making news in america this morning -- final frenzy. a last ditch effort from both sides of the aisle. the president hitting the trail. and the battleground states determining control of congress. we're live in washington. wintry weather. a surprise snowfall blankets part of the country. people are waking up to their first freeze of the season. a possible cause of the crash kofling the virgin galactic spaceship. why new signs point to a fatal mistake in the cockpit. and a late-night high wire act performed blindfolded and without a safety net.

and good morning to you all. thank you for being here. i'm t.j. holmes. >> and i'm tai hernandez. the crucial battle for congress coming down to the wire. millions of americans heading to the polls in just over 4 hours. >> and president obama made a pair of rare campaign appearances. in philadelphia and new jersey. governor chris christie in pennsylvania. happy election eve. >> reporter: it is election eve, t.j. and tai. the candidates are still out there, pushing hard to win over undecided voters. control of the senate son the line. it's the final push before tomorrow's mid terms. across the country, long lines for early voting. >> voting early was a must. >> reporter: over the weekend, president obama hit the trail. >> are we going to vote? >> reporter: and so did 2016

presidential hopefuls rand paul, chris christie, hillary clinton, and others. >> it comes down to who shows up. >> find them anywhere you can and tell them how important this election is. >> reporter: control of congress is up for grabs. analysts say republicans start the night at least half way to the six continues they need. west virginia, montana, and south dakota almost certain to go to the gop. >> our ground game is whipping theirs. >> reporter: tom cotton is pulling away. republicans need to win just 2 of 10 competitive seats now held by democrats. republicans have tried to make the race about president obama. just 44% of americans view him favorably. >> pryor. o-b-a-m-a. >> reporter: alison grimes who is taking on mitch mcconnell is running this spot. >> i'm not barack obama.

>> reporter: and we may not know who will control the senate tuesday night, wednesday morning. two states require a majority of votes. if not, we're looking for a runoff. >> to the obama is on the mind of many voters. how much of a drank is he for democrats? >> reporter: a huge drag. 44% see him favorable. that's down from 60%. he's hit a career low in understands people's problems. just 46% of americans say he does. and americans say he's not a good manager and a good leader. >> tahman bradley there live. thank you so much. >> and be sure to tune in to abc news live coverage tomorrow night. our coverage begins at 7:00 eastern on abcnews.com. look for a special election night broadcast at 10:00 p.m. an early taste of winter for some 70 million americans. a nor'easter dumped up to a foot

of snow across parts of maine. another storm system broke records across is south. >> reporter: it came early. it came heavy. it came to the south. taking some people in north carolina by surprise. >> i got a text and they asked me how much snow was here. and i said what? i opened up the door and was totally surprised. >> reporter: record snows in the carolinas, over a foot in spots. across the border in tennessee, more snow in the smoky mountains. a staggering2 issues buried this lodge. some guests were temporarily stranded. according to the general manager. >> all the park trails were closed. the roads were closed. we were virtually shut down overnight. >> reporter: cold winds over 50 miles an hour in new york city. slowing and chilling the runners on the marathon's mostly

northward route. winds gusted to 55 miles per hour. nearly 20,000 people without power across the state. just inland, the rain turned gillette stadium white. grounds crewed had to break out the snowplows to clear the field. in maine, near white out conditions. down the roopd, this tractor trailer ended up on its side in the snow. rob marciano, abc news, new york. the nor easter has blown out to sea, leaving the eastern part of the nation clear and dry. some areas get a mix of rain and snow. more rain in store for the pacific northwest. >> temperatures warm up today. 40s and 50s in the northeast. 60s and 70s in the south. possibly a new clue into why the virgin galactic air ship crashed. >> in a late night news conference.

they said the copilot released the feathering system. it's supposed to slow the descent. despite the new information, the acting ntsb chairman says they're a long way from finding a cause. the company is not deterred from carrying people into space. multiple suspects are in custody after a horrific hit and run crash that killed three 13-year-olds on halloween night. the girls were hit by an suv while trick-or-treating. police found the suv abandoned. they were able to collect enough evidence to find a suspect. suspected cop killer eric frein behind bars, we're getting a look at the hideout where he was found. he was found in this abandoned airplane hangar with debris on the floor, a dirty mattress for a bed.

we're hearing new details about the takedown. authorities say it was a hunch that led them to the hangar. >> he met the description. fizz kals. for a split second, i was like who is this guy in the middle of the field of nowhere. then i realized it was him. >> the survivalist's reign of or the ror ended. classes resume at marysville high school today for the first time since four teens died. jaylen fryberg shot five friends, killing three including himself. the governor is urging people to wear red and white to support the school. the megamillion jackpot is up to $321 million. only ten times in history has it

soord past $300 million. it will be the 17th highest payout of all time. the next drawing is tomorrow night. but don't bother. the winning ticket is in my pocket. who really is better at investing, men or women? plus, halloween horror on the high seas. hundreds of passengers forced to evacuate a cruise ship. and fists fly in pit row. an intense turn following a nascar race between two popular drivers.

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below $3 a gallon for the first time in nearly four years. aaa reports the price of regular unleaded is at $2.99. consumers are saving $250 million per day. a brand-new study just out this morning shows an alarming number of traffic zebts are blamed on do you zi driving. 21% of fatal crashes linked to fatigue. more than 6,000 fatigue-related deadly accidents happen each year. 28% of drivers admit they were drowsy behind the wheel. "nightcrawler" and

tied at the box office this weekend. women tend to do better in investing. they tend to keep to a buy and hold strategy. women want their fnl advisers to consider their complete portfolio. 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the world trade center is back in business. >> they have the first tenants. publishing giant conde nast moves in today. the most secure office building in america will have an observation deck open to the public eventually. >> quite a view. when we come back, shark attack. the terrifying story. the injuries. the friend who came to a rescue. he's proving he's truly an action film star. what could be tom cruise's most

dangerous stunt yet. i was active. i kept on top of things. i was energetic. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor and i agreed, moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. for some patients, lyrica significantly relieves fibromyalgia pain and improves physical function. with less pain, i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with lyrica i have less fibromyalgia

pain and can keep moving forward. ask your doctor about lyrica. ♪ ♪ this is time-lapsed video taken from a window overlooking the deck of a home in freeport, maine, yesterday during the snowstorm. power was knocked out to tense of thousands of customers across the state. a look at your morning road

conditions. wet from western texas to the midwest and great likes. mountain snow will be treacherous in higher elevations of colorado. if you're flying, airport delays are possible in denver. back to the news now. a frightening end to what was supposed to be a fun-filled halloween cruise from florida to the bahamas. >> after the ship hit an unidentified object, creating the hole in the vessel, passengers telling abc news the ship came to a jerking halt before it was plunged into darkness. >> people were crying. people were his tear kak. >> the lights blew out. we were all eating. it became total chaos. >> today's cruise is canceled while the damage is repaired 37. a terminally ill oregon woman who campaigned for assisted suicide laws has taken her life. she took her life with the drugs

available under the death with dignity law. she was diagnosed with a brain tumor on new year's day and was given six months to live. she and her husband moved from california because that state does not allow assisted suicide. a surfer survived to tell the tale of a run-in with a tiger shark. she hit a 12-foot long shark. it clamped down on her surfboard and then her hand. a friend repeatedly punched the predator until it let go. >> about the fifth time i hit it, my left hand was still on the dorsal fin of the shark, i felt the shark shudder. and, at that time, he turned away from mckenzie and started to head out to sea. >> clark will need skin grafting to repair the damage to her hand. as for the board, she's golt a good conversation starter now. here on the mainland, an

attack on the racetrack in ft. worth, texas. none of the eight contenders was able to clinch one of the final four spots in yesterday's nascar chase for the sprint cup. the championship took an intense turn when jeff gordon and brad keselowski got into a brawl. >> to me, it's just a bunch of crap. i mean, the kid is just doing stuff way over his head. >> jimmie johnson won his third consecutive texas fall race. his fourth victory at texas and 70th sprint cup win overall. it was a rough sunday for the washington redskins on the road in minneapolis. en route to the stadium, their escort squad car suddenly stopped causing one team bus to rear end the other. no one was seriously injured. they were greeted by protesters at the stadium who were upset about what they say is the team's racist name.

to some sports on the field of play. another banner day for bin beg roethlisberger. >> something no other quarterback in the history of the nfl has ever done. >> welcome inside "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. big ben does it again. six touchdown passes for the second straight week as the steelers dominate the ravens sunday night. 43-23. that makes 12 touchdown passes in the last two weeks. no one had ever done that in the history of the nfl. the steelers have won three straight games and are now 6-3. quarterback news not good in philadelphia. nick foles broke his collarbone. he's out indefinitely. mark sanchez led item to the win. broncos visiting the patriots. tom brady versus peyton manning.

looking okay. early second quarter, and rob ninkovich. what a huge play in the game. intercepts manning. later in the second, patriots up 13-7. colquitt, oops, drops the ball. everything is fine. edleman makes a move. and another move. and suddenly, he has lots of turf. 84 yards! and the patriots go on to win, 43-21. over the broncos. don't forget, "monday night football" tonight. it's andrew luck and the colts visiting eli manning and the giants. kickoff at 8:15 eastern. "monday night countdown" begins at 6:00. up next in "the pulse" -- high wire act. a risky walk high above chicago's streets.

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pulse" -- stories you'll be talking about today. starting with a death-defying stunt broadcast worldwide. >> 35-year-old daredevil nik wallenda braved high winds to make not one, but two high wire crossings without a safety net or harness. first, he walked with a 19-degree incline. then, just to make things interesting, he walked it blindfolded. dads are apparently not pulling our weight when it comes to daybaby talk. >> oh, really? mothers contribute more than fathers to baby talk. when babies make sound, 70% of the responses come from mom, and 20% come from dad. >> does that mean we're ignoring the child? prior studies have shown that academic success is directly linked to verbal interaction

with bay bbies at a young age. looks like tom cruise is putting more hollywood stuntmen out of work. >> he was spotted performing what may be his most dangerous stunt yet. hanging from the side of an airplane for "mission impossible v." he's seen clinging to an air bus over the british country side. >> there are a couple of safety harnesses. his previous stunts included scaling the world's tallest building and climbing colorado's canyons. not much fun flying these days. a couple from indiana came up with a remedy. >> dotty and keith tied the knot, 3,02,000 feet in the air. the couple says they wanted

their wedding to be different. >> we were literally sitting at a gate in baltimore waiting for a flight and just thinking, what should we do. and we both were like, well, what about getting married on a plane? why not? >> dotty and keith travel a lot for their jobs. they accumulated enough frequent flyer miles to invite 30 relatives and friends along. >> not everybody on the flight, you were explaining to me, were a part of the wedding party. some were complete strangers who had no idea this was going on. they got to be a part of a wedding they had no idea they would be part of. >> sometimes you sit next to somebody and see the pictures on their phone or wallet. then you get to do something like this. what else is going to happen on the plane, right? in-flight enlter tanment. for some of you, your local news is next. for emp else, we'll be back with one woman's special reason

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> happy monday. it is now. it is monday. thanks for starting the month with us. we survived the long weekend with the giants parade, halloween night and daylight savings time. >> we will check with meteorologist mike nicco to see how the weather it at 4:28. >> we have a few high clouds. that is going to be the case this afternoon. with mild temperatures, no low clouds or fog or rain as we look from sutro to the east so i will tell you what will happen this afternoon after starting in the 40's and 50's we end up in the

low-to-upper 60's from the coast to san francisco, up to 68. inland we are around 69 to 73. the bay is 68 to 71. how is the traffic? so far, it is light at 4:29. green conditions everywhere. we have some construction. i will take you to berkeley, between powell and buchanan. it will last until 5:00 this morning. if you travel eastbound, everything is moving along fine away from the maze to the hoffman split. drive time traffic is quiet westbound 580 tracy to dublin is 23 minutes and highway 4 antioch to conquer is 15 minutes and san rafael to san francisco is 20 minutes. reaction is growing to the death of the bay area woman who became the world's most visible spokes person for death with dignity. britney married -- brittany maynard ended her life over the

weekend. >> her husband and mother supported her decision and are requesting privacy. a spokesman for "compassion and care," said brittany maynard died as they intended peacefully if her bedroom. the 29-year-old was diagnosissed with aggressive terminal brain cancer in january and moved from the east bay to oregon where the law allows doctors to prescribe fatal drugs do dying pairs. she has been a vocal advocate for the cause saying in videos and blogs everyone deserves the right to die with dignity and explaining her choice. >> since january 1...this is sicker when you are temperature naturally ill. >> the last facebook she says good by to family and friends and says today is the day i have chosen to