[ applause ] >> larry: what a night. good morning. they have been trapped 2,300 feet under ground for two months now. at any moment, rescuers could reach the men trapped in the mine in chile. but, we'll explain why it could be days before the miners get out. also, 24 days left until the most critical election days. but, will it go down as one of

the nastiest campaign seasons as well? hello there everybody from the cnn center. this is cnn saturday morning at 5:00 a.m. in fayette vil, arkansas. i'm t.j. holmes. he won the noble peace prize, but he may not know it, yet. this year's winner remains behind bars. his wife is scheduled to see him today and deliver the news about the prize. also, a woman might not be so comfortable admitting how many sexual partners she's had. a lot of women are holding that back from their obgyn's. seven people have died after a toxic sludge spill.

they are evacuating because of the threat of a second wave of floods. let's get back to the story of the miners who have been trapped two months now. they have been trapped two months half a mile under ground. it's about two empire state buildings. it's how deep below ground they have been. the rescuers are expected to get to them today. we are talking about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. a tunnel is being drilled as we speak and is expected to breakthrough at any moment. they are doing all they can to make sure they are safe while they are pulled out. the hole is 21 inches wide. it's barely enough to get their bodies out. they are looking at the possibility of reenforcing the tunnel that's being dug. if they have to reenforce the

tunnel, it could add to the time. they have to come up one at a time. before anyone is brought up, a doctor is going to have to be sent down and one rescuer to tend to the men, check them out, make sure they can take the trip up. once they start bringing them up, it's supposed to be a 15-minute ride up to the surface, we are told. still, the whole process could take 24 to 36 hours. even though they might get through the tunnel and breakthrough today, they will not start pulling them out until the earliest we are told, sometime on tuesday. cnn spoke with a man working on drilling the hole. >> do you think you guys would be the ones to pull this off? >> i've felt since we have been here, we have a good chance of it. you can't predict the down times, the breakages, the form

issues. i felt as long as we had luck on our side, we would have a good chance. >> have you thought about the moment when you breakthrough? >> yeah, i have thought about that moment quite often. i think it's going to be an absolute overwhelming sensation. at the same time, i think it's going to be a tremendous release of stress and everything that we have been going through here. i think it's going to be a huge sigh of relief for everyone here to know we have finally made it through. >> again, americans have been playing a role in that rescue, helping and advising. nasa played a role as well. this is a case study. it's writing the book on these type of rescues and could be used in rescues all over the world now. a lot of information is being taken away. we'll monitor the situation in chile all morning expecting them

to breakthrough where the men are. we'll give you updates and be live there. cnn is on the scene. camp hope is what they are calling it. we will be live there throughout the morning starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern hour. let's turn to politics now. it's turning out to be one of the most watched elections in decades. the deputy political director says the president is going to use the remaining days -- of course he's trying to get democrats electioned but he's going to try to repair his own poll numbers. >> good morning, t.j. we have new numbers. i want to break this down for you. it's fascinating stuff about barack obama and the battle for congress. we'll start with the first number. we asked americans who do you think has been a better

president, barack obama or george w. bush. 47% barack obama and 45% bush. it's basically split. on the right, a year ago, barack obama had a 23 point advantage. a big change of opinion the poll indicates. how do americans think the president is doing now? 45% approve. 52% giving a thumbs down. they disapprove of the job barack obama is doing. why is it important? republicans are trying to make a referendum on barack obama and trying to tie congressional democrats to him. those numbers, keep on eye on those numbers. check this out as well. enthusiasm, which side is more enthusiastic. who is more enthusiastic about going to the polls and voting. 54% of republicans say they are more enthusiastic about voting

and 34% of democrats. that is important. t.j., put all the numbers together and this is what we get. we call it the generic ballot. if you had a choice between a republican or democrat in your district, who are you more likely to vote for? 52% for the republican, 45% for the democrat. that's what it comes down to in the midterm. that's what i have for now, back to you. >> thanks, paul. keeping an eye on the races around the country t. senate race, the three-way senate race in florida. could that race be down to two? an article in the wall street journal says kendrick meep will drop out and support the independent charlie crist. trailing him in all the polls.

mr. meek, you dropping out? >> sounds like you want to go full throttle ahead. they say you are going to drop out of the race. >> the wall street journal wasn't necessarily a publication on the side of democrats or independents or that identify with florida. i don't know who they think i am. they probably think i'm charlie crist. >> you are not backing out and backing crist? >> no. why would i do that? being validated in a democratic primary against a billionaire and we won overwhelmingly, there are people that are very excited about my candidacy. why would i do it? >> you heard him there. absolutely not. he's got the hispanic vote. he told a group last night, i'm with you. for now, he's not going anywhere. coming up, soledad o'brien

looking at a new trend in politics. the surprising number of african-american candidates running as republicans. also, you know the place to go. you need political news out there. our website for politics. cnnpolitics.com. he was 14 years old when he shot his mother, father and sister. today, he's going to walk out of prison a free man. that story is coming up. it's nine past the hour. it's time to check in with reynolds wolf. >> we have a lot of weather. tropics are active. your college football weekend forecast. all kinds of stuff coming straight ahead. t.j., back to you. >> i have an easy question for you, easy. the griz the fortune 500 list. who is number one?

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♪ i want to be on the cover of forbes magazine ♪ >> i hope this is the clean version of this song. who is on the list of 50 most powerful women. the options were oprah winfrey, indra nooyi, irene rosenfeld. this is an easy one, right? >> i think it's a trick question. i was going to go with oprah. i'm going with b.

>> give reynolds credit here. it is not oprah winfrey. it's this woman, indra nooyi. she's at the top of the list and has been for the fifth year now. she completed a merger that brings revenues of $60 billion. stock is up 12% from a year ago. oprah is actually fifth or sixth on this list. >> i'll be darned. >> you know it's an impressive list if she is lower. >> wouldn't you expect the opposite, though? she should be above the radar, to be more visible. >> any list. there's powerful women, oprah is the first thing out of my mouth. >> absolutely. >> reynolds how you doing bud? >> pretty good. last weekend we had a cooldown. this weekend a warm up.

humidity is up. the tropics are active. we have great fall colors for you. >> don't you have a hurricane? >> we have a hurricane. this is one of our favorite times for a hurricane. it poses no threat to land. let's look at this storm. this is a big hurricane. when i say big, it's large in scope in terms of power. category one with winds of 85 miles per hour. it's gusting 105. moving to the northeast at 24 miles per hour. it's expected to move into cooler water. by the end of the weekend, sunday then monday. this should become a tropical storm and fizzle out. that's certainly the best type of storm away from the mainland. it's the best news of all. we are watching, things very different to the west coast to the pacific northwest to be more

specific. we have a storm system rolling in off the gulf of alaska. this is going to be a two-step process. this is going to come through, another follows right after. we bring heavy rain to parts of the cascades. there's the potential that some places in washington state and oregon could deal with eight to ten inches of rainfall. flooding is a possibility. large waves battering the coastline. we are going to see snowfall in the central rockies. when i say snow, 10,000 feet and up. some of it is three to five inches. not heavy, but interesting to see this early in the season. parts of the southeast, it's all going to be sinking air, high pressure building in, very warm in many spots. atlanta getting up to 85 degrees. the fall foliage forecast for the central appalachian the

colors are peak to near peak. the aspen trees in the rockies are amazing. that's the latest. back to you. >> you sound really into the trees. >> love this, especially this time of year. >> we'll talk to reynolds plenty throughout the morning. >> we have economic news. some of it good, other not so good. look at those folks. the milestone for the stock market, yesterday. also i have to bring you the bad news. stay with us on cnn saturday morning. for such heavy measures with olay. new regenerist micro-sculpting serum for firmer skin in 5 days. pretty heavy lifting for such a lightweight. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist.

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20 minutes past the hour. let me give you a look at the stories making headlines n. hung gri, the toxic sludge claimed lives. another village had to be evacuated because of a possible second wave of the stuff. a breach of the reservoir broke that was holding this sludge at

an aluminum plant. possibly more red sludge could be on the way. the prime minister says yes, more lives could be in danger. another story, cody posey going free today. you might remember the name. you will certainly remember the name. he killed his mother, stepfather and stepsister. he was 14 years old. it happened on a new mexico ranch. he claimed years of physical and psychological abuse. also, a milestone and a psychological threshold we passed yesterday with the dow topping 11,000 to end the week. this is the first time we topped 11,000 since may. we finally closed above 11,000. the market went up despite the jobs report we got yesterday, which didn't give us good news about the economy. the economy lost 90,000 jobs in

september. gained 54,000 in the private sector. we have had private sector job growth, but not robust enough to offset the 9.6%. also, this week, we have seen -- really, the past several months or year or so several stories that ended in tragedy from bullying. i i-reporters share their story. take a listen. >> throwing stuff in the back of the bus and they hit me in the head with a glass bottle and i got minor head trauma. >> we are going to share with you what some of our i reporters shared with us. coming up, it's 22 minutes past the hour.

24 minutes past the hour now. cnn has been looking at the impact of bullying in our schools. we have been looking at this all week. for some, the torment begins as early as kindergarten. some contemplated suicide. others have thought about it. victims and bullies themselves sharing their stories. >> i'm going start with an

interesting one. he says, as a father, he is learning this starts as early as kindergarten. his daughter is coming home with what's happening to her classmates. >> one had their pants pulled down by another student. another one pushed down the slide and laughed at while he was on the ground crying. it shocked me when i was told these things happened already at age 5. >> age 5. well, here is someone else. west palm beach florida. >> in elementary school, they would call me chinese boy and for some reason in middle school, they called me a terrorist. >> how are you bullied physically? >> when i was sitting on my bus in middle school and they punched me in my private area

and they were throwing stuff in the back of the bus and they hit me in the head with a glass bottle and i got minor head trauma. >> he says he was confused. he didn't even know who the kids were that were bullying him. kids in bryan, ohio talk about how they bully other kids. >> everybody bullies someone at some time whether it's shoving someone in the locker or calling a name. yes, i have. >> i step on people's heels. i have seen kids drop people's books down. >> we have time for one more. jason, one of our frequent i reporters points to the recent suicides of gay students. he says he once considered suicide and he has a message for others. >> something went off in my head and said the pain of me

committing suicide would be so much worse than what i thought the pain of me being gay would be. i just want to share that message that in my experience my family was extremely accepting. >> we encourage you to share your thoughts, stories, videos, photos, whatever you have. we have links at my facebook page and twitter page. i have provided a list of websites that are there as resources for kids, teens and parents. we teach you to look out for warning signs that your kid might be bullied or your kid is a bully. they are conversation pages. you are weighing in, which sites work out well for you. coming up tonight, a special town hall featuring conversation about what needs to be done to stop bullying and protect

children, an "ac 360" report. now, one of the stories we are keeping close eye on today, we told you there would be developments on this. the trapped chile yan miners. the hole that's being drilled, that's going to bring them up, they are about 20 feet from drilling through to the area where the miners are. 33 of them. now, this is a long tunnel, folks. we are talking about a tunnel that is as long as a couple empire state buildings stacked on each other. they have 2,300 feet below ground. they are about 20 feet away from drilling the hole completely and breaking to where the 33 miners are. we have live updates from the scene coming up as well. we are coming up on the bottom of the hour. if you've got pain?

you need the patch. (announcer) icy hot patches. targeted no-mess relief. icy to dull pain. hot to relax it away. pain's no match for the icy hot patch. the bottom of the hour here on cnn saturday morning. i'm t.j. holmes, glad you can be here with us. we have 24 days away from the midterm elections. president obama is not on the ballot, of course. but, it might be a good thing

he's not. check out the latest poll asking americans who was the better president, barack obama or george w. bush. 47% said obama. 45% said president bush was the better president. look at the poll when we did this last year, october '09 it was 57% obama and 34% president bush. things are changing. poll numbers suggesting republicans have a slight edge going into midterm elections. they could take back control of the house. it's a possibility. the senate is going to be up for grabs as well. there's a trend within the trend as soledad o'brien finds outs. >> pleasure. >> reporter: retired lieutenant allen west is the face of a new republican party. >> this election cycle, he got 42 black americans running on a

black ticket. >> it's an unprecedented number. >> it is. >> reporter: a victory would make west just the fifth black republican elected to congress in the past 100 years. this iraq vet caught fire with a youtube call to arms ironically against the first black president. >> the constitution says promote the general welfare, not provide welfare. it's about setting conditions. >> reporter: what happened after that speech? >> it went viral. people started paying attention and going to the website. fund raising picked up. >> reporter: in his bid for palm beach, florida, he raised more money than any congressional challenger. >> america needs a new way forward. >> along with frazier in colorado and scott running strong in south carolina. the three are the black republican congressional candidates given the best chance

in recent polls of winning. they have a black chairman of the party. >> yep. >> reporter: candidates who are viable. >> i think it's great. at the end of the day, the face is less important than the policies. >> reporter: the policies may not win over black voters who traditionally go for democrats. >> it's not a very smart strategy. >> reporter: isn't that what the new face of the party is about? >> i think it's insulting to think it is. >> reporter: it could change politics. >> if you got a fifth or a quarter of the black folk, the republicans would almost never lose. >> reporter: they have something else in common, the military. of the 14 black g.o.p. candidates, seven come from strong military background. data shows that 12.3% of

african-americans in the military identify themselves as republican. that's more than twice the national civilian average. >> i think there's a relationship based upon the conservative principals and values, national security. sometimes it takes more character to swim against the tide than to go with it. >> reporter: that could mean changing the traditionally democratic black establishment. >> it's funny. members of the black caucus said they are coming down to go against me. >> reporter: they don't have republicans in the congressional black caucus. >> i think it's time. >> reporter: soledad o'brien, cnn miami. coming up in the 7:00 eastern hour, we are looking at the increasingly nasty tone of the election. the latest example comes in the

race for governor in california where chance recording caught an insulting word on tape. go to cnnpolitics.com. got a hurricane out there. reynolds, that's not our problem, right? >> right. the east coast is going to be in the clear. the west coast, the pacific northwest may be inundated by two big storm systems. more on that in a minute. >> we're not done with you. we have a quiz coming up. things women should never keep from their doctor. we have a list and an eye-opening report coming up in a moment. as i said, another quiz for the fortune five quiz of the most powerful women. one of these women actually used to be an intern at the company she now runs. so, is it ursula burns, the head of xerox, carol bartz, the

president of yahoo or safra catz. one of them was an intern at the company she now runs. that means we have hope of making it to the 14th floor here at cnn. >> that's moving on up. >> seriously. quick break and the answer coming up. but what if there were a different story? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis. when some lost their way, this company led the way. by protecting clients and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪

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cadillac. the new standard of the world. ♪ cause i'm just a girl >> these are more than just girls here. we asked reynolds which of these girls used to be an intern at the company she now runs. i'm going with oracle. final answer. it's done. >> thank you for playing along. it's actually a woman you don't know. most people don't know these names. ursula burns is the answer.

one-time intern. she was named the company chairwoman in may after making a merger that made the business the largest. $22 billion in revenue. ursula burns. not just a girl. >> you have to respect that. that's amazing stuff. >> from intern to running the company. >> that's the kind of thing that should be put up on a pedestal. it should be shouted from the rooftops. >> it's unfortunate. we celebrate celebrities. a woman from behind the scenes doing great things. we should put her up on a pedestal. >> we are now. >> let's keep talking. >> let's do that. >> we need to have her on. >> what's the weather like where she lives. >> at one point, it looks like otto might have been a threat.

it's now a tropical storm looking at strong areas of thunderstorms. it's going to sweep the pacific northwest. strong winds, heavy waves and rainfall up to a foot in some places. >> on the west coast? >> the west coast. not the golden city of california, but the pacific northwest. we are talking oregon to seattle. it's going to be rainy times. this is the area of low pressure. this is the first of two. it's going to bring the heavy surf on the location. up into the cascades, yeah, it's going to be breezy for you. if you are heading out toward washington, you have oregon, the ducks. ducks work well in rain. today is going to be a good test for that. heavy rain, no question about it. when you get into the rockies, the cool air is going to go into moisture. three inches of rainfall up to

steam boat springs, perhaps jackson hole. this area of low pressure is going to bring parts. no sign of rain what so ever. the sinking high pressure is going to give you sunny conditions and at the same time warm things up especially over the next couple days. 80s and 90s expected. otto is moving up, increasing winds at 85. strengthening into monday. coming up, we are going to take a look at college football forecast. it's moments away. at the same time, we are going to look at parts of the country best for viewing the fall colors. >> appreciate it, buddy. talk to you again shortly. a lot of you are familiar with sesame street. cookie monster, he eats cookies.

they have a new friend coming to the block. cammy. what's cammy's thing? she is hiv positive. we are going to check in with nadya. there she is. commuters, folks in london, they are moving to the streets to beat the rent. 42 minutes past the hour. nadya is taking us around the world.

all right. 45 minutes past the hour now. many people in the u.s. grew up on sesame street, love the show. everybody loves that show. it may be responsible for

shaping our vocabulary. it may interest you to know that many countries including africa are adopting it as educational tool as well. tell you about sesame square launching in nigeria. it's different than we are used to seeing here. also, i want to bring in nadya who takes us around the globe and puts things in the spotlight you may not be hearing about, including in london. good morning to you. >> good morning, t.j. what's happening in london is because they are increasing prices in rent, some people are choosing to go to tent cities and camping sights to live during the week. they call them camping commuters. if you think the average, let's say a cheap hotel is $100 a night, an expensive camping sight is $20 a night. it's an expensive camping sight.

much cheaper to stay there than having to rent. the way people are dealing with it in london is subletting, sharing, all those things. property did go in london for $140 million, an apartment this year. just another thought. >> just another thought. are they becoming a problem? is the government trying to shut it down? >> not trying to shut it down, there's a push to make more affordable living. imagine if there were trailers in central park, it would be bigger than some apartments, right? >> another story that got our attention. sesame street moving to nigeria. >> sesame workshop will come to nigeria. they have done that this year. it broadcasts in 2011. they work with educators and puppeteers. they have come up with sesame

square nigeria. cammy, hiv positive and kobe is a yam monster because yam sweet potatoes are more prolific in nigeria. let's look at what the children in nigeria have to deal with. hiv aids is a problem. they have created a golden character called cammy and she deals with her hiv in a positive way. they call it the normalization of aids. she's healthy and talks about her feelings and the issues other nigerian children are dealing with is racial acceptance. there's a lot of religious tolerance between muslims and christians. malaria is another issue they deal with. they have taken the best of and

said how can we use our method and create sesame square, not street. squares have a better connotation. >> it's clearly entertaining to kids. edutainme edutainment. >> it's well received. they piloted it in south africa. it's a different paradigm because it's such an issue there. they received it very, very positively. it's fun to buy a united states agency for international development. thank you. as always, we are going to check in with you. what is the official title, editorial producer? >> yes, i like to think multifaceted. >> thank you so much. coming up here, folks at 12

minutes to the top of the hour. it's safe to say some women keep secrets from their husbands, we don't like it, but we get it. ladies you can't do the same thing with your doctor. we'll tell you why. stay here. [ female announcer ] imagine the possibilities with stelara® for adults. stelara® helps control moderate or severe plaque psoriasis with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patients had their plaque psoriasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections, like tuberculosis, require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, or have had cancer. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems.

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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. about eight minutes to the top of the hour now. have you ever felt too ashamed, too embarrassed to tell the doctor things you have done for fear of being judged? it could apply to most of us. for women in particular, you are not alone. keeping secrets from your gynecologist could be hazardous to your health. >> reporter: it seems like everyone is sharing everything these days on facebook and

twitter. one group says america's women are not sharing enough. they say women sometimes are too ashamed orem b embarrassed. three things not to keep from your gynecologist. the number of partners you have. if you are sleeping with five or six people, don't be afraid to admit it. the number of abortions you have had. that's important information to share with your gynecologist. it may have an impact on your fertility and future surgeries you may have. number one, the identity of the baby's daddy. even if it's not your husband, be fair. the reason for that is your blood type and the baby's blood type might not mix well and you need injections. if the daddy is of certain

ethnicity, you may need certain testing done. for a whole list, go to cnn health.com. t.j. well, those are interesting conversations going on at the doctors office, i take it. we have six minutes to the top of the hour now. we know, every campaign season can be nasty, but does it have to get this nasty. >> a jackass. an economic ill literal and ignore ramous. >> who is he talking about? how about the leader of the free world. [ woman ] ring ring. progresso. this chicken tortilla soup has such a wonderful zesty quality. that's the chipotle and cilantro. it's one of our new mexican soups. it reminds me of guadalajara. a special man. his delicious soups. sheila? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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we are coming up on the top of the hour. a couple stories making headlines. a chinese man serving an 11-year prison term won the noble peace prize. he wrote an essay for a political reform in china. his wife is about to visit him today in prison. he may not have gotten word because china blocked out the coverage of the nobel prize coverage. they have strict control of the internet. the announcements were blacked out there as well. they call it blasphemy. president obama praised the choice urging china to release him. also the supreme court issued a stay of execution for a texas inmate. his name is galen bradford. he killed a security guard in

1988. his iq is 68 and too low to allow his execution. if convicted of the murder of a dallas convenience store. the high court banned executions of mentally disabled and hasn't necessarily set a standard for what that is. also, out in california, southern california, two children injured. they were at their school when shots rang out. brendan o'rourke fired several shots at the school in carls bads, california. he's facing six counts of attempted murder. a 6 and 7-year-old suffered minor injuries. they were outside eating their lunch. according to police they were grazed by bullets. construction workers were nearby and detained the alleged shooter.

>> she's a what? you heard that right. an aid to gubernatorial candidate jerry brown called his opponent that word. all election seasons are nasty. this one could go down in history. hello to you all, once again. this is c nrks nrknn saturday m. i'm glad you could start you day right here. we are going to get to plenty of politics this half hour and throughout the day. we are going to turn to a story. 33 trapped miners we're told could be minutes away from rescuers breaking through to the area where the miners are. our patrick ottman is there for us. he is live for us where this is. camp hope they have called it now.

first, give us the update. we heard it moments ago. they were feet away from breaking through. >> reporter: meters away. meters away. and this is -- this breakthrough is imminent after months of waiting. very, very close. drillers tell us, this is the drill that is going to make the break. we are expecting six meters away. this is out of 624 meters. a matter of feet, as you said. the breakthrough could come in the next hour or two. they have been drilling all night long. we are told a breakthrough could come today. this morning, an incredible moment. i'm seeing smiles, people patting each other on the back. a lot of excitement. they have been waiting so long for this day. the mine shaft is drilled down to the 33 men who have been waiting days and days of darkness and confinement. this is the beginning of the

rescue. t.j. >> it's important to note, this is just the beginning. just because they breakthrough doesn't mean they are coming up anytime soon. explain why we may have to wait until tuesday before the first man comes up or later. >> reporter: tuesday at the earliest. you know, still a lot of work after the breakthrough happens today. still quite an ordeal for these men. rescue officials will have to look to see how stable the hole is, whether or not they could put a rescue capsule down or whether it needs to be reenforced. that could take days or longer. a capsule will be sent down hoisting the men up one at a time. the process of bringing 33 men up to the surface could take a day or more.

>> one more thing, the mood out there. can you feel it? at camp hope, there's an anticipation this is finally going to be over sometime soon? >> reporter: it has been building for days. tension and excitement, people know something is changing. very positive development after so many setbacks here. they know their relatives will be coming back to them now. they feel they will be back sooner than expected. they were told may may not see them until christmas. this is the most dangerous part of the operation. still thing that is could go wrong. they are keeping their fingers crossed. when the breakthrough happens, it's just going to be an explosion of excitement here. >> we'll continue to check in. thank you so much. ahead here on cnn saturday morning, we are going to talk to a professor of mining. he's going to focus on the difficulty of the rescue

operation. he's talking act it from an engineer's point of view. there's a lot of hope and optimism. there are still danger that is could put their lives at risk. we'll continue to watch that this morning. also, 24 days until the most contentious election we have seen in some time. cnn asked likely voters which part is their choice for congress. take a look. 52% said the republican party is the choice. 45% said the democratic party is the choice right now. cnn opinion research poll shows republicans with big leads over democrats. among independents, men and blue collar whites. so much at stake. again, 24 days. we are counting down now. we also see campaign seasons turn ugly. it's turned dirty on the campaign trail on this one as well. are voters going to be turned

off by that or will it work? brian todd has more on it. >> reporter: a conversation that was never meant to be heard publicly. jerry brown, democrat running for california governor talks with his aids about support his opponent might get from police unions. >> they know whitman will cut them a deal i won't. she's a whore. >> reporter: it's not clear who made the comment. it was inadd ver tantly taped. other attacks are plo lif rating on the air. darrel west wrote a book called "air wars." he says this year, candidates are not holding back on vicious personal attacks on opponents. we are going to go over the ads now. >> when somebody went after my 10-year-old daughter, i got angry. >> reporter: karl rails on the media for tracking his young

daughter. then for reports about his extramarital affair. then the sex life of andrew cuomo. >> andrew is legendary. >> have you seen anything like that in an ad? >> this is such a cheap shot. it's hard to imagine voters are going to be affected positively by this. they are going to view it as unfair, going beyond the grounds of fair play. >> reporter: cuomo's response, new yorkers know he is unfit to be governor with his unstable outbursts, smears and lack of substance. >> some experts argue it does work. going negative is affective. >> it works in the sense of you can raise the negatives of your opponent. if voters tune out and stay home, you may lose support who otherwise might have cast votes for you.

>> reporter: rush limbaugh has this broadside on president obama. >> he's a jackass. he's an ignoramus. >> it reflects a mentality of mean spiritedness. people are not focusing on the issues. they are insulting the opposition. >> reporter: why is it at heightened levels now? a few factors are unique to this year. commentators sense the voter anger and they want to tap into it. they realize the stakes are high for the balance of power this year. he says candidates sense the media is not doing as much fact checking on ads and public statements. they don't think they will be held accountable. >> despite what you heard there from jerry brown, the recording with an aid calling meg whitman the word that rhymes with bore,

they are endorsing jerry brown. the california's national organization of women, this is what they had to say. for california women, actions speak louder than words. we know jerry brown's record and we know meg whit man's record. the choice is clear. we urge women to vote for jerry brown for governor. you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com. what does your spouse do for a living? we have a list of things you hope your spouse does not do. if they do these particular occupatio occupations, your marriage could be in trouble. divorce rates are high for certain occupations. can you imagine which ones? should i give a hint before i go? if your spouse mixes drinks you might be in trouble. it's eight minutes past the hour. gives you a little slice of happy. and happiness comes in 25 delicious flavors.

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♪ always like to hear what you have to say about such topics. the song is appropriate. why do fools fall in love. specifically, why do fools fall in love with bartenders. reynolds we have a new study out. they use census numbers, the occupations with the highest divorce rates. if your spouse works in one of these particular fields, good chance you are going to end up in divorce. number one on the list, dancers and choreographers. if your wife happens to be a dancer of some kind, maybe a rocket, you might be in trouble. >> when you are talking dancer, you could go a lot of ways.

they might perform in a large crowd or for a dollar at a time. think about that. ime sure there's a difference. >> the next one, bartenders was number two. dancers 43%. bartenders 38%. that's a high number. three. massage therapists also at 38%. now, the study that came out, they didn't explain why these folks or give reasons why they would have high divorce rates. what would anyone guess, a bartender or massage therapist. why? >> opportunity. >> what do you mean by that? >> i'm going to leave it there. that's one of the great things, we can bring it to the press and you the viewer are able to bring express it. >> bartenders, the hours. they work until 2:00, 3:00 in the morning.

there were a couple interesting ones. a machine operator, 32% divorce rate. telephone operators, 29%. other entertainers and performers 28%. waiters were on the list at 28%. maids 26%. >> i'll be darn. >> yeah. >> my gosh. we could talk all morning about that. >> let's move on to another one. this next one will make parents feel good. central high school in bridgeport, cheer leaders had a controversy with the uniforms. it wasn't the parent that is said they were too skimpy, the cheer leaders themselves said they are too skimpy, we don't want to wear these. they requested new uniforms. it was granted. the midriff was showing.

college or high school, they are the same. short skirts and the midriff is out. the girls said we don't like these, we want different ones, now they are getting under shirts, the covers, black tights if you will to go under it. they don't have to expose the skin. >> it's amazing how the look of the cheer leader changed. they started with the skirts below the knees. >> to see them make that decision is great. congratulations to the girls. we'll be back shortly. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal!

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all right. 18 minutes past the hour. summer is wrapping up. fall is here. it's almost the season, sorry, it's the holiday season. you might want to start saving money. a little home schooling we need now. these things seem so -- they are so simple. this is important to remind folks of how much money they can save because we are about to spend like crazy. >> i learned math at an early age. the little numbers add up. >> that's the thing. we don't add them up. we don't think about the little thing we do. even if it's that one cup of

coffee. >> that's it. the cup of coffee you pay $2 a cup for. you can go to the store and buy it for $10 a bag. talk about the savings. they add up. we have to watch those things. >> add this up for me. i don't drink coffee, so i don't know how much a starbucks is. how much is it? >> a basic coffee, two bucks. you are talking buying a bag of coffee for $10 and get 30 cups or one cup for two bucks. we are talking a stavings of $432 a year. most people don't get the basic cup. think about it, $432. you can do a lot of things. >> that's the saying with lunch and everything else you do. >> you are talking about packing lunch. most people go out and spend $10 a day on lunch.

$50 a week. if you brown bag it, think a little in advance. pack the things you like. you could save a huge amount of money. that is $1700 a year by brown bagging as opposed to going out every day. >> you have $2,000 for coffee and lunch. around the house, the simple things like cut the lights off. can i save more money? >> yeah. what else? >> cut the lights off. energy.gov, you can see a test to see where your energy is escaping from the power. we plug our computers on and keep the power strips on. you are talking 5% that you are losing on that phantom energy. think about it. if the monthly bills are five bucks -- >> you have to turn the whole power strip off?

>> yeah. they are using electricity. turn the power strip off. >> all right. one more here. a lot of people, they want to go out, but the movies and restaurants can be expensive. can you still have a good time? >> yeah. it's going up every day. i took my kids to the movies and thought we were going to disney world. we are talking 50 buck as month to go to the movie. there are other alternatives now. netflix, red box and other tools you can use to save a lot of money. pay $9 a month instead of $50. >> you saved us about three grand with those tips. it adds up. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> thank you so much my man. you can see him here every weekend with us. we're going to have the latest on the miners in chile. first, another quiz for you out

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welcome back. before the break, we asked you what number is oprah winfrey on the fortune 500 list of most powerful women. the answer, you got it right if you said six. after 25 years, oprah winfrey ending her show and launching the oprah winfrey network hits the air january 1. s we are continuing to keep an eye and update you on a story. in chile, we have been monitoring a story when the miners, 33 of them got trapped. we were told they wouldn't be rescued until christmas. they have been down there two

months now. the tunnel that is going to pull them up from 2,300 feet from below the surface is supposed to breakthrough literally at any moment. the breakthrough is imminent. once the hole is drilled, they will send down a rescuer and doctor to check them out. they will start to pull them up, one-by-one. the capsule is what they have to come up in. the rescue won't take place until the earliest, tuesday. here is a graph to see what they are doing. the one that got there fastest is plan b. it has to be pulled up, again. won't start until at least tuesday, at the earliest, pulling them up. it could take ten days as they try to make sure everything is right and the men are in no further danger. i want to take you live to kabul, afghanistan to ivan watson. sad news we are getting.

a british aid worker who was kidnapped. a rescue was attempted. it turns out the rescue attempt didn't go the way people were hoping it would. >> reporter: that's right, t.j. grim and tragic news. britain's foreign office, the foreign secretary released a statement. he's expected to make a televised statement in moments announcing the 35-year-old british worker was killed last night in a rescue attempt to try to free her from her captors nearly two weeks after she was kidnapped in the eastern afghan p provens. she was overseeing $150 million project to create jobs in afghanistan. she was captured with three

afghan employees nearly two weeks ago. over the course of her captivity, there was a two-pronged effort to free her. military operations, helicopter troop that is were brought in more than a week ago to try to make some effort to free her. local tribal elders were trying to negotiate for her release. the british, some kind of rescue operation went out. the foreign secretary william hague saying in his statement she was killed at the hands of her captors in the course of this rescue effort. the decision to try to free her was made after learning who she was being held by and how dangerous her predicament was. a sad piece of news coming from eastern afghanistan about a woman who spent at least three years here in afghanistan working on aid projects. she was an environmental