it's march 27th. we begin with breaking news. >> a raging wildfire in colorado, forcing hundreds of families from their homes. and overnight, taking at least one life. also overnight, president obama in south korea, firing back, of critics on his private open-mic moment which was caught on tape. megamillions mania. dreams of striking it rich as the jackpot skyrockets to 360 million bucks. and the rescue off of a california seaway. a grateful whale, with help from some humans.

good morning, everyone. we begin with the fast-moving wildfire, tearing through the colorado mountains. >> we're learning this morning that the blaze in the mountains southwest of denver has now turned deadly, claiming at least one life. >> we know at least five homes have burned to the ground so far. but the wind-driven flames are keeping firefighters from getting too close. so, that number could actually be much higher. more than 3,000 acres have been scorched and 900 homes evacuated. >> a sheriff's deputy who tried to spread word about the fire, drove into a ditch because of all of the thick smoke. he had to be rescued from his patrol car. the fire flared from a control burn. we have a live update later on "good morning america." developing right now, president obama defending a hot-mic moment caught on tape. >> seen these moments before. speaking overnight in south korea. he told leaders there was no

hidden agenda if he wants a second term. mary bruce is with the president in seoul. >> reporter: this morning, president obama tried to downplay his private conversation that was picked up on a hot microphone for all to hear. on monday, obama asked outgoing president medvedev, to give a message to vladimir putin, to put the brakes on negotiations over missile defense, at least for now. >> after my election, i have more flexibility. >> i understand. i will transmit this information to vladimir. >> reporter: republicans pounced. >> that's an alarming and troubling development. this is no time for our president to be pulling his punches with the american people and not telling us what he is intending to do with regards to our missile defense system. >> reporter: today, the president stood by his comments, saying they reflect the reality of the political climate. >> the only way i'm getting this

done is if i'm consulting with the pentagon. if i'm consulting with congress. if i have bipartisan support. and frankly, the current environment is not conducive to those kinds of thoughtful discussions. >> reporter: and he had a sense of humor about the gaffe. >> are the mics off? >> reporter: the president made sure not to make the same mistake today. covering up the microphone before greeting the russian president. mary bruce, seoul, south korea. the president is expected back in washington later tonight. thousands of demonstrators have rallied across the country, calling for justice in the trayvon martin case. but his parents are on the defensive this morning, after new information was leaked about their son's background. they are expected to make an appearance later today on capitol hill. abc's tahman bradley reports from washington. >> reporter: the streets of sanford, florida, remain tense. and in cities across the country, the calls for justice are as loud as ever. >> justice.

justice. >> reporter: as the rallies for slain 17-year-old trayvon martin continue, new information about the teenager and new information about what the shooter told police. martin was suspended from school at the time of the shooting, for being caught with a plastic being with trace amounts of marijuana. >> they killed my son. and now, they're trying to kill his reputation. >> reporter: george zimmerman has not been charged. he claimed self-defense. his attorney said martin was the aggressive, not his client. >> i think the way the magnitude of things have taken off. it's become a national issue. >> reporter: the incident began in the evening on february 26th, when zimmerman saw martin, thought he was suspicious and called police. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> reporter: it's not entirely clear what happened next. on the phone with him moments before he died, martin's girlfriend said he was being

followed. zimmerman told police the teen attacked him, punching him in the nose and then slamming his head on the ground. a 13-year-old eyewitness explained what he saw. you saw one person on the ground or two? >> i saw one person on the ground. i know they had on a t-shirt. >> light-colored t-shirt? dark color? >> a red t-shirt. >> reporter: a grand jury will convene next month to decide if zimmerman should be charged. tahman bradley, abc news. thankso tahman for that report. it's day two of the supreme court session on obama's health care plan. they will look at the heart of the case. it's the provision that requires everyone to carry insurance or pay a penalty. a decision in this case is expected this summer before the november elections. pope benedict is flying to havana to meet with president raul castro, and possibly his brother, former dictator, fidel

castro. he performed mass in santiago last night. 14 years of john paul's historic visit, he urged cuba to become a more open society. he will have another mass in havana. after weeks of record-shattering warmth, a cold front is threatening plants from the midwest to the mid-atlantic. freeze advisories have been posted in 11 states. those who planted early, scrambling to protect their garden. farmers could also suffer a whole lot of damage, which is not good for all of those farmers over there. >> that's what they're worried about. the early spring. and one more cold snap, a lot of crops. let's look at weather on this tuesday morning. severe storms behind that cold air, with 70-mile-per-hour winds and hail, from madison, wisconsin, to des moines. thunderstorms from michigan to the dakotas. and from texas into oklahoma.

heavy snow in the sierra nevada and cascades. and drenching rain from san francisco to sacramento. >> 55 in seattle. 68 in the twin cities. 64 in chicago. 80s from k.c. to dallas and miami. 73 in atlanta. 42 in boston. and it is 52 here in new york. coming up next, it is sweeping the nation. megamillions fever. a massive jackpot up for grabs tonight. and a whale freed from a fishing net offers aen amazing thank you to the people who came to its rescue. and who will be the first to go? the first elimination from t

welcome back, everyone. flying or driving, it is going to cost more to travel this summer. gas prices are now within shouting distance of 4 bucks a gallon. and more than half of us say that's going to affect our travel plans this summer. a travel industry survey says vacationers may make fewer trips or spend less on lodging. the third hike in three months. the airline is blaming high fuel prices. but some analysts say increased demand and lower are factors. and markets hear and overseas liked what they heard from ben bernanke. that the fed will do more to help the u.s. economy, particularly on job growth. tokyo's nikkei average soared 237 points today.

hong kong's hang seng gained 327. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow climbed 161 points yesterday. the nasdaq index was up 55 points to its highest level in more than 11 years. good news. and the documentary "bully" is being released without any rating. that's because industry sensors insisted it had to have an "r" rating because of coarse language in the film. now, theaters have to decide for themselves whether teens can see the film. the studio, of course, hopes they will. there won't be as much of the green beef filler known as pink slime in your supermarkets. the manufacturer has suspended operations at three of the four plants that make that product. some 600 workers at those plants will get full pay for 2 months while the company tries to convince the public that the ammon ammonia-treated meat is safe. you can expect big lines outside of convenient stores today. the megamillions jackpot is now

$363 million. that would be the largest ever for this state lottery. the odds of winning, 175 million to 1. but you never know. the folks that won the big ones, they're sitting pretty. why can't it be your turn? >> you're saying there's a chance. >> there's a chance. next on this tuesday morning, how chocolate can help keep the weight off. then also this morning, a crazy high-speed chase. the school bus with punctured tires. and then there's this -- >> i'm so excited about being a jet. i'm excited about meeting my teammates. >> i think the word'sv]çc8

both boats, and almost mouthed, thank you. it was pretty awesome. >> the rescuers say this whale was lucky. too often, the whales and dolphins get satangled in the nets. a dash cam video reveals a harrowing chase by police in new mexico. a stolen school bus was clocking 75 miles per hour when a squadron of police cars went after him. they threw down the rows of spike strips and tried to blow out its tires before it barreled into albuquerque traffic. one police car forced the driver to lose control after a chase that lasted 70 miles. wow. an amazing image from atlanta. a man literally buried in mud. the man was walking when he sank

into the earth and could not manage to get out. rescue crews had to be called in. they had to use a ladder to pull that unlucky guy from all that mud. and he is going to be okay. also, singer bobby brown, more trouble for him. he's been arrested for drunk driving in los angeles. brown, of course, was married to the late whitney houston, was pulled over monday afternoon and failed a sobriety test. this is brown's second dui arrest. he served eight days in jail back in the '90s. there's new hope this morning for the 23 million americans struggling with type 2 diabetes. new studies suggest that weight loss surgery can knock the disease into remission, sometimes within days. the procedure reduces the size of the stomach and intestines and may work by making hormonal changes in the intestine. and more good news about eating chocolate. it may help keep the weight off.

a new study finding that people who snack on chocolate five times a week are thinner than those who don't. the sweet stuff lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. a story that i can wrap my arms around this morning. >> all right. in sports news now, the women's final four match-ups are finally set. we get the highlights, now, from espn news. >> good morning. cole wright here with your "sportscenter" update. pat summitt and her lady vols looking to punch their ticket to their 19th final four. second half, brittney griner spins. brightny griner gets the lane. she's fouled. bears up 18. under a minute to go in the second. tempers beginning to flare. sha kiana strickland and ivy sims get tangled up. a few unpleasantries will be exchanged. griner comes off the bench. griner and two others were ejected for leaving the bench.

no ejections were handed out. players do not engage in fisticuffs. pat summitt, possibly her final game leaving the court. the embodiment of class. baylor wins 77-58. former secretary of state, condoleezza rice, watching her alma mater, stanford, taking on duke. scoring on the putback. later on in the first, cardinal out in front. a nine-point game. stanford, rolling by 11. second half now. the other half of the sisters, hitting the "j." stanford up ten. and later on, one more time. this time, she misses, but her sister, pulling up the dirty work. stanford wins 81-69. they're moving on to the final four. and here's how things look in the brackets. get them out. des moines region, raleigh

region, kingston region. the final four is whittled down. kentucky and connecticut, they square off at 7:00 eastern tonight. and notre dame and maryland, a 9:00 eastern tip time. the newest new york jet is an excitable guy. tim tebow appeared before the new york media for the first time since he was traded from the denver broncos. >> the former bronco used the word excited more than 40 times. count. >> i'm so excited about being a jet. so excited about meeting my teammates. and i'm very, very excited. this is exciting. it's exciting for me. excited about that. i guess they are pretty excited. i'm excited. i'm excited. that's exciting. i'm excited about being a jet. excited about the support that i have ear. it will be exciting to watch. and i'm excited about being a jet. i'm just excited to be here. i'm excited. i'm excited about it. >> despite the huge media crush since his arrival, the excitable tebow says he doesn't think it will be much of a distraction. >> i think he's excited.

i think i heard him say that. up next, "the pulse," everybody. "dancing with the stars" heads into its first elimination tonight. who will be the first to go? and it's the "mad men" moment that millions are excitedly talking about. uncover stronger, younger looking skin.

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to be talking about today. which couple will be booted off first off "dancing with the stars"? >> we'll find out if martina navratilova can ovcome a rough start on the dance floor. she and her partner have the low scores right now. melis melissa gilbert and her partner didn't impress the judges, either. >> my money is on maria menounos. "mad men" fans couldn't get enough of the show on friday. thanks to the rendition of the song. >> it was dedicated to don draper for his 40th b-day. ♪ zooby zooby zoo >> the song means kiss, kiss. the show is releasing it on

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updating our top stories now. one person has died in an out-of-control wildfire near denver. shifting winds have spread the flames across 3,000 acres. trayvon martin's parents are expected to take their case to capitol hill here. they will appear at a congressional forum on racial profiling, hate crimes and the take your ground laws. tonight's megamillions jackpot is up to 363 million bucks. today's weather. 123r50ez warnings from the mid-atlantic to the midwest. rain and mountain snow in the northwest, as well as california. finally from us this morning, tiger woods' pga win

last week, it may mean his career is back on track. but his avatar never went anywhere. >> tiger's video game has always been a best-seller. and a brand-new version comes out today in the u.s. i got a chance to talk with him about that, among other things. >> and there it is. >> reporter: tiger woods had it all. fame, fortune, and family. until that november night of 2009, when everything came crashing down. we rently met with the world's former number one. he's been putting it back together. but for woods, victory at augusta would be a sure sign he's back. it would be the first major since "w" was president. it's been nearly four years since eldrick tiger woods reeled in the big fish. >> he's weak. and he's subject to not being the same ever again. >> reporter: how much do you want to prove people wrong now?

>> my dad told me to play for myself. don't play for anyone but yourself. >> reporter: his golf game isn't exactly where he wants it to be. however, his franchise of video games, never been better. with the release of tiger woods pga 13, gamers see the tour, and tiger, like never before. >> it goes back to when i was about 2 1/2, 3 years old. and to be able to play me throughout my entire career. >> reporter: but his game-changer, no console is required. as tiger demonstrates, your body is the controller. it's all possible with kinect technology. >> you see a play out. drop it under. >> reporter: what do you think about your toddler avatar? >> it looks like i have a diaper on still. >> reporter: what was your favorite part of the game when you were that young? >> having fun with my dad. being out there with my dad. we had an absolute blast. >> reporter: it's with his dad in the backyard where it all began. as the gamer, you get to experience it all. the g