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CNN Live Today

Condition of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist; 'Daily Dose'

Aired November 01, 2004 - 11:31   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: Welcome back, everyone. It's half past the hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news.

It's a dash to the finish line for the presidential candidates. President Bush is campaigning in six states today, while Senator Kerry will be in four. The final CNN/"USA Today/Gallup poll on the campaign shows the race remains a statistical dead heat.

A suicide attack in an open-air market in Tel Aviv market killed three people today. Nearly three dozen others were wounded. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yasser Arafat has condemned that terror attack in Israel from his hospital bed in Paris. The Palestinian is undergoing medical testing for an undisclosed blood ailment.

Back here in the U.S., closing arguments are set to begin today in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Jury deliberations could begin as early as Wednesday. Peterson is accused of killing his wife and unborn son. He says he's innocent. We'll have a live update on the trial later this hour.

All right. Let's get a little more specific now as we count down to election day. The polls begin to open and the lines start forming in less than 24 hours. Our final CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, as Daryn alluded in just a moment, shows it extremely close. George Bush leads 49 percent to 47 percent over Senator John Kerry. That falls within the sampling errors we've all come to know; 3 percent of those polled still undecided. And when our pollsters try to estimate who the undecideds will pick, it turns up a statistical tie. In fact, it winds up an actual tie -- 49 percent for the president, 49 percent for the senator as well.

With a race that close, the candidates are working up to the last minute, rounding up every last vote in some of these extremely hotly contested battleground states.

CNN Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining us now from New York City.

Hi, Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Hi, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about the things that happened this last week. You have the report from Al Qa Qaa. You have bin Laden statement. You have a report last night on "60 Minutes" that seemed to show that there's problems getting gear to the troops over there. What effect, what cumulative effect, if any, has this had this last week?

SCHNEIDER: Our polling over the past week shows that President Bush has been losing ground to Senator Kerry on handling both Iraq and the war on terror, which suggests on those issues the news has not been good for the president. We've had the controversy over the missing explosives near Baghdad, and that appears to have damaged President Bush. He was leading when people were asked, who do you think would handle Iraq better? Now the results are very close between Bush and Kerry.

The release of the Osama bin Laden videotape, a lot of people were speculating that that could heighten fear and that would help President Bush. The evidence suggests just the opposite. He was 18 points ahead in handling terrorism a week ago, now Bush is just 7 points ahead. So he's lost ground on that issue. What it suggests is that seeing Osama bin Laden, apparently alive and well, and certainly at large, taunting President Bush, reminds a lot of voters that President Bush did not get him as he promised, dead or alive. He's still out there.

SANCHEZ: And there's no question that that has been President Bush's strong suit, right?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's right. He's still ahead on the issue of terrorism, but by a much narrower margin.

The point is that our poll shows bush did not pick up any support on terrorism, and other polls also show that he did not gain ground on terrorism as a result of the events of the past week.

SANCHEZ: There's a state up in the Midwest that everyone seems to suddenly be paying an awful lot of attention about. You've been telling us about this in the past. It's the state of Wisconsin. What's going on there?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what's going on in our latest poll is that Wisconsin looks like it may be going to Bush. You can see that Bush has the majority, 52 percent to 44 percent, an eight-point lead. That is one of the few battleground states that we're seeing a lead outside the margin of error, plus or minus three; an eight-point lead is bigger than that. So Bush appears to be ahead in Wisconsin. I asked a friend of mine from Wisconsin, why is that? And he said, you'd be surprised how many people were bothered when Kerry called the Green Bay Packers' football stadium by the wrong name.

SANCHEZ: That's amazing. And interesting, I went to school in that area. Just across the border in Minnesota, and I don't know if we have the numbers for that, but that seems to be going the other way, right? SCHNEIDER: Exactly the same, that's right. It's 52 percent to 44 for Kerry, also outside the margin of error. So Minnesota looks like it's tilting to Kerry, and Wisconsin seems to be tilting to Bush. Those are the only two battleground states where we see the candidates with a sizable lead.

SANCHEZ: And those people in those states are big rivals, by the way. All right, let's talk about the big three, as they've called them throughout this thing, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio.

SCHNEIDER: OK. Well, let's take a look at Pennsylvania. That was a state hotly contested. Our new poll shows that President Bush is leading -- sorry, that's Ohio now. In Ohio, Kerry is leading 50 percent to 46 percent. That is within the margin of error, a very narrow lead. There have been several polls taken over the last week that show Kerry slightly ahead, but not comfortably slow.

In Pennsylvania, which I think, I hope may be the next state up. Yes, it is. Just the reverse, how about that. Bush, 50, that's where the president has a slight lead, Kerry 46. Now that is out of line with a lot of other polls that show Kerry slightly ahead in Pennsylvania. That was an Al Gore state in 2000. I should point out that in our poll -- this is likely voters we see in front of us -- in our polls, if you look at all registered voters, if 100 percent of the registered voters show up, then Kerry would have a slight lead. So that state also appears to be very, very close.

And finally, of course, Florida, the state that gave us such trouble last time, very narrow lead, three points, 49 percent to 46 percent for John Kerry. That is where the campaign has been most highly pitched by both candidates. Kerry slightly ahead here. That is within the margin of error, and the polls in Florida, frankly, have been all over the place. So I would just say Florida's going to go down to the wire, which we've seen before.

SANCHEZ: Let's become introspective now, Bill, and look at ourselves. We in this business are going to examined by millions of people all over the country to make sure we get the reports out, get the projections and make sure that we get them right. What are we doing? I know you've been a part of this process here at CNN, to make sure that this happens the right way?

SCHNEIDER: No. 1, we're going to wait until all the polls close in a state. So even though Florida is only in the Eastern Time Zone -- a little bit of it is Central -- we're not going to call anything here at CNN until all the polls close, and we're going to do it more cautiously than we have in the past.

What kind of evidence will be considered on the election decision desk? They will look at the pre-election polls to give some expectation of what's likely to happen. They will look at the exit polls to see if anyone has built up a strong lead. In most states, the battleground states, that appears not to be true. There are sample precincts, so we'll have data coming in from sample precincts across the states, and we'll take a look at how those places are voting, compared with how they voted in the past. And finally, if it still looks close, we don't have a good statistical confidence in the result, we'll wait for the votes to be counted, possibly all night, possibly for days. But if it's that close, we'll just wait until we see the actual vote count. So the watchword here is caution.

SANCHEZ: Bill Schneider, we thank you for bringing us that, and we'll look forward to talking to you again -- Daryn.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAGAN: Well, it's not easy, but I have found a couple polls that Bill Schneider did not get to. Take a look at these. OK, a few more numbers won't matter this late in the game. We thought you might find this interesting, especially if they're kind of funny and mostly meaningless. Our CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll finds that people drive domestic vehicles favor President Bush; those who drive imports tend to go to for Senator Kerry.

And then on to music -- country music fans overwhelmingly support President Bush, not really all that surprising given the president's Texas twang, and then rock and classical listeners tend to favor Kerry by a four-point spread.

SANCHEZ: Look at this one, if you live near a Starbucks, you are more likely to support Senator Kerry than President Bush. These are also according to the CNN/"USA Today/Gallup poll? Meaningless? Maybe not.

KAGAN: One more.

SANCHEZ: On the flip side, if you live near a Wal-Mart, the survey finds, who do you think, you're more likely to favor President Bush over Senator Kerry, and that would be 53 percent to 41 percent.

KAGAN: Our political coverage continues tonight in primetime. CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW," will host a townhall meeting with undecided voters live from Florida. That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

SANCHEZ: And after you vote, be sure to stay with CNN for all your election night results. We're going to have full coverage for you of the red states, the blue states and all the battleground states in between. All that gets underway tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on your station, CNN.

Turning now to the condition of the Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Nine days after being treated for thyroid cancer, Mr. Rehnquist left his home in Virginia, but he was not headed for work.

National correspondent Bob Franken is at the Supreme Court now with the latest on this story.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And there was attention being paid here to see if he would show up on this day before the election or whether his inability to do so would somehow feed an issue that has pretty much simmered below the surface in this election, and that is the probability that there's going to be significant replacement of the justices on the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist did not come. Shortly before the opening case was heard this morning, he put out a statement saying, "According to my doctors, my plan to return to the office today was too optimistic. I am continuing to take radiation and chemotherapy treatments on an outpatient basis."

He was seen from a distance leaving his home this morning in the presence of a nurse. He was in a wheelchair, then he got into his limousine, and went to points unknown, but they did not include the Supreme Court.

Now, as I said, this has been a political issue that's been pretty much deflected. Of course, there's always an undercurrent about how a new justice might rule on Roe versus Wade. There are four justices who are named as possibilities for replacement, Rehnquist being just one of them.

Eight of the nine justices is 65 or older. This is a court that has been together for a remarkably long period of time, since 1994. It's an extended period of time to have a court without a replacement.

So, the question becomes: Will today's development revive an issue and revive attention to those who will care very much about who is on the Supreme Court in the next term of a president -- Rick?

SANCHEZ: Important story. Bob Franken, thanks so much for bringing it to us.

KAGAN: It's a nail biter right down to the wire. The question between the pace and the stress: What kind of effect is it having on the candidates' health? Your "Daily Does" of health news is up next.

SANCHEZ: And then later, lawyers have one last chance to convince a jury. Closing arguments in the Scott Peterson trial when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The presidential campaign down to the final hours. Have you heard that? Both candidates are in a sprint to the finish line today. It has been a hectic race with vigorous schedules.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looks at how the candidates are handling it in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From early morning to sometimes well after midnight, off the plane, on the bus, at the rally, back on the plane again. Dozens of campaign stops in a single week. How do they do it without becoming completely exhausted?

The answer: They each have their own strategies. And experts say the rest of us could learn a thing or two from the candidates.

John Kerry racked up rallies in 17 different cities last week, spending every night in a different hotel. His way of fighting fatigue? Reporters covering him say he unwinds with exercise, like stretching or throwing a baseball around the tarmac.

DAVID WADE, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Every time he's on a rope line talking to people who have invested so much of their hopes into him, it charges you up.

Frankly, I think he's got more energy than some of us on the staff do.

COHEN: Reporters covering President Bush say his strategy has been to pace himself. The president visited more than 20 towns last week, but managed to keep most of his events from 9:00 to 5:00.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not been carrying on a blistering pace on the campaign trail.

COHEN: In fact, Bush made it home two nights last week.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Bush campaign says, look, they know what they're doing. They're going to be out there aggressively next week. They don't want to burn out their candidate.

COHEN: Experts say the candidates are doing the right things. Exercising and pacing yourself are two good ways to avoid exhaustion. Other ways to stay alert when you have a hectic schedule: don't skip breakfast, take cat naps, and no matter how stressed out you are, don't smoke. Neither candidate does.

And take a lesson from president Clinton.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to say -- as you can see, I have nearly lost my voice.

COHEN: Take care of your voice. Give it time to rest, and drink plenty of water. And if you can, try to have screaming crowds cheer you at least five or six times a day. Experts say getting a good ego boost can carry you a long way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, just log onto our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: Did you take note on the ego boost thing. KAGAN: You are doing such a fantastic job today. And you on Election Night, especially at two, three in the morning, you are going to be fantastic.

SANCHEZ: Did I tell you how good you look today?

KAGAN: Thank you, darling.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's the last word in the Scott Peterson trial. Up next, lawyers get one last shot to make their case, then it all goes to the jury, Daryn.

KAGAN: It does. We'll be live from the courthouse in Redwood City, California, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY, I'm Rick Sanchez.

One of the most dramatic trials of the year is entering its last act. Closing arguments begin in the Scott Peterson case today. Jurors could begin deciding his fate as early as Wednesday.

Our Kimberly Osias is live in Redwood City, California with the very latest on this.

Hi, Kim.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rick.

Well, I'll tell you, closing arguments are important in any trial, especially in this one, highly emotional charged and based largely on circumstantial evidence. It's a last push, a final plea, if you will, from attorneys on both sides to jurors. The question now, is which side will do it best?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): first up, Rick Distasso (ph) for the prosecution, which scored a victory Friday Judge Alfred Deluche (ph) gave jurors the choice of a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of second-degree murder. That's if they decide there was no premeditation in the killing of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. This could mean 15 years to life, rather than a death sentence for Peterson if he's convicted.

Having that option for the jury helps the prosecution in a capital case in which the evidence is largely circumstantial.

JIM HAMMER, ATTORNEY: There are a lot of unanswered questions. And jurors tend to like hard evidence. They want the bloody crime scene. They want the murder weapon. They want the eyewitness. None of those exist in this case.

OSIAS: It's the prosecution's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt nobody one other than Scott Peterson could be responsible for the killings. The prosecution has implied Peterson was financially motivated and wanted a life with his mistress Amber Frey, while some say Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos failed to present a strong case, falling short on the promises he made in his opening statements. Others faulted the prosecution for its lack of hard evidence.

PAULA CANNY, ATTORNEY: If you can't prove how, when or why, how could you presuppose to impose guilt based on who on Scott Peterson?

OSIAS: Twelve jurors and five alternates are expected to get the case on Wednesday. During the long trial, they were able to go home at night and spend long weekends with their families. For deliberations they'll be sequestered.

CHUCK SMITH, ATTORNEY: What are they going to do in the evening? Are there going to be camps of people pro or con guilt? Are they going to go to dinner with each other? Are there going to be a polarization? Or are they all going to kind of bond together in a common goal of, let's come to a decision?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS: On Friday, Judge Alfred Deluche ruled not to allow cameras in the courtroom when the verdict is read. He says he wants to preserve the dignity of both Laci and Scott Peterson's families -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Kimberly Osias, following that story from Redwood City, California, we thank you, Kim.

KAGAN: California, home of 55 electoral votes. Speaking of the election, CNN is the place to be all day and all night tomorrow.

Coming up next, we're going to show you why. A guided tour of our election coverage is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: CNN election coverage tomorrow nigh twill come live from the state-of-the-art NASDAQ market site in New York City.

SANCHEZ: Not far from where Rhonda was just moments ago.

KAGAN: Just uptown from there.

Wolf Blitzer here to give you a show a tell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much.

We're here at CNN election headquarters, right in the heart of Times Square, the Nasdaq marketsite. We're going got all these video screens, 72 of them behind us. We're going to be able to show you election results like you've never seen them before. We'll go across the country. We'll show you the total votes, the balance of power in the Senate, the House, the governor's races, and at any one moment, we'll be able to put up on the screens behind me all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. We'll show you where the race stands at any one moment. This is something that our viewers are going to appreciate. We expect to have a very, very long night. That would be Tuesday night. Stay with CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: No problem. We're going to take over for Wolf at 2:00 a.m. Eastern, but meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer and the CNN election team at the NASDAQ site will be there tomorrow evening. Our election coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

SANCHEZ: We're going to be all over it for you, folks. Happy to bring it to you.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan.

It's all Wolf all the time, WNN -- the Wolf New Network takes over now.

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 November 1, 2004 - 11:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. It's half past the hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news.

It's a dash to the finish line for the presidential candidates. President Bush is campaigning in six states today, while Senator Kerry will be in four. The final CNN/"USA Today/Gallup poll on the campaign shows the race remains a statistical dead heat.

A suicide attack in an open-air market in Tel Aviv market killed three people today. Nearly three dozen others were wounded. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yasser Arafat has condemned that terror attack in Israel from his hospital bed in Paris. The Palestinian is undergoing medical testing for an undisclosed blood ailment.

Back here in the U.S., closing arguments are set to begin today in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Jury deliberations could begin as early as Wednesday. Peterson is accused of killing his wife and unborn son. He says he's innocent. We'll have a live update on the trial later this hour.

All right. Let's get a little more specific now as we count down to election day. The polls begin to open and the lines start forming in less than 24 hours. Our final CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, as Daryn alluded in just a moment, shows it extremely close. George Bush leads 49 percent to 47 percent over Senator John Kerry. That falls within the sampling errors we've all come to know; 3 percent of those polled still undecided. And when our pollsters try to estimate who the undecideds will pick, it turns up a statistical tie. In fact, it winds up an actual tie -- 49 percent for the president, 49 percent for the senator as well.

With a race that close, the candidates are working up to the last minute, rounding up every last vote in some of these extremely hotly contested battleground states.

CNN Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining us now from New York City.

Hi, Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Hi, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about the things that happened this last week. You have the report from Al Qa Qaa. You have bin Laden statement. You have a report last night on "60 Minutes" that seemed to show that there's problems getting gear to the troops over there. What effect, what cumulative effect, if any, has this had this last week?

SCHNEIDER: Our polling over the past week shows that President Bush has been losing ground to Senator Kerry on handling both Iraq and the war on terror, which suggests on those issues the news has not been good for the president. We've had the controversy over the missing explosives near Baghdad, and that appears to have damaged President Bush. He was leading when people were asked, who do you think would handle Iraq better? Now the results are very close between Bush and Kerry.

The release of the Osama bin Laden videotape, a lot of people were speculating that that could heighten fear and that would help President Bush. The evidence suggests just the opposite. He was 18 points ahead in handling terrorism a week ago, now Bush is just 7 points ahead. So he's lost ground on that issue. What it suggests is that seeing Osama bin Laden, apparently alive and well, and certainly at large, taunting President Bush, reminds a lot of voters that President Bush did not get him as he promised, dead or alive. He's still out there.

SANCHEZ: And there's no question that that has been President Bush's strong suit, right?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's right. He's still ahead on the issue of terrorism, but by a much narrower margin.

The point is that our poll shows bush did not pick up any support on terrorism, and other polls also show that he did not gain ground on terrorism as a result of the events of the past week.

SANCHEZ: There's a state up in the Midwest that everyone seems to suddenly be paying an awful lot of attention about. You've been telling us about this in the past. It's the state of Wisconsin. What's going on there?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what's going on in our latest poll is that Wisconsin looks like it may be going to Bush. You can see that Bush has the majority, 52 percent to 44 percent, an eight-point lead. That is one of the few battleground states that we're seeing a lead outside the margin of error, plus or minus three; an eight-point lead is bigger than that. So Bush appears to be ahead in Wisconsin. I asked a friend of mine from Wisconsin, why is that? And he said, you'd be surprised how many people were bothered when Kerry called the Green Bay Packers' football stadium by the wrong name.

SANCHEZ: That's amazing. And interesting, I went to school in that area. Just across the border in Minnesota, and I don't know if we have the numbers for that, but that seems to be going the other way, right? SCHNEIDER: Exactly the same, that's right. It's 52 percent to 44 for Kerry, also outside the margin of error. So Minnesota looks like it's tilting to Kerry, and Wisconsin seems to be tilting to Bush. Those are the only two battleground states where we see the candidates with a sizable lead.

SANCHEZ: And those people in those states are big rivals, by the way. All right, let's talk about the big three, as they've called them throughout this thing, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio.

SCHNEIDER: OK. Well, let's take a look at Pennsylvania. That was a state hotly contested. Our new poll shows that President Bush is leading -- sorry, that's Ohio now. In Ohio, Kerry is leading 50 percent to 46 percent. That is within the margin of error, a very narrow lead. There have been several polls taken over the last week that show Kerry slightly ahead, but not comfortably slow.

In Pennsylvania, which I think, I hope may be the next state up. Yes, it is. Just the reverse, how about that. Bush, 50, that's where the president has a slight lead, Kerry 46. Now that is out of line with a lot of other polls that show Kerry slightly ahead in Pennsylvania. That was an Al Gore state in 2000. I should point out that in our poll -- this is likely voters we see in front of us -- in our polls, if you look at all registered voters, if 100 percent of the registered voters show up, then Kerry would have a slight lead. So that state also appears to be very, very close.

And finally, of course, Florida, the state that gave us such trouble last time, very narrow lead, three points, 49 percent to 46 percent for John Kerry. That is where the campaign has been most highly pitched by both candidates. Kerry slightly ahead here. That is within the margin of error, and the polls in Florida, frankly, have been all over the place. So I would just say Florida's going to go down to the wire, which we've seen before.

SANCHEZ: Let's become introspective now, Bill, and look at ourselves. We in this business are going to examined by millions of people all over the country to make sure we get the reports out, get the projections and make sure that we get them right. What are we doing? I know you've been a part of this process here at CNN, to make sure that this happens the right way?

SCHNEIDER: No. 1, we're going to wait until all the polls close in a state. So even though Florida is only in the Eastern Time Zone -- a little bit of it is Central -- we're not going to call anything here at CNN until all the polls close, and we're going to do it more cautiously than we have in the past.

What kind of evidence will be considered on the election decision desk? They will look at the pre-election polls to give some expectation of what's likely to happen. They will look at the exit polls to see if anyone has built up a strong lead. In most states, the battleground states, that appears not to be true. There are sample precincts, so we'll have data coming in from sample precincts across the states, and we'll take a look at how those places are voting, compared with how they voted in the past. And finally, if it still looks close, we don't have a good statistical confidence in the result, we'll wait for the votes to be counted, possibly all night, possibly for days. But if it's that close, we'll just wait until we see the actual vote count. So the watchword here is caution.

SANCHEZ: Bill Schneider, we thank you for bringing us that, and we'll look forward to talking to you again -- Daryn.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAGAN: Well, it's not easy, but I have found a couple polls that Bill Schneider did not get to. Take a look at these. OK, a few more numbers won't matter this late in the game. We thought you might find this interesting, especially if they're kind of funny and mostly meaningless. Our CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll finds that people drive domestic vehicles favor President Bush; those who drive imports tend to go to for Senator Kerry.

And then on to music -- country music fans overwhelmingly support President Bush, not really all that surprising given the president's Texas twang, and then rock and classical listeners tend to favor Kerry by a four-point spread.

SANCHEZ: Look at this one, if you live near a Starbucks, you are more likely to support Senator Kerry than President Bush. These are also according to the CNN/"USA Today/Gallup poll? Meaningless? Maybe not.

KAGAN: One more.

SANCHEZ: On the flip side, if you live near a Wal-Mart, the survey finds, who do you think, you're more likely to favor President Bush over Senator Kerry, and that would be 53 percent to 41 percent.

KAGAN: Our political coverage continues tonight in primetime. CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW," will host a townhall meeting with undecided voters live from Florida. That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

SANCHEZ: And after you vote, be sure to stay with CNN for all your election night results. We're going to have full coverage for you of the red states, the blue states and all the battleground states in between. All that gets underway tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on your station, CNN.

Turning now to the condition of the Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Nine days after being treated for thyroid cancer, Mr. Rehnquist left his home in Virginia, but he was not headed for work.

National correspondent Bob Franken is at the Supreme Court now with the latest on this story.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And there was attention being paid here to see if he would show up on this day before the election or whether his inability to do so would somehow feed an issue that has pretty much simmered below the surface in this election, and that is the probability that there's going to be significant replacement of the justices on the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist did not come. Shortly before the opening case was heard this morning, he put out a statement saying, "According to my doctors, my plan to return to the office today was too optimistic. I am continuing to take radiation and chemotherapy treatments on an outpatient basis."

He was seen from a distance leaving his home this morning in the presence of a nurse. He was in a wheelchair, then he got into his limousine, and went to points unknown, but they did not include the Supreme Court.

Now, as I said, this has been a political issue that's been pretty much deflected. Of course, there's always an undercurrent about how a new justice might rule on Roe versus Wade. There are four justices who are named as possibilities for replacement, Rehnquist being just one of them.

Eight of the nine justices is 65 or older. This is a court that has been together for a remarkably long period of time, since 1994. It's an extended period of time to have a court without a replacement.

So, the question becomes: Will today's development revive an issue and revive attention to those who will care very much about who is on the Supreme Court in the next term of a president -- Rick?

SANCHEZ: Important story. Bob Franken, thanks so much for bringing it to us.

KAGAN: It's a nail biter right down to the wire. The question between the pace and the stress: What kind of effect is it having on the candidates' health? Your "Daily Does" of health news is up next.

SANCHEZ: And then later, lawyers have one last chance to convince a jury. Closing arguments in the Scott Peterson trial when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The presidential campaign down to the final hours. Have you heard that? Both candidates are in a sprint to the finish line today. It has been a hectic race with vigorous schedules.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looks at how the candidates are handling it in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From early morning to sometimes well after midnight, off the plane, on the bus, at the rally, back on the plane again. Dozens of campaign stops in a single week. How do they do it without becoming completely exhausted?

The answer: They each have their own strategies. And experts say the rest of us could learn a thing or two from the candidates.

John Kerry racked up rallies in 17 different cities last week, spending every night in a different hotel. His way of fighting fatigue? Reporters covering him say he unwinds with exercise, like stretching or throwing a baseball around the tarmac.

DAVID WADE, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Every time he's on a rope line talking to people who have invested so much of their hopes into him, it charges you up.

Frankly, I think he's got more energy than some of us on the staff do.

COHEN: Reporters covering President Bush say his strategy has been to pace himself. The president visited more than 20 towns last week, but managed to keep most of his events from 9:00 to 5:00.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not been carrying on a blistering pace on the campaign trail.

COHEN: In fact, Bush made it home two nights last week.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Bush campaign says, look, they know what they're doing. They're going to be out there aggressively next week. They don't want to burn out their candidate.

COHEN: Experts say the candidates are doing the right things. Exercising and pacing yourself are two good ways to avoid exhaustion. Other ways to stay alert when you have a hectic schedule: don't skip breakfast, take cat naps, and no matter how stressed out you are, don't smoke. Neither candidate does.

And take a lesson from president Clinton.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to say -- as you can see, I have nearly lost my voice.

COHEN: Take care of your voice. Give it time to rest, and drink plenty of water. And if you can, try to have screaming crowds cheer you at least five or six times a day. Experts say getting a good ego boost can carry you a long way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, just log onto our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: Did you take note on the ego boost thing. KAGAN: You are doing such a fantastic job today. And you on Election Night, especially at two, three in the morning, you are going to be fantastic.

SANCHEZ: Did I tell you how good you look today?

KAGAN: Thank you, darling.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's the last word in the Scott Peterson trial. Up next, lawyers get one last shot to make their case, then it all goes to the jury, Daryn.

KAGAN: It does. We'll be live from the courthouse in Redwood City, California, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY, I'm Rick Sanchez.

One of the most dramatic trials of the year is entering its last act. Closing arguments begin in the Scott Peterson case today. Jurors could begin deciding his fate as early as Wednesday.

Our Kimberly Osias is live in Redwood City, California with the very latest on this.

Hi, Kim.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rick.

Well, I'll tell you, closing arguments are important in any trial, especially in this one, highly emotional charged and based largely on circumstantial evidence. It's a last push, a final plea, if you will, from attorneys on both sides to jurors. The question now, is which side will do it best?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): first up, Rick Distasso (ph) for the prosecution, which scored a victory Friday Judge Alfred Deluche (ph) gave jurors the choice of a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of second-degree murder. That's if they decide there was no premeditation in the killing of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. This could mean 15 years to life, rather than a death sentence for Peterson if he's convicted.

Having that option for the jury helps the prosecution in a capital case in which the evidence is largely circumstantial.

JIM HAMMER, ATTORNEY: There are a lot of unanswered questions. And jurors tend to like hard evidence. They want the bloody crime scene. They want the murder weapon. They want the eyewitness. None of those exist in this case.

OSIAS: It's the prosecution's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt nobody one other than Scott Peterson could be responsible for the killings. The prosecution has implied Peterson was financially motivated and wanted a life with his mistress Amber Frey, while some say Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos failed to present a strong case, falling short on the promises he made in his opening statements. Others faulted the prosecution for its lack of hard evidence.

PAULA CANNY, ATTORNEY: If you can't prove how, when or why, how could you presuppose to impose guilt based on who on Scott Peterson?

OSIAS: Twelve jurors and five alternates are expected to get the case on Wednesday. During the long trial, they were able to go home at night and spend long weekends with their families. For deliberations they'll be sequestered.

CHUCK SMITH, ATTORNEY: What are they going to do in the evening? Are there going to be camps of people pro or con guilt? Are they going to go to dinner with each other? Are there going to be a polarization? Or are they all going to kind of bond together in a common goal of, let's come to a decision?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS: On Friday, Judge Alfred Deluche ruled not to allow cameras in the courtroom when the verdict is read. He says he wants to preserve the dignity of both Laci and Scott Peterson's families -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Kimberly Osias, following that story from Redwood City, California, we thank you, Kim.

KAGAN: California, home of 55 electoral votes. Speaking of the election, CNN is the place to be all day and all night tomorrow.

Coming up next, we're going to show you why. A guided tour of our election coverage is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: CNN election coverage tomorrow nigh twill come live from the state-of-the-art NASDAQ market site in New York City.

SANCHEZ: Not far from where Rhonda was just moments ago.

KAGAN: Just uptown from there.

Wolf Blitzer here to give you a show a tell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much.

We're here at CNN election headquarters, right in the heart of Times Square, the Nasdaq marketsite. We're going got all these video screens, 72 of them behind us. We're going to be able to show you election results like you've never seen them before. We'll go across the country. We'll show you the total votes, the balance of power in the Senate, the House, the governor's races, and at any one moment, we'll be able to put up on the screens behind me all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. We'll show you where the race stands at any one moment. This is something that our viewers are going to appreciate. We expect to have a very, very long night. That would be Tuesday night. Stay with CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: No problem. We're going to take over for Wolf at 2:00 a.m. Eastern, but meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer and the CNN election team at the NASDAQ site will be there tomorrow evening. Our election coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

SANCHEZ: We're going to be all over it for you, folks. Happy to bring it to you.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan.

It's all Wolf all the time, WNN -- the Wolf New Network takes over now.

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