hello, there, everybody. live from studio 7, cnn world headquarters, giving you a look at what are the big stories of this friday, october 8th.

the economy, doesn't get bigger than this, the last unemployment report before election day. the numbers that voters will go into the voting booth on their minds. the overall economy loses jobs in september. the president is set to talk about it live this hour. we will have those comments for you when he starts to speak. of course, cnn equals politics. >> joe's not bad as governor but when he's with obama turns into washington joe. >> and then washington joe does whatever obama wants. >> well, we better keep joe manchin right here in west virginia, away from washington. >> the only way we're going to stop obama. >> do those look like hicks to you? critics say a republican ad plays into what they call a quote hick stereotype. the best team on television puts the ad front and center. >> excitement is building for

the trapped chilean miners. a drill may be able to reach the men soon. at any moment it could break through. the rescue would follow in the days coming. hello to you all. i'm t.j. holmes in for my good friend tony harris. those stories right now for you in the cnn newsroom. let's start with the new numbers out just a bit ago, new numbers on the struggling job market. the september unemployment report comes now just 25 days before the midterm elections. jobs will be the big issue, and now this report is what voters will walk into that voting booth with. going to get into the raw politics on jobs. let me break down the numbers. the unemployment rate is 9.6%. that number didn't change from the month before but the job market took a hit from government layoffs and a weak business hiring. the economy lost some 95,000 jobs. for the most part that was due

to government cutbacks. the private sector did add about 64,000 jobs. that's the ninth straight month we have seen the private sector at least add jobs. carter evans is keeping an eye on things in washington. how did wall street react? >> wall street is waffling. initially futures were lower when the report came out but analysts were saying that was a knee-jerk reaction to the 95,000 job lost numbers, and then stocks turned higher, and investors are essentially breathing a sigh of relief this wasn't worse. let's take a look at the numbers. the dow is up almost 30 points and nasdaq down 3 points. alcoa reported better than expected earnings and that's up 7% and giving the dow a boost. investors are looking into the fine print of this jobs report, specifically where the losses are and where the gains are.

heavy losses from the government, 159,000 jobs hall of that because of the census, and the other because of local government layoffs. 2010 was a tough, tough year for local governments. that's big. wall street is taking to heart the private sector job gains. 54,000 jobs aid s added. we have seen nine straight months of gains in the private sector, and the private sector is where we want to see these gains. it's a sign of confidence in investment in our economy, so that is seen as good news. >> carter evans breaking it down for us. appreciate it. with the unemployment rate now close to double digits, the economy shedding more jobs, it's hard too find any bright spots in a lot of these numbers. some businesses, however, they're hanging out help wanted signs.

so many people are looking for works, and now employers can essentially pick from a whole host of applicants. >> we are actually taking our time hiring people because we can. we have a huge stack of resumés we didn't have four months ago. number two, the type of person coming in are more full-time professions out there, like a realtor, because that market has fallen off. bankers that were laid off. >> our poppy harlow will have more on small business hiring coming up in the next hour here in the cnn newsroom. counting down to the elections, just 25 days away now. issue number one will be the economy, will be jobs. the president knows that. we're going to be hearing from him shortly at 11:45 eastern time. he's going to be visiting a factory in maryland. we'll have coverage of his remarks about 40 minutes from now. next hour, a bit of a response to the president and the economic numbers.

you'll hear from the house minority leader john boehner who wants to be the house majority leader. he will give a campaign speech about jobs. hungary says about 184 million gallons of toxic sludge spilled from an aluminum plant reservo reservoir, close to what leaked from the bp gulf oil spill. the waste is flowing into the danube river, europe's second largest. so far officials of say they have been able to neutralize the sludge's ph, it's toxicity, if you believe that. the. the white house says it made all information available during the entire gulf oil disaster. a commission report says the

administration underplayed the catastrophe, understating the tense of thousands of barrels of oil pouring into the gulf. the president of plaquemines parish still questions whether we know how much oil is out there. >> i don't think we want to know, honestly. our crews picked up 13,000 gallons of oil and about 8,000 bags of oily waste last week. they pulled us off the water for another inspection. it's obvious, you know, today, we're going to step down our boats, the only crews finding oil. the contract workers for bp, i got to believe between the coast guard and bp, they don't want to find anything. they want this to be over and we're still out there picking up oil and as we said, anderson, we're fighting more with bp and the coast guard. here we are, again, to leave assets in place to fight this oil. there's no written operational plan.

the only plan they give us is a transition plan, and they keep wanting us to sign off on there's no visible oil when we continue to pick up oil. i don't understand it. it's mind boggling. we mentioned 25 days now until election day. this is one of the most important midterm elections we have seen in some time. things can be shaken up and turned on their head depending on what happens 25 days for now. cnn, of course, is your place for all of that political coverage. aside from the midterm elections, there is another political battle going on or will be right after the election, the house ethics committee has announced two democratic lawmakers will face ethics proceedings after election day. the republicans wanted the trial for charlie rangel and maxine waters to happen before the election but it will not happen until november 15th and 29th. both are accused of financial

inproprieties. both say they did nothing wrong. political season, so, of course, political adds that are supposed to get our attention. sometimes they do so for the wrong reasons. dana bash, we're not seeing anything in ads we haven't seen before, are we? >> reporter: not really but there are interesting twists. at the end you hear something along the lines of the national republican senatorial committee is responsible for the ad. taking responsibility meant taking an ad off the air in west virginia. a gop ad aimed at many west virginia voters' concerns about joe manchin. >> joe's not bad as governor but when he's with obama, he turns into washington joe. >> and washington joe does whatever obama wants. >> we better keep joe manchin right here in west virginia.

>> reporter: get this, those men are not in west virginia, they're actors 250 miles away in philadelphia. republicans paid a talent agency to hire them for the ad and the casting call obtained by cnn asks for a quote hicky, blue collar look. these characters are particular west virginia, so think coal miner, trucker looks. they asked for trucker hats, not brand new, preferably beat up. you see that here. flannel shirt, check, and a dickies type jacket with a t-shirt underneath. a spokesman for the national republican senatorial committee says they did not know about the casting call language and pulled the ad. the reality is they didn't have to use actors in philadelphia to capture concerns. we went to this real diner in west virginia and heard the sentiment unscripted. >> we are happy here in the state. i would not vote for him for

senate. >> reporter: no trucker hat, not flannel. the real foul play seems to be stereotyping west virginiaens. even democratic ad makers admit both parties use actors. >> if you have to go to paid actors as a second or third resort, then, because of tight time lines you may have to go there. >> reporter: take this democratic senate ad running against missouri republican roy blunt. >> roy is the life of the party. his wife, great. >> reporter: that woman is an actress. back on the republicans' west virginia ad. the nrc provided an e-mail to underscore that they didn't know about or authorize the request for hicky attire and it was a subcontractor who used the language, and the original request said they were look forge a male 55, another 45,

middle class and should represent the middle of the country. >> i don't know what to say. we need to define "hick" and "hicky." you make an ad, you want someone to look like people in that area. it sounds natural, but are the folks in west virginia making as big of a deal of this? are they offended by this ad? >> reporter: you can bet the democratic governor, joe manchin is making a big deal out of it, in a big way, because they feel that this works to their favor in that it plays to their biggest argument against the republican down there, john raese, a very wealthy businessman, somebody who they are trying to paint as not really in touch with people of west virginia, both on a personal level because not only is he wealthy, his family doesn't even live in west virginia, but even with regard to the issues, he's somebody -- i was down there this week, and he said he doesn't believe the

minimum wage should exist. democrats are hope thak this quote stereotyping feeds into the whole concept that this is not the guy that west virginians want representing them in washington. >> this is not supposed to be a competitive race as popular as the governor there is. good to see you. thank you so much. they are closing in on a breakthrough. a drill could reach those trapped miners chile by tomorrow. we'll get a live update from the scene. right now, let me get a live update from over there. >> we have another hurricane, hurricane otto upgraded from a tropical storm this morning. the eighth hurricane of the season, and plus a forecast for your fall weekend still to come. ♪ every day you check the weather, check the time ♪ ♪ check the news online ♪heck the wife, eck the kids ♪

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well, they have spent some 64 days now buried deep under ground, but a breakthrough could be just a day away for those 33 trapped miners in chile. a drill is edging closer and closer to the chamber where the miners have taken refuge. our karl penhaul joins us live from the scene where the work is going on. karl tell us, just how close are they? >> reporter: t.j., we certainly get the impression here that the beginning of the end is upon us, and talking to one of the drill engineers last night, he said that drill bit was just 180 feet away from the miners. now, taking into account that drill has been going all night

and continues round the clock, we could be in literally the final few feet now. in fact, over my shoulder, there is a red rig now in place which will be used to possibly put steel casing down part of that rescue shaft to make it more stable. that will also be used to hoist the rescue cage dubbed the phoenix capsule up to the surface but as the rescue operation proceeds, anxiety amongst the families increases. day fades into another night. [ saying prayers ] but at last, the anguished wait may be drawing to a close for families of the 33 trapped miners. waiting is like a bad itch that bothers you every minute of every day. you get a knot in your stomach thinking this is the final

phase. the only thing i want to do is take my husband home and forget this ever happened, she says. she's waiting for veteran miner mario gomez, the oldest of the 33. jessica yanez mounts a vigil for her husband to be. >> all of this time, i feel i've been dreaming, but when i wake up, i see it's all reality. my stomach hurts and my head hurts thinking i have no choice but to carry on waiting, she says. it the roll call of all 33 names is painted on this rock. the families of miners yanez and this man have huddled here every night for two months to sprinkle the embers with sugar.

a ritual to bring them luck. this is an eternal wait, but i must be patient. there's only a little while left, she says. the rescue may be just now days away, and alberto isn't sure he can find the words to welcome his brother home. when the moment comes, i think i'll forget everything i planned to say. i'll just tell him what i feel in my heart, he says. but jessica knows there are two things that cannot go unsaid. the first thing i will stel esteban is that i love him and he must never go back into the mine, she says. there are many ways to earn a

living without killing yourself. now at current speeds, the plan b drill could theoretically achieve breakthrough sometime today, of course, if there are no more technical difficulties, if they don't need to change those drill bits. in the last few moments, what the health minister has said is, if it all goes to plan, the actual process of extracting the miners could begin as early as tuesday. >> karl, thank you so much. we will continue to check in with you. hear from an american woman who says her husband was gunned down by mexican pirates. the search continues for a body in dangerous waters. the games are over, her pain is back, that's two more pills. and when she's finally home, but hang on, just two aleve can keep back pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rachel,

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and full-size suvs like this 2011 silverado. see your local chevrolet dealer. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. it's been eight days now since an american man went missing on a lake on the mexican border. tiffany hartley says her husband was shot by mexican pirates while jet skiing. there were questions raised about her story. >> we heard a sheriff say if you wanted to take a polygraph test to support your story, he'd support that. is that something you would want to do? >> possibly, but i don't really

think i need to because i know my story, and i know what the story is, but if, you know, that's what the authorities think i need to do, then that might be an option. >> the mexican side of falcon lake is known to be controlled by drug cartels. gary tuchman takes us out on the dangerous waters. >> reporter: we have an armada of armed protectors as we head out for a short voyage on north america's most dangerous lake. this is the sheriff of zap paut tat county, txz. >> 99.9%. >> reporter: would you be willing to have her take a polygraph test to aid in the investigation? >> i cannot force her to do it. >> reporter: would you like her to do it? >> if she wants to do it on her own, sure. >> reporter: this what tiffany hartley said at a news conference about suggestions people said she is not telling the truth.

>> i know what i know. i know what i saw. i can just tell you what i know. unfortunately, he's not here to -- david's not here to verify, yeah, we were chased and we were shot at, and, so, it is hard to be judged. >> reporter: what's the main reason you think that the story is 100% true? >> well, i look at it as what is there to indicate that it's not true. >> reporter: there's no jet ski. there's no body, but you are saying blood was found on the life preserver? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: what do you know about the blood. >> we're getting it analyzed. >> reporter: they want to believe tiffany hartley's story but there are people who don't want to go on camera who are doubting it. the state police department in mexico also publicly doubting it. it's a tragedy. >> we are living yards away from actual war in a country, foreign country.

>> reporter: it's your feeling that the mexican half of this lake is not under any authority. the cartels are controlling it? >> it's not just my feeling, sir. it's reality. >> reporter: the lake is huge, more than 80,000 acres, some of the best bass fishing in north america but on the other side of this border marker where mexico begins is now a no-man's-land. do people know this is the border marker? >> yes. >> reporter: do boaters know? >> yes. >> reporter: is there any chance shis woman didn't know she was in mexico? >> no. she said she knew. >> reporter: why would she do it? >> she said the threats were in april and may and she thought they were over with. >> reporter: the waters were barren when we were there. the threat is certainly not over with. gary tuchman, cnn, zapata, texas.

american politics. here we are, 25 days now until election day, one of the most important midterms in recent memory. some think our politicians are pushing the limits on nasty this campaign season, and a french writer and rock star philosopher, if you will, bernard henry levi calls it mork lovable than ever but a little

crazy. >> i heard you say this is a period of brainstorming which is a nicer way of describing current events. can you talk about that a little bit? what do you mean? >> i mean today nobody knows exactly what are the solutions. we are all first european, americans, right, left, in a sort of black hole, of course. all of the old ways of thinking are dead. all of the ideaologies, so we have to reshape and reinvent, but to reshape and reinvent does not mean to let a person speak and to say that we all know that 70% of the republican voters believe that obama is muslim. they do believe that he was born in kenya. he's more american, more american, than a lot of them. obama is more american than mrs.

palin. >> palin, do you like that? sarah palin. i watched him say that last night. that was parker spitzer, check them out, new primetime home for political talk 8:00 p.m. eastern week nights. each week we, calling on friends of cnn heroes to tell us more about our heroes. today, former nba star dikembe mutombo is bridging the gap. >> as 2007 cnn heroes blue ribbon committee member, i have recognized the extraordinary work of everyday people who are changing the world. as part of my foundation, we work to improve, the health, education and qualy of life in my homeland of the democratic republican of congo, i see how much the world needs heroes.

i'm thrilled to help cnn introduce one of the top ten honorees. >> what strikes me about this place is the beauty and the feeling of being insignificant. the bute also becomes dangerous because of these mountains when it rains. i've worked all over kenya. every community has the same story of people drowning. crocodiles and hippos and loved ones lost. look at this. the very first bridge i built, i saw how it could change lives and transform communities, so i carried on. and i love what i do. my name is harmon parker and i build bridges to transform peoples as lives. the community has to initiate the project. they have to participate and make some sort of financial contribution. it is hard and it takes a lot of determination. get it, get it!

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let's just go ahead and put the board up if we can. we have been flirting with this number for the past couple of days here. now we have hit it. i'm going to bring in carter evans at the new york stock exchange. i was asking you how the markets were reacting to the jobs market. not up a lot but over a significant milestone, the dow is. >> this is one of those psychological barrier, dow 11,000. we have been flirting with it all week long and just passed it a few minutes ago and today of all days, when we get this unemployment report that is kind of an ugh, i guess you can say. the public sector galost but th private sector gained. i think the private sector gains are encouraging. that shows that people are putting some faith in our

economy. that could be one thing that's affecting these numbers. another thing that is certainly affecting the number today is it a dow component alcoa. they reported earnings after the closing bell that were better than expected. that stock is up 6.25%. that is giving the dow a big boost, and another thing is that the value of the dollar is falling. that means that stocks are worth a little bit more. that's another factor in there for you. also, other big news just breaking now, on the foreclosure crisis that's ongoing that we've been talking about, bank of america, t.j., now halting foreclosures in all 50 states because of the potential paper work errors. >> why did they go ahead and decide to expand. bank of america and jp morgan had halted in several states up to 20-plus, but now bank of america is saying, they're

halting everything in the country. >> it's very interesting to see this, and i think the bank is being extra careful, wanting to cross every t and dot every i because it does appear that these foreclosures could face legal opposition. in those 23 states that you mentioned, those are the states that require a judge's signature to sign off on the foreclosures, and those were the first states where they were halted but bank of america today taking that extra step apparently looking at everything in every state and halting foreclosures in all 50 states. i believe that is the first bank in this country to do so. >> carter evans keeping an eye on things. a busy day. >> very. >> we appreciate you as always. you heard carter talking about the jobs number. the new report we got a couple of hours, 9.6% in unemployment but the economy lost jobs, more than many economists predicted, thought it would remain flat.

a lot of government jobs went away. we were expecting that, but still not the robust private sector growth. the president will be talking about that today. we are standing by to hear from him in the next seven minutes or so. you can see they have set up a podium for him in maryland, a suburb there not far outside of d.c. at this masonry block factory. he is making comments and taking a tour there. the president expected to speak in the next five minutes or so, going to be addressing the economic situation and the latest jobs report. it's going to be the last one we get before you walk into that voting booth 25 days from now. stay with us. now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast

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i want to take you right to the president of the united states standing by or making comments right now be a the new jobs number in maryland. >> they believe in investing in their workers. they care about the environment, so they collect and process using cooking oil from local restaurants to power some of their equipment. their community cares about them, so business is growing. brendan has hired folks this year, and with the smart investments he's made, he hopes to continue that growth. small businesses like this one are the bricks and blocks of our

entire economy, and over the past two careers, my administration has been doing everything we can to help encourage more success stories like this. because it is small businesses that will power our growth and put our people back to work. this morning, we learned that in the month of september our economy gained 64,000 jobs in the private sector. july and august, private sector job numbers were revised upwards. so we've now seen nine straight months of private sector job growth. in all more than 850 now, private sector jobs gained this year, which is in sharp contrast to the almost 800,000 jobs that we were losing when i first took office. but that news is tempered by a net job loss in september which was fueled in large measure by the end of temporary census jobs and by layoffs in state and local governments. i should point out that these

continuing layoffs by state and local governments, of teachers and police officers and firefighters and the like, would have been even worse without the federal help we provided the states over the last 20 months, help that the republicans in congress have consistently opposed. i think the republican position doesn't make much sense especially since the weakness in public sector employment is a drag on the private ekter as well. so we need to continue to explore ways to help states and local governments maintain workers who provide vital services. at the same time we have to do everything we can to accelerate this recovery. yes, the trend line in private sector job growth is moving in the right direction but i'm not interested in trends or figures as much as i'm interested in the people behind them, the millions of honest, hard-working americans, swept up in the most

devastating recession of our lifetimes. as i've said before, the only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work is, "you're hired," and everything we do is dedicated to making that happen. last week, for example, i signed into law the small business jobs act, a small business bill that does some big things, and i want to mention three of them today. first, within the 11 days since it took effect, more than 2,000 small business owners have already received more than $1 billion worth of new loans with more to come, and beginning today, the small business administration is offering larger loans for folks who need them. second, it expands the tax cut for all of the equipment investment small businesses make this year, something that brendan is planning to take advantage of here at mayor block, and we were just stalking about his belief that the more we can accelerate the depreciation, the more likely

we're going to see businesses like this make these investments. it's going to help small business owners upgrade her plants and equipment. it will encourage large corporations to get oust sidelines and start putting their profits back into the economy, and it will accelerate $55 billion in tax cuts for businesses that made job-creating investments over the neck year. third, it creates a new initiative to strengthen state programs that spur private sector lending to small businesses, a step that will support $15 billion in new small business loans across the country. maryland, for example, will be able to support $250 million in new lending for businesses that are expanding and creating jobs in communities like this one. thousands of small business owners across america have been waiting for months for this bill to pass for the loans and tax cuts they badly needed to grow their businesses and hire new employees.

unfortunately it was held up all summer by a partisan minority until a few courageous republicans put politics aside. just imagine the difference it could have made for small businesses in our economy had it happened months before. putting american people back to work, expanding opportunity, rebuilding the economic security of the middle class is the moral and national challenge of our time. it is too important to fall prey to pure partisanship or blind ideology. this bill's rapid results prove when we work together we get a lot done. that's what the great debate we're having today is all about. i believe instead of extending tax loopholes that encourage investments in overseas jobs, we should permanently extend the tax credit that goes to companies for all of the research and innovation they do right here in america. i believe instead of borrowing another $700 billion we don't

have to give to the wealthiest 2% of americans who don't need them, we should permanently extend the tax cuts for middle-class families. they're the folks that saw their wages and incomes platline over the past decade and they're the ones who deserve a break and i believe instead of sitting still we should invest in rebuilding america's roads and railways and runways. too many american workers have been out of wrk for months and even years, and that doesn't do anybody any good when there's so much of america to rebuild. our infrastructure is falling far behind what the refuse of the world is doing, and upgrading it is vital to our economy and future competitiveness. this is a project worth? of america's efforts. it's something that engineers, economists, governors and mayors of every political stripes support and many issued a sobering report about this challenge last week, and on monday i will be meeting with some of them at the white house

to discuss how we can put americans to work doing what they do best, building america. as i've said many times before, it took us a long time to get out of where we are right now, and the damage left by this recession is so deep that it's going to take a long time to get out. it will take determination, per sis tense, and, most importantly, the will to act. all elements that the american people have in abundance and if we summon that spirit now, if we keep moving forward, i'm absolutely convinced we will rebuild our economy. we will put our people back to work and we'll come through these tough days to brighter and better days ahead. i want to thank brendan not only for his hospitality here today but somebody who has got the courage and the foresight and the skills to create a terrific business that's supporting so many families. thank you very much.

>> thank you for being here. >> we have been listening to the president there in bladensburg, maryland, shaking the hands of workers at a masonry block company that's been around since 1926, family-owned business the. they'll take advantage of some of those tax cuts in the bill the president signed not too long ago to extend billions, making it easier for small businesses to get loans. he said that's already been in place the president, of course, talking about the numbers we saw today just a few hours ago, they numbers out that show theed unemployment rate stayed flat, but also showed we gained 64,000 private sector jobs. that's good. everyone wants to know that might have business is hiring. at the same time we still lost

159,000 jobs. we didn't have necessarily a net gain in this country, but the employment rate stayed at 9.6 report. today's jobs report is the last major report we will see before election day. so the numbers that people will go into the voting booth with are the numbers we got today. with 9.6 on their minds and another loss of jobs is not good for the president and his party. the president went after republicans for holding up the billions, the one that gave tax cuts to small businesses, also saying republicans painting them once gun as obstructionists to get the economy moving in the right direction. we'll of course keep an eye on politics here on cnn action and we're going to keep an eye on these numbers today. we'll get a bit of a response in response to the numbers today. we'll be checking in with john boehner, he of course is the minority leader right now in the house. he hopes to become the majority leader if republicans are able

to take back the house of representatives. he is going to be on the stump, if you will. he'll be out there on the campaign trail, he'll make a speech today, making it from his district, the 8th district in western pennsylvania -- excuse me, western ohio. forgive me, mr. boehner. when he makes that speech, you'll hear it live. stick around. cnn is your spot for politics. [ female announcer ] join yoplait in our commitment to fight breast cancer. for every pink lid you send in, yoplait will donate 10 cents to susan g. komen for the cure. with your help, we've donated $25 million over 12 years. so let's continue to make a difference one lid at a time. 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. i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus is spending too much money on printing. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. [ male announcer ] with xerox, host: coulswinto geico did the little piggy cry wre on wee all the wahome? piggy: weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeee weeeeeeee.

mom: pix. ...maxwell! mom: you're home. piy:h,ol, anks mrs. a. anncr: geico. minutes could save you 15% or more. just 25 days, that's it. that's all we've got to go until one of the most important midterm election in recent memory. we'll be hearing from john boehner, who of course hopes to become the majority leader. he'll be delivering a major campaign speech. that's expected about 50 minutes from now. we'll take you there live when it happens, happens in his home state, his home district of ohio. right now brianna keilar joins us now live from the cnn political desk with an update. brianna, good to see you as always. hello. >> good to see you.

trending on the ticker has to do with that peep that house minority leader john boehner, who presumably would be speaker of the house if republicans managed to take over the house of representatives, in short he'll be slamming democrats on their economic policies and promising that republicans are going to be more responsive to americans. then take a look at this election story that we're looking at. this has to do with governor rick perry of texas. it's interesting. he's managed to rise above the fray of the fervor. he's been a politician for 25 years, the governor since the end of the clinton years. yet here he is still, in a reelection bid against bill white, the former mayor of houston, but it's looking like maybe some of the anti-incumbent fervor may come to his aid. you can learn more about that at

cnnpolitics.com. here we've been profiling a race every day. cnn 100 we call it, taking a look at the different races that are really going to matter. today we're looking at south dakota. this is stephanie sandlin goods up against a state legislator christy gnome. even though she's bucked democratic leaders on some major issues, she's facing an uphill fight. >> and only 25 days to go, brianna keilar, we appreciate you as always. your next political update in about an hour. for the latest political news, you know the spot, cnnpolitics.com. overall the economy lost 95,000 jobs last month, but small business owners are

hiring. we'll take a look at who's adding jobs, who's applies for them. the maw by surprised at who's showing up with resume in hand. also, the picture that launched an internet manhunt. jeanne moos brings us the story behind a cigar guy and why he's what's hot on the internet. then why rely on healthcare coverage that's missing something, too? with medicare alone, your coverage could be incomplete. so call now to find out about another way to get medicare. aarp medicarecomplete from securehorizons. you may get your hospital, doctor visits, prescription drug coverage and other medical services in one complete package -- often for no more than what you currently pay for original medicare. no wonder it's called medicarecomplete. don't miss out. call securehorizons now to get more complete coverage without paying more. and without having to get a medicare supplement plan.

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and don't pay more. just get more. you don't have to be an aarp member to enroll. call securehorizons today. or visit getcomplete.com. ♪ hello, everybody. i'm t.j. holmes in for my good friend. here are some of the things we are keeping an eye on, some of the people behind those top stories. jobs in america is the number

one issue for voters. we are looking at who's hiring, who's looking for work, and how today's new jobless numbers affect who you vote for in just 25 days. also, trapped. a half mile underground, miners in chile could be reached by tomorrow. we are live from that mine where families wait and hope. let's get you started on this lead story. it's the issue number one. jobs, economy, number one issue for voters heading into the med term election. 15 millions americans out of work. just moments ago president obama tried to put a positive spin on the new unemployment report out just this morning. >> this morning we learned that in the month of september our economy gained 64,000 jobs in the private sector. july and august private sector job numbers were revised upwards. we have now seen nine straight months of private sector job growth, in all more than 850,000

private sector jobs gained this year, which is in sharp contrast to the almost 800,000 jobs that we were losing when i first took office. >> we are, of course, covering -- our christine romans is breaking down the unemployment numbers, also mark preston with the best political team on television talking about what this means for the election. mark, stand by for me. christine, 9.6%, the unemployment rate did not get any higher, but there's plenty in here to be disappointed about as well. too many people are out of work. 9.6% unemployment rate, we did lose overall. we lost jobs in the month of

september, but as the president pointed out, we gained 64,000 jobs in the private sector. will the private sector start creating some jobs? and for nine months in a row it has. there's a number i've been zeroing in on. 15 million out of work, there's 9.5 million who are working part time but want to be working full time. so 15 million out of work. another 9.5 million are underemployed, not working up to their potential. that means they're having trouble paying their bills, treading water trying to get a better footing so that they can try to grow in this economy. that's a number thajz an all-time high. that's something that politically is an interesting group to watch, this underemployed. that's something that means that

people are very uneasy about the economy. >> unemployed, underemployed, plenty of people out there who want to work, they're just not being counted, because they're so disheartened about the situation they're not even looking for work. but remind us, what can expert and economists expecting in the private sector arena? >> they were looking for a little more than this, actually. they were looking for 75,000 private sector jobs. so it's in the ballpark of what they had been expecting. another area where you're seeing some consistent jobs growth, that is in health care. you have seen this for more than a year now, you have seen health care continues to grow jobs. how do we take this big report and boil it down? if you're looking for a job right now, you can try to figure out what this means? what it means, what many career experts tell me is you have to take the skills right now and figure out if there's a way to apply those skills to health care.

what are your skills are for the health care in the neighborhood where you live, because this is somewhere where we're consistently adding jobs. >> i want to turn to mark preston standing by. i've been saying all morning, this is the last big report. these are the numbers people will walk into the voting booth with on their minds. that ain't good. >> exactly. what i'll say is too many voters are out of work and too many people know people who are out of work we're talking about a national average at 9.6%, but some states well over 10%, so candidates such as harry reid has to really pay the price on that, or at least republicans hope he pays the price on that. in the last 24 hours, two senate candidates have actually run ads just on jobs in the stimulus.

we've seen ads run so far, just in the last 24 hours, roy blunt has an ad up, and in ohio rob portman has an ad up. the republicans tell me expect to see more commercials. what should we expect to hear from democrats? we expect to hear from democrats that look -- they're going to go up and talk to these voters and say are we happy? no. is it fast enough? no, but it's republicans that put us in this position. t.j.? >> we'll see if that works, mark preston. we appreciate you. speaking of the republican message as well, we heard from the president just a moment ago on jobs. this hour we'll be hearing from the top republican, the hour minority leader who hopes to be the house majority leader after the election day. he'll be talking about jobs. that's set for 12:40 eastern time, about 35 minutes from now, we'll take you to live to his home district in western ohio when that happens. we have so many americans out of work, it feels like

nobody is hiring, but that's not necessarily the case, as cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow found out firsthand. >> reporter: we know this economy is still reeling from job losses, but here in new york city and in small towns across the country, there are small businesses actually hiring. we're starting to see more "help wanted" signs outside businesses. we went in to see what they're looking for, who they're hiring and what else they're dealing with right now. when did you post that hiring sign outside? >> we've had it up and down for a couple months. we are taking our time hiring people, because we can. we have a huge stack of resume that is we didn't have four months ago. number two, the type of person coming in are more full-time professions like a realtor, because that market has fallen off, bankers that were laid off. >> reporter: what do you think small businesses need right now?

>> financial support. we can't depend on the government to fix all of our problems. >> reporter: from your perspective as a small business owner, is the economy better than a year ago? >> i can't say to be honest with you. i don't feel that. i know there are some numbers, but we don't see it. >> reporter: why are you hiring? >> we don't have enough. >> reporter: what would you tell the administration? i need helps through banks. i don't need the money from the government, but i need a way to get loans. >> reporter: so you're actually hiring right now, even given the state of the economy. >> yes, we are. we are always looking for someone with good customer service skills. >> as the economy turned the corner that it makes you more comfortable to hire as a small business? >> i think so, yes. it seems like business has picked up. it has picked up in the past year. we're having a good year. >> reporter: what kind of people are applying for jobs here, ross

lynn? >> very, very sophisticated people. a lot of people like doctors, teachers? >> reporter: doctors? >> premed, they just left school. they want to work for a year or two and then go back to school. >> reporter: why are you hiring? are you confident that things are getting better? >> things are getting better, and you have to make them better. be in the moment, be in today, and be hopeful for tomorrow. poppy, hello, we see they help wanted signs, but nationwide just how many jobs openings are we talking about? >> it certainly doesn't feel like it, but the labor department says, look, there's 3.2 million officially open jobs out there. if you're looking for one, no doubt it's hard. that's because the competition is incredibly steep. the latest numbers showed up 4.6 applications go to every single

open position in this country. for jobs that people want even more, the competition is much steeper. there are millions out there, but again americans still suffering, 95,000 job losses last month alone, 83,000 of those from government, state and local jobs as well, which is a record high for that reading, t.j.? >> poppy, is there anything to this train of thought some might have that with the unemployment benefits being extended that sometimes people can depend on those and maybe they aren't as mott vited as they should be to get out and get jobs? any credibility to that train of thought? >> reporter: i won't be popular at all for saying yes, but that's exactly right. i was out at a manufacturing company in new jersey a few weeks ago, a guy said i've been trying to hire, i can't get anybody come on board, they have my sign my unemployment paper, and he calls for a second

reading, and they say they're going to wait. that's happening. i wouldn't say it is the trend, but it's happening, something that plays into that whole political debate of do you extend these benefits once again, t.j.? >> poppy harlow, we appreciate you as always. thanks so much. info we were just getting in a short time ago. bank of america halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states. the bank is widening its investigation. lenders are intense scrutinies after claims surfaced they approve foreclosures without properly reviewing loan documents. coming up, she told us she was done with the national media, but christine o'donnell, she has a change of heart, and talks to cnn. but first our random moment. that's coming your way in 90

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♪ i'm in love with my favorite ♪ my favorite ♪ you know i lock yesterday to get that into the show today. your random moment. we are talking about justin bieber today. we're not actually talking about

that justin bieber. we're talking about the grownup justin bieber with bills and problems and one that needs to shave. this justin bieber i'm talking about, lives in jacksonville, florida. he doesn't look like a teen idol, does he? he gets a lot of fan mail, of course, because of the name. he says his phone never stops ringing. look at that. sometimes he gets up to 50 messages an hour. >> it's just a little hard to sleep at night when the phones ring constantly the it's from "i love you" to "you're the worst singer ever." now everybody can actually saying my name. before everyone said justin buy-ber. the elder admits he gets a lot of giggles when he has to show

his i.d. that's rur random moment for this friday. voters, you're going to decide who will control congress

in 25 days. republicans hope to swipe a delaware senate seat from democrats. christine o'donnell, you've been hearing a lot about her. she had pledged no more interviews with the national media, but nobody can resist cnn's jim acosta. >> reporter: is sarah palin qualified to be president? >> is she running for president? >> reporter: i don't know, you tell me. >> well, again hypotheticals. >> reporter: does she advise your campaign? >> she does not. >> reporter: does she give you advice? >> she gives me "you go, girl" advice. >> reporter: does she try to speak through fox news? >> she didn't tell me personally, but i heard her say something like that on o'reilly. if anyone knows about the politics of personal destruction, it's women candidates like sarah palin. >> reporter: yeah, he had quite an extensive interview with the

candidate and her candidacy was part of the program on "parker spitzer" last night. >> why are we so interested shall she beat michael cassle. the entire republican professional party was banking on this guy as this is how we'll get to a majority republican senate. nobody thought this was going to happen. she became a poster child, and i think rightly so, whether you like her or not, for the immense transformation inside the republican party. >> i think the left and the media are making a huge mistake strategically, and i think christine o'donnell is the greatest decoy in politics. sharron angle is now beating harry reid in two polls. nikki haley will be the governor of south carolina. susanna martinez is up in new mexico by eight. these mama grizzlies, these women candidates who are attractive, tough and smart and

able, are going to win from coast to coast, and christine o'donnell may surprise some people and win, too. >> i don't deny that. that may be so. >> there's no question, though, that when people gang up on an individual like christine o'donnell it has the opposite effect. >> but it hasn't so far. she may be a casualty, but i think ralph may be right about the trend, that she is a representative of. that's parker spitzer. check them out at their new slot, our new primetime show for political talk. we're going to turn to the tragedy in hungry. six people confirmed dead after toxic sludge burst out of a dam. emergency crews are doing all they can to keep it from turning the danube river into a disaster zone. [ commentator ] lindsey vonn! she stays tough!

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genius. priority mail flat rate envelopes. just $4.90. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. toxic sludge is leaking, and it's made it to the danube river. authorities now say tests show the waterway is still safe. danube's europe's second biggest river. chad myers is going to talk about it, but what is sludge? >> most of it is iron oxide.

the problem is, yes, this is going to get into the food chain. the problem is that there's other things in this other than the red stuff. the red makes about 40% to 45% of what you see there. there are other things, including aluminum oxide, silicon oxide. that eventually turns into silica. being the homeowner that i am and the do it yourself guy, silica is something you would get in the mix that you would make thin-set and grout in your home. if you inhale silica, you will get silicosis, it will get into your lungs and cause cancer. when you're mixing your thin-set and grout, and you see this cloud of dust, you do not want to breathe that stuff. that silica will get into your lungs and will not come out.

>> and that's the in the sludge in and out. >> when it's bet, it's oak, but it's not going to be wet forever. it will get on the roadways, dry out, people will drive over it, and this is going to be a cloud all over the place. >> it doesn't sound like in the stuff i've been reading at least, that doesn't seem like the biggest concern right now. >> because cancer takes teem. we're not immediately worried about cancer yet, but it's going to happen somewhere. i'm not saying everybody, but you get that idea. people will be exposed to this as people were exposed to the dust from the 9/11 tragedy. the river is full of this heavy metal stuff killing the fish. most of the rivers are being used for irrigation. can't do that. for drinking water, can't do that. even the wells are going to get this in it and you're not -- as this gets down into the groundwater, and the fish are swimming in it. the animals are drinking it, and it will be toxic all the way

down until the rain gets enough to thin it out it's also alkaline, the opposite of acidic. this will also peel your skin. if you ingest it, it will kill you. it will also get in your lungs and kill you. though this was a 64-acre site, a tenth of a square mile, there was so much sludge that came out, it's still getting right down into the river, and they have a mess. >> we appreciate that breakdown. it goes well beyond say there's sludge. chad, we appreciate it. >> if that stuff stayed in the pond, there was no threat, but now it's out of pond. thank you so much. we're going to take a look at some of the other stories that are making headlines. u.s. economy lost 95,000 jobs last month. private sector added 64,000

jobs. the unemployment rate held at 9.6%. coming up this hour, we're going to be hearing what the house minority leader john boehner has to say about the job situation, and how democrats are handling it. he's expected to make remarks in the next 20 minutes or so. the wife of an american man missing since a reported pirate attack on a lake that straddles the u.s./mexico border. she says people are still doubting her account of what happened there. she talked to our anderson cooper about it. >> we heard a sheriff say if you wanted to take a polygraph he would support that. is that something you would want to do? >> possibly, but i don't really think i need to. i know my story, and i know what i -- what the story is, but if that's what the authorities think i need to do, then that might be an option. a chinese dissident is the winner of this year's nobel

peace prize. liu xiaobo is serving a prison sentence, and we'll have more of the stories making headlines in about 20 minutes. a man goes to jail. his crime? silence. he refused to say the pledge of allegiance. our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin, well, hard to keep him quiet.

well, a judge in tupelo, mississippi, send a lawyer to jail for severity hours on wednesday. why? the lawyer refused to recite the pledge of allegiance. judge talmadge littlejohn said the criminal contempt charges could be charged if he returned to court. lamply was eventually released to represent another client. the lawyer has been involved in our free speech cases in the past, including suing a school district to stop kids from praying, also a indication where he represented a ku klux klan leader who was prevented from holding a rally. let me bring in our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin on the line now. can a judge make someone recite the pledge of allegiance in his courtroom? >> i sometimes worry when i answer question i'm like on the one hand, on the other hand. this is one where there's a clear answer. what the judge did here was

outrageous. it was wrong, it was unconstitutional and a disgrace to the bench. >> how is the judge able to get away with this? apparently he does this every day in his courtroom. >> well, he requires the pledge of allegiance in his courtroom. i don't think he sends people to prison every day, fortunately. one of the ironies of this situation is one of the most famous supreme court cases in history, from 1943 involves almost this exact circumstance, except it was a school where jehovah's witness's kids refused to say the pledge of allegiance. they were expelled from school, an the supreme court said this is the very definition of what we protect in the first amendment. you are never required by the

united states government to express a view that you don't hold. that applies to school children in a classroom, and it certain applies to a lawyer in a courtroom who is simply trying to do his job for his clients. and he wasn't being disruptive. he wasn't interfering with the proceedings. he was simply refusing to state the pledge of allegiance, which he was entirely entitled to do. is the judge in violation of any law by requires it? or is the violation for punishing someone who wouldn't go away with it? >> that's a good question, t.j. i think certainly he is outside of his authority in putting someone in prison. i think that's the easy question. i think he's also wrong in attempting this procedure. i've been in courtrooms my whole professional life. i've never heard a judge asking for people to say the pledge of

allegiance. it's a very bizarre and unusual practice. but i think if it were a voluntary practice, that would probably be permissible, but the fact that it was compulsory and the fact he imposed this really extreme sanction, that is completely outrageous and unlawful. >> all right. jeffrey, we appreciate you. like you say, sometimes you say on this hand/on that hand. you were very clear on this one. >> not today. >> appreciate you hops on the phone for us today. well, 64 days trapped almost a half mile underground. a breakthrough seems imminent for the miners. we have a live update. don't go anywhere.

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call now and get the complete package with aarp medicarecomplete from securehorizons. and don't pay more. just get more. annual enrollment starts november 15 and ends december 31. so call securehorizons now. we are watching developments, as they development minute by minute in chile. a drill could break through to the 33 trapped miners just at any moment at this point now. the men have been stranded for some 64 days. our karl penhaul is following the developments. i understand there's a press conference. you're here with us, so just give us the latest about how close they are to breaking through. >> reporter: yeah, you're right, t.j., the press conference is going on over there about 50

yards from where we are. one of the colleagues has run through with the latest information. that's the plan b is now just 150 feet away. what the mine's minister has told us is that means breakthrough into the tunnel where these 33 miners have been trapped could come later today or tomorrow. but of course that's only the beginning of the end. that's where the final countdown begins. 24 hours after breakthrough, the engineers will decide whether they need to encase the whole tubing, or whether they can go in to encase the neu 100 yards. if they go with encasing 100 yards, that means the miners could come out in the following two to three days. if they have to encase the whole

lot, that could mean a whole week, but the technicalities are ironed out, really the anxiety for family members is increasing. i want you to listen to a couple comments, one from lylea ramirez, the wife of the oldest miner down there. and then jessica yanez, whose partner has proposed marriage to her. this is what they have to say about the waiting game. >> translator: waiting is like a bad itch that bothers you every minute of every day. you get a knot in your stomach thinking this is the final phase. the only thing i want to do is take my husband home and forget this ever happened. >> translator: the first thin i will tell esteban is that i love him and he must never go back down into the mine, she says. there are many ways to earn a living without killing yourself.

>> reporter: now, of course on the surface you hear from the family members, it's been a living nightmare for them, but make no doubt about it, for the 33 miners half a mile under ground, every day and every minute has literally been a life-and-death struggle, t.j. >> karl, we appreciate you. if you can quickly, when they break through, just a reminder to the viewers, just because they break through doesn't mean they'll be walking out our climb. it will take some time. how long of a journey do they have? >> reporter: breakthrough signifies the final countdown. the work encasing the rescue shaft, once that's in places, then the rescue capsule, a phoenix capsule will be put down half a mile under ground. once it's under ground and the miner is on board, that journey up to the surface is expected to

take 15 minutes. i'll bet that will be the ride of their lives. >> that's certainly one way to put it. we'll continue to check in throughout the day and weekend. thank you so much, karl. a man wants african-american toss clean up their language. >> after what i seen and looked at it, it's not a good thing. >> people talked about it and i learned about it, but i never thought about t he made me think about it. >> talk about it, think about it, what is it? it is the "n" word. one man says it's a word of weakness.

and as promised, we want to taking to john boehner making a campaign speech in his home district in ohio. >> i'm a small businessman at heart, and always will be, running a small business here in westchester was one of the proudest times in my life. it gave me a perspective on our country that i have carried with me. a family owned operations like my dad's bar, like the business i ran, or here with mark's business. that's what powers the american economy. they employ a quarter of of the workers in our country and created the majority of new jobs over the last decade. small bigging like these are essential to the american dream. right now that siege is under siege.

i ran for congress because of what i saw happening to small businesses in america. i got tired of watching washington choke the goose that have laying the golden egg. the federal government was getting too big, too intrusive and too expensive, and politicians who had no understanding of the private sector talked about the importance of creating jobs, and then forced policies on american small businesses that made their job of creating jobs even harder. elected officials with no understanding of how our economy works, spent money with reckless abandon, running up the deficit, and telling us we could pay for it all by raising your taxes. it was clear they believed the engine of prosperity in america was government itself. the thinking went like this -- if you want more jobs, then spend more money, collect more taxes, redistribute those taxes from the federal level and make government bigger.

if you've been paying any attention at all to the obama administration, it's thinking like this that may sound familiar, because it certainly isn't new. in fact there's nothing new about it. anyone who's ever created a private sector job in america can tell you it's just dead wrong. the truth of the matter is this. our economy is built on freedom. you don't get to prosperity by taking freedom away from the people who create jobs. you achieve prosperity by getting government out of their way. the greatest threat to job crazy is the flawed idea that we can tax, spend and borrow our way to prosperity. the has every power in government right now are filled with people stubbornly devoted

to the tired old idea that the government can create prosperity by spending and borrowing. for the past four years, they've been running congress for the past 20 months they have controlled our entire government. 500 miles away from here the spending binge is going on, and small businesses, the engine of job creation in america are gripped by uncertainly. unpresident obama and speaker pelosi, washington has been throwing everything at them but the kitchen sink. first it was stimulus that shipped jobs overseas to china. a few months later, the threat of a new national energy tax they called cap and trade. then obama-care with the unconstitutional mandates, job-killing tax hikes and paperwork requirements. now president obama and his team

are supporting a tax hike with the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation says will raise taxes on 50% of all small business income. that means hundreds of thousands of private sector companies face the prospect of a job-killing tax high on january 1st. this company right here could be one of them. ladies and gentlemen, this is not what americans asked for when they send then senator obama to be or president in the oval office. the pink slips shouldn't be going to workers here in ohio. they should be going to the members of president obama's economic team. >> an interesting juxtaposition to hear john boehner speak now versus hearing the president of the united states speak just a short time ago. both men at small businesses, and the places they were, the president in maryland, the

minority leader in ohio. the president saying he was at a business that of helped by his policies. boehner says he's standing at a business that could be hurt without action by congress. we'll continue to monitor the remarks. he looks a little under the weather in the voice and wiping his nose there, but we're continuing to monitor what's happening there. a quick break on cnn, always your place for politics. we have to shop all day, right, honey? yep, all day. good thing you're starting here. we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies', so you can save money! look! we saved a lot! and quick, too. and no more holding her purse! it's a european shoulder bag. it was a gift. mm-hmm. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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just 25 days to go until the midterm elections. latest poll suggests republicans might have a slight edge over democrats. john king from the best political team on television joins us from the cnn political desk. what are you going to do in 27 days? you're going to be boared. >> then we'll have to focus on the government. for you, t.j., and just for you, a few items that will be on the ticker in a few moments. just before the break, john boehner hopes to be the next speaker of the house. they hope to take the gavel away from nancy pelosi. here are new poll numbers that suggests if the election were held today, he might likely get that gavel.

that is one snapshot of what is a pro-republican move in the electorate. we also asked in this poll who's the better president, george w. bush or barack obama? right now the american people are essentially split. we asked that same question a year ago, and it was overwhelmingly in obama's favor, so that gives you a good snapshot of the sentiment in the country. it's not all bad news for the democrats today. the republican national committee fell short of the democrats this past month in the fund-raising battle. so the democrats getting a lot of money into the national committee. they're being aggressive and the president is helping, but a lot

of it republican money going to all these third-party groups. you've seen the big controversy about all that spending late in the campaign, just three weeks plus a few days to go. read the ticker if you want to know more. >> interesting poll there. we appreciate you bringing it to us. john, appreciate you, as always. see you tonight at 7:00. right? >> i'll be there at 7:00 tonight. a lot to cover. >> thank you, buddy. . the just cnn political update in an hour. cnnpolitics.com, you know. spot. ♪ [ engine revs, tires screeching ] we give to you the all-new volkswagen jetta. we have one more surprise for you. fifteen-thousand nine-hundred neunzig dollar? [ sobbing ] [ camera shutters clicking ] ♪ whoo-hoo, yeah ♪ whoo-hoo, yeah

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personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. a picture that was snapped some six days ago at the ryder cup has sparked a manhunt in cyberspace for a cigar-smo smoking internet star. jeanne moos bricks us what's

hot. >> reporter: all you wanted was to watch golf, but now he's a wanted man. >> quite simply cigar guy. >> who is cigar guy? >> answer that, and win 1,000. the saga started with this amazing golf photo. tyker wides flubbed a swing, an the ball was captured midair headed strayed for a photographer's camera. >> taking a bit of a knock here, but it's absolutely perfect. >> reporter: for a brief moment the shock was the story. >> but almost immediately they noticed cigar guy over on the side, his eyes all buggy. >> in the blink of an eye it was being photoshopped into countless other pictures. to the cast of "mad men" the prevailing theory is that cigar guy was dressed up to look like a famous cigar-smoking spanish

golfer, miguel jimenez is known for chomping on a cigar even as he plays. even though it may look like he's wearing a turbine, this is actually a wig, and now there's a $1,000 reward is going offered by befrugalblog for information about his identity. they said him as their spokesman. >> he is the cheapest man on the planet. those are mighty cheap pants. >> cigar man has even landed on the moon in the famous golf ball shot, he's been photoshopped onto everybody's head. the web side deadspin got a lot of photographs from a high school teacher who made it an assignment. >> they spent their entire class, the kids creating photoshops. >> reporter: they dropped him into photos arranging from hitler to a streaker. since a garr -- who is cigar

guy? the most common guess is it's borat. it's chief from chief & chong. no, it's a cigar. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. we're expecting to hear the president announce that general james jones will be stepping down. senior officials are telling our ed henry that at the white house. we also expect to hear who that replacement is going to be. we're told tom done lynn, that's what we're told. we're told at the top of the hour. we'll take a quick break, but certainly bring you back if that happens live. y features "than you. "10 airbags... daytime running lamps... "onstar automatic crash response. "in case ya didn't see it, that's probably why "msn autos called the cruze

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i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. well, the cnn newsroom continues with ali -- scratch that. don lemon. ali deserved it, man. >> thank you, man. of course we start with breaking news. we're watching the white house right now, where at any machine president obama is expected to announce another exit from his inner circle. this time it's supposed to be the national security adviser, general james jones. this is an unexpected historically or otherwise. presidential aides