making news in america this morning -- >> disaster zones. intense weather over half the u.s. tornadoes tearing apart homes while other regions battle fierce fires and floods. today, japan remembers. one month since the devastating earth wake and tsunami. the search for bodies is still not over. and ethics 101. asking the ultimate schemer to teach a course on right and wrong. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "america this morning" with rob neltsen and peggy bunker. good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us today. a fierce line of storms is on the move this morning, cutting the country nearly in half. all the way from the gulf up to the great lakes. >> it comes after another night

of violent storms across a huge stretch of the country, capping a wild and destructive weekend. >> no area was hit harder than northwestern iowa. nearly two dozen tornadoeser to -- touched down there with winds of up to 165 miles an hour. emily schmidt has more. >> get back! >> reporter: mapleton, iowa, got a ten-minute warning. a tornado was coming. enough time to get people out of harm's way. >> i think we should have had fatalities and didn't. i believe in the good lord. he saved this town. >> reporter: people saved, not the buildings. 60% of the town of 1200 people is damaged. >> it's probably a complete loss. >> reporter: 20% of the town is flattened. >> it's all gone. i have never seen anything like this. it's just something else. i don't want to go through it again. >> reporter: possibly tornadoes blew through tennessee. and in cleveland north north carolina, john heard the winds. and then was caught up in them. >> i was at this window. it slung me from right here,

through there, and i ended up right here. >> reporter: in north dakota and minnesota, the problem is along the red river. it's now crested. but tributaries are at record levels. >> it came up a lot faster than anybody was prepared for. >> reporter: and water is not enough to douse the west texas wildfires. firefighters from 25 states are battling the flames. >> it could be one of the worst grass fires in the state for a number of years. >> reporter: some parts of the fire are zero per cent controlled. emily schmidt, abc news. >> and that huge front that unleashed the tornadoes is moving east now. >> we turn now to accuweather's adrienne veilleux. who joins us now with the details. good morning. >> thank you, rob and peggy. and the severe threat will continue for the rest of the day, extends from western pennsylvania into louisiana. however, think

the greatest threat will lie within the tennessee river valley. we'll see a lot of damaging storms, bringing with it gusty winds and large-size hail. certainly be safe out there for the daytime hour the daytime hours. cooler air is moving in. peggy and rob, back to you. >> all right, and "gma's" team of reporters is in the disaster zones this morning. for live updates on the tornadoes, fires, and floods. it's hard to believe but it's been a month today since japan's suffering began with the terrible earthquake and tsunami. all across that country today, people paused for a moment of silence at the exact time that that 9.0 earthquake struck. the hardest hit towns, sirens went off, tears were shed. nearly 25,000 people died. more than 150,000 are still living in shelters. leaders of the african union say that moammar gadhafi has now agreed to a road map for a cease-fire. this all came after a meeting at

gadhafi's compound in tripoli. it calls for an immediate cease-fire, opening channels for humanitarian aid and talks between the rebels and the government. some doubt that gadhafi is really serious. in washington, another looming showdown over the national deficit. we're about to reach the legal ceiling for government debt, which is about $14 trillion. should law makers raise the ceiling again? david kerley reports. >> hey, how are you? >> reporter: coming off the budget deal victory lap, president obama will try to grab the mantel of budget cutter in chief. in a speech wednesday night he'll lay out plans to slash the deficit, willing to cut medicare and medicaid. but his top adviser says, the cuts can't hurt the recovery. >> i think if they're not careful cuts, they could. that's where the president said, listen, we can't take a machete. we have to take a scalpel. we have to look carefully. >> reporter: on the table, spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy. something that republicans have opposed. many republicans are skeptical. the president really wants to cut. >> we have had to bring this

president kicking and screaming to the table to cut spending. >> reporter: before the budget, the president must convince congress to raise the debt ceiling. or face dire consequences. >> default by the united states would precipitate a crisis worse than the one we just went through. >> the implication of that for our financial system, our economy, our fiscal policy would be catastrophic. >> reporter: what would actually happen? it's like defaulting on your home mortgage. no one would loan you any more money without a much higher interest payment. and the u.s. government borrows a lot of money. bankers and economists say that could stop the recovery dead in its tracks. >> it creates so much uncertainty. interest rates are going to rise. financial markets will be very worried. it's the uncertainty that will drive people crazy. >> reporter: the republicans say their vote on the debt ceiling will not be free. they want a structural change or a spending cap that restricts federal spending, before they give the president approval to increase the debt ceiling.

david kerley, abc news, washington. possible presidential candidate has new support. in his ongoing crusade to prove president obama's citizen ship. sarah palin said this weekend she appreciates that trump wants to spend his resources on a on an issue that so interests him. that's a change from a few weeks ago. when palin said the questions about president obama's birthplace were disstrakting and annoying. let's take a look at this morning's weather. severe weather from new orleans to western new york. showers could reach the east coast tonight. the middle of the country is dryer and cooler. showers in the pacific northwest. and snow in the northern rockies and cascades. >> very warm in the east. 84 in atlanta. 79 in baltimore. 73 in new york. 88 in miami. omaha cools down to 63. minneapolis, 67. dallas at 79. colorado springs, 66, sacramento warms up to 67. portland, 53.

coming up after the break, new developments in the search for a serial killer here in new york. and bernie madoff, new revelations of his life in prison. also, is anyone asking him for ethics advice? and with them, huge ratings are a sure thing. new jersey's notorious cast mates negotiate a million-dollar payday.

welcome back, everybody. good news this morning for commuters.

gas prices may not go much higher. major refineries are soon set to go back into production. that may be enough to cap prices but not lower them. the surging prices out there have risen 11 cents a gallon in just the past week to an average of $3.76 for a gallon of regular. that's almost 90 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, not far from the all-time high of $4.11 in july of 2008. oil price worried asian investors today. hong kong's hang seng is down slightly. and in london, the ftse opened higher. the dow rose above 12,300. the nasdaq index lost 0.3% as well last week. the parent company of the new york stock exchange is rejecting a bid. it's sticking with plans to mernlg with a german exchange

operator. that deal is worth just $10 billion but doesn't raise as many questions. watch out for a steve jobs biography early next year. he's agreed to cooperate on a book. it's by best-selling author walter isaacson. he's already interviewed the 56-year-old jobs, his family members, and some others. bernie madoff is not the first person you think of when you want advice on business ethics. but the man responsible for the biggest ponzi scheme in history tells "the new york times" that's what two top business schools are asking him for. harvard and northwestern deny it. he says he's spends a lot of time in prison reading danielle steel romance novels. "hop" was number one at the box office for the second week in a row. it earned $21.8 million with easter just two weeks away. in a distant second place,

another russell brand film, the "arthur" remake. "hanna" was right behind arthur. when we come back, new tornado video in our news room. is a serial killer outsmarting the cops because he is one? >> scary story there. also, a 21-year-old was set to win the masters until a disastrous final round. full highlights coming up. a disastrous final round. full highlights coming up. ♪ yummy, yummy, yummy, i got love in my tummy ♪ ♪ and i feel like... [ female announcer ] kellogg's® wants to make kids happy one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need, that's why froot loops®, apple jacks® and corn pops have 3 grams of fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love... r they're the cereals your kids love a whole lotta happy.r froot loops®, apple jacks and corn pops®, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun.

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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. welcome back, everybody. take a look at this new video this morning. a frightening glimpse into the tornadoes that devastated mapleton, iowa, over the weekend. one twister had a double funnel that could be seen in the sudden flashes of lightning. ovhowever, iowa was not the

only place to get tornadoes over the weekend. look at cleveland county. people inside the homes said that when the storm struck, they were grateful to be alive. >> for a look at morning road conditions. i-40 could be slick. i-80 from cleveland across pennsylvania could be tough going today. i-5 in the northwest could be a little wet as well. >> if you're flying, take a look at the airport delays, possible in detroit, memphis, atlanta, charlotte, and new orleans. the man hunt for a serial killer in new york is now intensifying. eight bodies have been found so far. officials worry there could be more. >> get this. who might be responsible is especially disturbing. jeremy hubbard takes a look. >> reporter: it's an unthinkable prospect. could the long island serial killer be one of their own? >> it could be law enforcement. someone that works a civil

servant. a code enforcement person. could be a postman. >> reporter: whoever killed these four women, all prostitutes that advertised on craig's list, had detailed knowledge of specific police techniques. investigators believe that the killer made taunting foe calls. short calls so they couldn't be traced. they were phoned in from places like times times square. a clever trick. even if police track traked the call here, they couldn't possibly pinpoint one cell phone caller. trick is to find out if it's a police insider of someone that learned the methods by watching tv. >> you can clearly look at hours and hours of police shows on television and pick up all sorts of tips about how to elude the police. >> reporter: the idea of a civil servant serial killer is not that outrageous. this man was a local law

enforcement officer and dogcatcher. >> it's like a puzzle. the more pieces you have, the better chances you have of solving the crime. >> reporter: police will try to add more pieces to the puzzle. they'll look at atlantic city, where four similar murders are unsolved. general stanley mcchrystal is returning to high-profile work. he's been asked to head up a new campaign to help military families that are under stress. the general was relieved from his position after critical remarks were shown in a public magazine. a car dented the wall of a house. they took a picture of the headlights shining inside the room. they were okay. the driver walked away but was

quickly arrested. a wild sunday at the masters. tiger woods looked like his fist-pumping several. good morning, this is your espn news update. through three rounds, it was all about rory mcilroy. things got much more interesting, thanks in large part, to this man. tiger woods, tracking down mcilroy. he's at 8 under. a look at eagle. got it, the crowd behind him. he moves to 10 under, just one shot behind mcilroy. meanwhile, it was a horror show for the northern irishman. tenth hole. it hit a branch, bounces back, triple bogey. ahead to the 15th. tiger's eagle putt, no good. he finished at 10 under.

that's not going to be good. a lot of golfers finished strong, none stronger than this man, charl schwartzel. 13 under, takes the solo lead. he needs to two-putt it on the 18th. he says, you know, how does another birdie grab you? the crowd behind him. and he does it. wins it clear. there will be no playoff. charl sh warzle fwx third south african to win a green jacket. 14 under to the victor the spoils. phil mickelson presents him with the green jacket. for the latest, tune in to espn news. >> great to see that. well, the good times are getting better at the jersey

shore. the cast mates of the reality show are in for a huge pay raise. >> according to entertainment weekly, they're set to make more than $1 million each for the fourth season, which beginning shooting next month in italy. add that to the tense of thousands they make for speeches and nightclub appearances. it's more than 100 grand an episode. the season typically lasts 13 weeks. >> they're doing very well. coming up next, updating the top stories. severe weather in the midwest. wildfires across texas. and the nation gets ready to mark 150 years since the start of the civil war. we'll be right back. [ sneezes ] allergies?

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are pausing to remember the deaf station that struck their region a month ago. a controversial new law takes effect in france today. banning women from wearing clothes that cover their faces. muslim women say they'll defy the restriction and continue wearing veils or head to toe coverings. the president and lawmakers prae pair for a new budget battle. should the debt ceiling be raised? and commemorations are under way to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war tomorrow. special tours are being offered at crown hill cemetery in indianapolis, where thousands of soldiers are buried. coming up later on "good morning america," the young woman at the center of the tabloid scandal sir rounding brett favre breaks her silence. jen sterger sits down with

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♪ do a dollop, do-do a dollop of daisy ♪ >> next at 4:30. a safe every stadium coming to at&t park as the dodgers arrive for a three-game series. and japan marks one month since the deadly earthquake. massive aftershocks fukushima running for higher ground overnight. >> forecast for the baseball game and talking about cooler than average temperatures and finally, a bird's eye view like you have never seen before.

31 million people online have watched a bald eagle who waited for weeks for her chick to arrive. >> there's been so much traffic, the site crashed. we spoke to the man behind the camera. >> reporter: bob, thanks so much for joining us. we're looking at the eaglets now. are they being fed? >> they are. they're getting the remains of what looks like a crow for dinner. >> it's a crow for din sner. >> yes, they're eating crow. >> did you have any idea 30 million people would watch along with you? >> no, it surprised me and overwhelmed me, having so many people around the world and thousands of teachers using it for science curriculum. >> severe weather passed through today. people called you to find out if the family is okay. >> people are falling in love with the bay beast. they're worried in one gets more

than the other. >> how many pounds of sticks does it take to build that nest? >> it's about six feet in diameter and about four feet deep. maybe weighs about 800 or 900 pounds. they add about 100 to 2000 pounds each year. >> bob, thanks for inviting us to the dinner table tonight. i don't think i have ever shared the dinner hour with three eaglets before. >> my pleasure. >> bob has two cameras on the nest. one is infrared. you can learn more by going to abcnews.com/world news. david muir, abc news, new york. >> up close and personal. >> like a little cotton ball. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> get more later on "good morning america" or anytime at abcnews.com. >> thanks for watching. have a great monday.