making news on this friday, th. >> political intrigue in florida. as midterm election campaigns enter the final weekend, the finish line for candidates is finally in sight. a driver caught on camera going the wrong way on a major interstate. we'll hear from the guy who took that footage. the san francisco giants walk their way to a two-game lead over texas in the world series. good morning, everybody. thanks for being with us today. democrats are facing a potentially embarrassing situation heading into the final four days of the campaign season. >> a florida u.s. senate candidate is denying that bill clinton tried to pressure him

out of the race. he's trailing badly in the polls. >> emily schmidt has more on that story and other news. hi, emily. >> reporter: good morning. yes, big news that one of the biggest twists in this election comes from someone whose name isn't even on the ballot. reports that bill clinton tried to step in to get one candidate a democrat no less out of the running. with tuesday's election just around the corner it looked for awhile overnight as if a critical senate campaign was about to take an unexpected turn. >> president clinton did not ask me to drop out of the race. no one has called me and said you need to get out of the race. >> reporter: kendrick meek denied reports that former president bill clinton asked meek to drop out of the race and endorse independent charlie crist. it would have tried to hold off marco rubio. >> marco rubio and charlie crist

at the finish line. >> reporter: he was already trying to stump for joe sestak. >> any time that you cry to dislodge power you'll have a fight. >> reporter: in alaska joe miller rallied with sarah palin last night. miller topped lisa murkowski in the primaries. now she is a write-in candidate. >> carly. >> reporter: republican carly fiorina returned to campaigning after spending two days in the hospital and gave her first interview to "good morning america's" robin roberts. >> i draw a lot of energy from this campaign, i must say. >> i'm so happy she's well. we're both well. we're both strong and now we're going to focus on the last few days. >> reporter: president clinton -- president obama returned to the campaign trail for last-minute push. one thing that's interesting, he's going to shift his focus away from the senate, make his first appearance of this election season for a member of the house. rob and vinita.

>> all right. emily schmidt in washington this morning, thanks, emily. as emily said, sarah palin headlined an event for joe miller. earlier the former governor suggested a try for the white house might be in her future. she told "entertainment tonight" if no one else runs for the nomination, she would be willing to step in. preparations are under way for politics comedy central style this weekend in washington. jon stewart and stephen colbert have teamed up to hold the rally to restore sanity and/or fear just steps from the capitol. they're being tight-lipped about who will appear on stage with them. now to a potential bombshell in the gulf oil spill investigation. halliburton is now acknowledging that it skipped doing a critical test on the final formulation of cement used to seal the oil well. the admission came in response to findings by the presidential oil spill commission. the faulty cement has been identified as one of the key causes of that april disaster. an arkansas school board member has agreed to resign after suggesting on facebook that gay teens should commit

suicide. prosecutors have been demandingc clint mccance step down ever since the controversial comments were first made. it all began when supporters were asked to wear purple for solidarity for gay and lesbian teens who killed themself. he said the only way i'm wearing it for them is if they all commit suicide. the lockdown at a&m is over. and it's back to business as usual this morning after reports that a suspect ed gunman was on campus. it turns out that the person was carrying a replica weapon and the alert was then lifted, but the scare spread around the same time that former president bush and his wife barbara were hosting an event less than two miles away honoring former first lady laura bush. well, since he left office more than two years ago, former president george w. bush has been laying low, but that is all over now with the upcoming release of his new book "decision points" and this morning the first details of the candid memoir were already

leaking out. martha raddatz explains. >> reporter: so you can be alone in there, and that's where you write the book. >> well, that's where i'm planning on writing this book. >> reporter: president bush has been working on it for years, a book that the drudge report describes as strikingly personal but one that takes few shots at his critics, even steering clear of president obama. drudge reports that bush himself was the one who gave the order to shoot down planes on 9/11 and thought at first that the u.s. military had shot down flight 93 over pennsylvania. the book is all about decisions. from the decision to go to war in iraq to his opposition of stem cell research, the book's first chapter is called "quitting" where bush recalls a simple question he was asked decades ago. "can you remember the last day you didn't have a drink?" he talked to me in 2007 about his battles with alcohol. >> i had too much to drink one night, and the next night i

didn't have any, the next day, and i decided to quit. >> reporter: the book talks about the president's faith in sometimes surprising ways. according to drudge, in 2005 while at the funeral of john paul ii, bush was deep in prayer for none other than the late abc anchor peter jennings, who had announced he had lung cancer just the day before. the book ends with the president's decisions about the financial crisis looking at what he did right, wrong and what he would have done differently if given the chance. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. we could soon know about the man suspected of planning to bomb washington, d.c. area subways. farooque ahmed is due in federal court later today. they say ahmed met repeatedly with law enforcement officials and videotaped train stations looking for the deadliest places to plant a bomb. and now for this morning's weather from around the nation. showers from seattle to northern idaho and montana.

heavy rain around san francisco. up to a half foot of snow in the northern sierras. showers in south florida from miami to orlando and a 10 to 20-degree dip in the northeast. >> 50s in boston and new york and 60 in d.c. upper 60s in atlanta and new orleans. 53 in the twin cities and 64 in omaha. phoenix still hot at 90. l.a., 80. boise, 59. >> and when we come back on this friday, new claims and new questions about toyota and its acceleration problems. did the car company pay to cover it up? that's in your business news straight ahead. and some people who are close to anna nicole smith get the verdicts in the criminal cases against them. we'll be right back. ♪ [ female announcer ] getting in the halloween spirit is so easy, it's scary, with a little haunted help from your nearby walgreens. hurry in today for savings on fun costumes, spooky décor like creepy spiders and tombstones and all the best treats, including kit kat bars, reese's peanut butter cups

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asian stocks are slumping on concerns about corporate earnings to end the week. tokyo's nikkei average tumbled 1.8% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london the ftse opened slightly higher. on wall street the dow slipped 12 points yesterday. the nasdaq added 4. investors will be reacting today to the first report on economic growth for the third quarter. experts predict an increase in consumer spending boosted gdp to an annual rate of 2%. that's an improvement from the previous three months but not nearly enough of an improvement to bring down the still high unemployment rate. there are new claims this morning toyota covered up sudden acceleration problems in its vehicles. according to court documents, the automaker bought back defective cars from drivers and then forced them to sign confidentiality agreements preventing them from talking

about any of the problems. toyota faces hundreds of lawsuits over its runaway vehicles. verizon wireless has reached a a settlement to end the government investigation into complaints it charged customers mysterious data fees. the company will pay the fcc $25 million plus a minimum of 53 million in refunds. verizon will also make changes to prevent future overcharges. well, before you can even put away your pumpkin, you can start your holiday shopping. sears and other retailers are now offering black friday deals beginning today rather than waiting until the day after thanksgiving. amazon and toys "r" us will also offer holiday discounts beginning this weekend. earlier and earlier every year. >> and right now sears is starting online, so if you're up, you could be shopping. >> unbelievable. when we come back on this friday, the giants in world series cruise control. >> but first that wrong way driver who caused several accidents near philadelphia. details of the surreal scene are next.

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now for a look at morning road conditions. wet on i-5 from san francisco to sacramento, portland and seattle. also slick on i-90 from seattle to helena, montana. icy spots on i-80 from washington state in torino. wet on i-95 and 75 in south florida. if you're flying today, expect just a few weather-related airport delays in seattle, san francisco and miami. starting today airport security screeners will be a lot more hands-on literally. the tsa is now adopting a more intense pat-down procedure. in some cases even allowing screeners to touch body parts that were once off-limits. another option is available at some airports revealing full body scans. critics say though that both methods are too invasive and not especially effective. the search is on for a

driver who caused quite a scare on a busy pennsylvania highway. >> she was cruising along interstate 95 yesterday afternoon. the problem is she was going the wrong way traveling up to 50 miles an hour. and it was all captured on video. more now from wpvi's dann cuellar. >> reporter: tim fleming of new jersey captured the dramatic ordeal through his cell phone and could not believe what he was seeing. >> is she really doing what i think she's doing because it just didn't make sense to me. >> reporter: it was shortly after noon on busy i-95 in chester. in this exclusive footage you see the woman in the buick sentry station wagon going northbound on the southbound lanes of 95 with cars and trucks swerving to avoid hitting her. fleming was going the same direction on the northbound side of 95 driving about 50 miles an hour. >> so i sped up and got next to her, and then i just started going nuts like screaming, yelling as loud as i could like blasting on my horn, and she just went like that like she knew what she was doing in a sense. you know, like don't mess with me, i know what i'm doing kind

of thing. it was really strange. >> reporter: at one point you see the elderly woman swerve into the center barrier but keeps on going. then a few hundred feet later she slams on the brakes and she hits the barrier again but continues going the wrong way. >> and she just kept on staring straight and just had her hands on the wheel just staring straight and like just oblivious like she didn't even know -- it was just so surreal. >> reporter: the woman somehow managed to get off i-95 but not before causing at least four accidents, including a truck that smashed ipass. overpass. remarkably, there were no serious injuries. >> thank god. i mean, that's -- i mean, somebody had -- somebody -- not just somebody. there were hundreds of people that were extremely lucky they didn't die. >> reporter: dann cuellar for abc news, pennsylvania. a karate instructor has been convicted of masterminding the murder of a wealthy florida couple.

the billings were adoptive parents to nine special needs children. a jury will now decide whether patrick gonzalez should spend his life in prison or be executed for the crime. the verdicts are now in for three people closest to anna nicole smith in the days before her death from an accidental drug overdose back in 2007. >> the multiple charges did not include murder but they were serious. mike von fremd has the latest from los angeles. >> reporter: the suspense was building. it took the jury two weeks to come to the conclusion that anna nicole smith's companion, as well as one of her doctors wer guilty o guilty of conspiring to provide opiates to a celebrity with a known addiction. >> two conspiracy counts limited exclusively to my name being used on medications for anna. now, this was done to protect anna nicole's privacy, and it was nothing more than that. >> reporter: anna nicole smith's primary doctor was acquitted. >> it's surreal. it's overwhelming, i guess.

what i would say, it gives me a sense of purpose, of future. i am excited to get back to my little family practice. >> reporter: defense attorneys argued that all three were simply trying to help a woman in distress who had lost her son who was someone who suffered ic. howard stern was smith's companion, and he could now lose his law license. her psychiatrist could also lose her medical license. the sentencing will take place early next year. mike von fremd, abc news, los angeles. the san francisco giants are not commenting on word of an investigation involving outfielder jose guillen who was left off their postseason roster. federal investigators tell major league baseball they are looking into recent shipments of human growth hormones allegedly sent to guillen's wife. for details on the beating guillen's teammates administeren we have espn news. >> i'm sara walsh with your espn news update.

the rangers will go back home, but they will not like the results they are bringing home with them. game two, matt cain trying to get his team a 2-0 advantage. kinsler a long one at deep to center field. it's off the wall. that will be a double for kinsler. you take another look. the ball just misses being a home run here as it bounces off the top and back into play. later in the inning, two outs after an intentional walk to mitch moreland. c.j. wilson hits the chopper down the first baseline. aubrey huff there to make the play and they strand two. still no score. bottom of the fifth, edgar renteria, the shot deep to left. it is a solo job off wilson. giants take a 1-0 lead. in the sixth, same score, two on, two out for kinsler. he flies out to right, the rangers strand yet another two. we go to the bottom of the eighth. after four straight walks by the rangers, giants up, 4-0. renteria singles to left. another two-run score. the giants win it, 9-0.

game three satur game three saturday will be in arlington. well, the number one draft pick john wall making his nba debut. tiger woods on hand in orlando to take in the action. wall struggled early. misses the jumper there then driving in traffic would slip and fall. here missing a floater. he finished wi19 shooting. on 6 for 19 shooting. orlando, though, in good form. second quarter up 17. dwight howard in the paint and putting it down. magic win by 29. on their new home court for the very first time, 112-83. back back to you in the studio. >> well, carving a pumpkin can be a simple task, but one new york town has turned it into literally an art form. >> it is a breathtaking collection of jack-o'-lanterns, and they are on display in west chest chester, new york. what you're looking at is the great jack-o'-lantern blaze. 4,000 hand-carved pumpkins constructed into everything from

super-sized dinosaurs to giant spider webs and caskets complete with mummies. >> all in sleepy hollow, new york. perfect halloween town. coming next, the stories we'll be following today including a hearing in that washington, d.c., terror case. and the politicians hitting the road for the last several days of campaigning. who is going to be where next. i don't lie about my age. my skin does. introducing anew platinum. an avon breakthrough. the first with paxillium technology. it's designed to help restore cell shape... skin looks more contoured...sculpted... re-defined. even your jaw line. anew platinum does it. and only avon has it... with a love it or return it guarantee. want it? get it. call 1-800-for-avon or go to avon.com to find a representative today.

in a more delicious world, there would be more smoothness, more creaminess, more rich just-for-me-ness, more hershey's bliss-fulness. hershey's bliss. it's not just chocolate. it's bliss. and now a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching this friday.

president obama heads the list of democrats making campaign stops today. he'll be in virginia. also, vice president biden stumps for a house candidate in iowa, and senate majority leader harry reid holds a rally with boxer in las vegas. for the republicans, senator john mccain will also be in vegas. he is headlining a rally for sharron angle opposing harry reidm and mitt romney attends a house candidates rally in new hampshire. the suspect in a plot to bomb washington, d.c.'s subway stops is in court today. prosecutors are expected to argue that farooque ahmed is too dangerous to be allowed out on bond. starting today, airport security screeners will be stepping up passenger searches. that includes more thorough pat-downs and full body image scans. shoppers can get an early start on christmas shopping today. sears and other retailers begin offering black friday deals today, almost a month earlier than usual. and the big three are set to play their first home opener for

the miami heat tonight. lebron james, dwyane wade and chris bosch team up to take on the orlando magic. you your local news is coming up. er. ♪ ♪ ...made with real fruit and now with more of the whole grains your body needs. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium f regular milk. and vitamin d o. and to lactaid® milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk.

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finally from us this morning, halloween heritage. thrills and chills embedded in a small town with a history that is larger than life.

>> i went in search of the origins of an iconic halloween tale and found a community looking to secure its future by banking on its past. at first glance this sleepy but scenic nook of new york state looks like your average american suburb. but look a little more closely, and you can't help but to notice it almost everywhere. a spooky but iconic symbol of american fiction. >> the headless horseman is our number one identity. >> reporter: this is sleepy hollow, the namesake town of washington irving's famous story "the legend of sleepy hollow." >> he really was here and wrote his stories about this area, and we are trying to capture that to bring people into the village. >> reporter: back in 1996 the area actually changed its name from north tarrytown to sleepy hollow. it was an effort to boost tourism after general motors packed up shop taking jobs and revenue along with it. the area where the plant once stood is now slated for

redevelopment. but in the meantime, halloween has become sleepy hollow's bread and butter. >> would you like a taste of vanessa? >> reporter: whether it's a cemetery tour, haunted villages, hay rides, a massive jack-o'-lantern display featuring more than 4,000 individually carved pumpkins or even a dramatic reading of irving's story. >> the headless horseman was bearing hard behind the schoolmaster. >> reporter: for those who make the trek here for halloween, there is no shortage of history. characters seem to be based on former residents, and irving is buried in the town's cemetery and for folks here, this one story has boosted its economy and reshaped its identity all in the name of history and some good old-fashioned halloween fun. >> that's what's making news in america this morning. >>