making news in america this morning -- >> control issues. a controversial, new plan in place today, after a fifth air traffic controller is caught napping on the job. guilty verdict against barr. slugger barry bonds. was the multimillion-dollar government case money well-spent? and was it a catnap? or was the vice president just in deep thought? good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us. the government is taking new steps to ensure that airline passengers are safe. >> the immediate changes come after yet another incident of air traffic controllers nodding off on the job.

>> the latest case in nevada. but the cases actually stretch coast-to-coast seattle to washington, d.c. now, controllers working late nights will no longer be flying solo. every air traffic control tower in the country will now have at least two controllers on the overnight shift, after yet another controller has been caught napping on the job, this time in reno, nevada. >> this is what, unfortunately, human beings do. when we get too tired, we have a tendency to go to sleep, even when we don't want to. >> reporter: he was working alone in the tower. and that means a small medical plane with an ill passenger had to land with no guidance. >> we need to land. >> land at your own risk. >> reporter: this is the latest of a string of controllers snoozing on the job. earlier this week at boeing field in seattle, and in lubbock, texas, two weeks ago, two controllers failed to answer a radio call. last month, a controller at reagan national airport in

washington, d.c., was caught napping after his fourth overnight shift in a row. in tennessee recently, a controller not only decided to get some shuteye, but made a bed of pillows to be more comfortable. the faa says, as of last night, air traffic controllers will no longer work solo. an additional controller will be added to the midnight shift at 27 control towers through the nation, currently staffed with only 1 controller. >> i will guarantee there's two controllers in these control towers. and it will be safe to fly in and out of these airports. >> reporter: the faa says it is also reviewing how it staffs and schedules air traffic controllers. now, there is at least one dissenting voice to the faa's new plan. the head of the house transportation committee said, quote, only in the federal government would you double up on workers that aren't doing their job. president obama has outlined his plan for getting america's budget out of the red in a fiery, campaign-style speech. the plan would cut $4 trillion in spending over the next 12

years, by keeping domestic spending low. also cutting the pentagon budget by $400 billion. it would find savings in medicare and medicaid, though we don't have specifics on that. it would also boost taxes on the wealthy. republicans immediately blasted the plan. >> what we got was a speech that was excessively partisan, dramatically inaccurate, and hopelessly inadequate to addressing our country's pressing fiscal challenges. also, lawmakers are voting today on the 11th-hour budget deal made last week in order to avoid that government shutdown. it cuts $38 of the fiscal year. an amount tea party-backed members say is not enough. george stephanopoulos digs deeper into the president's debt plan when he talks to him today. you'll see that interview on "world news," "nightline" and tomorrow on "good morning america." another republican is closer to announcing a run for the white house. former pennsylvania senator, rick santorum, as formed a fund-raising committee.

he is also spending a lot of time in states with early primaries and caucuses. as a senator, santorum was against abortion and stem cell research. the georgia legislature, today, is expected to pass a bill cracking down on illegal immigration. the only question is, how tough will it be? there have been protests about this in atlanta. and opponents say they will go to court and organize economic boycotts if it is passed. a sticking point now is whether to require private businesses to verify worker eligibility. and the worst of the flooding is over in the major cities of north dakota and minnesota. but there is still danger for smaller communities. oslo, minnesota, is an island now, surrounded by the red river. the only way in or out is by boat. this is the third year in a row that there's been flooding in this area. and the mayor of oslo says it's getting kind of old. taking a look now at this morning's weather from around the nation. severe storms from kansas city down to oklahoma city. rainy in the pacific northwest. and snow in the cascades and northern rockies. windy in the central rockies and new mexico.

hot and dry in texas. and rain clearing along the eastern seaboard. upper 60s in new york and baltimore. cooler in new england. low 80s in dallas and new orleans and phoenix. 87 degrees in miami. just 51 in seattle, portland and salt lake. mid-50s in chicago/detroit. low 70s in indianapolis, kansas city and l.a. after a seven-year, $55 million investigation, we now have a verdict in the government's case against barry bonds. guilty. baseball's home run king was convicted yesterday of obstructing justice. but the perjury charges against him were thrown out. more, now, from john donvan. >> and it's a high, fly ball. right, center field. back it goes. racing back. that ball is gone. >> reporter: the thing you can say about barry bonds on this day that a jury declared him a felon, he was a ballplayer who wanted it. who wanted it badly. the fame. the money. the glory.

to right to call himself, not just great. barry bonds wanted to be the best. >> there it is. >> he was a thin, fast young man. and many have said, and i agree with this, that barry bonds would have made the hall of fame on his own right. >> reporter: and he maintains to this day that he was not doping with steroids. >> this one high. >> reporter: the change we all saw, a guy that looked like this in the later years, having once looked like this in the early days. were we just imagining it? but what we did not imagine was in those early days with or without chemical help, he was good. he was suburb. >> he had all the tools to be one of the best in the game. >> reporter: bonds, not the friendliest man in baseball, nevertheless had his fans. and a circle of people who were drawn to the greatness, now paying a price for being there. his long-time trainer, greg anderson, who did a year in prison for refusing to testify against his boss. he was guilty of obstructing justice. not a finding that he took steroids. still, bonds' critics, of which

there are many, are satisfied with the outcome. >> if it stops one kid in the united states from taking steroids, then i think this is a good day for those trying to fight steroids. >> reporter: as for bonds, who will appeal, being a felon was never part of a story he wanted to be his. a story of a ballplayer with hall of fame talent, who gave it all and got it all back. that story is gone forever. i'm john donvan, in washington. well, coming up, trouble for another sports superstar. you won't believe this one. what kobe bryant said to get him slapped with a $100,000 fine. and parents on alert. now that another toddler is served alcohol at a popular chain restaurant.

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a detailed, new report from the senate exposes many of the parties at fault in the financial crisis. the bipartisan report cast broad blame, saying that the crisis was caused by conflicts of interest, heedless risk-taking and also failures of federal oversight. much of the report centers on goldman sachs which is accused of deceiving clients. overseas stocks are mostly lower this morning. investors are worried that rising food and fuel prices will hurt economic growth. tokyo's nikkei average rose 0.1% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow ticked up seven points yesterday. and the nasdaq climbed 16. some of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders have been ordered to pay for improper foreclosures.

citigroup, jpmorgan chase and 14 other companies must reimburse homeowners who should not have lost their homes. the lenders must also hire auditors who determine how many others could have avoided foreclosure in the last two years. and fresh evidence the job market is heating up. businesses in february posted more than 3 million job openings, the most in more than two years during the height of the financial crisis. it usually takes up to three months to fill a job. so, april could be another big month for hiring. apple's ipad has barely been in stores for a year. but it's currently changing the way that people buy computers. two, separate reports find the tablets eating into pc sales. pc shipments declined during the first three months of the year, as consumers bought tablets instead of cheap pcs. after a ten-month delay it looks like apple is ready to sell a white version of the iphone. bloomberg news reports that both at&t and verizon will have the white phone by the end of the month. it's been delayed by manufacturing problems, including with the paint.

well, next on this thursday, the new gaffe for vice president biden. did he nod off during the president's speech? >> oh, dear. how do you explain that one to the boss? also, a vicious teen fight posted online. and a father loses custody of his kid because of it. there are milestones that no parent wants to miss. let's see, there's first steps. first words. first time riding a bike without training wheels. and the first vacation memory that will last till roughly... forever. now, there's a first. tell us what you've always wanted to do, on facebook. [ ship horn blows ] we've combined conditioner with a weightless nutri-oil treatment. to give 3x the internal nourishing power of our regular conditioner.

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residents in cape cod are hoping to dry out today. nearly five inches of rain fell in just a few hours, leading to heavy flooding. police have received calls from people trapped in their cars. there have been power outages there. roads on cape cod should be drying out now. but travelers in other parts of the country will find some wet roads out there. rain on interstate 5 from seattle to portland. thunderstorms on i-35, from kansas city to dallas. rain and snow on i-90 from spokane to helena, montana. >> and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in salt lake city, denver, kansas city, seattle and dallas. we've been learning more

about that heartbreaking story we told you about yesterday morning. the one in which a mother drove her suv into the hudson river just about 60 miles north of new york city. >> horrific. and police say her 10-year-old son survived by opening a window and then, swimming to shore. a passerby found him and brought him to authorities. >> he kept repeating, please, help me mommy. help me mommy. she's in the water. he was in a state of shock. disbelief. he was very nervous. and he just stated that she was in the water. >> 25-year-old lashonda armstrong took her life and those of her three other children, after a domestic dispute with the children's father. we're learning new details about the victims in the search for a serial killer on new york's long island. the fbi will use surveillance aircraft to help in their search along the a desolate beachfront. those flights will begin tomorrow. also, police divers have joined the search, looking in the water for additional bodies.

so far, ten sets of remains have been found. first, it was a margarita served to a 15-month-old. now, there's been a report of sangria served to a toddler. an olive garden restaurant in florida served the wine beverage instead of orange juice. it took restaurant employees about half an hour to realize that something was wrong. but the mother says she knew a lot sooner. >> and i kind of started to, you know, tell him, you're going to get timeout. you're going to -- you know, can't be loud. we're at a restaurant. i couldn't discipline him because he wasn't acting up. he was drunk. >> now, she took her son to the hospital, where he was treated and then released. he suffered no lasting effects. and this is a video that landed a florida father in custody, charged with child abuse. phillip struthers was caught on tape cheering on his 16-year-old son as he fought another boy. the video was posted online. and when police saw it, struthers was arrested. he's been released but has been unable to contact his children. actress catherine zeta-jones is heading back to work this

week. the actress had checked into a mental health facility in connecticut last week, to battle bipolar disorder. a spokeswoman says zeta-jones has had a pretty stressful year. you may remember that her husband, actor michael douglas, was diagnosed with throat cancer. however, the spokeswoman says zeta-jones now feels great and is looking forward to working on two upcoming films. and lakers star, kobe bryant, is apologizing for using a gay slur during a game tuesday night. it was all caught on camera, as bryant fumed at the referee after being called for a technical foul. he's been fined $100,000. bryant says his use of the slur does not reflect his feelings, though, towards the gay community. he'll be meeting with gay rights groups in the future. the nba regular season is over. and the league's playoffs begin on saturday. for action on season-ending finales and also the nhl playoffs, here's espn news. >> good morning. cole wright with your espn news update.

and as the playoff beards come into full form, so does nhl's postseason. we begin with that man, alex ovechkin, and the capitals taking on the rangers for game one. alex semin shoots. there's lundqvist with the save. ovechkin's there. this play, a little dicey at first. it would go to the review. ovechkin beating lundqvist. caps get the goal. game tied at 1-1. under two left in overtime. jason arnott sends it to semin. he beats lundqvist. a one-timer. capitals win this one, 2-1, in the free frame. to the nba now. nets and bulls. derrick rose and chicago looking for the best record in the league. in the third quarter, nets up one. joakim noah, guarding brook lopez. this is never a good scenario. little contact there. the knees knock. you can see on the replay. noah spends the rest of the game on the bench, putting a little ice on his knee there. in the fourth, bulls on a dash. to rasual butler for three.

got it. bulls win this one, 97-92. they have the best record in the league. so, steve nash and the suns, hosting the spurs. the spurs, they still had a chance for the best record in the league. in the first quarter, manu ginobili, fouled by grant hill. he goes down holding his elbow. he would leave and not return. he hyperextended that right elbow. x-rays negative. under two minutes left in the fourth. jared dudley and marcin gortat playing pitch and catch. suns by six. less than four left. gary neal, not even close. suns win, 106-103. that will do it for your espn news update. and don't forget, for the latest on the sports scene, be sure to tune in to "the highlight express" every night. well, this could get you in trouble with the boss. we told you earlier about president obama's speech to the nation's debt and the republicans' response to it. check out vice president biden's response, however. >> there he is, yesterday, sitting right next to treasury secretary, tim geithner.

now, we're not actually sure he was literally sleeping during the speech. we'll let the picture speak for itself. >> could be thinking about things. maybe trying to visualize some things. >> pondering legislation. >> looking at it from both side there's. coming up next, the storie, incl following today, including new health concerns over two, popular diet pills. we'll also update today's top story. immediate staffing changes in the nation's airport control towers after yet another controller, yep, fell asleep on the job. uh, laugh lines? [ laughs ] not funny. act my age? -why? -why? -why? i love the sun. past sun goddess. every line has a story. [ female announcer ] we all age differently. now there's roc multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. a lifetime of stress lines, sun damage, and worry wrinkles will fade in just 4 weeks. -crows feet... -belong on birds.

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both: really? fyi. [ male announcer ] get zyrtec®'s proven allergy relief and love the air®. and now, a look ahead at the stories we'll be watching this thursday. the government orders at least two air traffic controllers on the overnight shift after another incident of a controller sleeping on the job. fresh off his campaign-style speech outlining $4 trillion in budget cuts, president obama returns to his adopted hometown of chicago today for a little political fund-raising. first lady michelle obama and jill biden began the day in colorado, where they're on a whirlwind tour visiting military families. yesterday, they visited camp lejeune in north carolina. they'll hit colorado springs and columbus, ohio, today. upper midwest officials are keeping an eye on rivers and dams as several rivers crest today. many local roads are closed because of flooding, cutting off some communities and homes from

the outside world. and researchers this week link two, popular diet drugs to kidney problems in patients. today, we're expecting a major announcement over whether xenical or alli should be banned. sales of the two drugs last year brought in nearly $1 billion. and with so many americans scrambling today to do their taxes, of course, ahead of monday's big deadline, the 18th, the question is, are those taxes fair? well, a new poll might actually surprise you. it finds that 54% say, yes, their tax bills are actually fair. meanwhile, the other 46% say, no, not so much. they're actually unfair. >> boy we really are in the last few minutes that you can get the taxes done. extended until monday the 18th this year. >> usually would be tomorrow, the 15th. procrastinators have no excuse this year. >> that's right. little bit of extra time. coming up later on "good morning america," one mother's crusade against the man picked to head a commission on military families. mary tillman says general stanley mcchrystal covered up

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next at 4:30. bay area transit agency that is expected to approve a plan today that will pay the general manager one million to quit. >> and new information about a suspect that sexually assaulted a student on campus next weekend. mike nicco has the forecast. >> yeah, it looks like we have a drying trend and mild temperatures and couple chances of slight rain. well, finally this morning, a case of not exactly what was

expected. >> that's right. we're talking about singing sensation, justin bieber. he sits the stage tonight for a cancer in tel aviv, israel. >> but so far, his trip to the holy land has been a little more complicated than usual. alex marquardt explains why. >> reporter: it was meant to be easy. see a site. play a show. and head to the next tour stop. like everywhere, bieber fever greeted justin in israel. along with ultra-aggressive paparazzi. but unlike elsewhere, this region's complex political issues have made the teenager's visit a headache. benjamin netanyahu's camp says bieber asked for a meeting. he wanted to bring him along to an area where children had been attacked by rockets. to do something nice for kids who have had a difficult time. unfortunately, it proved impossible, a spokesman told abc news. the israeli media said the meeting was called off because

bieber didn't want to meet with the kids. bieber's spokesman denied a meeting was ever in the cards. the singer tweeted, whether it's the paparazzi or being pulled into politics, it's been frustrating. because of all the attention, bieber says he'll stay inside his hotel here until his cancer tomorrow night. and the young fans who have been here all day, every day, say they're disappointed the trip has taken on a political tone, instead of just being about the music. >> because there's two sides. the hamas and -- a singer doesn't need to be between those. >> is 17-year-old boy. he shouldn't take a part of it. >> reporter: the bieber episode won't affect foreign legislations. but it's a strong reminder of the sensitive mindfield one must navigate when comes to the holy land. alex marquardt, tel aviv. that's what's making news in america this morning.