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Death Toll Rises in Cruise Ship Disaster; Italian Court Orders Captain of Ship to Stay in Jail; GOP Rivals Target Mitt Romney; Jobs Council Looks At Education For Increasing Jobs

Aired January 17, 2012 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Want to get you up to speed for this Tuesday, January 17th.

We are learning new details about what happened the night that cruise ship disaster from the captain himself. An Italian court just decided that the captain is going to stay in jail as this investigation moves forward.

Now, the death toll now stands at 11. And transcripts are revealing new details about what happened. The captain told conflicting stories about whether he had abandoned ship, and he called the wreck "a technical failure."

Now, I want you to take a look at these images. These are infrared images. And what you're watching here, it looks like little, tiny ants. Those are actually people who are scrambling to save their lives on board that ship.

Now, right now, navy divers are using explosives to blast their way into the ship to search for others victims, perhaps survivors. You're going to want to hear what the captain said on the night of the disaster. We've got that up for you in just a few minutes.

And brace yourselves. Gas prices going through the proof again. That's right. Gasmoney.com says that some of us could be paying around $5 a gallon by the summer. Prices already at record highs.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of unleaded has jumped to $3.39. It is the highest January gas prices ever, 30 cents higher than a year ago.

Mitt Romney's rivals not letting up on the attacks against him. Romney was the main target at last night's Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His opponents, they are keeping it up again today.

Rick Santorum stopped just short of calling Romney a liar on the issue of the super PAC ads. Now, he says Romney needs to stop what he calls dirty politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't need someone who supports lies and promotes lies and stands behind those lies in order to get elected president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: If you live in South Carolina, a good chance you're going to run into a Republican presidential candidate because the primary is this Saturday, and the candidates, supporters, they are all across the state, just saturated. Several events happening over the next two hours.

Rick Santorum visits the Aiken Republican Club. That's happening in about 30 minutes. Rick Perry's wife, Anita, she is campaigning in Charleston. And next hour, Newt Gingrich has a stop in Columbia.

All right. So, members of Congress, at least those in the House, getting back to work this morning after the winter break. At least that's what we're hoping.

A new CNN/ORC international poll found just 11 percent of people approve how Congress is handling jobs. That is at an all-time low. The previous all-time low was 14 percent. That was set in August.

And Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker could become just the third U.S. governor in history to be kicked out of office. Today, his opponents are expected to submit more than 500,000 signatures to force a recall election. Now, Walker came under fire last year after he signed a law that stripped most public units of bargaining rights.

It sounds like a horror movie. Yes, huge snakes on the loose, spreading out of control. It's real in Florida.

Anacondas, pythons like this one taking over the Everglades. Officials now hope that a new rule is going to help. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made this announcement this morning making it illegal to import three types of large snakes or take them across state lines.

I want to bring you now back to the lead story in the cruise ship that turned into a death trap. We are getting new details about a Coast Guard officer yelling at the ship's captain, telling him to get back on board the ship, take care of the passengers, as well as the crew.

Things go so intense as this disaster played out Friday night. So what you're going to hear is a translated version of the conversation between the captain and a Coast Guard officer who gets panicked, even more panicked and furious by the moment as this unfolds.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CAPT. FRANCESCO SCHETTINO (through translator): This is Captain Schettino, Commandant. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Listen, Schettino, there are people trapped on board. Now, you have to go with your lifeboat and go under the boat stem on the straight side.

There's a ladder there. Get on board the ship and tell me -- tell me how many people there are. Clear? I'm recording this conversation, Captain Schettino.

SCHETTINO: I understand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, there is people who are coming down the stem ladder. You must take that ladder in the opposite direction.

Get on board the ship and you tell me how many people there are on board, and what do they have? Clear? You tell me the there are children, women, people with special needs. And you tell me how many there are of each of this category.

Is that clear?

Look, Schettino, you might have been saved from the sea, but I will make sure you go through a very rough time. I will make sure you go through a lot of trouble. Get on board, damn it!

SCHETTINO: I'm going now because there is the other motorboat that has stopped now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go on board. It is an order. You cannot make any other evaluations.

You have declared abandoning ship. Now I'm in charge. You get on board. Is it clear?

SCHETTINO: Commandant --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you not listening to me?

SCHETTINO: I'm going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call me immediately when you get on board. A rescue officer is there.

SCHETTINO: Where is your rescue officer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My rescue officer is at the stem. Go.

SCHETTINO: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are already bodies, Schettino.

SCHETTINO: How many dead bodies are there?

SCHETTINO: I don't know! I know of one. I've heard of one. You are the one to tell me how many there are. Christ!

(END AUDIO CLIP) MALVEAUX: All right. The question, will he or won't he? That is what everyone is asking Mitt Romney about releasing his tax returns.

So here is your chance to "Talk Back." Today's question: Should Romney release his tax returns?

Carol Costello, she is joining us from Washington with more on this.

And Carol, perhaps you can explain why it has become so significant, certainly not required. It hasn't happened in every campaign. This has become a pretty big deal.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has become a pretty big deal. I mean, Republican opponents are saying release your tax returns already.

It was Rick Perry's battle cry against Mitt Romney at last night's debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: And I think that's a fair thing.

Listen, here is the real issue for us as Republicans. We cannot fire our nominee in September. We need to know now.

So I hope you'll put your tax records out there this week so the people of South Carolina can take a look and decide if, you know, we have got a flawed candidate or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: "The Washington Post" is asking that very question: Why won't Romney release his tax returns?

What about that information you can't find elsewhere like tax shelters and charitable deductions, not to mention all the money Romney made at Bain Capital? Whatever Romney's fellow Republicans hope to illustrate by a public reading of Romney's tax returns, they've pushed Romney into a "probably, but I'm not going to release anything before the South Carolina primary" mantra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Time will tell, but I anticipate that most likely, I'm going to get asked to do that around the April time period, and I'll keep that open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Romney has already released a personal financial disclosure report which is required of all presidential candidates. And we all know Romney is richer than most of us will ever be.

According to CNNMoney.com, Romney is worth between $85 million and $264 million. He owns several homes, one in La Jolla, California, worth about $10 million.

We also know the FEC lists between $250,000 to $500,000 in horses and $250,000 to $500,000 in gold. But the horses and the gold belong to the Mrs.

Do you want to know more? The Republicans who want to be president do.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Should Mitt Romney release his tax returns?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The death toll in the Italian cruise ship disaster has now risen to 11. Navy divers are looking for victims. An Italian court says the captain is going to stay in jail.

Journalist Barbie Nadeau was in the courtroom, and we're going to talk to her in just a minute.

But first, we want to bring in our Dan Rivers. He's on the scene in Italy.

Dan, do they believe that there are any survivors? Are they still in recovery mode here, trying to find people on that ship?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, officially, they're saying that they are still doing a search and rescue operation. I think the reality, though, the brutal reality, it's almost inconceivable now -- it's almost four days since this accident happened -- that anyone could have survived for so long inside.

It's been freezing cold here at night. And, you know, the fact that that is counting against anyone who is trapped inside. They've been listening for signs of life. As I'm speaking to you now, more police launches are heading out to the Costa Concordia.

But, so far, all they have found are bodies, sadly. Five more bodies recovered today, bringing the total confirmed number of dead to 11, with a large number of people still unaccounted for. Twenty-three people still unaccounted for.

So it is a pretty grim task for these fire officers who are searching through the wreckage, and a dangerous one as well.

MALVEAUX: Dan, tell us a little bit about the people who we -- what do we know about those who are missing?

RIVERS: Well, there's a large party of Germans who are missing, 12, according to the German Foreign Ministry. And then there are a number of other nationalities, including some members of crew in that makeup. But it's very confused at the moment, but the figures we have are six Italians, one of whom is a member of the crew; four French as well; and then there are, of course, two Americans, an Indian and a Peruvian and a Hungarian adding to that list.

So it's a very multinational list of missing, reflecting really the fact that this was a global company, that people from all over the world would come on these lavish cruises around the Mediterranean. And that is complicating the coordination of all this because they're having to deal with so many different governments around the world.

MALVEAUX: Dan, thank you.

I want to talk a little bit about where exactly this ship was going and where it ended up. We're going to bring our Chad Myers in.

Chad, to kind of explain here the ship's path and how it diverted so it actually hit that sheet of rock.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Literally, this was only in the water for a few hours. This ship had only left its first port for a seven- day cruise.

So, it left Civitavecchia, and it was just on its way up to -- and eventually to Marseille -- but to Savona. And that was it's next step. It was only in the water just a couple of hours. Everybody was now in the dining room, kind of heading on up, having a nice time getting ready, probably getting dressed for a nice night at dinner.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

MYERS: And then, all of a sudden, the captain -- someone -- decided to take this boat significantly too close to a very rocky shore. I've been told that this isn't all that unusual. They try to get the boat as close as they can so the passengers have a nice view off this off the -- it would have been off the port side of the boat. That's what it looks like right now.

And this is the island that it eventually bumped into. There was another little rock down there as it floated around and eventually listed over on it's side.

So it's Rome -- people probably flew into there. And you would take either a taxi or something over hereto Civitavecchia.

And then as it moved on through, we can zoom in here, and it wanted to go through this little rocky area right through there. And this little rocky zone right through here, obviously here, over here, and Giglio over here, where you should be coming right through the shipping channel. There would be red buoys, there would be green buoys. And unfortunately, the boat got much too close to this reef over here, knocked the bottom out of the boat at some point in time, and then turned the boat into -- there's a small little port here on Giglio, and we believe that the captain was trying to get a little bit closer.

Keep going on with that. There we go. There's the bump, there's another bump through there.

The ship tried to turn around. As it was turning around -- clearly, you get water in the bottom of the boat. We think that that's what happened, there was some type of breach in the bottom of the boat. The boat begins to list. As the boat begins to list, it gets very difficult to get life boats off, especially off the listed side, because all of a sudden, it's facing the sky.

People were panicked. Obviously, it was getting dark. It was very cold outside. The water temperature, only 57.

At 57 degrees, you're not in the water very long without getting very, very chilled. There was obviously this rock right there that they're trying to get to, because as you can see at this point in time, there's the picture from the rock as it was only beginning to list. So they were going to try to get these life jackets, these lifeboats off, but didn't do a very good job at it as this boat went over on its slide.

MALVEAUX: Chad, do we know if there's any danger of that ship slipping off that bit of rock there?

MYERS: Oh, sure. It could.

There are tides coming in every day, obviously lifting the boat back up and setting the boat back down, lifting the boat back up as the water comes in. The problem is now -- and why they still don't have all these people accounted for -- is because when the boat begins to list like this, the metal begins to twist and doors won't open.

So there may be people actually in air pockets, in completely good rooms. Even though those people are missing, that doesn't mean that they're dead, because as the boat lists and the metal shifts, think of your doorway of your apartment complex or your house beginning to shift. You would never be able to get that door open if the door jam got crooked.

And so that's where they think maybe some of these people are. And there are divers now in this book. Clearly dark, there's no light in this boat at all. Divers literally feeling their way through this boat and looking for those people that are missing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: An Italian court says that the captain of that vessel, he's going be staying in jail.

Journalist Barbie Nadeau, she was in the courtroom and she's joining us by phone. Explain to us if he has been charged, what he has been charged with.

BARBIE NADEAU, JOURNALIST: He hasn't officially been charged yet. Captain Francesco Schettino spent a couple hours out of jail today. He's been in custody since Saturday.

He was interrogated by a magistrate, an investigating (ph) magistrate who was trying to make a decision whether or not he should remain in custody during the investigative phase. It's possible if he's charged that he won't be officially charged for up to a year. By Italian law, they can keep a suspect in custody for that long without making an official charge.

The judge today decided that she would reserve the right to make a final decision on that. So she's put him back in jail for the night and she's going to revisit this question in the coming days and weeks.

She wants to wait until the full recovery and rescue operation is finished so she knows exactly how many people are -- died in this accident, how many people survived it. And then she can make a better decision on whether or not he should stay in jail.

He's potentially facing charges of manslaughter, of shipwreck -- that is, causing the shipwreck -- and abandoning ship. So those are very serious charges. Abandoning a ship carries up to 15 years in prison. So, it's still very much a wait-and-see point at this juncture.

MALVEAUX: And Barbie, if he has not been charged with anything yet, why is he being held? Why is he in jail? Is it like our system of justice, where it might be fear of a flight, risk of flight?

NADEAU: No. It's very different.

The Italian system allows for a suspect to be held for one year without charge. But they have to have enough reason, enough evidence against him in order to do that.

What we heard today from the lawyer defending him and from the prosecutor trying to keep him in jail was that they do believe they have enough evidence. They do believe that there's evidence that he abandoned the ship.

That comes from transcripts that have been published and tapes -- audiotapes that have been heard that show he may have left the ship before the last passengers. That is, by law, enough to keep him in jail until he is charged.

But the judge h as reserved the right to rule definitively on this. So this is really very much a wait-and-see point at this point. We'll see in the next, I would say, days, if not weeks. We'll know a little bit more about the judicial aspect.

MALVEAUX: And Barbie, we have seen, we've heard that transcript. What does the captain say in his defense?

NADEAU: The captain's lawyer, who I just spoke to very, very briefly today by phone, says that he thinks the captain, instead, was heroic, and that he did what he could as a skillful ship captain to save as many passengers as possible. He says that Captain Schettino is upset, is in emotional pain and distraught over this accident. And he says that his client did not abandon the ship and should not be in jail right now.

MALVEAUX: All right. Barbie, thank you very much.

We're go the going to have much more on this story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney's Republican rivals, they are gunning for him. Just four days to go until South Carolina's primary. Romney, he was the prime target during the debate last night in Myrtle Beach.

One line of attack was over Romney's record at his private investment firm -- as you know, Bain Capital -- whether or not he created or killed jobs. They piled on him.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, as a pattern in some companies, a handful of them, of leaving them with enormous debt, and then within a year or two or three having them go broke, I think that is something he ought to answer.

PERRY: When I visited Georgetown, South Carolina, Mitt, it was one of those towns where there was a steel mill that Bain swept in, they picked that company over, and there were a lot of people that lost jobs there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. For more on the debate, how this race is looking forward, I want to bring in CNN Political Director Mark Preston.

They all piled on him last night. He seemed amazingly unscathed. He didn't make any major errors. He kept his composure.

Does he look like the Teflon candidate at this point?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, and the real question to add on to that, is he going to be the inevitable nominee, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Sure.

PRESTON: And a lot of people think that that's the case. They think that perhaps, Suzanne, that he will win here on Saturday and close out the race for the presidential Republican nomination after only three contests, even before we get to Florida. And what we saw last night at the debate up in Myrtle Beach is that Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry were really making their last stab, so to speak, to try to take down Mitt Romney. They were not successful. As you said, he came out unscathed.

He was a little bruised. He seemed a little unsettled on the debate stage. But the bottom line is, he didn't have a great debate, but he didn't have a bad debate. And in many ways, you could call them the winner last night.

MALVEAUX: Does it help or does it hurt him going into the general election, beating back his criticism now? Does it take away some of Obama's firepower?

PRESTON: Well, you know, that's a great question, because, in some ways, it's not only going to help him, because he's going to be able to withstand these attacks, he's going to understand what the Obama administration is going to throw at him, what the Obama campaign will throw at him. At the same time, though, there was a lot of clips at last night's debate, there's been a lot of sound bites from these Republican rivals over the past couple of weeks that are certainly going to be used in commercials by Democrats, by Independent expenditure groups, as well as the Obama campaign.

And then, right behind me, on Thursday night, they're going to make their closing arguments to the South Carolina voters here. So expect Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Ron Paul all try to make their mark in just two days right behind me, because as you said at the top, on Saturday, that's when the South Carolina voters head to the polls. And a lot of people think that that could be the end -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Mark, thanks very much. Good to see you.

We have new tapes released showing the captain of the Italian ship had abandoned it moments after it hit the rocks. Next, we're going to talk to an experienced seaman about what duties a captain has in a time of crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a run down to some of the stories we are working on next. What does an experienced seaman say about the Italian captain and how he handled the ship running aground?

Then, which Republican has a better chance of beating Barack Obama? We're going to let you in on some new poll results.

Later, New York City subway workers wants riders to do something really strange when they see rats. They've now turned this into a contest.

We're getting a shocking account of what the captain did that was in charge of the Italian cruise ship that crashed. In his own words, he describes what happens. And we are hearing a conversation between this captain and the port authority. In it, he contradicts himself about whether or not he actually abandoned the ship and the passengers when it hit the rocks. The port authority asks, "How come so few people? Are you on board"? Schettino responds, saying, "No, I'm not on board because the ship is keeling. We've abandon it." The port authority asked, "What? You've abandoned the ship"? Again, the captain says, "No. What? Abandon? I'm here.

All right, we're going to try to sort all this out. Joining us is Captain James Staples. He's captained cargo ships for 20 years.

Captain, thank you for joining us.

When you hear this exchange and -- first, he says he's not there and he's left and then he says -- he changes his mind and says, no, I'm here. What do you make of his explanation?

JAMES STAPLES, CARGO SHIP CAPTAIN & MARITIME CONSULTANT: Well, when I first heard this deposition that he gave on what happened, I was shocked. I was amazed that somebody who could be in command could leave the vessel like that and not have situational awareness of what was going on around him. This captain didn't even know how many people were on his ship. We're finding out there was well over 3,000 people. How can you not know that you have 3,000 people on board a ship that say and only say you have 100 to 200 people? I'm in disbelief. I can't believe the situational awareness of what was going on was that bad. I mean, this was terrible. And to leave the vessel in that situation and not know if everybody is safely off is delinquent.

MALVEAUX: From one captain to another, is there a vow or an oath you take to stay with the vessel, stay with the ship and make sure everybody is OK in a situation like that?

STAPLES: Well, as the captain of the vessel, your first priority is to save the lives of the souls that are on board, whether that be a crew on a smaller ship that carries 20, or you're in on a ship that carries 4,000 people. Your priority is to save those people, then the vessel and then the cargo. But always, always, always the safety of life at sea comes first. For the captain to leave like that is definitely a dereliction of his duties. A man like that should never, ever have been in command.

MALVEAUX: Captain Schettino spoke to the Italian media about what caused the accident. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCESCO SCHETTINO, CAPTAIN, COSTA CONCORDIA (through translation): Even though we were sailing along the coast with the tourist navigation system, I believe the rocks were not detected as the ship was not heading forward, but sideways, as if under water there was this rock projection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So it sounds like he's blaming the ship's instruments. And you've seen the damage, you've seen this video here, how close that boat is to shore. Does that ring true to you, his explanation?

STAPLES: You can't blame the equipment when you deviate from your original course line. He had a voyage plan that was laid out and set forth that he should have followed. The captain deviated from that and took the vessel in close to the beach. He even said on the news that he was within 300 meters of the beach. The ship is about 290 meters long. He doesn't even have a safe turning radius for that vessel being that close. So to start blaming equipment, no, I find that, again, dereliction of his duties.

MALVEAUX: And Italy's Coast Guard located the black box from the ship. What can we learn from these recorders?

STAPLES: These recorders are a black box that will have voice recordings in the sailings. They'll take digital recordings off of all the equipment so you'll have a date, a time, the helm orders that were being given not only in voice commands, but you'll be able to see what the helmsman was doing as he was steering the vessel.

You'll have any type of current information from the engine. You'll be able to tell if there was a problem with the generation on board the generators, if there was a blackout or an electrical failure. You will be able to tell from this black block, what we call a VDR, a voice data recorders, the type of information that's on it that they can now use from the investigation. There's quite a bit of information that will be very detailed into his actions.

MALVEAUX: Finally, quickly here, Captain, is there any possibility of survivors? We've been talking to folks who think that they could be in those cabins in air pockets. Is that still possible to find people alive?

STAPLES: Well, there's always a possibility and we only hope for that. But you're going to have to know where these people were located, who they were and where their cabins were. And that would tell you, on the percentage of possibility, if they're alive. So if they were probably on the portside, I'd say there's probably a good chance of that. But if they're on the starboard side, then your hopes diminish. But we can only hope for the best. And hopefully, there are more people who have survived and are still stuck in the vessel.

MALVEAUX: Captain Staples, thank you very much for your perspective. Appreciate that.

Rating rats, yes, that's kind of weird. Think of it as a rodent reality show. That in New York, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: This is a weird story. People post stories online of their friends, their pets, their babies. But rats? Yes, we're talking rats. Subway workers in New York City, they're asking people to take pictures of the rats they see, upload them on a web site and vote as part of a Rate My Rat contest.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you see a New Yorker looking down the tracks, it's not always a train he's looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I saw a huge one.

MOOS: Next time, don't just gawk at it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Take a picture of the rat in the subway.

MOOS: The Rate My Rat contest has been extended. The Transit Worker's Union asked commuters to submit their nastiest rat photo to ratfreesubway.com. The contest web site features videos shot in the subway, like Rat Drags Pizza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAT: It ain't going to fit in your hole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Rat Picnic even has a sound track.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: In the rat gallery, you can vote on the photos submitted by commuters, handsome, cute, plain, ugly, and the coveted beastly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, that's ugly.

MOOS: Ratty is an understatement to describe this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hit by a train or perhaps made contact with the third rail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. It's still moving.

MOOS: At the opposite end of the scale is the beer swinging party rat, Miller Lite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a cute one.

MOOS (on camera): Who cares about the Golden Globes? In New York, it's the Golden Rat. Leading the rat pack -- (voice-over): -- this guy, nosing around a slit in a garbage bag is ahead in the voting.

The winning photographer gets to ride the rails free for a month. But hey, rats always get a free ride. Remember the sleeping passenger who woke up to a rat crawling on him?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Conductor Scott Harris described how a train operator, snacking in the crew room, was bitten by a rat.

SCOTT HARRIS, CONDUCTOR: Went to bite the food and it actually bit him.

MOOS: The union is pushing the contest because it's negotiating with management and wants the Transit Authority to hire more cleaners.

Sometimes, the subway can feel like a rat race to nowhere.

ANNOUNCER: All you people over there, there's no service. You sitting on the bench, you're going to be there until 5:00 in the morning.

MOOS: At least the rats provide entertainment. This visitor joked about spotting her very first rat the other night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I finally feel like I've arrived.

MOOS: How big was it?

(BEEPING)

MOOS: But who needs to exaggerate in a city where we once saw a rat about to get squished in the middle of Eighth Avenue when a Good Samaritan ran out and rescued it.

(MUSIC)

MOOS: Who says New Yorkers don't give a rat's (EXPLETIVE DELETED). It turns out the rescuer was from Boston.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: So who do you think would win if the election were between Mitt Romney and President Obama? We'll show you new polls that might surprise you. And not even a super committee could save Congress from public opinion. But we can thank one clever Colorado Senator for this chart. See who polled higher than Congress just after the break. It's actually worse than you think.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We were telling you congressional approval is at an all-time low. But does it surprise you that B.P., during the oil spill, Paris Hilton, and the IRS all have higher approval ratings than Congress? That's right. The one person who polled lower than Congress, Fidel Castro.

We've got brand new poll numbers giving us a look at the November election, how it is shaping up, hypothetically, of course.

Paul Steinhauser is live from the campaign trail in Charleston, South Carolina.

Paul, let's game this out a little bit. If we had a matchup between Mitt Romney and President Obama, who would fare better?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We asked a poll. Isn't that perfect, Suzanne? I've got the answer, at least according to our poll, CNN/ORC. This was a national survey.

Look at this, basically dead even between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Romney at 48 percent, the president at 47 percent. That is well within the sampling error. Let's go down the list. Basically, the president and Congressman Ron Paul, if he were the nominee, same story, basically, all tied up. Look, the president has a six point advantage over Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania. And he has a nine point advantage, according our survey, Suzanne, over the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich. That's kind of laying it out for November.

And one other thing from this poll. This is interesting. Remember that big enthusiasm gap back in 2010? Republicans were very enthusiastic about voting with Democrats. Not so much. Remember, it helped the Republicans in the midterms? Look at this, Suzanne, times have change. That big advantage Republicans had on enthusiasm has pretty much disappeared, at least according to our new numbers.

MALVEAUX: And we count on those numbers, Paul. I understand there was some pretty tough talk from Newt Gingrich today on -- I guess it was up against Romney. Set the scene for us.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. Florence, South Carolina, this morning, Newt Gingrich had a town hall speaking to Republicans in the Palmetto State. We're just four days away from the primary now. Listen, it's no -- you know, we know the Republicans are angry and they want to get President Barack Obama out of the White House. Take a listen to how this came out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I've been looking for in my candidate is fire in the belly. We've got to bloody Obama's nose. You've mentioned challenging him to seven three-hour debates. He has this armor of media surrounding him. If he doesn't agree to that, how do you plan to aggressively take the gloves off and go after him?

NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, let me say, first of all, I don't want to argue with you about the analogy. I don't want to bloody his nose. I want to knock him out.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Fighting words there from Gingrich. Jon Huntsman is no longer in this race. He wasn't tough enough, I guess, didn't have that fiery language.

One other thing this morning, some new news from Mitt Romney. Remember last night in the debate, Mitt Romney was questioned whether or not he would release his taxes or not.

MALVEAUX: Right, yes.

STEINHAUSER: He said, yes, maybe, probably, maybe. Well, this morning, at an event, he finally did commit. He said I will release them come April, come tax time. Suzanne, we have the bus here. That shoulder, that shoulder.

(LAUGHTER)

We've got the bus here. We're at the North Charleston Coliseum. We have a big debate here on Thursday night.

MALVEAUX: Bloody his nose or knock him out -- I would love to ask President Obama what he would do in response. You know, I'd love to ask that question.

STEINHAUSER: Exactly.

MALVEAUX: Boy, that's some tough language there. All right, we're looking forward to that debate, of course. I know you guys will be getting ready for that.

For the latest political news, go to CNNpolitics.com.

Today's "Talk Back" question: Should Mitt Romney release his tax returns?

Jane says, "Yes. If he wants to be the leader of this free country, he most definitely should."

More of your responses, up ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The queen of southern cooking, keeping an eye on how much sugar she is eating. Paula Deen says she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes three years ago. She announced it today. She said it was not her reputation that kept her from telling her fans or the fact that she's built her career on butter and sugar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA DEEN, AMERICAN COOK: People are not going to quit eating. We quit eating, we're all out of here. No, I wanted -- I wanted to bring something to the table when I came forward. And I've always been one to think that I bring hope. Because I've had lots of obstacles in my life, you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on the "Talk Back" question: Should Mitt Romney release his tax returns?

Carol Costello is here with some of your responses.

So, Carol, how are people weighing this?

COSTELLO: Well, listen.

This is from Dennis. He says, "You bet if he has nothing to hide, he should do it today. If he has something to hide, he should wait as long as he can until his supporters won't turn on him until it's too late to lose the nomination."

This from Paul, "For a party that, in general, criticized the Occupy movement and accused Obama for starting a class warfare sentiment, this demand seeps rather contradictory, doesn't it? Why should it matter how he made his fortune, as some other Americans do, as long as it's not illegal, right"?

This from Robert, "No, not necessarily. We know he's wealthy as are the majority of politicians."

This from Robert, "If you want to lead this country, lead by example. He's a millionaire and he's asking America to trust him as commander in chief. What does he have to hide? Show the people your tax returns, Coward."

This from Johnny, "Who cares? Are we electing him or his accountant? Let's not let our politicians get us magnifying the wrong unimportant things and force a more in-depth look at his platform and the issues facing America, not his taxes, his religion, or his shoe size."

Please continue the conversation, facebook.com/carolCNN. And I'll be back with you in about 10 minutes or so.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol. As a code of honor, a captain is supposed to go down with the ship? So what happened on board the "Costa Concordia"? We'll have one of those passengers talk about it at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama's job counsel meeting is today, looking for ways to make the U.S. more competitive. One of the items of discussion is reforming education to increase job creation.

Christine Romans, joining us with a look at how big that challenge really is.

Hey, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is still going on. The president actually speaking right now, talking to these business leaders about what can we do in this country to be more competitive? And Jeff Immelt, the CEO of G.E., told the president, look, there's no silver bullet here, but there's a multitude of things that can be done over a multitude of years that can help get the United States going in the right direction again. And basically, you've got the American people, saying, Suzanne, we want companies to hire. And you've got a lot of these companies saying, we need better workers for the jobs of the future.

Shell Samberg (ph), from over at Facebook, says there are 3.3 million jobs that are open right now in America that can't be filled and that we're not educating enough scientists, technicians, the stems -- science, technology, engineering, and math. Another person was talking about a math gap that has to be resolved. And another person talking about the supply chain for skilled workers in America is broken.

So here you have a big discussion about what kind of worker we're going to have, how we're going to educate them, how we're going to educate them so they can innovate, and how we're going to lead in the future. And it leaves you still right now with this feeling like, we still have 14 million people out of work, and we're talking about multi-year or a generational investment to compete, but what about the right now. So it's a real tricky place right now for the president, politically and practically.

MALVEAUX: And also, the jobs counsel is recommending tax reform. That's a very big undertaking. President Bush tried it before. Now President Obama's doing the same.

ROMANS: You know, saying you want to reform the tax code is like saying you love your mother. Everybody does, but what part of it are you going to throw out?

And I'm sitting here with the annotated version of the Federal Standard Tax Report. This is the tax -- I think we have 17 books here. It's like 72,000 pages. I got this -- this is what Ali Velshi reads at night to go to sleep. I got it from his office. Look at all this. This is the tax code. What the business leaders want, and what the president said he's made progress towards is fewer regulations, is more sane rules, six different trade and business agencies he wants to put all together around one roof. But what business wants is they want a reformed tax code, they want to cut the corporate tax rate, get rid of loopholes, make it much more simple and understandable. But this is it, Suzanne. This is it. Can you believe it?

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's unbelievable there. That could put you to the sleep, I think, all that reading there.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: And also on the screen, expand domestic drilling for oil. That's one of the -- the president and his White House have moved forward on some of the things that this competitiveness council wants and has been moving forward. And some of them are things that frankly the Republicans on the campaign trail also want, getting rid of redundancies, trying to squeeze billions out of dumb red tape in government. They're already moving along that direction. But the tax code, look at -- those are federal tax laws. That's how they've been piling up since 1913. What I have before you is the bottom line of that. 1913, I guess there was just a steno pad.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Well, that's a lot of reading there. That's a huge undertaking. Don't get buried underneath all that stuff.

ROMANS: You know, Americans' mortgage interest deduction is somewhere in one of these books. So when you start talking about simplifying the tax code, and they say, but then we have to take away your mortgage deduction, then people are like, wait a minute, I want to keep that book.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: It's hard to find what you're looking for in all that stuff. I hope this works, they reform at least something. Condense. Condense, that's what we want.

All right, Christine. Thank you. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Bye-bye.