making news in america this morning -- >> deadline day. it's down to the wire. without a budget deal, the government shuts down at midnight. a florida woman gambles away $14 million at the slots. now, charged with cleaning out someone else's life savings to do it. and studying jaws. groundbreaking but also controversial research on the great white shark. good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz in for rob nelson. >> and i'm peggy bunker. congressional negotiators are now working around the clock as that midnight deadline approaches. >> but it's not just a matter of crunching the numbers. they have to bridge an ideological gap that's divided the nation for decades. >> all right. and emily schmidt, now, is

monitoring the latest developments in washington. good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and mike, good morning. here in washington and all across the country, federal workers aren't saying tgif just yet. that's because if the government shuts down, there's no saying when they will go back to work or when they will get paid again. four white house meetings in three days. and still, no deal. now, the budget deadline is hours away. and president obama says he expects an answer early this morning. >> i'm not yet prepared to express wild optimism. but i think we are further along today than we were yesterday. >> reporter: if that sounds familiar, here's why. listen to what was said tuesday, wednesday and thursday. >> we are now closer than we have ever been to getting an agreement. >> i do think we made some progress. >> we made some progress today. those differences have been narrowed. >> reporter: senate majority leader harry reid left the failed budget talks for the senate floor. and said work would continue

through the night. >> i said we would narrow the issues. and we have. but the sad part about it, we keep never quite getting to the finish line. >> reporter: the spending cut range is now likely between $34 billion and $38 billion. a major sticking point is federal funding of planned parenthood. if there's no deal, paychecks stop for 800,000 federal workers. even military families get back pay only when the government reopens. >> i'm worried about not being able to have the money to feed my child. not have the money to, you know, pay all of our bills. to have electricity in the house. have water in the house. >> reporter: president obama canceled a planned trip to indiana today to stay in washington and focus on these budget negotiations. meanwhile, the government shutdown mechanism is already moving. federal agencies are preparing to stop work at midnight. peggy and mike?, we know congres >> well, emily, we know congress has already pasted two last-minute measures to keep government running. any chance of that 11th-hour move this time? >> reporter: yeah.

the house-controlled -- the republican-controlled house actually passed a one-week spending bill yesterday. immediately president obama threatened to veto it. he said it's no way to run the government. there may be, though, a bit of wiggle room. the white house said mr. obama would be willing to sign a bill that he called a clean bill. one that would focus on budget cuts, not focus on particular policies, if that would allow some talking time to finalize an agreement. so far, though, no public indication that that is likely to happen. mike and peggy? >> all right. emily schmidt, live from washington this morning. thank you. the commander who on in libe military mission in libya before nato took over, said the u.s. may consider sending troops into that country after all. army general carter ham told a senate committee it is possible america could participate in an international ground force after gadhafi is gone. but he also says that the situation in libya is turning into a stalemate. and secretary of defense, robert gates, is in iraq today. he's urging iraqi officials to

decide soon, whether they want u.s. troops to stay beyond december 31st. that's when the withdrawal is now set to be finished. gates also visited troops at camp liberty. he told them this is likely his last visit to iraq as defense secretary. northern japan has been rocked by a major aftershock. this is the frightening scene at a local tv station as the 7.1 quake hit. at least two people were killed and dozens injured in an area still reeling from the massive earthquake one month ago. five power plants were damaged, leaving most of the residents in the dark. but the nuclear power plant did not appear to be harmed by the latest shaker.rom the firs debris from the first powerful earthquake is on its way to the u.s. west coast. it will move with a powerful current, carrying the remnants of 200,000 destroyed buildings toward washington state, oregon and california. experts say a year from now we'll begin to see things like boats that float easily. then wood from houses, plastic children's toys.

two years out, fishing supplies and nets will come ashore. then, after three years, shoes, plastic furniture. even entire dining sets. >> unbelievable. a horrible scene at an elementary school in brazil. look at these images from a security camera, as frightened students run as a gunman begins roaming the hallways. now, he eventually killed 12 of the students, shooting them execution-style. the gunman then killed himself. police say he left a rambling suicide note at the scene. possible presidential candidate, donald trump, has jumped on the birther bandwagon. the tycoon is meeting with an arizona lawmaker. sponsoring a so-called birther bill. and yesterday, trump claimed president obama may be pulling the biggest political cons ever by not showing his birth certificate. he even claims to have investigators on the ground in hawaii. the kennedy family gathers today in boston to break ground in an institute -- on an institute near and dear to the late ted kennedy's heart. located next to the jfk

presidential library, the institute will, in large part, be dedicated to helping people understand the u.s. senate. kennedy's widow, vicki, says it is a fitting legacy. >> teddy loved three things. he loved more than three things. he loved life. but he loved history, he loved education and he loved the united states senate. and this place brings all of those things together. >> the opening of the institute is not without controversy. it's being built, in part, with nearly $40 million in taxpayer money. and now, to a top honor 75 years in the making. westinghouse high school in pittsburgh has named fannetta nelson its 1936 valedictorian. nelson was robbed of that top honor because she was african-american. her sister who was valedictorian the year prior said the principaled vowed not to let another african-american get that same recognition. now, both sisters will be listed

as valedictorian. >> never too late for that. >> to right a wrong. your morning's weather from around the nation. showers from san francisco to l.a. and even san diego. winds of up to 60 miles per hour around phoenix, albuquerque and vegas. up to a foot of snow in the rockies. light rain across northern dakota. afternoon showers in the east, from boston to new york, d.c., atlanta and nashville. >> and looking at 80 degrees in dallas, new orleans and miami. 53 here in new york. 47 in boston. 60s from fargo to omaha. and 70 in kansas city. seattle finally drying out, getting up to 55. 60 in sacramento. and 73 in phoenix. coming up, should the speed limit on highways be raised to 85? one state is close to making that the law. and also, one more reason to add berries to your breakfast. new evidence of their powerful ability to fight cancer. plus, getting up close and personal with jaws. the new research that raises these man eaters right out of the ocean. isisisisisisisisisisis

well, first signs this morning that life is slowly returning to normal in japan. toyota announced overnight it will resume production at all of its plants in japan, from april 18th to 27th. the plants will operate at about 50% of normal capacity because of parts shortages. toyota still does not know when it will return to full production. the economic recovery appears to be getting stronger. retail sales were surprisingly strong last month, coming in well ahead of expectations,

despite the soaring gas prices. americans also borrowed more money for the fifth-straight month in february, to buy new cars and pay for school. consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy. the markets are ending the week on a positive note. tokyo's nikkei average surged nearly 2% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. and in london, the ftse also opened higher. on wall street, the dow fell 17 points yesterday. the points. two, french fashion giants could soon be battling over red soles. shoemaker, christian la vuitton, is now suing yves st. laurent for copying a line of shoes that are painted red on the bottom the la vuitton said he came up with the look 20 years ago when he painted the bottom of a shoe red. most social security recipients do not receive paper checks anymore. and soon, nobody will get a yearly statement in the mail, either. you have to go online to find out how much you get when you retire. mailing the paper statements costs $70 million a year.

sports fans can now tune into espn on the go. it's launched a free app that lets you watch several of its channels live. it's just like watching tv, but without any of the commercials. there is one catch. it only works for subscribers of time warner cable, bright house networks and verizon fios. but that is dynamite. >> that would be cool. wouldn't it? >> i'm very excited about that. staying up to date. >> productivity, there you go. coming up next on this friday, she's accused of emptying her in-laws' life savings to feed a $14 million gambling habit. and the vote that will have "idol" fans, talking for weeks. all over -- e it was a mystery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves.

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investigators are checking to see if arson is to blame. and now, taking a look at your morning road conditions. wet on i-70 from st. louis to pittsburgh. and on i-80 from chicago to cleveland. icy spots on i-15, from las vegas to helena. also on i-15, from sacramento to san diego. and from l.a. to phoenix. >> and if you are flying, airport delays are possible in salt lake city, los angeles, las vegas, detroit, washington, d.c., philadelphia, and atlanta. and on to an incredible story now. a florida woman has been charged with stealing more than $500,000 from her elderly in-laws, all in order to support her gambling habit. jennifer dennison's habit was so severe, she allegedly spent $14 million at a tampa casino in a two-year period. family members realized the couple's bank accounts and retirement funds were wiped out after a small check bounced. we get reaction later from the in-laws this morning, on "good morning america." and the case against convicted sex offender charged

with kidnapping jaycee dugard has taken a surprising turn. phillip garrido was expected to admit his guilt during a hearing yesterday. but instead, he pleaded not guilty. his attorney filed a last-minute challenge to show the grand jury that indicted garrido how that jury was selected. jaycee dugard was finally freed after 18 years in captivity. texas drivers could get to where they're going sooner. the state's house of representatives voted to raise the speed limit to 85 on some highways. and the state senate may do the same. now, that would set an american record high. the 85-mile-per-hour limit would also only apply to specially-built roads. and only after engineering and traffic studies were completed. in medical news, preventing esophageal cancer could be as easy as eating strawberries. sm small, new research study suggests eating freeze-dried strawberry is key to eating more concentrated strawberries.

it prevents precancerous lesions in the throat. a 21-year-old from northern ireland leads the field at the masters. rory mcilroy and alvaro quiros share the lead of the first round. first, the race to the nba playoffs is heating up. here's espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. we start be a huge game in the nba. chicago, derrick rose and the bulls hosting the celtics. rose on fire early. derrick, nice move. in the lane for two. rose, again. this time driving baseline. tosses up high off the glass. he has 30 points. he also had eight assists. this is one of them, to luol deng. deng had 23. bulls go on to win, 97-81. their magic number for clinching the top spot in the east is one. david ortiz and the red sox looking for their first win of the season. they are taking on the indians. big papi not happy.

how about jon lester? he was balling. strikes out santana. bottom of the eighth, the squeeze play is on. adam everett will score. 1-0, indians. top of the ninth. last chance for j.d. drew. and the sox. off the pitcher it goe darnell mcdonald slides too far off of second base. out right there on the tag. indians win. red sox 0-6. their worst start since 1945. should remind you that second round of the masters, continuing today, friday. you can catch coverage at 3:00 p.m. eastern on espn. it is down to the final eight after a shocking elimination on "american idol." pia toscano was voted off the show last night, leaving the judges, me, and the rest of the audience stunned and angry. this 22-year-old new yorker had been considered a front-runner. the announcement even caused jennifer lopez to break into tears. toscano maintained her

composure, smiled politely, andn then broke down in tears quietly to ryan seacrest. >> that was really unexpected to see that. she'll have a career. she's great. even though sharks feature pretty prominently in many of our scariest movies, we really know little about the great white shark. >> now, a group of men is trying to, well, find out a little bit more, with a risky new method of unlocking the mystery of the shark. stephanie sy reports. >> reporter: sharkmen are trying to unlock secrets. chris fisher and brett mcbride have the job of catching them. >> see him on the swordfish? he's right there. >> reporter: it's chris' 120-foot boat that's specially equipped to lift a 5,000-pound shark out of the water. his long-time buddy, brett, is the captain. >> i'm not seeing blood. >> okay. >> reporter: and also, the brave soul who ends up with his hand down a great white's throat, trying to wrangle a hook out. so, you felt because you had

done it with other fish, you could do it with a great white shark. >> it wasn't my first choice. i got really thrashed doing it. my arms were really shredded, from my elbow to my i both sides. i was so concerned for the shark's safety. i saw everything slipping away. it was my worst nightmare. >> run it up here. >> okay. he's beached. >> reporter: one of the biggest criticisms of this land, tag and release method, is the danger. not only to the handlers. >> that was super sketchy. almost lost your arm. >> one, two, three, four, five. got them all. >> reporter: but to the shark. the team inserts a water hose through its fiercesome jaws to keep it alive. but in this case, they're forced to release the shark, named junior, with the hook still in it. the sharkmen have tagged more than 20 great whites. junior, the shark with the hook stuck in him, did ping his location. >> no way. >> reporter: now, this controversial way of studying

sharks has led to groundbreaking research already. allowing scientists to understand where the sharks breed and birth. science that may ultimately lead to their survival. >> very controversial. there's more coming up on that on "gma." the new season of "sharkmen" premieres this sunday on the national geographic channel. up next, preparing for a government shutdown. and disney breaks ground on a brand-new theme park. new dove visible care. en we asy a revolutionary new line of body wash with the highest concentration of nutrium moisture. visible care makes skin visibly more beautiful in just 1 week. ♪ when they saw how much more beautiful and radiant their skin looked with new dove visible care... there was only one question. ♪ new dove visible care creme body wash. with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii.

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and now, a look ahead at the stories we'll be watching this friday. nonstop negotiations are under way on capitol hill, as budget deadlines approach. president obama wants a deal this morning. but if negotiators fail to bridge their differences, the federal government will shut down at midnight. federal agencies have been getting ready. and if the shutdown comes, the irs will stop processing paper returns. and the fha will stop processing loans. national parks around the country will also be closed. troops' paychecks will be delayed. but congress and the president will still get theirs. groundbreaking ceremonies are held today in boston for an institute honoring the late senator ted kennedy. a large portion of the building is dedicated to teaching people about the workings of the senate. and disney, breaking ground on shanghai disneyland today. it will feature a theme park, restaurants and more. the negotiations to win the government approval for the project took well over a decade. disney, the parent company of abc news. for some of you, your local

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and hygienists use...oral-b. next on abc 7 news, how long will it take jurors begin their first day of deliberations in the barry bonds trial. breaking news in san jose where ice and hail may be part to blame for an accident that shut down 880 for hours and sent a chp officer to the hospital. >> it's cold. 36 in napa. light rain in san jose and what about the weekend. i'll tell but it coming up. >> join us next at 4:30 well, politics has dominated the news this week, with the budget showdown in washington. and also, the 2012 presidential race taking shape.

of course, politicians are a favorite punch line of the late-night comics, as they certainly showed this week. >> folks, the 2012 election is only 18 months away. and on monday, barack obama finally, officially, threw his turban into the ring. now, obviously, republicans want to take back the white house. but so far, the field looks like a turnout from a craigslist ad for a free couch. >> did you guys see this? in a speech yesterday, president obama revealed until up till a few years ago, he was still paying off his student loans. yeah. in response, china was, like, oh. so, you do know how to repay loans. interesting. >> there's a heated debate in congress right now over the budget. if an agreement isn't reached by friday at midnight, the government, the united states government will be shutdown. if they don't come to an agreement, all nonemergency government services will shut down next week, which could

cause the dmv to be full of dela delays. the shutdown means that many public beaches could be closed, which could severely whiten speaker of the house, john boehner. >> a lot of people wonder what a government shut down would be like. they say they're in meetings. they're in the white house. you know, i don't think these guys have taken it that seriously. you know, i saw something today. i'm watching the news. well, here, look. here they are. look what they're doing out there. they're not meeting at all. look. >> meanwhile, there are plans for house republicans. perhaps, if there's no agreement within the next few hours. >> they are not taking this seriously. at all. >> there you go. the old slip and slide. >> that solves everything. all right. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> of course, you can get the latest on all of these stories on "good morning america