absolutely using my old social security number.

top of the hour here now. good morning to you all from the cnn world headquarters in atlanta, georgia. i'm t.j. homes. >> and i'm kate bolduan. it's an all-out frenzy on the campaign trail. in chile, emotional homecomings for a group of national heroes now. the miners who spent 69 days underground getting the royal treatment from friends and family and even complete strangers. from al qaeda, chilling new terror tips. the group goes online to recruit americans to kill americans.

we'll have more on that. but let's start with politics and the desperate scramble to get voters to the polls with just 17 days left until election day. one hot spot right now, maryland, where democratic governor martin o'malley is in a surprisingly close race for reelection. the best political team on television is on the job and brianna keilar is in maryland just south of washington, d.c. what's going on there today, brianna? >> reporter: we're here today at a "get out the vote" day. this is behind me you see a few union members. right now, what they're doing is they've been going out to talk to people around here in prince georges county. this is a democratic stronghold. right now, there are about 30 or so union members who are out, they're knocking on doors. because it is a democratic stronghold, chances are, they knock on a door, the person to comes to the door is a

registered democrat and they're trying to make sure that that person is going to go out and vote. they're telling them where they can vote and telling them to vote early. early voting her starts october 22nd. why are they doing this? because democrats are facing an enthusiasm gap problem. a lot of enthusiasm is on the part of voters pushing for republican candidates. i spoke with congresswoman donna edwards who represent this is district about what that's going to mean and the reality of this for democrats in perhaps changing the balance of power in congress. here's what she saez said. cnn does the poll of polls. you do see an enthusiasm gap there. but you think that democrats are picking up a little bit? >> i think they are. and i think all across the country, just as here, we're starting to go out in the street, knock on doors, shop in shopping centers -- i was out in the shopping centers the last couple of days and i can really see people starting to focus on the election. keep in mind, when you're focused on whether you have a job and what's happening with

your home and whether you can send your job to college, it doesn't leave a lot of room for other things. now as we close in on the final days of the election, i can certainly see here in maryland that our votes are going to pick up. we're going to have a really strong election. and across the country, i do believe we're going to retain our majority. >> reporter: so that's congresswoman donna edwards' prediction for congress. and democrats in the house of representatives. but one of the really tight races here in maryland is what you mentioned, martin o'malley, democratic governor. he is facing bob erlich, the former governor that he ousted four years ago. and it is a much tighter race than expected. erlich has some momentum. he has his own events -- martin o'malley is going to be here later in the day. erlich has his own events here in prince georges county, yes, the democratic stronghold. that goes to show you he's on the offense in these places which are considered friendly for democrat, kate. >> this isn't necessarily a national race, obviously,

talking about a governor's race. it's representative of the reality of this election cycle. a democratic stronghold and they're trying to get out the vote with democrats in their state. must be having a little audio issue. thanks, brianna keilar, in maryland for us. talk to you soon. president obama is on the campaign trail today. he'll attend a rally in boston for massachusetts governor deval patrick who's seeking reelection against republican charles baker and timothy kahill. we'll have live coverage at 3:00 p.m. eastern. and at 6:00 p.m. eastern, we'll bring you a rally in california. and we are hitting the road coming to you next week. when i say you, i mean you, charlotte, north carolina. election express kicking off another tour on our way down to florida. i'll be aboard the election

express as we kick off the tour monday in charlotte, north carolina. tuesday coming to see you in columbia, south carolina. macon georgia on wednesday. thursday, jacksonville, florida. then on friday, we're in tampa, florida, where our candy crowley is going to be moderating senate debate between the three top contenders down there. she'll do that on the following sunday. but let us know what type of things we should be covering. send me a message ahead of time on twitter or facebook. we'd like to know some of the things you'd like us to talk about and highlight in your towns. also a reminder for you, if you're away from that television, and need your political fix, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. one more political note to pass along to you, people still talking about this week's delaware senate debate. you know the two, republican christine o'donnell and chris coon. if you missed it the first time around, we're going to run the debate for you in its entirety

starting at 4:00 eastern time today. amazing news from chile, all but two of the 33 rescued miners are now out of the hospital. they spent less than 48 hours there undergoing tests and reveling, obviously, in family reunions. you can see one right there. doctors say some of them have had trouble sleeping, probably not surprisingly. but for the most part. all are in relatively good physical health. and communities are turning out to welcome home their heroes. >> reporter: welcome home, victor segovia. if god has given you a new life and chance, grab on to it with everything you have. >> translator: my life will be different. i miss my friends and family. i think about god more. >> segovia was the 15th miner rescued. he says he has no plans to write a book or sue the mine's owner. he even wants to go back to working in mines, maybe just not

the one near copiapo. from mining for gold to hitting the proverbial jackpot. those rescued miners are posed to cash in on their months-long ordeal down there. brian todd counts the many ways. >> why is this man so happy? he's got a new lease on life, of course, but he also may be looking to what lies ahead. it appears at least some of these miners might have been charting their future course while they were still trapped. here is a quote from myron yonny barrios -- if we do this properly, we don't have to work for the rest of our lives. how much do they stand to gain? according to various media report, here's what we're looking at. the paper, the mail on sunday says tv networks are offering up to $400,000 each for the miners to tell their exclusive stories and predictably, agents are climbing all over themselves to sign the miners and their

families to lucrative book and movie deals. one chilean mining tycoon has pledged to give each miner $10,000. the government also is giving them some money until they're fully recovered. according to various reports, they've gotten offers to endorse various products. including mining equipment, of course, naturally. chocolate bars, clothing, beer and a sexual enhancement vitamin. i'm sure we can't wait to see those commercials. some things you wouldn't necessarily figure but are interesting, nonetheless, according to published reports are some gifts that these miners have gotten. the soccer team, real madrid has sent signed jerseys and balls to the miners. manchester united has offered expenses-paid trips to see that team play for each miner and his family. a local winemaker is offering free wine for a year. and here is my personal favorite. this is miner edison pena, he's

a die-hard elvis presley fan. he led his fellow miners in elvis sing-alongs. he's been offered an all-expense-paid trip to graceland. we turn to pakistan now where two suspected u.s. drone strikes are credited with killing 13 suspected militants. pakistani intelligence officials say the drones targeted two alleged militant hideouts friday in north waziristan, a triple area that borders afghanistan. it's notorious for militants. the pentagon is not commenting on the drone attacks. support for the war in afghanistan has never been lower. a any cnn poll shows a little more than a third of americans support the war now. half of those polled think it's turning into another vietnam. also even fewer believe the u.s. is winning the war in afghanistan. another large area of the gulf of mexico has been reopened to fishing three months after the gushing oil well was capped.

federal officials gave the all-clear to nearly 7,000 more square miles of fishing waters off the coast of florida and alabama. that leaves just 7% of federal waters still closed in the region. officials say tests on seafood from open fishing areas show no oil contamination. we have seen several stories in the past several weeks and months about people being bullied to the breaking point. talking about kids here killing themselves when they think there's no way out. >> but a city councilman in texas really nows how they feel and he has some advice. >> if you can just hang out, stay with it long enough, there will be an entire lifetime of happy memories that will replace the dark ones that you're having during your teenage years. >> his message for tortured young people is straight ahead. it's 11 minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] some prescription drugs may lead to constipation. fortunately, there's senokot-s tablets. senokot-s for occasional constipation associated with certain medications.

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a rash of suicides tied to bullying, the problem is a serious one across america. the issue hits home for joel burns, a gay city councilman in

ft. worth, texas, who was bullied while growing up. he shared his own personal struggle during an extremely emotional speech at a council meeting. >> i have never told the story to anyone before tonight. not my family, not my husband, not anyone. but the number of suicides in recent days have upset me so much, they have just torn at my heart. and even though there may be some political repercussions for telling my story, the story is not just for the adults who might choose or not choose to support me. this story is for the young people who may be holding the gun tonight or the rope or the pill bottle. give yourself a chance to see just how much life -- how much better life will get. and it will get better. you will get out of the household that doesn't accept

you. you will get out of that high school and you never have to deal with those jerks again if you don't want to. you will find and you will make new friends who will understand you. and life will get so, so, so much better. but it's about creating a safe place for our kids to go to school. even when they're out of school and they're at a local convenience store or at the shopping mall or wherever they are, that they're not subjected to the kind of really just over-the-top harassment and bullying that we've seen. some of the kids, some of the guys that i referenced at the beginning of my comments, they had survived literally years of harassment and bullying that had largely, according to their parents, gone unanswered over the course -- from the administrators and principals and teachers. and that's something that had to stop. >> burns' message is spreading quickly. it's already had hundreds of thousands of hits on youtube. a michigan man says he was

kicked off a us airways flight because of his disability. he's a motivational speaker. his name is johnny tight. he has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. he was on a plane last month. and he was asked to get off. he wasn't etch sure why at first. >> i immediately thought something was up with my family. let them take me off the plane. this is a flat-out issue of civil rights. >> us airways says he didn't appear to have the ability to help himself in the event of an emergency. he says he has flown for more than 20 years, no problems. since the incident, he says he's talked with us airways about helping improve service for disabled passengers. world war ii airman is being buried with full military honors in ohio today. 65 years after he disappeared in the philippines. his body was found several years ago but it wasn't until this year that dna testing

established his identity. our cnn affiliate wkef with the story. >> reporter: judson parker can't remember the last time he talked to his brother, arthur, the last letter they exchanged. but he does remember the last thing he said to him. >> fruitcake. we put it in the mailbox. sent it to oklahoma. it never did catch up with him. >> reporter: both served their country but at 20 years, arthur died in the philippines in march 1945. >> i was a junior in high school when mom got the telegram. mom opened it, read it. i can't remember the words she zed said. she read it out loud. but i do remember her saying or praying that she would rather arthur be killed in a crash than to be taken prisoner by the

japanese. >> reporter: for the next 65 years, the family knew next to nothing about arthur's fate. then in 2002, a farmer in the philippines discovered the wreckage and what turned out to be arthur's remains. the join p.o.w.mia accounting command took over. >> i didn't know it would happen in my lifetime that i would be able to find out. that was the biggest wow in my life. >> reporter: with family from indiana here in town, arthur's story will live on through the new generations of parkhursts. >> it's a legacy event for the family. it's a historic moment where we can look at a person in our family that served above and beyond the call of duty and sacrificed in a way that none of us can really relate to. 19 minutes after the hour and it may surprise you to learn that even terrorists have their own magazine now.

>> yeah, and the man believed to be behind it is actually an american. we'll explain. [ male announcer ] the next big thing from lexus is not a car. it's the idea that a car that will never have an accident may be possible. in pursuit of this goal, lexus developed the world's most advanced driving simulator, where a real driver in a real car can react to real situations without real consequences. the breakthroughs we innovate here may someday make all cars safer. this is the pursuit of tomorrow. this is the pursuit of perfection. everything you need to stretch out

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your chance to travel into space. you never thought it would happen, but it might not be as far off as you might think. >> apparently a successful flight last weekend, plans are moving ahead to make space tourism now available. the cost, though, is astronomical as well, as you would expect. but, josh, there seems to be a market for this inbelievably. >> it is. here's the thing. yes, the cost is ast mom call. astronomical.

but it's coming down. and if it does, it can be something people can legitimately afford. we have cool pictures of what some of the these spacecrafts look like. last week, the first manned spacecraft -- commercial spacecraft took off. take a look. kind of looks like a very, very big plane. this is over california's mojave desert. two pilots pr on board there. richard branson later put out a statement saying the sky is no longer the limit. he said his company will begin pushing to the final frontier of space over the next year. and in as soon as 18 months, hundreds of travelers might actually be among the first paying passengers aboard the version "galactic" which plans to take them 62 miles above the earth. the cost, $200,000 each.

yes, $200,000 is an incredible oomt of money. but in this story on cnn.com, we talk about what's happening with the costs and we show you the spacecraft. it's saying you can find some places talking about $100,000 like a group called space adventures saying they can get you into space for $100,000. the idea is these prices where you heard about $20 million, and now hearing $200,000 and $100,000, it's changing pretty fast and more and more locations are being licensed as non-government space boards. we have images here as we flip through it of what some of these different spacecraft look like. and what you see is a lot of them have very different designs. the idea is they have different ways, different paths, different plans for how to get people up into space. you don't have to be trained as an astronaut, just commercially. i have it linked up at my facebook page. you can weigh in if you think

it's a good idea or a bad idea. also, how long you think it will take before you're comfortable enough with the safety of it. lots of people even if they had the money would not want to be among the first actually getting inside these things. need to see if this is even a possibility and that we're advancing toward that frontier. >> i love that you said non-governmental spaceport. >> that's going to be a term. the term non-governmental spaceport won't sound so crazy in ten years. >> be crowded up there soon. josh, thank you. take a look at some of the storyings making headlines. china state media reporting at least 20 miners are dead after a gas explosion in a coal mine. this happened in central china. another 17 miners believed to be trapped still. authorities say 239 others were rescued. earlier this week, china announced it is restructuring

its mines trying to make them safer. also, sports fans in new york, they're going to be hot this weekend because news corp has pulled the plug on cablevision customers effectively blacking out its fox stations to more than 3 million households in and around the new york area. this whole dispute is over a programming fee. news corp says that they deserve more money. they want $150 million now from cablevision. cable vision says they've been paying $70 million and the fee increase is just too much. they want news corp to restore the signal and submit to binding arbitration. of course, what some of the fans up there in new york might miss is a lot of baseball. they were able to see this game last night at least between the new york yankees and the texas rangers. it's being carried by tbs. but the national league championship series between the giants and the phillies is on fox. a lot of people are going to miss that game. last night, the relief pitchers for the rangers, eighth inning was a rough one.

yankees scored five runs in that inning. they ended up winning the game. this was just game one. they won it 6-5. but still, the yankees, pretty good showing last night. more of your top stories coming up in about 20 minutes. talking about space just a second ago, the shuttle program was supposed to be winding down. >> supposed to be winding down. but astronauts may get a new mission before their final curtain call. that story coming up.

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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. yes, when you see this lovely gentleman, you know what that means. weather. >> that's right. it's going to be pretty nice. there are some bad sfots. imagine if you had a beautiful clean tablecloth and someone

spill spilled a little bit on one spot of it. >> you're so good. keep going. >> let me show you what's going on. let's go to the map. if you look carefully, we see some showers popping up across parts of the northeast, especially in parts of vermont, new hampshire, even the finger lakes and the adirondacks of new york. higher elevations, snowflakes are falling. what we're seeing across the nation in terms of a national perspective which would be the nation, of course, a mix of sunshine and clouds in chicago. frontal boundary is going to come through, might have a breeze pick up into the afternoon. skies will clear out. clear across much of the great lakes. beautiful along the gulf coast. high pressure is going to keep things stable and dry. out in los angeles, a mix of sunshine and clouds. 73 degrees. fast forward from day today into

tomorrow, houston with 85 degrees, basically the same thing down into galveston. san francisco, mix of sunshine and loudz. up into the sierra nevada, might have a few clouds. 65 in boston. should be beautiful across much of the graet great lakes. let's send it back to you guys at the news desk. >> thanks, reynolds. 17 days to go for the midterm elections. nobody pulling punches right now. you've seen the ads. some were funded from outside groups. some of them get to remain anonymous. some of those donors do. a supreme court ruling allows corporations to give cash to help defeat or promote candidates and don't have to disclose the donors. earlier today, i asked the head for the center of responsive politics how the money spent on this midterm elections compares with midterm elections in the

past. >> it's coming in fast and furious this cycle as was predicted after that citizens united states supreme court ruling. we predicted back in march based on historical trends this election would cost $3.7 million up from just 2.billion in 2006. based on spending that we've been seeing and the receipts coming in, i think we're on track to match that $3.7 billion if not surpass it. >> would it make this a record year? >> it would indeed. we say that each cycle that we're breaking the past records. but this cycle, i think may go beyond that typical trend. >> and how much do you blame the spike we're seeing on that supreme court decision? do you put all the blame on that? is that why we're seeing so much more money? >> no. i think that there's a lot of money going directly to the candidates and parties as well, surprisingly given this down

economy. that has nothing to do with this outside spending other than maybe they're able to generate more money in order to combat that -- those independent groups spending money against them. i think this is an unusually expensive cycle. of course a huge factor factor is the intensity and the high stakes. >> will that just be the case? will we ever have you on during a midterm and you say, yeah, there's a little less money that's going to be spent than the last midterm? what will it take to bring these numbers back down again? >> i think it's going to take a radical shift that i don't see on the near-term horizon for this cycle or the next election cycle either. we typically see an upward trend beyond the rate of inflation. and even though this economy is to tough and so many people are hurting, clearly the people generating campaign donations are able to deliver as much or more than before. >> what have you all been able to find on this story that was

sparked about a week or so ago? the president said it on the stump, essentially saying that the republicans and some of those shadowy groups giving money to republicans -- they didn't offer any evidence of it. that was part of the controversy. but from what you all are seeing, is there foreign money coming in and influencing this election? >> the bottom line is that we have no way of knowing. the contributions going to these outside groups, they've spent so far $173 million, not counting all the independent spending by the parties. so huge sums of money, hundreds of millions of dollars anticipated by november 2nd. and much of that money will go undisclosed. the organizations, of course, will say that this is not foreign, but we have absolutely no way of proving that. i think it's not responsible to accuse organizations of foreign

donors unless we have evidence. of course, with the chamber of commerce, we know they do collect dues from foreign corporations. they're saying they segregate the funds. >> and chamber of commerce is who specifically the administration did call out. another thing to you, all this stuff, all the collecting of the money, spending of the money is legal. but in your estimation, is it right? >> you know, i think information is good. and these organizations, these independent groups, purport to provide us with important information the voters need to have on election day. if they were doing so in a transparent way and saying, here's what my organization stands for, here's what we are and here's where we're getting our money, i think that would be okay. we should not sensor information. voters want to have all the information at their fingertips before they head to cast their ballot. but the problem is that so many of these organizations are

essentially front groups, shadowy organizations that we don't know what they stand for. they're really targeting our votes and they are not saying who ease bankrolling their effort. >> both republicans and democrats are hitting their opponents hard in a slew of new tv ads. but one democrat is really getting slammed by candidates who aren't even running against her. that story coming up in our political ticker. also, troubling news about the federal deficit. $1.3 trillion in the red. but there's a tiny bit of encouraging news in the latest numbers. that story also coming up. [ male announcer ] opportunity

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have you ever run across an online magazine called "inspire"? well, it's al qaeda's latest effort aimed at encouraging terrorism against americans. colorful, creative imagery promoting a deadly message, chilling terror tips on how to wage violent jihad. the 74-page second edition of the al qaeda online magazine called "inspire" aims to recruit americans to kill americans. the ultimate mowing machine, reads the title of one article

suggesting how to carry out individual attacks. quote, the idea is to use a pick-up truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but to mow down the enemies of allah. >> what al qaeda is looking for right now is not their additional recruits they used to do in places like pakistan and other places in the middle east. that's a very dangerous fear us. >> reporter: another article takes direct aim at the nation's capital. quote, a random hit at a crowded restaurant in washington, d.c. at lunch hour, for example, might end up knocking out a few government employees. intelligence officials believe an american citizen now living in yemen is a driving force behind the publication an pens his own essay in the new edition "i am proud to be a traitor to america." fran townsend says while the magazine's message isn't new, the way they're getting it across is. so what is different here with

this magazine? >> these are guys who have either been born here or lived in the united states who speak idiomatic colloquial english who can appeal to americans to join their cause. they know how to persuade them and speak to them and they know how to really inspire them to become a part of it. >> reporter: and the internet acts as an accelerant for terrorist activity. >> ten years ago, awlaki would have operated in relative obscurity. today on internet, he has unlimited reach to individuals around the world, including those here at home. >> a u.s. counterterrorism official tells cnn they are aware of the publication saying it aims to provoke the murder of innocence and says it hardly lives up to its name "inspire."

taking a look at some of the top stories making headlines, a whopping fine for countrywide's financial -- former financial ceo, angelo mozilo will pay more than $67 million to settle fraud charges related to the mortgage crisis, the largest penalty ever on a senior executive of a public company. he and two other former countrywide executives were charged last year with defrauding investors by hiding the growing risks of the company's mortgages. also an eye-popping number if you're trying to rein in the federal deficit, it's just under $1.3 trillion with a just-completed fiscal year. but it's still better than last fiscal year when the deficit hit a record $1.4 trillion. also, botox, a lot of people use it trying to stay beautiful and younger longer. but yesterday, the fda approved the drug to be used as a possible preventive treatment for chronic migraine sufferers. taking a look at politics once again, 17 days until the

midterm elections and the rush is on. here's the latest headlines from the best political team on television. campaign records show that harry reid raised $2 million from july to september. his republican opponent sharron angle raised $14 million. but she's already spent most of that. moat campaigns had about $4 million on hand going into october. republicans are spending big bucks trying to link democratic candidates to hois speuse speak nancy pelosi. a new analysis of campaign tigz shows that republicans and gop supporters have spent $42 million on tv commercials that mention pelosi. that doesn't even include ads that show pelosi's picture without mentioning her by name. a cnn opinion research opinion poll show that is 51% of americans have a negative opinion of pelosi. and in alaska, alaska senate

candidate joe miller is taking a page from the old spice guy. miller who defeated incumbent senator lisa murkowski to win the gop nomination is running a parody of the popular old spice commercials you know so well. a lookalike actor pokes fun at murkowski. sometimes it's hard to find a parking space out there. and someone had to imp vise with their corvette. you won't believe the video. that's two pills foa four hour drive. the drive is done. so it's a day of games and two more pills. 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, who chose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. ♪

>> we laugh because we are crazy people. >> how are you this morning? >> i'm good. how are you doing? >> now i feel like i'm watching a tennis match. everything is good. that's the old spice commercial. yeah, you all had a great morning, huh? >> it's been great. >> it's been a while since we've seen you here. >> t.j. finally let me come back. >> it was so good, we had to be separated. >> i'm here to separate the two because you've had a lot of close time all morning long.

a lot coming up, noon eastern. let's talk about what's happening the rest of the day. we love our legal guys when they come, avery richard, they tackle interesting, fascinating things. among them a case that may impact a whole bunch of people out there, especially a couple months into health care reform, people are getting used to the idea in some fashion. well, about 20 states attorneys generals are contesting it. they have managed to take this matter to court, our legal guys are going to explain exactly what's going to transpire from here. then most people think earrings, necklaces are kind of a fashion statement. >> i would say so. a trick question. >> a 14-year-old girl suspended from school for wearing a nose ring. the argument here, it's now a legal case, the argument here this was an article of faith. and that because of her religion, she and her family members wear these nose rings,

other types of jewelry or armor. the school is saying no. she is taking this to court. aclu fighting whether this is a constitutional right. >> even if it's not a matter of faith, shouldn't a kid have a right to wear a nose ring? >> not if the school says no jewelry, no nose rings. >> okay. >> i see. >> that's where we are. >> that's interesting. >> exactly. there's another news case we're going to tackle. a lot of city ordinances have rules on lawn care. you've got to keep your grass mowed. a georgia woman kind of took her state and community to task saying, no, cutting my grass, that's slavery. >> i'm sorry? >> legal case. it went all the way to court. as opposed to paying the $45 perhaps to get somebody else to cut ground, the moneys went else wrchlt we'll give you the outcome of that case. >> this the city telling her to do it or the housing authority.

>> city ordinance. >> city ordinance. >> wow. >> there's a precedent. >> it can invite varmints, snakes. >> that's why there's ordinances in place. >> in addition it's an eyesore. >> you know, like to keep you surprised. >> keep me on my toes. >> especially with our legal cases. then, of course, you know him for the pursuit of happiness, writing the book. he was also the lead character in that movie. chris gardner, i got a chance to sit down with him. he talks about everything from managing your life, your job, your money, your family life as well. a little bit of what he had to say right here. >> they both decided to bring home report cards that started with the back end of the alphabet. that's when i said no. it was christmas. i won't forget this. the tree is up, the presents are

wrapped. i said don't touch nothing. we aren't going to open a single present until the next report card comes out, which was in march. >> that was a very delayed christmas. >> all the little friends had to come to the house and wonder, why y'all still got the tree up. the presents, don't worry about that but they got the message. >> contagious laughter. he's a fascinating man, talks about everything, face-to-face throughout the day, noon, 2:00, 3:00. we got you covered here on newsroom. >> we'll see you in just a minute. quick brachlt we're right back.

close. >> again, officially is the word. they may get an on core performance. john zarrella reports for us. >> reporter: the end is sketched in stone, or up in the air. two spags shuttle flights left. nasa's new budget signed by president obama calls for adding one more flight next june maybe. florida senator spearheaded the effort to get the added shuttle curtain call. it would allow nasa to stock the space station with tons of extra, computers, space walk gear, experiments, all kinds of spare parts. and it would save jobs for a few extra months. >> if i put on my parochial

state of florida hat or texas senators put on theirs, then the ease of adjustment of the workforce is clearly one of the concerns that we have. >> reporter: those arguments don't fly with everyone. >> the rule of thumb is whenever the space shuttle flies, it's a waste of money. the space shuttle is hugely expensive for what it does and is not that safe, which is why it's being discontinued. >> bottom line, are spare parts worth of risk of the cost. how much? a half a billion a flight. on top of that the budget only calls for the added mission. >> you don't have the money for the flight. it's not there. >> we're going to get it. >> are you nervous about that? >> well, of course i am. you have to deal with senators, that one senator can stop the whole works. >> reporter: some money would come from leftover cash in the