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Fareed Zakaria GPS
Man Falls from Space's Edge; Obama vs. Romney II; Arlen Specter Dead at 82; Royal Jewels Stolen; Baseball's Final Four
Aired October 14, 2012 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get you up to speed on the stories that are making headlines this hour.
As you saw, a man fell to Earth today from higher than anywhere ever. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISSION CONTROL: Jumper away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Yes, jumper away. That was mission control on the ground, talking about that guy, Felix Baumgartner. You can't get enough of it. He pushed himself out of the helium balloon 24 miles above ground with nothing but a space suit, a helmet and a parachute. He landed on this feet after a record freefall.
So why did he do? Well, for the adventure, of course. But there are a few more practical reasons, too. More on that in just a moment here on CNN.
And speaking of space, the space shuttle Endeavour finally crawled into its new home today, about 15 hours later than expected. Crowds cheered as the 85-ton shuttle inched by on its long, slow journey across Los Angeles. The retired shuttle was supposed to arrive yesterday at the California Science Center, but things like trees and utility poles slowed its trek.
America has lost one of the giants of the U.S. Senate. Long-time Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. Specter was elected to the Senate in 1980 and represented Pennsylvania for 30 years, longer than anyone in the state's history. He was 82 years old. We'll have a live report from Washington five minutes away here on CNN.
The deadly meningitis outbreak continues to spread. The Centers for Disease Control confirming now 10 new cases of the rare fungal meningitis in the last 24 hours. Overall 205 cases are confirmed in 14 states. Tennessee particularly hit hard with about 25 percent of the cases. The victims received tainted steroid injections commonly given to relieve intense neck and back pain.
A guy flying through the sky broke the sound barrier today as we've been reporting. Big news, right? Well, people have been flying faster than the speed of sound since the 1940s. Well, this guy today wasn't in an airplane, that's the difference. He was just falling, an amazing daredevil sky dive that made world record history.
Brian Todd in Washington with the great assignment.
So, Brian, I remember you were there. It was last week or the week before, it got postponed.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
LEMON: You've been following this historic stunt through the planning stages. You've met Felix Baumgartner. What an accomplishment.
TODD: Incredible accomplishment, Don. I mean, just for the future of space and aerospace exploration, this really could be a milestone. It's just thrilling.
The more you look at that video and you realize what the preparation involved, it really is just a thrilling moment in the exploration of the heavens.
You know, we can talk about the records quickly. You know, he fell through the sound barrier. That's more than -- the mark is 690 miles an hour. He went 704 miles an hour, he may have gone faster. We'll get to confirmation of the exact ratings.
Either way you cut it, he broke through the sound barrier. No one had ever done that outside a vehicle. He jumped from higher than anyone has ever jumped, from 128,000 feet. That, by the way, about 8,000 feet higher than they expected him to jump, and he shattered the record by about 25,000 feet. So, those are the real milestones here.
And what they're hope thing mission will accomplish is to judge just how well a human can survive in just a suit, whether it's outside a space vehicle or outside a high altitude plane. This could go a long way toward determining that, Don, and that is the real milestone of this jump.
LEMON: Yes. You know, we're seeing a real transitioning now of things that are away from NASA, and you're seeing more people do it independently. You have been inside the Red Bull mission control. And it is called Red Bull mission control. It's not NASA mission control.
TODD: Right.
LEMON: So tell me about the guys behind this moment. Are they scientists or just extreme stunt dudes here?
TODD: Not extreme stunt dudes at all. These are scientists. They recruited many people from NASA. Red Bull contracted out with an aerospace firm called from Cheshire, I believe Space Cheshire, from California. And these are all experts -- the top people in the field of aerospace exploration, including as we said many from NASA missions. So this was no fly-by-night group by any stretch of the imagination. They devoted a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of effort toward developing the science for this, and you could tell every aspect of this, Don, was planned almost to the T. The timing was planned to a T. And this was a really impressive feat.
LEMON: All right. Brian Todd, good stuff. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.
TODD: Thank you.
LEMON: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney out of sight today, getting ready for Tuesday's second of three presidential debates.
CNN's political director, Mr. Mark Preston. is at New York's Hofstra University, the site of Tuesday's showdown, moderated, of course, by Candy Crowley. We can't wait. There he is.
Mark, no surprise, Tuesday's debate was the number one topic on the Sunday morning shows, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, no doubt, Don. In fact, as you said, President Obama down in Williamsburg, Virginia, today trying to do some debate prep, trying to get his back on the ground, get himself running again. Mitt Romney in the suburbs of Boston doing the same thing, hoping he can turn in a strong performance like he did two weeks ago.
But they sent their advisers out on the Sunday shows today. Two of the top ones were with Candy Crowley. We saw Robert Gibbs, the Obama adviser, talk about how President Obama didn't meet his expectations in the first debate. He gave us a bit of a preview of what to expect on Tuesday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, OBAMA CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: He knew when he walked off 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: We also saw Ed Gillespie, a senior advisor for Mitt Romney. He spoke to Candy as well today. He said that this debate, and quite frankly, this election, really comes down to President Obama's record. Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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: And there we have. We'll have both candidates on the stage right behind me here at Hofstra University, Don, for the second debate. This will be a town hall style debate. We'll have questions from the audience. It will certainly be a little bit different than what we've seen certainly in the first presidential debate and in the vice presidential debate just a few days ago.
LEMON: My gosh, Mark, how quickly this thing passes. Remember, I think we were at the Iowa state fair and all of Tampa all over 19 months ago. And now, it's only three weeks away before people start heading to the polls. We're doing these debates.
How important is this debate? I mean, is it really make-or-break for the president, make-or-break for Mitt Romney?
PRESTON: In some ways, yes, it is for the president, Don. He has to stem at least the political bleeding at this point. Some people think that Joe Biden might have done that just a few days ago when he was able to at least forcefully talk about the administration's record, even though he was criticized for how he did so. President Obama needs to come out and be a little bit more forceful in explaining himself.
At the same time, Mitt Romney is on a high right now. And for him to continue to do so, he needs to deliver another performance.
If you look at the path to 270 right now, the 270 electoral votes, Don, that a candidate needs to win, Barack Obama still has a clearer path to win that. Mitt Romney needs to make up some ground. He has to win states like Ohio. If he turns in another strong debate performance on Tuesday night, the headline on Wednesday morning is that the election has turned around -- Don.
LEMON: Absolutely. Thank you, Mark Preston. Appreciate it.
And don't forget to mark your calendars. You can catch the second presidential debate live right here on CNN Tuesday night. It's moderated, of course, by our very own Candy Crowley. Our coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
More politics now. Famously known for switching political parties late in his political career, former Senator Arlen Specter leaves a lasting mark on Pennsylvania and the country as a whole. The 82-year- old Specter died today after a long battle with cancer.
President Obama said in a statement, "Arlen Specter was always a fighter. From his days stamping out corruption as a prosecutor in Philadelphia, to his three decades of service in the Senate, Arlen was fiercely independent, never putting party or ideology ahead of the people he was chosen to serve. He brought that same toughness and determination to his personal struggles, using his own story to inspire others."
CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins me now by phone from Washington. Dana, you know, he had overcome numerous serious illnesses over the past two decades, but he continued to work and he continued to work hard.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): He sure did. I remember seeing him in the hallways of the Capitol, Don, when he was undergoing treatment for his cancer, and he clearly was looking frail. And I remember, you know, sometimes him telling me, you know, he still played squash that morning. He was so intent on keeping going and not letting what ailed him keep him down.
It was incredible. And you sort of look at what happened at the end of his political career in the senate. It's very similar. He passed the vote for the president's stimulus plan. He was one of three Republicans to do that. That really cost him.
I remember watching him go in and out of the Democratic leader's office, seeing the kind of anguish on his face, knowing that he -- it was something he felt he needed to do for the economy but knew that it was going to be a very, very bad move politically for him.
And, in fact, ultimately when he did decide to switch parties, he did it with his kind of typical candor that he dealt with everything in life.
Take a listen to what he said at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: The prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak. I'm not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And that was because the Republican Pennsylvania primary electorate was really angry at him. And Specter was one of the last remaining moderates in his party. And he wore that on his sleeve unabashedly. He was very proud of that.
He was a Republican who was for abortion rights, who enjoyed working across the aisle with Democrats. He was very, very open about the fact that he brought home millions and millions of dollars in federal government spending to his home state of Pennsylvania for cancer research and all kinds of other projects in Pennsylvania.
To the end, he did not -- did not apologize for that.
LEMON: And, you know, the response has been just overwhelming online and people writing in to CNN talking about him. And you talked about what a moderate he is.
Most people -- looking back now, you know, people will say, well, he worked on both sides of the aisle. That angered people on both sides of the aisle. He was not apologetic about it. And even with "don't ask, don't tell," people were upset with him.
He -- we need more like him in Washington.
BASH: Well, you know, he was a breed that didn't and does not currently exist that much anymore. And it's true on both sides of the aisle. Moderates on the Democratic side have been defeated by people who are more partisan in their own party.
But, you know, going back to Specter, I think one of the most interesting things to note here is his service on the Judiciary Committee. He -- for the 30 years he was in Congress, he was on the Judiciary Committee the entire time. That's how he made his name.
At times, he was the chair, he was the ranking member. And you remember back in 1992, he really went after Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. That did not go over very well back home in Pennsylvania. He himself said he almost lost after that.
And another thing when you're talking about his record as a lawyer, going back even further, people might not know this, back in 1964, he was a lawyer on the Warren Commission looking into the assassination of President Kennedy and he was one of the authors of that Single Bullet Theory, which he wore proudly until the very end.
LEMON: Yes. Dana Bash, you know so much about Congress and Washington -- it's great to have you on for this story. Thank you very much.
BASH: Thanks for having me, Don.
LEMON: Yes, absolutely. And he will be missed. Great words to say about Arlen Specter. Our Dana Bash there.
And coming up next hour, I'm going to talk with Senator Arlen Specter's former communication director about his long career. And you have to see it to believe it. The former Pennsylvania senator's love for standup comedy. That's next hour right here on CNN.
Moving on now. Just about everyone who watched the vice presidential debate has something to say about Joe Biden's performance. The folks at "SNL," well, they did, too. And we'll show you, and talk to both sides about Tuesday night's presidential debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Our Mark Preston just talked about how important Tuesday night's presidential debate will be. So, let's talk about it now with two of our favorites -- well, it says in the prompter, I'm not sure about that. Maybe my team does that, so much for me.
L.Z. Granderson is a senior writer for ESPN and contributor, and also, Will Cain is a contributor here at CNN.
Will, you have another job, too, right? Don't you work for --
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: "The Blaze." LEMON: "The Blaze." OK.
CAIN: I write for the Web site called "The Blaze."
LEMON: So, this debate will be a town hall format moderated by our very own Candy Crowley. Is the format going to make President Obama's harder on Tuesday, L.Z.?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think so. I actually think it will make it easier, because he'll be able to have the audience to gauge, right, be able to understand a little bit more about the energy level that he has. He'll be able to understand how the way he's answering these questions, have a more immediate impact on the audience and perhaps the nation.
LEMON: So it's like a performer, he's getting vibe off the audience. Will, do you agree with that?
GRANDERSON: Absolutely.
CAIN: I totally agree, but for a little different reason. Look, I was reading a review of the 2008 town hall debate Barack Obama had with Senator John McCain at the time. And here are the words that used to describe it. That he was dispassionate, that he kind of ambled when he chose his words. Sound familiar?
So I don't know, I don't know how high his bar on ratcheting up his energy. I will say this, that I agree with L.Z., the town hall format, though, lowers the bar. The confrontation aspect becomes more sensitive. People feel that. I don't think they like head to head as much. It's more about connecting with people.
LEMON: Was that the one -- was that -- that was Tom Brokaw's debate back in 2008. He talked about doing a town hall debate this morning on "Meet the Press" and he said it was very tough. He said something like, I'm paraphrasing, my condolences to Candy, because it's a tough debate to do.
Let's talk about Joe Biden for a minute. Let's go back to last week's debate. We knew "Saturday Night Live" would have some fun with the debate performances and didn't disappoint. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, I want to thank Centre College for hosting us this evening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, boy, here we go. Oh, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four years ago, President Obama made a promise.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That he would bring down unemployment below 6 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, this guy. I mean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: That's funny. And they were dead on. I have to say. Do you think this is going to be old news by Tuesday, L.Z.?
GRANDERSON: Well, it's old news now. You know, once you've been on "SNL, " it's pretty much out of the news cycle.
LEMON: Oh come on. Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, I mean, still, you can't get enough of that. I still watch the clips.
GRANDERSON: I mean in terms of having a more immediate impact in the way people view the debate. It may impact the way you view Joe Biden, but not necessarily the debate or the future debate.
LEMON: Yes.
CAIN: I totally disagree. Look, I know you didn't want to ask me this, Don, but you said it just now. We used to view debates through the prism of when they happen, our impressions, and then the spin room afterwards. But now we have this forever called the Internet where things are mashed up and parodied. You're kidding yourself if that kind of parody doesn't impact how people view this.
LEMON: No, no, that's kind of where I was going to go with it, because listen, good or bad, guess who people are talking about? They're talking about Joe Biden, right? And there are people who thought he was sort of a caricature of himself. But I think that most people kind of think the way Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. He offered the best defense of Joe Biden that I've heard. I want you to listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR KASIM REED (D), ATLANTA: The fact of the matter is, he dominated him. Now, people can talk about Joe Biden. But what I think people like about him is he's authentic. The one thing about Joe Biden is you believe what he was telling you. The only thing we really know about Mitt Romney that's unchanging is that he wants to be president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And he said after that, what I thought was funny, he offered Ryan an internship, that Biden did. But that's what people came away saying at least it was authentic, it wasn't canned. And the people criticizing him are on the right, the people who like it are on the left. So, did he do his job, L.Z.?
GRANDERSON: I definitely think he did his job, because he put more fight back on the ticket. And more importantly, you know, besides just rolling his eyes and the laughter, and I thought there were moments in which he was rude, he also introduced some parts of the conversation that the president did not do in the first debate. He talked about the 47 percent.
But more importantly, he also talked about the flaws of Ryan as a candidate, the fact that he was against the stimulus but asked for stimulus money. You know, Romney had that big foreign policy speech and he said the president didn't sign any trade agreements. Paul Ryan actually voted in favor of a trade agreement that President Obama signed.
LEMON: OK.
GRANDERSON: So these were some of the things that came out.
LEMON: So in other words, when -- the criticism of this guy, when you said, he is -- he was rude, I don't understand that. As long as he didn't like talk about --
CAIN: Really?
LEMON: No. He didn't call someone out of their name, call them a cuss word, talk about their mother. That's kind of what people do when they're having an actual conversation, whether it's someone on the right or the left. Mitt Romney was very aggressive in the presidential debate, and some people said it was bordering on rude. But guess what? He won that debate.
You may think that Joe Biden was rude, but that's all part of the process. What's wrong with that when you're in a debate?
CAIN: Well, people are rude. So you drew a correlation how people are in real life and people are rude in real life as well, Don.
LEMON: Right.
CAIN: That's not necessarily a net positive.
I will say this, look, to the (INAUDIBLE) from "Meet the Press", Joe Biden did dominate the debate. But what he did by doing is he motivated both bases, he motivated the left and the right. The question is, how those mannerisms, how that rudeness might have played off with independents.
I want to say one more thing that I think we might confused about what the word authentic means. I believe Joe Biden is authentic. I believe should he walk off right here, right now, I'll see the same guy I saw on that debate. But that doesn't mean unimpeachable. It doesn't truthful. Authentic and truthful are not interchangeable.
So, when he carried it on to say that they believe what Joe Biden says, I'm not sure that's a connection. They believe he is that guy, that doesn't mean they believe everything he says.
LEMON: I think you're right on on that. But the same thing about Mitt Romney, exactly that was a criticism on the left, is that he wasn't telling the truth and that he was rude. And that's the same criticism on the right about Joe Biden, is that he wasn't telling the truth and he was rude. Go ahead, L.Z.
GRANDERSON: I was just going to say, I think the criticism about Mitt Romney is he doesn't tell the truth. You hear that more than --
LEMON: You guys are saying the same thing. You're saying the same exact thing.
GRANDERSON: No, no, no, no. Will is insinuating that there were moments at which Vice President Biden lied.
LEMON: Yes.
GRANDERSON: I think there were moments which no one thought Romney was telling the truth. Those are two different things, having moments which he could be possibly lying and looking at a guy saying he's always lying. I mean, that's the criticism against Romney and that's different than saying authentic Joe may not be telling the truth.
LEMON: I think Will filibustered, because there's a story L.Z. wanted to talk about we're not even going to get to.
CAIN: I didn't filibuster. I was brief.
LEMON: Yes, you did. A part of your strategy, your debate strategy.
All right. I'm not going to tell you what it is. The audience, I let you --
CAIN: That's right. Leave them hanging.
LEMON: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
CAIN: We'll see you.
GRANDERSON: Thank you.
LEMON: Pakistanis at their breaking point after the Taliban targets a 14-year-old girl. Today, they took to the streets. And an ancient mosque falls victim to the civil war in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Don't forget. You can stay connected. You can watch CNN live on your computer. You can do it from work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Syria's government army retook control of an historic mosque in Aleppo after fierce clashes with rebel forces. Activists say Umayyad mosque now has extensive damage after the army set fire to it and then ran away. Parts of the mosque date from the 12th century.
Meantime, opposition forces say another 202 people have been killed across Syria.
Trying to assassinate a 14-year-old schoolgirl may be the moment the Taliban pushed it too far in Pakistan. Tens of thousands of outrage people rallied today in support of Malala Yousufzai, who had blogged about the right of girls to get an education.
Reza Sayah has more on today's landmark rally in Karachi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've seen a lot of rallies, gatherings, prayer vigils for Malala Yousufzai this week. But I don't think there's any question, this one in Karachi on Sunday, one of the biggest ones yet. It's always hard to guess how many people are in these crowds.
But by my estimation, there's at least 20,000 people here, maybe more. This gathering is organized by the MQM, a political party that's already fiercely anti-Taliban. They believe the Taliban poses an immediate danger to Pakistan and they point to the attack on Malala as an example.
At this gathering, massive murals and billboards, with messages for Malala. One of them saying, "Our prayers with you". Also, a banner that spans 20 football fields where demonstrators are writing personal message, get well-wishes for Malala. Obviously, a lot of support here for this 14-year-old human rights activist.
But here is what else you're seeing and you're hearing, some intense outrage and anger aimed at the Taliban.
SAAD JAFRY, BUSINESSMAN: I want to crush the people who killed -- who tried to kill Malala.
SAYAH: You want to crush the Taliban?
JAFRY: Of course. They should take some necessary action.
SAMAN JAFFERY, SOCIAL ACTIVIST: We are praying for her. But if they sit down, this is a psychological war, if you sit down, this will (INAUDIBLE) and it will be -- you know, it won't be a victory for us.
SAYAH: It's that type of anger many here say could be a turning point in Pakistan's fight against violent extremism. Many here say it's time, not just for the government, but every individual to stand up against militancy.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Karachi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Reza.
An explosive situation to tell you about. A celebration takes a terrible turn when fireworks that were supposed to go up, instead go sideways. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Half past the hour now. Get you caught on the headlines.
A whole bunch of extreme adventure records were shattered today. This is not your everyday skydive. Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner, in nothing but a space suit and a helmet, parachuted to earth from the edge of space, 24 miles up. But during his 4 1/2 minute free fall, Baumgartner broke the sound barrier. Nobody has ever done that before.
Oklahoma has taken a hit from severe storms. People in the town of Anadarko reported seeing a funnel cloud. The National Weather Service has yet to confirm a tornado struck the area but 80-mile-per-hour winds brought down parts of a gas station in the town of Springer, including ripping off the front of a gas pump.
Fireworks going wild in China injuring about 150 people, most with burns. Instead of shooting up into the air, some of the fireworks went into the crowd that had gathered to watch. It happened at the West Lake International Expo. An annual event. Five people are still in the hospital.
America has lost one of the giants of the U.S. Senate. Long-time Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. Specter was elected to the Senate in 1980 and represented Pennsylvania for 30 years, longer than anyone in the state's history. He was 82 years old.
And one of those who knew Arlen Specter well and covered him on Capitol Hill is CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley. Our Fredricka Whitfield asked Candy why Senator Specter was known as "Snarling Arlen."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And then this sad note. Arlen Specter has passed away. You covered him on Capitol Hill. You know him well, his politics, him as a person. Why did so many call him "Snarling Arlen"?
(LAUGHTER)
CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": He was pretty irascible. I mean he believed what he believed. He could be cranky. He didn't -- much like -- he doesn't suffer fools or politely he was a very smart guy, very smart guy. A lawyer, he'd been a prosecuting attorney. He has been -- I mean the history that he covered in his career, not just the Senate, I think he was there for, like, 30 years, but the history, he was on the Warren Commission. He was one of the attorneys for the Warren Commission, which looked into the JFK assassination.
So just the time that he spent, all the Supreme Court nominees, because he loved the law. He was on the Judiciary Committee. He played such a pivotal role in selecting some of the Supreme Court justices that now sit on that bench and approving them. So he had such a span of history. He was also really got battered about in the end by politics.
He started out actually a registered Democrat but ran as a Republican. Got elected to the Senate as a Republican, and at the end of his career, when he was getting ready to run for re-election in the 2010 race he -- or close to it. I'm going to have to go back and actually check that. He -- in 2010, he switched parties and became a Democrat because the -- he felt that the -- that the Republican Party had left him.
He was a moderate from Pennsylvania and he was getting a -- was about to get a huge challenge from the conservative side and thought he might lose that. He switched to the Democratic Party, but in the end he lost the Democratic primary and that was the end certainly of his public career. But just a fascinating, smart guy, who contributed so much to history and lived so much of it.
WHITFIELD: Candy Crowley, thanks so much for that perspective. And of course all the best this week. We'll be watching you Tuesday night.
CROWLEY: Thanks. Thanks, Fred.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Fredricka Whitfield, talking to our very own Candy Crowley.
And coming up next hour, I'm going to talk with Senator Arlen Specter's former communications director about his long career.
And you have to see it to believe it. The former Pennsylvania senator's love for standup comedy. That's next hour right here on CNN.
We have a robbery to tell you about. An African king gets robbed and his country's crown jewels are swiped.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Rather than getting treated like royalty, an African king got a rude introduction when visiting Norway to attend a conference. Thieves made off with his luggage, including valuable royal jewelry that was tucked inside.
CNN's international Azadeh Ansari joins me now.
So how did it happen? What exactly happened?
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Well, Don, it's the last thing the Ghanaian king thought would happen when he went to this business conference in Oslo, Norway. And so these thieves made off with precious ancestral gold crown jewels that were tucked away in his suitcase which you had mentioned earlier.
We have surveillance video that Oslo police are actually looking at as a key part of the evidence in discovering and uncovering who these thieves are. And you can see this guy walks through these resolving doors, he stands around a little bit, he's the one wearing a backpack, and then -- and this is actually the second suspect on -- for our viewers. You can see her in the head scarf here. She's the second suspect that they had in mind but he stands around with this suitcase and then he just makes off with it. And so they're still investigating who is responsible for this, in terms of identifying -- they think that these are the two suspects, but they're looking into this case.
LEMON: Why --
ANSARI: As we go --
LEMON: Why would anybody travel with this kind of valuable?
ANSARI: Right. It's 2012 you've got to pay for that extra bag and all the -- the jewel swag. You know it's just like --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Well, no. He has -- he has some income on. I'm sure he has a little bit of dough. Right.
ANSARI: Right. No. But it's a good question. And the reason being is that King Tutu, he is a really revered figurehead. And when he makes these public appearances as he does so in his gold jewelry, and you can see him here, you see that bangle that he has on him. But that's just part of his presence, the way that he --
LEMON: It's like a queen with her jewelry and the crown, right?
ANSARI: Exactly. With her crown and everything. It's the same concept. And again he -- hopefully they can find it but we've had --
LEMON: Any chance? Any chance he's going to get his royal jewels back?
ANSARI: We'll see. We'll see. But, you know, in Ireland, for example, there's this big, huge mystery that's still longstanding over -- for over a century now and since 1907, the Irish royal jewels are missing and they were missing from the Dublin castle. So I mean we have this one outstanding mystery. We'll see. Hopefully. Let's see -- we can see the surveillance video again.
LEMON: All right. Someone stole the royal jewels. I can't believe that. All right. Thank you, Azadeh. I'm sorry.
ANSARI: You're welcome.
LEMON: Appreciate it.
The New York Yankees' captain clutch is out for the remainder of the playoffs. Derek Jeter goes down and he may take his team title hopes with him. We're going to talk about it and we're going to get NFL progress report next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're going to talk a little sports now. Baseball playoffs, full swing. And believe it or not, we're already six weeks into the NFL season.
Jon Wertheim is -- he's back. Senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated." Put the new cover up. There it is. "SI" with the Brooklyn Nets franchise on the cover.
Really? I think they play at the Barclay Center, right? Is that right?
JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: You got it.
LEMON: Yes.
WERTHEIM: That's right.
LEMON: So, John, great to see you. It's been a while. Let's talk baseball first. Yankees are taking on Detroit in the ALCS. The Yankees' highest paid player playing terribly and their heart and soul just broke his ankle, right? What in the world is going on?
WERTHEIM: Other than that it was a slow weekend here in New York. No, a lot of drama. The good news the Yankees are still in it, but boy, as you said, Alex Rodriguez, trouble hitting and he's actually removed for the game on Friday. The Yankees win that. Then on Saturday, last night, extra inning game, everything, Yankees make the straight comeback, and then not only do they lose the game but Derek Jeter breaks his ankle on a -- a weird play. I mean you'll see here, non-contact. And looks like he's done for the series. And, you know, we'll see what happens. They're playing the Tigers. Excellent team. And the last 48 hours have been rough for Yankees fans.
LEMON: Yes. Can you answer my next question? What's going on with A-Rod? What's up with that?
WERTHEIM: Yes, I mean, you know, in fairness, he's coming back from an injury, he's having trouble hitting especially right-handers. You know, the guy is 37 years old. And I think, you know, part of it just the expectations he sets for himself during the regular season. He inevitably has this drop off, but I think a lot of that is just good he is during the first 162 games but it's been a rough-go for him, too.
LEMON: Yes. So everybody is tweeting me now who's saying, show some love to the Cards, Don, because I used to live in St. Louis. So let's talk about the National League. The Cards, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, game one later tonight.
WERTHEIM: Yes. I mean this is definitely sort of the B-series, but these are the two teams that have won the last two World Series. The St. Louis very lucky to even still be here. And also remember, St. Louis' best player for years and years, Albert Pujols, leaves the franchise so it's much less of a star driven team. And then, you know, for the Giants they probably have the best player in the National League in Buster Posey. I mean it's been overshadowed definitely by the Yankees, certainly here in New York, but this ought to be a great series, too.
LEMON: All right. NFL, let's talk that -- about that now. I got to work today and you know, we're right here, where down where they play.
WERTHEIM: That's right.
LEMON: I didn't even recognize some of my colleagues still wearing that uniform, you know, the jerseys. So listen, the Falcons won today. Now undefeated at 6-0. Houston also undefeated. What are your headlines so far this season?
WERTHEIM: Yes, we're kind of in the meaty part of the season. You know, the first part of the season was the replacement ref shenanigans. Peyton Manning has a new team. Tim Tebow. Now we're sort of in the gods now, we're in the adult section, and I think you're right, I think the two undefeated teams of this moment, I think the Falcons are a great story. And then also these traditional stalwarts. The Saints, obviously, with the bounty scandal, rebate, Philadelphia. Some of these teams we're used to excellence from them have been struggling.
But, you know, we've sort of had five weeks of silliness and we're done with the refs -- you know, we're done with the replacement refs and now we're sort of on to the -- to the meaty part of the season.
LEMON: OK. Can we talk about the LSU Tigers? I know --
WERTHEIM: Sorry.
LEMON: How did they lose last weekend? And what's -- help me out here. What's going on?
WERTHEIM: They bounced back. But I know you're an LSU guys. It's a long season. And I know they looked good last night, but you know.
LEMON: Yes.
WERTHEIM: They obviously don't have the honey badger. So that's -- you know, they took a hit there. It's just -- you wonder who can beat Alabama. But you know, it's only mid-October. A lot of football to be played.
LEMON: It's just a gator thing. You know how that is. You know how that is.
OK, finally, moving on, it'll get better. It get better. Can I ask you about the skydiver today, did you see him?
WERTHEIM: On Twitter like everyone else. Yes.
LEMON: So do you think he's a modern-day Evel Knievel? What do you think of this guy? WERTHEIM: That exactly what I'm going to say. I'm saying to my kids, this is what -- remember Evel Knievel.
LEMON: Yes.
WERTHEIM: And you know the snake river canyon for my kids? This is their moment but I'm -- that's unbelievable. I've got to give Red Bull their credit. They really took sports sponsorship to new heights, pardon the pun. And also I love the return of the daredevil. It sort of went to X sports. Now we've got a real Internet daredevil here. Amazing stuff.
LEMON: Yes. But I mean now you're like jumping, you know, from outer -- from space, from the edge of space. It used to be you would jump over cars or boats or RVs or something with Evel Knievel. Did you have -- as a kid, we're about the same age, I would imagine. Do you the Evel Knievel doll with the motorcycle that you had to rip the thing out and do the --
WERTHEIM: Yes. I was going to say how are they going to merchandise this guy? But you know exactly. You know, I had all the Evel Knievel stuff. Because you'd replicate it in your backyard. I don't know how you'd do, you know, 20 some miles into space. I don't know how you replicate that for kids.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Jon Wertheim, thank you. Nice looking back with you.
WERTHEIM: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: All right.
You know, it could be a rough ride on Wall Street this week. We're looking ahead to that, and other stories that will make news in the days ahead.
And don't forget, wherever you go, we go, too. Watch CNN live on your computer, while at your work or even on your smartphone. Just head to CNN.com/TV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Now to the big stories in the week ahead from the White House to Wall Street. Our correspondents tell you exactly what you need to know. We're going to begin tonight, of course, with the president's plans for the week.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House. The president has spent the weekend at debate boot camp in Williamsburg, Virginia. On Tuesday he heads to his second debate at Hofstra University in New York.
The president trying to bounce back from that first performance in Denver. He follows that by hitting the campaign trail the next day with stops in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Athens, Ohio, then Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN political desk. Mitt Romney spend parts of Monday and Tuesday getting already for Tuesday night's big showdown with President Obama. But he also powwows tomorrow with top donors and aides at a campaign summit in New York City.
Two days after the debate, Romney again shares the spotlight with the president as they follow tradition and both attend the Al Smith Dinner in New York City.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Coming up, a jam-packed week on Wall Street. We'll get some critical housing reports, including existing home sales in September. Hopefully we will see continuing signs of improvement in the housing market.
Also on tap, September retail sales data that will come out as well as key inflation readings and a lot of big companies are set to report their earnings this week, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Microsoft. We'll track all of that and the week's business news on CNN Money.
A.J. HAMMER, ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's A.J. Hammer. Here's what we are watching this week. The brilliant mind behind the hit shows like "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" Chuck Lorre is going to stop by SBT. He's going to tell us all about his new book based on his infamous end of show "Vanity Card Rants."
Also we're backstage at "Dancing with the Stars."
LEMON: SBT. I like it, A.J. I was, like, what is SBT? "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," Don.
All right. With respect to Evel Knievel, Jon Wertheim and I were talking about it, there's a new ultimate stuntman. You know only just a few minutes it took him, for Felix Baumgartner to set a sky diving record, but it took a lot longer than that to get him ready to soar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I know you hear it all the time, you have to see this. You have to see this. As promised, we're going to replay that amazing and dangerous stunt that happened today. An Austrian skydiver, an extreme skydiver, rode a balloon to the edge of space, 24 miles above the New Mexico desert, and, yes, he jumped out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be strapped in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start reflecting a time of T minus one hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Couldn't get the parachute open. That is a problem. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the way to the rear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jumper away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So under parachute now. Did he break the speed of sound as he hoped? Here he is coming. And there you can see by the approaching shadow just about there, and he fell on the earth safely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: World record holder!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down on his knees. What a shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was really cool. We're going to show you even more in just a couple of minutes and you'll get the backstory on this as well.
