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oprah: all these great legends of soaps. so over the years, we've seen all of your characters do some outrageous things, outrageous things. so what is the most outrageous thing your character has ever done? jeanne... >> what? oprah: craziest thing. ha ha! "what?" >> what? what? oprah: what? >> katherine decides she's goink to commit suicide. she got drunk on a cruise ship, jumped overboard thinking she would drown, and she got picked up by

a cuban rebel wh to-- [laughter] gle. >> took her to the jungle. they had a mad love affair, and she came back to the united states. i haven't seen him since. [laughter] oprah: that's good. all right. tony? >> what do you think, genie? saving the world... >> i'd say saving the world has to be the craziest. >> from the weather machine, which is going on in chicago right now. oprah: michael? where's michael? >> i think if you're 22 years old and you got to start a character on a soap opera, i think doing the mother and the daughter thing is-- [laughter] a heck of an entree. let me tell you. oprah: this has been so much fun, hasn't it, audience? [cheers] oprah: thank you. you can catch "all my children," "general hospital" weekdays on abc, and "the young and the restless" on cbs. bye, everybody.

thank you, guys. thank you, husbands! [captioning made possible by king world]

married. now, this is more than 2,000 miles. think they're having some doubts maybe? >> i don't know. >> they're heading out in about ten days and expect to arrive in time for their september ceremony. >> wow. the couple met in middle school and got the idea from a book called "don't get married." or, no, wait a minute. the book was actually called no, wait a minute. "the lost art of walking." they say it's a test to see if the two paths become one and if not you have two eligible bachelors or you have a bachelor and bachelorette. >> before you commit for the rest of your life. >> i suppose. we wish them well obviously. >> see if they make it. they've got months now. we'll be back with more. >> announcer: world weather brought to you by the scooter store.

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too well for libyan strongman moammar gadhafi. they've taken a big bite out of his military capacity but some of the key advisers have defected. >> but that's not how gadhafi's spokane doctor sees it. his son saif reached out to the b bchbc's john simpson to tell it his way. >> reporter: what began as an armed uprising has become a war with western air power helping the rebels against colonel gadhafi's government. when i met saif, you thought he put forward a peace proposal but instead he gave his interpretation of the war, interference by the west, he said. >> the whole nation is fighting the armed militia. we saw them on bbc. they are like 10, 20, 15, not more. small number of other people fighting the whole nation, but now they have the americans,

the british, french, belgium, everybody is fighting with them. so that's why they are strong. >> reporter: the thing there is defections from the gadhafi government, especially from the foreign minister moussa coosa who knows many of the regime's darker secrets. but saif insists he left for health reasons and had no real secrets to tell. >> you have to invent them in order to give you immunity. so what kind of -- >> reporter: you think he's inventing stories? >> the british government said you have no immunity unless you cooperate. >> reporter: so what about the future? will colonel gadhafi hang on to power, or will it all end up with his death? >> the whole country wants to leave to where? the caribbean, zimbabwe, uganda? >> reporter: the latest sighting almost of colonel gadhafi on libyan television surrounded by his followers except you can't

quite see him, and we don't know when the pictures were filmed. he's lost half his country but in spite of the western intervention, his grip on the other half is still pretty strong, and it's anybody's guess how the stalemate is going to be broken. john simpson, bbc news, tripoli. >> okay, well, when we come back, who got booted off "dancing with the stars" and why. and family secrets and ashley judd's new memoirs is all in "the skinny." right after this. >> can't wait. om woirs all in "the skinny."

♪ skinny so skinny and time now for "the skinny" one of our favorite parts of the day, and we're talking with "dancing with the stars," of course, and there was an elimination last night and, how you doin'. wendy williams, how you doin'? i can't do it like wendy does it. >> she can't dance either. >> but god bless her, everybody loves her, and she was eliminated last night from "dancing with the stars."

if you've been watching the show, you know why. she can't dance. >> you know what, let's hear her parting words because they were definitely poignant. let's take a little listen, hopefully. >> i'm probably the busiest person in terms of flying back and forth, you're right. in addition to that, i have a marriage, a child and a litany of other things to hold together, so this has been a wonderful opportunity for me, and i want to thank the judges and i want to thank you also, tony, for teaching me how to dance. despite stereotypes this is one black girl that can't even do "the running man." >> anyone who has seen it, but she handled it so nice, as a lady. it was a nice parting speech. that's always hard. they make you dance right after they ditch you. you know? >> uncomfortable. you're not good enough but -- >> by the way, it looks like maks was moving around fine. he took a tumble with kirstie alley. looks like he's okay. so wendy williams is talking about coming back to new york. she shoots another show on a network shoot in the morning and then the "today" show, and

there's an interesting report out in the "tv guide" saying possibly meredith vieira won't be at the "today" show for long. it says she's thinking of leaving and maybe sign a one-year deal when her contract expired last year, and it's all because it seems like her husband's health, he's not doing so well. >> sure, and, of course, by all accounts by viewers and also that people work for her, she's very, very well liked. her husband's been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years and cancer as well, so there's speculation that perhaps she'll take some time off and tend to him. but who knows. >> and the rumor now that katie couric might sort of come back to her old spot. >> wouldn't that be interesting? >> it would be interesting. >> i don't know if that's going to happen. also coming up making big waves, ashley judd, of course, the other sister of the judds. winona and naomi who travel and have many hits out there in the country world. well, ashley made a great name for herself as an actress but she's just come out with this

book that is called "all that is bitter and sweet" in which she reveals she suffered a lot in the family. she said there was some sexual abuse, there was some substance abuse and at one point in time apparently mother, sister and they said our family put the fun in dysfunction. ashley said, you know what, mom and sister, it wasn't so fun for me. it was traumatic and she's really dishing up everything in this book. >> the judds were iconic and still are in the music scene and of course she's on the silver screen so there you go. some engagement news. i know you love these stories. >> i do. not to be vain, i want to see this ring that's going to come from this engagement. >> there it is. shawn parker of facebook made his real fame back in 19 999 wh he founded napster, the file-sharing service for music so he's engaged and wish him well. >> you can't see the ring but when you think about this guy, what kind of prenup do you have

to put together when you get hitched when you're a. co-founder of facebook? >> singer/songwriter. >> yeah. and stay asleep, fall asleep so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com.

sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. maybe you don't think you're at isk for heart attack or stroke but if you've been diagnosed with p.a.d., or have pain or heaviness in yur legs, i want to talk to you. you may have heard of poor leg circulation, which could be peripheral artery dsease, or p.a.d. with p.a.d., if you have poor circulation in your legs, you may also have poor circulation in your heart or in your brain, your risk for heart attack or stroke is more than doubled with p.a.d. now, ask yourself: am i at risk? if you're not sure, call for this free information kit to learn more. [ female announcer ] call the toll free number on the screen now

to find out what the risks of p.a.d. really are. you'll find a 7-point checklist that helps you understand what could be putting you at risk. if you have symptoms, you'll learn how treating symptoms is different from reducing your risk. you'll also learn .about lifestyle changes and treatment options that can help reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke. there's even a discussion guide for ou to bring to your doctor that can help you discuss .a.d. together. call the toll free number .on the screen for your free information kit today. the risk is real. take the next step. call today.

here's some stories to watch today on abc news. while congress works on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, president obama heads to philadelphia. he'll hold a town hall on building a clean energy economy. and the trial of the italian premiere silvio berlusconi begins in milan facing charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute and then covered it up. and nfl players hit the courtroom and not the field to argue about the owner's lockout and if it should be lifted. the $9 billion business has been hold for three weeks now. >> get it together, guys. >> yeah, seriously. we don't want to pop your bubble but the next guy in our next story just might. >> that's because he has just set the world record for the biggest bubble ever, big aspirations there. he also probably wants to hold on to this title. amy powell of kabc-tv has more.

>> reporter: fen yang has turned his childhood passion into an art form. his performances during the discovery science center's bubblefest demonstrates the science and creativity that goes into making bubbles of all shapes and sizes. >> i knew how beautiful it would be to make a big bubble and be inside but i never thought i would one day bring this to stages around the world. >> reporter: he's going for a guinness world record attempting to put 150 people inside a massive bubble. dozens of children and adults helped gather for the record. i couldn't resist going for the fun. >> it's so massive, it's so big that small mistakes can make the entire system collapse so because of the giant nature of the bubble, if you touch any dry surface area it will explode, pop. one, two, three, go. >> reporter: three attempts,

three successes. yang now holds the guinness world record for most people in a bubble, a thrill that made the bubble volunteers burst with excitement. >> i was inside, the wall, bubbles everywhere. >> it was awesome and it was really, really fun. it was exciting. >> it's been a dream of my daughter's and my son's for quite some time. our last name is mcguinness. so it's almost fitting. >> we equally enjoyed this natural phenomenon. it's just beautiful. >> that is pretty cool. >> and fan yang has already set 16 guinness world records for bubble stuff, so one more. >> which is impressive. >> it's impressive. 16 more than me. >> breaking all the bubble records. >> that's the news for this half hour. oh, come on now. check us out on facebook. more bubble stf and check us out on facebook. more bubble stuff and catch our tweets on twitter. >> be inside the bubble.

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this morning on "world news now," rethinking retirement. just as baby boomers are ready to enter the golden years of their life, a new investigation shows they're not ready. >> wait fill you hear how many boomers will have to go back to work because they aren't financially ready for retirement. >> it's wednesday, april 6th. >> good morning, i'm peggy bunk ki. >> and i'm mike marusarz. a new investigation shows 44% aren't sure they have enough to retire and millions haven't saved anything at all. we'll break down the numbers. >> pretty tough numbers and a lot of people are being forced to stay in the workforce. most of the south is cleaning up this morning after a

record-breaking day of severe storms. we'll take a look at the damage and also your forecast coming up. and is the end near? with all the recent earthquakes, tornadoes, there are those out there that think the world is, in fact, coming to an end. survival school, are you prepared? >> that's right. there is such a thing. we're going to tell you all bit. but first, the golden years may turn out to be tarnished for millions of baby boomers. a landmark investigation now find that millions don't have enough money to retire. >> and others will just have to scrape by. david muir has a look at the story behind the numbers. >> reporter: their first words on those little faces, boomer babies born between 1946 and 1964. in fact, just today another 11,000 of them turned 65. but looming larger than any birthday wish, wishes for retirement now rapidly changing and here's why. 6 in 10 say their investments, retirement plans and their homes have lost significant value in the just the last three years.

almost half of them, 42%, now delaying retirement. and their savings accounts, were not ready for this. nina scott is 56, she and her husband teachers near boston. she planned to retire before he did. now both are working at least another decade. >> i worry if there was an emergency, absolutely. i worry about the health care. i worry about if we've socked away enough to look after each other. >> reporter: she doesn't envision an extravagant retirement by any stretch. simple wishes now, enough to afford visiting their children in a hotel room. they don't want to burden them and at home they want to be able to afford their dogs. one in four boomers who are still working say they don't see a day when they can retire and the same number have no retirement savings. 64% see social security as a key part of their safety net. on the flip side, just 11% are deeply confident they're ready for retirement. john and jeanette urbom near kansas city, their

wishes for retirement have grown simpler too. their first granddaughter changed everything. they're considering downsizing their home to pad their savings because now, most important is to pay for the plane trip to visit olivia grace in denver. >> that's about all we think about anymore. >> john wants to teach her how to fish. we want to feel comfortable that, yes, we can buy a plane ticket and be out there in a day. >> reporter: they'll be able to teach her more than just fishing because financial experts say they did three things everybody should do. talk about it, hit it head-on. address the situation for about three days. they'll work five years longer and they tore down their expectations so that flight from kansas city to denver, it won't be a trip to the islands or a trip to the beach, but olivia will be at the other end. david muir, abc news, new york. >> true. well, there is another disappointment now looming for retirees. their next social security

checks could be delayed along with tax refund checks and other government funding. that's because congressional democrats and republicans still have not agreed on a current budget and the temporary funding runs out friday. there were meetings at white house and on capitol hill yesterday but no progress has been reported. it's been 15 years since the last time the federal government shut down. federal agencies are now drawing up plans for which employees will be furloughed and which programs will stop operating. but how likely is a shutdown? we asked our white house correspondent jake tapper. >> reporter: well, i'd say right now it's about 50/50, although both sides want to avoid it but they're preparing for a shutdown. the white house sent out a memo to departments and agencies telling them to alert top managers to prepare for a contingency for a shutdown but they're still having negotiations. house speaker boehner met with democratic senate leader harry reid and president obama said if they're able to hammer

things out, great. if not, he wants everybody back at the white house. >> thank you, jake. believe it or not, the federal fiscal year actually started october 1st. so the government has been operating on temporary extensions for more than six months and talks are already under way for next year's budget. workers at japan's damaged nuclear plant have finally stopped the flood of radioactive water flowing into the ocean. officials had insisted the contaminated water would not hurt seafood. but the japanese government set limits for the first time on the amount of radiation that's permitted in fish. a deadly spring storm that ripped through nearly 20 states may be the worst severe weather outbreak ever. there were some 40 reports of tornados and at least nine people were killed from the south, mostly from falling trees. more from t.j. winick. >> reporter: imagine one minute you're inside your house, all is quiet and the next -- >> i said get up, get up. i thought it was a tornado. >> reporter: virginia strickland's home in jackson, mississippi, got an unexpected renovation. >> took the roof off. >> reporter: completely off? >> off. the top floor is completely

gone. >> reporter: the massive and violent line of weather stretched from new england to the gulf of mexico. there have been over 1,000 storm reports in 18 states. that's the worst severe weather outbreak in at least 11 years. >> almost knocked a man down. my car is physically shaking. >> reporter: at least 20 twisters touched down. that's likely what tore this kentucky auto plant apart. seven employees were injured. >> i saw everything flying and grabbed the closest person to me and we hit the floor. >> reporter: home, church steeples, nothing was spared. >> a vehicle struck a tree. a young man that was in it was pretty much killed on impact. >> reporter: another man died in tennessee after he stepped on a downed power line while clearing debris. a tree slammed through this home in little rock, arkansas. >> tore the house completely up. we don't look that good but we're alive and healthy and blessed. >> reporter: t.j. winick, abc news, new york. looking now at your wednesday weather, those storms

have moved out to sea making for a much calmer day. just showers now in the ohio valley, chicago and also detroit. a soaker from seattle to portland. and heavy snow in the cascades. about 6 to 12 inches also in the rockies. >> mostly 50s from billings to salt lake city. 77 in albuquerque. 89 in phoenix. indianapolis gets up to 63. kansas city 70 and dallas, 81. 55 in boston. 68 in atlanta. and 74 in new orleans. well, boeing is now rushing to create inspection and repair instructions for hundreds of planes after admitting that it made a miscalculation. engineers say that they expected the metal joints on their 737 jetliners would eventually begin to wear but certainly didn't think it would happen so soon. at least five planes have turned up now with cracks in their fuselage. well, things are back to normal now at the international space station. for a while yesterday, nasa was worried a piece of space junk might actually collide with the station. so the three astronauts on board

were told to get ready to evacuate. but then the junk veered off and the alert was lifted. one of the astronauts said he was disappointed. he was looking forward to going out and picking up a pizza. >> oh, my goodness. they are their own breed. they're very brave, the astronauts. >> if you're watching us you probably understand what it's like to function on very, very little sleep. and for an elite few that's all they need to thrive. >> yeah, according to "the wall street journal," 1% to 3% of the population only need four hours of sleep a night. no naps. no coffee. the biologically wired short sleepers tend to be optimistic and outgoing. >> as for the rest of us, we run on very little sleep-eye. we're sleep deprived and amp up on coffee, diet coke, chocolate, whatever you need to do. >> i'm interesting, as a mother and somebody that work this is shift, how do you sleep? >> i haven't slept in five months. i'm on a complete bender. they say martha stewart doesn't

need any sleep. that's how she crochets all that stuff and irons. >> do you do that? >> i haven't managed to squeeze that in yet but i may give it a go. >> four hours of sleep, wow. >> we'll be back, everyone, with more "world news now." eryone, with more "world news now." pope, wow. >> we'll be back, everyone, with more "world news now." pe, wow. >> we'll be back, everyone, with more "world news now." e, wow. >> we'll be back, everyone, with more "world news now." , wow. >> we'll be back, everyone, with more "world news now."

well, for most of us getting through the day without a major calamity is as much disaster preparedness as we can manage. >> very true, but more and more sturdy souls are now preparing for real disasters, and we mean everything from earthquakes to terrorist attacks. there are survivalists training schools.

john donvan checked one out. >> reporter: when you have most of what most of us seem to want, good looks, a good marriage, good kids, a good home and yet you still want to escape for that perfect romantic getaway, what better choice can there be by getting locked in the trunk of a car only so you can escape which is how this stay-at-home mom, christine, spent a day last week. one thing on their minds these days is survival. >> i'm not worried. i just want to be prepared. >> if an earthquake or anything like that happens, people get scared, and you need to know how to protect yourself and your children. >> reporter: and, yes, you can say this is worrying about things that never happen, but as we've just seen in japan, things that never happen sometimes do. >> something's on the rumble and if you can't -- i think most people are anxious and i think most people can feel it. who knows what it's going to be or where it's going to be but i'd like to be prepared if it happens and happens where we live.

>> reporter: which is why christine and zoltan are here. >> i worry about my girls and myself and if something were to had happen to him, i would like to be able to take care of myself. >> reporter: for them it was taking a course in a hotel conference room where everybody gets their wrists cuffed together. >> put the tension like this. and rock that way. >> reporter: this is extreme advanced survivalism because kidnapping, what are the odds, really? >> put one on each toe. >> reporter: so, yeah, fear drives his business. >> we have a saying in the industry that we're about nine meals away from an markey. >> reporter: what does that mean? >> that means that after three days we'd expect to see some fairly chaotic behavior. >> reporter: because everybody would be out of food? >> three days' worth of food is about what most people have on hand. >> reporter: and if the supermarkets aren't stocked -- >> the supermarkets will be cleared out in the first two hours is typically what happens. no food coming in, no food in the stores and people get

panicked. >> reporter: and panic is a good thing for this store where the racks of dehydrated food and various get-by-in-a-crisis tools are standing by for the uptick in sales that tends to follow natural disasters. does this stuff sell pretty well all the time or just when people are nervous? >> obviously more when we have a little shake or something in california. and people -- >> reporter: is that what gets it going? >> yes. >> reporter: so tremors are good for business then? >> yeah. >> reporter: as for who buys this kind of stuff, meet neil strauss. also meet his goats. more about them in a moment. we're behind his house in the hollywood hills. this is earthquake country where past the pool is a backyard bunker of sorts. >> we've got a generator right behind you. strauss, a former "new york times" music reporter wrote "emergency," a story of his own conversionism to survival. >> reporter: what's your menu? >> i can give you some -- all kinds of fruit, beans, rice. >> reporter: he's turned his

garage into a high-tech personalized store of the store in gardenia. can you tell me about this bike? this is not your ordinary bike. >> this is your ultimate all-terrain survival bike. the wheels are actually hollow and can store gasoline or water. >> reporter: really? >> two gals each. this is called thermogel. obviously in lashgs, the more likelihood is a wildfire can happen and these are something a lot of people don't know about which you can spray in your house and the fire leaps over it. >> reporter: and the goats and the chickens? they are his living food supplies. milk and eggs, and he says, he'll eat these animals if he ever has to. seriously? the goats are providing milk? >> milk and more goats. >> reporter: neil may be a serious survivalist but he maintains a sense of humor about it. not everyone can do that, he says. have you seen people get so committed to the notion they're protecting against doomsday and they take it so seriously that they're now at the point where they want doomsday to happen? so that it means --

>> totally, total, of course, and there are a lot of people that spend their whole life preparing for doomsday and doomday never happens, it means, you're wrong and what a waste of your life. >> reporter: but there's no way anybody could really want this kind of doomsday to come even if they are ready. i'm john donvan in los angeles. >> wow. >> pretty extreme. >> they say lashgs is a dog eat dog town. i didn't know it was a man-eat-goat town. there are other things you have to do too? >> there are some things that you could learn how to do. you could learn how to hot wire cars in case you need to know how to do that. pick locks, conceal your identity, evade some attack dogs. >> i guess the final exam involves being handcuffed, hooded and thrown in the back of a trunk. >> a good saturday afternoon. >> and dropped off atten un known location which turned out to be a home depot parking lot so you can go get more supplies. >> if that was me -- how do you know you can access that room. if that was me, the door would be collapsed and i wouldn't be able to get at it.

in my disaster, that's how it would happen. maybe people there, goats, chickens, we just don't know about it. >> it's crazy. what do you do? i don't know. >> okay. when we come back, surviving in space. >> with nasa's groundbreaking new mars rover, will it survive its landing on the red planet? that story is coming up.

welcome back, everyone. nasa scientists say there is still a lot more work to do. >> they are starting to talk publicly about the mission and what it means to us here in earth. miriam hernandez from our los angeles station kabc reports. >> reporter: destination, mars. this is how nasa scientists envision the most ambitious mission yet, a journey that will haute its largest payload of scientific instruments. then as a laboratory on wheels,

the rover's curiosity will explore the red planet for signs of past life. secrets buried in the martian terrain. >> from that we'll be able to determine whether or not the ancient environment that once existed on mars was suitable for microorganisms that might have been living on the surface. >> reporter: among many challenges, a wheel system that will allow the rover to rove. earlier explorers were the size of golf carts. this is like a small suv. it's atomic-powered to work for 23 months. its weight makes for a tricky voyage and landing. >> it takes about nine months to make it to mars. and we approach mars a little over 12,000 miles an hour. >> reporter: and it must slow down to 1 mile per hour. to slam on the brakes, parachutes open and rockets activate. moments from impact the rover is released. >> it's going to hang below the jet path, and the pair of them are going to touch down on the

surface of mars a little bit over 1 mile an hour. >> reporter: scientists will aim for a zone that appeared shaped by ancient flooding and there it will bore in to determine mineral content or with a laser beam, zap a rock further away and the vapor will reflect different kinds of light according to what material it is. at jpl, engineers work in a sterile lab fine-tuning for a november launch. the project cost? $2.5 billion. scientists break that down to what the average american will pay. >> what this is worth to you as an individual is about the cost of a latte. >> reporter: and what it will yield, more knowledge about how life begins and ends. >> $2.5 billion. that's why that space stuff is sort of controversial when you think about that, but then again, it brings back a lot of information. >> it was supposed to launch in 2009. it's been delayed. the rover is actually tweeting. so there you go. it already has 29,000 tweets.

>> the rover tweets. very high tech. stay with us. roer. in the middle of the night... ou wake up often rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com.

sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. 2009.

>> announcer: "world news now" delivers your "morning papers." now time for your "morning papers," and this is such a sweet story. betty and pop potter. they've been married for 65 years, a handsome couple. he wanted to give her a diamond ring but apparently couldn't afford it. they knew each other because they grew up next to each other. their parents had farms. he was able to get a diamond ring to betty after 65 years of marriage. he's 97 years old. and they have this little ceremony where he gave her the ring. you can see it. it is not a big diamond but the diamond that he bought for her. here he is at the jewelry store picking it out for betty and after he gave it to her she kept saying, it's so nice, it's so pretty. he said to her in this little

speech, i remember when we were young and we danced around the kitchen and how good a cook you are. walks home from my father's farm. and most of all, what nice legs you had. >> wow, what a great lesson. >> isn't that romantic. finally got her the diamond ring he always wanted to get her. after 65 years. >> we wish them well, a little sparkling ring there. >> a little bling there for betty. a quick note about wholesale meat prices. gas prices are up meaning the price for wholesale meat and pork are up 25%. >> great time to be a vegetarian. >> well, no doubt about that, but it's a bad time for summer grilling season. we're right around the corner. >> sure, just around the corner for that, and things are getting more expensive. everything is more expensive. >> i know. >> according to twitter, we'll talk about the happiest states in the country and this is according to the people tweeting from these states. >> okay. >> so who do you think is sending out the happiest tweets? >> somewhere sunny. miami, hawaii, something like that? >> turns out the happiest tweeting states are tennessee, number one. colorado, number two, very sunny i always think country when we say tennessee. in colorado. i used to live there.

very, very sunny. people are usually on the chipper side. north carolina is the third happiest tweeting area. in the world, however, germany sends out the happiest tweets. >> i thought the interesting part too was the least happiest state involved hawaii which i would think that it would be happy. start tweeting. you have the sunshine. if you don't want it, give it to us and we'll take it. a guy in chicago couldn't tweet himself out of this disaster. he called 911 after he couldn't get back into a bar that had closed. he's 25 years old. so there you go. had a few pops and got a little saucy and decided to dial a little 911. and, yeah, well it wasn't an emergency. >> obviously the bar says, you've been overserved. time to head on time. maybe a good time to think about heading home. but he wanted back in. party wasn't over for him. >> he was arrested on making a false report to 911. >> i would say so. wouldn't you say that probably applies? >> yeah. that's the news for this h@@

this morning on "world news now," spending showdown. president obama is pushing congress today to agree on a spending bill plan. >> but can a deal be made before the government is shut down? it's wednesday, april 6th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." and good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz. >> and i'm peggy bunker. in a few days the government will run out of money, and the president says it's no time for congress to play games and that a deal must be made, but can they avoid the first government shutdown in 15 years? also, radioactive water has now stopped flowing into the ocean from the damaged nuclear power plant in japan, but is it too late? a look at that sushi that people are wondering if the seafood we're getting from japan toxic. >> no doubt about that. also, we have a story about a thief who got more than he

bargained for. he broke into a charity recycling bin. you've probably seen these things. well, the problem was, he couldn't break back out, and, of course, as you see, it was all caught on tape. >> that's right. hard to deny when they've got you on film. apparently it's not an uncommon thing. >> really. >> a lot of people do that. >> the eye in the sky doesn't lie. first, we'll get to the big story nationally. if you have any business to do with the federal government, you might want to get it done this week. without a budget agreement, many agencies and programs will shut down on friday. >> can you believe it? well, republicans and democrats are still very far apart. both sides are talking tough. john hendren has our story this morning. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, mike and peggy. the frustration was evident on president obama's face. after a fruitless meeting at the white house on the budget, he said republican leaders need to start exacting, in his words, like grown-ups. president obama said that he's tired of budget games. he accused republicans of acting like children saying they're falling short on public expectations. >> i think what they're looking

for me is the same thing that they're looking from speaker boehner and harry reid and everybody else, and that is that we act like grown-ups. >> reporter: after a frenzy of meetings to avert a government shutdown at the white house and on capitol hill, the deal is there's still no deal. with the government set to run out of money on friday, a shutdown is now likelier than ever. >> we're not going to allow the senate nor the white house to put us in a box where we have to make a choice between two bad options. >> reporter: those options, as he sees it, a bad deal or starving the government of funds. the president in a surprise news conference made little effort to hide his exasperation. >> their original budget proposed $73 billion in cuts. we have now agreed to $73 billion worth of cuts. >> reporter: but republicans now want $100 billion in cuts, controversial cuts involving abortion and the environmental protection agency among others. both have drawn lines in the sand.

>> none of us want to see a government shutdown. we just want to cut spending. >> reporter: with this year's battle ongoing, republican house chairman paul ryan unveiled his plan for next year's budget. he wants to cut $6.2 trillion over the next decade, no doubt launching another round of budget battles. republican leaders did offer a plan "b." it would cut $12 billion and continue to fund the government for one more week. the president's response, that's no way to run a government. mike and peggy? >> well, if there is no agreement by friday, many n nonessential government services could stop including tax refund checks, but what about the military? >> yeah this, is definitely catching a lot of people's attention. the pentagon has not decided whether or not the 146,000 troops serving in iraq and afghanistan will get paid, but a spokesperson says the u.s. would consider its key national security responsibilities. well, parts of the south are in shambles this morning after getting hammered by a violent line of thunderstorms. >> at least nine people were killed including a georgia man and his 3-year-old son who died when a tree fell on their house. as many as three dozen

tornadoes, high winds and heavy rain swept in from texas to florida and also the ohio valley and tens of thousands of people were left without power. here's how your wednesday weather is shaping up. much of the east coast will be dry at least. showers around chicago, detroit, cleveland and pittsburgh. more downpours from seattle to portland and up to 2 feet of snow in the cascades. 6 to 12 inches in the central and northern rockies. >> and we're looking at 54 in boise. 77 in albuquerque and near 90 degrees in phoenix. mostly 50s from fargo to detroit. 70 in kansas city. 81 in dallas. 74 degrees in new orleans. 68 in atlanta and 57 degrees here in new york. there's an encouraging development in the japan nuclear crisis. workers have finally been able to stop a tide of radiation that was pouring into the pacific by the ton. now officials are still insisting there's been no damage to seafood in the area, but others aren't so sure. neal karlinsky has the latest from kashima.

>> reporter: japan's nuclear crisis is an ocean away, unless you're an albacore tuna, the kind that ends up in cans of tuna fish in the united states. every spring, the torpedo-shaped tuna leaves the waters off japan swimming at speeds up to 50 miles an hour swimming to oregon or washington arriving late summer. before it gets there, it may well have spent time in some of the most radioactive water on earth. >> some of those fish that are feeding there may be picking up some radiation, and we don't want to be harvesting them here in the united states if they do. >> reporter: in seattle this doctor is part of a group of concerned fishermen now urging the government to test the fish when they arrive. already these tiny fish were caught in japan with unsafe levels of iodine-131 and cesium-137 in waters south of the nuclear plant. in the race to cool off the reactors, they're spraying them with water. the fishing industry up and down

the coast is at a standstill. what's worse, fishermen here say the government hasn't told them a thing about their plant or when these waters might be safe for them to fish again. scientists who have studied the effects of radiation on fish says cesium accumulates in muscle tissue and migration patterns should be studied because different size fish are affected differently. >> there's the potential for genetic damage to these tunas, for instance, as well as impacts on their reproductive abilities. >> reporter: japanese officials say the radiation will dissipate in the vast ocean while albacore tuna are already getting ready migrate and prove whether they really are canaries in an underwater coal mine. neal karlinsky, abc news, kashima, japan. well, rebel leaders in libya are demanding more help from the international community as anti-government forces battle to control benghazi. their top military command ser now complaining that nato isn't doing enough to protect

libyan civilians. meanwhile, the head of the african union is expressing support for moammar gadhafi and calling for an end to foreign influence. another african leader under fire is now negotiating the terms of his surrender. strongman laurent gbagbo had refused to step down even after losing the presidential election in the ivory coast last year. but it appears he's facing the inevitable. dana hughes reports. >> reporter: gunfire on the streets of ivory coast's most populous city has forced thousands of civilians to remain indoors or flee abidjan. the west african nation's embattled president laurent gbagbo has offered to surrender as rival troops push into the city. the bullets started coming in our direction and hit the car, this man says. they destroyed our transmission equipment and one of us was injured. the fighting is the climax of months of tension over an election which gbagbo is largely believed to have lost to political rival alassane

outtara. 9,000 peacekeepers have launched an offensive along with the french military to protect civilians. >> if there were not heavy weapons shelled at us in the operation in the recent days, we will not have undertaken this operation. >> reporter: gbagbo's attempts to negotiate his surrender for u.n. protection show he may finally be getting the message but with a significant amount of supporters in the country and a highly armed population, the risk is that even if he goes, the violence may stay. dana hughes, abc news. italian researchers may be on the verge of solving a 500-year-old mystery. they think they know who was the model for the mona lisa. >> that's right. her name is lisa jaradini and she was the wife of a wealthy silk merchant long associated with this painting. now art historians are looking for jaradini's remains in a florence convent so they can be compared with the mona lisa, but we still won't know why she is smiling. that is still a mystery. >> yes, and we have no way of knowing. >> a lot of speculation about

what exactly was going on there. >> it's a beautiful painting and a beautiful piece of art if i do say so. let's talk about another nice performance that was painted on the hardwood. the women got a great win from texas a&m. they are bringing home their first ever ncaa championship victory. >> come on you two. get it together. big story. we've been talking about the guys forever. let's talk about the ladies. the aggies beat notre dame 76-70 by dominating the second half of play. it was a tough road to the championship for both teams as they had to knock number one seeds right out of the way in order to advance. good for them. >> well, you know what's impressive is the uconn women who have been the juggernauts with no losses. >> no losses for so long. >> they fell. >> recently had one. >> they fell this year and congrats to the aggies. good stuff there. >> here's my favorite story. >> you like this one, don't you? >> it is such a good story. >> we'll tell the folks now. a german teenager is teaching the world an utterly incredible lesson in how to make do with

what you have. >> when regina's parents said, no, they would not get her a horse, turned to the next best thing. turns out they had a cow, and she guided to saddle up the cow. her name is do you know that, and she taught her how to jump like a horse. >> they had a cow, literally. took about two years to train luna, but as you can see, she can now clear hurdles with relative cease. >> don't you just love this? she says, you're not getting me a horse? well, watch this. >> there you go. she's milking it now! ♪ might as well jump ♪ jump >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by consumer cellular. hey, i'm troy polamalu,

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well, when you think of fighter pilots, you probably picture tom cruise and all the guys from "top gun." goose, maverick. >> and all of the above. >> nothing could be further from the truth, though. recently when the first completed female air force combat mission was flown in average. martha raddatz has more. >> reporter: they dubbed the mission "dudette 7" and for good reason.

from the planners to the pilots to the weapons officers to the maintenance crew, there was not a dude in sight. everyone involved in this two-ship f-15e combat mission was a woman. >> we knew we were going to take off in support of the guys on the ground. most likely we were going to have to drop some bombs. >> reporter: and what a mission it was. as our mike boettcher saw from the ground, the fighting in the kunar province was intense. the air support from the f-15 adding a layer of protection and firepower vital to the soldiers' success and apparently made all the better given that the voices from the cockpit were female. >> it was nice for the ground guys to hear that they had women protecting them, of course, not that we're any different than the guys, but it's just a guy thing that they like to hear that sometimes. >> reporter: in fact, of the more than 14,000 pilots in the

air force, only 687 are females. but women have been flying combat missions for 18 years now, which does kind of make you wonder why after all these years the air force still refers to all its personnel as airmen when so many airwomen are changing history. martha raddatz, abc news. >> what a cool story. i love that. well, coming up, she is nothing like she used to be, and that's exactly how she wants it. >> meet the woman who's had more surgical procedures than anyone else. a human transformation. next here on "world news now." .

in the bible it you in the bible it says your body is a temple. >> and if that's the case, well, then the woman you're about to meet has undergone a roof to basement renovation. >> here's nick watt with the woman who holds the word record

now for the most ever surgical procedures. >> reporter: if you passed cindy jackson on the street, you would have no idea why she's famous. why she holds a world record. but cindy jackson has had $100,000 worth of cuts, pulls, peels, jabs and a whole lot of whatever that is. >> it's not just operations. i mean i've had 14 full-scale operations with anesthetic, only 14. i've had botox. my upper and lower eyes done twice. five facelifts and liposuction. >> reporter: in fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a part of her body that hasn't been cosmetically enhanced. i've never even heard of this. knee liposuction? >> yes. yes. you know, on the inside of the knees you get that fat pad so your knees almost rub together when you walk. >> reporter: watch cindy's face change over the years in her search for eternal beauty and youth. she's had more surgical procedures than anyone else, 52, that's a world record.

cindy is now 55 years old. >> i didn't set out to set a world record. it was never my ambition. it's just that i had so much done. >> reporter: most recently to her hands. >> i had done everything to look younger, to look better and my hands were letting me down. >> reporter: so she had them injected with a substance that apparently stimulates collagen production. >> i did have prominent veins and tendons sticking out, but now you don't see them at all. >> reporter: you're messing with nature. >> nature messed with me. i don't have any problem messing with nature. that's absolutely true, i'm messing with nature, but that's what people do. we redirect water. we call it plumbing. that's not natural. >> reporter: the way i look at myself, i've got a receding hairline, i've got crow's feet and that's me, and i sort of live with it. >> well, everybody is different. >> reporter: over the years, cindy has transformed herself from this into this. why? >> for me it was just to look

better. it's a very basic, simple reason. >> reporter: cindy jackson grew up in small town ohio with a short-tempered father and low self-esteem. >> one guy when i was 14 said, you know, cindy, when you smile from the side your nose and chin almost meet. it was like being in the wrong body and face. and i felt that very much and i wanted to change it. >> reporter: when her father died, he left her some money. the work began. there was a kind of formula that you were aiming for. >> definitely. you can't randomly start changing your features because you wouldn't look human. >> reporter: the ancient greeks formulated an ideal symmetry. >> it gets very technical. and from the side your upper lip should line up with your chin. >> reporter: soon cindy felt 10% better. >> why would you stop at 10%? >> reporter: because the more you do, the more potential there is for something to go horribly wrong and you end up on a

slippery slope where you can't stop and you end up looking like a freak. >> well, that's not the way i do it but -- >> reporter: she claims that she is careful that she sakes it slow. why do so many people get it wrong? >> the big famous disasters, it seems to me it's a willful plan that they want themselves to look strange. >> reporter: cindy says she just wants to be beautiful and young. >> i feel like a young spirit. and i don't want to look in the mirror and see an old face. >> reporter: she now runs a website, writes books and works as a cosmetic surgery consultant. >> for me the best result is one that looks natural. i wouldn't ever want anyone to stop and stare at me and go, oh, that woman has had a lot of surgery. i would never want to look like i'd had anything done. >> reporter: does she look natural? does she really? nick watt, abc news, london. >> very subjective, i suppose, but interesting story. >> yeah, it's so easy to judge when you're on the outside. you're not in her life and you're not in her mind. but we wish her well.

no doubt. >> of course, we do. we'll be right back, everyone. but we wish her well. >> we'll be right back. on the w. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com.

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bounty. the one-sheet clean picker-upper. all right, finally this half hour, the bright idea that went terribly, terribly wrong. two guys over in bristol, england, figured they could steal clothes others had donated to charity. >> no, and they were mistaken. john kay of the bbc reports. >> reporter: it's 1:00 in the morning, and this man has come to a supermarket car park to do a bit of recycling. the trouble is, the clothes he's stuffing into the textile bin are still being worn by his friend. slowly, his mate is posted inside through a tiny gap. moments later, the man inside starts throwing out clothes. clothes that have been donated by the public to the british red cross. but when they realize they've been spotted, the man on the

outside does a runner, leaving his friend in the bin. it's only when you see up close how small this hatch is and the iron bar in the middle of it, you realize how extraordinary it is that any fully grown adult could get inside. the security guards up in the control tower were so concerned about the guy in here, they called the emergency services. for the next four hours, police, firefighters and ambulance crews tried to coax the man out. >> couldn't believe such a small gap. >> reporter: to start with, security guard gareth was amused and then he became concerned. >> it's a very confining space. there's like the funny side of things but then you've got the realistic possibilities of actually what he could have done to himself. >> reporter: last year, a homeless man in london suffocated in a clothes bin, so the fire crew here opened up the top and the man was brought out. he was arrested and cautioned by police.

it's thought he had been planning to sell the clothes rather than wear them, and charities have told us this kind of incident is not uncommon. john kay, bbc news, bristol. >> we're hearing that, that it's not that uncommon. in fact, bristol is very tough. has twice the stats for crime there. it's a very crime-ridden city. >> yeah, yeah, no doubt. you don't want to steal anything from anyplace. we here -- >> we've got a bit of an issue. >> we have an issue too. we've been hearing there have been some thefts in the snack room. >> snacks are hard to come by. >> surveillance video. >> look at this. >> caught on camera. >> who are these? >> i find this shocking. >> shocking. this is just -- >> oh, look -- >> that's pathetic. >> who is this guy? >> so familiar. what is going on? >> that's a lot of water. >> that's just inappropriate and wrong. >> who could do that? >> i have no idea. >> good thing there are no descriptions on that. >> yes, absolutely, thank you. >> how do i know that guy?nenene

this morning on "world news now," budget battle. with the potential government shutdown looming, president obama has harsh words for congress. democrats say they're willing to agree to major cuts, but republicans say it's not enough. will either side give in? it's wednesday, april 6th. >> announcer: from abc news this is "world news now." good morning. and hello, everyone. i'm mike marusarz. >> and i'm peggy bunker. a government shutdown wouldn't be good for anyone. it could mean no paychecks for federal employees, often no tax returns for you and me. we'll hear from the congressman that's challenging both sides to make a deal. >> not a good situation at all. plus, we're going to talk about the baseball rivalry that went too far. a fan was beaten into a coma after a game, and now authorities are offering a reward for information about his attackers who are still on the

loose, by the way. >> unbelievable. also, the bubble has burst, so to speak, on one of the guinness world records. let's just say a lot of people and a lot of soap water went into breaking this world record. >> you know, a lot of people say they live in a bubble. those folks really did live in a bubble. >> with a lot of others. >> even for a brief time. well, some people are definitely focused on washington this week. the federal government could all be shut down by the end of the week. so what exactly does that mean? so we'll break down the possibilities. first, no irs refund checks would be issued. national parks and museums would be closed. the faha would stop guaranteeing those mortgages and then federal workers and even our troops overseas might not be paid. >> which is one of the most shocking what ifs. it's all because congress still has not reached an agreement on the current budget or even any other temporary extensions on the budget. republicans have scheduled a house budget committee hearing today on the controversial

proposal, this by a congressman who has made it his mission to get the country out of debt. abc's jonathan karl has the details. >> reporter: for paul ryan this is not just about government spending. it's a life or death struggle for the nation's economy. >> the nation's trajectory is simply not sustainable. >> reporter: ryan who once worked as a waiter to make ends meet is 41 and has 3 kids. the scope of his plan is staggering. consider that while the president and republicans are on the verge of shutting down the government over less than $61 billion in spending cuts, ryan is calling for $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years. what do you say to nervous republicans who say this is a political kamikaze mission and you've just given democrats a big target that may ultimately cost republicans your majority here? >> have them say that. just kidding. this is not a budget, this is a cost. and, look, we can all do something else with our lives. we're not just here so we get

this lapel pin that says we're a member of congress. we're here to try to fix this country's problems. if that means we're giving our political adversaries a political weapon to use against us, which by the way they will have to distort, demagogue and lie to use it, shame on them. >> reporter: the biggest cut in ryan's plan is medicaid slashed by $750 billion over ten years. he'd save $375 billion by cutting the federal workforce by 10%, imposing a pay freeze until 2015 and making federal employees pay more for their pensions. farm subsidies would be cut by $30 billion and most explosively it would eventually end medicare as we know it replacing it with taxpayer subsidized private insurance plans. all of that change would not affect anybody 55 years or older. ryan has been working on this for years. >> you literally go through it line by line. >> reporter: ryan is already being vilified by democrats for cutting programs for the poor while he extends all the tax cuts for the wealthy and even if all of his cuts were enacted --

and that's a big if -- there wouldn't be a balanced budget for nearly 30 years. jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. >> and a lot of people just find this shocking that we're in this position again, you know, at all, and many people think that some of the politicians aren't acting in the country's best interest but maybe trying to make sure that they keep those re-election -- the focus there on the re-election instead of what really need to be done in terms of balancing the budget. >> yeah, and bottom line, it just looks bad, people are frustrated and fed up with it. we'll see how it affects everyday americans. it just is frustrating, to say the least, and we'll obviously stay on top of that story throughout the week. but we do now want to go to the nation's commercial airlines. they've been in the headlines the past few days. people were scared to fly even, so engineers at boeing said they never expected the metal joints on older 737 jetliners would wear so soon. >> not so reassuring, is it. >> no, not at all. >> they're rushing to create inspection and repair instructions for hundreds of similar planes in service

worldwide. diana alvear is now joins us from los angeles with the latest. >> reporter: peggy and mike, good morning. that southwest airlines flight wasn't just scary, it's prompting big changes in the way boeing inspects these kinds of aircraft. this is the five-foot section of fuselage that tore away while cruising at over 30,000 feet forcing a southwest airlines flight to make an emergency landing, a rare resent for a plane with an excellent safety record. >> we do not expect aircraft in service today to rapidly decompress in flight and have a situation where the airplane fuselage is ripping open. >> reporter: the tear occurred in a section of the aircraft not usually included in routine inspections. but according to boeing, the maker of the aircraft, the so-called lap joints did need to be inspected. >> our plan previous to this event was to recommend inspections starting at 60,000 cycles. obviously, none of the airplanes of this configuration are

anywhere close to that threshold at this point in time. >> reporter: the aircraft in question had undergone just 39,000 take-offs and landings when the fuselage tore away. southwest airlines is determined to make sure such an event does not happen again. as of tuesday morning, the airline said all 79 boeing 737 300 aircraft had been inspected. minor cracks were found in five of these aircraft. all five will remain grounded until they are repaired. and the faa has directed all older 737s to be inspected. those with at least 35,000 flight cycles, that's take-off and landings, must be inspected within the next five days. mike, peggy? workers at japan's damaged nuclear plant have finally been able to stop radioactive water pouring into the pacific. but this morning's "new york times" says u.s. engineers are warning of grave new threats which could last indefinitely. among the possible problems are explosions within the containment structures. and now to a story shocking the baseball world.

a san francisco giants fan is in a coma after being severely beaten outside dodger stadium in los angeles. his attackers were wearing dodgers clothing. sid garcia of kabc reports. >> we've received all the support from the dodger fans. we really want to thank everybody. thank you. >> reporter: bryan stow's family held each other as they addressed the media. his cousin john proudly wore his giants jersey and cap as he talked about his cousin bryan texted that things were not going well for him during the game last thursday afternoon. >> during the game he did -- my wife received a text message from bryan during the game where he basically said he was scared inside the stadium. >> reporter: 42-year-old bryan stow was severely beaten after the opening day game last thursday at dodger stadium. the lapd released this composite sketch of the two suspects they say not only assaulted bryan stow but may have assaulted others in a dodger stadium parking lot after the game.

>> they believe there was at least approximately 100 people near where this assault took place, and we would like to reach out to them to contact us and provide whatever information they may have. >> reporter: bryan stow suffered a fractured skull and one of his doctors said they had to perform emergency surgery last friday to save his life. >> his condition deteriorated, and he required a life-saving operation to decompress the brain and reduce the pressures, which were successful in doing so. >> reporter: bryan stow is a paramedic from santa cruz, a facebook page has thousands of entries from both dodgers and giants fan wishing him a speedy recovery. stow's family says the outpouring of support has been overwhelming. >> though this has been a terrible tragedy done by cowardly people, it is reassuring to know that good people are speaking out and are appalled. we would like to use this as a rallying cry to stop unnecessary violence in our greatest pastime.

>> you know, there are a bunch of idiots out there, and you just hope that these witnesses come along and they can catch these guys. >> and say exactly who this was. yeah, it's supposed to be the great american pastime. it's not supposed to be a dangerous place to be, being at the ballpark. >> yeah, no doubt about that. let's check your forecast. another stormy day. heavy rain from seattle to portland and up to two feet of snow in the cascades and up to a foot from the four corners region up to montana. showers from chicago to cleveland and pittsburgh. >> and we're looking at mostly 50s in the northeast to 62 in baltimore. 81 in miami. a wet 50 degrees in detroit. 55 in the twin cities and 66 in omaha. phoenix hovers near 90. sacramento, just shy of 70. >> wow, perfect spring weather there, maybe for a wedding. most brides and brooms definitely opt for a limo to get around, but a michigan couple is hoofing it all the way to their wedding. >> talk about dragging your feet, right? they plan to walk from their home in michigan to vegas to get married. now, this is more than 2,000

miles. think they're having some doubts maybe? >> i don't know. yeah. >> they're heading out in about ten days and expect to arrive in time for their september ceremony. >> wow. the couple met back in middle school and got the idea from a book called "don't get married. or, no, wait a minute. the book was actually called no, wait a minute. "the lost art of walking." they say it's a test to see if the two paths become one and if not, you have two eligible bachelors or you have a bachelor and bachelorette, i suppose. >> some want to make sure before you commit for the rest of your life. >> i suppose. we wish them well obviously. >> see if they make it. they've got two months there. we'll be back with more "world news now." >> announcer: world weather brought to you by the scooter store.

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too well for libyan strongman moammar gadhafi. nato has taken a big bite out of his military capacity and some of his key advisers have now defected. >> but that's not how gadhafi's spin doctor sees it. his son saif reached out to the bbc's john simpson to tell it his way. >> reporter: what began as an armed uprising has become a war with western air power helping the rebels against colonel gadhafi's government. when i met saif al islam, i thought he had put forward some peace proposal. instead, he gave his interpretation of the war, interference by the west, he said. >> the whole nation is fighting the armed militia. we saw them on bbc. they are like 10, 20, 15, not more. small number of other people fighting the whole nation, but now, now they have the

americans, the british, french, belgium. everybody is fighting with them. so that's why they are strong. >> reporter: the thing there is defections from the gadhafi government, especially that, of course, from the foreign minister moussa coosa who knows many of the regime's darker secrets. but saif al islam insists he left for health reasons and had no real secrets to tell. >> you have to invent them in order to give you immunity. so what kind of -- >> reporter: you think he's inventing stories? >> the british government said this. you have no immunity unless you cooperate. >> reporter: so what about the future? will colonel gadhafi hang on to power, or will it all end up with his death? >> this whole country, he wants us to leave to where, to maldives, to the caribbean. >> reporter: to zimbabwe. >> zimbabwe. >> reporter: to uganda? the latest sighting almost of colonel gadhafi on libyan television surrounded by his followers except you can't quite

see him, and we don't know when the pictures were filmed. he's lost half his country, but in spite of the western intervention, his grip on the other half is still pretty strong, and it's anybody's guess how the stalemate is going to be broken. john simpson, bbc news, tripoli. okay, well, when we come back, who got booted off "dancing with the stars" and why. >> that's true. and family secrets and actress ashley judd's new memoir is all in "the skinny." right after this. >> i can't wait. rprp

♪ sso s ♪ skinny so skinny and time now for "the skinny" one of our favorite parts of the day, and we're talking with "dancing with the stars," of course, and there was an elimination last night and, how you doin'. wendy williams, how you doin'? i can't indite, of course, like wendy does it. >> well, she can't dance either. >> she can't dance, but, god bless her, everybody loves her, and she was eliminated last night from "dancing with the stars." if you've been watching the

show, you know why. she can't dance. >> you know what, let's hear her parting words because they were definitely poignant. let's take a little listen, hopefully. >> i am probably the busiest person in terms of flying back and forth, you're right. in addition to that, i have a marriage, a child and a litany of other things to hold together, so this has been a wonderful opportunity for me, and i want to thank the judges and i want to thank you also, tony, for teaching me how to dance. because despite stereotypes, this is one black girl that can't even do "the running man." >> anyone who has seen it, but she handled it like a real lady. it was a nice parting speech. that's always tough how they make you dance right after they ditch you. you know? >> uncomfortable. you're not good enough but -- >> by the way, it looks like maks was moving around fine. you know, he took a tumble with kirstie alley. so it looks like he's okay. >> good, yeah. we want to see him do well. >> so wendy williams is talking about coming back to new york. she has a show she shoots and another show in the morning

shoots, the "today" show, and there's an interesting report out in the "tv guide" saying possibly meredith vieira won't be at the "today" show for long. in fact, it says that she's thinking about leaving, maybe would only sign a one-year deal when her contract expired last year, and it's all because it seems like her husband's health, he's not doing so well. >> sure, yeah, and, of course, by all accounts by viewers and also those that work with her, she's very, very well liked. her husband's been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years and cancer as well, so there's speculation that perhaps she'll take some time off and tend to him. but who knows. >> and there's that rumor now that katie couric might sort of come back to her old spot. >> wouldn't that be interesting? >> it would be interesting. i don't know if that's going to happen. also coming up which is making big waves, ashley judd, of course, the other sister of the judds. winona and naomi who travel and have many, many hits out there in the country world. well, ashley made a great name for herself as an actress but she's just come out with this

book called "all that is bitter and sweet" in which she reveals she suffered a lot in this family. she said there was some sexual abuse, there was some substance abuse, and at one point in time apparently mother and sister said our family put the fun in dysfunction. ashley said, you know what, mom and sister, it was not so fun for me. in fact, it was traumatic and she's really dishing up everything in this book. >> the judds were iconic and still are in the music scene and of course she's on the silver screen so there you go. some engagement news. i know you love these stories. >> i do. well, not to be vain but i sort of want to see the ring that's going to come from this engagement. >> there it is. sean parker of facebook made his real fame back in 1999 when he founded napster, the file-sharing service for music so he's engaged now and we wish him well. >> you can't see the ring but also when you think about this guy, what kind of prenup do you have to put together when you're getting riched when you're one

of sort of co-founders of facebook? >> singer/songwriter. >> yeah. and stay asleep, fall asleep so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com.

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here's some stories to wch here are some stories to watch today on abc news. while congress works on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, president obama heads to philadelphia. he'll hold a town hall on building a clean energy economy. and the trial of italian premier silvio berlusconi begins in milan facing charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute and then covered it up. and nfl players will hit the courtroom and not the field to argue about the owners' lockout and if it should be lifted. the $9 billion business has been on hole for three weeks now. >> get it together, guys. >> yeah, seriously. we don't want to pop your bubble, but the next guy in our next story just might. >> that's because he has just set the world record for the biggest bubble ever, big aspirations there. he also probably wants to hold on to this title. amy powell of kabc-tv has more.

>> reporter: fen yang has turned his childhood passion into an art form. his performances during the discovery science center's bubblefest demonstrates the science and creativity that goes into making bubbles of all shapes and sizes. >> i always imagined how beautiful it would be to make a big bubble and be inside but i never thought that i would one day bring this to stages around the world. >> reporter: he's going for a guinness world record attempting to put 150 people inside one massive bubble. dozens of children and adults helped gather for the record. i couldn't resist going for the fun. >> bubble is so massive, it's so big that small mistakes can make the entire system collapse so because of the fragile nature of the bubble, if you touch any dry surface area, it will explode, pop. one, two, three, go. >> reporter: three attempts, three successes.

yang now holds the guinness world record for most people in a bubble, a thrill that made the bubble volunteers burst with excitement. >> i was inside, the wall, bubbles everywhere. >> that was awesome. it was really, really fun. it was exciting. >> it's been a dream of my daughter's and my son's for quite some time. and i -- our last name is mcguinness. so it's almost fitting. >> we all equally enjoyed this natural phenomenon. it's just beautiful. >> that is pretty cool. >> yeah, and he has already set 16 guinness world records for bubble stuff, so one more. >> which is impressive. >> it's impressive. >> it is very. >> 16 more than me. >> breaking all the bubble records. >> that's the news for this half hour. oh, come on now. >> oh, yeah. check us out on facebook. more bubble stuff and catch our tweets on twitter. >> be inside the bubble. inside the bubble.wswswswswswsws