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High Stakes at VP Debate; State Department Ignored Warnings in Libya Attack?; Agency Releases Lance Armstrong Report; Biden Debates Ryan Tonight; Pakistani Girl in Critical Condition; Endeavour's Final Trip Fortune's "40 under 40"
Aired October 11, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Tomorrow on STARTING POINT, complete -- post-debate, easy for to say. Post-debate coverage live from Danville, Kentucky. I'm heading there right after the show. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Don Lemon begins right now. I'll see everybody tomorrow morning.
Hey, Don. Good morning.
(LAUGHTER)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. You know, it happens, especially this early in the morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes. More coffee.
LEMON: Enjoy your trip and safe travels.
Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM, the thrill in the ville. Part two. Tonight it's Biden versus Ryan in their one and only vice presidential debate. And the stakes are high for both campaigns. We're going to hear from the national co-chair, the Obama campaign, and then later a fellow Republican representative as well.
Planning and lots of preparation for a space shuttle. Endeavour will make its way through the streets of Los Angeles early tomorrow. And buzz already building for that big move.
And at "Fortune," tech is on top. The magazine out with its annual "40 under 40." The person on top? It's not Mark Zuckerberg.
NEWSROOM begins right now.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, in for Carol today. It is the undercard of the title fight. Just 12 hours until the bell rings at the vice presidential debate. Sounds like a boxing match, right?
Paul Ryan trying to keep that new Republican momentum alive. Joe Biden facing a formidable foe, and himself. Most registered voters view unfavorably. That's according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center. That 51 percent compared to only 39 percent who hold a favorable opinion. Ryan better in both areas, 44 percent favorable, rating compared to 40 percent unfavorable. Meantime, both men are trying to downplay expectations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Biden has been doing this for a long time. He ran for president twice, he's a sitting vice president. He's been on this big stage many times before. So that's new for me. And I'm just doing my homework and studying the issues. And I know how he'll come and attack us. The problem he has is he has Barack Obama's record he has to run on.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you intimidated at all, based on the background that you just described?
RYAN: No, I'm not intimidated. I'm actually excited about it.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT: What I've been doing mostly is, quite frankly, studying up on Congressman Ryan's positions on the issues. And Governor Romney has embraced at least everything I can see. I don't want to say anything in the debate that's not completely accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, there she is, White House correspondent Brianna Keilar, she is in Danville, Kentucky. The site of tonight's showdown.
So, BK, people vote for president, not vice president. But this one is important, I think, because of the President's showing last time. Am I wrong on that?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what it is, Don. This has become more important because President Obama had such a lackluster performance last week in Denver. So what you've seen, and the polls show it, is the Romney-Ryan ticket has momentum. The polls have tightened here in recent days following Mitt Romney's performance, where he obviously won that debate. So there's a lot more attention here.
If Joe Biden is able to perform very well -- and he's a pretty good debater. If he's able to perform pretty well perhaps he can stem some of that momentum, at least maybe dampen a little criticism heading into the debate next week in New York, buy the President a little time.
But if Paul Ryan clearly dominates in this debate then it's going to be seen very much as a one-two punch and that will just mean more momentum.
LEMON: Yes. And they have been, as we call it in college, cramming. How have both of them been preparing?
KEILAR: Yes. It is like cramming. I think it's sort of like going back, studying for -- and this is what one aide told me. It's like studying for the SATs in the middle of a campaign. They've been preparing sort of the same way. What they do is they go over a lot of briefing materials. They're brushing up on domestic and foreign policy, getting to certainly know each other's positions on everything. So there's a lot of sort of time, I think, spent alone where they're reading or they're talking to aides or their team about it.
They also spend a lot of time going over possible moderator questions with their team of aides and coaches and then we do know that both Joe Biden and Paul Ryan have done at least half a dozen mock debates each. I think the difference here is that we've seen it more spread out in time because Paul Ryan, who has been traveling with Ted Olson, the former solicitor general, who successfully argued Bush V. Gore in 2000, he's actually been on the road with Ryan ever -- you know, here and there ever since he was picked this summer, doing mock debate.
Joe Biden, for his part, he's been sparring with Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, which Paul Ryan is the chairman of, so he's familiar with Paul Ryan. Joe Biden has spent the past four days kind of holed up in Wilmington, Delaware, doing what's really an intensive debate camp, where he's been in four mock debates. So he's kind of crammed his preparation a little more, certainly for the mock debates into these last few days -- Don.
LEMON: Goodness. That sounds like a lot of work. Brianna Keilar.
KEILAR: It is.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Thank you very much. We'll check back in with Brianna later. Our White House correspondent.
President Obama also weighing in on the debates both tonight and his lackluster performance. First, tonight's face-off. He says it's less about the men than their message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Joe just needs to be Joe. Congressman Ryan is a smart and effective speaker. But his ideas are the wrong ones. And Joe understands that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president also downplaying his own weak showing at the first presidential debate. Even though the Republicans are now riding a surge of new momentum, he says that one debate is not a game changer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Well, Governor Romney had a good night. I had a bad night. It's not --
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: How bad?
OBAMA: Well, it's not the first time I've had a bad night, but I think what's important is the fundamentals of what this race is about haven't changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, not so fast, says the Romney camp. They say after last week's presidential debate had such a big impact on the race, don't dismiss tonight's face-off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I think these things matter. Americans are really tuned into this, especially after last week's debate where the President just did a belly flop. I think people are going to be tuning in tonight more so than they ever have before.
I've known Paul for a long, long time. He's always hit the ball out of the park. But let me tell you something, this is his first time. Joe Biden has been doing this since the 1800s.
(LAUGHTER)
He will do a solid job. So you know what? They're two different guys. They're both -- they're two different guys but they're both very relatable people. They can speak with authenticity. So it'll be a great night. I think we can all agree on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A lot of downplaying there, and some humor. Make sure you stay with us for more from the Obama and Romney camps.
At 9:30 Eastern we're going to talk to Ted Strickland. He is a national co-chair of the Obama campaign. And then an hour later, we're going to talk with Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black who's campaigned extensively for Governor Ryan.
And reminder for you. CNN's extensive coverage of tonight's debate begins 7:00 Eastern. Of course right here on CNN.
Let's turn our focus now to Capitol Hill. A former State Department security officer in Libya tells lawmakers he got no support after asking for more help at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. He was -- he was testifying, excuse me, at a congressional hearing, investigating the terrorist attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
I want you to listen to what Eric Nordstrom told the House Oversight Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC NORDSTROM, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT REGIONAL SECRETARY OFFICER IN LIBYA: When I requested assets, instead of supporting those assets, I was criticized and somehow it was my responsibility to come up with a plan on the ground and not the responsibility for DS. I raised that specific point in a meeting with the DS director in March, that 60 days, there was no plan, and it was hope that everything would get better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let's go now to foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott in Washington right now.
Elise, this was quite a heated hearing.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: It was. And basically there was so much political grandstanding, Don, that it was really hard to get at what was really important. Those things that Eric Nordstrom and Lt. Col. Andy Wood, who was the top security support team official, saying, listen, we kept talking to the State Department, asking them for resources and we got the feeling that until there was an attack, we weren't going to get any resources.
Eric Nordstrom finishing that quote that you just put up there saying, look, how thin does the ice have to be before someone falls through? So a lot of charges yesterday. But a lot of interesting information coming out -- Don.
LEMON: Yes, and I'm sure the State Department is responding to these claims of lack of planning. What are they saying?
LABOTT: Well, they're saying that they thought that the consulate had adequate security personnel for the amount of threat that was out there. And when they look at some of the other attacks that were out there and what they're saying is, listen, we could not have prevented even with additional security, even with more security improvements, we couldn't have prevented the 40 armed gunmen that the diplomatic post faced that night.
This was an assault that was unprecedented in diplomatic history and they're saying that they thought that the consulate was adequately protected. Obviously we see those pictures right now. It obviously was not.
LEMON: Yes. This hearing, Elise, taking place without the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. What is her role in this investigation?
LABOTT: Well, generally, these types of hearings are with officials that were involved and you had yesterday the top official for management under Secretary Pat Kennedy and also Charlene Lam, who was a deputy assistant secretary. She was the one that got all those requests and admitted that she denied them because she felt that they weren't justified.
Secretary of State Clinton has appointed a five-member panel, an accountability review board, who's going to investigate -- do an independent investigation and she'll be watching that investigation very closely -- Don.
LEMON: Elise Labott, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
A senior security official at the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen has been killed in a drive-by shooting on his way to work. Officials say the victim was a Yemeni national employed by the U.S. embassy. The same embassy was targeted by protesters last month, by the way, over an anti-Muslim film produced by a California man.
Back in the U.S. crews worked hours through the night after a parking garage collapsed near Miami and pulled a construction worker from the rubble. They had to amputate both of his legs just to get him out. Three other construction workers died and one more victim may still be trapped in the damaged structure.
Transcripts show a court, a Supreme Court divided on an affirmative action case. A white student is suing the University of Texas saying it rejected her application because of her race. Chief Justice John Roberts repeatedly asked the school's lawyers, quote, "What is the critical mass of African-Americans and Hispanics at the university that you are working towards? And what is the logical end point?"
And Justice Breyer wonders why the court was even hearing the case when a similar law was upheld in 2003. The ruling is not expected, by the way, before early next year.
The U.S. jobless claims hit a four-year low. Applications for first- time unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week. About 339,000 people signed up. That's 30,000 fewer than the week before. The lowest level since February 2008.
In sports, Lance Armstrong now faces the biggest uphill climb of his post-cycling career, trying to restore his reputation against a mounting of evidence relying partly on statement from former team mates. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has released a report of more than 1,000 pages.
The agency found Lance Armstrong was part of the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen. Armstrong's attorney, Tim Herman, responded, calling the findings a one-sided hatchet job and a government-funded witch hunt.
CNN's sports reporter Pedro Pinto joins us now.
Pedro, Armstrong's ex-teammates tell some really shocking stories about gaming the drug testing system. What -- tell us what they're saying.
PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Don, it's unbelievable, this report released by USADA, really sheds some light on the dark world of cycling at the time when Lance Armstrong won seven straight Tour de France titles. They talk about hotel rooms being transformed into blood transfusion centers. They talk about Armstrong freezing his blood to use it later and to find a way to get passed the testing that was being done.
Armstrong still maintains his innocence. He said he passed over 500 drug tests. But according to testimonies from 11 of his former teammates, there's no doubt that drug supplying, drug taking was going on during the years that Lance won all these titles in France.
And it really paints a picture that is incredibly dark and that shows that they were doing everything possible to beat the system. Incredible and sordid details in this report. A lot of pages in there. But those are some of the most shocking highlights made by some of his former teammates -- Don.
LEMON: Interesting. So what happens now to Armstrong? Will he be stripped of his tour victories? And what career moves can he make, if any?
PINTO: Well, that is the big question right now, is will his victory stand? And that is a decision that has to be made by the International Cycling Union. And USADA has sent this report through and it's something which they will be examining soon. What's crazy here is that Lance Armstrong is a sports hero. And he's a hero off the sporting market as well to so many people, taking into account all the money he's raised for cancer research as part of his Livestrong Foundation.
I think as far as that part of his career, he'll continue to work with this foundation and continue to do a lot of the good work he's done. As far as being a sports hero, I think his reputation is tarnished beyond repair -- Don.
LEMON: Pedro Pinto, thank you very much.
Silicon Valley is the place to be in "Fortune's" movers and shakers. We'll tell you who's landed on top of the magazine's "40 under 40" list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I would say to politics now, but that's pretty much all we're going to cover until the Election Day.
They backed then-Senator Obama by double digits four years ago. But now, women voters -- well, they are evenly split on the President and Mitt Romney, erasing an 18-point lead that the President had just last month.
CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona is in Washington, or as I like to call her, MCDNC.
Ana Navarro --
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I actually used it.
LEMON: -- Republican strategist and CNN contributor in New York -- is Ana Navarro there.
ANA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I like what L.Z. Granderson calls me, the solution.
LEMON: That's right. We came up with that.
OK. So, I'm going to start with MCDNC, Maria. Let's start with you.
What's behind this shift? Can we believe the numbers? How is this going to shape tonight's vice presidential debate if anybody is putting stock in these numbers?
CARDONA: Well, I think the movement clearly comes from the bounce that Mitt Romney enjoyed from his performance last week. But the question is, is it sustainable?
Look, there's no question that there was nowhere to go but up for Mitt Romney, because the gap was so big. The question is going into tonight's debate, will it hold? And that's going to be a big question.
And I'm going to say probably not. Because Mitt Romney gave us a big opening, even just yesterday where he continued to, I would say flip flop, but now I think it's flip flop flip on the whole abortion issue.
So, I think you can be sure that Biden is going to bring this up in a very aggressive manner in terms of what women have at stake going into this election with a Romney/Ryan presidency.
LEMON: Ana, I want you to respond to that, but I want to preface it by saying there's been a lot of talk the past 48 hours about what Maria says about Mitt Romney's stance on abortion. He told the "Des Moines Register" that, quote, "no legislation in his agenda deals with abortion," despite saying previously that he would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Here is how Romney and his running mate responded to charges that the Republican changed his position. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think I said time and again I'm a pro-life candidate. I'll be a pro-life president. The actions I'll take immediately are to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It will be part of my budget. And also I've indicated I'll reverse the Mexico City position of the President. I will reinstate the Mexico City policy which keeps us from using foreign aide for abortions overseas.
RYAN: Our position is unified, consistent and hasn't changed.
REPORTER: What is your position?
RYAN: You'll find -- I'm sure you'll find out in these debates.
REPORTER: Were you upset that he said that to the "Des Moines Register"?
RYAN: No, no. Look, no positions have changed. Our position is very consistent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So, Ana, you heard from both of them. Romney has moved to the center, appears to have moved from the center. It's been noted by critics and supporters alike. But could it backfire both with his base and perhaps undecideds who don't think he holds sincere beliefs? And even with women, we're talking about he's made some gains with women, after hearing that comment from the "Des Moines Register" and then saying something that appears to be different. Could that change that?
NAVARRO: Don, you know I haven't been Mitt Romney's biggest defender or biggest fan, but I don't really see a great inconsistency in what he said and what he has said.
What he said yesterday was that he's not going to be pursuing legislation. Well, I'm glad to hear that, because frankly the difference between taking executive action or pursuing legislation is a big one. It takes a lot of political capital to get legislation through.
I don't think you will get any sort of abortion rights or abortion- less legislation through a Democrat Senate or very close held Senate.
LEMON: Ana, can you more be more specific about why you think that it's not a flip flop? Why don't you think this is a big deal?
NAVARRO: Because I -- you know, he's saying he's not going to pursue legislation. He's not saying he's not going to be a conservative president when it comes to these issues.
He is going to appoint -- what he has said all along is that he is going to appoint anti-abortion federal judges. He's going to take executive action, like not complying -- not being part of the accord that allows for the U.S. to fund international abortions. He is going to do all those things.
The bottom line, Don, is that he is more conservative than President Obama. And that's the choice.
Look, I think that anybody who understands politics understands that on both sides -- let's be straight here, do some straight talk -- on both sides of the aisle it's very different to be in a primary than in a general election.
LEMON: OK.
NAVARRO: We have seen President Obama evolve on issues like gay rights.
LEMON: Right.
NAVARRO: It's just that when President Obama does it, they call it an evolution. When Mitt Romney does it, they call it a flip flop.
I would tell you that, you know, it is very different to be running to win a faction of the Republican Party than to win the entire country.
LEMON: We're almost out of time. I want Maria to get in on this.
You heard what Ana said, Maria. She's saying he's going to be a conservative president and a appoint judges. This is bound to be part of this debate tonight, don't you think? CARDONA: Yes, absolutely. That's what actually Mitt Romney did, is give a big, big opening to continue the conversation about women's rights, about women's health. Because at the end of the day, that's what this is about.
And how a Romney/Ryan ticket would actually want to jump in and make decisions for women when decisions should be made by women and their doctors. That's why a lot of women, at the beginning, were for President Obama. And I think after this debate and the next two debates they'll continue to see it was President Obama, the one protecting women's rights and women's health.
By the way, I will say on the flip flop and evolution, with President Obama, it's probably seen as an evolution, first of all, because Democrats believe in Evolution. But, secondly, it's one issue. Mitt Romney has basically been on both sides of almost every single issue that has faced him and his campaign for five years.
LEMON: That was a little jab. That was kind of low there, Maria.
NAVARRO: I could easily list a number of issues where he has evolved.
LEMON: Moderating between two women, tougher. Two strong women.
NAVARRO: Tell you what, Don --
LEMON: We got to go. We got to go.
NAVARRO: -- were women and we deserve our right to change our mind.
LEMON: Thank you, guys. I'm moving on.
CARDONA: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: A reminder for our viewers: CNN extensive coverage of tonight's debate begins at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A 14-year-old Pakistani teen is in critical condition this morning. Malala Yousufzai is unconscious and experiencing severe swelling. The Pakistani activist for girls' education was airlifted to a hospital after being shot in the neck on Tuesday.
The Taliban is claiming responsibility for that shooting. The spokesman for the terror group says if the teen survives, quote, "We will certainly kill her".
CNN's Reza Sayah joins us from Islamabad.
Reza, what a horrible story. I mean, this case has drawn international attention. What is Pakistan and possibly the U.S. doing to keep her safe?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Washington has made statements of support. It's not clear what's happening behind the scenes, if there are any offers to give any medical care or offer any doctors.
Back here in Pakistan, it's the military that's taking the lead. This is the most powerful institution in the country. They have the best medical facilities, best hospitals.
And their focus is to keep her alive. About an hour and a half ago, they transferred her from a hospital in Peshawar in northwest Pakistan where she was being treated to a hospital in Rawalpindi, which is a garrison city, right next to where we are in Islamabad. We want to be careful with her medical condition, in describing it.
But it looks like during the overnight hours she took a turn for the worst. Yesterday doctors were saying her condition was satisfactory. Now they're saying it's critical with the swelling of the brain.
So, a lot of people are hoping and praying that she's going to make it.
LEMON: Yes, including everyone, except for the people who are claiming responsibility for this.
You went to a school, quickly. What are they saying?
SAYAH: Yes. Well, there's been an outpouring of condemnation and support for this girl, especially among the youth in Pakistan. We've seen schools throughout the country make banners for her, write personal messages, letters.
This is a girl who's inspired the youth here. When they hear her talk, when they hear her speak out against the Taliban, it has inspired them. Talking to a lot of people, I can tell you, they share her values.
But for one reason or another in the past, they haven't had the courage to speak up. When they listen to her and he see her speak out publicly, that's inspired them and that's why they want her to stay alive. They don't want to lose this hero of theirs.
LEMON: Reza Sayah, thank you so much for your reporting.
The countdown is on. In a little less than 12 hours, vice presidential candidates will have their first and only debate. Next, we'll hear from the Obama campaign about what Joe Biden has in store for Paul Ryan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We need some like boxing music here. They're calling it "The Thrill in the Ville", part two. Tonight is the night Joe Biden and Paul Ryan face off in Danville, Kentucky, for the one and only vice presidential debate.
Let's show you a live look inside the debate hall. There it is. They're gearing up, red, white and blue -- lots of red, white and blue and flags.
And our extensive coverage here on CNN starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. It's already started now. It's already started. We're going to be doing this throughout the day.
And the campaigns have already been hard at work for weeks, if not for months for tonight's debate. I want you to take a look at this Pew Research poll. We show you a lot of polls. Not sure if you're absorbing all of this.
But look at this one. It shows Paul Ryan ahead in favorability. And it shows Vice President Joe Biden with the 51 percent unfavorability rating.
So, joining me now is the national co-chair of the Obama campaign and former Democratic governor of the key battleground state of Ohio, Mr. Ted Strickland.
Good morning to you, sir.
TED STRICKLAND (D), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: Don, good morning to you.
LEMON: Let's talk about these polls. We have so many of them. They already have Paul Ryan as the winner. Do you agree with these polls?
STRICKLAND: Not that one, I certainly don't.
Joe Biden, the Vice President Biden is a great guy. He's got a big heart and he's going to tell the truth tonight, which is going to, I think, really expose to the nation the extreme positions of this Paul Ryan and his budget. A budget that, by the way, Governor Romney has called a marvelous budget. But, Don, it's a budget that will begin the privatization of Social Security, voucherizing Medicare, destroying Medicare as we know it --
LEMON: Governor --
STRICKLAND: -- cutting Pell grants, all those things.
LEMON: Governor, we have a short time together. I just want to stick to the debate and not the talking points when it comes to what they're going to say. Let's stick to the question at hand.
STRICKLAND: OK.
LEMON: I notice you said he's going to be telling the truth tonight. In essence, were you saying last time that Mitt Romney was lying?
STRICKLAND: Well, he was certainly less than honest. And you can use whatever word you want to use to describe that. But Mitt Romney told things that were absolutely untrue during the first debate and I hope that's exposed tonight.
LEMON: OK. So, listen, Paul Ryan, he isn't listening to those polls. You said you're not listening to them as well. You don't believe them. He is downplaying expectations. And Dana Bash sat down with him. Listen and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: Joe Biden has been doing this for a long time. He ran for president twice. He's a sitting vice president. He has been on this big stage many times before.
So, that's new for me. I'm doing my homework. I know how he'll come and attack us.
The problem that he has is he has Barack Obama's record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: My question is, is this going to be a case where Joe Biden's experience, I don't know, may be a negative for him? Because Paul Ryan is, you know, sort of untested. People don't know what he's going to say. People have heard a lot from Joe Biden before.
So does Paul Ryan hold an advantage in that way? Is that a possible negative for the vice president?
STRICKLAND: Absolutely not.
Don, both of these candidates are on the national stage. They're both experienced politicians. And I think that they both are going to be well prepared. But the issue is, which one of these two candidates can really express to the American people a vision of the future and how we're going to continue to recover from this economy that we've been living through as a result, quite frankly, of policies that Paul Ryan continues to embrace.
LEMON: OK. Listen, our very own John King said that Americans pick presidents, not vice presidents. So, how important is this vice presidential debate really? People have said this one is more important because of the President's performance last time. There certainly seems to be more interest in this debate than previous vice presidential debates.
Last time there was huge interest with Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. But there's big interest in this one as well.
STRICKLAND: Well, there's a lot of interest, obviously, as there should be, because the vice president --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Is this more than ever before? Is this vice presidential debate more important than previous?
STRICKLAND: Well, I can't imagine a vice presidential debate being more significant than the last one between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. That was an important debate. But there is a lot of interest.
I will admit there seems to be a greater level of interest in this vice presidential debate than any that I've been aware of in the past. And I hope a lot of people watch. I think they will.
And as a result, I think the vice president will really do a fine job and then we'll move on.
But, Don, everything that happens between now and the next 26 or 27 days is going to be important, because this election is going to be so close.
LEMON: Yes.
STRICKLAND: And everything is going to have significance that happens.
LEMON: Well, Governor Strickland, thank you so much. And I thank you for when I said not going on and doing talking points, because we have such a short time together. I just want to make sure we convey to the American people the importance of tonight.
So I appreciate you doing that. All right? Thank you so much.
STRICKLAND: Well, thank you, Don. You have a great day.
LEMON: All right. You, too.
STRICKLAND: Coming up next hour, we're going to hear from the Republican side when we talk to Tennessee Representative Diane Black.
How do we get the space shuttle Endeavour down the streets of Los Angeles? Well, you do it very carefully. That's what needs to happen tomorrow with the whole world watching.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Early tomorrow morning, NASA's last space shuttle mission will take place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Zero, and liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour -- expanding our knowledge --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wow, it's been nearly 17 months, can you believe, before Endeavour made its final flight into space.
Now, the youngest shuttle in the fleet will travel the streets of Los Angeles to its final resting place at the California Science Center.
And, of course, John Zarrella is covering it. He's going to explain there's a lot of excitement surrounding this trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-five flights, nearly 123 million miles flown, but this final road trip for the space shuttle Endeavour will be the most unique journey any shuttle has ever taken.
Here they are calling it Mission 26. In the very early morning hours Friday, Endeavour, sitting on a transporter, will leave Los Angeles International Airport for a two-day, 12-mile stroll through the streets of L.A. and Englewood. Final permanent destination: the California Science Center.
Endeavour will pass by Randy's donut shop, a 35-year institution here. Of course, they have battered up shuttle donuts.
(on camera): That's great. And they look just like space shuttles.
(CROSSTALK)
LARRY WEINTRAUB, OWNER, RANDY'S DONUT SHOPT: Actually it should because it came from a space shuttle.
ZARRELLA: Mold?
WEINTRAUB: Mold. But it's pretty neat, isn't it?
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Yes, pretty neat, like the shuttle sitting inside the hole in the giant donut outside.
Getting ready is a monumental sometimes controversial undertaking. Because the shuttle is so wide, trees along the route had to be trimmed, hundreds cut down. Science Center promises to replace each one with two.
City crews removed low, overhanging signs and steel plates were placed over weak spots in the road.
(on camera): Now before they can go any further past Randy's, they have to take down these light poles. And once they do that, they've got to cross this bridge over the 405 Expressway. How are they going to get across this bridge? They're going to tow it with a pickup truck.
(voice-over): Toyota executives gathered near the 405 to work out details. The company claims a 20-year relationship with the Science Center landed them the P.R. opportunity of a lifetime.
(on camera): So, you know how much the space shuttle weighs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, I do. It's about 145,000 pounds.
ZARRELLA: So, you're going to pull the space shuttle and the support that it's riding on with Toyota Tundra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are. The support mechanism is about the same weight. So, we're actually at about 270,000 pounds total, moving with a half ton Toyota Tundra.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Cobal (ph) says they might use the video of the bridge tow for a commercial. You think?
More than 1 million people are expected to turn out for an event you can safely say you'll never see again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You think? I love that, John Zarrella.
OK. So John is in Los Angeles. So, he'll be overseeing all of this for CNN.
First and most important questions, when do the donuts arrive here in Atlanta for us?
ZARRELLA: I've got them on order. They'll be there Saturday for your shift.
LEMON: All right. So, thank you.
Moving something this delicate, as the space shuttle, it takes unbelievable planning and detail as you pointed out there in your story.
ZARRELLA: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. And as you saw, they're going to have to actually, at some point, stop for several hours as they change to a different towing mechanism because of different weights that they -- restrictions they have.
In fact, the reason they say they're using the Toyota to cross that bridge is because of the fact that they need less weight when they go over that bridge. So lots of different variables go into that.
You know, Don, they had to cut all those trees, as we saw. But even still, there are places along the route where the clearances between the shuttle and poles and things on the sides, just a couple of inches on each side of the wings.
LEMON: Intricacy. Intricate, intricate, be careful. All right.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, John Zarrella. See you later.
Coming up at 10:40 a.m. Eastern Time, we'll go live to International Space Station -- live to the International Space Station. We're going to talk with astronaut Suni Williams, the station's commander, about the private cargo ship that arrived there yesterday, live to the space station.
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LEMON: Let's check the "Top Stories" right now.
They're calling it "The Thrill in the Ville Part Two". Tonight is the night, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan face off in Danville, Kentucky for the one and only vice presidential debate. A live look at the debate site right now.
CNN's extensive coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We're learning more about the letters convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky and his wife wrote to the judge before his sentencing. The Sanduskys blamed his young victims, depicting them as ungrateful and calling them liars but they also blame their adopted son, Matt, who testified he had been molested. The judge sentenced the former Penn State assistant coach to between 30 and 60 years in prison.
The doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death is suffering potentially life-threatening injuries because of the tiny cell where he's serving a four-year sentence. In a letter to the L.A. County Sheriff, Conrad Murray's lawyer says his client has severe lost of motion and slow blood flow. Murray who is 6-foot-5 is confined to a 5 by 7 cell.
And finally a Pennsylvania start-up has developed an experimental vaccine that may prevent cervical cancer. The new drug helps boost the immune systems of women who have human papillomavirus or HPV, that is the virus that can lead to cervical cancer. Testing of the vaccine by maker Inovio Pharmaceuticals is expected to continue through at least 2016.
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LEMON: Pay attention, everyone, because these are the movers and the shakers that shape your lives. The men and women who revolutionize the way we do everything from sharing with friends to paying for coffee. And the lucky ones have landed here, and that's on "Fortune's List of 40 under 40." The top 40 under the age of 40, of course.
Coming in at number three is Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer. And then number two slot, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg and topping the list, Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page. There is your top three.
So joining me now is Lee Gallagher, "Fortune's" assistant managing editor. Lee, so how is this list put together before we talk about those three specifically. How was this list put together?
LEE GALLAGHER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Sure. This is really a list of power and influence. What these 40 people are these 40 slots represent the most important, most influential, most powerful people in business under the age of 40.
So a long time ago we did the list as a rich list. These are the richest people. But that was long ago. This is purely about power, influence, importance; these are people that are really changing the world we live in, pulling major levers behind the scenes. They are really just, really changing the world.
LEMON: All right. Meyer, Zuckerberg and Page, how did you come up with these guys and I noticed that Zuckerberg is not number one. That's interesting.
GALLAGHER: He's not, he was number one last year. But you know he's had a bit of a rough year this year. The stock, as we all know, has taken a beating. But you know no matter how you look at it, Facebook -- I think when you look at the -- the companies over the past 50 years that have really changed our lives, Facebook is right up there.
So he's number two. He's not number one. We gave that to Larry Page this year because this is really the year at Google, that -- that I mean, also an incredibly enormous influential important company that has also changed our lives. Larry Page has been in the CEO spot now for a little over a year.
And he's really -- this is the year he really started to put his own stamp on Google. He cut away layers of management. He closed projects that weren't working. The stock is at an all-time high. The Android operating system is a runaway success.
So we really felt like this was really his year to be number one.
LEMON: And I see -- tell us about the other big names on the list. I see Ben Jealous here, the President and CEO of the NAACP and some other interesting names. David Chang here, former chef from Momofuku Restaurant Group and on and on. Tell us about the other big names.
GALLAGHER: Well, you know, you mentioned the big ones. But there's a whole of really new, interesting discoveries every year. We have the CEO of Heineken in the U.S. Dolf van den Brink, who's 39, running the business here in the U.S., doing sort of a turnaround.
There is the President of an airline in India called Indigo, and it's India's fastest growing, biggest airline by market share. It's a low- budget airline but it is -- India's the world's fastest growing aviation market. So this company's on fire.
We have a relatively new kind of deputy lieutenant to Warren Buffett on the list, a woman named Tracy Britt. She was hired in 2009 to be his sort of financial assistant or financial kind of chief of staff type and she's really -- he's given her a lot -- she's now chairman of two of his companies. She's helping to pick a lot of his CEOs. So she's fast on the rise.
There's a lot of new, interesting people on the list.
LEMON: Lee Gallagher, thank you. Interesting list. Appreciate it.
GALLAGHER: Thanks for having me. Thanks.
LEMON: The Oakland A's celebrate after a thrilling ninth inning comeback. Now they get to face one of baseball's best pitchers. We have play off highlights.
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LEMON: Let's turn to sports now.
A quadruple header in baseball playoffs today after some late inning magic last night. We're going to starting at Yankee Stadium. Alex Rodriguez really struggling at the plate this post-season. New York manager Joe Girardi has Raul Ibanez hit for A-Rod in the ninth. Smart move, Ibanez smacks a homer to the game. And he's not done yet.
Bottom of the 12th, Ibanez again -- Yankees win 3-2. The teams play again tonight. New York leads the series 2-1.
So let's go out to the left coast now, the Oakland A's facing elimination against Detroit. Oakland scores three runs in the bottom of the nine. Coco Crisp, has the game-winning hit. His fourth walk- off winner of the season. The A's 4, Tigers 3. The series decider is tonight.
Another series-ender today in Cincinnati. The Giants dug themselves an 0-2 hole. Now they're on even ground with the Reds.
