Richard Strandlof says he didn't mean to cause harm when he lied about being a military veteran.

Erica Hill | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

It’s been a while, dear blog readers… but I’m still kicking around the 7th floor offices. While more desks may be empty than usual, our rundown isn’t showing signs of Columbus Day.

And since I’m not assigned to a story today, I thought I’d hop back on the blog with a “news Note”; thanks for indulging me.

Sadly, every day provides ample opportunity for disappointment and outrage when you skim the headlines. But sometimes, there is a silver lining in those stories – today’s can be found in a long overdue arrest.

Richard Strandlof’s name may not be familiar, but his story is difficult to forget. Earlier this year, he admitted to Anderson – on the air – that he had lied about surviving the September 11th attacks. Lied about surviving a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. Lied about the injuries he sustained in that fictitious blast. And he used those lies to make a name for himself, founding the “Colorado Veterans Alliance” and campaigning for politicians, all the while touting his 9/11 and battle field scars.

He even lied about his name.

On Friday, the FBI arrested Strandolf – aka Rick Duncan – on the charge of “stolen valor” and held him for “false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals.”

The first step, perhaps, toward some justice.

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A Delaware first grader was so excited about becoming a Cub Scout, he wanted to bring some of his new camping knowledge to school with him. He took his snazzy new fork/knife/spoon camping tool to school, with plans to use it at lunch. Instead, he’s been suspended and is now facing 45 days in reform school, according to the New York Times. This was the first story I read in the paper this morning – who could ignore those tidbits? His family has started a website, complete with an online petition, to plead this 6-year-old’s case.

The school tells the paper it has a strict “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to weapons in schools…understandable, but it also makes one wonder if maybe a case-by-case basis isn’t such a bad thing.

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Let’s end this on a positive note, shall we? Amidst all the stories of higher fees for everything from checked bags to pretzels, a silver lining for air travel: lower ticket prices. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. One airline ticket research site says you could see holiday airfare as much as 15 percent below 2008 prices. But you may want to book your tickets sooner rather than later, since we all know prices seem to change with no rhyme or reason not only from one day to the next, but one minute to the next. Good luck, bargain hunters!

Erica Hill | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Thanksgiving wasn’t the same this year. It was a wonderful day – my husband’s family was in town, and it’s rare we have everyone together more than once a year. It was a beautiful day here in NY; we took in our first live Thanksgiving Day Parade, enjoyed a wonderful feast and created new memories. We made up for lost time and were reminded how lucky we are to be blessed with a family we all like. Yet, I couldn’t help but think of Mumbai and the families forever torn apart by these senseless terrorists.

I take some comfort in the vigils being held worldwide, uniting people across oceans and continents, bringing together different faiths, united in one belief: the 179 people killed and the 300 injured last week in Mumbai should still be here.

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December 1 is World AIDS Day…another good reason to reflect. Dec 1 was first set aside as a day to highlight the disease 20 years ago. The good news: Progress, and lots of it, on both the medical and social fronts.

There are now more than two dozen anti-HIV drugs, which have given those living with HIV an incredible chance at life. People around the globe have come to realize this is not a “black disease” or a “gay disease”, as so many thought years ago. That alone is an amazing and important step forward. But despite the advances in the past two decades, there is still much to do.

Like so many diseases, HIV/AIDS does not discriminate, which also means there is a chance you know one of the millions affected by this cruel disease. World AIDS Day is just one of the many ways people around the globe are keeping this disease top of mind. Many local communities have wonderful organizations who work with those affected by HIV/AIDS everyday – offering support, meals, medical help and hope… one of the most powerful medicines available.

Impact Your World: The global food market’s shelves are getting bare and hunger activists say it will get worse. As the nation marks World Hunger Relief Week, more people are asking: Why are so many people starving and what, if anything, can be done to eradicate hunger? Learn how you can help

Erica Hill | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Thanksgiving is as tied to food drives as it is to turkeys and football. It is the kick-off of the holiday season, when we’re reminded to remember those less fortunate with a can of green beans or a paper stocking at the supermarket. This year, your neighbors need more. And they need it beyond tomorrow.

The people in this country who don’t have enough to eat are your neighbors and colleagues. They may not look like they’re hungry, but hunger doesn’t have a certain look. It doesn’t target one area of the country, one type of person or one socio-economic group. Hunger does not discriminate, and that is what makes the growing number of hungry Americans all the more disturbing.

Last year, 36.2 million Americans were “food insecure” – an official term that sounds generic and clunky, but its meaning is simple: 36.2 million adults and children struggled to find enough to eat. These are parents who may skip meals to feed their children instead, or stretch one meal over a day or even more than one day, because it’s not clear where the next meal will come from. This is more than 12 percent of the population. And when you break down the numbers for children, your heart will break: the number of hungry children in the US rose 50 percent in 2007.

Keep in mind, these numbers are from 2007 – every one I have spoken to since the USDA released the figures last week tells me this year’s numbers will be far worse, and they don’t expect things to improve in 2009. Why? Because in 2007, the economic crisis hadn’t yet begun; people were struggling, but the downturn didn’t dominate the news every night. Banks still had money. The government wasn’t signing off on hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts. People weren’t looking over their shoulder, worried someone from HR was about to tap them on the shoulder, hand them a box and ask them to please clean out their desk.

“If the data we are reviewing today reflected food insecurity data from the last 12 months, it would be even more shocking,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), in response to the report. The Food Bank for New York City tells me the situation for children in NY has been steadily getting worse since 2004, and they expect the 2008 financial crisis will hit with remarkable intensity. They are seeing fewer donations, smaller donations, and an incredible increase in need. It’s a situation the Community Food Bank of New Jersey knows all too well, one their director of market development, Richard Uniacke, called a “perfect storm.” And it is the children who are the most vulnerable when it comes to food insecurity.

“These kids need food, these kids need school supplies, these kids need warm clothing,” Uniacke told me. “They didn’t ask to be in that situation, they didn’t make the terrible choices that put them there.”

The Community Food Bank of New Jersey is one of several around the country that has specific programs targeting children, including the BackPack Program. According to Feeding America, schools in 41 states and the District of Columbia participate in the BackPack Program. As many as 70,000 children are sent home from school on Fridays with enough food to get them through the weekend, nutritious meals they need to keep them focused when they get back to school Monday morning. These back packs and their contents are life-changing.

“It makes a big difference. We see the happy faces when they leave here, and the happy faces when they come back on Monday. Many faces we didn’t see with smiles in the past,” said James Montemurro, principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Newark, NJ. Nearly a third of his students participate in the BackPack Program, and the school is already seeing twice the demand for the program over last year’s number. Those happy faces, according to Montemurro, are directly tied to a full stomach.

“(Before) they were frustrated, they had rough weekends, work wasn’t done. That has changed. It means so much. It just makes our learning environment, our school more productive.”

Filling these backpacks every week costs about four dollars per bag. For four dollars, children can concentrate on schoolwork because they don’t worry about where their next meal is coming from. In addition to the security these bags provide, there is a sense of accomplishment, a feeling that they are helping their family. They can stop worrying so much about their parents’ struggle to feed them, pay the rent and the electricity.

But this small piece of security is also vulnerable. “My biggest concern going into the back pack distribution was our ability as a Food Bank to provide for the BackPack Program,” Uniacke said. “I'm very concerned that if things take a downturn, we're going to have to start cutting back.”

How you can help:
NJ Community Food Bank
Feeding America
FBNYC

Erica Hill | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Dog-fighting is not a “sport”. It is sick, inhumane, and inexcusable. It is torture. I will never understand what compels someone to train animals to fight one another, not how anyone can gain pleasure and enjoyment from watching two living beings tear one another to pieces – literally. I don’t want to understand it, either.

I am happy to report 55 people have been arrested in what is believed to be one of the country’s largest dog fighting operations. One of the alleged participants is a special ed teacher. Nice. More than 100 dogs, “bred specifically to fight”, were also seized.

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The Big Dig seems to have been under a dark cloud since Day One, but it is the heart wrenching death of Milena Del Valle more than two years ago that stands out in many minds when you mention the Boston transportation project. Now, one of the Big Dig’s largest contractors, Modern Continental Construction Inc., will pay $21 million in damages related to her death, and to the cost of fixing leaks in the massive highway project.

Del Valle, 39, was killed in July 2006 while on her way to the airport with her husband. She was a passenger in the car when 26 tons of tunnel ceiling collapsed on the vehicle.

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World’s tallest Mohawk – 27 inches of rockin’ locks – gets groomed for charity.

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An 11-year-old girl Oregon girl crawled out of her family's smashed SUV and made her way through a storm to get help, saving seven others in the process.

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When Lt. Gen Ann E. Dunwoody enlisted in the Army more than three decades ago, she figured she’d stay for two years, then move on to college and ultimately become a phys ed teacher.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned. Lt Gen Dunwoody never left the Army, and today she becomes the first woman in U.S. military history to get four stars.

Erica Hill | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Food banks across the country have been struggling for months, and as the holidays approach and the economy continues to sink, the outlook for food banks and soup kitchens is increasingly bleak. In Houston, however, there is hope, thanks to Louise Hauser. As the food pantry supervisor at West Houston Assistance Ministries (WHAM), Hauser knows the struggle first hand. When she recently won $50,000 on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire”, 20 percent – $10,000 – was earmarked for WHAM.

WHAM is an agency of the Houston Food Bank. All told, the Houston Food Bank feeds 80,000 people each week.
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Lobster is traditionally one of the luxury items on a dinner menu, but that may be changing. Diners are shying away from the fancy crustaceans because of its equally fancy price tag. Lobster now goes for between $2.80 and $4 a pound in Boston, versus $4.50 to $5 a pound last year. On the Cape, you can find it as low as $2.50 a pound. While that may be good news for lobster lovers, it could be disastrous for the men and women who make their living hauling them in.
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Free wedding dresses for military brides. I think that says it all!
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A young man, senselessly beaten two years ago and left with a broken jaw, forearm, cracked ribs and bruises is fighting back in court. The civil suit could bring down the KKK, but can it snuff out the hate? We can only hope.

(Duh’nah nah nah, duh’nah nah nah nah…)

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

Election Eve and I swear I can feel the energy and excitement in the air, and not just from the CNN folks ready for a day off! NYC is always alive and thumping, but today I am noticing it even more, and I don’t think it’s all in my head. The “discussions” on the street today were more animated, the hand gestures more pronounced, and the voices a bit louder and more emphatic. When I took our dog out this morning, a neighbor had posted a notice with the location of our polling site and the districts we belong to on the front door of our building. No excuses! I’m ready for my “I voted” sticker. The ones in Georgia had peaches on them…wonder if I’ll have one with an apple in NYC?

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Would you like to have the option to vote early? Some experts say the strong turnout in states with early voting could put the pressure on the rest of the country to make it available. I wouldn’t mind having the option, though I’d prefer early voting without the crazy lines.

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If those lines make you crazy, a little help from the folks on CNN’s medical team: anger management for election day.

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While it may be easy to forget, there are several other races tomorrow – not just the one for the White House. In addition to all of our snazzy maps at CNNPolitics.com, there is a fun tool to help you track the races that matter to you most.

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In addition to taking a lot of pride in my right to vote, I also believe jury duty isn’t something to be ignored. I have only been picked for duty once, but I found it fascinating. I also feel it’s my part in the “right to a fair trial” we all have. I know it isn’t always convenient, and I admit, the trial I served for lasted two days, not two months. Still, I can’t believe anyone would skip out on jury duty to go to a horse race, especially after their tour is nearly over. But what really upsets me about the missing juror in the Ted Stevens trial is that she lied about her father dying. Death and illness are things you never joke about and certainly never lie about. To me it’s beyond bad taste, it is bad luck… and you know what they say about karma. Imagine you lied about your father’s death to sneak out of a meeting, and then he really did die? The guilt would be overwhelming…at least it would be for most of us.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

The candidates can talk taxes, national security, even a little healthcare but can they talk football? Get ready for a side of last-minute politicking with your Monday Night Football. Did I mention this week’s Redskins-Steelers match up is on Election Eve? Hmmm… Think the Senators will choose a team? With Pennsylvania votes increasingly important, would they dare shun DC to shill for votes? Do a little half-time analysis?

I think it would be nice to mix this one up. Sure, it’s a hugs audience and a major opportunity to reach voters, but if they don’t know what you stand for les than 12 hours before the polls open, they’ve got bigger issues. I say these two lighten up and talk a little football. Grab some wings, a beer and settle in with America for the night, and leave the stump speeches behind. Yeah, like that would happen!
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There’s a squirrel problem in northern California, one that could give the rabbits a run for their money. At the University of California-Davis, the squirrel population has surged from zero to 400 in seven years, and now it’s time for action.

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I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention ghosts today – it’s like not eating candy on Halloween! I believe in ghosts but am happy to report I have never met one. I’m sure there are plenty of lovely spirits, but I’d rather not find out first-hand. I babysat in a haunted house growing up, it creeped me out to no end. The mother of that family didn’t believe in ghosts at all, but she told me her ghost-believing friends (who felt “a kind, protective presence” in her kitchen…eek!) recommend speaking to the spirits and letting them know, politely, that you’d prefer they didn’t introduce themselves. So far, they’ve abided by my requests. Things rarely go that smoothly for the “Ghost Hunters”, however.

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And a quick reminder to vote – not just on Tuesday, but today! It is nearly impossible to choose one CNN Hero when they are all such inspirational people, but the good news is you don’t have to choose just one. When it comes to CNN Heroes, you can voter early AND often, and it’s all legal! In fact, it’s encouraged.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

Some days, I have to make sure I didn’t lose a contact or inadvertently click on the wrong link. I am increasingly amazed by the stories I read, yet they’re true! I thought you’d be up for a trip down Wow Lane today, if you can peel your eyes from the election coverage. Fasten those seatbelts and grab a helmet, we’re off!

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First stop, China, where now even the EGGS have melamine. How is this chemical – used in plastics and fertilizer – finding its way into food? First the pet food, then tainted baby formula, milk…what’s next, asparagus? At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked by the asparagus headline.

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In Connecticut, where tainted candy was pulled recently, the latest concern is toddler cereal from Brazil, laced with pesticide.

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Clear across the country, some “WOW” of a different sort – the kind that make you smile, rather than cringe.

Cancer is a nasty, cruel disease that is very close to my heart…a little too close. The Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Center wants the state to have the lowest cancer rate in the nation, and they may be getting closer. Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are donating $100 million dollars to the UHSU Cancer Center. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Knight.

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Also in the spirit of giving, a little wealth spreading; and for the first time in weeks, “spreading the wealth” has nothing to do with partisan politics or a certain man from Ohio. This is sharing in its purest form. Anyone who thinks it’s a bad idea needs a reality check. After winning a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $207 million, the New Mexico group that hit the magic numbers is spreading the wealth to the clerks who sold them the ticket.

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And if you really want a “WOW”, don’t miss the live webcast tonight during the 10pm ET hour of AC360, when none other than Jack Gray, the wittiest blogger around, will be my special guest. Sadly, Sammy the dog was not available – her people make it nearly impossible to book an appearance, but maybe if you all send a request, we’ll have better luck.

Erica Hill | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Mass layoffs in September are at the highest level we’ve seen since 9/11, according to the Labor Department. Fantastic. Manufacturing accounts for 28 percent of the mass cuts – the sector is also responsible for more than a third of unemployment insurance claims last month. The head of one outsourcing firm says large com[panies are using a “shotgun approach” – not exactly a comforting assessment.

And there could be more bullets in those guns. Sue Murphy, manager for National Human Resources Association in Nashua, N.H., says companies have to prioritize. "The companies look at the nice-to-haves and the must-haves, and the employees that are not essential will be up for review," Murphy said. "A lot of quality people will be out of work."

Fewer jobs, less money to go around on payday, your retirement funds in the toilet, looming heating bills…and a wedding ring returned four decades after it went missing. Time for your afternoon pick-me-up! Let’s leave the economy behind for a moment and focus on your sweet tooth. I once mentioned in the daily newsletter for my show on Headline News that my afternoon pick-me-up was peanut M&Ms. I’m trying to switch from the chocolate (and protein-filled peanuts!) to a healthier snack of good news. Care to tag along?

I am a sucker for a sweet love story. When you’ve got Prince Charming, Cinderella, and a wedding ring down the drain, you know it’s a recipe for sugary, mushy goodness. Enjoy!

If the Zartarians didn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, I have one more treat that just may quench your craving. With a name like Sweet Miss Giving’s bakery, how could this place not be great?! The beauty of this Chicago bakery is that the good extends far beyond the baked goods; the sweet shop is staffed by formerly homeless adults with disabilities. Half of the profits go to helping homeless and disabled Chicagoans. In Windy City Mayor Richard Daley’s words, “"The bakery goods are very good.” I’m sold. And hungry.

Erica Hill | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

A man returns a pair of shoes after finding the same pair somewhere else at a better price (sounds like me!), but later notices a racial slur on his receipt. At first, I thought a salesperson had scrawled the hateful word on the back of his receipt. But then I watched the story and realized that nasty word was an option in the store’s computer. Why on earth would a code for a racial slur be on ANY computer, especially the one tied to a cash register? To get the full picture, you need to watch the story.

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Just how close is this country to a repeat of the Great Depression? A little too close for my comfort.

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The uncertain economy is one of the leading factors behind the findings in a new CNN poll - results that offer a jarring snapshot of the USA.

The bad news: 75 percent of Americans say things are going badly in this country, according to a new CNN poll. Americans are angry, scared and stressed to the max – though I probably didn’t need to tell you that. "Americans tend to downplay the amount of fear they have when facing tough times,” says CNN polling director Keating Holland. “The fact that more than six in 10 say that they are scared shows how bad things are getting."

And to give you even more perspective, in the last 40 years, the only other times there has been such a high level of dissatisfaction among Americans was during Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis and the recession of 1992.

The good news: You have a voice. And two weeks from today (or even today, depending on where you live), you can make it heard by voting.

This has nothing to do with your politics, and everything to do with your right to speak out. I love voting for a very simple reason: it makes me feel good. It also gives me the right to complain – or not! Sometimes the nastiness and the partisan nature of these elections make for a sad state of the Union. Neighbors have verbal spats in driveways, families are divided and bewildered by those who don’t share their political beliefs, and the energy is downright negative. But it doesn’t have to be. Even if you think all of the candidates are awful, you still have a voice. Vote for a third-party candidate, write someone in. You can also boycott the negative conversations.

We all have a chance to turn things around. It’s true, I can’t fix the economy. I can’t personally alter the way we fuel our transportation and our homes, but I can be a positive force in my daily life. I can try to spread some optimism, and I can take responsibility for my role in this country. It won’t solve every issue, and it may not even make a dent in those poll numbers… at least not right away. But good DOES go around. And if we all make the conscious decision to do our part, to think positive, and to work together no matter who is elected, we just might make some changes.

OK, all together now, “Kumbayah…”

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

One of my goals this year was to be a better listener. It’s not always easy, yet I learn so much just by keeping quiet. I am fascinated by people’s lives and their paths to the lives they create. It is the “average Joe” – six-pack optional – who always seems to have the most interesting story, not the celebrity du jour on the cover of the gossip rags.

Today, the stories of real people who we can all learn from, people not unlike the ones who may live next door or down the street: Families and young children, struggling to survive, taking life-threatening jobs to keep food in their stomach. Grandparents, opening up about the horrors of war, and the love that can grow out of misery. And reminders about just how bad things can get – and how lucky we are – from those who lived through the Great Depression. All are lessons that never grow old, and that we could miss if we don’t stop to listen.

I want to warn you the images and the details of this next story are disturbing. They are heartbreaking. And they are important. The images from Shehzad Noorani tell the tale of the “children of the dust” in Bangladesh. Their reality is documented in the book “What Matters.” Edited by David Elliott Cohen, the collection of photo essays explores environmental, economic and other issues around the world. The photos of the children of the dust will show you what child labor is truly like…and why trying to rid the world of it altogether may not be the answer.

I have always been drawn to stories of World War II, specifically, those of Holocaust survivors. I am in awe of the strength, courage and in so many cases, the forgiveness that the Greatest Generation – both here and abroad – continues to show, decades later. The lessons for us are many, but one man’s final words from his own father may be some of the best and most difficult advice yet: Don’t carry a grudge in your heart and tolerate everybody.

It is amazing how such incomparable beauty can come of such dark times, but the inspirational stories of humanity from every war are many. There are also countless stories of love born out of tragedy. It was Herman Rosenblat’s father who offered those wise words more than half a century ago. The story of Herman and his wife, Roma, is one of loss, sadness, and, ultimately, of a love and a connection that was meant to be; a couple united by the worst of circumstances.  Mr and Mrs Rosenblat recently celebrated their 50th anniversary.

My grandfather was the ultimate packrat. After he passed, my mother, aunt and uncle were cleaning out the basement; they found decades-old cardboard TV boxes, magazines, even coupons. He and my grandmother were smart with their money yet so generous with all of us. Coupons were always a big deal with my Grampa – and still are with my Mom. I admit, I, too LOVE a good bargain – with or without a coupon. But for my Mimi and Grampa, the reasons were different: they grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression. They lived through WWII and rationing. They knew what it was like to truly worry. When I was pregnant, my Mimi told me how she had one maternity dress when she was pregnant with my aunt – one dress. But she probably never complained. She’s an amazing lady, one I love to listen to.

As we hear so many cries of a “second Great Depression”, the lessons of the first one are once again en vogue…lessons we should probably all pay a bit more attention to in the boom times.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

I love learning more about my family’s safety in the skies, yet the news never seems to be as reassuring as I’d like. Like the fact that the US is operating on a World War II-era air traffic network that sends us on longer, more circuitous routes wasting not only time, but billions in fuel. I wonder if this is also the reason our recent flight from Atlanta to LaGuardia took us for a scenic aerial tour of Connecticut before finally landing. Normally, the pilot gets on the horn to let you know the tower needs the plane to circle. On this flight, however, nada…just a bird’s eye view of the yachts which may or may not be there come spring.

There is a newer, more accurate system available. It has a $35 billion dollar price tag (hmmm…not far from AIG’s second bailout amount) and snazzy GPS, which I hear is all the rage with the kids these days. Backers say the system would triple air traffic capacity, improve safety, curb greenhouse emissions and – I hope you’re sitting down – reduce delays by at least half. WOW. So why aren’t we making the switch?

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Contraceptives will now be made available at the Massachusetts high school known for a reported “pregnancy pact” between 17 of its students. The Gloucester school board voted unanimously to make contraceptives available with parental consent; they’ll be distributed at the school health clinic.

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He left his nine children, ages 1 to 17, at an Omaha hospital, reportedly under the state’s safe haven law. Now this man says he wants to see the kids he dumped at the hospital. His case is just one of the instances where parents have left their children at Nebraska hospitals under this new law. The problem? The law is intended to apply to infants – it lets parents leave the babies in a safe place, the hospital, without being charged for abanding their child. The one difference between this law and those on the books in other states: it doesn’t specify an age, so kids far beyond infancy are being left at hospitals. This man left NINE of his children.

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More than 50 years later, a thief is making good, with a letter to the mayor and two $5 bills. A man who identified himself only as “Bill” says he stole a 35 cent toy car in 1943 or 1944. He’s hoping that by owning up to it now and paying for the car, he can clear his conscience. I love this story.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

Confession: I’m a little nervous about the teenage years, though not as worried as I would be if I had a daughter instead of a son. I was a teenage girl once, and while I wasn’t a complete horror show, I do remember those years…and I shudder a bit when I look back. Frankly, my behavior makes me love and respect my parents even more. While no teenager is a joy all of the time, I also know neither I or my sister were so terrible that my parents felt they couldn’t handle us.

Some parents don't have it so easy.

In Nebraska, a new law is making it a little easier for parents who do feel they can’t deal with their children, but this isn’t what lawmakers had in mind. The state’s "safe haven" law allows parents to anonymously hand over a child to a hospital and protects the parent from prosecution. One problem: the law was intended for infants, but it lacks an age limit, and parents know it. Since this bill became law in July, only four of the 17 children left by their parents are under the age of 10. One 14-year-old girl was even brought across state lines from Iowa.

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Nearly 80 percent of Americans are stressed about their personal finances and the economy, according to an annual survey from the American Psychological Association. That stress, understandably, is often directly tied to their family’s well-being. Half of the respondents say they’re increasingly stressed about their ability to provide their family’s basic needs, while a little more than half say they’re worried about job stability. Sound like anyone you know?

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Let’s round out the doom and gloom with a chuckle…and a REALLY good idea. Google’s new Mail Goggles could save you a lot of headaches the morning after. A new setting for Google Mail lets you decide when you’re most likely to drunk-email or drunk-text (drunk dialing is soooo 20th century). If you try to send a message in that window – say, between 8pm and 4am on a Friday or Saturday night – Gmail will ask you a series of questions before allowing you to hit send. If you’re not sober enough to answer the questions correctly, the message won’t be sent. Just one more reason to thank those Google guys, especially when you realize what you could have done.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

The most interesting people in this world are rarely the famous ones. Celebrities and politicians may grab more airtime and more headlines – and more of our money – but in my experience, the family next door normally holds the most unexpected, inspirational and interesting tales. Need a little convincing? Try “The Oxford Project.”

In 1984, Peter Feldstein photographed almost all of the 676 residents of Oxford, IA. Twenty years later, he came back to capture them on film again. But he wasn’t alone. Stephen G. Bloom, a journalism professor at the University of Iowa, was there this time to record the stories behind the faces. Bloom says too often, we don’t hear these stories because we in the media are too focused on the power players and the big names. "The idea was not to talk to the decision makers, but talk to the people whose lives are affected by the decision makers," he says. "My job in Oxford was to talk to the voiceless, to people who don't have any voice who are the backbone of America."

The candidates could all benefit from a trip to Oxford, Iowa – but it would have to be a true visit, not a stop on the campaign trail. There are residents just like the hundreds of folks in Oxford all across the country. Many feel forgotten. They are struggling and searching for answers. They are the hard-working Americans candidates so often invoke in their stump speeches, the same people who hear the words and are waiting for the results. Will they get any answers tonight?

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I think nearly every teenager goes through a Salvation Army/thrift store phase. I did. I also enjoyed the French version, the “Kilo Shop,” where you would pay by the kilo…though somehow the cool leather jackets from the 70s we all coveted in high school were exempt from the weight bargain.

Bargain shopping is more in fashion than ever, but it’s not about being hip or edgy, it’s about being smart in a down economy.

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With all this talk of the economy and our dwindling bank accounts, who couldn’t use a getaway? Preferably one on the cheap, of course. Sit back, relax and take in the beauty of fall from around the country, courtesy of our iReporters.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

As our own Jack Gray said in his blog today, it is another manic Monday…and that ain’t a good thing. I decided today it was time to suck it up and check my 401(k) – wow. It probably looks a lot like yours. I think I’ll hold off checking in on it for a while… a long while.

But worrying about a retirement decades away seems trivial when you learn the number of homeless families in Massachusetts is skyrocketing, just as the unforgiving cold of a New England winter is arriving. In just one year – from September 2007 to September 2008 – the number of homeless families living in Massachusetts motels has jumped form 17 to 550. There are another 1,800 families in shelters. The executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless calls the current combination of our sinking economy, rising energy costs, rising unemployment and a shortage of affordable housing a “perfect storm”. Never a welcome term in these parts.

On top of those sobering numbers, for the first time, the state is now tracking how many families are ending up homeless because of foreclosures.

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Our colleagues at CNN Money has been working overtime to make sure you have not only the most current information on the financial crisis, but also the most useful. We all have questions about how this continued downturn (some 60% of Americans believe we’re headed for the other “D” word: DEPRESSION), CNN Money has answers in a special report online.

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I can’t imagine the agony this mother felt as she clung to her daughter 25 feet in the air, stranded on a carnival ride. As her daughter, Gracie, is pleading, “Help, Mommy!” this Florida Mom has to decide if the best way to help her 2-year-old is to let her fall, hopefully into the arms of someone on the ground. And it turns out, little Gracie wasn’t the only child stuck high above the ground, six more children were found in the ride when Gracie’s mom was rescued.

Erica Hill
AC360 Correspondent

A little over a year ago, we did a segment on my show titled “Does God Want You to Be Rich?” It’s a provocative question, with some very passionate views on both sides. The so-called Prosperity Gospel basically suggests that as part of the love God has for you, he wants you to prosper, and in many circles this prosperity is directly aligned with wealth and material goods. But could that push for prosperity be responsible for some of the foreclosures across America? Our sister publication, TIME, tackles this with the question “Did God want you to get that mortgage?”

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Melamine-tainted food and dairy products made in China have now turned up in Vietnam, Russia, Australia and the US. In Vietnam alone, the tally now stands at 18 tainted products from China and two other countries. Great. Now, the FDA says trace amounts of melamine are safe in most foods, except baby formula. Really? I’m thinking if it’s not good for the little ones, it certainly can’t be good for me, even in small doses. In my completely unscientific opinion, the less processed your food, the better. Not only is it better for you, you feel better, too.

Exhibit A: non-dairy powdered creamer. This stuff creeps me out. Not only does it give me terrible heartburn, but reading the list of ingredients makes my head spin. In addition to the unpronounceable on the label is the warning that this product is “Highly Flammable” – you’re instructed to keep this white stuff away from open flames and extreme heat. Riiiight, so we’ll put it right next to the scalding coffee pot slowly charring on the HOT plate. I feel safe.

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Most of us at AC360 were disgusted at the idea of the “fish pedicure” – who knew there was something even more disgusting than the cheese grater for your heels, the Ped Egg? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but while the Ped Egg will live on (you can’t miss the display at my local drug store – right when you walk through the door, BAM!), the fish pedicure is no more. Why, you ask? This may come as a shock, but a state licensing board says the practice of guppies nibbling on your tootsies is unsanitary. I told you, shocking.
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Apparently, Bubbe isn’t the only one who knows the benefits of a little chicken soup – Chinese zookeepers are using the original cure-all as a stress reducer for a couple of overworked pandas.

It’s been a rough week for “Hope” and “Greatness”. The three year-old pandas are a bit overwhelmed by the surge in visitors during this week’s National Day holiday – on Wednesday alone, some 30,000 people flocked to the Wuhan Zoo. A thousand of them jammed the panda enclosure, shouting at the pandas. Gee, I wonder why the poor animals were pacing. I hope they added some matzo balls to the soup – I think that’s where the real power lies in the chicken soup.

Erica Hill
AC360° correspondent

…but it’s not the only story you need to know about. Nor is the bailout/rescue plan/Capitol Hill debacle. Keep reading for a few tidbits that may have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Anthrax antibiotics brought to your door by the US Postal Service. Woah.

When I read the headline, I immediately flashed back to the two postal workers who were killed in 2001 after inhaling the spores on anthrax-laced letters. Forget snow, rain, and gloom of night, how about terror attacks not keeping letter carriers from their jobs. When you think about it – putting aside the uncomfortable irony for a moment – it makes great sense. These folks visit every home in this country every day. As a senior counselor to health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt points out, they can provide “a front-end quick strike”.

But do America’s letter carriers really want this gig?

Over the past two years, tests in Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston paired postal workers with police officers on their routes. In eight hours, 50 letter carriers got their test packets to some 53,000 homes. Next stop: Minneapolis.

To make the double duty more attractive for postal employees, the government would supply each volunteer’s family with enough doxycycline for themselves and their families in advance, so they can be ready the moment an outbreak happens.

Let’s just hope that no matter how successful these tests are, and no matter how brave the USPS may be, we never need to use this system.

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Don’t like your dirty barracks? Had enough of the lousy pay you get as a soldier? Your lament could make a great – and likely comical – rap, but it’s probably best to keep it to yourself, rather than sharing with the millions of YouTube viewers. That is, unless you don’t mind being reassigned to Siberia. Don’t forget the long johns! (Government-issued, of course)

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Mr. Clean died.

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…And proof that neighbors go a long, long way.

A Colorado farmer has been donating his crops – all of them – to local food banks and food pantries for more than a decade. That’s a fantastic tale in itself, but it’s only the beginning. Early this year, he was diagnosed with cancer. The timing of his treatments meant he couldn’t plant this year’s crop of vegetable, let alone harvest them. Of course, that was before 250 neighbors showed up. The crops they planted will supply more than 35 food banks, but the vegetables may be beside the point this year.

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

It’s amazing how people seem to find the money to feed their addictions, even in the worst financial times. But even addiction isn’t recession-proof. Yes, I know it may not be an official recession, but for many Americans it definitely feels that way. And when the casinos quiet down, it’s hard not to notice.

Connecticut’s Foxwoods Casino is cutting 700 jobs and in case there was any doubt, the casino says the economy is to blame.

The trickle-down could be vast. In addition to the hundreds of families affected by the layoffs, think of all the local businesses who will feel the pinch. The hairdressers whose clients will have to stretch their regular visits out a bit farther, the grocery stores, the daycares…all will feel these 700 job cuts. Keep in mind, these cuts come on top of those announced last week at the neighboring Mohegan Sun Casino.

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I love Craigslist. When I lived in San Francisco in the late 90’s, this was the place to get everything – an apartment, a car, a job even a date. A job as a decoy in a bank heist, though? Who knew that, too, could be had on the site?

The alleged robber recruited his apparently unassuming decoys with promises of $28.50 an hour, but when the dozen or so men dressed exactly like him showed up at the Bank of America in Monroe, Wash. Tuesday, there was no boss there to tell them what to do. It seems he’d split, on his way to the Skyhomish River and an inner tube getaway. You can’t make this up.

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A year after Steve Fossett’s plane disappeared over the Sierra Nevada, hikers in California found a sweatshirt, money and a pilot’s license with the adventurer’s name. The license did not have a picture.

Erica Hill
AC360 correspondent

Confession: I've enjoyed every update on my BlackBerry today - from the confirmation that McCain will stick to the original plan, to word his plane was "wheels up", to the video alert of the candidates landing in Mississippi.
It's official: the pregame has sucked me in.

But what about the other pregame, the dress rehearsals for this shindig? Picure the candidates debating one of their own, channeling the opponent. No small feat.

Playing the part of "the other guy" isn't just about throwing policy and campaign slogans back at your own candidate; these guys – and ladies – have to make their candidate work hard and fight at the podium. They need to have the idiosyncracies, ticks and signature moves down to keep all surprises to a minimim come debate night.

New Hampshrie Sen. Judd Gregg played Al Gore and John Kerry for Republican candidates; he tells Time, "It was probably one of the most intense things I've ever done."
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A troubling tory here in New York has the City talking... and asking questions. A naked man was tasered twice the other night by police, then fell 10 feet to his death.

The lieutenant who told the officer to shock the man was stripped of his gun and badge. The officer who pulled the trigger on the Taser is now on desk duty while the investigation continues.

Several witnesses told local news no one tried to catch the distraught man as he fell from the shocks. A police department spokesman confirms their account. "None of the ... officers on the scene were positioned to break his fall, nor did they devise a plan in advance' to do so," he said. And they didn't wait for the inflatable mattress they'd called for to arrive, to break the man's fall.
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A $2 ping pong ball turns out to be a lifesaver. Who'da thunk it?
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Happy Weekend!

Erica Hill
AC360° Correspondent

We are a nation drowning in credit card debt. The total on our collective plastic is far more than the bailout Washington is trying to cobble together, and to many of us, the zeroes are incomprehensible. Americans now carry $850 billion dollars in credit card debt. WOW. I’m a BIG believer in personal responsibility, and I’d like to campaign this election season for more of it – from everyone. Yet, when I hear about banks and credit card companies knowingly pushing people further into debt, I can’t help but cut the victims some slack.

Two former account managers for a major credit card company tell CNN they were paid to aggressively push cash advances, even getting customers to max out their available credit. "I would say 90 percent of the time, people were pragmatic. They would say, 'I don't need $100,000,' and we would find a way to convince them they needed the money," one woman recalled. The other former employee called the entire system “a great big con.” Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Could any bank or credit card company really get away with this? Are they actively pushing us to overextend, in order to increase their bottom line? Deb Feyerick has your answers.

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The last thing any of us need to do in this economy is hurt our all-important credit. One way to lessen your chances of rejection come loan-time: stay on top of your credit limits.  Of course, it would be much easier to keep that credit and credit score in tip-top shape if someone, ANYONE would reveal just how that little number is calculated, but somehow I don’t think that will happen.

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My Dad sold cars. I loved visiting him at work. I’d check out the new models in the showroom, pretend to take my chosen model for a test drive and then head back to the shop where the smell of motor oil was like a warm blanket. I loved everything about it: the grease, the tools, the bad lighting, the revving engines…the Coke machine near the break room with the weak coffee-turned-sludge simmering on a hot plate. I am nostalgic for those days and those comforting smells. To this day, when I drop my car off for service, part of me wants to wait in the shop while it’s fixed.

As much as I loved my Dad’s job, and as glamorous as it seemed, the wisdom of my teenage years (ha!) and early 20’s eventually set-in, and I began to see how difficult it was. Forget the bad wrap and being the butt of jokes (lawyers, do you feel me here, too?) – how about putting food on the table? The 80’s were brutal. Even worse? Selling a car today. I never understood then how a car dealership could make enough money to pay all of its employees. Yes, the service department counts for something, but when you’re talking car sales, how many people are actually buying cars every month?

Families across the South know the reality all too well. Tonight, many are learning they’ll no longer even have the chance to eek out a living selling cars. Bill Heard – the biggest Chevy dealer in the US – is closing its 13 remaining dealerships. The weak economy, lofty gas prices, and an inventory loaded with trucks and SUVs add up to a business that just can’t sustain itself any longer.

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OK – I really need to give you something positive to take away from this blog! Seems like the perfect time for a CNN Hero, no?

It is my pleasure to introduce you to a woman who is keeping 10 year olds from being married to men three times their age, and who is giving children hope and a future.