authorities arrest a foreign student on charges he planned to bomb the federal reserve bank in new york city. this individual came here with the expressed purpose of committing a terrorist act. women wanted. the presidential candidates are putting the focus on winning over undecided female voters a group that could sway the election. axing armstrong after a damning report implicates him in a doping scandal, lance armstrong steps down as the head of his charity and is dropped by some of his biggest sponsors. >> this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, october 18, 2012. good morning and thank for joining us. i'm vinita nair.

this morning a young bangladesh man is being held without bail threatening to bomb the federal reserve bank here in new york. the fbi says he came to the u.s. intent on waging a holy war and was ready to die in the attack. >> reporter: 21-year-old quazi mohammad rezwanul ahsan nafis stood in a manhattan courthouse wednesday hours after he allegedly tried to blow up part of america's financial infrastructure. authorities say nafis wanted to detonate a bomb outside of the federal reserve bank of new york. the building where transactions from the nation's largest banks are processed and where a large reserve of gold is stored. he dime the u.s. on a student visa in january to study cyber security. that lasted one semester. the fbi started watching him after he tried setting up a terror cell using an online chat room and facebook. undercover agents started working with nafis posing as al

qaeda operatives. he told one agent, what i really mean is that i don't want something that's like small i just want something big. very big. his first target wall street. >> he goes to the new york stock exchange, sees there's significant security there and shifts his target to the federal reserve bank. >> reporter: undercover agents gave nafis what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb on wednesday morning. he then drove the van here to the federal reserve bank. he was arrested when he tried to detonate the bomb from a nearby hotel. he faces life in prison. to politics and the aggressive push for female voters. women voters are a key demographic. president obama is trying to maintain his advantage while mitt romney is making inroads. but romney may have gotten

himself into a bind on tuesday night. tara mergener is in washington with more. >> reporter: good morning. yes, this nonpolitical benefit has been going on since the end of world war ii. it's a time to put aside differences and relax. president obama and mitt romney will be sporting black coats and white ties for the charity dinner in new york tonight. ate chance for the candidate to have fun and tell bad jokes, like this one from president obama during the last election. >> i do love the waldorf astoria. i hear from the door step you can see all the way to the russian tea room. >> reporter: the jokes are less friendly on the campaign trail as both men battle for every vote they were focused on one group in particular wednesday, women. >> why is it that there are 3.6 million more women in poverty today than when the president

took office? this president has failed america's women. >> reporter: president obama took a jab at romney's debate comment that he needed binders full of women to find qualified females for his cabinet position. >> i got to tell you we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified talented women. >> reporter: the campaigns are having to tail ortheir messages to reach female voters. that's because a new poll show women have different concerns than men when it comes to winning their support. a new gallup poll shows 39% of women in swing states say abortion is their most important issue. that's why romney has highlighted his stance on abortion. >> he thinks abortion should be an option in case of rape or to save a mother's life. >> reporter: the same poll shows mitt romney trailing president obama. tonight is mitt romney's only public event. president obama campaigns in new

hampshire. >> tara mergener live in washington this morning. thank you. by the way, the television audience for tuesday's debate was slightly smaller than first. an estimated 65.6 million people watched tuesday's debate while 67 million watched the first debate. mitt romney's oldest son had something to say about the contentious nature of the debate. tag romney was asked how he felt when the president called his father a liar. >> you want to jump out of the seat and rush down the stage and take a swing at him. you can't do that the. but this is the nature of the process. >> tag romney has taken on a bigger role in his father's campaign said all the tough talk is something you sign up for. this morning evacuation orders have been lifted in the hills of santa barbara, california where at one point a fast-moving wildfire threatened 100 homes. the lookout fire started

yesterday morning and quickly spread and burning in rugged terrain making it difficult to contain. firefighters caught a break when strong winds that were forecast never materialized. no homes were lost and the fire is 45% contained. a tentative date has been set for the trial of george zimmerman the man charged with murdering trayvon martin. he's charged with second-degree murder. zimmerman claims he acted in self-defense. martin of not armed. now an update on the growing meningitis outbreak. people in 15 states have been sickened. there have been at least 19 fatalities. in all 247 cases have been reported. it appears the outbreak can be traced back to contaminated destroyed shots from a massachusetts pharmacy. coming up on the morning news another possible benefit of a low-carb diet. plus the power of a pill.

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the final flight of a german military plane almost turned into a disaster. the c-160 approached the runway too low tuesday. its landing gear touched town on a road next to an airfield missing the crowd by a low feet. it bounced off the road and ended up landing safely. about 1,000 people gathered to watch. the cargo plane is headed to an air museum. a new study suggests taking a multivitamin every day may lower the risk for some cancer. >> reporter: 52-year-old mark takes a multivitamin every day. >> i felt if i could help myself, why not give myself an advantage. >> reporter: a new large long term study of middle aged and

older men find taking a multivitamin daily reduces the overall risk of cancer 8%. researchers say the reduction may sound small but its significant. >> even an 8% reduction can have a profound impact in terms of our long term health and longevity. >> reporter: many studies of individual via minutes found they don't improve health and in some cases even cause harm. researchers believe multivitamins may help because they contain a combination of vitamins and mineral similar to what you find eating the right amount of fruits and vigilante tables. >> a, b, c and e is important. extra iran is important. >> reporter: 1/3 of u.s. adults take a multivitamin regularly. most users are over 50. the only cancer multivitamins didn't have an effect on is prostate cancer. >> every man should have the understanding that multivitamins

can help. >> reporter: whether the results extend to women and younger adults remain to be seen. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. a separate study suggest as diet high in pasta, bread and other complex carbohydrates may lead to mild cognitive impairment. diets higher in proteins and fats have less of a chance of developing problems. straight ahead this morning, your thursday morning weather and in sports, intensity in the wnba finals as a coach loses her cool. 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. and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america,

has never been stronger. . here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york partly sunny 68 degrees. miami chance of a thunderstorm 87. chicago afternoon thunderstorms 58 degrees. dallas sunny 78. los angeles mostly sunny at 90 degrees. let's check your national forecast. dry from new england to virginia. rain is likely from western new york to west virginia. mostly sunny, dry weather will extend from the lower mississippi valley to texas. the deep south will be stormy and very windy from the northern and central plains to the ohio valley and northern and central rockies. on the cbs moneywatch a sign of recovery for the housing market. and some tax troubles for starbucks. ashley morrison is here in new york with more on that. >> reporter: good morning. asian markets rallied this

morning after china's gdp figures suggest the worst of their economic slow down may be over. housing construction surged and that could give the weak economy a needed boost. the commerce department said on wednesday groundbreaking on new single family homes and apartments started at the fastest rate in more than four years. the increase is driven partly by low mortgage rates. despite the strong housing report wall street stocks closed only modestly higher. the dow jones industrial advanced five points while nasdaq increased two points. american is in bankruptcy but needs to fill jobs. 1500 jobs will be filled. salaries for the new hires will be less than the $45,000 average

paid to current flight attendants. in britain two parliamentary committees want to know why starbucks didn't pay taxes on almost $2 billion on sales. starbucks told investors that its british unit was highly profitable. at the same time it told british tax authorities the unit was losing money and not required to pay tax. starbucks said it paid its taxes to the letter of the law. a picture perfect final story. many of you may be seeing this broadcast as clear as it gets that's because the nielsen company says more than three quarters of the nation's home have high-definition televisions. five years ago only 11% of the nation's home had hi-def tv. that's a big leap for technology. that means we need good lighting and makeup. >> ashley morrison here in new york. thank you. in your sports news this morning, weather cancelled one major league playoff game and delayed another.

game four of the major league baseball was postponed due to rain. rain halted play between the cardinals and the giants. jason motte gets the final out. st. louis gets 3-1 and takes a 2-1 series league. the wnba finals turn out to be a heated match-up between minnesota and indiana. in game, two lindsay whalen gets hit. her coach loses it. the team ended up winning 83-71. and while one coach gets her team fired up another is planning nap time for his players. northwestern football coach asked his team about their sluggish performance against boston college last month. and the players said kick-off time was at the same time of the day when they were normally napping. so he scheduled a pre-nap before

northwestern's game against nebraska this week. >> should be taking a nap at 9:30 saturday morning so we're in our comfort zone. our nap matters. >> and, yes, nap time is mandatory. it's even on the team's official itinerary. when we come back the latest set backs for lance armstrong. he is dumped by some major sponsors in the latest doping allegations. and save $3 on nutro® natural choice® dog food. at petsmart®. happiness in store.™ body washes with paper that reacts like skin. if others can strip this paper, imagine how harsh they can be to your skin. oh my gosh. [ female announcer ] dove is different. its new breakthrough formula changes everything. new dove. this is care.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. washington chance of a thunderstorm 70. atlanta morning thunderstorms 73. st. louis early sunny windy 65 degrees. denver sunny 65 and seattle cloudy 62 degrees.

there is more fallout for cyclist lance armstrong. last week a report was released on armstrong's use of banned drugs to win the tour de france. on wednesday he stepped down as chairman of his cancer fighting charity. now several sponsors have cut their ties with him. >> reporter: the seven time tour de france winner and nike were instep rabl for more than ten years. nike said today due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that armstrong participated in doping and misled nike for more than a decade its with great sadness we terminated our contract with him. armstrong said he was stepping town to spare the foundation of any negative effect. kathryn mclean is a spokesperson. >> we're concerned and that's one of the reasons why lance made the decision that he announced today, stepping away as chairman and allowing new

leadership to steer this organization. >> reporter: since 1997 live strong has raised nearly half a billion dollars. the foundation says its purpose is not research, but instead helping cancer survivors with employment and financial concerns, insurance problems and access to care. particularly in developing nations. >> critics say i'm a doper. >> reporter: endorsements like the ones he lost today have made armstrong one of the world's richest athlete. over the last ten years he's made more than an estimated $100 million. in 2005 armstrong was suing a company in a contract dispute over a $5 million bonus after winning his sixth straight tour. in a sworn deposition he denied allegations of doping. >> if you have a doping offense, it follows you and it goes without saying you're fired from all of your contracts. there's numerous contracts that

i have. all of that would be erased. i don't need to it be in a contract. it's not as important of losing support of hundreds of millions of people. >> reporter: if armstrong is stripped from his title it will trigger an avalanche of lawsuits from sponsors. >> it was an unlikely rescue at sea by any measure. glenn eye was adrift for 16 hours off of the coast of australia. a pilot flew as low as 4,000 feet as 270 passengers and crew searched the seas. he was spotted and picked up by the coast guard. coming up after your local news more on that study of multivitamins and lowering

cancer risk. i'm vinita nair and this is the "cbs morning news". a febreze experiment. can a 30-day-old pluggable febreze make even this old container smell fresh? take a deep breath. describe the room that you're in. i think just like a big, open space. like i'm hanging the sheets on the line. and it smells really fresh, man. let's take your blindfold off. oh! [ both laugh ] super-weird! oh, is it febreze? yeah. ohh, how about that? febreze has anti-clogging technology that keeps it smelling fresh, even after 30 days.

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is thursday, october 18. i'm andrea roane. you're almost there. good morning. i'm mike hydeck. good morning, monika samtani. >> good morning. >> good to be back for a minute. good morning. a quiet start to the day but this evening could have some

strong storms pushing through the area. yellow alert day. this morning it's nice and quiet. not as chilly as yesterday. we're in the 50s right now. mid-50s in town. a little bit of a breeze is helping keep temperatures dropping off all that much. late this afternoon into this evening some showers and storms will be arriving. highs will make it into the lower 70s. this morning quiet. a couple of high clouds there. if you can see this, if you're watching in hd back toward lexington and knoxville, we're seeing some of those thunderstorms this morning. that will be moving in our direction. it is cool up toward the north and west. 41 in frederick. 45 cumberland. 45 also in manassas. annapolis is still 61 at this hour with some low 50s. scott and the gang over at andrews, good morning to you. 72 this afternoon for d.c. but watch ow. late this afternoon and into tonight for some showers and thunderstorms. 4:26. over to monika samtani with

timesaver traffic. good morning, everybody. overnight in alexandria, just outside the beltway, a pedestrian was struck on the northbound side of route 1 at huntington avenue. that's just outside the beltway. we're being told that accident reconstruction continues. it did end up being a deadly accident northbound route 1 at huntington avenue. you might want to use north kings highway or fort hunt road as your alternate routes. if you're planning to head over on the west side of town, 66 looks fine. you do have construction in several separate sections in annandale and up in tysons as well. both directions of the beltway. so watch out for that till about 5:00 this morning. let's take a live look in springfield on the northbound side of i-95. very light, no problems as you head on to 395 and the 14th street bridge. construction of course is on the inner loop of the beltway at university boulevard in the two right labors. a live in -- right lanes. a live look in college park where all lanes are open.

he created to create mayhem. a bangladesh man who came to the u.s. on a visa planned an attack in new york. >> reporter: 21-year-old quazi nafis stood in the courthouse just hours after he allegedly tried to blow up part of america's financial infrastructure. he wanted to detonate a bomb outside the federal reserve bank in new york. the building where transactions from the nation's largest banks are process and a large reserve of gold is stored. he came to the u.s. on a student visa in january to study cybersecurity. authorities say it lasted just one semester. the f.b.i. started watching him after he tried setting up a terror cell using an online chat room and facebook. undercover agents then started working with nafis posing as al

qaeda operatives. he told one agent is what i really mean is i don't want something that's like small. i just want something that's big, very big. his first target wall street. >> he goes to the new york stock exchange. he sees significant security there and he shifts his target to the term reserve bank. >> reporter: undercover agents helped nafis fill would he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van but it was actually made of harmless materials. on wednesday morning he drove the van here to the federal reserve building. he was arrested when he tried to detonate the bomb from a nearby hotel. he faces life in prison for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. four more people have died from an outbreak of fungal meningitis. in all near 215 people in 15 states including maryland and virginia have gotten sick. th