what it's doing is legal. just another reminder that what's legal and what's ethical aren't always one and the same. that's my "xyz." brooke baldwin now as "newsroom" continues. a champion swimmer dies in the water. now his sport is shocked. but did he have foreshadow his own death with letters to swimming authorities? his sister joins me live. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. inside a twister. the power to kill and crush entire neighborhoods. eight days left. >> all this stuff about bipartisanship is important. >> reporter: cnn on the trail in florida, illinois, california, rhode island, new mexico. and why is actor randy quaid seeking asylum in another country? who exactly are he and his wife running from?

all right. good afternoon, i'm brooke baldwin. welcome to the "cnn newsroom." i'm going to tell you a tough story here about a young man 26 years of age. and he was aiming for the olympics. instead, a talent young athlete died doing what he loved most. look at the picture. swimming. his name was fran crippen. he died saturday while competing in the last leg of the marathon swimming world cup in the united arab emirates. again, 26 years of age. talk about an elite athlete here. an official with the uae official swimming federation says his death was caused by severe fatigue. earlier, another official told us that preliminary results indicated he had a heart attack. but other swimmers in the race say the water was just too hot. whatever caused fran crippen's death obviously an horrific loss for the swimming community and of course his family.

his sister mattie will be joining us here momentarily. she is minutes away. you'll want to stick around and hear what his older sister is saying. meantime let's get to this developing story. i want to fill you in on stories unfolding at the top of the hour. we just found out what made those nine college students so sick -- you remember the story at that off campus house party in washington state? they had to go to the hospital. it turns out their drinks were not spiked with drugs as some were wondering. in fact, we have now learned they had been drinking this alcoholic energy drink. it's called for loco. some refer to this as backout in a can. authorities say the students were apparently so drunk, their blood alcohol levels averaged almost three times the legal limit for driving. three times. the highest we're told was more than four times over the legal limit. university officials say more than three dozen students face conduct hearings because of

that particular house party. you remember this girl? we called her the hiccup girl. she was famous because she had the hiccups nonstop for months and months. this was back in 2007. well, she's getting a little bit of attention today. not the kind of attention she wants. she is a murder suspect. this is 19-year-old jennifer mee's mug shot. take a look at this. she's charged with first gre murder in the shooting death of a florida man during a weekend armed robbery. police say mee lured the victim to a home where he was robbed at gun point, shot several times. the victim met mee on a social networking site. mee did appear in court today. in fact, a judge denied her bail for her and her alleged accomplices. we have another apology here today from the head of npr over the firing of senior news analyst juan williams. in a memo to npr employees vivian schiller, this woman

here, says she is not sorry williams was canned but she is sorry for theway it was handled. she said, quote, i regret that we did not take the time to better prepare our messaging and provide you with the tools to cope with the fallout this episode. npr fired williams after he said he gets worried and nervous when he sees people in muslim drese on airplanes. schiller apologized thursday for saying williams 'feelings are between him and his psychiatrist. and just to remind you in just a couple moments here i'm going to be talking to the sister of that swimmer who died doing what he loved. we're going to be talking to her about what she thinks happened, some of the safety kerneconcern perhaps this man had as he traveled to the uae and what's next for this shocked and saddened swimming community. we will have that any moment now. also, a special agent charged with murder after he shot and killed a drunk man in the virgin islands. but fellow agents say he's no

killer. this guy was a hero. you'll hear how it all went down. plus this. >> i took one sip of it. i immediately threw up without even a single drink. i mean, that's how powerful it was. >> again, this story. washington state, about a dozen people rushed to the hospital after their drinks were allegedly spiked at a college party. officials had no idea what might have been in these drinks. now we're hearing. the school and prosecutors know exactly what they think happened. that is ahead. been through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead. this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. [ male announcer ] you're at the age

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." want to tell you about a young man who was aiming for the olympics. he was thinking 2012 was it. instead, a talent young athlete

died doing what he loved the most, swimming. fran crippen died saturday while competing in the last leg of the marathon swimming world cup at the uae, united arab emirates. he was 26 years old. an official with the uae swimming federation says his death was caused by severe fatigue. earlier, another official told us that preliminary results had indicated he had a heart attack. but other swimmers say the race, the water was just too hot. whatever it was that caused fran crippen's death, it is a terrible, terrible loss. of course especially for his parents and his sister. mattie. mattie crippen, good enough to join me. i have a little brother. i cannot imagine. i'm sorry for your loss, but i thank you for coming on and joining me to talk about your brother. i'm sure your goal right now, the goal of your family, is to get your brother home. but i have to ask have you heard anything from investigators as far as a possible cause of death here?

>> the official word coming out of the uae as fran makes his way home is that he died from drowning. so now we have to go and figure out exactly how that happened, because obviously fran was a swimmer who was in peak physical shape at a national level. he was on the national team swimming really with the world's best in his event. and he -- no one, whether you're a 4-year-old or an 84-year-old swimming in a swimming event should drown. so we need to -- once fran gets home and is back with our family and laid to rest and we're able to all gather and celebrate his life, then we'll start putting those puzzle pieces together and figuring out how fran -- how exactly fran passed, what the

circumstances were and -- >> let's talk, maddy, if we can, about some of those puzzle pieces. and i know we don't know how. let's just put that out there. but let's talk about what we do know the facts. we know this was a two-hour race and the uae in terms of the water temperature at the start of the race was 84 degrees. others said, no, it was more in the 90 degree range and the air temperature pretty hot, around 100. from what you know as fran as this uber elite athlete, was he used to this, these conditions? >> yeah. fran actually swam in the uae last year. so he had been to the site before. he had swam this race before. so he had done all of these things. and fran has swam in very cold water, very hot water. that's just the nature of that sport and that event, which is why i didn't like it because i'm not a big fan of cold water. but he really did like the -- like the different elements. and there was a lot of

psychology behind that. that's what he liked about the sport. and so -- >> physically tough and mentally tough as well, obviously, to endure this kinds of race. but, maddy, have you talked at all to anyone within the race, someone programs administering water to you? did anyone report any kind of condition that was out of the ordinary? >> we -- i talked to the person that we had on-site there -- when i say we, i say the united states. the united states -- we sent a delegation swimming. and he was feeding fran water. he said that the swimmers were hot but they thought that they would be and fran was taking water. so they go through feedings on these races. and he was taking his regular feedings. he wasn't himself -- as the race continued, there was something -- >> what do you mean by that? he wasn't himself? >> fran usually -- he started

out the race at the top of the pack supposedly. and he just felt -- supposedly he just wasn't charging like he usually does. and so -- which can be a ton of things. we all know we have good days and bad days and some days it's easier to get out and go to work than others. so i think that we have to figure out what the conditions were and how they affected fran. >> with regard to the conditions, you said something earlier today that struck me, is that fran did have concerns months before this uae race about some of the safety issues or perhaps lack thereof, the safety out on the water. tell me about some of the letters he wrote and what specifically, maddy, were his concerns? >> i know that over the course of the last six months that he has taken -- he has made a

personal commitment to making sure that safety at these races was in the forefront. and i don't want to quote him, because i don't know it off the top of my head. but i know that he was committed to making sure that he was -- that he was involved in making sure that there were rules and regulations in place. because every time you go to a pool in any international swim meet, there is a -- there is a sanity rule and regulation, there's a water rule and regulation, there's an air quality rule and regulation. there's a number of medical people -- lifeguards, et cetera, et cetera. >> had anything happened for him to red flag something for him to write these letters or was it simply precautionary? >> i think fran -- i mean, he had -- this was a world cup circuit that he was doing, sponsored by fina, which was the

international governing body of swimming. and they -- he had gone to these events. and he just wanted to make sure that he -- fran didn't complain ever really about anything. but when he takes action, that must have meant that he felt that there could -- things could be better. and the really great perspective that fran had was he was on the national team in the pool, so he had been a pool swimmer. so he had the ability to compare staff that was involved and the rules that are involved as it being a pool swimmer on the national level and traveling to international meets to being -- >> perhaps, though, in you saying things could be better, that would be the reason -- since he didn't complain -- programs he was thinking things could be better at this uae open water race? >> i don't know if he had the uae in his -- i think he had the

whole -- every single event. he wanted it to be the same across the board. and i think he thought that was only fair to the athletes who were traveling there. and because different countries got different events, each one a lot of times had their own -- their own way of going about handling the athletes. and fran -- fran wanted to make sure that no matter where you were, you did everything the same way. >> let me ask you one more question. i want to read you this statement speaking of how authorities are handling things from the uae swimming association director. we are sorry that the guy died but what can you do? they go on and say the guy was tired and pushed himself a lot. i'm sure by now in all the interviews today you've heard that over and over but the fact that they refer to your brothers as the guy, what is your thoughts on that and, number two, was he tired?

>> i'll take the first question first. i think that -- and i've said this all day long. it was extremely insensitive. a part of me hopes that it was just misconstrued in translation. i don't know. but i am taking a little solace in maybe that part of it. i just can't believe that somebody would be that insensitive to somebody who passed and had so many people who loved him. and then the second part of the question -- could you repeat? >> i know. how about this bottom line, let's just talk about his legacy just briefly, maddy. michael phelps is writing about this on his facebook page. your brother, well respected guy. passionate guy. >> yeah. yeah. and passionate is a great word to wrap him all up. fran lived every minute of his life filled with passion, whether it was swimming in the pool or cheering for the philadelphia phillies. he did it to -- he did it and

you knew it. and he held himself to a high -- the highest level. and he expected everybody else to. that's one thing that everybody loved about him. and he will be missed here but we know he is with us always and we love him and we'll do -- >> what an impressive -- >> yes. >> maddy crippen, i thank you. i appreciate your strength. i don't know if i'd be so put together in the situation that you're in. i thank you. god bless. >> thank you very much. take a look at this. >> unbelievable. >> a powerful tornado. look at this i-report. rocking parts of texas. i'm talking winds up to 125 miles an hour sweeping through the region. it is all, as you see, caught on video. i'm going to talk to this young man who experienced it first hand with his girlfriend holding on for dear life apparently.

that is ahead. and did you hear what a goodbubernatorial candidate sai rhode island? he told president obama to, quote, shove his endorsement. jessica yellin standing by with some heated words on the campaign trail.

lincoln chafee is a former republican u.s. senator from rhode island. back in 2007, he officially became an independent and one year later endorsed the presidential bid of then senator obama. chafee is now in the midst of this three-way race for governor in the state of rhode island. and while president obama has not endorsed chaff yee, the

white house has let it be know known there will be no formal endorsement of the democratic nominee caprio. this is what caprio told a local radio station exactly how he felt about this presidential snub. >> i've never asked president obama for his endorsement, and what's going on here is really washington insider politics at its worst. you have two former senators, senator chafee and former senator obama who have behind the scenes tried to put together an endorsement. he can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as i'm concerned. >> take his endorsement and really shove it. jessica yellin joins me now from new mexico. jessica, wow. a chaff yee spokesman calls the lack of endorsement a big victory. first why. and is this a way for a president to endorse a former republican without officially endorsing him?

>> reporter: well, it's not a non-endorsement endorsement but a big way to show appreciation for chafee's loyalty to the president during the campaign, during the 2008 campaign. and, look, this is what politicians do all the time. bill clinton, we see him going around the country campaigning for democrats who don't really sometimes have a shot at winning. but because that democrat endorsed hillary clinton, bill clinton is there. this what president obama did take that a step further and i'll tell you some other democrats are not happy about it. one top democrat called it sloppy and unprofessional in a year that democrats really need every bit of help they can get. there you have it. it's politics. >> it is politics. let's talk politics in new mexico where you are covering the governor's race possibly the meanest in the country. first let's show you what we mean. >> department gave sanctuary to

illegals. she promised to change the policies but it said. so did juan gonzalez and he just attacked another child. >> when a new mexico high school janitor and coach were both charged with sexual contact with students susana martinez cut deals and allowed them to avoid registering as sex offenders. now we don't know where they're lurking because she didn't do her job. >> jessica, i feel like we were just talking about this new mexico race as an example how races r. flying under the radar. tell me who these women are and why i should care about this race if i don't live in new mexico. >> reporter: i'll give you a couple of reasonings. one is the truth is you and i have covered a lot of gaffe-prone female candidates this election season. here are two women running against each other. no one ever credits their credibility for office and

neither is given to making gaffes. it is the only governor's race in the nation where you have two women competing against each other, two women in the race. and one susana martinez would become the first latina governor in america if she were to win. martinez is a republican. she's tough on illegal immigration. conservative in this state and running ahead. her democratic challenger diane dennish is lieutenant governor and she's being attached to bill richardson, the current governor here, who is very low in the popularity polls right now. democrats are trying to bring martinez down, trying to run against her by comparing her to other republican women elsewhere -- sharron angle and christine o'donnell. so i asked ms. martinez what she thinks of that comparison. listen. a left-leaning organization emily's list has described you as an extremist in line with christine o'donnell and sharron angle. what do you think of that comparison? >> i don't have any response to be made to anyone who would make

such a comparison like that. i'm my own person. i'm a person who works hard for those who don't have a voice in the courtroom. i have worked hard for the most vulnerable in our community. i deliver results. and because i'm pro-life, i make no apologies for that whatsoever. >> reporter: why don't you welcome the comparison to sharron angle and christine o'donnell? >> i'm my own person. i'm focused on what new mexico nieds. what i need to make sure is what's important to new mexico in getting rid of the corruption, getting people back to work, securing our borders. >> reporter: and, brooke, just for the record we did try to interview diane dennish but she's trying to get out the vote and didn't have time. >> no one is questioning their credibility. they're just being plain mean. ladies can be tough, can't they? in the beautiful state of new mexico. thank you. so with just a week here before voters, you get to go out to the polls, speak your minds

across the country. what's the mood like in chicago? wait until you hear what voters there are thinking. we are live there on the ground. and a college football player shot to death by police. now, his friends and family say this shooting not justified. now someone, though, is talking and what they're talking about has to do with the results of his autopsy. his family is livid. you'll find out why next. ♪ if you have gout, high uric acid can lead to more attacks. ♪ to help reduce attacks, lower your uric acid. uloric lowers uric acid levels in adults with gout. it's not for the treatment of high uric acid without a history of gout. uloric reduces uric acid to help you reach a healthy level. [ female announcer ] don't take uloric if you are taking azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or theophylline. gout may flare when starting uloric. don't stop taking it. your doctor may give you other medicines

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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. all right. a massachusetts family has made it through one heck of a week. a week since their 20-year-old son was shot dead by police outside of a bar near new york city. we do have some new developments today, but the bearing on the case here still not known.

i'm talking about the death of danroy or d.j. henry. happened last weekend outside of this bar in thornwood, new york. he was shot in this car here you're looking at here during a street brawl. you see the crime scene tape. police say he gunned his car at them, forcing them to open fire. but some witnesses say that's not the right story. another different story here is what condition henry was in at the time of the shooting. the family's attorney says henry was not drinking that night and was a designated driver, waiting for friends as a good dd would outside of a bar. now we're hearing differently and hearing sources that cite familiar with the autopsy there was a blood alcohol level found in henry's system. so whichever is true the college student's parents a full week later here say they're still not getting straight answers from anyone. >> we as parents haven't even seen an autopsy.

and where there is conflicting eyewitness testimony or statements that say d.j. was refusing to drink, wasn't drinking, was a designated driver. so it is just mind boggling to us that this would happen. >> that's all we want to know is what happened. we have yet to have anyone sit down and tell us what happened. as parents, we just want to know how our son left this earth. we know how he got here. we just want to know what happened. we just want the truth, just the truth. >> the parents are searching for the truth here. we have no firm word yet as to who leaked those autopsy results or why. also over this weekend we heard from henry's friend. remember brandon cox who was sitting in the passenger seat when police were firing at the car. >> we were just enjoying each other's company catching up. we generally enjoy being with each other. we have fun together.

it was good until everything happened. >> reporter: they're saying d.j. was actually drunk at the time. can you comment on that? was that true? were you drinking? >> i can't speak to that either because it's a case. like i said, the truth will prevail and d.j. will get justice for what was done to him. >> reporter: does it matter if he was drinking or not? >> i mean, no. i mean -- they still had no right to fire on him. either way. i don't -- i don't see them being able to justify that either way. but, i mean, like i said, we'll see what happens when we finally go to court. >> the henry family will hold a funeral this coming friday on what would have been his 21st birthday. switching gears here, hero or villain? the few two for an atf agent charged with second gre murder could hinge on what a jury decides. here's some of the back story. talking about special agent william clark.

goes on trial today for the 2008 shooting death of a man in the u.s. virgin islands. clark, keep in mind he was off duty at the time. the guy he shot was his neighbor in the virgin islands. his lawyers say he intervened in a domestic dispute. prosecutors, though, say he overreacted. clark has pleaded not guilty. jeanne meserve is following the story. we know from at least the federal side, federal officials are jout raged and say clark was just working as a good samaritan. >> in fact some of them say clark is a hero, not a murderer. but a jury selection in his murder trial is getting underway today in the virgin islands. back in september of 2008, clark, an atf agent came to the aid of a neighbor fighting with her boyfriend. the girlfriend got in clark's car but according to a police affidavit the boyfriend approached the vehicle wielding a heavy flashlight. clark fired and killed him.

according to clark's lawyer, the victim weighed 260 pounds and toxicology tests showed he was under the influence of alcohol and had barbiturates and morphine in his system. john adler is with the law enforcement officers association. >> when someone in that condition, that physical/mental condition charges at you with an 18 inch metal flashlight, that's akin of negotiating with a bull who charges at you. unfortunately a verbal offense won't stop the bull from inserting horns and killing you. he took the appropriate force to stop the charging man with the 18 inch flashlight and saved both hills life as well as the battered girlfriend. >> reporter: a federal investigation said the shooting was justified. the virgin islands government concluded he used excessive force in a domestic situation where he did not have jurisdiction. he shot the boyfriend five times, brooke.

>> we know that federal authorities are so angry as we just heard in that sound bite, so angry they pulled the agents out in 2008. looking big picture, this decision here could have a far-reaching impact for federal law enforcement not just in the virgin islands but any u.s. territory, couldn't it? >> reporter: the u.s. virgin islands is an unincorporated territory of the u.s. but a judge ruled that clark was not entitled to the protections that are usually given to federal agents. senator charles schumer of new york has written that could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement and as you mentioned the atf removed its agents from the virgin islands in 2008. they're still not back there. >> what a story. we will follow this along with you this week. thank you. she is the teenager who couldn't stop hiccupping. you hear her? you remember this? guess what, she is now charged with murder. you will hear the shocking turn of events ahead. ocid most calcium supplemts...

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we're getting a couple of tweets from you. you watched my interview with maddy crippen. she is the older sister of fran who is the 26-year-old who died over the weekend in that uae race. they're citing drowning for now but a lot of people are questioning the water temperature, the air temperature. i spoke with his sister just a couple of minutes ago and some of you are already weighing in. let's go to the twitter board because she was a strong sister talking about her brother. just says that is one amazing sister right there. i'm in awe of her strength. me too. one more from conhake. when i see people this strong right after the death of someone close i wonder if they are still in shock. those tweets again on the fran crippen -- maddy crippen

interview. we'll replay it in case you missed any of it -- it was pretty compelling -- next hour in the "cnn newsroom." it's not too surprising when drugs are found inside of a dorm room. but how about a drug lab? wait until you hear what police found on georgetown's xus. i'm talking d.c., georgetown university. that's ahead. witnesses said they saw hail the size of golfballs. i'm going to talk to a guy who hid in the freezer of a fast food restaurant as powerful tornadoes ripped across texas. we're going to hear his story. and supporting a family of four. after i got the job at walmart, things started changing immediately. then i wrote a letter to the food stamp office. "thank you very much, i don't need your help any more." you know now, i can actually say i bought my home. i knew that the more i dedicated... the harder i worked, the more it was going to benefit my family. this my son, mario and he now works at walmart. i believe mario is following in my footsteps. my name is noemi, and i work at walmart. ♪

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rice. take a look with me. >> we are in a tornado! we are in the tornado! it is tremendous! we're in the tornado! we are in the tornado! >> a little close for me but we appreciate that i-report. that is navarro county emergency management director. that is eric meyers, the voice you just heard. that tornado also tossed an 18-wheeler on to a car. this is how strong these tornadoes are. it knocked 11 train cars off the track. four people were slightly hurt and hail pounded as that storm approached. several people dashed inside a fast food restaurant and rode out the tornado in a freezer. take a look at this.

>> oh, my goodness! >> in the cooler! in the cooler! everybody get in the cooler! >> you saw that funnel cloud. that was taken by joey romero. he shot the video and he's now on the phone with me from houston. when you saw the funnel cloud, let me ask you, were you inside the restaurant already or were

you on the road? >> we were already inside the restaurant when the tornadoes formed. we had pulled over when we started seeing some hail, to get under some cover. and i was actually recording the hail falling when the tornado formed a few hundred yards behind the restaurant. >> and i think i'm looking at some of the pictures you took and i see what i think is hail on the massive almost -- what did you say golf ball size hail on the parking lot and pelting the roof? was that some of the noise in the video? >> definitely hail. started off about the size of golfballs and ended up the size of baseballs. a few people got hit and left with bruises. a bunch of the windows were shattered and the glass cut a few people in the cars outside. >> we saw the people inside. at what point did you and i imagine a number of other people hop in the freezer just to try to seek shelt officer. >> well, we heard the tornado sirens going off in the background. nobody had actually seen one yet.

we had just heard reports of one potentially in the area. a few people started screaming and went to look out the back window and sure enough, there it was. so at that point we were much more concerned about everybody's safety and decided that -- to put people in the freezer. >> now, joey, i realize you're calm now. this is all over and done with. maybe -- you live in houston. i don't know if you've been through tornadoes before. but for someone who hasn't, how do you describe it? we see what it looks like. but what does it sounds like? >> sort of sounds like a train passing by. it's really loud. but really everything about it is is 30, 45 seconds before it came close it was dead quiet. and then it got really loud and the lights went out. that was a pretty scary moment. >> then your girlfriend was hanging on to you for dear life? >> oh, yeah. she was terrified. >> joey romero, awesome pictures. hey, thanks for thinking about us and sending us an i-report, whipping out that cell phone or

that camera. appreciate it. >> of course, no problem. now i want you to take a look at this. this is a house teetering on the edge. you've got to see this video. this is a home just washing away. that is ahead. also, with just eight days until voters head to the polls, cnn, we're on the road. what's firing you up? don lemon is talking with voters on the ground in chicago. lord. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful.

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here we go. eight days now until election day. and all this week we are rolling through the midwest ahead of the midterm elections. and today cnn's don lemon is at manny's deli -- this is don's

old stomping towns in chi town, downtown chicago. by my count you have eaten a pastrami sandwich, apple pie, stuffed bell pepper. i'm starting to think this is lunchtime with don with a side of politics. >> reporter: oh, my gosh! don't tell everybody. and you know you're e.p., my pal sent me an e-mail saying by the time you leave this place you'll have gained 15 pounds. look at this. you can put that on. i'm fascinated by how they do this here. and, brooke, you know, you're out in the field a lot. you're a seasoned veteran correspondent. and you know every time you go someplace like this there's always a character. and our character, the person we found who had the most to say in the whole place is going to talk to us about politics. come here, marshall. marshall has been here forever. what's your response when i say what do you think about the election? what did you say? >> i think the election, i kind of wonder about it because they got democrats and they got republicans and it's like america going against russia

with the democrats and the republicans. we're supposed to be americans. supposed to be freedom. seems like they should be fighting for america for one cause. they say together we stand. >> reporter: marshall said to me, brooke, i don't see why they can't work together. you see all of them come in and out. >> yeah, to mayor daley. he cleaned this city up. it was a dump before he cleaned it up. he does one thing he's no more good. same thing. he made it possible for senior citizen to ride the cpa free. >> reporter: right, but he's in the controversy. >> but they're -- >> reporter: i said to him, i said, marshall, i don't have a lot of time. don't go on for a long time. but you get him going. and he doesn't -- he -- thanks, marshall. i'm back to see you. marshall is a late-night guy. a little time. i want to talk to this guy. a veteran over here.

ed right here. tim and linda. good to see all of you. i want to ask you as a veteran. you said your numb one issue is what, ed. >> to think that illinois has been 35th in service to veterans. and whoever takes over the state should make sure we get the service we deserve. >> that's not an issue to you. >> reporter: it's acceptable but overdone. >> reporter: overdone. you work at the polls? >> yes, every year. >> reporter: what do you think? >> i'll be so glad when it's over with. i can't stand the negative ads on tv. they're terrible. >> reporter: is that what's turning you off mostly in this election? >> yes, yes. terrible negativity and talking about each other and no proof, just say it. >> reporter: and people believe

it without looking it up. you see the picture of the president all over the place. the candidate obama. >> i worked for him. >> reporter: you see the other politicians to come in. what do you think about the republicans? >> i think it would be a disgrace to the state of illinois to allow mark kirk to get his senatorial seat. >> reporter: what does it say about the obama administration or the democrats that that could happen. or about this state? >> too many of the democrats who went out in 08 and voted for obama and voted for the change that he talked about, they aren't giving the president enough time to implement his plan. the republicans are blocking him every time they get an opportunity to. they're not doing anything to help support the changes that he's trying to implement to see to it that americans get back to work. and more importantly, the health care bill that he put through is

going to help millions of americans that have no health insurance. >> reporter: you work for him. >> no, i don't work for him. but i helped to get him elected. in closing, i'd like to say this, there is a difference in the republicans and democrat krs. >> reporter: i don't have that long. >> republicans, the elephant, they're just -- >> reporter: stubborn. >> no, the elephant. he walks around in the circus in a circle and takes dumps all day. >> lord help us. >> reporter: this is real talk. >> the donkey is -- >> reporter: this is what you have to say, let's listen to this. >> the donkey is stubborn, sure footed, but strong on the issues. that's what the democrats do. if the republicans -- if you don't stick with the democrats, you'll find yourself being dumped on. >> reporter: okay, all right, thank you. when i talk to people, you know what they say? this whole election, i can't say it on tv, it's full of manure.

all of the politicians are full of manure. i love chicago. i come back to visit. he says my name and he goes -- no one can say it like a chicago wan. say my name? >> "don lemon." >> oh, my goodness. >> this has been -- this has been -- >> we appreciate what he does. he speaks his mind and we appreciate that. >> reporter: thank you. thank you. good seeing you guys. thank you, brooke. >> been enlightening. >> we spent a lot of time here. bye, brooke. thank you. >> bye, don. enjoy your apple pie. wolf blitzer next. medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp...

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army competitions. for the first year out of all nine years they've been doing this, it's a female. we'll talk to her coming up this hour. eight days before election day. the best political team on television. cnn equals politics. and wolf blitzer is at the cnn.com/politics death. wolf, an ohio republican has choice words for democrats. >> eight days. we're counting over here. ohio is critically important. a battleground state as everyone knows. president obama wants to be elected in 2012 as he certainly does. he has to carry ohio. some of the battleground states like florida, california, and new york, big democratic states. focus in on ohio right now. gubernatorial contest. tom cakasich, the former

republican of florida. very close, neck and neck in all of the polls. kasich says this. he said in my political life, i've never seen the negative, smearing, lying stuff that they have brought on the state. shame on them. he said do they have one decent idea in their brain. it's been tough. james voinovich, the retiring u.s. senator of the republican. he's saying as tough as it is, as bitter as it is, the lame duck session in the congress after november 2 when all of the members come back, the incumbents, all of those, including many will be unseated or retiring, he says let's try to work together before the new congress is worn in to get something done. i'm not sure he's going to succeed in that effort, but he's calling on everyone to try to come together especially in some of the deficit-related issues because it's so critical.

finally, i wanted to point out in our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour in the situation room, john hollerman of new york magazine has got a fascinating article. he wrote that book, "game change" with mark halperin, the best seller. the scenario how sarah palin in 2012 becomes president of the united states. a lot of us think she's going to run. a lot of us think he has the potential to be the nomination. she lays out how she wins. hallerman will join us in the 6:00 p.m. hour. i think our viewers will find that fascinating. good news or bad news depending on their perspective. >> depending on what you think. go back to voinovich. we're seeing this before. senators free from having to fight for re-election. they speak their mind and vote their conscious. >> that's what's supposed to happen. i don't know if it will. because the atmosphere -- i

covered politics for a long time -- is bitter right now. one of the problems the day after the november 2 election is november 3. and you know what happens on november 3? the race -- >> go to the white house. >> the race for the presidency starts. the republicans will start lining up. and if there's going to be a challenge for the president from within the democratic party, that could become clear sooner rather than later. and if there's a third party candidate like michael bloomberg, the mayor of new york, that will be become clear pretty soon as well. so if you think politics going to end the november 2, forget about it. >> yes. you will be sorrily mistaken as we've learned. a long night going to the 2nd. we look forward to all of your coverage. another update for you on inn 30 minutes. get the latest news, hop on the internet, go to twitter@political ticker. now, i want to welcome the men and the women watching us on american forces network all around the world right now. we're going to hit you fast this hour. let's get started.

the first year, a bomb squad in rhode island destroying a suspicious package found near where the president is scheduled to speak this hour. we're told the card board box was sitting somewhere under a mailbox. police say there's no evidence that anything hazardous was inside. but keep in mind this, was the state that the gaubernatorial candidate can can shove it -- shove his endorsement. see if president obama responds to that statement. we'll bring that to you live. next, misery spreads in haiti, cha.