making news this morning, one family's nightmare is finally over. >> amanda knox headed home right now, after the emotional verdict she'd hoped for. but what about another appeal? could she be sent back to italy? the underdog. most americans believe a republican candidate will beat president obama. he responds to that in an abc news exclusive. and "monday night football's" opening act, hank williams jr., in hot water, over comments about the president. good morning, everyone. i'm tanya rivero. >> and i'm rob nelson.

in a letter released this morning, amanda knox thanked her italian supporters. >> she's begun the next chapter in her saga, the journey home that she and her family have dreamt about. >> late last night, amanda was whisked from the prison, where she has spent the last four years. abc's llama harassen, is in perugia. >> reporter: amana knox, left prison a free woman, after a jury overturned her murder conviction. after ten intense hours of deliberation, the eight-person jury acquitted knox of murder and sexual assault. >> amanda knox, and raffaele sollecito, is immediately released. >> reporter: it has been an agonizing wait. when knox heard the decision, she was overcome with emotion. her family expressed jubilation, elated to be taking amanda home. >> we're thankful amanda's

nightmare is over. >> reporter: back in seattle, friends and family shared that sentiment. before in a moment, knox made an emotional plea to the courtroom, often pausing to calm herself. i lost a friend in the most inexplicable way possible. she says, i am paying with my life for things i didn' do. knox and co-defendant, raffaele sollecito, her former italian boyfriend, were accused in 2009, for assaulting and murdering her 21-year-old british college roommate. meredith kercher was stabbed to death in her bedroom. knox was sentenced to 23 years in prison. sollecito, to 25. there was an enormous outburst of joy. but there were also tears. outside the courtroom, however, mixed emotions. mixed sentiments. there were cheers. but there were boos. and some people shouting, what a disgrace. rob and tanya, back to you. >> thank you. in italy, prosecutors say

they plan to appeal the case to the nation's highest criminal court. we ask abc news legal analyst, dan abrams, whether amanda knox is still in legal jeopardy. >> the prosecutor, it sounds like he's going to appeal. if they win on appeal, i can't see an extradition occurring. i think amanda knox is safe at home. >> and knox should be safe at home in seattle, where hundreds of friends have been waiting for her return. coming up on "good morning america," complete coverage from our team in italy and seattle, as amanda knox heads home. and turning, now, to presidential politics. and what our new poll says about some potential matchups for next november. the poll finds president obama with razor-thin leads against republican front-runner mitt romney and new jersey governor, chris krity, who is still considering whether to get in the race at all. for more on this, we're joined by abc's john hendren in washington. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, rob. those matchup numbers are not

overwhelmingly positive for the president. but the poll overall is downright horrible. our poll finds that 37% of americans believe the president will be elected. while 55% say the republican candidate will win. president obama says he knows americans don't think they're better off thar than were four years ago. and he realizes the unemployment rate is still way too high. in an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos, our first collaboration between abc news and yahoo! the president admitted he is facing an uphill battle. >> are you the underdog now? >> absolutely. given the economy, there's no doubt that, you know, whatever happens on your watch, you have -- >> you embrace that pretty quickly. >> i don't mind. i'm used to being an underdog. and i think at the end of the day, though, what people are going to say is, who's got a vision for the future that can actually help ordinary families recapture that american dream? >> reporter: george also asked

the president about his backing for solyndra, the solar panel company that failed despite a billion dollars in government loans. the president says he doesn't regret helping the company because smaller businesses need help to compete with foreign companies. rob, back to you. >> john hendren in washington for us. thanks, john. it appears that the president's much-touted jobs bill is dead in the house. republican leader eric cantor, says the bill taken as a hole, will never see the light of day. but it could be that lawmakers could vote on bits and pieces of the plan that both sides can agree on. protests against wall street are spreading beyond new york city. dan harris has a look at the demonstration and what the protesters want. >> reporter: it started with fewer than a dozen college students. but when video of a police officer pepper spraying female protesters went viral, the movement grew. this past weekend, 700 people were arrested when they stormed

the brooklyn bridge. now, major unions are joining in, as are celebrities, like susan sarandon and alec baldwin. and similar protests are popping up across america. you want to see more of this and not just here? >> yes. >> we're mad. we're angry. and we're standing. >> reporter: this is a functional little city. let me give you a tour. it starts with the information desk, for people who have newly arrived. behind that, this whole area right here, this is the media area. filled with bloggers and other people getting the word out. and it's powered by donated generators. this is the food station. all free and all donated, including cookies that came in from a grandmother from idaho. the one thing they don't have, a clear focus. experts say social movements start small and disorganized. as happened with unemployment protests during the great depression. if i'm tempted to write these kids, mostly kids off, as people having a good time in a public park, i should rethink that?

>> yes. >> reporter: because there is potential here? >> there is potential here, especially now that it's being legitimized. >> reporter: they may not have concrete commands. but they say their makeshift city is a model for how america should live. and they're not leaving anytime soon. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> for sure. now, for this morning's weather around the nation. showers in the northeast, from philadelphia to portland, maine. cooling down out west, with showers in northern california and the pacific northwest. thunderstorms and periods of heavy rain in the rockies. indian summer across the northern plains and midwest. >> 80s in fargo. 78 in minneapolis. and 74 in the windy city. 77 in atlanta. 82 in the big easy. a wet 62 in seattle. 74 in boise. and 81 in salt lake city. and coming up, a megaairline on the verge of bankruptcy. and supersecretive apple will spill the beans today.

likely unveiling its latest iphone model. some of the rumored improvements, coming up. and the battle against a raging chemical fire in texas. stay with us.

welcome back, everyone. overseas markets are lower again this morning on fears of a default by greece. tokyo's nikkei average lost 82 points today. hong kong's hang seng was down 61. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow dropped

258 points yesterday. the nasdaq index fell 79 1/2. one stock leading the dow downward is amr, that's the parent of american airlines. its shares yesterday lost one-third of its vool on fears it may go bankrupt. the airline dismisses that, though, as rumors as speculation. but the stock opens this morning below $2 a share. and bank of america is another troubled company. its website has been up and down for several days now. the bank blames all that on too much traffic. but says it is not related to last week's announcement of a $5 fee to use your debit card there. that fee was denounced by senator dick durbin of illinois. >> get the heck out of that bank. find a bank or credit union that won't gouge for $5 a month and will give you a debit card that you can use every, single day. >> other banks are likely to follow bank of america's lead, though. some analysts blame the new fees

on durbin. he sponsored legislation on how much banks can charge stores for debit card transactions. apple is expected to unveil the iphone 5 later today. it would be the first major product launched since steve jobs resigned by ceo. new features include a better camera, faster processor, a cheaper version and maybe even direct access to facebook. >> you get used to the 4. the 5. two more weeks, we'll have the 5. >> electronics that nobody needs and everybody wants. >> that's it. coming up next on this tuesday morning, what lurks beneath the second shark attack in just a week off the same florida town. and new developments overnight in the case against michael jackson's doctor. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪

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a chemical plant near dallas was destroyed in this huge fire, which burned for hours. giant plumes of black smoke and flames that shot into the sky could be seen from 30 miles away. no one was hurt. and all of the residents who had been evacuated have been allowed to go home. now, for a look at road conditions. wet on i-95, from philadelphia to bangor, maine. slick on i-5, from seattle to san francisco. rain drenches parts of i-80, 40, 15 and 10 in the rockies. >> if you're taking to the skies, airport delays are possible in philly, new york, boston, san francisco, salt lake city, and vegas. a new development should shatter the defense of michael jackson's doctor. abc news has learned that none of the fingerprints on propofol bottles found in the singer's bedroom belonged to jackson. >> attorneys for dr. conrad murray says it was jackson who gave himself the propofol.

there was a syringe in the room. but there's no word on prints from that. the jury will hear testimony from a cocktail waitress that received a call from murray at the time of jackson's death. the tsa is trying to speed up the screening process. the precheck pilot program, is for frequent flyers. passengers who qualify will be directed to a special security lane. and they may be able to keep their shoes on. the program is being tested in atlanta, detroit, miami, and dallas-ft. worth. two more top advisers are leaving michele bachmann's faltering presidential campaign. since winning in iowa, bachmann has struggled in the polls and raising money, as well. and a misstep on video is not helping. the congresswoman sloughed a key line talking about our nation's future. >> on the ropes economically. very high employment. our house values are down.

>> bachmann meant to say unemployment, instead. for the second time in a week there's been a shark attack in the waters off of southwest florida. this time, a fisherman was bitten on the leg. he was rushed to the hospital but is expected to be okay. last week, a 21-year-old was much more seriously injured in an attack by a bull shark. all signs in the nba's labor dispute will be back at the table in new york today, for the players union president is calling a, quote, huge day. if the lockout is not settled soon, regular season games will have to be canceled. the season is supposed to tip off on november 1st. after the baseball playoffs, there's games in all four division series today. by tonight, three of the four could be over. the reasons why from espn news. >> good morning. this is your espn news update. i'm max bretos. justin verlander and c.c. sabathia was the matchup in game one. it was mashed out on friday.

on monday, the two get reacquainted after two days' rest. critical game three. brett gardner doubles to tie the game at 4-4. bottom of the seventh. delvin young, second homer of the postseason. and the tigers take the lead right back, 5-4. top of the eighth, now. justin verlander, never gone this long in the postseason. he would throw 120 pitches. huge out, to get out of the eighth inning. mark teixeira popping out. 11 strikeouts, a career high for verlander. top of the ninth, jose valverde, who predicted they would close things out in detroit. tigers win game three. rays and rangers, tied at 1-1. series moving to st. petersburg. desmond jennings, if you don't know this name, learn it. turns on a pitch from colby lewis. rays take a 1-0 lead. top of the seventh, mike napoli. you think the angels have

reconsidered trading him to texas? off of david price. adrian beltre would join him at home plate. nolan ryan excited. price pulled after one more batter. bottom of the ninth, rays trailing 4-3. and scottie feliz, gets shoppach. the a.l. east, two losses away from being out of the pro season. this has been your espn news update. for all the latest in the sports world, tune into espn news every night at 11:00 p.m. eastern, "the highlight express." coming up next, "the pulse." what one monday night frontman did to get kicked off the show last night. and if you missed it, an emotional night on the dance floor. against new kellogg's fiber plus caramel pecan crunch. really? 35% of your daily fiber. chocolate lava cupcake. [ indistinct conversations ] mmm. that's great cereal. mmm. this is fiber cereal?

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♪ i'm feeling good you can be here too. [ female announcer ] join now for free. hurry offer ends october 15th. weight watchers pointsplus. because it works. and it is time, now, for "the pulse." tampa bay beat indianapolis on "monday night football." but we start with what wasn't included in the broadcast. >> our sister network, espn, did not play hank william jr.'s usual "are you ready for some football" song. that's because in an interview to fox news, williams used an analogy of adolf hitler when talking about president obama playing golf with john boehner. >> that would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. not hardly. >> williams released a statement

last night saying, some of us have strong opinions that are often misunderstood. my analogy was extreme the but it was to make a point. i have all respected the office of the president. >> trying to say that boehner and obama was so far apart they could never agree? there's some questions here. >> definitely. one of the things, leave it alone until you get the full story. >> we'll see. >> people will be talking about it. now, to the ballroom action where there were cheers and lots of tears on "dancing with the stars" for teams this week, were all inspired by the most memorable year of their lives. >> ricki lake earned the highest score of the night. 27 points for her romantic rumba, after finding love after divorce. rob kardashian turned back the clock to age 15. that's how old he was when his dad passed away. chaz bono danced to a song written by his dad. but he landed at the bottom of the leaderboard, along with nancy grace. we'll find out who goes home.

>> and chaz bono said this was the best year of his life. >> a theme. >> people did talk about a lot of tragedy in their life. there weren't a lot of dry eyes out there. a big night for an 18-year-old -- an 18-year-old in ann arbor, michigan. briana was crowned the homecoming queen and kicked the winning field goal for the football team. >> and when that crown was put on her head, she was wearing her uniform, pads and all. briana is the first girl to play varsity football at the school. and also a straight-a student. what can this girl not do? >> has to do it all. and oops, one newspaper had to backtrack after its online edition said amanda knox was guilty. >> this was the headline and sorry from "the daily mail." the paper has fixed the story. >> i imagine a correction may be

in order. >> asleep at the wheel there, folks. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right after this. my whole body hurt. it was an ongoing, deep pain. i didn't understand it. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain.

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and finally this morning, an economic pick-me-up, from millions of coffee lovers. >> the ceo of starbucks is spearheading a new project, aimed at creating much-needed jobs. and starting next month, his customers will be asked to do their part by chipping in. >> reporter: first, we met the rosenbergs in island, who met their own solution after bob was downsized from his marketing company. they took all their savings and got funding to create the muulala frozen yogurt store. then, came taskrabbit, the ebay for jobs. now, starbucks ceo is trying to bring america back. >> i want to make a difference. >> reporter: starbucks is in partnership with the opportunity finance network, a nonprofit in a funds small businesses around the country. starbucks is coughing up 5 to start. and if you donate online, you

get this bracelet and help loan money to small businesses. like a local florist, a baker, a grocer. creating jobs across the country b, and filling the void left by banks that won't lend. they're charging us fees. why aren't they spending thahat money on us? >> because of the crisis of uncertainty. and the people who are in a position to make loans are afraid to give loans because those loans are being written down as a result of high risk. >> reporter: isn't this sad that schultz and starbucks has to sell bracelets to fund businesses in america? what the heck is going on that this is what's necessary in the wealthiest country in the world? >> there's a lot about america that one would conclude is sad right now. i don't want to look at it that way. i'm an optimistic entrepreneur. and i want to create positive change. >> reporter: the hope is a caffeine-like jolt to the