united nations got up and walked out right in the middle of a security council meeting. good morning to you. it is wednesday, october 5th. this is your a.m. "wake-up call." i'm carol kos tecostello live fw york this morning. it's a brand-new day in every sense of the word for amanda knox. she'll be waking up at home for the first time in four years. she returned with her family yesterday, just one day after an italian appeals court overturned her murder conviction in the death of her british roommate, meredith kercher. knox held back tears speaking to reporters thanking her parents and her friends for their support during her time in prison. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. i just want -- my family is the most important thing to me right now, and i just want to go be with them. so thank you for being there for me. >> italian prosecutors say they'll appeal the knox ruling to italy's supreme court. the wall street protesters are getting reinforcement from groups who know a thing or two about demonstrations. several unions endorsing the occupy wall street movement and plan to join the protesters in new york's financial district today. one labor leader says his union supports the protesters because, quote, these young people are speaking for the vast majority of americans who are frustrated by the bankers and the brokers who have profited on the backs of hardworking people. end quote. the protests started several weeks ago and have spread to several other cities. members say they oppose corporate influence, social inequality and other disparities between the rich and poor. there is a sharper focus this morning to the battle for the republican presidential nomination. we now know that new jersey governor chris christie is not going to enter the race. after several weeks of growing support for a white house run, christie says he's sticking to his current job. >> now is not my time. i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not abandon. >> christie dismissed questions on whether he'd consider running as vice president on the republican ticket, saying he doesn't think he'd even be asked. democrats in west virginia are celebrating earl ray tomlin's victory at the gubernatorial election. he belt out businessman bill maloney in yesterday's special election zpoit a flood of gop attack ads trying to link him to president obama. tomlin took over as acting governor last year as joe manchin was elected to the u.s. senate. it happens nearly every day and it could well happen again today. deadly anti-government protests in syria. months of a violent syrian crackdown spilled over into the united nations, triggering a walkout by u.s. ambassador susan rice. her move came after china and russia vetoed a security council resolution condemning the syrian government's response to the protests. rice said the obama administration was outraged by the vote. at least 2600 people have been killed and thousands injured since the protests started in march. in restitution finally for the victims of bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. nearly three years after the scheme unraveled, about $312 million in recovered money will be distributed today. the trustee in charge of liquidating madoff's securities firm says the money is urgently needed by some of madoff's former customers. today's distribution is being made to holders of 20/30 accounts. madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence. now let's head to atlanta and rob marciano. i don't want -- >> where were you yesterday? i was worried about you. resting up for game four? >> stop that. the tigers had a total bull pen meltdown. i know that. but today is another day. >> as if the yankees haven't had offensive bats all season long. it's turning out to be a fantastic mlb postseason. oh, i didn't know this was coming. >> i love that. >> isn't that cute? old school and everything. by the way, in full disclosure, i'll be taking friday off. this was planned well ahead of time. i am watching the whole game. i managed to make it to the eighth inning last night. because i felt guilty about turning it off in the seventh inning the night before. enough of that. let's talk about what's shaking as far as weather is concerned. fall is in the air, no doubt about that. we'll probably have delays across the northeast. not because of the showers and the unsettled weather that we've been dealing with the past couple of weeks, but just because of some leftover winds. we'll take that. thunderstorms across salt lake city. we had nasty thunderstorms with a big wind and sandstorms across parts of arizona yesterday. and san francisco, strong storm that way. check it out. this is reminiscent of december, if not january. strong jet stream, good vortex spinning and getting a lot of energy into california. winter storm warnings are posted still for the sierra nevadas and into the wasatch of utah, above the 8,000 mark. we'll see a foot, maybe a foot and a half more of snow. elsewhere, the fire threat will be high across parts of the plains. we had the bastrop fire flare up yesterday and record-setting temperatures as far north as pierre. 95 degrees in through the dakotas yesterday. it willing 86 in minneapolis. meanwhile, 71 in new york city and 84 in atlanta. i want to show you some video out of a stock car race in oklahoma. look at this crash here. and one of the drivers, obviously the car explodes into flames. that driver's name was terry mu muskrat. kip hughes gets out to pull his competitor out of his burning car. we later found out that kip hughes, his dad was a driver, carol, and suffered a similar accident and his face was burned because of it. and when he saw that as a 7-year-old child, he said if i'm a driver and i see a burning vehicle, i'm going to do what i can to get my fellow driver out. and that actually came true in his racing career. unbelievable stuff there. good stuff. >> good for him. like who cares who wins the race at that point? because, you know, some things are more important, right? >> exactly. you know, we somehow -- sometimes forget just how dangerous race car driving is with all the safety measures that we've seen in the past 10 to 20 years. it's dicey stuff, that's for sure. >> yeah. i'm glad everyone was okay. thank you, rob. >> take care. governor chris christie knows that being a public figure leaves you vulnerable for all kinds of jokes. and for him, well, his weight is what comedians love to joke about. his response, make fun all you want, just be funny. here's your punch line. >> i honestly think he made the right decision because think about it this way. do we really want a president who looks like an american league umpire? no. we don't. aye! ha! he would have been the first american president visible from space. >> that's just so wrong. okay. people have been holding out and waiting for the new apple iphone, but this morning many are calling it nothing but a big, fat disappointment. why they're not so pleased. that's coming up. and here's today's "quote of the day." here it is. one of the world's highest paid actors in some hot water after saying this, actually. he said this after a photo shoot. quote, you just feel like you're being raped somehow. it feels like kind of weird, just weird, man. learn who said that in 90 seconds. it's nine minutes past the hour. hey, i'm really glad we took this last minute trip! me too. you booked our room right? 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[ female announcer ] new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. ♪ it is ten minutes past the hour. this is your a.m. "wake-up call." this is the quote of the day. you feel like you're being raped somehow. it feels like a kind of weird -- just weird, man, end quote. who said that? it was actor johnny depp. he's describing photo shoots in an article that appears in "vanity fair." several rape victim advocacy groups have come out and called his comments insensitive. around this time yesterday, we talked about the excitement and anticipation of the new iphone. 24 hours later, i don't know that the excitement is still quite at the same level, so let's head to hong kong and kristi lu stout. it's not really an iphone 5, turns out. it's just sort of an iphone kind of better than iphone 4. >> yeah, but, you know, we did mention this yesterday in the show, that it could be an iphone 4 as sure enough some expectations or some people's expectations were set a little too high 37 apple did not unveil a brand-new smartphone but a souped-up version of the iphone 4. it has a better camera, better processor, and a demo. scott forestall, it pulled up all the latest weather data, and that drew applause from the audience, but it did not impress investors. apple shares fell almost 5% after the big news and later recovered to end the day slightly lower. the iphone 4s will go on sale october 14th. >> i understand there's news in france involving the iphone 4. they're attempting to get a ban on sales of this new version of the iphone. >> yeah, samsung electronics is also not impressed by the iphone 4s. it will ask courts in italy and france to block its sale in those two countries. samsung claims that the iphone 4s uses two patents that belong to them. and apple has yet to respond to these claims. back to you. >> fascinating. another fascinating story you're working on, researchers in dallas, they could actually make objects disappear? >> that's right. this is another invisiblity cloak story. but this one uses something called the mirage effect. now, a mirage happens when a big leap in temperature over a small distance bends light rays and sends them toward the eye. so when you see a pool of water in the middle of the desert, it's really just the blue sky being redirected onto the sand and then sent directly into your eye. now, instead of using sand, these researchers at the university of dallas, they used these microsheets of carbon nanotubes. and by hitting an on and off switch, they can quickly heat the nanotubes, bend the light rays and make an object appear invisible. so you have to check out the demo. it's on youtube. invisiblity created by tricking the human brain. pretty cool stuff. >> really cool stuff. kristi lu stout live from hong kong opinion no, no and no. new jersey governor chris christie puts an end to speculation about a 2012 presidential bid? what does this mean for other candidates still in the race? we'll have a closer look just ahead. it's 13 minutes past the hour. 0 [ beep ] [ man ] you have one new message. [ mom ] hi scooter. this is mommy. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. the vegetables are cut nice and thick... you were always good at cutting your vegetables. and it's got tender white-meat chicken... the way i always made it for you. oh, one more thing honey... those pj's you like, the ones with the feet, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. 15 minutes past the hour. now that governor christie has said no again to the 2012 presidential race, the attention turns back to the other gop candidates. need a brief refresher? leave it to comedian stephen colbert. here's your punch line. >> i don't know about you, but i could not be more excited about all the options in the gop presidential field. these candidates are like the perfect appetizer sampler platter. you've got pizza bites, crazy bread, boiled potato, texas toast, flaw grau, imitation flaw grau, unexpected squirrel jerky, all with a santorum dipping sauce. mmm. >> i'm now for your political ticker with tim farley, host of "morning briefing" on sirius live from washington. good morning, tim. >> i'd bet on the squirrel jerky. i don't know about you, but i think i'm headed there, carol. >> so mean but still very funny, wasn't it? let's talk about new jersey governor chris christie. he says he is not running for president for a final time. so for a final time, let's listen again. >> i've explored the options and listened to so many people and considered whether this was something that i needed to take on. but in the end, what i've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. now is not my time. i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not abandon. >> so, tim, is mitt romney doing the happy dance? >> well, i think he probably is. and you think about chris christie who is out, and by the way, agatha christie is not running nor julie christie or christie brinkley or mitch daniels. there's an interesting thing to talk about because going back to that colbert bit which was kind of funny, it was october the 3rd of 1991 when bill clinton, governor of arkansas, announced he was running for president. and the field, by the time you got to the new hampshire polls, the new hampshire primary, was bill clinton, paul tsongas and far behind were people like tom harkin and bob kerrey. and where are they now? the point is is that this is very early in the process. if you had ten republicans in a room, two of them like mitt romney and probably the rest were split among the other candidates, maybe rick perry and herman cain share a couple voters. this is very early in the process. romney clearly had the most to gain because let's face it, he was the governor of a blue state. and he had a lot of what you would call liberal opinions. so chances are it was mitt romney had the most to gain, but we'll see as we move forward in this whole process who exactly is to gain because mitt didn't gain a whole lot when rick perry started faltering in those latest polls, carol. >> no. the person who gained was herman cain. it's amazing. of course, many analysts say that doesn't really mean anything. it's sort of just a placeholder, but it is intriguing his numbers have risen so dramatically. >> no, i think you're right. >> how important will a christie endorsement be, do you think? >> well, he could certainly raise money. he could get out there and energize people. because once he jumps into the fray, he's a strong speaker, an inspiring speaker, and he brings something to the table that frankly we don't see from a mitt romney. and whether or not he would be able to get behind some of the positions that rick perry has is a question mark, but he'll go out there and stump for the republican candidate. because as you heard yesterday, he's not going to be the vice presidential candidate. he said i'm not a number two kind of guy and also he's not going to make an endorsement right now. he'll be a kingmaker. i think we'll see him on the presidential candidate campaign trail. >> if you're a republican, this is the field that's going to be, so you might as well get used to it. >> yeah, a lot of the most people are thinking so. you could see sarah palin, but i doubt it at this point. i think the other thing to watch which is this group that is trying to push for a third-party candidate, somebody who is outside the mainstream going back again to that 1992 ross perot helping bill clinton get elected with 43% of the vote. i'm not sure that we see an individual like that right now, but there is a yearning for something other than what the two parties have offered. and we may see something bubble up. americans elect is a group that's trying to do that. that's another part of the story line. but i think we've seen the republican field. >> yeah, that group has gained a lot of traction online. many supporters. tim farley, thanks, as always, host of "morning briefing" on sirius radio. it's a good bet most american woman wouldn't consider getting into a car with a stranger, but in one nation, some women say they're not afraid to hitch a ride. we'll explain. first, take a box of doughnuts to work for your coworkers, open the door for a friend or pay a compliment to a complete stranger. that's because today is do something nice day. ah. there isn't much information on how this day started, but you really don't need a reason to take part, do you? i know. i'm a little nauseous, too, right now. it's 20 minutes past the hour. 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[ male announcer ] wanchai ferry. restaurant quality chinese in your grocer's freezer. it is 23 minutes past the hour. this is your a.m. "wake-up call." here are three things to put on your radar. several unions are endorsing the occupy wall street movement. at 12:30 eastern, leading progressive and labor groups will hold a rally on capitol hill to demand that congress focus on jobs, not cuts. the event is being organized by the american dream movement. 18 deaths now linked to cantaloupes contaminated with listeria. federal health officials say cantaloupes from jensen farms should be thrown out immediately. if you're not sure about the source, check your supermarket or to be really safe, throw the can cantaloupe away. any u.s. troops will remain in iraq after the first year -- actually, they're trying to negotiate how many american troops will remain in iraq, and there might be a surprise announcement coming very soon. let's head around the world with zain verjee from london. i know i kind of butchered that intro, but tell us about this, zain. >> you butcher anything at all, carol. don't worry about it. always so eloquent. yeah, you did, you know what? one of the things that's really important here is that the iraqis are discussing that after 2011, it's not just talking about troop withdrawal, they also don't want to give any legal immunity against iraqi law to u.s. troops. this has been a real sore point for americans because they say, well, if our troops are there in good faith, in a dangerous situation, they should have immunity from protection. but a lot of iraqis have felt, well, why should they? they should be able to be prosecuted under iraqi law. and they point to things like the abu ghraib prison scandal, blackwater, killing iraqi civilians. and so that is an issue of conte