i'm such an underachiever. you have a great day. good to see you. good morning, everybody. live from studio 7. the big stories for tuesday, october 12th, a crucial military hearing opening today for suspected ft. hood shooter nidal hasan. it will determine whether he faces court-martial and the death penalty. we have followed this young man's story from the beginning. michael brewer set on fire one year ago today, now, as he celebrates his 16th birthday, he talks to cnn. >> countdown to election day, with marijuana on the ballot, we will show you how cash-strapped states can turn legal pot into a bonanza. i'm tony harris. those stories and your comments right here right now in the cnn newsroom. boy, oh, boy, the waiting is almost over for 33 chilean miners trapped one half mile under ground. the rescue shaft is ready.

hospitals and helicopters are on standby. karl penhaul is at the mine in chile. karl, before we bring anyone up from that mine, we have got to send a few people down. lift ton me, like i'm part of the process here. walk us through that process, if you would. >> reporter: absolutely, but i think you're no different from anybody else, tony. i think a lot of our viewers from across the world have been absorbed by this story from day one. i often get facebook messages or e-mails from individual families asking what's going on with the families. to bring you up to speed with what has to go on, before the first miner is brought to the surface, that phoenix capsule has to be lowered down four times with two rescue experts aboard and two paramedics, and they will check out the miners' health and determine the batting order. what we hear from our rescue

experts now is that the rescue operation could be brought forward a few hours, possibly eight hours from now, about an hour after dark here in the chilean desert, but as the preparations gather pace, of course, the pressure growing on the families. i want you to take a look at what they've been through. >> gloria. hallelujah. >> reporter: a prayer for the 33 miners. a a prayer for the success of the imminent rescue attempt. nellie s has faith her son is coming home at last. victor will be anxious to finally get out of that mine and be reunited with his family. as he comes out, he will be reborn, she says. down in camp hope, preparations are rushed to completion.

1,500 journalists from 39 countries scurry for last-minute details. the final countdown has begun. >> the whole process that they have lived has been pretty traumatic, so i think they're going to be a little bit excited but we have to wait and see. we are prepared for any contingency. >> reporter: engineers have welded steel pipes into place at the mouth of the rescue shaft to prevent rock falls, and on monday, rescuers dropped a phoenix capsule down for its first test run. [ applause ] the miners' families have a new hero, the t-130 drill that cut through half a mile of rock to reach the 33 men. >> we're happy and i'm about to see my son again.

i'm happy because that drill has worked a miracle, he says. now, the drill is pulling out, but the work is not yet over. >> until the last guy comes up, the job's not done. ♪ >> reporter: on this barren hillside, a miner's mother insists the men down below were not alone. they were 34 miners down there. the 33 were down there with the spirit of god, she says. ♪ hallelujah hallelujah whether through the powers of machines or the almighty, the miners' life or death struggle is nearly won. ♪ hallelujah hallelujah now, even though that rescue operation could finally begin in

less than eight hours from now, it still could take 15, 16 hours at the very least to get all 33 miners back to the surface, and the government is saying it could take anything up to 48 hours to get all of the miners out of the hole, and there's still, of course, fierce debate on who's going to be the first and who's going to be the last. >> karl, appreciate it so much. here it is right here. we replicated it. this is it. this is essentially the rescue shaft right here. i'm going to put rafael romo into this thing in a few minutes here and he'll talk us through the experience for the miners, who will climb into a shaft much like this and be lifted, spun, pulled to safety. could happen very, very soon. all right, we'll do that a little later in this story. for the first time, the

first human embryonic stem cell trial is under way in atlanta. the first patient recently suffered a spinal cord injury. the trial will discover whether the therapy, and that's what it is at this point -- the therapy is safe and can be used to regenerate spinal cell growth. the cells come from leftover embryos at a federal clinic. no federal funds were used in this research. new york police arrest a ninth suspect in the all-night attack on gay men. the victims were beaten and pipes and sodomized way plunger and sliced with a box cutter. one of the victims speaking out doesn't want his identity revealed. >> they put me in a metal chair and asked me, are you gay? i was like, no. they said, you did this, i said yeah. they started hitting me. so they were beating me.

i was there for about an hour. >> man, a messy border incident in arizona to tell you about at that crews in knowing gal less are trying to plug a sewer line. drug smugglers may have damaged it while trying to smuggle drugs in. it carries as auch as 10 million gallons of raw sewage a day. the military procedure today will determine whether nadal hasan is court-martialed for the deaths of 13 people. chris lawrence is at ft. hood this morning. chris, in today's session, in today's hearing -- first of all, is it under way and give us more of what's expected out of today's hearing. >> reporter: tony, it was supposed to be about an hour, hour and a half into the hearing already bit it's been delayed. still hasn't gotten started yet, although we do know major nidal hasan is in the courtroom right

now. as to what we're going to hear, this is going to be the prosecutor's chance to lay out what happened. they're going to make the argument that he went out and bought the weapons, went to a local gun range to practice his aim and carefully planned the attack. they are not likely to get into the why, his motivations, alleged links to radical islamic groups overseas. they will leave that if and when they get to the actual court-martial. a lot of victims' families will be there, and victims, survivors of the attack, will be there as well. this will be their first time in the same room with major nidal hasan since the shooting and they'll go step by step about what they saw, heard and felt when they were involved in that shooting. >> chris lawrence for us following developments ft. hood, texas. thank you. marijuana on the ballot. in just 21 days the so-called

evil weed could become a major cash crop. we will look at the economic impact of what could become a potential new industry. rob marciano is tracking a new storm. hurricane paula, which quickly developed yesterday isn't heading toward the u.s. we'll track it later in the program. sure i'd like to diversify my workforce, i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place.

[ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

we've got a news conference going on live right now in chile, and what we're going to do -- obviously, we're going to get some kind of an update on the progress that's being made just ahead of the actual operation to begin to extract those miners from that mine. so what we will do is monitor this for you, and if there's any new development here, any news, we will, of course, turn that around for you. >> voters head to the polls three weeks from the day and the countdown to the elections -- there are political debates tonight in connecticut, ohio, and california. we are covering them for you on cnn. tomorrow night, our wolf blitzer hosts the debate for the u.s. senate seat in delaware,

christine o'donnell and chris coons. speaking of the elections, marijuana is on four state ballots this november, and california voters will decide on prop 19 which would allow small amounts are marijuana on a person to be legal and taxable. in south dakota and arizona, the issue is legalizing marijuana to treat various medical conditions, and in oregon, where medical marijuana has been legal for sometime now, the question before voters, should the sale of medical marijuana be available through dispensaries. over the next couple of days here, cnn newsroom will take a look at the marijuana argument as it stands today and ask, what yes votes could mean for americans in the future. cashing in on selling pot. if americans vote yes in 21 days, selling marijuana could become a budding industry. josh levs now taking a look at how legalizing weed may affect

the economy. >> a big part of the battle surrounding the idea of legalizing marijuana is the financial impact, and people have put a lot of figures out there about what would happen. this a big unknown, actual legalization, not just decriminalization or medical marijuana. let's look at some of the key figures being floated in the debate. this is from the kato institute. this group, they put out a report and says that it would save about $8.7 billion when you put together reduced expenses on enforcement, legal sales and tax revenues for the government each year. here's another one. take a look at this, from bill piper of the drug policy alliance. he wrote a commentary for cnn.com saying legalization would reduce the mass incarceration of drug arouoffen. joe kleine at time.com wrote manage, saying nearly half of drug arrests in this country are marijuana related.

one more i want to tell you about. since it's california we're talking about, they have a board of equalization. they say themselves that this estimate is based on a number of guesses. they say pot and marijuana is such a popular crop that the state could raise $1.4 billion through levees and taxes. let's take a look at the other side. some people look at these figures and say, no, they paint way to rosy a picture. the consequences of legalizing marijuana could, economically devastating. two things about that i want to show you, a quote from kevin sabot. he wrote this commentary in los angeles times. he said accidents would increase, health care costs rise and productivity suffer. the current director of the office of national drug control policy said in a speech earlier this year, a quote, the social costs would outweigh any possible tax that could be leveed. illegal drugs already cost 180

billion a year if health care, lost productivity, crime and other expenditures, and that number would only increase. those are some of the key points on both sides at we look at this debate on how legalizing pot might affect the economy. coming up next hour, saying no to the war on drugs. a former drug turning his back on what he calls an unwinnable war. we are looking at a growing number of law enforcement officers saying the war just isn't worth it.

one year ago, teenager michael brewer was deliberately set on fire by his own friends. he nearly died, but this week, the south florida boy and his family celebrated a milestone and cnn's john zarrella was there. >> reporter: tony, it has been a year since an argument with friends over a video game left 15-year-old michael brewer with burns over 65% of his body. he's come a long way, but he's still bitter.

a 16-year-old boy's birthday party at a retirement home would seem a bill unusual. ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: but not so unusual for michael brewer. first, look closely at michael's arm. you can see the scar tissue. he had been burned over 65% of his body. >> all i remember is having nightmares. >> reporter: a year ago, the day after his 15th birthday, brewer was dowsed with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by three boys who had all been his friends, close friends. the incident supposedly sparked after brewer refused to pay one of the boys 40 bucks for a video game. at his party, michael brewer was more accessible, open, than at any time in the past year. his emotions are still raw, his answers candid. >> i think they're just jerks and they got what they deserved.

>> reporter: you would like to deal with the problem yourself? >> yes, but it's over and done with and they're getting what they deserved. so let them handle them. >> reporter: are you prepared to testify against them if you have to? >> yes, i am. >> reporter: are you still bitter about it, angry, bitter, obviously? >> yeah, i am a little bit, but i'm taking therapy to get rid of the anger and stuff. >> i tell him, mike, anything ever bothers you i'm here, talk to me, talk to your mother. >> reporter: the boys in their mid teens were charged as adult. matthew, jesus and denver all are in jail facing attempted murder. jarvis' attorney had no comment, and the other two haven't returned cnn's calls. for those boys the future uncertain. for michael, his is one. his birthday cake was designed like a football field with his favorite team, the new york

giants, written on it. there was a helmet filled with money donated by the senior citizens, and a picture of eli manning. they befriended michael, making him a part of their families after first hearing their story. >> he wanted to come here for his birthday. >> reporter: that has to make you feel good? >> absolutely. he's very special to us. we're just thrilled. >> reporter: michael says he's planning on going to college and hopes one day to be an fbi agent. right after the attack, there was genuine concern that michael brew are might not live. he was on a ventilator, and went through multiple skin grafts and surgeries. today, the physical therapy is over, he goes to a new school and has new friends. things are good. tony. >> oh, boy, john, what a good story. i got to tell you, i spoke with michael's mother a year ago a week after he son was so badly injured. your emotions as you watch your

son, you beloved in a hospital bed recovering from these horrific injuries? >> it's been a roller coaster ride. the fear of the unknown. watching him swell with the edema, and watching the swelling come down. the first time he spoke to us was joyous, but watching him struggle every single day -- i'm proud of him. i'm very, very proud of him because i don't think i could do what he's doing. it's incredibly painful. >> again, michael is doing much better a year later. happy 16th birthday. >> and we are monitoring a news conference out of chile happening right now. the latest here, rescuers hope to begin hoisting 33 trapped miners to the surface tonight. the rescue capsule completed a dry run without any problems.

crews are awaiting for concrete supporting the winch system to harden. in hungary, workers are working to finish three backup dams today to keep the remaining sludge at an aluminum plant contained. the owner is arrested and facing criminal charges over the environmental disaster. live pictures of a somber maef ceremony today in norfolk, virginia, on the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the uss cole. 17 sailors were killed when suicide bombers attacked the ship in the port of yemen. you won't want to miss this. cnn's very own replica of the capsule that will be used to rescue the miners. we're going to be rafael romo in that capsule and he will attempt to tell you what the experience

might be like. he's not a miner, so he won't know specifically. [ male announcer ] this is rachel, a busy mom. she starts at dawn and so does her back pain. that's two pills foa four hour drive. the drive is done. so it's a day of games and two more pills. the games are over, her pain is back, that's two more pills. and when she's finally home, but hang on, just two aleve can keep back pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rachel, who chose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

♪ the countdown is on to bring up the 33 trapped chilean miners. it's going to be a bumpy ride and a tight squeeze in the rescue capsule. check this out. we created our own replica here. rafael romo is here to talk us through what the experience is likely to be like for the miners, who we understand a moment ago, getting an update from the news conference going on in chile, that the process of hoisting them to surface will begin tonight. what's the experience going to

be like? >> first of all, they are going to be put on a liquid diet to reduce the possibility of nausea. that starts in possibly a few hours or minutes because they want to make sure that there is no possibility of that. second, they're going to lower down before any miner can come out -- they're going toious the capsule to lower a paramedic and also a rescue expert. >> has that happened already? >> it hasn't happened yet. it's expected to begin at 11 p.m. eastern tonight. once they are inside the capsule, you can have a pretty good idea of how big this thing is. it's only 21 inches, 21 1/2 inches in diameter and 6'4" in height. >> that's enough room. you seem reasonably comfortable. >> you have to remember they will be wearing communications equipment that will allow them to communicate with the rescuers on the surface. >> good, good.

>> also, they have to wear a belt that is going to constantly monitor their vital signs to make sure they are doing okay. >> that's terrific. yeah, yeah. >> exactly. >> wait a minute, how do you feel in there? >> it's a little too tight to be honest with you. i'm 5'9 1/2" officially 5'10" i'm touching both sides of the capsule. >> you are 5'9". >> how much do you weigh? >> 180. >> dop a couple of lbs. >> some have lost weight. their diet has been constantly monitored to make sure that they

had the right dimensions to get in this thing. >> how long of a trip is this? >> it should take 10 to 15 minutes fr. from the mine to the surface it's about 1047 feet. >> that's tight. >> that's a little tight, but i'm a strapping man. i'm 6'1", 181 or so. will it be made out of these materials? this is plastic. >> no, no. it's all steel, very heavy, very sturdy, designed to resist any sort of movement or shaking that there may be. >> they're miners, and so claustrophobia, you would think, wouldn't be an issue. >> it should not be an issue. >> but -- >> but they have been under ground for so long. >> and the operation begins, what do you think, tonight? >> we were just monitoring the press conference, expected to begin at 11:00 eastern. the mining minister says it may

take as long as 48 hours, a full two days, to get all 33 miners out of there. >> what's the expectation? i know there is concern about s sunlight when they reach the surface. will they be taken to a hospital? >> there's a field hospital for several tests, take about two hours to make sure their vitals are okay and akaroe they will be flown in a helicopter to the nearest main hospital in the area, which is about a 15-minute helicopter ride from where they are. >> we're going to a break. we are back in a moment. you are in the cnn newsroom and in the capsule. >> tight quarters.

we've got activity in the tropics, but before we get to that, rob, did you see the capsule there? >> yeah. i really didn't want you to get out, actually. you look so good in there. it felts you so well, it was, you know -- but now that you're like a caterpillar that's emerged from a cocoon into a butterfly. >> my only point in mentioning this was to say siv's got fairly broad shoulders. you have broad shoulders. that would be a really tight fit for you. if any of those miners are in the six-foot range, that's going to be a tricky ride coming out for a half a mile or so. >> when you got in there, it put

things in context. raphael is a little smaller than me. you are a little broader than i am. we should concentrate on the tropics. >> we mentioned this thing was fathering up yesterday, but it was a depression or a storm by this time yesterday. anyway, it blue up from an advisory to a hurricane extremely fast, as fast as i've seen as a matter of fact. this is a category one hurricane, not very big, and the winds don't go out very far but it's in very warm waters, and we do expect some strengthening as it moves twoz cos medical. keep it at a category one status towards cancun and rake the beaches of cancun and the eastern yucatan over the next couple of days. we don't know what's going to happen after that. if it gets to be really strong it could go up north towards florida or if it stays weak, it could stay here and die. we hope for that scenario. no guarantee.

bottom line is keep it tuned here because it will be ever-changing. record heat yesterday from louisville, kentucky, to d.c., to atlanta, to san francisco. from coast to coast, we saw record-breaking heat. we'll see similar numbers today in spotsbut not quite as widespread. look at this, from brooklyn. >> come on? >> hail yes, all over the place. check is out, on the concrete, on the grass. in some cases it was an inch in diameter. a crazy evening in the big apple. >> big careful, doctor. if you go, we all go with you. we're a team. >> i pronounced it properly. >> say it again. hail, h-a-i-l. >> new developments in the testing of stem cells.

we're all over this. back in a moment. [ male announcer ] the financial headlines can be unsettling. but what if there were a different story? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis. when some lost their way, this company led the way. by protecting clients

and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪ through power tools. ♪ we're for higher rpms at lower prices. we're for lights, lasers, and recycling the old so you can fire up the new. we're lowering the cost of serious power... more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get a ryobi 12volt lithium-ion drill for the new lower price of just 69 bucks. is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another...

and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere. let's keep it moving. ♪ of some of the annoying symptoms menopause brings. go introducing one a day menopause formula. the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes. new one a day menopause formula. stung developments here. a patient in atlanta is the first to receive stem cells. joining me now to talk about what these means going forward. for all americans that are

paralyzed, cnn producer miriam falco. we are getting e-mails on this. this is clearly a big story. now, i don't pretend to be a doctor here, but i'm reading through the e-mails from your unit. explain to us why this is such a significant a breakthrough. >> well, it's significant because for years, for over a decade we have been hearing about embryonic stem cells, and the studies were done in animals, and less than a decade after we got the federal funding started, we now have a clinical trial in humans. the first person has been given something that's been derived and developed from human embryonic stem cells. up until now we said we could paralyze mice and make them walk again and do all these things we embryonic stem cells, cells that are taken from an embryo and

have the potential to turn into anything in the body and now we have taken it from the animal model to the human model. that's a huge step. >> this is a person, this first patient, recently suffered a spinal cord injury, right? >> right. >> and is now a paraplegic? >> this person in order to be in the clinical trial had to suffer an injury to the spinal cord. >> recently? >> no longer than 14 days, a new injury, and then they had to be paralyzed from the chest on down. so they would have had to suffer an injury between the t-3 and t-10. >> no bowel functions? >> or bladder and more importantly, no hope of getting better through therapy. that's called a complete

thoracic spinal cord injury. >> these are embryonic stem cells that have been reprogrammed? >> correct. when an embryo is formed, within the first four to five days, these stem cells form, and those are the cells that turn into all of the cells in the body that make the bones, make the blood, make all of the different parts of the body. they are blank slates. >> yes. >> they take them out of the embryo, and by taking them out, it destroys the embryo. that's where the controversy is. they don't want to stick those stem cells into the body because it could turn into anything. >> sure. ear, nose, whatever? >> right. i'm not a doctor or scientist, but we wouldn't have to have an ear growing in your spine. so they specifically coax these cells to turn into sells that cover up the pars of the nerve that send signals to the body

that say, move your leg, frirngs but these cells still have the ability to grow a little bit. so once they're put in the body, they're going to divide six to ten times and build a protective sheath around the injured parts of the spinal cord. >> i have an electrical cord. i have an outer layer of the cord that protects all of the important stuff inside, right? that carries the electrical current, right? >> right. >> that outer sheath has been damaged and now i need to recreate that? >> exactly. that's what these cells are meant to do. in animal studies, it has worked. the question is does it work in humans? >> phase one? >> phase one, first patient all they are looking for officially is safety. the patient isn't suffering because these foreign cells have been put in them, but they are looking for -- >> some efficacy, right? >> exactly. >> wow, big dealy sounds like

it? >> big deal. a big step forward. >> miriam, you did well here. that was good. thank you very much. back in a moment. you're in the cnn newsroom.

kathleen parker and elliott spitzer of "parker spitzer" are talking about the shocking new

documentary that sparked the epic recession. >> what i loved about this movie is it helped me understand the complex series of events but what struck me is you can't blame only republicans or just democrats either. you can't pin it on president bush or clinton. it didn't matter who controlled congress. it is a story of run-away greed of a small number of people mao nearly destroyed our financial system. >> i would say it was president bush and president clinton, the folks around him, the fed, the sec, everybody bought into this notion that wall street could make everybody rich, but you know what they did, they made themselves rich. we are poor. this was one big ponzi scheme because we had to bail them out, and they kept all of the money and gave nothing back to us. that is what is outrageous. >> that was all about the documentary "inside job." tonight, the director of

"waiting on supman" will be on "parker spitzer."

21 days until voters, you, decide control of congress. time for your cnn proehl update. mork preston, one member of the best political group on television. what's crossing right now? >> good to see you. we talk a lot about republicans having a shot of taking back the

house of representatives, but what about the senate? one of the races that they would have to win is up in wisinco it's being held by russ feingold, who was first elected in 1992. his opponent up there is a businessman, a very successful businessman by the name of ron johnson. the polling shows that johnson has a slight lead over feingold. last night the two clashed in a debate up in wisconsin. johnson hit home on the health care bill and said, again, he is an independent-minded person, something we heard a lot from candidates over the past couple of months, years. feingold in sis defense said that johnson has offered no solutions at all to the problem. so, a very tough race up there for russ feingold if he is to win re-election. down in florida, one of the house races that democrats are trying to hold on to is held by a gentleman by the name of alan gracen and had a famous quote on the house of representatives,

said if you get sick, die quickly. he was talking about republicans, saying that was there health care plan. he is a top target of republicans. his candidate is trying to take him out, dan webster, one of our top cnn 100 races. you can see more of that on cnnpolitics.com. condoleezza rice has a memoir out, talking about growing up in the segregated south in alabama, and how her parents didn't really allow her to get caught up in all of that, regarding the discrimination she faced. she never learned how to swim. the reason why -- she wasn't allowed to swim in public swimming pools with whites. she talked about her parents in this memoir. talking about her mother, she said even if i could not have a hamburger at the woolworth's counter, my mom taught me i could be the president of the united states. interestingly enough, a lot of republicans would like to see

her run for president in 2012. we're putting together a hot segment at the top of the noon show, isn't that correct, with you and dana bash? looking forward to it, central to damp crazy. should be a good discussion. >> mark, thank you. your next political update in an hour. go to cnnpolitics.com for your latest political news. akfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. [ animals calling ] ♪ [ pop ] [ man ] ♪ well, we get along ♪ yeah, we really do - ♪ and there's nothing wrong - [ bird squawks ] ♪ with what i feel for you

♪ i could hang around till the leaves are brown and the summer's gone ♪ [ announcer ] when you're not worried about potential dangers, the world can be a far less threatening place. take the scary out of life with travelers insurance... and see the world in a different light. 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! [ male announcer ] fiber one chewy bars. cardboard no. delicious yes.

let us get you to your source for financial news, 20 highest paying job, anesthesiologist. a good living taking home a median income of $290,000 a year. that's good stuff. 100 best jobs in america. most meaningful jobs, clip these

nails. cnnmoney.com. let's take a look at stocks. new york stock exchange. we've been selling most of the morning. i think we were off of session lows down 33 points. the nasdaq, we have a mixed day trading in positive territory. the nasdaq is right now up two. this past recession was the longest and deepest since world war ii but think i you've known that and known that for awhile now, right? we are getting new word that it was even deeper than we thought. alan is on the floor and you're telling me it was worse than we thought? >> yeah, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it was. it turns out the department of labor underestimated the number of job losses we had during the recession. right now the government estimates that we lost 2.2 million jobs between april of last year and march of this year. but if you look in the fine print of friday's jobs report, you find out there were another

366,000 jobs that were lost. this is their revision. you know, but there is a silver lining to this even though that is a big number. last year's revision was even bigger, it showed there were an additional 902,000 jobs that were lost. tony? >> okay, alison, we flat ran out of time but i want more and we'll have a further conversation, alison kosik in the next hour. more banks are suspending foreclosures because of questions surrounding the process. i will talk with an expert about what this means for homeowners who are currently underwater and a man who prosecuted par juana crimes for years has a change of heart in the marijuana legalization debate. we're back in a moment. ♪ ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪

the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world. anople really lover, i jugot ae our claimservice. gecko:speciallthe auto repair xpress. repairs are fast and they're guaranteed for as long as you is thisyyourcphone?ey, th! gecko: yeah, 'course. sswhere do you po you...carry... for as long as you is thisyyourcphone?ey, th! waitress: here you go. boss: thanks gecko: no, no i got it, sir. ncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. 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. but the love i have for strawberry shortcake, threw a curve at my curves. so i threw it right back... with yoplait light -- around 100 calories. now i love my curves in all the right places. ♪ personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke.

you have never seen it before. alina cho is one of the few foreign journalists allowed in. she shows us the average north korean at play amid politics and propaganda. >> reporter: your eyes are not deceiving you. this is communist north korea. its newest attraction, this western-style amusement park and it's packed. there is a ride called power surge and take a look inside the food court. you'll find western fare. this family comes here often to unwind. he says "words cannot explain the excitement after working so hard." general kim jong-il has given us this park to relax. we really love it. if north korea is stalin's last playground, this is its version of disneyland.

not far at this outdoor food market, they're serving up more traditional fare like soybean pancakes and people are paying like their enemy neighbors in south korea, north korean currency is also called the yuan but this features a hammer and sickle. 100 north korean yuan equals 1 u.s. dollar. that will get you two sweet potatoes, one ticket to the amusement park or a hot dog at the food court. in the two years since i last visited north korea, i've noticed some changes. for one, more average north koreans speak english. do you like coming here? >> yes, very much. >> reporter: for the first time there are traffic lights installed this spring. most notably in a country closed off to the rest of the world, north koreans are now talking on cell phones. this girl says everyone in her family has one but international calls are forbidden.

word is punishable by death. in that way, and others, time stands still. we can only see what our government minders want us to see and undeniably it's north korea's best face. many north koreans live in poverty. there are very few cars. in this city there's no such thing as a traffic jam. this is pyongyang's subway station, one of two main hubs and one of the main forms of transportation for average north koreans. many don't own bikes let alone cars, so this is how they get from point "a" to point "b" and, and today the trains appear to be running on time. and many travel on foot. on the streets there are no ads, just propaganda. and listen. they not only see the message, they hear it. north korean propaganda songs blaring across pyongyang.

so look at what we happened upon here. we're in the middle of week-long celebrations here in north korea commemorating the 65th anniversary of the workers party of north korea. this is how people are celebrating. they're literally dancing in the streets. it's possible they're also celebrating the choice of their next leader. kim jong-un, son of kim jong-il. the largest question remains will a change at the top affect the average citizen? for now, north korea remains so. alina cho, cnn, north korea. i'm tony harris. top of the your in "the newsroom" where anything can happen. here are some of the people behind the top stories. a huge home foreclosure mess with families caught in the middle. forging dates and significants to kick homeowners out more

quickly. cnn investigates. >> it's less about the truth and more about how fast we can get the property foreclosed on. >> just 21 days until the election, millions of dollars pouring into the races, but just where is some of that money coming from? who is paying to influence your vote? the answers are really hard to find and you are online right now. we are too. chad myers is following what's hot. >> i'm glad josh is off. now i get to do this thing here. 101-year-old woman becomes a citizen with a document that is 69 years old. that's trending. well's have more coming up. go to cnn.com. all the stories are trending over there on the right side. >> good stuff. talk to you in a couple of minutes. our lead story right now, another brick could soon fall in the foreclosure fiasco, several leading lenders have suspended them because mortgage documents were signed without being properly reviewed. in a cnn exclusive allan chernoff reports signatures are not the only things in question.

>> oh, man. >> reporter: this woman bought her dream home four years ago. hard times hit and she fell into default on her mortgage. this summer she declared bankruptcy hoping to head off foreclosure. how important is it to hold on to this home? >> outside of my children and my family, there's nothing more important. >> reporter: the threat of a foreclosureososlo f citi it a division of citigroup. even though the company doesn't own her home. fannie mae owns it along with millions of other home loans. yet fannie mae's name is nowhere to be found on this document citi mortgage produced in the bankruptcy case. instead, the document states the mortgage was assigned to citi mortgage. her lawyer says the bankers are not following proper legal procedure. >> this is an improperly assignment of mortgage meant to

shortcut the system. it's less about the truth and more about how fast can we get this foreclosed on. >> reporter: citi mortgage which collects her monthly payments as the servicer of the loan says there's no foul play here. it's normal procedure and fannie mae agrees pointing out this is how it operates all the time. citi mortgage owned it for only a couple months back in 2006. the original lender home loans center sole the mortgage to citi mortgage on november 3rd, 2006. the very day she borrowed the money. less than two months later citi mortgage turned around and sold it as an investment to fannie mae on january 1st 2007. yet the assignment of mortgage document stating citi mortgage still owns it is dated june 24th, 2010. that information comes from a virginia company owned by citi

mortgage, fannie mae and other big mortgage players. mers. when banks sell mortgages they use mers as an electronic repository to keep track of the real owners. mers has 64 million loans in its date that base. if a bank wants to foreclose it simply turns to mers for the necessary documentation. much faster and cheaper than retrieving local title records. but the mers papers like those for her home sometimes don't reflect the true status of the mortgage. >> we're seeing forgeries. we're seeing backdatings. we're seeing post datings. largely because lenders are scrambling to come up with a chain of title that mers was ill equipped from its inception to provide. >> mers says it provides clarity, efficiency, transparency to the housing finance system, indeed, citi

mortgage says it relies on mers' data. but increasingly lawyers for homeowners are challenging the way that mers operates. tony? >> so, allan if she is delinquent on her payments, the question is can she ultimately win here? >> well, she certainly can delay foreclosure. this is an interesting legal tactic and it could certainly put off foreclosure. can she win ultimately? it's all going to depend on whether or not her lawyer can actually prove that these documents we've talked about that these documents are fraudulent. >> is this a potential approach for others in this foreclosure squeeze to pursue? >> indeed, it is. more and more attorneys are taking this tact and there have been some state cases where supreme courts in some states including kansas, arkansas, have actually ruled against mers so

have suffered a few legal defeats, have plenty of victories but see a chink in the armer, these attorneys do and are pursuing it aggressively. >> alan, chernoff, appreciate it. i want to bring in tammy luby. she is a senior writer for cnnmoney.com. you've indicated that we can't move past this housing crisis unless foreclosures continue. explain that, please. >> yeah, everyone thinks that foreclosures are the new "f" word but they are a necessary part of the system. the housing market needs to be able to clear these vacant properties. they're abandoned. they look terrible. bringing down the housing values of all the people around them. so we need to be able to have foreclosures to clear out the system and move on from this crisis. >> so what's the best outcome for delinquent borrowers? >> i'm sorry? >> what's the best outcome for delinquent borrowers here then? >> well, what this might be able to do is it may be able to

pressure the banks to give more modifications and more, you know, principal reductions that have been resistant to do so some borrowers who can legitimately pay their loan, they can actually, you know, get some assistance here. but most people, look, if you're not paying, you know, the woman in allan's story is an unfortunate case but if she can't afford to pay her mortgage, what is she going to do? how will she be able to pay going forward? >> it's a fair point. tammy, appreciate it. thank you. 68 days trapped underground and if all goes as planned, 33 chilean miners will be back above ground tomorrow or soon after. our karl penhaul is at the mine in chile. karl, good to see you again. ha has to happen before officials start bringing the miners up? >> reporter: well, that's what we've all been asking. i've got some answers to those questions now for you because just a few moments before we came to air, rescue officials were giving as the daily news

conference, so first question up to the mines minister, we're asking when will this begin? we've been hearing all morning the time lines have been te telescoped and first extraction could happen sooner rather than later. let's listen to what he had to say on that one. >> we hope to finish today, tuesday. which is day 69 since our miners got trapped. we're really working as fast ab possible to get the miners out. >> reporter: now when he says finish there let's not misunderstand that. what he means is the preparations will be finished well before the end of today and the actual extraction process will start today. because remember yesterday when we were talking, we were talking that the extraction may not start before midnight tonight.

now it looks like extraction could start as early as possibly 8:00 p.m. local time and that makes it 7:00 p.m. eastern time and what the mines minister said he hopes by midnight to have at least the first miner up on the surface. now, of course, the process of when the phoenix capsule is down in that mine it's only going to take about 10 to 15 minutes for each miner to come to the surface. but the whole possess of lowering the kaup soul, loading the miner aboard, strapping him in, all that will take an hour so the rescue officials are calculating one hour per miner and thus the total rescue operation of about 33 hours. they arary calculating one hour per miner and 33 hours once it kicks off so it will be long but of course as each comes up they'll have all the safety

measures strapped in with a harness and have a hard hat on just to make sure there are no rock falls or don't get damaged by debris that makes its way into the capsule and get an enriched oxygen mixture taped to an oxygen mask they'll's wear inside the cage also they're going to wear dark glasses. even if they come out during the nighttime there are a lot of bright lights. not to mention if they come out in the daylight, doctors say one of the main risks if these miners are exposed to bright sunlight like that they could suffer retinal damage, all measures being taken to combat that, as well, tony. >> so, karl, if i'm a miner coming up, taking that 15-minute trip up to the surface, i would like to be able to be in constant communication with the folks on the surface. is that going to be possible?

>> reporter: absolutely. if they feel panic or sanction site sitety or anxiety, the rescuers want to know that. that's why it's important they stay conscious and having the oxygen mixture fed to them so they don't get dizzy or faint. >> one more, karl. i want to affix this time line as best we can right here. so we could have the first extraction of the first miner by 8:00 p.m. local time, 7:00 eastern time? that process could actually begin? >> reporter: i would say that that is when the process is going to begin, but, remember, before the first miner comes up, four rescue workers have to go down, those are two rescue experts and paramedics. they'll go down to keep a check on the miners to help them into

the cage age sort out the packing order. which miner comes up first. after that pro is complete and figure it out, if there are four rescue workers, that process could take an hour peres cue worker to get them down and so we're talking about four hours to get the rescue workers in and they, boom, then we could see the first extraction of the first miner but the officials say by midnight tonight our time that's 11 p.m. your time we could see the first miner back on the surface. >> this is exciting stuff. we've been following this story for months now. two months and a few days and we're really close. karl, terrific reporting. i can't wait to see this unfold later today and tonight and in the early morning hours. karl penhaul for us. really we've been watching this for a total of 68 days now. ever since august 5th when part of the san jose mine collapsed. as luck would have it all 33 miners were in a refuge shelter eating lunch at that exact moment but no one knew they were

alive until 17 days later. that's when rescuers who had been drilling boreholes found the note from the miners attached to one of their drill bits, amazing. equipment and experts came from all over the world to help drill deeper holes, three of them simultaneously and on saturday, the first one broke through. it has since been widened and reinforced and now it is ready for rescue. late tonight, early tomorrow. we are back in a moment with our random moment of the day. you're in the "cnn newsroom." about eggland's best eggs. now, in addition to the taste and nutrition you and your family love, eggland's best will proudly be displaying its support for susan g. komen for the cure®, the world's largest breast cancer organization, in its promise to end breast cancer forever. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. and a greater commitment to what matters. because part of being the best is doing good.

♪ was complicated, with a series of stepped altitude changes. [ air traffic controller ] okay, 245, proceed to your next cleared altitude. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] today, truecourse flight management systems from ge allow for fuel savings, lower emissions and less noise... ♪ ...making the old way of doing things... [ air traffic controller ] 245, you are cleared to land. [ male announcer ] ...seem less than graceful. ♪

maybe it's bad karma or something in the water. watch the random moment of the day. during a philadelphia rally a hard-backed books sails past president obama's head during a rally. america, come on here. he didn't seem to notice. no angry voter here. just a budding author who wanted mr. obama to read his book. the secret service suggests a different pitch next time. at the same event, this joker decides it would be a good idea to streak past the president. the man says he showed the full monty to win a million dollar internet challenge. did the president get an eyeful? the white house isn't saying. america, come on. the random moment of the day smells a cover-up.

set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere. let's keep it moving. ♪ exactly three weeks to the midterm elections and tens of millions of dollars are flowing into ads on these final critical

days before voters start casting ballots. the money is from outside groups trying to sway your group. who are these secret sources? two members of the best political team on television are on this story. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash and senior political editor mark preston is at our political desk in washington. now, first, let's watch dana's report and then we will dig deeper on the other side. >> we're doing far more -- >> reporter: embattled 14 i've term democrat rick bauscher said he never had an election enemy he facing right now. not his opponent. a third party republican group running this ad. >> boucher has failed to protect our jobs. now it's time rick boucher loses his. americans for job security is responsible for the content. >> reporter: americans for job security is responsible. you know who they are? >> we have no idea who these

individuals are. this could be a foreign entity. it could be someone who has a corporate identity in the united states. it could be a very wealthy individual who has some grudge against me. >> reporter: americas for job security is one of those outside group likely benefits from a supreme court decision on free speech grounds said corporations can spend unlimited money to promote or defeat candidates. it does have this website which says it promotes free market ideas and its more than 1,000 members are businesses, business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the country. but also bluntly states it won't disclose donors because too often politicians or the media define an organization or message not by the merits of the argument but rather by the perception of the people associated with it. republican sources say americans for job security only has one full-time employee. steve demora whose offices are right across the river in alexandria, virginia. we left multiple messages for him and never heard back so we

came here to his office. knocked on the door, we were told he wasn't there. >> because of the type of group that they are, you don't know if that is one american for job security, a million americans for job security. >> reporter: what we do know is that americans for job security has spent nearly $8 million against democratic candidates nationwide and overall conservative outside groups have already spent $108 million. liberal groups, 69 million. tim phillips with americans for prosperity, another gop group, did talk to us. it's been singled out by the president. >> even though they're posing as nonprofit groups with names like americans for prosperity -- >> reporter: by the time we reach election day how much will you have spent. >> around $35 million. >> reporter: that money funds ads like this. >> to small businesses, betsey markey is the same as nancy po least cyst. >> reporter: the texas billionaire koch brothers give

significant dollars besides them, who knows? >> most of it is private individuals. we're glad to have their support. we will aprotect your privacy, we tell them, as the law allows us to do. >> reporter: and a key thing to remember. it is legal for these groups to spend tens of millions to affect elections without anyone know who is funding them. the supreme court said that congress should fix it. democrats had legislation to did that. it was blocked in the senate, but, tony, you know, we focus in this piece on republican outside groups. it is important to note that democrats are hitting gop candidates too. they're not as well funded but they're out there and we'll take a look at that in our next story. >> dane nashgs i winter to you take the lead on this and want you to work mark in on this, as well. would you explain to everyone particularly folks outside the beltway why this issue is starting to pick up and gain so much traction? >> reporter: really the primary reason why we're hearing so much about it is because democrats

have made this a campaign issue. from the president on down, we have been hearing about it more and more from them saying that these republican shadowy groups are out there spending unlimited dollars. i will tell you in talking privately to many dids the reason they're doing that is because they are being outspent and they're very worried about it. they're also hoping the more they talk about it the more they hope democratic donors will pony up and help their candidates. so that's the reason why we're hearing so much about it. but it is a huge thing. the spending is enormous this year and outside groups especially in some of the most competitive senate races are spending more than the candidates themselves. >> mark, i know you've got a couple thoughts on this, as well. >> yeah, you know, tony, i mean, look, why we've seen republicans use these outside groups so effectively as dana's piece shows is because democrats control congress and the white house and are expected to raise tons of money and they've done very well, so we haven't seen

the democratic groups really rise to that level. but these outside groups play a very important role in an election. you know, tony, just in the last 60 days, there has been $53 million spent on ads by outside groups. now, 89% of those ads have been negative. now, evan tracey, our analyst on political television commercials tells us, look, it makes sense because the job of these groups are to be disruptive, to be negative and to allow candidates to be able to talk in more positive messages and as dana points out, the majority of money is there to benefit republicans. >> mark, is there any evidence to substantiate some of the claims that are floating around this political season that suggest that there are foreign companies, corporations investing in these third party groups in a way to influence this election cycle? >> tony, a major talking point

right now by the president, by the vice president, by democrats as dana had said just earlier they're going out there saying that the chamber of commerce is accepting money. they have these entities set up overseas and, in fact, what democrats are saying is the chamber of commerce which is spending a lot of money on this election needs to prove that this foreign money is not influencing the election. now, there's no proof at all except that democrats say they want disclosure and the chamber of commerce based upon the law does mott have to disclose. i should say for what the chamber of commerce says, look, we're not doing anything wrong. we're not usie ining any of thi foreign money. while the democrats are saying it they've offered no evidence. >> dana, one last one for you. why is the president, president obama taking this one on? why aren't, you know, some of his foot soldiers fighting this one out? >> reporter: they have been. they have been, but the president has something that they don't have and that is the bully pulpit. i can tell you, tony, talking to

democratic lawmakers, other democratic strategists for months leading up to this point they were so frustrated that the president wasn't doing this enough, that it wasn't political enough or rolling up his sleeves and fighting the fight for the party enough for them so they are very, very happy that he is out there. they wish that he would do it more a la bill clinton perhaps. on the substance of this particular fight, look, this is one of the major democratic talking points right now so they say if this is going to be our fight let's have the president be the mouthpiece on it. >> dana, appreciate it. mark, good stuff to both of you. thank you both. a quick programming note tomorrow night cnn's wolf blitzer hosts the debate for the u.s. senate seat in delaware. christine o'donnell versus democrat chris coons at 7:30 eastern right here on cnn. you know, we have been talking about the miners' rescue, right? in just a minute chad myers will join me at cnn cnn's replica the capsule that will be used.

there it is and we will talk about what the miners may go through on their way to the surface. ♪ if you have gout, high uric acid can lead to more attacks. ♪ to help reduce attacks, lower your uric acid. uloric lowers uric acid levels in adults with gout. it's not for the treatment of high uric acid without a history of gout. uloric reduces uric acid to help you reach a healthy level. [ female announcer ] don't take uloric if you are taking azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or theophylline. gout may flare when starting uloric. don't stop taking it. your doctor may give you other medicines to help prevent flares. a small number of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths were seen in studies. it's not certain uloric caused them. certain tests to check liver function may be required. tell your doctor about liver or kidney problems, or history of heart disease or stroke. the most common side effects are liver problems, nausea, gout flares, joint pain, and rash. [ male announcer ] if you have gout,

ask your doctor about uloric. okay, only a matter of hours. exciting stuff. forget the lead. before the trapped miners are extracted from this shaft, from this mine, right, and we've created a replica here. will you talk us through what the experience will be like? they're sending down medical

personnel first and then they check everyone out. talk to them about the process then the miners get strapped up. >> first of all and this is strong enough i can do this. this does not go up like an elevator. it does not just go -- the hole is not a vertical shaft. it is tilted over 10 to 15 degrees so this thing will be banging along this side and we also know that because of the way it's built it will be rotating around as -- >> is it spinning. >> it will get spinning, as well. i did get in this thing and it doesn't seem to be as small as we've made it out to be. i think this thing is technically usable. going to close it up, okay. doesn't feel great. i don't really want to be in here for 20 minutes. >> you really want to get up. >> but i'm going up. this is my option. i'm the first one in. >> i'm taking it? we don't think there will be any lighting in here although there will be electronics in here because i think they want to monitor the guys. if something very much goes wrong with somebody on the way

up they may kranj this thing up pretty fast whether they want to or not. the ride should be about 20 minutes, the ride was going to be longer. the ride was going to be an hour but -- 45 minutes to an hour. the good news is as they understand it from taking the original capsule and sending it down a number of times at least four times yesterday not all the way down to the men they were 40 feet from the men, still in -- still in the tube, still in the borehole, but as they took it up and took it down they found no snags whatsoever and the bottom part of the bore is very smooth because the rock was so hard. so -- then they put wheels on this. unlike at quecreek there are wheels so it's rolling along rather than bumping along. >> sounds like they've really worked this out. they brought experts from from all over the place. whey love is that once they're all strapped up here, they will be able to communicate -- the miners will be able to communicate with the folks at the top. >> there will be oxygen in the

tube, it will be cooler as they make their way up. the mines in america, you get down there, it's 55, 60 degrees. it's not cold down where they are. they're closer to the center of the earth. they're down by the magma almost so they're in the 80, 90-degree air. as it goes up it will get better and better. >> the shades on. that's important too because -- even if it's in the evening, nighttime in chile, you still don't want that difference in light and camera lights or whatever else is going on. >> i would be surprise fundamental they didn't limit the number of camera lights as they come out. >> appreciate it. >> thank you. >> you can get in there. >> no. back in a moment.

this just in. i'll read it to you -- thanks to our cnn's john king for working his sources to get this information. cnn has learned from two government sources now that the obama administration today and i'll just read this to you will lift the deepwater drilling moratorium put in place in the wake of the bp oil spill. it looks like a month ahead of schedule. if i've got my facts and figures, my recollection is correct here it would be a month -- about a month ahead of schedule. one of the sources said the announcement would include enhanced oversight initiatives, that makes sense, but the source declined to be more specific pending the official announcement and that information hustled up for us by our john king, the host of "john king usa" on cnn. we'll continue to follow developments here and work that story up in its broader context. marijuana is on four state ballots this november. in california voters will decide

on prop 19 which would allow small amounts of marijuana on a person to be legal and taxable. in south dakota and arizona the issue is legalizing marijuana to treat various medical treatments. should the sale of it be available through dispensaries. over the next couple of days "cnn newsroom" will take a close look at the marijuana argument as it stands today and ask what yes votes could mean for americans in the future. a growing number of law enforcement officers are saying the war on drugs in counterproductive. a waste of taxpayer dollars and completely unwinnable. here's cnn's casey wian. >> reporter: kyle kazan was a foot soldier on the war on drugs taking us back to his old battleground where he says it's time to give up the fight. >> i made a lot of dope arrests out here. >> reporter: how much of your time when you were a police officer would you say you spent

dealing with drug-related issues? >> i'd say drug-related stuff was probably -- i'm just going to shoot in the dark and say half of what i dealt with. most police officers look at drug arrests as a way of saying, look, i didn't catch theburg baltimoreburg baltimorizing but i got him with dope so getting him off the street for something. >> reporter: among five years on patrol, he changed his mind. how would it make the streets of torrence and other cities safer if marijuana was legalized? >> well, number one, it takes the criminal element that is selling it today and when i say criminal element, the people willing to break the law to do it and remember they can't call the police if they're getting robbed when they're selling drugs so they've got to carry guns. we either make it a legitimate business or we let the gangsters run a business which is bad for all of us. >> reporter: he belongs to law enforcement against prohibition. a national group of former cop, prosecutors and judges

supporting a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in california. >> fellow cops on the street, they'll tell you right up it really makes sense. first of all they don't want to be wasting their time locking up someone for possession of marijuana, minor dealing on the streets. what they want to do is pay attention to those serious crimes against people, the rapes, the homicides, the armed robberies, the missing children. >> reporter: publicly most law enforcement groups remain opposed to drug legalization. >> the whole argument about taking away crime profits and reducing crime is all nonsense. we haven't reduced anything when it comes to the casualties of alcohol and we haven't reduced anything when it comes to the casualties of narcotics. the truth is is that it's too prevalent. it creates nonproductive element of society. >> reporter: james gray is a retired orange county california judge who used to hear drug cases. he says the united states has spent a trillion dollars waging a war against drugs and that it's been a waste of money.

>> in my view drug prohibition is the biggest failed policy in the history of our country second only to slavery and that sounds like an exaggeration but the more people see what's going on the more they will understand it has its tentacles in everything going wrong in the country. >> reporter: he says drug money is at the root of threats ranging from street gangs to international terrorism. >> if our government really cared about fighting terrorism they would adopt the one solution to take away its money. i swear that drug prohibition is the golden goose of terrorism. >> i got to know a lot of the guys that i arrested and got to know a lot of the local drug users and as i humanized these people, i realized, you know, they had been to jail numerous times. that didn't work. they're still on drugs. i actually -- as you get to know them you feel bad for them. >> reporter: casey wian, cnn, torrence, california. >> we have got more on marijuana on the ballot during our next hour of "cnn newsroom."

ali velshi takes a look at the four states trying to make it a little more mainstream. that starts at 1:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. want to get john king, host of "john king usa." you have a breaking development on the obama administration's plans of moving forward with the moratorium on deep drilling for oil. >> you remember that was put in place almost immediately after the big oil spill due to expire at the end of november but we are told now by two government sources the administration will announce in the next hour or so a lifting of the deepwater moratorium and say it can resume although new oversights and enhanced safety regulations. as you know, the governor of louisiana, all politicians, democrat and republican and along the gulf coast have been complaining about it for some time saying it's costing them millions in revenue. costing them thousands of jobs but the administration will announce it's being lifted although it will be interesting to talk to the industry. the industry says it's great news. they want it lifted but say they don't understand all the new

regulations so six weeks essentially. it was due to expire at the end of november and lift it in the middle of october but see the back and forth between the industry as to when actually the work can resume and drilling can resume. as you know as the industry celebrates you can be certain some of our groups will raise concerns here. >> good stuff. breaking development, john king, john, appreciate it. thank you. let's take a break. ah... ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah! ah! whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that? how come my dap wasn't like that? huh? it's just an "us" thing. yeah, it's a little something we do. who else is in this so-called "us"? man, i don't know. there's a lot of us. [ chuckles ] ask your friends what it's like to be part of a group that's 40 million strong. state farm insures more drivers than geico and progressive combined. it's no surprise, with so many ways to save and discounts of up to 40%. so call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. helps kids be their best. we think it probably helps teachers be their best too.

quaker instant oatmeal. now some of your favorites have 25% less sugar than before and delicious all natural flavors. so you can be amazing. does your breakfast make you amazing? [ e. clark ] i'm an engineer. i love my job. i can see what's it's doing for the community on a day-to-day basis. natural gas is cleaner burning than most fossil fuels and it's vital to our energy needs. increasingly we're finding gas in hard to reach areas, but now we've developed technology that enables us to access gas in hard rocks so we can bring more fuel to homes and help provide a reliable source of energy into the future. ♪

no decgree, no problem. you won't hear that a lot but we have the ten best paying jobs without a college diploma. you can find these in the new book out today. all right. smart.

"the new rich." let's talk to the author. christine romans, good to see you. it's out today. >> today, thank you, tony. the first person who tweets me a picture of it in the airport i'll send you a free copy autographed. >> if you would run us through the list, please. >> okay, well, first i want to point to cnnmoney.com because they have their own fantastic gallery of top pay for jobs, anesthesiologists is on the top. lots of different job categories. this one, though, that i've put together with the folks at payscale.com because it's fascinating. takes a long time to become an anesthesiologist. what are the jobs you can get if you don't need a college degree. here's what we found. radiation therapist, immediate kwan pay, $77,000, top pay is in the six figures. construction superintendent, 77,000 dis. general sales manager, 75 -- if you can sell it and work up the ladder, you can get some good pay. fashion designer on this list,

doesn't require a college degree. senior charge nurse and as i move through here you'll see more health care-related fields. journeyman lineman, supermarket store manager, icu registered nurse, now, keep in mind these do require training, some of them require extended training but these are the kind of jobs that you can start. many of these are ladder jobs, start maybe not for great pay, tony, but as you're smart and you put in your time and you add your education, you begin to move up the list so there you go for all of you who can't become anesthesiologists and make $290,000 a year there are diverse fields that have good pay if you're smart and savvy and you can move up the list. now, tony, any discussion of jobs has to be accompanied by a discussion of the gap in available jobs and i want to show you a little picture that the folks at the economic policy institute put together, a chart showing where we are, where we are supposed to be and where

we're supposed to be going. that gap between the top line and the bottom line is the gap between how many jobs we are supposed to have right now including the jobs that absorb new people, you know, absorb new people in the labor market and where we are. it's a gap of some 11.5 million jobs. we have a big hole to fill here and it's why i think, tony, lists like these are so important about good pay, no degree, best paying jobs, where the jobs are, because you're going to be smarter than ever, right? in the next few years to find your place in this economy with fewer jobs available. >> wait a minute, christine. can we put that graphic up again? that's stunning. i mean really which is why you made it. >> yeah. >> but let's put it up again. >> i tell you, i didn't make it. the economic policy institute made it. it's been widely, widely spread around this morning. huffington post picked it up. it was tweeted to me at least 15

times. people out there are sitting at their desks and talking about this, they're talking about what's going on out there around them even as they're talking about where the good jobs are, where the opportunities are, pointing out that all of these discussions about where we're goi going, this is the backdrop. >> you made it for us. it wasn't made originally by us but you made it for us. can we put it up against one more time? you're talking about 11 million jobs. is the gap from where we are and what we need, right? where we should be right now. >> that's right, just to get even we need 11 million jobs. >> and the reality is -- people are having this discussion right now, we are not going to close that gap. you need sectors running at top proficiency to even think about closing that gap. manufacturing isn't even working at the top of its levels right now. housing, come on. you're not going to get those jobs any time soon.

>> do we have an education system that's churning out the workers who are going to be the software architects who are going to be the mechanical engineers and chemical engineers and graduating enough kids from high school with enough skills and facing a public education system that for many years had a safety valve of manufacturing base that could take a lot of unskilled workers and turn them into middle class workers and then their children could go on to higher education? have we dismantled the safety valve and have bigger issues to talk about with education? it's all tricky and thorny and complicated, but the manifestation of that is that big gap. >> do you understand as you look at that that gap, folks watching us, how prepared you need to be, how competitive you need to be moving forward, the skill set you have to have at your disposal moving forward with that gap still? >> there are 4.6 available

workers for every job opening. that means you have to be smarter than four other people. xavier and luckier i guess to get an available job opening in this country right now. you know, so that's -- i guess that's really the premise is the new smart is the new rich. you have to be on your toe because the economy isn't working in your favor. >> timely book. well done. congratulations. see you tomorrow. we are updating efforts to stop the toxic sludge in hungary. now, that's after a break. ♪ [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar

♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar one month, five years after you do retire? ♪ 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.

okay, here are some top stories. the army psychologist accused of killing 14 people is inside the courtroom right now. major nidal hasan is facing a preliminary hearing to determine if he should be court-martialed. authorities in mexico are getting conflicting reports about the investigation into the disappearance of a man from a south texas lake. some say authorities are pursuing two brothers. others say they know nothing about any suspects. the man's wife told authorities her husband was shot and killed while jet skiing on the lake. in hungary workers are racing to finish three backup dams today to keep the remaining sludge at an aluminum plant contained. the owner has been arrested over the environmental disaster. ♪ but i really love my bank ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank.

right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally. do you love your bank ?

to get young voters and african-americans to come out and vote. he'll be on the campus of george washington university, that will be streamed to other campuses around the country and the president will take questions from an audience there and also from facebook and twitter and we are told tonight will be the first time a sitting president of the united states is using skype at an official event. >> okay, the technology again at work and at play here. you know, john, you had -- i want you to revisit the breaking news that you brought to us earlier this hour and then i've got a question about timing and perhaps even maybe a bit of a calculation here. you had to know i was going to go there. the breaking news is about the obama administration making changes in the ban, the

moratorium on deepwater drilling. >> right, that deepwater drilling moratorium that was put in place right after the bp oil spill will be lifted within the hour. we are told that by several government sources. the administration say deepwater drilling can resume so long as the operators meet a new and tougher set of safety regulations so that's been a policy fight and as you know a big political battle for the add manager because the industry didn't like it and a lot of politicians along the gulf coast, democrat and republican didn't like it either, tony. >> the timing of this, can we read anything into the timing of this? you're a smart, savvy analyst of political events. my understanding from you is that this is happening a month earlier than expected, right? >> the moratorium was due to expire at the end of november. the administration is announcing this now. one of the reasons it says it would move as quickly as possible to get the review done but there are people who say, wait a minute, a democratic senator, mary landrieu of louisiana put a hold on the president's nominee to run the office of management and budget

saying until they lifted the moratorium she wasn't going to let him go forward. you have some democratic politicians, republicans and democrats, but what hurts the white house is democrats along the gulf coast raising this in their own campaigns this year saying the administration is off on the wrong course plus there are a number of actions in the federal courts that are pending. those will be affected, as well so the cynics might say, hmm, doing this three weeks before the election as opposed to after, curious. >> curious, there he is, john king, the host of "john king usa" tonight and every night, weeknights at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. next update oming up in an hour. for the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com.

just put that out to tell

you we ran long with the breaking news so we won't be able to get to what's hot today. chad will be manning what's hot tomorrow for us, just time for a quick break before we get to ali velshi at the top the hour. "than you. "10 airbags... daytime running lamps... "onstar automatic crash response. "in case ya didn't see it, that's probably why "msn autos called the cruze "the class of its class right now. that seems pretty clear, doesn't it?" the all-new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. ♪ [ male announcer ] nature is unique... ...authentic... ...pure... and also delicious. ♪ like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure honey. because natural is not only good,

it also tastes good. nature valley -- 100% natural. 100% delicious. anople really lover, i jugot ae natuour claimservice. natural. gecko:speciallthe auto repair xpress. repairs are fast and they're guaranteed for as long as you is thisyyourcphone?ey, th! gecko: yeah, 'course. sswhere do you po you...carry... for as long as you is thisyyourcphone?ey, th! waitress: here you go. boss: thanks gecko: no, no i got it, sir. ncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ♪♪ 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 ♪ ♪ you check a lot of things already why not add one more ♪ ♪ that can help your situation for sure ♪ ♪ check your credit score