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Hi,there. Hoping you're having a good day. From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Reggi Aqui. Here is what 's happeing NOW IN THE NEWS.

Fifteen states in just one day, the major candidates are all over the map in the fight for campaign battlegrounds. John McCain and Sarah Palin have been out since early this morning. They've already hit the key battleground states like Florida and Ohio.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama and Joe Bidden are looking to keep their lead in critical states like Missouri and Florida. They are among the many battleground stage (that) each campaign is hoping to win.

A major challenge for the eventual¹ winner here is of course the economy. A survey of economists² of the National Association of Business & Economics shows us that most of them think the U.S. economy is in a recession. And they believe it will last through at least the end of next year. More than half of those surveyed don't think the actions of Federal Reserve have had much impact on the economy.

And speaking of that, let's see what's happening in the automotive world. As you know there has been a huge slump⁴. It's actually the biggest problem in 15 years for the Ford⁵ Motor Company. Ford says its October U.S. sales were down 30 percent. The actual numbers were a little better than predicted because the forecast was gonna be down 35 percent. Consumer confidence is one big factor in that drop. Edmunds.com is forecasting that total U.S. auto³ sales will be down 29 percent.

On his first trip since taking over U.S. Central Command, the general, David Petraeus, is getting a warning. Pakistan Defense⁶ Minister says US missile attacks inside Pakistan are inflaming⁷ anti-American sentiment. Pakistan wants them stopped. The US Military has become frustrated⁸ with Islamabad over the years saying it is not being proactive enough against militants⁹. And that's a claim that Pakistan denies.

Other international headlines, a U.N. aid convoy¹⁰ is now bringing medical supplies to refugees in eastern Congo. That's the first shipment of relief supplies behind rebel lines since the fighting broke out in August. Both the army and the rebels promised a safe passage to the convoy.

That's what's happening this hour. Please stick here with CNN for more on those stories and the other news of day.