hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. coming up for you this hour, polls open in the u.s. in just a few hours from now, in fact. in an election that will impact president obama's last two years in office. so why has he avoided the campaign trail? and new details of the virgin galactic spaceship. richard branson still insists commercial space travel is worth with the risk. americans will be going to the polls in the coming hours

for crucial midterm elections. their outcome will shape the final two years of barack obama's presidency. especially by deciding whether democrats will keep control of the senate. >> that's right. 36 of the 100 seats are up for grabs, and the ones you're seeing in blue are expected to go to the democrats. and the red of course to the republicans. but look at all the yellow. that's why republicans could pick up the six seats they need to control the senate, and the challenge really, the balance of power, all of that too close to call, but it could be an interesting day. >> certainly could. and president obama's low approval ratings have kept him out of the limelight and complicated matters for his fellow democrats. >> and on the campaign trail, many republicans have come to count him as an asset. dana bash reports. >> from kentucky -- >> a new face to vote for barack

obama. >> -- to kansas. >> a vote for greg orman is a vote for president obama. >> to colorado. >> he's voted 99% of the time with president obama. >> reporter: across the country, republicans are trying to take control of the senate by tying democrats to an unpopular president. >> pleasure to meet you. >> reporter: new hampshire's candidate barely speaks a sentence without saying incumbent jeanne shaheen votes with the president 99% of the time. >> the president said a couple weeks ago, he's not running, but his policies are on the ballot. i agree with him. and he also said -- >> i bet you do. >> yeah, i do. >> reporter: shaheen gives the 2014 democratic response. is the president a drag on you here? >> this race is not between the president and scott brown. it's between me and scott brown. >> reporter: still even democrat strategists admit it helps to make the races neck to neck. north carolina, georgia,

kentucky, louisiana, arkansas, kansas, iowa, colorado, alaska. and this year's battlegrounds are in swing states or red states where the president is not, or never was popular. like kentucky. >> mitch mcconnell wants you to think i'm barack obama. >> reporter: kentucky's democratic candidate went so far as to refuse to even admit she voted for him. >> did you vote for president obama in 2008 and 2012? >> you know, this election isn't about the president. it's about making sure we put kentuckians back to work. >> reporter: still there are pocket, blue states where the president has gone to help, like trips this weekend to connecticut and michigan. >> we got to let them know their vote matters. >> reporter: and he's doing targeted interviews in red states, like black radio, to reach african americans who democrats need to get out and vote. in louisiana,louisiana. >> the south has not always been

the friendliest place for african americans. it's been a difficult time for the president to present himself in a very positive light as a leader. >> reporter: it's a fine line and turn-out is everything. distance yourself from the president but don't go so far that voters who like the president stay home. cnn, reporting from battleground states across the country. okay, so now we want to take a look at what's at stake in today's elections. and for that, political analyst mark mclellan joins us live from london. thank you, sir, for talking about us. >> morning. >> some democrats insist, including joe biden, they can hold on to the senate. but the numbers aren't on their side, are they? >> yeah, the numbers are looking extremely difficult for the democrats this time around. put this in some historical context. it's obviously extremely difficult for the president's party to win at midterm elections. if you look back throughout u.s. history, the president's party

typically does poorly during mid terms. couple of exceptions, 2002, george w. bush, and before that, go back to 1934 and franklin roosevelt. the mid terms of a second term are particularly problematic. 2006, again george w. bush, 1986 with reagan. the president's party did particularly badly in the mid terms. and i think this time around, the democrats really have a very narrow path to hold on to the senate. >> good having that historical perspective for sure. so the likely scenario then appears to be the republicans taking control of the senate. if that happens, what's that going to mean politically, and also more importantly, what will that mean in terms of trying to get things done in this country? >> it's going to be extremely difficult, i think. we have seen somewhat of a truce, i would say, in 2014, especially in comparison to last year, where we had problems with the government shutdown, the debt ceiling crisis, the budget

deal at the end of last year has brought a certain amount of truce to events in washington. i think if the republicans are to regain control of the senate, which i think is likely, we are going to see increasingly combative kind of political situation in washington between congress and the white house. and there are a number of legislative issues i would say where we'll see trouble here. firstly on health care. i think the republicans are going to try to strip parts of the affordable care act away. secondly on the dodd-frank act, the hold that was placed on banks and financial institutions. and we'll see some interesting battles ahead on energy policy on the keystone pipeline and republicans trying to roll back some of the regulatory procedures that president obama's trying to proceed through the epa relating to carbon emissions from power plants in the u.s. >> and if that all plays out, as you suggest there, where will

that leave the final two years of mr. obama's presidency, do you think? >> i think they'll be extremely problematic for the president. i imagine his very low approval ratings will continue. they're currently below 42%. i think long-term for the democrats, things will look rosier in 2016. republicans are going to have a lot of problems if they're up against hillary clinton in 2016, and the landscape for the senate in 2016 is extremely difficult for the republicans. they'll be defending 24, 34 seats up for election. they may only hold on to the senate for two years beforehandibeforehan before handing it back to the democrats next time around. >> and turn-out is key. the expectations appear to be that fewer than half of enrolled voters will come out to vote. what impact will that likely have on the outcome? who does that tend to favor? >> yeah, historically, again, mid terms have obviously have a

lot lower turn-out than presidential elections. i think this time around republicans are a lot more energized. democrats are seeing early strong voting numbers in swing states like colorado. so i would say that the scenario there very much favors the republicans. >> all right, we shall see and be watching very closely. no doubt. political analyst mark mclellan, thanks so much for joining us from london. appreciate it. >> thank you. tune in tuesday night for complete coverage of the u.s. midterm elections. join wolf blitzer, anderson cooper, and cnn's entire political team for results and analysis. cnn's election night in america begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern time for viewers in the united states and a quarter to midnight tuesday in london for our international viewers. all right, we have new information for you on the crash of verge ij galactic spaceship two. we'll tell you what investigators say was happening at the controls before the spacecraft broke up.

and two gruesome murders in a city known for being safe. people in hong kong are shocked as more details surface. we'll have a life report next, do stay with us.

welcome back, everyone. the head of virgin galactic is praising the co-pilot who died when spacecraft two came apart as it rocketed above california. >> yeah, veteran co-pilot michael als bury was sitting in the right seat when the rocket

broke up. the other pilot, peter seabold survived, but doctors say he's not well enough to talk to investigators. >> they now say the co-pilot unlocked the feather control switch which is meant to slow the spaceship during its trip back to earth. poppy harlow spoke to the billionaire entrepreneur about the co-pilot and the risk test pilots take. >> virgin founder richard branson tells me he will not speculate about what caused this crash. he did say they are moving forward, that indeed they still do want to bring civilians to space, and that he will be the first to go. but given this tragedy, and this death of a pilot, i asked him, is the risk still worth it. >> yes, the risk is worth it. and as i say, mike would have been the first to say that. i'm sure his parents and his wife and his sisters would not say that.

but test pilots would say that because they know the risks they're taking. they know the importance of what they're doing. we've got to go through the difficult testing stage of creating a space line in order to make it safe for travelers who want to travel on that space line in the years ahead. and we will persevere and we will succeed. >> cnn aviation analyst miles o'brian this morning said that you and virgin galactic, he believes, have, quote, consistently underestimated to the public what it takes to get to space, the risk involved. he said that there has been really a gloss painted on this that does not reflect reality. what is your response to that? >> there have been some incredible things said over the last two days since the accident. you know, when you have incidents, you're going to get people who are quick to criticize, you know, what is a pioneering program.

and we have 400 of the best engineers in the world working on this. they are diligent, hard-working, doing something which is cutting edge, and i support them 100%. so, you know, we have to accept the occasional knock, but we'll brush it down and move forward. >> now, i also asked branson if they will send more test pilots up into space before the final investigation is fully complete. he said the ntsb has told them to move forward as they were. they are nearly complete, with building another spaceship. so they may be sending more test pilots up before the final investigation is done. i can also tell you that i asked him about the new fuel mix being used in this rocket on friday for the first time. he denied that had anything to do with the crash. we still, though, have to wait for a final word, of course from

the authorities. poppy harlow, cnn, new york. south korean auto makers hyundai and kia have agreed to pay $300 million in penalties. the u.s. environmental protection agency says the companies overstated fuel economy estimates in hundreds of thousands of their vehicles. the u.s. attorney general says the penalties are a warning to companies that don't tell consumers the truth. >> this will send a strong message that cheating is not profitable. and that any company that violates the law will be held to account. hyundai and kia will forfeit the greenhouse gas credits that the companies wrongly claimed, based on their inaccurate reporting. our settlement will require them to relinquish 4.75 million metric tons worth of credit which could be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. >> hyundai and kia are both owned by hyundai motor group.

the two brands operate independently in the u.s., but they conduct joint fuel testing at a korean lab. a british investment banker is charged with killing two indonesian women in a hong kong apartment. more details about the crime scene and the suspect are now being released. we're joined from hong kong with the latest on this. what's so scary, there's an opinion piece on cnn.com from a british banker saying that this actually reflects a bit of the seedy underbelly of hong kong, where drugs and prostitutes and access to all this money is quite common. i'm just wondering, based on what the people that you've spoke to, who live near where this incident took place, how are they responding? what are they saying about what this represents there in hong kong? >> well, look, errol, police are no closer to the motive of this attack, but certainly we are here in the red light district of hong kong. the apartment building where the

two besidodies were found is ju behind me. on the 31st floor, belonging to rurik jutting who has been charged with two counts of murder. dressed in black, looking tired and dishevelled, rurik jutting arrived at court, escorted by police. the 29-year-old british investment banker who until recently worked for bank of america merrill lynch was charged with two counts of murder, following the grisly discovery in his apartment. he called police from the 31st floor of this upscale residential building, telling them to come and investigate. authorities say, when officers arrived, they found the body of a young indonesian woman lying on the floor, her throat slashed. there were also cuts to her buttocks. hours later, police discovered a second female body with wounds to the neck stuffed in a suitcase outside on the balcony.

residents in the building tell cnn there was an extremely foul smell and many are expressing shock after learning what caused it. >> i'm scared. >>. >> you're scared? >> yeah. >> why are you scared? >> because of the murderer. >> it's shocking. it's actually scary. things happen everywhere in the world. >> not much is known about the two women who were violently murdered, however it's believed they frek wented the bars in this strip of hong kong, just two blocks from where rurik jutting lived. some of the women who work in the red light district tell us that they knew the victims. however, were reluctant to share many details. >> sometimes i said the man who do it maybe is on drugs and doesn't know what he's doing. >> while bank of america acknowledged he worked for him

until recently, they refused to comment on the case. it's believed the cambridge graduate joined them back in london in 2010. moving to hong kong mid last year. jutting did not enter a plea, but will appear in court again next week. now we spoke to some of jutting's former colleagues from bank of america merrill lynch. they described him as being a smart, normal guy, who was very good at his job and they're completely floored to learn that he has since been charged with this double homicide. we're also hearing from the father of one of the victims. the father of 25-year-old sum atyeningcy. she was the woman found stuffed in the suitcase on the balcony. her body decomposing. her father spoke from indonesia and has called on the government to issue the death sentence if jutting is convicted of her

murder. of course hong kong does not carry the death sentence here. however, it just goes to show how much pain this family must be going through. he also said that he is calling on both indonesian and hong kong government to have the bodies repatriated to indonesia, as soon as possible, where he wants to bury his daughter. we heard from the consulate and they're taking steps to do just that. >> very disturbing to hear people who knew him say no sign that anything was wrong with him. it just leaves so many questions. you mentioned the father of one of the victims. i think we know more information about the second information as well. they're both from indonesia, as far as i understand. what's the latest we have on them both? >> that's right. l the other victim, she's 29 years old, also from indonesia. she was the one that police

discovered just after 4:00 a.m. on saturday when they entered the building of jutting. that of course being on the 31st floor of the residential building behind me. they discovered her body on the floor, her throat slashed. there were also cuts to her buttocks. but both these women from indonesia, speaking to people in the area, they certainly say that they knew the women. and that they are deeply saddened that they have died so violently. >> just makes absolutely no sense. but these things rarely do. anna, thanks. all right. we will take a short break, but still to come here on cnn. kurdish defenders fighting isis in kobani now have reinforcements that isis appears to be getting its own back up as well and many of them are from the west. we'll be right back. i'm only in my 60's.

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remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. iraq's government now confirms that isis militants have killed more than 300 members of a sunni tribe. >> yeah, and we have to give you a warning here. what you're about to see is in fact very disturbing. but we do want to show what they showed. some of the bodies of the victims. members of the abnam ir tribe. other bodies were recovered in a mass grave. the victims included women and

children. the u.s. said the massacre is further proof that iraqis must work with the u.s.-led coalition to defeat isis. isis terror attacks continue and now, as barbara starr explains, the number of isis fighters is increasing as well. >> the intensity of the fighting in kobani grabs attention. but behind the scenes, a huge new worry for the u.s. in the last six weeks, 1,000 new foreign fighters streamed into syria and iraq. there are now 16,000 there, nearly 3,000 are westerners. >> i suspect that the air strikes are an additional motivating factor for some who want to go fight. >> reporter: today the fbi director warned it's extremely difficult to identify americans trying to join isis.

>> the challenge of the traveler phenomenon is, it's -- there's no typical profile. >> reporter: nato's top commander worries the fighters will return home and launch attacks. >> lone wolves don't plug into networks. so it's a tougher problem. and you've seen some increased security across many of the european nations. ♪ >> reporter: it's a war getting more complicated every day. the syrian al qaeda affiliate, the al-nusra front has taken key areas of northern syria, according to activists. pushing out u.s.-backed rebels. now a u.s. military training program for the rebels may be a long shot. >> it's really hard for me to conceive of, you know, the so-called moderate opposition actually coming back and becoming a real force in the battlefield. >> reporter: in iraq, forces there are making some progress, but it's not enough.

a senior u.s. military official tells cnn, u.s. military advisers are pressing the iraqi army to prepare for major offensives in the coming weeks and months. with at least three critical targets -- retaking the city of mosul, bringing the oil refinery back under full iraqi control, and winning back anbar province, the critical western approaches to baghdad, which the u.s. has vowed to keep safe. but even a modest effort will require thousands of iraqi troops trained, equipped, and motivated to fight. something that has not yet fully happened. the concern about a lone wolf attack is now so great that the department of homeland security is stepping up screening measures for people traveling to this country from europe or other allied nations. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> burkina faso's acting

president said the military is not out to take control of the west african nation. the lieutenant colonel is now the provisional head of the state. he says a civilian government will be established as soon as it's possible. the army took over after the president resigned on friday and fled to the ivory coast. the african union is giving the military a two-week deadline to hand over power or face sanctions. all right, let's turn to the weather now. strong storms are delaying dozens of flights in parts of europe this morning. pedram joins us now with all the details. >> absolutely. if you're joining us across wearn europe, a lot of delays across this region. a significant storm across northern portions of the uk. behind it, dry air. but the moisture sparking up for southern europe, the main area of interest. possibility of isolated tornadoes. heavy rain and gusty winds the

main threat. a level two has been issued on a scale of one to three for severity in the weather for southern france and western germany on the western mediterranean over the next 24 hours. travel bill boards set up. rome, 45 minutes delay there. tel aviv, fog at this hour, the concern. they had a water spout reported within the city boundaries in the past 24 hours. lisbon and also geneva with delays. the south of france having the most significant of delays up to 90 minutes because of the gusty winds across that region. we have hurricane vance to tell you about, a strong category two hurricane. but notice how quickly it weakens. we have warnings in place in mexico. the local government issues watches and hurricane warnings because of the severity of the

winds associated with the storm system. at this hour, the wave heights associate td with the storms, seven and a half feet. this island, this region, it rises abruptly out of the water up to about 1,000 meter, over 3,000 feet in elevation. about 250 people live here, mainly a naval station with their families. that's the concern at this moment, but it's expected to weaken and approach land thursday to friday. at that point, the main threat will be heavy rainfall. more news coming up shortly. q.

you are still watching cnn. we appreciate that. i'm errol barnett. >> and i'm rosemary church. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all across the globe. crash investigators now say the co-pilot of virgin galactic spaceship two unlocked the feathers. it's meant to slow the craft. it came apart while it was still ascending. the co-pilot died in the incident. the other pilot is in hospital. south korean auto makers hyundai and kia have agreed to pay $300 million in penalties for overstating how fuel efficient their vehicles are. on top of a $100 million fine, hyundai and kia will also forfeit $200 million in gas emission credits. it is election day in the united states. every house seat and 36 senate seats are in play at the moment. the results will determine which

party will control the u.s. congress. and that, in turn, will affect the final two years of barack obama's presidency. well, the big question on election day, will republicans take control of the senate from the democrats? and everyone is keeping an eye on the battleground states shown here in yellow on the u.s. map. >> there we go. let's push in. you can just see it now. a few surprises. one way or the other, could make for a very short or a very long night of returns. cnn's john king examined the various scenarios with anderson cooper. >> let's go through some key races. i've already assigned montana, south dakota, and west virginia to the republicans. most people think that's going to happen. those would be democratic pick-ups. if that happens, 45-45.

ten states left on the board. the polls close in kentucky. mitch mcconnell the republican leader. and in georgia at 7:00. two republican states they want to keep very much. georgia is a question mark tonight. democrats say they'll make a late rush in kentucky. we'll see. more importantly, 7:30, the polls close in north carolina. kay hagan trying to hold on. you mention at the new hampshire race. shaheen versus brown. if these states go red, let me take this off, this tells you, if shaheen loses to scott brown and kay hagan loses to thom tillis, if we're saying early in the night those states are republican, forget about it. if not a wave, a huge ripple for the republican party. let's assume the democrats hold the blues, as i say. new hampshire, president obama won it twice. north carolina, he won it once. iowa and colorado, republicans are ahead, but assume the democrats by ground game can hold on to that, that's when the night gets interesting as we go later and later. that would put up 49-45.

and then here with these states left, all of them red states all of them president obama lost twice. democrats would have to get one more from an unfavorable territory. >> who will control congress? >> that's the big question. let's say this is where we are. republicans are saying we'll win colorado and iowa. say for the sake of argument, let's say they split them. republicans get iowa but not new hampshire and north carolina. then you're 47-47. this race, we could be counting this race into thursday and friday because of remote areas of alaska. but the republicans think they're going to get it. democrats say they're going to surprise us. for the sake of argument we'll do that. republicans are confident in arkansas. and they're confident here in kentucky. again, watch african american turn-out, see if grimes can pull it out. you could have a scenario, say the independent wins here, he hasn't told us which party he'll caucus with. doesn't change the math if orman wins. you could have a december run

yuf in louisiana and a run-off here in georgia that's not until january. >> wow. we may not even know until next year. >> if democrats won them both, they'd be a 49. orman at 50. republicans need 51. it's conceivable we could be waiting until this race is settled on january 6 to find out who controls the united states senate. >> certainly interesting, isn't it? and republicans call the midterm elections a referendum on barack obama's policies. the president has been keeping a very low profile. most democratic candidates have distanced themselves from mr. obama during the campaign. >> reporter: the first lady on the campaign trail. while the president supported democrats out of the public eye. the white house says there are robocalls and radio interviews still to come. he does have a busy weekend. several stops, but far away from

thosative tal senate contests the nation is watching. >> this is the last election cycle in which i'm involved as president. it makes you a little wiftful. because i do like campaigning, it's fun. >> less so, though, when vulnerable democrats don't exactly invite you. >> i'm not barack obama. >> the administration's policies are simply wrong. >> there's no question that democrats are running away. more than anything else in this cacophony of an election, the issue of the president's unpopularity has become a drag in key senate races. >> in new hampshire, jeanne shaheen was asked why obama wasn't coming? her answer? he's busy in washington. he's dealing with the ebola threat, with the threat from isis. i think he's exactly where he needs to be. ading to democrats' discomfort when the president said this last month. >> i'm not on the ballot this

fall. these policies are on the ballot, every single one of them. >> which republicans jumped all over. >> on issue after issue, shaheen continues to vote with president obama 99% of the time. >> the issue is trust, do you trust president obama and the washington politicians to deal with the problems we face? >> some analysts feel the strongest message the white house can send, which could have helped the democrats if they'd allowed it, is that the american economy is doing well, better than any other country affected by the recession. but they say that hasn't been registering, that many voters have tuned out. the campaign cold shoulder was also turned on george w. bush during the 2006 mid terms. >> what's striking is and george w. stand out as the two weakest presidents going into mid terms in over 30 years. >> the white house says we will continue to hear from the president leading up to the end of election day. but what that will include will

be robocalls and radio spots, not public appearances. we now know that one of those radio spots will air in north carolina for senator kay hagan, who has at times distanced herself from the white house as we've seen in many hot senate races that america is going to be watching closely. michelle kosinski, cnn washington. but not everyone believes mr. obama will drag down his fellow democrats. or i should say at least one person, his vice president, joe biden. he's going against popular opinion and predicting a good night for their party. although it is his job. he talked about it with cnn political analyst gloria borger. >> first of all, i don't agree with the odds-makers. i predict we'll keep the senate. >> you do? >> i been in 66 -- 67 races all-told, and i don't get the feeling that the odds-makers are given. >> but what if that were to be the case?

>> i don't think it will change anything in terms of what we're about. we know what we have to get done the last two years, and quite frankly, going into 2016 the republicans have to make a decision whether they're in control or not in control. are they going to begin to allow things to happen, or are they going to continue to be obstructionists, and i think they'll choose to get things done. >> and we invite you to tune in tuesday night for complete coverage of the u.s. midterm elections from the u.s. capital there to the time. join cnn's entire political team for results and analysis. cnn's election night in america begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern for those of you in the united states and at a quarter to midnight for those of you watching in london. well, still to come here on cnn, he said he was there when osama bin laden was killed. but now the former navy seal who wrote a best-seller about that raid is under a criminal investigation. we're back in a moment.

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germany has its first winner of the melbourne cup. >> check out the action the last few moments of race. perfectionist timed his finishing burst personally, easily win the cup in australia. britain's red gudo came in second there. >> sadly the horse that was the early favorite has died.

japan's admire rackty collapsed in its stall after finishing last. well, maine nurse kaci hickox said she, quote, had no choice but to fight. she reasonabcently returned to u.s. after treating ebola patients in sierra leone. she made a deal with state authorities that lets her travel more or less freely while monitoring her health. her incubation period ends next monday and she's so far tested negative for ebola. she told anderson cooper why she's been battling authorities. >> you know, the truth is, i completely understand that this town has been through a lot. and there's still a lot of fears and misinformation out there. i think we need to start addressing those issues. but it's also true that i only moved here to ft. kent, maine, in august. so there are a lot of people who don't know me. i'll still an outsider and i just want to respect their wishes. but i really hope that one day in the near future i could come

back from an ebola assignment and walk into the grocery store and people would smile and say hi. >> can you explain why you fought the way you did? because there are a lot of people, and i got tweets from a lot of people saying, out of an abundance of caution, people are afraid, you should just stay in your house, you should agree to be quarantined. why did you fight? not just one governor, but two. >> the biggest reason that i fought is because i, you know, felt so much fear and confusion. and i imagined what my fellow aide workers were going to feel if they came back to this same situation. the more i thought about the fact that these policies are being made by politicians, really not the experts in the field, the more i felt like i had no choice but to fight back. >> kaci hickox also criticized new jersey governor chris christie for enforcing a new policy that means anyone showing possible symptoms of ebola is isolated. >> and i didn't actually realize

that she moved to this town just in august. she quickly got very comfortable and was very bold and forth right with saying, i'm going to cycle around, but now i think she's realizing, i still need to live here and get along with my neighbors and i don't want to freak people out. >> and i think that's the thing. even though the state said, okay, you're free to move around now, i think she was sensible, even though she does have science on her side. >> exactly. but she's making this big a point. she's doing this on purpose. >> but the fear level, you can't get across that. >> and she admitted that she was fearful when she came back. >> it's turned out well. we're getting different accounts of what really happened when american special forces killed osama bin laden. >> the former navy seal who wrote a best-selling book about the raid now faces a criminal investigation. brian todd explains why. >> reporter: he said he was right behind the navy seal who took the first shot at osama bin laden. now his lawyer tells us former seal matt bissonnette is the

subject of a criminal investigation and was recently questioned for ten hours. government officials briefed on the matter say the pentagon and the justice department are looking into whether bissonnette revealed classified information in paid public appearances he's made since publishing the best will selling book "no easy day" about the bin laden raid. in an interview with 60 minutes, bissonnette who wrote the book was asked whether he ever disclosed secret information. >> did i disclose anything that would have put the guys in harm's way? that's not what i intended to do. these are my brothers that i served beside for years and a lot of them continue to serve. >> reporter: bissonnette's lawyer say they're not aware of allegations that sensitive information was leaked in his speeches. his attorney said the former seal doesn't mind being held accountable, but wonders why leon panetta isn't getting that kind of scrutiny after panetta and others encouraged cooperation with the makers of

the film zero dark 30. we've asked leon panetta for comment and not gotten it. the government had been trying to seize profits from bissonnette's book because he didn't clear it through government sensors. >> we don't advertise the nature of our work. being a navy seal, serving our country is great. but again, people want to know what we do and how we do it. but so does our enemy. >> reporter: matt bissonnette told 60 minutes he tried to contact his former seal commander to explain why he wrote the book on the bin laden raid. he said his commander responded with a text message back saying "delete me." still others have revealed details about the raid. mark boden got information for his book on the raid called "the finish" and there were the details given to the makers of zero dark 30. but so far, matt bissonnette is the only one we know of who is under investigation.

brian todd, cnn, washington. the world trade center is now open for busy more than 13 years after the september 11th attacks, 1 world trade center replaces the twin towers that were destroyed. this new main building, with its giant antenna, stands 541 meters or 1,776 feet, the symbolic height commemorates the year the u.s. was founded, of course. the building's first tenent, publishing giant conde nast moved in on monday. >> it truly is a stunning building. >> it is. good news to report. for millions of people in japan, a typhoon nearing the island is losing steam. we like where we're going with this. pedram joins us now with more hopefully good news on this storm. >> i think so. not too often we get to say that with a storm, especially one that was a super typhoon until just the last hour. the winds have dropped below 150

miles per hour, about 240 kilometers per hour, which dictates the super typhoon category. the eye is starting to close up with the storm system. the forecast had it looking rather grim across this region. the storm has 40-foot wave heights over the open waters, not one you want to be seeing head in your direction. notice at this point, the model is doing something interesting. south of tokyo, we have islands in line. south of that, these islands here, the storm goes between all the islands it could impact and damages mainland japan as well. you can't take out some of the uncertainty. we could see wet weather impacting tokyo, but at this point, it looks like the high pressure in place, the cold front moving out of the region, all of this really going to spare japan from the third super typhoon to impact this region so far in 2014. models do bring it close, but no

direct impact expects over tokyo. in 2014, 19 named storms. we're below average to date for named storms in the western pacif pacific. in the typhoon department, and super typhoon, we're doubling what we should have to date. that's the latest in weather. more news coming up shortly.

welcome back. now the u.s. rejected royalty when the country was founded. plenty of americans like to remind me of that, as an english person, but that doesn't mean that dynasties aren't a big part of american political culture. >> and the bush family and the clintons are among those that spring to mind. jonathan man explains why they're not the only ones making politics a family business. >> america is a country that rejected royalty when it was founded, but it seems to love dynasties. political dynasties. the adames, the roosevelts, the kennedys. and in modern times, the bush family. and the clinton family. they're among the most popular names in u.s. politics today. but this year's midterm elections feature branches of

several family trees. >> my dad was point guard for the perry panthers. i tried to follow his foot steps. sam nunn was a powerful senator from georgia, now he's giving his daughter an assist in her bid for his old job. >> i think you've got a pretty good shot. >> the next governor of georgia, my grandson, jason carter. >> yes, that's former u.s. president jimmy carter endorsing his grandson for an office he once held, governor of georgia. it's all in the family from alaska, where the son of a former congressman is running for re-election in the senate. >> mark is clearly his father's son. and there's nowhere he won't go to listen and stand up for sleaskans. >> to louisiana. >> when you have nine children, you're bound to have one who is hard-headed. >> dad, you're one to talk. >> and it's all building to what could be the big showdown between political dynasties, two years from now. the wife of a president, hillary

clinton, versus the son and brother of presidents, jeb bush, in the race for the white house. >> i especially have to thank my two greatest supporters, my husband and my daughter. [ cheers and applause ] >> i've been so blessed to be part of a family that has committed its life to public service. >> name recognition goes a long way. among other things, family ties can make it easier for candidates to connect with donors. and political campaigns are more expensive than ever. in 2012, winning senate candidates spent an average of $10 million to get elected. and that year's presidential candidates spent a combined $2 billion, according to center for responsive politics. keeping things all in the family might make it easier to run for president, but not everyone likes the idea. >> if we can't find more than two or three families to run for

high office, that's silly. because there are great governors and great eligible people to run, and i think that the kennedys, clintons, bushes, there are just more families than that. >> like it or not, political dynasties are part of the american dna. and they certainly are. >> indeed. >> you are watching cnn. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm errol barnett. thanks for being with us. stay with cnn.com. the newsroom is next for those of you watching internationally. and if you're watching in the united states, "early starts" begins after this short break. >> have a great day. when it comes to medicare, everyone talks

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happening now. polls open. voters set to cast ballots. republicans hoping to take control of the senate, but races across the country too close to call this morning. some candidates neck and neck and in the end, it could come down to the unlikely states. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. it is election day, tuesday, november 4th. 4:00 a.m. in the east. 2014. here we go. the u.s. se