making news on this friday, october 22nd. >> rallying the base. overflow crowds are greeting the president on his west coast swing, despite troubling, new approval numbers. diabetes disaster. alarming, new numbers released overnight of the nation's growing health crisis, about to impact millions more americans. and quick thinking. a rescuer risked his own life, seconds before a possible subway disaster. good morning. and thanks for being with us. president obama wakes up on the campaign trail in california today. ready to fight for democrats in trouble. but a new gallup poll show the president's job approval rating

has fallen to a new low. >> just 44.7% of americans think he's actually doing a good job. so, does he have the clout to sway the upcoming elections? emily schmidt joins us now with the very latest. hi, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. president obama hits two more states for two more candidates. big names in the senate, who, in a sign of this political year, are now fighting to keep their seats. >> the president of the united states, president barack obama. >> reporter: this rally in washington state is what democrats have been waiting for. a free election gathering with a 3,000-person overflow crowd, waiting to hear the president railing against republicans. >> they were betting on the idea that you'd forget who caused this mess in the first place. well, let me tell you, seattle, it's up to you to tell them you haven't forgotten. >> reporter: democrats also haven't forgotten how close so

many races are, just 11 days before the election. that's why the president spent thursday stumping for washington senator, patty murray. and why today, he's in california, for barbara boxer. and tonight, in nevada, for majority leader, harry reid. in the house, members debate who is better off with the number of seats in play. >> i would say there's easily 95 to 100 seats. >> i would rather be in our position right now, than theirs. >> reporter: in past elections, democrats could rely on women. this year, polls show the woman's vote is more evenly split. >> while women say they'reto vog to vote for democrats, they're not giving them the same big in s that they have in the past. >> reporter: the white house now says that president obama's time on the campaign trail will continue next weekend, which is hard to believe. the final weekend before the midterms. right now, he's set to appear in four states in two days. in one, last campaign push. vinita and rob? >> hard to believe, like you said. emily schmidt, from washington,

thank you. during his visit to silicon valley, the president had a private meeting with apple founder, steve jobs. talking about american competitiveness and ways to increase job creation. should public radio have fired news xhen cater juan williams, for saying he's afraid of some muslims. the news man made the remark on an appearance on a conservative talk show. but his dismissal is not falling along party lines. alex stone has the story. >> reporter: the war of words escalated quickly. >> when i get on a plane, when i see people in muslim garb, i get nervous. >> reporter: that got juan his biams a call from his bosst national public radio. >> she said, this has been decided above me. and we're terminates you.contra. >> reporter: npr says williams' comments were, quote, inconsistent, with our editorial standards and practices. npr's executive says williams is a news analyst, not a commentator. and should not take any controversial positions. she said the firing came after

several cases of williams veering from journalistic ethics. and that his feeling about muslims is between him and his psychiatrist or publicist. williams, considered to be a back on "the o'reilly factor" wednesday night. >> juan was sympathetic to muslims in that interview. you didn't hammer them at all. >> this is the irony of the thing. they take something totally out of context, like one word or one line. and they forget the fact that ng ing yohere i am, engaging you, o'reilly, right? >> right. >> and we're having an honest discussion. >> reporter: williams is drawing a diverse mix of defenders. from whoopi goldberg. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> reporter: to sarah palin, who is suggesting a cutoff of taxpayer funding to npr. the npr executive apologized for her psychiatrist roarke. as for williams, he signed a deal with fox news, said to be around $2 million with expanded dultties. alex stone, abc news, los angeles. and juan williams will explain his side of the

controversy when he joins us later today on "good morning america." a severe outbreak of what is believed to be cholera is spreading across central haiti this morning. at least 135 people have died. cholera is a bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. it's relatively easy to treat if it is caught early. but the few hospitals in the area are overwhelmed with patients seeking treatment. it is a lot harder to dismiss a gay person from the military this morning. defense secretary robert gates says only the secretaries of the five service branches can fire someone for being openly-gay. the new guidance comes in the conflicting court rulings over don't ask, don't tell. a judge ruled the policy must be ended immediately. but an appeals court temporarily suspended that ruling. president obama is joining a string of celebrities and politicians by lending his voice to the growing campaign against bullying. he posted an it gets better message on youtube overnight. in r rece to several recent suicides by gay teens, including

a rutgers freshman, whose roommate posted his encounter with another man online. >> and we've got to dispel this myth that bullying is a right of passage. that it's some inevitable part of growing up. it's not. >> the president also called on teens to reach out to their parents, friends and others they trust. some unbelievable video this morning. was he a hero or a fool? take a look at this video from a virginia subway station. at the left, a man falls down to the tracks. as he tries to get up, a train barrels into the station. another passenger jumps down. he crosses the high-voltage third rail and tries to help him. fortunately, the driver had time to stop. transit officials say never jump on the tracks. call a station manager who can cut the electricity to the line. we know he's a 57-year-old retired marine lieutenant colonel who jumped on the tracks to help that man. >> what a brave guy. really dangerous. now, for this morning's weather around the country. stormy in the plains, with gusty

winds, hail and isolated tornadoes around dallas, oklahoma city, and dodge city, kansas. thunderstorms from denver, to salt lake city and las vegas. up to ten inches of mountain snow in the colorado rockies. light rain from san francisco to seattle. scattered showers in new england. >> 50s from boston to baltimore. and 75 in atlanta. 76 in kansas city. 66 in minneapolis. and 58 in detroit. mostly 60s along the pacific coast. and 76 in phoenix. and when we come back this morning, good news if you're in the market for a new flat-screen tv. plus, after first resisting any price hikes, mcdonald's is about to make the change. and an upscale mall under siege. shoppers flee at a devastating hour. fire burns for hours. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge!

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overseas marketses are mixed this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.5%. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow climbed 38 points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq ticked up two points. the government rescue of mortgage finance giants fannie mae and freddie mac will end up being very costly for taxpayers. regulators say the final bill billion, nearly twice as much as they had foreseen so far. in comparison, the combined bailout of companies in the auto industry, will cost roughly $50 billion. here's something this morning that mcdonald's

customers won't be loving, higher prices. the company plans to raise menu prices to offset higher ingredient prices on things like meat and wheat. the company had refused to hike prices this year in order to win customers from its rivals. and you might be able to save some money if you plan on buying a flat-screen tv for the holidays. a top sony executive expects prices to fall through the end of the year. prices had been on a steady decline, dropping by more than 20% a year over the past few years. in today's "usa today" tech report, a look at the new google tv. they're the first tv set-top boxes that marry tv watching and internet surfing. ed baig says the product shows promise. but doesn't go far enough yet. >> google tv doesn't go far enough. for one thing, i want an app store. navigation has to improve. and the third thing is, for now, the only dvr you can control

through google tv, is if you have a dish network satellite subscription. >> google does not plan to open an app store next year. you can read ed's full review on usatoday.com. on this friday morning, what you can do to lower your risk of colon cancer. then, is america's obesity crisis worse than we've been told? and in sports news, the giants/phillies series, headed back now to the east coast. this lighting is awfu

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morning road conditions. flooding on i-35, and 40 from north texas to oklahoma city. wet on i-70, from kansas to denver. and on i-80, around salt lake city and cheyenne. windy in the east on i-87 and 95, in both new york and new england. >> if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle, san francisco, salt lake city, denver and dallas. federal researchers are making some dire predictions this morning about the health of all americans. >> if your junk food consumption continues spiking the obesity rate, the number of diabetics could double or triple in the next 40 years. brad wheelis has details. >> reporter: the cdc has worn if nothing is done to address the obesity epidemic, it could skyrocket. one in ten adults has diabetes today. the prediction is one in three

adults could have the disorder 20 years from now. >> because the population is getting older. because the population is obese, because of the demographics of the population, the racial makeup is changing, the rate of diabetes is going to go up dramatically. >> reporter: doctors have been pushing diet and healthy routines to lower the risk of the disease. >> diabetes is currently the seventh-leading killer in this country. and it accounts for over $170 billion in health care expenditure. if you have diabetes, your health care costs will be more than double those of someone who doesn't have diabetes. >> reporter: another alarming statistic. 285 million people worldwide are diabetic today. by 2030, that number is predicted to be 435 million people. that's why public health experts from the cdc and other agencies, have been calling attention to diabetes. its warning signs, risks and

abc wheelis, abc news, los angeles. more details and advice on how to avoid diabetes from our chief health medical editor, dr. richard besser, a head on "good morning america." researchers are saying even a baby-sized dose of aspirin may dramatically lower the risk of colon cancer and death. researchers found similar effects with higher doses. but the latest study found there was no advantage to taking bigger doses of aspirin. a high-end small near sacramento is shut down indefinitely, after a man barricaded himself inside and set himself afly. it sent black smoke into the air. the mall was immediately evacuated after a brief standoff. but police managed to arrest the man. the fire burned for hours.is mo smoldering. part of the roof collapsed. no injuries have been reported so far. california police found a

mummified body in the passenger seat of this illegally-parked car. the woman who owns the car told them she let a homeless woman sleep in it. when the woman died, she was too afraid to call police. so, she drove around with the body in the car for nearly a year. so far, she hasn't been charged with any crime. fatal traffic accidents involving teen drivers are on the decline. government figures show deadly car crashes with teens behind the wheel fell by more than one-third during the five-year period ending in 2008. experts say the new numbers don't mean more teens are driving more cautiously. instead, they credit tougher restrictions on young drivers in addition to safer cars and highways. it is time, now, for sports and the latest playoff highlights. here's ativan virk at espn news. >> good morning. the san francisco giants, looking to get back to the world series for the first time since 2002. get your freak on for tim lincecum. he's been money down the stretch. top of the third, though, facing roy halladay, who bunts the ball

right on home plate. pablo sandoval can't find the bag. next batter, shane victorino. the hot shot off of aubrey huff. and the ball ends up in center. ibanez and ruiz score. bottom of the fourth, same score. halladay on the mound, facing cody ross, the runner on second and glen ross. pat burrell comes around to score. ross, with the hit streak. giants down 3-2. bottom of the fifth. runners on the corners for huff. halladay hurt his groin in the second inning. but he has huff with a weak grounder in front of the plate. halladay gets out of the jam. bottom of the sixth. juan uribe up. two up, two outs. and the good doctor gets them swinging. 108 pitches. bottom of the eighth, it's ryan madsen. and it's mad dog in glory. getting burl and ross all

swinging. top of the ninth, jayson werth, facing ramone ramirez. werth ties the n.l. record with his 13th career postseason home run, passing utley for the most homers for the phills. bottom of the ninth, lidge trying to close it out. they force game six back in philadelphia on saturday afternoon. you're up to date for now. back to you in new york. you might want to break out the ear plugs for this one. with halloween a week away, what better time to perfect your most chilling scream. [ screaming ] >> just imagine how that sounds in our ear piece. that's the national scream contest in york, nebraska. they were judged on facial expression, the skin crawl factor and overall effect.

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keurig. now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this friday. president obama stumps for senator barbara boxer in los angeles today. then, for senate majority leade. in las vegas tonight. they are two of the most high-profile figures in congress. and they are at risk of losing their jobs. commentator juan williams

has a new deal with fox news, after losing his public radio job. williams was fired for saying he gets nervous on planes with muslims. he'll explain those comments later today on "good morning america." secretary of state hillary clinton meets with pakistan's foreign minister today. they are expected to discuss the with holding of aid to units because of human rights allegations. frunch lawmakers are expected to approve a bill that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. protests have crippled parts of that country. pop star lady gaga has canceled two shows there this weekend. and lindsay lohan is due in a beverly hills courtroom for a probation hearing for last month's failed drug test. lohan has spent the last three weeks at the betty ford clinic in rehab. coming up on "good morning america," how father knows best with toddlers and tiaras.

that's later on "gma." for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, a surprise discovery on the moon. [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. it's the way to individually brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew, hon. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy.

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finally this morning, making a splash that is literally out of this world. it turns out the moon is a whole lot wetter than we thought.

>> nasa scientists have discovered vast amounts of water. and that could lay found eight for people one day to take up residence there. more, now, from abc's john berman. >> reporter: in just this one moon crater, the equivalent of 1 billion gallons of water. enough to fill 1,500 olympic-sized swimming pools. and if there's that much in one crater, there's no telling how much more there is on the moon as a whole. but scientists say much more than they ever imagined. this is all the result of a flashy, $79 million experiment nasa launched last year, the so-called moon bombing. the idea was to send a rocket crashing into a crater and then analyze the make-up of the dust cloud. the whole world watched, expecting some kind of spectacular explosion. the visuals turned out to be a dud. but the science, a huge splash. it kicked up ice particles containing 50% more water their highest predictions. why does this matter? with that much water, astronauts

could live off the land. the melteddown water could supply a hypothetical lunar base. >> if we're going to explore, the moon is in our future. and we will go there. >> reporter: the thing is, right now, the u.s. has no plans to visit the moon. president obama canceled the mission to go there. >> i just have to say it pretty bluntly here. we've been there before. >> reporter: in the near term, it may be china or india that gets to quench their thirst. both have pledged to reach the moon in the next 15 years. some american scientists we heard from today say they hope the new discovery might lead the white house to reconsider its plans to cancel the moon mission. scientists also found things like hydrogen that might be used for rocket fuel on the moon. john berman, abc news, new york. and that is what is making news in america this morning. >> get more later on "good morning america" or anytime at abcnews.com. >> have a great day. and a great weekend.