we want to start with breaking news right now. tiger woods is returning to golf after a four-month hiatus. woods himself is saying that he'll play at the masters, which is beginning next month in augusta at the augusta national. susan candiotti is following the latest developments for us and joins us live. what do you know? >> hi, christi. his agent released a statement on tiger's behalf just this morning. here's what he says in part, and as everyone expected he'd be returning to the masters. here's what tiger is saying. "the masters is where i won my

first major and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game ifeel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. he goes on to say the major championships have always been a special focus in my career, and as a professional, i think augusta is where i need to be, even though it's been awhile since i last played. he goes on to say i have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and i am continuing my treatment. although i am returning to competition, i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. when i finally get into a position to think about competitive golf again it became apparent to him. he says that the masters would be the earliest that i could play. so, christi, this is exactly what all the experts were predicting, that in f and when he would return to golf it would be at the masters. it's a very controlled setting for him. >> all righty. susan candiotti. thank you so much for bringing us the very latest. i want to go to rafer weigel here who has got more on this.

coming from the pga itself, is that right? they are responding. >> coming from the actual tournament itself. i want to touch on something that susan had said. and that is that the masters tournament is the most restrictive of all of the tournaments. not only will the media not be allowed anywhere near -- well, let me rephrase. we'll be allowed to walk around but we're not allowed on the other side of the ropes like we are in other tournaments. also tiger woods will have his own access to a special clubhouse. past winners have their own clubhouse. he'll even be removed from some of the golfers as well. so we do have to entertain the idea that it is possible that he might need that extra time before he is ready to play, but there's still -- >> you mean why he's not playing for the masters? >> why he's not playing before the masters. steve stricker, the number two golfer said play another tournament first. get it out of the way. it's going to be a zoo, a circus. now you've made one of the most prestigious golf tournaments essentially a zoo and a circus.

>> isn't that going to be a distraction to the other golfers? >> you would think. the masters is ultimately loving this. the ratings were going to be high. now they are really going to be high. they said, quote, we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's masters tournament. additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life." what i also found interesting in tiger's statement is he's saying he will not play the cup and arnold palmer prior to the masters. >> so you mean that tells you he's not ready to play? >> it's possible he may not be ready to play. it's very possible that he is still working on personal issues with his family. we have to entertain that as a possibility as well. >> how critical is it going to be to him in terms of how he plays at the masters? >> absolutely. because, you know, the last time -- well, let's see.

if you take a lot of time off of golf, it's not a good idea to come out and play. the masters is at the same course every year. so he already knows the course. he's won on this course four times. so if anybody could come out cold and win a major tournament without getting the rust off, it's probably tiger woods. >> what if he doesn't win? >> if he doesn't win, yeah, there's going to be a lot of people saying he should have played another tournament. either way, christi, this will be the most watched comeback in the history of sports. >> psychologically, how do you think he can deal with this? because, i mean, he's got know going out there when he gets out there on the green, people are looking at him in a very different way than they have probably looked at him in the past. >> you bring up another excellent point. some of these other tournaments it's open season as far as tickets. but at the masters if you want to get in there, it's $1,400 a ticket to get a hotel and a badge on the course. who is going to spend $1,400 and

go out there and then heckle him. the only people going to this tournament are going to be the fans who are so excited to see him back, who will give him the utmost respect as to something else where tournaments are going to be a little cheaper and could end up being a zoo in the gallery. there will be no distractions for tiger woods. this is the perfect platform, really, to make his return in many, many ways. >> and what do you think about the other golfers? have we gotten much reaction from them now that it's official that he is going to be playing the masters? >> we're getting in little bits here and there. i think most of the golf world is happy that tiger woods is coming back because they know he is great for the game. they know when he plays the ratings go up. they also know that they have to know that in terms of controlling the circus, the masters will do a good job of that. but, as i said, the number two golfer has already said he's not happy if tiger woods plays the masters first because it is, they call it a tradition unlike any other. will this in some way sully the

tradition because, you know, now you are adding this whole sort of subplot and fiasco. let's be honest. but, you know, ultimately he's got to decide what's best for him. and i think -- and also the tmzs and radar onlines will not be at the masters. those -- the masters was credentialed a year ago already. they've already handed them out. these guys now calling trying to get in, national enquirer, not going to get in. >> at the end of the day, these golfers just want to go play golf. just let me play golf and forget the rest of this. rafer, thank you so much. another story we're watching today. mourners are gathering right now in fact for the funeral of actor corey haim. it's set to begin about an hour from now in toronto. the chapel is helping out with the funeral costs. haim's manager says the service is also being planned for a later date in l.a. meanwhile, california attorney general jerry brown talked with hln's jane velez-mitchell about haim's possible involvement in a prescription drug ring. >> we know that massive amounts

of drugs, legal drugs, but obtained in what looks to me like a questionable manner because so many doctors. how many people go to 10 or 15 or 20 doctors and then run around to 10, 12 and more pharmacies to go fulfill them. and sometimes two different doctors on the same day. this is serious stuff. now do we know he put them in his mouth? no. we don't have anyone who saw him. but we know that these prescriptions were fulfilled in his name and they went somewhere. >> an autopsy revealed haim had an enlarged heart and water in his lungs. but the coroner won't have an official cause of death until next month. haim's manager says it was not an overdose and says the actor had been trying to kick prescription drugs after one point taking 80 pills a day. kirk cameron was also a child star in the '80s. he competed for roles with corey haim. he says he can see how becoming a celebrity at such a young age may have contributed to haim's

troubles. >> when you turn 35, 40 years old, these questions start coming up. who am i really? do you have value? what's the meaning of my life? where am i going? and for someone who grew up and at 15 years old was the superstar, these questions are intensified later in life and you are wondering how do i get back to who i was. but it was a false sort of identity -- >> to begin with. >> and you can't get back there. cameron said the main things that saved him from going down a similar life is haim was a strong foundation from his parents and his faith in god. well, police chase after a ford f-150 in phoenix, arizona, early this morning. they arrested the driver and the passenger but find out what else officers discover hiding in the truck bed.

it's hard to admit that i need help, but i do.

for 45 days from the end of december to early february, i was in inpatient therapy receiving guidance for the issues i am facing. i have a long way to go. but i've taken my first steps in the right direction. >> and we know what steps tiger woods is taking now. that's video of his first public appearance when he addressed the press and you in february. we're following the breaking news now that tiger woods says he is returning to golf at the masters next month. a definitive date here. this announcement was released in a written statement. remember, woods hasn't played professional golf since the sex scandal broke in november after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. we're following the story on all fronts. we'll keep you posted throughout the day. on to some other news. you never know how a police chase is going to end,

obviously. what happened in arizona today was not typical. police in phoenix tried to pull or a suspicious pickup. the driver stepped on the gas. a helicopter affiliate was overhead for the action. >> at times he was going about 90 miles per hour. then police decided to back off when he was kind of getting in the residential neighborhoods. they were suspicious of something in the back of his truck. from what i can tell, this is an f-150. it looks like it's silver or white. and in the back of the pickup truck it looks like there's plywood. anyways, the chase then continued at 80 or 90 miles per hour. luckily, no one has been hurt. there has been no accidents in this, but the police have since pulled off. and you can see he's continuing to go, just driving around in these residential neighborhoods. police have backed off. at this point, we all know where he is. so, so far he's not getting away. it looks like he's starting to abey -- well, no, he just blew a stop sign right there.

everybody is working together up here so that he doesn't know that we're still tracking him. dps helicopter is overhead. they are giving that information to the ground officers, letting them know exactly where he's going. so the idea is -- you can see the cops behind him right now. he's captured. he's caught. >> all right. police got a big payoff once the driver and several passengers were in custody. nine people, look at this. nine were hiding underneath that plywood. that must have been a bone-jarring ride when that chase got to speeds of 90 miles an hour. all were arrested. all are believed to be undocumented or illegal immigrants. a rock slide closed a road in tennessee called the dragon because of all its curves. the smoky mountains highway was curvy enough that, look at this. running right smack into it. didn't even see the huge pile of rocks in front of him. >> when i came around that curve right there i noticed you all and i didn't even see that rock pile there. i'm lucky to have hit it in a

way to not get too hurt. my dog here, she probably took a pretty good hit but she's all right. there it is again. so far road crews haven't said how long it's going to take to clear the road. that's u.s. highway 129 south of knoxville if you need to travel the area, just so you know. a unique rescue played out in arizona this morning. ho this horseot trapped on a sandbar.

i want to give you a quick update on a breaking story. after a four-month hiatus, tiger woods himself is saying he will return to golf at the masters next month. this announcement was released in a written statement. remember, woods hasn't played professional golf since a sex scandal broke in november after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. i want to read you some of the quotes we've gotten from tiger today. he says the masters is where i won my favorite major, and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game, i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career. and as a professional, i think augusta is where i need to be, even though it's been awhile since i last played. i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and i am continuing my treatment, although i'm returning to competition, i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life." so we'll be following this for you today. i want to show you some pretty intense video, though. a horse had been stranded for four days on a small river

island in arizona. look at it there being airlifted to safety just a little while ago. it's doing just fine. the horse's owner was swept into the current with other riders on friday. one of the riders was able to take his horse to shore and call 911. the other three people were stranded for hours and their horses struggled to stay afloat. thafl riders were rescued unhurt. we understand one of the horses was badly injured and had to be euthanized. this guy is said to be doing just fine. your newest facebook friend could be the fbi. a government document shows agents are creating fake social networking profiles. they use them to chat with suspects, identify friends or relatives and look for incriminating photos. investigators have also compared a suspect's alibi with a twitter message they sent at the time in question to see if they really were where they said they were. this is our "your views" question today. i hope you'll call us,

1-877-tell-hln. is this an invasion of privacy or should the fbi be on these sites? text your views. i'd love for you to find us on facebook. i'm at christi paul hln. some toyota owners say forget the fix. we want a full refund. so many drivers are afraid of their own cars right now. a group of them is suing, demanding a full refund. s do echbs toyota owners in arizona and washington state are seeking class action lawsuit status which means if they get it, this could be 6 million drivers. and if they win, it could be worth millions. it's potentially crippling to toyota in the future. now the group alleges the cars are so unsafe that toyota has botched the safety recall so profoundly that the only proper solution is to let them take their cars back and get a full refund even if they never had a problem. just so you know, toyota has yet to comment on this.

we've been talking recently about how your saturday mail delivery may be going away. the postal service is considering changes to help save billions of dollars. clark howard tells you about some alternatives to that snail mail. >> okay. something that i wondered about awhile back is why do we still have mail delivery six days a week? who cares about the mail anymore anyway? now the postmaster general is floating the idea of eliminating saturday delivery for mail. to me, that's a big yawner, but it would save us billions of dollars. in fact, recent polling shows that we're kind of split as a country. a little more than half the people say, yeah, why not eliminate saturday delivery to save money? well, here's what i want you to think about. we can't do everything. and the value of the mail has gone down over time as we've had alternative ways to communicate with each other. are you still paying bills through the mail?

what are you thinking? why not pay your bills electronically. you are going to save money and you have far more reliability that the bills are going to get paid and get paid on time. and what about evits instead of traditional invites? i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to save a buck go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> get more great consumer advice from the one and only clark howard every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern here on hln news and views. the king of pop is still breaking records. how michael jackson is shocking the music industry right now almost a year after he died.

in therapy, i've learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life and keeping in balance with my professional life. i need to regain my balance and be centered so i can say the things that are most important to me -- my marriage and my children. >> all righty. the game is back on, and one mr. tiger woods is going to be a player. tiger woods himself now saying

he will return to golf at the masters next month. this announcement was released in a written statement. rafer weigel has been pouring over it. okay. what do we know about this big announcement? this is what everyone has been waiting for. >> we've been wondering is it going to come from tiger woods or the pga tour. it came straight from tiger himself through his agent. and this is what he said. tiger saying the masters is where i won my favorite major, and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game ifeel like i am ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career. as a professional, i think augusta is where i need to be, even though it's been awhile since i last played. i have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and i am continuing my treatment, although i am returning to competition. i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. he also goes on to say that he's not going to play the tavistoc

cup or arnold palmer invitational. as for the masters and augusta specifically, they are loving this. whether they expected it would happen or not. their response to tiger announcing that will be the first tournament he plays, they said. we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's masters tournament. additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. and speaking of rebuilding his personal and professional life, this could -- this is going to be a boon for the masters, but it could also be a potential nightmare. so we have an expert on the phone. rick cerron se the former pr manager for the new york yankees, a club -- there's no club under more media scrutiny than the new york yankees. rick, are you there? >> how are you today? >> i'm good. how are you? >> great. thanks for having me. >> my question to you is, how does -- from a pr standpoint is this a nightmare?

is this a dream come true or a little of both? >> well, it's probably a little of both, but let's face it. tiger woods was going to come back somewhere, at some time. it's the masters. they are probably the most prepared for it because they have the strictest media access. they really run a very tight ship there, so i think from that point of view, tiger's picked the right place. he's also picked the highest profile tournament, so in that sense, he's you know, he's taking on an awful lot here. but he's in good hands with ari fleischer. he was going to come back. now we know when, and have at it. >> rick igot to stop you quickly. so we do know for a fact he has retained or working with the former white house press secretary ari fleischer? we heard rumors about it. do you know that should be sure? >> i'm pretty confident that's what he's doing. >> do you mind if i ask what your sources are? >> the media outlets i've read it in are pretty close and ari

is closely tied in with tiger's managing company. so i believe that ari is indeed working with him behind the scenes. he certainly should be. and if that's the case, he's in very good hands. and i think from what we're seeing hour, this has been handled right here, i think that seems to be the case. >> and you are right. it could make a lot of sense to retain a guy like fleisher. what's your take on the fact some say the reason he's coming to the masters. a lot of people from the golf stanpoint say it's madness to play a major tournament after a four-month layoff but he's only do it because the tmzs, the national enquirers and raider onlines aren't going to get anywhere near him. >> that's probably part of the reason. i would not dispute that that's part of what they had to look at. what are the credentialing procedures of the other tournaments. but, you know, i think this is a place where he's comfortable. i think he will be protected. we can go on about why didn't he pick this one.

why didn't he pick one to prep for the masters. he's taking on an awful lot to start off playing for the green jacket. so this is what it is. i think he's in good hands. i think he's going to do the right things. now it's all going to come down to how is he going to play? i think he's going to be fine in how he handles the media. it's going to be now, which is good. how is he going to play? >> last question. if he's going to be not taking questions -- first of all, do you think he's going to answer any questions about his personal life at all? >> i don't think at that venue he will. i think it's going to be golf and golf only. i really kind of would advise him, sit down with the golf writers. you put yourself in a very bad position with the golf writers of america when they felt it necessary to boycott your apology. i think make amends with the golf writers. have an availability with all of them or some of them. but i think once he gets -- when he goes to the masters, it's going to be about golf. >> and eventually he is going to be followed by all of those tabloids. what's it going to be like after the masters? >> the funny thing is it's going to be like that outside of the

golf course for the foreseeable future. i mean, everywhere he goes, he's -- but that's the environment we live in. we live in an environment of -- a paparazzi environment where they are going to follow your every move. it's a difficult environment for celebrities to live in. they have to have -- they pay a high price for their celebrity, but that's just the environment. he's going to have to deal with that. >> rick cerrone, the former pr manager of the new york yankees. we appreciate your time and experti expertise. christi, it's going to be a very busy day. we're also working to try to get reaction from the golf world. this is a catch-22. in many ways they'll be happy. they probably won't have to answer any more tiger questions. at the same time, the circus is in town. the ratings are going to go up. a lot of mixed feeling. >> they've been talking about how important he is to the game of golf and to its success on a national level. >> here we are. >> we'll see. thank you so much, rafer. good to have you here. i don't know if you saw this one. police chase after a ford f-150

in phoenix this morning. they arrested the driver and the passenger. wa until you hear wt they scovered in the trkbed.

live report coming up with jean casarez in a moment. if you have not heard, tiger woods is coming back to golf. we have an official date coming straight from his mouth. he said he's returning at the masters next month. it was a written statement that was released here. tiger says, "the masters is where i won my first major, and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game, i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career. and as a professional, i think

augusta is where i need to be. even though it's been awhile since i last played. i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and i am continuing my treatment. although i'm returning to competition istill have a lot of work to do in my personal life." woods acknowledging all of the elements of his life that have intrigued the nation as of late. woods has not played professional golf, remember, since the sex scandal broke in november after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. billy payne, the chairman of augusta national golf club where the masters are played, just released this statement. we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's masters tournament. additionally, we support and encourage a stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. tiger woods obviously going to have a lot of support there in augusta when he hits the links. espn reporter erin andrews says the man who secretly shot nude voofs her then posted them online should have received a harsher punishment.

michael david barrett was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after giving a tearful apology yes. jean casarez from trutv has been following this case. so he got 30 months in prison. i want to point out, based on what i've read there are 16 yet unidentified other women whom he allegedly taped as well. so is 30 months enough? >> that's what some prosecution documents say. those could be the focal point of other cases. this particular case just has to do with erin andrews. this is a prime example of what a plea agreement is because the defendant in this case, michael david barrett, he pleaded guilty to one federal count of stalking, and the maximum is five years for that one count. but what he got and what he has termed a downward departure, the judge has discretion under the federal laws. he decided to sentence him to those 30 months. and the reason he sentenced him to 30 months is because his acceptance of his conduct.

his acceptance of what he did, his apology. the victim in this case, erin andrews, she disagreed and made it known. take a listen. >> i am at the angry stage right now. i'm mad. i appreciate the judge today and what he could do. 30 months isn't enough. i think it's time for congress, lawmakers to make this just a stiffer sentence than what it is. and you suggested about other celebrities. there's a lot of celebrities that have been stalked. and they just want to put it away and move forward. i can't. i have to fight for this. >> here's one of the issues, christi. the state of mind of the defendant. did he merely want to sell video of her looking through a peephole, that video he made or is there a state of mind of being a sexual predator. that's what erin andrews told the judge. that's what she thought he was. in the plea agreement i was able to get my hands on, what it talks about is that he went to

tmz to try to sell this video in january of 2009. apparently got nowhere with that. they helped authorities. then went on after that to post it himself on the internet. maybe i'm naive, but i don't think there's any money if you just post it yourself on the internet. that would denote a state of mind like erin andrews is alleging. >> i think anyone that puts themselves in erin andrews' shoes can understand how violated she has to feel. that's where this protective order came in. >> a protective order was included within the plea agreement. when he gets out, after the 2 1/2 years, for three more years, there will be supervised release, including a protective order he cannot come within 100 yards of erin andrews. if he does, and this is the clincher that makes it strong. not only will he be possibly in contempt of court for more charges but his supervised release will be violated. he'll go back in to serve those five years. >> let's switch gears here. charlie sheen plead not guilty to domestic violence charges.

what do we know about his arraignment? >> it was quite awhile after the charges, 30 days -- i mean three months after. he plead not guilty. not that there won't be a plea deal here. there's a lot of evidence and prosecutors have not invited a plea deal as of yet or else there would not have been an arrai arraignment. he went to court. he was there in person. you see with the video, there were no cameras in court. but his attorney had him plead not guilty at this point, although there is a 911 call and there are police statements from brook newler. >> we'll talk about that later. thanks, jean casarez with "in session" there. have you seen this yet? unique rescue playing out in arizona this morning. that's a horse that became trped on a sandbar.

want to get back to our breaking story. in case you are just joining us, tiger woods is returning to the golf course and we now know exactly when, straight from his mouth. he will be at the masters next month. he released this in a written statement today saying "the masters is where i won my favorite major, and i view this

tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game, i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career. and as a professional, i think augusta is where i need to be, even though it's been awhile since i last played. i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and i am continuing my treatment. although i am returning to competition, i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life." woods hasn't played professional golf since a sex scandal broke in november after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. we're getting some reaction. billy payne, the chairman of augusta national golf club where the masters are played released this statement. "we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's masters tournament." additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life." tiger woods and the whole fiasco of the last few months always has people talking.

and rochelle carey is listening to what you have to say about this today. >> i'm trying to get people's reaction to tiger returning to golf. returning particularly to the masters. we've been getting some facebook comments. let me read some comments. kathy in particular. she keyed in on the fact it is the masters. she said i think he chose the masters because the media is controlled at this event. she thinks that's cowardly. okay. marla wrote this. tiger should do what is best for him. if he wants to play golf, just leave him alone and let him play. lisa says everyone makes mistakes. chooses something bad in their lives that they later regret. he has apologized and feels awful well b it. let's forget it and move on. mary jane says i'm not a golf fan so i guess his fans are happy. i hope he is trying to straighten out his family life first than actually going back to golf. i don't think a few months of hiding and therapy is enough. i think he needs some more quiet time with his family.

marie says this is big news for golfers. i hope he makes a comeback, and i hope he has learned a lesson. i think that was -- mary-jane, pardon me. michael says this. it's time. he didn't kill anyone, besides the sport of golf needs him. so we're trying to get your reactions to the announcement that tiger is coming back to golf. he's going to make his big return at the masters. really the biggest one of all. the biggest tournament of all. we want your views on this. call us at 1-877-tell-hln or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln or text us, hlntv. and the question is also posted on our facebook pages. richelle carey hln. >> thank you richelle. the democratic vote counter in the house insists there are enough votes to pass health care reform later this week. if the democrats do not have the

votes, house speaker nancy pelosi may try to pass it another way. the procedure is called the deem and pass or the self-executing rule. the house would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the bill. if that passes it would signify that lawmakers deem the health care bill to be passed. so the senate bill would pass, it seems like, under another bill. pelosi says i like it because people don't have to vote on the senate bill. that's a quote. republicans are slamming the idea, though, suggesting it may be an effort to avoid responsibility for passing health care reform, for passing the senate bill. david dreyer says the american people need to see who is supporting the bill and who is not. okay. this is a video i was talking about a little bit video i was talking about. that's a horse who had been strand for four days on a small river island in arizona and there it is being airlifted to safety. i'm happy to tell you it is doing just fine. the horse and the owner were swept into a current with other riders on friday. one of the riders was able to

take his horse to shore and call 911. >> three people were stranded for hours and the horses struggled to stay afloat. all of the riders were rescued unhurt. one of the horses was badly injured and had to be euthanized and the one you're looking at there is doing just fine. i'm happy to tell you. a rock slide has closed a road in tennessee called the dragon. look at this. it's a smoky mountains highway that's so curvy this guy didn't even see that huge pile of rocks in front of him. >> when i came around that curve right there i noticed you all. and i didn't even notice it, i'm glad i hit it in a way to not get too hurt. my dog took a pretty good hit, but she's all right. >> so far road crews haven't saidow long it will take to clear that road. it u.s. highway 129 south of oxville, just so you opinion upon

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com here's what tiger is saying, quote, i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. you didn't do anything wrong, and i had to deal with a lot of people saying i deserved this. the 16 other women who got this, doesn't deserve this. >> elizabeth has a very genuine, caring and loving side. she also has a side that would scare the paint off of a wall. i didn't even see that rock fall there. i'm lucky. goodness!

some of those great stories we're covering today on a tuesday. hi. i'm chuck roberts. thanks for choosing "hln news and views." tiger woods is back and returning to the pga tour with a flourish after a four-month hiatus and the sex scandal we've been talking about endlessly. tiger says he will play at the highly prestigious masters at augusta, georgia, which begins later next month. we're covering this from all angles. first in tiger's own woods. the mast sers where i won my first major, and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel i'm ready to start my season at augu augusta. as a professional, i think augusta is where i need to be even though it's been a while since i last played. i've undergone almost two month of in-patient therapy and i'm continuing my treatment. although i'm returning to competition, i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. that's how it ends, rafer

weigel. i still have a lot to do with my personal life which means that he recognizes a lot of people might think it's too early. >> we have to entertain the idea because he goes on in that statement and says that he was not going to be playing the tavistock cup or arnold palmer invitational which you and i have spoken about at length, you play those two first, before you play the masters. >> you have to have your game face. >> i think without playing any other tournament and nobodiy giving this man a chance to win the tournament. i have yet to find anybody out there who says you know what? he'll be fine. to his credit. he's won at this tournament four times and it's the same course unlike the other majors that move around. there's a possibility and he may not be ready from a golf standpoint. three weeks, that could be a long time in the world of golf. now, let's ask an expert about this. david dusek has been covering tiger woods for a while, and i'm

glad we have him because david, i understand you believe that this is the perfect tournament for tiger to come back to, yes? >> well, i think that there are three very, very good reason yes this is probably the ideal situation. a lousy situation, but the best tournament for tiger woods to come back at, yeah. number one, the folks at augusta national are very protective of the players from the media standpoint, and the tabloid media will go after him and be especially aggressive and try to dig up dirt on tiger woods and ask the tough questions and will not be allowed at the club. the process is closed and overwith, so you can't get a media credential and if you have not already been approved. the fans on the grounds and will be lining the fairways are amongst the most supportive, golf knowledgeable, you're not going see signs and you're not going to hear heckling along the sides of the fairways at augusta national. from the golf standpoint there have not been changes at the golf course. tiger has won at the masters four times.

all of the things combined make it as easy a place for tiger to come back to as you can possibly hope for. >> also, i have yet to cover a masters, but the past winners have their own separate clubhouse separate from some of the other clubhouse. there are opportunities for him to seclude himself from the other golfers, is that true? >> well, to some degree. it's a very intimate sort of setting, but inside the clubhouse most of the players are downstairs in the regular locker room, but there is a separate locker room reserved for other champions along with every past champion of the masters. it's not like he has a private area all to himself. >> let me ask you this, given that there was not going to be tabloid media there, what questions can we expect the media to be asking him when he does return? >> one of two things will happen. i wouldn't be the least surprise if tiger has a legitimate press conference before showing up at augusta national where he'll answer whatever questions about the scandal he'll choose to answer going forward and once he gets to augusta national he will

not answer any questions not related to golf, the course or the happenings at the tournament. if he doesn't do a pre-press conference before showing up at augu augusta, there will be the questions put forth from golf media, those of us who cover the sport day in and day out where we'll ask him about the acts and the alleged affairs which obviously then became non-alleged. those questions will come out and because they're going to be coming from media members like myself that he knows and he's been saying since 19 6 when he became a professional player, the level of comfort that he's going to have and i think it's all about him trying to be as comfortable as he can in a very awkward situation will be as high as it can possibly be. it will be very difficult. it will be very awkward at times, but those are the questions that have to get asked because people want to know. >> if you ask those questions do you think that you'll be shut out? >> think that you will certainly be noted by he and his people, no question. i don't think the people at the masters will shut you out or ask you to leave, but i don't think

that there's any question that members of the media who are especially critical or harsh toward tiger, somewhere there's a list. let's put it that way. somewhere there's a list. >> bill dusek, we appreciate your time. thank you. >> thanks a lot. he says something that i've speculated upon that you go forward at your own risk at this point asking tiger woods questions about his personal life. he did not answer questions about his personal life in good times, now suddenly he's in the wake of a scandal and i don't believe he'll answer them at all now so what happens when we do answer them? >> a day of reckoning will come. >> it's inevitable that it will happen. the media is restricted for the masters, but what happens for the next tournament when it is not restricted and when the galleries will be opening up. >> it will be much more of a distraction. >> do you think you'll make the cut? >> i don't think i'll make the cut. >> no? >> think the fallout from that. >> thanks, rafer.

a, appreciate it. >> we've been asking how you think this play out and whether you think the biggest name in golf should be headed back to the game this soon. here's the buzz from the street. >> i'm joe carter and this is hln's "views from the street." everybody is talking about tiger woods these days and everybody has an opinion. let's hit the streets and find out what they have to say. >> let's talk about tiger woods. it makes you laugh. why does it make you laugh? >> tiger, he knows better. >> i don't think the man has an obligation to respond to each and every question he receives about his personal life. >> i don't think he owes the public. he owe it for himself. >> i think the fact that he's taken so long to address it i think is hurt his image. >> he wasn't out in the open to begin with, so i don't think he'll be open to be apologetic with family matters. >> it was such a disappointment. you know? mr. america, mr. wholesome. >> they put him out as a great pga tournament finalist, always winning these great

championships and yeah, i still see you as a cheater. sorry. >> a lot of kids looked up to him. a lot of parents used him as a role model. everyone can be forgiven and gets a second chance. >> we watched him for golf and not because of what he is in his marriage. so if he cheated on his wife then that sucks and they need to work it out together and that's not the rest of the world's business. >> it's really not that important. i mean, look at what's going on in the world. it's not important. >> i'm joe carter and i'll see you on the street. all right. tiger's back and we'll revisit the story often. meanwhile, breaking news out of the san antonio, area, southwest of the city, two people dead, 18 others hurt as a charter bus crashed and rolled over. four people have been airlifted to nearby hospitals. the witness who came upon the accident 15 minutes after it occurred said the bus was on its side and smolderring. several other people and possible spring breakers were walking around and this crash is

still under investigation. go. p leaders will try to force a vote this week that will require the senate health care bill that would for an up or down vote. it will prevent nancy pelosi trying to pass it with a procedural, called the deem and pass rule or self-executing rule, that would allow popular passes of fixes and if that passes it would mean lawmakers will deem the bill passed. republicans are slamming the idea suggesting it may be a bid to avoid responsibility for passing health care reform. california congressman david. representatives from the tea party express continue to hold their code red health care rally on capitol hill urging members of congress to kill the health care overhaul bill. speakers include six congressmen and women as well as americans for prosperity and the tea party express. earlier the former house

majority leader dick army talked about why the protestors are so against health care reform. >> it's not only that you are mandated. you must buy insurance which is a big stop to the insurance companies. no wonder the insurance companies are in bed with barack obama. how would you like it if you were peddling a product and the federal government said everybody has to buy your product? first of all -- >> let me ask you -- >> enormous trespassing to the liberty of the individual american citizen. senator john mccain is going back on the campaign trail with sarah palin. he's facing his toughest re-election fight ever and his former running mate is willing to help. they both attended a rally in tucson and one in mesa the following day. mccain's challenger being j.d. hayworth and arizona congressman and radio talk show host. >> look who we have here!

back to our breaking story. tiger woods coming back to golf and very soon. he made it official announcing on his website he'll return to the masters in augusta in april, that's just a few weeks off. in the statement it says the mast sers where i won my first major and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career and as a professional i think augusta is where i need to be even though it's been a while since i last played i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and i'm continuing my treatment. although i'm returning to competition, he says, i still have have a lot of work to do in my personal life. after his sex scandal after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. hln is all over this story and joy behar will be looking into

the woods choice, the decision to go back to the masters and the controversy surrounding augusta national when it comes to race. don't miss joy tonight. mourners have gathered right now for the funeral of corey haim just north of toronto. that chapel is helping out with funeral expenses. the service is being planned for a later date in l.a. as well. jerry brown talked with jane velez-mitchell about corey haim's possible involvement in a prescription drug ring. >> we than massive amounts of drugs, legal drugs obtained in what looks to me in a questionable manner because so many interests -- how many people go to ten, 15 or 20 drag and run around to ten, 12 and more tomorrow sees to go fulfill them and sometimes two different doctors on the same day. this is serious stuff. do we know he put them in his mouth? no. we don't have anyone who saw him, but we know that these prescriptions were fulfilled in

his name and they went somewhere. >> an autopsy revealed haim had an enlarged heart and water in his lungs and that's according to his mother. the coroner will not have any official cause of death for another few weeks, perhaps next month. haim's manager said it was not overdose. the actor had been trying to kick prescription drugs after at one point taking 80 pills a day. a man was killed when a plane crashed into him. the single-engine plane was en route from orlando to virginia. oil began leaking and covered the windshield. >> they were going to try to get to the airport, to the hilton head island airport and the propellor left the plane and they had to make an emergency landing. >> the two men in the plane weren't hurt and the ntsb and the faa are both investigating. it's prison time for a self-admitted stalker. we've got the sentence now for the man who shot the nude videos of espn reporter erin adrews

d why she said s feared for her life.

let's do a reset. back to our breaking story. tiger woods made it official today announcing on his website he'll be back for the masters. a lot of people speculated that this was virtually inevitable. in the statement on the site he says the masters is where i won my first major. i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel like

i'm ready to start my season at augusta, continuing, the major championships have always been a special focus in my career and as a professional i think augusta is where i need to be even though it's been a while since i last played i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and i'm continuing my treatment. although i am returning to competition i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. one of the reasons he may have cited or thought about is he knows that course. he's played it so often. woods has not played pro golf for about five or six months. closer to five. the scandal in late november broke after he crashed his car into a tree outside his home in windmere, florida. hln has called cbs sports the network that carries the masters for reaction to this. they've had no comment and they don't anticipate making one, but it's a great your views question. what do you think about tiger coming back to the masters. too soon? does it show enough respect for the fellow tour member members and the public in general and the fans? call 877-tell-hln, go to

cnn.com/hln or text your views to hlntv ore access my facebook page, text richelle, and christi paul has one, too. espn reporters -- has been sentenced to three years supervised probation. michael day of the barrett pled guilty last november and he tearfully apologized in his sentencing hearing in l.a. yesterday. andrews pushed for a harsher sentence and calling him a sexual predator and sexual deviant and she fears for her life every time she stays at a hotel. andrews offered other stalking victims advice. >> i don't know if there's any words of warning because i never knew that this was happening to me for the many years that he was doing this, but i think the one thing i would tell them because it was written to me is i didn't -- you didn't do anything wrong, and i had to

deal with a lot of people saying that i deserved this or that i played to a certain crowd to deserve this. the 16 other women that got this, didn't deserve this. the other women that he was searching on the internet didn't deserve this, so you need to know that you didn't do anything wrong. second thing is despite questions about how do you move on with your life, you're a victim. you should be allowed to live your life. you shouldn't have to go and hide when that's what you want to do, but unfortunately, you have to deal with it by yourself and like one woman wrote me in a letter, i hate to say this to you, but welcome to our sorority. and it is. no one understands it. >> as part of the sentence, barrett will not be allowed to stay in a hotel without approval of a probation officer and if he accepts employment andrews would have to be notified. a horse stranded for days was brought to safety we some flourish we have detailof this dramat rescueust ahead. eeeeeeex

we begin with breaking news. tiger woods is returning to golf and very soon. he has been practicing, that much is certain. he has only just announced he will play at highly prestigious masters golf tournament in augusta national next month. let's read the exact statement. let's put it up on full screen as this is exactly what tiger has put on his blog. it reads this way. the masters is where i won my first major, and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have

always been a special focus in my career and as a professional i think augusta is where i need to be even though it's been a while since i last played. i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and i'm continuing my treatment. although i'm returning to competition i still have a lot of work to do in nigh personal life. rafer weigel was kind enough to stick around and flush out the details of this. ari fleischer is on his team. he's a pr guy. you think his hand might have been in this. >> ari fleischer has carved out a career for himselves in rebuilding images and he did that with mark mcgwire. mark inning wire, took it albeit bob costas, the big question is will tiger woods take questions about his personal life? some people say the mast sers a perfect fit because it will be restrictive and certain media will not be allowed in there. we're lucky enough to have mike beutel from bloomberg. mike was some of the few people

in the room when tiger gave his apology. i hope i pronounced your name correctly. >> you're one of the few. >> what kind of reaction do you think he is going get from the media given that you've covered this man for a long time? >> from the media at the masters he's going to get a very controlled reaction. there will not be tabloid media there. there will not be the non-golf media. it will be very comfortable setting, as much as it can be comfortable for tiger to be there. he will see a lot of familiar faces and there will be some people from outside the golf world, but that's key in all this. he's going to be very controlled and be as comfortable as he possibly could be in this situation. >> so, mike, what questions do you think the media will ask him given that this is going to be the golf media that has followed him throughout his career? as you know, he didn't answer personal questions during good times. what kind of questions is he looking at now and what kind of reaction do you think he'll get? >> i think he'll be asked

personal question, whether he chooses to answer any of them remains to be seen. chances are he won't answer personal questions and there will probably be in the beginning of it something along the lines that i won't answer personal questions and he'll probably decline to answer them and people will ask him, he's built an entire industry around himself. how has the industry been affected. obviously we know he's lost a lot of sponsors and more importantly, will he be able to continue on as he had in the past and winning golf tournaments and winning golf tournaments is what's going to repair that image as best as can be repaired. >> my question is this is both a personal and professional comeback and he's allowed us a window, he told us he was in therapy. now that he's allowed us in a little bit into this particular aspect of his recovery, are we entitled to know any more? do we deserve to know any more? >> there are a lot of people who say he doesn't owe anybody

anything in any form or fashion and there's the other argument that he's a public figure and people have spent good money to buy his golf clubs and his shirts and attend tournaments that he plays in and spend more money to go to those tournaments and advertisers have spent more to advertise during tournaments he plays in, so a lot of people feel that he does owe more of an explanation, and i think he has opened that window a little bit where he has are has said i've gone to rehab. i have made mistakes. he's apologized. these are things he never would have done in the past. once you open that door a little bit it's hard to get it shut and people will try to push it open even further. it remains to be seen if he lets it get pushed open even further. >> mike, you and i will both be at the masters covering this event. what's going to happen if we ask a personal question? will we be shut out? what will happen, do you think? >> oh, i don't think we'll be escorted off the premises by any means, and i think he expects those questions. it has to be done, obviously, in a professional manner and, you

know, it can't be a question that's so out of bounds that, you know, it's offensive. if it's done in a professional manner, tiger is a professional person and he's a public figure and whether he chooses to answer it remains to be seen, but -- now if fans or patropatrons, we should say, chose to heckle him they'll be escorted off the grounds quickly. i'm certain of that. >> that's probably not going to happen given the price of the ticket for that tournament. thanks very much. i look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks. >> sounds good, rafer. >> we do have a reaction from the actual masters tournament. billy payne, the augusta national golf club chairman reacted to tiger's decision saying in, quote, we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning in this year's masters tournament. we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. one important aspect that people

need to realize about this tournament, it is invitation only. tiger wood his to be invited to play in this tournament so the masters knew he was coming back a long time before this. >> i thought everybody who wore a green jacket, yeah, it's automatically, but still you need the invite. >> what about the arnold palmer and tavistock? >> no. they are not. well, he said flat out he's not going to play them. tavistock, you have to be a member of the country club. arnold palmer, he and arnie have a relationship, but he said flat out he's not going play them. i don't agree with that decision from a golf standpoint. i don't think he'll make the cut by not having a warm-up tournament first. >> a lot of perspectives. we'll be all over it all day. >> pressing on, breaking news out of texas. ata success cosa county, a mexican tour bus crashed and rolled over on interstate 37. it connects san antonio with corpus christi. this is north of campbellton, texas. the bus was en route from san

antonio, down to matamoros, just across from brownsville, texas. a witness who came upon the accident said the bus was on its side and smoldering. several young people, possibly spring breakers were walking around. the cause is still under investigation. it's a busy day for residents along the red river dividing north dakota from minnesota. volunteers are filling 1 million sandbags to protect nearby homes from the rising waters. they may crest at 20 feet above flood stage. these residents know the drill. every spring, this threat rises. cities like fargo could be affected and across the river in minnesota, governor pawlenty declared a state of emergency in 28 counties. nearly 100 homes were damaged and they don't expect the water to be as high this year. police chased after a ford f-150, they arrested the driver and a passenger and find out what else officers discovered hiding in the truck bed.

back to our breaking story. tiger woods is coming back to golf. he announced on his website he'll return to the masters next month. he's not played a professional round of golf since thanksgiving weekend. he had just won an australian tournament before thanksgiving. his car crashed, that touched off reports of extra marital affairs. his golf career was on hold for four months. we've called cbs, of course, to get a reaction to the tiger woods announcement today. they had no comment. they don't anticipate making a comment, but we're all over it. "showbiz tonight" will debate whether the masters gallery will welcome him. what will the crowds be like? will it be a triumphant return? don't miss that.

we have been asking your views on tiger's return. richelle carey has been monitoring all of it. what are they saying, richelle? >> we have someone on the phone, chuck, who wants to talk about it. he's calling us from right here in georgia, getting a little bit of feedback there. i hope you can hear me okay. ely success irk a you're not a golf fan, per se, but you're excited about this, is that right? >> well, i'm glad. i'm glad tiger's coming back to the game of golf, and i'm glad he's made the announcement today so that the speculation can end. i do believe that his return is good for golf, and good for his golf fans, any golf fans and good for him and his family. i am -- i do understand the concern that his competitors have about making the masters a media circus with his debut and return. >> don't you think it will be all about him? >> well, i don't know that any game -- any competition that tiger woods is in for the next

few months, if not the next few years will be any different without -- the media's going to be there no matter what, and i -- i don't think the media circus will diminish for a while, and i do understand that, you know, sacredness of the game and the location of the masters. however, i believe they can control the media there better than anywhere else. >> and he was eventually going to come back so he had to pick a tournament, right? >> exactly. exactly. >> okay. >> i know they wanted him to go to another game before he came to the masters, but, again, i don't know that the media circus will diminish for a while. i think they can control it in augusta. >> thank you for the phone call. appreciate it. let's share some facebook comments and you've been weighing in at richelle carey hln. tracy says this. tracy says i have absolutely no respect for him, so i won't be watching golf for at least anything that he participates in.

okay, tracy. kat says as a golfer, well, that's between him and his wife, i, nor anyone else, should be judgmental. kat says i think he chose the masters so the media are controlled at the event. she thinks it's kind of cowardly. marla says tiger should do what's best for him. mason says who cares and three explanation points. this is a place he can control and have it his way like always and a few exclamation points. this is the your views question, tiger will return to golf at the -- at the masters, all right, in augusta. is this too soon? do you think he'll be well received? tell us your thoughts on this, how are you receiving this. call us at 1-877-tell-hln, the the e-mail address, cnn.com/hln. you can text us as well, hlntv and standard text rates apply and jump on the facebook pages,

chuck, christi and i all have facebook pages. >> you know they'll be through the roof. >> astronomical. >> the advertisers will be loving this. >> sure. a unique rescue played out in arizona and a camera followed it as a horse who became trapped on a sandbar is lifted out.

welcome back. we now know when tiger woods is returning to golf and it's very soon. he'll play in the masters early april in augusta. this, of course, after several month of time off and a lot of pr headaches and of course, that famous rehab after a thanksgiving night accident and later admiggeds of extra marital affairs. let's hear what woods said last month. >> it's hard to admit that i need help, but i do. for 45 days from the end of december to early february i was in inpatient therapy receiving guidance for the issues i'm facing. i have a long way to go.

i'm taking my first steps in the right direction. >> long way to go, first steps in that direction. mike galanos, what's your reaction? did that ring true in the fact that he says i have a long way to g these are the first early steps and he's playing golf. >> think golf is a comfort zone for him especially at augusta national. i'm looking at it on two fronts. on the sports front, how do you come back to the masters? mike tyson fights a chufrm like neily, he doesn't fight hollyfield. so you're thinking you're coming back for the masters, but then you start thinking it makes sense. you've got control at masters. the fans at the masters, i think will be more forgiving of tiger woods and there's a certain decorum at augusta national, and it's not like the folks will go wild because they booed him and there's a decorum to where they may not tee off like it was open

season or a u.s. open where they might get wild out there. tiger woods gets the control he needs and when he answers questions i think we'll hear a lot of no comments when reporters start asking the personal stuff. >> does he owe fellow golfers an explanation and is the masters the place to do it? might he have done it at tavistock or arnold palmer where it's familial? >> he's a past winner and he's in a different place in the locker room than the rest of the field. >> and they'll have to deal with it, come wednesday, thursday and we'll talk about the fellow golfers. they'll have to answer the questions about tiger. the number two in the world was hoping in comments he'd made, come back and play tavistock and the arnold palmer and get it over with because we'll have the zoo and the media circus and you want it at augusta, national, the hallowed ground and a tradition like no other? well, that's what we have. i know rafer said it earlier, and it will be the most watched golf event ever. >> it's a huge win for masters. >> do you think money drove this decision? >> i think that's his -- that's

his tournament of all of the tournaments he plays -- >> it was the -- >> he's won it four times. he's had great success this. he's finished no less than six so that's his place and when i re-think the sports angle of this, you're not playing against anybody and of course, you know very well so he may compete very well. >> i don't know if he's into moral victories, but it will be incredible to watch regardless. >> great insights. thanks for coming in. appreciate it. you never know how police chases will happen and you never know when, and how it will end. what happened today in arizona was not typical. police in phoenix tried to pull over a suspicious pickup, but the driver stepped on gas. ktvk was overhead for the action. >> at times he was going about 90 miles per hour and then police decided to back off when he was getting in the reshl are residential neighborhoods and

stuff like that. they were suspicious of something in the back of his truck. from what i can tell this is an f-150, silver or white and in the back of the pickup it looks like there's plywood and the chase there's plywood. the chase continued at 80 or 90 miles per hour. no accidents. the police have since pulled off. he's continuing to go, just driving around in these residential neighborhoods. police have backed off. at this point we know where he is, so-so far he's not getting away. nope. he just blew a stop sign. everybody is working together up here so he done know that we're still tracking him. dps helicopter is overhead and giving that information to the ground police officers, letting them know where he's going. the idea is -- you can see the cops behind him right now. so owes captured. he's caught. >> and it's over.

police got a big payoff. nine people, nine people were hiding under that plywood. there's the payoff. that must have been a bone jarring ride. all were arrested and believe to be illegal immigrants. we save the best for last. a horse who had been stranded four days in a small river island in arizona was airlifted to safety a short wild ago and is doing fine. the horse and its owner were swept into the current on friday. one of the riders was able to take his horse to shore and called 911. all of the riders were rescued but one of the horses was badly injured. talk abouting in the right place at the right time. a florida couple sees something floating at a nearby lake, quick thinking helped save a life.

hear tiger saying quote i'm ready to start my season at augusta. >> you didn't do anything wrong and i had to deal with a lot of people saying that i deserved this. the 16 other women that got this didn't deserve this. >> elizabeth has a genuine and caring and loving side. she also has a side that will scare the paint off a wall. >> i didn't see that thing. that rock pile there.

>> it's quite a character. we'll show you more. that's some of the stories we're following right now. thanks for choosing hln "news and views." we're all over some pretty big breaking news. tiger woods making his return to golf after that four month break and the sex scandal. he says he'll played at the highly prestigious masters. rafer weigel is here and also joined by john fredricky of fox sports radio. . lots of angles to carry. it came out of nowhere. but not really. we've been piecing this for a few days. >> basically when was it going to happen? i thought it would be later. i thought he was going to give the announcement right up until the deadline. tiger woods says he's coming back to where he won his first major tournament. he's got a big history here with this tournament. he's won it four times and it's been a very, you know, been a very kind course to tiger woods.

a lot of people questioning why would you come back at a major? also the big question is how is the golf community reacting? let's bring in john fredricky from fox sports radio. john, what are you hearing? first of all, what's your reaction to this and what's the reaction of others in the sports world? >> the initial reaction is correct his coming back to the masters is really a good idea as far as the event and the venue because this is, i guess for lack of a better term a hermetically sealed world and the masters run this with an iron fist. the analysis is correct in terms of this is the best possible place he can come back in terms of focusing on golf. the fans that go to augusta come year after year. >> but a lot of people think it's, even steve stricter said don't come back to a major

tournament first, get it out of the way. there's going to be so much gravity. what kind of pressure is he under to win. he's lost some sponsors. >> first off, as far as other golfers are concerned at which point is tiger woods ever cared about other golfers? i don't think he cares now. i don't know that he cares about anybody but himself. nothing will ever be the same. this will be changed from now on. to the two different points, to the field itself, this is a distraction that they don't want, but it's a double edged sword because to the field it's ratings bonanza. so they get the double edged sword of tiger coming back to the event, the benefit and drawback. as to his game, i think he'll play well. you do? >> i think he wants to win this like nobody's business. he's the best player in the history of the game.

we can have the nicholas-woods game. he wants to win this event and shut everybody else out. if he thinks this way, if he wins this event he shuts everybody up. to the degree that as much as we love a demigod our society loves a prodigal son more. >> i've been talking to a lot of people say this has made him more human because he was on such a high pedestal. sir, we thank you very much for taking the time. very good insight. and i've been talking to some folks out there and a lot of people still are not ready to forgive him for that scandal. people -- >> are they married to him? >> they said they didn't like how long it took him to address these allegations. that's a big, i don't want to say complaint but a big issue

amongst the media as well. the first question, why did it take you so long to come out and address these allegations? so that's probably going to be one of the questions that he gets asked at the masters. i know when i'm there i'm going to ask that question. it will be interesting to see what happens to me if i ask that question. we won't be tasteless but we want to know. this is a professional and personal recovery. >> you're pretty loud i think he'll hear you. i mean that in the best way, rafer. you've had a long day. >> going to keep going. >> we're all over tiger. some other breaking news including a breaking story out of atascosa county, texas. a chartered bus from mexico crashed and rolled over. four people were airlifted to the hospital. this crash is under investigation. for more on this crash let's go

to a reporter with our affiliate with kast. what do they know about what caused this? the pictures are horrible. >> reporter: they are. it's still an active scene. they did open one lane of traffic here. crews are still out here after this morning just being busy the entire morning, transporting people, getting people to the hospital. two people were killed. several people have been airlifted out. dps officials do not know exactly how many people were injured but most were sent to san antonio in critical conditions. the driver heard a popping sound when she lost control and the bus rolled over. there were 35 people on that bus including the driver and on their way to mexico. most of the passengers were in their 20s and 30s. one witness pulled over to help the victims. >> tried to help the people out of the bus.

people were crawling out the window, you know, and underneath, you know, trying to get out and we, you know, we did what we could to help stabilize people. >> and the dps trooper tells us that he spoke with the driver and the driver said that she heard a popping sound which she thought was a tire. however dps trooper this afternoon checked all four tires on the bus and said those tires are okay so now they are investigating this as an equipment malfunction. we expect to be out here for another couple of hours as they clear this scene. >> that popping sound is what they will be to discussion on. appreciate it. thank you very much. >> tiger woods says he'll return to golf at the masters next month. what do you think of this news? is it too soon? long overdue? we'll hear your views on this just ahead

this is a story we're talking b-hln is all over it. tiger woods is coming back to golf. he'll make his return at the masters. the big one. that's next month. he hasn't played professional golf since that thanksgiving weekend car crash and reports of extramarital affairs. . since that put his career on hold for four months. hln has called cbs sports the network that carries the mast engineers for reaction. hit no comment. doesn't anticipate making one. hln is all over this story. "showbiz tonight" will debate whether the masters gallery will welcome him. will it be a triumphant return. >> mourners gathered at a memorial chapter in actor corey haim's home town. the chapel is helping out with the funeral cost. the service is being planned for a later date in los angeles. meanwhile, california attorney general jerry brown talked with

hln's jane velez-mitchell about a drug ring. >> we know massive amount of drugs obtained in a questionable manner. how many people go to ten or 15 doctors and run to 10, 12 pharmacies to fill them. sometimes two different doctors on the same day. do we know he put them in his mouth? >> no. but we know these prescriptions were fulfilled in his name and they went somewhere. >> an autopsy revealed haim had an enlarged heart and also water in his lungs but the coroner won't have an official cause of death until next month. haim's manager said it was not an overdose and the actor had been trying to kick prescription

drugs after taking 80 pills in one day. >> life is hard for anyone when you turn 35, 40 years old these questions coming up. who am i. what's the meaning of my life. where am i going? for someone who grew up and at 15 years old was the stimulus package star these questions are intensified later in life. it was a false sort of identity to beginning with and you can't get back there. >> cameron said the main things that saved him from going down a similar path is a strong foundation from his parents and faith in god. the man who admitted stalking then secretly shooting nude videos of espn reporter andrews has been sentenced to 30 month prison sentence.

he apologized yesterday. andrews push for a harsher sentence and calls him a sexual deviant. barrett cannot stay in a hotel without a probation offer's employment and if he accepts employment somewhere andrews will be notified. >> the woman who interviewed john edwards mistress is defending the pictures of a scantly clad hunter. two pictures show hunter with a white shirt and no pants. hunter expressed reservations about the pictures but she thinks the photos are prettien sexy. last night, larry king was told she's not to blame for breaking up john edwards' marriage. >> she made a comment, you know, that infidelity doesn't happen

in healthy marriages and she says the home was a wreck before i got there. i was not the home wrecker. i think she believes that. >> all right. tiger woods will be at the masters and that has some folks questioning on his apology. taking him to task just ahead. plus michael jackson may be gone from the pop scene but he may still be a force on charts. how and why you may hear new music from the late king of pop.

i do plan to return to golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be. >> looks like we now know tiger woods has made it official. he plans to play in the masters next month. many people say they are skeptical considering he was so vague about his come back during his public statement last month. insessions vinny politan expressed his doubts. >> this is the only think important to tiger is winning major championships. so to miss a major championship for tiger woods barring some sort of injury is oh, my goodness. it goes to his credit built. didn't he tell us at the press conference he's trying to win back the trust of the public and all those people.

tell us the truth. less than a month ago he has no idea and then it's the masters? come on. >> the chairman of the augusta national golf club said he supports tiger woods decision to return. keep it here for continuous coverage of tiger woods come back. michael jackson died and left behind a gaping hole in the hearts of many of his fans and three children and an estate left in debt. there's a plan that could provide for the kids, pay off the debts and bring some never before heard music to his fans. "showbiz tonight" brook anderson joins us live from los angeles with the details on this. this is very intriguing, brooke. >> it certainly is. you know michael jackson fans are rejoicing, moon walking, shouting from the roof tops because even though pop icon michael jackson is deceased, his music alive and well. never before heard songs from

michael jackson will soon be released and this will certainly ease that half a billion debt that michael jackson left behind. the executors of his estate signed a $250 million contract. dozens of never before heard songs will be released in ten albums over the next seven years. the first cd could be in stores as early as november. there are also plans fr dvds deo games. one of the executors o the estate tol t "los angele times"hey are choosing from over 60 unreleased recordings and listeno this. ther is wordhat the michl jackson vault contains more than 100 never before heard songs. so the potential value in years to come of all this music is extremely sigficant. the proceeds, the profits, of course, go to michael jackson's

mother katherine, his three children, 20% goes to charity. >> brooke, it is huge. this is a huge deal. put this in some sort of perspective for us. it's got to be one of the biggest recording deals ever. >> the biggest one of. in fact, the only deals that have ever come close, really are that of bruce springsteen and that of robby williams. bruce springsteen signed a deal worth $110 million for seven albums with columbia, williams $150 million,ive album deal with emi. and listen, never underestimate the earning power of a deceased celebrity. think about jimi hendrix and elvis presley. we're talking about tens of millions of dollars these stars still earn every year decades after their death. it's a true testament to their popularity, talent and longevity. we'll have more coming up tonight on "showbiz tonight" plus jennifer aniston versus

jessica simpson. we reveal their remarkable similarities and also what an e aniston can learn from simpson. brand new revelations today on tv's most provocative news show, that's "showbiz tonight." sounds like you have a great show coming up as always. tiger woods announces his return to golf. what he's saying about the masters, plus -- >> right now, you know, police have backed off. but at this point we know where he is. so-so far he's not getting away. >> okay. the cops nab their guy during a chase in arizona. but they got a whole lot more than they expected from this thing when it finally ended.

got a lot of breaking news to get to. this is the big one. tiger woods making his return to golf after a four month hiatus and a sex scandal. he says he'll play at the highly prestigious masters, the big one. it begins next month at augusta national. we're covering this from all angles. rafer weigel is here with the latest. often not with a lot of sleep. i don't know how you do it, rafer. you're perky, on top of it. >> at the end of the day i'm excited about the story regardless how you feel about

tiger woods on a personal level this is a very exciting day for golf. and this will be the most watched come back in the history of sports. whether you agree with, you know, the fact that it's his personal life. we all want to see how this man is going to do. >> one tremendous pressure. he's under tremendous pressure, absolutely right. he's lost some sponsors. if he doesn't play well will he lose more. let's read his statement in talking about why he chose the masters. the masters is where i won my first major and i view this tournament with great respect after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. that's the course where they play. major championships have always been a very special focus in my career and as a professional augusta is where i need to be even though it's bean while since i last played. i've undergone two months of in patient therapy and continuing my treatment although i'm returning to competition i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.

now, a lot of people say why come out cold on a major tournament like the masters and not play a warm up tournament first. you know what? that last statement, we kind of have to entertain there's a possibility that this man might be working on his marriage and his personal life and may not feel that he's actually ready to return to golf. and, therefore, i mean we have to entertain that possibility. >> one of these smaller ones he can do right now, he's thinking right now is not the time. >> absolutely. the other thing about the masters is and we've covered this, you're not going to get the tmz, the "national enquir " enquirer", radar online. i've talked to people out on the street. they are quite frankly when i'm sick about hearing about tiger woods personal life. they want to talk about him as a golfer. >> they are ready to watch him play golf. >> the ratings for this tournament will go through the roof. they were going to be very high. they were much higher when tiger

plays as opposed to when he doesn't play. i spoke over tory single person -- did you watch golf before? >> no. will you watch it now? yeah. everybody wants to see how this guys is going to do. >> how he responds to this type of pressure, because i can rarely think of a situation -- let's be realistic, we're talking about sports, not somebody on the battlefield. with that type of perspective in mind, this pressure something like most of us have never seen before, unbelievable pressure he's under. >> if he lower lost sponsors and he was the richest most powerful athlete in the world, the first guy to reach a billion dollars in earnings, if he doesn't do well, he will lose more of those sponsors. yeah, you're absolutely right. we'll be hooked in on this come back. be interesting to see if he gives us any window into that personal come back, that personal recovery. because even his biggest supporters say it's none of our business want to see him recover in that department.

they want to see him save his marriage. they will be curious. >> then you have people who don't want to see him well. all right. stick around. we'll be talking again in a bit. we have lots of angles on tiger's reviews. we'll follow some other news as well. we'll be sharing you views in a bit. this is out of atascosa county, texas, a bus bound for mexico crashed and ended up rolling over. four people were airlifted to the hospital. investigators suspect equipment failure that maybe cause this crash. if you've been cooped up indoors all winter you're more than ready for warmer temperatures. don't forget your sunscreen. skin cancer may be on the rise. >> reporter: with all the warnings about the dangers of too much sun exposure and tanning beds you would think there would be fewer skin cancer

cases. according to reason articles in the march issue of the archives of dermatology, the cases of cancer are disturbingly high. two studies pointed to a prevalence of skin cancer is far higher than that of any other cancer in the u.s. and that the number of these skin cancer cases exceeds that of all other cancers diagnosed since 1975. researchers also found nonmelanoma skin cancer is five times higher than breast cancer. nop me la -- noexperts say kit impact on patient as well as treatment costs. researchers noted education programs about skin cancer and sun protection have been disappointing in slowing skin cancer rates and that continued research and treatment programs are critical.

for today's health minute, i'm chuck roberts. >> that voice sounds familiar. that's our chuck roberts. tiger woods is returning to golf next month. what he sass ys in his statemen. and what a former child star says about corey haim's death and what kept him on the right path.

back to our breaking story. tiger woods is coming back to

golf. woods made it official today announcing on his website he'll make his return at the masters next month. so, our question to you has been, what's your reaction to his return? you've been commenting on my facebook page. let's read some comments. sue wrote this -- okay. jerry says -- brian wrote this -- just stick with brian's comment here. he says --

i know the pga has got to be glad he's coming back because he does draw the viewers. let's talk about this on the fond. angela is calling us from san juan, puerto rico. nice city. angela, what's your reaction to tiger woods ready to come back and play at the masters? you there, angela? >> yes, i'm here. >> what's your reaction to tiger saying he's coming back to play at the masters? >> well, first of all, i'm glad he's coming back. but he also says he has family issues that must be solved, and if he wants to be totally confident in the masters like he has been before, what he should do first, and i suggest that he take and work on his family issues. get them together. set them as a priority so that

when he enters into the masters or any other golf tournament he'll be feeling confident in himself with no problems and nothing, you know, on his mind, that he'll be -- >> angela, did we just lose you? we just lost angela. what she was getting at is she thinks if tiger feels he still has to do work on his marriage maybe he should take a longer break. i think that's what she was getting at. scott has been holding calling from reno. do you like golf? >> yes, day. very much. >> go for it. what are your thoughts? >> i think a lot of people call haim coward for coming back. it's courageous for him to come back into his professional life. he's been the number one thing for the pga tour. i think they really need him back. he's already said he's got a lot

of personal issue, but i think it's very courageous for him to come back now. sure it's the masters and he might be protected, people will persecute him no matter what he does from here on out. it's really good he's coming back. >> do you think at some point he will have to sit down and answer some personal questions that might make him uncomfortable? >> i think he absolutely well. if people ask him in a professional manner and keep them to the point and don't, you know, disparage him for it, he'll definitely have to come forward and face tissues that he, as a lot of people say ran away from. he definitely will have to answer some questions. i think if you keep it professional and don't, you know, mock him for it, i think we'll answer them pretty straightforward. >> cott, thanks for the fond call. good caller. let me get some more facebook comments. chelsea wrote this --

>> i welcome him back. that's from allie. >> got a lot of comments to that effect. this is the question of the day. tiger woods returning to golf, to the masters next month. is it too soon? is at any time trimgt? how do you think he'll be received. call us at 877-tell-hln. fire off a text if you prefer, hlntv. because tiger will be at the masters people are questioning what he said at his apology. just ahead plus -- >> right now, you know, police have backed off and at this point we know where he is. so, so far he's not getting away. >> the cops did nab the guy

during this chase in arizona. they got a whole lot more than they expected when this thing came to an end.

i do plan to return to golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be. >> well, looks like we know now. tiger woods has made it official, he plans to play in the masters next month. many people say they are skeptical since he was so vague about his come back during his public statement last month. vinnie politan from our sister network trutv expressed his doubts. >> this is the only thing important to tiger woods in terms of his profession is winning major championships. so, to miss a major championship for tiger woods, barring some sort of injury would be oh, my goodness and it goes to his credibility. didn't he tell us at that press conference he's trying to win back the trust of the public and all those people. are you telling us less than a month ago he had no clue when he'll return to the masters and

now it's the masters. come on. >> the chairman of the augusta national golf club said he supports woods' decision to return. jay behar asks why is the masters. the tiger woods inviting criticism since they allow very few minorities and no women. you never know how a police chase will ends. what happened in arizona today was in no way typical. police in phoenix tried to pull over a suspicious pick up but the driver just floored it, stepped on the gas. the helicopter crew from our affiliate ktvk was overhead for the action. >> reporter: at times he was going about 90 miles per hour. then police decided to back off when he was kind of guesting in the residential neighborhoods and stuff like that. they were suspicious of something in the back of his truck. from what i can tell this is an f-150. looks like it's silver or white. in the back of the pickup truck it looks like there's plywood.

luckily no one has been hurt. there has been no accidents in this. but the police have since pulled off and you can see he's continuing to go just driving around in these residential neighborhoods. police have backed off and at this point we all know where he is. so so far he's not getting away. it looks like he's starting to obey -- nope he just blew a stop sign right there. everybody is working together up here so he doesn't know that we're still tracking him. dps helicopters are overhead and giving that information to the ground police officers, letting them know exactly where he's going. so the idea is -- you can see the cops behind him right now. so he's captured. he's caught. >> police got a pretty big pay offonce the driver and two passengers were arrested. nine other people were hiding underneath the plywood in the truck bed. that must have been a pretty bone chilling ride when the chase got up to 90 miles per hour. all 12 people in the truck were arrested and believed to be

illegal immigrants. some toyota owners say forget the fix, we want our money back, a full refund. so many drivers are afraid of their own cars a group of them is suing, demanding a full refund. dozens of toyota owners in arizona and washington state are seeking class action lawsuits status. if they get it, we're talking about 6 million drivers. if they win it could be worth billions. it's potentially crippling to toyota in the future. the group alleges the cars were so unsafe and toyota has botched the safety recall so profoundly that the only proper solution is to let them take their cars back and get a full refund even if they never had a problem. toyota has no comment. mourners have gathered right now for the funeral of actor corey haim that's happening at a memorial chapel in his home town of toronto. the chapel is helping out with the funeral cost. a service is being planned for a later date in los angeles.

autopsy revealed he had an enlarged heart and water in the lungs. official cause of death won't be revealed until drugs after one point taking 80 points a day. kirk cameron was also a child star in the '80s. he says he can see how becoming a celebrity at such a young age may have contributed to haim's troubles. >> life is hard for anyone. when you turn 35, 40 years old, these questions start coming up, who am i really? do i have value? what's the meaning of my life? where am i going? and for someone who grew up and at 15 years old was the superstar, that's questions are intensified later in life and you're wondering how do i get back to who i was, but it was a false sort of i hadity and you can't get back there. >> cameron said the main thing that saved him from going down a similar path as corey haim was a strong foundation from his parents and also his faith in

god. your newest facebook friend could be the fbi. a government document shows agents are creating fake social networking profiles as part of their investigations. they chat up suspects, identify friends or relatives, and look for incriminating photos. investigators have also compared a suspect's alibi with the twitter messages they sent at the time in question. tiger woods is aiming for another green jacket. how his history at the masters might have played into his decision to make a comeback now. plus, the unique rescue played out in arizona this morning. look at that. how this horse became trapped on a sandbar. ddddddddddd

here is what tiger is saying, quote, feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. you didn't do anything wrong, and i had to deal with a lot of people saying that i deserved this. there's 16 other women that got this didn't deserve this. elizabeth has a very genuine and caring and loving side. she also has a side that would scare the paint off of a wall. and i didn't see that rock fall there. some of the great stories we're following right now on a

busy tuesday. hi, everybody. i'm chuck roberts. thanks for choosing hln "news and views." tiger all the way. tiger woods finally makes his return to golf after a four-month hiatus provoked by a sex scandal. tiger woods says he will play at the masters at augusta. it begins in early april. only a few weeks ago he said he didn't know when he would play again. >> i do plan to return to golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be. i don't rule out that it will be this year. when i do return, i need to make my behavior more respectful of the game. >> we're covering this from all angles. rafer weigel is joining us. thanks for sticking around. yeoman service. >> you know, it's a big day, a big story. >> but, i mean, he says he may or may not return this year and three weeks later he's going to

tee it up at the masters. >> you know it's interesting, and i love that you played that sound bite because when we heard him say that, we were genuinely thinking, wow, we may not see this man again for an entire year. we weren't sure, and then suddenly he makes this announcement. we had some inkling that he was going to be playing in the masters tournament. we did have an idea because of some of the reports that came in the associated press, but now it's official. let us read you tiger woods' statement here. tiger says -- excuse me that's the masters statement. the masters saying we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's masters tournament. additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. and that's the thing which is so special about this story is that this is not just a personal -- a professional comeback, but this is a personal comeback as well. and this story in that sense has really transcended sports and it

is going to be the most watched comeback in the history of sports because so many people are going to be interested to see how he does. let's bring in now john fricke from fox sports. you have been covering sports for a long time. you think the big question, how is he going to do, you think he's going to do well. >> i think he's going to do very well. this is his tournament. this is going to be an environment that's going to fit him very well. augusta national physically is a walled environment. the course itself is literally walled off here, and anybody expecting to watch this tournament and get all that scoop and all that -- the fans calling him out or the media calling him out or some of that stuff are going to be really kind of disappointed. it's going to be a lot about golf here and -- >> imagine that. >> and he's going to see that golf is going to be his redemption. people say it's personal redemption, professional redemption. to tiger it's one and the same. i think he's going to play very well at augusta. people say will he make the heck? i think he will contend.

when he makes the turn on sunday down to 18, if he's in contention, the applause will be thunderous. all this comes with a big old asterisk on it right now, and that is not what does he do this week, but what comes after augusta? this is going to be a hermetically sealed environment, very forgiving to him. what happens when he goes out into a real tournament maybe two, three weeks down the road and doesn't have that kind of protection around him and one thing, rafer, prodigal son. we're willing to forgive him, but if he ever does this again, all bets are off. >> yeah, and you bring up a good point. we were hearing from the pga tour commissioner tim finchem, that was the big question. the masters is its own entity altogether and the tmzs will be shut out. >> don't be so sure of that. >> come on, really? >> all they have to do is go buy a ticket and be in the crowd. >> that's a good point. >> those people aren't going to be shut out. >> but they're not going to get

into the press tent. >> no, they're not going to get into the press tent. >> they will be there with their flip court of appeals but th flip cams but they won't be able to ask him questions. will the golf cams be able to ask him questions? >> sure. augusta will control this, but they won't shut everybody down. that would be very bad form. the golf press will ask questions, but it will be questions about how does what you went through affect your game. stuff like that. it's not going to be about the porn star or perkins girl. it's going to be broader about how it affects his game and his comeback and they will be more respectful. they will defer a little more, at least on the very first time out. after that all bets are off when he goes -- i don't know what he'll do, take another month off and play in another tournament? he's going to be very controlled. >> if he wants to play to win, you have to play tournaments to get better at your game.

john, we appreciate it very much. thank you for taking the time. you know, chuck, we were speaking to golf.com's deputy editor david dusek, he was saying we're not going to probably delve into his personal life but then as he thought about it, but i want to know why did it take him so long and what about that alleged affair and how is it going to affect his game? i asked him what happens if you go there? he said i don't think we'll be kicked out, but i think there will be a list and those were his exact words. he really believes tiger's agents, i'm not kidding, will be over there with pen and paper marking down people's names if we go there. i will be at the masters and i have questions i want to ask him. i don't want to ask him about the perkins waitress but i want to know why did you take so long. >> go outside the walls where people are holding up placards and talk to them. cbs won't do it. somebody has got to do it. >> i will be covering all angles of that story. >> rafer, thank you. how do you feel about the

biggest name in golf heading back into the game? we have the buzz about tiger's return at the masters. >> i'm joe carter and this is hln's "views from the street. "everybody is talking about tiger woods these days and it seems everybody has an opinion. let's hit the streets and find out what they have to say. let's talk about tiger woods. it makes you laugh. why? >> because tiger, he knows better. >> i don't think the man has an obligation to respond to each and every question he receives about his personal life. >> i don't think he owes the public anything, i think he owes it for himself. >> i think the fact he's let it go this long without addressing it is hurting his image. >> he wasn't out in the open to begin with, so i don't think he would be in the open to apologetic. >> it was such a disappointment. mr. america, mr. wholesome. >> they put him out as a great pga tournament finalist, always winning these great championships, and, yeah, i still see you as a cheater. sorry.

>> a lot of kids looked up to him, a lot of parents used hip as a role model. everyone can be forgiven, everyone gets a second chance. >> wei watch him for golf not because of what he is in his marriage. if he cheated on his wife, then that sucks and they need to work that out together, but that's not the rest of the world's business. >> it's really not that important. look what's going on in the world. is that important? >> i'm joe carter and i'm see you on the street. >> no shortage of opinions. on the street and elsewhere. strong opinions all. more of "your views" and more coverage just ahead.

quite a career. back to our breaking story. four months off the tour, tiger is coming back. he will play the masters early april, just a few weeks away. he says he's ready. the announcement was a written statement. tiger has not played professionally since that sex scandal broke in the days and weeks after the now famous car wreck outside his home in florida. we're following the story on many different fronts and dimensions, getting your reaction, what it means for the game of golf, the tour, for his fellow golfers, for his fans, and, of course, for his family. it's a busy day for residents living near the red river in north dakota and minnesota. volunteers are filling 1 million sandbags to protect nearby homes from the rising waters of the red river which may crest at 20 feet over flood stage on saturday. cities like fargo could be affected. and across the river in minnesota governor pawlenty has declared a state of emergency in 28 counties. nearly 100 homes were damaged last year, but officials don't expect the water to be as high this year. check out severe flooding in

patterson, new jersey. the floodwaters were caused by a three-day storm that slammed much of the northeast over the last few days leaving tens of thousands of people without power. pounding waves from the storm wrecked a memorial to 37 middletown residents who were killed in the 9/11 attacks. flooding has also closed more than 100 roads in southeastern new hampshire. the river is receding but several others remain above flood stage and will be for a day or two. the governor says he plans to ask the federal emergency management agency to do a damage assessment. 11 deaths have been linked to the storm. an earthquake shook people out of their sleep this morning early in l.a. it had a magnitude of 4.4 which is considered light. but one man said it felt like the floor was sinking. so far there's no confirmed report of injury or damage. the epicenter was only 11 miles from downtown los angeles. a georgia man who was jogging on a beach near myrtle beach, south carolina, was

killed when a plane crashed into him that was trying to make an emergency landing. it was a single engine plane. it had an oil leak. it covered the windshield and that's where it put down, right there on the beach. >> they were going to try to get to the airport, to the hilton head island airport, and the propeller left the plane and they had to make an emergency landing. >> apparently, the victim was wearing an ipod at the time. the two men on board the plane were not hurt. the ntsb and faa are investigating. a rock slide closed a road in tennessee in the mountains. it's called the dragon for good reason. it has a lot of curves. the smoky mountain highway is so curving that guy right there didn't see anything. huge pile of rocks in front of him, went right through it. >> when i came around that curve right there, i noticed you all, and i didn't even see that rock fall there. i'm lucky to have hit it in a way to not get too hurt.

my dog here, she probably took a pretty good hit but she's already. >> so far road crews haven't said how long it will take to clear the road. this is u.s. 129 just south of knoxville. a unique rescue played out this morning in arizona. how a horse became trapped on a sandbar d how it doing now.

a horse that had been stranded four days on a small river island, they were dropping in hay all the time, was air lifted safely this morning and

is doing fine. this is in arizona. the horse's owner was swept into the current with other riders friday. one of the riders was able to take his horse to shore and call 911. the other three people though were stranded for hours and their horses struggled to stay afloat. all the riders were rescued but one of the horses had to be euthanized. isn't that amazing how they do this. police got a surprise after a high speed chase in phoenix. it wasn't high speed at the end. it started on i-10 and moved to surface streets. the truck didn't get up to high speeds, but the police said the suspect almost ran over a motorcycle officer. knxv help eed pot thi eed spot . two passengers were arrested. under that little pla tition, they found nine illegal immigrants under a giant piece of plywood in the bed of the truck. the driver will probably be charged with human smuggling.

we're also following another breaking story. this is just southeast of san antonio where two people were killed and at least 30 others hurt today. a charter bus bound for mexico crashed and rolled over on i-37 45 minutes south of san antonio just on the road to corpus. authorities said some of the injuries are serious. investigators suspect equipment failure may have caused the accident. the driver said she heard a loud pop and then lost control of the bus. the supreme court's oldest member, associate justice john ball stevens, may be getting ready to retire. he told the new yorker magazine he will decide soon if this is his last term, but the 89-year-old says he will definitely retire in the next three years to allow the president to choose a successor. that's president obama. are you drowning in credit card debt? stephanie elam has some tips in this week's edition of the help desk. >> where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me doug, flynn a certified financial planner, and

donna rosato. the first question comes from suleman. i'm overloaded with debt, i have paid my minimum balance on my credit cards for more than three years. how can i get debt-free and what type of program do you recommend? what do you think, donna? >> a lot of people are struggling with credit card debt these days. the best thing to do when you're think being how to get out of credit card debt is first of all stop using your credit cards. you know, stop digging that hole. it's hard. if you really feel tempted, maybe don't take them with you. some people go as far as putting them in a block of ice. but then you want to start paying them down. there's two philosophies on how to do it. we usually recommend start with the highest interest rate credit card first. those are the cards you will be paying the most interest rate over the long term. if you can start paying that down, you will pay less interest over the long term. but if you have a number of cards and a couple with small balances, you can get a real psychological boost by wiping out a couple smaller credit card

balances. so i also feel like it's a lot of a behavioral issue. stop using the cards, start paying them down. if you can knock out a bunch of them, it's going to be easier to tackle that debt. >> that's true. our next question is from lawrence. he writes, i am 55 years old and in good health. do you have a formula for knowing when to take a lump sum payment versus a monthly pension check? that's a dicey one, doug. >> there's no magic formula. when someone is 55 the first thing that comes to mind is that's probably a reduced penguin number. you usually get a reduction for not waiting until 60 or 62, but whatever the number is, one of the places you can go to compare how that -- what you're going to get from your provider versus what's out there is to go to immediate annuities.com. you can punch in how much your lump sum would be and what you could get elsewhere as a comparison. the problem i see is he really needs to get the information on if he waited until 60, if he waited until 62 or whatever his social security time is because

retiring at 55 in these days is a very aggressive goal, and you might be getting a very low payment for the rest of your life. and really if you have all of that information, what i would recommend is you probably take all that info along with your longevity history and your family and go to a qualified financial planner who specializes in this. they can crunch the numbers and come up with what's the best solution for you in your unique situation. it's a little more complicated than a magic formula. >> and it might give him the incentive to let the money sit there. >> he can roll it over and continue to defer it. >> thank you so much, donna and doug. the help desk is all about getting you answers. send us an e-mail, we might just have the answer to your question.

back to our breaking story. tiger woods who has been practicing for several weeks is ready to come back to golf. and a lot of people are very happy. tiger made it official today announcing on his website he will be returning for the masters next month. rafer weigel is here and so is in session host and sports attorney ryan smyth from tru tv. >> i think a lot of people are making a big deal about the fact that he's returning to the masters for a couple of reasons. number one, it's one of the most prestigious tournaments, but the other big issue is the fact it's controlled. the media is going to be

controlled at the masters. people need to understand the credentials for this tournament have already been handed out. the tmzs and radar onlines are not going to be there, so the questions aren't going to be perhaps as salacious, perhaps going to be a little more respectful than down the road. i want to ask ryan this question because, you know, ryan, you and i have talked about this at length. you know, you've worked in pr, worked with athletes. in terms of these questions, they're probably not going to be asked at the masters, but what happens after that? >> i think the biggest problem with this is he's going to see his personal life under attack in a way, and i hate to say that but remember at his press conference he said, i want everybody to stop following my children, stop questioning my children. he was very concerned about his family. when you don't answer questions to the press, they do not stop just because the masters doesn't let them have access. what concerns me here is they might, you know, a lot of people, the tmzs and radars, they're going to go to him home and try to find him and get the

answers they seek because he hasn't talked to the press. >> you have to think a lot of players probably have mixed reactions about this. look, at the end fert day, the bread is buttered when tiger woods plays, the purses go up and ratings go up. other golfers have said please don't make the masters your first tournament because it's making it about your return. >> i couldn't agree with you more. all of these golfers think they're the best. they're at the top of their game. when tiger woods comes back to the masters, the tournament becomes about tiger woods, not the masters. it becomes less about someone else winning that green jacket and more about let's follow tiger's every move. when that happens, their achievements get underscored. i think in this case you might hear golfers say it's great to have him back, but in reality i think a lot of golfers wish he would come back in another tournament. >> will he answer any questions about his personal life? i don't think he will.

as a sports attorney, how would you advise him? what's your take on how he is handling the media up to this point, which basically is a public apology with no questions. >> rafer, from the very beginning i have said he needs to speak to the press, to a group of people, and answer questions that he doesn't necessarily want to answer. what happened? how did it happen? give us the details. without that, he will constantly be followed. he will constantly be questioned. and i don't think he's going to answer any of these questions at the masters, but i think at the end of the day at some point he is going to have to speak because no one is going to let up. this is a story that keeps going because he's not addressing it. so until he addresses the personal life issues, people will keep following and asking those questions. >> ryan smyth, thank you very much from "in session." you had an interesting point off camera, if i can expose you. does he do the interview? does he do the sit down with "60 minutes" at some point? >> yeah, yeah. >> when does that happen? >> you had the best point of all day. the other golfers are saying

don't make the masters the first thing. it's always about you. you're dead on. so was ryan. thanks. just last month famously and covered by all media everywhere, tiger apologized for cheating on his wife, elin, and said he wasn't sure he would return to pro golf this year. he said he needed more time to consult with his wife and children. >> in therapy i have learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life and keeping in balance with my professional life. i need to regain my balance and be centered so i can save the things that are most important to me, my marriage and my children. >> so while his comeback is certainly the number one event in the world of golf, what does it do to his personal life? jane velez-mitchell is host of "issues." what happened to the treatment? >> well, chuck, i think this is an aspect of the story that's being completely ignored.

everybody is talking about, this is going to be the most watched comeback in sports history. how will the fans react? how will his fellow players react? how will the media react? what people aren't asking and should be asking is how will all of this affect his sobriety if, in fact, he is a sex addict? now, when he held that news conference less than a month ago, he said, quote, i will leave for more treatment and more therapy, and by his own admission he really only began that process in late december. so late december, january, february, middle of march. we're talking very early sobriety right now. should he really be putting him in this white hot spotlight at the center of the entire world's attention when he is in this fragile state of early sobriety? it reminds me of a couple years ago when amy winehouse, who battled severe crippling drug addiction, a different kind of addiction, was in rehab and she got special dispensation to leave and perform live via satellite from london for the

grammys and everybody said, wow, it was a hit performance. look at her. but it wasn't good for her sobriety because it reinforced the notion that she's special, the rules don't apply to her, and that's what they call terminally unique and she slipped after that. the irony is that if tiger woods performs very well and wins the masters, that actually could send him and his subconscious the worst message of all. that truly the rules don't apply to me. truly i am a special person and i need to be treated differently. >> and i'm bullet proof. >> yes, yes. >> is sex addiction is real condition or is it just sort of a cop out for cheaters? >> well, there's a lot of debate even within the recovery community about that, and a lot of people who accept drug addiction and alcohol addiction and food addiction and all sorts of other aprddictions don't acct sex addiction but i personally feel you can become addicted to anything really if you're using it to escape, if you're using it to numb painful feelings, and if the results are consistently

dire. and so i think that in my personal opinion he can only really say this for himself, i do feel that he suffers -- there's an addictive component to this scandal, absolutely. >> does he do oprah and letterman as a comeback ploy or what do you think? >> well, i don't think there should be ploys. i don't think there should be strategies. i don't think there should be spin. that is the antithesis of what you want to do in recovery. it really is a spiritual program, and that's why i wonder if all of this was stage crafted and he really knew when he held that news conference that he was coming back to the masters but his handlers said don't say that now because it will be better spin if you go back into treatment, that's the wrong kind of thinking. the one thing that we need for sobriety, emotional sobriety, is rigorous honesty. if we start messing with, that we put ourselves in that terrible position of going back to the substance of choice. the thing is another aspect of addiction is that it's a release

from tremendous pressure. now, i can't think of anything more of a pressure cooker than having the entire world, golf fans and nongolf fans alike watching you while you're hitting a ball and thinking of all the mistresses that you have. i mean, this is going to be a pressure cooker extraordinaire, and i don't know that's the thing he needs to be doing right now for his personal life. >> and you know he sucks in all that energy from those adoring galleries. i wonder if that will change. jane, always great to see you. thank you for your insights. a lot more where that came from. jane has her unique take on tiger's comeback and what happened to rehab. don't miss her tonight at 7:00 eastern right here on "issues."

talk about your you will mat water cooler story. it's all over the air, all over hln and we're all over it asking what you think of tiger's comeback to golf ending weeks of speculation and several months of intense therapy. he announced on his website he's returning for the masters in augusta in early april. he's not played competitively, not played a round of pro golf, since that thanksgiving weekend car crash and reports of extramarital affairs put his golf career on hold for about four months. what do you think? will it be a triumphant return? it's our "your views" question today. got some phone callers on the line. clay on the line in chicago, i believe. is that right? i heard somebody say hold on. i'm not sure what that means. clay? let's go to e-mails while we try to find clay. here is an e-mail from dotty who writes, no, i won't watch tiger or the masters. it's been wonderful to watch all the other good golfers there

that are on the tour now that they might just -- now they might just as well stay home. clay is on the line from chicago. tell us what you think. >> caller: this is what i think, man. you know, tiger woods the number one golfer in the world, so what wouldn't be better than for him to come back at one of the most important tournaments of the year, you know? and his personal life ain't got nothing to do with america, so, you know, i could careless, you know what i'm saying. and america should care less what go on between him and his wife. but, you know, he's the number one golfer in the world. the masters is the best place for him to come back to show he's still the number one golfer in the world. >> do you think it's been overkill? >> caller: not really. >> i mean you think the media has overplayed it? >> caller: yes, i do think the media have overplayed it. they're too involved between what's going on between him and his wife and what they got going on. it don't got nothing to do with

golf or his skill. >> clay, thank you, sir. viewers talked to rafer on our our views cam. let's roll that clip. >> i'm glad he's coming back. he needs to come back. i think too many people got too involved in what he was doing and i think it was a private situation and hopefully it's under control and he can move on. >> you want to leave his private life out of the equation. >> i think so. >> what -- >> privacy. >> say again. >> we all need privacy. >> even a guy with allegedly 14, 15 mistresses, no problem with that the a all being women? >> well, it was stupid. >> i have a few issues with it. i am glad he's coming back to the sport. i think it was time for him to step up and say -- admit that he erred, and his issues are his issues, but i do think it's time for him to get back into the game. he's good for the game. >> you have been commenting on

facebook. good for tiger. i went to the dentist the other day and a man brought up golf and i said i wouldn't watch till tiger got back. we got so many ugly looks from the women in the waiting room for making that statement. he'll only have problems with the women opinion can't wait for them to win so they can start airing had his commercials again. benjamin writes, tiger woods should not be coming back at the masters. the event will become all about his return, which is not proper toward all the other golfers. that's a sentiment a lot of people have been expressing. kathy writes, i will always watch tiger woods play golf. i don't care about his relationships. he is the best, most exciting golfer ever. if he is playing in a tournament the ratings are always high. enough already with the judgments. people act like they're perfect. judge not lest ye be judged. shelly says with 14 less mistresses in his life, he will probably have a lot more energy. i bet he plays his best ever.

he's well-rested now. she willy ends her post with a winking smile. you have time to weigh in. tiger returns to the links at the masters in augusta. write right decision, wrong decision? give us a call at 1-877-tell- n 1-877-tell-hln. you can text views and your comments and name to hlntv. standard text rates apply. it's prison time for a self-admitted stalker. we got the sentence now for the man who secretly shot nude videos of erin andrews.

the man who admitted to stalking and secretly shooting nude videos of erin andrews has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and 3 years supervised probation. michael david barrett pleaded guilty to interstate stalking last december. he tearfully apologized at his sentencing hearing in l.a. yesterday. erin andrews pushed for a harsher sentence calling barrett a sexual predator and a sexual deviant and saying she now fears for her life every time she stays at a hotel. after the in-court face-off she offered other stalking victims advice. >> but i think the one thing i

would tell them because it was written to me is i didn't -- you didn't do anything wrong, and i had to deal with a lot of people saying that i deserve this or that i played to a certain crowd to deserve this. the 16 other women that got this didn't deserve this. the other women that he was searching on the internet didn't deserve this. so you need to know that you didn't do anything wrong. second thing is despite questions about how do you move on with your life, you're a victim. you should be allowed to live your life. you shouldn't have to go and hide when that's what you want to do. >> as part of the sentence, barrett will not be allowed to stay in a hotel without approval of a probation officer and if he accepts employment somewhere, erin andrews has to get a notice. former john edwards aide andrew young is lashing out at everybody involved in the affair with rielle hunter. young said he thinks edwards is telling both hunter and elizabeth what they want to hear to get them to do what he wants. here is another revelation from andrew young. rielle hunter was dating actor

jeff gold bloom at the same time she was seeing john edwards and young said she led gold bloom to believe the baby was his. young even took a swipe at elizabeth edwards when speaking to joy behar. >> i worked for the edwards for the better part of a decade and elizabeth has a very, as you have seen, a very genuine and caring and loving side. she also has a side that people like david axelrod and other powerful people, bob shrum, can tell you about that would scare the paint off of a wall. i mean, so she has two very different sides. >> young's in a legal dispute with rielle hunter over the alleged sex tape of her and john edwards. some toyota owners say forget the fix, we want a full refund. so many drivers are afraid of driving their cars a group is demanding is full refund. dozens of toyota owners in arizona and washington state are

seeking class action lawsuit status. if that's granted, there could be 6 million drivers. if they win it could be worth billions of dollars which would be potenti if they win could be worth billions of dollars. the group allegation all the cars are so unsafe that toyota has botched the safety recall so profoundly the only proper solution is let them take their cars back en masse and give them a full refund. what started as four currents in back taxes turned into a $200 bill from the irs for a california car wash. federal agents delivered the bill. the four cents ballooned because of penalties and fees. >> i think it's ridiculous. four cents. they probably spent more in gas and time driving down here to elect not just the four cents but the $200. >> there's no month lays here. they are inned in doing their job and i'm interested in staying in business. >> the car wash is working with the irs to figure out a

solution. >> let's check stocks for the close. stocks ticked up. 35 on the plus side after the fed decided to keep interest rates at historic loss. 10,677 is roughly where we'll tart tomorrow's trading. tiger woods said he'll return to golf at the augusta masters. what do you think of the news? too soon or too long overdue. we'll hear from you just ahead.

. we begin with breaking news. tiger woods will very soon be returning to golf. remember, he's a golfer. all right. he announced today he'll play at the highly prestigious masters tournament which begins next month at augusta national. so this is exactly what he sad. he said the masters is where i won my first major and i view this tournament with great respect. after a long and necessary time away from the game i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. the major championships have always been a special focus in my career and as a professional

i think augusta is where i need to be. even though it's bean while since i last played. i've undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and am continuing my treatment. although i'm returning to competition, i still have a lot of work to do in my personal life. all right. rafer weigel is following the latest developments and he joins us now. even for tiger, that's still kind of revealing even for him. to even acknowledge he still has work to do in his personal life. >> you're absolutely right. i want does offer a little bit of a window and that's the aspect about this, richelle, because you're looking at a professional and personal come back. tiger has allowed a little bit of a window into that personal come back so it's going to be interesting to see what he reveals moving forward. first of all, let me read real quickly the statement from the masters. you knew they would be excited. billy payne at the augusta national golf club reacted by saying we support tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at

this year's mast engineers tournament. additionally we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. now, a big factor about the masters in terms of people talking about the media access, how the masters is going to restrict the media to a large degree. we have on the phone, a fellow who wrote a great article in "vanity fair." buzz, one of the reasons why this scandal was so shocking was because of how controlled his image was by his handlers. are we continue to move in that direction by playing the masters first. what do you think about all of this? >> i think it's just another in a series of events in which tiger both himself and his handlers are just trying to control the agenda. i actually think this one is very smart. i think they kind of realize the initial apology on the web,

didn't really work. the press conference, i think was close to a disaster because he was so controlled, so rehearsed, no questions. that didn't work. i think they finally realized, the only way tiger will get redemption is to play and to win. he may not win the masters but he's going to win and people will say, you know what? regardless of thinks personal life and how much sex he had with other women the guy is a great athlete and that's good enough for me. yeah, it's controlled. the only problem he had -- the only thing he concerns me is he hired ari fleisher. he's worked with major baseball opinion he handled the mark mcgwire apology. we saw that. that was a disaster. he was press s.e.c. to george bush. so he's not had a very good run in terms of publicity. tiger wants to control the agenda. it's going to be interesting. are they going to control the questions that the media asks. are they going to say to the

media this is off limits. anything personal is off limits. if they have that condition the media should say we're not coming we're boycotting. this is not the way we do business. >> you think they are going to do that? will thereabout a schism between the sports media and then maybe some of the other media that may want to ask those personal questions? >> i think there is a going to be a schism. i would think someone will ask some type of question. i don't think they will ask, gee, what is the number of women you really had sex with. someone should ask him face to face, tiger, how do you feel about the fact that you really did deceive millions of people. you had this tough image and we found it not to be true. and i think those kinds of questions are going to be asked. but i actually think it's easier for tiger to handle it at this point. he can say it calmly and he's good at saying you know what, guys, it's personal and i simply

can't talk about that. if he says that any other question -- the public at this point says enough is enough. and, my god if he wins the masters, it's going to be unbelievable. it's about money as it always is. they are going to have unbelievable ratings. and whatever tiger is or isn't he's a great athlete, and the masters is smart because it is tightly controlled as you know, in terms of media, but it's going to be a zoo outside. it just is. it's going to be a complete and utter zoo. inside it will be calmer. >> how do you think he'll do? >> you know, i think he'll do okay. he's a great competitor. i think it is hard when you haven't played, you know, competitively for as long as he has although it's not that long, a couple of months. i think it's going to be tough. but i'll tell you, as we've seen, this guy has an ability to if use unlike literally anybody in the history of sports and he's been great at the masters and if he wins it i won be

surprised. >> well, buzz, we thank you very much for taking the time. >> my pleasure. >> richelle, it was very interesting article because this is a guy whose image was so, so controlled. helped make millions of dollars, billions of dollars. so it's going to be really interesting to see how much he allows us in at this point forward. and how much should he as well? >> you go take a nap and we'll talk to you again in about 20 minutes. power nap. thanks, rafer. how do you feel about the biggest name in golf back into the game? we got the buzz about tiger's return at the masters. i'm joe carter and this is hln's views from the street much everybody is talking about tiger woods these days and seems everyone has an opinion. let's think it streets and find out what they have to say. let's talk about tiger woods. that makes you laugh. why does it make you laugh? >> because tiger, he knows better. >> i don't think the man has an

obligation to respond to each and every question he receives about his personal life. >> i don't think he owes the public. he owes himself. >> the fact he let it go this long hurt him. he wasn't out very open to begin with, so he's not very apologetic. >> such a disappointment. just, you know, mr. america, mr. wholesome. >> they put him out as a great pga tournament finalist, always winning these great championships and yet i feel he's a cheater. sorry. >> kids looked up to him. a lot of parents used him as a role model. everybody can be forgiven. >> we watch him for golf not because of what he is in his marriage. so if he cheated on his wife that sucks and they need to work that out together but that's most the rest of the world's business. >> it's really not that important. look at what's going on in the world. it's not that important.

>> i'm joe carter and i'll see you on street. >> as always you have some strong opinions. we'll have more of your views coming up. right now we have some breaking news out of atascosa county, texas. two people were killed. 30 others were hurt today when a chartered bus bound for mexico crashed and rolled over on interstate 35 about 45 miles south of san antonio. authorities say that some of the injuries are pretty serious. investigators suspect equipment failure may have caused that accident. the driver said she heard a loud pop an then lost control of that bus. tiger woods says he'll return to golf at the masters next month. what do you think. news? is it too soon? long overdue? your views just ahead.

i do plan to return golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be. i don't rule out that it will be this year. when i do return, i need to make my behavior more respectful of the game. tiger woods is coming back to golf today. he announced on his website that he will be making his return to the masters next month. he hasn't played professional golf since he crashed his suv over thanksgiving weekend and then reports of extramarital affairs surfaced. hln is all over this story. joy behar will have more on why he chose the masters and the controversy surrounding race and gender at the augusta national. taking your views on this

big story. "morning express's" rafer weigel has been working really hard on this story all day. he went down the food court here in the headquarters here in atlanta with a views cam. so let's see what some of our viewers told rafer. >> what do you think about tiger coming back? >> i'm pretty excited about it, and that's the news for today. we went on the tour and saw the new breaking news headline. that was exciting. >> you are excited? >> yes. definitely. i'm not excited about it. >> no? why? >> why should i be? >> well a lot of people are still upset with him. >> upset with him? no. he has a personal life. it was unfortunate. he's one of these high-profile people and makes very good news when things don't go right. >> so, you think that it was way too tabloid the coverage? >> yeah. >> what is your take on it? >> i'm kind of amazed he's coming back so quickly. i thought maybe he would take a whole year off.

to recoup. >> to work on his personal life. >> yeah. get himself steadied. i'm amazed he'll be focus enough to play a game. >> how do you think he'll do >> well, you know, i guess if he's as good as he is he can put aside whatever has happened in the past and move right ahead. >> we'll have to see. you've been commenting on our facebook page. let me share of this with you. i got this from chantal -- >> sue says -- >> she really is kind of turned off by the whole thing. all right. jeff says --

chris says -- nice one, chris. all right. the question of the day do you think it's too soon for tiger come back? how do you think he'll be received. how are you receiving the news that he's picked date to come back and play golf. he is a golfer. text hlntv. does a golfer ever have what it takes to make the cut at the master. we have more on tiger woods come back just ahead.

>> today i want to ask for your help. i ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again. back to our breaking story, tiger woods is coming back to golf. he made the announcement on his website that he's going return to the masters.

that's next month. he hasn't played professional golf since that crash thanksgiving weekend and reports of his extramarital affairs, put his golf career on hold for four months. hln called cbs sports the network that carries the masters for reaction to tiger woods developments. they had no comment and does not anticipate making one. "showbiz tonight" will debate whether the masters gallery will welcome him. will it be a triumphant return. we're staying on top of the story. we have some other stories four as well. mourners gathered today for the funeral of actor corey haim. it was held at a memorial chapel in his home town of toronto. the chapel helped out with the funeral costs. haim's manager says the service is also planned for a later daytona los angeles. an autopsy revealed haim had an enlarged heart and also water in his lungs but the coroner won't have an official cause of death until probably next month at the

earliest. haim's manager said it wasn't an overdose. the act josh was trying to kicks a prescription drug habit. a house republican aide says gop leaders plan to force a vote this week that will require the senate healthcare bill to be brought up for an actual up or down vote. that would prevent house speaker nancy pelosi from trying to pass it with the procedure call that deem and pass or self-executing rule. okay. this is how it works. the rule would allow the house to vote on a more popular package of fixes to the senate bill. if that passes it would mean lawmakers deem the healthcare bill to be passed. pelosi says i like it because people don't have to vote on the senate bill. republicans are slamming the idea suggesting it may be an effort to avoid responsibility for passing healthcare reform. you got to love politics. all right. california republican congressman david dryer says the american people need to know who is supporting the bill and who

is not. representatives from the tea party express are holding a code red rally on capitol hill to urge members of congress to kill the healthcare bill. late today a house administration committee person said the house phone system was overloaded because of significant interest in the healthcare bill. in other words everybody is calling. the federal reserve has decided to keep interest rates at historic lows. we have more on the decision and a wrap up of the trading day. you told us yesterday to look ahead to this today, in fact. >> reporter: that's right. the fed says the economy is improving, but it's not strong enough to support higher rates. the central bank reiterated its expectations that current conditions warranted a lower rate. they will wrap up their program of purchasing mortgage backed securities and added inflation is not a threat in the near term. stocks made modest gains.

the dow gains 43 points. nasdaq gained 15 points and s&p 500 added 3/4 of a percent. intel was a big gainer ending nearly 4% higher. they unveiled their new chip today with add performance. meanwhile new home construction fell nearly 6% in february. those huge blizzards that hit the northeast were the main factor. housing starts fell in the region hit by snow but they actually rose in the midwest and the west and january's numbers were revised higher to the highest level in 14 months. some encouraging news. >> we'll take it. from reaction to analysis, we're covering the tiger woods return to pro golf from every front. next we'll talk to the host of issue, miss jane velez-mitchell about the timing of this announcement and the impact to his personal life.

>> the temperatures may be frigid, but the atmosphere here is red hot. welcome to comcast on the red carpet. i'm at the 14th annual maryland state police polar bear plunge, maryland's premier winter event. >> this is my kind of weather. >> perfect day for a plunge. >> you got to get in. >> this is a huge event. it's amazing. we started back in '96 and it was probably like hundreds of people, and now it's just thousands. it's turned into a major standout event for the state of maryland. >> this is the it first time

we've had a snow like this and it really does tell who this is all about. it's raising money for a special group of people and they're coming no matter what the weather is. >> how do you do this? >> why? because i love the energy. >> the show must go on. the polar bear plunge, great benefit for special olympics, one of the great charities in maryland, and a ton of people out here. everybody is warm and in the spirit of giving, so it will be a great day. >> for one of the rookie soup sr plunger, this was an item on his life to do list. >> i've never done it. you've heard of the movie the bucket list. this was on my bucket list of things to do. i've accomplished it and can check it off my list. it was a great, great opportunity. >> this is the most amazing group of people i've ever worked with. for those of you who have not been here before, you'll leave here with life long friends. >> as a first time plunger, it's not what you expect.

i never expected to cry, but i did yesterday and today because the super plungers were so much. to hear the stories are heart-felt. >> i was a first time super plunger in freezing cold water. >> what's the water temperature? >> cold. >> my first time, i could never do it. this this year, i was like, alright, i'm here, i'm going to do it. we're in little costumes. it's cold out there. nothing compares to how cold it is out here. >> it's rewarding because of the smiles you put on the athletes faces and the camaraderie you get to be with the parents, then the family atmosphere that keeps drawing everybody back. >> are you ready? are you ready? >> it gets better every time. >> this is serious business. >> every year i challenge all of the delegates and the house delegates to come out and plunge f they are not going to plunge,

they should give us money for the special olympics. >> it's a wonderful cause, special people, and an important segment of our society, and we have to step up and be there for them. >> for law enforcement, it's a special, unique connection with the spec olympics. police officers love to be out there among the crowd, and they love to be around everyone, the young and the old. >> the 2010 marked the inaugural year, a special plunge on friday for maryland's elementary and high school students. >> we had about 2,000 students out here yesterday. the energy was amazing. these kids embraced the concept. for them to do something bigger than themselves and be active, it's awesome. >> it's for the special olympians. we live for, go for, die for, is to give them an opportunity to participate if the games. >> our athletes are children and adults. we have athletes in their 70's.

they can choose from 28 different sports all year long. we're not a one-time a year attraction event. everyday of the year an athlete is benefits from the funds raise. >> with over $3 million raised from the efforts this year, some may wonder where the money goes? >> it goes straight to the athletes like myself and show that athletes with disabilities can do anything that they put their minds to. >> think about it t you can sit there as a child and see kids playing tennis, basketball, football, running track. now as a kid because somebody looked at you as having some type of disability, you don't have a disability. this allows you to go out there and do everything that everybody else can do. you're just like everybody else. >> the bay may be chilly, but you see the steam off of me. that's the warm from our hearts. >> this is what you call freezing for a reason. to learn how you can contribute

to special olympics maryland, check out smoddot organize. go to on demand and click get local for what's going on in your community. for comcast red carpet,

tv ratings for next month's masters golf tournament could be higher than ever. that's because tiger woods announced today he plans to play at the highly prestigious tournament at augusta, georgia. tiger has always been a big draw. imagine what post-scandal tiger will do for tour. rafer weigel is here to get us up to date. the pga has to be doing a happy dance. >> absolutely. first of all cbs of president sports and news said the other day that when he comes back to golf it will be as big of an

event as the presidential inauguration. >> whoa. >> a lot of people went hang on. that's what he said. cbs does carry the masters so we do have to point that out pap lot of people are going to be watching that. he does have one point. when tiger woods gave his staged apology, 20 million people watched it. that's more than most people watch regular tournaments. so just putting that in perspective we want to ask the augusta national golf club how they reacted and you can imagine. the chairman said we support tiger's addition to return to kmetive golf. additionally we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life. now, keep in mind to masters is a tournament where you're invited to play. they knew he was planning on coming back for a long time. the fact that the masters will be closing off certain aspects of the media, tmz, radars online

will not be there pap lot of people have issue with you that. are they still trying to control his image? ryan smith from trutv and "in session", the way his people managed his image. now it's par for the course, forgive the pun, with the masters. what's your take on how it's going to go over? what kind of reaction will it be? >> golf fans will love tiger woods and they will always love tiger woods. everybody is excited. if you're a fan of golf you want to see him out there playing the masters. it's a big tournament. he's the best golfer. regular folks who don't necessarily follow golf will want him to say something. that's my problem. you got to at some point say something if you want to appeal to the world as a world athlete as opposed to just a golf athlete. for me it's up to tiger. does tiger want to be the big pitch man, the number one rated athlete in the world or just a

player with the pga. in that case go back, win the masters and you'll have a significant number of fans. that's the big question. if this guy, let's be clear, this is the big skbreft fall from grace we've ever seen. the richest most powerful athlete, the first one to net a billion dollars in earnings having his image completely destroyed. if he goes out there and wins can he get it back again? >> i don't think so unless he says something to the public about his personal life. here's the thing, rafer. people are willing to forgive athletes. they are willing -- lots of people who do bad things. they want to hear contriteness. they want to hear somebody come back and say i did something wrong, here's what i did. story over. the problem with tiger is he's trying to control that image too tightly. will he within back golf fans by being good? absolutely. but the run of the mill individual who knows him as an athlete, they might say, you know what? i don't support him as a person and support him as a golfer.

that's the difference. he has hired ari fleisher the former white house press secretary to advise him. fleisher advised mark mcgwire on his steroid admission. he said steroids didn't help him hit home runs. no one bought that. i'm interested to see what mr. woods will say with mr. frisher advising him. you're talking about spin and control. the question is it will be enough for everybody or will they embrace him or will there be a bit of a backlash? >> that's the tough question. you know what? i kind of think if he does in fact hire ari fleisher it will help. if we look at the mccgwire it gave something for people to look at.

>> after this tournament we're going to have the sit down interviews the 76 minutes and the oprah and the big confessional. at that point that's when he'll say you know what? i've answered those questions i'm not going to touch them. >> we'll also have some golf to talk about. >> i'm just as excited as everybody else about the golf, believe me, i am because i want to see how he comes back from this. you got to this guy is under a lot of pressure. we have all the angles on tiger's return including your views. we have some other news to tell you about that. a breaking story out of atascosa county, texas. two people killed. 30 others injured in a bus charted to go mexico crashed and rolled over. authorities say some of those injuries are pretty serious. investigators suspect equipment failure may have caused the crash. the driver says she heard a loud pop and then she lost control at

that bus. mourners gather today for the funeral of actor corey haim. it was held at a memorial chapel in his home town of toronto. the chapel helped out with the funeral costs happen haim's manager said a service is also planned for a later date in los angeles. an autopsy revealed haim had an enlarged heart and water in his lungs but the coroner won't have an official cause of death until next month. haim's manager is saying it wasn't an overdose. even said the 38-year-old actor had been trying to kick prescription drugs after at one point taking about 80 pills a day. the man who admitted to stalking then secretly shooting nude videos of espn reporter erin andrews has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years prison and three years supervised probation. he pleaded guilty to interstate stalking. he cried and apologized at his sentencing hearing yesterday in l.a. andrews is pushing for a harsher sentence calling him a sexual predator and sexual deviant and

saying she now fears for her life every time she stays at a hotel. after the in court faceoff she offered other stalking victims advice. >> but the one thing i would tell them, because it was written to me is i -- you didn't do anything wrong. i had to deal with a lot of people saying i deserved this. or that i played to a certain crowd to deserve this. the 16 other women that got this didn't deserve this. the other women he was searching on the internet didn't deserve this. second thing despite questions how do you move won your life, you're a victim. you should be allowed to live your life. you shouldn't have to go and hide when that's what you want to do. >> as part of his sentence barrett will not be allowed to stay in a hotel without an approval from a probation officer. if he accepts employment somewhere andrews will have to be notified. john edwards aidan drew

young is lashing out at everybody involved with the affair involved with hunter. he thinks edwards is telling hunter and his estranged wife what they want to hear to get them to do what he wants. how will tiger woods come back affect his family? we'll take a look ahead on "prime news." first a suspected drunk driver slams into another car and that ironically police had pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. what happened to both drivers and the officer at the scene?

i do plan to return to golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be.

>> a month ago tiger woods was pretty vague about his career plans but now he's coming out swinging with a planned return at the masters in augusta. can he play well in the spotlight of a spectacular scandal? he's had mixed results playing after a long layoff. he missed the cut for the 2006 u.s. open. that was after his father died. but he won the same tournament two years later while playing on a shattered knee. his recent history at the masters is nothing to brag about. he hasn't won there since 2005. his longest drought at augusta. over the long run the course has been very good to him. got four green jackets. four. a kansas city police officer got quite a scare when he pulled over a driver suspected of driving under the influence. he was standing by her car when another suspected drunk driver slammed into his cruiser and then hit the car. the cop had just stopped sending the officer flying. you saw it happen right there. amazingly he walked away from

the crash with just some bruises. he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. here it is again. yikes. both suspected drunk drivers were arrested. neither of them was hurt. you never know how police chase is going to end. what happened in arizona today was in no way typical. police in phoenix tried to pull over a suspicious pickup but the driver floored it, stepped on the gas. flew out of there. the helicopter crew from our affiliate was overhead for all the action. >> reporter: at times he was going about 90 miles per hour. then police decided to backoff when he was kind much getting in the residential neighborhoods and stuff like that. they were suspicious of something in the back of his truck, from what i can tell this is an f-150. it looks like it's silver or white. in the back of the pickup truck there's looks like there's plywood. the chase continued at 80 or 90 miles per hour. luckily no one has been hurt. there has been no accidents in this but the police has since

pulled off and you can see he's continuing to go, just driving around in these residential neighborhoods. police have backed off and at this point we all know where he is, so so far he's not getting away. i don't know -- looks like he's starting to obey -- no he just blew a stop sign right there. everybody is working together up here so he doesn't know that we're still tracking him. dps helicopter is overhead and giving that information to the ground police officers, letting them know exactly where he's going. so the idea is -- you can see the cops behind him right now. so he's captured. he's caught. >> a lot of folks were caught, all right. police got a big payoff once the driver and two passengers were cut. nine suspected illegal immigrants were hiding underneath the plywood and the truck bed. that had to have been a bone jarring ride because at one point they were going about 90 miles per hour. and, again, all 12 people in the truck were arrested. excitement and curiosity,

lots of opinions on tiger woods return after all the scandal return to golf. we'll hear your comments on his return just ahead.

tiger woods, tiger woods, tiger woods. we've been on his big return all day. we'll take you into the evening. >> we'll be talking about tiger woods, indeed. >> yes, we will. how we going to advance this? >> one thing we want to know -- we love interacting with our viewers. do you want him to succeed? as he steps on to that first tee at augusta national and his name is announced, what do you think? how will you react to that? we want to hear from you. shoot us a message on facebook. we'll also talk about the particulars. why augusta? why is he coming back to the most prestigious event in golf. he's coming back.

and what about this one last point. steve stricter number two in the world a friend of tiger's this is tiger woods come back tournament. this is not the masters. are you getting some of the other golfers, buddy what are you doing? >> they have to deal with it. couple of stories we're hitting on. mom and son from washington state missing and their van submerged in a waterway. we have video. we'll play an in depth package. you see him and her and there's different things that make you won just her erratic behavior but you wonder what happened happen authorities are baffled. yesterday we dealt with a teacher who wrote loser on a paper. 11-year-old girl is offended. now we have a principal who has an f-list up. >> the kids were failing? >> yes. there's about 100 kids. he put it up there to say if you keep this f you won't go to the

school dance. half of them turned things around. they are going the dance. others say, no you're demeaning our kids, you're going to too far. what do you think? call in 1-877-tell-hln. >> how old >> 12, 13, 14. mu mulling it over. you all right with it? >> maybe. >> like yesterday's was one kid getting called a loser on a paper. this 100 kids who got an f. >> i'm not a parent either. don't go anywhere because we're going to go over some facebook comments. people have been reacting. i want your take on it because you could get a little looser than i can. okay. let's get started. this is what tonya says -- >> quick comment. i said that all along.

if they are really working on narj and hopefully things are going okay. what a better way to say elin that's my favorite tournament i would skip it to you. that would have been quite a message sent. >> that would be sweet. kind of nice. okay. >> family number one. >> mellesia says this -- what do you think about that? that's the other side. >> that's the other side. they want to see tiger woods play golf. that's what he was initially known for. i still think at some point he's giving an interview. not a mass setting. if he takes questions at augusta and you know reporters will go the personal players he'll say no comment, no comment, no comment. at some point the oprah

interviews "60 minutes" interview is coming but be more >> rafe sprdz has been hanging out sing early this morning. we sent him to the food court to get views from people in the building. let's roll some of those, okay. >> you heard tiger woods is coming back. >> yes, we heard. >> yes. >> what do you think? >> i think it's natural for him to come back. but, he has to keep his private things very private. >> what kind of reception do you think he will get? >> um, it will be mixed maybe, but i think the bottom line is everybody's excited and thrilled that he's back because it's sports. he's golf. >> you are from the philippines and you know tiger woods. >> yes, of course. >> we know him. >> yeah, we watch him. >> you're fans. >> of course, yes. yes. >> i'm a fan of tiger woods up to only one point and all those scandal came up. >> oh. so, they were fans and he lost

them, you could tell he lost them. i want to get one more comment and i know how you think, mike and know what you are probably going to say about this. this is from rebecca, okay? she says it's really sad there are so few role models in the limelight these days. he had the opportunity to change the lives of kids and grown ups over the world by setting an example of a self-made man. >> i think we need to get her number. >> you like it, don't you? >> he was just different. maybe we unfairly put him on a pedestal but to whom much is given much is expected. i'm sad he mad the decisions he made. he can be redeemed. i'm all for a redemption story. >> i know you are. we'll have reaction, anysis, everythi on the return of tir woods to golf. chk it out with jane velez-mihell next. !d!d!d!d!d!d!