Stay updated with breaking news from Rob nelson . Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
this morning on "world news now," the candidates kick off a fresh week of campaigning with a new poll showing a much tighter race. and the running mates are getting ready for their first big face-off now just three days away. it's monday, october 8th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> is it friday yet? >> wishful thinking. not even close. >> good monday morning, everybody. i'm paula faris. >> happy columbus day, everybody. i'm rob nelson. 29 days and counting now. we'll get the latest from the campaign trail including a star-studded obama event in just a moment. also coming up, that nationwide meningitis outbreak spreads as the number of cases spread. more people infected and some died from this.
olympic gold medalist. >> indeed. as for women, serena williams was two points from losing yesterday before she realed -- say it, paula. >> -- vickvictoria as azarenka. the win gave williams her fourth u.s. open title and 15th career grand slam victory. >> she also became the first woman in a decade to win the u.s. open and wimbledon in the same year. the last person to do that was, rob. >> serena williams. >> oh, very good. look at those muscles on her. >> that's the gun show, baby. look at that. >> i love it. >> the guns are out. >> she was playing so poorly she had prepared her runner-up speech. she says, i thought, quote, she is playing so great. >> no kidding. she's the first woman in her 30s to win the u.s. open since martina navratilova, serena turns 31 september 26. since her loss at the french open back in may, she's 26-1. hot streak. >> yes, that's what a little loss can do for you. >> fires you up. i like it serena. gun show.
would have to win every other battleground state to even have a chance. the president getting one of the photo ops on the campaign trail. visiting a pizza shop. he got a literal lift. not bad coming out of the convention again. doesn't hurt that it was in florida. rob, paula. >> that guy actually, president said, man, look at your guns. if i eat some of your pizza, can i get guns like that? he picked him up. by the way, that guy is a republican. voted for obama in '08. he said he will vote for him zboen. i never saw the leader of the free world bearing-hug and picked up in a pizza joint that was a rare moment on the trail. >> real quick, ohio, no republican candidate has ever won the presidency without winning ohio. in fact, the presidency in general from 1904 through 2004, the candidate who won ohio, democrat or republican, won the presidency, 24 out of 26 times. ohio, uber important. 17 or 18. >> i think 19 electoral votes. >> maybe 19. >> something like that. >> that's what i meant. >> bellwether state for sure.
good morning, everybody. happy monday. i'm rob nelson. we'll get to the looming strike in the nation's third largest school district in just a second. a messy time in the city of chicago for a lot of folks. also this half hour, those incredible images over new york city, what we are learning after not one but two rare tornados tore through this area over the weekend. >> i believe only the 13th and 14th tornadoes in this area in tornadic history. did that make sense? >> i followed that. i did. >> tornadic? >> compared to other areas, we have no right to complain or be upset here in new york, it's just the rarity that makes it real interesting, not the damages or injury, thank god. >> i slept through all the bad weather over the weekend. >> as did i. and then an incredibly rare disease strikes this little girl from denver a plague from the middle ages. we're going to hear her remarkable recovery story coming up in just a couple of minutes. and later, are blake lively and rile -- rile? ryan reynolds. so monday. >> you saw her. what she does to you.
conditions. the first time we've actually heard him say anything quite like that. >> he said before, i'm going to repeal, i'm going to repeal. day one, i will repeal. now, a slight softening. of that position. >> right. he says i'll repeal it and replace it with my own, but we didn't know what parts of his own he would maintain. >> now we're hearing it finally, yes. well, the latest gallup poll suggests president obama picked up some momentum after the big convention in charlotte. in august the two candidates were basically in a dead heat. >> but the latest numbers put the president ahead by five points. abc's senior washington editor looks at a state in play. good morning, rick klein. >> rob and paula, ohio is the key and here's why. according to abc news' latest race projections, president obama is in line for 237 electoral votes to romney's 206. but if you add in ohio's 18 votes, he has a commanding lead. 255 of the 270 he needs. he'd need only one or two more states to take it all. if romney doesn't win ohio he
steubenville after standing since 1928. explosives, look at, that sent the span crashing into the ohio river. route 22 used to run over the bridge, but it changed course in 1990 when the veterans memorial bridge opened a short distance away. >> why do you think we all like to see things blow up? you ever notice that? buildings, old stadiums, casinos, we love blowup footage. >> i don't know why. it's messed up. >> we get out our aggression that way by watching something just disintegrate. who knows? here's a look at your forecast. another day of flooding downpours in the pacific northwest. heavy mountain snow in the northern rockies. showers from the gulf coast and southeast. severe storms from tennessee into the carolinas. showers a little later today from d.c. up to new york and also from cleveland to pittsburgh. >> i'm learning so much about you, rob nelson. 53 in boston. 80 in miami. 40s in detroit. 50 omaha. sacramento 71. albuquerque 61.
this morning on "world news now" -- economic optimism. for the first time since the this morning on "world news now" -- economic optimism. for the first time since the economy tanked back in 2008, wall street has hit a very important benchmark. >> as the dow crossed 13,000. but the celebration lasted just moments as the world's economic worries hit home. it's wednesday february 22nd. good morning, everybody. on this hump day. i'm rob nelson. >> hope you all recovered from fat tuesday. i'm paula faris. i'm not sure you did. >> yeah. >> how are you feeling today? >> it's a long show. let's just get rolling. >> it is wednesday, though. >> yes. it was a good moment for investors and the president, who credits lower unemployment for a
this morning on "world news now" -- teacher's plea. the veteran los angeles elementary school teacher facing a long list of unspeakable child sex abuse allegations appears in court. >> while pleading not guilty, mark berndt claims he's the one being mistreated. it's wednesday february 22nd. good wednesday morning, everyone. it's ash wednesday. >> yes. >> i'm paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. good morning, everybody. that teacher, mark berndt, remains in custody this morning. his bail set at $23 million. that is 1 million for each of the 23 children he's accused of molesting. the scandal of course sent shock waves through the city of l.a. and really around the world. >> you won't believe what he's trying to claim now, too. also this morning the
congress did the right thing by voting to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. and he couldn't help mentioning job growth has been steady for 23 months now. manufacturers are hiring again. and the auto industry is back. the only thing the president didn't mention, high gas prices are back, too. almost $5 a gallon in some places. but even that might not matter, says yahoo's jeff mackey. >> that really boils down to whether or not people can get hired. and if people are paying more per gallon to get to work, it's the part about them getting to work that matters more than what they're paying to get there. >> reporter: in the end the dow finished yesterday a few points below 13,000. but what's important to remember here is the last time stocks were in that neighborhood no one had heard of the great recession, the unemployment rate was 5.4%, and in this market that's driven by perception those happy memories matter. rob and paula? >> psychologically, they've said now for years consumer confidence has been the main issue.
♪ hey, pau hey, paula. happy anniversary. >> rob, i'm a little busy right now. >> i'm talking about the 20th anniversary. >> can't you see i'm busy? we've got a newscast to do in a bit. >> come on. 20 years live, overnight news. fun, smart, a little attitude. >> now i know what you're talking about. the 20th anniversary of "world news now." and we should do a promo. >> now you're seeing the whole picture. >> and that's a great line to use in the promo. >> we need a promo. >> we do need a promo. >> hey. promo! >> announcer: this has been the "world news now" 20th