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CNN Saturday Morning News

Sandy Regains Hurricane Strength; Bracing for Sandy's Impact; Hurricane May Impact Early Voting; Battling for North Carolina; It's All About North Virginia; Ohio: "Romney Can Win"; NYPD: Mother Saw Nanny Stabbing Herself; South Carolina Data Breach May Involve 3.6M; Presidential Impersonators Take Manhattan; Family Sues Monster Energy Drink; Alternative Car Repair Strategy; Candidates Vie For Women's Vote

Aired October 27, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, October 27th, 2012. I hope it's been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul in today for Randi Kaye. Thanks for keeping me company here.

CNN meteorologists are predicting Hurricane Sandy will cause at least $3 billion in damage. You just heard that, we're tracking what's expected to become what they've dubbed a super storm.

Ten days until Election Day. Find out which candidate is making three stops in Florida today -- an all important states there.

And one can of this high energy drink has more caffeine than a six- pack of Coke. But did that play a part in a teenager's death? Sanjay Gupta digs for us.

I want to begin with you here though, talking about Hurricane Sandy as it's regained that strength. The latest information is just coming in to us now, so I want to get to meteorologist Alexandra Steele for more on that. What have you just learned Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right, 11:00 advisory is just out. Still a hurricane, still maximum sustained winds at 75 miles per hour. But the gusts now up from the 80s to 90-mile-per-hour wind gusts. So we have an incredibly powerful hurricane, not here only because it's so big as well.

The western trajectory of this is in the Gulf of Mexico. The eastern side of it is way in the central Atlantic. So center of circulation right now off the Florida Coast. Now, the situation with this is why is this so interesting? What's different about this hurricane?

Well, here is the deal. Right now, here's the center circulation. Typically this time of year, we see a hurricane develop, not out of the question, and it moves and it moves northeastward, but then of course, it picks up the jet stream. The jet stream throws it eastward so it just kind of fishes out to sea.

That won't be the case this time. Why? Because of this area of high pressure, we have high pressure over low pressure. It's called a Rex block. So what happens is this hurricane is pushing into the high pressure and the high pressure turns it to the West and turns it on shore.

So with that, we're going to watch this, the center of circulation, move on shore late Monday night, maybe overnight into Tuesday. And then what happens right here is it stalls -- look at the time stamp -- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It hasn't made a lot of coverage, certainly hasn't moved a lot.

So the potential here is to dump -- how about an inch of rain an hour for a day, a day and a half. Catastrophic, devastating, so inland flooding just one of the scenarios that really could be incredible with this storm.

So what's happening is we've got this tropical feature. Of course, it's a hurricane. But then it's becoming this hybrid storm, because there's this area of low pressure to the North and West and it's more like a nor'easter, so combining the two in the fusion of the tropical nature with the low pressure is really making this a very powerful hybrid.

So here's the model guidance (ph) taking this hurricane north, bringing it on shore, somewhere between New York City and Washington, the center of circulation. Just north of that is where the worst storm surge will be. But look on the backside. There's so much energy with this area of low pressure. Of course, the area of low pressure, that's kind of like the nor'easter.

Look at this snow down the spine of the Appalachians, ten to 20 inches of snow. Conversely, of course we could see ten inches of rain on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. So inland flooding, not only, of course, on the coast; upstate New York, Western New York, West of Pennsylvania as well. If this thing really slows down -- Tuesday, Wednesday and into Thursday -- coastal erosion, widespread power outages.

Christi that really could be the calling card of this in the end, so many power outages. We're talking Boston, New York, Washington, west of Cincinnati; so ten million without power, not out of the question for days and days and days.

Also air travel. You know when we get to these 60-mile-per-hour winds, they close the airports. Boston, New York, LaGuardia, Washington, Dulles, Cincinnati. So the potential for air travel up and down the Eastern Seaboard could be impacted.

So myriad impacts from the air to the ground to inland to coastline, I mean this is just a monster.

PAUL: No kidding. Well, at least we're getting a good enough heads up that people can hopefully make some alternate plans.

STEELE: Right.

PAUL: Hey thank you so much, Alexandra I appreciate it.

STEELE: Sure. Ok.

PAUL: The East Coast isn't wasting any time gearing up for this storm, by the way. She just mentioned it. Well, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, they've already declared states of emergency. Virginia has warships that are tied up to their peers. Sailors are getting sandbags prepared and National Guard members are in place and ready to jump into action if needed.

And then moving up along the Jersey shore from Cape May (ph) to Ocean City, businesses are boarding up and putting up sandbags to get ready for Sandy.

North Carolina is also gearing up for this thing. A total of 40 counties there are under a state of emergency.

George Howell joins us from Kill Devil Hills. It's still some miles offshore, I know. But we're really seeing some deteriorating conditions now, even from last hour, it seems. George, how are you feeling -- how different are you feeling now than you were say an hour or two before?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Christi you know we are starting to see changing conditions here. We're starting to see more of the rain showers in this area; the torrential rain you know that is yet to come. As you mentioned, a lot of those heavier rains are still offshore. But this is the area where we will start to see it first as it moves inland.

Also when you talk about the winds, the winds right now about 10 to 20, sometimes 25 miles per hour. Not too bad. But that is changing you know as the day moves on. And you can see the effect of what's happening behind me. These are rough waters, getting rougher and rougher as the day goes on.

Again, this area where we are on the Outer Banks remains under a flash flood watch and a tropical storm warning. People are taking heed of that, preparing, you know getting supplies ready. Many people choosing to ride this storm out.

And we do know that at least 61,000 National Guard troops they are scattered throughout the coastline from this area northward, just to be prepared for whatever this storm has to bring.

PAUL: You know George, I was watching yesterday an analyst saying this thing is going to be so much more potent than Irene was even last year. Are people talking about that there?

HOWELL: Right now, it seems to be the slow-moving nature of this storm. And it's such a big storm. So that's the concern, you have this -- this long range of strong winds. I heard a few minutes ago -- you know, wind gusts of up to 70 and upward miles per hour. So that is the concern with this storm as it moves in.

Also here along the Outer Banks, when you talk about Irene, there was flooding on the sound side here when Irene came through. They're worried about flooding there. Especially along this Coastal Highway 12 where part of it was washed out from Irene. Everybody is keeping a close eye on the storm surge, on the amount of rain that this storm brings in today.

PAUL: We saw just last hour or maybe it was last hour and a half surfers out there and people walking on the beach. Has that subsided? Do you see anybody else on the beach other than you?

HOWELL: I haven't seen it out here within the last hour, but again, you know when you talk about the rip currents out there, when you talk about the winds that are coming in with this storm, Christi, it's just not the smartest thing to do. It's not the safest thing to do because you don't want to get caught off guard with the power of this storm as the storm moves inward.

PAUL: All right. Hey, George Howell, take good care, you and the crew there. Thank you so much.

Ten days before the presidential election and you were just seeing what Hurricane Sandy is packing right now. Mitt Romney had a rally in Virginia Beach set for Sunday, has opted to cancel that. The Vice President was supposed to go to the same town today. But Joe Biden cancelled so local law enforcement they say could focus on what the storm may bring. That's according to campaign staffers.

And this Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama was headed to the University of New Hampshire. That too is not happening, again, because of the forecast for Sandy.

Let's get back to Mitt Romney and the President -- they are campaigning today, they haven't cancelled any of that -- at opposite ends of the East Coast we should say. Mitt Romney is triple stumping in Florida, hitting several cities, Pensacola, Kissimmee and he'll be in Land O'Lakes this evening.

In the meantime, President Obama is going to be in Nashua, New Hampshire this afternoon where singer James Taylor who's from New England in fact will make an appearance.

The storm could certainly have an impact though on early voting specifically. Paul Steinhauser is live in Pensacola, Florida where Mitt Romney is going to hold a rally in the next hour. How much of an impact Paul, do they suspect this could have, the storm specifically, could have on these campaigns?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well Christi both campaigns are definitely monitoring the situation. They both tell me they have contingency plans. You already mentioned now two events -- a Biden event and a Romney event over this weekend have been cancelled already in Virginia. And we could see some other cancellations as we go on into the weekend and into Monday and Tuesday.

But as you mentioned, everything right here. Mitt Romney three campaign events here in Florida today. He'll be with Marco Rubio, the Senator from Florida, a popular Republican.

Those events are not being canceled, they continue on. But listen, both campaigns realize that the storm, especially if it's very serious could have a huge impact on how the candidates travel and how they kind of delegate their get out the vote efforts in some of this key battleground states over the next couple of days. So they are keeping a very close eye on this.

But of course Christi, both campaigns also say that the safety of people in the storm's way is much more important than politics. And one interesting is this storm is serious, it's a lot of damage, of course -- how the administration, how President Obama handles the storm could be scrutinized and could be -- could be a part of this campaign -- Christi.

PAUL: Yes, I was wondering about that, how -- how reaction and resources available after this storm might affect this campaign as well particularly obviously for President Obama who is at the helm of it.

I know that both the President and Mitt Romney are really reaching out to young voters. In fact, yesterday the President gave an interview I know you saw it to MTV.

And he talked about some real serious issues including student debt and stressed his support for cutting off federal financial aid to colleges, who students leave with high debt. But he also talked about some lighter topics. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes I had to go buy an album or -- or -- or a cartridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cartridge?

OBAMA: Yes, that's old school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know I'll send you some music, too. Some music you should tune in to.

OBAMA: Thanks. Well yes, I mean, there are some groups like, you know, The Roots and other folks who -- when I talk to them and they've done some really good stuff. But you can probably educate me. It's true. I've been -- I've been working a little hard right now, so I haven't updated my iPod.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll hook you up. I'll hook you up.

OBAMA: All right, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I cracked up at the cartridge. Paul, how is Romney courting the youth vote?

STEINHAUSER: Well, of course, four years ago, then Senator Obama did very, very well with younger voters. It was one of the reasons he won the White House. But Mitt Romney is not ignoring those young voters at all. Take a listen to what he said last night on the campaign trail in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If you're a college student looking to graduate sometime, maybe -- maybe next spring, you know you've got, what, $10,000 or $20,000 worth of loans that you've got to pay back and you know how heavy a burden that might be as you've done your calculation. But by the way, because of all the spending of this administration and prior administrations, you also have about $50,000 of government debt.

Yes. And what's the President doing about that? Why he keeps on adding more and more and more debt? I don't understand how a college kid could vote for Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: I think it's fair to say the President will disagree with that. But Christi, Mitt Romney really thinks the economic -- his economic message will resonate with younger voters.

One other thing you mentioned early voting. Early voting getting under way today right here in Florida, eight days of early voting.

PAUL: All right. Paul Steinhauser it's so good to see you today. Thank you.

And again, we're keeping a close eye on Hurricane Sandy. Here are some of the pictures. The East Coast is preparing. We're going to tell you what they're doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I want to share some live pictures with you from Nags Head, North Carolina. As Sandy slowly turns ashore, we've seen a lot of those -- those white caps get a lot more intense just in the last couple hours here.

Want to turn now to the election. Less visibility, of course -- definitely not what the candidates are looking for, particularly in pivotal battleground states like North Carolina. Well, CNN political contributor John Avlon is traveling on the CNN Election Express taking the pulse of the voters in some of those key states.

So John, I know that you're in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, right now. What are people there saying about the race?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Christi, you know, the battleground bus tour's here in Winston-Salem because this is one of the key swing districts of this swing state, North Carolina. President Obama won it four years ago by a razor-thin 14,000-vote margin.

We've been talking to voters here. Here's a little about what they're saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given Governor Romney's prior experience in Massachusetts, I think he will be more moderate perhaps than as appeared in his earlier campaign, when he was actually trying to get the nomination of the Republican Party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I made my decision really after the first debate. Just the level of professionalism for somebody who's been in office for four years wasn't there for Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't even have to think about it. Even though I'm a registered Independent, I don't find anything about Governor Romney believable or authentic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for President Obama, because I do see the change. I do see us digging ourselves out of the hole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: So there you have it, just a sampling of the voters we've been speaking to. Very tight. The voters here just as closely divided as the polls show North Carolina is.

But again, you see that focus on the economy, questions of character, and really a discussion about Mitt Romney's pivot back to the center in that pivotal first debate. All things on the forefront of folks' minds here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

PAUL: Yes. And it was interesting to hear why they were making their decisions, too. But I'm wondering with Hurricane Sandy slowly edging inward there, as it's going to, we know the President and his opponent have spent millions of dollars trying to get the word out. Now that could change as we shift to covering this hurricane. Do they expect any effect with voting, especially early voting?

AVLON: Early voting is the key. It's a core strategy for both campaigns. We're already seeing a start-up in effect. Yesterday the state put out an advisory saying that two early-voting locations in coastal counties from (inaudible) would be suspended today. They'd be shut down out of an abundance of caution.

But early voting continues in the rest of the state. That's very important for people to understand. If you're in those coastal counties, early voting is suspended today. But those are just two counties out of many in the state. Early voting continues in North Carolina and the rest of the state. But the storm is having an impact to that extent today.

PAUL: All right. John Avlon, enjoy your trip to your next pit stop. We appreciate you.

AVLON: Thank you.

PAUL: Sure. Thank you.

So Virginia, as you know, is one of the states that President Obama flipped in 2008. But the most recent CNN poll of polls, which tracks a variety of polls mind you, shows the state as solidly purple. CNN's John King reports on how both the presidential campaigns hope to win Virginia by winning over voters in the north.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Urgency in a place once reliably red. Mitt Romney's path to the White House runs through Virginia and to win it, he must run strong in the fast- changing suburbs within an hour's drive of Washington.

WHIT AYRES, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: It's all about northern Virginia. There have been so many people who have lived in to northern Virginia, particularly from the northeast, from Democratic areas, that they have turned a solid red state into a purple state.

KING: Recent polls show a dead heat. But Republican pollster Whit Ayres likes the trend line.

AYRES: If you look at the dozen polls in Virginia, taken before the first presidential debate on October 3rd, Obama was ahead in all 12. If you look at the eight polls taken after the first presidential debate, Romney was ahead in six out of the eight and it's now a dead even tie.

KING: To prove its 2008 win here was no fluke, Team Obama knows it needs to run up a margin of 200,000 votes or more in the northern Virginia suburbs. If it delivers, it can ruin Governor Romney's night before the polls even close in the Midwest.

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D), VIRGINIA: The epicenter of this outcome is going to be right here in Virginia.

KING: Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly knows Romney's more moderate tone of late is aimed at the suburbs. He's betting it won't work.

CONNOLLY: I think there's a trust factor that with that. My constituents remember the Republican primaries. They don't suffer from amnesia. And I think that's a tough stuff for Mitt Romney.

KING: Lunch time visit to Harold and Kathy's proves the President has deep suburban support, but there are some cracks. Mona Phillips is a registered Democrat but says she will vote Republican for president as she did last time.

MONA PHILLIPS, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: From the get-go, Mr. Obama promised so many things that I didn't believe he could do it, and he has proven that he couldn't do it.

KING: Robert Stevens is an Independent and Obama 2008 supporter.

ROBERT STEVENS, UNDECIDED VOTER: And it was something different for the country, something that hadn't happened before electing a black president. So I got caught up in that a little bit. But I think he's a disappointment. KING (on camera): You don't like what you got, but you're not sold on the alternative.

STEVENS: Absolutely not. At this point, I don't know who I'm going to vote for.

KING (voice-over): Living in a battleground means there's no escaping the ads or the get out the vote effort.

STEVENS: I kind of hang up the phone. I want to make my own independent decision. I don't want anybody shoving stuff down my throat. It's kind of scary. I thought I would have been there by now but I'm not. But I will be by Election Day.

KING: Tense final days in a place long known for its historic battlefields but a newcomer to the world of presidential battlegrounds.

John King, CNN, Prince William County, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: I know you've heard over and over the race for the White House rides on who wins Ohio. We're going to have the latest poll results from the Buckeye State, taken just the past week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Analyst after analyst says O-H-I-O will decide who will be the next president of the United States. The latest CNN/ORC poll taken just a couple of days ago shows Obama up by four points. Some see that as proof Romney can win. A statement both campaigns are now using to get out the vote in Ohio. Will it work? Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day in the swing state of Ohio, the electorate bull's eye of this political season. Mitt Romney working the crowds this afternoon in Columbus, while Barack Obama pumped up his supporters in the evening in Cleveland. Both men receiving wild ovations.

While the crowd reaction is great, will that enthusiasm drive them to the polls on Election Day? Even among the fervent Obama supporters at this rally this is a common theme.

(on camera): Were you more excited four years ago or more excited today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say -- honestly, I was more excited four years ago.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Meanwhile, fervent supporters at the Romney rally often have their own nuanced motivations.

(on camera): Are you more emotional about wanting Romney to win or wanting Obama to lose?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wanting Obama to lose, yes most definitely. He really --

TUCHMAN: So that motivates yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He let the whole country down.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Candidates appreciate any kind of support. But the more unconditional and enthusiastic that support is, the more likely that voter will go to the polls, and voter turnouts on November 6th will be critical.

Romney's strategists have the concern that the perceived lack of their candidate's competitiveness could ultimately lead to less enthusiasm and therefore a lower turnout. So the message being emphasized to the GOP base is that Romney can win.

And that makes the message from Obama's strategists all the more interesting. In order to increase Democratic enthusiasm, they have the very same message -- Romney can win this. A new Obama ad is basically trying to frighten Democrats into making sure they vote. Reminding them of the disputed 2000 election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 537 -- the number of votes that changed the course of American history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florida is too close to call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The difference between what was and what could have been.

TUCHMAN: A new poll shows that 59 percent of Obama voters and 58 percent of Romney voters are very enthusiastic. But the ABC News/Washington Post poll indicates Obama's enthusiasm numbers were higher four years ago at 68 percent, while Romney's numbers are considerably better than John McCain's, which were at 38 four years ago.

The cheering was deafening at this large Obama rally in Cleveland's lake front, but many Obama supporters say it feels different than four years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's seriously just a different kind of excitement. It's more sort of tempered in like reality that this is a campaign, not a crusade.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thank you.

TUCHMAN: On the GOP side, anti-Obama sentiment remains a key component of pushing supporters to vote. Much the same as four years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's more important to get Obama out. I do. I absolutely think it's more important to get Obama out.

TUCHMAN: Clearly, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have some complicated relationships with their supporters. But no doubt, neither candidate will care as long as the supporters make it to the polls.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And making it to the polls could be tough, as we watch Hurricane Sandy. Not just how it will affect things politically, but we're going to talk to you about your travel plans. Some cancellations coming up.

Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Hurricane Sandy teasing us just a little bit right now as we take a look at this live picture from Atlantic City, New Jersey. The eye could hit close to there, so we'll be watching that area over the next couple of days.

For those of you who are traveling, Sandy is expected to have a major impact on land and in the air. Right now, Amtrak says all of its trains are operating on schedule. Crews will monitor tracks throughout the northeast.

And in the meantime, several airlines are revising their change fee policies ahead of the storm so check with your specific carrier to get some updates throughout the next couple of days.

We want to check Sandy's track right now, to the trajectory as well, where it's going and how strong it is. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is with us. In the next couple of days, what's standing out to you about this storm, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, you just talked about the center of circulation. The circulation as a whole is so massive that where the center of circulation comes ashore is important for storm surge.

But the circulation itself is so mammoth that the breadth and depth of those impacted is huge. So the western side of this is here in the Gulf of Mexico. The eastern side of it is all the way in the Central Atlantic, so there's our hurricane, 75-mile-per-hour maximum sustained winds, gusts to 90 now.

But here's the scenario, usually this time of year, hurricane moves north eastward and then it gets hooked up with a jet stream and it gets pushed eastward. Not the case. That's what's making this so anomalous.

What's happening is there's an area of high pressure to the north and west, and because of the clock wise flow around the high, it's pushing the hurricane to the west. So really, all the computer guidance really in accordance that this is what's going to happen.

Center of circulation expected. Monday overnight into Tuesday to come ashore somewhere between New York City and Washington, D.C., but then we're going to watch it move northwest, and inland flooding, believe it or not, upstate New York.

Western New York could be a factor. Right now, just the western periphery of this with the rain coming ashore from the Carolinas down to Charleston, we could see on the outer banks of North Carolina up to 10 inches of rain.

Conversely, on the western side, this down the spine of the Appalachians, watch this computer model projection of what will happen. Look at this snow down the spine of the Appalachians.

Places like Snowshoe, West Virginia, one to two feet of snow, potentially. Now, Christi, it's just so energetic because what we have is really a hybrid storm developing. The moisture from the tropical development and the energy from the air of low pressure are coming together for really just a powerhouse of a storm.

PAUL: All right, Alexandra, thank you so much for keeping us posted. More details we want to share with you now on the story of a nanny accused of murdering the kids she cared for.

New York police say the nanny began stabbing herself when the mother entered the bathroom where her kids' bodies lay. That's a new twist here. Yoselyn Ortega is accused of killing 2-year-old Leo Krim and his 6-year-old sister, Lulu.

Ortega has yet to be charged and is in the hospital herself under police monitor now. The father, a senior VP at CNBC was on a flight home when his wife discovered those murders, so stunning.

Let's give you a heads up here. Major data breach in South Carolina may involve as many as 3.6 million victims. Governor Nikki Haley says a revenue system server has been hacked and exposed tax return information from as far back as 1998.

Haley also says an international hacker is responsible for this. The state is offering credit protection services for those possibly impacted.

We've been talking about the millions of people along the east coast who are about to get hit by this monster storm. We're going to tell you more about some of the numbers we're learning, too. New death toll numbers and what does that mean for what's coming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Take a look at Norfolk, Virginia. It's not looking so bad right now. That could change in the next couple of days. They are feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy already, though.

I want to let you know this hurricane is expected to collide with a cold front and that's what could turn it into a destructive superstorm as it's been dubbed.

It could have a devastating impact on several states along the eastern seaboard. Nick Valencia is tracking this megastorm by the numbers, and the numbers are alarming aren't they, Nick? NICK VALENCIA, CORRESPONDENT: These fears and anxieties among the residents that are in these areas that could potentially be affected. They're materializing at this point, Chris. We just got an 11:00 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

They put out new numbers. It's still a hurricane. It's been going back and forth all day. But let's break this down by the numbers. Right now we've got 75-mile-per-hour sustained winds that, of course, enough for a Category 1 hurricane.

And just to give you an idea of how -- the big anticipation of the National Guard, the effect and impact of this hurricane, 61,000 personnel stationed up and down the eastern seaboard.

They've already deployed a handful of National Guard troops to the areas and states that have declared states of emergency, places like D.C., Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New York.

Right now, those anxieties, there's no more anxiety than the resident in North Carolina, 40 counties so far in North Carolina under a state of emergency. That's up and down the Interstate 95 Corridor.

And the Red Cross reminds us that the most potential danger to life are these storm surges. They can get as high as 20 feet, Christi, as long as 1,500 miles. Also, 10 million people -- estimated 10 million people will be without power.

That's really causing a lot of concern. This could be a sustained period with people without power, seven to ten days. But the big number that we got earlier today was the rise in death toll.

Earlier, we were reporting 22 deaths. Civil Protection Agency in Haiti confirming 29 Haitians died, Christi. That brings the death toll up to 42.

So that gives you a sense of what we could be dealing with. All of these deaths concentrated in the Caribbean for now, and people hope that it stays that way. This is going to be an expensive storm, already $3.2 billion in estimated damage.

Alexandra Steele was talking a little bit about that. It's very, very expensive so far, and the estimates are only going to get higher.

PAUL: Yes, all right, we'll see. Thank you so much, Nick, for keeping up with that. We appreciate it.

Did you see them? Mitt Romney, President Obama walking together. How can this be? The answer is simple, if you look close enough, right?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: On the streets, Mitt Romney standing next to Barack Obama? It happened in Manhattan or did it? CNN's Alina Cho uncovers a strange presidential sighting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine the chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appreciate your vote.

CHO: President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney together at the cross roads of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to win.

CHO: Picture taking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's bring the cameras over here. Is that cool?

CHO: Glad handing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you November 6th.

CHO: Baby holding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's a Democrat, don't you?

CHO: Wait a minute.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You've been all over the map.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're all over the map.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I love Big Bird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nothing against Big Bird.

CHO: These aren't the real candidates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My goodness.

CHO: Meet Lewis Ortiz, a dead ringer for President Obama. Playing Romney --

(on camera): Governor Romney, it's so nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you, Alina. I love CNN.

CHO (voice-over): Jim Gossett, who has multiple presidential personalities.

JIM GOSSETT, IMPERSONATOR: I'm hoping it's going to be another Bush or Bill Clinton. That's what I'm hoping for, but this guy gives me a lot of problems. I gave a good speech for you though. I didn't want to do it.

CHO: But the race is tight, and these two know campaigning at one of the busiest places on earth is a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here comes the storm. Are you the naked cowboy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's President Barack Hussein Obama.

GOSSETT: Mitt Romney. If I'm elected president, the naked cowboy will get pants.

CHO: And if one naked cowboy isn't enough --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama! Yo mama!

CHO: There's always room for two. It's Times Square, New York, a blue state, where the president is more popular than the governor.

GOSSETT: I can't even get anybody to take a picture with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my town. Jay-z wrote a song about that. Who's going to run this town tonight? This guy.

CHO: Kidding aside. The presidential impersonation business can be lucrative.

(on camera): What do you charge?

DUSTIN GOLD, WILLIAM GOLD ENTERTAINMENT: For a show with four characters, up to $34,000. The president's going to get a million for his speech.

LOUIS ORTIZ, IMPERSONATOR: It's overwhelming, especially when you don't have proper security, you know? Especially when you're not really the president, you know? I know I look like him, but --

CHO: It's amazing, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. I said, my gosh! Is it really him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the same.

CHO (voice-over): There's even a Big Bird moment.

ORTIZ: This guy doesn't understand it. Come on. Let's get out of here.

CHO: They'll know who wins both here and yes, the election, November 6th.

GOSSETT: This is the worst case of cartoon pandering I've ever seen.

CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

PAUL: Well, "CNN NEWSROOM" starts at the top of the hour. Fred is with us, of course.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEWSROOM": Good to see you.

PAUL: You too.

WHITFIELD: You've had a great morning. Rocking and rolling so much going on. We've got a full day as well. We're going to begin, of course, with our legal guys in our noon Eastern hour. Richard and Avery are always with us.

This time I've got an interesting case that involves yoga and public schools. There are some parents who say that teaching yoga in school, it's a form of religion and it shouldn't happen even after this taking place.

Downward facing dog for three years and there's been a half million- dollar grant. Will they bend on this one? Our legal guys, Avery and Richard, will take on that case.

And then of course, in the 2:00 Eastern hour, we are watching politics, all the time, all day long. But at 2:00, the president will be live in our hour as he campaigns and Governor Romney in the 4:00 Eastern hour. We'll be following him as well.

Their schedules have changed significantly because of the storm named Sandy. Is it a tropical storm? Is it a hurricane? As the day continues to carry on right now, it is still a hurricane, but we're watching, and we'll be updating you throughout the day.

The National Weather Service will be updating us about letting us know exactly the track that it is taking. So this Sandy has really potentially kind of interrupting a lot of the early voting that we've been seeing. It's been in some jurisdictions kind of record early voting, but now you've got to wonder if this is going to impact it.

PAUL: Those people that wanted to early vote, if they would vote on the actual day if they can't get out early. So it will be interesting. It's so good to see you, Fred. Thank you.

I know you've heard about this one. A little girl is dead. Her parents are suing and the target of their lawsuit is this high energy drink. Could you be over caffeinated to death?

CNN's Sanjay Gupta talks to me about what may have happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I want to share some medical news with you now. The parents of a 14-year-old girl who died after drinking two Monster energy drinks are suing. The makers of the drink say they're not to blame.

I spoke with chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, this week about what's in this drink and whether the FDA need to warn the public.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: What did doctors say, first of all?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, with regard to this girl, there was a report, they said that she had an underlying condition, something known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It causes collagen problems in the body and caused problems in her heart. She had something known as a valve regurgitation.

They say the cause of death for her was caffeine toxicity. They said it was a lot of caffeine on top of this condition. Standard advice is if you have a heart condition like this avoid excess doses of caffeine, but that's what they concluded here. That's what the coroners concluded.

PAUL: All right, so if we're talking about that much caffeine, how much was it in this drink?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's quite a bit. And this is one of those things I think people don't always realize. Let me just give you a little bit of a frame of reference here. If this were a 24 ounce can, this is the particular drink. That would be equal to about seven cokes or just as many Pepsi cans.

PAUL: At a time?

GUPTA: At a time. In this particular case what we know about this girl, she took one evening or one night and then within a 24-hour period took another one. That's I think sort of concern. Caffeine doesn't hang around your body that long, but there are several different things in these energy drinks that I guess cause concern.

PAUL: So in your medical opinion, is 24 hours, you know, they were spaced far enough apart, do you think that really would have been enough to kill her?

GUPTA: It's hard to know. But in this situation even one of these cans is seven cans. Keep in mind again, as you know, seven cans almost as many Pepsis and you also have these other substances.

You can read them on the can Taurene, for example, the supplements that can be caffeine like. They're not caffeine, but they can behave like caffeine. Could they possibly be all acting together?

PAUL: I mean, we know there have been five deaths total, but the FDA never warned the public. Why is that?

GUPTA: Well, what the FDA will say is look, before a warning, an official warning like that, you are to draw some cause and effect. That hasn't been determined yet. This is an ongoing lawsuit.

People can report adverse events. That's part of the reporting process. If you think something has happened to you as a result of a product you can report that, but it doesn't mean the FDA automatically issues a warning until they can prove that themselves.

PAUL: All right, Sanjay Gupta, thank you so very much.

GUPTA: Thank you, any time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Coming up at noon, Fredricka Whitfield is going to talk more about this case with the legal guys. That's today at noon right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, women still make less money than men in the work place. So what's it going to take for women to close the gender pay gap?

But first, a woman car mechanic opened her own shop with new ideas about how to fix the industry. Gary Tuchman shows us how she got started in her own business.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carolyn Coquillette left college with plans to work in a non-profit organization and then her car broke down.

CAROLYN COQUILLETTE, LUSCIOUS GARAGE: I was like, you know, have I learned anything? I ended up taking night classes because I wanted to know more and discovered I loved the work. It was like a mental oil change where I could just forget everything I was told I was supposed to do and actually pursue something I really loved.

TUCHMAN: Hybrid and electric cars became her passion. She couldn't find a job working on them.

COQUILLETTE: I decided to open that shop. There was a better way for me to get the experience I wanted, but I also had a lot of new ideas about how to translate the benefit of the hybrid car into that industry, you know, being green, high tech and cutting edge.

TUCHMAN: Carolyn tried to make her shop clean, open and inviting. Customers kept coming back.

COQUILLETTE: I'm sure that many people looked at us Luscious Garage with plants and a nice seating area and didn't see the auto repair. What's nice is to stand here in five years and say we made it because we've been able to do our job well and that's why we're going to continue to grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: By 2012, you think women would have caught up with men when it comes to the gender pay gap. That's not the case. Statistics show discrimination in the work place is still a real problem. So how can women close the gap? CNN's Athena Jones shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: You can choose to turn the clock back 50 years for women.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women, they're key to winning the White House.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Or in this election, you can stand up for the principle that America includes everybody. We're all created equal. JONES: While most polls show the president leads among women voters, some suggest that lead may be tightening.

ROMNEY: Why is it that there are 3.6 million more women in poverty today than when the president took office?

JONES: More women than men voted in 2008 and issues important to women have been front and center in 2012.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pro life, that's a lie, you don't care if women die.

JONES: From abortion and contraception to equal pay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In what new ways do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the work place?

JONES: The candidates failed to address that question head-on in the second debate instead offering generalities.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family. This is not just a women's issue, this is a family issue, middle class issue.

JONES: One phrase that took on a life of its own.

ROMNEY: They brought us whole binders full of women.

JONES: Still, there's evidence the pay gap is real. A new study shows female college graduates earn just 82 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make their first year out of college.

CHRISTIANNA CORBETT, AAUW: The pay gap has real implications for women. It can add up to over $500,000 over a lifetime.

JONES: Even when career choice and hours worked were taken into account men still earned 7 percent more than women in the same field a year after graduating suggesting discrimination is still a problem in the work place.

Georgetown senior, Bethany Imondi is worried what the gap could mean for her as she tries to pay off more than $20,000 in student debt.

BETHANY IMONDI, STUDENT: As a woman these statistics say I'm going to have a much more difficult time and I think that something that will stay in the back of my mind.

JONES: Among the recommendations to women trying to close the gap, learn something about negotiating. Studies show men are more likely than women to push for a higher salary.

Still, study co-author Christianna Corbett says that won't solve everything if women are offered less from the start. She says employers and lawmakers need to increase salary transparency and strengthen laws and the candidates should pay more attention to the issue. CORBETT: In this election it's all about jobs and the economy, but for women it's actually not only just about getting a job, but getting a job with fair and honest pay.

JONES: With days to go in the 2012 campaign, time is running out for equal pay to get equal play. Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: CNN "NEWSROOM" with one beautiful Fredricka here.

WHITFIELD: Nice, thank you.

PAUL: Good luck today with all the stuff you're talking about.