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randall pinkston is in boca raton, florida with more on the final matchup. randall. >> reporter: good morning. expect mitt romney to come out swinging on the benghazi attack citing it as failure of the obama administration of foreign policy. the president said he is handling the crisis as well as winding down afghanistan. >>> reporter: this will be the third and final time that the two candidates take the stage together for debate. >> this debate matters more than ever before. >> reporter: expect moderator bob schiefferer to spend plenty of time on libya. on sunday, republican senator marco rubio suggested the obama campaign tried to keep the foreign policy focus on the death of bin laden. >> is that why for two weeks they told us that the libyan incident in benghazi was a popular uprising and not a terrorist attack? because it ran counter to their campaign there. >> reporter: obama campaign officials say it's not their candidate who is playing politics with libya. >> even while the flames were burning in benghazi, mitt romney was sending out political press

live in new york, randall pinkston, back to you. >> randall, some of the pundits say this is one of thepresidential debates ever. and we're curious, your opinion, some of the highs and lows for them? >> reporter: one of the best but certainly one of the most contentious. whether that's good or bad we'll see especially to see what the public will think in the coming weeks as they sort it out. strong points for president romney. the strongest point i think was when he repeatedly pointed out that president obama had failed to fix the economy. he listed several of the goals that the president had announced when he was running for office goals that he had not achieved. president obama for his part tried on more than one occasion to point to inconsistencies in romney's current positions versus his earlier positions especially with respect to women's issues. when romney said last night he supported a woman's right to contraception, president obama quickly told the audience that same governor also opposes federal funding for planned parenthood one of the main sources of contraception services f

reporting live in hempstead, new york, i'm randall pinkston. you. >> randall, it was certainly compelling to watch this debate and they were trying to appeal to the undecided voters. do you think they were a little too aggressive and maybe turned some people off? >> reporter: of course, i wouldn't be the one to make that judgment. we'll be finding out what undecided voters and all voters think about this debate on election day. let's point this out. that president obama after his first debate had to come back strong. what he was doing to try to get votes was to re-energize the base. that job was begun last week by vice president joe biden. he was accused of being too aggressive, too interrupting too often. but the democrats loved it. and there may have been a turnaround in the polls for the democrats or at least a stopping of the loss of support. for governor romney, he had a strong performance the first debate. he had a strong performance last night. and, of course, they are hoping to keep the momentum going. what happens in the days leading up

randall pinkston has more from boca raton. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frank and juliette. expect mitt romney to talk about a robust foreign policy with a strong military as the best guarantor of peace while the obama administration is likely to say that the romney campaign hasn't spelled out any specifics and that his pronouncements so far have been characterized by blunder and bluster which don't reflect good judgment. >>> reporter: this will be the third and final time that the two candidates take the stage together for debate. >> this debate matters more than ever before. >> reporter: expect moderator bob schiefferto spend plenty of time on libya. on sunday, republican senator marco rubio suggested the obama campaign tried to keep the foreign policy focus on the death of bin laden. >> is that why for two weeks they told us that the libyan incident in benghazi was a popular uprising and not a terrorist attack? because it ran counter to their campaign there. >> reporter: obama campaign officials say it's not the

randall pinkston joins us now live from danville, kentucky, with last night's highlights and results of a post debate poll. good morning, randall. >> reporter: good morning. you know, for the past week democrats have been looking for some way to change the conversation from last week's lackluster performance of president obama's first debate. certainly vice president biden delivered last night. meanwhile, the republicans were trying to make sure that congressman ryan didn't lose any ground after mitt romney has been gaining in the polls. he too delivered. >> i will be very specific. >> reporter: vice president joe biden wasted no time challenging congressman paul ryan's take on foreign policy. >> with all due respect, that's a bunch malarkey. >> and why is that so? >> not a single thing he said is accurate. >> reporter: the vice president and ryan clashed over the economy, taxes and medicare with the democrat often on the attack. >> and they're holding hostage the middle class tax cut. it's about time they take some responsibility. >> reporter: but ryan fired back. he slammed the obam

cbs reporter randall pinkston shows us what we can expect. >>> reporter: president obama and mitt romney take the stage in florida tonight to debate foreign policy. romney is expected to sharply criticize the president's response to the attack in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans. >> it's the governor's greatest opportunity. he can show that there's a weakness in obama foreign policy and he can exploit that. >> reporter: the two candidates will also tackle questions on china, iran's nuclear ambitions and ending the war in afghanistan. campaign watchers usually give the advantage to the sitting president when debating international issues. president obama supporters say he has a strong record including the successful takedown of osama bin laden. >> i expect the president to be especially forceful since the topic of this debate is foreign policy. >> reporter: tonight's debate is crucial to both candidates. polls show a tightening race and that all of the season's debates are swaying voters. in the critical battleground state of ohio, a new cbs news quinnipiac university poll show

reporting live in boca raton, florida, i'm randall pinkston, back to you. >> randall, this debate wasupposed to be all about foreign policy the moderator trying to get it on track but why was there so much talk about the economy? >> reporter: well, of course, when mitt romney it's his strong suit and he was trying to say and in fact he did say that america's economic strength had a bearing on america's role in the world. while president obama took the occasion to once again say the math doesn't add up pointing, for example, to mitt romney's attempt to raise the military budget while insisting he is going to balance the budget president obama saying that the military didn't even ask for $2 trillion in spending that romney was proposing. >> okay. two weeks away. randall pinkston, live for us in florida this morning. thank you. and we are for continuing coverage of campaign 2012 you can check out our website, cbssf.com. >>> there are reports that pg&e admits to having no proof that some of its pipes running through bay area cities were inspected. cbs 5 reporter elissa harrington is in co

randall pinkston is in boca ra tone, florida. good morning. >> reporter: it was contentious from the start, mitt romney accusing the president of a series of foreign policy failures, including failure to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon, failure to bring peace to the middle east, failure to deal more harshly and directly with china. meanwhile, president obama said that romney's foreign policy positions were wrong and at times reckless. this was the third and final debate, and president obama saved his sharpest attacks for the end. >> every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: viewers seemed to respond to the president. a snap poll of the debate says 53% of the voters think the president woman compared to 23% for mitt romney. >> this is a fight for who's going to be the commander in chief of the united states of america and you saw a very strong president, a strong and steady president who had a very clear vision and an unsteady romney. >> reporter: romney's best

reporting live in boca raton, florida, i'm randall pinkston. back to you. >> and randall, a quick question. let's talk style. this was quite a bit different from debate number 2 especially with mitt romney. >> reporter: keeping them seats prevented some of the finger- pointing. but mitt romney was much less contentious and even agreeing with president obama more than we have heard him in this entire debate series. there was also a difference with president obama. he was assertive in the second debate and even more so in this one trying to match and point out what he considered to be romney's contradictions throughout last night's debate. >> time to get to work now. they have two weeks to go. thank you, so much, randall pinkston live in boca raton, florida. >>> for campaign coverage anytime at your convenience, log on to our website, cbssf.com. >>> pg&e reportedly tells regulators some of the bay area pipelines are safe but they don't have proof that they were actually tested. cbs 5 reporter elissa harrington is in concord now where one of those

cbs reporter randall pinkston has the story. >> reporter: the pressure is on presideni feel fabulous.k at this beautiful day. >> reporter: republican challenger mitt romney outperformed him in the first debate and reenergized his campaign. democrats expect a livelier president this time. >> he needs to be more energetic. >> reporter: romney will try to build on gains he made at that time first debate. his supporters are expecting him to deliver another strong performance. >> i think he has turned the election around after the first debate, and now he has to not sit on his lead, but just keep the momentum going. >> reporter: romney's surge has now spread to female voters. a new poll shows him just a point behind the president among likely women voters. tonight will include 80 randomly selected non committed voters. 11 of them will get to ask a question on foreign or domestic policy. >> both candidates have done well in town hall settings and both have done poorly so it's going to depend on how theyport should expect follow-up questions from moderator candy crowley. there's been a mini

randall pinkston. back to you. >> thank you. >> let's talk about strategy. what do you expect from each candidate tonight? >> well, of course, congressman ryan will hit hard on the economy, the numbers. he is a numbers guy. he will try to make sure that what he says coincide with governor romney. vice president biden will try to convince undecided voters and also we think vice president biden will try not to make one of his famous gaffs. >> that's what we were just talking about. randall, live in kentucky, thanks so much. >> should be fun. >> reporter: we hope he does so we'll have something to talk about. >> of course. >> true. [ laughter ] >> thank you, randall. you can catch live coverage of the debate tonight at 6:00 on cbs 5 and cbssf.com if you are not near a tv. >>> 5:08. the oakland as staying alive in the play-offs a big win against the tigers last night and today they will have home field advantage in a do or die game 5. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran joins us now with more on the as fever. do you have a little bit of that fever? >> reporter: i do. g

randall pinkston joins us now live from danville, kentucky, with last night's highlights and results of a post debate poll. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there's a whole lot of talk this morning about the political theater, the atmosphere, whether vice president biden was smiling too much or smirking or interrupting too much, whether congressman ryan was sipping water too often. but at the end of the day both candidates made strong points for their respective campaigns. >> i will be very specific. >> reporter: vice president joe biden wasted no time challenging congressman paul ryan's take on foreign policy. >> with all due respect, that's a bunch malarkey. >> and why is that so? >> not a single thing he said is accurate. >> reporter: the vice president and ryan clashed over the economy, taxes and medicare with the democrat often on the attack. >> and they're holding hostage the middle class tax cut. it's about time they take some responsibility. >> reporter: but ryan fired back. he slammed the obama administration's economic record. >> this is not what a real recovery loo

randall pinkston, cbs news, hempstead new york. >>> mitt romney won a coin toss, so he will start. and will show that he can connect with the ordinary voters, an area where polls show he lags behind the president. it begins tonight at 6:00. >>> we'd like to know this morning if you were in the audience tonight what would you ask the presidential candidates. you can comment on facebook or twitter or e-mail us at mornings@cbs5. >>> andmeanwhilesecretary, secretary of state hillary clinton is taking blame. she say diplomats is her job not the job of the white house. >> i take responsibility. i'm in charge of the state department. the president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. >> during last week's presidential debate, our vice presidential didn't joe biden said the white house was not aware of requests o to increase security at the consulate in benghazi, time is 4:41, the zumba class that offered more than just a work out. >>> and a would you like to lose weight, a good night's sleep could help

randall pinkston joins us now live from danville, kentucky site of the showdown this evening. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. four years ago, when joe biden debated sarah palin, more people watched that debate than watched president obama -- then senator obama and senator mccain. tonight, of course, biden will be facing off against ryan. we'll see if there's as much interest on the part of the public but certainly on the part of the campaign there is intense interest. biden has to reverse the slide of support that has occurred since president obama's lackluster performance when he faced off against mitt romney in the first debate. and ryan will be trying to make sure he doesn't go off message that he maintains a very strict discipline with respect to mitt romney's positions. ryan of course has put forth some budgetary proposals that romney has said listen, i'm the guy in charge, i'm going to be the one who will make sure that the policies that are in place will be my policies. so ryan is going to have to make sure he is in sync with romney. but all in all, you know, r

randall pinkston, cbs news, hempstead, new york. >> even though many people thought that mitt romney won the first debate, one poll shows a majority of people expect president obama to win tonight. >>> 9news now is teaming up with our sister paper "u.s.a. today" for tonight's debate. and beginning at 9:00 p.m., "u.s.a. today" reporters will be live blocking about what the candidates say. you can see that live on wusa9.com. keep your television tuned to channel 9 to watch the debate which begins at 9:00 p.m. and also log on to wusa9.com. then you can join derek and anita a 11:00 p.m. as they fact check what the candidates say, what the "u.s.a. today" fact checking team -- with the "u.s.a. today" fact checking team. >>> first there was a rescue. next comes the reunion. two missing hikers from virginia neal peckens of herndon, virginia and jason hiser of richmond, virginia are due back home after they were located in the rugged back country of glacier national park in montana. the families of the two veterinarians reported them missing on friday after they failed to catch their flight h

cbs reporter randall pinkston tells us one of the candidates is fueling up on two things.rts drinks and animal crackers. >> reporter: paul ryan is in kentucky getting ready for his face-to-face meeting with ce president joe biden. leading up to the debate, mitt romney's running mate has been trying to raise expectations for the current vice president. >> joe is one of the most experienced debaters we have in itics but the achilles' heel he has is president obama's record. >> reporter: the city of danville rolled out the welcome mat for the candidates bringing a big spotlight to this small college town. >> it's one thing to study politics and government in the classroom and it's another to see it from a front row seat. >> reporter: vice president joe been out of the public eyes reportedly fueling up on gatorade and animal crackers during his debate prem in his home state of delaware. a congressman stood in for paul ryan in biden's mock debate. former michigan governor olm had e jennifer job four years ago playing the part of sarah palin. >> big challenge for someone like jo

i'm randall pinkston in oxford as ole miss marks a dramatic moment that changed the school and the state>> i'm matt jablow. coming up a man with deep ties to professional baseball in washington reflects on the nationals' success, that story straight ahead. >>> welcome back to nats park. i'm derek mcginty. we are live here where the washington nationals will take on the philadelphia phillies in less than two hours. if they can win this 1 game, they will clinch the national -- one game, they will clinch the national game east and roll into the playoffs. we heard the gates are now open, so the washington national fans will begin to stream in. i even see a couple of folks here right now. they've been waiting a long time for this day. a lot of old baseball fans can remember all the frustration and sadness of the senators losing and moving away, but there is one fan in montgomery county who has waited a lot longer than most. our own matt jablow brings you his story. >> we always ended up in last place. >> reporter: of all the long suffering fans of professional baseball teams in the washington

randall pinkston is at the debate site in danville, kentucky. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. both candidates came here on a mission. congressman ryan to criticize the obama administration's failures and republican solutions while vice president biden was defending the presidential record and also complaining about the republican plan for the nation. >> i will be very specific -- >> reporter: vice president joe biden wasted no time challenging congressman paul ryan's take on foreign policy. >> with all due respect that's a bunch of malarky. not a single thing you said is accurate. >> reporter: the vice president and ryan clashed over the economy. taxes. and medicare. with the democrat often on the attack. >> they are holding hostage the middle class tax cut. about time they take some responsibility. >> reporter: but ryan fired back. he slammed the obama administration's economic record. >> this is not what a real recovery looks like. we need real reforms for a eal recovery and that's what mitt romney and i are proposing. >> repor

randall pinkston, cbs 5. >>> three people including a crossing guard have been airlifted to the hospitaler a hit-and-run crash this morning in antioch. witnesses say a car ran through the intersection near turner elementary school just after 8:00 before it flipped over. no word yet on any of the victims' injuries. two people reportedly ran from the car that crashed but were chased down by bye-bye standers. >>> a veteran uc-berkeley police officer is in the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg. it happened in the precinct's locker room in the basement of sproul hall on campus at cal. the officer who has been with the department for about 20 years, was getting dressed for s.w.a.t. training when the gun fired off. nobody else was injured. campus police are now investigating the matter internally. >> when you deal with firearms on a daily basis, sometimes accidents do happen. you try and minimize the risk as much as you can. we may look at doing some training, additional training. >> the officer's name hasn't been released. his injuries are not life- threatening. the depar

let's get right to cbs repor randall pinkston, in new yok city. >>> superstorm sandy roars ashore and slams into the east coast. let's get right to randall pinkston, live in new york city. >> reporter: i would be standing in the hudson river. it caused the waters to overflow the seawall. the danger isn't over. sandy roared ashore early monday evening, packing sustained winds of 80 miles per hour with gusts over 100. the storm blew out windows and flooded streets up and down the east coast, tearing up atlantic city's famous boardwalk. the storm cut electricity to more than two million homes and businesses. this is video of a power substation exploding in new york. >> we knew this was going to be a very dangerous storm and the storm has met our expectations. >> reporter: new york city has all but shut down. the powerful storm surge pushed the warytsz of the hudson river through the seawall and onto the walkway. tidal waters were sent into a major traffic tunnel linking manhattan and brooklyn. sandy's winds also caused a high-rise crane to collapse. it was left dangling over midtown, for

randall pinkston, cbs news, danville, kentucky. >> if you plan in voting in maryland, d.c. or virginia in the upcoming november election and you haven't registered to vote, you only have a few days left. in virginia you have till monday. maryland tuesday is the last day to register. d.c. it's friday, october 19 and you have to do it in person in d.c. for more on voter registration, go to wusa9.com and look under campaign 2012. >>> another d.c. lawmaker is being accused of ethics violations. it's all related to a bad real estate deal. the washington metropolitan area authority said jim graham allegedly said he would support a project if the developer agreed to pull out of a metro development project on 7th and florida avenue. graham was a sitting board member at the time. the allegations come after a four-month long independent investigation. >> regardless of whether council member graham's moifers were good -- motives were good, whether he thought he was doing something to help metro, whether he thought he was doing something to help the district, regardless of those motiva

randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: jerry sandusky is speaking out from his jail cell on the eve of his sentencing. >> they can take away my life, they can make me out as a monster, but i know i did not commit these disgusting acts. >> reporter: he recorded a three-minute statement aired on the penn state radio station. sandusky was convicted on 45 child sex charges but he insists he did nothing wrong. >> the young man was a dramatic veteran accuser, started everything. he was joined by a well orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, penn state, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. they won. >> reporter: sandusky said the court system did not give his legal team adequate time to mount a defense. he's expected to say much of the same when he speaks in court tuesday. >> he wants to let everybody know that he still maintains his innocence and that he's going to fight for a new trial. >> reporter: but sandusky won't be the only voice in court. several of sandusky's victims are expected to make statements at his sentencing hearing, including the young ma

randall pinkston is at the debate site. >> reporter: the "new york times" headline this morning basically sums up what happened last night, rivals bring bare fists to rematch. from beginning to end the candidates clashed on almost everything and somehow managed to answer a if you questions from the town hall audience. president obama and mitt romney wasted little time going after each other in the second debate. >> there were a whole bunch of oil companies. >> i had a question and how much -- >> you want me to answer. >> reporter: in a snap poll of uncommitted voters 30% said president obama won the debate. that's a far cry from the first debate where cbs poll gave mitt romney the win with a 2-1 edge. romney gained a lot of momentum in the polls following his debate and his campaign aides say his performance last night will help continue his surge. >> you'll see the momentum continue here. those undecided voters that tuned in tonight heard from the governor himself, how he would perform as president of the united states. >> reporter: romney comes out on top when voters are asked who will

randall pinkston, cbs news, new york. >> ines ferre lowering us from lower manhattan. i know you were in that location right around the same spot yesterday morning. if you topper give us a comparison, what was it like yesterday before the storm hit, what is it like now? what do you see? >> reporter: well, certainly much calmer right now. the waters behind me, the hudson river, much calmer than what it was yesterday. and water has receded. the surge had come up above the sea wall in battery park city. that was one of the concerns authorities had, was that the surge would be so high that it would overflow, flooding this area. and it did part of battery park city. the good news is that that water has been receding but this southern part of manhattan is pretty much shut down right now because there is no power. we lost power last night here. and right now, the city -- the streets are completely dark. when we were driving down here, it was pretty eerie driving down here. totally, totally dark in southern manhattan. deserted. however, you do see police cars in almost every s

randall pinkston, new york. >> both candidates busy again today in swing states. the president in ohio and iowa, while romney will spend time in virginia. >>> while the national poll gave the president a 7-point edge for the debate he fared better in democratic california. 56% said the president won. 32% felt romney won. 12% called it a draw. the poll was conducted by surveyusa exclusively for eyewitness news. be sure to check out exclusive presidential forum on cbssf.com. every day the candidates weigh in on a different issue. >>> hundreds of people gathered at san francisco's city hall to honor the life of ambassador chris stevens. he was killed last month in an attack on the libya embassy in benghazi. among the mourners were dianne feinstein and ed lee. his sister eulogized him. >> i saw the middle east through chris' wide eyes. >> friends say he was a good diplomat because he was interested in the lives of the libyans. during the service the libyan ambassador to the u.s. expressed regret his government couldn't protect the american envoy. stevens was a graduat

randall pinkston, cbs news, danville, kentucky. >>> as for the men at the top of the ticket, president obama will remain in washington today to prepare for his next debate next week and mitt romney will be campaigning in the battleground states of ohio and virginia friday. so who do you think won the debate? tell us why, too. you can comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com. >>> meanwhile, ryan's making some news for something other than the debate. "time" magazine has released photos of the wisconsin congressman working out. they are actually outtakes of a photo shoot from last year. some critics accuse the editors of the magazine of trying to make ryan look young and trivial. ryan has said he began a commitment to fitness when he was 16 years old after he found his father dead of a heart attack. >>> for more political coverage, just check our exclusive presidential forum on cbssf.com. every day the candidates weigh in on a different issue. >>> 4:34. our second check official live weather now. let's kick it over to lawrence. we have a big weekend ahead. >> we d

randall pinkston, cbs news, boca raton, florida. >>> and the latest numbers show the presidential race is a dead heat. a "wall street journal" poll released yesterday showing that president obama and mitt romney are getting support from 47% of likely voters. but among the wider pool of all registered voters obama is ahead 49-44%. you can watch the final presidential debate tonight at 6:00 on cbs 5 and on cbssf.com. >>> if you haven't registered to vote, your time is running out. today is your final day. applications must be postmarked or turned in no later than midnight tonight. the same goes for online applications. alameda county will hold a special midnight madness voter registration starting at 5 p.m. tonight in downtown oakland. 500,000 people in san francisco have already registered. that is a new record for the city. >>> former south dakota senator george mcgovern who was a democratic candidate for president in 1972 has died. a decorated world war ii hero, mcgovern was a fierce opponent of the vietnam war. he lost his bid for the white house to richard nixon. mcgovern served in

reporting live, i'm randall pinkston, back to you ann. >>> the water is back on but the people living on treasure island can't use it. what left them without water for nearly 12 hours and what they have to do now to keep from getting sick. >> did somebody mention water? well, by now i'm certain you've heard rain is in the halloween forecast. we fired up the live top top. the tea you -- doppler radar. the day you should anticipate the rain to begin, as eyewitness news continues on cbs 5. woman: oh! tully's. how do you always have my favorite coffee? well, inside the brewer, there's a giant staircase. and the room is filled with all these different kinds of coffee and even hot cocoa. 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. magnitude quake struck can's western coast about two hous ago. s time there are no >>> a 7.7 quake struck canada's western coast about two hours ago. at this time there are no immediate reports of casualties or damage. but a tsunami warning is in

cbs reporter randall pinkston has highlights from the final obama romney debate last night in florida. >>> reporter: this was the third and final debate and president obama saved his sharpest attacks for the end. >> every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: viewers seemed to respond to the president. a cbs news snap poll of the debate shows 53% of uncommitted voters believed the president won. >> you saw a very strong president, a strong and steady president with a clear vision. you had an unsteady romney. >> reporter: romney's best score came on the issue of china. >> i want a great relationship are china. china can be our partner. but that doesn't mean they can just roll all over us and steal our jobs on an unfair basis. >> reporter: even on that issue romney only managed to tie president obama. >> perhaps the most memorable line of the night came when president obama and mitt romney were debating cuts to the military budget. >> our navy is smaller now than anytime since 1917. the navy said they needed 313 ships to carry

randall pinkston has a preview from danville, kentucky. >> reporter: congressman paul ryan arrived in kentucky ahead of his first nationally televised debate. the number 2 man on the gop ticket told reporters earlier in florida, voters will see a clearchoice when he faces off against vice president joe biden. >> joe biden has been on this stage before. he has been on these big stages. it's my first time. but what he can't run from is president obama's indefensible ortho. they are just offering more of the same. >> reporter: ryan will face an opponent who occasionally causes controversy with freewheeling statements. republicans also know vice president joe biden is a seasoned debater. >> 30, 40, 50, 60, million people, nothing like standing up before them. >> reporter: usually vice- presidential debates don't affect elections but many believe democrats are desperate for vice president joe biden to make a strong showing after president obama's poor showing in the first presidential debate. >> after this horrific debate that president obama had last week, it could stop the bleeding. >> r

randall pinkston is in lower manhattan. >> reporter: derek, this is a very serious situation.'m standing at what's known as zone a. this is one of the areas where the mayor ordered an evacuation. we saw a lot of people leaving, but there's still some people who are hanging out, thinking that maybe it won't be so bad. authorities are telling them don't take the chance. >> sandy is making her presence known along the east coast. the monster storm is moving north with some 60 million people in its path. >> got everything pretty well situated, bunkered down, generators ready to rock. >> landfall isn't expected until late monday or early tuesday. but there is already flooding in virginia and tens of thousands of people from delaware to southern new england are evacuating the coast. >> new york's mayor ordered evac elevation in flood-prone areas. >> if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk but also the first responders who will have to assist you in emergency. >> stephanie's family plans to stay with friends. >> it's been a hectic day. we have two little k

i'm randall pinkston. back to you michelle. >> this has to be a hot ticket to get into the town hall debate. how was it decided? >> reporter: the people who will be participating in the town hall were selected by the gallop organization. it was contacted by the presidential debate commission that they take undecided voters who will prepare their own questions and candy crowley, the mod ray r -- moderator will decide who gets to ask the question. >> cbs 5 will have live coverage of the debate beginning at 6:00. >>> chris stevens will be remembered today at a public memorial here in san francisco the top envoy to libya killed in an attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. he grew up in the bay area. senator dianne feinstein as well as the ambassador in the united states will attend the service. >>> hillary clinton is taking responsibility for the blame she say the security for diplomats abroad is her job. joe biden said the white house was not aware of requests to increase security at the consulate in bengh

randall pinkston has the latest from boca raton, florida. >> reporter: president obama and mitt romney take the stage in florida tonight to debate foreign policy. romney is expected to sharply criticize the response to the attack in libya that killed four americans. >> it is the governor's greatest opportunity. he can show there is a weakness in obama foreign policy. >> reporter: the two candidates will also tackle questions on china, iran's nuclear ambitions and ending the war in afghanistan. campaign watchers usually give the advantage to the sitting president when debating international issues. president obama's supporters say he has a strong record, including the successful take down of osama bin laden. >> i expect the president to be especially forceful, since the topic of this debate is foreign policy. this has been one of the great strengths of the president. >> reporter: tonight's debate is crucial to both candidates. polls show a tightening race and that all of the season's debates are swaying voters. >> reporter: in the critical battleground state of ohio a poll shows the pre

live in new york, randall pinkston. >>> cbs5 will have live coverage of tonight's debate beginning at 6. if you were in the audience tonight, what would you ask the presidential candidates. comment on facebook or twitter or e-mail us. >> who gets the bigger rating, the president or the alcs game number 3 between the tigers or the yankees. >> i would say that hopefully. >>> coming up at 5:12, after months of waiting, who gets the money from the aurora victims relief fund i'll have the latest. >>> and why a 99-cents storements to set up shop on -- wants to set up show on rodeo drive. >>> and chicken with a crocodile, this is unbelievable. ,,,,,,,,,,,, al al ,,,, ,, crocodile. a costa rican guide nearly l >>> this is real, check out this video with a tour guide and a crocodile. a guide nearly lost a limb teasing a crocodile. he goes down until he stumbles on the way back in the mud walking backwards, barely missing the reptiles powerful jaws. don't try it at home. it may end up bad news. i think he finally gets the meat. >> the big question is why. >> look how big that thing is. >> no ki

let's get right to cbs repor randall pinkston.. w rk city tonight. >>> an unbelievable path of destruction and tonight superstorm sandy is on the move. we'll get toran dam pinkston in new york. >> reporter: officials are pleading for patience from the public as the long and difficult task of cleaning up and repairing the damage from sandy begins. top priority is restoring electricity and getting mass transit back on track. hurricane sandy hit new jersey's long beach island hard. homes were flooded or destroyed. roads left covered with sand. boats littered the streets. >> we'll assess the damages an rebuild. that's the way it works in new jersey. >> reporter: new york city was crippled by the storm. subway and traffic tunnels were filled by salt water. no word when the famous subway service will resume. an entire community burnt to the ground in queens. for a second night manhattan is a tale of flights have been canceled nationwide.. hundreds here n the bay area. the storm put taxis in a way grave. this is a shot from hoboken, new j

randall pinkston has the latest from danville, kentucky. >> reporter: vice president joe biden wasted no time challenging congressman paul ryan's take on foreign policy. >> with all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey. >> why is that so? >> because not a single thing he said is accurate. >> reporter: they clashed over the economy, taxes and medicare with the democrat often on the attack. >> they're holding hostage the middle class tax cut. it's about time they take some responsibility. >> reporter: but ryan fired back. he slammed the obama administration's economic record. >> this is not what a real recovery looks like. we need real reforms for real recovery and that's exactly what mitt romney and i are proposing. >> reporter: after several heated exchanges, ryan insinuated that president obama's debate performance last week was motivating the vice president. >> i know you're under a lot of duress to make up lost ground. >> reporter: as for who won, it depends on who you ask. instant polls taken right after the debate are mixed. in a cbs news poll of uncommitted voters, 50% though

cbs reporter randall pinkston on that sentence as well as sandusky's rambling statement. >> reporter: sandusky said nothing as he was escorted from the courthouse after being ordered to serve 30 to 60 years behind bars. the judge could have given him more than 400 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. >> he could have imposed a sentence of many centuries. and there's really no point to it. he imposed a life sentence. >> reporter: three of sandusky's victims delivered emotional statements one of them looked sandusky in the eye all of them held back tears. one victim said, quote, i have been left with deep painful wounds that you caused and have been buried in the garden of my heart for many years. sandusky delivered a rambling 15-minute statement saying he was not guilty, that he wanted to hug his wife who was there to support him. he said he missed his family and his dog. he quoted the row and referred to the movie seabiscuit. his attorney said he was going to talk about his defense an accusers but amen dole la said he advised sandusky to stress his good qualitie

reporting live in new york, i'm randall pinkston, back to you. >> it's hard to look at with so much devastation. it is almost impossible just to cover it all. >> we want to slow down and walk you through some of the areas that were the hardest hit. we'll start in new jersey where one resident said it was like someone turned on a giant faucet. all day police, fire and national guard crews pulled boat loads of people from flooded homes. >> i have a sliding door. trees toppled over. my bed was floating. >> within a matter of minutes i think where the basement got flooded. there's an apartment down there that's destroyed. and basically we're just waiting for this rescue. >> now making matters worse, the only fire station was also flooded. >> next, summerspoint, new jersey. evacuated ahead of sandy. they knew what they were doing. it could be days before they're allowed to go back home. here's why. the storm surge filled the streets with water. some homes underwater. others simply knocked from their foundations. boats of all types washed ashore coming to rest on what was once dry land. a nearby pier

reporting live in new york, i'm randall pinkston, back to you. >> as you can see sandy has lived up to the warnings of flooding and damage along the eastern sea born. we're going to check in with cbs 5, chief meteorologist with the current locations. >> this storm is huge, expanding all the way north from maine to south carolina. that's a lot of real estate. here's a look at your satellite review, even some snow on the western flag of the storm in west virginia. look at these wind gusts finally coming down, but we are talking six straight hours with wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour in atlantic city. now a big storm, where is it headed next? it will be moving inland and slowly. flooding will be an increasing risk. in florida, 10 inches of rainfall over the next coup of days. widespread power outages continuing throughout the northeast. beach erosion, huge problem as this will be likely the worst beach erosion that they have seen in the northeast in the generation. amazingly this storm is going to have an impact on our weather on halloween. details on that coming up in a few min

cbs reporter randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: sandy kicked up rough waves for a para surfer off north carolina's coast as the slow moving storm threatens some 60 million people. officials are urging them to stock up on supplies and hunker down. in new jersey, residents are boarding up their homes and businesses. preparing for the storm's high winds and flooding. >> i'm feeling these -- buckets with sand and then i'm going to transfer them to the store. to make sandbags. and i'll pile them up right in front of the door. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie -- governor chris christie ordered casinos in atlantic city to close down afternoon sunday afternoon. >> we should not underestimate the impact of this storm and we shouldn't assume the predictions will be wrong. >> reporter: forecasters predict sandy could merge with winter weather systems to become a superstorm. causing massive power outages and flooding in major cities along the east coast. here in new york city, people are still enjoying a typical fall day on coknee island but -- coney island but by this time sun

randall pinkston has more from kentucky. >> reporter: paul ryan is in kentucky getting ready for his face-to-face meeting with vice president joe biden. leading up to the debate, mitt romney's running mate has been trying to raise expectations for the current vice president. >> joe bide southbound one of the most experienced debaters with have in modern politics but the achilles he has is obama's record. >> reporter: the city of danville has rolled out the welcome mat for the candidates. >> it's one thing to study politics and government in the classroom and it's another thing to see it and have a front row seat. >> reporter: vice president joe biden has been staying out of thpublic eye in recent days reportedly fueling up on gatorade and animal crackers. chris van hollen stood in for paul ryan in the mock debate. >> the big challenge for someone like joe biden who is so glib and so good at listening to people is delivering a message inside of a structured format. >> reporter: biden will be trying to stop the republican ticket's momentum coming out of the first presidential debate. a

. >>> and randall pinkston is in new york city where they are shutting down transportation in low lying areas. randall? >> reporter: i'm in lower manhattan known as zone a flood- prone areas. one of the flood-prone areas where the mayor has ordered people to get out. most people did, however, some people are still hanging around and officials are telling them this is no time to take a risk. sandy is making her presence known along the east coast. the monster storm is moving north with some 60 million people in its path. >> it's going to be fearsome. it's going to be fearsome. we'll hang on tight. >> reporter: landfall is not expected until late monday or early tuesday, but there is already flooding in virginia and tens of thousands of people from delaware to southern new england are evacuating the coast. new york's mayor ordered mandatory evacuations in flood- prone areas. forcing 375,000 people to seek temporary shelter. >> if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting your self at risk, but also the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency. >> reporter: stepha

randall pinkston, cbs news, boca raton, florida. >> virginia is one of those critical battleground states in the election and eight so close that the state of virginia could be what florida was to the last election. >> rememberthat? andrea mccarren is crisscrossing the state to hear directly from the voters. she spent the day in franklin county on monday t. may be geographically small but it has the potential to have a big impact. >> 1570 a.m. >> reporter: just off main street in rocky mount, virginia, up this set of stairs is the national campaign headquarters of former six-term republican congressman virgil goode. until now rural franklin county was best known as the nation's moon shine capital, but with ge's -- goode's conservative base, he could be a spoiler siphoning off critical votes from the leading presidential candidates and impacting the state's 13 electoral votes. >> i've heard a number of times that a vote for virgil would be considered a protest vote and i said well, a protest against what? and the answer normally is well, i don't like either candidate. >> we love the fact t

randall pinkston has the latest. >> reporter: emergency vehicles lined up on manhattan's upper west side responding to a frantic 911 call. police say a mother arrived home with one child and found her two other children ages 2 and 6 stabbed to death in the bathtub. investigators say the children's nanny was on the floor of the bathroom with stab wounds. >> those wounds appear to be self-inflicted and a kitchen knife on the bathroom floor. >> report: neighbors describe the family's apartment as lively and typically full of activity. >> friends over and always a lot of children running around. >> reporter: this woman raised three daughters in this neighborhood. her heartbreaks for the family. >> all i can say is, you know, god be with him. give her peace. >> reporter: this upper middle class neighborhood is in shock. so many families rely on nannies to care for their children. caregivers who often become part of the family. police are trying to determine what may have motivated the gruesome attack. the fanny who has not been -- nanny who has not been identified is under arrest and hospital

randall pinkston, cbs news, hempstead, new york. >> president obama will be on the campaign trail today hoping to capitalize on his debate performance. he will campaign in the swing states of iowa and ohio. the president picked up a win in ohio tuesday when the supreme court sided with democrats and refused to block early voting in ohio on the last weekend before the election. mitt romney will also try to capitalize on his performance in our area spending the day focusing on the commonwealth. he'll have rallies in chesapeake and leesburg and in the leesburg rally will be at ida lee park. doors open at 4:30. the event begins at 6:30 tonight. you do need a ticket. you can get them at the victory offices in arlington, loudoun, or sterling. we have all the addresses right there on your screen for picking up tickets. >>> about 40 students of the university of maryland who want careers in politics watched the debate and they weighed in. >> deborah alfarone spent the evening with students from the school of public policy, and she has their reaction. >> reporter: inside university of maryland,