may 21st. >> deep decline. the dow's biggest drop in a year. and today, overseas markets are following the slide. wall street reform. congress passes new oversight of the financial system. but is it enough to prevent another great recession? and scientists create if world's first synthetic cell, which others warn could get out of control. good morning. thanks for being with us on this friday. i'm jeremy hubbard. >> and i'm stephanie sy, in for vinita nair. wall street is bracing for big changes this morning, after the senate passed sweeping financial reforms. in a uncertainty has fed a stock market free fall. yesterday's losses were more in an in a year. >> that continues overnight in asia, with jo pan's nikkei losing 2.5%. t.j. winick joins from

washington. >> reporter: democrats hope the final legislation will reach the president's desk by the fourth of july. >> on this vote, the yaes are 59. the nays are 39. the bill, as amended, is passed. >> reporter: they are the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the great depression. two democrats voted no since it wasn't tough enough, while four republicans crossed over and voted yes. the bill calls for regulators to liquidate troubled financial institutions. it would create a new bureau for credit cards and mortgages. and establish regulations for hedge funds, derivatives and other financial products. >> our goal is not to punish the banks. but to protect the larger economy and the american people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years. and today's action was a major step forward in achieving that goal. >> reporter: the bill must now be reconciled with a house version that passed in december. opponents claim the legislation goes too far. >> i want you to just understand

how wide-ranging this bill is. this is going to get into everybody's pockets. and i'm not talking about businesses. i'm talking about individuals. >> reporter: wall street's concern over financial reform, coupled with an unexpected rise in new jobless claims, sent the dow jones industrial average to its worst finish since february 2009. it ended the day down more than 376 points. >> when it comes to today's market drop there is one word to answer the question why? and that is uncertainty. >> reporter: many analysts believe the stock market is in a correction phase. and there are likely more big fluctuation ahead, both up and down. jeremy and stephanie? >> thank you. t.j. winick in washington. also in washington, the search is on for a new national intelligence director, now that dennis blair is resigning from pressure from the white house. we're told president obama lost confidence in blair because of his inability to share

intelligence in a comprehensive way. including the recent failed times square bomb plot. rand paul is scrambling to clarify what some are calling a racial remark. paul is backed by the tea party. in tuesday's primary, he defeated another republican who was backed by the gop establishment. now, he's explaining his stand on civil rights. it came into focus in interviews this week, including one on msnbc. >> do you think that a private business has a right to say we don't serve black people? >> i'm not in favor of any discrimination of any form. what about freedom of speech? should we limit speech from people we find abhorrent? should we limit racists from speaking? >> paul issued a written statement yesterday saying, i believe we should work to end all racism in american society and staunchly defend the inherent rights of every person. paul will speak about the controversy for the first time

later in a "good morning america" exclusive. well, another attempt at stopping the oil spill in the gulf will hopefully be under way by sunday. environmentalists and plenty of others say it can't come soon enough because there's new evidence that more oil is polluting the water than first thought. matt gutman reports. >> reporter: a month into the spill, rig owner b.p. complied with congressional demands to post live footage of the ruptured well. >> these videos stand as a scalding, blistering indictment of b.p.'s inattention to the scope and size of the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of the united states. >> reporter: b.p. now admits they're siphoning off 5,000 barrels a day. but that's the amount b.p. had previously said was gushing from the well. it's now apparent the leak is far worst than being estimated. >> now, we're cutting the range up from near 40,000 to 100,000 barrels a day. >> reporter: as if that weren't enough, the epa has ordered b.p. to stop using a chemical

dispersement which the epa says is highly toxic. >> any living organism that contacts the stuff, particularly the mixture of dispersement and oil has the risk of acute mortality, that's dying quickly. >> reporter: b.p. says they use the chemical, corexit, because chemicals are in large supply. 25% of all living organisms, 500 feet below the surface died. the unfortunate fact is there's no way to clean up the dispersement once it's in the water. scientists tell me that dispersement is one molecule away from antifreeze. they say mother nature does a better job of cleaning up than we do picking up. but that could take years. a troubling incident involving a jetblue pilot at boston's logan airport. police say the pilot was taken into protective custody after he told a woman he might harm himself. the unidentified man was taken

to the hospital for evaluation. a jetblue spokesman said the pilot was removed from duet tu for health reasons but did not say whether he was about to fly a plane. a cross at the center of a supreme court fight mysteriously reappeared yesterday. the cross was erected in a federal park to honor the war dead. but it was covered up while the court decides if it is a religious symbol. since it wasn't covered, officials had to take it down. we are hearing that the white house is dealing with more unwelcome guests. president obama was railing against what he calls fat cat bankers in wall street, when a rodent, scurrying past his podium in the rose garden. >> insert your own joke here. we're told there's been a bit of influx of rodents since the press area was recently renovated. >> look at that thing go. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. it will be brutal from denver south, into the texas panhandle.

expect wind-driven storms, carrying baseball-sized hail. other stormy spots, from tennessee south to the gulf and the pacific northwest. but what a beautiful, warm, sunny day in the southwest and the northeast. >> the pacific northwest is unusually chilly, with dies only in the 50s. some toasty tempts in the mid 80s. and the hot spot, phoenix topping 100 degrees for the first time this season. >> warm down there. when we come back, we'll update today's top story. overseas trading following the dow's thursday decline. plus, wild weather. look at that. new video of strong storms and wind-whipped brush fires. and missing masterpieces. calculating the loss of five priceless paintings plucked from a paris art museum.

and recapping the top business story this morning. the senate has passed a sweeping financial reform bill. it gives the government broad, new powers to police banks and break them up if they threaten the health of the overall economy. concern about the impact of the new rules, as well as growing fear about the european debt crisis, are hitting stocks hard this morning. tokyo's nikkei average tumbled 2.5% today. markets in hong kong were closed for a holiday. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow had its worst day in more than a year yesterday, plummeting 376 points. the nasdaq tumbled 94 points. toyota is teaming up with upstart automaker tesla motors

to develop and build electric cars. toyota is investing $50 million in tesla. tesla will build its electric sedan near san francisco, creating about 1,000 jobs. the company currently makes an electric sports car that costs more than $100,000. ford is looking to reduce its carbon footprint. the automaker says it plans to work with its top suppliers to cut energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. any improvement would be on the way to ford's goal to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2020. google has unveiled new technology that marries tv and the internet. it designed to make it easier to find tv shows and movies on your television set. users will be able to surf the web on their tv. new sets and set-top boxes will be available this fall. a silver dollar has become the world's most expensive coin.

a rare 1794 liberty dollar, which was among the first silver dollars ever made, was bought for $8 billion. the previous record was $7.5 million, for a 1933, $20 gold piece. they say there's only about 150 of these coins in existence. so, don't go checking your change jar. you probably don't have one. >> and it looks like it's in pristine condition. >> it does. next on this friday, medical breakthrough. new hope in finding deadly ovarian tumors before it's too late. then, some scientists are welcoming the first synthetic

warm weather out west means plenty of dry brush to burn. firefighters worked all night here in corona, california, to control this blaze that's charred about 1,000 acres.

luckily, no homes are in danger. near dallas, thunderstorms find at least one funnel cloud that touched down over an open field. it blew over an 18-wheeler on highway 287. the driver wasn't injured. on the roads this morning, you can expect soggy conditions and flooding along highway 75 in indiana. ice can be a problem in the northwest, especially along parts of i-94 in the dakotas. >> and if you're flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, chicago, memphis and atlanta. some medical news this morning. scientists in maryland have achieved a major breakthrough, creating the first living cell from nonliving parts. they call it a synthetic cell. first, they took a bacteria cell and removed its dna. then, they created a different set of dna from scratch. and the cell booted up and started growing. although it's not a new lifeform, it raises some thorny issues. >> like any great scientific innovation, this has enormous

promise and enormous peril. this may allow us to make more virulent viruses. this could unleash bacterium on the world that has properties we didn't expect that could cause great disease or ecological damage. >> it could be used to produce vaccines within a year and eventually produce energy or clean up oil spills. president obama's commission on bioethical issues is looking into it. optimistic news in the fight against one of the deadliest forms of cancer in women. researchers are saying simple blood tests, followed up with ultrasound exams, may detect ovarian cancer tumors in the earliest stages. they say this needs more study. currently 80% of varian cancer tumors are found at an advanced stage. an international manhunt is under way for five missing art pieces that were stolen from a paris art museum. the heist took 15 minutes early

yesterday and was pulled off by 1 man. miguel marquez has the details. >> reporter: like a cat, the thief struck in the middle of the night. among the stolen treasures -- picasso's "pigeon with peas," "pastoral" by matisse and modigliani's "woman with fan." surveillance cameras picked up a single, masked intruder roaming the halls of paris' modern art museum. but apparently, the three guards on duty weren't watching. even worse, reports the museum's alarm system hadn't been working for months. and finally, the robbery happened in the heart of paris. the eiffel tower is right across the river. new york avenue, one of the busiest streets in paris, flows right below the museum. to say it is a shock it happened here is an understatement. the windows that the robber got through are so exposed, anyone could have seen them. as in the movie, "the thomas crown affair," the robbery happened under the noses of police, security and the entire city. the robber broke in through a window.

then, cut a lock on a metal grate. then, he went shopping. on one side of the museum, the picasso. all the way on the other side, the modigliani. he chose each piece with care. then, frames and all, each great work went out the window. once cut from their frames, each master work was rolled up. and the burglar went off into the paris night. the museum quality works are considered priceless. the initial value estimated at more than $500 million. it's come down since then, to somewhere between $100 million and $300 million. but what's the point of stealing such well-known works of art? selling them without getting caught, nearly impossible. >> we're talking about a gang of thieves that are looking to convert art to cash. quickly. >> reporter: price may be irrelevant. one art lover said what was stolen today was a little bit of the city's soul. miguel marquez, abc news, paris.

new allegations of drug use in pro cycling has turned into a credibility battle between floyd landis and lance armstrong. while admitting he used performance enhancers in the past, landis also accused armstrong of doping. and of instructing others on how to do so. before racing yesterday, armstrong called landis sick. and said he has no proof to back up his claims. during that race, armstrong crashed and wound up getting stitches in his face. baseball's first set of inner league games begins tonight. some hockey highlights. and a wild finish, now, from mike yam at espn news. >> good morning. talk about needing a win. montreal canadiens trailed in their series with the flyers, 0-2, and they hasn't scored a goal in the first two games. got outscored 9-0. but they're look at home. first period, mike cammalleri, puts montreal up 1-0.

his 13th goal. leading scorer for montreal this pa postseason. later in the first, piatt, in the front of the net. his second goal of the playoffs. canadiens up 2-0. piatt, by the way, did not kick kick the puck. the officials would review. the goal could stand. scott hartnell, the slap shot. jaroslav halak. take it to the third period, canadiens on top 3-0. brian gionta, finish it off, sir. montreal win it. but they trail in the series, 2-1. the big-time finishes, reds/braves. second inning. bases loaded. joey votto. the grand slam for him. his tenth home run of the year. they're on top. we take it to the ninth now.

braves trailing, 9-6. bases loaded. the pinch hitter, brooks con rat. oh, up with his glove. he almost had it. third home run of the season for conrad. his fifth career home run. his first career grand slam. and his first career walk-off. the braves win this in dramatic fashion, 10-9. that will do it for sports. back to you in new york. and coming up, the stories we'll be tracking this morning, including another busy day in space. we'll be right back. are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive 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 what i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression,

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been interviewed. president obama sends a message to automakers. he will outline an objective to sell cleaner cars. b.p. moves to another attempt to stop the oil spill in the gulf. they hope to have it done by sunday. and the company must find a new dispersement. the one it has been using is being called toxic. and "atlantis" astronauts will be returning to earth on wednesday, concluding the final mission for "atlantis." and coming up later on "good morning america," putting infomercial gadgets to the test. and our summer concert series gets under way with the jonas brothers. they take the stage in central park all morning long. >> i know you're excited about that. for some of you, your leakal news is up next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues after this. you get the option to name your price. is that even possible? uh, absolutely. trade?

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finally from us this morning, almost every merger or takeover has its share of nay-sayers. >> but few have left as bad a taste as the sail sale of the british legend cadbury, now owned by american-owned kraft. here's gloria riviera. >> reporter: all these tiny

morsels of heaven are cadbury's chocolate. for centuries, from the cream egg to the dairy milk bar, cadbury's chocolate has been a national treasure in england. so revered, even if queen has her own royal recipe. >> cadbury's unites everybody, high and low. the rich man in his castle. the poor man in his gate. >> it's like "alice in wonderland." >> reporter: this year, the u.s. company, kraft, better known for making what some brits call plastic cheese, took a big bite out of british culture when it gobbled up cadbury for nearly $20 billion. but nothing has illicited the fury now felt towards kraft. and in turn, americans. forget foreign diplomacy, it's cadbury's future that would make or melt the special relationship between the u.s. and great britain. and taste is what it all comes down to.

in the u.k., government regulations say chocolate candy must be made of 20% coco solids. in the u.s., less than half that. what are americans saying? get over it. >> we have to live with it. that's the way the world rolls right now. you know? everybody's taking over everybody. >> reporter: kraft says it will stay true to cadbury's. >> as far as our special relationship is concerned. >> it's as sweet as ever. >> reporter: ultimately, the experts will decide. what kind is your favorite chocolate? >> cream egg. >> cream egg. >> dairy milk. >> reporter: they'll be the ones to pass final judgment on what takes best. goir ya riviera, munching it over in london. >> cream eggs. >> cream eggs. that's what's making news in america -- i know, right >> moments away, the most sweeping