and good morning, everybody. it's wednesday, october 5th. a very cool, crisp day here in the northeast. welcome to "american morning," everyone. >> lots of news to tell you about today. first, amanda knox is back on american soil. what a homecoming it was. knox touched down in seattle shortly after 8:00 last night, p.m. she thanked everyone who supported drew griffin was there. what was it like? >> reporter: before she even spoke, before anyone spoke, you could just see the relief on their faces. first the attorney addressed the crowd. if the if there were questions. mom and dad addressed the crowd? any questions for them? no. everybody just wanted to hear from her. amanda knox, and when she came to the podium, she said she had to remember, i have to speak in english now. >> i'm really overwhelmed right now. >> reporter: after spending four years in an italian prison, amanda knox could hardly believe she was back home in seattle. >> i was looking down from the airplane and it seemed like everything wasn't real art arriving tuesday night, knox was greeted by cheering crowds and surrounded by her family. she struggled to hold back tears as she addressed the crowd. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who's believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. >> reporter: her parents joined her in thanking all the supporters. >> it's because of the letters and the calls and just amazing support that we received from people all over the world, especially here in seattle, that we've been able to endure and that we've been able to make sure amanda had the support she needed. >> reporter: convicted in 2009 of killing her roommate meredith kercher and sentenced to 26 years in prison, an appeals court set her free on monday. >> this decision unmistakably announces to the world that amanda knox was wrongry convi i convicted and absolutely not responsible for the murder of mayor di meredith kercher. >> my family is the most important thing right now and i just want to go now and be with them. so thank you for being there for me. >> reporter: and the big question now, ali, is, will she be able to be with her family in peace? the tabloid press, the paparazzi are all over this town waiting to get glimpses of her now that she continues on with her new normal life back here in seattle. >> thanks for that, drew griffin. good morning. now to that deadly chopper crash in new york city. a private sightseeing helicopter with four passengers plunged into the east river. one of the passengers was killed. three others injured. the ntsb is now investigating the crash. cnn's jason carroll live on new york's east side. do we know what caused the crash yet? >> reporter: that's what the ntsb will be looking into. their investigation is well under way. carol, they've already interviewed the pilot, paul dudley. they will interview the pilot again today, we're told. they have also retrieved that helicopter, that jet ranger, able to retrieve that helicopter yesterday evening. a review of what happened. this according to witnesses and rescuers here at the scene. yet afternoon, about 3:22, the pilot, paul dudley, had just taken off when the trouble began. he radioed he was having problems. unable to keep altitude. witnesses say the chopper spun around in the air, crashed into the east river. it turned on its side, and then it sank. all of this happening with just a few moments. three of the passengers and the pilot were able to be rescued, but one woman, sonya mara a 40-year-old from syd any australia was trapped in the back seatshe did not survive. i want to bring in two of the first people on the scene. this happened yesterday. let me bring you in. both at the office of emergency management. i'll start with you, frank. both of you were in the area. you heard what had happened. got here at the scene. tell me what you saw and what happened. >> we arrived on the scene, and when we arrived, there was a helicopter with two men holding on to the skids. one was the pilot and the other a passenger up floont wront in aircraft. wes and i grabbed a life vest with the crew onboard and rescued them, was able to tie off -- >> reporter: wes, term about that. >> i was able to run out to the helipad, and get what was, deploy it out to the individual about 20 yards out and then i had to climb down to the pylons and lay down on my chest to bring them in and get underneath him so he wouldn't sink. his jacket kept coming off. myself, the deputy commissioner and a police officer were able to hoist him out of the water and give him to ems and begin assisting nypd as they arrived to the scene with rope rescues of the other people. >> a few minutes later, the diver showed up and able to pull out -- >> one of the critical information we got, the fact there were three other people onboard. we were able to give that information to the dispatchers coming in. >> reporter: right. i know you guys train for things like this, but when it happens i'm sure the adrenaline is pumping. i'm sure those passengers are very grateful for what you were able to do. >> our hearts go out. a life was lost yesterday, and our hearts of the city go out to them. we did our best to try to save them. >> reporter: once again, the victim they were both mentions, sonya mara, here visiting with her partner who survived. also her mother and her stepfather who also survived. they were all friends with the pilot, paul dudley, who, again, survived as well. i spoke to an ntsb representative. this morning she tells me once again they'll be able to interview the pilot, paul dudley, again this morning. she also said they're going to review the videotape and also at this point this morning start taking a look at the helicopter itself trying to figure out exactly, carol, what went wrong. the ntsb is going to have some sort of a briefing out here. that's going to begin at 11:00 a.m. carol? >> curious, jason. the woman who died. sh she was trapped inside the helicopter. of course, the helicopter was upside-down. where those other two inside the helicopter as well and those guy you talked to, did they manage to communicate to the divers to pull those people out? >> reporter: they were. able to communicate there were others also inside the helicopter. they were able to pull them out as well. when they pulled them out, they were suffering from respiratory arrest. they are in serious condition at this point. once again, quick thinking on the behalf of the first responders who were here at the scene, able to relay information to the divers about those that were still stuck inside. >> jason carroll, thank you very much. jason carroll reporting live from the east side of new york city. a deadly dust storm triggering several multicar pileups north of tucson, arizona. zero visibility when this storm kicked up just after 3:00 in the afternoon yesterday. at least 30 vehicles were involved in accidents. one person killed and at least 14 other injured. in the michael jackson death trial, the world is getting a very intimate look at the private life of dr. conrad murray. prosecutors calling three women to the stand yesterday trying to prove jackson's personal physician was more concerned with his love life than with michael jackson. of those women, a houston waitress testified she was on the phone with the cardiologist when he suddenly realized jackson had stopped breathing. tensions heating up over a security resolution for a bloody crackdown on protesters yesterday china and russia vetoed the resolution. susan rice stood up and walked out of security council chambers when syria's ambassador began blasting u.s. policies in the middle east. fees keep on coming and, boy, you're mad about it. citibank announced it will charge $20 a month if they don't have a combine $15,000 on all accounts. last night on "out front" with erin burnett, tim geithner hit back. >> the banks are blaming the government for everything, including for what they themselves are responsible for causing. there's no surprises. nothing spraining about the fact that banks are resisting it, pushing back. trying to weaken reforms and we're going to push back harder, and in the end we're going to prevail. >> yesterday senator dick durbin suggested people should switch banks if they keep getting nailed with fees. he spent months insisting he wouldn't run, and chris christie was true to his word. he ended all speculation yesterday announcing he will not seek the presidency in 2012. >> oh, that is nothing! >> the statement sent a chill through countless republican supporters. >> now is not my time. i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not abandon. >> reporter: now, christie says he was tempted to run and did have the support of his wife, but he just couldn't see himself abandoning the state of new jersey after just 20 months of governor. a lot of implications which we'll talk about during the course of the show. including where his say porters a supporters are going to go. >> who gets the money they were promising? and came up from the dive and said, where's the boat? a charter boat ditched them. so how did they get back to shore? plus unions join the wall street protest. is it about benefits and work rules? what exactly now is the message of the occupied wall street movement, and does it have new heft? it's 11 past the hour. and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. and all we need to do is change the way we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from. whoa. it just takes somebody having the idea, whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred [♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. welcomes back to "american morning." they came up from the dive and their boat was gone. two scuba divers lucky to be alive after the boat left them at sea. they hung on to a buoy until a nearby boat spotted them. >> i wasn't going to give up. we managed to find a buoy. that way if somebody came to look for us, we would be in one spot. there's a famous movie scene of people left in the ocean and it doesn't end well. >> off the coast of miami. the boep's captain told the "miami herald" he's happy everyone was okay. it's not clear how they lost track of the divers. >> supposed to count heads. >> when i'm diving i have 0 write my name -- >> you're there and they check. you don't move off. >> movies were made about that. >> true. very scary. very scary. rob marciano in the extreme weather center. good morning, rob. >> good morning, rob. it you're diving off the east coast today, things are a little bit more tranquil, although chilly. temperatures are cooling off and rain is moving out, finally, across the northeast. the stubborn weather pattern that created the unsettled weather conditions for really two week, it's not so cool and showery. from boston to new york and philly, looking good. north of boston, peabody through essex and middlesex county, showed you radar yesterday. anywhere from three to five inches of rainfall in a couple hours. the end result. a lot of this rainfall moved up in through parts of new hampshire. seeing rain and mountain snow out west. a very powerful storm system heading into not only the pacific northwest but california prop and higher elevation snow is happening here. winter storm warnings poechted for the sierras back through parts of nevada and the wasatch of utah to see a foot to a foot and a half of snow. above the 8,000 foot mark. an early start to the winter season. aspen just peaking the color. temperatures way up there. south dakota yesterday, up and over 90. 86, high expected today in minneapolis. there's your indian summer. 17 degr 71 degrees, dry in new york city. guys, back to you. >> thank you, rob. this morning the wall street protesters geared up for what they claim will be their biggest move yet. expected to march. it's growing to include community groups, teachers and now unions. susan candiotti joins us now live. susan, good morning. >> reporter: christine, at this hour, as you can see behind me, not surprisingly, all the protesters are asleep, under tarps, and sleeping bags. they've set up mattresses here and they've got food lines set up for later. that much hasn't changed, what is changing about today is that, yes, they have another march, but they're expecting far more people here. why? because for the first time having additional support from tradition unions who say they will be marching with them this particular day. still, this protest, largely against corporate greed, as they put it, is also still leaderless, and without any particular goals in mind. nevertheless, they say that's the way they like it for now, as they continue to organize, and one of their biggest supporters is michael moore. documentary maker. here's how he sums up about what this protest is about today. >> i just said people have just had it. what's so beautiful about this, is that this is -- no one has organized this. there is no leader here. everyone is a leader. everyone is -- everyone's who's a participant in this, this is real true grass roots democracy. >> reporter: and the march today is, again, going to be near city hall and then it will end up back here in the financial district. how many people will come? well it's not clear how many they will attract but they are hoping for a lot more people than usual because of the large number of unions coming in to help them on this particular day. an early morning hour, but one guy that's going to do a lot more business than usual. a lot of these food vendors, a lot of them line up to help these people out throughout the day. christine, back to you. >> there you go. susan candiotti. a little capitalism is there. i don't know if anti-capitalism is part of this, but they are dedicated. i've seen dozen of protests never one that's lasted this long or slept under the tarp. >> no question, and also somewhat unfocus. getting help from other people. >> that's the topic on "talk back." one of the big questions, could occupied wall street be the dawn of a liberal tea party? ever since the dawn of the tea party, activists have yearned for a revolution of their own. example, michael moore, hungry for a mass movement. how better to get that than raling against wall street. >> this is the end result of these bankers overplaying their hand. they were already filthy rich, but filthy rich wasn't enough. >> moore is lending his celebrity to the movement, and paying to help protesters expand the use of social media with the help of twitter and facebook, the movement spread to other cities. hundreds arrested here in new york city. though we see them dressed like zombies and often with confusing messages, often attracting powerful allies including a half dozen unions who will march on city hall in new york today. when you combine clout, money and anger with the powers that be, sounds like the start of something, although protesters don't see themselves at political animals. >> we don't want to be you know, a left political group. we don't want to be a political group at all. we want to be a group that calls for activism. ideally, if this continues to grow, more people get involved, suddenly people will have the same power that, you know, lobbyists have. >> heads up, wall street. even fox news dotcom says it could be more than a loony protest movement from the left. the "talk back" question of the day -- could occupy wall street be the dawn of a new tea party? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. coming up on "american morning," a real thorn in the side of rick perry. who is this milwaukee man who spent four years tangling with the texas governor trying to get limb to hand over his office e-mails. it's a very, very interesting story. we'll bring it to you on the other side of the break. we're making tomorrows like clockwork. ♪ for all the different things our customers planned for. like a college education. or, the perfect wedding. ♪ ♪ i love ya, tomorrow! 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"minding your business." right now u.s. stock futures are trading higher ahead of the opening bell, and nearly a 400-point swing on wall street helped bring the s&p back from the brink of entering a bear market yesterday. the rally fuelled in part by europe's new efforts to prevent a global banking crisis, but a global recession can't be ruled out next year. that's the new warning from the international monetary fund. the group is also urging europe this morning to boost stimulus spending. in another example of the tough financial conditions in europe, italy was downgraded by the credit rating agency moody's. despite the drop in rating, moody's reported italy the risk of default remains remote. new york city and the state attorney general are suing bank of mork mellon for fraud claiming they acquired nearly $2 billion from the city's police, fire and teachers funds over the course of a decade. victims of bernie madoff getting their first checks today. the man in charge of recovering the funds an estimated $312 million will be distributed to investors representing less than 5 cents on the dollar, but irving piccard says more money will eventually be returned. and apple unveiling the new iphone 4-s. it's faster, a new feature allowing user to ask the phone q