eight years later, the black death devastated siena.t killed the artist lorenzetti and half the population of europe. it was the greatest catastrophe in the modern history of the west. but surprisingly, for some regions, the plague was a springboard for economic growth. [bells ringing] for the survivors, there were new opportunities. florence recovered particularly quickly. by 1400, this was the city-state that dominated central italy. but bankers and textile merchants were expanding their trading empires all over europe. over the next 100 years, an extraordinary interaction took place in florence-- the innovations of artists and architects, the excitement of rediscovering classical achievements, and the patronage of a wealthy commercial class. these key elements brought about a series of artistic and intellectual breakthroughs that came to be known as the renaissance-- literally the rebirth of learning and culture. in the church of santa croce, a series of frescoes painted around 1320 were to have a revolutionary effect on florentine p

. >> and i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. >> imagine having to go to the hospital for treatments again and again and again. that's what kids with cancer have to do. as you might think, the visits are anything but fun. but as veronique reports, one hospital came up with a project that's not only unusual -- it's big, very big. >> you've probably heard of art therapy. it's a way to help patients deal with the difficulties of coping with serious illnesses. meet ian. he's an artist who works at the md anderson children's cancer hospital in houston, texas. when you think of doing an art project, you probably think of working on a sheet of paper or on a canvas or maybe even on a wall. but, remember -- this is texas we're talking about. so when ian found out how much one of the patients loved horses, that gave him an idea. he didn't ask her to draw a horse, but to draw on a horse. it was a challenge, but more importantly, it kept her from worrying about her medical treatments. >> i'm just gonna think a

. >> and i'm siena.e'll start with our top story. >> hard as it might be to believe, many foods you love to eat could be dangerous to some of your friends. tyler reports on the rising risk of food allergies. >> ♪ onto your hand ♪ and can't you hold back? >> meet heather braverman. she's a singer and actress with a promising career. she's been on tv, in a movie, and on stage at american girl place. but life's not all bright lights and applause. heather lives in constant danger of foods that can make her very sick. >> i'm allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish, and i found out when i went to an ice-cream store when i was really young. i actually picked out these toppings that were peanut-butter cookies, and i had a full reaction. >> and she just started crying hysterically. and i knew something wasn't right, but i really was confused and unsure what it was. >> it can take many trips to a doctor to figure out what's wrong and just what foods are to blame, but the underlying cause is a problem with th

>> we heard again from the campaigns, jim mess siena and david axelrod, e-mails from the romney campaign sides accusing each other of bluffing by -- >> on the state of the race. >> on the state of the race, the ground game, who has the best get out the vote. $2 million by restore our future the super pac for romney into pennsylvania. this is more than -- this is more than a bluff. this sounds real, $2 million is real money. >> here's what's going on here, andrea, i think we have very real evidence of this. is in the nine battleground states, the ability of either candidate to move the numbers has been nearly impossible when either one of them has had some momentum, it's maybe moved their number a point or two, but -- and moved the other guy's number down a point or two but not much. we are seeing almost all of the battlegrounds at some form of a standstill, maybe moving half a point here, half a point there. where you see evidence of romney's uptick in the national polls playing out in the states or in the nonbattleground states, the ones that have been left off, pennsylvania is a classi

. >> and i'm siena. wel arwi o t sry >> hard as it might be to t ulbeangerous to some lerertonfriends. a c'touolba? ies. >> meet heather braverman. shs sierndctssit e'be otvin miereer. anontage at american girl place. buli's not allright gh and applause. heather lives in constant danger ofoo tt n keerer sick. >> i'm allergic to peanuts, tree ts, and shlfish, and found out when i went to an ice-cream storwh iaseay un i tulyicd t es toppings that were peanut-butter cookies, and i had a full reacon. >> and she just started crying d kn setngast right, but i really was confused and unre whait was. it can ta many trips to a onanju wt odarto out what's blame, but the underlying cause is a problem witthe body's immune system. ott fm feio, ke works to bacteria or viruses or parasites, but sometimes, it gets confused, and it starts recoizg foodasn enem and it starts mounting an immune response. >> that response can range from hives, vomiting, even difficulty breathing. very severe symptoms are called anaphylaxis.

in pennsylvania democratic senator bob casey is up nine over his republican challenger in the new siena, 44 to 35. to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing a reason...to look twice. introducing a stunning work of technology -- the entirely new lexus es. and the first-ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> welcome back to "hardball." politico has a striking story about the so-called romney rebellion. as politico put it, ann romney and son tag performed an intervention on mitt trying to get him to put an emphasis on a softer and more moderate image. the softer image was on full display last week in denver. of course, there's a difference between talking in more moderate ways and pledging to govern as a moderate. on the latter

siena poll, 35% to 44%. a lot of extra possibilities there. be right back. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an allstate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your policies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands? >>> welcome back to "hardball." pill litco has a striking story about the so-called romney rebellion. as politico put it ann romy and sontag performed an intervention on mitt trying to p

and we look at this, a new pennsylvania poll from siena showing the president's lead thinking from 14 to 3 points. if this is happening in those states, john, what does that mean for ohio, for florida, for virginia? >> well, those certainly are the three big states, and i think you'll see the same type of numbers follow there. i said before the debate that i thought that that was the real start of the presidential campaign because a lot of people really didn't know what to believe about mitt romney. so, i'm not surprised at all about these numbers. what i think is real interesting is how many of these numbers the president is only at 45%. you know, his problem is, incumbents rarely get undecideds to turn their way towards the end, so i think these numbers are startling, important and certainly problematic for the president. >> jonathan, frank newport was on "jansing & co." in the last hour, and he says that the numbers that he's seeing overnight show that president obama is picking back up. now, their new tracking is going to come out at 1:00 p.m. eastern time, but with these troublin