making news in america this morning -- >> derby death. police investigating after a body is found in a churchill downs just hours after the kentucky derby. french fallout. why france's new president may be bad for your 401(k). supermovie. "the avengers" smashes records. and appears well on its way to the billionaire's club. and lesson learned. a guy makes the mistake of getting out of his car on the highway. just wait until you see what happens next. and good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on assignment. investigators in kentucky are waiting on the results of an autopsy for new clues in the

derby murder case. >> such a bizarre story here. the victim is among the 200 or so employ eyes that work and live there at churchill downs. for the latest, tahman bradley. >> reporter: over the weekend, storied churchill downs host de then turned into a crime scene. police are searching for clues this morning after the body of a 48-year-old guatemalan worker, adon perez, was found in a barn. >> you never want to hear something like that. it takes away a little bit, some of the excitement of winning the race. >> reporter: perez apparently worked as a horse groomer for the brother of three-time kentucky derby winner calvin burrell. an autopsy is scheduled for later today. police are treating the case as a homicide. >> there is foul play involved. however, we don't have an exact cause of death.

we'll await the coroner's report for details. >> reporter: perez's body was found on the backside of churchill downs and his death raises questions about security and about what some call an underbelly of horse racing. immigrant workers performing heavy labor, caring for prized thoroughbreds, at low wages. >> working with horses is a tough job. you're up at the crack of dawn, before dawn. it's more than a job, it's a way of life. >> reporter: authorities have no suspects. they say the death has no apparent connection with the derby. >> not a great way to end such a great event. >> reporter: this death is the second on the grounds of churchill downs in about a year. shortly after last year's derby, a jockey was found dead in his car after an accidental drug overdose. rob and sunny? >> tahman bradley live in washington for us. thanks, tahman. we're also following a developing story from overnight. a new video released by al qaeda shows captured american warren weinstein. in the videoe'll he'll be

killed unless president obama agrees to the terrorist's demands, which include stopping air strikes in afghanistan and pakistan the 70-year-old the 70-year-old hostage was taken from his home in pakistan last august. meanwhile, one of the most wanted terrorists in the world has been killed in a cia drone strike in yemen. he was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his car. he was a key figure in the bombing of the "uss cole" off the coast of yemen. back in 2000. 17 american sailors died in that attack. in guantanamo, the self-proclaimed master mind of the 9/11 attacks and four alleged accomplices were arraigned over the weekend. but the defendants refused to cooperate and took frequent prayer breaks, stretching the proceedings well into the night. an attorney for one of them says it's peaceful resistance. >> this will be a long, hard-fought but peaceful struggle against secrecy, torture, and the misguided institution of the military commissions. >> some of the victims' families arrived in guantanamo to watch

the hearing while others watched at bases here in the mainland. the trial probably won't begin until some time next year. overseas markets are tumbling this morning. a reaction to the seismic election in france. president nicolas sarkozy with the tough talk on austerity, and his supermodel wife is out. and francois hollande is in. that makes people nervous. the parliamentary vote in greece put their austerity plan in jeopardy as well. in moscow, some people took people took to the streets of advance of today's inauguration of vladimir putin. a small group broke away from the approved march route, authorities cracked down. now to politics back here, where president obama is battling for his own second term. he officially kicked off his

re-election campaign this weekend. outcome will depend mostly on the economy. but the president's running mate brought up another hot topic. >> i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying. are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. quite frankly, i don't see much of a distinction beyond that. >> president obama has never gone quite that far, saying only that his views are evolving. the campaign issued a statement saying the vice president was not breaking ranks. two americans detained in iran accused of spying are now husband and wife. shane bauer and sarah shourd got married saturday in a private ceremony. bauer proposed to shourd while they were both being held inira. iranian prison. their friend and fellow captive,

josh fattal, was the best man. >> some stories do get happy ending. a much calmer day in store for southern kansas afteof stor. took a pounding of storms. look at this funnel cloud. it touched down briefly near a major interstate. no reports of serious injuries or damage. scary skies there. time for a look at weather from across the country on this monday morning. severe weather with a chance of tornadoes around cleveland, detroit, nashville, and memphis, louisville, and little rock. afternoon showers and thunderstorms from houston to atlanta. up to a half foot of snow in the colorado rockies. >> 49 in colorado springs. 69 in salt lake city. a sizzling 91 in phoenix. 65 in fargo. 70 in minneapolis and kansas city. 80s from dallas to atlanta. sunny in the northeast with 60s from boston to baltimore. and coming up on "america this morning" after the break -- big news for people on a gluten-free diet. and a new tool in the battle of the bulge. researchers say they may have a way to make bad fat disappear.

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call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. welcome back, everybody. the french e lengs is taking a toll big time on overseas markets. tokyo's nikkei average dropped 261 points today. hong kong's hang seng plunged 572. in london, the ftse was closed 0 points last week.

the nasdaq off about 113. more good news at the pump. the average price for a gallon of gas is now $3.78. there's less demand and oil prices are below $100 a br the for the first time since february. people on gluten free diets will soon have access to one of life's necessitie home-delivered pizza. about 1 in 14 americans cannot consume products made from wheat, barly, and rye. it was a marvel louse weekend at the movies. with "the avengers" breaking records. the superhero action film took in over $200 million. the biggest debut ever. that's $30 more than the previous record-holder, the final "harry er" film.

>> very impressive. when we come back, fighting fat with fat. scientists may have found a new way to shed the extra pounds. and a desperate search for a mother and her daughters. the incredible collision of man and machine. we'll show you what happened next.

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flooding on parts of i-90 from chicago to cleveland. wet on i-40 across tennessee. afternoon storms dampened things along the west coast. if you're flying today, airport delays possible in detroit, memphis, chicago, and atlanta. now there's an intense manhunt under way this morning for the man suspected of kidnapping a tennessee mother and her three daughters. >> a discovery over the weekend of adam mays' home. >> reporter: the search for joanne and her three drawers, now missing for nine days, is growing more desperate after two bodies were found in this alpine, mississippi, home. the fbi following the trail of this man, adam mays, who they say kidnapped the 31-year-old along with the three girls. >> time is critical.

you have two people dead. and two possibly in peril. every minute counts. >> reporter: investigators need autopsy results to confirm the identities of those bodies. meanwhile, they believe mays has changed his appearance and that of the girls. he's described as a trusted friend of bane's husband. helping the family with a move to arizona in this days before the alleged kidnapping last friday. the mother's abandoned suv was found two days later not far from her whiteville, tennessee, home. police say they spoke to mays that day. he gave them misleading information then disappeared tuesday. the fbi tells me hundreds of tips have been pouring in. there is a $50,000 reward being offered. what is making the investigation so difficult is that police have no information on what kind of vehicle mays may be driving. tanya rivero, abc news, new york. in other news, john edwards'

corruption trial will begin its third week this week. a lawyer for a wealthy donor, bunny mellon, said she was told that john edwards knew that the money was given for his benefit. jurors will be asked to decide whether he few about it. good news in the battle of the bulge. researchers at harvard say they have found a way to turn bad foot into good fat. scientists say they is transform it into foot that burns calories. a room full of psychiatrists in philadelphia today are holding a hearing to discuss whether the name of the combat-related condition should be changed to post-traumatic stress injury. they say dropping the word

disorder will help remove some of the stigma. a dramatic memorial for junior say yaw this weekend. they formed a circumstance until the water, they prayed, and even chanted seau's name. he was often seen there riding the waives. the knicks fighting to save their season. the lakers looking to take a commanding lead in their series. here's the highlights. hi, i'm max bretos. the knicks down to the heat. bibby to anthony. we're tied at 75-75. then it's miami's turn. dwyane wade. he has 22. heat up two. knicks swing it out to mike bibby. like pons deleon, finding the

fountain of youth. lebron ties it. under 1:00 to play. how many times have we seen this. carmelo, a couple of dribbles, pull up, drains the three. a game-high 41 for melo. james, that, against the nba defensive player of the year, tyson chandler. it's a one-point game. a two-point lead. wade for three, no. the new york knicks will force game five. they win it, 89-87. kobe bryant and the lakers facing the nuggets. up 2-1 in the series. fourth quarter, lakers up two, kobe. the four-point edge. just over 1:00 to play in the fourth. nuggets down two. danilo gallinari. tied at 86-86. moments later, the nuggets unable to convert. miller got his finger on it. wave it off. no basket.

basket interference. ensuing lakers possession. how about kobe? maybe the biggest shot this steve blake's career. the lakers win it by four. and monday night baseball. a great game in the highly competitive n.l. east. the mets visit the phillies. 7:00 tonight. well, a dashboard camera in russia has captured a collision that is almost painful to watch. >> for sure. this video shows a busy highway. cars move something fast, they don't notice a guy has gotten out of his car. wait for it. not until it's too late do they se he's apparently just fine except for a broken leg. >> a good lesson. don't get out of your car. >> the guy's okay. tough to watch. up next, "the pulse." shaquille o'neal has a new title. why you can now call him dr.

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now you can just call him dr. o'neal. >> four-time nba champion shaquille o'neal received his docket rat degree over the weekend. he wrote his thesis on humaner in leadership. he now plans to gro to law school. >> it's a true, legit ph.d.. go, shaq. >>hink any of us will soon forget the so-called tanning mom. >> hard to get that picture out of your head. patricia krentcil was accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter in the tanning bed with her. you knew "saturday night live" would have a little fun at her expense. >> joining us now, the tanning mom, patricia krentcil. >> hello, seth. sorry about the smoke. i just came from the en ttannin.

>> i goat to get out of here and tan. gotta show you this trick. piece of bread, put it between my thighs. >> oh, brilliant. that story is so easy to have fun with. >> the jokes write themselves. the refrls we are on all fours for a cinco de mayo celebration over the weekend. the dogs got dressed up for a costume party. they came as every colorful character their owners could come up with. >> poor dogs. organizers we are hoping to break a record for the most costumed dogs. they fell way short of the 700 they were hoping for. everyone had a great time any way. >> for some of you, your local news is next.

for everyone else, we'll be right back with "the avengers" writing a new script for hollywood. the capital one cash rewards card

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new video showing a u.s. hostage in the hands of al-qaeda. overnight home invasion ends with one man shot. >> meteorologist mike knee quo our heatwave. -- some of us may be left out by the afternoon. i'll tell you where the updating the top stories. autopsy results may provide important new clues into the murder of a track worker at

churchill downs. his bodice covered just hours after the kentucky derby. u.s. officials are working to confirm the identity of a top al qaeda leader who was killed by a u.s. drone. nicolas sarkozy lost the election. it raises doubts about europe's debt crisis. snow in the rockies. severe weather in the ohio hi and tennessee valleys. afternoon thunderstorm from houston to atlanta. the northeast, sunny and temps in the 60s. finally from us this morning, another look at the box office superheroes delivering a record ka-pow to the competition. >> "the avengers" raked in over $200 million over the weekend. the biggest u.s. opening >>ever. >> reporter: a team of superheros so powerful, not only

do they save the world -- they've done something even more remarkable. knocking harry potter off his pedestal. the final installment of the "harry potter" franchise held the domestic record for box office. $168 million. "the avengers" $200 million comfortably beats that. eclipsing over movies. batman, the dark knight. and the hunger games took in $150 million in their first three days. >> i think we're looking at, by far, the biggest summer ever. "avengers" is blowing the doors open. >> reporter: it's being called an "ocean's 11" in spandex. ironman, black widow, captain america, thor, and the incredible hulk. >> this should by all accounts

not work. these characters do not belong together. this movie is impossible. >> reporter: in the box office, as in the script, the whole is more important than the sum of the parts. >> i think they've written a new formula. >> reporter: the movie has opened in 52 countries, including russia, china, and e avengers" case, it translates into $441 in foreign revenues, a worldwide total so far that is bigger than the entire u.s. run of "titanic." "the awe vengers" is truly breaking the mold. david wright, abc news, hollywood. >> superheroes. supermoney. >> yes. well that's what's making news in america this morning. stay w "good in america this morning. stay w "good morning oram closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc