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oprah: calling all you "oprah show" ultimate viewers out there. have you watched from the very beginning, had too many aha moments to count? has the show changed your life? go to oprah.com and tell us your story or about the ultimate viewer in your life. [cheering and applause] oprah: our dream job team--jenna, buddy, jeff, angela, omar, eboni, and daphne--have all agreed to sign the no phone zone pledge today. so excited about that. you're signing, and that means no texting while driving. if you have to, absolutely have to, be on the phone in the car, it's gonna be hands-free... >> yes, ma'am. oprah: but we prefer no phone in the car. >> yes, ma'am. oprah: yes, ma'am, ok? got that? well, you're driven, so that's ok. it's ok, but if you're ever driving yourself, you absolutely cannot be texting. go to

oprah.com to sign the pledge today. i want to just say one more thing before we go. harold crump, my first boss, my first boss--stand up, harold--harold crump, my first boss in television impressed me so much and his wife lee--hi, lee, meeting you for the first time--but let me tell you this. years ago when i was making $112 a week, harold called us all upstairs, and i went upstairs. this was thanksgiving. i thought we were gonna get a turkey, and he gave us a week's pay, and because of that, for 24 years, i've given a week's pay to every one of my staff for christmas and thanksgiving because of you. that is harold. [applause] oprah: ok. before we go, to help everybody in our studio audience get your gardens started, lowe's is giving each of you a $100 gift card. go to lowe's for all your spring needs. good-bye. harold! we're off, harold. sorry. i'll let you say it. [captioning made possible by king world] [captioned by the national captioning institute

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is out. as linsey davis reports, his meltdown on a jet blue plane has everyone talking. >> you going to lose your job? >> more than likely. >> reporter: it's a case of flight attendant turned defendant. steven slater faced a judge with the same smile he likely flashed to countless passengers as he pointed out the nearest exits. >> what happened up there? >> reporter: no runway or tarmac required. america's most infamous flight attendant flew into a rage and then simply took off. prosecutors say an unruly passenger apparently ignored his request to stay seated. she then accidentally hit him in the head with her luggage. >> called him an expletive and apparently hit him or pushed him. >> reporter: passengers say that confrontation lit slater's fuse. he then went on a verbal assault on the plane's intercom. >> did this just happen? did he just swear at a passenger on the intercom? that never happens. >> reporter: slater announced he was quitting and reportedly said, i've had it, that's it. that's when he made a split decision.

>> we just had a slide deployment, it was intentionally deployed. >> reporter: in the signed confession slater wrote, "i accessed the porthole, pulled the door handle inflating the slide, took my baggage and slid down the slide and left." his mom, who was also a flight attendant, says she would have snapped too. >> i also don't think that people who are in the service industry should be abused by anybody. >> reporter: slater's been charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and trespassing. but his turbulent meltdown has drawn sympathy from the public. >> something here has resonated with a few people and that's kind of neat. >> reporter: he now has thousands of fans on his online tribute page. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> cult hero overnight like that. isn't that incredible? >> there's a really interesting blog on "the washington post" if you haven't read it yet. basically the author talks about how this person treats airline people saying, i ring the call bell, i fall asleep in the exit

row, i do all the things i shouldn't do. she says, basically thisisisisi

parents are getting their kids ready for back to school and for tech-savvy students that means the new computer accessories. abc news tech contributor andrea smith is here this morning with her latest picks. thanks for being here. >> good morning. >> i want to start with this very cool printer. >> this is a cool printer and the reason i have it and i'm recommending it for back to school, it's an epson stylus printer. because for the first time you can really get a printer that's wireless to bring to the dorm room for under $100. this one you can get for $65. it means all the kids in the dorm or suite can share that connection. >> no one has to bring their own printer, they can all use this one, it's only 65 bucks? >> it's about $65. the schools are cutting back a little bit so they charge for printing. it's a great way for the kids to share in the dorm room. >> very nice.

good idea for the college-bound kids. >> the next thing you're going to see on campus a lot this year is the ipad. this is the wi-fi ipad. i think a lot of this, you know, schools are all wi-fi. wi-fi is free. and kids just love having this around. they can consume all their media on this, they can do e-mail, they can read books, they can play games. and i think that for the price, a lot of kids are going to want to leave the laptop in the dorm and take this with them. >> it is certainly all the rage, the ipad of course a must-have for a lot of folks. and moving on? >> speaking of reading books, there's a little bit of a price war going on right now. this is the barnes & noble nook. this is the one that has that color screen down here. and this is barnes & noble applications and -- >> this is the main competition for the kindle? >> the kindle, exactly. they've dropped their price to $139 for the wireless version, and $199 for 3g. kindle has done the same thing. $149, $199, theirs is coming out at the end of the month. e-readers, kids are able to rent

textbooks now at school. >> wow. >> big way to save money. these are so light and thin. great way to walk around campus. >> prices coming down, that's fantastic too. >> yes. >> everyone recognizes this, the iphone. >> i was going to say, one of the things, we used to always get new shoes when we went back to school. now kids get new phones. if you are shopping for a new phone this is the samsung galaxy s series. the captivate for at&t. i love this phone. it's got this beautiful four-inch screen. super thin, great social networking, it's got all kinds of applications on it. >> competition for the iphone here? >> yes, because it runs the android operating system. if you're not an iphone lover that's a great way to go. speaking of iphones and other phones, if you spent all this money on your phone, a mom has come up with a great way to protect that investment. this is something called the zom. you attach this to your key

chain. it's got this big "z" on it. attach to it your key chain and no kid goes very far without their -- >> that's for sure. >> -- cell phone. >> attached to it. >> what happens is if you go out without your phone, this will beep. i'm going to hand this off to our stagehand jim. he's going to run off and we're going to see what happens. >> run, jim, run far! >> it also acts as a personal protector. if you're walking on campus and you feel unsafe, you can set this off and an alarm will sound to call for help. >> so there's never an excuse to lose the phone. >> you can never lose your phone. and right here -- jim has now gone out of range. if i walk out the door -- thank you. if i walk out the door, i left my phone! or consequently if you leave your keys. >> as much as those things cost you don't want to lose them. great tool. >> great thing to have. this is the microsoft arc keyboard. it's a wireless keyboard. now you know kids, they just

want to be able to do things wherever they want, those dorm rooms are not always very comfortable. look at how flat and thin this is. >> so thin, light. look at that. >> lightweight, it weighs not anything. you just plug a transceiver into your laptop -- we're still beeping here -- and you can use this keyboard wherever you want. you just can do -- >> perfect. convenient and light. and for all of this we have great accessories as well. >> accessories because kids like to personalize everything they do. so the same way you shop for those comforters and sheets, laptop bags, these are from built, you can get tote bags, bags, you can get mice to make it just the way you want it. just go shopping and live it up. >> everyone has their own style. thank you so much for being here, we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> abc's andrea smith. for detailed information about any of these products logon to our facebook fan page. wnnfans.com. diabetics on medicare!

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>> and finally this half hour, the world's most popular singer that you've never even heard of. the name yoshiki probably doesn't mean anything to you now but it soon might. >> in japan he's bigger than our most popular artists and it could lead to a music invasion not seen since the beatles. here's dan harris. >> reporter: you may not have heard of yoshiki, but as we found out rather dramatically, he is a huge star in japan. even here in chicago, he was mobbed by japanese fans. he's been called the bono of

japan. ♪ >> reporter: yoshiki is so big he has his own branded visa card, his own jewelry line, his own race car team, and he's the first person ever to have a hello kitty doll named after him. now, almost 50 years after the british invasion of the beatles, yoshiki and his band, called x-japan, are mounting a japanese invasion. why do you want to come to the u.s.? >> why not? >> there hasn't been to my knowledge a big asian act that has really broken through in the u.s. do you think x can do it? >> i think so. i mean, if we don't have confidence we're not here. >> reporter: as a child he studied classical piano exclusively. until he discovered american heavy metal.

>> when i was 10, i found kiss album. i saw -- gene simmons just -- the face, the blood. what is that? i bought it. >> did it blow your mind? >> yes. >> reporter: even though yoshiki is not the singer -- he plays drums, piano, and writes all the songs -- he has become the face of the band. there was a studio in los angeles that you wanted to record in. >> it was booked. metallica was recording. >> so you just bought it? >> yes. ♪ >> reporter: this past weekend, x-japan played their first big american gig at lollapalooza in chicago. they're launching a full tour this fall and releasing their first album here with songs in english. if it works scenes like this may be playing out more often here in america. dan harris, abc news, chicago. >> he does have pretty hair, i will say that. i was trying to figure out what the sound of it was like. so i searched. people are saying it's equal parts anthrax and celine dion. for these stadiums full of people, they say it's lights,

it's laserkh

political shift. how last night's primary winners could set the stage for this fall's elections. then, alaska's tragedy. a plane crash kills a former lawmaker. >> my motto has been here, to hell with politics. >> the unforgettable ted stevens. turf trend. it's greener grass you don't have to cut or even water. it's wednesday, august 11th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i wouldn't be surprised if after all the hot weather the entire nation has been struggling through if this turf trend becomes the regular here. >> not a bad idea at all, i'll take some. >> you'll hear all about the trend coming up. good morning and thanks for being with us. i'm vinita nair.

>> i'm rob nelson. voters have gone to the polls in four states in what was the summer's busiest election day. >> last night's primary results set a political tone for november. t.j. winick is joining us from washington with more. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. anti-washington fever continued to be in the air on this primary tuesday. and many high-profile endorsements actually stole the spotlight from the candidates themselves. in connecticut, former professional wrestling executive linda mcmahon laid the smackdown on her republican senate primary opponent, former congressman rob simmons. mcmahon poured over $26 million of her own fortune into her campaign. in the georgia gop gubernatorial runoff, former congressman nathan deal squared off against secretary of state karen handel. the race had turned into a proxy race for 2012 republican presidential candidates. handel was endorsed by mitt romney and sarah palin. deal had newt gingrich and mike huckabee on his side.

>> we are very encouraged by the numbers. we hope that they will hold. but i just wanted to come out and say, thank you to all of you for all that you've done. this has been a great night for us. >> reporter: the highest-profile race of the night was easily the democratic senate primary in colorado, where senator michael bennet bested former state house speaker andrew romanoff. bennet, appointed to the seat, was branded the establishment candidate even though this was actually his first time on the ballot. in his corner, the endorser in chief, president barack obama. romanoff ran as the outsider despite his years in state politics. romanoff had the backing of former president bill clinton. bennett avoided becoming the third sitting senator this year to lose in a primary. rob and vinita? >> our thanks to t.j. a state of emergency has been declared in louisiana because of a tropical depression that is now gaining strength. >> it is expected to turn into a tropical storm that will threaten the gulf coast. accuweather's amy aaronson has

the very latest. good morning, amy. >> thank you, rob and vinita. the gulf is certainly in the spotlight. our latest lre s has been officially upgo a tropical depression. that's about 150 miles from the west coast of florida. here you can certainly see the defined circulation on the radar but looking very unorganized. we are just looking ate shower andrstovity eustained wind gusts up to 35 as it tracks northwestward here through the gulf, we are expecting it to strengthen before it makes landfall. so eventually we are expecting this to be upgraded to tropical so let's take a look at its nothing major. we are still looking at some pretty heavy rain. i think that's going to be our main impact when this is all said and done. we are expecting landfall to be mearlhurs soutr p oui but the tropical stofor warngs rom w orlean heato m .rlean heato m once it does make landfall our main impact will be heavy rain, locally between 3 and 5 inches.

now back to you, rob andta. >> our thanks to now ereok a rest of your forecast. hot and windy with thunderstorms from chicago to detroit, cleveland, and nashville. more heavy rain in the southwest drenching parts of arizona, new mexico, colorado, and utah. rain from the northern rockies into washington and or >> 70s in seattle and portland. sweltering in phoenix at 107. albuquerque 92. 86 in fargo. 90s from the twin cities, indianapolis. 86 in boston. 96 in baltimore. threatening weather forced bp and the coast guard to take action in the oil spill zone. they decided to stop drilling a relief well yesterday before the storm system formed into a tropical depression. the storm could delay work on that well by two or three days. investigators have reached the remote site of a fatal crash in alaska. that crash took the lives of five people, including former alaska senator ted stevens. brad wheelis reports on the crash near dillingham, alaska, and stevens' remarkable career. >> reporter: from washington,

d.c. to his beloved home state of alaska, former senator ted stevens is being remembered as a man as large in life as the state he represented for 40 years. president barack obama said, "michelle and i extend our condolences to the entire stevens family and to the families of those who perished alongside senator stevens in this terrible accident." stevens was among five people killed in a plane crash monday evening. the aircraft was headed to a popular fishing destination, over rugged terrain and through miserable weather, about 330 miles southwest of anchorage when it crashed. >> they estimated there was about a 100-yard gash leading up the hillside as the plane traveled up the hillside and then came to rest. >> reporter: also on board that flight, ex-nasa chief sean o'keefe. he was one of four survivors. since people in alaska use planes like automobiles, stevens was no stranger to these kinds of remote flights. ironically, he had survived a plane crash in the state in 1978. his first wife ann and all others on board perished.

stevens was the republican party's longest-running senator and was never shy about using his perch to direct federal dollars to his home state. >> my motto has been here, to hell with politics, just do what's right for alaska. >> reporter: but his penchant for earmarks eventually led to political rumblings and his connection to pork barrel projects like the infamous bridge to nowhere became an embarrassment. in 2008 stevens narrowly lost re-election days after being convicted on federal ethics charges. those charges would later be dropped. but by then stevens had largely removed himself from public life. brad wheelis, abc news. president obama signs a bill today to preserve factory jobs and help the manufacturing business. it provides more than $4.5 billion for factories. the bill's supporters say it will cut business costs and improve the export market. it should support as many as 90,000 factory jobs. the president signed a bill last night meant to keep hundreds of thousands of

teachers, police officers, and other public workers in their jobs. the $26 billion deal was signed just hours after it was approved by the house in a special one-day session. republican critics called it another example of wasteful spending. also during that one-day house session came a very unusual 37-minute rant from congressman charlie rangel. the new york democrat made one thing very clear on the floor, he is in fact ready to fight the 13 ethics charges he's now facing. senior political reporter rick kline has more. >> reporter: rangel was angry, indignant, defiant, most of all sending the message to his colleagues he's not going anywhere any time soon. this is a worst-case scenario for democrats. >> hey, if i was you i may want me to go away too. i am not going away. i am here. >> reporter: first of all, the timing. they were back in session to pass a funding bill to help schools and instead, everyone's talkut cange the second is the s the fact that he went te

house floor instead othe ethics committee, any k of venue that would be a little bit less public, is exactly the kind ots d wan i do want the dignity that the president had said. if i can't get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot in getting rid of me through expulsion. >> reporter: many democrats were urging chairman rangel to use the ethics committee rather than the house floor as a venue for this. in fact his efforts to save his job and his reputation, it may have backfired given the fact that democrats viewed this with a mixture of sadness and anger, anger chairman rangel would use a venue like this to make a personal case. it should be noted anything he said on the house floor can't be used against him. the constitution protects anything a member of congress says on the floor of congress from being used against him in any kind of proceeding. chairman rangel may not have done himself any favors and democrats eager thio away are ing the prospect of a long and protracted trial that could be

pretty embarrassing for all of their members. rob and vinita? well, there is proof this morning that chivalry is indeed dead. at least at the ballpark. houston astros on atlnta mont wh a foul ball came flying their way. the boyfriend ducked, letting the speeding ball hit his girlfriend right there in the elbow. >> jerk! his excuse, he says he did not mean to bail on his girlfriend, he insists he was trying to catch thballs br lights made him lose track of it. >> she didn't look that hurt. i think -- it's all right. >> the irony of this to me is she said -- when she got these seats she said, i don't want to thit bal he said, baby, don't worry, i'll catch any ball that comes our w >> we're s, wl ya pick a city. any city. hotwire has special deals with hotels. when hotels have unsold rooms they use hotwire to fill them, so you get them at ridiculously low prices.

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a movie. it's a story the whole world has been talking about for a day now. >> that jet blue flight attendant who quit on the spot in a pretty dramatic fashion. he is now out of jail. andrea canning reports. >> reporter: remember when being a flight attendant was a job of glamor and adventure? >> service like this, combined with a clipper's solid comfort -- >> reporter: well, those days are over. now flight attendants deal with frustrated passengers who are cramped and cranky. >> what happened up there? >> reporter: enter america's newest folk hero. steven slater, the now-infamous jet blue flight attendant, isn't being praised for saving anyone's life or averting disaster, but because he lost his cool when an unruly passenger tried to get her bag and hit him on the head. when she didn't apologize, slater got on the intercom, started swearing, and had these parting words. >> i quit, that's it, i'm done.

and i thought that was the end of it. >> reporter: until his triumphant exit, which can be heard on this airport radio traffic. >> we just had a slide deployment. it was intentionally deployed. >> reporter: slater activated the emergency inflatable chute and slid down the tarmac, but not before grabbing a few beers for the road. >> i think he just had a very small meltdown. and i think he deserves to be able to have that meltdown. >> reporter: and it isn't just his mother who's on his side. >> for people who have been pushed to the limit, steven slater is a hero. he's somebody who said, i'm out of here. he didn't say i'm out of here until he told everybody off over the loud speaker. the best thing about what he did is he proved the emergency chute actually works. >> reporter: just a day after his tarmac tantrum, the buzz around the water cooler seems to be much in his favor. there are facebook pages with tens of thousands of fans, and blogs giving him virtual pats on the back.

there are even t-shirts for sale. slater spent the day being arraigned in a new york courtroom and sitting in jail waiting to be bailed out. >> does he know that he's become somewhat of a folk hero overnight? he has thousands of fans on facebook now? >> i don't think he's aware of anything. he's been isolated from any news. he didn't know about all the news coverage. >> reporter: the fantasy about storming out of work in a blaze of glory has been a recurring theme in movieaf jennifer aniston's character "office space enough buttons at her job. >> i hate this job. 't.i hate this job. >rter "ne this one is enough to m any nrepoe ne >> i'm as mad as hell and i am not going to take this anymore! >> "network" is the iconic i'm quitting scene. peter finch deservedly won an oscar for it. unfortunately he was dead by the time he won, maybe from the rage. than mel gibson but expresses himself way more poetically.

>> reporter: only time will tell if steven slater turns into another howard beale, inspiring others to follow in his footsteps. >> steven slater just said, i'm not taking it anymore. this is it, this is the last and that's why it's such a fantasy that people are glomming on to. it's like, oh, we wish we had that in us. to tell people off and just walk away, and take two beers. that's the important thing. >> he definitely exited in a grand fashion. he is a dramatic fellow. so i wouldn't expect any less of him. >> reporter: slater now faces up to seven years behind bars for his stand. but he didn't slide into notoriety without these parting words. >> it seems like something here has resonated with a few people, and that's kind of neat. >> reporter: i'm andrea canning in new york. >> a lot of jokes going around about tguy f pe talking about there is a serious side. hay rart father recently passed away, his mother's blingce,

were also rep said he's a roeri alcoholic. he had a lot going on and he's kind of hit that breaking point. >> iis y no jet blu wo just the cos chute. $25,000. they're looking at losing tens of thousands of dollars while that jet is out of service for all of these repairs. so while he is a folk hero, i think the bottom line is we may envy him but you shouldn't do what he did. s

from stalker to blushing bride. every woman's dream, isn't it? this is an unbelievable story. it involves an nfl player, a well-known nfl player, and a woman that was not only a stalker, that he had had arrested. the man that we're talking about, kansas city chiefs wide

receiver chris chambers. you may recognize the name, you may recognize the face. apparently he was cheating on his wife christina with a woman named stacy saunders. the wife finds out. he immediately breaks things off. when i say breaks things off, he breaks off immediately. what happens next is stalking. the woman starts harassing his mother, him, his sister, his wife. eventually he has to go to the police and have her arrested, charged with 11 counts of stalking. you think the story ends there? >> of course not. >> turns out he ended things with his wife, the two went to vegas and got married. yeah. >> really? >> three days after the divorce was finalized. people are saying, he's a player, he got hit in the head a lot so this is obviously -- >> some men like crazy women. the crazier you are, somehow that's attractive to some. >> i wish that worked when i was dating. it really, really didn't. he's a big player. >> yeah, he is, absolutely. >> i think he also was with the chargers before the kansas city

chiefs. >> wow. such a surprise. >> interesting story to add to ipefr hresting story to add to i'e thrage long-lasting. all right. thanks, willis. more news from "american idol." this one a little more now. apparently fantasia, it's been a couple of years since she's been on, apparently she was sent to a north carolina hospital on monday for what they're calling a medication overdose. the timing of this will make it interesting. apparently her hospitalization came a day after she had denied publicly she broke up a marriage by having an affair with this guy. apparently the guy in question, his wife paula filed for divorce last week claiming that fantasia and her husband engaged in a "covert adulterous affair" and actually made multiple sex tapes together as well. so a little scandal now all of a sudden. medical overdose, and she's in the hospital right now. kind of a weird story. >> she's been in the headlines a lot for bad things. >> yeah.

>> we wish her the best. >> yeah, really. we'll see how that works out. >> remember when kim kardashian and justin bieber, she got death threats because tre therures well, they have done a sexy photo shoot for "elle" magazine and people are talking about it. apparently it has him and her. she's in lingerie, the two of them running in the ocean, holding hands. the photo shoot took place the bahamas. you can see some images there. it's in "elle" magazine. they say the theme of the shoot was "the graduate." for obvious reasons. >> he's only 16, a bit young to > hhe's >> i've heard her say she wants to hook him up with oneof younger sisters. >> kylie or kelie or kiwi. >> i don't know what their names are. >> something like that. i've never been jealous of him until right now. that's pretty cool. i have a serious story today. this is another one. you heard the news about lawrence fishburne's daughter montana. it kind of went public recently

she has embarked on an adult entertainment career, has a porn flick out there. she kind of sat down at her first interview and kind of confirmed her and her dad, strained relationship.

here are some stories to watch today on abc news. it is day 11 for jurors deliberating in the rod blagojevich trial in chicago. the former illinois governor is accused of trying to sell off president obama's senate seat. two nasa astronauts have a big job ahead later this morning at the international space station. they'll go on a space walk to repair a cooling pump. the holy month of ramadan starts today for muslims worldwide. the observance calls for a fast from sunrise to sunset. finally this half hour, making sure the grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence. and england will do whatever it takes to get absolutely the greenest grass. >> that includes faking it. while artificial grass won't grow, the prices are. the bbc's phil lavelle has more.

>> reporter: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. this nice, green, perfect grass is completely fake. for many garden owners these lawns are the latest craze. but while this grass may be greener than the other side, for the experts it is far from perfect. >> if you can't grow grass because you haven't got access to water or you haven't got enough soil, why not have something totally different? because fake grass doesn't look right, it doesn't feel right. it's not got that lovely feeling. nobody's going to sit on it, lie on it. i doesn't even smell right. i love the aroma of freshly cut grass. >> reporter: as you would expect those who sell this stuff disagree. they say demand has been incredibly high. in fact, one of the main chains insist it has sold double what it initially expected and it's blaming the recent dry weather. the first six months of this year in britain were the driest

since 1914. in the northwest of england there is now a house pipe ban in place. in the southeast of england, last month was unusually dry. some parts of the southeast only saw 5 millimeters of rain, less than one-quarter of the average for this time of year. at this restaurant in london they've got an amazing view. all the attention at the moment is being paid to what's on the floor. a fake lawn for the fine diners which apparelyhe >> one of the things that we've all noticed is the ladies coming out to the terrace. they look at it, they love it. they sit down and they slip their shoe off, rubbing their foot in it going, it's real! oe go's normally used in a intense amount of where or intee'siue,alt of where or >> reporter: these artificial lawns are getting a high-profile boost. wembley now has turf which is 10% fake. and the display using this kind of grass won an award at this year's chelsea flower show. this counterfeit may be controversial but it's growing. at least in popularity if not in length. phil lavelle, bbc news

oprah: we decided to do what we do best and that is a show about and with everyday people. this show always allows people to understand the power they have to change their own lives. if there is one thread running through each show we do, it is the message that you are not alone.

primary push. the political attitude after last night's key races. setting the stage for november's vote. then, lost leader. the political veteran killed in an alaska plane crash. now, the challenging investigation. and, smartphone security. what you need to know before you download an app. it's wednesday, august 11th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> more security problems with the iphone. really, all these apps? lots of danger in all that technology? >> just avoid it altogether is

rob's bottom line. >> i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. for the winners of primary elections in four states there's not much time to enjoy their victory. there are just 12 weeks until election day in november. >> between now and then, of course, there are funds to be raised and voters to be convinced. t.j. winick is in washington with a look at some of the winners and losers. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. anti-washington fever continued to be in the air on this primary tuesday, and many high-profile endorsements stole the spotlight from the candidates themselves. in connecticut, former professional wrestling executive linda mcmahon laid the smackdown on her republican senate primary opponent, former congressman rob simmons. mcmahon poured more than $26 million of her own fortune into her campaign. >> i am honored to be your republican nominee for the united states senate. >> reporter: in the georgia gop gubernatorial runoff, former congressman nathan deal squared off against secretary of state

karen handel. >> we are very encouraged by the numbers. we hope that they will hold. but i just wanted to come out and say thank you to all of you for all that you've done. this has been a great night to for us. >> reporter: the contest had turned into a proxy race for 2012 republican presidential candidates. handel was endorsed by mitt romney and sarah palin. deal had newt gingrich and mike huckabee on his side. the highest profile race of the night was easily colorado, senator michael bennet bested former state house speaker andrew romanoff. bennet, appointed to the seat, was branded the establishment candidate even though this was his first time on a ballot. in his corner, the endorser in chief, president obama. romanoff ran as the outsider. despite his years in state politics. romanoff had the backing of former president bill clinton. bennet avoided becoming the third sitting senator this year to lose in a primary. investigators have reached the remote plane crash site in alaska where former senator ted

stevens was killed. >> they say the aircraft hit a mountain with such force it left a 300-foot gash on the slope. abc's don guevara is following the investigation. >> reporter: nine people were on board that plane. it is believed that four of them survived. and those survivors had to wait overnight until search and rescue arrived. the plane crashed near dillingham, a remote part of southern alaska, more than 300 miles from anchorage. the crash killed former alaska senator ted stevens. former nasa administrator sean o'keefe and his son survived. the passengers were on board this de havilland dhc-3t aircraft. abc news has learned the pilot was not in touch with air traffic control and had not filed a flight plan. severe weather made the rescue difficult. >> they pulled four survivors from the wreckage, transported them back to dillingham. >> reporter: in a statement, the stevens family said, "we thank the brave men and women who are working to reach the site." stevens once had a dream he died in a plane crash. in 1978, he survived this lear

jet accident that killed his wife in anchorage. >> stevens and his wife were returning home to plan for the wedding of their daughter later this month. >> reporter: his run in the senate was historic, holding a seat from 1968 to 2009, longer than any other republican. but his political career ended in scandal. narrowly defeated after he was found guilty of corruption. >> i look only forward, and i still see the day when i can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me. >> reporter: the conviction was later overturned. >> he built alaska and he stood for alaska and he fought for alaska. >> reporter: the plane was traveling from one fishing lodge to another. the national transportation safety board is now investigating. in los angeles, don guevara, abc news. lawyers who defended stevens in that corruption trial are criticizing the way government prosecutors handled it. they say the verdict against the

senator was based on fabricated evidence. even after the case was dismissed against stevens the lawyers say he remained profoundly affected by the government's misconduct. now to yet another aviation accident in alaska. this one involving a rescue helicopter. the crew was on its way to help stranded sightseers on a glacier northeast of anchorage when it crashed at 8,500 feet. thankfully, no serious injuries. another rescue crew has managed to pick up three of those sightseers. an approaching storm is forcing bp and the coast guard to take action in the gulf. >> they have stopped work on a relief well in the spill zone off of louisiana's coast. the storm is expected to bring in some dangerous wind gusts and heavy surf. >> and it could form into a tropical storm named dani sometime today. accuweather's amy aaronson has more. >> a state of emergency has been declared. the reason, why our latest tropical depression. here it is, 150 miles from the west coast of florida. you can see the defined

circulation on the radar. otherwise, looking disorganized. shower and thunderstorm activity with wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour. as this continues to track northwestward through the gulf, we are expecting some development. we're not calling for a hurricane here but we are calling for tropical storm status. at least before it makes landfall on thursday. already this afternoon, we're talking bands of rain impacting the gulf coast from louisiana all the way back through the florida panhandle. as mentioned this is expected to make landfall early on your thursday. southeastern parts of louisiana. we are looking at tropical storm force warnings out from new orleans extending back through mobile into texas. and into destin, florida. in some locations up to 8 inches of rainfall. now back to you, rob and vinita. now here's a look at the rest of your wednesday weather. thunderstorms with strong winds and a chance of hail in the midwest, great lakes and ohio valley. more rain in the four corners region of the southwest.

showers from washington state 85amenegon into idaho. ->mildeeo and 91 in colorado springs. 104 in dallas. kansas city 98. omaha 94. 86 in boston. and 90s from new orleans up to new york. in northwestern china, scenes of utter devastation as a remote town struggles in the aftermath of an enormous landslide. more than 700 people have died in the disaster. more than twice are missing. some survivors say sunday's landslide was bound to happen. they say most of the area had trees that were cut down for firewood, increasing the risk of erosion. former president george w. bush was in haiti checking on rebuilding efforts following january's catastrophic earthquake. the former president met with government and local leaders and he visited facilities that received support from the clinton/bush haiti fund. the trip was meant to draw attention to the need for more aid in haiti. president obama signs a bill today that promises to help the export market and the american

economy. the $4.5 billion bill should boost the nation's factories. the bill's supporters say it should cut tariffs paid by factories for raw materials and boost exports. the legislation would also support 90,000 jobs in manufacturing. the president signed a bill meant to keep hundreds of thousands of public workers and teachers on the job. the $26 billion measure was signed just hours after it was approved by the house in that special one-day session. republican critics though co f1 play ins good news for troubled automaker toyota. a new government investigation has found no safety defects outside of the already well-publicized problem with some of their models' accelerator pedals. toyota recalled 9.5 million ca

and trucks sinclastear. exlas centered on the car' electronics systems the flight attendant known worldwide for his on-board meltdown was released from jail last night. steven slater was surrounded by reporters as he left the jail in new york. he was arrested after an argument on a jet blue plane. slater left the plane using the emergency chute and he faces a list of charges. >> tell me about what you think about all the support you've gotten. >> it's been very, very appreciated. it seems like something here has resonated with a few people. >> there are no details on who posted slater's $2,500 in bail. it was a debutante ball of sorts and the guests of honor were well-dressed, let's say, for the occasion. >> a new flock of penguin chicks took a ceremonious stroll in the march of penguins at the san francisco zoo. it's the first time the 3-month-olds are introduced to the rest of the colony. >> the march is an annual tradition to welcome newcomers who just graduated from fish

school where they learn how to swim and fish. pretty cute. >> they're so cute. till they attack, right? >> oh, no. >> i'm just kidding. very cute. >> back with more after this. glad to see you finally got around to fixing that old clock. time to stop putting things off, because time waits for no one. kind of like how you've been putting off calling about the colonial penn program? i know, i know, but i did look at the information you gave me. you know they offer affordable life insurance for people aged 50 to 85 for less than 35 cents a day, and you are guaranteed acceptance. there are no health questions, and you won't have to take a medical exam. you know, dad, they have options for people my age, too. i applied online at cpdirect.com. i wanted to make sure the girls would be taken care of if anything ever happened to me, so i added to the coverage i already have at work. it was easy.

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welcome back, everybody. the popular website craigslist of course helps connect people so they can buy and sell various items. but in some cases, sex is also what's for sale. >> now a new ad campaign is calling out the website, saying they have turned a blind eye to people victimized by prostitution. david wright reports. >> reporter: in the adult section of the popular website craigslist, the world's oldest profession meets modern technology. but are all these women consenting adults? anti-trafficking groups have published ads in "the washington post" and the "san francisco chronicle." an open letter to the founder of craigslist written by a young woman, a.k. >> i was sold for sex by the

hour at truck stops and cheap motels. >> you were posted on craigslist? >> i was posted on craigslist. a typical ad would say, sexy teen girl, if you want to have some fun, i appreciate 150 red roses per hour. >> reporter: a.k. told us pimps moved her from city to city, pocketed all the money, punished her if she ever threatened to quit. you're 20 years old now? >> yes. >> how old were you when all this started? >> i was 18 when everything began. >> reporter: attorneys general from 39 states have been monitoring adult ads on craigslist for what they say is blatant prostitution. >> i think in the same way that we can't sell crack cocaine over craigslist, we can't allow prostitution to happen over craigslist. >> this is david wright calling from abc news, i'm trying to get ahold of craig newmark. >> reporter: we reached the founder of craigslist by telephone, who declined to comment. a response to a.k.'s ad on the company blog insists, craigslist is virtually alone among advertising venues in vigorously combating exploitation and trafficking. the company says it manually reviews every adult ad prior to posting it, to prevent the site

from being used for prostitution. and they've created special victim search interfaces for law enforcement. but the company also collects $10 to $15 for every adult ad. an estimated $36 million a year. david wright, abc news, washington. >> and craigslist went on in the blog to sort of say, you know, to the people who have written these ads that showed up in the papers, we've tried to cross-reference and find out what cities you actually filed police reports, so if you can give us more information we will certainly try to help. so on craigslist's end they have certainly made it seem as if they want to get involved and they want to help. >> and manually screen, you'd hope they'd weed some of that stuff out. >> anybody who's been on craigslist knows it's a problem. security threats involve some very popular cell phones. >> what you need to know to protect yourself.

i think we all pretty much know apple's popular tag line. "there's an app for that." well, it seems when it comes to identity theft, there is an app for that. >> hard to escape. hackers are creating fake applications for smartphones to steal your identity. the bbc's mark ward shows us how they're doing it. ♪ >> reporter: when mobile phones

were launched in the 1980s, the idea of being able to receive calls on the go seemed like a miracle. today, our mobiles help organize every aspect of our lives so they've become a gold mine of information that fraudsters are keen to get their hands on. >> mobile devices really are becoming intrinsically linked to people's lives and to their wallets. people store sensitive information such as credit card details and bank p.i.n. numbers. by inserting viruses either into these applications or onto the device, they now have access to a range of information. >> reporter: many of the handy programs on the new phones are downloaded to our devices. millions are bought every day and are fine. but a small minority are the work of criminals who want to access the data on your phone. to understand just how easy it is to become a cyber fraudster, i created a program that once installed on a smartphone steals information and spies on the owner. it was easily done using parts that already exist online. outwardly my program resembles a game of naughts and crosses.

under the hood it is stealing valuable information and sending it to an e-mail account i set up. >> that's the scary thing, on the face of the application, be it a simple game or something that's a simple -- simple application that is for fun, can have behavior that is not visible at the surface. and this behavior can be things like hooking into the gps tracking information on your phone, hooking into your text messages. so far, the number of dangerous or booby-trapped applications are low. but they are likely to multiply. and there are ways of spotting if your handset is running one. >> an obvious tell-tale sign on the phone is if all of a sudden your battery life is deteriorating. you wake up one morning and your battery is being drained. that might indicate some of the data is being taken off your phone overnight. look at your billing information every month. if there are strange numbers

appearing on your phone bill, that might indicate there's some bad software on there. >> reporter: some of the online stores selling these programs say they have defenses in place. if you stay alert and stay on top of your bill, you should be able to keep up with the criminals. mark ward, bbc news. >> nothing is safe. it's so frustrating. keep up with your bill to make sure you're not paying too much. >> it's funny how you pay for an app, then you pay for an app to stop somebody hacking into the app you paid for. >> going and going and going. >> as we mentioned yesterday, pop-tarts world is now open for business in new york's times square. >> customers came dressed for the occasion. they were treated to samples of brand-new flavors including ice cream sandwich and vanilla milkshake. >> the star was pop-tart sushi. they're making it right there. it is pop-tarts wrapped up in a fruit roll-up. it's very bizarre looking. this is a colored fruit roll-up. then there's mashed-up pop-tarts right in the center. >> you're going to try? >> i'm going to pass that on to you, my friend.

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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> welcome back, everybody. of course, the talk of the country is this jet blue flight attendant who quit his job in very subtle ways yesterday, jumping off that plane and grabbing the beer and running off and all that stuff. of course it didn't take long for copycats to spring up. apparently there's this girl named jenny, there's some e-mail floating around. we should warn you, e-mails are floating around, there's also word this could be a hoax, this may not be real, this could be a fun copycat thing. apparently she quit her job by e-mailing these photos to her office saying, i quit. no formal letter, no entrance no dramatic whatever. just e-mailed these photos.

then, being your assistance has been a special hell. that's how jenny walked out. >> i think our viewers at home don't expect the most authoritative papers from us. if this is a hoax we apologize. if you believe all our "papers" i apologize to you at home. >> no kidding. cheap laugh. >> take a look at this, this is what's happening on a roadside outside of maine. this started off with a tv. you're going to realize it's obviously not a real person. what essentially happened is someone left a tv outside, kind of near the side of the road. the next thing he knows, someone puts a mannequin nearby it. next thing he knows, there's a hard hat. next thing, a baseball cap. this has turned into basically a still life. the guy's saying it's evolved every day. one day someone put a hat, someone will steal that hat and put another hat. what it is a legless mannequin. watching that tv, a monster energy drink in hand and plugged-in lamp at his side. he said this is getting a lot of people driving down this road to stop and take a look. hilarious that it started with

just a regular old tv and people were that creative. adding and taking, adding a taking. >> he'll have a wife, kids a dog in a few weeks. leave it to the folks in san francisco to come up with something this cool. everyone hates parking no matter where you live. particularly in a city like new york, parking's always a mess. very bright folks out there in city government in san francisco have launched what they're calling a smart parking meter. get, this you'll be able to -- they will have parking meters there that will change their prices based on supply and demand. it will accept credit cards. it will help you look for an open parking space, helping you on your computer or smartphone to find a space. and data on parking availability will also be available via text messaging and electronic displays. all that on the smart parking meter. >> i originally was annoyed when i heard it could go by demand. but they are saying it's going to be like a 50 cent change at most.

>> that aipipipipipipipipipipipo

vaey roa a lawmaker's legacy. the former alaska senator killed in a plane crash. how ted stevens will be remembered. then, airline anxiety. >> did he just swear at a passenger on the intercom? >> the melt-down that made a flight attendant famous. and, classroom gadgets. the latest in high-tech for back to school. it's wednesday, august 11th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i don't know about you but like the biggest gadget when i was in school, the mechanical pencils came out, the refillable lead? remember those things? you clicked the side or the top? that was the cool thing.

>> being a lot younger than you. >> oh! >> i'm just kidding. i know what you're talking about. it's hard to believe back to school is here. >> i know, august already. summer goes fast every year. back to it. we're still here. >> working is worse. trust me. >> no kidding. enjoy school. good morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. we are learning new details about the plane crash that killed alaska's former senator ted stevens and four others. >> investigators say their plane hit a mountaineer dillingham, alaska, with such force it left a 300-foot gash on the slope. the survivors are now in a a 300-foot gash on the slope. the survivors are now in a neal karlinsky rts. >> reporter: this was the plane, seen here on an earlier flight, that was taking former senator ted stevens and the others on what was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip near bristol bay. the plane had taken off at 2:00 p.m. for a 200-mile flight to the fishing lodge. but the plane flew into poo visibility, heavy fog and rain.

by 7:30 p.m., a passing aircraft spotted wreckage and called for search teams. >> i'm out in this area, about 17 miles north of dillingham, and i've got a 40-degree slope up the mountain itself -- >> reporter: a private rescue team managed to reach the site before nightfall. miraculously, they found survivors. but they spent the night on the mountain. weather was so bad it would be a full 12 hours after the crash until the national guard could lower in a medical team by helicopter. >> they worked and pulling four survivors from the wreckage, transported them back to dillingham. >> reporter: despite the big mountains and treacherous weather in alaska, tiny planes are an everyday means of transportation. >> the airplanes may not be as well equipped and the weather can blow off immediately and give you all sorts of problems. >> the senator is listed in fair condition at a local hospital -- >> reporter: senator stevens had survived another plane crash in december 1978 in anchorage that killed five people, including

his first wife, ann. the state is mourning those who lost their lives, especially the long-time senator who was their most loyal supporter and fiercest defender. >> citizens of alaska, we have a long road of grief to walk. >> reporter: even now, we're told, there is poor visibility and heavy rain at the scene of the crash. but for now there are no details as to their exact conditions. neal karlinsky, abc news, anchorage. >> most of the nation may remember ted stevens as the sometimes cranky senator from alaska but he was an icon in his home state. george stephanopoulos has a look back at stevens' career. >> reporter: during his 40 years in the u.s. senate, ted stevens didn't hide his irascible side. >> no! no, i will not. >> reporter: he never apologized for using all that power he built up to enrich alaska. >> my motto has been here, to hell with politics, just do what's right for alaska. >> reporter: a decorated veteran of world war ii, stevens flew in combat with the flying tigers. as a senator, few did more for their home state. for the toughest fights, stevens

wore an incredible hulk neck tie. in 2008, stevens narrowly lost re-election days after being convicted on federal ethics charges. >> i treasure every moment i spent here representing alaska and alaskans. the land and the people that i love. >> reporter: the conviction would later be tossed out. but by then stevens was already back home. >> that again was abc's george stephanopoulos reporting. among the crash survivors are the former head of nasa, sean o'keefe, and his teenaged son. o'keefe and ted stevens were long-time friends from their days working together in washington. now to another aviation accident in alaska. a rescue helicopter has crashed there, as well. the chopper crew was trying to reach a group of sightseers stranded on a glacier northeast of anchorage. the helicopter crashed at 8,500 feet. thankfully no one was hurt. another crew flew to the site. to rescue three of those sightseers. more rough tropical weather is threatening the gulf coast. a tropical depression formed

over the gulf of mexico last night, triggering tropical storm warnings from just west of new orleans all the way to the florida panhandle. the storm is on track to make landfall in louisiana tomorrow and the governor there has already declared a state of emergency. bp and the coast guard are taking no chances as that storm approaches, so they have suspended drilling on a relief well. forecasters say tropical storm winds are possible by late this afternoon. waves in the oil spill area could get up to 11 feet. now here is a look at the rest of your wednesday weather. that tropical depression brings up to 3 inches of rain to the gulf coast states. thunderstorms and gusty winds across the ohio valley, great lakes and midwest. more rain in the southwest. showers in idaho, eastern oregon, and washington. >> 88 in boise. 90 in salt lake city. the heat wave continues in the middle of the country. 90s from minneapolis to kansas city. and 104 in dallas. 93 here in new york. and 88 in miami.

well, it is on to november's elections for the winners of primaries in four states. former world wrestling entertainment executive linda mcmahon won connecticut's republican senate primary. in colorado, senator michael bennet, who bucked the anti-incumbent trend, won his state's democratic senate primary. bennett will face republican ken buck this fall, a tea party favorite. in minnesota, tom emmer won the republican nomination for governor. the georgia republican governors race is too close to call this morning. it could be decided when the provisional and militar are coun despite the advice of his friends, colleagues, and attorneys, new york democric congressman charlie ange delivered a 37-minute rant on the floor of the house. during his speech, rangel made it clear that he is not resigning because of the 13 ethics charges he's now facing. and he demandet thhics committee move forward with his case. >> don't leave me swinging in the wind until november. for god's sake, just don't

believe that i don't have feelings, that i don't have pride, that -- that i do want the dignity that the president had said. if i can't get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot in getting rid of me through expulsion. >> rangel also admitted he's made mistakes in the past but said he is not corrupt. one of the reasons why he spoke on the house floor is that nothing he said can be used against him. the federal reserve says the economic recovery has hit a slow-down and it is taking drastic action. the fed's basic plan is to spend money by buying government debt. that is aimed at helping the economy grow faster and driving interest rates on mortgages and corporate loans a bit lower. the amount of money the fed is going to spend is considered relatively small, about $10 billion a month. >> the reason they're deploying this money in this way is to make sure that any kind of gap they're applying to the economic car is actually continuing over the next several months to help the economy.

>> the admission from the fed that the recovery is slowing is in stark contrast to just two months ago. that is when the fed claimed the recovery was proceeding and the job market was improving. president obama signs a bill aimed at bolstering the nation's manufacturers today. it's expected to boost factory production by more than $4.5 billion. the bill's supporters say it will cut business costs and improve the export market. the legislation would also support 90,000 manufacturing jobs. the president has already signed a bill meant to keep hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers in their jobs. the president signed the $26 billion legislation just hours after it was approved by the house during a special one-day session. republican critics of the bill said it added too much to the nation's debt. well, it was quite a battle to reel in a colossal catch but it almost backfired on a group of fishermen. >> this gigantic catfish in missouri didn't go down without a fight. how big is that thing?

115 pounds. it took these guys on a wild ride in the mississippi river, pulling their boat for about a mile. they say they finally got the upper hand after a merely hour-long struggle. >> the fishermen plan to have the catfish officially weighed by the conservation department to see if it was a record catch. that would be one heck of a fish fry. >> oh, yeah. you know it. >> we'll be right back. [ bride ] the wedding was just days away. suddenly, i noticed my smile wasn't white enough. now what? [ female announcer ] introducing crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. start seeing results in 3 days. [ bride ] this day will stand out forever and i've got a smile that stands out, too. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. also try crest 3d white toothpaste and rinse

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when pain keeps you up, nothing is proven to help you fall asleep faster than advil pm liqui-gels. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. at some point or another, many of us, including vinita, have had a job we just couldn't take anymore. we wanted the guts to do something about it. >> a job before this one. right? >> right. >> flight attendant steve slater did do something about it. he ended up in jail but now he

is out. as linsey davis reports his melt-down on a jet blue plane has everyone talking. >> you going to lose your job? >> more than likely. >> reporter: it's a case of flight attendant turned defendant. steven slater faced a judge with the same smile he likely flashed at countless passengers as he pointed out the nearest exits. >> what happened up there? >> reporter: no runway or tarmac required. america's most infamous flight attendant flew into a rage and then simply took off. prosecutors say an unruly passenger apparently ignored his request to stay seated. she then accidentally hit him in the head with her luggage. >> called him an expletive and apparently hit him or pushed him. >> reporter: passengers say that confrontation lit slater's fuse. he then went on a verbal assault on the plane's intercom. >> did this just happen? did he just swear at a passenger on the intercom? that never happens. >> reporter: slater announced he was quitting and reportedly said, i've had it, that's it. that's when he made a split decision.

>> we just had a slide deployment, it was intentionally deployed. >> reporter: in the signed confession slater wrote, i accessed the porthole, pulled the door handle inflating the slide, took my baggage and slid down the slide and left. his mom, who was also a flight attendant, says she would have snapped, too. >> i also don't think that people who are in the service industry should be abused by anybody. >> reporter: slater's been charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and trespassing. but his turbulent melt-down has drawn sympathy from the public. >> something here has resonated with a few people and that's kind of neat. >> reporter: he now has thousands of fans on his online tribute page. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> cult hero overnight like that. isn't that incredible? >> there's a really interesting blog on "the washington post" if you haven't read it yet. basically the author talks about how this person treats airline people saying, i ring the call bell, i fall asleep in the exit row, i do all the things i

shouldn't do. she says, basically this incident makes herererererererer

parents are getting their kids ready for back to school and for tech-savvy students that means the new computer accessories. abc news tech contributor andrea smith is here this morning with her latest picks. good morning. thanks for being here. >> good morning. >> i want to start with this very cool printer. >> this is a cool printer and the reason i have it and i'm recommending it for back to school, it's an epson stylus printer. because for the first time you can really get a printer that's wireless to bring to the dorm room for under $100. this one you can get for $65. it means all the kids in the dorm or suite can share that connection. >> so no one has to bring their own printer. they can all use this one. it's only 65 bucks? >> it's about $65. the schools are cutting back a

little bit so they charge for printing. it's a great way for the kids to share in the dorm room. >> very nice. good idea for the college-bound kids. >> the next thing you're going to see on campus a lot this year is the ipad. this is the wi-fi ipad. i think a lot of this, you know, schools are all wi-fi. wi-fi is free. and kids just love having this around. they can consume all their media on this, they can do e-mail, they can read books, they can play games. and i think that for the price, a lot of kids are going to want to leave the laptop in the dorm and take this with them. >> it is certainly all the rage, the ipad of course a must have for a lot of folks. and moving on? >> speaking of reading books there's a little bit of a price war going on right now. this is the barnes & noble nook. this is the one that has that color screen down here. and this is barnes & noble applications and -- >> this is the main competition for the kindle? >> the kindle, exactly. they've dropped their price to

$139 for the wireless version, and $199 for 3g. kindle has done the same thing. $149, $199, theirs is coming out at the end of the month. e-readers, kids are able to rent textbooks now at school. >> wow. >> big way to save money. these are so light and thin. great way to walk around campus. >> prices coming down, that's fantastic, too. >> yes. >> everyone recognizes this, the iphone. >> i was going to say, one of the things, we used to always get new shoes when we went back to school. now kids get new phones. if you are shopping for a new phone this is the samsung galaxy s series. the captivate for at&t. i love this phone. it's got this beautiful four-inch screen. super thin, great social networking, it's got all kinds of applications on it. >> competition for the iphone here? >> yes, because it runs the android operating system. if you're not an iphone lover that's a great way to go. speaking of iphones and other phones, if you spent all this money on your phone, a mom has

come up with a great way to protect that investment. this is something called the zom. you attach this to your key chain. it's got this big "z" on it. attach to it your key chain and no kid goes very far without their -- >> that's for sure. >> -- cell phone. >> attached to it. >> what happens is if you go out without your phone, this will beep. i'm going to hand this off to our stagehand jim. he's going to run off and we're going to see what happens. >> run, jim, run far! >> it also acts as a personal protector. if you're walking on campus and you feel unsafe, you can set this off and an alarm will sound to call for help. >> so there's never an excuse to lose the phone. >> you can never lose your phone. and right when here -- jim has now gone out of range. [ alarm beeping ] if i walk out the door -- thank you. if i walk out the door, i left my phone! or consequently if you leave your keys. >> as much as those things cost you don't want to lose them.

great tool. >> great thing to have. this is the microsoft arc now you know kids, they just want to be able to do t3 verantm rooms are nvery comfortab lk att anthis lk att ahinis >> lightweight, it weighs no anything. you just plug a transceiver into your laptop -- we're still beeping here -- and you can use this keyboard wherever you want. you just can do -- >> perfect. convenient and light. and for all of this we have great accessories as well. >> accessories because kids like to personalize ing - >> accessories because kids like to personalize ing - laptop bags, these are from built, you can get tote bags, bags, you can get mice to make it just the way you want it. just go shopping and live it up. >> everyone has their own style. thank you so much for being here, we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> abc's andrsmit for details information about any of these products logon to our facebook fan page. wnnfans.com. diabetics on medicare!

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♪ and finally this half hour, the world's most popular singer that you've never even heard of. the name yoshiki probably doesn't mean anything to you now but it soon might. >> in japan he's bigger than our most popular artists and it could lead to a music invasion not seen since is beat -- since the beatles. here's dan harris. >> reporter: you may not have heard of yoshiki, but as we found out rather dramatically, he is a huge star in japan.

even here in chicago, he was mobbed by japanese fans. >> back, back! >> reporter: he's been called the bono of japan. ♪ >> reporter: yoshiki is so big he has his own branded visa card, his own jewelry line, his own race car team, and he's the first person ever to have a hello kitty doll named after him. now, almost 50 years after the british invasion of the beatles, yoshiki and his band, called x-japan, are mounting a japanese invasion. why do you want to come to the u.s.? >> why not? >> there hasn't been to my knowledge a big asian act that has really broken through in the u.s. do you think x can do it? >> i think so. i mean, if we don't have confidence, we are not here. >> reporter: as a child he studied classical piano exclusively. until he discovered american heavy metal. >> when i was 10, i found kiss album. i saw -- gene simmons just --

the face, the blood. what is that? i bought it. >> did it blow your mind? >> yes. >> reporter: even though yoshiki is not the singer -- he plays drums, piano, and writes all the songs -- he has become the face of the band. there was a studio in los angeles that you wanted to record in. >> it was booked. metallica was recording. >> so you just bought it? >> yes. ♪ >> reporter: this past weekend, x-japan played their first big american gig at lollapalooza in chicago. they're launching a full tour this fall and releasing their first album here. with songs in english. if it works scenes like this may be playing out more often here in america. dan harris, abc news, chicago. >> he does have pretty hair, i will say that. i was trying to figure out what the sound of it was like. so i searched. people are saying it's equal parts anthrax and celine dion. for these stadiums full of people, they say it's lights, it's lasers, it's pyrotechnics.

it's l