♪ we're calling it the brooklyn space program because it sounds more official than the backyard science experience but that's what luke and his 7-year-old son did, launching an ipod into a weather balloon, letting it go up and up and up and away. check out the pictures. the camera rolled throughout the trip which reached roughly 90 thousand feet. the balloon burst and hurdled the phone back to earth, but, hey, the gps app worked and they found their phone only 30 miles from the launch site. when you and i experimented, it was like throwing eggs over -- remember that? with the little parachute? >> that's just us being a juvenile delinquent. this is a legitimate balloon boy story. >> right, he wasn't in the balloon.

>> so it's father and son working on something good. >> we'll take it. >> zr a great day, kyra. it's me are the juvenile delinquent. the big stories for tuesday, october 19th, just two weeks to midterm elections. why are rests to recapture the coveted youth vote falling short? young voters keep it real. >> there's a whole problem with voting in america where not enough people go out to vote but at the same time there's a lot of people going out to vote who just vote and don't know what they are voting for. >> making their mark in hollywood, gorgeous latina actresses making widespread appeal. and with less than two seconds left in a game, a kentucky high school football team tries something nutty. it is what's hot. good morning, i'm tony harris. those stories and your comments right here right now in the cnn newsroom.

here we are, two weeks to go, 14 days and counting until the midterm elections where the balance and pow are of congress hangs in the ambulance. republicans are hoping to wrest control back from the democrats. let's start with mark preston live in washington, and congressional correspondent brianna keilar in pittsburgh. mark, let's start with you. control of congress is on the line here. more so in the house than the senate. so let's start there. how many seats do republicans need and where do they hope to get them? >> well, tony, 39 seats. republicans need a net pickup of 39 to take back control of the house majority. what is particularly troubling for democrats in this election is that they're only on the offensive in a few states. meanwhile, republicans have a playing field that some political handicappers say could be as big as 90 or 100 seats in total, but republicans are looking at two traditional venues where they tend to do

well, especially when things are not going well for democrats. down in the southeast, down along arkansas, tennessee, that whole area, and then up into the rust belt, tony, when you look at ohio and in pennsylvania. these are places where the economy is so bad and it's really hurting democrats. tony. >> mark, let's do this. let's go to one of those states where democrats are in some trouble. pennsylvania, you mentioned it. brianna, nancy pelosi was there. what is the challenge they're facing there in the rust belt? >> well, the challenge is the economy, as mark said, and yesterday when house speaker nancy pelosi was here, she was addressing this group called the women of steel, feel name union members of the united steel workers, and she was able to tout before this friendly group some of the accomplishments of democrats, health care reform. she got an incredible reception, but generally speaking in

western pennsylvania and the rust belt, that's not the case. the economy is the issue, and so democrats can not campaign on those things that they spent just countless, days, weeks, months, spending their time on in congress. kathy da thchlt lkemper, represents a district north of here, a district that went for john mccain in the last presidential election and george bush the two before that, and it's representative of so many races like this where she is trying to urge voters to have patience. there's more to do. you have to give us this time. the issue, of course, is it's a very hard sell. >> not just the house seats in play there in pennsylvania, also a senate seat as well, right? >> there is an open senate seat. joe sestak, a member of the house of representatives bumped out arlen specter, former republican, now a democrat, and there is an open senate seat where he's facing republican pat

toomey who is up in the polls. the liability for sestak is he has voted with president obama and congressional democrats on the major democratic objectives in the last congress. in fact, one of the ads running here right now is a sound bite, an ad being run by republicans, and it's a sestak sound bite where he is saying i would have spent a trillion dollars on stimulus, and as you can imagine, in an area like this where the economy is really faltering, and peel are concerned about spending, that's not something that flies well. there's a lot of enthusiasm on the western side of the state. >> let's do this. let's swing back to mark in washington. mark, if you would, broaden the discussion a bit more to the balance of power in the senate. >> sure. for republicans to take back control of the senate majority, they need to pick up ten senate seats. it was less than two years ago when republicans were despondent, and democrats were on the move forward. in fact, democrats were looking

at seats in new hampshire and in missouri and in kentucky, seats that they thought they could take back. these were retiring senators. however, that has now flipped. kentucky might be the only seat right now that democrats think they have a shot of taking back that was held by a republican. what they're doing now is they're playing defense. they're trying to get senate majority leader harry reid re-elected in nevada, and barbara boxer in california and patty murray in washington state, trying to throw the life line there. instead of being on the offense, they are on the defense. >> nice job, guys. brianna keilar in pennsylvania, and mark preston in washington, d.c. exactly two weeks until election day and we want to know what's on your mind. the cnn election express is traveling across the southeast listening to your concerns about politics, the economy and other issues. t.j. holmes joining us from aiken, south carolina. t.j., what are you hearing from

specifically young people there in aiken, south carolina? are they fired up, ready to go, for the midterm election? >> reporter: most of them don't know an election is two weeks ago, if that tells you anything. i'm kidding. it's not that bad, but the president knows he's got an uphill battle when it comes to young folks. two years ago, they could see it at the top of the tick, see what they were voting for, the hope, the change, the message, the messenger, the history. they would see clearly what they were voting for -- this time around and most midterms, of course, as we know, they don't draw the same type of excitement, but the young people who supported the president then have gone back to being disengaged. over history, we know that young people don't come out and vote and trying to pull them back into a midterm election that they are not interested in, not engaged in is the trick. so you ask, are they fired up, engaged? listen to this guy. you tell me.

>> i think a lot of them are jaded. they're getting to a point where they think it's all games in washington, and none of them care about us. i know a lot of my friends feel that way. >> reporter: people getting turned off? i know the president is saying need more time, need more time, got to vote in the midterms. are young folks buying into that? >> not from what i can see. i mean, my small, core group of friends, we talk about it. but for the most part around campus, i don't see any involvement at all. >> reporter: so, tony, it's tough, sometimes, to figure out, because the president does make stops at college campuses, and 20,000 come out and are screaming and excited to see the president. yes, they're excited about him. will that translate to them being excited about going into the booth two weeks from today? every single college student we have been able to talk to along our path so far, tony, the

answer is no. >> that's disappointing. we got to vote. midterms, general elections, got to vote. t.j. homes in south carolina. good to see you. 14 days until the midterm election, among all of the mud-slinging and political promises, it's easy to luz sight of what the elections are about, segt the course for the future. so on this show, we want to get back to basics, so we're asking you to help us answer one simple question what does america mean to you. it's a segment we're calling "my america is." your personal experiences, vantage point. what does this country look like from where you are standing right now? send us your thoughts and start your comments with "my america is." i'm on facebook and twitter. you can go to my blog page

cnn.com/tony. or my favorite, give us a call. we will share some of your comments on the air right here in the cnn newsroom. she fired 241 people in one day, wow. she has been called the nation's best known and controversial education reformer. michelle rhea is joining us for our segment, fix our schools, and jacqui jeras is in the severe weather center. what are you following? >> we're continuing to follow what is going on with typhoon megi, making a beline for china. hurricane season is not over yet. we'll have your forecast and extreme weather coming up. could switching to geico really save you

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building. a news conference is set to start at the bottom of the hour. we will monitor it for you and bring you details. as much as $2 billion and more is going to pakistan to help islam bad fight extremists on the border with afghanistan. cnn has learned that the obama administration is putting final touches on the security assistance package, and an announcement expected later this week. the russian republican of chechnya rocked by triple suicide attacks.the suspected mitt tants blowing themselves up at the parliament building. chechen rebels have long been fighting for independence. a huge drug bust in mexico, authorities seizing more than 100 tons of marijuana in tijuana and detained 11 people. it is being called the largest

bust in mexico in recent memory. cnn's newest primetime practice "parker spitzer" takes you behind the headlines and britains you the stories you haven't heard. last night they welcomed fred davis, republican campaign ad developer, the man behind the "i am not a witch" ad for christine o'donnell. >> she was the butt of most national jokes, and i found her -- i had dinner with her one night and filmed her the next day. that was the only time i had to get to know her. all i knew is what the voters new and that's what they saw on "saturday night live" and the "today" show and "the tonight show," and i thought it was important to draw a line in the sand and say that wa before. shis after. let's move on to what's important to people in delaware which had little to do with her being a witch or not. don't miss cnn's "parker spitzer" tonight at 8:00 p.m.

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one of the big stories we're following. shots fired at the pentagon, happened around 4:50 eastern time this morning. chris lawrence, if you would, give us the latest. what are you learning? >> reporter: from what we hear, at least five shots were heard just about ten minutes before 5:00 this morning. we've now learned that two of those rounds did hit the building. this happened on the south side of the building. it's an area of the pentagon that's under renovation right now. so no one is really working in that part. one of the bullets lodged in the window. that window didn't shatter. it's bullet-proof, and the other round hit the actual concrete part of the building. they did two sweeps of the area, the second of which they actually shut down part of the highway that leads into the pentagon, and there's a press conference starting here in just about ten minutes from now. so we're going to run up to that and hopefully get more information.

>> chris, keep us posted on that. jacqui jeras now in the severe weather center. you have amazing pictures, devastating pictures, the aftermath of super typhoon megi. >> we didn't have a lot yesterday because it's nighttime in the philippines, and we have pictures of some of the damage that megi has caused in the philippines. you see the floodwaters. 10 to 20 inches of rain fell. thousands of homes have been damaged, and you can see people standing in the rain. the amazing devastation as the super typhoon moved across the island. now it is in the south china sea and starting to ramp up again in intensity, and unfortunately, this is going to be another threat to landfall and we think it will happen late in the week across parts of china, possibly going to the west of this cone into northern parts of vietnam. this entire area has been

flooded the last couple of weeks and dozens of deaths due to flooding. so unfortunately megi is going to be bad news once again across the region. what is going on back here? it is still hurricane season. in the western caribbean, 40% chance we could see development here, but high pressure across the southeastern suz going to help push that and keep it down to the south. we think we'll be okay here. northern parts of the state dealing with cool weather and in the south unusually warm. we have some rain showers that moved across the northeastern corner. we have delays out in san francisco. this cluster of thunderstorms across the southern plains will make it's way towards the mid-atlantic and get touch of rain late tonight. you can see the temperatures extreme, really the big story across the country. everybody is talking about how it is warm and how it's cold. >> people are talk, about this

"dancing with the stars" show. i don't get an opportunity to watch much because of the news. >> i was on the phone with a friend saying you have to see florence henderson. >> we have video here. this is -- >> that is bristol palin. >> there's florence. >> wow. >> now, her performance was a little better than the one last week. >> that wasn't pretty good? >> she was trying to do the sexy mom that thing. >> that's rick fox, dancing with cheryl burke, who is terrific. >> wow, okay. >> who is this? >> that's the singer brandy? >> oh, yeah. she looks good. >> i hear she may be a front-runner. is she in the lead? >> is she? >> yeah, she's in the lead, along with the star of "dirty dancing." >> jennifer grey. you knew she was going to do

good, right? >> did we see jennifer grey at all? >> no. >> shoot. >> i saw kirk warner. >> kurt warner? >> like a butterfly. >> he's about 230 pounds. >> like a bird? >> like a bird. still to come, a united airlines 747 buzzes san francisco's golden gate bridge, but it was no accident. we'll explain the close call. a flyover. it's in what's hot. [ male announcer ] megared omega-3 krill oil from schiff.

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. bell, how about this? take a look. the great sandra indo is in town. she's based in washington. i'm working to change that, to get you here in atlanta. >> any time, tony. >> we thought we would get sandra to work through the videos we were talking about this morning. did we come up with hot video? >> i'm glad we're talking about what's hot. let's start with this, a major fumble. check out this video, a high school football game in kentucky, butler high school is in the white and they're down by 7 points with less than two seconds to go in the game, but they have the ball and there you see it, couple of guys go down. pleasure ridge high school in the darker uniform.

you see guys going down all over the place. the plars on the bench think the game is over and you see them clearing the bench and getting onto the field. they run it. >> the game is not over! >> they pick it up and run it all of the way to the end zone and score a touchdown. they end up winning it 42-41. >> that's like the famous cal play with the band on the feel. that's reminiscent of that. >> game over, not so over. >> all right, tony. i know you're a tough guy. let's see if you could do this, because a muay thai instructor is trying to warm up and break a stick with his shin. >> anybody can miss once. >> let's see. >> if you don't hit the exact point in the stick. >> well, it shouldn't happen a second time. >> he never broke it. >> he's going to try again? yeah, you got to adjust the

position. >> adjusting it, talking it up. >> your team has to hold it in a taut way. let's give it -- he'll break it this time. >> even in slow motion. so, ouch. he gave up. check out this other crazy site in san francisco. imagine you are on a beautiful sunny day watching an air show and you see a united airlines 747 making a turn and look as it slows down. >> right. >> creeping up. there's the golden gate bridge. here is the airliner making a pass. look how close it comes to the bridge. >> wow. that's insane! >> kind of disturbing because all of the blogs are talking about it, how people watching the show said it reminded them of 9/11 and they were pretty disturbed watching the video and watching the scene unfold before

their eyes. >> that's a united airlines flight? >> yes, 747, imagine the plane taking a flyover over the golden gate bridge. >> let's find out what was going on here. >> it was an air show, trying to promote united. >> that's crazy. >> in this day and age, right? >> that's what's hot. next hour somewhere. >> see you then. >> a school reformer learns some tough lessons and is resigning as head of the d.c. school system. we will talk to michelle rhee about what it takes to fix our schools. princess of the powerpoint. your core competency... is competency. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade.

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we are focusing on education today, and so is president obama. this afternoon, the president signs an executive order aimed at improving education for latinos. it renews his initiative on hispanic education, to help meet the needs of latinos from early education to higher education. michelle re is a lightning rod. i think she'd admit that. applauded by some, vilified by others. she was appointed chancellor of the troubled d.c. school system in 2007. she is featured in the documentary "waiting for super man." >> michelle rhee is the seventh superintendent of d.c. schools in ten years.

>> you wake up every morning and know that 46,000 kids are counting on you and most of them are getting a crappy education right now. >> you think most of the kids are getting a crappy education? >> i don't think they are. i know they are. there is a complete and utter lack of accountability for the job we're supposed to be doing which is producing results for kids. >> in a few months she cut over 100 jobs in the d.c. central office, closed 23 schools and fired one-quarter of all principals, including the principal of her own childrens' school. >> now i see why things are the way they are. it all becomes about the adults. >> got to tell you, after some tough lessons, michelle rhee is stepping down from her position at the end of the month. thank you for your time this morning. >> thanks for having me.

>> you just said and we highlighted a moment ago, you say in the documentary, it all comes down to the adults. for those who didn't see the documentary, what did you mean by that? >> well, i mean, if you look at our system right now, it's absolutely broken. there's no denying that. spending in the last 30 years in public education in this country has more than doubled, and the results have deteriorated. and if you look at the reasons why that's occurring, a lot of these thins have to do with adult issues, right, rules and regulations that don't allow us to have the best teachers in classrooms, bureaucracies that are bloated and stop us from putting money into the classrooms where it belongs. too many childrens and families trapped in family schools and a lot of the reasons why those problems exist is because too often we're focused on the adults and what adult issues and priorities are instead of what's in the best interest of

children. >> michelle, am i correct you hadn't led a school system before taking this job in washington, d.c., and if i am, were you surprised about what you learned about the issues? the items that you just listed, did they come as a revelation to you? >> so that's correct. i had never run a school system before i came to washington, d.c. they didn't come as a surprise to me because i had been working in public education for my entire career, so i knew what a lot of the problems looked like. i think the biggest surprise to me was not that the problems existed, but more just the level of entrenchment that existed that were stopping us, and people, you know, who had a lot of vested interest in not wanting the reforms to progress aggressively. >> how do you view yourself? this question where i'm asking to you reflect a bit. are you the great reformer of public education for d.c. and

perhaps for the country? or the person who quit on the students of washington, d.c. bra i got to tell you, i've heard both. >> you know, it's interesting, i just got an e-mail from somebody, from a woman somewhere in california, i think, and she said to me, you know, what we should do is put moms in charge of public education, moms with common sense. in many ways, that's the way i see myself, as a mother who has two children in this school system, so every time i make a decision, i now that it's going to impact my own kids, and i make the decisions based on what i believe all kid is would want for their kids. so, for example, a lot of people, say, oh, gosh, she was so mean. she fired all of those teachers. she could have spent more time and more energy making those people better, and while i understand that from a systemic point of view, i also look at it from the point of view of a parent, and i can tell you that as a parent, i'm not going to be

so excited to put my child in a classroom of an ineffective or minimally effective children, so if i'm not willing to do that with my own kids, how can i expect another parent to make that decision for their children? >> i heard you say you made mistakes in your time will in washington, d.c. if you had d.c. to do over again what would you do differently? >> definitely. i mean, obviously, like anybody, we've made a tremendous number of mistakes, but i feel like we've learned from every single one of those. for example, we did not do as good a job communicating out to the public as we should have could have done. we didn't do as good a job of reaching out to teachers to talk to them about what the advantages were of why we were making the moves that we were to remove ineffective teachers, and, again, i think it comes down to making sure that people understood that we were not making these decisions lightly. and that we were making them

because we knew that at the end of the day, even though it was going to cause a lot of opposition amongst adults, that we believed that it was the only way to push past the barriers and bureaucracy that existed and stood in the way of kids achieving. >> last question, michelle.ato if we want to see theost dramatic change, the most dramatic change for the better in public education? >> i think what it's going to take is courage, and political courage, specifically, because i think part of why the bureaucracy is as strong as it is is because there are lots of adults who benefit from the status quo and in order to change age-old practices and things that people are used to, you really have to, you know, shake things up, which means that people are going to have to think about things differently from what they used to, and, you

know, i think one example of this is, for example, how we think about laying off teachers. so in the past, it's always been last-in, first-out, so it's the newest teach here's go in times of financial troubles like we're having right now in this country. that doesn't make any sense for kids because sometimes of newest teachers are actually the most effective, most enthusiastic teachers. so you have to be able to make the decisions based on quality and performance, instead of the practices that have driven the school districts in the past which haven't worked for kids. >> issues you addressed in the new contract for teachers there in washington, d.c. michelle, are you go to new jersey next? >> i'm still thinking about all of my options and trying to figure out where i might be able to have an impact for kids. >> this your moment. break a little news for us. where are you going? >> not ready to break news yet, but i'm in conversations with lots of different folks. i think the heartening thing for

me is that there seems to be a tremendous number of people across the country who really are feeling a sense of urgency around the need to reform our school districts and lots of people who are really willing to make the tough decisions necessary to do that. so, again, i'm just sort of thinking through all of my options and figure out where i would have the most impact for children. >> yeah, you know where you're going. you're being coy. you just won't tell me. thank you for your time today. >> thank you. imagine not being able to send your kids to school because you need them to work to survive. that's a reality in liberia, and the president has a plan. >> identify one child, and i will take responsibility to either put on a mission, work with the parents to get them to school. >> pushing sponsorships to help get kitt kids off the streets and into classrooms next hour.

jessica alba, salma hayek, and eva longoria -- latina actresses, and they're increasing crossover appeal, more doors are opening in tinseltown for women of hispanic heritage. core reign winter joining us from los angeles. hollywood producers are starting to read census numbers and

opening the doors finally to latina actresses? >> reporter: absolutely, tony. these stars are breaking down so much ground in hollywood, and you probably recall it wasn't too long ago when many hispanic actresses like many other minorities were stuck with stereotypical roles that were limbing, but now actresses like jessica alba, eva, and salma are being cast in more and more leading roles. jessica alba in "valentine's day," eva mendez in "the other guys," and salma hayek in "grown ups." all latinas, all movie actresses and part of a rising trend of hispanic actresses taking on roles where their race is not central to the characters they play. alba played ashton kutcher's wife in "valentine's day."

movie website vandango.com highlighted the trend. >> the big news this year in hollywood is hispanic actresses are finally getting the significant roles they are looking for. jennifer lopez was in "the backup plan." she was in two movies this year, "the losers and takers." we had america ferer ra in "our family wedding," eva mendez in "the other guys." >> reporter: it has nothing do with their ethnicity. >> the fact that they're hispanic is secondary. >> reporter: also, she said that changes are welcome since it wasn't too long ago that latinas played maids in countless films. >> you had elizabeth pena in "down and out in beverly hills,"

and you had lupe ahtaveras in hollywood for years, playing the maid that delivers the kroez punch lines, and we're seeing less of that now. we're seeing more hispanic actresses with more meatier roles. >> reporter: perhaps the surge in latino moviegoers fueled the trend. although whites make up the majority of the american population movie goers and ticket sales, it's actually hispanics who are more likely to go to the movies. in fact, 37 million hispanic moviegoers purchased 300 million movie tickets in 2009, the highest rate of any ethnic group. the trend can be seen beyond the big screen with regards to television. look at the roles played by america ferer ra in "ugly betty." >> there is an audience there, and i think the studios are finally tapping into that, and

they're realizing that hispanic actresses can pull in an audience. >> reporter: statement bridge the gap that so long plagued latina stars who are starting to earn their place in the spotlight. tony, this is according to industry insiders all about taking baby steps, that there is still a lot of work to be done here, but this is a trend that they believe will continue. as we see jessica alba set to star in "little fokkers" and next month, eva mend december in "last night." a little progress here, if you can say it, and a lot more doors being opened. >> the demographics suggest that this should absolutely continue. hispanics the fastest growing demographic group in the united states. good to so you. >> thanks. three suicide bombers attack the chechen parliament today,

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. 14 days until election day. tea party candidate sharron angle's campaign is downplaying a remark about ethnicity. what's going on here? dana bash, part of the best political team in television, joining us from new york. what's crossing right now? >> reporter: sure, i'll start there. that's a good flies start. democrats in nevada were already awash in angle-isms, saying things that make many of her fellow republicans wince. she was with a group of students and was asked why she would call all illegal immigrants as latino. she responded by saying i don't know if all of you are latino. you look more asian to me.

she was trying to say the country was a melting pot and you can't judge people on the way they look. hispanic voters are a quarter of the population, and a source close to harry reid said we can expect him to weigh in later today. you remember a video involved on cnn of senate candidate joe miller's security team in alaska handcuffing a reporter a questi. remember that? on john king usa last night miller defended that controversial move. he said the reporter's behavior was assaultive. miller did actually answer the question the reporter was trying to ask. miller admitted to john king he was disciplined for using government computers for political purposes while he was a government employee in fairbank, alaska. miller insisted that's not why he left that government job. last on the ticker, tony, all eyes here in new york were on the debate between the two leading contenders for governor in the state.

carl paladino and andrew cuomo. the headline was more about what didn't happen than did. it wasn't the crackling event we expe expected. paladino who takes pride in sheeting from the hip didn't go there. he appeared nervous and at one point left the stage. apparently he had to go to the bathroom. >> i heard that. there was another candidate that made some news there as well. i think we have a little clip of it. we'll run it next hour. yeah, i heard that. i read that paladino actually had to make a little bathroom run. dana, good to see it. thank you. your next political update in an hour. for the latest political news, you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com. while a body inn tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day

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i took emergen-c. with 1,000 milligrams of vitamin c and energizing b vitamins, it made every performance count. emergen-c. feel the good. let's get you a quick market check right behind me, the big board. new york stock exchange, negative territory all morning. i think we were off of session lows. we were in triple digit negative

territory not that long ago. we're down 86 points. give me the nasdaq number again. what is it? down 20. we'll follow those numbers throughout the day in the newsroom. to a story we've been following, potentially faulty foreclosures. several lenders had frozen foreclosures after outrage erupted over documents that were robo signed. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with the details. the freeze didn't last long. did it last long enough to sort out the problems in the process? >> well, if you ask bank of america, tony, they'll say, sure, it lasted long enough, that they've spent the past three weeks reviewing documents and said they found no errors. in fact, the bank is saying its assessments are accurate. what they're doing is restarting these foreclosures. they're pushing through these foreclosures in 23 states. i'll pull up a map and show you which 23 we're faulk talking about. in these states a foreclosure

has to be approved by a judge. b of a expect it to move so quickly it would be submitted to the courts next week with for sale signs in front of foreclosforeclos foreclosed homes by november. these foreclosures, bank of america says, are going to be delayed in the remaining 27 states. also ally financial is restarting foreclosures as well. others will follow suit as the banks put this mess behind them and get on with business. >> as i recall, there were lawsuits and investigations into this. will they go forward? >> yeah. these investigations will go forward. in fact, state attorneys general across the country are investigating this process of signing these foreclosure documents called robo signing where bank lenders are accused of signing off on these foreclosures, sometimes hundreds a day without checking the accura accuracy. also this investigation is getting power behind it. white house press secretary robert gibbs came out today

saying the white house is going to hold banks accountable if they violated the law. this investigation also getting support from the federal housing administration, so a lot of looking into what's going on, even though banks like ally and bank of america are coming forward and saying they didn't find any errors. one thing we did see from yesterday, though, tony, is bank stocks jumped yesterday because there's some relief here. we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with this. they were worried, these banks, that there would be this lengthy foreclosure delay and it would have been costly. there's a sigh of relief for investors. >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. see you later this hour. hello, everyone, i'm tony harris. top of the hour in the cnn newsroom where anything can happen. here are some of the people behind today's top stories. looking for the gotcha moment. political supporters armed with cell phones and flash cameras hoping to influence your vote two weeks from today. we are investigating. picking your pocket. we're breaking down just how much thieves cost you even if you're not being robbed.

you're online right now. we are, too. sandra is following what's hot. >> mel gibson is trying to resurrect his career with a hangover. he's cast in a movie sequel. check it out on cnn. our lead story, two weeks to go. 14 days in counting until the high stakes midterm elections. what is at stake is the balance of power in congress. republicans are rallying hoping to rest, control back. republicans stand the best in the house. the gop needs a net gain of 39 states to take control. in the senate. this is the current breakdown there. republicans need ten seats to take charge of the senate. candidates are resorting to all kinds of tactics to try to win votes. one of the new trends is candid camera politics. supporters catch got you moments on video and use them in ads.

the story from dana bash. >> mrs. moore? this election will you support nancy pelosi for speaker? >> reporter: that's not a reporter asking the question, it's someone with kansas house candidate stephanie moore's opponent. >> would you support nancy pelosi for speaker? >> this is dakota. he following me everywhere and asks me that question. >> reporter: dakota is known as a tracker, an opposing campaign, looking for got you moments to turn into 30 seconds ads. here's an ad in new hampshire, a politically unpopular admission. >> i think i have a 90% rating with the president and maybe -- 93% with the house. all along i have said, this is what i believe. >> reporter: it's an exploding trend in political ads this year, using candidates' own words against them, often with video captured by trackers. >> it's not candid camera gotcha

moment. any time you can get your opponent on film saying something that is not popular with voters and can put that in your add and feed it out 30 seconds at a time, it's a much more effective way to run a negative ad. >> reporter: remember republican senator george allen's 2006 infamous makaca moment? >> this over here, he's with my opponent following me around everywhere. >> reporter: a tracker caught that, what appeared to be a racial slur sunk his campaign. years later, flip cell phones and advances in technology make this brand of negative campaigning easier. >> this is the -- >> reporter: colorado voters see it from both senate candidates. >> i am pro life and will answer the next question. >> ken buck, he's too extreme for colorado. >> reporter: reckless spending has become a habit.

bennett voted for obama's failed stimulus. >> i voted for it, i'm glad i did. >> dana bash joining us live from new york. dana, you have been talking to a lot of campaigns and strategists about these ads. why do they say they're doing it more and more? what's the reasoning behind this? >> first of all, in today's day and age, voters have so much information coming at them that they're looking on the web, watching tv, so many ads. this is the one thing campaigns in both parties think can really cut through in a way other things can't. for example, you heard the narrator saying ken buck is too extreme to colorado. his opponent believes if you couple that with hearing ken buck in his own words saying something they believe backs that up that there's nothing that compares to that. that's why candidates in both parties have trackers following their opponents around all across the country. >> dana, these candidates, they have to know they're being

followed, right? >> they should know they're being followed, but kind of like you and i were talking about the last hour about carl paladino having to go to the bathroom, guess what, candidates, politicians, they're all human. when they're talking to voters, when they're having a town hall, sometimes they answer questions in a way that may not be on message the way it was prepared for them. it could backfire. i have to tell you just one anecdote on this. i was talking to somebody with senator reid's campaign in nevada. we all know sharron angle has said things that's been used against her. that campaign has a tracker that follows her around. they insist in the re-campaign that tracker is not anonymous. she shows up to angle's campaign events, signs in. sharron angle knows harry reid has somebody there following her every time she's out in public at all. >> senior congressional correspondent dana bash in new york for us. good to see you. thank you. cnn is your political headquarters for up to the minute election news. you know where to go.

cnnpolitics.com. we have new information about a story we've been following this morning. shots fired at the pentagon. cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence joining us now. chris, my understanding is the pentagon wrapped up a news conference a short time ago. what's the latest? >> that's right, tony. the big question right now, was this a random event, or was it part of a larger cord nated attack? a second i'll tell you what i mean by that and why that is one possibility here. about 4:55 this morning pentagon police officers heard between five and seven gun shots. they immediately shut down the pentagon. they re-opened the pentagon. when they did an interior search they found two windows on the south side of the building had been impacted. these are bulletproof windows so the bullets shattered the window but did not penetrate through it. again, right now they're working with the joint terrorism task force. they're working with the fbi.

because yesterday the marine corps museum, that's only about 30 miles or so from here, there were multiple gunshots fired at the marine corps museum. we're told that there were ten points of impact, five hit windows, five hit metal parts of the building. here's where some of the links could be. we're told that the bullets that hit the pentagon just this morning were most likely fired from a high-velocity rifle. again, it happened befor5:00 in the morning. at the marine corps site yesterday, those bullets were also fired from a rifle and they believe they were fired between midnight and 5:00 in the morning. so there are some similaties there, and that's what they're checking out now, tony. >> yeah. real developments out of that news conference. chris lawrence at the pentagon for us. chris, appreciate it. thank you. have you ever wanted to trace your family ancestry? there could be some major surprises. i'm here to tell you, that's what our stephanie elam discovered. first, though, a random

moment in 90 seconds.

okay. we promised this with dana last hour. time to get you it here. they say politics makes for the best theater, and the characters on the stage in last night's new york gubernatorial debate make our random moment of the day. ready for this? democratic front-runner andrew cuomo and tea party-backed gop candidate carl paladino shared the event with five other candidates. among them, a retired madame, a

former black panther, and one candidate running on a very simple platform, check him out. >> it's a simple message which i say all the time. some say i'm a one-district candidate but it boils down to one thing. rent, it's too damn high. >> i'm with jimmy, the rent is too damn high. >> did we get him saying it again? just that one time? what did he say, again, the rent is too damn high. the guy has a good point and a fantastic mustache. >> it's a simple message, which i say all time. someone says i'm a one-district candidate but it all boils down to one thing. rent, it's too damn high.

boy, a sign of difficult times. churches going bankrupt at the crystal cathedral in california the latest casualty. the mega church is famous for the televangelist show, power of power. it is in a hole for at least $40 million now, so it filed for chapter 11 protection. the church's tv show will go on. for some black americans

tracing roots can lead in road blocks that only dna testing can bust through. tracing your family history can lead to real surprises. our stephanie elam found that out firsthand. check out her family tree. >> this swab -- >> reporter: i'm going on a journey to find my roots by taking dna tests from three different companies. africanancestry.com. 23andme and ancestry.com. the question is, will these tests give me the same results? >> each of us has surprises hidden in there. >> reporter: my mom's dna which each company traced back to africa. african ancestry told me i have the same as the people in begny today. >> this is showing r 1 b which is a line of very, very successful european men. the relative there that we know of is john adams. >> reporter: john adams. john adams. mountain put that in to some

perspective. >> it's the most common line in western europe. >> reporter: oh. here's my dad. why are his results so european? >> many african-americans have at least one paternal line that traces back to europe because of the relationships between, probably between slave holders and slaves. >> reporter: while perhaps shocking, history helped me understand the results, but the lack of a family history is often a reason why blacks trace their roots. >> we're the only group in this country that can't point to a country of origin. the only ones. and so that's why dna testing for ancestry has particular importance for us, historically and psychologically. >> reporter: ancestry.com's john pererra points out there's more to everyone's story than just dna. >> you really need to look at not just the dna, whether you get that an ancestry.com or some other dna service, but you need to look at all of family history. >> reporter: genealogist

anastasia tyler revealed history about my dad's father, roland, his father, john and his father, creed. >> you have such strong people in your family tree. you look at creed and john who go from not being able to read to owning land. you know, born to slavery then becoming landowners, always improving themselves. it's quite a legacy you have. >> reporter: a legacy that is not just part of black history, but american history. stephanie elam, cnn, salt lake city, utah. >> that's fascinating stuff. the black church has fought for civil and human rights. now it is waging a war on debt. "almighty debt" a black in america special coming thursday at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. delays, they waste precious time. wait until you hear how much they cost you. sorry i'm late fellas.

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aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. let's get you caught up on top stories right now. researchers say flight delays cost almost $33 billion, $17 billion lost by individual

travelers due to missed business meetings and late home arrivals. their study looked at delays in 2007. postal authorities are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever fatally shot two female postal workers. the shooting happened yesterday at a post office in western tennessee. henning, tennessee. police say they to not intend to charge former nfl linebacker junior seau for driving his car off a cliff. authorities in carlsbad, california, say drugs or alcohol were not a factor in the incident. let's get you to chad myers, severe weather center. we're start to see pictures, we didn't have them yesterday, starting to see pictures from -- >> megi. it meets cat fish in korean. that's where the name came from. when you get into the typhoons -- people asked me that yesterday, i had a couple tourists come through here. typhoon, cyclone, hurricane, what's the difference? it depends on what ocean you're in. there can be hurricanes and there are hurricanes in the pacific. when you go west of the dateline, then all of a sudden it becomes a typhoon.

and then if you get into the indian ocean, it's actually called a cyclone. same thing. same storm, same exact way that they start. same warm core, same eye. same kind of winds, but this storm, as it hit the northern part of luzon up in the philippines which is not very populated, thank goodness, this had gusts with the hurricane hunter aircraft to 199. tony, have you ever heard of such a thing? >> no, no. >> that is like an -- something like an f-4 tornado but much bigger than a tornado because it's as wide as a hurricane. >> 199? >> yes, people couldn't get out of the way fast enough. this is a monster storm and it's still in the south china sea and will make landfall up in china, hong kong, china, somewhere up here. as it moved through the philippines, there's manila, but it's all down here. manila right down here. the storm went across the northern -- there's the eye, right across.

at times this was 180 miles sustained typhoon. 180. i don't know how i can imagine what that would feel like. i'm sure they don't want to go through that again. here's what it did across the philippi philippines. i have a couple i-reports. as it came across, because of the way of the wind speed here, this bay across the northern part of the philippines could have really been flooding. we think of storm surge, think it's going to be on this side. if you push the wind long enough you can fill up bays. here it goes. category 3, category 4. that's considered hurricane. you understand cats much better than you understand typhoons. closer to hong kong, cat 2, cat 3. they're battening down the hatches. still very warm. so is the water. across the united states the water is warm, too. we have a 30% chance of something popping up here. there's cuba, the yuk yucatan

peninsula. the tropics are not done yet. people ask, when is hurricane season over? november 30th. the water is still very warm. >> yeah. yeah. still a lot to play out here. you want to see a great swing? you're a golfer. i try to play. you want to see a great swing? this is from a guy in new mexico, right? one arm. one arm. look at the swing. >> wow. >> one arm. his name is bobby baca from albuquerque. he has been playing competitive golf, you ready for this, for six years, and he can drive the ball, what's your guess on that? how far? >> 200. >> 280 yards. >> wow. >> 280 yards. here's what he says about the key to his swing. oh, we don't have the sound? oh, shoot, i thought we had the sound. he says tempo is everything. we know that to be true.

>> what i find amazing, see what arm he's using? he's playing right handed and he's using only his right hand. >> yes. >> and every lesson i've ever taken says, oh, the left hand's the most important if you're going to play right handed. >> get the right hand out of it. >> left hand, left hand, left hand. he's doing it the other way and shooting competitive golf. >> apparently, look, he made a pretty prestigious team playing in whales for the united states. and he wants to play on the senior tour. >> handi capable. that's the new word. still to come, the culture clash in arizona spilling over into the school system. we'll tell you what the teachers and students think about it. that's next.

pictures, information, insight you won't find anywhere else. cnn newsroom with tony harris. anything can happen. got to tell you when it comes to fixing our schools michelle rhee is known nationwide as a reforminger. she received high praise. in an interview last hour i asked rhee what we need to do to see the most dramatic improvement in public education. >> i think what it's going to take is courage. and political courage. specifically. because i think part of why the bureaucracy is as strong as it is is because there are lots of adults who benefit from the status quo and in order to change age-old practices and things that people are used to, you really have to, you know, shake things up which means people are going to have to think about things differently from what they used to. and i think one example of this

is, for example, how we think about laying off teachers. so in the past it's always been last in, first out. so it's the newest teachers who go in times of financial troubles like we're having right now in this country. that doesn't make any sense for kids because sometimes the newest teachers are the effective teachers, the most enthusiastic. you have to make decisions based on quality and performance instead of the practices that have driven the school districts in the past which clearly have not worked for kids. >> yeah. issues you addressed in the new contract for teachers there in washington, d.c. michelle, are you going to new jersey next? >> i'm still thinking about all of my options and trying to figure out where i might be able to have an impact for kids. the culture war continues in arizona. last may the state's governor signed a law banning ethnic studies in arizona schools. the legislation specifically

targeted curriculum taught from the mexican-american perspective. thelma gutierrez now reporting on the reaction from the state's educators and students. >> lawmakers agreed to ban so-called ethnic studies programs in our schools. >> students are taught a revolutionary curriculum. it's an outrageous abuse of taxpayer funds. >> reporter: it's a showdown in arizona over the right to teach american history, american government, art and literature from a mexican-american perspective. >> culture clash tackles, looks like what kind of issues would we call those? social justice issues. so racism, zenophobia. >> i want people to know we're proud of our contributions from a chicano perspective, we're proud of the contributions we made to this country. we think it's worthy of study.

>> i want you to talk about his themes, i want tow you connect them to the southwest. >> we're studying american history. we're looking at all contributions and not just from the white dominant narrative. >> it bothers me when they're told that the united states is dominated by white imperialist structure out to impress them as latinos. >> are you teaching them they are the oppressed group? >> we don't have enough time to be victims. we need to change the world now. so there's no poor me stuff in here. >> they're teaching them they live in occupied mexico that arizona, california, new mexico and other states were taken from mexico in 1848. >> reporter: california, new mexico, arizona, we're part of mexico. >> yes. >> reporter: what's wrong with learning about that in. >> we teach that in history. they teach them this is occupied territory, that it should be given back. >> reporter: at any point are you teaching kids that this area ought to go back to mexico? >> no. absolutely not. this is the united states. what i'm trying to --

>> reporter: do any of the textbooks advocate that? >> no. >> reporter: how many of you want the southwest to go back to mexico? how many of you want this area to remain in the united states and want to remain american citizens? the superintendent told us it's not the school's business to promote ethnic pride. >> it should not divide kids up by race and teach each race only its own background. that i think is contrary t the american value. >> what is it to be american? we're not just looking at skin color or anything. we're looking inside ourselves and opening our mouths and our voices. >> that's part of the problem, like, we have to learn about this stuff to be aware about it. >> the law takes effect december 31st. what if those classes continue to go on past the 31st? >> we will inform them that we're withholding 10% of the budget of the school district.

>> people have the right to learn their history, and how could you say it's liberty of freedom in the united states of america without that? >> i really don't want this class to be taken away. ♪ god bless america >> reporter: thelma gutierrez, cnn, tucson, arizona. >> pretty emotional stuff there. other people's sticky fingers deep inside your pockets. you may not know any shop lifters out there but the old five-finger discount is costing you big-time. i freak out. i spill my large espresso. [ crash! ] the searing pain makes me slam on the brakes. uh oh. your fault. and your fifteen-minute insurance, may not cover my ninety thousand dollar car. so i sue you. cuz that's what i do. so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar

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to say you think your electric bill was high this month, don't complain about it to this woman from akworth, georgia. she got a bill from her power company for more than wait for it, wait for it, you see it right there, $1 billion. how does that happen? cobb energy was able to correct the error, thankfully. you think? they brought the bill down to a slightly more manageable $287. that's still ridiculous. speaking of bills you shouldn't have to pay, a new report out today says every family in this country is spending hundreds of dollars to make up for widespread theft at our stores. josh is here with more on that. >> this comes out once a year. the numbers are staggering. it's called the global retail theft barometer, from a group in england, sens center in england.

check out this whopping figure, u.s. retailers, alone in the year ending in june lost $39 billion. that's to theft and in some cases to administrative errors. what does that boil down to? every family on average in this country is paying more than $400, $423 to an average family in america. the costs of all that theft, eventually, trickles down. people are paying for it. that figure is substantially higher in the u.s. than it is globally. and retail theft damaging the economy all around the world. you're seeing figures, actually, a little bit lower. we're talking about all supply chains. you have shoplifting but have employee crimes. somewhere while the goods are making their way to the stores. so some amounts digs disappear. north american retailers are digit from the rest of the world saying here employee debt is the bigger problem then comes shoplifting. retailers losing, 1.5% of retail

sales. good news in the report today, losses are down, dropped 7% from the year before. it's probably because retailers are spending a lot more money. they've increased the amount of money they're putting into security measures. that seems to be helping a little bit. they've added about 12% to the measures that they're using to increase coverage, make sure they don't lose as much sales. >> wait a minute. what are the shoplifters and the employees who are stealing, what are they stealing? what are they taking? >> i wanted to know what are the goods that are the most popular things disappearing? cosmetics and perfumes are among the most stolen items. that makes sense. most of it -- >> mac stuff. that's good stuff. >> is it? okay. i didn't know you were an expert on that. >> unfortunately i am. >> we all are after being in the makeup room enough. this is interesting, too. auto parts and building materials. it doesn't have to be the thing you can stick in your pocket and run out. last ones, fashion.

in this country, name brand fashion, name brand items disappear and so do accessories. again, special name brand. i posted the report at facebook and twitter. it shows you how it boils down to you. our folks at cnn money took this report. you can see other things getting stolen. it's an ugly, ugly thing. josh, thank you. we're updating your top stories. before we do that, we want you to check out this video. it has gotten more than a million hits online. this is a kindergartner, right? a kindergartner from north korea whose talent flats-out amazed us in the morning meeting. more than a million people have watched her on youtube. take a look for yourself. ♪

let's get you caught up on top stories right now. shots fired at the pentagon. officials haven't figured out who fired and why. two bullets hit the building. there's no serious damage or reports of injuries. remember steven slater, the former jetblue employee who became a household name when he quit his job with a few choice words and an emergency slide? he's been ordered into a mental health program, part of a plea deal he made in new york. today slater pleaded guilty to attempted criminal mischief. he faces between one and three years in jail if he does not comply. and right now we have to share a random moment. again. if you missed it the first time around, you'll know why we want to share it again. it's pretty shameless t lesless sure.

this moment brought to you by the new york gubernatorial debate. have a listen. >> it's a simple message which i say all the time. someone says i'm a one-issue candidate. it all boils down to one thing. rent, it's too damn high. >> i'm with jimmy, the rent is too damn high. dochuck wo it chucking my wd!ang woodk, my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae.

algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands. you know what, tell me, what makes peter, peter ? well, i'm an avid catamaran sailor. i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and i really love my bank's raise your rate cd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap ? uh, actually, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spent 8 days lost at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love our raise your rate cd that offers a one-time rate increase if our current rates go up. ally. do you love your bank ?

time now for the help desk. we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, amanda with money magazine and gary, the financial planner and president of objective advice. thanks for being here. we have a lot of good questions today. c.r. writes, i'm in the military serving overseas and plan on returning to the states in december. i want to purchase my first home, but is it still easy to get a va loan? i'm being told they used to be no money down loans but everything i hear now says no money down loans are a thing of the past. amanda? >> he's right. conventional 0% down payment loans are a thing of the past. with va loans you can put 0% down. veterans and active duty personnel in the military can take advantage of this. he should know he will have to

come to the table with some costs because he'll have to pay closing costs which run a few thousand dollars. >> let's go on to our next e-mail from james in nj nmg. since my wife and i bought our house we've been bombarded with home refinancing letters with varying rates. is this something i should investigate? >> you have to investigate. everybody should be evaluating, refinancing. you have to be careful what the terms are. what are the closing costs? are there points? are there charges? there's gold in the charge s bu have to sift through it. >> have to do homework. thanks so much for being here. the help desk about getting you answers. send us an e-mail at cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com. you can always head on over to the news stand to pick up the latest issue of "money" magazine.

two weeks now until election day. some big poll results are coming in. cnn chief national correspondent john king, the host of "john king usa" part of the best political team on television joining us from the political desk. john, good to see you. what is crossing right now, sure? >> good morning to you. imagine you're a democrat two weeks from election day. you're in a tough race. who do you want to help? bill clinton or barack obama? both are popular among democrats but gallup did a survey on this

and said bill clinton is a better surrogate if you will. they asked if you're more likely to vote for a candidate supported by bill clinton or barack obama? bill clinton has the edge with 53% versus 48%. we will see and hear barack obama the president of the united states in more advertisements, part of a new ad for incumbent senator barbara boxer in california. he'll be in a new democratic national committee radio ad, a get out the vote ad, tony, in florida, illinois, missouri, ohio, pennsylvania and wisconsin. all critical battleground states two weeks from today. one of those states i just noted, ohio, if you're watching one race, think about this, the white house will be watching the ohio governor's race to see if ted strickland can overcome high unemployment, overcome a tough economy right now. well, at the moment he's not doing so well. here's a new quinnipiac university poll among likely voters in ohio. republican john kasich 51%. democrat ted strickland 41%. that race right there a snapshot

of how toh it is for a democratic chief executive, governor running if a tough economy this year. the white house is watching that not only for 2010 but how important ohio is in 2012, my friend. >> give us an update on the money. i was listening to something on the way in today that suggested republicans could actually outspend democrats in this election cycle. which seems a little odd because, correct me if i'm wrong here, it is the party in power that has the fund-raising advantage normally. am i correct in that? >> you're not wrong. holding the presidency helping the political party raise money. president obama has proven to be a successful fund-raiser for the democratic party. however, the republicans in part because they see opportunity, their donors see opportunity, so they're willing to give more money to the organizations, to the national party organizations, especially the republican governor's association and the house and the senate campaign committees. also all that outside money. republicans have a huge edge when it comes to that outside

money that's become such a controversy in the final weeks of the campaign, not because they're spending it, because it's not disclosed. we don't know where the money is coming from. the supreme court said that's okay. the president tried to get a law through the congress. the democrats couldn't get enough votes to pass it in part of republican opposition. the republicans have an edge. that's an anomaly when the power in party can raise more cash. >> he has a terrific show on the air, "john king usa." your next political update coming up at the top of the hour. for the latest political news, you know where to go, it's cnnpolitics.com. politics is about more than just poll numbers. and politicians. it is how we define together what our nation's future should look like. so here in the cnn news rooroom we're asking you to help us answer one simple question. what does america mean to you? "my america is." what does this country look like

from where you are standing right now? listen to what viewers have already sent in. >> it is the land of opportunity and in spite of all of the issues and problems that we're facing now, there's still hope. there's still hope that the country is going to come together and rise up above all of the things that are going on in the world today. >> our america is a place where i came from foreign country and gave me hope. i am safe, secure. we should love this country more than ourselves or our parties. republican or democrat. let's build this country with our strength and our hope and beliefs. it's a beautiful country. i love it. >> hi, i'm trevor from michigan, and my america is in the trenches. i feel all the candidates are just not enough for what we need. >> would you like to add your voice to the conversation?

you can. reach me at facebook or tonyharris cnn at twitter or go to my blog page cnn.com/tony. or give us a call, 877-742-5760. we'll share your comments on the air in the cnn newsroom. meet me at starbucks for an espresso, maybe a beer, some fine wine and you don't have to bring your own bottle. we have got what's hot on the internet. ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize i better start doing something. we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think, "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. with standard features more like the mercedes c300, you'd have to take out the six-disc cd changer

and leather-trimmed seats. with the bmw 328i, you'd also lose the power moonroof and 17-inch alloy wheels. and some others in its class -- forget wood detailing or sound-dampening windshields, to name a couple. but why would you want to do that? the lexus es -- standard is nothing short of extraordinary. see your lexus dealer.

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okay. here we go. sapd ra is with us. she works for us out of washington. and we're going to work on getting you here full time. all right? that's afoot right now. sandra, here's why we do this "what's hot" segment. we know people are online right now, apparently this is primetime for folks online. so we know they're there, so we're there as well. you have us covered today. what's hot? >> what's hot is happy hour at starbucks. you taking me out? >> of course. >> let's go. starbucks is now not only serving up just hot coffee, they're starting to serve up booze. beer and wine. the 40-year-old seattle-based company is uncorking this experiment at a branch in seattle. they're starting to serve booze after 4:00 in the afternoon. a class of wine is $7.50 to $9 and beer, $4.75. >> okay.

okay. trying to get more market share. something new. i know they were doing stuff in the supermarkets and now they're adding beer and wine. this is what's really hot on cnn.com right now. take a look at this. mel gibson resurrecting his career. maybe, though, with a hangover. check out this smiley face. okay. this is what's hot. i'm talking about hangover number two. look at all the items, all the comments here. >> he's going to be in the sequel? >> yeah. he hasn't been in the headlines for anything good lately, his personal life. he's trying to get his professional life back on track. there he is. and he'll be in "hangover." a cameo appearance, that is. >> yeah, yeah. a lot of hot water, maybe trying to get his career. he'll probably be the butt of a couple of jokes. the first movie was funny. this is hot. i know you like to drop it like it's hot. >> did you say that? >> am i allowed to say that? >> chad, did she just say that?

>> you know about hop, hip hop. you know that j-pop? japanese pop is hot right now. people are talking about this. looking at this video. this is the first ever robot pop star. she's in the middle. look at her backup dancers doing their thing. that robot is also holding her own, too. tony, she would make a good dance partner for you. >> yeah, as i'm dropping it like it's -- like it's hot. oh. didn't mean to leave you with that visual. sandra, thank you. you rock star. we're back in a minute. let's leave everybody with more of the dropping it like it's hot video. ♪

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we have been focusing a lot on education challenges in the united states. if you want to talk about a crisis situation, talk about where many kids are not in school because they have to work for survival. brenda bush reports liberian president has a new plan to help tackle that problem. >> reporter: this 10-year-old arrives at a market peddling bags of cold drinking water she's balancing skillfully on her head. this little girl as snacks for sale. and this kid is selling individual packets of bouillon cubes used for cooking. thousands of children have to work to help support families instead of getting an education. the problem is so pervasive, come to market or just about any street and see kids at work when

they should be at school. those little sellers are a big concern for president surli, the only woman elected president in africa is fighting to increase school enrollment and curb child labor in this post-war nation. >> we can do something. we can change their lives. >> reporter: the president has a plan. >> just see, in each one saves one. what a difference we could make. >> reporter: she came to make her pitch at a back to school rally dubbed operation end children street selling. the president calling on officials and ordinary citizens to help the most impoverished children get an education through sponsorship. >> we identify one child, i'll take responsibility. work with the parents. >> reporter: usaid says liberia's literacy rate is 50% and dispo porti pproportionatel

among males that females. one little girl who spoke at the rally revealed she carried a pan on her head so long hair could no longer grow on the top of her head. >> there are hundreds of little girls like that on the streets, in the markets. >> reporter: the president tells us steps she has taken like repairing war-damaged schools and making elementary education free are making a difference but admits there's a long ways to go. >> we're getting them in, as they move from primary into secondary. it's another problem. they drop out of school too early. some of them may become prostitutes sometimes for survival. so we're thinking of many ways how we can keep them in school. >> reporter: that ambitious task of keeping kids in school hasn't