Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

27 Days Until November Election; Vice Presidential Debate In Kentucky Thursday Night; Lawmakers To Debate Libya Attack Today; Supreme Court Hears University Race Case; Football Great Alex Karras Is Dead; 12 Dead, 120 Sick From Rare Meningitis

Aired October 10, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Ben Baltz plays sports like any other 11-year- old. He even competes in triathlon. Nothing seems to stop Ben even though he lost part of his right leg to cancer. But something did stop Ben in his last race in Florida: his prosthetic leg broke in half. A group of Marines was watching the triathlon. The Marines lifted Ben up and carried him across the finish line. Ben's mom said everybody was crying and cheering on Ben and the Marines. Very nice, very nice.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM, Congress gets ready to grill State Department officials and others about the deadly terrorist attack in Libya. And we're learning more about the security situation in Benghazi.

One of the world's largest carmakers issuing a huge recall. There's a problem with nearly 7.5 million cars, trucks and SUVs. Is yours one of them?

And the running mates get their turn in the spotlight. Joe Biden, Paul Ryan preparing for tomorrow night's vice presidential debate. It is a must-win. Is it for Biden?

And a North Carolina man is incredibly lucky. He's nailed by a hit- and-run driver and he walks away. The NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello again, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Carol is off today.

After last week's face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the effect of debates on the campaign can no longer be denied. Just take a look at these poll numbers. In a new CNN poll of polls, Mitt Romney edges out the President by one point, 48 percent to 47 percent.

And in key battleground state Ohio, a new CNN/ORC poll shows the race tightening with President Obama at 51 percent and Mitt Romney at 47 percent. That is a significant post-debate bump for Mitt Romney.

Take a look now, live pictures inside that debate hall where the debate -- we will soon. Will take place between Vice President and his challenger, Paul Ryan. The showdown happens tomorrow. But until we get those pictures, why don't we go to our national correspondent. We had him and then we didn't. It's live television. He is in the critical swing state of Ohio this morning.

So John, good morning to you. Vice presidential debate tomorrow night -- how critical will this be in this election?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's very important, Don. Look, Americans pick presidents. They don't pick vice presidents. So if you go back in time and look at these in past years, there's great theater. It's hard the day after the election and say, "Aha, that moment in that vice presidential debate changed the election." But this one is important for a number of reasons.

Number one, you just mentioned, Mitt Romney has a bit of a breeze at his back right now. Can Paul Ryan turn on a strong performance and keep that momentum going? That is the number one concern of the Romney campaign. They have momentum now. They want to keep it.

If you're the Democrats, you're probably mad at the President, probably disappointed he didn't bring more energy and passion to the debate the other night and you're hoping -- you're hoping that the President comes in -- the Vice President comes in with an emphatic performance. That's what they want.

Will it matter in the end? Don't know. But at this moment it's very key for the Republicans to keep their momentum and for the Democrats to try to stop it.

LEMON: Mitt Romney's already started to downplay, you know, what to make of this whole game, downplaying his game. What do you make of that?

KING: Well, look, expectations. You want the viewers at home to think if Paul Ryan turns in a really strong performance, wow, he wasn't ready for that. How did he do that? He's never been on this national stage before. Joe Biden, he is the sitting Vice President, he's run for president twice. He has more experience on the national stage. He was 36 years in the United States Senate, the chairman of a committee for a long time.

So, sure, if you look at the history and the resume, he has more experience. But Paul Ryan is no newbie here. He's the Chairman of the House Budget Committee. He has debated in these congressional elections. He stood up directly to the President of the United States in meetings before between the President and House Republicans.

But every campaign tries to get any advantage they can heading into the debate. The expectations game is kind of silly. It's a subplot both the candidates and we in the media play. From an issues perspective, this is important. They're going to fight over who best would help the middle class. Expect Joe Biden to be very aggressive about criticizing the Ryan budget and how it would change Medicare and entitlements. Expect Joe Biden to have the passion that the President lacked the other day about how all this would affect the social safety net if you're going to cut government spending.

Look, you have a conservative that many say is the heir to Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. You have a progressive vice president who the Democrats and liberals are looking for passion. Don, let's be honest, you also have two people who could factor into 2016 presidential calculations. If Mitt Romney loses, Paul Ryan is an early frontrunner for Republicans. If Barack Obama wins, Joe Biden is telling people, yes, I might be getting up there in age, but I feel great. I might run.

LEMON: Let's talk about Joe Biden for a minute. Remember, last time they said you don't want to come off as condescending to Sarah Palin or even sexist. Does the same thing play here? Obviously, not the sexist part, but condescending to someone younger than him, for a Paul Ryan who seems to be new? Does that challenge exist in this particular debate?

KING: Well, I think that challenge exists in every debate. Certainly, it was different to have, you know, you're having a man debating a woman. That's a different calculation. But you don't want to be smug in any debate.

It was interesting, you know, a lot of people after the first presidential debate thought the President was disinterested. The President was detached. I was interviewing suburban women yesterday. One of them said, you know, Mitt Romney won on points, but I thought he was smug. I thought he was disrespectful to the President. So viewers pick up on these things.

It's different, you know, Paul Ryan is a House chairman. Joe Biden was a Senate committee chairman. Now he's the Vice President of the United States. So there's a generational -- there's an age difference, these a generational difference, philosophical difference. Both sides, you want to make your case passionately and effectively. You don't want to seem mean or smug or certainly not condescending.

LEMON: Absolutely. John King, thank you very much.

We want to go to Capitol Hill now and a high-stakes high-noon showdown a potentially heated hearing on the deadly attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

A Republican-led hearing is demanding to know how security failures led to the deaths of a U.S. ambassador there and three other Americans. And were warnings ignored for political reasons, and did the White House have any motive in first denying it was terrorism?

Depending on which party you ask, today's hearing is either election- year grandstanding or an effort to better protect American lives in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, (R) UTAH: What clearly didn't happen is, Libya was not a priority. I believe what I've heard is that it's because they wanted the appearance of normalization. That's what they wanted. That fit the Obama narrative moving forward.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: You know, it's one thing to make allegations that are backed by facts. It's another thing to make allegations and then search for the facts. And we've heard a lot of allegations flying around. And Erin, today in depositions, we've heard things that are contradictory to some of the allegations that have been made by Chairman Issa and Congressman Chaffetz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Elise Labott is CNN foreign affairs reporter and she joins us from Washington. OK, many have said that this is a partisan investigation. Others are saying they just want to find out exactly what's going on here.

So, then, Elise, what is it? Do you get a sense that heads will roll once answers start to come out from what happens at these hearings?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, Don, I think you need to separate the political from the serious investigative as to what went wrong. I mean, the Democrats, Representative Cummings we just heard from, are charging that the way that this hearing is being investigated is in a political way -- that the Democrats on the committee are not being given witnesses, not being given testimony or documents and basically are excluding the Democrats because they want to run this through right before the elections.

What the Republicans are saying is, listen, something went very wrong here. There were warnings that were missed. Some documents have been leaking out, some of them obtained by CNN, that show that senior security officers did send warnings and messages to the State Department asking for additional security for Benghazi, for Libya, in general, and those requests were ignored.

We're going to hear today from a few key people. We're going to hear from Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, who was head of a security support team in Libya. He was trying to get that team to stay beyond its mandate in August. It was pulled out.

Eric Norstrom, the senior security officer in Libya, also says he asked for requests additional security in Benghazi. He was not answered.

And we'll also hear from some people at the State Department. Key among them is Deputy Assistant Secretary Charlene Lamb. It kind of seems as if the buck stopped here. These requests went to her and my understanding is they never went up the chain of command so lots of questions.

It is very politicized. It is a political campaign season. Election just weeks away. But I think that there are some serious questions as to whether the embassy -- the consulate was fully protected, whether warnings were missed and whether -- whether this is a political reason for hiding what really happened. Don.

LEMON: And it is Washington. What in Washington is not politicized? Thank you very much. We appreciate it, Elise Labott.

The man accused of making the anti-Islam film that incited so much violence in the Middle East is due in court today. Mark Youssef has been in federal lockup since last month. Prosecutors say he violated his probation for a bank fraud conviction and the judge ruled he was a flight risk. The Egyptian-born U.S. citizen does not face charges related to the film or the protests that swept through more than a dozen countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Happening next hour, the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on what could be the biggest case of this term, dealing with diversity on college campuses. Joe Johns gives us the details of this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abigail Fisher dreamed of going to the University of Texas at Austin for most of her life. After applying, she didn't get in. Attending Louisiana State University instead, but the rejection from UT led Fisher to file a lawsuit against the school claiming she was squeezed out, unfairly denied admission because of her race.

She's white. She said in a statement, "There were people in my class with lower grades who weren't in all the activities I was in who were being accepted into UT, and the only other difference between us was the color of our skin."

She declined an interview with CNN. Whether race should be part of the application process at the University of Texas is the issue that will come before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Edward Blum recruited Fisher to file the lawsuit.

EDWARD BLUM, PROJECT ON FAIR REPRESENTATION: The most important question is should a university judge a student by his or her skin color when it comes time for admission? And the answer is no.

JOHNS: Here's how the admissions process at UT works. The top 10 percent of each high school class statewide gets in automatically. For those below the top 10 percent, like Abigail Fisher who was in the 11th percent, the university uses what it calls a holistic review where race is one of many factors considered, one that University President Bill Powers says doesn't get much weight and didn't play a role in Fisher's rejection.

BILL POWERS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: We take ethnicity as one of many, many factors to make sure that the three quarters coming in under automatic admission, that we add to that with a quarter coming in where we can look for these other characteristics including diversity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's fighting the wrong fight.

JOHNS: Minority student leaders on campus like Bradley Poole agree with Powers that the process is fair despite Fisher's claims.

BRADLEY POOLE, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS BLACK STUDENT ALLIANCE: Seeing as race is probably one of the least parts of the holistic review process, I feel like it's harping on one of the things -- on the easiest thing that she could have a win against. JOHNS: Others take offense that the lawsuit implies some minority students are less deserving of admission than their white counterparts.

CATHERINE RODARTE, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: To hear people saying that some of us Latinos got in here easily and the only reason we got in here is because of our race, that's really disappointing. We work just as hard as anyone else did to work to get here to UT.

JOHNS: Conservative groups say it's not just about getting in. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission says studies show that using racial preferences can hurt minorities by starting them out near the bottom of their classes.

GAIL HERIOT, MEMBER, U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS: If they're towards the bottom of whatever class they go to, they are much more likely to give up on an ambition to major in science and engineering.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Joe Johns is live outside of the Supreme Court for us. So Joe, will this decision -- it probably will -- have implications on all college campuses?

JOHNS: Well, it certainly could. And you know, I have to say, this is such a hotly contested issue even now, and it has been over the years. Just that last statement from the commissioner is disputed, you know.

The academic mismatch, as it's called, is disputed among people on the other side who say it is unsound science. So just about every single point you look at across the board on the issue of affirmative action and preferences is disputed here in this courtroom right now.

What does it come down to? Perhaps a very even split. And we do know that Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself. So there's potential for a 4-4 tie on the court when they get around to making a decision on that. In that case, by the way -- and I don't think we can say this enough -- in the case of a tie, Don, the previous precedent would stand. So there wouldn't be any change in the law in the United States.

LEMON: Joe Johns, thank you.

Lucky to be alive. That's the best way to describe a North Carolina man hit by a car that keeps on going.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This just into CNN. Pro football legend Alex Karras is dead at the age of 77. Former Detroit Lions great had suffered recently from kidney failure. He also had dementia and was one of a group of ex-players suing the NFL over treatment of head injuries. After his playing career ended, Karras acted in movies and in television. Again, Alex Karras dead at 77. We'll follow that for you. Nearly one month ago, an attack on the consulate in Libya took the lives of four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens. And now Congress wants some answers, not just on how the attack happened, but also any security lapses that could have played a role in the attack.

Jim Jeffrey is a former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey. He joins me now from Washington. Good morning, sir. Thank you so much for joining us.

JIM JEFFREY, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ AND TURKEY: Good morning. Thank you for having me on board.

LEMON: Listen, the hearing starts in just a few hours, and already there are concerns about partisanship taking center stage here. It would be great if this wasn't about political posturing and just getting answers on this attack and the solutions. Can we expect that?

JEFFREY: We can expect that through the entire process. First of all, this was a tragedy for those involved for our policies in the region, and we need to get to the bottom of it. There are two ways to do that.

First of all, the State Department has appointed an Accountability Review Board. They do that mandated by law in all such cases. I've had two on me from people who died under my supervision in Iraq. And that's the first, and that will take some time.

Secondly, Congress does have a responsibility to look into these things. That's what's going on now. Partisanship is built into our political system, and there will be some of that, of course, and this isn't anything else. But we need to see all of the evidence. We need to see all of the information. And we need to work our way through this because we need to ensure it does not happen again.

LEMON: Well said. In a major foreign policy speech, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had this to say about the Obama administration's work in the Middle East. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: But it is our responsibility and the responsibility of the President to use America's greatest power to shape history, not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events. Unfortunately, that's exactly where we find ourselves in the Middle East under President Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But a fellow Republican, Senator Rand Paul, tells CNN that Romney's approach is wrong, that more U.S. intervention in the Mideast would not be effective, that our wars have fared poorly. In your opinion, what is the role of the U.S. in this region?

JEFFREY: First of all, we have to determine, is this region important to us? And the answer definitely is yes. Because of our allies in the region, from NATO ally Turkey, which is under fire right now from Syria, to Israel, that's constantly being threatened to our gulf allies.

Secondly, energy. And thirdly, this is the transportation and geographic hub of Eurasia. Fourthly, it's the cradle of civilizations in religions. It's part of our heritage. We can't walk away from the Middle East, but it's a very tough, it's a very dangerous and it's a very turbulent region. And we take risks in being out there.

LEMON: Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, Jim Jeffrey, thank you.

JEFFREY: Thank you.

LEMON: Tens of thousands may have been given the contaminated steroid injections that are blamed for a deadly meningitis outbreak, but some say they saw it coming and even tried to sound the alarm long before it happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Florida now among the states reporting fatalities from a rare, non-contagious fungal meningitis. So far 12 people are dead: six in Tennessee, three in Michigan, one in Florida, one in Maryland and one in Virginia, another 120 are sick nationwide.

So officials say contaminated steroid injections from a compounding pharmacy are to blame. Some experts say this was a long time coming here.

Our senior medical correspondent is Elizabeth Cohen, and she spoke to a former FDA employee who sounded the alarm years ago. OK, before we talk about that, how worried should we be when you hear it's 12 people, some people may go, well, it's not going to affect me. This is beyond that.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think this is worrisome because this isn't the only one. Nine people died in Alabama because of medicines made at compounding pharmacies. These medicines at compounding pharmacies are not regulated the way they are at a big pharmaceutical company. It's worrisome that we've seen these infections over the years.

LEMON: This is a big issue, then. OK, with that said, we've prefaced it, you spoke to a former FDA employee who sounded the alarm years ago. What did that FDA employee said?

COHEN: Right, so a woman named Sarah Sellers, who is pharmacist, testified to the U.S. Congress almost 10 years ago about sterility problems at compounding pharmacies. Seller said I have worked in these. I have concerns about non-sterile conditions and she urged for more federal oversight of these pharmacies. She then went on to work for the FDA.

And something interesting happened there. She was hired, she says, to work on sterility guidelines, but it never happened. She never got to work on the project. She left in frustration and still there are no guidelines. LEMON: Never released.

COHEN: Never happened. We talked to the FDA and they said that they are still in progress.

LEMON: What's taking so long?

COHEN: Well, according to Sarah Sellers, she thinks that money from the compounding pharmacy industry has slowed things down. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, this industry, one group in particular, has spent more than $1 million on lobbying in the past 10 years. And she thinks that that has made the feds kind of hold back.

Now, to give them sort of their response, the federal government says the FDA has told CNN, we want to do more, too, but the industry challenges us at every step.

I asked the industry about this, and they said no, we want these sterility guidelines to come out. We've been waiting for them for years.

LEMON: Do you think it will make a difference? You know, it's a cliche, is this going to be the wake-up call?

COHEN: You know, I think the wake-up call really probably should have been years ago. I mean, nine people died in Alabama in a similar situation last year. Those were nine lives. I think this is definitely bigger. There are more people. It's all over the country and these are people who were otherwise presumably healthy. And they were just coming in because of back pain, and they end up dead. So this may be the time that everybody sort of says, all right, no matter what, we've got to do the right thing.

LEMON: Give me some good perspective on this because there's always issues when it comes to medication, they correct it. It will be over in a little bit, but no, that's not what's happening here. This could get worse unless something is done.

COHEN: Unless somebody steps in. And this is such a basic thing. This is sterility in a processing center. I mean, sterility like you shouldn't have fungus in your medicine. There's nothing complicated about this. They just need to follow the rules.

LEMON: Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

LEMON: Appreciate it.

Mitt Romney's debate performance got him a bump in the polls. Can his running mate keep their momentum going as he prepares to go head to head with a seasoned debater? We'll go to Kentucky for a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right time now everyone for a check on your top stories. About half hour from now, oral arguments will begin at the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue here whether a race-conscious admission policy at the University of Texas violates the civil rights of some white applicants. The court will decide if and when ethnicity and skin color can be used to create a diverse campus.

Also in Washington, beginning at noon, a House panel holds a hearing to try to find out what went wrong in the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will ask witnesses what the White House knew and when they knew it.

Two American scientists have a lot to celebrate today. Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Their prize-winning work on protein receptors in the human body set the stage for drug companies to make medications with fewer side effects. Of course that's important they started their research back in 1968.

And something you really have to see to believe. And you're going to see it right there. Saturday morning Shaun Lewis heading to work in Charlotte, North Carolina, when a driver -- boom, there it is -- mowed him down. A pawnshop security camera catch it all. The driver did stop and then quickly took off. Miraculously, though, Lewis was able to get up and walk away about six minutes later. Police are still looking for that driver.

As promised, I told you earlier, live pictures inside the debate hall. There it is. You're looking at live pictures from the hall where the vice presidential debate will take place tomorrow night. Check it out. It's red, white and blue. Imagine that. Joe Biden will face off with Paul Ryan.

CNN's political editor, Paul Steinhauser, joins me now from Danville, Kentucky. Paul, set the stage for us. It's red, white and blue. I have to say, though, I'm looking forward to this one more than the other one --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes.

LEMON: -- because you never know what Joe Biden is going to say and that makes for some great television.

STEINHAUSER: Joe Biden often speaks from his heart, no doubt about that. And I think this could be maybe a more entertaining debate than last week in Denver. Those live pictures -- I saw you try to do them at the top of the hour, you didn't get them but you've got them now. That is right behind me, that's the Norton Center here at Center College, that building right there that's what you were looking at inside just now.

And yes, here's how it's going to work. First of all, the Congressman from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan, in one corner. He will be here later today, Don. He arrives later today here in Danville, Kentucky. Vice President Biden coming in tomorrow. Both men, as you know, you haven't seen them on the campaign trail much the last couple of days. Why? They've been locked down on debate prep.

It is a 90-minute debate Don. Martha Raddatz from ABC News is the moderator. There are going to be nine 10-minute segments that adds to 90 minutes. It's going to be both foreign policy and, of course, a lot of domestic issues as well.

And, as you were talking about with John King earlier, expect to see maybe Vice President Biden go on in the attack against Congressman Ryan over his House budget plan especially on Medicare and Social Security.

Hey Don, let me show you this.

LEMON: Yes.

STEINHAUSER: This is what they're putting out here, they're calling it "The Thrill in the Ville II" why II because they did a debate here 12 years ago. They did a vice presidential debate 12 years ago. That was Dick Cheney versus Joe Lieberman -- Don.

LEMON: Oh that's pretty cool. Where are the boxing gloves in that ad? Where are the boxing gloves? Let's see that ad again. Hold it up real quickly. Do you have it?

STEINHAUSER: You want it again? OK here we go, yes. No gloves. No gloves.

LEMON: Yes, all right, thank you. We will be watching. It's going to be interesting. Paul Steinhauser.

Vice president Joe Biden, Congressman Paul Ryan will debate each other on Thursday night. CNN's live coverage will begin at 7:00 Eastern. Stay tuned.

Toyota recalling almost seven and a half million cars. Two and a half million right here in the United States. Models ranging from the popular Camry to the Yaris.

Alison Kosik following the story for us from the New York Stock Exchange. That is a lot of cars. Why are so many cars being recalled?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a lot of cars. And the problem, Don, is with the power window on the driver's side. It appears that the grease wasn't applied properly in the factory meaning the window switch can stick. So if you went ahead and bought the grease yourself and applied it, it could melt the switch and lead to a fire.

Now, this includes several models between the years of 2007 and 2009. It includes the models -- the most popular models, the Camry, the Corolla, the Yaris, the RAV4, the Tundra and others as well.

And if you've been affected by this, you'll know because you'll get a notification through the mail this month. Your local Toyota dealer will fix it for free. And this, by the way, is Toyota's biggest recall, Don, since the 2009/2010 recall because of those sticky gas pedals -- Don.

LEMON: We remember that.

KOSIK: Yes, we do.

LEMON: And you know another issue there -- it's bad timing because they were just getting back on track. And you mentioned the 2009 thing. But after last year's earthquake and tsunami, Alison.

KOSIK: Oh, you said it. You know this is really not great timing because Toyota was finally, finally back on its feet after that 2010 recall, the earthquake which led to the parts shortage. You know, sales had actually recovered. Well, now we've got this big recall going on today. Toyota, in addition, is also dealing with plunging sales in China because of a big political dispute there.

Another concern, this recall is hitting the world's biggest car markets, not just here in the U.S., in China, in Europe, and investors, Don, they are showing how they feel. Toyota shares fell two percent in Japan. They're falling one and a third right now in the U.S. -- Don.

LEMON: Yikes. All right, Alison, thank you very much.

A very different side of Ann Romney taking a break from the campaign trail and taking over the host chair on "Good Morning America." How did she do? How did she do? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Amendments 15 and 19 of the U.S. Constitution give citizens the right to vote. You cannot be denied because of sex, race or color. But new laws want to stop those without an ID and, as Martin Savidge found out, there are some working to make sure everyone can cast a ballot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BRENDA WILLIAMS, VOLUNTEER: Hello? Voter registration.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When not seeing patients, Dr. Brenda Williams is out registering voters in her small town of Sumter, South Carolina.

WILLIAMS: I am going to sign you up. You're going to get a card.

SAVIDGE: Two years ago she began seeing patients with the same problem. Raymond Rutherford was one.

This all goes back to the day you were born.

RAYMOND RUTHERFORD, VOTING ACTIVIST: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Now is when I should jump in and say the problem Dr. Williams saw wasn't medical but political. South Carolina's recent law requiring voters to have photo identification, it's been blocked by the U.S. Attorney General, but opponents fear that may be only temporary. The law requires a government-issued picture ID in order to vote. And to get that, you need something.

WILLIAMS: A certified birth certificate with a raised seal.

SAVIDGE: For a number of African-Americans born in the pre-civil rights rural south, that's a problem. Since many were delivered at home by midwives and record keeping was weak. The midwife who delivered Raymond list as his first name Ramon and got his last name completely wrong, but his voter registration card has his correct name.

Do you vote?

RUTHERFORD: Yes, I do, ever since I was 18.

SAVIDGE: Has this ever been a problem?

RUTHERFORD: No voting? No, it hasn't been.

SAVIDGE: But it could be now. Rutherford says he can't get a photo ID until he corrects his birth certificate which requires an attorney he cannot afford.

(on camera): It is really difficult to get any kind of specific numbers as to how many voters could be impacted by the new South Carolina law. According to the election commission, it could be anywhere from a high of 202,000 to a low of 51,000.

WILLIAMS: I started looking at the numbers and I said, dang, he's black, she's black, she's black, he, I said, oh my God, this is racial.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Supporters of the new law say race has nothing to do with it. It's simply meant to protect against voter fraud. And there is a provision to allow voters like Rutherford to cast a provisional ballot simply by signing an affidavit.

But Rutherford and others are skeptical of the state which at one time had a history of discriminating against voters and must get laws affecting voting approved by the federal government.

(on camera): Do you see this as an effort to prevent you from voting?

RUTHERFORD: Not only me but a lot of people, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got my cards in the mail today.

WILLIAMS: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both of my daughters.

SAVIDGE: So Dr. Williams pushes on. And it was when I asked her why that got her singing the hymn she learned so long ago.

WILLIAMS: Each man is my brother each man is my friend. I'm sorry. SAVIDGE: Martin Savidge, CNN, Sumter, South Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, with just weeks until the election, your right to vote may be at stake. Does everyone really have a voice? Watch CNN's documentary special "VOTERS IN AMERICA: WHO COUNTS", Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Ann Romney taking a break from the campaign trail and taking over "Good Morning America".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Checking top stories right now on CNN.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on an affirmative action case that could decide whether race will play a role in college admissions. A white college student suing the University of Texas saying it denied her admission because of her race. The hearing -- the hearing is expected to begin in 15 minutes.

The U.S. government suing Wells Fargo over claims the bank made reckless home mortgage loans for a decade. The government has accused the bank of fraudulently approving thousands of home loans that caused large-scale losses for the government. Wells Fargo denying the allegations.

The first commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station is now a success. SpaceX's Dragon Capsule docked with the orbiting laboratory just a few hours ago. The capsule is delivering food and supplies to the astronauts on board. In about two and a half weeks, it will be sent back to earth with scientific experiments and failed equipment.

All right. Now to the politics of Twitter. What happens when a prominent black actress says she is supporting Mitt Romney instead of Barack Obama? Well, Stacey Dash found out after posting a tweet that set off an Internet firestorm.

A.J. Hammer joins me now. He is following that story. It is, as far as the controversial tweets go, this time -- you know, this one was pretty tame, but listen. She's also, A.J. , I don't know if you've heard about this, she's identifying herself as Mexican-American and not African-American. Have you heard that?

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I had not heard that, but you would think, you know, just the tweet that she sent out is pretty tame, as you mentioned, Don. And look, even if you disagree with someone's choice for president, obviously, you would hope that person could still voice it without being viciously attacked as Stacey Dash was.

The tweet simply said, "Vote for Romney, the only choice for your future." And that's what led to this massive Twitter backlash against Dash. Some of it has been relatively tame. People referring to the movie that she's best known for by calling her "Clueless".

LEMON: Yes.

HAMMER: But others really laid into her saying she's sold out her race, she's sold her gender and some other nasty comments which quite frankly I don't want to repeat here. The detractors seem to be louder, but she has gotten some support from people saying yes, every American is allowed to speak their mind. And Don, Paul Ryan personally called her to offer his support.

But I hate it when it gets this ugly. I think any good American wants you to be able to speak your mind. It's one thing for people to voice their opposition to what you've said. It's another thing for them to be as vicious as some of them have been in this case.

LEMON: Absolutely -- very, very well put. And it's, you know -- regardless of what her ethnicity is, it's her right. It's her right to do that.

OK. Let's move on now and talk about just more politics. Ann Romney wrapping up her co-hosting gig on "Good Morning America", A.J. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it about horse therapy or equine therapy?

ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: There's different things. They get on the back of a horse and all of a sudden their life changes. They become strong. They become confident. But horses are -- they're a gift from God is the way I look at it, and they're a partner in our life's journey. And they can bring such joy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phenomenal. And you've been very vocal about your diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. Have you used equine therapy for yourself?

ROMNEY: I certainly have. You know, like Beck, I'm not as disabled as Beck, but I was very, very weak and very, very much worried about my life, thinking I was going to be in a wheelchair as well.

I turned to horses. My life has been dramatically different. They gave me the energy, the passion to get out of bed when I was so sick that I didn't think I'd ever want to get out of bed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, you know, everyone says she's co-hosting, it was more like an extended interview than an actual co-host gig, right?

HAMMER: Yes. Well, it was in that case when they were outside in Times Square with the horse. And quite frankly, that's where she was even the most comfortable during the entire time that she was on because that was something that was near and dear to her heart. In fact, she didn't get a ton of screen time in her hour on the show, but the early reviews have been very positive, Don. Excuse me. And I have to point out she had a little trouble on the cooking segments, the stove apparently was too hot, and she burned the Welsh cakes. But I should also -- and she kidded, by the way, that she was in danger of catching fire.

But I should point out to hopefully achieve some semblance of balance. GMA is reportedly in talks to have Michelle Obama co-host as well. As of the last time I checked, they reportedly did not have that agreement in place. I'm guessing we'll see Michelle doing that show.

LEMON: Yes. This segment got you all choked up, huh, A.J.??

HAMMER: Yes, it did. Yes, that was it.

LEMON: Thank you, A.J. Make sure you join him, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Bay Area teams stay alive in baseball's playoffs. And we're going to start with Oakland against Detroit. A's center fielder Coco Crisp made the defensive play of the night when he jumped at the wall and caught Prince Fielder's blast. Look at that. The A's used great fielding and pitching to shut out the Tigers, 2-0. The team will play game four of their series tonight. Detroit leads two games to one.

The Giants and the Reds went to extra innings in Cincinnati. Reds' third baseman Scott Rolen bobbled a grounder, allowing Buster Posey to score. The Giants took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the tenth and held on to win. The Reds host the Giants this afternoon, leading the series two games to one.

And negotiations in the National Hockey League strike have started up again. Players and owners are scheduled to meet today and tomorrow in New York City, but there are no plans to discuss dividing revenues, which is a primary issue of the dispute. The lockout beginning its fourth week now.

Four years ago he made his case for being the next vice president. And after a showdown with Sarah Palin back then, Joe Biden is now preparing to return to the debate stage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's being called the vice presidential debate that will actually matter. And we could be in for some fireworks tomorrow night when Joe Biden faces off against rival Paul Ryan.

CNN's Anderson Cooper looks back at Biden's previous performances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN, (R) ALASKA: Nice to meet you. JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a pleasure.

PALIN: Hey, can I call you Joe?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It started with a warm handshake and smiles all around, a friendly start to the vice presidential debate in 2008 pitting Joe Biden against then relative newcomer to the national stage, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

BIDEN: John McCain said at 9:00 in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. 11:00 that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis.

PALIN: We're tired of the old politics as usual. And that's why, with all due respect, I do respect your years in the U.S. Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different.

COOPER: Biden was on his best behavior, carefully aiming his attacks at her running mate, John McCain, not at Palin herself. And that was by design.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He had to be careful not to be talking down to her in any way, not only because she didn't have any national experience but also because she was a woman. And both of those things are a little tricky to deal with.

COOPER: Despite a lack of substance in many of her answers, analysts say Palin did just fine in that debate.

PALIN: Say it isn't so, Joe. There you go again.

COOPER: Partly because Biden didn't challenge her directly much.

BIDEN: It's good to see you all.

COOPER: Later this week Biden will be on the debate stage once again against a much more seasoned politician this time, and he's expected to come out swinging.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He's fast on the cuff. He's a witty guy. He knows who he is. And he's been doing this for 40 years. So you're not going to rattle Joe Biden. Joe is very good on the attack.

BORGER: Don't forget, the traditional role of a vice presidential candidate is to go on the attack. That's their job. So I think we'll see a lot more of that in the vice presidential debate than we did in the first presidential debate.

COOPER: Vice presidential debates have been contentious in the past. In 1984 then Vice President George H.W. Bush seemed condescending towards his opponent, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me help you with the difference, Miss Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congresswoman Ferraro?

GERALDINE FERRARO, FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN: Let me just say first of all that I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.

COOPER: In 1988 Dan Quayle's self-comparisons to John F. Kennedy drew this blistering response from his opponent, Lloyd Bentsen.

LLOYD BENTSEN, FORMER SENATOR, TEXAS: Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

COOPER: The debate in 1992 was described as a free-for-all with Dan Quayle and Al Gore continually interrupting each other.

DAN QUAYLE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In foreign countries -- foreign aid. Senator, it's in your book.

COOPER: Vice President Cheney and Senator John Edwards barely kept their debate civil in 2004 with Cheney blasting Edwards for his attendance record in Congress.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.

COOPER: In Thursday's debate, Biden is expected to go after Ryan on issues like Medicaid, Social Security and foreign policy.

BORGER: I wouldn't be surprised if you got a zinger or two from Joe Biden. I don't think he's worried about being perceived as talking down to Paul Ryan.

COOPER: And the personal moments could matter, too. Biden showed his emotional side during his last debate.

BIDEN: Look, I understand what it's like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it's like as a parent to wonder what it's like if your kid's going to make it.

COOPER: And because the two men have never gone head to head against each other, in this debate just like last week's anything could happen.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That's it for me. Thanks for watching.

She's no Don Lemon, but that's probably a good thing. Ashleigh Banfield picks it up from here. Take it away -- Ashleigh.