making news in america this morning -- >> the tense faceoff. u.s. interrogators confront bin laden's wives. and on another continent, possible revenge. are terrorists now targeting president obama's family? we're live in kenya. and waiting for the floodwaters. towns prepare to be flooded in order to spare others. and from hollywood, a new man. the tv star set to fill charlie sheen's shoes in primetime. good morning. we are following breaking news in pakistan, where the taliban has carried out a deadly revenge attack. >> at least 80 people have been killed in a pair of explosions at a paramilitary training center. nearly all the victims were recruits who were boarding

vehicles to go home. pakistan had been bracing for just such an attack, since terror groups vowed to retaliate for the killing of osama bin laden earlier this month. and also in pakistan this morning, u.s. intelligence officials have wrapped up a tense -- what turned out to be a tense confrontation with three wives of osama bin laden. they say the meeting, quote, did not go well. >> and we're learning more about an al qaeda threat against president obama's family. emily schmidt joins us from washington with details. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and peggy, good morning. the u.s. is hoping that some of the people who were closest to osama bin laden will give them more clues about his plans for al qaeda. but so far, the best information is coming from bin laden's own words. when president obama announced osama bin laden's death, he warned al qaeda would seek retribution. now, one of a dozen specific threats to emerge is against the president's stepgrandmother, sarah obama, who lives in kenya. authorities there say the family

compound is under heavy security after a somali branch threatened her life. mr. obama told univision, he won't comment on specific family threats. but added, when it comes to the american people -- >> after having killed bin laden, there may be a desire on some al qaeda members to exact revenge. and that's something that we have to be individual lent about. >> reporter: it's why intelligence and law enforcement officials are combing through the writings seized during the raid on bin laden's compound. he wanted people to kill president obama or derail his election. >> i think what the new information indicates is he was more involved than most people realize. >> reporter: one of bin laden's sons has called his father's death an assassination. attorney general eric holder said bin laden was a legitimate target. >> what we did was not an assassination. it was consistent with international law. and i think we focus on the way in which the operation occurred.

people there, who could have been shot were not. >> reporter: and the attorney general added that one of the wives who was actually in the room with bin laden at the time the raid occurred, was shot in the leg, as opposed to being shot some place that could have proved fatal. however, in this new meeting with the wives, the u.s. official just said things did not go very well. rob and peggy? >> all right. emily schmidt, thanks a lot for that report. let's get new details. as emily mentioned, security has been stepped up around the kenya home of president obama's stepgrandmother. >> an african branch of al qaeda has issued a personal threat against the 88-year-old woman. abc's dana hughes joins us, now, from that town by phone. do you have details on how the family is being protected? >> reporter: good morning, peggy and rob. the obama family compound is now receiving round-the-clock protection. police officials tell abc news that obama's stepgrandmother, who is affectionately known as momma sarah, now travels with a security escort everywhere she

goes. there has been regular police patrol since the 2008 campaign. but now, the patrolling base, which is next to the compound, has been turned into a full-fledged police station. and this stepped-up security occurred after osama bin laden's death. >> and, dana, you mentioned, they've had security there for some time. why, exactly? >> reporter: well, here, isn't the only threat that momma sarah and obama's family faces. kenya is a country where poverty and crime is endemic. and the family of the leader of the free world makes for an attractive target. rob and peggy? >> dana hughes in kenya. thank you. our brian ross is also working on that story. we'll have more on "good morning america." in other news this morning, legal troubles appear to be far from over for former nevada senator, john ensign. a senate ethics investigation found that ensign broke federal law and lied about it, in connection with an extramarital affair. the ethics panel sent the case to the justice department for

possible prosecution. ensign has admitted the affair with the wife of a of aide. but insists he did nothing wrong., they had t well, they had to know it would be a pretty tough sell. but oil company executives made their pitch anyway, trying to justify why they should get billions of dollars in tax breaks. the ceos of the oil companies faced the music in a capitol hill hearing. they vigorously defended their position. senate democrats minced no words, hammering the oil chiefs with tough questions, such as this -- >> do you think that your subsidy is more important than the financial aid we give to students to go to college? could you answer that, yes or no? >> i think you're out of touch. deeply, profoundly out of touch. and deeply and profoundly committed to sharing nothing. >> well, oil executives insist, it's not just about their bottom lines. and that losing their tax breaks would actually mean higher prices for consumers. >> raising taxes will lead to less investment, less

production, and most likely higher cost per gallon and less employment. >> even proponents acknowledge that a plan to do away with tax breaks has virtually no chance of passing in congress. president obama's 2012 re-election headquarters is open for business. it's a 50,000-square-foot space in a downtown chicago high-rise. for now, only a few staffers and volunteers have started moving in and setting up shop. but as the election clock ticks down, of course, aides say they expect to use up every inch of space. and they're out of the gate. here we go. >> election season comes early and earlier every time. taking a look, now, at this morning's weather from around the nation, hail, high winds, drenching downpours and also flash flooding from louisiana to kentucky. chilly rain in the upper midwest. also wet into pittsburgh, charleston, west virginia and also nashville. showers and thunderstorms in georgia and florida. light snow in idaho and western

montana. >> 64 in billings. 74 in sacramento. a scorching 96 in phoenix. 50s from minneapolis to kansas city. detroit climbs to 80. chicago 70. 60s from boston to baltimore. and 80s from atlanta to new orleans. well, coming up, you're not going to believe this. the oreo gets supersized. we're going to show you the new look of the supersized oreo. >> you like your cookies. you may like this story. >> not this big. this is ridiculous. plus, "two and a half men" may have a new star, finally, to replace charlie sheen. 14 and from the southern flood zone, small towns brace for floodwaters, set to cover their homes in order to save others.

well, if you used debit card recently to buy art and crafts supplies at michael's, your account could be compromised. a p.i.n. entry pad at 20 states were tampered with. michael's is replacing thousands of those p.i.n. pads. customers should keep an eye on their bank accounts, just in case. >> just doesn't end. good news now. retirement accounts are coming back from the recession. the average 401(k) is up 12% from a year ago. fidelity investments says account balances are at their highest level in nearly 13 years. as much as 75,000 bucks. much of that is due to growth in the stock market. mortgage rates are at their lowest point of the year. 30-year fixed rate loans are averaging 4.63%. 15-year mortgages are also low, under 4%.

rates have now fallen for four-straight weeks. but many buyers may keep waiting for home prices to fall. and overseas markets, today, are subdued on mixed signals from the u.s. tokyo's nikkei average lost 0.7%. hong kong's hang seng, however, is up a little. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow rose yesterday, thanks to a small recovery in commodities. the nasdaq index also gained. the rivalry between two online giants is now heating up. facebook admits it hired a p.r. firm to plant negative stories in the media about google's social circle. facebook denied they were engaging in a smear campaign against google, saying they just wanted to highlight privacy concerns. analysts agree that facebook lost face on this one. nabisco is confirming a new variety of oreos. the triple-double. one of the cream fillings is vanilla. the other, chocolate. the news first leaked on the

internet, although nabisco claims they tried to keep it a secret. there's no word when the triple-double will be available. a healthy snack for the country. >> reminds you of the ridiculous burgers. that have like the -- >> the three patties. >> the layers and the ten patties. >> they will sell out. >> i do like the plain oreo. there you go. coming up next on the friday morning, a close encounter off of oregon, as a whale lands on a sailboat. we're going to hear from the crew that was on the boat. also this morning, new questions about tiger woods' future in golf, as he takes himself out of this weekend's big tournament. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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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 a one-time rate increase if our current rates go up. ally. do you love your bank ? that is one of the world's most famous volcanos, putting on a pyrotechnic show. sicily's mt. etna began spewing ash and lava into the air yesterday. a long stream of lava flowed one that slope, as you can see there.

taking a look now at morning road conditions. wetten i-55, from new orleans to st. louis. also on i-40 across tennessee. flooding on i-10, from baton rouge to new orleans and mobile. rain slick on i-70, from st. louis to pittsburgh. and on i-80, from chicago to cleveland. >> and if you're flying, delays are possible in minneapolis, chicago, detroit, memphis, new orleans and charlotte. thousands of residents living along the mississippi river could be flooded out as soon as tomorrow. >> government engineers are expected to open a massive spillway along the river to spare larger cities. nose in rural areas, they stand to lose everything. jim avila reports, now, from morgan city, louisiana. >> reporter: the heart of the flood zone. stevensville, louisiana. and the children of the only elementary school here are moving their classes to higher ground. >> i got you, three. >> reporter: the clock is ticking for working-class stevensville.

>> we're told, it's going to be one for the books. and if that's the case, we have to take every precautions to protect our desks, chairs and children, too. >> reporter:tephensville is one of several towns that could be swept away. it's a position the army corps could make to save the bigger cities of new orleans and baton rouge down the river. >> i know it's necessary they do what they've got to do. but still, i guess in a way, i am a little angry. >> reporter: we're circling over the floodgates right now. there's 125 individual gates. if and when the army corps of engineers decides to open them, wattser will spill from there, on to farmland. leaving a devastating footprint. but if the gates stay closed, levees along the mississippi may not be able to take the re. pressure. leading to breeches and failures, that in worst case, would flood new orleans, leaving a disaster worse than katrina. louisiana governor, bobby jindal, took a look at the louisiana spillway, nearly

filled to the prim. it's not his call. but he's heard the anger. >> all of the emotion, that energy, get ready for this storm. get ready. move their property out of harm's way. >> reporter: which is why in central louisiana, it's moving day. jim avila, abc news, morgan city, louisiana. and residents who lose their land will not get reimbursed since the government owns the right to flood at any time. and a sailboat crew is breathing a sigh of relief after a terrifying encounter over the coast of oregon. the boat, "l'orca," when a 20-foot whale took a leap out of the water. >> a while looked to be a humpback whale about 30 feet in length, roughly. hit the mast, about half-way to three-quarters of the way up. and proceeded to fall forward

and on the star board side of the boat. >> the whale left this blubber onboard. thanksfully, the crew there was not injured. luc >> lucky guys. in the sports world, new doubts about tiger woods and golf. he rawed from the players championship, after playing nine holes. he limped off the course. the question now is whether he can recover in time for the u.s. open, which is five weeks away. we get more highlights, now, from espn news. >> good morning. the eastern conference finals is set in the nba. it's going to be the heat and the bulls. derrick rose, and the bulls hoping to close out their series with the hawks. third quarter. rose in tran decision. budozen. dozen. later, bulls up 14. carlos boozer who asserted himself on thursday night at 23 and 10. 61-45, bulls. and they never looked back. fourth quarter.

they were up. luol deng, wide-open. bulls win, 93-73. it will be the bulls and the heat in the eastern conference finals. to the ice. antti niemi and the sharks hosting game seven of the western conference finals. sharks leading 2-1. patrick marleau tipping it in for the goal. setoguchi getting it past howard. third of the playoffs for him. later in the third, pavel datsyuk with a three-on-one. his backhander, past niemi for the goal. four for datsyuk in the playoffs. red wings fell 3-2. under a minute to go. datsyuk, the slap shot. niemi says, i don't think so. sharks win it. they advance to face the canucks in the western conference final. round one of the players championship at sawgrass. and tiger woods would not farewell. 4th hole, after going in the water once. he finds the drink again. tiger, triple-bogey, the 4th.

9th hole, putting for par opinion and his putt comes up short. he bogeyed the 9th and withdrew from the tournament. and that will do it for this espn news update. i'm will selva. looks like the producers of "two and a half men," have found a big enough star to replace charlie sheen. i think it's a pretty good pick. >> drumroll, please. ashton kutcher is putting the final touches on a deal to join the show this fall. he hasn't confirmed the deal just yet. but he did tweet, what's the square root of 6.25. the answer, 2 1/2. >> he's big on twitter. >> huge online. a clever way. he did confirm it. we'll see. coming up, afraid of friday the 13th? you're not alone. we have a friday the 13th story around here. and we'll have more on our top story, as well. al qaeda's revenge threat

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and now, a look ahead at the stories we'll be watching this friday. the death toll could go higher after a deadly attack on paramilitary recruits in pakistan. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. this, in retaliation for the death of osama bin laden. security is significantly increased this morning around the kenya home of president obama's stepgrandmother.

the stepped-up patrol comes as a result of a threat against sarah obama, issued by an african branch of al qaeda. the white house is rolling out the red carpet for rebel leaders. libya. texas congressman ron paul announces he will make another run for the white house. he will make the official announcement live today on "good morning america." and of course, today is friday the 13th. people across the country and beyond are bracing for some bad luck. researchers say some 20 million am affecte affected by fear on this day, refraining from flying and other stuff they would normally do. >> there's a name for this. >> i'll let folks read it on the screen. >> yeah. one of those things. i think i have it. coming up later on "good morning america," angry reaction continues to pour in after our story about the mother who

injected her 8-year-old daughter with botox. >> now, child welfare is looking into the case. the latest coming up on "gma." [ lane ] here's the trouble with some anti-wrinkle creams.

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next at 4:30. bart looks at a new possibility to address rider complaints more quickly. unfriendly accusations against facebook. evidence that the social network tried to smear google. lisa argen has our forecast. >> one more sunny and mild day before the weather takes a big change for the weekend. >> join us well, finally from us this morning, unexpected side effect from the raid to kill osama bin laden. >> navy s.e.a.l.s found an

herible sex booster in bin laden's compound. and now, that is selling here at home. >> we do. but we're sold out right now. no kidding. >> reporter: business has certainly picked up here at flower power in the east village. when navy s.e.a.l.s killed osama bin laden notice his pakistan compound, the special forces left with a small treasure of intelligence. among the recovered items, oat seed, a supplement commonly called the herbal viagra. >> for more energy. it regulates the adrenal glands. >> reporter: kennedy claims the supplement increases libido and sperm count. since the story broke for lynn bauden's need for the seed, sales have increased by 50%. the alcohol extract of the herb

costs about $12 an ounce. we learned that maca, can boost the sex drive. as well as ep medium. and damiana. meanwhile, dr. david kaufman says there's no evidence that supports the sexual benefits of herbal supplements. he says, if you want viagra, take viagra. >> it improves the neurotransmitter release, necessary for erection. that's different than rolled oats. >> reporter: osama bin laden, like many other people, could have taken oat seed to reduce stress, lower his cholesterol and calm his nerves. >> it's good for people of all ages. it's good for men, women, children. >> reporter: being the most-wanted man in the world, it's understandable how osama bin laden might have suffered from stress. in the east village, i'm joe torres, channel 7, eyewitness news. >> for everything. >> found all