campaign countdow campaign countdown. president obama heads out west to defend democratic turf while back east a new controversy surfaces in the delaware senate race. no apology. anita hill says no way to a request to reconsider her sexual harassment accusations against clarence thomas. and six months later, the gulf coast is still struggling from the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, october 20th, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for being with us. i'm betty nguyen. president obama heads west today the beginning of a four-day campaign trip including oregon, washington, california and nevada.

the president is working hard to try and get democrats to the polls hoping to reassemble the coalition that put him in the white house two years ago. good morning. >> good morning, betty. as midterm elections get closer the president is spending more and more time on the campaign trail, his latest trip out west will be the longest of the season. president obama is heading out west to try to defend democratic turf. over the next four days, he'll headline events in several states where incumbent democrats are fighting to keep their jobs. >> that's what it's about! >> reporter: among them senators barbara boxer of california, patty murphy of washington and majority leader harry reid of nevada. but with the president's approval rating sagging, there are plenty of democrats who don't want his help. >> there's lots of places where obama is not an asset, democrats who are in trouble do not welcome him into their districts or into their states. >> reporter: both parties are running out of time to woo swing voters. according to a cbs

news/knowledge networks poll, the job may be even tougher for democrats. 50% of independents who supported the president two years ago are either planning to vote republican or still aren't sure. >> i don't see a lot of republicans i like. on the other hand, i don't see a lot of democrats i like. >> reporter: in florida, another choice. independent governor charlie crist vying for the seat against republican mark rubio and democrat kendrick meek. the three squared off last night. >> you need to send an independent to the united states senate. >> reporter: he has his work cut out for him. he and meek currently trail rubio. for president obama, he will also take his message to "the daly show" with jon stewart next week taping an appearance wednesday just before those crucial elections. back to you. >> thank you. campaign 2010 has had more than its fair share of bizarre moments. here's another, this time

involves the republican candidate for senate in delaware christine o'donnell. on tuesday, debating democrat chris coons in front of an audience of law students, she questioned the separation of church and state in the constitution. >> where in the constitution is the phrase "separation of church and state"? >> it's in -- no, an excellent point. >> coons proceeded to explain the first amendment but didn't appear to clear things up for o'donnell. >> the first amendment establishes the separation, the fact that the federal government shall not establish any religion and decisional law by the supreme court over many, many decades. >> the first amendment does? >> here's what the first amendment says, congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free speech thereof. o'donnell's campaign says she was trying to point out the exact phrase "separation of church and state" doesn't appear in the constitution. there will be no apology

from aeven in that hill to her fo former boss despite a request from his wife. 19 years ago during thomas's confirmation hearings hill accused thomas of sexual harassment, charges he denied. earlier this month thomas's wife, virginia left this phone message for hill, quote, i would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband, so give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did, okay? hill worked for thomas in two federal jobs. she says she stands by her testimony and has no intention of apologizing. virginia thomas says she wanted to extend an olive branch to to hill. the explosion on board the deepwater horizon oil rig in the gulf happened exactly six months ago today unleashing the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. 11 workers were killed and more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the gulf. the well was not permanently sealed until last month. oil washed up on the coastlines of four states and they're still feeling the effects.

>> we have a long way to go in terms of our restoration and recovery issues related to the oil spill. >> more than 200,000 claims have been filed for damages and nearly $1.5 billion in damages have been paid out. for the first time in u.s. history the military is accepting openly gay recruits. the move comes after a federal judge refused a government request for delay her order to end the so-called don't ask, don't tell law. tuesday, here in new york, dan choi, an iraq war veteran discharged for being gay, began the process of reenlisting. the 1993 don't ask, don't tell law was declared unconstitutional last month. the legal battle will likely switch to an appeals court. the trial date has been set for two american hikers still being held in iran. shane bauer and josh fatal will go on trial november 6th. the two men have been imprisoned in iran since july 2009, when arrested for crossing the border from iraq into iran. they're accused of espionage.

bauer's fiance was released by iran september 14th and since returned to the u.s. one of the undercover russian spies deported from the u.s. this summer is definitely not under cover anymore. anna chapman had nothing to hide when she recently posed for a men's magazine. monday she received an award from the russian president for her service. chapman and nine others admitted their guilt before they were exchanged for four russians accused of espionage. on money watch, stocks in asia mostly headed south this morning. ashley morrison is here with much more on that. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, betty asian markets saw profit taking after china's surprise move to hike interest rates. japan's nikkei lost more than 1.5%, while hong kong's hang seng was also lower. today, wall street gets more corporate earnings with delta and morgan stanley among big names. tuesday stocks had their worst day in two months. the dow sank 165 points while the nasdaq gave back 44.

the fbi has begun a criminal investigation of the foreclosure mess. the agency is looking into whether lenders broke any laws when they reported to so-called robo signings to push foreclosure documents through. a house panel will hold a hearing next month. meantime, the new york federal reserve is part of a group suing bank of america over its role in the foreclosure crisis. they want to force the bank to buy back almost $47 million worth of bad mortgages bundled together and sold to investors. those investments turned out to be virtually worthless. for americans approaching retirement, 70 seems to be the new 65 and not in a good way. a new survey finds more than half of working americans expect to stay working for at least three years longer than they originally planned. 8 out of 10 feel it will take that long to rebuild the nest egg they lost in the economic crisis. and fewer than half are very confident they will able to pay for basic living expenses once

they do retire. the government's trying to close loopholes in the recent credit card reform regulations. under new proposed rules a credit card companies would be barred from charging sign-up fees or other charges that take effect before the account is technically opened. companies would also be prohibited from charging higher interest rates on promotional programs that waive interest charges for a set period unless a customer was more than 60 days late on a payment. and if you're wondering what's going to happen with the market, well, just go to twitter. according to new research at indiana university, the mood on the social networking website twitter can predict if the dow will rise or fall. if the twittersphere is calm, the dow goes up. researchers claim the predictions are about 90% accurate. betty who knew it's all about twitter and facebook these days, they have all the answers. >> are you serious? hold up. 90% accurate, really. >> that's what they say. researchers from iu. i'm from indiana, so it's right. >> i've got to stay on twitter

more often, apparently. ashley thank you, joining us in new york. just ahead on the morning news, new concerns about hormone replacement therapy and cancer plus remembering tv dad tom bosley who brought millions of viewers "happy days." this is the "cbs morning news." days." this is the "cbs morning news." equals chili's $20 dinner for two. share an app, like our texas cheese fries. then choose two entrees from 14 chili's favorites, like our new honey chipotle baby back ribs. the $20 dinner for two, only at chili's.

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly

are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. in kansas city, a 3-pound chimpanzee escaped from a home and smashed a window on a police car. the chimp roamed through the neighborhood after an animal control officer's dart failed to subdue it. eventually, though. chimp's owner coaxed it back into a cage in the back of a vehicle. that fed-up jetblue flight attendant got a plea deal to

avoid jail time. he went to court in new york tuesday to plead guilty to two counts ever criminal mischief and ordered to undergo alcohol and substance abuse counseling. the prosecutor says he thinks he might have been drunk when he got mad at a passenger and stormed off the plane by way of an exit chute. taking fish oil supplements will not make a pregnant woman's baby any smarter. a new study says there is no clear mental benefit to babies from the fish oil capsules. it also found the supplement did not reduce post-partem depression but fish oil might reduce the chance of giving birth too early. for women going through menopause there is no evidence taking hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of breast cancer and also increases the risk of dieing from it. last year, 40 million prescriptions for hormones were filled in the u.s. doctor john le poof has more. >> i think what's important about this study is that it really provides tremendous clarity regarding the risks of hormone replacement therapy. >> reporter: in 2002, a large

study of postmen pause sal women found the combination of estrogen and progesterone led to increased cases of breast cancer. about one extra case for every thousand women taking hormones for a year. following the report, the number of women using hormones fell by about half and breast cancer rates declined. researchers continued to study the women for an average of 11 years and found there was not only an increase in the number of breast cancer cases but the cancers were more likely to be advanced and cause death. the increase was slight. a little over one extra death per year for every 10,000 women. >> i think from this point onward, any woman who is considering taking hormone replacement therapy will need to genuinely consider these risks. actor tom bosley who played the father on "happy days" has died. ♪ sunday, monday, happy days >> he portrayed the typical american dad, howard cunningham in the popular tv series. he had the last word in the show's finale.

>> so, thank you all for being part of our family. to "happy days." >> he died from heart failure and also had lung cancer. he was 83. but it's also rich in powerful nutrients that help cleanse and purify your body. cranberries are the ninja fruit.

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miami partly cloudy, 86. chicago, sunny, 68. denver, sunny, 76, and showers and 70 degrees in l.a. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows the southeast with a good deal of cloud cover as thunderstorms race to the east and the northern half of the country is looking rather clear. later today, the northern plains will see a sunny and windy day. the southeast is looking at scattered thunderstorms and more rain and severe thunderstorms in the southwest. in sports, the yankees are only one game away from being eliminated from the baseball playoffs. in the sixth inning, bengie molina of texas hit a three-run homer off a.j. burnett to take the lead. the rangers' josh hamilton also hit two home runs, as texas cruised to a 10-3 win. yankees all-star first baseman mark teixeira strained his hamstring running to first base and is done for the season. texas leads the best of seven

series three games to one. game five is this afternoon right here in new york. there was, also, some damage done in the fourth inning as the yankees' bret gardner hit a ground ball and a piece of his bat broke and it flew through the air and broke the protective glass on a tv camera. look at that. it was a direct hit! in the national league playoffs, cody ross of san francisco singled in the fourth inning to drive in a run against philadelphia. the next batter aubrey huff followed with a run-scoring single off the second baseman's glove. giants' pitcher matt cain allowed only two hits over seven innings and struck out five. san francisco's 3-0 shut-out gives them a 2 games to one 1 lead over philadelphia. game four is tonight in san francisco. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and heads up, why the nfl says it will no lon ger tolerate helmet-to-helmet hits. i needed more customers, so i got my nephew to build a website.

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and... the families of the victims of the san bruno blast take their fight to court. what we're learning about the possibility of dozens more lawsuits. too close for comfort.... did this plane almost fly right into the golden gate bridge? what federal investigators are saying about the close call. and... they're halfway to a spot in the world series. the giant's big win.. and looking ahead to game 4. plus... what starbucks is going to be giving customers for free. join us for cbs 5 ea ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] new real fruit smoothies from mccafé have taken center stage at mcdonald's. spun from real fruit -- in strawberry banana and wild berry. experience the intense and spectacular burst of fruit, starting at just $2.29. the simple joy of real fruit smoothies. ♪

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. high pressure dominating much of the northern portion of the country with sunny skies, cool and breezy conditions, as well. another day of stormy weather is in store for the southwest and there are mostly showers on the move. here's another look at this morning's top stories. it's been exactly six months since the explosion on board the deepwater horizon oil rig in the gulf of mexico. 11 workers were killed and more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the gulf. and for the first time in history, the u.s. military is accepting openly gay recruits. a federal judge denied a request to delay her ban on don't ask, don't tell. the nfl is cracking down on dangerous collisions during games that could seriously injure a player. starting this week, so-called helmet-to-helmet hits could mean

suspension for a player. mark strassmann reports. >> reporter: in the nfl's world of legalized violence -- >> that is not good news for the browns. >> reporter: even die-hards cringed this past weekend. a series of frightening helmet-to-helmet collisions like this one in philadelphia. both players left the game with concussions. and baltimore tight end todd heath dropped cold with new england's safety brandon merriweather turned himself into a human missile. >> if you break the rules, are you going to be held accountable. so know the rules, abide by the rules, do it right because, if you don't, you may hurt your team by spending time on the bench instead of the field. >> reporter: under severe criticism the nfl is cracking down. starting this weekend suspension of players guilty of flagrant blows to the head, even first-time offenders. should they be suspended. shannon sharpe, former nfl star and now cbs sports analysts says fining employers was no deterrent. >> you are making $7 million

dollars and they fine you 15,000, you got your point to the nfl team but they didn't get their point across to you. >> reporter: the nfl estimates about 200 concussions okur a season, an average of under one a game. but many go unreported. washington redskins receiver chris coolley admits he kept playing through a concussion this past weekend. with concussions here's the worry. when two helmeted players collide full force, the front end of the brain mashes against the skull. the impact can also ricochet the brain against the back of the skull. still, sharpe worries about too many safety rules and the essence of the sport. >> it changes the game. it has to. >> reporter: for the worse. >> i think think so, for the worse. >> reporter: for better or worse, pro football will change this sunday. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. in peru a police officer survived a very frightening collision caught on tape. highway cameras showed the officer on a motorcycle slamming

into a truck last week. the truck narrowly misses running over her head. luckily she escaped with only a broken shoulder and some bruises. this is the "cbs morning news. good morning! ♪ [ female announcer ] nutri-grain -- one good decision... ♪ ...can lead to another. ♪ ♪

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the latest poll numbers show a very close race for california's senate seat. among likely voters, the democratic incumbent, barbara boxer, has a 46% support. republican carly fiorina has 45%. boxer's lead is down from four points earlier this month. tuesday, boxer sat down with cbs's terrell brown. >> reporter: 18 years in the senate critics call her abrasive, ineffective and too liberal for most californians. we wanted to know if senator boxer truly understands the struggles of working families. for the people in california that -- that work hard, that go out every day, when they look at you, can they say that you've been grocery shopping lately? when is the last time -- >> oh, my god, every day

probably. i grocery stop. probably every day. yes, i know the price of milk. >> you know that. >> i do. let me just tell you something. >> which is, by the way? >> about a buck 45. i'm a mom and a grandma i care about people and care about them all the time. >> reporter: yes, we know that's a half gallon. so, you know about the rising price of milk, ground beef. gas prices, when's the last time you've had to fill up? >> well, actually, i drive a prius, thank god. i own three of them. two in california and one in washington that's about ten years old. so, i am so fortunate, i get about 50 miles to the gallon because the price of gas is over three bucks in my -- in my state. >> reporter: whatever the issues, this is boxer's hardest re-election campaign in her life. nine of the major newspapers in california have endorsed a candidate in this election so far. seven out of nine don't support you. when you look at those numbers and you look at these endorsements, what does that mean?

>> you know, i stand with the people, not with newspaper publishers, many of whom do not agree with my fighting for the middle class. i don't run to win the favor of newspapers. i run on my record fighting for the middle class, fighting for my people. >> reporter: for almost two decades, boxer has been one of the strongest supports in the senate for abortion rights. >> it is boxer pro-choice, versus fiorina, anti-choice. >> reporter: so, if her position is so clear for so long, we want to know why she keeps bringing it up. poll after poll shows that what americans really care about right now are jobs and the economy. today, you held a press conference that talked about your opponent's beliefs on abortion. isn't this a distraction, senate? >> the main issue in this race, jobs, jobs, jobs. >> reporter: but what about events like this? we've seen the attacks on abortion time after time after

time. >> i believe it's important to tell the truth in an election. i want to tell the truth about my record. i'm going to tell the truth about my opponent's record. and most important issue is jobs there are other issues. we're going to talk about all the issues. >> reporter: terrell brown, cbs news. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. hope you'll join us a little bit later for "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. later for "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. have a great day! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com www.vitac.com

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. more families of the san bruno blast victims could be headed to court. new this morning, wh