devin? >> reporter: hey, john, that's right. a group of senators working on immigration reform will likely miss a self-imposed march deadline for a deal, but president obama told our partner, univision, that he's confident any last-minute obstacles could be overcome. after decades of debate, president obama says an overhaul of the u.s. immigration system is just around the corner. >> my sense is that they've come close, and my expectation is is that we'll actually see a bill on the floor of the senate next month. >> reporter: a group of eight u.s. senators, republicans and democrats, are putting the final touches on their plan. it includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. one of the final sticking points whether to keep the pathway closed until the border is more secure. >> with the proper use of technology, with the proper coordination between different agencies, that we will be able to say that we have a degree of border security that would allow people to move forward to a path to citizenship. >> reporter: on a tour yesterday in nogales, arizona, mccain and three other senators witnessed

firsthand a breach of the border. >> what i learned today is we have adequate manpower but not adequate technology. >> reporter: by the numbers, the u.s. border has more resources than ever before, nearly 22,000 agents, 651 miles of fence, 125 airplanes and 6 drones patrolling the skies. in his interview with univision, president obama said more can be done but that it shouldn't delay citizenship for undocumented immigrants. >> but what we can do is continue to improve it and at the same time provide a clear pathway for those who are already here and who've invested their lives here. >> reporter: now, immigration reformers hope to vote on a final bill by august. if debate lingers into the fall, many fear a compromise could fall apart. john and diana. >> all right. devin dwyer in washington, thank you. well, the supreme court is finished hearing those historic arguments on gay marriage. most of the justices appeared to be swayed by the case against the defense of marriage act. it was a case brought on by an 83-year-old woman who took her fight all the way to the

nation's highest court. abc's terry moran was there. [ cheers ] >> reporter: 83 and radiant, edie windsor had her day in court and what a day it was for her. >> all: edie, edie, edie. >> reporter: this woman born in the 1920s has become a kind of folk hero to countless young americans in the 20 teens. >> you guys, i'm talking to you freely. you know, i'd have been hiding in the closet ten years ago. >> reporter: her case arises from the love of her life, thea spire. they spent 44 years together in new york city. edie worked at ibm. thea was a therapist, and they finally married in 2007. but then after thea died in 2009, edie, who lives on a fixed income, was suddenly hit with $363,000 in estate taxes, taxes no straight widow would pay because the federal government refused to recognize their marriage under the defense of marriage act, which defines marriage under federal law as the union of one man, one woman, affecting taxes, social

security, military survivor benefits. in court, justice ruth ginsburg said it seemed like a second-class system for gay couples. >> the states have two kinds of marriages, the full marriage and then this sort of skim milk marriage. >> reporter: that comment struck a chord on social media, becoming a popular twitter hashtag while this red equal sign became an overnight symbol of solidarity with gay couples. but for millions of americans, same-sex marriage is about bedrock beliefs. >> we just believe that when the god of the bible created the institution, he didn't get our advice on it, he defined it, and i really believe that he got it right. >> reporter: so edie windsor had her day in court. she wasn't alone. >> and i know that the spirit of my late spouse, thea spire, is right here watching and listening and would be very proud and happy of where we've come to. >> reporter: the court is expected to reach its decision at the end of the term late june, early july. terry moran, abc news, the

supreme court. ashley judd has decided not to enter the kentucky senate race to challenge republican leader mitch mcconnell. the actress tweeted that she gave the matter serious thought but decided her responsibilities and energy need to be focused on her family. there's some political thought that judd will wait until 2016 to run for office. today is holy thursday, which means pope francis is entering the heart of his first holy week as the leader of the catholic church. now, traditionally popes wash the feet of priests in the basilica on holy thursday, but today francis is washing the feet of young inmates. at a detention center. vatican watchers call it another example of francis' no-frills style. and now to a story unfolding in south africa, the case against oscar pistorius. the olympic star was not in court today, but his defense team is challenging the conditions of his bail, which bans him from traveling abroad. pistorius is charged in the shooting death of girlfriend reeva steenkamp. he says he mistook her for a burglar.

let's check out the weather right now. at home clouds with rain possible in the northeast. parts of new england could see some snow, blustery for the mid-atlantic. rain with snow in the higher elevations of the northwest, and it is foggy in california. >> temperatures there and across the midwest are just about normal. still chilly across most of the south but it'll warm up nicely during the day, milder in the midwest. all right, coming up, why this might be the best easter weekend in years to take a road trip. plus, that colossal collapse of a hillside leaving dozens of homes in serious danger. and later, "the pulse," the unexpected size of a very big boy.

this morning investors around the world are watching cyprus, a nation in crisis. >> banks are re-opening this morning after being closed for days. they will have heavy security and strict rules to prevent a run on them by depositors. but just in case, billions of euros were flown into the country in the dead of night. the biggest bank accounts, $130,000 and up, will be tapped for as much as 40% to help fund the eurozone bailout. a major story that we will be watching all day long. international investors are a little uneasy. there are fears of both a run on those banks and the crisis spreading to other european nations. u.s. markets were mostly down yesterday and this morning's futures have been down, as well. bernie madoff says of course the banks knew about his ponzi scheme. writing from prison, the disgraced financial adviser specifically points the finger at chase, mellon, hsbc and citicorp but says there are

others. madoff has said he has offered to help the various investigators. but no takers. he was convicted of running a $50 million ponzi scheme. gas prices are falling as we head toward easter. the average price nation much wide this morning is $3.65 a gallon, a nickel less than a week ago and a quarter less than last year at this time. aaa says it is too soon to say whether prices have peaked for the spring. proposed merger of us airways has cleared another hurdle. it won approval from a federal bankruptcy judge. although he did express reservations about the package for the ceo. it needs the green light from us airways stockholders. stephen cohen spending like there's no tomorrow. listen to this. earlier he made news when he bought this picasso for a record 155 million bucks. now we're learning from "the new york times" that he just spent 60 million bucks for a beachfront home on long island and he's now put his east side manhattan apartment on the

market for 115 million bucks. >> oh, to be him. >> the picasso more than double the price of that incredible-looking beachfront house. >> i'm still saying that picasso does nothing for me. >> really? >> nothing. i'll take the beach home instead. >> yeah, me too, i think. coming up on this thursday, a firefighter in the wrong place at the wrong time as a truck slips on ice running directly into him. >> incredible video there. the historic winning streak by the miami heat is over. details are next. i was living with pain -- all over. the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these,

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♪ and less saturated fat? it's eb. eggland's best eggs. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. it's eb. a sign of the times in san francisco. the toll booths are now empty for the good. they're closed and they're not going to open back up on the golden gate bridge. a vintage packer that crossed the bridge when it was open 76 years ago, that was the final car to bay a human toll taker. cash will no longer be accepted.

all drivers will be charged electronically. speaking of drivers, they are going to have some fog to deal with there this morning. the roads further north could be a bit wet. same for parts of the nation's midsection and the ride home tonight could be wet around new york and northeast. flying today, not too bad, delays possible in san francisco thanks to the fog we mentioned. and now to the unstable aftermath of that massive landslide. geologists aren't sure yet what caused the hillside on whidbey island north of seattle to give way. >> one house was lost, and people in about three dozen other homes told to evacuate. luckily no one injured. police say it sounded like thunder, and they thought it was a massive earthquake. >> i don't know if you want to stand here much longer. it's beginning to shake. >> it's very steep, so it's going to continue to slide until it stabilizes. you get a beautiful view, but, yeah, there's a risk of slides. >> it could be days, even weeks before residents can return. ironically geologists were just there checking out the hillside tuesday. we're getting new details about jared loughner, the gunman

in that shooting rampage in tucson that nearly killed gabby giffords. in newly released documents after the shooting loughner's parents tell police they had been worried about their son's increasingly erratic behavior. they say he acted strangely for a year and often spoke to himself, but he had refused to see a doctor. in ohio a fire captain has just released from the hospital after a terrifying accident. check out this dash cam video that shows the moment when barry cron was sent flying 30 feet into the air in a chain reaction crash. he just stopped to help when he was hit. there were numerous crashes on the road because of icy conditions. amazingly, he's okay. some dramatic scenes from a fiery rescue in ohio. one officer captured it all on his uniform's recording device. he broke a window to ventilate the cab of a burning truck near cleveland. the driver was still inside. he had lost control and slammed into a building. eventually the officers were able to pull him to safety. >> i wouldn't consider myself a hero. it's our job, and i'm sure that

any of us anywhere would do the same to save a person's life regardless of the situation. >> later after being released from the hospital, the man was arrested for driving while intoxicated. well, the young girl from pakistan shot by the taliban because she stood up for her right to go to school is about to tell her story to the world. 15-year-old malala yousafzai has signed a $3 million book deal just six months after being shot. she is now attending school in england. march madness cranks up again tonight with the first half of the sweet 16 being played. as for the pros, only one game to talk about from last night. highlights from espn. and a good thursday morning to everyone. i'm matt barrie with your "sportscenter" update. the number was 27. the miami heat were trying to get it to 28 with dwyane wade back in the lineup. he missed the last two games, but like we've seen the heat do prone to let a team to get out in front. the bulls did that. early on, 13-2. carlos boozer had himself a big

game, and then the bulls really came to play. taj gibson then dishes it to nate robinson who would give the bulls a 13-point lead. third quarter now, bulls up, 7. heat in transition, mario chalmers to lebron james. lebron -- lebron james. lebron did his thing, 32 point, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. later, the bulls up 3. jimmy butler, yeah. 17 points, bulls up 3. fourth quarter, now deng, 4 of 8 from the three-point line that put the bulls up 5. under five minutes to play in the game. bulls up 7. luol deng, and they can start feeling it in chicago, then nate robinson throws up a three-pointer. boozer, 17 rebounds, none bigger than that one. 34 seconds to play. robinson, the little guy, puts the big thing away. the heat's streak comes to an end, final score, 101-97, so the streak comes to an end and so does your "sportscenter" update.

i am matt barrie. >> all right. thanks for that, matt. coming up next, "the pulse," we'll introduce you to the bedtime bandit. a toddler's crime wave caught on tape. >> i love it. >> so cute. >> and already the size of a 6-month-old for this newborn. look at those cheeks. [ female announcer ] the only patch for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's disease is exelon patch. now with more treatment options, exelon patch may improve overall function and cognition. your loved one can get a free 30-day trial. and you can have access to nurses. it does not change how the disease progresses. hospitalization, and rarely death, have been reported from wearing more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fall, loss of appetite or weight, application site redness, and urinary tract infection. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases

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>> you work hard, you play hard and you drink a little sweet tea. that's about it. i'm donny mccall, and that's my abc "world news" story. ♪ baby baby oh ♪ like baby baby oh time to check "the pulse," here's the stories we are convinced you'll be talking about all day long, especially this one, and this one goes out to all of us moms out there. >> big time. >> ouch. >> give this woman a bouquet of flowers and chocolate. check out george. he's 6 weeks old. he came into the world weighing a whopping 15 pounds, 7 ounces and the delivery was natural. yowza. the little guy suffered from serious health problems during the difficult birth and was given a 10% chance of survival. after four weeks in the hospital he is doing just fine. >> ouch. i can't think of any other word. >> look at him. that's a big boy. >> but he is a cutie pie. >> he really is. >> look at that. >> don't you just want to kiss

those cheeks? >> i want to squeeze them. all right. a bedtime bandit in utah has been caught red-handed after stopping at absolutely nothing to get his loot. >> i love this one too. looking at little kyle moser in action sneaking out of the room in the middle of the night. his big sister's room is locked, but the 2-year-old uses a fingernail clipper to pick that lock, and moments later he's going to emerge with a unicorn pillow pet in hand. >> that's right. kyle, there he is. mission accomplished. kyle's parents set up the overnight sting when his sister accused him of stealing her things, and then he, of course, got a good talking to, and we hear now that he is completely reformed. he has repented and will not be stealing any more unicorn pillows. >> give him the pillow, man. trying to get a good night's sleep. >> some people say maybe he was put up to this because a nail clipper to open the door? that's a little too much for a 2-year-old. >> maybe he saw somebody else do it and mimicked it. >> who knows. >> he's cute.

>> oh, he is. talk about a once-in-a-lifetime vacation moment, in the waters off baja california. >> i touched it again. >> under the boat. >> my gosh. >> those tourist s lucky enough to get up close and personal with a 40-foot mother whale and her calf. they were so close at one point they were actually able to lean in and give them a kiss. >> gee. >> believe it or not, the guide says that these massive creatures can often be friendly and actually seek out contact with small tourist boats. >> i wouldn't watch to catch them on a bad day. >> i don't know about that. how do you feel about kissing whales? >> i'd like to kiss the baby cheeks more. >> i'll take the toddler as opposed to the baby whale. >> for many of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be right back. i was cooking dinner for my family.

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>> kgo, and throughout the day today well will see the isolated shows. here is a look at what you can expect throughout the day, with some clouds and by the afternoon, much of the activity will be behind us, but the central valley right now looking at the most activity but mist and drizzle, for sure, and with the cloud cover, mild temperatures. 50 in santa rosa, 53 by the delta, and 55 in livermore, already, union city is 356, and headed out the door, look for mostly cloudy skies with mist, drizzle, and isolated shower, and this afternoon, on the mild side upper 50's to near 70. a little break comes our way tomorrow. goodgoodgood morning, everyone. >> good morning, everyone, a very happy friday eve. in antioch, we do have some construction to tell you about on eastbound four, with in the

eastbound direction three lanes blocked until 6:00 a.m. and further down on the peninsula, 101, looking clear and the top speed use make the drive from san jose and into san mateo, we will look, now, at the golden gate bridge and if you can see it we have a bit of fog out there so make sure you use your low beams and not your high beams. >> thank you very much to our newest member of the abc7 news news team. well hear much more from her. from san leandro authorities are investigating a hit-and-run accident that sent a woman to the hospital. it happened shortly before midnight in the parking lot in front of a market on east 14th street near 167th avenue. >> paramedics took the victim to the hospital with moderate injuries. a witness says that the woman walking with the cane was hit by a car backing from a parking space. the driver stopped for a moment to see what happened and then drove off. the vehicle was described as a faded blue buick or oldsmobile.

>> from san francisco, one person was injured after a rollover accident on southbound highway one near the mcarrest thursday tunnel. crews uprighted the car and rescued the driver. the person was taken to san francisco general hospital where unknown injuries. >> new this morning, supporters of transgender people will programly in san francisco in response to attacks on them. according to the san francisco exam builter, a mission district organization for transgender women says that there have been four major incidents since january. officials say that it is difficult to measure the exact number of attacks in the community because most go unreported. they say victims are either embarrassed or they do not trust the police. tonight's rally is at 6:30 at mission and 16th street. >> a san rafael girl runs to school this morning after recovering from being shot with an arrow on a school field trip. the 8-year-old talked with abc7

news after returning home from the hospital. anyway dean showed her bandage where doctors removed a 20" arrow from her leg. she was on a class trip playing on the whale copy outside when she was shot from an arrow from a crossbow. >> you don't know where it came from...so it was really training to have an arrow in my leg. >> how bad did it hurt? >> it hurt really bad. >> no doubt. police say that they are still trying to find out where the arrow came from. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield will have more on the ordeal in any way dean's -- in nadine's own words. >> a canadian man is in trouble for a second time for have, online relations with a teenage. the man was