abc's alex perez, who himself grew up in one of these dangerous neighborhoods, brings us the first in a series of reports we're calling, from chicago, "hidden america: don't shoot, i want to grow up." >> where is that coming from? >> reporter: thursday night in chicago. mothers on the south and west sides of this city are bracing. for them, weekends mean violence. murder. and sleepless nights. praying that their children will live to bury them, not the other way around. it's a prayer diana knows well. she lives in a chicago neighborhood called little village, the same home where she grew up. but the fond memories she had here were erased on a warm, saturday afternoon last march. >> it was a beautiful day. we were going to go to a bit day party. we were actually waiting for our cousins to join us. >> reporter: while she waited, she, her boyfriend, 2-year-old daughter kate lip and 6-year-old daughter alliyah decided to sit on the front porch. chef was helping alliyah tame her frizzy hair. >> i was sitting right here. kaitlyn, armando and alliyah was between my legs. she had beautiful, c

alex perez has the story. >> reporter: xina haughton lived life in fear that her husband would kill her. he threatened to throw acid in my face and burn me and my family with gas she told investigators as she sought a restraining order. his threats terrorized my every waking moment. and as she talked to authorities she feared the protection would not be enough. he said he would kill me if i left him or even contacted the police. her concerns became a tragic reality yesterday. >> he yelled everybody get down. get down, and as i went to get down xina walked in front of the reception desk. >> reporter: stormed into the suburban milwaukee spa where she worked with a gun killing xina, two other women and then himself. just four days ago the court issued the restraining order xina wanted after haughton slashed the tires to her car and reported by bought the gun using the shooting two days after that order came down. haughton, an ex-marine was supposed to voluntary turn over any weapons to police once the order was issued. but never did and because the order is a civil matter, the sheriff's de

alex perez, abc news, brookfield, wisconsin. >>> and now lance armstrong and today the final chapter in his epic fall from grace. once an american hero, now officially stripped of his seven tour de france titles, and tonight armstrong is facing an avalanche of lawsuits, so what does the sports legend do now? abc's neal karlinsky with that story. >> reporter: seven golden moments on the victory podium in paris erased. today lance armstrong was officially banished from the sport that he was once synonymous with. >> lance armstrong has no place in cycling, so he deserves to be forgotten in cycling. >> reporter: over the weekend, a few stoic words from a shell-shocked armstrong at his cancer foundation's 15th anniversary. >> people ask me a lot, how are you doing, and i tell them, well, i've been better, but i've also been worse. >> reporter: armstrong has not only his reputation at stake, but his estimated $125 million net worth. major civil cases are on deck from a company that wants more than $10 million back for bonuses it paid to armstrong for his wins to a sealed whistle-blower cas

>> alex perez leading us off tonight. alex, thank you. >>> we're going to turn now to the race for president and the high stakes final debate that will take place right here in this hall tomorrow night. we are here in boca raton, as i mentioned at the top of the broadcast, and it is in this auditorium, where president obama and governor romney will go face-to-face for the last time. the president in the chair to the right, governor romney on the left. tonight, a new poll shows just how important this debate will be. president obama with a five-point lead among registered voters, but among likely voters, most likely to cast their ballot, it is a dead heat tonight. our team weighing in on issues and the campaign that has just 16 days to go. we're going to begin with david kerley at the white house tonight. david, good evening. >> reporter: taking a break from debate preparation, mitt romney flipped the coin for a football game with his staff and footbme. one republic called it an iranian ploy. >> and as to iran, they've got

>> alex perez with late information from the scene tonight. alex, thank you. >>> we're going to turn now to the race for president and the high stakes debate that will take place right here behind me tomorrow night. we are at lynn university tonight in boca raton, florida, and it's in this auditorium, where president obama and governor romney will go face-to-face for the last time. the president will sit in the chair to the right, governor romney on the left, and this race could not be closer tonight. a new poll out this evening gives president obama a five-point lead among registered voters. but this is the more important number. among those most likely to go out and cast their ballots tonight, it is a dead heat. our political team weighs in on all of it tonight, on issues in the campaign that now has just 16 days to go, it's your voice, your vote. and abc's david kerley is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: taking a break from debate preparation, mitt romney flipped a coin for a football team between his staff and reporters, who were s

alex perez, ax news, little ferry, new jersey. >>> welcome back.resident obama will be in new jersey touring the storm damage with governor christie. >> the election is less than a week away. and sandy has blown both candidates off course. here is jonathan karl. >> reporter: mitt romney transformed the planned ohio rally into a bid to support relief efforts. >> we won't be able to solve all the problems with our effort. one of the things i learned in life is you make the difference you can. >> reporter: it has trappings of a traditional campaign event, stage, big american flag, campaign music, lots of romney supporters. but you also have over here canned goods and supplies that people have brought for vick,ti of the storm. the storm put romneyen a bind. while the president can lead relief efforts. >> this is something heartbreaking for the nation. >> reporter: there is not much for romney to do beyond encouraging supporters to pitch in. with fema working overtime, democrats are hammering him for what he said at a debate when asked if some of fema's

abc's alex perez has the details. >> reporter: zina haughton lived life fearing her husband radcliffeaughton would kill her. he threatened to throw acid in my face, burn me and my family with gas, she told investigators as she sought a restraining order. his threats terrorized my every waking moment. but even as she talked to authorities, she feared protection would not be enough. he said he would kill me if i left him or contacted the police. her concerns became a tragic reality. >> he yelled, everybody get down, get down. and as i went to get down, zena walked in front of the reception desk. >> reporter: haughton stormed into the suburban milwaukee spa where she worked with a gun killing zena, two other women, and himself. four days earlier the court issued the restraining order she wanted after haughton slashed the tieres to her car. he reportedly bought the gun used in the shooting two days after the order came down. haughton an ex-marine was suppose to voluntarily turn over any weapons to police once the order was issued but never did. because the order is a civil matter, the she

there, too, my abc news colleague, alex perez, who grew up in these neighborhoods. and so, the meeting begins. we pose the question -- can it be that there's no way to do something? >> it's so deep. i don't think anything really can. >> it's all nothing, really. >> reporter: right away, one by one, they start to tell us, we don't understand, how they are caught up in a vortex of increasing violence. >> never going to stop, because it keeps growing like a disease. >> people are not just shooting to shoot. they shooting, they try to kill you. >> reporter: and kill you over something as petty as an insult, a text. >> revenge. people do something to one of your friends, you want to do something back. >> everybody want to be famous and everybody want to get they name out there and stuff. >> reporter: and the biggest name out there is a 17-year-old rapper named chief keef, who is signed by a major record label, interscope. but police say they arrested him for picking a gun on an officer. his youtube video has received 17 million hits. on it, he reminds people they better

abc's alex perez is there. alex? >> reporter: well, diane, here, the streets of hoboken still much chaos tonight. this is a medical unit truck that showed up to help someone stranded in this apartment. people are just trying to figure out what to do. there are trucks like this one all over town trying to make sure people get to safety. many of them are frustrated and running out of options. the bottom of the bathtub, as one neighbor calls it, first and harrison in hoboken. this is the site stranded residents thought they'd never see. military rescue crew s busting their backs to get each person out. step by step, one by one. ann has been waiting her turn for the last few hours. >> you can't communicate with everyone. you can't find out what's going on anywhere else. we've been on this little island. >> reporter: hoboken is just across the hudson river from manhattan. it's the city where frank sinatra was born and tonight, it's 25% under water. abc's sam champion got a birds eye view today.flooding that we looking at,

abc's alex perez starts us out in little ferry, new jersey, still underwater, rescue is under way right now. alex. >> reporter: well, diane, we've learned president obama will be in new jersey surveying the damage tomorrow, but i want you to take a look around me here. this is what many blocks across little ferry, new jersey, look like tonight, completely submerged. if you look down some streets, you'll see cars that tried to get out but just could not. in this neighborhood alone, more than 400 stranded people were rescued today. rescuers made their way through flooded streets today picking up stranded families. >> want to come out? >> reporter: and the boats bringing people to where they could be trucked to safety. whole families huddled together in the backs of trucks. >> the entire first floor gone. able to go on the second floor. power is down. water is almost gone. we have a baby and elderly person. >> baby, baby here. >> reporter: the frantic rescue operation began around midnight last night after sandy's storm surge swamped new jersey. >> happened so fast, within 15 minutes we ha

that story from abc news reporter alex perez. >> rescuers made their way through flooded streets picking up stranded families. >> do you want to come out? >> so they could be trucked to safety. whole families in the back of trucks. >> we were able to go up by us. we had a baby. >> frantic rescue operation begin around midnight last night after sandy's storm surge swamped new jersey. >> within 15 minutes we had ten feet of water. >> stunned residents grabbed whatever they could as the waters rose. >> new jersey took the brunt of sandy's wrath. these images, neighborhoods consumed by sand and water. down the shore, look at this. the community of sea bright before sandy. sea bright today, just buried. atlantic city, scenes from above the iconic boardwalk now in ruins. recovery in the garden state just beginning, but today saving lives was the top priority. >> you can't walk, she can't walk but she is not injured and we're just waiting to reunite her with her daughter. >> first responders also racing to save lives in new york, boats navigating the streets of staten island across the street f

>> alex perez, thanks so much. >> very tough story. >>> we're going to switch gears now. another week, another big announcement from apple, expected to unveil the newest ipad, a mini version today. >> reporter: there hasn't been this kind of frenzy for the little version of a big hit since dr. evil made his tiny clone in "austin powers." >> i shall call him mini-me. >> reporter: while mini-me was described as an exact copy but one-eighth the size, the expected ipad mini is supposed to be a little bit smaller than the original. a seven-inch or eight-inch screen, versus the ipad's ten inches when measured diagonally. >> we'll see a tablet that's based on consuming content, not necessarily creating it, like the bigger ipads. >> reporter: the critic and obstacle to a smaller ipad has come from inside apple. the legend himself, steve jobs, famously and not so subtly called seven-inch tablets dead on arrival. apple said he changed his views in the final months before his death. apple is going after a market that's been successful with amazon and android with their smaller table

abc's alex perez joins us from brookfield, wisconsin. alex. >> reporter: amy, good morning to you.old the gunman was the estranged husband of a woman who worked at the spa. police say she opened fire on her. >> be advised the possible shooter is an ex-marine. he may be still armed. >> reporter: witnesses say haughton stormed in, ordered everyone on the ground and started shooting. customers some still in robes, others barefooted ran out in panic. this man along with his son came face-to-face with the shooter as he stepped outside apparently looking to escape. >> when the suspect came around the corner, it really looked like he saw a deer in the headlights. he didn't expect us to be standing there. he ducked behind the building. >> reporter: moments later, police and s.w.a.t. surround the two-story building. police say haughton started a fire inside the building before shooting and killing himself. >> we were evacuating womene ii. getting calls from victims. >> reporter: she was reportedly killed police say her daughter also worked at the spa and witnessed the shooting. >> she said

abc's alex perez has the story. >> if jennifer's offended, i truly apologize to jennifer. i wanted to do. >> reporter: his e-mail sparked outrage across the country. and after days of hiding out, abc news tracked down kenneth krause, as he arrived for his midnight work shift and spoke to him exclusively. did you feel the e-mail you sent was offensive when you wrote it? >> oh, no. of course not. i had no intent to offend anyone. of course not. >> reporter: krause, seen here with bulging biceps, is the face behind the infamous e-mail, sent to lacrosse, wisconsin, news anchor, jennifer livingston, criticizing her being overweight. >> surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for young people, girls in particular. >> reporter: livingston, who has gotten support from celebrities like ellen, as well as our own abc affiliate, wxow, who rallied around jen. >> i'm so proud of jennifer livingston. >> he's trying to shame me into losing weight. that's not being helpful. that's being a bully. >> reporter: but krause says he's not a bully. do you think you're a bully? >> um