airlines, you are running better. passenrs, you're running on time. can anybody say win/win? that's my "xyz." "newsroom" continues with brooke baldwin. it doesn't get much more dramatic than this. rescuers will be pulling the 33 miners up from the earth in a capsule much like this one but their ride to freedom will not be easy. the countdown is on. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. the other facebook movie -- >> you've just found like the tip of the iceberg. >> you've got to stop. >> "catfish" captures social networking's darker side with a shocking twist. one of the guys behind the film joins me live. restaurants get surprise inspections. coal mines. even big rig trucks. and you would think oil rigs are on that list. so were government watchdogs asleep on the job? george clooney goes to washington. what he's telling your senators.

someone toilet-papered this lavish california home. wait until you hear who it belongs to. we are about four hours and counting now to the start of that mine operation -- mine rescue in chile. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin. big, big news happening today. by the end of this evening we could be seeing the first miner pulled to the surface through more than 2,000 feet of solid rock. folks, this is kind of like the ultimate reality show in a sense. think about the time line here. 68 days we have followed the live of these 33 men. here they are. you've seen the video. trapped in the dark, dank cave, by the collapse of this gold and copper mine they had been working in near chill yee. we watched as they put together essentially this life underground, this hierarchy. they formed a new social structure, developed new daily rue continues, bonded really as

people stuck together in a mighty unusual circumstance and now getting ready to be yanked up to this new reality to bright sunshine, their families who have been missing them and this world waiting to hear them tell their stories. take a look at this. these are all the reporters who have converged on the site to cover this rescue. what an assignment from all around the world. keeping the miners -- once they're out of the mine -- away from the lights and microphones and cameras, that is priority number one for the chilean government beyond just their safety here. so this elaborate system has been set up to shield these men as they're whisked away to be reunited with loved ones and then taken to a hospital for a couple of days. here is what we're told will happen. in just under four hours -- and that could change as it has been here -- the road to the mine will be totally shut off for security reasons. then this small rescue team will be lowered into this cave in the phoenix capsule to help these guys get ready.

then one by one by one these miners will climb into this skinny capsule for what must be the loneliest most frightening trip of their lives. karl penhaul has been at the mine doing yeoman's work for us. let's first talk about the big news, which is we could finish this evening with at least one miner freed. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. that's what the mines minister laurence goldbourne has promised us. he says even when it does start you have to lower five rescuers to check out the 33 medically and get them into some order as to who will come up first, who will come up last. he said, but my intention is to have at least one miner on the surface by midnight tonight, brooke. >> by midnight we could be seeing the first of these 33 men. let's talk a little bit more, karl, about this process.

we've seen this capsule, what they call the phoenix. we know there are 33 guys down there. we know they're talking about putting the five fittest in first but not relieving the order. why is that? >> reporter: yeah, exactly. the fittest men but also the ones that have the most technical knowledge because they want them to give feedback to the rescuers if there are any problems with that phoenix capsule on the way up. they want feedback from guys who know the technicalities of this type of equipment. they also want feedback about any problems there may be down in the mine that can help the rescuers tailor this operation. after that there will be ten guys who we know have some kind of medical condition. one has a long-standing problem with silosis or black lung, another has high blood pressure or diabetes and another with various skin problems. then the final group will be the fittest. we don't know exactly who will

be the last man but my money is on the fact it could be shift foreman test of the collapse and really has the responsibility to come up last, a little like a ship's captain leaving the sinking ship once all his men are off, brooke. >> exactly, the leader of the group, the guy who says he'll take one for the team and wait it out and be the final guy out of there. i didn't realize the age range from 19 to 63. they'll be getting in this capsule six feet tall by 21 inches around and in terms, karl, of the process here, we know it will be spinning. it will be spinning through about a half mile of solid rock until it reaches that opening. why does it have to spin and how are they preparing these men for this journey? >> reporter: yeah. you mentioned the age ranges, 19-year-old jimmy sanchez. he's the youngest guy there. he hadn't been a miner for long. he never wanted to be a miner. he was frightened of the dark.

he didn't like being underground. and, also, he told his wife before this cave-in that he was afraid of the spirits and the ghosts of dead miners who had died down there in the 130 years that that mine had been operating. the oldest guy 63, mario gomez, he's the guy with black lung. but he continue to work. that really a testimony to the dangerous conditions the miners face here on any normal day. we've seen him a number of times giving a wave to his wife on those individual yoes and he's lost at least two fingers on one of his hand again as a result of the mining accidents. but the good news is that they've tested that phoenix capsule now and don't believe it will spin. initially they thought it might gyrate up to ten times but they have a special anti-twist kaibl which is about an inch thick and also wheels on that phoenix capsule that will kind of come out against the shaft wall and that will stabilize it. but just in case any of these miners get sick or nauseous because of any of the movement, that's why they've been put on a

liquid diet now for the last few hours, a liquid diet supplied by the nasa space agency. >> a liquid diet to prepare them for this journey of a lifetime. karl, i have one more question but want you to stand by because i want to bring chad myers in. i have a question about the vow of silence which i think is fascinating. chad, let's go to you. you want to talk over to this thing and take a look? >> one of the reasons they thought it was going to spin is because it's not a straight shaft down. the drill was hitting random rocks, big pieces. so the drill was going back and forth and it's not just a straight shaft. as this was going to go up, around here and back through here as it was trying to go up the hill, basically, 2,000 feet up the hill. >> so this is more or less a replication -- >> you want to get in? >> you go ahead. i've got a dress on. it wouldn't be pretty. >> i don't have my dress on today. i digress. it isn't so bad for us up here. >> right. >> that hadn't been in some kind of a hole for 65 days.

>> this is a far cry from -- >> i can get in it. i'm 165 pounds, 170 pounds depending on the day. i'm okay in it. if the men that were 200, 205 have lost 25 pounds they're going to get in it. some ernlt reports were saying not here but saying they may have to break clavicles to be able to fold them into it. >> we were hearing that's erroneous. how long do we think this ride will take? i've heard mixed reports. >> i talked to -- texted back and force with thyssenkrupp, which is an elevator company and said what's the fastest an el vatdor goes? you can go 500 feet per minute. that's 2,000 feet four minutes. it's not that kind of ride. this is not a ride to the top of the sears tower. this is going to go about 1-mile-per-hour. it's going to be bumpy, a little jagged back and forth. i think by the time they figure it out maybe the 33rd guy can go faster. they don't want the first guy -- he'll be the slowest i believe

to milk sure every single bump and bruise -- >> don't you know every reporter waiting for the big interviews. back out to karl because we want to hear what they have to say. karl, tell me about this vow. we lost him. >> i see him. >> you see him. can he not hear us? >> no. next hour. apparently these miners are saying they're taking this vow of silence like once they get out of this mine they're not going to talk about it. >> they don't know the millions of dollars that will be at stake for every single one of them. >> i'm thinking that's going to change. >> it might change a little bit. people are asking -- i don't know how much time -- if you want to get back to karl. why can't they bring them up now? because they put a sleeve in the top. they have to cement that sleeve in. it's not quite hardened yet. they're waiting another couple of hours. >> the good news it keeps moving up, moving up, moving up. we're all waiting with bated breath. i don't know if they're excited -- >> we should have had them plug

in an oil leak in the gulf of mexico. >> more from you and karl in the next half hour. meantime another story coming up. this is a man i know you know his face and name. he's accused of killing 13 people, many fellow soldiers in a stunning attack at ft. hood last year. but is he fit to stand trial? we'll have an update from texas. that is next. also, facebook, got an account? kids have an account? what if you found out some of your friends on facebook aren't exactly who they appear to be. that is part of this new documentary -- i've seen it. i highly recommend it. it's called "catfish." we'll talk to the guy at the center of the controversy. is it real, though, is one of my questions.

in talking about this chile story, so many of you were tweeting and we actually have a tweet from a grammy award winning puerto rican singer. you may recognize his name. roll over to the twitter board. in spanish. this is a big day for chile. my best wishes are for the miners and their families. god is good. we're all with you. viva chile, stay strong, chile. we will keep our eye on the chile story and promise you as soon as we get more information about when these men get out promise another live shot with karl penhaul. we'll bring that to you. meantime the man accused of killing 13 people at ft. hood was briefly, briefly today in this military courtroom in texas. the military opened a hearing for major nidal hasan, the u.s.

army psychiatrist accused in last year's shootings and then they adjourned it about as quickly as it began this morning. the defense has essentially asked to delay the case. they want to delay until november citing some sort of scheduling conflict. the military officer presiding over the hearing is now considering that request, but the timetable is pretty quick here. the defense has just until midnight to submit its argument. the hearing when it resumes will department if there is sufficient evidence to court-martial hasan which could potentially end in a death penalty. now this. >> 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. >> how much do you really know about the campaign ads we have all been seeing and really the groups funding them? cnn is drilling a little bit deeper here and found some twists and turns. you need to keep in mind. before election day. also, why was this woman the

star of the red carpet? here's why. she survived a harrowing ordeal that almost cost her her life. an update on this young woman.

got some breaking news i want to get right to you from washington. here's what cnn is confirming. that a federal judge is now telling the military to stop enforcing "don't ask, don't tell." here's what the wire is saying. judge virginia phillips ordered the military quote/unquote immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation or discharge, separation or other proceeding that may have been commenced under "don't ask, don't tell." the judge previously ruled that

the policy regarding gays serving in the military violated service members' fifth amendment rights but delayed issuing the injunction. we're working right now on getting some of our correspondents in washington briefed on the story, making some phone calls. as soon as we can get them in front of a camera we will. but huge news, "don't ask, don't tell" judge saying stop enforcing it. meantime another story for you out of washington looking ahead to the election. we're three weeks away now. and we will be, as we already have started been assaulted here by some of these campaign ads. it's not just tv. i'm talking radio, internet. full saturation. and a lot of these ads will try to convince us that this candidate or that candidate has just done something flat-out awful. but here's the thing. a lot of these ads, they're not actually being run -- not by candidates here. in some cases the folks behind the ads seem to be self-interested individuals

posing as organizations with do good sounding names. i want you to check this out. excellent reporting from cnn's dana bash. >> we're doing far more -- >> reporter: embattled 14-term democrat ed boucher said he's never had an election enemy quite like the one he's facing now, not his opponent -- >> this is an organization that is truly shadowy. >> reporter: 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 of this advertising. >> reporter: americans for job security is responsible. you don't 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 jobs security is one of those outside groups likely benefiting from a supreme court decision which on free speech grounds said corporations can spend unlimited money to promote or defeat

candidates without disclosing donors. it does have this website wisconsin says it promotes free market ideas and its more than 1,000 members businesses, business leaders and entrepreneurs around the country but bluntly says it won't disclose donors because too often politicians or media dee fine an organization or message not by the merits of the argument but the perception of the people associated with it. republican sources say americans for jobs security only has one full-time employee whose offices are right across the river in alexandria, virginia. we left multiple message to try to get more information and never heard back so we came to his office, knocked on the door and were told he wasn't there. >> because of the type of group that they are, you don't know if that's one american for job security, a million americans for job security. >> reporter: what we do know with the help of the nonpartisan opensecrets.org is 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 your group have spent? >> this year we'll have spent around $35 million. >> reporter: that money funds ads like this. >> to small businesses nancy marquee is the same as nancy pelosi. >> reporter: who are the donors? the texas billionaire koch brothers. >> most is private individuals but we're glad to have their support and do tell them we're going to protect your privacy as the law allows us to do. >> by the way, you've probably read about this and seen this but the fact is vice president biden has been alleging that the

u.s. chamber of commerce is running political ads bought with foreign money, money from overseas. the chamber is now saying that is flat-out false and challenging the vice president to admit he is wrong. we're waiting to see how the vice president respond to that. also today, the white house lifted a drilling moratorium in the gulf for the first time here since bp's catastrophic spill. that was back in april of this year. but there is some new reason here still to worry about the safety of these massive oil rigs. up next, an eye-opening report about some of the questionable inspections that have been going on for way too long. also, you've got to see this. look at this beautiful sky. while many of us were sleeping, the sky was putting on quite a show. could this be real? no way! or is it? also, we're going to get back to that breaking news. a federal judge has ordered the military to stop enforcing "don't ask, don't tell." basically, the policy that bans openly gay men and women from serving in the military.

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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. okay. oil companies, they have watched their deepwater drilling rigs do nothing. essentially sitting still in the gulf of mexico since april. well, officially today, they can now go back to work. but it won't be like before. president obama's ban, the moratorium on the deepwater drilling, was lifted today. but the oil giants have a brand new set of safety guidelines. but they can also expect plenty more attention from federal inspectors both when they're expecting it but here the key, also when they're not. that's the part i want to talk about today. who was watching those offshore rigs before bp's deepwater

horizon blew up this year? who was making sure they were safe? the federal government, right? inspectors, right? showing up unannounced, writing up the companies for cutting corners, risking spills, risking accidents, issuing fines. they were doing that, right? that sounds like a great system. by the way, those surprise inspections are indeed required by law. but the man you see right here, this guy, pretty smart guy here with "wall street journal." this is reporter russell gold. he dug very deeply here into some of these numbers of unannounced inspections and found pretty surprising numbers. so, russell, i'm going to let you break your news, break your story. but it seems the crux of this art can and i've read it through about three different times. the crux is that virtually no one was dropping by these rigs unannounced. >> thanks for having me. you're absolutely right. what we found was that starting in about 2000, the number of surprise inspections of deepwater oil and gas facilities out in the gulf of mexico just

plummeted, dwindled away to next to nothing. back in 2000, one out of every nine inspections was a surprise inspection. that number dropped to one in 80 buy 2009. so if you are running a drilling rig or a platform out in deepwater gulf of mexico, you pretty much could count on not having a surprise inspection. in fact, the platforms, which are -- the facilities that produce oil and gas, they didn't have a single surprise inspection since 2004. >> wow! so as the inspections were going down, the surprise inspections going down, the drilling in these deepwater wells are going up. just want to make sure everyone gets that. >> absolutely. >> now i'm sure part of the spring board of course of your article is what happened with the deepwater rig in april, the explosion. and when we look at the numbers which you point out, there was the last unannounced inspection in that particular rig that was four years ago, october of '06. there was an announced inspection that was three weeks before that explosion. i think they spent like two

hours on that rig, right? they looked at the blowout preventer. this is a question you may not be able to answer. but when you listen to these statistics the question is might that have been prevented had someone showed up unannounced? >> that's a great question and unfortunately really don't have the answer to that because they weren't inspecting. but what we do know is there really was a culture where the companies that operated out on the gulf knew not to expect any surprise inspections. what's more, the way the rules were written, if an inspector showed up on an announced inspection, that inspector couldn't really look at an operation that wasn't going on. so let's say that you had a type of equipment you know wasn't working quite the way it should and you were worried you were going to get a fine or a citation. if you knew the inspector was coming, you could just shut that piece of equipment down and the inspector couldn't really look at it in action. so one of the concerns was -- >> but that's counter intuitive because then you're announcing the inspection and therefore you

can't find out what's wrong. >> i mean, that's really what the criticism has been. and this criticism has come from the inspectors themselves. there was a report that came out not long ago given to interior secretary salazar and asked inspectors anonymously what you thought, was the system working. 90% said they wanted to do more unannounced inspections because their argument was that's where you get a sense what's going on. they felt they weren't getting a good view of what was going on on the deepwater facilities, some of which are 100 miles and more offshore, well beyond the -- you can't see them from shore. they're justway out in the middle of nowhere. >> sure. so if the 90% are saying, yes, we need to do the inspections and need to drop in, who's preventing them from doing their job? >> well, that's a great question. there are really two things to keep in mind. one, the federal government required an annual inspection of every single platform out there,

not just deepwater but shallow water. there are almost 4,000 platforms out there. some people said, look, by the time we were done with that requirement and dealing with hurricanes and trying to collect the right amount of royalties there was no time. they're required buy law to do a periodic unannounced inspection but didn't specify what periodic was. was it every week or every ten years? that really became a very low priority. the other issue is there actually was a policy introduced in 2005 which specifically said, look, new security rules post 9/11. we can't drop in. these being inspectors. we can't drop in on some of the large facilities. but as i continued to report that i. found out there was no basis for that. that was just something the old minerals management service which is the offshore regulators had come up with. >> and we were sitting around and thinking, though, about other industries where you would certainly have this sort of unannounced inspection. you think about coal mining and maybe the airline industry. why, then, does it appear that

the unannounced inspections seem to be a little bit more lax in the gulf? >> that's a great question. we don't really have a great answer for that. we know that the agency was not particularly well funded. and i would have to say i think it's because mostly taste really a matter of experience. in the airline industry they've just come to -- the type of accidents can be so catastrophic and so deadly that the public demanded essentially there are surprise inspections of maintenance facilities, et cetera. even in the coal mines they've come to learn by experience that surprise inspections matter. in fact, just a few days ago at the end of september there was a surprise inspection of a coal mine in west virginia, only six months after the big explosion in the upper big branch mine. and this surprise inspection found some very serious safety flaws. three people were fired because of it. really it's just a matter that in the offshore oil and gas industry, i don't think there really ever was a huge push to make sure that you had these surprise inspections.

>> well, perhaps your article will shed some light on what may need to be done. and with the moratorium now going away today -- and we're hearing from interior secretary ken salazar saying there are new security and safety checks in place. i trust you and other reporters will hold them to that. and we will watch to see if it will be a different story or you'll be writing the same story a year from now. russell gold with "the wall street journal." we thank you. >> thank you. mexico bracing for a hit from hurricane paula. how strong is it and might she threaten the u.s.? that is next. and george clooney says american involvement now could prevent an imminent war in afri africa. mr. clooney passionate enough to take the fight to the white house. we're going to have details of his trip to washington in our next hour. that and more on this breaking story out of washington on "don't ask, don't tell." we have this federal judge who is now essentially saying to the military stop enforcing it.

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oh, busy, busy day here. several stories making news. a quick update. of course enough with the waiting already. we're all waiting on this one. 33 men trapped deep underground in chile. all the pieces in this whole puzzle, they're beginning to come together. they'll in a couple of hours haul these guys up one at a time in that metal capsule you see there. the rescue still on track to begin tonight maybe after midnight. that's all still flue i had. we of course are there. you'll see the rescue when it happens on cnn. into the unknown. the world's medical community is

watching for any word from the spinal injury patient who is the first known recipient of human embryonic stem cells being totally trance parent we don't know a whole lot about this man or woman at the center of this historic experiment. they're not saying a whole lot. doctors say the goal here is not to treat the patient's symptoms but to regenerate brand new tissue with this controversial therapy. the patient by the way was injected with these stem cells just a couple of days ago in a hospital in atlanta. the cells are just a few days old and the theory is that they can turn into any cell in the body. until now trials have only been conducted on animals. and watch out, cancun. watch out cozumel. sheer she comes, hurricane paula. looking at the radar, the loop not huge but rated as a cat 2 hurricane. that means sustained winds of 100 miles per hour or stronger. it is now churning in the caribbean, headed for mexico's

yucatan peninsula. most models show it banking east moving toward cuba. next hurricane center update today 5:00 eastern time. and we have some breaking news coming out of washington. again just to reiterate we're working the story for you right now. we're hearing from a federal judge that she is essentially saying to the military to stop enforcing "don't ask, don't tell." we promised we would get you correspondents on. we have pentagon correspondent chris lawrence joining me by phone. chris, what do you know? >> reporter: yeah, brooke. what this does is basically it's ordering the military to suspend or discontinue any investigation, any discharge that was started under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. this is the same judge that previously ruled that the policy violated service members' fifth amendment rights. now, the group that initially sued the military, the log cabin republicans, the gay rights group, they are hatppy about ths

but urging service members to be cautious about coming out now because, as they say, the administration can and likely appeal this injunction. all kinds of opinion flowing around. when the initial ruling came down, i spoke with one veteran who had been in the service for 22 years who told me, look, you know, joining the military is not a right. it's a privilege. the military is legally exempt from a lot of laws that apply in civili laws. it discriminates against the disabled. it discriminates against the obese. it does require certain things to be in the military. and he felt just because a private company accepted homosexuality, that doesn't mean necessarily the military had to follow suit. on the other hand, you'll talk to -- i talked to a lot of people both here and in the field, in afghanistan, who tell you we knew one or multiple people in our unit was gay, no

big deal, nobody talked about it. they didn't ask. they didn't tell. we had no problem with it. so i would -- you talk to military members, you're going to finds different opinions. that's what the military is doing right now. the pentagon is right now compiling the results of a massive survey they did of hundreds of thousands of troops trying to gauge their opinions on it. and that's really what the obama administration and pentagon are waiting for. december 1st when they get those results back. >> got it. >> reporter: to go forward. >> december 1st to start hearing from the troops. i think you may have mentioned this but we're also hearing an appeal by the department of justice is anticipated. obviously huge news on "don't ask, don't tell." appreciate you hopping on the phone. i know you were involved in a totally different story at ft. hood. more breaking news. let's roll over to the fwiter board and do this together. looks like this is on that falcon lake story. zapata county sheriff who we had on last night or, rather, last

week, confirms a mexican investigator in the falcon lake case was decapitated. oh, my goodness. his head delivered to mexican military today. sheriff confirms mexican investigator in the falcon lake case was decapitated. that case as we've been telling you, this is about that young couple out on this lake, wanted to go take some pictures of an historic site and went on their sea-doos to the mexican side of the lake. still that young man's body david hartley the husband has not been found. they were frustrated with some of the mexican officials. now we're hearing tough news, wow, out of mexico. a lot going on today. let's go to break. 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! onstar ready. call home. hi, daddy! i'm on my way. send to car and...done! you have one saved destination: dillon beach. would you like those directions now?

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want to get right to this story here out of falcon lake where we're hearing now according to this texan sheriff that one of the mexican investigators in this falcon lake story has been beheaded. let's go straight to this affiliate reporter phil ripley breaking the story for us on cnn.

will, how did you come to know this information? >> reporter: what happened was our local state representative eric pena put out a tweet on his twitter account about an hour ago reporting that one of the homicide investigators in mexico had been decapitated so i immediately called zapata county sheriff and met up in parking lot about 20 minute ago. i interviewed him and he confirmed the information that one of the homicide investigators never came home last night and his head was delivered today in a suitcase to the mexican military. incidentally, this is the same investigator who released documents to us on sunday evening about the investigation. >> and i had talked to the zapata county sheriff last week here on cnn and he had explained as he had later in the week that some of their worry in simply investigating this story and going on the mexican side was simply that they might be ambushed, fear that some of the drug cartels as he explained -- this is sort of a turf battle among a very horrific drug cartel.

so i imagine some people this doesn't come as a surprise, the brutality of this. >> reporter: unfortunately, no, it doesn't come as a surprise because as we've been reporting here along the border for years, it's not unusual for police officials in mexico who go against the cartels to turn up dead. this man, mr. vegas was very courageous in bringing the documents to channel 5 news. we broke the story over the weekend two suspects were named in the case and this man provided the names and documented information about two of them. it appears that he may have paid for that with his life unfortunately. >> and we're lacking at pictures of this young couple, tiffany and david hartley. briefly, i don't know if you had a chance, will, to reach out to any of the family, what kind of reaction are you getting to this story there in texas. also, still no update on the location of his body, correct? >> reporter: that's correct. it's been 12 days since this attack on falcon lake and there's still no sign of his body. the family met with the zapata county sheriff just a few hours

ago. and all though we weren't with them at that meeting we were told it was to update the family on the progress for the search of the body and progress of the investigation. lawmakers and officials here who are in law enforcement are going on the record now saying they do not expect to find a body. this is the first time people are openly saying there's a very good chance david hartley's body was not in falcon lake. perhaps it was disposed of long ago and this search was for nothing. the family has to deal with that possibility. >> now the news that this investigator's head is delivered in a suitcase. if you can just briefly, will, speak to the violence in this specific area, both -- this lake that straddles the texas/mexican border. for people who aren't familiar with this, give me the lay of the land. >> reporter: we are talking about falcon lake. it's a very large lake that shares waters with the united states and mexico. it straddles the border. half of the water is in the u.s. and half is in mexico. there's really not a significant

border patrol presence out there. there are some border patrol who are stationed there but no port of entry. and so with such a large area to patrol, it's known as a haven for drug smuggling and believed that the zeta cartel actually controls the smuggling routes in this area where the attack apparently happened and that the zetas may have been involved in the disappearance of david hartley. that's what this homicide investigator told us a couple of days before his death. >> horrific news today. will ripley with our affiliate. appreciate you breaking that news. as soon as you get more information let's hop back on the phone and chat. meantime, take a look at this. >> you've just found like the tip of the iceberg. >> you've got to stop. >> put the hammer down. >> that is a scene -- this is this new film. it's called "catfish" with the shocking twist that will leave you asking, how could this really happen? also, the man -- there he is -- at the center of the

suspense. he is here. i'm going to talk to him when we come right back. stay there. i graduated from west point, then i did a tour of duty in iraq. when i was transitioning from active duty, i went to a military officer hiring conference. it was kind of like speed dating. there were 12 companies that i was pre-matched with, but walmart turned out to be the best for me. sam walton was in the military, and he understood the importance of developing your people. it's an honor to be in a position of leadership at walmart. i'm captain tracey lloyd, and i work at walmart. ♪

in an age where social networking replaces face-to-face contact, there's a new documentary that things are not as much as they appear on-line. a photographer in new york. so one day get this is painting in the mail from this 8-year-old artist in michigan. and the painting is based on one of his photos that leads to this friendship -- virtual friendship with this young girl and her sister and mother and all of the other friends and family members all on facebook. so eventually nieve falls in love with the girl's 19-year-old

sister, meghan, and decides he wants to meet her. he and his film making friends, one of who is his brother, take a leap of faith and drive to michigan. so what they find is surprising. talk about cat fish. congratulations on this whole film. full transparency. i saw it sunday. i thought it was awesome. at the same time, i walked out of there and i thought, no way this thing is real. so let's go out of the gate. is this fiction or nonfiction? is this the real deal or not? >> the film is totally the real deal. completely true. it's a life experience i had captured on home video with pocket-sized still camera hd recorders. and we never thought it would turn to a feature film. and we certainly never dreamed it would be in theaters. but it made its way out to the public. >> here you go. in part of thinking no way it could be real, you have the guys

filming your every move and parts of this documentary, you don't seem like a willing par 'tis pabnt. how did this start? was it accidental because you're uber filmmakers walki inin inin with cameras or what? >> they share an office with me. i'm a photographer and i do some film production. but i started getting these little e-mails from this adorable girl in michigan telling me how i like her photos and if she could paint from them. i became friends with her mother and from her family, we became facebook friends. i didn't understand why my brother was filming the whole time. he was. it got interesting. when things got interesting and weird, we filmed more. and the story unraveled and discovered we had been on a wild ride. >> we're looking at video where you photo shopped yourself,

picture yourself and meghan, who is abby's sister. we don't want to give away the ending. you fall in love, i think, with this gal, meghan, and this is the point where it goes beyond virtual and you pick up the phone and you talk to her. play the clip and talk on the other side. >> hey, meghan. hey, it's nieve. >> hi, how are you. >> your voice is not at all what i expected. no, it's -- really, it's a terrific voice. you never really think of the voice when you only know somebody in a certain way. i happen to think my voice is sort of irritating. thank you. >> so, were you really in love?

>> i was head over heels for this girl. we talked on the phone -- that was the first conversation. we were talking after that, almost every day, 30 minutes, an hour and a half. you really start to open up someone in a long distance relationship. and you start to trust them. and i was ready to leave everything behind in new york city and move to michigan and live on this farm with her and take care of horses and yeah, i really thought i was going to go for it. >> you have to understand why the critics are questioning the voracity of the film thinking no way could this guy who has to know this young woman essentially virtually, that's gullibility, capital g, right? >> yeah, i mean, i live in new york city. there are girls in new york, i could date them. i never lived anywhere else. i've really always dreamed of this really country life and i just kind of like to go for things head first and have new

experiences and take some adventures. that's my reality. happy to know where it is because it led me down this path. really connecting with it. happy to be at the center of a very important conversation about social networking. >> that's the crux of the issue and we won't give it away. you go on this adventure, we go on an adventure with you. we sort of watch it and in the end you're left with a cautionary tale of who am i really talking to on the internet? is that what you walk away with? >>absolutely. i hope people when they see it become more aware of themselves on the internet and the presence that you have. and when you put something on the line, it exists sort of forever. you can never take it back because you never know if someone is going to see it or re-tweet it or download it and repost it. i've had so many people who have contacted me since the film's come out with stories similar to mine which is also scary but

also wonderful that i think this film is creating a venue for people to express themselves and talk about experiences that they've had similar to mine. >> i think it's opening up a whole other world of conversation. nieve schulman, best of luck to you. congratulations, thanks for talking to me. >> thanks so much, brook. still to come. things you have to see from the world of politics. george clooney trying to stop a civil war in sudan by seeking help on capitol hill. that story is in the next half-hour. wolf blitzer is on the developments from the campaign trail. his updates from the political ticker. be right back.

21 days to the election day. a much-anticipated senate debate. all of your political news with the best political team on tv led by wolf blitzer. what do you have? >> let's go through some of the

items on the political ticker at cnnpolitics.com right now. one item is this battle between karl rove and the democratic leadership really heating up over this organization? rove and others have been raising a lot of money, anonymous dollars. this is legal. the u.s. supreme court decision that said these so-called, quote, social welfare organizations, these 501-c-4 organizations can go ahead and raise a lot of money, do not have to disclose the donors and use this money to support candidates. that's what they're doing. the language is heating up between rove and the democratic leadership. they want to know who's funding the campaigns. joe biden has done the same thing. the cross roads gps, part of american cross roads, they will

continue to distribute this money. it's a lot of money. and it's presumably going to help a lot of candidates on november 2. on a very different note, we also learned that the actor george clooney back from the sudan going to be at the white house meeting with president obama discussing the situation in sudan which, of course, is awful right now. the white house press secretary robert gibbs saying the two will discuss the steps you're taking to try to bring peace to sudan. clooney will be meeting with iraqi republican on the senate floor relations committee. getting ready for tomorrow night's big debate. at the university of delaware, christine o'donnell versus the democratic candidate, chris kuntz. i'll be co-moderating that debate. we're going through lots of questions for the candidates and we'll see which ones we hwhittl down. a 90-minute debate.

you think it's a lot of time, but you know, it goes very quickly. >> quite a task to come up with these questions. thank you, delaware. we'll get you a political update in half an hour. we'll get you the latest news on cnnpolitics.com or on twitter, twitter handle is ath political ticker. here we go, welcome the women, the men right now watching on american forces network around the world. see if you can keep up with me. let's go. details from a federal courthouse in california where a judge today ordered that u.s. military stop enforcing the so-called don't ask don't tell policy regarding openly gay men and women. so that means any investigation or possibly tending disciplinary action against a service member against the policy on hold. this is the same judge that ruled that don't ask don't tell violated the independent rights.

to ft. hood, texas where the army psychiatrist accused of gunning down the 13 people there last november. he showed up in a courtroom but briefly. the hearing for nadal hassan didn't last too long. it's been delayed for tomorrow. the investigating officer in charge will consider the defense request to move the hearing to next month. the hearing will decide if hassan was court-martialed. hassan was paralyzed in the shooting rampage. listen to what the npr reporter saw at that hearing today. >> they wheeled him out, he has to kind of go over a little ramp they made him to get out of the back room in to the courtroom. he grabs on to the sides of his wheelchair when they moved him. he's wearing fatigue and a knit camp. he's paralyzed so he can't regulate his core body

temperature so he gets cold a lot. moving to this breaking story. a man's disappearance on a south texas lake. gruesome news, a mexican investigator was found dead, decapitated. his head was delivered to the mexican military in a suitcase according to a texas lawmaker. authorities are pursuing not just one but two brothers in this case. we told you about it yesterday. other officials say they don't know anything about that. the wife told police her husband was shot and killed. they were out on a lake which straddles the u.s.-mexican border. she spoke to anderson doomer abo cooper and she spoke to anderson about making the trip to recover her husband. >> i replayed the entire day from the time i left my house to the time we got there to the time i came home. that whole day was just a remembrance of what happened. and i wanted to honor david and

leave flowers for him, especially his favorite color. but still it didn't -- it brought some peace, but at the same time, it didn't bring closure because i don't have it. he's not here with me. >> tiffany hartley is being told the divers are still out there searching for her husband's body. now the ukraine where at least more than 42 people died when the train and bus collided. it looks like a bus driver ignored the warning lights, crossed the tracks even though the train was coming. tomorrow will be a day of mourning for those victims. and a young afghan woman, here she is, horribly disfigured by her husband now showing the world a brand new fail. beautiful. this was 19-year-old girl whose husband cut off her nose and her ears. he did it under the order of the taliban. hard to imagine how she felt. i'm going to let her tell you. you'll hear her voice and the voice of our reporter.

>> translator: when they cut off my nose and ears, i passed out. in the middle of the night, it felt like cold water in my nose. i opened my eyes and i couldn't see because of all of the blood. >> right now the u.s. military and women's group helped save her. in the picture we showed you earlier, she's wearing her new prosthetic nose. she'll have reconstructive surgery here in the u.s. george clooney, wolf was talking about this. he wants you to know about sudan. he's headed to the white house. he's talking about a possible political division in the sudan. he and others believe may lead to more civil war in the troubled nation. here's what he said, actually, moments ago. >> they have been sold and raped and slaughtered for generations and they earned the right for their freedom in 2005. they earned that right and they believe they have that right come january 9.

and talk about a waste of perfectly good toilet paper here. you're looking at robert rizzo's house. name ring a bell? he's the former city manager of bell, california. he was making $800,000 a year running the town when most of the other folks are making a whole heck of a lot less. he made bail last week facing dozens of corruption charges but someone already served him some justice. let the debates begin. here we go. three weeks until election midterms here. candidates squaring off and telling voters who are -- and why they're cut out for the job. and it doesn't get more dramatic than this. the clock is ticking on this story here. we're all over it. the rescue crews getting ready to bring up the first of the trapped miners in chile. live pictures. we could have a freed miner by the end of the night tonight. that's what the ministry of

mining is openi hoping. we're all over this story. be right back.

countdown is on. you're excited about this like these families in chile. it's been the ultimate reality show. the episode we've all been waiting for is hours away. i'm talking about the rescue. the 33 miners who have been stuck in this cave in chile. half a mile underground. there is a flurry of activity at the mine. where these men are trapped. we've been counting down the days just as you have. they have been down there for 68

daysmen. throughout that entire time, they set up a society underground. they have a hierarchy. it's organized as we've seen the videos. but they've watched their loved ones which have been 2,000 feet above in this makeshift tent city in camp esperanza or camp hope. hope has never been higher than right now. the rescue operation is set to begin in about 3 1/2 hours. and here's some of this -- some of the videos that we have been seeing and showing you over the course of the last two months, really. they have been singing and chanting and we are hoping to hear some singing and chanting here in the next couple of hours. we have live pictures here from the scene there in chile. imagine, just immediate presence globally there. everyone waiting for this moment. we have all kinds of questions for our correspondent, carl pinhaul. we're going to talk to him about this whole process after the break. but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this?

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well, the first one in this chilean mine disaster story broke, we were hearing the guys may not be able to get out until christmas and the timeline has moved up and up. and now we're hearing we could have one freed miner by the end of tonight. we're all waiting and watching as is our correspondent there in chile, carl pinhaul who is with me on the phone. and, carl, bring me up to speed in terms of this timeline, is it changing? it's been fluid. are we still hearing possibly by the end of tonight. >> it has been fluid. right now -- he's a good sign that he wants to be on sight to see how each and every one of those miners are pulled out of

the rescue shaft. he is here. we know the cement is dried on the platform so all systems really are go. still says that he hopes to have the first miner back on the surface by midnight and that so far everything seems to be going according to that plan, brooke. >> carl, what are you hearing as far as this vow of silence that these miners all huddled half a mile underground are saying, nope, we're not going to talk about this. >> i have heard whispers of that kind of thing over the last few weeks that i've been here. but today, one of the family members showed me a letter that she had received in the last few hours from her miner brother. and in that letter, it said quite clearly in response to the request for media interview please tell her no, that is a negative. we will not do an interview. there will be no exclusives either. that is because all 33 of us have taken a vow of silence.

said we will never talk about what's gone on down in this mine. didn't spell out the reasons for that. and didn't spell out whether it was the certain unsavory things have gone on down in that mine that they think is better forgotten or whether it might be a backlash against the media because at certain points, i know beau the families and the miners themselves thought this whole tragedy was being treated like reality tv. and they have said in the past that they don't want to be treated like zoo animals in any shape or form for the amusement of the national audience, the national media -- something which i don't fully believe has been happening, but certainly from their viewpoint, half a mile underground, a little difficult to get the full picture. so it will be interesting to see if they do emerge whether that silence holds, whether they explain the reasons why they

made that pact of silence, and whether they maybe head on home and prefer and forget this whole incident ever occurred, brooke. >> i know many, many journalists and photographers around the world including yourself are there. everyone wants that story. and i think what's fascinating and i think this is done on behalf of the mining industry is once these 33 men are extracted out of this mine, they are essentially putting up a shield so these men will not come over to those cameras and put those microphones on. they're very much being protected. are they not? >> they certainly are. there's an official chilean government signal that is being put out because the media themselves are kept on a hillside platform about 300 yards from the extraction point. that means that the government cameras are the only ones that have the close-up view of the extraction. and that there has been some kind of barricade thrown up

there so that we can see the moment that the phoenix capsule comes up. we are relying on the government to get those pictures. but our understanding is that if any of these miners come out in less than good shape that they've been made nauseous by the ride up on the capsule, if they've been made panicked by the ride or staggering around because of the effects of sunlight after months in complete darkdarkness, those pictures will not be transmitted. it will be edited in some shape or form. but they said the families do need a level of privacy. >> sure, you mentioned the families. it's my understanding with the lay of the land that the families are all in tents as part of camp hope and you as a reporter cannot just walk into this tent city. some have trickled out and you've had conversations with them. if you can, talk to me about how they're feeling. i imagine excited and anxious.

let's underscore the fact that this is also incredibly dangerous. >> it just depends which family. some are camped out in the same area where the media are. some are behind the barricades that the media has noack sel ac too. but they're feeling a whole range of emotions at the same time. some feel happy, nervous, stressed at the same time to the point that they don't know what kind of name to put on that emotion. it's not surprising. this rescue effort has gone into unchartered territory in all shapes and forms. one lady who we have become well acquainted with over the last several weeks as well said to me, well, i'm caved in and asked her to bring me some tab lets up. she said i need something to calm my nerves. she said i can't go on like this. i won't be in any state to greet my husband when he comes down unless i can calm down somewhat, brooke. and finally, carl, and i'll

let you know. with your reporter hat on here. i know you're base in colombia, you covered stories around the world. how does this compare -- the media spotlight honing in here. how does it compare to you? >> very different from anything i've covered before, social conflict or disasters. the story on a level that i haven't seen before, the tv viewers internationally want to interact with this story. they feel that after two months or more of this crisis that they've gotten to know many of these families personally. they've gotten to know the mi r miners personally. they're not viewing this as a reality tv show. they want to put themselves in the miners' shoes or at least in the shoes of their families. to figure out how actually it must feel to wait for 2 1/2 months when you know that your closest and dearest may have been buried alive underground.

for instance, just to name one story that is a lady that regularly e-mails me from texas. she says that every night she goes down to her local church and they're plaguing her, lights 33 candles every night. that is something she's done for the last 2 1/2 months because she said, i cannot do anything else. so please tell those families, this is what i do every night. >> everyone is thinking -- >> of the people who want to interact. >> everyone is thinking about these families and these miners, and karl penhaul, my hat is off to you. excellent reporter through this whole thing. watching, waiting, could be hours from now. karl penhaul for us, thank you. meantime, in other parts of the world, authorities say in the aluminum plant is responsible for all of the toxic red mud that's filling some of the streets in hungary. but could this happen anywhere in the world. that's a question we have. one group says yes.

and unless one thing happens. what is that? that's next.

one of the worst toxic spills in the history of central europe and it's on the verge of getting worse. so far, eight people are dead, 120 hurt, last week's toxic spill from this aluminum plant in hungary has flooded three towns and reached the mighty danube river. but, now we're learning the crews are outside of this plant where the main wall of the reservoir could collapse at any time. more than 1,000 workers frantically racing against the clock here to build the three emergency dams. in this thing, 110 million

gallons more of the toxic sludge. could be up to 70% of the sludge. it's the devastation since last monday. but we have a different look of the damage. take a look at this. this is from nasa. just released today. this is the image from the eo-1 satellite. you're looking of west of budapest. the red stuff -- that's the sludge. the aluminum plant in the failing wall in the reservoir there, it's on the right. here's the wider view. here we go. you see how the red sludge flows for miles and miles. it kind of goes from town-to-town. diana magne is there with the latest. emergency services say an emergency dam that they are building to try and prevent a second flood of toxic mud is nearly complete. right now, there is a crack in the wall of the reservoir about half a meter high and 20 meters wide. and authorities say they don't know when it may collapse, that

wall may collapse, but they expect it to happen at some point. so that is why work on this emergency dam is so fast and so furious. there are 500,000 cubic meters of toxic mud still encased in that reservoir which, if the wall does break, might be unleashed again and a second floe on this village. on monday, also, an eighth body was discovered. the person there was seven already counted amongst the dead and eighth body was found today bringing the death toll to eight. the chief executive of the company whose reservoir it was that leaked the initial toxic spill has been arrested part of the ongoing criminal investigation as to who was responsible for this spill. he's currently in police custody and is being questioned. and the prime minister added today that he will be taking it under state's control in a temporary basis in order to

safeguard the 1,100 jobs here in this region dependent on that company for work. cnn, hungary. greenpeace and other environmentalists say this spill expose shocking safety lapses and warn this could happen elsewhere. they showed hot spots in the developing countries in europe, asia, south and south america. meanwhile, should states legalize marijuana? i'll be talking to one former law enforcement guy who says it will bring crime levels down -- legalize it. crime levels down. that's ahead. also, look at who's standing by. these two several guys. mark preston, paul stein houser. brand new information just in from the world of politics. get to them. cnn's political ticker is next.

counting to election day. president obama still personally popular, does his popularity help his fellow democrats? mark preston, paul steinhauser two of the best on tv. good to see you. what do you have? you're right. being upset with the favor ra t favorability rating in the 40s. they like him. 59% of americans believe he has the personal qualities that a president should have. the problem is, is when we ask this question -- do you agree with obama on issues that matter

to you? only 42% said yes. now, while that might bruise his ego a little bit, who it really hurts congressional democrats on the ballot. in 21 days, voters head to the polls. president obama has two years to repair his image. congressional democrats don't. the battle for the house, brooke, as you know, 39 is the magic number for the republicans. that's what they need to regain the chamber. it's not even on the ticker yet. you get it first. the democrats -- the d-trip is pooling their resources. not going to put more ads up in the third congressional district. that's in the west part of the state. freshmen. they say they're going to support or help her get out the votes efforts but going to stop with their ads there, did the same thing in ohio's first kwon congressional district. it's a real chess game. going to keep our eyes on every move. mark, back to you. >> brooke, you talk about ads. you talk about outside

influence, outside group spending money to try to influence midterm elections. give you this number. $53 million has been spent by outside groups on television ads in the last 60 days. most of that money has been spent by organizations to help republicans. only about $7 million has been spent that would help democrats. but what's really eye popping about this and really astounding is 89%, brooke, of all of the ads have been negative ads. what does this mean? it means that the outside groups can be negative, disruptive. they allow the candidate to be a more positive message. got to tell you these numbers are from the campaign media analysis group. the ad guru. he comes up with that word, disruptive. that's what the groups do. >> $53 million to be mean -- disruptive, i guess the word you said. gentlemen, thank you.

get another political update in the next hour. hop on twitter@political ticker. with that, take a look at this. the machine that it's going to be transmitted live in order to see every miner's face. '. >> never mine eers face. we could be seeing that in a matter of hours. lots of questions. who comes up first. which miner has to be the guy who stays down there and the last to come up. we'll find out hours from now. live from chile all over this. that's ahead. also, would making marijuana legal actually take a bite out of crime? that's the topic of discussion with my next guest who says, yes, it would. the issue is on the ballot in four states. that conversation is next. ♪ check the wife, check 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 ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ free-credit-score ♪ you won't regret it at all! ♪ check the legal y'all. >>offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.®

here's a big story we're covering for you this week. marijuana is on the ballot in four states. and here's a proposition for you. here's what some are proposing. legalize pot because it will bring down crime levels. that is what my next guest here. i have a retired dutch police union president on the board of leap -- law enforcement against prohibition. you're skyping with me from far, far away here. legal i legalize marijuana to bring crime levels down. can you explain? >> quite clear. we have for decades now the probugs with the love of crime and we can see deep criminalization that crime is going down. you can see it in portugal and you can see that in those

countries or more like let's say wise handling the situation of drugs. switzerland is another example. crime is going down so california is going down now. not only will be profitable to taxpayers because those in the country have to pay -- have to pay for marijuana as well. but it will also increase position -- the safety position of california. >> how did you bring up prop-18 which essentially would legalize people buying for recreational uses for an ounce of marijuana in the state of california. and a couple of former police chiefs who are in favor of prop 19 because they think that, you know, drug-related crime is a huge burden and enforcing this

is a huge burden on law enforcement and if it -- you know, if it becomes legal in their state and force their attention on pressing crimes. do you see it that way? >> i can agree with that vision. you have always less police officers for everything that's to be done in the country. so if you can let go chasing marijuana, you can do a lot of other things that are very important for the people in the country. instead of chasing some people who are smoking with or without legalization. so it's better to legalize, to control this, text it, and use your resources from the police and other institutions for better things. >> can you understand on the flip side have a couple of different editorials where they

talked to former members of the dea, for example, on the federal level who say, no, you shouldn't legalize it. it essentially is this message not just to people within the united states, criminals, but also, for example, to mexican drug cartels that the u.s. is soft on -- soft on the anti-drug message. >> well, everybody forgets them that you have crime and criminalization. because it's forbidden. if you legalize it, it's out of crime. there's no one at a crime scene who can make money from something that is not -- that is not illegal. so if you control this and text it and control the quality as well, it's better for the help of the consumers and you will lose the crime. >> i'm curious. an area you noel. a lot of people go to amsterdam and people think erroneously it's a free for all, you can walk into a coffee shop and

smoke a bunch of pot. a, if you can dispel that, explain what the situation is in amsterdam and it is legal if you're above 18, how is crime there. >> it's not legal in the netherlands to use marijuana. that's a misunderstanding. everybody call names to the netherlands, to amsterdam and say it's sod dom and ga mora. it's a false characterization. it's not legal, but if you are a consumer and you buy no more than five grams, you will not be prosecuted. that's the difference. it's still illegal, you still doing something that's no good. you can buy it in a coffee shop if you have your identity with you. you can buy five grams with no prosecution and in the netherlands, also in amsterdam, that is the lower rate of using marijuana than in the united states. in the netherlands last year, it

was 5% of everybody above the age of 18. and in the united states, the average was 6%. so i think pictures are talking for themselves. >> but what about -- i understand that fewer people maybe the numbers are less in the netherlands but in terms of crime, i was reading that right now in amsterdam specifically they're working on retooling laws, shutting down marijuana dispensaries to tackle the nuisance associated with them in managed crime risk more effectively. do you see that's one in the same or do you see marijuana and crime as totally separate issues? >> no, no. crime and money and marijuana and cocaine, especially so marijuana belongs to each other because the profits we mentioned now, you can sell it as a -- you can buy it as a consumer. but the coffee shop owner is not

allowed to buy it in its store. so you can ask where does the marijuana come from? it must come -- it must enter the shop behind the back door illegally. so a lot of crime that is the funny rule in the netherlands. a lot of crime will made by silly politicians who says in the one hand you can buy it as a consumer, without prosecution. and the other hand they say it's forbidden to get it in to the shop. now we have built more or less the right wing government. it will start in a few days. and they said we will make it more difficult for coffee shops to exist. the restraining rules. perhaps a lot of coffee shops will have to close down. that means more illegal trades, more illegal buy and selling. more crime.

and i think that's the wrong way to deal with this. >> got it. it's ap interesting perspective to think about marijuana and the netherlands and the potential for it being legalized here and the thought that maybe legalizing it will decrease crime. it's an interesting perspective. meantime, a live news conference happening right now. the president there making the start of the rescue operation for 33 miners. they have been trapped for 68 days. more than 2,000 feet below the ground. this is the president, sebastian pineiera. he's saying tonight, the world watches, in the a tragedy it could have been, but a celebration. his words. take you live. back to chile in a couple of moments.

i tell you what, we've just about arrived at the magical moment we've been waiting for to see the miners reaching freedom half a mile below grounds in chile. a number of my colleagues down there are watching. the president of chile, si bastien pineiera is speaking. the whole thing is immonen. i want to go to gary touch hahn. what in the world is the atmosphere like right now? >> we're at a vantage point we haven't been allowed to be at. it's where the men will come up. it looks like a sewer cap. a short time ago about one hour and 15 minutes, about 6:00's

tern time, it's expected that a paramedic and a rescuer will go down 2300 feet in to the mine. it's expected about an hour from now, the first miner is expected to be pulled up. we're told each miner takes 15 or 17 minutes to come up. they can go four times faster in case of an emergency. we presume it will go four times faster to bring it down to get each miner. it could continue. we've never had a situation like this in the history of mining and the history of the world where so many men have been underground for so long. it's expecteded -- we hope so, but it's expected to be a happy ending for each and every one of them. >> we heard from the president this will be a celebration and nothing shy of that. you mentioned the process. that's fascinating to me, the fact that they'll be going in.

you have this rescue mine operator and also a paramedic. if you can, elaborate further on the process. the two men go down, one miner comes up. and explain, 33 miners all in a row or back and forth. >> one person at a time to be put on the capsule. they'll have an oxygen mask, they'll have communications within the capsule. the capsule will take 16 to 17 minutes to come to ground. these guys have been this the dark now since august 5, for almost ten weeks. so, therefore, when they see the light, it will be dark out most likely when they come up, 8:00 local time, k7:00 eastern time. it's dark here. but there's a method to the madness. they come above ground. they will go into a building that's right to your right. a white and red building and a

temporary hospital facility to check in on their health. the families will eyeball this, also white tents will be set uh. and they will all meet in another building 500 yards in this direction. and that's where they'll have the reunions before each and every one of the miners mandatory going to the real hospital which is an hour drive, a five-minute helicopter ride. a helicopter there shuttling each and every miner to the hospital to make sure they're okay. >> we're watching, waiting, crossing our fingers with you. gary tuchman, cnn is there. multiple teams down there. we'll bring you that moment. we're all waiting for live in chile. again, he mentioned 6:00 eastern, they go down. hopefully we see the beginning of that extraction process and freedom at 7:00 eastern time. coming up next, wolf blitzer tells us what's ahead in "the situation room."

a. >> we have been focusing on marijuana this week. i want to use the words of some of my colleagues to explain why we wanted to bring the issue of legalizing marijuana to you. quote, the long-haired stoner is not the face of the pro pot lobby. the activist no longer has long hair but she does have kids. kathleen parker will explain that and share a few more opinions about why this national conversation on marijuana is very important. that is tomorrow here. you can see her on "parker-spitzer." back to chile. all of you are tweeting about. seeing the whole story unfold as "the countdown" is on. and how narrow is this capsule? they call it the phoenix, that will be bringing up the trapped miners in chile? guess what? we built one here what we think may be similar to it. we're going to show it to you.

do a little demonstration. that's next.

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all righty. back to chile. rescuers here are busy, busy. we could be hours away from seeing those 33 miners reach freedom. coming up through the rocks, half a mile, we expect this rescue team to be lowered into the mines starting in about, well, gary tuchman said 6:00 eastern. chile's mining minister said the first miner could be out by the end of today. hoping they'll have more than one. they'll be pulled to the surface one at a time for this skinny tube. before we go through our demo, do we have all of the members of the media, the media circus, the pictures down there. i don't know if this is the government feed. we can't show it to you now. it's incredible. hundreds and hundreds of media all over the world. chad myers, i've covered major national stories and other mining accidents that did not have the same happy ending as

this story. by the scores of media, this had everyone's attention right now. >> it does now. but we've been down there the whole time. >> the whole time. >> it makes me proud to realize our men and women have been down there. 14 men and women on the ground there. gary is on the ground there. 15 if not more he was traveling through. here we go. >> here we go. this is the picture we were talking about. all of these people are being kept in one specific area. people from all around the world want to capture that magical moment. the celebration as president sebastian pineiera with the men being extracted. we've built p built this capsule, a mock of "the phoenix" if you will. >> not to be a bucket of cold water, these men are still down there. >> incredibly dangerous. >> the cables have to hold, they have to go around a number of turns because the bit didn't go all the way down straight. there are a lot of things that could go down wrong.

but thinking we're not going to get one after the other after the other. this is the capsule that we had built. it's built to size. it's not metal. >> give us dimensions. >> the entire dimension of a boar hole is 28 anchs around. the bore hole was larger than this which you would expect. the real mock-up, the real phoenix, there are wheels here, here, here, here, and here. as this rolls up, kind of a rougher surface, which is just a bore hole, this will slide up and go up to the top a little bit smoother. those wheels will stop it from spinning around because not only would you be in the dark, but then you'd be spinning and not knowing you're going east, west, north, or south. here you go. they'll close this. this will be a mesh -- a wire mesh. not plastic. this could give you an idea. i can get in here pretty well. not perfect, but a lot better than being down in a mine. they believe every single miner will be able to get into this without any -- what were thought about medical issues -- of

getting them in this thing. one thing we learned about on some blogs, people talking about the bends. could they be down there so long that the nitrogen in their bodies would come out of the bodies in tiny little bubbles like a scuba diver coming out of the water after a very long time. we worked on the calculations where we talked to divers. it doesn't appear that there's enough of a differential from where they are now to where they will be later to make a difference. if they were underground like they are now, the pressure is not as big. if they're underwater, the pressure is significantly more if they're under 2,000 feet of water. >> apples and oranges. >> never a chance they could depressurize literally without the bubbles coming out of their system. >> we do know a couple of things. they've been on a liquid diet the last little bit. they've been working with a trainer. working out somehow down there in the teeny tiny corner for an hour a day.

guys lost 20, 30 pounds. >> 90 degrees down there. >> 90 degrees down there. you expect a cool mine, right? you go to pennsylvania anthracite mine, it's 55. go to penn's cave, 55, 60 degrees. it's cold all day long. >> the copper mine is hot. >> it's different, closer down to what they consider to be magma, almost under the surface. so, yes, it's cool for a while as you walk down the mine or as they did going in or out. it warms up as we get deeper and deeper. >> 16 to 17 minutes what gary tuchman was saying it would take to go from half a mile underground through the rock. it won't be twisting and turning as we initially thought, finally being extracted and coming out. >> it will be jerky. not a perfect bore like you would take a beautiful wood bit and go through a two-by-four. it's moving around. it wouldn't go