this morning -- questioning the confession. >> it's the case that has haunted new york for a generation. new keptism this morning -- is the man under arrest really the killer of etan patz. breaking overnight. the tropical trouble on both coasts. >> the rare lung disorder linked to bacteria in your bathroom. just off the coast of a world-famous beach, getting upclose and personal with a real-life jaws. good friday morning. ron and paula are both off. the disappearance of etan patz in 1979. one of the most heartbreaking and high-profile cold cases.

>> police and parents never stopped looking for him. today, his suspected killer will finally answer for the game. >> reporter: 33 years ago today, 6-year-old etan patz vanished on his walk to the school bus. the case was never put to rest. this morning it looks like it has come to an end. pedro hernandez is under arrest for the murder of young etan patz. >> he lured young etan from the school bus stop. with the promise of a soda. he then led him into the basement, choked him there and disposed of the body by putting it into a plastic bag and it placing it in the trash. >> hernandez was picked up in new jersey where he lived with his wife and daughter. arrest came after the case was reopened last month. police didn't find any evidence but they received a tip believed

to come from a relative or friend of hernandez. >> in the years following etan's disappearance, hernandez had told a family member and others that he had quote, done a bad thing. and killed a child in new york. >> reporter: the day etan patz disappeared was the first morning his parents let him walk alone to the bus stop, it changed the way many parents sent their children off the school. etan was the first child to appear on milk cartons. >> millions of parents sat to home and thought there by the grace of god goes my child. >> reporter: etan's parents live on the same block. they never moved hoping that the little boy would find his way home. police told etan's parents about the confession from the man who admits they snatched their child. >> pedro hernandez isn't the first man to confess to killing etan patz.

how can the prosecutors be sure that he's not lying too. dan abrams say that the investigators have an arsenal of tricks. >> you get people all the time that are claiming credit for and they have to exclude him as much as hey can. so, it's possible they have suggested other crimes and said, oh, we got another case, were you involved in that one, to see if he confessed to more than one. >> little help to find dna to hernandez to the crime. or. the other major story overnight, we're on the storm watch with the tropical low brewing off the southern u.s. >> and then it's hurricane bud in pacific. a major category 3 storm with 115 mile an hour winds. it's forecast to weaken before it makes land fall tonight before the popular spot puerto

vallarta. >> reporter: tropical storm alberto jumped the gun last week. churning off the coast of south carolina. now a tropical disturbance could turn into tropical beryl over the weekend. we're seeing something completely new. >> this is first time in recorded history that we had a preseason named storm in both the atlantic and eastern pacific basins. >> reporter: despite this early activity noaa predict a nearly normal hurricane season. with nine 9 to 15 named storms. three of those are predicted to be major. there's a 40% that this storm will become a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. but whatever it's form, most of the forecast models keep it near the southeast coast for a majority of the holiday weekend.

>> the other concern for most holiday travelers is gas. americans in record numbers are expected to get in the car and go for the weekend. and somewhat unexpectedly gas prices seem to be cooperating. abc's karen traifers reports. >> summer kicks off this weekend. americans are hitting the road for some fun in the sun. aaa predicts that americans will travel 50 miles from home for the memorial day weekend. >> we're seeing summer travel trends picking up a little bit. >> reporter: a few weeks ago, experts were predicting $5 or even $6 gas prices. >> gas prices have gone almost every single day. >> good news for there drivers, it turned out that those forecast may have been too aggressive. in early april, the average was hovering around $4.

what happened to those dire predictions? this week the price of a barrel of oil hit a seven-month low. . >> tensions with iran have le lessen. the global economy has slowed down. >> reporter: analysts said that we have likely seen the peak of gas price. >> reporter: almost like a form of stimulus or a little tax cut that people are getting going into the spring and summer driving season. >> reporter: 9 out of 10 americans are expected to travel this weekend by car and the trips will be a little easier on their wallets. >> i'm happy with 3.50. as it was 3.59 last week. >> experts expect these prices will hold steady over the summer. john and diana. >> all right, karen. dozen of wild fires raging across the country this morning, like this one in new mexico.

firefighters retreated and sit on the sideline. they're battling two fires that have merged. it has destroyed a dozen homes. time now for the weather from across the nation as we kick off this holiday weekend -- more gusty winds across the southwest. 5 inches of mountain snow near yellowstone park. thunderstorms around indianapolis, cincinnati, louisville and pittsburgh. showers from the new england to the carolinas and heavy rain once again for florida. >> if your holiday getaway takes you to gulf coast, expect 90s. 94 in phoenix. 75 in salt lake city. 47 degrees in billings. a plane carrying a governor lands without landing gear. raw emotion as a young man is cleared of a rape conviction that sent him to prison for years and the toddlers tussle

making news. two toddlers have it out during recital.

still no breakthrough in the crisis over student loans. senators yesterday defeated competing bills meant to keep college loans at their current low interest rates. a deal must be reached by july 1st or rates will be doubled. the economy in the battle for votes is the focus of an abc

news poll released overnight, 65% of americans believe that romney would do more to advance the wealth thy. president obama and romney are essentially tied. more than half of those polled said that the president would do more to help the middle class. good news for anyone looking to buy a house or refinance. the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has hit a new low, 3.78%. that's the lowest rate in 40 years of record keeping. overseas this morning -- stocks are mostly higher. hong kong's hang seng is also up by 78 points. in london, the ftse opened higher. the nasdaq index fell about 11. an epic battle brewing at the box office this weekend. men in black 3 may be the fin

finally film to send averngs from its perch coming up next on this friday morning -- the rare lung disorder that you can get from bacteria in your shower. and in sports, a camera gets crunched by king james himself. heat highlights coming up. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

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at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. army soldiers will be at it again placing an american flag by every grave marker at arlington national cemetery, more than 220,000 flags in all, a reminder of the real reason why we mark memorial day weekend. placing the flags at arlington, a tradition that dates back to 1948. now for a look at the morning road conditions -- wet along much of i-95. slick on i-07 from pittsburgh to indianapolis.

and i-15 in da koe tas. and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in new york, las vegas, phoenix, salt lake city and miami. now to dramatic reversal for a one promising high school football star when his freedom was derailed. >> yesterday a judge completely exonerated him and today he's starting all over again. abc's cecilia vega has the details. >> reporter: it was the moment brian banks had been waiting a decade for. >> the people's motion to dismiss this case -- >> reporter: he knew to be true all along, and all he could do was somebody. banks had been wrongly convicted, falsely accused of raping and kidnapping a childhood friend. the judge tossed out the charges and banks walked out of court in pure jubilation, hoping for a new future. >> awesome. >> i feel like anything is possible and it is proven today by me getting my freedom back. i feel like this is just the first step to reinventing my

life. >> reporter: in 2002, he had been a 16-year-old high school football star with dreams of an nfl career. but those hopes were shattered when he was convicted. banks always maintained the encounter was consensual. but rather face 41 years to life behind bars, on the advice of his lawyer, he took a plea deal and spent five years in prison. >> it's more than i can describe, the things that i've been through and the things that i've endured. >> reporter: banks is an innocent man because that accuser tracked him down on facebook after his release and admitted she lied. they met and the meeting where his accuser recanted was recorded. this video was key to overturning the case. >> i may not ever get the answers as to why i was supposed to go what i went through. but i know that i'm here today and i remain unbroken. >> reporter: now, at 26, banks is picking up where his once shattered dreams left off. working out again, hoping for another shot at life in football. cecilia vega, abc news, los

angeles. now for the rough ride for the governor of new mexico abroad a private plane that landed wheels off. the governor and her husband were about to land in san day fe friday night, the pilot fort to land the landing gear. fortunately no one injured. more and more cases of a rare lung disorder called the shower disease, it's triggered by a distant cousin oaf the bacteria that causes tb. researches found that it in all -- in one-third of all shower heads. the spray makes it easy to inhale. most people can fight off the infection. but people with compromised immune system are at risk of harm. now time for hoops.

the nba eastern conference semifinals tomorrow night. as for last night's action we get hee highlights from espn. we start in the nba. huge game six between the heat and the pacers in indianapolis. dwyane wade and roy hibbert. early, it was david west. here roy hibbert with the reverse jam. heat were down nine because of the pacers' dominance inside. then dwyane wade got it going. the heat down seven after that slam dunk. crazy play here, lebron misses the layup and then we go the other way. the pacers, coast to coast. but if you take another look, after the bomb pass, lebron m s missing the shot lebron crashing into the camera guy. mario chalmers getting his teammates involved.

9-0 run to end the third. that pretty much spelled it out. lebron with a beautiful, little running hook. dwayne wade in traffic. split the defense not once but twice. the strength to get the bucket to go and one. take another look. beautiful body control. the strength, wade had he 1 points and 10 boards. then james driving past george. gets the bucket to go. lebron had 28. the heat beat the pacers, 105-93 and they advance to the eastern conference finals. big event coming up with hannah storm, she sits down with four of the nba's top players to discuss their lives on and off the court. kobe bryant, carammelo anthony, dwight howard and kevin durant it's nba face to face with hannah storm, tonight at 8:00 on espn2. now to a showdown that was a complete mismatch. check out this massive 18-foot great white shark in a very

close encounter with fishermen just 20 yards off of australia's most popular beach. >> that's unbelievable. the fin sticking out of his mouth is actually a smaller shark. a ready-made lunch. wow. coming up next -- some incredible images in your friday pulse, including some unwelcomed visitors at a backyard barbecue. and how about this, a brawl at the ballet between two little dancers.

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welcome back, everyone. time now to check the pulse. we'll start with the great fights of all-time there's was the thrilla in manila. >> this is the toddler tussle. check this out. two little ones all dressed up for ballet. they had ideas, completely forgetting about the routine and giving each other a pretty hard time. >> they were all put back in their tutu places. when adults finally stepped in. they are mad. >> unbelievable. and now to southern california, and clint eastwood's newest crime-fighting role, kind of. >> a plywood cut-out of eastwood's character is now watching over a stretch of freeway, he's been standing guard for a couple of weeks. a mystery here. the sign says it's part of a

local public art project. but they don't know any of the project. five young deers wonder in and started drinking the beer that party goers were using for a game of beer pong. >> the owner said they're not afraid of people and obviously they love adventure. they rounded up and everyone got home safely for a good night's sleep. >> what do you do when you're confronted by these thousand-pound beasts? >> step away slowly. >> slowly step away. i wonder if they had time to grab the beer and run? >> all right, some of you for local news is coming up. for everyone else, the olympian and her purity pledge. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers.

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updating the top stories -- new jersey man who confessed to killing etan patz in 1979 will be arraigned here in new york today. he said that the lured the 6-year-old to a basement and then strangled him. today is day six of deliberations in the trial of john edwards. the panel has been reviewing testimony from six weeks of testimony. all right, looking at today's weather, showers in the pacific northwest, northern rockies and da koe tas. showers for much of the east coa coast. finally, a challenge bigger than the olympics. one of the country's best athletes say this is it. >> track star lolo jones said

that she wants to have sex until she's married. that presents more hurdles than the world games. paula faris has her story. >> reporter: an ympic-sized catch. stunning and a 29-year-old virgin. >> i want to wait until i'm married to have sex. >> reporter: jones a devout christian explains her reason zmrg my mom, she was with my dad for 20 years and never got married and they're not together anymore, i want to have that solid bond. >> reporter: she's been training six hours a day, six days a week for the past 12 years, part of it captured in this recent espn documentary. >> as i approach the hurdle my body has to be forward, my chin low and my arms tight. >> reporter: her biggest fight is fighting the sexual temptation. >> they're like, hey, if you have sex, it will help you run faster. if you marry me, then yeah.

>> she's well known. she's in great shape. she looks great. one would think that she could have a social life of whatever she wants. >> reporter: jones isn't the only abcitynestin sexy single and sell bait. jones is currently training for the 2012 london olympics and jokes that hollywood might be their next relationship. >> if they're making a sequel to 40-year-old virgin. i would love to. i'm a little bit awkward like steve carroll. >> reporter: paula faris, abc news new york. >> our thanks to paula farising who by the way returns to this desk on monday. >> and rob nelson. coming up on "good morning america" -- the summer concert series getting und