making news in america this morning -- >> the pressure mounts on the presidential candidates ahead of tomorrow night's second debate. mitt romney expecting to see a very different president obama this time around. the historic jump of flying felix baumgartner, safely back on earth now after breaking the sound barrier during a fall from the edge of space. and new treatment this morning for the pakistani girl targeted by the taliban. that's after tens of thousands took to the streets to show their support. and a controversial call that helped the tigers take a big lead in the series against the yankees. needless to say, the home team didn't like it at all.

good morning, everyone. we begin this monday with the race for the white house and our just-released poll providing a brand new snapshot of an ever-so-close contest. >> indeed. it all comes with eyes on two big deadlines. one day until the second presidential debate. and 22 days to go until election day. november 6th. tahman bradley is following it all in washington and has this live report for us. good morning to you, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. these candidates understand the stakes. that's why they have been huddled with advisers gearing up. president obama and mitt romney are preparing for round two, tomorrow night's second presidential debate. with polls showing a tight race, both campaigns know the stakes are enormous. according to a new abc news/"washington post" poll out

this morning, president obama leads mitt romney, 49% to 46% among likely voters. there is encouraging news for romney. 59% of his supporters are strongly enthusiastic about him. compared to 55% of the president's supporters. mr. obama spent the weekend in williamsburg, virginia, getting ready for tuesday's showdown. >> how is the debate prep going, sir? >> it is going great. >> reporter: democrats admit the president's lackluster performance in the first debate was damaging. they say the president will be more aggressive this time. >> i think he'll make some adjustments on tuesday. >> reporter: mitt romney has been holding debate sessions outside boston. republicans say they know they'll see a different president obama on tuesday. >> i think president obama will come out swinging. he'll have to compensate for a poor first debate. >> reporter: both campaigns are focusing on ohio, where they're hoping to reach undecided voters like brenda. she says she voted for president obama in 2008, but he hasn't sealed the deal this year. >> i'm disappointed. i think he made a lot of promises that haven't been kept. >> but you're not sold on

governor romney yet? >> no, not yet. >> reporter: and rob and paula, undecided voters are shrinking. according to the new abc news/"washington post" poll, barely 1 in 8 voters remain undecided. or say there's a chance they could change their vote before election day. rob and paula? >> tahman bradley, live in washington this monday morning. thanks. and one more political note. the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya has now become campaign fodder. south carolina republican senator lindsey graham is accusing the administration of a coverup. but the top democrat on the house committee investigating that attack says the accusation is quote ridiculous conspiracy stuff. republicans and democrats alike are paying tribute this morning to former senator arlen specter. the moderate republican turned democrat from pennsylvania who served 30 years in the senate died yesterday of complications from non-hodgkin's lymphoma. he was known for being fiercely

independent and for also being a man of the people. >> i remember as a kid, he would be down in the stands at three rivers stadium at steelers games introducing himself, just getting to know, he wanted to know the whole stadium. i think people will look back and say, that is what an elected official is supposed to do, even if it is not convenient or is difficult at times. arlen specter always did that. >> his funeral is tomorrow. vice president joe biden has postponed campaign events in order to attend. former senator arlen specter was 82 years old. in other news, pretrial hearings are set to begin today at guantanamo bay for five men charged with plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks. the hearings are closed to the public, but family members of those killed on 9/11 have been

invited to military bases in four states to watch those proceedings. we turn to the latest now on that 14-year-old pakistani girl who was shot in the head after speaking out on the taliban. a week after she was attacked on her school bus, pakistan has sent her to britain for ongoing treatment. >> meantime, pakistanis are rallying behind her in droves. abc's muhammad lila reports. >> reporter: all week the outrage has been growing. it exploded. tens of thousands took to the streets in karachi, pakistan's biggest city. a massive show of support for this young girl, shot and nearly killed by the taliban. finally, some good news. doctors say the young girl is responding to treatment. >> she has created a movement across pakistan. our girls want to follow. >> reporter: for years, she was a thorn in the taliban's side. when they closed her school, she dared to speak out, fighting for the right of all girls to an education.

>> i want to get my education and i want to become a doctor. >> reporter: when the taliban couldn't silence her, they targeted her. earlier this week, a gunman shot her in the head on the way home from school. that attack led to massive outrage. ordinary pakistanis uniting to denounce the taliban. even the country's christians, themselves a small minority, are now praying for her. >> everybody feeling the same way. right, left, and center. people, whatever their political ideologies are. >> reporter: now the hope is her attack is a turning point. turning the entire country against the taliban once and for all. muhammad lila, abc news, islamabad. >> extraordinary little girl. in other news this morning, the meningitis outbreak continues to spread, turning up for the first time in new

hampshire. 205 people have now been sickened so far. the death toll stands at 15 in 14 states. tennessee being the hardest hit. the fungal meningitis cases, which are not contagious, have been linked to steroid shots for back pain from a pharmacy in massachusetts. and a peanut butter recall linked to an outbreak of salmonella is expanding. it now includes dozens of raw peanut products sold under more than 20 brand names. 35 people in 19 states have been sickened. we'll have much more coming up a little bit later on "good morning america." and with that, time now for a look at the weather from across the country. severe storms a possibility from southern jersey to northern florida by the afternoon. heavy rain in the pacific northwest. with flooding a possibility in the city of seattle. dry in the middle of the country. >> much warmer than usual in colorado and the dakotas. denver will hit 81. chicago and minneapolis are seasonable. mild in the northeast with boston in the mid 70s. coming up next after the break, all the details of the

amazing fall from the edge of space. plus, the reason you are paying more when you're eating out. it's all ahead in your business news. and the shuttle "endeavour" finally arrives at its final destination. fair to say it took the slow route to get there.

welcome back, everybody. there's not much refreshment in this year's c.o.l.a. the social security cost of living adjustment announced tomorrow won't be too much. preliminary figures put it between 1% and 2%. just $12 to $24 more a month.

it's the smallest percentage since automatic adjustments began 37 years ago. and that may not sit too well with older voters. business economists are not expecting improvement in the economy either. they predict a growth rate late this year of less than 2%. increasing slowly to 3% by the end of next year. they don't see much change in the unemployment or inflation rates. u.s. oil production is booming, driving down crude prices. but there's little relief for drivers. the national average price for gasoline is $3.79 a gallon, down 2 cents in a week, but still 35 cents above a year ago. that's because u.s. oil is still small part of the market. restaurants are feeling the effects of the drought. from fancy eateries to drive-throughs, they're cutting portions, raising prices, and

dropping items from their menus altogether. it will get worse as the poor u.s. harvest percolates through the whole food chain. and liam neeson's "taken 2" has now taken two -- weekends at the box office. the thriller is doing better than the original "taken" two years ago. it took in $22.5 million in sales in its second weekend. "argo" was right behind. at $20 million. and "sinister" was third. i expect "argo" to go right to the top. >> you saw it? >> saw it, loved it. five stars out of five. just wanted to clarify that. when we come back from 24 miles up, hold your breath, all the way to the ground. we're going to hear from the man who lived to tell about it. my stomach sinks every time i see that shot. >> it is amazing. it was a big night for aaron rodgers and the green bay packers. houston, yeah, you had a problem. right here at table 19, a secret crush turned out to be a mutual attraction.

the westgate cousins went old school to decide who pays the check. a local book club raved about the cliffhangers in the new crime novel. and some bff's from college joked about looking up old flames on facebook. all over delicious entrees like new santa cruz steak from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here.

and getting more. that's value sense. introducing the scott shared values program. get free movie rentals, music downloads, and more. use your value sense. sign up at scottbrand.com.

well, the good news is that an suv that was reported stolen has been found. uh -- the bad news? it was found on the side of a rockie cliff overlooking the sea in newport, rhode island. it took hours to free the vehicle and haul it away. police believe it was deliberately pushed over the cliff. hope you have cliff insurance. now for a look at your morning road conditions. rainy and windy along i-95 by the afternoon commute. airport delays are possible in philadelphia, d.c., charlotte, seattle as well as detroit. and the weather was finally perfect in new mexico, allowing felix baumgartner to pull off his death-defying skydive. it was a 4:20 free fall. everyone watching was holding their breath. >> my stom match was up here. he shattered all kinds of

record. he became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound. ryan owens has more on fearless fel felix. >> reporter: he began his improbable journey to the edge of space. for 2 1/2 hours, the 43-year-old austrian skydiver floated to 24 miles up. 128,000 feet above the new mexico desert where he opened his capsule, hung his feet out the door. was reminded to remove his seat belt. saluted. and just jumped. he plummeted at 833 miles per hour. so fast, the only way to see him was this infrared camera. the first human to break the sound barrier with just his body, no yet, no rocket. he tumbled out of control for a few tense seconds then righted himself and managed to make a

sound. it was enough for mom. high winds delayed liftoff last week. nothing, it seemed, could keep him from the stratosphere. he returned to earth on his feet, with a record that's simply out of this world. >> when you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble. it's not about breaking records anymore. it's not about getting data. it's all about coming home alive. >> reporter: researchering plan to study what happened to his pressure suit. they think they can use that to design stronger, safer ones for the astronauts of the future. ryan owens, abc news, roswell, new mexico. space shuttle "endeavour" has reached its permanent home. >> it literally inched its way from l.a.x. to the science

cent center. jessica ridgway was remembered in her colorado hometown over the weekend. friends and family released purple balloons in the little girl's memory after her body was discovered last week. there's a massive search for the person who kidnapped and murdered the fifth grader. parents are jittery. many of them went to a safety fair to have their kids fingerprinted. a scary time on this flight. the windshield was cracked. we're told the plane never lost any cabin pressure and the landing was routine. sports now. the first bowl championship series standings of the college season are out. we start with number five, the notre dame fighting irish. >> kansas state at four, oregon number three. from the mighty seco.e.c., numb two, florida, number one, alabama. hurts my heart not to see lsu up

there. the season's not over. >> or north carolina or michigan. good morning, i'm jade mccarthy. yankees trying to come back after losing game one and their can't. let's go to the bronx for game two. top eight. that would be a single to right for austin jackson. omar infante overruns the second base bag. throw to second in time. but wait a minute, the umpire says he's safe. joe girardi wants to talk about this one. that's it for kuroda. next batter, garcia. he has the single that scored infan infante. that's it for logan. girardi giving him an earful. girardi out of the game. cook gets granderson. tigers win, 3-0, for a 2-0

series lead. aaron rodgers and the packers visiting the undefeated texans. what a game for rodgers. perfect pass for the 41-yard touchdown. under 1:00 to play in the first. rodgers play action. connecting with james jones. he had two tds in this one. second quarter, rodgers. having himself a night. finding nelson. 338 yards, 6 suchdotouchdowns. that ties a green bay record. the pack hand the texans their first loss of the season. coming up next, "the pulse." something special is first up. and tom cruise. is he really exiting the church of scientology? depends on who you listen to. living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab.

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time to check "the pulse" the morning. we'll start with something you're involved in, my friend. >> hannah overton has been in prison for the murder of her foster child. was justice served or has she been wrongly imprisoned? her case is being reviewed. you can watch her story today on katie couric's new talk show. we'll have more coming up on "good morning america." >> really compelling, complex story. looking forward to that. rumors are flying that tom cruise may be ready to cut ties with the church of scientology. >> and the reason, according to insiders, is that he was def tated by his divorce katie holmes and he hopes that by

backing way from the church, he may woo her back. >> it's been months since he's been seen at any church functions. also, a drink so unique, it's capable of knocking back a world record and your bank account. >> a bar nernd london created the world's most expensive cocktail. $8800 glass. a cognac from 1788. a 1770 liquor. and bitters from the 1900s. >> bring it out for a good party. it's been called liquid history in a glass. 8800 bucks, wow? >> it probably tastes horrible, right? >> it probably tastes like drano. but send us some, please. for some of you, your local

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next, the giants fall again in front of fans. mystery unfolding in contra costa county where a man and woman die after being shot. >> rain last week now heatwave. this morning fog too. right offshore flow not with us yet. dense fog and warmer today. plenty of 80s inland midsection. severe storms are a possibility from south jersey to northern florida. finally this morning this is the trim of year that millions of american teenagers and their parents are all abuzz over high

school homecoming. >> for one maryland family this year's homecoming has taken on a special meaning. reena ninan explains. >> reporter: giddy. glowing. and grateful to be alive. ♪ get funky >> reporter: 16-year-old alexis hanford was all smiles on saturday. >> you look nice. >> thank you. >> she still seems like she's okay. and happy to be alive and happy to be able to participate in these things. and you know, as a parent, that's awesome. >> three, two, one, go, haley! >> reporter: barely two months ago after playing in this lake with her sister, haley, the former soccer player wz hospitalized with rare strain of flesh-eating bacteria. >> i went off of a rope swing. when i fell into the water, i

hit my leg. it actually was really bad. >> reporter: over the course of several weeks, she endured 18 surgeries to rid her leg of infection and celebrated her sweet 16 with new wheels. >> every surgery, you wait in the waiting room wondering what they found and what would need to be removed or what was still left and was healthy. >> i've lost a lot of use in my leg. but i haven't lost my leg. >> reporter: though not yet well enough to return full time. the redhead stopped by school friday just long enough to be crowned homecoming princess. >> it was maizing to be crowned. and i'm guessing probably since i have been way for so long, they just wanted me to know that i'm still included in the school. i can't even explain how much that means to me. >> reporter: reena ninan, abc news, washington. >> royal in more ways than one, huh? >> true princess. that is what's