making news this morning, racing towards earth. >> a solar flare flying thank you space. what it could mean for airlines and satellite tv. and spring has sprung. what's causing it? whitney houston's will. who gets what and who in her life got left with nothing. and it's the talk of tampa, the bachelor pad turned tourist attraction. the surprising star who calls this home, sweet home. good thursday morning, everybody. a global traffic and weather

report this morning. there could be delays if you're flying, driving, or using the computer. >> it's because of massive solar storm hitting the earth right about now. >> reporter: the earth is under atta attack. it's only a giant solar storm. on tuesday, the sun spit out huge erupting solar flares, about an hour apart. they're heading towards earth in the largest solar storm in five years. >> we're at least able to tell you that yes, this is coming towards us. be ware, keep watching, don't get hysterical. >> reporter: the storms could shake the earth's magnetive field, disrupting satellite communication. >> you could have raid ceo blackouts. >> reporter: gps tools may be thrown off. some nights might have to be

diverted. >> it's prudent to reroute airlines. they wind up skirting farther south. >> reporter: scientists say the problems could last all morning. there's a flip side to all the worries. the storms could produce beautiful auroras, also known as northern lights, like these from last month. the storm is expected to end friday. rob and paula, i was unable to democraten rate is the p e en - power of the storms. the biggest parts of these storms should be happening right now. >> wow, a lot to look forward to. maybe some disruptions today. tell us, what caused the flares on the sun that sent us this weird storm? >> reporter: the storm is all part of the solar cycle. the sun changes its direction every 11 years or so.

the sun's magnetic field causes sun spots and other things. hopefully, i don't sound like scotty on star trek right now. >> for the benefit of news casts around the world, let's hope it's minimal disruptions today. >> a good science lesson early this morning. a top aide says newt gingrich must win next week's alabama and mississippi primaries to stay in the race. conservatives are urging him to drop out and back rick santorum. david muir is with the romney campaign. >> reporter: called the romney reality, over a billion more votes, more states won than the other guys. yet the finish line is far off. >> i'm going to stay in the race because we're doing well. >> reporter: even if it is romney at the end of the fight,

at what price? >> we haven't seen a republican candidate suffer this much, this badly, and finish in such a vulnerable position. >> reporter: what is holding romney back? in ohio, a telling number. when voters were asked which candidate best understands the problems of average americans, a full third picked santorum. romney's the first to face criticism that he's out of touch. al gore, they put him in the swerts and earth tones. four years ago, a more human hillary clinton. she cried. and who could forget when she took that shot. even barack obama, bowling. romney tried a visit of nascar, then speak of fremds who own nascar teams. you can expect more of these, town hals, where team romney believes he does connect. where tech tiniest of voices

make him more human. >> i would like to know what you would like to be remembered for? >> around my home, i would like to be known as being a good father. >> reporter: they point to the numbers. they say the math son their side, no matter how long this takes. meanwhile, rush limbaugh is trying to reassure his listeners after more than 40 advertisers pulled out limbaugh told his audience, it's like losing french fries at the drive-through. he says you barely notice. in other news, a top official in the syrian government may have joined the opposition. if this is true, the deputy oil minister would be the first senior official to defect. as for the u.s. response to the ongoing violence, leon panetta says right now, a military

strike does not make sense. hate groups have grown at an alarming rate over the last couple of years. groups have grown steadily numbering more than 1,000 today. and a shocking number here, 450 radical patriot, or militia grouped cropped up in 2011. tonight on "world news" and "nightline" we'll exam one anti-government group who believes the nation's laws do not apply to them. this winter is officially the warmest in a decade. it's throwing mother nature into a state of confusion. in addition to drought and tornadoes, insects are venturing out sooner than normal. and flowers are blooming a month

ahead of time in the new york botanical gardens. spring will be unseasonably warm. >> and another taste of that wacky weather today, up to 30 degrees above normal in the northeast. evening showers from boston to d.c. thunderstorms in florida. hail, gusty winds, and chance of tornadoes from dallas to little rock and nashville. snow showers in northern minnesota. >> 67 in dallas, 70 in atlanta. 6 66 in mork. that sounds nice. 40s from minneapolis to detroit. boise, 52. >> you always remember the first time you're able to wear shorts and a t-shirt. >> a beautiful day. coming up, the reviews are in. does the new ipad live up to the hype? and the details of whitney houston's will revealed. and hallelujah, the marriage

of mexican food and snack chip has begun.

welcome back, everyone. there's a new sign of recovery. we're taking out loans again. consumer borrowing rose by almost $18 billion in january. the biggest increase was in the dat goir that includes auto and student loans. borrowing on credit cards fell. consumer borrowing is now

practically where it was before the recession. private sector emfloiers added 216,000 more jobs since last month. there are cutbacks in government jobs. another report indicating companies may have squeezed about they'll can out of the existing work force. overseas markets were up overnight. tokyo's nikkei average jumped 193 today. hong kong's hang seng was up 273. on wall street, the dow gained 78 points yesterday. the nasdaq index added 25. big news out of the tech world. apple's third generation ipad go on sale late next week. the new version was unveiled yesterday. am is not giving it a number. it's just calling it the new ipad. it features a faster processer and improved camera. abc's tech editor joanna stern

says the big change is the screen. >> efrlg looks beautiful on display. i think that's my first impression is that the display will be the game-changer here. >> stern says no other tablet on the market has a display quite this good. apple announced it's keeping the ipad 2 and keeping the price. in addition, iclould users will store movies on the site. let the lines begin. >> i look forward to taking a bite of the next story. taco bell today hopes to change orange into green. the doritos tacos go on sale. taco bell is coming off a bad year. analysts say this taco should help. i think we can get the cool ranch in the fall.

>> oh, beautiful. man, music to my stomach. next on this thursday morning, the split that few sports fans ever saw coming. an emotional day yesterday. peyton manning and the colts going their separate ways. and a search for a cruise ship passenger who never returned to shore. we're right back. [ female announcer ] did you know that the sources of bad breath are hidden in the contours of your teeth & tongue. introducing a breakthrough for aquafresh. new extreme clean pure breath action. its micro active foam penetrates those hard to reach places. and it now contains a mineral compound that captures and neutralizes bad breath odors giving you 80% cleaner, purer breath. for all the confidence of pure breath try new extreme clean pure breath action from aquafresh. the only moisturizer for me? cerave. [ male announcer ] cerave uses patented technology to restore your skin's protective barrier.

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but does bringing a floor back to life really make us heroes? [ chuckles ] yes. yes, it does. ♪ call 1-800-steemer a remnant from last week's deadly tornado outbreak turned up more than 300 miles away. an ohio couple found an old deposit slip from a flattened town of henriville, indiana. it is dated 1987. it's still in tact. let's look at the morning road conditions. i-70 from columbus to

pittsburgh. flooding on i-40 from nashville to dallas. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in memphis, dallas, and houston. well, we now know that whitney houston left everything to her only child, bobby christina. >> that money will be put in a trust for her and distributed at 21, 25, and 30. a month before she was born was when the will was written. >> later this morning, dionne warwick, whitney's cousin, sits down with robin roberts. the big interview with oprah is on this sunday. the search continues for a woman on a cruise ship. her boyfriend reported her missing seven hours after he last saw her. now the family suspects foul play 37 and says the couple did

have a troubled relationship. also, we're learning more about another mystery. the twin sisters who died just a few pete apart. patricia and joan miller lived in south lake tahoe for more than 40 years. police found one sister in a bedroom, the other in hallway during a routine check last month. investigators have not been able to figure out how or when they died. >> it appears they were sort of mentally degrading. they were refusing help from the public guardians office. they appeared to be stoic and wanted to take care of themselves. >> it took almost two weeks before police were able to track down the sisters' next of kin. what uniform will peyton manning wear next season. the miami dolphins hope it's theirs. he flew to florida right after being released by the colts. he offered a tearful good-bye, saying it was an honor to play

there. espn says the dolphins, cardinals, jets are the most likely suitors. good morning, i'm ducis rodgers. let's start in the nba. the lakers have been struggling on the road. they lost tuesday in detroit. here, taking on the wizards. check out this play by nick young. uh, mr. young, the basket is still just ten feet high. they didn't change it. that will be on sports center's not top ten. the deuce and the damage. lakers up by 20. kobe, 30 points on the night. the wizards come back. they're up by two. again, 14 points for him. the wizards win it, 106-101. the college basketball, big east tournament, second round between uconn and west virginia. napier, game-high 26 points. we're tied at 63-63.

five seconds to go, tied again. na napier trying to be the hero. we go to overtime. in o.t., jeremy land. stop and pop. with 22 points, uconn up by three. under 30 seconds to play. darryl "truck" bryant, drives, no call. bob hug begins can't believe it. uconn wins it by four. they take on syracuse later on today, noon eastern over on espn. that's your update. i'm tucis rodgers. outrage after a lottery winner continues to collect welfare. and it's legal. and fashion for guys your in the going to believe. and the bachelor natt is the talk of the town. who calls this place home sweet

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have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. all right rkts time to check "the pulse" the stories gets a lot of buzz online. a detroit area mother who won a million-dollar lottery jackpot and still collects welfare. >> she's legally entitled to that money since she doesn't have a job.

lawmakers are trying to plug this loophole. yankees superstar derek jeter doesn't need help to pay for his enormous home. >> water tax sis offer the best view of the palace. the $8 million house is 31,000 square feet. seven bed rooms, nine baths and enough space to dock five boats. >> i can't imagine trying to clean nine toilets. it's a far cry from his modest home in michigan from his childhood that went on sale at $140,000. a story for the fashion forward man. >> we're talking manty-hose. i know what i'm getting you for your birthday. >> please, do not. there's a poll to name the trend.

other names are brosiery. and also guylons. if it's not manly enough for you, maybe these are. adidas is out with cowboy sneakers. they run about 300 bucks. about the same price as a quality pair of forreal cowboy boots. sflchblts here's matchup you probably have not seen yet. >> the kitty takes on darwin the monkey. the math battle seems to be a fairly friendly one. both coming out rel dively unscathed. >> unless the kitten is not declawed. that hurts. been there, done that. >> that's tough out there. for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, surprising new members of an exclusive club. the club of the nation's

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updating the day's top stories, the effects of a huge soerl storm hitting the et could disrupt travel and computer use through tomorrow morning. a top republican aide sis gingrich must win two states next week to be able to continue. land marks were illuminated in pink overnight. on this date, 15,000 women marched through new york demanding better rights. rain in the ohio and tennessee valleys. snow showers in the upper midwest. near record highs here along the east coast. and finally this morning, the wealthiest people on the planet, forbes has released its elite list of billionaires. >> many of them have had a quick

climb to the top, turning quirky invexs into gold mines. here's abc's john donvan the. >> reporter: product placement. what new products placed very new people on the rich list for the first time. stuff that makes you feel better and feel better fast, says caleb who worked on the list. >> americans are on the go. they're looking to improve constantly. they're looking for products that can help them do that. >> reporter: think underwear. think spanx. the shape inducing panty hose alternative that launched in 2000. it put the founder at 1153. that's a net worth of $1 billion. think underwear again. under armour. the sweat-wicking garment developed by a former college football player.

puts kevin plank at 1075. worth $1.1 billion. go to 634 and there's ilan musk. his baby is this, the tesla car. he's 40. he's worth $2 billion. and then this consumer product. anything with this logo on it. his wife is worth $9 billion. at number 100 is one of only two newcomers on the list to break into the top 100. who is way up there? some familiar old faces and we could list their products, though all of them, what they really make, no matter what, is money. i'm john donvan, in washington. >> oh, must be quite a life. >> 2 of 3 were self-made.