making news this morning. damage control. >> critics piling on mitt romney again for saying he's not concerned about the nation's very poor. rivals are quick to strike, as donald trump meantime elbows into the campaign today. myselfry in the night sky. millions saw this strange light last night. ing facebook with images. what was it? and stoned joan. the must see by the nearly 80-year-old legend. joan rivers gets high on pot and then gets the munchies. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. las vegas seems to be the perfect setting as donald trump makes an announcement on the republican race today. >> meanwhile, mitt romney looks for votes in vegas as well, as we trying to recover though from yet another gaffe.

tahman bradley joins us from washington with more on the day ahead. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. newt gingrich trying to turn things around. especially are mitt romney in damage control. in need of a beast, newt gingrich might play a trump card. two campaign advisers say they expect their candidate will receive donald trump's endorsement at a las vegas event today. gingrich has not been told directly. the potential endorsement comes as front-runner mitt romney is under attack once again for something he said. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. you can focus on the rich. that's not my focus. you do focus on the very poor. that's not my focus. my focus is on the middle americans. >> reporter: his comments lit up the political world.

his opponents say that shows he's out of touch. >> i'm running to be the president of all the american people. i'm concerned about all of the american people. >> reporter: president obama's campaign manager tweeted. even rush limbaugh chimed in. >> he makes himself a target with this stuff. he comes across as the prototypical rich republican. >> reporter: critics say this is not the first time he's said this. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> reporter: romney is trying to change the subject. he talked about automatic increases in the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. >> tahman bradley, looks lite mitt romney suffers a little bit from foot in mouth disease. turning to southern

california. they're trying to fix a leak in a power plant there. it's raising troubling questions about nuclear safety. with more, here's david wright. officials say the radiation leak likely occurred in the steam generator tubes of san onofre's reactor number 3. >> no danger to the public. no danger to our workers. >> reporter: did any radiation leak out? >> if there was any leakage at all, it would have been so minor. >> reporter: that steam system, which is supposed to be shielded from any exposure to radiation, was replaced in december 2010. so, the question is, why did those parts fail now? >> it could be a mechanical issue, due to new equipment. there is also the possibility that the equipment was defective and this is a harbinger of more problems. >> reporter: san onofre is one of dozens of u.s. reactors facing new scrutiny after japan's nuclear crisis. right on the coast, in the heart of america's earthquake country. just next door to the marine

corps west coast hub. camp pendleton. we came here the day the fukushima daiichi plant in japan melted down. plant officials were eager to reassure the public the same thing could not happen here. is this plant safe? >> absolutely. this plant is safe. >> reporter: after japan, the nuclear regulatory commission updated its seismic model. and a report issued found that 96 reactors in the central and southern u.s. are in regions at higher risk of a quake than previously thought. this event is likely just faulty equipment. plant officials are assuring the public and the workers it's not in danger. people are underbly nervous after what happened in japan. david wright, abc news. u.s. combat troops could leave afghanistan by the end of next year under a new military

plan. that's about 18 months sooner than expected. trainers and advisers will remain in the country through 2014. the approach is similar to the one used to end u.s. military involvement in iraq. and egypt is in mourning right now following a deadly riot at a soccer match. at least 74 people were killed. hundreds injured. it started after the home team secured an unlikely win against egypt's top club. fans running on to the field attacking players 37 many accusing security forces of doing nothing to stop the attacks. news casters overcome with emotion while reporting. this is the deadliest soccer violence since 1996. now, washington state, same-sex couples could walk down the aisle by june. the bill was passed in the state senate yesterday. the house is expected to approve the measure as early as next

week. the governor says she will sign the bill into law. now to the strange sight over texas. a bright light streaking across the sky under the out to be a meteor. this video was captured by a dash cam on a patrol car. sightings reported as far away as kansas. there's no confirmation it hit the ground. >> what an amazing sight to witness. time for the weather across the nation. late-day bliss ard-like conditions from the rockies to denver. gusty winds and hail with a chance of tornadoes from oklahoma city to amarillo and dallas. thick morning fog in the upper midwest. early showers from d.c. to west virginia. 67 in atlanta. a warm 82 in atlanta. kansas city, 62. 50s in the pacific northwest. 68 in phoenix. coming up, the body blow for

thousands of american airlines workers as the company announces massive layoffs. >> rough news there. plus, this morning, the multimillionaire in hot water who, get this, has now adopted his girlfriend. some legal experts are calling it a bril yanlt move. and on this ground hog's day, when groundhogs go bad. we're right back.

welcome back this thursday morning.

facebook's initial public offering filing yesterday gives us a glimpse inside the company. the number of new users could level off. facebook ads have not been that effective so far. some of the employees will make so much money off the ipo, they may leave. next year, founder mark zuckerberg will be paid just $1. i think he'll be all right. there's turbulence ahead for american airlines employees. the bankrupt airline wants to slash 13,000 jobs. they want to end the pension plans and cut health benefits for retirees and current employees. auto sales are taking off. most auto makers posted strong sales in january. this could be the best year for the industry since the recession. many drives need to replace aging vehicles. the average car on the road is how old? about 11 years old.

markets were up overnight on better than expected economic data from the u.s. and china. tokyo's nikkei average picked up 67today. hong kong's hang seng jumped 406. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow gained 84 points. the nasdaq rose 34. the nfl is using social media to help 150,000 fans pektsed in indy on sunday. the first ever social media command center will monitor facebook and other sites as well. they're ready to answer questions such as where to eat and what parking garages have spaces available? can you overstate the power of facebook and twitter? amazing. >> it's completely changed everything we do. next, the treasure hunter who says he found a ship wreck worth $300 billion.

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we went around the country asking women to speak frankly about something no one wants to talk about. it's time to get real about what happens in the bathroom. stop all the cutesy stuff. and start talking about what you really want from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. vo: quilted northern soft & strong is stronger than the leading rippled brand to help protect against breakthrough.

for myself, for my family, it keeps us clean. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft & strong. protection for a confident clean or your money back. ♪ and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes ♪ and here it is for the first time ever, nasa is providing us with a shot of the dark side of the moon. the shot was captured by a nasa spacecraft orbiting up there. now we know what the dark side of the moon looks like. >> you're a pink floyd fan, aren't you? >> a little bit, yeah. for the among road conditions. foggy and icy on i-94 from fargo to chicago. rain also soex i. 10 and 20 in texas and louisiana. heavy snow on parts of i-15 and

80 in wyoming and utah. flight delays possible in chicago, minneapolis, denver, salt lake city, houston and new orleans. a wealthy houston businessman has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend in an apparent attempt to shield his assets. >> john goodman is charged in a fatal 2010 drunk driving accident in florida. the parents of the 23-year-old man killed in the crash are suing goodman. but he decided to adopt his girlfriend after a judge ruled that the trust funds set up for his two biological children are off limits. >> folks are look at this as it's brilliant or a crazy stunt that could backfire. >> the adoption took place three months ago but was not disclosed until this week. he's facing a criminal trial on the dui manslaughter trial. he could get up to 30 years behind bars.

mississippi's highest court will laer legal challenges to the pardons by the outgoing governor. he sparked a lot of outrage by pardoning dozens of people, including kirls and rapists. and a bunch of treasure unt hers are waiting for the right conditions to start what could be mare last recovery mission. it will take place 50 miles out in the atlantic. the wreck of a british ship sunk in world war ii. they say there's about $3 billion in platinum on board that ship. the hope is to keep the mission mostly a secret to avoid piracy. it's not expected to start for a few weeks. good luck, fellas. in medical news, researchers say sugar can be harmful, just like alcohol and tobacco. a group of scientists from the university of california san francisco wrote a paper calling sugar a toxic and addictive

substance that should be taxed and regulated just like booze and cigarettes. >> it would raise a lot of money. security forces are cranking up the alert levels as we get closer to the big game. homeland security secretary was in indianapolis detailing new security measures. fans are told not bring anything to the stadium that could disrupt the big game, including umbrellas and camcorders. private aircraft will be banned from flying near the stadium. now for hoops highlights. we check in with the gang at espn news. good morning, i'm jorge andres. we start with the nba. the thunder. taking on the mavs. okc off to the best start since they were the seattle supersonics. first quarter, delonte west making it look easy. rick carlisle is upset. russell westbrook. and the jam.

after the quick, carlisle apologizing to a fan. why? he kicked the ball and wrap, right in his face. he would get ejected from the game. kevin durant, jumper, easy. thunder up four. later, westbrook, three-bomb me please. thunder win, 95-86. college hoops, number six baylor taking on texas a&m. jones. to jackson. he makes three balls look easy. baylor up by five. just over 2:00 to go. david to daniel alexander. knocking down threes. and we're knotted up. under 40 seconds to go in the ball game. nice move. and a bucket. texas a&m up by two. 20 seconds to go. jackson. pull-up three to go. baylor bears up by one.

nine seconds. turner. quick. looking to have something. not going to do it. it's 63-60, a baylor win. that's your spence news update. for more, tune in to espn news. on this 30th anniversary show last night, david letterman cracked that when he started on tv he still had his own hair and heart. he welcomed howard stern to help him mark the big occasion. >> some long-time staffers did their top tens. one told letterman he was incompetent. coming up next, the artist who is about to be worth almost $250 million because of facebook. and joan rivers channeling cheech & chong. stick around for this story. my name is ed pines, and i've been growing oranges for tropicana for 15 years.

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all right, it's time to check "the pulse" the stories you'll be talking about today. today is the day. groundhog day. in the spotlight it's punxsutawney phil behaving nicely last year. that's not always the case. new york's major had his fingers chomped on a few years ago by

staten island chuck. they can't predict the weather either. it's been a mild winter. i'm guessing he'll not see his shadow. spring is coming early. i feel it. >> i don't. now to the latest shocker on reality tv. this time from the one and only joan rivers. >> in the latest episode of "joan and melissa, joan knows best" she's seen smoking marijuana in car with her friend. they're so stoned, they call her daughter, melissa, to come get her. >> you have to come get us. we need you. >> i don't know what you're up to. >> she has the prettiest hair, melissa. >> i know lynn has nice hair. >> and my hair is pretty, too. >> it's so pretty pi. >> oh, my gosh. >> the day when the daughter has to act like the mom. joan and her friend got the munchies.

they stopped for burgers and fries from a food truck. >> what do you say about that? we mentioned facebook is going public today. lots of people are in for a huge windfall. among them, bono. >> he paid $120 million for a chunk of facebook two years ago. and david cho, who painted their offices in 2005, he chose to be paid in stock instead of cash. wise decision. his shares could be valued at $200 million when trading starts. >> he said he once thought the idea was ridiculous and pointless. i don't think he or his wallet feel the same way now. >> for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, remembering a legend. soul train's don cornelius. for better nutrition. is te and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain?

same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal.

updates today's top stories.

expectations are that donald trump will endorse newt gingrich today in vegas. but with the donald, you never know what will happen. workers are trying to plug a leak at a nuclear plant in san onofre. investigators are trying to find out why a knew part malfunctions. if the senate approves the law, same sex couples could get married by in summer in washington. a big weather hits the northern rockies today before hitting denver and moving into the great plains. some areas could be buried under a foot of snow. get those shovels ready. finally from thus morning, remembering the pioneer of television's soul. "soul train" founder don cornelius apparently took his own life at the age of 75. >> here's chris connolly. >> the hippest trip in america.

>> reporter: what don cornelius created for television would become the most influential m music program of its time. >> i wanted to do a black american ban stand. >> reporter: the first national guest. gladys knight and the pips. ♪ everyone across the nation no ♪ >> reporter: over the years, stevie wonder to the jackson 5. ♪ oh, baby, move it baby >> reporter: james brown. and so many other greats. even aretha franklin. >> esh watched "soul train" and don cornelius. he was a gentleman first, last, and always. >> reporter: contemporary music by african-americans.

it was placed front and center here. >> when it came on, it was overnight hot. not because it was such a wonderful show. but because it was there. >> reporter: because as everyone knew, the biggest stars on soul train weren't the singers. they were the dancers. >> flat forms. bell-bottoms, afros, big afros. >> nice wig you got on there, man. >> i hope he knew at the very end what he gave us to all. because it's amazing. his contradiction to african-american culture, to american culture, if it's every forgotten, we should be ashamed. >> i'm don cornelius. we wish you love, peace, and soul. >> reporter: i'm chris connelly in los angeles. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for