welcome back. we have our calendar. i think of the united nations edition. on tuesday president obama will be addressing the u.n. on the second day of the general assembly. we will, of course, carry that live for you here on cnn. and on wednesday we have iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad, he'll be addressing the u.n. you might remember his last time there it was pretty controversial. delegations from the u.s. and european nations actually walked right out. on thursday we have benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister. he'll be speaking at the u.n. he, of course, is feeling a real sense of urp jency regarding iran's nuclear program these days. he's certainly pushing president obama to set that red line on iran. he has a lot of concerns related to that. and on thursday as well, all eyes will be on iowa. that's where early voting begins just 40 days before the election. both the democrats and republicans can actually start filling out those absentee

ballots in iowa. we've got much more ahead on "cnn sunday morning," which starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we cannot lehtonen discourage us from casting our ball lots. 73 million eligible voters who aren't registered to vote. now both parties are racing to get them to the polls and win them over to their side. only 20 years old and already a cnn hero. how one young woman has create add million girl revolution. these may be the tiniest houses you've ever seen, but they're not for show. for some, they're home. good morning, earn. i'm randi kaye. thanks for starting your morning with us. we start in the political arena. there are just 44 shopping days left and both candidates are trying to get your vote.

>> and you may not agree with me on every issue, and the american people may not agree with me on every issue, but i don't think i've ever been called anything beside as strong leader. i know how to lead. i will bring america together,ly not divide america. i will bring us together to accomplish great things for our great nation. >> we want to bring change to washington and from the day we began this cam paper and more importantly from the day i ran this office last year -- or four years ago. seems like just last year. i've always said the change is going to take more than one term and more than one president, and it takes more than one party. it doesn't happen if you write off half the nation before you take office. >> much of the attention is on the swing states, places like ohio, 18 electoral votes.

right now president obama has a lead there. but mitt romney has said that he is not worried as he puts it. one day, you're up. then the next day you are down. one of the challenges facing the campaigns is getting people to the polls, not just getting them enthusiastic about voting for either of the candidates but actually getting them registered. there are around 37 million americans who are eligible to cast ballots but just aren't registered. it's become a major push for the campaigns to get them on the books. but as our joe johns reports, new state laws are making it much more complicated. >> reporter: in the past two years almost every state in the country has introduced or passed some type of chachlk or restriction to the voting laws. 41 out of the 50 states since the last midterm election. we're talking about all kinds of challenges to the voting laws, for early voting, for voter registration, absentee ballots and some of the most controversial changes of all are to laws requiring voters to show photo identification. 11 states have already gotten

photo i.d. laws in place. another six states have photo i.d. laws that have now been challenged in the courts and are under review. this is going on mostly in republican-controlled states. with very to say again voter i.d. laws are very popular. they make sense to people. they're needed to avoid voter fraud, but in previous elections and in the primaries this year, we even not seen a significant number of people charged with voter fraud. democrats who are fighting these laws from state to state says it doesn't have anything to do with fraud. they say it's a plan to keep minority voters especially blacks and latino voters away from the booths on election day. some of the most important battleground states, namely ohio, pennsylvania, and florida, where many people think the presidential election could be decided if it's a close race. the battle is over early voting in ohio. the obama campaign is fighting it out in appeals court with

ohio's republican secretary of state over whether all voters will be allowed to go to the polls on saturday, sunday, and monday before election day. and pennsylvania, we're waiting for a state judge to reconsider a ruling he made allowing a voter i.d. law to stay in place. the state supreme court told him he had to make sure there's enough time for voters to get i.d.s. and in florida it's been a bruising battle over voting rights for the better part of the year. democrats have won a few parts of this. republicans have as well. now it's coming down to a lawsuit filed by democratic congresswoman corinne brown over how many hours polls will be open for early voting. and why is all of this important? well, it's about electoral votes. ohio has 18. pennsylvania has 20. and florida has 29. the candidate who wins or loses these states has a leg up in the race for the white house. back to you. >> joe johns, thank you very

much. a judge in colorado has ruled a different kind of voter i.d. case. this one was meant to stop the state from putting bar codes on the ballot. the "denver post" argues that it makes it traceable to the voter but the judge ruled if favor of the bar cold saying there's absolutely no fundamental right to a secret ballot in the u.s. constitution. now to pakistan where a government official is offering a $100,000 reward for the death of the anti-islam filmmaker. here he is. he's the railway minister there and says he is speaking for himself when he made the offer, not as a government representative. pakistan's prime minister condemned the bounty. and around the world people protested against the u.s. and the anti-islam film. there were peaceful protests like this in germany, and more in bangladesh and other areas.

reports say three islamic militia bases will be closed in the wake of those protests. our senior international correspondent arwa damon is in benghazi, libya. >> reporter: the events that unfolded on friday in benghazi most certainly, at least at this point in time, seem to be having a ripple-on effect. to begin with what happened on friday, in the afternoon, pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets demanding an end to the existence of armed militias, demanding that the government forces, the army and the police, be the only authority on the streets of the country. following that, at night we saw hundreds of individuals storming one of the headquarters of a known militant group in benghazi. after they initially managed to peacefully pretty much take over that location, they then set their sights on a second area. this, however, turned out to be a battalion that is, in fact, endorsed by the government. it did result in some clashes

that caused injuries and casualties, and then the army eventually in the early morning hours of the morning, moving in, especially trying to secure massive weapons, depots that did exist there. we arrived on sight and saw some of the heavy weaponry that the army was trying to secure. looters, however, had managed to make off with some of the lighter weapons, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades. one of the headquarters also endorsed by the government we saw a number of detain ees people said were taken into custody at the battalion headquarters. it certainly is a chaotic and volatile situation. many libyans we've been talking to in benghazi saying this is part of the population's being fed up with the government's inability to rein them in. we're hearing late saturday night that two more known militant extremists islamic bases had shut down, this time to the east of benghazi.

this is an area that the u.s. itself has been monitoring for quite some time due to the militant activity there, the people saying that they really want to begin seeing affirmative action from their governments. they're fed up with the impunity that militias here do tend to begin to operate with. that i do want to see this city -- this country moving toward the path that the revolution originally intended it for. arwa day mop, cnn, benghazi, libya. this morning they pledged to dissolve militias in libya and asked people to stop carrying weapons. to netherlands now where a girl's sweet 16 party was anything but sweechlt this is never a good sign for a birthday party. take a look. police arrested dozens at the party. it seems there were a few uninvited guests, maybe a few thousand. you see the party invitation got posted on facebook which sent it spiraling out of control. the family even canceled the party, but that did not stop

people as you see there from showing up anyway. and back in the u.s. we told you about the guy who was mauled by a tiger at the bronx zoo after he jumped into his pen. he is telling police he wanted to be one with the tiger. maybe he wanted to be in the tiger's belly. would that make him one? woe don't know. david will be in the hospital. he'll be arraigned on trespassing charges as soon as he gets out, if not soon jeer finally you probably heard about that ancient piece of papyrus that referred to jesus's wife. it's caused quite a stir. now a new testament scholar says it looks to be a forgery. it's a modern translation of an old coptic language and that the message may have gotten mixed up during that translation. teaching girls all over the world the art of self-defense. the young lady who's doing this is only 20 years old. she's inspirational, and she's a cnn hero and she'll join me

live. we use this board to compare car insurance rates side by side so you get the same coverage, often for less. that's one smart board. what else does it do, reverse gravity? [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ whooshing ] tell me about it. why am i not going anywhere? you don't believe hard enough. a smarter way to shop around. now that's progressive. call or click today. [ grunting ] it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way, right? lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain.

cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain.

cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. here is something that we don't do enough of on this show. say good morning to panama. one of our i reporters took this picture yesterday on the first day of fall on panama's pacific coast. look at that. it is simply beautiful. it certainly caught our attention. we'll be back in 90 seconds. mom: ready to go to work?

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

one million girls strong and growing. just yell fire teaches them how to protect themselves. the organization is educating women across 64 countries with self-defense videos and speaking engagements. the woman behind it all is a 20-year-old lending her voice to help women empower them everywhere. this is what and who inspired her. >> the idea to create just yell fire came from the video footage of a girl named carly in florida who was walking home from a parking lot one day. a man came up to her, said something. we have no idea what. and she went away with him willingly. four days later she was found dead. >> 2007 cnn here finalist and

all-around amazing young woman. she's joining us here in studio. good morning. >> good morning. >> i remember that story. it had a lot of impact. tell us about what you do and teach. >> just yell fire teaches young girls across the world self-defense so they never become a statistic or be abducted. >> filipino street fighting. >> no matter what you do to get away. >> even young girls as young as carly bruschi. >> right. we teach girls as young as 4. it's amazing the feedback. even speaking in india you see girls go from shy girls to empowered. they're screaming, fighting, slapping, kicking, excited. they realize they have the ability to defend themselves and enjoy their life. >> why is it so important to

you. >> i think it's important because it could be anybody. i had the knowledge to get myself out of a situation and it's important to share that so the girls in my generation don't become statistics and they don't have something specific in their life. >> you have a black belt and you're a street fighted? >> in simulated scenarios but nothing personally has happened to me. >> what kind of scenario. >> studios. full-on attacks. we've had to deal with that and fend people off. >> wow. that's amazing. and you have a book as well, dome you? >> i do. it's called young revolutionaries who rock and it highlights young teens who are doing incredible things and it shows how you take what you do and social justice that makes you angry and combine it to change the world. >> what kind of reaction are you having around the world? it's inspiring to see kids across the world wanting to step up, take their lives into their

own hands and make a difference. >> what about the women? have you heard from the women? have they actually had to use the skills? >> yes. we heard from girls who had to use the techniques to get themselves out of a situation. the most common theme is i saw the film two months ago or three years ago. they're effective and easy to remember. >> you started pretty young making a difference in the world. do you have advice for others, maybe young women at home who are watching? >> i think the biggest thing you can do is go out there and try do something. you're young. you have all the time in the world. you have all these resources and people really want to help a kid making a difference. go out there and do something. it will work out. >> the time is now, right, when you don't have any other responsibilities. >> right. you don't have family and bills. it's really -- resources are bountiful for you. >> dallas, nice to see you. thank you very much. >> thank you yfor having me.

>> for more, just yell fire, go to justyellfire.com. some people are downsizing just that drastically. we'll tell you what they say are the advantages of these tiny houses. so, what happens if i'm in an accident and need to get my car fixed? progressive makes it easy, because we give you choices. you can pick where to get your car fixed, we can cut you a check, or, at our service center, we take care of everything for you. [ relaxing music playing ] [ chuckles ] -whew, so many choices. -take your time. -the service center. -okay. giving you choices -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

why not take a day to explore your own backyard? with two times the points on travel, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy. -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts.

how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? okay. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds.

talk about downsizing, wow. i guess you could call it a new trend in housing. it's a pretty drastic form of downsizing, not just getting rid of something but pretty much the house as well. check this out. this was sent as an ireport from harry and collar. this is their home in the blue ridge mountains. they say they love their 168-square-foot home, yes.

168 square feet. it's allowed them to ditch their mortgage and simplify their lives. they say there's plenty of space for them, their two kids plus even a dog and a cat. now, that is one close family, but guess what? they aren't alone. we've got other tiny home picks and some are built or trailers so you can take the whole thing with you. look how tie in that is. these people are downsizing by choice. they have their tiny home sitting on their three acres of land. well, it is not the same story for people in new york. we showed you this a couple months ago. they're called microapartments. for some that's all they can get, 150 square feet which forces do you be creative with space or lack of space really. what's a presidential campaign without "saturday night live." we'll check out last night's twist with president obama and mitt romney. dad's tablet...

or lauren's smartphone... at&t has a plan built to help make families' lives easier. introducing at&t mobile share. one plan lets you share data on up to 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. add a tablet for only $10 per month. the more data you share, the more you save. at&t. the more data you share, the more you save. capella university understands back from rough economic times. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever. when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in? with a degree in business from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to go further in your career than you ever thought possible. let's get started at capella.edu

flo: every driver is different. we've got great news for them all. you can try snapshot from progressive before you switch your insurance. [ horn honks ] just plug snapshot into your car, and drive like you -- to see if your good driving could save you up to 30%. so try the way to save that's as unique as you are. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today.

these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one.

choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? or double miles on every purchase, every day! ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go.

presidential election and the candidates aren't wasting any time getting out the message. paul steinhauser has look at the week ahead for president obama and mitt romney. >> our new cnn poll of polls indicates it's a close contest between mitt romney and possible for the state's nine electoral votes. on tuesday both the president and mitt romney speak separately at the annual global initiative gathering in new york city. after that romney heads through ohio for a bus tour through the crucial swing state. >> i need ohio to help me become the next president. >> our poll of polls in ohio indicates that right now mr. obama has the upper hand in the race for the state's 18 electoral votes. both men have been frequent visitors through ohio and while romney rolls through the state on wednesday, the president stumps there as well. >> it is good to be in ohio. it is great to be in this beautiful setting.

>> also this week with the first presidential debate closing in, both continue their debate preps. randi? >> thank you, paul. the 2012 campaign season is gives the cast of "saturday night live" plenty to talk about or make fun of. on last night's show, a twist of the gaffes, check it out. >> president obama said you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. a rare gaffe from the president brings us our segment "what are you doing?" i'm not saying what you said isn't true. i'm saying why are you saying anything during this romney tailspin. i mean let's review. on monday a secret tape is released where romney insults half of the country and on the same day he stands by the remarks. on friday paul ryan gets booed by the aarp and instead of just enjoying that, you say, hey, everybody, remember my campaign