big deal down in florida, because florida will play a big role in helping to choose the new gop nominee. >> that, too, is going to be very interesting to see who chris christie throws his support. all right. mark preston, thanks so much. good to see you. more much of the newsroom so far. with suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed for wednesday, october 5th. p protesters will get reinforcements this afternoon. labor unions are asking workers to skip work in occupy wall street is an organization made

up of mostly 20-somethings, they're angry about fat wall street paychecks, war, environment, you name it. the protests have been going on for three weeks now and now have spread to other cities. americans absolutely fed up with congress. new numbers leave no doubt that a washington post/abc news poll found just 14% of the public approves of the job that congress is doing. congress's lowest rating ever. amanda knox says right now, she just wants time with her family. knox is home in seattle today for the first time in four years. she went to italy for college studies but ended up in prison for murder. >> reminding me to speak in english because i'm having problems with that. i'm really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down from the

airplane and it seemed like everything wasn't real. >> knox was serving a 26-year sentence for killing her roommate and appeals court overturned that murder conviction on monday. u.s. ambassador susan rice is calling it an outrage, she walked out of the u.n. after china and russia blocked a measure targeting syria. she said that would rather sell weapons to the syrian regime than stand with the people who want freedom. you're seeing pictures there of a brutal crackdown of to protests. the u.n. resolution condemn the crackdown on those protesters and opened the door to sanctions. the u.n. said that 2600 syrians have been killed since march in those protests. wildfire once again threatening people and property

in bastrop county, texas, about 1,000 acres are burning today. fires forced 30 families to leave their homes, it was just last month, when a huge firestourm destroyed 1500 homes in that county. a new york congresswoman said that it's time to look at limits on helicopter traffic over manhattan. now, you're looking at this scene a crash on tuesday killed an australian tourist who was celebrating her 40th birthday. three other passengers and the pilot survived. witnesses said that the helicopter belly flopped right into the east river right after takeoff. >> i thought that i was going to see people bobbing up and down in the water. there was no one. just those two struts pointing towards queens and then they popped up. i honestly think they went down to rescues the others and they

were like look -- >> since 2005 five helicopters have crashed into the east river surrounding manhattan, killing 10 people. unbelievable, would you believe that explosion did not hurt the firefighters? they were going inside a burning restaurant in franklin, ohio, boom a back draft ripped the doors and the windows. that's when the fire suddenly got a burst of energy. when someone opens a door or window typically. here's your chance to talk back one of the big stories of the day the question today, could occupy wall street become a new political party? carol costello has more from new york. carol, what we heard about the tea party at first is they didn't have an organized leadership, they weren't sure who was speaking for their

organization and people are talking about this protest movement, becoming somewhat of a model of the tea party. >> reporter: absolutely. the tea party was a grass roots movement. suzanne, ever since the don of the tea party, they have yearned of a revolution of their own. how better to get than railing against wall street. >> that's the end result of banker overplaying their hand. they were already filthy rich. >> moore is lending his hand to the movement. the movement has spread to other cities with the help of facebook and twitter. hundreds of people have been arrested. we see some protesters dressed like zombies.

they're attracting allies. including union. clout, money, anger at the powers that be, it kind of sort of sounds like the start of something. although protesters don't consider themselves political animals. >> we don't want to be, you know, a left political group. we don't want to be a political group at all. we want to be a group that calls for activism. if this continues to grow, suddenly, people will have the same power that, you know, lobbyists have. >> heads up, wall street, even fox news.com, this could be more than a move from the left. could occupy wall street become a new political party? facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnn. >> carol, you do it all. you start early in the morning.

that's okay. that's all right. >> appreciate it. >> we know your on all time. emotional homecoming for amanda knox after spending four years in an italian prison. people who want governments to be more open, they say that rick perry is one of the most secretive governors in government. the wall street protests grow. also, presidential candidate herman cain's plan to simplify the tax code. it's called 9-9-9. we'll explain how that works. and later, it's like a scene from a harry potter move, a cloak to disappear, scientists say they're actually doing this under water. we're america's natural gas

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she was cleared of murder and today amanda knox is back home in the united states for the first time in four years. knox arrived in her hometown of seattle last night. it was the end of a long, legal and emotional journey from murder suspect to being tried and convicted to having her conviction overturned. susan endo reports. >> reporter: amanda knox's nightmare is over, she's back nom seattle. >> i'm really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down for the airplane and it seemed like everything wasn't real. >> reporter: knox seemed overcome we motion upon arriving in the u.s. as she was when an

italian court cleared her of murder. >> i want to say thank you to everyone who's believed in me, defended me, who supported my family -- >> reporter: knox's parents joined their daughter in thanking supporter and it's been a very long four years. but, we couldn't have made it through it without all of you. >> there's no way that we could thank everyone. here's our way to just say thank you. >> reporter: knox and her former boyfriend both walked out of an italian courtroom monday acquitted of the 2007 murder of british exchange student meredith kercher, kercher's family is now left waiting for answer. >> reporter: one of the things is left questioning how the decision that was so adamant the first time around has been so emphatically overturned. >> reporter: her legal saga may not be over.

prosecutors in italy say they plan to appeal their acquittal. so the family of meredith kercher is left with agonizing questions about what happened when she was killed. some legal observers question whether amanda knox is innocent or whether she played some role in kercher's death. nancy grace of our sister network hln, think that the jury got it right the first time. >> i said that there was miscarriage of justice. i believe her original statement to police that she was there in the home when her roommate was murdered was true. i have never believed that she wielded the knife herself. i think the animosity erupted with drugs and alcohol. i think her original story to police was the truth. >> but the defense argued successfully that the dna evidence was contaminated and unreliable.

essentially, you contend that there is not enough dna evidence to link her and the boyfriend to this murder? >> yeah, i would say that there's no physical evidence whatsoever to link either amanda or raffaele to the murder. the italian police went in and took a lot of evidence and unfortunately they arrested amanda and her boyfriend before allowing the dna to be processed. all of that evidence taken from the place the victim was killed, all points to rudy guede. >> joining us now is a criminal defense attorney, how is it people that watch this trial came to opposite, very different conclusions and even different verdicts when it came to amanda knox. >> you know, it's fascinating.

we see such poll rising opinions on it. part of it is social media. we're seeing legal sagas played out in a way that's never happened before. more so than amanda knox or troy davis, which was a big debate a couple of weeks ago here in georgia, it's the overriding concept. it's more like a social moray. if you're opposed to the death penalty you're going to jump on the band wagon we should not execute troy davis this is an american girl done wrong by the italian justice system, you're going jump on that band wagon. you're supporting a theme of a miscarriage of justice. we can get behind that. with the avent of social media, therefore, i'm going to get behind this stance, we now have

social media where people can get on facebook and tell millions of people at the same time what they think and they're not even familiar with the facts of the case. >> let's talk about the cult of personality, how much played a role those in seattle, the friends in amanda knox, painted her as this all-american girl next-door girl type. italian prosecutor painting her as a demonic character. >> what happens is, you have people who truly, truly get entrenched. they love her. that's their perspective nap's why we have the adversal system. so, when you have those positions and you entrench in them, then you get on social media again, people who have never met amanda knox, but think how dare they lock up an american girl in a foreign country that's the concept that

they're fighting against, we don't like unreliable evidence that dna shows one thing and another expert says, no it doesn't, the dna you said that came from the victim could have come from rye bread. >> if amanda knox, if she had tried here in the united states and not over in italy, would it have been different? would people have rallied to her cause and thought that she was innocent if she was not overseas for instance in >> i think we still have seen those same polarizing, here in the u.s., that dna would never had passed muster t er ther in place. in the first trial, this could have come from rye bread. as opposed to a prosecutor saying. here you have this american

she-devil that they're calling foxy knoxy, clearly she's guilty of something. here in america, you would have had a much harder fight. the second witness who placed them, the only witness who placed them was a heroine addict. >> all right, holly, thank you so much. appreciate >> it thanks, suzanne. texas governor rick perry doesn't let the e-mail pile up in his inbox. his staff destroys many of them after seven days. we'll introduce you to a man who's fighting to make perry save thousands of e-mails. he says that it's a push to open a secretive government. (rambling phone conversation)

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here's a chance to choose the news. text for the story that you would like to see. text one for the denmark fat tax, the country first in the world to tax foods that are high in saturated fats. before the tax took effect, the danes started hoarding some foods. and text 2 for surfing becomes sport. move over football, basketball, surfing about to become an official sport for high schoolers in hawaii. text 3 for a leaf blower ban. we'll tell you about their push and how far they have gotten vote by text iing 22360.

winning story's going to air in the next hour. texas governor rick perry, he's finding out that running for president certainly puts you under the microscope, even before perry jumped into the presidential race, he was under a bit of scrutiny, advocates for open governments said that perry administration, one of the most secretive in texas history and one man is determined to pry it open. that story. >> reporter: to find the man who's become unlikely thorn in rick perry's side. drive to milwaukee, wisconsin and meet john washburn. washburn is a computer programmer, opens recorded a row sate. self-described ron paul advocate. >> doesn't like the idea of people of looking over his shoulder, seeing where he's doing. but the whole idea of american government is that you don't trust people with power you watch them.

>> reporter: four years ago, washburn learned that perry's staff destroyed many of its e-mails after seven days. they say this is an unusually short time. washburn created a program that sent automated requests >> this is all the back and forth. >> yes. >> reporter: it was the price that perry's office charged that stunned washburn. what did you think. >> i laughed. i laughed out loud the first time i saw it. >> reporter: did you ever come across a response like this? >> nope. certainly not for this kind of money. >> reporter: it wouldn't be the last time that rick perry's office would shock john washburn. rick perry defended his e-mail destruction policy like in this memorable interview. >> why not have them stay around longer for the purpose of open

records? >> for how long? i said it's seven days. >> do i get, governor, do i get to pick? how about a month. >> you don't get to pick. i say 30 days. >> i don't. >> and that's the opened of the conversation. >> reporter: governor perry went on to say that he didn't want state employees organizing open records requests for people going on fishing escapades. >>. >> president of the united states. >> reporter: after perry announced that he's running for president, john washburn fired up the open records requests again. and the bill for that four days' worth of e-mails. >> $2304. >> reporter: $2300 for four days of e-mail. >> reporter: sfl correct. >> if he wants to see them all it will add up to $210,000 for a full year of e-mail se-mails.

>> ed, joins us now, good to see you here in person. any revelations that have come from perry's e-mails? >> let's be clear, washburn has no idea of what's in these e-mails. it's a wide net that he's cast with this. when he did this in 2007, he put in ten requests. he took some donations to help pay for it. he found in one story, one story emerged that from that, a story in texas, underfunded foster care homes and foster care situation there. children in foster care were sleeping in the offices of state employees because they didn't have any place to put them. that story wouldn't have emerged had this not been paid for. >> they have no idea, really. >> this time around, this price tag is much heftier and washburn

doesn't think he'll be able to follow through and pay for it. >> that's lot lot of money. hes he going to try? >> he got that letter in the last week and a half. he's in the process of trying to figure this out. lot of back and forth here. he'll continue that. there are other requests, he'll get those responses. he's trying to figure out how he can push it this time around. they're saving the e-mails and protecting everything that we need to save. and we're following the rules that have been in place even before rick perry has been in office. >> absolutely, thank you, ed. the occupy wall street movement is gaining ground after hundreds were arrested on the brooklyn bridge over the weekend. hear why so many are protesting.

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here's what's ahead on the rundown next, they are

leaderless and growing. protesters on wall street want to inspire protests across the country. a live report from new york. president rnl republican candidate herman cain says that he can fix the economy with a tax plan he calls 9-9-9. but what is it exactly? 11:40 eastern, scientists are finding ways to make objects vanish. it's not magic it's mirage. wall street protesters are rallying for a third straight week, today thousands of labor union members are joining them. protests have stretched from new york to boston to los angeles, the movement is called occupy wall street. protesters got a lot of messages. one overall point is how the average worker is struggling. last year, ceos earned 343 times more than the typical american worker, that's

according to the afl-cio. and chief executives at the nation's fortune 500 companies earned $11 million. where the average american worker made $33,000. so, income inequality, not the only thing protesters are concerned about. susan candiotti is joining us from the protests. you have been covering these protests for days now, what are the folks there telling you? >> you know, these are people who represent various walks of way, people who are students here, unemployed or have been laid off. they have been take up occupancy for more than three weeks now. they represent different point of views. talking about job cuts and benefits that have been slashed.

which is why in part, lot of unions are coming here to participate in a demonstration to inject more manpower in this movement. a couple of people who are not camped out but who coordinated their long planned vacation to be here today, four people who are retired, you are in different liebs nes of work, yo worked as an automated manager, why did you feel it important to join in this protest today? >> okay, for one thing, i'm glad that young people are involved in this protest. i'm here because i want politicians, our representatives to know that seniors are also very interested. mature people. i'm here because our representatives and our senators are not listening to their constituents. this wouldn't be necessary if they were listening to us and

representing what we want to be done. >> reporter: how do you think gathering here today will get politicians to listen and do something? clearly there's no consensus in washington. >> i think more of our politicians see that the people are totally fed up with what's going on and realize that they're being paid to represent us, the people, the everyday people, not the corporations, and they need to make laws and pass the laws to benefit the people in the country and not big business. big business, yes, it's necessary. but, we are the people who need the incomes, we need the jobs, we need the health care, and it's not happening. it's not happening. >> reporter: there seems to be no solutions offered by this group now and no leader, does that bother you right now. >> no. i think the movement has to start somewhere, okay, and

gradually, as you go along, they're refining their goals, making them more focused, okay, and hopefully, with having the labor union representatives here today as well as representatives of some political organizations, the government will see that this is not just a short-term protest. something has to change in this country. we cannot cut back on education, infrastructure, research and development. climate change, innovation that has to be funded. as a senior on fixed income, i'm willing to pay more taxes to do that as long as the corporations and the top 1% wealthy people in the country pay, too, hear that loud and clear, every senator and representative in washington, d.c. >> sounds like you should run, perhaps? >> no, i just get out there and

try, you know, try to educate my friends. the thing is, most people don't have the time to learn what's going on in this country, there's two earners in every family, they have kids. they don't have the time to educate themselves so that they know when politicians are lying and there's plenty of it going on both sides of the aisle. >> thank you very much for joining us today. >> obviously there's a lot of anger, frustrations and people looking for solutions that so far nobody has been able to find. next hour, i'm going to talk to patrick burn every, a college graduate, he plans to live at the protest sight, because he can't find a job. herman cain's 9-9-9 plan is getting a lot of attention, he said that it's going to simplify the nation's tax code. >> here's what we need to do to fix the economy, we need a bold

solution, which is my team and i developed 9-9-9. throw out the current tax code. i know that makes people nervous. but we need to be bold because this economy is on life support. 9-9-9. want to get more on cain's plan, for that we turn to alison kosik on the new york stock exchange. break down this plan. what does he mean by that? >> first of all, keep in mind, overhauling the u.s. tax code is the centerpiece of cain's campaign, the goal of his campaign is create a fairer tax system. he wants to throw out the current tax code in favor of a flat tax, 9% corporate tax, a 9% personal income tax and 9% national sales tax. it would look to end all deductions. payroll taxes and estate taxes.

even capital gains. the flat tax has been proposed in other presidential races before now. the tax code issue is really, really heating up these days. even if his plan doesn't pass, we'll hear more discussion about it. he's opening up the debate even more. >> any idea of what economists are saying about the plan? >> caller: you know, at this point, lot of questions about this plan. right now the plan is really short on some details. one of the big questions is this 9% tax rate, it's low. will there enough money to fund the government? we have had these debt issues with our current tax system. cain said, yes, there will be enough money to fund it. at issue here is social kurt and medicare, will there be enough money to fund those programs. also, one other thing the national sales tax, a real

hot-button issue, this is a tax that will go across the board, i'm talking about food, clothing and housing. to his credit, to cain's credit, his proposal does simplify the tax code. he'll use his time before the election, to explain the details. he's got more than a year to do so. >> alison kosik, thank you. breaking news story, this is a california work place shooting. the latest reporting that we have a disgruntled employee went into a quarry earlier today, shot eight people, officials are now saying that two may have died from their injuries. this shooting took place at permeante in california. a man entered the quarry business at about 7:30 this

morning, 4:30 local time, armed with a handgun and a rifle. two of the eight people shot are possibly dead. that is according to the sergeant. the suspect, we are told from cardozo is armed and dangerous, they are also reports of another incident involving a gunman earlier, again, in cupertino, they're looking into whether or not that is the same suspect. cardozo is describing the suspect as a black male, adult, possibly in his 40s, that's the very latest coming out of c cupertino, california. we'll be following that as we get more details and the story develops. reminder, vote for the choose the news winner. for the story that you would like to see. text 1 for the denmark fat tax.

text 2 for surfing becomes sport. want to take you to the state where it's become an official sport for high schoolers and text 3 for leaf blower ban. winning story is going to air in the next hour. now, you see it and now you don't. researchers coming up with a special cloak that makes objects, yes, disappear. we'll show you how this works. proud of this. man: no...we're not. woman: we...um... teen: have you guys seen captain stewie and lil' miss neptune? dad: did you look all over the place? under your desk? all around? teen: uh, they're fish, they live in a bowl. dad: what're gonna do? anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: there's an easier way to save. teen: whatever. anncr: get online. go to 15% or more on car insurance.r:u

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all right, if you're a harry potter fan, you'll remember this. take a look. >> whoa! >> i don't know what that is. that's an invisibility cloak. >> i'm invisible?

>> that is so cool. harry potter, disappears right before your eyes. now, not so farfetched. researchers at the university of dallas comes up with a cloak that objects vanish. chad myers, does it work? >> you have been to the desert in >> sure. >> you have seen the mirage in desert, it looks like sweater there. there's not. it's just very hot. when the sun comes down, the light bends, it looks like water is there. what if there was a car behind that mirage? you wouldn't see. it's the light bending because of how the heat makes the light bend. if you make something hot enough, could you bend the light so that behind it, you couldn't see what was there? yes, now we can. >> no way. >> yes, we can. if you take one -- this is a molecule, and you put it into a tube, you heat that tube up, you

excite those molecules, you get those very hot and they deflect the light and you cannot see through it. you won't be able to see the other side of it. light is deflecting and you're seeing the reflection of that little white wall there on the other side. if a person was standing behind that, the person would be invisible. >> no way. can they do that? i notice that's under water. can they do it on water >> they're afraid those carbon pipes would melt. they have to find a way to keep them cool, because they get so hot to make this light bend. when the light bends, you see a reflection on the other side and it looks like you're driving down the road and the road isn't there anymore. it's the mirage. love it. >> i want that, chad. >> tell us 15, 20 years, you're going to build us a airplane that you can't find on radar,

they did it. they found this. >> i think wonder woman had an invisible plane. >> i did not see wonder woman. i was a batman guy. >> this is pretty cool. if this could actually happen i'm all for it. >> are you going to disappear? >> next hour. >> see you, chad. civil rights and tribal rights are on a collision course in oklahoma. ♪ kingdoms and queens ♪ they all bow down to you ♪ ♪ branches and ranch hands ♪ are bowin', too ♪ and i've taken off... [ man ] we could have gone a more traditional route... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ here comes the sun again

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almost 3,000 descendents of

african slaves are fighting for citizen ship in oklahoma's cherokee nation. cnn's special correspondent soledad o'brien explains what happened when both sides went to court. >> reporter: sam ford is a cherokee freeman. >> my great-grandmother phyllis thomas pettitte was a slave of the cher keys. >> reporter: a little known chapter in the cherokee history. so, what were those slaves doing for the cherokee nation? >> they worked as domestic slaves. >> reporter: but in 1866 cherokees freed their slaves. today, that treaty is at the

center of a controversy involving more than 3,000 african-americans. on august 22nd, cherokee nation kicked them out of the tribe. >> the treaty of 1866 did not give citizen ship to freeman. >> reporter: she's the attorney general for cherokee nation. >> the heart of the issue is whether or not an indian tribe can describe, can determine who is eligible to be a member of that tribe. >> reporter: in 2007, cherokee nation passed a law requiring proof of indian blood to be a member. the proof is based on a record that was created a century ago, called the doss rolls. they say they were wrong because it was based on how you looked. >> if you looked bad, they wrote cherokee freeman. if you looked nonblack, they wrote cherokee. >> reporter: on the rolls, they were listed with no on the roll

were listed with no indian blood. last month they all went to federal court. >> i was restored as a member of the cherokee nation. >> reporter: a settlement has let the friedman back into the tribe for now. the descendents can vote for the cherokee chief, but dlst no guaranty they'll get to stay in the tribe. today's talk back question, could the movement occupy wall street become a new political party. harry allen writes, we don't need any political parties so i hope the protests are the death of political bricksmanship. more of your responses right more of your responses right after this. got so many scratchs and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover

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we have been sounding off on our talk back question. could occupy wall strut, the smoouchlt become a new political party. so our carol costello has the answer to some of your responses. a lot of folks thought not that organized, they all came together and became a political party, maybe this could happen for the folks occupying wall street. >> some say you never know. could occupy wall street become a political party. this from elizabeth. it's not meant to be a new political party because they are all broken. it will be the beginning of the end of the two-party system. this from robert, this is a movement. it's red, blue, purple, it's also global. it's for the 99%, those who pay taxes, those who vote, not those who buy the votes or pay no taxes. once it becomes party affiliated momentum will be lost. this from jackie. it's a protest. american people are angry and discouraged about what's

happening in this country. it's not a political fight, it's a protest. and this from glenn. our govmt bailed wall street out and they were part of the reason our country is in this mess. president obama has to listen to these protesters and ask now. this could be his second term in the making. and this from daniel, the radical left makes the radical right look sab, sadly. keep the conversation going facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be back in about 15 minutes or so. >> before you go we have a special picture to show you this is the newest member of our cnn newsroom family this is henry patrick mrk patrick. ed is one of our writers, a producer on our team. we wanted to take this time to wish him the best. baby henry all the best. they're not going to get a lot of sleep. when we interviewed president jimmy carter, carter suggested a

name for the kid. he gave him that name henry. >> really? >> jimmy carter has something to do with this. >> that's awesome. most newborn babies aren't that attractive, but this baby is really cute. >> this one is really cute. >> ed will be back with us in a little bit. he should stay home and help. >> no. he should stay home and wait on his wife hand and foot. i agree. thanks, we'll see you in a little bit. a stroke of the pen from president obama is preventing the government from shutting down. that is for now. the latest on where things stand the latest on where things stand in our political ticker update.. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth!

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lawmakers in washington avoid a government shut down, at least for now. we're live from the washington. so dan, how long do we think the government is going to stay open? is this shutdown really over? >> reporter: yes, for now it is over. we've been close to a shut down a couple of other times recently. this time republicans and democrats were at odds over cutting spending in order to offset an increase to disaster relief. that was resolved so president obama signed the cr last night after returning from texas where he was pushing his jobs bill.

and this is according to white house a measure that will keep the government funded through november 18th. >> dan, one of my special times of year when the white house puts up the christmas tree. i understand it's been chosen. do we know where the christmas tree is coming from this year? >> reporter: that's right. it's amazing. i haven't bought my halloween costume or turkey and we're talking about christmas. it's the beauty pageant of christmas trees across the country. this time the honors, the crown goes to northeast wisconsin. a farm there where this tree was found. it is an 18-foot -- 18 ppt 5-football sam fir. it's been described as great color, thickness and awesome smell. it will remain on the farm until next month. it will be cut down and brought to the white house. it's the center piece of the holiday season here at the white house. where tens of thousands of people will get a chance to enjoy it. >> i love that. love that time.

dan, thanks. we've got to work on our thank giving turkeys and christmas trees. >> reporter: that's right. and my costume as well. >> let me know what you're going to be this halloween. the latest political news you know where to go. cnnpolitics.com. top of the hour i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed. california police are trying to track down a man who's on the loose with a gun. they say he opened fire at his workplace today. it's a limestone quarry outside cuppertinno. police identify the shooter as shareef alman. he showed up at a meeting before dawn today with a pistol and a rifle. >> the only reports we have is he was disgruntled and unhappy. whether it was work related or private home related we don't

know. >> we'll keep you post odd tn manhunt as the day goes on. three big new york labor unions are throwing their weight behind the growing protest movement in lower manhattan. the unions are calling on members to leave work and join demonstrators this afternoon. protesters call themselves occupy wall street. the group has a number of causes. everything from corporate greed to protecting the environment. generally speaking, they're unhappy about the state of the country. americans are absolutely fed up with congress. new numbers leave no doubts now a "the washington post" abc news poll found that 14% of the public approves of the job that congress is doing out. that is congress' lowest rating ever in any "the washington post" abc news poll. i is amanda knox' first full day at home in seattle in four years. she says she's going to spend it with family. knox went to italy to study, but ended up behind bars for killing

her roommate. an italian court overturned the murder conviction on monday. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who's believed in me. who's defended me. who has supported my family. i just want my family's the most important thing to me right now. i just want to go and be with them. so, thank you for being there for me. [ applause ] >> knox was serving a 26-year prison sentence. the court agreed with experts who testified that the dna evidence used to convict knox was tainted. investigators are telling a los angeles jury about the drugs they found in michael jackson's bedroom the day he died. the coroner says that jackson died from an overdose of the

drug propofol and other sedatives. dr. conrad murray's trial for jackson's death had some star struck moments on tuesday. prosecutors put murray's three girlfriends on the stand, yes, three. they wanted to show he was phoning or texting his girlfriends not monitoring jackson. >> did you in fact meet mr. jackson? >> yes. >> and who introduced you? >> dr. murray. >> how did it come about that you got to meet michael jackson? >> i'm still trying to figure that out myself. >> why is that? what is confusing about it? >> because it's michael jackson. >> the jury will hear from murray himself. that is happening soon. prosecutors plan to play the interview that he gave police two days after jackson's death. well, there's another big bank that's jack up fees. citibank is going to charge $15 a month for the easy checking

account unless you keep a balance of $6,000 in accounts with the bank. the move comes days after bank of america talked a $5 monthly fee on debit card usage. new federal regulations limit overdraft charges and debit card fees charged to retailers. banks are adding fees to other services to make up for the losses. thousands of people have joined demonstrations across the country under the title occupy wall street. they are protesting among other things income in kwaelt, corporate greed, many things. joining us now one of the protesters who's been in new york's financial district for 19 days. patrick bruener, he is 23 years old. he just graduated from college. does not have a job. patrick, i understand that you were there. you can't find work. you're frustrated. what do you want? what do you hope to tell people? >> well, we want to tell people

about the values that america was built on and how they've gone away. we were made as a country to make sure that the popular people were able -- we were founded as a country so the popular movement was able to overthrow an elite air stock rasy. we're all in the same position today. >> patrick, why do you suppose you haven't gotten a job? what kind of obstacles have you come faced with here? >> well i've come to face the obstacle that 1% of the country owns 40% of the wealth. we've been convinced as a country that we're broke and that's not the case. we're the wealthiest country with the wealthiest individuals ever. we just need to have those people pay their fair share to honor their social contracts. >> patrick, what do you hope to accomplish being out there,

being a part of those protests? >> we hope to make sure that american values are heard once again and the american dream can once again live. >> and how long will you be out there? do you have a timetable or a cut off or do you want something to happen that will allow you to either stay or leave? >> well, right now we're very much of the opinion that we are not planning on leaving until there's very real and meaningful change that comes out of this. we expect to see a change in the way that politics are -- the theatrics of politics in this country and in the world are changed. we want actual conversation about actual problems. >> all right. patrick bruner, we will be keeping up with you as well as your protest, we'd like you to check back in with us from time to time, let us know how your job search is going and what it's like to be there among your

fellow protesters. thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> thank you very much, suzanne. here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question today, could that movement that we just saw "occupy wall street", become a new political party. carol costello has got more from new york. carol, it was interesting what he was saying there. this is a guy, he can't find work. he's college educated. he's frustrated. he says nings aren't going so well. he says this is the state of our country now. >> i think one of the unfair things that we've run across in interviewing these people, not per se your interview, these are young people. they don't know the ins and outs of every single law. all they know is they're frustrated. they can't find work and they want something done about it. they grew up with the same dreams that we had and they want to achieve it. i'm not speaking for every

protesters down there, just some of them. just food for thought to set up this talk back segment. ever since the dawn of the tea party liberal activists have yearned for a movement of their own. as in michael moore who's hungry for a movement. >> this is the end result of these bankers overplaying their hand. they were already filthy rich. but filthy rich wasn't enough. >> moore is lepding his celebrity to the movement and paying to help protesters expand the use of social media with the help of twitter and facebook the movement has spread to other cities. hundreds have been arrested and though we see some of these protesters dressed like zombies and often with confusing messages, they're also attracting some powerful allies including a half dozen unions who will march on new york city hall today. when you combine, clout, money and anger at the powers that be, it kind of sounds like the start of something. although protesters don't exactly see themselves as

political animals. >> we don't want to be a left political group. we don't want to be a political group at all. we want to be a grown up that calls for activism. ideally if this continues to grow, more people get involved, suddenly people will have the same power that lobbyists have. >> heads up wall street, even foxnews.com says this could be more than just another loony protest movement from the left so. the talk back question today, could occupy wall street become a new political party? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> thank you, carol. here's what's ahead on the rundown. first, two u.n. security councilmembers say no to a resolution that could have condemned syria for cracking down on protesters. we're going to tell you who said no and why. and citi bank customers don't have to worry about a debit card fee. checking accounts a whole other

story. a stock car racer in oklahoma pulls a driver out of a burning car. amazing video there. people are calling him a hero. he's going to join us live. and modern day slavery in southeast asia. an exclusive report for cnn's freedom project. finally, we'll tell you where you can find the world's cheapest computer. only costs $50. ts that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas.

aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. right now want to look at the diplomatic divide over syria. u.s. and most european nations are criticizing russia and china for vetoing a resolution against the syria government.

the measure threatened sanctions if syria didn't end its deadly crackdown on civilians. u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice walked out of the chamber yesterday after syria's ambassador accused the u.s. of partaking in genocide by supporting israel at the u.n. experts say it is obvious that china and russia are protecting their own interest. both countries have strong economic and military ties to syria. the relationship between moscow and damascus dates back to the former soviet union era. russia delivered $25 billion in arms to syria over three decades. russia maintains a servicing point for its naval vessels in one of syria's mediterranean ports. china's military ties not as big as russia. china does provide syria with missiles and missile technology. we should point out that brazil, india, south africa also objected to sanctions. the countries argue that the security council's resolution on

libya had been twisted to allow nato's war against the libyan government. they're determined not to have that happen when it comes to syria. our cnn's jill verde explains this from the state department. now that syria has dodged this bullet, there's no sanctions, not even a statement condemning the government's killing of protesters, do we think that syria's president is sitting pretty safely in power now? >> well, he may be very happy with his vote because obviously, you know, the u.s. and europe after all it was a european initiative they weren't able to pull it today. they were not able to get russia and china aboard. so that goes crashing into flames. now, but does it really mean that asad is sitting pretty? i don't think so. we've been talking with other people. turkey is an increasingly important player in the world. turkey says that it is going to be having sapgs against syria.

the russians interestingly have invited the opposition, members of the syrian opposition to moscow this month to talk with them. and as one expert was saying elliot abrams from the council on foreign relations say they're hedging their bets. the russians do know that the writing is on the wall. >> very interesting, jill. ambassador rice she walks out of this meeting, the security council meeting when her counterpart from syria accuses the united states of being party to genocide for sporting israel. is that the only recourse now that the united states has these symbolic gestures? >> you know, there's not a lot that the u.s. by itself can really do. the u.s. doesn't have a lot of business interests. it's basically tapped out on sanctions. it's done as many sanctions as it can. really what it has to do is continue to work with other countries. the european union is extremely important. they're the people who really have the economic ties with syria and could put the screws

on syria. suzanne, it's important to point out, it's not just the sanctions not just trying to target and hurt asad. it is also a way of sending a signal to the elites around him that this is going to get worse and worse. >> all right. jill dougherty, thank you very much. there is another big bank sticking it to customers now. we're keeping track of all the new fees. alison another bank upping fees. >> reporter: it's citigroup that's charging for checking accounts. if you have an easy checking account with them you'll be charged $15 a month if you don't have $6,000 in your combined accounts. if you have an upgraded checking account you're charged $20 if you don't carry a $15,000 balance. what's happening here is all

these big banks are announcing more fees. the regulatory environment is changing. it's getting tougher on the banks to bring in revenue. they're getting creative on how to do exactly that. >> you've got a push pull between the banks, the regulators, do we think 4 is the end of this, or do we expect more? >> reporter: oh, no. this is just the beginning. aren't you excited? expect more of this. the government it's not backing down anytime soon without a fight and the bans feel the same way. treasury secretary tim geithner talked to erin burnett and he said banks got themselves into this mess. >> the banks are blaming the reforms and the government for everything including lots of problems that they were central to causing. most people are terribly angry and frustrated with that. there's no surprises. nothing strange about the fact that banks are resisting it. are pushing back. they're trying to weaken those reforms. we're going to push back harder. in the end we're going to

prevail. >> reporter: now to be fair, these regulations that are in effect are going to be costing banks a lot of money. billions of dollars in lost revenues. the banks say they have to raise other fees to pay for payroll fraud protection, technical networks. regulators say there has to be more consumer protection especially after the financial crisis. >> how are the markets reacting? >> reporter: we're holding on to our gains right now. the dow up 16. the nasdaq better by 24. we've still got one eye on europe's debt issues. i think you see the market focussing on the positive today that we're not hearing any negative news out of europe at this point. that is keeping markets in the greep right now. >> thank you, alison. a stock car racer in oklahoma pulls a driver from a car that's in flames. he was inspired by what he saw happen to his father when he was a child. he's going to join us after the break. ♪

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when stock car racer kip hughes was a boy, his father was badly burned in a car race. he saw it happen from the stands as he decided if he ever saw a car wreck again, he would do whatever he could to help. well, saturday, three cars wrecked at a race in oklahoma. and one of them burst into flames. hughes jumped out of his car, pulled the driver out and now he's being called a hero. kip hughes joins us from breckenridge, oklahoma. kip, it's so nice to have you here. i mean, you see that video, you realize that that guy could have been in a heap of trouble there. when you saw that, what was going on through your mind? >> i mean, you just said it yourself. it goes back to, you know, i was a little boy in the stands, whatever the wreck happened with my father. i know that that guy had family

in the stands just like everybody else did that was there. i just wanted to make sure that nothing happened. they didn't have to go through what my family had to go through back in '91. it took two or three years for everything to get back in order after all that stuff. my main thing was just his safety trying to make sure he was in any immediate flames and, you know, try to go through, we go through procedures in such incident. as far as making sure the steering wheel is off, the window net is done before you release the belts. >> sure. did you worry at all that you were going to be -- get caught up in the flames? did you worry for your own safety, or were you not thinking about that at the time? >> it's in the back of your head. i just don't worry about it. i wear race suits made by henchman indy. that's what my dad was wearing whenever he got burned. it's good stuff.

i had more time than anybody else around there at that time. it was up to me to make sure things were taken care of and terry was out and all was well. >> what does your dad think about what you did? >> dad's kind of easy with the praise. he's proud. he just pas me on the back and says good job. he's been giving me a hard time about all this stuff, all the media and other stuff. >> he's giving you a hard time about it. >> oh, yeah. everybody's been ragging on me giving me -- mr. celebrity now. no, i'm just kip hughes from breckenridge, oklahoma. i was at the right place at the right time and there's a reason why. >> well, sure. what did the driver -- did he talk to you afterwards? how is he doing? i understand he has some burns. did he say anything to you? >> i walked over. terry used to race with my dad, before my dad got burned. i've always known his name and

been at several races with him. i never met him until that happened. i walked over to his pit afterwards, me and my grandfather walked over there looking things over. he walked up, you can tell he's very -- he doesn't say a whole lot. he came up and say, man, thanks, you didn't have to do that. and that meant the most to me. two of his kids have contacted me since then and thanked me and that means more than anything. i wished there had been somebody there that i could call and thank. we took a bad situation and turned it into down the road 20 years later into a good situation. >> you certainly did, kip. we really appreciate that. i know his family appreciates that as well. it was -- that's a good job. i know you guys are short on praise there. we want to make sure you get your due. it was a good thing there. >> thank you. here's your chance to choose the news text. text one for denmark fat tax

this is a country that's become the first in the world to tax foods high in saturated fats. before the tax took effect, folks started hording some foods. we're going to show you which ones. text two for surfing becomes sport. move over football, basketball, surfing about to become an official sport for high schoolers yep, in hawaii. and text three for leaf blower ban. a group in florida wants to ban those noisy machines. we're going to tell you about their push and how far they've gotten. you can vote by texting 22360, one for denmark fat tax, two for surfing becomes a sport, and three for leaf blower ban. the winning story will air later this hour. the 2012 presidential race shaping up to be a battle over different visions of america. cnn's going to be all over it with comprehensive coverage. we're going to bring you our campaign kickoff right after campaign kickoff right after this. cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie.

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nobody covers politics like cnn. our team of correspondents, analysts, anchors ready to bring you the most comprehensive coverage of the 2012 presidential race. who better than to officially launch the election coverage than our own wolf blitzer. he joins us from washington. i'm excited about this. 2008 we were about cnn equals politics. one of the most fulfilling experiences i had as a journalist. an historic election. now a new look, a new brand for 2012. >> reporter: i want to show your viewers. i want to show you, show all our

viewers in the united states and around the world. they're going to be seeing more of this new graphic. right now you can see cnn politics america's choice 2012. there it is right there. let me read a statement that our washington bureau chief sam feist just issued. the choice americans will face in 2012 is between two very different visions for governing the united states. cnn's goal is to lerch our extraordinary resources and offer our viewers the most unbiased comprehensive coverage of the most important choice the american voter will make for the next four years. sam goes on to say, cnn america's choice 212 branding reflects our commitment to helping american voters make that choice. there you see it. i'm not sure, suzanne, if we should say 2012 or 2012. >> keep it 2012.

>> reporter: we used to say 1958. i keep saying 2012, i'm not sure what's going to stick. we're 12 years into the new millenni millennium. >> let's delve into the political landscape. we know that the republican pool is narrowing with new jersey governor chris christie saying now is not the time. i imagine romney and perry are scrambling to recruit those who are pushing for christie. how do we think it's going to shake up the race? >> reporter: i think it's great news the decision by christie to not run for presidential nomination. it's great news for mitt romney from the northeast. chris christie from the northeast. they sort of appeal to some of those establishment big time republican leaders mpl some of the wealthy republicans on wall street and elsewhere. so it's probably going to help mitt romney to a certain degree. perry hopes to pick up some of those supporters. i'm not sure he's going to pick

up a whole lot. right now his campaign has been in a deep slide over these past three debates or so. we'll see if he can pick up his game next week, the week after. we have a debate in las vegas on october 18th. he's got his work cut out for him. herman cain is going very well. all of this political news it's great to cover. we'll be covering a lot of politics here on cnn. >> that's great. mitt romney hosted a town hall at the villages, one of florida's largest retirement communities. it's one of the stops many candidates make. he criticized president obama badly. he said he's gone from yes, we can to gee, sorry, we can't. these on issues creating jobs and allowing the free market to create jobs. how effective do we think that strategy is and using all the fire power against obama instead of perry? >> reporter: it will be effective for all the republican

candidates. they want to go against the president right now. they think he's vulnerable right now. at that same event mitt romney was not shy in going after rick perry, oort. he pointed out calling social security for example a hot button issue as you know in florida with so many seniors down there. rick perry was talking about social security being a ponzi scheme. he at one point in his remarks mitt romney said he's afraid that social security could be a perry scheme if perry had his way and social security could be handed over to the states rather than the federal government. talk like that gets a lot of seniors or people close to retirement deeply worried and it's a big problem that rick perry has the whole social security issue. >> all right. wolf, thank you very much. obviously we're going to be kicking this off in high style and a lot of work ahead. so looking forward to it very much. thanks again, wolf. appreciate it. >> reporter: thanks, suzanne. we have some sad news to

report. civil rights leader reverend fred shuttleworth died this morning in birmingham, alabama. you may recall he was the reverend martin luther king's right hand man in birmingham. he helped create the southern leadership conference along with martin luther king junior and ralph albehr nathy. his house had been becomed several times. once with his wife and kids inside. the bomb had malfunctioned. it had spared their lives. fred shuttlesworth he was 89 years old. a friend of his a fellow activist, an icon in the civil rights movement andrew young is joining us by phone. mr. young, if you can tell us what he meant to the civil rights movement and what he meant to you as a friend. >> i would think that it's honest to say that fred shuttlesworth probably saved the civil rights movement.

we had been bogged down in albany, georgia. and people are saying that nonviolence wouldn't work. fred said, look, the only thing we can do is nonviolence. you have to come to birmingham. and birmingham was probably the meanest place at that time. there had been 60 unsolved bombings in 1962. and fred had not only had his house bombed, he had been beaten by the klan and almost left for dead. he still went to try to register his children for desegregated school. he was absolutely -- the amazing thing not that he died at 89. the amazing thing is that he lived this long. he never compromised with segregation. he was always willing to put his life and his family's life on

the line. and, it's -- it was on his legacy in birmingham that we were able to get the 1964 civil rights bill and the march on washington. >> he certainly was a courageous individual in the civil rights movement. he was one of those people who also supported the leaders. why do you suppose he didn't get as much publicity as some of the others who were very well known in the movement? >> well, fred was a pastor. and he primarily was concerned with his church. he didn't go around the nation making speeches. he did most of his work in birmingham and then later in cincinnati when he was pastoring there. he was not trying to be a national leader. he was trying to lead the people in the community that he served. and he launched all of the rest of our careers from birmingham

practically. but he stayed relatively low key after birmingham. >> andrew young, thank you very much for your perspective. >> you're welcome. you know, we don't think of death as sad. we think of it as a transition to a new life. and he is certainly entitled to a place in the kingdom and we ought to say thanks for all that he did and celebrate the fact that he lived this long and this well. and that he now is going on to claim his reward in a new life. >> andrew young, we thank you and we also thank fred shuttlesworth for his work in the civil rights movement. imagine being forced to work in a factory and it's modern day slavery that you're not away of.

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following the trail of modern day slave labor. an exclusive report for cnn's freedom project. our dan rivers takes a look at how factory workers are kept as virtual slaves in southeast asia. they have to pay for their freedom. in part two of the series, dan takes us to a factory where those women are working. >> reporter: our search for the victims of modern day slavery took us to rural cambodia. there i met a mother who showed me a photo of one of her daughters who's still trapped in a fraktry in malasia unable to return home until she pays off her debt. we visited the agency where we were briefly locked in before an angry exchange with the agency

owner hasened our departure. we're going. it was time for us to go to ma la cha to the northern city of penang this is the booming center of malasia's high tech center. components built here power computers around the world this is the end of the night shift in one factory here in malasia. the buses are lining up to take hundreds of workers home after an exhausting 12 thundershower shift. the workser appear to be from all over asia including many cambodians. i expect one of them is the young woman who i'm looking for. through an intermediary we finally track her down and make contact. >> they're standing on the right. >> reporter: after a little persuasion she agrees to meet us along with three co-workers all

worried if they're seen talking to us they'll be punished. over breakfast they told me they were promised $250 a mant by the agency in cambodia, but 50% of their wage has so far been deducted to cover agency fees. after other deductions they say they only receive about $100 a month. barely enough to feed themselves. their passports have been confiscated by the agency and they only have a photo copy. she tells us they've already tried to escape once, but were caught by the police trying to cross into thailand without a passport. a sign of how desperate they are to go home. >> reporter: her friend says she's just 17 years old and claims she was given a passport by the agency with falsified

information showing she was 21. it's illegal for under 18s to work here. all the women say they can't leave until their debt to the agency is paid off. the women work at this electronics factory jcy which makes computer hard drives for major international clients including western digital. but in fact, the women are subcontracted by another company so legally jcy is not responsible for them. so she and her friends were the first part of a complex chain recruited by the agency but then employed by a middle man along with dozens of other workers at this fraktry which is owned and operated by jcy. we decide the best way to help the girls is to hand over their case to a local aid agency which spermzs in helps migrant

workers. this caseworker says their situation is bleak. >> one of the reasons why this is happening is because of outsourcing. when you outsource you're not responsible directly for your employee. the company washes its hands of whatever responsibilities. it's the agent who's supplying the workers. >> reporter: in theory workers at factories like jcy are free to go whenever they want. in theory their employers are legally obliged to hand over their pass ports whenever the workers ask for them. in practice it is the employers who sign off the workers exit visas. without that signature they can't leave the country. meaning they're stuck here. jyc refused to do an interview, but told us most workers give their passports to their respective agents for safekeeping and are able to obtain their passports at any time upon the request. the statement went on, all workers in our plants have free

access to our human resource department and our management to report any grievance they may have. we try to resolve all griefances in a fair and equitable manner. as far as we're concern workers are free to leave their employment in our company at any time. these women may not have a ball and chain around their feet, but they are saddled with a huge fee that they must pay off before they can leave. and what's amazing is that all this is legal in malasia meaning some people get stuck here for years working 12 hours a day seven days a week to pay off their debt. in the final part of our investigation, why is this allowed to continue in malasia? slavery? >> you can say modern forms of slavery. >> reporter: and the computer accessories you use that are built with debt bonded labor. dan rivers, cnn, pangang,

malasia. >> we'll bring you the final parts of dan's investigation tomorrow. he tracks the products that are made with slave labor. >> reporter: i checked in one shop and the man behind the counter knew nothing about where or how the hard drives were made. >> i just sell them. >> reporter: so most people don't really ask questions about how it's manufactured, where or -- >> no. >> reporter: the ethical dimensions of it, really? >> not really. >> you can watch dan's exclusive reports again at the cnn freedom project website. that is cnn.com/freedom. it gives victims a voice. it exposes the traffickers behind this multibillion dollar business and shows how you can help put an end to modern day slavery.

covering the stories our affiliates are covering across the country. a huge dust storm between phoenix and tucson caused a car crash. one person was killed. more than a dozen injured. visibility was so bad that helicopters couldn't fly in to help. another dust storm bigger than tuesdays is predicted tomorrow. in massachusetts heavy rains caused severe flooding for much of essex county between three and five inches of rain came down in less than two hours flooding homes and other buildings and trapping drivers in their cars. in california, what would you do if you saw this on your neighbor's lawn? authorities say it's probably the same pair of mountain lions spotted several times over the

past month. police chased the big cats back into the woods. today's talk back question, could the movement "occupy wall street", become a new political party? randall writes the new anti-tea party. i'd vote em in. more of your responses after this. at bayer, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin.

sounding off on our talk back question. could "occupy wall street", become a new political party. carol, what are folks thinking about it? >> interesting comments this afternoon. the talk back question, this answer, i think it's ironic that

the now tea party members and their supporters are against private citizens making their voices heard. this country, this world will soon be many the hands to have 20, 30, 40 somethings. we want to make sure we have a country left. this from michael an independent. i'm 54 and i've been waiting for this. in 20 years working two different careers, the starting wage hasn't changed in all that time. yet corporate executive salaries and investor profits have gone through the roof. somebody isn't being fair. show me the money. this from mark, it's a fad. like the tea party. they accomplished nothing in two years other than finger pointing and lying. that's pretty harsh, mark. and this from patrick, we don't need a new political party. we need a nonpolitical party. a government that truly represents the people of this country and our rights. in our world when you fail to do your job you get fired. it's time for politicians to learn of this harsh, but needed reality. keep the conversation going

facebook.com/carolnn. thanks as always for your comments. >> carol you know what we really need? >> what? >> we need to shower you with kindness, smiles, compliments. today is do something nice day. i found out about it from you. >> i thought it was just because of me. >> we thought about flowers and candy. instead we decided the get you one of your favorite snacks is someone giving your your snacks. potato chips? >> i see them right here. this is my very favorite. >> we've been coordinating this all day, carol. this is do something nice day. we don't even know where it came from. you talked about it this morning. do you have any idea how it came about? >> it was probably the flower industry lobby, if i had to guess. a lobby of some kind. >> yur so cynical. you got potato chips and you're still cynical. >> that was bad. i'm sure it was a nice perp who said i think we should come up with a do something nice day. >> we hope you like your potato chips. >> i do.

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loud, annoying to some, should leaf brothers with banned in florida in dan cochran from our affiliate wptv explains. >> reporter: it's a common sound across south florida, the leaf blower. not everyone likes it. and this groups wants this piece

of equipment and all that comes with it banned in all of palm beach county. >> you can't any type of conversation. you can't hear your music. you can't hear the birds. it's very annoying. >> reporter: some palm beach state college students are calling themselves save. students against volatile emissions. and this week they'll urge county commissioners to ban the use of leaf blowers effective january 1st, 2012. >> i don't think there's too many of us that haven't had a conversation over the phone and had one of those walk by and say hold on a minute. >> reporter: it's not just the noise, but also the health and environmental impacts save says a leaf blower brings. ray alvarez says such a ban would take away one of the most efficient tools he what has. >> if we can't use it it's like cutting our arm to do the job that we need to do. >> reporter: he says the leaf blower works much faster than cleaning up with a broom. he says saving