. >> reporter: but soon emily of yuba city, california may be able to do all of those things with herghter. during this operation, emily became the first person on the west coast to receive a full hand transplant. >> well, this was a very difficult operation. it took 14 hours with nine surgeons working simultaneously. not only are there two bones to repair, there is at least three nerves, 23 tendons, two arteries, and probably four or five veins to repair. >> reporter: emily waited a long time for technology to reach the point where that was possible. almost every single person who attended her news conference from the donor family through the life sharing organization to the numerous doctors and nurses helped replace the hand she lost five years ago. >> june 11th of 2006, i was a front seat passenger in a rollover accident. my hand went out the sun roof when the car flipped, and my hand was smashed between the pavement and the roof of the car. i waited five years, but it was a short five years given that i have a hand now. it's almost surreal that i didn't have a hand. >> reporter: s

emily schmidt, for us, live, in washington. thank you. >>> now, from the safety of air traffic to the cost of it. today, the department of transportation announces new rights for airline passengers. among the new rules, airlines must now refund more money if passengers are bumped from a flight. airlines must also refund those checked bag fees if the bags are delayed, damaged or lost. and there will also be charges to airline websites to make fees more clear to passengers. we'll get more details on these fees coming up on "good morning america." >>> in political news this morning, president obama is on the road in northern california today, to push his plan to reduce federal red ink. he's making a tough sell, according to an abc news poll released overnight. only 39% of americans approve of the way he's handling the deficit. republicans, though, they fared worse. they got only 33% on the same issue. most americans, 72%, did approve on raising taxes on the wealthy, as a way to cut the deficit. meanwhile, 65% rejected another repu

and then we have emily, the one who stayed at home. emily married a canadian fur trader, john mctalfish. and she lived for a very short time after her marriage in montreal and was awfully homesick. as soon as she possibly could, she persuaded john that his future lay much more in be maryland than it did in canada. so, eventually -- well, shortly afterwards, they returned and lived thereafter in maryland. he was a british subject and became the british could be suggest of baltimore. and they had four children and grandchildren and descendants. >> so of all these men in the lives of these four women, we were talking before the session started in the authors' lounge -- had a great discussion leading up to this one, but we were talking about all these men, suitors, lovers, husbands never seemed to be able to measure up to the grandfather, charles carroll carrollton. what do you want to say about the influence that he had in their lives? what sort of standard did he set? >> i think he set a very high standard. he was the formative influence

emily, thank you so much. we are so glad to have your energy, your smarts to lead us to this tough topic this morning. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, susan. well, as the only - at least self identifying water system manager from the east coast, i had originally planned briefly present some highlights of our climate change experience in new york city but after listening yesterday i thought i could spare you anguish and tell you a brief new york story in a brief new york minute. i live in brooklyn and a little backyard in the back and stone walk in the front. years back my son was in the front and we left our backyard and there was a huge august moon rising and we up the block and out into a neighbors backyard when there was a party and when my son got to the party, he said we've got a moon just like that in our backyard. let me say we've not a climate change just like yours in our backyard. the time spent yesterday, at least for me, was very well spent and leads up to the business of today. yesterday we ta

--ad lib toss to emily-- emily-- 3 3 3 eat a cupcake... and you could have a baby... in...their very pregnant mothers .../ ate... a lemon drop cupcake, .../ at.../ cappellino's.../ shop...//. áánewáá.../ mother... shannon conklin .../ says... medical experts.../ are.../ stumped by it . lawson says: "within half an hour i started having contractions."shoup says: "i was five days overdue and we came back downtown and i got one, and it worked."conklin says "i was in the hospital, i think my daughter was five hours oll and i called thh cupcake shop, and i was like it works!" works!" owner.../ dotty cappellino...// says.../ the... lemon drop .../// is.../ one of... the best-sellers,....// ááandáá.../ she makes sure...// there's...// a... fresh batch...// every day. 3 that's all for fox45 news at 5:30."king of queens" is next. next.anddwe'll be back tonight for fox45 news at ten -- and the late edition at 11... 11...we'll see you later. later.

emily is a pioneer delving into this brave new field.hat. it's going to take time, of course, like any other transplant. but we'll get there some day. this opens up new arenas for reconstructive surgery to be able to reconstruct life tissue with life tissue. there is no life tissue for the hand. there is no life tissue for the face. this gives us a chance to reconstruct defects secondary to cancer, trauma or congenital defects, birth defects. >> i know of concern to you is wounded vets from the wars. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> up next on our series "midlife today" the changing rules of intimacy at 50 and beyond. that's right after this. ression is a serious medical condition. i feel like i have to wind myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about pristiq -- a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain -- serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your

emily schmidt in washington. thanks, emily. >>> in more political news this morning, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is trying to backtrack from comments he made about a presidential run. pawlenty was being interviewed about his low standing in the polls. asked on cnn if he would consider running as a number two on the ticket with donald trump, pawlenty laughed and said, quote, i'm running for president. end quote. now, he says those comments were taken out of context. and a formal announcement is forthcoming. >>> in libya, three weeks of air strikes have done little to turn the tide against moammar gadhafi. government forces appear to be gaining ground in the eastern part of the country, pounding rebels. that's put the pressure on the u.s. to take a larger role in the fighting. top diplomats are meeting today in qatar to discuss the future of international action in libya. >>> in neighboring egypt, former president hosni mubarak is beginning 15 days in custody. he's being investigated for corruption and a

emily schmidt, live from washington this morning. thank you. >>> the commander who on in libe military mission in libya before nato took over, said the u.s. may consider sending troops into that country after all. army general carter ham told a senate committee it is possible america could participate in an international ground force after gadhafi is gone. but he also says that the situation in libya is turning into a stalemate. >>> and secretary of defense, robert gates, is in iraq today. he's urging iraqi officials to decide soon, whether they want u.s. troops to stay beyond december 31st. that's when the withdrawal is now set to be finished. gates also visited troops at camp liberty. he told them this is likely his last visit to iraq as defense secretary. >>> northern japan has been rocked by a major aftershock. this is the frightening scene at a local tv station as the 7.1 quake hit. at least two people were killed and dozens injured in an area still reeling from the massive earthquake one month ago. five power plants were damage

emily schmidt this morning. thank you so much. >>> there's been a major development at the japanese nuclear plant. workers have finally been able to stop the flood of radioactive water, which had been pouring into the pacific. now, the workers face potential problems, including the possibility of more explosions inside the unit. they plan to pump nitrogen gas into one of the reactors today, trying to head off such a possibility. we will have more on the concerns about the safety of the seafood coming up later in the half hour. >>> rebel leaders in libya are asking for more help from the international community, as anti-government forces battle for control in the east. the top military commander says nato isn't doing enough to protect civilians. he complained that all of the red tape means that nato strikes come sometimes hours after the rebels communicate targets. >>> a congresswoman from south florida has been chosen by president obama to head the democratic national committee. debbie wasserman schultz would be

emily, if you would like to come up and say a few words. commissioner murphy: nice to get to know you, emily. >> good morning, commissioners. i am quite honored to have this assignment. i am excited to take on some of their projects and to actually oversee their personal issues come and get the department moving in a positive direction, and be as much help as i can. commissioner murphy: we appreciate it. welcome. >> in your package under item threed, we have included our requisition tracking list. we gave this to the commission is for the first time. this shows the date we put the requisition and, where it is going through the department, and eventually, if the commissioners would like, we could do a flow chart on how the requisition process works in the city. it is quite involved, like the contract administration. as you can see, we have been unable to fill several positions, due to the fact that there are no current lists that exist. a lot of the employees we are bringing back are coming back in temporary positions or limited duration pos

cabo el primer trasplante de mano, conectaron venas nervios arterias y la mano iba cobrando vida, emilio solo funcionara hasta el 60% de su mano cada pequeño movimiento es un logro >> un mes después del trasplante la madre agradecio a la familia del donante por este regalo >> un nuevo incidenete tiene a los controladores aéreos en el ojo del huracan, anoche el avión donde viajaba michelle obamaa tuvo que aterrizar forzosamente, investigan que paso en la torre de control >> arnold schwarzenegger es conocido por reducir sentencia del amigo de un politico amigo atribuyo lasc riticas al trabajo y dice que por supuesto ayudaría a un amigo >> una autopista de los Ángeles será nombrada en honor a un latino vicedirector de una escuela publica >> el 2009 el educador de 33 años fue asesinad por sospechosos mientras estaba de vacaciones en durango méxico permiso la familia prefiere solo celebrar el honor que le darán al educador, esta semana cuando tome la autopista 60 una sección llevara el nombre de él >> dice que noo fue fácil pero que lo logro, el y su familia desea que cada vez que pasen que

. >> reporter: but, soon, emily of yuba city, california, will be able to do all of those things with her daughter. during this operation, emily became the first person on the west coast to receive a full hand transplant. >> this was a very difficult surgery. it took 14 hours, 23 tendons and two arteries to repair. >> emily waited for a long time to reach the point where that was possible. almost every single person who attended her news conference, from the donor family through the life sharing organization to the numerous doctors and nurses helped replace the hand she lost five years ago. >> june 11th, 2006, i was a front seat passenger in a rollover accident. my hand went out the sunroof when the car flipped. i waited five years but it was a short five years given that i have a hand now. it's almost surreal that i didn't have a hand. >> soon after the surgery, emily was all right holding objects and moving her fingers. >> she can expect to get 60% function of a noninjured hand and that's remarkable given that she will have sensation. >> look at her hand. if it were not for the ace

emily schmidt joins us from washington. with more on this story. hi, emily. >> reporter: later today, the government is due out with its new fuel gauge report. almost certain to show us how much these price are continuing. some places, $4 gas now a distant memory. the $5 mark within view now. across the country, sticker shock is setting in. >> this is the first time paying $75 for a tank of gas. >> it's around $95. it's unbelievable. >> reporter: it takes nearly $100 to fill some tanks. a dollar a gallon increase costs the average family an extra $1,000 a year. >> i'm at the end of my rope. >> reporter: drivers lined up 3 1/2 hours early in knoxville, tennessee, in order to get free easter gas from a local church. others feel less charitable toward the oil companies. >> i'm angry. there's though reason for it, in my opinion. >> reporter: this week, analysts expect exxon to announce record profits. there is no oil shortage. there is just speculator worries. >> $6 gas is one well-placed hurricane and one tiny bit of supply disruption away. >> reporte

i'm emily schmidt in washington. >> how do you plan a home opener for world series champions? i'm amy hollyfield live at at&t park. i'll have a preview of the home @ @ @ @ @ @aaaaaaaaaaaaaa)awltt

the story of the intertwined lives of mary ann, bess, luis saw and -- luis saw and emily cayton. for a time the cayton's were annapolis girls, but the wider world beckoned. after opening remarks, we'll have some questions pack and forth, and we'll then invite questions from the office. jehanne will be in the building next door to sign books at 11:50. so please welcome jehanne wake, and then i'll pose the first question to her. [applause] can you give us sort of a thumbnail sketch of each of these four women to get us startedsome. startedsome -- started? >> yes, of course, glenn. thank you for your introduction. the eldest, marie ann, who was born in 1788 in annapolis, she

emily schmidt, this morning. thank you. >>> in other news this morning, nevada republican john ensign is resigning from the u.s. senate today. he's been under investigation by the ethics committee for having an affair with a former campaign staffer and helping her husband get lobbying jobs. ensign says he has done nothing wrong, though. and the justice department and federal election committee agreed. however, the ethics committee inquiry did continue. >>> also, there's another republican presidential hopeful this morning. former new mexico governor, gary johnson, made it official yesterday in new hampshire, which is one of the first primaries. his major issue is cutting spending, even for defense. and he also favors legalizing marijuana. >>> senator john mccain just arrived in benghazi to meet with the libyan rebels. the arizona republican has been calling for more u.s. military intervention there. president obama appears to be moving in that direction. and as martha raddatz reports, he also supports new u.s. ai

emily schmidt live for us this morning. thank you. >>> five suspects in the 9/11 attacks will face trial at guantanamo bay instead of a civilian courtroom in new york. the justice department announced that the change in policy would happen yesterday. this reverses an obama pledge to close guantanamo. military prosecutors have seeking the death penalty against alleged mastermind, khalid shaikh mohammed and four accomplices. >>> in japan, millions of gallons of radioactive water are being pumped into the pacific ocean from the crippled nuclear plant. it's a drastic measure to make room in a storage site for water that is more contaminated. radioactivity is quickly diluted in the ocean. and the government says the dump should not affect the safety of seafood in that area. >>> the fog is ordering more inspections of certain boeing 737s. most of them are flown by southwest airlines, which says they expect to have the inspections finished today. southwest expects to fly a whole schedule today, after cancelling hundreds of flights

emily schmidt is joining us from washington. hi, emily. >> reporter: good morning to you. president obama went to california, the land of the start-up. and said, not too long ago, he was a start-up, as well. but running for re-election, he has to rev up his base. bringing supporters into the re-election fold. >> we've got to finish what we started. >> reporter: that means, traditional political networking. tickets for the fund raidsers ranged from 35 $25 to more than $35,000 apiece. for this campaign, it also means social networking. >> i've got 19 million friends. which only puts me 500,000 friends behind spongebob squarepants. >> reporter: social media is no laughing matter. at this town hall meeting with facebook ceo, mark zuckerberg, the president talked policy, including $1 trillion in tax reform. >> that allows people like me, and you, mark, paying a little more in taxes. i know you're okay with that. >> reporter: supporters say it's a good way to reach voters. >> the majority of the people on facebook are now 50 and above. you get both parts of the demographics. >>

emily schmidt, with more on this pain at the pump. good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and rob, good morning to you. if you're going to stop to fill up your tank this morning, on your way to work, it could be a tough way to start the day. prices are up over a dime the past week. in every state now except wyoming, a gallon of gas is going to cost you $3.50. and it seems the prices are only going up. at gas pumps across the country, more means less. paying more. >> i've noticed that the price has gone up. >> reporter: getting less. >> i just put in $13. and it got me about three gallons. >> reporter: the federal government says gas pr11 cents jumped 11 cents in just the past week. the nationwide average is $3.79 a gallon. >> it's painful. you have to make a decision on where you drive and where you go nowada nowadays. >> reporter: for five-straight weeks americans have bought less fuel. it coincides in middle east uprising and a change to summer blend. >> it's not going to take too much more of an increase in oil prices to strigerri

i'm emily schmidt in washington. what president obama plans to do about it coming up. >> also, labor pain. rapidly expanding bay area supermarket chain. why workers launched a two-day hunger strike. pesticide warning. researchers uncover not one, but three reasons it can affect the intelligence of children. medicare. it doesn't cover everything. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no ref

emily schmidt joins us now with the details. good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and mike, good morning to you. president obama is finally getting the 2011 budget from congress. but in many ways, it already feels like 2012. we had obama talking about what he's done as president. and he is working to keep the job. >> hello, chicago. >> reporter: president obama warmed up his campaign rhetoric last night, raising $2 million for his re-election effort. >> this is not my campaign. this is your campaign. >> reporter: illinois launched the president's political career. but in an exclusive abc news interview with george stephanopoulos, mr. obama admitted he made a mistake as a senator, when he voted against extending the debt limit. >> so, that was just an example of a new senator, you know, making what is a political vote, as opposed to doing what was important for the country. and i'm the first one to acknowledge it. >> reporter: this week, mr. obama laid out how he would reduce the budget deficit. republican paul ryan, who has p

good morning, emily. >> reporter: mike and peggy, good morning. budget negotiators say they've narrowed the issues. they've made some progress. but at this point, that is not enough to keep the government running past tomorrow. in washington, no budget agreement now means no sleep for staff trying to hammer out a deal. >> my expectation is, that folks are going to work through the night. >> reporter: president obama called budget negotiators to the white house last night, for the second meeting there in two days. after 90 minutes, still no agreement. >> i do think we made some progress. but i want to reiterate, there's no agreement on a number. and there's no agreement on the policy. >> i have confidence we can get this done. we're not there yet. but hope lies eternal. >> reporter: for 800,000 federal workers, even u.s. troops, there's more than hope on the line. there's a paycheck. national parks won't open. tax refunds mailed in could be delayed. and that's money a kentucky family is banking on. >> we put off paying bills because we've been expe

emily schmidt is in raleigh, now, with the latest. emily? >> reporter: rob and peggy, good morning. it is quiet here in this raleigh, north carolina, neighborhood. one of the only sounds is a smoke detector that has been beeping since the tornado went through on saturday. police aren't allowing nonresidents into this neighborhood. and many of the people who do live here cannot now safely stay in their homes. >> all of a sudden, i started hearing -- crack, crack. that's when i said, time to go. >> reporter: governor perdue says the spirit of the state is coming out. one example was at the lowe's in sanford. 100 people huddled together in the store. and all survived. here in raleigh, the city's public works director says he estimates there will be 200,000 cubic yards of debris that has to be cleared. if you do the math, it's about 6,600 of the largest dumpsters available. and across the state, officials say they have no idea how much this tornado will actually cost. rob and peggy? >> emily, thank you. >>> more weather news this morning. in northern new jersey, residents there are begg

good morning, emily. >> reporter: peggy and rob, good morning. the hardest-hit state overnight appears to be arkansas, where tornadoes and flash flooding turned deadly. it's become a common theme. the country is now averaging more than 200 severe weather reports a day this month. there are signs of severe weather problems stretching all across the country. winds toppling a baptist church steeple in tennessee. hail the size of baseballs pounding a texas neighborhood. >> we run in when we saw the car. >> reporter: more than 300 tornados have hit the u.s. this month. the latest, last night in central arkansas, damaged an area three miles wide. >> we all ended up in the closet. and then, you could hear crashing and stuff being knocked around and blowed around. and it just -- it tore us up. >> reporter: every tree in her yard fell on her house. at least five people died in the arkansas storms. three of them swept away by flash flooding. there are now flood warnings in 17 states. >> we're not nervous. just make preparation for it. >> reporter: in popla

emily schimdt, abc news. >> mike is here now to talk about our local weather and what happened over there>> i just found a picture on line of the weather radar out of little rock, arkansas. the debris box gets spun up and you can see that on the radar. that's how powerful the tornado was. talking about that and you can take a look at it here at home it can't get much quieter. >> taking a look outside. it is breezy and aroundd bodies of water today. that is a transition from the cool weather to the warmer weather we'll be dealing with the rest of the month. you can see the flags that are flying around the ferry building in downtown san francisco. how cool it is this morning. that is the big story. santa rosa and fairfield. double digit drops. the rest of us 3-9 degrees cooler than yesterday. we are running the low 50s in the bay shore . around the monterey bay and inland. mid-to upper 40s and salinas at 50. breezy and dry and sunny and winny, not as warm on thursday and friday. warmest afternoon, they fall on the weekend days. we'll talk about temperatures today, hitting the low 70s . the

emily schimdt has the latest. >> this tornado moving in southwest of the dallas, an incredible sight but not a rare one. there have been 300 tornados nationwide in april, a pace that topples record and in arkansas toppled the buildings in a three mile wide path. 10 people died in storms. in oklahoma, flooding swept away road exercise normalcy. the ohio river in illinois is 15 feet above flood stage. the water keeps coming. sand bagging is not a option in missouri. the levee started to give away . one thousand homes are evacuated. poplar bluff has seen 15 inches of rain in four days. >> an area in carolina saw deadly tornados. 25 states have felt the affect of damaging storms. emily schimdt, abc news. >> 25 states, but not this state experiencing those damaging storms. >> it is not that time of year for us. most people get thunderstorms and tornado we are dryer. >> things are getting better this week. >> if you like the sunshine and warmth, got that forecast for you. if you lifed up on mount tam, this is what you would wake up this morning, looking down from 26000 phot. looks beautifu

. >> emily schmidt is tracking the latest. >>> good morning, peggy and mike. investigators can hold the piece of plane that ripped open in their two hands. but getting a grip on whether this is part of a larger problem could be much more complicated. investigators think this section of southwest airlines flight 812 shows what caused the plane to up up mid flight. five square feet of tearing from what is believed to be fatigue cracks in the fuselage. >> that's a very disturbing point because it's a place that can cause great amount of damage to an airplane. >> reporter: the national transportation safety board says there are no science of faulty maintenance. instead, they were on a part of plane that is not expected because cracks are not expected there. >> we have no indications that something was actually missed. in an inspection. something that could have been detected that wasn't detected. >> now, we may have on check airplanes where we never thought we would have to check before. >> reporter: documents reviewed by abc news showed that 15-year-old plane had

hundred thousand for our agency and what i'd like to do is see some west coast and east coast for too emily, california, or gone , colorado, each of us pledge a hundred thousand dollars to this public outreach to educate people about how climate change leafy fekt one of our most precious resources, drinking water. and how it will effect waist water. real life things to educate people. i think all other major agencies - the larger agencies should pledge a hundred thousand dollars. i know everybody likes to think of themselves as the big kids but smaller agencies can pledge 50 thousand. then what would be great, lester , is for the state,dwr, is match the collection of the different agencies. [applause] we are willing to volunteer. we are willing to volunteer our staff of the san francisco, puc, is willing to be the group that convenes the different communications heads. all of you have public relations people or head of external affairs, and we'd be willing to pull together that committee of different communication heads of different agencys to see about getting and energy gaming public outr

but first, here's emily schmidt with the latest nationwide. >> reporter: winter is getting the last laughhis april fool's day. >> still winter. when you think you are through it all, it suction you back in. >> reporter: the snowfall potential too big to ignore. >> i wouldn't be surprised to see some location get up over 10 inches. >> reporter: the problems started in florida with warm wet air that turned dangerous. the storm crippled a canopy that protects train cars and caused a work delay on the space shuttle endeavour at kennedy space center. lightning came close. foam damage was reportedly minimal. >> it looks minor. >> reporter: major damage at an air show that attracts half a million people a year. priceless planes flipped over. >> the roof was going up and down and there was hail here, and rain and suddenly it just blacken out and we were hiding on the corner. >> reporter: in new england, there's no hiding from approaching snow. >> can't wait until it's over. it's too cold. >> reporter: public works crews are reinstalling the snow equipment. towns in western massachusetts are tens

emily lost her right hand in a car accident five years ago. last month she went through a historic hand transplant at ucla. she made her first public appearance yesterday to talk about her future. >> i do feel like it's mine slowly buy surely every day it becomes more and more mine. i think once i have sensation in it and i can feel it and i can function with it more, it's going to feel more and more like mine. >> the marathon surgery took more than 14 hours. doctors had to connect the bones, blood vessels, nerves and tendons. we are told emily will regain about 60% function in her new hand. >>> you have a food craving? pregnant women may want to think twice before giving in. a new study suggests that a pregnant woman's diet could alter her baby's dna. that could increase the risk of child has obesity, heart disease and diabetes later in life. researchers say, though, more tests are needed. >>> well, maybe you heard your mom say, watching too much tv is bad for your eyes? she's right! a new study finds 6-year-old who is spend the most time wat

i am emily schimdt, a look at what may be ahead coming up. >> in the animal app.umane society. ♪ [ female announcer ] we all want cleaner laundry. we all want a world with fewer chemicals. we all want the best of both worlds. introducing all free clear oxi-active. a powerful new detergent without dyes or perfumes that helps get out your toughest dirt and stains. its added natural cleaning boosters help get your whole family's wash incredibly clean. tough on stains. gentle on skin. new all free clear oxi-active. you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! >> welcome back. live doppler shows presidenty quiet other than a few sprinkle in cresant city. we'll see how the forecast holds today. low to mid-70s in the central valley. look at mid80 in los angeles and palm springs . cooler in san diego and breezy and any rain in eureka and 55. kristen and terry. >> san karlos is moving ahead with plans to contract

[laughter] i think this is a wonderful book emily dickinson its i found it so appalling to have to pay harvard to print anything of emily dickinson and i noticed that you have three they are all out of copyright. >> not necessarily. i think all among the dickinson is wonderful but this is what it comes down to. i think it is fascinating because as a reader this is not what you think about and you don't realize when you look at the budget and faced with spending several thousand dollars to the works and you get a chance to get some of it for free or for less, this is what you have to do. it is a fascinating case study of commerce and art and production and education and these are hard decisions to make but it is a system that is entrenched. >> you do not get the one. >> i do have the latest. . . indeed she rose and the addendum that i quoted in the book. she has always struggled with whether she is a woman writer. she doesn't like to be called a woman writer because as she was growing up, this is a her essay, being a woman writer was accepting inferiority. she has gotten over that now.

emily schmidt has more. >> get back! >> reporter: mapleton, iowa, got a ten-minute warning. a tornado was coming. enough time to get people out of harm's way. >> i think we should have had fatalities and didn't. i believe in the good lord. he saved this town. >> reporter: people saved, not the buildings. 60% of the town of 1200 people is damaged. >> it's probably a complete loss. >> reporter: 20% of the town is flattened. >> it's all gone. i have never seen anything like this. it's just something else. i don't want to go through it again. >> reporter: possibly tornadoes blew through tennessee. and in cleveland north north carolina, john heard the winds. and then was caught up in them. >> i was at this window. it slung me from right here, through there, and i ended up right here. >> reporter: in north dakota and minnesota, the problem is along the red river. it's now crested. but tributaries are at record levels. >> it came up a lot faster than anybody was prepared for. >> reporter: and water is not enough to douse the west texas wildfires. firefighters from 25 states are bat

we begin our coverage, now, with emily schmidt. >> that is something that you pray that you never, ever, ever see. >> reporter: all night, across the south, people looked up, looked out for tornadoes. this one, in tuscaloosa. >> goodness, look at that. >> that is huge. >> repved. s it arrived. and after it left. >> it looks like we got hit by, you know, 5,000-pound bomb here. >> reporter: tuscaloosa's mayor says the city's infrastructure is decimated. at least a dozen killed, 100 injured. here, a young girl survived. there are more than 140 tornado reports, from mississippi to maryland. >> that was the front of the house. >> reporter: the worst damage so far is in alabama, where at least 60 people died. and president obama has declared an emergency. >> before it hit, there was branches falling out of the sky before we even knew the tornado was coming. >> reporter: nearly all the town landmarks in smithville, mississippi, are gone. there were only moments to run. here's what the mayor did. >> we grabbed personal belongings. we went into the board room and got under the board table. when

emily schmidt, abc news, washington. >>> 5:49 now. will be like for the easter weekend. we keep -- safely tell us there is a possibility of rain but you don't expect much. >> that is the key. i've said that all week and it holds true this morning. good morning. don't change your plan over scattered light rain, okay? coming up on 5:50. you can see the fog trying to develop this morning. keep an eye out for it. it will be isolated. if you do run into it, visibilities could drop quickly. as far as what we're seeing temperature wise, give you an update on that. still concord and antioch, 50 and 52. everybody else in 40s. running cooler this morning. around the monterey bay with the mid-40s. inland to salinas. gilroy at 39. all right, we'll see the increasing high clouds this afternoon. next system drawing near. it will start scattered light rain in to tomorrow's forecast. maybe some drizzle in the overnight hours. sprinkles are possible sunday morning. then sunday afternoon should be mostly cloudy and dry. down in south bay today, we have

. >> es importente que se hable del tema,s emilie lo que sea tenemos que seguir con acciones que haganse indica que apoyan los esfuerzos del primer mandartario. >> queremos que tomen acción y que pasen una reforme migratoria porque seguimos deportando familias y personas inocentes. >> y ya han planeado eventos próximos. >> el primero de mayo habrá marchas en varias áreas de la bahía. >> esperamos que todos pasen la voz y que toda la bahía se concentre aquí en san josé a las 4 de la tarde. >> también dicen que esperan ver más reuniones como esta en washington dc. >> el presidente participará en una reunión local emn palo alto. durante el evento obama responderá a las preguntas del público enviadas a través de la página de facebook. >> un nuevo incidente tiene a los controladores aéreos en el ojo del huracán, y una víctima podría haber sido la esposa del presidente obama. >> se debate una propuesta de indocumentación. >> elñ trabajar como jardineros sin permiso escrito como lo vienen haciendo estos hombres en texas podría significar un delito estatl y acarriar una deportación. >> ahora l

emily lost her hand in a car accident 5 years ago. here's the story from ucla. >> i burst that tears vl called my sister and i cried and what's wrong. i'm like they have a hand. she's like but i thought this is what you wanted. i'm like it isment i don't know why i'm crying. and so it was kind of a whirlwind from there. >> i evaluated the hand from the deceased donor. it was identical. the color match was perfect. the size match was perfect. the blood group match was perfect. >>reporter: hand transplant procedure was a lengthy procedure that involved an amazing group of surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologist. there were 23 tendon. 2 bones. 2 arteries. at least 3 nerve nerves. several critical parts in the operation. we have tendon on the palm side and tendon on the back side of our hands. balance between these 2 are not absolutely pristine and perfect the patient won't have good function. reattachment of the blood vessels. if the blood vessels don't work meaning there's not enough blood going in or the appropriate blood coming out, who

emily schmidt is in hard-hit raleigh.eporter: rob and peggy, good morning. it is quiet here in this raleigh, north carolina, neighborhood. one of the only sounds is a smoke alarm that has been beeping since the tornado went through on saturday. police aren't allowing nonresidents into the neighborhood and many of the people who do live here cannot now safely stay in their homes. north carolina hasn't seen damage like this in decades. stretching across 26 counties after more than 60 tornados in one case this rare twin tornado. >> and i started to hear shhh, crack, crack and that's when i said, time when i said time to go. >> reporter: a tornado largely skipped over his house in raleigh, but it tore through others just across the street in there goes the roof off the house. >> reporter: more than 800 families across the state now have either a severely damaged home or no home at all. >> don't know actually bh we're going to live. >> reporter: there are stories of survival. in sanford, 100 people huddled together in a lowe's

i am emily schimdt. i am emily schimdt.torms you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! >> notice how queet it is over california. we'll look at the forecast for the afternoon hours. sorry i jumped the gun . at la guardia so far this morning. >>> and 55 in eureka and tahoe and low to mid-70s and big 60s and not as breezy as yesterday. look at la 86 and palm springs 92 degrees. here is more news. >> thanks a lot. 5:fren and issues a new challenge to pg&e smart meter plan. the town of fairfax and environmental coalition filed a protest with the california public utilities commission. they want a moriorium until the impact of the device can be evaultted. the groups are concerned about health, and environmental cost of the meters. >> count down has begun. markicle competent five crew mates prepared for friday's launch and final mission for endeavor. kelly is expecte

. >> reporter: emily finell, a 28- year-old single mother from yuba city lost her right hand in a roll over car accident three years ago. and said she wanted a new one so she could better care for her daughter. >> i can't feel it yet. i won't have sensation until close to a year. right now it seems surreal i didn't have a hand for those five years. >> reporter: doctors today said emily's fighting spirit is what made her the right candidate to be the first person in the western united states to receive a hand transplant. >> i felt early on that if i told you you can't do something she was going to prove me wrong. and that's the exact type of determination we need for somebody to be a pioneer in medicine. >> i do feel like it's mine fully, but surely every day it becomes more and more mine. i think once i have sensation in it and i can feel it and i can function with it more, it's going to feel more and more like mine. >> reporter: and finell says her new hand could have an unexpected benefit. she says right now she types 45 words a minute with her left hand alone. she's looking forward

emily ruben. back to you. >> we have your coverage of the royal wedding. join us in a few hours at 2:00 a.m. we will be live bringing you ever moment of the big day. tomorrow morning, friday morning right here on kron 4. >> the story in the south. devastating and deadly tornadoes there. the death toll has risen to 291 in six states. the hardest hit state, alabama, 10:00 p.m. curfew for safety reasons. 404 people were killed in that state alone. president obama till tour tomorrow. kron 4's jonathan bloom now with the latest. >> reporter: a description of what this line of storms has done. it started in texas and made its way towards the eastern seaboard. let's look. friday, that's when the line of storms that started brewing in texas and started making its way saturday, sunday, monday into the southern states that seen the most destruction and staying there for a couple days till today that storm made it through virginia, sparing north carolina, which had been hit by other tornadoes. alabama, i want to go in for a closer look, that's where the most horrendo

emily schmidt has the latest. >> reporter: winter is getting the last laugh this april fool's day. >>l potential too big to ignore. >> i wouldn't be surprised to see some locations get up into 10 inches. >> reporter: the problem started in florida with warm wet air that turned dangerous. the storm cripple a canopy. and kennedy space center. the lightning came close, damage was reportedly minimal. >> it looks like at least initially minor. >> reporter: there was major damage at an air field, thousands of planes tipped over. >> there was hail and rain. and it suddenly blackened out and we were hiding on the corner. >> reporter: in new england, there is no hiding from approaching snow. >> i can't wait till it's over. it's just too cold. >> reporter: public road crews are reinstalling the snow equipment. towns in massachusetts are tens of thousands of dollars over the budget. and ski slopes that had already closed for spring. that april 1st irony not see funny here. >> where was the snow at the beginning of the season? we could have really used it then. >> there were six warnings in six n

and we still are -- emily, i think we still are the single city in the nation that has taken upon itselfo pass an ordinance embracing the conference on the end of discrimination, and to make that a real ordinance that guides us. that still is, i think, something to celebrate because we still continue to be unique in terms of women's leadership, in terms of their purchase of patient in our government, the way we run it, and that has been such a recognize point because ending discrimination has been what it has been all about. the promotions and the recognition are fine, but we have got to make sure that discrimination has ended completely. we do that 5 putting women in responsible positions as they are talented and recognized for, and that is why i wanted to announce tonight my choice for this year's history month as being my selection, somebody who i have had the privilege of working with so many years. i used to work for her when i was in the community of attorneys because she would send me all of the clients the were living in our sro's and struggling with immigration reform and all of

i'm emily schmidt in washington. latest air traffic control incident coming up.er for t.j.maxx, i'm not just looking for deals, i'm looking for the hottest fashion. hot -- hot, hot. i get a lot of ideas just walking around the city, checking people out. it's like a fashion show out there. then, it's all about the deal. i negotiate directly with designers... so you get the savings. you know, the smartest fashionistas-- are really maxxinistas! t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. we need to solve the problem. the state budget crisis threatens our economy... and our schools. loans to small businesses on hold. job creation at a standstill. 30,000 teachers already laid off. can we really afford billions more in cuts? $13 billion more devastates our schools, our safety, and the california we know. it's time for lawmakers to finally get the problem solved now. our kids and economy can't afford to wait. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment

from the board of education, emily mores. [applause] and i could go on and on with the -- mr. mayor to be of the people who are here celebrating with you on this very historic occasion. and it was all made possible by this fine collection of people to my right whom i've introduced by name and now let me ask the president of the san francisco board of supervisors, a man who chaired the historic meeting where the vote count was done without the assistance of our folk who normally count votes which is kind of the way i prefer to have votes counted in elections. you get better results. the president of the board of supervisors, david chiu. [applause] president chiu: good afternoon. so mayor brown, i want to tell you the score of the game upstairs. two numbers. 11 to zero. [applause] this is an historic moment for san francisco. and i want to first start by thanking my colleagues at the board of supervisors. we may not -- please clap for them. we may not always agree. but on this great man, edwin lee, we came together and thank you for that. [applause] i also want to thank the many

emily avery was withdrawn her application, is that correct? >> that's correct. supervisor kim: thank you. next we have jay lee. >> hello. my name is jay lee and i'm currently occupying the at large seat, one of two at large seats. i just want to talk briefly about the at large seat in particular and the perspective that i think is needed and that i bring to this particular position. first of all, i am a pedestrian, i don't own a car and so from a that perspective i am intimately familiar with the pedestrian safety issues that are facing san francisco residents on a daily basis. i also believe that the at large community, the at large position needs to represent communities that are not necessarily represented in the existing seats. in particular i think that low income and minority populations as well as the homeless, those interests are not being voiced without the at large position. and through my work with community-based organizations and my current work through a nonprofit that works closely on homelessness issues, i believe i bring that unique perspective