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Final Presidential Debate Monday; Gunman Opens Fire Wisconsin Salon; Revisiting the McCarthy Communist Hunt

Aired October 21, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: It's the top of the hour. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Martin Savidge, in for Fredericka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news on a mass hooting in a Spa, outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We have been following this all this.

Police are now saying that three of the seven victims have died. They say the suspect was identified as 45-year-old Radcliffe Houghton that he walked in to the Spa in the city of Brookfield and he open fire. Police are still searching for Houghton.

I want to bring in now CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti who was in New York.

Susan, police, they just wrapped up this news conference and they said, I believe, that they had come across an IED at the scene of the shooting and quite remarkable on top of the tragedy, what do we know about that?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. There is a bomb squad at the scene, certainly as you indicated, Martin. They don't know the circumstances, or if they do they're not revealing much information about this.

But, after the shooting occurred and when the team went in, they found what they are describing as an improvised explosive device. And that's what they're still working to clear in one portion of the salon. Here's what the chief said just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DANIEL TUSHAUS, BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN: I can also tell you, excuse me. I can also tell you that in the process of clearing that building, we believed we have identified what as being described as an improvised explosive device.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: So, what we can tell you is that they're now trying to presumably diffuse that, remove it, so that they can totally clear the scene. But let's recap what happened here, Martin.

Right now, we're taking a look at the suspect's house, he has been identified by police as 45-year-old Radcliffe Houghton. He lives in a subdivision called Brown Deer. So, they are now - they are presumably executing a search warrant or preparing to do so. But authorities have been there for quite some time now to see what information they can find.

Now, remember, they are saying, they have not yet found the suspect at this time, they are looking for any help they can get from the public. However, they have found his car, described as a black Mazda Protogee. They are not saying where they found the car, far away it is. Although, they did indicate it is not in the same town where the shooting incident took place.

Let's recap that. They said this happened about 11:00 local time. That would be about noon eastern, at the Azana hair salon that is across the street from a very popular shopping mall's two storey building. Now, according to that salon's Web site, they open about that time at 11:00 in the morning. What has been described to me by a spokesperson for ATF is that a man walked into the salon, some employees said something like, they noticed that he had a handgun and said if you're going to rob the place rob the place or words to that effect. And at that point, according to federal law enforcement official that's when this man began firing allegedly shot inside. And we know that at least seven people were hit. You heard them indicate very tragically, that three people are now confirmed dead, four people injured and are now being treated at a local hospital. And now, the search is on for the suspect. The law enforcement official, Martin, also indicated that they are looking at the possibility that this involved a domestic problem of some kind -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: Very tragic. Thank you.

Susan Candiotti, we will continue to follow it with your help.

Moving on to another tragedy, new details today in that Inglewood, California shooting, where a gunman open fire on a family of six. Police believe that suspect, the shooting suspect is now dead after setting fire to his home.

Desmond John Moses is accused of gunning down his next door neighbor and his family. The father who tried to shield his kids from the bullets is dead and so is his 4-year-old son. Two other children and the man's wife are in critical condition today. The family, reportedly evicted Moses from his home after not paying rent for years. Police are now working to identify what they believe could be Moses' remains.

Foreign policy, it is the main focus of tomorrow night's third and final presidential debate. President Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, they will take to the stage and we are going to show you a live picture now. I believe it is at Lindh University at Boca Raton, Florida, that's where it will take place.

We want to bring in our political director, Mark Preston, for preview.

And Mark, this format will be unlike any presidential debate so far this year. What is the format and how important is this, sort of final debate as they try to get the last votes and the last words? MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well Martin, you know, we have been saying this week after week, this is the most important night of the election season and quite frankly, this is going to be the most important night of the election season, tomorrow night's debate. It's a 90-minute debate. It is going to take place right behind me here at Lindh University in Boca Raton.

So much is on the line right now. The fact of the matter is Mitt Romney is still is surging at this point. Barack Obama trying to stem a little bit of the political bleeding right now. The format calls for a focus on foreign policy.

Some of the topics they are going to talk, they are going to talk about Israel and Iran. They are going to talk about Pakistan and Iraq. They are going to talk about the changing face of the Middle East specifically in regards to terrorism and they're going to talk about China.

Now, they're going to be seated at a table, perhaps that might swell a little bit of the fireworks that we saw of last week. And last week's day, Martin, the fact of the matter is, while they will be focusing on foreign policy, the economy will certainly take center stage tomorrow night in terms of how it's affecting people here in the United States and how it's affecting globally right now -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Yes. It is going to be interesting to see how they manage the work that is, on an issue, you know, where debate is focus right barely on that's overseas. But, do we know where the candidates are right now?

PRESTON: Well we do. We know Mitt Romney right now is here in Boca Raton. He is in the debate prep. He took a few minutes out earlier today. He flipped a coin during a bit of football match between the traveling press corps and some of his aides. They went down there flipped the coin and went back to the debate prep. We do know that President Obama is up in Camp David in Maryland right now doing his own debate prep. He will be here tomorrow.

So they have been focusing all this weekend, all they can on this debate. Because Martin, as we certainly know, turning in a strong performance can certainly change some minds and right now things are so, so close.

SAVIDGE: Yes. And you mentioned, let's talk about new polls that have come out, tell us about it.

PRESTON: Yes. And you know, just a few hours ago, we saw this from the NBC/"Wall Street Journal," they put out a national poll and it shows that in fact the race is tied, straight up right now 47 percent/47 percent. Now, of course, that is nationally. We are focusing on nine battleground states here at CNN and we have seen that the polls and certainly in those states are getting a lot closer.

But when it comes back to this national poll, look at these numbers right here, when it comes to men right now, Mitt Romney has a 10-point advantage over Barack Obama. And when it comes to men voters - when it comes to females though, President Obama has an eight-point advantage. I got to tell you, I'm sure the people in Chicago at campaign headquarters right now for Barack Obama want to see that advantage increase. That is a key constituency that he's going to need if he's going to win a second term -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All the more pressure on tomorrow night's performance.

OK. Thanks very much. We will continue to follow this.

In the meantime if you want to watch this debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama, it will happen tomorrow. We already know that. And you can watch that showdown live right here on CNN. We begin with your coverage at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in Iowa today with 16 days to go before the election. The congressman from neighboring Wisconsin (INAUDIBLE). Ryan rarely campaigns on Sunday, but today he took center stage telling supporters that Romney-Ryan ticket reflects quote "Midwestern values."

And tomorrow's presidential debate will key in, as we say, on foreign policy, how do the candidates differ on hot spots like Libya and Iran? We will dig deeper on that just ahead.

And then, how do you get more people to turn out to vote? In one California town, promising free pot apparently worked.

And then caught on camera, robbers walking into a museum to steal paintings by artists like Monet and Picasso. How in the world will investigators going to track them down? We will talk with a man who is an expert next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We're keeping an eye on several international stories this afternoon. Contrary to rumors that circulated last week, I think it was, Fidel Castro is, quote, "doing very well." That according to Venezuela's former vice president, Elias Jaua. Jaua points to this photo which he says was taken yesterday as proof that the Cuban leader is not bedridden.

Moving on to Beirut, chaos in the street, protesters clashed with security forces today. That, after the funeral of the country's intelligence chief brigadier general Wissam al-Hassan. He was a critic of the Syrian regime. HE was killed in car bombing on Friday.

And then finally, Muslims around the world pray for the peace or pray for peace, that is, as they arrive in Mecca, ahead of next week's Haj. One of the five pillars of Islam-Muslims are obligated to make that journey to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

It will be a big political showdown in Florida tomorrow night, President Obama, Mitt Romney will face off in their third, and yes, it is the last one, their final debate. The sole focus of this debate will be foreign policy and national security.

Joining me now is Ralitsa Vassileva.

Ralitsa, a lot of topics that, you know, we are talking about here. What I want to talk, though, is about Libya and specifically the attack on the consulate there in Benghazi. Usually we think of the United States has the upper hand when we talk about international affairs in debates like this, but this is an area that he could be caught and Mitt Romney may win some points, right?

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. When you look at the where the polls, for example, it shows that President Obama has a slight edge when it comes to foreign policy. So, some analysts say this is an opportunity for Mitt Romney to come after him for the way they handled the after math of this attack, the shifting explanations and initially that it was just a reaction to an offensive video, anti-Islamic video and then, it turned out that it was not - it was an organized attack. And he could go after the perceived strength of President Obama on national security policy, based on getting Osama bin Laden killed, on designating the leadership of al-Qaeda by going after him and saying this is a lack of leadership. He did not provide security for this ambassador. You tried to shift your positions to try to match the narrative because of the way it suits you in this election campaign. So basically, it is an opening for Romney to try to come after him and close that gap.

SAVIDGE: Yes, because we all know that foreign affairs, very important, and many Americans follow it so closely and we're going to see who looks more presidential. And on this subject, I want to talk about the issue of Iran, because we know that is a subject on which the United States is deeply committed and focused to preventing a nuclear weapon. You have got Mitt Romney who's very outspoken. You got the president who is talking about the tactics they are doing so far. Who do you think has the upper hand in that particular debate?

VASSILEVA: Well, as you say, both of them want one thing. They want to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. They have slight differences though, as to where they draw the line. At what point do they draw the line. And for President Obama, it's preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. While Mitt Romney is drawing the line at preventing Iran from having the capacity to make a nuclear weapon.

So, in that sense, Mitt Romney's position is closer to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position who also shares that red line that Iran should not be allowed even have the capacity to develop that weapon. So they're very close, but in one sense we have also heard Mitt Romney go after President Obama for his strange relations with Israeli prime minister saying that there should be no daylight with Israel and this is where he could go after him. Again, for leadership.

SAVIDGE: Right. And an important point, specifically we start talking about a swing state like Florida, because of, you know, a significant Jewish population, they could be impacted on this as result of how they feel the president has or has not properly handled Israel. But, before I let you go. I have to ask you about Syria. It's bound to come up tomorrow night in this debate. What is the answer there? I mean, President Obama is going to say that we have to stay back, Americans don't have an appetite for another war, yet we're seeing the influence of Al Qaeda and we're also seeing the images every night of the terrible killing that goes on.

VASSILEVA: What we have seen here is President Obama saying that they are providing only humanitarian they did. They do not know who the rebels are. And they are certain Jihadi elements and they are afraid that it could backfire as it has happened with previous wars in Afghanistan when weapons that the U.S. provided to rebels were turned against the United States.

So, basically, they are saying, we are allowing allies in the region to provide weapons but we are not going to go there. While Mitt Romney is saying that he would be willing to work with the rebels find those who , in his words, share our values, those are his words, and provide them with weapons, even heavy weapons like anti-tank weapons. So he's willing to take a more muscular approach. And that's where we're seeing a difference between the two candidates.

On each one of these issues, we see Romney taking a more muscular approach towards American foreign policy, of a stronger leadership role and a possibility that he could go it alone, compared to President Obama. And you have seen him trying to work with allies to build coalitions and to try to lead as he -- some of his advisors have said from behind, which is coming back, this phrase is coming back to haunt him as in Libya, which could have been interpreted as a success story deposing a dictator there, without the loss of American lives or sending U.S. troops there. But because of what we have seen happen in Beirut, this is not a possibility for them.

SAVIDGE: And it will be very interesting to see how all this plays out because events are breaking even now as we talked about in Lebanon and these are going to impact the discussion that takes place tomorrow night.

VASSILEVA: Absolutely, it's another opportunity for Mitt Romney to say, you know, lack of leadership, I'm looking at all these issues and this is what comes, it always -- I see Mitt Romney hitting President Obama on leadership and we have seen that the Middle East policy really is showing vulnerabilities for President Obama at this point, even what we're seeing today.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Ralitsa Vassileva. Thank you very much for coming to talk to us about it.

VASSILEVA: It's my pleasure.

SAVIDGE: Appreciate it.

The last debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama happens tomorrow, I think we have told you that but it's always worth repeating, you can watch that showdown live right here on CNN. It will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. It was a massive heist, bracing thieves might seven figures worth millions and it was all caught on camera. We are going to talk to a stolen art hunter just ahead to find out what of the chances will ever see the art again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: As art heists go, it was pretty brazen. Seven paintings stolen from a museum in the Netherlands. We are talking big ones, paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Monet, they're all gone. The hall is worth tens of millions of dollars, some say over $100 million. Police in Rotterdam, now releasing this video. They say that it shows the thieves letting themselves into the museum.

I spoke with Chris Marinello, he is the executive director at the Art Loss Register and stolen, or he is rather a stolen art hunter himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS MARINELLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE ART LOSS REGISTER: Well, this was a very well planned theft. The museum had advertised this exhibit for quite some time so apparently word got out to the thieves that these valuable paintings would be on display.

SAVIDGE: I think the question that came out of most of our mouths when we heard about this huge theft was how in the world would somebody think that they could sell these pieces of work? They are world famous and clearly tracked by art connoisseurs. So how do you sell something like this?

MARINELLO: That's exactly the truth. The thieves don't think about what they're going to do after they steal them. A lot of times they think they're going to quickly cash out. But they realize that organizations like our organization and Interpol will be spreading the word that these are stolen and no one will buy them, no auction house, no respectable dealer, no collector is going to touch them.

SAVIDGE: And you say you didn't think they realized that, but is it possible they had a client already lined up?

MARINELLO: I know the Hollywood theory of a mysterious collector ordering art thefts around the world, for his own private enjoyment, but I have never run into that particular individual, I think it's a Hollywood creation.

SAVIDGE: All right, so there isn't a Carey Grant sort of behind this kind of plot here.

MARINELLO: Sorry to disappoint you.

SAVIDGE: Yes. It is a bit of disappointments. So, let's talk about what could happen now. What do you think then, these thieves now have the artwork, they find out its red hot, too hot to sell, what happens?

MARINELLO: Once they realized it's too hot to handle, they will contact me or a museum looking for a ransom. They will hope that an insurance company comes forward, and that they will demand a ransom from the insurance companies, or the paintings will go underground and be traded for weapons, drugs amongst thieves, even use as a get out of jail free card, where a thief is believes that one day he may be captured, he will use these paintings to bargain to fry to bargain for a lesser sentence from authorities.

SAVIDGE: Well, that is fascinating. As far as the aspect of you paying some kind of ransom or insurance companies, do you do that?

MARINELLO: No, we don't. And most fine art insurance companies won't do that at all. They will pay a small finder's fee to somebody who has no connection to the theft whatsoever. And my role is usually to negotiate these types of things. In fact I'm here in Paris now negotiating over a theft that took place over 40 years ago.

SAVIDGE: You have a fascinating job. I wonder though, how will these works of art then, show up? Will the public ever get to see them again? Do you think they will somehow materialize? And if so, what's the likely scenario?

MARINELLO: The police saying, the Netherlands are very good. And I am hopeful that they will turn up in the next few weeks. But if they don't come out in the next few weeks, they could go underground for decades.

SAVIDGE: And could it be that somebody tosses them out? Could it be that they're going to appear on e-bay? Anything like that?

MARINELLO: Well, if they appear anywhere in the marketplace, whether it's on e-bay or an art sale anywhere in the world, our organization will find them and we will notify authorities. But there is that chance that the thief will feel the heat is on and may destroy them. We have run into situations like that before, right here in Paris where a thief, when the law enforcement was getting close, they threw the valuable paintings into the sane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And we certainly hope that doesn't have this time around.

Moving on, what can America do to reduce its dependence on foreign oil? Well, Fareed Zakaria explores international innovations. It could help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Trains, planes and automobiles burn over 13 million barrels of oil every day in the United States. And we spend over $1 billion per day buying that oil, almost half of which comes from foreign countries, some of whom are considered national security problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weaning ourselves off oil saves about $4 trillion net present value in the United States. That money then stays at home. ZAKARIA: So, love and freezing, what if we wasted less fuel getting gas to the wheels? And he designed the hyper car, which could weigh about two-thirds less than a normal car and could run up to an astonishing 240 miles per gallon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Well, you can learn more about this car and the other innovations on the show "Global Lessons," the road map for a powering America. It will aired tonight on CNN at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern time.

An infamous hunt for communist started 65 years ago today. On Capitol Hill, politicians, actors, writers, all were grilled at the leadership of Senator Joe McCarthy's committee. We will talk with American movie classics' host, to Robert Osborne about that witch hunt and how it impacted politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Well, you can bet that industries are going to be watching the march very closely tomorrow morning. That is because well, Friday was not a good day, the Dow sank 205 points.

We want to talk to Todd Schoenberger. He is the managing principal at black bay group.

And Todd, how much did Friday really put people on edge tomorrow?

TODD SCHOENBERGER, MARKET ANALYST: Quite a bit, because first of all, it was on earnings right now, Martin. And it wasn't just a backwards looking number, it's that forward guidance, what companies do when they release their earnings report, is they actually give us a report card of how they have done over the last few months. But what we on Wall Street, what we want to hear is the optimistic tone. How they are going to do in the forth coming quarters. And if the tone is quite pessimistic, which is what it was on Friday, markets will get scared and they'll sell off. So a lot of eyes will be looking at these earnings reports coming out next week.

SAVIDGE: Yes. And one of those is, of course, looking at yahoo, which is going to be the first report since they have had their new CEO. So, what are we expecting?

SCHOENBERGER: That's right. Melissa Mayer is coming out for the 11- day maternity leave, believe it or now, and she's going to report her first full quarter at yahoo. They report their earnings after the close of Monday. And all analysts want to know what is the growth plan going to be for yahoo. Is it going to be a hyper growth company, which it probably still is and that actually could dictate how earnings are going to be for the rest of the week. There is a number of tech companies come out. We have facebook, we also have Apple as well as Amazon. So, what we want to hear is some great news coming out at yahoo tomorrow afternoon. If we do, that shifts set a turn for a nice week on Wall Street. SAVIDGE: Well, you mentioned facebook there, and let's talk about this. Are they going to be able to dig themselves out of the kind of hole they're in?

SCHOENBERGER: Yes, We all want to know this, because there are couple of things. I mean, you look at facebook, they have lost half of their value since they went public. What we want to hear on Wall Street is, what are they going to do about these mobile phones? Are they going to be able to monetize the ads that they placed on these phones? Because right now, I got to tell you, Martin, we just don't see it. And we want to see those numbers, because you've got to see the revenue growth. And if the revenue growth this and there, that stock, it gets slam again. It's lost quite a bit of value, not just since it went public, actually just over the last couple of weeks. So this coming week should be a telltale sign on how it's going to finish off the rest of the year.

SAVIDGE: And then earning for Apple, do we expect that to reflect the new iphone?

SCHOENBERGER: That's right. Apple, look. The iphone 5, they're expected to net $48 billion just off of iphone 5 sales from now until the end of next year. So we want to hear how is the growth plan. Because remember they have a new ipad mini that's rolling out. It's going to compete with Amazon's kindle. We want to know some growth rates, we want to know about production concerns. You remember when the iphone 5, they had several delays. Are they going to experience the same thing with this ipad mini. And I think that's what analyst are going to concentrate on the most.

The earnings numbers should be nice and I think we can expect a bullish number from them. But moving forward, we want to know, have they worked out their manufacturing problems that they had before with the iphone 5, and that will be another one of those proxies for a growing stock market over the next few weeks.

SAVIDGE: Todd Schoenberger from the black bay group. Thanks very much for focusing us financially for Monday.

SCHOENBERGER: Thank you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Were you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party? Those were infamous words and it was of course a question that was asked dozens of times on Capitol Hill during the house of un- American activities hearing which started 65 years ago today.

The goal was of course, they say, to search out and remove any influences and comments from Hollywood's film industry as America slid into the cold war.

Joining us now with insight and a look back at turner classic movies host and film historian Robert Osborne.

Robert, thanks very much for joining us.

ROBERT OSBORNE, FILM HISTORIAN: Martin, thanks for being here. SAVIDGE: Who started the hearings and why?

OSBORNE: Well, it all start in Washington, D.C. and you know, there's been rumblings about communist as far back as 1941 when Walt Disney had a strike to this studios and kind of accused it of being communist driven.

But, I don't think that, you know, anything really acted on it until about 65 years ago, in '47, when they started really having hearings about it. And I think a lot of it was actually instigated by Washington, D.C. and a lot of senators trying to get their names in the newspapers and they always knew that Hollywood was a great place. We got film stars involved to get newspaper space. And that served things up. People like Humphrey Bogart, (INAUDIBLE), Danny Kay, actually took a plane with the bunch of stars for the Washington to try to get them to not have hearings. Like this feeling that Hollywood is being unfairly targeted.

But, it went on again, and of course, it just became the circus in Washington, D.C. and every newspaper and it got everybody terrified by the communists and about more about everything going on. We didn't have the Nazis to worry about anymore so now it was communists.

And, what happen was, you know, there was really never been any proof that even people who are inclined towards a communist blend of thinking, were doing anything putting them into scripts to really make scripts that were going to make people go out and try to burn the flag, American flag or something. But what it did was destroy so many American lives.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Well, let me - let me as - who were -- whose careers do you think were the most damaged by these hearings?

OSBORNE: Well, many were damaged. The famous Hollywood 10 because they were actually -- many of them were put in jail for a year, the one that kind of left jail early, was Edrick Demetric (ph), the director, who did name names because of it and was allowed to work again and after that worked steadily making films from, you know, everything, from rain tree county to the young lions and had a great career in Hollywood.

There was also a famous paper that came out called Red Channels that came out in 1950 which just kind of hinted at people who may have had some communist leanings. And it killed crews there as well. One of those on that list was Lee Grant who just had an academy award nomination for her first film, that detective story, and she did nothing except to appear and give a eulogy at a funeral for an (INAUDIBLE) who was actor that was listed as a communist and he died of a heart attack brought on many field by the stress that he was undergoing because he was not able to get work. And just because Lee Grant had given the eulogy at his funeral, she on that Red Channel's list and she never work again for many, many years.

SAVIDGE: We forget, really, how fearful those times were. And I'm wondering - OSBORNE: I was told actually, Martin, by a friend of mine who had just done under contract at Paramount in the 1950s, that she was warned about even stopping to talk at the table in the commissary, Paramount Pictures, where she was under contract to anybody who was on that red channel's list, because it could actually put her on the list the next time it came out.

SAVIDGE: What's the legacy today from all of this?

OSBORNE: Pardon, again?

SAVIDGE: What is the legacy, do you think, this is?

OSBORNE: Well, the legacy is just that -- again, it's just that people run in packs like coyote spreading fear and things like that and you have to be careful of all of that, you have to also be careful of anyone who's going to use you or your industry or whatever you're working for as a scapegoat to get publicity and to enrich themselves and their political leanings.

It's just that you have to be so careful about rumors and about fear and things like that. Because again, there was a movie that (INAUDIBLE) called Tender Comrade and simply because of the title and the fact that two of the people who were being accused of being a communist had something to do with the direction and the script of it, that whole film was, you know, held up during these hearings as these terrible Nazi propagandas. The movie, we shown on TCM many times and it's nothing but this charming look story about a girl and her husband who went overseas during the war and the comrade brought the end to that.

SAVIDGE: And I would love to talk more, but time gets away from us.

OSBORNE: Great things to remember. Thank you for remembering this.

SAVIDGE: It. It is indeed. And we thank you and we also thank the classics channel and your help in putting all this together (INAUDIBLE).

OSBORNE: Thank, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Well, how do you get more voters to actually vote? Seems like a simple question, how about this for an answer. A Medical marijuana dispensary in one California town's accused of lowering voters with pot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Offering pots for votes? A camping flyer is raising some eyebrows and a lot of questions today, in Los Angeles, some believe it is the reason why hundreds of voters came out last Saturday because the flyer as you see there, suggests that you will receive free Medical marijuana if you provide prove of your vote.

Nick Valencia knows that city pretty well.

And Nick, tells us about the flyer and what maybe going on here?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I do know the city well and the interest of focus closure. This is my home town. It is where I was born and raised and the flyer that started being circulated, the weak of our neighborhood election, is what's causing a lot of controversy.

And the flyer we just showed there, offering $40 of free Medical marijuana for those who show proof that they voted. Now, it goes to step further, and you see a list of names there, there's a slate that this flyer claims that is friendly to medical marijuana dispensaries. Opponents to this are very angry because they say it goes against California election law, Martin, saying that you cannot induce citizens to vote for a particular candidate while offering them monetary compensation.

One of those opponents is Sean Smith and her husband, they filed a formal complaint against this questioning legitimacy and validity of the local election. She says, she has prove, martin, that 300 people voted just because of this flyer and that's a huge number when you look at it because last year in this election, 90 people voted, this time ten times that many, about 800 people.

Now, if you stick a look at that flyer, Nelson Grande is the president of that slate that was running and was listed on this flyer. He says he had nothing to do with it whatsoever, but when I spoke to him earlier, he completely distanced himself from it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELSON GRANDE, SLATE PRESIDENT: Like I said, I mean, I had no knowledge of the flyer and speaking with other candidates from this, I know they had no knowledge of the flyer. Again, until the day of the election, who know passed around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: So, it's Nelson Grande. He run unsuccessfully to be the neighborhood council president. It's worth noting, Martin, that only two of those members on that slate ran successfully of council. It is over a dozen. SAVIDGE: Yes. We could chuckle about this. But it is a corrupting, you know, the voting process. And I'm wondering, do we know who is behind this? VALENCIA: Yes. That's a big question, Nelson, Martin, went a step further and said that it was his opponents that were up to this. He wouldn't put a pass them if they were up to this. He said it aligned with the mudslinging that went on for at least entire election. Of course, the opponents are obviously saying, that they have nothing to do with this. I mean, Charlotte smith and her husband that we talked to, just says that it came from a pot dispensary in the rampart division about seven miles away in Los Angeles. And that brings up a bigger question about stakeholders voting in local election.

SAVIDGE: Yes. And I was going to ask you about that, what is the debate? VALENCIA: The stake holders are called Starbucks stake hordes. Essentially you, Martin, could have gone to my town, bought a Starbucks' cup of coffee there locally, taken a receipt to this voting place in city hall and now, all of the sudden, you are a stakeholder. They would have allowed you to vote.

Now, that's interesting to a bigger aspect because Eagle Rock has become ground zero for these pot dispensaries. As more cities in Southern California are beginning to outlaw pot dispensaries. A lot of them are finding home in Eagle Rock. In fact, there's 15 in about a mile and a half radius and this town's not that big, about 30,000 people.

SAVIDGE: Very Interesting. Nick Valencia with the news from home.

VALENCIA: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Thanks very much.

Well, we're going get you ready for tomorrow night's debate. One of the critical issues that candidates need to hit home, with voters, that is. That will be just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: I think it would be pretty tough to overstate the importance of tomorrow night's debate. There's just 16 days to go until the election. President Obama and Mitt Romney, well, they spent the day today prepping for tomorrow's debate.

But on television today, everywhere you looked, Obama, Romney, the debate, and the election, they were all the talk of the Sunday news programs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: There were a whole bunch of oil companies.

ROMNEY: I had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by. DAVID GREGORY, HOST, MEET THE PRESS: What are the stakes in this final debate, with serious conversation about differences in foreign policy?

DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CHIEF CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST: I think it's going to be an important debate. I don't think any one event is decisive. But this is an important issue even though, being strong at home and rebuilding our economy is a number one issue. People want to know that they have a strong, steady hand in the oval office, and they don't want someone who's reckless and who has been consistently wrong on foreign policy issues as governor Romney has. SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Debates perhaps have matter more than ever before. And I think part of it is that the president who created this false image of Mitt Romney in the minds of some voters, that was completely knocked down in that first debate. And I think now what's becoming apparent in this debate is that the president has no plan for the next four years. Tomorrow is his last chance to tell us what he's going to do in the next four years.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEW HOST: Senators, let's start with start with breaking news. A report in today's "New York Times" that Iran and the U.S. have agreed in principle to one-on-one talks about Iran's nuclear program. The White House said late last night that they have not agreed to talks.

LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think the Iranians are trying to take advantage of our election cycle to continue to talk. As we talk with the Iranians, whether it's bilaterally or unilaterally, they continue doing rich. I think the time for talking is over.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: If direct negotiations are a path toward a peaceful resolution with Iran giving up on the notion of nuclear weapon, pursue it. If meeting collectively is better, pursue it as well. We don't want to drive into the brick wall of war in 2013 without sitting down and speaking.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Obama administration failed to protect the consulate, failed to respond to requests, rejected demands they would help. The ambassador was personally worried about, not only his own life, about violence, and the Obama administration did nothing. If that offends the president, then, that's his problem and he ought to get over it.

BILL RICHARDSON (D), FORMER GOVERNOR, NEW MEXICO: When the president found out about what happened in Benghazi, the next day, he called it an act of terror, twice, in Washington and in Nevada. He ordered an investigation. He increased embassy security. He said he was going to bring those individuals responsible to justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Just to whet your appetite there. The last debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama will happen tomorrow. And you can watch that show live right here on CNN at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon is coming up in a few minutes which would have claimed by Don who is here on the couch with me.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm mesmerized, transfixed. I came up to watch a pro at work, that's what happened.

OK, moving on now. So Martin, you know, it's been a very bad week, very bad couple of weeks for Lance Armstrong. He's been stripped of his tours day France titles, he has accused of the most sophisticated doping operation that sport, biking, has ever seen, and then, he steps down the head of the cancer foundation he has been in charge with.

Now Martin, some of the people who donated the money to the organization, big-money donors are asking for their money back, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL BIRDSONG, FORMER LIVESTRONG VOLUNTEER: And he cheated and cheated, you know, beyond many people's beliefs or imagination for the results in the tours de France, so the whole thing is built on a lie, and that's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, during that interview, the vice president of Livestrong called in and wanted to respond, and she's going to tell you if they're considering giving the money back at all.

Plus, we're going to be talking about what happened in Wisconsin, that shooting we are finding out now, Martin, that three of those victims are believed to have died and our affiliate is reporting that the gunman has now been found. And the gunman, they believe the gunman has died. So, we will be reporting that at the top of the hour.

SAVIDGE: Exactly. Don Lemon. Thank you very much.

LEMON: Thank you. See you.

SAVIDGE: Well, it made people around the world stay up all night and stare at the sky. We have the best photos of the new meteor shower and the story behind it, that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: All over the world, people stayed up late hoping to see them and by gash, some actually did get lucky. We are talking about a meteor shower that took place very early this morning.

And Josh Levs is here. He has got the best of the photos.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Let's get right to these pictures. They're pretty amazing, you know. I mean, all the other news stories in the world. You know, how these people who stopped to spend hours staring at the sky. This is an i-report here that we got from Renata (INAUDIBLE), really incredible out of Wiltshire in the United Kingdom. And this time lapse photos show you these meteors showers and these meteors are flying at about 150,000 miles per hour burning up as the earth's atmosphere goes through.

Take a look at the next one. Derek Robinson had this photo on the NASA Flicker site, absolutely beautiful. Let's just bank to a few more of this. We have a great i-report from Kevin Lewis, and you can see in the night's sky, some of these streaks there. Let's just go through a few more of these. Another one out of NASA. I really like this because this shows from the point of view of space what it looks like to see one of these just cross by. Let's back through the rest of the pictures. We've got all these pictures and a lot more up at my facebook and twitter pages, joshlevsCNN. And if you have any photos, share them with us at CNNireport.

SAVIDGE: Yes, great idea. Get up there, look up. The worlds is looking up.

Josh Levs, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

LEVS: You got it.

SAVIDGE: Well, that will do it for me. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Don Lemon. Remember I'm on facebook and twitter. Have a great week -- Don.