needed to keep the unemployment rate from closing in on 10%. >> tough news ahead of an important weekend for campaigning candidates. this morning's final jobs report before the midterm election is little relief to the unemployed or democrats. >> this is an election about the economy. and anytime the focus is on the fact that the economy is struggling is not a good story for democrats. >> reporter: president obama will talk about the new jobs numbers during a visit to a small business in maryland later this morning. speaking at a campaign event for maryland governor martin o'malley yesterday, the president tried to rally voters. >> i'm sorry. what did you say? >> yes, we can. >> reporter: and democrats continue to push the point that the economy is improving. >> we've got a long way to go. and certainly, we're not taking a victory lap. we want to quicken the pace of change. but we certainly can't go backwards. >> reporter: since the beginning of the year, the economy has created 732,000 new jobs. but the last three months have seen a decline as temporary census jobs came to an end. however, it's considering just the private sector, every month so far this year, has seen jobs added. and the outlook for holiday hiring this year is better than in the previous two years. some estimates project retailers will add between 500,000 and 600,000 workers over the next 3 months to meet the holiday demand. >> the economy's moving in fits and starts. sometimes we'll feel good. sometimes not quite as good. but we're moving in the right direction. >> democrats have just over three weeks to sell that message to voters. here's an indication, now, of just how challenging it's being. the president campaigned in his adopted hometown of chicago to help save his old senate seat. democrats in illinois control almost every, major elected office. and yet, the senate race there is still too close to call. and republicans will not be able to benefit from this explosive campaign issue. the ethics trial of two, prominent democrats is now going to be held after the election. gop lawmakers had tried to push up the hearings of charles rangel and maxine waters. preelection trials could have generated headlines that republicans could have used in campaign ads. national republicans have been forced to pull campaign ads in west virginia after an embarrassing disclosure. here is just part of the ad. >> obama's messing things up. >> spending money we don't have. stimulus. obama care. >> and joe mansion supported it all. >> the casting call sought actors who had, quote, a hicky, blue-collar look. the republican against joe mansion denounced the ad, said his campaign had nothing to do with this. a report in how the money of last year's massive economic recovery package was spent, said that thousands of checks went to dead people. the inspector general's report says $18 million in stimulus funds went to 72,000 dead people. and more than $4 million went to 17,000 prison inmates. most of them, though, were actually eligible for the payments. and washington, d.c. firefighters were on the scene last night, putting out a small fire at the commerce department building. the third floor fire happened in a storage room where workers were removing asbestos. no one was injured. there's questions this morning about whether u.s. money is actually being spent on hiring taliban members in afghanistan as private security contractors. it's part of a new senate report, that also finds that the private security forces are often poorly trained and supervised. and there's evidence that some contractors are working against coalition forces. more than 2,000 troops have been killed in afghanistan. steven portnoy has the story of a hero that died a year ago today. >> reporter: on the war of afghanistan entered its tenth year, another reminder. as his family stood vigil, lance vogler came home for the final time. he was killed friday, on his 12th tour of duty. four in iraq and eight in afghanistan. the army ranger was solemnly carried back to american soil, joining more than 1,300 americans who have fallen in the afghan war. >> showed a lot of love. loved to help people. >> reporter: sergeant vogler's parents are deaf. and another son gave voice to their grief. >> loved that boy. >> reporter: those that loved him, included his comrades in arms. >> lance was an exceptional leader. >> reporter: in 2001, just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, president bush announced the invasion of afghanistan. >> on my orders, the united states military has begun strikes of the taliban regime in afghanistan. >> reporter: the unpopular war continues to frustrate president obama. steven portnoy, abc news, washington. and so much talk about war. but this morning, peace. as in the nobel peace prize. it's being handed out this morning in oslo, norway. several women are among the hot favorites to win the prestigious award and its $1.5 million prize. if any of them are named, they would be just the 13th woman ever to be named a peace prize laureate. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. gusty thunderstorms around nevada and wyoming. showers on the western half of the high plains. sunny and dry from new york city to boston. and indian summer has arrived in the middle of the country, with record highs in the plains and midwest. >> 88 in omaha. 86 in kansas city. 82 in minneapolis. 80s from dallas to atlanta. 70s in the northeast. it's 87 in phoenix. 77 in colorado springs. salt lake city is at 64. still ahead on this friday, a man is shot and saved by his cell phone. then, waiting for a breakthrough with that mine in chile. one that could come in at any time. and dora's lawsuit. did nickelodeon cheat their star out of millions? hi, may i help you? yes, we're looking to save on car insurance, even if that means we have to shop all day, right, honey? yep, all day. good thing you're starting here. we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies', 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[ female announcer ] have you ever seen a glacier why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not. royal caribbean's floating nation where you're free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. visit royalcaribbean.com today. recapping the morning's top story. the government's monthly unemployment report comes out in just hours. economists expect the unemployment rate to edge up to 9.7%. mainly due to more americans looking for work. last week, the number of americans applying for first-time jobless claims dropped to its lowest level since july. those estimates brought overseas stocks down today. tokyo's nikkei average lost 95 points. hong kong's hang seng is down in late trading. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow lost 19 points yesterday. the nasdaq index gained three points. gm is aiming to build a low-price sub compact car at a plant in michigan. the union agreed to let some employs at that plant work for less money. and toyota is planning to launch two, new prius hybrid models. one would be a sub compact. the other, an suv. both are sue to hit the market in 2012. nearly 200,000 bottles of the cholesterol-fighting drug, lipitor, has been recalled. pfizer announced that the recall took place in argue, following reports of a musty odor coming from the bottles. the affected lots were sold in the u.s. and canada. 1.5 million copies of a memoir by former president george w. bush will go on sale next month. that makes the first pripting of the book as big as the first edition of president clinton's memoir. the e-book edition will also be available with video highlights and photos not included in the hard cover. nickelodeon has been slapped by a lawsuit by the teenager behind one of its most popular characters. 14-year-old caitlin sanchez has been the voice of dora the explorer since 2007. she says she was overworked and underpaid. cheated out of millions of dollars. sanchez made about $5,000 an episode while the dora brand raked in billions. nickelodeon insists she was well wel wel well-compensated. next on this friday morning, lou dobbs on the offensive, after an investigation finds he may have employed illegal immigrants. and a cataract fasht thought she was reaching iffer her eye drops. but grabbed superglue instead. berry-topped, almond strudel pie? ♪ triple-chocolate-swirl brownie? ♪ [ sk sampler ] crunchy, berry, nutty, chocolatey goodness? 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' cause variety equals victory. taste all nine. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. an american and two russians are now soaring toward the international space station. they blasted off early this morning from a launch pad in kazakhstan. and are set to arrive on sunday. they are joining two other americans and a russian cosmonaut who have been at the station since june. wet highways across the rockies, on i-15, 25 and 80, in utah, wyoming and montana. makes for a slick ride on parts of i-70 in colorado. and wet on i-5, along the coast of washington state. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle, salt lake city, denver and boston. former cnn anchor, lou dobbs, is on the defensive this morning after explosive charges in "the nation" magazine. the article says dobbs hired mexican workers illegal. >> he's been outspoken on the issue of illegal immigrants and employers. >> at the very same time that lou dobbs was talking on cnn about the possibility of felony charges for employers who hire undocumented workers, from were undocumented workers caring for his million-dollar show jumping horses. and undocumented workers caring for the grounds of his estate. >> reporter: now, in fairness, dobbs says, i did not hire these people. >> whether he hired them himself or he hired contractors who then hired them, the fact of the matter is that there were undocumented workers. >> reporter: dobbs, who has not ruled out a run for political office, took on the claims and the reporter. >> a young lady by the name of isabel macdonald, a reporter for "the nation." has put together one -- a fairly typical hit piece, a smear piece. did you say that i hired or my firm hired illegal immigrants? >> i am saying that for years undocumented immigrants looked after your show jumping horses, the horses that are owned by the dobbs group. and for years, they looked after the grounds of your estate in west palm beach, florida. >> reporter: as she argues, she interviewed five of the undocumented workers themselves. this is one of them. "i am an immigrant who doesn't have papers. but i worked for him because he's a very important person at the big house he has." dobbs says he nor his company ever hired illegal workers, arguing there is a distinction. >> did i or any company i own at any time hire an illegal immigrant of any kind? it's a yes or no question. >> no, but your contractors did. >> reporter: the bigger debate here will be whether the person at the top, even if there's a contractor in the middle, is ultimately responsible for the workers on his or her grounds. david muir, abc news, new york. >> we will hear much more from lou dobbs when he joins us for a live interview later on "good morning america." an investigation is already underway into an accident at a southern california amusement park. it happened at knots berry farm in l.a. people were injured when a rollercoaster fell on an incline and fell into another car that was being loaded at the time. all of the injuries are minor. a breakthrough of the rescue of the miners in chile could come within hours. that's when an escape shaft is finally expected to reach the men. crews had a dress rehearsal of the evacuation procedure yesterday. once the drill breaks through the rock surface, it will still take up to ten days to get all of the miners to safety. the growing bedbug problem has reportedly spread to one of new york's most exclusive hotels. an investment banker from florida tells "the new york post," she was badly bitten by bedbugs last week during her stay at the famous waldorf astoria. the waldorf upgraded her room. but management insists no bedbugs were found. using food stamps to buy beverages will not be allowed. the mayor new york says the restrictions are necessary to fight the obesity epidemic. they're considering the idea. if approve, other cities and states would ask to be allowed to do the same thing. the phillies and reds renew their baseball playoff first-round series tonight in philly. the details on yesterday's games and some college football now from espn news. >> good morning, everyone. i'm sara walsh with your espn news update. baseball's postseason rolls on. the braves and giants. game one of the nlds. lincecum, going strong. eric hinske strikes out. that was strikeout number 12. in the ninth, hayward staking out. tim lincecum dominating. a complete game two-hitter. giants win it, 1-0. ron gardenhire and the twins looking to even up the alds against the yankees. karl pavano, the inside cast ball. next pitch, lance berkman. the double off the wall in center. jorge posada would come in to score. the yankees take a 3-2 lead. after the double, the twins meeting on the mound. ron gardenhire gets tossed. yankees go on to win it, 5-2. rangers at rays. texas trying to go up 2-0, on tampa bay. texas up 2-0, in this game. michael young rushing a ball to center. rangers up 5-0. james shields not pleased. neither is joe maddon. he gets tossed, as well. number seven nebraska, taking on kansas state. third quarter, 17-3. martinez out of the shotgun, takes off downfield. goes all the way, 80 yards for the touchdown. nebraska goes on to win it, 48-13. martinez, a freshman, had four rushing touchdowns, one through the air. a record evening for him. back to you guys in the studio. cell phones can certainly do a lot of things these days. but a harlem man is crediting his with saving his life. >> a gunman opened fire yesterday. but the bullet actually ricochetted off the cell phone in his pocket. shooter was only five feet away. but the man walked away with just a scratch on his stomach. lucky guy. >> he can be the ad person for the next cell phone. >> no kidding. a phoenix woman found out the hard way that superglue does, indeed, work. ingram home had cataract surgery a few years back. now, she uses six different eye drop medications. >> but when reaching for one of the bottles, she grabbed the superglue instead. doctors were able to save her eye. now, she's urging the fda to require the bottles to be different shapes and sideses. a tough lesson. >> at the risk of being too graphic, she said it did wash it out. but hospital staff had to cut through the hardened glue on her eye. she's very lucky to be okay after that. >> that glue really does work. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today. including changes on the nation's rail lines. on top of that, celebrating a musical legend. i don't lie about my age. my skin does. introducing anew platinum. an avon breakthrough. the first with paxillium technology. it's designed to help restore cell shape... skin looks more contoured...sculpted... re-defined. even your jaw line. anew platinum does it. and only avon has it... with a love it or return it guarantee. want it? 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[ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. finally this morning, mission accomplished, in honor of thousands of fallen americans. >> an army veteran has made it from coast-to-coast, on foot, running solo for more than 4,000 miles. more from steve minnish now at our affiliate in portland, maine. >> reporter: crossinge's maine' porder, mike has run more than 4,200 miles. that means stopping to plant more than 4,200 flags with yellow ribbons. each bearing the name, rank and hometown of an american service member killed in iraq. >> i always went crosscountry. if i were to do it for my own selfish reasons, i probably would have stopped in nebraska. >> reporter: but with more than 4,500 reasons, erhret has nearly reached his goal. it's the flags on the many names that allow him to endure the tough hills, the nagging injuries and this morning's rain. >> they say it doesn't rain in maine. >> reporter: he walks 30 miles each day. each walk, a tribute to a single life that never returned home. >> thinking of the tremendous potential that was on those flags, mothers, fathers, daughters, brothers, sisters. and that potential that was on those flags. >> reporter: so many miles, eric says he runs by himself. so, it's days like today, he really appreciates when others join him. >> got to go. >> reporter: james trout says he would not have missed it. his grandson from patton died in iraq. >> it's unreal what this guy's done. since may 1st, he's done that. that's why i'm here today, supporting him. >> reporter: proud, as he might be, he can honestly say he's looking forward to the finish. >> i can smell the ocean. i can almost smell lobster. >> 30 miles a day. commendable man. that's what's making news in america this