you know, what is giving them more opportunity? what is growing the economy. in a moment we test just how deep of a revelt the president faces in his oeb party and doing something he called unconscionable is the best for the economy and his re-election. sad breaking news. elizabeth edwards died today after a six-year battle with cancer. one day after publicly disclosing her cancer was spreading and doctors determined additional treatments would serve no purpose. we got to know her as the wife of john edwards, in 2008 she was at his side when he ran for president, inspiring because by then we knew she was struggling with cancer. what we learned is she was secretly dealing with her husband s infidelity. she talked about that struggle with larry king earlier this year: it is important for me to understand i didn t do anything wrong, not just for me, but my children, the mother they say, the wife they saw trying to support her husband in his quest in his dreams. mrs. edwa
our matrix, this new technology, offers a unique and state of the art way, helping you to keep track of the nation s battleground. 435 house seats at stake across the country. what we have done is built the cnn 100. these are the 100 most competitive house races. if you see blue on the screen, that s a democrat held seat. red, a republican held seat. as i go through some of them, you see a lot more blue than red. that tells you the stakes, the democrats are on defense in this election year. one key demo graph, the new democrats that came to washington in 2006 and 2008. in 2008, it was on obama s coattails. in 06, this is the class that made pelosi the speaker. newer democrats in washington, republicans believe, they are the most vulnerable. the big question this year, will the gains of 2006 and 2008 for the democrats be washed away by the republicans this year? those are the main targets. but if you go further back in time, you ll see others right here. you see the class of
want to try it in your house with your kids. you re in the cnn newsroom where the news unfolds live this saturday october 2. a big rally in washington, at the lincoln memorial right now t gathering is called one nation working together, including a host of individuals and advocacy groups pushingi ishes issues related to education. pretty good turn out there at the lincoln memorial. reporter: i think we have some great video of the crowds turning out here on the national mall, right here at the reflecting pool in front of the lincoln memorial. really there are a range of issues that they re touching on here from the podium and from the signs i see in the crowd. but what it comes down to seriously is jobs and november 2, those will the two big themes that we re hearing here. a coalition of liberal and progressive groups coming together including civil rights groups, union groups, gay rights groups, environmentalists, just to name a few, all coming together for this rally,
63 was to come to washington, to ask government to protect citizens, to intervene in our lives. he is coming to the government to get out of our lives. there are states rights movement, so you can t have it both ways. since the day president obama was elected president, you have had a constant tirade against the president, against democratic efforts to get the economy turned around. so let s call it what it is. it is a blatant political effort. banking on a huge tea party crowd and bringing in sarah palin to help with the speech making. partisan political rally or just a big patriotic picnic? in a moment, my conversation with reverend al sharpton who met me down at the lincoln memorial today as mr. beck was check out the stage. let s talk it over with roland martin and derek anderson. roland, i want to stalk with you first do we need mr. beck to as he says, reclaim the civil rights movement? no we don t. and frankly, we are giving him exactly what he wants and that is
dollars away? and more importantly, are we any safer now because of it? plus, another story of broken government. prison inmates cheating taxpayers out of millions from behind bars. when the irs was tipped off by cops, the feds did nothing about it for years, and it s still happening. we re going to investigate. and in the gulf, the containment cap is still holding, but for how much longer? what s with that mystery seepage from the gulf floor? we have the latest developments on day 91 of the disaster as well. we re going to start with our number one story tonight. an incredible must-read piece in today s washington post. a nearly two-year investigation into america s homeland security with a stunning conclusion. widespread confusion and secrecy, even among those at the highest levels of power. a byzantine federal system so wrapped up bureaucracy and politics that it may be paralyzing the country s fight against terror. you think you know america. but you don t know to