damien echols' story is amazing. i'm always amazed by the women who write to convicted kiers in jail, as his wife did. however, a landscaping architect in brooklyn wrote to him, started an extraordinary correspondence and ended up getting married while he was still in jail. >> and she saved his life. >> and ended up getting him out of jail. two highly intelligent, articulated people. >> the book was amazing. >> you really can't put it down. >> if it weren't for her, he would still be in jill. >> they would all be in jail. >> we are out of time. thank you for being with us. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello starts right now. >> soledad, thank you. happening now, 70,000 to stop the protest. statement department airing a psa, public service announcement in pakistan saying america respects all faiths. some, though, say america is

waving the white flag. romney hitting the road saying if someone else can do a better job, they should try running for office themselves. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it, get in the ring. >> this, as fellow republicans keep slamming team romney. p peggy noonan calling the campaign a, quote, rolling calamity." dr. sanjay gupta from one of the top cancer hospitals, have we finally turned the corner on fighting some of the deadliest forms of the disease? plus this -- oh, it's here. iphone frenzy. the lines and lines and lines, from australia to the big apple. people camped out for more than a week. belly up to the genius bar. newsroom starts right now.

good morning. happy friday to you. i'm carol costello. we begin this hour with new anti-american violence erupting across much of the muslim world. in bangladesh, thousands of protesters take to the streets, and some burn a mock coffin with obama's name scrolled on the side. across the region the united states shut many diplomatic facilities because friday prayers often fueled mob rage. some of the ugliest violence, thou though, is in pakistan. in peshawar, protesters set fire to two movie theaters. joining us live from islamabad with more, good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

carol. a national holiday, a day to show your love for the approvest muhammad. it turned out to be a day where many pakistanis showed their anger against america, demonstrations in every major city in pakistan and sometimes it got very violent. one news van driver in the city of peshawar shot and killed. here in the capital of islamabad, protests are dying down. here is what it looked like earlier today. friday prayers have just concluded. what we're seeing are some of the largest and most intense protests yet here in pakistan. now what you see over there are shipping containers. police are using them to block off the path to the diplomatic enclave. that's where the foreign embassies are, u.s. embassy, french embassy. now what you seem to have here

is some people urging protesters to rush police officers and others saying don't go. stay put. and they can't seem to decide what to do. so at this point, it's basically a free for all. what you see is these protesters just teeing off with objects. and police just holding up their shields and blocking the objects. now police officers are starting to throw rocks. and i think it's time for us to move back a little bit. now what often gets lost in these dramatic pictures is the actual numbers. how many people are here. and if you do a quick count, there's no more than, at most, 400 or 500 people here.

all right. we had to make a run for it, because police fired off several canisters of tear gas. we had difficulty seeing and breathing. so, we came back here to where there's a rally taking place. here is what we observed. a lot of the protesters who are throwing objects, sticks, stones, they're young men, teenagers in their 20s. you see them with this mischievous smile. you get a sense they're get iti a rush facing off with police. nato supply rounds, that's a sign that this is more than just about an anti-islam movie. there's a lot of anger about u.s. foreign policy, the occupation of afghanistan.

and a lot of people here will tell you that what's boiled over is this deep seated anti-american sentiment that's been here in pakistan for a very long time. when asked why the pakistani government declared this friday a national holiday, in essence, inviting people to come out and protest, they said they had to address public sentiment. i think that's something that will see a lot of criticism in the coming days. >> thank you so much. efforts by the president and secretary of state to calm things down in pakistan. both starred in a public service announcement that ran on seven tv networks in pakistan. >> the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the beliefs of others. >> some republicans, though, were not so happy the state

department shell ed out $70,000 of taxpayer money to continue what they call the obama apology tour. >> in the midst of this apology tour, we see our embassies in the middle east under siege. so how is that u.s. apology tour working out for you, mr. president? look, if our fearless leaders insist on waving the white flag like this, we need to bring our troops home from the middle east. no more blood. no more u.s. treasure spent. >> extraordinary briefings are held behind closed doors as lawmakers demand answers. today, many are fuming. they say top officials gave little insight into the consulate attack that killed the ambassador to libya and three other americans and the white house was too slow, some say, in declaring it was an act of terrorism and not an angry mob. listen to how that assessment has changed since sunday. >> we are of the view that this is not an expression of hostility in the broadest sense toward the united states or u.s.

policy, it's proximately a reaction to this video and a hateful video that had nothing to do with the united states. and which we find disgusting and reprehensable. >> we have heard a number of different things from libya. i would simply say that the comments that ambassador rice made accurately reflect our government's initial assessment. >> let me begin by asking you whether you would say that ambassador stevens and the three other americans died as a result of a terrorist attack. >> certainly on that particular question, i would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy. >> cnn senior congressional correspondent dana bash has been talking to lawmakers. dana, what are they telling you this morning? >> reporter: well, when it comes to those who are the most and have been, really, the most critical of the administration and their response to this, like john mccain, they are not happy. you played a pretty interesting

evolution of the response from the administration and that also ended with the white house press secretary on the president's plane yesterday saying it was terrorism. listen to what john mccain said coming out of a classified briefing with had hillary clinton and others yesterday. >> i'm stunned that they thought that it was some kind of spontaneous demonstration. it shows the level of their -- b abysmal level of their understanding of terrorist attacks and militant operations to say that they didn't believe it was a terrorist attack to start with and go on every nationwide media outlet and say th that. >> reporter: now he was speaking outside, in a briefing. defense department and others, they also had a very -- briefing for all members of the house. by and large, carol, talking to democrats and republicans, they

still felt frustrated not necessarily just on the substance of it, but about the fact that they feel that they're getting more information from cnn and other media outlets than they did from the administration, carol. >> dana bash reporting live from capitol hill this morning. president obama may have a 40-point advantage when it comes to hispanic voters. during a forum in univision. to push through immigration reform and his administration's role in the fast and furious gun operation. but it was this line from the president that really resonated. >> identify learned some lessons over the past four years, and the most important lesson i've learned is that you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. that's how i got elected. and that's how the big accomplishments like health care got done, was because we mobilized the american people to speak out.

>> governor romney pounced, telling voters in sarasota, florida, that he is the candidate of change. >> the president today threw in the white flag of surrender again! he said he can't change washington from the inside. he can only change it from outside. well, we're going to give him that chance in november! he's going outside. >> for governor romney, it was a chance to play offense instead of defense. it's been a rough week for the governor. his off-the-cuff remarks in a secret secretly recorded video gave democrats plenty of ammo. republican pundits didn't hold out either. wall street journal columnist peggy noonan blasted romney again in her column this morning. the romney campaign, she says, has to get turned around. this week i called it incompetent but only because i was being polite. i really meant rolling calamity. romney's wife, ann, is not taking kindly to this continuing criticism. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? get in the ring.

this is hard. and, you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now. and it's an important election. and it is time for all americans to realize how significant this election is. and how lucky we are to have someone with mitt's qualifications and experience and know how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country. >> mrs. romney made those comments in an interview with radio iowa. we'll talk more about these comments in the next hour of "newsroom." dying from lung cancer rs skin cancer or breast cancer may soon be as rare as dying from pneumonia. doctors at md anderson cancer center in houston who say they will soon be able to radically lower the death rate from several cancers. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta got exclusive access with researchers in the world's largest cancer center.

>> we're in a position to make dramatic impact on cancer mortality in this decade. >> you're saying if we do everything right, in five years from now, there will be far fewer people dying from cancer, right? >> correct. i think with the existing knowledge and the application of when we now know, we could begin to see dramatic declines in mortality that would axccelerat in years five through ten and beyond the stage for ultimate control of the disease. >> sanjay joins us now. this appears to be stunning. >> it is. and you're hearing, again, from the president of the largest cancer center in the world saying these things. you really have to pay attention, which we did. we got this access. they call it the moon shot program, carol, conjuring up the whole energy of putting a man on the moon, putting that same thing toward cancer. they get starting numbers with some of the most common cancers. there's a list of cancers they're targeting over the next few years. take a look at the list. melanoma, the biggest cancer

killer lung cancer, prostate cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, one of the hardest to treat breast cancers. look at the list. they think within the next five years, significant ly reduce cancer death rates in all of those cancers. >> the intent is to cure but hasn't that been the intent all along? >> in some ways it has. but the other achievement to get there, you know, had been significant at times. but in terms of it actually reducing, as you say, turning it into the likelihoodative pneumonia death, improving screening, for example, detection. who do you screen for lung cancer has been a big question. they think they've figured that out. also individualizing therapy. if you had cancer, for example, the way that you would treat it would be very different than the way the next person was treated. understanding the genes of you and giving you the specific treatment that works as opposed to a shotgun approach. it's using all the science that we already know. >> i know you spent a lot of time in the research lab. what kinds of things did you find out? >> one of the areas where they

are really going to make a difference, i think, is melanoma. some of the video you see even behind you is specifically in looking at taking your body's immune system, cells from your body's immune system and teaching them that that cancer is bad. so, you know, your body's immune system fights things all the time. focus that immune system on the cancer. it's what's happening to this patient you're watching on the screen right now. one of the first patients in the world to be having this done. >> i hope it works. >> me, too. right. again, you're hearing this from the scientists themselves as opposed to a policy mandate or some sort. money is tight. it's hard to fund these things but they still think they're going to get it done. >> everyone has had a loved one die from cancer. >> it affects everybody in some way. >> thanks, sanjay. >> you got it, carol. >> "chasing the cure" this weekend aairs saturday at 4:30 pm eastern and sunday 7:30 pm right here on cnn. it's been a long night for apple fans but the wait is over.

live look from new york. people are waiting in line to get their hands on that new iphone. we'll take you there loiv and talk maybe to the last person in line. imagine if you were the last person in line and they ran out of iphones. we'll be right back. erks [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time, and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.

[ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to go to the doctor. turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confident i'll be fine. please listen to your body. if something doesn't feel right for two weeks or longer, see your doctor. get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. knowing can make all the difference in the world. with features like scanning a barcode to get detailed stock quotes to voice recognition. e-trade leads the way in wherever, whenever investing. download the ultimate in mobile investing apps, free, at e-trade.

don't be surprised to see a lot of people playing with the new smart phones today. apple iphone 5 went on sale today. from new york, chicago, to los angeles, apple fans have been lining up for days. some people were selling their spots in line with prices reaching as high as $500. so, maggie, is the fanfare dying down a bit? >> reporter: it is. sort of shifting, carol. in anticipation of getting in to the now fascination of getting into the gadgets they've been waiting for. i don't know if you're a football fan. the only way to describe a day like today is really this is the technology world's version of tailgating. this isn't just about the product itself but really about the experience that happens here. i want to show you what's going

on in the line. you have this sort of spectators and there are still some customers that are penned up, snaking their way around. we can actually see the end of the line now. earlier this morning it wrapped around the block. who are these people? some of them are die-hard apple fans. other people tried to preorder. it was so popular, remember, 2 million phones sold out in 24 hours, that they couldn't do it over the internet. they were forced to come down here and cue up and wait in line to get their hands on it. some are upgrading from an older version of 3 or 4 and have been waiting and finally will get this one. people interested in being able to tap into that faster network, 4g network. faster chip to improve their experience. satisfied people coming out. to the one you talked to, they say it was worth it, even folks who were here for eight days, carol. >> i'm wondering, for the people who were there eight days, let's say you're last in line. i'm obsessed with this for some reason. it would be a nightmare if

you're last in line, you get into the apple store and they don't have any more phones. >> this is it. we actually have to grab the -- pr people and employees are totally focused on the customers. we haven't had a chance to talk to them about whether they're going to sell out. if the early buzz, it's seriously a real threat. even if there's no line outside you need to head down to your store. analysts who watch this expect apple to sell 50 million of these by december, through the holiday season. that's looking a little conservative now. there is huge appetite for this phone even though there's a lot more competition. there are a lot more smart phones out there. google, android operating systems, samsung galaxies. they're very popular but don't seem to create that enthusiasm and fervor that these apple products do. >> that's just insane. maggie, thank you. talkback, coming your way next. are the president's ads in

pakistan good strategy or an apology? facebook.com/carolcnn. [ engine revving ] ♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive... but feel alive. the new c class is no exception. it's a mercedes-benz through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

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the question for you this morning, are the president's ads in pakistan a good strategy or an apology? they're chanting "death to america" in pakistan this morning, the protests sparked by that anti-islam movie trailer, in part. one person has died. despite the best efforts of president obama and secretary of state clinton, who appeared in a public service announcement on pakistani television. >> since our founding, the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. >> let me state very clearly, and i hope it is obvious that the united states government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. we absolutely reject its content

and message. >> the u.s. state department shelled out $70,000 to run those ads. its point? to say to the aarab world it wasn't the u.s. government that made that anti-islam film. it was a private individual, and this happens sometimes in a free society. state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said, quote, the sense was that this particular aspect of the president and secretary's message needed to be heard by more pakistanis than had heard it. end quote. they did not say the word sorry in the ad but some administration critics say sorry was certainly implied. >> in the midst of this apology tour, we see our embassies in the middle east under siege. so, how is that u.s. apology tour working out for you, mr. president? look, if our fearless leaders insist on waving the white flag like this, then they need to bring our troops home from the middle east. no more blood. no more u.s. treasure spent. >> we, as americans, cherish our

free speech rights. it doesn't appear many would favor the u.s. government or google banning the movie from the internet, but people are dying. so as president, what do you do? talk tough or try to calm things down? talk back question for you today. are the president's ads in pakistan good strategy or an apology? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments, later this hour. general motors, gm, recalls nearly half a million of its vehicles. are you driving one of them? we'll run down the list for you. . monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice.

go national. go like a pro. presidethis message. barackice busiobama and i approve... anncr: he keeps saying it... mitt romney: this president cannot tell us that you're... better off today than when he took office. anncr: well... here's where we were in 2008... tv anncr: the worst financial collapse... since the great depression... tv anncr: american workers were laid off in numbers not seen... in over three decades. anncr: and here's where we are today... thirty months of private sector job growth. creating 4.6 million new jobs. we're not there yet. but the real question is: whose plan is better for you?

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good morning. happy friday to you. i'm carol costello. we're seconds away from the opening bell on wall street. ringing the bell today, execs from spirit realty capital. selling its initial public offering. general motors is announcing a couple of recalls. the first involves possible transmission problems and chevrolet malibus, saturn aura and pontiac g6 models made between 2007 and 2010 and all four have four-speed automatic transmissions. all four have automatic

transmissions. malfunction may leave drivers unaware when a turn signal goes out in the chevrolet sonic subcompacts. outrage over the film that mocks the prophet muhammad. the u.s. has close d a number o embassies and diplomatic offices for the day as a precaution. a new ad is running in pakistan that might seem a little different than the rest, featuring president obama and secretary of state clinton, denouncing the anti-islam video that hit youtube last week and sparked protests around the world. >> since our founding, the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. >> let me state very clearly, and i hope it is obvious that

the united states government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. we absolutely reject its content and message. >> the state department said it's normal to buy air time on pakistani tv for public service announcements. republicans? well, they disagree. they say america should never apologize for free speech rights, even with all those protests going on. joining me now is andrew mclaughlin, former google policy director. welcome, andrew. >> good morning. >> you had some part in determining what google's standards were in posting videos, like on youtube and stuff. can you tell me what went into that policy-making decision? >> sure. when i joined google, it was just in the process of going from being a mostly u.s. and european company to really being a global company. that accelerated when google bought youtube. we had to figure out what kind of rules would apply to the

videos people were posting from all over the world. the amazing thing about the internet is that it's a global platform that crosses aall national borders. we still have governments and not only dictatorships but democratic government like those in swrermny and turkey, for example, that have rules about free speech that are different from the rules we have in the united states. the essence of google's rules and youtube rules we're seeing in action today is to respect the wishes of countries that have different views about particular kinds of content, like nazi speech in germany. but to limit the restrictions on videos to those countries alone. so that's why we see google blocking this anti-islam video in egypt, libya, india and indonesia, but not in the rest of the world. >> would it help to block it anywhere right now? it seems just the fact that people are hearing about it causes them to protest in some countries. >> well, that's a really great point. one of the really interesting things about the internet that

you especially see in a country like china is that when you take a video off of one particular platform, it doesn't keep it out of the public realm. when the chinese government doesn't -- sees tweets they don't like, they may take those tweets down but they're mirrored in so many places that they can't kill it off entirely. >> it is interesting that one of the actresses that appeared in that cheesy movie trailer, she now says she's getting death threats because of this posting on youtube. she wants it taken down. a judge denied her request in california. but would google take death threats against her into account now that they've come to light? >> well, the right response to death threats like that is to go after the people making the death threats. it's to do law enforcement and protect citizens the way that they should be protected, not to take the speech down. that's at the core of our first amendment tradition in this country, that the response to bad speech or terrible speech is more speech, not restrictions. >> so, let's say, though, that the violence in other countries

continues. and it continues to get worse. will there be some point when google executives will sit down again and talk about this issue? >> i'm sure they'll be talking about it every day. it seems to me, though, that the right response here is to do the kind of thing that president obama and secretary clinton have just been doing in pakistan, which is reminding the world that a devotion to free speech does not mean that you agree with everything everybody says. our own first amendment says that -- in its text says we believe in free speech but also the free exercise of religion. those two things can go hand in hand. we can condemn evil speech at the same time we stand up for the right of those people to say it. >> andrew mclaughlin, thank you so much for joining us today. >> thank you. no one likes paying taxes. it can be a full-time job trying to get around paying taxes. microsoft play the game and they won. they saved billions and it's all

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turns out there are plenty of ways to pay billions, yes, billions with a b to uncle sam. microsoft saved nearly $7 billion by using loopholes. i know, you've got to be kidding me. alison kosik joins me now. $7 billion? >> it is amazing. we hear about this all the time, carol. we discuss this regularly, i would say, about these companies that ship this money offshore. and the natural reaction from a lot of people is anger. but they're not doing anything wrong, these company. what they're doing is legal. in fact, congress is looking into this. the senate's permanent subcommittee put together a report that included subpoenas. since 2009 microsoft has saved

billions, with a b, onny its tax bill by taking advantage of these loopholes. here is an example for you. from u.s. retail sales to a puerto rican subsidiary saving it $4.5 billion between 2009 and 2011. hewlett packard is tapping into overseas resources, $12.5 billion in foreign cash, but just $800 million in u.s. money. it only had to pay taxes on the u.s. portion. but, again, carol, the panel says nothing is illegal here. just the way our tax code works. it's part of the reason that, you know, rejiggering our tax code has been such a hot political issue, carol. >> you got that right. >> so what's the -- >> creating additional u.s. jobs and ripple effect that leads to greater growth and local communities. whoa got a call into microsoft to see how many jobs they've

added in the u.s. since using these loopholes. haven't gotten a call back. commissions back in march said microsoft is spending in other areas, creating millions of jobs. microsoft said cloud computing itself will wind up creating 14 million new jobs around the world by 20146789 most of those positions, carol, are expected to be in emerging markets. carol? >> well, i'm sure you'll continue to await the call from microsoft. >> i will. >> when you get it -- >> i'll let you know what they say. >> thanks, alison. check iing our top stories 41 minutes past the hour, afghan surge is officially over. last of the 30,000 additional american troops sent to afghanistan back in 2009 came home yesterday. right now, about 68,000 troops remain in that war-torn country. president obama says those troops should be home by the end of 2014. space shuttle "endeavour" takes to the sky one final time today. the shuttle will complete its

three-day cross country piggyback flight, landing in los angeles. yesterday, "endeavour" flew over tucson, arizona, in a tribute to former congresswoman gabrielle giffords and her husband, former nasa commander mark kelly. this could have been a really scary scene when a grenade is thrown on to a soccer pitch. didn't even know what it was. it happened in a match in iran. the player picked it up. it was a grenade. he didn't realize it and threw it off the field. that's when it exploded. the match was stopped for a short time. but it did finish.

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through los angeles! that's exciting! yeah. the bad news, it's going to be driven by lindsay lohan. her co-pilot, amanda bynes. >> that's so wrong. speaking of lindsay lohan, we now have video of that incident that led to her arrest yesterday. it's hard to tell if lynndie lohan actually hit someone with her car or not. a.j. hammer, host of "showbiz tonight," i'm sure you've study this had tape, a.j. what did you see? >> i've studied it very closely, carol. nypd says she was driving into a hotel in new york city when she allegedly hit a pedestrian who works at a restaurant next door. the specifics are pretty unclear. take a look at this video. it's pretty unclear. obviously, it's black and white. for less than 30 seconds and shot by a private surveillance camera, obtained by the police the night of the incident. the video, as you're seeing,

shows a dark car passing through a group of pedestrians as it turns from the street into an entrance at the hotel. as the car disappears into the entrance, and out of frame, this blurred figure is seen appearing to run after the car. in the video, it appears that the pedestrian remains standing the entire time, but the nypd confirmed a wednesday report that the alleged victim was treated at a hospital for a knee injury after the incident. although the video may seem to suggest no one was hit, we're not exactly sure what happened. a rep for lohan telling "showbiz" this as the facts come to light it is going to be aapparent there was no accident. for lindsay a's sake, i hope that is the case. >> he may have injured his knee running after the car. who knows? how strange. let's talk about the emmys coming up sunday night. who do we expect to win? >> one of our favorite shows is expected to do very well in the comedy category "modern family."

>> "modern family." >> that's right. unless there's a split, i think we can expect to see one of them win that category. and it wouldn't be a surprise to see one of the women on the show win best supporting actress. on the drama side a bit of spence this year. i keep looking around and seeing experts predicting a big night for "homeland," not a huge surprise. showtime series is up against stiff competition. "mad men" going up for what would be a record fifth emmy in a row. those shows are up against two of my absolute favorite television shows, spectacular "breaking bad." i don't even know who to root for sunday night. i'm still in the middle of season five of "breaking bad." it is insane how good that show is. >> i'm going to go to the -- no, i guess i can get it online. >> it's amazing. >> i'll get whatever they're called online. season one. that's where i have to start. a.j. hammer, thanks so much.

new photos of jessica simpson's little baby.

talkback question of the day. are the president's ads in pakistan good strategy or an apology? this one, a great strategy. we have to clean up our act in the middle east. bottom line. i just think it's the truth. this is the right course of action. the next being a stern cease and desist followed by a surgical military action if there's an escalation or if the local government fails to act. this from carolyn, it's a waste of $70,000 in taxpayer money. before you applaud obama make sure you're a taxpayer. the white house and the media know that video did not cause the embassy attack or this violence. actually you have a point with the consulate in libya. but today's violence in pakistan, we talked to protesters there, and it indeed in part caused people to protest

in pakistan. don't care what it is but if it saves one american life i support it. please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. note to nfl coaches, lay off the replacement refs. the league sends down a warning, and the next violator will get more than a penalty flag. ahhhh drill sound chirping electric shaver shaking remote tapping sound shaking drill chirping tapping shaking remote wouldn't it be great to have one less battery to worry about? car honking irping the 2012 sonata hybrid. the only hybrid with a lifetime hybrid battery warranty. from hyundai.

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the nfl is warning all 32 teams to watch its behavior with the replacement refs. in other words, be nice. the move comes after a few coaches were seen verbally abusing officials in last weekend's games. the nfl says if the same conduct happens this weekend the player or coach will get a penalty and then they will hear from the league office. no refs verbally attacked in last night's game. the giants smacked around the panthers. new york scored the first four

times it had the ball and went to blow out carolina 36-7. eli manning was masterful, completing 27 of 35 passes. but boy was it a rough night for cam newton. he was picked off three times. to baseball now, the washington nationals trying to clinch a playoff spot. ryan zimmerman, here he is, smack the ball into the gap in left center. bryce harper comes from first to score. so the nationals beat the dodgers, washington has its first baseball team in the postseason since 1933. tiger woods shares the lead of the pga tour championship in atlanta. tiger shot a 4 under par 66 in the first round. his short game looking pretty well. finished with six birdies. tiger is one of five golfers who can take home the fedexcup and the $10 million bonus by winning this tourney. that's a look at sports this morning. tourists going on a safari want to get close enough to wild beasts to take a perfect picture. but some tourists in kenya got

an image of a cheetah they will never forget. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it was just another safari in kenya when the cheetah the tourists had spotted decided to hitch a ride. or at least a seat. and thus began 45 minutes of eye-to-eye contact only a foot or two from a creature one couple dubbed -- >> rita. rita the cheetah. >> reporter: kate's husband was the one shooting the video. >> how are you feeling? >> oh, my god. >> reporter: although not known for viciousness, they easily kill their prey. >> i'm not sure that i was breathing. and my knees were buckling. my whole body was shaking. >> she was stunning. >> reporter: when the cheetah leaped up the safari guide told the tourists exactly what not to do. >> don't move. don't talk. hakuna matata. >> reporter: the expression made famous by the lion king. ♪ hakuna matata

♪ it means no worries for the rest of your days ♪ >> she wasn't interested in us at all. >> reporter: for her the vehicle was just a perch with a view, so she could scan for prey. after 45 minutes, edward the guide started the engine. and seconds later, rita the cheetah stood up. soon she presented a new threat. >> don't spray us now. >> reporter: not at all farfetched. there's a famous animal planet video in which a cheetah answers the call of nature -- >> oh, no. >> reporter: through the sunroof into the napkin of a zoologist trapped below. but rita behaved. the tourists realized later that the license plate on their vehicle began with the letters k-a 2679. though spelling cat with a k is cheetah-he's. finally -- >> thank goodness. >> oh, man.

>> i can breathe. >> whoa. bye-bye. >> it was elation and relief. >> oh! >> reporter: they had but one request of their guide. >> if we could get a lion up there next. >> reporter: actually cheetahs parking themselves on cars and sun roofs are pretty common on youtube. it's almost as if it's raining cats. jeanne moos, cnn. new york. we are following breaking news right now. let's show you these pictures out of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. there's a hostage standoff going on in downtown pittsburgh on the 16th floor of pittsburgh's gateway center. witnesses say that a man with a gun and two duffel bags on that floor, police are telling us that man is apparently holding two people hostage. earlier our affiliates talked with a woman who managed to

escape the 16th floor of that building. let's listen. >> were working and a young woman that works on our floor in that company came running into our office yelling to call 911, and lock the door. we didn't know, you know, so i immediately called 911, but handed the phone to her. because i didn't know what was happening. so i really just dialed the phone and handed it to her. and she reported to 911 that there was a man, she thought they were being robbed. a man walked in, went out -- she said she wasn't in her front desk. she was back in the office. she sensed something was wrong, looked at her dad and her dad said get security right away and that's when she ran into our office to call 911. >> as you might expect, police are keeping reporters far, far away from the gateway center in downtown pittsburgh. the police chief gave a news conference just a few minutes ago. he confirmed that there are two

hostages being held by a man with a gun. they're on the 16th floor. the police chief said that people outside of the building are safe. he says you needn't worry about that. they've evacuated the area. but this may drag on for a long time. and of course we all hope it ends well. but pittsburgh police trying to calm a hostage situation on the 16th floor of pittsburgh's gateway center. a man with a gun and two duffel bags holding two people hostage. more information as we get it. turn now to presidential politics. ann romney to the rescue. it has been a rough week for her husband mitt romney. his off-the-cuff remarks in a secretly recorded video gave the democrats plenty of ammo. republican pundits didn't hold back either. former reagan speech writer and "wall street journal" columnist peggy noonan blasted romney again. in her column this morning, she said, quote -- she actually called romney's campaign a calamity. that was the quote i was looking for. romney's wife ann, she's not taking kindly to the criticism.

>> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? get in the ring. this is hard. and, you know, it's -- it's an important thing that we're doing right now. and it's an important election. and it is time for all americans to realize how significant this election is. and how lucky we are to have someone with mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country. >> mrs. romney made those comments in an interview with radio iowa. our political director mark preston is in washington to talk about mrs. romney's strong defense of her husband, and, i mean, peggy noonan, she was brutal again this morning. >> she was brutal again. i've got to tell you, as far as ann romney's comments we shouldn't be too surprised. this has been a very long campaign for her. they are so close to winning this election. you know, right now, as much as we talk about how bad mitt romney has had a bad week, carol, he is still within

striking distance of winning the white house. it sounds like she is exhausted. it sounds like she is frustrated. but as you said, she's not the only one that's frustrated. peggy noonan doubles down today in a call where she calls for a change in the romney leadership, carol. says that bottom line if he is going to win in november, that he needs a new campaign head. but in addition to that, it's not just the peggy noonans of the world, the pundits talking about it. it is also the candidates that are running for lower offices, including tommy thompson who's running for senate in wisconsin. he held a lead over his democratic opponent in august. well, it's september right now, she now holds a lead and tommy thompson's placing the blame, at least some of the blame, on mitt romney. let's listen to what he had to say. >> the presidential thing is bound to have an impact on every election. you know, whether you're a democrat or a republican. if you're standard-bearer for the presidency is not doing well it's going to reflect on the down ballot.

>> that's tommy thompson on wkow giving an interview yesterday talking about why he is seeing the poll numbers shift in his race. so, certainly we are heading into the home stretch. we've heard from ann romney. i expect we're going to start hearing from a lot of others as we head into election day. a lot of frustration. a lot of exhaustion. >> mark preston reporting live for us from washington. in the meantime, governor romney, he's on his way to nevada right now and no doubt he will pummel president obama on this line the president said during an interview with the spanish language network univision. >> i've learned some lessons over the last four years. and the most important lesson i've learned is that you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. that's how i got elected. and that's how the big accomplishments like health care, got done. was because we mobilized the american people to speak out. >> this is what mr. romney said about that in florida.

>> the president today threw in the white flag of surrender again! he said he can't change washington from the inside! he can only change it from outside. well we're going to give him that chance in november! he's going outside! >> but the issue that really took center stage during president obama's forum with univision was immigration. senior correspondent juan carlos lopez from enespanol is in washington. president obama, he was pounded on the issue of immigration. >> it's very interesting, carol. three years ago president obama in an interview had made what many call the obama promise where it was interpreted as president obama saying in his first year in office he would have immigration reform, he promised to deliver it. now he gave an interview last week where he said no, i didn't promise immigration reform. i promised i'd support a bill. so we went back and looked at the interviews, looked at the tapes, and yes that's what the president said, he would support

his bill in the first year. that bill never happened. so that part of the promise wasn't kept but many believe that the president had promised something he didn't deliver it. he talked about it in the forum on univision and this is what he said about these 3 1/2 years where many considered that was going to be a wedge point with the latino community. >> my biggest failure so far is we haven't gotten comprehensive immigration reform done. so we're going to be continuing to work on that. but it's not for lack of trying or desire. and i'm confident we're going to accomplish that. >> and if you look at the polls and you look at the latino voting, carol, immigration is an important topic but it's not the main issue. the economy is the main issue. the unemployment is the main issue. because, latino voters aren't very different from other american voters. but immigration is an issue that makes people comment. it gets people worked up. many feel that the tone on immigration has been the tone not on undocumented immigrants.

they believe it's on hispanics in the u.s. so it's a very important issue for the campaign. mr. romney also spoke about it this week at the univision forum and he spoke about things he said as a candidate that now he's painting in a different light. interesting to see how they're going to be able to convince at least 12 million hispanic voters expected at the polls in november. >> yes. we'll see how many are enthusiastic enough to turn out. juan carlos lopez, thank you so much. also this morning, new anti-american violence is erupting across much of the muslim world. it's over, in part, over that film mocking the prophet muhammad. and it comes despite efforts by the president, and secretary of state, to calm things down. both star in a public service announcement that ran on seven tv networks in pakistan. >> since our founding, the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. >> let me state very clearly, and i hope it is obvious, that

the united states government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. we absolutely reject -- >> some republicans are not so happy the state department shelled out $70,000 of taxpayer money to continue what they call the obama apology tour. >> we're in the midst of this apology tour we see our embassies in the middle east under siege. so how is that u.s. apology tour working out for you, mr. president? look, if our fearless leaders insist on waving a white flag like this then they need to bring our troops home in the middle east. no more blood. no more u.s. treasure spent. >> now to today's protests in bangladesh, about 10,000 protesters take to the streets. many burn u.s. flags. some torch a mock prophet with president obama's name scrolled on the side. in sri lanka, more anger over that film mocking the prophet muhammad. across the region the u.s. shut down many diplomatic facilities because friday prayers often

fuel mob rage. some of the ugliest violence, though, happened in pakistan. in peshawar one person was killed, and dozens more injured. reza sayah is in islamabad. >> friday prayers is just concluded and what we're seeing are some of the largest and most intense protests yet here in pakistan. now what you see over there, are shipping containers. police are using them to block off the path to the diplomatic enclave. that's where the foreign embassies are. the u.s. embassy. the french embassy. what you seem to have here is some people urging protesters to rush police officers and others saying don't go, stay put. and can't seem to decide what to do.

so at this point, it's basically a free for all. what you see is these protesters just teeing off with objects, sticks, stones. and police just holding up their shields and blocking the object. now police officers are starting to throw rocks. and i think it's time for us to move back a little bit. now what often gets lost in these dramatic pictures is the actual numbers. how many people are here. and if you do a quick count, there's no more than at most 400 or 500 people here. we had to make a run for it because police fired off several canisters of tear gas.

we had give kulti seeing and breathing. so we came back here to where there's a rally taking place. here's what we observed, a lot of the protesters who are throwing objects, sticks, stones, they're young men, teenagers. in their 20s. you see them with this mischievous smile and you get the impression that they're not offended by any anti-islam movie that they're getting a rush out of facing off with police. and then you see some of the signs, the chants against the u.s. government, against the nato supply routes, and again, that is a sign that this is more than just about an anti-islam movie. there's a lot of anger about u.s. foreign policy, the occupation of afghanistan, and a lot of people here will tell you that what's boiled over is this deep-seated, anti-american sentiment that's been here in pakistan for a very long time. >> reza sayah reporting live from islamabad, pakistan, this morning.

we're also keeping an eye on pittsburgh, pennsylvania. a high rise office building downtown on the 16th floor, there's a hostage situation going on. a man with a gun and a duffel bag has taken two people hostage. when we come back, the latest on the situation. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one

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it is 15 minutes past the hour. let's check our top stories. start with that breaking news. police in pennsylvania say as many as two people have been taken hostage inside a high rise office building. taking place on the 16th floor of the gateway building, gateway building three, to be specific, that's in pittsburgh. police say people outside the building are safe. >> one, i just drove home from work, just to come and grab my husband, and he's actually still in the building at gateway towers and they're not letting anyone in the courtyard or anyone outside of the building. so we're pretty much standing outside of here. it's so nerve-racking because no one can get in or out. >> have you had communication with him since then? >> i have. he's sitting by the window. he can see everything that's going on because we're on the 19th floor.

but he can't get out of the building. >> has he described for you at all what he could see from that level? >> he says that it just looks really, really quiet in the courtyard. he's never seen it so quiet because there's always people walking back and forth every day. and so it just looks really quiet and he can see that there's a lot of commotion around gateway center three because we live so close to that building. >> at this point no word as to when you can get in or he can get out of the gateway towers? >> nothing. no word at all. we have no idea. we're just hoping that everyone is safe. >> you can see it's a nerve-racking situation there. let's go live to pittsburgh and join wpxi's live coverage of this event and listen for a bit. >> this began about 8:10 this morning, 8:16, an individual walked in to that investment business, started asking questions about an individual, and at that time that's when he held a couple people hostage. the floor has been cleared of any other innocent people up

there. and our team officers are on that floor. >> he's being held, the person that he was looking for when he came in the door? >> we don't know that yet. >> all right, you've been able to talk to him. i mean, has he indicated to you any way that this could be resolved? >> not at this time. it's ongoing. >> obviously we're seeing an awful lot of response here. you've evacuated some buildings. explain the need for all the evacuations. >> well, we want to contain the area. we want to make sure that other individuals are safe. we want to, you know, make sure that no other individuals get in harm's way at this time. >> do you have any reason to believe that he was anything other than acting alone? >> not at this time, no. >> okay so as far as you're concerned, beyond that one room on the 16th floor, there's really no risk or threat beyond that? >> that is correct. at this time. >> and what about timing on all this? how long are you willing to

wait? how long are you willing to talk? >> we're willing to talk as long as it will take to resolve this in a safe and orderly fashion. >> so, to recap, he's holding two people hostage? >> possibly two. we know for sure, we're sure that there's one there. but it's possibly two victims at this time that are being held. >> though one has been injured? >> no one's been injured. >> and who is in control on the scene, pittsburgh police or who is the hostage people? >> it is pittsburgh police. >> we're seeing an awful lot of other things here. the k-9 units are here, you've got the county arson squad here. can you explain a little bit of this response? >> the response is we want to make sure that we're prepared for whatever may occur. there's other things that we have concerns about, for example, did he take any type of -- into this place. and we have to be prepared to respond quickly and make sure

that we can resolve this. >> you're referring to his threat that he had bombs? >> that is correct. >> do you have any reason to believe that is true? have you seen anything? does he have anything in the room? >> i can't make a comment on that at this time. >> but obviously it's a point of concern. >> it is, definitely. >> does he have any other weapons? >> no. we don't know what weapons he has. but as i said, we haven't visually seen what he has. we're going in as we're talking and i can't give any more comments. >> does this appear to be a domestic issue? >> no it does not. >> but he was looking for an individual? >> we're going to jump away from this and go back to pittsburgh after break. [ female announcer ] ordinary lotions aren't made to treat eczema,

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mayors of cities around the country are urging congress to think twice before enacting far-reaching federal spending cuts that they say could devastate local economies. the federal spending cuts, you've heard this term before, they're known as sequestration, are set to go into effect this january, as a result of last year's failed budget discussions. when democrats and republicans reached a deadlock on their negotiations, a plan was set up so that budget cuts of $1.2

trillion would automatically go into effect in 2013. here's atlanta's mayor. >> we are not going to stand by in cities across the united states of america and allow the federal government to shift this responsibilities to us and go by quietly. we're going to raise this issue in 131 cities across the united states of america, and we're going to make it known that cuts without revenue isn't a cut really at the federal level, it will mean that those burdens and those responsibilities will go to cities that are already constrained. and doing everything we can do to keep our city functioning well. >> kaseem reed, mayor of atlanta, joins me now. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> the 130 or so mayors standing with you, republicans and democrats? >> bipartisan across the united states of america.

>> so we always hear if these cuts go into place they'll affect the defense department and they'll affect social programs. but we don't hear how they'll affect cities across america. how did they affect atlanta? >> well, the segment that you played regarding the crisis in pittsburgh is a prime example. we have 50 police officers who were funded as a part of a grant from the federal government. we have a safer grant with 75 firefighters. you just had a segment with the police chief of pittsburgh. what we're doing right now is in a very bad economy, we're doing everything we can to keep our folks safe. we stood up the largest police force in the history of the city of atlanta, and we did so in an open and honest fashion in cooperation with the federal government. so they shouldn't walk away from their commitments to us after we went and made financial commitments, because they're not willing to do their work in a thoughtful, serious way. >> so you're coming out early with this, because they probably

won't begin negotiating until after the first of the year. so do you expect things to go badly? >> well, the fact of the matter is, is by the time they start actually negotiating, then there will be too much noise for us to break through. but mayors are in every major media market in america. you pick a major media market, there's a major city with a mayor. and what we're doing right now is making it real clear to the federal government, and to congress, that we're not going to sit by while you shift your costs to the local area while you claim that you're cutting taxes. >> do you think it will make any difference who is elected president as far as how those negotiations will go? >> well, i think it always makes a difference. because president obama has been so much more supportive of cities. but on this measure, we're focused on it in a bipartisan way without regard to who is elected. because we think that there is a major federal effort, if you vote -- or if you go with $1.2 trillion across the board cuts we're all going to be harmed. and we want people to know right

here and right now, cities, we're doing our jobs. the things that they get away with in washington, d.c., we couldn't get away with for one day because we have real responsibilities. we balance our budgets every single year. and we can't print money. so we're just telling folks, do your job in washington while we do ours in atlanta and cities across america. >> so i'm curious when you watch our federal lawmakers going at one another what goes through your mind? >> when people with important jobs don't do their job, real people get harmed. see, i can't focus on these grand issues that they're focused on in washington. i've got to focus on making sure that when a mom walks to her car, that she gets there safe. i've got to make sure that when someone places a 911 call, that police or fire respond. and if they don't, i hear from it from people who are on the other end of that telephone with real lives. so we're not going to allow what is going on in washington to damage cities, which is where

80% of our country's economic productivity is. if they allow these $1.2 trillion in cuts to go ahead, if they don't do their work, just as we all do, you go to work every day and i go to work every day, 2 million people's jobs are at risk. so it's not going to wait until the middle of the noise and all of the congressional blame game, we're going to be in major markets, every single day, talking about this issue right now. >> mayor reed, thanks so much for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> when we come back, of course, we'll take you back to pittsburgh where there is a hostage situation going on right now in a high rise building in downtown pittsburgh, a man armed with a gun, with two duffel bags. he's made bomb threats. as far as we know, according to police, he's holding at least two people hostage. we'll go back to pittsburgh right after this. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me.

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31 minutes past the hour. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us this morning. let's check our top story. we begin with this breaking news out of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. police there say at least two people have been taken hostage inside a high rise office building. taking place on the 16th floor of the gateway building three in pittsburgh. the hostages include one woman, and possibly one more person. police say people outside of the building are safe. >> were working and a young woman that works on our floor, in that company, came running in to our office, yelling to call 911, and lock the door. we didn't know, you know, so, i immediately called 911. but, handed the phone to her. because i didn't know what was happening. so, i really just dialed the phone, and handed it to her. and she reported to 911 that there was a man, she thought they were being robbed. a man walked in, she said she

wasn't at her front desk, she was back in the office, she sensed something was wrong, looked at her dad and her dad said get security right away and that's when she ran in to our office to call 911. >> can take a look at pittsburgh here and that building in downtown pittsburgh, lots of other office buildings around that building, and also hotels. some people have not been allowed to leave their buildings, if their offices are located next to the gateway center building in pittsburgh that's affected right now. we do understand from our affiliate kdka that people are being allowed to leave the wyndham hotel, that's located near that building. as far as we know, nobody has been hurt. and hostage negotiators are talking now to the suspect. we don't know exactly what's going on there. but when we find out, of course we'll pass more information along to you. also this morning a major recall for general motors. 426,000 cars could have a problem with their transmission. alison kosik joins us from the

new york stock exchange to tell us more. >> hi, carol. this is a transmission issue that winds up affecting some of the more popular gm vehicles. apparently these cars start to roll even when they're shifted in park. the cars affected are all sedans from the chevy, pontiac and saturn lines. they include 2007 to 2010 model years for the chevrolet malibu, the saturn aura and the pontiac g6s. all have four speed automatic transmission. so far gm knows of four crashes related to the problem but no serious injuries. gm does say what it's going to do is notify owners with letters, if their vehicles are included in this. now, if you get a notice you'll be able to bring your car in to a dealership and have the fix done for free. and if you're one of the people who've already paid for the repair, you can get reimbursed. this recall, carol, comes just a few months after gm's last one, it was a big one, when it had to recall a similar amount of chevy

cruzes for an engine issue. >> we'll take you back to pittsburgh where there's a hostage situation going on right now in a high rise building on the 16th floor in the downtown area. we'll be right back. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. wthe future of our medicare andr electiosocial security. for... man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan...

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for the past half hour or so we've been watching a hostage situation in downtown pittsburgh. a man walked into the building with a duffel bag and a gun. he's on the 16th floor. police tell us he's holding at least one woman hostage, possibly another person. we understand that man has also made bomb threats. most of the buildings around that gateway center, what is it 3 gateway center in pittsburgh, gateway center 3 in pittsburgh have been evacuated now. some people do remain inside the building. police say everybody on the outside of the building is safe. let's hear from one of our affiliate reporters from wtae. >> well, the chief talked to us

a little bit about the gunman who they say is inside the building, on the 16th floor. want to go ahead and show you the scene here behind me. you can see pittsburgh paramedics as well as s.w.a.t., several different police agencies and chief nate harper has confirmed with us that it is actually a military man, that is what he knows about the suspect inside. according to one of my sources that man has climbed to have a rifle, a pistol and a bomb. as far as a connection to the man who he's holding hostage, no one at this point is confirming any sort of connection. you heard chief nate harper say that at this point they're not sure whether they're relatives, whether they know each other. but the chief did say that this gunman, they believe, has held hostages intended target. so they believe he went to this business on the 16th floor to hold this particular person hostage. we also heard the chief say that his negotiators are in contact with the gunman, and that the gunman is fairly calm, and he is communicating with them. so that is the very latest on what we know. we do know, however, also that these roads will continue to

remain closed down while police work with that gunman. again, they believe that they can bring this to a resolution because he's talking with them. because he is working with them. and because he is calm, and they say that his hostage, at this point, is unharmed. so that is the good news. we're waiting for the chief to come back and give us a little more information. he says he'll be back within the next maybe 10, 15 minutes or so. we're going to continue to be here, continue to get the latest and bring you a little bit more as soon as it's available. >> of course, cnn will also stick with the situation in pittsburgh. as far as we know, as far as police are saying, no one has been hurt. as you heard from that reporter they are talking to the hostage taker inside of that building on the 16th floor. >> all right let's talk about something good now. jessica simpson introduced her 4-month-old baby girl maxwell drew to the world this week when she posted photos of the little tiny baby online. a.j. hammer, host of "show biz tonight" is in new york.

cute baby. >> yeah, who doesn't love cute celebrity baby pictures to fire up the weekend. these are really cute pictures from jessica simpson showing off her daughter. she tweeted these shots out taken at her fiance's 33rd birthday party. jessica wrote with the tweet of the pictures, last year daddy's party maxwell was in my belly. this year, she's in my arms. so it is great to see this little girl doing so well. carole simpson has been writing about the experience on i-village. she says maxwell is sleeping through the night which makes her a very lucky mom with a 4-month-old. nice going. >> nice going. yeah, maxwell. thank you, a.j. join a.j. hammer on "showbiz tonight," 11:00 person on hln. jack, you're a little boring.

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we want to bring you up to date what's happening in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. in downtown pittsburgh at a high rise building there, three gateway center on the 16th floor a man is holding at least one woman hostage and possibly another person. that man is armed with a gun. he also has a duffel bag, and police have said that he's made bomb threats, although they don't know if he has anything in the way of explosives inside that duffel bag. we know police negotiators are talking with that man right now, they say the situation is calm. they hope to have this thing ended soon. but you never know with these situations. let's talk to wallace dines a former nypd hostage negotiator. he joins us on the phone. thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> you're quite welcome, carol. to begin with, you know, all hostage incidents are different. but there are only four types of hostage takers. and in this particular one, he's

the type of hostage taker, what we call an edp, emotionally disturbed person that has a statement, wants to be heard. they usually happen with domestic incidents. they also happen where there's someone that may have a statement no one wants to listen to him. in a situation like this, everything that they claim he has, for instance, a gun, a bomb, and a rifle, you take it serious until you can prove differently. and the other thing that's so important is they set up within a perimeter. that's the most important thing. that's where the hostage negotiators will be and the s.w.a.t. team special -- the special units that will be there to back up the hostage negotiators. and anyone within that building. also you have to take into consideration of the bomb threat. so they will be in a 360 degree clearing that in a perimeter plus they'll be clearing other areas. they don't know if there is, in fact, a bomb, how big a bomb it might be. one of the good things is that there's a conversation going on. you have a conversation going on

like that, there's a dialogue. it's like a seesaw. there's rational and irrational. you want to get on to a rational level with everyone speaking on the same level, and you develop rapport. hostage negotiation is a give and take but most importantly you've got to develop credibility. and one of the other important things is you don't lie because you lose valuable time. and as long as they have a dialogue going on, there could be a successful outcome, everyone, like i said, is different. like walking into a movie theater in the middle of the movie and try and figure it out. >> i hope it all ends well. the other -- the other thing that police have to deal with in the situation are the people inside that office building, the people surrounding office buildings. when do you decide when to evacuate? >> immediately. because you don't know what he has. go with the premise that he does have what he claims he has until you prove differently. if he says he has one handgun you check to see if he has more

than one handgun when they do get him out of there. and also, you have to evacuate, you have to also at the same time, you have in new york city when we do our hostage team. we have three people in a hostage negotiation team, a negotiator, a coach, and what we call a floater. and all three are interchangeable. what we do is we have the floater go out and get work with the intelligence gathering. for instance detectives in st. louis -- in pittsburgh, excuse me, will go out and get information. they'll work with the department of defense finding out about this person's personality. did he have any problems? you want to find out everything so negotiator could hit on the right conversation. you also have to be a good listener. and if there are hostages that he has, you know, there are things the hostages should do. they should remain calm, they should not talk only speak when spoken to. treat the hostage taker like royalty. if someone is sick they should mention that they need

medication. and they should be good listeners not good talkers. if there is a dynamic entry they should hit the ground. >> you mean if the s.w.a.t. team bursts through the doors? >> yes. >> well, we hope it doesn't come to that. we hope it doesn't come to has. wallace zeins thank you so much for filling us in and hoping us to understand the situation. again there is a hostage situation in downtown pittsburgh, at a high rise building downtown. police believe a man with a gun is holding at least one woman hostage. that, they say, is this man's -- she is this man's intended target. they are talking to this man and hopefully all will end well. we'll be back with more. the one. whoa, check it out. hey baby goat... no that's not yours... [ hikers whispering ] ...that's not yours. [ goat bleats ] na, na, na -- no! [ male announcer ] now you can take a photo right from video,

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like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. breaking news of a different kind to tell you about right now. this has to do with an exiled

iranian group. we understand the american secretary of state hillary clinton is going to remove that exiled group from the terror list. elise labott broke this story. i must say even with the word exile in front of it, iran group removing from terror list makes a lot of us go hmm. >> that's right, carol. well the mujahadin, we know it in the united states pretty much as the mek, has been listed as a terror group in the united states since the 1970s for the killing of americans. in recent years what it's really been is an opposition group to the iranian regime, and a lot of its members were put in a camp called camp ashraf in iraq, after the iraq war. they've been under the auspices of the united nations, and there's been a lot of pressure in the united states, both from the group and from its supporters in congress, and very high-paid former officials speaking on their behalf, to delist the group. secretary of state hillary clinton has been under a court order, which is coming up in

september, october deadlines, to delist the group. there's been a contentious debate here at the state department and throughout the administration because even though the group does pretty much meet the criteria of not being engaged in terrorist activity, a lot of concerns about this group that it has a lot of -- has been described to me as a bizarre cult-like organization, and they're moving from this camp ashraf to another place in iraq over the last several months giving the administration, the united nations, the iraqis a real headache, so they really had to separate the wheat from the chaff, if you will. does the group present a terror threat do we not just like them. officials telling me today we don't like these people, doesn't mean we support them, don't consider them an alternative to the irani regime. but secretary of state hillary clinton made the right decision because their record doesn't meet the criteria of a terrorist organization anymore. >> we'll have much more on this later today. elise labott reporting live from the state department. thanks so much. ty understands rough economic times

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[ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ werther's original caramels. a man with a gun holding a woman hostage on the 16th floor of a high rise building in downtown pittsburgh. this is pittsburgh's police chief nate harper. >> he is not being irrational. and hopefully we will get this resolved. >> are you making contact with the relative that was brought

in? >> yes, we are. >> you say the officers can see him. do they see a weapon, a knife, a gun? >> no, they can't see it. >> name, age? >> we'll release his name later on. as i stated, he's a black male in his 20s, and we do have his name. we're, as i said, trying to find out the history of this gentleman, and that's where we're at at this time. >> you said earlier that he was exmilitary. >> yes, he was in the military. >> is he recently back from his service? >> i can't give you that answer at this time. once again, we have state police, we have county police, we have fbi here, so it's -- the law enforcement community is working together to try to see, find out the facts and bring us to a resolution. >> does the suspect have a criminal background? >> yes, he does. >> do you know what for?

>> i can't tell you at this time. that's all information that's unwinding. >> is gateway 3 able to move in that building? the people on the upper floors, can they get on an elevator? >> yes, they can. >> there's free movement inside the building except 16? >> that's correct. it is free movement inside the building. but at the same time we are aren't letting, as you can understand, we aren't letting just individuals go back into the building. they can leave the building. they can, you know, move around, in gateway center except on the 16th floor. and you can understand why we just can't let any individuals just go back in to the building. >> -- let them run out or -- >> at this time they just -- they did just escape. they do have a plan. and their plan worked. the management did a very good job, building management on the company floor did a very good job, and we'll try to give you more up to date