are wednesdays not the hardest day to wake up? i'm here to help you shake the cobwebs loose. good morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. here's what's going on. the aftermath of a deadly oil rig explosion could become a huge concern for the gulf coast. why the coast guard may have to set the oil slick on fire. plus this -- >> you knew it was [ bleep ] deal and that's what your e-mail shows. >> you're hearing some of the language you may not be used to hearing in the senate as gold man execs get grilled on capitol hill. and should the government get involved in your online

life? a controversial new push for privacy rules on sites like facebook, some of your favorites. the coast guard may set fire to an oil slick in the gulf coast to keep it from reaching the coast. it could become an environmental disaster. it could hurt tourism, pollute the beaches and threaten sea life up the mississippi river. >> if we don't secure the well, yes, this could be one of the most significant oil spills in u.s. history, but we are going to, we're working hard to secure that well and we're working hard to mitigating the flow of oil that's out there now every day. >> you might be wondering if the seafood from the gulf coast is still safe to eat. correspondent richard lui will have that answer in less than ten minutes. top execs at goldman sachs say they did nothing wrong but they spent more than ten hours yesterday getting a blistering from members of a senate panel trying to find out if they bet against investors and ultimately

the economy. senator carl levin asked about an internal e-mail that described one investment product actually with a word we can't use on tv. >> okay, you're trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal and it's your top priority. come on, mr. sparks, should goldman sachs be trying to sell -- and by the way it sold a lot of it after that date, should goldman sachs be trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal? >> well -- >> can you answer that one yes or no? >> there are prices in the market that people want to invest in things. i didn't use that term with respect to this deal. >> protesters and hecklers at the hearing weren't buying the stories. >> go back to france, brad. maybe they'll put new jail there. >> you see the protesters in prison garb? goldman sachs denies betting against its clients or the american homeowner. the company was trying to

insulate itself from other large bets it made on residential real estate. a flight from paris to atlanta was diverted to maine after a bomb scare. u.s. officials say a passenger claimed that he had explosives in his luggage. air marshals put him in handcuffs, they moved passengers to empty seats in the front and collected pillows and blankets and piled them up in the back. nothing was found but the passengers were obviously worried. >> i saw the lights come up for 35 minutes, bright, this is strange for 35 minutes the lights were on and i saw the tense innocence the faces of the flight attendants. >> the pilot let us know after everything was contained, "everything is safe and everything is contained" about 30 minutes after he said. he said there was a security breach but everything was fine. >> you saw jay alexander, a judge from "america's next top model." the suspect is derek stansbury, a former air force intelligence specialist who served in iraq in afghanistan. he is being questioned. the fbi checked out his home

yesterday but his father says that his son is squeaky clean. >> hopefully everything will get ironed out and he'll get to come home. is he a good boy, i mean a good man, he's 26 years old. >> later officials said that stansberry's passport was the real thing. the passenger spent the night in maine, their flight due to leave atlanta later on this morning. sorry, the flight is going to leave for atlanta later on this morning. new this morning, a suicide bombing killed four police officers and injured at least ten other people. authorities in northwest pakistan say the bomber targeted a police checkpoint where the explosion was big enough to damage some nearby homes. pakistani forces have fought hard to stop attacks by taliban insurgents in this part of the country. former illinois governor rod blagojevich's publishing deal isn't exactly golden. the company that published his tell-all book "the governor"

closed up shop according to the chicago tribune. the governor is great to phoenix books for believing in him. he's accused of trying to sell or trade president obama's old u.s. senate seat. >> i feel bad, you know, the guy had a book deal, right? >> i feel bad for the other authors, too. apparently i think i was reading that all the rights go back to the authors, like if your book was in the making, what are you going to do now? shop another deal. >> something tells me golden books isn't going to pick up blagojevich or scholastic. >> isn't that like for school? >> yeah. i don't think they'll touch it. good morning, robin. >> hey, bob. >> it's another winter type storm across new england. look at the clouds wrapped up with this. heavy snow will continue to pound away at sections of northern new york state into vermont, new hampshire, western maine, all the white is all snow, heavy at times. winter storm warnings remain in

place. an additional 1 to 3 for the adirondacks, 1 to 3 for areas shaded in blue. western maine another 4 to 8 inches of rain, the heavy wet snow. winter storm warnings are in place. otherwise cold air out there from the great lakes to the midwest down to kent scent, temperatures are well below freezing outside of the big cities. look at some of the temperature readings around the board. 36 in cleveland, low 30s outside in ohio, it's about 40 in nyc, live to new york looks nice. i call this golden, nice sunrise coming on up. temperatures in the mid-50s, breezy, too, winter weather advisories to the north, windy day down to the south. we'll talk about that in a half hour. >> you got t thank you. your kids might be disappointed with this news that some restaurants will not be including toys in the kids meals anymore. we're going to tell you where and why. gosh, wednesday does a number on my mouth. there's been a setback for bret michaels' recovery, what

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in our salute to the troops today a very special salute taken at the airport when sergeant ryan corbett got home for some r&r. >> hi, robin this is jennifer corbett and my husband just came home from leave, i am see happy he's home. i've missed him. six months without him so the next 14 days are going to be the best 14 days ever. >> hi to all of the troops in iraq and afghanistan today. >> home but still thinking about your comrades. what a great person. if you have somebody in the service, go to cnn.com/robin. more details now on our top story, that massive oil spill that is creeping toward the gulf coast, the coast guard bp and the rig's owner have sent nearly 50 ships to contain this thing.

correspondent richard lui joins us now. what are the chances it will contaminate the seafood? >> oysters are the most likely to be contaminated here since they can't move on their own, the oil can get trapped in their gills sometimes, but industry experts are say that would never reach your plate because the oysters would not be harvested. the real impact could be on fishermen like charlie brown. >> we just started to get back on our feet again, that's all we need is on oil spill to come in right now and devastate our grounds to kill our shrimp and fish and oysters. >> they're hoping for a record harvest this year. charlie and his brother are seventh generation fishermen preparing for the biggest shrimp crop they've ever seen, until this happened. >> it's the time of year when people start looking at this area for a vacation spot. can they expect to see the effects of this on the beach like sitting there and the beach

is no longer pristine white? >> already here, robin, dozens of tourists in florida complained about an odd smell in the air when they go there. >> i noticed an odor in the air, kind of like exhaust almost is what it smelled like and i didn't think too much of it but i kept smelling it throughout the day. >> to be sure, experts are not so sure if that is from the initial fire on the rig or the oil spill or something else, but they're watching closely to see where that oil is headed next. robin it's only about 20 miles from the louisiana coast right now. the way the currents are working as well as the winds, oceanographers think it may drift past the gulf coast beaches toward the florida keys. everybody has their fingers crossed. >> that would be horrible. it's going to be horrible no matter where it hits land, you think about the marine life in both spots. >> two beautiful beaches. an indiana firefighter had a close call on the job. something in the car literally blew up in his face.

new in about 30 minutes we'll tell you what caused the explosion and more importantly how he's doing right now. a financial crisis in europe sends our stock markets into a tailspin. our money expert--is here with more on that. good morning. >> good morning, greece is in big trouble and everybody borrows from everybody these days. that country borrowed so much and then said it can't pay the nun back unless it gets a bailout in europe from the eu. there's fear the same kind of thing could happen in portugal after a bond agency dropped their credit ratings. it nailed our stock market last night, the dow plunged 213, back below 11,000 and it's raising the kind of spector maybe you remember people talked about the double dip that maybe something would go wrong and the recovery would fall apart so that's kind of what has raised the fear of on wall street there, that's why you see that big hit.

can you believe this? some officials say no more happy meals, robin. >> the kneel self? >> they are banning the mcdonald's, the toys in the meal. officials in santa clara county, california, say that when you put the toy in there, it's a lure to get kids to buy meals with lots of sodium, fat and sugar. how about that? now it's actually the way it works is that they can't regulate the towns, they can only regulate the county. basically still i have never seen anything like that saying no more happy meals. >> so this county is saying basically if you put the toy in there, you cannot sell the kids meals basically. >> yes. the california restaurant association says this is misguided. >> well, it has been around for, what, maybe 30 years? >> it wasn't that long ago we were doing that story about people saying retire the clown. trouble with mcdonald's. they have great icons they can

also become targets. >> reporter: we going to legislate everything now? thank you. a waiter's worst day on the job was taught on tape. why they think they started punching kicking and throwing chairs at him, the waiter. > it's great. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ...yeah, every night it's something different.

oh yeah yeah...she always keeps them in the house. no no no, i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. [ wife ] babe... ♪ umm, i gotta go. [ female announcer ] 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good. indulge in new blueberry pie and new red velvet cake. yoplait light. it is so good. [ male announcer ] the offer letter. if you're going to college, or back to college, that's your bullseye. it is for devry university students. in fact, each year thousands of our graduates find themselves right where they want to be -- employed in their field of study. and all those offer letters up there? that's just from last year. devry university. discover education working at devry.edu.

♪ security video shows a group of people attacking their waiter at a restaurant in atlanta. police just released the surveillance tape of last month's incident. you can see the men punching, kicking and throwing chairs at their waiter. now he's okay. he tells affiliate wsb one guy got angry when he carded them for drinks. >> somebody had a bad day or something, customers, maybe you, myself, you know what i mean, but nothing like this. >> wow! so far police have not identified the suspects. you can see the suspects as plain as day. bret michaels' recovery from a brain hemorrhage has hit a setback. his manager says the test results show he's suffering from a lack of sodium which could lead to seizures. michaels' condition was the subject of joy behar's show last night.

she spoke with donald trump, working with bret on "celebrity apprenti apprentice." >> on your show the finale is four weeks away. >> yes. >> how are you going to handle that in. >> sort of an interesting situation. in the history of a major reality show we've never had anything line this. bret is still on the show and doing great. >> he might have been the -- >> live by our wits and we have a two-hour live finale in four weeks. we have to see what happens. >> michael's manager says he's responding well to tests and treatments, and that doctors are hopeful for a full recovery. you can catch "the boy behar show" tonight she sits down with holly robinson peete right here on hln. the miami dolphins gm says he's sorry for asking a player an inappropriate question about his mother. joe carter is here with more.

>> there are questions you ask potential employees and there are questions you don't ask and i think this falls along the lines of you just don't ask this. let me explain. earlier this month, the miami dolphins were interested in drafting former oklahoma state player dez bryant. during a pre-draft interview miami's general manager jeff ireland asked if his mom was a prostitute. that's that question you just don't ask. word of the question got out before the draft, but it wasn't until yesterday that ireland came forward to say it was him and offered to apologize to bryant. he used poor judgment in the questioning. ireland is taking the stance here, robin, that bryant's off the field issues in college and his mother's jail time for selling crack concern the miami dolphins, and the line of questioning was only an attempt to dig a little deeper into thosie issuissues. >> maybe a more tactful way of asking that? >> bryant was really mad at first after the question but now

accepts his apology and he didn't go to the dolphins. he's playing for the dallas cowboys. >> i'm glad he did go pro then. tim tebow hasn't played one single second in the nfl but already holds a new nfl record, after the denver broncos drafted him in the first round on thursday night, tebow's number 15 jersey flew off store shelves. he sold more jerseys during the draft weekends than any other rookie or current nfl player. >> we don't know if he's going to get to keep the number 15 in. >> he's keeping it. he's going to wear that number 15 jersey for the denver broncos next season and those things are selling like hot cakes. the league doesn't disclose sales totals. a spokesperson for the nfl said it's a substantial difference between tebow's jerseys and the next guys. selling a lot. coming up we have a great story on a 58-year-old man who is making his dreams come true after losing his job.

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a flight from paris to atlanta was diverted to maine, yesterday, after a bomb scare and get this, the suspect is a former air force intelligence specialist who served in iraq and afghanistan. officials say that he claimed to be carrying explosives, nothing was found. the flight resumes this morning. gay right opponents are in front of the supreme court this morning trying to protect their identities. the case is about a washington state law that grants domestic partners the same rights as married couples. supporters of that law are trying to find out who signed petitions against it. the signers want to stay anonymous. they're afraid they may be

harassed. president obama will deliver the eulogy tomorrow at the funeral of civil rights leader dorot dorothy height. she stood beside martin luther king jr. during his "i have a dream" speech. she died last week. many more top stories after that, i want to check in with you. the flipside of your pillow is so cool. i got to get you awake. i'm robin meade. back to our top story today. cleaning up still the huge oil spill in the gulf of mexico, correspondent richard lui joins us now. we're talking about the possibility of a controlled burn. >> right. >> oil in the water. >> right. >> burning that in the gulf of mexico. how would that work? >> could you see flames, they're not talking about the whole thing, robin. the coast guard would not be setting the entire slick on fire. they use a 500-foot-long boom, trying to gather some of the oil and burn one section at a time. you can see some of that slick there and some booms there. this is the quickest option but the downside is you've got some air pollution to deal with.

>> the most obvious result of the surface of the water is that you generate this black plume and although 95 to 98% of the oil actually is fully consumed into carbon dioxide and water you get residuals that form and it's smoke and soot. >> animals are more likely to escape a burning area of the ocean, than an oil slick. this is video from a spill in south korea in 2007. experts are saying birds might be disoriented by the smoke but oil if it gets on their festers the water proofing on the feathers which keeps them warm and dry will be gone. the oil will eat that away, one of many ways the oil industry is dealing with this spill. just reading before we got on air three or four other mechanisms are employed. >> if they can't get aaway from the beaches this could be one of the worst oil spills in u.s.

history. >> it would be very difficult, look at just the beaches in florida, we got 1,200 miles there, robin, there's a lot of risk not only for the birds and the wildlife but also of course tourism industry as well as the economy there. >> richard, thank you. appreciate it. the federal government may go to court to challenge arizona's new immigration law. that's what attorney general eric holder said yesterday. he said that law leaves too much potential for abuse and it can divide local communities and the law enforcement. homeland security secretary janet napolitano said most law enforcement groups oppose these kinds of laws. one arizona sheriff says he won't enforce it. >> the very controversial part of this law is going to be challenged immediately is this reasonable suspicion, that is going to be declared in my judgment unconstitutionally vague. >> the law requires police to check whether someone is in the united states legally, if there's even a reason to suspect that they are not.

a utah lawmaker is proposing a similar law in his state. tiger woods is back on the golf course today. in fact he's just about an hour away from teeing off at the quail hollow championship. rafer is in north carolina. this is like an exhibition match today. his return's reignited a rivalry with a guy who seems to have the opposite image. >> reporter: yeah, robin the personal storylines between tiger woods and phil mickelson have intensified the rivalry. we were out here talking to people yesterday and it seems a lot of women that we spoke to in particular were rooting for phil mickelson because of his personal story, his wife and mother both battling breast cancer, whereas tiger woods we know that story and a lot of the men that i spoke to seem to be rooting for him, look at tiger as a victim, they look at this as a comeback, a great comeback story. my wife in particular is rooting for phil to beat tiger, sort of good phil versus bad tiger in a way. also phil winning the masters

certainly helps intensify that. the women we spoke to, not that they were rooting against tiger woods, they were still happy he's out here. they just want to see phil win. >> it's great that he's coming out and showing that he's a strong person. he went through some stuff and i think it's great. i think it shows that he's not afraid to live up to what he did and come out here and play golf. >> reporter: so tiger will tee off in about an hour, in the pro-am with a couple of local businessmen and he talks to the media at 12:10. we will be there live and have more on who he's going to be playing with in the actual tournament coming up in about 30 minutes. >> rafer, thank you very much. appreciate it. looks a little cold this morning. i think i can see your breath. >> reporter: can you see it? i wasn't sure. it's a little brisk but set to warm up i am told. >> he's getting tough. thank you very much, appreciate it. >> better him than me.

it's cold out there. >> is it, how much? >> low 40s right now. upper 60s by this afternoon. if you want to see winter look at the video we got, northern parts of vermont. we're almost at may, don't throw the shovels away. this is snow on the flowers, this is snow in vermont. it'sen upper level low diving down to the center part of that state. looks more like february and not close to may. >> oh, my gosh, on the tulips. >> so let me show you some of the reports from the morning, in order underhill, 1.3 inches of snow, westford, vermont, 7.9 inches of snow. snow continues to fall this morning heavy at times. low pressure moving off the coast by this afternoon. check out the white that's all snow, it's not just vermont, northern new hampshire, arcing back into the adirondacks and new york state, glenns falls with light snow. western maine you'll see a lot

of snow in the next 24 hours. 4 to 8 inches of snow today. winter storm warnings shaded in red stretching back towards the northern part of new york state and you have the advisories. freeze warnings, areas shaded in purple, frost advisories, areas shaded in blue, temperatures are well below freezing outside of the major heat islands of the city. 36 degrees in cleveland, interior ohio away from the lake looking at temperatures about 32. there's your cold air, here for one more day and warms up nicely by tomorrow. more in a half hour >> chilly. what are you saying about tewk. >> the funny hat with the ears and the flaps. >> i didn't know that's what they called that. >> that's what they call it in new england. i don't know about ohio. that's a tewp. look it up. >> might be a jersey thing. an indiana firefighter is a lucky person. an explosion inches away from his face. we'll tell you how he is this morning, how this happened. wow.

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gaue grmatains heyesy.rc g ♪ a firefighter got blasted in the face as he tried to put out a fire in a vehicle. the tape is just so excruciating, an explosion threw debris in his eyes. it probably happened when magnesium reacted with the water from the fire hose. the firefighter was taken to the hospital, and believe is or not, later released. the cause of the fire is under investigation. glad to see he's okay. if you use facebook some lawmakers say the social networking site might be putting

your privacy at big time risk. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. complaints and now lawmakers? >> they have all of the changes, we're figuring out what the privacy implications are. the senators out there, dukes up, saying these changes cross the line. say you click "friends only" you want to keep it to yourself and your friends. in these new facebook changes, anything that you say that you like, so maybe it's jeans, music, food or something funny that you saw on the web if you click it, it becomes a public record, advertisers can see it, anybody can see it. that's according to "san jose mercury news." here's charles schumer. >> by lumping all users with similar interests they created inadvertently a public gold mine of data for unsolicited ads, spam, and even scammers. >> supposedly facebook says you can opt out. have you ever tried it?

i have. you got to do it in like eight spots, eight times, different places, you're not sure. i found it very confusing, and i was actively trying, and i find that many people i knew have facebook accounts don't know what i'm talking about when i say that to them. lawmakers say it should be the other way around. instead of opting out you should opt in if you want to share and the default is private. >> that's a good idea. >> facebook says we agree the scrutiny over the handling of personal data handling it needed. think about it, they sell all that. of course they want you to opt in. senate democrats are expected to try again today to bring to the floor a bill that would regulate wall street from taking huge risks that put the economy on the line. there's a lot of upset around it. two times it hasn't worked but we will keep our eye on that one and keep you posted. back to you. >> thank you, jen, appreciate it. a new jersey pizza place made famous by "the sopranos" is delivering more than just to the

locals. stephanie elam takes a lice of pizza land's pie taken looks good in this "small business success." >> reporter: no matter where you live in the usa this north arlington, new jersey, pizzeria will deliver right to your door. >> it first started with people from the small town that moved away and they wanted to take the pizzas back with them. >> reporter: for around a year pizzaland owner todd mano tested thousand chill, package and ship his pies. he sends 25 to 100 pizzas every day and customers can't seem to get enough. >> it's not the one and two-pie orders. people ordering from 4, 8, 10, 20 pies at a time. >> reporter: they got free publicity appearing in "the sopranos" on hbo and that led to other marketing opportunities. >> we offer pizzaland t-shirts, pizzaland cards and we also have train models selling by the hundreds. >> reporter: yet todd insists

it's the taste, not the fame that's bringing in the dough. >> it's a quality pizza that you're getting instead of a frozen pizza out of a supermarket. it's all about the product. it's not about the fluff. >> good. if you're a small business owner we'd like to see your success story. i was telling jennifer how good her hair looks, i apologize. go to cnn.com/robin and upload a video or i-report of your biz and you might be featured on "morning express. well, facetiously besay, this just in. the jundges did not like crystal's performance on "american idol." how dare they! why are this man's thumbs worth more than 13 million bucks? what did we make better ?

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remove precancerous polyps. the one-time test to change how doctors look for colon cancer and save thousands of lives. crystal bowersox usually gets big praise. last night they were luke warm. they sang shania twain songs. ♪ ♪ no one needs to know right now ♪ ♪ any man of mine better walk the line ♪ ♪ show me teasing, squeezing, pleasing kind of time ♪ >> that was "man of mine." here's what the judges had to say about that >> way to pull the shania twain into the station. >> good one. yes! >> good way to end the show, fantastic.

>> i think the screaming at the end may have gone a little bit. >> no, it was good, it was good. it was good! >> well, the audience isn't with me on this one. almost like you were giving birth at the end. >> yes! >> is anaia's reaction, too. there are six contestants left and one gets the boot tonight. who did you think rocked? preface saying he only sees the clips. >> every time you see crystal she's rockin' it. >> that's why i was thinking their lukewarm reception is unfair because they've set the bar higher, like bad for her is better than everybody else. >> exactly. it will be interesting to see how far she goes. she's got to win this thing. >> look at bob. >> i'm finally into it again. the tower cam originally labeled as green bay, wisconsin, it's not close, orlando. [ laughs ] yeah we messed up the labeling a bit. we fixed it, though. nice in orlando, 80 degrees, mostly sunny skies.

a high fire risk, breezy conditions coming out, dry again, orlando nice start to your morning, dhily, temperatures in the 50s. today, windy conditions, new york city metros an hour or more delay because of the winds at 30 to 35 miles per hour. philadelphia, same thing, 35-mile-per-hour winds, one-hour delay. san francisco gusty winds and showers, and then las vegas your winds are going to be up there, 50 miles per hour. you'll have short delays because of that. more details, robin n about a hafrl hour. >> thank you. >> all right. after losing his job a 58-year-old man went back to school and fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing college sports at 58 years old! someone waking up yeah, i still got it, joe. >> i still got it. 58 is the new 21. he lost his job and he said i'm going to fulfill two lifelong dreams. i'm not only going to go back to college i'm going to play college baseball. incredible story. larry hausenfuse is 58 years old, you'll think he's 22.

playing with a bunch of 21, a bunch of 20, 21, 18-year-old kids. at first they thought he was the new coach on the team, no, he was the pitcher. he hasn't played baseball since nixon was in office. he played ice hockey to keep him in shape. he jumped at the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream of playing college baseball. larry has three children and all older than every single player on his new team. it's almost the end of the season, i don't know the stats. >> i want to find out. how much do you think a race car driver's thumbes are worth, robin? >> never thought of it. >> very expensive. $13.3 million. it's kind of an nuls thing to do but the sport has a lot of risks involved.

thumbs are very important to him. not only for driving but everything is okay. >> i didn't know you can insure these different things. >> apparently you can. >> thank you. some stories we're watching today in your morning express planner. a decision will come today on the offshore cape cod. it would put 130 turbines in the water of nan tucket sound. at 10:30 eastern vice president biden will help start the fourth annual soldier ride and then at 1:00 eastern censuses officials will announce how many returns will return their forms and how many will get visits from the censuses workers. the chief of wall street powerhouse goldman sachs got a lectu lecture, an earful from the senators.

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good morning. come on in the room or sit there and watch while you're in bed. let me see if i can get you awake. i know i can get you informed. i'm robin meade, here's what's going on. >> how much of that [ bleep ] deal did you sell? such language on capitol hill. capital execs get a tongue lashing. in about a half hour tiger woods warms up before his next big tournament and rafer will take you there live.

hi, there. >> tiger woods gets ready to return to the course on a chilly morning here in charlotte. will the reception, though, be warm? we're here live. i don't know why i can't talk today -- a firefighter is okay after this horrible accident. what the fire chief says went wrong. first, our top story. the coast guard may set fire to the oil slick in the gulf of mexico this morning to keep it from reaching the coast, otherwise, they say, it could become a disaster. fears it could hurt tourism, pollute the beaches and threaten sea life all the way up the mississippi river. >> if we don't secure the well, yes, this could be one of the most significant oil spills in u.s. history. but we are working hard to secure that well and we're working hard to mitigate against the flow of oil that is out there now every day. >> you might be wondering about the sea food that i eat from the gulf coast. correspondent richard lui has

whether that is still safe in about ten minutes. goldman sachs execs said they didn't do anything wrong but they got a blistering from members of a senate panel to find out if they bet against investors and ultimately the economy. >> all of you were chasing each other. what you worried about most was a bad article in "the wall street journal," not a regulator. you were chasing compensation and colleagues and other investment banks and you were trying to make a killing. >> i do not think that we did anything wrong. there's things that we wish we could have done better in hindsight, but at the times we made the decisions we don't think we did anything wrong. >> protesters and hecklers were not buying the claims of innocence. >> you have no ethics, that's why you can't answer that question. >> i can say this, though, it

was probably the most, how can i say, bipartisan that lawmakers looked in a long time as they lined up here to give them a blistering. so, there you saw the protesters. the company says it was just trying to insulate itself from other large bets it made on residential real estate. all right, tiger woods is back on the golf course again today. the second time he has been on the course during a tournament. but it's going to be different this time and rafer makes a note that tiger is kind of, it's almost like it is renewing the rivalry between himself and phil mickelson. hi there, rafer. >> good morning, robin. golf is an individual sport and people root for these guys based on individual characterics. we know tiger woods' story line and we know phil mickelson's story line. media has come from all over. we are strewn all around this

course. they had to make special provisions for us and tiger will address us directly at 12:10. first, he will tee off at 7:30 in a pro am. good will event, people are very, very excited about it. it doesn't count from a golf standpoint and at 12:10 he will have that press conference. what kind of reception will he get from the media and the fans. this is the first time to see this guy up close and personal. tomorrow he will tee off at 7:30 in the morning with stewart, sync and cabrera. so, tiger woods is playing with two guys that each have a major championship win more recently than he does and then at 12:50 he will tee off with those same guys. phil mickelson, the same thing. that will be good for tv ratings. >> thank you very much this cold morning in charlotte.

a flight in atlanta had to be diverted to maine after a bomb scare. get this the suspect is a former intelligence. air marshals put him in handcuffs and moved the passengers to the front and collected pillows and blankets and piled them up in the back. nothing was found, but the passengers were, obviously, worried. >> i just saw the lights come on for 35 minutes and i thought this is strange and then i saw the tenseness in the faces of the flight attendants, actually. >> the pilot let us know everything was safe and contained about 35 minutes after it happened. >> now, officials say the suspect is derek stansbery who served in iraq and afghanistan. the fbi checked out his home yesterday. his father said his son is squeaky clean. >> hopefully everything will get ironed out and he'll get to come

home. he is a good boy. i mean, a good man. he is 26 years old. >> well, officials say the suspect also claimed to have a fake passport but they said later that ststansberry's passpt was real. their flight is due to leave for atlanta later on this morning. bret michael's recovery from a brain hemorrhage has hit a setback. test results show that he's suffering from a lack of sodium which could lead to seizures. she also says that michaels is responding well to tests and treatment and doctors are hopeful for a full recovery. i still can't get over the guy who is accused of saying he had a fake passport and a bomb on the plane was an air force official. was he drinking? >> we can't wait to see what this guy was thinking. >> do i see snow again?

>> basically vermont back into new hampshire and maine and all the white all snow on the radar picture and just hammering away at the adirondacks and northern and central vermont. winter storm warnings we had them yesterday and still in mris in the same exact place this morning. northern new york state and vermont, new hampshire and maine. an additional four to eight inches of snow in towards maine today and get over towards the adirondacks as the low pulls away from you. cold temperatures are out there to play for the rest of the region, too. freeze warnings the area in purple and look at some of the temperatures now. 40 in buffalo and into the low 30s and pittsburgh 32, you're freezing. 36 in cleveland. cincinnati 32. frost advisories for the morning. then we hop out to the west. brand-new storm system came ashore yesterday and that surface low is over montana with a trailing cold front and look at all the clouds and all the rain and snow, too and windy

conditions just plaguing the area. all the areas in red high-wind warnings. the yellow shaded areas calling for winds gusting to 50 and air travel delays plentiful from vegas all the way through areas like dallas with your winds blowing 25 miles per hour. reno, you're out of the highest wind right now. because yesterday it was howling. let me show you video from reno, nevada. high winds knock down powerlines and trees and the highest wind gust i saw at reno was 62 miles per hour. today a little bit less. should be half that. 30-mile-per-hour winds. look at that day yesterday. all that moving over to the east and we'll talk about it in just a bit. >> don't want to land in that. a local government in california is taking a shot at high-calorie food for your kids. they're going after the kids meals, the happy meals and whatever else brand. we'll show you a horse that is smaller than a lot of odogs. that's a horse.

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you know, today we have a very special salute taken at the airport when sergeant ryan corbt got home for some r and r. i love this. >> hi, robin, my name is jennifer corbett and my husband just got home from leave. next 14 days will be the next 14 days ever. >> i just want to say hi to all the troops in iraq and afghanistan still today. >> ryan, welcome home. if you have somebody in the service, you want to salute them, go to cnn.com/robin. this just in this morning, it is official that sandra bullock wants out of her five-year marriage to jesse james. she tells "people" magazine that she has filed for divorce. she also says that she's adopted a son, a 33-month-old son.

more details now on our top story. as massive oil spill that is creeping towards the gulf coast they have sent nearly 50 ships to try to contain this thing. correspondent richard lui joins us. what are the chances that it will contaminate the sea food that we then eat? >> one thing that we can look at to see how it will affect us, the oyster crops. this could affect a three-year crop of oysters. their shells, they can protect them, but since they can't move on their own, oils can get trapped in their gills. contaminated oysters would never reach your plate because they just would not be harvested. instead the impact on fisherman like charlie robin right here. >> we just started to get back on our feet again and that's all we need is an oil spill to come in and devastate our grounds to

kill our shrimp and ground and oysters. >> charlie and his brother are seventh generation fishermen and they're preparing for the biggest shrimp crop they have ever seen until this happened. less than one out of ten fish we eat in the united states comes from that gulf. >> it's also the time of year when people are thinking the gulf of mexico might be my vacation spot. if this thing does reach the shores, i mean, are you actually going to sit there and see not the pristine white sand beaches that you're used to seeing, but something else? >> important part of the tourism season right now, robin. already dozens of tourists complained about the odd smell in the air there. >> i noticesed an odor in the air, kind of like exhaust almost. i didn't think too much of it. i kept smelling it throughout the day. >> experts are not sure if that

is from the initial spill on the rig or something else. they're watching closely to see where that oil is headed next. it is only 20 miles from the louisiana coast right now. but the way the currents are working, they're watching that. oceanographers think it will drift past the gulf coast beaches but headed towards the florida keys. all right, what fun is a kids' meal without the toy? that's not a very happy meal some might say. now one county is altogether banning these toys. jennifer westhoven is here watching that. >> couple weeks ago we were talking about people protesting saying ronald mcdonald should retire and now a california county says it's banning the happy meal and not just mcdonald's, any fast food that comes with a toy. a county supervisor told "the l.a. times" they want to break the link of prizes that go with unhealthy food that has high

calories and fat and sugar. how can you help but smile when you see a jumping mr. potato head. the california restaurant association says it's misguided and an example of government overreach. there's a financial crisis in europe and that really sent our stock markets into a tail spin. greece in big trouble. it borrowed, just like we do, but then greece said they're having trouble paying the money back. they asked for a bailout from the eu and there is fear that the same could happen in portugal. how does this all affect you? it's shaking confidence in our recovery. you may remember some economists thought, yeah, we might get an economic recovery and then the recovery will peter out. so, yikes. there's the dow off 213 points last night. 10991. tim tebow may be months away from making his debut as an nfl player, but he's already making

mountains of money for the league without ever stepping on the field. some senators are worried about your facebook page and your private information. find out what they're doing about it. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to work with kids. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] together we can discover the best of what's next at aarp.org. nice... can i have it back now? now through may 2nd,... thanks! ...get a $30 walmart gift card

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welcome to progressive. nice calculator. i'm just trying to save money on my car insurance. you know, with progressive, you get the option to name your price. is that even possible? uh, absolutely. trade? and i still get great service? more like super great. oh, you have a message. "hello." calculator humor. i'll be here all week. i will -- that was my schedule. the freedom to name your price. now, that's progressive. call or click today. this is so painful to watch. a firefighter got blasted in the face as he tried to put out a vehicle fire. can't imagine what he went

through. an explosion threw debris into his eyes. the fire chief says that it probably happened when the mag niecium reacted with the water from the fire hose. the firefighter was taken to the hospital and later release. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the miami dolphins' gm says he's so sorry for asking a player an inappropriate question about his mother. joe, good morning. >> before the draft, a lot of teams were interested in oklahoma star receiver des bryant. they all wanted to know more about him. during a predraft interview one team asked bryant if his mom was a prostitute. yesterday, miami dolphins' general manager jeff ireland came forward to say it was him. he asked the question and offered an apology to bryant. ireland is taking the stance that bryant's off the field issues in college coupled with the fact that his mother had

jailtime for selling crack was why the dolphins was concerned. the line of questioning was only to dig a little deeper into those issues. they were to put up millions of dollars if they would have drafted him. bryant says he was mad at first but now accepts his apology. he was drafrted in the first round by the dallas cowboys. >> i mean how uncomfortable that question must have been. the way you phrase it. >> i don't know how you can phrase that any better. mom a prostitute or not? or you just don't ask the question. >> good point. >> also drafted in the first round was tim tebow, drafted by the denver broncos. tebow hasn't played in the nfl yet but aurld holds a new nfl record. he will wear number 15 like he did in florida. he will wear it for the denver broncos and that new jersey is flying off the shelves. he sold more jerseys during the draft weekend than any other

rookie or current nfl player. big time sales. a spokesperson said his sales compared to the next closest person substantially different. tebow number 15 selling like hot cakes. >> still number 15. >> still number 15. >> thank you. what else is coming up? >> a story about a 58-year-old man who is making his dreams come true. >> this is for everybody who is getting up and feeling a little sore and you can say, i still got it. he showed that he does. >> sure can. bob, don't you have that dream, you can go back and play hockey. >> i was looking at how bad the new york rangers are, i can still play. northeast looks pretty good. new york city metros calling for an hour or more, same for san francisco and philly, too. ot ofs at night. it wakes me up. i have allergies. ♪ you're right. i'm getting more air. -oh, yeah. -oh, wow! [ female announcer ] for two free samples, go to breatheright.com.

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a flight from paris to atlanta was diverted to maine yesterday after a bomb scare, and get this, the suspect is a former air force intelligence specialest who served in iraq and afghanistan. well, officials say he claimed to be carrying explosives and nothing was found. the flight resums this morning. president obama will deliver the eulogy tomorrow at civil rights leader dorothy height. she stood beside martin luther king during the i have a dream

speech. the software security firm says delete it. the download could give hackers access to your pc. macs are not affected. those are some of the headlines we have for you as you get your coffee. morning, sunshine, i'm robin meade. this just in sandra bullock is filing for divorce. it says she wants to end her five-year marriage to jesse james and she is adopted a 3 1/2-month-old son. bullock says she is sad and scared. their marriage was rocked by a cheating scandal. several women claimed . i am assuming this is the picture with the little boy she is adopting and i'm just told, yes, that is. the solution to the huge oil spill that's right now in the gulf of mexico may be to set it

orn fire. the coast guard may start a controlled burn on the slick as soon as today. correspondent richard lui joins us now. that ought to be something to see. >> it would be. robin, just one of many tools they are employing right now. they wouldn't set the entire thing on fire at once. instead, they'll use a 500-foot long boom to gather some of the oil and then burn one section at a time. this is really the quickest option, but the down side, you'll also get some air pollution. >> the most obvious result of the surface of the water is that ask you generate this black plume and although 95% to 85% of the oil is consume under to c k carbon dioxide and water. >> animals are more likely to escape a burning area of the ocean than an oil slick. this is video you see right here from a spill in south korea in

2007. birds might be disoriented by the smoke, but oil, it destroys the waterproofing on their feathers which keeps them warm and dry. robin, looking at the pictures of the oil spill earlier. only like molecules thick, in some cases like paint floating on top. really thin stuff. >> no matter what, i'm sure it is affecting the wildlife no matter how thick it is to see. thank you very much, appreciate it. all right, moving on here. moving on. oh, richard, this is you, go ahead. >> i'll talk a little bit more. there was actually more issues with regard to the story here, robin. one is how it will affect offshore drilling. a lot of talk during the campaign of this. charlie crist actually surveyed the area and some lawmakers that are really rethinking their position on this case of offshore drilling. talking about florida's governor charlie crist, this is what he had to say after flying over the

spill yesterday. >> what i said all along is that so long it could be safe enough and clean enough, it is something we ought to look into. what i have just seen, it is not safe certain and certainly not clean enough. >> lawmakers should give up trying to pass new legislation this year. bill nelson also saying the spill would have a chilling effect on president obama's plan to open up the even gulf to drilling. the white house here, though, robin, has not changed its position on this as of yet. >> today is when that burn could start if they decide that's what they're going to be doing here. >> yes. >> thank you. now, attorney general eric holder said yesterday that a law leaves too much potential for abuse and it can divide local communities and law enforcement. homeland security secretary janet napolitano says most groups oppose these kind of

laws. one sheriff deputy said he would not enforce it. >> the law that would be challenged immediately is this reasonable suspicion and that is going to decleared in my judgment vague. >> mexico is telling its citizens how to handle arizona's immigration law. that requires whether someone is in the united states illegally and even if there is a reason to suspect. let's see, mexico says there is no clear criteria on whom police should check and it must be assumed that any mexican could be arrested. mexico is telling its citizens to carry its documents and avoid confrontation. new this morning, a suicide bombing killed four police officers and injured at least ten other people. authorities in northwest pakistan says the bomber targeted a police checkpoint but the explosion was big enough to damage some nearby homes. pakistani forces have fought hard to stop attacks by taliban

insurgents in this part of the country. tiger woods is back on the golf course today. he is about an hour away from teeing off. rafer weigel is live this morning in charlotte, north carolina, and he's talking about how tiger's return has reignited his rivalry with a man who almost seems to have an opposite image than tiger has right now. >> robin, one of the things about the personal story line of tiger woods, it seems to really added fuel to the rivalry with his number one rival, phil mickelson. a lot of women that we spoke to out here are rooting specifically for phil because of his personal story line. his wife and mother both battling breast cancer and he is perceived as a dedicated family man compared to tiger, whose story you already know. a lot of the men out here were rooting for tiger because they view him as a victim of the media scrutiny. we ran into one couple where the man was wearing a tiger woods

hat and the wife was rooting for phil. it doesn't mean that these women are rooting against tiger. >> it's great that he's coming out and showing that he's a strong person. he went through some stuff and i think it's great. it shows that he's not afraid to live up to what he did and come out here and play golf. >> tiger will tee off tomorrow, thursday, when the tournament starts at 7:30 in the morning with stewart cink and angel cabrera. and then at 12:50 with the same duo conversely phil mickelson, exact opposite times. >> rafer, thank you. a five-minute test could keep you from dying from colon cancer. according to a 11-year study in the uk. researchers used a flexiscope to find and remove precancerous polyps. that one-time test can change

how doctors look for colon cancers and save thousands of lives. it was shania twain night on "american idol." the country star was on hand to help out the judges. casey sang "don't." ♪ do you feel what i feel inside ♪ >> yeah, bob just made a note, you have to sing shania twain songs in front of her. one will get the boot tonight, who will it be? l.a. is still the worst in the nation when it comes to smog. i can't say i'm surprised. the ten smoggiest counties are all in california. it comes from the american lung association annual report. california environmental officials say the bad air causes 19,000 premature deaths and about 300,000 illnesses a year. the state is working to reduce emissions.

i'm totally getting cracked up because bob, i hate "american idol," sort of into it now. >> i think crystal is fantastic. that's all. i don't watch, i just show what we show as highlights. she's great. i think she will -- this is the last season probably, too. >> you think just because simon is leaving? >> yeah, yeah y think so. >> i don't know. shall i sign you up? >> no. good morning, robin. we were talking about the oil slick out in the gulf of mexico. i want to show you the wind over the next three days. high pressure right over louisiana this morning and over the next couple days the high slides down into florida and see the wind wrapping around it in that direction and the actual surface flow moves at a 90 degree angle and over the next couple days it will be changeable and the next 72 hours not expecting to see this oil slick come ashore anywhere, but if it does hang out there by saturday and sunday the cold

front moves back in and gets caught up in that loop current the flow of water that goes around in this direction, the florida keys may have to keep an eye on this ask we are talking about seven or eight days away from now. now, what about the rest of the country? cold air sitting right over the great lakes and stretching down to the gulf and then you get to the northeast, all snow. big upper level low and a lot of energy wrapped up with it. winter storm warnings for northern parts of areas like basically new york state and looking at the boston tower cam, too. little breezy and rain showers out there sxel woo talk about that, robin, in a half hour. that's what it looks like in boston. >> boston, you're looking very pretty today. it looks cold to me. >> cold and windy with a passing shower to your north. some senators are worried about your facebook page and the private information you put up there so the senators, the lawmakers are getting all cool and hip and on facebook and stuff. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time...

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female announc: ennifer, a microfiber sofa bed st329. good morning. i got the papers for you. "usa today" reports that a number of clemency reports have come across the president's desk since he took office, but president obama has yet to approve a single one of the more than 2,300 petitions. in l.a. officials added 50 more earthquake faults to a map highlighting the dangers that people face every day. the hope is that the map will help developers and emergency planners. from "the wall street journal" tough financial times almost put an end to the soap box derby. but after wheeling and dealing

in akron, ohio, it is back on. but the akron soap box derby. former seinfeld actor jason alexander was involved in a traffic accident involving a 14-year-old boy on a bike. the boy had minor injuries and alexander stopped and waited for officers and paramedics. alexander was so grateful the boy was not seriously hurt. if you use facebook some lawmakers say that that social networking site might be putting your privacy at risk too much. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. your facebook user and you have a pretty good grasp on this. >> partly because so many people use facebook and people really don't understand how hard it is to guard your privacy in there and even if you do what i did, which is try to do everything you can, it's not really guarded. >> clunky. >> i think it's really hard to know what's going on.

four senators blasting facebook changes saying they've crossed the line. there are times when you can go ahead and say friend only. meaning, i only want to share what i have in here with my friends, that's it. but in the new facebook things that you've heard about where you can go on the web and click things that you like like jeans, food, music and that click becomes a public record and advertisers can see it and anyone on facebook can see it. chuck schumer has said this is the kind of thing that makes it open to scammers and fraudsters. you putting your stuff out there. that's not the whole point. so, supposedly, like we just mentioned, you can opt out, but it's multiple steps in multiple places. it's pretty confusing, i think. lawmakers say it should be the other way around. kind of like the credit card companies, well, maybe that's still -- but the default would be that your information is private. if you want to share, you just

click opt in. facebook said we agree that scrutiny over the handling of person personal data is needed. many of you giving your opinions on this. dana said the government needs to stop. i don't need them on facebook. they need to worry about everything else like the economy and illegal immigration. carmine says until better guidelines are in place on social networking sites, i don't oppose oversight. safety is the first priority. tell us what you think about this or the happy meal story we were telling. some people in california are banning the happy meals. >> and then, yeah, she'll talk about that in the coming moments, as well. i like it because our viewers talk to each other on there. organic baby formula might not be as organic as you might think, but that could be about to change, as well. with activet smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use.

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organic baby formula may now have to live up to its name. the usda may ban two synthetic

ingredients from the organic formula. companies claim that they can improve brain development and eye sight in babies, but organic advocacy complain because these ingredients are created by using a chemical that is banned in organic production. the usda is not saying the ingredients are unsafe. today's hot viral video is the next alicia keys. this is cindy who is a florida grandmother who recorded "empire state of mind. "now the grandma has become a youtube sensation. she is good. >> i have a new respect for rappers, i'll tell you. it's so fast. you can't even catch your breath, you know. >> do we have the video of her rappi rapping, again. her family wrote the song and

she has more than 47,000 hits on youtube. ♪ >> okay, i take back my idea that she was good. she's just entertaining, i guess. hey, grandma will do it. after losing his job, a 58-year-old man went back to school and fulfilled a life-long dream of playing college sports. here's joe carter with more on that. for everyone waking up and feeling like the bones are creaking, hey, we still got it. >> this guy is getting up at 5:00 in the morning and driving himself to baseball practices. he decided to fulfill a life-long dream of going back to college and joining the college baseball team. at first his college teammates thought the 58-year-old guy was the new coach, but, nope, the new pitcher. he has a nice left-hand

knuckleball. he hasn't played baseball since president nixon was in office. he played ice hockey. he's a real athlete. i love this part. when he made the jv team he called his 87-year-old father to share the news. he has three kids, all of them older than every single player on his new team. formula one driver fernando alonzo just insured his thumbs for $13.3 million. the driver said the unusual deal came about because of the risks involved in the profession and for driving and giving the thumbs up signal that everything is all good on the track. t proh is the only leading toothpaste to protect against sensitivity and all these areas in a single, all-in-one toothpaste. new crest pro-health sensitive shield.

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as with all medicare supplement plans, and help pay for what medicare doesn't. call this toll-free number now... good morning, sunshine. i know you'd love to stay in bed right now. my job, though, to get you off to work on time and get you informed. i'm robin meade. here's what's going on today. >> how much of that [ bleep ] deal did you sell to your clients after june 22, 2007? such language on capitol hill! but that's how lawmakers put some goldman sachs executives through the ringer and hear how they answered. new this morning sandra bullock says she is done with jesse james, but still trying to build a family. plus, a scary blast in a firefighter's face.

we're going to have an update on how he's doing. our top story, though, the coast guard may set fire to that oil slick that's in the gulf of mexico this morning to keep it from reaching the coastline. now, otherwise, they say, it could become a disaster. there are fears it could hurt tourism, pollute the beaches and threat on the sea life even in the mississippi river. >> if we don't secure the well, yes, this could be one of the most significant oil spills in u.s. history. but we are working hard to secure that well and we're working hard to mitigate against the flow of oil that's out there now every day. >> well, you might be wondering if sea food from the gulf coast is still safe to eat? richard lui will have that angle for you in 15 minutes. this just in today, sandra bullock is filing for divorce. it also says that she is adopting a 3 1/2-month-old son. several women claim to have had

affairs with her husband, jesse james. he publicly apologized to her and his three kids. top execs at goldman sachs say they did nothing wrong but spent more than ten hours yesterday getting a blistering from members of a senate panel to find out if they bet against investors, ultimately the economy. senator carl levin asked about an internal e-mail that described one investment product with a word we can't even use on tv. >> you're trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal and it's your top priority. come on, mr. sparks. should goldman sachs be trying to sell, by the way, it sold it, a lot of it after that date. should goldman sachs be trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal? canyou answer that one yes or no. >> i didn't use that term with respect to this deal. >> protesters and hecklers in prison stripes were not buying the executive claims of

innocence. >> what about your ethics? you have no ethics. that's why you can't answer that question. you have no ethics. >> wow. goldman sachs denies betting against its clients or american homeowners. the company says it was just trying to insulate itself from other large bets it made on residential real estate. tiger woods will be playing in his first truly public tournament this weekend since his scandal broke. he teed off ahead of time, just a few moments ago. rafer is joining us. did you have time to get over there and see him and how was he looking? >> we watched him tee off in this pro am event and the crowds were over there watching him, as well. it was a much smaller and less demonstrative crowd than we had predicted. the pro am are charity events, not the actual tournament. this is the first time a lot of

people see tiger woods up close. he didn't sign any autographs as he walked by the fans. should he now under these circumstances? i think so. what would it have hurt signed one or two kids and when he was introduced a very mild, very tame golf clap. again, not abnormal for these kind of tournaments, but not what i expected. now, granted, the masters a different thing. it is a major tournament. so much louder and boisterous there. the real test when the tournament starts tomorrow. he will address the media at 12:10 this afternoon and i might ask him, how did you feel about the fan reception out here? was it quite the same thing you had back in the masters a few weeks ago and we'll see what he says. >> rafe r, thank you very much. appreciate it. a flight from paris to atlanta was diverted to maine after a bomb scare and, get this, the suspect is a former

specialest. he claimed he had explosives in his luggage. they moved the passenger to the front and they collected pillows and blankets and piled them up in the back. nothing was found but the passengers were worried. >> i just saw the lights come on for 35 minutes, bright. i thought this is strange for 35 minutes the lights are on and then i saw the tenseness in the faces of the flight attendants, actually. >> the pilot did let us know after everything was contained about 30 minutes after it happened. he said there was a security breach. >> officials say the suspect also claimed to have had a fake passport. they said later stansberry passport was real. their flight is due to leave for atlanta later on this morning. bret michaels recovery from a brain hemorrhage has hit a setback. the test results show that he's suffering from a lack of sodium which could lead to seizures.

she does not say if he had any seizures yet. she also says michaels is responding well to tests and treatment and doctors are hopeful for a full recovery. certainly wish him well. five minutes after the hour. let me think about this. bob, are you starting with winds or starting with cold weather? what's your deal? >> let's start with snow. >> cold weather snow. >> you think rocky mountains, no big deal, it's almost may. we're talking about the northeast right now, robin. specifically, vermont. video from yesterday afternoon. flowers, lawns, trees, that's what you think of in the spring, not snow. it was heavy at times. this is from yesterday. the snow has not ended there. come down strong this evening and pulling through maine. we have brand-new totals for you, too. get a load of some of these numbers. northern part of vermont 20.3 inches of snow from yesterday morning through early this morning and jericho continues.

now driving down to the gulf of maine. you'll find out later today. snow wrapping through northern vermont and new hampshire out of maine and getting into new york state, too. snow out there for the first part of the morning and then later today it all moves over to maine. winter storm warnings and all the spots put in red and advisories in the green shaded areas. one to three on top of what you have seen for the adirondacks. four to eight inches of snow right there. freeze warnings, frost advisories and the sun comes up a bit and temperatures freezing outside of cincinnati, louisville and outside of cleveland, too. those were the cold air spots. as for the west coast, another huge storm. this is the one over bc yesterday and now driving down to montana. a lot of snow and wind and rain wrapped up with this. the areas shaded in red to 60 miles per hour plus. the areas in yellow, that's advisories. if you're flying out to the west today, it's really going to be

bumpy, especially around the four corners and get back to las vegas where your wind are 50 miles per hour at times. rain and snow, we have it in the mountains and rain in the valleys and held true for most of the rockies. we'll talk about that in a half an hour. bob, do you remember as a kid you would choose your cereal by the toy inside. >> the decoder ring was the best. >> i hardly see them. you might be disappointed with this news, kids. some restaurants would not put toys in your kids meal. why? jeb bush is the first republican to weigh in on a new immigration law. ever feel like there's too much month but not enough money? an allstate agent can help today. with an early signing discount. it could mean some real money. if you think switching now isn't worth the hassle, how about this...

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the federal government may

go to court to challenge arizona's new immigration law. eric holder said yesterday the law leaves too much potential for abuse and it can divide local communities and law enforcement. homeland security secretary janet nepapolitano said most la enforcement groups oppose these kind of laws. one arizona sheriff says he won't enforce it. >> the very controversial part of this law which is going to be challenged immediately is this reasonable suspicion and that is going to be declared in my judgment unconstitutionally vague. >> the law requires police to check whether someone is in the united states legally if there is a reason to suspect they're not. florida governor jeb bush spoke against the law yesterday. he does not see how authorities are going to enforce it and put a burden on local law enforcement. what's the point of the kids meal if there is no toy inside of it? is that a very happy meal? one county is banning the toys in kids' meals at your fast food

joints. our money expert gener wirert j westhoven. just one county. >> they're not saying it's mcdonald's specifically, but the happy meal is the most popular kids meal that comes with a toy that you can think of right away. one county basically saying to the "l.a. times" they want to break that link that happens between a prize, like a toy, and food that is loaded with calories, fat, sugar. they fear it will make kids overweight and cause long-term health problems. the california health association says this is misguided and an example of government orver reach. how can you not smile when you see the jumping mr. potato head. >> come on, are we going to legislate everything? it's not like these are new, they have been around for 30 years. >> you are a kid, of course, you want the toy and then you make

that association. but, you know, both sides, whatever. it's okay with me. i love the happy meal. southwest airlines is getting hit with a $200,000 fee. the government said they've been bumping people from flights and not treating them the way the law says they must. according to the rules, the airline is supposed to ask first for volunteers before they start bumping, right? isn't that fun sometimes you go in and they're like, hey, are you willing to go on a later flight and people go, i will do that. sometimes it seems that they weren't asking and sometimes people were getting bumped unwillingly. if that happens, you're entitled up to 800 bucks in cash. southwest takes the fine seriously and will improve its procedures. the dow back below 11,000 after word that greece is in some trouble and portugal, too. their credit rating, basically,

was downgraded. the dow was off around 200 points taking it below 11,000. there we go. back to you, robin. >> such a psychological, robin. >> we finally got there. >> you know what, today, we have a very special salute taken at the airport when sergeant ryan corbitt got home for some r and r. >> i missed my husband so much, six months without him and the next 14 daze will be the best 14 days ever. >> i just want to say hi to all the troops in iraq and afghanistan today. >> he is home and still thinking about his comrades. if you have somebody in the service go to cnn.com/robin. "american idol" paid tribute to shania twain last night. plus, a waiter's worst day on the job was caught on tape. why he thinks a group of guys

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more details now on our top story. that massive oil spill that is creeping towards the gulf coast, well, the coast guard, bp and the rig's owner have sent nearly 50 ships to try to contain it. there's a possibility they may try to do a burn today, try to burn off some of this oil slick. correspondent richard lui is joining us now. what are the chances it will contaminate the sea food we eat from the gulf of mexico? >> so much comes from there. that could impact the oyster crops and it could impact three years of that crop. their shells do protect them sometimes, but since they cannot move on their own, oil can get trapped in their gills. experts say that contaminated oysters would never, though, reach your plate because they just would not be harvested. instead, the impact could be on fisherman like charlie robin right here. >> we just started to get back on our feet again and that's all

we need is an oil spill to come in and kill our grounds and our fish and shrimp and oysters. >> charlie and his brother are seventh generation fishermen and they were preparing for the biggest shrimp crop they have seen until this happened. less than one of the ten pieces of sea food we eat here in the united states actually comes from that part of the world. >> so, when it comes to the entire picture, maybe it's a small amount, but when it comes to people who make their money off of that, it's a big amount. >> oh, yeah. >> the time of year, too, when people go, i plan to go on vacation on the gulf shores and will i have the pristine white beach that i am thinking about? >> tourists in florida are starting to complain about an odd smell in the air there. >> i noticed an odor in the air, almost like exhaust is what it smelled like. i didn't think too much of it,

but i kept smelling it throughout the day. >> experts are not sure if that is from the initial fire on the rig or something else at the moment. but they're watching closely to see where the oil is headed next. only about 20 miles from the louisiana coast right now but the way the currents are working, oceanographers are thinking it will drift past the beaches you were just mentioning and head to the florida keys and beautiful areas there, too, robin. >> no matter where it lands, it is going to be bad. or has the potential to be bad. the miami dolphins' gm says he's so sorry for asking a player a very inappropriate question about the players' mom. oh, no, joe carter. >> oh, no, is right, robin. before the nfl draft, a lot of teams interested in dez bryant and wanted to know a lot more about him. word got out during a predraft interview one team asked bryant if his mom was a prostitute. totally inappropriate question.

yesterday miami dolphins' general manager jeff ireland came forward to say it was him, he asked the question and he offered an apology to brint. he said he used poor judgment and bryant's off the field issues in college and his mother's jailtime for selling crack concerned the dolphins. bryant says he was mad at first, but he's now accepted his apology. he wasn't drafted by the dolphins. he was taken by the dallas cowboys. mascots, they make us laugh and sometimes they make little kids cry and the milwaukee bucks mascot just simply shocks us. a backflip off a 16-foot ladder to make the crowd go wild. >> thank you very much. 58-year-year-old goes back to playing sports. i have astigmatism.

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it is over between sandra bullock and her husband, jesse james. the actress tells "popal" magazine that she is filing for divorce and she also says she has adopted a 3 1/2-month-old son. height was a pioneer of the civil rights movement and she stood beside the reverend martin luther king jr. i have a dream speech. she died last week. a suicide bombing killed four police officers in northwest pakistan. the explosion wounded ten other people and damaged nearby homes.

it happened in an area where pakistani forces have struggled against the taliban insurgents. good morning. see you're up early. 30 minutes past the hour or maybe you slept in just a little bit, i won't tell. i'm robin meade, here's what else is going on today. tiger woods will play in his first truly public tournament. his big tee off is tomorrow but he's already taking part right now in what we call a preliminary event. it just got under way last hour and rafer is joining us and he can tell us how he looked. good morning. >> good morning, robin. looked a little sleepy and also what looked sleepy was the reaction to tiger woods. i understand this is a preliminary event but this was the reaction woods got when he was first introduced to the crowd. listen. >> from windemer, florida, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome tiger woods.

>> all right, now, there was some cheers in there, but not anywhere near the boisterousness or gregariousness that we heard at the masters. the masters is a major tournament, this is not. this is a pro am event and also when tiger walked out didn't sign any autographs. a lot of people saying, tiger, can i get your autograph. he doesn't normally do these things at these events, but these aren't normal circumstances. this is a guy who says he wants it be more fan friendly and, again, not nearly the size of the crowds following him that we saw at augusta. the real test when tees off officially tomorrow at the tournament and people will get up close to tiger woods. he will tee off tomorrow at 7:40 in the morning with stewart cink

and angel cabrera. at augusta he was like a rock star. like elvis walking in. maybe we expected more this time around. >> rafer, thank you so much. glad you're there to give us that peek. the solution to the huge oil spill in the gulf of mexico might be to set it on fire. the coast guard may start a controlled burn on that oil slick as soon as today. correspondent richard lui joins us right now. how would that work? is it is a big area. >> it is a huge area, but they're not going to do it all at one time. the coast guard would basically set smaller parts on fire little by little and use a 00-foot boom to gather some of the oil and then burn one section at a time. this is really the quickest option for them and there is a down side, they have to worry about air pollution. >> the most obvious result of igniting on the surface of the water is that you generate this black plume and although 95%

toal 5% of the oil is fully consumed into carbon dioxide and water you get residuals that are formed and it's smoke and soot. >> animals are more likely to escape a burning area of the ocean than an oil slick. some film here from south korea in '07. burns might be disoriented but oil itself destroys the waterproofing on their feathers which keeps them warm and dry. more life endangering, certainly. >> doesn't look like there is any easier answer when it has an impact on marine life and wild life. what about the political fallout, too? we have yet to talk about that. >> this has some lawmakers really rethinking their position on offshore drilling. remember we were talking about it during the campaigns for the presidential election. here's what florida's republican governor had to say now after flying over the spill yesterday.

>> what i said all along, so long as it is far enough, safe enough and clean enough, it is something we ought to look into. after what i have just seen, that's not far enough, not safe enough and not clean enough. >> governor crist was originally not for it and then became more favorable for offshore drilling. he is reconsidering. he also said that lawmakers should give up on trying to pass new offshore drilling legislation this year. florida's democratic senator bill nelson also saying something, he said the spill would have a chilling effect, robin, on president obama's plan to open up the eastern gulf to drilling and the white house has not changed its position as of yet. security video shows a group of people attacking their waiter at a restaurant in atlanta. police just released the security video of this incident from last month. you can see the men punching, kicking and throwing chairs at their waiter. he's okay, he told our affiliate wsb that one guy got angry when

he carded them for their drinks. >> somebody had a bad day or something. customers maybe you, myself, you know what i mean? but nothing like this. >> somebody had a bad day. made him have a bad day. police have not identified the suspect, which is kind of crazy to me, because you can see them clear as day. >> three against one, real tough guys. >> all they did was the law, card them for their drinks. >> unbelievable. 36 minutes past the hour. i just want to get off that because it ticks me off. >> me, too. >> that is the outrage story of the day. >> you'd like to be their waiter, wouldn't you? >> well, with a couple friends, yeah. >> hi, bob. >> not by myself. let me show you what's going on. weather brought to you by red lobster and cold front that jacks down through the rest of the rockies and stretching into the california coastline and looking at all the clouds out ahead of that. most of the energy in the form

of wind today and that's specifically true around the four corners and getting into the area of the plains by tomorrow. more on that tomorrow morning. but i want to take you live to l.a. because you had rain showers around the region early this morning and yesterday and right now lax looking very nice. in fact, you can see a nice, big, bright moon off to the left and decent day when it comes to temperatures in the mid-60s, however, a little windy today. winds gusting 35 to 40 miles per hour around that l.a. area. lax, what you're currently watching, full delays coming up in 10, 15 minutes. wind advisories all across the country. winds dwusing to 60 miles per hour or more. we're also looking at snow now northern parts of idaho and montana and stretch doung ing d wyoming. stretching back to colorado and idaho and wyoming and back farther and you can see the rain around seattle and stretching

down i-5 to portland turning into some snow. snow, if you want the good stuff, that's across new england. readings around vermont, nashville, vermont, yesterday 20.3 inches of snow. started yesterday and overnight last night and still coming down now. winter storm warnings with all that snow hammering away on northern new york state and northern rhode island. but an additional four to eight inches of snow that's what you'll see across northern new hampshire and parts of maine. more on that, robin, in a half hour. >> it's nearly may. >> my first job in utica, new york, snowed three inches on mother's day. some senators are worried about your facebook page. your private info. after all those years, former first lady laura bush is opening up about a tragic car accident she had when she was a teenager.

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at legal zoom we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. former first lady laura bush is opening up about a car crash she had when she was 17 that killed her friend. "the new york times" got a copy of her new book which comes out next month. in the book, bush reportedly writes that she was racked for years by guilt after the crash. she and her friends were talking when she ran a stop sign. a florida grandmother who reported a boca raton parody of

"empire state of mind." this is originally sung by keys and jay-z but now the grandma is a youtube sensation. >> i have a new respect for rappers, i tell you. it's so fast. you can't even catch your breath. >> she says her family came up with the idea. they wrote the song. she has more than 47,000 hits on youtube. you can link to it from cnn.com/robin and watch the rapping granny. >> bridge club, peknuckle -- that is funny. some say the social networking site may put your privacy at risk. so, in other words, lawmakers are sticking their nose into your business on facebook. depending on how you look at it. you may look at it like they're

trying to protect me or you're not that hip. >> or maybe you want to because there's almost no way for you on your own to protect yourself on facebook. even if you click friends only, you might think, well, i clicked friends only, everything i write is just between me and my friends. everything you say you like, jeans, music, food, rapping grandmas from boca raton, when you click it, it is a public record. advertisers could see it and you could start getting spam that is all about that. that is according to the "san jose mercury news." >> by lumping all users with similar interests they created inadvertently a public gold mine of data for unsolicited ads and spammers. >> senator chuck schumer. supposedly you can opt out but it's in multiple steps and multiple spots and very

confusing, in my personal opinion. most people i talk to don't know how to do it and that's not talking about the new changes where everything becomes public anyway. lawmakers say it should be the other way around, if you want to share, you opt to share. instead of -- >> i like that idea. you opt in. >> facebook says, well, you know, the laws are very vague. we agree scrutiny over the handling of personal data is needed. let's talk about the home front. we all know that the housing crash is one of the biggest things that set off the recession. might be nice to know when it might end. we have a positive sign here and some little bit of, well, they're going, it's not quite a recovery is what the economists say and they're using the word even if they don't have confidence in it. home prices rose in february compare today last year. first time we have seen a year on year gain since 2006. a little bit more of a sustainable gain.

people rushing out to get the home buyer credit, but economists say it's positive. >> that's until the end of the month, right? couple more days. >> good not just for people selling, but we have a quarter of home owners who are under water in their mortgages and that could be very depressing for them and lead to foreclosure. that's a good sign. >> jennifer, thank you. one guy lost his job, but he still saw his dream come true. how he got into college baseball at the age of 58. and then a small explosion caught a firefighter right in the face. he will be all right. we'll tell you what may have touched off that explosion. hey -- who's our best presentation guy? carl.

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okay, my job is to get you

informed for the day. if you don't feel like going outside and getting the paper, i got that covered, too. "usa today" reports that a number of clemency reports have come across the president's desk since taking office. president obama has yet to approve a single one of the 2,300 petitions. they added 50 more earthquake faults to a map. the hope is that that map will help developers and emergency planners. from "the wall street journal" tough financial times almost put a stop to the soap box derby but after some wheeling and dealing in akron, ohio, it is back on. that's a quick check of some of our day's top stories in the newspapers. yeah, that's scary. that's the sound of government troops opening fire on demonstrators who tried to hold a rally in thailand. a cnn reporter tells us that the soldiers used both live ammo and

rubber bullets. one soldier reportedly was killed by friendly fire and eight protesters were wounded. a firefighter got blasted in the face as he tried to put out a vehicle fire and it was caught on camera. an explosion threw debris right into his eyes and the fire chief says it probably happened when mag niecium reacted with the water from the water hose. the firefighter was taken to the hospital and later on released. the cause of the fire is investigation. my goodness. after losing his job, a 58-year-old man went back to school and fulfilled a life-long dream to play baseball in college. here's joe carter with more on that. 58 years old. >> 58 years old, gets up at 5:00 in the morning, gets in his car, drives to practice -- >> shows those whippersnappers how to do it. >> then goes back to class and then back to practice. incredible. he lost his job a few months back and decided, what the heck, i'll go back to college and join

the college baseball team. pretty good goals, right? at first his college teammates thought the 58-year-old man wasd coach. nope. he's the new pitcher. larry hadn't played baseball since president nixon was in office 40 years ago, but over the last four decades, he managed to stay in shape playing ice hockey. he made the jv team, and when he did so, picked up the telephone and called his 87-year-old father to share the big news. larry has three kids, all of them older than every one of his teammates. tim tebow back in the news. this man holds an nfl record. tebow will be wearing number 15 this season for broncos, his new jersey flying off store shelves. he sold more jerseys during draft weekend than any other rookie or current nfl player ever. this guy hasn't done anything and already has done something. >> you say rookie quarterback.

not like you go right in? >> you may. not likely. he may. already the denver bronco nation is calling him the mile high messiah. his nickname. i'm from denver a big broncos' fan. >> that's funny. appreciate it. here are a couple stories we're watching in what we call the "morning express" planner. at 10:30 a.m. eastern, vice president joe biden helps start the fourth annual sol jr. ride. more than 30 wounded vets and families take part in the four-day ride and end at annapolis. at 1:00 eastern, how many returned our forms by the census bureau and how many will get a visit by a census worker. a check of what's to come.

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morning, sunshine. i'm glad you're up early and with us. have i told you lately how much we appreciate you? well, we do. i'm robin meade. heave's what's happening today -- sandra bullock calling it quits with her hubby jesse james and annoyancing another big change in her life. >> how much of that [ bleep ] deal did you sell to your clients after june 22, 2007? >> wall street execs get a tongue lashing on capitol hill. why senators were using such strong language? tiger woods teed off for his latest tournament. the reaction he got this

morning, you'll hear from the crowd, in north carolina. first, though, our top story. the coast guard just decided it will set fire to part of the oil slick that's in the gulf of mexico. they're trying to keep it from reaching the coast. it's said to happen in about two hours. going set it on fire. it's an experiment to see how might it work? the fear is that the spill could become a disaster. there are fears it could hurt tourism, pollute beaches and threaten the sea life even in the mississippi river. >> if we don't secure the well, yes, this could be one of the most significant oil spills in u.s. history, but we're working hard to secure that well, and we're working hard to mitigate against the flow of oil that's out there now everyday. >> i don't want you to think they're going to set the whole gulf on fire. the oil slick is humongous, they're talking to stages, see what's going to happen. you might be wondering what about the seafood i eat from the gulf coast? correspondent richard lui has the answer whether that is still safe to do in about 20 minutes.

sandra bullock is files for divorce. that's from "people" magazine this morning. it also said that she's adopting a 3 1/2-month-old son. bullock says she is sad and scared. now, several women claim to have had affairs with her husband jesse james. he publicly apologized to her and his three kids. the stories right now at people.com's i think you can get there, too, by going to cnn.com/robin. ooh, wow. top execs at goldman sachs say they did nothing wrong but spent more than ten hours yesterday getting a blistering from members of the senate panel trying to find out if a bet against investors and ultimately the economy, asking about an internal e-mail describing investment products with a word i can't even use on tv. >> okay, you're trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal and it's your top priority. come on, mr. sparks. did goldman sachs trying to sell -- by the way it sold it, a lot of it, after that date,

should goldman-sachs be trying to sell a [ bleep ] deal? >> well -- >> can you answer that one yes or no? >> there are prices in the market that people want to invest in things. i didn't use that term with respect to this deal. >> well, protesters and hecklers in prison stripes weren't buying the executive claims of innocence. >> what about your ethics? you have no ethics. that's why you can't answer that question. you have no ethics. >> goldman sachs denies betting against its clients or against american homeowners. the company said it was just trying to insulate itself from other large bets that it made on residential real estate. tiger woods is going to be playing in his first truly public tournament this weekend since his big scandal and he teed off ahead of time, just a few minutes ago. rafer is joining us now to say how he looked for this preliminary event. good morning, rafer. >> yeah, good morning, robin. you know what? this is the first time that a

lot of everyty folk were able to see tiger woods up close since that sex scandal broke, and it was not the reception from both ends necessarily that i expected. first of all, from tiger's end, when he came in, a lot of fans standing there wanting autographs. he just blew right by, didn't stop at all to acknowledge the fans. i got to point out he generally doesn't stop and sign autographs at these events, but these are different circumstances. tiger woods wanted to be more fan friendly. the fans from their reception, a much more mild polite golf clap than we anticipated. again, this is a pro-am event a charity event. not normally large crowds, but these are not normal circumstances. this is tiger woods first time back to be up close with these people since the masters. the masters is its own separate deal. also a very large crowd. the true test will be, of course, tomorrow, when he tees off for good. i'm anxious to see, of course, how the media reacts to tiger woods today.

at 12:10 a press conference, and that figures to be different than the masters. from a couple of weeks ago. in fact, everything about this tournament figures to be different from the masters, a we talked about, the masters, very exclusive, this, much more inclusive. how will the questions be? are they going to be more invasi invasive? we'll find that out as we will carry it live. >> rafer, thank you. the suss spent in a bomb scare on yesterday's flight from paris to atlanta has reportedly told officials he'd been taking a sleeping pill. that's from a source who talked to cnn. here's the deal. the flight diverted after he allegedly claimed he a explosives in his luggage. the suss spent is a former air force intelligence specialist. air marshals put him in handcuffs. nothing found. man, were the passengers worried. >> held up for 35 minutes. this is strange, 35 minutes. then afterwards -- >> let us know after everything was safe. everything is safe, everything

is contained and about 30 minutes after it happened. >> officials say that the suspect also claimed to have had a fake passport but said later that derek stansberry's passport was real. the passenger spent the night in maine. their flight is due to leave for atlanta in the next hour. the new information is that apparently the suss spent told authorities that he's take an sleeping pill. all right. bret michaels' recovery from a brain hemorrhage hit a setback. test results show he's suffering from a lack of sodium, which could lead to seizures. she doesn't say whether he's had any seizures also that michaels is responding well to tests an treatments and that doctors are hopeful for a full recovery. you know, i've heard of that guy on the plane -- i've heard of sleeping pills, back to the guy on the plane, taking sleeping pills get up and do strange things. it's usually eating, or they

cook. seriously. these stories -- seriously! you heard these stories with side effects of some of these sleeping pills? >> no. >> nots the over-the-counter ones. >> the prescription ones? >> yeah. >> that's about to go out and see what the deal was. okay. fair enough. good morning, robin. here's what's happening, a storm around vermont. it's heavy in maine, stretching into new hampshire. snow around the adirondacks. stretching down into the capitol, too. also albany, windy down south of here. live to new york city. get a load of the harbor. look at the white caps out there. dancing a little bit. come on. come on. dance with me. dance with me ♪ that's the stuff. there you go. wind gusts at about 40 miles an hour. >> you know you're not right. >> yes, trying to settle up there, wind shaking the camera around. a tough go. what's going on around the rest of the region, snow out there, four to eight inches of snow.

even the northern sections of new hampshire. vermont not quite as much. one to three around new york. look at cold temperatures falling apart. frost advisories. freeze warnings around the great lakes. the midwest and kentucky. out west a huge storm system. you can see there. a lot of winds wrapped up with this thing. wind warnings and advisories getting away from reno, nevada. video from yesterday in reno. a little research on this. highest wind gusts reported at the airport yesterday. 62 miles an hour. high winds knocking down trees and power lines as well. 30 mile-an-hour gusts in reno. 50 in las vegas. we'll talk about that region in just about a half hour. robin? >> thank you. >> you've got it. your kids might be disappointed with the news some restaurants are not going to be aloud to put toys in the kids' meals any longer. then, a former florida governor, jeb bush, the first prominent republican to weigh in on a new controversial immigration law. ? communities. industry.

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today we have a special salute. actually taken at the airport when sergeant ryan corbet got home for some r & r. >> this is jennifer corbet and my husband just came home from leave and i'm so happy he's home. i miss him. for the next 14 days are going to be the best 14 days ever. >> i just want to say hi to all the troops still in iraq and afghanistan today. >> so, sweet. glad you're home for some rest here. if you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them, go to cnn.com/robin. the federal government may go to court to challenge arizona's new immigration law. attorney general eric holder said yesterday the law leaves too much potential for afuse, and it can divide local communities and law enforcement. homeland security secretary janet innapolitano said most la

enforcement groups oppose these kinds of laws. one sheriff said he will not enforce it. >> the very controversial part of this law challenged immediately, reasonable suspicion. that is going to be declared, in my judgment, unconstitutionally vague. >> the law requires police to check whether someone is in the united states legally if there's a reason to suspect they're not. former florida governor jeb bush spoke against the law yesterday saying he doesn't see how authorities are going to enforce it and that the law will put a burden on local law enforcement. so what is with the kids' meal and don't get the cheap toy in it? one county is banning the toys in the fast food meals. our money expert jennifer westhoven is here. they've been around like 30 years. >> now we have this whole outrage over obesity with children that's happening. people upset. it's a growing problem, but this is a story with a lot of guys talking this morning. california county banning the

happy meal. now, i just think the happy meal is the most recognizable one. it's really not just mcdonald's. it's in fast food with a toy that's aimed at kids. a county supervisor told the "l.a. times" they're trying to break the link that children make or start to associate prizes with unhealthy food loaded with calorie, fat, salt and sugar. the fat somehow becomes fun. they fear that that leads to kids becoming overweight, causing long-term health problems. the california restaurant association says it's misguided and an example of government's overreach. in washington, senate democrats are set to get their first rubben supporter of financial reform. they still need one more vote, though, if they want to get wall street reform to the floor. that bill aims to stop wall street and banks from taking on so much risk that they effect e effectively put the u.s. economy on the line, and if they fail, they get bailed out with your

money. ohio republican george voinovich says he'll soon switch his vote, he says, because "the american people want us to get something done." tim tebow may be months away from making his nfl debut as a player, he's already making that league lots of money. ♪ we know why we're here.

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security video shows a group of people attacking their waiter at a restaurant in atlanta. police just released the surveillance video of last month's incident. you can see the man punching and kicking and throwing chairs at a waiter. he's okay. he tells the affiliate one guy got upset when he carded him for drinks. >> somebody had a bad day or something. customer, maybe you, myself, you know what i mean? >> so far police have not was p clear. for the first time in 20 years, people who have hiv and aids can travel to china.

a chinese news agency says the government repealed the law that banned anybody with that disease from entering the country. the government concluded the ban did not work but did create problems when china hosted international events. the repeal came just before a major world expo in china. actress heather locklear could soon find out if she'll be charged with hit-and-run. the sheriff in california will turn over his case to the d.a. today. locklear was cited this month after she allegedly hit a no parking sign near her home. tmz says it hears the d.a. will make a decision with a week. oh, no. the miami dolphins gm is sorry for asking a player a very inappropriate question about his mother. joe carter, good morning. >> i just have to say, if this was me and i was 20, 21 years old and somebody asking this question, i don't know how i would react. probably angry. i give this player credit for

handling this calmly. asking an intrusive, personal question. before the nfl draft many were interested in oklahoma state star receiver. they wanted to know more about him. word got out during a pre-draft interview one of the teams asked bryant if his mom was a prostitute. yesterday miami's dolphins general manager came forward to say it was him. he was the one that asked the question and offered an apology to bryant saying he used poor judgment in the question. taking a stance said bryant's off the field issues in college and his mother jailtime for selling crack was a big concern ever the dolphins. the line of questions was an attempt to dig deeper into the personal issues. bryant says he was mad at first but now accepts the apology. wasn't taken by the miami dolphins. drafted in the first round by the dallas cowboys. >> good for him. and tim tebow. the denver broncos picked him that thursday night and he

hasn't played one second in the nfl, not one down but is already making that league all kinds of money and hold a new nfl record. waying 15, but in a broncos' jersey. right now they're flying off the shelves. according to bloomberg, he sold more jerseys during the draft weekend than any other rookie or current nfl player. now had the league didn't tell us how much money they brought in, but they said it's a substantial difference between tebow and the next guy. >> goodness. >> a bronco hat. >> a bronco fan. >> yep, yep. time for a true champion. 58-year-old decided to go back to college and join a college baseball team. he did this at springfield college in massachusetts. at first teammates said, who's the new coach? no, no. he's your new pitcher. new pitcher. he hasn't played baseball since president nixon was in office

but over the last four years kept in shape playing ice hockey. larry said the toughest part of his day getting up at 5:00 for practice, goes to a full day of class then more practice. >> dedicated. how did he do? >> played a couple innings and doing pretty good. >> all right. >> he's doing pretty good. >> got some action with the arm. you may feel the affects of a massive oil spill, even if you don't live near the gulf coast. how it could affect some of your favorite seafood. did you know you can see the international space station with the naked eye? a new tools shows you where to look. when i grow up, i want to fix up old houses.

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all right. the new york stock exchange, there it is. open for business. stocks look like they're headed for a strong start. that's after yesterday's big sell-off. we'll check in in a minute to see how trading is going. it is apparently over between sandra bullock and her husband jesse james. the actress tells. . m "people" magazine she's filing for divorce and adopt add 3 1/2-month-old son. and setting fire to the oil slick in the gulf of mexico trying to keep it from reaching the coastline. it's set to hoop in about two

hours. an experiment to see how it might work if he do it full throttle. the fear is, the spill could become a disaster. the bomb scare on the paris to atlanta flight told officials he'd been taking a sleeping pill. the flight was diverted after he allegedly claimed he had explosives in his luggage. the suss spent in a former air force intelligence specialist. air marshals put him in handcuffs. no explosives found. he's due in federal court this morning. just a few of the stories going on this morning. how are you? i'm robin meade. good morning, sunshine. here's what else is going on today. tiger woods is back in the swing of things. today he's taking part in what we'll call a preliminary event as it leads up to the first round tee off tomorrow. this is all going on in north carolina, and the second tournament after the revelations of a sex scandal. rafer got to see how the fans reacted to tiger's start this morning. the tournament, once again harks not started. this is a leadup event. good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, robin. given this is the first time for a lot of people to see tiger woods up close, a little surprised that the galleries were not that big. the reception, though, that tiger got, let's call it a warm reception. here it is had he was introduced. >> from wind mir, florida, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome tiger woods. [ applause ] >> now, that was followed, that came after some polite, some polite applause. call it more like a golf clap, walking up to the first tee. we understand this is not the masters. it's not a major tournament. this is a preliminary event. under the circumstances i think we expected a little more, also maybe expected a little more from tiger. had he first walked out, walked right by the fan, didn't give autographs bp that's not out of the ordinary. he never usually does, but he didn't even really acknowledge the fans when he came out. not a hi, not a hello. one guy said his name.

he turned around and said good morning. but this is supposed to be the new fan-friendly tiger woods. so far we haven't seen that. the real test will be tomorrow when the tournament actually tees off. so to be fair, that's when we should be scrutinizing the crowds, if we choose to. he tus off with stewart cink and angel cabrera. and a press conference follows in a few hours today. robin? >> thank you very much, rafer. some people whose kids were born in the united states, trying to get them a mexican citizenship. the parents argue legal immigrants. kids are considered americans because they are born in the united states. a mexican consulate in phoenix says it was swamped with requests for mexican citizenship because of arizona's you

immigration law. >> the family has, the mom and dad arrested while working, and they are deported. they want to be ready, in orrer to reunite the whole family on mexican soil. >> some immigrants reportedly planned to move from arizona to other states. former illinois governor rob blagojevich's publishing deal isn't exactly, how can i say? on solid ground. the company that published the tell-all book of the governor closed up shop. according to the "chicago tribu tribune." he's grateful for them believing in them. trying to sell or trade president obama old u.s. senate seat. he's pleaded not guilty. the others i feel badly for. i think everything reverts back to them. there will be no book. >> oh, well. 34 minutes past the hour. weatherwise today. windy. if you're going to be flying

over the other half of the country from the east coast to west coast, is what i should say, it could be kind of a -- what does bob call it? a party bag landing. >> a two bagger today. two or three bagger. absolutely. talking about winds today, robin, gusting to about 50 miles per hour around las vegas. higher in some areas because of this low pressure center, at least it's at the suvts around montana. down 20 the south, wind advisories, high wind warnings all in red. warnings in red. looking at gusts about 60 miles per hour including most of utah. a good chunk of arizona. basically the four corners stretching back into california, too. a windy day. look at snow falling down across the lowers parts of idaho and montana too. valley rain but snow in the mountaintops with advisories, areas shaded in blue. not that big of a deal this time of year, but snow continues to fall through the overnight hours into tomorrow morning. it's light rain around seattle. down to portland. eureka, california, light rain and snow on the mountaintops as well. out to the east, a different

scenario. lots of heavy snow, northern parts of vermont, new hampshire, maine, breaking up across northern new york state. the wind field going down through new york and philadelphia and d.c., too. live to washington. here's what it looks like. temperatures today, mid-60s. not bad, but a little breezy. winds gusting to about 25 to 30 miles per hour. check out the flags. can you see them blowing there. a bumpy ride right around d.c. even stronger bumps around philadelphia and new york city today. it is just going to be real rough to fly. winds gusting to 35 to 40 miles per hour. a better update with air travel delays in about ten minutes from now. >> can't believe we're talking about snow. >> still. it's almost may. >> thank you. yesterday the dow tumbled 215 points, the worst drop since, like, february. stephanie elums joins us. >> we're on our way back. starting to fight back. stocks try to rebound. concerns over debt. problems lingering.

good corporate earnings trying to drown out the fears. the street is looking taed to the federal reserve. widely expected to hold rates at historic lows once again at citibank. strutennize every word of the statement when the fed may raise rates. comcast says earnings jumped 12% in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in advertising revenue. sales rose 25% coming from a variety of advertisers including car dealers. comcast also said future growth could be slowed if the u.s. unemployment rate stays at high levels. and finally, get ready for dessert. tonight is 31 cent scoop night at baskin-robbins. the chain hosts the annual event from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. baskin-robbins donates $100 to the national fallen firefighters' foundation and asked that customers chip in as well. look at that. looks good. >> at 31 cents a scoop, then make a donation on top of that?

that's what they're saying? >> exactly. >> wonder how many scoops you can get? >> get back in line. 31 cents. jay-z and alecia kees are so five minutes ago. a rapping grandma, the newest youtube sensation. after all of these year, former first lady laura bush opens up about a tragic car accident she had as a teenager. what did we make better ? communities. industry. energy. her. this. lives. how ? by bringing together...

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from you dying of colon cancer. that's according to an 11-year stud any the uk. researchers used a flexiscope, kind of a pen-sized tube to find and remove precancerous polyps. the one-time test could change hour doctors look for cancer and save thousands of live. something a lot of parents might love. getting a payment of about $150 a month for every kid that you have. it's one of the brand new stories richard lui is work og. what's the deal here? >> kind of getting paid to get on, i guess. i don't know. japan is who we're talking about. yeah. they're worried about their aging population, robin, they want to pay people to have children, but there are reasons why that won't even work for them. sorry for the paraphrasing there. who's a bitter listen jer a husband or pet? what do you think, robin? >> i'm going to say the pet. they don't talk back if you have to bounce ideas off them. >> that study is under way. think about that.

plus, as stories following all morning. the coast guard making a move in the gulf of mexico. where the slick will move? we'll look at how the tide as well as the weather systems will affect that. digging into that for you, robin. >> let me clean up and say, my husband's a good listener. he acts like he's listening. really, he's a space cadet, off somewhere else in his brain. >> proud of that one. go ahead. >> thank you. ♪ out there playing shuffle board pinochle ♪ >> her stance cracks me up. this is today's hot viral video. this is not alicia keys, it's a florida grandmother recorded a boca raton version of "state of mind." originally keyed by alecia keys and jay-z. now she's a youtube sensation i. have a new respect for rappers. i'll tell pup it's so fast, you

can't even catch your breath. you know? >> also says her family came up with the idea. they wrote the song. she has more than 47,000 hits on youtube. you can link to it right now at cnn.com/robin. they're like, grandma will do it. we're about to get an update on the search for little green men. nasa is having a news conference today on its efforts to find alien life. a nasa spacecraft has been collecting info as it looks for planets like earth and recently as 'stro fizz cyst stephen hawking warned it might be risky to reach out to aliens because they might want our planet. and he's such an intelligent man. it made me giggle, too. i giggled. you know, it might be bad for us to reach out to them because they might want to colonize us, basically. >> they might want our -- all of a sudden he's got a tinfoil hat on. he's brilliant. what's going on?

good morning. no delays so far. wind coming through, going through new york now. philadelphia too. not a delay yet. give it time's it will bounce you around. anytime you have winds to 40 miles per hour in new york, you get about an hour delay. philadelphia, same thing. winds to about 40 miles an hour. san francisco, light showers, poor visibility. about an hour delay. las vague 50 mile-per-hour winds. where the real winds are located. half hour delay. more in about a half hour. "american idol" contestants went country last night. singing songs by shania twain. one of the standouts kind of got a luke-warm respepgs what's that about? and a small explosion caught a firefighter right in the fates. pe will be okay. what might have touched off that explosion. len that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a new liquid gel. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®.

46 minutes past the hour pap firefighter got blasted in the face trying to put out vehicle fire. this is the tape. an explosion threw debris in his face and knocked him backward. the fire chief says it probably happened when magnesium reacted

with water from the fire hose. the phi fighters was take ton the hospital and later radio leased. the cause of the fire is under investigation. it was shania twain night on "american idol." she was on hand to help singers sing her songs. can you imagine? singing a shania song as she sit there and stares at you in the audience. ♪ can't you see the way you know me ♪ >> nice. simon liked his performance. ellen degeneres was also impressed. >> this going to be tough, because, you know, everybody is doing well, and i just -- i still can't get over the fact that you're 16 years old and you sang that with such -- >> 17 now. >> 17. >> whoa, whoa. then i'm not as impressed. i thought you were 16. >> a big shock for one idol

favorite. ♪ little boy, a little girl a little fancy ♪ i need some love right now ♪ >> not bad, right? crystal usually gets huge praise from judges. last night, luke warm about that performance. there are six contestants left. one will get the boot tonight. did you see this? after losing his job at 58 years old, a man went back to school and fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing college sports. drew carter is here with more on this baseball player. >> i got out of bed this morning, and, man, i'm so sore. i don't know if i can get to work on time. i'm so tired. >> complain, complain, complain. >> no more whining after this. losing his job didn't stop larry from going back to college. and joining the college baseball team. going back to school at 58 and joining a baseball team at 58?

at first his college teammates thought he was the new coach. nope. new pitcher. larry hadn't played baseball since president nixon was in office 40 years ago, and he stayed in shape oesh the last four decades playing ice hockey. when he made the jv team larry called his 87-year-old father to share the big news. larry has three kids. all of them older than every single one of his new teammate. and sometimes make us laugh, sometimes cry. the milwaukee mascot takes the cake for shocking up. climbing up a 16-foot ladder and then does a back flip dunk. you know, that's definitely worth the price of admission. and that crazy mascot has done all kinds of things like that over the years. i haven't seen that ladder trick in a long time. >> look how far that is. >> all in a day's work for bango. >> i'm amazed. even in slo-mo. thank you. >> you bet. a north carolina beachtown

has a request if you're visiting there. coverduff. curry beach adopted a zero tolerance policy on thongs. anybody wearing a thong on the beach will be fined $25. i would imagine if you're wearing it downtown as well. the mayor says the citizens prefer a conservative small town atmosphere. he also says he suspects liberals will try to change the thong ban in court. his words. a couple stories we're watching today in your "morning express planner," in less than an hour, vice president biden will help start the fourth annual soldier ride as part of the wounded warrior project. they will take part in the four-day ride that ends in maryland. and one eastern census official will say how many of us turned in our forms and how many of us are going to get visited from the census because we didn't turn them in. it is a bittersweet lottery win for one iowa man. it comes after a year in which he lost his youngest son to a construction accident and his wife to cancer. the iowa man says he bought the

ticket on his late wife's birthday, and scratched off a million dollar winner. >> about two minutes to 9:00 they close the store at 9:00, i called the gal back up and says, can you leave the door open, i says, i think i got a winning ticket. >> the man says he's going to put the money toward his retirement and his family. things got salty in the senate yesterday as the goldman sachs execs were getting grilled. you could expect to hear some bleeps on the next one. and then sandra bullock has made two huge decisions. one is about her marriage. the other is about the size of her family. [ male announcer ] whose idea was this?

it says that when you buy a grand caravan, dodge will give you 60 days to decide if you want to keep it. that's ridiculous. look at it. it's got seating for up to seven, a smooth v6 engine and a five star government crash test rating. why would you need 60 days, really, who is that indecisive? the dodge "you won't need 60 days to decide but we'll give it to you anyway" event. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.