>> we're going to share more of that with you tomorrow and more this saturday with my colleague, don lemon, but for now, i'm brooke baldwin here at cnn. going to turn things over to my colleague sitting just over my shoulder. wolf blitzer, "the situation wolf blitzer, "the situation room" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com rallies, clashes and hundreds of arrests from wall street to the west coast. and more trouble may be looming over the next couple of hours. we're on the scene. the suspect in the white house shooting incident goes to court and is charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the united states and that half billion dollar federal loan to a sew r lar energy firm, the energy secretary gets a grilling on capitol hill, but make nos apology. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. but the mayor of new york is

speaking to reporters right now on the occupy wall street developments. >> people, particularly our first responders, are going to be arrested. that's behavior that has nothing to do with the first amendment. it is designed to keep people from being able to go about their business and express themselves and just not going to be tolerated, but i think the real story for tomorrow morning's paper is that the just were not that many people out here. most expressed themselves and then went back about their business. >> the officer -- all five officers had the liquid flushed out. both at the scene and they went to the hospital. those officers went to a different hospital. went to downtown hospital. they've been treated and released. it was a burning sensation and

redness on their face and whatever that liquid was, i don't think it's been fully determined yet, but it was frushed out. the officer here? appare apparently, there was an attempt to arrest the people who had moved the barriers, lifted the barriers by other officers. and as a result of that arrest situation, this object with glass in it was thrown at the police officers. it hit this officer. he made a defensive move with his hand and this is when he received a laceration. oh, no, it was thrown at the police officer. it happened to this police officer. he was going -- he wasn't making the arrest.

he happened to there and he got hit. it happened in zuccotti park. >> i said a star-shaped object. one more question. no, this is the officer i described who gave you his name, 24-year-old on the job for a year i think and here in bellevue and that sort of thing. we really don't know. everybody's going to use different numbers. the numbers this i've heard is something less than a thousand, but it's hard to tell because you have a group here and a dwroup there and some go from one group to another. the people that have been protesting typically protest all day long in an event like this, but it's hard to count. but it is not an overwhelming number. most people were able to go about their business and i would expect the protests for the rest of the day would be pretty much the same thing. they've talked about doing a few dirnt things. nobody really knows until it

happens, but you can rest assured the nypd has trained for this kind of an event. they will be where ever they need to be. they'll keep this city safe and we'll go about our business. i think the message is if you're here in the city and you want to protest, you can. we welcome people. this city was built on religious freed freedom. people that came here because they wanted to be able to say what they wanted to say. that does not mean you can take away somebody else's rights. >> there you have it. michael bloomberg, ray kelly, the politician commissioner. the mayor suggesting maybe 1,000 people have been involved. marking the two-month moment since the movement began. there have been demonstrations all around the country. not only in new york and los angeles, portland, dallas. mary snow has watching this unfold for us in new york.

mary, tell our viewers where you are now and what you're seeing. >> we are at foley square here in lower manhattan and this is what you might consider phase three of this day of action and what's happening here now, union members from various unions are planning to hold a rally with the protesters from occupy wall street. the day started with protests around the new york stock exchange at various streets. the second phase, protesters went into the subway for what they called a subway speakout. not to disrupt subway service, but to get on to the subway and tell their stories of why they are out protesting and what they plan to do is come here and rally. there is a permit for this rally that is expected to start in just about an hour. what there suspect a permit for though is a march on the brooklyn bridge. the city has said that these

protesters can march on the pedestrian walkway of that bridge, but they are not permitted to block car traffic on the bridge and several protesters already told us they do plan on blocking that traffic and expect to be arrested. what we've witnessed over the day, pockets of skirmishes between police and protesters. throughout the day, they have been limited. protesters have been in and out of zuccotti park, going to various spots around manhattan. you just heard the mayor and police commissioner all told, the numbers they're putting out, about 175 arrests. this is mostly for disrupting traffic. there have been seven new york city police officers who have been injured throughout the day. we don't have a count on how many protesters might have been injured during the day. >> mary, stand by.

i want to get back to you, but i want to go to the brooklyn bridge right now. amber, last month, people arrested about 700 demonstrators who tried to cross the brooklyn bridge. what's going on right now? what do we expect? >> well, there is a nervous tension out here because that is the main goal to keep that from happening again tonight. i'm right at the entrance of the bridge. over there on the other side, that's the walkway. this is where police are trying to corral the march hopefully in the future and keep all the protesters heading along that walkway. you see about two dozen police officers standing along the edge to kind of guide them across this road, make sure they stay up this walkway. if they don't, we've got this sign up. police have been warning if you walk on that road during traffic, you will be subject to arrest. we're standing in the media section. we were warned earlier that we could be kind of corralled or smashed by a massive group of

protesters because what police are doing is they've kind of set up barricades to corral this march in the way they want it to go. they want protesters to go from foley square, around these barricades and to the brooklyn bridge. but the problem today, we were at the nyse and zuccotti park earlier and barricades and protesters do not mix well. some protesters feel these are a way to kind of control them and we saw earlier, several get arrested after moremoving barricades at sioux crotty park. i think the hope is that this march will follow the direction the nypd wants and that none of these protesters will cross on to that road. march is expected to come through here in about an hour, r so we'll update you later. >> thanks very much. meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the

los angeles financial district today. casey wian has the latest. what's happening there now? >> it's a lot quieter right now, but earlier today as you mentioned, hundreds of people out here protesting, shutting down briefly one intersection near the financial district of los angeles. lapd says 25 people were arrested this morning. then a separate march this afternoon where three other people were arrested. so that's a total of 28 folks arrested. they're charged with misdemeanor. folks here say they're just trying to get their message heard. let's hear what a couple of them had to say. >> it's really sad the situation we're in right now. people are losing their jobs, their homes while the 1% is not making sure that this economy continues to go up. >> what do you think you've accomplished so far? >> i think we're drawing attention and validating this movement. it's a long time coming. people want fairness and justice.

we want a new social contract for health care, for education. >> now, despite that enthusiasm, some of the organizers on the occupy l.a. website today already talking about when they may vacate this area saying they'll leave when they decide that it's better serving their interests to leave. not when the police tell them to. >> thank you. we'll check back with you as well. see what happens out on the west coast. other news we're following, in washington, d.c., the man arrested in connection with the white house shooting incident was in federal court today. he is actually charged with attempting to assassinate president obama. athena jones is joining us and has been covering this story. what happened? >> there's only about a 12-minute hearing in a federal court in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. you know, he was captured there yesterday. about 65 miles outside of pittsburgh. he appeared in court. heavily guarded by u.s. marshals. his legs were shackled, his

hands were handcuffed and he was given this charge of attempting to assassinate the president. it carries a sentence of life in prison and $250,000 fine. he only spoke two words during the entire proceeding and that's when the judge asked if he understood what his defender was saying on his behalf. just as interesting is this criminal complaint with a sworn affidavit from an fbi agent and we've learned a lot of details. i'll tell you about two of them. one is we've learned that investigators found several confirmed bullet impact points on the south side of the white house building. the building on or above the second story. and now the second and third stories of the white house are known to be the residence of the first family. investigators found several bullet fragments and one of those matched in size and weight and style the kind of bullets found in one of the three magazines in the car that ortega

hernandez is alleged to have abandoned after the shooting. one of the witnesses said they heard approximately eight popping sounds. that could be as many as eight gun shots and giffin the number of impact points, that could be in line with that. finally, we're americlearning m about motive. at least three witnesses say ore the last year, hernandez has become more agitated over the federal government, believing they were conspireing against him and that it was president obama himself who was the source of the problem. these witnesses said he wanted to quote, hurt president obama, called him quote, the antichrist, quote, the devil, and said he needed to be taken care of and that he needed to kill him. very strong stuff. and we expect to hear more as the days go on. >> as you say, the president, first lady, they were not at the white house when this shooting incident occurred, is that

right? >> the president was traveling, but still, these shots, of course, were stopped. there's this one shot we know of stopped by the ballistic glass there, but still, it's certainly a concern to authorities and so we expect to hear more about this as we go on. >> it's a huge concern as it should be. thank you. president obama's energy secretary holds his ground in the face of republican allegations. >> i did not make any decision based on political considerations. >> so, what defense does he offer for a half a billion dollar taxpayer loan to a company that went bankrupt? plus, newt gingrich's love-hate relationship with the news media. ♪

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jack? >> wolf, as occupy wall street

marks two months now of protests, there are questions about exactly what it wants and how it plans to get it. patience is wearing thin in cities around the country as officials begin the move now against the demonstrators in places like new york city, oakland and berkeley, california, portland, oregon, salt lake city, utah. you've got to give them an a for perseverance. the tent cities are starting to get on people's nevers, but some have spawned drugs and crime and violence, which is not conducive to generating sympathy for their cause. and speaking of the cause, what exactly is it? you have to wonder how focused and concentrated their message is. after two months, a lot of us remain unsure of exactly what their point is. what are they trying to do? more is needed than a vague complaint against corporate greed if they are to remain relevant. and that brings us to something else the move has been lacking.

leadership. put somebody in charge of this group or out in front of it and that would perhaps allow them to crystallize them message. finally, the major source of our problems is washington, d.c., so why are these people content to wander around denver, new york and other places outside the real scene of the crimes. if you want to fight a fire, you have to go to where the fire is. what should occupy wall street's next move be? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or go to our post on our facebook page. wolf? >> good question, jack. thank you. meanwhile in washington, a heated hearing on capitol hill with the energy secretary steven chu on the grill defending the government's half billion dollar loan to a solar panel m manufacturer that wound up going bankrupt. jessica yellin is joining us with the latest details.

it was lively on the hill today, jessica. >> it was, wolf. he was the highest ranking administration official to testify in the investigation and steven chu said the white house did not contact him about granting solyndra a loan guarantee and that politics played no role in giving that solar company taxpayer backed loans. the topic was green energy, but the tone was fiery. the committee's top republican -- >> it is readily apparent that the administration put politics before the taxpayers' dollars. >> and democrat. >> the majority to date as evidenced has focused on firing partisan broadsides at the obama administration. >> with a soft spoken secretary in the hot seat. >> the final decisions on solyndra were mine and i made them with a best interest of the taxpayer in mind. i did not make any decision

based on -- >> for republicans, that is far from satisfying. >> who is to aapologize for the half a billion dollars that's been out the door? >> it is extremely unfortunate what has happened to solyndra, but if you go back and look at the time the decision's being made, was there inconfidence, any influence of a political nature and i would have to say no. >> so, no apology? >> it is extremely unfortunate what has happened to solyndra. >> their charge, the energy department did not properly vet solyndra, a company president obama later touted as a true engine of economic growth. and once it started to fail, put up more taxpayer dollars, but let private investors get preferential l treatment if the company went bankrupt. >> do you feel that you owe people an apology for having

supported the taxpayer dollar to what turns out to be a very risky venture? >> democrats say people driving the investigation have political motives of their own. >> coal, oil industry allies are man fakufacturing a scandal. that's a great deal if you are an oil company or a coal executive, but it's unfair to you and a disconfidence to the american people. >> now, wolf, this energy secretary was grilled on so many topics, but also the republican's latest charge that solyndra officials were asked to with hold news of layoffs until after last year's midterm elections. it's also worth noting this whole investigation started as an inquiry into whether political fate rotism was behind

awarding solyndra the money, but today, they focused on whose head will roll. one republican says he believes chu didn't okay this because of political reasons, so it seems the investigation has sort of moved. >> you just did point out secretary chu said the buck stops with him on this. he's taking personal responsibility even though he's thot apologizing. >> he said that he is, he is the responsible party for this loan being approved. he's a sharp critic, but a major beneficiary in the news media. we're talk iing about newt gingrich. we'll break town the complex ties and rick perry proposes a debate with the house democratic leader, nancy pelosi. she takes a slight at perry with her response. we'll share it with you right here in "the situation room." is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here.

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here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. the only women -- woman in the republican race for the white house says she's willing to man up. we're talking about michele bachmann. she's joining us live next hour. also, is herman cain hurting the republican brand? gloria borger takes a closer look at potential fallout from his wild presidential campaign. and the ground war between nato and afghanistan sparks a twitter war. stand by. you're in "the situation room." first, let's get to our strategy session.

joining us now are the democratic strategist, hillary rosen, along with will cain of the blaze.com. guys, thanks very much for coming in. let's start with rick perry. seems to have a le going on with nancy pelosi.iden. >> it reveals to me that he grew up in a privileged way. he never had to really work for anything. he never had go through what americans are going -- you know, there's 14 plus million americans out there, some of them watched programming tonight that don't have a job. this president has never felt that aungth they have in their heart. >> the president of the united states was raised by the single mother, really his grandparents raised him. is that a fair statement? >> no, it's not fair and more than that, it's not needed. especially when president obama's ideas give you so many

ripe areas for attack. as perry was talking about this, he was actually talking about obama's statements that american businesses, or we have been laze di in attracting businesses to the united states. we don't know if obama meant government, in which case i think he has a misguided view of the government to be cheerleader in chief or if he meant we as in businesses, which would misconstrue how we have become the country we have. the point i'm making to you, wolf, is there's plenty of ideas with president obama to attack. no need to focus on his background. >> i mean, the whole point of him saying and i know you feel strongly about this hillary, that the president grew up in a brif ledged way, does he not know anything about the president of the united states biography? growing up as he did? >> rick perry doesn't appear to know that much about anything. it's down right offensive for him to be talking about the

president in those terms. this is a man who's really lived the american dream. he grew up not privileged, but in a loved family. he wasn't hungry, but he clearly made his way and key to his policies now, he made his way through education. he worked hard in school r, got scholarships and ended up going to good schools because he worked hard. that's what he has focused on in his public policy now, which is the only way we're going to move into the future is to get kids well educated. >> maybe he meant some of the other candidates, maybe mitt romney, who did grow up in a privileged way, his father, george romney, former head of american motors, ran for, was the governor of michigan. maybe he got confused. will, do you think -- is that possible? >> no, i doubt that's possible. i think from a strategic standpoint, perry's actually making a correct move here and that's to focus on obama.

we know he has challenged to pelosi on a debate. focus on pelosi. stop with the in fighting among republicans. focus on the true target of conservati conservatives and that's embodied by barack obama and nancy pelosi. here's the big plus in that. they can't fight back. >> i want to get into the whole little debate that's now going on or maybe a lack of a debate between nancy pelosi and rick perry. we've got some other stuff to talk about. newt gingrich as well. stand by. gingrich, he's charging hard right now for the republican presidential nomination. he often comes down hard on the news media. gingrich though has profited hand s handsomely from his own media activities. joe johns will join us when we come back. [ male announcer ] what if we told you that cadillac

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governor rick perry went after nancy pelosi, writing her

a letter challenging her to debate. well, listen to her response. >> well, he did ask if i could debate here in washington on monday. it is my understanding that the letter has come in. monday, i'm going to be in portland in the morning. i've going to be busy at some labs in california, that's two, i can't remember what the third thing is i'm going to be doing. >> can't remember that third thing is going to dog rick perry for the rest of his political career. let's bring back hillary rosen and will cain. is he really serious about challenging nancy pelosi to a debate? >> i doubt it. i told you the great thing about the strategy of focusing on obama and pelosi is they can't fight back. i think it's a safe bet that pelosi's got going to accept your debate challenge, so i guess that makes it pretty decent strategy.

>> should she accept, hillary? >> sure, if she did, he'd be sorry. if he thinks, if he takes will's advice and takes on nancy pelosi and barack obama instead, he's going to be in a lot of trouble because there's no question in my mind that they'd both clean up the floor with him in a debate, so let him have it. it's fine. >> hold on for a minute, guys ch it to bring in joe johns. he's working on another candidate. arguably the front rub runner. joe, you've been looking into his career since he left the job as speaker of the house. >> it's really interesting, wolf. hard to imagine a candidate with so much history saying he's ready to be vetted, ready for the microscope. he is seen by many as the kind of guy who seems to benefit from the kind of situations he

wouldn't like. newt gingrich's relationship with the news media is really a good example of that. newt gingrich is a complex guy and a media magnet. now, he's pretty much inviting the scrutiny that comes along with being a top tier presidential contender. up until now, you've seen him lashing out at moderators in debates. you've seen him taking on reporters and anchor for questions he doesn't like. you've seen it in the campaign, but truth be told, newt gingrich has been slamming the media for decades. >> the news media as a culture, the elite media, not local reporters, certainly not true of everybody, but the elite culture is so one sided they assume there's no bias because they collectively share the same bias. you have to trust that the american people are smarter than the elite media thinks they are.

>> and for many americans, especially conservatives, the gingrich approach seems to strike a cord. >> bashing the media is good politics in the republican primary, but nobody does it with quite the relish and kond senn as newt does. >> what many people tend to forget is that the former speaker made a lot of money off of television, books and even documentary film ls in a way that could make many lesser paid media figures invito yous. before separating from fox news this year, "the los angeles times" reports that gingrich was making a million dollars a year as a contributor. it's not just tv. he is part of a documentary film company called gingrich productions. they say they produce historical and public policy documentaries, produce photograph essays and make television and radio appearances.

and then there's the speeches. before gingrich announced he was running for president, he was getting as much as $40,000 or more per speech. and don't forget about the books. he's co-authored at least 23 books and about half of those have made "new york times" best sellers list. >> newt is a product of the media. he's used it very effectively. all the way back to figuring out that when c-span was brand new, that they could have speeches with an empty chamber and make it look like they were speaking to the entire house of representatives. he and his other kind of rebels in the house of representatives, so he's been a very effective user of the media. >> it's not clear how much gingrich make frs the media along, but all told in 2010 foreclosure documents say gingrich was worth at least $6.7

million and as much $30 million when you add up everything he's into, wolf. >> thanks very much. let's bring back hillary and will for a quick thought. hillary, nothing wrong with a small business man as he describes himself, making some money, is there? >> no, there's not, but in the republican primary, bashing the media is the most effective strategy. we saw herman cain try to do it last week when he was accused of sexual harassment. the real issue for newt isn't where he takes money. the real issue is taking money so directly is hypocritical to the policies he's talked about. he's railed for the last several years ant fannie mae and freddie mac and yet we learned yesterday that he garnered almost $2 million in fees from freddie mac. you just can't go along with any kind of intellectual honesty with those kinds of hypocritical

attitud attitudes. it's not that we bebrunlg him making money. it's saying he's going to run for president, saying he's going to change policy when we know his hand has been in the pockets he's criticizing. >> the 1.8 million from freddie mac, if it is a problem, will it be for? >> from a tactical perspective, not very much. about 6% of american people know he is running for president, so unless this somehow gets the word, sex, attached to it or ends up at a saturday night live spoof sketch -- it should be important and join two other stories this week. that of the "60 minutes" piece on congressmen trading on knowledge and the solyndra piece, asking them to put off their firings until after the midterms. what you have with these three stories is the heart of crony capitalism. anytime you have government and industry overlapping, it's going to be ugly.

the purpose we focus on is not getting rid of men, but taking these connections away. the more of this, the uglier it will be. >> thanks very much. new developments in the penn state university child sex abuse scandal including more alleged victims and the mother of one young man now speaking out to cnn. [customer:] we need to protect the environment. [worker:] we could do both. is that possible? [announcer:] at conocophillips, we're helping power america's economy with cleaner, affordable natural gas. more jobs. less emissions. a good answer for everyone. well, if it's cleaner and affordable. as long as we keep these safe. there you go. thanks. [announcer:] conocophillips.

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more now on the occupy wall street demonstrations. in washington, d.c., occupy protesters have now targeted an important bridge carrying commuters in and out of the nation's capitol. brian, set the scene for us. where are you? >> wolf, we're on the d.c. side of key bridge here at washington. hundreds of protest rs gathered here a short time ago. some still here with their signs. they're kind of trickling off the bridge right now. they had targeted this bridge for several reasons. one is to try to promote

infrastructure and job creation. we're going to take you over here. there's still a gathering over here in the park at the edge of the bridge here in washington. still some more people here and a large police presence. police are lining the streets over here as well as across the street and here are horses and a lot of police vehicles over here. hundreds of people streamed across the bridge today. the mayor of washington warned them we're okay with you protesting here, but when you try to disrupt traffic, that's when you're going to have a problem on your hands. as far as we know, no traffic was disrupted, but there were police boats on the river. heavy police presence here on the park and bridge all afternoon as these people have chanted for more vob kreegs. i heard one protester saying they hadn't accomplished much policy changes as a result of that broadcast they are giving up. thai going back on the bridge right now and occupy wall street and occupy d.c. and other city

protesters vowed to continue their fight, wolf. >> today is two months since this movement began. brian, we'll stay close touch with you. thank you. other important news, including more alleged victims in the penn state child sex abuse scandal may be coming forward an the mother of one is speaking out to cnn. mike galanos is at university park in pennsylvania. what's the latest, mike? >> it's our worst fears to think there could be more victims. jerry sandusky gave the interview to nbc, andy shoe mann said he began receiving calls from people. says he sat in kitchens and listened to their story. jason carroll talked to an attorney in st. paul, says he received at least ten calls from victim from the 1980s. all this has to be investigated, but the timeline fits.

he began his foundation in 1977. first allegation is 1994, a 17-year window where there could be many more victims. one of the moms the talking about from the victim we know. victim one ft he was victimized in 2005, 2006. mom speaking out after the sandusky interview. our anderson cooper asked her, did you see signs that you knew something was wrong with your son? >> well, i guess it was a long -- he went from like -- to being honorary and arrogant and mean. we had a lot of different, you know, we started having disagreements. several times, i asked the

school to talk to him and they said, well, there's no man in my house. it's time to try to take his place in the world. that's what teenagers do. asking me to lie to him when he called and stuff like that. >> again, so sad and wolf, that mother went on to tell our anderson cooper the reaction of her son when he heard jerry sandusky's voice, crying. and the fear is jerry sandusky will go free. wolf, back to you. >> what's the actual reaction today to all of these late developments on campus, mike? >> well, you know, it's a very, it's a tired campus, wolf. i think everybody's looking forward to getting out of here tomorrow. there's no class. i think most of the students are leaving state college. they're weary. they're hard to talk to. they've just about had it.

they've been through a lot and we'll continue to follow here from state college waiting for more revelations. >> thank you, mike galanos on the scene for us from our sister network, hln. protesters right now getting ready to converge on the brooklyn bridge in new york. we have seen hundreds of arrests last month. we're on the scene and watching what's going on. jack cafferty is asking what should occupy wall street's next moves be? stay with us. act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you.

jack cafferty's back. >> what should occupy wall street's next move be? terry in virginia, find out when congress is in session and march on congress. by land, by fax and by phone and by e-mail. millions of protesters outside the capitol and millions of others on the phone and computers all at the same day and time telling our representatives you work for us ch maybe then congress would figure out there are more of us working folk who is pay taxes and who deserve to be heard than there are rich guys in corporations looking for their

next taxpayer financed bailout. rich writes they can come up with a coherent statement of the ways 99% of americans are getting screwed over and how to fix it and then start taking direct action that targets the appropriate companies and government agencies or they can fold up their tents and go home. everything in between, complaining about student loans or their medical care or their foreclosure or someone's intolerance or whatever else is on their laundry list is devicive or hot air. mike in florida writes they ought to be sentenced to community service to clean up the mess they've created. talk to local business owners and see how they feel. please don't ever compare these people to the tea party. the tea party did not cause civil unrest or riot in the streets. there were no violent confrontations are police. tea partiers call for a return to our institution. eric writes the flea party

should go home then vote. right now, they are doing themselves more harm than good. larry on facebook, vote in november, otherwise they've just wasted their time and paul writes frankly, what they need are some leaders and faces to come forward to better channel their solutions. they need to be speen as something other that be a crowd and directly engage in someone who can help. they probably could use some good walkinging shoes, too. you want to read more, go to my blog or through our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? >> thanks, jack. occupy demonstrators are now talking their protests to major bridges in washington, d.c. as well as in "new york times." we're following the story. we'll have live coverage. also, republican presidential candidates talking openly about secret u.s. action against iran. now, some are warning them, be careful what you say. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. as the united states and international community weigh in with their next steps in dealing are iran's nuclear program, are some candidates thinking to

frilly about a rather delicate issue? let's bring in barbara starr. what's going on here? >> you've got to ask yourself this question. whatever happened to holding your cards close? the mystery continues cht u.s. intelligence now believes iran was mixing highly volatile rocket fuel when it exploded, killing this powerful iranian general and more than a dozen others. two u.s. officials tell cnn the fuel was for a large ballistic missile. the kind iran could eventually use to carry a nuclear warhead. the facility is part of iran's suspected weapons program. many sights are deep underground. if president obama were to order a strike, the air force has a new weapon. these 30,000 pound bombs carried by b 2 or b 52 bombs, it can

penetrate 200 feet underground before detonating. >> gives us a far greater capability to reach and destroy an enemy's weapons of mass destruction. >> the pentagon doesn't want the say publicly it's all about iran. >> the system's not aimed at any one country. >> what the administration plays its not so subtle message, republican presidential candidates have been talking tough as well. some wonder if they're going too far. >> maximum covert operations to block and disrupt the iranian program, including taking out their scientists, including breaking up their systems. >> and work on a covert basis to encourage the disdense. >> i hope we've been doing everything we can covertly. >> james marx says it's a bad idea to talk openly about secret action. >> we don't have to talk about that. nor should anyone who wants to go into public office. so what we see with current debates and discussions about covert operations, specifically

against iran or other potential nations or entities should be eliminated. that needs to stop. >> experts tell us one of the major reasons to not talk about this stuff is you might inadvertently step on an ongoing covert operation if there was one underway. wolf? >> thank you. new york city police on high alert. hundreds of occupy protesters say they're getting ready to try to cross that bridge any moment. we're there for what could be the movements strongest show yet, spanning clear across the country at the same time. plus, the massive penn state university child sex abuse scandal gaining fierce new momentum. ahead, the latest on new indications more victims may be coming forward and republican candidate, michele bachmann, on

the attack after taking a serious hit in the polls. you're going to find out my new interview with her why she's now te telling voters she's quote willing to man up. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the united states and around the world. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com first, what's being called a mass day of action for the movement battling corporate greed known as occupy wall street. hundreds of protesters in cities coast to coast, they are fanning out in droves to mark a group just two months in the making. nowhere is the situation more intense than in new york city, where just a little while ago, the mayor put the protest rs on notice. >> we will ensure that everyone has a right to exercise their first amendment rights as well

as the right to go to work, go to school, ride the subway and go about their day. but make no mistake about it, if anyone's actions cross the line and threaten the health and safety of others including our first responders, we will respond accordedly. >> police say 175 people have been arrested. seven officers injured in new york where barricades got uprooted and traffic ploked. the demonstration in zuccotti park and the demonstrations have been moving around the city as we go along and observe. amber is standing by at the brooklyn bridge where a march is expected to begin minutes from now. mary snow is at foley square. first to mary. what's happening right now, mary? >> wolf, protesters are streaming into this foley square, to this park and this is

the biggest protest expected of day. before the protesters head over to the brooklyn bridge, they are coming here for a rally and we're seeing protest rs from the occupy wall street movement being met here by union members who plan to join them in that protest. they are just getting here. now, they have been marching from uptown. they're going to have a rally. you can hear the music behind me and then they're going to head down to the brooklyn bridge. wolf, these protesters do have a permit to be here tonight for this rally, but they don't have a permit to do is to block traffic on the brooklyn bridge and that is what some of the protest rsers are expecting to do. probably the most intense moment of this day of protests, wolf. >> i want to go to the brooklyn bridge. amber, what's happening there? >> we're so close to mary we can

hear some of the music and those protesters are expegted to come here over here. a little nervousness to from police officers to keep them on the walkway. this is where the protesters will be walking across and police are hoping they will stay on that walkway. if they come over here on to this area, tl a lot of traffic going through. it's rush hour. they will be arrested. there's a bright sign behind me that says if you step on this road, you will be obtained. now, as far as the movement out here, we're not seeing any protestopr protesters quite yet, but they have been putting up barricades in an organized fashion to keep people walking through here corralled and organized this movement so when they walk through here, they will come across that bridge. but as we've seen earlier, these barricades and protesters have been kind of mixing like oil and water. we've seen a lot of protesters

upset with barricades, removing them and then being arrested. what happened out here last month, just over my shoulder, about 700 protesters were arrested after some went into the street, so police are hoping they can keep this organized and that that won't happen out here tonight. above all, we've seen a lot of signs from protesters saying you can arrest one of us, two more will show up, but you can not arrest this idea and we've seen this movement kind of reenergize out here today in new york today, wolf. >> we'll stay in close touch with you as well. let's go to jack cafferty. >> well, so much for the golden years, wolf. a new survey out shows that one-fourth, 25% of middle class americans say now that they plan to delay retirement until at least the age of 80. that's two years longer than most people in this country live. another depressing effect of this economy where unemployment stock market and plunlging home

prices have taken a tremendous toll on many americans' savings. the wells fargo retirement survey shows on average, americans have only saved 7% of the retirement money they hoped to put aside for retirement. 7%. survey respondents had median savings of $25,000 while their median goal was $350,000. and it gets worse. about a third of those surveyed in their 60s had saved less than $25,000 for retirement. easy to see why retiring at the traditional age of 65 has become a pipe dream for millions of americans. having large numbers of people working past age 65 raises lots of questions like will people be able to work as they age and what will it mean for young people entering the the workforce? meanwhile, there's another new study on that helps to explain why many americans plan to work into their 80s. consider this. in 2007, 44% of families lived

in middle class neighborhoods. that's down from 65% in 1970. and almost a third of families lived in neither rich or poor neighborhoods in 2007. that number is up from 15% in 1970. in other words, the great middle class neighborhoods that used to define this country are disappearing. what does it mean when a quarter of middle class americans plan to work until 80? longer than most people live. go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog or go to a post on "the situation room's" facebook page. >> good question, jack, as usual. thank you. herman cain missing a major editorial board meeting in new hampshire only days after a dramatic foreign policy stumble goes viral, but he says it isn't his fault. and republican presidential candidate newt gingrich is under fire for being paid well more than a million dollars bay

troubled mortgage giant, freddie mac. you might be surprised to see who else has been on the payroll of freddie and fannie. ta with us. lots of news happening today right here in "the situation room." it's true. you never forget your first subaru.

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lots of people are gathering at foley square. it's dark now, but you can see the crowds gathering near wall street. these are the occupy wall street proteste protesters, today marking the second month of their movement. i suspect many of them might be ready to head over to the brooklyn bridge. we heard a strict warning from mayor bloomberg, ray kelly. they can protest, demonstrate, but they can't interfere with other people's rights. meanwhile, another political dust up for republican presidential candidate, herman cain. the second one this week involving the editorial board of a major publication. monday, it was the stumble that

went viral over a question about libya. today was the meeting that was supposed to happen with the new hampshire union leader, the most influential newspaper among republicans in the first in the nation primary state, but then this. >> why is it that you don't want editorial board interviews -- >> because it's optional. thanks a lot, folks. got to run, folks. thank you. >> meeting today -- >> mr. cain, why did you miss the union leader? can you give us your version of that? >> was it a timing issue. >> you're not going to believe it. they canceled. >> they said that's not the case. the editorial page editor tweeting, i'm quoting. cain campaign said we'd do a one-hour interview, then said no videotaping, then said interview

only, 20 minutes, then cancel. let's bring in gloria borger. gloria, certainly inviting more controversy by missing this meeting not just with any newspaper, but the new hampshire union leader is legendary in the state of new hampshire. going into a republican primary. >> sure, it's the most powerful newspapers in the state. obviously, mitt romney sort of seems to have new hampshire sewn up, but cain is at 8%, so it seems you wouldn't want to get into a tussle, but the larger point is that it's clear the campaign in saying they didn't want an hour interview, wanted to make it 20 minutes and that they didn't want it videotaped, didn't want to repeat or even give the possibility of a repeat of the situation they had with the "milwaukee journal sentinel" in which herman cain couldn't talk about libya policy and how he disagreed with barack obama on libya policy, so it's clear

that they are kind of nervous about repeating that again. >> you wrote a terrific kocolum today. let me read a line for our viewers. sure, there are always inadequate presidential candidates, but here's where cain truly distinguishes himself. he defends his inadequacieinade. even wears them as badge of honor. explap. >> we've seen presidential candidates with a lot of ina inadequacie inadequacies, but cain says look, i'm a nonpolitics, this is good. so when he talked about for example, electrifying the fence at the border, then told us that was really a joke. america, lighten up. media, lighten up. and understand that i have a sense of humor. a lot of other candidates don't have a sense of humor. the problem with that, wolf,

i've been talking to lots of republicans. particularly, many who have served in government or in former white houses and what they say to me is look. if this goes on for a very long time, this could bleed over on to the republican brand. the republican challenge to barack obama is a serious pursuit and they say that herman cain is in danger of trivializing it. >> i want you to listen also to this. there's been a lot of criticism this week of herman cain of that libya gaffe, raising a lot of questions about his foreign policy credentials. he responded to that and said this. >> who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the planet? nobody! a leader is supposed to make sure he's working on the right problem. be assigned the right priority. surround himself with good people. and lead! we've got plenty of experts.

and a leader knows how to use those experts. we need a lead, >> all right, so how important is this entire so-called commander in chief issue for republican candidates? >> very, very important. it's part of the republican brand. national security, defense expertise and you know, in talking to republicans, there's a question someone raised with me, which is what if you're commanders on the ground whom cain said he would listen to, what if your commanders disagree? then you, as the informed leader, have to make the decision, so being a prosecutor is kind of like being a ceo, but like a ceo, you have to understand the details of the decisions you are going to make. and i think voters in this country take that commander in chief question very, very seriously. remember in the democratic primary last time around, that was the question between hillary clinton and barack obama.

and it was barack obama's weakness. at that point. so people care about that. >> gloria, good point. thank you. as usual. don't forget, check out gloria's column. this programming note if our view es. i'll be the moderator when the candidates take part in cnn's republican national security debate next tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. in the last debate, newt gingrich stumbled over his links to freddie mac. the eye popping sum he was paid as a consultant, about $1.6 million. maybe as much as $1.8 million over several years, has led to a new question. who else was freddie mac, fannie mae paying? even as they were in serious financial trouble? lisa sylvester is joining us with more on this part of the story. >> well, newt gingrich has very

publicly spoken out blaming fannie mae and freddie mac for contributing to the housing crisis. but in fact, he has received more than that a million dollars from freddie mac. and it turns out, he was not the only congressional lawmakers who went through the revolving door and ended up with big checks from freddie mac. the posh restaurant in washington, d.c. was one of freddie mac's chief lobbiest's favorite spots to wine and dine politicians. records show freddie mac held 85 fund-raisers for federal candidates raising more than $1.5 million for them. many of the lawmakers being honored sat on the house financial services committee. a congressional panel charged with overseeing fannie mae and freddie mac. the federal election committee found this to be a blatant violation and fined $38 million, but this was only part of freddie mac strategy to curry

favor among federal lawmakers. freddie mac at the time was trying to fend off calls for new oversight and regulation. records show the federally backed mortgage lender spent more than $50 million between 2003 and 2006 just on lobbying. >> both fannie mae and freddie mac were major political players. they were spending millions of dollars each year on lobbying if not tens of millions of dollars and they were incredibly well connected organizations. former members of congress were hired to lobby for freddie mac. as well as former congressional aides. many, many of the lobbyists at this organization hired had gone through washington, d.c.'s revolving door. >> among those paid to advise freddie mac was former house speaker, newt gingrich. he was paid more than $1.5 million by freddie mac. he denies he ever lobbied for them and insists he tried to

warn them it was headed toward a financial disaster. >> said to them at the time, this is a bubble. this is insane. >> they had to be bailed out by federal taxpayers and was on a con serve tor ship in 2007, but up until then, it had a roster of lobbyists that red like a who's who in washington. ben webber -- former chief of staff to representative tom delay, susan hershman among them. freddie mac had a number of highly paid consultants like gingrich. >> i can't speak to mr. gingrich or anybody else. i have no idea what they were doing, but we know in terms of people doing lobbying, or involved with lobbyists and planning lobbying, that there's a lot that's not registered. >> now, i called freddie mac for a response and was told quote,

we're not discussing past practices that we are no longer engaged in. it was around 2008 when freddie mac folded up its lobbying operations. >> good report. thanks very much. herman cain raised eyebrows by calling michele bachmann quote, toutti-frutti. safe to say he's not suggesting she's sweet. just ahead, the mnds congresswoman joins me live. we'll talk about that, a lot more. stand by. plus, the war in afghanistan has turned into a twitter war of words between nato and the taliban. we're going to show you what's going on right here in "the situation room." being self-taught is actually, it's very much a blessing and a curse. the curse part means that i do not have or did not have technical experience that people who were classically trained in the few perfume schools that

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the penn state scandal gaining fierce new momentum. members of congress called a hearing today to determine whether federal laws protecting students and children need to be changed in the wake of the crisis. this as the suspect in the case, jerry sandusky, may have more serious trouble ahead. brian todd is is working the story. brian? >> wolf, we're learning that more alleged victims of jerry sandusky's are about to come forward and have been provoked by his public attempt to assert his innocence. sandusky's attorney says he's

wanted to talk for a long time. says for three years, he's wanted to speak publicly about the allegations against him. now that he has, the flood gates are opening. several other potential victims outside the eight mentioned in the grand jury report are considering coming forward with allegations that sandusky abused them. that's according to two attorneys we spoke with. one lawyer sent us a statement saying his client will testify that he was severely sexually assaulted by mr. sandusky. another attorney told me he's formally representing two alleged victims and counseling several others. he said his client's claims go back more than 20 years. >> in some instances, he raped or assaulted them on one occasion. in some instances, it's multiple. it spans what i could tell now, decades of predatory behavior. grooming families so he could

exercise his pred tear ways. >> we called sandusky's attorney about the new allegations. he didn't immediately respond, but they have consistently maintained sandusky's innocence. he asked about sandusky's admission he showered with boys. said that does not constitute a crime. >> these are are large shower rooms. they are not the showers you have in your home, house or apartment. and so, it wasn't a situation where he was within inches of the young boys. >> still, according to lawyers, it was sandusky's monday interview with rock center that infuriated them and want to come forward. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underaged boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underaged boys? i enjoy young people. i love to be around them.

but no, i'm not sexually attracted to young boys. >> an interview that also angered the mother of alleged victim number one as i.d.ed by the grand jury. she was asked by anderson cooper what she thought. >> he's a sick individual. he's sick. i -- i see it as not even being able to straightforward answer the question. >> the woman said her son cried when he watched that interview, fearing that sandusky might go fear. >> meanwhile, "the new york times" reports that during the investigation, law enforcement authorities wanted the travel and expense records for sandusky's foundation, the second mile. the times citing two sources with knowledge of the case says records from 2000 to 2003 were missing. one law enforcement official called the whole thing suspicious. we called and e-mailed the attorney for the second mile foundation. we have not heard back. wo

wolf? >> thank you. two rockets hit the afghan capitol today as tribal elders met with the president of afghanistan, hamid karzai, in kabul. for now, nato and afghan forces are waging war where ever they find the enemy. even on twitter. nick is taking a closer look at how nato and the taliban spokesman with trading insulting online. >> after a decade of lethal combat, nato and the taliban are now fighting over something else. last word. on twitter for months now, the coalition press office an apparent taliban spokesman have been slugging it out. first, they cot personal over claims nato has afghan mercenaries. how the dialogue elevates. look, nobody takes you seriously. everything you type is wrong. just stop. >> that's why they picked you for this job. i wasn't here, you didn't have a job. >> neither side wants to talk

about it on camera, or show the face, but they seem compelled into this on going war of words. when nato said -- had this in mind. nato admits this is a war of perception and taliban's information front is getting sliger. when tribal elders gathered for talks on wednesday, insurgents put this video online appearing to eulogize the same suicide bomber who attacked the hotel months earlier. on monday after reports a taliban spokesman was arrested, they sniped over whether he was a civilian. >> so, you're saying he was not a member of the taliban? is that what you want everyone to believe? >> you know, not everyone is paid to sit behind a desk all day to tweet. >> twitter is seen by few

afghans, but influential among media and diplomats in kabul. they have long had a tv channel to put out their message, but don't want to lose ground. getting into exchanges that may not help their message, some say. >> i saw some of them this morning. they were so funny, to be honest, and i was wondering -- i shouldn't do it because taliban probably won't consider elect e electives of communication -- it would be counterprugtive. >> but they do dozens a day offer to deny force taliban claims of casualties. again, no isaf hi lows found last night. nice try. did not happen. the gift that keeps on giving. >> who ever has put you behind a desk needs to fire you and put someone more competent. you're making people laugh at

isaf's intelligence. >> after a decade of war, much more with words. the republican presidential hopeful, michele bachmann, referred to at too tutti-frutti by wup of her opponents. she's going to respond to that. a lot of other issues. michele bachmann standing by live right here in "the situation room." thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor trend car of the year, for practically just your signature. that's the power of german engineering. visit vwdealer.com.

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when people think of the president, they think of who's that individual and i'm willing to man up and do what needs to be done. the commander in chief is a very strong position. i'm a very strong woman. it's just a tongue and cheek way of saying that i'm up for the job and i'll do it. >> michele bachmann in iowa yesterday. she's clearing ratcheting up the rhetoric against her opponents

on the campaign trial in an effort to win a much needed boost in the polls. she is joining us now, live. thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. it was a pleasure. >> i've known you for some time and i know you're a tough woman. how did you feel when you heard herman cain describe you, he was asked to describe a flavor of ice cream he would use for you, tutti-frutti. >> honestly, i didn't give it a second thought. i'm running to be the commander in chief and reeder of the free world. >> do you think his campaign because of all the sexual harassment allegations, stumble in milwaukee, some of the other issues, is herman cain's campaign em ploeding? >> that will be for the voters to decide. i think what people are looking at is which candidate is prepared and ready to lead.

as we saw from the foreign policy debate last saturday night r, it's clear that the next president of the united states needs to be ready from day one because the next president will be tested almost immediately on foreign policy of all of the candidates that are running in the race, i am the one currently involved in this issue. i sit on the house intelligence committee. we deal with the nation's classified secrets and so with the threats that come to the united states, both externally and internally and this is something that i have to be conversant with all the time. it isn't that i know everything. no one possibly can. but this is what i deal with and next president as chander in chief, be prepared from day one to deal with these issues. >> but jon huntsman is a former ambassador to china. he's obviously well versed on a lot of these national security issues isn't he?

>> he's well versed on china, that's true, but i am the only one that is currently involved in the intelligence community and intelligence is where it's at because our intelligence community is second to none. they deal with interrogation, detention r, rendition and this is an area that we have to, our commander in chief has to know something about and they have to be prepared to make decisions. it's one thing to have advisers, but another to be the commander in chief. ultimately, the commander in chief makes that decision and in particular, our nominee has to be able to be conversant and be able to debate with president obama on the stage. on this issue. it's not like we can poll the audience or ask for a lifeline when it comes to the foreign policy debates with president obama. i am capable of standinging on the stage, toe to toe with the president of the united states and holding him accountable for his disastrous foreign policy, his failures and his administration best summed up their foreign policy, which is leading from behind when it came

to libya, but they've led from behind on so many other areas as well and that's what i look forward to doing. demonstrating the difference in foreign policy and how this president of the united states has put the united states in a disastrous position. >> mitt romney, is he ready to debate the president of the united states in your opinion? >> i believe that i am ready to debate the president of the united states because of my bgtd background that i've haed on the intelligence committee, but also the familiarity i have with the issues and this is something that's the next president of the united states will have to deal with. >> when you say the president with his policy in libya leading from behind as it was dubbed, but in the end, it did work. gadhafi is gone. there's a new libya. didn't that strategy that he put in place work with the nato allies? >> you know, i oppose the president going into libya. i still oppose the president going into libya because after

all, it was his own defense secretary who said there was no clear american vital interest in libya. why were we there? if there's no clear, identifiable american interest, we had no business being there. also, he went on to say there was no mission for us either in libya. if we don't have a clear identifiable mission, we have no business being there. the president said we were going into libya for humanitarian purposes, but quite clearly, it was for regime change and that's what the president was going for. today, libya, the announcement was made they will be operating under sharia law. if that is so, there are unforseen consequences that could come from that decision by those in charge, but the problem is, no one really knows who's in charge in libya today. there's militias going after one another even street to street, city to city, that leadership hasn't yet been fully determined and we don't know who that will

be. it's chaos in libya now. it's not certainty. so the snapshot in time is not one that bodes well for the future and of course, the president is responsible for the man pads that went missing. some estimates up to 20,000 man pads have went missing. if that's so, those are shauler fired missiles. those are small enough to be thrown tht back of a car and can be used to bring down a commercial airliner. he has to answer for that. >> you're happy gadhafi is gone, right? >> well, i think everyone is happ happy that gadhafi is gone. i'm certainly no fan of mee mar gadhafi, but he wasn't an immediate threat to the united states when barack obama went into libya, so result of that has been we don't know who will be in charge. we don't know what type of chaos will ensue. there continues to be a lot of trouble in libya, but more

importantly, we have the man pads that have gone missing and potentially chemical weapons as well. this is a very real threat if we have a commercial airliner or military airliner come down as a result of one of those man pads, that will l be a disastrous consequence. >> and man pads -- >> and without congressional approval. >> shoulder fired missiles. let me get a quick thought from you on newt gingrich. should he release all the documentation about receiving $1.8 million from freddie mac? >> well, you all have to decide that. i just know there's a distinlt difference because i have spent my time fighting against freddie mac and fannie mae and i fought to have them put into receivership rather than con serve tor ship. an orderly winding down in a bankruptcy. if you look at this last quarter, what a disaster. they were over $7 billion in

bankrupt, or need of a bailout from the taxpayers. the other one was over $6 billion in need of a bailout and we just had the executives go before congress and justify that they gave themselves the top ten executives over 12 million, almost $13 million in bonuses. now, where's the president of the united states on this? where's president obama? since when do we award bonuses with taxpayer money to people who have to go to the federal government for bailouts? this is a disaster. this is the kind of thing that the occupy wall street forerunners went out to the executives' homes who were getting bailouts on wall street. where's occupy wall street? why aren't they outraged about this? why aren't they protesting this? that's why i'm calling for freddie and fannie to go into bankruptcy and an orderly

winding down. we need to have other companies in the free market come up and take their place. they're absolute failures and they need to go into bankruptcy. >> some democrats are saying gingrich should return that 1.6 to $1.8 million to the federal government. should he? >> well, this may be an ongoing issue and question and one that the former speaker will have to address. but again, my response has been to fight freddie and fannie. they've been, they're government sponsored entities, but today, they're practice ly holding on subsidiaries. for taxpayers, if they go out to get a home loan today, almost 90% plus of homes are financed by the federal government. this is going in the wrong direction cht we want to market to prevail in housing. the federal government has more than it can possibly have on its plate. we can't afford this. we need to get out of this failed sfri and shut it down as quickly as we can. secondary mortgage companies

will rise up in the private market. we need to get the frafl government out. >> michele bachmann, as usual, thanks very much for coming in. we'll continue this conversation. good luck on the campaign trial. we'll take a quick break, much more news right after this. ( phone ringing )

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you can see huge crowds at wall street, the occupy wall street protesters. the picture just went away. stay with cnn for complete coverage of that. lisa sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room." what else is going on,ly soo? >> well, this video claims to show army defectors attacking the military. the free syria army has stepped up attacks on government forces. activists say security forces killed at least 13 people across syria today. president obama has arrived in indonesia after wrapping up a two-day tour of australia. before he left, the president signalled u.s. intent to compete with china for influence in the region saying quote, the united states is specific power and we are here to stay. well, eating your vegetables

weren't be so bad for students. the bill would allow a serving of pizza to be considered a v l vegetable. how about that for a thought? pizza as a vegetable, wolf. >> pizza's delicious. we love pizza. thanks for that. jack cafferty's next with the "cafferty file." oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ male announcer ] if you're gonna build a fuel-efficient car, the first thing you got to do is make a car that's worth building, that has all the luxury you'd expect. then you put in an 8-speed transmission that gets 31 miles per gallon. that combination of luxury and efficiency only comes from one place in the world. ♪

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let's check in with jack for "the cafferty file." >> a quick follow upto lisa sylvester's report on whether congress should decide pizza is a vegetable or not. congress is a vegetable.

the question what does it mean when a quarter of middle class americans plan to work until age 80, longer than most people live? jim in denver, it means the american dream of earning a decent living and living with respect is almost dead. the 99% of us working stiffs have to scrape by while the people at the top eat cake. this is not what my dad fought for in world war ii and worked hard during his life in order to give me a chance to do better than he did. i'm working hard to give my child the same thing my father give me but i don't think i have a fair chance to do that. all i wafrnwant is a fair chanc. i'll do the rest. tad writes, they're losing faith in the system to provide a return on the promise of a government and see the political environment unwilling to make the decisions to fix the problems. overwhelming responsibility is causing people to acquiesce of the changes being imposed on them. at the end of the day they have to figure out when to try to get

out of debt or start a new career path or find some way to feed their family for the week. even if that means working until they're 80 years old. ted writes, this must be the change the president said was coming. too bad there's no lemon law for elected officials. shelby in pittsburgh it means that fast-food orders will be incorrect, and we'll still wait in drive-through lines longer and it will take the super committee to agree to cut anything. republicans in office and the 1% aren't going to have to work that long so they don't care. good luck with them helping the rest of us out with that. if you want to read more, go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on the situation room's facebook page. wolf? >> jeanne moos is coming up next. you name it.

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i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. what's more ridiculous than the objects people get stuck in their bodies? here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: need we say that this goes here and not in here? and electrical cord x-rayed in somebody's gut? and there are a hundred of these. what was the gun doing up there? >> with the tuna can lid -- >> reporter: the tweezers, what

could they have been trying to pluck? the x-rays are all in a new book called "stuck up" 100 objects inserted and ingested in places they shouldn't be. it's co-authored by this emergency room physician and two other doctors. we doubt the patient's going to be able to pass the salt or the pepper mill or the egg beater or the chopsticks. >> most commonly, we do see long, slender objects, because that is the most form fitting. >> reporter: we're not going to dwell on how these everyday objects ended up where the sun don't shine. most of the time it was got an accident, though often that's what people claimed. >> i accidently fell on an object. that's probably the most common accidental story you'll hear. >> reporter: and who hasn't sat on their glasses? really, really hard while nude. the doctors say the x-rays are real, though outlines of some objects are graphically enhanced so the reader can easily see them. everything from a computer mouse to a cassette tape. >> that was definitely an older

x-ray. >> reporter: a more recent x-ray displays an ipod nano, we can only imagine its play list. ♪ stuck in the middle with you >> reporter: how did that gun get stuck in the middle? >> certain people love their guns. >> reporter: the good news -- >> it was not loaded. >> reporter: maybe the patient was. you thought a light bulb went off in your head. how about this light bulb in someone's gut. this string of christmas lights. "scrubs" did a whole episode on the subject. >> a light bulb up his butt or his colon has a great idea. >> reporter: scrubs described how to remove a light bulb. >> all we need to do is thread an angioplasty balloon past the bulb, inflate it and then pull it. >> reporter: one of the oddest items. >> what's the best tuna? >> reporter: where that tuna lid rolled up like a cigar ended up about. the doctor's favorite found objects is are action figure.