 2009. the tea party, we talk about their influence on politics, and there's a new survey showing that they tend to be christian conservatives, and, in fact, the survey says one in ten americans consider them services part of the tea party movements. these are people who like sarah palin and not president obama. we want to take a closer look at the poll and other findings from the tea party survey. joining us is robert p. jones, the founder and ceo of the public religion and research institute. >> thank you for having me. >> how is it the people with common denominators have found themselves supporting the same cause, supporting, perhaps, the same candidates? >> sure. one of the things that we did in the american values survey, which is a large survey of more

than 3,000 americans, is to take a hard look at the tea party. there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about the movement. now we have hard data. one of the most surprising things it turned up is the surprising overlap between the tea party movement, those who consider them services par of the tea party movement, and those who consider themselves part of the christian right, which has been around for a longer time on the republican side of politics. we found nearly half, 47%, of those who consider themselves part of the tea party also consider themselves part of the christian conservative movement. these are not just two separate groups that found common cause but two groups that are sharing largely the same membership. >> it's interesting because usually gravitating or associating yourself with a religious cause or mind is the set might mean that you might be more apt to want to talk about

social issues but the tea party movement has been attaching itself to economic issues, financial issues, so it seems like an oxymoron. >> we wanted to see if there's a gap between the rhetoric of the leadership and the people who are actually the rank and file who identify with the movement, and another one of the things -- well, we confirmed several things about the tea party movement, fox news, high favorability for sarah palin. one of the things you are pointing to is we looked into whether or not, for example, those who identify with the tea party had more of a libertarian view on social issues, and we actually found that they look much more like social conservatives than lib taerns on social issues. on the issue of abortion, nearly two-thirds of those who identify with the tea party say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and less than one in five who identify with the tea party

say that same-sex marriage should be legal. that's hardly -- >> these are issues that they are talking collectively publicly about? >> that's right. certainly, we see glen beck shig away from those issues but if you look away from the leadership and the issues where the hearts and minds of the people who are forming the ranks of this group, they look very much like cerebrsocial conserva >> very interesting. robert p. jones, thank you so much for your insight on this. >> thank you for having me. check out more about this survey on the cnn belief blog. that's at cnn.com/belief. we'll be right back in a moment. [ male announcer ] when it comes to energy bills,

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we talked about nasty weather in arizona.

it's gotten nastier. >> a number of other tornado warnings have been issued now, following the same track that the tornado that touched down just west of phoenix earlier this morning is taking. so if you live just west of phoenix or western parts of phoenix and also in the cottonwood area, south of phoenix, southwest of phoenix, north of sedona, remain in your home until further notice because these storms continue to development and train over one another. we do have reports from the tornado that touched down about an hour and a half ago in belmont, arizona, west of phoenix by about 15, 20 miles. those seven people were treated and released according to a national weather service employee. dangerous situation happening in arizona. we will continue to monitor it. right now, three tornado warnings out actively in that part of the state. >> thank you so much, rob marciano, appreciate it.

tony harris is coming up next in the newsroom. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands.