headed home, amanda knox acquitted of murder charges and free from an italian prison is expected back in the u.s. today. terror on trial, jury selection for the christmas day underwear bomber as the man accused of plotting to bomb washington, d.c. pleased not guilty. and controversial comment. it kicked off monday night football for more than 20 years, but maybe not any more. this is the "cbs morning news" but maybe not any more. this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, october 4th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs

and good morning, everybody. appreciate you joining us. i'm terrell brown in for betty ngyuen this morning. amanda knox's wish to start her life starts today. she's expected to fly back to the united states after an italian appeals court cleared her in the 2007 murder of her roommate. knox left an italian prison last night following the ruling. the reversal was based on a re-evaluation of dna evidence. knox was in prison for four years. monique has more from perugia, italy. >> reporter: amanda knox will soon be going home. an italian appeals court acquitted her of the 2007 murder of her roommate. >> both are acquitted. for not having committed the -- because the fact does not exist. >> we're thankful that amanda's nightmare is over. she suffered for four years for a crime that she did not commit. >> reporter: earlier in the day, the seattle native made an emotional plea to the jury.

speaking in fluent italian, she incysted she had nothing to do with the death of meredith kercher. i did not kill, i did not rape, i did not steal, knox told the jury. i was not there. knox has spent the last four years behind bars for killing kercher. she and her boyfriend was convicted of stabbing kercher. knox's case got a big boost when independent experts testified that key dna evidence linking the former couple to the crime was unreliable and possibly tainted. for knox and her family, it's been a long road, but one that will end with knox back home in the u.s. monique minglaven. cbs news, perugia, italy. >> as you can imagine, knox's family and friends anxiously awaited the verdict in knox's hometown, seattle. many had stayed up most of the night watching knox's emotional plea and awaiting the jury's decision.

>> i was a nervous wreck, no doubt, because i'm a mother and i was thinking about the mother and the grandmother. and i'm very happy for her, very happy for amanda and her family. >> four years in the coming, it's been a torturous robbing of two innocent people's lives. but also meredith lost her life, you know? it's just tragic all the way around. >> knox's supporters and friends had raised over $100,000 to offset her legal fees. then the other side of this story, following the verdict, the family of murder victim meredith kercher said they respect the decision but don't understand how the first trial could be so radically overturned. earlier, meredith's sister said the world must not forgot how brutally meredith was murdered. >> everything meredith must have felt that night, everything she went through, the fear and the

terror and not knowing why, and she didn't deserve that. >> the kercher family says it still trusts the italian judicial system and hopes the truth of what really happened will eventually emerge. in another high profile case, prosecutors are zeroing in on what dr. conrad murray did in the moments after michael jackson died. two doctors testified monday that jackson was clinically dead when he was brought to the emergency room. they tried to revive him at murray's insistence, even though they knew it was far too late. prosecutors say murray misled doctors by not telling them he had been given a powerful anesthetic. politics now. in the ever changing political calendar, south carolina republicans announced last night they'll hold their presidential primary on january 21st. florida has set its primary election for january 31st. iowa, new hampshire and nevada will expected to move up their elections and caucuses in response. the quickly changing political calendar is putting even more pressure on new jersey governor chris christie.

he's still deciding whether he's going to run for president. christie is reconsidering a run for the white house according to sources. ahis final answer could come this week. a new poll number shows texas governor rick perry slipping in the gop race. according to a new washington post/abc news poll, perry leads mitt romney now leads with 25% support among likely republicans. rick perry and herman cain are tied for second. that's a 13-point drop for perry since early september and a 12-point jump for cain. president obama is headed to texas today. there he'll campaign for his $447 billion jobs plan. the state of the economy will play a crucial role in this election, as you all know. during an interview with yahoo! and abc news yesterday, the president admitted he won't be able to argue that voters are better off than they were when he was elected. >> i don't think they're better off than four years ago, they aren't better off than they were before lehman's collapse, before the financial crisis, before

this extraordinary resession that we're going through. >> susan mcginnis, good morning to you. >> hi. good morning, terrell. the president wants all or nothing. he's telling congress, pass this plan as is. house republicans say they're okay with parts of the plan, but they want him to look at their ideas, as well. president obama is taking his jobs plan to rick perry's turf. today, he'll head to the republican presidential candidate's home state of texas to raise money for his re-election campaign and continue selling the package. >> it's been several weeks now since i sent up the american jobs act and as i've been saying on the road, i want it back. >> reporter: the president is demanding congress vote on the entire bill this month. but some democrats oppose the proposed tax hikes and some republicans only seem willing to pass parts of the plan. >> if there are aspects of the bill they don't like, they should tell us what it is they're not willing to go for.

they should tell us what it is that they're prepared to see move forward. >> reporter: a new cbs news poll finds few americans blame the president for the state of the economy, but 69% don't think he's made progress fixing it. 35% approve of his handling of it. gop presidential hopefuls are trying to tap that voter registration. >> we can't re-elect someone who thinks the answer for every problem is a new government program. >> reporter: mitt romney tried to rally support in new hampshire monday while herman cian pushed his own economic plan during a meeting with billionaire donald trump. >> if you have businesses that are excited about certainty relative to taxes, i believe this economy is going to take off. >> and with lawmakers at odds, many analysts believe the economy won't actually take off until after the presidential election. so despite the rankor on capitol

hill, it does appear, terrell, that there is an opening for passage of at least some economic proposals this fall. >> we'll see how it plays out. susan, good to see you. thanks. jury selection is expected to begin this morning in detroit and the skourld christmas day underwear bomber. the nigerian has pleaded not guilty. he's acting as his own attorney in the trial. he's accused of trying to blow up an amsterdam to detroit flight two years ago. the bomb failed to go off. in massachusetts, the man accused of plotting to blow up the pentagon has pleaded not guilty. rezwan ferdaus allegedly planned to fly three explosive packed model planes into his target. he could face 100 years in prison. when we come back, a texas man prongly accused is set to walk free. plus, the new iphone 5 gets its big unveiling today, maybe. this is the "cbs morning news" unveiling today, maybe. this is the "cbs morning news" "cbs morning news." because this is how people and business connect.

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we go to texas now. a massive fire at a chemical plant south of dallas. about 1,000 residents forced out of their homes have been able to return. the fire is almost contained. the fire started when plant workers were mixing chemicals. there were no serious injuries. a texas man may be released from prison as early as today after being exonerated from dna evidence. michael moore sent almost 25 years in prison for beating his wife to death in 1986. but dna evidence shows that another man was responsible. the defense lawyers said prosecutors hid other evidence that could cancer exonerated morton during the original trial. and a heartbreak turn of events surrounding the nobel prize for medicine. ralph steinman was among the winners yesterday. his 40 years of research was even used in his own battle of pancreatic cancer. steinman died three days before the nobel announcement. the committee was unaware of his death. nobels are usually only given to the living, but steinman's family will receive his portion

of his $1.5 million prize. country music legend hank williams jr. is in hot water after some politically charged remarks. now espn is pulling his famous theme song from his football show. ♪ are you ready for some football ♪ monday night football broadcasts have used his music since 1989. espn pulled the song from monday night's game after williams appeared on the fox news yesterday. he made some shocking comments when discussing this past summer's golf game between president obama and house speaker john boehner. >> what did you not like about it? it seems to be a pivotal moment for you. >> come on, come on, that would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. they're the enemy. >> who is the enemy? >> obama and biden. are you kidding? the three stooges. >> williams issued this statement, quote, my analogy is extreme but it was to make a point. they don't see eye to eye and never will. i have always respected the office of the president.

stocks in asia continue to slide. we go now to ashley morrison here in new york with us. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. asian markets saw a second straight day of a sell-off. japan's nikkei shed more than 1% while the hang seng was lower by more than %. today, wall street gets the latest on the manufacturing sector and we'll hear from fed chair ben bernanke on capitol hill. monday, stocks sank on more european debt fears. the dow dropped 258 points while the nasdaq lost 79. the broader s&p 500 is on the brink of a bear market. the index is now down 19% for the year. when they're down at 20% or more, that is considered a bear. the major indices opened this morning at their lowest point of the year. fannie mae reportedly learned of alleged improper foreclosure practices years ago, but did little about it. according to the "new york times," the mortgage giant was warned of major problems, including robo signing in the foreclosure process as early as

2003. they said they hired a law firm to investigate and told a government official about the allegations in 2006. that official said says he doesn't remember that conversation. one of the country's biggest airlines could be on the brink of bankruptcy. american airlines stock plunged to an eight-year low as rumors circulated that its parent company could be headed for bankruptcy protection. the carrier is considered the most vulnerable among airlines to an economic downturn. american is the only major airline that's lost money this year. and all eyes are on apple today. the company has a big media event planned today. speculation is they'll unveil the new iphone 5. the buzz is, it will have a fast her processor, a bigger touch screen and a better camera. this will be the first big showing for new apple ceo tim cook since he replaced steve jobs. i'm sure there's a lot of excitement there today.

>> a lot of excitement and a lot of people wondering if he can carry on the legacy of steve jobs. that's another thing. ashley morrison, thank you so much. appreciate it. coming up, we'll have your tuesday morning weather forecast and in sports, crunch time in the baseball playoffs as the yankees and rays face elimination. elimination. [ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromise on taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. our turkeys in november. and want to pick up our gifts in december. that's why sears layaway lets you reserve any item you want, whenever you want, and with no finance charges. that's real convenience for real people. sears.

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birmingham. 72 with mostly cloudy skies in los angeles. time now for a check of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows clear skies from north dakota to texas. in the northeast, a pesky storm is finally moving offshore. later today, a warm-up in the northern plains from the 80s to the 90s. a coastal storm in the northwest will be pushing more storms in that region and the southwest remains dry. in sports, the new york yankees face elimination tonight in the baseball playoff's. detroit's justin verlander struck out 11. he gave us six hits. young homered in the seventh inning for the go-ahead run. detroit beat new york by four. they take a 2-1 lead in the series. game four tonight and detroit in the seventh inning in texas. rangers josh hamilton smacked a single to right to drive in two runs. in the ninth, texas got a double play to beat tampa, 4-3. ranger could knock off the rays

tonight in game four. in monday night football, the bucs hand the colts their fourth loss late in the fourth quarter. comeback with the 35 run to the corner. he just got the ball into the end zone, just got it in. tampa bay pulls out to win 24-17. their victory over the colts are winless on the year. this could be the day in the contract talks between the nba and the players' union. full bargaining committees will meet. regular season games scheduled to start december 1st might have to be canceled. when we come back, a look at today's top stories and a pennsylvania man is attacked in his own home by a black bear and lives to talk about it. hea. probiotics go beyond digestive balance. and fruit & veggie has antioxidant properties. new pronutrients from centrum. help make nutrition possible. new pronutrients from centrum.

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warm-up coming from the south. there's a chance of a passing thunderstorm in arizona and new mexico. bring you up to speed now. top stories on this tuesday. amanda knox left an italian prison last night and is expected to arrive in the united states today. yesterday, an appeals court acquitted knox of murdering her roommate. she has spent four years behind bars. stocks in asia and europe are off sharply this morning. that follows another sell-off on wall street yesterday. both the dow and the nasdaq are at the lowest point of the year. the s&p 500 is off 19% this year. a family in rural marysville, pennsylvania, is recovering from a vicious bear attack. the brutal encounter happened inside their home. ben russell of our harrisburg affiliate whp reports. >> she came in, ran through the house, ran and there's a bear right in the middle of the house. >> i'm literally standing with the door open and i'm yelling for the dog. and this is the same situation, it's dark out.

she runs in and right behind her, i see black. i'm in the way of the dog and the bear and the bear took me. >> the 37 stitches and staples on rich moyer's head and the puncture wounds and scrapes on his arms are proof that battling a black bear is dangerous. a trap has been set to catch the animal that rich literally wrestled on his living room floor. and when it ran from the home, the bear knocked his wife to the ground. >> after that, i go outside to see what happened, she's laying on the patio and the bear is on top of her. and i literally dove in to take that bear off of her. and in doing that, the bear tried to make a meal out of me and just started tearing the back of my head apart. >> reporter: and then what rich describes as a nightmare stopped. the bear quit and walk to the woods. >> i'm 6'6" and weighed over 300 pounds. the doctor said if i was average

size, i would probably be dead, literally. >> bears running right up in your house, i'll tell you. that was whp's ben russell reporting. this morning on "the early show" reaction from amanda knox hometown. i'm terrell brown. this is "cbs morning news." nda knox eeps hometown. t back on your fe. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge!

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some overnight rain. some improvement is on the way. the skies are clearing -- nicely. we're looking at low pressure. with that low moving out, dry air is in place. we'll see sunshine for the next few days. today 67, warmer, overnight lows going down to 49. 73 tomorrow mostly sunny and nice. we'll have your completed forecast coming up.

here's what we've got our eye on for you. cancer clusters. the state finds reasons to keep monitoring fort detrick. maryland making western maryland more competitive for democrats. production against on the new hbo series veep. >> the manhunt is underway for a man who shot and robbed a federal employee in woppedlawn --d would lawn. >> and anderson cooper's controversy. how a guest ended up in a coma and what the journalist is saying about that. i will awaken you with a song.

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