one week to go. the parties push for turnout ahead of midterm elections as things turn ugly on the campaign trail. brace for impact. the windy city prepares to live up to its name as a massive storm chugs towards chicago. and blackout in a can. authorities target a popular alcoholic drink geared towards authorities target a popular alcoholic drink geared towards the young. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody, thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. well, there is now just one week left until election day. democrats are seeing some hope in early voting numbers but that hope is tempered by polls showing most undecided voters swinging republican. preeti arla is in washington

with more on this. good morning, preeti. >> reporter: good morning, betty. high-level democrats will continue to pound the pavement today as they try to minimize losses on election day. democrats hope voters show up in full force one week from today. >> if everybody who voted in 2008 votes in 2010, we are confident we will win this election. >> reporter: taking no race for granted, president obama campaigned in one of the bluest states monday, raising money for congress democrats in rhode island. later today, vice president biden will try to shore up more support in new york while first lady michelle obama continues her swing out west. >> we definitely do support patty, don't we? >> reporter: democrats see hope in early voting numbers, giving them a slight edge. but republicans are banking on polls that show independent voters leaning their way. both sides are running out of time to sway those critical swing voters. republicans hope a flurry of new ads will give their candidates

one last boost. the gop unleashed this new ad monday, attacking kentucky's democratic senate candidate jack conway. >> his support for president obama's policies -- >> reporter: rival and tea party favorite rand paul wasn't afraid to bring up the president again last night. >> he's bankrupting us and you sit blindly over there and support his policies. it's a disaster. >> he just made something up. >> president obama is a disaster. >> reporter: most analysts predict republicans will win control of the house next week. but the real disaster for democrats is if they take the senate, too. in these final days, even more money is being put into various campaigns. a republican senate campaign committee says they're going to put $3 million into a california race, hoping to help carly fiorina beat senator barbara boxer. betty? >> all right, preeti arla joining us in washington. thank you, preeti. there was an ugly scuffle outside that debate between rand paul and jack conway in kentucky.

>> get the cops! get the police. get the police. >> rand paul supporters grabbed a woman from the liberal organization moveon.org and one of them even stepped on her. the woman claimed to be presenting paul with a mock award that alleges a merger between corporate america and the republican party. police are investigating. meanwhile, though, the democratic candidate for governor of rhode island reacts angrily to word that he is not getting the endorsement of president obama. >> what i said to the president is that this process about endorsement isn't something that i'm concerned about right now. and he can take the endorsement and shove it. >> the president is not endorsing anyone in the rhode island governor's race out of respect for his friendship with former republican senator lincoln chafee, who is running as an independent. chafee supported mr. obama in his 2008 bid for the white house. the midterm elections has broken all fund-raising efforts and the money being spent is still rising.

for the first time ever, midterm campaign spending is expected to pass $2 billion for house and senate races. that is the equivalent of about $4 million for every seat up for grabs this year. meanwhile, chicago is bracing for what is being called one of the most dangerous storms to hit the midwest in 70 years. a cold front is expected to slam the area with severe thunderstorms, dangerous winds, and a possible tornado or two. winds can gust up to 60 miles an hour. the worst of the storm should hit squarely in the middle of morning rush hour. farther west, in colorado, a snowstorm is already closing roads and mountain passes, with more in store today. forecasters say another 8 to 16 inches are possible by noon in the middle of the state, including vail and aspen. dangerously strong winds could reduce visibility to less than a mile. well, a dangerously strong drink, popular among college students, is coming under renewed federal scrutiny.

the alcoholic high energy drink called four loko, dubbed a blackout in a can, is blamed for the hospitalization of nine central washington university freshmen earlier this month. four loko has the equivalent of five or six beers in just one drink. several states are already considering outlawing the drink. >> now we have incident after incident after incident across the country of people drinking alcoholic energy drinks and drinking to the point of -- that being extremely dangerous. >> the fda is asking more than two dozen makers of these high alcohol energy drinks to provide information on the safety of combining alcohol with caffeine. iran moved closer this morning to starting up its own nuclear power plant. iran started loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear reactor today. iran says the russian-built plant will start producing energy in early 2011. fears that iran wants to develop a nuclear weapon led to new sanctions from the united nations in june.

the cholera outbreak in haiti appears to be slowing down. the rate of deaths in the epidemic eased on monday, with only six new deaths reported since sunday. 259 people have died so far. health officials are trying to limit the spread of the disease. they're distributing water purification tablets and remedies to counteract potentially deadly dehydration. in britain, a shocking mistake caught on video. a nurse turned off the ventilator machine for a paralyzed patient. the blunder, which happened last year, was captured by a bedside web cam, as the nurse and another caregiver tried to resuscitate him. the breathing machine was not turned back in for 21 minutes. that left him severely brain damaged. the nurse was never trained to operate the ventilator. she's been suspended pending an investigation. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia edged down this morning. ashley morrison is here this morning with much more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty.

asian markets slipped. japan's nikkei was down a quarter percent as the yen hovered near a record high against the dollar. hong kong's hang seng was also lower. today, wall street gets the very latest on consumer confidence, and another report on the housing market. monday good news on existing home sales gave stocks a boost. the dow gained 31 points while the nasdaq added 11. the federal reserve is now investigating the foreclosure crisis. fed chief ben bernanke said on monday that banking regulators want to see if mortgage companies cut corners when they foreclosed on homes. the fed's findings are expected next month. meantime, the obama administration's foreclosure relief plan is falling short. more than half of the nearly 1.4 million homeowners who applied for lower mortgage payments have been disqualified. only a third of those who enrolled in the program have received a permanent loan modification. nissan is playing catch-up in the hybrid game. in tokyo this morning, the automaker unveiled its first gas/electric vehicle.

the luxury infiniti-m. it gets about 45 miles per gallon. about double what the same car does when using only gas. it goes on sale in japan next week with a price tag of around $72,000, and it's planned for sale here in the u.s. early next year. well, ford is hiring. the company said monday it would add 1200 new jobs in michigan if the state approved tax incentives. ford was the only u.s. automaker to avoid taking government money last year. and the tough times for newspapers are getting even tougher. new numbers show daily circulation fell 5% in the first half of the year as more people turn to the internet to get their news. of the 25 biggest newspapers, only "the wall street journal," and the dallas morning news saw gains. and betty, a lot of papers are really struggling right now to just stay afloat. >> yeah, no doubt. okay, ashley morrison joining us live here in new york. ashley, thank you. just ahead on the "morning news," an apology from npr on the way it fired juan williams.

plus the baby blues. how postpartum depression affects not just the mother. first, though, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> with just one week to go before the midterm elections, we'll look at the national landscape, and the critical contests. the tea party movement has gained momentum, but can it shift the balance of power in congress? our special campaign 2010 coverage continues tonight, only on the "cbs evening news." in high performance detergent. introducing wisk with stain spectrum technology. try new wisk. we upgraded the formula, but not the price. ♪ nothing beats prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn with prevacid®24hr, all day, all night. nothing works better.

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[ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. let's go, boy, go! whoo-whee! if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. authorities in los angeles are considering filing charges against three juveniles accused of causing this bus crash monday. a pedestrian was killed and 19 others injured after the three ran a red light and broadsided the school bus. the boys fled on foot. two were caught by a construction worker. the other was turned in by his parents. national public radio's chief executive says she's sorry for how she handled the

dismissal of analyst juan williams, but she is not sorry for firing him. in a written apology to npr staff and affiliates sunday, vivian schiller admitted the dismissal turned into a pr disaster. last week, williams was fired after saying on fox news that he gets nervous when he sees people wearing muslim garb on an airplane. well, we've long been aware of the dangers of postpartum depression for new mothers. but new research shows the condition can also put their newborns at risk. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: when molly currier gave birth to her son henry five years ago, it wasn't the joyous moment she expected. the new mom had feelings of regret and guilt. she suffered from postpartum depression. >> i was really anxious. i thought i had made a terrible mistake in thinking that i could become a mother. >> reporter: it's estimated up to one out of four mothers suffers from depression after giving birth. and the condition is not only damaging for the mother, research shows it can also harm an infant's development.

>> there's severe depression in mothers, the babies are not as interactive, not as verbal. and they can grow up depressed. >> reporter: detecting postpartum depression has traditionally been left in the hands of the mother's doctor, but experts say it's time for the child's doctor to start looking for signs of the condition, as well. the american academy of pediatrics is recommending that pediatricians start screening new moms for depression. dr. steve isle looks to see if a mother is affectionate toward her baby. >> watch out for the ones who are not happy about the baby, watch out for the ones who are not eating and sleeping. don't be afraid to ask how they're doing. >> reporter: the academy urges pediatricians to recommend counseling if the mother seems depressed. currier thinks that's a good first line of defense. >> pediatricians are in a unique position to screen for postpartum depression because they see moms so frequently. >> reporter: she went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with postpartum depression. she started her own support group to help other moms struggling with the condition.

sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. straight ahead on your tuesday morning weather, and in sports, things go from bad to worse for the dallas cowboys on monday night football. ♪ let's take a look at the stats. mini has more than double the fiber and whole grain... making him a great contender in this bout... against mid-morning hunger. honey nut cheerios is coming in a little short. you've got more whole grain in your little finger! let's get ready for breakfaaaaaaaaaast! ( ding, cheering, ringing ) keeping you full and focused with more than double the fiber and whole grain... in every tasty bite -- frrrrrrosted mini-wheeeeats! didn't know i had it in me.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, mostly cloudy, 74. miami, partly cloudy, 88. thunderstorms in chicago, 68

degrees there. sunny in denver, 58. l.a., partly cloudy, 77. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a large area of clouds stretching from the northern to southern plains. as thunderstorms move through. and the northwest is looking at scattered clouds and rain. now later today, another round of rain is moving onshore in the northwest. the ohio river valley is gearing up for some potentially severe weather as the storm system rolls to the east. and the southeast and east coasts are still showing signs of above normal temperatures. in sports, the dallas cowboys may have hit rock bottom. monday night football against the giants and the dallas quarterback tony romo gets rocked in the second quarter. romo suffered a broken collar bone and is likely to miss the rest of the season. it only got worse for the cowboys after that. the giants scored 31 straight points, with eli manning tossing four td passes. new york beats the boys 41-35 to stay in first place in the nfc

east, and dallas falls to 1-5. brett favre could join romo on that injured list. the vikings quarterback suffered a fractured ankle during sunday's loss to the packers, and may not be available this sunday against the patriots. that would end favre's nfl consecutive game streak at 291. and no matter how the world series turns out, ranger catcher benjie molina will be wearing a ring. since he played for san francisco before being traded to texas, molina qualifies as a world series champ even if his rangers lose. his old club, the giants, held a workout yesterday ahead of the series. game one is tomorrow night in san francisco. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and banks come under new pressure in the foreclosure crisis. >> sports, sponsored by touch of gray. gets rid of some grays. never all.

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investigation report. how many trouble spots it found. and what it's doing to keep bay area neighborhoods safe. plus, california's high speed rail.. back on track. the major boost.. and why the timing of it.. could be critical on election day. and - don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, to sit in the bleachers? what's in the works.. to let you see all the world series action up close. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at five. ,,,,

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. a very large storm system is brewing in the midwest. there will be possible severe thunderstorms across the ohio river valley. rain is still an issue on the northwestern coast. and snow is possible for parts of the northern plains. here's another look at today's top stories. chicago is bracing for a massive storm. severe thunderstorms and dangerous winds are expected to wallop the city at the height of rush hour. and the federal reserve is investigating the foreclosure mess. fed chairman ben bernanke announced monday that central banks will probe whether banks cut corners to evict homeowners. it's feared the widespread problems of foreclosure paperwork will hold up recovery of the housing market. after a slow summer, sales of existing homes shot up 10% in september. but even at that pace, sales are still considered weak.

anthony mason has more on the investigation into the mishandling of foreclosure documents. >> reporter: bank of america will resume foreclosure proceedings this week after halting them temporarily to review procedures. the bank, which is resubmitting documents in more than 100,000 cases, admitted finding some errors in the paperwork, including misspelled names and incorrect data. but says the bases for our foreclosure decisions have been accurate. >> i don't think this problem is solved. >> reporter: iowa's tom miller, one of 50 state attorneys general coordinating an investigation into foreclosure proceedings, says they've just started discussions with the banks. >> but we're very conscious that we need to move as quickly as we can. we do not want to do any harm to the housing market, which, of course, would do harm to the overall market. >> reporter: bernanke says that more than 20% of borrowers are under water. that is they owe more than their home is worth. more than 1 million houses are currently undergoing foreclosure. and more than a quarter of those are under review. that's already creating

uncertainty for buyers. when we met joshua cooper two weeks ago his deal on this foreclosed house in wesley chapel, florida, had just fallen through because of the freeze. >> we were just about two weeks away from our closing date, when everything got stopped. >> reporter: he's since found another foreclosed property, but worried when he learned the owner was bank of america. >> are they going to be able to sell us this house? >> reporter: this time, though, it looks like the deal will go through. >> i just keep my fingers crossed and hope and pray a whole lot that i don't have to do this all over again. >> reporter: meanwhile, the administration's foreclosure prevention plan was labeled a failure today by a government watchdog. of the 1.3 million people the treasury claims to have helped, the inspector general of t.a.r.p. said fewer than half have actually received permanent loan modifications. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. this morning on "the early show," the parents of missing american jet skier david hartley. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." ning news."

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it's a well-known crime that's pulling in some big bucks. cargo theft. losses from these robberies add up to as much as $37 billion a year in this country. and that forces all of us to pay more for virtually everything. armen keteyian takes an inside look. >> reporter: a dallas warehouse. a band of thieves arrive in eight stolen tractor trailers and take $850,000 in flat screen tvs. and in connecticut, $76 million worth of prescription drugs disappear from this warehouse. now cbs news has learned that both of these crimes, and many others committed in the last two years are tied to cargo theft rings run by cuban-americans in south florida. rings these men say they work for.

>> it's very easy. >> the job is selling the merchandise. >> reporter: in 2009 there were 864 reported thefts of goods from trucks and warehouses across the country. more than two per day. in 2010 is on track to be even worse. this man, who we'll call the trucker, earns a legitimate living hauling freight. he says the real money comes from doing what he calls, the dirty work. >> i steal a truck or i steal the cargo, and the container. >> reporter: what are the most popular items to be ripped off? >> computer hardware. hard drives. viagra, penicillin, antibiotics. >> reporter: insulin? >> insulin. >> reporter: hiv? >> yeah, hiv, also. >> reporter: they all want that? >> they all want it. >> reporter: at truck stops like this, 18-wheelers sit unattended as drivers hit the rest room or grab a quick cup of coffee, only to be stunned when they come out and see their rig is gone. the easiest way to steal the cargo? just take the entire truck. how easy?

the truckers showed us on his own truck, using nothing more than a small key to a padlock and a pair of pliers. from break-ins to start, to finish, he was gone in less than 30 seconds. >> and then the buyer comes out and gives you money in a bag? >> correct. >> reporter: so you could have at one time how much money in your hands? >> million and a half. >> reporter: that's a big bag. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: and the bags of money keep coming. given the fact that penalties for cargo theft are surprisingly weak. most times it's a minor felony that never leads to jail time. you ever worry about being arrested? >> not really. >> reporter: with that, the trucker headed to other jobs, fueling a real-life game of grand theft cargo that shows no signs of slowing down.

armen keteyian, cbs news, miami. and that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. coming up on "the early show," senator john mccain weighs in on the midterm elections. an exclusive interview with twitter's creator. he'll tell us about his latest invention. and vanilla ice stops by to talk about his new reality show. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. ,,,,

another san bruno blast.. plus.. what it's revealing about dozens of leaks found in pipes around the state. plus.. a live look as crews pg&e takes action to prevent another gas line blast. plus leaks