homecoming. after a four-year ordeal, an emotional amanda knox returns to seattle. >> i'm -- i'm really overwhelmed right now. raising cain. the surprising results of a new cbs poll on the republican field for president, as one would-be contender says thanks, but no thanks. and trouble in springfield. threaten to bring down the curtain on america's longest running tv comedy. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, october 5th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs

yeah, i have to work on that doh. but thanks for watching, everybody. appreciate you being here this morning. i'm betty nguyen. amanda knox returned home to seattle last night soon after being acquitted of murder charges by an italian court. knox thanked those who supported her and says she is overwhelmed. her family arrived at their seattle home late yesterday, but amanda knox was not with them and her father wouldn't say where she is. >> now it's just a matter of giving amanda some time to kind of readjust to being able to be outside and do what she wants. >> manuel gallegus has more on amanda knox's homecoming. >> reporter: amanda knox was cheered by well-wishers as she arrived at the seattle airport. >> thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who supported my family. >> reporter: knox was set free on monday.

a jury said faulty dna evidence was used to convict her of murdering her british roommate four years ago in perugia. she was acquitted and one day later, flew home. >> i was looking down from the airplane and it seemed like everything wasn't real. my family is the most important thing to me right now and i just want to go and be with them. >> reporter: knox's case played out under an international spotlight and here in seattle, her story often made headlines. many here are relieved and they were worried this day would never come. >> we love you! >> reporter: at the airport, friends and well-wishers came out to support her. >> just so glad that she is home. it's the way it should be and i wanted to welcome her home. >> i hope she can recover from this and live a normal life. >> reporter: but after being in an italian prisons for years, she is reminded it may take some time to adjust. >> they are reminding me to speak in english because i am having problems with that.

>> reporter: knox says she is thankful to everyone who helped her get home. now she is asking for privacy and just wants to be with her family. manuel gallegus, cbs news, seattle. >> sources tell knox began bringing her memoir while in prison. it could help with the legal fees her family has accumulated the last few years. president obama is on the attack pushing to het i guess jobs bill through congress. mr. obama has started calling out republican leaders by name. yesterday, in texas, his target was house majority leader eric cantor who refuses to bring the president's full jobs bill for a vote. now, he won't even let this jobs >> eric cantor said that, right now, he won't even let this jobs bill have a vote in the house of representatives. think about that.

i mean, what is the problem? do they not have the time? they just had a week off. i -- is it inconvenient? >> cantor said the president's all or nothing approach is unreasonable. meanwhile, senate democrats want to modify the way the president wants to fund his jobs bill. senate minority leader harry reid is reportedly pushing for a 5% surcharge on millionaires. now to the race for the gop presidential nomination. chris christie plans to continue as the governor of new jersey. following weeks of speculation and pressure from some republicans, christie said he will not seek the republican presidential nomination. a just released cbs news poll finds the gop field has shifted. mitt romney and herman cain is in the lead. favored by 17% republican primary voters. texas governor rick perry has slipped to third. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on christie's decisions and the complications for the gop contenders. good morning, susan. >> hi, good morning, betty. >> reporter: christie says no, likely a big relief for the romney campaign. that poll still shows romney with the best odds of defeating president bill plante, but there

is no denying the gains being made by herman cain. >> in the end, what i have always felt was the right decision, remains the right decision today. now is not my time. >> reporter: and with that, governor christie slammed the door on a 2012 run for the white house, telling supporters, thanks, but no thanks. >> new jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. >> reporter: the announcement means the current republican field is pretty much set. there is really only one more candidate who could jump in this late, sarah palin. analysts believe that to be increasing unlikely. >> competition is always a good thing. >> reporter: christie's decision not to run should benefit mitt romney the most. the former massachusetts governor needs the same moderate and established voters that christie attracts. romney has been fighting off other contenders for months. first, michele bachmann, then rick perry and now another candidate is making a surprising

run to the top. >> we hit it off right away. >> reporter: the cbs news/"the new york times" poll says tea party favorite herman cain tied with the lead with romney. they say it's because voters want something different. >> i don't have national name i.d. and i don't have a kajillion dollars. like some of the other candidates. when i say i have never held office, i get a spontaneous applause because they are tired of politicians as a usual. >> reporter: if obama wins re-election. christie could be at the top of the republican contenders for 2016. the big question now, betty, is who he will endorse. >> all right. susan mcginnis in washington, we will be watching. thank you so much. an investigation is under way to determine the cause of a deadly hospital crash here in new york. five people were on board the tourist helicopter when it suddenly plunged into the east river just south of the united nations building yesterday. one passenger was killed and three others injured. terrell brown is at the crash site this morning. terrell, what is the latest there?

>> betty, good morning to you. >> reporter: we are on the east river about a hundred feet away from where that helicopter crashed yesterday afternoon. one woman on board, as you mentioned, was killed. she was 40 years old and in new york city celebrating her birthday. a crane pulled the helicopter from the water hours after it slammed into new york city's east river. federal aviation officials will take a closer look at the wreckage today to try to figure out what went wrong. >> looked like he went over the pier and then he went into the water. >> reporter: five people were on board when the chopper crashed shortly after takeoff. witnesses say it sank in the murky waters almost instantly. >> as soon as you realize something is not rye right, it just turned over and went right down. >> reporter: within minutes of the crash a massive rescue operation was under way, complete with boats and a team of divers. >> look at how intense that rescue there is. >> reporter: crews raced to the passengers as they hung to the helicopter's skids but 40-year-old sonya marah nicholson who was celebrating her birthday with her family died after being trapped inside. federal officials are already on the ground here in new york and

collecting information and they will be looking at several things. weather conditions, the helicopter itself, and the pilot. >> we will be looking at his training, any previous accidents or any other aspects that could help form the investigation. >> reporter: the pilot managed to swim to shore and was actually friends with the passengers. the group was in new york taking a private tour. >> they had family come here to see the experience, the best of our experience, and end up in a tragic accident like this just breaks your heart. >> reporter: officials say it could take months to figure out what was supposed to be a fun sight-seeing accident ended in tragedy. the pilot of that helicopter, paul dudley was involved in another incident in 2006. he was flying a cessna 172, a light plane. he had engine trouble and had to make an emergency landing near coney island. all of the passengers in that case were just fine, betty. >> terrell brown, thank you. one person was killed and 15 others were injured when a

blinding dust storm caused three traffic pileups in arizona. the crashes occurred yesterday on i-10 between tucson and phoenix. dozens of cars and trucks were involved. the highway was closed for several hours. just ahead on the "morning news," a lucky mistake leads to a lottery payday for an unemployed georgia woman. and the driver of a rampaging forklift found out his steep punishment for his destructive ride. this is the "cbs morning news." my name's jeff. i'm a dad, coach...

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ended the chase. stocks in asia saw more losses this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and so much more. >> reporter: asian markets dipped after moody's investing service lowered italy's bond rating by three notches. nikkei finished lower by nearly 1%. south korea was down 2% while hong kong's hang seng is closed today. wall street today the latest on the labor market and service sector. on tuesday, stocks finished with a strong rally. the dow closed up 153 points, while the nasdaq gained 69. fed chair ben bernanke threw a scare into wall street. on capitol hill on tuesday, the america's top banker said the economy is close to stalling and learned lawmakers not to cut spending too sharply. he predicted the job market will remain sluggish for the foreseeable future. bernanke said the fed was ready once again to support the

recovery, but some leading economists think it's already too late and the country has once again slipped into a recession. apple's big announcement was disappointing to many. the tech giant unveiled the iphone 4s, it is faster and thinner and comes with a better camera and voice recognition software. many were expecting them to roll out the next generation iphone 5. wall street wasn't too impressed. after the new ceo tim cook made the announcement, apple's stock lost about 4%. cathy scruggs wanted to buy a megamillion ticket but the store clerk printed out a powerball ticket. so scruggs took both. pretty good decision. turns out the powerball ticket was the winner in last month's drawing to the tune of $25 million. i just get excited if i find 10 bucks in a pocket. >> why can't that just happen to me? really. make a mistake and i still benefit from it. fantastic. just once.

ashley, thank you, joining us live in new york. a pay dispute is threatening the longest tv comedy in history. "the simpsons" has been on the air 23 years. can you believe it? 20th century fox wants the actors to take a 25% pay cut. the actors are refusing. >> it is their distinctive voices that have really breathed life into these characters and should fox make a change, then they are messing with a very fragile chemistry. >> are you "the simpsons" ratings are down 14% from last year, and the studio can make a lot more money putting it into syndication. still to come, your wednesday morning weather. in sports a great night for the rangers slugger adrian beltre and a tough one for a tv cameraman. we all want our candy in october.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows storm clouds on the west coast. skies are clear through the midwest and toward the east coast. later today, high pressure will dominate much of the nation from the east coast to the midwest

making way for sunny skies and warm weather. in the northern plains, temperatures are rising well above normal. and the west coast has nothing but rain through the day. in sports texas has won the american league divisional series. the rangers adrian beltre blasted a home run in the second as he rounded third. look at this. a tv cameraman tripped and fell. ouch. beltre homered twice more to be to become only the seventh player to hit three homers in a postseason game. texas eliminated tampa bay 4-3. in detroit yankees a.j. burnett pitched well and center fielder curtis granderson made two great catches. new york pounded tigers pitching. new york evened the series to two games each. game five is thursday night in new york. philadelphia is one victory away from winning the national league divisional series. the phillies ben francisco

smashed a three-run home run into the bull pen for the lead. game four is tonight. in phoenix, the diamondbacks paul goldschmidt blasted a grand slam home run and arizona crushed the brewers 8-1. but milwaukee leads the series two games to one, with game four tonight. the nba labor talks have broken down. the league has canceled the rest of the preseason. and if there is no deal by monday, they will cancel the first two weeks of the regular season. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. the fast track for airport security. while you may be allowed to keep your shoes on the next time you travel. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? but my nose is still runny.

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down to the west coast. here is another look at this morning's top stories. an emotional amanda knox is back in her hometown of seattle. knox said she was overwhelmed after being acquitted of murder charges in italy. at a press conference, she thanked those who supported her. and businessman herman cain surges to the lead in the race for the presidential nomination and now tied with mitt romney according to a cbs news poll. texas governor rick perry has slipped to third. a new program is being tested to take some of the hassle out of air travel. the transportation security administration is letting prescreened passengers at four airports speed through security. mark strassmann reports. >> reporter: at mid-morning, atlanta's airport, the nation's busiest, was a security bottleneck. >> oh, you get the good line today. >> reporter: but one line breezed through in seconds. >> you'll notice that, today, he

is not having to take out his computer. he is able to leave his shoes on. >> reporter: chris mclaughlin, head security for the tsa, and precheck, its new test program. delta and american airlines have invited selected frequent flyers to share personal information, such as a home address and contact info. in return, the tsa let them walk through security without removing anything, as people in neighboring lines struggled to untie their laces. >> we truly are moving away from one size fits all approach to security to a risk based intelligence driven approach. >> reporter: which means the tsa is moving away from screening everyone the same way. instead, it's putting more scrutiny on those showing suspicious behavior or with a criminal history. in two months, the tsa could expand the program nationwide. as more airlines invite their frequent flyers to join the sprint through security. but even for flyers in this program, there is no guarantee of expedited security. in a post 9/11 world, keeping it

unpredictable is the life blood of airport security. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. this morning on "the early show" live reports from seattle on amanda knox's homecoming. i'm betty nguyen. and this is the "cbs morning news." starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries.

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