we'll be going live to las vegas to catch up with jim in just a second. all right, meanwhile, let's go to senior political editor mark preston, also in vegas while we're waiting to hear from our jim acosta. mark, we have just been talking about these new polls that were released a few moments ago as we are preparing for the presidential debate tonight. okay. this is live television, folks. it's like a juggling act when you have about three live shots to get to in las vegas. jim acosta, are you in place? there we go. we got you. >> this is a, this is of no fault of my own, kyra. i promise you. >> did you have a late night in vegas, jim? >> listen, what happens in vegas, kyra. that's all i have to say. no. the lovely carol costello, carol had to move off and mark preston and i had to move in. this is live tv. we have to roll with the punches here. we got a little debate tonight, what do you think, kyra? >> yes, we do. >> we have been talking about, you know, just who, i guess the latest polls and who the frontrunners are and herman cain, obviously, we've talked so much about whether he can hold this top status right now. what's your take? what are you looking forward toward tonight? what's the buzz? >> well, what i'm watching tonight, carol, is mitt romney. you know, he is sort of the kid who's at the head of the claswhen it comes to these debates. he's aced nearly all of them and, you know, i think if romney continues to play it safe, he is going to start feeding into this narrative that he is inevitable nominee. i don't want to steal the thunder of my colleague here, mark preston, he will have poll numbers here in just a second about how republicans feel at this point. they're sort of becoming vegas oddsmakers. they sort of see at this point mitt romney as the guy who will take this nomination. if he doesn't make any big mistakes tonight, he'll put himself, again, on that path towards the nomination. herman cain, on the other hand, he is the likable candidate. he is the candidate that all republicans like to talk about and like to listen to. the problem for herman cain, kyra, is that he gets out there on the stump and he makes statements like he did over the weekend about immigration, talking about building an electric fence along the u.s./mexican border. people like what he's saying and people like the simplicity of his 9-9-9 economic plan. they're not sure he is presidential and in part because of these controversial remarks that he makes from time to time. so, that is the challenge for herman cain and, of course, rick perry who has fallen to a distant third, he has switched places with herman cain as the unromney at this point. romney has to find a way to get back into the conversation among republicans and get back into some kind of contention with republicans as to whether or not he could be this nominee. he has a big case to make tonight. kyra. >> all right, jim. now, i know you're in the same location as mark preston, am i safe -- there we go. i'm safe to talk to mark. >> don't worry, he's here. >> another late night in vegas. now, i see the thing. jim and mark were out very late on the strip last night. so, mark, you've been talking about these new polls that were just released a few hours ago. let's talk about the shifting landscape for a moment and what are you paying attention to? what are you noticing now as these new numbers come out? >> well, you know, carol, we're getting so close now to a point where candidates are actually going to have to face the voters, you know. they've been on the campaign trail for most of the year and only a couple hours away from tonight's debate. the question is, who is the most likable candidate right now among republican voters and i don't think we should be surprised that it is the charismatic herman cain. look at these new poll numbers just released a couple hours ago. herman cain on top at 34% followed closely by mitt romney. most people think he is the most electable candidate. then there is quite a bit of a drop after that. texas governor rick perry down at 13%. now, rick perry has had a pretty tough time, kyra, in the past few debates. i think tonight that his campaign is hoping that he can turn it around. after that, it is the rest of the field all in single digits. kyra? >> also, we have the primary voting season starting to firm up. what's the latest developments there? >> the latest developments. iowa will hold their caucus night on january 3rd. this is the night they held it in 2008. why is this significant? significant because the candidates will have basically one day, perhaps one and a half days around christmas to spend some time with their families and then they will be on the campaign trail in iowa and perhaps in new hampshire. now, to make this all very confusing and very difficult, new hampshire might hold their primary in december. might not even be in the month of january. so, the primary calendar, very confusing right now. we do know right now that iowa will be on january 3rd where we sit here in nevada, they'll hold their contests on the 14th. south carolina on january 21 and then florida later in the month. but before we even get to that, of course, we are going to focus on tonight's debate here in las vegas, but there is a new debate now, kyra, that has just been announced just in the past few hours overnight cnn has announced that they will be working with the heritage foundation and american enterprise institute. two conservative think tanks that focus on domestic issues, but also foreign policy. we haven't heard a whole lot of talk in these debates over the past several months on the issue of national security and foreign policy. the national security debate will take place on november 15th in washington, d.c., kyra. >> okay, jim and mark, thanks so much. tonight, live on cnn, the republican candidates, as we've been telling you, are going to go head-to-head in vegas. our anderson cooper there at 8:00 p.m. eastern tonight on cnn. all right, your next political update in just about an hour. go to our website, too, for all the political news. cnnpolitics.com. one israeli soldier exchanged for more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners. it's a prisoner swap that might get the peace process moving again. we've got team coverage this morning. matthew chance is in gaza where some freed prisoners were sent. and zain verjee is going to join us from london with international reaction. fred, let's start with you. tell us about the homecoming. it's been five years. >> yeah, it certainly is going to be a big homecoming and a big welcome that shalit is going to receive here after five years in hamas captivity. the people of this hometown have draped it in blue and white. posters have been hung up saying welcome home. they have put white roses on the sidewalk outside of his home. the big question right here is the health of gilad shalit. during an initial helicopter ride to an israeli military base he had some health issue there's. he's undergoing some evaluation at that military base right now and then they'll evaluate whether or not they're going to be able to chopper him from that military base here to his hometown or whether or not they're going to have to drive him. we've seen those initial pictures of gilad shalit after being released for the first time after meeting his family. he looks very frail and very weak and we'll wait and see how and what the israeli defense forces and the medics there evaluate. certainly once he comes here, he'll receive a big hero's welcome. >> let's go to zain verjee in london. zain, let's talk about the world reaction to the news this morning. >> a lot of international reaction, kyra. let's go straight to the newspapers. the jerusalem post has this headline. mixed emotions on shalit's deal. feelings fluctuate from joy at the prospect that he will be free after five long years from captivity to trepidation that the release will lead to more terrorism and violence. take a look at "gulf news" shalit deal a win-win situation for all. a debate raging in israel that some believe is unethical or a betrayal of victims' memories. the majority, however, are too busy savoring the euphoria of the moment to care. finally "wall street journal asia" israel unequal exchange. sooner or later israel will learn the name of its next gilad shalit. sooner or later, too, it will learn that the better course is to give its enemies reasons to think twice before." it was a big propaganda coup. some of the fear now is that will they do this again? will there be more gilad shalits? >> zain verjee, thank you so much. we'll still connect with matthew chance joining us live from gaza city and we'll go to him as soon as we are able to connect. also later this hour, we'll talk with israel's ambassador to the u.s. we'll ask michael lauren why israel decided now was the right time to make the deal. secretary of state hillary clinton has just arrived in tripoli. her plane landed there just a couple hours ago. the first top u.s. official to visit libya since moammar gadhafi was driven from power. jill doherty is actually traveling with the secretary and joins us by phone now. jill, what will secretary clinton tell the libyan people as soon as she has a chance to speak? >> you know, kyra, i think you can say this visit is half of it is a pat on the back for the libyans, for the bravery that they showed during their revolution and the second part is a push to the political leadership here to make good on their promise for a democratic transition. after all, they're trying to put together a government election is still months away and not to mention the fact that, you know, you have gadhafi, moammar gadhafi still in hiding and fighting is going on. you can say, is this the right moment to be here? and they say it is. her message really is that this is now when the hard work begins even after they have their revolution. she's been meeting with the president and just finished a meeting with the prime minister and they're talking about that transition. what they do to get the election. how do you include parts of this society? how do you get women and young people involved? there will be a news conference in just a couple minutes with the prime minister and then the university town hall that will feature kind of an open forum with students. kyra? >> our jill doherty there traveling with hillary clinton. we'll follow that live event she just mentioned and continue to follow the trip and the story. well, attention republican candidates. if you want it be president, you better win over the latino vote. why no one in the current gop field is currently doing it for latinos. a boston firefighter catches a 6-year-old boy dropped from a third floor window. we'll hear from both of them right after the break. ...with its sweet honey taste, 40% daily value of fiber... ...and 80 calories per serving... ...you may want to tell a few friends. ♪ or all of them. ♪ i'll go get my bowl. 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>> yeah. >> happened to be at the right place at the right time. >> what did you say it him when he caught you? >> thank you. >> 15 people were rescued from that fire. police arrested a man on suspicion of arson, too. well, the census bureau says that hispanics made up 7% of voters in 2010, that was a new record. a recent gallup poll put president obama's rating below 50%. he made latinos angry when he bailed on a key conference of leaders. republicans might have an opportunity here. we're talking with cnn contributor and democratic strategist maria cardona and cnn political contributor leslie sanchez. all right, maria, you say that not one of these gop candidates even knows how to speak resfe respectfully to latinos. what is the problem? >> that's exactly right, kyra. what we have seen in the past debates is they have either completely ignored the issues that are important to latinos when asked what to do to attract the latino vote, not one talked respectfully about how they would create jobs, which, like other americans, is one of the key issues that are important to latinos. they went on to talk about illegal immigrants, the government dull, the fence with herman cain's joke about electroifying the fence and putting a sign saying, we'll kill you if you come over. i have to tell you, kyra, they keep digging their grave with latinos and this is according to president bush's former pollster matthew dowd. they can't win the white house without 40% of the latino vote. the gop is now in the low 20 percentage points and the gop candidates themselves neither, none of them are going to be able to break 30% at this point. >> leslie, do you agree with what maria is saying? >> i think there's some aspects that are really important when it comes to the gop and hispanics. a lot of that has to do with tone, message, inclusion and really what the vision is for all americans. i think to look at latino as if they're only going to look at a few issues, like immigration, for example. or just a certain aspect of jobs is to be thinking like my parents' generation or going back to the '60s. we have to become more modern in understanding this is a very dynamic latino voting population. you're seeing independent voters. maria's point on the tone on immigration and the fence is critical and i think we have to be sure that republican candidates are sensitive to how they talk about immigration. it is not the number one issue, but it is a lens by which latinos look at the gop in general. >> back in 2004 when bush got about 40% of the latino vote, what did he do that the these republicans are not doing? maria? >> well, first of all, the first thing he brought up when he was elected in 2000 was the immigration issue of all republicans. he was actually on the right side but, clearly, what we saw is that he could not get the right wing of his party to come along with that change. then what he also did very well is he actually spoke to latinos. he ran ads on telemundo and the other latino-speaking networks and prints and radio. he actually went to latino gatherings and spoke to them. what is this gop group doing? the last thing that i heard is that they were actually boycotting an important debate on univision which is the largest english speaking network. that's not how you try to convince latino voters. >> leslie -- >> leslie, let me ask you because we have to wrap this up. rick perry, wasn't he the candidate for latinos? he defended free education for the children of undocumented immigrants and he actually said last month at a debate and i have the quote here. if you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no reason, then they've been brought there then by no fault of their own, they have a heart. those are pretty strong words. >> those are strong words. his appeal is correct and that's a long history in texas. governor bush did that, as well. the idea of in-state tuition for undocumented students is something that started its genesis at the state level, especially in texas and especially in houston. going back to that, there's inconfusion. let's not forget that al gore dropped between the democrats and going to george bush, a 19% swing in support for candidates. the message, the inclusion. yes, advertising. do they understand? they were talking about education. bush was talking about jobs and the future very reagan in ters s of bringing people together, not tearing them apart. the biggest disadvantage the democrats will have right now once we do have a nominee is looking that president's failed record on expectations and meeting the expectations of much of the democratic base. we have a long way to go on the republican side. this is going to be an exampleful we do have a hispanic on our ticket as a vice presidential nominee. a lot of things that can shift in this debate and that is what we have to pay attention to. what is the vision for all americans, not just particularly a lens of immigration. >> maria and leslie, thanks for the conversation this morning. >> thank you, kyra. >> you bet. tonight live on cnn, the republican candidates for president go head-to-head in vegas. 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. richened branson is trying to make dreams of going to space a reality. we'll tell you what he's doing after the break. cious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. let's get your "showbiz headlines." salina gomezis receiving death threats. a man told a shrink he had conversations with god about killing selena. j.r. martinez continues to wows the judges on "dancing with the stars." they scored last night's highest marks after performing a samba. one judge told grace, i think it was your best performance. and paris jackson making history. michael jackson's only daughter became the first female at her private school to join the flag football team. jackson proves that girls can play football, too. one thing you can say about richard branson is that he looks big. cnn's zain verjee in london to tell us all about it. time to buy a ticket? how expensive will this be, zain? >> easy for you, kyra. only $200,000 a ticket. you can afford it. but the rest of us, i don't know. i don't think so. you're going to have to take a few pictures of earth for us when you're up there. about 450 people have already bought these tickets. 150 were at the opening of this new really cool hangar. it's in new mexico in the desert and richard branson and his typical flair sepbrated its opening by kind of scaling down the wall of the exterior of the building and popping a bottle of champagne and then, there you go, taking a good old swig there and you can see in this video, this was actually the space vehicles. this is white knight 2 that actually carries spaceship two in the middle of it. they're doing these final rocket tests before they actually go out to space and all the lucky space tourists you, paris hilton and everyone else can enjoy that. this hangar, by the way, looks fabulously futuristic. it costs $209