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U.N. Braces For Iran's Ahmadinejad; Obama Speaks At U.N. Tomorrow; Romney-Ryan Ohio Bus Tour Kicks Off; More Campaigning, Less Fundraising; At Least Eight Dead In Nepal Avalanche; World Leaders Gather For U.N. Meeting; U.S. Man Still Missing In Iran; Evacuations Under Way For Wildfire; NYC Schools Give Out "Morning After" Pill; Man Sues Hotel to Get Money From Iran; Time Running Out for Independents; Emmy Winners: Familiar & Fresh; Romney Talks about His Medicare Plan

Aired September 24, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. The president of Iran is in the United States now ahead of his address at the United Nations. The fiery world leader already making headlines and he still has two days to go before his speech.

Students as young as 14 can now get the morning after pill at school and perhaps what's more shocking their parents may not even know about it.

A surprise in Philadelphia when a handgun goes off in an airport security check point. Wait until you hear who was found with the loaded weapon.

And good morning. Happy Monday to you. I'm Carol Costello. This morning, all roads lead to New York City. Nearly 120 world leaders are heading to the United Nations for this week's general debate.

And one leader is carrying some extra baggage. The U.N.'s chief is warning Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tone down his normally fiery rhetoric.

In fact, most of western envoys at the United Nation usually walk out on his speeches as a sign of protests. But Ahmadinejad likes to make headlines by railing against such diverse topics such as Israel or homosexuality.

And the truth is no one's really expects him to tone it down at the U.N. Listen to what he had to say when he sat down with CNN's Piers Morgan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": If Israel does launch a strike against your country, what will your response be?

PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): The response of Iran is quite clear. I don't even need to explain that. Any question and any nation has the right and will indeed defend herself.

But my question is this, why should the world be managed in such a way that any individual can allow himself to threaten a rich and deeply rooted historical ancient country such as Iran, a great country such as Iran based on an excuse of his own fabrication.

So anyone can do this. Another country can say I am guessing that country B is doing activity X. Therefore, I will --

MORGAN: Do you fear --

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): -- I will attack this country. Can this be a successful formula for the management of the world?

MORGAN: Do you fear that war is imminent and military conflict perhaps before the end of the year between your country and Israel?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Of course, the Zionists are very adventuresome and seeking to fabricate things. I think they see themselves at the end of the line and seek to create opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Our next guest is leading protest against Ahmadinejad even targeting the Posh Hotel where Ahmadinejad is staying. Nathan Carleton is a spokesman for the group, "United Against Nuclear Iran." Welcome.

NATHAN CARLETON, SPOKESMAN, UNITED AGAINST NUCLEAR IRAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So tell me about your protest. What do you plan?

CARLETON: Sure. We are at the Warwick Hotel here in Midtown, both inside and outside. And the first point is we are showing Mr. Ahmadinejad that he is not welcome here in New York City.

This is a person who has caused 9/11 a big lie. He is the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism. His country has killed many Americans. We just don't think it is appropriate for him to come to New York and expect to be treated well.

But also as far as the Warwick, we just don't think it is responsible for a private business to be rolling out the red carpet for him. If he wants to come to New York that's fine, he can speak at the U.N.

But he should stay at his country's mission to the U.N. and it's ashamed that a hotel would accommodate him.

COSTELLO: We do have a statement from the Warwick Hotel and I'll read a bit of it for our viewers. The Warwick Hotel says we have hosted delegations from different nations since 1926 and remain committed to supporting the city of New York's long tradition of providing an open door to those attending the General Assembly.

While it is our policy to respect the privacy of our guests we also respect the rights of those who choose to voice their opinions and participate in peaceful demonstrations. So the Warwick is allowing other world leaders to stay. Why should they nix Ahmadinejad?

CARLETON: Well, I just saw you showed that there are 120 world leaders here in New York and this is the one person who really stands out. This isn't a normal world leader. This is someone who is allied with terrorists and insulted the city of New York.

I'd asked the Warwick, I mean, come on. I know you should allow guests whatever their beliefs, but five years ago would you have allowed Osama Bin Laden to take out a room and sleep at the hotel?

You have to have some standards for who you will play host to and by hosting Ahmadinejad, they are creating a security nightmare in New York. Unfortunately, it is NYPD and U.S. Secret Service who have to guard him at taxpayer expense.

COSTELLO: Nathan Carleton from the group, "United Against Nuclear Iran." Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

CARLETON: No problem.

COSTELLO: You can hear more from the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on "PIERS MORGAN" that airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

In just a couple of hours, President Obama leaves the White House and heads to New York. He will address the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow one day ahead of Ahmadinejad.

Dan Lothian joins us from the White House. What is the president expected to say?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what you will see from the president is trying to find a balance between talking tough, but also making the case that the U.S. wants to be a partner with allies in dealing with some of the big challenges around the world.

And to that end the president we are told by an aide will talk about the international situation and try to put it all in context. He will, of course, we are expecting him to denounce that film which, of course, has led to a lot of the unrest that you have seen across the region and denounce the violence that led to the death of four Americans.

And then, of course, we expect the president to also talk about Iran. That is a big issue the president saying is a threat not only to the security of Israel, but the security of the United States and other countries, as well.

So that will be a main topic for the president as he addresses the world leaders on such a big stage in New York tomorrow.

COSTELLO: When it comes to Iran and Israel, I mean, both sides will be watching. Can the president sort of appease in some way both sides or will he not bother with appeasement when it comes to Iran? LOTHIAN: Well, you know, I think it will be very difficult to make everyone happy. It is a very sticky issue. We have seen leading up to these meetings in New York that there has been a lot of pressure at least from Israel for this administration to draw a red line.

That is something that the president has been unwilling to do at this point saying that Iran should not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon saying this is a threat not only to Israel, but to the broader world.

But what you will hear from the president perhaps he gave a preview of that last night in an interview with "60 Minutes" where the president said he wants to do what is best for Americans. So that theme perhaps is what we will hear from the president in trying to strike a balance on the issue with Iran.

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian reporting live from the White House this morning.

The Romney-Ryan campaign is hoping to gain ground with voters in Ohio when it kicks off a bus tour there. In a CNN poll of polls, Ohio voters favor President Obama 50 percent to 45 percent.

Early voting in the state has already begun and it's also begun in other key battleground states. With just 43 days left until the election, the Romney campaign is crisscrossing Ohio. I told you that.

He is hitting more than six cities in four days. But another new poll says nine in 10 independent voters have already made up their minds about who to vote for.

So the question is, is it too little too late. Our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, is with the Romney campaign, which is in Colorado today. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. It is safe to say in the middle of September probably not too little too late. There is still a lot of campaigning to go. You are seeing that this week from the Romney campaign.

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are going to be in Colorado over the next 24 hours. Mitt Romney is heading to Pueblo, Colorado later today. He was in Denver last night and as you mentioned, they have this cross state tour in Ohio in the next 48 to 72 hours, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

So they are hitting some key battleground states. You mentioned some of the polling that is out there. We have some new CNN poll of polls that have been put together by our political unit and show essentially the same story in three key battleground states in Florida, Colorado and Ohio. The president has a slight lead over Mitt Romney.

Although if you look at the margin of error, it is pretty close to that margin of error and you heard Mitt Romney say on his campaign plane yesterday that one of the reasons why he feels like he is playing catch up at this point is because of what he calls the president's negative and misleading attacks.

But he also gave another explanation, Carol, and that is all the fundraising that he has to do. He offered that up as an explanation as why he has not been in these battleground states as much as he would like. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would rather be spending my time out in the key swing states campaigning door to door if necessary in rallies but fundraising is a part of politics. When you opponent decides not to live by the federal spending limits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now one thing that the Romney campaign and the Republican Party has been doing over the last 12 hours overnight since the "60 Minutes" interviews is pointing to something that the president said when the president said during that interview with Steve Kroft that perhaps his campaign has gone overboard with some of their ads.

And that perhaps not all of their ads have been accurate, the Romney campaign has been pointing to that, but Carol, as you also know the Romney campaign has also aired some ads that fact checkers have found not to be accurate.

So it is going to be interesting to see how both campaigns go after each other this week on that very issue, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jim Acosta reporting live from Colorado this morning. Rescue crews have now suspended operations to find three missing climbers after an avalanche on a mountain in Nepal. Those three people feared dead now. Eight other climbers already confirmed dead.

Sumnima Udas from our New Delhi Bureau has the latest for us. Good morning.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Carol. Yes, the rescue operations are now over. It has been going on for the past two days. Eight bodies have been recovered so far. Most of them are European.

One of them is Nepali. Three as you said are still missing and helicopter officials we spoke to earlier said that they have not been instructed to go out and to find these three missing climbers right now.

But they said the reality is that they don't actually think they would have survived. We are talking about extreme temperatures and extreme altitudes. This also happened more than 36 hours ago.

This happened at 4:00 in the morning when most of these climbers were probably sleeping so they wouldn't have had the right gear on, as well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: How much snow fell on top of them?

UDAS: Well, one climber mentioned that it was a huge avalanche, the size of several football fields. Of course, it is hard to say right now. A lot of these climbers tend to have these devices, detectors, which makes it easier for rescuers to find them in the snow.

But because it happened so early in the morning, they weren't even able to detect any of these survivors and, of course, with the amounts of snow that we are talking about, it is becoming even more difficult to find these survivors -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sumnima Udas, thanks so much, reporting live for us this morning from New Delhi.

Back here at home in the United States, New York City schools are handing out the so-called morning after pill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If something happens to the child during that situation it's on the high school or the school or whatever, whoever gave it to them so I think the parents should be aware of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But some parents may not even be aware their child might receive the pill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 15 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

Many of the world leaders now in New York for the start of the U.N. General Assembly. That includes the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is already drawing attention to himself as he talks about a possible war with Israel. He'll address delegates on Wednesday.

Florida family is in New York with the hopes of getting the Ahmadinejad to help find a missing American. Robert Levinson has not been seen since March of 2007 when the retired FBI agent was on a business trip to Iran's Kish Island. His wife says Ahmadinejad can help keep the search alive.

In California, a high school has been turned into an evacuation center as a large wildfire burns near the U.S./Mexico border. The 1,000-acre wildfire has already destroyed four structures. Mandatory evacuations in place, hundreds of firefighters now fighting that blaze.

Break out the peanuts and pretzels. A beer truck overturned in San Antonio filling two highway ramps with cans of brew. Police say the truck driver took the exit too fast and spilled some of the nearly 8,000 beer cans it was carrying. The ramps were shut down for several hours. Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech.

The United Nations' secretary general has told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cool it, in other words, tone down the rhetoric during his visit to the General Assembly this week.

This after an Iranian general was quoted as saying Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike against Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Of course, the Zionists are very adventuresome, very much seeking to fabricate things and I think they see themselves at the end of the line. And I do firmly believe that they seek to create opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Iranian president, as you heard, isn't backing down either. Critics wonder why he is allowed to come here on a U.S. visa and stay in a luxury hotel and then go to the United Nations and relentlessly bash the U.S. and Israel on the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.

Still Ahmadinejad is the elected leader of a member nation and the U.S. as host country of the United Nations has no control over who speaks. This actually infuriates Daniel Marishin of the Jewish advocacy group.

He said, quote, "No more than you would host in your home a criminal, why would you make it easy here for a rogue regime? New York Senator Kirstine Gillibrand wants to make things harder. She is introducing a Senate resolution demanding the United Nations punish Iranian leaders for, quote, "incitement to genocide."

So the question for you this morning, should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leaders speech? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Your responses later this hour.

As you well know, the election just six weeks away now and as we inch closer to the big day more and more voters are making up their minds. That makes those undecided voters so critical.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 21 minutes past the hour. So the morning after pill is now available to girls at school. As you might expect that is stirring up some controversy in the New York City school district.

Parents are concerned not only with the idea, but also because kids can get the pill without their parents' knowledge. The president of New York City's parents union as parents, they need to know what is going on. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONA DAVIDS, PRESIDENT, NYC PARENTS UNION: You have to opt in. Parents need to opt in with informed consent. This is not just giving a condom to a young person. This is talking about a chemical hormonal drug cocktail. The parents have a right to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Students as you might expect are weighing in, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it is a horrible idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think people should take it the wrong way as it is encouraging it, but a way to prevent it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That is pregnancy. Alino Cho is following this story. So, Alina, tell us more about this idea.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. It is certainly getting a lot of attention. The pilot program here in New York, which could actually be the first of its kind in the nation has been quietly going on since January of last year if you can believe it.

So far according to several local reports including the "New York Times" more than 1,100 students in 14 New York City high schools had been given birth control pills including the so-called morning after pill known as plan B.

Now the city Department of Health says the schools and program were picked because the students at those schools were known to have a higher risk of getting pregnant and lower access to health care.

One of the schools involved, listen to this, actually dropped out of the program because students were overloading the medical office. The most surprising part about all of these, of course, is that many parents may be clueless about it.

The children do not need permission from their parents to get the pill. Do not need permission. The default is that they will be allowed to get it unless parents opt out of the program by signing a letter. Are these parents getting the letter?

The letter we are told was both mailed and sent home with students, but the Department of Health said no more than 2 percent of parents at each school actually sent those letters back.

Now under federal law, kids under 18 need a prescription for plan B, the morning after pill. If you are over 18, you can buy it over-the- counter. Health Department doctors had been giving those prescriptions. According to the CDC and the New York City Health Department, 46 percent of New York City teens have had sexual intercourse, 7,000 city girls get pregnant by age 17. Listen to this statistic, 9 out of 10 of those pregnancies are unplanned and 7 out of 10, 70 percent drop out of school as a result.

The New York City Health Department released a statement saying in part, "We are committed to trying new approaches like this pilot program in place since January of 2011 to improve a situation that can have negative consequences that can last a lifetime."

Of course, it's too early to tell whether this program is actually working, Carol. I can tell you that a lot of people are worked up about it. As one school staffer who was against this program said, we can't even give Tylenol to the kids without a doctor's order. I don't know why this is going on, as well.

COSTELLO: Alina Cho, thanks so much.

What's in a name? Well, the president isn't the only Obama running for office. We'll take you to one country and introduce you to that guy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're coming on 30 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

World leaders are gathering in New York for the 67th session of the U.N. General Assembly. President Obama will address the 193-member world body tomorrow. He'll be speaking to an international crowd. The president is also expected to target a domestic audience.

A man is suing the hotel where the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is staying while he is in New York. Stewart Hursh claims the money the Iranian delegation is spending on rooms at the Warwick belongs to him.

He was awarded $12 million from the Iranian government after suffering injuries from a 1997 suicide bombing. Hursh said he never received any money from Iran.

In Philadelphia, a loaded handgun causes problems for both the flight attendant and a police officer. Yesterday morning, the flight attendant, she was caught with a gun in her carryon luggage. She says she forget she had that 38-caliber revolver in her suitcase.

When a Philadelphia police officer tries to unload the gun, the officer accidentally fired a round into the floor. The flight attendant faces charges.

All right, we are only 43 days away from the election. Time is running out for the candidates. The election between Mitt Romney and President Obama could come down to a handful of votes in key states like Ohio. According to a new poll out in Ohio, only one out of every 10 independent voters has yet to make a decision on who to vote for. That leaves a very tiny pool of potential voters for the two candidates.

Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Welcome Larry.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: How are you Carol?

COSTELLO: So is it, I mean, I know they are both going to campaign hard in Ohio, right? But if nine out of ten of Independent voters have already made up their mind, what can they possibly say to change the -- the tiny amount of minds they have to change?

SABATO: Well, it's 43 long days, Carol. Certainly it is for us and for the candidates and other people covering the campaign. So a lot can happen. And look there is always divine intervention. There are lots of things that can happen. You know some international trouble, some -- some discouraging economic statistics.

Obviously Mitt Romney has to shake some of those people loose, the ones who've already decided but maybe have only lightly decided. Because I can guarantee you contrary to what you're hearing from some analysts you do not have the undecided voters moving en masse to the challenger. It didn't even happen in 1980 with Ronald Reagan which is the example they always cite.

If you get undecideds moving heavily to one candidate pretty much to maximum let's say 60 percent of them, 40 percent go to the incumbent and 60 percent to the challenger. That's the best that Romney could hope for.

His problem is in the last eight polls in Ohio he's behind by more than the undecided could really make up.

COSTELLO: Ok so everybody says though, the debate is coming up. It's do or die for Mitt Romney. So -- so what can he say and I'm hearing you, I did hear you but -- but what can Romney do in that debate to change minds?

SABATO: Well, he'll have to make an extraordinary argument. He'll have to be Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. And of course, that was for Senate and Lincoln still lost. But he needs to -- to make a very strong case for himself and his policies. He needs as he said in the last couple of days, he needs to dispel quote, "myths" that President Obama has created about him.

He'll have to do a lot in three debates and particularly the first one which tends to set the tone for the remaining debates.

COSTELLO: In that very same poll in Ohio which was taken by the eight largest newspapers in Ohio among likely voters, things like the auto bailout let's say. Ohio voters don't seem to care about that. They know it helped but they are not going to base their vote on that. Isn't that better for Mitt Romney?

SABATO: Well certainly he's fortunate that people aren't -- aren't focusing on that op-ed he -- he wrote which was headlined not by Romney but by the newspaper has let Detroit go bankrupt. So sure, that's a -- that's a plus for Romney. But you know, Carol, we've all been through so many presidential elections. The specifics don't matter maybe as much as they should. The details don't matter. It's the general impressions that people get of candidates and the fundamental factors driving an election season like the economy.

And once people settle in and in this polarized era once they dig in you know it's really tough to change a large number of people. And that's what we're seeing all across the country. 95 percent, sometimes more, of the people who will actually show up and vote during this election season have already decided and they say they're not interested in changing their minds.

COSTELLO: Larry Sabato thanks so much for your insight. We appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Shocker at the Emmys. The show time thriller "Homeland" beats the better known dramas in the top three categories. We'll have a run down for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh did you see this? Green Day lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong had quite a meltdown on stage in Vegas. Here's what we can show you. Because he said a lot of you know, of course we can't say on television.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY JOE ARMSTRONG, SINGER: You mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) let me show you what (EXPLETIVE DELETED) means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And it went on. The band made the announcement after this -- after this public meltdown that Billy Joe Armstrong is now getting treatment for substance abuse. Green Day also apologized for Armstrong's rampage. They said it was triggered by a time limit on the band set which was punctuated by you saw him smashing his guitar.

It's not known how Armstrong's treatment would affect the band's upcoming tour. But that tour is scheduled to begin in November. We'll keep you posted.

There were two big stories going on at last night's Emmy awards. On the comedy side, one show returning for more honors and on the drama side a newcomer making a big splash.

Our showbiz correspondent Kareen Wynter is here with all the dirt. Hi.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: Hi Carol, interesting night. You know for several years Emmy voters have been stuck in the 60s honoring the retro series "Mad Men" again and again and again. But this year well there's another story. Show Time's "Homeland" took home some major awards on the night where TV honors its best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMMEDIAN: Welcome to the 64th primetime Emmy awards.

WYNTER (voice-over): Like the categories they honor the 64th annual Emmy Awards were filled with drama --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.

WYNTER: -- comedy --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I forgot my glasses.

WYNTER: -- and for many the reality that they won the biggest award in television.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julianne Moore.

WYNTER: Four-time Oscar nominee and six time Golden Globe nominee Julianne Moore is now a primetime Emmy winner. The actress took home one of "Game Changers" four statues handed out Sunday night.

JULIANNE MOORE, ACTRESS: I feel so validated because Sarah Palin gave me a big thumb's down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Modern Family".

WYNTER: For a third straight year reigning king of comedy "Modern Family" did it again winning a total of four Emmys. Including best comedy series and supporting actress for Julie Bowen and supporting actor for Eric Stonestreet.

ERIC STONESTREET, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY: I never knew I would be on TV as a gay man but I love the pictures of hairy chests you guys are sending me.

WYNTER: "Two and a Half Men" star Jon Cryer and "Beaves" Julia Louis- Dreyfus took lead comedy honors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Emmy goes to "Homeland."

WYNTER: After four consecutive wins "Mad Men" was dethroned by Showtime's freshman powerhouse "Homeland" for the top drama prize. It stars Damien Lewis and the pregnant Claire Danes both won for lead acting honors.

CLAIRE DANES, ACTRESS: My husband, my love, my life, my baby daddy. This doesn't mean anything without you.

WYNTER (on camera): While his late night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" didn't end up winning the prize for outstanding variety series the comedian did deliver on his promise to host the Emmys with a twist.

JIMMY KIMMEL, TALK SHOW HOST: I would like the people who are at home watching the Emmys right now, to help me pull a big a prank on the people who are not watching.

WYNTER: The late night funny man asked the audience and viewers at home to post tweets and Facebook messages indicating that "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan had passed out on stage.

KIMMEL: Just lie there for about I don't know ten minutes or so.

WYNTER: But instead of Kimmel, it was once again the daily show with Jon Stewart that won its tenth variety show in a row.

JON STEWART, BEST VARIETY SERIES: Years from now when the earth is just a burning husk in aliens visit they will find a box of these and they will know just how predictable these (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

WYNTER: Laughter, tears, talent and cheers. TV's golden night once again reminded millions of what host Jimmy Kimmel has known all along.

KIMMEL: I got to get out less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Oh Carol how about that Jimmy Kimmel? He's -- he's getting mostly positive reviews for his hosting performance. And that stunt that you saw, you pull the Tracy Morgan it turned social media on fire within seconds of urging viewers to tweet about Morgan passing out. Well, the phony report was trending worldwide on Twitter. So I guess mission accomplished.

But more importantly we have to see how the ratings do this morning. We're keeping an eye out for that. Last year they dipped about eight percent when -- yes, last year, they did about eight percent when Jane Lynch hosted compared to the previous year with Jimmy Fallon. So we'll have to see how Jimmy does this year -- the other Jimmy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was watching football. Thanks Kareen.

WYNTER: Oh my gosh.

COSTELLO: But it looked like a good show.

WYNTER: I watch a part of -- I watched a part of that when I got back to the bureau. Good game, too. Lots going on, on Sunday, right.

COSTELLO: You're my kind of gal. Thanks Kareen.

WYNTER: Yes.

COSTELLO: President Obama and Mitt Romney both have different plans for Medicare. But what does it mean for you? What do their plans mean for you? We'll break it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Medicare question came up on "60 Minutes" and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney dished out some specifics. So what is his plan to save that entitlement program? Here is Romney explaining how his plan for Medicare is different than the President's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I don't want any change for Medicare for current seniors or for those that are nearing retirement. So the plan stays exactly the same. The President is cutting $716 billion from current Medicare. I disagree with that. I'd put those dollars back into Medicare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Ryan has proposed something similar, almost precisely the same number $716 billion.

ROMNEY: Yes, he was going to use that money to reduce the budget deficit. I'm putting it back into Medicare. And I'm the guy running for president and not him. And so what I do in my Medicare plan for younger people coming along is say this. We are going to have higher benefits for low income people and lower benefits for high income people. We're going to make it more means tested. I think if we do that, we'll make sure to preserve Medicare into the indefinite future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So he got a little specific but not really, really, really specific.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

COSTELLO: So what does it mean?

KOSIK: Ok. So if you are an average American what this could essentially mean Carol is that you will be paying more out of pocket costs. But first, I just want to point out, nothing would change currently for seniors or anyone who is 55 years of age or older.

But what it winds up being is a big change for those who are 54 years old or younger. When they're ready for Medicare, what would happen is they would get a fixed amount from the government to buy insurance. How much depends on need. Now lower income seniors would get more, wealthier seniors would get less. And then people will then use those payments to either buy private insurance plan or buy traditional Medicare offered by the government.

But the big criticism with this, Carol, is that this plan doesn't protect seniors from rising health care costs. The benefit amount will be adjusted for inflation. But look at this -- how much health care costs have been rising; they have been rising much faster. Even though the gains have slowed considerably in recent years. You know, inflation has been rising.

Romney says giving seniors a choice will create more competition and that would keep costs down. But the Congressional Budget Office, they analyzed a similar plan and look what they found. They found that the government spending -- that government spending beneficiary would be $2,200 less than under current law. So you know, you sort of step back and take a look at this, you say if the government is spending less but health care costs are going up guess who's going to wind up paying the difference, seniors -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ok. So one more question because we hear that $716 billion figure a lot. Critics say Romney's plan would bankrupt Medicare by 2016. Is that true?

KOSIK: Ok. That is not true. CNN has certainly fact checked this claim thoroughly and here's why it's not true. Romney has proposed -- has promised rather, to repeal Obama care. Obama's health care plan would cut $716 billion out of Medicare by cutting reimbursements to providers. But if you undo all of that cost for Medicare would wind up going back up making it insolvent by 2016 meaning the government wouldn't be able to pay its Medicare bills.

Ok, so we all get scared when we hear insolvent -- insolvent but experts say that would really never happen in reality because Medicare is not just in danger of going bankrupt. Revenues would still cover most of the costs even if it has insolvency and Congress no doubt would likely step in to cover any short falls.

Obviously that is not good for our budget deficit, rising costs still have to be addressed. But the bottom line with this, Carol, is that experts say Medicare is not running out of money in 2016 or ever -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ok. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

RG3 learns about hard knocks the hard way in the NFL. It is a whole different world from the college game. We will talk about rookie quarterbacks when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Talk a little sports before we go. The NFL's young quarterbacks are learning that pro game is quite a bit different from the college games. Take Robert Griffin III after yesterday's loss to Cincinnati, the Redskins rookie said "I did get hit a lot." This comes after last week's game when he accused some of the Rams of doing dirty things after the whistle.

Let's talk about that with Mike Wise who's a sports columnist for the "Washington Post", host of the mid-day sports talk show on Washington's 106.7, the FAN. Welcome, Mike.

MIKE WISE, "WASHINGTON POST": Hello, Carol.

COSTELLO: There are a lot of people saying RG3 is a whiner. Is he?

WISE: I don't think so. But I'm a little biased. I live in Washington. I don't like to see 350-pound behemoths beheading quarterbacks. I don't think it is healthy for the league or society. You know, I think Steven Jackson of the Rams hit it on the head the best. He said after Robert Griffin III's comments about the Rams "Maybe this isn't the big 12 anymore." So in some ways he has to grow up. On another level his coaches and his line men can't put him in position to get hurt. He is too valuable to not just the team but the league.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, another factor may be the replacement refs because some players are taking advantage of the fact that replacement refs sometimes don't know what they are doing.

WISE: I completely agree. And I don't know, this is unconscionable to me and it doesn't get enough ink because the ratings are still high. But bottom line if Roger Goodell doesn't think his product is being compromised right now he needs to have a high school athletic director take his job for three weeks and see how he performs it.

Because these guys are not qualified. It is sad. And I really feel bad for the players and the fans who have to put up with it.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about another young quarterback, Panther's second year starter, Cam Newton. ESPN said he is now seeing a mind coach. He was like sulking on the sidelines during the Giants game. And here is what he said after the game. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAM NEWTON, NFL PLAYER: Collectively, the results were evident that it was a lack thereof of any form of winning. You know, one place this player; next place that player and these players, me, next player. And you know, you can't win like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He looked like he was going to die. You know my question is --

WISE: How about a depressing, depressing Monday.

COSTELLO: Oh my gosh. But why let out the fact that he is seeing a mind coach? Shouldn't that be private?

Wise: In some ways, yes. I get what you are saying. But On another level there is something about sports in this society where it is weak when we actually own our problems and our mental deficiencies. I kind of like that -- in fact Alex Rodriguez a few years ago said he was seeing a therapist.

Then everybody said, oh, what a mental midget he is. That is ridiculous thinking. The more these guys go and see a sports psychologist and a therapist they can actually perform better. I'm a big believer in therapy. Look at me.

COSTELLO: You're in therapy right now.

WISE: Yes, this, your studio.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much for being with us. We sure appreciate it. By Mike.

WISE: Thanks Carol.

Talk back question of the morning. Should the United Nations impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech? Your responses are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: When many people think about exercising they visualize long, arduous hours at the gym. But the truth is, you don't need any equipment and you don't need that many hours to exercise. You just need to know something called plyometrics.

For Today's daily here is fitness expert Dolvett Quince from TV's "The Biggest Loser".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLVETT QUINCE, FITNESS EXPERT: Not everyone has access to a gym but you can have a workout whether you have equipment around you or not.

Using your body weight, just your body weight, plyometrics, do squats. Up and down. Do about 25 of these because right at 15 you're going to start to feel a burn. From there I'm going down. These are called knee walks. Doing these I'm now forced to use my core more so than the time before. I'm still working at those quad muscles. After that, 30 of those down to the famous push-up. I love the push-up because the push-up works my shoulders, triceps as well as my chest. Without a gym you just worked your entire body. No excuse. Get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ok, Talk Back Should this morning, should the U.N. impose limits on the Iranian leader's speech.

This from Tulle, "So let's see, who is really the bad guy? The guy threatening to wipe Israel off the planet or the guy threatening to wipe Iran off the planet."

This from Charles. "Ahmadinejad is looking for attention and should not be allowed to speak at the UN ever again. He's a poor excuse for a world leader and humanity."

Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. And thank you so much for joining me today.

"CNN NEWSROOM" continues with Ashleigh Banfield.