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Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
Tonight, we have breaking news on two fronts; financial and political.
On Wall Street, another $700 billion in value is history. The Dow sank more than 500 points. We're watching global markets right now and we'll bring you the latest.
On the campaign trail, we've learned Gov. Sarah Palin is facing Q & A under oath later this week. So, will her husband Todd. It's part of the second investigation into the firing of Alaska's top cop. This time an independent counsel is working on behalf of Alaska's Personnel Board. The first investigation conducted by a bipartisan Alaska legislative panel found that Palin violated state ethics law. Palin has been accused of firing Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner because he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law. We'll have the raw politics.
We'll also hear from Sen. John McCain. He sat down for a one-on-one interview today with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Today, McCain played what's been long seen as his strongest asset.
"I would not be a president that needs to be tested. I have been tested. Senator Obama hasn't," McCain said at a campaign stop in Ohio.
Obama is sticking with an economic message.
"I've got no problems with 'Joe the plumber'," Obama said today in Virginia. "He is working hard. He wants to live out the American dream. All I want to do is give Joe a tax cut. That's all I want to do. So, let's be clear about who John McCain is fighting for. He is not fighting for 'Joe the plumber'. He is fighting for 'Joe the hedge fund manager'. He is fighting for 'Joe the CEO'," he added.
All the headlines tonight on 360.
Hope you can join us at 10pm ET.
Ready for today's Beat 360°?
Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption and our staff will join in too.
Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite!
Ready for today's Beat 360°?
Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption and our staff will join in too.
Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite!
Here is the 'Beat 360°’ pic:
Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, Wednesday.
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions!
Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
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Good luck to all!
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/22/art.absentee.ballot.jpg]Peter Ferrara
The American Spectator
In 1980, fresh out of school and working on Wall Street, I also worked for the Reagan campaign. I had the job every night at around 11 p.m. of going to Times Square and getting one of the first copies of the next day's New York Times. I would take it to the Reagan New York City headquarters in midtown Manhattan, where a phone number would be left for me as to where the traveling Reagan campaign party was staying that night. My job was to cut out the articles in the Times covering the Presidential campaign and "quip" (an early fax) them to the hotel where the Reagan party was staying.
As the election neared, I learned that the campaign high command had decided that Reagan would probably not win unless he racked up a vote margin of 2-3%. That was what was thought necessary to overcome Democrat big city machine voter fraud.
On Election Day, I was part of a team working to counter that fraud in New York City. A couple of us went to heavily Democrat neighborhoods to see what was going on. One of those was the orthodox Jewish Williamsburg neighborhood. A van was driving through the streets blaring something over and over in Yiddish. I asked my Jewish partner what the van was blaring. He said the van's message was "Vote for Reagan. He's the only hope." I knew then that Reagan would win, as he did 51% to 41%.
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.
Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR
WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET
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I am Anne Mahlum's mother. Last fall I was watching the CNN televised award ceremony for the 2007 heroes. I was really impressed with the people CNN honored. My daughter had recently started her non-profit "Back On My Feet" in Philadelphia and I thought I would nominate her, even though as her mother, I'm probably a bit biased in my opinion of Anne. So I took the time to write her story down and mail it off to CNN, thinking they'd probably never consider it, coming from her mother. (Don't all mothers and grandmothers brag about their kids? Would you like to hear about my grandkids too? )
It seems like I am attending more and more funerals of my friends' parents these days. I often listen to adult children say that their mother or father was their hero, but they didn't often realize this until much later in life. I feel very blessed in that I can say, my mother and my daughter, are two of my heroes. My mother was never one to say "I Love You" or " I'm proud of you" out loud. I think it was part of that generation's feeling that those types of feelings were not shared out loud You were just supposed to know that somehow. But on my mother's death bed 5 years ago, she opened her eyes and looked at me and finally said, "I'm so proud of what you do, how you live your life, and how you've raised good kids." So I try hard to tell my own kids often, how proud I am of them.
Javier Bardem & John Prendergast
Editor's Note: Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem produced a documentary, "Invisibles," on suffering in the Congo and four other regions of the world. John Prendergast is co-chair of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and other crimes against humanity. Prendergast was director of African affairs at the National Security Council and special adviser at the Department of State during the second Clinton term. He has written eight books on Africa.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/22/art.congo2.jpg caption="A man sleeps on a mattress on the patio of a school near the Kibumba refugee camp, on October 19."]
Over the past decade, waves of violence have continuously crashed over eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in the world's deadliest war.
A study by the International Rescue Committee says the war has led to the deaths of 5.4 million people.
The human wreckage that washes ashore in displaced settlements and shattered communities has few parallels in terms of pure suffering.
With the most recent escalation in the conflict during September and October, another tidal wave of destruction is hitting the embattled population of eastern Congo, with devastating consequences.
The perpetrators and orchestrators of this violence do so primarily in a mad scramble for one of the richest non-petroleum natural resource bases in the world.
All kinds of minerals are mined in the Congo that end up in our computers, cell phones, jewelry, and other luxury and essential items of everyday use. Because there is no rule of law in the Congolese war zone and no ethical code impacting the international supply and demand for these minerals, the result is that anything goes.
In Congo, this means the vampires are in charge.