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Ireport Film Festival Winner; Deadly U.S. Raids; Hudson Family Tragedy

Aired October 26, 2008 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The finish line is near on a crowded field. Tonight the last minute push for your vote in the battleground states.
A superstar's plea, tonight Jennifer Hudson the actress uses the Internet to track down her missing nephew and her family's killer.

Sign of the times - a mother on the brink of losing her home rescued by a stranger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means so much to all of us. It's not just a house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well the people have spoken about what they want on Election Day. And by now the candidates know the only way to get to the White House is to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy is already bad. If the economy gets any worse what is that going to leave behind for our children and our children's grandchildren.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It affects everything. I'm finding that it affects hiring, getting jobs, finding new jobs, and it affects absolutely everything, the price at the grocery store. Everything is affected by the economics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nine days, two party ticket; one all-important presidential battleground that stretches across six tossup states.

John McCain made his best pitch today to Ohio voters. Running mate, Sarah Palin fired up the crowds in Florida. Barack Obama countered with another massive crowd in Colorado.

Get used to hearing about those places we just mentioned plus a few others. We're talking about the states still up for grabs like Nevada, Colorado and Missouri along with Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida.

It is the homestretch, our Ed Henry is traveling with the John McCain campaign and Jessica Yellin with Barack Obama's campaign.

I'll start with you, Ed. Ed, for John McCain it seems like he has had trouble for the -- the McCain/Palin ticket, they have had trouble finding their footing. Have they settled now on talking points that they're going to stick through until the end of this election?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are right. Even Republicans have been frustrated it appears to be a message a day or a message a week from John McCain. But he does appear to finally be settling on a one-two punch.

First of all, really laying out the allegation that Barack Obama is not ready to commander-in-chief on foreign policy, national security and secondly, saying, that if you put Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress in charge and that they run basically the entire government, they're going to raise taxes, that's going to make the economy worse. Similar to what we have heard from McCain before, he is sort of adding the new dimension about giving the Democrats the keys to the whole kingdom.

Right now based on the polls it looks like Democrats not only have a good shot at taking the White House but that they also could pick up a lot of seats in the house too.

LEMON: Yes, that's very interesting. They're calling it a filibuster-proof senate.

I want to get to Jessica Yellin now. And Jessica talking about that which is Ed is talking about the message now coming from the McCain campaign. You have some news now that you're saying Barack Obama is going to -- start focusing his message more now on closing arguments and we'll hear that in the morning?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right he is unveiling his closing argument tomorrow. And it is a focused version of what we have heard already, Don. But what he is going to start saying is look, the question now is will we be better off four years from now than we are today; an alteration of what Ronald Reagan's old line was.

And he is going to do a litany of examples where John McCain would repeat George Bush's policies; at least that is Obama's argument, and where Obama will emphasize his change with what he is calling a rescue plan for the middle-class.

So it's an umbrella way to encompass his argument about the need to get beyond partisanship. He describes the Bush years as partisan and says McCain would do the same and then quickly pivot to focus on his economic message which has been so successful for him to date.

LEMON: We appreciate you guys breaking it down for us. Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin. Thank you.

Where do things stand right now? Our national poll of polls came out tonight and it shows Obama with 51 percent and McCain with 43 percent. Again that is nationwide. John McCain also faces a challenge in the must-win battleground of Ohio. He is trailing Obama by five points there; 49 percent to 44 percent.

Let's bring in our political editor, Mark Preston; he's in Washington. Mark, the big question here -- can John McCain turn this around in nine days?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, I'll tell you what. It is not impossible but is very difficult for John McCain right now to do so. And let me tell you why, Don.

First off it is all about the economy right now. And a recent CNN poll shows that a majority of Americans think that Barack Obama would handle the economy better as well as the financial crisis. In addition to that he is trailing in battleground state polls; just about every battleground state poll. He is at a severe tacit disadvantage at this point.

And look, what we saw out in Colorado today; 100,000 people showed up for a Barack Obama rally in Denver. Then in Fort Collins where we just saw Jessica, another 45,000. John McCain had a fraction at his campaign events today.

The wind seems to be at Barack Obama's back.

LEMON: Wow, that's a big crowd there. We shall see. Anything can happen in the next nine days, Mark. Stand by because I want to get your reaction on something that I'm going to talk about now. Hold on just for a second.

There's nine days left as we have been saying and both presidential candidates have a lot of explaining to do. For instance, this morning, on "Meet the Press" John McCain rejected comparisons to the current president. And later, on the trail Barack Obama explained why he was justified in comparing the two.

I want you to take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The fact is, I am not George Bush. The fact is that I was not popular within my own party. The fact is that when I said that we were failing in Iraq and we were going to lose I was criticized by Republicans. The fact is when I did campaign finance reform with Russ Feingold I was opposed by my own party and my own president.

So do we share a common philosophy of the Republican Party? Of course. But I have, I have stood up against my party, not just President Bush, but others, and I have got the scars to prove it.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Just this morning, Senator McCain said that, actually, he and President Bush share a common philosophy. That's right, Colorado. I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk; owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common. Well, here's the thing though. We know what the Bush/McCain philosophy looks like. It's a philosophy that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that it trickles down on everybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Okay. Mark let's get your response to that. What do you make of that? What John McCain said and then Barack Obama's response?

PRESTON: Look, Don, as we said and saw at the top of the newscast it is all about the economy right now. And who are Americans blaming for the economy, they're blaming President Bush. He has an approval rating right now, Don, of 27 percent; 75 percent of Americans right now say that things are going very badly in the country.

Look, John McCain is trying to distance himself from President Bush. I just don't know if it is working.

LEMON: All right, Mark Preston. Thank you very much for that, Mark.

Meantime, The VP candidates are making waves on the trail through Sarah Palin and her wardrobe budget; Joe Biden and an interview that did not go so well. We'll talk with Mark Preston about that in just a few minutes.

Nine days left. Join CNN and the best political team on television for election night in America, complete coverage. Tuesday, November 4. CNN, of course, equals politics.

You have seen the best political team on television covering the race for the White House all year. But there is another team, that's working overtime, to cover this election, CNN Ireporters. And we just hosted our very first "Ireport Film Festival" featuring your submissions.

This is one of the finalists. Take a look.

If you want to see that full report, that film from Cat Edmondson, just go to Ireport.com/filmfestival and make sure you stick around. We'll be showing you the first of the finalists and announcing the winner a little bit later on this hour. You don't want to miss that.

And I want to know what is on your mind. Make sure you log on to Twitter, on to Facebook, Myspace or even Ireport.com. Tell me what you are thinking and check out the ticker tonight. They're your comments. Keep them coming. See, they're right below on the screen. Keep them coming. We'll get them on for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Socialism, Marxism, Communism; fighting words against Democrats these days. Now listen to vice presidential candidate Joe Biden fight back in this TV interview. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You may recognize this famous quote: "from each according to his abilities to each according to his needs." That's from Karl Marx. How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Are you joking? Is this a joke?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

BIDEN: Is that a real question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a question.

BIDEN: He is not spreading the wealth around. He's talking about giving the middle-class an opportunity to get back the tax breaks they used to have. What has happened just this year, people making $1.4 million average, the top one percent, good decent American people, are going to get a new $87 billion tax cut; a new one on top of last year.

We think the people should be getting that tax break are not continuing to redistribute the wealth up, we think middle-class taxpayers should get a tax break. That's what we think. It's a ridiculous comparison with all due respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. There you go. Mark, I have to ask you. What do you make of that?

PRESTON: Are you kidding, Don? Well you know, clearly it got under Joe Biden's skin. And he really has played a very quiet role in this campaign. All the focus has been on Barack Obama, John McCain, and especially Sarah Palin, someone, Don, who is virtually unknown.

LEMON: Do you think he gets a pass? That's the question here?

PRESTON: You know, in some cases yes. But I will tell you what, I'll tell you the reason why. Reporters know Joe Biden. He has been in Washington since the 1970s. To them he is very boring.

You are talking about Sarah Palin, unknown, a governor of a state that most people know nothing about other than these reality shows we see on television. She's just the deadliest catch.

LEMON: You don't think his response is appropriate, no?

PRESTON: Well, I mean --

LEMON: Come on, Marxist, you know?

PRESTON: Yes, but I'll tell you what. It was a tough question. He should have just took it. I mean, it really seemed to catch him off-guard is my thought there. LEMON: OK. That's why I asked you about double standards when it comes to Sarah Palin and Joe Biden because we have been hearing a lot about her wardrobe, $150,000. Seems like a lot of money. But she is running for the second highest office in the land and she has to look good. Writers write about Hillary Clinton's pant suits and that sort of thing and they don't write about Joe Biden's ties or Barack Obama's suits or what have you. There may be a double standard on that end.

Here is the interesting thing. It appeared that this whole wardrobe thing had run its course in the media. She brought it back up again today, which is interesting. And that sort of adds fuel to the fire that there is infighting in the campaign and she is not listening to her advisers.

PRESTON: Yes. Well, look she brought it up today, made light of it. But she also, really was pointed in saying it wasn't my call it was the RNC's call for that clothing and I'm back to wearing my own clothes.

This could be some more distancing we are seeing from Sarah Palin in this rift, this ongoing rift that is really starting to develop in the McCain campaign.

Look they're down right now. And -- you know there is infighting going on. There's no question.

LEMON: Are they denying it or they're not denying it? Is that something that they're denying in public but everyone knows it is going on behind the scenes?

PRESTON: Yes and I think you hit the nail on the head. They're not going to have anybody come out publicly and say we are fighting right now. They still have several days, another week now to campaign. Look when you talk to them off the record, when you talk to them on background they're acknowledging that there is infighting going on.

LEMON: Thank you, Mark Preston; of course, part of the best political team on television. We appreciate you, sir.

He is not alone on this. Our Ireporters are also taking a closer look at Campaign 2008. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are America's kids and young adults.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not allowed to vote in any election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we are affected by what our past --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And future elected officials do and say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The future doesn't look too good for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But this November, you the voters --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have a chance, maybe our last chance as a nation --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To give us hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To make a change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To recover this world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To cleanse our name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To heal our soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To address our problems.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can do it for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was CNN's Ireporters, the Ireport Film Festival; the next generation of voters speaking out about the election. Michael Green's film is one of the finalists in our first ever Ireport Film Festival and you can see the entire video at Ireport.com/filmfestival a little bit later on this hour. We'll announce the winner and will meet the filmmaker here.

We want to hear from you, right? What is on your mind? Make sure you log on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or Ireport.com and tell me what you are thinking.

As a matter of fact, why don't we read a couple of them now?

Depeacegeek; here's what Depeacegeek says. He says, "I am really nervous that racism is going to tip this election."

While Awit Collo says, "I would like more focus on the polls, I would like to understand if they're accurate and stop talking about race, please." Stop talking about race please. That's what they said.

Make sure you keep your comments coming.

We want to tell you we are also talking to some of our Ireporters, we've been mentioning our Ireporters here. We want to thank David Crohn Miller (ph), he's from North Hollywood, California. He's one of our Ireporters who's helped us out with the election and many stories out west. David thanks for chatting with me during this newscast and watching and keeping me honest. Okay.

DAVID MILLER, IREPORTER: All right.

LEMON: Thank you, sir. We'll talk to him and share your thoughts a little bit later on in the newscast.

In the meantime, we want to turn to some tragic news. It is a superstar's plea. Actress Jennifer Hudson goes online to try to track down her missing nephew and her families' killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: $100,000 -- that is the reward now offered for the safe return of the Chicago boy; seven-year-old Julian King. He is a nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson. The boy has been missing since Friday when Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death in their South Side Chicago home.

Police today hit the area with fliers. Neighbors have also been making appeals for the boy's safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be honest with you guys I don't think that guy in the police station have this kid. Someone else is involved in this. If you are watching this and you are involved in this and you know where that kid is, just, just drop the kid off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: No arrests have been made in the case. Jennifer Hudson has taken her Myspace page to try to garner leads for her missing nephew.

But police say the boy's stepfather, William Balfour is a person of interest. Earlier today, Balfour was taken to prison on a parole violation.

In another community, Little Rock, Arkansas is reeling from the loss of a television news anchor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA SMITH, KATV: Our hearts are heavy here at KATV tonight, after learning that our own Ann Pressly died earlier this evening from injuries she suffered during a brutal attack in her home this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Pressly was found beaten in her home. She was hospitalized and sedated for the past week. Police believe she was attacked during the course of a burglary. Her purse was missing.

Pressly had a brief role as a commentator in Oliver Stone's film "W" released in theaters this month. Mourners have set up a make shift memorial of flowers, candles and teddy bears outside her home. Pressly's TV station has set up a reward fund for information leading to arrest.

And now a story that stunned us when we heard about it today for weeks. We have been telling you how parents have been abusing, Nebraska's Safe Haven Law. It lets them abandon their children with no questions asked. But, an incident last night was over the top, clearly over the top. A mother from Atlanta drove nearly 1,000 miles to drop off her 12-year-old son at a hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska. Again, boggles your mind. We hope she is okay and the child is well.

I want to know what is on your mind tonight. We want to hear from you. Will you log on to Twitter or Facebook or Myspace, Ireport.com please and tell us what you are thinking. We really want to get your feedback and hear what you have to say.

And check out our ticker tonight at the bottom of the screen. These are your comments that you have been sending in to us. You might see yours up there. We'll try to get them on for you just as soon as we can.

Your election, your story, your film; we asked our Ireporters to take on campaign 2008. Boy, did you come through with it. We'll announce the first-ever winner of our Ireport Film Festival a little bit later on this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Well that was a lighthearted look at the presidential race by filmmaker Greg Opelka. He's one of the finalists in our first ever Ireport Film Festival. You can see the entire video at Ireport.com/filmfestival.

And a little later this hour we're going to announce the winner. You will meet the winner. It's very interesting. Young people and budding filmmakers get their stories out.

We want to play some of our responses from -- from Twitter, from Ireport, from Facebook and from Myspace.

Okay, margarita045h says what is the matter with Obama? Why can't he accept his socialistic beliefs, which makes him a socialist? Is Joe Biden blind?

Chosenunion, I think Biden's response to that interviewer was dead on. All the questions in that interview were the interviewer's opinions.

Msantos0927 says finally there is a candidate that thinks about Latinos, Obama.

Okay, milwaukeebrian. Hey, Don, nine days left? This is such a frustrating campaign. I voted early. And I wish I could avoid all the drama for nine days.

Thank you, we want you to keep them coming. We are also, again as I said, chatting with some of our Ireporters.

You are laughing, why are you laughing, Ireporter?

MILLER: I think like everybody I am looking forward to November 5th.

LEMON: He said he is looking forward to November 5th. Let me put him up a little bit so you can see him better. That is David. There we go, David, much better. Now we can see him. He's our Ireporter, David Crohn Miller out of North Hollywood, California. He is chatting with me via cam here on the computer. Thanks a lot.

All right. So, what is the buzz on the radio? That's what we want to know. The buzz on the radio tomorrow, Warren Ballentine, Martha Zoller; they face off. One is on the left, one is on the right. We're going to take your feedback on them as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what? It's pocketbook issues on the minds of voters. That is not all. When I was at breakfast this morning at a local eatery here in Atlanta, boy did I get an earful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm worried about the economy. I'm worried about taxes. I'm worried about the direction of America. I'm worried about the war. I really think we need some one new in the White House. We need a new administration and we need something fresh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Energy, climate, crisis, lots of stuff. We have lots of problems with spending. Or just too many to mention. A lot of issues.

The credit crisis is probably the one in the forefront of my mind. When we get done with that we have got to go on to energy and the climate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Those are the kinds of things people tell me when they see me out and about. They say hey, you work at CNN. I want to talk about these issues.

My next guests they also get an earful every day but it's all in a day's work. All right here they go. Conservative radio host, Martha Zoller, welcome back. You look lovely by the way.

Thank you for joining me this Sunday.

MARTHA ZOLLER, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Hey thank you.

LEMON: Thank you for joining me this Sunday -- I wanted to say summer.

On the left, Mr. Warren Ballentine, I am not going to say you look lovely. You look OK, it's good to see you.

ZOLLER: I'll say it you look lovely.

WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO HOST, "WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": Well, thank you Martha thank you.

LEMON: He's a nationally syndicated radio host as well. Welcome back to both of you.

OK guys, give us an idea of the drive time buzz. Warren Ballentine, I started with Martha last week. We want equal time here.

ZOLLER: That's right.

LEMON: What are folks talking about, Warren?

BALLENTINE: Well, they're about the economy first and foremost. But on my show in particular they're talking about John McCain because I had a senior political adviser on my show last week. And when we started questioning her, Nancy Pfotenhauer about -- Latino issues and black issue, she hang up the phone in the interview.

LEMON: Oh, really?

BALLENTINE: She just went off the interview. It was something that I've never experienced before.

And as I told John McCain's campaign and Obama's camp, I have a nationally syndicated show on Indy's the battleground states, and I have independent listeners who listen.

I'll give them my whole show if they can come on and just make their ideas and state their facts for my listeners. Because my listeners want to know what are they going to do if they become President. I offered it to McCain. I offered it to Obama.

Now, I had the senior political advisor on when we started talking about hey the economy, what's important to minorities, middle- class people, she hung up the phone.

LEMON: OK, that's very interesting, Martha, because Warren says that it happened. So we have to take him for his word.

But we have been saying here telling the viewers, telling the viewers what we have been hearing and that is that people want to hear about the economy. And they believed, some people, that the McCain campaign wasn't listening to that and digging up dirt.

Is this maybe the reason why someone may have hung up on Warren?

ZOLLER: Look, I don't know, if Nancy did that, why she did it. But I will tell you that they have been talking out on the stump about the economy all the time, out there. And I can't explain what she did.

But I will tell you what my listeners are talking about is taxes and they're concerned about that. They're concerned about small business. And they believe that Obama's plan is going to hurt America. They believe that the sell-off that we've seen in the last couple of days are people preparing for an Obama presidency. So we'll just have to see how it goes.

But I think the economy, I agree with Warren, the economy is issue number one. It's very rare that we have callers calling up talking about the war right now except when to say something that, good that's happening. LEMON: Yes, you know, I saw, that's very interesting that you bring up taxes. Because I saw Jack Walsh, who is a former CEO of GE on this morning, I believe it was ABC. On George Stephanopolous and he said on the front page of "The New York Times" this morning if there was a case for less taxes it was on that front page.

It's something that has strong contention on the campaign trail and that Barack Obama has been fighting, Warren, this sort of issue or at least the perception that he is going to raise taxes. He is going to be the president, if elected of taxes, more taxes.

BALLENTINE: Well one of the problems that is out here right now for Obama is that they have labeled him a socialist. We really have to sit back and look at this label though. And the reason I say that is because you have -- Obama's tax plan is really just trying to go back to what Clinton had in place before Bush added the tax incentives that he put into place that John McCain initially disagreed with.

So I guess that would make him a socialist as well. But also the $700 billion bailout. I mean, most of the programs that we have, if you define what socialism is, fall under that category from Social Security to Medicaid.

So I mean, we need to really understand what is a socialist and what it is going to look like whoever is president before we make that argument.

LEMON: Martha, you heard that radio interview where Joe Biden just said, are you kidding me with this question? I mean, you know from the right, being called a socialist, I guess he -- when it comes on -- out of a television interview he took offense to it and found that it was insulting?

ZOLLER: Well and I mean, and I don't know if the news anchor was on the right or the left. I mean, I'm hoping that she was -- objective.

But, I think the real problem is, is what a lot of us are feeling on the right is that there has been a real loss of the free market because the free market is what solves problems. Government getting too involved in things, and making restrictions on things is what really hurts.

And that's what, that's what bothers me the most. You know, Joe Biden should have taken the questions because if you want to be President of the United States you have to take tough questions whether, if they're fair or not.

LEMON: OK, all right, real quick.

Tell me about a story or something that we're not thinking about here tonight? Real quickly, if you have five second, Martha. What are your listeners is going to talking about tomorrow as we drive to and from work?

ZOLLER: They're going to be talking about small business, and the economy, and taxes, and the size of the government. That's right there. That's what they'll be talking about.

LEMON: Warren Ballentine?

BALLENTINE: My listeners are going to be talking about this fake story of the McCain supporter, the Anchorage news, endorsing Obama, and also Sarah Palin going rogue on John McCain. And she's going rogue now, just imagine if she becomes vice president.

LEMON: Martha Zoller, Warren Ballentine we appreciate it. Make sure you guys have a great week. OK, thank you.

BALLENTINE: Thank you. Good to see you.

ZOLLER: We will. Good to see you.

LEMON: I want to know what is on your mind tonight. Log on, to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or Ireport.com and we will -- we want you to tell us all what you're thinking. And also the crawl at the bottom of your screen tonight those are your comments. And we're also talking to our Ireporters online. Because we're going to announce that winner in just a little bit. So keep your comments coming.

As a matter of fact, all hour we have been taking a look at some of the finalists in our Ireport Film Festival. And I want you to check this one out real quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FILM BY WILL BANNISTER: If you got a better place to be -- you can stay home and watch TV -- you can be kicking it with your crew -- just let the billionaires do for you -- we found a better way to make you an icy queen --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And an alternative view of the election this year from the billionaire, Will Bannister's film is one of the finalists in our first ever Ireport Film Festival. You can see the entire video at Ireport.com/filmfestival.

And again, later on this hour we're going to announce the big winner and you'll meet the filmmaker.

Meantime, an angel, an angel sighting at a foreclosure auction; an unexpected act of kindness changes a woman's life and could change your life too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what? All this hour we have been showcasing the work of our Ireport Film Festival finalists. Our Ireporters have become part of the best political team on television giving us unique insights into this historic election.

Ireporters, like Mike Dennis from Philadelphia, in his documentary, "That 13th Amendment," he follows his 90-year-old great grandmother on her trek to vote for Barack Obama in Pennsylvania's primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first time I have come this close to voting for a black man. Never had it come this close. We had him saying poetry and all of that kind of that crap they never got no further than I don't know where they went to. And that dog gone poetry and sing-song and stuff, no substance to Jesse.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Yes, we are at a defining moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, you know that Mike is joining me tonight. And I can see you joining me from Philadelphia; I see Liberty One, and Liberty Two. There behind you. What do you think of the competitors, of people that you were up against? Did you see their films?

MIKE DENNIS, IREPORTER: I've seen a great deal of them, yes. I think it is real exciting that there's so much creativity happening with this particular, I wouldn't call it a competition, but a showcase. Showcase.

LEMON: Yes, so what do you think of, a lot of people submitted. What do you think your chances are?

DENNIS: I -- I don't know. To be honest with you but I really am appreciative of the fact that we've been able to share our ideas through this platform across the planet. It's been great. It's been great for my grandmother.

LEMON: OK well, Mike, you know what? I hope you like surprises. Can we get a drum roll, please. Ha-ha-ha. We didn't tell you, but you are the grand jury winner of the Ireport Film Festival. Congratulations.

DENNIS: You're kidding me?

LEMON: No.

DENNIS: Hey, well, I have to thank you. Congratulate my grandmother. Obviously if it weren't for her, you know, there wouldn't have been a film. And hopefully people will continue to check out the film because she really appreciates the comments.

LEMON: OK, come on, did you have any idea?

DENNIS: It's -- it's felt good. I mean, I felt good, the whole process has been great.

LEMON: I mean, us calling you and say hey can we get you on, can you get to a studio, can you join us by web-cam. And you had no idea?

DENNIS: I am a Phillies fan. I don't believe anything until I see it. So I definitely was holding my breath and hoping because it is a really great opportunity. Don't know if you told people what the grand prize is.

LEMON: Yes, and we'll tell you the grand prize. Of course, you get to go to Washington, D.C. during the 2009 presidential inauguration, and then top of the line, HD, video camera. I have a little one myself that I just bought. And that I use for my Don-cam. So these things are great. And you can get out and do more Ireports for us.

DENNIS: Well, that will be the next film, of course. Of course.

LEMON: OK, take a deep breath. Tell us how you really feel?

DENNIS: I, I really, honestly, feel that this, this is -- this has been an incredible ride. I have been making films for 20 years. I went to film school. I am very privileged.

But it hasn't been until the advent of this digital technology that I've really been able to showcase ideas in this way. You know?

So just from the day we went and we filmed. It took three hours to make this film to the response that we've had at different festivals, Urban World Film Festival, Manly (ph) Film Festival to now, has just been incredible. And my grandmother to have an opportunity to participate and it's just incredible. Thank you.

LEMON: I have to say congratulations to you again. I wish I had some confetti. But you know it's good that you have this platform. And you know, knowing filmmakers and budding filmmakers and what have you, it is really tough to get your film out there. And this offers you that platform.

DENNIS: Definitely.

LEMON: Congratulations again. We wish you the very best. And I can't wait to meet you in person ok.

DENNIS: Yes, I saw your piece. So we definitely have to meet with -- with the 106-year-old lady.

LEMON: Yes, we have an update for you.

Senator Barack Obama called her. And we have the message. We'll play that for you in a little bit. Thank you, sir. We got to go.

DENNIS: That's beautiful thank you.

LEMON: All right, we're running out of time. Talk very much.

DENNIS: Thank you.

LEMON: We want to tell you the winner of our audience, but we have an audience vote as well; the Electoral College from ZF Productions. This comedy short shows us what might have happened if Barack Obama and John McCain had shared a dorm room at college.

Make sure you go to Ireport.com and check out these award-winning flicks and much, much more and of course you can also submit your own Ireport.

Again, congratulations to Mike.

OK, meantime, this is also a very heart-warming story. A stranger helps a woman who is down on her luck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY ORR, FORECLOSED HOMEOWNER: It means so much to all of us. It's not just a house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A random act of kindness at a foreclosure auction. It will warm your heart.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know in this business we hear a lot of bad news especially in these tough economic times. But here is a story that will make you believe in the kindness of others.

A Texas woman who lost everything to foreclosure is getting another chance thanks to a complete stranger.

Monica Diaz has our report and she is with our Dallas affiliate WFAA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8945, 8945, are you sure? Are you sure? 8945, 4547. Hey, profit is not a bad word.

MONICA DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the misfortune of others that has lured hundreds of people to this foreclosure auction at the Dallas Convention Center. They came looking for a deal. Tracy came to find closure.

ORR: It means so much to all of us. It's not just a house.

DIAZ: A mother in tears devastated by foreclosure.

ORR: Final farewell to my house. I mean, this is my family, and I have been through so much with them. Helping me with the house and everything else.

DIAZ: Tracy took a seat in this sea of investors, bargain hunters, strangers to say good-bye to her home. In this fast-paced, intense, energetic event, her sadness didn't go unnoticed.

MARILYN MOCK, BOUGHT FORECLOSED HOME: She was crying and I just asked her what she was upset about. And you know she lost her house.

DIAZ: Tracy's home in Potsborough, just west of Dennison, number 73 finally came up. And Marilyn Mock from Rockwell raised her hand. There isn't even a picture of the property in the auction book. MOCK: Well I just kept asking her. You know, is it worth it? And she said, yes. And so, and then it went again. And I said, is it worth it? And she said yes. I just taking her word.

DIAZ: On her word, bid after bid, Marilyn kept going.

ORR: She was telling she's doing that for me. And then she had it.

DIAZ: A second chance from a stranger.

MOCK: In that way they can, yes, she can move right back into it. And so, wherever Potsborough is, so I will have to look it up on the map.

DIAZ: A random act of kindness in a housing crisis where for some a bailout is out of reach. Marilyn stepped in despite the risk.

MOCK: Because people need to help each other. And that's all there is to it.

DIAZ: Tracy never thought that her lonely journey down the road of foreclosure would end in the arms of a stranger; one that promised to bring her back home.

ORR: She knows how blessed she has made my life feel. Nobody has ever done anything for me before. And I just hope I can repay the favor.

DIAZ: In Dallas, Monica Diaz, Channel 8 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very nice. We hope this happy ending will be solid because we have to emphasize the deal isn't complete yet. Fannie Mae has to approve the purchase price on this.

And coming up a little bit later on, we're going to update you on a woman whose car was repossessed, that's also a sign of the times and a heart warming story there as well.

You may be getting ready for bed. But overseas trading is already underway. And you know what happens in Asia is felt on Wall Street just a couple of hours later.

We'll get the first signs of what the markets have in store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The U.S. military is accused of launching air strikes today inside two sovereign nations. Syria says two U.S. helicopter gunships from Iraq attacked a target inside Syrian territory, killing eight people. U.S. Military says it is looking into that allegation.

And a Pakistani military source tells CNN that seven people were killed today in an alleged U.S. missile strike inside Pakistan's tribal border region. Both the White House and the CIA declined comment on that.

A Mexican drug cartel may have been dealt a major hit this weekend with the arrest of Eduardo Arellano Felix. He's reputed to be a senior advisor to the drug ring run by his family. The raid also netted another alleged member of the ring, Luis Ramirez Vasquez and a cache of heavy weapons.

Some overseas stock markets have been open for a few hours now giving us our first signs of what lies ahead for us. Those same markets are coming off a dizzying plunge on Friday.

Straight now to Hong Kong and CNN's Eunice Yoon; what might we be in store for -- Eunice?

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not a very good day, Don. Right now, a lot of the Asian markets are trying to cling on some of their gains they made this morning, but haven't been doing a very good job of it.

Tokyo's market hit a 26-year low this morning, also the South Korean, Hong Kong, Australian and Chinese markets are all headed lower. A lot of this again is because of the fact that investors are so concerned about the health of the U.S. economy and wondering what the impact of a potential recession could be out here.

LEMON: Eunice Yoon, in Hong Kong, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

The struggling economy probably has you watching your budget very closely. It has most people doing that, especially as the holiday shopping season creeps ever so close.

Stephanie Elam has a look at the week ahead and getting down to business.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM: The DOW swung wildly last week. Gloomy sales forecasts from major retailers including Amazon rattled investors. And you can add to that, lay-off announcements from corporations in a variety of sectors.

In a few days, we'll get an updated look at the nation's GDP. Fresh data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is expected to reflect what's become obvious, the economy is slowing down.

Also coming up, analysts expect the Conference Board Consumer Confidence index to drop significantly despite rising the last two months. The index measures consumers' outlook on current conditions and the future.

Economic worries are keeping Americans out of malls and ballparks. Major League Baseball reports attendance at regular season games this year was down from 2007's record of 79.5 million spectators. But numbers are up elsewhere; signing up to take tests for grad school. The Graduate Management Admission Council reports, registration for exams is up nearly 12 percent compared to the same period last year.

That's this week's "Getting Down to Business."

Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, last weekend I road alongside a repo man. And while we were out I met a young woman who called herself Simone.

And here's a little bit of my conversation with her the night her car got repossessed. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALISHA HOPKINS, ATLANTA RESIDENT: I have never been this down on my luck. I have a college degree, and I can't find a job. I have -- I'm a single mom. And I'm just so frustrated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the response to this woman's story was so overwhelming; many of you asked how you could help her and her daughter out. We had responses from everywhere, Hong Kong, Germany.

So I spent the afternoon with her yesterday and she is finally ok with telling me her real name and showing her face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So the last time I saw you, you had -- you were sitting in the middle of all of your belongings and you said, I'm not going to cry, and you did.

HOPKINS: That's true.

At that moment, it hadn't really sunk in. But once you guys left and all of my belongings were outside on the front lawn, my TV, my clothes, my computer, it kind of sunk in, like, how did I get to this point? And I know how I got to that point, but it was just almost as if this can't be happening to me.

This sort of thing doesn't happen to the person that does everything right in life and then have life backfire. Because no matter how hard I tried, I still fell into the trap that everybody else is into right now. No job. No car. If you do get a job, you're still not able to meet your financial obligations.

Every day I thank the Lord for my blessings, even with all of this going on I still -- I haven't questioned it. I said, everything happens for a reason. I'm able to see. I'm able to talk. I have my daughter. She has me. I'm alive.

At this point in time, you thank God for all the little things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We want to thank you for your feedback on that story and please keep them coming. We will update any story that you find interesting. And we appreciate it.

So reach out to us; Twitter, Myspace, Facebook or Ireport.com, will you.

All right, well imagine coming on another story -- another story that we're updating from last week. Imagine coming home and hearing this on your answering machine.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OBAMA: This is Senator Barack Obama. And I'm calling Mrs. Cooper because I heard about you on that CNN piece.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, that's right. 106-year-old Anne Nixon Cooper gets a call from her candidate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, we have some "Breaking News" into the "CNN Newsroom."

We are learning from the University of Central Arkansas; the police said the campus is currently on lockdown. Here's why. Two people -- one person is confirmed dead, two people are wounded in what is a shooting on campus. We are told that there are four suspects but one suspect is already in custody.

Again, campus is closed there. One person CNN is confirming is dead, two wounded; a campus shooting and lockdown at the University of Central Arkansas. Please make sure you stay tuned to "American Morning" for the very latest on that, 6:00 am Eastern.

Well, last week we told you about Anne Nixon Cooper, the 106- year-old Atlanta woman voted early for a presidential candidate, a presidential candidate she never thought she'd live to see.

Well, Senator Barack Obama heard her story and called her to thank her for her vote. Unfortunately, she missed the call but he left a message on her answering machine. We went by today.

Check it out.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OBAMA: This is Senator Barack Obama. And I'm calling Mrs. Cooper because I heard about you on that CNN piece, and I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your support and how honored I am to have your support. (END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: And she was excited that he called and says she knows now that she did the right thing. It is a cool follow-up to her story.

I'm Don Lemon and I'll see back here next weekend. Have a great week everyone.