International burdens await

World leaders and people around the globe have celebrated Barack Obama's election as the new U.S. president, and hopes are high he'll bring a new founded optimism to a problematic world. But will "Obamamania" survive the realities of governing after inauguration? full story
World celebrates landslide A warm welcome
Barney's out; White House gets new First Dog
Latin America reacts Obama's inheritance
Mideast hopes The challenge of China
Results: President Senate House GovernorBallot Measures Exit Polls Your Races
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Obama's election redraws America's electoral divide

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Barack Obama did more than thump John McCain in the Electoral College tally; he also handily won the popular vote and redrew the great divide between red states and blue states.

Barack Obama addresses a crowd of more than 200,000 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

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Riding a Democratic tide that bolstered the party's presence in both houses of Congress, Obama snared about 63 million votes to McCain's 55.8 million, according to totals early Wednesday.
According to exit polls, Obama crushed McCain among women voters (56 percent to 43 percent); voters under 30 (66 percent to 32 percent); African-American voters (95 percent to 4 percent); Latino voters (66 percent to 32 percent); first-time voters (68 percent to 31 percent); and voters making less than $100,000 a year (55 percent to 43 percent).
"I think this is the passing of an old order," CNN senior political analyst David Gergen said as the results rolled in Tuesday night and the outcome became increasingly evident.
"I think what we see ... is a new coalition, a new order emerging. It isn't quite there, but with Barack Obama, for the first time, it's won. It is the Latino vote we just heard about. It is the bigger black vote that came out. Very importantly, it's the youth vote, the 18-to-29-year-old," said the Harvard University professor and former presidential adviser.

A victory long in the making

Win caps years of struggle Barack Obama's presidential victory is being hailed as a transformative event for the U.S. But history was not made in one night. His win capped a decades-long civil rights struggle. "We seem to be evolving," said Bob Moses, who led voter registration drives in the '60s. full story
George Wallace's daughter: My dad and Obama
Audio Slide Show: 'This is our moment'
Obama: 'Yes we can' Transcript Videos
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Pelosi: Obama should govern from the middle

-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called on President-elect Barack Obama to govern from the middle, as her party sat poised to gain its widest House majority in 15 years.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, celebrates election victories Tuesday night in Washington.

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According to projections, Democrats in the House were on track Wednesday to increase their majority by at least 18 seats, a margin that would give Obama a formidable tool to push his legislative agenda after his January 20 inauguration.
Democrats took at least 22 seats from Republicans in Tuesday's election, with the GOP taking four seats from the Democrats, according to CNN projections.
With winners yet to be called for eight of the House's 435 seats, Democrats were projected to win 254 seats, with Republicans having 173.
"I don't know what the final number will be," Pelosi said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference on Capitol Hill. "But it will be well over 250. It's a signal of the change that the American people want."
Pelosi, D-California, said she hoped Obama would "bring people together to reach consensus" on issues that concern Americans. "A new president must govern from the middle," she said.
Topping her agenda, she said, would be "growing the economy, expanding health care, ending dependence on foreign oil and ending the war in Iraq."

Obama's victory caps struggles of previous generations

(CNN) -- At a modest stucco home in Montgomery, Alabama, an unlikely presidential victory celebration is taking place this morning.

Barack Obama's election victory represents a triumph for civil rights activists before him.

Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of the late George Wallace, the Alabama governor who once vowed to maintain segregation forever, is rejoicing.
Kennedy, 58, voted for Sen. Barack Obama. She says she was "mesmerized" when she first heard him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Her admiration for Obama deepened when she learned he opposed the Iraq war. She even slapped an Obama bumper sticker on her car, even though someone told her that the prospect of an African-American president would have her father "rolling over in his grave."
"I think Obama is going to be one of the best presidents we'll have," she says. "He's going to bring the freshness we need. We've just been bogged down so long. We need this shot in the arm."
President-elect Obama's victory Tuesday may be a racially transformative event. But for people like Kennedy, who came through the fires of the civil rights movement, it also represents something else -- personal triumph. Obama's win validates the risks they took years ago. iReport.com: What does Obama's victory mean to you?
Some, like Kennedy and an entire generation of white Southerners, risked social rejection for renouncing the bigotry of their parents. Others risked their lives while leading civil rights campaigns in the Deep South. Some almost lost their belief in the inherent goodness of America because they saw so many innocent

CNN reveals Top 10 Heroes of 2008

(CNN) -- For Liz McCartney, selection as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 could not have come at a better time.

Anderson Cooper will host "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," to air on Thanksgiving at 9 p.m. ET.

"With the recent storms in Texas and southwest Louisiana, we have experienced a sudden drop in volunteers," said McCartney, whose St. Bernard Project helps Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their homes just outside New Orleans, Louisiana.

"While other areas need help, this recognition is letting the American people know that the New Orleans area still matters," McCartney said.

The diverse group of honorees includes a Cambodian activist who offers free schooling to children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump; a Georgia prosthetist-orthotist who provides limbs and braces to hundreds of people in Mexico; and a Virginia woman who tapes video messages from incarcerated parents for their children.

CNN's Anderson Cooper announced the 10 honorees Thursday on "American Morning."

"Our Top 10 CNN Heroes are proof that you don't need superpowers -- or millions of dollars -- to change the world and even save lives," Cooper said. Watch Anderson Cooper name the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 »

CNN launched its second annual global search for ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary deeds in February. The network has aired weekly CNN Hero profiles of those people, chosen from more than 3,700 nominations submitted by viewers in 75 countries.

A panel made up of world leaders and luminaries recognized for their own dedication to public service selected the Top 10. The Blue Ribbon Panel includes humanitarians such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Kristi Yamaguchi and Deepak Chopra.

Don't Miss

• Vote for the CNN Hero of the Year
• iReport.com: Tell us about your hero
• In Depth: CNN Heroes

"What an incredible group of people and how difficult it was to select only 10," said Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a panel member.

Archbishop Tutu added, "They all deserve to win. Thanks for saluting these remarkable human beings."

Each of this year's Top 10 CNN Heroes will receive $25,000 and will be honored at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," airing from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on November 27.

Hosted by Cooper, the Thanksgiving night broadcast will culminate with the announcement of the CNN Hero of the Year, selected by the public in an online poll that began Thursday morning. iReport.com: Tell us about your hero

Continuing through November 19, viewers can log on to CNN.com/Heroes to participate in the poll. The person receiving the most votes will receive an additional $100,000.

In alphabetical order, the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 are:

Tad Agoglia, Houston, Texas --
Agoglia's First Response Team provides immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters. In a little over a year, he and his crew have aided thousands of victims at more than 15 sites across the United States, free of charge.

Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia --
Moved by the lack of children's books and low literacy rates in his native Ethiopia, Gebregeorgis established Ethiopia Reads, bringing free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of Ethiopian children.

Carolyn LeCroy, Norfolk, Virginia --
After serving time in prison, LeCroy started The Messages Project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents. She and volunteer camera crews have taped roughly 3,000 messages from inmates to their children.

Anne Mahlum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --
On her daily morning jogs, Mahlum used to run past homeless men. Today, she's helping to transform lives by running with them, and others as part of her "Back On My Feet" program.

Liz McCartney, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana --
McCartney moved to New Orleans to dedicate herself to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors move back into their homes. Her nonprofit St. Bernard Project has rebuilt the homes of more than 120 families for free.

Phymean Noun, Toronto, Ontario --
Growing up in Cambodia, Noun struggled to complete high school. Today, she offers hundreds of Cambodian children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump a way out -- through free schooling and job training.

David Puckett, Savannah, Georgia --
Puckett started Positive Image Prosthetics and Orthotics Missions -- PIPO -- to provide artificial limbs and braces and care to people in southeastern Mexico. Since November 2000 his mission has helped more than 420 people, free of charge.

Maria Ruiz, El Paso, Texas --
Several times a week, Ruiz crosses the border into Juarez, Mexico, to bring food, clothing and toys to hundreds of impoverished children and their families.

Marie Da Silva, Los Angeles, California --
Having lost 14 family members to AIDS, the Los Angeles nanny funds a school in her native Malawi -- where half a million children have been orphaned by the disease.

Viola Vaughn, Kaolack, Senegal --
The Detroit, Michigan, native moved to Senegal to retire. Instead, a group of failing schoolchildren asked her to help them pass their classes. Today, her "10,000 Girls" program is helping hundreds of girls succeed in school and run their own businesses.

Parents of trick-or-treater hope suspect in son's death is haunted

SUMTER, South Carolina (AP) -- The parents of a 12-year-old shot to death while trick-or-treating said Monday they hope the man accused of killing him is haunted for the rest of his life.

Suspect Quentin Patrick, 22, wipes away tears during a bond hearing in Sumter, South Carolina, on Monday.

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T.J. Darrisaw died Halloween night after police say a convicted felon unleashed a barrage of bullets from inside a home, pumping at least 29 shots through the closed door and front of the house.

The boy's father and brother also were wounded.

"The injury to my arm is not as bad as the injury to my heart. I've lost a piece of my heart forever," father Freddie Grinnell Jr. said as he sat in his living room Monday.

Police said the suspect, Quentin Patrick, 22, opened fire with an AK-47 because he thought he was being robbed. The family went to the home because the porch light was on, usually a signal that trick-or-treaters are welcome.

Two of three siblings who went to the door with their father were wearing ghoulish masks. Their parents said the slain boy was determined to get candy first, so he was in front when the shots were fired.

"T.J. saved us that night," Grinnell said. "He took most of the shots."

When the shooting stopped, Grinnell said, the door swung open. Patrick stood there, gun in hand, and said, "Oh, no."

"I was holding my son while he was bleeding, and he was backing out of the yard," Grinnell recalled.

Grinnell and another son who was shot were treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.

T.J.'s mother, Daphne Grinnell, said T.J. liked to bake cakes, in part because he relished licking the batter, and constantly asked what he could do to help out around the home. The seventh-grader was on his middle school drill team and loved math and board games.

"He was always up for a challenge," his father said, recounting how his son got up early for math tutoring. "I was looking forward to his graduation, to high school, to college. I was looking forward to all of it because I know he would make it."

A bond hearing was scheduled Monday afternoon for Patrick, who is charged with murder and three counts of assault and battery with intent to kill. The public defender's office had not assigned him an attorney Monday morning.

Does Tijuana deserve the bad rap?

Tribune Media Services) -- A year ago I was excited about Tangier in Morocco and wrote in my blog, "It's no longer the Tijuana of Africa." I didn't realize my comments would understandably touch a nerve with people who like Tijuana.

As locals know, Tijuana is more than cheap sombreros.

So recently I went to Tijuana -- a Mexican town just across the U.S. border from San Diego -- to give it a second look. OK, I admit, I'd never been there ... so I gave it a first look. Working on my upcoming book on the value of travel as a political act, I also wanted to visit a rough border town where the First World meets the Developing World.

I had a great time. While Tijuana isn't a main destination town, it's fun to visit as a side trip from San Diego or a stop while heading south. And if you want to observe the cultural and economic riptides created when two worlds collide, it's a fascinating case study.

At what locals claim is the busiest international border in the world, 24 lanes are busy with traffic -- 24/7. It's easy to get out of the United States -- and tough to get back in. A handy trolley zips tourists from San Diego right to the border for $3. It also brings Mexican workers into San Diego on a daily commute that thousands make.

Drivers can park within 100 yards of the border for $8 a day. Pedestrians step right in without showing a passport, power past the trinket stalls and aggressive cabbies, and head for the towering arch that marks the start of Revolution Avenue and all the fun.

Getting out of Mexico is different. Pedestrians shuffle fairly quickly through an officious passport check. Cars are generally stacked up for a several-hour wait. As taxis are dirt cheap, there's no reason to drive if you're just visiting Tijuana.

Tijuana, barely a century old, thrives today with 1.5 million people. A local explained to me that there's a big

Study links sexual content on TV to teen pregnancy

CNN) -- Sexual content on television is strongly associated with teen pregnancy, a new study from the RAND Corporation shows.

New information linking sexual content on television with teen pregnancy will help develop prevention programs.

Researchers at the nonprofit organization found that adolescents with a high level of exposure to television shows with sexual content are twice as likely to get pregnant or impregnate someone as those who saw fewer programs of this kind over a period of three years. It is the first study to demonstrate this association, RAND said.

A central message from the study is that there needs to be more dialogue about sex in the media, particularly among parents and their children, said Anita Chandra, the study's lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND.

"We know that parents are busy, but sitting down and watching shows together with their teen, talking about the character portrayals, talking about what they just witnessed, and really using it as a teachable moment is really, I think, a good recommendation from this research," Chandra said.

To measure exposure, the researchers used a method developed by another research group evaluating 23 shows for sexual content. Then, they asked teenagers how frequently they watched each of those shows, and developed a score based on exposure to the shows. Watch the results of the study »

"We know that if a child is watching more than an hour of TV a day, we know there's a sexual scene in [the] content every 10 minutes, then they're getting a fair amount of sexual content," Chandra said.

The Onion is ready for a new era of satire

NEW YORK (AP) -- Days before the January 2001 inauguration of President Bush, the Onion ran a story headlined: "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over.' "

To prepare, the Onion has organized coverage for either a McCain win or an Obama win.

Writers at the satirical paper still speak reverentially of the story, in which Bush promises to take the country into a deep recession, worsen the environment and "end the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton."

"Wow, was that prescient," marvels Joe Garden, the Onion's features editor.

Whether or not you share that political viewpoint, the Bush era will end soon and the political comedy epicenter will shift to Barack Obama or John McCain.

At the Onion -- "America's finest news source," as it calls itself -- this change in the Oval Office is a welcome opportunity for new material after eight years of Bush and an interminable presidential campaign.

"Everyone started being like, 'Nothing is funny in politics. We're done talking about it,' " says Assistant Editor Megan Ganz.

Regardless of who's elected Tuesday, it's clear satire has won in 2008. "Saturday Night Live," "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" have all been at the top of their game, with record ratings to show for it.

But the Onion is a slower moving, more broadly social animal of satire. It is, as Editor Joe Randazzo calls it, "the satirical newspaper of record."

'Report: 60 million people you'd never talk to voting for the other guy'

Founded 20 years ago by two students from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, the Onion gradually grew under Editor Scott Dickers and went national in 1996 when it started its Web site. (The move was partially inspired by the viral spreading of the story: "Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia: Cities of Sjbvdnzv, Grzny to be first recipients.")

Past trouble spots could flare again, election analyst says

(CNN) -- Registration and absentee ballot issues topped last-minute concerns among voters in the days before Tuesday's presidential election, with one analyst predicting previous flashpoints may cause headaches again this year.

Voters wait in line in Pompano Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

Of the more than 10,000 problems reported to CNN's Voter Hotline so far, the most complaints -- about 1,400 -- come from Florida.

In nearly 8 percent of those complaints, callers said they had not received their voter registration cards, and about 15 percent said they had yet to receive the absentee ballots they requested.

Similar patterns were seen among callers nationwide.

Paul Gronke, a political scientist at Oregon's Reed College, said Florida, Ohio and New Mexico -- which also had a long count in 2004 -- are likely to be "trouble spots" again.

Colorado and New Jersey, which Gronke said loosened early voting rules this year, could see more problems this year.

"You've generally got to be a little concerned about counting in states with last-minute absentee voting," Gronke said.

He said Republicans and Democrats have been asking him questions about standards for absentee balloting, "which strikes me as an early-warning indicator."

From Cleveland, Ohio, Karen Terrance told CNN that she had not received her registration card despite calls to her local election board.

"I was born and raised here," Terrance said. "I don't understand why I'm not getting any communication. So I hope next year and years after, I won't have that problem."

Long lines at early voting stations were another top concern among Floridians, with more than 10 percent reporting lines that were too long. Watch who's being affected by long lines and voter problems »

More than 4.4 million Floridians have already cast ballots in the election, according to the state Division of Elections -- about 40 percent of the 11 million voters on the rolls.

Palin didn't violate ethics law, 2nd probe finds

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska's Personnel Board concluded Monday that Gov. Sarah Palin did not violate ethics law by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police, contradicting an earlier investigation's findings.

GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin campaigns in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday.

"There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters," Timothy Petumenos, the Anchorage lawyer hired to conduct the investigation, wrote in his final report.

The announcement comes a day before Palin and Republican presidential nominee John McCain face voters in Tuesday's presidential election.

Allegations that Palin fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan in July because he refused to fire her sister's ex-husband, Mike Wooten, have dogged her since before she became the GOP's vice presidential nominee in August.

An earlier investigation launched by the state Legislature concluded Palin violated state ethics law by trying to get Wooten fired. The law bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.

That first inquiry -- led by legislative investigator Stephen Branchflower -- also concluded that Palin's firing of Monegan likely stemmed in part from his refusal to fire Wooten, but that Palin's firing of Monegan was within her authority as governor.

Despite the conclusions of Branchflower's October 10 report, Palin declared that she had been "cleared of any legal wrongdoing" in the matter. Her attorney, Thomas Van Flein, argued the Branchflower report had wrongly interpreted state ethics law.

Though the governor originally agreed to cooperate with the Legislature's inquiry, she tried to stop the investigation once she became McCain's running mate -- and campaign aides attacked the investigation as a partisan circus that was being manipulated by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Instead, Palin asked the Personnel Board -- an executive branch agency whose members were appointed by her predecessor -- to handle the investigation, arguing it was the proper legal venue.

In a brief statement after Monday's decision by the Personnel Board, Van Flein said Palin was pleased with Monday's report.

"The governor is grateful that this investigation has provided a fair and impartial review of this matter and upholds the governor's ability to take measures when necessary to ensure that Alaskans have the best possible team working to serve them," Van Flein said.

Petumenos said he had been "working until midnight and beyond" to complete the report before the election and had hoped to deliver it to the Personnel Board last week.

"The Alaska Personnel Board has determined in this case, because there was already in some respect the sanction of public approbation and many conclusions and opinions reached with respect to this matter, that it was critical the report be issued now and in a timely fashion," Petumenos said.

But he said he faced no "artificial deadlines" and disputed any suggestion that he was trying to affect Tuesday's election with the report.

"If you think this was done to favor the governor politically, it would have been much more favorable for her to have received this days before now," Petumenos said.

Petumenos said Branchflower had done a good job of collecting facts for the legislative inquiry. But Petumenos said Branchflower did not have access to all the evidence that he did and that Branchflower's legal analysis was "completely wrong."

Petumenos questioned Palin and her husband, Todd Palin, on October 24 about Monegan's removal from the commissioner's post, which oversees the Alaska State Troopers.

Monegan told the earlier investigation that complaints about Wooten were the "central theme" of his 17-month tenure.

Wooten had already received a five-day suspension in 2006 for using a Taser on his 11-year-old stepson "in a training capacity," illegally shooting a moose on his wife's permit and driving his patrol car with an open beer -- complaints raised during his acrimonious divorce with Palin's sister.

Monegan's deputy, John Glass, told Branchflower that he warned Todd Palin that disciplinary action already had been taken against the trooper and that the governor risked "some extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment" if she pushed the issue. In August, Palin disclosed that members of her administration contacted Department of Public Safety officials about two dozen times about Wooten -- including one top aide whose call to a state police lieutenant had been recorded.

Bones are Fossett's, DNA testing shows

(CNN) -- Bones found last week near where Steve Fossett's plane crashed in eastern California's Sierra Nevadas are those of the adventurer, authorities said Monday.

Fossett, seen here with his wife, Peggy, disappeared after a solo flight in 2007.

Testing at California's state crime lab determined that "two large bones" recovered Wednesday matched Fossett's DNA, a spokeswoman for the Madera County Sheriff's Department in California said.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said last week that confirmation that the bones were Fossett's would allow authorities to conclude with certainty that Fossett is dead.

Fossett was last seen on the morning of September 3, 2007, when he took off from the Flying-M Ranch outside Minden, Nevada. He was scouting locations for an attempt to break the land-speed record in a rocket-propelled car.

Searchers found the bones, Fossett's driver's license, a pair of shoes and a $100 bill on Wednesday, Anderson said last week. The discovery site was a little more than a half-mile from where Fossett's plane wreckage was found on October 1 in a remote area of the Sierra Nevadas at an altitude of 10,000 feet. See map showing takeoff site, crash site »

The site of Wednesday's discovery also is about a quarter-mile from where a hiker reported finding two aviation identification cards with Fossett's name and $1,000 in cash in late September, Anderson said.

Animal chew marks were found on the driver's license and the shoes, Anderson said. He said the marks indicate that "animals possibly [moved] the body."

(CNN) -- Just hours before Election Day, the McCain campaign released a summary of Gov. Sarah Palin's health -- a physician's letter saying the vice

(CNN) -- Just hours before Election Day, the McCain campaign released a summary of Gov. Sarah Palin's health -- a physician's letter saying the vice presidential candidate is in "excellent health."
Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to supporters during a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on Monday.

Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to supporters during a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on Monday.

Palin was the last contender on the presidential tickets to release her medical history in some form.

The November 3 letter from her physician, Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, says, "Governor Palin is in excellent health and has no known health problems that would interfere with her ability to carry out the duties and obligation of Vice President of the United States of America."

Palin has visited Baldwin-Johnson's clinic for 17 years and has been under the doctor's care since 1997. The governor's visits to her office have been related to "routine women's health care and pregnancy," the letter says.

Palin has had four term pregnancies and one pre-term pregnancy in 2008, when her son, Trig, was born with Down's syndrome at 35 weeks.

"At the time of her most recent pregnancy, Governor Palin had no health risk factors other than her age," the letter says. Video Watch Palin on the political trail Monday in Iowa »

Her hospitalizations have been for childbirth, the letter says. In 1992, Palin had a breast biopsy for what turned out to be a benign lesion. Palin's vital signs are considered normal, with a blood pressure of 96/61 and a pulse of 77 at the time of her last office visit -- though no date was given.

McCain, Obama on blitz through battleground states on final day

CNN) -- Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain prepared to stump into the early morning in their last efforts to sway voters before they go to the polls hours later on Tuesday.
Sen. John McCain greets supporters in Tampa, Florida, on Monday.

Sen. John McCain greets supporters in Tampa, Florida, on Monday.
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"I only have one word for you: tomorrow," Obama said at his final rally. "After decades of broken politics, eight years of failed policies, 21 months of campaigning, we are less than one day away from bringing change."

The final major rally in Manassas, Virginia, on Monday night, marked the 20th time his campaign has stumped in Virginia.

Sen. Joe Biden will also visit the state Tuesday when the polls open. Obama will return to Chicago around 1 a.m.

McCain will campaign until 2 a.m. ET, with his final stop in Prescott, Arizona.

McCain will have a rally on the steps of the courthouse, where his hero Barry Goldwater launched his 1964 presidential bid. The site is also where McCain always makes his final stop in his Senate campaigns.

Earlier Monday, Sen. John McCain called on Pennsylvania to help him erase his deficit in the polls and score an upset over Sen. Barack Obama.

"Just one day left until we take America in a new direction. We need to win in Pennsylvania and tomorrow, with your help, we will win," McCain said, pounding his fist on the podium at an event in Moon Township.

"Volunteer, knock on doors, get your neighbors to the polls. I need your vote," he said.

Obama leads McCain by 8 percentage points in Pennsylvania, 51 percent to 43 percent, according to CNN's latest average of state polls. Video Watch McCain ask supporters for their vote »

McCain's campaign has said it is buoyed by its internal numbers not showing up in public polling.

In the past two presidential elections, pre-election polling in Pennsylvania showed strong support for Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry, but both candidates ended up carrying the state by narrow margins.

McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have visited Pennsylvania 10 times in 15 days. The state has 21 electoral votes.

In his last visit to the state before voters go to the polls, McCain said, "The pundits have written me off just like they've done four or five times in the past. ... They may not know it, but the Mac is back."

National polls show Obama leading McCain by about 7 percentage points.

U.S. commander hears Pakistani complaints on attacks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan complained Monday to the top U.S. military commander in the area over American attacks against suspected terrorists inside Pakistan.

U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, left, meets Monday with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Gen. David Petraeus, making his first trip abroad as the new head of U.S. Central Command, met in Pakistan with new President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, and other government and military leaders. Asked by CNN's Reza Sayah if he heard any criticism over the U.S. attacks, Petraeus said he had.
"In fact, we got certain messages with each of those we talked today and some of those were very clear and we have to take those on-board," Petraeus said Monday, adding later, "The tone of the conversation was very frank and very forthright, as it should be."
Speaking to CNN International, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, expressed his country's displeasure Monday in no uncertain terms.
Don't Miss
Petraeus takes helm of U.S. Central Command
"The U.S. has to stop acting unilaterally," said Ambassador Husain Haqqani.
U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants who launch attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
The U.S. military has become frustrated with Islamabad over the years, saying it is not being proactive

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LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures rose Monday, although gains were modest as investors expressed caution on the eve of Election Day.

At 5:21 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

Stocks appeared poised to kick off November on a positive note after the end of one of the worst months in Wall Street history.

But trading is expected to be light as investors await the outcome of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Economy: A report on construction spending in September is due at 10 a.m. ET. The ISM Index, a measure of nationwide manufacturing activity, is also set to be released at 10 a.m. ET.

Companies: In major corporate news, buyout firm KKR is delaying its plan to go public on the New York Stock Exchange due to the turmoil in financial markets.

World markets: In global trade, shares in Hong Kong and Seoul rallied. Markets in Tokyo were closed. European stocks rose modestly in morning trading.

Companies recall 100,000 laptop battery packs

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Computer makers are recalling 100,000 laptop battery packs made by Sony Corp. after 40 reports of overheating, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice Thursday.

Sony also recalled nearly 10 million of a different model of battery in 2006 and 2007.

The voluntary recall applies to certain Sony 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Toshiba Corp.

Some incidents involved smoke or flames, according to Sony. Twenty-one of the reports claimed minor property damage, and small burns were reported in four cases.

Sony blamed two factors for the defects: adjustments on its manufacturing line from October 2004 to June 2005, which may have affected the quality of cells in certain production lots; and a possible flaw in the metal foil for electrodes.

The company said no reports have been filed for batteries made after 2006, and noted that the recalled units are a small fraction of the more than 260 million it has shipped over six years.

This also pales in comparison to the recall of nearly 10 million of a different model of Sony batteries in 2006 and 2007, which affected almost every major PC manufacturer, including Dell Inc. and Apple Inc.

In this batch of problematic laptops, the bulk of the 35,000 affected computers in the U.S. were sold by HP between December 2004 and June 2006, according to the safety commission, including HP Pavilion, HP Compaq and Compaq Presario models.

Some Dell Latitude and Inspiron models shipped between November 2004 and November 2005 are also covered by the recall, as well as some Toshiba Satellite and Tecra laptops sold from April 2005 to October 2005.

An additional 65,000 of the flawed batteries were sold outside the U.S. The PCs and separate batteries were sold directly by the computer manufacturers, electronics stores and online retailers worldwide, not b

Anne Rice comes to Jesus

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- It's Halloween, and Anne Rice has a new book -- a memoir, in fact -- that's climbing best-seller lists. Everything is normal, then.

Anne Rice says she hopes to take her skills writing vampire books and "redeem myself."

Normal if it were 1994 -- the height of Rice's megaselling fame as a queen of Southern Gothic pulp.

For those who haven't been paying attention lately to vampire lit, America's most famous chronicler of bloodsuckers doesn't live in New Orleans anymore -- and hasn't since before Hurricane Katrina hit -- and she's riding new waves of enthusiasm: the memoir and Christian lit.

Her memoir, "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," is the latest piece of evidence that Rice is reinventing herself in an attempt to build a reputation as a serious Christian writer.

In the memoir, the 67-year-old writer doesn't disavow the two decades she spent churning out books on vampires, demons and witches -- with a batch of S&M erotica thrown in -- following the breakout success of her first novel in 1976, "Interview With the Vampire."

But she's clearly moved on.

In a telephone interview from her mountain home in Rancho Mirage, California, Rice laid out her goal:

"To be able to take the tools, the apprenticeship, whatever I learned from being a vampire writer, or whatever I was -- to be able to take those tools now and put them in the service of God is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful opportunity," she said. "And I hope I can redeem myself in that way. I hope that the Lord will accept the books I am writing now."

The memoir follows the release of two books in a planned four-part, first-person chronicle of the life of Jesus.

And in this new 245-page memoir, Rice presents her former life as vampire writer as that of a soul-searching wanderer in the deserts of atheism; as someone akin to her most famous literary creations -- Lestat, her "dark search engine," Louis the aristocrat-turned-vampire and Egyptian Queen Akasha, "the mother of all vampires."

"I do think that those dark books were always talking about religion in their own way. They were talking about the grief for a lost faith," she said.

Japan fires military chief over WWII denial

(CNN) -- A state-run Chinese newspaper expressed relief Monday that senior Japanese officials had dismissed the country's air force chief after he denied Japan's aggression before and during World War II.

General Toshio Tamogami

Gen. Toshio Tamogami lost his job as chief of staff for Japan's Air Self-Defense Force, the Ministry of Defense said, after saying in an essay that "it is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation."

Japanese troops invaded China in 1937 and were widely accused of gross human rights abuses, including raping tens of thousands of girls and women and killing several hundred thousand others in what has come to be called "The Rape of Nanking." Imperial Japan also invaded several other Asian nations, leading to the death and misery for an untold number.

Two former Japanese prime ministers have apologized for Japanese aggression before and during World War II. Yet China has long accused of elements within Japan of trying to whitewash the Japanese atrocities committed before and during World War II.

"The denial of the aggression history by Toshio Tamogami comes in as an element of disharmony," the state-run China Daily said a commentary Monday. "Yet, as long as the Japanese government has a right attitude to this question, the smooth development of ties between the two neighbors will not be derailed by such discordant notes."

Tamogami's essay, published late last week, also stirred controversy in South Korea.

Japan controlled Korea from 1910 to 1945. Its military is accused of forcing roughly 200,000 women, mainly from Korea and China, to serve as sex slaves -- they were known euphemistically as "comfort women" -- for soldiers in the Imperial Army.

The South Korean foreign ministry criticized Tamogami's commentary in a statement published by Yonhap, the South Korean news agency.

"His claim is distorting history," the statement said. "International friendly relations are based on repentance for past wrongdoings and learning a lesson from history,"

Tamogami's essay won first prize in a competition called the "True Perspective of Modern and Contemporary History."

Japanese girl born to Indian surrogate arrives home

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A 3-month-old girl born to an Indian surrogate mother has flown to Japan to join her biological father after spending the first months of her life in legal limbo.

Manjhi with her grandmother in India hours before the pair flew to Osaka, Japan, on Saturday.

Baby Manjhi and her grandmother flew to Osaka, Japan, from the Indian capital, New Delhi, Saturday night, said family friend, Kamal Vijay Vargiya.

While some countries have banned surrogacy as a money-making venture, it has been legal in India since 2002.

Under the practice, infertile couples are matched with local women to carry babies for $12,000 to $30,000.

Baby Manjhi was conceived when a Japanese couple paid a clinic in India to have the husband's sperm and an anonymous donor's egg implanted in the womb of an Indian surrogate.

The plan worked. But a few months before Manjhi was born, the couple divorced. The intended Japanese mother decided she did not want the baby.

Manjhi was born on July 25. Her father, Ikufumi Yamada, and grandmother traveled from Japan to pick her up and take her to her new home. But Indian law stipulates that a mother must be present in order for a baby to receive a passport.

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In this case, neither the birth mother nor the mother who had originally sought the child wanted to be involved.

Manjhi's father looked into a legal adoption, but Indian law does not allow single men to adopt.

The case garnered international headlines. Eventually, Manjhi was issued a birth certificate with just her father's name on it. And on Saturday, she left for Osaka to be reunited with him.

Palin costing McCain, poll suggests

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new national poll suggests Sarah Palin may be hurting Republican presidential nominee John McCain more than she's helping him.

Fifty-seven percent of likely voters say Sarah Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have.

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A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday indicates McCain's running mate is growing less popular among voters and may be costing him a few crucial percentage points in the race for the White House.

Fifty-seven percent of likely voters questioned in the poll said Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have. That's up 8 points since September.

Fifty-three percent say she does not agree with them on important issues. That's also higher than September.

"Just after the GOP convention in early September, 53 percent said they would vote for Palin over Joe Biden if there were a separate vote for vice president. Now, Biden would beat Palin by 12 points if the running mates were chosen in a separate vote," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

And what if voters were allowed to vote for president separately?

"It would be a 4-point edge for Barack Obama, 52 percent to 48 percent. Since the McCain-Palin ticket is currently getting 46 percent in a match-up against the Obama-Biden ticket, it looks like Palin's presence on the GOP ballot is taking 2 percentage points away from McCain. In a close race, that might represent the margin of victory," Holland said.

The unfavorable numbers for Palin, Alaska's governor, also have been growing. They are 8 points higher in the current poll than in early October, and they're twice as high as they were when McCain announced his running mate in late August.

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"John McCain has also been suspect with conservatives, the base of the Republican Party, and they were never enthusiastic about his candidacy. Palin was a unusual pick. She was well known with conservative insiders but unknown outside. When she was named, there was a rush of enthusiasm among conservatives and everyone was impressed by McCain's unusual and unexpected choice," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst .

"The more many Americans have found out about Palin, the less they like her."

Meanwhile, the poll also suggests Americans may not be as concerned as McCain about one-party rule if Obama is elected president.

One of McCain's closing arguments has been that the Democrats are poised to increase their majorities in Congress, and that Obama -- the Democratic presidential nominee -- is "working out the details" with Democratic leaders to raise taxes, increase spending and "concede defeat in Iraq."

But in the poll, 50 percent of likely voters said if Obama wins the White House, Congress should be controlled by Democrats, with 48 percent saying it should be controlled by Republicans.

Fifty-nine percent said if McCain wins the presidential election, Congress should be controlled by Democrats, with 39 percent saying Republicans should control it.

Democrats currently have a 235 to 199 majority in the House of Representatives and a 51 to 49 majority in the Senate -- the chamber's two independent senators are allied with the Democrats.

One of Obama's closing points is that McCain would carry out George Bush's policies if elected, saying the Arizona senator has "ridden shotgun" with the president on economic policy.

The poll suggests that 53 percent think McCain would mostly carry out Bush's policies, with 45 percent saying he would not.

Excitement, frustration as early voters brave long lines

Dana Zoladz and four friends thought they would cast ballots Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Then they learned how long they'd need to stand in line.

Voters stand in line Sunday outside an early-voting location in Columbus, Ohio.

Zoladz, 27, and her friends gave up after realizing there was a six-hour wait at the Franklin County early-voting center at the Veterans Memorial. She decided to try again on Election Day.

"Six hours is ridiculous in terms of waiting in line," her father, Dan Zoladz, told the CNN Voter Hotline.

Dan Zoladz was one of many people around the country who contacted the Hotline this weekend, some awed at the turnouts at early-voting centers and others frustrated by the waits.

The Hotline, which voters can call through Election Day if they see a voting problem, has received nearly 25,000 calls, almost 6,000 of which were from people seeking their voting location. CNN's partner, InfoVoter Technologies, has transferred 16,000 callers to their local board of elections so they can get help with problems. Watch who is being affected by long wait times »

Thirty-one states have allowed voting ahead of Tuesday's election, either in person or by mail-in ballot. By Friday, more than 23 million ballots had been collected in 25 of the states.

In Columbus, the spokesman for Franklin County, Michael Stinziano, said people lined up at the early-voting center as early as 6:30 a.m., even though voting did not begin until 1 p.m.

CNN Voter Hotline

If you have a problem voting or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 1-877-GOCNN08 (1-877-462-6608); CNN will report on some of your calls, and our partner InfoVoter Technologies can help get you in touch with your election board or find your voting location.

"I think it is fair to say that we had a four-hour line before we opened the doors," Stinziano said in an e-mail.

In Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, lines were stretching "about two blocks" Sunday, said Mike West, spokesman for the county election board.

West said the atmosphere in line was upbeat. His voting location opened up an hour earlier than scheduled to accommodate the crowds, he said.

Both counties said anyone in line by the 5 p.m. closing time would get to vote.

In Florida, where long lines also have been an issue at some centers, Cesar Jimenez called the Hotline three hours into his wait.

"I still haven't had an opportunity to vote," Jimenez said while in line at the Parkland Library in Parkland, Florida, north of Fort Lauderdale. "It seems crazy."

Reached at his home later in the day, Jimenez said he voted at 2 p.m., five hours after he arrived. Despite the long line, Jimenez said the mood there was upbeat.

"Everyone seemed to have an incredible spirit of wanting to vote," he said. "They were having sandwiches brought to them from home and having take-out brought to them."

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The Web site of Broward County, Florida, showed wait times between two-and-a-half to six hours at voting locations.

As of Sunday, more than 4 million in-person and mail-in ballots had been cast in Florida, a state hotly contested by presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

In Indiana, where in-person absentee voting will resume Monday morning and go until noon, turnout has been stronger than normal for the state. Close to 557,000 voters had submitted absentee ballots as of Sunday morning, said Jim Gavin, spokesman for the Indiana secretary of state. In 2004, 262,000 absentee voters cast ballots there.

"There's been a tremendous amount of interest," Gavin said.

Gavin described lines in Marion County -- the county of the state's capital, Indianapolis -- as "busy and