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Florida Senate Debate; Cholera Death Rise in Haiti; Battling Human Traffickers; 21-Day Money Diet; Countdown to Election Day: GOP Confident, Democrats Not Giving Up; Three New Music Video Games; Reid Says He's Confident in Race Against Angle; Brown Widens Lead in California Governor's Race; Senate Debate in Alaska Tonight; Women Voters Maybe the Key to Democrats; Pumpkin Pie Facts and Fears

Aired October 24, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Going on a financial fast. For 21 days, only essentials allowed. Could you do it? We'll talk to someone who tried it. Was it mission accomplished? Straight ahead.

Two new movies taking on the topic of life after death, plus a horror flick just in time for Halloween. Our film critics weighs in at 4:00 Eastern.

And then at 5:00, sticker shock. Health care costs are about to soar for millions of you, a whopping 14 percent for some plans. We'll tell you why and give you tips to keep the costs down.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We start with politics. With just nine days left until the midterm elections, former president Bill Clinton is busy this hour. He's at a rally in Michigan for 27-term Congressman John Dingell. Tonight he has an event in Minnesota. There's also a big debate tonight in Alaska, where Tea Party favorite Joe Miller is neck and neck with write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski.

And the three men fighting it out in the Florida Senate race faced off in a debate earlier today right here on CNN. The economy and tax cuts were a big point of contention, but it didn't stop there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: I think that their votes are going to be there to extend this. The only thing standing in the way of this is the stubbornness of the White House and the liberal leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

CANDY CROWLEY, MODERATOR: Well, isn't that's what's wrong with Washington, is that the White House thinks you're stubborn and you think they're stubborn?

RUBIO: Well, I don't think the White House is just stubborn. So do other Democrats who have now signed -- you have five Senate Democrats saying we have got to vote on this thing and extend -- so that the taxes are extended for everybody. It's not me just saying that.

(CROSSTALK)

KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: Adam, Adam, Adam, let me just say this. Let me just say this. Let me just say this.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (I), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: We've had six years of this kind of bickering back and forth, not being able to figure out what to do, ideological arguments without commonsense compromising to do what's right for the people. You are seeing it right here, right now. That's why I'm running as an Independent, is to give the people of Florida a choice.

MEEK: Please. Let me just say this --

(APPLAUSE)

MEEK: Let me just say this. Let me say this. All right, we know why the governor is running as an Independent, because he couldn't beat Mario Rubio. OK? Let's just put it that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Senior Political Editor Mark Preston is live for us from Tampa, Florida.

So, Mark, how did Crist defend his party switch after that exchange?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Fred, it drew laughter, as you heard from the audience right there. Look, Charlie Crist left the Republican primary after he realized he wasn't going to be able to defeat Marco Rubio. And Kendrick Meek is absolutely correct when he made that charge there in our debate just a few hours ago here on the campus of the University of South Florida.

Now, Charlie Crist claims that he would have left the party anyway. He said that the Republican Party is becoming too extreme, and he's somebody who is a consensus builder, someone who believes in compromise. And, you know, Charlie Crist tried to make that argument, but we should point out the fact is right now he is losing right now in the polls when you look at the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. He is down 14 points right now to Marco Rubio.

So, he has a lot of ground to gain, Fred. And some would say that he was trying to make some excuses today.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's interesting, because there were other exchanges where Marco Rubio was accusing Charlie Crist of kind of flip-flopping on a number of issues, saying in some circles, he still would rely on the Republican platform. In others, he wanted to stick with the label of "Independent."

So, is Charlie Crist having a hard time in the form of identity? Does he have an identity crisis right now?

PRESTON: You know, Fred, he does have an identity crisis, right? Because on Election Day -- and we already have early voting here, right now in Florida -- Democrats, by and large, are voting Democrat, Republicans are going to vote Republican.

You know, I was looking deep into our poll just to see where the support is for every one of these candidates. Marco Rubio is defeating Charlie Crist when it comes to the Independent vote. So, Charlie Crist no longer has the get-out-the-vote operation that's afforded candidates when they are their party's nominee, he's running an Independent bid. And really, what he's hoping is that his years as governor has enough good will for voters to send him to Washington.

Again, if you look at our poll and if you look at "The St. Petersburg's Times" poll today, he is down double digits. So, if he is to win, he has a long road ahead of him -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And at the same time, Kendrick Meek, in that last exchange, we saw him almost kind of defending or taking the side of Marco Rubio by saying to Charlie Crist that, you know, he couldn't beat him in the primary.

So who's side is he on, really?

PRESTON: Well, you know, Charlie Crist, Fred, has proven to be such a thorn in the side to Kendrick Meek, because what's happening is Charlie Crist is siphoning away Democratic votes from Kendrick Meek. So, if you were to take away the support that Charlie Crist has gotten from Democrats and add it to Kendrick Meek's total, then Kendrick Meek would be a lot closer to Marco Rubio just about a week out. But if you look at the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, look, Meek right now is down 26 points to Marco Rubio.

You know, that might just be way too much for him to make up at this point. So if he had Charlie Crist's support, or at least the Democratic supporters, perhaps some of these moderate Democratic supporters who are backing Charlie Crist, Kendrick Meek would be a lot better off. So, I think that's been a big level of frustration, Fred, for Kendrick Meek, you know, somebody who fought for his Democratic nomination and, of course, at this point is down 26 points.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we'll see you again in the 4:00 Eastern hour. We're going to talk about a disruption from a heckler during that debate and what that means, as well.

All straight ahead.

Thanks so much, Mark. Appreciate it.

And tomorrow night the focus stays on Florida with the gubernatorial debate. Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Alex Sink are neck and neck in the polls. Chief National Correspondent John King moderates their debate Monday night, 7:00 p.m., on "JOHN KING USA," only on CNN.

Women for sale. A store front in Israel is using shock value to make a point about human trafficking, and it's not the only country battling this problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The death toll rises across Haiti from cholera. It has now killed more than 250 people.

Health authorities also say they are very worried after five cases of cholera are confirmed in Haiti's capital. The outbreak is centered about an hour north of Port-au-Prince and St. Marc.

Our Paula Newton is there.

And the death toll, indeed, is climbing, and there are cases that have reached Port-au-Prince -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alarming for many officials here.

I am at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc's. And behind me, still scenes of chaos, unfortunately, Fred.

I can tell you, outside these gates, people continually come every hour. They are hunched over vomiting. They have diarrhea. Some people already have been sick for two or three days. They come here to get care, and every hour that level of care gets better and better.

If we go back to those death cases though, you know, I was hearing touring the hospital with members of the CDC back home, and they were saying to me that the death rate for this outbreak is going down. So that is positive.

The problem, Fred, is that to try and contain his kind of epidemic, this kind of an outbreak, is going to be very difficult. The sanitary conditions were already not very high. And in Port-au-Prince, where you have upwards of a million people just living in tents in that city, shoulder to shoulder, it will be a huge challenge. And right now the U.S. government, aid groups and the U.N. are mobilizing to try and help the Haitian government really get a handle on this.

WHITFIELD: So, Paula, yesterday, when I spoke with a representative with the U.N., they talked about how many people there don't even know how to identify cholera. So, what kind of word or instruction or list of symptoms is being conveyed to people there in Haiti so that they can identify their symptoms and be able to get the proper help?

NEWTON: The symptoms are, of course, things that are very common here in Haiti, which is diarrhea and vomiting. The point is people need to judge the severity of that. And sometimes when they come to the gates of this hospital, it's been already too late, as you can see, for those 253 people.

(INAUDIBLE) in 50 years, so the public information -- we've been hearing it on the loud speakers here, even -- is wash your hands. Watch where you are going to the washroom, and then wash your hands.

Do not drink any water or eat any food that you feel may be contaminated. But you can imagine that's so much easier said than done.

And Fred, the images here in the hospital have been heartbreaking. You have mothers, and you can tell their babies continue to dehydrate by the hour. They are in pain. (INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Clearly, we're having a signal problem there, but you get the gist of it, the problem there with cholera in Haiti. Our Paula Newton reporting there from St. Marc, which is hit the hardest thus far.

Now to Israel, where a shocking window display is calling attention to a worldwide problem -- human trafficking. This is Tel Aviv, where activists are putting women up for sale to draw attention to the growing problem of human trafficking. This is a window display in a shopping mall where the women on sale actually have price tags.

Well, human trafficking is not just a problem in Israel. Right here in this country, in Kansas City this month, a man pleaded guilty in a modern day slavery scheme involving foreign laborers. In Miami, a woman was sentenced in a human smuggling case. And then in Tampa, a man was sentenced for advertising a 14-year-old girl for sex on Craigslist.

So, back to that Tel Aviv window now. The display is created by lawyer Ori Keidar. He came up with the idea to help raise awareness, at the very least.

He's joining us right now on the phone.

So, you are trying to raise awareness. At the same time, you're also hoping to help stop the problem.

Why was this the method that you wanted to take?

ORI KEIDAR, TASK FORCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Well, the method we are seeking is to say no to clients, to make clients of prostitution considered criminal offense. And in that way, to lower the demand for prostitution and hopefully lower the supply, as well.

WHITFIELD: So, why here, why Tel Aviv, why Israel? Why do you feel that the problem is so pervasive, that people need to see this kind of shock value in this way of displaying public awareness?

KEIDAR: In Israel, in the last decade, there was a huge surge of trafficked women into Israel in the most horrible terms from the former Soviet Union, mostly. And it came to a point where, actually, the Israeli population, or the public, felt that it was OK to take -- to abuse women, foreign women that were actually being slaves. They were kidnapped and forced to have sex, and then made drug-addicted, and were actually sex slaves for every matter.

And so, the public in Israel felt it was -- it's becoming OK. And we think we have to shock the public to see that this is not OK. So there's the shop.

WHITFIELD: And so, what's the reaction been like?

KEIDAR: The reactions were amazing. People were, you know, just holding their stomachs and saying this is so strong, this is so -- you know, we can actually feel it, we feel what it's like, because it's all over in the streets, but people look the other way. But now, you know, when you see it in the middle of a shopping mall, beneath all the beautiful stores, and you see those actresses with bruises and, of course, makeup, people just say, whoa, this is not what we thought.

WHITFIELD: And how do you suppose this display will help in the prosecution of people who are actively trafficking other people?

KEIDAR: The problem we're facing is that the government thinks maybe it won't be so popular to go after the clients. And we're trying to show them that the public are with us, that people see this and say, this must be stopped.

So, we want to show Israel, we want to show the Israeli government that the public thinks that it is time to do something that is much more extreme than just, you know, saying this is wrong. We have to do -- go beyond that point.

WHITFIELD: And you're calling attention particularly to women and children because, apparently, 80 percent of those that are trafficked are women and children?

KEIDAR: Yes. Mostly women in Israel in the sex industry, and the numbers were -- even in global aspect are high in Israel. So, we think this is a problem that people should be aware of.

Of course, local prostitution is also a grave problem, because, you know, once the public is starting to demand sex -- paid sex, there's no stopping. And this will take a lot of education and a lot of enforcing.

WHITFIELD: Ori Keidar, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate that.

KEIDAR: You're welcome. Good evening.

WHITFIELD: All right. Back to this country now. Parts of the U.S. getting ready for a big storm. We'll check in with Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Severe Weather Center up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: OK. How about this? You want to lose weight? You go on a diet. You want to lose debt? Well, you put your money -- or at least your spending on a diet, and that means cutting out some of your favorite things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN SUTTON, WENT ON FINANCIAL DIET: Retail, clothing, and eating out, that's where a lot of my money goes to.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Not anymore, right? This single mom went on a 21-day financial fast.

Next, we find out if she actually stuck to the plan and if she did get results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This won't be any ordinary week on Wall Street. The market is about to get hit by a bevy of financial reports that could make even the most seasoned investors' heads spin.

On Monday and Tuesday, two key housing reports are out. Then on Wednesday, the Commerce Department releases orders for durable goods and new home sales figures for September. And Thursday brings jobless claims numbers. And the week wraps up with the first reading on the third quarter GDP growth.

So, if you are buried in debt, one financial expert recommends a three-week financial fast. No buying of lattes, no eating out, no window shopping, even.

Finance columnist Michelle Singletary also author of "The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom." Singletary recently made a house call to help a single mom in Georgia get started.

Our Kyra Phillips has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUTTON: Retail, clothing, and eating out, that's where a lot of my money goes to.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan Sutton is like many Americans. She works hard for her money and feels like she should be able to splurge a little on herself. But during a tough economy, like other Americans, she also knows she should be putting away more money for savings and paying off her credit card.

SUTTON: Hi.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, FINANCIAL EXPERT: Hi. How are you? I'm Michelle Singletary.

SUTTON: Nice to meet you. Ryan Sutton.

PHILLIPS: That's where author Michelle Singletary says she can help. In her latest book, "The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom," she says anyone can get on the road to debt freedom, and it starts with three weeks of financial fasting.

SINGLETARY: I want you to remove yourself from places and things that make you spend, and spend that 21 days concentrating on, "What do I want to do with my money?"

PHILLIPS: For three weeks, Ryan is limited to spending on essentials only, like food and gas.

SUTTON: That first week, really frustrated. I was going through withdrawal. I wanted to go shopping, I wanted to prepare for my homecoming. I couldn't get my hair done.

SINGLETARY: With a pre-planned trip to her college for homecoming, Ryan finds the money diet hard to stick with.

SUTTON: I got to the airport and noticed that I had left my debit card. I was livid. I didn't know what to do. I said I'm going to homecoming and I don't have my card. But, guess what, I wasn't supposed to spend any money anyway.

SINGLETARY: After two weeks, she says she begins to feel withdrawal symptoms.

SUTTON: Day 14 is here and it is -- it's been a challenge. I even experienced like the stages of death and dying, where I began to -- I became depressed. I became angry.

SINGLETARY: But she stays committed and nears the end of the fast. And as the single parent of an active 10-year-old, she gains a new perspective on her money.

SUTTON: It's making me notice I spend way too much money eating out. Kind of felt foolish about the money that I had been spending, because it wasn't necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Ryan Sutton said the first week was the most challenging, but once she committed herself to spending only on essentials, it got easier. I sat down with her about the lessons learned and how she is hoping to take this financial fast beyond 21 days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN SUTTON, WENT ON "FINANCIAL FAST": Definitely has shown me that I can manage my money a lot better, not spending my money unnecessarily, just on a whim.

I don't feel like cooking tonight, let's run by the restaurant and go sit down and eat. You know, put it towards some of the things that we talked about in the beginning, as far as, you know, my son's college, retirement and just emergency funds. So, it's just smarter to do so.

WHITFIELD: So, do you see yourself instituting these disciplines now for long term? I mean, you talked to Michelle Singletary and as you describe it, she's hard core.

SUTTON: She is.

WHITFIELD: She wants this to be a life habit of not spending unnecessarily. Would you be able to do that? SUTTON: You know, I definitely will take some things from the book, but to live this way for the rest of my life, no way.

WHITFIELD: In terms of you've got to have some fast food in there and get your hair done. Maybe you can negotiate that would be a necessity getting the hair done on a regular basis.

SUTTON: Definitely, definitely that. You know, you want to buy yourself something nice every now and then. I mentioned to her that, you know, you work hard and want to play hard.

But she talks about entitlement in her book and feeling as if, you know, where you feel as if you are entitle to these things and really you should be being a good steward of your money, but --

WHITFIELD: So, how did she change your thinking on rewarding yourself that rewarding yourself doesn't have to mean in material wealth or material goods but, instead, you're rewarding yourself by not spending, not releasing --

SUTTON: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- all that money you have earned.

SUTTON: Right. Being a good steward of your money makes, it just makes more sense to plan for your future instead of just - you know, living every moment for today.

Yes, you want to enjoy your life now and say, I worked hard all week. You know, Friday I'm going to spend and do whatever I want to do with my money, but it just really makes a lot of sense to just say, you know what, I have to save for my future.

WHITFIELD: So these are the things you spent money on. These are not things that are that foreign to most people. You, you know, would eat out for breakfast on your way to work three times out of the week.

Maybe eat out to lunch or splurge of a $15 per meal two or three times, $6 on other days for lunch, would get your hair done, you'd get your nails done and if there was a special occasion you might plan for that getting a new outfit, et cetera.

SUTTON: Right.

WHITFIELD: Of these things, what are you going to rule out, what might you keep?

SUTTON: I'm definitely going to keep no, you know, eating out, as far as the lunches every day. I'm not going to eat out every day for lunch.

WHITFIELD: You are going to brown bag it.

SUTTON: I am. I am. You know, I won't say that I'll be 100 percent for six months straight, or whatever, but I'm definitely for the going to just every day go out to eat. It's really wasting money especially when you have food in your refrigerator, bring some leftovers from whatever you've cooked.

WHITFIELD: What do you say to people that need to get on board with the plan that you adapted?

SUTTON: I would say try to fast, because I think it really makes you realize how you are handling your money. I think that I've mishandled quite a bit.

I think that if anyone else reads the book and takes the challenge to do the 21-day fast, that they'll see that, you know, there are some things that, you know, they can improve on, as far as life strategies to save money.

WHITFIELD: Ryan Sutton, thanks so much. Thanks for being the guinea pig in this project, as well, committing yourself and being on board with Michelle Singletary's mission here.

SUTTON: Thank you. Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: OK, you heard she did go to the home homecoming and spent no money, she ate mostly at her parents' house she said and saved a lot. The bottom line on Ryan Sutton's financial fast, 21 days, she saved more than $400. Pretty impressive stuff, just over 21 days. Imagine if you go further for longer how much you'll save.

All right, so we know how the stock markets can move up or down depending on what the president says or does. But on what the first lady wears? A professor at New York University School of Business has actually been studying that.

David Yurmac kept track of what Michelle Obama wore in her public appearances for a year. Then, he studied the stock prices of companies that actually made those outfits.

So, his analysis, more often than not those companies saw a big boost in stock prices that sometimes lasted for weeks.

With the election just nine days away, Republicans are increasingly confident, Democrats say not so fast. The chairman of the two parties were on television today offering startling different views of what the voters are actually thinking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STEELE, REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: There is a vibration out here that is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've been on my Fire Pelosi Bus since September 15th. We get off the bus on October 30th.

And in that time, what I've seen is a consistent groundswell of excitements and energy towards this election. The voters are tired of the fact the federal government has not listened to them over the past two years, has moved in its own direction at its own rhythm and they want to pull back on that. TIM KAINE, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: We saved the auto industry, we saved the financial sector. We passed a bill enabling women to get equal pay for equal work and done history health care reform among many other bills.

So we feel very good about the accomplishments and that's why I think you see the polls closing. People understand that. They also understand what choice they have with the Republicans who have stood in the way of all these accomplishments and people don't want to go backward, they want to go forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Republicans need to pick up 10 seats to regain a majority in the Senate, still considered an uphill battle at this point. They need to pick up 39 seats to take control of the House.

All right. Three new video games may strike a chord with music lovers in your family. Technology expert Marc Saltzman joins us live with a rocking review, yes, he's getting warmed up right now, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So, three new music video games just in time for the holidays, we'll check them out straight ahead, but first a look at our top stories.

An intense effort is under way in Haiti to stop the spread of cholera. An outbreak has killed at least 253 people, it started north of Port-Au-Prince, but several cases have now been confirmed in the capital. Authorities say they're worried it could spread across the country.

And there's no backing down by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his decision to ban private security firms. The move is not popular with the United States and NATO. They say the ban will leave international development organizations without adequate protection.

And two little bundles of joy for Celine Dion and her husband. The singer has given birth to twin boys. Doctors say they are premature, but healthy. Dion and her husband also have a 9-year-old son. Congrats to them.

OK, so, music always big. Big part of the holiday season. Some potential gifts may keep the music playing in your home year around. I'm not sure if you're going to like this. Joining us from Toronto, syndicated technology columnist, Marc Saltzman.

Good to see you, Marc. So you've been --

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Likewise.

WHITFIELD: You've tested driven all of these cool music and video games, three of them. Let's begin with that Rock Band III, which comes out on Tuesday, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. SALTZMAN: You got it. So this is of course the third official game in the Rock Bank series. There's also then the Beatles Rock Band and Green Day, but what's new with this sequel, this official sequel is the addition of keyboards.

It's an optional peripheral for about 80 bucks for the keyboard or can buy it with the game for 130. So, not only can you strum, drum, and sing along to the biggest rock songs over the past four decades, but now play keyboards on this two octave wireless keyboard. It is a lot of fun, of course, all new songs and all modes.

WHITFIELD: Fun.

SALTZMAN: So, it's a blast for kids and kids at heart.

WHITFIELD: Well, hopefully comes with earplugs, too, I know some parents those not participating in the game or get a little annoyed by all this music playing.

So let's talk about now hip-hop and pop and dance, we were in the little rock 'n roll kind of Genre there. Now we're moving on to something else. A little scratching.

SALTZMAN: DJ Hero 2 another sequel up on Tuesday for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. So this one is from Activision and this is, as you suggested, more geared to dance music, some hip-hop or R&B.

But what's interesting about this series is that it matches up. It challenges you to match up or mix two very different musical styles together. So you might be spinning and scratching and mixing Kanye West with Metallica of all things and it sounds great.

The mixes that Activision commissioned, they had the best deejays create these amazing mixes. There's Lady Gaga. There's like all contemporary artists, as well. They sound great. My personal favorite, Grandmaster Flash and Three Spice and Message.

WHITFIELD: Of course --

SALTZMAN: Kicking at old school. Great stuff. So this turntable, by the way, it is a hundred bucks with the game or $60 for the game itself if you have last year's turntable and they're also offering a two -- two turntables and a microphone bundle for 150 with the game and two turntables and the mikes, so good fun there for dance fans.

WHITFIELD: The accessories, that's a big holiday gift coming somebody's way. All right, so then a newcomer to the whole music game scene, Power Rig Rise of the Six-string, which actually debuted last week, right? Tell me more.

SALTZMAN: Yes. That's right. So this is for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, not for the Wii. What's unique about this new entrant in the music genre is that you get a real guitar with it.

WHITFIELD: OK because that was looking really good there. I thought this --

SALTZMAN: Yes, this is it. It's a little bit smaller than a real electric guitar, but you can play it in the game mode, where you still have those colored frets on the side and if you haven't played these games yet.

The idea is that you're pressing the right button at the correct time in order to get that virtual crowd going. If you hit too many sour notes you are booed off stage. So that still remains the same.

But with the flick of a switch, this is a real electric guitar you can plug into an amp. You plug it into any amplifier and can really play guitar for real. It would be cool if the game had lessons to learn how to play guitar.

It does not, but is still a nice sort of evolutionary advantage like the genre has sort of been stale for a while, the music genre. So it's nice to see someone taking a chance by adding something new.

WHITFIELD: Nice. All right, well, something tells me regardless of the lesson plan that may or may not be available, all this stuff, seems to me there will be a lot of budding musicians as a result.

Marc Saltzman, thanks so much from Toronto. Appreciate it.

SALTZMAN: Thanks for having me, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We should have had you carry a tune or something to break, you know?

SALTZMAN: You wouldn't want to hear that.

WHITFIELD: All right, next time. We'll let you practice a little.

SALTZMAN: All right.

WHITFIELD: All right, politics straight ahead. Harry Reid feeling confident and the movement in the California's governor's race is something, too, we'll talk about. Your CNN political update next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hard to believe just nine days until the midterm elections so we want to get you caught up with developing stories from the campaign trail. Here's what's crossing right now on the CNN Political Ticker.

Harry Reid says he is confident heading into the final week of campaigning in Nevada. He told CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry that he is happy that friends like President Obama and Vice President Biden have been in town to lend their support. He says their interest is not a sign that he is in trouble. First lady Michelle Obama will be there on election eve.

Jerry brown is widening his lead in the race for California governor. A new poll from USC and the "Los Angeles Times" shows Brown sporting a 13-point lead over Republican Meg Whitman. His biggest boost may be coming from Hispanic voters who favor Brown over Whitman by 36 percent.

And Alaskans will get to hear from their Senate candidates during a debate tonight, right now, it looks like a battle between Republicans Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski, the write-in candidate. The incumbent, Murkowski, is running as a write-in very confidently after losing in the primary to Miller. Miller is backed by the Tea Party Movement.

So, just nine days left and both parties are going into overdrive to sway undecided voters, but they're failing to fire up many women who are noticeably unenthusiastic this election season. And that could spell trouble for Democrats. CNN's Samantha Hayes explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Following politics is a little like fashion. As a candidate, you have to be able to spot the trend.

CARLA LIGGON MILLER: So worn down with your regular routine in life that you, I don't know, once you get home the last thing I want to do sometime is catch up on the political world.

HAYES: While the political world is gearing up for the midterm elections, less than two weeks away, CNN polling director, Keating Holland says there's a change in women.

KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: We haven't seen this in the past, but this year, it does look like women are less enthusiastic about voting than men are.

HAYES (on camera): This is bad news for Democrats who generally enjoy more support from women. While more women approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing, 48 percent to men at 42 percent, it's men who generally vote Republican, who are extremely enthusiastic about the upcoming election, 15 points higher than women.

HOLLAND: Alex Sink who's running for governor in Florida is winning by like among women by four points, five points. That should be 15, 20 points.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When my grandmother was a secretary at a bank -

HAYES (voice-over): In a series of west coast campaign stops last week, the president tried to energize female voters for female incumbents like Senators Barbara Boxer and Patty Murray. The problem, according to Stephanie Schriock at Emily's List, a political action committee that promotes pro-choice female candidates is simply timing.

STEPHANIE SCHRIOCK, PRESIDENT, EMILY'S LIST: Part of it is that Democratic women and independent women tend to make decisions late in the game. And again, it goes back to the busy lives that we're leading that this isn't kind of a nationalized race.

HAYES: Designer and entrepreneur, Jewell Green supports the president and is urging women to vote for Democrats.

JEWELL GREEN, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: I think they are doing a good job of at least trying to get everybody about business and entrepreneurship again and giving you that push you need.

HAYES: If they are going to hold on to Congress, Democrats hope that's a trend that quickly catches on. Samantha Hayes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, unto other important things like dessert. Thanksgiving dessert in particular, is it in jeopardy again this year? The all-important pumpkin outlook next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Next weekend and really all week maybe Jack-o- lanterns will be glowing on doorsteps across the country, but soon after Halloween comes Thanksgiving and people are worried there won't be enough pumpkins left over for those pies. Our Jacqui Jeras has been investigating. I like this assignment because I love all things pumpkin.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. I do, too. The pumpkins that are used for pumpkin pie are different than the jack-o-lanterns.

WHITFIELD: I didn't know that.

JERAS: Yes, absolutely. What is Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, right? Everybody loves it. Millions of Americans, literally, enjoy the sweet treat every holiday season, but bad weather, to0 much rain and a higher demand is leaving the grocery stores with rather thin shelves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: While Linus was in search of the great pumpkin, last year many Americans were in search of the pumpkin pie. The great pumpkin shortage of 2009 happened because these fields in central Illinois were so wet that pumpkins were literally rotting on the vine.

Now that a new season approaches, Americans want to know, will these pumpkins here be enough to get them through the holiday season?

(voice-over): Welcome to Morton, Illinois. It's a self- proclaimed pumpkin capital of the world and home to Libby's pumpkin. Ninety five percent of all canned pumpkin in the U.S. is produced here.

Phil Friedrich has been growing pumpkins on this land for 32 years and says the last three have been among the worst. PHIL FRIEDRICH, PUMPKIN FARMER: Every two other three days, I mean, were you getting rain, fighting mud. It just, it was relentless. It just wouldn't let up on us.

JERAS: This year, the heat has been good for the crop, but there are other obstacles creating less than ideal yields.

(on camera): What else are you dealing with, disease?

FRIEDRICH: Yes. Yes. That's -- that's probably the main enemy we've had the last few years on this crop is the disease and it is because of the excess water.

JERAS (voice-over): Harvest season is in full swing and things are looking up. Yields are pushing 85 percent and pickers are in the fields 24 hours a day to bring it in.

(on camera): Once the pumpkins are picked, the race is on to keep them fresh and get them processed. It takes less than 24 hours for the pumpkins to leave the field and get put in a can.

(voice-over): Three years of bad harvest have consumers in a pumpkin panic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're actually were six cans left.

JERAS: The brand manager for Libby's says those six cans were all that was left just before Thanksgiving of '09, this has created pumpkin hoarders who snatch up the product in bunches and are selling it for major markups on eBay.

(on camera): Lunde says that 50 million pies are made every year. So, should you purchase the pricey pumpkin or risk an empty oven?

EVAN LUNDE, LIBBY'S PUMPKIN: We obviously, as you can see around you, have quite a bit right now. This is only one of our locations and we will continue to pack for probably another three or four weeks.

And our plan, if everything goes well, is that we will not only be able to supply our customers and consumers' needs for these this baking season, but also into 2011, as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: So, pack the patience, not the pantry basically the message.

WHITFIELD: With the pumpkin.

JERAS: So, it appears there's going to be enough. One of the problems is that pumpkin is one of those super foods as you call it, Fredricka. So people are not just making pumpkin pies with is, but pumpkin bread.

WHITFIELD: Pumpkin soup. JERAS: Yes, everything. They are worried people are concerned about shortage so they're buying at a greater rate than they normal would, which in and of itself could create another shortage.

WHITFIELD: That's extraordinary. I'll think differently about the pumpkin when I see it.

JERAS: I know. I was at the grocery store a week ago and there was like one can. That's all that --

WHITFIELD: Did you grab it?

JERAS: Yes, I've got three cans on my shelf and it's going to stay there until Thanksgiving.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jacqui. We'll talk more pumpkin stuff a little bit later on at 4:00 Eastern time. Thanks so much.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Coming up in the NEWSROOM one hour from now, 4:00 Eastern time, paying cash for food that leads to healthier food choices. Do you believe that?

We'll talk about that in the chat room with Jacqui. She'll be sticking around. We'll be in the sofa. "YOUR MONEY" in the meantime starts right now.