the big push with less than two weeks before the election, president obama and mitt romney sweep across the map drawing up support in key swing states. >> we're on the homestretch now. and i think the people of colorado will get us all the way there. >> people out there are still trying to make up your mine. some of you here may still be trying to make up your mind. >> campaign controversy. indiana's republican senate candidate draws criticism for his comments on race and abortion. >> i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen. >> strengthening storm, tropical storm sandy threatens the

caribbean and could power up into a hurricane later today. >> this is the "cbs morning news" for 2012. good morning. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. with under two weeks to go now the race for the white house looks like it will be a photo finish. today president obama begins a two day six day campaign swing to critical battleground states. it includes his 7th visit of the campaign to ohio. mitt romney arrives there later today. ohio looking more and more like it might be the lynch pin of this election. susan mcginnis in washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there is no denying the importance of ohio with its large number of electoral votes and right now evenly split. it looks like, you know, whichever side toes a better job of getting out the vote can go a long way towards a win.

enthusiasm for the election is building and the crowd at campaign rallies are getting bigger. more than 12,000 people turned out at the red rock amphitheater in the battleground state of colorado tuesday to hear mitt romney and paul ryan. >> we're on the homestretch now. and i think the people of colorado are going to get us all the way there. what do you think? >> reporter: across the country, president obama and vice president biden played to another packed house. >> here in ohio you can vote early. here in ohio you can vote right after this event. >> reporter: the president kicks off a six state tour today that ends with him casting his own early ballot in chicago tomorrow. mitt romney will work the west and midwest with an early afternoon rally in nevada followed by another in iowa. after months of speeches, campaigning and debating the two candidates continue to accuse one another of having no plan

for the next four years. >> we haven't heard an agenda from the president and that's why his campaign is taking on water and our campaign is full speed ahead. >> i laid out plan for jobs and security. unlike mitt romney i'm proud to think about what's in my plan. >> reporter: the obama campaign plans to handout a 20-page outline of the president's agenda. the romney campaign continues to point to its website for his five-point plan. now the romney campaign calls the president's booklet a blowsy panic button. the president hammers romney with his attack word, romnesia. >> another republican candidate for the u.s. senate is in hot water for remarks concerning rape and abortion. this time it's the republican candidate in indiana richard murdoch. during a debate last night he was asked whether abortion should be allowed in cases of

rape or incest. he said this. >> struggled myself for a long time, life is a gift from god and even in that horrible situation it may be something god intended for it to happen. >> he later clarified god doesn't want rape. >> this week romney campaign ran an ad supporting murdoch but after last night it distanced itself. governor romney disagrees with robert murdoch's views. in august, todd akin said women's bodies can reject pregnancy from a legitimate rape. >> cbs news obtained alerts

while the attack was under way. >> reporter: the emails contained the earliest descriptions so far as what happened in benghazi the night of the attack. at 4:05:00 p.m. eastern time on september 11th an alert was issued to a number of government and intelligence agencies. included were the white house situation room, the office of director intelligence and the fbi. u.s. diplomatic mission in libya one attack. 20 people fired shots explosions heard. ambassador stevens and four chief of mission personnel are in the compound safe-haven. at 4:54 less than an hour later another alert the firing in benghazi has stopped. a response team is on site attempting to locate mission personnel. then at 6:07 state sent out another alert saying the embassy in tripoli said the islamic

military group ansar al sharia has called for an attack on embassy tripoli. it's a part of the ongoing political debate whether the administration attempted to mislead in saying the assault was an outburst of a protest rather than a planned attack by terrorists. 14 hours after the attack, president obama sat down with steve croft for a previously scheduled interview and he said he didn't believe it was due to mob violence. >> you're right that this is not a situation that was exactly the same as what happened in egypt. and my suspicion is that there are be folks involved in this who are looking to target americans from the start. >> the white house andtate department declined comment on the e-mail alert. the white house oversight committee said the information in the emails will be part of their ongoing investigation into the benghazi attack.

cbs moneywatch time now on a wednesday. facebook gets a lift and the best cities to find a job. >> reporter: good morning. weak earnings reports from blue chips like dupont, u.p.s. and xerox sent shivers. dow fell 243 points. the nasdaq also fell sharply finishing below 3,000 for the first time since august. one stock that did perform well was finance, shares of the social media was lift 13% once its released its third quarter earnings. it made 14% of its revenues from mobile advertising. investors have been worried that facebook was not capitalizing on its growing mobile user base. most asian stocks stemmed losses. nikkei loss half of a percent

tapping a seven day winning streak while the hang seng added a quarter offer with sent. the united states is largest producer of oil. it's due to new oil drilling techniques. the u.s. passed russian production this year and now is the second largest producer behind saudi arabia. the u.s. will need to import lots of oil to meet its high demand. cost of higher education is going up but not as much as in the past. according to a new report, tuition at public universities is up nearly 5%. that's less than the last two years and the cost to attend a private school are also higher after declining for three years. report also finds enrollment has leveled off and borrowing for tuition is down. and career builder is out with its annual list of the best cities to find work. san jose, california tops the list of cities with the most job

growth since 2010. houston and austin texas are in second and third place and detroit, michigan is in fourth. the biggest growth industries are energy production, technology and health care. so if it doesn't work out for us here, san jose, here we come. >> missed you. good to be back. we did text every day. ashley morrison here. good to see you. coming up, the big announcement for the ipad mini. check out the latest must have tablet. the price tag may be a deal breaker. the drugmaker at the center of the meningitis outbreak accused of some disturbing safety violations. this is the morning news. and you'll always find your favorite.

woman #2: with so many choices, keurig has everyone's favorite. i just press this button. brew what you love, simply. keurig. 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. 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. two teenage brothers in new jersey have been charged with murdering 12-year-old autumn pasquale for her bike. she lived down the street from the 15 and 17-year-old suspects.

her body was found tuesday stuffed inside a blue recycling bin. the brothers have been charged with first degree murder and could be tried as adults. the pharmacy tied to the deadly meningitis outbreak has a history of run in with health officials. the outbreak spread to 17 states and killed 23. massachusetts is moving to revoke the company's operating license and the licenses of its top three pharmacies. >> reporter: the preliminary investigation has revealed a lack of basic laboratory standards at new england compounding center. massachusetts state investigators found that necc had dirty floor mats and a leaky boiler d-motte properly test lab equipment, did not adequately sterilize medications and shipped drugs before they were tested for contamination. >> on 13 occasions necc staff

shipped order from the suspect lot before receiving their own test results confirming that those lots were sterile. >> reporter: officials claim the company broke state law by shipping their products in bulk without valid prescriptions. compounding pharmacies must have a prescription for every patient for each dose they send out. more than 17,000 vials went to clinics in 23 states. documents show complaints against necc for lack of individual prescriptions date back to 1999. necc co-owner told the state pharmacy board in 2004 that his company would abide by the law. quote, that each and every compounded medication shall be filled based on a valid prescription written by a qualified patient. there was a joint inspection of the facility in 2004. sheldon bradshaw of the agency's chief counsel. >> the fda would go back in and

re-inspect. here the fda relied on their word they had corrected the problems. >> reporter: in 2006 necc pledged to upgrade its quality assurance procedures as part of a legal agreement with the state. we called new england compounding center after the charges and respond by saying the state health board quote had numerous opportunities including as recently as last summer to make firsthand observations of the necc facilities and operations. it's hard to imagine that the board has not been fully apprised of both the manner and scale of the company's operations. >> up next on a wednesday tropical storm sandy picks up speed threatening the caribbean and apple ups the ante in the tablet war. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing

begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. two covergirls! that's right, get two miracles in one product. covergirl makeup, and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump covers spots, lines, and wrinkles. and one bottle helps improve skin tone over time.

that's what i was supposed to say now. well, no one can understand you. ♪ tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation from easy -- breezy -- beautiful... covergirl! covergirl! and try new pressed powder to help brighten your skin tone. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york cloudy with showers, 62. miami showers 86. fog in the morning chicago 77. sun in dallas 86. sun in l.a., 75 degrees. let's check your national forecast. strong cold front bring showers, thunderstorms and isolated turn moving through the midwest. showers are possible across much of the northwest. jet stream will bring more rain, snow and thunderstorms into parts of the west. tropical storm sandy is turning towards jamaica and could become a hurricane today. it's centered 160 miles south of

kingston with winds 65 miles per hour. hurricane warning is in effect for jamaica and cuba. florida should be spared a direct hit. sandy is expected to dump up to 20 inches of rain in jamaica. residents aren't taking any chances lowering shutters and stocking up on supplies. authorities have already closed schools and are repairing shelters in flood prone areas. if you're chomping at the bit to get a new ipad mini you have to wait two more days. apple will take orders on friday and ship it out a week later. >> reporter: apple shrinks the screen on its new ipad mini to under 8 inches, about two inches smaller than previous model. >> this is not a shrunken down ipad. -run it's in the same range as kindle fire and google 7. but with a starting price of

$329 more expensive than either of those. the marketing chief described it as thin as a pencil and light as a paper. it has 10 hours of battery life. apple's big announcement comes after a month after the company unveiled other gadgets including the iphone. andrea chang is a technology reporter. >> a lot of it is because the holiday season is coming up and for anyone that sells products you want to get in before the november period starts. >> reporter: apple has sold 100 million ipads since their debut two years ago. the company hopes when the mini goes on sale next month that number will multiply. >> i just got the last ipad. pump your brakes, apple. when we come back an amazing

survival story. a man said he dragged himself four miles down a dirt road for help after he was abandoned in the middle of the desert. details next. severe rheumatoid arthritis means living with pain. it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection.

ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage before they stop you.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c. partly sunny, 82. nice and sunny in atlanta, 78. mostly sunny in st. louis. 84. partial sunshine in denver 57. passing showers in seattle, 50. a paraplegic man dragged himself four miles down a dirt road to get help. his is in was shredded. he was hitchhiking last week and the couple who picked him up abandoned him when he refused to

share his alcohol. another survival story. an 83-year-old man and his two dogs got stuck in the snow for three days. he sat in his truck eating peanuts and drinking an energy drink and had a cell phone and could have called 911 but he likes the outdoors. >> why get excited. i'm in a nice place. i saw deer. i saw a four-pointer. >> ed says he finally called 911 because he was uncomfortable and hungry. >> the man behind the gangnan style met ban ki-moon.

ban had a few more of those moves he might be the most famous man in the world. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news". i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is wednesday, october 24, 2012. i'm andrea roane. that's what it says right there. it must be true. i'm mike hydeck. good morning. how are you? >> good morning.

i'm great. >> traffic momentarily. howard bernstein, my friend. >> another nice warm day. might get a sprinkle this morning but overall the afternoon looks great again. did you get outside yesterday afternoon? glism' glad to-- >> i'm glad to stand but running eventually. >> it will be another day to get out and enjoy the mild temperatures, the warm temperatures while we have them because in a week from now, it's going to be chilly. even early next week. 74 by noon. skies going from mostly cloudy to partly sunny and then i think partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. forecasting a high in washington 81. the record 84 if you're wondering. a 5:00 temperature still of 78 degrees. watching a few showers into ohio and west virginia. i think a lot of this is going to be wrung out in the mountains but it's still moving well enough that we'll get some clouds from it. we have an isolated sprinkle or two -- if we had an isolated

sprinkle or two, it wouldn't surprise me. ray 56 -- luray 56. we have 59 across the bay in easton. look at the highs. average high 66. we're going to run about 15 degrees above average. maybe slightly cooler on the bay in annapolis, 77. 83 in culpeper and 81 here in washington. 4:27. monika samtani, got to be a lot better than yesterday afternoon on the bay bridge. if you heard or were there, boy, what a mess that was on the bay bridge yesterday. aim going to -- i'm going to get to that in a minute. there's another tractor-trailer accident i need to tell you about. it happened just after midnight, jackknifed tractor- trailer on the northbound side of i-95 right here at mile marker 138 south of courthouse road on the northbound side. it is a hazmat situation. the right shoulder is getting by but i suggest that you get off early and go ahead. maybe you yao center port park

-- you use summer port parkway -- center port parkway. it will cause delays. we do not have an indication as to how long that will be blocked. only the right shoulder gets by in stafford. let's take a live look outside if you're planning to head around town. this is what it looks like on route 50 at sandy point near the bay bridge. what we were talking about yesterday was that a tractor- trailer was leaking propane. it had 9,000 gallons of propane. they had to wait till all of that was taken care of and it was blocked for about two hours there on the bay bridge both directions. right now you are good to go. no problems to report there. we'll go back over to our maps, a quick look at route 50 inbound toward cheverly. bw parkway, all of that looks good right now inside the beltway. i'll be back with more traffic at 4:39. back to you guys. >> thank you, monika. things are expected to heat up in the last two weeks of the presidential campaign. today president owe bottom ma begins a -- president obama begins a six-state tour. he'll spend time in four states

starting with an ie -- rally in iowa ending in nevada. >> mitt romney will have rallies in nevada and iowa. both candidates racing across the country trying to hit the battleground states big time right up until election day. susan mcginnis has more. >> reporter: enthusiasm for the election is building and the crowds at campaign rallies are getting bigger. more than 12,000 people turned out at the red rock's amphitheater in the battleground state of colorado tuesday to hear mitt romney and paul ryan. >> we're on the home stretch now, i think the people of colorado are going to get us all the way there. what do you think? >> reporter: across the country president obama and vice president biden played to another packed house. >> you're in ohio. you can vote early. here in ohio you can vote right after this event. >> reporter: the president kicks off a six-state tour today that ends with him casting his own early ballot