making news on this friday, april 9th -- >> in west virginia, a new mission to find miners who may still be alive. rescuers re-enter the mine overnight. fighting back. the president returns home after signing a nuclear treaty with russia. and big comeback. fans welcome tiger woods back to the masters, as he puts up some of the best numbers of his career. good morning. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm todd connor, for jeremy hubbard. there's twoping news this morning for the desperate search for four miners. >> overnight, rescue teams were back in the big branch mine. this morning, their families are

keeping an anxious vigil. david kerley joins us from there. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, vinita and todd. two teams of eight are up inside the upper branch mine, look for the four unaccounted miners. a rescue attempt was made yesterday. but it was turned back because of toxic air. but federal officials say they will search the mine for the four unaccounted miners before 94 hours past. decided to pump nitrogen into the mine, to eliminate the possibility of an explosion. that means, though, that the rescue teams are now working with oxygen masks over their face. that makes the task even harder. they're also carrying four extra masks, as well. their goal to search two refuge or safety chambers, where some of the men may have gotten to. if they did get inside one of those chambers, they could survive. there's oxygen and supplies to survive this long. it has been an emotional rollercoaster for the families

here. that's because even though monday's explosion was massive, even horrific, as described by the governor, there is a sliver of hope that one of the men made it in the safety chambers. as the rescuers were gearing up for the second rescue attempt, the first visitation was held last night for a miner who will be laid to rest later today. if no other survivors are found, the death count will stand at 29, making this the deadliest coal mining accident in the united states in 40 years. todd and vinita? >> all clinging to that sliver of hope. david, i want to ask you. you got a first-hand look at how the teams really prepare for this type of rescue effort. >> reporter: it is striking, vinita. a coal mine is dark because it's black. we went to a simulator lab that the federal safety folks run about 40 minutes from here. and they fill it with smoke just to give rescuers and inspectors that they train a sense of what it's like when you go inside a mine. it is dark. it is hard to see anything.

they had a head lamp on my helmet. when you fill it with smoke, you couldn't see two feet in front of your face. haets how they train people to deal with the situation at this hour they're dealing with right now. >> all right. david kerley live in west virginia. thank you, david. meanwhile, another developing story for you this morning from afghanistan. at least three u.s. troops and one civilian employee have been killed after an air force chopper crashed. it went down in zabul province. the troops were flying in a hybrid aircraft, with the characteristics of a chopper and an airplane. there's no immediate word on what caused the crash. president obama has wrapped up two days of intnational diplomacy this morning. at this hour, he is on his way back to washington, after signing a new arms treaty with russia and hosting a dinner for eastern european allies. yunji de nies joins us this morning with the latest from prague. good morning, yunji. >> reporter: good morning, vinita. president obama left just

moments ago. before he did, he had one last meeting with the czech president, where he thanked him for hosting the largest nuclear arms agreement in the last two decades. yet, president oma, along with russian president dmitry medvedev, agreed to slash american and russian stockpiles by one-third in the next seven years. now, each needs to get lawmakers at home to ratify this agreement, a tough task for both men. the president told "good morning america's" george stephanopoulos that fewer nuclear weapons will boost national security. >> i will also say to those in the senate who have questions, is that, this is absolutely vital for us to deal with the broader issues of nuclear proliferation, that are probably the number one threat >> reporter: beyond their own arms reductions, the two presidents are getting closer to a multilateral agreement on sanctions to keep nuclear weapons out of iran. that issue will be front and center next week when the two

presidents, along with the leaders of 45 countries, meet for the nuclear summit in washington. now, late last night the president got word that israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will not be attending his summit. he is sending his dipty in his place. that's a big blow to the president and analysts say it could signal a growing rift between america and israel. vinita? sarah palin is blasting the president for signing that treaty with russia. palin said no administration in american history would agree to the deal. george stephanopoulos asked the president about her comments. >> i really have no response to that. the last i checked, sarah palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues. if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are comfortable with it, i'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from sarah palin. >> and george will have much more from his sitdown with the president when he reports live

om russia later this morning on "good morning america." anger over president obama's health care overhaul has led to am almost three-fold increase in threats against lawmers. members of the house and senate reported 42 threats in the first 3 months of this year. that compares to 15 in the last 3 months of last year. the latest threats have already led to at least three arrests. capital police say they have heightened security. the diplomat from qatar at the center of an air scare aboard a united airlines flight is likely to leave the country later this week. thanks to diplomatic immunity, mohammed al modadi, will not face charges that he was apparently trying to light his shoes on fire. officials say al modadi was smoking in a bathroom on board the plane. in brazil, search and rescue operations continue in a shantytown near rio de janeiro. nearly 200 people have been confirmed dead in the heavy

rains that began monday in rio. most were swept away monday in landslides that were on steep, unstable hillsides. it's time for this morning's weather from around the nation. it will be rain from north carolina to new york this morning. with thunder and lightning a possibility. that rain will stretch into new england by afternoon. and will be snow around the great lakes. >> temperatures in the northeast plunge 20 degrees to more typical readings for this time of year. new york and d.c. are in the 60ed. it's cooler than usual in the northwest, with seattle at 50 degrees with showers. phoenix is the hot spot at 87. two astronauts from the shuttle "discovery" are spacewalking outside the international space station. take a look at these. they are live pictures at the two crew members remove a new ammonia tank from the shuttle and remove the old tank. >> despite the tank replacement job, they had to collect a science experiment from the front porch from the space

station's japanese lab. >> they've been training for that. the overnight missions. we know they will be well-rested when they have to do the hard work. coming up on "america this morning," is another green jacket in tiger woods' future? we'll get a live update from augusta. then, murder in paradise. a hollywood tv producer suspected of killing his wife during a mexican vacation. and thick springtime pollen covering many cities. why this spring thyme allerg

the bipartisan panel investigating the causes of the financial crisis holds its final day of hearings on capitol hill today. former executives from mortgage finance giant fannie mae will be grilled to determine the company's role in fueling the housing bubble. on thursday, two former citigroup executives apologized for failing to recognize the risks to the economy overseas stock markets are up across the board this morning. tokyo's nikkei average rose 0.3% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow rose nearly 30 points yesterday. the nasdaq added five points. there's fresh evidence americans are feeling more confident about the economy. sales at chain stores jumped 9% last month, compared to a year ago. that's the biggest increase since 1999. better weather and an earlier easter helped retailers. consumer spending accounts for about 70% of economic activity. and is essential for long-term

recovery. walmart has actually seen its sales slip a bit lately. the retail giant is looking to reverse that trend by cutting prices on 10,000 items. one walmart executive tells "the wall street journal" the company expects to cut prices on more items in the coming months. apple has unveiled new software that powers the iphone and ipad. the biggest ability is multitasking. other new features include a unified inbox that receives e-mail from multiple accounts and folders that led you organize all of your aps. workers at the danish bre r arlsberg have walked off the job because of new rules that they could only help themselves to a beer at lunch. >> there used to be beer coolers around the workplace. and the new rule doesn't affect

the drivers. they can take beers and go. >> oh, wow. just have to stay sober. next on this friday morning, tiger's big comeback at the masters. the magic's in the mix.

strong orms in south carolina, at least 15 homes were damaged after a tornado touched down there. the 125-mile-per-hour knocked down trees and cut power to about 3,000 homes. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. snowy on i-80 in wyoming. and rainy along i-95 in the northeast. >> if you're flying today, expect airport delays in just three cities, new york, boston and miami. tiger woods is back. and it appears he has not missed a beat. >> he heads into the second

round of the masters today only two shots off the lead, after a warm welcome on the course at augusta national. that's where t.j. winick joins us now. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning. well, no one has ever really accused tiger woods of losing his way on a golf course. and yesterday, he showed the same poise under pressure, which has made him a golf sensation, and an international superstar. >> tiger woods. >> reporter: after a big ovation from the crowd at augusta national, it didn't take tiger woods long to get back into the swing of things. playing golf like the last five months never happened, tiger shot a 4 under par 68, his best first round ever at the masters. >> i hit the ball well and made some putts. fortunately i didn't putt very good today or it could have been a special round. >> reporter: tiger was about the only one critical of his first 18 holes. >> so far, i think tiger woods is managing the emotions that

he's carrying right now. and he's playing fairly well. >> reporter: he had this incredible approach shot on the 9th hole. almost a hole in one on the 12th. >> spectacular shot. >> i just think that he's an incredible athlete. and i'm happy that he's here playing. >> reporter: and though there were some signs of the sex scandal that has surrounded the golfer, tiger appeared to be a man unburdened. smiling more and tipping his hat to the crowd. >> the people were just incredible. incredible all day. >> reporter: and while he may be the master of his domain on the golf course, off the course is a different story. his wife, elin, will not be in augusta this week. and there is no word on if the couple will reconcile. vinita and todd? >> t.j. winick in augusta for us live this morning. thank you, t.j. and espn's coverage of the second round of the masters begins this afternoon at 4:00 eastern time. the head of north carolina's

republican party is calling for rnc chairman michael steele to step down. it follows controversy over the party's lavish spending, including a costly night out at a los angeles bondage strip club. the north carolina branch is the first state party to call for steele's resignation. some republicans are worried about how all of this could impact november's elections. a former producer of "survivor" is a prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife after a family vacation in cancun. his wife's body was found in a sewer at the resort where the family had been staying. doctors determined that she died of asphyxiation or a blow to the head. if you suffer from allergies and going out in the pollen-filled morning air's probably not a good idea. and as steve osunsami reports, with the latest heat wave gripping much of the northeast, it's doubly troubling for all of those allergy suffererers. >> reporter: if this year's spring feels and sounds like

this -- then, this is why, a pollen explosion like most of the country has never seen. >> this is the worst i've ever experienced with allergies. worst. hands down. >> reporter: her doctor says it's because spring came late. part of the country that were covered in snow just few weeks warm temperatures.seeing record and all the different trees, flowers and grasses are sharing their love at the same time. from dallas to delaware, the pollen is thick. in jackson, mississippi, they're watching it blow from the trees. kelly mill, john and danielle rhodes went running to their doctor. >> excuse me. >> you're exhausted. the congestion. you can't breathe very well. >> i can really hear it in your voice. >> i could pull a sled right now. >> reporter: early every morning, scientists in georgia pull this white box down from the top of the building and count the pollen inside. >> looks pretty bad. >> reporter: anything more than 120 particles is considered extremely high.

they found more than 5,000. it seems like every ye they say the pollen is high. but scientists say this year is truly special. there were heavy rains in the north and the southeast over the past three months. and those same areas are deep in pollen. >> it's a reproduction explosion with the pollen everywhere. >> reporter: we reached out to 60 experts across the country. most say allergy suffererers should avoid being out between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. when most of the pollen is produced. they tell us that people with severe allergies should never skip their antihistamines and should stay inside. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. coming up next, we'll update the developing story from west virginia, the overnight mission into the mine. so i was the guy who was never going to have the heart attack. i watched what i ate. i worked out. personally, i thought i was invincible. once it happened, i realized it's a different story.

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now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this friday. rescue teams have made their way back inside the upper big branch mine in west virginia this morning, hoping to locate those four miners missing since monday's deadly explosion. we are expecting several progress reports from west virginia's governor later this morng. president obama is returning to washington right now, after signing a treaty with russia to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles. he'll now try to convince the u.s. senate to ratify the treaty. many say it will be her most important speech of the year. sarah palin will be addressing the southern republican leadership conference in new orleans. bobby jindal will also address the crowd, which will include some 4,000 republican activists. mark kerrigan, the brother of figure skaterancy kerrigan is cue in court to be arraigned on manslaughter charges. he is accused of beating their fathern a drunken rage, after arguing over the use of the

family telephone. and the second round of the masters golf tournament gets under way today, with fred couples in the lead. but all the talk is about tiger, who shot a 68 on thursday, his lowest opening score ever at augusta national. apparently the five-month absence did not affect him. >> not at all. coming up later on "go morning america," just after signing a historic, new treaty with the russians, president obama sits down in an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos. the president responds to republican criticism of the treaty and the chances it will get passed in the senate. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >> as we go to break, checking in on a spacewalk under way as we speak. "america this morning" will continue after this. are you taking a statin medication to lower your

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finally from us this morning, the recent exploits of tiger woods and jesse james have left some people wondering, why do people cheat? >> well, in the animal kingdom,

a roving eye may be hard-wired into the genes. mark mullen wandered into the san diego zoo toake a closer look. >> reporter: who says a tiger cheats? in the animakingdom, tigers usually choose one partner. though they hook up just days before mating. and the females aren't so picky. >> there's no pair bonding. i'm ready to go. putting the flag up for whoever's a willing receptor. >> reporter:o to the famed san diego zoo, wild animal park and all manner of animal relationships is on display. take the red cheek gibben, who may be a swinger, but not when it comes to mates. they stick with one partner for life. gibbons are the flipside of their cousins, who prefer to spread their charm. dominant male gorillas will live and mate with up to 30 females. a fact that sparked a friendly debate between a young married couple at the park. >> the men animals keep the

girls in the group. and, you know, do their business with all the ladies. i don't know if they have that option. >> reporter: sometimes they do. elephant herds are ruled by a female, who prefer multiple partners. >> it goes back to the lover versus provider. >> wait a second. >> the lover versus provider thing. >> reporter: then, there's polly andre, when female birds leave a male to care for the eggs and chicks, while she mates with another male. >> you're not limited. >> i'm limited. >> reporter: they know this story is about animals, right? comparing human behavior to animals may be fun. but scientists are quick to distinguish that for animals -- >> perpetuating one's species, creating offspring, is the primary goal. >> reporter: which means, unlike humans, animals seldom mate for fun. mark mullen, for abc news, san diego. >> certainly some food for thought. that is what's making news