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CNN Live Today
60,000 Absentee Ballots May Have Never Reached South Florida Voters; The End of Check Floating Could Cost Consumers; Lampooning the Candidates
Aired October 28, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty minutes after the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news.
An Iraqi militant group claims that it has killed 11 Iraqi National Guard members. The group says it beheaded one of the troops and shot the other 10. The troops have been captured recently on the highway between Baghdad and Al Hillah. The militants put still images of the killings on their Web site.
Doctors will soon make a decision on whether to hospitalize ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A senior aide says that Arafat is seriously ill. One source who saw Arafat earlier today said there's a breakdown in his white blood cell count. Israel is worried his death could trigger widespread chaos in the Palestinian territory.
President Bush is hitting three states today as the presidential election draws to a mere five days away. He began his day with a rally in Saginaw, Michigan. Next stop is Dayton, Ohio. Then, on to Westlake in northern Ohio, and finally into Pennsylvania.
John Kerry hits two showdown states today. The challenger began his day in Toledo, Ohio. Then, he travels to Wisconsin. There he'll be accompanied by rocker Bruce Springsteen, who will make the return trip to Ohio for an evening rally in Columbus.
SANCHEZ: And here we go. From the say it ain't so department, as many as 60,000 absentee ballots may have never reached south Florida voters. We learned that today.
As CNN's Susan Candiotti reports, the missing ballots may force some voters to get in line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Poor Diane Willis (ph). About two weeks ago, the young mother applied for an absentee ballot to avoid this, and during a two-hour wait at the polls with her toddler in tow. But when her absentee ballot failed to show, Willis drove to the polls anyway.
DIANE WILLIS (ph): It's not perfect. But if that's what it takes in order for me to get my vote counted, then that's what I have to do.
CANDIOTTI: In Broward County, Florida, officials say about 60,000 absentee ballots were mailed out three weeks ago, and that now hundreds could be missing in action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a real concern to us as election officials.
CANDIOTTI: State and federal investigators are trying to figure out where the elusive ballots are. The largest batch was delivered to the main post office for distribution. Election officials tried to get answers from the Postal Service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They really provided no real explanation. They assured us that those ballots had actually left their facility. So, where the ballots were were really in question.
CANDIOTTI: Early voter Arthur Belau (ph) got wind of the trouble and got himself to the polls.
ARTHUR BELAU (ph): I'm not going to gamble on it. After I read in the paper today there's 60,000 ballots absentee missing, I'm not going to be waiting around.
CANDIOTTI: The U.S. Postal Service issued a statement insisting local delivery normally takes one day. Quote, "All absentee ballots -- are processed and delivered immediately. There is no backlog of absentee ballots in postal facilities."
This would be absentee voter not willing to wait another day.
(on camera): You're here today because you don't want to take any chances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my vote counted. I want to make sure I get it done. I don't want it to get lost in the mail.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): So far, there is no evidence of any crime, and no firm number of missing ballots. It does highlight one more chink in Florida's election process that already has a lot of voters on edge.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here's another story out of Florida. A man there under arrest this morning accused of trying to run down U.S. Representative Katherine Harris with his car. Harris was Florida's secretary of state and overseer of the Florida recount four years ago, as many of you recall.
Now, the driver of the car says Harris and a group of her supporters were blocking traffic Tuesday in Sarasota. Police say that 46-year-old Barry Seltzer sped toward Harris, swerved at the last minute, and then just drove off. They tracked the license plate number to Seltzer. Luckily, no one was injured.
KAGAN: All right. Now, we'll take a quick look at other legal cases making headlines this morning. Federal prosecutors having to ask the judge to set a trial date for admitted al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui. The case has been bound up in appeals for nearly two years. Prosecutors hope to get the trial underway in about the next six months. Moussaoui faces six counts of terrorism conspiracy.
In California, jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder case catch a short break. The judge sent them home for a long weekend. They'll be back in court Monday for closing arguments. The jurors will be sequestered during deliberations. Peterson is accused of killing his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son.
SANCHEZ: And singer Courtney Love could soon be singing a new tune. She's due to be arraigned next month on felony assault charges. Love's accused of attacking a woman that she found at the home of her former boyfriend Jim Barber. Love's attorney says his client was grossly overcharged.
KAGAN: A lot of people could soon find themselves in hot water and up to their ears in bounced checks. There's a new law aimed at saving banks a bundle and preventing fraud, but it could be expensive for some individuals.
Our financial correspondent Valerie Morris explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIE MORRIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The check clearing for the 21st Century Act -- called Check 21 for short -- will allow banks to go all electronic with the way they process and clear your checks.
LISA FREEMAN, CONSUMER REPORTS MONEY ANALYST: You are no longer going to receive your paper checks back in the mail from your bank. You could request what's called a substitute check, and these checks are proof -- legal proof of payment in case there's a dispute about a check that you have written.
MORRIS: Banks expect to save about $3 billion or more each year under the new system.
Denny Carreker's company provides technology for check processing.
DENNY CARREKER, CEO, CARREKER: ... the industry really has an opportunity to take advantage of digitization of the paper check to drive those costs down and to improve the services they make available to the banks.
MORRIS: The speedy check-clearing process could also help banks detect fraudulent checks sooner.
KAREN GARRETT, ATTORNEY, BRYAN CAVE LLP: If those processing times are reduced to the next day -- or even the same day, ultimately -- it's going to be much quicker to stop the fraud from happening before it even happens.
MORRIS: But the flip side is consumer advocates say the new law could mean more bounced checks. Check 21 puts the brakes on the float period, which is the window of time from when you write a check to when it's withdrawn from your account.
FREEMAN: People that live paycheck to paycheck are going to have trouble covering their rent and other bills that they get every month, because the checks that they write are going to immediately be withdrawn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Bounced check fees typically range from $15 to $30 per check. And those fees can add up very quickly. So now more than ever, you don't want to spend what you don't have and keep that checkbook balanced.
SANCHEZ: They do say that opposites attract, right?
KAGAN: Yes, they do.
SANCHEZ: Well, one couple is taking that to an entirely new level.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marriage is between a man and a woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Up next, you're going to meet a political odd couple battling out their differences on their front lawn.
SANCHEZ: And then later, doggie nine lives? Two canines stuck in a canal with a strong will to survive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.
SANCHEZ: In St. Petersburg, Florida, new respect for Chicken Little. The sky is not falling, but a piece of an aircraft was. No one was injured when the chunk of fuselage suddenly slammed into the roof of a mobile home and then just fell to the ground. The FAA is trying to find out where exactly it came from.
KAGAN: In Southern California, the state's second major storm this month kicked off some rare water spouts. This one spotted off the coast by Malibu. No one was injured.
SANCHEZ: By the way, that same flood also overwhelmed some of Los Angeles' flood channels and prompted two canine rescues. This one is a little forlorn yellow lab stranded. It was stranded in a canal inlet. Just as hypothermia began to set in , a helicopter rescue crew was able to swoop in and take the little guy to safety.
KAGAN: Those labs see the water and they want to go in.
All right, here's the part where they say opposites can attract, but can couples who share fundamental differences stay together? A Kansas City-area couple are finding a way to do just that, despite some deep political division.
Here's CNN's Keith Oppenheim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maggie McCoy is a high school guidance counselor. John Anderson runs a realty company. For a while, mutual friends have been trying to fix them up.
ANDERSON: The quote I got back, and I'm not sure was exact, but was that life's too short to date a Republican. And I...
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Did you say that?
ANDERSON: Something close to that.
MCCOY: No, that was kinder than what I said.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Somehow love conquered. These days John spends most of his time at Maggie's. They agreed each would get to put out a lawn sign, one Bush sign for John, one Kerry sign for Maggie.
Then Maggie added a single American flag to the Kerry sign.
ANDERSON: She was escalating.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): You could have decorated your own sign.
MCCOY: Right.
ANDERSON: She was escalating.
MCCOY: That's what I thought you were going to do.
ANDERSON: The rules supposedly were that we had two signs, and that was it.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The rules changed. John put a communist Chinese flag by the Kerry sign. Maggie retaliated with a keeled-over cowboy on the Bush sign.
ANDERSON: The flip-flops were next.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): A very modest investment on your part.
ANDERSON: Yes, as opposed to later investments. OK. OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Indeed, Maggie mocked him on machismo. John goaded her on goose hunting. This was real estate politics.
MCCOY: It allowed us to express our own feelings but have fun with it.
OPPENHEIM: But make no mistake; those feelings are intense. On key social issues, John and Maggie are polarized.
ANDERSON: I'm against abortion.
MCCOY: I am pro-choice.
ANDERSON: I'm for traditional marriage between a man and woman.
MCCOY: I really don't understand the argument about gay marriage.
OPPENHEIM: When it comes to fighting terrorism, where John sees leadership...
ANDERSON: The president was unique in the sense that he was prepared to defend our country.
OPPENHEIM: ... Maggie sees just the opposite.
MCCOY: I don't like the way he presents the country with all this bravado.
OPPENHEIM: In other words, despite the funny front yard, this isn't easy.
(on camera) How can you be in love and have a whole part of someone where the belief system is different from you?
MCCOY: Wow.
ANDERSON: Well, it's very difficult, and I think that you have to reach down, and hopefully it comes out with some degree of maturity.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): And sometimes immaturity. Maggie's managed to sneak a banner in the back of John's car.
ANDERSON: We've gone outside the yard obviously. We're all over town.
OPPENHEIM: He seemed to realize her mischief was just part of the sign language of this relationship.
MCCOY: I mean, I don't have to pretend to like Bush and Cheney, or anything they do, to get along with John. I just make fun of him. It works.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Healthy attitude. I think anything that has two people, whether it's disagreement, a little disagreement, is healthy.
KAGAN: Talking, humor -- humor definitely helps.
SANCHEZ: Yes, something like that.
KAGAN: Yes.
All right. Well, if you thought the presidential debates were over, just wait, there is one more.
SANCHEZ: Coming up next, poking fun at the presidential candidates. We're going to talk with "Saturday Night Live" Seth Myers and Will Forte.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: After misleading us into a war, we now found out this president doesn't even have a plan to win the peace. He doesn't. But I do.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: And what is your plan, sir?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They're not politicians, but they play them on TV, and they are so good at it, as you probably did -- do a double-take there as you watched that. Relax. We're going to show you more of those clips in just a little bit. Don't think we're interrupting those and not bringing them back.
For nearly 30 years, "Saturday Night Live's" political parody has been poking fun at the candidates, skewering the issues and exposing the foibles of our national leaders.
On election eve, "Saturday Night Live" is going to do it again with a special. It's called "The Presidential Bash 2004: The Great Debates." Now live, from New York, Seth Meyers, act of Senator John Kerry, and presidential impersonator Will Forte. Hey, thanks, guys for being with us.
SETH MEYERS, ACTOR: Thanks for having us.
WILL FORTE, ACTOR: Thanks for having us.
SANCHEZ: What's this thing going to be like? What should we expect?
MEYERS: Well, first of all let me just say it's a thrill to be on CNN. It's every young comedians dream to be on this network without murdering someone. So, thank you.
SANCHEZ: We thank you for that. But then again, you do have a rap sheet, do you not? MEYERS: The thing about the presidential bash -- it's going to be great. It's going to be a trip through history, all the great debate sketches for the last 30 years, the great impressions. It's going to be really fun.
SANCHEZ: That's great. Because you're going to do a little of the old, a little of the new, as well, right?
MEYERS: Exactly, exactly.
SANCHEZ: Seth, let's begin with you -- and we do not by having you talk, but by having your alter ego speak. This is a clip that we have. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEYERS: The fact of the matter is I have consistently supported the war in front of pro-war audiences and condemned it when speaking to groups that oppose it. That is not flip-flopping; that is pandering. And Americans deserve a president who knows the difference. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How hard is it to do Senator Kerry?
MEYERS: He was a tough nut to crack. There's not a lot that's inherently funny about the man. But I found that there's a certain like rhythm and music to the way he talks, which I like a lot. It's a beautiful song that I wouldn't recommend dancing to.
SANCHEZ: Any distinguishing characteristic? What's the one thing you immediately nailed down when they told you you were going to be doing him?
MEYERS: Well, fortunately he and I have the same incredibly handsome shaped face, so that helped.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah.
MEYERS: And just that there's such a gravitas. I mean, that's what it is with Kerry, and we tried to find fun in that. And then this summer, he started using his hands a lot, and that was fantastic because it's as if he's using his hands and they're not quite sure what he's saying.
SANCHEZ: You've got to have that thumb thing down.
Hey Will, let's show the audience now your alter ego. We've got a little clip that we prepared for them, as well. And here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS PARNELL, ACTOR: Do you have a contingency plan to restore stability in the country? FORTE: You know, of course we do, Jim. You know, we work hard. We came up with a contingency plan. You know, that's our job. And it's hard work thinking of a plan. You know, let alone two plans, you know? A regular plan and a contingency plan. You know, a lot of long hours reading documents and...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How tough was it to do the president, Will?
FORTE: It is pretty tough. I don't have an impersonation background, so it's taken a lot of work. I watch a lot of tapes. I TiVo CNN all the time and pour over there.
But it's -- you know, it's tough to get -- I still am trying to get the voice down. But I've been concentrating more on the speech patterns.
SANCHEZ: You're kind of doing him now.
MEYERS: Yeah, he is.
FORTE: We share a...
SANCHEZ: You don't have to hit me a brick.
Do you guys know that there are people in America who will probably not watch CNN or any of the other news channels and get their impressions about these two guys from you? What an awesome responsibility that is. You nervous?
MEYERS: Look, I don't think anything we do can inform how people vote. I think that the important thing is that they make up their own minds on Election Day, and that's the key. You know, just vote for them yourself.
FORTE: Yeah.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, finish him off, Will.
FORTE: Vote or die.
SANCHEZ: Good. Seth Meyers, Will Forte, "Saturday Night Live" special Monday. Thanks, guys, for being with us. We certainly appreciate it. You're funny, and we like that.
MEYERS: Thank you.
FORTE: Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: OK.
KAGAN: I just wonder, it being "Saturday Night Live," are they going to say their lines or lip-synch like Ashlee Simpson did last week?
SANCHEZ: No, I think that whole thing is like ad-libbed, right?
KAGAN: Yeah. Well, they've got to really know their lines as opposed to, you know, the tape in the background.
SANCHEZ: And still be funny.
KAGAN: Hey, you know, comedians aren't the only ones taking jabs at President Bush and John Kerry. Still to come, one Ohio woman gets a bit creative with her pumpkin cutter. We'll show you the results when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Election season and a Halloween tradition intersect. It happens in Dublin, Ohio. A local woman is carving her own niche by turning some big pumpkins into small tributes.
KAGAN: John Kerry and George W. Bush are two of the familiar faces to grace these gourds. Donald Trump's likeness is also captured in orange. Good job.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
KAGAN: Those are pumpkins?
SANCHEZ: I have absolutely no talent for that. Every time I try to carve a pumpkin, it's turned into like a ball of mush.
KAGAN: Does your wife handle that then?
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
KAGAN: OK, good. Good to know someone's in charge.
SANCHEZ: Like most things, better than me.
KAGAN: Very well.
Orelon Sidney handling the weather for us today. Hi, Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: And the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
SANCHEZ: And here's a look at what's happening right now in the news.
On the campaign trail and on the offensive, with just five days until the election, Senator John Kerry and President Bush are battling it out in the crucial swing states this morning. Mr. Kerry is stumping in Ohio; Mr. Bush is at a rally in Michigan. A campaign update is just ahead. We'll have it for you.
Now, a senior aide says Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is, quote, "seriously, seriously ill," stop quote. He says Arafat is exhausted and weak, but doctors have not been able to pinpoint the cause of the illness. They're deciding whether to take him to a hospital for treatment. We're going to get an update from our State Department correspondent. That's coming in just a little bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 28, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty minutes after the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news.
An Iraqi militant group claims that it has killed 11 Iraqi National Guard members. The group says it beheaded one of the troops and shot the other 10. The troops have been captured recently on the highway between Baghdad and Al Hillah. The militants put still images of the killings on their Web site.
Doctors will soon make a decision on whether to hospitalize ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A senior aide says that Arafat is seriously ill. One source who saw Arafat earlier today said there's a breakdown in his white blood cell count. Israel is worried his death could trigger widespread chaos in the Palestinian territory.
President Bush is hitting three states today as the presidential election draws to a mere five days away. He began his day with a rally in Saginaw, Michigan. Next stop is Dayton, Ohio. Then, on to Westlake in northern Ohio, and finally into Pennsylvania.
John Kerry hits two showdown states today. The challenger began his day in Toledo, Ohio. Then, he travels to Wisconsin. There he'll be accompanied by rocker Bruce Springsteen, who will make the return trip to Ohio for an evening rally in Columbus.
SANCHEZ: And here we go. From the say it ain't so department, as many as 60,000 absentee ballots may have never reached south Florida voters. We learned that today.
As CNN's Susan Candiotti reports, the missing ballots may force some voters to get in line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Poor Diane Willis (ph). About two weeks ago, the young mother applied for an absentee ballot to avoid this, and during a two-hour wait at the polls with her toddler in tow. But when her absentee ballot failed to show, Willis drove to the polls anyway.
DIANE WILLIS (ph): It's not perfect. But if that's what it takes in order for me to get my vote counted, then that's what I have to do.
CANDIOTTI: In Broward County, Florida, officials say about 60,000 absentee ballots were mailed out three weeks ago, and that now hundreds could be missing in action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a real concern to us as election officials.
CANDIOTTI: State and federal investigators are trying to figure out where the elusive ballots are. The largest batch was delivered to the main post office for distribution. Election officials tried to get answers from the Postal Service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They really provided no real explanation. They assured us that those ballots had actually left their facility. So, where the ballots were were really in question.
CANDIOTTI: Early voter Arthur Belau (ph) got wind of the trouble and got himself to the polls.
ARTHUR BELAU (ph): I'm not going to gamble on it. After I read in the paper today there's 60,000 ballots absentee missing, I'm not going to be waiting around.
CANDIOTTI: The U.S. Postal Service issued a statement insisting local delivery normally takes one day. Quote, "All absentee ballots -- are processed and delivered immediately. There is no backlog of absentee ballots in postal facilities."
This would be absentee voter not willing to wait another day.
(on camera): You're here today because you don't want to take any chances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my vote counted. I want to make sure I get it done. I don't want it to get lost in the mail.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): So far, there is no evidence of any crime, and no firm number of missing ballots. It does highlight one more chink in Florida's election process that already has a lot of voters on edge.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here's another story out of Florida. A man there under arrest this morning accused of trying to run down U.S. Representative Katherine Harris with his car. Harris was Florida's secretary of state and overseer of the Florida recount four years ago, as many of you recall.
Now, the driver of the car says Harris and a group of her supporters were blocking traffic Tuesday in Sarasota. Police say that 46-year-old Barry Seltzer sped toward Harris, swerved at the last minute, and then just drove off. They tracked the license plate number to Seltzer. Luckily, no one was injured.
KAGAN: All right. Now, we'll take a quick look at other legal cases making headlines this morning. Federal prosecutors having to ask the judge to set a trial date for admitted al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui. The case has been bound up in appeals for nearly two years. Prosecutors hope to get the trial underway in about the next six months. Moussaoui faces six counts of terrorism conspiracy.
In California, jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder case catch a short break. The judge sent them home for a long weekend. They'll be back in court Monday for closing arguments. The jurors will be sequestered during deliberations. Peterson is accused of killing his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son.
SANCHEZ: And singer Courtney Love could soon be singing a new tune. She's due to be arraigned next month on felony assault charges. Love's accused of attacking a woman that she found at the home of her former boyfriend Jim Barber. Love's attorney says his client was grossly overcharged.
KAGAN: A lot of people could soon find themselves in hot water and up to their ears in bounced checks. There's a new law aimed at saving banks a bundle and preventing fraud, but it could be expensive for some individuals.
Our financial correspondent Valerie Morris explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIE MORRIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The check clearing for the 21st Century Act -- called Check 21 for short -- will allow banks to go all electronic with the way they process and clear your checks.
LISA FREEMAN, CONSUMER REPORTS MONEY ANALYST: You are no longer going to receive your paper checks back in the mail from your bank. You could request what's called a substitute check, and these checks are proof -- legal proof of payment in case there's a dispute about a check that you have written.
MORRIS: Banks expect to save about $3 billion or more each year under the new system.
Denny Carreker's company provides technology for check processing.
DENNY CARREKER, CEO, CARREKER: ... the industry really has an opportunity to take advantage of digitization of the paper check to drive those costs down and to improve the services they make available to the banks.
MORRIS: The speedy check-clearing process could also help banks detect fraudulent checks sooner.
KAREN GARRETT, ATTORNEY, BRYAN CAVE LLP: If those processing times are reduced to the next day -- or even the same day, ultimately -- it's going to be much quicker to stop the fraud from happening before it even happens.
MORRIS: But the flip side is consumer advocates say the new law could mean more bounced checks. Check 21 puts the brakes on the float period, which is the window of time from when you write a check to when it's withdrawn from your account.
FREEMAN: People that live paycheck to paycheck are going to have trouble covering their rent and other bills that they get every month, because the checks that they write are going to immediately be withdrawn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Bounced check fees typically range from $15 to $30 per check. And those fees can add up very quickly. So now more than ever, you don't want to spend what you don't have and keep that checkbook balanced.
SANCHEZ: They do say that opposites attract, right?
KAGAN: Yes, they do.
SANCHEZ: Well, one couple is taking that to an entirely new level.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marriage is between a man and a woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Up next, you're going to meet a political odd couple battling out their differences on their front lawn.
SANCHEZ: And then later, doggie nine lives? Two canines stuck in a canal with a strong will to survive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.
SANCHEZ: In St. Petersburg, Florida, new respect for Chicken Little. The sky is not falling, but a piece of an aircraft was. No one was injured when the chunk of fuselage suddenly slammed into the roof of a mobile home and then just fell to the ground. The FAA is trying to find out where exactly it came from.
KAGAN: In Southern California, the state's second major storm this month kicked off some rare water spouts. This one spotted off the coast by Malibu. No one was injured.
SANCHEZ: By the way, that same flood also overwhelmed some of Los Angeles' flood channels and prompted two canine rescues. This one is a little forlorn yellow lab stranded. It was stranded in a canal inlet. Just as hypothermia began to set in , a helicopter rescue crew was able to swoop in and take the little guy to safety.
KAGAN: Those labs see the water and they want to go in.
All right, here's the part where they say opposites can attract, but can couples who share fundamental differences stay together? A Kansas City-area couple are finding a way to do just that, despite some deep political division.
Here's CNN's Keith Oppenheim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maggie McCoy is a high school guidance counselor. John Anderson runs a realty company. For a while, mutual friends have been trying to fix them up.
ANDERSON: The quote I got back, and I'm not sure was exact, but was that life's too short to date a Republican. And I...
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Did you say that?
ANDERSON: Something close to that.
MCCOY: No, that was kinder than what I said.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Somehow love conquered. These days John spends most of his time at Maggie's. They agreed each would get to put out a lawn sign, one Bush sign for John, one Kerry sign for Maggie.
Then Maggie added a single American flag to the Kerry sign.
ANDERSON: She was escalating.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): You could have decorated your own sign.
MCCOY: Right.
ANDERSON: She was escalating.
MCCOY: That's what I thought you were going to do.
ANDERSON: The rules supposedly were that we had two signs, and that was it.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The rules changed. John put a communist Chinese flag by the Kerry sign. Maggie retaliated with a keeled-over cowboy on the Bush sign.
ANDERSON: The flip-flops were next.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): A very modest investment on your part.
ANDERSON: Yes, as opposed to later investments. OK. OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Indeed, Maggie mocked him on machismo. John goaded her on goose hunting. This was real estate politics.
MCCOY: It allowed us to express our own feelings but have fun with it.
OPPENHEIM: But make no mistake; those feelings are intense. On key social issues, John and Maggie are polarized.
ANDERSON: I'm against abortion.
MCCOY: I am pro-choice.
ANDERSON: I'm for traditional marriage between a man and woman.
MCCOY: I really don't understand the argument about gay marriage.
OPPENHEIM: When it comes to fighting terrorism, where John sees leadership...
ANDERSON: The president was unique in the sense that he was prepared to defend our country.
OPPENHEIM: ... Maggie sees just the opposite.
MCCOY: I don't like the way he presents the country with all this bravado.
OPPENHEIM: In other words, despite the funny front yard, this isn't easy.
(on camera) How can you be in love and have a whole part of someone where the belief system is different from you?
MCCOY: Wow.
ANDERSON: Well, it's very difficult, and I think that you have to reach down, and hopefully it comes out with some degree of maturity.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): And sometimes immaturity. Maggie's managed to sneak a banner in the back of John's car.
ANDERSON: We've gone outside the yard obviously. We're all over town.
OPPENHEIM: He seemed to realize her mischief was just part of the sign language of this relationship.
MCCOY: I mean, I don't have to pretend to like Bush and Cheney, or anything they do, to get along with John. I just make fun of him. It works.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Healthy attitude. I think anything that has two people, whether it's disagreement, a little disagreement, is healthy.
KAGAN: Talking, humor -- humor definitely helps.
SANCHEZ: Yes, something like that.
KAGAN: Yes.
All right. Well, if you thought the presidential debates were over, just wait, there is one more.
SANCHEZ: Coming up next, poking fun at the presidential candidates. We're going to talk with "Saturday Night Live" Seth Myers and Will Forte.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: After misleading us into a war, we now found out this president doesn't even have a plan to win the peace. He doesn't. But I do.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: And what is your plan, sir?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They're not politicians, but they play them on TV, and they are so good at it, as you probably did -- do a double-take there as you watched that. Relax. We're going to show you more of those clips in just a little bit. Don't think we're interrupting those and not bringing them back.
For nearly 30 years, "Saturday Night Live's" political parody has been poking fun at the candidates, skewering the issues and exposing the foibles of our national leaders.
On election eve, "Saturday Night Live" is going to do it again with a special. It's called "The Presidential Bash 2004: The Great Debates." Now live, from New York, Seth Meyers, act of Senator John Kerry, and presidential impersonator Will Forte. Hey, thanks, guys for being with us.
SETH MEYERS, ACTOR: Thanks for having us.
WILL FORTE, ACTOR: Thanks for having us.
SANCHEZ: What's this thing going to be like? What should we expect?
MEYERS: Well, first of all let me just say it's a thrill to be on CNN. It's every young comedians dream to be on this network without murdering someone. So, thank you.
SANCHEZ: We thank you for that. But then again, you do have a rap sheet, do you not? MEYERS: The thing about the presidential bash -- it's going to be great. It's going to be a trip through history, all the great debate sketches for the last 30 years, the great impressions. It's going to be really fun.
SANCHEZ: That's great. Because you're going to do a little of the old, a little of the new, as well, right?
MEYERS: Exactly, exactly.
SANCHEZ: Seth, let's begin with you -- and we do not by having you talk, but by having your alter ego speak. This is a clip that we have. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEYERS: The fact of the matter is I have consistently supported the war in front of pro-war audiences and condemned it when speaking to groups that oppose it. That is not flip-flopping; that is pandering. And Americans deserve a president who knows the difference. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How hard is it to do Senator Kerry?
MEYERS: He was a tough nut to crack. There's not a lot that's inherently funny about the man. But I found that there's a certain like rhythm and music to the way he talks, which I like a lot. It's a beautiful song that I wouldn't recommend dancing to.
SANCHEZ: Any distinguishing characteristic? What's the one thing you immediately nailed down when they told you you were going to be doing him?
MEYERS: Well, fortunately he and I have the same incredibly handsome shaped face, so that helped.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah.
MEYERS: And just that there's such a gravitas. I mean, that's what it is with Kerry, and we tried to find fun in that. And then this summer, he started using his hands a lot, and that was fantastic because it's as if he's using his hands and they're not quite sure what he's saying.
SANCHEZ: You've got to have that thumb thing down.
Hey Will, let's show the audience now your alter ego. We've got a little clip that we prepared for them, as well. And here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS PARNELL, ACTOR: Do you have a contingency plan to restore stability in the country? FORTE: You know, of course we do, Jim. You know, we work hard. We came up with a contingency plan. You know, that's our job. And it's hard work thinking of a plan. You know, let alone two plans, you know? A regular plan and a contingency plan. You know, a lot of long hours reading documents and...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How tough was it to do the president, Will?
FORTE: It is pretty tough. I don't have an impersonation background, so it's taken a lot of work. I watch a lot of tapes. I TiVo CNN all the time and pour over there.
But it's -- you know, it's tough to get -- I still am trying to get the voice down. But I've been concentrating more on the speech patterns.
SANCHEZ: You're kind of doing him now.
MEYERS: Yeah, he is.
FORTE: We share a...
SANCHEZ: You don't have to hit me a brick.
Do you guys know that there are people in America who will probably not watch CNN or any of the other news channels and get their impressions about these two guys from you? What an awesome responsibility that is. You nervous?
MEYERS: Look, I don't think anything we do can inform how people vote. I think that the important thing is that they make up their own minds on Election Day, and that's the key. You know, just vote for them yourself.
FORTE: Yeah.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, finish him off, Will.
FORTE: Vote or die.
SANCHEZ: Good. Seth Meyers, Will Forte, "Saturday Night Live" special Monday. Thanks, guys, for being with us. We certainly appreciate it. You're funny, and we like that.
MEYERS: Thank you.
FORTE: Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: OK.
KAGAN: I just wonder, it being "Saturday Night Live," are they going to say their lines or lip-synch like Ashlee Simpson did last week?
SANCHEZ: No, I think that whole thing is like ad-libbed, right?
KAGAN: Yeah. Well, they've got to really know their lines as opposed to, you know, the tape in the background.
SANCHEZ: And still be funny.
KAGAN: Hey, you know, comedians aren't the only ones taking jabs at President Bush and John Kerry. Still to come, one Ohio woman gets a bit creative with her pumpkin cutter. We'll show you the results when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Election season and a Halloween tradition intersect. It happens in Dublin, Ohio. A local woman is carving her own niche by turning some big pumpkins into small tributes.
KAGAN: John Kerry and George W. Bush are two of the familiar faces to grace these gourds. Donald Trump's likeness is also captured in orange. Good job.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
KAGAN: Those are pumpkins?
SANCHEZ: I have absolutely no talent for that. Every time I try to carve a pumpkin, it's turned into like a ball of mush.
KAGAN: Does your wife handle that then?
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
KAGAN: OK, good. Good to know someone's in charge.
SANCHEZ: Like most things, better than me.
KAGAN: Very well.
Orelon Sidney handling the weather for us today. Hi, Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: And the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
SANCHEZ: And here's a look at what's happening right now in the news.
On the campaign trail and on the offensive, with just five days until the election, Senator John Kerry and President Bush are battling it out in the crucial swing states this morning. Mr. Kerry is stumping in Ohio; Mr. Bush is at a rally in Michigan. A campaign update is just ahead. We'll have it for you.
Now, a senior aide says Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is, quote, "seriously, seriously ill," stop quote. He says Arafat is exhausted and weak, but doctors have not been able to pinpoint the cause of the illness. They're deciding whether to take him to a hospital for treatment. We're going to get an update from our State Department correspondent. That's coming in just a little bit.
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