let's get straight to "cnn newsro newsroom" with carol costello. >> soledad, thank you. new this morning, president obama gets the endorsement of a much-loved republican. can it break the deadlock in an election that's just 12 days away? also new this morning, the health of our economy. new jobless claims are out. it looks good. is it a sign the economy might be turning around?

a man loses his home to foreclosure and gets a mortgage settlement offer but it's not enough to even cover his first months rent. keith ward from michigan will join us later this hour. and tigers fans, they are no fans of kung fu panda. gets things going with a bang. it was actually more like bang, ba bang, bang. "newsroom" starts now. good morning to you. happy thursday. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us. president obama is about to take the stage in tampa. and he'll have some big news to celebrate with his supporters. just over an hour ago, republican with vast crossover aappeal announced his endorsement for obama. listen to this from former secretary of state colin powell. >> i voted for him in 2008 and plan to stick with him in 2012

and i'll be voting for he and vice president joe biden next month. >> that's an endorsement for president obama for re-election? >> yes. >> jessica yellin, many say colin powell is a rino, republican in name only. will this endorsement matter? >> reporter: he has flown overnight from las vegas, on this nonstop battleground tour to the states he feels he has to lock up to help win the white house again. carol, the bottom line with endorsements is that they tend not to move votes. so that's no different with colin powell. what is meaningful about the endorsement by powell is what he actually said. and if you listen to it, he echoed what the president is saying in his closing days. he said that he is not voting for mitt romney because he does not think that his economic plan

add adds up and because on foreign policy, mitt romney keeps changing his position. he used the words it's a, quote, moving target. that echoes the president's message and so the president can use that endorsement to argue it's not just political spin. even colin powell, a respected republican, agrees. so you may see that come from the president. >> we'll talk more about this. let's hear from the president for just a bit. >> you know, we are right in the middle of our 48-hour fly around campaign extravaganza. we are pulling -- we pulled an all-nighter last night. we just came from iowa, nevada, colorado. we're going to virginia and ohio

i'm going to stop in chicago and do some early voting in chicago. i can't tell you who i'm voting for. it's a secret ballot. but michelle says she voted for me. we can vote early in illinois, just like you can vote right now in florida. so i've come to florida to ask you for your vote. i've come to ask you to help me keep moving america forward. if you notice, my voice is getting a little hoarse, but i'm just going to keep on -- i'm just going to keep on keeping on. until every single person out there who needs to vote is going to go vote.

because the stakes are just so high, florida. you've heard now three debates. you've seen months of campaign, way too many tv ads. i know you guys are sick of the tv ads, except the ones that i'm in. maybe even those, too. but you've also had a chance to see the two candidates and the two perspectives. you've heard governor romney's sales pitch. don't boo. vote! he has been running around, saying he has a five-point plan for the economy. except it turns out that it's just a one-point plan. a sketchy deal. that says folks at the very top get to play by a different set of rules than you do. they get to pay a lower tax

rate. they outsource jobs. they want to roll back wall street reform. that was his philosophy in the board room. that was his philosophy as a governor. if it sounds familiar, it's because that's the philosophy that created a great recession. >> we're going to jump aaway from the president's speech for just a bit and talk about this colin powell endorsement. in light of his second endorsement of barack obama, the former secretary of state was also asked about his standing as a republican. listen. >> general, you worked for several republican presidents. are you still a republican? >> yes. i think i'm a republican of more moderate mold and that's something of a -- of a dying breed, i'm sorry to say. but, you know, the republicans i worked for, president reagan, president bush 41, the howard bakers of the world, people who were conservative, people willing to push their conservative views but people who recognized at the end of the day you have to find a basis for

compromise. compromise is how this country runs. >> are you then saying that you think you may have to leave the republican party if it continues in the direction it's going? >> no, i didn't say that at all, charlie. but nice try. >> okay. for some more analysis of this, i want to bring in cnn contributor john avlon on the cnn express in orlando this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. you are an independent. you worked on the giuliani campaign. maybe you lean right. i don't know. this colin powell endorsement, is it helpful to the president? >> i think it is helpful. his endorsement made a big impact. almost talismanic effect on voters. amid this term, coal colin powell's disenchantment with the

president also -- for those who say it doesn't matter, it's less newsworthy when someone endorses you for a second time. imagine if he had turned around and said i'm endorsing mitt romney, that's how important it is. >> condoleezza rice is actively campaigning for mitt romney. that's helpful, right? >> reporter: sure. sure, it's all helpful. it's more helpful when someone on the other party, someone respected by voters crosses the lines to endorse you, opportunity to build a broader coalition. undecided and swing voters we've been talking to on the battleground bus tour, carol, one thing you hear all the time, yes, they're concerned about the econo economy. consistently they're frustrated with the hyperpartisanship in washington. whoever wins this election, we want them to find a we to work with members of the opposite

party. so when someone like colin powell who worked for president reagan, endorses president obama, there's a sense that there's at least a chance for compromise. a tradition he said is almost an endangered species. it really needs to come back in the future for us to get congress working again. >> reporter: john avlon, thank you so much. you'll visit us again in just a bit. we look forward to what you have to say. nine so-called battleground states and none is so important for ohio. no republican has ever been elected president without winning ohio. today the gop candidate is hitting three parts of that state. in a couple of hours he will talk at a campaign event in cincinnati and, of course, we'll carry parts of his remarks, live. and we do have breaking news this morning on the economy. first time unemployment claims deposit dropped by 23,000 last week. alison kosik is following the story frothe new york stock exchange.

tell us what this means. >> they wound up dropping to 369,000, that's the level from last week. the drop wasn't quite as big as everybody had hoped. not really affecting futures so much, looking like the dow will open up about 60 points. one thing about these claims numbers, they're very volatile, especially lately. there have been these crazy fluctuations in claims numbers, especially earlier this month because of seasonal quirks. they say there weren't any quirks in this week's report. it should give us a clearer picture of where the job market stands. even with this decline, these claims numbers are still pretty elevated. 369,000, that's a lot of people who were laid off. economists want to see these numbers closer to the 350,000 level and eventually to the 300,000 to show there's some real solid job creation going on here. we'll give you an even better picture of how the employment situation doing next friday when the government releases its official monthly jobs report for

october. this will be the last reading before the presidential election. the size of the gain could sway voters one way or the other. this is an interesting one to watch. >> yes, ma'am. we have to talk a little bit about the weather now. hurricane sandy leaves cuba and takes aim at the bahamas but not before claiming two lives. one man was killed in jamaica after being hit by a boulder and a woman with was killed in haiti while trying to cross a flooded river. it hits cuba as a category 2 hurricane with winds gusting up to 115 miles per hour. rob marciano is here now to tell us where she's headed now. >> into the bahamas, carol, with winds of 105 miles an hour. it got somewhat disorganized as it passed over cuba, but now getting organized again with the eye developing, moving at 18 miles an hour. it may weaken a little bit as it gets farther north, with joem

winds t will be close enough to florida where you'll feel the impacts, as far north as daytona beach. weather will start to deteriorate, going downhill as far south as key west making its way up the eastern seaboard of florida the next couple of days. it gets to cape hatteras. you'll feel huge waves here and coming back toward the left, retro grading, putting the gears in reverse. a number of our computer models were hinting at this yesterday. more have got on board today. and these are a number of our forecast solutions. regardless of where it goes, it will have a huge impact on people, carol. the cold front is affecting the steering currents and it could be a hybrid monday, tuesday, wednesday next week. we'll keep you posted. >> i'm sure they would.

vote early and often. how is early voting having an impact on ohio?

it is 15 minutes past the hour. pakistani police have arrested six men in connection with the shooting of a pakistani school girl who spoke out against the talib taliban. primary suspect is still at large. his mother, brother and fiance have been detained but are not accused. officials now say it was a great white shark that killed a surfer off southern california tuesday. the shark is estimated to be between 15 and 16 feet long based on the size of the teeth marks left on the surfer's board. the beach is now closed. in other news, singapore airlines plans to stop flying from singapore to newark, new jersey, takes 19 hours. the carrier blames rising fuel prices and lower passenger

demand. throw new crew members arrived within the hour, joining three others who have been on the orbiting lab since july. today, president obama will go where no other president in u.s. history has gone, becoming the first commander in chief to vote early. he talked about his plans moments ago the a rally in florida. >> i'm going to stop in chicago. i'm going to do some early voting in chicago. i can't tell you who i'm voting for. it's a secret ballot. >> following the lead of the first lady, who cast her absentee ballot last week. early voting was a boom to then senator obama's campaign in 2008, more than half of them were cast in his favor. this year it seems to be giving the president an edge in one key state. the key battleground state of ohio, with a 2-1 lead among early voters. joining me now is chris redfern,

and matt borgis, executive director of the ohio republican party. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> god morning. thank you for being with us. matt i want to start with you. nearly one-third of all ohioaans voted early in 2008. how has your party changed its ground game? >> the ground game is inkred cry impressive here in ohio with the rnc and romney campaign have been able to put into place. i think it surpassed what the president hans has been doing here on the ground. voter contact is at an all-time high, knocked on over 3,000 doors this week alone. you know, this is a massive effort that reflects the mood of the state, country as it pert n pertains not only to the president but to our candidate, mitt romney, who has just an amazing amount of intensity behind him, as being reflected in the polls and also what we're seeing on the ground. >> chris, several ohio officials

have expressed concerns. 800,000 have been requested, none have been xloeted. those residents have until, what, november 17th to cast a provisi provisional ballot? how could this waiting game in a key state impact a very tight election? >> we know there are thousands, hundreds of thousands of ballot requests out. that's why we're doing so much work to get out the vote. those phone calls and those door knocks will end once you turn your ballot in. we're focused on turning out about 2 million early voters, voting in person or by mail and taking advantage of that final weekend when early vote is allowed on that weekend, turning out tens of thousands of more voters, extending our lead in the early vote so that during election day we can focus on our tv efforts. >> could this change to an overall electoral process in ohio? >> four years from now, i think

matt will agree, we'll be focusing almost entirely on early vote and vote by mail efforts. because of the work that's been done on modeling, we can microtarget down to the individual voter. and then we can have that relationship with the voter that ofa and the odp has created over the last four years to ensure that that vote is turned out, bank those votes long before election day and focus on a one day go tv effort to be successful. two candidates running for office. one of them said let detroit go bankrupt. it really let ohio go bankrupt with our reloins on automobile jobs. i think that's why you see a five-point lead in most polls for ohio for president. and and matt, federal appeals court restored early voting for all of ohio residents on the final weekend of october after republicans tried to limit those to military and those overseas,

claiming it strained -- thanks to republicans whoa have 35 days of early voting in ohio. we have had that since 2005, since the republican legislature expanded early voting. zero days of early voting in michigan and pennsylvania, 35 days here in ohio to get your ballot cast. and so -- that was a republican initiative that we're proud of. we are seeing very much so is that across the state, franklin county alone, columbus, your old stomping grounds, carol, in franklin county 35,000 fewer democratic votes by mail at this point in time in 2008. the intensity obviously on our side. we're very proud of our secretary of state and legislature for providing the opportunity, unprecedented opportunity from our neighboring states and even across the country by mailing every single voter, every registered voter in

ohio an absentee ballot application. the opportunity to participate in this process. we're sure they will. you know, we want everyone to participate. we want everyone to vote. and we know at the end of the day that that will be a good thing for the republican ticket. >> chris redfern, matt borges, thank you for joining us this morning. we certainly appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> busy guys in the next few days. talk back question this morning, did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. the question for you this morning, did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? in case you missed it, because you were afraid your brain would wither and die, donald trump, a passionate birther, is offering $5 million to president obama's favorite charities if the president releases his passport applications and college transcripts. this was the donald's october surprise. today's gallup poll will be completely useless since it will

have been entirely conducted before the trump offer. and this one, me to donald trump. go away, please. here is trump on piers morgan. >> it's a very tremendous thing for the president. he gets to give $5 million to a -- >> that means i won't tort ewe you any longer. at least the president has a sense of humor about it. >> this all dates back to when we were grow iing up together i kenya. >> yeah. >> and we -- >> i've got to give you that one. i've got to give you that one. >> we had constant run-ins on the soccer field. >> yeah. >> and, you know, he wasn't very god. >> right. >> and resented it, you know. >> yeah, yeah. have you -- >> when we finally moved to america, i thought it would be over, but -- >> and to think donald trump

teesed us with a pseudo presidential run, forced an american president to release his birth certificate and endorsed and at one time was embraced by the republican canned dit for president. you laugh but in april of 2011, trump led the republican pac for president in public policy voting of primary voters 11 points had ahead of mitt romney. ain't american politics grand? the talk back question for you this morning, did trump make a mockery of president iial politics? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. banks behaving badly have to pay up. it's part of the major mortgage settlement. victims who lost their homes, let's just say they're not getting millions of dollars. from investing for the first time...

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30 minutes past the hour. good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm carol costello. happening now, we're watching the opening bell at the new york stock exchange where stocks are expected to open higher. ringing the bell, several ceos and executive leaders. they have sent a letter to congress, urging lawmakers to curb the nation's deficit. forecasters, as in rob marciano, say hurricane sandy could turn into a powerful nor'easter. the category 2 hurricane is leaving cuba, heading toward the bahamas after reportedly killing two people, one in jamaica, and another in haiti. usair force is asking for $3.5 billion to rebuild a fence in space. yes, a fence in space. so-called space fence is actually a series of radar signals that track orbital debris that can pose a danger to manned space flights and satellites. a new "time" magazine poll has president obama five percentage points had an ahead of mitt

romney in the critical battleground state of ohio. not surprisingly, the romney campaign is hitting ohio hard, crisscrossing the state and holding three rallies there today. paul ryan held a rally in cleveland just yesterday. listen. >> americans are a compassionate people. and there's a consensus in this country about our fundamental obligations to society's most vulnerable. those obligations are not what we are debating in politics. >> it's most likely an attempt to make voters forget about what mitt romney said at a fund-raising dinner when he was being secretly taped. >> my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. >> cnn contributor will cain, who leans right and roland martin, who leans left. >> good morning.

>> good morning, carol. >> in paul ryan's speech, he talked about compassion and how mitt romney cared about the poor. i'm sure it's because of those secretly taped comments. the question is, is that message resonating, will? >> first, can i say is it in response to the tape that you just played? i don't know, because of the effect the tape has held and political mechanism. by politically, how it's spun and talked about. but let's be clear. in that tape, no matter how wrong or right it was, and i've criticized that tape. he wasn't talking about policies. he was talking about campaigning, his ability to win the votes of various people in the 47%. he wasn't talking about how a romney administration would approach poverty. he wasn't talking about compassion. now, what paul ryan had to say yesterday was that he recognized a couple of things. first of all, the government spent a trillion dollars on welfare programs over the past year. shockingly, shockingly a

trillion on welfare programs is more than they spent on medicare and social security. those are record levels. the question needs to be asked, what are you getting for all of this spending? and are you effectively -- are you effectively being compassionate? are you helping to raise people out of poverty? republican principles, conservative principles suggest by creating economic growth o r overall, you rise all boats. rising tide lifts all boats and that is how you attack poverty. >> let's talk about how you attack policy and how a romney administration might attack poverty. because paul ryan also mentioned mitt romney's position as a counselor who counseled poor people and also karl rove's crossroads pac is running this ad. let's take a look, and roland, i would like your comments on the other side. >> and chose to have mitt give the eulogy at his funeral and he gave a beautiful eulogy. to spend time with a 14-year-old boy in his last days, that --

you cannot help but know that he's caring. >> so the republicans are talking a lot about how mitt romney cares and how he's a good counselor and how he was a great pastor. but what about policy, roland? are you hearing any of that? >> right. ads like that are simply a shell game. you look at the actual budget of that congressman paul ryan put forth, it would decimate many of these programs. you also saw him yesterday lying, criticizing the obama administration. let me also remind everybody out there, you have had republican governors who have actually requested those welfare to work waivers. governor herbert, utah, republican, endorsed the romney/ryan ticket, requested a waiver. governor sandoval, nevada, republican governor, request ed those waivers. why? because they said if we get the waiver, we might be able to do a

better job in our states as opposed to these requirements. and so you see a shell game going on. i would ask congressman ryan what about those catholic nuns, the catholic bishops who are opposing his budget, saying they would decimate programs for the poor? this is a perfect example of mitt romney again wanting to say one thing and doing another. he is saying this is what i do in my personal life. when it comes to public policy he is not trying to have programs that really deal with poverty and deal with the poor. it is nonsense. again, we can see through it clearly. >> i want to pivot to another topic. the former secretary of state colin powell came out and endorsed president obama, said he was going to vote for him again this time around. will, do you think that will help president obama? >> to some degree. i think that -- look, four years ago, many republicans endorsed president obama. many republicans saw that hope and change was a message that they believed in. you know, like colin powell, you saw people like christopher buck

leiley, the son of william f. buckley national review get behind president obama. my suspicion is you'll have fewer of those republicans buying into president obama the second time around, but colin powell has. yeah, that will help president obama to some degree. >> carol, let me help you out. christopher buckley compared to a former joint chiefs of staff chairman, four-star general, not even a comparison. >> i didn't say christopher buckley -- >> no, no, i'm simply comparing that you can't even put them in the same sentence. what i'm saying is this here, carol. general powell talked about the ridiculous foreign policy plan saying it is a moving target. basically he was very critical of what mitt romney had to say or frankly didn't say in the debate on monday. powell also is important because he's a moderate republican, and independent voters also appeal to, in terms of what did he have to say that's also appealing. you have a tight race, and slivers of people that get to

make their moinds up, any endorsement like this matters. he has a credible voice. when he speaks about foreign policy, trust me, aa lot of people listen. >> we'll see. roland martin, will cain, we have to wrap it up. i'm so sorry. thanks to both of you, as usual. >> thank you very much. got caught up in that subprime mortgage mess. following the settlement, he is poised to get some money. but wait until you hear how much the government is offering him for losing his home. now, that's what i call a test drive.

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the federal government goes after the nation's largest bank, bank of america is being sued for more than $1 billion in what prosecutors call the hustle. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange to explain. good morning. >> good morning, carol.

the justice department is accusing of b of a of generating and then selling defective home loans to customers, which later defaulted under fannie mae and freddie mac. a new statement says bank of america has stepped up and acted responsibly to solve legacy mortgage matters. at some point bank of america can't be expected to compensate every entity that claims loss that actually were caused by the economic downturn. it doesn't deny that it used the process known as the hustle. it continued under bank of america through 2009 after it bought the mortgage company. hust hustle's goal was, carol, to write lots of mortgages and write them fast to keep these loans moving forward to get them through the approval process. countrywide threw out quality control steps that would have

back backed up the process and it was up to countrywide to make sure these loans met certain standards before passing them on to fannie and freddie. even some cases, applicants didn't have critical pieces of paperwork but were approved anyway. one thing making this situation worse, carol, the government says hustle, this program, gave loan processors bonuses for pushing through more loans. gave people incentives, carol, to cut corners. >> wow! woel translate aall of what you said to the real world now, alison kosik, thank you. our next guest knows what it's like to have a mortgage with countrywide turn sour. the house and his wife's family for 40 years sold at auction for $20,000. he got this letter from the state of michigan telling him he's getting a settlement after the u.s. government sued his bank for illegal foreclosure

practices. his part of the settlement? wait for it. $840. maybe more. right now, $840. keith ward joins us now on the phone from east point, michigan. nice to talk to you again, keith. >> you, too, carol. how have you been? >> i've been great. i hear you're doing better and i'm so glad about that. >> yes, worry. >> great. i'm so glad to hear that. the money you may get is part of a $25 billion settlement between the federal government and the banks, but you may get $840. i mean, when you read that, when went through your mind? >> just total disbelief, because my family home with his lost and $840, that wouldn't even cover my rent payment right now. >> did you think it was a joke at first? >> what's that? >> did you think it was a joke at first? >> yes, i did. because it's like a slap in the

face. it's really -- what do they expect people to do at $840? it's nothing really, with the way things are. it's nothing. it's not going to go anywhere. >> the justice department is now suing bank of america for $1 billion for hustling home loans. do you feel any sense of justice because of that? >> no. because so many poem are out there that are in a situation like i have been in. they don't have their family homes anymore. and how are you going to -- how can you repay lozing memories? you know, it feels like it's just another way to just push it to the side again, you know. they can't put us back into our homes, you know. you've got to go on and, you know -- it's going to fight in litigation for probably decades. and nobody like myself will see anything out of it. >> i know you're renting right now. do you think that you'll ever own a home again? >> that's my hope. it's my admiration.

you remember when we talked -- what was it, four years ago, i think it was? >> yeah. >> do you remember how much it hurt me, losing my family's home. that hurt hasn't changed. and it probably won't until i'm able to put my family back in our own home again. believe me, that is my goal. >> youf kept your family above water and that is remarkable for all that you went through. coating ward, thank you very much for being with us. it was great to talk to you again. >> you, too, carol. thank you very much. >> sure. talk back question today, did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? your responses, next [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation,

not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

48 minutes past the hour.

checking on top stories now. pakistani police have arrested six men in connection with a shooting of a pakistani school girl speaking out against the taliban. the main suspect is still at large. his mother, brother and fiance have been detained but not accused. the national hurricane center says the category 2 hurricane lost some strength after landfall but there are reports of at least two deaths from sandy. a woman in haiti and a man in jamaica. officials now say it was, indeed, a great white shark that kill aid surfer off southern california, estimated to be between 15 and 16 feet long based on the size of teeth marks left on the surfer's board. the beach is now closed. new foreclosures fell in 62% of american cities in the third quarter. that's according to realty track. some of the biggest decreases were in the cities in california and also las vegas. much of the central and south florida saw foreclosure rates rise by double digits. inty's health for her, aall

pregnant women should get vaccinated for whooping cough. that's the recommendation from a group of government health officials, known as tdap every time they get pregnant. it also protects against tetanus and .

talk back question this morning. did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics. this from marriage -- this from natdonben -- >> sadly i think that's his real hair. this from steve -- and this from

dan -- ouch. facebook.com/carolcnn. please continue the conversation. pablo sandoval can be mentioned in the same sentence with reggie jackson. kung fu panda's greatest hits from last night's world series. y that focused less on fees and more... on what matters? maybe your bank account is taking too much time and maybe it's costing too much money. introducing bluebird by american express and walmart. your alternative to checking and debit. it's loaded with features, not fees. because we think your money should stay where it belongs. with you. the value you expect. the service you deserve. it feels good to bluebird.

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it was a painful night for tigers' fans. the san francisco giants took game one thanks in large part to the guy they call kung fu panda. pablo sand dough val hit three

home runs. two of his blasts came off the tigers' ace justin verlander who lasted only four innings. he becomes only the fourth player to hit three home runs in a world series game joining babe ruth, reggie jackson and al ber pujols. good company for a guy who only hit 12 home runs in the regular season. >> it's part of the dream, being in the world series. i was thinking being in this situation, three homers in one game, you know. you have to keep focused and play your game. >> he was fantastic. game two tonight. detroit sends doug fister to the mounz. the giants counter with madison baumgartner. nfl picking up on a new jersey boy's idea for refs to use pink penalty flags as part of breast cancer awareness month. 11-year-old dante wrote commissioner roger goodell who said the flags will be used at this monday's game. dante and his family have been invited to gats imand will

present the pink flags to officials. people in brick, new jersey, talking about anthony star go's field goal last night. it marked a victory for a man who faced challenges his whole life. orphaned at 3 and has autism. his foster parents took him to a college football game six years ago and anthony decided he wanted to be a kicker. daily practices and the calming routine with the kicks put anthony in a position to be a hero. good for him. that's a look at sports this morning. the next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts right now. stories we're watching right now, in the "newsroom," the president picking up a key endorsement this morning. former secretary of state colin powell, a republican, is backing obama for a second term. no escape, seems every commercial break has some sort of political ad.

imagine what would happen if you sat down and watched 45 straight hours of campaign ads while locked in a room. we'll talk with one crazy man who did that. not one, but two movies about the raid that killed osama bin laden. one of them will be shown two days before the election. a political stunt or legitimate film? and i'm rob marciano in your hurricane headquarters. hurricane sandy a category 2 storm heading through the bahamas will impact the u.s. we have your forecast. top of the hour. the "newsroom" is now. and good morning. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol ocostello. barack obama is getting a big boost from iconic figures of both parties. this morning the obama camp announced former president bill clinton will stump with him next week, their first jints appearance of this election. the bigger boost may come from a

republican who offers vast crossover appeal. a couple hours ago former secretary of state colin powell announced he is endorsing obama. >> general, you worked for several republican presidents. are you still a republican? >> yes. i think i'm a republican, more moderate mold, and that's something of a dying breed, i'm sorry to say. but, you know, the republicans i worked for, president reagan, president bush '41, howard bakers of the world, people who were conservative, people who were willing to push their conservative views but recognized that at the end of the day, you've got to find a basis for compromise. >> but then general -- >> compromise is how this country runs. >> you saying you think you may have to leave the republican party if it continues in the direction it's going? >> no. i didn't say that at all, charlie. nice try. >> cnn political editor paul steinhauser is in washington. you know, i'm always not sure of how much of an impact

endorsements really have. what about this one? >> they don't hurt, right? they're like chicken soup. how much of an impact will it have? not as big as four years ago when colin powell made history when he endorsed the president. that was a big deal. this does matter to a degree. why? colin powell i think still has a lot of appeal, especially to independent voters, maybe some undecided, uncommitted voters who haven't made up their minds. they look at colin powell and they see this news and that could change minds. also his comments on mitt romney on the morning show were interesting when he was critical of mitt romney's foreign policy. take a look at this, though. favoribility of colin powell still high. our most recent cnn/orc poll on colin powell, 7 out of 10 have a favorable opinion of colin powell. what if he hadn't enforced the president and endorsed mitt romney i think we would be talking a lot about that. bill clinton, listen we know bill clinton is a big, big surrogate for the president. we saw the two men together at the convention. we saw bill clinton give the

nominating speech at the convention. he's been in ads for the president. this will be the first time the two men have teamed up on the campaign trail at rallies. three of them on monday in the big three states, ohio, florida and virginia. bill clinton is definitely a big surrogate for barack obama and we're going to see it again on monday. carol? >> obama's not only blitzing six states but blitzsing our television screens too. it's insane. >> yeah. he is. he spent time last night -- i don't know where he found the time did jet out to los angeles and was on jay leno's show, "the tonight show" seen by a sizable audience and talking about a number of things including the controversy surrounding richard mourdock. the republican senate candidate in indiana and had controversial comments two days ago at a debate with his democratic opponent that said pregnancies caused by rape were intended by god. mitt romney has endorsed mourdock and appears in a mourdock ad. here's what the president had to say. >> i don't know how these guys come up with these ideas.

let me make a very simple proposition. rape is rape. for politicians to want to intrude in this stuff, often times without any information, is a huge problem and this is, obviously, a part of what's at stake in this election. >> i think a lot of this also is the battle for the female vote for women voters and abortion is a topic that is of much interest to them and that's what this may be playing out as, carol. >> paul steinhauser reporting live for us from washington, thank you. the 2008 republican presidential candidate is also weighing in on mourdock. john mccain says mourdock must apologize in order to keep his support. so far mourdock has only said he's sorry some people misintereted his comments. here's what john mccain told anderson cooper. >> it depends on what he does. i think it depends on what he does. if he apologizes and says he misspoke and was wrong and he asks the people to forgive him, then, obviously, i would be the first, you know, as i said, i'm not sure how big mistakes i have

made but in the years that i've been around, i've made a few, anderson, and i've asked for people's understanding and forgiveness when i own up to it. it's when you don't own up to it that people will not believe in you. >> mccain's threat to withdraw his support makes him the highest profile republican so far to distance himself from mourdock's comments. talking about the mac daddy of all battleground states that would probably be ohio. yes, both candidates have been hitting the buckeye state hard. president barack obama has already spent more than $49 million on campaign ads there. while mitt romney has spent more than $26 million. and you would think both campaigns were based in ohio. obama has been there 24 times so far. romney has almost doubled that, been there 41 times. ads, flyers, robo calls, driving voters crazy. my mother tells me that all the time because she lives in ohio. i thought she should share some of our conversations with all of

you so i'm calling my mom on the phone right now. mom, are you there? >> i'm here. >> great. i had to convince her to do this. my mother lives in -- my mother lives in stark county, near canton, ohio. and as you know, stark county has decided every election. tell me, mom, when you sit in your kitchen, how often does the phone ring? >> well, basically maybe five or six times a day. i give you a, for example, tuesday evening between 6:00 and 9:00, we got four political calls. >> do you even answer the phone anymore? >> not very much. look at my caller id or if i'm on tv, switch the channel. >> tell me what it's like watching television when you watch the local news, political ads are the only commercials that are on, right? >> just about, yes. >> so -- >> but i do listen because i do like to know the ideas of both parties and since i'm not an early voter i like to hear both sides as often as i can.

>> but you've pretty much made up your mind, right? >> definitely. >> so is any political ad or robo call going to change your mind at this point? >> no. not at this time. >> so, is it sort of driving you crazy? >> yes, it is. especially when you are in a wrong area of the house and you have to run to the phone because you can't see the caller id. it is very annoying. >> but you've heard from a lot of interesting people, what, mike huckabee called you -- >> i talked to mike huckabee and pat boon and joe biden called yesterday. in fact, joe biden called this morning. and betty sutton. we have local politicians who also do the telephone robo calls. >> well, i don't think it's going to stop any time soon, mom. but thanks for sharing your frustration because i'm sure a lot of other people across the country, especially those who live in swing states feel exactly the same way. thanks, mom. >> thank you very much, carol. bye-bye. >> bye-bye. to learn more about the

candidate's spending, check out our website cnn.com/explorer. president obama is on the next leg of his eight state campaign blitz, just minutes ago he wrapped up his event in tampa and is now on his way to virginia for a couple of events there. then on the way back to the white house for a quick layover in chicago. >> i'm going to stop in chicago. i'm going to do some early voting in chicago. i can't tell you who i'm voting for. it's a secret ballot. >> in the meantime mitt romney is focusing his efforts on ohio. of course. he has three events scattered across this all-important state. as i said, and as we've said repeatedly, no republican has ever been elected president without winning ohio. in the next hour he'll speak at a campaign event in cincinnati. we'll carry part of his remarks live. libya, and who knew what when. the political fight is one thing, the search for justice is another. this morning there are new

details about a man in custody who we're learning is the key suspect in the attack on america's consulate in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans including the u.s. ambassador to libya, christopher stevens. republican senator saxby chambliss says the man is being held in tunisia. sources tell cnn the suspect is connected to extremist groups in north africa. cnn has learned that the u.s. first became aware of this man when he posted details of the attack on social media while it was happening. and we're now getting new insight into just how quickly the state department knew about the sophistication of the assault. intelligence correspondent susan kelly has that part of the story. >> i've said it and i'll say it one more time, no one wants to find out what happened more than i do. >> reporter: secretary hillary clinton came out firing today, after e-mails obtained by cnn made clear that shortly after the attack began, the state department notified officials from the white house, the top

intelligence agency, pentagon and fbi that an attack was under way and that ambassador stevens was in the compound. just two hours later another e-mail indicated the libyan extremist group ansar al sharia was claiming responsibility for the attack on social media websites. >> what you saw in the e-mails in that real time was a real description and if you notice there was no talk of demonstrations or other things and it was clearly very early identified with a terrorist affiliate of aqim. >> reporter: clinton said cherry picking a document does not tell the whole story and an initial claim of responsibility is not solid intelligence. >> posting something on facebook is not in and of itself evidence and i think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be. >> reporter: the group denied being responsible the next day. in fact, intelligence officials do not believe this libyan group is solely responsible. a u.s. government official tells

cnn that the latest intelligence suggests the core group of suspects that launched the initial part of the attack on the mission was somewhere between 35 and 40. around a dozen of them are believed to have ties to either al qaeda in iraq or al qaeda in the islamic magroup. still others believed to be part of ansar al sharia and many said to be egyptian jihadis. others were looters say officials, and unarmed. susan kelly, cnn, new york. have to talk about the weather now. hurricane sandy takes aim at the bahamas after pounding cuba. the category 2 hurricane is blamed for at least two reported deaths, one in jamaica and another in haiti and people living along the u.s. east coast could be affected by sandy. rob marciano is here. he's tracking sandy. so who is she going to hit? >> kind of late in the season for this but looks like everybody on the east coast, directly on the east coast, will be affected by this storm. right now winds of 105 miles per

hour, re-emerging into the atlantic, going to go through the bahamas as a category 2. get beaten around pretty good. places like florida, the east coast especially will get affects from this as well. it will not make a direct hit but close enough to get tremendous amount of waves. we'll have 20 to 30, maybe higher foot waves breaking across the east coast of florida later on today, tonight and into tomorrow morning. expect it to sustain a category 1 status until about cape hat ter res and waters get cooler and winds interact with it. these winds associated with cool air barreling dproun canada right now could bring it back towards the northeast, retro grade it, throw things in reverse and put it back out to sea which is what looked like originally buwas going to happe. a lot of computer models are hedging towards the east coast. a few of them, every line represents a single computer and its forecast solution.

you can see bring them to the delmarva, up to new york and maine as well. by this stage of the game, it would be more of a hybrid storm with cold air entrenched and regardless going to have winds, waves and certainly a lot of rain and even snow in the mountains. a lot of aspects to this storm very complicated but we'll watch it. right now a category 2 storm heading through the bahamas. >> we appreciate that. looks like spaghetti right now. >> getting hungry. >> i know. rob, thank you. could a movie affect the outcome of the presidential election? a new movie about the raid that killed osama bin laden will air right before the election and conservatives they're not happy. [ female announcer ] today, jason is here

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how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. 16 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, pakistani police arrested six men in connection with the shooting of a pakistani school girl who spoke out against the taliban. the primary suspect still at large. his mother, brother and fiancee have been detained but so far they're not accused of the shooting. the fbi has now joined the investigation to those phony letters sent to dozens of florida voters questioning their citizenship just two weeks before the election. the letters were sent from seattle and claim that

recipients would not be able to vote if they did not submit a reply form. a plds election supervisor calls the letter a major concern. singapore airlines plans to stop flying the world's longest route next year. the 10,000 mile nonstop flight from singapore to newark, new jersey, takes almost 19 hours. they blame rising fuel prices and lower passenger demand. the international space station's population has doubled. three new crew members arrived a short time ago, joining three others on the orbiting lab since july. it's been more than a year since navy s.e.a.l.s killed osama bin laden in a raid about to get a lot of theatrical attention. a major motion picture "zero dark thirty" set to oech e november 19th but another will open two days before the election. brian todd joins us from washington. some say the timing of this movie is suspect.

>> they do, carol. that's one of the reasons that the -- that they're being accused of staging a political stunt here. few reasons for that. this new movie on the bin laden raid slated to air sunday, november 4th, two days before the election. that timing along with some of the clips in the movie and the information we have now on who is backing this film have drawn political fire. >> we're going to be the team that takes out osama. >> reporter: the real-life plot that can certainly draw viewers. the navy s.e.a.l.s raid that killed osama bin laden. but can it also draw voters? and is it designed to? s.e.a.l. team 6, a new drama about the bin laden mission is set to air on the national geographic channel two nights before the election. it's got some real news clips of president obama in it. depicting the president in the days surrounding the raid. and the film is backed by hollywood mogul harvey weinstein, a big-time democratic donor. all those factors have

conservatives saying the movie is a political stunt. >> any time you've got a movie coming out two nights before the election and being made by harvey weinstein, a prominent democrat and huge supporter of president obama's, of course it raises eyebrows. >> reporter: the director said it was weinstein who suggested adding more actual news footage, including footage from the white house, after he saw an early version of the movie. >> it was not done to, i guess, play up the president's role or make him look particularly good? >> not at all. we don't pretend to sort of get inside the president's head. harvey weinstein came in to the editing room very early on and his only questions to me were, how did you know this? are you sure this happened? he was attempting to get to the voracity of the story. >> reporter: stockwell says there's less footage of the president in the finished cut than there was in an earlier version. contacted by cnn, harvey weinstein rejected the idea that film has a political agenda, saying it's about history. ken robinson has been in both

worlds a former special forces officer, creator and writer of an nbc drama about the inner workings of the pentagon. in the production of movies like this, is there often pressure to put in a political slant, subtle maybe? >> i've never seen that. and i've been on the fox lot, the warner lot, the paramount lot and not seen that. the creative process is pretty priced. >> reporter: but the timing of the film's release november 4th still wranglers some conservatives like brett bowzell who has this suggestion. >> if there aren't any political purposes behind this as they say there aren't put it off by two days. >> reporter: a spokesperson for national geographic says they have to air it on november 4th because they have to give the movie to netflix by november 5th. national geographic which is partnered with rupert murdoch's fox cable networks and the director stockwell deny political motivations releasing the film november 4th.

>> great story. brian todd, thanks for joining us this morning. talk back question for you this morning. did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel®, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections,

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. the question for you this morning, did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? in case you missed it, because you were afraid your brain would wither and die, donald trump a passionate birther is now offering $5 million to president obama's favorite charities if the president releases his passport applications and college records. this was the donald's october surprise. please humor me as i read a few choice tweets. quote -- today's gallup poll will be completely useless since it will have been entirely conducted before the trump offer. >> me to donald trump, go away,

please. >> here's trump on cnn's piers morgan. >> i'm looking at it in a very positive way for the president. i think it's a tremendous thing for the president. he gets to give $5 million to a -- >> i just didn't want to torture you any longer. at least the president has a sense of humor about it. >> this all dates back to when we were growing up together in kenya. >> yeah. >> i got to give you that one. >> we had, you know, constant run-ins on the soccer field. >> yeah. >> you know, he wasn't very good and resented it. >> yeah. >> you know. >> have you -- >> when we finally moved to america i thought it would be over. >> no. >> and to think donald trump teased us with a sue do

presidential run and endorsed and was at one time embraced by the republican candidate for president. you laugh but in april of 2011 trump led the republican pack for president in public policy polling of primary voters. 11 points ahead of mitt romney. ain't american politics grand. talk back question today -- did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses later this hour. mitt romney's mormonism not always in the spotlight but seems to be more and more. his involvement in the church is becoming a talking point in the election. ♪ [ male announcer ] to take it all head-on... ♪ channel the universe... ♪ shorten the distances... ♪ push beyond the possible... ♪ roar past convention...

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new yoplait greek 100. the wheels of progress. seems they haven't been moving much lately. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. we're coming up on 30 minutes past the hour. our top stories, good morning to you, i'm carol.

south florida prepares for winds and rain from hurricane sandy. several school districts are sending students home early today and canceling afterschool activities. sandy is blamed for two deaths, one in jamaica and another in haiti. turns out it was, indeed, a great white shark that killed a surfer in southern california. the shark was between 15 and 16 feet long. that's based on the size of the teeth marks left on the surfer's board. the beach remains closed. u.s. air force asking for $3.5 billion to rebuild a fence in space. yes a fence in space. it's called a space fence. it's actually a series of radar signals that track orbital debris. that debris can pose a danger to manned space flights and satellites. more news about the economy this morning. durable goods orders are up almost 10%. that includes machinery, electronics and appliances. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange to tell us why this matters. >> it matters because this is a

big deal for the economy. first let's go to the number, 10% higher in september and you look at the numbers in this report, it was really boosted by a big rebound in transportation orders. you know what, you can thank boeing for that. what happened was boeing took in 143 aircraft orders in september after booking just one order in august. but here's what's good about this. even when you strip out the transportation orders, take them out of that number, the numbers that you see are actually better than expected. this is a good sign because it's been one of those weeks have the companies have been coming out with ooerngs reports and there's been a lot of concerns about durable goods manufacturers like caterpillar and 3m, all talking about the slowdown in the economies overseas in europe and asia. mainly because of the european debt crisis. you have to remember that manufacturing, was really the main sector that pulled us out of the recession a couple years ago, but lately it's been struggling and hasn't been something that everybody's been relying on to pull us out of the kind of slowdown we've been in. so it really is, carol, good to see some progress for the

country's factories at this point. carol? >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. the line between religion and politics can be a delicate one to walk but as the 2012 campaign winds down there seems to be more of an effort to showcase mitt romney's time as a leader in the mormon church. it actually started at the republican convention and it's continuing now in a brand new ad. joining me now is the reverend mark hutchins, a civil rights leader in atlanta who's also been involved in the political process working on campaigns and running for congress himself. thanks for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> we had a bit of breaking news i would like to start with. colin powell came out and endorsed president obama again for a second time. do you think that will help energize the african-american community because president obama needs that vote bad? >> absolutely. i think it will not only energize the african-american community but i think colin powell's endorsement sends a strong signal that our men and women in the military have

confidence and military practitioners have confidence in our commander in chief and i think that is very significant. >> is the african-american community, are they energized to vote for president obama? >> i think so. i don't think there's as much visible enthusiasm in 2012 that we saw in 2008 because of the historic nature of the president's candidacy then, but i think there is a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm and i believe that african-americans will again go to the polls and vote in record numbers because as we've suggested all around the country, carol, there were people in the civil rights movement and that is the tradition out of which i come, that gave their blood, sweat and tears for us to have the right to register and vote. for us to do anything but to come out in record numbers in this critical election would be a disgrace. >> i would like to get to the mix of religion and politics. paul ryan on the campaign trail yesterday in ohio said mitt romney cares deeply about those without jobs and the poor. he cited that mitt romney's

pastoral counseling of people who didn't have jobs, as a way to lift people out of poverty, he said that's how mitt romney is going to help people with no jobs. he's going to give them hope, but maybe through religious channels. >> well, i think one thing that we have to consider is, how much damage control those statements from mr. ryan may actually have been. i think they are still trying to escape the whole 47% remark that mr. romney made in that secretly recorded video. i think it's really curious that this is the first time this election cycle that we have heard the ryan/romney camp talk about issues of poverty and suffering. look, the question for us is really not how much of a good pastor mitt romney was, but how much of a president he would be in the policy and the practices that he would put in place to deal with or not deal with the issues of the suffering masses of people that we see in america today. >> i think republicans have a point when they say there are record number of people using

food stamps right now, still lots and lots of people out of work, and president obama just hasn't figured out how to help those people. >> well, i think we are dealing with an extraordinary set of circumstances. look, this was something, this crises in our economy, is something that the president inherited. it will certainly take more than four years to undo all the damage that was done to the underclass in the eight years that president bush was in office. we cannot assign all of the responsibility for where we are as a nation in terms of our economy and how that has impacting the least of these on the president. we've got to deal with the fact that the president of the united states inherited a horrible economy and those are the bottom are suffering the most. we have every hope the next four years will bring promise to those people stick in the margins of our society. >> i would like to talk about the reverend billy graham, taken out more than one ad in ohio, in the newspapers there. i just want to read you a bit of what he said. let's see. this is a full page ad he took out in ohio, nationally urging

americans to vote for, quote, candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman, protect the sanctity of life and to defend our religious freedom. you know, first off, is this an appropriate role for a religious leader to take, because he's walking right up to the line. he's not saying vote for mitt romney, but president obama has embraced same-sex marriage so he certainly means vote for mitt romney. >> i think it's very curious, number one. reverend graham took a -- somewhat of a public vow after his endorsement of nixon many, many years ago, that he would stay away from partisan politics, and so for him now to emerge in such a visible way to engage in partisan presidential politics is curious. i think one of the things that we know is that reverend graham is at a very seasoned and elder stage of his life so we have to wonder how much of this is genuinely coming from billy graham and how much is being fed to him and propositioned and

heaped upon him by those who are around him. for example, his ultraconservative son, the reverend franklin graham. the reality is it's, for me, very curious as -- that all of a sudden the evangelical christian right wing is willing to stand in solidarity with mitt romney and his religion, not just his denomination, but his religion, is curious and has theological perspectives that run in direct opposition to bible thumping fundamentalist christians yet they can't suggest they won't support the president because of his perspective on marriage equality. i think it is just bipolar. >> thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. thank you for being with us today. >> absolutely. >> we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> clint eastwood is back. this time he left the chair at home. starring in a new romney campaign ad. we'll show you. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

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fresh off his performance at

the republican national convention, clint eastwood is back and starring in a new campaign ad endorsing mitt romney. "showbiz tonight" anchor a.j. hammer following the story. good morning. >> good morning, carol. yeah, clint doing more than talking to an empty chair in this ad. it's called at stake, produced by a republican super pac. let's show it to you. >> obama's second term would be a rerun of the first and our country just couldn't survive that. we need someone who can turn it around fast and that man is mitt romney. there's not much time left and the future of our country is at stake. >> normally i would say give that man a lots zen but it is clint eastwood. the pac said they wanted clint to add his weight to their message and clint eastwood's delivery is pretty effective there. bringing dirty harry. i'm sure there are a lot of republicans who are loving this commercial, although if you live in a swing state i don't know how you're dealing with all the political ads. i'm insulated in new york city. i'm going to florida next week and i understand if i turn on the television it's all i'm

going to see. >> i'm actually interested because i talk to a lot of people in new york who feel neglected because everybody knows which way new york is going to do, so nobody from the news is paying attention to them. >> yeah. >> they're like the unheard voter. >> yeah. >> okay. let's talk about jessica biel and justin tim berlake, because i saw the pictures of their wedding and it's just unbelievably beautiful. >> yeah. they're coming to us from "people" magazine from justin and jessica's italian wedding and while just releasing the cover picture for us to show you, the story inside does reveal a romantic and very special ceremony. the bride's choice of a pink wedding gown is raising eyebrows but she's not the first celebrity to wear pink walking down the aisle. reese witherspoon and anne hathaway did it. it's a new trend, probably seeing more of it from celebrities and elsewhere. we haven't heard any new music from justin timberlake in some time but we know he's written one time and serenaded his bride

as she walked down the aisle presumably without any n sync dance moving or anything like that. but justin timberlake may never reveal that to us but that's darn row mantic. >> my husband did the same thing, not. >> wow. oh. >> thanks, a.j. for the latest entertainment news, watch "showbiz tonight" 11:00 eastern on hln. political commercials, you heard a.j. say it, flooding the airwaves in swing states. imagine being forced to watch the ads for 45 hours while you're locked in a room. we're going to talk to a guy who did just that and didn't go crazy. endless shrimp is our most popular promotion at red lobster. there's so many choices, the guests love it! [ male announcer ] don't miss endless shrimp, just $14.99! try as much as you like, anyway you like.

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these people are waiting for mitt romney to take his place behind the podium to give a big campaign speech. when mitt romney begins talking, of course we'll take parts of his remarks live, that should happen at the top of the hour. we'll keep you posted. a million dollars buys a lot of tv ad time and at this stage of the presidential campaign, both candidates are spending tens of millions of dollars on a flood of political advertising. >> mitt romney understands the value. >> make your voice heard, vote. >> i'll get us on track to a balanced budget. >> president obama ended the iraq war. >> that's a foreign policy failure. >> and make government more accountable. >> can you imagine a hellish post-apolka lippic reality where all you see are political ads? one brave soul boldly went there, locked himself in a hotel room in the battleground state of ohio and watched an avalanche of political ads for 45 hours straight. joining me now, slate.com

contributor seth stevenson. oh seth, why? >> well, you know, people of ohio have to do it, why shouldn't some brave souls from other parts of the country get a concentrated dose of political advertising. >> did you remain awake the whole 45 hours? >> i think i drifted in and out of sleep but the ads sort of infiltrated my dreams. i would hear the candidates saying "i approve this message" as i nodded off and woke up. wake up and suddenly a super pac ad on. i never turned the tv off. a little frightening. >> a lot frightening. when all was said and done and you left the room, i mean, was your brain just tired and you wanted to sleep for 400 years? >> oh, i think if you had done a brain scan you would have seen some sort of physical changes in it. i was fried when i left. my thumb hurt from clicking the remote control for 45 hours straight. i didn't want to watch any kind of commercial, political or for a product or service ever again.

>> okay. so you saw these ads enough to notice some extreme focus. what were some of the tiny details that you took away from this experiment? >> sure. i noticed that in pro obama ads you would also see mitt romney in a crisp suit looking like a million dollars because they wanted to make him look like an out of touch plutocrat. pro romney ads an open collared, window payne shirt like he's a person of the people. i noticed in the romney's ads when he's telling you about his biography he's driving a car and looking to the side of him like you're shoulder to shoulder sitting at the bar together or watching a game together. when obama is telling you something, he's locked in looking straight at you like on a first date or something. you start to fix eight on these things. i saw a pro romney ad, talking to a voter and romney gives a gulp, couldn't help but wonder if i saw this 20 times did they decided they would leave the

gulp in because it made romney look more human and concerned, take it out because it would make him look weak. these are the things you start to fixate on when you see something 20 times in the space of a short time. >> and even people not locked in a room, they see these campaign ads 20, 30, 40 times. i mean at what point during the 45 hours did you just completely zone out and not care anymore? >> oh, i would say about a third of the way through, i started to be overwhelmed and by halfway through it was a nightmare to see the same ad for the 18th time and i would notice the tiny things. i remember there was a woman in a pro obama ad, a woman in a grocery store comparison shopping because she's trying to save money and looking at these two cans of tuna and i kept wonderi wondering which one she was going to pick and you never find out. see the ad for the 19th time it goes battie. >> is that the one that haunts your nightmares? >> among many, yes. >> seth stevenson from slate.com, thank you so much for

joining us. >> thanks a lot. >> you're a crazy guy that's all i have to say. a waiting game for many facebook employees, have to sit their stock for months. now some of them could be millionaires.

j facebook might have produced a few more millionaires. current and past employees finally get closer to being able to sell their shares. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. took long enough. >> tell me about it. today is a day if you're a facebook employee, it's the day that you've been waiting for for years because many of these people are going to be able to start feeling a lot more like their wealthy founder because today restricted units given to past and current facebook employees, they become fully vested meaning they turn into common shares. this is basically when what was once the promise of future money for workers, becomes actual money. it's no longer just a vision or

a dream. and kind of works out nicely that facebook shares yesterday spiked 19%. it means the total sum available to employees is more than $5 billion and while those shares are going to be vesting today, they're not going to be available to hit the open market. they have to wait to sell them on monday. a big chunk of these shares will be held back, so facebook can cover a huge tax bill from the state of california. carol? >> so what happens if all the employees decide to sell on monday? >> isn't that the money question. what's good for the employee may be bad for the company. when millions hit the market all at once the stock usually tanks. the main reason you have the lockup periods to stagger the release of shares after a company goes public. you look at what happened when facebook's last lockup period ended in august a comparable amount of shares to monday's release when they hit the market we saw facebook shares lose 6%, not to say that will happen again on monday but don't be surprised if it does.

we are watching facebook shares fall about 1%. it did jump 19% yesterday. we'll check back on monday. thanks so much. talk back question this morning, did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics? facebook.com/carolcnn. your response is next. my doctor told me calcium is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

talk back question today. did donald trump make a mockery of presidential politics. this from joey -- this from tyler -- this from raymond -- and this from laurie -- >> i wondered when that one would come. keep the conversation going,

facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks for the avalanche of comments. you guys are on fire, you were today and yesterday, and i appreciate it. cnn "newsroom" continues right now with ashley. >> thanks very much, carol. hi, everybody. nice to see you this morning. 11:00 on the east coast, it's 8:00 on the west coast. here's where we begin. with a four-letter word, a four-letter word you can say on tv and it's being said over and over and over again. ohio. both candidates are in a love affair with that state right now or perhaps more accurately 18 electoral votes. the road to the white house has always run through this buckeye state. so that is exactly where you'll find governor mitt romney where he is looking to do one thing, capitalize on his momentum. we've got a live picture right now of a campaign rally in cincinnati, ohio. this is at a company called jet machine. it manufactures military equipment. and the governor is set to take