good morning, america. this morning, mall bomb scare. propane tanks and a pipe bomb found after fire breaks out at a big colorado mall. the fbi chasing this mysterious man. is he a lone wolf trying to mark the anniversary of columbine with another massacre? now, it's $5 gas from washington to florida. and we show you the wild and illegal ways people are beating the price, as gas thieves trade tips online for how to steal at the station. new revelations from teen star demi lovato, opening up about her struggles with bipolar disorder and what she calls her hidden shame. robin's exclusive interview. and hail to the queen. queen elizabeth turns 85 this morning, in a special celebration. as kate middleton goes

bargain-hunting, wearing her 18-carat sapphire ring. we do wish you another good morning. we have live pictures for you right off the top. the services this morning for the queen. part of a royal tradition, going back to the middle ages, and run-up to easter. there at westminster abbey, where her grandson will get married, just a week from tomorrow. just a day after she had lunch with kate middleton's parents, meeting them for the first time. i don't think they want to meet for the first time at the wedding. >> this is a lovely ceremony. this is holy week. much of the christian tradition, holy thursday. maundy thursday they call it in the anglican church. and the queen presenting those flowers. >> going back to the middle ages, that tradition. also this morning, we're tracking the latest out of texas, where firefighters are racing to tame those wildfires that's burned 1 million acres

already. destroyed hundreds of homes and taken the lives of two firefighters so far. we'll have the latest live on the front lines of that battle. >> see how they can contain that. and the new gold rush. the met aal that is trading at higher prices than ever. and it has people searching for buried treasure in their jewelry boxes. we'll show you how a few pieces of gold can net you thousands of dollars. >> $1500 an ounce. we begin with the bomb scare that may be tied to the anniversary of columbine. police found a pipe bomb and two propane tanks at the scene of a mall fire, just a mile from the high school where that deadly rampage happened 12 years ago just this week. the fbi is pursuing a person of interest. clayton sandell is in littleton, with the latest. clayton? >> reporter: good morning, george. if this had happened in any other town, on any other date, the concern here might not be as urgent. but we're just a mile from columbine high school. and what happened at that school

and what happened at this mall there are too many similarities for investigators to ignore. it was suspicious from the start. after an employee used an extinguisher to put out a small fire near the food court, an alarming discovery. two propane tanks that were rigged to explode. thousands of midday shoppers and employees forced to flee to the parking lot. bomb-sniffing dogs arrive. and soon, police discover another device, a pipe bomb. the fbi says it could have been meant as a trigger to blow the propane tanks. >> how can somebody in broad daylight walk in with that much stuff? and place it, light it, and get out and nobody knew? >> reporter: overnight, investigators released surveillance pictures of this mystery man they're calling a person of interest. he's older with silver-white hair and a mustache. >> and this individual possibly witnessed someone, coming in or out of that area at the same time. or he could possibly be involved. >> reporter: no one was hurt, but the images combined with the date conjured the fear and sting

of the columbine massacre. 12 years to the day after two teenaged gunmen killed 13 people and themselves. >> having it happen on april 20th where you can literally see the high school from here. this is a sensitive day for all of us. >> reporter: police aren't saying if the two incidents are linked. but the similarities are eerie enough that officials put 25 area schools on lockout. access was tightly restricted. and the incidents do share parallels. at columbine, the gunmen tried to set off propane tanks and pipe bombs in the school cafeteria. both occurred on similar times, on the same date, just over a mile apart. and investigators are chasing leads all night. they are going through databases and interviewing informants, trying to find out who this person of interest is, if he's a suspect and if he acted alone. robin? >> looking at that closely. clayton, thank you. now, to texas, where it's an all-out battle against wildfires that have burned more than 1

million acres. federal officials teaming up the local firefighters, to put out the inferno that has claimed two lives. ryan owens is on the front lines about 70 miles of ft. worth. >> reporter: very good news for firefighters overnight. it rained here this morning, it is still misting and it is downright chilly. at least by texas standards. behind me you see one of many homes that has burned but the path of destruction is as far as the eye can see. gate. and this morning, it looks it. 160 homes, burned to the ground. the acres around them appear apocalyptic. the flames came right up to bob mccormick's house. now, he has no neighbors. >> it's tough to sit here and watch your friends' place go up in smoke and not know whether it's there or not there. >> reporter: firefighters have

been battling the massive possum kingdom fire for a week. on thursday, they finally got some relief in the form of cooler weather and a light rain. how tired are your folks? >> just about dead-tired. >> reporter: he leads the volunteer fire department here. just 25 members. most haven't slept more than four hours a night in a week. ♪ two firefighters have died battling blazes across the state. more than 1 million acres have burned in drought-stricken texas. that's an area the size of rhode island. >> the last six months, it's been the driest on record since the early 1900s. >> reporter: hundreds of firefighters from across the nation have come to help. so has this massive dc-10, part of an aerial assault that may finally be working. finally cooling down hell's gate and so many other parts of the state. the two firefighters who were

killed have both been volunteers but now they have plenty of professional help. nearly 2 housh,000 firefighters dozens states are here and now mother nature is helping too. >> that is good news. thanks, ryan. we're going to turn to libya, where two award-winning western journalists have been killed. chris hondros of the getty agency and tim hetherington who received an oscar nomination for the documentary "restrope" were in the city of misrata when they came under a fierce mortar attack. talking with brian ross. you worked closely with tim here at abc. >> reporter: that's right. we worked closely together on a series of projects that sent him to afghanistan for abc news. he was a model of courage under fire. tim hetherington went wherever there was conflict and danger. that's why he was in the libyan city of misrata, where rebels had been holding off a brutal attack by the gadhafi army. in a tweet message on tuesday, hetherington wrote in a tweet,

in besieged libyan city of misrata, indrat shelling by gadhafi forces, no sign of nato. >> he was not on assignment. he went back on his own money. he felt there was an important story to tell. and he thought he could tell it in a way oh people weren't. >> reporter: hetherington's most memorable work was in afghanistan, for abc news and "vanity fair," along with reporter sebastian junger. on and off, over 15 months, hetherington and junger followed battle company, in the korengal valley. >> there was tension in the air. one of the questions i asked everybody was an obvious question but i wanted to hear what they had to say, are you scared to go in there? >> reporter: hetherington himself never showed he was scared. on this mission, battle company got word that the taliban were tracking them. and they pulled back to their base. >> i think we were hunting and being hunted. that was not a great feeling. >> reporter: when word came that the advanced scouts had been hit, hetherington was right there with the soldiers as they rushed to the fire fight.

>> we ran up to the ridge, expecting there to be fighting and instead, we came across the scene of the scouts and of part of 2nd platoon that suffered casualties. >> reporter: the men were distraught. and as close as he was to them, hetherington did not hesitate to do his job as a journalist, and record what stands as some of the most striking images of the war. >> he worked in a world where people risked their lives and died regularly. and i don't think it even crossed his mind that he was brave. >> reporter: for their reports for abc news, hetherington and junger won the overseas press club award, a dupont award from columbia university. in a feature length documentary of their footage, "restrepo" was nominated for an academy award. it wasn't long before hetherington was on to his next assignment, libya, where he was killed at the age of 40, along with chris hondros. tim always told me he wasn't so much interested in capturing the action of the war as he was in capturing the humanity of the war. and the striking still photos

were and are a testament to all that. >> they certainly are, brian. and seeing that footage from the documentary again, "restrepo" is a reminder of the kind of dangers our own soldiers face every single day. >> absolutely, they do. >> in our hearts. i know you have a heavy heart, as we all do. and you said it best. we have to think of the servicemen and women and journalists that put their lives on the line every day. we're going to turn to the economy. from gas to gold, prices are soaring. and some consumers are taking extreme measures when it comes to their money. at many stations it's flirting with $5. jim sciutto is at one of those $5 pumps, just blocks from the white house in washington. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the gas here topping $5.19 a gallon. nationally, gas prices haven't been this high in nearly three years and it's the price of oil driving them up. oil above $112 a barrel worldwide. and for some drivers, fighting back means breaking the law. a towering $5.69 at this gas station in orlando, florida.

>> over $110 a week. easy. >> reporter: those sky-high gas prices are now leading some people to extreme saving, also called stealing. gas station owners say it happens every time prices jump. 2009, drivers stole more than $89 million worth of gas across the country. >> you're seeing customers just fed up with seeing price increases, day after day after day. they don't know who to take it out on. so, they take it out on the guy who sells them gas. >> reporter: there's the pump and run. when a thief casually fills up his tank and speeds away without paying. just like here in new york, when a driver tried to zoom off with just $20 in gas, dragging an attendant with him. then, there's siphoning, when gas burglars feed a hose into your gas tank and suck the gas out of your car. in the last few months alone, there's been reports all across the country of gas siphoned out of vehicles. in hickory, north carolina, in a parking lot for two rental truck companies, hundreds of gallons

of gas were drained from the trucks in the middle of the night. someone just cut the fuel pipe. >> it hurts when you get reservations for trucks and you haven't got the trucks to send out. >> reporter: days later, this man was caught red-handed. bucket in his hand and a hose in his mouth. in the spirit of sharing, gas thieves are posting how-to videos on youtube. >> this is a 5/16th-inch fuel line. that's going right in here. >> reporter: if all else fails, there's drilling. someone just drills a hole straight into your car's gas tank and the liquid gold spills right out. lots of gas stations like this one require prepay, which fights some of the theft. but that adds credit card fees, which pushes prices up again. for those willing to go further, drilling into gas tanks, there's not much you can do, except to remind them it's extremely dangerous. >> jim, thanks so much. >> gas setting new records every day. the same thing is happening to gold. it's called the new gold rush. the price of gold set a brand-new record this week. $1,500 an ounce.

that has people picking through the jewelry box trying to cash in. john berman joined in to see if the strategy to see if it makes sense. >> reporter: prices that never been this high, george. not ever. and it's enough to make for incredible surprises. wait until you see them. and it was enough to convince me to dig into my own secret jewelry stash. hear that? that's the sound of gold smashing through $1,500 an ounce. prices have skyrocketed. largely because of jitters from the earthquake in japan and fears over u.s. debt. gold is seen as the safe bet. just listen to g. gordon liddy. >> listen to that. that's the sound of security. that's the sound of gold. >> reporter: so, what does this all mean for you? hear that? that's the sound of cashing in. more and more people, rushing to get rid of some of their old jewelry at record prices. i met pam hughes outside albert

& son's gold dealers. she thought it might be worth about 400 bucks. when she had her booty appraised, more than $6,000. >> do you want that in cash or check? >> i have to start breathing first. i'm shaking. i feel like i won the lottery. >> reporter: that ex-boyfriend, how do you feel about him now? >> so glad i went out with him. it was worth all the heartache now. >> reporter: business for gold buyers is booming. this is part of what they brought in in one day. roughly $49,260. >> reporter: that's $49,000 worth of gold? >> yes. >> reporter: it was enough for me to dig into my jewelry collection. that's right. i had my ear pierced in high school. to see what i could get. >> $8.50. >> reporter: 8 bucks, huh? i think i'll keep it, if you don't mind. not everyone is getting rich. but it's worth a try. it doesn't make everyone rich. but it really does make you think.

i do have the earrings here, by the way. the going price is $8.50. if someone's offering more. the secrets of my past, robin. >> nice look. >> i wish i knew what the hair was to go with the earring back in high school. >> the secrets, george, i don't know where to begin. >> i totally get it. i'm going to save you. i'm going to bianna golodryga at the news desk. >> my earrings are fake. i'll give them to john to trade in. good morning, everyone. begin with more changes in the sky. the faa will now require an air traffic control supervisor to oversee flights taken by the first lady and vice president. this coming after this week's fiasco when the first lady's plane had to abort a landing because it flew too close to a military cargo plane. also this morning, the faa has fired air traffic controllers who made news recently. one in miami, who asked a large plane to approach a smaller one to check on a pilot. the other in tennessee brought a

pillow to work to take a nap. a former rutgers university student was charged with a hate crime fol his roommate's death. prosecutors say dharyn ravi used a web cam to stream a sexual encounter with another man online. the roommate, tyler clementi, committed suicide days later. turning to waushgs big news from apple. profits soared by an astounding 95%, thanks to record iphone sales. but apple may be collecting more than just profits, according to the iphone. two researchers found a secret two researchers found a secret file on the iphone and ipad that tracks where users have been. privacy advocates are screaming foul. although there's no evidence that apple is doing anything with the data, your cell phone carrier collects the same information. it takes a court order to get it. data on here is available to anyone who gets on your phone or computer. my husband keeps convincing me to get a new iphone. now, i'm thinking, maybe i'll hold on to the old one. i wasn't at the mall. what are you talking about? >> they have so much on all of

us. >> they do. what do you think about that, sam? >> i'm shocked. that's amazing. never heard it about. good morning, everyone. let's start with could april be the stormiest month ever since we began keeping records? with 272 reported tornadoes, if it was verified, it with be. takes a couple weeks to get the count in. here's where the strong to severe weather goes today. kansas city, wichita, oklahoma city, dallas, austin. you're all a part of these strong to severe storms. look how much rain is involved in this. mostly in places that don't really need it. cincinnati has had a lot of heavy rain. louisville involved in the heavy rain, as well, in that area. some flooding there. look at texas, scattered showers and storms today. mostly in east texas. the west texas area will remain mostly dry.

>> that's why i'm in an allergy fog this morning. robin? >> that makes sense. sam, thank you. we're showing you the queen at westminster abbey. and she is not there for wedding

rehearsal. today is queen elizabeth's 85th birthday. and she is counting down to next week's big wedding with an all-important lunch yesterday. nick watt is in london and has all of the details for us. good morning, nick. >> reporter: good morning, robin. well, it was just a beautiful moment. the queen just came out of the abbey, right at the moment one of those open-top tour buses was going past. perfect. and on your left, the queen. my favorite fact of the day is that will and kate have been together for around nine years. and you know what? her parents have never met the queen. yesterday, they did. and according to a royal courtier, it was, i quote, warm and convivial. they met for launch at windsor castle. a little wine, a main course, and dessert. nothing fancy. the middletons almost met the queen a few years ago when they attended williams' graduation. but protocol prevented them from actually saying hello. royals play by funny rules.

kate has been keeping it real. out for makeup and underwear shopping. 6 bucks a pair. if you believe "the sun." thrifty. and another milestone this morning, the queen's 85th birthday. >> i didn't realize she was that age. but she's looking pretty good. >> reporter: the birthday girl was at westminster abbey handing out maundy money, an easter tradition, to retired people. in this very abbey her grandson gets married next week. it's hard to forget amidst the hullabaloo that the queen is the boss. heads the family they call the firm. she's been on the throne 59 years, since she was a striking 25-year-old. >> she is what the u.k. is about. >> reporter: she is the oldest british monarch ever. and yesterday, prince charles set a record too. he's waited longer than anyone else to become king. >> if she lives as long as her mother, she can go another 15 or

16 years, which would put charles around about 78. >> reporter: and the queen is going nowhere. >> she has sworn an oath to god and she has sworn an oath to the people that she would do the job all of the days of her life. and all of the days of her life means until she draws her last breath. ♪ >> some people think that william should leap frog charles and become king next. that's not going to happen. those pesky royal rules again. >> thanks, nick. i love hearing the bells like that. >> i love watching him. he's so much fun. >> we're going to be live all next week from london, as we count down to the royal wedding. join us on monday to kick off our live coverage from jubilee garden. on tuesday behind the scenes at kensington palace. coming up right here, robin's exclusive interview with demi lovato. the extraordinary story of her darkest days in treatment and

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and a full serving of fruit. ♪ just love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just hold me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just kiss me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just want me ♪ l-o-v-e ♪ love, love, love good morning. president obama wraps up the bay area visit with a fundraising breakfast in san francisco this morning. it will be the third fundraiser in the bay area since yesterday. mr. obama spoke to a friendly cloud at the masonic -- crowd at the masonic auditorium and said

he is ready for tough re-election campaign and it's estimated he will raise $3 million in the 72-hour visit. megan? >> the place to avoid is the bay bridge. traffic is jammed due to a crash at the upper deck. backed up to the maze. bart will be a great alternate. once you are in san francisco, expect delays near market and immediately south of market for the presidential motorcade until 10:00 this morning. the other slow spot westbound 4 out of antioch to concord and southbound 242 in concord area. >> megan will have the for

>> all new. 25 years of oprah and gayle's all-time best. oprah: the long-lost interview from 1987, the adventures, and a very rare interview. surprise to me. >> next "oprah."

check out sfo this morning. sunshine and no flight arrival delays. live doppler7 h.d. showing clearing trend and the rainfall amount left over from .22 in santa rosa and .32 in san francisco. .12 in oakland. couple hundredths in san jose. clearing sky, the temperatures are falling to the lowest level right now. mid-to-upper 40s in most area. south bay, east bay shore and around 50. low to mid-60s this afternoonment up 50s along the coast. the accuweather seven-day forecast -- dry tomorrow and a chance of scattered light rain this weekend. terry? >> all

♪ tiny bubbles how can you not love that? little molly and her dog, bennie, just cracking up. starting your day off with a smile. we'll have more of that. >> you love that. >> i do. and something else is going to make you smile. inside the housing deals that look great. they may look too good to be true. four-bedroom, two-car garage home. used to be $400,000. what is the price now? $50,000. is it really a bargain? >> we're going to get to that. and that online phenom, rebecca black. >> 100 million. >> now, she's getting darker

attention. there's a police investigation going on. death threats against rebecca brought. we'll get do that in a bit. first off, george, the days in treatment that demi lovato called her darkest ones. the teen singer sat down for her first interview with me. she also had shocking things to say about the pressure she was under, like many child stars, the toll it took on her. and what got demi through it all. she's famous for her winning smile and her wholesome charm. >> hi. i'm sunny. >> reporter: for the little girl from dallas, texas, the desire to perform was homegrown. ♪ i swear >> reporter: her mom, diana, was an aspiring country singer and dallas cowboys cheerleader. and for her daughter, demi, it was the tween musical, "camp rock" that catapulted the young

talent to stardom. demi was living a teenager's dream. movies. >> it's going to be the best summer ever. >> reporter: her own television show. gold records. and dating teen heartthrob, joe jonas. but away from the spotlight, a hidden shame. she secretly battled an eating disorder. she says it started in early childhood, when bullies teased her and called her fat. >> a very strong advocate for anti-bullying. but i've never been able to say this is why. i'm such an advocate for it because, from when i was bullied until now, i suffered an eating disorder from the things that were said to me. >> reporter: did it lead to a form of depression? >> yes. definitely. >> reporter: can you explain more about that period of your life? >> the period of my life that i went through was really dark.

and i became very depressed. and my only way of really coping with it was through my eating does order. so, i just stopped eating. and that was my way of coping with it. >> reporter: her depression was eventually lead to urges to cut herself. >> i have suffered from cross-addictions, over the past few years. i was trying to control my eating disorder, trying to get help for it. when i was taking care of those things, the urges to do that came up. so, for me, that was -- it was okay to do that because i wasn't throwing up anymore. >> reporter: last fall, demi checked into a residential treatment center, timberline knolls. what was the darkest point for you? >> i can't really pinpoint a darkest point for me because over the past few years i've had so many. i guess my darkest period was

going into treatment for that first 48 hours and not having any communication with the outside world. even letting some people know that i was in there. i couldn't. i couldn't talk to anyone. and i was just kind of shocked to be in such a different environment. >> reporter: it was there she learned a shocking, new diagnosis. demi was bipolar. >> i had no idea that i was bipolar until i went into treatment. i was actually manic a lot of the time, that i would take on workloads. and i would say yes, i can do this. i can do this. i was conquering the world. but then, i would come crashing down. and i would be more depressed than ever. >> reporter: during three months of inpatient treatment, demi learned new ways to handle her emotions. >> now, i'm learning to cope with issues and cope with urges and things like that in healthy ways. like, i picked up knitting. who would have thought that i knit on a saturday night? like watching tv.

i totally do. i'm a knitter. >> reporter: lovato says it was the thought of her little sister, madison, the young star of "desperate housewives" that got her through her darkest days of treatment. >> i had to think of her all the time when it was really, really rough. i kept thinking, set this example for your little sister. and even though it may be hard to, like, wake up in the morning, there were days when i just didn't want to get out of bed. and looking at a picture of my little sister on my little bulletin board was one of the main things that kept me going. >> reporter: for demi, there is hope for all, in what she once battled alone. >> if i can prevent one person today from having the wrong friends, from cutting for the first time, to embarking on a horrible, long journey with an eating disorder, if i can just change one life by this message, by saying don't go there, then

i'm good. >> boy. there's really a girl you see struggling to figure herself out right there. >> sure. >> and it's touching that she got the strength by thinking about her sister. >> her little sister, who is also an actress. and that's what she wanted to do, be an example for her. and her father, demi's father, was there when i was doing the interview. and when demi said that about thinking about her little sister, her father started -- got very emotional. >> i'm sure about that. >> hearing about that. >> and the revelation about finding out she had the diagnosis of bipolar, that actually -- you did the interview before all of the catherine zeta-jones stuff was in the news. >> thanks for bringing that up. it was a couple weeks ago that i sat down with demi. and when catherine zeta-jones recently revealed she was bipolar, demi sent her a tweet. and people -- why is she? now, people know. this interview was before that diagnosis. and tonight -- tomorrow night on "20/20," we go into further detail on that. and when she started cutting at

the age of 11. so, much more on "20/20" tomorrow at 10:00, 9:00 central. let's get another check of the weather, though, now, with sam. sam? >> hey, robin, george. good morning, again. we're going to start with the fires in texas. 1 million acres burned. and 27 giant fires or large fires in texas. 227 in the southeast. and look at this nasa satellite picture. these are the plumes of smoke. and some of them are about 200 miles long. you see the wind direction blowing all that smoke towards dallas and austin. the weather conditions continue to be fairly dry in extreme west texas. there are showers, widely-scattered showers and thunder showers, in east texas. in the borderline between, there could be dry lightning. that could kick off more fires in that area. we're watching this carefully. albuquerque at 81. midland at 85 degrees. look at the big wet spot that is the nation, all the way to atlanta, all the way to north florida, as well. that's where there will be heavy rain in places like cincinnati,

and here's a look at what's ahead on the "gma morning menu" -- $240,000 house for $50,000? okay. but pay attention. there's some things you need to know before you look at these bargains. we'll tell you right here on "gma." plus, death threats against a 13-year-old girl behind the internet sensation "friday." she's 13 years old. "gma" will look into this. i cannot even believe that's true. plus, the extreme prom. we'll take a look at the parents who are taking part in a $4 billion prom industry. we'll be right back. some say i'm bold. i say i'm free.

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new numbers on home sales are out. and they are up. but prices are down, which means there's been a stunning increase in homes costing $100,000 or less. that's a discount of 70%, to 80%, from the boom years. it sounds like a good time to jump in and buy a home. but are some of the deals just too good to be true? yunji de nies went to atlanta to find out. >> reporter: this might be the best real estate deal in america. >> we have a four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath, 2-car garage, with a sunken living room with a fireplace. and a master bath with separate vanity, and a walk-in closet. the master suite with its own private sitting room and a fireplace. >> reporter: just 20 minutes from downtown atlanta. this once $242,000 home is 80% off. yours for $52,000.

>> what you're paying for this home, you couldn't buy a home in 2005, period. >> reporter: my, how the market has changed. and buyers know it. >> right now, $100,000 is the most i want to pay for five bedrooms. >> reporter: $100,000 for five bedrooms? >> yes. >> reporter: that's a tall order. >> it is. but they're out there. >> reporter: buyers are flocking to the bargain-basement prices. across the country, sales of houses under $100,000 are up nearly 10%. especially in the south and the west. >> in phoenix, a place where you can get a 1,500 square-foot home in a nice neighborhood, for around $100,000. but going to boston, that's just going to get you a tiny condo in the suburbs. >> reporter: location is key. this is what $100,000 will get you in seattle. pitched as a partially updated rambler that awaits your finishing touch. that same amount will get you this in philadelphia. and this two-bedroom town house

in denver. and in tampa, florida, this quaint, little bungalow, that's right. all yours for $100,000. and buyers need to remember, this time around, credit does matter. but if you've got credit and a job -- >> it is a buyers' market, for sure. >> reporter: no kidding. for "good morning america," yunji de nies, abc news, atlanta. a buyers market. but what do you need to look out for? joining us now is dolly lent. thanks for coming in this morning. and give us an important cautionary tale. yes, it is a good time to buy but -- >> yes, it is a good time to buy. but be careful what you're buying. buyer beware. if something is $100,000, it is below market. look at all the costs. make sure this $100,000 home you're buying is a $100,000 home. you'd be surprised. there's lots of reasons why something is below market. >> that's what i want to get to.

especially dealing with a house in foreclosure. there could be a lot of hidden costs. >> all kinds of costs. people who left the house may have ripped out insulation. i've heard every horror story you can imagine. be careful what you buy. how much year going to have into it at the end. that you have enough money to carry it while you're doing the renovati renovations. and thif you're planning to ren include those costs, too. a lot of homeowners don't have time to do an inspection. you get to see the house quickly. they don't want too much of an inspection. >> what are the top three questions anyone looking to buy should ask their broke center. >> every question. a lot of questions. the top three is, make sure you know what you're buying. if you're looking at a house, make sure all the houses in the neighborhood aren't all empty. you're the only house that's going to be occupied. make sure you're getting good title. a lot of the robo-signing and the issues going on are causing

people not to get good title. >> that means that someone else can come in and claim. >> exactly. >> can claim the house later on. >> which is a really big problem. okay? and especially since 35% of the buyers we saw last month were cash buyers, they don't have a bank looking over their shoulder saying, be careful for this or that. you make sure you have a good lawyer and you are careful. all these things weigh into the pricing. >> and you have to think hard about it, as you said earlier, the kind of expenses that will be associated. >> exactly. and a long-time horizon. i wouldn't recommend buy anything unless they had a five-year time horizon, at least. and i prefer longer than five years. >> even more than that, this is an important bottom line, buy a house if you want a house. >> exactly. if you're looking to live there. or you're looking as an investor and you know what you're getting into. because it is a lot more complicated than it appears. >> dolly lenz, thanks for your time. >> thank you. coming up, best friends playing in the bubbles. molly and bennie

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♪ tiny bubbles "around the watercooler" this morning. watercooler. come on in. from madison, wisconsin, it's a video. you're going to see molly and bennie. [ baby laughing ]

>> what a cute baby. molly is almost 10 months old. and bennie is part shepherd and part beagle. >> her mom said she was shooting molly herself. and then bennie jumped in and stole the show. >> i don't know which one i love more. look at the dog. [ baby laughing ] >> you know, and early this morning, i think i've seen it ten times. and every time you hear that laugh -- >> infectious. >> it does. >> molly's laugh presses buttons. >> there was another video that went viral. rebecca black. over 100 million people have watched it. there's a scary twist in her

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good morning. it is slow-going for the westbound commuters trying to get through the bay bridge toll plaza. get a traffic update from megan. >> thank you, terry. good morning. traffic is jammed at the toll plaza, due to earlier crash at the bay bridge that has a left lane blocked. right now it's backed up to the maze. another slow spot in south bay. heading northbound along 280. stop and go. as you make your way through the entire downtown san jose area. get a check of weather with mike. >> thank you. good morning. i would show you live doppler7 h. h.d., but there is nothing to show. skies full of sunshine.

low to mid-50s. cooler tonight with less cloud cover. most of us in upper 50s. scattered light rain this weekend. terry? >> the news continues now with "good morning america."

♪ can you say good morning, america. thursday morning. one more alarm clock. and our audience is looking very british here in times square. we go across the pond next week. we'll be there live all week long from london. of course, getting ready for the royal wedding. we'll be there monday at jubilee gardens. >> and tuesday, you and barbara walters go inside kensington palace. that's the home of princess diana. where harry and william grew up.

>> and barbara is here this morning. hats off to ms. walters. >> very chic. >> she has the secrets of the hats that will be the crowning glory to those attending the royal wedding. that's her own hat. she went shopping. and we have a report from andrea canning on how much kids are paying these dies to go to the prom. paying the price of a wedding dress for a prom dress. is that too much for a teenager? we're going to look at that. >> would you pay that much money to go to the prom? >> $3,000? >> $3,000? no. you said your mom would. but mom is saying huh-uh. we'll get into all that. we've been talking about this, george. 13-year-old rebecca black. her video went viral, "friday." and over 100 million have viewed it. it touched off a debate about critics and her style.

now, california police are investigating death threats against this young singer. and david wright has her story. ♪ you got to get down on friday ♪ >> reporter: it's the youtube sensation people love to hate. so much so, that the 13-year-old star, rebecca black, has now apparently received death threats. >> we consider these threats to be death threats. and we certainly take these things very seriously. >> reporter: the threats came shortly after the release of the video. one, by e-mail, one by phone. both demanding she pull the song from youtube or else. black recently told my colleague, andrea canning, she was shocked at the mean things people were saying. >> the meanest thing i read was, i hope you cut yourself. and i hope you get an eating disorder so you'll look pretty. >> reporter: the song does seem to inspire strong feelings. ♪ got to have cereal >> reporter: positive and negative. there's been dozens of parody version. ♪ tomorrow is saturday

and sunday comes afterwards ♪ >> reporter: including this one by stephen colbert, performed on "the jimmy fallon show." more than 11 million people have viewed the original video. of them, some 300,000 liked it. but more than 2 million disliked it. some of the comments are violent, too. for instance, one suggests black, "go die in a hole." >> it's shocking to me to have all these people that don't even know who i am can say such nasty things. >> reporter: although the anaheim police acknowledge the death threats may be mean-spirited snipes, authorities are taking it seriously. >> specifically, they mention that they were going to take her life. that's where you have to draw the line. >> reporter: for a young woman enjoying her first taste of fame, a glimpse at the dark side of celebrity. for "good morning america," david wright, abc news, los angeles. >> oh, my goodness. we appreciate david bringing

that to us. you want to start your own video. what were you singing? ♪ it's thursday it's thursday ♪ ♪ going to get down on thursday ♪ >> i don't know if 100 million people will watch us right now, like they did with that video. we'll have to see. let's get inside. juju chang has the rest of the morning's news for us. juju? >> actually, i'll take it, robin. >> i'm so caught up in singing, bianna, that i said the wrong name. >> it's thursday. it's thursday. good morning, everyone at home. the fbi is looking for a person of interest after a pipe bomb and two propane tanks were found at a colorado mall. the man was caught on this surveillance tape. the explosives caused a small fire but no explosion. the mall is down the street from columbine high school, scene of that shooting massacre exactly 12 years ago. similar explosives were found at columbine that day. a second volunteer firefighter has died after battling that wildfire in texas.

more than 1 million acres have burned. and officials are hoping the cooler seasons will help control the fire that's destroyed 160 homes west of ft. worth. oil prices are soaring. they're up nearly $4 per barrel in the last week alone. each dollar of oil typically translates an extra 4 cents a gallon at the gas pump. you can expect the average of $3.84 to climb to the $4 mark in the coming days. but in some areas, people are paying $5 per gallon. a billion-dollar divorce drama is heating up between a l.a. power couple. jamie and frank mccourt's divorce has led to major league baseball taking control of the dodgers. frank mccourt reportedly took out a $50 million loan just to make payroll. here's diane sawyer with a preview of "world news." diane? >> good morning. what if your child had a

disorder that required a diet packed with bacon? what if 90% fat could save the child's life and health? you have to see this tonight. it's something brand-new for us. and it's on "world news." >> thank you. and finally, a sign of the times. more americans are hanging up for good on their land lines. a new survey finds 26% of households have abandoned their land lines to save money. and use only cell phones to make calls. that's twice the percentage compared to 2007. sam, i did the reverse. last year, i finally got a land line, after years of holding on to my cell phone. >> and i -- about the same time you got married and got a land line. he said, we need to be adults now. >> we need to be adults now. >> i got rid of my land line about a year ago. go ahead and let it out. say good morning. [ cheers ] land lines. do you have land lines and cell phones? you do. >> i have both. >> and you? >> both. >> congratulations, though. how far along are we?

>> i am seven months pregnant. >> okay. from here-up -- you do not look pregnant at all from here-up. from there down, you are very ready. >> very pregnant. >> josh, you have a list of people to say hi to. show the list. we can't read that list. it would take me the entire weather to do that, my friend. but we're glad you made the list. let's get to the boards. one or two things going on this morning we want to talk about. we're going to start with wtae out of pittsburgh. that line of storms that was supposed to move through the new york city area did not last night. we're in good shape. but it certainly did through the pittsburgh area. now, as that low pulls away, in comes cold, dry air. this could be one of the nicest days of the next few. you roaming around new york, enjoy it. it's going to feel pretty good. it looks good right now. a quick look at the west coast. show you what's going on there. a reminder of the severe s

we'll have more weather out here in the middle of times square, next half hour. oh, george? >> thank you, sam. and prom season is almost here. that means a lot of teenagers and their parents are breaking open the piggy banks. the average cost of the big night is $800, turning prom into a $4 million industry. andrea canning set out to find out how much parents are really willing to spend. and pretty incredible results. >> how many years do you have left? >> i don't know. >> this is what you have to look forward to.

>> nine. >> start saving up. my jaw dropped a little when i heard girls started buying their prom dresses in october. then, it dropped a lot when i learned that some are paying up to $20,000 for a dress. they also start tanning and dieting in january, just to have the perfect look by the time the dance rolls around. [ shutter clicking ] some things never change. prom is still the hottest teen ticket in town. >> it's going to be amazing. i can tell. >> reporter: and for girls, it's like making a fairy tale come to life, straight out of the pages of a magazine. but the pressure to look like a glamorous gossip girl. >> this is my moment. i own prom. >> reporter: has never been more intense. and we're talking unforgettable fashion. here at diane & company in new jersey, the bigger the better. >> we sold this to a prom girl.

she came in from ohio. she said i want to look like i was dipped in glue and rolled in glitter. >> reporter: how much is this? >> this is $6,000. >> reporter: this is a workout here. it's become the norm to spend thousands on prom dresses. 15-year-old caroline's parents have spared no expense for their prom princess. are some treating this like their bride-to-be or wedding? >> yes. >> reporter: the sophomore got hair extensions, her teeth whitened, nails done, eyebrow threading, makeup, a facial. and wait until you see the rest of the prom package. >> these are the earrings that watch the stones. and my bag. and my shoes. >> reporter: and the dress behind this garment bag, $1,700. you're going to show us the gown. we get the reveal before the prom? >> yes, of course. >> reporter: the grand prom total, over $3,000. do you feel like that's over the top for a 15-year-old? >> yes. it's my baby.

it is about me being the mom. certainly, i did not have the opportunity to wear this type of dress when i was younger. >> reporter: we asked these mothers and daughters about the price of prom. how much pressure are we talking about for looking amazing at prom? >> the pressure is huge. almost everyone goes tanning. like they started going tanning in, like, january. >> and going to the gym months before. >> reporter: how sexy are the dresses becoming? >> some dresses are made of just mesh, only covering the bare minimum. >> that's where parental discretion comes in. you want them to look beautiful. you want them to have a beautiful dress. but you want them to maintain self-respect. >> reporter: they say it all stems from shows like "keeping up with the kardashians." what happens if you're not made for the red carpet? we know there are mean girls in high school. how do they treat these girls who don't have the fancy dress? >> it's like sad to watch, like, the people be mean to people

that are less fortunate. you know? >> oh, like she looks fat in that dress. or that's not a good color on her. it's just like cattiness. >> reporter: is prom a competition? >> i would say prom is definitely a competition now. who can have the best dress. the nicest hair. the best tan. >> reporter: do you worry, as moms, that too much emphasis is being placed on beauty and looking perfect? >> a lot of pressure is placed on young girls, to look perfect. and it's unfortunate. they have to really be taught that, you know what? nobody's perfect. >> reporter: so, how much is too much? tina kelly from "seventeen" magazine says it's all about setting limits. >> you have to have limits. that alleviates some of the fights. >> reporter: as for mother, lisa, she admits she blew her $700 budget. what kind of message is it sending to young girls when this amount of money is being spent on something like prom?

>> if you can look your best and you want to buy something, and it's relative to what you earn or what you can spend, i think it's okay, as long as you're not tacky or you don't brag. >> let me know if you want something different. but i think it looks beautiful. >> reporter: there are going to be people at home who will be watching this saying, she's spoiled. >> i don't think i'm spoiled. i think that spoiled sounds so, like, mean. i think it's more like lucky or blessed. >> reporter: we had to see for ourselves what $3,000 will buy a 15-year-old. are you ready to show us the dress? wow. whoa. >> thank you. >> reporter: there you go. i did a little digging last night and found a picture from one of my high school proms. here it is. oh, boy. so, clearly, i did not get the $3,000 package. and i'm wondering if maybe it's worth it so you don't have to look at pictures like that when

you're older. but that was a borrowed dress from a family friend, joanne, who watches every day. so, thank you, joanne. >> who is the date? >> you know what? i don't even remember his name. >> oh, come on. >> he wasn't my date. he wasn't my date. he was like a friend. i didn't even have a date. we just went. i'm sorry to the guy. but i really don't. >> sorry about that, too. what do you think about all this? should parents rein in all of the spending for prom? weigh in at abcnews.com/gma. when we come back, barbara walters with the hatmaker to the royals. oh wow, look at that. [ shrek ] calm down donkey. it's vacation time! ohhhhh, who says ogres can't surf? nice moves fiona! ha, ha, ha, i love 3d. wooo hooooo! [ shrek ] gingy! [ laughs ] hey do the roar. roooooar! yeah!

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or zero dependency on foreign oil. ♪ this is why we at nissan built a car inspired by zero. because zero is worth everything. the zero gas, 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all. and now, to our royal diary. the secrets of all those fabulous hats. our fabulous barbara walters visited the hatmaker to the royals, to get an inside look at these incredible creations. >> yes. well, in this country, we don't wear hats. in london, everybody wears hats. and the man who is responsible for so many of them is named philip treacy. when we see hats at the wedding, many of them will be his. we've seen his creations on camilla. sometimes they're crazy.

sometimes, surprising. but they're creative and expensive. i went to video him in his studio. and i'm stuttering because it is very boring trying on hats. take a look. as we see, sarah jessica parker, lady gaga and kate middleton are simply mad for philip treacy's hats. >> everybody at the wedding will be wearing a hat. >> reporter: everybody wears a hat. >> yes. >> reporter: why do you have to wear a hat? >> it's tradition. >> reporter: what kind of hat will kate middleton be wearing? >> she wears hats like this. >> reporter: that's great. i've seen the pictures of her. this is wonderful. >> or something like this. which is a kind of marlin

dietrich french beret. next week's wed willing be a kind of fashion show for hats. >> the ultimate hat moment. >> reporter: show me some ultimate hats. >> like this. would look kind of smart. >> nobody will be able to see from the pew behind me. oh, my goodness. i tried on quite a variety of hats. all of them distinctly and absolutely british. somebody has bought a hat like this? >> yes. >> reporter: how come the british wear hats and we don't? >> the british have an understanding of hats. my customers are very conservative. but they think my hats are normal. >> reporter: this is normal? >> in england. >> reporter: you make hats for lady gaga. >> i do. >> reporter: i'm hardly lady gaga. but if i were -- oh, let's see. i am, indeed, gaga. this is -- philip, you have a

genius. thank you. >> you can pull off that look. did you buy a hat? >> i bought a hat, like kate's hat. big, red hat. i got back to the hotel, thought, i will never wear this. on the way to the airport, i ran back. i got another hat. and this is it. >> ooh. that's a good look on you. >> that's okay, right? >> and you have to have a hat when you're there. >> i won't. but everybody there does. will you? >> i have a little fascinator. she's worn that, too. i don't have to have bands on the side. >> it has a head band. and you do it like this. that's the hat that comes like that. >> you're so in the know. i'm so glad i'm going to be with you in london. you're going to be back tomorrow. >> i am. >> you have a great interview. >> i am. i'm very excited about this. we have elton john and his partner, david furnish. and they have a baby boy. and you will meet the baby boy.

gorgeous baby. the interview, how it happened and the baby tomorrow. and then, tomorrow night on "20/20," the whole interview. >> we haven't seen the baby, though, at all. >> no. haven't seen the baby. this is their first television appearance with the baby. his name is zachary. >> and you'll be going to the wedding. >> elton john and david furnish have been invited to the wedding. one of the few celebrities who have. >> we'll see that on "20/20" on friday. barbara, thank you very much. >> i'll put my hat on. >> that's the wrong way. you can work it that way, too. we're going to be in london together. we'll be at kensington palace. thank you very much. we're going to kick off our live coverage from london, leading up to our special royal wedding, starting at 4:00 a.m. eastern, a week from friday, april 29th. we have around. the-clock updates of the royal wedding. go online at abcnews.com/royalwedding, to join the countdown. we have the firemen and the calendar in times square. get down here fast.

now, the "gma" list of the day. you know using less energy at home can save you big. so, here are three, easy ways to save money and the environment, too. one, change your home's air filter at least once every three months. it's easy. two, replace lightbulbs with energy star-qualified compact fluorescents. and three, add weather stripping to the cracks below doors and windows. for the full list to save energy and money, go now to abcnews.com/gma. [ male announcer ] scott naturals hybrid paper products work so well that people everywhere are helping save trees... ...without even noticing. ♪ learn more about the scott naturals 4 week test drive at scottbrand.com.

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this is the way forward. good morning. president obama wraps up his bay area visit with a fundraising breakfast at the st. regis hotel in downtown san francisco this morning. the third fundraiser in the bay area since he arrive yesterday. he spoke to a friendly cloud at the masonic auditorium last night. and it's estimated he will raise $3 million in the 22-hour visit. caltrain board of directors is set to hold a special meeting to vote on a proposal to avoid drastic service cuts. the agency staff has come up with a plan to get $3.5 million by deferring maintenance and borrowing from the capital fund. riders will likely still see 25 cents fare hike and $1 increase on parking. check the morning commute

with megan. >> good morning. expect delays heading to san francisco on bay bridge. the metering lights are on. traffic is jammed on the earlier crash on upper deck of bay bridge. it's backed up to the maze. commuting to the northbound, live look at 101 southbound through san rafael. sluggish. drivertime from 37 to 580 is 20 minutes. at the golden gate bridge, nice ride heading in to san francisco. terry? >> t [ male announcer ] try sizzler's new value menu! malibu chicken, flame broiled steak, or half dozen jumbo shrimp, plus endless salad bar... starting at just $9.99! at sizzler.

welcome back. a look at the temperatures right now. most of us in the upper 40s to low 50s under a mostly sunny sky. we'll see the clouds redevelop this afternoon. low to mid-60s around the neighborhood. upper 50s out at the coast. we'll take a look at tonight's temperatures. cooler than this morning with

the mid-to-upper 40s in most neighborhood. looking at a chance of scattered light rain this weekend. don't change the plans. now [ cheers and applause ] oh, my. they usually put out fires. but this morning, they're heating up times square. they are the men of the new york fire department calendar of heroes. and we're going to get a look real soon. i love the eyes of the moms in the audience. like -- >> we're going from designer firemen to designer dogs. check this out. 700 new kinds of breeds out there right now. all kinds of dogs. labradoodles. that's a cute dog. we're going to find out what's in his mix, coming up. >> i don't know how to tell you

this but we lost the audience. i think it's the commercial where the guy has -- bam, bam, bam. hey. how are you? that's nice. did you do that? >> do the bam. >> i also lift things up and put them down. we also have -- very funny guy. we have the great adventurer. he crossed the pacific, can you believe this? in water bottles. why he gathered so much to brave the ocean. and grant hill will be here to talk about his greatest inspiration. a new documentary coming up. we want to get to the designer dogs. right now, 700 different kinds of breeds right now. golden doodles. pugles. schnoodles. >> we think our dogs are perfect. i feel that way. but there are traits that are maybe a little annoying. they bark too much. they shed too much.

now, you can sort of genetically alter those out of your dogs, if you cross-breed them with another dog breed. the problem is, it will cost you a little bit money. how much for that morkie in the window? you never heard of a morkie? it's a maltese crossed with a yorkie. in the last 20 years, the american canine hybrid club has registered 671 new hybrid intin combinations. take the traits of one breed, and mix it with the treats of another. you get the near-perfect dog. the results are almost always adorable. who knew this plus this could e quill this?

mix a dachshund with a maltese, and you have a dachtese. combine a shih tzu, and you have a teddy bear. >> you are holding a yorkiepoo. the name game can be confusing. what do you think of when we say morkie? >> a morkie is an alien. >> reporter: let's try again. a yorkiepoo. >> an ice cream sandwich. >> reporter: it's a yorkie/poodle. not every combination works. >> you wouldn't mix a pug with a shih tzu. >> reporter: critics say you shouldn't buy a cross-breed at

all, unless it's a mutt from the pound. but with a face like this, it's hard for some dog owners to say no. we have three designer dog breeds this morning, courtesy of city pup. this is yours. >> it's a dachtese. >> a dachshund is long and low. they live a long time. you know that. >> this one has a nice temperament. the maltese -- not going to trade you in, daisy. these guys are going nuts over these little guys. >> they're going to go see the firefighters. mine is a teddy bear. this is a bichon and a shih tzu mix. both are hypoallergenic. yours, i think is the cutest. yours is the yorkie poo. they're a popular cross breed, the podle, because they don't shed. and it's so tiny. >> healthy, though. one thing you hear from people

when you cross-breed like this, because we had, what? the lab and the poodle. the labradoodles became very popular. >> right. a lot of times this will make their longevity longer. >> really? >> a lot of times with a pure-breed dog, they don't live as long. generally, they are healthy. and that one's the most expensive. that's about $1,400. >> send in your suggestions, at abcnews.com/gma. >> they are cute. k.j.'s going to know i'm cheating. >> i love yorkie poo. but you have to be careful when you say shih tzu bishon. good morning, everybody. we have a situation in texas where we've got very dry areas. and half the state is going to be wet today. we're going to wfaa in dallas, just to show you the skies there. dallas is part of the zone that

will pick up strong storms today. or at least in the zone to get moisture. west texas that needs it desperately is not getting a lot of action out of the line of storms. but it's cooler and mistier there. abilene is one of the hot zones today. it's about 81 today in las all that weather was brought to you by hallmark. one of my favorite people is with us today. david de rothschild. thank you for being here. i want to talk to you the reason that you're here. we talked about the miles of plastic out in the ocean right now. this man built a boat, got in the ocean, and sailed across it.

a boat made by recycled bottles in the pacific, to bring attention to the problem of the trash in the pacific. we skyped with him through his journey. >> it's nuts to be here. we were on skype chatting away. >> i need to say, not only did you turn this into a book, which is a beautiful book full of your adventures. also, doing "12,000-bottle boat" on the national geographic channel tonight. >> that's tonight. >> where did you get the idea of put a bunch of these bottles together, make a boat and sail across the pacific? >> i think the simple premise is wasted design. this is a resource. we live on spaceship earth. it seems nuts that what we're doing is manufacturing stuff to throw it away. what we have to stop doing is throwing stuff away and reusing it. we'll showcase how we can reuse

this everyday item. and we use these every, single day. 300 billion of these are used every year. and only 20% are recycled. where are the rest going? they're going to our oceans. they're going to landfill. >> or they stay here for 450 years. >> forever. it does what it says on the tin. plastic lasts forever. it's turn it into adventure. let's build a boat. and sail across the pacific to highlight anything's possible. >> i agree with the premise that every time you touch on one of these, eww, gross. i would never have gotten on a boat made out of them and sailed across. you never sailed before. >> i wasn't a sailor before. for me, it was like, look. you have to get out there. i'm a curious citizen. i was like, you know what? this is something i can do. i was willing to put up with the seasickness to say, we can solve this problem. before the items that end up in our ocean, the plastic bags, this, the lids and styrofoam cups and containers. for me, it was like let's show

people what's going on. i get seasick in my bathtub. getting out there was a challenge. on the documentary tonight, you'll see me hanging out over the side, like okay. >> environmental explorer. if i decide today i want this to stop? >> yeah. >> what are some things i can do at home? one or two things? >> simple things, plastic bags are one of my big pet peeves. >> don't take them. >> sea turtles are choking on plastic bags. and the other is packaging. why do we need to wrap our fruit and bananas with the plastic casing? if you're in the supermarket, dry to buy stuff with less packaging. finally, reduce your single-use plastic. cut them out. >> as much as you can. you think we can do that? no plastic bags. >> no plastic bags. >> i don't want to touch one anymore. david, thank you for being here. we want to say that show is on tonight -- let me get the name

right. "the 12,000-bottle boat," on national geographic channel. we'll link you to information about david, the boat, and his entire battle right here on our website, abcnews.com. entire battle right here on our website, abcnews.com. next, starring,

finally, an unsung hero is getting the attention he richly deserves. for 55 years, he has been the

track coach at duke. we're talking about al bueller. he broke new ground in race relations, international sport, women's athletics. and his work has inspired a brilliant, new documentary called "starting at the finish line, the coach bueller story." and it stars nba superstar, grant hill. great to see you, grant. with the phoenix suns. you are a renaissance man. i didn't know this about you. >> i kind of like that, renaissance man. i have a lot of interests. and the thing with filmmaking, i guess, is just love stories. i love great stories. great stories in the world of sports. stories that inspire. and obviously, in book form and movies, motion pictures. and now, documentaries. i have a chance to participate and tell a great story. >> and this goes beyond sports. it transcends sports in many ways. and he's simply known as coach. >> right. >> and you knew him first as a

professor at duke. >> yeah. coach bueller, obviously, was the coach. the duke track coach, for many years. and still teaches at duke. but he taught a class 20 years ago. i took it. and it really had a profound impact on me. >> how so? >> well, you know, i got a chance to interact with him. and obviously, it was sports-related. you know, sports -- ethics in sports, was the name of the class. and just to hear about a number of different topics and things that have gone on in the history. title ix. learning about title ix and what that was all about. iconic moments in the world of sports. to talk about that and discuss it was interesting. but really capturing, though, his character. what he was about. how he was able to connect with us. and that's what i remember more than anything. and get a chance to talk about that in this film. >> and you even narrate it, as well. we want to play a bit of it. and there's so many facets to

his life. and one thing we wanted to pick up in this documentary, dr. leroy walker was a track coach nearby, at the all-black school. >> century. >> exactly. and they befriended one another. and they worked there at duke. this is a time when the stands were segregated. and coach allowed the team, the all-black team to be there on the track. and you brought them back together. here it is. >> it was precisely what al bueller and leroy walker wanted, the finest athletes, regardless of race, training together. >> i can see lee calhoun, going over hurtles right now. he was smoother at hurdles than joe shacklewood. joe had quickness. but together, they would run half a yard of each other. >> they just did it. i mean, it's amazing to look back on it and think that this climate of the times did not at

all support that. >> i hope people really understand that picture right there. the history of those two men and what they have done, grant. >> you know, you're right. i mean, really, the history, what they accomplished. the friendship. that's what i took away from it. the fact that, you know, years ago, when it wasn't popular for blacks and whites to be friends. it probably was against the law in north carolina. the fact that they came together. their friendship really comes across. and it's still there to this day. the banter between the two, obviously, is funny to watch. >> right. >> it's just a great story. and dr. walker had tremendous contributions to the world of track and field, as coach bueller. and to see them sort of together, help integrate track and field, it's a fun story. >> and i have to say, you're a good narrator. good voice. did you have to work on that a little bit? >> i was a little naive. i thought i was going to go in and nail it in a couple of hours. a couple days.

>> yeah. >> appreciate that. a lot of firsts on this. >> let me put you back in your wheelhouse, the nba playoffs. what's in your crystal ball here? >> i see the suns winning. >> you're not in it. >> oh. that was last year. >> knicks. >> knicks have a good chance. there's been some great games. >> right. >> a lot of upsets thus far. it's going to be an exciting playoffs. you have to go with the favorites in each division. the lakers in the west. and in the east -- >> what about the heat? they have lebron and the big three. they're all together. >> who do you think? >> thank you for mentioning that. number 21 in your program and number 1 in your heart. >> i think boston will come out of the east. i think lakers come out of the west. >> all right. >> i'll go with the lakers. >> grant, it is great to see you. congratulations on the documentary. and all the success going forward for you and your beautiful family. >> i appreciate it. thanks for having me.

>> and to find out more about "starting at the finish line, the coach bueller story," go to abcnews.com/gma. the men of the new york fire department calendar heroes are here. he says, i'll see your pecs and raise your my pecs. something like that. come on back

don't adjust your tv sets. i'm the luckiest girl in new york city. it's a tradition. the official fdny calendar. the firemen of new york are here. the crowd loves them. while you put me down, introduce yourselves and tell us what month you're representing on the calendar. >> my name is jacques. and i'm february. >> i'm aaron and i'm april. >> lewis, mr. may. >> james, mr. june.

>> fred, mr. july. >> carmelo, mr. august. >> firefighter laroche, mr. september. >> firefighter jack, the greatest month, october. >> hey. my name is jose, mr. november. stay safe. >> good morning, america. charles, from ladder 79. mr. december and also the cover. >> you're the cover man over here, charles. we have ladies screaming, there's a fire over here. you're over here with us. and we want to explain this is going to a serious cause. the fdny foundation. where to the proceeds go? >> the proceeds go to fire safety within new york city. that helps people in new york city understand fire safety. that smoke detectors should with changed. >> and what do your fellow firemen think? jealousy going on there? >> a little bit. they chat around the firehouse. but it's all in good fun.

>> what about wives? girlfriends? are they bragging? are they jealous? >> a little bit. not too much. >> it's been a few years since you last came out with an official calendar. tell us what we can expect this year. the anticipation must have been immense. >> the anticipation was very great. the first time the calendar's been out since 2008, which is the official fdny calendar. and it's funded by the fdny foundation. you can buy the calendar at the fdnyfoundation.org. or you can go to the fire zone in rockefeller center. >> it's coming out just in time for mother's day. >> it will be a gift for any son that wants to give their mom a great gift. >> anything you want to say to your mom? >> hi, mom. hope you're doing good down in florida. and everyone should follow at "good morning america," at "gma." and also, if you want to have calendar updates, go to twitter, which is at cover2012.

>> i'm impressed. all of our producers dressed their finest to come out and talk to you guys. we appreciate it. thank you for all your service. if you at home want to see the pictures of the fine firemen, go to abcnews.com/gma. we'll be right back.

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oh. i think -- you're not going to help? i tried. i tried. >> you're looking good. go ahead. >> the firefighters. i want to thank these guys for coming out. thank you for coming out and thank you to bianna. >> they didn't drop me. >> have a nice day. do you know what's in your spread ?

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there are just three natural ingredients. sweet cream, canola oil and salt. discover land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil. there are lingering delays this morning for drivers heading westbound from the bay bridge toll plaza of the get an update. megan? >> earlier crash on upper deck of the bay bridge caused delays at the toll plaza this morning. the metering lights are on and traffic is backed up to the maze. other slow spot is southbound 101 through north bay. live look at san rafael. sluggish making your way from 37 to 580. mike? >> good morning, everybody. sunshine is out. we have clouds will develop and bright day with temperatures below average again. low to mid-60s with upper 50s at the coast. tonight without the clouds, cooler and mid-to-upper 40s. we have a slight chance of rain over the weekend. it wbe