revealing the earliest clues of autism ever observed. >> reporter: children with autism don't read emotions or reyes faces. we how can a baby tell you that? watch where their eyes go? that's the key to the study. at emory university, eye tracking software shows what he is looking at. where he x is his focus. >> what the study shows us is there are changes already happening that wouldn't be detectable to the naked eye. >> reporter: they studied a group of 36 children starting at two months old. three years later, they found out which were diagnosed with autism. turns out the children with autism by six months old spend less and less time looking at the eyes. the bigger the change, the more profound the autism was. >> the earlier we diagnose. the earlier we intervene the better the long-term outcome. >> reporter: previous research in boston show used eye tracking to show that babies take emotional cues from faces, from eyes.

>> three facial emotions, neutral, happy and fear. >> reporter: we know older children with autism don't make eye contact. now technology has given a way to detect the earliest clues. i want to precaution, it is totally normal for a baby to look around the room and not always focus on your face. this is a research tool. your doctor will screen your baby as he or she gets older with tests we know work for detecting autism. for now, this is something that holds promise but isn't ready to be used. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> fascinating. business news. starting on wall street where the dow opens this morning at a record high with the nearly 129 point gain yesterday. it knocks the 33rd record close of the year. up 20% this year. the s&p starts today one point below its record. big deal today for investors. the stock market debut of twitter. shares of the messaging service have been priced at $26 a share. that gives twitter a market value of more than $18 billion and creates pos ably three new

billionaires and a bunch of multimillionaires. all early workers at the company. wal-mart is apologizing for offering rock bottom prices that were literally too good to be true they set off a buying frenzy with computer monitors for $9 . treadmills $20 and kayaks 11 bucks. wal-mart said it was a technical glitch that is to blame and it is not going to honor those absurd bargains. instead the customers that got the orders will get a measly $10 gift card. abercrombie and fitch plans to roll out larger sizes in hopes of attracting more customers. the owner said they were going after the cool kids. now the company is changing its tune now that sales and stock prices have plummeted. >> funny how that happens. starbucks planning to hire

ten thousand veterans and military spouses over the next five years including coffee stores, production warehouses and leadership roles. former defense secretary robert gates endorses the plan to help women and men who served our country. >> hiring these extraordinary americans and having them enhance the company's culture is in the best interest of starbucks and its shareholders. >> starbucks is just the perfect fit for people who are looking for that family that they had in the military. >> coffee chain plans to designate five caves in military communities where a portion of each transaction will be donated to operations good 0 jobs. now a story we are happy and proud to present. a big fundraiser in new york to benefit wounded veterans. the foundation started by our own bob woodruff after injured in iraq seven years ago was the beneficiary. >> one of the stars of this show was the boss, bruce springsteen. he put up his guitar for auction

and it went for $250,000. >> the bidding kicked in to high gear when he threw in a free guitar lesson and a chance to sit in at a recording session at his home. >> quarter million dollars for a guitar. of course for charity but what you are paying for is to hang out with the boss. >> see the boss and a private lesson from the boss. that's about right. the event is part of the comedy festival. also there was jon stewart, jerry seinfeld and others. >> can i share a personal -- i bumped in to bruce springsteen in my two times on the jersey shore. >> is he the coolest guy ever. >> how much sleep is too much sleep? what a question at this hour. >> is that even a question. >> it is. and toe-tapping sing along performances in nashville last night . you are watching "world news now."

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the debate over head injuries and football is kicking up a notch this morning with the

news that former dallas cowboy tony dorsett has been diagnosed with signs of the incurrable brain disease known as cte. >> it is linked to traumatic head injuries found in more than 50 nfl players. >> reporter: in his hall of fame career, tony dorsett experienced moments of glory. he also took blows to the head. the worst one, he says, was this violent hit in a cowboys/eagles game in 1984. >> it reminded me of a mac truck hitting a volkswagen. i mean he just believe blew me up. >> reporter: did they call it a concussion? >> no, they called it a snokout. >> reporter: dorsett said he doesn't know how many concussions he suffered in his years in the nfl but he said they were numerous and he still

deals with the consequences. >> my memory is getting worse and worse as the days go by. my short temperedness, i'm really short tempered. it gets worse. >> reporter: at his lowest moments, dorsett says he has thought about suicide. >> you know, i've thought about crazy stuff. sort of like why do i need to get keep continue going through this? i mean, i'm too, too smart of a person, i like to think, to take my life but it's crossed my mind. >> reporter: neurosurgeon julian bales is part of a medical theme says it devised a brain scan to identify signs of cte in a living person. dorsett is one of nine retired nfl players to take the test, conducted at ucla. results are in for eight. and all have been diagnosed with

signs of cte, including hall of famer joe da lam lure and all pro marshall. >> unt we could diagnose it we had no hope of intervening or treating them or knowing if it wassing worse or knowing if it is a progressive disease. i have to stress our numbers are small. this has to be considered preliminary data and we look forward to accruing more examples and more testing. >> i want to know if this is something that has come back because of playing football. i get frustrated. i get frustrated. i sit and look at myself, you are not -- you are just in this shell. you are not anthony, tony dorsett. you are not him anymore. who are you? who are you becoming? i beat myself up?

i challenge myself. who are you becoming, man? look at you. >> wow. >> that's tough to watch. >> he's a hero of mine and he's not himself clearly. >> you can see it. >> oh, yeah. >> ct is a protein that surrounds the brain and shrinks to half of its size and effects every part of your body and like he is saying you become a shell of who you are. >> it is found in football players as young as 17 years old. >> that is hard for a parent who is thinking of putting their kids in that sport. >> no doubt about it. coming up a big night for country music. cma awards paying tribute to the old and news new and some surprises as well. and men who feared dozens and hundreds of children and they don't even know about them. the new ethical questions about sperm donors. you are watching abc's "world news now."

the partying winding down in nashville after the biggest night of the year. >> the cma's paid tribute to pie nonyears and newest stars who are stretching the boundaries of what it means to be country. marci gonzalez has all of the good treats. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, john and diana. they are clearing away the red carpet here and i'll bet some of those stars are still at the after party s celebrating a really amazing night country music's biggest night. ♪ >> reporter: living up to its promise from host brad paisley and carrie underwood's -- ♪ >> reporter: -- opening act to one unforgettable performance

after another. ♪ >> reporter: the 47th annual cma awards rocked music city with its sounds and stars bringing home top honors. the first award for single of the year going to newcomer -- the duo beat out the new artist of the year by casey mus grave. the lifetime achievement going to kenny roger and the stars pausing to remember the late george jones. some also lining the stage celebrating taylor swift as she became only the second artist ever to be given the pinnacle award. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. i love you. you have made me feel so special right now. thank you. >> reporter: the night closing out with female vocalists -- >> miranda lambert. >> my husband, i love you. thank you for putting up with my crap. >> reporter: and male vocalist

of the year. >> come on, blake. come on up here. >> and finally abc's robin roberts presenting the entertainer of the year award. >> george strait. >> there wasn't one artist who really cleaned house tonight, but talk about a power couple. this was the fourth year in a row for miranda lampert better and her husband blake shelton winning female and male vocalist of the year. pretty incredible. >> happy house holtd hold there. brings us to the facebook question of >> who is your favorite country music star and why. log on to wnnfans.com. one of he highlights is kenny rogers taking the stage. we know can he can belt it out. but to hear it the house were roaring. >> hosts were fantastic and they say they should host the hos cars and you were really good by

the way. and i like your outfit very modest. >> you look great as brad paisley. the hat is great. >> really. comeback kid in basketball that could have kept him sidelined for good.

"mix time the whanchts a comeback story here. kevin ware, basketball player injured in the ncaa last year. blew out his leg. if you are not familiar with the name you will be familiar with the video and these images. they were all over . everyone wondered if he could come back. his bone came out. >> horrific. he was all over the national media. he entered an exhibition contest now 220 days after that making his first three-point shot against pikeville.

he is back. quote from him, once i hit the first shot it took away all of the jitters. he expects his family to be in attendance on saturday srt season opener. he said i can build on this and just hope to show people i can be the same player i was before the injury. awesome young man. >> i remember him saying back when he got injured i will be back. >> and a lot of people were like i hope so. >> you have a bone sticking out of your leg. one of lulu lemon's cofounders is in the hot seat because he seemed to imply that the lulu lemon yoga pants are not for everybody woman. you remember they were so sheer they had to be pulled off the shelves. >> what's the problem? >> everybody is saying the same thing when we did that story months ago. >> oh, well. >> the biggest problem for lulu lemon is they don't carry bigger sizes and don't restock bigger sizes but they carry and a lot

of women complained about that and the sheer situation calls them to pull it off she shelves. he said some women's bodies don't actually work for it. >> so he is blaming it on the women. >> blame it on the women's body. it is about rubbing of the thigh. how much pressure is there over time. the his wife tried to the give a nicer pc explanation. so you are saying not all women can wear lulu lemon yoga pants. don't sit on a cement floor and it won't be sheer. >> his wife to the rescue. >> a reason you have to step down and now he is just a manager. i don't get it but they say too much sleep can be bad for you. research indicates it can be as harmful as not enough sleep. >> test this theory out. >> take a nap. i will finish this story. >> i'm so jealous. that looks amazing. the amount of sleep a person

needs depends on your activity and lifestyle habits and even

this this morning on "world news now," explosive allegations in the nfl. accusations of harass and bullying among miami dolphins teammates and new developments overnight about the alleged victim on the team. cracking down. the lawmaker who made it her mission to stop sexual assaults in the military. the resistance she is getting. the distressed couple stuck for a week in the mountaine on media and called for a life-saving rescue. nashville's biggest night. cma awards the performances and awards. it is thursday, november 7th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now" with

john muller and diana perez. good thursday morning. we start this half hour with the storm about bullying swirling around the miami dolphins. >> sources say johnthan martin the player that went public with with his alleged tormenting was considering leaving the team before he was bullied. >> teammates of marty and suspended richey incognito claim they were actually friends. >> reporter: the accusations are so exkploes employeesive the nfl commissioner called for a formal investigation. were miami dolphin coaches the ones encouraging veteran offensive lineman richey incognito to toughen up johnthan martin? the harassment allegedly so severe espn is reporting that martin checked himself in to a hospital for emotional distress. at a news conference he call ed, head coach joe philbin defended the team. >> the type of calls i have championed since the day i walked through these doors is one of honesty, respect, and

accountability to one another. >> reporter: incognito has a well-earned reputation. in this video, circulating from a souflt sports bar, his famous short fus is on display. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: he's accused of tormenting the junior lineman with racial slurs, texts and voice mails and the drama is dividing the nfl. >> this game is hard enough as it is. there's no room for bullying in this league. >> reporter: herman edwards says bullying has no place in the locker room. >> i never asked a player to toughen a player up. i've always felt that was a coach's job to do. >> reporter: on sports radio came this bombshell about incognito from legend warren is sapp. he said he was surprised the two players had a beef. >> richey said john is like my little brother. i think that is an accurate depiction. he gave him a hard time and messed with him but the first to have his back in any situation.

>> reporter: tuesday incognito shared this with a miami television station. >> i'm trying to weather the storm right now and this will pass. >> reporter: johnthan martin's father came out saying his son is doing fine. >> he's a strong man. he's doing fine. >> reporter: martin is resting in california and prepping a full report for the nfl. abc news, atlanta. another troubling story with roots in the nfl. hall of fame running back tony dorsett has been diagnosed with having signs of a degenerative brain condition. he starred with the cowboys in the late '70s. he underwent brain scans and found a condition that scientists say is caused by head trauma and linked to dementia. dorsett tells espn that he has experienced memory loss, depression and thoughts of suicide. >> when you listen to him, you listen to him talk and you can almost see it in the way he speaks and everything. >> you remember him from the '70s.

>> i remember the tony dorsett of my childhood. i looked up to him so much and saw him in a ton of interviews an the man in interviews today isn't the man he used to be. he says this much. cte is incredible. first impairs part of the brain that controls emotion and memory and spreads to overwhelm the brain. the brain shrinks to half of its size in chronic cte. >> it starts to everything, every single part of who you are. you become a shell of the man or person you are initially. already -- you talk about this linked to the concussions in the nfl, which is what everybody is saying. already 62 concussions have been reported in this season alone for the nfl. the good thing is they are looking at these things and if it is a concussion and reported as a concussion. they are not saying you are just knocked out and go back in the game. >> something has to give. two people were killed when gun fire erupted in a barbershop. police say a group of machine were playing dice when the door to the shop opened followed by a hail of bullets. ten people were injured. they say it was a particularly gruesome scene. even by detroit standards.

the motor city is ranked second in the nation for murder and violent crime. tsa fallen officer gerardo hernandez is honored. an honor guard and bag pipers escorted a u.s. honor flag flown in from texas. thing in will be used as hernandez's funeral. he was shot in the deadly rampage last week. airports across the country will observe a moment of styles in honor of hernandez. the new jersey mall, where a gunman opened fire this week, has reopened as police release dramatic 911 calls from the night of the shooting. thousands of terrified shoppers and workers a the garden state plaza ran for cover at the souchbds of the gunshots. some forced to hide for hours. you can hear the fear in their voices as they called for help. >> 911. >> i can't hear you, what. what? >> somebody is shooting up garden state plaza right now. >> somebody is shooting. >> someone is shooting up garden state plaza right now. >> stay on the phone, sweetheart.

how many in there with you? >> three. >> are they in your store? >> yes. >> at the time, they didn't know the gunman was on a suicide mission. 20-year-old richard shoop took his own life and no one else's. there's been another arrest in this widening bribery scandal in the u.s. navy. a third official has been arrested in this case which involved large sums of cash, prostitutes and other bribes. commander jose luis sanchez is accused of passing on information to a singapore-based company that used the information to overbill the pentagon. there are indications higher-ranked officers could be swept up in the scan d.a. the military is under scrutiny for the way it handles sexual assaults in its ranks. most rapes are unreported. so an effort is underway on capitol hill to move prosecution of the attacks outside of the military and top commanders are up in arms. here's abc's karen travers. >> reporter: senator gillibrand is making one final push for victims of sexual assault in the military. >> too often these brave men and women are in the fight of their

life and not on far off foreign soil. it's right within their own ranks, with their commanding officer as victims of horrific acts of sexual violence. >> reporter: the statistics are sobering. an estimated 26,000 sexual assaults in the military last year alone. surveys show that two-thirds of female victims didn't report them. gillibrand's legislation would dramatically change the way the military handles these cases taking the judicial authority away from the chain of command. the top brass at the pentagon is staunchly opposed. military leaders argue they must be able to police their own ranks. >> command authority is the most critical mechanism for ensuring discipline, accountability and unit cohesion. >> reporter: gillibrand said that hasn't worked out. >> there is no accountability because the trust that any justice is possible has been irreparably broken under the current system where commanders hold all of the cards as to

whether a case will move forward or not. >> reporter: arianna clay is a former marine, naval academy graduate and iraq war veteran. he say she was raped by a senior marine officer and his friend back in 2010. >> it was sanctioned from the same leaders i once would have risked my life for gillibrand's bill needs 60 votes to pass and 60 senators are on board. a vote could come up in the next three weeks. >> all right. karen travers, thank you. it wasn't your usual trip to the terminal at chicago's o'hare airport for those on a flight that just arrived from new orleans. while taxiing in yesterday, the american eagle jet rolled nose first on to a grassy area. look at that. no one was hurt but the 42 people on the plane had to be bussed to the terminal. this morning the olympic torch launched in to space. it is headed to the international space station on a russian rocket. it will be taken on a space walk. for safety purposes the torch will not be lit in space. probably a good idea. >> very good idea.

here's a look at the thursday forecast. windy with heavy downpours and mountain snow in the pacific northwest, northern rockies. chilly across the plains and great lakes. rain in the northeast, scattered showers from virginia to florida and along the gulf coast. >> mostly 60s from dallas to atlanta and in the northeast. 40s in the upper midwest. 50s from seattle to portland. 85 phoenix. time for some youngsters clearly having a great time with each other. this happened at the zoo in tacoma, washington. >> that is 2-year-old marshall dressed up as a tiger for halloween and on the other side of the glass is the zoo's stick-month-old tiger cub. sglonl six months. my goodness. >> marshall does a good number of runs back and forth. he seems too eager to follow along. seems too eager to follow along. very cute is what it says in the teleprompter. it is cute. i'm just wondering what the tiger is thinking, breakfast or let's play? >> i have a feeling neither had any idea what was going on. >> or the danger, the eminent danger. >> i think they thought they were having a good time.

>> it is very cute, isn't it? >> they look like twins. >> they do sort of. the likeness of j-lo out of plastic and you have a chance to own it. and the father who phattered at least 12 children and didn't even know he had. it is modern family story that you have to see. you are watching "world news now." ♪ having my baby >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. " weather brought to you by united health care. i've got a nice long life ahead. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. ical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

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♪ heros can come in any form. for one couple in yellowstone national park their hero roared in on a snowmobile. >> the couple spent six bone-chilling days trapped this the wilderness in heavy snow before a good samaritan sent out on his rescue. abc's alex perez has the story. >> reporter: it was the wrong turn that nearly killed them. mark and kris wathke driving on to a snow-packed highway near cody, wyoming not knowing it had been closed. >> we never saw any road closed signs or barricades. >> all of a sudden, it went from low, crushed snow to a foot, foot and a half drifts. >> reporter: their car got stuck. temperatures plummeted below zero, and daylight turned to night. >> it was getting pretty cold, hard to stay warm. >> reporter: that was october

28th. their family reported them missing the following day. a 25-person team from the park county sheriffs department searched on the ground and by helicopter but no luck. for six excruciating days, they huddled together, putting on every piece of clothing they had. turning the car on once every four hours and rationing the bread and water and half jar of jelly they had. >> i lost it. i spent most of the time up there -- i was shaking and crying. >> reporter: with hope fading, they decided to write letters to their families. >> just letting them know that i loved them. >> reporter: never imagining it would be facebook that would save their lives. donna barnette who runs a gas ranch with her husband todd saw the post about the missing couple and alerted him. >> i didn't get much sleep that night thinking about it. so i was up early trying to get my snowmobile ready to go so i could least go look. >> reporter: todd sent out to search for these strangers on

his snow mow beach one hour later they heard the roar of his engine. todd insists he's no hero. >> i was just out to help somebody. i don't want a title or anything. i was just out there to help. >> reporter: for mark and kris he was the miracle they hoped for. alex perez, abc news. >> he found them but his wife, his wife is the one that said, get out there and find these guys you know these mountains. >> he was a cowboy right out of central cast canning. looked really cool. >> by the way they didn't have cell phone service which is why they were penning notes to their family. they were cold and hungry but did a good job keeping themselves healthy for six days and they were lucky their car had fuel. they turned it on. >> thank god they rationed it four hours. who would think they would be out there six days and just keep it on. smart they sglnt very smart. coming up, poking fun at

dolly parton at the cmas. it is up next in "the skinny." it is up next in "the skinny." >> announcer: "world news now" continues

♪ skinny so skinny ♪ >> welcome in to "the skinny," everybody. we are talking about the country music awards here on abc last night and we have highlights for

you. here we go. we start off with the legend. >> she's a legend, too. that is carrie underwood. this is video of the actual show. we will get to it in a second, george strait. he won entertainer of the night. that is the top award of the night. here's the thing, though, he's won it three times. this is his third time winning it but the last time was in 1990 and he was up against a lot of younger celebrities, singers, superstars and they all went crazy when it was announced he was the winner and i think they all wanted him to win. >> yeah, sentimental favorite. >> he was a little stunned. everybody else was pretty excited for him. and then we move on to taylor swift. another highlight of the evening. she was awarded the pinnacle award. you have to realize she is 23 years old and youngest ever to win this award and the second person to be given this award. >> isn't it an award you get when you are 65 in a rocking chair? >> it is really interesting. the cmas do something differently. she is the second person to win

and the other is garth brook. who smashed record. >> the third biggest seller next to the beatles and somebody else. >> she is also amongst this crowd of people who have won, garth brooks, the beatles. there you have it. there she is. and then the hosts. we have to talk about the hosts because they were hilarious, carrie underwood and brad paisley. this is their sixth time hosting it and experts were saying you have to let them host the oscars. the cmas are the oscars of country music. they are so inkred credibly wonderful. >> we'd like to send our love to dolly parton who was is recovering from a hospital and and thankfully dolly did have air bags. however, the ones in the car did not deploy. nicely done. >> dolly parton wasn't there because it was a minor fender bender. she's okay.

this happened a few weeks ago. now to our own robin roberts who was there to present the award to entertainer of the year who now we know is george strait. she looked incredible. >> she is buff, man. >> look at those shoulders and arms. she looks wonderful. there you have it. >> i want to go on the robin roberts exercise routine. my goodness. she looks fantastic. jennifer lopez is going plastic, not plastic surgery, really truly plastic. she has been immortalized in a pair of special collector barbie dolls. this is according to "u.s." magazine. the jennifer lopez world tour doll and red carpet doll. she showed the video on her instagram account. very cute. motion clips of her dancing and singing her song "get it right." >> very cool. i don't know. that's something that i -- i'd want to own. >> i know a doll. we could probably get that done. diana perez "world news now" collection. >> i don't know about that.

>> you don't think mattel would do that? >> they would send you any old barbie with dark hair. >> we have to get graphics to -- >> if i can be ken. >> you do look a little bit like ken. >> i have heard that before. >> i don't know about me being barbie, though. >> i think so. . >> i think so. you disgust me.

prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out. ♪ ♪ you're the woman i love >> a growing number of men these days are fathering children they don't even know. >> many young men 25 years ago, what seemed like a quick way to donate cash to donate sperm is causing dilemmas. >> do you know young people that look like this man? he is todd whitehurst who earned $12,000 donating sperm two or three times a week for more than three years. you do the math. one day, years later, he was contacted by a 14-year-old girl

who told him he was her father. >> my first reaction was to be stunned. >> reporter: since then he mead met three other donor offspring and confirmed a dozen all together. >> how do you know you don't have 50, 100 children, 150? >> i don't know. it's certainly possible. >> reporter: in fact, abc news learned of five individuals who feared over 100 children and one individual nearly 200 children. >> it's the wild west. there's essentially no sheriff in town. in this area, which has become quite large, lucrative and involved the most intimate area of people's lives. >> reporter: some people limit the number of children a sperm donor can have. in united kingdom the number is ten and children can find their biological dad and his health history. >> in england and most of europe, it's illegal to have anonymous sperm donation. >> reporter: the u.s. for more than 2 million children have been born from donated sperm, a website, the donor sibling registry has been connecting them to their fathers and half siblings for the last 13 years.

>> adriana. >> kyle. >> nice to meet you. >> come on in. >> adriana and kyle found each other through that registry. >> the donors don't have legal or social binding but half sister, that's cool. >> reporter: so far more than 10,000 connections have been made. todd whitehurst eventually met his daughter virginia. >> we have a remarkable amount in common. >> it's surprising, really. it is as if we are related or something. >> reporter: one more version of the modern american family. ron claiborne, abc news, new york. >> here's a number for you. 30 to 60 thousand children born in the u.s. every year are born via artificial insemination. >> staggering figure. you look at that one woman and her father seems like a nice guy >> sure. >> but i guess a lot of people are meeting their dad thinking i don't know about this guy either. >> a lot of them go their entire life never knowing and they see people they look like and see my dad, my sibling? strange. >> announcer: this is abc news

informing insomniacs for two decades.

making news in america this morning -- a light show for millions overnight. a meteor that looked like a fireball, streaking across several states. taking everyone by surprise. also this morning, important, new research on autism. scientists say they can pinpoint the disorder earlier than ever. and it's all in the eyes. and making way for america's heroes. the passengers who gave up first-class seats for troops returning from the war. and country music honors its rising stars and living legends. the artists that took home the top awards and the songs that won the hearts of fans everywhere.

good morning, everybody. we begin this thursday with new video. a surprising light show in the skies above several western states. >> a meteor streaked across the sky, taking astronomers off guard. you see it here from a car's dash cam. people from malibu, california, to new mexico, saw the fireball streak across the sky. >> that's incredible video. look at that. the national weather service says this meteor was associated with the southern torrid immediate your shower. they are very bright. >> that's the kind of thing i see in the middle of the night and i'm thinking -- >> martians? >> yes. i'm not thinking meteor, not for a second. >> i want to drive and find that thing. i guess it streaks for quite a while. >> i think you're out of luck. >> yeah. neat to see. all right. we go to some new developments in the troubled health care rollout. a key government official linked to the website has stepped down. >> this, as the president hits the road to defend the program.

abc's tahman bradley joins us with the very latest. good morning, tahman. >> diana and john, good morning. republican states are refusing obama care, complicating the rollout. it's a problem the president is taking head-on. >> president obama is back on offense, defending his health care law on hostile turf. he traveled to texas, one of the states that refused to set up its own marketplace. the lone star state has declined to expand medicaid. the president urged governor rick puerry to reconsider. >> folks who are complaining about how the website is not working. and yet, they're leaving a million people right now without health insurance they could fix. >> reporter: president obama repeated he is frustrated by the failure of the website. >> this is like having a really good product in the store. and the cash registers don't work. >> reporter: the obama administration is taking heat

about the botched health care rollout from democrats. the president heard complaints from 16 democratic senators up for re-election next year. on thrill, health and human service secretary, kathleen sebelius, faced more tough questions from republicans and democrats. >> why not shut it down and do it right? >> no more caveats. no more excuses. no more spin. just give us the truth. >> reporter: sebelius plans to fix it by november 30th. but warned initial enrollment numbers will be low. >> i'm hoping with the site improvement we'll see more robust numbers. are. >> reporter: in another twist, the official that created the troubled website, plans to accept down next week. diana and john? >> tahman bradley, live in washington. thank you. the military also under scrutiny for the way it handles sexual assault within its ranks. 46 senators are backing a bill to move prosecution of the attacks outside of the military

chain of command. top commanders insist they should be allowed to police their own ranks. statistics show 26,000 sexual assaults in the military last year alone. two-thirds of the victims don't report them. and knew this morning, former pakistani president, pervez musharraf has been freed from his house arrest. he was jailed because of the death of a radical cleric in 2007. his life is threatened by al qaeda and other groups. and scientists say they have new evidence suggesting that the late palestinian leader, yasser arafat, was poisons. arafat died under mysteries circumstances in 2004. his widow and palestinian officials have long accused israel of having a hand in the death. in a new report, it says that soil and bone samples from his grave, had high levels of radio active palonium. a federal bill to protect gays against workplace discrimination. in most states,