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Were Old Voting Machines More Reliable?; Does Main Street Need Bailout, Too?; GOP Candidate Hopes for Help from Obama Voters; D.C. Neighborhood Hurting Financially; Biden Speaks in Missouri; General Laurent Nkunda Discusses the Dire Situation in Congo
Aired October 30, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST (voice-over): Want to steal an election?
ANDREW APPEL, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Pry it out, one of these chips. Take a screw driver and you push in your replacement.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it?
APPEL: That's it.
PHILLIPS: They don't make voting machines like they used to. Before there were chads and chips, there were levers and curtains, and irregularities were rare.
Congo in crisis. Families trying to find refuge from a war that moves and changes, simmers and flares, but never seems to end.
Americans still off to war in Iraq, and their children and spouses and parents still find it hard to let go. Some find it almost impossible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get right to it this hour. Five days left in the fight to get to 270 electoral votes, that is. We all know those pick the president, and the closer we get to November 4, the bigger the lead Barack Obama appears to be piling up.
New polls from battleground states moved Nevada and Colorado from toss-up states to lean Obama. Indiana moves from lean McCain to toss- up. And add them all up, and by our CNN estimate, 291 electoral votes fall in Obama's column; 163 in John McCain's. Eighty-four, by our count, are still up for grabs.
Let's take a look at four of our newest CNN/"TIME"/Opinion Research Corporation polls. In Ohio, a state no Republican president has ever lost, Obama holds a four-point lead. In North Carolina, Obama's lead stands at six. In Pennsylvania, Obama leads by 12, despite some dog campaigning by the other ticket. And one bright spot for McCain, in his home state of Arizona, there he's holding on to a seven-point lead.
Now, regardless of how we vote, we all want our votes to count, and that brings us back to an issue that was supposed to be settled years ago. Touch screens or punch cards? Fill in the blanks or flip the levers? Eight long years after the Chad disaster, many experts agree that the old machines were the best machines.
CNN's Miles O'Brien takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: On election day in New York, it will be the end of an era: the big, old voting machines, John Adams meets Rube Goldberg, are on their way out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty cool. They have 20,000 parts in the machine.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's not -- it's not a lightweight machine.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): And here at the board of elections, they have a heavy heart.
(on camera) Do you know of any case of these things ever being tampered with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.
O'BRIEN: Because it's impossible?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's impossible that I know of.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): But ever since this ugly scene eight years ago, politicos have spent billions of your money to throw out the old and bring in the new. Congress even created a new agency to give states suggestions on what to buy.
ROSEMARY RODRIGUEZ, ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION: We're hoping that the very design of the testing certification program is so robust and states will want to opt into the program, because it will be the gold standard.
O'BRIEN: But eight years later there is no national standard, and even if there was, states would not have to comply.
SUSAN GREENHALGH, VOTER ACTION: I think it's a huge mess.
O'BRIEN: Election crusader Susan Greenhalgh says the problem is computer voting systems in 17 states and D.C., that leave no paper trail. GREENHALGH: Spending a lot of money on equipment without oversight, without a rigorous testing process, without a surety that these systems were actually going to perform better than what we had before, was a mistake.
O'BRIEN: How big a mistake? This computer science professor, Andrew Appel, bought five surplus computerized voting machines like those used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, and he easily hacked them. He removed a metal cover and found the memory chip.
APPEL: You pry out one of these chips with a screwdriver, and you push in your replacement.
O'BRIEN (on camera): That's it?
APPEL: That's it.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): He programmed the replacement to cheat in favor of one party by 10 percent forever, without leaving a trace. No paper backup.
APPEL: If you found that there were fraudulent computer chips in them, you wouldn't know what the vote totals should have been.
O'BRIEN (on camera): So you'd have to have another vote.
APPEL: That doesn't happen usually.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Appel says there has to be a voter- verified backup, as in paper. That's why he is voting for optical scanners, which will be used in New York next year when they take good-bye to their trusty ballot machines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: I don't know, Miles. If you have shifty eyes, that might not work either.
O'BRIEN: Might not.
PHILLIPS: Why is this so hard?
O'BRIEN: You know, we sent a man to the moon. And this is harder, in many respects. You know? Everybody says that.
Here's the thing. You think about most every transaction you do in life, your name is associated with it, and you have a way of verifying it. Whether it's an ATM, a bank statement, a bill, whatever the case may be.
In this case, two competing things have to be answered. You want to maintain the secrecy of the ballot, and you want it to be accurate. Keeping secrecy and accuracy together is a difficult thing. They're at odds with each other. And that's why we run into all these difficulties.
PHILLIPS: Well, can you give any tips for any of us, on how to make sure our vote counts? And I want to know if you voted, too.
O'BRIEN: Well, we have no early voting here in New York, and I'm not -- I'm going to be in town. So I'll be waiting in line on Tuesday.
But here's a couple of things. First of all, if you're in a state that has these computerized voting machines, a lot of people tell us, straight party line votes are not a great way to go, because for some reason the computer can get confused and can register the wrong vote, if you have some sort of ballot proposition, yes or no.
Second thing, if you're in a state that has computerized stuff with a paper trail, double check it. Make sure what you voted for on the computer matches what's on that paper ballot, whatever piece of paper you got to verify how you voted.
And finally, this seems like, you know, a "duh" thing, but don't be afraid to ask for help. We don't do this very often. We do it every couple of years. For that matter, the poll workers don't do it very often. Raise your hand and say, "I'm not sure I did this right," and those people there will help you.
PHILLIPS: Like asking for directions. You don't want to do it.
O'BRIEN: Well, that's right. That's right. And you know, when you're in New York, the people behind you in line might be grumbling a little bit. But you know, don't be afraid to ask for help.
PHILLIPS: Miles O'Brien, thank you for your help.
Paper ballots aren't perfect either. In just one county in Florida, officials have already thrown out more than 200 absentee ballots that came in without signatures. Another 1,600 are being closely checked because the signatures supposedly don't match the voter registration rolls.
Statewide, more than two million early or absentee ballots have been cast in Florida as of yesterday.
Now, all of the problems that can pop up at the polls, add identity theft to the list. A South Georgia woman tried to vote last week, only to find out that she couldn't. Officials actually told her she's a convicted felon out on parole with an outstanding arrest warrant. Trouble is, she's not.
Another woman who is, apparently, has stolen her identity right down to her date of birth and Social Security number. Well, it took four days, dozens of phone calls and a fingerprint test just to clear all the things up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE SAM DAVIS, ELECTION SUPERVISOR: Whoever this person is was in jail in 2007, 2008. So we called our Angela Brown's employer, who said that, who verified she's not missed hardly a day of work since 2001. So we obviously knew it was just a mistake, a case of stolen identity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a smile on your face.
ANGELA BROWN, VOTER: Yes, because I can vote now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, authorities say they may never know how that mix-up actually happened.
If you want to know which states will make the difference in next Tuesday's vote, just check the travel plans for Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama started the day in Florida. Then he's headed for an afternoon stop in Virginia before a late-night rally in Missouri. Then McCain is all over Ohio today, with a speech planned this hour in Sandusky. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens.
Some of the issue one headlines this hour. It's looking like the financial bailout is a two-way street after all. The Treasury Department expected to announce that a $50 billion chunk of the $700 billion package will help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Credit crunched American Express plans to cut about 7,000 jobs in hopes to save about $2 billion.
And the GDP, or gross domestic product, showed a .3 percent annual rate decline in the third quarter. The GDP is a measure of the economy's health as a whole. Now, this latest figure adds up to the weakest economy since the last recession.
Now, back to the bailout story. It looks like Main Street will be getting a piece of the federal action, not just Wall Street. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis here now.
Hey, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey. Yes. This isn't a done deal, I want to make clear. It's still being discussed. The FDIC, which regulates banks, is suggesting that another bailout bill be passed to help people on Main Street.
How would it work? Well, the FDIC would guarantee $500 million in homeowner loans. Now, these are the toxic loans, Kyra, we've been talking about over and over again. The ones that reset quickly, have high fees. People have a hard time paying them.
This plan could help up to 3 million struggling homeowners out there. The estimated coast, $50 billion, would come out of the $700 billion bailout plan that we've talked a lot about. But it's not done yet.
However, there are some folks out there who are picking up the gauntlet, like Nouriel Roubini. He's an economist who actually forecast what's going on in this economy. He's well known for it. He's an economist at the NYU Stern School of Business. He says the risks of doing nothing to help Main Street here are high. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOURIEL ROUBINI, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: If we don't support Main Street, whatever we do to support Wall Street's going to be undone. Therefore, we have to do both things. Up to now we spent $2 trillion ahead of us for Wall Street, AND close to nothing for Main Street, for real America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: So Roubini says if you don't spend some money for Main Street, then those folks, they're going to need to be bailed out. They're going to go into foreclosure. They're going to create another crisis. And all that money you spent bailing out Wall Street, well, it will have been for naught. So makes a very interesting argument about why something needs to be done.
However, the White House has responded to this conversation. Reports on our air and other places, they say, "We've been reviewing a number of housing proposals for some time. No decisions have been made on any of them. Any inference that we're nearing a decision on any one of them is simply wrong. The administration, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will continue to the do our work and analysis on the various proposals."
So, Kyra, as you can see, not done yet. But we'll probably hear more discussion about this after the election, possibly. It may be too much of a hot potato to get to right now.
PHILLIPS: We do have a long way to go. Gerri Willis, thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Dow industrials up about 102 points right now. Exxon Mobil expected to make a killing in the third quarter. But not like this.
The company has reported the biggest quarterly net profit ever for a U.S. company: 14.83 billion dollars. That beat the old profit record set by Exxon/Mobil earlier this year.
Now, the third quarter started in July, when oil prices reached a record high.
Here's a look at Wall Street again. The GDP report that showed the economy shrank at a slower than expected pace rallied stocks earlier today. Once again, Dow Industrials still up 111 points right now. We're going to check in with Susan Lisovicz in just a few minutes.
It's one of Washington's well-known neighborhoods, Foggy Bottom. So how is this diverse area near the White House faring in the economic crisis? We'll find out.
And displaced people as far as the eye can see. They're caught up in what could turn into another human rights nightmare in Congo, in Africa. We're going to hear from someone who just got back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More American troops say farewell to their families and friends. This little boy doesn't want to let his dad go. The troops will be spending the holidays in Iraq after an emotional send- off in Massachusetts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Overseas now, 62 deaths reported in a series of near- simultaneous explosions in a volatile region in Northeastern India. More than 200 others were wounded. Authorities say the bombs were planted in cars and rickshaws in busy areas, crowded with lunchtime shoppers. Right now, police say they suspect a separatist group was responsible for this. That group has carried out a 20-year rebellion, demanding more autonomy from the central government.
In Spain, police are pointing fingers at the Basque separatist group ETA after a car bombing today at the university in Pamplona. That bomb went off in a parking lot near the library, wounding at least 26 people.
The university is in the Basque region of northern Spain, and it's been targeted by the separatist group six times in the last 30 years.
The Taliban says that it carried out a deadly suicide bombing today at a government building in Afghanistan's capital. Afghan officials say that the blast inside the Ministry of Information and Culture killed five civilians and the bomber. In a statement, the Taliban said that it was targeting foreign advisers at the ministry. And President Hamid Karzai called the attack heinous. He says it was meant to undermine recent security gains.
More American troops are leaving family and friends behind to head to Iraq. Pretty emotional pictures here and farewells as members of the Massachusetts National Guard's 772nd Military Police company were honored yesterday with this big sendoff.
It's hard to fight back the tears, especially for the kids. And around 180 of them are heading to Iraq to train police officers as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their deployment is scheduled to last a year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worried. Scared.
My daughter, she's 7, so she's the only one that really understands that he's leaving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to leave -- I don't want to leave the kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: The guard unit is one of the oldest in the country. It was organized in 1639.
Countdown to the election. Ten issues, ten days. We've already looked at where the presidential candidates stand on the economy, taxes, energy, health care and education. Today we turn to the page, housing.
Senator Obama proposes (ph) a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund. Senator McCain wants to spend $300 billion to buy bad mortgages and banks and homeowners.
Obama supports maintaining the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in guaranteeing mortgages. McCain supports government aid to prevent the collapse of Fannie and Freddie.
Now Obama supports allowing troubled homeowners to refinance with loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and McCain backs a so-called home plan that converts bad mortgage loans into low- interest loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
From putting a lid or loose nukes to tightening the borders to keep out terrorists, we're going to set our sights on homeland security tomorrow. What will the candidates do to keep you safe? The problems, the plans, ten issues in ten days, only on CNN.
Voters in Washington state appear to be embracing Barack Obama's ongoing calls for political change, and the state's Republican challenger for governor, who's in a tight rematch with the Democratic incumbent, has taken notice.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is in Seattle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sign flashes on Interstate 5 outside Seattle, urging Barack Obama voters to support a local candidate. It wouldn't be a big deal, until you realize Dino Rossi is Republican.
DINO ROSSI (R), WASHINGTON STATE GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running against the defenders of the status quo.
LAWRENCE: and how about this from the former head of Washington's Republican Party?
ROSSI: This state is ready for change.
LAWRENCE: Sound like a certain senator from Illinois? Washington hasn't had a Republican governor since Reagan was president.
Now that sign was put up by separate group, but Rossi's own campaign is full of references to veterans, police groups, even Dinocrats. Everything but John McCain. GOV. CHRIS GREGOIRE (D), WASHINGTON: This is a guy who's refused to identify that he's a Republican. He's trying to hide from the Republican Party and George Bush all the way along.
LAWRENCE: Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire says Rossi uses the abbreviation GOP instead of Republican. Contrast that to her headquarters, where not a square foot fails to highlight the good will and party ties between these fellow Democrats.
GREGOIRE: There is nothing we can't achieve working together.
JESSICA BURNHAM, VOTER: Beep beep!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beep beep!
LAWRENCE: The Republican Rossi is banking on voters' frustration.
BURNHAM: I don't like the way things are now.
LAWRENCE: Jessica Burnham says she's voting Obama/Rossi. She's a first-time voter who's really not loyal to any party.
BURNHAM: You're voting for who you think's going to make a difference. And those are the people that are. Period.
LAWRENCE: Polls show Obama ahead in Washington. Republican strategists say Rossi can win, if McCain only loses the state by, say, seven points. If it's a landslide, Rossi's got no chance.
CHRIS VANCE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It is hard to run against the top of your ticket. It is hard to get tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people to go Democrat, Democrat, Republican.
LAWRENCE (on camera): And there's no telling whether enough voters looking for change in one Washington, will be as excited about change here in the other.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Seattle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And it's happening again. The question is, how will the rest of the world react? Violence in Congo threatens a new humanitarian catastrophe.
And tough times hit bottom, Foggy Bottom in D.C. It's a diverse neighborhood where everyone has at least one thing in common: worry over the economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So how's this tough economy affecting real people? CNN's Jill Dougherty didn't have to go far to find out. She just took a few steps right outside her Washington, D.C., door.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My neighborhood, Foggy Bottom, is in downtown Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House.
(voice-over) Foggy Bottom is an extremely diverse neighborhood. It has everything from designer hotels and restaurants to university students, to even the homeless. And many of the people we spoke with said they are definitely being affected by this crisis.
There are a lot of small businesses in Foggy Bottom, and I'm going to pop into Stephen the Tailor to see how he's doing.
STEPHEN WATSON, TAILOR: Yes, it is affecting me quite a bit, but whatever little comes in here, you know, I try to make it a bit -- take care of your bills and whatever. But it's a difference from when it's good and what it is now.
DOUGHERTY: Foggy Bottom is home to George Washington University, and students like Michael Lord, a senior in finance and marketing, are feeling the pressure.
MICHAEL LORD, SENIOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: The job market is really scary right now. We're -- most of the seniors, we're not really sure what's going to happen to us. A lot of the investment banking jobs are gone. So we're all looking for alternative jobs.
DOUGHERTY: So are the students' parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll have to spend less. I've been instructed by my parents. And I didn't even need to be instructed by my parents. You know, like I understand what's going on.
DOUGHERTY: The nearby 7-Eleven convenience store caters to students, but business apparently is OK.
RIDDY HOSSAIN, MANAGER: It was a little bit down, but right now it's come back again. We are up a little bit. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like this.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): There are some places in Foggy Bottom that presumably aren't being affected as much by this economic crisis, and one of them is right here: the famous or maybe infamous Watergate, where many of the political elite of Washington live.
(voice-over) Just up the street from the Watergate, it's another story.
(on camera) This is part of my neighborhood, too. A church basement just off Virginia Avenue.
(voice-over) Miriam's Kitchen, a welcoming place for the homeless to eat, open five days a week. This morning, grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy and a fruit smoothie. For Harry Powell (ph), homeless for three months after being in prison, this meal is crucial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ain't nowhere else to eat. No money in your pocket. Nobody -- no work nowhere.
DOUGHERTY: But feeding people who rely on Miriam's Kitchen is getting tougher.
SCOTT SCRENKELBERG, MIRIAM'S KITCHEN: Basics, such as flour, milk, eggs, butter, have increased as much as 50 percent over the past few years. So we're even more relying on food donations and scrimping even more on our regular food budget to be able to make ends meet.
DOUGHERTY: From the homeless to the well-heeled, in Foggy Bottom, it's not clear where this crisis is headed.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we've been monitoring all the candidates as they've been speaking throughout the day. Joe Biden speaking in Arnold, Missouri. Let's listen in for a little bit.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Here's the deal. Here's the deal. The -- John McCain, if you watched the last presidential debate, John McCain spent a great deal of time feeling the need to declare to the American people that he was not George Bush. Remember that?
Then just recently, last week, John McCain actually went so far as to compare Barack Obama to George Bush. And then the end of last week, John McCain started attacking George Bush's budget and his fiscal policies.
Now, look, folks. I know Halloween's coming tomorrow night. But John McCain dressed up as an agent of change, that costume doesn't fit, folks. Folks ain't going to buy that costume. He's a good guy, but agent of change, that's not what John is, especially when you realize, when you realize, he's got a tough row to hoe, as my grandfather would say.
Look, you realize that John McCain, John McCain, who for the better part of the entire last year, has been saying, George -- under George Bush we've made great economic progress. That was his quote. Great economic progress, up until September, I think, 15th he was saying that.
John McCain just this last Sunday, on one of the major shows, "Meet the Press" when pressed about the similarities between he and Bush, he said, "President Bush and I share a common philosophy."
As my 10-year-old granddaughter, Finnegan, would say, "Hello!" I mean, like -- like we wondered whether he did?
Ladies and gentlemen, I know we're not running against George Bush. But we are running against the very economic policies that John McCain wants to continue, that we've had the last eight years. Policies -- policies that call for tax cuts for companies that send jobs overseas, who -- it's a fact. Who provide at the same time no relief -- no relief -- for 100 million working families.
Policies that call for taxing your health-care benefits as income. First time ever.
Policies that give another $4 billion a year. This is real now. Another $4 billion a year to the Exxon/Mobils of the world, as if they need it.
Look, pick up your paper this morning. Just this morning, we received two pieces of news. One, first, the gross domestic product. That is all the things that come in. Everything about our economy. The measure of our economic strength actually shrank. It got smaller last quarter. It actually shrank.
At the same time it shrank, it shrank because people have cut back on spending. They don't have money to spend. We are a consumer- driven economy. So the economy shrank. That means lost jobs and a lot of other bad things.
But the same -- the second thing we learned this morning is Exxon/Mobil, Exxon/Mobil announced its largest quarterly profit ever. They made $15 billion this past quarter. Now, look, they're not bad guys. I'm not making this populist argument. But let's take a look at it, folks. Here, the entire economy of America is shrinking, and the oil companies are -- just one, in fact, made the largest profit in its history in a quarter.
Ladies and gentlemen, what more evidence do we need that the Exxon/Mobils of the world don't need a tax break? That $4 billion should go to middle-class taxpayers, to people who need the money.
(APPLAUSE)
John and Governor Palin have this upside-down. They literally have it upside-down. And I love it. I get back to my hotel at night, after we have a great day. And last night again, and I stand up there and I turn on the television as I'm brushing my teeth, you know, getting ready to get in bed. And I got the TV on and there's always doing something about the election, right?
And almost every night I see John and Sarah and Governor Palin on stage, at a rally like I am now and like Barack and I were last night. The part I like best is John will turn to Sarah Palin and go, maverick. And she'll turn back and go, maverick. Well, you know, they're the mavericks, right? These guys are mavericks.
Well, you know, I got a good friend named Senator Bob Casey, United States senator from Pennsylvania. To paraphrase him, he says, you can't call yourself a maverick when all you've been the last eight years is a sidekick.
(APPLAUSE)
Ladies and gentlemen -- these guys aren't mavericks, they're sidekicks of George Bush. That's not a bad thing, it's just the wrong thing. We don't need four more years of sidekicks. Folks, give Barack and me the honor of serving as your president and vice president.
(APPLAUSE)
And here is what we will commit ourselves to do as straightforwardly as I can say it. We will have every waking hour two overriding goals. Literally. The first is, to restore the middle class in America. Give them a fighting chance again.
(APPLAUSE)
And the second is --
PHILLIPS: Senator Joe Biden speaking there in Arnold, Missouri. We are going to stay on top of, of course, of all the vice presidential candidates and the presidential candidates as they have been speaking, picking up those rallies just days before November 4th.
Well, if you haven't voted yet, Flora Hughes of Indiana has some advice for you. We're going to meet the 101-year-old voter how hasn't let anything keep her away from the polls since 1928.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: 1:35 Eastern time. Here's some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. A series of near simultaneous explosions ripped through targets in a remote state of India, killing 62 people and wounding 300 others. No claim of responsibility right now. Police are investigating local insurgents and separatist organizations.
And in Spain, a car bomb explodes in a university parking lot injuring at least 19 people. But, apparently no one killed. A (INAUDIBLE) separatist group is a suspected of that attack.
And major job cuts at American Express. The company is eliminating about 7,000 jobs or about 10 percent of its worldwide work force. A week ago, American Express reported 24 percent drop in its third quarter earnings.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, it seems like the same tragic road that we've been down so many times before. Government troops and rebel forces battling it out in Congo. Innocent civilians caught in the deadly cross fire. And while the U.N. and the rest of the world are paralyzed by inaction and indecision, CNN's Tim Lister now reports that there are growing fears that the violence could create a new human rights nightmare in Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They walk but have nowhere to go. These are the people of Krievu, in eastern Congo. 50,000 of them fled a refugee camp in a matter of hours. They have no protection, little food. Aid workers say they're exhausted and traumatized. The last three days we've been without anything to eat, says this woman. My baby's hungry.
The displaced are caught between rebels and these retreating government forces, both notorious for atrocities against civilians. No wonder a senior western diplomat says, he fears quote, "huge frightening massacres."
Congo is a part of the world where history seems condemned to repeat itself. The roots of this ethnic conflict lie in the genocide in Rwanda, just a few miles from this part of eastern Congo, back in 1994. Then militant Hutus slaughtered ethnic Tutsi before themselves being driven into Congo as the international community stood by.
Now these Tutsi rebels inside Congo say they're protecting their people from the Hutu militia. Their leader is Laurent Nkunda, a former general in Congo's army. Two years ago he spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper and accused the government of helping the Hutu.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why our people (INAUDIBLE) and the refugees in Rwanda, in Burundi and in Uganda.
LISTER: And that's why Congo's war could again engulf Africa's great lakes region. Congo's government accuses neighboring Rwanda of aiding Nkunda's rebels. A charge Rwanda denies. But, there are other reasons to fight over Kivu. Gold, copper, uranium, cobalt, riches that have enticed Congo's neighbors before.
There's also much at stake here for the international community. The U.N.'s largest peacekeeping nation in the world, some 17,000 strong, can't stem the fight.
ALAN DOSS, U.N. SPECIAL REP., D.R. CONGO: We said we can't have a soldier behind every tree and every field on every road and in every market. It's impossible.
LISTER: The U.N., which invested so much in bringing peace to Congo, is now itself under attack. Its base in Goma, the main town, attacked by furious locals for not protecting them.
One harassed U.N. official complains, we have a mandate we're not capable of changing it. The United Nations can't even deliver aid to the 1 million people who need it.
RON REDMOND, SPOKESMAN, U.N. HIGH COMM. FOR REFUGEES: We simply cannot send teams out into the countryside. There's too much fighting going on. It's too Dangerous. It's anarchy.
LISTER: After Darfur, this could become another African catastrophe. And Congo knows catastrophe. One aid agency reported last year, that 45,000 people a month were dying from war-related causes, most of them in this area. Without international intervention, that number may soon need revising.
Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to talk to a human rights watcher in London, in just a second. But first, pictures coming in from our affiliate, KOMO, out of Seattle, Washington. Apparently there's been a security breach here at Sea-Tac Airport. And it's in lockdown.
The security breach forced officials there to place the entire facility on lockdown. This is according to the Transportation Security Administration. TSA spokesperson coming forward and telling us about this. Now, the details of the breach, we're not quite sure sure. Not immediately known. We know that investigators right now are reviewing security tapes. Planes that already left the gates were being allowed to take off. All of their flights though, are being held.
So, this is video prior to the details you're getting about the security breach. But, we're going to get as much information as possible and bring it to you as we get it.
Now let's get back to the Congo and this firsthand report on what's happening there. You saw the piece. But Anneke Van Woudenberg is a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch in London. She's just returned from the Congo.
And Anneke, I guess you just got back from Goma. Why don't you describe what the situation was when you left.
ANNEKE VAN WOUDENBERG, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, the situation has been increasingly serious over the past eight weeks. Heavy combat restarted in late August, between government troops and the soldiers of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
And it has been creeping ever closer to the capital town of Goma. And, of course, yesterday the rebels arrived nearly at the gates of Goma. And I have to say, people are confused. They are scared. They are frightened. They don't know where to run, where is it safe, if Goma, perhaps, falls into the hands of the rebels.
Last night was a very difficult night for the citizens of Goma. We have documented that more than 20 people were killed in the town itself. That was not due to the rebels, but actually due to government soldiers who were looting, ransacking the town and, of course, trying to get vehicles and motorcycles to flee. So I have to say this is a growing humanitarian catastrophe.
PHILLIPS: So Anneke, can you even say if the Congolese army or Nkunda and rebel forces, either side it sounds like they're both pillaging and even killing. And I'm even reading reports of raping the people in these villages.
So, when it comes down to it, is this about egos and going at each other for control and for political influence versus even caring about the people or the humanitarian crisis?
WOUDENBERG: Well, look. What is certainly true is that all sides have committed really horrible human rights abuses against the local population.
In fact, every time the two sides fight, it seems that it's the civilians who are caught in the middle. We have been documenting now for the past 12 months, the killings of civilians, sometimes horrific killings including killings of children, of women, civilians caught in the combat zones, who've just been unable to flee in time.
But also increasingly, of course, the use of rape. And this was something that, again, happened last night in Goma. We had one case of a man who was killed after he watched three members, three female members of his family first being raped. The use of rape has just been one of these horrific curses that continues to go on. And of course, it's the women and girls of eastern Congo who are really paying the price.
PHILLIPS: And you know, the pictures of the children, you see various U.N. peacekeeping troops come in and interact with the kids. They're looking for any type of hope. And then there was one picture in particular that totally caught my attention of these two kids, this abandoned school, in Kibatsu (ph). And they're cooking in this classroom that's completely been destroyed. You look at their faces. You know, you just -- it's so hard to understand how these soldiers can do this to these children. They suffer the most.
What needs to be done? I mean, what type of intervention, you've been there a number of times, needs to happen with regard to the U.S., or other countries?
WOUDENBERG: Well, I wish there was a magic bullet and, of course, there isn't. What is desperately needed, of course, over the next coming days and weeks is that the United Nations peacekeepers, whose job it is to protect civilians and who are thinly stretched on the ground, they need to be supported.
Two months ago the head the U.N.'s peacekeepers said he needed more troops. That call fell on deaf ears. I hope those ears will be unblocked over the coming days and that indeed, more troops will be going to eastern Congo, because it's needed.
But, also, increased diplomatic pressure, of course, needs to be put on both the governments of Congo and of neighboring Rwanda. It is vital that those two countries both stop supporting each others enemies. The rebel leader recruits many of his fighters inside Rwanda, and the Congolese government continues to hook up with individuals who are, some of whom are responsible for the genocide in Rwanda, in order to fight the rebels.
Until both of those two things stop, I don't think there's going to be peace in eastern Congo.
PHILLIPS: Points well made. Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher with the Human Rights Watch there in London. You do great work, Anneke. Thank you so much.
WOUDENBERG: Thank you. PHILLIPS: And a reminder. You can read much more about the terrible situation in Congo at our Impact Your World web site. Just go to CNN.com/impact.
And they meet all the legal requirements to vote but their ballots are being questioned. A look at some Californians with disabilities and why one party leader is questioning their votes.
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PHILLIPS: Well, a missing teacher, an abandoned car, a devastating husband. All of it staged according to Long Island police. They've confirmed that the body found yesterday is Leah Walsh. And today, her husband, William, was ordered held without bail on second degree murder charges. All week he had made emotional pleas for his wife's safe return. But police now say Walsh strangled Leah Sunday, after a fight and faked the disappearance.
Same caliber, same brand of bullets. Chicago police are waiting to see if a gun found yesterday was used to kill three relatives of actress Jennifer Hudson. Preliminary test results should be in this afternoon. The gun turned up in a vacant lot, just a block away from where the body of Julian King was actually found. Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, her mom and brother all shot to death. Police have questioned the actress' brother-in-law. He's in custody on a parole violation.
And another day, another child abandoned in Nebraska. 17 year- old boy is the 24th minor dropped off under the state's safe haven law. Hours earlier, Nebraska's governor called a special session of the legislature so the law could be changed. Every other state limits safe haven to infants. But, Nebraska's law is worded differently. Most of the 24 kids abandoned, have been teenagers, some of them driven in from out of state. Well, next hour, we're going to talk with a Nebraska state senator about these latest developments.
She hasn't missed a chance to vote for president in 80 years. And she's keeping ready -- or, getting ready rather, to keep her record going. We're going to meet a 101-year-old Indiana woman who has advice for voters across the country.
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Well, it seems like the same tragic road that we've been down so many times before, reporting on it as well. Government troops and rebel forces battling it out in the Congo. And innocent civilians caught in the deadly crossfire everyday. Meanwhile, the U.N. and the rest of the world, paralyzed by inaction and indecision.
On the phone with us right now, rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, joining us from the Congo, in the midst of the fighting that's taking place.
General, let me just ask you right now, where are things stand and what you're willing to do to try and stop to violence right now between you and the Congolese army?
General, can you hear me? General Nkunda, are you able to hear me?
LAURENT NKUNDA, REBEL LEADER IN THE D.R. CONGO: Yes, I am hearing you. Are you getting me, also?
PHILLIPS: You can hear me now? OK. You are live on CNN now, sir.
I'll back up just a little bit now that we know we have good communications. I want to ask you what you are doing right now, what you are willing to do to end the violence and the battle that's going on between you and the Congolese government.
NKUNDA: Yes. We offered a ceasefire. We are waiting to the response of the government. We offered also, a humanitarian corridor. We are waiting to the response of the monarch in the U.N. forces.
Now, what I can say, I'm --
PHILLIPS: All right. It looks like we lost the general. As you can imagine, it is hard --
NKUNDA: Are you getting me, please?
PHILLIPS: There we go. I have you now. Are you on a cell phone, General?
NKUNDA: Hello?
PHILLIPS: Are you with me, General?
NKUNDA: Yes, I'm getting you. But I don't know how you are not getting me, please.
PHILLIPS: I do have you now. We do have a connection. You were telling me that you are agreed to a ceasefire at this point. That's correct? And you are agreeing --
NKUNDA: Yes, yes.
PHILLIPS: -- to a humanitarian corridor. You want to allow aid to get into these people and these refugees at this point, correct?
NKUNDA: Yes, correct. Yes, yes, yes.
PHILLIPS: And have you heard from the Congolese government?
NKUNDA: Yes, we heard and we are expecting our ceasefire and the offer of a corridor. We are waiting for the response from the government from and from monarch, the U.N. forces, OK?
PHILLIPS: And tell me, you hope obviously to sit down -- well, let me ask you this. You want to sit down with members of the Congolese government and do you actually want to structure some type of agreement to where both sides will stop this fighting, put the arms down and let these people get back into their homes and into their villages without feeling threatened by either side? NKUNDA: Yes, of course, of course. We want to have a mediator so that we can discuss political issues with the government. But, in a priority, from tomorrow, I wanted to help -- help from monarchs so that we can get back and (INAUDIBLE) displaced people. But for the discussion that it was the government and we wanted a mediator. A neutral mediator.
PHILLIPS: Now, General, I know that you have accused the Congolese government of failing to protect the Tutsi tribe from the Rwanda Hutu militia. I think that is clear, you have made that statement --
NKUNDA: Yes, hello?
PHILLIPS: Are you still with me?
NKUNDA: Hello? Now, today, the threat is a national threat. Because the government forces are walking hand-to-hand with the genocide (INAUDIBLE) from Rwanda. This (INAUDIBLE)> It's not acceptable. We have to separate our forces, the national forces with these genociders. If not, the government will have betrayed the people and we cannot accept such kind of government.
PHILLIPS: General Laurent Nkunda. We will follow up, in indeed those talks happen. We appreciate your time. We will follow up, if indeed the rebels and the Congolese government sit down and try and develop a plan to where those battles there can stop in the Congo. And the up to 200,000 people that are displaced right now, are just struggling to get something to eat and some place to live without feeling threatened for their life. We'll stay on top of this story, of course.
Well, they meet all the requirements to vote, but their ballots are being questioned. A look at some Californians with disabilities and why one party leader is questioning their votes.
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