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CNN Saturday Morning News

10 Days Away From the Presidential Election and Candidates Still Campaigning; Jennifer Hudson's Mother and Brother Found Dead; Economy Still Issue Number One

Aired October 25, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should be talking about Joe the taxi driver, but it's OK. You know.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We will be hearing from Joe the taxi driver, yes. If you want to gauge the economy, all you have to do is talk to a cab driver.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Joe the taxi driver. We got Obama the candidate and McCain the candidate there as well. They've been campaigning, it seems like, since inauguration day of '04 but they really haven't. This has been going on a long time and could you believe we're down to 10 days this morning, and we are examining the 10 key issues as we count you down to election day.

NGUYEN: Also, a dream girl's life turns into a real nightmare. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother are found dead. We'll have much more on that story for you this morning.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING -- SATURDAY, I should say, I'm getting ahead of myself.

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: October 25th. Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: You got a full day ahead to do this tomorrow, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: You even got three more hours to do this this morning.

NGUYEN: A lot that's ahead.

HOLMES: Don't get ahead of yourself there. Hello there. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We're going to start with this tragedy really. A well-known celebrity, an Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson, her mother and brother were found murdered. A lot of people certainly remember her from the "American Idol" fame. She is one of the final 10 there and also the movie "Dream Girls." Now, reports say a suspect is in custody now. Police, however, have not confirmed that just yet.

NGUYEN: And we just got word police have found one of the cars that they have been looking for. And they think that this car may be the one a suspect took off in with Hudson's seven-year-old nephew. And they say this may be the man who abducted him. We'll try to get that video for you. There you go. They say William Balfour is a suspect in the child's abduction, but they're not saying that he's a suspect in the killings. Let's be clear about that.

Moments ago, though, we heard from Balfour's mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE BALFOUR, ABDUCTION SUSPECT'S MOTHER: I just want the Chicago Police Department to quit harassing my family, quit harassing my friends, quit doing this to my family. I had to leave work in order to come home so -- and my goddaughter had to leave work. We are being victims of something. They don't even know the real truth of what's going on with this story. Just bring that -- bring the baby home. Just bring her son home. Then we can go to step b.

Let's first get to a. Let's bring this baby back home, let him bond back with his mother. I don't know what's going on. I don't know why are they so focusing on this so hard. Focus on this baby. Where is this -- where is this child at? Where's her son? That's what I want to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, police did find the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother yesterday at a home in the south side of Chicago.

HOLMES: We have gotten word from Jennifer Hudson's side, this is coming from her publicist actually, Lisa Kasteier saying "We can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation concerning the deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson. No further comment will be made and the family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time."

NGUYEN: Police have issued an amber alert for Jennifer Hudson's seven-year-old nephew, Julian King. And as we said, they think that he may have been abducted. So, if you have any information, take a look at this picture. See if you've seen Julian King. If you recognize him, if you may have seen him recently, if you have, police want you to call 911.

HOLMES: Shifting gears now, just 10 days for the candidates to convince voters and today they are rolling across the battleground states. CNN political producer Sasha Johnson is watching from Washington.

Sasha, just how tight is this race as we're going into, what, 10 days now until the election? SASHA JOHNSON, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Absolutely, 10 days left. I mean, if you look at the race nationally, Barack Obama obviously has an edge and a decisive edge at some of those polls but as you sort of drill down into these states, states like Nevada, New Mexico. It definitely is a closer race. It definitely is arguably a tossup in some of these western states.

And kind of if you look at where the candidates are today, you take a look at where John McCain is, John McCain is in New Mexico today. He's doing two rallies there. Sarah Palin is in Iowa. She's doing three rallies there. Those are states that George Bush won in 2004.

And the fact that McCain and Palin are back in these states so close to the election kind of defending Republican territory, sort of shows -- gives you a state at play right now with this race that, you know, Barack Obama is kind of able to go into some of these state that George Bush won and try to make inroads. And McCain and Palin are forced to defend them at this point.

NGUYEN: All right. Meanwhile, what's on the schedule for the Democrats this weekend?

JOHNSON: Well, we know that Barack Obama returned from Hawaii very early this morning. He has two events in Nevada today, and one event in New Mexico. He'll be in New Mexico later tonight after John McCain leaves. Again, those are two states that voted for George Bush in 2004. And Joe Biden is back in Virginia, a state that Barack Obama campaign has put a ton of money into, into the ground game, into advertising. They're really pushing to get an early win in that state and hope to sort of set the trend on election night.

One thing that Barack Obama's campaign manager said yesterday was they feel very comfortable that they are in good shape with the John Kerry map from 2004, those Democratic states. And again, that is why Barack Obama can spend the weekend visiting states that George Bush won in 2004 and not really having to touch those Democratic states.

NGUYEN: All right. Sasha Johnson joining us live today. Thank you Sasha for that.

Meanwhile, Governor Sarah Palin answers some really pressing questions, but not about the campaign. Palin's attorney says she gave three hours of depositions yesterday to the Alaska Personnel Board. Now, that board is looking into whether she unfairly fired the state's public safety director. The former director says Palin fired him after he refused to sack a state trooper who divorced Palin's sister.

All right. "10 issues in 10 days." We are counting down to election day, breaking down the issues that you care about most. And telling you what the presidential candidates want to do about them.

HOLMES: Excuse me, you caught me in a yawn there.

NGUYEN: Yawning? This is important stuff, interesting stuff.

HOLMES: This is very important stuff. It had nothing to do with that.

NGUYEN: Still early, yes.

HOLMES: Had to do with me getting here at 3:00 this morning, that's all. Well, the problems and the plans, education, health care, Homeland Security, going to kick things off today with issue number one, the economy. Ten issues, ten days only right here. And of course, we have been talking the polls in Washington. A lot of people there, lobbyists, lawmakers, a lot of people in the know.

But if you really want to know what's going on, you need to check in with CNN's Zain Verjee for taxicab confessions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Taxi!

D.C. cabbies, that United Nations of political pundits is speeding toward the finish line of campaign 2008.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Washington, D.C..

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Sierra Leone and I'm now a U.S. citizen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born and raised on Capitol Hill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm from Somalia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from the city of Washington, D.C.

VERJEE: As the incumbent prepares an exit, the cabbies are ready for the next act. With all the stops and goes and left and right turns, it's now just a short sprint to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For most of the people, they said Obama. Obama is the one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has his ups and downs, but he has more ups than downs.

VERJEE: The tuned-in cabbies talk up McCain. Do you think that McCain has the kind of experience that a lot of people say that they want?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, I believe it. And I believe it's a lot of hidden votes.

VERJEE: Do you think that the temperaments of the candidates matter here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, of course. Of course it does. Like McCain , he is short-tempered. Sometimes he gets, you know --

VERJEE: Are you worried about any last-minute surprises?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned. The Republicans are behind right now, but I believe that they might have a bombshell.

VERJEE: And the cabbies are watching the meter and the gas gauge. They should be talking about Joe the taxi driver?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, they should be talking about Joe the taxi driver, but it's OK. You know.

VERJEE: But what would Joe the taxi driver tell the candidates?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what we'll tell the candidates is, first of all, gas prices are killing us right now. That is our biggest concern.

VERJEE: Do you think McCain will be more sensitive to the issues of seniors?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.

VERJEE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he is a senior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last thing I always tell my passengers, regardless of who they're for, let's make sure we vote.

VERJEE: How do you tell John McCain or Barack Obama how to get to the White House?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, by now both of them should know how to get to the White House.

VERJEE: Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And that ought to be an interesting expense report from Zain on all those cab rides she took.

NGUYEN: Where was she going, by the way?

HOLMES: Who knows? Probably ran her errands that day.

NGUYEN: Probably.

HOLMES: Ten days and 10 issues will keep the focus on the economy the next hour with a look at the job market. The class of 2009, looking ahead, wondering what awaits them after graduation. We'll take a look.

NGUYEN: And there is more fallout from the financial crisis, huge job cuts by a U.S. car company.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. So getting a good score, it is so important. And our Gerri Willis has some tips that can get you back on your financial feet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Yes. Real cause, real effect here. 5,000 jobs gone. Struggling car company Chrysler says it is slashing 25 percent of its white collar workforce in the hopes of staying afloat. Chrysler says it will initially offer some employees buyout in early retirement packages. These cuts, in addition to 29,000 layoffs, by Chrysler in the past two years.

NGUYEN: And drug maker Merck is among those big companies hit by the nation's economic crunch. Merck says it will cut 7,200 jobs, about 12 percent of its workforce. Merck says it expects sales to grow by only two to four percent through 2010.

HOLMES: We talk about job cuts there, a lot of people worried about their jobs. And we're asking you this morning, tell us if you're worried. A lot of us -- certainly a lot of people -- I said a lot of us, I should be worried about my job here, too, possibly. Everybody should.

NGUYEN: Don't say that too loud.

HOLMES: But you know, definitely, everybody is kind of writing in, telling us what they think.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. And CNN's Josh Levs is going over the e- mails. What kind of stories are you getting, Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The really powerful stories, really interesting. Let's get right to it. We're going to zoom back in the board. This one is from Chris in Union, New Jersey, this just came to us at weekends@CNN.com. "The company I work for has been outsourcing jobs to India for years. I have seen many co-workers terminated and I'm worried about my job."

Let's scroll down a little bit to the next one. "My husband has been working for a construction company for the last three years. He had been making a sufficient amount of money so I could stay home to take care of our baby boy. Now, it's becoming more of a problem making ends meet because his hours have been cut drastically. We don't know what is in store for our future though." That was from Yvonne Torres from San Antonio.

Let's do one more here. This one was interesting. "I left the food service industry where I had top jobs and contacts, to teach English in Mexico over two years ago. Now, I want to move home but it looks as though it may not be the time to come home even to be a waiter. Who would have figured that Americans would have to go to Mexico for job security. There are a lot of us here."

Let's show the question one more time. We have a graphic for you here. This is the question. It's, are you worried about your job? We'd love to hear your story. Weekends@cnn.com. And guys, we're going to keep sharing more of these stories throughout the weekend. This is really a very good taste of what people are struggling with in so many places throughout the country.

HOLMES: All right.

NGUYEN: No doubt. Yes, that's really -- eye-opening when you say that one particular viewer said, you know what job security in Mexico looks a lot better than job security in the U.S.

LEVS: Isn't that crazy? It's nonsensical but for some people, it is, yes.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks.

HOLMES: All right. We'll turn over to Reynolds Wolf. Things are getting a little different, starting to feel like it's becoming fall and maybe even winter around here, some mornings at least.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, you're absolutely right. I mean, certainly chilly conditions this morning in Atlanta, parts of the northeast. We have temperatures mainly into the 40s and 50s, including Washington, D.C., where right now take a look at this shot. It's 58 degrees, but we can expect a chance of scattered showers for our nation's capital, and many other places in the northeast.

As then we round out the weekend, possibly some snow. We'll have more on that coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAIL ROTHMAN, EARLY VOTER: Yes, just be patient, I think, getting sort of excited about how many people there are instead of frustrated by it. Come early and bring a book and just, just look around and just see how many people are here and how that can really change the outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And speaking of politics, he calls it the cause of his life. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy has been secretly working on major health care legislation while being treated for brain cancer. Kennedy's aides say his goal is to give all Americans access to quality, affordable health care. They say he hopes the legislation will be approved by Congress early next year and signed into law by Barack Obama if he's elected. Health care is one of Obama's top priorities.

HOLMES: And speaking of health care, you know, sometimes you have to go to the doctor, they stick you in the waiting room, then they stick you in the other little room, and then you have to wait for the doctor longer. No waiting here. Just drive through. It's a hospital just outside of Boston allowing drivers to get a quick shot, a flu shot. NGUYEN: That's a good idea I think.

HOLMES: Pull up the car, nurse takes care of the rest for you. Patients say it's a great way to avoid having to wait in those long lines and, of course, waiting in the doctor's office.

We'll turn to another story that I don't know for some reason you like. Kind of a nasty story.

NGUYEN: It is.

HOLMES: Of course, some homeowners in the Sacramento area. The neighborhood has literally gone to the birds.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. Vacant homes in Elk Grove are now becoming huge birdhouses, all types of birds are just camping out on top of, inside of, all of that. And we all know what a bunch of birds leave behind.

HOLMES: What is it, Betty, what do they leave behind?

NGUYEN: Well, you just saw a little bit of that. It's a mess. It's a nasty, stinky mess.

HOLMES: Well, a guy in the neighborhood actually likened it to Albert Hitchcock's "The Birds," not quite this bad, but you get the idea. The Elk Grove birds haven't pecked out anybody's eyes but people are starting to wear protective eye wear just in case.

NGUYEN: Yes and other protection, too. Because that place is full of stench. Reynolds Wolf, I mean --

HOLMES: Speechless.

NGUYEN: They need some rain. They need something to just wash that place out.

WOLF: Yes, something. Pretty nasty stuff. At least the homes aren't empty. You know, as long as they pay the bills. Hey, no one's going to argue about the birds. As long they pay it's bills on time.

Hey, guys, right now, what we're seeing in parts of the northeast, a lot of rain, a lot of scattered showers, nothing severe at this point, but we're going to see some big changes going from raindrops to snowflakes as we round out the weekend.

Right now, the heaviest rainfall in parts of I-81 near Buffalo, southward to Pittsburgh, even in Detroit, you got the cloudy skies, you may see a sprinkle or two. But as we round out the weekend, again, those changes are going to be coming. Going from the rain to the snow. But to get that snow, you got to have some cold air. Right now, we got fairly chilly conditions, 45 degrees in Detroit, 48 in Albany, 49 in Pittsburgh.

But what we're going to see is a frontal boundary sweep on through parts of the great lakes and into the northeast. As it does so, it's got a big shot of cold air coming in right behind it. As it moves across the Great Lakes, we're going to see the coldest air of the season and with that, the possibility of seeing some scattered snow showers in places like Cleveland, maybe even Buffalo.

And we're not going to see it necessarily today or tomorrow, but as we get into late Sunday and possibly into Monday, that's when it looks like the snow machines are going to start kicking up, especially in places like Buffalo, back over to Cleveland, we can see some heavier snowfall.

And I tell you, it looks like Michigan may be into the mix, too. Places farther to the north, say Traverse City. You might get the scattered snow showers. Yes, it could happen there too. We are also going to be dealing with today, though, fairly mild conditions. So, enjoy those temperatures. Again, 63 degrees in D.C. That's the high for the day. New York, 63. Enjoy this day because it's not going to last.

Anyone who happens to be a baseball fan watching the series in Philadelphia tonight, the game is going to be into the 60s for the first pitch, but then as we make our way through the late innings, temperatures are going to drop, chance of scattered showers. The first pitch may be delayed a bit due to the rainfall. And then, as we make our way back out to the west, dry conditions in Kansas City, 68 degrees. 70 in Denver. 84 in Las Vegas. 78 in San Francisco. Portland, not bad at all, 64 degrees. And Houston and Dallas, mainly temperatures into the upper 60s or rather upper 70s and low 80s. Houston, 82.

That is a look at your forecast. And certainly not for the birds. Let's send it back to you guys.

NGUYEN: Well, you know the weather is changing outside. I came in a with coat today, but folks there in Phoenix, it's a really chilly 91 there.

WOLF: You came in with a Coke or a coat?

NGUYEN: A coat.

WOLF: I thought maybe you were thirsty and cold. I have no idea. There you go.

NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds. Talk to you later.

HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.

We'll turn back to some talk about the economy now. Getting a loan, a lot of people, many of you have realized it's not as easy to get that loan as it used to be. The economic crisis making you tough on everybody. Well, our personal finance editor Gerri Willis has something important you need to know here, possibly to help you get that loan a little easier. It's improving your credit score.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi there, T.J.

With lenders boosting the credit scores they're requiring to lend consumers money, now is a great time to think about improving your credit score. Consider this. To get the best loan terms two years ago, you would have need a FICO score of 720 to 750. Today, you need a score of 750 to 780.

First off, handling several types of credit is key to improving your credit score. Credit cards are part of the mix, but paying off mortgages or loans on time will improve your score. Payment history is 35 percent of your credit score. Lenders look at your credit history as far back as seven years, but they really scrutinize the last 24 months.

So, look out for those late notices. It's It's also a good idea to use only 10 percent of your available credit limit on each card and hey avoid canceling old credit cards. Watch those credit card limits. More and more card issuers are cutting your credit limit. When your limit is cut, your debt looks bigger by comparison. Your credit score takes a hit.

Coming up on "OPEN HOUSE," we're breaking down the candidates' plans for issue number one, the economy. Why some think living large is a thing of the past and what they've done to scale back and a look at what you could be paying for holiday travel this season. That's "OPEN HOUSE," 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. We thank Gerri. We'll see her here in just a few minutes.

NGUYEN: It's something that we're following this morning, a murder on Chicago's south side. It is a family tragedy for a rising young star.

HOLMES: Actress and singer -- actually Oscar-award winning actress Jennifer Hudson. Well, her mom and here brother were shot dead. Police say another family member may be a suspect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRICK SCHOFIELD, FIRST-TIME VOTER: This is my first election. I'm very proud of it. I'm kind of nervous. I want to cry because people are paying attention to what's going on, and people are all here voting early so their vote can count. That's why I'm here. I'm making sure my vote counts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, he wants to cry. Some people want to cry because they're tired of looking at some of these faces.

NGUYEN: Or standing in those long lines. HOLMES: For standing in the line. Hours in the early voting. Who knows what it's going to be like on election day if this is what we're seeing already. But these faces, some people actually want to dress up as their favorite presidential --

NGUYEN: Haven't you seen them enough?

HOLMES: -- candidate this Halloween. These things are going to be huge. But masks of all of them, not just the current candidates, but some of the presidents past. You'll see the president there, Laura Bush.

NGUYEN: Yes. You know, this happens every year. There are so popular that you see these faces and the store in Minneapolis has a whole bunch of them. Would-be presidents like you know, Hillary Clinton, also available in latex mask form. And of course, if you want to look like Sarah Palin, you can do that, too. I know we're going to see a lot of that on Halloween.

HOLMES: Well, we saw a lot of Sarah Palin actually last weekend, "Saturday Night Live." She made her big appearance with Tina Fey.

NGUYEN: That's right. Yes.

HOLMES: Everybody loved seeing that but "Saturday Night Live," this has been the best thing that ever happened to them. Biggest rating thing that really in the history of that store what they have been seeing with the presidential election. And they have been bringing back some of the old veterans. You know, they used --

NGUYEN: To play the parts. OK.

HOLMES: To pick up some of their old roles. Check out some of the latest here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "GEORGE W. BUSH": I, George W. Bush, endorse John McCain and Sarah Palin with all my heart. John was there for me 90 percent of the time over the last eight years. When you think of me -- when you think of John McCain, think of me, George W. Bush. Think of this face. When you're in the voting booth, before you vote, think of this face. Right here. A vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Certainly a play there, and even there was a story just the last couple of days where he's been called Bush the invisible man on the campaign trail because he has not been out there. The favorability ratings in the 20 percentile, I do believe it is.

NGUYEN: Right.

HOLMES: And a lot of people certainly know -- NGUYEN: Well, McCain even brought it up in one of the presidential debates, said you know, I'm not George Bush. If you wanted to run against him, you should have done it awhile back.

HOLMES: And he's repeated that on the campaign trail quite a bit. But --

NGUYEN: I wonder if it matters, though, when you see these parodies, I wonder if it skews voting. I wonder if voters really watch that and you know and take it to heart?

HOLMES: Or maybe they just enjoy it because it's funny. No matter what.

NGUYEN: It's hilarious. Maybe we can get the truth squad on that one.

HOLMES: Yes, no matter --

NGUYEN: Talk to Josh about it.

HOLMES: But we are down, can you believe, just to 10 days. And in these 10 days, we're going to tackle 10 issues, we'll keep them -- the focus right now on the economy. That's going to be next hour. It's going to be the first one. And really a lot of people say, the most important one to look at. We're going to take a look at the job market right now.

NGUYEN: The class of 2009 is looking ahead, in fact, and what awaits them after graduation? We are going to delve into that.

HOLMES: But up first here, and as promised, Gerri Willis, of course, going to be talking about the economy as well.

NGUYEN: Economy, it is issue number one.

HOLMES: And credit issues, all kinds of stuff. So, stick around for that. Betty and I, at the top of the hour will be right back here with you to continue our CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We'll see you soon.