making news in america this morning -- >> new questions after a jumbo jet barrels into a smaller plane. are some u.s. airports too small to handle these new giants? debt debate. today, we hear the president's plan to curb the nation's spending. is a tax hike the answer? and a 6-year-old girl gets a tsa pat-down. in matters of airport security, how far is too far? good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us today. we are learning some new details about the investigation into that collision between a jumbo jet and a commuter plane over at jfk airport here in new york. >> one question is whether

taxiways at aging airports are just too small to handle the new generation of giant planes. jim dolan of our new york station reports. >> hopefully this is a little bit of a wake-up call before somebody's killed. >> reporter: it certainly woke up a lot of people on a small commuter plane coming from boston, as the wing of the world's largest commuter plane rams the smaller plane and spins it around with the impact. >> roll the emergency trucks. we've been hit by airfrance. >> and who was that? >> comair 553. >> comair 553. okay. we are calling them. >> reporter: so, what happened? what led to this kind of damage? and so many passengers shaken and stirred in their seat as they approached the terminal? well, among other things, the a-380, with a wingspan nearly the length of a football field, isn't designed to be on jfk's narrow taxiways. it took a waiver from the faa to allow it.

>> the aircraft may not have been pulled in far enough, that if it was anything other than the world's largest aircraft taxiing behind him, it might have been okay. >> reporter: the smaller airplane stopped short of a pickup tru and the a-380 couldn't stop that fast. the ntsb is working to gather as much information as possible to understand the details that led to the collision. but some are already pointing to the gargantuan a-380. >> this is a huge aircraft. and it shows you can't operate it on taxiways, runways, that are built for aircraft much smaller. >> that was wabc's jim dolan reporting. now, pilots that have been flying for years say congestion at the nation's airports is getting worse and could compromise passengers' safety. and turning to the debate over the nation's debt. we're now hours away from hearing what president obama thinks about the issue and how he plans to go about starting to fix it. it's an issue that could define the rest of his first term.

emily schmidt is in washington, now, with a preview. hi, emily. >> reporter: rob, good morning to you. president obama plans to outline his proposal to a bipartisan group of congressional leaders this morning. before he gives hiss public speech this afternoon. but getting members of both parties in the same room may prove different than getting them on the same page. president obama's speech today about debt reduction may sound familiar. it comes less than a week after the government almost shut down due to budget disagreements over billions. the debt is $14 trillion. >> now, we're playing with big numbers. this budget, we're talking trillions of dollars. >> reporter: the white house isn't giving details about the president's plan, other than saying he's expected to call for a balanced approach to reducing the nation's debt. taking on entitlement spending and taxes. >> the point is is that balance is essential. the burden has to be shared by everyone. >> reporter: that's almost certain to contrast with republican paul ryan's plan, announced last week, to cut $6.2

trillion from the budget over the next ten years. including huge cuts to medicaid and eventually ending medicare. >> the nation's fiscal trajectory is simply not sustainable. >> we've got to cut spending. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner says any idea to hike taxes would be a nonstarter. >> we all know we have this problem, not because we tax too little. but because we spend too much. >> when the house takes up the 2012 budget this week, it's clear that the two parties are significantly different. >> reporter: president obama's debt reduction speech comes just as congress is debating whether to increase the country's debt ceiling. but the white house says those are two, separate issues. rob? >> all right. emily schmidt in washington. thanks, emily. in more political news this morning, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is trying to backtrack from comments he made about a presidential run. pawlenty was being interviewed about his low standing in the polls.

asked on cnn if he would consider running as a number two on the ticket with donald trump, pawlenty laughed and said, quote, i'm running for president. end quote. now, he says those comments were taken out of context. and a formal announcement is forthcoming. in libya, three weeks of air strikes have done little to turn the tide against moammar gadhafi. government forces appear to be gaining ground in the eastern part of the country, pounding rebels. that's put the pressure on the u.s. to take a larger role in the fighting. top diplomats are meeting today in qatar to discuss the future of international action in libya. in neighboring egypt, former president hosni mubarak is beginning 15 days in custody. he's being investigated for corruption and abusing his authority during his 42-year reign. mubarak is likely to serve his detention in a hospital, where he's being treated for heart problems. his two sons have also been detained for questioning. the state department is asking north korea to release an american who has been held for months. we don't yet know the identity of that person or why he or she

was arrested. former president jimmy carter does have a private visit there set for later this month. he gained the release of another american last summer. there are just two space shuttle flights left. now, we know where the shuttles will go when they're retired. 21 museums wanted those shuttles. "atlantis" will remain at the kennedy space center. "endeavour" will go to the science center in los angeles. the smithsonian air and space annex will get "discovery." and "enterprise" will be in new york city. those final resting places were hotly-contested. nowhere was the disappointment greater than at the johnson space center in houston. the home of mission control is only getting seats from the shuttle. the families of the "challenger" crew, which perished in 1986, had hoped for better. now, let's take a look at the morning's weather from around the country. there will be rain all day here in the northeast. just some morning showers in baltimore and washington. there will also be some showers in the upper plains states.

and heavy rain in the pacific northwest. it will be mild and dry in the midwest, as far east as detroit. >> and we're looking at about average temperatures for this time of year in the northeast. 60 in new york. 61 in baltimore. cooler than usual in boston at 42. 76 degrees in atlanta. 75 in kansas city. and 72 in omaha. mid-50s in seattle and portland. 83 in dallas. 84 in phoenix. and coming up next, an nfl great weighs in on the lasting damage done by hard hits on the field. plus, business news. a company's surprising announcement. they will stop making those popular flip cams. and the video that is stirring some heavy discussion this morning. a 6-year-old gets a tsa pat-down. we'll be right back. @b

well, brace yourself for sticker shock if you're planning a road trip this summer. the energy department predicts that gas prices will average $3.86 a gallon from april through september. that's up almost 40% from last year. that increase will really add up, too. the average household will pay about $825 more for fuel this year. >> very spendy. overseas stocks are rising this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.9% today. hong kong's hang seng gained 0.7%. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow tumbled 117 points yesterday. the nasdaq fell nearly 27 points. investors may soon be able to buy a piece of new york

city's most famous skyscraper. "the new york times" reports that the empire state building may soon be part of a publicly-traded real estate company. the company that controls the iconic building may include other properties in that building, as well. the man who claims he is entitled to half of mark zuckerberg's share of of faceb says he has no evidence to prove it. a new court filing includes e-mails that he says confirms the deal with zuckerberg. he says he gave zuckerberg $1,000 to get facebook off the ground. facebook calls the lawsuit fraudulent. soon, you will not be able to buy the most popular video camera in the u.s. cisco systems say it is killing the flip video, just two years after buying it for nearly 600 million bucks. the pocket-sized cameras are incredibly popular, with sales topping $2 million in its first two years. now, these days, smartphones have the same capabilities. oprah winfrey's final show is sure to be a huge event.

and for companies that want to be a part of it, they are going to have to pay up. a 30-second commercial is going for $1 million. that's a lot of cash for daytime tv. ads for the finale of "friends" in 2004, went for twice as much. a lot of people will be watching it. they might make commercials for that show. >> it's almost the same rate for the "seinfeld" finale. and "everybody loves raymond." this morning, a surprising departure for "dancing with the stars." and occupational hazard, the flip from a pop superstar. >> no one saw that coming. as police reveal more about a new york serial killer, another career killer may have been caught in california.

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pull. >> and with that shot, hundreds of re-enactors yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the civil war. the first shots of the war between the states were fired at ft. sumpte south in south caro. about 1,200 people attended. now, take a look at morning road conditions. interstate 95 will be wet from washington, the canadian border. same with i-90 boston to buffalo. and i 80 in new york and pennsylvania. also, on i-5, from seattle to sacramento. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in boston, new york, philadelphia, washington, minneapolis, and also san francisco. a family tragedy has been unfolding overnight not far from here in new york city. police in newburgh says a mother drove her minivan loaded with three kids into the hudson river, killing everyone onboard. the mother left her 10-year-old

son on the shore. he ran to a nearby firehouse to say what had happened. they say there was a family argument just moments before that woman drove into the river. police also in new york's long island, will have to update this afternoon on their search for a suspected serial killer. search efforts along the atlantic coast have revealed ten sets of human remains. they're looking at the possibility of more than one killer in the case. police are planning to get back out to that area tomorrow. california officials think they solved the murders of four women from the 1970s and 1990s. joseph naso will be charged later today. they say evidence of the murders was found this his reno home. there are similarities between these murders and three unsolved cases in rochester, new york, where he grew up. a kentucky state lawmaker who is also a high school teacher is clinging to life this morning after breaking up a cafeteria fight.

duane bunch hit his head on the tile. the two boys involved in the fight, ages 15 and 16, have now been charged and taken to juvenile detention. and this video is giving critics of airport pat-downs some new ammunition. that is a 6-year-old girl undergoing a thorough search by a tsa agent. after asking if the girl could simply be rescanned by a machine, the girl's mother was told no. her parents, though, will be on "good morning america," coming up later today. probably the highest-profile former nfl star so far is speaking out about concussions. terry bradshaw led the pittsburgh steelers to four super bowl titles. he says he is now suffering from short-term memory loss. also the loss of hand/eye coordination. it was enough to force him to undergo rehab. >> one of the questions was, obviously, how many clear-cut concussions have you had? and i'm trying to think. you know? clear-cut, totally k.o.'d?

my entire career, i could name six. six that i, you know -- that i could remember. >> bradshaw says that he also suffered countless hits to the head which required him to, quote, clear the cobwebs. once that happened, he said he always went straight back into the name. and the nhl stanley cup playoffs start tonight. 10 of the 16 teams involved will be in action. for sports highlights, now, from last night, here's espn news. >> good morning. cole wright here with your espn news update. and kobe bryant in his last 11 games against the spurs, has failed to crack the 30-point plateau. would things change on tuesday evening? let's find out. andrew bynum on the move. this is scary right here. he slips and goes down. he grabs his knee, which was already wrapped in a brace. bynum, slips on blair's foot.

fourth quarter, gary neil says i'll get us back in the game. jack nicholson can't believe it. later in the quarter, game all square 83-83, lamar odom, a bucket and a foul. lakers up three after his shot. later in the fourth, lakers by a triple. bryant would miss. but pau gasol, he did not. good stuff right there from the catalina wine mixer. pau. bryant knocking it down. it's a three this time. lakers went up by eight. they would win, 102-93. the diamond of the rangers and the tigers. josh hamilton on third after a three-bagger. adrian beltre lifts one into foul ground. inge and martinez away from the plate. he goes in there. tagged out. sliding head-first. that's not the issue. awkwardly landing on his shoulder. that's never good. he breaks a bone in his right arm on the play. he'll be out for eight weeks.

never good. he helps that offense go. bottom of the nine. bases loaded. miguel cabrera, game over. brandon inge scores. tigers win this one, 5-4. that will do it for us. for the latest on the sports scene, don't forget to watch "the highlight express" every evening on espn news. i'm cole wright. there was a stunning end to "dancing with the stars." legendary boxer sugar ray leonard was knocked out after one night scoring his highest scores on the show. >> he didn't get enough viewer support to come back for another round. we'll hear from them both coming up later today on "good morning america." >> that was a shocker. another shocker, take a look at this. when you wear footwear like hers, this can happen. lady gaga took a tumble in houston. she landed with a thud. she jumps back up. and finishes out the set like it never happened. >> grace under pressure. don't let it faze you. keep on going. coming up next, a new sign

of progress in japan at an airport in a was swamped by the tsunami. and some moms get an unexpected visitor today at their baby shower. [ male announcer ] only subway lets you build your better breakfast with all the flavors you choose. start off with an irresistible steak, egg & cheese, then make it your own! try it with warm and toasty tomato or turn up the zest factor with banana peppers and jalapeños. maybe chipotle southwest sauce for the finishing touch! all on tasty flatbread. it's flat out delicious! ♪ build your better breakfast at subway ♪ you know what, tell me, what makes peter, peter ? well, i'm an avid catamaran sailor. i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and i really love my bank's raise your rate cd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap ? uh, actually, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spent 8 days lost at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love our raise your rate cd that offers

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tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. great ride down. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. gotta get that bacon! there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time! and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this wednesday. the ntsb is now reviewing the radio recordings, radar data and flight recorders from both aircraft involved in that collision on the runway at jfk airport. a major concern is whether the runway was big enough to handle that double-decker jumbo jet.

and sendai airport is open for commercial service again, more than a month after it was swamped by the tsunami. the limited service should make it easier to volunteers and supplies to arrive and aid the relief efforts. this afternoon, president obama unveils his plan to deal with the nation's debt. he is planned to discuss ways to curb the costs of medicare and medicaid and other programs, as well. congressional republicans are warning they will not consider any plan that includes higher taxes. michelle obama and jill biden visit camp lejeune today. it's part of a whirlwind tour to help out military families. at the north carolina base, obama and biden will speak and also attend a baby shower for 40 expectant mothers. after dropping a second-straight game to the tampa bay rays, the boston red sox are now 2-9. that's the worst start in club history. they will try to avoid setting a dubious new franchise record at home when they take on the rays again.

for some of you, now, your local news is coming up next. >> for everybody else, we'll be back with some surprising statements from jenn sterger, the woman who received those statements from jenn sterger, the woman who received those racy pictures from brett favre. . 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. but the nicoderm cq patch gradually steps you down off of nicotine in just three steps, doubling your chances for success. nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free. [ male announcer ] ragu, packed with two servings of veggies in every half cup of our now thicker, richer, healthy sauce.

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bring a tradition... out of its shell. rice krispies. i did it! you did!icicicicic street. >> next at 4:30. are there more victims of the suspected serial killer prepares for the first court appearance in marin? and the stunning images that have touched off an animal cruelty investigation in a bay area city. >> and we're tracking for showers and warming trend for the weekend. and finally from us this morning, trying to set the record straight. >> most of the world learned who

jenn sterger was because of brett favre. she's given her first interview to our george stephanopoulos. >> her name may always be linked with one of football's greats. but jenn sterger said she never wanted to be the favre girl. amazin amazingly, she said she never even met the guy. >> i've never met him. we never met. there was no relationship. there was no affair. >> reporter: her long, strange trip through the underbelly of professional sports, began with a cowboy hat and skimpy bikini. >> 1,500 red-blood americans, just decided to apply to florida state. >> reporter: and she parlayed those 15 seconds into a full-fledged modeling career, posing for "playboy" and "maxim." by 2008, sterger landed what she called her dream job with the jets. >> i was approached during one of the preseason games by a man wearing a jets employe badge, e

badge. who asked me, how would you feel if brett favre asked for your phone number? what would you say? i just looked at him, my usual smartass self and said, i like my job a lot. and i've been told i look remarkably like his wife. have a good day. >> reporter: but somehow he did get it. >> somehow. >> reporter: and that's when she started receiving those infamous voicemails. the messages just kept coming. and they became more graphic. >> i realized how serious this is. and it isn't going away. >> reporter: but you didn't go to the jets. >> i was told not to go to the jets. i was told i would lose my job. >> reporter: as far as you're concerned, this is over? >> i don't want anything from anyone except to go back to work. >> reporter: you want nothing from brett favre? >> absolutely nothing. it was never my intention. i don't want anything from him. i never wanted anything from him. >> very real