wolf blitzer joins me from the situation room. wolf, i guess the surprise alluded to the fact that he's going be there for two years or so. but what do we know about his replacement? >> he's an old washington hand. he's well known to insiders here in washington, tom donland. he works in the state department in the clinton administration. a heavy political background. very different than jim jones, retired commandant of the u.s. marine corps, spent his life as a united states marine. tom donland has a different background. doesn't have the extensive military experience that general jones had. but he's highly respected, tom donilon, a lot of people like him a lot. this is what the president wants. the president gets to pick. >> he does. he is the president, after all. >>> we were talking about this earlier in our show, the e-mails. the shirley sherrod story in which she was outed at the u.s. agriculture department. we're seeing some of the back and forth between the white house and the ago department. have you had a chance to look a

our wonderful blitzer -- our wolf bill clinton blitzer joins. >>> and president obama with democratic support on elections. pennsylvania's governor has strong words for republicans. >>> i think to have the republicans back in control of the house of representatives would be very destructive. i think they've said very clearly they want to go back to the policies, the economic policies that have ruined the country. >> you'll want to stay with us because governor rendell is going to tell us why he says it was so important for him to get out there with the president today. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their globa

our very own wolf blitzer co-moderator of that event. he joins us now. wolf, good evening, first of all. what are you expecting at this debate this two week? these two candidates have very different political styles. >> different styles. i think will be a lively informative debate and i want to be sure during the course of 90 minutes, no commercial interruption, we'll go through all the major issues. issues number one, of course, being the economy, jobs, taxes what, to do about the current situation and we'll press them on all of these issues, both the republican nominee, christine o'donnell and the democratic nominee chris coons. i don't want to neglect other important issues, national security issues, whether the wars in iraq and afghanistan, what to do with iran, north korea, these are critical issues as well, and i think both of these candidates should be prepared to discuss all of these important issues because i think the voters of delaware and the voters across the country will be interested to hear what they say. everybody seems to be caught up i

i'm going to talk to wolf blitzer about that in a couple of minutes. stay right there. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro.

wolf blitzer is co moderating the debate. and a defeated candidate wouldn't endorse christine o'donnell, but watching the debate tonight. also on the trail today, the first lady, michelle obama, incredibly popular. if you go to the ticker, can mom and chief save the democrats? she is campaigning in wisconsin and illinois today. we also have a new poll showing 65% of americans approve of her performance as first lady. the president would love to have those numbers. and lastly a big policy story and political story. a federal judge yesterday telling the administration it should stop enforcing the don't ask, don't tell policy that keeps homosexuals from serving hope openly in the military. that was filed. the justice department has 60 days to file an appeal, even though the president says he opposes the policy, the justice department likely to appeal the decision. still a big debate in politics. and congress hoping when they come back late this year maybe to address that issue, tony. >> can't wait to see your take on the debate.

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> fiery images underscoring the volatile situation confronting the united states and pakistan as american forces lead a war next door in afghanistan. militants in pakistan, a critical u.s. ally attack a convoy carrying fuel to u.s. and nato forces setting two dozen trucks on fire. no one was hurt in the attack, but two people were killed in a separate attack with another nato truck in pakistan o. on the same day a new message from purportedly from osama bin laden believed to be hiding in pakistan urging muslims the focus on relief and development. the tape has not been authenticated. all of this coming in the same week that explosive video emerged showing what appears to be pakistani soldiers lining up and shooting a group of unarmed men. pakistan's military says it does not know whether the video is real or a forgery, but it has launched an investigation. we will talk about all of this and much more this hour with the pakistani ambassador to the united states

plus, i'll talk with our very own wolf blitzer. he'll preview this week's delaware senate debate. he's co-moderating the showdown which will air right here on cnn. wolf joins me in just a few minutes so please stick around. >>> now the latest on the mass overdose at a college party in central washington. all but one of those who got sick were young women, and police say it appears they were targeted. police responding to the off-campus party near central washington university, arrived to a scene of chaos. we've got the details now from ed to row lands >> reporter: party was thrown by a college freshman here at a second own owned by his parents according to police. 11 of the 12 victims were girls. all of that were between the ages of 18 and 21. students at the party say it was clear something was wrong. >> everything was going fine. the music was playing and people were having fun and all of a sudden all the girls were puking everywhere. girls were outside like on their back, and the people were so drunk they didn't know what to do. >> reporter: police believe the victims were drug

>>> i'm wolf blitzer. >>> i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> terror concerns prompt a travel alert for americans visiting western europe, but the alert itself is vague and the threat is unspecified, leaving many people wondering exactly what is going on. u.s. officials say they have credible information but at the same time, they say they don't want to discourage people from traveling to europe. so just how real is this terror threat right now? our homeland security correspondent, jean meserve, is working this story for us. what are you picking up? >> u.s. officials insist they do not have specific information about targets, modes of attack or timing, but the intelligence is so troubling and there's so much of it the u.s. government decided it had to give travelers a heads-up. european airports, railroads, ferries, hotels could be terror targets for al qaeda and its affiliates, the u.s. says. >> we are saying to american citizens, continue with your travel plans. you know

wolf blitzer is tracking today's developments. that's next. on the mr twins haa g probm.shd up the da. of hld hearing aid. so s got ayr in her andveryin. whh on at works round the clock wio ily hassle. no tinoftt. lyc fits cfortab right next to your ear drum to deliver truly raund . in5% of spryric sound qua to deliver truly raund . to their old hearing aid. in5% ller twiic sound qua withyric cear d doost everything her sister does twenty-four seven. ifiing e with zero dailya hassle: too odo pa up. dll11 50 t nowand k out yourris sister does twenty-four seven. >>> 18 days until election day. time right now nor the latest campaign developments including the president and the vice president on the campaign trail. cnn has all of the latest political news with the best team on television. the best of the best is wolf blitzer. he's at the cnn political desk. what's crossing right now, mr. wolf? >>> a lot is crossing. cnnpolitics.com on the political ticker. any lingering thing. saying this about his vice presidential running mate his vice president

wolf blitzer has been tracking the day's top political stories. we are going to check to see the political ticker next here in the cnn newsroom. ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world. >>> just 26 days until election day and cnn's got all your latest political with the best political team on television led by mr. wolf blitzer. he is at the cnnpolitics.com desk. wolf, what do you have? >> we got a bunch of items at cnn politics.com we are following right now, including the president of the united states, on the second time since he became president, he is vetoing some legislation. this legislation would make it easier to go ahead with foreclosures. it sort of snuck through the process, unanimous consent, no debate in the final days of the house and senate them got this legislation through. basically allows out-of-state notaries, notarizations foreclosure deals to be accepted in other states and this would make it a lot easier to go ahead with it. the pr

be watching you tonight and our own wolf blitzer will be moderating that debate. it starts at 7:30 p.m. here on cnn. it will be interesting. >>> live pictures from chile for ten week there is, 33 miners sat underground wondering if everybody thought they were dead. what happen in the next two weeks is an amazing story. somebody took the lead there. somebody is the reason why all of the guys are alive. his story. next. i know the best card you're holding. you do? your medicare card. [ laughing ] but don't let me or anyone see it except your doctor or their staff. and don't tell anyone your card or social security number over the phone. guard your card. [ woman 2 ] i hear unauthorized card use is a big source of fraud. the new healthcare law lets us crack down on criminals and win against fraud. making medicare stronger. and speaking of winning... [ man 2 ] not again! [ man ] learn more at stopmedicarefraud.gov. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. >>> live in chile. i

wolf blitzer will be co-moderating that tonight. that will be must-see tv. >> more political news next hour. a reminder, if you are away from the tv, go to cnnpolitics.com. >>> another look and another highlight of the rescue operation in chile. this is alex vega, the 11th miner rescued. also a carrier pigeon handler, takes medication for hypertension. that was a concern to rescue workers. he had complained about not feeling well, but as you can see, this miner, who has been working in the miner for 30 years, did not hold back in any way, shape or form, from showing his happiness when he reached freedom. [ male announcer ] the next big thing from lexus is not a car. it's the idea that a car that will never have an accident may be possible. in pursuit of this goal, lexus developed the world's most advanced driving simulator, where a real driver in a real car can react to real situations without real consequences. the breakthroughs we innovate here may someday make all cars safer. this is the pursuit of tomorrow. this is the pursuit o

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> linda may not have died at the hands of her captors as originally believed. that evidence and subsequent interviews with the personnel involved suggest that linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault. >> the british prime minister, david cameron, speaking just a little while ago. a hostage rescue that now appears to have gone horribly wrong. the british aide worker possibly killed by an american grenade thrown by the very forces trying to free her from her taliban captors. brian todd is here. he's working this investigation for us. the stunned reaction to linda norgrove's death. what are you learning? >> nato and british officials said that linda was killed by her captors. today, america's top candommand in afghanistan told the british prime minister of the new disturbing nnc ining informatio raises new questions about this mission. colleagues of linda norgrove

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "situation room." >>> and the damage left by this recession is so deep that it's going to take a long time to get out. it will take determination, persistence, and most importantly, the will to act. all elements that the american people have in abundance. and if we summon that spirit now, if we keep moving forward, i'm absolutely convinced we will rebuild our economy, we will put our people back to work, and we'll come through these tough days to brighter and better days ahead. >> president obama acknowledging the painful realities for so many americans driven home in the big jobs report numbers just coming out. the final numbers before the midterm election. it shows an overall loss of 95,000 jobs in september. worse than many economists had expected. and the jobless rate is holding at 9.6%. republicans are pouncing on those numbers. democrats, though, they're seizing on this figure. private businesses added 64,000 workers in september. the ninth straight month the priva

media. >> good evening, i'm wolf blitzer from cnn. thank you so much for joining us for what's certain to be one of the most widely watched events of this, the 2010 midterm election season. >> let's introduce the candidates. joining us for this debate tonight. democratic chris coons. welcome. and republican christine o'donnell, welcome. >> thank you. >> we also want to thank aarp delaware and the american cancer society cancer action network for their support making this jobs and in concrete and engaged work working with our chamber of commerce, lots of groups who represent businesses large and small to effectively grow the economy. i've also presented as a candidate for the senate concrete and real ideas. they're on my website but i look forward to the chance to go over them in some detail tonight. i would advocate for a research and development tax credit and expand our tax credit that's combined with a new manufacturing tax credit that advocates for companies that invent things here and make them here, getting an extra inventive. i

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we begin though with 18 days, 18 days until the election that could rock the political landscape here in washington. former president bill clinton is now campaigning for democrats in california. indeed this hour he is campaigning for jerry brown who is battling republican meg whitman to be the state's next governor. he is a former two-term governor and the current state attorney general and she is the billionaire ceo of ebay who set the record for personal campaign spending, donating already $119 million to her own race, and more is on the way. mr. clinton is trying to help brown despite some past bad blood between the two of them. listen to these clips from a 1992 debate when they were rivals for the democratic presidential nomination. >> he is funneling money from his law firm for state business. >> doi cani don't care what you about me, but don't attack my wife. i don't even want to be on the same platform with you. >> i was read this article by the washi

thank you, sandy. >> sure. >> always a pleasure. >>> wolf blitzer coming up, next. do what? you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. tasty fiber, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. [ male announcer ] fiber one chewy bars. >>> just 19 days from today, americans will cast their votes in midterm election and the very control of congress maybe at stake here. one of the most watched contests, of course, senate race in delaware. but this is primarily due to the star power of republican candidate christine o'donnell. of course, a tea party favorite. it isn't because of the closeness of the race. to o'donnell actually trails her democratic opponent, chris coops, by 19 percentage points. last night the delaware senate debit aired live here on cnn. it was a crucial chance for o'donnell to attempt to chip away at her opponent's lead. wolf blitzer was the co-moderator of the debate and he he joins me now from the situation room in washington. so wolf, i want to play this from last night and then can we talk about it? >> of course. >> the any ot

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in the "situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> it is the largest case of its kind in fbi history, 133 people, including 89 law enforcement officers are being charged in a massive crackdown on police corruption in puerto rico, and it is the result of a two-year undercover investigation of police alle allegedly protecting drug dealers in exchange for cash. jeanne meserve is joining us with more. jeanne, what do we know about this case? >> well, wolf, it is the largest case of police corruption in the history of the fbi and taking 189 suspects into custody this morning was a major undertaking. 750 fbi agents were flown in from all across the united states bringing to about 1,000 the number involved in the takedown. puerto rican police participated, too, and there were no tipoffs to those arrested. those arrested including national and local police officers and correctional officers and national guard and army soldiers as well as civilians. >> in the end it does not matter if the corruption is national or lo

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this is live pictures now, and the rescue operation continuing. this is from pictures half a mile underground. the next miner going to the top is franklin lobos. he is 53 years old and served as a electrician in the mine, and he played professional soccer at one time. he is about to get into the capsule, and once it reaches the ground, we will see it come in and this is going to be miner number 27 who will be rescued out of 33. gary tuchman has been covering the story for us so ably over the past several days. he has watched it all unfold. gary, we talked a little bit about lobos and like so many of the miners, every one of the miners has a personal story. he has two daughters, and he's worked really hard, and we are hoping that this is going to be successful, obviously, as the other rescues have been. but go ahead for our viewers just tuning in right now, set the scene. how much longer do they now believe that this will take for all 33 miners and the five r

moderated by our own wolf blitzer. how do you other than every single detail in this race, how does one prepare to be a moderator over the debate? >> i've done several debates over the years with other election cycles. it's very hard. you want to make sure you get the issues to be minds of the voters and very often they're carefully negotiated, the rules between the two candidates. for example, in delaware, the agreement between chris kuntz and christine o'donnell campaigns is that the moderator will ask a question to specifically one of the candidates that have two minutes to respond. the other candidate will have a one-minute response to that. an open discussion. everyone getting involved and thrashing out the issue. jobs, economy, national security, social security. whatever the issues are, it will be whole segments. if you add that up, that's seven minutes to go through one subject. you go through, you plan, and you try to make the most of it. but in the end, following 90 minutes without commercial interruption, we

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> it is nearing dusk in copiapo, chile, and some of the miners who were trapped so long are about to see the first sunset since august. they are doing remarkably well given what they have been through, and we have learned that three of them are being released from the hospital today. lawrence mcginty of itn has the latest. >> reporter: you can't blame the medics for being cautious, but the wheelchairs hardly seem necessary, and 12 hours after the last miner came to the local hospital, the medical checks were found to find them all in remarkably good health and so much so that doctors are talking about discharging them early. >> translator: the three miners are going to be released from the hospital today. tomorrow, friday, probably many more miners are going to be released. >> reporter: there are some medical problems. jose vidal has diabetes and kidney problems, but he had them before. jorge galleguillos had high blood pressure, but they had that before. what

i'm wolf blitzer. you are in the situation room. >>> but just in this hour, a bombshell report being released, right now on the pentagon's private security contractors in afghanistan it alleges that your tax dollars are being funneled to afghan warlords and strongmen linked to murder, kidnapping and bribery. let's go right to our pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence, over it he pentagon, startling allegations in this new report, chris. tell our viewers what is going on. >> reporter: yeah wolf, you know this report was just released literally just about one minute ago and do you want an example of what a lack of oversight can cost? one example in the report, back in february, security guards start firing on american troops, the troops start screaming, "we're marines. we're marines" but they keep firing. the guards shot and killed a u.s. marine. and went marine corps detained those guard, not only did they find that the guards were high on opium, they hadn't even been train,000 to fire their rifles. se

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> another friday and another shake-up inside of the white house, and this time the critical position of national security adviser. stepping down is the marine corps general jim jones whose tenure was marked at times by discord and stepping up is deputy tom don lynn, a washington insider well known in the west wing. our white house correspondent dan lothian has details. dan, this did not certainly come as a surprise. >> it was not unexpected, wolf. mr. jones said for quite some time he would leave after two year, but that aside, he also seemed not to gel with the obama's inner circle, and some administration officials didn't think that he had the right management style. well, today in the rose garden, president obama made the announcement official. >> reporter: all president obama had to do was to swivel the chair around in his inner circle to find new national security adviser tom donnelly. >> over the last two y

i'm wolf blitzer in the "situation room." >>> good evening, everyone, at this hour, tonight, bill clinton is wrapping up a busy day on the campaign trail and where he stops tells you something about his blue collar appeal and something about the political weaknesses of the current democratic president. in a moment, we'll map out some differences between presidents clinton and obama. >>> also, tonight, vice president biden is joining the president in challenging the chamber of commerce to prove none of its campaign ad money comes from foreign sources. the chamber says the white house is demonizing critics to distract attention from failed economic policies. >>> west virginia governor joe manchin, among the democrats trying to literally shoot their way back into contention. >> as your senator i'll protect your second amendment rights. that's why the nra endorsed me. i'll take on washington and this administration to get the federal government off of our backs and out of our pockets. i'll cut federal spending and repeal the bad parts of obama care. i sued epa, and i'll take dead aim at the c

i'm wolf blitzer, and you in i'm wolf blitzer, and you in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this is cnn, breaking news. >> let's follow the breaking news in chile. right now the rescue of the 33 trapped miners and the most delicate and critical stage of the operation expected to begin within the next few moments. two men, a paramedic and a rescuer will be lowered separately in this rescue cage 2300 feet dun to the emergency chamber where the miners have lived in brutal condition for 68 days, since early august, and this video shows what it might look like from inside of the capsule. one by one, the men will be examined, and then the first will be loaded into the cage for this harrowing journey to the surface. we are covering all angles of the story right now. let's begin with cnn's patrick ott who is on the scene for us in chile. patrick, set the scene for us this moment. >> yes. and let me tell you where we are, wolf, we are downtown copiapo, plaza. and this is a live transmission of the miners being rescued which we will be getting in several hours we

christine or donl and chris coons squared off, wolf blitzer was co-moderator. it was interesting to watch. a lot of ground covered. i'm going to play a snippet saying if you're running for a federal office, part of your obligation is to confirm or reject the president's nominees for the supreme court, that you should probably be prepared to answer this one. >> what opinions of late that have come from our high court do you most object to? >> oh, gosh. give me a specific one. i'm sorry. >> actually, i can't because i need to you tell me which ones you object to. >> i'm very sorry. right off the top of my head, i know there are a lot, but i'll put it up on my website. >> now, to christine o'donnell's credit, later she did mention a couple cases about miranda rights and one of the health care decisions that made its way through the courts, but is that a serious candidate for the united states senate who's not ready for that question right out of the box? >> doesn't matter. she is the candidate. she should have been able to answer that question. what i've been tell

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "situation room." >>> in the last 20 months, rahm has exceeded all of my expectations. it's fair to say that we could not have accomplished what we've accomplished without rahm's leadership. >> president obama giving an emotional sendoff to his chief of staff rahm emanuel. mr. obama joked the east room event friday was the least suspenseful announcement of all time. emanuel is leaving to run for mayor of chicago and is being replaced by pete rouse. i talked about this big shakeup for team obama with the author of the new book "obama's wars." stand by for that interview. >>> first, though, here are five things you should know about our guest. one word, watergate. woodward was half the reporting team that exposed the biggest white house scandal in u.s. history and brought down the nixon presidency. >> the guy is confirmed. >> reporter: if you're not old enough to have seen watergate play out live, maybe you caught the movie version. after almost 40 years and two pulitzers,

. >> extended time with wolf blitzer. appreciate it. more political coverage with wolf blitzer every day in "the situation room" every day. >>> numbers of housing market foreclosures reach new numbers. christine romans has the numbers. >>> bonnie schneider is following the tropics. >> we are looking at the tropics and a nor'easter brewing in the mid-atlantic and the northeast. [ male announcer ] the next big thing from lexus is not a car. it's the idea that a car that will never have an accident may be possible. in pursuit of this goal, lexus developed the world's most advanced driving simulator, where a real driver in a real car can react to real situations without real consequences. the breakthroughs we innovate here may someday make all cars safer. this is the pursuit of tomorrow. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> cnn primetime, there you have it. the foreclosure crisis hits home for even more americans. bank repossessions reached a record monthly rate in september according to rety track, 100,000 homes were taken back by the ba

and wolf blitzer is at the cnn.com/politics death. wolf, an ohio republican has choice words for democrats. >> eight days. we're counting over here. ohio is critically important. a battleground state as everyone knows. president obama wants to be elected in 2012 as he certainly does. he has to carry ohio. some of the battleground states like florida, california, and new york, big democratic states. focus in on ohio right now. gubernatorial contest. tom cakasich, the former republican of florida. very close, neck and neck in all of the polls. kasich says this. he said in my political life, i've never seen the negative, smearing, lying stuff that they have brought on the state. shame on them. he said do they have one decent idea in their brain. it's been tough. james voinovich, the retiring u.s. senator of the republican. he's saying as tough as it is, as bitter as it is, the lame duck session in the congress after november 2 when all of the members come back, the incumbents, all of those, including many will be unseated or retiring, he

issues of how we tackle the deficit in debt, how we create jobs and make america competitive and wolf blitzer did a terrific job in holding my opponent accountable for her actions and statements and a lot of things she has done as a candidate as well as as a tv pundit. it was great to have a chance to debate her less than three weeks from the general elections. we have tdhad a number of other debates she hasn't attended. a lot of folks have been eager to get a chance to ask her questions and hear her views. she likes to claim she has matured in her faith and policy views. one of the challenges we face is understanding where she does stand today. >> you don't want to miss lawrence o'donnell's last word on the biggest issues and most compelling stories of the day. it airs at 10:00 p.m. eastern time only on msnbc, the place for politics. >> here is the first look at some of the other news going around america today. in kentucky, cleanup crews were called to the skin of the accident that's sure to leave a mark. a tractor-trailer carrying 30,000 pounds of evening overturned and spilled all the blu

david blitzer, chairman of the index committee, called the report disappointing. the housing market appears to have stabilized at new lows. he sadded that this time it did not seem that any of the markets were hanging on to the temporary momentum caused by the home buyer's tax credits. >>> japan's sluggish economy makes it tough on new graduates to land jobs. but if they've got what it takes, chinese students who graduate in japan can find themselves highly sought after, especially by smaller firms. >> reporter: this screen manufacturer on the outskirts of to tokyo has 50 employees. with the domestic market shrinking the company hopes to expand sales overseas. so it hired chinese employee ei hing zho in april. she came to japan two years ago after graduating from a university in china. she then earned a degree here in japan in business administration. she's also proficient in english and japanese. >> translator: i want to use my skills and knowledge here. i'd like to facilitate more overseas business connections and boost international sales. >> reporter: akira og

i'm wolf blitzer. thank you so much for joining us for what is certain to be one of the most widely watched events of this, the 2010 midterm election season. >> let's introduce the candidates. joining us for this debate this season, democrat chris coons, welcome. and republican christine o'donnell. welcome. >> thank you. >> we want to thank the american cancer society cancer action network for their support making this debate possible. >> let's go through some of the rules so the ground rules for this 90-minute debate. it's divided into two parts following a two-minute opening statement from each candidate. nancy and i will pose questions. responses to that initial question limited to two minutes with a one-minute rebuttal from the other candidate. and then there will be an opportunity for all of us to get into a discussion and followup. that's the first hour of this debate. that will be followed by a 30-minute segment during which we turn to the students here at the university of delaware. they have q

. >> i'm wolf blitzer. thank you so much for joining us for what is certain to be one of the most widely watched events of this, the 2010 midterm election season. >> let's introduce the candidates. joining us this evening, chris coons, welcome. and republican christine o'donnell. welcome. >> thank you. >> we also want to thank aarp delaware and the american cancer society, cancer action network for their support making this debate possible. >> let's go through some of the rules, some of the ground rules for this 90-minute debate. it's divided into two parts, following a two-minute opening statement from each candidate nancy and i will pose question, responses to that initial question limited to two minutes with a one-minute rebuttal from the other candidate. and then there will be an opportunity for all of us to mix it up a little bit to get into a discussion and follow up. that's the first hour. the first 60 minutes of this debate. that will be followed by a 30-minute segment during which we turn to the st

he's one of the best blitzer, one of the best strippers -- stripping of the ball. stripping of the ball. that just didn't sound right. >> we've all been there. >> come week 12, the redskins will have to deal with randy moss. that's when the cycles come to town. traded from new england to the cycles for a third round pick. moss, brett favre and peterson, that may be a better trio than lebron. >>> and this is wolverines quarterback nick demyity and he will go 15 yards to -- snap the ball already. i have a short amount of time here. 15 yards and touchdown as potomac takes out south county by 16. high schoolers if you would like to become a campus correspondent, get a free flip cam and a $5,000 scholarship log on to wusa9.com to apply. >>> it took gilbert arenas one game to stir up controversy with his pie hole. as he suggested, he may not be here in washington very long. he scored 12 last night in the preseason opening in dallas. john wall scored 21 and when gilbert was asked about the rookie afterwards, he said, quote, i'm on my way out. he's batman now. i'm robin. w

wolf blitzer tells us why a political update, up next. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. >>> three weeks left, 21 days until the midterm elections. tonight former president clinton will be in nevada. that and more now from cnn's wolf blitzer who is not just part of the best political team on television, he's kind of the heart and soul of the best political team on television. hey, wolf. >> and it is the best political team on television. we say it because it also has the added advantage, ali, of being true. the former president of the united states, bill clinton, heading to nevada to helperry reed try to beat sharron angle. a very competitive contest. the senate majority leader is in deep trouble. sharron angle is actually just a little bit ahead. she's the favorite, of course, of the tea party mov

. >>> wolf blitzer is on the developments from the campaign trail. his updates from the political ticker. be right back. >>> 21 days to the election day. a much-anticipated senate debate. all of your political news with the best political team on tv led by wolf blitzer. what do you have? >> let's go through some of the items on the political ticker at cnnpolitics.com right now. one item is this battle between karl rove and the democratic leadership really heating up over this organization? rove and others have been raising a lot of money, anonymous dollars. this is legal. the u.s. supreme court decision that said these so-called, quote, social welfare organizations, these 501-c-4 organizations can go ahead and raise a lot of money, do not have to disclose the donors and use this money to support candidates. that's what they're doing. the language is heating up between rove and the democratic leadership. they want to know who's funding the campaigns. joe biden has done the same thing. the cross roads gps, part of american cross roads, they will contin

. >> he's one of the best blitzers, one of the best strippers, stripping of the ball. that didn't sound right. [ laughing ] >> where is his mind at? meanwhile skins have made a punting change. hunter smith back in. bidwell continues to be injured. 48 hours until the capitals open their season. the caps won't reveal injuries but michael likely to start on friday. finally this is west virginia quarterback smith who as all quarterbacks must puts his hands under the tush of the center to take the snap only to learn he has the wrong tush. it's over here, son. it's to your left. that's not the guy. that's the guy you need. >>. [ laughing ] >> he eventually found the right tush. the thing you have to realize as a quarterback is all tushes are not created equal, and you need to study your teammates. >> those are all large. >> i'm not even going to touch that. i'm more concerned about that whole separated groin. that sounded terribl

i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> he's revered by many conservatives and reviled by many liberals, but as the architect of two successful presidential campaigns, karl rove is undeniably a political force to be reckoned. and now he is coming under fire with a demand of investigation by the internal revenue service. brian todd has the details for us. brian, what is going on? >> well, wolf, karl rove is back as a major political player and a group created under his direction says it is hoping to raise $50 million this year, and is already spending many millions on ad buys in several senate exam pacampaigns and one that money unfairly tilting the elections towards republicans and one group challenging him wonder if it is legal. >> reporter: karl rove, politil and a group started under his direction is accused of breaking tax laws. ads like this, and tartigeting political ad like this. his group crossroads gps are spending thousands on ads just like this. now there has been a letter written to th

wolf blitzer and gloria borger join us from delaware. i know somebody is going to tweet me and say why do you call it new ark, delaware. >> newark, new jersey. new ark, delaware. we're here on the campus of the university of delaware. behind me, mitchell hall. that's where the debate will be tonight 7:30 p.m. eastern after "the situation room." gloria is sheer. it's elf citing. the campus is excited. two good candidates. we'll see what they have to say. christine o'donnell and chris coons. a lot of emotion going into this debate. a lot of people want a sense of who these two candidates are. >> wolf, you're going to have a bit of an issue on your hand in that this is -- senate debates in a state are often about the state and senators are often national politicians. but in this case, this debate has two sides. one is the national politics of christine o'donnell winning this and the other is the local politics. she's going to be attacking chris coons on tax increases. is he going to touch her history of the strange things that she's said? >

wolf blitzer or chris coons. and i think that the unfairness of the entire format was apparent to any really discerning voter or viewer in delaware. i thought she more than held up on her own in that debate and in that sense, she won because she exceeded expectations. i think it's ridiculous these debates so often are controlled by leftist media organizations and then they're imbuyed with somehow the sense of fairness. the same thing happened with the whitman-brown debate where it was two on one and tom brokaw basically being the water carrier for his old friend. of course, they go back decades, jerry brown and tom brokaw. >> steve: yeah. at one point during the debate, o'donnell kind of touched on, i'm not in support from my own party. then afterwards and kind of the post game show, our own james rosen went to a public in newark, delaware and asked her about that comment. here is her response. >> oil committee is running ads against me. the democratic party is running ads against me. the republican party on the

i'm a writer you know i don't have i don't i rant as well you know the day i want to say this wolf blitzer he's next there will come again and we're getting rid of all that is very very much like opera i want to bring out osama bin ladin who's back in the news and he released a new videotape today that you know i don't speak the language but from the translations are being told is that he was talking about the flood in pakistan and he was talking about the threat of global warming i mean is this osama bin ladin the environmentalist and what is this ever since he was in the prius commercial i feel it's sort of he's actually hawking the nissan leaf which is you know who would have a lecture card i think i think osama bin laden i mean terrible guy but he wants to be relevant and i think their p.r. strategies are actually pretty impressive and they always try to get in the news me relevant so i think he sees that that's the way people are going that's sort of the way people been talking about the natural disasters that we've seen all over the globe so he wants to try and he loves to tweak amer

this morning, i actually scratched my initials in wolf blitzer's locker, fallen hero, football star, fantastically good looking. pat tillman you are way better than all of us. >>> any publicity is good publicity. not if you're running for office. each week we hilt the harshest political commentary. we call it roasted. nobody seems to have been roasted harder this week than carl paladino. comments he made on the campaign trail regarding his views on homosexuality were front page news all over the country this week. my fellow comediennes are not letting him off the hook. >> i don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking homosexuality is an equally valid option. it season the. >> the gay people will brainwash their children into dressing an acting in an unconventional manner. gay people. >> i did not see eric kantor condemning carl paladino when he mass e-mailed a bestiality video. of course, the

this morning, i actually scratched my initials in wolf blitzer's locker. fallen hero, football star, fantastically good-looking. pat tillman, you are way better than all of us. >>> you've heard the expression any publicity is good publicity? not if you're running for office. each week we highlight the harshest political commentary from the world of comedic television. we call it "roasted." and no one was roasted harder than carl paladino. comments he made on the campaign trail regarding his views on homosexuality were front-page news all over the country this month. paladino apologized but my fellow comedians aren't letting him off the hook. >> that's carl paladino making the case to orthodox religious folk that gay people will brainwash their children into dressing and acting in an unconventional manner. gay people. >> i did not see eric cantor condemning new york gubernatorial carl paladino. the bestiality video wasn't bad for children because it was a woman and a male horse, nothing

. >> jimmy: i -- i cannot wait to hear wolf blitzer do that. [ applause ] there was some controversy yesterday on "sesame street." elmo made this video with katy perry. they released it on the internet, but they're not going to air it on "sesame street" because parents complained that katy perry is showing too much cleavage. and maybe she is. i used to -- i turned the number eight on its side and draw dots on it. this morning, elmo and the executive producer of "sesame street" were on the cbs "early show" talking about it. and watch elmo's hand there. >> did it occur to you that she was wearing something inappropriate? >> you know, if -- >> jimmy: okay. what is he doing behind that little partition? what has katy perry done to elmo? it's his cherry chapstick there. and -- oh, there you go. well, you know what? looks like elmo's learned to tickle himself, at long last. [ applause ] at this show, we frown on that kind of filth. with that said, it's time for our weekly tribute to the fcc, where we bleep and blur things whether they need it or not. it's "this week in unnecessary censorsh

cnn's wolf blitzer talked with contributor jack cafferty about that on "the situation room" yesterday. >> jack, we have been inviting the candidates, democrats and republicans, from all over the country to appear, come on the show. we'll talk about the issues, the substantive issues facing the american people, national security issues, economic issues, jobs. you know what most of them say? >> no. >> not happening. not interested in doing a serious substantive national interview. and it's not just republicans and conservatives. it's a lot of democrats, as well. i think they're scared. >> well, i think a lot of the incumbents are terrified and then you've got the tea party candidates, the far right wing very conservative o'donnell types who, you know, by definition are a part of a fringe element in the country so they probably want to stay out of the mainstream spotlight an and so the voters go to the booth relatively uninformed. i don't know if that's a good thing. do you? >> no. >> no. >> i'd like them to come on the show and answer the questions. >> talk to the wolfman. >> that's wha

moderated by wolf blitzer. watch it right here on cnn and we will have complete coverage live from delaware here. >>> john lennon forever changed the face of popular music and would have turned 70 tomorrow. the memories live on. i sat down with his oldest son julian at the first exhe bigs of his photographs in new york city. that's coming up. >>> also, great news. one of the rescue shafts being drilled to free the miners trapped in chile should get to them by tomorrow morning and now moving forward deciding exactly how the rescue will work. we're going to get a live report from chile still ahead. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the f

join wolf blitzer for wednesday night's delaware senate debate. our coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. that is right here on cnn. >>> bank of america is halting foreclosures in all 50 states. at issue, questions about the validity of some foreclosure related documents. some banks admitted the person signing off may not have done so in the presence of a notary and may not have fully reviewed all of the information in the documents. it's not known how many loans are affected but the freeze could complicate an already chaotic housing market. >>> martin luther king jr. once described 11:00 a.m. sunday morning the most segregated hour in america. in many communities it's still true 40 years later. ted rolands looks at one african-american church in california trying to change all that. >> reporter: sunday service at christ our redeemer ame church in orange county, california. the church started 12 years ago by reverend mark whitlock. 3,000 members strong and growing. here they practice something many other black churches do not. integration. >> it's time for us to get away from black church