Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20101102

expensive political campaign, it is finally your turn to have your say. yay! election day in the 2010 midterms. republicans and democrats fighting for control of congress. according to the polls and pundits, republicans are poised to make big gains, and cnn is the place for up to the minute election coverage. you are looking at live pictures from ohio and florida. polls are open in most of the country right now. voting is getting under way right now this hour in alaska. polls up in hawaii in less than two hours. many of the candidateswere out early casting their ballots. house minority leader john boehner voted in west chester ohio. he is poised to become house speaker in the republicans take control. vice president joe biden headed to the polls in delaware. the senate race there will decide who gets his old seat. republican christine o'donnell is in a race against chris coons for that seat. o'donnell voting in wilmington. a hot race, the nevada senate race harry reid and sharron angle. they are locked in a high take stakes showdown in. >> good morning, tony. if this is the year of the tea party, then this race right here will tell you whether or not the tea party is going to walk away with the ultimate prize and that is taking down the senate majority leader harry reid. his is a very tight race. sharron angle, the tea party backed candidate has a slight edge so far, and it is already getting ugly. this has been a nasty race on the air waves. it is ugly already this morning. sharron angle sent out an e-mail to her supporters saying harry reid is out to steal his election with his union henchmen and the hyperbole has ratcheted up to 11. the candidates are trying to fire up their respective bases. you had harry reid with michelle obama yesterday and sharron angle, she was doing a round of conservative talk show interviews, lat night appearing on fox news. >> i'm not finished fighting the big banks. they know it. i'm not finished fighting the insurance companies. [ applause ] they know it. i'm not finished fighting the oil companies. [ applause ] banks, insurance companies and oil companies take advantage of us. we've got to keep fighting to stop it. [ applause ] and i'm not finished fighting for you. [ applause ] i want you to join me in this fight. >> when he went in as senate majority leader, we were at 4.4% unemployment, and now as you point out, we're at 14.4% unemployment. but when you put in the underemployed and those who have quit looking for jobs, we're really at 22.3% unemployment, and we lay those squarely at harry reid's doorstep. he's the one that pushed, promoted and made deals for those poor public policies that have absolutely crushed our economy here in nevada. >> and both of these campaigns here, tony, i hate to even introduce this word into the national dialogue today, but they are already bracing for a recount here in nevada because this race is that close. the general counsel for the harry reid campaign worked on the minnesota senate recount that you recall that involved al franken a couple of years ago and the national republican senate committee is also here. they have their own lawyers in place, also bracing for that possibility that this election could godown to the wire. the balance could be counted into the wee hours and possibly into tomorrow and, keep this in mind. in 1998, harry reid won a senate race by less than 500 votes. >> you think about the number of races that are so close right now, i think you are right to introduce that terminology, recount. >> i don't want to. >> no one wants to but we may have to say that a lot in the coming days. the 2010 election will go down as the most expensive midterm in history. nonpartisan watch dog says almost $4 billion have been spent and we're just recovering barely from a recession. that tops 2006, the previous most expensive midterm by $1 billion. the senate says there are two reasons for the big increase, more competitive races, and last spring's supreme court decision that allows groups to spend willy-nilly on political advertising. a dustup over a political ad in north carolina. a republican congressional candidate ran a commercial his staff said featured morgan freeman as the narrate tore. >> david price is afraid of that. he's forgotten values. >> sounds genuine. turns out, though, it was an impersonator. a spokesman for the candidate says the campaign was duped by a california media company but in a statement, mei political says it made it clear to the campaign verbally and in writing that a voice double would be used. the lawson campaign pulled the spot and issued apologies. his name is not on the ballot but the midterm elections are viewed as a referendum on president obama's first two years in office. dan loathian is with us. what are we hearing from the president today? >> reporter: well, the president is behind closed doors, if you will. he is not out there on the campaign trail but with are hearing this voice because he taped three syndicated radio shows yesterday and will be doing some live shows today. the message from the president as voters head to the polls today, if you voted, make sure you tell otherwise to vote, your family members, your friends, your colleagues as well, and the president laying out what's at stake and trying to hit some targeted offices sort of out of the box. you saw him on "the view," on "the daily show" and on the ryan sea spt crest radio show this morning, and the president talked about a whole host of issues but in particular what's at stake in this election, pointing out that the economy has been hit hard that this problem was bigger than anyone anticipated and that 93 wants democrats and americans and everyone in congress needs a chance to repair the problem. the president also went after the negative ads he saw during the campaign season. take a listen. >> so much the information comes in the form of negative ads. i don't watch a lot of tv, but i know that you've had several billion dollars worth of negative ads playing in media markets all across the country and that really doesn't give you a good sense of what's taking place out there. you know, what i think most americans recognize is that it took us a while to get into the economic difficulties we're in, and it's going to take a while to get out. >> reporter: so the president will be on radio shows in chicago, miami, jacksonville and las vegas this last-minute push to try to get as many people out there to the polls. the president points owl and we heard it over the weekend in cleveland, if people can get energized and turn out the way they did in 2008, he believed the democrats can do well in this election. >> maybe later we can get you back and ask you the question of what the president does moving forward with this new congress in whatever shape it sends up being in. maybe we can get you back and ask you that question later. dan loathian at the white house. join cnn and the best political team on tekz for election night in america. we will bring you up to the minute election results and inside analysis of the crucial races. it begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. making sure your vote counts, we're tracking any irregularities at the polls, and rob marciano has your election day forecast. >> there is a storm in southeast texas and louisiana. there is a warning out for assumption parish. plus, tomas, the forecast in the national hurricane center is in. could switching to geico really save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance? does a former drill sergeant make a terrible therapist? patient: and that's why yellow makes me sad. i tnk. sarge: that's interesting. you know what makes me sad? you do! maybe we should chug on over to mambie pambie land sawhere maybe can find some yoself-confidence for you.? ya jackwagon! tissue? crybaby. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. here at cnn, we are keeping our eyes on reports of problems at polling stations across the country. josh is here covering, let's call it, the voting irregularity desk. what are you hearing? >> i have something that's breaking for us. what we're doing at this desk all day is tracking the reports as they come, and hearing from you and people around the country. we have a team here making all sorts of calls as information comes out about potential problems at precincts. we were speaking with the executive director of north carolina's board of elections, and he's telling our team here there were a couple of problems where the wrong ballots were handed out in two precincts, house districts 18 and 16, if the number of errors end up being bigger than the margin of victory for someone, they might have to do new elections there. that's an example of what we have been hearing. also out of north carolina, something interesting happened there. some republicans and libertarians were initially unable to vote even though they had every reason to vote bought the wrong registry list was used. they were using the registry list from the democratic primary rather than the overall one for the general election. that's been fixed and everyone is able to vote. no one disenfranchised. in pennsylvania, there were absentee ballots that wrp properly filled out were sent back to the people who filled them out because the bar codes were read wrong. the offices said they are taking care of it. they sent officials to the people's houses to pick up the ballots and make sure all of the votes are counted. this is new york, video of people voting in new york. you know, in new york, there are not any major problems. but major teams of people watching out in the city because the reason is back in september in the primary, they had a mess of problems when all new york city burrows reported problems from privacy issues to polls opening late. it was the first time that new york city used electronic voting machines. they have a 311 service line to track problems, and the mayor has set up a special twitter system using a hash tag in the city and the mayor has officials watching for those. lots of officials saying they're going to make sure that the problems are not repeated this time. we're seeing that around the country, a lot of people saying we are doing everything to avoid it. if you are having a problem, show us your shore at facebook and twitter pages, the blog, cnn.com/josh opinion cnn.com/josh. we are not moving. we are here all day. >> try not to get fraufted today when you consider awful the votes to be cast ands number of ballots all over the country. don't get frustrated over some of the things we hear of. you think we do this every two years, we could get this right in every district. >> with all of the technology, it shouldn't be so hard. so far so good. today is election day, but millions of americans made their picks before the polls opened this morning. so just how many people said they would be voting early? is it 17%, 20% or 23%? the answer in 90 seconds. [ k. tyrone ] i'm an engineer. my kids say i speak a different language. but i love math and math and science develop new ideas. we've used hydrogen in our plants for decades. the old hydrogen units were very large. recently, we've been able to reduce that. then our scientists said "what if we could make it small enough to produce and use hydrogen right on board a car, as part of a hydrogen system." this could significantly reduce emissions and increase fuel economy by as much as 80%. so let's start with the answer to our question. 23% of likely voters said they planned to cast their ballot before election day. that's almost one in four. a jump of about 8% points in the last election in '06. breaking out the champagne in california. san francisco giants world series championships, and randy moss out. in the words of the great frederique ka whitfield, what the what? randy moss after playing four games for the minnesota vikings. max kellerman, good to see you. great for the giants and the wonderful city of san francisco. this wasn't a fall classic or even good interleague play. we don't have a new rival try here. we have a series we never want to see again. >> i would say the quality of play was quite good if you like pitching, for instance, from the san francisco side. tony, what we saw was evidence of a lot of interesting things. especially on the san francisco side. one, tim lincecum is the big story that cups out as an individual player in this world series. he's 26 years old, pitched in the big leagues for four years. had a good rookie year and won consecutive cy young awards. the question was how would he perform under the big lights, and it seemed to many, like me, guys like roy hall day would perform better and cliff lee would. lincecum had another good year this year, beat roy halladay, and beat cliff lee twice in the series. at this point in time, the best argument you can make as to who is the best pitcher in baseball is tim lincecum. he's had one of the best beginnings of a career in the history of the sport. >> what about our friends in texas? were the ranger overmatched? okay, you battle against other pitchers other than lincecum. were the ranger overmatched, overwhelmed by the occasion? >> bum gardner is the 21-year-old lefty who also pitched brilliantly, but as you mention, the rangers also have very good pitching, colby lewis, and c.j. wilson and the great cliff lee. the truth of the matter is, in the nba the best team usually wins, the nature of the sport in a best of seven series. luck plays a lesser factor than in baseball, which is fundamentally probablistic. who should have won the searries? in a short series, pitching and defense outweighs oun s offense the giants had better defense and got a little lucky to win in five games. if they played each other in a best of seven series 100 times, maybe the giants would win more than the rangers. the ranger would win the best of seven sometimes, and i don't think it would frequently end in five. >> the randy moss story. brett favre holds the vikings hostage for months, right? two off-seasons in a row, and randy moss is cut. brad childress isn't going to the hall of fame. randy moss is. what's going on here? i feel like i'm missing something in the story. >> well, the quarterback is the most important player on any team, really. that's why they're paid what they're paid and they're idolized to the extent that they are, and covered in the media. so it's -- especially a quarterback with favre's tenure in the league and his status. randy moss, although similar to favre in his status as an all-time wideout and favre as a quarterback, is easier to move than brett favre for a coach, i think, and if childress does have some kind of pentup frustration with the fact that he's been largely emasculated by favre and maybe by moss in the press, then it's probably easier to take it out on moss than it is on favre for sure. >> but, max, this is also a business story here. for all of our friends in minnesota, i'm thinking season ticket holders, i'm thinking of fans paying 400 bucks plus for a family of four to go see one of these games, has the coach, brad childress, made the vikings better or worse by this move? >> it's a good question, because the nfl, i think, more than any sport, football is a situation where sometimes cutting talent, more talented player, can actually make a team better. >> yes. >> it's a full contact sport, and the effort and intensity and belief in your team and all of those sports cliches apply in the nfl more than other sports. so i have seen instances where you see a more talented player traded or injured and the team went onto better stuff. i wouldn't be dwoik say childress said, forget it, we're writing the season off. i understand why it was interpreted that way. moss was dealt from the patriots because he wanted a bigger contract, and the only way to get a guaranteed money is in the bonus, but in order to stay under the salary cap, what teams do is they say, fine, he has a $20 million contract. 10 million is guaranteed, and the rest is paid out in smaller installments in the following year, so the longer the contract, the bigger bonus money you can get. randy moss wanted a lot of money, which meant that the patriots would have to give him a long contract. he is at the age of 33, which is the age of diminishing returns. >> there you have the business of sports. the midterm election the big focus, but sandra endo has some stories, too. >> good morning. making headlines today, militant cleric anwar aawlaki charged in absentia for inciting to kill foreigners. he has been linked by u.s. authorities to the ft. hood shooting suspect and the man accused of trying to blow up a plane last christmas. >> bp is back.black after suffering major losses from the gulf oil spill, it reports a $1.8 billion profit in the 30 quarter. the international space station turns 10 today. the first astronauts took up residence there on november 2nd, 2000, and the shuttle "discovery" is headed there tomorrow. i know you're act the election today. stay tuned because the best political team on television will bring you "america votes 2010" all day long on cnn. >> thank you, sandy. election day, the culmination of months of mud-slinging, nutty, crazy ads, pundits, talking points, and amid all of that noise, it's been easy to lose sight of what elections are about, about setting a course for the future for us. so we are asking you to help us with an assignment to answer a simple question. what does america mean to you? >> it's a segment called "my america is." what does this country look like from where you're standing right now. here's what you are saying to us. >> my america is the land of opportunity. >> having your dream and being able to realize it. >> my america is in transition. >> my america is a little off track. >> opinion eighted. >> my america is a country open to the world. >> i would like to see everyone feeling like its apt my america. >> gives us an opportunity to share our experiences and believes and who we are as people more than anywhere else in the world. >> my america is growing and evolving. >> my america is a great country. it's an important feature of election day. it's the weather for election day. rob marciano, any trouble spots here? we need everyone out voting today. >> you're right about that. i wanted to start out with a trouble spot and one that's pretty dangerous here. there's a radar indicated tornado in assumption parish in southeast, louisiana. it is heading north about 20 miles an hour towards gonzalez, a populated area across i-10. be aware and stay inside until this cluster of thunderstorms rotates across southeast louisiana. this is associated with a pretty big area of low pressure right here that's intensifying and not moving quickly. all of this moisture will create road flooding as well as that potentially dangerous situation in assumption parish, louisiana. farther to the north, we are seeing it get up towards northern, mississippi. this area needs the rain. aside from the tornado warning here and there, this is a good thing. lower parts of the southwest, including southern california will see temperatures above average. as far as the forecast for get out there and vote, this is the only sorry spot, texas, louisiana, mississippi, the deep south, everywhere else looks good. because i promised this. this is the latest forecast from the national hurricane center. >> look at that path. >> likely affected haiti in one way, shame or form. it won't get that wide but it will be strong and have a lot of rain which may be the biggest deal when it cups to affecting people in haiti. >> port-au-prince in the bull's eye? >> kind of right now. >> when? >> this is over the weekend, gring friday night into saturday morning and hopefully is speeds up but will affect the island for a good 12 to 18 hours. marijuana is on four state ballots today, and california voters there decide on prop 19 which would legal marijuana for personal use. in other states it is to make it legal for medical use. in arizona, the question is should the sale of medical marijuana be available through dispensaries. americans are not the only ones keeping an eye on today's election. >> reporter: i'm reza sayah. if republicans win the majority in the u.s. congress, pakistan may have a tougher time getting billions of dollars in u.s. aid. both democrats and republicans agree, pakistan is washington's most important ally in the fight against extremists. that's why congress has approved billions of dollars in both military and nonmilitary aid for pakistan, but in recent months, republican lawmakers have expressed concern over pakistan's commitment in the fight against militancy, and they have suggested tougher conditions for pakistan to get all of that u.s. funding. for the most part, president obama has eased off conditions for pakistan to get funding, but if republicans take over congress, look for them to put pressure on president obama to get more out of pakistan in return for billions in u.s. taxpayer dollars. okay, key races to watch tonight. we are using new technology to keep you informed. i know, change is hard. you never considered making bluetooth, remote keyless entry and turn-by-turn navigation available in every model. so it must be hard for you to hear autoweek.com say our interior raises the small-car bar. if you want to talk about it, call me... that is you know when you get home... since you don't have bluetooth in every model. the all new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. ♪ called the humana walmart- preferred prescription plan. it's a medicare prescription drug plan that saves you an average of over $450 a year, with monthly plan premiums less than $15 and copays as low as $2. with savings like these, you have more time to remember what it's really all about. enroll starting november 15. ♪ go to walmart.com for details. [ but aleve can last 12 hours. tylenol 8 hour lasts 8 hours. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? good, how are you? [ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. we're with you when you're saving for your dreams. [ woman ] when you want a bank that travels with you. with you when you're ready for the next move. [ male announcer ] now that wells fargo and wachovia have come together, what's in it for you? unprecedented strength, the stability of the leading community bank in the nation and with 12,000 atms and thousands of branches, we're with you in more ways and places than ever before. with you when you want the most from your bank. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. together we'll go far. here we go. get out and vote today. what's at stake, control of congress and the direction of the country on issues like taxes, the deficit and the economy. experts who closely track the races say republicans are likely to take control of the house. here's where things stand right now. the gop needs a net gain of 39 seats to take over. the big question is what happens in the senate. his is the current breakdown. republicans need ten seats to take charge there. the best political team on television brings you election coverage through the day and all night. we're using the latest technology to keep you informed. tom foreman is here with the cnn 100. >> if you don't watch anything else today, keep your eyes on whenever we come over to this big wall over here. this is our top 100 congressional races. these are the races that are most on the knife edge. they could go either way and represent a change of what's happening there. certain districts in particular we're keeping an eye on, places where we think that the democrats, for example, have the greatest chance of being tipped over because maybe they just barely won it or came in on 2008 on the coattails of barack obama or perhaps in 2006 they were part of that big surge of people frustrated with the republicans. the more you see these changing over to red, the more that will tell you the real impact of the election. just remember that more than anything else, especially when we get back to 2004, 2002, people who can prove to be re-elected again and again. if they start tipping, you have the making of a landslide. now, let's look at the senate over here. we know that in the senate side they have to pick up ten seats if they want to be the ones in control. this is the lay of the land out there, the places they are looking at possibly tipping things over. keep an eye on places like pennsylvania here, where you have the sestak/toomey race going to the wire, places like colorado, where you have michael bennet and ken buck with support from the tea party. see what happens there. can they co-wall less the power of the democrats out there. how will they bring that together? colorado is an interesting state because you see the democrats, republicans and undecideds in a big balance unlike other places. keep an eye on nevada, the bitter race between sharron angle and harry reid. he's the majority leader in the senate. if he gets tipped over that is a big, big thing for the democrats, even if they hold onto other areas of power. that's what it comes down to. all day long, if you remember nothing else about the election, remember this, 39/10/nevada. how those stack up tonight will be the measure of this race. >> that is good stuff. tom foremoney for us. campaign ad wars. there is a lot on the line today, and candidates out there who don't mind crossing that line, but some campaign ads were more memorable than mean. we've got them for you on what's hot. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar representative. his son wrote a rap song on youtube opinion this has gone viral, tony. i warn you before you listen to it, it will be snuck your head all day. ♪ mike mike mike mike weinste weinstein ♪ working hard for you and me ♪ >> my head all morning. say it, 200,000 views on youtube. >> we were asking about the money in the campaign, billions of dollars. now we see where some of it has been spent. >> here's one of my favorites. i want to show you this one. this is john hickenlooper, the mayor of denver running for governor. he says he refuses to run negative ads. every time he sees a negative ad it makes him feel dirty. >> he needs to take a shower. >> here you see him taking shower after shower. we're's thankful he's wearing clothes. >> the folks in the community and state know him. this kind of quirker ad plays because it fits into the personality they are familiar with. let's get to a break. top stories with sandra endo in washington. yeah, tony. i got watts happening and what's making headlines today, actually. a terror scare in greece, targeting greek embassies and greek authorities bet nated a bomb addressed to the embassy in athens. it happened after two separate explosions, one at the swiss embassy and another at the russian embassy. the chilean and bulgarian embassies have also mailed bombs. protecting children's free speech rights. that's debated when california's ban on violent video games is on the docket. the giants win the world series, the first time the san francisco team are baseball champs since 1954. look at the separation, yeah! the first time they won since the team moved back out west. tony. ring ring ring ring progresso. hi. we love your weight watchers endorsed soups but my husband looks the way he did 20 years ago. well that's great. you haven't seen him... my other can is ringing. progresso. hey can you tell my wife to relax and enjoy the view? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. election day in america. republicans and democrats fighting for control of congress. paul steinhauser, part of the best political team on television joining us now from new york. what's crossing right now? >> i'm at the election headquarters right behind me. that's where the magic will happen tonight. look at this, his is our last, final, i promise, poll of polls before the midterm elections. his is what we did. we took six people, six organizations including us that came out with a poll on the generic ballot, will you vote for the republican or democrat in your district. an eight point advantage for the republicans. 53% saying the jenngeneric republican, and 43% saying for the generic democrat. it's comparable to what the democrats had just four years ago when they did the same thing. look at this, the final forecast from two of the top nonpartisan political handicappers. cook say 50 to 60 for the gop, and the rothenberg saying 55 to 65 for the republicans. what about the senate, rothenberg and cook both predicting six to eight seat net gain. the republican us need ten seats to reclaim the senate. let's talk about bill clinton. he's been one of the busiest guys on the campaign trail for the democrats. a manned in demand for the party. election day, but he was still working this morning, calling into four different radio stations. all in ohio. he was in ohio helping ted strickland, the democratic governor there fighting for re-election and the president yesterday, look at what a day. started in upstate new york campaigning for democratic congressman, then west virginia and kentucky to campaign with the democratic senate nominees there and ended in florida with kendrick meek. busy man, bill clinton. >> can't wait for the scene to shift to 0 new york. it will be something to see. your next political update in an hour. we've had elections going on here and fighting a war in afghanistan, as pentagon correspondent barbara starr reports. whatever happens at the polls today may have a very significant outcome on the war in the very near future. >> the u.s. congressional elections may not mean much to the troops here on the ground in afghanistan. combat has already picked up in recent weeks, especially with the 30,000 extra u.s. troops, surge troops here on the ground. but make no mistake, commanders know full well the political calendar. they're very aware that president obama plans to stick to his goal of being able to start to bring home u.s. troops next summer, that july 2011 date is out there on the calendar. that's gotten a lot of republicans very concerned. they say it doesn't mean much, other than to give the taliban an idea of how long they have to sit and wait it out before the americans start leaving. all of this, of course, comes as public support in the united states for the war is dropping. this summer, a cnn opinion research poll showed 62% of americans no longer support the war. so, the agenda, democrat/republican, really centers now on how soon u.s. troops can come home safely, how soon transition, security can be handed over to afghan forces and how, after so many years, to bring the war here in afghanistan to a close. barbara starr, cnn, operating base tillman in afghanistan. >> what can the layman duck congress do between now the latest chia pet gets presidential and we will show it to you in motion. l know, geico n saving people money on rv, camper and trailer insurance... ...as well as motorcycle insurance... gecko: oh...sorry, technical difficulties. boss: uh...what about this? gecko: what's this one do? 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. i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving heat patch activates sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals for deep penetrating relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. all right. let's check the numbers. big board, new york stock exchange. which way do i move to get out of the way here? okay. we are up in positive territory on election day, up 59 points. nasdaq was up 20 as well. in the cnn newsroom, we've got to tell you, we've come to know general motors as government motors thanks to the billion dollar bailout we gave the company last year. the nickname might not apply for much longer. stephanie elam is at the new york stock exchange with news. we are expecting an announcement at some point from gm today? >> yes, tony, gm filing for its initial public stock offering with the sec today. the government will sell a big chunk of its shares, cutting its stake from about 45 to 20%. right now 60% of gm is owned by the u.s. government and so dropping below the 50% mark is symbolic. it basically means that the government won't have a controlling hand over gm anymore. ipo filing will include the pricing and timing of a stock sale and it's expected to take place in two week with his shares priced around $26 to $29d, market value of $50 billion not too far away from what ford is now worth. it will not, however, be enough to recoup all of our bailout money. some analysts say that could still happen in the long run, tony. >> stephanie, this ipo is based on the assumption that people will buy shares of gm. will that happen? won't this be a tough sell? >> that's what a lot of people are asking about, tony. we hear gm is planning on hitting the road, focusing on hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, even hit up individual investors as well. you're right, it could be a difficult one for them. they'll face tough questions. one, about its management team. it has a new ceo that took over september 1st. doesn't have any manufacturing experience. that's what some people are worried about. others say this could be a fresh perspective that could really help the company out. another issue, market conditions aren't exactly ideal. auto sales are not normal. the other issue, while they're below 50%, the government is still in this equation and investors want to know what the role will be in gm moving forward. those are all the issues on the table for gm. a lot of people see this as moving in the right direction. >> i need this ipo to be successful. i want my money back. i want my money back, stephanie. >> you are not alone, mr. harris. you are not alone. a lot of people are saying give us our money back and go on your own. top of the hour. hello, i'm tony harris in the cnn newsroom where anything could happen. the battle for control of congress comes down to your vote today. we are tracking the crucial elections. what a change in the balance of power could mean for the economy and your future. >> i don't think you compromise on the values. >> compromise is part of politics. it depends what you choose to compromise on. >> i'm okay with it as long as they get done what they need to get done. >> they should stick by their principles if that's what they're elected on. >> you are online. we are, too. jacqui is following what's hot. >> if your opponent could choose a superpower, what would it be? the ability to fly? how about the invisible man or woman? fun to think about it. getting the attention of political poll on aol.com. >> that is offbeat. thank you, jacqui. let's get started with our lead story. it is decision day in america after a long, bitter and expensive campaign, voters across the country are heading to the polls in the hotly contested midterm election. polls and pundits predicting a win for the gop. we are keeping our eyes on problems at polling stations across the country. josh is covering the voting irregularity desk for us. what are you hearing? >> i got something new for you here. this has just come in. we're tracking these reports as they come in. if you're having a problem at a polling site, we want to know all about it. we have a team that's making phone calls, talking to officials. they're telling us they're having polling machine problems at 250 different locations in utah county. apparently it involves these programmable cards that are being used and could be making some problems at these polling machines and leading to lots of long lines. we're making calls on that right now. i will tell you, big picture. as we look at some video of people voting, overall not too shabby so far today. we are not hearing a lot of reports of major problems. we're not hearing a lot of people say they've been disenfranchised. we've had reports here and there of things that went wrong that were small and election officials went quickly to fix it. one example is something that happened yesterday out of virginia, our affiliate, wavy. this woman was trying to cast a ballot early and the machine kept giving the wrong name. she was trying to cast a ballot for a democratic candidate and it kept showing her republican candidates' names. they took that machine out apparently and machines have been recalibrated. as you just saw there, they are encouraging people there to use cotton swabs instead of fingers because they're so specific and they're actually handing out cotton swabs to people there. one more i'll mention. this is out of north carolina. in new hanover county, they gave out the wrong ballots in two house districts there. house district 18 and 16. if, in the end the number of ballots that could be a problem is bigger than the margin of victory, they might have to do a revote there. big picture, i have to say overall, as you point out, millions of people voting today. we're not hearing about massive protests in the streets, hanging chads or other things that could be disastrous. keep those messages coming. you're weighing in like crazy. we have an i-report assignment for you. this is america, doing one thing, being the democracy that we are. >> from hanging chads to q-tips, that's progress. thank you. >> you got it. republicans hope to take control of democrat democrats. the gop needs a net gain of 39 se seats. the bigger question is, what happens in the senate? this is the current breakdown. republicans need ten seats to take charge there, highlighting the high stakes battle to be house speaker and the tough fight facing the senate majority leader. democrat harry reid is battling for his political survival in a tight race against sharron angle. angle says reid hasn't done enough to fix nevada's troubled economy. the state has the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the nation. now to the man who would be speaker, john boehner is ready and waiting if republicans win the house. joining us from westchester, ohio, carol, good to see you. has john boehner voted yet and is he making any predictions? >> reporter: why, yes, tony. yes to both questions. john boehner was here around 9:30 eastern this morning and did cast a vote, presumably for himself. yes, if you're wondering if he's expecting to be speaker of the house, i would give that a great big yes. we caught up with him after he cast his ballot. >> big job to do today. >> reporter: are you confident, though? >> we've been at this election for the better part of nine months and if you look at the races around the country, i think we have a real opportunity to win the majority and, hopefully, my colleagues will elect me speaker. >> reporter: as you see, he's feeling pretty positive today, tony. reporters did shout out a question. if you become speaker of the house, what will you do for your district? he simply said i'm going to follow the constitution. as he was walking away, he was acosted by a voter and i believe that voter was a democrat, somehow affiliated with boehner's opponent, who doesn't have a chance to win, but the voter said what are you going to do for your constituency if you are voted speaker of the house? he said i would represent them honestly and got in his car and zipped away. listen to what some voters had to say. how excited were you to vote? >> i love to vote. it's my favorite thing. i love election day. he calls me an election geek. i love to vote. >> i'm not sure anything will calm it down in washington. there's so much turmoil and everybody keeps fighting instead of working together. >> reporter: are you hopeful, though? >> always hopeful. >> reporter: what results do you want to see? >> i would like to see our current administration at least have a chance to do something. >> reporter: everyone had some differing opinions there, tony. the governor's race here is very tight. president obama has visited the state of ohio since being elected, what, 12 times? vice president joe biden has been here. president clinton has been here. they're trying to get democrats enthusiastically to go to the polls so they can get the democratic candidate for governor ted strickland voted in again. it's a very tight race. if democrats don't go to the polls in droves in places like cuyahoga county, up near cleveland, get that african-american vote out that maybe ted strickland will lose to john kasich. if you remember just four years ago, ted strickland won with 60% of the vote. >> ohio so important. carol costello for us. good to see you. thanks. join cnn and the best political team on television for election night in america. we will bring you up to the minute election votes plus inside analysis of the crucial m midterm races. we have some new information on a story we've been following this morning. police are investigating a report of shots fired at a coast guard recruiting station. that would be in woodbridge, virginia. brian todd is joining us on the phone. what are you hearing? what are you learning? >> reporter: tony, the police are telling us this has all the characteristics of at least four previous shootings at military buildings in the washington area. those characteristics are that this happened overnight, according to police, that no wup was inju one was injured in shooting shall like the previous four. one interesting thing that fit the characteristics, the marine corps museum and the one at the pentagon, this is very near the highway that runs up to washington and northern virginia, the 395 highway. this building, not quite as close to the highway as the two other buildings, but it is near enough to be certainly in that corridor. so, this does apparently fit a pattern of the previous shootings in the washington area. they say this happened overnight. no one injured. at least one bullet hit the glass at the u.s. coast guard recruiting center in woodbridge. it did not penetrate the glass. looking at a hole right near the door frame. so, there could have been more than one shot fired. police aren't saying how many shots were fired, tony. >> brian, in last week's incident at the national marine corps museum, the fbi went to great lengths in its news conference after that incident to essentially provide something of a profile of the suspect they were looking for. to your knowledge, has that information led them in any directions where they would be getting closer to a suspect in this case? >> reporter: well, it has led them to try to make contact with that person or persons. what they've said about this person, he or she, they believe, has some kind of grievance. >> yes. >> against the marine corps, but not necessarily against the people serving in the marine corps. if that's the case, this shooting today may not fit that pattern. this is a coast guard recruiting station. is it the case of the shooter trying to throw people off the trail? it's early to tell that. authoritiy ies would like to ma contact with that person to find out what grievance they have. >> brian todd, appreciate it. thank you. money, money, money. issue number one of the driving issue in this election. first, though, let's get political, in 90 seconds. put a political spin on your holiday gift this year. random moment of the day shows you how. >> introducing -- ♪ ch-ch-ch-chia >> spread the seeds and watch it grow. your chia obama is a symbol of liberty, opportunity, prosperity and hope. >> what is going on there? is it green? i need to color correct my monitor here or my eyeballs. that's right. give the closely cropped president a green '70s style fro with the chia obama, also available from chia washington and chia lincoln. (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. vice president biden heading to the polls in delaware. christine o'donnell is in a race against chris coons for that seat. o'donnell voted in wilmington this morning. floridians are headed to the polls to vote for one u.s. senator and representatives in the house. talking with voters about their choices outside ft. lauderdale, florida, david, good to see you. no surprise the economy is top of mind for florida voters right now. >> reporter: that's right, tony. if you've lost your job or if you've lost your house, have it foreclosed on, you're very motivated going to the polls, looking for some sort of change, different direction. a lot of people in florida are in that very particular situation. 11.9% unemployment, among the highest in the nation. the second highest rate of mortgage foreclosures here in the united states as well. so, add those two together and you've got a bubbling pot of trouble for any party that might be in power. that spells trouble here in florida and nationally for the democrats. what we're seeing in florida is happening in other parts of the country as well. what this has done has allowed the republicans in some of the major races, both in the senate and in the governor's race to run very strong, not only against their democratic opponents, but against barack obama, being able to capitalize on the dissatisfaction, being able to position themselves in a position to win. we're looking at very strong races tonight in the senate race. marco rubio, republican running very strong there. also, rick scott in the governor's race. very, very close race there. that could go pretty late tonig tonight. it's all about the economy here in florida. they still got it worse. that economic upturn hasn't quite reached here yet. with the mortgages, they've also seen an increase in unemployment. it actually went up in the month of september. that's going to be something very hard for anyone in a statewide race to be able to explain away. >> absolutely. david mattingly, thank you. after the elections are over today, is there anything congress can do between now and january to create more jobs? christine romans is joining us from new york. christine, look, you're charged with fixing the economy, right, and getting jobs going in america. and oh, by the way, you can't spend any more money to do it. what do you do? >> it's interesting. layman duck congress will have a lot to do with tax cuts, state tax, extension of jobless benefits. we're talking about making sure there's a salve for the wounds who don't have jobs anymore and spending money. what is the next congress to do when they've got the handcuffs of fiscal restraint on, when trying not to pull back -- while they know fiscal restraint and deficits are a big concern on the campaign trail, they want to be careful as well when you sort of take the punch bowl away from the party, if you will, to get things going again. earlier today, i heard a big money manager say we're all talking about the elections, but the entity that will create jobs before anyone else is the federal reserve meeting today and tomorrow, deciding whether to pump a bunch more money in the economy. people in the markets are looking for the fed, an unelected body, mind you, that doesn't speak to congress and the executive branch will be doing most likely pulling in a whole bunch of bonds and getting money back into the economy and trying to create jobs that way. tony, no question that the economy -- >> yes. >> -- issue number one. we polled people, i'm sure you've seen this. 52% say this is the number one issue facing them. deficit number two. taxes number three. mortgages, 8%. all that, in my mind, is still the economy. inflation. there's an awful lot people are concerned about. when asked the most important economic problem, unemployment, tony. 9.6%. that is the number one number that will be important here today and into next year, that unemployment rate, 9.6%, tony. it's been really difficult for this white house. >> christine, let's drill down on this. >> sure. >> again, in this layman duck session and in the next congress, your job is to get this economy going and to get jobs going again in this country and you cannot, because the deficit hawks are around, you cannot spend any more money. stimulus, the idea of stimulus is off the table. will you explain to folks, based on the people that you've talked to, your sources, explain to folks how pulling america off the punch bowl too early might be a problem for the economy? >> it might be a problem for the economy because you've got a recovery that is weaker than many people had hoped and would want. they don't want to pull stimulus. they don't want to pull money back too quickly. that will play into the debate whether to extend the bush tax cuts. do you have a tax hike? when it could hurt the economy. all of this is still up in play. i will tell you something. economists say you need to be spending more money here, economists like the nobel prize winner. not talking about pulling spending in. but if the republicans have more of a say in washington and they won on a platform of fiscal conservativism, what does that mean about where we go from here, this is all about politics not necessarily policy. over at the fed, they're making tough choices, try some new, sort of unconventional things. there is still stimulus happen i ing. it's coming from the fed, regardless of what happen on the fiscal side. >> you could be very smart and make significant cuts to reduce government spending and also hurt the economy in the process, correct? >> yeah. but, you know, giving away waste and mismanagement in government is something that every single party always says it's going to do and they never do, right? >> right. >> having fiscal restraint is something people always promise to do and never do, right? we're coming to a point where you've got to address these things and is there going to be cooperation or gridlock? that's just what we don't know yet. you have to have cooperation not gridlock to get these problems solved. >> thank you, christine. according to cnn analysts, there are about 100 races in play in the house of representatives today. but how many seats are there in total? in total in the house? is it a, 425? b, 435? c, 445? we've got a range here. or d, 450? [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply, unlock the doors, and turn on the hazards. or get a car that does it for you. ♪ we asked, how many seats are there in the house of representatives? the correct answer is b. everyone on the floor crew got the answer correct. each member of the house is elected for a four-year term. now to sandy endo in washington. >> hey there, tony, making headlines today. video games. they're on the supreme court's docket today. the justices will hear a challenge to the california law that bans selling or renting violent video games to children. game makers say it's a violation of free speech rights. jury selection is under way in salt lake city trial of brian david mitchell, the man accused of kidnapping elizabeth smart from her bedroom more than eight years ago. and pop the champagne. the san francisco giants are the new world series champions. it's the team's first world series win in more than 50 years. the giants beat the texas rangers last night 3-1. >> all right, sandy. love that wilson guy, that closer for san francisco, absolutely beastly. >> oh, yeah. let's get to chad myers in the severe "weather center." it's election day. we need the folks to get out in big numbers and vote in the important midterm elections right there and you have a hot spot, don't you? >> many times weather can play a 10% role in turnout. >> yeah. >> without going into any demographics, but if you have to stand at a bus stop or something and walk to the bus stop, walk from there, you might just say to yourself, maybe not. compared to the people who might be able to drive right up to it -- i was thinking about this today. when do we get to vote online? it can't be that far away. it cannot. >> i think it's close. probably programs are on that right now. there are security concerns. you're right. i think that's part of the future we're looking at. >> i don't think you're going to be able to go to like a facebook page and say if you like that person, vote for that person. but maybe you get a big long key code that only you can get out of your e-mail. it would take all of this out. very heavy rainfall into parts of mississippi, alabama. and the rest of the country, i can fly you around everywhere. other than it being cool in new york and across parts of michigan, it is great. weather could not be better for any type of voting here. we will watch this. this is tomas, still making a bee line for haiti over the weekend. it could be a category 2 storm. that would not be good but that's a few days away, tony. president obama is stumping for dems in his own way today, but it is not on the campaign trail. in addition to control the congress, 37 governors' races are being decided today. in texas, candidate bill white campaigns in the rain in houston, facing governor rick perry. the 2010 election will go down as the most expense iive in history. responsible politics, nonpartisan watchdog says almost $4 billion has been spent, topping 2006, the previous most expensive midterm, by $1 billion. they say there are two reasons for the big increase, more competitive races and supreme court decision that allows groups to spend willy nilly on advertising. no shortage of president obama on this election day. he is not on the campaign trail, but he is all over the airwaves. cnn correspondent dan lothian is joining us from the white house. >> reporter: you pointed out you couldn't turn on the radio anywhere this morning across the country and not hear the president. we're hearing two themes on all of these shows he has been on. first of all, he's trying to push americans to get out to the polls, really believing if they can get big numbers like they saw in 2008, the democrats can do well in this midterm. election. the president is making very clear to listeners out there what is at stake in this midterm election. take a listen. >> this is such a critical election, because we're living in a huge moment of change in this country. we've gone through two of the toughest years we've had since the great depression, huge financial crisis, very bad recession. and, you know, despite that, i think i am optimistic about this country because of young people, because of their energy, because of their enthusiasm, because of their ideas. but none of that will make a difference if they're not participating. >> reporter: tony, one of the things the president has been expressing is that he understands that frustration from americans out of work, who can't pay for their mortgages or who have lost their homes. what he is trying and asking them to do is give democrats a chance to finish the work they've already started. >> hey, dan, a quick question for you. i meant to ask in last hour and just ran out of time. have you given any thought, talked and canvassed the people who are your contacts on your beat as to how the president moves forward, how the president governs, starting in january? >> reporter: well, you know, that's one of the things that top aides don't want to talk about. they want to see what the numbers look like before they start talking about the what if and the what next. one thing we can say is that the president has been very clear about the next two years and what he needs in order to move his agenda forward and how difficult that will be if republicans don't come along and help him out. clearly there will be some difficulty and everyone realizes there will have to be some compromise and both sides will have to look at things that they both agree on and compromise on in order to get anything accomplished. the second thing, will there be a shake up in this white house? what would they shake up? we've seen that the economic team has been essentially turned upside down. the chief of staff left of national security adviser has been replaced. there's been a lot of major changes that have taken place. that will be something that we'll be watching closely, depending on what happens tonight. >> the president holding a news conference about this time tomorrow, right? >> reporter: that's right, 1:00 in the east room, the president will have a news conference. this will be the first time we'll get reaction from the president to the midterm elections. this white house obviously wants to deal with whatever the questions are, whatever the results are tomorrow before the president medicine heads overss ten-day asian trip, to blunt questions that could follow him there. nonetheless, whatever happens, the president will be dealing with the fallout from the election for months to come. >> no doubt. dan lothian, thank you. watch cnn tonight. our special coverage begins at 7:00 pm eastern time. politicians, as you know, beat up on the bank bailout this campaign season. for many politicians, it was the worst decision ever. what would you say if i told you the bank bailout has made taxpayers a nice profit? [ 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. ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world. all right. let's get everyone to our favorite financial website for the latest financial news. here you go. cnnmoney.com. stocks climb, latest story. nice little rally as voters head to the polls. bank stocks, political gridlock. forecasting, republicans taking control of the house. it probably makes it less likely there would be any regulatory action that might impact the financial sector. that's why banks would be happy with political gridlock. let's get you to the new york stock exchange, the big board. we are in positive territory. we have been throughout the day. up 68 points. check the nasdaq here, three hours into the trading day and we are positive, as well, up 19 points. as americans head to the polls today, anger over the wall street bailout still pretty fresh. poppy harlow is joining us from new york. politicians, as you know and i listen to endlessly from that chair over there, railed against the bailout. >> they took them on full force. you know, it's been amazing to watch the campaign ads across the country in the past few weeks. it's been this populous theme, bashing the banks. when you think about it, tony, the bank bailout was two years ago, but the anger among main street america is really at a fever pitch. our question to people, is it justified? take a look. >> when greedy wall street fat cats got taxpayers to bail them out, john salazar voted no. >> the hedge funds that crashed our economy that begged for our tax dollars went against everything i believe in, so i voted no. >> wilson voted yes. >> that's why i fought and voted against the bush wall street bailout. >> reporter: bashing the bank bailout is a popular political tool across the country right now. >> we all hated the bank bailout. it was about as popular as a root canal. >> reporter: but, guess what, it looks like american taxpayers actually made out pretty handsome handsomely. >> they achieved a level of stability. profits have returned. bonuses seem to be ever increasing. there's been paybacks. >> reporter: according to bloomberg ne calculations, the government has reaped a profit of more than $25 billion so far on the $309 billion poured in to save the nation's banks and insurance companies. that doesn't exactly resonate on main street. >> my opinion on the bank bailout, it should never have happened. >> where is the $25 billion? where is it? >> i think it's wrong. it seems like they're getting off with stealing everything and just not paying people back. >> reporter: they're actually paying us back and we're making money on it. >> are we? >> executives in new york city are getting paid handsomely on wall street. for the unemployment rate, joe public, where's the money? >> reporter: in fact, any profits go back to treasury to pay down the deficit, but there are other costs. >> maybe we made a profit in a narrow sense, but we've done so many things to support the banks, everything the government has done for the last two years has been in favor of the banks, cutting the interest rates and all the support that they gave the banks. >> moral hazard cost, increasing concentration, too big to fail and real cost to this program in government credibility. >> reporter: even though the banks are undoubtedly healthier, their perception problem is getting worse. genie powers' latest poll shows that support for banks is declining with jp morgan chase, bank of america and citibank faring the worst. >> the banks are not lending. they're getting bigger. they don't care about small community in rural idaho. >> with wall street, i don't know. it's probably never going to change. >> all right. so, you feel it there, tony, on main street. they feel wall street won't change. in dollars and cents, people need to know, the banks have mainly paid us back for t.a.r.p. plus $25 billion in profit. that's the initial reading, not the final reading. that's what it looks like. you know where they failed with this special inspector for t.a.r.p.? they failed in helping main street in the sense that the housing program was not a big success. they spent $1 billion to aid americans in terms of the foreclosure crisis. they have $45 billion left on the table to spend to help the housing crisis and i think the big question is, where is the aid for main street. but the bank bashing heading into this election is interesting when you look at the dollars and cents of it. >> can you imagine the conversation we would be having if this program had lost $25 billion and the banks still weren't -- >> i don't even want to know what it would have been like. >> poppy, appreciate it. thank you. he had to endure a marathon wait underground. now, one of chile's rescued miners wants to run the new york city marathon on sunday. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. i'm sandra endo in washington. al awlaki is a wanted man in yemen. he is being charged with inciting to kill foreigners there and has also been linked by u.s. authorities to the ft. hood shooting suspect and the man accused of trying to blow up a plane last christmas. after suffering major losses because of the gulf oil spill, bp is back in the black. the oil giant reports a profit of $1.8 billion in the third quarter. and how about this? one of the rescued miners from chile is going to be in sunday's new york city marathon. he reportedly ran almost six miles every day in that tiny space where he and others were trapped. race organizers invited him as a guest of honor but then they found out, tony, he really wanted to run it. >> that is crazy good. wruf got to live your life. sandra, good to see you. see you in a couple of minutes. >> sure. there's been a lot of -- let's call it what it is, hijinks on the campaign trail. stand-out quotes. which candidate said the following? another thing we can do for job sincere make toys of me, especially for the holidays. little dolls. me. like maybe little action dolls. was it, a, joe miller of alaska? b, hear reed of nevada, c, alvin greene or d, christine o'donnell of delaware? [ female announcer ] in the coming weeks and months, you may notice something a little different about eggland's best eggs. now, in addition to the taste and nutrition you and your family love, eggland's best will proudly be displaying its support for susan g. komen for the cure®, the world's largest breast cancer organization, in its promise to end breast cancer forever. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. and a greater commitment to what matters. because part of being the best is doing good. ♪ love this. who suggested making his own action figures as a way of creating job growth? alvin greene. he is the democratic candidate for senate in south carolina. he wants to be a senator and, yes, he really said that. he really did. finally, it is election day, the day american voters determine who controls congress for the next two years. paul steinhauser, joining me live from the political desk in new york. paul, if you would, what's crossing right now? >> i love how you say that, steinhauser. let's talk about pennsylvania, pat toomey, he voted there this morning. is he confident, he says he's confident that his supporters are energized. this is a seat currently held by democrats. republicans feel confident they can win this senate seat away from the democrats. let's talk about delaware. the vice president back in his home state. joe biden, by voting earlier this morning. and the vice president was talking on the radio. he went on the tom joyner show, talking about getting out the votes. >> it just gets down to one thin. i know you know it. it sounds so trite, but getting out our vote. if our folks show up, we're going to do just fine. we're going to lose some seats, but i still think we can hang on to the congress. we'll keep the senate. i still think we'll hang on to the house of representatives if we get a turnout. that's what barack and i need. we need a congress that's not going to just go in and rip apart everything we've done so far. >> let's go live to los angeles right now. >> okay. >> this is arnold schwarzenegger talking to the voters out there. there is a fight for his seat, of course, between jerry brown, the democratic nominee and meg whitman, former chairman of ebay and billionaire. expensive and tough contest out there, tony, to take arnold's seat. >> absolutely. >> are we listening to a little bit of arnold? >> no, we're not. paul, appreciate t. your next political update coming up at the top of the hour. for the latest political news, let's go to cnnpolitics.com. pr. your core competency... is competency. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] indeed, business pro. indeed. go national. go like a pro. time now for the help desk where you get answers to your financial questions. thanks so much for being here. we've got a couple of questions for you to start off with. someone writing to us from arizona. i retired from my job and left my 401(k) with the company. i'm 66 and want to know where would be the best place to put my money since it has gone down each quarter? what do you think, carmen? >> alarm bells are going off. every quarter you have seen your money go down, that's really suspect. of course, in september we saw the best september performance of the stock market since 1930s. your numbers should be going up. something is out of whack here. you're 66 and you're retired. you need some help. first, get some education. go to your 401(k) administrator. read up on the information they give to you as to what your options are. i can't see them. i don't know where you could put your money. also, listen, financial planners are not just for folks with tons of money. they're for regular folks like you and me. go to fpanet.org, a fee only financial planner who at least one time can look over where your assets are. the fee you'll pay will pay off through the future. >> get that help out there. our next question is from abraham in michigan. he writes, my mortgage is $160,000 and the house value is now $35,000. what are my options and what happens if i walk away from my home? this is a tough one, john. >> it is. according to my math, the value of his home is 22% of the balance that he actually owes on the house. i would normally suggest right out of the gate trying to market the house for a short sale. problem is, i'm not sure that your lender will accept 22% of the principle balance and call the loan paid in full. it might be actually time to walk away from the house. you do not want to do things like break into your 401(k) to afford the payment, borrow money from people and then just default six months later. the most eloquent way out of a mortgage like this is forfeiture of deed, which means you're leaving your house voluntarily. if you're in a recourse state, they may come after you. if you're in a nonrecourse state, they may not. you may be able to rebuild if you do everything right in the next 36 to 48 months. go to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com for more information. [ woman ] ring ring. progresso. this chicken tortilla soup has such a wonderful zesty quality. that's the chipotle and cilantro. it's one of our new mexican soups. it reminds me of guadalajara. a special man. his delicious soups. sheila? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. we don't have time to be cute and funny and we know how much you look forward to that but we have to blast through a lot of video here, jacqui. >> yeah, we do. a couple of other stories to bring you. on cnn.com right now, we've all passed that love note in class maybe? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> but what about during a jury trial? you may have heard of this case in connecticut. >> it's ridiculous. >> horrible, sad case. the family that was basically murdered in a home invasion. >> and now they're in the penalty phase. >> right, penalty phase, whether or not he's going to get the death penalty or not. one of the alternate jurors decides to pass a love note to another juror, who then passes it to the court-martial. >> focus on the -- focus on the job, right? >> on the job, not the good looking marshall. >> wanted to get a date. she got a very stern scolding from the judge but remains on the case. we've been talking about charlie sheen for a week now. just had his little deal at the hotel there. now he has officially filed for divorce from brooke bhchlt ueller. you might remember he was arrested last december in the domestic abuse case there. >> he filed? >> he filed. this is a fun one. "people" magazine put up their top list of sexiest men alive. for their 25th anniversary, they're combining with facebook, asking people who is the sexiest man alive? not just how good they look but how much they interact with their fans. they picked five people, chad ochocinco, ricky englasias. >> you, what, vote online? >> yeah. see there's a little button. vote who you like. i'm medium on all of them. you know who i like? right there. sexiest man on facebook. how do you like that? >> vote early and often. vote now. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now. so, here we are. it is election day. the culmination of months of, what, pundits, pretty nutty ads from time to time. amid all the noise,

Related Keywords

Cuyahoga County , Ohio , United States , Louisiana , Alabama , Nevada , Chad , Alaska , Utah County , Utah , Delaware , Minnesota , California , New Mexico , Washington , District Of Columbia , Connecticut , New Hanover County , North Carolina , West Virginia , San Francisco , Berkeley , Arizona , South Carolina , Switzerland , Greece , Chicago , Illinois , Haiti , Miami , Florida , New York , Texas , Afghanistan , Cleveland , Kentucky , Westchester , Virginia , Russian Embassy , Michigan , Mississippi , Denver , Colorado , Pakistan , Athens , Attikír , Salt Lake City , Idaho , Pennsylvania , Houston , Chile , Bulgaria , Yemen , Guadalajara , Jalisco , Mexico , Hawaii , Americans , America , New Mexican , Floridians , Greek , Bulgarian , Afghan , Swiss , Chilean , American , Humana Walmart , Susan G Komen , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Dan Lothian , John Hickenlooper , Tony Harris , Randy Moss , Joe Biden , John Kasich , Ted Strickland , Sestak Toomey , Michael Bennet , Brad Childress , Chris Coons , Sandra Endo , David Mattingly , Rick Perry , John Salazar , Roy Halladay , Jerry Brown , Joe Miller , Chia Lincoln , Reza Sayah , Max Kellerman , John Boehner , Al Franken , Tom Joyner , Brian David Mitchell , Rick Scott , Sandy Endo , Paul Steinhauser , Al Awlaki , Brett Favre , Meg Whitman , Barbara Starr , Notre Dame , Los Angeles , Jeanne Moos , Cliff Lee , Ryan Sea Spt , Harry Reid , Christine Romans , Barack Obama , Michelle Obama , Alvin Greene , Roy Hall , Las Vegas , Tim Lincecum , Pat Toomey , Frederique Ka Whitfield , Carol Costello , Chia Obama , Brian Todd ,