damage control, with just one day before voters head to the polls, democrats scramble to limit their losses. terror threat. the bomb plot aimed at blowing up planes in flight may not be over yet. >> we can't presume, again, that we have identified all of the packages that are out there. and london calling, american football taps into a whole new fan base overseas. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, november 1st, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. the most expensive congressional contest in the nation's history is all but over. tomorrow, americans go to the polls for midterm elections.

voter anger, though, and the tough economy are expected to hand republicans control of the house while the senate remains a closer call. preeti arla is in washington with more on this. good morning, preeti. >> reporter: good morning, betty. with a number of tight races, both democrats and republicans know they need to get as many supporters to the polls as possible. now, they only have one day left to convince them to vote. democrats are scrambling to beat the odds on election day. >> i need you to keep on fighting. i need you to keep on believing. >> reporter: president obama made a last-ditch effort to rally voters in ohio sunday, his final stop on a campaign blitz aimed at giving struggling democrats a boost. >> if everyone who fought for change in 2008 shows up to vote in 2010, we will win this election. >> reporter: with just one full day of campaigning left, first lady michelle obama will visit two more states where democrats are locked in tight races, nevada and pennsylvania. vice president biden will make

stops in vermont and delaware. democrats are widely expected to lose their majority in the house, while republicans are also expected to make some big gains in the senate. former alaska governor sarah palin expects democrats to get a major wake-up call from voters tuesday, predicting a quote political earthquake. >> they're going to say, you blew it, president obama, we gave you two years to fulfill your promise of making sure our economy starts roaring back to life again. >> reporter: if the gop does gain control of congress, the party's chairman says there won't be any negotiation on issues like taxing and spending. >> with the republican majority in the house or senate or hopefully both, we're not going to compromise on those things. >> reporter: republicans need to pick up 39 democratic seats to win control of the house and 10 to take the senate. both parties also put a lot of effort into getting people to vote early and it seems millions listened. officials say nationwide, over 13 million people have already cast their ballots. betty?

>> preeti arla in washington, thank you. palin also accused reporters at our cbs anchorage affiliate of conspireing to fabricate a story about republican senate candidate joe miller. the miller campaign says this is a cell phone recording of reporters talking prior to a miller rally. take a listen. >> palin says miller has had to fight what she describes as the liberal media, the entire campaign. >> i am saying that we have it on tape that cbs reporters in the affiliate up there in alaska on tape are saying let's find a child molester in the crowd as supporter for joe miller, let's blast that. let's concoct a ron paul moment there, find any kind of chaos so we can tweet an alert saying, ooh, there is chaos, bill miller got punched or

something. that's sick. those are corrupt bastards. >> the general manager says, quote, while the recording is real the allegations are untrue. he says the reporters were discussing what-if scenarios. and cbs news says in a statement, quote, ktva is owned by the alaska broadcasting company not cbs. no cbs staffers were involved and cbs has no knowledge or comment on these allegations. to the latest on the mail bomb plot. obama administration officials say when the bombs were discovered in dubai and england, disaster was narrowly diverted. it is still unclear how they remained undetected for so long and the white house says they may not be the only bombs out there. bob orr reports. >> reporter: this is the al qaeda terrorist officials believe handcrafted the deadly cargo bombs bound for two chicago synagogues. ibrahim hasan al asiri is a master bomb builder for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and architect of the failed attack christmas day. like the others, the cargo bombs

hidden in printers were highly sophisticated, powerful, carefully wired and concealed, all hallmarks of al qaeda's expertise. >> we are concerned about individuals in yemen who have very proficient bomb-making capabilities, very dangerous. so, i do think that there are a number of individuals who are responsible for putting this plot together. >> reporter: the only suspect arrested so far has now been freed. a young woman, an engineering student, was held for a day when investigators accused her of shipping the explosive packages out of yemen but authorities say the real shipper had stolen and used her identity in mailing the bombs. while the printer bombs were ultimately destined for the u.s. on cargo planes, at least one of the devices spent some time on two passenger jets. qatar airways revealed it shipped one on a passenger plane from yemen to doha, on a second flight on to dubai before it was discovered. officials cannot explain how a

device with nearly a pound of explosives twice escaped detection before being loaded onto passenger planes. now ups and fedex have stopped all shipments from yemen. great britain has done the same. >> we have immediately banned packaging coming to or through britain from yemen and are looking at any further steps we need to take. >> reporter: the u.s. has a temporary hold on cargo from yemen. while the fbi has already checked and cleared more than a dozen suspect packages mailed around the same time as the bombs, officials can't yet say if they completely shut down the plot. the bombs were powerful enough to bring down airplanes but it is still not known if they were designed to go off in the air or on the ground. increasingly the chicago synagogues may not have been the actual targets. bob orr, washington. overnight the taliban attacked and have taken control of local government offices in

eastern afghanistan. the government buildings were captured following what's described as an intense firefight. a taliban spokesman says all the police guarding the offices have been killed. there's been a deadly attack at a church in baghdad. at least 39 people there were killed. the church was stormed sunday night. 120 people were taken hostage but they were later freed by iraqi forces. indonesia's most powerful volcano erupted again this morning. the latest eruption saw massive clouds spew into the air, as debris and ash spilled nearly two miles down its slope. mount merapi first erupted last week. at least 38 people have been killed. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia were mostly higher this morning. ashley morrison has much more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning, betty. asian markets got a lift after china reported growth in manufacturing. japan's nikkei bucked the trend and lost half a percent, and hong kong hang seng was mostly higher. today, wall street gets the very latest on september

personal income and spending report, as well as the latest on construction and manufacturing sectors. last week stocks finished mixed. the dow lost a fraction while the nasdaq added more than one percent. despite the mixed week it was the best october for stocks in four years. every market index was up at least 3%, with the nasdaq gaining am 6%. for the first time since april, major indexes have now risen two months in a row. wall street is expecting big republican gains tomorrow when americans head to the polls for midterm elections. the other big event this week for the market, the federal reserve meeting when the fed is expected to announce details about its bond-buying program meant to stimulate the economy. investors are concerned it will be too small to have a real impact on growth. the end of the road for pontiac after 84 years of producing some of america's best known muscle cars, the general motors brand officially went out of business sunday. last year, gm agreed to shut down pontiac as part of its restructuring. but even before bankruptcy, pontiac sales had fallen sharply

from their peak of one million in 1968. industry analysts blame a combination of poor corporate strategy and changing driver tastes. and at the movies, gory glory, "saw 3d" the seventh installment of the series sliced its way to the top of the weekend box office with more than $24 million in ticket sales. last week's number one "paranormal activity ii" slipped to the second spot with the crime action comedy "red" slipping to third. i did not get to see those this betty. >> no. other things on the agenda. it was halloween, right. >> trick-or-treating. >> thank you, ashley. just ahead, surprising news about alcohol compared to other drugs. plus, paying tribute to ted sorensen, the speechwriting voice of a president. this is the "cbs morning news." sorensen, the speechwriting voice of a president. this is the "cbs morning news."

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in washington, president and mrs. obama welcomed children to the white house for halloween. the kids dressed in costumes and filed past the first couple as they handed out treats, including a box of white house m & ms and cookies made by the white house pastry chef. a new study suggests alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack. british experts ranked drugs on a scale of 100 based on how addictive they are and how much they harm the human body. alcohol is ranked highest at 72. in part because of the problems it causes socially. heroin was 55. crack, 54. cocaine, 27, followed by tobacco and marijuana. the federal trial begins today for the man accused of kidnapping elizabeth smart. after eight years of delay, jury selection begins in the trial of

brian david mitchell accused of abducting her from her home in utah when she was 14 years old. she was rescued nine months later. smart, now 22, is expected to testify against mitchell. if convicted, he faces life in prison. it's been almost six weeks since the alleged computer spying incident at rutgers university. freshman tyler clemente committed suicide after two classmates allegedly used a webcam to spy on him during a sexual encounter with another man. they were charged with invasion of privacy. their lawyers say the webcam stream was only viewed on a single computer. but, legal experts say that doesn't matter. >> this question of whether, in fact, the video was disseminated, put on the internet is a very limited legal relevance. what i think we have to think about is whether the victim thought this film was being put on the internet. because, that may have been why he killed himself.

>> prosecutors are considering whether to upgrade the charges to hate crimes. the speechwriter for president john f. kennedy, theodore sorensen, has died. >> ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. >> sorensen wrote some of kennedy's most memorable speeches, from his inaugural address to vow to place a man on the moon but he was also a policy adviser and political strategist who knew kennedy best. >> working with this one man for 11 years, merged our two styles. i knew what he wanted to say. i knew how he wanted to say it. >> ted sorensen died in new york of complications of a stroke. he was 82 years old. [ female announcer ] letting go of your cigarettes can be hard.

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dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip!? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! i love bacon! i love you! i love bacon! i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time! share the fun at beggintime.com here's a look at weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny, 52. miami, thunderstorms, 86. chicago, sunny, 54. denver, partly cloudy, 67. l.a., sunny and 80 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds over the midwest and northeast while a pacific storm is moving into the northwest. later today, thunderstorms are going to bring heavy rains and windy conditions to the southern plains. the northwest will see scattered showers and sunny skies for the rest of this country.

in sports, game four of the world series was a presidential doubleheader. george bush sr. watched as george w. bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the rangers' ballpark. but san francisco got two runs on an aubrey huff home run. rookie pitcher madison baumgardner gave up only three hits in a 4-0 giants shutout of texas. san francisco leads texas 3-1 and could eliminate the rangers in game five in texas. in the nfl, the defending super bowl champion saints got a victory. drew brees of new orleans passed for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns against pittsburgh and the saints beat the steelers 20-10. brett favre of minnesota started against new england. it was his 292nd straight game, despite two broken bones on his left ankle. but, he got hit on the chin in the fourth quarter and had to be carted off the field. the patriots scored two touchdowns on the ground as they beat the vikings 28-18.

after more than five years as the world's number one golfer, tiger woods has dropped to second behind a player who has never won a major. at a tournament four weeks ago he congratulated lee westwood of england who has replaced him as the top golfer in the world. he's the first european in 16 years to hold golf's top ranking. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories and nfl football finds a whole new fan base overseas.

after an exciting comeback in texas.. the giants prepare to clinch the title tonight. who's taking the mound for game 5.. and.. one day until the polls open across california. how the candidates are spending their final hours. explosive new information on a terror plot targeting the u-s. the wanted terrorist who may be behind it all. and.. breaking news in san jose right now: a four-alarm fire near a recycling center. how it could impact your morning commute. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at five.

,,,, on the "cbs morning news," a look at today's weather. cool yet sunny in the northern plains as well as northeast. an occasional wind will pick up. scattered thunderstorms in storm for the southern plains and rain moves into the northwest. here's another look at this

morning's top stories, the final hours of campaign 2010. president obama actually campaigned in ohio on sunday. republicans look to take control of the house, while democrats scamper to retain control of the senate. the white house says the mail bomb plot apparently originated in yemen may not be over yet. two sophisticated bombs one in britain and one in dubai were found on planes headed to the u.s. in europe, the term "football" usually means soccer but sunday nfl football was played in london, where there appears to be a whole new group of enthusiastic fans. charlie daggetta reports from london. >> reporter: this halloween, american football fans in london scored a big treat. the san francisco 49ers played host 5600 miles away from home to the denver broncos. the pregame tailgater featured a

bit of the golden gate and a lot of american fans mixing it up with europeans. >> so different from any other sport we have in the uk, just the spirit with american football. i've been in the crowd. it's phenomenal. >> reporter: the fourth year london's wembley stadium home of english football has been taken over by america's game. once again, it's a sellout and the vast majority of fans here are not americans. are you really a 49ers fan? >> i am, yeah. >> reporter: how does that happen? >> we went over there about four or five years ago, saw them play there and it's just grown from there, basically. >> reporter: the nfl's aim to make its mark on the international fan base is what these games are all about. there's talk of even playing more matches overseas. >> whether it leads potentially to an nfl franchise in london we'll see down the road. >> reporter: it'll be a long road back home for the denver broncos who lost to the san francisco 49ers 24-16. this morning on "the early show" we'll hear from the head

of the tsa on the cargo plane bomb plot. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination at red lobster? or maybe skewers of tender, wood-grilled shrimp. or your choice of shrimp paired with wood-grilled chicken. all served with unlimited, freshly-baked cheddar bay biscuits. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99

that fit into your budget and your lunch hour. only at red lobster. that fit into your budget and your lunch hour. "abolish the public schools." he even called our schools "insidious" and "socialism." as families struggle to raise their kids, to provide a good education, harmer bragged, "we can design a plan to dismantle them." david harmer is just too radical. we need jerry mcnerney. protecting local schools from devastating cuts. endorsed for his "independence" by the contra costa times, stockton record, and our local teachers.

it's the next big thing in vi it's the next big thing in video games, a new system allows people to unplug themselves from their hand-held controllers. john blackstone demonstrates. >> reporter: at the hubble family home near seattle, the near future is on view, because dad works for microsoft, they are testing the soon-to-be-released addition to the company's x-box game system. it's a $150 add-on called kinect. and 5-year-old devin could be writing ads for it. >> i like the kinect 'cause you get to, um, move your body around, instead of using a controller. >> reporter: with kinect, there's no controller, no joystick, no wand. it could be the "wave" of the

future. makes me feel like tom cruise. >> that is what we went for. >> reporter: it was alex kitman's idea to do away with controllers. >> while everybody is putting these gadgets and gizmos in your hand how do we look for ways to make technology disappear? >> reporter: it sees and hears what players are doing. you might ask what are joints like mine doing in a game like this? microsoft's break-through with kinect has been finding a way to identify players' joints so that the game can follow every move they make. to make it capable of identifying players of all shapes and sizes, microsoft brought some 4200 people into this testing lab over the past year and a half. in the lab, players try to master the game. oh! but, the learning curve goes both ways. >> great job, john. kinect actually is learning you. it knows when you walk into the field of view.

it knows your face and understands what you say to it. >> reporter: shannon loftus, a game developer here 15 years says it has opened new possibilities. >> you stand up. you move your arms and your "avatar" moves his arms. give it a good tug. >> reporter: she coached me on moving my "avatar"s, while beating me at some of the games she designed. >> i cheat sometimes. >> reporter: the technology, she says, can go well beyond gaming. >> that's the dream for kinect. it should change the way people think about interacting with machines, period. >> reporter: and recognizing body movements may be just the beginning. microsoft is working on making kinect capable of reading emotions, too. >> good job! >> reporter: but the emotion microsoft wants to see first is desire on the faces of eager buyers. in a highly competitive games market, microsoft sees kinect as a game changer. john blackstone, cbs news, redmond, washington. fascinating. coming up a little bit later on "the early show" more on the cargo plane bomb plot as we hear

from the head of the transportation security administration. also, a warning about new shopping scams as we get ready for the holiday gift buying season. and, they made a huge splash with their youtube video. the band, atomic tom, performs live for us. that's the "cbs morning news" if this monday morning. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

center.. we're live with how it could impact the morning commute. breaking news out of san jose, a four alarm fire at a recycling center. live with how it could impact the morning commute. a developing story halloween violence nearly turned deadly the shooti