there's breaking news on this tuesday morning. >> more deadly storms overnight. dozens of reports of tornados. as rising rivers bring dangerous rescues. people escaping only with what they can carry. also, the deadly crackdown in another middle eastern country, forcing the state department to issue a new warning overnight. and in london, new details about top-secret wedding security. and what the queen is lending to the bride on her big day. and good morning. the south is getting pounded this morning, by a wave of violent weather, already blamed for at least five deaths. >> at least 3 dozen tornadoes have been reported from texas to tennessee in just the last 24 hours.

and as this line of storms now moves east, more of the same is expected for today. >> emily schmidt has been tracking the weather throughout the night. and joins us, now, with the very latest. good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and rob, good morning. the hardest-hit state overnight appears to be arkansas, where tornadoes and flash flooding turned deadly. it's become a common theme. the country is now averaging more than 200 severe weather reports a day this month. there are signs of severe weather problems stretching all across the country. winds toppling a baptist church steeple in tennessee. hail the size of baseballs pounding a texas neighborhood. >> we run in when we saw the car. >> reporter: more than 300 tornados have hit the u.s. this month. the latest, last night in central arkansas, damaged an area three miles wide. >> we all ended up in the closet. and then, you could hear crashing and stuff being knocked around and blowed around.

and it just -- it tore us up. >> reporter: every tree in her yard fell on her house. at least five people died in the arkansas storms. three of them swept away by flash flooding. there are now flood warnings in 17 states. >> we're not nervous. just make preparation for it. >> reporter: in poplar bluff, missouri, the black river threatens the levee, in danger of failing. >> this could be very imminent danger within minutes. >> reporter: national guard troops are on their way. 1,000 people are evacuated. >> you don't know when it's going to be over and you can get back in. >> reporter: taking what they can, in case it's all they have left. and the worst may not be over yet. today's forecast calls for yet another round of tornadoes and heavy rain to hit the same areas pounded yesterday. rob and peggy? >> oh, boy. weather-weary. thank you, emily schmidt, with the latest. and abc news crews are out in the storm zone right now, to bring us the latest updates on "good morning america."

shifting gears, now. we're following a developing story in syria. the state department is urging u.s. citizens to leave that country as soon as they can. on top of that, some embassy personnel are also being ordered home. the new warning comes as the syrian government steps up its deadly crackdown on protesters there. this amateur video shows the aftermath of a violent clash last week. more than 350 people have been killed there since the middle of march. we also have new details on the massive jailbreak in the southern city of kandahar. of digging an escape tunnel, supporters on the outside, spent more than 4 hours ferrying away nearly 500 prisoners, completely undetected. police have claimed to recapture two dozen of the escapees, including some top taliban commanders. later this week, oil companies are expected to report near-record earnings. that's re-igniting a debate over federal subsidies for the companies, especially given sky-high gas prices. that's led house republican

leader, john boehner, to tell our jonathan karl, something he hasn't said before about oil company tax breaks. >> reporter: would you be in favor of seeing the subsidies at oil companies. >> something we need to be looking at. >> reporter: doing away with the subsidies? >> we're at a time when the federal government is short on revenues. we need to control spending. but we need revenues to keep the government moving. they ought to be paying their fair share. >> boehner also says president obama is partly to blame for the run-up of gas prices. he says mr. obama will not win re-election if the gas prices continue to rise. and looking ahead to that re-election battle, one republican candidate is in and another is out. mississippi governor, haley barbour, has decided not to run in 2012. barbour says he lacked the fire in the belly that a candidacy would require. however, texas congressman, ron paul, is announcing he is forming an exploratory committee.

and donald trump is questioning president obama's background and qualifications. this time, the donald wants to see mr. obama's college records. trump told the associated press, he wants to know how the president got into two ivy league schools. >> i heard he was a terrible student. not like okay. i heard he was a bad student. how does a bad student then go to columbia and then go to harvard? how does this happen? >> earlier, of course, trump had jumped on the birther bandwagon, questioning exactly where the president was born. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. severe weather that's been battering the south moves north later today, bringing hail, high winds, also tornados to the ohio valley, buffalo and pittsburgh. rain in the upper midwest, changing over to snow, in minnesota. up to a foot of mountain snow in the northern rockies. and showers in the pacific northwest. >> meanwhile, 50s from seattle to fargo. an. a wet 48 in the twin cities. and 67 in chicago. 62 in boston. 75 here in new york.

80s from atlanta to dallas. well, talk about picture-perfect weather for a day on the white house lawn. the weather couldn't have been nicer as the president and the first lady hosted 30,000 kids and their parents for the annual easter egg roll. in keeping with the first lady's fitness initiative, this year's theme was get up and go. get those easter eggs. gorgeous day. >> not bad at all. >> really nice. coming up, hope for football fans. a judge issues a ruling on the looming nfl lockout. plus, shelling out more at the grocery store. which items will cost you a little bit more this year? >> oh, boy. also, imagine finding a seven-foot gator in your bathroom. a homeowner reveals just how it got inside.

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food prices are going up even more than expected. the department of agriculture says overall, you'll be paying about 3% to 4% more this year for food. beef may climb at least 8%. pork, up 7.5%. and the forecast for vegetables, also higher. one reason is gas prices. but another is greater demand around the world. >> the last thing folks want to hear. time, now, for a check of market activities, starting overseas. mixed corporate earnings in the u.s. sent asian stocks lower today. tokyo's nikkei average lost just over 1% today. hong kong's hang seng is down just about the same. and in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. on wall street, the dow was down less than 0.25% yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq index was up by the same amount. netflix added more than 3.5

million new subscribers in the first quarter. the result was first-quarter earnings nearly double those of last year. netflix now has more subscribers than the cable channel showtime. and nintendo says it will release the successor to its wii console next year. the company also plans to show a playable model at a los angeles trade show in june. nintendo, however, is not saying much more about that system. not even its name. and the insurance industry has now tested its first electric cars. and both the chevrolet volt and the nissan leaf got top scores for crash protection in all areas of the car. now, the federal government hasn't released its test results for either car just yet. is your smartphone keeping track of where it and you have been? well, a macrumors.com reader decided to go right to the source to get an answer. he e-mailed apple ceo, steve jobs. jobs did reply back, saying, quote, we don't track anyone. the info circulating around is false, end quote.

but jobs did say, the competing android smartphone does keep track of its users. but still no response from google on that matter. questions with all that. >> a lot of people watching that issue. keep you posted on that one. when we come back, new wedding details from london. >> good morning. will and kate fever has gripped london. and shoppers can't get enough. i'm diana alvear at westminster abbey. i'll have all the latest on the royal wedding, coming up. and on top of that, an iraq vet survives a frightening freeway crash. you won't believe the video. we'll be right back. 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.

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more oxygen for healthy-feeling eyes. air optix. the lens you can let your eyes breathe in. visit airoptix.com for a free one-month trial offer. a look, now, to an incredible survival story. a man was almost crushed to death when his motorcycle was sandwiched between two cars on a dallas highway. take a look at this. luckily, zachary perez was thrown from the bike.

and an oncoming suv swerved away just in time. perez is an iraq war veteran and is expected to make a full recovery. he doesn't plan to ride a motorcycle again. incredible survival story there. >> lucky guy. now, for a look at your road conditions on this tuesday. flooding on i-40, from oklahoma city to nashville. on i-30, from little rock to dallas. and also on i-70 st. louis to pittsburgh. wet on i-94 from the twin cities into detroit. icy on i-15, 80 and 90 in the rockies. and showers make for a pretty slick ride on i-5, from portland to seattle. >> okay. and if you are flying today, airport delays could be possible in chicago, minneapolis, detroit and also memphis. now, turning over to london, of course, where 1 million people are expected to fill the streets around the royal wedding. of course, that means some major security. >> that's right. scotland yard is outlining some of its plans to keep the royal couple safe. diana alvear joins us from london with the latest. it must be very exciting to be

there. good morning, diana. >> reporter: rob and peggy, good morning. i think you can tell by my coat and scarf that the tropical heat wave is over. but wedding fever is still in full effect. look at "the telegraph." the lovely couple right there, front and center. this city can't get enough of these two. and it's been very good for business. the shop windows are filled with official souvenirs. and the shops themselves, filled with customers. loads of them. >> an extra 500,000 people coming in to shop, enjoy the wedding, celebrate. an extra 50 million pounds for our stores. a massive celebration. >> reporter: a celebration of a young couple that has stolen the hearts of a nation, kate in particular. they've had a long time to get used to the idea. will and kate's courtship lasted eight years. compare that to princess diana, who visited the prince charles only 13 times before they wed. >> she still referred to charles as sir, which is just, i think so alien. >> reporter: britain's love for kate doesn't mean any less security on her big day.

authorities have arranged for a so-called bullet-catcher to ride in the couple's wedding coach. in the event of an emergency, the guard the prince from any danger. and later this morning, scotland yard is set to hold a briefing about their latest security measures. they have a very tough task ahead of them. an estimated 1.1 million people will be here in these streets, come friday. a tough task ahead of them. and, of course, everybody's excited. but they must keep safety as their number one concern. rob and peggy? >> top priority. reporting on all of the details, we hear there's news about kate's potential hair style. >> reporter: that's right, peggy. no detail is too small. up until now, we were led to believe that kate was going to continue with her girl next door style, have her hair down. possibly have flowers in her hair style. there was an article in one of the papers here, that she's going to wear a tiara. the queen's tiara. we'll have to wait and see. >> mystery solved.

we can all sleep a little better. >> diana alvear, this morning, live from london. thanks so much. we'll have more coming up on "good morning america," including barbara walters, sharing her personal memories of princess diana. also join us on friday morning at 4:00 a.m. eastern, for the big, main event. it does approach in a couple days. and other news now. another air traffic controller has been fired for, yep, sleeping on the job. the controller was assigned to boeing field in seattle. meanwhile, an ntsb member says short job naps should be considered for air traffic controllers, airline pilots and others who work overnight shifts. in sports news this morning, a federal judge has sided with the players, lifting that 45-day nfl lockout. but the team may not be getting back to work just yet. as you can imagine, the league does plan to appeal. the nfl and its players have been fighting over a new collective bargaining agreement. the players say the lockout has been causing irreparable harm to

their careers. ultimate basketball fan, president barack obama, showed off some of his dribbling and layup skills on the south lawn court. with some nba pros alongside. with the latest on the nba playoffs, we turn to espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. a big night in the nba. how about some playoff action for you? zach randolph and the grizzlies with an opportunity to take a 3-1 lead at home against the spurs. under a minute to go in the half. manu ginobili behind the back of tony parker. third quarter, we go. tenacious "d" by the griz mrips sam young with the jam. fourth quarter we go. how about mayo. o.j. mayo to arthur. he has 14. grizzlies up. later on in the fourth, tony allen with the lay-in.

grizzlies go on to win it, 104-86. they have a 3-1 lead in the series. george karl and the nuggets looking to escape the sweep from scott brooks' thunder. third quarter we go. how about the shot from j.r. smith. nuggets take a 71-69 lead. smith again. he was smoldering hot. 3.5 remaining. thunder down by three. russell westbrook, no good. nuggets win, 104-101. they survive. they will not be swept. to the ice, now. game six between the sharks and the kings. san jose up 3-1, in the series. just over two minutes to play in o.t. sharks with the puck. and how about that? off the skate of patrick marleau. and joe thornton there for the goal. sharks win in o.t. they advance to the next round. that is your espn news update. i'm don bell. a florida woman is breathing a big sigh of relief after

coming face-to-face with a grumpy and uninvited guest. get this. a seven-foot alligator made itself home in her bathroom. >> can you imagine? this does not happen every day. the woman screamed as the gator hissed at her. but she escaped with her cats, who apparently the alligator was eyeing. the woman believes that the alligator got in through her doggy door. >> i would have had a heart attack as soon as i opened the bathroom door. >> probably was looking at those cats for a while. >> florida. all right, coming up next, the stories we'll be following later today. including, facebook users finding new deals today. we'll update the deadly storms. the system moving east right now. 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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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. and now, a look ahead at the stories we'll be watching this tuesday. fierce storms spawning more twisters are tearing through the south-central portion of the country. at least five people were killed in arkansas, where a state of emergency is now in effect. and those storms are bringing more heavy rain to the mississippi valley, adding to rising floodwaters there. there's been flash flooding in 14 states, from oklahoma to ohio. thousands of people have been evacuated in southern missouri, where a levee could break at any moment. former president jimmy carter is in north korea this morning, hoping to meet with reclusive leader, kim jong-il. mr. carter and other former world leaders are hoping to use the three-day visit to revive nuclear disarmament talks and

discuss the north food shortage. there's milestone marking a quarter-century since the chernobyl nuclear disaster. it was on this day 25 years ago, that the reactor faulted. and the department of homeland security put its national terrorism advisory system into effect today. it replaces the color-coded terror warning system that's been in place since shortly after september 11th. the new system concentrates on specific threats. and today, facebook enters the online coupon business. facebook users in san diego, san francisco, atlanta, dallas and austin will see a deals logo when they log in. coming up later on "good morning america," just days before his role as the best man, prince harry is now talking about another subject, which is near and dear to his heart. his latest comments, coming up on "gma." for some of you, now, your local news coming up next. >> for everybody else, we'll be

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>> next on abc 7 news. the morning meeting that could cost 600, employees their jobs. pg&e customers new ways to avoid the smart mert. >> and the pike in a pacific crime that has students say they don't fell - safe in the. >> good morning, everybody. it is breezy and cool. we'll an amazing story to end this morning. a persistent pet credited with saving his owner's life. >> it is the latest evidence

that dogs can actually sense cancer in humans. and all they need to do is follow their nose. stevensami osunsami explains. >> reporter: kara winter knows it sounds crazy. but says it was her dog that noticed the cancer in her breast. >> when he sniffed me, he pushed into my right breast really hard. and he was sniffing, sniffing, sniffing.ought, this is not goo. >> reporter: lloyd henry is no doctor with a degree. but this 8-year-old boxer kept at it for four days until carol got herself checked. >> her type of cancer was rather large in her breast. >> reporter: dr. cheryl gabram said it was stage three. do you believe her dog saved her life? >> i absolutely believe her dog safed mrs. witcher's life. >> reporter: cancer causes chemicals in our sweat, urine and breath. hundreds of them that dogs can smell, but people can't. the doctor and her team are working on this test that could

detect cancer from a simple, deep breath. >> our model presented 65% of the time correctly. >> reporter: the breath holds clues and details that doctors are now learning to decipher. it doesn't stop there. meet daisy. she's one of several dogs trained to sniff out unicancer. one of these has cancer of the bladder. the dogs picked the cancer correctly 22 times. and the training is just getting started. carol witcher has now been cancer-free for more than two years. and she believes floyd henry knows it. >> don't get steve. >> reporter: that's okay. >> i had rescued hime was about 7 months old. and he, inturn, rescued me. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, covington, georgia. >> what a story. that's what's makingew