russ? >> mitchell: seth, are the miners doing anything to prepare for this rescue attempt on wednesday? >> reporter: well, we heard today that they are doing pretty well, according to the minister of health. they're also planning to fast about six hours before the rescue process is set to begin? that's so as they are raised up in the rescue capsule, they won't feel nauseous as it has a tendency to spin, we're told. russ? >> mitchell: seth doane at the san jose mine in chile, thank you so much. in north korea today, a huge celebration. the big news was the appearance of the man who could be the country's next leader. national correspondent jim alex rod has had extraordinary access and is with us now from pyongyang. jim? >> reporter: russ, maybe the most surprising thing about the celebration was the north korean government's decision to invite foreign reporters in to cover it. but there is a reason. the precision marching of north korean troops and the display offers arsenal of weapons were

russ feingold is fighting for re-election. jim, you actually had interaction with sharron angle, before we get to that. >> i did about a month ago. had a chance to briefly talk to sharron angle. what's interesting about the race is harry reid has had opportunity to put sharron angle away, and he hasn't done that. he didn't do it last night from all appearances. that appears to be much of what's going on here in wisconsin. russ feingold, you would think, being a three-term democrat would be able to take out this tea party candidate, ron johnson, who really came out of nowhere. he's running for election for the first time. at this point russ feingold has not come up with the knockout punch still. >> i'm just -- just just a regular guy. >> it doesn't get more out of the beltway than ron johnson. >> have you been to congress before? >> i've never been to washington, d.c. >> you've never been to washington, d.c. >> until this election. i've gone three times to familiarize myself and meet with some groups. that's it. >> suddenly thi

including the seat of russ feingold in wisconsin. as well as president obama's old seat in illinois. fox news contributor michael baron and co-author of the almanac of american politics joins me now from washington. michael, welcome back to the program. >> thank you. good to be with you, paul. >> a lot of people are comparing this election to 1994 when republicans picked up a lot of seats there. is a difference i know is that in that year, republicans picked up gains in the south. this year a lot of the gains they expect to get are from upper mid west what. is going on in that part of the country? >> something important is going on. a political comment teary hasn't figured out yet. growing up in michigan and when you were growing up in wisconsin political rule was in times of distress, industrial heartland, states you just named, in times of economic disstress moved towards democrats. we're seeing now they're moving towards republicans in a way we haven't seen since 94. i don't mean 1994, i mean 1894. >> really. so what explains a sw

russ feingold, you spent the last 30 years as a career politician. i've created secure jobs here in wisconsin. russ feingold, he thinks government creates jobs. >> woodruff: johnson, who is spending millions of his own money to run quickly singled out the size of government spending under president obama, especially the stimulus plan which feingold supported. >> we are committing inter-generational theft and it is immoral. >> i think government has gotten too large and too intrusive. over the last 50 years the federal government has been spend 20g% of g.d.p.. now it's up to 25 and 26. >> here's a guy who never said a word about george bush's reckless budget ak. here's a guy who says he's about spending and knows how to count who wants huge tax cuts for the wealthy in addition to the ones that are already in the so-called bash tax cut. >> woodruff: johnson's other main target has been the obama health care reform plan which feingold also voted for. >> i believe that is designed to actually lead to a government takeover of health care. you know, we tak

i'm russ mitchell. also tonight, critical contests. the kentucky senate race is a dead heat, spending and taxes are the big issues and control of the senate is at stake. whatever happened to personal privacy? a young man's suicide highlights the potential danger of social networks and unlimited information. and anniversary gift, the very special donation this man-made to save his wife of 52 years. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. the u.s. government now has an official a left for americans living or traveling in europe. after a day of speculation the state department today issued a travel alert advising u.s. sustains in europe to stake extra precautions about their personal safety. what does it mean and how seriously should you take it? we begin our coverage with elizabeth palmer in london. >> reporter: the state department's warning was echoed by the british government which raised its threat of terrorist attacks in france and germany specifically to high. >>

. >>> wisconsin's three-term democratic senator russ feingold finished. why the senator could lose his job to a man who had never even been to washington, d.c. before this campaign. nine minutes after the hour. now i can stop pain from any angle-- with no mess. (announcer) new icy hot spray. relief that's icy to dull pain, hot to relax it away. and no mess. new icy hot spray. don't mess around with pain. it's drive to places with views that'll leave you awestruck...month. fit every stick, pad, helmet and puck month. easily conquer pavement, dirt, rocks and muck month. and get it all while keeping a few bucks month. great deals on the complete family of chevy trucks all backed for a hundred thousand miles. it's truck month. qualified lessees now get a low mileage lease on this 2011 traverse for around $299 a month. call for details. see your local chevrolet dealer. [ e. clark ] i'm an engineer. i love my job. i can see what's it's doing for the community on a day-to-day basis. natural gas is cleaner burning than most fossil fuels and it's vital to our ener

russ? >> mitchell: elizabeth palmer in london, thanks. >> and for more on the terror alert and what it means, we are joined by cbs news national security analyst juan zarate. good evening. >> good evening. >> mitchell: the big question is, why now. >> the alert comes at a time when authorities are learning more and more about this al qaeda directed plot at europe. and so in some ways the authorities the u.s. government has a duty to warn u.s. sustains about this potential threat in europe. in addition, this comes at a time with a lot of media attention about what we know with respect to the threat. and so authorities couldn't avoid putting out some sort of advisory to warn people traveling to europe. >> mitchell: at all right is pretty vague, no specific countries are mentioned. what does that say to you? >> well, it says a couple of things. first that authorities are still worried about the seriousness of this threat directed by bin laden to hit in europe with assault teams in mumbai-style

thank you, russ.applause] round ofso give a applause to a few more terrific people here today -- our first lady, who has been a terrific friend and supporter to me. also, representative gwen moore, my girl, my woman, gwen. and a candidate for congress, a wonderful woman that i just got a chance to meet. let's give her a big found of applau -- round of applause. thank you all for being here today. to tell you the truth, this thing here, i don't do this very often. trail 't been on the and since this campaign a couple years ago. as mom in chief, my first priority has been making sure that my girls are happy and helping and adjusting to an interesting life and that big white house that we live in. like every parent, i know my girls are at the center of my world, and my hopes for their future are the heart of everything i do. that is why i wanted to be here today. i come to this stuff more as a mom. when i think about the issues that are facing our nation, i think about what it means for my girls. i think

. >> russ feingold, the incumbent senator, is in trouble. he is behind in the polls. >> he is in trouble. i don't know how bad the trouble is, but he has to get out that vote. exactly that vote. i have seen a variety of polls in some where he is about even and others were key is way behind. mark me know what better than i about this -- marked may know better than i about this. >> in the latest survey it seven points he is trailing, russ feingold. >> the person he is opposing is a newcomer. >> absolute newcomer, deep pockets, self-funded. charles' point about the president of fox news -- fox news is the only news organization in the history of the country that has on its payroll four president of candidates. rick santorum, sarah palin, newt gingrich, mike huckabee are all on their peril. wjla.co -- their payroll. >> fox is the new virginia, the birthplace of presidents. [laughter] >> what a stable. >> washington, jefferson, madison, everybody except adams. >> and they give money to the republicans -- >> pennsylvania, colorado -- >> tossups. c

against russ johnson?astounded and i bet mike is, too, i am astounded this race is where it is, andrea. and he said the toughest one for us to get is russ feingold, it's a pretty good state but he's a smart and savvy campaigner. johnson is a businessman from oshkosh, spent a lot of his own money, run a really, really good campaign. russ feingold always ran as the outsider, 1992, won, elected as the outsider. i'm in the senate but i'm not one of them. ron johnson has taken the mantle away from russ feingold and he's struggling to get it back. if you're looking at polling averages, russ johnson is up five, seven, eight points and that's amazing given feingold's ability as a politician. >> this is one where the turnout will be a key. the president goes in and -- >> energizing the kids. >> correct. i think when the base comes back the numbers are less threatening to senator feingold. >> barbara boxer beginning to stabilize now in california. it's a great matchup, boxer versus fiorina. >> i'm optimistic about s

this is a tough fight for russ feingold. it's a seven-point difference between russ feingold and johnson. >> yeah. just a fascinating race. another bit of what michelle obama said today, she actually said russ feingold and i have another thing in common. we disagree with the president at times. so everybody sort of distancing themselves from obama, even his wife. but, you know, this is a fascinating race. wisconsin, people should remember, even though barack obama won it overwhelmingly in 2008, it was a close state the year before. if we're moving back to a 2004 readjustment, feingold is going to have a tough time. you know, it shouldn't be surprising that he would have a tough race. he has never won with more than 55% of the vote. you know, he's definitely in some polls trailing. and, you know, has a little bit of an uphill fight, tamron. >> all right, deminico. thank you. we'll keep an eye on the first lady. she has a lot of stops ahead of her. >>> the republican candidate for governor of new york is now apologizing. sort

>> michele obama is set to hold a fund-raiser today russ feingold for russ, facing a difficult reelectiontest in wisconsin. then she heads back to illinois. she will support the candidate running for her husband's old seat. the democrats think they can pick up open seats this year. she is beginning a long tour to raise money for democratic candidates. >> on thursday she will do a fund-raising luncheon for senator michael bennett running for reelection, appointed to the seat -- it was mr. ken salazar who left that to take over the administrative post. he wants to be elected for the first time. michelle obama's draw as a fund- raiser -- while she doing that and not a typical stump speech, a public event? >> her image is not one of a politician. she is probably one of the most popular people in the country, much more so than her husband or than anybody democrats or republicans can put up. but she is not really a politician. it is unseemly for a first lady in some respects to be campaigning, taking shots of republicans when the role is really more of a non-partisan role, more of a row above i

what happened to russ feingold he used to stand up to washington politicians these days he stands with them fine go stood with them to pass the health care bill feingold stood with them to pass a reckless budget tripling our national debt and find gold standing with them turning a blind eye to the spending he was to fight so hard against the us always said he change washington it looks like washington changed him call russ feingold telling we miss the old russ we can't afford his spending policies the us chamber is responsible for the content of this advertising. we hear that we can't afford his spending policies but who is we you know the assumption is that the money for ads is coming from americans from those the actually have something to win or lose from their local elections we know that's not entirely true it turns out that organizations like the chamber of commerce who can raise unlimited funds and don't have to disclose their donors could be raking in the money from foreign donors and despite the chamber's denial think progress has been doing a thorough investigation here so ho

we have come too far. >> that is michelle obama throwing a lifeline to the struggling russ feingold. kenji save them, -- and she save him, mark? >> if he is say he will save himself. but michelle obama, the lightning rod in the 2008 colelection, is now more popular. the prime -- the president has not been invited back to colorado since he helped michael bennet win the primary. her numbers are high. we don't deliver votes in this country, which don't deliver groceries, we barely deliver mail. >> 67 percent approval rating, michelle obama. does putting her out there but that in jeopardy, nina? >> i don't think so. the only time she was controversial was early on in the campaign. she is an incredibly graceful saurrogate who can only help a candidate. i don't think she can elect a candidate anymore than any president can elect a candidate. but she can help. she can help raise money and give a warm, fuzzy feeling. >> how does it look to you, evan? >> obama's approval rating is not that bad compared to progress. but there is kind of a limit as to him now. there is -- lameness to him now. m

i'm russ mitchell, cbs news.

> we have come too far to stop putting the american dream that i know, that my husband knows, that russ knows, back within reach for all of us. we have come too far. >> that is michelle obama, trying to throw a lifeline to struggling russ feingold. kenji save them, mark -- and she save them, mark? >> he will save himself. michelle obama, the lightning rod, the controversial figure in the campaign of 2008, has emerged as the more popular. she can go to colorado. the president has not been, to my knowledge, invited back to colorado since he helped michael bennet win the primary. she can go where he cannot, and her numbers are hot. as far as delivering votes, we don't deliver votes in this country, we don't deliver groceries, we barely deliver mail. >> se67 percent approval rating, michelle obama. does putting her out there put in jeopardy, nina? >> i don't think so. she is an incredibly graceful circuit -- graceful sordid who can only help a candidate. she cannot elect a candidate and more than any president really likes the candidate, but she can help -- then the president elect the cand

>> we have come too far to stop putting the american dream that i know, and my husband knows, and russ knows, back within reach for all of us. we have come too far. >> that is michelle obama, trying to throw a lifeline to russ feingold in wisconsin. can she save him, mark? >> if he is saved he will save himself. michelle obama, the lightning rod, controversial figure in 2008, has emerged as the more popular. she can go to colorado. the president has not been, to my knowledge, invited back to colorado since he helped michael bennet win the primary. she can go where he cannot, and her numbers are high. as far as delivering votes, we don't deliver votes in this country, we don't deliver groceries, we barely deliver mail. >> 68% approval rating, michelle obama. does putting her out there put that in jeopardy, nina? >> i don't think so. the only time she was controversial was early on in the campaign. she is an incredibly graceful surrogate, who can only help a candidate she cannot elect a candidate any more than any president really elects a candidate. but she can help, and she can certain

senator russ feingold, a democrat, has raised 42% from people giving $200 or less.opponent, a tea party-backed candidate named ron johnson who's become his own big donor. he's injected $4.4 million of his own fortune into his campaign. sharyl attkisson, cbs news, washington. >>> this is the "cbs morning news." cbs news, washington. ,,,, >>> >>> the united states is the most welcoming country for refugees in the world granting 22,000 asylum requests last year alone but in a post-9/11 world, not everyone gets an automatic green light. stricter anti-terrorism laws means a lot of people are getting turned away. russ mitchell reports on one woman who is fighting to receive asylum. >> my life is, like, at a standstill. >> reporter: regina othela lives in a shelter in chicago. can't work and has no country to call home. all because the u.s. government claims she gave material support to terrorists. >> i despise the rebels, i still do. and for them to say i supported them, it's -- it's unfair. it's not right. >> reporter: in november 2008, the native of uganda, was kidnappe

including the seat of incumbent democrat russ fi finegold and president obama's old seat in illinois. a senior political analyst for the washington examiner and co-author of the almanac of american politics. he joins me now from washington. michael, welcome back to the program. >> it's very good to be with you, paul. >> juliet:. >> paul: a lat of people are comparing this when the republicans picked up a lot of seats. republicans picked up a lot of gains in the south. this year, a lot of the gains they expect to get if they're going to take back the house and senate are across the upper midwest. what's going on in that part of the country? >> well, i think something very important it coming on that the political comment hasn't figured out. when i was growing up in michigan, when you were growing up in wisconsin, paul, the rules of economic distress, the industrial heartland as you named, pennsylvania, michigan, ohio, wisconsin illinois. they move toward the democrats. what they're seeing in a time of economic distress they're moving heavily towards the republicans in a way we haven't

it said it will work with the puc to make sure russ dents will have enough gas during the winter months. the mother of jessica morales killed in the explosion spoke at the meeting. she like the assemblyman wants the puc to come back with a recommendation before they increase the pressure this winter. pg&e did promi to relocate the line after pressure from pg&e and residents. there's no word when or where the lis will be rebuilt. we'll have more on this story tonight at 5:00 an 6:00.

i'm russ mitchell, cbs news in katie couric will be here tomorrow. good night.d by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org some sunday plans... what's ahead for the week. >>> change is in the air. wet weather arrives in the bay area washing out sunday plans. what is ahead for the week. >>> the big guns arrive in the bay area hoping to bolster campaigns. president bill clinton will come to the south bay to help a former rival. >> you see the vegetable growing 30 pounds a day. >> a grape grower is tackling a bigger job. what is overshadowing the vines at california wineries. and that's reckless and dangerous. she's for risky new oil drilling that could threaten our jobs. fiorina's plan would mean slashing social security and medicare, which would devastate seniors. and she'd make abortion a crime. no wonder fiorina is endorsed by sarah palin.

the first stop wisconsin to help reelect russ feingold. steve brown is traveling with the first lady. >> russ is always looking out for the people of this state. i think that is clear in just about everything russ has done during his time here in office. >> reporter: her two-week campaign swing will take her to eight states. >> a lot of negative campaigning going on. to have a positive political figure is something that we appreciate. >> reporter: today the first lady framed her political points through her role as mother of two young daughters and all the children she says traveling the country. >> i see it in the eyes of the child whose mom just lost her job and that little girl worries how her to pay the bills. >> reporter: aside from the money she will raise, they hope she provides a spark to under enthused democrats. >> she will motivate many young people to vote. >> reporter: but political observers say don't count on that. >> it's unlikely she will show up and suddenly a democratic candidate, here in illinois or up in wisconsin or c

now to traffic with jim russ. on thee's an accident beltway, outer loop before connecticut ave. at the top of the screen on the right uc the flashing lights. it is an accident. traffic is getting by single file to the right. colesville road, delay is not quite back there yet. they're beginning near georgia avenue getting there. earlier trouble on 95 southbound in virginia was the car fire in the work zone south of the interchange at lorton. that has been cleared away. connecticut avenue, the closure is between dupont circle and k street because of an overnight accident. back to you. >> thank you. >>> 53 degrees outside. >> an easier way to protect your privacy on facebook. we will break down the latest changes. >> the white house under fire ther how it handled abou gulf coast oil crisis. quicksand >>> d.c. police are looking for the driver who killed a pedestrian and fled the scene near dupont circle along the 1300 block of connecticut ave. the woman hit is in serious condition. we will bring you more details as we get them. >>> on 2 our top story, prince william county authorit

. >> russ feingold, the incumbent senator, is in trouble. he is behind in the polls. >> he is in trouble. i don't know how bad the trouble is, he has to get out that vote in wisconsin -- but he has to get out and vote in wisconsin. i've seen a variety of polls. some he is leading, others he is very behind. mark may know better than i about this. >> 7 points in the most recent survey he is trailing, russ feingold. >> the guy he is posing as a newcomer. -- he is opposing is a newcomer. >> absolute newcomer, self- funded. charles' point about fox news. fox news is the only news organization in the history of the country that has on its payroll four presidential candidates. rick santorum, newt gingrich, sarah palin, and mike huckabee are all on their payroll. i would say -- >> and -- >> fox is the new virginia, the birthplace of presidents. [laughter] >> what a stable. >> washington, jefferson, madison, everybody except adams. >> and they giveveoney to republican candidates. >> pennsylvania, colorado. >> tossups. connecticut is a tossup. reid's

>> russ feingold is a prime example. three months ago nobody felt russ feingold would be in danger in wisconsin. i think the fact that we're even talking about feingold being in trouble really underscores how problematic things are for democrats. i mean, it's not just defending seats like pennsylvania where pattumy is going to win or florida but it expanded into even russ feingold now being in trouble. that's devastating for democrats to have to worry about defending that seat. >> that's quite a face you made, karen. >> i was trying to let matt finish. the amount of money being put into these races by outside groups, mostly republican, is making a huge difference. you have in some groups democrats outspending republicans, seven to one. democratic candidates doing a good job, working hard. >> you can talk about the money all you want, but what is the net results? >> you have millions of dollars of advertising against you, it is hard to fight all those attacks. >> and i guess there are probably some people from the tea par

believe me, it does not come fast enough for barack or for russ, either. not when so many people are still looking for work, and struggling to pay the bills to provide for their kids. it has not been fast enough. many of us expected to see all of the change we talked about happen all at once, right away, the minute barack -- barack walked into the oval office door. the truth is it will take a longer time to dig out of this whole then anyone would like. the truth is, this is the hard part. remember, that is exactly what barack obama told us. do you remember? that is exactly what we all told each other during all of those months on the campaign trail he told us that change is hard -- campaign trail. he told us that change is hard. he said that change is slow. he said it does not just happen on its own. we all understood that change takes struggle, sacrifice, and compromise. from the first days of the nation, every time folks have tried to make changes, they have faced fear and doubts, setbacks and disappointments, but remember, as americans, we have pushed b

complaint, that they have been ideologically driven and not looking after the bread and butter. >> russ feingold may lose in wisconsin? >> i would not bet against him, but he is the underdog at this point. he is running on defense on health care, because his opponent says that he will repeal it. ok, you will repeal existing and -- you will repeal pre-existing conditions. on christine o'donnell, the republican candidate for republican over georgia -- for governor of georgia had a financial disclosure and it turns out that after he got the nomination, instead of having a net surplus of $2.5 million, he owes $3 million, and it will be due in 2011. if you want to start looking at people and their visa cards, like christine o'donnell, how about nathan deal -- >> and he is 6 points ahead in the polls of roy blunt. that shows you how big the mountain is. >> colby? they are not all running away from obamacare. in kentucky, where rental is probably ahead, -- democratic -- where rand paul is probably ahead, at the democratic attorney general says he is in support of obamacare. >> you get the last

the russ feingold campaign refused to agree. our panelists include the news director of wfdl radio, the news anger of green bay -- the news anchor in green bay. will begin with opening statements. >> i want to thank the wisconsin broadcasters' association for holding this important debate. i have the good fortune to be born here in wisconsin, to be raised here, and this has always been my home. one of the things that happens when you do that is that you hear the word independent all the time, particularly political independence. my dad talked about it all the time. so when i had the honor of becoming a united states senator, i knew that was going to be a big part of what i tried to do. when i heard people say that it might be a bright idea to pass on fair trade agreements, to send our jobs overseas, i thought, that does not make sense. i oppose this trade agreement. they were so damaging to our manufacturing jobs. it happened again when both new york and washington said why don't we let wall street make its own rules. i was one

-- russ feingold is, right? -- would lose, right?>> i would not votbet against him, but he is certainly the underdog. his opponents as he will repeal -- appointed says he will appeal it. he will appeal pre-existing conditions, lifetime coverage? nathan deal, republican candidate for governor, had a totally false financial disclosure. it turns out, after he got the nomination, that instead of having a net surplus of $2.5 million, he owes $3 million, and will be due in 2011. you know, i mean, if you look at people being slow on their visa cards, like christine o'donnell, how about nathan deal and republican fiscal responsibility in georgia? >> and he is six point ahead of roy blunt. >> they are not all running away from obamacare. in kentucky, where rand paul is probably ahead, the democratic opponent, the attorney general, says that he supports obamacare. people uninsured are now going to be covered, and he stood up for that. >> you get the last word. see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv

russ, you talk about this yesterday but you mentioned legal impediments information sharing. is it any thought that some of these laws need to be changed or tweak the way to avoid a provision was placed in the intelligence authorization? is anything that needs to be done in the privacy act that would make your life and your mission easier? >> there are any number of issues to look at, nctc has restrictions now on what size information we can get. and we are approaching our ability to get that kind of information. so as the amphetamines are recognized and there's an established need to have a particular kind of information, then we work it to the system. i would associate myself with whoever asked the question on the first panel kshemendra, has it been in a tizzy accounting of all of the different legal limitations on data, i doubt it. we tend to focus on the dataset that we believe would be a most assistance to the animals and then we go to the range of legal and policy and technical security and privacy issues that impede our ability to get that day and that we through them.

. >> he cannot do this alone he needs strong leaders like russ to help him. >> reporter: fee profiledemocrats are lining up to close the enthusiasm gap. >> policies of the last administration decimated ordinary families. >> reporter: battled democrats are strucking in california. >> that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject. have you chastised your chairman pete wilson who called the congress worries. >> you know better than that jerry that's a complete different thing. >> reporter: in one safely democratic connecticut blumenthal is on the ropes against linda mcmahon. >> there have been 7 dead wrestlers when she started campaigning for this office. >> you continue to talk about wwv clearly you don't want to talk about job creation. >> reporter: all that celebrity campaigning might be working. polls still show republicans with an advantage but the gap is narrowing. >>> election day may still be 20 days away, but across the nation americans are heading to the voting booth. 40 states now including maryland have some form of early voting either in person with the