we begin with a developing story this friday morning. >> bombshell new details about the u.s. soldier accused of a murderous rampage on an afghan village as the military flies him back to the u.s. as soon as today. severe storms. another rare winter twister caught on camera. it touches down, tearing apart an entire subdivision. lines have been growing throughout the night. a few hours before these people unwrap their new ipads. and stepping out into space. the daredevil sky diver jumping from 13 miles up. good morning, i'm t.j. winick in for rob nelson.

>> and i'm paula faris. happy friday, everyone. there are major developments this morning in the case of a u.s. soldier accused of killing afghan civilians. he could be moved to a military prison in the united states as soon as today. >> and we might learn his name this morning. we're joined by tahman bradley in washington with more. >> reporter: the lawyer for the accused soldier says he doesn't have all the facts. he offered new details into the soldier's mind set the night of the rampage. the lawyer for the u.s. army staff sergeant accused of killing 16 civilians is painting a better picture of the man who allegedly carried out the massacre. john henry brown said the day before the shooting, his client saw a fellow soldier's leg blown off. >> we have been informed at the small base he was at somebody was gravely injured before the alleged incident. it affected all of the soldiers.

>> reporter: the incident has not been independently confirmed. brown also described his client as a high le decorated soldier with no past misbehavior. they thought he was done fighting before he was deployed. >> he was told he was not going to be deployed. i think it would be fair to say that he and the family were not happy that he was going back. >> reporter: officials tell the new york times that the suspect snapped under strain from stress related to his deployment and from domestic issues back home. a claim brown denied. >> i don't know where it came from, it's quite offensive to the family and to us that there was some sort of suggestion that there was discord in the family. it is untrue. >> reporter: tensions in afghanistan remain high. hamid karzai is demanding that nato pull troops out of areas and speed up handing over security to afghan forces.

afghans are furious that u.s. officials removed him from the country. they would like to see him put on public trial in afghanistan. paula and t.j.? >> tahman bradley in washington. thank you, tahman. our other big story this morning. another powerful tornado zeros in on the midwest. this time in southeastern south central michigan. >> here's what it looked like last night as the twister descended on the town of dexter. you can hear the people behind the camera planning to take cover if it comes their way. by the time it was over, more than 100 homes were damaged. tara edwards from our detroit station is there. >> reporter: walking through the subdivision, you can see it is truly a disaster area. the tornado that ripped through tore off second floors of homes and leveled a couple of homes. >> we have a couple of windows here knocked out. >> and it hit -- i thought it only hit on this side of the house from what i was listening to, until i walked out and saw

the garage was missing. >> reporter: bob moved into his home in 1999, when it was brand new. he's amazed at the destruction the twister left behind. >> it just kept swirling. it didn't look like it was moving. >> reporter: many mothers here said they heard the warning on tv. within minutes, it was here. >> we shut the door and prayed and held hands. we called our husbands and said not to come home. >> reporter: luckily no one died. amazingly, no one was injured. the cleanup is expected to take weeks. tara edwards, abc news, dexter. >> you don't normally see twisters that far north this early. it already feels like summer with temperatures hitting the upper 70s. and that warm weather pattern means we won't have the extreme flooding we have seen in past years. there are no snowpacks this year for spring rains to melt. president obama is on the road today, attending campaign events in chicago and atlanta.

the president just rolled out a new strategy in his re-election bid. it's a 17-minute film that includes a never before seen clip of bill clinton defending the auto bailout. >> if you closed all the auto dealer ships and close the suppliers, people have no idea what would have happened to the economy and our self-impaj. image. >> meanwhile, vice president biden called out mitt romney, newt gingrich and rick santorum for their failure to support that bailout. today, mitt romney travels to puerto rico. ahead of the primary this weekend. he has deep pockets but the long and messy campaign is starting to strain even his finances. we saw this interesting number. he's spent about $90,000 for each delegate he's won. in contrast, sharp contrast, rick santorum has spent about $29,000 per delegate. one person that doesn't have to worry about campaign cash is george clooney.

during a photo op in the white house driveway yesterday, the actor and activist ruled out any official run for office. he was leaving an oval office meeting with the president over the humanitarian crisis in the south sudan. time for the weather. pouring rain in the pacific northwest and california. get the umbrellas out. and then get the shovels out, because you'll have heavy snow in the sierra nevada and the rockies. thunderstorms scattered showers from the midwest and ohio valleys into the deep south and gulf coast. >> mostly 80s from new orleans to atlanta. 61 here in new york city. 51 up in boston. >> boston? >> upper 70s in the middle of the country. phoenix warms up to 83. salt lake city to 72. >> no denying where you're from. how is that again? >> boston. coming up, the president considering a plan to ease the high gas prices. and lining up for apple's

new ipad. we asked the experts, if you've already got one, should you really get the new one? and actor russell brand under arrest. we're right back. brand c@c@c@c@c@c@c@c@c@c@c@c@@

they just can't wait any longer. take a look at these diehard fans of the ipad. they've been waiting all night for the latest edition, which goes on sale this morning. the apple website has been sold out of ipads for delivery today for about a week. should you rush out and get one?

it will cost you at least $500. and other tablets areless expensive. or the ipad you already have may be all that you need. to figure. we could be satisfied with that. technology adviser joanna stern advises whether to upgrade. >> if they have the ipad 1, it's definitely worth upgrading. if you have the ipad 2, you could hold off and wait for the next generation. >> it might be worth the upgrade for the improved display. and just on ipad anticipation, apple's stock hit $600 a share at one point yesterday. and shares of the asian suppliers were up. tokyo's nikkei average was up 7 points today. hong kong's hang seng was down 24. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow rose 59 points yesterday. the nasdaq index gained 16. help could be on the way for motorists. president obama is considering

releasing some of the country's strategic petroleum reserve. to bring down gasoline prices. there's no final decision and no time tanl on one. gas prices are up 31 cents a in the past month. and if the prices are not bad enough, scammers have found new ways to get you at the pump. they install skimming devices on self-serve gas pumps that copy your credit card information. and they can clone your card and use it elsewhere. and all because of these little things, worker productivity is taking its annual march madness nosedive. it's estimated workers waste 13 1/2 minutes every time they check their brackets. that, plus watching the game at work costs employers $175 million yesterday and today alone. might as well take a personal day or a, sick day. >> i think you're coming down with something. >> i think i am. more sports from espn coming

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another look now at a destructive tornado that plowed through the southeastern corner of michigan. just to recap, the twister ripped apart more than 100 homes in the town of dexer last night. it caused fires and flooding and toppled trees. fortunately no one was injured. >> dexter just around the corner from ann arbor. ice and snow on parts of i-15, 84, and 90 in the northern rockies and cascade. wet at times on i-10, 20, and 40 in the south and i-70 from indianapolis to pittsburgh. if you're flying today, airport delays possible in atlanta, boston, new york, and san francisco. a suburban atlanta man is

found guilty but mentally ill for the murder of man outside a day care center. >> that's right. hemy neuman said an angel with the voice of olivia newton-john and a demon with the voice of barry white encouraged him to kill his lover's husband. >> i am so, so sorry. i can't say it enough. i can't say enough to all of you. to the precious children. all five of them. to the sneidermans, the greenbergs, my friends, family, and community at large. i'm sorry. >> he'll spend the rest of his life in prison and receive mental health treatment. former illinois governor rod blagojevich is now a federal inmate. just before noon yesterday, the convicted criminal walked into a low-security prison just outside denver to begin his 14-year sentence. he says he has faith he'll be released early on appeal. and actor russell brand was

arrested in new orleans over a confrontation with a photographer. he turned himself in yesterday after police issued an arrest warrant. tmz says he snatched a photographer's iphone, threw it out the window. he did reimburse that photographer for damages. brand tweeted yesterday that since steve jobs' he cannot bear to see anyone use an iphone irreverently. questions about the safety of carnival rides in texas. after a little girl there was injured. this amateur video shows the 3-year-old girl flying off a ride after she apparently slipped under the restraints. she suffered a concussion but will be okay. now there's a dispute whether the child should have been allowed on the ride in the first place. well, a robber in oregon clearly picked the wrong target. the suspect tried to spray a substance in the deli owner's face and reach to the cash register. but the victim tired back, pulling out a baseball bat and

tearing into his head so hard the bat broke. luckily for the robber, he was using a motorcycle helmet as a mask. he got away but with no money. >> he hobbled away. march madness is now under way. you may be hobbling in your bracket. 16 games today in round one. good luck, everybody. for pro hoops, we turn to espn news. good morning, and welcome to your espn news update. i'm zubin mehenti. sidney crosby back on the ice for the first time since december 5th. battling concussion issues. he missed 40 games. taking on the rangers. pittsburgh has remained one of the nhl's hottest teams, thanks to evgeni malkin. 2-1, penguins. crosby, 16 minutes of ice time. working his magic behind the net. he had an assist. plus three for the pens. when he was on the ice. beautifully done for the 24-year-old, when healthy, the

best player in the world. later in the third, kris letang. a defensive force for them. also coming back from an injury. on the ice for all five pittsburgh goals. including that one from pascal dupuis. penguins win it, 5-2. they have won ten in a row. thunder and the nuggets in the nba. the mile-high city. kevin durant. the steal. the score. he had 24. counts, and the foul. the nuggets trying to fight back. danilo gallinari, missed quite a bit of time this year with the injury. denver, 6-2 since the all-star break, down three. too much from k.d. wow, one more look. that's why he's the nba's back-to-back scoring champion. thunder now up nine. durant. more work. russell westbrook. part of the dynamic duo in oklahoma city. he had 23. thunder roll to an easy win,

they've beaten the nugget four straight times. that is your espn news update. i'm zubin mehenti. have a great weekend. are you going to be watching any college basketball games? >> i will. i went 12-4 in my first day. and i fully plan on dominating over the weekend. i'm going 16-0 in my bracket today. >> don't get cocky. >> pride cometh before the fall. >> it starts off easy and gets more and more difficult as the teams get knocked off. a nice first day. >> well, average. an australia daredevil has stunt.o great heights for his i don we mean that literally. i don't think we would do that, do you? >> never, never. >> felix plummeted to earth from

more than 13 miles up. >> he was in free fall for almost four minutes before pulling the rip cord. >> no, thank you. >> he got up to speeds of 364 miles an hour. this, my friends, is just a dress rehearsal for a record. breaking leap this summer. that one, 23 miles. >> can you imagine that? he'll have to be in free fall for seven minutes. how does your body withstand that? >> it boggles the mind. up next, animals gone wild in "the pulse." and the blog you'll want to waste time on today. naps happen. we're right back. [ molly ] wash your paws, mr. man! [ female announcer ] think your kids are getting a dependable clean -in the bathroom? -[ gasps ] [ female announcer ] think again. try charmin ultra strong. for a clean that passes inspection with fewer pieces left behind. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. now who's the man? you both are. [ female announcer ] we all go.

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you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. in this morning's "pulse" the call of the wild. animals like you have never seen before. in this case, animals you may have never seen. >> take a look at this giant manta ray. accidentally caught by the crew of an oil rig. what a shock to the oil workers. talk about your childhood night nears, a four-foot california king snake in a new york man's toilet. he grabbed a broom. so did the snake. he tried spraying an all-natural cleezer on it. he called the building supervisor. he called a plumber.

>> how about closing the door and calling 911? a canada goose is attacking people in an office building packing lot. she's defending her nest. an expert on canada goose management has been called in. she's using her dogs to try to scare the birds away. and finally, the human animal and proof that beds are completely overrated. >> especially if you're a toddler. when alicia noticed her two sons had a penchant for napping in the strangest places, she started capturing it on camera. >> he's not alone. she began blogging about it. parents from all over essential pictures of their kids. they're so cute and peaceful when they sleep. and then they wake up and not so much. they run all day, when you gotta nap, you gotta nap. for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, your friday funnies.

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next, battling bullets as they are battling flames. the unwanted twist that made one fire all but impossible to fight. crowds waiting for apple to open not everyone is waiting to buy a new ipad some are wait protest it. >> mike is tracking another storm. drizzle, lighter rain for the morning flooding rain on the way this evening. updating the top story, the u.s. soldier accuse offed of killing afghan civilians could

be on u.s. soil by tepid of the day. there are reports he'll be september to fort lech wofrt, kansas. a tornado slammed into the town of dexter last night. fortunately, no one was hurt. on a lighter note, customers are waiting in line for the new apple ipod. looking at today's weather, scattered showers and thunderstorms from the midwest and ohio valley into the deep south. severe storms in texas and oklahoma. more downforce and heavy moin tan snow in the northwest. finally from us this friday morning, politics were topic number one for the late night comics this week. >> that's right. here now, your "friday funnies." >> so did newt win the south? rick santorum won alabama and. . . and mitt romney won hawaii and american s oorks moa. a little mnemonic device to help

you remember. places that you could go to in a w winnebago go to santorum. and places you could go by private jet or yacht go to romney. >> a long painful slog. >> this is great. now, republicans get that hillary versus obama magic, minus any women or black people. or -- or magic. >> meanwhile, rick santorum spoke yesterday at what they call the gulf coast energy summit in biloxi, mississippi. he said he believes global warming is bogus. when he speaks about climate science, you listen because as you can see her, he looks a lot like a local weatherman. thanks, rick. now here's newt with sports.

>> rick santorum is not writing off the islands. ye yesterday, he went to puerto rico to pick some delegates. he did not pander when the subject turned to what puerto rico would have to do to become a state. saying, like any other state there needs to be compliance with federal law, and that is that english needs to be the principal language. folks. folks, it takes serious cohones to go to puerto rico and tell them to stop saying cohones. >> they're loving this material, aren't they? >> absolutely. the gift that keeps on giving. well that's what's making news in america this morning. stay with us for "good morning america." stay with us for "good morning america." have a great friday and a closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc