we begin this wednesday with breaking news. a tornado outbreak overnight. rare winter twisters tear through the plains. causing injuries, destroying buildings. it's the same system bringing snowy misery from minnesota to maine. mitt romney's battle for his home state pays off. he gets a critical primary win in michigan. rick santorum seems ready to fight on. a community in mourning coming together after three students are killed. and a home-coming kiss seen around the world. the marine and his man. an unlikely internet sensation.

good morning, i'm meg oliver in for paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. breaking news this morning. a tornado outbreak slamming the heartland overnight. ten twisters last night from nebraska to missouri. the high winds flattened a church. damaged homes. homes were destroyed in springfield and joplin, missouri. >> this is hutchinson, kansas, just after sun set last night. for more of the same is expected today from tennessee to the carolinas. >> the same massive winter system is bringing snow to states across the northern u.s. blizzard warnings and whiteout conditions on tap for the dak a dakotas and minnesota. it will dump up to a foot of snow in northern menew england. we'll have the forecast in a few minutes.

we're also tracking more breaking news this morning in alabama. >> three people are missing after their helicopter went down. the mh-65 dolphin was on training mission when it crashed into the bay. one person was rescued. it's not clear if those on board were members of the coast guard. we'll stay on top of the breaking stories. the other major story, the gop primary. mitt rom fi got a narrow win in michigan and an easy win in arizona. >> super tuesday is now a week away. tahman bradley joins us from washington with more. good morning. >> meg and rob, good morning to you. mitt romney will pick up a lot of delegates thanks to his victories in arizona and michigan. rick santorum could end up with more delegates from michigan

than romney. any way you look at it, a big night for romney. a sigh of relief. he squeaked out narrow victory. >> we didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough. that's all that counts. >> reporter: this could help him re-establish his front-runner status. >> i have plan that will restore america's promise through more jobs, less debt, and smaller government. >> reporter: rick santorum is not conceding ground. >> a month ago, they didn't know who we are. but they do now. >> reporter: mitt romney's win in michigan gives the candidate fresh momentum. it probably won't ease concern that he can't connect with voters. >> they now barely win their home state. his home state of michigan. that puts them in a position where they know he's still vulnerable in the primary, but

really vulnerable in the general election. >> reporter: 30% of voters say they're very conservative. santorum won them by double digits. they're expected to be a bigger part of the electorate in upcoming states. michigan has an open primary. exit polling shows that 1 in 10 voters there were democrats. they overwhelmingly went for rick santorum. presumably because they think he would be the easier candidate for the president to defeat in november. >> a lot of interesting math about how those delegates will be doled out in michigan. super tuesday, six days away. what is the race look like in ohio? >> reporter: well, rick santorum is leading in the polls. mitt romney would desperately like to win there. he's headed there today. in ohio, a smaller percentage of

very conservative voters and evangelicals than some of the southern states that vote on super tuesday. both romney and santorum want ohio because of blue collar workers. >> appreciate the report. thanks a lot. to ohio now, where hundreds gathered in the town of chardon last night to remember the three students killed in monday's shooting. the governor called on the crowd to reach out with love to one another in this time of grief. the stooting suspect, t.j. lane, could be charged as soon as tomorrow. >> reporter: 911 calls. >> chardon high school, we have shots fired. guns shots. multiple gunshots. is there there's someone in the building with a gun. >> reporter: two more students shot in the school have died. russell king and demetrius

brulin. the 17-year-old suspect, t.j. lane, on his way to court. prosecutors say he confessed to the crime but offered no explanation. >> he went into the school cafeteria and fired ten rounds. that he did not know the students but chose them randomly. >> reporter: but why? few clues so far. both lane's parents have a history of domestic violence, as shown by these court records. his father was charged with attempted murder. we're hearing from frank hall, the hero coach who chased lane out of the school, saving untold lives. >> i want to say i'm sorry to the families, to the victims. i wish i could have done more. >> reporter: faculty and staff will gather on wednesday at 9:00 a.m. grief counselors will be on hand. students will return to school on friday.

in chardon, ohio, reena ninan, abc news. >> and reena will have more on "good morning america." as black history month ends today, the contribution of slaves is being remembered in washington. a new stone marker remembers the slave labor that helped to build. the original chisel marks by those that built the build rg still visible. time for the weather across the nation. snow from the dakotas to new england. severe storms in the south rngs with hail, gusty winds and tornadoes from memphis to raleigh. showers and thunderstorms along the gulf coast. snow in the cascades, northern rockies, lake tahoe and reno. 37 in minneapolis, 55 in chicago. 57 in kansas city. 70s from dallas to atlanta.

and 47 here in new york. coming up, apple appears ready for another major announcement, it's just days away. >> get in line folks. and then the latest on the crippled cruise ship making its way to shore. and two different sports but so much in common. the new bromance between tim tebow and jeremy lin.

overseas markets were higher

overnight on good news from the u.s. after the dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since the start of the financial crisis back in 2008. tokyo's nikkei average was up less than a point today. hong kong's hang seng did better with 111. in london, the ftse opened higher. the dow picked up 24 points, above 13,000, a good sign for everybody. the nasdaq gained 21 for its highest close in get this, 11 years. the greek parliament has pafed the way for a second round of rescue loans. earlier, it made some deep cuts to the country's minimum wage. apple is holding a media event next week. it's all but certain the company will announce its ipad 3. it sent out invitations yesterday showing part of the ipad screen. the location is where it unveiled the first two verses. it may also announce its

long-rumored television set. you can spend 24 hours straight at a disney theme park to celebrate leap day. they'll be open from 6:00 a.m. today to 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. they'll offer special t-shirts and hoodies. forecasts at both are a little chilly. >> go and have a good time. tell mickey and minnie we said hi. watching the waters of debris from the japanese tsunami expected near hawaii any day now. and the cruise ship headed to land. rmy activia video. love this stuff. i'm starting to feel a change no longer feeling slow. i can't believe i thought irregularity was my normal. now i don't miss a beat. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day.

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time now for a look at morning road conditions. wet on i-95 from jacksonville to new york. and icy into new england. a slick ride of i-80 from new york to chicago. snow on i-94 and 35 in the upper

midwest. icy on i-94 in the cascades and rockies. if you're flying today, airport delays possible in minneapolis, detroit, boston to atlanta and out in san francisco. a crippled cruise liner is being towed to safer water this morning carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew. the ship got stuck off the coast of somalia after a fire on board. >> jeffrey kofman is in the seychelles islands. some greem vacation. they're adrift on a cruise ship with no power. >> it's not easy for them to stay so long on the ship without all of the essential energy. they've let them use the water, the facilities and everything. >> reporter: that means no toilets, no air conditioning, no

hot food. that is why you can see the passengers crowded on the dex. a french fishing ship began toeing the ship to the main island of the seychelles. it's not been a good year for costa cruise lines and its owner, carnival. just a month ago, a cruise ship was damaged and 32 people died. >> i don't know how they'll feel about it. james doesn't want to go on another ship at the moment. >> reporter: it's a god thing the weather is mild here. this will not be the last time they sleep under the stars. that ship not expected to arrive here until thursday morning. jeffrey kofman, abc news, in the seychelles islands. the passive swirl of debris

from gentlemjapan's tsunami is d off the coast any day now. up to 4 million understand the of debris were swept into the ocean. it's expected to eventually reach the west coast of the u.s. mainland. by now, millions of people have seen the kiss. the photo of the ga marine being welcomed home from afghanistan. it was their first kiss. they knew each other for years. they started dating just a few months ago on facebook. >> a lot of people have made me out to be a media superstar. i'm not the hero. i've said this before. the people who are the heroes were the once able to blaze the trail. >> reporter: sergeant morgan says his marine superiors are happy for him that he has someone to love. a medical report this morning. about the statin drugs that so many people take to prevent

heart disease. new labels are being ordered about side effects, including memory loss, confusion and raised blood sugar levels. for most people, the side effects are rare and reversible. they want anyone experiencing them to tell their doctor. time for college hoops. we get all the highlights from espn news. good morning, my name is todd grisham, the this is your espn news update. you want college basketball? good, i've got it. michigan state and indiana. the spartans have won six straight. cody zeller was huge. later. green with the steal. and the throwdown. he was the best player on the floor for the spartans. later, green for three. green was a monster. 29 points. but it would not be enough. too much victor. great screen set up. he made that look easy.

and then with 6:00 to go, this pretty much sums up the night for indiana. everything was dropping. look how high off the glass that hit. and jordan with a more conventional three, straight through the hoop. indiana wins it, 70-55. upsetting michigan state. to the acc. duke looking to finish perfect on the road in acc play for the first time in 12 years. austin rivers, steal, coast to coast. now a 20-point game. ryan kelly. for three. he had a career-high 20 points. still in the second, wake forest trying to make a run. tony chennault, in transition. cut the lead to 11. just 25067 duke. placen plumlee. get out of his way. duke rolling. 79-71. the final. for all the highlights you

can possibly stomach and the latest sports news, check out espn news. it's what we do. i'm todd grisham. have a good day. coming up next, a jam-packed "pulse." tim tebow's new bromance and paula deen's weight loss paying off. a close call when a grizzly bear starts to charge.

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all right, time to check "the pulse." and we're talking about the latest bromance. denver quarterback tim tebow and new york knicks sensation jeremy lin are phone pals. >> they have a lot to talk about. their fame and their christian faith. both men say when their pro sports careers are over, they want to become pastors. tv chef paula deen is not such a butterball anymore. she's looking noticeably slimmer lately. she tells "people" magazine she's dropped two pants sizes. here she is before and after. >> she looks great. she says she walked 30 minutes a day and has cut her food portions in half. she doesn't know how much they weighs because she doesn't have a scale. >> not bad. you don't know, you don't know. this freaks me out. a brown bear in alaska wanted a group of tourists to get out of his fishing spot.

the bear came within three feet of the shocked tourists. they didn't move, even breathe for that matter. >> their guide called it a bluff charge, meaning that the bear was just trying to scare them away. fortunately, no one in the group moved or ran away, which might have made him attack instead. >> i would be dead. i would have ran. two california men have soared into history for the longest flight of a paper airplane ever. former college qb john ayoup sailed the plane in an airplane hangar. >> he beat the world record by seven feet. it was a lifelong dream fulfilled. >> i won't per they have a secret, the way they fold it or throw it. i could never get mine to go more than a couple of feet. impressive. for some of you, your local news

is coming up next. for everyone else, more "america this morning" after this. mmm. good meeting. same time tomorrow? [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. i see a bag and think... i could have a chip. yeah right. that's why they're called chipsss. [ female announcer ] special k cracker chips. 27 crispy chips. 110 delicious calories. [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. ♪ the only moisturizer for me? cerave. [ male announcer ] cerave uses patented technology to restore your skin's protective barrier. so your skin looks and feels healthy. visit cerave.com for a free coupon.

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updating our breaking news now. severe storms have triggered a batch of tornadoes. at least ten in fact, with 80-mile-an-hour winds. eight people hurt at a kansas apartment complex. more twisters expected today from memphis to raleigh. a blizzard is slamming the dakotas and upper midwest with blinding snow. up to a foot of snow sis expectd in new england. mitt romney scores primary victories in michigan and arizona. he faces new challenges ahead of next week's super tuesday contest. voters in ten states vote next tuesday. finally from thus morning, there are 50 american states. i think we knew that. when it comes to language,

they're not so united. >> they have all been collected in one place. the dictionary of american regional english. john berman takes a tour. >> reporter: we have all seen proof that america is a world superpower. to you this might look like a -- >> dust bunny. >> reporter: that ball of hair and dust under your bed. but in the northeast, it's a dust kitty. the south, a house moss. pennsylvania, a woolie. in california -- >> a mungie. >> reporter: we're the land of plenty. plenty of wors. quirky, colorful, didn't words depending on where you're from. >> in tennessee, a gully washer. large sandwich in pennsylvania is a hoagie. in new york, a hero.

in new england -- >> grinders. >> reporter: except for parts of boston where they call ate spucky. you can wash it down with a pretty girl's station. or grab some water at the bubbler, a water fountain for the rest of us. it's a celebration and reminder of our rich, real diversity. a country where you can eat a plate of foodles of in a river to go noodling. that's bear-handed cat fishing. i tried it. we all might speak differently, but we all speak american. if don't agree, you should shut yourself in the rumple camper. >> that's what's making news america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." enjoy your hoagie, your soda, and your dust bunnies. stay tuned for "good morning america." take care.