it's not apples to apples. big difference between the state and federal levels. this from zachary, mitt romney changes his mind more than lady gaga changes costumes. he should take one position on healthcare and stick with it. that principle is, mitt romney for president. at least he cared enough to create a plan. far less can be said about the majority of the gop. some of the other plans are laughable. let's head to atlanta and kyra phillips. >> good morning, guys. thanks so much. presidential politics and a reality check from last night's republican debate. the focus on the economy, but the spotlight qusquarely on hern cain. his recent surge means he's wearing a bigger bullseye. jim acosta joins us. what do you think? how did cain do? >> with all that talk about the 999 plan last night, kyra. i thought it was the plug for

the 9:00 show. no, you could probably read the thought bubble coming out of mitt romney's head last night. he was basically saying i could get used to this because so much of the attention at this debate was focused on herman cain, the former ceo of godfather's pizza. probably felt like one of his own pizza because his rivals that table were turning up the heat. >> jobs, jobs, jobs. >> herman cain find out what happens to candidates who shoot up in the polls. they become big targets. >> when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, i think the devil's in the details. cain's economic plan and sets rates at 9%. also create a new 9% national sales tax. >> if i think it's a catchy phrase. in fact, i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first

heard about it. here's what we need. we need something that is doable, doable, doable. >> it will pass. it's not the price of a pizza. >> it was getting sliced up by the other candidates at the table in new hampshire. >> i am going to have to go back to him every other question. >> reporter: feeling confident about his plan's dominant role in the debate, cain served it up to mitt romney who promptly sent it back to the kitchen. >> can you name all 59 points in your 160-page plan? >> herman, i had some experience in my life of taking on some tough problems. and must admit the simple answers are very helpful. >> reporter: the candidates were pressed on whether they should have led to more prosecutions on wall street. >> if you want to muput people jail, you ought to start with barney frank and chris dodd and

let's look at the politicians who created the environment, the politicians who benefited from the environment and the politicians who put this country in trouble. >> reporter: rick perry did not get the breakout performance he probably needed. he seemed sluggish in plugging his economic plan, designing to offer up many specifics. >> opening up a lot of the areas of our domestic energy area. that's the real key. i'm not going to lay it out for you tonight. mitt's had six years to be working on a plan. i have been in this for about eight weeks. >> and herman cain took most of the abuse last night. he probably should get used to that sort of treatment, considering his current standing at the polls, which is basically right at mitt romney's heels. during the middle of the debate last night, the michele bachmann campaign sent out an e-mail predicting that the cain 9-9-9

economic policy and the key to win this nomination is convince republican voters that his 9-9-9 plan is more than pizza delivery system, kyra? >> jim acosta from hanover, thanks so much. just after the bottom of the hour at 9:35 eastern, we'll talk to julianna goldmian. she's one of the journalists who took part in the debate last night. who performed well, who didn't. don't forget next tuesday night, the republican candidates for president gather in las vegas to debate the issues and sway voters. cnn tuesday night 8:00 eastern. digging up new details on a terror plot that is being compared to a hollywood who done it. an iranian american man is in custody accused of plotting to kill a saudi envoy on u.s. soil. a manhunt is under way for a member of iran's revolutionary

guard. washington says elements of iran's government plotted the assassination and this morning u.s. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to get tougher on iran. some lawmakers say that's not enough. republican congressman peter king is calling the plot an act of war and says the u.s. should not dismiss the idea of military action. also this morning, vice president joe biden says nothing has been taken off the table. all right, we're covering all the angles for you this morning. barbara starr working your sources at the pentagon and reza in islamabad. barbara, let's start with you. is some sort of military action being discussed here? >> at this point, kyra, the answer is no. look, the pentagon always says all options are on the table. that is the standard language. but all of our sources are indicating there is no indication of that yet. it would come, of course, at the direction of the president. one of the key problems is, if you want to do military action, what would you strike? what would your targets be?

what you're talking about the revolutionary guard core, the group of people that make up the most militant wing of the iranian military. what they're still trying to pin down is whether this plot actually went beyond them. did it really go all the way to the top to president mahmoud ahmadinejad and to iran supreme leader. these are some of the key intelligence questions on the table. right now, however, they are sticking with sanctions, financial sanctions and the possibility of taking this to the u.n. security council. look for this to stay in the diplomatic and the sanctions arena, at least for now, kyra. >> barbara starr from the pentagon, thanks. let's get over to reza saya in islamabad. what is iran saying about this alleged plot? >> tehran's reaction has been predictable. they issued a strong and sometimes mild.

describing this as a children's story saying this is all a fabrication by the obama administration to distract the american public from problems at home. like unemployment and a faltering economy. when it comes to the two men who were charged, we asked the president's office if they knew who they were, they say they did not, but they say they're working to find out more about them and if it is determined, if it is verified, they say they are iranian citizens. they're going to reach out to them and give them some sort of help. it's not clear what that help is going to be at this point. >> all right, we'll follow the story, reza, with you, as well as barbara starr out of the pentagon. thank you so much. now, overseas an israeli soldier captured by the palestinian militant group hamas more than five years ago will soon be heading home. comes after the two sides agree to a prisoner swap deal. max foster following this for us out of london. max, what do you know? >> again, only 19 when he was taken in 2006. he has been held ever since.

noi negotiations to get him out and there has been a deal reached and it seems welcomed on both sides. celebrations on the streets of jerusalem and gaza at the same time. how often does that really happen? it's worth noting in terms of the palestinians being released, they don't include the fattah leader or hamas' abdullah, the high-profile palestinian prisoners do stay behind bars, it seems. but the world newspapers trying to make sense of what all of this really means. the daily telegraph here in the uk saying "israel celebrates gilad deal, but there is a price for his freedom." "the breakthrough that will lead to the most significant prisoner swap in the recent history of israeli-palestinian conflict was as dramatic."

shalit's release is good news for israel, but even better news for hamas. not only does hamas get credit for winning the credit of one-sixth held in israeli pri n prisons but the front ranks of the palestinian leadership. great developments because of one 19-year-old who was taken by the palestinians back in 2006. >> we'll follow the release, if, indeed, it does happen. max, thanks. the nba lockout is more than just a bummer for fans, it's hurting people who aren't millionaire players and billionaire owners. people who depend on the games to make a living. that story coming up. plus, a family takes on a corn maze and the corn maze wins. they got so lost in there, they had to call 911.

here's a stories making news across country. a huge drug bust in arkansas. seven people charged with trafficking, five were police officers. they dook bribes to ignore the crimes. no one was seriously hurt when two motorcycles in president obama's motorcade crashed. police say the bikes belonged to an orlando cop and a seminole county sheriff officer. a massachusetts family took too many wrong turns in a corn maze. they got so lost they had to call 911. good thing mom brought her cell phone. the officers with police dogs found them about 25 feet from the perimeter and led them out. the first two weeks of nba play are canceled.

the entire season could be lost. let's talk about what that means in place wheres the nba is the only major prosport, like oklahoma city. the thunder arrived last year and they were the toast of the town. they reached the conference finals, but the lockout is threatening to steal their thunder and, worse, take money from people who depend on that team to make a living. mayor joining me live. mayor, how is that pro team changed your area? it probably took a lot to get the team there. >> well, we certainly did go through a lot of trouble and certainly the team has been well supported. we sell out every game or nearly sell out every game. as you mentioned, this lockout and the two-week cancellation does affect a lot of people in oklahoma city. the employees of the franchise a lot of people who work the arenas on game night that count on this income for their livelihood. i hope this lockout and the cancellations don't continue because the economic impact would start to increase. >> let's talk about that economic impact. i mean, two weeks are already

gone. the whole season in jeopardy now. what will suffer first from this if you don't get that cash? >> well, our economy is very strong. we're in some level of a boom-time economy in oklahoma city. we're very fortunate. we can handle the two games that i think have been canceled so far in the first two weeks of the season. the two home games. but if the entire season were to be canceled, that would be another story. oklahoma city being a small market team gets a lot of very nice publicity from having a team that has advanced well into the playoffs, as you mentioned, last season. so, there's a superficial level of quality with bigger markets. we get a lot of branding opportunities and it allows us to promote oklahoma city in a lot of ways that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise. as you mentioned, it's our only team. if they don't play, we're hurting because of it. >> so, if the season is lost, that could mean that your city loses more than $60 million.

how are you going to do deal with that? any contingency plans for lost revenue? >> there's not much of an effort to try and replace it. certainly, you could do a few more concerts and get a few more people into the arena. there will be game nights that would open up, but you can't really replace an nba season. we're fortunate that our economy is so strong, we can withstand it. but, you know, it's very regretful. i'm just hoping that players and owners can get together on this. i know commissioner stern did not want to have to go this route. i know how much he cares about the employees and certainly those people that work on game nights. so, i'm hoping that they can get together and move forward. >> mayor mick cornett, thanks for your time this morning. up next, hilary swank parting with a man of torture and human rights abuses. if you're in the markt for a time machine, you need at least 400,000 bucks. details of a "back to the future" auction.

let's get your "showbiz headlines." rihanna is "esquire" magazine's pick for the sexiest woman alive. she bares it all on the november cover which hit stands october 16th. singer chynna phillips and her partner got booted. she forgot some of the steps in this week's tango and takes full blame for being eliminated. if you have about $400,000, you might have a shot at this dulaurean used in the "back to the future" trilogy. part of the proceeds benefit the michael j. fox foundation for

parkinson's research. and little more hollywood news for you. hilary swank and jean-claude varx van damme are being blasted for attending the birthday bash of a chechen leader. max foster with all the scoop. max? >> this is interesting, isn't it? mariah carey and beyonce appearing before the gadhafi family. it looks like some new celebrities may be pressured to do the same thing after they appeared earlier this month on the 35th birthday of kadyrov. they say he's linked to a litny of horrific human rights abuses. but he had this party and several people did perform. we understand that van damme stood on stage and proclaimed, i love you, mr. kadyrov.

people like kevin coster and shakira turned down their invite. just to explain the sort of figures that they'll be getting to appear. vuthissa may, not nearly as big a star was paid $500,000, kyra, just for appearing at that party. >> wow. well, that was my question. you know, we knew what happened at gadhafi's party with beyonce and the like. now, swank and van damme. do we know they received large amounts of money and are they even responding to this? >> we haven't gotten the responses yet, but we know they appeared and we can assume that they did receive a fee for it. swank, incidentally, reportedly wished kadyrov happy birthday. these comments are hugely controversial and upsetting to a lot of people. we'll see how they respond today. they may say see it is a legitimate performance, but

there will be many human rights groups, particularly that don't agree. >> finally, do we even know, are these two individuals that he's fond of? i mean, does he follow their movies and invited them because he likes their hollywood work? >> no. i mean, we don't know much about. but he's 35. you can imagine he watches these big hollywood movies and follows american music. he's, obviously, interested in them. if you look at the guest list. i'm assuming he invited other people. we know shakira turned down an invitation, for example. it's difficult to read into the actual guest list because you don't know who he invited. a big interest in american culture. >> we'd like to hear from swank and van damme on why they actually chose to do that. max, thanks. alison kosik at new york stock exchange with third quarter earning season is getting off to a pretty slow start. alis

alison, what can we expect today? >> today europe remains in focus, kyra. the issues in europe reaching ahead. more talk of a recession and greece is getting closer to running out of money. sometimes all about sentiment. why we're seeing stock futures in this country here higher because as things get worse, there is this optimism. there's this growing belief that something will get done. today we're expecting to hear more details about a plan to recapitalize european banks and basically getting their balance sheets in better order. kind of a safety net if greece will default. it sparked a small rally in europe. that is spreading once again a u.s. sail. an iraelian american man is in custody. a member of iran's revolutionary guard. this morning u.s. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to get tougher on iran. some say that sanctions are not enough. peter king calls the plot an act of war and says the u.s. should not dismiss the idea of military

action. vice president joe biden even said this morning, "nothing has been taken off the table." this alleged plot has grabbed a lot of experts' interests because it is so unlike anything we've seen from iran before. it's unclear what they gain by it. tom fuentes director of the international operations. great to see you, again. we could easily talk about the long list of iranian attacks on americans and americans overseas, what makes this so talkable is that it allegedly took place right here on our soil. does that surprise you? >> well, in a way, excuse me, kyra, in a way it does. but hezbollah, which has been on extension of the quds force has generally been fund-raising in the u.s. they have not committed an attack here. they have done other attacks such as the argentina attacks in the early 1990s and earlier attacks where they attacked

americans. i think what's different in this one, especially, is that they're doing a simultaneous attack against saudi arabia and the united states. and they're trying to reduce the influence of both in the middle east region. >> now, this is a regime that we invite to the united states, to the u.n. we allow ahmadinejad, iran's president, to speak and roam freely in our country. does that need to change? does that access that the u.s. give him actually empower actions against us? >> i don't think that's ever going to change. i mean, any head of state from any country, whether we like them or not has the ability to seek a diplomatic visa and make a visit to the united nations and the united nations is basically considered an open area in order to do that. i think another reason for not suppressing that is that basically he makes a fool out of himself when he speaks at the u.n., so why stop him? >> that's a good point. well, this plot now, this

alleged plot was foiled, but what about the next one. will it be more sophisticated? are we ready for that? >> they're trying to be ready for any possible plot no matter how many cut outs or how many assassins they try to hire or where they try to do these terrorist attacks. you hope we're ready and we hope the intelligence network is strong enough and the relationship with other allies to assist in investigations like this. it takes international assistance. the transferring of the money was tracked back through europe to the middle east. in this particular case, the $100,000 that was transferred. the assistance of mexico in facilitating a couple of 9-9-9 and you turn it upside down, i think the devil's in the details. >> how many people are here for a sales tax in new hampshire? raise your hand. there you go, herman. that's how many votes you'll get in new hampshire. >> i thought it was the price of a pizza when i first heard it. >> cnn's tom foreman live in

washington. fact checking the republican debate. so, tom, herman cain's job plan at the heart of it. >> you know, if you're a message person, you would say he totally won last night because everybody kept talking about it. they kept saying the 9-9-9 plan and he's saying, where is the beef? i got it. everybody's talking about it. here's the problem. what does it add up to? one of the chief claims this is revenue neutral. meaning you can do this plan and totally change the tax code and you'll get the same amount of money for the government. listen to him. >> it will replace the corporate income tax, the personal income tax, and the capital gains tax and the death tax and, most importantly, the payroll tax. >> so, it's going to be revenue neutral. 999 plan will replace all current sources of revenue. is that true? well, i have to tell you right up front that a fair number of economic analysts are skeptical of that. they're saying, boy, there are a

lot of details here as michele bachmann alluded to that we just don't really understand about this plan. among some of the things they're concerned about, what exactly is going to be covered by this 9% sales tax? will that include services because we have a lot of services in our country right now that maybe aren't covered, maybe they are. we don't know what that produces. will our spending habits change? if you suddenly were paying 9% more for everything you bought, would you buy the same things you're buying now? that's going to make a big difference in the amount of revenue we get. what about this corporate tax? how do you calculate this? in theory, it's simple. 999 across the board, but the