making news on this tuesday, april 12th. >> critical situation in that japanese nuclear plant. an alarming sign overnight. officials putting it on the sam level level as the worst nuclear disaster ever. also overnight, tarmac trouble involving the world's biggest passenger plane, packed with more than 500 people. and the warehouse store with just about anything, now, including a $1 million ring. good morning. we'll get to all of those stories coming up. but first, something hitting most of us in the wallet, rising

gas prices. >> the highest price for a gallon in the u.s. right now, $4.59 in kona, hawaii. the lowest price out there, $3.28, in douglas, wyoming. >> don't drive to douglas to try to get it. emily schmidt, with more on this pain at the pump. good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and rob, good morning to you. if you're going to stop to fill up your tank this morning, on your way to work, it could be a tough way to start the day. prices are up over a dime the past week. in every state now except wyoming, a gallon of gas is going to cost you $3.50. and it seems the prices are only going up. at gas pumps across the country, more means less. paying more. >> i've noticed that the price has gone up. >> reporter: getting less. >> i just put in $13. and it got me about three gallons. >> reporter: the federal government says gas pr11 cents jumped 11 cents in just the past week. the nationwide average is $3.79 a gallon.

>> it's painful. you have to make a decision on where you drive and where you go nowada nowadays. >> reporter: for five-straight weeks americans have bought less fuel. it coincides in middle east uprising and a change to summer blend. >> it's not going to take too much more of an increase in oil prices to strigerring the changes in consumption behavior. >> reporter: gas prices have been this high since 2008. >> it's stressful to have it cut into my budget and worry about what i'm going to be able to do from week to week. >> i'm probably driving a little bit less. taking the bus a little bit more. >> reporter: changing habits to go along with these changing numbers. and this is not your imagination. these are now the highest ever april gas prices. and relief unlikely to come anytime soon because the government says summer demand is usually up about 5%. of course, that pushes prices higher, as well. rob and peggy?

>> a tough report to hear. emily, thanks. a developing story from japan. officials have raised the severity of the nuclear crisis to its highest level. self 7 signifies a major accident with major consequences, than the previous level of 5, according to the international scale. a official nuclear official says it could take weeks or months before the situation at fukushima becomes stable. in other news this morning, the faa is now looking into a mishap at new york's jfk airport involving one of the world's biggest passenger jets. the wing of an air france a-380 clipped the tail of a commuter plane that just arrived from boston. an a-380 can carry 550 passengers. no one was hurt on either plane. no injuries to report in that incident. meanwhile at the airport in raleigh, north carolina, a delta airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing.

it had been flying from jfk to ft. lauderdale, when crew members smelled something a little strange. they think an electrical problem caused the odor. again, no one was hurt. we got new details overnight about which programs specifically suffered most in the new budget deal. just about $4 billion has been eliminated from defense spending. that cut the jet engine brugt by g.e. and funding for the house of representatives is reduced by $55 million. we'll have more on the $40 billion in cuts, coming up later on "good morning america." the mayor of washington, d.c. and council members were among 40 demonstrators arrested during a protest against the budget cuts last night. under a controversial provision in the budget, d.c. is prohibited to spend its own money on abortions for low-income women. there was serious fallout in pakistan, following the deadly shooting by a cia agent. the pakistani government is now demanding the number of cia

operatives in the country be cut back sharply. it also wants drone strikes stopped, as well. pakistan is a key u.s. ally in fighting terrorism in that region. relations were severely strained after raymond davis shot two men dead in january. and a u.s. drone attack in afghanistan has killed two u.s. service members. it's the first friendly-fire incident involving the remotely-operated aircraft in afghanistan. a navy medic and a marine died after being hit by a hellfire missile fired from the drone last week. now, to a battle with the elements. in north dakota's most populous county this morning, the red river has crested. but the danger isn't over. the land is so flat that the floodwaters have gushed for miles with little to stop them. barbara pinto is in harwood, north dakota. >> reporter: i'm on the second floor of this family home here in harwood. like house after house here, the rising red river has turned it

into an island. this is what it looks like from above. part of north dakota is a giant lake. on the ground, it's sleepless nights. justin and his dad take turns looking for leaks in their plywood mote. you keep a checklist. >> a checklist, that everything's going okay. >> reporter: the red river is lapping at their door. how high is the water here? >> it's about 4 1/2 feet or so. >> reporter: and the only thing between you and it is -- >> this wood there. >> reporter: people here are growing tired. this is the third year of historic flooding in a row. barbara pinto, abc news, harwood, north dakota. in mapleton, iowa, today they are cleaning up and also giving thanks. of the ten tornadoes that hit iowa over the weekend, the worst of them flattened mapleton. more than half of all of the buildings in the town were damaged or destroyed. a lot of people feeling lucky despite the devastation to the

structures. >> a rough start to spring. now, for this morning's weather from around the country. the remnants of that wild weekend storm, now, brings some rain here to the east coast. meanwhile, the midwest dries out. and even warms up a little bit. dry and windy out in texas. dry, gusty winds in texas will help firefighters battling in the wildfires. that's still raging at this hour. also, snowshowers in the northern rockies. >> at least we're getting better temperatures, though. 70s in atlanta. 50s in boston. bit warmer in the plains. with 73 degrees in kansas city. minneapolis, 68. 59 in seattle. 69 in colorado springs. phoenix, however, looking at 84 degrees. >> enjoy that. coming up after the break, new details in the effort to stop that nfl lockout. you might remember this. their lawsuit inspired a movie. a judge tells the famous facebook twins how much they can collect. and more bodies found as

police search for a serial killer. plus, the killer called a victim's sister with a message. also, a fierce battle for firefighters overnight. ñ

welcome back. most asian stock markets are down today on worries about japan's nuclear crisis. tokyo's nikkei average closed lower. hong kong's hang seng was also down. and in london, the ftse opened lower. wall street starts the day with the dow jones in nearly unchanged from yesterday's open. the nasdaq index lost nine.

well, high gas prices have many of us cutting back on driving.ve-straight weeks no for five-straight weeks now, americans have bought less gas than they did a year earlier. experts say that with more people back at work, demand should be increasing. but it's not. the facebook settlement stands. a federal appeals court said that tyler and cameron winklevoss cannot undo their settlement with facebook founder, mark zuckerberg, over who came up with the idea for the social networking site. that gave the twins $20 million in cash, also partial ownership in facebook. their share is worth more than $160 million. well, costco, of course, is known for selling in bulk. but it only has one of these for sale. a $1.6 million diamond ring that weighs almost 7 carats. that makes it bigger than kate middleton's engagement ring. costco's price is discounted, of course.

it will cost you just a mere 1 million bucks. >> head over to costco. get some diamonds. when we come back on this tuesday, another dance floor fiasco for one of the most-watched dancing stars. not again. >> poor kirstie. also, stuck in a jam-packed elevator for an hour. and it's all caught on tape. pooches and puppies, we are fed up with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. any tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest. no fetching, no friendship till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪

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use just once per day for dawn-to-dark hold. fixodent and forget it. ♪ good morning [ male announcer ] there are sixteen fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each carton of tropicana pure premium and absolutely no space for added sugar, water or preservatives. tropicana -- we put the good in morning. well, a huge tire fire is burning at a rubber recycling center near phoenix, arizona, sending up a huge cloud of acrid black smoke. water is not used on tire fires, for fear the run jeff can contaminate drinking water. so, backhoes are brought in to cover it up. now, for a look at your road conditions on this tuesday, rainy on i-95, along the eastern corridor. it will also be slick on i-5, from salt lake city to helena. and on i-80, to cheyenne in

higher elevations. >> if you are flying today, you could be delayed at airports in boston, philadelphia, new york, washington, d.c. and also miami. the search for a serial killer is expanding not far from here, in new york city. the remains of ten women have now been found along a sandy stretch of beach. >> just shocking. and police believe that all the victims are linked to a single killer. andrea canning has more on the investigation. >> reporter: this once-quiet beach community is beginning to seem more like a graveyard. an orange flag signaling another victim. police say they found what appears to be two more sets of human remains. >> collectively, we want to bring to justice this animal, that has obviously taken the lives of a number of people. >> reporter: they now believe a killer could be responsible for more than a dozen murders. among them, four prostitutes, who all advertised on craigslist. at least one was strangled. now, the search continues for

more bodies in the heavy brush and tough terrain, on horseback, using fire truck ladders and cadaver dogs, like this one. how important are cadaver dogs, in brush and terrain like this? >> the brush doesn't hinder them as much as it does us in this terrain. they have more abilities. >> reporter: but the killer is proving elusive. authorities believe he is highly intelligent and lives a normal life. >> he used prepaid or throwaway cell phones that he was only on the phone for, perhaps, up to three minutes. at least tells you he's savvy enough that if it's tracked down, it's not going to point to him. >> reporter: and in a terrifying twist, the killer called the sister of one of his victims. out of fear, she spoke to us in shadow. did he say he had killed your sister on the phone? >> yeah. >> reporter: do you think he's done killing? >> no. he's doing that many murders, he's not going to stop. he obviously enjoys it. he's sick in the head. >> reporter: authorities tell

abc news, there are several subjects of interest in this case, with links to law enforcement. and they know this beach inside and out. they also tell us there could be more than one killer. andrea canning, abc news, long island, new york. a man suspected in the bombing of a los angeles synagogue has been arrested in ohio. police tell abc news that ron hirsch had sought shelter at a cleveland heights jewish center, when a rabbi recognized him from pictures posted online. the blast shattered windows and punched a hole in that synagogue and sent a heavy pipe crashing into the roof of a nearby house. we've all had the thought when riding in an elevator, what if this thing gets stuck? that happened to 28 unlucky subway riders earlier this week. video taken by the stuck passengers shows the unhappy group while they waited an hour for rescue. finally, a new york city firefighter appeared through a hole in the ceiling and used a ladder to get everybody out.

thank goodness. very scary. >> patient people. well, the feuding nfl players and owners are set for some new talks, aimed at ending the current lockout. both sides have been ordered back to the bargaining table by a federal judge. they will start negotiating again with a mediator's help on thursday. the main sticking point between them is how exactly to split up the league's $9 billion of annual revenue. in san francisco last night, a stirring show of unity and sportsmanship. the giants and dodgers gathered together around the pitcher's mound. members of both teams addressed the crowd, telling fans their rivalry must not lead to violence. after their game on march 31st, a giants fan was beaten outside of dodgers stadium. he remains in a medically-induced coma. in that game, by the way, the dodgers did win. we'll get other baseball and hoops highlights now from espn news. >> good morning. cole wright here with your espn news update. and let's head to boston. and fenway park the location.

kyle crawford and the red sox, hosting johnny damon and the rays. top of the first, no score. johnny damon says, let's make it a 1-0 game. that ball is out of there. solo stroll to right field. and the rays are rolling. top of two, one on, no out. five-run cushion for tampa. sam fuld, he makes it a seven-run affair. 7-0 ball game. and diasuke matsuzaka is struggling. diasuke's out. johnny damon back at the dish. that's an rbi single up the gut. the rays, they were up 8-1. damond, three for five with three rbis. top of six, runners on the corners. rays ahead by eight. ben zobrist, he said two are better than one. rays win big-time. 16-5. lebron james and dwyane wade leading the heat in atlanta. and those guys know all about dr. dre and his headphone exploits. under five minutes to flay in the third quarter, heat up. turnaround, "j." count it. heat up by 20. fourth quarter, hawks fighting back.

jeff teague drives to zaza pachulia underneath. but ilgauskas fires the ball. ilgauskas unhappy. and ilgauskas is ejected from the game. this one was tied at 88-88, after the technical free throw. so, next heat possession, james jones knocking down the three. he's fouled. heat win 98-90. that's to do it for your espn news update. but don't forget, for all the latest in sports, check out "the highlight express." until then, i'm cole wright. fan favorite kirstie alley suffered a cinderella moment on "dancing with the stars." alley lost her shoe. still, ailey and her dancing partner managed to score a 22. >> her glass slipper, if you will. ralph macchio is still the front-runner. kendra wilkinson, she is the low scorer with 18 points.

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a-380 jumbo jet clipped the tail of another plane at new york's jfk airport. the airfrance plane was preparing to take off for paris. the smaller plane had just arrived from boston. there were no injuries. in north dakota and minnesota, the battle to contain the damage of the flooded red river moved to the rural north. more than 60 miles of highway are still closed. miles of farmland will be under water for some time. melting snow is swelling rivers in south dakota, too. and civil war re-enactments will mark the start of the civil war 150 years ago today. there will be a ceremony in south carolina, where the first shots were fired on the union held ft. sumpter. the postal service issues two new stamps today. and this morning, nasa is observing 30 years of space shuttle flight from cap canaveral. to mark the anniversary, it's announcing which museums and tourist attractions will become the permanent homes of the shuttles once they're retired this summer. now, for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >> for everybody else, we'll show you how soldiers who fought

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tropicana -- we put the good in morning. next at 4:30. is this the face of a serial killer? they arrest a suspect in multiple unsolved murders. and san jose prepares to make new decisions about the medical manner club. mike has the forecast. >> also clear and cooler start this morning. update you on a couple chances of rain in the and finally this morning, recognizing bravery in

afghanistan. we showed you a recent battle where six members of the army's 106th airborne were killed. >> now, the top commander in the zone has personally honored those that survived. >> the 106th airborne is one of the most decorated divisions of the u.s. army. and now, their heroics on a freezing mountain top in the most forsaken regions of afghanistan. the u.s. troops came to a taliban hideout, a hornet's nest, to take the battle to them. only to be surprised by just how many of the enemy they had come across. so often in war, the heroics of war remain far from sight. but not this time. not this battle. we were there to witness it first-hand. sergeant matthew mendez took a bullet to the chest and kept fighting. >> i got shot. >> reporter: saved only by his body armor.

mendez was awarded the bronze star for his bravery. sergeant jeremy sizemore was shot, too. amazingly, he told us, the bullet deflected off a bottle in his pocket. sizemore received a bronze star, as well. his demanding general understood what moved these men to heroics. >> it just kicks in. it is their fierce determination not to let down their buddy. >> reporter: honored at a solemn memorial, the six of their buddies who didn't make it. and another six who were wounded. the private first class brian smith, the young northwest this close-knit squad, the loss ran deep as he knelt and wept to remember the sergeant he looked up to. each soldier of this mighty crew honored would gladly trade every medal in the world for the lives of their fallen comrades.