abc's karen travers is there at obama headquarters. hi, karen. >> reporter: here in chicago, the mood has been electric. the crowd erupted into thunderous applause when the networks projected that the president had won ohio and thus had been re-elected. the president didn't just win ohio he held his midwestern fire wall, wisconsin and iowa. we have been paying so much attention to ohio over the last couple month. a critical state for their strategy. he won virginia, colorado, he won nevada. this has turned into a very big night for president obama. you had the sense from campaign aide early on as the polls started closing that they new things were trend in their direction and they were feeling confident. the president wrote two different speeches for tonight. a victory speech. and a concession speech. he was prepared for any scenario. tonight here in this room, before, newly 20,000, very excited supporters, he gets to deliver that victory speech. >> we are an american family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

karen travers abc2 news, capitol hill. >>> it's the third day of violence in the middle east. israel said it fired 150 missiles at the palestinians in gaza. they aren't taking any chances. a ground invasion could be next. >> we will continue to exercise self-restraint while defending our citizens against terrorism. >> the egyptian prime minister visited gaza and demanded that israel stop its latest offensive. >>> the president sat down with congressional leaders to keep the company from jumping off that fiscal cliff. if congress does not act before the end of the year, spending cuts and tax increases will go into effect and will affect everyone. >> had a very constructive meeting. >> constructive meet huge constructive meeting. >> congress will recess for the holiday weekend. they said they will continue working. >> >> the resolution of some close races are giving democrats a bump in seats in congress. the party gained five seats since the election. the most recentcomming from a contest in california. three other races are too close to be called and a fourth will be settled in

live from chicago, karen travers. >> karen, thanks very much. it is officially election day in dixville notch, new hampshire. they vote at midnight and the voting has started. they do this both in the primaries and the general election. the town's 25 or so registered voters, all gather to cast their ballots at midnight. and the polls are closed one minute later and the votes are counted. this is a live picture fromdixvn day is here. the rest of us will begin to vote in the next few hours. mitt romney just finished speaking in mancheffer, new hampshire. many pundits notice a difference, romney is more uplifting andop mystic, compared to earlier in the campaign. >> but it is also the depth of our shared conviction that has made me strive even more to be worthy of your support and to campaign as i would govern, to speak for the aspirations of all americans. >> reporter: mitt romney will campaign in cleveland ohio, and pittsburgh, pennsylvania, on election day tomorrow. meantime, the political intrigue continues over another bit of election-day acti

let's skip the roundup from karen travers. >> full speed ahead today. getting back to business. after three days off the trail due to superstorm sandy, it's freeobama battlegrounds. mitt romney spends his entire in virginia, state that republicans are desperate to win. >> this is a critical place for us. five more days. >> the latest abc news poll shows a dead heat nationally. both sides claim to be winning in the battleground. president obama is a head its three poles in the most critical ones. president obama is working to shore up his midwest firewall. ohio, wisconsin, iowa will see a attention from him over the next five days. in virginia today. yesterday he spent all day in florida. both states he absolutely must order to get to the white house. neither side can say for sure the impact sandy has had on the race. past today's, was on the trail talking bipartisanship while obama had the op showing it republicanrsey christie, one of romney's biggest allies. obama got high marks for his handling of the storm in poll.test >> a great guy, very had governor whitman. -- with him. >

. >> karen travers reports. >> reporter: the scandal that started with david petraeus' affair has widened. jabble general -- postmaster general john allen is under investigation. 30,000 emails include both allen and kelley's name. another u.s. official said 95% are routine and harmless. allen denies wrong doing. >> the president thinks highly of general allen and the service to his country. >> reporter: as for allen's next move. >> at request of the secretary of defense, the president has put on hold the hearing. >> reporter: the president was surprised. asked whether the scandals with a distraction so soon after the election. >> wouldn't call it welcome. >> reporter: the fbi uncovered hundreds, if not thousands of emails between petraeus and his biographer, paula broadwell, many of them say layious in nature. general allen received an email traced back to broadwell. he told jill kelly about it which may have triggered the investigation. >> new details surrounding that affair comes to light, a look at the fbi's handling of the case. nancy pelosi was briefed by petraeus' replacement mike m

karen travers is joining us with more on that. morning, karen. >> reporter: the travel schedule says it all. president obama is trying to shore up his american firewall, wisconsin, ohio and iowa. while mitt romney is very focused on florida and virginia, two states he must win to win the presidency. that brief pause for superstorm sandy seems like a distant memory. on the campaign trail, the attacks were back. >> the fair bet is on citizens. but i'm casting my bet on you. >> reporter: president obama is delivering his closing arguments. >> i know what change looks like because i fought for it. you have, too. and after all we've been through together, we sure as heck can't give up now. >> we're going to win on november 6th. i'll tell you that. >> reporter: he countered the president's closing argument. >> i believe america finally needs real changed as promised. we're going to give it to the american people. >> reporter: the latest abc news/"washington post" poll shows a tight race. but three new polls in key battleground states ha

karen travers, abc news, washington. >> by all measures this is still a tied race, that is still going to come down to a few key swing states, ohio. according to a "the new york times" poll we got yesterday, halloween. obama up by five points, 50-45 over romney in ohio. if, you know, like i said you don't know the impact of the storm. you've don't know, every poll says something different. so you don't know how it will play out. all eyes really, ohio and -- and florida. but then democrats could be losing ground, in what they thought were solid blue states including michigan and minnesota now. >> you would think though the folks in florida, with all of the hurricanes that they get, they want someone they can respond, vigorously and robustly to, to this type of tragedy. and with chris christie, vouching for president obama, i would think that that would have some sort of effect on, perhaps florida voters. >> you know what else, i hope i haven't, mentioned new orleans on the show this week. i think when the way you see politicians and your local leaders, even media, wall to wall coverage.

as abc's karen travers reports. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob.y was round two between the obama administration and congressional leaders on capitol hill. and things aren't looking good. basically at this point, both sides have laid out an agenda, and they're waiting for the other side to blink. so much for that brief burst of optimism in washington over the fiscal cliff talks. now republicans and democrats can't even agree on where things stand. >> no substantive progress has been made in the talks. >> and you know there is progress. >> treasury secretary tim geithner sat down with bipartisan congressional leaders to keep pushing for a deal. a top boehner aide said the plan geithner presented is, quote, completely unrealistic. and a top democratic aide said republicans have taken to screaming at them. if no action is taken by december 31st, 650 billion in cuts to the pentagon and domestic programs and tax increases automatically go into effect. after the meeting, the finger-pointing came quickly. republicans say democrats aren't bringing to the t

we will go first to abc's karen travers in chicago. ng, rob, good morning, paula. it has been a very long, and at times, very negative campaign. but last night both candidates delivered their final emotional sales pitch. in states that had a lot of sentimental value to them. this race is tight. it is going down to the wire. and campaign strategists on both sides say they have the winning formula. >> are you fired up? [ cheers and applause ] >> are you ready to go! >> reporter: this is it. one final whirlwind day on the campaign trail. >> one more day that leads to greatness. >> reporter: no state is more critical than ohio. the candidates were just ten miles apart in columbus. >> here's the thing, ohio. we know what change looks like. and what he's selling ain't it. >> reporter: the president got some megawatt star power on the trail with bruce springsteen and jay-z who took creative liberty with his own song, swapping out a curse word with a political statement. ♪ >> reporter: in wisconsin, the president showed a hint of nostalgia and

abc's karen travers is in washington with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. there seems to be a realization sinking in for lawmakers from both parties that they're going to have to compromise to reach a deal. but for many republicans, that may mean breaking a long-standing pledge on taxes. >> reporter: the senate's back in session, and the countdown to the fiscal cliff now stands at five weeks. if congress doesn't act, $650 billion in spending cuts and tax increases automatically go into effect on january 1. there are now increasing signs that republicans may be willing to deal on the most controversial issue -- taxes. but for many republicans, doing just that would mean breaking a pledge to not raise taxes. and taking the political risks that come with it. the "no new taxes" pledge is the brainchild of grover norquist, president of americans for tax reform. >> what the pledge does, of course, allows elected officials to make it clear openly to the american voters where they stand. >> reporter: norquist may

abc's karen travers has more from washington. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula.impact of the 2010 oil spill. and yesterday, the government said, they're going to pay $4 billion more. over 2 1/2 years ago, this was the horrific scene in the gulf of mexico. the april 2010 explosion of bps deep water horizon. 50 miles off the coast of louisiana, killed 11 workers and sent about 200 million gallons of crude oil into the water. the british oil giant admitted it was negligent. >> bp has agreed to plead guilty to all 14 criminal charges. including responsibility for the deaths of 11 people. the company has also agreed to pay $4 billion in fines and penalties. >> reporter: that include nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines. the largest total criminal resolution in u.s. history. the spill had a devastating impact on the gulf coast fishing industry. it was the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. >> bp made a tragic situation worse. >> reporter: two bp employees were charged with manslaughter for negligence in the superve supervision of safety tests before the wel

abc's karen travers is joining us from washington with more. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. white house officials say they were expecting the president to get tough questions and yesterday he got them on a wide range of issues. in his first press conference in eight months, president obama said the american people knew what they were getting when they re-elected him. and his takeaway from last week's results -- >> i have got a mandate to help middle-class families. >> reporter: the fiscal cliff and mandatory spending cuts and tax increases is looming at the end of the year. >> i want a big deal. i want a comprehensive deal. >> reporter: the preside reiterated he is not backing down from the campaign pledge. >> a modest tax increase on the wealthy is not going to break their backs. they'll still be wealthy. >> reporter: congressional republicans say they're welling to compromise for a deal, but on that issue they're standing firm. >> we know that you can't raise taxes enough to solve the problem. >> reporter: for nearly an

going to go first to abc's karen travers, in the windy city of chicago. the president landed not too long ago. good morning to you, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. both candidates have finished up their rallies. and both did it in states that have sentimental value. last night, president obama, it was iowa. and for mitt romney it was new hampshire. rob, paula, i don't have to tell you this, but this race is tight. it is going down to the wire. but up until late last night, both campaigns were saying they have the winning formula. >> are you fired up? [ cheers and applause ] are you ready to go? >> reporter: this is it, one final whirlwind day on the campaign trail. >> one more day that lady to greatness. >> reporter: no state is more critical than ohio. candidate were just ten miles apart in columbus. >> here is the thing, ohio, we know what change looks like. and what he is selling ain't it. >> reporter: the president has mega rock star power, bruce springsteen and jay-z who took creative liberty with his song, swapping out a

here's abc's karen travers in washington. >> reporter: for the first time since the scandal broke weee the woman behind the affair, paula broadwell, that scandal now include the top u.s. commander in afghanistan, general john allen. under investigation for potentially inappropriate e-mails with jill kelley, another woman at the center of the scandal. allen denies any wrongdoing. and the u.s. official said 95% of the e-mails in question are routine and harmless. but some are characterized as friendly and flirtatious. >> until somebody proves otherwise, i believe that he did nothing inappropriate. >> reporter: for now allen will remain in his job. >> the president thinks very high leap of general allen and his service to his country as well as the job he has done in afghanistan. >> reporter: but his nomination to be nato's supreme allied commander in europe is on hold. an official told abc news, the fbi uncovered hundred if not thousand of e-mails between david petraeus and his biograph biographer, paula broadwell. many of them salacious in nature. earlier this summer, jill kelley rece

abc's karen travers is in washington. hi, karen. >> good morning, rob. good morning, paula.gress, procrastination can only go on so long. that looming fiscal cliff must be dealt with now. lawmakers have been putting off work on a budget deal for months wanting to get past the elections. well, that time is now here, and congress can't procrastinate anymore. house speaker john boehner sat down with abc's diane sawyer for an exclusive interview. >> the president and i had a very good conversation yesterday. i am confident that he and i can find the common ground necessary. >> with the so-called fiscal cliff looming at the ended of the year, leaders from both parties say they're willing to work together. >> compromise is not a dirty word. i'm willing to negotiate anytime, any issue. >> if congress fails to act on a budget deal by the end of the year, automatic spending cuts and tax increases kick in, costing average american households $$3,700. speaker boehner signaled a willingness to include higher taxes, under the right conditions. >> what matters is where the increased reven

just four days to go now before election day, and abc's karen travers joins us with more on the race.er: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. the travel schedule says it all. president obama is trying to shore up his midwestern fire wall, wisconsin, ohio, and iowa, while mitt romney is very focused on florida and virginia, two states he must win to win the presidency. that brief pause for superstorm sandy seems like a distant memory, and on the campaign trail, the attacks were back. but, wisconsin, my bet is on you. >> reporter: president obama's delivering his closing argument. >> i know what change looks like because i fought for it. you have, too, and all we've been through together, we sure as heck can't give up now. >> we're going to win on november 6th. i'll tell you that. >> reporter: he countered the president's closing argument. >> i believe america finally needs real changed. it was promised. we're going to give it to the american people. >> reporter: the latest abc news/washington post poll shows a tight race, but some have president obama on top. it's now all hands on d