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Race for White House Tightens; Pakistani Teen Activist on Way to Britain; Families to Watch Pre-trial 911 Hearings; Felix Baumgartner Celebrates Record Jump; Debate on Consulate Attack in Libya; Rolling Stones Still Rocking; Instant Replay and Baseball; Baseball Playoff Update

Aired October 15, 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 AMCHOR: With Congress Steve Israel, former moderator Carol Simpson is going to joins us, and model Tyra Banks. Also Mika, pop star, going to be with us. Big, big show tomorrow.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Mika is great.

O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now.

Hey, Carol, welcome back from vacation.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Soledad. Good morning.

Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Round two, Obama and Romney. Tomorrow night's debate, do or die.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, SKYDIVER: Sometimes you have to get up really high to see how small you are. I'm going home now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Amazing. A freefall from near outer space reaching 833 miles per hour. Felix Baumgartner blazes past the speed of sound and into the history books.

E-refund. E-book readers rejoice. A refund check might be in the mail.

And Yankee pain. First A-Rod. Then Jeter. Now empty seats? It's bad when you can't sell out a playoff game.

NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello.

We start with round two. The big presidential debate. And you guessed it. You will not see Mitt Romney or the President on the campaign trail today because the clock is ticking. Romney in Massachusetts prepping for the debate. Obama in Virginia. It is their last full day to get ready for the big night tomorrow night. A night some say could make or break this year's election.

Well, the President did take time off. A half-hour break this weekend to deliver pizzas to his local campaign field office. But for the most part, he's been holed up and studying as Mitt Romney was this weekend.

Mark Preston, our political editor, joins us now from Hofstra University on Long Island where the candidates will face off.

Mark, you have so much to tell us. So first off explain the format for us.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, Carol, this is something we haven't seen this debate season, certainly in the general election season, I should say. We're actually going to have questions coming directly from audience members. Members that were picked by the Gallup organization on behalf of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

They will be able to question the candidates themselves. Also interesting, the candidates will be sitting on high chairs. They'll be able to leave the chairs and walk around the stage, perhaps walk directly up to the questioner who asks the question and address whatever is asked.

Interestingly enough, this debate tomorrow, 90 minutes, Carol. No commercial breaks. A lot on the line. Mitt Romney trying to capitalize on the strong performance he had two weeks ago. Barack Obama trying to make up for that lackluster appearance that he had in that debate two weeks ago -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Tell us about the polls because they're tightening, or is Romney still rising?

PRESTON: Well, they certainly are tight right now. I think it's fair to say that this race is clearly a toss-up right now. We've seen that nationally and also in the nine battleground states or most of the battleground states we've seen the polls tightening up. Right now good news for Mitt Romney. That's why tomorrow night is so important for him as it is important for Barack Obama as he tries to turn the ship around.

They had Robert Gibbs and Ed Gillespie, senior advisers for President Obama and Mitt Romney, on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley yesterday. Let's hear what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: He knew when he walked up that stage and he also knew as he's watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. I think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country faces and putting that choice in front of voters. ED GILLESPIE, SENIOR ADVISER, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: The president can change his style. He can change his tactics. He can't change his record and he can't change his policies. And that's what this election is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: There we are, Carol. We have the two advisers for the campaigns trying to play up the expectations or play down the expectations for tomorrow night's debate. I have to say this. Candy Crowley will be moderating. Our own Candy Crowley will be moderating this debate. Expect fireworks -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: We will. Mark Preston live at Hofstra University. Thanks so much.

And as you just heard Mark say CNN's Candy Crowley will moderate that debate. She will be the first woman in 20 years to do that, by the way. I actually talked with her last week in Washington. I congratulated her and said, hey, Candy, no pressure. You just have to make up for Jim Lehrer.

Candy didn't blink an eye. She even laughed. And later she shared how she's prepping for the big night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, ANCHOR, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: I think always it's keeping the voters in mind. What -- and you try to do that all the time as a political journalist. Like, what is it that's on people's minds? I think I have a pretty good handle on it because my friends are people. They're not just journalists. I know what's on their minds. I know what sort of deep waters they're walking through, what they worry about, that kind of thing.

You also get a chance to know that when you're talking to folks leading up to our show. So I want to be able to be the person who, when you're sitting on your couch watching these debates, that you say, exactly, exactly, that's what I want to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And, hey, have you heard? The presidential debate is tomorrow night. CNN's live coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

In other news this morning, that young Pakistani activist shot last week by the Taliban is expected to arrive very soon in Birmingham, England. That's where Malala Yousufzai will continue her recovery. Her parents and younger brother are with her for the eight-hour flight on a specially equipped plane. In the meantime, huge crowds in Pakistan have been showing their support for Malala.

It's an amazing sight. The teenager is an outspoken advocate for the right of girls to learn and to go to school. For that she became the target of Taliban assassins.

CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad.

And, Reza, she's in bad shape. She's already had a bullet removed from her neck. And then she was sedated and on a ventilator. So what's the medical treatment in London?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. But first off, here's what we need to make clear. The bullet was removed from her neck. But it hit her in the head. Right here in the head at close range according to authorities. Many find it incredible that she's still alive. Somehow, some way she is.

Early this morning Pakistan time she was airlifted out of here headed towards the UK. She made a quick stop in Abu Dhabi. There Pakistan's ambassador to the UAE briefly saw her, said she was still unconscious. And then she was off again to the UK.

This is about an 11, 12-hour trip. I'm guessing in the next two or three hours she's going to land. Officials here are saying they saw this as a good window to get her to the specialized facility.

As you mentioned, Carol, mom, dad, her little brother are with her. Also with her a lot of thoughts and prayers from people all over the world.

COSTELLO: I can't even imagine. So Malala, we hope she's on the road to recovery. But the Taliban is crystal clear, they still intend to kill her. Is there any chance that she and her family will stay in London?

SAYAH: That's not clear. It's certainly possible. But I think the priority right now is to keep her alive. I can tell you that in speaking to her last year -- this is a girl who loves Pakistan. Loves her family and friends. I wouldn't be surprised if she came back. And imagine if she did. She already has in many ways established an iconic, legendary status. Imagine if she comes back having survived this attack.

I know it's crazy to say this because she's 14, because she could be one of the most influential people in Pakistan if she comes back here.

COSTELLO: Reza Sayah, thanks so much.

For the second time this year the families of 9/11 victims will see the men charged in the terror attack. Pre-trial hearings start today in Guantanamo Bay for the five accused men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind.

Relatives will get a chance to watch from military installations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Chris Lawrence has been following the story. He's at the Pentagon this morning.

So, Chris, take us through these hearings. What will happen? CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This is all basically, Carol, setting up what will be allowed when these men eventually do go to trial. And one of the things to concentrate on today and as this goes on is what the defendants and their lawyers will be allowed to talk about and say. Specifically in regards to torture.

The lawyers, the defense lawyers want to be able to talk about their clients and have their clients talk about publicly some of the things they were subjected to while they were being held. The government does not want that information released publicly because they say it compromises some CIA interrogation practices and would jeopardize national security.

So expect that to be a very big focus. Even the ACLU is going to weigh in on this today. And again, remember, all of this originally was scheduled for years ago. But President Obama stopped that trial short when he was trying to move all of this to a federal court in New York as part of his plan to close Guantanamo Bay.

When that plan completely fell apart because of political outrage over it, now it had to be brought back. So here we are years later. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others really just getting started on their trial process.

COSTELLO: Chris Lawrence live at the Pentagon this morning, thanks.

It's been a long journey for the shuttle Endeavour. Rush hour in Los Angeles was a lot tougher than the far reaches of space. Add up the total miles traveled, though, for this vessel, 123 million miles. The final 12 miles took two days and millions of dollars as the shuttle inched its way from LAX to the California Science Center. Hundreds of thousands of people came out to watch Endeavour pass by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: As I spoke to people who gathered along the streets, I saw the real gift of the Endeavour. The gift of inspiration. The gift of dream making. Children inspired to become the next generation of engineers and scientists and, yes, astronauts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Endeavour will go on public display later this month at the science center there.

And then there was one. And there's just one unbeaten team in the NFL after the Green Bay Packers hand the Houston Texans their first loss of the season. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he had an incredible day. Yes, that's -- six touchdown passes. A career high. Also tying a franchise record. With the win Green Bay evens its record at 3-3. But how about the Falcons? Atlanta has the best record in the NFL at 6-0.

To baseball now. St. Louis takes first blood in the National League Championship Series. Carlos Beltran there hit a two-run homerun for the Cards and their bullpen shut out the Giants over 5 and a third innings. Final score, St. Louis -- that never say die St. Louis Cardinals 6, San Francisco, 4.

On to New York and Detroit. The Detroit Tigers scored twice in the eighth inning against New York helped by an umpire's blown call. And I will admit it, it was a blown call. Even though I'm a Tigers fan. Don't blame the whole game on the ump, though. The Yankees could not hit. They go to Detroit down 2-0 in the series and have to face Justin Verlander in game three.

Felix Baumgartner jumps from the edge of space and into the record books with a leap that breaks the sound barrier. Did you see this? It's crazy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

A new prime minister in Libya, Ali Zeidan, has been named to the post after the country's Congress rejected a crisis plan by the former prime minister resulting in his dismissal. Zeidan has two weeks to form a new government.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter will be laid to rest tomorrow. He died yesterday of complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after a long battle with cancer. Specter served five terms in the U.S. Senate as a moderate Republican before switching parties at the end of his political career. He was known as one of the true political wild cards. Arlen Specter was 82.

In San Diego, a dramatic standoff between a man with a rifle and police. Officers were called early Sunday morning to check out a suspicious person in an apartment building when they were confronted by an armed man wearing a tactical vest. Officers fired, hitting the man twice. The man ran, but eventually surrendered an hour later. He was taken to the hospital.

Two Americans have been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley were given the award for their work in matching different economic factors, for example. Students to schools or doctors to hospitals. The pair will share the cash price of a little more than $1 million. And if you didn't understand, that's why you don't have a Nobel Prize.

All right. Think you could stand on a platform on the edge of space, look down and just jump? Take a look. This is insane, Felix Baumgartner. Man, he just jumped!

Felix Baumgartner successfully made a death-defying, 24-mile jump from the edge of space. His body falling more than 800 miles per hour.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on the free fall that broke the sound barrier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a heart-pounding hop into the stratosphere, Felix Baumgartner makes history. He jumps from 128,000 feet above the earth, 24 miles up, higher than anyone before him.

During freefall, he spun for a few harrowing moments but stabilized quickly.

BAUMGARTNER: Started spinning so violently. Spun me around in all different directions, you know? And I was always trying to find out how to stop this. I was putting one arm out. It didn't work. And I was putting another arm out.

But you're always late, because at that speed, when you travel at that speed, with that suit pressurized you don't feel the air at all.

TODD: In those first seconds, he broke another record. No one had ever gone through the sound barrier outside a vehicle. Baumgartner reached a top speed of more than 700 miles an hour. Well past the speed of sound.

Freefall lasted 4 minutes 19 seconds before his parachute opened. That's short of the record for the longest free-fall in history. But after he safely touched down, the man known as Fearless Felix was hailed as an aerospace pioneer.

BAUMGARTNER: It's hard to realize what happened right now, because there are still so many emotions, you know? I had tears in my eyes when I was coming back a couple of times, because you're sitting there and you thought about that moment so many times, you know, how it would feel and how would it look like and this is way bigger than I anticipated.

TODD: This mission had been five years in the planning. In Baumgartner's ear during the ascent, Col. Joe Kittinger, the man whose record Baumgartner broke. Kittinger had jumped from 102,000 feet in 1960. I interviewed Baumgartner and Kittinger together earlier this year.

(on camera): Are you jealous of Felix that he's going to break your record?

COL. JOE KITTINGER, PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDER: Oh, no. I'm delighted. I'm delighted he's going to do it. He's advancing science, and he'll do a great job.

TODD (voice-over): Mission leaders and space officials hope this jump will show them if astronauts, space tourists, or high altitude pilots can survive for any extended period outside a vehicle if there's a malfunction. If it held up as expected, Baumgartner's high-pressure suit could be the next generation suit for future missions.

(on-camera): What will Felix Baumgartner do next? He told me that after this jump, he wants to pursue an occupation as a helicopter rescue pilot. Might be a bit of a letdown.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I think so. Thanks, Brian.

If you're into e-books, expect an e-refund, rather. Consumers win, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, are the deaths of American diplomats in Libya being politicized? Just in case you forgot how ugly politics can be, the loved ones of those Americans killed in Libya are here to remind us. They're pleading, stop politicizing their deaths. In an interview with Bloomberg News, the father of Ambassador Chris Stevens said, quote, "It would really be abhor rent to make this isn't a campaign issue before the investigation into the attack is complete," end quote. This comes after the mother of Glen Doherty, the ex-Navy SEAL killed in Benghazi, asked Mitt Romney to stop mentions her son on the campaign trail.

It all spilled over into a bitter exchange between Obama and Romney campaign advisers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED GILLESPIE, SENIOR ADVISER, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: There are inconsistencies here. And what we're saying is that, you know, as Americans, we deserve to know what really happened going into this attack and what did the administration to after, because we want to learn from them, obviously, because we want to make sure this doesn't happen again.

ROBERT GIBBS, SENIOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: We don't need wing-tip cowboys. We don't need shoot from the hip diplomacy. And when Mitt Romney first responded to what was going on in Libya his own party called him out for insensitivity.

He's done nothing but politicize this issue when what we need to do is find out what happened, and do that as Americans, not as Democrats and Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You could argue both sides are doing their very best to do that very thing. Politicize the tragedy in L. After all, congressional Republicans interrupted their recess not to talk about jobs, but to talk about Libya.

And the Obama administration initially pinned the murders on a cheesy film and not where it rightly belongs, on al Qaeda.

We could debate the why. But why? Shouldn't we just try to figure it out together? So, the talk back question for you today: are the deaths of Americans in Libya being politicized? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Your responses later this hour.

If you are one of the millions of Americans downloading books on your e-readers, you'll want to listen up. You could be in for some cash back on your iTunes or Amazon accounts.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us where the money is.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

So, this is all stemming from a settlement back in September that happened with three book publishers. What this lawsuit is claiming is that these publishers colluded to raise e-book prices with Apple. Now, Apple is appealing which is why it's not included in this settlement just yet.

So, what's happening right now is retailers are looking into who bought these e-books and seeing who could be in line for a refund. Now, what Amazon.com has done is it sent letters to some customers, also via e-mail. What it says is you could be due for a refund of anywhere between 30 cents to $1.32 for each e-book that you bought.

Now, you had to have purchased these e-books by the publishers involved in the settlement and purchased these books between April 2010 and May 2012. But wait, before the money starts rolling in for you, you're going to have to wait for the court to approve this settlement. The court is set to meet again in February. There could be more appeals. So, by no stretch is this a done deal yet. Especially, Carol, since it could include yet two more book publishers -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I want my $1.32. A question, though, I know -- these class-action suits, I know, I know, what if you bought an e-book from another retailer like Barnes & Noble or Google or someone else? Do you still get a refund?

KOSIK: Yes, you could. It's likely you don't have to really do anything at this point. So if they've got a record of your purchase, what they'll do is they e-mail you about the refund when the court actually does approve this. You can also go ahead and file a claim.

Publishers are putting actually $69 million into a fund to hand out to customers. So you know, we're talking about 30 cents to $1.32. These publishes are on the hook for millions of dollars. So it really does add up.

If you want more information, go to ebooksagsettlements.com, because, you know, Carol, some of us paid an extra $2 to $3 per book. Not sure yet why the refunds don't reflect that $2 to $3, though because I want it all.

COSTELLO: I think it's because the lawyers are getting all the money.

KOSIK: That's true. They get a little smidgen, don't they? Just a little bit.

COSTELLO: Yes, just a little bit.

Alison Kosik, many thanks.

Both Mitt Romney and President Obama are off the campaign trail. They're hitting the books, preparing for round two of their presidential debate tomorrow night. The question: will any topics be off limits? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning to you. Thank you so much for being with us today. I'm Carol Costello.

Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:

We're just seconds away from the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks expected to begin the week higher after a report out today shows inflation in China slowed in September. And in a deal that's been rumored for days, Sprint/Nextel says it will sell a 70 percent stake to Japan's Softbank for $20 billion.

You see Portuguese Day at the New York Stock Exchange.

The 14-year-old Pakistani activist shot last week by Taliban assassins is expected to arrive very soon in England. Doctors agree it's the best place for Malala Yousufzai to continue her treatment. The trip comes on the heels of mass rallies in Pakistan in Malala's honor. Tens of thousands of supporters came out to pray for her recovery and to condemn the Taliban.

It's been 50 years since the Cuban missile crisis which took the U.S. to the brink of nuclear war. To mark the anniversary, the JFK Presidential Library is posting online hundreds of private and confidential documents. Among the records are memos between President Kennedy and his brother, the then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, including some that were exchanged at the height of the crisis.

President Obama and Mitt Romney are off the campaign trail today. Both candidates are preparing for the second round of their presidential debates. They are set to meet tomorrow night for round two. You can bet that one topic that's sure to come up will be Libya and the security situation around that attack on the consulate in Benghazi.

Both campaigns were out in full force on the Sunday morning talk shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: Anyone based on the intelligence that they were -- that they had at the time would have said what -- what the administration said.

GILLESPIE: But you have to get honest answers and accurate answers in response to the questions. What we have seen is a constantly shifting story from this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The family of Ambassador Chris Stevens who was killed in that attack has other feelings on the matter. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Ambassador Chris Stevens' father said, quote, "It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue. We don't pretend to be experts in security. It has to be objectively examined. That's where it belongs. It does not belong in the campaign arena," end quote.

Joining me now, CNN contributor L.Z. Granderson who leans left. And Will Cain, CNN contributor who leans right.

Good morning, gentlemen.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So I think the ambassador's father spoke out too late. Libya has already become a campaign issue. I guess the question is should it be? Will?

CAIN: I don't know how it wouldn't be. Look, this is not only an issue of national concern. It's an issue of national security. There are questions about what was known when prior to the attack. Were danger signs ignored? Were requests for more security ignored?

More concerning than that is what in your clip you played Gillespie, the shifting narrative after the attack. This is extremely concerning.

We know from reporting from Eli Lake at "The Daily Beast" that there were surveillance cameras on site that shows it was an organized attack. We know there was drone surveillance in the final hours of the attack that shows it was an organized attack. And we know that within 24 hours of the attack, not only did we know it was a terrorist attack, but we knew al Qaeda was involved and the name of the some of the gentlemen -- not gentlemen, some of the men involved.

So, then why did the administration, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, continue to go out on network after network and say this was response to a video and a spontaneous attack? That is completely befuddling and it reflects national security concerns going up to the highest levels of this government. It reflects the commander-in-chief. There are legitimate, very, very legitimate and important questions to ask that have not yet been answered.

COSTELLO: There are legitimate questions. But, L.Z., Republicans are throwing out the word "cover-up." Has it gone too far? L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No. I fully agree with Will. Somebody needs to be fired. We need to get to the bottom of this. There does appear to be a lot of shift in the narrative. Someone at the end of the day needs to be fired.

I'm not saying that's President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden. But somebody in that administration needs to answer to the American people. I'm very disturbed by all of this.

And so Will's right. I don't understand how this could not be a political issue. Mitt Romney was certainly wrong in the way that he -- excuse me -- initially came out in regards to this. But now that we're in it, we definitely owe it to the American people to get further into it to see exactly what happened, what we knew when and who should be ultimately responsible.

CAIN: Carol, can I offer you one other reason why this is so important to ask and answer during a campaign season? By the way, this will have no effect on one candidate versus the other. But, you know, a year ago, we did not have enough of a national debate over whether or not we should go into Libya and take action. We almost rushed into that.

I'm telling you, I was here. I was part of these debates at least in the media about whether or not we should get involved in Libya and oust Gadhafi and who then would take charge? Who would be in charge of Libya?

We're having many of those same debates today about Syria and regarding the entire Arab spring. What I'm telling you is there are large, large geopolitical theory questions to be asked and answered about our would-be leaders, President Obama or Mitt Romney. And what has happened in Libya reflects the outcome of those decisions. It reflects what you decide about who should you get behind in these countries.

COSTELLO: Understood. Joe Biden --

GRANDERSON: I fully agree with will.

COSTELLO: What does President Obama need to say in this debate if, of course, the topic comes up, which I'm sure it will. What does President Obama need to say to assure voters out there that he's handling this?

GRANDERSON: I think he needs to have a holistic approach. This does not begin with Benghazi, right? It doesn't begin with what happened at the embassy.

This really begins with what Will said. Like, a year ago. You know, Mitt Romney was very critical of the way the president was slothful in terms of handling Libya. Then he was critical in the way he seemed to be too aggressive in terms of handling Libya. So, Mitt Romney was very conflicted just a year ago about how exactly to handle Libya. In fact, weeks before this attack happened, they described foreign policy as a distraction from the real issues. So Will is right. When you look at this, we really need to talk about what each leader is going to do with foreign policy, not just politicizing it. President Romney -- or President Obama, rather --

COSTELLO: Uh-oh!

GRANDERSON: -- really needs to make sure he does it holistically. I know. That was a slip. Freudian slip, maybe. I don't know.

All I know is that President Obama definitely needs to have a holistic approach when he talks about Libya and not just focus in on this attack.

COSTELLO: Then the final question.

GRANDERSON: I can't believe I said President Romney twice.

COSTELLO: I know. Man. I don't know what that means. I'll just leave it up to our viewers.

GRANDERSON: I don't know either. I don't know either.

COSTELLO: Will, I wanted to ask you, you know, a lot of people say that voters really, when it comes down to it, don't care about international issues or foreign policy right now. They're concerned about the economy. I guess for Mr. Romney, will this issue stick? Will it matter?

CAIN: Yes, that's a good question. What is the long term political ramifications, both of what happened in Libya and how the administration has handled it. It doesn't seem the American public is all that interested in this issue. But they should be.

So, L.Z. and I have a broad agreement here on both candidates in this debate should be able to give their vision of what is going on in the Middle East from Tunisia to Pakistan in regards to the Arab spring, because neither to me four years of leadership of President Obama and a long time of campaigning for Mitt Romney have provided any clarity on how they approach Arab spring.

But specifically now President Obama must answer for how this Libya thing has been handled in the aftermath. We need truth and we need clear answers of why we've heard so many different explanations.

COSTELLO: Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson, thanks as always for a fascinating discussion. We appreciate it.

CNN's live coverage of the presidential town hall debate Tuesday night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

The captain, the one accused of abandoning ship while his passengers died, now comes face to face with the victims' families.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: You know the old saying, excuses are like -- well, there's a whole lot of that going on in Italy. The captain of that wrecked cruise liner who's accused of abandoning ship while many of his passengers died comes face to face with survivors and victims' families in court. You remember. The Italian ship the Costa Concordia struck rocks and capsized in January, 32 people reportedly died.

The captain accused of abandoning ship could be charged with manslaughter at the end of this week's hearings.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Rome to explain it all.

Good morning, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That is 52-year-old Captain Francesco Schettino who of course claimed that the reason why he abandoned the ship was that, in fact, the tripped and fell into a lifeboat. Now, there are more than 4,000 people on board the ship at that time.

And today, what is going on is the court is listening to all the evidence that will be eventually entered into a trial should Captain Schettino and eight others actually go on trial for this disaster. The ship, the Costa Concordia, really was a floating city with more than 4,000 crew, the places for more than 4,000 crew and passengers. The same ship hitting a rock on the 11th of January of this year, one of the biggest maritime disasters in Italian naval history -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Ben, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this. But this same captain who said, oh, my gosh. I tripped and fell into a lifeboat. Then my ship went down. He's suing the cruise line company. Why?

WEDEMAN: That is correct. He is suing them for what he says was wrongful dismissal. He claims that the actions he took on the night of January 11th, in fact, resulted in the saving of many more lives. He says many more people could have died if he did not take the action that he did.

What he did was maneuver the boat closer to the island of Giglio where it sort of went. It ran aground on rocks. The boat is still there in the harbor. It's sort of tilted on its side. But, of course, the ship did not go down.

So his claim is that it could have been much, much worse -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll check back with you. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Rome, Italy, this morning.

OK. So why is pop star Rick Springfield rocking out with commuters at a New York subway station? More on this impromptu concert.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, everybody, the Rolling Stones has officially announced details of their 50th anniversary tour. Yes you heard me right, 50 years and the Stones are still rocking out. HLN's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" host A.J. Hammer is with me. I'm in New York for all of you that didn't realize that. But it's nice to be here with you in person. That's awesome.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: It's good to be together. Yes let me see if I can get you some Stones tickets while you're in town.

COSTELLO: Could you do that?

HAMMER: The show is not for a couple of months. It's going to be a tough ticket to get because it's a very small tour. It's hard to even call this a tour. They've only announced four concerts for these shows. Two in London, two are going to happen at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

Now the Jersey shows happen on December 13th and 15th. If you can't get a ticket well, the concert on the 15th is going to be available on pay-per-view.

The Stones are also releasing their greatest hits album that will come out in November. It has a few new songs on it. So you can get ready for a whole lot more from Nick, Keith and the whole gang over the next couple of months, Carol 50 years together they're celebrating.

And they haven't played on the same stage in over five years. So a tough ticket, indeed.

COSTELLO: I'm sure it'll be fantastic, though. I mean --

HAMMER: It's one of the best shows I've ever seen. You always get the biggest bang for your buck. Them and Bruce Springsteen really you get the full deal all the time.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about another kind of performance. Rick Springfield in a subway singing.

HAMMER: Yes, yes take a look at this scene in the subway system. This is pretty amazing what happened here at New York City's Penn station. These fans here just stunned to catch a glimpse of the '80s heartthrob. Rick Springfield offering up a little impromptu performance. Let's watch some of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SPRINGFIELD, SINGER: You know I wish that I had Jesse's girl, I wish that I had Jesse's girl why can't I find a woman like that --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: And of course, everybody's singing along. Don't worry. Rick Springfield hasn't hit the skids. He wasn't performing trying to scrounge up change in the subways. He did it because he's promoting his new CD. He even joked, though, Carol, that he collected about $3; people were I guess throwing in his guitar case or something like that. You know when you're down in the New York City subways, which you can do while you're here with me in New York. People are playing the steel drums. Maybe a crew will come through the subway singing "This Little Light of Mine." Rick Springfield, you don't expect that.

COSTELLO: No not at all. I'm not sure he sounded great. But what fun.

HAMMER: Well, you know, the acoustics in the subway actually are pretty good. I'm surprised.

COSTELLO: Wow, I feel old. A.J. Hammer, thanks so much.

HAMMER: You got it.

COSTELLO: For the latest entertainment news join A.J. on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question for you today, "Are the deaths of American diplomats in Libya being politicized?"

This is from Aaron. "Without a doubt, absolutely. It was a terrible tragedy, unfortunate to happen but it wasn't specifically a Republican's or Democrat's fault."

This from David "I agree but on the other hand the Obama administration needs to get their story straight, they don't understand the lack of credibility, they're constantly changing story socks with them."

This from Sergio, "Anything they talk about can be classified as being politicized. Medicare and Social Security are being politicized. Iran, Obamacare, the national debt et cetera. Let's not talk about anything then."

And this from Bruce, "I think we need answers. But having the hearings and investigation publicly further jeopardizes security for those serving overseas."

Keep the conversations going Facebook.com/CarolCNN, more responses in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

A blown call in the playoff restarts talks to expand baseball's instant replay rules. We'll discuss.

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COSTELLO: Early hitting and shutdown relief pitching pushed St. Louis to a win over San Francisco in the NLCS opener. Dave Freese, last year's World Series MVP got St. Louis, the Cardinals on the score board in the second inning with this two-run blast. Carlos Beltran also hit a two-run homer as the Cards still at 6-0 lead. Giants closed the gap to 6-4 but that was how it ended as St. Louis relievers pitched five and a third innings of scoreless ball. The Detroit Tigers have a 2-0 lead on the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. It was quite a game. The Yankees hurt by an umpire's blown call at second base. I know, he was clearly out. The replay showed it. Omar Infante slid past the base, came back and was clearly out but the umpire was on the other side, he didn't see it.

New York manager Joe Girardi argued and was thrown out of the game. Later he argued for baseball to expand its use of instant replay to cover plays like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GIRARDI, NEW YORK YANKEES MANAGER: In this day and age there as just too much at stake and the technology is available. That's what our country has done. We've involved technology to make things better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ok. So let's talk about the instant replay with former New York Giants star Tiki Barber. Hi, Tiki.

TIKI BARBER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: They had the same issue in the National Football League when human error was starting to affect the outcome of the games and they obviously instituted this replay in a larger capacity in the NFL.

COSTELLO: Was it the same argument that it would make the games longer?

BARBER: It may make the games a little built longer but I think if you limited it to plays that actually matter, where something is going to change the outcome of the game, it's worth it.

You're starting to see it a lot in baseball. There's calls just in this championship series with Robinson Cano in game two, where they thought he was safe, a bang-bang at the bag. The home run, it went off to foul four --

COSTELLO: They had instant replay at that one, right.

BARBER: They did, but it could be expanded because as you can see from this example, the umpire is just in the wrong position to make the call. So he makes a bad call and it obviously has a huge outcome on this game.

COSTELLO: Yes. But you have to admit that that call did not lose the game for the Yankees.

BARBER: It didn't. You know, the Yankees had just not played well. They're not hitting with runners in scoring position. In game one they had the bases loaded twice in the first two innings and came up with zero runs. Obviously, they lost that game as well.

It's just an aging team a little bit and they're not as reliable as they once have been.

COSTELLO: I actually think it's more than that. I mean let's talk about that. You know, we have A-Rod, he's a problem. Some people think he should be benched for every game.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: He's not hitting at all. Derek Jeter with that terrible broken ankle --

BARBER: Yes.

COSTELLO: -- and then just the stadium itself, the new stadium, they had empty seats. The Yankees had empty seats.

BARBER: It's interesting. I kept seeing it on Twitter and social media, there are seats available at Yankee Stadium. it makes you think of what happened to this fan base. And you can look at a couple of things. One, yes it is a declining team. The George Steinbrenner way of doing things was to bring great superstars to the team and that would bring people in the seats and success will follow.

But you also have to look at the cost. They've priced out a lot of their core fans, these die-hards who just literally can't afford to pay the prices. You see it in stadiums all across the country. You see it at Giants Stadium to some extent. I gave up my tickets at Giants Stadium. So, you see it pricing out fans --

COSTELLO: It's not good to get greedy. I just want to read paragraph too from Yahoo Sports because it's a great article and he's talking about Yankee fans, empty seats and this new stadium.

"Gone are the mystique and aura, the two temptresses of the Bronx who bless old Yankees Stadium with kismet and joy and brilliant baseball. In her stead are apathy and malaise, a couple of hags from Yonkers. They embody the new Yankee Stadium, a sarcophagus if there ever was one. No matter how gorgeous or ornate on the outside it, remains filled with lifelessness."

In fact, was it the Detroit player, Quentin Berry, one of the outfielders -- he said it was more difficult to play in Oakland with the fans there than here in New York City.

BARBER: Well, that's telling. It's a little harsh but that a great paragraph to start an article because it will get your attention. The Yankees need to get more young stars. They do it organically. They bring them up through the system and they get on the stage and perform, other than CC Sabathia who is a superstar and I'm biased because he's a friend. Some of those guys are just starting to get a little bit older and they may need some refreshers.

COSTELLO: So does he notice the lack of fan response?

BARBER: He gets in the zone. He's a pitcher. He's involved with every play, so it doesn't affect him really that much. And he's played great, you know, the last three games so it's good for him. Hopefully it gets a win for him tonight or tomorrow.

COSTELLO: No, not really.

BARBER: Come on. You're a Detroit fan.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Justin Verlander, baby.

Thanks Tiki.

BARBER: You're very welcome.