making news on this tuesday, november 2nd. >> the campaigning is over. it is finally election day. now, all the candidates can do is wait to hear what the voters have to say. new evidence of an al qaeda dry run ahead of the cargo terror plot, revealed last week. and baseball's best. the san francisco giants wrap up their first world series title since moving to the west coast. good morning. voters are heading to the polls this morning in one of the most closely-watched, most expensive and nastiest elections in years. >> all 435 house seats are up for grabs. on top of that, 37 senate races and 37 governor races will be decided today.

>> republicans are vowing to shrink the size and cost of government if they sweep to power. emily schmidt joins us from washington with the last-minute campaigning. hi, emily. >> reporter: vinita and rob, happy election day to you. in 2008, democrats and barack obama won with the idea of change. but as voters head to the polls today, republicans think change may work in their favor. >> have you made up your mind about who you're supporting for u.s. senate? >> reporter: in 472 races across the country, in who controls the house and senate, candidates' midterm appeals are now last-minute pleas. >> to get a vote for me. >> you better goat for kendrick meeks for united states senate. >> we need you to get fired up. >> reporter: first lady michelle obama rallied democrats last night, while president obama focused on radio interviews from the white house. >> i want to make sure that all of your listeners understand the importance of this election. >> here we come, ohio. look out.

>> reporter: house minority leader, john boehner, hopes control of his chamber changes. in nevada, senate majority leader, harry reid, is trailing in the polls. >> you know, i'm not finished fighting. >> i am not a career politician. and i think that that's what america wants and needs. >> reporter: reid's opponent, sharron angle, comes with the tea party backing that's shaken up so many races this election cycle. >> when they can't attack you on substance, they try to call you names. >> reporter: a group that tracks campaign ads, says this election cycle and its 700 political ads are the most negative on record, with both parties, roughry, equally negative. candidates are fond of saying that the only poll that matters is the poll on election day. but both parties aware of this poll. among likely voters, 74% of republicans say they've already voted or they will be at the

polls today. that number, just 59% for democrats. rob? >> all right. emily schmidt this morning, on this election day, in washington. thanks, emily. this is the third, major election in a row where candidates are promising to bring change to washington. but will the change happen? our chief political correspondent, george stephanopoulos, has a preview of the key races to watch as the results come in. >> the last election, voters that wanted a change, voted overwhelmingly for president obama. this time around, they're voting for republicans. it's interesting how it's shaking out. if you just look at eligible voters, they break for the democrats. 49-44. when you dig down and get the voters most likely to vote, it flips over to the republicans. 49%, republicans, 45%, democrats. and that's because republicans, much more certain to vote. indiana, the polls close at 7:00. democrats are defending three, contested house seats in indiana. early in the night, if o publicans win 2 out of those y're well on their way to getting the 39 house seats they need to take control of the

house. on the senate side, i watch on the west virginia. the polls close there at 7:30. they have a governor, joe manchin, 70% approval rating, right now. if joe manchin wins at 7:30 in west virginia, the chances of the republicans taking over the senate are very, very small. >> our george stephanopoulos reporting. the phone lines are back to normal this morning after a big jam-up due to millions of election eve robocalls. the new hampshire democratic party said it lost phone service at local campaign offices at 11 locations around the state. the problem seemed mainly centered in new england. be sure to watch our primetime election coverage tonight, anchored by diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. it all kicks off at 9:30 eastern time, 8:30 central, right here on abc. and now, to the investigation into those explosive packages mailed from yemen and headed for chicago. as abc news first reported, the

terrorists apparently made a dry run a couple of months ago. >> t.j. winick joins us now with the latest on this story. hi, t.j. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning. the yemeni woman arrested over the weekend in connection with the bomb plot has been released. police say it was the case of stolen identity. they're now looking for a 28-year-old al qaeda bombmaker and any other package bombs which could be out there. u.s. intelligence officials were fearing al qaeda was preparing a bomb attack since early september, when they discovered what now appears to be a dry run shipment. like the real bombs, the packages were sent from yemen to addresses in chicago. >> they wanted to follow the packages, using the tracking system, to know exactly when they got to a point. how long a timer had to be set for. so, that the bomb would go off at the right point, which presumably was over chicago. >> reporter: investigators still don't know if the latest al qaeda bomb plot targeting america has been fully containe.

as a result, the u.s. has frozen all cargo shipped from yemen. the u.k. has extended that ban to somalia, another country al qaeda is believed to be using to plan attacks against the west. >> we will update the guidance given to airport security personnel, based on what we have learned, to enable them to identify similar packages in the future. >> reporter: in the wake of the plot, the white house is expected to soon announce a plan for increased cargo screening. one british aviation expert believes it's the second level of screening that is critical. >> it's that second level of screening with the current technology, that we need to put in place to identify carefully and cunningly concealed explosive devices. >> reporter: according to german security officials, the mail bombs intercepted last week traveled through their country and contained 300 to 400 grams of petn, enough to bring down the cargo planes they were carried on. the tsa has sent a team of experts to yemen to train screeners there to ensure all air cargo that leaves that country is safe. rob and vinita?

haiti is bracing for what could be yet another, major disaster. tropical storm tomas is expected to regain strength and veer toward haiti by the end of the week. aid workers are scrambling to gather supplies and work on emergency shelters. more than a million haitians who survived january's earthquake are still living in tents and struggling against a cholera epidemic. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. stormy from dallas, to pensacola, with the heaviest rain around new orleans, biloxi and mobile. showers were much of florida, and mississippi. light rain across northern minnesota and wisconsin. and drying out in the pacific northwest. >> 59 in seattle. and 66 in portland. 60s from boise to albuquerque. mostly 50s across the midwest. just 46 in boston. 50 here in the big apple. and when we come back this morning, general motors is set to tell wall street all about its big stock sale. that and other business news coming up next.

and the san francisco giants fans have plenty to celebrate this morning. highlights from their team's world series win, coming up. ive. but what we can do is arm ourselves for the ones we love with a flu shot from walgreens. ♪ [ coughs ] [ female announcer ] with the most pharmacists certified to immunize... [ sneezes ] ...and walk-ins welcome everyday, we're making it easy for everyone to get their flu shot, no matter how small their motivation may be. ♪ so stop by and get your flu shot today at walgreens. there's a way to stay well.

asian markets are little changed this morning. tokyo's nikkei average inched up five points today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse gained 0.3% today. on wall street, the dow added six points yesterday. the nasdaq slipped two points. general motors is expected

to unveil, today, details of its planned initial public offering. the stock sale later this month is expected to raise about $10 billion and cut the government's ownership stake in the automaker to less than 50%. most of that money gm raises will go toward paying back its taxpayer bailout. the federal reserve opens an important two-day meeting today. policymakers are expected to announce new measures to lower borrowing costs to get consumers and lenders spending again. but most economists believe any action the fed takes will do little to help revive the economy. the supreme court hears arguments in the first case involving video games to ever reach the high court. california is appealing a federal court ruling striking down its law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. the federal court ruled that the law violated minors' constitutional rights. the state is arguing that the games are harmful to children. my favorite story here. mcdonald's fans are celebrating the return of a sandwich that

has a cult following, the mcrib. beginning today, it will be available at all mcdonald's restaurants nationwide, the first time that's happened in 16 years. but the mcrib will only be on the menu for six weeks. so, act now. for all of you, it's interesting. it's not a rib. it's a pressed pork patty with 26 grams of fat. >> that's all? >> that's all. >> that's where i'm headed after this. when we come back on this tuesday, the diversity of the candidates across the nation. and on top of that, the one chilean miner who worked out religiously all that time under ground. we'll tell you why. crispy bacon, tasty bacon! where is it? where is the bacon? tv newscaster: bacon popular, "story at 11. dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip!? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! i love bacon! i love you! i love bacon! i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time #like beggin' time!

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[ breathes deeply, wind blows ] something wrong with your squeegee, kid? uh, i'm a little sick. sick?! you gonna let a sore throat beat you? you're fearless! ahhhhhhhhh! atta boy! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. i-10, will be dranched, with spots of flooding from houston to new orleans. wet on i-20, from dallas and shreveport. wet on i-35, around duluth. and i-94 in fargo. >> if you're flying today, you

can expect some airport delays in l.a., dallas, houston, new orleans and miami. as voters head to the polls this election day, there's a whole, new crop of candidates out there. many people who have never run for office before have decided to give it a try this time. ron claiborne reports on the unusually diverse selection. >> reporter: in michigan, it's a hay farmer running for the house. >> when you work on a hay farm your whole life, people aren't voters. they're your neighbors. >> i think it's a revision of america. >> reporter: in southern california, a police officer is running for the first time. in northern california, a candymaker. and then, there's the owner of a pizza parlor. he's the republican nominee for a seat in mow lean, illinois. they're a handful of the dazzlingly diverse group of more than 200 candidates seeking public office for the very first time. most are running for the house of representatives. 16 candidates running for congress are doctors including larry bouchon, an indiana heart

surgeon, who was upset about health care reform. >> people in the private sector need to step forward. >> reporter: four of the first-time candidates for office, are basketball or football players. then, there's the gospel singer from frog jump, tennessee. ♪ 138 women are major party candidates vying for house seats. 38 candidates are latino. and 61, african-american, of which 14 are republicans. tim scott of south carolina, a tea party conservative, is favored to become the first african-american republican elected to congress from the deep south since reconstruction. his district, 75% white. >> there's no question that the issues are more important than the race. >> reporter: together, this eclectic array of citizen candidates is a portrait of america. ron claiborne, abc news, new york. in washington, former california congressman, gary condit, took the stand, nine years after he was suspected of being connected to the

disappearance of intern chandra levy. condit was testifying in the trial of a salvadoran immigrant. the incident ended his political career. the trial of three american hikers accused of spying in iran has been delayed. an iranian spokesman says sarah shourd needs to return to iran before the case can begin. the two others remain in prison. the trial was set to start on saturday. we learned a lot about the chilean miners as they were being rescued last month. one of the things we found out about number 12, edison pena, was he ran in the mine all those 12 weeks. >> he's been invited to new york city for this weekend's marathon. he wants to run it. it appears he's going to get his wish. time, now, for highlights

from the world series. >> details on how the giants got the job done from espn news. >> good morning. i'm sara walsh with your espn news update. they're celebrating in the bay area. we'll show you why. tim lincecum, thee, ace, rolling into the stadium, sporting the bow tie. cliff lee was looking strong early on. there you go. the fourth inning, after giving up a leadoff single, lincecum makes josh hamilton go down swinging. later in the inning, nelson cruz, out the same way. lincecum, watching lee. two outs, freddy sanchez, a bloop 20 right. nelson cruz is charging. he can't make the grab. so, sanchez is on with a single. next batter, buster posey, a drive to right. cruz, going back to the wall. and this time, he makes the catch. posey can't believe it because this game is going to remain scoreless. in the seventh, still no score.

one out, runners on second and third. pat burrell batting. edgar renteria on-deck. and cliff lee strikes out burl. two outs. next batter, renteria. this would be the dagger. takes the lead pitch deep to left center. it keeps going. and it ends up in the stands. that's a three-run home run. the giants are pumped. it's 3-0. and in the ninth, it's brian wilson to close it out. here's the call with two outs. >> that's it. the giants, for the first time in 52 years, the giants are world champions, as they come pouring out of the dugout. >> also, flowing, that would be the champagne, being poured all over edgar renteria. he is your world series mvp. the giants with their first

title since 1954, the first since moving to san francisco. back to you in the studio. one more note about the series mvp, he mentioned, edgar renteria. he's in very select company. now that he's joined the exclusive group of players with two world series-winning hits. >> there's only three others in the group. all former yankee greats, lou gehrig, joe dimaggio and yogi berra. next, an extraordinary look at a battle between two of america's piercest creatures. a montana captured a bison burned by a hot spring being chased by a grizzly bear. ays the duo passed by without noticing him. once the animals got to the woods, the bison got away. it was so badly burned. the rangers had to put it down. next, the stories we'll be following on this election day tuesday, including candidates waiting for the voters to finally decide today. and haiti gets ready for a

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to help get your whole wash clean. it's all good. and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this tuesday. polls open across the country, one of the most closely-watched midterm elections in years. republicans are expected to take control of the house, perhaps even the senate. jury selection continues in salt lake city today in the trial of brian david mitchell, the man accused of kidnapping

elizabeth smart when she was just 14 years old. all of the potential jurors know about the case, and believe that mitchell is likely guilty. the supreme court hears arguments on california's ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. the state says the games are a bad influence on kids. haitians are bracing for a hurricane less than a year after that catastrophic earthquake killed as many as 300,000 people. tropical storm tomas is expected to turn back into a hurricane and thed their way by week's end. details on general motors' initial public offering will be released today. the government's stake in the automaker will be cut to less than 50%. but it will still be tough for taxpayers to recoup their $50 billion bailout. and san francisco is planning a massive party to celebrate the giants' world series championship. the team of misfits won the series last night in texas. for some of you, your local series last night in texas. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. ñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñç ñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñçñç impressive resume. thank you.

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the ballot problems in the bay area as voters prepare to go to the polls today. >> for the first time since 1954 giants are world champions. >> and giants come home to join the party. >> we'll talk about how beautiful it is going to be finally from us this morning, why one neighbor is turning up its nose at a great british tradition. >> swimmers who brave dangerous waves, jellyfish and even

hundreds of ships to cross the busy english channel are now facing another obstacle, the french. graham satchel of the bbc explains. >> reporter: dawn over. and a relay team, the leybourne lovelies are getting ready to swim the channel. >> okay. >> reporter: and on the shoreline, more and more swimmers are practicing. >> this year, we've had as many 300 swimmers register with it. it's grown beyond belief. >> reporter: organizers put the rise of charity swimmers down to david williams and sport relief. before he crossed the channel four years ago, less than 700 had ever done it. this year alone, there were 266 crossings. this is what the swimmers are heading into. the busiest shipping lane in the world. >> cross-channel swimming is as dangerous as a pedestrian trying to cross the 0-25.

>> reporter: cross-channel switching is self-regulated. but most swims are done through two long-established associations. no swimmer or support boat has caused an accident. nonetheless, the french who banned swimmers using the calais to dover route 17 years ago, are getting more worried. >> this increase of swimming in the channel creates a danger which is getting more and more important every year. >> reporter: you would like cross-channel swimming to stop? >> yes. >> reporter: late at night, the leybourne lovelies reach france. in the world's most congested waterway, have the hats and the goggles had their day? a quick reminder from us before we leave you, our election coverage begins 9:30 eastern, 8:30 central. shaping up to being an intereg