taking responsibility. secretary of state hillary clinton says she, not the white house, was in charge of security at the u.s. consulate in libya, where the u.s. ambassador and three other americans were killed. debate night. the candidates for the white house tangle in the second of three debates. president obama is hoping for a rebound, while mitt romney looks for another strong performance. and fighting chance. doctors in england say the young girl shot if i taliban has a good outlook for recovery. captioning funded by cbs good morning, and thanks for joining us. secretary of state hillary clinton is taking responsibility for the security at the u.s.

consulate in benghazi, libya. speaking to reporters on a trip to peru, clinton said security at all of america's diplomatic missions is her job. clinton is pushing back against republicans who have been highly critical of the obama administration's response to the deadly attack. the september 11 attack in benghazi killed ambassador chris stevens along with three other americans, and in the weeks since then, the administration has struggled to present a clear picture of what happened. last night in peru, hillary clinton sought to take the mounting pressure off the white house. >> nobody wants to get answers more than i do. >> clinton was asked to address remarks made by u.n. ambassador susan rice in which rice said the attack was not preplanned but rather an offshoot over a protest of an anti-muslim video. >> she got the same information that everyone got. i think she very clearly said here's what we know now. but this is going to change. >>n an interview with cnn, clinton tried to further

distance the white house from the attacks, saying "i'm in charge of the state department 60-thousand plus people all over the world. the president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions about security." that statement seems to confirm a statement made by vice president joe biden during his debate with paul ryan last week. >> we weren't told they warranted more security. >> congressional hearings last week revealed the state department rejected request for additional security in benghazi. republicans have expressed outrage over the administration's handling of the attack. >> either they are misleading the american people or incredibly incompetent. >> last night, three gop senators released a joint statement, saying when it comes to security with u.s. diplomats, the buck stops with the president. "the security of americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the commander in chief." meanwhile, the obama administration is vowing to track down whoever is responsible for the benghazi

attack. special operations forces have been put on standby and drones are in the sky over africa. investigators are still looking for the al qaeda linked group responsible for the deaths of the four americans. foreign policy and lots more will be on the table in tonight's debate between president obama and mitt romney. it is their second go-around, meeting tonight on new york's long island. this time the candidates will take questions from the audience, and it's a chance for president obama to rebound from his weaker than expected showing in their first meeting two weeks ago. tara mergener is in washington with the latest. good morning, tara. >> reporter: there is a lot of pressure on president obama tonight to make a comeback from that first debate. the challenge for mitt romney is to live up to the high expectations he set in that initial match-up. the stage is set at hofstra university for the second presidential debate. >> i can't even describe how excited i am. >> reporter: the town hall style format will feature 80 randomly

selected voters in the audience. all of them will have questions prepared, but only 11 will get to ask them. >> it's going to be fun to watch. maybe more fun for you than for me. >> reporter: mitt romney is coming off what many consider a win in the first debate. he spent monday in boston working with ohio senator rob portman, who has been playing president obama in debate preps. >> how did it go, senator? >> great. >> reporter: president obama spent the day at a resort in williamsburg, virginia. he's promised to be more aggressive in refuting romney's claims, but political analysts warn that because voters will be asking the questions, being too aggressive could be seen as a negative. >> it's a very, very difficult type of format to prepare for. >> reporter: despite the town hall format, the moderator for tonight's debate has promised to take an active role and that has both campaigns concerned. >> this will be a different president come tuesday. >> reporter: cnn's candy crowley says she plans to asked

follow-up questions if the candidates fail to ask the original question or if there needs to be a clarification. when the campaigns agreed to the debate, they came to the mutual ral agreement that the moderator would not ask new questions or raise new topics. both campaigns voiced concerns about crowley's concerns to the chairman of the presidential debates, who says crowley is not bound by any agreements reached by the presidential campaigns. mitt romney will be getting the first question since he won the coin toss. >> all eyes on that debate. thank you. you can watch tonight's presidential debate right here on cbs. coverage begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. the president accuses romney of not being up front when it cops to his tax plan. it's another topic he'll likely address tonight. does romney's plan to cut taxes and the national debt hold water? wyatt andrews takes a look. >> reporter: the president's basic claim is that mitt romney's tax numbers do not add

up, that romney's promise to lower tax rates for all families can't be paid for without cutting popular tax deductions for middle class families. last week, the vice president was specific. >> the only way you can find $5 trillion in loopholes is cut the mortgage deduction for middle class people. >> reporter: romney argues that lower rates will stimulate the economy and he is emphatic the middle class will not pay. >> i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle income families. >> reporter: romney's plan starts lowering tax rates 20% for everyone, a major tax cut that the nonpartisan tax policy says will cost the federal budget $480 billion a year, roughly $5 trillion over ten years. but romney and his running mate paul ryan say they will offset those costs by reducing tax deductions. they won't say which ones. that's to be worked out with

congress. but they promise they will only target the rich. >> deny those loopholes and deductions to higher income taxpayers so that more of their income is taxed. >> reporter: in theory, there is plenty of money in tax deductions, $1.1 trillion a year. but the most valuable deductions don't just benefit the rich. the tax-free benefit workers receive when employers pay for health insurance, the tax deduction for mortgage interest, and the tax-free contributions workers make to 401k pensions are all heavily used by both the rich and the middle class are all politically popular. mya mcginnis is president of the nonpartisan committee for a responsible federal budget. she says until romney releases more details, it's not clear if he can pay for the tax cut. >> the question is, can you do it without going into the middle class at all? that's big question that the governor has claimed but we haven't seen the numbers either

way to know whether for sure it's doable. >> reporter: and now this question of doable has become central to both campaigns. >> not mathematically possible. >> it is mathematically possible. >> reporter: romney's argument that this could be done rests on two major asemsumptions. that a bipartisan deal to reduce these very popular tax deductions is possible in a divided congress. wyatt andrews, cbs news, washington. federal health officials are warning that more drugs from a massachusetts pharmacy may be linked to that growing meningitis outbreak. the outbreak is now reported in 15 states. there are 214 cases and 15 patients have died. a steroid manufactured by the new england compounding center has been linked to the outbreak. coming up this morning on the morning news, critical care, a pakistani teenager arrives at a british hospital for treatment after being shot in the end by the taliban.

this is the "cbs morning news." to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to see if it worked. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. take your blindfolds off. oh! look at all this garbage! febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness, so you can breathe happy. have you tried this yet? save on febreze car and other innovative products with the october 28th p&g brandsaver. i don't have time for the flu. that's why i'm knocking things off my to-do list. vitamin d, done! hand sanitizer, done! hey, eric! i'm here for my flu shot. sorry, didn't make an appointment. well, you don't need one. whether it's flu shots or prescriptions, we continue to accept express scripts and medco plans. i'm bonnie, and this is my cvs.

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hospital officials in england say the young pakistani girl shot by the taliban has a chance of making a good recovery and is in stable condition this morning. yesterday, 14-year-old malala yousafzai arrived at a british hospital that is experienced treating wounded soldiers. she'll receive more surgery and intensive rehab. she was shot in the head a week ago for promoting girls' education. elizabeth palmer traveled to malala's school in pakistan's swat valley. >> reporter: where malala yousafzai used to sit, there was an empty chair. but all around, the desks in her class were full of girls determined to keep on learning. we will not be stopped from getting an education, one student told me, but it's now too dangerous for any of them to speak on camera. in the grim hours after malala

was shot, then medevaced to a military hospital, melinda, the school principal, didn't leave her side. >> i can't forget when we sat in the helicopter and she started vomiting, and it was all blood. >> reporter: the taliban attacked the school bus on a busy stretch of road just half a mile from the school. but if anyone saw what happened, they are not talking. police say that the gunman stopped the driver and actually asked him where's malala, and he gestured to the back. she was sitting here near the opening. for the gunman, it was a simple matter of raising his weapon and firing. one of his bullets hit kainaz, who is now recovering at home. what kind of a gun was it? a pistol, but she was too terrified to take in the man's face. terror first came to this town with the taliban six years ago. they forced women to stay home,

blew up girls schools, and carried out executions and floggings. then in 2008, the pakistani army moved in and forced the taliban out. since then, life has slowly returned to normal. just look at the crowd that turned out for the first post-taliban cricket match. sports fan said can't believe it. if they had done this during taliban time, would they have been killed? >> yeah, of course. >> reporter: pleasure and public confidence returned in part because malala yousafzai led the way in denouncing taliban repression. she's recovering from terrible injuries thousands of miles away, while her school friends muster their courage to carry on her fight. there has been a ground swell of support for malala across pakistan. but the rallies and demonstrations are small by the standards of such things in this

country, and pakistan still has a deep ambivalence about girls education. the world bank estimates that as few as 22% of girls in rural areas complete primary school. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, islamabad. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, the biggest "monday night football" comeback ever. [ female announcer ] curls are long lasting when they're nourished. ♪ that's why new dove style + care

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. in new york, partly sunny, 6 2 degrees. chicago, partly sunny, 67. dallas, partly sunny 80. los angeles, partly sunny, 90. and now for a check of today's national forecast. showers will linger across most of the northeast. sunny, breezy weather will stretch from the mid-atlantic states through most of the south. most of the nation's midsection will be warm and windy. heavy windy will soak the northwest. on the "cbs moneywatch" report, kindle customers might have a refund coming to them. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you. stocks in asia rallied this morning on hopes that spain will ask for a bailout in the coming weeks to activate the european central bank's bond buying scheme. tokyo's nikkei added 1 1/2%.

consumer spending was modestly higher for a second consecutive month. retail sales rose just over 1% in september. part of the increase was due to economists warn that if those .- prices continue to rise, consumers could cut back. the up tick in retail sales gave wall street stocks a lift. the dow closed 95 points higher on monday while the nasdaq was up 20 points. the american civil liberties union is suing morgan stanley for subprime mortgages. the aclu accuses the bank of violating civil rights laws. the bank says the allegations are "completely without merit." and there's a new chapter for kindle customers. amazon says they are entitled to a credit for ebook purchases. it's part of a settlement between the federal government

and three publishers. the publishers were accused of price fixing. the credits are expected to range from 30 cents to $1.32. >> i hope that refund is coming in the mail soon. ashley morrison here in new york. thank you, ashley. in sports, a hard-hitting game two in the national league championship series in. the top of the first, matt holliday with a hard slide, barreling into marco scutaro. a single to left scores two runs after the ball is misplayed by holliday. san francisco goes on to win 7-1. the giants have tied the series at one game apiece. and a tale of two halves in "monday night football." san diego looked to be in complete control, taking a 24-0 lead over denver into halftime. but in the second half, broncos quarterback peyton manning comes to life. manning throws three touchdown passes to lead denver to the biggest comeback in "monday night football" history. denver wins 35-24.

and when we return, roadside attraction. escaped elephants hit the highway after a trailer accident in mississippi. your details ahead. we put a week's worth of bad odors in a home. some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze really remove them? we asked real people what they thought. take a deep breath for me. describe the smell.

it's very pleasant. fresh. some kind of flower maybe? remove the blindfold... awww, oh yuck! i didn't smell any of that! febreze air effects doesn't mix, it actually removes odors. [ laughs ] wow, that's incredible. just another way febreze helps you breathe happy.

here is a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington mostly sunny, 66 degrees. st. louis partly sunny 80. and seattle, chance of showers, 58 degrees. police in maine have released some of the more 100 names of the men accused of paying for sex with a zumba instructor. alexis wright has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts of

prostitution. an attorney from some of her alleged clients tried to block public disclosure of their names. the judge ruled that names of the defendants charged with crimes is public information. in ohio, a police officer and a state trooper were seriously injured when their motorcycles collided in first lady michelle obama's motorcade. the crash happened on a monday near columbus. mrs. obama had just made a campaign stop. she was not hurt. anyone driving on interstate 10 in southern mississippi might have been startled to see elephants on the side of the road. the truck carrying them ran off the road sunday night. the elephants are part of a circus. they were okay, just a little shaken from the wreck. the golden globe awards had their own big announcement. comediennes tina fey and amy poehler will host the 70th annual ceremony next year. the two worked together for years on "saturday night live." they replaced british comedian ricky gervais, who hosted the golden globes for the past three years.

coming up on "cbs this morning," how to help your overweight pet. right here at table 6, zach canton's dad gave him a pep talk about asking out the cutest girl in algebra. the metcalfe brothers had a staring contest to see who'd get the last bite of dessert. four old roommates debated whether asia was or wasn't the greatest '80s supergroup ever. and a surprise birthday party caught amanda sullivan totally off-guard. all over delicious entrees like new smoky chipotle chicken fajitas

from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here.

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is tuesday, october 16. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck -- i'm jessica doyle in today for mike hydeck. today is the official animal day. howard will dress up later. monika samtani will have your

timesaver traffic in a moment. we'll begin with howard bernstein not dressed in leopard today. >> that's okay. we'll leave it to the ladies. they wear it much better than i do. we have a much better day in the sense it will be dry. a better hair day. the humidity is a lot lower. the breeze is up a little bit this morning. that may be the one thing on the hair. 54 now. we'll see sunny skies. got a few clouds mixing in now but sunny skies. by lunch time only 60 with a high of 66 and drive home temp of 64. you'll likely need a jacket and the shades this morning. yesterday after hit and miss heavy showers, i was on 270 yesterday afternoon. slowing at 40 miles an hour because it was pouring so heavily. all that rain moving off toward the east this morning. it's in eastern new england. behind it we should have a few patches of clouds coming out of the mountains to our northern and western suburbs. temps are on the cool side, down to 48 in gaithersburg. 53 in martinsburg.

we're at 54. this afternoon as i said, sunshine. your high temperatures will be generally in the low to mid- 60s. let's check in with monika at 4:27. she's got timesaver traffic. you think it was snowing or something. >> why is that? >> because of how slow it was on 270 with just rain. when it snows, uh-oh. right now at least things are looking great. roads are dry for the most part. no issues to report on the northbound side of i-95. the wilson bridge opened at about 4:00. it took about ten minutes or so. you should be okay if that's where you're headed through alexandria or oxon hill. of course construction here on the beltway inner loop side braddock road to route 236. you want to stay to the left to get around that 395 northbound at duke street, lanes are open, no issues to report to the 14th street bridge. now over to the other side of town. no issues on the bw parkway route 50 through cheverly. looking good in the northeast corridor on the beltway in prince george's county. we'll take a live look at the beltway in college park where lanes are opened headed to

silver spring and bethesda. i'll be back with more at 4:39. president obama and mitt romney will square off again in the second presidential debate tonight. president obama acknowledges he didn't farewell in the first debate and has promised he will not be so lax in tonight's meeting. >> both candidates have taken the last couple of days off the campaign trail in order to prepare for tonight. astaire a mergener tells us -- as tara mergener tells us, the town hall format will focus on undecided voters. >> reporter: the stage is set at hofstra university for the second presidential debate. >> i can't describe how excited i am. >> reporter: it will feature 80 randomly selected voters in the audience. all of them will have questions prepared but only 11 will get to ask them. >> it's going to be fun to watch. maybe more fun for you than for me. >> reporter: mitt romney is coming off what many consider a win in the first debate. he spent monday in boston working with ohio senator robb

portman who has been playing president obama in debate preps. president obama spent the day at a resort in williamsburg, virginia. he's promised to be more aggressive in refuting romney's claims but political analysts warn because voters will be asking the questions, being too aggressive could be seen as a negative. >>it's a very difficult format to prepare for. >> reporter: despite the town hall format, the moderator for tonight's debate has promised to take an active role and that has both campaigns concerned. >> this will be a different president come tuesday. >> reporter: candy crowley says she plans to ask follow-up questions if the candidates fail to answer the original question or if there needs to be a clarification. but when the campaigns agree to the debate, they came to a mutual agreement that the moderator would not ask new questions or raise new topics. both campaigns voiced concerns about crowley's plans