>> reporter: only hours after biden departed, ukraine's government accused pro-russians of shooting at a military

aircraft and torturing and killing two people. in response, ukraine's acting president ordered security forces to resume operations in the east. the u.s. wants russia to pull its forces back from the eastern border and engage diplomatically with ukraine. john and diana? >> all right. abc's tahman bradley live for us in washington this morning. thank you. and president obama is arriving in japan this morning. the first stop on a four-nation tour of asia. the situation with russia and ukraine is hanging over his visit. >> abc's devin dwyer is traveling with the president. he joins us, now, from tokyo. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning. president obama is finally keeping good on his rain check from last year. that's when the government shutdown canceled his last planned visit here to asia. today, he embarks on his fifth trip to the region, here in japan. the white house says president obama's trip is all about reassuring u.s. allies here that they are important and valued, even though so much attention right now is focused elsewhere.

as we have heard, the situation in ukraine is hanging over all the meetings here in asia today. some countries in asia, worried that russia's action in crimea could influence or inspire china or north korea to be more aggressive. president obama plans to highlight the role of the u.s. military here in asia. over the next few days, he will meet with some of the 80,000 u.s. troops that are stationed in the pacific. he'll also push for a free trade deal in the pacific. one the white house says will create more jobs and more exports from u.s. companies. and all of this, guys, will be done on a very personal level. there are no international summits here. the president will be doing a lot of one-on-one meetings. and, of course, a lot of state dinners. john and diana? >> all right. devin dwyer, reporting from tokyo this morning. thank you very much. by strong majority, the supreme court has ruled that voters in a state can outlaw the use of race as a factor in college admissions. the high-profile case involving a michigan ban on affirmative action in college admissions, closely watching the supreme court today. the junior high school student

involved in that from detroit, hoped to attend michigan state next year. >> i think it's disgusting. i'm infuriated, actually. and it just -- it doesn't make any sense. >> justice sonia sotomayor was one of two judges who disagreed with the ruling. she said it ignores the reality that racism still exists. it's been one week since that south korean ferry full of students capsized. investigators this morning just updated the death toll. it's now more than 150. the bodies have mostly been found on the third and fourth floors of the ferry, where many passengers seemed to have gathered. many students were in cabins on the fourth floor, near the stern of the ship. >> california congressman is calling for a sweeping audit after 15-year-old boy stowed away in a wheel well. at 38,000 feet. the temperature minus 50 degrees with a little oxygen.

his body endured the trip by going into hibernation. two american astronauts head out on a spacewalk today outside the international space station. their mission, which nasa says is not complicated, is to fix a broken computer. the whole thing is supposed to take about three hours. and comptrollers will be monitoring for water in the suits, which is a complication in previous spacewalks. time, now, for a look at the nation's weather. the eastern third of the nation will see drier conditions. while a band of severe storms will rake across the midwest, bringing hail, damaging winds, possibly even tornadoes. the pacific northwest will see more heavy rain. and snow showers for parts of idaho, montana and wyoming. >> it will be cooler today in the northeast, only in the 50s. 40s in the upper midwest. and warmer across the south. mild, spring-like temperatures along the west coast. coming up, call this internet irony. an app that helps you break the addiction to apps. plus, an underwater rescue is captured on camera. we can see what happened. but that's just the beginning of this mystery. but first, the irs workers

getting bonuses even though they're not paying their own taxes. more, when we come back. taxes. more, when we come back.

at 15, i was addicted. by 40, i'll have lung disease. at 50, i'll die of a heart attack. dr. regina benjamin: cigarette smoke causes immediate damage that leads to health problems, even death. those who quit or die are being replaced

by a new generation of smokers. i'm dr. regina benjamin, united states surgeon general. go to cdc.gov. learn how to make our next generation tobacco-free. . welcome back. there's another sign of economic decline in the u.s. "new york times" analysts reveal america's middle class is no longer the richest in the world. canada's is, thanks to a rising pay up north and a housing boom there. american middle class income isn't keeping pace, as the wealthy get wealthier. britain, the netherlands and sweden are also gaining on the u.s. and the people to whom you pay your taxes may not be paying their own. but they're still getting

bonuses. more than 1,100 irs employees with their own tax problems, shared more than $1 million in bonuses. the agency's chief investigator says bonuses also went to another 1,700 workers with disciplinary problems. the irs says it now has policies that will prevent this from happening again. jetblue is getting its first union. its pilots have voted to join the airline pilots association after voting against unionizing twice before. nearly three-quarters of jetblue's pilots voted in favor this time. jetblue had been the only major u.s. airline without unionized workers. whatsapp has reached a major milestone. the mobile messaging service now having more than 500 million active users. they share 700 million photos and 100 million videos per day. facebook acquired whatsapp this year for $16 billion. whatsapp plans to offer free voice calls in the next few months. two students at syracuse university are attempting to fight smartphone addiction with their new app. it's called talk. once it's downloaded, users create a profile that links to facebook and twitter.

you then create a game. and the object of it is to stay off your phone as long as possible. they say it might help people stop living in the virtual world and start living in the real world. >> power button can do the same thing. just shut it off. lobster may not be much of a bargain for long. the number of baby lobsters is about half of what it was seven years ago. it takes eight years for lobsters to grow big enough to harvest. experts blame warmer ocean temperatures, pollution, weather and other conditions. about 85% of the u.s. lobster catch comes from maine. when we come back, emergency landing. the unexpected sight for commuters driving down a southern california road. but first, a rare look at an electrical storm from inside a cloud. we'll be right back. first, a look at an electrical storm from inside a cloud. we'll be right back.

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shot as a storm was rolling through northern texas on monday. the lightning flashing inside those storm clouds, an impressive and threatening sight, no doubt about it. >> that's something else. wow. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. wet roads for new england. and storms across a wide swath of the midwest will make driving slick from south texas into the great lakes. expect more wet roads again today in the pacific northwest. >> and if you're flying, afternoon storms could cause airport delays today in oklahoma city. well, a birthday hot air balloon ride turned into quite an adventure near san diego. the balloon missed its intended landing target. it kept on drifting until it finally came to rest right there, in the middle of a bridge. eyewitnesses jumped in to help until the police and fire department could show up and help out, as well. no one was hurt. the balloon managed to avoid a very busy bridge nearby. hawaii has a mystery on its hands. video in a gopro camera that was found on a beach shows a tourist being rescued from drowning. the camera, the rescuers, one is an executive chef at a top restaurant nearby.

in fact, no one knows who the snorkeler is. the video has been posted on youtube, in hopes that he will recognize it. although, he might want to forget it. authorities on new york's long island are on the hunt for the perpetrator of a s.w.a.t.'ing hoax that triggered the mobilization of a s.w.a.t. team. investigators say a 17-year-old boy was playing a video game when he was, what's called s.w.a.t.'d, by his opponents. someone called police saying the boy had killed his brother and his mother and was holding hostages. >> when you're playing video games, if they lose, while during the game, they try to get information on one of their opponents. if they do get the information, they then -- if they lose, they call the police. and identify themselves as that person. and say that they killed somebody, so that the police get this response. >> sounds like an excellent use of resources. a s.w.a.t. team stormed the house, only to find out it was a hoax. the 17-year-old boy is not being blamed. investigators are trying to track down who made that call. all right. a viral video recorded in an airport, sparking some outrage

online. take a look. two tsa officers, apparently patting down children. the man who posted the video to youtube say the kids are his 2-year-old and 6-year-old. he claims tsa officers stopped him and his wife first. and said they would have to frisk the kids, as well, just for having contact with them. most people thought the tsa was going overboard. others said the agents were doing their jobs. i'm -- >> once again, an excellent use of resources. >> yeah. what's up with that? >> come on. terrible. some security video stoking some outrage of what a postal worker was doing right here on camera. security cameras capturing this near a home in lexington, kentucky. they record the carrier, watch this, tossing packages on to the concrete driveway. one of those packages contained a $400 kindle fire. and the homeowner, terry smith, said he was appalled. >> it's there to catch criminals. not postmen or lawn care guys. it's very shocking.

i mean, even if he don't even ring the doorbell. just to walk the package up. you know, take four or five more steps to deliver a package safely. i don't see what the problem would be with that. >> that is just crazy. smith complained to his local post office and says he was brushed off. the postal service responding to media calls said it's disappointed and is looking into the matter. they better look into that matter. that's just the laziest, craziest thing. >> i would love to know what the end result of this is going to be. >> i don't think it will be good for the person throwing the packages. >> i think you might be right. alll right, well, we're getting the most detailed images ever of two american ships that were sunk off the coast of england during world war ii. an unmanned submarine has recorded the sonar images of the two ships. they met their fate in the english channel just before the d-day invasion, on april 28th, 1944, after a german torpedo attack. 749 americans lost their lives in that attack. defense secretary chuck hagel got a hands-on

demonstration on some of the military's most cutting-edge robotic technology. fred downs jr., an old friend of hagel's, lost an arm in a land mine explosion during the vietnam war. he showed off the latest generation of prosthetics. hagel described the technology as transformational. are you looking for a deejay for your next party? well, the duke and duchess of cambridge now have experience spinning records. kate seems to be better at it than william. they were visiting an alternative school for disadvantaged young people in australia. they also watched hip-hop dancing, and original rap performances after that. the british prince helped spray paint a graffiti mural. i'm starting to see a trend here. kate is better than william at a lot of things. >> she's pretty good. >> she is. all right. let's do sports right now. we start with a big event for nfl fans. you will learn tonight who your team plays this season when the league releases their schedule for next year. starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. one game that is being promised

as a rematch, the february super bowl, and that give the broncos a chance to improve their performance against the seahawks. as for baseball, some history late last night. >> that's right. we're going to get all the highlights now from the guys over at espn. >> good morning, america. welcome to the history channel. stan and neil here. albert pujols making major league history. >> i like how you did that. >> thank you. >> angels taking on the nationals. pujols came in with 498 home runs. actually, his teammate said he told erick aybar, another teammate, that he was going to hit two against the nationals. that's one. that's 499 for his career. seventh of the season. having a power surge to start the season. and there's number 500. off taylor jordan. pujols, third-quickest to 500. at 34 years old. alex rodriguez and jimmie foxx got there more quickly. angels beat the nationals, 7-2. five rbi for pujols. >> some folks say five hundy. wizards/bulls, game two. joakim noah getting the defensive player of the year award. chicago lost the first one at home. bradley beal? no.

this game goes to overtime. noah, bad pass. beal, steal. nene, dunk. wizards, they're headed home with the 2-0 games lead. and washington is going to be rockin' on that basketball team. it's been a while since they've been in that position. >> exactly. have to go back to elvin hayes. i'm out. >> so are we. >> back to you. >> guys, thanks. up next in "the pulse," the flash of the future. stephen colbert dropping in to spend some time on "the late show" with david letterman. what letterman had to say to his successor. and what did the world do without it? youtube marks a milestone. we'll show you the captivating content of the first post ever.

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time to check, "the pulse," the stories you'll be talking about today. last night, stephen colbert paying a visit to "the late show" to check it out. host letterman will retire some time next year. and colbert will take letterman's seat there at cbs. >> they seems to get along pretty well. colbert revealed he tried several times to get a job as a writer on the show. and finally managed to land an internship. but he turned it down because there wasn't any pay. >> who could blame him? >> this is an expensive city. this, dave, i have to ask, the next job i'm taking here, that pays? >> i have nothing to do with that. >> i already signed. >> pays pretty well. oh, check her out. also on letterman last night, our own robin roberts, who has written a book about overcoming a rare blood disorder. robin told letterman she is now healthier and happier than she has ever been. >> looks just as wonderful as usual. >> fantastic as always. it was nine years ago today, that an internet institution began. the first youtube video was uploaded on april 23rd, 2005, by co-founder jawed karim.

it also featured him at the san diego zoo. meet me at the zoo is still available on the site. >> the 90-second video has now had more than 14 million views. today, youtube users watch 6 billion hours every month. all this was on what was supposed to be a dating site. >> wonder if he wishes he put a more sexy video up there? >> i think so. finally, a new star attraction at the zoo in richmond, virginia. one that was well worth the wait. >> here he is. the zoo's newest giraffe. the little boy was born yesterday afternoon. we use the term little lightly here. he stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs nearly 200 pounds. >> ouch. the mom's name is jesse. it's her fourth baby. she carried him for 15 months. they'll be kept inside their shelter for the next few days to allow for some bonding time between mom and son. >> and by the way, this is her fourth little guy. she does not have a good reputation of taking care of her babies. >> right. hopefully fourth time is the charm. >> hopefully. >> so far, so good, i hear. for some of you, your local

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good wednesday morning at 4:28. i am kristen sze. >> i am matt keller. we saw cooler temperatures yesterday. will they stick around? >> the winds were the talk of the town. we are rid of both of them for the most part in the forecast. we still have a few breezes. sfo is at 16. half moon bay at 12. but calm in mountain view and hayward and livermore and napa. it is cooler this morning, temperatures in the 40's to low 50's. we will continue to drop so you may need a heavier coast this morning. we have high clouds rolling in this on and it will be warmer, mid-to-upper 60's inland and upper 50's to mid-60's away the

bay and mid-to-upper 50's along the coast. she is back with the commute. leyla gulen? >> good morning, everyone. speaking of gusts, we have c.h.p. issued high wind aadvisory over the altamont pass. be careful if you are driving any high sided vehicles. remark is smooth across both and we do not have delays. the bay bridge toll plaza shows another issued high wind advisory. if you are coming off of the east bay to san francisco or the eastbound direction watch out for that, it is empty. we have construction eastbound until 6:00. we have protecting news officials are trying to determine if an abject of interest that washed ashore if australia is related to missing malaysia airlines flight 370 found on the coast of western

australia and officials say it appears to be sheet metal with rivets but added caution, saying the more they look at it the less excited they become. we will follow the development from australia. >> we are learning more how a 15-year-old managed to get on a flight to hawaii on sunday morning after spending seven hours undetected in a highly secure area before departure. he was 5 1/2 hours in the wheel well before landing in maui. he said he had a fight with his father and step mother and wanted to see his mother in somalia who he has not seen since he was two. our reporting continues on this story at