make news in america this morning -- >> the pressure mounts on the presidential candidates ahead of tomorrow night's second debate. mitt romney expecting to see a very different president obama this time around. the historic jump of flying felix baumgartner, safely back on earth after breaking the sound barrier in a fall from the edge of space. and new treatment this morning for the pakistani girl targeted by the taliban after tens of thousands took to the street to show share support. and a controversial call that helped the tigers take a big lead in the series against the yankees. needless to say, the home team didn't like it at all.

good morning, everyone. we begin this monday with the race for the white house and brand new released poll providing a new snapshot of a very close race. >> increasingly close. it all comes with eyes on two big dead looins. one day until the big presidential debate. and 22 days to go until election day. november 6th. tahman bradley is falling it all from washington. >> reporter: the candidates understandhe stakes. that's why they have been huddle with ed ed with advisers gearing up. president obama and mitt romney are preparing for round two, tomorrow night's second presidential debate. both campaigns know the stakes are enormous. according to a new poll out this morning, president obama leads

mitt romney, 49% to 46% among likely voters. there is encouraging news for romney. 59% of his supporters are strongly enthusiastic behind him. the president was in williamsburg, virginia, getting ready for tuesday's showdown. >> how is the debate prep going, sir? >> it is going great. >> reporter: the performance in the first debate was damaging. the president will be more aggressive this time. >> i think he'll make some adjustments on tuesday. >> reporter: mitt romney has been holding debate sessions outside boston. >> think president obama will come out swinging. he'll have to compensate for a poor first debate. >> reporter: both campaigns are focusing on ohio, where they're hoping to reach undecided voters like brenda. she voted for him in 2008 but he hasn't sealed the deal this year. >> i'm disappointed.

think he made a lot of promises that haven't been kept. >> but you're not sold on governor romney yet? >> no, not yet. >> reporter: undecided voters are shrinking. according to the new abc news/"washington post" poll, barely 1 in 8 voters remain undecided. rob and paula? >> tahman bradley, live in washington this monday morning. thanks. the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate has now become campaign fodder. south carolina republican senator lindsey graham is accusing the administration of a coverup. the top democrat says it is ridiculous conspiracy stuff. people are paying tribute to arlen specter this morning. he served 30 years in the senate and he died yesterday of

complications from nonhoge kins lymphoma. >> i remember as a kid, he would be down in the stands at three rivers stadium at steelers games introducing himself, just getting to know, he wanted to know the whole stadium. think people will look back and say, that is what an elected official is supposed to do, even if it is not convenient or is difficult at times. arlen specter always did that. >> his funeral is tomorrow. vice president joe biden has postponed campaign events in order to attend. he was 82 years old. in other new, pretrial hearings are set to begin today for five men accused of planning the terrorist attacks on 9/11. the hearings are closed but

family members of those killed on 9/11 have been invited to military bases to watch the proceedings. we turn to the pakistani girl who was shot for her views. >> meantime, pakistanis are rallying behind her in droves. abc's muhammad lila reports. >> reporter: all week the outrage has been growing. it exploded. massive show of support for this young girl, shot and nearly killed this week by the taliban. finally, some good news. doctors say the young girl is responding to treatment. >> she has created a movement across pakistan. our girls want to follow. >> reporter: for years, she was a thorn in the taliban's side. when they closed her school, she dared to speak out, fighting for

the right of all girls to an education. >> i want to get my education and i want to become a doctor. >> reporter: when the taliban couldn't silence her, they targeted her. earlier this week, a gunman shot her in the head on the way home from school. that attack led to massive outrage. pakistanis uniting to denounce the taliban. even the christians, a small minority, are now praying for her. >> no matter what their political ideologies are. >> reporter: now the hope is her attack is a turning point. turning the entire country against the taliban once and for all. >> extraordinary little girl. in other new this is morning, the meningitiso outbrek continues to spread. 205 people have now been sickened so far.

the death toll stands at 15 in 14 states. tennessee being the hardest hit. the cases have been linked to steroid shots for back pain from a pharmacy in massachusetts. and peanut butter recall is expending. it now includes dozens of raw peanut products sold under more than 20 brand names. 35 people in 19 states have been sickened. we'll have much more coming up a little bit later on "good morning america." and with that, time now for a look at the weather from across the country. severe storms a possibility from southern jersey to northern florida by the afternoon. heavy rain in the pacific northwest. dry in the middle of the country. >> much warmer than usual in coloradodakotas. mild in the northeast with boston in the mid 70s. coming up next after the

break, all the details of the amazing fall from the edge of space. plus, the reason you are paying more when you're eating out. it's all ahead in your business news. and the shuttle "endeavour" finally arrives at its destination. fair to say it took the slow route to get there.

welcome back, everybody. there's not much refreshment in this year's cola. the social security cost of living adjustment announced tomorrow won't be too much. preliminary figures put it between 1% and 2%.

just $12 to $24 a month. it's the smallest adjustment since they began 37 years ago. business economists are not expecting improvement in the economy either. they predict a growth rate late this year of less than 2%. increasing slowly to 3% by the end of next year. they don't see much change in the unemployment or inflation rates. u.s. oil production is booming, driving down crude prices. but there's little relief for drivers. the national ave $3.79 a gallon. it's 35 cents above a year ago. u.s. oil is still a small part of the market. restaurants are feeling the effects of the drought. they're cutting portions, raising prices and dropping items from their men use

altogether. and liam neeson's "taken 2" has now taken two -- weekends at the box office. the thrill sir doing better than the original "taken" two years ago. it took in $22.5 million in sales in its second weekend. " "argo" was right behind. i expect it to go to the top. >> you saw it? >> saw it, loved it. five stars out of five. when we come back from 24 miles up, hold your breath, all the way to the ground. we're going hear from the man who lived to tell about it. my stomach sinks every time i see the shot. it was a big night for aaron rodgers and the green bay packers. houston, yeah, you had a problem. right here at table 19, a secret crush turned out to be a mutual attraction.

the westgate cousins went old school to decide who pays the check. a local book club raved about the cliffhangers in the new crime novel. and some bff's from college joked about looking up old flames on facebook. all over delicious entrees like new santa cruz steak from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here.

and getting more. that's value sense. introducing the scott shared values program. get free movie rentals, music downloads, and more. use your value sense. sign up at scottbrand.com.

well, the good news is that an suv that was reported stolen has been found. uh -- the bad news? it was found on the side of a rockie cliff overlooking the sea in newport, rhode island. it took hours to freehe in newport, rhode island. it took hours to freehe vehicle and haul it away. hope you have cliff insurance. now for a look at your morning road conditions. rainy and windy along i-95 by the afternoon commute. airport delays are possible in philadelphia, d.c., charlotte, seattle as well as detroit. and the weather was finally perfect in new mexico, allowing felix baumgartner to pull off his death-defying skydive. it was a 4:20 free fall. everyone watching was holding their breath. >> my stom match was up here.

he shattered all kinds of record. he became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound. ryan owens has more on fearless fel felix. >> reporter: he began his improbable journey to the edge of space. for 2 1/2 hours, the 43-year-old austrian skydiver floated to 24 miles up. 128,000 feet above the new mexico desert where he opened his capsule, hung his feet out the door. was reminded to remove his seat belt. saluted. and just jumped. he plummeted at 833 miles per hour. so fast, the only way to see him was this infrared camera. the first human to break the sound barrier with just his body, no yet, no rocket. he tumbled out of control for a few tense seconds then righted

himself and managed to make a sound. it was enough for mom. high winds delayed liftoff last week. nothing, it seemed, could keep him from the stratosphere. he returned to earth on his feet, with a record that's simply out of this world. >> when you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble. it's not about breaking records anymore. it's not about getting data. it's all about coming home alive. >> reporter: researchering plan to study what happened to his pressure suit. they think they can use that to design stronger, safer ones for the astronauts of the future. ryan owens, abc news, roswell, new mexico. space shuttle "endeavour" has reached its permanent home. >> it literally inched its way from l.a.x. to the science

cent center. jessica ridgway was remembered in her colorado hometown over the weekend. friends and family released purple balloons in the little girl's memory after her body was discovered last week. there's a massive search for the person who kidnapped and murdered the fifth grader. parents are jittery. many of them went to a safety fair to have their kids fingerprinted. a scary time on this flight. the windshield was cracked. we're told the plane never lost any cabin pressure and the landing was routine. sports now. the first bowl championship series standings of the college season are out. we start with number five, the notre dame fighting irish. >> kansas state at four, oregon number three. from the mighty seco.e.c., numb two, florida, number one, alabama.

hurts my heart not to see lsu up there. the season's not over. >> or north carolina or michigan. good morning, i'm jade mccarthy. yankees trying to come back after losing game one and their can't. let's go to the bronx for game two. top eight. that would be a single to right for austin jackson. omar infante overruns the second base bag. throw to second in time. but wait a minute, the umpire says he's safe. joe girardi wants to talk about this one. that's it for kuroda. next batter, garcia. he has the single that scored infan infante. that's it for logan. girardi giving him an earful. girardi out of the game. cook gets granderson.

tigers win, 3-0, for a 2-0 series lead. aaron rodgers and the packers visiting the undefeated texans. what a game for rodgers. perfect pass for the 41-yard touchdown. under 1:00 to play in the first. rodgers play action. connecting with james jones. he had two tds in this one. second quarter, rodgers. having himself a night. finding nelson. 338 yards, 6 suchdotouchdowns. that ties a green bay record. the pack hand the texans their first loss of the season. coming up next, "the pulse." something special is first up. and tom cruise. is he really exiting the church of scientology? depends on who you listen to. living with joint damage. help relieve the pain

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time to check "the pulse" the morning. we'll start with something you're involved in, my friend. >> hannah overton has been in prison for the murder of her foster child. was justice served or has she been wrongly imprisoned? hereviewed. you can watch her story today on katie couric's new talk show. we'll have more coming up on "good morning america." >> really compelling, complex story. looking forward to that. rumors are flying that tom cruise may be ready to cut ties with the church of scientology. >> and the reason, according to insiders, is that he was def tated by his divorce katie

holmes and he hopes that by backing way from the church, he may woo her back. >> it's been months since he's been seen at any church functions. also, a drink so unique, it's capable of knocking back a world record and your bank account. >> a bar nernd london created the world's most expensive cocktail. $8800 glass. a cognac from 1788. a 1770 liquor. and bitters from the 1900s. >> bring it out for a good party. it's been called liquid history in a glass. 8800 bucks, wow? >> it probably tastes horrible, right? >> it probably tastes like drano. but send us some, please. for some of you, your local

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updating the top stories. one day until the second presidential debate. president obama is in virginia. mitt romney is in massachusetts going through final preparations. daredevil felix baumgartner is back on earth today after yesterday's freefall from 24 miles up. and the aclu is expected to file suit today against morgan stanley. accusing them of fueling risky mortgages to african-americans who could not afford them. mild and dry in the nation's midsection. severe storms are a possibility from south jersey to northern florida. finally this morning this is the trim of year that millions of american teenagers and their parents are all abuzz over high

school homecoming. >> for one maryland family this year's homecoming has taken on a special meaning. reena ninan explains. >> reporter: giddy. glowing. and grateful to be alive. ♪ get funky >> reporter: 16-year-old alexis hanford was all smiles on saturday. >> you look nice. >> thank you. >> she still seems like she's okay. and happy to be alive and happy to be able to participate in these things. and you know, as a parent, that's awesome. >> three, two, one, go, haley! >> reporter: barely two months ago after playing in this lake with her sister, haley, the former soccer player wz hospitalized with rare strain of flesh-eating bacteria. >> i went off of a rope swing.

when i fell into the water, i hit my leg. it actually was really bad. >> reporter: over the course of several weeks, she endured 18 surgeries to rid her leg of infection and celebrated her sweet 16 with new wheels. >> every surgery, you wait in the waiting room wondering what they found and what would need to be removed or what was still left and was healthy. >> i've lost a lot of use in my leg. but i haven't lost my leg. >> reporter: though not yet well enough to return full time. the redhead stopped by school friday just long enough to be crowned homecoming princess. >> it was maizing to be crowned. and i'm guessing probably since i have been way for so long, they just wanted me to know that i'm still included in the school. i can't even explain how much that means to me. >> reporter: reena ninan, abc news, washington. >> royal in more ways than one, huh? >>