this morning, on "world news how to" ripped apart. tornadoes slam the middle of the country. >> the extreme weather killed at least five people, after looking at the damage in some hard-hit communities, it's a miracle the death toll did not go higher. it's monday, april 16th. from abc news this is world news now. good monday morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero in for paula faris. in one community, the tornado siren was wiped out.

in another community, a hospital was almost ripped off. tense of millions of dollars, a small town in oklahoma was the hardest hit. good morning to you, diana. >> reporter: rob, good morning, the strongest tornado was rotted in kansas. the second strongest was did the damage around me. it levels the carpet store and tossed trucks like toys. worse, killed five people. it was as bad as forecasters had feared. by the time the fore tornadoes passed, hundreds of people were affected. neighbors came back to their homes to clean up. in one of the hardest hit areas, wood ward, oklahoma, many were

caught offforward when warning sires failed to sound. the tornado thatter to through the community left a tragic legacy. five dead, including a father and his two daughters. dozens of buildings were leveled. one office was completely destroyed. the one next to it has picture frames on the wall. and a mug on the owner's desk. trucks carrying food, water, cots, and other supplies headed to the area. where more than 8,000 residents were without power. >> scary. very scary. >> reporter: the oklahoma governor toured the damage by air and on the ground. >> it's been encouraging to me to be in wood ward to see just the immediate response by so many great oklahomans and how people help their fellow neighbors. >> reporter: in high what, a hospital took a direct hit from

a tornado. everyone in it's path survived. in kansas, about 97 tornadoes were reported. leaving dozens injured. and as you can tell, it was a highly destructive weekend. it was a highly unusual one, too. take kansas, for example, on average the state has about 55 or the nay dmoes a year. and this weekend, it had almost 100. it's staggering, the number of tornadoes experienced this week end, rob. >> unbelievable. the death toll couch been a lot worse. diana alvear, thank you. our other major story this morning is the growing scandal surrounding the president's secret service detail. the agents are charged are partying with prostitutes. tahman bradley has the latest. >> reporter: the president was forced to take a question about it. the president says he expects a rigorous investigation.

those men and women entrusting with protecting the president. this morning, 11 secret service personnel and five u.s. military service ep face embarrassing allegations of heavy drinking and soliciting prostitutes. >> if it turns out that some of the allegations made in the press are confirmed, then, of course, i'll be angry. >> reporter: members of congress called the alleged behavior outrageous. the how oversight committee chairman vows to investigate. >> how did this happen? how often has it happened before? >> the incidents allegedly occurred days before the president arrived in cartajena. sources say local women were

coming in with the agents. the alleged scandal might have remained secret if not for an argument between the agents and an alleged prostitute. >> she wouldn't leave until she was paid money owed to her. >> reporter: none of the agents assigned were to protect the president. but many believe that it compromised the president's safety. >> security was compromised because the agents were in a compromised position where they could be blackmailed. >> reporter: they were sent home while agency investigates. >> tahman bradley reporting from washington. thanks. to afghanistan's capitol of kabul. the fighting that ranged there and other cities is over. security forces clashed for 18 deadly hours. at least 36 rebels were killed in the fighting along with a

dozen afghan fighters. an al qaeda-linked group is claiming responsibility. they're monitoring syria's crumbling cease-fire. the attacks were escalated over the weekend in the city of homs. another 25 u.n. observers will join the team later this week. the coast guard has called off the search for four yacht crew members. the coast guard searched 5,000 square miles of ocean for more than 30 nours adings to the four missing sailors. the body of one who died was recovered. three others survived the ordeal. time for a look at the weather. the threat of severe weather moved east over the ohio valley. west virginia, upstate new york. new orleans and houston could see storms today.

winter over parts of minnesota and michigan. more like july on the east coast of boasten. a record-break 90 degrees. not good for the marathon runners. pleasant and mild in l.a. al but occ albuquerque in the 60s. political charges and countercharges in the so called war on women. who is saying what as another campaign leek gets started? plus, what attendance at baseball games is telling us about the economy. and also today, a startling confession in a case that cost a basketball coach his job. turns out, it was all a lie. stick around. we'll be right back.

welcome back, everybody. well, there are science of a spring renewal from housing. buyer confidence seems to be up as the job market seems to get better out there. mortgage rates and home prices are low. rents are high. they expect the housing market to move higher slowly but steadily. analysts say the turnout at baseball games is a good economic indicator. major league baseball predicts an increase in aten dans this year. up to 3k9 to 5%. overseas markets are down today because of worries about south korea and spain.

tokyo's nikkei average fell 167 points. hong kong's hang seng dropped about 145. in london, the ftse owned lower. on wall street, the dow lost 211 points last week. the nasdaq index was off 69. key votes on tax bills are set for this week. the senate could vote today or the so called buffett rule backed by the president and fellow democrats. it would impose a minimum tax on about 30% of the nation's millionair millionaires. the. bill would give a tax break to small businesses. and movie goeers are still thirsting for "the hunger games." it was number one for the fourth consecutive weekend. tooking in already $22 million. the total, nearly $337 million. "the three stooges" abued in second and the cabin in the woods made about 15 million

bucks. and when we come back, mitt romney with new details on his spending plan. and baseball honoring a true trail blazer. everyone on the diamond wearing number 42. we'll be right back. the capital one cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh! and then the baby bear said, "i want 50% more cash in my bed!" phhht!

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well, four good smar answer the managed to save a driver whose suv had rolled into a creek in denver. the car was submerged for ten minutes while they broke the windows and opened the door. the fire department arrived just the time to cut through the seat belts. i-90 from chicago to buffalo could be wet. wet along i-40 near memphis, i-90 and 84 could be icy. wet on i-5 near seattle. if you're flying today, airport

delays are possible in houston and new orleans. political news this morning. mitt romney has promised to cut income taxes and rein in federal spending. during a florida fund-raiser last night, he said high earners would probably lose the mortgage interest deduction for second homes. he would look to hud and the education department for additional cuts. to the fight for women's votes in this country. mitt romney is claiming more than 92% of the jobs lost in the last two years were held by women. david kerley reports that the obama administration is not taking the claim lying down. >> reporter: it was the treasure sec tir of abc's "this week" -- >> it's a ridiculous way to look at the problem. >> reporter: this battle was intensified by the latest attack by mitt romney.

he's using a new statistic. >> 92.3% of the people who have lost jobs have been women. his failures have hurt women. >> reporter: really? here's the fact check. the number is correct. but misleading and mostly false, say experts, because the romney campaign didn't look at the recession as a whole. which saw male job losses earlier, before mr. owe what took office. what does geithner think of the stats? >> it's ridiculous. it's been largely debunked. >> but technically accurate. >> the crisis began in early 2008. the early job losses in manufacturing and construction. a lot of men lost jobs then. a lot of women lost jobs later on. >> reporter: no assertion by either side is going unanswered. it will be a nasty 6 1/2 months to election day. david kerley, abc news, the white house. >> nasty and long. remember, tonight, on "world

news," diane sawyer's exclusive interview with ann and mitt romney. you can suggest questions on e-mail. the lavish conference put on in vegas. the inspector general is testifying today in the house. the executive largely responsible for the conference is expected to plead the fifth. it has been five years since the devastating massacre at virginia tech. a mentally ill student shot 32 people to death and wounded 25 others before taking his own life. a candle light vigil is set for tonight to honor the dead. also a startling confession from one of the men who rocked the syracuse university basketball program this year. turns out it was all lies. zackary tomaselli accused bernie

fine of molesting him. now, tomaselli says he never ep met fine. he said he's proud of his ability to lie. about 27,000 runners are expected in today's 116th boston marathon. for yesterday's sport s news, te highlights from espn news. good morning. this is your "sport s"sportscen update. kobe bryant nursing a shin injury. sessions, a jumper. los angeles down by three. under three to play in the fourth. sessions, doing the work, hitting the floater. 2 of his 22 points. we're tied at 95-95. that vic nowitzki, three, no good. we're going to overtime. in ot, gasol, knocking down the

second of his two three pointers for a 20 and 10 game he had. the last chance for dallas, terry, no good. the lakers win, 112-108. some baseball. padres-dodgers, top of the ninth. the pitch hits the batter, he thinks it's foul. ellis picks it up in front of the plate and makes the throw to third. the dodgers turn the triple play while padres watch this confusion. bud black coming out to argue. the umpires come out to talk about it. lands in towel territory. black gets tossed from the game. bottom of the ninth. bases loaded. gordon, singling for left for the walkoff rbi. the dodgers win. they're 9-1 for the first time since '81. and remember, monday night baseball coming your way tonight

at 7:00 eastern time. it's the twins taking on the yankees on espn. espn3 and the watch espn app. you may have noticed lots of number 42s out there. that's because 65 years ago, jackie robinson, number 42 himself, made his debut with the dodgers. becoming the first black player to take to the field in the major leagues. to mark the occasion, every player on every team wore his number. coming up next, "the pulse." we knew tim tebow was kind of popular. wait until you hear how popular this guy really is. and landmark for titanic, the movie. the world marks a century since that famous disaster. stay with us. it just wouldn't go away. 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

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all right, time to check "the pulse," the stories you'll be talk about today. we start with new york jets backup quarterback tim tebow. he hosted a big golf tournament fund-raiser over the weekend. the real news came at a luncheon auction last friday. a mystery couple bid $100,000 for the prize of spending a day with mr. tebow. they live in the florida cease. they want him to spend time with local kids during their day with the nfl star. a picture from the summit in colombia proves it wasn't all

business. this doesn't have to do with the secret service story we did earlier. check out secretary of state hillary clinton dancing. we hope she enjoyed it all. now that seemingly endless event marks 100 years since the sinking of "the titanic" are wrapping up, we have tidbits for you. ticket sales for the film now top $2 billion. on top of that, a new york auction house sold off some origin original trinkets. a menu sold for more than $31,000. a ticket for the launch fetched about 66 grand. for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, the science behind your morning cup of coffee.

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updating the top news stories now. the nation's heartland is picking up the pieces after more than 130 tornadoes touched down over the weekend. five people, including a father and his two daughters died in oklahoma. president obama says he'll be angry if allegations against secret service agents prove to be true. they're accused of partying with a prostitute in colombia ahead of the president's visit there. if you haven't field your taxes yet, you're in luck. the deadline is not until tomorrow, the 17th. you're getting an extra two days because the 15th was a sunday and today is a holiday in d.c. rain in the pacific northwest. the east coast could set some heat records. and finally from us this half hour, a new study about caffeine and the brain.

it's a story that is certain to perk you up this morning. basically, it seex to answer two questions. what does a brain on caffeine look like? is it something we should worry about? lisa stark reports. >> reporter: it's the most popular drug in the world. >> i need that little boost. >> reporter: it's everywhere, from 320 milligrams in a star bucks coffee grande. now inhaleable, 100 milligrams in an instant. could that be changing your brain? we turned to researchers at wake forest where i underwent two mri brain scans. first one, with no caffeine in my system. then i dound one drink. now my second mri. this was before calf fee. this was after. the difference was remarkable. >> it's like a 40% drop in the

blood flow you to brain. that's a lot. >> reporter: why the drop? caffeine drops a chemical called adenosine. add caffeine, less blood circulates in the brain. your blood pressure and heart rate go up. if you skip your regular coffee, that surging blood can trigger a caffeine headache. >> it's like trying to get a fire hose to pump blood to your skull. >> reporter: if you're a caffeine lover, your brain has changed. it now functions normally on caffeine. how much do i have to drink to change the physiology of my brain? >> not very much. >> reporter: not much? >> one cup a day will change your brain. >> reporter: for healthy adults, a few cups a day is not dangerous. a little caffeine can do a lot. lisa stark, abc news, winston-salem, north caro.