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Hudson Family Tragedy; Battle for Colorado; McCain's Focus 8 Days Before Election>

Aired October 27, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, October 27th, eight days until the big election. The candidates on a roll through the battleground states, a new poll out this morning.
Plus the voter purge controversy in Colorado.

And in California kids used in political ads against same sex marriage. Mom and dad are seeing red.

Good morning, everyone, I'm Tony Harris and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

In California kids used in political ads against same-sex marriage. Mom and dad are seeing red.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Actress Jennifer Hudson's heartbreak tragedy. CNN crews on the ground in Chicago are following new reports of a child's body, possibly Hudson's missing nephew, found inside a white SUV. Just 10 minutes ago, here's what police told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A further investigation revealed that a body was inside, but can't identify the body pending the medical examiner's examination. The vehicle has been towed for further processing, and the investigation is ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And Susan Roesgen is on the scene. I believe she may actually be...

Susan, I'm not sure if you're in front of a camera or on the phone with us. But if you -- OK, on the phone with us.

Susan, if you would, give us the very latest that you can confirm on this story, independent of the many other reports that are out there right now. I am mindful as I even ask you this question that the Hudson family may be watching these accounts. So what have you been table to confirm?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, right now all the police will say is that they have recovered the car that they were looking for, the white SUV that belonged to Jennifer Hudson's brother, Jason, one of the two people who were found shot to death on Friday. The deputy chief of the Chicago Police Department, Deputy Chief Wayne Gulliford (ph), just came out, spoke to reporters here just briefly to say we have recovered the car and the medical examiner's office has recovered a body in the car.

He would not take any questions, and he did not say it was a child's body. But, Tony, what we're hearing is that it was indeed a child's body. It has not yet been identified. That's going to be something that the medical examiner's office will probably release later today.

That's all we have right now. But I'm afraid, Tony, that if you put two and two together, what we're looking at is quite possibly the body of Julian King, the 7-year-old nephew of Jennifer Hudson, we believe has probably been found here this morning -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Susan, if you would, just turn back the hands of time, if you would for us, and take us back to this news, this horrible news as it became available to all of us on Friday.

ROESGEN: Sure, Tony.

One thing that we have to keep in mind in all this is we have no motive for this.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROESGEN: Apparently there were gunshots in the area at -- neighbors reported around the area of the house of Jennifer Hudson's family home on the South Side of Chicago. This was Friday morning.

Friday afternoon, a relative who still has not yet been identified -- we don't know who found the bodies, but a relative went to the home and found Jennifer Hudson's 57-year-old mother and Jennifer Hudson's 29-year-old brother shot to death. And Jennifer Hudson's nephew was missing.

Now, this was an extended family that lived in this three-story home. The mother lived there, the brother lived there, Julian King, the nephew, lived there, and the boy's mother, Jennifer Hudson's sister Julia, lived there.

She was at work apparently when her mother and brother were killed. She drives a school bus. And she had said -- she said to us in the news conference on Saturday that the last she had seen her child was when she bought him home after her birthday, which was Thursday night. She had taken the child out for her birthday, came home, the child went upstairs to his bedroom. She went to her bedroom.

The next morning, Friday morning, she went to work. So we don't know whether it was she who discovered the bodies or someone else, but the bodies were found.

Now, late Friday night, a man named William Balfour, who is the stepfather of the child, Julia Hudson's estranged husband, was taken in for questioning. He is still just a person of interest, Tony, though he's now in the hands of the Illinois Department of Corrections on a parole violation. If he were not on a parole violation, in custody right now, the police would have had to released him Sunday night, because after 48 hours they simply had nothing to charge him with.

So again, we have no motive.

HARRIS: Sure.

ROESGEN: The police have said publicly that they think this may be a case of domestic violence, and that might in some way, again, if you put the Xs and Ys together, that may in some way mean that William Balfour is connected. But he is not a suspect.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROESGEN: And they have not recovered the gun. And again, this morning they say they just found the car, but they arrested William Balfour at his girlfriend's home Friday night.

HARRIS: I see. All right. And Susan, we're looking again at pictures of this SUV, this white SUV that authorities have been looking for, found this morning. And as you reported, a body has been found in that SUV. And police, at least at this point, are not telling us anything more about the body, not identifying it as a child's body.

We'll wait for that additional information during the course of the day.

Susan Roesgen for us on the phone.

Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

ROESGEN: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And in Seattle right now, take a look at these pictures. Firefighters are battling a massive fire at a four-story apartment building due for demolition. This is in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, if you're familiar. A fire department official says one man was killed. No one else was believed to be in the building.

The fire broke out just after -- oh, just about 90 minutes ago, possibly in a first floor apartment. The fire not far from Interstate 5.

Just eight days to go. The last lap as the presidential candidates begin their final full week of campaigning.

Both candidates and their running mates crisscrossing battleground states. John McCain and Barack Obama kicking off in Ohio and wrapping up in Pennsylvania today. Sarah Palin in Virginia. Joe Biden, North Carolina.

And we have got you covered.

Colorado is another one of those critical battleground states. And this morning there was a huge controversy over purged voters.

Our Dan Simon is in Denver, eight days out.

Dan, what's this all about? Good to see you.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony.

You know, when you get within nine days of a election, there's only a couple of reasons you can eliminate somebody from the voter registration rolls. Obviously if there's a death, if you're convicted of a felony, the law is very specific because they want to protect against mistakes. Mistakes can happen.

But according to this new lawsuit that was filed, as many of tens of thousands of Colorado voters were eliminated from the rolls reasons not specified. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (voice-over): Colorado election workers are busy processing a record amount of mail-in ballots. But there's concern that thousands of state voters won't get the chance to cast their vote in the election.

JENNY FLANAGAN, COLORADO COMMON CAUSE: We have heard voters think they're registered and find that they're not on the list.

SIMON: Jenny Flanagan is the executive director of Colorado Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog group. A plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging as many as 30,000 Colorado voters have been illegally purged from registration rules.

FLANAGAN: When in doubt, when we're this close to the election, we have got to err on the side of inclusiveness and give the voter an opportunity to participate.

SIMON: The suit targets Colorado's Republican secretary of state, Mike Coffman. It says he eliminated voters for several reasons not allowed under federal law. Among them, they had undeliverable mail within 20 days of registering.

Coffman is also a candidate for Congress. And those who brought the suit say that's a problem.

PENDA HAIR, ADVANCEMENT PROJECT: Having a participant and person both run the election -- it's like being the umpire and playing the game at the same time. It should not happen.

SIMON: Coffman's office denies any wrongdoing and says he believes "... Colorado has fully complied with all applicable voter registration laws and voter cancellation procedures..." He has also said recently the number of voters removed is 14,000, less than half of what is alleged. He says the majority had either moved out of the county or state, or were listed as duplicates.

The stakes, of course, are high. Colorado's battleground status has brought added scrutiny to its election procedures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: We're told by those who filed the suit that a judge could look at this case as early as today. We're still waiting to hear if in fact it will appeal before a judge here in federal court in Denver.

Obviously, a major difference of opinion here. We'll just have to see and wait -- see what happens. But Tony, you know, 30,000 voters, that's a lot of people.

HARRIS: That is.

SIMON: And the last thing you want is a bunch of people showing up to the polls and thinking that they're registered when they're really not. It could be a mess.

HARRIS: Can you say 30,000 lawsuits?

Dan Simon for us in Denver.

Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.

And let's look at the battleground state of Ohio right now. Barack Obama and John McCain rallying there today. A new CNN Poll of Polls shows 50 percent of likely voters in Ohio choosing Obama, 46 percent, and 4 percent of those polled say they are still unsure.

The undecided, the focus of John McCain's final push.

Live now to our Ed Henry in Dayton.

And Ed, you know we're scrutinizing each of the stops of the campaigns in these final days. John McCain is in Ohio and Cleveland this morning, talking about a dangerous threesome: Reid, Pelosi and Obama. I expect you'll hear that message in Dayton later today.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's certainly trying to sharpen the economic attack by basically saying don't hand the keys of the kingdom to Democrats, basically the entire government. Don't let them control the House, the Senate, and the White House.

He's making that argument in Ohio because, let's face it, the presidential election in 2004 was decided right here by just two percentage points. And once again, it's very close. And once again, it could be pivotal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio. So John McCain, trailing in the Buckeye State, kicked off the final full week of the campaign right here. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't intend to take that risk. We will win Ohio.

HENRY: No surprise, Barack Obama is coming here Monday as well. There are a shrinking number of battlegrounds both men will hit in the final days.

McCain is heading to Pennsylvania tonight, desperate to win a large Democratic state to offset Obama's expected gains in traditionally Republican states like Virginia. Another must win for McCain, Florida, with its motherload of 27 electoral votes.

Cindy McCain knocked on doors Sunday in West Palm Beach with Rudy Giuliani...

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All right. We're going to get this right in there.

HENRY: ... before joining her husband in Ohio before the final push, which is focused on charges that taxes will go up if Obama and congressional Democrats get full control of the government.

MCCAIN: We can't let that happen, my friends. We've already seen a preview of their plans. It's pretty simple, and unfortunately pretty familiar: tax and spend.

HENRY: But now McCain has to deal with a new distraction, sniping in his own campaign over running mate Sarah Palin. Several McCain advisers tell CNN they're annoyed by what one aide called Palin going rogue, acting like a diva, and going off message.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Make sure that Michigan knows that we haven't given up there.

HENRY: One example, her decision to tell reporters she disagreed with the campaign's move to pull out of Michigan. A Palin associate fired back she's merely trying to bust free from a botched rollout by McCain advisers. Tensions stoked partly by the handling of the controversy over her wardrobe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Now, some McCain advisers speculate that Palin may be looking out for herself now in the event that McCain could lose next week. The idea being that she could set herself up as a party leader from 2009 and beyond. But a Palin spokeswoman insists she's only focused on helping the Republican ticket win next week.

Nevertheless, this is not the kind of chatter you need going on right now in the final days -- Tony.

HARRIS: There he is, CNN's Ed Henry, in Dayton, Ohio.

Ed, as always, good to see.

Now to Barack Obama, preparing for a rally next hour in Ohio. We will bring that to you live, of course.

Right now, our Suzanne Malveaux on Obama's final push.

(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 hearken 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 Democrats and Republicans, whether or not it is actually promoting a policying 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's 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.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), 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 are going to have to struggle. We're going to have 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.

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)

HARRIS: And another reminder for you to check out our Political Ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to cnnpolitics.com, your source for all things political. We are following new leads in the death of Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother. As information comes into the NEWSROOM, we will of course bring it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Going to try to report the good news here and move on as quickly as we can.

As you can see, the Dow is in positive territory. Ding, ding, ding, ding, dig. Positive territory, the Dow up 35 points.

We will get a market check in just a couple of minutes with Stephanie Elam, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's move on while we're in positive territory.

In California, a bunch of first-graders are appearing in a political ad aimed at making same-sex marriage illegal. The ad from a group backing Proposition 8. The parents of those kids aren't happy.

Thomas Roman (ph) of affiliate KGO has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ads must come down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Jennifer Press (ph) says these images of her 6-year-old and other first grade children were not meant for political use. Her 6-year-old Lucy was part of a field trip to City Hall to see her teacher married to her same-sex marriage. Now her daughter is featured prominently in a "Yes on 8" TV ad.

She and other parents held a news conference.

MATT ALEXANDER, FATHER OF CHILD IN AD: It's one thing to have a journalistic report about, again, what we thought was a really sweet moment for our kids and their teacher.

NARRATOR: Opponents of Proposition 8 said gay marriage has nothing to do with schools. Then a public school took first-graders to a lesbian wedding, calling it a teachable moment. Now a liberal education politician says schools aren't required to teach about marriage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Prop 8 ad goes on to say that teaching marriage is required in 96 percent of all California schools, according to the state public school's superintendent's Web site. The superintendent had something different to say on this "No on 8" ad.

JACK O'CONNELL, SUPERINTENDENT: Prop 8 has nothing to do with schools or kids. Our schools aren't required to teach anything about marriage. And using kids to lie about that is shameful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: William May (ph) is with the "Yes on 8" campaign. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The superintendent's public instruction is absolutely lying on this. He knows better. And they're trying to cover it up. They don't want parents to know that this is going to be taught in public schools.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laura Hodder and Matt Alexander's son Been is also in the ad.

LAURA HODDER, MOTHER OF CHILD IN AD: You can't use children's images in political statements like this. No one asked us to use our children. No one talked to us about this. And I feel like my children are being manipulated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May says the children's images are legally usable.

The images of the children wouldn't be in the public domain if they hadn't called the press and publicized it. Those images have been on national TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prop 8 campaign says the ad will stay. Assemblyman Mark Leno calls the use of children in this political battle just wrong.

MARK LENO, CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY: It is indeed reprehensible that the proponents of Proposition 8 would abuse young children to make their point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. We want to hear from you if you run into problems at the polls this election season. Call the CNN voter hotline. Help us track the problems, and we'll report the trouble in real time.

Here's the number for you: 1-877-462-6608. We are keeping them honest all the way through the election and, frankly, beyond.

So many people out of work. So many people looking for a new job. We will help you get your foot in the door.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: An SOS going out for the Delta Queen. These pictures from CNN iReporter Franz Newmeyer (ph) show the queen in all her glory. Franz (ph) is fighting plans to have the steamboat decommissioned, saying nothing can replace this piece of American history.

The 82-year-old riverboat is set to shut down at the end of this month. That's because of congressional law banning overnight passengers on boats largely made on wood. Ohio lawmakers plan to fight for another exemption to the ban.

All right. Time for some tips from Gerri Willis, CNN's personal finance editor.

Gerri, lots of unemployed people out there. Good to see you, particularly here in Georgia.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi Tony.

HARRIS: How do they find work in this down economy, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well that is tough, indeed, finding work in a down economy. But you know, we were paying attention last week to Chrysler, who was announcing that it's cutting 25 percent of its workforce and offering buyouts to its salaried workers. Here's what you need to know about the buyout.

First, keep in mind that the goodies you'll get to retire early probably won't offset the drawbacks of spending fewer years at the office. But if your job at the company is in jeopardy, then it may be worth your while to accept that buyout.

The risk is that if you don't take it now, the option may not be there down the road. So review your buyout package. If you do accept it, keep in mind, it's not the end of your life. It's just the end of the job -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Gerri, what kind of benefits are getting cut here?

WILLIS: 401(k) matches. Can you believe that?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: General Motors announced that it's going to be suspending its 401(k) match for employees. And this isn't a new concept. The company also cut its match way back in 2005. Other companies, Chuck Schwab, BF Goodrich, Goodyear, they've also cut matches in the past.

The bottom line here is that i this happens to you, you've really got to keep contributing to your retirement because you're getting no help at all. But you may want to start polishing up that resume. It's a clear sign that the company's in serious trouble.

For the rest of this year, experts say it's likely more companies will follow in GM's path.

HARRIS: Boy.

WILLIS: Keep in mind, you know, this is an open enrollment time. And this is the time that those kinds of changes get made. Now, some of them take out their match and then reinstate it. So really think about how well your company is doing right now.

HARRIS: Well, what about health care if you lose your job?

WILLIS: Well, if you're fired from a job, you do have the right continue group coverage under COBRA. And that's for 18 months. It's sure not cheap, but at least it's an option.

And if you still have a job, remember, as I was saying, it's open enrollment. HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Look, as you look at these options, make sure you don't become complacent. Look, the plan you had this year may not be identical to your options offer. This time last year, in fact. Out of pocket costs will probably go up something like 8 percent.

HARRIS: Is there anything to do to hang on to your job? You don't want to lose the job, so, I mean, let's talk about...

WILLIS: Not in this economy.

HARRIS: Yes, not in this one. Yes.

WILLIS: But keep your years open, obviously. Whispers about layoffs often circulate around the company before they actually happen.

And while you're at it, keep up with the industry news by reading newspapers, journals, trade publications. This way you're going to be ahead of the game. And that's where you want to be.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Become more visible. You've got to volunteer for projects in house. Do any interdepartmental cross training you can. It will be hard to let you go if you are doing some kind of essential chore.

Keep up the contacts. Make sure you're talking to people outside the company as well. And make it a point to set aside some time each and every day to reach out to colleagues in the field.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We answer those questions right here every Friday, and we love to hear from you.

HARRIS: You know, it doesn't sound like the time for telecommuting and working from home. It sounds like it's time to get into the office and get your face...

WILLIS: I'd love to telecommute. But I've got to tell you, that's a bad choice right now. You need some face time with the boss.

HARRIS: Isn't that the truth?

All right, Gerri. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: And the most serious credit crisis in decades rocks your finances. CNNMoney.com has some advice and answers. And check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis." That's at CNNMoney.com.

A university closed after a deadly shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man. It scared the hell out of me. I didn't know what to think. I never saw life end like that.

I mean, we heard every gunshot that went off. We were sitting right there. I didn't know what to think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We will bring you new details from Arkansas right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The search for actress Jennifer Hudson's missing nephew -- reports coming into us right now of a child's body found inside a white SUV possibly belonging to Hudson's brother, who was shot to death along with her mom Friday. Police have been searching for 7- year-old Julian King since the shootings. Hudson offered up a $100,000 reward for his safe return. Our Susan Roesgen is on the scene gathering information and will join us as soon as she can.

It has been a bloody year in Chicago. More than 400 killings so far. And in a CNN special investigations unit report, deadly lessons 24 hours in Chicago.

Our Anderson Cooper takes us to the killer streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What do you think it is that -- why have 28 kids been killed this year?

DELANO TAYLOR, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT: Money.

COOPER: Money?

TAYLOR: Respect.

COOPER: Respect? What is it about respect?

TAYLOR: And pride.

COOPER: And that desire for respect, that need to show respect, does that lead to violence?

CORRON DOTSON, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT: Right. Yes. Everybody always got to feel like they got to prove something, prove they're tougher than this person. You could be the toughest person in the world, there's going to always be somebody saying, well I'm tougher than you, or I'm stronger than you, or I deserve more respect. Just also like you said pride or -- you know, got that mentality. So when you got somebody that got that mentality and two people got it, it's going to cause violence and it's going to cause conflict.

COOPER: When you walk down the street are you scared? JAMAL BOYD, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT: I don't say scared, but I'm more just aware of my surroundings at all times so -- I'm not trying to be a victim again.

COOPER: You just got robbed?

BOYD: Yes, Sunday night.

COOPER: Sunday night you got robbed.

BOYD: Right before Memorial Day.

COOPER: How easy is it to get guns?

(CROSSTALK)

BOYD: Real easy.

COOPER: Really?

DOTSON: I wouldn't know.

COOPER: If any of you wanted to get a gun, you think you could?

DOTSON: I wouldn't know.

BOYD: Like I say -- money talks. Money -- money is everything basically. It ain't everything but it's mostly everything.

SHATARA BURGIN, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT: You don't even have to be an older person to get a gun or get drugs because they don't care. They sell it to young people, they sell it to anybody. Just like you said, if you have money, if you're 10 years old and you've got money for a gun, somebody is going to sell it to you.

COOPER: So whose fault is what's happening? If 28 kids get killed, whose fault is it?

BURGIN: It's all gang-related to me.

COOPER: All gang related?

TAYLOR: There's going to be good and there's going to be evil. I think it's life.

COOPER: So it's just the way it is?

TAYLOR: Just the way it is. That's life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A CNN SIU report from June of 2007.

Arkansas mourning the loss of a television anchorwoman who was brutally assaulted. Outside of the home of Anne Pressly people paying their respects. She died from her injuries over the weekend. Police say they still don't know who attacked her or why. The television station where she worked is offering a reward leading to an arrest and conviction.

A manhunt going on right now for two suspects in a deadly shooting at the University of Central Arkansas. That's in Conway. Police say two other suspects have been arrested. The shooting happened last night near one of the dorms. Two students were killed, another person wounded. Classes are canceled today while police investigate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. PRESTON GRUMBLES, UNIV. OF CENTRAL ARK. POLICE: There was numerous shots fired. At this time, due to the investigation, it's still ongoing, we're not prepared to release what type of weapon.

TOM COURTWAY, UNIV. OF CENTRAL ARK. INTERIM PRESIDENT: In the days and weeks ahead, we're going to review all our procedures and policies relating to campus safety. We're going to make sure that our students, faculty and staff have a completely safe environment to learn and work. That's our No. 1 job.

And finally, we're going to class tomorrow. We canceled it today because we think it's the right thing to do. But we intend to have class tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Police say the suspects are not students at the university.

Our Veronica De La Cruz has been following the story online for us. She joins us now with what she's found on the web.

Veronica, good morning.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

We're just learning this information, Tony. We've been tracking the university's Web site. They've just posted the names of the victims to the site. We're learning that the victims were 18-year-old Ryan Henderson of Little Rock, Chavares Block who is 19 of Dermott. And the other victim who was treated and released was not a UCA student, his name is Martrevis Norman of Blytheville.

So, Tony, UCA is home to about 13,000 students. It is the second largest university in Arkansas.

The other update on the web, a candle light vigil will be held tonight on campus. That is going to happen at 5:00 p.m. local.

Here is where the shooting took place. It happened around the dorms on the University of Central Arkansas campus. This is the campus map. And then if you zoom in on Google Maps, you can take a look at the street view of the school. This is an image on the front of the school, found at 226 Donaghey Avenue. So, Tony, as soon as the shooting happened, students started using the Internet, they started using Twitter to get the word out. We want to take a look at some of the comments that were posted.

This is from Jason Kimbrough (ph) who writes: "Shooting was in front of State Hall at UCA. Two people dead. Pray for their families and students of UCA."

Another user of Twitter, Tony, saying that he spoke to his cousin who believed that the shooting had something to do with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's homecoming.

And also have been watching Facebook, Tony. More than 2,000 people have already joined this group online. It's called "Pray for UCA Shooting Victims, Families and Students." Some of the messages, Tony, I've been reading through.

Here's one of the wall --

HARRIS: OK.

DE LA CRUZ: -- it's from a student named Marcus. He writes: "I don't know the two guys who died, but I know they were too young to die. I'm pretty sure they were great people and loved by many. Everyone keep your heads up and come together at a time like this because we need it. God bless."

Once again, Tony, wanted to mention that there will be a candle light vigil tonight at 5:00 p.m. local for the victims of the shootings. You can get the details on the university's Web site -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, Veronica, a tough block of news here.

Good to see you. Thank you.

And one more story here. A 12-year-old from Georgia left by his mom at a Nebraska hospital. Officials say the woman drove more than 1,000 miles to abandon her son under Nebraska's unique safe haven law. It makes it legal for parents and guardians to desert children up to 18 years old at any local hospital. The boy is now in Nebraska state care.

Let's get you to Rob Marciano.

Rob, sorry to get to you on the heels of such tough news here, but it's good to see you. Good morning, doctor.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Cool, crisp air here in Atlanta. It is good, man.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Feels good, right?

HARRIS: Yes, good living.

MARCIANO: Yes, we've been waiting all of July and August for it.

HARRIS: All right, Rob, appreciate it. See you next hour.

Plan on an extra hour of sleep next weekend. All right, this brings us back a little bit. Daylight savings time ends -- Congress changed the date for this year. The change coming a week later. So at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, set your clocks back an hour. And as always, if you have them, change the batteries in your smoke alarms. And of course, you do have them.

Finding a friend at a foreclosure auction? It really is must-see TV.

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HARRIS: The government is beginning to use the money from the $700 billion bailout. So where is all of that taxpayer cash going? Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with details and a check of the market action.

Stephanie, good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

You know, it's turned out to be that weekends no longer mean no work, at least not for the government at this point. Because they're busy making things happen over the weekend. And this time, the government and nine banks signed a deal last night. And those unidentified banks (ph) at this point, we'll find out who they are over the next 48 hours or so, will get $125 billion starting this week. In return, the government will get stock in that company.

Meanwhile, in a separate thing going on, regional banks will get an additional $125 billion from the Treasury. And many are applying to get the cash injection. And so far we know of 10, they include KeyCorp and First Horizon National, that have been approved. And these banks are divvying up $18 billion. No surprise, shares of those banks are solidly higher at this point. KeyCorp up about 5 percent, and if you take a look at First Horizon it soared about 15 percent. So obviously good news there.

But investors just can't shake their concerns about the economy. Especially since the Dow is coming off of a five and a half year low hit on Friday. The Dow Industrials right now off 16 points at 8,362. They had been down 170 points this morning. And on top of that, when we saw the futures this morning, we thought it was going to be way worse than this. So, you know, we'll take it. Nasdaq is off about -- a little bit more than 1 percent right now, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Stephanie, I'm just curious -- will this money being given out by the Treasury be enough to get, well, the real issue here, banks lending to one another again? And to us as well?

ELAM: That's how it should work. Obviously there's all these other actions going on. But as we've seen, it hasn't been a direct action. We haven't seen -- as soon as they make a decision like this, we haven't actually exactly seen the markets turn around, right, and then see this lending ease up here? But the government is taking other actions. Starting today it's also lending directly to companies. And together this should help.

But there really are no guarantees and the moves certainly don't come without controversy. That's because some banks are using the bailout money for consolidation. In fact, Friday, we saw PNC -- it used its cash injection to help fund a takeover of National City. But the Treasury maintains that its goal is to stabilize the financial system. But obviously I guess when they get the money there's multiple things they can go with it, Tony.

HARRIS: Wait a minute. Taking the money to purchase another bank.

ELAM: To purchase another bank. But you know, I think we're going to see more of this consolidation at this point. It's one of those things with the banking industry that has gotten larger. And now when things start pulling back we start seeing the banks come together.

HARRIS: Nice. OK, Stephanie, see you next hour. Thank you.

ELAM: Thanks.

HARRIS: A woman in Texas has her home foreclosed on, and it goes on the auction block. Enter a good samaritan. Marilyn Mock bought the home and then turned around and gave it back to the owner, Tracy Orr. The two appeared on CNN's "AMERICA MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY ORR, HOME FORECLOSED: I got behind like a lot of people have. And I just couldn't pull out. And next thing I know, I'm having to move out of my home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And why did you go to the auction where your house was to be sold? Because clearly, that was a very emotional thing for you to have to watch.

ORR: I had a personal investor friend I thought was going to go with me. And he ended up bailing out on me at the last minute. And so just -- we already had plans to go so I just went, I guess just to get some closure, see what was going to happen with my home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Marilyn, you ended up sitting next to Tracy at the auction. Again, you had gone there to help your son. He was thinking about purchasing a home, or at least going there to purchase one.

When did you decide that you were going to bid on Tracy's home?

MARILYN MOCK, PURCHASED HOME: I had only -- I had been sitting on the floor for maybe 30 seconds, and then it came up for bid. She had just gotten done telling me that -- she showed me -- she had pointed at the picture, there was no picture actually. But she pointed at it and said that that was her home. And then it came up for bid. And then I just decided to just get up and bid on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so how did it happen from there? You got the winning bid, and what's going to happen now? Tracy is going to continue to live there?

MOCK: Yes. As soon as closing ends, then she's going to move right back into it. And then we'll get together at some point and figure out -- figure everything out from there. And I guess we'll be friends from here on out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I see, Tracy, you're tearing up just listening to Marilyn talk about it again. What was it like for you to realize -- you had gone there basically with all planning to have to say good-bye to your house. And it ends up you can still live there. What was that like?

ORR: I'm still in shock. Seems like a dream. And I'm going to wake up here in the next couple of days and it's just -- I don't know. I'm still in shock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your family said to you, you know, you always do this, you're too nice. What motivates you to help people the way that you have done for Tracy?

MOCK: Just because people need help, and I'm hoping that some day, if I need help, somebody will be there for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Isn't that terrific?

You know we love our i-Reporters here at CNN. Today, one of our i-Reporters is making travel plans after winning the i-Report film festival.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Syria today blaming the United States for a deadly cross-border attack. Officials say four U.S. helicopters struck about five miles inside Syria before returning to Iraqi air space. Jamie McIntyre joins us now from the Pentagon.

And, Jamie, what have you been able to confirm on this story?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well you know, the interesting thing, Tony, is that Pentagon officials have been absolutely mum on this subject, refusing to give any comment. But CNN has talked to a senior American official who confirms that this operation took place over the weekend. It did involve U.S. Military helicopters and special operations forces.

And we are told, from this official who has access to U.S. intelligence, that the intended target was a man named Abu Gadya (ph) who is, the U.S. Military says, is a known arms smuggler, a smuggler of money, arms and foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq, part of the network of smuggling. In fact, just last week in Iraq, a couple of people from this network were also captured in a separate operation.

But again, this U.S. official confirming that there was a cross- border attack involving U.S. helicopters that flew about five miles into Syria, landing at this site. And according to this official, successfully killing this alleged facilitator for al Qaeda and weapons and people smuggler.

Now the Syrian government, of course, has a completely different version of events. They say the helicopters landed at a farm and killed a father and his children as well as some of the workers at the farm and a fisherman. All, they said, were unarmed civilians who were killed when two of four U.S. helicopters landed and conducted the assault on the area.

But again, an American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because this was a classified operation, confirms that the operation took place and says it successfully killed a suspected foreign fighter smuggler and al Qaeda facilitator -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Our Jamie McIntyre at his post at the Pentagon for us.

Jamie, appreciate it. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Own boss -- have always been my own boss, ever since I was 6 years old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You just saw a clip from "The 13th Amendment," a documentary by an i-Reporter Mike Dennis in Philadelphia. In it, he follows his 90-year-old great, great grandmother on her trek to vote for Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary. Mike Dennis won top prize on CNN's first ever i-Reporter film festival for his documentary.

Our Don Lemon chatted with him about the achievement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE DENNIS, IREPORT FILM FESTIVAL WINNER: This has been an incredible ride. I've been making films for 20 years. I went to film school, I'm 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. So -- so just from the day we went and we filmed it, it took three hours to make this film, to the response that we've had at different festivals, Urban World Film Festival, SE Manley (ph) Film Festival, to now, has just been incredible.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well Mike -- DENNIS: And for my grandmother to have an opportunity to participate in this is just incredible. And thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well congratulations.

And for being our grand prize winner, what does Dennis get? He gets a trip to Washington for the presidential inauguration on November 13th. And he also receives a top of the line, high definition video camera.

And countdown to the election. We are bringing you 10 issues in 10 days. Right now the focus on energy. Here is where the candidates stand.

Barack Obama says, if elected, he will budget $150 billion for clean energy. He wants 25 percent of the nation's electricity to come from clean, sustainable sources by the year 2025. Obama advocates a windfall profits tax on oil companies and now says he is willing to consider offshore drilling.

Obama also says he will mandate flex fuel cars. He wants 1 million hybrid cars that get 150 miles per gallon on our roads within seven years. And he will offer a $7,000 tax credit for those who purchase fuel efficient cars. According to Obama's plan, 10 percent of the nation's energy would have to come from renewable sources. And he would demand that the U.S. reduce its carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

Turning now to John McCain's energy proposal. He opposes a windfall profits tax and he supports offshore drilling. McCain wants to build 45 nuclear power plants by the year 2030. He would spend $2 billion a year on clean coal technology. McCain would offer tax credits for wind, hydro and solar power. And he wants to reduce emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.

We also want to hear from you if you run into problems at the polls. Call the CNN voter hotline, help us track the problems and we will report the trouble in real time. The number is 1-877-462-6608. We are keeping them honest all the way through the election and beyond.

And we're following new leads in the death of Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother. As information comes into the NEWSROOM, we will of course bring it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And hello again, everyone, I'm Tony Harris. And here are the headlines from CNN on this Monday, October 27th.

Tragic discovery on a Chicago street. A boy's body found in an SUV. Is it the missing nephew of an Oscar winning actress?

Making their case all across the battleground states. We're on the trail with the presidential candidates. And the latest polling.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.