the one-day europe trip to secure the olympics for his hometown. should he be doing at all? no joke. something meant for facebook friends gets to the secret service. was it really a threat against the president. and show stopper. when a cell phone rings during a broadway show, what is a star to do? it's tuesday, september do? it's tuesday, september 29th, 2009. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. and thanks for being with us. some of the nation's most famous faces are traveling to copenhagen this week, to sell chicago as the 2016 summer olympics. >> among those making a personal appeal, is president obama, the first time a president has lobbies an olympic committee. it is a surprise decision by the white house. and a controversial one. >> john hendren is in washington with more this morning the good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. rio de janeiro, is the favorite to host the 2016 games.

so, to boost support for his home down, president obama appointed himself as salesman in chief. if chicago isn't home to the olympic games in 2016, it will be hard to blame president obama. the president will fly to copenhagen thursday, joined by first lady michelle obama. >> the first lady's will be personal. and the president's will be personal. but also speaking about how important it is to our country. >> reporter: it will be the first president to persol lobby the international olympic committee. joining the lineup, chicago's other best-known export. >> isn't this the most fabulous city in the world? >> reporter: oprah winfrey. >> if you have president obama, michelle obama and oprah winfrey, that's murderer's row of olympic selling. >> reporter: chicago's modest bid will bring home the gold when the winner's announced on

friday. >> it's nice that we have this shining star joining us. at the end of the day, chicago has to win on the merits of the bid. >> reporter: the president faces high-profile challengers. the heads of state of the other finalists, rio de janeiro, madrid and tokyo, will be there, as well. >> the real embarrassment was for him to not go to copenhagen and the games be awarded to another nation. >> reporter: friday's vote, unlike the games themselves, there's no award for second place. president obama might have been swayed bprecedent. when london beat out paris to host the 2012 games, the british prime minister showed up personally for the final pitch. the french president stayed home. jeremy and vinita? >> john hendren in washington this morning. as chicago tries to put its best face forward, there's a violent and disturbing image from one of the city's high schools. cell phone video from chicago station wfld, had rival gangs fighting at a school.

albert later died. the video helped investigators charge four teens with first-degree murder. more than 40 students were killed in chicago's schools last year alone. the white house is working on a plan for tough, new sanctions against iran, if it does not come clean about all of its nuclear activities. the u.s. and other world pers say iran was trying to provoke the west and flex its military muscle by test-firing its missiles. martha raddatz reports from washington. >> reporter: it was a spectacular display of military power. iran, test-firing long-range missile, capable of hitting israel, and u.s. forces in the persian gulf. >> i would lump any of these into the provocative nature with which iran has acted on the world stage for a number of years. >> reporter: the tests are especially provocative, coming days after the world learned that the secret underground

nuclear facility, in qom. and days before face-to-base diplomatic meetings with the iranians in y iranians in ja nooef va. the iranians say they're part of a test exercise, and they're not going to cancel them. the u.s. and its allies are make demands for the thursday meetings quite clear. immediate and unfettered access to the qom facility, including personnel and documents. and if iran refuses, the administration says there's a rich list of options, including sanctions on energy equipment, technology and banking that could be pursued. but russia could balk on military technology. and china, on cutoffs to the oil and gas industry. and there's been three rounds of sanctions against iran. in the meantime, iran gets closer and closer to having the ability to build nuclear weapons. and israel, in particular, gets

more and more nervous about that. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. president obama is meeting with his top national security officials behind closed doors today to consider revising strategy for what has become an increasingly unpopular war in afghanistan. commanders on the ground are calling for more combat troops. other advisers insist it's time to beef up training of afghan forces. the white house says any decision is weeks away. terror suspect najibullah zazi is expected to be arraigned today in federal court. the former van driver is accused of platting to use weapons of mass destruction. investigators say they have identified three other possible suspects as accomplices in the case. they apparently helped zazi buy beauty products, keck cals that could be used to make bombs. >>at least two u.s. soldiers have died as the result of a land mine attack in the southern philippines. militant, linked to al qaeda,

appear to be responsible for a blast on jolo island. a u.s. convoy of philippine troops were on their way to build a school when they hit the device. in the north of the philippines, is massive flooding. nearly 250 people have been killed since a powerful tropical storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in 12 hours on saturday. and forecasters say two more storms are heading their way. and it is time, now, for a look at this morning's weather from around the nation. a rainy day for the great lakes, upstate new york and new england, with the heaviest downpours in maine. much-needed thompls in south texas. showers in the pacific northwest. and up to six inches of mountain snow in the cascades. >> 58 in seattle. salt lake city gets up to 89. chilly for the midwest, with highs around 60, chicago, detroit and minneapolis. mostly in the 70s today from boston down to atlanta. 91 for miami. 81 in new orleans. and 82 in dallas.

and coming up on "america this morning," will the dow have another triple-digit day? "moneyscope" next. plus, a quick response by the secret service, after an internet poll asks if the president should die. and starbucks in an instant. get your caffeine fix faster with the coffee giant's newest idea. nda® with fiber.

>>e nati the nation's banks could

come to the rescue of the fund that insures trillions of dollars of customers' deposits. at a meeting today, the fdic are proposing the banks prepay three years of fees. that could help bring in about $36 billion, replenishing the fund that has been depleted by dozens of bank failures earlier this year. some big mergers are the latest sign some companies are feeling more bullish about the company. xerox said it is buying computer services firm, acs, for more than $6 billion. and drugmaker abbott labs, bought a pharmaceutical company r nearly $7 billion. those are boosting stocks in asia this morning after lifting wall street. tokyo's nikkei average jumped nearly 1%. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. wall street starts the day, they got back on the winning track monday, snapping a streak of three-straight down days. they jumped 124 points. its biggest gain in more than a month. the nasdaq rose nearly 40 points

to close at 2130. gas prices have fallen for seventh week in a row. the nationwide average dropped 5 cents in the past week, to $2.50. the prices at the pump are 31% lower than one year ago, thanks to growing supplies and slumping demand. starting today, you can get starbucks coffee in an instant. the upscale coffee chain is rolling out its invant coffee nationwide today. via, will be available in two flavors. and it costs just under $1 a cup. it will be available at starbuck stores, as well as other retailers. and via will be in supermarkets next year. >> $1 a cup, is something we haven't heard in a while. you can get the latest business news anytime an our website. abcnews.com. and up next on tuesday. the broadway faux pas. the phone rings during a climatic scene. celebrities coming to roman

polanski's defense. will the filmmaker ever face u.s. justice? and a new role for the hudson hero, captain sully sullenberger. ♪ ♪ find your favorite brands from head to toe. all the looks you love and the colors you crave.

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we continue, now, with a look at the road conditions you can expect for your morning commute. wet weather could cause problems on interstate 5, running through oregon and washington. it could get slick on i-10 in texas, as well as roads in south florida and upstate new york. >> if you are flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, detroit, philadelphia and washington, d.c. the secret service is investigating a poll about killing the president that appeared on facebook. more than 700 people responded before the poll was deleted from the site yesterday. you can see what got the secret service concerned. the question, should obama be

killed? and the responses, yes, maybe, if he cuts health care, and no. authorities were not concerned about an imminent threat. but they wanted the poll taken down. roman polanski's lawyers say they are pulling all of the stops to get him out of a swiss prison. polanski's reporters are outraged, questioning why they chose this weekend to arrest the filmmaker. but prosecutors insist they have been trying to catch up with polanski, since 1978, when he faced arrest and fled. >> reporter: roman polanski has led very public life, in france since fleeing u.s. justice, 31 years ago. >> he feels this case is over. >> reporter: polanski has continuesed to make highly-acclaimed movies. he's married with two children. >> i've been traveling around the world for 20 years. i've not had any problems.

thank you. >> reporter: for the past 30 years, roman polanski has avoided any country he feared might extradite him to the u.s. he thought he was pretty safe here in switzerland. he's been a regular visitor. for the past ten years, has even owned a house here. so, for polanski, it's a huge surprise for him to find himself sitting in a swiss jail. this is how it happened. last week, investigators in l.a., noticed on the zurich film festival website, that polanski was to receive an award sunday night. they asked swiss police to arrest him at the airport. and polanski walked into the trap. the reaction to his arrest has been mixed. but many want him freed. the french government has petitioned hillary clinton to grant him clemency. some things in life are sacred, gushed an emotional french minister. some people have amazing qualities and have done incredible things in their lives.

debra winger is a member of the zurich festival panel. she had this to say. >> we stanby and await his release. and his next master work. >> reporter: the los angeles district attorney's office has hunted polanski since 1978. he's slipped through their net in canada, germany, sweden, brazil, denmark, thailand, israel. and twice in britain. now, they finally have him. >> there's a individual that wanted to get this case resolved for a long time. but on his terms. it's going to be on the terms of the l.a. county justice system. not his terms. >> reporter: well, not so fast. there could be more twists and turns. polanski is fighting extradition. >> she's strong. he's a survivor. he's going to get through this. he has important work to do. he needs to get home. >> reporter: i'm nick watt, in zurich. well, former alaska governor, sarah palin, has wasted no ti, finishing her memoir. the book deal was announced four

months ago. but palin is all done. the publisher says the release date has been moved up, just in time for holiday gift-giving. the 400-page book will be called "going rogue in american life." hero pilot chesley sully sullenberger will return to a cockpit jet. he will take on a new role as part of the safe management team. back in january, sully ditched his airbus 320, into the hudson, after bird killed power in his engines. back to sports. the playoffs and "monday night football" in the big "d." here's will selva. >> good morning. it was the first football game in the new cowboy stadium. panthers and cowboys. third quarte cowboys down 7-3. first and goal. and that running back for felix jones, earlier in the night, suffered a knee injury. dallas up 10-7. third quarter, cowboys up 13-7.

jake delhomme's pass picked off by terence newman. and newman finds his way all the way in the end zone. and steve smith, looks like he broke off of his route. newman, with an easy pick. and delhomme, upset, at smith's decision. cowboys win it, 21-7. torii hunter and the angels going for the n.l. west title, if they can beat the rangers. angels waste no time. ken dri morales, with the two-run missile. ninth inning, angels lead 11-0. one out from clinching. and urban santana, gets ian kinser will to ground out to third. the angels clinch the a.l. west title again. the locker room celebration, classy move. angels players showering the jersey of nick adenhart, the teammate that died in april. chipper jones and the braves, still fighting for the

playoff hunt. facing the fish. bottom of the third, jones smashes that shot. hits the foul pole. braves, now two games back in the n.l. wild card race. they win it 4-0. that will do it for this espn news update. now, back to abc's "america this morning." well, thtergoers got more drama than they bargained for, during a preview performance of a new play. >> amateur video shows jackman veering off the script of "the a steady rain," when a cell phone rings in the audience. >> all the time. you want to get that? you want to get it? grab it. i don't care. grab it. >> as if that wasn't bad enough, a phone also rang during one of daniel craig's monologues. he also stopped the show and asked the person to pick up the phone. >> apparently, the person was too embarrassed. so, the phone kept ringing.

>> understandably so. >> turn those things off. up ahead, a look at the stories we'll be following later today. including a star-powered lobbying effort to bring the olympigames to the u.s. and more dramatic testimony today from john travolta. sharing, it's what kids do. but every year an average of four million kids get the flu and miss out on sharing. that's why we created goodtoshare.com. here you'll learn how to protect your family from influenza, get facts on the latest vaccination options available from your doctor, and hear what experts have to say on the value of sharing.

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identified three ore people as possibly accomplices in the case. president obama is meeting behind closed doors to reconsider strategy in afghanistan. roman polanski's legal team says it will try to prove that the u.s. request for extradition isllegal. and that the oscar-winning director should be released from swiss custody. john travolta could be back on the stand in the bahamas as early as today, in the extortion trial, stemming from the death of his 16-year-old son. a paramedic and another man are accused of trying to extort $20 million from the actor. and on capitol hill, college athletes testify, as regulators decide to regulate dietary supplements. for some of you, your local news is up next. for some of you, your local news is up next. >> for

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finally from us, as the health care debate continues on capitol hill, some americans are fiing alternative ways of getting coverage. >> thousands of evangelical christians are depending on faith and each other when a medical crisis arises. our dan harris explains how it works. >> reporter: when scott and rachel kramer, gospel musicians from outside peoria, illinois, discovered their son, weston, was autistic, they spent $30,000

on intervention therapy. all of it was paid for by strangers. fellow christians, that sent cards and checks and prayers. >> it was a simple note that said, we don't know you. but we're thinking of you. >> reporter: the kramers belong to something called samaritan ministries. a cheaper, faith-based alternative to health insurance. families pay $280 a month, directly to members who have health care bills that month. >> i find it to be a superior model to what the health care industry does because it's personal. >> reporter: samaritan is one of three large christian health care plans. to join, you need to be a church-going evangelical, that programs not to smoke, drink heavily, or have extramarital sex. if i'm a member and my child gets a catastrophic illness, are you guaranteeing that that coverage will be paid? >> no, we're not.

and that's certainly the faith-based element in what we're doing. >> reporter: you're asking me to take a lot on faith here. samaritan insists it's never failed to pay a medical bill in its 15 years of existence. but there's no guarantees because these christian health plans are not technically insurance and are therefore, unregulated by the government. as for the kramers, they say they have no reservation. and they get a benefit that people in regular insurance do not, the power of prayer. dan harris, abc news, peoria, illinois. >> our thanks to dan harris for that. stay with us for "good morning america," coming up at 7:00 a.m. and for updates anytime, check out our website, abcnews.com. >> have a great mo just moments away, an officer opens fire on ape