Program note: See the full report from Ismael Estrada and Gary Tuchman on AC360 tonight at 10pm ET.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

There is no denying Sarah Palin had star power during her run with John McCain for the White House. But close to one month after the election, does she have staying power?

Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss is banking that she has enough spark and energy to keep him in the Senate and get people to the polls for a special run-off election in Georgia tomorrow.

We covered many of the Alaskan Governor’s events on the campaign trail and people who attended her events loved her.

Four weeks later, nothing has changed. At 4 stops in Georgia today, Sarah Palin was the draw. She drew the biggest applause, most of the crowd was there to catch a glimpse of a possible rising star in the Republican party.

If it wasn’t for the giant Saxby signs everywhere, you’d swear this was a Sarah Palin rally.

Keep reading

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Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

The minute my wife and I walked in we knew the home was for us. It was perfect! There was plenty of room for our new baby, a huge back yard, a fantastic kitchen and tons of charm. This was just right. But there was a giant problem.

We didn’t have nearly enough money for a down payment and we already had a mortgage on our condo we were renting out and taking a loss on.

Our mortgage broker said our credit was outstanding and we could get a 100 percent loan, not a problem. I remember thinking, this guy is nuts! This is not supposed to be this easy, and can I really afford it?

We got caught up in the moment and bought the house.

This is the scenario that was played out over and over again all around the country. People getting into loans they probably shouldn’t have qualified for.

We were lucky: one year after we bought our house, I took a job out of state and we sold our home for a small profit.

But a few years later, the bottom fell out of the market and the values plummeted. People are now stuck with those crazy 100 percent loans or adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) that now have them paying out the nose on a loan they shouldn’t have been able to sign in the first place.

Why were banks handing out money so easily? How were all these loans getting approved? Tonight, on AC360, we’ll tell you the story about the man who had originated a great many of these loans, and why he is one of the culprits of the collapse.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

It may not look like much but this is our location where we are protected from the nasty gusts and stinging rain Ike is throwing at us. It was quite the trip to get over here.

We ran what was supposed to be a short distance to the parking garage at the back of the hotel. The wind made that short walk take what seemed like an eternity.

As I stayed low and forced my way through the winds I got to the garage and realized no one was behind me. I turned and saw Gary Tuchman helping one of our crew members, Lisa Britton as she was struggling through the wind.

My colleague Augie Martin and I made our way back to Gary and Lisa and we all made it to this spot in the parking garage where we are protected from winds to broadcast live.

Ismael Estrada
AC360 Producer

Here is the monument to the 1900 Storm that is estimated to have killed between 8 and 12 thousand people in and around the city of Galveston. As you can see the tide waters are crashing in on what is a 17 foot Seawall. If predictions are correct, parts of this monument will be under water by the time hurricane Ike makes landfall.

Here is a picture of Gary reporting from Seawall Blvd. with cameraman Gregg Canes. Look at those waves! And the storm isn’t even here yet…
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Delegates look up as the balloons fall after Republican presidential nominee John McCain concluded his speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, Thursday.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

We have been on quite the adventure tour the past couple of weeks…all to talk with you, the voters, all over the country. What seems like forever ago, we started our travels in Encinitas, CA where we watched the DNC with some senior citizens.

We moved on to Arizona to talk with Latinos and on to Louisiana to talk with young professionals. It was a mad scurry to a sporting goods store to pick up rain gear when we stopped for a few days in New Orleans to get nice and wet while covering Hurricane Gustav.

We then we packed up the cars and drove to Florida to kick back up our voter tours. It was in Pensacola that we talked with conservative evangelical Christians and hopped another flight up to Virginia to talk with women.

It’s been fun talking with voters to get a real sense of what our country’s voters are thinking. We chatted with so many great people while watching the conventions and dining over everything from fish tacos to gumbo to burgers.

We watched reactions to Obama’s acceptance speech, to the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin and McCain’s performance last night. The opinions were very interesting, some very passionate, many still undecided.

We are now sitting in a hotel putting together our stories on how evangelical Christians and women reacted to the conventions which you will see tonight.

Ismael Estrada
AC360 Producer

This morning while getting ready to head out and look for our story, CNN photojournalist Ric Blackburn stopped us to tell us of a guy he met passing out water and food to people in the French market.

His name is Russell Gore, and after hearing his story, we went to his home for an interview. Gore is not leaving his home when Hurricane Gustav hits New Orleans early tomorrow.

He lives in New Orleans east, what he calls the “bottom of the bowl” where flooding ravaged his neighborhood during Hurricane Katrina. It was here where his wife died in his arms 3 years ago yesterday after flooding from Hurricane Katrina forced Gore and his wife into their attic.

Gore says she died while waiting for helicopters to take them from their home.

He is struggling with the loss of his wife and can’t imagine leaving his home. He has rebuilt his home the way he says his wife would have wanted it. He tells us we could never understand how he feels and why he has decided to stay unless we walked a mile in his shoes.

Gary Tuchman will have his story tonight.

Rebuilding continues in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, last year.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

At first glance, driving in from the airport in New Orleans last night, things didn’t seem much different than the last time I was here. 3 weeks ago, I was here working and things have been improving. We interviewed people in the lower 9th ward and talked with business owners who all said, New Orleans is on the way back.

Last night the interstate was jam packed as people were headed to the New Orleans Saints pre-season game at the Superdome and things seemed normal. Then, I got out of my car and started talking to people.

Raynell Hamilton works at our hotel and couldn’t help but tell us her worries. Raynell just moved back to New Orleans one year ago. She has been struggling working long hours and volunteering, but felt she needed to move her family back home to the 9th ward, where she lost everything. She says she did so at the urging of her family and husband to keep her family together. She moved to Houston where she says she lived for over a year, where she says, she was impressed with the opportunities the city had to offer. She was employed, getting out of the debt that the aftermath of Katrina put her in 3 years ago. But she felt compelled to move back home. Now, she says, if Gustav continues on it’s course toward New Orleans, she is leaving and never coming back. It’s too much, she says, to do all over again.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

It’s still here after all these years.

The area of Prince William Sound in Alaska is breathtaking.  The snow capped mountains are filled with brown bears, bald eagles and other wildlife. You can spot whales and sea otters swimming with a glacier off in the distance.

But talk to the people here and they’ll tell you they love the beauty, but big business is in their back yard and they are frustrated.

Earlier this summer the U.S. Supreme Court reduced punitive damages awarded to citizens of Prince William Sound over the Exxon Valdez oil spill here in 1989.   A jury initially awarded $5 billion for the devastation here. In 1994, a federal court cut that in half. And in June, the Supreme Court cut it to $500 million — enraging many people living here. And now Exxon is arguing it shouldn’t have to pay interest for the delay in making payments. Keep reading

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

This is not what people are used to seeing here. Rock Falls, IL is a small town and most people have been here their entire lives.

Neighbors here, on a street of small homes and families, are stunned at what happened inside an apartment on their block. They watch as investigators pull evidence bags from the apartment where four people, including a small boy, were brutally murdered.

Outside as reporters gather to report news of the manhunt, neighbors gather to express anger about what happened here. They are upset that the man wanted by police, Nicholas Sheley is still on the run.

Keep reading

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

So how does the state give the kids back?

This morning Judge Barbara Walther asked for all the players to join in court today. A 2pm “conference” to decide how the court will abide by the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to essentially give the FLDS kids back to their families.

The court was packed this afternoon as attorneys, FLDS mothers, and media filled the seats. All waiting to hear how this would all be resolved.

The state drafted up some language on how to return the children, with guidelines. Some of those proposals:
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