might be hiding osama bin laden. 20 years, 2 wars and many miles couldn't break the bonds. a remarkable reunion in iraq. well, be glad that we beeped the last word. ivy league kids shouting degrading words that aren't even worthy of the gutter. a sexually-charged pledge ritual at one of america's prestigious colleges. we want you to weigh in. hi, everyone. i'm kyra phillips. you're live in "the cnn newsroom." we begin with the politics of anger and the power of change. congress braces for what could be the bigger upheaval in years. two weeks from today americans take part in the crucial midterm elections and the control of washington could hang in the balance. president obama isn't on a ballot nor is the economy but both issues are driving voters to the polls and opposite sides of the political decide. case in point, last night's debate in west virginia. >> when you have a laws like obama care, for instance, that will destroy the health care system, when i see a situation like cap and trade, so bad for west virginia, when i see things like card check, when you look at t.a.r.p. and the stimulus program that failed america, these are programs we need to change in this country. >> i'm not here blaming president obama. we need to fix it. the bottom line is that we had all of the states falling through except west virginia. the stimulus package was passed. we have been criticized, i have been criticized for not spending all the stimulus quick enough. we shored up because we knew it would come to an end. we didn't support the second round of stimulus and do not. >> that shadow of president obama continues to loom, this time over the governor's race in new york. the republican nominee grabbed hold of voter anger early on and won the backing of the tea party movement. carl paladino stumbled in the polls and remained on message voicing the disgust and disconnect shared by a lot of voters. >> i'm not your career albany politician. i'm a builder from western new york. my critics, they want to say i'm angry. no, i'm passionate about saving new york. our government doesn't need a tweaking. it needs a major overhaul. now. >> we have to have zero tolerance for any waste, fraud, abuse or public integrity or public violation period. enforce the laws. that's what i've been doing as the attorney general. if you break the law, you will go to jail. >> as you probably know, paladino's biggest misstep business the opposition to same-sex marriage. critics accused him of being homephobic and resurfaced last night. candidates were asked, do you support same-sex unions. >> do you support same-sex marriage, yes nor no? >> i do not. >> trying to squaez time in here. sir? >> i don't have to think about my answer. i support gay marriage. >> miss davis? >> i strongly support gay marriage. >> green party strongly supported gay marriage. we married gays with the mayor and deputy may your that started the ball rolling on that question. >> speaking for the freedom party, they have not taken a position on gay marriage. >> and mr. cuomo, strongly support gay marriage. >> sir? >> rent too damn high party feels if you want to marry a shoe, i'll marry her. >> the laughs few and far between in other races. the attacks are getting uglier. cnn's brian todd with the seedy tactics. >> the kentucky senate debate. >> reporter: a high-profile senate debate in kentucky turns personal from the opening bell when republican candidate rand paul tears into the opponent. >> how ridiculous are you? you embarrass this race. >> reporter: he's referring to this ad from democrat jack conway about a so-called secret society paul accused of joining in college. >> why did rand paul once tie a woman up, tell her to dow down and say his god was aqua buddha? oo. >> reporter: a claim that paul dismissed repeatedly. but at the debate, conway ignored the apology. >> when is it appropriate to tie up a woman and ask her to kneel between a false god? >> reporter: they what do you make of this? they launch into this. >> this is around the country. washington, d.c. is terribly unpopular. politicians are unpopular. the voters are in such an angry mood they're voting against the least acceptable option. >> reporter: the idea says reid wilson is to drive up the negatives of one's opponent. we also looked at other types of personal attacks. the mccain family did a double hit this weekend. check this out. >> barbara boxer is the most bitterly partisan, most anti-defense senator in the united states senate today. i know that. i have had the unpleasant experience of having to serve with her. >> reporter: next day, megan mccain lights up christine o'donnell, a fellow republican on abc's "this week." >> turns people on seen as a nut job. >> reporter: the comment was an off the cuff thing in a talk show. john mccain was at a rally. question is, is that kind of campaign tactic effective, the personal attack? >> the -- i think the thing that's not effective about this particular attack is from a surrogate and people aren' going to be going into the polling place in san francisco or in san jose or in sacramento and saying to themselves, well, john mccain thinks i should vote for car lee fiorino so i will. the first lady is more popular than her husband. the same democrats may run from her husband more than happy to embrace here before the adoring crowds. ed henry joins us now with a closer look at the marketing of michelle obama. ed, the first lady has become pretty much the antithesis of dirty politics. >> reporter: well, yeah. i was on the trail with her last night and last week in chicago and advisers acknowledge she's not involved in politics really much before. only a little bit of dabbling of it in 2008 but she was even then sort of a reluck tantd warrior and now as first lady, easy to pick off issues like healthy eating and standing up for military families. it's very positive and doesn't have to take the blame or responsibility that her husband has to take for some of the crises in the country right now. once she gets involved as she is more and more in the final weeks, the numbers may come down a little bit and inevitable. they acknowledge in private because she's sort of seen as apolitical and once she's involved, that's going to drag here into this and trying to counter that by making it a very positive message. you don't see her out there like you saw in brian todd's piece, the candidates slashing each other but mrs. bom is in connecticut and new york yesterday and in california and washington state next week. and basically, what she is doing is being very upbeat and positive about her husband's message. >> talk about the overall strategy for the dems moving forward. >> reporter: look at the schedule. today, vice president biden has three stops. washington, california, nevada. what's common about that? three big senate incumbents in murray, boxer and reid. the majority leader. i'm going tomorrow with the president for a big west coast swing and hitting the same western states and then next week, the first lady's hitting washington and california. why? they're basically strategy to create a firewall. they know that the house is very much in danger of flipping to the republicans. they're hoping to keep the senate in democratic hands. if they lose any of those senate incumbents out west, the senate could flip, as well. so they're trying to desperately save those big senate democrats out west. that's sort of their firewall strategy and what's interesting is looking at the travels, not going to republican or so-called swing states to get the democratic pickups. it is all playing defense on democratic turf. it tells you all you need to know about where the white house is right now. >> thanks so much. first, a top nato official claims that osama bin laden living a good life in pakistan and pakistani intelligence agents are keeping him safe. now, we're finding out that washington's giving that country $2 billion to fight terrorists. we're trying to find out if the investment makes sense. how new is the new edge with myford touch? well you could never do this before. or this. or this. you definitely couldn't do this. play kate's mix. or this. temperature, 72 degrees. say hello to the new edge with myford touch.™ quite possibly the world's smartest crossover. we're paying off one lucky client's mortgage during the quicken loans thanks a million giveaway. have you ever wanted to do this to your mortgage? or this? well, now's your chance. just close a loan with us by december 31st and you'll automatically be entered to win a chance to say "good riddance" to your mortgage. up to $250,000. just call or click to learn more about the thanks a million giveaway. only from quicken loans. take a look at how much money the united states will invest in pakistan. up to $2 billion over 5 years. money to fight terrorists. money supposed to buy helicopters, weapon systems and technology to intercept communications. pakistan said it needs more help from washington for extremists. here it is. the deal should be sealed this week when pakistani officials are in d.c. keep in mind, this is going into a country that a top nato official claims is hiding osama bin laden letting him live like some kind of hero. pakistan's ambassador to the u.s. says that claim is simply not true. let's talk more about the money. the $2 billion on top of billions pack skistan is gettin fight extremists. let's talk about this with cnn's fred pleitgen in islamabad. what are some of the things that pakistan is asking for specifically, fred? >> reporter: it's a very interesting question, i ckyra. i talked to an official and quite a long list of things that pakistan is asking for. it's still an army that's very much geared towards a conventional conflict, a conventional war with india. they say they don't have the basic tools of counterinsurgency and asking for training and asking for gear. things like body armor, night vision goggles, protected vehicles. and of course, also things like helicopters because they've been telling us flat out their helicopters are way too old to operate in a lot of areas, a lot of them exceeded the life spans and a lot of them right duty trying to help flood victims. kyra? >> same time, we talk about so much about this yesterday, fred. barbara starr in kabul and a main nato force said pakistan is protecting osama bin laden living in a home. i for americans, we know him as the man that orchestrated 9/11 and changed our lives forever. and to think we're giving money to a country that is allegedly protecting the man that america wants to see taken into custody, killed, put behind bars, anything. >> reporter: yeah. you know, there seems to be frustration on the part of u.s. officials and military officials and it's not only about bin laden. i mean, one of the things that the uss trying to get the pakistanis to do for a long time and launch offensive in north waziristan. that's an area the u.s. says leadership is. that's why we're seeing drone strikes in that area and the pakistanis saying they don't have the resources to do that. also, they have started offenses in other places, as well. one of the things i think you are seeing with the $2 billion is a carrot and stick mentality saying, all right, you can't say you can't do the offensive without the resources. here are the resources. go into north waziristan and start. the americans know a lot of taliban fighters in afghanistan and a threat to american troops are coming from that place, kyra. >> fred, in islamabad, thanks. bank of america restarting foreclosures in 23 states. we'll tell you what put the foreclosures on hold and what the bank found. breathe in, breathe out. as volatile as markets have been lately, having the security of a strong financial partner certainly lets you breathe easier. for more than 140 years, pacific life has helped millions of americans build a secure financial future wouldn't it be nice to take a deep breath and relax? ask a financial professional about pacific life. the power to help you succeed. checking top stories. bank of america restarting foreclosures in 23 states. it reviewed more than 100,000 cases after complaints that some documents were not being properly vetted. former jet blue flight attendant stephen slater due in court this hour. his outburst with the passengers and then the cruise down the emergency slide exit from the plane. slater apparently working out a plea bargain. police don't plan to charge seau for driving the car off a cliff. he was arrested on domestic violence charges. neither drugs or alcohol were involved that driving incident. two women from baghdad's elite class. the other, a sur vant in her house. they were sisters at heart but they went down different paths. one moved to the united states and later founded an international organization that's helped more than 800,000 families. the other found herself living on charity an then one day she decided to join an international group that helps women. recently they reunited amid handguns and tears. our ben wedeman was there. >> reporter: she's looking for a long lost friend in a dusty back street south of baghdad. >> should we enter inside? >> reporter: but it's the wrong house. >> wrong nghbor. >> this private? >> yeah. [ speaking foreign lack wage ] >> that's her. >> reporter:zana moved to the united states in 1990. this is the right house. it looks like the right woman. through the mist of 20 long years, recognition dawns. >> zana. zana. >> yeah. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: they come from opposite ends of the iraqi society. zana from baghdad's privileged elite. her father was the personal pilot of saddam hussein. hadeia from a poor, farming family. >> sent her as the age of 7 as a live-in maid. so she can support her family. >> reporter: although she was a servant in zana's home, they grew up together as friends. as sisters they both say. zana went to america and enrolled in university and after a trip to bosnia, became active helping women in war zones, eventually founding a group called women for women. which after the u.s.-led invasion began work in iraq. shortly after zana left iraq, radia married and went on to have six children. her husband ran a small shop. remember you once told me i would become like a hen with a bunch of chicks running behind she recalls. but her life fell apart four years ago when gunmen killed her husband outside their home in baghdad. she and her children fled, penniless to car bah la. she enrolled in women for women in the spring of this year. unaware the founder was zana. over the years, each had tried but failed to find the other. i lost hope i would ever see my friend again, she says. zana explains how she discovered she was still alive. >> she writes a letter to the american women who's sponsoring her, telling her when i was a child i worked with this family and their daughter's name, she used my father's name. my family's name and describes her life. >> reporter: the battered photo album holds images of a vanished past. each picture stirring up long-forgotten memories. the iphone full of pictures of friends and family from a completely different time and place. >> and so interesting because i recognize the younger woman in her. i recognize the memories, that's what's triggering emotion. i don't recognize this woman. so weird. >> reporter: so much has changed for both of them. yet so little. ben wedeman, cnn, iraq. just two weeks to go until the election and an analyst is predicting a democratic blood bath. we'll take a break and talk more about that in the "a.m. extra." -i can't always get to the bank. -but i can still bank. i have the bank of america mobile banking app. i can take care of things on my break. i can check my balance... while i'm on a bus. waiting at the barber shop. at the studio. oh, my paycheck's already in. [ chuckles ] i just transferred money. i went online and set up alerts to let me know if... my balance drops below $200. you can pay your bills online. you enter the amount. then, "make payment." -boom. -done. -wish i was... [ male announcer ] bank whenever, wherever, however you want. with mobile and online banking from bank of america. well, lenders across the country stopped foreclosures earlier this month after outrage erupted. there was evidence that some employees actually pushed through foreclosure documents without really checking them but now lenders reversing course. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. what's going on now, alison? >> kyra, bank of america says it is ready to resume the foreclosure process. they had stopped foreclosure in all of 50 states. now it's restarting that process in 23 states. and that's because b of a reviewed the documents saying they found no errors. allied financial, it is reviewing documents, as well. going back and fixing them and then pushing them through, as well. other lenders are likely to follow suit. state attorneys general by the way investigating this concept called robo signing where the bank employees accused of signing the foreclosure affidavits without allegedly reading them through but analysts saying that this freeze in foreclosures really just delays the inevitable. most people in default anyway and would have to leave their homes. kyra? >> so, quick check as we hit -- we haven't hit the opening bell yet? there we go. perfect timing. >> we are expecting a lower open. bank of china raised the interest rates for the first time since 2007. the move designed to control inflation in china and it could wind up slowing growth elsewhere and a weight on the markets today and keeping our eye on company earnings today. bank of america reported it lost $7.3 million last quarter. goldman saying that marking conditions challenging and that's something that's wor worrisome for the markets, kyra. the recession is technically over. even apple which blew away earnings really great earnings, opened lower. is opening lower despite the huge earnings gain. as for the markets we are down 100 points for the dow. the nasdaq is off about 40 so a rough start to the day. kyra? >> okay. alon, keep checking in. thanks so much. >> okay. well, it's definitely crunch time on the campaign trail. two weeks to go until the elections. here's what's up for grabs. 100 seats in play in the house. the republicans need 39 for a majority. on the senate side, 37 seats in play. the republicans need ten for control. so, what are some predictions about what this means for democrats? one expert says a bloodbath and cnn's john roberts talked to the nation's top political prognosticators. shall we say? >> it kind of depends on what your definition is of a bloodbath. losing control of the house would be a bloodbath. there are some predictions that democrats will lose both the house and the senate but according to the rothenberg political report it doesn't look that way. needed for republicans to take control. 178 in one vacant. and the rothenberg political report predicting 40 and 50 seats. her's the way nathan gonzalez sees the lay of the land. >> i think the most likely scenario is that republicans take the house and fall short in the senate. republicans need to essentially win every competitive start on the table and even though in a wave election, we see one party get a lot of those toss-up or competitive seats, they usually don't win them all. republicans need to win, they need to defeat senate majority leader harry reid that we were talking about and they also probably need to win two out of three states, that being washington, california and west virginia. and as ed talked about, the west coast is one of the firewalls that the democrats are setting up in their effort to hold the senate majority. >> all right. what act the impact of the tea party on election day? >> well, here's the thing. the tea party could give them a victory