and they're off! the presidential candidates and their running mates target key swing states as the campaign heats up. shoot-out in texas. three people, including a law enforcement officer, killed during a gun battle at the texas a&m campus. >> i heard two bullets whiz right by my room right there, and i just kind of threw myself out of bed, thought i don't think i should probably be by my window right now. and security breach. a $100 million security system fails when a man swims ashore and scales a fence at new york's kennedy airport. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. a little more than 80 days to go

until election day and the crucial vote in 11 key swing states could decide who wins the white house. the candidates are hitting the trail in five of them today. president obama continues his bus tour in iowa. vice president biden is in virginia. mitt romney is in ohio. and paul ryan campaigns in nevada and colorado. drew levinson brings it home for us this morning from washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, terrell. all of the candidates are certainly putting in a lot of miles swinging through those swing states, and all four, plus the first lady, made appearances yesterday. president obama tried to cool off with a snow cone while campaigning in iowa. >> this is outstanding right here. >> reporter: the persistent heat has caused a drought there, and the president told voters he could help, but he says paul ryan and his fellow republicans in the house aren't holding up his farm bill. >> if you happen to see congressman ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to iowa and our rural community. >> reporter: ryan is also in iowa. the new vice presidential candidate got his first taste of

presidential politics when he was heckled at the state fair. >> from iowa! >> reporter: a new "usa today"/gallup poll shows not everyone is thrilled with romney's choice. 39% of registered voters say the seleion of ryan was excellent to pretty good. 45% rate it as only fair or poor. and 16% have no opinion. iowa is one of the swing states that would decide this election. and like president obama, mitt romney, too, is touring those states on a bus. ♪ he'll be in ohio today, where he's sure to talk more about the economy, just like he did in miami on monday. >> i think it's immoral for us to keep spending our kids' future. if i'm president, i will actually cut spending and get america on track to a balanced budget. >> reporter: and vice president biden campaigned in north carolina monday. today he's in virginia. ♪ even the first lady is trying to win over voters. during an appearance on "the tonight show," she told jay leno that the president's health reform is what she's most proud

of during his first term. right now, polls show president obama with a narrow lead over mr. romney, but terrell, remember, there are still three months to go. >> pretty long time in politics. drew levinson in washington. drew, thank you so much. new jersey governor chris christie will give the keynote address at the republican convention later this month and the keynote is the highest profile speech other than those by the nominee. christie flirted with a whi house run himself. christie says he'll talk about the troubles the country is in and the difficult fixes that lie ahead. defense secretary leon panetta says pakistan plans to launch combat operations against the taliban in the near future. pakistani officials told panetta they'll target north waziristan, a tribal area near the afghan border. pakistan's reluctance to target taliban operatives using pakistan territory as a safe haven is frustrating u.s. leaders. the government-controlled syrian media denies reports rebel forces shot down a syrian warplane. this is video of the rebel

plane. it shows the fighter bursting into flames after being hit by antiaircraft guns. rebels also showed a video that shows the captured pilot. they say they experienced technical difficulties and the pilot bailed out. in texas, a law enforcement officer was shot and killed while serving an eviction notice. it happened in college station, just off the campus of texas a&m university, and it set off a deadly chain of events that left two others dead and four more wounded. >> put your hands where i can see them! >> reporter: this cell phone video captures authorities swarming the off-campus resident. they were called in after another officer was reported shot and engaged in what was described as an extended shoot-out with the gunman. >> i heard 30 shots fired. they sounded like semiautomatic rounds, rifles. i've heard a lot of people say it was straight shots, but from what i heard, it was more of a tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. >> i heard two bullets whiz right by my room over there, and

that's when i kind of threw myself out of bed, was like, i don't think i should probably be by the window right now. >> brazos county constable brian bachmann was shot and killed serving the eviction notice. he was a 19-year veteran. >> a pillar of our community and it's sad and tragic that we've lost him today. >> reporter: also killed in the gunfire was chris northcliff, who was outside of the home when the shooting started. the gunman was identified as 35-year-old thomas alton caffall. he was shot and killed by police. three other officers and a 55-year-old woman were wounded. >> there are many, many different witnesses as well as responding law enforcement officers. there's a lot of details that we're trying to piece together. >> reporter: texas a&m issued an alert on its website, warning of a shooter near the campus football stadium. >> the university's 50,000 students were not on campus at the time. constable bachmann leaves behind a wife and two children. the gunman's sister says her

family is distraught by the havoc he created. the colorado judge maintains a gag order in the colorado shooting case, preventing the university of colorado from releasing information about suspect james holmes, the former graduate student. other court documents will also remain sealed. holmes is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 58 others when he allegedly opened fire during a showing of the new "batman." here in new york, authorities are investigating the failure of a multimillion dollar security system at kennedy airport. a man scaled a fence that was supposedly monitored by state-of-the-art protection system, and walked across two active runways before he was spotted. manuel gallegus reports. >> reporter: police patrols are now increased around new york's kennedy airport. that's after port authority officials say a local man breezed past the airport security system. daniel ka sillo became stranded on his personal watercraft in jamaica bay, right next to the airport, during a nighttime ride over the weekend. he swam three miles toward the airport's lights and scaled an

8-foot barbed wire face. casillo's cousin says he had no choice. >> swim to a land mass? it didn't make sense to me at all. >> reporter: a criminal complaint states that a delta air lines worker saw him walk across the runway behind terminal 3, past security cameras and motion sensors. the worker then notified police. the airport's state-of-the-art security system costs $100 million. it's designed to safeguard against terrorists. >> if that guy can get in, terrorists can get in. >> just shows that no matter what you do, nothing is fool-proof. >> reporter: the port authority says its goal is to keep the airport safe at all time. "we have called for an expedited review of the incident and a complete investigation to determine how raytheon's perimeter intrusion detection system, which exceeds federal requirements, could be improved." the port authority says it's planning on meeting with the security system manufacturer this week.

manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. >> take a quick break on a tuesday morning. when we come back, iphone fans, get ready! the new iphone 5 ready to debut after prices dropped for current iphones. and a man drives against traffic for miles as cars dodge him. this is the "morning news." here's my morning routine. gotta start the day off right. wardrobe. cute. then new activia breakfast blend. a great way to help start the day. mmm... creamy lowfat yogurt with grains in yummy breakfast flavors, like apple cinnamon. its hearty, with twice the protein of regular lowfat yogurt and helps regulate your digestive system. our morning routines are important, aren't they? new activia breakfast blend.

♪ anything, yes, i'd do anything ♪ ♪ anything for you ♪

♪ anything for you oh, boy. this is not good. this guy driving the wrong way in australia. traffic cameras caught cars slamming on their brakes, trying to get out of the way. this happened back in february. the driver is 81 years old and drove the wrong way for eight miles. license has been suspended and his lawyer says he may have suffered a stroke, causing him to be confused. speaking of a scary ride, two racers in colorado were able to make it through this. their car tumbled over a turn in pikes peak international hill climb on sunday. they were air-lifted to the hospital, treated and released.

luckm for them. back in the u.s., fast-moving thunderstorms ripped through texas. high winds tore apart an airport in ft. worth saturday night, damaging about a dozen planes. the national weather service says gusts reached more than 70 miles per hour. at one point, more than 55,000 homes and businesses lost power. drought conditions in the nation's heartland are getting worse, even though it's been slightly cooler with some rain. the government now saying more than half of the nation's corn crop was poor or very poor. the usda also predicts this year's harvest will average just over 123 bushels per acre, the lowest average yield in 17 years. the drought is driving down the price of meat and the u.s. military is stepping in with a big purchase. under orders from president obama, they're going to buy more beef, pork and lamb, and the military loves meat. each year, u.s. service members devour 94 million pounds of beef, 64 million pounds of pork and 500,000 pounds of lamb. i totally get that. "cbs money watch" time on a

tuesday. google cuts motorola jobs, and the ceo of a collapsed brokerage firm is indicted in a fraud case. ashley morrison here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. overseas markets rallied ahead of economic numbers from europe, tokyo's nikkei gained 0.5% while the hang seng gained 1%. wall street investors showed concern over a possible economic slowdown in asia. the dow lost 38 points while the nasdaq gained one point. google's shares increased monday after the company announced it would cut jobs at motorola mobility. the layoffs will affect about 4,000 employees. that's 20% of motorola's workforce. google bought the cell phonemaker for more than $12 billion last year. motorola has struggled to produce a successful smartphone. fedex is looking to cut costs as well. the delivery service will start offering buyouts to its u.s. employees. fedex has not said how many positions it is looking to eliminate. the company has said slowing economic growth could shrink its

earnings into next year. it's already removed some aircraft from its fleet due to lack of demand. the founder of a bankrupt investment firm was indicted by a federal grand jury monday. russ wasendorf sr. is charged with 31 counts of fraud. his company, peregrine financial group, cannot account for more than $200 million in customer funds. the losses came to light after wasendorf attempted suicide. authorities say he left a detailed note in which he admitted to embezzling the funds. and another sign that a new iphone might be on the way. target and best buy have reportedly cut the price on some models of its iphone 4 and 4s. last week, sprint cut prices by $50. now, in the past, retailers have reduced iphone's prices to clear inventory before the new model is released. and terrell, it's a new iphone for you! >> i wasn't -- for me? one for you! >> i'm keeping my blackberry. i'm not going there. >> we're not doing that, are we? >> no. >> ashley morrison here in new

york. ashley, thank you so much. see you tomorrow. helen gurley brown, longtime editor of "cosmopolitan" magazine, has died. in the 1960s, her best-selling book "sex and the single girl" started the sexual revolution for women, and when she took over "cosmo" and became part of the american culture. she ran the magazine for 32 years, stepping down in 1997. her motto "good girls go to heaven, but bad girls go everywhere." helen gurley brown died monday in new york. she was 90 years old. [ female announcer ] how do you define your moment? the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. are a sizzling deal, starting at 6 bucks.

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take a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. in new york, afternoon thunderstorms, 84. same deal in miami, 92. partly sunny skies in chicago, 78 degrees. 101 in dallas with thunderstorms. mostly sunny skies in los angeles, 89 degrees. let's check your national forecast. a strong storm system is heading east. thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts and hail will cross parts of the mid-atlantic and new york. new england will remain dry until this evening. clusters of storms are possible from the midwest to the south. behind the southeast, it could hit 102 in texas. the west will be dry with temperatures ten degrees above normal. in sports this morning, the indians bounce back against sputtering angels. great job by shortstop cabrera. in the first, he barehands and chopper, then gets the out. on the next pitch, another great barehanded grab for an even better throw to first. in the eighth, albert pujols launches once to left to get the angels within one, but the

indians hang on for the win 6-2. another big swing from the white sox adam dunn. in the ninth he goes dark with a second to tie the game against the blue jays. he leads the league with 33 home runs. in the 11th, david cooper hits the walk-off single to right, sending in the winning run. toronto over chicago 3-2. the nationals kept scoring against san fran. at third base, run scores. giants pitcher gets hit in the back. another run scores. the nationals dropped the giants 14-2. they have now won 11 times in the last 13 games. shane victorino hit his first homer in a dodger uniform to put l.a. up by two over the pirates. in the eighth, mike mchenry sends a sharp single up the gap to score the winning run. dodgers fly by pittsburgh 5-4. they move within a game and a half of overtaking the pirates for one of the two national league wild card spots. and red sox legend johnny

pesky has died. he was adored by generations of boston fans. in 1946, he helped the red sox win the american league pennant. during his 60 years with the club, he served as manager, coach and broadcaster. in 2006, on his 87th birthday, the right field pole at fenway was forever dubbed pesky's pole, because according to legend, back in the day he called a game-winning home run around the pole. the commissioner says baseball has lost another great ambassador. johnny pesky was 92 years old. when we come back on a tuesday morning, a looit look at the latest words to make it into mariam webster's dictionary. you'll be surprised. and toy story. a shoplifting operation involving millions of dollars in stolen toys. you will not believe how they did this. [ mother bear ] you're not using too much are you, hon?

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., heavy thunderstorms, 89. thunderstorms as well in atlanta, 88. mostly sunny skies in st. louis, 88 degrees.

afternoon thunderstorms in denver, 91. and partly sunny skies in seattle, 79 degrees. top stories now on a tuesday morning. the candidates for president continue their swing state campaign push today where both candidates are touting their economic plans. president obama continues his visit to iowa. mitt romney is in. on had. . and three people were killed in a shoot-out near texas a&m university. a gunman opened fire from inside his home as a sheriff tried to serve an eviction notice. the law enforcement officer and the gunman were among the victims. a mother and son are behind bars this morning, accused of stealing more than $2 million worth of toys from toys "r" us. police in florida say 46-year-old michael falara and his 70-year-old mom, margaret, traveled the country stuffing toys into the boxes of cheaper products they bought inside the stores, then selling them online. >> this is his job. i go to work at the sheriff's office, he goes to work and steals

>> authorities tracked the two for months before arresting them last week. here's one creature you don't ever want to run in to, a burmese python measuring 17'7" and weighing 164 pounds. it is the biggest ever caught in florida. it was pregnant with 87 eggs, which is also a record. scientists euthanized the snake and will study it to gain insight on controlling the python population. where there's one, there's probably more, so watch where you let the dogs play. and the latest edition to merriam-webster's collegiate dictionary is released today as an annual outdate. they include bucket list, which is a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying. earworm, a song or melody that keeps repeating in one's mind. hey, i just met you, this is crazy. sexting, the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone. and f-bomb, used metaphorically as a euphemism for the four-letter word that rhymes

with duck. let's go. coming up on your local news on "cbs this morning," peter greenberg on vacation travel. i'm terrell brown. this is the "morning news." [ music playing ] [ music playing ] hgotta start the day off right. wardrobe. cute. then new activia breakfast blend. a great way to help start the day. mmm... creamy lowfat yogurt with grains in yummy breakfast flavors, like apple cinnamon. its hearty, with twice the protein of regular lowfat yogurt

and helps regulate your digestive system. our morning routines are important, aren't they? new activia breakfast blend.

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is tuesday, august 14. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us. i'm mike hydeck. good morning, monika samtani. she does traffic. >> i do. >> good morning, mr. bernstein. we're going to get wet today. some showers are moving in.

might get a rumble of thunder. much better chance for storms this afternoon. keep that in mind. here's a look at your day planner. it's unsettled. we'll have a chance for some showers this morning and showers and storms this afternoon. 78 by 9:00. 85 by noon. it's going to be a warm, much more humid day with highs in the upper 80s, even a little bit of sun could push a few spots near 90 degrees. sunrise not till 6:21, just after 8:00. everything is lifting from south to north. we've got this rain knocking on the doorstep here in d.c. some pockets of more heavier showers if you will up in the frederick area between frederick and hagerstown, back down 340 to charles town as well. this is lifting up toward thurmont. i-81 seeing some of those heavier showers from culpeper to goldvein.

all of this wants to move toward us the next one to two hours. it's 4:26. let's check in with monika samtani. we have rain moving in. not going to be good for the rush hour. i'm happy to say if you look at the beltway behind me overall right now things look good. you have got a couple of construction spots i want to tell you about inbound . /-66 between nutley street and the beltway, only one lane is going to get you through. on the outer loop between 123 and route 50, only the right lane is going to get you through the construction zone. keep that in mind if you're just heading out the door. let's take a live look outside northbound i-95. here's what it looks like in newington. tiny bit of volume. no big deal heading for springfield. back over to the map this time to the north side of town where everything is running smoothly on the beltway, college park to bethesda. a live look at the beltway in landover where all the lanes are open. i'll be back with more traffic

at 4:39. in annapolis later today, the full maryland house is expected to vote on the measure to expand gambling in the state. >> that means the state could be allowed to have vegas style casinos. the house of delegates ways and means committee voted in favor of table games. as part of the deal, the house has increased the amount of money a a casino in anne arundel county and baltimore would get under the expansion. instead of pay 5g% less in tax -- 5% less in tax, the casino would pay 8% less and the baltimore one would pay 7% less. >> the bill is all about what the splits are between the licensees and the state. >> i call it a doomsday casino because it's going to destroy economically the gaming industry in the state of maryland. >> supporters of the measure say the state could make more than $200 million in this

saying prince george's county casino would draw money from the district and virginia. those who oppose it say the decision is being rushed in a special summer session and there's not enough data to help understand how a new casino could affect the other states. the battle over expanding casinos in maryland is gaining some supporters in prince george's county. >> a few years ago it was quite a different story. scoot broom explains the possible reasons behind the change of heart. >> reporter: 2008 was the last time maryland took on this issue and you might remember back then, prince george's county wanted nothing to do with gambling, not here or anywhere else in the county. so here now are my top five reasons why things have changed. number five, it's the economy, stupid. back in 2008 life was still good. now prince george's county faces big deficits every year. gambling here is projected to bring $69 million a year in