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Space Shuttle Makes Its Way through Los Angeles; Young Pakistani Girl Shot by Taliban for Wanting an Education; Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Spreads; Cancer Survivor Also Doctor; Romney May Still Trail in Ohio; Comic-Con Opens in New York

Aired October 13, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is slowly, just two miles an hour, making its way through the streets of Los Angeles. Right now it's on Crenshaw Drive there in the Inglewood section of L.A. It is on its way to the California Science Center where it will be on permanent display for thousands of Southern Californians who have only seen it on their TV screens.

Seeing it up close is quite the experience. You can see it's going particularly slow right now because one of its wings is so -- ever so close to that tree. They're not going to cut down the tree, but we understand they are trimming a few branches or at least they have had to trim a few branches of some trees so that the Endeavour does not make contact.

And remember, this is L.A., it's well known for its traffic jams, but Endeavour is getting special treatment. It is crawling through the streets, I mentioned, just two miles an hour, very slow, snail's pace. It's a -- it's a journey that really taking two days, spanning two days over 12 miles.

Our Casey Wian is there along with the crowds. And I think I saw, yes, there you are. You're just at the nose of that shuttle. So they've had to trim some of the trees as they have gone along. Is that what they had to do with this one right here? It looks like it's only inches away from contact.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they haven't decided, Fredricka, what they're going to do with this tree yet. They have trimmed some branches from other trees along the route. But as you can see how close that wing is to that tree over there, they're trying to figure out right now how they are going to get by it.

All along engineers have been most concerned about this stretch of the route from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center. Now, what we can show you is, OK, we have the wing that's really close to that tree. If we look over on the other side of the street, you can now see the platform starting to move. But you can see it's almost out of room on the other side of the street.

So it's a very, very delicate maneuver. This platform that it's on, each of the wheels can move individually. It can go side to side and backwards and forward. So they're trying to reposition it right now to get around that tree and try to save it. We have asked a couple of the workers here who are managing this whole process whether they're going to cut the tree down or not. They say they don't know. They have tried as hard as they can throughout the process to save as many trees as possible. 400 have been cut down along the route. They'll be replaced two to one. But some of the residents of the communities have been upset because they don't want to lose any trees. We're still watching the process and we're going to see whether it gets by the tree.

You can watch as the shuttle is now pointing toward the crowd, almost. You know, these local residents who had gathered here to watch this, they're getting to see a remarkable engineering feat along with a little bit of history, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Casey, I know there are experts on the ground there, but it really does see at least from this vantage point, I'm 3,000 miles away, but it seems like there's an awful lot of room to the right for those wheels to kind of shimmy over and perhaps spare that tree as you just mentioned. Those wheels can kind of turn in any direction, but it looks like a couple feet away from the curb on the right side.

WIAN: Well, it was a couple -- it is a couple feet away from the curb now. But when it first arrived at this location, it was right up against the curb. There was no more room, within inches of the curb. So they had to back it up, reposition it, and turn it around. And I'm not sure the camera gives you the full picture, but you can see that it's now moving back in the other direction, maybe a little closer to the curb. It looks like -- I'm no engineer, but it looks like they're going to have to go left and right, left and right to get it passed this barrier.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's fascinating, and you can see an awful lot of people have turned out to witness whatever does happen. They got a chance to see this Endeavour shuttle up close like never before.

WIAN: Are we clear? We got one of the organizers of the whole process who told me they are going to make it and they are going to save the tree. So anybody who is worried about the tree, rest easy.

WHITFIELD: I was one of those worried about the tree so I'm glad to hear that. Thanks so much, Casey Wian, appreciate it, keep us posted. It's less than five miles away now from its final destination.

We're going to keep an eye on the shuttle throughout the coming hours. You can, too. The box right down there on the screen, right there, will follow the shuttle's movement throughout L.A. Stay with CNN all day. We're the source as the shuttle moves to the California science museum. And also live streaming on CNN.com/live.

All right, later on this hour we're also to talk to a man who has flown four shuttle missions to get his impressions on what is going on in L.A. right now. He's been on that Endeavour, and we want to find out from him whether he thinks the U.S. abandoned the shuttle program a little too soon. Let's talk presidential politics now. Election Day just 24 days away, and Mitt Romney is campaigning hard today in one of the biggest battleground states, Ohio. He's speaking at a rally this hour in Portsmouth, and later on today, he attends a rally in the town of Lebanon. Romney spent time this morning preparing for his next debate with President Obama. That showdown is Tuesday night in Hempstead, New York.

All right, President Obama, meantime, is under particular pressure to put on a strong performance after getting critical reviews in the first debate last week. Just a few minutes ago, he left Joint Base Andrews for Williamsburg, Virginia, where he'll be preparing. And he'll be there until Tuesday. The town hall debate will be hosted by our own Candy Crowley in New York.

A rock legend is about to hit the campaign trail.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bruce Springsteen will campaign for President Barack Obama next week in Ohio. He'll team up with another high-profile supporter, former president Bill Clinton. Ohio is a critical battleground state and the race between Obama and Mitt Romney is now neck and neck in that battleground state.

Meanwhile, there has been a troubling incident at President Obama's campaign office in Denver, Colorado. Police say a shot was fired at the office yesterday, shattering a window. People were inside the building at the time. Luckily, no one was hurt. Police say they don't have a suspect yet, but they are investigating a possible suspicious car at the scene.

CNN's Shannon Travis joining me now with the latest on that investigation. So what are authorities willing to say right now?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, Fred, they're not willing to go further than what you just said. We called around to the campaigns themselves. They're referring us to police, and police are only pretty much divulging those details you mentioned. A single shot was fired. This window was shattered at this Obama campaign office there in Denver, and that there is a possible vehicle of interest, and not necessarily a suspect. So we'll continue obviously to dig for some more details, but right now that's all we have coming in. Unclear if that's all the police have or if that's all they're willing to divulge right now, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime, let's shift gears. Big night Tuesday night for the men who would be president in their second showdown.

TRAVIS: Second showdown.

WHITFIELD: That's right. We understand both are hunkering down this weekend in various ways, preparing. The president heading to Williamsburg, Virginia. What more do we know about how these two are preparing for Tuesday's debate? TRAVIS: We expect for them to both have those same kinds of intense debate camps, right? You just mentioned a moment ago, President Obama is going to Williamsburg, Virginia, a battleground state, to prepare today. We don't expect to see much from him. Mitt Romney, he's holding two events. He held one, he's holding another one actually this hour in Ohio. And we expect for him to around that, to prepare as well.

From what we have been hearing from both sides, Fred, I mean, both of these candidates know they have an objective. Romney has to keep the momentum going. He was roundly praised as having won the last debate. He has to keep that going and continue to hit hard at the president. The president on the other hand, has to step up. Himself, he's admitted he didn't do quite as well as he hoped. Both of them have a lot of goals going into this.

The one thing that is different with this town hall style format, other than our amazing Candy Crowley hosting it, it offers a lot more chances and opportunities for them to trip up because you're in front of a live audience, right, in front of people. You remember in 1992, George H.W. Bush looking at his watch. And in 2000, Gore perceived as invading Bush's space. So it's a different, intimate setting. You have people here who are asking questions that you have to respond to directly. It's a bigger challenge for both of these guys. But of course, they're preparing to step up to the challenge, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, they have to. The pressure is on both of them, right?

TRAVIS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Shannon Travis, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

The presidential contenders will be squaring off for a second time Tuesday night. Our special live coverage begins at 7:00 eastern time, and the debate will of course be moderated by our own Candy Crowley.

More arrests in Pakistan. We'll have the latest on the investigation into the shooting of a teen activist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's the end of an era in space travel. The shuttle Endeavour has traveled more than 120 million miles through space, and now it's making its final journey, a 12-mile trek through Los Angeles with less than five miles to go to its final destination. Joining me now, Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut and has flown four missions and also flew aboard the shuttle Endeavour back in 1996. Good to see you, Leroy.

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION COMMANDER: Nice to be with you.

WHITFIELD: What's it like to see this shuttle meander its way very slowly and cautiously through the streets of Los Angeles to this museum site?

CHIAO: Well, it's bitter sweet. You know, this is the last shuttle that is being delivered to a museum. You know, to me, I'm personally saddened to see the shuttle program having come to an end, but also nice to see that these shuttles will be displayed proudly and that the public will have the opportunity to come and see them.

WHITFIELD: And, wow, look at all the people who have turned out, we're looking at live pictures now while it tries to make it way through the Inglewood neighborhood on Crenshaw Drive. And you know, it came very close to that tree. But anyway, people are kind of watching in awe of this incredible spaceship make its way. What does that say to you about the fascination people continue to have about the space flight?

CHIAO: Well, I think people continue to be interested and fascinated by space flight. There's a lot of interesting things and wonderful things going on. Human space flight, I think people identify with astronauts being onboard somewhere. It's like any other kind of exploration. You get great data, great photos from the automated probes. But it takes having a person there that really kind of brings it home to the public. That's why I'm not surprised to see a lot of people out to watch the space shuttle as it makes its final journey to the museum there. And boy, it's nice to watch, but it's pretty bittersweet.

WHITFIELD: So you have been on this space shuttle in 1996. You have been on four others. I wonder, how does it compare? Are all of the shuttles essentially the same once you're onboard, or does the Endeavour have its own personality given its history that you'll remember?

CHIAO: Oh, each shuttle kind of has its own personality. They're functionally fairly similar, but you know, each shuttle kind of has its own personality, and Endeavour was the newest one, so when I flew on it in 1996 it was still pretty much in its early days. I did my first space walk out of Endeavour. I was the lead space Walker on that mission and it was the first chance I had to put a suit on and go out and test tools and constructions techniques to build the international space station.

WHITFIELD: What was that like? What's your fondest memory of that in.

CHIAO: It was fantastic. Getting up into space, that was a fulfillment of a childhood dream and getting a chance to go out and do space walks was even another level.

WHITFIELD: We're watching at that file tape right now. Keep going, that's you out there.

CHIAO: Oh, yes. The view is just unbelievable. It's even better than looking through a window. It's not too much different like being here on the earth, but you take the time to get out and enjoy it.

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. Fond memories that we appreciate you sharing with us. I know this is bittersweet because it really does kind of represent, I guess, the future of space flight. And your greatest worries about that?

CHIAO: Well, you know, the space shuttle, unfortunately, in my opinion, it was retired early. It had a lot of life left in them, and unfortunately, we no longer have the ability, the United States that is, to launch our own astronauts into space.

The good news is we're continuing to operate the space station. We're flying our astronauts with the Russians like I flew with them in 2004, 2005. And we are working on an earth exploration program, and we're seeing exciting things happening on the commercial side with one of the commercial companies just a few days ago flying the first operational cargo mission to the space station.

WHITFIELD: Leroy Chiao, thanks so much for reflecting with us and helping us to appreciate the Endeavour in a whole different way. Thanks so much. Good to see you.

CHIAO: Thank you, good to be with you.

WHITFIELD: All right, checking some international stories at this hour. The joint U.N.-Arab League envoy is meeting Turkey's foreign minister today. They're discussing how to deal with the rising tensions between Syria and turkey. They're now diverting their civilian planes around Syrian air space.

An audio message believed to be from Al Qaeda's top leader praises the deadly attacks in Libya. The message is posted on several Islamist websites but CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the audio.

And at least two refugees from Cuba drowned after their raft capsized near Cancun, Mexico, 11 others are missing. Nine men and one woman survived and are now in custody. Officials say the Yucatan Peninsula has become popular for human smugglers because it's not heavily patrolled.

On to Pakistan now, authorities are doing everything to find those involved in the shooting of a teen activist. A young girl is now fighting for her life in a hospital. Shot by the Taliban for wanting to go to school. Our Reza Sayah has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pakistani authorities say they have made another set of arrests in connection with a shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai, a police chief in a district one hour south of where she was shot saying three people are in custody. He's calling them suspects, but it's not clear how they were linked to this incident.

In the meantime, Malala still in critical condition in a leading military hospital. Doctors say they're still monitoring the swelling in her brain. The good news, they say, is her vitals, her pulse, her blood pressure, remain stable. In the meantime, the top military spokesperson telling CNN in graphic detail where exactly Malala was shot.

MAJ. GEN. ASIM SALEEM BAJWA, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN: She was hit on the left side behind the forehead.

SAYAH: So she got hit directly in the head?

BAJWA: Yes, she got hit in the head, and then it traveled through here, through the neck, and went behind the shoulder and rested just next to the back bone.

SAYAH: Was this a point-blank shot?

BAJWA: It was a point-blank shot.

SAYAH: Are you surprised that she's even alive today?

BAJWA: Yes, everyone is surprised that she's alive today.

SAYAH: So was it a small-caliber gun?

BAJWA: Yes, I think it was nine millimeter, probably.

SAYAH: Have you ever seen someone get shot in the head with a nine millimeter and survive?

BAJWA: Such cases are very rare to get a hit directly in the head and survive.

SAYAH: Incredible. Are you shocked she's alive today?

BAJWA: Yes, I was surprised, too.

SAYAH: Doctors continue to say the coming days are going to be crucial in Malala's recovery. In the meantime, the outpouring of support continues. More prayer vigils, more rallies scheduled on Sunday in Pakistan. The biggest one in Karachi where tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a woman who says she may have received a tainted shot is suing over the meningitis outbreak even though she's not sure she had the illness. Also new numbers from the CDC on the meningitis case right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, just in to CNN, new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control. The death toll now stands at 15 in the fungal meningitis outbreak, that's one additional death now. And that is -- that's since Friday's death toll. The CDC announces there are 198 cases of the noncontagious illness in 13 states.

Meanwhile, a Minnesota woman has filed what appears to be the first lawsuit in the outbreak. She claims she suffered bodily harm and emotional distress after being injected with a contaminated steroid. Some 14,000 people have gotten those injections.

The drug facility at the center of the fungal meningitis outbreak was implicated in another death eight years ago. That case also had to do with contaminated medication. And it's raising questions about whether the current outbreak could have been prevented. Here is CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned the fatalities linked to the current meningitis outbreak are not the first deaths caused by the New England Compounding Center. Ten years ago, a man from upstate New York William Koch got an injection of a steroid according to documents from a lawsuit filed by Koch's family, documents CNN has obtained. The complaint said it drug was made by NECC. The suit seeking $2.5 million from the company, says the drug Cook received was contaminated, that he got bacterial meningitis from it and that he died from that. Koch passed away in February of 2004. The suit was later settled out of court. Because of confidentiality agreements, we do not know if they admitted wrong doing. Still, some experts questions about NECC's practices.

STEPHEN HOAG, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF PHARMACY: It raises issues with their quality systems.

TODD: Stephen Hoag is an expert on compounding drugs and the manufacture of them at the University of Maryland School of pharmacy. She says compounding pharmacies are traditionally supposed to work with doctors to make specific drugs for individual patients, but some compounding facilities like NECC crossed over.

HOAG: You could obviously see when they're doing tens of thousands of units, they have crossed over from an individual prescription, an individual pharmacist and patient, to manufacturing, where they're distributing that widely to all of these different states.

TODD: At that point, he said those facilities are supposed to be regulated by the FDA. But NECC never got federal approval to manufacture those drugs. That provoked some important questions. After William Koch's death, couldn't regulators have stepped in, investigated NECC and shut it down, at least temporarily? If they had done that, could the deaths in the current meningitis outbreak, including at least one here in Maryland have been prevented?

The FDA doesn't have jurisdiction over compounding pharmacies until there's a problem. FDA officials say they have been fighting to change that. An official with the health department of Massachusetts where NECC is based tells us after complaints about injections received on the same day Koch got his shot, the state health department and the FDA did a joint investigation of NECC. It's not clear if those agencies were made aware of Koch's specific case. They didn't shut down the company. But the official says after an investigation of more than three years they gave NECC a list of several things it needed to fix, put the company on probation for a year, but suspended that probation, he says, because the company did fix the problems. In Hoag's view, it never should have gotten that far.

HOAG: I feel that they should have stuck to their original business of compounding, and they should not have crossed the line. TODD: We couldn't get an NECC representative to comment on that. Asked about the Koch case, the company declined comment, citing confidentiality provisions.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's upcoming ban on large sugary drinks may be in for a supersized legal battle. Soft drink makers and a restaurant group are suing to stop the ban from taking effect in March. They cite a technicality saying only the city council has the power to impose such a ban. They also argue that the law infringes on personal freedom and unfairly targets certain businesses.

And a medical student becomes a patient after she is diagnosed with cancer. And now she's using that experience to save the lives of her patients. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has today's human factor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ALYSSA RIEBER, LYNDON B. JOHNSON GENERAL HOSPITAL: I think I always wanted to be a doctor. My dad was a physician. So I would always see him go into work. I was six or seven. He was always helping people. So that was my inspiration.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just three months into her studies, the doctor said her life changed dramatically. Suddenly, something she was learning about seemed to really apply to her.

RIEBER: I had a tumor here in the middle of my chest.

GUPTA: The diagnosis, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

RIEBER: I then became a patient. It will be 15 years next month. And your world just stops. And as a young person who is getting to live my dream of being a doctor, that was very tough.

GUPTA: She knew her prognosis was good, and she was prepared for chemotherapy and radiation, also the inevitable hair loss. With the help of her family and friends and fellow students as well as her faith, she fought that cancer and was able to stay in medical school. She came to Houston as a fellow. She joined the faculty where she began treating patients at the local county hospital. It provides oncology care to the underserved and indigent. Patients who came to see Rieber are not only seeing a doctor, but also a survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's better than the first time I was here.

RIEBER: And with spirit, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. And I'm fine.

GUPTA: Rieber not only runs a survivorship program. Last year she became the director of this cancer program.

RIEBER: What have you been able to do?

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: For a Los Angeles driver who thinks they have seen everything, well, then there's this. The space shuttle Endeavour slowly navigating some tight streets on the way to its permanent home at the California Science Center.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this is an item we continue to watch. The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch, meaning the conditions are in place for a tornado all the way up to 10:00 p.m. eastern time, 9:00 central time for northwest Texas and central Oklahoma, which includes Oklahoma City, a very populated area. Tornadoes, hail up to two inches in diameter, all of that are possibilities, and thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and possibly dangerous lightning also in those areas.

Again, northwest Texas and central Oklahoma, tornado watch in effect. We have conditions that are good for the potential for tornadic activity and all that comes with it. We'll keep you posted.

On to Colorado now. The search is on for the killer of a 10-year-old girl. Police say they have found the body of Jessica Ridgeway. She was reported missing a week ago. She was last seen leaving for school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF LEE BIRK, WESTMINSTER, COLORADO, POLICE DEPARTMENT: With a great deal of sorrow in my heart. I regret to inform you that the body that was found has been positively identified as Jessica Ridgeway, the missing girl from Westminster. The family has been notified. We can't begin to comprehend the grief they're going through.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to imagine why someone would want to do this to such a nice little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is someone who knows where he's at, but we need to find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The FBI is vowing not to rest until Jessica' killer is caught. The community will come together for a balloon release later in the afternoon to celebrate little Jessica's life.

On to Texas, a judge has sentenced a young mother to 99 years in prison for first degree injury to a child. The woman glued her two- year-old daughter's hands to the wall, then kicked and beat her because she was not potty trained. The prosecutor calls the woman pure evil. She will serve 30 years before she comes up for parole.

And this is a first, even for the folks out in Los Angeles who maybe for this moment, thought they had seen it all. The space shuttle Endeavour on a slow, two-day trek through cramped city streets. The final destination, the California Science Center where it will be on permanent display. The shuttle has traveled 123 million miles in space, 25 space flights. L.A.'s mayor calls it a once in a lifetime event.

The race for the White House now is heating up with Election Day just 24 days away. Mitt Romney is campaigning hard today. There he is in the battleground state of Ohio. He's speaking at a rally this hour in Portsmouth. Later on today, he attends a rally in Lebanon. He spent time this morning preparing for his next debate with President Obama. That showdown is Tuesday night in Hempstead, New York.

Meantime, President Obama is preparing himself for the debate. And he is in Williamsburg, Virginia. He's under particular pressure to do well after getting harsh reviews in the first faceoff last week. The town hall style debate will be hosted by our own Candy Crowley.

All right, the race is extremely close right now. The new CNN poll of polls shows Romney with a two-point lead nationally over President Barack Obama. And here's the latest polling out of Ohio. It shows President Obama with a three-point lead.

As President Barack Obama has visited Ohio more than 20 times and most of those stops have been this year. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are there again this weekend. As John King shows us, it is the battleground of the battleground states. And Ohio's working moms could be the key to victory.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The lights still on past midnight. Another 20-hour day for Jessica Lundgren.

JESSICA LUNDGREN, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm a single mom of a five-year-old little girl who is fantastic. I work full time and go to school full time. So my day usually starts around 4:45 in the morning and ends close to 1:00 a.m. You do what you have to do in this economy.

Her vote, she said, is for Jillian's future. She was leaning Mitt Romney until his own words pushed her back to undecided.

LUNDGREN: Speaking about the 47 percent and I can't worry about them. How can you put your faith and trust in a candidate that doesn't care about everybody?

KING: To win Ohio and other key battlegrounds, Romney must overcome the doubts of working moms like Jessica. New CNN polling shows a post- debate Romney bounce but still a narrow Obama lead. White women are the battle within the battleground. Our new CNN poll 52 percent support the president now. That's up from the 47 percent he received here in 2008. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're all worried about putting food on the table, raising kids who are happy and healthy, who are going to have a good future, graduate into an economy where they can find a job.

KING: Democratic pollster Margie Omero (ph) has been studying so- called Wal-Mart moms for several years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have seen them be swing voters over the years. In twoup2008, they voted for Obama. In 2010, they were more divided. By November 2010, they were decidedly Republican.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and Josh Rendell can count on your vote in this election?

KING: Like Sarah Minto, a 2008 Obama voter who is now an Ohio Romney volunteer.

SARAH MINTO, ROMNEY SUPPORTER: He let me down. I was very, very hopeful he was going to be the guy to turn everything around in America and make everything better. And his words were empty.

KING: But Romney might have only himself to blame if more white middle class moms side with Obama in this cycle. Sheryl Wiseman is a conservative Christian. A 2008 John McCain voter who recently went from undecided to lean Obama, offended, she says, by Romney's 47 percent remark.

SHARON WISEMAN, VOTER WHO IS LEANING OBAMA: I think I heard it on an Obama ad and then I Googled it. I feel like he's out of touch with everything everyone is going through. Ohio was one of the hardest places hit.

KING: It hit home because the Wiseman family got help when their husband Ray was out of work for a bit.

WISEMAN: My reaction to what he said is that's me. He's talking about me.

KING: Three teenagers and a husband who just found work two hours away shape Sharon's politics. While she promises to listen, the hour is getting late. Governor Romney is running out of time to prove he understands her struggles.

John King, CNN, Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, don't forget, this Tuesday is the second presidential debate. This one, rather, is a town hall debate. And it's in New York, and moderated by our own Candy Crowley. CNN's live coverage beginning Tuesday night, 7:00 eastern. You don't want to miss it.

Small town, big scandal. A Zumba instructor is charged with running a prostitution ring out of her workout studio and the client list is said to include local VIPs. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In a picaresque town in Maine, police say some pretty outrageous stuff was going on in a local dance studio. Investigators are expected to release an alleged prostitution ring client risk reported to include prominent local figures. The prosecutors say 29- year-old Alexis Wright used her Zumba studio as a brothel, even videotaping the sex sessions. She pled not guilty to 106 prostitution related charged. CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us with more on this. When is this list expected to be released?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't know, Fred. We'll have to see, but this is a huge thing up there. Especially it's a scandal that has the folks in Maine waiting for the big reveal. A lot of people want to know who is on the list of alleged Johns, customers of a woman running Zumba classes. As a reprieve now for the alleged Johns, a lawyer for two of them known as John Doe one and John Doe two is appealing to Maine Supreme Court to put a kibosh on releasing the names of about 150 people.

The fitness instructor, Alexis Wright, has pleaded not guilty, so has her business partner, Mark Strong. He's charged with acting as her pimp. Wright is accused of having sex with customers right there in the exercise studio and rolling videotape on liaisons. There's been a lot of hoopla over outing her accused clients. They include a lawyer, an accountant, even a local TV personality according to her alleged pimp's lawyer.

In court documents obtained by WGME, one man describes himself as disabled and a family man, and another as a dad and a businessman. Both say their reputations may be ruined if their names get out. A local judge has ruled too bad, clearing the way to reveal the names. But a Kennebunk police chief is keeping the names secret a bit longer until the Maine Supreme Court has a chance to rule.

WHITFIELD: Susan, what are the people of Kennebunk thinking about all of this?

CANDIOTTI: You know, it depends on who you talk with. Some people say these names should be kept under wraps and some say, hey, we want to know who it is. We also talked to a radio talk show host who tells us his listeners are split. A local newspaper editor said she's ready to publish the names of the accused Johns. In her view, it's only fair. After all, they too are accused of a crime.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Susan Candiotti for that update.

All right, Lance Armstrong denies the doping allegations that cost him his Tour de France titles, that could potentially cost him the titles, that is. But yet another teammate said he saw Armstrong doping. We'll tell you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: One of Lance Armstrong's former teammates says he knows the superstar cyclist was doping. The scandal has cost Armstrong the seven Tour de France titled he won. Tyler Hamilton rode with him in four of the races as part of the U.S. Postal Service team. He's one of 10 former teammates who have accused Armstrong of doping, part of what the Anti-Doping Agency called overwhelming evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER HAMILTON, FORMER LANCE ARMSTRONG TEAMMATE: The first time I ever blood doped was with lance. It was certainly for Lance, basically. It was -- I had blood doped myself, you know, it was done by the team, but it was done for the tour de France so I could be a good teammate for Lance Armstrong. I mean, a lot of it, you know, he wanted you to be riding at your best in the biggest races. And Lance, it was all about winning the Tour de France.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Armstrong denies he ever doped. It's still unclear what will happen to his seven titles and his Olympic medals.

The FBI is looking for a lot of Benjamins and the thieves that stole it from the Federal Reserve. They say a large amount of newly designed 100 dollar bills were bound for a fed facility in New Jersey. The money was being transported Thursday from Dallas with a stopover in Philadelphia. After the cargo reached New Jersey, the courier noticed some of it was missing. The FBI won't say how much was taken, only that it was substantial.

And rocker Eric Clapton made gold and platinum records, but yesterday a painting from his private collection broke a sales record. The abstract work by a German painter sold for more than $34 million at Sotheby's in London. The auction house says it's the highest price ever for a work by a living artist. The old record was $28.6 million.

Where can you find superheroes, zombies, and movie stars all in one creepy kind of place? There it is right there. Comic-Con in New York. You recognize that young lady in the middle. That's our movie critic Grae Drake, always getting into character for a good segment. She'll be joining us right after this, and some friends, too.

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WHITFIELD: All right, Comic-Con is where comic book fans from all over gather to celebrate their favorite superheroes. New York's comic-con weekend is only six years old, but it's huge already. This weekend, our Grae Drake is at comic-con in New York to give us an update. She's a teen zombie. She's going at the zombie school girl. You do that oh, so well, Grae. And you are in lots of great company there because you found other zombie brethren.

GRAE DRAKE, MOVIE CRITIC: I am among my friends. They have made me their queen.

WHITFIELD: That is scary. It looks very authentic.

DRAKE: This is the thing about zombies, they keep getting al up in your business. Let me take care of this.

WHITFIELD: They're saying go see "Argo" this weekend.

DRAKE: Certified fresh on the tomato meter.

WHITFIELD: Be careful, these guys are kind of creepy. "Argo" is going to be a big one. If anyone is not too distracted by what's happening in the streets of New York, maybe they'll check out a movie. What other company are you finding out there besides the creepy, scary zombies?

DRAKE: This is Comic-Con, Fredricka, as you know. There's not a moment of personal space in this place. For movie freaks like me, today is a huge day because I just got to talk to the cast of "Conjuring." Take it easy, buddy.

(LAUGHTER)

DRAKE: And everybody is a star at Comic-co, I guess. I got to talk to the cast of the "Conjuring" which is a movie coming out in July, and there's also a movie called "Beautiful Creatures" which I think is going to be the next "Twilight." And I would be remiss that I didn't mention the "Walking Dead" is premiering tomorrow night. Easy on the hair, sparkles.

(LAUGHTER)

DRAKE: Tomorrow night, we're going to be treated to all this action, which is why I'm dressed like a zombie school girl.

WHITFIELD: OK, so this lasts for how long? This started Thursday, did I get it right? You have to fight off the fans there.

DRAKE: Comic-Con, I know, right. I can't go anywhere without this paparazzi following me. Comic-Con lasts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in New York. It keeps getting bigger and bigger. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 last year. As one small zombie on the floor, it seems like it's getting close to being as big as San Diego Comic-Con, which is hundreds of thousands of people. And they all want to eat your brains.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh, so they're not all scary. I'm looking at some of the video shot earlier, some of the superhero kind of characters, the save the world and all that good stuff. You have ghost busters and all that. And Wonder Woman.

DRAKE: Yep, absolutely. You know, being in New York, the best part about being at a New York Comic-Con is Ghostbusters are wandering around in their home city, and generally their proton-packs are playing a theme song so you have something to dance to, got a little something. I just love these events so much because everybody here gets to nerd out, and we're all family. Come on, zombies. We are family.

WHITFIELD: You've really gotten into it. Oh, my goodness. We don't want to interrupt the fun. You all are tearing up New York City like no one else can. So continue to have a good time as a teenage zombie there. And straighten out your friends there. They're a little too touchy-feely. All right, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

(LAUGHTER)

DRAKE: What can I say?

WHITFIELD: It's tight in New York. What can you say? Later.

Remember, Grae Drake, she's at Comic-Con and she's our weekly movie guru as well. You can get all of Grae's movie interviews at RottenTomatoes.com.

Picture this, you're walking along the beach and you find not a sand dollar, not a message in a bottle, but this, a giant eyeball. We'll explain where it might have come from.

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