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Hostage Standoff In Pittsburgh; Cancer Cure Within Reach; Violent Protests In Pakistan; Obama, Ryan Battle Over Medicare; Battle Over Medicare; Lawmakers' Unfinished Business; Last Surge Troops Exit Afghanistan; Obama and Mitt Romney Focus on Latinos; Mitt Romney to Release Tax Information;

Aired September 21, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You really should take a look at this because it is downright scary and it happened at a soccer match between clubs from Iran and Saudi Arabia. Someone threw a live explosive onto the pitch. Look at that. Honestly, not knowing what it was, a player very casually tossing the device away, and then it explodes. So, you can imagine, that sent players and officials running. Thankfully, though, tosses it away and it explodes. Thankfully, no one was injured in that.

I'm Don Lemon, top of the hour. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, a cancer breakthrough and a CNN exclusive. Scientists tell us, in just five years, they'll be able to radically reduce the death rate. Also, a day of prayer and protest in the Muslim world turns violent in parts of Pakistan. Plus, a political showdown over older voters at today's AARP meeting down in New Orleans. Let's get right to it.

You know, we have been following a hostage standoff in Pittsburgh since this morning here on CNN, and about 8:15 this morning a gunman entered the 16th floor of gateway center number three in downtown Pittsburgh, and he took his original target hostage. The gunman is a former member of a military with a criminal record, we are told, and according to police, he may also be armed with a bomb and may be holding a second person hostage. The gunman's mother now on the scene. She's talking to police. The roads have been blocked and the public transportation shut down in the area. Obviously, we'll follow- up on that one. We're checking on it for you. Details as they come in here on CNN.

Now, on to a new groundbreaking announcement from the largest cancer center in the world. M.D. Anderson in Houston says researchers are finally in a position to radically reduce the death rate from several common cancers in just a few years from now. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta got an exclusive interview with researchers in their Texas lab.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RONALD DEPINHO, M.D., ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: We're in a position to make dramatic impact on cancer mortality in this decade.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You're saying that if we do everything right, in five years from now, there will be far fewer people dying from cancer, right?

DR. DEPINHO: Correct. I think that with existing knowledge and the application of what we now know, we could begin to see dramatic declines in mortality that would accelerate in years five through 10 and beyond set the stage for ultimate control of the disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Sanjay is here now. Sanjay, obviously, this is a major statement from M.D. Anderson. They appear to be very confident.

DR. GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: What specific cancers are they talking about?

DR. GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, but I'll preface by saying, as well, that the feeling being down there, Don, was sort of the moon shot sort of program. They call it the moon shot program.

LEMON: Yes.

DR. GUPTA: They want that same sort of energy and enthusiasm surrounding when President Kennedy announced the plan to get a man on the moon. That's how they're sort of treating this. And they've made a lot of progress that I'll talk about but there are some specific cancers that they're focusing in on and there are ones where they can make a significant impact quickly, as you mention, Don.

LEMON: Yes.

DR. GUPTA: Not years in the future. Look at the list there. Melanoma, lung cancer is the number one cancer killer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, triple negative, that's one of the hardest to treat cancers, Don. So, you can look at the list, it's pretty significant. The types of cancer and the type of impact, reducing mortality by 50 percent in some of these cases.

LEMON: So, the intent, obviously, always is for a cure but what makes them think now that they're closer than before?

DR. GUPTA: You know, we tend to think of these things in the scientific world as a water shed thing. So, you know, we're cruising along, and all of a sudden, one day, you just hear of a cure. That's hardly how it ever happens. There is all sorts of knowledge that's built up and built on each other. So, for example, you know, M.D. Anderson, they have over 1,000 clinical trials going on, and they're specifically looking at, you know, how this knowledge can be combined. So, for example, I'll tell you, Don, let's say if you had been diagnosed with some sort of cancer and someone who is just like you, your age, also a male, --

LEMON: Yes.

DR. GUPTA: -- also diagnosed, you're still -- there are still going to be two different cancers.

LEMON: Yes.

DR. GUPTA: The genetic make of that cancer, exactly how to screen for it and how to treat. It's going to be different between you two. So, the personalization, if you will, of treatments is a big part of this and, again, they think that's existing scientific knowledge that just needs to be applied differently.

LEMON: OK. So, you said watershed moment and you mentioned that the immediate impact and which ones. But which ones, again, because if you are at home, if you either have cancer or you know someone, you're going to want to know. Point it out to us again. Which one's immediate impact?

DR. GUPTA: Well, I think, you know, the ones that I think they're making the most significant progress right now is probably melanoma, that was at the top of the list. But, you know, there are patients who have what is known as stage four melanoma where it's spread outside the body. This man that you're looking at there, he's a baseball coach from the Midwest. Stage four melanoma, it spread throughout his body. What you are looking at, Don, is something that's being done for one of the first times in the world. They're taking cells from his immune system and essentially teaching those cells how to fight the cancer. So, harnessing the capabilities of your body's own natural fighting abilities and making it work for you. In this case, fighting cancer. That idea itself is not novel, but they believe, as we've been talking about, that they can potentially cure stage four melanoma with treatments like this.

LEMON: Goodness, we can only hope that it's going to lead to bigger and better and it's going to be successful.

DR. GUPTA: Absolutely.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you.

DR. GUPTA: We'll keep talking about it.

LEMON: Absolutely. Don't miss Sanjay's special report, it's called "Chasing the Cure." It's this weekend. It airs Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. He's my lead-in on Saturday and then on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., right here on CNN. Make sure you tune in for that. Thank you, again, Dr. Gupta.

DR. GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: You know, the Pakistani government declared Friday a day of love for the prophet Mohammed, but there was anything but love on the streets. Anger boiled over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This is a scene in Peshawar. Protesters set fire to two movie theaters and check out what happened in Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, we had to make a run for it because police fired off several canisters of tear gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

SAYAH: We had difficulty seeing and breathing, so we came back here to where there is 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. And you see them with this mischievous smile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so let's go to Islamabad now. Reza Sayah joins us live. Reza, glad you're OK. So, let's get to the bottom of this. Some of the protesters we saw, they had those mischievous smiles. These protests, are they really all about one anti-Islamic movie?

SAYAH: They're not. I mean, we've talked to a lot of these protesters and many are not angry over just one movie. Many say they're angry about U.S. foreign policy in the region, the occupation of Afghanistan, the drone strikes here on Pakistan that killed militants and many innocent civilians. But also, in these demonstrations, as you mentioned before, that you have the young teenage troublemakers, the ones with the mischievous smiles that we get the impression that they weren't there because they were offended ballparks of the movie. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, and it's a small group of people that fuel the violence and the protests. Fifteen people killed and demonstrations throughout the country. Just an ugly, ugly day all around here in Pakistan -- Don.

LEMON: Let's talk about what the U.S. Government is doing to separate itself from this anti-Islamic movie, one of -- which is a -- it's a public service announcement, correct?

SAYAH: Yes, the U.S. government was in a tough situation but it didn't sit back. It was proactive, it tried to reach out to the Pakistani people, it bought a lot of air time on F.M. radio, to television stations, to broadcast a public service announcement paid for by the U.S. government featuring U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both condemning the movie and the violence. It was an obvious attempt to calm things down. Based on the pictures that we saw today it didn't. These folks were determined to come out. And it's critical to point out, despite the dramatic pictures, the people who sparked the violence still in the minority, but they are the ones making the headlines.

LEMON: Thank you very much. We wish safety not only to Reza, bit everyone in that region. We appreciate that.

Here's what else we're working on this hour. (voice-over): Doling message for seniors, as the president and Paul Ryan pitch themselves to the AARP. Hear what they told a 50 plus crowd in New Orleans about their health care and Social Security.

Apple stocks hit a new all-time record as the company's new iPhone goes on sale. Lines are stretching for blocks to buy one. We look at the cult-like following for Apple.

And it's any weekend from made-up languages to 60s threads. The amazing details behind the hit shows.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Medicare has turned into a major issue in the campaign, and it's an issue on the minds of AARP members meeting in New Orleans. Both President Obama and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan promoted their plans for Medicare. You heard both of them just a moment ago, each spoke to the AARP conference today.

Political Editor Paul Steinhauser joins me from Washington. A lot of back and forth there, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes.

LEMON: So, --

STEINHAUSER: A lot of back and forth.

LEMON: -- what did the president and Paul Ryan each say about what they would do to preserve Medicare first?

STEINHAUSER: Well, Ryan was touting his plan, of course, which he -- you know, he was the author of the House Republican plan which calls for dramatic changes to Medicare for those under 55. And he is speaking right now, taking some question and answer at the New Orleans gathering as we speak. And he also was -- I think it's fair to say, he took aim at President Obama and tried to -- tried to criticize the president's approach to Medicare and tied it to the Obama health care plan, which was signed into law two years ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obama care, because it represents the worst of both worlds. I had a feeling there would be mixed reactions so let me get into it. It weakens Medicare for today's senior and puts it at risk for the next generation. First, it funnels $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for a new entitlement we didn't even ask for. Second, it puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of Medicare's future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Well, Don, I guess you're right. If he was expecting some pushback from the audience, he sure did get it. There were some boos and there were a few cheers as well. But definitely some boos when he started criticizing the president's health care law. As can you imagine, Don, earlier the president spoke there via satellite, and he didn't agree at all with Paul Ryan. And he touted his health care plan, his health care law as one of the things that's saving Medicare, and he also took a shot at Mitt Romney. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has been a lot of talk about Medicare and Social Security in this campaign, as there should be. And these are bedrock commitments that America makes to its seniors, and I consider those commitments unshakable. But given the conversations that have been out there in the political arena lately, I want to emphasize Medicare and Social Security are not handouts. You've paid into these programs your whole lives. You've earned them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Of course, the President probably -- you know, in talking about Mitt Romney's comments at that fundraiser, those secret hidden camera tapes which came earlier this week and really have rocked the campaign trail. That's what it sounds like to me that he was talking about -- Don.

LEMON: OK. In his speech, you heard Paul Ryan say, it's about the math. You heard Bill Clinton at the DNC say, it's about arithmetic. You're the numbers guy, what do the polls show about which voters, who they trust when it comes to Medicare to handle it properly?

STEINHAUSER: Let's get right to the numbers then. Take a look at this. This is our most recent national poll, CNN/ORC. And you can see we asked, who would do a better job on Medicare, the president or Mitt Romney. The president with an 11 point advantage there according to our numbers.

And, you know, Don, when you look at our poll and other polls as well, Mitt Romney still does better with senior voters, for those over 65, and even those entering the retirement age. But the president is starting to make up the ground there. And you know the politics. It is simple here. Seniors and those entering the retirement age vote in big numbers. And, of course, there are a lot of seniors in Florida, Don, and there are a lot of electoral votes at stake in that battleground state.

LEMON: Absolutely. Paul Steinhauser, much appreciated, sir. Thank you.

I mentioned former President Bill Clinton. He is weighing in now on Mitt Romney's comment about the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay taxes. That's according to Mr. Romney. Well, Romney's remarks at a private fundraiser was secretly recorded and posted on the liberal magazine's website, it's called "Mother Jones." Now, in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Mr. Clinton says Romney still has some explaining to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN: Do you think this is a game changer for Romney?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think it puts a heavier burden on him in the debates to talk about what he meant. I do think a lot of the Tea Party people believe that. They think it's government versus the private sector. So, I think that's overstated.

We should always be trying to promote empowerment over dependency. But the American people can easily be misled -- it may be too strong a word -- but confused now because whenever you have a recession this deep, spending goes up on things like unemployment and food stamps and Medicaid for health care and revenues drop because people aren't making as much money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Former President Bill Clinton. You can see the entire interview with the former president and "Fareed Zakaria GPS" Sunday 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Eastern as well.

OK. Back to those great pictures we told you about. Endeavour. This time over San Francisco. We have it. A beautiful shot there. As I said, can't get enough.

Of course, Endeavour making a three-day journey across the country. It's going to end up at a museum in Los Angeles. But there it is over San Francisco. You can see it right in the middle of your screen. It's a little hazy there. But there it is. It's on top of that jumbo jet. And, of course, there it is, disappeared behind the mountain.

But there it is over San Francisco. Soon to go to the -- to LAX, where it will land, and then it will make its way to a Los Angeles museum. But there's the other shot. And clear. How cool is that? I could watch that all day. And as I said earlier, we call this dream-o-vision because this represented our future, you know, the space program. Now it's the end of an era. We're finding other ways to get into space. The shuttle program no longer in existence. And now many of these shuttles are going around the country to museums. Those that are still around. Of course you know we lost a couple in flight.

And -- but this is all good news. This is interesting. The kids, grown-ups, everyone, will be able to go to the museum and take part in history really looking at this and what was once our future, amazingly now our past. How soon we move on and progress. Let's see what is next. Here's Endeavour.

Congress has left the building and won't be back until after the election. A recess without taking care of key business, like looming fiscal cliff and the farm bill. Well, you know Nancy Pelosi weighed in, John Boehner is weighing in. You do not want to miss what they are saying about this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Members of Congress are getting out of town, and they're leaving the country in a financial cliffhanger, to be honest. Lawmakers head home to campaign for re-election with no deal in place to prevent drastic automatic spending cuts from taking effect. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is on Capitol Hill now.

Dana, can you explain this fiscal cliff and -- that the country is facing and why did they go home without doing anything about it?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I will explain the first part in a minute. But the second answer to your question, I think the best way to do it is to begin by illustrating what you see. You see right now some tourists, some students here, but that's about it right now because members of the House in particular, they left. I think we have some pictures to show you the kind of classic exodus pictures of House members streaming out of the steps behind me after their last vote, which is about an hour ago.

But they didn't leave, Don, before having some real parting shows when it comes to the blame game for leaving without doing a lot of work. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY WHIP: Farmers across the country are facing the worst drought in decades, and Republicans refused to act. This is simply irresponsible, and Republicans ought to come back and finish their work, not cut and run and walk away from the American people. Shame on them. Shame on them for abandoning our farmers, our economy and families who need us to act.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, they haven't passed a budget in more than three years. They have no plan to save Medicare. No plans to stop all the tax hikes. And no plan to replace the sequestered. They've actually threatened to do nothing and drive us off the fiscal cliff, which the Congressional Budget Office has said will lead to a very deep recession. This isn't leadership, it's negligence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hmm. Wow.

BASH: Now the list of major pieces of legislation that are unfinished is very, very long, Don. I'll just give you a couple -- a few of them.

The Farm Bill, which, of course, is very important to not just the country's farmers, but also because it pays for food stamps for the people who need it most.

Extending the Violence Against Women Act. That is traditionally something that is not controversial but it is mired in controversy.

Cybersecurity, postal reform and, of course, what you asked me about at the beginning, the very important so-called fiscal cliff. That is something that happens at the end of the year. It's where the Bush era tax cuts expire. It's when mandatory spending cuts, about $100 billion, will go into effect unless Congress acts. And everybody agreed that they're not going to do anything until they see who has the best political leverage after the election. So, that's where things stand and -- LEMON: So --

BASH: Go ahead.

LEMON: Dana, listen, Congress's approval rating, it is no secret to any one of us. It's low. And when I led into you, I said they're going home to campaign for re-election. Obviously aware that people are not going to be happy that they left so much undone and it appears that there's nothing going on in Washington. They're going to have to go home and face that even in the face of being re-elected.

BASH: That's exactly right. That is why I wanted to play those clips of what the Democratic -- what the Democratic leader, Steny Hoyer, said and what the House speaker, John Boehner, said because those are just little examples of what we have heard over and over for the past 48 hours really. Everybody trying to get in and blame one another. It's -- they're completely talking past each other. And it really is a great example of why Congress has one of the worst approval ratings in history. It has been illustrated very much over the past couple of days.

And one other thing that I do want to point out, though. The one piece of business that Congress does plan to get done before they leave is making sure that the government is funded. That the government doesn't shut down. It has been held up in knots over -- back there behind me in the Senate -- because of an issue about funding for Egypt and Pakistan and others. But we believe that that will probably get worked out maybe by the end of the day, if not through the weekend.

LEMON: Well let's hope that happens, Dana. I mean to help --

BASH: Yes, that will happen.

LEMON: Let's hope that happens.

Dana Bash and a couple of tourists and some tumbleweed in Washington because lawmakers are going on a break. Thank you, Dana, we appreciate it. She's lonely there.

Nearly half of all U.S. troops who were serving in Afghanistan at the height of the war now home. We have a live report from the Pentagon on the significance of the end of the Afghan surge.

And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The last of the U.S. troops -- surge troops have left Afghanistan. Thirty-three thousand additional troops were ordered to the country nearly three years ago to help stabilize it, buy more time for training of Afghan forces and to try to disrupt a Taliban uprising. With the departure of the surge troops, there are still some 68,000 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan.

Let's go back now to our Barbara Starr. She's doing double duty today. Very busy.

Barbara, how effective was the surge?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know here at the Pentagon commanders will tell you that it worked. That it was a success, that those troops bought enough time and space, if you will, pushed the Taliban back and allowed the development of more Afghan forces to be able to take over, especially in southern Afghanistan which back in 2009 was really at risk certain parts of being overrun by the Taliban, a real Taliban, stronghold.

So what are the numbers here? What are the stats? Back in 2009 there were about 153,000 Afghan forces. Now 340,000. On the surface, yes, it worked. In many areas violence is down. But Don, we were just talking about this. You know, a few days ago. The top NATO commander, general John Allen, a U.S. Marine, ordered a halt to some of the partner joint operations, joint combat patrols between U.S. and Afghan forces because of the violence, because of the insider attacks. Afghans turning their weapons on U.S. and NATO troops. So that fundamental partnering that is supposed to be the route to success, eventually the route home for all U.S. troops is in a bit of trouble right now.

LEMON: Absolutely. Let's talk about the Karzai regime, shall we? Because I want to ask you, how important was this symbolically? Was it important to show some commitment to the Karzai regime to the country?

STARR: Well, absolutely right. You know, this all was to give them the time. The Karzai regime, the Afghan government, the Afghan military emerging and fragile as all of it is and very much acknowledged to have a lot of corruption within it. This was supposed to be enough time to give them to get their act together, to -- for the Afghan government to really present itself as a legitimate government. So what do you get after all this time? Well, about 70 percent of Afghans are now living in areas, we're told, where basically this transition to Afghan government rather than all these military operations to more normal life, has occurred. But still, fundamentally, people will say, commanders will say the Taliban don't control the territory, but if NATO troops were to leave now if US troops were to leave, would the Taliban comeback out of the shadows? Could the Afghans really hold on to the territory? We may not know the answer till the end of 2014 because that is when essentially all the troops come home, Don.

LEMON: Hey Barbara, I have to move on because it's so much to get into this show but considering all the upsurge in violence and what have you, these green-on-blue attacks is the Pentagon rethinking this at all? Are they having any second thoughts about this?

STARR: Absolutely not. They say they are sticking to the plan. They'll be as careful as they can right now, but still, status quo the strategy moves on.

LEMON: Barbara Starr, thank you again. You know it sparked protests across the Arab world but an anti-Islam film is going to stay up on the web at least for now. At least for now why? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Your put your car in park and leave it and then it starts to roll. That is an issue facing owners of more than 400,000 General Motors vehicles. Today G.M. Recalled the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura, and the Pontiac G6 for model years 2007 to 2010. Again, the Chevy Malibu, the Saturn Aura, and the Pontiac G6 model years 2007 through 2010. According to the company, the transmission problem has led to four crashes, but no injuries. Get that car checked out.

Lawyers for the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting will get to examine a controversial piece of evidence now. It is a notebook that defendant James Holmes allegedly mailed before the July attack. Notebook will only become available to prosecutors, though, if Holmes' attorneys bring up his mental health at the trial. That's when it will be made available, and to preserve the evidence in that case, the case that happens, anyone who touches the notebook will have to wear gloves and also a mask.

The corruption trial of Detroit's former mayor underway now. The case against Kwame Kilpatrick has been ten years in the making. Prosecutors say he conspired with his best friend and his dad to turn city hall into a den of bribes and kickbacks. Jurors were told Kilpatrick used this money to fund his luxurious lifestyle. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

The anti-Muslim video that's touched off protests across the Middle East, well, it can stay on the web. At least it can for now because a California judge has denied an initial request to have the movie trailer taken off the Internet. Cindy Lee Garcia, there you see her there, she's an actress in the film, asks the court to order its removal. She says she was duped into her role and has gotten death threats because of it.

Now back to this. You can thank me for these pictures. Because I want to se them again. There's Endeavour taking that piggyback ride, and the reason I wanted you to see this, because it happened when we were in a break. This was just moments ago. Endeavour taking that piggyback ride, and it went right past, there you see it. The Golden Gate Bridge. How cool is that? Of course, it's going to Los Angeles, but look at that picture. Amazing. Someone in the studio said it would be great if they could do that all the time, and you could get rides on Endeavour inside. I know. The producers are saying you've got to wrap, but I love looking at these pictures, and I'm sure you do too. So there it is, the end of an era as we have been saying. Golden gate bridge. How beautiful? Okay. Moving on.

Who did a better job at wooing Latino voters at a forum in Miami this week? President Obama, or was it Mitt Romney? A Dem and Republican face off on that topic. That is next, and waiting for better interest rates from the bank on your savings? Well, it may be a very long wait ahead. But there are other options. Allison Kosik has more.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Here on Health Desk we're talking about your savings, and with me this hour Liz Miller and Greg McBride. Liz, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering when my bank interest rates are going to go back up so that I'm not just getting 23 cents every month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: That's a pretty common complaint, isn't it?

LIZ MILLER, PRESIDENT, SUMMIT PLACE FINANCIAL ADVISORS: It is. And, unfortunately for her, our Chairman of our Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke just assured us these rates are going to stay this low into 2015. Certainly shop around your banks, but if you've got some extra money in that savings account, maybe put some of it into a short-term municipal bond fund. It needs to be money you're not going to touch, but it's making a lot more than 23 cents on the dollar right now.

KOSIK: Anything to add?

GREG MCBRIDE, SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: Shop around at bankrate.com. We have a free search engine to find the highest yielding savings account. So you can, maybe that 23 cents might be, you can easily quadruple that without taking on any additional risk.

KOSIK: And bankrate.com is a great resource, I know that for sure. All right so if you have an issue you want our experts to tackle upload a 30 second video with your Help Desk ireport.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama tells a Latino audience that not passing immigration reform is his biggest failure. Biggest failure of his presidency. The president and Republican Mitt Romney fighting for the Latino vote. Both took part in the meet the candidate forums on Spanish language network Univision. Polls give President Obama the big lead over Romney among Latino voters, so joining us now to talk about it, you know there are going to be fireworks when these two are here, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Republican strategist Ana Navarro. Both to your corners now.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN DEMOCRATIC ANALYST: Hola,como estas.

LEMON: Muy bien.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN REPUBLICAN ANALYST: Okay. Wait. I think we need to do this entire segment in Spanish.

LEMON: Well, you guys would be talking to yourself because I don't know enough to do it. So Ana, listen, the latest polls clearly show Romney has some work to do to win over Latinos. How did he do in this Univision forum? Did he make any headway, Ana?

NAVARRO: You know, he did something which he hasn't done since January this week, which is sit down with major Hispanic networks. He sat down both with Telemundo and Univision, so he has made headway in the sense that he is actually getting out there. I see a lot more activity on the Hispanic front from the Romney campaign than I have seen for months, and I will tell you, Don, I think very critical of them for this lack of Hispanic activity. I'm now for the first time beginning to se ads on the air. He is actually sitting down with Hispanic reporters. There's a lot of events going on. Hispanic rallies. He was in L.A., Miami, and Nevada. All this week. So, the hope is that it's not too little too late. He needs to chip away at those numbers.

LEMON: Okay, let's let donna in here. Donna, what do you think of his performance?

BRAZILE: Mucho piquito -- very little. I think it is too little too late. I think this effort now in the homestretch to reach out while everyone would like to see Mitt Romney reach out to minorities from all different political persuasions. The fact is, is that Mitt Romney's record on immigration reform, Mitt Romney's record education, on health care, it is not what Hispanics are looking for. They want somebody who will pledge to support immigration reform, not someone who stands behind Chris Kovat and SB1070 show me your papers in Arizona. They want somebody who will provide health care for all Americans, give all Americans access and education is a very important issue to the Hispanic community. So, I think we can applaud him for showing up, but he came there with nada, nothing.

LEMON: Someone just e-mailed me and said, huh, Donna spoke in Spanish. Ana did not. That's funny, Don.

NAVARRO: You know, if I could, I would attempt Cajun, which is where Donna and you are from, but I know I would be slaughtered, so I'm not even going to go there.

LEMON: A dolla, y'all and we're good. I want to move on now and talk about Ann Romney. She's basically telling Republican critics to back off. Listen to what she said to -- in an interview with Radio Iowa.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you say to your fellow Republicans who are --

ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: 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.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. Less than a minute here. First to you, Ana. Is this a sign that it's -- that the party is starting to get to Romney, or does she want Republicans to just fall in line behind her husband? Is this getting to her? This is hard.

NAVARRO: Well, you know, it is hard. Cindy McCain, John McCain's wife is a very good friend of mine. I can tell you it is hard. It's hard for a spouse. It's hard for anybody to see their spouse, somebody they love, be criticized, be reviewed. In this indicates I will tell you most of the Republicans issuing these critiques, folks like Peggy Noonan and folks like -- these are folks that want Mitt Romney to win, but are frustrated at seeing a campaign that doesn't seem to be going all that well. I would refer to this as constructive criticism, and say, well, you know, I think there is some retooling that needs to be done in this campaign because the one thing most Republicans, all Republicans agree on, is that Mitt Romney is a better choice than Barack Obama, and we would like to see him get elected, so when we're criticizing him, it's not because we don't want him to win. It's because we want him to win.

LEMON: Donna, you she took up most of your time, but real quickly, if you can.

BRAZILE: I agree with everything except the last two sentences. Mitt Romney is not a good alternative. He is not a good acceptable choice. Again, 47 percent, he lost it on that one.

LEMON: I'm getting some breaking news in here, and let's stick around. If you guys can wait, we'll have Donna and Ana weigh in.

Christine Romans, I want to say we're doing this because it's Mitt Romney's tax returns. Christine Romans. I don't want to get ahead of myself. This is new information just getting it, Romney's tax returns from the 2011 year 2011 released today, and there is a link to it. You can check them out. Tell us what you have been able to find out about this.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Okay. So here's what we know. At 3:00, the Romney campaign is going to release his 2011 income tax return and Brad Malt, the trustee for that blind trust for the Romneys is telling us that, indeed, they're going to release the entire return for the year 2011, and that will be online for everyone to see. In the meantime, they've given us some numbers. Of course, we will be digging into all those when they come out, but this is what they tell us. The campaign says the Romneys paid $1.9 million in taxes last year on $13.6 million in mostly investment income. That works out to an effective tax rate for the Romneys of 14.1 percent. The campaign also says the Romneys last year donated $4 million to charity, about 30 percent of their income. What is interesting here as well is that along with this file, there's going to be a Price Waterhouse Cooper audit, basically, of 20 years of tax returns for the Romneys, and, remember, there's been all these calls, Don, for more information. They want to see tax returns going back to the beginning of time when Mitt Romney was working at Bain Capital. We're not going to be able to see all of those, but we will see this letter that is notarized by Price Waterhouse Cooper saying in each year during those 20 years the Romneys owed taxes and paid taxes. That their average annual effective tax rate was 20.2 percent. The lowest tax rate of any of those years was 13 percent.

LEMON: So they're not getting any income or -- it's not full tax returns. It's just the rate that they paid for anything beyond 2011. I think Donna still there?

BRAZILE: Yes, I am.

LEMON: I think they wanted, what, ten years is what the administration, what Democrats have been asking for. So, Donna, does this quail or squash the criticism somewhat for Mitt Romney not releasing his tax returns as Christine said there, she's still in New York listening, 2011, $1.9 million in taxes, 14.1 percent tax rate that they paid, $4 million to charity, that's 3 percent of their income.

BRAZILE: 30.

LEMON: Does this stop some of the criticism at least?

BRAZILE: I don't believe it will. Look, I do applaud him for putting it out finally. But, remember, there is an old established precedent that we know from both political parties, bipartisan, which is why you've heard bipartisan, a bipartisan number of people said put out your tax return, I'm glad he's putting out the full returns because as you know, 2the 2010 was a posture return. This is about the policies he would -- will advocate as a presidential candidate, president of the United States, and I think this is a good step in the right direction, but I haven't seen the returns and so I don't know exactly what's in them.

LEMON: Christine, the average tax rate for the -- about 30 percent or so, or somewhere in the upper 20s, 30s for --

ROMANS: For -- say that again?

LEMON: The average tax rate for Americans is much higher than 14.1 percent.

ROMANS: Well, it is on paper. The marginal tax rates are higher. Remember, Don, you look at the IRS tables and this is kind of a misnomer, you look at the IRS tables for middle class effective tax rates, people in the middle class are paying what Mitt Romney pays and in some cases even less because of deductions for your mortgage, for your children, for education tax credits and the like. So, you know, Mitt Romney pointing out that over the 20 years paying something like an average effective tax rate of 20 percent, that's something that people who have been ready to be very critical of Mitt Romney, thinking maybe there will be years in there where he didn't pay any Price Waterhouse Cooper saying he did pay taxes every year and the average effective tax rate was 20 percent. What we do know is in the year 2011, this man makes an awful lot of money from investments, investment income is still something that -- $13 million, almost $14 million on mostly investment income in the year 2011.

LEMON: Okay. Hesitate to call it breaking news, but just in to CNN, Mitt Romney set to release his tax returns from the year 2011 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. We're talking about it with Christine Romans and Donna Brazile and Ana Navarro. Ana, answer after the break what does this do for Mitt Romney? Does this make him seem more or less relatable to the American people? What does this do for that 47 percent comment? Does it put him obviously solidly within the 1 percent, probably the .01 percent? We're going to talk to you, a Republican strategist about that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. The news just in to CNN, Mitt Romney releasing his tax returns for the year 2011. Joining me now, Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro and also Christine Romans to talk about it. Before, Ana, before I get you to respond, quickly here, Christine, tell us again what he paid and what he earned and what was a rate for 2011.

ROMANS: So 2011, they're going to file those today and you'll see them online at 3:00 p.m. The campaign trustee for Governor Romney, giving us these details ahead of time. Paid $1.9 million in taxes, $13.6 million in earnings for the year 2011. And most of those earnings, we're told, are investment income. Investment income for the Romneys, $13.9 million. The tax rate, the effective tax rate according to the campaign, 14.1 percent. The campaign says the Romneys donated more than $4 million to charity in 2011. They say that was some 30 percent of their income. What is also interesting in here, don, is that they have a letter from an accountant, you know, an accounting firm, PWC, that had looked over 20 years of their returns, those 20 years of their returns finding from, I think, 1990 to 2009, a lot of criticism he did not release more, for all the years he was at Bain Capital, Price Waterhouse Cooper, this letter states over the entire 20-year period, the average annual effective federal tax rate, don, was 20.2 percent.

LEMON: I want Ana to get in. We heard what Donna said before. She said it is not going to do much, Ana, she believes, to quail the criticism and for people who perceive Mitt Romney as not relatable to the American people because he makes so much money. What do you think of that, the release of these returns and what donna said about that?

NAVARRO: I agree that it is not going to do much because of when it is coming. I think it takes the issue off the table, but the issue had not been getting as much attention as it did earlier on. I wish this had happened earlier. I think the solution of releasing a letter that says he has paid taxes and what his rate is for every year --

LEMON: As a Republican strategist then, why now? Why would he do it if you believe it is something off the table? Why even bring it back up?

NAVARRO: Because he had committed to releasing two years of tax returns during his election and he only released one. So I think he's fulfilling his promise of releasing the second release. And, you know, the tax extension period ends October 15th. So he had to do it and the earlier he does it, the better because then the issue goes away. For now, the minds are set. I think we are not learning anything new, don. What you're just reported, what Christine talks about, what we know, he's very wealthy, we knew that. He's very charitable. We already knew that. And he's very smart about the way he files his taxes and using the legal system and every legal mechanism available to him to -- when he file his taxes so that he pays a low rate. I think we all knew that. We're not learning anything new. LEMON: Donna, go ahead, donna.

BRAZILE: It is still puzzling why it took so long. And as you know, from some of the releases that he has given us, we learned about, you know, Swiss bank accounts and other money hidden off shore, perfectly legal, I'm sure. I'm not a tax accountant and every time I hear the tax man coming, I try to run myself, unfortunately I'm not as lucky as Mitt Romney. I'm not hating on him. My rate is a little higher than that. I think what the American people will learn from this release is one, he did keep a commitment, as Ana mentioned to release two years of tax returns, but I still believe there will somebody questions that will still surround his campaign, given the 47 percent comment he made just recently.

LEMON: Donna, we're out of time. Donna, Ana, Christine, I'm sure we'll be seeing all three of you. This is just the beginning. Thank you. The "CNN Newsroom" continues right now with Brooke Baldwin. Take it away, Brooke.