on this thursday morning, signs of hope. >> new numbers showing the economy is rebounding. new homes, new jobs, and americans on the move. mitt romney answering tough questions about the economy and that video in our forum with our partners univision. embracing the 100%, saying he's for all americans. multimillion-dollar snack settlement, for the microwave popcorn junkie who said those artificial butter fumes took a toll on his lungs. stuck for hours high above a theme park in california. one woman got on the ride to get over her fear of heights. good thursday morning. i'm sunny hostin. >> and i'm john muller.

rob and paula are both on assignment. we begin this thursday with some encouraging news about the economy. >> that's right. the housing market is starting to turn around. the employment picture is better. the changes could have a major impact on the presidential race. here's abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: this morning, signs the economy is turning around. new economic data suggests the troubled housing market has bottomed out and is now recovering. posting a two-year high. existing home sales shot up nearly 8% in august. builders broke ground on a lot more homes last month. up more than 2%. all that sent home builder confidence to its highest level in six years. and there's promising news about jobs. target said it plans to hire 80,000 to 90,000 holiday workers. kohl's, more than 52,000 temporary workers. the improving economic news could impact the presidential race during the final sprint. mitt romney is trying to pivot his campaign back to economic issues, after the firestorm surrounding his private comments to wealthy donors that 47% of americans see themselves as victims.

he addressed the comments during a univision forum last night in the battleground state of florida. then, quickly moved on to the economy. >> my campaign is about the 100% of america. and i'm concerned about them. i'm concerned about the fact that over the past four years, life has become harder for americans. >> reporter: president obama's message? if voters want the economy to bounce back, they need to give him a second term. it's a message obama surrogate bill clinton has taken on the road. >> we have grown. and we will grow again. but you need to re-elect president barack obama to do it. >> reporter: with polls showing president obama leading in some crucial battleground states, the romney campaign will soon pick up speed. romney and his running mate, paul ryan, head to ohio on monday, for a three-day bus tour. sunny and john? >> tahman bradley in washington, thank you. viewers at the univision forum in miami saw a kinder, gentler mitt romney. he appeared to tone down some of that harsher criticism.

he sounded more conciliatory on the topics of immigration and health care reform. >> i have experience in health care reform. now and then, the president says i'm the grandfather of obama care. i don't think he meant it as a compliment. but i'll take it. this was during my primary. we thought it might not be helpful. >> president obama will have his turn to answer questions at that forum in miami this afternoon. turning overseas. french embassies across the muslim world are on alert amid increased security. that's all in reaction to a french magazine publishing caricatures of the prophet muhammad. that concern is that french embassies could face violent protests, like those that targeted american facilities for that amateur movie that depicted muhammad. another source of rising tensions could come next week when an ad is posted in some nuclear subway stations. an islamic group claims the ad seeks to define muslims through hate speech. military might is on display in a highly sensitive area of

the globe. international war games are underway at a key waterway for the world's oil. abc's nick schifrin is there. >> reporter: never before has the u.s. flexed so much muscle so close to iran. more jets, ships and nations taking part than ever before. the u.s. has sent two aircraft carriers into this region. and each 1 has more than 40 of these, these are f-18s, that could reach thousands of miles into iranian air space. to give you a sense of how big this buildup is, each of these carriers has more firepower than the entire iranian air force. it's a blunt warning to iran. don't follow through on the threat to close the strait of hormuz, where one-fifth of all of the world's oil passes through. if israel attacks iran's nuclear sites, iran promises to fill these waters with boats packed with explosives. the u.s. hopes tensions calm. but israel warns that iran is only six months away from a potential nuclear weapon.

in its international show of force is meant to reassure israel and convince iran not to respond, even if it is attacked. >> i can do a lot of damage with the airplanes that are onboard and the weapons in the strike route. but i can also be a stabilizing influence. >> reporter: after this exercise is over, all these troops, all these additional assets aren't going away after the exercise. the u.s. is keeping them here as a warning to iran that it can act just a few miles from its shores. nick schifrin, abc news, aboard "the uss eisenhower." something of a surprise from the war zone of afghanistan. a british servicewoman has given birth to a baby boy. british officials say she had no idea she was pregnant. and only realized she was about to give birth after complaining of stomach pains. the baby was conceived before she arrived in afghanistan in march. well, the justice department has issued a scathing report about the botched gun trafficking operation known as "fast and furious."

an internal report cites misguided strategies, errors in judgment and management failures. however, it stopped short of criticizing attorney general eric holder. many in congress had blamed holder for the scandal. the shuttle "endeavour" fulfills a special request today as it completes its final flight. the retired spaceship takes flight today, en route to california. mark kelly, "endeavour's" last commander, asked that the shuttle could fly over tucson, so his wife, gabby giffords, could see it. so, around noon, "endeavour" and its last commander can share one last moment. nice story there. nice, little way to go out. well, the weather should be perfect to see that flyover. in fact, most of the west will have a pleasant day with sunny skies. the california coast wakes up to fog. and there could be rain from miami to savannah. showers are a possibility in fargo and green bay. >> the day will start off chilly in upstate new york and new england. boston will be 64, instead of the usual 70. dallas and denver, about ten degrees warmer than usual. seattle will be in the mid-70s. anchorage is the cool spot at 56

degrees. phoenix, the hot spot at 103. >> i think i like the 103. >> 103's all right. 56 isn't so bad. a sweater. it's kind of cool. light jacket. i can deal with that. >> i can. when we come back, call it the case of the kernels. the $7 million popcorn verdict. and then, chick-fil-a is sticking with poultry but dropping the politics. and later, the three-minute thrill ride that turned into a four-hour ordeal.

all right. welcome back. as we told you a few minutes ago, there's good news this morning about the economy. the census bureau also sees encouraging signs over the past year. the unemployment rate is falling, though it's still high. more americans are moving again, after moving hit record lows last year. more young adults are leaving their parents' homes. and the birthrate is no longer falling as sharply as it was. the outlook is also good for gas prices. oil prices have fallen sharply this week, partly because inventories are higher than expected. and analysts have been saying that oil prices are higher than they should have been. that should mean gas prices going down for the rest of the year. and chick-fil-a now says it is going to stick to chicken and stay out of politics. the fast food chain will no longer fund groups that actively oppose same-sex marriage. chick-fil-a came under fire this summer when its president said he opposes such unions.

all right. get ready for more junk mail. facing huge financial losses and declines in letter mail, the postal service is encouraging marketers to send more advertising. the agency says direct mail is more effective than online advertising. and it's easier to measure the results. it is also profitable for the postal service. and general motors admits the new touch-screen controls in the cars can be confusing. so, the automaker is not only training dealership staffers about the system, it's calling buyers a few days after the sale to offer additional help. and from junk mail to junk food. there's a new treat being offered at this year's north carolina state fair. deep-fried girl scout cookies. >> wow. >> a doughnut vendor will take caramel delights, sometimes called samoas, dip them in better, deep fry them and dip them in powdered sugar. these healthy snacks are also being sold at three other state fairs. i have to tell you, john, that sounds delicious to me.

>> there's not anything that doesn't taste great, deep-fried. >> everything tastes better with bacon and also deep-fried. >> flour it up. deep-fry it. i want to try one of those. we have to get some of these things on the set. >> yes. when we come back on the thursday, the duchess getting exposed in denmark. now, a danish magazine says it's going to publish new topless photos of kate. and a heart-stopping close call caught on tape, thanks to a police car's dash cam. trtrtronger lashes?

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and now, for a look at morning road conditions. i-95 could be wet from southern florida to south georgia. visibility could be a problem on coastal california roads with morning fog. >> all right. it is a great day for air travel with maybe the only possible delay in miami. well, 20 people, 20 people are safely back on the ground this morning after an amusement park ride malfunctioned, leaving riders dangling 300 feet in the air for 4 hours. >> the four hours part is what really gets me. the ride called the wind seeker, just opened last month at knott's berry farm near los los angeles, promised riders the feeling of free flight. what they ended up with the feeling of being trapped, the length of a football field off the ground. >> it started going a little bit slower. and then, it stopped. and that was it. >> it was really scary. and i was hoping that we would get down really soon. >> the first half an hour was pretty rough on me.

i have a fear of heights. i was on it because my husband wanted to train me to get over my fear of heights. by the end, i was. >> can you believe that? murphy's law. she gets on, it stops. it is the second time the ride has malfunctioned. and knott's berry farms says it will be shut down for a while while they investigate. well, a man in colorado who was diagnosed with a condition balled popcorn lung has won a massive payout. wayne watson was awarded more than $7 million yesterday. he claims his respiratory problems were caused by inhaling the artificial butter smell from the two bags of microwave popcorn he ate every day for years. the food companies watson sued claimed his issues stemmed from working with carpet cleaning chemicals. at least one of the companies is appealing. there's just no stopping those topless photos of the duchess of cambridge, which are about to be published in another country. the royal family weighing its response now that a danish magazine says it will publish more topless photos in a special 16-page spread.

the editor says the idea is to show the entertainment fans in denmark what the photos are all about. there seems to be no stopping for trouble for lindsay lohan. she's been arrested again in new york city. this time charged for clipping a pedestrian with her car and not stopping. lohan was arrested in the early morning hours yesterday. she left a nightclub. police say alcohol was not involved. abc has put jimmy kimmel to work ahead of his emmy hosting duties. the talk show host helped roll out the red carpet yesterday in front of the nokia theater in los angeles. this will be the first time kimmel is hosting the show, which airs sunday night, right here on abc. week three in the nfl kicks off tonight with the new york giants traveling to charlotte to face off with cam newton and the carolina panthers. as for last night's baseball, we get highlights now from espn. >> randy scott here with your "sportscenter" update. let's take you to yankee stadium. the bombers with a doubleheader against the blue jays. the perfect scene for trying to keep pace with the

orioles. bottom one. derek jeter, yankees history. that's his 200th hit of the season. he has eight such seasons with new york. ties lou gehrig's record. in the sixth inning. you know, it seemed like ichiro suzuki had 200 hits in this game. that was his third. next batter, ichiro, stealing second and doing so easily. that was the theme in this game. in the eighth, same score. ichiro, this time, driving in curtis granderson with his fourth hit of the game. your next batter, ichiro, once again, stealing second base. once again, with plenty of room. in the same at-bat, though, ichiro doing something to put himself into the yankees record books. ichiro stealing third. four hits, four stolen bases. first yankee to do that in a game since rickey henderson in 1988. let's go to the ninth inning. rafael soriano on to button up the save. and he does. number 41 on his season. yankees win 2-1.

they complete the sweep of the doubleheader. orioles and mariners on the west coast. they went 18 innings on tuesday. they went 11 innings on wednesday. adam jones against his former team. and he is your hero. orioles take a 3-1 lead. they go on to win by the same score. tonight, college football action. byu and boise state at 9:00 eastern. i'm randy scott. have a great day. here's one that had us thinking of dorothy and "the wizard of oz." pretty cool. clicking her heels and saying there's no place like home. >> these shoes are the work of a british designer. when the wearer clicks their heels together, a gps unit in the heels is activated. a light points in the direction you need to travel to go home. >> isn't that amazing? it uses a special mapping software loaded in the shoes. parents would agree it's pretty great technology for young kids. wouldn't you think? >> i think it's great technology for me. >> great technology on a hike sometimes.

you go into the mountains. you can get lost. >> i want the pretty, shiny shoes. >> the gray shoes with the red shoe laces. interesting. here's a guy who does two tough things at once. he's 21-year-old mike koch from pennsylvania, who has no problem doing one-handed push-ups while solving a rubik's cube. >> takes him a little bit longer than usual to solve the cube, which is understandable. his quickest two-handed solve is six seconds. and the fastest he's ever done it in competition is just over eight seconds. what are you most impressed with? the one-armed push-ups? solving the rubbic's cube or doing it with one hand? they're all pretty good tricks. >> i'm impressed with the combo. and i'm also impressed he came up with the concept. >> yeah. in his old age, he's going to have to settle down to two-handed push-ups. and do it with his mouth or something. how's that? coming up next, "the pulse." and a powerball winner looking to get lucky in love. $337 million, ladies? >> can buy a lot of love with that kind of money. and then, about-face. the new jersey tanning mom, now

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can get 0% apr financing for 48 months on a 2012 cruze. ♪ it is time to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today. and talk about a turnaround. >> who can forget this face? say that ten times fast. the new jersey tanning mom, patricia krentcil, back when she was spotted. she had that fresh roasted look. remember that? she has not only kicked the tanning habit apparently. she is the face of healthy skin. >> krentcil is appearing in a youtube infomercial series, promoting a new book that bills itself as a boot camp for beautiful skin. part of the money from the book will go to the skin cancer foundation. >> she does look much nicer. >> she looks so much better. no question. what was that famous movie line? love means never having to say you're sorry?

>> i've heard that thing. >> not so for the owner of this van in england. the poor guy poured out his heart on the side of a van and parked near a busy intersection. >> not only did he apologize for being a fool and an idiot, what man hasn't apparently? but he asked his beloved, linda, to marry him. no word on whether she said yes. >> i hope she did. and finally, the guy that won the summer's $337 million powerball lottery. you probably remember donald lawson, from lapeer, michigan. he is looking for love on dating websites. he is reportedly seeking a curvy, big and beautiful woman. >> he is also saying he wants, quote, to please a woman any way she wants and that's all that matters. no word on what lawson's ex-wife thinks about all that. good luck, ladies. >> man. you think it would be easy enough, right? for some, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with new clues to the ancient debate. did jesus have a wife? we'll be right back.

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. book to book shootings overnight. >> explosion at bay area gas station. >> plus, meteorologist mike nicco has your temperatures. important to know because of the giants' game this afternoon. >> look at the commute before you hit the road with sue hall. lly in new england and upstate new york. showers possible from miami to savannah. finally this morning, a small scrap that could shed a lot of light, all the way back to biblical times. >> it's just a bit of writing. but what it seems to imply could

go a long way toward telling us more about jesus than we ever knew. abc's dan harris has the details. >> reporter: it's a tiny, faded fragment with just eight lines of ancient script on one side and six lines on the other. >> the most exciting line in the whole fragment is the sentence, jesus said to them, to his disciples, that is, jesus said to them, my wife. >> reporter: my wife. words never before seen in any christian scripture. this scrap of papyrus was given by an anonymous collector to karen king, a professor at harvard divinity school. king then put it in her purse and brought it to experts in new york city, as seen in the upcoming smithsonian documentary. >> like an "i" and a "c," with just a little bit of a line over them. this is a shortened form of the name jesus. >> reporter: they ultimately concluded it is real. although some experts now say they disagree. either way, everybody agrees the

text was not written until centuries after jesus died. >> what this does not mean is that jesus had a wife. it's not evidence for us historically that jesus had a wife. >> magdalene was jesus' wife. >> reporter: so, don't consider it a vindication of "the da vinci code," which argued that the famous last supper painting shows mary magdalene seated at the right hand of jesus, a sign that she was his wife. all this fragment may prove is that even the early christians were debating this issue. so emotional because it would force us to rethink one of the most revered men in history. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> a lot of talk about that one. >> very interesting. well, that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." have a great thursday, everybody. we'll see you later.