>> the republicans want the sequester to go forward. they want the sequester to go forward. they said so. >> we don't have a revenue problem. we have a spending problem. and it's time to get serious about it. >> reporter: the white house says the pain caused by the deep spending cuts may not be immediate. but cabinet secretaries touched on the potential widespread impact. >> tens of thousands of teachers will potentially lose their jobs. >> i don't think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country. >> reporter: still, some are brushing it off. >> i would suggest that the majority leader, the president and his cabinet, put down the beltway cool aid because they are predicting a disaster that will not occur. >> i don't think, personally, that my job is going to be one of the ones that's cut. >> reporter: parents in virginia, where services will be drastically cut.

>> cuts and stuff involving young children shouldn't be made because the program for young children builds adults they will be in the future. >> reporter: congress has gone home for the weekend, even as leaders head to the white house to try and avert these cuts. john and diana, back to you. >> an important day ahead. preeti arla in washington. thank you. people forced out of their homes. this fast-moving fire in riverside coming close to buildings. power lines came down, leaving thousands of residents in the dark. embers may be to blame for setting a mobile home on fire. now, to what's next for the catholic church, as the former pope begins his retirement. benedict's final appearance was yesterday at the usual papal retreat. when the doors were closed and the swiss guards left their post, benedict was no longer the

church's leader. at the same time, they were sealing the papal apartment at the vatican with that symbolic red ribbon. abc's david wright tells us about some of the candidates. >> reporter: save these images. in all likelihood, one of them is the new pope. maybe angelo bagnasco, the son of a baker. or angelo scola, the son of a truck driver. italian power players, both. italians have the home court advantage. one out of every six votes in the conclave. >> cardinal scola, bagnasco mentioned more and more. but these names are being floated right now without much conviction, frankly, among all the people i'm talking to. >> reporter: europe has more votes in the conclave than africa, asia, latin america and north america put together. a canadian could be a compromise that gives a nod to the new world. marc ouellet grew up in a tiny quebec village. he played ice hockey. still does. not that he'd be the first pope to do so.

cardinal maradiaga of honduras plays saxophone. and cardinal luis antonio tagle of the philippines hosts a tv show. >> you say i am a king. >> reporter: peter turkson of ghana is african and may bring incremental change to the church's stance on condom use. christoph schonborn has the pedigree to be pope. schonborn is also a long time friend of benedict's. an outspoken of the church's handling of the sex abuse scandal, saying the days of the coverup are over. change won't come overnight. but it will come, assure as tomorrow. david wright, abc news, rome. in the run-up to the conclave, count on abc news for the very latest information from rome. now, to a major development in the battle over gay marriage. the white house is urging the supreme court to overturn california's ban on same-sex marriage. california is one of eight states that gives gay couples all the benefits of marriage between partnerships or civil unions but don't allow them to

wed. the high court will hear the case later this month. mitt and ann romney are speaking out together for the first time since last year's presidential election. romney and his wife have given an interview to fox news. and they talked about life since the end of the campaign. >> we were on a rollercoaster. exciting and thrilling. ups and downs. but the ride ends. and then, you get off. >> in our church, we're used to serving. and you can be in a very high position. but you recognize you're serving. and you're released and you're nobody. and we're used to that. >> reporter: the romneys have spent most of their time since november in southern california. he addresses a big conservative conference in washington two weeks from today. a touching moment at the west point burial of general norman schwarzkopf. the commander graduated in 1956, going on to an outstanding

career. he was buried there near his father. turning to the weather, now, time for a look at what it's doing across the nation. snow in several regions. but none have significant accumulations in their way. showers in the pacific northwest. and some clouds in the sunshine state. >> temperatures will be about ten degrees below normal. in the 40s along the east coast. and below normal in the northern plains. near record-highs for the southwest and in southern california. and coming up, "modern family" payday. one of the teen stars scores a major pay rise. an abc news exclusive. the troubles adding up for lance armstrong. new details emerging overnight. and afraid to jump. so, she gets a push. but did this young couple's relationship survive the plunge? more next, when we come back.

welcome back. we're likely to set another record this year for gasoline. even though prices are leveling off, we're on-track to pay $500 billion for gas this year. and that's the most ever. as a result, we've sharply cut our consumption. this morning the average price is $3.78 a gallon. about the same as a week ago but 42 cents more than a month ago. a day after groupon reported a dismal quarter, its 32-year-old ceo and co-founder is out of a job. andrew mason told employees he had been fired. admitting he failed and getting in the way for a second chance for the online deal's site. groupon reported greater than expected losses for the quarter. and a weak revenue outlook for this one. this weekend may be a little quieter. a jewish group says this would be a good time to unplug and

take 24 hours without mobile devices or any other electronics nearby. sabbath manifesto says the national day of unplugging starts tonight at sundown and goes until sundown on saturday. how much the tooth fairly leaves under the pillow may tell us something about the economy. kids get an average of 2.50 bucks per tooth. wow. that's 15% more than last year and way more than i got. the tooth fairy visits nearly all homes with children. and in 46% of the families, the tooth fairy leaves $1 more for the first tooth. very interesting. >> i got $1 each time. >> did you really? >> i did. thanks, mom. >> coins or a bill? >> bills. thank you, mom. a 15-year-old actress doesn't need a tooth fairy. don't we all wish we could be her? several websites are reporting that ariel winter of the abc hit "modern family" has a giant, new contract. the details came out in court documents filed in a battle over her legal guardianship. that is a new deal. and it's worth more than $6 million.

>> not too shabby. next on friday, a party on a plane. passengers practicing a new dance craze. now, they may be in trouble, believe it or not. and he's making a connection that no official diplomat has been able to do. dennis rodman in north korea. ♪ [ woman ] too weak. wears off. been there. tried that. ladybug body milk? no thanks. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. it's so powerful you can skip a day... but light enough you won't want to. dermatologist recommended eucerin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. ♪ i got it made, i got it made ♪ i got it made ♪ fresh at subway

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take a look at this dramatic video this morning of a fiery semi, which crashed on a highway in iowa. fire crews had to use an end loader to push it over the overpass so it wouldn't spread to a second trailer. the driver managed to jump from the cab right after that crash. and amazingly, he wasn't hurt. let's look at morning road conditions. lake-effect snow in upstate new york and new england. wet surfaces in the pacific

northwest. other than light snow in the midwest, there's nothing to worry about across most of the middle of the country. >> and if you're flying, you're in luck. there should be no major airport delays due to the weather. this morning, more legal problems for lance armstrong. about's neal karlinsky reports, armstrong was slapped late yesterday by a lawsuit by an insurance company in nebraska. >> acceptance insurance company is seeking $3 million, plus bonuses. now, it wants to depose armstrong, which he's resisted in other cases in an attempt to avoid other cases. cases have armstrong on the hook potentially for over $100 million. now, to the unfolding mystery from the westminster dog show. the owner says there's a chance her prize samoyed named cruz was deliberately poisoned at the show. the dog died several years later. the owner suspects an animal

rights activist may have slipped rat poison in his cage. a spokesperson says they would never condone killing an animal. in indianapolis, a judge is expected to decide. a woman who claimed the $9.5 million prize is being sued by seven fellow hairdressers. she says she purchased the ticket for them as a group. but she says the ticket she bought was on the side and that's the winning ticket. >> i don't know about that one. how about this one? a plane full of people may be in trouble with the law. all because of this latest dance craze. this new movie of "the harlem shake" sparked an faa investigation. wait for it. that's because it took place on a frontier airline flights. the faa says they may have broken the rules by interfering with the flight crew. they were just having some fun.

>> no fun allowed on the plane. call them the diplomatic odd couple. former nba star dennis rodman and north korea's reclusive leader, kim jong-un. they watched an exhibition basketball game. they later went drinking and dining on sushi. as for criticism about his visit, rodman tweeted, i love everyone. now, for real basketball game highlights from espn. >> hi. i'm hakem dermish with your "sportscenter" update. the lakers owning their opponent last night. lakers have won 20-straight games against the minnesota timberwolves. early first quarter, kobe driving. dunking. second quarter we go. kobe spins. misses the dunk. but he stays with it. good lesson for you youngsters. lakers up seven. under two minutes to go in the first half. kobe, showing why he's just so good.

gets the finger roll to go. lakers up ten at the break. kobe, 22 of his 33 points in the first half. third quarter, lakers connecting some "d." kobe, from the wing. yep. jodie meeks, top of the key. yep. fourth quarter, pulling away. metta world peace gets the turnover. misses the lay-in. but jodie meeks there for the putback. the lakers have won 21-straight games against the timberwolves as they win it 116-94. college hoops. gonzaga taking on byu. cougars rally back. brock gillstrom for three. byu within three. next cougars possession. frank houston. got it. cougars down two. under a minute to play now. olinik, clutch. gets the short jumper. zag wins 70-65.

gonzaga has won 11-straight games. guido is safe. guido the italian sausage costume, used in races during home brewers games. it's now at a police station. >> guido was missing for two weeks. he was seen out at some bars. now after being cleaned up, he will be ready for opening day. guido was dropped off at the same bar he disappeared from. guido's been having some fun. >> good for them. coming up next, "the pulse." a story that is sure to have you talking. pushed off of a cliff. would you relationship survive this? >> you would be in the doghouse. and the college kid who is smarter than you and more talented. we're going to tell you what he's doing here. eat's pretty cool. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid

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♪ might as well jump jump ♪ ♪ might as well jump van halen's song "jump" there. an appropriate musical choice as we start this morning's "pulse." >> they were out in the canyons where a bungee line had been set up. the lady there in the harness, is feeling apprehensive and nervous. needs to take her time. watch what her man does. >> please don't push me off. please don't. [ screams ]

i'm breaking up with you. >> and she wasn't kidding, by the way. that's exactly what she did. they're no longer a couple. the reason for the split was not the push. of course it wasn't. >> yeah. i'd be mad. i really would. >> i think i'd be mad, too. now, a cell phone cover that does more than protect your phone. this little yellow jacket doubles has a stun gun. >> it was perfected over the last year by some grads at louisiana state university. and a reporter at our baton rouge station took it for a test drive. >> the real question is, does this thing pack enough punch to help you out in a bad situation? yeah. it definitely stings. but police say, you should get some training if you plan on buying one. >> wow. the young inventor says they're working on a model for android phones. and a more robust version for policework. that hurt. you can tell. simply amazing. what else can we say about this

guy? he's a stanford undergrad. robbie fernando. he's a talented juggler. >> one of the things he's juggling is a rubick's cube. she's solving the rubick's cube while he's solving it. he also solved the cube without juggling. he can do that trick, oh, by the way, in just under eight seconds. >> that's just crazy. he's obviously doing, like, the math or whatever you want to call it, the sequences in his head. his brain is firing. his dexterous fingers are turning the cube. and he's juggling it. >> he never looked at the rubick's cube. he was doing the whole thing without looking at the rubick's cube. >> some guys have all the luck. >> you have a couple of talents. >> i can juggle. >> tell us about your talents. >> i can juggle. >> you play the guitar. you can juggle. >> what else do i do? i don't know if it's a talent.

i play ping-pong pretty well. >> i got nothing. i can put my legs over my head. >> come on. let's see. drumroll. drumroll. >> everyone just went what? drumroll. >> everyone just went what? not true. ong. i think he puts like maybe two tablespoons in the whole pot, hd 5. so with blonde, i think he gets the flavor that he likes, so he feels more comfortable putting the appropriate amount of coffee in the thing. he does, jerry likes it light. ♪ ♪ two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas. no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy the most. [ woman ] it's as easy as... one! -two. -[ all ] three!

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good friday morning. it is 4:28. thank for joining us. >> it is a foggy morning. 101, was. now, mike nicco will talk about what is going on. >> we have a surge in moisture along the coast with that spilling into the bay. we have fog on 101 and marin county down the peninsula to mountain view at quarter-mile visibility. novato three quarters visibility and quarter-mile visibility in santa rosa. the east bay commute, nothing to worry about. now, what will happen: the fog will not have a long shelf life.

it will be gone by 10:00. our warmest day is here, march 1, 66 to 73 around the bay and 71 to 77 inland and 61 to 64 at the coast. we will have more cloud cover. kristen and eric? >> we have developing news and traffic news, as well. we will look at the fog. that is an issue. eastbound 92 we have a situation with a garbage truck and a car tangled up. that will cause you possibly some delays in hayward area. berkeley, i-80, how does that look? not too foggy in the east bay and the picture tells the same story but traffic is moving slowly. this morning, also, we have at the bay bridge toll plaza, that looks nice and light at the

moment and cars are zipping by with no wait. hundreds of firefighters in southern california worked all night and morning battling a ferocious wildfire. in riverside county the residents are remaining evacuated. katie marzullo is live with the latest. >> the main concern is the wind with gusts from 15 to 35 miles per hour which will not help the firefighters. wind advisory is in effect. flames broke out 12 hours ago. it is 30 percent contained. there are 200 firefighters on the ground and a helicopter fighting the flames from above. southern cal edison says the fire has destroyed seven power poles leaving 2,000 people without power. mandatory evacuations are in police for some neighborhoods in riverside county.

>> flames were 75'. >> scary. >> the fire is burning quarter a mile away from home. the embers traveled quite a distance and sparked this fire with an rv up in flames and the house caught fire. crews made water drops until the ground crews could get there and put out the flames. no report of injuries. authorities do not have an official cause but they think it could have been sparked by downed power lines. >> back to santa cruz this morning where the police officers are headed back to work. sheriff deputies and the c.h.p. took over the job while the city comes to grips with the murders of two veteran officers. cornell bernard is live with more in santa cruz. >> police officers were return to work after several days of