freedom rural southern virginia packed a high school gymnasium in emporia to hear president obama argue he is doing everything he can to get america back to work. too bad to just sit by and do >> there are too many of our fellow americans who are hurting too bad to just sit by and do nothing. >> reporter: mr. obama drove african americans to the polls in 2008 and won 92% of the black vote. one of those voters was candice pitts who we met today in emporia. >> somebody needs to bring some jobs here. >> reporter: upset that friends and neighbors are out of work, candice says her vote is not guaranteed in 2012. >> i can say that right now that no one right now can count on my vote. no one. not a republican, democrat, no one. because i'm still undecided. it's too many issues that i think need to be addressed and i'm just going to wait a little bit and see. >> reporter: and listen to the president try to appeal to independent-minded voters earlier today in jamestown, north carolina, as he presented himself as the president of the people not of one party. >> i'm not the democratic president or

>> kristen welker, traveling with the president in emporia, virginia tonight. thanks. >>> for the republicans who want to replace president obama, there's another debate tonight in las vegas, and it comes as herman cain and his ideas and his sense of humor are getting more scrutiny these days. our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd with us tonight from our d.c. newsroom. chuck, good evening. >> good evening, brian. some members of the republican establishment may believe herman cain is in the middle of his 15 minutes of primary fame. but that 15 minutes now includes close scrutiny and could spell a surge of attacks at tonight's debate. former godfather's pizza ceo herman cain has seen his poll numbers surge thanks to three other numbers. >> my 9-9-9 plan. >> reporter: tonight's nevada debate is another opportunity for opponents to raise questions about cain's plan to replace the current tax code with the 9% income tax, 9% corporate tax and 9% sales tax. he's had to defend the national sales tax part of his plan most. >> who will p

in emporia, virginia. >> the end of a good day. >> reporter: good day?> absolutely. >> reporter: it's grueling, though, this stuff. you like it? >> you know, i love getting out of washington and talking to folks, when you're in the rope line and somebody grabs you, says, you know, i've been out of work for six months but i haven't given up and i'm still trying and i hope folks are looking off their business in washington -- it gives you the kind of energy that you need to keep on going. >> reporter: and do you need it? i know it's -- it's tough, the job. >> well, look. my singular focus every single day is, how can we make sure that this economy is working for ordinary folks? that's what led me to run for office. are there times where you say, man, i wish this is happening faster? zblutly. are there times when i think to myself that somehow we're not going to get there? never. >> reporter: i'll walk you to your ride if that's okay. >> you bet. >> reporter: you get to see your kids tomorrow. >> i do. and i'm thrilled about that. though these days they're

at this hour he is in emporia, virginia, the president speaking to a crowd at greenville county high school there. this morning the president visited a ymca in jamestown, north carolina to talk about his jobs plan and also took part in a round table meeting with educators at guilford technical community college in jamestown. the president's expected to wrap up his visit to emporia within the hour and it's back to the bus tour. the republicans claim this is a campaign trip at taxpayer expense. mean while tonight the republican candidates for president will face off in a debate in las vegas. nevada's unemployment rate is above 13% and is the highest in the nation. the state also has some of the country's highest foreclosure numbers. so the economy is expected to dominate the debate along with immigration and border security issues. one republican who will not be there tonight is former utah governor jon huntsman who is boycotting the debate because nevada moved its caucuses ahead of the new hampshire primary. >>> those engineers who rappelled down the side of the washington monument th

today his special presidential bus made stops in north carolina and tomorrow its off to emporia, virginia. >> we're going to give them another chance to do their job by looking after your jobs. >> president obama said the first bite-size morsel serving to congress is the $35 billion package that would let individual states keep or hire thousands of teachers, police officers and firefighters. those are positions that would otherwise be lost. >>> well still to come, the beautiful weather is sure to stick around for the start of the week, but sadly it is not going to last. topper will be here to tell us when we'll need the umbrellas. and we're going to need them. that is coming up. >>> but first, they conquered the washington monument and now it's off to the national cathedral. the team of rappeling engineers checks out the damage from the earthquake and what they found is up next. >>> all of those fancy rappeling engineers are back and this time they are inspecting the national cathedral, which, as you probably know, was also damaged during the quake which happened on august 23rd. now the c

president barack obama just a few minutes ago began speaking at a high school down in emporia, virginia. the president is half way through a three-day bus tour to promote his jobs plan. some republicans in congress, though, say the president is promoting himself in an effort to keep his own job. steve handelsman on capitol hill now with more on all of this. >> reporter: jim, thanks. he does appear to be running. president obama in virginia tonight is talking about his american jobs act that he figures might be his ticket to a second term. on day two of his bus tour through north carolina to virginia president obama told teachers his half trillion dollar stimulus bill would help them. >> to provide $30 billion to make sure we've got teachers back in the classroom. >> reporter: in james town he charged republicans aren't being truthful about how he would pay for his jobs bill. >> don't be bamboozled. we haven't been raising taxes. we've been cutting taxes. >> reporter: back in washington republicans charged team obama is obsessed with raising taxes. >> we've been mired in the jobs crisis

. >>> well, president obama is heading to emporia, virginia today to push his jobs plan. he made a stop in north carolina yesterday. the president is hoping to win support for his proposal. and during the stop at a north carolina high school, the commander-in-chief pressed congress to pass the jobs plan piece by piece. >> we're going to chop it up into some bite sized pieces and give them another chance to look out for your jobs instead of looking out for their own jobs. [ cheering and applause ] >> the president contends any no votes would be votes against america. many republicans see the president's three day bus trip as a taxpayer-funded campaign trip. >>> well, the president's job plan will be the focus for republicans on the campaign trail. they will square off tonight in their latest debate. the scene will be las vegas, nevada. seven of the eight gop candidates are going to be there. former utah governor jon huntsman is sitting out because nevada moved its caucus to an earlier date than planned. >>> sources tell 9news now that a key staffer in d. c. mayor vincent g

it happened when they were en route to emporia. the trooper suffered only minor injuries and the president is victim of theft. a truck carrying his sound equipment, and presidential seals was stolen. it was parked at a virginia hotel ahead of the presidential visit. the truck and its contents have since been found and nothing inside was classified. >>> chuck the chew, the world series begins tomorrow with the rangers versus the st. louis cardinals. senators and health administrators from both texas and missouri are asking the players union to ban chewingtobacco at the game. they say when players use the smokeless tobacco, they endanger their own health, as well as the health of kids who watch the games on tv and may be tempted to emulate them. >>> now a story that gives new meaning to the phrase, i'm going to get medieval on your buttt. a man forced his 16-year-old stepdaughter to take him on in a medieval style fight with wooden swords, as pushtd for going to a party. the girl had on a helmet and padding but says the fight went on

the president sat down exclusively with abc's jake tapper in emporia, virginia. >> what i feel is whatcan people feel, which is that we have now gone through not only, 2 1/2, 3 years post recession blues. if you hear a sense of urgency in my voice it's because these problems are solvable. but you don't get a sense that we are moving in washington with the sense of urgency required. >> some of the frustration has come out in the occupy wall street protest. you have expressed sympathy with their position, their feeling of powerlessness. >> i understand the frustrations that are being expressed in the protests. in some ways, they're not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the tea party. you know, both on the left and the right. people feel separated from their government. >> we are sitting in a school, what grade would you give yourself? >> well, you know, i am not going to give myself a grade. >> not even a midterm? >> other than incomplete. because the work that we started is not yet done. even -- even though i believe that all of the choices we have made ha

. >> tonight, president obama speaks at a high school in emporia, virginia. >>> all eyes will be on republican candidate herman cain in tonight's cnn debate in vegas. he is rising fast and many are wondering if he will be able to handle the increased scrutiny. the new cnn poll has him virtually tied with former massachusetts governor mitt romney. >>> some prince george's countiy voters go to the polls today to elect a new council member. this is the special election which will fill the district's seat left open by leslie johnson. she resigned in july as part of a corruption scheme involving her husband. >>> inspectors will be back out at the national cathedral looking for damage from the earthquake that rocked the east coast. this is the same team that inspected the washington monday innocent in recent week. this work is similar but this time around the architecture is very different. >> with all the orange mentation that we'll be crawling around and touching and feeing, it is more entertaining for us if you want to say while we're up there. >> the team expects to finish up its job there this

abc's jake tapper is traveling with the president in emporia, virginia and sat down with him just today. jake, tell us about it. >> reporter: diane, president obama is battling low approval ratings for his handling of the economy and an energized republican presidential field focused on that issue. so, i began our interview asking him just how worried he is, and how prepared the public should be, if whether this already fragile economy is headed south once again. >> what i feel is what the american people feel, which is that we have now gone through not only two and half, three years of post-recession blues, if you hear a sense of urgency in my voice, it's because these problems are solvable, but you don't get a sense that we're moving in washington with a sense of urgency that is required. >> reporter: some of the frustration that has come out in this occupy wall street protest, you have expressed sympathy with their position, with their feeling of powerlessness. >> i understand the frustrations that are being expressed in those protests. in some ways, they're not that different from s

during a stop in emporia yesterday the president says there is no reason not to pass his jobs bill. > want us to meet this moment, i want us to get to work. >> republicans have fired back, calling the president's three day visit to north carolina and virginia a taxpayer funded campaign tour. >>> a truck containing the presidential seals and sound equipment has been recovered. thieves took the truck from a hotel near richmond, virginia yesterday. the truck belongs to the pentagon, but authorities say no classified or sensitive information was within the vehicle. >>> it has been nearly five months since 12-year-old jessica nguyen was found dead inside her family's home in gaithersburg. justin fisher is -- kristen fisher is live with the story. good morning. >> reporter: that's right. good morning. we are awaiting a press conference from montgomery county police chief. detectives have been working for nearly five months to make an arrest in this case. they finally did that just yesterday. first the victim is 12-year-old jessica nguyen, an honor student at gaithersburg middle school. her

. >>> excuse me, president obama heads to emporia, virginia today to push his jobs plan.e made stops in north carolina yesterday. the president is hoping to win support for his proposal. during a stop at a north carolina high school, the commander-in-chief pressed congress to pass his jobs plan. piece by piece. >> we're going to chop it up into some bite sized pieces and give them another chance to look out for your jobs instead of looking out for their own jobs. >> the president contends any no votes would be vote against americans. many republicans however see the president's bus trip as a taxpayer funded campaign trip. >>> the president's jobs plan will be the focus of republicans on the campaign trail. they'll square off tonight in their latest detate. this time in las vegas, nevada. seven of the eight gop candidates will be there. former utah governor jon huntsman is sitting out because nevada moved its caucus to an earlier date than planned. circle the calendar for january 3rd. that's when iowa will hold its first in the nation caucuses. they were originally planned

jamestown, north carolina, and emporia, virginia, are planned stops for today. the president is pushing his jobs bill. the president is suggesting to break it up into smaller pieces. republicans aretacking the president's trip, saying he's campaigning on the taxpayer's dime. >> on a canadian bus touting american jobs. is that appropriate on the taxpayers dime since it is clearly campaigning. >> we're not playing politics. we're not focused on the election 13 months from now. we're focused on what could help the economy right now. >> the senate could vote on the first piece of the president's bill early this week. it could provide money to save nearly 300,000 state and government employees who are set to be laid off. >>> governor bob mcdonnell is setting politics aside. he'll join the president tomorrow at a base in hampton. the president is expected to announce a plan to put veterans to work. >>> the president's bus tour through virginia and north carolina is not going according to plan. a truck carrying equipment for one of the president's events was stolen out

tonight, he speaks at a high school in emporia in southern virginia. >>> the president's bus tour will hampton tomorrow. he will be joined by republican governor bob somebody donell. he will address troops at a military base in hampton where he is expected to stress the importance of hiring military veterans. >>> a new analysis of campaign contributions find mitt romney has the lead over president obama when it comes to support from wall street. the center for responsive politics says wall street employees an execs have crobted just under $4 million to president obama's re-election efforts. compare that to more than $7 million for romney's campaign. the report in "usa today" says texas governor rick perry is a distant third. >>> the race to the house for businessman herman cain says he is leading in a new head to head poll with independents taking a particular lining to his campaign. cain is squeaking ahead of the president in a hypothetical presidential contest. >>> the maryland state senate and house are meeting in special session today to discuss governor martin o'malley's redistric

the incumbent, president obama is on the third and final day of his american jobs act bus tour in emporiainia yesterday. the president repeated that there is no reason for congress not to pass his jobs plan. today he and the first lady will hold an event at langley air force base talking about the importance of hiring american veterans. >>> investigators are still looking for thieves who stole a pentagon truck during the presidential bus tour. now, the white truck was stolen on monday from a hotel parking lot. it was found near an airport in richmond. the truck contained presidential seals, podiums, sound equipment. no word if any items were taken. i think his teleprompter was in there so he had to wing it yesterday. >> can you imagine? >> what are you doing with the presidential seal? just found them. >> how do you rip that off? you would think that would be under lock and key. >> would you think. >>> negotiations resuming this morning in the hopes of salvaging the nba season. >> representatives for players and owners met in new york for 16 hours yesterday. this is the 111th day of the p

president obama is expected to arrive in emporia, virginia within the hour. this is the second day of a three-day bus tour to promote his jobs package. republicans say he is promoting a lot more than that. steve handelsman has the latest. >> reporter: on day two of his bus tour through north carolina to virginia president obama told teachers his half billion dollars stimulus bill would help them. >> it is to provide $30 million to make sure we have teachers back in the classroom. >> reporter: in jamestown he charged republicans aren't being truthful about how he'd pay for his jobs bill. >> don't be bam boozeled. we haven't been raising taxes but cutting taxes. >> reporter: back in washington republicans charge team obama is obsessed with raising taxes. >> we've been mired in a jobs crisis for three long years now. and all the democrats ever want to do is throw more taxpayer money at it. >> reporter: jobs and taxes are sure to be the major topic tonight as republican candidates debate in nevada. when he was the gop nominee in '08 john mccain loved his campaign

then, he heads to emporia, virginia, where we expect to hear sem lar words from the president. these two states, veronica, are real little key to the president's re-election. he won both back in 2008. they had typically been red. in fact, a democrat hasn't won virginia since 1964. president obama flipped both states back in 2008 but now his support here is really waning, especially amongst independent voters. independents in virginia, 62% disapprove of the job the president is doing. he is really trying to reach out to some independent voters on this three-day pus tour and shore up his support for his base. veronica? >> thank you. >>> we will be bringing you the president's remarks as well as the vice president's as soon as they happen. >>> tonight, the gop faces off in vaugs with all eyes on the sernlging herman cain and whether or not he can hold on to front-runner status. cain in a virtual dead heat. cane is up 19 points. if you are wondering where that came from, look no further than rick perry, now down 19 points from last month. >>> joining us now is dana mill bank and ji

in emporia, virginia yesterday he repeated that there is no reason for congress not to pass his jobsay he and first lady michelle will hold an event at langley air force base talking about the importance of hiring american veterans. >>> more talks planned in new york this morning in hopes of salvaging the nba season. representatives for the players and the owners negotiated behind closed doors for 16 hours yesterday in new york. this is the 111th day of the player lockout. the first two weeks of the season have already been cancelled. but this looks promising. >>> wall street getting a look at some earnings reports this morning including those from the tech sector. >> here now to talk about that is jason brooks with kcbs and cbsmoneywatch.com. >> reporter: apple did something it's not done in several years. it missed expectations with its quarterly earnings. they were still very big numbers, profit of $6.6 billion. revenue of $28.3 billion. but with apple's expectations, are in another galaxy compared to other companies. they sold 17 million iphones about 3 million less than expected

we are night now in a bus heading to his next campaign stop which will be in emporia, virginia.s entire time. both of these are important battleground states, but virginia is particularly interesting. no democrat had won that state since 1964. president obama did it in 2008. he's trying to hold on to that state in 2012 but his approval ratings are dropping there so it will certainly be a challenge. >> kristen welker, thank you very much. i'm richard lui, thanks for watching. up next "andrea mitchell reports." >>> coming up next, republican presidential candidate jon huntsman joins us live from new hampshire to tell us why he is boycotting tonight's debate in las vegas. >>> and we will talk about herman cain's night in the hot seat. >>> and with president obama bussing to virginia, we will talk with virginia governor bob mcdonald and debbie wasserman shultz. "andrea mitchell reports live" up next. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one mode

he is in emporia, virginia tonight it looks like a campaign trip. that's obvious. >> that's right.d evening, shep. the bottom line is this is a taxpayer financed bus tour and the white house aides keep saying these are not campaign events so i guess i just saw not a campaign event the president had here in virginia where he at one point said yes we can, the slogan you will remember from that campaign about three years ago. the president also trying out some potential campaign lines for 2012 at this event. and basically charging that the republic jobs bill would help corporations, take a listen. >> let's see what you have got. and here is what the plan boils down to. we're gonna gut environmental regulations. [boos] >> we're going to drill more. [boos] >> we're going to roll back wall street reform. >> now, as you mentioned, the president is hoping as soon as this week to start getting some votes on the senate in at least pieces of the jobs bill. even if some of those pass, the way it looks right now is he not going to get anything to that original 447 billion-dollar jobs bill. mayb

you can see on the map he made his way into virginia where he's speaking today at a high school in emporias tour is a political stunt. let's listen to the president. >> some people asked me yesterday, why i was visiting republican areas of north carolina. i said, well, first of all, it's because i just like north carolina. second of all, i'm not the democratic president or republican president, i'm the president. and third of all, i don't care if you're republican or a democrat, because we're all americans. >> well, bob shrum is a democratic strategist and ron reagan is a political commentator and author of "my father at 100." gentlemen, i want you to start off by look at something very heated. this is a comment made yesterday by mitt romney in a meeting with the "las vegas review journal" editorial board yesterday. he was commenting on foreclosure and the crisis attending that. let's listen here to something that could be very hot. >> as to what to do for the housing industry specifically, and there are things that you can do to encourage housing. one is don't try and stop the foreclosure

will be joined by bob mcdonald yesterday the president made this stop, he promoted his jobs bill at emporia a city near the north carolina border where it is 60% black and unemployment more than 11%. >>> today's vote comes a day after senate passed a measure for the new redistricting map. it is being redrawn in response to the 2010 census. all of the state's population gain result is from increases in minorities. >> a winner from last night's special election in prince georges county. davis the republican beat gardener with 9%. the county is heavily democratic and davis was favoured since he won the democratic primary last month. >>> what a crazy story out of ohio where exotic animals continue to be on the loose. >> the owner of the wild animals reserve where dozens escaped has been found now dead. sarah simmons is back in studio with more. sarah really bizarre story. >> it is alison and steve. close to 30 of the 48 animals were shot and killed yesterday, right now officers armed with assault rifles are looking for the rest, forcing four school district to cancel classes. county sheriff tol