to move on. >> reporter: good karma, for sure, and good political sense here, too, because what people are talking ability as well in social media is that the president made a great political calculation because his numbers have gone up because he staked his presidency on it. the approval rating according to one report, has gone up from 50 to 70%. >> zain verjee, thank you very much. great talking to you, and great coverage that you brought around the world on cnn international. what a remarkable story. tony, this is the stuff we do best. >> breaking news. >> this is our brand, cnn. >> kyra, have a great day. we're going to pick it up and run with it from here. hugs, kisses. cheers and tears as the unprecedented rescue of 33 miners unfolds before our eyes. one by one, hour after hour, miners step out of the rescue capsule and into the arms of

loved ones at the san jose mine. 19 miners still waiting to be hoisted up. people around the world are celebrating with the people of chile. look at this. the excited crowds at camp hope. that's the makeshift village started by the families of the miners, as well as crowds in new york, san francisco and tokyo. in the 13 hours since the rescue began, we learned so much about them. claudio yanez lagos is 34, a carrier pigeon holder. his long-time girlfriend proposed during his isolation. he was the eighth man up. he gave the thumbs up, and once he was free, rushed over to his fiancee and knocked off her hard hat in the embrace. enjoy that for a second. i'll jump back in here to tell you that the couple have two

daughters and said they plan to mary after the rescue. mario gomez heredia, 63 years old, the oldest, and the spiritual leader of the group. he was prepared to retire on the day of the cave-in. gomez suffers from a mine-related lung disease and has two fingers on one hand after a mining accident. here's the moment he arose. gomez gave us a thumbs up, hugged his wife while clutching the chilean flag and dropped to his knees and spoke silently to god. the miner people are talking about is forward-year-old mario sepulveda. take a look at these pictures of mario sepulveda. take this scene in for used a moment. chi chi chi le le le!

>> all right, and, without any further ado, let's get you to the scene right now. our karl penhaul is there. karl, if you would, take as much time as you need, and bring us the sights, sounds and scenes as you have watched it unfold over the hours now. >> reporter: i think, if you gave me as much time as i needed, tony, we'd have to go back over the entire 12 hours that this rescue operation has lasted so far. there have been so many magical moments there, as i'm sure you'll agree, difficult to describe each one. but here we are in camp hope, the camp were the families have camped out since that mine collapsed on august the 5th, and today, and over last night, and now their hopes being fulfilled as their sons, as husbands, were

finally pulled back to the surface. it really didn't matter which miner was being pulled to the surface at any one moment. there have been 33 families that arrived here, but since they arrived here, they became one big family with 33 sons. florencia av vallos may have been the first guy out of the whole but he is the son of this big family and that mood continued throughout the day. we had characters like jimmy sanchez, the youngest miner there under ground. he never wanted to go under ground but it was the only way he could support his newborn daughter. he was afraid of the dark and claustrophobic and was affrayed of the ghosts and spirits of miners that died there before him. he is now on the surface. we had the oldest miner come out, mario gomez.

they were worried about his health, his lungs because of the black lung he suffers. his wife says he's as tough as an old boot, and he proved that. he came out and gave his wife lila a huge, huge hug and dropped down to one knee and said a prayer to god and the virgin mary. he was the spiritual leader of the miners, helped as a team and shared his experience. then, of course, other characters like edison pena, a vital part of the team. he is also a mad-hat elvis fan, and i couldn't help thinking as he was coming up in that rescue capsule what elvis song was going through his mind at that time. he can't speak much english but according to his father, he can sing just about every elvis presley song in perfect english. in the shrine his father set up,

it said, son, if you make it out of that mine alive, you'll be bigger than elvis. i don't know if any of the miners of bigger than elvis, but they're certainly rock stars in more ways than one, all eyes on them. each of these miners has a story to tell. they have a family behind them, but the most important thing, 33 families have become one. it's a big family with 33 sons, and today those 33 sons are coming home, tony. >> how good is this story today? and how good is karl penhaul covering this story for us from chile? thank you. 69 days ago, these men were everyday fathers, husbands and sons. today they emerge as heroes for chile and the world. josh levs is here to tell us who they are. >> i will give you a rundown of those rescued so far but let's look at the amazing pictures. it's rare that the world is staring at happy pictures of

reunions. we have high-res images on cnn.com. this is mario gomez, the 63-year-old, the oldest of the trapped miners. he will never go below again. claudio llanes, the eighth to cup up. i want to show you everyone who has been rescued so far. here it is, the list of the 14 so far rescued and we will talk about those down there. starts with florence joe avalos silva. he was a cameraman down there. mario sepulveda, the spokesman for the miners. this is juan llanes palma. number four, carlos maman sole liz, the one from bolivia. jimmy sanchez, only 19 years old. he is the youngest in the group,

working as an environmental assistant. we have been hearing about his writing to the family. osman arequiria. jose ojeda vidal, 46 years old, originally a master driller. serving as a secretary for the miners. this is claudio llanes las vegas goe -- lagos -- >> we have pictures of the 15th miner, victor segovia. what we're doing throughout the day, every time someone is rescued, we move them upward into the section where we learn more about them there. be tell you about those that are not rescued. there are families still concerned, keeping an eye out

for loved ones waiting. every few minutes we have been getting amazing new pictures like this, where you get to see the capsule working its way up. we watch live as it becomes basically unveiled, and they can come out. >> this is victor segovia rojas. >> he was the writer and kept a journal. he helped keep the rescuers informed really about the well-being of all of the miners down there. he's married. five children. been working in mining since before he turned 18. he's been at the san jose mine, this mine, for eight years. victor antonio segovia rojas. i was talking about the national anthem we saw them sing. let's listen in. we have some sound now. [ applause ]

>> that's the moment you want. >> this is it, these beautiful moments of reunions. one of the first videos we saw them was singing the national anthem below, and the words to the national anthem talk about the beautiful snow-capped mountains. >> it's a beautiful country. >> here they are, back on that land again, this belief in country and religion has sustained them. they are reunited about the land we saw them singing about. >> let's sort of listen to these moments. [ speaking spanish ] >> victor segovia a moment ago

being greeted by the president. >> it's interesting the way these men while they were down there really took on roles, a division of labor that went on down there. he did take on the role of really reporting on what was happening down there. >> now, he can sit down, relax. let's get you to the hospital. let's get you checked out. you can see that moment there, he's been through something. all of these miners really clearly have been through something. put the sunglasses back on and get you to the hospital and get you checked out. the work continues. get the capsule ready to send it back down that rescue shaft and bring the next miner out, scheduled to be daniel esteban herrera campos. >> we have been hearing abdomen the sunglasses and the blankets, exposed to the temperatures and elements after all of these

weeks to no exposure and natural sun light for all of that time and the concerns with that. >> terrific! so it is going really smoothly at this point you have to say. we will continue to watch this and bring you each and every miner as that miner is extricated and brought to the surface right here in the cnn newsroom. josh, thank you, appreciate it. chile's rescued miners are getting checked out at the hospital, and we will head there next. cnn's wolf blitzer right now prepping questions for tonight's delaware senate debate. we will warm him up when we come back. let's take a look at stocks. the market has been open since 9:30, and we are soaring in positive territory. triple-difficult gains so far. up 117 points. we will follow niece numbers for you throughout the day in the cnn newsroom.

chi chi chi le le le! all kinds of just sheer joy

on display today in chile. one by one, rescuers hoisting the trapped miners into the bright chilean sunshine. this is alex vega, 31 years old and a heavy machine mechanic at the mine. he sufd foved four hours ago. some. these men have chronic conditions. i'm thinking diabetes and high blood pressure for some. how are they doing? >> reporter: we're hearing they're doing very well so far. of course, doctors have been in touch with them almost every day since they were discovered alive on august 22nd, but there's one thing about talking to them and something different to be able to examine them and look at the eyes. they have been under ground as you know, for two months without

any access to direct sunlight and it's blinding here every day. they want to make sure the men are okay before they are released, not just physically, checking their teeth and hearts and making sure they are not exposed to diseases, colds or anything like that, but they have been kept secluded. this gentleman who was just rescued, the latest one, victor segovia, another amazing story who wrote to his family. this gentleman, he is a self-taught musician. i've seven videos of him playing music in a club here in his hometown of copiapo, an incredible musician. did it without a lesson, plays the guitar and harmonica. their dream is to get back and spend the afternoons together listening to him play. he's another miner who is no stranger to accidents in the mine.

he had a bad accident that hurt his back and put him out for a year. he returned out of necessity. it's hard to say what his plans are right now, but his relatives say they will beg him never to return to the mines. it's too dangerous. they don't want to lose him again. >> if you would, describe the scene around the hospital. there are a lot of people who have gathered there to welcome the miners as they are brought into the hospital. what's the scene like there? >> reporter: you know, it's an interesting scene because you have people moving up and down the street. they are coming out, gathering, waiting to see the miners come in. the miners will be housed on the second and fourth floor there behind me. they will get care and you have to think on august 5th when this mine disaster happen, they got an urgent call miners could be brought in any time with serious, serious injuries. thankfully that was not the case and had months now to prepare, and they say they're more than

prepared to take care of these men for several days if not longer. the process of bringing them in is incredible. they bring them in with military helicopters and last night they closed down a 30-mile road between the town and the mine because the military pilots were worried that their tonight troe jen goggles could be affected by the lights coming up and down the road. >> copiapo, chile, that's the city and the regional hospital, and that's where patrick oppmann is now as the miners arrive to be checked out thoroughly. got to tell you, the gold and copper mine in chile is in one of the driest spots on earth. reynolds swofl here, and he has prepared some really, really cool stuff for us. >> you mentioned this is one of the driest places in the world. they get about .004 of a inch of

rain. on one side you have the andes mountains, and then the amazon basin, and the plains of argentina, plenty of moisture there but here you have the peruvian high that is the up there off south america, and things remain dry, and that is the situation in the desert. the terrain and very mountainous and dry, and where the mine happens to be located is actually right here in these mountains. you will notice kind of located in an indented spot in the mountains, and what the people deal with in the mind itself is just unbearable. tony, down below, temperatures about 90 degrees inside the mine itself. it's been very tough for these guys. in terms of the escape, amazing, with the capsule, fenix,

developed by the chilean navy. is goes through the 28-inch diameter bore hole. it has wheels that propel it to the surface and moves at a rate of about 1.2 miles per hour. can you imagine the rush of getting up there and breathing in that dry air after being in the dank cave. what a relief for them and their families. what a great thing it is for humanity. >> what an amazing story. the world is watching and cheering on the rescue effort, the miners, their families. we have got ton know them. it's amazing story to watch before our eyes. u.s. companies lent a big hand in chile. we'll explain their crucial role in today's rescue. back in a moment with more of the scenes from chile. introducie pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast

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let's get you caught up now on top stories. six nato troops lost their lives in the afghan war. five killed by roadside bombs in the south. the sixth died in an insurgent attack. the lead mexican investigator in the disappearance of american david hartley has been killed.

his head delivered in a suitcase to the mexican military. tiffany hartley said drug thugs killed and shot her husband on the lake between texas and mexico. hartley's body has not been recovered. hurricane paula grazing the resorts on the yucatan peninsula. it's headed toward cuba. reynolds wolf has the details. three american companies have played critical roles in the rescue of the chilean miners. christine romans has a look. christine, what are they contributing to this effort? >> well, you know, it's interesting because you have got engineering prowess, logistics, health care technology and, tony, i'll tell you that a lot of the different companies involved in this are proud of their presence there. the place is crawling the journalists, family members, government officials, but also, tony, with the engineers and technology people from companies

from all over the world who got this who thing off the ground or out from under the ground. oakley is the sunglasses milwaukee here sent the glasses for them to wear on the way up and also a company called schramm, in pennsylvania, the company that frankly drilled the main rescue shaft. on the left, that's the plan p drill. on the right, that's one of the drills that first reached the miners with a 5 gnat inch diameter bore hole, and the company that made the kril, it went into the hole and took the 5 1/2 inch bore hole and turned it into 28 inches wide. there are hammers in the grill that has been grinding. zephyr made this bio harness and something called the omnisense screen. it is the computerized tracking,

the vital statistics of the miners. they were monitoring for panic attacks, for how the guys were faring during exercise routines, and that technology is usually for first responders, frankly, firefighters in very dangerous situations to keep an eye on them, or elite athletes. they were able to use it for the miners. >> this is a good international story. they looked for the best of the best from around the world, right? >> oh, yeah, a lot of south american countries and logistical companies moving stuff in and out, and, i'll tell you that there are a lot of unsung heroes who have been working down there, donated their time and donated their materials. they are calling this a humanitarian effort and not trying to drum up a lot of pr.

you have to search around to find it. there was a chinese mine disaster, and a lot of the companies were on the ground for that. this is something they do. >> terrific. good to see you. see you next hour. coons versus o'donnell, the fight for vice president joe biden's senate seat takes place in delaware with cnn's wolf blitzer. i will talk to wolf next about the showdown. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure."

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about debates of the election, and you will see it on cnn tonight. can't wait for this. the delaware senate debate between christine o'donnell and democratic open opponent chris coons. our own wolf blitzer of "the situation room" will be moderating. wolf, good to see you. if you look at the polling out of delaware, chris coons is the front-runner, but it is christine o'donnell who is creating a lot of the buzz in this race. for everyone around the country who will be introduced to christine o'donnell tonight in your co-moderated debate. who is she? >> we're going to find out in-depth tonight because we will go into depth on a lot of the important issues facing the country right now, whether on jobs, the economy, taxes, some of the social issues, national security issues. we're going to deal with substance tonight and i think the viewers out there, certainly the voters here in delaware --

we're on the campus of the university of delaware, mitchell hall, behind me is where the debate will take place. they have a chance to size up the two candidates. we will be releases a new cnn/"time" magazine poll right before the debate. the other polls show she is considerably behind chris coons. let's remember, going into the republican primary, she was considerably behind mike castle, the long-time congressman from the state of delaware, the favorite of the republicans. everyone thought they was the shoe-in, and then to be elected to the senate seat once held by vice president joe biden. she beat him. it was a narrow defeat. she beat him and so she and her supporters believe with the tea party-backed momentum, with the anti-incumbency mood she can beat chris coons. he's ahead in the polls, and tonight we will have a view of

what the voters really think. >> anti-incumbency, that mood in the country, the tea party support for christine o'donnell, is that the reason she was able to beat mike castle? and there is at least a couple of polls out there that suggest that if mike castle were in the race, he would be leading against chris coons. what do you think of that support? does it look to you it might be enough for her to stage a late comeback here? >> what she's trying to show is that she is not a career politician. >> yes. >> she's like you. everyone remembers, i'm not a witch. i am you. no one will ever forget that commercial, an extraordinary political ad, as we all know. she's trying to use that almost as a badge of honor. she's had problems with her own mortgage payments, problems with her irs payments. other problems as well.

he is like you, like me, like all of the voters in delaware across the country. it's like a badge of honor. she's going against chris coons, who went to an ivy league school. he's not like you, an elitist, a career politician. that's the argument she is making. so far they have used it with success but she is considerably behind in polls right now. less than three weeks to go, and that's still a long time. i think the debate tonight, voters have a chance to size her up and size chris coons up. there are still a considerably number of voters here in delaware who are undecided. >> i promise to get to a question about chris coons here in a second. it is the truth that it is christine o'donnell creating the buzz in this race. the answer to the next question can't be, you have to watch tonight to find out. how do you approach the i dabbled in witch craft years ago and the i'm not a witch ad?

how do you take that on tonight as the co-moderator of this debate? >> well, i want to be honest with you and our viewers, i'm much more interested in how she would approach issues like social security, medicare, jobs. what would she do to create jobs? because that's issue number one, not only in delaware but across the country. >> yes. >> i'm interested in how she would deal with the national debt, which is exploding, the deficit, the annual deficits. i'm interested in whether she can vote on issues of war and peace. there are two wars, one in iraq and afghanistan. there's war on terrorism, tension with north korea and iran. there are economic kbloebl global issues, outsourcing with china. these are the substantive issues i'm interested in going through and social issues. i suspect the wish craft stuff

will come up. when he was in college, chris coons, they branded him as a bearded maxist. maybe that will come up. >> yes, yes,y e. >> i have to tell you, these questions have been asked and answers of the candidates numerous times, including last week. jim acosta had an exclusive interview with christine o'donnell. she answered the questions. he answered the questions. i want voters to have a better idea of where they stand on substantive issues that affect their lives. >> we appreciate that approach to the debate tonight's i appreciate that. i heard you voice your opinion that you haven't had enough information on the ub stantive issue of the day. i promised you a question on chris coons. let meet get to it. maybe you can give the viewers a bit of an outline, a sketch, on who he is. you mentioned a couple of times he is leading the race. it has been suggested that he

would go to washington as a rubber stamp to the policies of the obama administration. what do you think we will find out about chris coons tonight? >> i think we will find out he's very much in line with the policies of joe biden, a long-time senator from delaware, a moderate, liberal democrat who is traditionally a little bit of an independent streak in this state of delaware, but, you know, he's a politician. he's had to deal with local issues as a local county official here, and he's had to deal with issues of property taxes, other tacks, so he knows a lot about the local issues, the statewide issues, and presumably, if he doesn't know a lot about the national issues, national security issues, that will be quicklyly evident later tonight. the format is that we will ask a

question, and the candidate has two minutes to answer the question, and the other candidate has one minute to respond and then there will be four minutes of an open discussion, follow-up questions and a little back and forth and then we'll move on to the next subject. these have been carefully negotiated by the campaigns. no restrictions on the questions we can ask or the follow-ups. what's also good is some of the students here at the university of delaware, they have questions as well, and i'm really anxious for those questions to be answered. >> he is the leader of the best political team on television. wolf blitzer the host of "the situation room." thank you for taking time out of your prep to be with us. thank you, wolf. don't forget to tune in tonight at 7:30 p.m. eastern time for the debate hosted by wolf blitzer. back in a moment.

cnn, your hurricane headquarters. this way, this way. reynolds wolf, give us an update on hurricane paula. >> the latest of this particular storm, winds 100 miles per hour, gusts stronger, up to 120. it is moving to the north. you see it's going to be driving to the north. where is it going to go long term? for that answer, we take a look at the latest forecast path from the national hurricane center and as i mentioned, looks like it will continue in the north trajectory and continuing northeast. thursday and friday shoe weaken

as it gets close to the west coast of cuba and right over cuba saturday and sunday. thing of, there is a cone of uncertainty, could go to the north or toward the florida keys or into the caribbean. it looks like it may go into cuba over the weekend. we have more updates throughout the yard noon and evening with chad myers. chile's miners emerge to a hero's welcome after 69 days in isolation. what about their mental health. i am talking to dr. e. coming up next in the cnn newsroom. everything comes together. a moe where there's magic. and you now understand what nature's been hiding. ♪ at dow we understand the difference between innovation and invention. invention is important. it's the beginning. it's the spark. but innovation is where we actually create value for dow,

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gout flares, joint pain, and rash. [ male announcer ] if you have gout, ask your doctor about uloric. . the world watches as chile pulls its trapped miners safety. the men seem to be in relate toughly good condition. we don't know for sure. eric fisher is a clinic psychologist in atlanta. dr. e. good to see you. what were your concerns about the mental health of these miners trapped 69 days in the days leading up to this rescue? >> there's a lot of preparation for this, and the preparation -- they have been in that environment where they are getting accustomed to it to some degree and want to get out. somebody could get through that whole situation unfazed because

they lived in the mines and work in mines, but coming through that shaft, had there been problems could have been a traumatizing event. so you want to prepare them for that because trauma is interpreted by the individual. we might look at a situation and say, that's a walk in the park or i don't know how he lived through that, but it's that individual's interpretation of the event that determines how they make it through it. >> as you watched, have you noticed anything? some of the men have been subdued and some you jubilant coming out. >> right. >> as a man who works in the mental health feel. is there anything you can learn from the affect of the men? >> i think you see the personality come through. the guy who came up with the rocks, the sense of humor came through with the souvenirs, so to peek. >> yes. >> the guy who came up and kissed the ground, the spiritual leader. you see the personality. under stress, it's harder to act, so they're going to be who

they are, and you have to add in fatigue, exhaustion, trauma, illness. all of the factors. >> what would have been the single most important thing to have been done by the folks coordinating this rescue to make sure that the men were in good mental shape during these 69 days? >> make sure they're prepared for what's going to happen when they get out because people have to go what they're getting into. we are made for gradual changes. if we spend too much time in the cold, we get frostbite, too hot, sunburn. we have to realize the graduated exposure to the experience is important. when we experience trauma, our brain wave pattern changes, and the way we approach life changes. they need time to work out of the experience. >> i'm a family member. let me put myself in the place of a family member. my instinct is i want to hug you up and consume you, right? >> right, exactly. >> okay, and would that be

helpful or maybe not so helpful for the miners? do they need a certain amount of space? do they need to decompress or do whatever? >> it's going to depend on the individual. that the a temperament based thing. how do they feel with closeness and comfort. you have to look at the interaction of the families and how is this going to play out long time because each individual -- some people might come out of it changed. the person who started writing poetry, he might be a harder person who came out and wants to feel love and comfort. others might be hardened by this and buried emotions deep inside. the metaphor for feeling is like being trapped in a mine, and how they heal is what they buried in side and how the psychologists and family members and the whole country helps them bring out to the light what he buried through the experience. >> there are going to be some miners that we gravitate to? >> right, right.

>> they're going to be super stars. maybe it's sepulveda or heredia, and others who sort of -- >> right. >> that can be difficult for, a, the miner who is the superstar, and the others who shared the experience, who the media will, i'm sorry to say it, will ignore and move on. >> right. >> how did you handle that situation, for both the superstar and the person whose story isn't the headline grabbing story for the media zblo we are emotional beings. a lot of people want to eliminate emotion from the human equation, and we can't. sometimes the people who are mild in temperament might act like they don't want the attention even though inside they're happens thirsting for it. those thrust in the limelight act like they want it but they don't. some people want to go home and be left alone. >> yes. >> you have to look at each person individually, and you need somebody to be watching out

for them, like a parent, somebody might have to say to them, no, this isn't good for you. somebody's looking out for you. >> how much time do you have? because the next miner is close to the surface, daniel esteban, campos is close. i want to you stand by and help us walk through the extraction and the initial moments. we understand he's close to the surface. in the next five minutes we should have the pictures. annoue morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever.

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with 20 days to go before america votes in the midterm elections, we're going to get to politics, i promise you, but we are really close to the next extraction of the next miner. that's got to be a family member right there. waiting for daniel esteban herrera campos to appear in that fenix capsule to the surface here. josh is with us, dr. eric fisher is with us, clinical psychologist from here in the atlanta area. doctor, let me ask the first question of you. how important is it for these miners as they are coming up through that rescue shaft to be able to talk to the people on the surface about the ride?

and what might be the communication back and forth? >> that communication is absolutely critical because they need to be busy doing something. if an experience becomes traumatizing. i'm sorry. i interrupted. i just wanted to draw attention, this is the moment. >> if they're coming up in the situation -- they have never been in something that small before, most of them, so it's a novel experience and you want to keep them busy, their minds occupied and you want to keep them talking, what's going on with the rock, is there any water coming in, what do you want to eat when you get back on the earth, things like that. are there questions that keep their mind off what's going on? >> some of this feels like common sense. so the capsule surfaces, and we've got all of the workers around the capsule right now. is it as simple as, hey, how are you doing? are you okay? how is it going? welcome. >> yeah, absolutely. >> is it that simple? >> yeah, you don't want to overwhelm them. this is something they're still adjusting to, and they probably

want to see their family. they might want to just get some good rest or warm clothes on. some of the creature confidence they may be looking for. >> do we have translation on this? because i want to listen, but i don't know how many -- okay. we're not sure we're going to have translation. but let me pause for a moment. >> currently taking his harness off. that harness is connected to some hooks inside of the capsule. he can't still exit the fenix, because he's still tied in. >> okay. you're listening to chilean tv right now, describing the action. and as we wait, josh, you've got a bit of a profile? >> yeah, these pictures. >> great. i just wanted to make sure we have them. let's listen in. >> in her first letter -- >> daniel campos, 27 years old.

we will be learning what is it was really like, but he served the role of paramedic assistant. he was originally a truck driver. let's listen in. >> there you go. those are the moments we have been seeing today. >> let's listen a bit longer to see if we can get some translation and perhaps what is said here.

unbelievable. doctor, what is this like for -- >> she said to him she wouldn't leave the site until she could leave with him. daniel looks very moved. he's greeting all of the people there. >> okay. this part of the scene. so let's turn down the chilean broadcaster for just a moment. we'll monitor that. and dr. fischer, what is this moment like for the loved one? we heard that particular loved one declaring, look, i wasn't going to leave until you came out of there. what has this experience been like for a loved one waiting for that person to come out of that shaft? >> i would imagine it's an indescribable experience. joy, relief, tears, just a whole range of emotions that that person is going to be experiencing.

and, again, to imagine that you may never see this person again, and they come out of this situation. and you still don't know what's going to happen. there's still a lot of unknowns here, but just absolute joy. >> look at that. so josh, i'm looking through the profile on daniel. i don't see that he has a family here. do you have anything on whether or not he has a family, kids? >> he's only 27 years old. in general, we have pretty good profiles here, so when they have spouses and children, when they have wives and children, we know it. 27 years old, a truck driver and took on the role of paramedic down there, and as we look at this, i will tell you, people all over the world are watching this, they are responding, we are hearing from viewers how incredible an experience it is. some of them stayed up through the night. they have been watching all of these. i'm going to tell you what a few of our viewers are saying. helen saying watching the mine rescues is the best reality tv i've ever seen. claudio, all of the positiveness and cheerful spirits these

people show after being down there makes me forget all of the whining and complaining elsewhere. this is from bobbie. the entire thing is mind-boggling in so many ways. i'm hooked. one more from rhonda. i have been touched by the spirit of oneness of the chilean people. the mind-set of the miners themselves, their gratitude to god and their families and leaders. not once did i hear disdain. people are moved by this, and, you know, 16. so we are very close to the halfway mark. i guess the next guy when he's halfway up, that will be technically the halfway mark. so incredible. >> eric, while i've got you here, you're at the hospital. and you're a part of the mental health team that's waiting to talk to daniel in this case. >> right. >> what do you want to know, how do you want to approach him? you certainly want to get him speaking and telling you what's

in his head and his heart. how do you go about doing that? >> you've got to let it be on his time, in part. and make sure the doctors are doing what they need to do medically. about you want to kind of ask him, what do you need? sometimes people assume that people know what they need. but ask him, what do you want, what do you want? he might want to be with family, but you might need to explain to them, this is what we're doing and why. so they have probably been briefed on what is going to happen once they get out. but is really a matter of taking the time to assess them, not necessarily what they're saying. a lot of communication is really body language. and that's what we have to look at, is the body language of the people, and the body language of the miners, and see how they're responding, more so than what they're saying sometimes. >> do you see in those scenes with daniel coming out? >> my concern is that they know they're on national tv or world tv, even. so they're -- i wouldn't want people to feel like they hold back their feelings because of their pride. let the emotion out.

he looked like he was feeling kind of emotional. >> at the end there. >> exactly. it's like -- i don't know if it was his mother or who. but the person that they seemed to be really happy to see them. and imagine seeing this person, and then all of a sudden being taken away from that again. it's almost like a traumatic birth where you're born and as the infant your first attachment and you're taken off to icu. and those can be very traumatizing experiences with the work i do with hope nosis and people with trauma. that. >> was a pretty powerful visual you just gave us. thank you, eric. dr. eric fischer with us. josh levs, as well. let's take a quick break. we're back in a moment. you're in the cnn "newsroom." sure i'd like to diversify my workforce,

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here we go, top of the hour. boy, the incredible rescue scene. you love these pictures and you loved the story. we do, too. we are showing our in-box with e-mails. you are sending us i-reports. you're looking at live pictures from chile. just minutes ago, you saw the 16th miner, daniel herrera, hoisted from a collapsed shaft more than 2,000 feet underground. this hour we await the rescue of omar rojas, originally a bulldozer operator, but after the collapse, has been serving as foreman inside the safety chamber. this has been a global event. take a look at the excited crowds at camp hope.

that's the makeshift village started by family members of the 33 miners, as well as crowds watching from new york, san francisco, and tokyo. what a story. gal vannizing the world. we are seeing some very memorable moments as each trapped miner is set free after really being entombed for 69 harrowing days. watch as they emerge, one by one.

>> i was with god, and i was with the devil. but god won. i held on to god's hand, the best hand. at no point in time did i doubt that god wouldn't get me out of there.

boy, oh, boy. 69 days, cut off from the world. the rescue's miners are getting ready to see doctors now. patrick oppmann is in the copy co copiapo regional hospital there. tell us about the condition of the miners and how they're being treated. >> reporter: tony, the scene here is growing, it's becoming somewhat of a surreal

atmosphere, people hoping to get a glimpse of the miners, and as well as the huge media presence. and tony, we can report to you now that the merchandising of the miners has begun. as you said, it's a global event, a lot of people are going to want some sort of piece of this story. something to remember it by. here you have a very attractive flag with all 33 miners' faces on it, all for about $2. tony, this one is for you, we'll get it in the mail to you. >> love it. >> reporter: you and your team can enjoy it. just put it down there, so we don't misplace it. that's the scene here, but obviously very serious business at hand. this is going to be the first stop for all of the miners, once they leave that mine site. and doctors here want to make sure that once they leave this hospital in a few days that they have a clean bill of health, mentally and physically. they're going to go over them just about -- with just about every test you can imagine. from the teeth to their eyes, heart checkups. very concerned. and want to keep them in

something of an isolation setting, because they have not been outside that mine now for two months. they're afraid that if one were to catch a cold, one were to come down with something, that could really have a bad effect on all of them. they may just have weakened immune systems. certainly, as you can see around, we've got a bright, sunny day here. that's almost the case every day for men who have not seen sunlight now for 69 days. that would just be very difficult for their eyes, permanently damage their eyes. so officials treading very, very carefully there. and every few hours, though, there are helicopters that will come and bring about four of the men. happens probably about every six to eight hours. it's quite a sight, those military helicopters coming in this neighborhood to deliver the miners back to their hometown. >> well, patrick, i'm going to ask you to hold up that flag again, and my spanish is pretty weak. so hold it up, and what does it say, and we're going to hold you

to this promise to get that flag to our show team. what does it say? >> reporter: yes, sir. it says, "we will come out of this mine alive," tony. the 33. and it's got photos and their names of all of them, a chilean flag. and you know, it's just become shorthand for these men. you say that here in chile, in their hometown of copiapo and everybody knows what you're talking b. these men left on august 5th to go to work in the mine, they're coming back today as heroes, as men forever chained by their ordeal, tony. >> get that signed by some of the workers on that rescue team. they have been doing an amazing job through this whole ordeal. patrick, you have been doing a great job, as well. thank you. got to tell you, the world is watching this rescue, live, on television and the internet.

josh levs, josh, we have been saying it throughout the morning. this is truly a global moment. >> it is. and that's another part of the story here, right? you've got the center point, which is what's going on right there in chile. but you've got the whole world watching, and i can't remember the last time we had the whole world watching one event that was so positive and so happy, so many people, so emotional. let's take a look at some of the i reports we're getting. here's one from sri lanka. ♪ >> this is a really emotional moment. >> this is shari atukorala, sent us i-reports before, said it's so emotional for her. let's take another one from mexico. and i'll talk over and tell you what he's saying.

>> this is juan lopez from mexico. he has mined in the past, his family has mined in the past and he sent us a report for how relieved us for all of this and also talk about the fact, such a good thing the world is paying attention to devices that can help rescue people. in this horrible situation. i believe we have one more here coming to us from norway. they're coming in by the minute. let's take a listen to this from norway. >> we want the whole world to know that in norway, we support this tragedy. it's a terrible thing that happened, and we're going to watch it as long as it takes. >> that's a young man who said that his entire class is actually sitting together watching this entire thing throughout the night, throughout the day, they're not going anywhere. and more of an emphasis how this is going global, take a look at this. i want you to see this picture here, this is an i-report we received, that shows a young

girl, 3 years old. her mother is natasha. her mother is using a paper towel roll and a little snow white to explain to her what's going on with the mine today. and we've also been getting i reports and i'll tell you quickly. we've got one from hanoi, people saying they're sitting in a big group watching. another one coming to us from santa domingo and the dominican republic. let's go back to live pictures, if we have any. i'll tell you more we're getting on facebook, on twitter. i'll read you some as they're coming in. i've been checking the pages every few minutes. people are peeled to the tube, whether there's big action or big shots like this. >> josh, the show in-box is stuffed. >> it's incredible. we have been running back to the desk and getting what we can. here's one from helen. i have all tvs in living room, bedroom and office on. i went to bed watching, i woke up watching. and she said she barely slept all night. lots of people celebrating.

dennis, chile, your country is great. cheers to you. jonathan krukoff, interesting from him, he says this is so heartwarming and wonderful to see. and he says while they are rescued, i imagine this next year of their lives will be tough psychologically. he says his thoughts are with them. webb says he is so happy to see these news coverage, and he says these are examples of people working together for a common good that americans do well to remember. and one more from linda. she says, i'm mesmerized by the rescues. the miners are in remarkable conditions. i love the chanting we're hearing as they are rescued, chile, chile, chile. and tony, i will tell you, we have an incredible number of interactives on my screen here. and we will tell you about every single person who has been rescued so far and all the ones we're waiting for. i'll show you a few of them. this is florencio al variovario

he was a cameraman during the isolation a few more, solis. let's take a look at some of the pictures of the guys we're still waiting for, the men still down there, still technically more than half we are waiting to see. here is one right here. rojas, 48 years old, and we're following every single one of these individuals as they come up, we're giving you background on them, bio. everything we know about them. at the same time, a team following your i-reports, facebook messages. i think my page is in there. you can join the conversation on facebook, twitter. cnn.com/tony. you know how to reach us. and we'll be back here with your kmemtsz. comments. >> let's take the live picture now from chile. what an amazing day. i appreciate so much you're staying with us for this coverage. what a day as these miners are

rescued, brought to the surface. semingly so far without a hitch. can you imagine that? there's the chilean flag for you. and there's the scene. the site, the location. and we are waiting for the next miner to be extricated from that shaft. when that happens, we will not miss that moment, i promise you. but still to come, straight ahead in the cnn "newsroom," i am not a witch. the sensational headline from the delaware senate race. tonight we get down to the real stuff. the stuff that really matters. live on cnn. we will have a preview of the o'donnell versus coombs debate. that's coming up next, but first, though, our random moment in 90 seconds. [ male announcer ] the everyday things we depend on are simple.

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call securehorizons today about aarpmedicarecomplete. be covered. not confused. ♪ okay, look. the truth is, we can't take our eyes off chile's rescued miners. neither can the random moment of the days. most of the guys popped up with some expressions, even a few tears. but not this guy. mario sepulveda came roaring out of the rescue pumped up. and he brought back a bag of rocks. souvenirs for the rescue workers. chile, chile, chile! >> how good is that? you can't get enough of that. that's the good stuff right there. one chilean newspaper put him on

their front page today. the headline, "super mario." the random moment for a wednesday.

and now 14 hours later, 16 miners, 16 have been successfully brought to the surface in a cylinder called the fenix. cnn's karl penhaul has been in chile for the entire ordeal. he joins us now, live. and karl, a moment ago, we were talking about super mario sepulveda as being the face on a newspaper there locally, but you have gotten to know the stories and the backgrounds on all of these miners through their families. set the scene for us as it is right now with this moment as we wait the extraction of the latest miner. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, we're here in camp hope, and this is where 33 families came more than two months ago, when they heard that the san jose golden copper mine had collapsed. this is where 33 individual families pitched their tents and refused to leave until they got home their brothers or their

husbands, dead or alive. and this is where 33 families waited. and today what we're seeing is not individual miners coming back to the surface, but 33 sons of a single family. now, down below, as the families were up here on the surface, there may well have been discussions, there may well have been arguments. maybe we'll find that out in the coming days. those miners were under intense pressure. but yes, we might see somebody like mario sepulveda, the joker in the pack, on the pages of the newspapers here, but i don't think even he would admit there was an individual effort here. these 33 miners have survived this long. they have fought against death, and won that battle, because they worked as a team. take now the miner coming up, number 17, after 13 hours and 18 minutes since the start of this rescue mission, omar reygadas,

started out as a bulldoze iroperator, been working the mines for 20 years, and the job he had in keeping this team together in the mine was that he became the foreman of one of the groups, the 33-man shift was divided up into three work teams, and omar reygadas on the basis of his skills and experience became one of shift foreman down there. and thanks to guys like omar who maybe play a more silent or more discreet role like somebody like mario who is an outgoing character, thanks to these personalities and how they have gelled these men have survived. on the other note for omar, a big family man, six children, 14 grandchildren and even a handful of great grandchildren. this is great granddaddy omar coming back home, and i'm sure the huge family will be so happy to see him, tony. >> that is terrific.

karl, another quick question for you. what have been the early reviews on the way the chilean government has handled this whole ordeal? what are the early reviews on the way president pinneras has handled this so far? >> initially, when the world saw the scale of the disaster and problem, nobody could really believe that it was going to take right up until christmas to get the miners out, simply because people thought that was an incredible time for 33 miner to say survive you said underground. but everybody scratched their heads. the drilling effort has been a multinational effort. yes, led by the chilean government and the state run copper mining company, make no mistake about that, but they have received help and advice from across the globe. so they put that together. and so there has been enormous

praise for the way the techalities have been handled. great praise for the head of the rescue effort, and also the mines minister lawrence go goldborne. there was some noise at one stage even among the family members, maybe president pinero was using the crisis to massage his political popularity, because he was facing criticisms on other political fronts because chile hadn't reconstructed as quickly as possible after the tsunami and earthquake back in february. because they had problems with indigenous groups down in the south. but now even as political rivals have been saying to me, you know, president pinero, you can think whatever you like about his politics, he's a right wing politician after a period of left wing presidents here. but he really bet everything on finding these men alive. he could quite easily put the drills down and found the 33

were dead after that mine caved in, but he kind of bet his political reputation on finding these miners alive. the families pressed on and encouraged him to do so. and he has come up trumped. i mean, he promised to be here on the day of the rescue, to hug each one of those miners. and he has been true to that. he stayed up as long hours as everybody else covering this, to hug each of the miners. he took a political gamble. that political gamble has paid off for him. he is a very popular man. and, of course, he's not a popular man for politicking, for speeches, he's a tough man in chile today, and probably across the world, because he has played an enormous role in saving 33 lives that in other countries maybe they would have just said there's no hope for those men, they must be dead. but the families said no, we will hope. the president said if you're hoping, i'm hoping with you. so all credit to him. and obviously, all credit to the

chilean authorities. and more than 1,000 rescue workers who have taken part in this operation, tony. >> terrific. terrific reporting, karl penhaul for us throughout this entire ordeal. karl, appreciate it. thank you. so here we are. less than three weeks to go before election day. but in less than eight hours, a political showdown gets under way in delaware between the tea party and the democrats. christine o'donnell and chris coombs go head-to-head for joe biden's old u.s. senate seat, and congressional correspondent brianna keilar joining us now. of and brianna, give us a preview of this debate tonight. >> reporter: well, tony, as you know, our very own wolf blitzer is going to be co moderating this debate. and he is promising that there is going to be a lot of questions about substantive issues, taxes, jobs, national

security. and that's pretty interesting, because this is a race that is centered in a very high-profile way, not so much around these substantive issues, but really around the personalities of these candidates. it's a senate race that's captured national attention, even parodied on ""saturday night live."" >> hi, i'm christine o'donnell and i'm not a witch. >> most of it centered on christine o'donnell, the republican underdog vying for the delaware senate seat vice president joe biden held for 36 years. she has faced backlash against her much-discussed comments on witchcraft and masturbation, made more than a decade ago. and o'donnell faces a significant disadvantage in polls against democrat chris coons, a county executive. her strategy, people are just like her. >> my goal is about putting the political process back into the hands of the people. i'm not a career politician. i'm not someone who has been

groomed for office. i'm not someone who has been hand picked by her party elite by the party bosses. obviously. >> reporter: coons does not shy away from his democratic credentials. he says he would have voted for health care reform and wall street reform and supports cap and trade. as controversy swirls around o'donnell, coons hopes his opponent sinks her own candidacy. >> for me to turn on these issues that have followed my opponent from the day of the primary to today distracts what this is about. it's not about christine o'donnell, it's not about me. it's about the voters of delaware. >> reporter: he is enjoying his unexpected front runner status. this seat was considered a reliable republican pickup until o'donnell beat long-time congressman mike cassel in the primary. now cassel isn't even endorsing o'donnell. >> no, i'm not going to endorse anybody in that particular race. and not because of the competence of any of the

candidates, but because the primary i went through was very nasty, and in a variety of ways, both politically and personally. and i've just declined to get involved in that. >> reporter: even so, o'donnell has some pretty significant enthusiasm behind her. this has translated to dollars. she has been able to raise a lot of money since her primary victory last month. still democrats are pretty confident they can hang on to this seat. but tony, as you know, in this political climate, there is a sense anything can happen, and they're also trying not to take anything for granted here. >> brianna, a quick one for you. with all of the controversial issues that have arisen in this campaign, are they likely to come up tonight? >> you know, we heard this from wolf earlier. he certainly is expecting that. some of these controversial issues. the witchcraft comments by christine o'donnell. for chris coons, his opponents trying to brand him as a bearded marxist during his college years, certainly that is expected to come up.

but we're also expecting to hear some pretty substantive questions having to do with topics like social security and also a lot of foreign policy matters. north korea, iran, and, of course, afghanistan and iraq. so we are expecting to hear in these very substantive areas where these candidates stand. >> yeah, we need that. we really do need that. brianna keilar with us from delaware. and don't forget to tune into cnn tonight, 7:30 eastern, the debate hosted by wolf blitzer at 7:30 eastern time. we are monitoring the rescues of the miners for you. and we are right now waiting for miner number 17 to be extricated. we will take you back. the very moment we see that miner. but right now, let's do this. let's take you back to the moment the very first miner stepped out of the rescue capsule.

>> that is miner number one, florenceo avalos, 31 years old, coming out of the earth like he is born again. he gave his wife and son some love. there you go. then got a big bear hug from chile's president pinero. he shot video of the miners sent up to the surrendface. his brother is still down there. more on cnn "newsroom" when we come back on the other side of the break.

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oh! tell me we're still talking about insurance. rewarding loyalty. now, that's progressive. call or click today. let's see here, do we have a picture of the clock? okay. we've got the location, obviously, and then the clock. what is it, about four minutes or so? that's how long, and correct me if i am wrong, that's how long we have been into the official rescue, that rescue window of about 15, 20 minutes or so. is that what that is, chad? >> that is the time when the rescue capsule left the bottom. >> okay. >> keep looking at that wheel up on top. and you'll know whether the capsule is going up or going down. as the wheel turns clockwise, that's spooling it back on to the spool, and rising the capsule, bringing it up from the bottom. >> you can see that pretty clearly? my eyes are so bad, i can't see that. you can see it pretty clearly? >> psych he it from a far distance, you get me too close

and it's blurry. i'm plus 1.5, if i have to get close. >> i'm a mess is what i am. >> anybody who has reading glasses know what that means. >> now, we've got some amazing -- you and the team have put together some amazing visuals to help us with this location, and how arid it is. >> yeah, it's just something we don't think about in america. that you could have a coastal section -- this mine is 20 miles from the pacific ocean. and it's -- in one of the driest places in the entire world. >> 20 miles away from the pacific. >> it doesn't rain there ever. the atacama desert. it's a very long country. they make wine here. there are places that do have precipitation. this just isn't one of them. here is copiapo, and san jose mine. you can go on to google earth, you can go on to google maps, as well. so we're going to fly you right to the mine. it begins to be more topography here, more up and down. we'll spin you around. you can see the ocean there on

the top, and just kind of spun on by. here's the mine itself, and the road to the mine right here. there are pictures now that are showing up on google earth. and on google maps. and you can click on the maps, and is you can click on these pictures. this is what the mine looked like from space. but people now have been climbing the mountain, taking pictures, and sending them to google, and when you do that, you can give them your gps location, and they will show up exactly on the map as to where that picture was taken. and this is when they were drilling. look at all those drill heads right there, as they were drilling the initial wells, and then here's the camp right up here, and this was the road that used to be just completely empty, other than a couple trucks taking miners in and out. very cool stuff on google earth if it you want to find out more about chile. >> good stuff, thank you, chad. minutes away now. and we're going to see 17th miner extricated from that shaft in just moments. it's gone so amazingly well.

chile's mine rescue. very near the halfway point here. and so far, can you imagine this? a flawless operation, chad. >> so far. >> so far. when we come back, we will give you an update, and a medical report. you're in the cnn "newsroom." !ee

14 hours since the first man surfaced. now 16 of chile's trapped miners have made the almost half-mile ride to the earth's surface in the rescue capsule, leaving 17 miners in the cavern. they have called home for 69 days, now rescuers are shuttling

the men to a hospital for a medical checkup. most appeared pale, thinner, of course, but otherwise in good physical shape. a lot of health concerns for these men who have been trapped underground for so long. some of them have diabetes, hypertension, respiratory problems, other illnesses, black lung. >> yeah. >> cnn's senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen is with us now. if you would talk us through, elizabeth, as a starter here, some of these health concerns. >> for the miners who were down there already, already had health concerns, there was an especially high level of concern about them. so the folks who had cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, black lung, those were three separate miners, strong concerns there. for everyone else, the concerns were things like skin infections, oxygen deprivation, and psychological trauma from, you know, being under there for so long. >> okay. you've got to keep the spirits up, right? >> that's right. >> mentally, you've got to keep the spirits of these men high. what was done to do that? >> you know, i think it was

pretty incredible what they did. health officials gave recommendations to these miners. they said structure yourselves, and they said one of you has training to be a medic. you're the doctor. another one of you has a background in spiritual leadership. you're the spiritual leader. >> so they have jobs now. >> you've got jobs now. you've got a team leader. there was a photographer. and psychologists say when you have that kind of structure, not only does sort of the work flow, so to speak, goes better, but people feel better and know who to turn to for various things. there is another thing they did which some people may find strange, they actually gave them cigarettes. >> what was that about? >> that was because -- first of all, if you've already been smoking, there's a good chance you're addicted. and what's that scene from the movie "airplane?" this is not the time to quit smoking, right? >> bad day to quit smoking. >> so if they're already addicted, low-tar cigarettes, and hopefully they get them to quit when they come out, but for psychological reasons, let them

smoke. >> but wait a second, i don't smoke, i don't want that crap around me. i don't want that secondhand -- >> that's a good question. >> come on. >> that's a great question. maybe they did a nonsmoking area. >> nice. nice. yeah, yeah. >> i don't know. >> so what do they have to deal with now, next? and for the foreseeable days, weeks, months ahead? >> they're making them all go to the hospital and stay there for a few days, even if they're healthy, because they want to watch them, they want to see how howdy dehydrated they are, and most importantly, they want to make sure they are psychologically okay. >> yeah. >> because you can suffer from post traumatic stress disorder more than just the first two days out, but days, weeks, months down the road. >> so you had a moment to speak with him, we had a clinical psychologist here, dr. eric fischer, dr. e. as he is more commonly known, and we're going to talk to him about that issue of post traumatic stress disorder in a few minutes. we are moments away from the next miner being extricated.

elizabeth cohen with us, good to see you. let's take a break.

we busted out of the break, because i think we're really, really close to the moment. and we promised you, you're not going to miss a moment of -- there we go. there we go. there is the fenix capsule. you're not going to miss a moment of these men, each and every one of them, being brought to the surface. again, you are responding, watching at home in your offices, on your computers, around the world, to this rescue. as it unfolds. and in real-time, before our eyes. and to the surface right now, omar alejandro reygadas rojas. have you pulled up the story, josh? because this is going to be a terrific reunion. >> this is going to be just

beautiful. we have been hearing about him from our karl penhaul. three great grandchildren. he was originally a bulldozer operator. and after the collapse, he has been serving as foreman for one of the work shifts inside the safety chamber. reygadas has a large family, 6 children, 14 grandchildren, and then the 3 great grandchildren as well. he has been in the mining business for 20 years. and here he is. stepping out. >> do we have state television, chilean state television up? do we have the audio on that? all right. let's listen to a bit of it. >> chile! [ chanting ]

>> tears, chants, a lot of goodwill for this young man. >> reporter: he has taken his harness off. he has been shaved. he has got some messages in his hard hat. >> was anyone able to make that out? and here we go. >> reporter: in the name of the president, i would like to congratulate you. welcome back. welcome, welcome.

[ speaking in foreign language ] >> josh, tell everyone about this young man. >> actually, it's interesting. he's actually not the oldest of the group. earlier we saw mario, 63 years old. we see now omar rojas, 56 years old, and he is already -- people are talking about it around the world. there he is with the flag.

we have been seeing -- we have been seeing that elsewhere. and he has this huge family. and we have been hearing about the outpouring of support for his family, from people all over the world. and so many people sending messages. and i'll tell you, tony, people all over the world watching this closely, including president obama, who we have learned had been watching the video of the rescue last night. press secretary robert gibbs announced this morning the goggle. he said he asked the president what he was thinking when he was watching and the president said, quote, it was a tremendously inspirational story. that's in general about the rescue and the survival. the president was watching last night. and today and throughout the day, we are getting so many messages from you, from people all over the country, all over the world. >> you have some of them? >> yeah, i've got some right here. abdi ali, i can't sleep, i can't stop crying, man. alexis mitchell.

events such as this prove the human spirit is inherently good. bless the miners and their families. josh, i've been glued to cnn since it started, i have timers set on my computer so i know when they're going to be free, i come running. god bless all of the rescue workers. one more from sierra. i started watching last night, put it on first thing this morning. so moving to watch these amazing men reunited with their families. i am full of tears watching. these are the kinds of messages we're getting. >> overwhelmed, yeah. your accounts are overwhelmed, and my e-mail here is overwhelmed. it's good stuff. folks all over the world are fully engaged in this. and we're pleased to bring you all of these pictures, and we have worked out the timing. our thanks to chilean state television. it's been wonderful to see. let's do this. let's get a shot of dr. fisher here, he has been good enough, kind enough to stay with us into

the noon hour. when we come back, we will talk to dr. fisher. and when we come back, eric, i want to talk to you about ptsd, right, post traumatic stress disorder, and if that could be a factor for these miners moving forward. but first, let's take a quick break. you're in the cnn "newsroom."

let's look at these live pictures now, because for the last couple minutes, dr. fisher, you have been watching this, as well. they have been working over this fenix capsule to check it, make sure it's okay. we have had 17 trips -- i know they have at least a couple of these capsules that they can use interchangeably. but they have been working on this for a while now, before they send it back down or maybe

change it back out. i don't know what's going on here. but they just closed it shut, and maybe they were about to send it back down. you know, some final adjustments. but to this point, this operation has gone off flawlessly. it really has. so let's do this. let's bring in dr. eric fisher, clinical psychologist. here in atlanta. dr. e., good to see you. again, thanks for sticking around. >> thanks for having me. >> we just saw the 17th miner extricated. omar reygadas, you were watching the pictures as he was pulled out of the rescue shaft. what did you think? what did you see? is. >> good stuff. another happy person. >> and even as he was being placed on the stretcher to go to the hospital, he was smiling, someone gave him i guess a flag of his favorite football -- soccer team. and he was holding that up. he was kissing it. he seemed to be in -- i don't know what to make of it, but he

seemed to be in good spirits. >> right, exactly. >> but part of your concern s these men know that the cameras are on, and maybe they're putting on the best face right now? >> right. exactly. exactly. >> so one of the questions i have for you as we continue to watch these men being extricated from this horrific ordeal, 69 days trapped, post traumatic stress disorder. would that be a mental health concern of yours in the hours, days, weeks and months after this ordeal? >> oh, definitely. definitely. and even years. >> even years. >> i work with people who have been traumatized as children, and they come to therapy in their 20s, 30s, 40s and these traumas break through, because we bury things in our unconscious. we take the energy of events and encapsulate it. and as long as we can keep it buried inside, it's okay, but sometimes we have triggering events that bring them out. so these guys look great for

years, but all of a sudden being trapped in an elevator or -- you know, in their place -- not usually elevators out there, but there are triggering events that bring up things years after events. the issue with ptsd, the core emotion to me is helplessness, and helplessness let's us know when we need to find help, and if we can't find help, we can get stuck with that. the other issues are depression and the core emotion is hopelessness, and when we can't find hope, we don't feel we have anything to live for. and those are both common experiences in ptsd also. is your anxiety based issues or depression based issues, and affecting their escape or their release from the situation, which was very powerful. but that's why i'm concerned about the families, because they had some hope, but they were helpless to do anything to help their families out of this. >> yes. we asked that question of you last hour. oh, remind me of the point you wanted to make about the continuing role of the government, about staying

connected to the lives of these men moving forward. >> right, right. well, the issue there is really going to be how does -- the government is taking care of their children in a way, not only these miners, and a whole country and psyche of chile behind them. because you have this mining industry here that is very much a corner stone of the income, the economy of that country, they have to make sure that the psyche of their miners is healthy, but also how the whole country moves through this, which is why it was so important to execute this flawlessly and bring in everybody to help support this. >> and it looks like, at least if we base what i'm about to say on the reporting from karl penhaul, and that's all i'm channelling here, that the review of the government's handling of this has been terrific. from the folks who are on the front line in terms of responders, up through the ministries and straight on up to the president. it looks like, at least, so far, they weren't territorial about

this, they sought help from the international community, and received it. and so far, at least, the reviews are pretty good on how the country has happened it to this point. >> there's some really important factors here. i talk about victims, persecutors and rescuers and instigators in my work. and to me, we see these miners as victims. it's up to them if they interpret themselves as victims. however, the government is kind of the rescuer. now, when people get stuck in a chronic victim role, they look at the world that they're a victim, and people with post traumatic stress feel like chronic he is victims, they look for somebody to take care of them. but most people who play chronic victims ultimately turn their rescuer into their persecutor. they become the bad guy, which also, though, i'm concerned about how the country, the government, may use these people as leverage for political purposes that they potentially feel exploited for, that they feel thrown out in front of the media, and may not be ready for that. so it's really crucial that as a country, they have somebody who can even consult with them and say, don't do this. you know, that you have to think about the livelihood and the

well-being of these people. they're people, they're not objects to be used. >> that's terrific. dr. fisher, thanks for sticking around. thanks for your time, your help, your analysis on this. thank you. all right, let's take a break. you're in the cnn "newsroom." when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance.

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as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. so here we are, just 20 days ago, before america votes, and midterm elections. tonight all eyes are on delaware as conservative underdog christine o'donnell takes on her democratic rival, chris coons in a debate here on cnn. john king joining us now from the political desk in washington. john, good to see you. what are you following this hour? >> tony, that debate is one of items getting a lot of traffic on the political ticker because of the high stakes. republicans thought they would win the seat. mike castle was the original favorite candidate. christine o'donnell knocked him off. she is seeing if she can knock that off ground. wolf blitzer is co moderating the debate.

and a defeated candidate wouldn't endorse christine o'donnell, but watching the debate tonight. also on the trail today, the first lady, michelle obama, incredibly popular. if you go to the ticker, can mom and chief save the democrats? she is campaigning in wisconsin and illinois today. we also have a new poll showing 65% of americans approve of her performance as first lady. the president would love to have those numbers. and lastly a big policy story and political story. a federal judge yesterday telling the administration it should stop enforcing the don't ask, don't tell policy that keeps homosexuals from serving hope openly in the military. that was filed. the justice department has 60 days to file an appeal, even though the president says he opposes the policy, the justice department likely to appeal the decision. still a big debate in politics. and congress hoping when they come back late this year maybe to address that issue, tony. >> can't wait to see your take on the debate. john king, host of "john king

usa." your next political update in less than an hour. for the latest news, go to cnn politics.com.

it is so go time. cnn "newsroom" continues right now with the man, our chief business correspondent, the host of cnn "newsroom" from 1:00 until 3:00 eastern, ali velshi. >> are you as fascinated by this story as i am? i love it, that we can carry breaking news and it's good breaking news, fantastic. tony, i'm going to continue this coverage where you left off. right now, i think there are two kinds of people in the world. there are people like me who have been glued to their tv watching every frame since the first of the 33 minerss