making news in america this morning -- comical candidate. >> president obama visited late-night tv, while his republican opponents left americans wondering, is this for real? and then, shot to the system. for decades, we've relied on vaccines to help battle the common flu. but a new study shows they don't always work. and bracing for rina. the powerful hurricane is gathering strength in the caribbean. will its path lead right to a popular tourist destination? good wednesday morning,

everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm yunji de nies. the president is set to make another major announcement to help americans struggling in this economy. this time, it will be help for people drowning in student loans. >> the white house is announcing new plans to help people consolidate that debt and pay it off more quickly. karen travers is with us from washington, with more on this news. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, yunji. this is part of the president's we can't wait theme. he's trying to work on initiatives he can put into motion now to help struggling americans without waiting for congress. earlier this week, it was struggling homeowners. today, president obama turned his focus to struggling college grads. he will outline his plan to give faster relief to americans drowning under student loans. the initiative will help consolidate loans, lower interest rates and lower monthly payments. recent grad, karen riley has

$109,000 in student loans. she has just moved back home. >> we want a nice paying job where we can pay our bills. >> college students owe more than all the credit card debt in this country. today, president obama wraps up a west coast campaign swing, that included a stop at "the tonight show" with jay leno. >> have you been watching the gop debate? >> i'm going to wait until everybody's voted off the island. >> reporter: earlier, the president blasted congressional republicans and the presidential contenders. he says their agenda is simply tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation. >> it's not as if we haven't tried what they're selling. we have. and it didn't work. >> reporter: in the race to the republican nomination, herman cain is still surging. a new poll shows the unlikely front-runner ahead of mitt romney, even as more americans say they dislike cain's signature 9-9-9 economic plan. >> if you meet herman cain, you love herman cain.

>> reporter: but for republican voters, the primaries are still a long way off. a new poll found that eight out of ten say it's still too early to say which candidate they're supporting. >> a lot of decisions there, karen. tell us about the jokes. i know the president made a few jokes with jay leno last night. but many americans are wondering about that herman cain ad and whether he was joking with his chief of staff smoking. was all of that for real? >> reporter: it is absolutely for real. there's no subliminal message in that ad. he's just a smoker. he also says that herman cain is just herman cain. and that is why american voters like him. this ad has certainly generated a lot of buzz for the cain campaign. it was a hot topic on "the view" yesterday. it is probably got him more mileage if he had done a straight issues ad or went after mitt romney or rick perry. the polls show that herman cain's campaign is on fire. and apparently it's also smoking, too. >> can't figure out the

political calculation behind that one. but i'm sure there is. abc's karen travers live in washington. thanks, karen. republicans are calling on congressional investigators to expand their probe of the administration's green energy loan program. they want to know more about the $500 million in federal money that was given to a start-up electric car company called fisker. >> its cars are being assembled in finland. but the head of the company insists none of uncle sam's money is going to those overseas workers. >> a lot of questions there. we have word from turkey of another miracle rescue after sunday's devastating earthquake. crews pulled a university student from the rubble of an apartment building this morning. he was injured. but he is alive. >> earlier, rescue workers managed to save a 2-week-old baby girl, along with her mother and grandmother. three generations. all three were trapped in the wreckage of what used to be their home. >> wow. just in time for the flu season, there is a major, new study out that says flu vaccines might not be as e fktive as we

thought. >> uh-oh. the findings could have major implications for those most at risk of getting the flu. here's our chief medical editor, dr. richard besser. >> reporter: the vaccine doesn't work as well as we like. the flu shot in adults 18 to 65, is only 15% effective. 80% effective in children younger than 7. and in the elderly, we don't know how well it works there. >> doctors say the findings should not discourage people from getting the shot. some protection, they say, is better than none. >> better safe than sorry, i guess. in other news this morning, the death toll linked to cantaloupes with listeria is climbing. health officials say 28 people in a dozen states have died. more than 130 have been sickened. the tainted melons grown in colorado are off store shelves. but symptoms of listeria can take as much as two months to

appear. andy rooney has been hospitalized. cbs news will only say the 92-year-old is in stable but serious condition, after developing complications following minor surgery. just three weeks ago, rooney delivered his last regular essay for the news magazine. a feature he started way back in 1978. and former democratic presidential candidate, george mcgovern is in a south dakota hospital this morning. a hospital spokesperson says he is there for fatigue after wrapping up a lecture tour. doctors expect him to make a full recovery. in other news, hurricane rina is making a beeline for mexico's most popular tourist destinations. winds are hitting 110 miles per hour. they're expected to get even stronger before hitting cozumel and cancun later tonight. this is what rina looks like from the international space station. cruise ships are shifting course to avoid that storm. now, for this morning's

weather from around the nation. cold and stormy in colorado, with up to a foot of snow in denver and two feet in the foothills. showers in the pacific northwest. strong santa ana winds and red flag fire warnings around los angeles and san diego. showers from the texas panhandle to oklahoma city, st. louis and pittsburgh. a sprinkle from philly to boston. >> 63 in new york. 75 in atlanta. 84 in miami. mostly 50s across the midwest. 47 in salt lake city. and 50 in boise. and coming up, the latest in the conrad murray trial. what was the eerie warning michael jackson's nurse had for the king of pop? and then, why markets around the world are keeping a very close eye on today's meeting of leaders in europe. and as if solving a rubik's cube wasn't hard enough, this guy does it while juggling.

there are new worries this morning about europe's economy. european leaders may not be able to agree on a detailed plan for ending the continent's debt crisis. they still plan to hold a summit today. but a meeting of their finance ministers was canceled. a sticking point is getting banks to reduce the face value of greek debt. overseas markets are mostly down today because of europe's problems. tokyo's nikkei average lost 14 points today. hong kong's hang seng is up 4 at the moment.

in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow dropped points yesterday. the nasdaq index fell 61 points. there's new evidence that the rich are getting richer. a study finds that the top 1% of the population had more than 17% of the nation's household income in 2007. the most affluent 20% had 53% of that income. that is more than everyone else combined. president obama's plans to help ease student loan debt can't come soon enough. college costs are right now at an all-time high. it now costs more than $8,000 to carry a full load at an in-state public college or university. it increased this fall of more than 8%. and ibm's next chief will be a woman. virginia rometty becomes ceo on january 1st, moving up from sales and marketing chief. she's been with ibm for nearly 30 years. rometty is one of a dozen women ceos at fortune 500 companies.

congratulations to her. when we come back this morning, the occupy wall street protests that have turned ugly, from california down to georgia. and why a bill being introduced by congress today could put justin bieber behind bars. [ male announcer ] these days, even your trash can be a gold mine for identity thieves. we don't believe your garbage should be used against you. [ alarm blares ] we're lifelock. go to lifelock.com and join the fight against one of the fastest growing crimes in america. lifelock. relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1 (800) lifelock today. here wouldlock. relentlessly protecting your identity. you go next if you had a hoveround power chair?

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a somewhat unidentified floating object has the washed up on a florida beach. it appears to be eight-foot tall, 100-pound lego man. but it's a fake. it has the words no real emblazon on the shirt. no one knows where it came from. it's in police custody until someone claims the big fella. now, for a look at morning road conditions. icy from cheyenne to colorado springs. i-70 around denver and i. 80 into salt lake city. wet on i-95, from boston to baltimore. i-80 from new york to cleveland.

and i-44, from baltimore to st. louis. >> and if you're hitting the skies today, should have a pretty easy time. weather-related airport delays are only expected in the city of denver, which is supposed to get 6 to 12 inches of snow today. old man winter being felt out there. >> 80 degrees on monday. and now -- >> the weather. turning to attorneys for michael jackson's dr. conrad murray, who planned to shift focus today. saying they will highlight murray's positive traits. >> day after day murray has been vilified on the stand. even taking a hit from one of his own witnesses. abc's diana alvear is tracking the trial from los angeles. good morning, diana. >> reporter: good morning. by far, the most visiting witness was a nurse working with jackson to improve his sleeping habits. she wanted him to try natural methods. but he only wanted one thing. the first witness of the day made it clear. michael jackson's desire for propofol existed long before dr. conrad murray came into the

picture. cheryl lynn lee, addressed the court and said the drug on the market during surgery, years before. >> i know this will knock me out. >> reporter: when lee asked a physician about diprivan, he said it was an anesthetic. jackson was insistent. >> i said no doctor's going to do this at your house. lee was visibly shaken as she recalls her last conversation with jackson, where she warned him, if he kept using the drug, he might not wake up. >> and he responded again, i will be okay. i only need someone to monitor me. with the equipment, while i sleep. >> yes. that's exactly what he said. >> reporter: later, the head of aeg testified about a meeting where the star seemed distracted. he questioned jackson's assistant. >> i said if everything okay, out of concern. and he said, no. he just came from dr. klein's

office. >> reporter: brandon phillips said he was not aware that jackson was also being treated by a dr. klein. he then told the court the last words the singer spoke to him, after his final rehearsal. >> you got me here. now, i'm ready. i can take it from here. >> reporter: other witnesses included a hospital executive who described katherine jackson's reaction as she was informed her son had passed away. and he said, clearly, it was a very difficult moment for all involved. rob? yunji? >> thanks, diana. jurors who found casey anthony not guilty of killing her daughter are apparently shunning the spotlight. a judge in florida released the names of the jurors yesterday, ending a three-month coolingoff period since the acquittal. but none of the jurors could be found by a search by reporters, leaving the reasons behind that verdict a mystery. five weeks into the occupy wall street protests, police are crocking down. in atlanta, s.w.a.t. teams swarmed a park and evicted

protesters who had been camping there for two weeks. and in oakland, california, police threw flash bang canisters and tear gas at protesters who were trying to camp at city hall. let's look back at highlights last night from the nhl. adnan virk at espn news. >> good morning. a day off in the world series. there's plenty of hockey action to get you up to date on. including the pittsburgh penguins. welcoming back evgeni malkin. the pens take on the islanders an long island. first period, pascal dupuis, on the break-away. moves it back to evgeni nabokov. second period, aaron asham, a brim full of asham in the 45. with the steal, richard park gets it to the slot. scoring on a wrister. pens win 3-0. marc-andre fleury gets the shutout. vermette with the wrister. r.j. umberger gets the rebound

and puts it in. 1-0, for the jackets. later in the first, ryan johansson gets the rebound. off of goalie ty conklin. conklin had a shaky game. second period, john moore. slapper from the point goes top shelve past conklin. 3-1 jackets. at this time, the full metal jackets go on to win. 4-1, is the final. the ducks and the blackhawks. jonathan toews, blackhawks start 1-0. patrick kane down the line. and marian hossa skiers. savard has the spin-a-rama. you're up to date for now. don't forget, for all of your highlights, join us on "the highlight express," on espn news. now, we turn to a mind-boggling multitasker. a man in spain, mast eerring the

rubik's cube like nobody else. not only can dave calvo solve the cube. but he can juggle with two others and solve it with one hand. he holds, get this, four guinness world records, including solving two cubes at the same time while holding his breath under water. >> i can't even do one. >> that's somebody with a lot of time on their hands. very talented young man. >> we're jealous of you. coming up next, "the pulse" this morning. a case of mistaken identity that left a woman in jail for almost two months. and the halloween grinch. the denties who was offering cold cash for candy. from gazers...

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time to check "the pulse," the stories you'll be talking about today. this looks pretty serious. an atlanta woman is threatening to sue the city over an outrageous case of mistaken identity. >> this case is crazy. maria culpepper went to police to complain about her stolen truck. but instead of getting help, she was arrested for assault and thrown in jail for nearly two months because police mixed her with another woman with the same first name only. >> she remained behind bars, even after the victim came forward. it took another week for her to be released.

>> i smell lawsuit. crazy case. on ohio dentist is now playing the halloween version of the grinch this year, sort of. >> dr. craig calen wants kids to bring him all of their candy. and he will give them $1 a pound and a free toothbrush. >> this may sound like a great deal when it comes to dental health and not getting cavities. but have a good time getting kids to hand over their sweets this time of year. not many will go for it. >> the dentist will keep his money. and justin bieber behind bars? look at this. it's part of a campaign about a new bill in congress that would make it a felony to post videos online that contain copyright music. >> it could land singers in jail for up to five years. bieber got his big break when he was spotted on the internet singing others songs. but the senators behind the bill say bieber would be in the

clear. breathing a sigh of relief. yes. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >>er everybody else, a recap of last night's "dancing with the stars." and the couple that waltzed into the sunset for the final time.

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welcome back, everybody. finally this morning, broadway week on "dancing with the stars" turns into the final curtain call for chaz bono. >> after weeks of hovering near the bottom of the leaderboard, the son of sonny and cher got the boot. we get the highlights from kabc's george pennacchio. >> chaz and lacy. >> reporter: chaz bono and his partner, lacey schwimmer, made it through six weeks of competition before getting the news it was over. he says it's sad to go. but while it's sad news, chaz doesn't consider it bad news. >> it's truly a life-changing experience. it showed me so much about myself. >> reporter: what's the one thing that showed you about yourself that makes you smile right now? >> just how much i can do. how much i'm capable of. how much i can overcome. i really had no idea until i was challenged on every level, which

the show does. i'm talking about just the pressure. the physical aspect. overcoming pain and discomfort and fatigue and anxiety. it made me a better human being. >> reporter: and along if way, he got ready to rumba. and he tackled the paso doble. he moved with the samba. and he tried out the tango. >> the first week, no one expected this guy to do a step on the dance floor. so, to be able to get him to move and dance and remember routines and wear sparkles and go out and have fun doing it, it makes me feel real good. >> reporter: now, the remaining six dance teams will move into week seven of the competition. it will be a halloween theme week. something we haven't seen on "dancing with the stars" since season three. in los angeles, george pennacchio, abc news. >> one of the more controversial contestants is now gone. on "good morning america" later today. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." and have a wonderful wednesday.