that's going to do it for today. glad you joined us. we want to you continue the conversation. go to our blog. >> kiran, good to see you. >> you headed back? >> i'm going back to the atl. >> we'll be back tomorrow, meantime, "cnn newsroom" with drew griffin starts now. >> hi, guys. good show. good morning everybody else. i'm drew griffin in for kyra phillips. we'll talk about the travel alerts for americans traveling europe. we'll find out what it's about. the pounding rain has stopped, the damage done. people in north carolina, take a look. this is the worst flooding they had in years. and if you are a verizon customer, used to be one, hey, you might have money coming to you. it is monday, 9:00 a.m. on the east coast, 6:00 a.m. out west and you are in the "cnn newsroom." we begin with a travel alert for

americans in europe. amid concerns of a possible terror threat. the state department not exactly telling people to cancel their flights or change plans, but the advisory is telling americans to take common sense safety precautions. britain is telling its citizens of a high threat for travel to france and germany. and thousands of u.s. troops in germany have been ordered not to wear their uniforms off base. we're covering this story from all angles. nic robertson is in germany, we are going to begin in germany where european intelligence officials believe a group of extremists are behind the plot to launch coordinated attacks. one suspect has been captured but others are unaccounted for. nic robertson picks up the story from hamburg, germany. >> reporter: what's interesting right now is that we heard from germany's interior minister and he says that there's no reason

to be alarmist about this, germany doesn't see an immediate threat to the country at the moment. he says they take this very seriously. but these barred doors you see are the mosque where this group of radical islamists left germany about a year and a half ago and it's one of them who is in captivity in kabul who has been talking about these mumbai-style plots. this is the same mosque that mohammed ata attended. we talked to sources, they were watching the radicals, and when this group went to pakistan it happened too quickly for them to stop. now they are concerned what some of the others might be doing. >> i want to dig down because we have so many names. mohammed atta we remember. the other is osama bin laden and the fact that he may have had something to do or blessed some

kind of attack. is that why maybe not germany but other counter terrorism officials say look, we have to be careful here. >> reporter: yeah, the germans are saying that, too. and i'll throw another name out, acmad siddiqui is the one who was attending the mosque here. what he has told u.s. authority who is have a prison is that osama bin laden signed off on this. what we also know about some of the people who went with him from this mosque here, some of them actually have firm connection and ties with al qaeda. so, this is not beyond the realm of imagination. what german authorities a little skiddish about when you talk to them, privately off the record or off the record if you will, they really want to talk directly with this guy siddiqui because they want to hear from

him. is he playing this up, is he telling the entire truth so the germans have issues. perhaps that's why they say they see no imminent threat. they hope to talk to him directly. >> britain has not raised the threat level. it is at a severe level meaninging an attack is likely. we heard from nic, somewhat putting a little water on this fire but i guess what people in london and britain are worried about obviously, is groups of people gathering, could be a target. >> reporter: well, that is certainly a concern. the office has put out updating of britains traveling to france and germany, asking them to be alert, vigilant, keep a watch for those areas where they could become targets. overall, the terror threat level remains the same.

it remains at severe. we were able to catch up with a few american tourists near buckingham palace to ask how it affected their travel plans. here's what they said. >> i'm probably more cautious and i look around a little more maybe. but we always try to be cautious. i refuse to let terrorists do what they think they are doing which is to terrorize me. >> it did cross my mind coming here because we knew it would be crowded. susan said, we're not going to get terrorists scare us away and we'll be cautious and kind of check things out but -- >> reporter: another set of americans are two basketball teams, the lakers and the minnesota timberwolves, they will be playing tonight. they have their usual security with them, but we also understand from them that they are going ahead with their schedules as planned. >> thank you so much. beside those nba exhibition games there is also six nhl team, hockey teams, opening

their season in europe this week. many hockey mans making the trip from north america. the schedule is this. phoenix and boston are playing in prague, san jose and columbus in stockholm, and carolina and minnesota in helsinki. no reports of changes or extra security precautions connected to those games. the state department has tips for travelers to cut their risk of being targeted overseas, they include spending less time in public areas of airports, the front sides of the security checkpoints before you good through. try to avoid having luggage tags identifying you as a tourist. and look for and report unattended parcels at an airport. identifying visitors before opening your hotel room door. again, common sense kind of security issues there. the pakistani taliban says its special hit squad focusing on nato supply routes is on target. they are taking responsibility for the latest attack, a fourth

attack, just happened a few hours ago. the fourth attack in four days. this one outside the capital of islamabad. that is where militants opened fire on a fleet of coalition oil tankers bound for afghanistan. more than 20 of the trucks set afire, three people killed, five wounded according to police there. and the pakistani taliban say these are payback for a record number of drone strikes carried out last month by the u.s. verizon's mistake means millions of customers are about to get a refund. christine romans is going to fill us in next. yeah, sometimes i worry. sometimes i worry.

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insured through unitedhealthcare. call today. ♪ this is a real mess. it's happening in the port of houston where that barge has struck that electrical tower. what it means, it means for the next three days, 75% of this port is going to be shut down. it's a huge port, it handles 60 ships a day. $322 million of cargo coming through this port. because of this accident, it's

going to take them three days to clean it up. again, these pictures coming in from khou in houston, a barge, a large barge, looks like it steered right into one of these huge electrical towers that crosses over that canal. we'll keep you apprised of that as we get more developments. a lot of people off work in houston this morning at the port. if you are a verizon customer, used to be, you might have money coming. it is payback for a mistake verizon made. christine romans is here to explain. a lot of people want to know how much am i going to get? >> you're going to get $2 to $6. you paid for that. that's money that came out of your bill, verizon wireless customers. in some cases you might have noticed and fighting about it for a couple of years. we know that verizon overcharged some customers for a period of months for access to their data network. you might not even have had that

data plan and you were charged for it. or in some cases you were being charged for accessing the web when you shouldn't have been. so look in your bills in october and november, for a credit of from $2 to $6 per customer. if you used to be a verizon wireless customer and you aren't any more you'll get a check in the mail. make sure the company has your current address so you can get that. this is money that you were overcharged. the fcc says it's been investigating this matter, that customers have been complaining about ten months t.fcc calls it verizon wireless's mystery fee, saying that they are glad that verizon decided to pay back. they want to know why it took two years and why, quote, greaters disclosures have not come sooner. the fcc not keen about this. a spokeswoman for verizon tells us that this has to do with a glitch in their software, and that they have taken measures to make sure it doesn't happen

again and will pay people back. look in the october and november bills. it could be 50 to $90 million into the verizon bills that shouldn't have gone there. >> you don't have to do anything, no form, nothing. >> you do not have to do anything. if you think that you are owed money by all means check the october and november bills. and a couple of people messaging me on twitter and facebook saying they think this has been going on uptwo years and they are scrutinizing their old bills on line. one telling me he thinks he is owed much more. so watch this space. >> thank you so much. >> sure. well, after days of rain and damaging floods, waterlogged eastern north carolina trying to dry out. governor perdue toured the area. trying to assure residents the communities will be eligible for federal disaster funds t. governor says the flood's

aftermath reminiscent of 1999's high water mark of hurricane floyd. >> these people have just bounced back and started to make money and live their lives again. now to have the same thing happen, it sends a message to all of us you got to be prepared for the worst. >> boy, that is the worst. in all, five to 23 inches of rain fell. flooding in new york, pennsylvania and new england actually killed at least eight people. still raining in the northeast. rob marciano tracking that at the cnn severe weather center. >> talk about the floods and comparing it to 1999 with hurricane floyd, they had more rain with this system than with that hurricane. really, a combination of things coming together to make that north carolina flood just a big old mess. adding insult to injury, a low developed on sunday. and rolled across the carolinas with rain. now it's getting into the northeast. it looks like it may sit here for quite some time. not only is it throwing rain but

it's bringing onshore flow. we've got flood issues, at least along the coast. it's going to keep things damp, rather chilly and really not all that pleasant i might say for the next couple of days. some of these rain bands have heavy rain. if it sticks around like we think it's going to do, we're going to see decent amount of rain. in scranton, northeastern pennsylvania, they got hit hard with this last batch of heavy rain on thursday and friday. and over the next couple of days they could see, well, upwards of 2, 3 inches of rain. we don't see pinks or whites like last week. that's the good news. more rain heading into this area. west of there, it's fairly chilly and coastal area or inland areas are certainly seeing flooding right now. or not flooding but frost. new york, hour delays, that's from the rain. philadelphia, an hour and 55 minutes. san francisco, an hour and five minutes with the stemt. also i want to talk about what's

going on here. across the caribbean, this thing may develop into something over the next couple of days but we don't really think it's going to get toward the u.s. at least in the near term. western caribbean looks good, gulf of mexico looks pretty inactive. this we're not too concerned. right now we're pretty protected by this trough which is keeping temperatures, well, a good 10 to 15 or in some cases 20 degrees below average. if it doesn't feel like fall at least the eastern half of the country, drew, just wait, it will feel like fall in the next couple of weeks. >> thanks, rob. one nation working together, that was the message behind a weekend rally in washington. democrats hoping it was the tea party antidote, help them keep their majorities in congress. in 1968, as whaling continued worldwide, the first recordings of humpback songs were released.

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americans and europe warned to be alert, avoid popular tourist destinations t. concern, a potential terrorist attack similar to the 2008 attacks on two hotels and a jewish center in mumbai, india. officials say a group of jihadists in hamburg, germany behind the alleged plot t. advisory to encourage precaution, not to tell americans to avoid travel. >> the man known as the father of the test tube baby, robert edwards, won the nobel prize for medicine, pioneered in vitro fertilization. the panel says his contribution

represent as milestone in the development of modern medicine. and funeral services held in las vegas later this morning for actor tony curtis. curtis starred in more than 150 movies including the big one, "some like it hot." curtis died wednesday, 85 years old.

29 days until the midterm elections. democrats hoping that a weekend rally right there in d.c. lit a fire under some supporters, think of it as a rally for voters who aren't wild about tea. jim acosta live in washington. jim, how did this turn out?

>> reporter: it was a distinctly different brew. democrats know they have an enthusiasm gap to overcome between now and election day. progressives try to throw a tea party of their own except there weren't teabags in sight. the one nation event as it was dubbed drew thousands to the mall on washington. it was put together by the biggest unions and civil rights groups and organizers say the event was to fire up the progressive base. one of the event's organizers, the former presidential candidate reverend al sharpton. he wants his party to start focusing on creating jobs. >> we need america to deal with the issue of jobs. our young people need education but we need jobs.

we bailed out the banks, we bailed out the insurance companies, now it's time to bail out the american people. we need to rebuild the infrastructure and provide jobs and training for american people. >> there was a difference between what happened over the weekend and these tea party rallies we've seen all over the country. unlike the tea party rallies which generally call for small government and low taxes demonstrators at the one nation event were after more assistance for the unemployed, jobs as you heard reverend sharpton say and a boost on spending on education. you could say there were similarities between the two events, while glenn beck was not on hand, the crowd did have liberal talk show host ed schultz on stage and many of those provocative signs out in the crowd. one of those read, quote here, access of ignorance, tea party republicans and fox news. so, not a fox friendly crowd on

the mall over the weekend. >> schultz gets nowhere near the radio audience that glenn beck does. does he get nowhere near the rally audience that beck did? >> it was a you know, it was a distinctly smaller crowd on the mall. but you have to at least give the tea party some credit. they had you know, 18 months to build this movement. they have candidates on the playing field right now running in these midterm elections, some of them favored to win the races even though they have very conservative platforms, this is just sort of the beginning of the progressive base trying to get fired up as you said, only 29 days to go so might be late. that's why you saw the president out in madison, wisconsin, last week trying to get college students fired up. and then later on this week he'll be at buoy state university in maryland outside of washington, trying to fire up african-american voters, it's an historically black college. you see these core constituencies of the democratic party trying to get organized,

trying to rally because they know there's not much time left. >> all right, jim acosta in washington. thanks, jim. >> the state department has a security advisory for americans traveling in europe. we're going to update you on the terror threat. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week, one month, five years after you do retire? ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize i better start doing something. we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think, "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach.

may not feel like it. last month was fantastic for stocks, the best september in 71 years. october starting out with a gain as well. are we all dreaming? can it zmont carter evans at the new york stock exchange. pretty good stuff. >> september was great. it was a big relief for people. a lot of analysts are saying that's exactly what it was, a relief rally. don't necessarily expect another big month like that in the near term. also, we're getting a new wave of economic uncertainty, that's going to set in this week, partly because the upcoming earning season and the midterm elections. today we could get insight into the state of the economy. at the top of the hour we're going to get readings on manufacturing and housing, two sectors slowly improving. we're going to hopefully see continued improvement. we're keeping an eye on shares of sara lee. this is the company that makes everything from coffee to shoe polish to sausage to bakery

items, it is surging 17%. "the new york post" says sara lee turned down a $12 billion buy-out offer from investment firm kkr. you can hear them behind me getting ready to ring the opening bell. while they do, i wanted to mention a name to you to see if you remember this. michaele salahi. so, remember that sarong she was wearing. she just auctioned that off for $7,000. expert experts vetted around 2,000 or $3,000. the opening numbers, hopefully we'll start the week on a good note. >> the supreme court open as new term this morning. no lack of issues, one of the first up, free speech. this is involving a father of a marine killed in iraq.

he sued a church in kansas and its pastor. why? because that church is known for protesting at the funerals of u.s. service members with signs saying america is doomed and thank god for dead soldiers, at the funeral. arguments are wednesday. also before the court whether a federal official override state effort to crack down on illegal immigrants. >> back to our top story. a possible terror threat to european cities triggered a security advisory for americans traveling abroad. the state department wants americans in europe to take common sense safety precautions. intelligence officials believe a group of hamburg jihadist are at the center of the plot. the group traveled to pakistan last year, one member, ahmed sidiqi is in custody in

afghanistan being questioned but not charged. let's go deeper into this plot. terrorism expert joins me live from hamburg. paul, i guess it's this sidiqi's information that we're acting on. is that right? >> well, here in hamburg, a lot of the information came from a german citizen who was from hamburg, he witness over to the tribal areas, he joined al qaeda there, he became involved with this plot and then he's provided a lot of this intelligence to american authorities. drew, about a mumbai-style attack against at least three european countries. >> when we talk about mumbai-style attack, some remember what happened back in 2008. some may not. what was interesting and frankly, frightening about it was it was very low tech, and it happened all across that city.

>> it was a very frightening attack, almost 200 people were killed, there were teams of suicide attackers, skilled in armed combat, launching these attacks, going to hotels, train stations, going to hospitals, opening fire using urban combat skills which they learned in the training camps in pakistan. the fear is that this sort of attack could come to western countries, that the counterterrorism sources we're speaking to on both sides are very, very concerned about this scenario and the germans went over there, received this sort of training. they would have been familiar with weapons, with how to fire them, how to be in that sort of situation, drew. >> how easy would it be, paul, for a group to acquire weapons within germany or within a european country as opposed to u.s. or certainly afghanistan or

pakistan? >> well, that's a great question. it would be more difficult in south asia, that's for sure t. intelligence officials we're speaking to say it's not impossible to get these things on the black market. of course in the united states, it's easer than in europe to buy weapons. that's why u.s. counterterrorism officials are so concerned about this particular scenario, drew. >> let me ask you this, paul. it is very frightening to talk about, you really don't know what to do. be on the alert, look out for some guy running down the street with a gun, that seems obvious. but i guess what counterterrorism officials hope for and relied on and frankly, have been successful at is getting that one piece of intelligence, the neighbor who sees somebody put a gun in a trunk or somebody acting suspicious, that could possibly break apart this plot if it does exist. >> well, there's a bit of uncertainty what this plot is.

is it imminent, or is it only in the planning stage in pakistan. we're trying to unravel that. it's not clear. the officials we're speaking to in germany say it was not imminent as far as they are aware. but they haven't had access to this suspect in afghanistan, drew. >> paul, thanks. we'll wait for more details as you get them. >> nearly 4 in 10 school kids in new york are considered obese. now the big apple trying to get that under control. the abc's of healthy eating, 20 minutes away. at northern trust, we understand... that while you may come from the same family... you know, son, you should take up something more strenuous. you have different needs and desires. - i'm reading a book. - what's a book? so we tailor plans for individuals, featuring a range of integrated solutions. you at your usual restaurant? son: maybe. see you tomorrow. stairs? elevator.

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these are our top stories, european intelligence officials say a group of jihadists from hamburg are allegedly at the heart of an al qaeda terrorist plot to strike targets in europe

t. new intelligence prompted the state department to issue travel advisory for americans over the weekend. the british followed with their own terror warning today. jurors expected to begin deliberations as early as today in the death penalty trial of steven hayes, he's accused in that gruesome killing of a connecticut family in a 2007 home invasion. an accomplice is going to be tried separately. dangerous weather hammering the east coast, parts of north carolina reeling from a nightmare of rain and flooding cause bid the remnants of tropical storm nicole last week, over 20 inches of rain fell in parts of the east coast and eight people were killed. there is a showdown in connecticut. former pro wrestling executive linda mack man entering the ring with richard blumenthal.

rahm emanuel kicking off his campaign for chicago mayor this morning t. former white house chief of staff started visiting communities and neighborhoods. emmanuel announced the beginning of his tell it like it is tour in this web video. >> chicago's a world class city today because of mayor daily's leadership. but we are facing tremendous challenges. from attracting jobs to improving our schools, to making all our neighborhoods safer. >> mayor richard daley decided not to seek another term after 21 years. rahm emanuel gave up his white house job on friday. time for our political update. deputy political director paul steinhauser in washington at the

cnnpolitics.com desk. >> good morning, drew. how are you? a lot of stuff going on. let's talk about some top on the campaign trail. joe biden helping out in ohio, campaigning with the governor of ohio. he's not the only one. chris christie of new jersey, kind of a rock star, going to be campaigning today with republican candidates as well, helping them out and we're going to keep an eye on this. surrogates bring in media attention, they bring in money, and so really help out candidates. we're only 29 days away now from the big election. check this out. brand new this morning. in connecticut, a kind of showdown as well. this is the first debate in the senate battle between on the left, that is richard blumenthal, the long time attorney general of the state. on the vit linda mcmahon. she used to be the chief executive of world

wrestlingantstainment. this is one of the places if and it's a big if, if the democrats retake sorry, if the republicans retake the senate one of those places could be connecticut we're going to keep an eye on this. blumenthal had a huge lead t. polls suggest that mcmahon has tied it up. it's a dead heat. the first debate tonight. campaign cash. this is also a big deal. remember, the parties that raise more money spend that on commercials and get-out-the-vote efforts. the democratic national committee today announced they raised $16 million last month. the most they raised this cycle. this election cycle. the democrats have been out raising republicans big time when it comes to the party committees but when you throw in these independent group, the outside groups not aligned with the parties or the candidates the republican side has been raising a lot of money. so it could even out, in fact, the republicans may have an advantage when it's all over. that's a couple of the things going on. back to you. >> speaking of money and politics what about this trump

poll that mysteriously is roaming around new hampshire. donald trump running for president? >> this is an eye grabber. "time" magazine coming out yesterday with articles saying there was a poll in new hampshire. new hampshire plays a big role in politics. there was a poll asking people about donald trump maybe in 2012. well, he was just on "american morning" and ali velshi and kiran chetry asked him. he said listen, i don't know about this poll. he didn't say he wouldn't run for president. he didn't put i will not run in 2012. i guess there is another chapter to be written in this donald trump for president story. >> hard to tell what's going on there. paul, thanks a lot. next political update in one hour, but you know, any time you want politics here, you go to websites, ccnnpolitics.com. thanks, paul. time to head cross country now.

our first stop, georgia's early county in a deadly single vehicle accident there. this involved a church van we're told t. van is from the tabernacle and deliverance church heading to florida when a tire blew and the van rolled over. four people including the pastor killed. 13 others in that van injured. >> firefighters in grand county, colorado battling a wild fire. there is zero containment, it's a 300-acre fire. the sheriff says no homes in the immediate area. but cautioning some residents in the area should be read the evacuate. next up sun prairie, wisconsin. we're going to show you a tee shirt. nuff said. that sums it up for the 9-year-old boy who had to be rescued from a walmart vending machine. he climbed through the one foot by one foot opening sitting with stuffed animals inside when firefighters cut off the

machine's lock. the youngster went home with o of the stuffed animals. it was a somber homecoming weekend at rutgers t. university community pausing to mourn a student who killed himself after his sexual encounter was put on the internet. [ male announcer ] a little bit of this,

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the world of cancer, brain cancer buzzing because of a study that is expected out later today. it involves a new treatment, a type of vaccine and when preliminary results were made public in june the benefits were dramatic. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has been following this trial. he met with patients and doctors nearly two years ago. it is pretty remarkable. >> i heard you also volunteered to do a spinal tap today. >> yes. >> this is karen. she's bracing for another painful procedure. you see, she's got cancer. brain cancer. a killer tumor. >> this is typically thought of

as the worst type of tumor. why? >> oh, because left untreated, the patient succumbs very quickly. >> even with aggressive treatment average survival is barely a year. >> good to meet you. i'm fine. >> here at the brain tumor center karen found hope. an experimental vaccine. it is cdx-110 that uses the body's immune system to attack tumor cells. it won't work on every patient, just the 40% or so whose tumors make one particular protein. in those patients it goes off like a smart bomb. now, karen gets a shot, a painful one, every month. but look at the results. we were able to pay her another visit, a full year later. remember, most patients don't live that long. >> it's been about a year and a

half. as long as the vaccine works, then i'll be getting the monthly shots. and when it doesn't work, then i'm in trouble. >> dr. john samson helped develop the treatment. what can we say about this vaccine now in terms of of educating a patient about it, what do you tell them in terms of what it promises? >> we're always careful not to overpromise what something can deliver. and this is still in an experimental stage. but patients are living two to three times longer with the vaccine than we would have expected. >> preliminary study results made public in june were slightly less dramatic, but still, on average, compared to standard therapy, the vaccine nearly doubled survival time. as much as six years in some cases. with no signs of returning cancer. dr. sanjay dwgupta, cnn reporti. here's what's happening. later today they're reporting more longer term study results. >> glioblastoma is still a

terrible diagnosis to hear. average survival only two years and this only works in 40% of the patients, those who have a certain type of tumor. candles on the rut rutgers campus in new jersey, mourning the death of a freshman. tyler clementi jump the off the northern washington bridge after his sexual encounter with another male was put on the internet. organizers called for more understanding of the lesbian/gay, bisexual/transgender community and for an end to bullying. >> everyone should be able to live the life they want to live, without fear of things like this happening. >> and the thought that someone -- two people could be so cruel to him, it's just really upsetting. >> four kids around the country

committed suicide over the weekend, it's a teenage thing where hate is an american value at this point. >> there was a moment of silence, too, before rutgers' homecoming football game, the score board reading in memory of tyler clementi. two students have been charged with invasion of privacy in his death. a cnn opinion research poll done in conjunction with rosalyn wiseman takes a broader look at bullying. we asked teenagers, have you been ridiculed, threatened by another teenager, online, 63% say no. 37%, more than a third said they had been targets of bullies. we also asked how many of your friends have ever been human i will alted for threatened by another child? 42%, only a few. 29%, none. 26% said most or some of their friends have. if you have a bully story, go to cnn.com/kyra and tell us about it. if a kid picked on you, how did

you handle it or if you were the bully, tell us why. and anderson cooper takes a broader look at bullying in our schools and now online. why do kids do this, and what can be done to stop it? it's an "ac 360" special report here tonight on cnn. let's take a look ahead and see what we're working on for the next hour in the cnn "newsroom," beginning with homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve, live in washington. jeann sne. >> americans being urged to keep their wits about them if they're traveling in europe because of the terror threat. i'll have that story at the top of the hour. and you know, it seems like detroit just can't get a break. sky-high unemployment, massive foreclosures. they're not the only problems facing this city. also, a food crisis in detroit. what experts call a food desert. we'll tell how is trying to fix the problem in the next hour. all right, thanks, guys. also coming up at the top of the hour, issues that affect us all. among them, immigration and free speech before the supreme court.

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cnn is taking a cross-country food journey. we have sent reporting teams to every corner of america and beyond, and our mission is to get answers about how our food is grown, how choices we make impact our health, state of mind, budgets and the pure joy of eating. we have teamed up with the new cnn.com food destination, eatocracy.com to bring you mind, body, wallet. now let's focus on efforts to curb childhood obesity. stephan stephanie elam takes us to schools in new york. >> why do you think we like to tell kids to eat the rainbow. >> reporter: these second graders in east harlem are being quiz but not in basic reading, writing or arithmetic. they're learning the abcs of healthy eating. >> this is fun? >> yeah. >> when you go to the cart, what do you look to get? >> grapes?

>> reporter: it's a green cart installed by the city to offer healthier options and part of new york city's effort to get soaring childhood obesity rates under control. >> we're way higher than we need to be. 39% of the kids, obese. that is unacceptably high. >> reporter: that number is higher than the national average for children, which is at 17%. >> what's red? >> reporter: teaching kids about nutrition is one thing. but what happens when they get home? >> is there any way that you can see if what they're learning is actually making it home? >> what they're learning here is beginning to get into the home, because the kids are asking for money for the farmer's markets, they're bringing their parents to the green carts. >> reporter: nutrition is just one part of the equation. also in place in some city public schools -- >> that's right, good job, andy. >> reporter: programs that get kids moving inside the classroom, like at this public school on the lower east side of manhatt manhattan. >> i know it's doing enough. >> reporter: but mimi roth, founder and head of the

organization action against obesity.com, says it's not enough. >> the department of agriculture says that 40% of the foods served to children, 40% are calories of no or low nutritional value. 40% of what we feed kids is garbage! don't tell me we care about childhood obesity. >> reporter: according to a recent report by the department of health, obesity rates in new york stayed the same over the past few years, something the city sees as a moderate success. >> the first drop in the bucket, stabilizing. and that's a good thing. >> reporter: but perhaps a bigger success, stories like oscar's. >> when i get home, i tell my mom for lunch when i come to school, i want to eat apples and peaches. i feel good to be losing weight, because everybody, when i was in first grade, they kept on laughing at me. and i said, watch, i'm going to get better. >> and he did. hey, remember cnn.com/eatocracy for more stories on healthy eating. it's also where you can learn

more about how to unlock the cnn healthy eater badge on four square. it's the first monday in october. and that means it is a time for justice to be served. right now, the supreme court gathering to discuss issues that affect just about all of us. the court's newest justice, elena kagan joining her eight colleagues on the bench, and among the more high profile cases, free speech and the right to privacy. ♪ >> protesters from this controversial church in kansas outside the funeral of an american service member. the church and his pastor are being sued by the father of a marine. our kate ballot kate bolduan has more on that. >> the supreme court currently has more than 50 cases on the docket. the most controversial range from immigration reform to free speech challenges.

♪ america america >> reporter: one of the first deals with anti gay protests at military funerals. albert schneider sued the west borough baptist church after they staged a demonstration. 20-year-old matthew schneider was killed in iraq. >> it comes down to dignity. no one -- i don't care if you're not military. no one should be buried with what the phelps did to him. >> reporter: this is a case of free speech versus privacy rights. the court will also weigh in on the case of texas death row inmate hank skinner. he says he is innocent. he argues he has a civil right to request dna evidence testing post conviction to prove it. >> all the district attorney has got to do is turn over the evidence and test it.

if i'm innocent, i go home, if i'm guilty, i die. what's so hard about that? >> reporter: prosecutors argue skinner had his chance to appeal, and argue that if he wins, it will open the floodgates to frivolous lawsuits, clogging the criminal justice system. other high-profile cases include california's attempt to ban the sale of violent video games to children, an appeals court said the law violates the first amendment. the court will also consider a challenge to an arizona law cracking down on businesses hiring illegal immigrants. opponents argue, federal law trumps state efforts. >> federal government says we have the immigration laws, arizona kind of throws up its hands and says, yes, but you're not enforcing them. >> reporter: meanwhile, the newest justice, elena kagan is taking to the bench for her first time, which also marks a historic first for the supreme court. three women serving at the same time. however, justice kagan has already recused herself from 25 pending cases, because of her

work as a former so listter general, she has withdrawn to prevent any conflict of interest, leaving the possibility of split 4-4 decisions as the term kicks off. kate bolduan, cnn, washington. the state department has put out a travel alert for americans in europe and in reaction to a possible terror threat. jeanne meserve following this story from washington. jeanne, exactly what is the state department telling travelers to do? >> reporter: the state department is not telling americans don't go to europe. it is urging them to be careful when they go there. the alert reads in part, u.s. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings, and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling. it was issued in response to the high volume of intelligence about possible terror attacks in europe, including information that al qaeda and its affiliates may be planning synchronized attacks against multiple targets like those in mumbai, india. although officials do not have

specific information about the timing mode or location of possible attacks, the alert mentions public transportation systems. think subways, railways, airports, tour buses. it also talks about tourist infrastructure that would include hotels in tourist areas, as well as highly trafficked tourist sites. an official says the europeans are in sync with the u.s. on this, and britain has taken a similar step, advising its citizens traveling to germany and france that the terror threat is high. in addition, we know that a bulletin did go out from the fbi and homeland security to domestic law enforcement yesterday. it says in part there is no indication that the reported threat is directed specifically towards the united states. however, it goes on to say, we continue to operate under the premise that our adversaries are determined to recruit and place terrorist operatives inside the united states for attacks. it is urging them also to be vigilant. back to you, drew. >> jeanne, it is so vague, and is you said they don't really

know the specifics on any of this. is there any specific guidance that's being -- with this, other than just being careful, be on alert? >> the bottom line is use your common sense. if you see unattended packages, hear a loud noise, hear a disturbance of some kind, move away from that. don't have baggage tags, for instance, that directly identify you as american. know how to use the local pay telephones and how to contact the u.s. embassy. the state department recommends you register online with the u.s. embassy or consulate wherever you're visiting so they know where to find you. >> jeanne meserve in washington, thank you. there is an ominous turn in the controversy surrounding the planned islamic super and mosque two blocks from ground zero in lower manhattan. a new york spokesman says the man who spear heads the project and his wife have received death threats. the proposed islamic center has inflamed a lot of people, as you know, some arguing the building, an islamic community so close to the site of the attacks is

insensitive. others like new york mayor mime block bloomberg say freedom of religion is the reason the project should go ahead. rahm emanuel's campaign for chicago mayor under way. the former white house chief of staff started visits to chicago. there he is on the great street in chicago. announcing the tour kickoff sunday in a web video. >> chicago is a world-class city today because of mayor daly's leadership. he deserves our appreciation, but we are facing tremendous challenges, to attracting jobs to improving schools to making all our neighborhoods facer. >> well, the mayor, richard daly, decided not to seek another term after 21 years running city hall. emmanuel gave up his white house job friday. he has not an official candidate yet. "time" magazine reports that

a new survey asked voters about donald trump as a possible 2012 gop presidential candidate. the phone survey asked 20 questions. one asked would trurch's high-profile appearances on tv help or hurt him in a political race? well, donald trump spoke to cnn's "american morning" about the survey. >> are you running for president? >> i never heard of this poll, but i am anxious to find out what it says. i do not know anything about a poll taken in new hampshire. >> so you didn't commission this. >> i certainly did not. >> do you know of anyone who would commission a poll on your behalf? >> no, but i've been very outspoken on what's happening with opec and how they're ripping us off. and frankly, when you look at what's going on in iraq and everything, i mean, i've certainly been outspoke, so i could see somebody looking at those issues, not necessarily me. >> wiggle room, i would call that. so far, "time" magazine has been unable to find out who paid for

that survey. the pounding rain has stopped, but the damage done. people in north carolina dealing with the worst flooding in years. we're going to take a closer look in a few minutes. [ female announcer ] olay professional pro-x. sold out online in 17 minutes. beauty editors are raving. the clinical results are astounding. olay professional pro-x.

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firefighters trying to put down that wildfire in colorado. no luck so far. a 300-acre blaze, 0 percent containment. another day of cleanup on tap for eastern north carolina. the opposite problem. too much water. rain. from this last weekend's flooding. parts of north carolina saw more than 20 inches of rain, and the week begins with plenty of travel delays, as well, in the northeast. i guess, rob, that rain is moving on up.

>> it is. and you know what, they had a little wave develop over the weekend. so dry day on saturday in north carolina, but then a little something developed on sunday. and then rolled up the east coast and that's what we're looking at right now. a pretty decent storm will sit and spin here, not just today but i think for a while and that's not good news for folks in parts of pennsylvania, upstate new york. here's what we think is going to happen over the next 48 hours as far as the a. rainfall. and it won't be amming all at one time, it will be coming on and off, probably last more than 48 hours, but nonetheless this green and yellow area here, this is anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rainfall on top of what they have already seen this late last week with that one batch. this is not a tropical rain, but it's going to be rotating in from time to time off the ocean, and so it will be cool and damp. and on top of that, we'll probably sea coastal flood issues along long island, delaware and parts of jersey, as well. so that's what we're looking at there. as far as the travel delays are concerned, there are some this morning because of that

rainfall, and low visibility at laguardia an hour and ten minute delays, san francisco seeing delays, as well. delays are on the increase through boston. mid section of the country, gorgeous stuff, but it is cool. temperatures a good 10 to 15 degrees below average. and also starting to see cooler temperatures across the west coast after those record-breaking high temperatures last week. things are beginning to even up -- even out just a little bit. all right, couple other things. one, we'll spread the map out just a little bit for the caribbean. and this disturbance may very well turn into something. but right now, i think the u.s. is pretty well protected as far as the pattern of weather is concerned. meaning it does develop. probably will go out to sea. but if this hangs around long enough, we're going to have to wait to see that. on the other side of the world there, over by japan, 200 miles southwest of okay nahha, a 6.3 earthquake, but shouldn't be a big deal, not large enough to create any sort of tsunami, but that just came into the cnn severe weather center.

drew? >> thanks. let's check out this surveillance video from brazil. the only thing more shocking than that is the fact that she is okay. just minor injuries from this. this woman tossed about 60 feet down the street. the driver did get out and check on her. holy smokes. well, if you're a verizon customer or used to be one, you might have some money coming to you. not a huge amount, but enough to get at least one, maybe two cups of coffee. depending on what you order. more on that after the break. [ale ♪ ♪ go on, take the money and run ♪ sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do.

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these are our top stories at this hour. americans in europe being warned to avoid popular tourist destinations. and stay on alert. the concern, terrorist attacks. potential for one, at least. similar to the 2008 attacks on two hotels and a jewish center that happened in mumbai, india. intelligence officials say a group of jihadists in hamburg, germany believed to be behind this plot. the advisory is to encourage precaution, but not to tell americans to avoid travel all together. earlier today, the man known as the father of the test tube baby robert edwards named as the year's recipient of the noble prize for medicine. excuse me, guys. edwards' pioneered in vitro fertilization. the panel says his contribution represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine. and verizon wireless is going to refund 15 million customers. the company admits to charging customers for data services they

didn't want. if you are or were a verizon wireless customer, you're going to get a credit if you're a current customer or a refund checkup to six bucks. bus stop? far more literal meaning this morning in phoenix, arizona. a labor lockout has some commuters looking for another way to work this morning. reporter jose miguel from kpho, live from the south bus lot of phoenix transit. i know it's early out there, jose, but is this commute going to be affected terribly? >> reporter: well, so far, drew, we can tell you that things are looking to be scheduled as normal, but that could all change throughout the day. that's because things were at a deadlock as of 12:01 this morning, between the olio transportation and its teamsters union. now, this particular group of union members are those that work behind the scenes of the bus buses. they're the mechanics, the maintenance workers, the codial workers. they could not come to terms

with their contract as of 12:01 this morning. now, the biggest complaint they have is that the transportation company says they want to transfer work without notifying the unions. the union says this is a violation of their terms, and they will not put up with this. so far, i can tell you that 62 workers are affected by this contract negotiation, which may not seem like a large number, but we have to remember that this particular group handles a third of the city's bus lines. that's 33 of the 99 bus lines could be affected by a possible strike. now, so far, they haven't formed a picture line, but, again, that could all change. and the other big question of the day is whether or not the other union workers will go ahead and strike alongside them, meaning the bus drivers themselves. so far, we have not heard whether or not they will do this. but again, a lost people waiting to see what will happen and to see whether or not their evening commute will be affected. but so far, the morning commute looking good, drew. >> okay, who say, keep us

posted. thanks. new developments in a story unfolding over the past few weeks. some lenders have pushed through paperwork on home foreclosures, but never checked to see if the paperwork was correct. so banks across the country are freezing foreclosure proceedings. now the nation's largest bank is joining the ranks. carter evans at the new york stock exchanges with details of this growing problem. carter. >> well, it's a growing problem, drew, because there are a lot of foreclosures in this country. first it was allied financial, then jpmorgan chase, and now bank of america freezing foreclosures in 23 states. it's only temporary. what this does is gives banks time to review the foreclosure documents. see, here's what happened. we saw a record number of foreclosures last year. 3 million of them. and banks are essentially drowning in paperwork. some employees allegedly signed off on thousands of foreclosures without verifying the information on the documents. but it wasn't necessarily true that all of these documents went through without ever being

looked at. other employees looked at them. it's just that certain employees in some cases with some of these banks were charged with signing off, and in a move -- it's called robosigning. it comes across their desk, they put their name on it and move it right along and assume that it was checked correctly. >> all right, carter. you know, we say it's a problem, but it's only a problem for banks. if you're going through foreclosure, it's a reprieve, i guess, a couple more weeks, perhaps, to try to prevent it. so -- >> well, you know, some bank employees are admitting that there was some wrongdoing here. yes. and if you are facing foreclosure and a bank is legitimately foreclosing on your home, this could put it off a little while. but it's probably still going to happen. what it could do is prompt some individual lawsuits. and in the meantime, several states are cracking down. connecticut's attorney general is asking the court there to freeze all foreclosures. california attorney general is calling on jpmorgan chase to show exactly how it complied with state law. and in ohio, the attorney general there is asking judges to review all ally foreclosure

cases. banks are trying to get them wrapped up quickly, but this is going to take some time. and other banks now could face some pressure to slow or halt the process. you want to check out stocks, by the way, real quickly? because we did get some reports today. and basically, the dow right now is up about 9 points, the nasdaq and s&p 500, slightly lower. caught between two economic reports. factory orders fell more than expected, not so good, but pending home sales rose more than expected. so a little bit of plus and minus today, kind of a see saw. >> sets up for a nine-point gain. thanks, carter. whether you're a student, parent or educate torer, bully is a real problem. sometimes tragic consequences. straight ahead, we'll look at solutions and one father's mission after a devastating loss. rvices companies tdd# 1-800-345-2550 are still talking about retirement tdd# 1-800-345-2550 like it's some kind of dream. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's either this magic number i'm supposed to reach, or... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's beach homes or it's starting a vineyard. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 come on!

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candles and silence last night on the rutgers campus in new jersey. hundreds of people mourning the death of a freshman most of them didn't even know. his name, tyler clementi, jumped off the george washington bridge after a sexual encounter with another male was put on the internet. organizers of this vigil called for more understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and for an end to bullying. >> he and everyone else should be able to live the life they want to live without fear of things like this happening. >> and the fact that someone, two people, could be so cruel to him, i just -- it's just really upsetting. >> more kids around the country in three weeks committed suicide. it's not a rutgers thing, it's a teenage thing where hate is an american value at this point. >> there was also a moment of silence before the rutgers' homecoming football game. you can read what it says on the score board there, in memory of tyler clementi.

two students have been charged with invasion of privacy in clementi's death. this is one of several cases of alleged bullying that ended in tragedy. these stories bring to light an issue that so many parents and children struggle with. in a special back to school series on bullying, we're starting off with an intimate look at the problem from a father who love his son. cnn's carol cost he willo is here with his story. carol. >> drew, it wasn't long ago i met kirk smally, he lives in oklahoma city or near it, anyway. doesn't usually like to speak out publicly or on television. but after his 11-year-old son committed suicide after being bullied at school, he felt he had to speak out. he said no child should be bullied to death. and he wants to make sure no child ever is again. kirk smally is on a mission. there he is, an honored guest at oklahoma city's western heights high school, trying to put a stop to bullying.

>> i have to make a difference. i promised my son on father's day this year, i would stop this from happening to another child. >> for years, smally's son, ty, struggled with a bully at school. >> and when you say he was being picked on, how was he being picked on? >> oh, name-calling. tyler was always kind of small. >> reporter: his father says ty was a typical kid with typical grades who took the abuse for two years. on the day ty finally decided to push back physically, he got into trouble. he was suspended from school. for ty, that was too much to bear. on that day, last may, he killed himself. he was 11 years old. >> ultimately, my son's safety

rested in my hands. i was responsible for my son's safety. i don't hold -- >> reporter: that's a harsh thing to say about yourself. i mean -- >> i'm miss dad. >> reporter: i know, but he's out in the world. >> it's my job to protect him. no matter what. no matter where he was, it was my job to protect him. >> reporter: but how do you protect your child from a bully? assistant deputy education secretary kevin jennings was appointed by president obama to keep kids safe at school. ty's story could easily have been his own. were you bullied in had school? >> like many kids i was bullied very severely in junior high and high school, and the first day of tenth grade, i actually refused to go back to school, because i wasn't going to go back to a place where i got bullied every day. >> jennings organized the

first-ever bullying summit. experts can't agree how to define bullying. is it physical, electronic, psychological, nonverbal in or all of the above? when might the federal government act and say, these are the guidelines we want to put in place. do it. >> i think that it's taken us a long time to develop a bullying problem and it's going to take us some time to solve it. >> reporter: it's why there are no federal guidelines schools must follow to deal with bullying. they're on their own. in smally's home state of oklahoma, each school district deals with bullying in different ways. it's something else that infewer ates smally. >> a lot of schools around the country, their answer to bullying is they let the victim leave a little bit early and let them go home early to get a head start on the bully. you're singling this child out. this child has been picked on and you're singling him out now. >> reporter: real solutions will come too late for ty, but kirk

smally is on that mission. >> we've kept this alive through the summer. >> reporter: it's why he organizes vigils at the oklahoma state house. he thinks bullying ought to be a crime. and it's why he tries to convince other kids to stand up for the bullied. >> save their fragile self esteem. save their lives. >> reporter: it's his promise to a boy who loved his family. hunting, and the st. louis cardinals. >> we haven't done ty's last load of laundry, because it still smells like him. we haven't washed his sheets, because i can go in there and lay on his bed and still smell my boy. you want to learn what bullying and suicide is all about, you talk to the people directly who it affects the most. >> reporter: as you might

imagine, drew, that was very tough for mr. smally. 41 states have anti bullying laws on the books, but they're all different, no federal guidelines. and by the way, mr. smally, if you're listening, mr. jennings, the secretary of deputy education thanks you for doing this interview, thanks you for making this story public, because he says these are the stories that will get something done. this is what people need to hear to get those federal guidelines in place quicker. >> carol, did anything happen at the school district? you know, where mr. smally's -- did the bully get chastised at all? was there any kind of consequences there? >> reporter: bully got suspended too. but the school system told us that mr. smally and his wife never complained about ty being bullied at school. there was no written record. of course, mr. smally says, yes, we did complain. but there is no requirements to write anything down or document anything. and that's one of the things that mr. smally is trying to change.

the school says, you know, it's sorry for the smallees' loss, wishes it could do something. mr. smally, by the way, has no interest in suing the school. he just wants something to be done. he wants the country to draw together and get something done to stop bullying, to stop kids from being so mean to each other, because you know what, they learn it from somewhere. they're not born that way. >> yeah, a lot of this is coming from the home, both sides. carol, thanks. cnn opinion research poll done in conjunction with ross lynn wiseman takes a broader look at bullying. we asked teenagers, have you been ridiculed, verbally threatened by another teenager, verbally orion line? 63% no, 37%, more than a third say yes, targets of bullies. we also asked, how many of your friends have you ever been hu n humiliated or threatened by a child. 42% said only a few, 29% said

none, and 26% said most have. with more and more parents looking for help in bringing a stop to bullying, there are some resource that is can help. josh levs is covering that, tracking websites that can help, right, josh? >> yeah, and we're going to play right out of what you were talking about here. first of all, more and more people say have records of what the conversations were, send follow-ups. i will tell you, so many parents concerned about this, and one thing i like about the research now, and i'll show you where to find them, you don't need to write them down, not only do they help kids and parents, they're also there to help parents figure out maybe if their kids are bulliebullies, nt if they're being bullied. a bunch of websites. pacer center attention teens against bullying. there's a lot on here. pacer center has the for kids, teens adults. there is an audio section in which one where people share. >> what did i do to these people

who teased me? what did i do to deserve what people have done to me? >> there have been times where i looked at myself and wondered, why me, why did i get stuck with a disability? and there have been times when i have been made fun. >> that's an exactly there, an audio from pacer center. there's also some things that kids -- some of these places start really early. there is a website here from the government that is called "stop bullying now." from hrsa.gov, and one of the many things they have is some animated cartoons that help kids look at situations that involve bullying and learn what to do. here's a clip from one of those. >> check this out. i'm going to squeeze this pudding down weany weany's shirt. >> okay if i join you, milton? >> yeah, sure. >> there's an exactly of what you're seeing on the cartoon there. and at this section, stop bullying now from the government, there's a whole

section here for adults, for parents, what to do, things about cyber bullying here, experts you can get in touch with. so many resources that talk about the state laws on bullying. of as we were just hearing from carol, they differ all over the country. lots of great resources here. and one more i'll mention to you, this is called the committee for children, they have a whole section here, what to do about bullying, warning signs, what to look for, how to handle it. i think you're seeing is linked at my facebook and twitter pages. let's show that. because what we've got going now is these lists of what you'll find, and other parents are weighing in with sites helping them. so hopefully, drew, some resources out there to help everyone. >> you know, josh, we asked our viewers to share with us their stories of being bullied. earlier today, some of us had written back already. jeff says this. this is from jeff. all of this stuff going on brought back a lot of memories of being harassed and bullied in school, because he was a skinny little kid with a speech impediment. those were terrible years of dreading school, going back to school every day and trying to

cope with people i knew would bother me. i wouldn't wish it on anyone. from jess. middle school was hell for me. just one of the daily mornings of torment and tears i had, a few girls smash eggs on my head on the bus on the way to school. i'm now 34 and still haven't forgotten it. i had eating disorders for the rest of my life because of those girls. i am more fearful of my child becoming a victim like this than failing grades in school. remember, we want to hear from you. just log on to cnn.com/kyra to share your comments. anderson cooper also taking a broader look at bullying in our schools now and online. why do kids do this and what can be done to stop it? an "ac 360" special report beginning here, 10:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices?

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checking our top stories now, european intelligence officials say a group of jihadists from the german city of hamburg allegedly at the heart of an al qaeda terrorist plot to strike targets in europe. the new intelligence has

prompted the u.s. state department to issue a travel alert over the weekend for americans traveling in europe. the british have followed with their own terror warning that came out today. jurors expecting to begin deliberations in the death penalty trial of steven hayes. he is accused of the gruesome killings of three members of a connecticut family in a ii 2007 home invasion. his accomplice will be tried separately. dangerous weather hammering the east coast again. flood warnings and watches stretch from the carolinas to maine. parts of north carolina still reeling from this nightmare of rain and flooding last week. 20 inches of rain in some areas. seven people died in north carolina floods alone. a nasty race for ohio governor, rahm emanuel, beginning his chicago mayoral campaign, and they're talking in new hampshire about donald trump for president. our political ticker is next.

>>i dare you to look at this car and find something that stands out. it simply can't be done. when we came up with this idea, we thought, let's not come up with any other ideas. this idea is good enough. >>instead of breaking the mold... we went down and found those pieces from that mold... and we put it back together. [whisper] mediocrity.

it is time for the latest news from the best political team on television, cnn political producer peter hamby in washington at the cnn politics.com desk. pete, what is crossing right now? >> leading the political ticker right now, donald trump. of "time" magazine reported that somebody is putting new hampshire the primary state, listing trump as a potential republican candidate. he went on cnn's "american morning" today and said i'm not behind the poll and not interested in running for president. a mystery. maybe a rival is polling his name, maybe an interest, just to see what happens. but he is saying no. also today, rahm emanuel, the now former chief of staff of the house is officially can i go off his mayor campaign in the city of chicago. he was at an lstop this morning, shaking hands with voters, he's going to a latino neighborhood later today. he's really got to navigate these different constituencies

that famously make up chicago politics. he's the front runner -- or sorry, he's getting attention as the front runner, but sucking up all the media attention, but not a shoe-in for this seat. and also, in the ohio governor's race today, john casic, the republican candidate, is going negative against ted strickland. it's a marquis governor's race, the white house is paying close attention to ohio, obviously a significant state. casic is calling attention to strickland's record on jobs, saying he has lost 400,000 jobs since taking office in 2007. however, the polls are close, so it's telling the case that casic is going negative. live in d.c. with a political update. all the latest political news available on our website, cnnpolitics.com. coming up in a few minutes, we're going to talk about the urban food desert, where there's nowhere to get healthy food in

the inner city. it's something kid rock is trying to change. kid rock in his hometown of detroit. >> how can you be smart and learn if you're not healthy? there's nothing healthy in this city for these kis kids in the inner city, in the get the getto. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus.

. everyday at this time, we're going to honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in iraq and afghanistan for us. we call it "home and away." today we are honoring private first class matthew everett

wilds of hammond, louisiana. he was killed in a roadside bomb attack, august 2009. just 18 years old. his mother, mary wilds wrote us about him. matthew a very good kid, she says, never gave us a bit of trouble. mary says she actually had to sign matthew up to join the army and has no regrets. matthew loved being in the army, she writes. he was so very proud, he was an infantry soldier and loved it. his plans were to make a career out of the army. if you have a loved one you would like us to honor, here's all you have to do. go to cnn.com/homeandaway. type in your service member's name in the upper right search field and pull up your profile. send us thoughts and pictures, and we'll keep the memories of your hero alive ♪

♪ that's how you were i guess only heroes have the strengthening enough ♪ ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm about to drop some knowledge right on top of you ♪ ♪ you check a lot of things already why not add one more ♪ ♪ that can help your situation for sure ♪ ♪ check your credit score ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ free-credit-score ♪ you won't regret it at all! ♪ check the legal y'all. >>offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.® i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

♪ change change will do you good ♪ cnn is taking a cross-country food journey. we have a center of reporting teams in every corner of america and beyond there to get fresh answers about how food is grown, how choices impact our state of health, mind and budget.

we have teamed up with a new cnn.com food destination, eatocracy.com to bring you eatocracy, mind, body, wallet and it's not just unemployment and monster foreclosures threatening people of detroit these days. they face major health problems because of a lack of nutritious foods in low-income neighborhoods. poppy harlow joins us from new york. poppy, how serious is this? >> reporter: it's interesting. it seems like drew, detroit can't get a break, huge education problems, huge unemployment problems, they've got a huge, huge health crisis. when you look at the numbers, there is a 50% higher obesity rate in detroit than national average. the diabetes rate there for adults and kids is 70% higher than the national average. it is so serious that there was a study done that found out that the people in the inner city and the low-income neighborhoods that don't have easy access to healthy food are much more likely to die prematurely because of it. it's a serious crisis facing detroit, so we went there, spent

the weekend there, to see for ourselves. take a look. detroit has become known as a food desert, because it's so hard to find fresh food in neighborhoods like this one, the cass corridor in detroit. take a look up here on this corner. this is what you see so much. liquor, beer, wine, convenience star. this is what people in low-income neighborhoods have. let's see what we could get in here. do you have any fresh food, any vegetables or fruit or anything? >> no, we don't carry anything -- >> nothing like that? do you have any fresh food, any vegetables, any fruit, anything like that? no? do you have any good grocery stores around here? >> no, no. >> no fruit, no vegetables. >> people's health outcomes are put in danger as a result of this. so the real cost of this is tremendous. ♪

>> reporter: why do you care about helping people get access to healthy food? >> we have a food system that is as broken as our health care system, as our energy system, and as our education system. ♪ >> in detroit, we know that about 500,000 of this city's population do not have access to healthy and fresh foods. >> reporter: more than half the population of detroit. >> right. >> reporter: how important is it to you as a mother of nine to make sure that all these kids have healthy, fresh food and not fast food every day? >> it's extremely important, because the food they eat is life for their body and life for their mind, their brain, and i want them to be able to perform the at their full potential. >> reporter: is it a social injustice issue. >> it is, you know, but there's a choice that even low-income

can make. i'll take these right there. z. >> so we're trying to work in a variety of ways to help fix this broken food system. and our double-up food bucks project is one way we're doing that. >> thank you. >> i get double my money every time i use this card. it's a huge help. you're getting twice as much. >> how much was this? >> $5. >> reporter: for the entire thing. >> yes. >> reporter: you know, pretty much all the food here at detroit's eastern market is from michigan but as the demand for local food grows, more and more people are saying why not turn all of this abandoned land in the middle of detroit into farmland, urban farming? >> the city of detroit has 40 square miles of vacate, foreclosed property. we have plenty of land to work with, being able to within your own neighborhood go out and pick fresh fruits and vegetable force your family is a step forward

for detroit. >> reporter: you really think this is going to be an apple orchard in two years. >> we know it will be. >> reporter: you know it will be. >> people in detroit are people who are hopeful, who are optimists, who believe detroit is a great city. and even though we have gone through a downturn, we have always had a sense there will be a comeback, and the comeback will be breath taking. >> reporter: talking about a comeback for the city, drew, saying that it will be breathtaking when we do see the turn-around. but when you look at crisis facing detroit, there is not one single chain grocery store in detroit, drew. they have all left. literally, it's nearly impossible to find a grocery store. i went into one. they had a tiny section of fresh fruits and vegetables. the rest was all packaged, processed food. saw new in the piece how who was interested find to find anything healthy. it is truly a crisis. and until you go and see it for yourself, you don't really see the extent how bad it is, drew. >> i've been there too, poppy

and i have noticed the very thing you have pointed out. but i'm just wondering, you're a money person. isn't there a supply/demand thing here? >> sure. >> is the demand just not there? it seems like someone could come in and sell fruit and make a killing. >> very good point. there have been meetings in the city of detroit, they would love to bring a chain there. the question is, you have a very high unemployment rate, one of the highest in the country. do people have money to buy the fresh fruit and vegetables? from the people we spoke with outside the convenience stores, they want access to it. you look at eastern market, a place where people can use their bridge card, their food stamps. so i think the demand is there, the supply is not there, except for eastern market, which is only open one day a week, on saturday. so if you do build these urban farms in the middle of detroit, literally on 40 acres of abandoned land in the inner city, you put them literally at the fingertips of mothers and children and families that can go out and pick this food. i spent a day last year on an urban farm in detroit and it was am