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CNN Sunday Morning
Jennifer Hudson's Family Members Murdered; Infighting Within Republican Presidential Campaign
Aired October 26, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, October 26th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Seven a.m. here on the east, 6:00 a.m. in Chicago. We'll glad you could be here with us.
We'll talk about Chicago this morning. We'll talk about it in the last couple of days. It's a tragic story. Jennifer Hudson, her family members killed -- mother and brother. But you know what? There's no sign now of her seven-year-old nephew. That is the concern right now. We'll get the very latest on this case out of Chicago.
NGUYEN: Also, we're following many other stories including McCain campaign infighting. Sarah Palin, as they're saying, has gone rogue. What is this all about and can they really afford infighting with just nine days until the election? We'll delve into that.
But, first up, a desperate mother begs for her son's safe return. Chicago police say that they are still looking for the seven-year-old nephew of singer Jennifer Hudson. Hudson's mother seeing her with her, and her brother, they were shot and killed on Friday. And take a look this, this little boy may have seen the whole thing happen. Police think Julian King was abducted after the killings. Now, his mom says she just wants her son back.
Here's our Susan Roesgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA HUDSON, JENNIFER HUDSON'S SISTER: All I ask, I don't care who you are, just let my baby go, please.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Julia Hudson is not used to being in front of the camera. That's her sister's role. Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning actress and singer raced home to Chicago Friday night. Detectives were at her family home. The bodies of her mother and brother found shot to death inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She flew in right away. We've been together ever since.
ROESGEN: This is the man police are questioning, identified by family members as William Balfour, Julia Hudson's estranged husband. He's a convicted felon on parole for attempted murder and carjacking. But the police will not call him a suspect in this case, only a person of interest.
And this is the missing seven-year-old, Julian. He may have witnessed the murders and no one knows where he is.
Has the person of interest been able to tell you about where the child might be?
SUPERINTENDENT JODY WEISS, CHICAGO POLICE: I can't comment on that. That's part of our investigation.
HUDSON: I know he's out there. He's out there. Just let him go. Put him on a street. Just let him go. Just, you know, and I think he'll stay just sit there (ph). He'll probably cry until somebody comes along.
ROESGEN: Family, friends and fans have left a makeshift memorial at the Hudson home. Jennifer Hudson had remained very close to her family here in Chicago where the now famous "Dream Girl" never dreamed of a tragedy like this.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, there is another terrible loss to tell you about this morning as well. I want to take a look at this young anchorwoman. She has died. Anne Pressly, she had been hospitalized since Monday when she was found badly beaten in her home. But the police say she was attack during a burglary, and just a random burglary.
Well, we have learned that Pressly was not only morning anchor for affiliate KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, but that she has passed away. Her parents released a statement saying that they are relying on their faith to get them through this loss. Their daughter was just 26 years old.
HOLMES: All right. We're doing 10 issues in 10 days. We're counting down to Election Day. We're breaking down the issues that certainly a lot of people were caring about right now, some of the most important ones out there, we'll tell you what the presidential candidates want to do about them. Now, the problems and the plans from Election Day, education is going to be on the mind of a lot of folks -- health care, homeland security.
We had day one yesterday, we talked about the economy. Certainly, the issue number one. The issue we're taking on day two now, taxes. We'll have the candidates and their tax plans throughout the day for you.
But first, the candidates are on the last lap, just nine days until the election. John McCain is in Iowa for rallies in Cedar Falls, and then he moves onto Ohio, and then, to Zanesville followed by another rally tonight in Lancaster. His running mate, Sarah Palin, she's campaigning in Florida. First, to be in Tampa, then she's going to Kissimmee, and then she flies to North Carolina for an evening rally in Asheville.
Then Barack Obama is in Colorado for events in Denver and Fort Collins. His running mate, no public events however on the schedule.
Well, CNN, of course, has correspondents following those candidates all over the place, panned out across those battleground states, helping us cover this last lap. Our Candy Crowley is in Denver. Our Ed Henry is in Zanesville, Ohio. Jessica Yellin will be out in Colorado. And Bill Schneider in Ohio, that battleground state.
Well, our team coverage also includes, deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, there he is in Ohio, still dark there.
Good morning to you, sir.
And, also our political editor, Mark Preston, in the nation's capital. We're going to get in to her with these guys now.
We'll start with you this time, Paul. We are hearing some rumblings about what is this -- Sarah Palin going rogue. What does that mean?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. You know, the political (INAUDIBLE) reporting this on, our Dana Bash, our Peter Hamby, our John King, hearing from McCain aides that they're saying that she's going rogue, that she's acting -- even one source said she's acting like a diva and kind of looking out for herself and not after the McCain campaign.
And we're hearing from her sources, her aides that she's just trying to kind of break free and, you know, she's just upset with the mismanagement of what she says the McCain campaign is doing.
You know, T.J., this is nothing new. We've seen it in the past between running mates. Just four years ago, John Edwards and John Kerry did not get along so well and we heard a lot of sniping. We're hearing it again this time with the McCain campaign.
HOLMES: Mark, is there some legitimacy to this claim here and like he has just said, like Paul just said, we kind of see this with running mates sometimes. So, has she gotten to a point, maybe, she's conceding defeat in her mind and now she's looking out for herself?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I'm not sure if she's conceding defeat actually quite yet, T.J., but I'll tell you what, I did speak to one of her top aides last night, and they are very frustrated by this story. They said that they're out doing trying to do their best on the campaign trail, but clearly, there is this level of frustration right now.
We are nine days until Election Day. They are down in the polls right now. It doesn't seem to be anything going there way. The economy is really hurting them right now. And, of course, you're going to have infighting. We see this, as Paul had said, in every past campaign. And now, people are starting to look towards the future, not only, you know, supposedly as Governor Palin looking to the future, but their aides are right now. So, they don't want to accept blame and that's what we're seeing right now.
HOLMES: Well, meanwhile, Mark, I'll stick with you here on this next point, it looks like there's infighting going on on that side, it looks like kumbaya on the Democratic side. And we're going to see Obama and Bill Clinton together. How powerful will that imagery be?
PRESTON: Yes, the reunion. Finally, they get back together, as you know, they will be together in Florida on Wednesday, T.J., a very key state, 27 electoral votes down there. It will be a very powerful image because we all know that the Clintons and Barack Obama did not get along. It was a very hard fought primary. There was some very bitter feelings about what Bill Clinton said during the primary and, of course, they will be together on Wednesday and could actually help Barack Obama in the state of Florida.
HOLMES: And, Paul, I'll turn to you now. We've been seeing, I guess, a lot of people saying different tactics, if you will, from the McCain campaign, trying to find a message, trying to find something that works. They had Joe the Plumber with the "spread the wealth," and just different things kind of falling in their lap.
Well, they're trying something else now. You know what? Telling people do we really want Harry Reid, do we really want Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama? Is that going to work? I mean, and really, if Democrats also get 60 vote majority filibuster-proof in the Senate, Democrats can just push through their agenda if they want to. Is that, I guess, a scare tactic? Is that working?
STEINHAUSER: Well, that's exactly what they're trying. I mean, you just summed it up perfectly right there. You've heard John McCain and Sarah Palin and their other surrogates saying this for the last four or five days now, warning of a Democratic takeover of Congress and the White House, saying you've to vote us in because you don't want all of them running the shop.
You know, polls do indicate, though, that Americans really aren't crazy about one party running everything. So, that tactic may work especially with independents and undecided voters and they are the key, T.J., they are the key to who's going to win this election.
HOLMES: All right. And here, we're going to wrap with Mark. But I want to get to one point you certainly want to bring up. We have this voter hotline that we have set up and people don't know, it's directly linked to your cell phone. They're really just calling you. But you've been kind of listening to that hotline, and just quickly here, kind of tell us what we're already hearing from voters out there?
PRESTON: Yes, we're hearing, we're already in early voting states and more than half of the states right now, T.J., are in the early voting stage. And what we're hearing right now from people is that they're not getting their absentee ballot, they don't know where their polling location is. And quite frankly, even before they go to the polls if they were to have some problems, we're hearing some problems of some of the mechanical machines, but what we're hearing is that they're concerned their vote will not count.
So, CNN has established this hotline, and please, if you have any questions or concerns, please give it a call. And I will tell you, not only can you register a complaint, T.J., we can also get you to your local register. So, it has a nice little helping mode to it.
HOLMES: All right. Mark Preston, again, people, we have that number, I will be showing it to you plenty, our viewers out there, certainly using to help us, use that tool as well to kind of track down those problems, and hopefully, bring it to the attention of election officials and everyone's vote will count.
Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, fellows, good to see you as always. See you again, all right?
All right. And a lot of people out there are worried about a repeat of the 2000 election, all that ballot frenzy. We'll ask an elections expert if it could happen again, that's coming up in about seven minutes from now.
Also, a reminder: CNN has all the bases covered for you election night one week from Tuesday. It will be November 4th. You know the date right now from the first vote to the last, we're bringing you all the results from all 50 states -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, here's a question for you. Do you think the government should raise taxes? We're going to take a look at where the candidates stand on that, T.J.
Also, allegations of voter suppression. So, is your vote going count on Election Day? We'll delve into that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. What if you were told you're not allowed to vote because of a computer error? Well, CNN's Abbie Boudreau reports now that some are saying an election anti-fraud system has the potential to remove eligible voters from the rolls.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The idea of voter suppression is a real concern to a lot of people. We've talked to some eligible voters who fear their right to vote is now being challenged.
(voice-over): Just two weeks ago, 21 year old Kyla Berry received a disturbing letter in the mail from local election officials, stating she is not a U.S. citizen. That was news to her.
Are you a citizen?
KYLA BERRY, STUDENT: I am. BOUDREAU: And where are you from?
BERRY: I'm from Boston, Massachusetts.
BOUDREAU: Kyla is one of more than 50,000 registered Georgia voters who've been flagged because of a computer mismatch in their personal identification information.
BERRY: I saw this happening to me.
BOUDREAU: Some 4,500 of those are having their citizenship questioned.
WENDY WEISER, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: Every year, election officials strike millions of names from the voter rolls, using processes that are secret, prone to error and vulnerable to manipulation.
BOUDREAU: Experts fear this could lead to suppression of votes. And many critics allege minorities are more often on these lists.
WEISER: There are last-minute efforts to try to knock off new voters using a process that we call "no match, no vote," or disenfranchisement by typo.
BOUDREAU: Georgia is also under fire for requesting Social Security records on about 2 million voters. More requests than any other state. These types of allegations have flared up across the U.S., most noticeably in Ohio, where there are concerns that hundreds of thousands of voters could be purged from the voter rolls.
Laughlin McDonald of the ACLU is suing the state of Georgia over letters like Kyla. He also argues that the letters were sent out too close to the election date.
Is it possible that eligible voters' votes may not count in Georgia?
LAUGHLIN MCDONALD, ACLU VOTING RIGHTS PROJECT: Well, if people who are properly eligible get improperly challenged and purged, the answer would be yes.
BOUDREAU: But Georgia's secretary of state, Karen Handel, says she's not worried.
KAREN HANDEL, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: This is about ensuring the integrity of our elections. It is imperative to have checks and balances on the front end during the processes and on the back end, and then, that's what the verification process is about.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And someone like Kyla would still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot when she votes, but it's then up to those county officials whether those ballots will actually count and there are a lot of people who fear that this process will not work and eligible voters will be left out.
Abbie Boudreau, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So, will this process work? Well, you know, all week long, people have been standing in line for hours just to vote early. There's been allegations of voter fraud and suspicious registrations are mounting, which has us wondering here, have we learned from the mistakes of elections past? Well, political commentator and former president of Pace University, David Caputo, joins us this morning to talk about just that.
Good morning, David.
DAVID A. CAPUTO, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.
NGUYEN: All right. So, why is it such a challenge to have a trouble-free election in this country?
CAPUTO: Well, there's a lot of moving parts in an election. You also have to realize that many of the people who administer elections are part-timers and they are people who come on just for that particular day or for a series of days for early voting. So, there's a lot of reasons why there's difficulties.
NGUYEN: Is there a specific concern that you're having as you look at this election, because you watched elections past and seen the problems there, when you look at this one, anything -- any glaring problem that you're seeing?
CAPUTO: Well, I think you have to look at the election process in three stages. First is registration stage which we are going through now, the pre-election. And then you look at the Election Day itself, and then you look at the actual counting of the votes. And I think there are problems in all three. Just let me mention several.
NGUYEN: OK.
CAPUTO: First, on the pre-election registration. You've heard and you just ran some stories about difficulties in some of the states in terms of registration process and procedures. This is not new. We know in the United States that we often have a lot of controversy and discussion over this, but we also know that election fraud itself is very seldom occurs in the United States.
NGUYEN: But you know, this year, there's been a lot of talk about ACORN and those questionable voter registration forms, and that's going to play into this.
CAPUTO: Yes, but registration irregularities do not translate into election fraud.
NGUYEN: OK.
CAPUTO: There are all kinds of checks in place to keep that from happening. So, I think most Americans should rest assured that their vote is not going to get cast without any difficulty, but the vote is going to get counted without any difficulty.
NGUYEN: All right. So, what's another problem that you're seeing?
CAPUTO: On the Election Day itself, you have problems with, are there adequate machines? Are the machines going to work as they're supposed to? We have -- we know many of the touch screens have failure rates of 10 percent to 20 percent.
NGUYEN: All right. Let me stop you there. Haven't we learned anything from this 2000 election? I mean, we've had plenty of time to fix all of this, haven't we?
CAPUTO: Well, we have and we have made some substantial improvements. The Help America Votes Act in 2002 has changed a variety of things. It's created both some difficulties but also created some -- provided a great deal of funding to the states. Remember the states and the localities are the ones responsible for the election for the actual election administration.
So, the federal government has provided some funds. But it's a very slow process. And it's very interesting that in the United States as a democracy, and it usually looked at as the world's democracy, we do not handle elections as well as we might.
NGUYEN: So, as you look at this, and we anticipate what's going happen on Election Day, and all of the days in between for early voting, is there any particular candidate that could be hurt the most by any of these problems?
CAPUTO: I think that both candidates could be hurt if there's a series of irregularities or a series of concerns because you're destroying the legitimacy of the process. And as I tell my students at Pace, and these students believe in the process, they believe that, in fact, that in the United States that when you vote, your vote is going to count and it's not going to be counted honestly and that it's also going to not be canceled out by voter fraud.
So, I think it's important that all Americans have faith in their electoral process and what's going ahead. As far as which candidate would benefit, I think that we know that historically that low income, non-white voters tend to be the ones that are usually in the center of some of these controversies, especially in terms of machine problems and in terms of long lines and so forth. That can be very discouraging for voters.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, we all be watching very closely no doubt.
David Caputo, thanks so much for your time today.
CAPUTO: Thank you.
NGUYEN: We do appreciate it.
And we also want to hear from you this morning if you run into problems at the polls. All you have to do is call our CNN voter hotline any time of the day. Help us keep track of the problems and we'll report the trouble in real time. Here's that number for you. They're at the bottom of your screen. Call 1-877-462-6608. We're keeping them honest all the way through this election and beyond -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, Betty. We're seeing from our Mark Preston just reporting that already that hotline getting some calls, having some problems out there. So, the line is up. It's working already. Please give us a call.
Reynolds Wolf, third member of our team. Time to bring you in, kind sir. What you got going on there?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, T.J. Well, you know, winter officially begins in the northern hemisphere on December 21st. And well over late night tonight and into Monday, it looks like we maybe seeing some lake-effect snowfall for parts of the eastern Great Lakes.
And coming up: We're going to tell you how much so you can expect, how long it's going to last and what that might mean for your travel as you kick off the workweek? We'll have more coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. See (INAUDIBLE).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Try this one, fellas. Next time your wife asks you why you're not wearing your wedding band, tell her, hey, I was petting a sea turtle and it came off and it's at the bottom of a fish tank.
NGUYEN: Oh, that will work every time.
HOLMES: Because it actually happened. It actually happened to a guy. Massachusetts aquarium found it at the bottom of the tank. The ring was found. And he was, actually, it was a public dive three months ago actually, he said it came off when he was taking part of that dive. And, there you go. Look, honey.
NGUYEN: Got it. It's back. Tried to feed it to the fishes.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: It's not going to work. All right.
HOLMES: He's going to put it back on and promise this is not going to happen again.
NGUYEN: Well, maybe you should get it sized. How about that, guy? It won't happen again.
HOLMES: I don't know, Reynolds.
WOLF: That is bogus. That is completely bogus. If that happened to me, I better come back home without a finger. NGUYEN: You'll be sleeping on T.J.'s house, right?
WOLF: Yes, I better be fingerless. I mean -- and by the way, if something like that ever happens, if I don't show up to work one morning, you know, just hey...
NGUYEN: Check the aquarium?
WOLF: Dude forgot his ring.
NGUYEN: OK.
WOLF: Because Mrs. Wolf is taking care of business. Let me tell you. That's going to happen. She's going to be pooh for my house.
HOLMES: Mrs. Wolf has now play (ph).
WOLF: Exactly. She'll have the voodoo doll out for me.
Hey, speaking of voodoo dolls, take a look at the voodoo festival. We got some great video for you, from the video. Or shall I say, sound from the video. This compliment of WWL in New Orleans.
You know, this event in New Orleans actually started about 10 years ago and they have 45 acts. Now, they have up to 100, lasts through the weekend. It's always great time and got all kinds of wonderful groups like Stone Temple Pilots and REM. And there's plenty of food right there on cue. Good times. Great weather.
And I'll tell you what? What they're going to be seeing there today, the good weather is going to continue, the cooler air is on the way for parts of the southeast and the gulf coast. Let show you other places where it's affecting, like New York this morning.
I'm going to show very quickly on radar. We're going to zoom in right here to the northeast for most of the rainfall is right along the I-95 corridor, it's happening (ph) near Portland, Maine, and, in fact, out to the Great Lakes. We're still seeing some scattered showers, much of this is going to along parts of I-75 and back to I- 35, from Chicago northwards to places like Traverse City (INAUDIBLE), and that shower is going to be the story.
But when you head a little bit more to the northwest, not just rain, but even some snow in Grand Forks southward into Fargo. You're going to be seeing that crossover as those temperatures begin to really drop. And, in fact, they're going to be pummeling in many places -- Bismarck right now at 34 degrees, Fargo at 40 degrees, 39 in Duluth, 42 in Green Bay.
And check out the daytime high temperatures for you. In Chicago, we currently have 51 degrees, only going to 53 for today. So, you're not going to see much of a warm-up there, like leisure drive (ph). In Kansas City, 60. New York, a beautiful day with 67.
Take a look at the shot that we have for you. We're going to go to it. It is the Hudson River looking northward. It looks pretty good. A little bit of haze in the sky, but still up along west 57th Street and back out to Central Park, beautiful time. Enjoy it because winter is on the way. Winter official gets under way at December 21st. But you're going to be feeling the cool down in many places right in New York southward into the Deep South.
That is the greatest forecast that you're to see this morning. We're going to try to do a better one coming up, maybe with a little more music, right? Back to you, guys.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Indeed, it's the greatest forecast.
WOLF: Still got the ring on, too. I'm keeping the ring right here.
NGUYEN: At 7:26 in the morning Eastern Time.
Reynolds, it's going to be a great day.
WOLF: Good times, guys. We need more coffee.
HOLMES: Thanks, buddy.
NGUYEN: And the market continues to seesaw shall we say. Some experts recommend gold as a safer investment than stocks. In fact, we've heard this a lot.
HOLMES: It's always a safe place to go is gold. Well, Christine Romans, information now. You need to know about buying gold and that report in today's "Right on Your Money."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In turbulent times, a safe investment is as good as gold. Gold is looked at as a secure place to put your money but with the price of gold spiking over the past few years, is now the right time to invest.
FRANK HOLMES, CEO, U.S. GLOBAL INVESTORS: I think that that exposure is just prudent for investors.
ROMANS: Investors have three options. Purchase the physical asset. Purchase an ETF that replicates the price of gold. Or trade futures and options in the commodities market. Generally, the most conservative way to invest: purchase bullion or gold coins.
HOLMES: If bullion itself outperformed the gold stocks as gold stocks are a source of liquidity, they've been pounded down.
ROMANS: But investing in gold these days is really about diversifying your assets.
HOLMES: You don't buy gold to get rich. It's like having car insurance. You don't buy it to see you're going to have an accident and collect. You just want to make sure that you have some exposure to the asset class.
And we've always advocated that investors consider 5 percent into bullion or gold ETF and 5 percent into un-hedged gold stocks.
ROMANS: And that's this week's "Right on Your Money."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Speaking about money, we are talking about taxes today.
HOLMES: We're doing those topics, 10 topics in 10 days. We're on day two now. We had the economy yesterday. Presidential candidates smacking each other around a bit on this issue. Josh Levs on the story for us -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you guys. And here's the thing. Would Obama put 16 million jobs in danger through his tax plans? That's what John McCain is suggesting. So, of course, the CNN truth squad has a verdict.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. OK. We are talking 10 issues, 10 days. And we're counting down to November 4th, election day, of course. And we're doing that by breaking down the issues and telling you what the presidential candidates want to do about them.
HOLMES: We're talking about the economy, of course, "issue number one," also talking education, health care. We're covering all these basis. Day two now on our 10 day countdown. Today's issue is taxes. So how do the candidates compare on taxes?
Obama opposes extending President Bush's tax cuts. He wants to eliminate the capital gains tax as well on start up and small businesses. McCain on the other hand wants to keep dividend and capital gains tax rates. He also wants to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Obama wants to extend the tax credit for each child and eliminate the marriage tax penalty. He also wants to extend the income tax burden for older Americans making less than $50,000 a year. McCain, he wants to double the child deduction to $7,000 and he also want to ban internet taxes. And he opposes the so-called fair tax plan. Back to Obama now. He wants tax cuts for the middle class and increased taxes for high wage earners. You heard a lot about that, those making over $250,000. McCain wants to require a 3/5 majority vote in Congress to raise taxes. Also, Obama wants to extend unemployment insurance an additional 13 weeks. McCain does not want unemployment insurance benefits taxed this year or the next.
NGUYEN: Well -
HOLMES: A lot of stuff to go to.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. You know, Senator McCain says Obama's tax plan would hurt not help the middle class.
HOLMES: Yes. He was talking taxes during a campaign event yesterday in Albuquerque. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama says he's going to try to soak the rich but it's the middle class that are going to get put through the wringer. Because a lot of his promised tax increases misses the target to pay for nearly a trillion dollars in new government spending his tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this country and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses. And by the way, whether it's Joe the plumber in Ohio or the working men and women of New Mexico, we shouldn't be taxing our small businesses more as Senator Obama wants to do. We need to be helping them expand their businesses, create jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, for his part Obama says McCain is putting big business first.
NGUYEN: And the democrat is hammering home just like George Bush. You know that team that we've been hearing about especially when he talks about McCain. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just like George Bush John McCain wants to keep giving tax breaks to oil companies and CEOs and companies that ship our jobs overseas. It's the same failed Wall Street first Main Street last economic policies and we're going to change it. Like George Bush, John McCain wants to tax your health care benefits you get from your employer for the first time in history and let insurance companies keep discriminating against people who need health care the most.
That's the same failed insurance company first, your family last health care policy that we're going to change. Like George Bush, John McCain wants to privatize social security and leave it to the whims of the marketplace. Like George Bush, John McCain ignored the housing crisis until it was too late and then he proposed a $300 billion bailout for Wall Street banks that hardly does anything to keep people like you staying in their homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Also on the campaign trail, you know early voting is a popular trend this election year. Those lines have been so long. Sometimes taking hours. But voters who can't make it on election day say they don't mind waiting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This election is probably one of the most important ones that I have been part of ever since I think I started voting. That's why it was well worth the time and to think about 45 minutes is not a long time to wait for something of this magnitude. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you talk about America but as an American citizen I think it's everybody's right and they should exercise that right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, in some areas election officials have increased staff, extended poll hours and added more machines that is to ease that wait. So would Barack Obama's taxes to small businesses kill many jobs, potentially millions of that.
HOLMES: Well, certainly it has been the claim of John McCain. Our Josh Levs of CNN's truth squad has that for us this morning. Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You always like it when we come up with a true or false reading. Pretty straight up. Nowhere in the middle. So you guys are going to like this morning. Take a look at this. Here's the thing John McCain is focusing a lot of his stump speech lately on small businesses. As we know, he's using Joe the plumber quite often as a symbol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: The Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America and especially for small businesses like the one Joe dreams of owning. The small businesses that Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And you can see our ruling right there. It says false. Now the explanation involved some number crunching and it's early for that. So what I want to do is just give you the basic idea.
As we know, Barack Obama would raise taxes only for individuals making more than $200,000 or year or families making $250,000. This year is what John McCain did. Let's zoom in on the board. He took some figures from a survey conducted by this group, it's the National Federation of Independent Business, about how much money owners of small businesses make and then he went over to the Census Bureau and used figures from there to try to estimate how many people work for these businesses. But I tell you something even his campaign acknowledges to us that it's a rough estimate that they're using and McCain's claims involved a bunch of assumptions about how businesses will be taxed. So, let's go straight to the verdict. We have a graphic for you here. It says this, it's false because McCain uses an overly broad interpretation of this survey's figures and applies Obama's tax plan to those figures in a way that is highly unlikely to match reality. More details on that at cnn.com.
Now, coming up in a few minutes we'll look at Barack Obama's assertion that John McCain changed his position on tax cuts. All of course part of CNN's day long look at taxes as we're focusing on a different major issue every day leading up to the election, guys.
NGUYEN: Yes. Just nine days to go.
LEVS: Nine days.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: Well, the son of an Orthodox rabbi goes on a spiritual year long journey and he lands of all places, Catholic confession.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. A true story. But you don't have to read a book to find out about it. We're going to go straight to the source for Faces of Faith, right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Taking a live look. The camera is panning around right now but this is Washington. And they are going to have a big marathon today. That being the marine corps marathon. Did you know that this is the fourth largest marathon in the U.S., the eighth largest in the world. Oh what a beautiful day it's shaping up for those runners today. But there is no prize offered in this marathon as in many others because it's nicknamed the people's marathon but a day to be remembered and a beautiful morning so far for the marine corps marathon in D.C.. T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Stop me if you have heard this one. The son of a rabbi goes into a Black Baptist Church. All right. And then the following Sunday he does the same thing. Then he does it over and over again visiting Christian churches for a full year. That man has been Benyamin Cohen. He is here with us this morning to explain this year long, would you call it a spiritual journey? What would you call it?
BENYAMIN COHEN, AUTHOR "MY JESUS YEAR": Yes, journey. A pilgrimage.
HOLMES: A pilgrimage. Now what were you hoping to find on this pilgrimage?
COHEN: Well, the premise was really quite simple. I think synagogues across America, they're mostly empty except for holidays but church parking lots especially here in the bible belt are full every Sunday morning. I was, like, what are they doing in there that's so much fun. I wanted to find out.
HOLMES: Now why are the synagogues empty all year long?
COHEN: Well, we're not as exciting. We don't have a gospel choir. We don't have a band and you know we tend to say the same prayers over and over again. I kind of wanted to break out.
HOLMES: What does that say about us or say about your religion, I guess, that we need to be entertained, if you will, to go and practice our faith. We need to be entertained in order to go in and do what, I guess, a lot of people say we should be doing on Sunday morning, on those holy days.
COHEN: We're in a 24/7, you know, society. We're all check our Blackberry's and our Iphones. I think we live at a faster pace that we can't just be sitting there. And something has to be happening to keep our attention. Maybe, you know, it's unfortunate but that's the reality.
HOLMES: Now, when you stepped into it, you mentioned this example here to walked about joking but still you walk in as the only Jew in a Black Baptist Church and all these churches are mega churches.
COHEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Thousands and thousands of folks. What was that like to sit in there among Christians and black Baptists and all these are going on and you're not used to being in those churches. What was it like?
COHEN: I wasn't used to it at all. I'm this short Jewish kid and here is was I walk into this black mega church with 15,000 people and actually they welcomed me. We would like to welcome our Jewish visitor. It was the first time someone ever called me a Jewish visitor. You know, they have these swooping cameras and you know, the big jumbotrons like at a sports stadium. And so the cameras swooped in on me when they welcomed me and there was my Jewish face like 20 feet tall on Jesus' jumbotron for everyone to see. I couldn't imagine what my rabbi would have been like.
HOLMES: What did you learn aside from I guess just the logistics of it and the show and the spectacular nature of it sometimes, what did you learn from sitting in? And it wasn't just black Baptist churches. You went to Catholic churches. You went to different places but all Christian churches. But what did you learn from the experience of just sitting in a Christian church?
COHEN: I learned that we're not that give or take Jesus, we're not really that different.
HOLMES: I love how you put that.
COHEN: We all, you know, we live in troubled economic times. And I think we're all looking, searching for meaning in life and looking for a way to connect with the divine and we're not that different. I mean, that's something I think I learned.
HOLMES: Did you connect? What did you learn about yourself and your religion? Did this, I guess, did this strengthen your faith?
COHEN: Absolutely. You know, being the son of a rabbi I was force fed Judaism growing up. Do this. Do that. And so it kind of took stepping out of my religion and gaining a fresh perspective on it. So I was able to return to it a little stronger. And who would have thought hanging out with Jesus would make me a better Jew.
HOLMES: Last thing I want to ask you about, is there a difference, would you certainly say, between spirituality and religion? Sometimes people want to intertwine the two and certainly think they should be connected. But do you think there's a different thing. We could go on a spiritual journey outside of our religion?
COHEN: Yes. Absolutely. I mean, religion I think, you know, means the specific rituals and stuff that goes on inside the houses of worship. But we're all spiritual people. We're all spiritual beings. I really think there's a lot of interfaith dialogue that we could learn from each other.
HOLMES: All right. Well, the book is "My Jesus Year," by Benyamin Cohen. This has been out. This goes through really chronicles the full 12 months of you visiting these Christian churches. We appreciate you coming in and hanging out with us and telling us about your experience hanging out with Jesus.
COHEN: Thanks so much. I think I'm going to church now.
HOLMES: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Betty. I'll hand it back over to you.
NGUYEN: You better hurry. We don't want you to be late. Traditionally it's been red but would the state of Virginia go blue? We'll take a closer look at this election battleground in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need policies that grow our economy.
I told you folks are having trouble making their electricity bills. Either that or somebody from the McCain campaign kicked our plug out of the socket. That was just a joke, guys. There's no evidence of foul play.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: However, the Obama campaign is now calling for an independent investigation to -
NGUYEN: They have not -
HOLMES: No. This happens, you know, Betty, we work on TV. This happens a lot -
NGUYEN: A lot. It happens on this show, on TV.
Sometimes on this show. No offense, Dee, our director. Just kidding. HOLMES: No. It doesn't happen at all. But you saw that. It's one issue he had at a rally. But they got it back going. That was actually in Reno yesterday. A generator actually failed. That was it. We think.
NGUYEN: Nothing more than that.
HOLMES: We think.
NGUYEN: No evidence of anything else at this point. All right. On the campaign trail John McCain argues that raising taxes on anyone is not a way to help fix this economy. He is a staunch supporter of keeping President Bush's tax cuts in place.
HOLMES: But was that always the way he felt about it. Well, Barack Obama says McCain wants to impose some of the tax cuts that he now wants to keep. Josh Levs checking it out for us. Josh.
LEVS: Hey, good morning, guys. OK. So, this is what we're going to look in. You guys are going to like this one too. You like when we get straight up true or straight up false. You know as part of our focus this morning on how taxes are affecting the election what we have been doing this morning is looking at assertions on both sides over taxes. This is what Barack Obama said just the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Just a few years ago, he himself said those Bush tax cuts were irresponsible. He said he couldn't in good conscience support a tax cut where the benefits went to the wealthy at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief. That's his quote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And that is our ruling, true. Now, on May 26, 2001, on the Senate floor, John McCain said this. We have a graphic. He said "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief." And that is just one of two other republicans to vote against President Bush's tax cuts at that point.
But two years later, he voted against additional cuts. But in 2006 he voted to extend them saying the economy have adjusted and did not want to increase taxes. We got more details for you up here at cnn.com. And coming up today at the 9:00 hour we're going to be taking a look at how much you can really trust statements about taxes that you hear from both sides. Stick around for that, guys.
NGUYEN: Black and white. True or false.
LEVS: See, I know you would be happy this morning.
NGUYEN: Thank you, appreciate it, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks. NGUYEN: All right. So for the latest from the presidential campaign trail, an analysis for all of what is going on the next nine days, especially who do you turn to? Of course, the best political team on television. They will be checking the latest information for you. And in fact, you can get it from cnnpolitics.com. That's online. Go there when you are not watching the show, of course.
HOLMES: Yes. But when you are watching the show you will see our CNN correspondents were all over the place these days. They are just a few of them. They're certainly going to out there helping us cover the last nine days of this race.
Candy Crowley always in the mix. She will be in Denver. Ed Henry in Gainesville, Ohio. Jessica Yellin as well, you see her, she'll be live Fort Collins, Colorado. And our Bill Schneider, of course, the man with all the polls and what-nots, he will be in Ohio, for us the battleground state. You can join the best political team on TV today. "Ballot Bowl" that start at 4:00 Eastern today.
NGUYEN: Well, you've seen the best political team on television covering the race for the White House all year. But there is another team that has been working overtime to cover this election. Of course, that being you, our CNN I-reporters, we want you to take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NGUYEN: you know what, That's a powerful one. I like this one. We have been talking about it. We have seen a few of these now. That film was submitted by Kate Edmondson. She is just one of our 20 finalists. Tonight we're going to introduce you to the winning film. That announcement is coming at 11:00 p.m. Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon. And the winner gets a trip, drum roil please, to Washington, D.C., during the week of the presidential inauguration. Pretty cool. Go online to ireport.com to watch all of the films.
HOLMES: Wow. I did not know we were going to have a winner already.
NGUYEN: Tonight.
HOLMES: Well, I'll watch.
NGUYEN: As if you weren't anyways.
HOLMES: You know, it's a long day. I'm usually asleep a lot of times.
NGUYEN: We get awfully early for this show.
HOLMES: We get up early and we bring - we get up early because we want to bring you stories like this next one. A stranger helping a woman who was down on her luck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means so much to all of us, it's not just a house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: This random act of kindness found at a foreclosure auction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. What a beautiful picture. Look at those crowds today in Washington. This is the Marine Corps marathon. About to kick off in a matter of what two minutes from now, you will see them moving across. This is the fourth largest marathon in the U.S. and you can see why. Look in there, they are all coming out today. Again, the annual marine corps marathon live in Washington, D.C., for us.
HOLMES: So often in this business, the news business, we are reporting horrible news. We -
NGUYEN: Pretty much.
HOLMES: We have been reporting some horrible business news lately.
NGUYEN: Terrible.
HOLMES: But we got a winner now. We have a story that will make you believe in the kindness of others. Glad to do stories like this every now and then.
NGUYEN: And it is a Texas woman who lost everything to foreclosure. But she is getting another chance from a complete stranger. Can you believe this? Monica Diaz has more now from Dallas. She is an affiliate with WFAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 45, 47. Are you sure? Profit is not a bad word.
MONICA DIAZ, WFAA REPORTER: It's the misfortune of others that lured hundreds of people to this foreclosure auction at the Dallas Convention Center. They came looking for a deal. Tracy came to find closure.
TRACY: It means so much to all of us. It is not just a house.
DIAZ: A mother in tears. Devastated by foreclosure.
TRACY: I do fairly well in my house. This is my family. They have been through so much with me. Helping me with the house and everything else. DIAZ: Tracy took a seat in the sea of investors, bargain hunters and strangers to say good-bye to her home. In this fast-paced intense energetic event, her sadness didn't go unnoticed.
MARILYN MOCK, BOUGHT FORECLOSED HOME: She was crying. I just asked her what she was upset about. You know, she lost her house.
DIAZ: Tracy's home in Pottsboro, just west of Dennison, #73 finally came up. And Marilyn Mock from (inaudible) raised her hand. There isn't even a picture of the property in the auction book.
MOCK: Well I just kept asking her, you know, is it worth it? She said yes. So, you know, it went again. I said is it worth it? She said yes. So, I did take her word.
DIAZ: On her word, bid after bid, Marilyn kept going.
TRACY: She said she was telling me she was doing it for me and then she had it.
DIAZ: A second chance from a stranger.
MOCK: And that way they can - she can move right back into it. And so wherever Pottsboro is.
DIAZ: A random act of kindness in a housing crisis but for some a bailout is out of reach. Marilyn stepped in despite the risk.
MOCK: Because people need to help each other. That's all there is to it.
DIAZ: Tracy never thought her lonely journey down the road of foreclosure would end in the arms of a stranger. One that promise to bring her back home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She knows how blest she had been (INAUDIBLE). Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before. And I just hope I can repay the favor.
DIAZ: In Dallas, Monika Diaz, Channel 8 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. We are in our next hour here. But we have to address what we just saw in that last hour. What a story. You say you got goose bumps just listening to that.
NGUYEN: I have goose bumps watching it. The thing about is there is no picture, so, she had no idea what...
HOLMES: What she's getting.
NGUYEN: Also no idea how much it will cost. And we still don't know that. But, regardless of how much she paid for it, for someone to do that for a woman who just lost everything.
HOLMES: That's nice. So many people going through foreclosures these days. Nice, some wonderful story in that hour on.
And we start this hour talking about it as well on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, October 26th here. Hello to you all. I am T.J. Holmes. So glad you could be here with us.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for joining us on this Sunday morning. We got a lot to tell you about.
That search for Jennifer Hudson's seven-year-old nephew is still under way. Three days now since the little boy has been missing. As you know, Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were killed. They were murdered. The boy may have been a witness to that. So, that is under way. And we'll be watching the investigation as it plays out.
HOLMES: Also, of course, we are talking politics this morning. And another new strategy, possibly, for John McCain. Is he now telling people, "Hey, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, do you really want the Democrats to be running things and go unchecked in Washington, D.C."?
Also, Palin, the rogue?
NGUYEN: Yes, there's in-fighting, we hear.
HOLMES: Some are calling it a rogue operation she is running now in that campaign. We'll be talking about that a bit this morning as well.
NGUYEN: And it's very interesting.
In the meantime, though, just tragic story. A desperate mother is begging for her son's safe return. Chicago police say that they are still looking for the seven-year-old nephew of singer Jennifer Hudson. Hudson's mother, seen there with her in this picture, and her brother, were shot and killed on Friday.
And this little boy may have seen the whole thing happen. Police think Julian King was abducted after the killings. His mom says she just wants her son back.
Here is the latest from CNN's Susan Roesgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA HUDSON, JENNIFER HUDSON'S SISTER: All I ask, I don't care who you are, just let my baby go, please.
ROESGEN (voice-over): Julia Hudson is not used to being in front of the camera. That's her sister's role. Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar- winning actress and singer raced home to Chicago Friday night. Detectives were at her family home. The bodies of her mother and brother found shot to death inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She flew in right away. We've been together ever since. ROESGEN: This is the man police are questioning, identified by family members as William Balfour, Julia Hudson's estranged husband. He's a convicted felon on parole for attempted murder and carjacking. But the police will not call him a suspect in this case, only a person of interest.
And this is the missing seven-year-old, Julian. He may have witnessed the murders and no one knows where he is.
Has the person of interest been able to tell you about where the child might be?
SUPERINTENDENT JODY WEISSK, CHICAGO POLICE: I can't comment on that. That's part of our investigation.
HUDSON: I know he's out there. He's out there. Just let him go. Put him on a street. Just let him go. Just, you know, and I think he'll stay just sit there (ph). He'll probably cry until somebody comes along.
ROESGEN: Family, friends and fans have left a makeshift memorial at the Hudson home. Jennifer Hudson had remained very close to her family here in Chicago where the now famous "Dream Girl" never dreamed of a tragedy like this.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, we turn to the campaign trail now. And the candidates on the last lap with just nine days, can you believe it? We are almost at the end.
John McCain in Ohio -- Iowa today, actually. Barack Obama meanwhile, out in Colorado. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is in Florida, also in North Carolina. And Joe Biden does not have any public events scheduled for today.
CNN has correspondents spanned out across the battleground states. No days off for these folks for the next nine days. They'll be helping us cover the last lap. We sent Candy Crowley there in Denver. We also have our Ed Henry who will be in Zanesville, Ohio. Jessica Yellin out in Fort Collins, Colorado. Bill Schneider watching things for us in the all important state of Ohio.
Also watching things for us in Ohio, our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. There he is, got a little light on him now. Sun is coming up.
Good morning to you, sir.
Also, Mark Preston, another friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING. He's with us in the nation's capital.
Paul, I'll start with you in Ohio. That's a very important state. Not too many paths to victory a lot of people are saying right now for John McCain. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, sounds like a familiar theme. But Ohio, if he loses to Pennsylvania, is that much more important? Any chance he's going to close the gap?
STEINHAUSER: He's got to close the gap here. Our latest poll of polls on the state has him down about five points, which isn't that much. It's pretty much a dead heat here. He's got to take Ohio. He's got to take Florida. And a bunch of these other states that George Bush won four years ago.
The McCain campaign says, you know what, our internal poll shows it's a little closer than what the networks and what others are saying. They say, we're actually in a similar place that where Al Gore was eight years ago against George Bush. And remember, at the end of the day, that race was tied on election night. So, you know, they are not optimistic but they say things are closer than they appear, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes. And, Mark, let me bring you in on this. And I don't know how much insight you can give us on this. But we see McCain campaigning in Pennsylvania where polls repeatedly have shown him double digits down even. And they are talking about, you hear that from Paul there that Ohio, they are -- their internal polling maybe for McCain is different. Are they seeing something that the rest of us are not seeing?
PRESTON: Well, you know, clearly that they have a very narrow path now to victory, T.J. No question about that. And they think they can appeal to these small-town rural voters in Pennsylvania to help carry them. And it will be a very tough road for him to travel.
I will tell you this -- of the eight states that all the candidates are in this weekend, T.J., whether that the Obama, McCain, Palin or Biden, of those eight states, George Bush won all eight of them. And by CNN estimates right now, five of those states are tossups and three of those states are leaning towards Obama.
So, it just shows you how tough it is going to be for John McCain over the next nine days.
HOLMES: And, Paul, he talks about how tough it's going to be. It certainly can't help that -- certainly makes things tougher if one of the two on your ticket is kind of doing her own thing. I'm talking about Sarah Palin here -- and reports out there that she is kind of going rogue, and, you know, kind of has her own agenda now. Explain to us what's happening here. And is there in I credence to the claim?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Reports by the Politico and reports by us right here at CNN, our Dana Bash, our Peter Hamby, and John King, hearing from aides, McCain aides, saying that she's going rogue, as you said, that she's doing her own thing, that she's basically looking out for herself. One source telling our Dana Bash that Sarah Palin is acting like a diva and basically just looking after herself.
Now, Palin people -- close to Palin are saying that all she's trying to do is being Sarah Palin and that they think that the McCain aides have really mismanaged the whole Sarah Palin rollout. So, there is -- we are hearing about a loft sniping back and forth. But, T.J., this is not new. We've seen in the past. Just four years ago, John Kerry and John Edwards, there was a lot of sniping. This is something you hear about on the campaign trail.
HOLMES: All right. Mark, we have to wrap it up there. I hope you won't upset and act like a diva on me because I don't get another question to you. But, Mark Preston for us in D.C. Good to see you, as always. Paul as well in Ohio. Fellows, thanks. We'll talk to you again here soon.
And we have a reminder here for our viewers. CNN has all the bases covered for your election night, one week from Tuesday, November 4th. From the first vote to the last. We are bringing you the results from across the country.
NGUYEN: Well, whether it is Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx or even Queens, you can't get more true blue than the big apple when it comes to presidential politics.
HOLMES: Yes. But in the heart of New York City, could there possibly be people who overwhelmingly support John McCain? We are on the hunt for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: In the heart of New York City, a very blue area. There is strong support for John McCain, in fact. CNN's Brooke Baldwin has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Presidential politics doesn't get much more true blue than New York City. Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens all blue. But Staten Island is true red. The city's fifth borough is home to thousands of civil servants, veterans, and supporters of John McCain.
Politics and primping go hand in hand in this Staten Island salon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, ladies, every week we talked politics?
BALDWIN: Rose Dinacola (ph), is life long Staten Islander, who doesn't think Barack Obama makes the cut.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a better shot with McCain.
BALDWIN: Commuters are coming home from Manhattan overwhelmingly support McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leaning towards McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCain. BALDWIN (on camera): Here on Staten Island, there are five registered Democrats for every three Republicans. But that is not necessarily an indicator of how people here vote.
(voice-over): In more than 60 years, this borough has gone blue only in three general elections.
TOM WROBLESKI, POLITICAL EDITOR, STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE: It's the quintessential Reagan Democrats' hometown.
BALDWIN: Tom John writes for the "Staten Island Advance." He says, national security and low taxes are issues that resonate with voters and there are here to get away.
WROBLESKI: They tend to be maybe escaping things, crime, crowded neighborhoods, and traffic. It tends to make them go against the mainstream of what politics is in the rest of New York City.
BALDWIN: Those politics, some say, belongs to the liberal elite. Just ask John McCain in a recent interview, NBC's Brian Williams asked the Republican candidate where the elitists live.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I have seen it. I lived there.
JAMES MOLINARO, PRESIDENT, STATEN ISLAND BOROUGH: (INAUDIBLE)
BALDWIN: Borough president, James Molinaro was a McCain supporter. He says politics on this island is a state of mind.
MOLINARO: Once you cross that bridge, your mentality of thinking changes, your whole set of rules change.
BALDWIN: McCain may have Molinaro's vote, but back in this salon, there is some buzz over Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Originally, I was thinking of McCain. Then after listening to the couple of -- the first debate and the second, I kind of like what Obama had to say.
BALDWIN: Still, lifers (ph) here say they are set in their ways.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They stay one way, they don't like change.
BALDWIN: Waiting to see if their piece of the big blue apple will stay red come election day.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Staten Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, in other news, we do have a very sad story to tell you about from Arkansas. A local TV station is mourning the loss of a young anchorwoman this morning. A weekend anchor at our affiliate KATV told viewers about it yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KATV)
PAMELA SMITH, KATV: Our hearts are heavy here at KATV tonight after learning that our own Anne Pressly died earlier this evening from injuries she suffered during a brutal attack in her home this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Pressly was the morning anchor at KATV in Little Rock. Her parents released a statement saying that they are relying on their faith to get them through this loss. Their daughter was only 26 years old.
HOLMES: Another just horrible story now here about four high school cheerleaders who were killed in a fiery crash on their way back from a football game. This was in rural road on Friday night. Police say their SUV hydroplaned and slammed into a car. One person in that other car also killed. And this is from the community of Scott County, Tennessee. Rescuers say fog and slick roads may have contributed to this accident.
Well, in South Carolina's coastal area, a lot rain there. Drivers in the Downtown Charlotte -- or Charleston, actually, found themselves in pretty deep water here. Flash flood watch is issued Friday for the area around Charleston. Six inches of rain is what caused all this. Water as high as three feet reported on some roads. More than 20,000 customers also lost power in the central part of South Carolina.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk a little bit about that weather and where it is headed. You are going to see some of it today. Reynolds Wolf joins us now with the latest on that.
Good morning, Reynolds.
WOLF: Good morning, guys.
It's not quite as heavy along the eastern seaboard. As I step out way, you'll notice much that is now moving well up the coast. But if you look in the northeast, you are talking towards Maine, we're seeing some scattered showers on parts of I-95.
And then back out to Great Lakes, we are seeing something a little bit different, still rainfall. But you'll notice, way up on the northern peninsula of Michigan, we are seeing a few scattered snow showers that are starting to develop. And as we make our way back up into parts of the northern plains, into, say, Grand Forks, just southward into Fargo, you're seeing a lot of that precipitations switching over into -- from the blue to pink and the white, which indicates freezing rain and, of course, that snowfall. It looks like it's going to continue for a good part day.
And in terms of temperatures, this morning, 34 degrees in Bismarck. Duluth, you got 39 degrees. Thunder Bay is currently 41. And 43 in Green Bay. Daytime high today, you better enjoy the mild conditions along parts of the eastern board because we do expect a bit of a cool down. Seventy-one degrees is the high in Atlanta today.
We're expecting temperatures that we don't see on the map, in places like New Orleans to be mainly into the low 80s and maybe some upper 70s.
Great conditions for the voodoo festival. Take a look at this video that we got. It was a great time there. You know, the voodoo festival is actually been around for about 10 years. They started off with 45 acts. Now, they are up to about 100 acts. They've got groups like Stone Temple Pilots. They got groups like, on the same time (ph), REM. They're going to be playing. It should be a wonderful time for them today.
Very quickly, as we go back to the weather computer, we are going to show you the reason why we're going to see some transformations. It's going to be due to this frontal boundary that has been moving through the Great Lakes. As this pushes on through, it's going to be bring a lot of cold air from later today and into tomorrow, and breezy conditions for much of the eastern seaboard. Also, look for lake- effect snowfall in Buffalo and Cleveland by tomorrow.
That's your forecast. Let's go back to you, guys.
NGUYEN: Only you, Reynolds, will bring out the voodoo festival and make it pertinent to what's going on.
WOLF: Story of my life, guys.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, thanks, buddy.
NGUYEN: All right. We don't have any voodoo dolls of you. So, don't worry. You are good to go so far.
WOLF: For now.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But Mrs. Wolf does.
NGUYEN: Oh.
HOLMES: We've seen them.
NGUYEN: Mrs. Wolf is a sweet lady. She wouldn't have them.
HOLMES: With voodoo dolls.
WOLF: Like everyone, we all have our moments, no question.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. That's true.
WOLF: With voodoo dolls that T.J.'s had.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: See you later. HOLMES: All right. We're going to come back to the campaign frail and the battle for Virginia when it's supposed to be much of a battleground. It's been a red state for a long time.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Well, now John McCain is on the defensive there and trying to actually turn the tide. He is behind.
NGUYEN: Both sides, in fact, are keeping the motivation going and the phones -- they keep ringing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Battleground Virginia. Wait a minute. That state has been voting red in presidential races for 40 years. Now this year, though, things could be different. But the campaigns, both of them, are keeping up the fight.
And here's our Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think we count on your support for Barack Obama for presidency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, definitely.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With just days left before the election, the campaigns are waging a ground war in swing states like Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is from Al (ph) from the McCain campaign/Palin campaign. And we are calling to see if we can count on your vote this November 4th.
BOLDUAN: Virginia has elected a Republican in every presidential race since 1968. But the latest CNN/"Time"/Opinion Research Poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by 10 points in the state. Unions and other Democrats are mobilizing to make sure that lead holds up on Election Day.
KAREN ACKERMAN, POLITICAL DIRECTOR, AFL-CIO: It is a very exciting moment. The crowd is bigger than we have ever had before and we are walking more union members, more households. We're talking to more people.
BOLDUAN: Democrats are focusing on trying to turn out the millions of new voters they've registered. Republicans want to make sure GOP voters are motivated to go to the polls. With efforts, they say, go beyond the traditional push in last 72 hours before November 4th.
SUSAN ALLEN, CHAIRWOMAN, VIRGINIA WOMEN FOR MCCAIN: You can see these phone base, we have 21 phone banks across Virginia like this, packed with people calling others, making sure that they are voting with our team.
BOLDUAN: Democrats in Virginia have outspent the GOP all year in get out the vote effort. But Republicans say there's more to victory than campaign money.
ALLEN: We think we've got a great ground game. We know that we've got people power.
BOLDUAN: The candidates know Virginia is crucial. Each ticket has campaigned here at least three times just this month. Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, stopped in Suffolk, Virginia, Saturday.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We win here and we win the presidency.
BOLDUAN (on camera): The big question is, which candidate will benefit from this big final push to get voters into the voting booths. No one can be certain until the polls close November 4th.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Yesterday, we asked you if you are worried about your job out there. We got a lot of responses.
NGUYEN: Yes, a flood of them, in fact. And CNN's Josh Levs has been going through the e-mails and finding some really dramatic stories.
Josh, tell us about some of them.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Moving -- some of the things that we are hearing. It's a really good taste of what people are going through right now in this economy.
Let's zoom in on the board. We've pulled some right here into a Word doc. You can just see, "My husband has worked for the same company for 36 years. When it was bought out recently by a foreign investment group, they fired all the employees with over 20 years seniority. My husband received a five-minute meeting in which he wasn't allowed to ask questions. And all he got was 12 weeks severance pay. After searching for a job five months, he finally found employment for less pay." That's L.B. in Virginia.
Let's scroll down a little bit. "I work in a computer field. I have a very hard time finding a job when the startup I worked for didn't make it. I'm working now as a contractor. I fear that when my contract is up, I will have to go another year without a job. Health insurance is a big issue also, since my wife lost her job. We are now on Cobra, which costs about $900 per month."
We got time for one more. Let's get this one in there. "I have worked in the property and casualty insurance industry in central Florida for 25 years. The agency I worked for was forced to sell or go bankrupt, as was the agency I relocated to. I have spent the past eight months job searching. And at one interview, two weeks ago, more than 400 people showed up for the one agent position available."
Look at this. "To narrow the field, only those applicants not requiring health insurance or benefits were asked to submit resumes."
Guys, we are going to keep following these stories. And here at CNNMoney.com, the stories are about people, all over the country. Some of them contacting us through e-mail and through iReport, letting us know what you are going through in these difficult times. And I'll tell you, in the weeks ahead, we're going to keep up this conversation. We'd love to hear your stories. So, keep them coming.
NGUYEN: Yes, and the difficult ones at that though. OK, thank you, Josh.
LEVS: OK. Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: On difficult economic times, how do you reinvent yourself and reinvent your career? It's about an hour from now, we're going to get some tips from a career coach on how you -- a lot of what you have to do. You go back and get new some skills sometimes.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: And then new job markets.
NGUYEN: And sometimes, it's just how you present yourself, you know.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Also this. It's something that you do not see everyday by any means.
HOLMES: Yes, maybe just a glimpse, some would call it. But we'll explain this in further detail ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Take a look. That is no ordinary blimp. In fact, it's a newly-built zeppelin, a remake of the 246-foot blimp-like vessel that used to carry passengers and drop bombs up until the 1930s.
HOLMES: And that California company is planning to offer tours of the San Francisco Bay in the zeppelin. That would be a lovely tour to take in.
NGUYEN: How much does that cost?
HOLMES: I think a ticket is going to be around $495.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: $495.
NGUYEN: Yes, that's a lot of money.
HOLMES: So, Betty, get to it.
NGUYEN: I'll wait on it as a gift.
OK. Meantime, listen to this.
You know, it's been a long time since we showcased an implosion. Haven't seen one of that sort in a while. What was that? Well, we are being told that it was part of the old College Avenue Bridge in Appleton, Wisconsin. It kind of look like a statue or something.
HOLMES: It did. Twenty four hundred pounds of dynamite used here.
NGUYEN: There is a larger shot. Maybe that was the dynamite that we saw. I don't know, I'm guessing here.
HOLMES: All right, 2,400 pounds to destroy one of the columns.
NGUYEN: Oh, a column. That's what it is. OK, that all makes sense.
HOLMES: There we go. Now, officials say, a new wider version of that bridge will open next November.
NGUYEN: It's written all over his cows. You've got to check this out. A Florida dairy farmer with a passion for baseball, specifically the Tampa Bay Rays, is expressing it with a little help from his cows.
HOLMES: Yes. He dressed his cows up in Ray gear, if will you. The cow bells which is certainly something you see in the stadium there, that's there thing, kind of. Also, the Ray-Hawk, lot of people wearing them, Mohawks as well down there. This is got to be inhumane.
Now, blue paint on the foreheads as well. Right now his Rays are down two games to one to the Philadelphia Phillies after last night's game. So, this might be all for not.
NGUYEN: And they are off. This is the animal marine marathon, Marine Corps marathon in D.C. just kicked off at the top of the hour. And there are thousands of them. Last year, 30,000 people turned out for this. It is the fourth largest marathon in the U.S. The eighth largest in the world. This is a big deal. But you know what? The winner -- guess what the winner gets?
HOLMES: Nothing.
NGUYEN: Absolutely zilch.
HOLMES: But that's been the...
NGUYEN: But a bragging right.
HOLMES: It's the draw of this marathon.
NGUYEN: Yes. HOLMES: They still call it the "people's marathon." This idea came about back in 1975 actually. For just that reason, something for the Marine Corps and the ideals they believe in. But, it started here right at 8:00 o'clock. This is Arlington, Virginia.
But yes, the winner gets nothing. Yes, like you said, maybe bragging rights. But it's the people's marathon, nobody is running for prize money here.
NGUYEN: Sometimes, those bragging rights is better than any money that you can give them.
HOLMES: Well, for somebody that talks as much trash as you (INAUDIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: This is my kind of race, isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: All right. Speaking of races, how about racing off and getting a job in this economy. Landing and keeping your job. It's very difficult these days. So, how do you make yourself irreplaceable? We are working on that, aren't we?
HOLMES: We're working hard on that.
NGUYEN: A hiring expert weighs in.
HOLMES: I am going to be listening intently to that interview.
NGUYEN: And taking notes.
HOLMES: But first, "HOUSE CALL" with a guy who -- he's got a pretty good job security...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He starts right now.
