hear and read along with me, quote, he did not appear to have the ability to assist himself in evacuating in the event of an emergency. so, clearly, they're standing by their stance. but we're interested to see what the people had to say. they should tweet me or you. >> if something else happened to hi him, they didn't want to be responsible for it. thank you very much. thanks for watching. have a great weekend. honor sitting here bringing you the news every day. toss it to "the situation room" and wolf blitzer. >> president obama may be trying to put rumors about joe biden's arrest. the one-two punch to keep biden's old senate seat in the democrats' hands. also, new rumors of fistfights in the first days they were trapped. the questions between the bombers and the first african

chair. she's talking about the challenges of growing up in the segregated south. stand by to hear from condoleezza rice. she'll say a word you never expected her to say on national tv. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with the president. he's standing shoulder-to-shoulder today with joe biden in the vice president's home state of delaware. he seems to be sending a strong message to any democrats out there wishing for an obama-clinton ticket in 2012. listen to this. >> the single best decision that i have made was selecting joe biden as my running mate. single best decision. i mean that. >> bring in the studio white house correspondent ed henry. in a recent interview on "john king usa," bob woodward of "the

washington post" replacing bill clinton was on the table. it seems that the president wants to put that rumor to rest. >> it's off the table now. when you listen to senior people at the white house, it never really was on the table. bob woodward has since said he was not talking about any specific inside information about a conversation going on inside the white house now. he's talking about a conversation he had a year or two ago with mark penn, one of hillary clinton's strategists about one of the hypothetical possibility of an obama-clinton ticket. bottom line, people never considered that a possibility. number one, the vice president told the new york times that the president privately is asking him to run again in 2012. now you have the president, this was not an accident. he did it by design on joe biden's home in delaware. he said, look, stop on the talk.

the best decision i made was picking him. they're running him. not just running together. that officially basically the president is planning to run for re-election. he's planning to run according to joe biden. they're going to run together, wolf. >> at a time when several administration officials are leaving the government, you're getting new information about someone who's expected now to stay longer than we earlier snaugt. >> pete rouse. he was named the interim chief of staff. a lot of people thought maybe it was through the election or the end of the year. i'm picking up from senior democrats from outside and inside this white house that they think he's going to stay a lot longer, six, eight months. or even maybe up to two years through that 2012 re-election effort that i mentioned. bottom line is i'm told by top democrats there's an understanding between the president and rouse that he can basically have the job almost as long as he wants. he had some reluctance to take this. he's enjoying the job, number one. number two, a lot of people inside this white house feel that maybe the calm tempo that rouse has brought to the table compared to sort of the frenetic

days of rahm emmanuel not such a bad thing for the white house now bracing for the elections, wolf. ed henry at the white house. thanks very much. he's back here from washington from delaware. just a little while ago, he met with the former secretary of state condoleezza rice in the oval office. before secretary rice sat down with the president, he was right here in the situation room. i asked her why she planned -- what she planned to stay to the president and whether she might get a job offer from him. >> the president nicely invited me. and talk about a whole range of foreign policy issues. >> it's frequently done that former cabinet secretary's goal on the foreign policy side and see the sitting president. i'm very much looking forward to it and whatever's on his mind. >> this is a period of transition personnel in his administration, in his cabinet. if he offers you a job, are you interest? >> come now, wolf. i've got a job and he's got fine people around him. he's -- he's picking the brain

of an -- a former secretary of state. that's perfectly appropriate. >> he's got a few republicans, though, who are working on the defense. >> gates doing a terrific job as secretary. >> he said -- the commander in chief says to the former secretary of state, i need you, i need your help. >> that's not the nature of this meeting. and no one should even go there. >> you know that? >> i know, you have to go there. >> as soon as you hear the president invited you to the oval office, the first thing on my mind was that would be a bold move on his part. >> presidents do this. it's a nice feature of our democracy, particularly on the foreign policy side. the foreign policy people who have been involved in foreign policy do this from time to time. >> you're a professor at stanford university, grade this administration on foreign policy. >> now, wolf, you know i'm not going to do that. i said very many times that i may not agree with everything that the administration has done, but i also know that it's

a lot harder in there than it is out here. i know that it's not really -- nobody needs to have people who have been there chirping at you about what you're not doing right. because you can't possibly know the whole range of considerations on any given day unless you're in. when i have advice, i know that the people in the administration quite well enough to pass it on and i do. >> do you speak with the secretary of state, hillary clinton? >> i do from time to time. but, again, when you're in those positions, the -- the opinions and the advice of people who aren't following the issue on a daily basis is somewhat limited. when ever secretary clinton is needed, she'll call me. >> much more of the interview coming up with condoleezza rice. she has a new book about her life growing up in the segregated south, the challenges that she and her family faced. stand by to hear her tell us several stories, including one story where she has to use a bad -- very bad word. i'll leave it at that,

especially powerful bad word to make her point. you'll hear it here coming up later. at least ten more rescued miners are going on from the hospital in chile today. three were welcomed with joyous homecomings. the officials hope all 33 men will be home by sunday. more stories are emerging about their 69 days underground. brian todd here in the situation room. what are you learning, brian? new details coming down about the fears and tensions that the men experienced while they were trapped. above and below ground, they've been the picture of unity. by many accounts, the 33 chilean miners worked through their fears and disagreements with determination. in a just-released portion of an interview, miner richard villarreal talks about that.

>> we just had to communicate and talk things out. we had problems. we talked things out. >> they duked it out. one miner who left the mine before the collapse later got a letter from a trapped miner. the miner who left told t"the washington post" there were fistfights but they wouldn't say what they were about. other miners told the post, the men made a deal to keep their discord secret. if there's friction from here on, it most certainly won't be secret. the miners said they agreed to equally divide all of their earnings from interviews, movie and book deals, and endorsements. one miner is reportedly offered money to publish a diary he kept. i spoke to a specialist who handles major global brands. >> from the perspective of someone trying to manage them going forward, you have 33 clients. how hard is it to keep them unified? >> it's a juggling act. it's going to be extremely hard

and it's near impossible to keep the miners in line now that they're out of the mine. >> why? >> you have 33 people. there's going to be money, family, fortune, coming at them from every angle. if they don't watch it, it's likely to rip them apart. >> if he represented the miners, he'd warn them whatever happens you cannot buy the reputation back. he said while the public was sympathetic in the 60 plus days underground 60 days from now, if all they care about is money and fortune, the reputations could sour, wolf. >> there were also examples where they displayed extraordinary unity and discipline. >> they did. we heard from richard villarreal, the miner we had in the case, the inn the two weeks between the time the mine caved in and the time they discovered, food ran so low that they had to agree to ration it. take a look at the bottle cap. he says they actually each had about a half a spoonful of tuna fish to eat per day. that's about three quarters the

amount that could fit in the bottle cap. imagine that. that much tuna fish per day for more than two weeks. they agreed to it. they stuck to it. they had discipline. and it saved their lives. >> some of them lost 20 to 30 pounds in the process of the 69 days as well. thank you very much for that. imagine finding a gps secretly attached to your car ahead. one man's discovery -- surprising discovery. the fbi was tracking his every move. and i'll ask the former president of pakistan, general pervez musharraf if the country's nuclear arsenal was safe. and the magazine on-line -- designed to recruit americans to kill americans. right now, all over the country discover customers are getting five percent cashback bonus at restaurants. it pays to switch, it pays to discover.

in kentucky right now, some predict a senate race could predict a tea party tidal wave. 18 days before the election, check out the stats in the race between republican rand paul and democrat jack conway. paul is a tea party favorite with the libertarian streak who beat the gop establishment candidate back in the republican primary. the eye doctor, the son of a congressman, and former presidential candidate, ron paul of texas. conway is the kentucky attorney general. he narrowly lost his race for congress back in 2002. he and his father, by the way, own a racehorse that came in eighth in the kentucky derby this year.

joining us now, the democratic candidate for senate from the state of kentucky, the attorney general of kentucky, jack conway. mr. conway, thanks very much for coming in. >> it's my pleasure to be on again, wolf. >> this is a really close race, the most recent poll i've seen in kentucky as rand paul at 43%. you at 40%. the 3.5% margin of error. it could go either way right now. >> yeah. >> the biggest argument against you is that you would simply be a rubber stamp for president obama and the democratic leadership, harry reid and others. here's what he recently said. listen to this. >> he doesn't want to run and talk about president obama. he doesn't want to talk about his support for president obama. and all of president obama's initiatives. that's what this election is all about. and he's trying to run away from it. >> all right, is that true? >> no, sir, it's not true. i'm an independent-minded kentucky democrat. i'm going to put the people of kentucky first. unlike rand paul, i get this. it's a real clear choice in this

election between someone like me who understands that the drugs are a pressing issue in kentucky. rand paul said drugs aren't a pressing issue. called for a $2,000 deductible on medicare. the kentucky fixed incomes aren't a part of that. he called social security a ponzi scheme that can't be privatized. it's an issue of who gets kentucky and who doesn't. i'll stand up for kentucky even if it means standing up to my own party. >> tell us where you disagree with president obama. >> well, i disagree with him for several key places. i disagree with him on cap in trade, for example. i think cap in trade would hurt the coal industry here in kentucky. ittive disagree with that particular agenda. i've come out and said, you know what, in a time of recession like we're in right now, it's no time to be raising taxes. we ought to extend the bush tax cuts for some period in time. >> for everyone. >> no time to be raising taxes right now. and then, for example, in afghanistan, i questioned whether we should have surged because i didn't hear enough about pakistan.

pakistan has the most deadly combination of nuclear material and terrorists in the world. we haven't talked enough about the regional solution that's going to be put in place once the troops leave. i've broken with him in several key areas. >> how do you feel about the health care law. >> i support -- i'm on record to say i supported the health care bill. there's a big difference between rand paul and me in this issue as well. i want to approve it. he says he wants to appeal it. he's coming out with a deductible. we need a system of health care in this country. really couldn't believe that statement. come out and said we don't need federal funding for breast cancer research. an issue that got our lady so mad that she had a conference call on the issue. we should allow for medicare bulk purchasing to negotiate for prescription prices. that saves $200 billion. that's an improvement we can make right away. >> what are specific proposals you have for creating job which is is issue number one right now? >> it's absolutely issue number one, wolf. we lost 100,000 manufacturing

jobs in kentucky for the last decade alone. i'm calling for something called a hometown tax credit. a lot of people in kentucky are worried that the government is just growing and not creating any jobs. so we have to give incentives, incentives to the private sector to create jobs. i propose a tax credit from small and medium-sized businesses. a 20% tax credit. i would cap it at $30 billion and pay for it by closing down on shore tax loopholes. estimates are carrying three quarters of a million dollars nationwide. we need to get the small and community banks lending once again to the small and medium-sized businesses. there's a lot of uncertainty out there. the government bailed out a lot of big banks on wall street. the regulators have come down awfully hard on the small community banks in places like kentucky. >> the budget deficit keeps growing and growing beyond a trillion dollars a year. the debt now is over $13 trillion and counting. where would you cut federal spending? >> we've outlined on our website five specific plans.

rand paul talks and says he's going to balance the entire federal budget next year. he's not going to tell anyone how he's going to do it this year. that's a secret plan that no one here in kentucky is buying. what i'm going do do it, i mentioned the medicare bulk purchasing. i think there's $100 billion in medire fraud. i understand that because i've taken on medicaid fraud. but here in kentucky they're up about 600%. i think we need to close down the on shore tax loopholes and the laws that allow for tax haifb havens and those that allow us to ship our jobs overseas. that's savings. get back to the pay as you go in the clinton years when clinton produced balanced budgets. and i would have supported the senator conrad and senator greg to come back to cob with more recommendations. >> the tone general for kentucky. the democratic candidate. thanks for coming in. good luck. >> great to be with you, wolf. we've repeatedly by the way invited jack conway's opponent,

rand paul, to join us in the situation room as well. he's declined our invitations since his last interview with us back in may. will the millions of americans on social security checks see an increase in their cost of living benefits next year? stand by. we have new information coming in from the federal government. and a tea party favorite and gop senate candidate has a brutal message for her opponent. why she's telling the senate majority leader, harry reid, to, quote, man up. ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world.

fredricka whitfield is monitoring some of the stories in the "the situation room" right now including the latest from the defense department in

"don't ask don't tell." what's going on? >> the u.s. military is telling troops to be careful when it comes to the don't ask don't tell policy. a court injunction has stopped the military policy of barring known gay troops from service. the defense department, rather, said it will follow the injunction but it would continue don't ask don't tell. if an appeals court cancels the injunction. for that reason, it's telling service members that altering their personal conduct may not be a good idea. for the second year in a row, there will be no cost of living increase in 2011 for millions of americans on social security. due to the recession, inflation has been low for the past two years, and the government says prices are up only slightly over last year. more than 58 million seniors and others receive social security checks. and a federal judge is sending rapper t.i. back to prison for 11 months for violating his probation with the drug arrest. t.i., whose real name is

clifford harris, said he, quote, screwed up bigtime. he begged the judge for mercy. saying he needs help for his drug addiction, not more time in prison. but the judge said t.i. had his limit of second chances. his sentence begins in two weeks. and some possible activity in one of the nation's most famous polled cases. the 1996 christmas murder of 6-year-old jonbenet ramsey in her home. police in boulder, colorado say they want to speak to the girl's older brother, burke. but a family lawyer says ramsey isn't talking. that he's already answered investigators' questions. police have cleared the family in the murder, but no one has ever been arrested. wolf? >> a great mystery. a lot of people would be interested to know who actually murdered jonbenet ramsey. thank you. >> okay. just getting this in from

"the situation room" from sources in chile. specifically a doctor with knowledge of the treatment for the 33 miners. we have now been told that 31 of the 33 miners have been released from the hospital. two others are still in the hospital, but will be moved to another facility shortly. but 31 of the 33 have been released and have been allowed to go back home. that's terrific, terrific news for those 31 miners. the two others we're told earlier had relatively minor ailments and problems. hopefully they'll be released soon as well. excellent, excellent news from the miners. it's a how-to guide for would-be terrorists. stand by to see how recruiting americans to kill americans with a new on-line magazine. something missing from nasa's plan to add one more shuttle flight before the program is scrapped. it's something very important, namely money. ah... ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah! ah!

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you're in "the situation room," happening now. one man's surprising discovery.

keeping tabs on you right now without your knowing it. and more of my interview with former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she's opening up about the painful, oftentimes wrenching journey from the segregated south all to way to the white house. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." the number one democrat in the u.s. and senate was told to, quote, man up. not the kind of thing senator harry reid usually hears on capitol hill. but he got an earful from his rival, the tea party favorite, sharron angle in their one and only debate. listen to sharron angle slap reid in nevada last night asking reid to do something about the looming crisis in social security. >> man up, harry reid, you need to understand that we have a problem with social security. that problem was created because

of government taking that money out of the social security trust fund. in 1990, you said it was stealing to use social security for anything but social security. and you voted to take that social security money in to the general fund where it would be generally used for generally anything. when you did that, you left ious there, special treasury bonds that are kept in a filing cabinet in parkersburg, west virginia. >> hear a little bit about what senator reid had to say about the social security problem. can tell us about and has for years talked about getting rid of social security, for years. this isn't something just during the primary. now she's trying to change her tune. i heard her say, why don't we have a program like we had in chile or england. those two-countries ruined their pensions. they went broke. you can't put the moneys into the stock market. look what would have happened if we put this money in the stock market as was suggested by

president bush. this is an extreme idea, it's not good. it will destroy social security. >> let's bring in our senior political analyst, gloria borger and national political correspondent, jessica yellen. you were in las vegas for the debate last night. was this the sharron angle they wanted to show? >> she stumbled. she often seemed to get lost in her arguments and forget facts. none of that really matters, her team thinks. voters understand in their own words she's not a professional politician and forgive her not polished debate performance. they wanted her to be likable, relatable, deeply held beliefs, and professional enough to get the job done. as national republicans tell me, wolf, they think all she needed to do was give people who hate harry reid an excuse to vote against him. and by that standard, they think she meant it. >> gloria, in the past few days, we've seen two women, both republicans, both tea party favorites in these kind of debates.

christine o'donnell in delaware the other night. we were there for that. any similarities between what christine o'donnell did and sharron angle? >> it's interesting. because in both of the debates, the women were the aggressors. you heard sharron angle say man up to the senate majority leader. and o'donnell came out punching as well to chris coons. the men don't know how to react. they don't know how to attack women. and harry reid missed some opportunities. i don't know if jess would agree, i think he kind of held back. chris coons on the other hand had a lot of disdain for o'donnell, that could backfire. he wasn't quite clear how to deal with her. so i think in a way, he demeanored her. and that may work against him. the squabbles we see between men and women now, it's interesting, the women are doing the punching. >> some of this -- some democrats out there, jessica, they think harry reid could have done a better job. that's what they've been

murmuring over the past few hours. >> he's harry reid, wolf. what i mean by that is he's not a charismatic guy. he's not particularly articulate. he's just not a good public speaker. as gloria points out, absolutely, he was in an awkward position where he didn't want to seem to be bullying her. i think he pulled punches. the bottom line for his team is he didn't have any major harry reid gaffes, so there's no game-changing bad moment, which means that they can now leave the rest of this campaign up to the part of the operation that works so well -- his ground game and just focus on getting out the vote. >> you know, i was going to say the polls are so close right now, gloria. a debate like this could make a difference for people who were undecided. maybe it could move thingings. >> it probably wasn't a game changer because if you -- if you like harry reid, you probably still like harry reid. you may think he could have done a better job in the debate. and if you like her, you probably like her. same thing in delaware, of course. there's such a large difference in the polls that the democrat, chris coons has really anticipated to win. but, again, i think it's

interesting, wolf, when you see these kinds of faceoffs, the men are a little unclear about how to react to the women. i know coons got some advice from the vice president. the vice president who debated sarah palin said to him, look, you know, you have to be careful not to attack her. but the vice president said, i missed some opportunities with sarah palin that i might have been able to take. chris coons tried to do it. i'm not sure he succeeded. >> the vice president got elect in that election. >> he did. >> chris coons is way ahead of the polls right now. harry reid not so much. it's a close race in nevada. thanks, guys, thanks very much, jessica. don't go too far away, another report from you coming up. this note to the viewers, we'll replay the senate debate that i co-moderated to you. the replay will air tomorrow, saturday, here on cnn from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. eastern. set your dvr if you want to see it or if you want to see it again. there's a new twist in the search for an american

reportedly shot in mexico. are investigators being intimidated by drug lords. >> and californians prepare to vote on legalizing marijuana. could they have a say in easing the drug war at the border. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands.

fredricka whitfield monitoring some of the top stories in the situation room right now, including some eye-popping deficit numbers from the u.s. government. fred, what's going on? hello, everyone. the u.s. wrapped up a $1.3 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2010, that's the second year in a row that the deficit topped $1 trillion. but it's actually down from the record $1.4 trillion deficit last year. the slight decline is due to somewhat higher tax revenue and slightly less spending. and russia will help venezuela build a nuclear power station. the president dimitri medvedev and hugo chavez signed a formal agreement in moscow today. and it's on the path to developing new solar and wind energy. it's the latest example of closer ties between the two-countries when it comes to energy trade and defense. in hungary, residents evacuated because of that toxic sludge are now being allowed

back home. construction crews have finished work on an emergency dam in case there's another toxic spill. the sludge from an aluminum plant covered three towns. it killed nine people and injured 100. and mexican officials have temporarily suspended their search for a missing american they say they want to better assess their strategies. david hartley was reportedly shot to death september 30 on falcon lake. investigators believe the gunmen are linked to a mexican drug gang. the lead mexican investigator on this case was beheaded this week. grisly stuff, wolf. >> what a grisly story indeed. is the fbi secretly tracking you? a sophisticated device now being used to monitor potential suspects. plus, from the segregated south all the way to the white house, the former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she's now opening up about the tremendous pain she and her family endured along the way. [ male announcer ] opportunity

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bigger than a soda can. in some states, law enforcement can stick a gps on your car while it's on your driveway and track almost every move you make. in yasser's case, it's not clear where his car was when the fbi placed a tracking device on it. a computer salesman in california removed the device when he found it. wasn't long before the fbi agents approached him asking pointed questions. >> have you been to yemen for any type of training. no. the agents asked for their gps back. afifi is not accused of wrongdoing. contacted by cnn, the fbi wouldn't comment on the case. but a spokesman said they don't need a warrant to track a vehicle with gps when it's in a public space. how watchful an eye can this device keep on you. >> where's the best place of that. >> the frame of the car, tore truck.

>> i recently tested a tracker on our cnn vehicle with veteran investigator mike o'connell. he's been using them for years to track spouses suspected of infidelity. his gps may not even have the same capabilities of those used by law enforcement. mike is going to show me how sophisticated this device is. he's going to track me from my office right up there as i get in the car and drive away. i've got mike on the phone here. >> he follows me at every turn while i question him on speakerphone. >> how far can you track me on this thing, mike? >> i can track you throughout the country on this device. also, if you were to get on some sort of a boat or yacht and went to an island, it would continue tracking you. >> for how long can you track someone on this device? >> it has a battery for two weeks before i have to recharge

it. >> recently, one defendant objected to one being placed on his car in his driveway saying it was an invasion of privacy, unreasonable search. officials didn't have a warrant. that's why he complained. but the ninth circuit court of appeals said an individual does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the driveway. >> other courts agreed with that decision. >> federal courts in dc said officers do have to have a warrant to place a gps on your car while it's in the driveway. this could be taken up by the supreme court of the u.s. >> a lot of people are watching this closely. brian, good work. thank you. bill clinton is getting ready to team up with the former rival he's had nasty feuds with over the years. we'll explain. and will a shuttle flight get off of the ground? stand by for questions about extending the mission and the cash needed to pay for it. [ indistinct conversations ]

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american support for the war in afghanistan has now reach add new low. but there are serious concerns in the region as well about u.s.

plans to eventually begin withdrawing its forces, perhaps as early as next summer. the ramifications are enormous. i spoke about that and we -- and much more with the former president of pakistan, general pervez musharraf. you take on the plan and the -- and the statements coming from the united states that you are going to quit american forces and coalition forces are going to quit in 2011. then i imagine they ought to be some thinking in afghanistan and in pakistan on how pakistan needs to handle the situation after your withdrawal. especially in case politically the stability has not been shored up in afghanistan before you quit. these are statements which cause a lot of turbulence in decision

making on the pakistan side or even in afghanistan, maybe. >> why are these nato convoys bringing supplies to u.s. and other nato troops in afghanistan being attacked and being held up along the border with pakistan? why are pakistani authorities allowing them to >> well, they are not allowing that to happen, but they do happen. and this situation has been aggravated by u.s. attacks across the border. there were drone attacks which were very unpopular, and they were creating a lot of problems in the public, and the masses in pakistan, but now it is aggravated by helicopter attacks across the border. these are incursions against the sovereignty of pakistan are not acceptable to the people, and they cause a lot of anger in pakistan. so, it is because of these

probably that all such actions have been increased against the nato forces. >> are you ready to announce that you are going the go become to pakistan and run for the presidenc presidency? >> well, no. i will go back to pakistan and i have entered politics. i have announced my party on the first of october from london. but running for the presidency is that we don't have a presidential system, but a parliamentary system. first, we have to bring in the elections and then only one has to decide whether they are running for the prime ministership or the presidency. >> but you have made no secret that you would like once again to be the president of pakistan, is that right? >> well, one has to take many considerations in mind. the government is not run by the president in pakistan, it is the prime minister who is the chief executive and whether ones want to run the government oneself or

a person who can run the government well, and you are in some position to advise and oversee the running of the government needs to be decided later. first off, first s to win in the election, and then only can we be thinking of greater ideals. >> how worried should the world be about the safety and security of pakistan's nuclear arsenal? >> well, pakistan's nuclear arsenal, i think are really safe, and i very proudly take the credit for that. the only possibility of their falling into wrong hands, terrorist hands at all are extremist religious oorganization wins in the election and runs pakistan then pakistan is theirs, but it is not likely at all, because now the religious setup has only got about 3% of the vote in pakistan. and if it at all, a terrorist

organization has to grab these from the army and fight the army, and the army strategic force command, so i really feel that they are very safe. >> finally, the situation involving the floods in pakistan, and it has been a horrendous situation and millions of people have been uprooted from their homes and a lot of money has come in. do you feel that money is actually getting to the right places and helping these people? >> well, i think that unfortunately, the money is not getting to the government as much as is required. i am told that the requirement is very far greater than all tsunami and katrina or the earthquake that we suffered. yes, ki ima shg yes, i can imagine so, because it affects 20 million people. >> and we wish only the best for the people of pakistan and this has been a horrible, horrible

tragedy that has unfold and the pictures are devastating, we hope, we hope it improves soon. mr. president, good luck to you and good luck to all of the people of pakistan and thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you very much, wolf. it was a pleasure. >> it is a brazen move by al qaeda terrorists to recruit and train americans to kill other americans. you will want to see what is available online right now. we will show you how one angry man is dealing with the foreclosure issue, the foreclosure on his own home. >> just break a window. i'm inside of the house. it is my house. ♪

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everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. here is a look at some hot shots in paris. high school students take to the streets to protest government pension reform. and in afghanistan, there are people trying to avoid buried bombs. and in india hindu women dance by floral displays. and a dog dances on his hind legs while playing in a fountain. hot shots. this is a magazine out like none other called "inspire i "and it is to inspire would be terrorists. we are quoting from the magazine to give the viewers a sense of the specific threat being made and at the same time we are not giving information that al qaeda and the affiliates don't already

know about it. cnn's kate bolduan is looking into the story for us. kate? >> reporter: well, wonderful creative imagery promoting a chilling message, how to wage jihad. the 72nd edition of the al qaeda online magazine explains how to kill americans. the ultimate mowing machine suggesting how to carry out individual attacks. the idea is to use a pickup truck as a mowing machine and not the mow grass b to mow down the enemies of al law. >> what they are looking for is not the traditional recruits in places like pakistan and other places in the middle east. th that is a hard theater forus, and particularly if they have an american passport. >> reporter: another article takes direct aim at the nation's capit capitol. a random hit at a busy restaurant in washington, d.c. might end up knocking out a few

government employees. intelligence officials believe that samir khan is a driving force behind the edition, and pens his new essay entitled "i am proud to be a traitor to america." and fran townsend who is a former homeland security adviser to president bush says that the message is not new, but the way they are getting atek kit acros >> these are men who speak colloquialnglish who can appeal to americans to join their cause. they know how to persuade them and speak to them. and they know how the really inspire them to become a part of it. >> reporter: and top u.s. officials like fbi director robert mueller says that the internet acts as an accelerate for this activity. >> considering someone like the yemeni born extremist, and ten

years ago awlaki would have operated in relative obscurity, but today on the internet, he has unlimited reach to individuals around the world, including those here at home. >> reporter: a u.s. counterterrorism official tells cnn they are aware of the publication and saying that it aims at provoking the murder of innocents and hardly lives up to the name "inspire." kate bolduan, cnn, washington. here in "the situation room," happening now, they were once bitter rivals and now together on the campaign trail. former president bill clinton lending the star power to jerry brown's race for california governor and four others. and also, the end of the space shuttle program? not so fast. we are learning new details of a possible extra mission. and my interview with the former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she is sharing remarkable stories about growing up in the segregated south, and one incident involving a racial slur that seared her into her memory.

we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we begin though with 18 days, 18 days until the election that could rock the political landscape here in washington. former president bill clinton is now campaigning for democrats in california. indeed this hour he is campaigning for jerry brown who is battling republican meg whitman to be the state's next governor. he is a former two-term governor and the current state attorney general and she is the billionaire ceo of ebay who set the record for personal campaign spending, donating already $119 million to her own race, and more is on the way. mr. clinton is trying to help brown despite some past bad blood between the two of them. listen to these clips from a 1992 debate when they were rivals for the democratic presidential nomination.

>> he is funneling money from his law firm for state business. >> doi cani don't care what you about me, but don't attack my wife. i don't even want to be on the same platform with you. >> i was read this article by the washington post, and i was shocked by it -- >> does that make it true? >> i remember that. and jessica yellin who is in california for us right now, and jessica, it was pretty ugly then, but a different story today, what is happen right now? >> well, first, wolf, before we gethe jerry brown/bill clinton time together, bill clinton is about to arrive in orange county, california, with loretta sanchez. he has been a rock star for democrats, but he is trying to help her out in a tough race, because she is three-time incumbent, and getting the incumbent attacks right now, but

there is another problem she faces, because she said in the race that the vietnamese and the republicans are trying to throw her out of office. a slip-up for her, because the opponent is vietnamese and many of the voters are as well, and she apologized but now bill clinton is trying to lend her a little helping hand. also, you know, his big theme this season has been not just the economy, wolf, but also deficit spending. he is one of the democrats who can take on the tea party argumeargu argument about the spending, because he is the only president in the modern era to have balanced the budget. his argument today is that the republicans only started to care about the deficit when a democrat got in office. >> people ask me all of the time, what great new economic idea did you bring to washington that got rid of the debt, and i always say, arithmetic. i had this really dumb idea, that if 2 plus 2 is 4 in little

rock and las vegas, it would be 4 when i got to washington. >> well, no surprise he is campaigning for loretta sanchez who was a big supporter of his, but it is to a certain degree, a surprise that he is going out of the way to campaign for jerry brown not only because of what happened in 1992, but whatten happened a few weeks ago. >> that is right, wolf. these two do not like each other very much, and meg whitman, jerry brown's rival here even used a piece, a clip of bill clinton's sound in jerry brown came out publicly making a pretty snarky quip about bill clinton and the monica lewinski affair, and apologized and since then, bill clinton is there to go on stage with him, and we will watch the body language and

everybody is wondering if they will hug, and what the endorsement will sound like. >> we will watch it as well, and get the information to you. thank you, jessica. here is a scorecard on another hot race, the battle for the delaware seat formerly held by joe biden. the republican is tea party-backed christine o'donnell, and the democrat is chris coons. some of her past remarks have come back to haunt her including a 1999 tv appearance in which she said quote she used to dabble in witchcraft which prompted an ad in which she states, and i'm quoting her now, i am not a witch. chris coons is a two-term county executive and the latest cnn/"time" magazine/opinion research poll shows coons leading mcdonnell by 19 points, but democrats are not taking any chances in this race.

president obama and vice president biden were in delaware campaigning for coons and the president put to rest rumors that he was considering hillary clinton as the vice presidential running mate in 2012. >> the single best decision that i have made was selecting joe biden as my running mate. single best decision i have made. i mean that. [ applause ] joe has been an extraordinary vice president, a great friend, a fighter, somebody who knows what our core mission is, which is making sure that we are growing this economy on behalf

of a middle-class so they can aspire to live out the american dream. joe has lived out that dream, and he has not forgotten where he came from, and, so i know that me taking him out of delaware for a while was frustrating. but, i assure you that it was worth it at least for me. i think for you. so i am grateful to all of you. >> meanwhile, the former alaska governor sarah palin is not holding back as she makes the rounds in the final weeks running up to the november 2nd elections. she is even take an apparent swipe at the first lady, michelle obama. listen to this. >> you know, when i hear people say or had said in the campaign they had never been proud of america until that time, think, haven't they met anybody in uniform yet? >> well, let's bring in the senior political analyst gloria borger and it is obvious that she was referring to what the first lady said back in the 2008 campaign?

>> yeah, it was controversial in the 2008 campaign and the first lady said for the first time in my adult life i am proud of my country, and that became a controversy, but honestly michelle obama has taken on the plight of military families and veterans as one of her major issues. she has met with military families along with dr. jill biden, joe biden's wife, and met with military families, and been involved with the veteran's administration, and some folks say that she is responsible for getting a very good v.a. budget approved this year, and so, she is involved in returning the veterans and the families and the plight they face. so, i think that in fact, if she was referring to michelle obama, which it seems, perhaps sarah palin needs to sort of take a look at what michelle obama has been doing as one of the main initiatives as first lady. >> it sounded like a line from a

speech she had been using earlier and revived. >> well, sarah palin gives a lot of speeches these days for a lot of money and probably one of the lines she was using for day one and maybe it needs to be updated. >> and first lady's job approval rating is 65% approval, and 65% of the american people think she is doing well. >> these are two popular women, sarah palin with her own constituency, and michelle obama is out on the campaign trail and just out in chicago for that senate race. she is going to be out for the next two weeks and she probably won't respond to this comment, but both of them popular in their own way, and is sarah palin going to run for the presidency? because that sounded like a political speech to me, wolf. >> soundings like she is seriously thinking about it. >> sure does, wolf. many people are facing a uphill battle because of the economy. there is mixed news today. the federal government is

reporting a 1.3 trillion deficit but a lower than expected rise in inflation of 0.1%, and retail sales up 0.6%. but the grim news is foreclosures because they were up in the last quarter. here is casey wian with more. >> this is how absurd the nation's foreclosure issue has become. the owner of this $3.8 million home in orange county, was arrested for trying to break into the house with a hammer with the advice of his attorney. he admits he fell behind on the payments with a luxury home with a guest house. four months ago the bank foreclose and he and the wife was eviktd. now he has an unorthodox plan to get the house back. >> just break a window. i'm going to get inside of the

house. it is my house. >> michael pines is zapada's attorney. >> they were wrongfully foreclosed on, and we will get them back into the house. >> reporter: not so fast says the police department, because just as only an attorney could, he tries to turn the table on the police. if you go on this property, you are trespassing, because the lawful owners of this property are mr. and mrs. zapad, and they are instructing you not to take possession of the property. >> reporter: or not. he goes to the back and breaks a window and he and the attorney is promptly arrest and clearly the desired outcome, because they invited many people to watch the break-in. do you believe that breaking into the house will help you to get back into it for good? >> i believe it. >> reporter: why? >> because it is still my house. >> reporter: pines is among a growing number of lawyers

challenging foreclosures on grounds that a company that many banks used to expedite filing foreclosure documents has no legal standing, and pines has instructed other clients to move back into their foreclosed homes. >> it is their burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that my client was trespassing and they have to prove that and i wish them a lot of luck. >> reporter: chase, the bank overseeing the sale of the house for $3.8 million has stopped using the group at the center of the foreclosure document. andz zapadas have had to seek police assistance to stop them two other times. and they are tasked with investigating home foreclosure fraud, and they will have a difficult time unwinding complicated cases like this. casey wian in newport coast,

california. >> they are poised on voting for legalizing marijuana and they say it would put mexican cartels out of business, but some call that nonsense. and condoleezza rice, and the republicans and we are going back to the segregated south. my interview with the former secretary of state coming up. [ male announcer ] some prescription drugs may lead to constipation.

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missing while skiing on falcon lake near the mexican border. officials have suspended the search for the body. tiffany hartley says she was with her husband when he was shot to death on the mexico side of the lake on september 30th. investigators believe he was shot by members connected to a drug gang. hartley was to meet with mexican authorities today. in another state bordering mexico, voters will get the chance to vote on whether or not to make it legal to smoke pot just because they want to. the measure is on the california ballot in november. cnn's ted rowlands is was from los angeles with more. if this proposition passes some people say it would kill mexico's drug cartels, but what is going on now? >> well, wolf, that would make sense if they make it legal then that business gets away are the mexican cartels and reduces the level of violence, but according to a new rand study, that may

not be the case. >> reporter: of the estimated 3300 metric tons of pot consumed in the united states each year, as much as two/thirds of it comes from mexico at least from a study released by the rand corporation. but the study concludes that legalizing pot in california would barely impact the drug cartels. >> it is important to realize they have portfolios and not just marijuana, but heroin and methamphetamine, and cocaine and other services and generate revenue from a lot of sources, and exporting marijuana to california is only one of them. >> reporter: the study concludes that drug cartels would lose 2% to 4% of the export revenue if pot were legal in california, because californians grow so much of their own. legalizing pot say opponents won't hurt the cartels. >> the whole idea of reducing crime is nonsense.

it won't change the motives of the cartels, but it will increase the motives of the cartels, because they want to sell their drugs here as well. >> they will find a way and simply underprice the even lower price of consumption that we have now, and you will have even more drugs available, because you will have competition from the black market at a lower price. >> reporter: those in favor of leaguization disagree saying that the violence in the u.s. and mexico would drop. >> everyday that we wait, 50 more people die in mexico. every day that we wait, in the cities of the united states we have young men and women who are dying at the hands of violent drug dealers. >> reporter: now, wolf, one scenario that the rand study came up that could potentially hurt the cartels if legal pot was sold in other states of california. if it were legally sold in other states, but the odds of that happening, because the federal government's guard will be up if pot is made legal here in

california. in fact, that is assuming that the federal government even allows california to legalize marijuana which is something that we don't know at this point. we will have to find out what the federal government does, if indeed, prop 19 passes here in california. >> and ted, more information on this part of the story right now, as well. even if californians do vote to legalize marijuana, the federal government apparently plans to uphold the anti-drug laws in the state. the associated press reporting that the attorney general eric holder has written a letter to the former chiefs of the drug enforcement agency to vigorously enforce federal drug laws in california. he calls the efforts to legalize pot, and i'm quoting now, a serious impediment to fighting drug traffickers. nazi inspired symbols and decor, you can see it in berlin at a controversial first-ever exhibit about adolf hitler, and breaking through the world's

longest tunnel comes out on the other end. it took 14 years. stay with us here in "the situation room." in india affect wheat output in the u.s., the shipping industry in norway, and the rubber industry in south america? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex global economy. it's just one reason os beat their10-year lipp. t. rowe price.invest . request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing.

israel's plans are being of posed or the house construction. fredricka whitfield is hon or thing other top stories in "the situation room." hello, fred. >> well, a tense situation, because israel plans to build more housing in the disputed jerusalem. the palestinians are condemning the move saying that the prime minister benjamin netanyahu is choosing settlements over peace. officials say that israel

notified them but in no way done with u.s. approval. the new construction plans could derail revived peace talks. >> it is the first of its kind in germany. it shows how adolf hitler taught the german people to hate. it shows playing cards with hitler's image and busts and propaganda signs and photographs. the curator hopes that the exhibit will help the viewers look inwards. a key jewish group calls it extraordinary. military bases in iraq and afghanistan are using potentially harmful methods of burning trash according to a government audit. they find that the bases are burning plastic which can generate harmful emissions, and this despite regulations against it. the troops are blaming the burn pits for breathing difficulties and tumors. the government says it is a necessity especially on smaller

baess. >> it is being called the world's largest rail road tunnel. work has started on the 34-mile tunnel that will run under the swiss alps and link northern and southern europe and the tunnel will cut time on many routes and expected to be in the operation at the end of 2017. wolf. >> new tunnel in europe. all right. good luck with that. thank you, fred. a return to the white house. the former secretary of state condoleezza rice is back on familiar turf. we will talk about the meeting with president obama today and also talk about her brand new memoir, "growing up in the segregated south." plus, alleged fistfights between those chilean miners and the first desperate days of the ordeal, and there is new information coming to light.

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gecko: um...maybe that one. ♪ dance music boss: ok, let's keep rolling. we're on motorcycle insurance. vo: take fifteen minutes to see how much you can save on motorcycle, rv, and camper insurance. a new mine drama unfolding right now, days after the successful rescue of those 33 miners in chile. this time, it is in ecuador where four miners are feared trapped after a collapse of a gold mine in the southern part of the country near the border of peru. the men are believed to be 500 feet underground and officials belief they have enough air to last five or six days. some 50 rescuers are working to reach them right now, possibly within 24 hours. we will stay on top of this story for you, and get you more

information. medical officials in chile say that all but two of the rescued miners there have been released from the hospital, and the remaining men are being transferred to another facility for more treatment. meanwhile, there are troubling new details emerging about the ordeal, and possible discord among the men. brian todd is looking into the story for us. what are you picking up, brian? >> well, wolf, on most accounts along the way, the miners showed unity and cohesiveness, but now we are getting indications there was discourse in that period. one miner who left the mine before the collapse later got a letter from a trapped miner. the miner who left told the "washington post" quote, there were fistfights but he would not say what they were about. one miner interviewed in the hospital bed said there were no signs of discourse in their ordeal. >> we just had to communicate and talk things out. we had problems, and we just talked them out. >> but other miners and their relatives told the "post" that

the mean made a deal to keep the discourse secret and cnn was told that they made a pact to split the proceeds equally from book deals and interviews and appearance deals. >> but there cube some fracturing? >> yes, one miner, has been offered a lot of money to publish a diary he kept, and because he was the sole author of that diary he may not have to share the proceeds and maybe some friction over that as well. >> yes. and they did show extraordinary discipline over the course of the ordeal. >> discipline and unity, from the time the mine caved in and discovered they were so low on food they had to ration it in very, very small amounts. if you take a look at the bottle cap, one of the miners says they got down to, food rationing that they had to take half a teaspoon of tuna a day per man. that is 3/4 of this bottle cap's worth of tuna for one day per man. they stuck to that. it saved their lives.

they made the deal and stuck to it, and that saved their lives for the two weeks. >> we are happy it did, and 31 the 33 condoleezza rice back on familiar ground, and the former secretary of state here in washington, d.c. she is promoting the new book and she met today with the president of the united states over at the white house. first though, she stopped here in "the situation room," and i asked her if she had a message she wanted to give president obama. >> the president nicely invited me, and he knew i was here, and we will talk about a range of foreign policy issues. >> something on your agenda? >> no, it is frequently done that former cabinet secretaries go, and particularly on the foreign policy side, and see the sitting presidents, and i'm very much looking forward it to, and whatever is on his mind. >> if this is a period of transition personnel h his administration and cabinet, if he offers you a job -- >> come now, come now, wolf.

i have a job and he has fine people around him. he is picking the brain of a rm foresecretary of state, and that's perfectly appropriate. >> as soon as you hear that the president is inviting you to oval office, the first thing on my mind is that would be a bold move on his part. >> i know, but presidents do this. it is a nice feature actually of our democracy that particularly on the foreign policy side, that the foreign policy people who have been involved in foreign policy do this from time to time. >> all right. do you speak with the secretary of state hillary clinton? >> i do from time to time, but again, when you are in those positions, the opinions and the advice of people who are not following the issue on a daily basis is somewhat limited, but whenever secretary clinton is in need, she will call me. >> and this book is called "extraordinary, ordinary people." it has a great picture of you and your mom and dad on the cover. i want to go through the

history, because it helms to explain to the viewers in the united states where you arm canning from, and your childhood growing up in the segregated south. >> yes. >> it was an emotional, frightful, terrifying period for you as a little girl. >> well, this is really one of the crucible periods in american history. in birmingham, alabama, one of the most segregated big city in america, a black family could not go into the hotel or to a amusement park. i did not have a white classmate until we moved to denver in 1970. so by 1962, and 1963, it was bombingham, and a place where people were encountering bombings all of the time. but this is a story of triumph of family and values and in a little community while you could not have a hamburger at woolwor woolworth's counter, you could be president if you want to. >> and i want to take a look at the pictures put up behind you,

the westminster presbyterian church, and you see what it looks like today and what goes through your mind? >> what goes through my mind is all of the time i spent in that church not just on sunday, because my father also believed very strongly in using the church as a social force, so we had tutoring in that church, and we had french lessons and that little church is still there and still prospering. my grandfather actually founded that congregation in the 1940s. >> wow. and now, we also have video of some of the neighborhood. of this area. this is what it looks like today, and obviously, a lot different than in the '50s and the '60s when you were growing up. it is integrated and desegregated city, but it was totally different then. let's talk about that blast that killed the four little girls. remind our viewers what happened and where you were, because take a look, that is archival video. >> yes. >> of what happened?

>> yes, this is 16th street baptist church. in september, september 16th, 1963, my parents and i had just arrived at our own church. it was fairly early in morning, but my mother was the musician for the church, so we were there getting things ready and there was a loud thud and almost like a roaring. no those days in birmingham which as i said had become bombingham, you knew that a bomb had gone off someplace. at first we thought it was our neighborhood, but well before cell phone, people called to say that a bomb had gone off at the 16th street baptist church and not long after that we learned that four little girls had been kill and not long after that we learned their names. everyone knew one of those little girls or more, because birmingham was a small community, and one of the names was denise mcnair, a little girl with whom i had play and gone to kindergarten and there is is a picture in the book of my father handing denise her kindergarten

certificate when she was 6 or 7. so it was a terrifying day for us there. >> and you told us how your parents raised you and made sure you didn't feel like a victim, even though there was hatred in birmingham of black people, what did they do to make sure that you grew up and had self-confidence and poise and could succeed? >> well, my parents and really their friends, and the whole community were people who just demonstrated to us that you might not be able to control your circumstances, but you could control your response to your circumstances. and the best armor against everything around you was to be well educated, to work hard, to be twice as good if you had to be, and to do their languages and their culture meaning the white man, and so, we had our french lessons and we had the ballet lessons and we just encouraged to have high expectations and high ambitions even in a place that could have

had a stultfying effect on those ambitions. >> more on any conversation with condoleezza rice. we will hear what a jar of jelly beans had to do with her shift to the republican party, and what her father had to do with her's. and now, one extra hoorah before this shuttle is grounded for good. stay with us here in "the situation room." what's this option? that's new.

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if it weren't for the soviet union condoleezza rice might not be secretary of state. history played a major role of bringing her and her father to the republican party. she explains what happens to them both as my interview continues. tells, because you write about this in the book about your father's decision to become a republican. how did that happen? >> my mother and father went down in 1952 to register to vote, and they were not yet married, but courting. my mother, beautiful light skinned and they poll tested her because there were poll tests in those days and the poll tester asked her, so you probably know who the first president of the

united states was, and she said, yes, george washington, and he said fine, register. and my father, who was darker skinned, and a big kind of intimidating man, actually, and he said, so how many beans are in that jar? my father who obviously could not don't beans was devastated. he went back and was talking with mr. frank hunter an old man in the church, and he said, reverend, i will tell you how to get registered. there is a clerk down there who is republican, and she will register anyone who says they are republican, because of course, this is when the dixiecrats and the democrats controlled alabama completely. so my father registered as a republican, and he was a life-long and actually proud member of the republican party for the rest of his life. >> and you, too? >> me, too. i didn't start as a republican. i first voted for president jimmy carter, i became a republican largely around foreign policy issues initially, because i was attracted to ronald reagan's strength.

>> when you were studying the soviet union, and the former soviet union and learning russian, you decided that you felt more comfortable in the republican party? >> well, after the invasion of afghanistan by the soviets, by the soviet union and president carter said he had never known anything more about the soviet union about this and decided to boycott the olympics and i decided that we needed a stronger foreign policy. >> i want to wrap it up on a passion that you have and i have and a lot of the viewers have which is nfl football. >> ah, yes. >> i know that your biggest disappointment is that you are not the commissioner of the nfl. >> i told roger goodell who is a very good commissioner of the nfl, and his job looked so good when i struggled with the russians and the iranians everyday, but now that i am not dealing with that, it doesn't look that good. >> you love sports.

>> when i was provost of stanford, the sports reported to me and i loved to manage the big time sports and by the way, the stanford cardinal are very good this year. >> i know they are. and let's wrap it up with how you became a young girl growing up in birmingham, alabama, being a fan of the cleveland browns, of all times? >> well, that has to be situated in the times and the segregation. alabama had no team, and in fact, the deep south had no teams in large part because of segregation, and the washington redskins actually would have been the closest team, but they refused until the very end to have black players, so they could not be our team. the team that was on tv most often, the cleveland browns and jim brown and paul broun and so my father who was a football coach and wanted me to be the all-american linebacker, that huz w was his sport, so we followed the ups and downs of the

cleveland browns and it was in those days ups, but these days harder to say that. >> when there was an nfl game in birmingham, you went to it. you write about it and i read about it, and tell the viewers what happened that game because you were allowed and black people were not allowed to go to the stadium. >> we go to legion field when the minnesota vikings play the dallas cowboys and my mom and i had bought new suits and bob hayes who was the famous sprinter took the opening kickoff 100-plus yards and we were cheering wildly and i have the use word, the man behind us, and i don't think that my parents thought i heard him, and he said, ooee look at that nigger run, and it said something about the south, and it said something about the still deep wounds of segregation and how far we had to go, but the amazing thing is that now when i go back to the same city

of birmingham, it has had several black mayor, and several black council members, including a little girl i played with carol smitherman, and it has had a black woman in the position once held by eugene bull connor, the police commissioner of the time, and so, it shows how change comes. as you nicely said, i'm not that old, and that is my experience as a child, and now i have been secretary of state, and it says something quite wonderful about america that we are able to overcome these old wounds and these terrible times and move forward and it is a good lesson that history's arc is long and not short. >> i hope you become the commissioner of the nfl some day and i can only imagine your father and mother if they were alive what they would say. >> yes. they would say, you are prepared for what is ahead of you and you are god's child and go get it. thanks to them, i have had a fulfilling and quite unique life. >> the book is entitled

"extraordinary, ordinary people "a memoir of family." condoleezza rice, madam secretary, great to be with you. >> and with you. we will show you one candidate's unusual campaign ad. or this. or this. you definitely couldn't do this. play kate's mix. or this. temperature, 72 degrees. say hello to the new edge with myford touch.™ quite possibly the world's smartest crossover.

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troops get a warning about "don't ask, don't tell." fredricka whitfield is monitoring other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what is going on, fred? >> hello again, wolf. don't do anything rash is the message from the military to the troops when it comes to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. a recent court injunction has stopped known gays and lesbians

from serving, and the u.s. military says it will continue to follow the injunction, but it will be reinstated if an appeals court overturns it. there will be no cost increase in 2011 for millions of americans on social security. due to the recession, inflation is low the past two years and the government says that the prices are up only slightly over last year. more than 58 million seniors and others receive social security checks. and alaska senator lisa murkowski is out with a new ad featuring the late senator ted stevens. in it, he tells voters, quote, i trust lisa and her commitment to keep fighting for us. murkowski is running as a write-in candidate after losing the republican primary to the tea party-backed joe miller. polls suggest that murkowski and miller are neck and neck. and they are staying in alaska now, and here is a sneak peek at sarah palin's "alaska" the name

of the new series airing on tlc. each episode has palin and the family sharing the frontier for view es from salmon fishing to hiking along a glacier and the show premiers november 14th. wolf. >> thank you very much for that. i lot of people will watch that show. appreciate it. the clock is ticking on nasa's long running space shuttle program. and the thousands of jobs that go with it. but there is a chance the space agency will eek out one more mission than expected. is it worth the cost, though? and the risk? we have new information right here in "the situation room." ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ there will be no more stress ♪ ♪ cause you've called ups, that's logistics ♪

nasa's shuttle program will soon end, but maybe not quite as soon as we thought. and that would be very good news for thousands on the brink of losing their jobs. cnn's john zarrella is joining us now in florida.

what's changing in the space agency's timetable, john? >> reporter: well, you know, a year ago, wolf, 6,000 united states space alliance employees worked processing shuttles. when the last one lands, only 1,000 of those jobs will be left. but there is a chance now that many of those people could hold on to their jobs for a little while longer. the end is etched in stone, exactly when is, well, up in the air. there are two space shuttle flights left. >> touchdown. >> reporter: but nasa's new budget, signed by president obama, calls for adding one more flight next june. maybe. florida senator bill nelson -- >> this is where you were? >> i was in the middle seat. >> reporter: -- spearheaded the effort to get the added shuttle curtain call. it would allow nasa to stock the space station with tons of extras, computers, spacewalk gear, experiments, all kinds of spare parts.

and it would save jobs for a few extra months. >> if i put on my parochial state of florida hat, or the texas senators put on theirs, then an ease of the adjustment of the workforce is clearly one of the concerns that we have. >> reporter: those arguments don't fly with everyone. >> the rule of thumb is, whenever the space shuttle flies, it is a waste of money. the space shuttle is hugely expensive for what it does. >> six, five -- >> -- and it is it's not that safe, which is why it is being discontinued. >> reporter: bottom line, our spare parts worth the risk and the cost? how much? about half a billion a flight. on top of that, the budget only calls for the added mission. >> you don't have the money funded yet for that additional flight. it is not there. >> well, we're going to get it. but -- >> reporter: are you nervous about that? >> well, of course i am. i mean, you have to deal with senators that one senator can stop the whole works.

>> reporter: some money would come from leftover cash in the 2010 budget. the rest, likely siphoned from other nasa programs. so if there is an additional launch, the space station will get a lot of extra stuff. shuttle workers will keep their jobs a little bit longer, and the local economy will get a tremendous boost. an estimated 1 million people will come for the launch, spending approximately $30 million. from titusville to cocoa beach, standing room only. >> it is going to be a celebration around here. >> reporter: rob varly heads space coast tourism. >> our phone is hanging off the wall. i've never been to see a shuttle and now it is the last chance. >> reporter: to see the space shuttle's last dance. if there is a final flight, wolf, it will be the shuttle "atlantis" with a four-member crew. target date, june 28th. we're saving you a hotel room, wolf. i expect to see if they do it. >> it would be exciting, the last shuttle.

thank you very much, john. i know you will be there. appreciate it very much. >> yes. just ahead, sorting through firecrackers in india. one of our party shots to wrap up this week. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at restaurants. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how.

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