this morning, a major milestone in afghanistan. the surge is over overnight. tens of thousands of troops have come home. it's here. apple fans are getting their hands on the new iphone. the envy of americans before apple stores open here in just hours. but already, major complaints about one of its key, new features. we have the first review. and on the field explosion. incredible moment. a device went off during a soccer match. and final flight. an emotional day in california, as another space shuttle takes its victory lap and touches down for the very last time.

good morning, everybody. i'm john muller. rob nelson's on assignment. >> and i'm paula faris. we begin with a milestone in america's long et war. >> at last, troops are now out of the country. but tens of thousand ofgs american troops do remain there. they're in harm's way. >> muhammad lila is in kabul with more on the drawdown. >> reporter: leon panetta calls it an important milestone. it's been almost three years since a wave of additional troops deployed to afghanistan. in a surge to cripple the taliban, to beat al qaeda and give afghan forces the support they need. those americans are out. it was 2009, at west point, that president obama announced the surge. >> as commander in chief, i have determined it is in our vital national interest to send an

additional 30,000 troops to afghanistan. >> reporter: at that time, he set a schedule for their withdrawal, a goal that has been met. 33,000 u.s. troops took part in the surge. 10,000 of them were out by july of last year. and the remaining 23,000 are now gone. in his statement, the defense secretary had a sobering reminder. saying, it is important to underscore that even as our surge troops return home, there's roughly 68,000 americans who remain in a tough fight in afghanistan, alongside their nato and afghan partners. we are a nation at war. the human toll of the surge was tremendous. after the almost 200 u.s. casualties in afghanistan, 57% happened during the surge. now, those who remain face the die-hard insurgents and the growing threat of insider attacks. the deadlines to bring the final american troops home is still 2014. muhammad lila, abc news, kabul. still in that region, a national holiday in pakistan, so

citizens can protest the anti-muslim film that was made in california. in order to distance the u.s. from that film, president obama and hillary clinton have been running on pakistani tv, both of them denouncing the film. secretary clinton points out that the u.s. has, quote, nothing to do with the movie. it cost $70,000 to put those ads on the air. now, to the presidential campaign back here at home. both candidates made their case to hispanic voters. yesterday, it was president obama on the hot seat, in a forum hosted by univision. when the president was asked why he had not kept his promise to reform immigration in his first year in office, he said he had critical economic problems to solve first. but he also blamed the opposition. >> what i confess i did not expect. and so, i'm happy to take responsibility for being naive here, is that republicans who had previously supported comprehensive immigration reform, my opponent in 2008, who

had been a champion of it, and who attended these meetings, suddenly would walk away. >> a very testy president obama reminded his questioner that he had used his administrative authority to allow young people who had been brought here as children to say. but ramos said a promise is a promise. and during his administration, he sup reported 100,000 undocumented immigrants. the leaders of both parties, taking part in the hammering of the first nail, in what will be the stage of the inauguration of the ceremony. nancy pelosi received some help from majority leader john boehner. and now, the day that so many have been waiting for. the iphone 5 hits stores. >> it's been a mix of a ritual frenzy and cultural phenomenon. in city after city overseas,

people are sharing high-fives over the iphone 5. patience paid off for eager apple fans. and coast-to-coast in this country, people have been lining up and camping out for days. but not everyone is sitting on the sidewalk to get a phone. some are doing it just to sell their spot in line. >> i sold it for a little more than $200. so, i know what i'm doing. >> we had a few customers. four or five interested in buying our spots. we will ultimately sell our spots. on the side. advertising, for our selling spots sign. >> reporter: iphone enthusiasts are talking about the latest version being thinner, taller and faster. analysts are talk about the staggering sales prediction. 2 million preaddresses in 24 hours. 10 million new iphones being shipped in the next ten days. what could be wrong? abc news tech editor, joanna

stern, says the new apple map app, has a lot of kinks to be worked out. >> apple is using its own map software now, not google's. there's a lot of points of interest to be off. and navigation has been off for other people. in my testing, i saw accurate directions in new york city. >> reporter: it's clear, a few wrong directions won't be enough to throw apple fans off the track. as one man said this morning, as he stood at the end of a two-block-long line, it's only the iphone for me. apple announced its first iphone in 2007. since then, it's sold 250 million of them around the globe. >> that's a lot. maybe i'll get one. >> maybe one day, when the iphone 10 comes out. it is time, now, for the weather across the country. scattered showers, gusty winds, isolated storms across florida. cooler with showers around buffalo, pittsburgh, louisville and detroit.

a wintry mix in northern minnesota and wisconsin. >> 58 in minneapolis. 68 in detroit 80s from new orleans to atlanta. and in the northern rockies, 70s to the central plains. >> it's the first day of fall. >> it is. a little crisp out there. >> summer is officially gone. when we come back, for some bernie madoff victims, the check really is in the mail. then, the simmering labor problems at american airlines is starting to boil over. passengers are feeling it. and later, a shuttle salute. gabby giffords and mark kelly with a last glimpse of

welcome back, everyone. the labor problems at american airlines are making travelers think twice about booking flights on the airline. american has canceled hundreds of flights. and as many as half of its flights have been delayed. the airline says job action by its pilots are partly to blame. the bankrupt airline voided its pilots' contract recently and cut their pay, as well as benefits. checks are in the mail for more than 1,200 investors swindled by bernie madoff. and $2.5 billion. this is the largest payout to victims. the checks range from 1,800 bucks to $500 million, with an average of $2 million. madoff pleaded guilty and is currently serving a 150-year sentence for the massive brawl.

the federal reserve says that total household wealth is now within 5% of its peak. that's thanks to a jump in the stock market, as well as rising home prices. although the increased wealth isn't evenly distributed. economists hope it will lead to increased spending as well as hiring. today, president obama is creating a new monument. chimney rock is a deeply spiritual site for a number of native-american tribes. it's expected to draw more visitors and tourism dollars to that area. when we come back on this day before the first day of fall. >> last day of summer. >> apparently, tomorrow's the first day of fall. >> there you go. >> when we come back, a bold battle plan on the war on cancer. the university launching an all-out $3 billion push that's been called a moon shot. and the giants putting on a clinic in carolina. [ ringing ]

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check it out. a man tried to rob a florida convenient store at knifepoint. but he was stopped in his tracks by a courageous clerk. the robber tried to make a run for it. the clerk grabs a four-pack of beer and started gunning it at the robber. police eventually caught up with him. >> that's another use for a beer can, i guess. now, for a look at morning road conditions. foggy with an early drizzle along highways in the northeast. the commute could be slick at times across much of florida. and by evening, expect wet roads from pittsburgh to louisville and detroit. >> if you're flying, delays possible in miami, chicago and detroit. the forecast is great for today's most spectacular flight. >> millions of california will turn their eyes to the sky to see the space shuttle "endeavour," as it goes over sacramento, san francisco, silicon valley and los angeles, where it will finally come to

rest. it will be the last time a space shuttle ever takes flight. >> not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. it's a once experience. no one will see anything like this again. >> yesterday, "endeavour" flew low over tucson, where former congresswoman gabby giffords and mark kelly was watching. kelly was the commander on "endeavour's" final mission. and he asked for the flyover to champion his wife's time in congress. texas is launching an al all-out war on cancer. it's a ten-year project by the school's cancer center, targeting breast, ovarian, lung and prostate cancers, in addition to melanoma and leukemia. researchers plan to spend up to $3 billion to find cures and lower death rates. james holmes has a new appearance. he appeared in court, hearing yesterday, with short brown hair instead of that orange hair.

and during the hearing, prosecutors gave up their fight to see a notebook that holmes has sent to his psychiatrist, before the july attack. they could gain access to it later on in the legal proceed. kwame kilpatrick will be in court today. he and three others go on trial, charged with using the mayor's office to enrich themselves. kilpatrick stepped down in 2008 because of another scandal that sent him to prison for 14 months. this trial could put him back behind bars for a decade if he's convicted. a bizarre happening at a soccer game in iran. watch number 40 in yellow. he picks up something that was thrown from the crowd. and it explodes. the referees, they got right out of there. the game was delayed for a couple of minutes. nobody was injured. and the game was finished as if nothing had happened. the official match report didn't even mention the incident. how about postponing the game? >> right. back here at home, baseball's postseason spots are

filling up. and there was a major beatdown on thursday night football. highlight, now, from espn. >> good morning. i'm doug kezirian with your "sportscenter" update. in sports, we hear the phrase, next man up. the giants put that to test last night. 14 guys on offense, facing the panthers on a short week. early in the first quarter, no score. eli manning hit martellus bennett for the touchdown. giants up 7-0. second quarter, more from the giants offense. manning, hits ramseys barton. two of those guys out were wide receivers. barton was coming up with 6 catches, 100 yards in the first half. later in the drive, andre brown. touchdown. he's filling in for ahmad bradshaw. giants would lead at halftime, 20-0. third quarter, 23-0. third and goal for the panthers. cam newton dives over the pile. newton, 16 career rushing

touchdowns in his first 2 seasons. that's an nfl record. just too little, too late for carolina. newton, three picks on the night. this one coming from michael bole, his third of the season. giants just dominating. brown, his second touchdown of the game. he was once cut by the panthers. new york went. 36-7. baseball now. washington nationals hosting the dodgers. a 2-1 game in the fourth. danny espinosa, ground ball down the line. ian desmond scores. nats go up 3-1. now, to the ninth. storen closing things out. the nats clinch the first playoff berth since 1981. and the reds are also headed to the playoffs, clinching their playoff berth, as well.

>> looking forward to cincinnati winning the world series. tiger woods has a share of the lead as the second round of the tour championship gets under way today. he had six birdies in his first round yesterday. if woods wins the tournament on sunday, it would mean a $10 million payday, which is the largest payout in golf. 10 million bucks. >> not too shabby. and he happens to have a few million already. just to go along with all that other good stuff. here's a remarkable moment from a high school soccer game in massachusetts, straight from a corner kick. watch this. nicolae calabri uses one leg to get to the net. >> he plays on the national amputee soccer team. when he became 13, he was the first person to ever summit mt. kilimanjaro on crutches. >> he's unbelievable. >> oh, my gosh. inspirational. up next, "the pulse," and a car accident and surveillance video. it has to be lindsay lohan, doesn't it? >> sure seems that way.

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quaker yogurt granola bars. treat yourself good. all right. it's "pulse" time, stories you're going to be talking about on this friday. new video of lindsay lohan's latest run-in with a new york pedestrian and the law. >> the law, of course. grainy, black and white surveillance video. it's been released of lohan's alleged hit and run in manhattan this week. you're going to see her. she's going to turn her porsche into an alley. apparently hitting a restaurant worker. >> jose rodriguez said she kept going. her attorney denies the allegations. you can't see what happened. but you see him chasing the car down. lohan is making news for another bizarre scene with another troubled star. this is lohan in bed with charlie sheen, in a cameo in "scary movie 5."

apparently they get offed. >> a picture says 1,000 words. and one of the stars of "dancing with the stars" is getting ready to turn in the dancing shoes. max chmerkovskiy leaving the ballroom. >> he just call him maks. he has secured a lead role in a movie that starts filming in january. he told "the post," it's time for him to move on. what are the ladies going to do now? >> some dancer, huh? i move just like that. you should see it. >> among other things. >> like -- the world's most famous house guest, kato calen, who gained notoriety in the o.j. simpson murder trial. he said he thought o.j. was guilty was killing his wife and his friend. >> now, he seems to have flip-flopped, saying he would never say anything like that. and saying he has no firsthand knowledge of the murders. and it raises questions like what details he could have

known. and now, that animal video online that we can't resist. it's totally adorable, featuring a baby goat in trouble. and a brave pig coming to the rescue. this is cpr, certified pig rescue. >> the pig, struggling, gets in the water. swims over. >> i love it. the little pink hero just pushes him to safety. kind of herds him on the shore. wilber from "charlotte's web" and "babe," have nothing. we haven't been able to track down the shooter of this video. i knew that they could fly. >> they can swim and they can fly, apparently. all in a day's work. >> how about that? >> looking out for my bud. that's a cute video. for some of you, your local news is next. >> if that ever happened to you, i would push you to safety, as well. >> thank you. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with robin roberts, and a room filled with a whole lot of rin afilled with a whole lot of

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is next, people bro testinging late night police shooting of a suspect vandal lied a police station. space shuttle fly over times and place to watch. meteorologist lisa argen. good morning. just a little in the way of patchy low clouds and fog i think we'll have good viewing. >> around the viewing traffic could be a pittsburgh. scattered showers and thunderstorms for much of florida. finally this friday morning, a crucial step in robin's journey. our beloved colleague, robin roberts, is said to be doing very well, after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.

>> as the procedure got under way, robin was in good spirits, surrounded by loved ones, including abc's diane sawyer. >> reporter: in a hospital room, a champion is showing the power of her heart. >> this journey is just as much about the mind as it is about the body. you have to change the way you think, to change the way you feel. and let me say this lastly. i feel the love. and i thank you for it. thank you. >> reporter: after 11 days in the hospital, preparing for her bone marrow transplant. >> we're going to put the new bone marrow cells. this is the beginning of the rebuilding phase. we've been in the kind of tearing down phase, getting everything ready to accept the new cells. >> reporter: in these last eight days, intense chemotherapy. and even someone as strong as robin felt it. >> she's a powerhouse.

but she feels crummy. it's hard to get up and even move around in the room. this is someone who is used to 50-hour days. >> reporter: surrounded by sally-ann, her sister, dorothy, and friends. before it begins, the room goes quiet. and sally-ann, makes robin smile, with an old song about getting the job done. ♪ filled with lumber she's a good ole worker ♪ ♪ 15 years on the eerie canal >> reporter: and her pastor leads all of us in prayer. >> so, right now, we bless this moment. >> reporter: and her father and mother are looking down, watching over her. her brother, her sisters, her beloved family at "good morning america." and all of us at abc, linking arms around her, as you at home watch and joy this cathedral of prayer. >> and the hard-working people who put on this show, are also thinking of