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Final Push to the Presidency; Childs Body Found in White SUV; Two Soldier Deaths in Suicide Blast; Attack Inside Syria
Aired October 27, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Signs of a sell-off. Wall Street point to another sharp drop at the open. We're following the markets all around the world.
Plus, candidates' final push this hour. What they're saying about the energy crisis.
It's Monday, October 27th. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A manic Monday unfolding in markets across the world. Fears of a global recession sent stocks plummeting especially in Asia. Look at this now. Japan's Nikkei stock index closed at its lowest levels in 26 years.
Same thing going on elsewhere in the region. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 12.7 percent. China's Shanghai composite index tumbled 6.3 percent.
European markets also struggling from their opens. London, Paris, Frankfurt are seeing losses of 4 to 5 percent.
So expect another tough day on Wall Street, at least in the early trading. Futures have been down all morning long. So, obviously, a lot to cover this morning.
CNN's money team is in place all around the world now to break it down for you. CNN's Andrew Stevens is in Hong Kong, Adrian Finighan in London, and our Christine Romans in New York.
Let's go ahead and begin with you, Christine and a look at Wall Street. I guess there's two words -- buckle up.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Buckle up. That's the way it's been. I mean every morning we come in here, right, and there's just a raft of news about overseas market and concerns about what that means for the Dow.
I will tell the Dow futures have improved dramatically over the past hour or so, now down about 60 points. They had been down more than 200. So you've a slow recovery from the worst levels.
But remember those are just futures prices. We won't really know about the direction of Wall Street until it opens at 9:30 Eastern Time.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: And sometimes even when all of the signs point in one direction in the morning, the stock opens, and it has mind of its own.
COLLINS: The exact opposite. Yes.
ROMANS: And that's right. So it has been wild, the -- it's been hard to gauge what's going to happen. And -- but what we can tell you is that the losses overnight were dramatic and worrying, that, in Tokyo, with a 26-year low, you're going to hear more about some of the damage overseas.
But that's just telling you more of the same, concerns about of a global slow down, how deep will it be and what will it look like?
Now here in this country, we're watching some new developments in the $700 billion bailout plan. This week, we're going to start to see pieces of that comprehensive solution to start to get put it -- to be put in place.
We know the Treasury Department, with our money, is going to start buying stakes in the banks this week, $125 billion worth of bank stocks. Those agreements were signed over the weekend, that'll to unfold.
Also, we know the Fed is going to start this week being a backstop on that so-called commercial paper, those are the business loans...
COLLINS: Right.
ROMANS: ... the short-term business loan, the Fed is going to actually begin to do that this week. So some of the steps we've been waiting for, to see some concrete beginnings of those, we're going to start to see that this week.
Now we -- more foreclosures, more job loss, the U.S. economy has -- everyday we get another body blow about the U.S. economy. But I want to point out a couple of things. One, gas prices are down 50 cents over the past two weeks. That's going to be relief for consumers.
COLLINS: Sure.
ROMANS: Two, seniors are going to see a higher Social Security check next year. They're going to see about $63 a month extra. So there are Americans who will be weathering this crisis, if you've got a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, if you've been in that house for some time, if you've got at least six months of cash savings, some are now saying even more, maybe even a year.
And if you've got a properly allocated retirement portfolio and you have your job, you will be among the millions who will be able to weather this thing. But in the near term, it is clearly a very wild ride.
Let's see what it looks like in London with Adrian Finighan -- Adrian?
ADRIAN FINIGHAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Global recession fears continue to spook the markets in this, of course, the week that ends with Halloween. Banking stocks, energy stocks leading the decline, although it's fair to say that share prices have come off the lowest we saw earlier in the session as those U.S. futures you were talking about have improved.
What's behind this rationale? We've got one market commentator here today talking about wallowing around in the sea of the unknown. We don't know exactly what is behind this trigger other than the fear of recession.
Perhaps it's hedge funds, de-leveraging, unwinding position, unable to borrow the kind of cash that they have been able to in the past. Perhaps it's just ordinary shareholders realizing that there's no point in holding on to equities in a bear market when so many of the world's governments are promising to honor their bank deposits.
So why have your money in equities when you're going to lose money when you can just stick it and know that it's safe in a bank deposit account.
One glimmer of hope, perhaps later in the week here in European, Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown at the weekend hinting that we may well see some more coordinated interest rate cuts, now with the Fed meeting this week and about to pronounce midweek on the U.S. interest rates.
All eyes will be on the ECB, the Bank of England, here in the U.K. to see if they follow suit.
Europe's losses, their nothing mid-session compared to the dreadful Monday that they had in Asia overnight. Let's get more on that now from CNN's Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong -- Andrew?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dreadful was the word for that, particularly right here in Hong Kong. The stock market having its biggest one-day fall for 10 years.
You'd have to go to the Asian financial crisis of 1997 to see something similar like that, down nearly 13 percent. The interesting thing here and the worrying thing here, is there's no real clear trigger as to why this sudden sell-off. And many, many market watchers will tell you that Hong Kong shares are now undervalued. The fall has gone on too much.
But, the point is, it's irrational now. There is a fear and no one seems to know when it's going to end. Look up north at Japan, Japan down another 6 1/2 percent. At least you can see some real issues there, particularly about the Japanese currency, the yen, that's at a 13-year high against the U.S. dollar.
That means the Japanese exporters, companies like Sony, like Canon, like Toyota -- their products are all becoming much more expensive. If you put that on top of their weakening markets, their export markets, anyway, you can see why there's this big fall in Japan.
But in Hong Kong, a different story. There is a lot of irrational fear, a lot of irrational worries about where this is all going to end now. And with Hong Kong and with the Asia, the lead still very much has to come from the U.S.
A little bit of good news, the Dow futures not down as far as they were, that may help. We'll get help a bit of a help if the Fed does cut interest rates, which is the betting now, at least a half point cut there.
So all these may help things. But it's very hard to see what is going to be the trigger to turn this around while we still have all this uncertainty, all this irrational fear out here.
It's a very ugly place to be at the moment, Heidi. Most of the people I speak to say if they've got out, they're not coming back in for sometime until they can see some clear trend emerging or at least some clear bottom in these markets.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Wow. Well, as you can see, a whole lot of news going on regarding the financials all across the world today.
Andrew Stevens, we thank you for that as well as our other correspondents today.
At the bottom of the hour, of course, we want to remind that we're going to go live to Wall Street for the opening bell here. So keep it here for that. It will be coming your way, as usual, 9:30 Eastern.
For now, I want to get you to another story in a completely different part of the world. We're talking about eastern Congo. Apparently, some unrest going on right now at the United Nations compound.
Apparently we are getting some reports that it is under attack. So what does all that mean? We have someone on the line with us right now who is actually inside the building to tell us more about what he is able to witness.
Sir, can you hear me? We're not going to be able to...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I can hear you.
COLLINS: OK. Go ahead. I know we're not going to be able to identify you for security reasons obviously. But we would like to know what's going on. What are you hearing? What are you seeing around you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually (INAUDIBLE) this morning around 10 o'clock, we've been attacked by population here. The population is attacking the U.N. installation so far and a lot of U.N. vehicles(ph) have been destroyed. Our military has to open the fire to try to, you know, to defend U.N. personnel on this election. Apparently, we have no information assessment (INAUDIBLE). A few so far. But while receiving information of some of the civilians who was shot and dead because of -- tried to enter the U.N. compound.
COLLINS: I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding you. I just want to -- I want to verify with you what I believe you just said. You said you had heard gunshots and that people are injured or are not injured?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So far, there have been gunshots, yes. It was our military. The military is trying to protect the U.N. personnel because the angry mob wants to enter the U.N. installation. They're trying to -- destroy, to damage the U.N. (INAUDIBLE) and also to injure U.N. personnel.
So that's why there was gun fire and also police, local police also opening fire to try to disperse angry mob.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we certainly appreciate your insight into all of this.
Again, that call coming to us from inside the United Nations compound. And just to give you a little bit more perspective here, we are talking about eastern Congo. This is an area known as Goma.
And our reports are saying that apparently this building is under attack, some gunshots could be heard, and now we are learning a little bit more as we go forward here about injuries and so forth.
We, of course, are going to stay on top of this -- unrest that we have been following for quite some time. Unclear at this point who is apparently doing the attacking. But as you may know or may not know, if you follow this part of the world here, there are about 17,000 peacekeeping forces -- United Nations peacekeeping forces that are trying to protect people from rebels in the area.
So, obviously, this is not a story that has come out of nowhere but certainly new today, again, this attack on the United Nations compound there.
We will, of course, stay very close to this one and give any information just as soon as we get it in here to CNN.
Eight days now to Election Day. The presidential hopefuls are barnstorming battleground states. Today Senator John McCain starts off in Ohio, a state up for grabs, much like it was four years ago. And then on to Pennsylvania.
His running mate, Governor Sarah Palin begins her day in Virginia. She also ends up in Pennsylvania, in a different city, though.
Senator Barack Obama makes his final push first in Ohio and then, like his Republican rival, in Pennsylvania. His running mate, Senator Joe Biden, travels to North Carolina and Florida.
As always CNN has the campaigns covered. Ed Henry is already in Dayton, Ohio, waiting for Senator McCain. Suzanne Malveaux is in Canton where Senator Obama will rally voters there.
First, we want to begin with you, Ed Henry. What do we expect to hear from Senator McCain today?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, his closing argument is sort of twofold. One he continues to charge that Barack Obama, in an uncertain time, is not ready to be commander in chief. But let's face it, Hillary Clinton tried to make that argument in Democratic primaries, didn't really work. It hasn't necessarily resonated for John McCain.
So the second part is really the more important focused part, which is on the economy. John McCain, again, repeating the attack, that he believes Barack Obama will raise taxes, but also adding a slightly new dimension, which is that, if you give Barack Obama the presidency and Democrats more seats in the House and U.S. Senate, then basically Democrats will have control of the entire government.
And in his estimation will make the economy much worse and, of course, John McCain is still using Joe the Plumber to make that case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All Joe the Plumber did was ask a question and you see how they attacked him for asking a question? What's that all about? What's that all about?
Joe the Plumber and there's Joe the Plumbers here because he represents every small business person in America that doesn't want their taxes increased, that wants to create jobs, that wants to buy the business that they're in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But the problem for John McCain is that in so many of these states where he and Barack Obama are barnstorming, they're states that George W. Bush carried in 2004. So the game is being played, essentially, on John McCain's turf.
Here in Ohio, he's behind by four points in the latest CNN Poll of Polls and as you know, no Republican has ever won the White House without carrying the buckeye state. So this is critical, critical time for John McCain -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Hey, Ed, what is this that we're hearing about some dissension between the McCain and Palin camps? Any truth to this?
HENRY: Well, it sort of exploded over the last several days with an anonymous adviser of Senator McCain, basically, charging that Sarah Palin has been going rogue in their words, has been a diva, in the word -- words of one McCain advisor, and has been basically been going off message. Palin advisors have been firing back that essentially some of the McCain advisors sort of botched her role out, her introduction to the American people, and that she's had to sort of spread her wings and go off on her own.
There are, obviously, questions about whether she's doing that because she's wondering whether John McCain will lose and she wants to set herself up as the Republican leader in 2009 and beyond.
Palin spokeswoman insists that she's only focused on helping John McCain win next week. But you have to wonder, the bottom line, basically, that this is not the time for McCain and Palin advisors to be throwing -- you know, firing rockets at one another. They need to be focused on the Democratic ticket, and this is bad timing for the McCain camp -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Ed Henry for us this morning. Thank you, Ed.
Senator Obama also trying to connect with voters in this key state. Suzanne Malveaux is in Canton, now where the candidate is expected to offer his closing arguments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Barack Obama is going to be speaking here in Canton, Ohio in what his campaign is calling a closing argument. And he's going to harken back to the language that he used about 18 months ago when he first started all of this.
You remember the "yes, we can" battle cry. Well, this time around, he's going to be saying to voters in one week, you can and then fill in the blank whether or not that is changing politics as we know it. The divisions between Republicans and Democrats, whether or not it is actually promoting a policy that fights for the middle class and creates jobs.
It is the kind of language a lot of people were attracted to, inspired by. He is going to talk about being a part of something that is a common purpose -- a higher purpose. And we've been hearing more of this language in the days leading up to this moment.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In 10 days time, you'll have the chance to bring the change we need in Washington. That's the good news.
But we're going to have to work, we're going to have to struggle, we're going to have to fight every single one of those 10 days.
Change never comes without a fight. What we need right now is honest leadership. We need real change. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Obama will continue to make the case that John McCain is not the true candidate of change. He will talk about how this has been an era of irresponsibility. He will call for voters to take greater responsibility for themselves.
And, once again, outline his vision for America, what he sees as the kind of change that is necessary in kind of a broad vision. He is doing this here in Ohio, the critical state of Ohio because no Republican has captured the White House without capturing Ohio.
Barack Obama wants to deny that of John McCain. He's also trying to force him, essentially, to use precious resources and time in the final days of the campaign here to defend his Republican turf.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Canton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Counting down to the presidential election, "Ten Issues in Ten Days." We're breaking down the candidates' positions on some of today's biggest challenges. Ahead, we're going to talk about energy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Countdown to the election, "Ten Issues in Ten Days." We've already looked at the economy, of course, and where the presidential candidates stand on taxes. So today, we turn the page to energy.
Let's begin with Barack Obama's proposals on a national energy policy. The Democrat says, if elected, he would budget $150 billion for clean energy and he says he would mandate 25 percent of the nation's electricity to have come from clean sustainable sources by the year 2025.
And he advocates windfall profits tax on oil companies. Also a side note, he says he's now willing to consider offshore drilling.
Obama says he would mandate flex fuel cars and within seven years, he wants 1 million hybrid cars on U.S. roads. Each would be capable of 150 miles per gallons per year of gas.
Car buyers could get a $7,000 tax credit for fuel efficient cars and 10 percent of the nation's energy would have to come from renewable sources. And he would demand the U.S. reduce its carbon missions by 80 percent by 2050.
OK. So let's look at John McCain's energy proposals now. He would oppose a windfall profits tax. He supports offshore drilling. He vows to build 45 nuclear power plants by 2030 and he would budget $2 billion a year for clean coal technology. He says he would provide tax credits for wind, hydro and solar power. Also says, by mid-century, he would reduce the level of carbon emissions measured in 1990.
"Ten Issues in Ten Days." We'll keep breaking it down for you as we count down until Election Day.
Tomorrow, we'll be talking about healthcare. Hear what the presidential candidates say they will do to make the healthcare system work better for you. The problems and the plans, "Ten Issues in Ten Days," only right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Classes canceled today at the University of Central Arkansas after two students were shot and killed. It happened last night near one of the dorms. Another person was wounded in the incident.
Police say they are questioning someone in connection now with the shooting. Meanwhile, witnesses are describing the terrifying scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard about five or ten shots. Then, at first, I thought it was like these firecrackers, you know, because everybody out here were just clowns around out there.
But -- I just realized it wasn't firecrackers. And I turned around for a second as I started running and I saw a guy hit the ground, he had been shot. I saw a couple cars speed off. I don't know if they were the shooters or not. I'm not positive and I started running as fast as I could away from the shooting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Arkansas police are expected to hold a news conference up coming up next hour. We, of course, are going to bring any new information we get from that to you.
And students who were there were also looking for your iReports. You can go ahead and send them us at ireport.com.
Actress Jennifer Hudson now offering a $100,000 reward for the safe return of her nephew, Julian King. The 7-year-old has been missing since Friday, the same day Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death in the family's Chicago home.
Police are patrolling the streets and handing out flyers now with King's picture and his mother is appealing to the public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIA HUDSON, JENNIFER HUDSON'S SISTER: All I ask, I don't care who you are, just let my baby go, please. He'll be -- taken (INAUDIBLE). He's 7. Let my son go, please, that's all I ask. I won't ask them to identify you all, I just want my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Police do have one person in custody. According to Chicago station WLS, it is the boy's stepfather. The police have not confirmed that. And no one has been charged with the killings.
Another sell-off or a time to buy? The week begins on Wall Street. We'll watch for the opening bell coming in just a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The U.S. stock market lost $800 billion in value last week and we're gearing up for even more losses this morning.
Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at what to expect.
Good morning to you, Stephanie, just as we hear the opening bell.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi. It is going to be a busy day. We'll be keeping our eyes on the stocks all around the world having selling off, and we're expecting the same thing here in the United States.
Concerns about the global economy pushed Japan's Nikkei down to its lowest close in 26 years, while Hong Kong's main index plunged more than 12 percent. It is the biggest drop in 17 years.
Now, to help free up credit markets and get banks lending again. The U.S. government is beginning to use the $700 billion from the bailout bill starting today. The Treasury is injecting $125 billion into nine banks in exchange for shares in those companies.
Now, on top of that, the Federal Reserve is opening its commercial paper funding facility, meaning the central bank will be loaning directly to companies and these comes just a day before the fed begins a two-day policy setting meetings and let's say the central bank could cut interest rates by another half point. That would take us down to the benchmark rate -- take the benchmark rate down to just 1 percent.
Now, even if all that happens, it does not stop the flow of bad news. In about half hour, we're expecting to learn new home sales fell last month to a 17-year low. And Thursday, third quarter GDP will be released. It could show the overall economy contracted over the summer, another sign of like a recession, although most of us don't need metrics to tell us that.
Let's take a look where the numbers stand right now. We are off and not off as much as we expected. The Dow off 48 points at 8328. Nasdaq off about one percent. The S&P 500 is off fractionally at this time. Oil, as far as that is concern, falling again, trading below $63 a barrel. So, it could have been a way worse morning, based on where the futures were early on, but right now it's kind of mild, actually, for what we're used to seeing?
COLLINS: All right. Well, we will keep our eye on it carefully. Thank you, Stephanie. Appreciate that.
The final push now to the presidency today. They are barnstorming key swing states. Senator Barack Obama begins in Ohio, and then he'll go on to Pennsylvania. His Republican rival, Senator John McCain has a similar itinerary, different cities though. Meantime, McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, plans to visit Virginia this afternoon, while Senator Joe Biden hop scotches from North Carolina to Florida. Count on CNN to bring it all to you.
Keep pace with the Best Political Team on Television. CNN correspondents are spreading out across the country to bring you the latest from these key states. Right now, they are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Colorado. In fact, CNN's Dan Simon standing by now in Denver this morning with the very latest on a lawsuit over Colorado's voter rolls.
What's all this about, Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Heidi.
A lot of attention on the State of Colorado, obviously, a battleground state. And you've had the campaigns here recently. You have McCain here on Friday and Obama here just yesterday. And the last thing anybody wants is a lot of unhappy people showing up to the polls and finding out that they're not actually registered. But this lawsuit alleges that's a real possibility.
The suit alleges that as many as 30,000 voters have been purged from the registration rolls here in Colorado. The suit targets the Republican Secretary of State here in Colorado, Mike Coffman. It says that he eliminated people from the rolls for reasons not allowed under federal law. It's a complicated suit but it says they were eliminated for reasons not allowed under federal law.
For his part, Mike Coffman said he did nothing wrong, that he followed all the applicable voter registration laws and he also disputes that 30,000 number. He says the number is closer to 14,000 and he says the reasons why those people were eliminated from the rolls is because they either moved out-of-state or perhaps that there were some duplications, that people's names appeared on the rolls more than once.
Obviously, not a whole lot of time to fix the situation. If in fact there needs to be fixing, a judge, Heidi, could look at this case as early as today. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Dan Simon, we'll be following that story in Denver, Colorado this morning. Thank you, Dan.
Quickly, we want to get to some news that we are learning here in the CNN NEWSROOM, with our correspondent Susan Roesgen is actually standing by to give us the very latest regarding some of the news that I'm sure you've been hearing over the weekend regarding Oscar winning actress, Jennifer Hudson. The death of her mother and brother and now his 7-year-old nephew is missing.
Susan, if you can hear me, tell me what you know. We're looking at some live pictures now, coming in from our affiliate WGN in Chicago?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Heidi.
We understand that there is a possibility that the 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, may have been found dead this morning. I say that's a possibility because what you're looking at is video of the white SUV that belonged to Jennifer Hudson's brother, one of the two people who were murdered on Friday.
The police have been looking for this white SUV all weekend because they believed that perhaps the nephew, who had been missing since the murders was with someone in that white SUV. They found this SUV now about 14 miles away from the murder scene, from the Hudson Family home.
And we have confirm here at CNN, with the Cook County medical examiner's office that a person or people from the medical examiner's office are going to that car right now, based on a report from WLS TV station and from the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper that there is the body of a child in that car. That much, we have not confirmed. But we do know, Heidi, that the medical examiner's office would not go out on something like this if they did not believe there was somebody in that SUV -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Boy, obviously, we're still trying to get information on all of this, as we do see the police now and possibly the medical examiners that Susan has mentioned to us, going to that vehicle, that white SUV there.
Susan, we also know that someone is in custody. William Balfour is in custody. Are police saying anything at this point about any connection to this portion of the crime?
ROESGEN: Not specifically to the finding of the SUV and the possible body of the nephew, Julian King. They have held William Balfour since Friday night as a person of interest but then they would have had to release him last night because he wasn't formally charged and they weren't formally naming him as a suspect. And they have not yet named him as a suspect.
So, the Cook County -- the Illinois Department of Corrections, excuse me, Heidi, has taken William Balfour into custody now on a parole violation because the Chicago police did not have enough evidence to charge him as a suspect in this case. So, he is, as far as we know, still just a person of interest in this case.
COLLINS: All right, Susan, just for some contacts here, quickly, while we have you, in case people may have missed this story over the weekend, tell us what originally happened on this break-in, where two people were found dead.
ROESGEN: Yes. There were shots fired in the neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago, in the area of Jennifer Hudson's home -- her family home Friday morning. But neighbors didn't report the gun fire because gun fire is not that uncommon in the neighborhood.
At about 3:00 in the afternoon Friday, a relative discovered the bodies of Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother. They have both been shot to death. Later that day, Friday night, the police picked up William Balfour as a person of interest. He is Julian King, the 7- year-old nephew's stepfather. Julian is the son of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia. She made a tearful plea over the weekend, please bring the boy back wherever he is. No one knew what had happened to him except that the brother of Jennifer Hudson, his white SUV had been taken from the family home.
Jennifer Hudson as well has offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the safe return of Julian King, the nephew. But again, what we're learning this morning is that it may be the body of the 7- year-old nephew in this white SUV. The medical examiner's office is going to the scene to see if there is a body period in this SUV that they recovered which they believe is the missing white SUV from Jennifer Hudson's murdered brother.
Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. Susan Roesgen, staying up to date with this story here that we've been following all weekend long. Some new information coming in regarding the possibility once again, the possibility that the 7-year-old boy, Julian King's body may have been found. We are learning that medical examiner's are going over to this white SUV that you see right there. Again, pictures coming in from our affiliate WLS in Chicago, Illinois. We will stay very close to the story, bring you the latest just as soon as we have it here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Suicide bomber blamed for killing two coalition soldiers in Afghanistan today. An Afghan official says a U.S. soldier was one of the dead. The blast took place outside a police chief's office as he was meeting U.S. advisors. The Taliban are claiming responsibility for the attack. The group also claiming it shot down a U.S. helicopter today. The U.S. military says no one on board was killed.
Syria blaming the U.S. for attacking a target inside its territory. Syria says four U.S. helicopters crossed the border from Iraq, hit a building that was under construction at a farm and then returned to Iraqi airspace. Syria says eight people were killed, one wounded. A U.S. military spokeswoman says officials are investigating the report.
Stop loss. It's the name given to the Army's controversial policy of extending combat duty involuntary. CNN's Jamie McIntyre joining us now with an update on this policy. Good morning to you, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi. You know, the U.S. military prides itself on having an all voluntary military. But the one time when that's not true is when the military invokes rules preventing people from leaving when their enlistment is up because they're still need it. Often, it's because they're still need it in a combat zone and that's what's happened in Iraq.
Now, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told the Army in particular to start decreasing the number of stop loss orders that they're issuing as part of the effort to reduce the strain on U.S. troops. But Pentagon officials are quietly admitting that they're not going to be able to make a significant reduction in that any time soon.
Right now, the stop-loss orders affect about 1 percent of the U.S. military. Still, that's over 12,000 soldiers who are not able to get on with their lives after they've completed their term of enlistment. The Army is hoping, that as it transitions now from these 15 month tours of duty in the combat zones to just 12 months, that they will be able to cut down on the number of those orders that they issue.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Jamie, I just wonder for context here, when people go and decide to become part of the military, most of them are aware that in a time of war, stop-loss could in fact happen or be invoked, if you will?
MCINTYRE: Well, sometimes they're aware of it. Sometimes they're not as aware of it. Sometimes they become more aware of it as the situation presents itself. But there's been so much publicity about this issue over the last couple of years. It's hard to believe people don't know about it now. That doesn't mean, though, it doesn't have a real impact on your life.
You can imagine, you served your time, you're looking forward to getting out and then you're told, really, against your will, you're going to have to stay in the army, sometimes it's a couple of months, sometimes it's longer than that. It's not something the army wants to do. But you can also imagine, if you've got unit in combat, one couple of guys who've been enlisting up, they can't just say, good- bye. We're taking off. See you guys later. Have a great war.
So, you know, there's a practical application, but as they increase the size of the U.S. military, and as they decrease the deployment tours, this should be less of an issue.
COLLINS: Yes. Having lived through one personally. I definitely understand and empathize. It's a tough position to be in. CNN's Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon this morning. Thank you, Jamie.
Election Day, about more than just a presidential race of course. There are Senate and House races to decide, too. Plus, important state and local issues that will have a real effect on voters. Three states in fact -- Arizona, California and Florida have same-sex marriage proposals on the ballot, so we wanted to bring you a look at some of the other important issues voters are deciding on.
Let's start with number 10 on our list. And that's question 2 on the Massachusetts ballot. The measure would change the way marijuana possession is viewed. For an ounce or less of pot, people would now face a $100 fine instead of criminal prosecution. The similar statute is up for vote in California. Our number 9 comes from California, too, Position K in San Francisco. The measure would forbid the investigation, arrest or prosecution of anyone selling sex, while it technically doesn't legalize the world's oldest profession. It severely limits the ability of law enforcement to get involved. This continues tomorrow with an important measure for homeowners.
60 Senate seats, in fact, key number to push through a party's agenda and Democrats think they may get it in this election. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: Let's go out there and get them.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Senate's top Republican Mitch McConnell, along with another big Republican name, Senator Elizabeth Dole.
SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE (R), NORTH CAROLINA: How are you all?
BOLDUAN: Both locked in tight races. They are two examples of why Senate Democrats are talking 60, the potential to dominate the Senate with a virtual filibuster proof majority. It would maximize their ability to push through a Democratic agenda.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We're feeling very good that we're going to pick up a successful amount of the large number of seats and have a successful election. As for 60, it is possible.
BOLDUAN: With just days left before the election, Senate Republicans know they still face a long road ahead.
SEN. JOHN ENSIGN (R), NEVADA: It's a tough election atmosphere for Republicans. That's just as honest as I can put it.
BOLDUAN: Neither party has won such broad power of the Senate for three decades. But this year Democrats are buoyed by an unpopular Republican president and a struggling economy.
JENNIFER DUFFY, SENIOR EDITOR, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: With every day they get closer. There are races that are competitive now that weren't competitive a month ago.
BOLDUAN: Jennifer Duffy tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan "Cook's Political Report." She predicts Democrats will score a net gain of between seven and nine Republican seats in states ranging from Oregon to New Hampshire. Why is that important? Right now with the help of two Independents, Democrats hold a slight voting majority of 51. If Democrats pick up nine seats, it could push them over the top.
DUFFY: I think 60 is a psychological number. It would strike a psychological blow to Republicans. They may not need that many to get a lot of their legislative agenda through.
BOLDUAN: Both Senate campaign committees are now running ads using the number.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Al Franken could very well be that 60th vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kay Hagan. If she wins, they get a blank check.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Analysts say the reality is Senate Republicans are just trying to minimize their losses this year. They're defending almost twice as many seats as Democrats and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has far outraised its Republican counterpart. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to give you a brief update here on the story that we've been following all weekend long. Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson, you may know about what happened over the weekend, the death of her mother and brother, and then the 7-year-old nephew, Julian King had been missing. There was an amber alert that had gone up for him and now we are looking at pictures out of our affiliate there WLS in Chicago, Illinois.
A white SUV that many authorities had been gathered around. Our Susan Roesgen was reporting to us that she had been told that medical examiners were going to check out what could be inside that white SUV that you now see being put on a tow truck there and likely being carried away for more investigation. We have not heard confirmation yet, but we have been hearing from some of the affiliates there. And again from Susan Roesgen, that she had been told medical examiners were going to check the contents of this white SUV.
We do not know yet what is expected from that. But obviously, a great concern here for the possibility that 7-year-old Julian King's body may have been found inside. Again, we are trying to get confirmation on all of that for you. You see live pictures now of that vehicle being taken away obviously for further investigation. We'll stay on top of the story for you. Bring you the very latest just as soon as we get it. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Live breaking news, that's for sure. Another story to tell you about here. You're looking at those live pictures coming out of our affiliate KIRO, Seattle, Washington, here. A big apartment fire. We understand this is Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in case you're familiar with the area. You see all the firefighters on top of the building. What they're trying to do is create some sort of vent through the roof so that the flames can breakthrough and hopefully, sort of extinguish themselves so that they can sort of attack from above, as you would see.
Apparently, it started down on the first floor and then spread, pretty quickly, up to the fourth floor. So, again, a four-story complex. We do understand from reports coming in from our affiliates that there were indeed people inside. We don't know exactly what the situation is with all of that right now. Obviously, I imagine they tried very quickly to get people out. We'll stay on top of that one for you.
Meantime, we've been told Senator John McCain has a statement that he wants to make. He's taken to the podium. Not sure what this is about. Let's go ahead and just listen in from Cleveland now.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Could I say thank you very much. Thank you. It's great to be here in Cleveland. And I'd like to just mention I have met with my team of economic business advisers, and I would like to mention that John Taylor, who is an economist at Stanford and very well-respected and good friend. And next to him is Macy Villarreal (ph) who is a business person and creator of thousands of new jobs in America. And next to him is Michael Steele.
Michael Steele has had worn many hats in his life, including being lieutenant governor of the State of Maryland. And next to him is a person well-known to most Americans, Meg Whitman, the founder of Ebay.
(APPLAUSE)
And I often like to repeat 12 years ago there was five employees and now 1.3 million people around the globe making a living off of Ebay. Next to Meg is Mitt Romney who has...
(APPLAUSE)
...who has campaigned so hard on my behalf. And one of the great pleasures that Cindy and I have had is to get to know Mitt and Ann, and the wonderful Romney Family. And we're very grateful for all the hard work. And by the way, he is an expectant grandfather here any moment. So congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
Glen Rigor (ph), who owns a steel company and is a small business employer and gives us the insight of the challenges that that part -- the vital part of America economy faces. And next to her is David Fur (ph). David is one of the great business leaders in America, both here in America and worldwide. And, of course, a great friend and comrade of many, many years, Congressman, former Cabinet Secretary, for vice presidential candidate and great American Jack Kemp.
(APPLAUSE)
And next to him is the next generation of leadership in America, the great governor of the State of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty. . So I've just finished meeting with this team of economic advisers. And we've been meeting throughout this campaign. Both by phone and personal meetings, discussing the state of our economy and what we need to do to get this country back on track.
This is a team of extraordinary leaders in businesses and government with great insight into what we need to do to rebuild confidence, restore economic growth and create millions of new jobs. If you forget everything I tell you this morning, the difference between myself and Senator Obama is our plan will create jobs. His plan to raise taxes on small businesses, to impose insurance mandates on families and small businesses will cut jobs. It's a difference of millions of jobs in America. And Americans are beginning to figure that out.
(APPLAUSE)
This team, this team behind me and many others who've helped me develop dynamic new economic policies. And in a McCain-Palin administration, they will continue to advise me and help me enact these important actions to get our economy going again. I've been through tough times like this before. And the American people can trust me. Based on my record and results to take strong action to end this crisis, restore jobs and bring security to Americans.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
I'll never be the one who sits on the sidelines waiting for things to get better. I believe that to lead you must put forward your vision of our future. And that's what I've done throughout this campaign. And that's what we'll do for the next eight days. With one week left in this campaign the choice facing Americans is stark.
My economic goals and policies are very clear. One, I will protect your savings and retirement accounts and get the stock market rising again. Two, I will help keep people in their homes and fix our housing market and realize the American dream of owning their own home. Three, I will create millions of high paying jobs through tax cuts that spur economic growth, particularly for the small businesses which create 70 percent of all new jobs in this country. Why would we want to raise taxes on anybody, most of all small businesses in America? That's what Senator Obama wants to do.
(APPLAUSE)
And I know it's pleasant to listen to Senator Obama's rhetoric. But look at the record. He was voted to raise taxes on people that are making -- individuals making as low as $42,000. Those are facts. Now, the first thing we must do is protect peoples' savings and investments and retirement accounts by stopping the declines in the stock market and getting the credit markets moving again so people can get home, car and business loans. To do this, we need pro-growth and pro-job economic policies. Not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.
(APPLAUSE)
This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me -- the fundamental difference. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is that he thinks taxes have been too low, and I think that spending has been too high. My approach is to get spending under control and cut taxes and encourage individuals to invest in our markets or buy a home and to encourage businesses to hire more workers. Senator Obama's approach is to radically increase spending and then raise taxes to pay for it.
Today, he claims that he'll only tax the rich. We've seen in the past that he is willing to support taxes that hit people squarely in the middle class. And with $1 trillion in new spending, the most likely outcome is that everyone who pays taxes will be paying for his spending.
My approach will lead rising stock market prices, a stabilized housing market, economic growth and millions of new jobs. Senator Obama's plan will destroy business growth, kill jobs, and lead to continued declines in the stock market and make a recession even deeper and more painful. We need action today even as we lay the foundation for growth tomorrow. To help put a floor on the stock market, we need people institutions to start buying and holding their investments again. To incentivize investments, I have proposed that if you buy stock and hold it for a minimum of a year, your tax on that investment will be cut in half.
(APPLAUSE)
To help retirees I will eliminate a rule that forces people to take money out of their accounts when the markets are at these low levels. Also, when retirees do sell, they will be taxed at a low 10 percent rate versus a much higher personal income tax rate. These vital measures will help promote buying, help companies raise capital and create jobs, shore up investment and retirement plans and get stock prices stabilized and rising again.
(APPLAUSE)
But these are extraordinary times. We also need to do more to build confidence that American investments and retirement accounts are safe. So I'll reform the markets and Wall Street. I'll make sure the SEC enacts and enforces rules that keep our markets safe and competitive. I will demand complete transparency into the accounts and activities at all banks and insurance companies so they can't take on the kind of riffs that brought down the financial system. We will have strict rules of conduct on Wall Street, and if they are broken, executives will be severely punished. Americans want accountability.
(APPLAUSE)
I know, and the smartest people in business and industry agree, that these actions will restore confidence, get stock prices moving up again, and increase the value of your hard earned savings and investments. We also need to build confidence in our workers. Through my middle class tax cuts, I will let you keep much more of what you earn so you can save and invest it. A typical middle class family of four that's making $42,000 a year, with health insurance, will get $4,350 more dollars under my plan than under the Obama plan. We cannot fix --
(APPLAUSE)
My friends, here is a fundamental fact -- we can't fix the economy until we fix the housing and mortgage markets. I have a plan for that as well. When I'm president the government will get out of the banking business fast. My highest priority --
(APPLAUSE)
-- My highest priority for the $700 billion rescue plan will be to protect the value of your home, which is where most Americans' savings are invested. I have announced a plan to replace bad mortgages for deserving people with more affordable new ones guaranteed by the government. This will stand the tide of foreclosures that are hurting families. It will shore up the banks with troubled loans and set a floor under the housing market and get home prices stabilized and rising again. By the way, Senator Obama opposes this plan.
I've said throughout this campaign that the best economic recovery plan is a secure, well paying job. This morning we talked --
(APPLAUSE)
Yes -- this morning we talked a lot about creating jobs. There are people who have created millions, thousands of jobs across America. David Fark (ph) runs Emmerson (ph) has told me how pro- growth tax cuts like those I have proposed will incentivize his company and others to expand their businesses and hire people right here in America.
Lou Ann Reigert (ph), right here, who founded and runs a steel company in Minnesota, and Massy Villareal (ph) who employs 160 people in a computer services company in Texas, echoed David's comments and also add that Senator Obama's health mandate to require companies to provide the equivalent of a Congressman's insurance plan or get fined will force them to cut jobs and would cripple their businesses in the worst economy in generations. It's just a fact.
Let's make this very clear, because Senator Obama has distorted my health care plan throughout this election. His plan will fine businesses and individuals so he can finance his version of government-run health care. I will give every American a $5,000 health care credit and lower health care costs and let -- and take your insurance, you take your insurance with you when you leave a job. That's a huge difference, my friends. We're not going to have a government-run health care plan when I'm president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
Now this election comes down to how you want your hard earned money spent. Do you want to keep it invested in your future, or have it taken by the most liberal person to ever run for the presidency and the Democratic leaders, the most liberal who have been running Congress for the past two years? Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. You know, my friends, this is a dangerous threesome. They believe -- they believe that $1 trillion of rescue financing is not enough and have already proposed another $300 billion spending spree. They're calling it a stimulus plan. I would rather give the great American middle class additional tax cuts and let you keep that money invested in your future.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to assure you, as president I will bring enormous talent like these great leaders here from outside of Washington to shake up the government and get it working to promote economic growth and jobs for the American people. My team and I will take action to put an end to this economic crisis, restore confidence in our markets, get stock and home prices moving up again, grow businesses, create jobs, and restore the great American dream.
I promise you I will do that. Thank you -- thank you very much. Thank you.
COLLINS: There you have Senator John McCain and sort of a surprise announcement.
