karen travers. >>> the trial begins tomorrow for the driver, police say hit and killed two teenagers and left the scene last summer. what the family has to say. >>> and those looking for a cheap thrill flirting with serious danger. a look at one teen who tried to stand up to a jet and paid a price. >>> a trip to the hospital and new front-runner. what happened on the floor with "dancing with the stars" and what you can expect to see am just a few -- in just a few hours. >>> more good news at the gas pump as price drop for a fourth day in row. the average price of a gallon is $3.92. hawaiians are paying the most and wyoming pays the least. abc2 news is working for you to help you find the cheapest prices. log on to abc2news.com under the traffic tab. click on gas prices. there, you will find a great list of the choppest prices -- cheapest prices. >>> now on to oklahoma. a storm chaser caught at least one tornado in woodward, oklahoma last night. look at this. you can see the debris flying through the air. amazed every time you see it. >>> now on to this. it sounds like fireworks. that

karen travers, abc news, washington. >> republican candidates voters in d.c. can also vote for city council candidates and in maryland, they can whittle down the pool of candidates for the senate and house. >> we will have live team coverage of tomorrow's election on a news channel eight and politico.com. >> a major resignation l etter, stepping down amid reports of excessive spending. martha johnson submitted to resignation and the inspector general says the agency spent more than $800,000 for a training conference in vegas. it featured a mind reader and a comedian. two of johnson's deputies were fired and four of the conference advisers are on leave. >> john leopold is charged with using police security detail to hide an affair. lieutenant colonel davis will answer questions from the council but not under oath. the meeting will be at 7:00 at randall's center. it we misidentified the man shown in this photograph as a witness in the south capitol street murder trial. the man shown here has no connection whatsoever with the trial. we regret that mistake. >> sti

karen travers, abc2 news, washington. >>> all right. nice sunny view of federal hill today, sunny out there. things getting nice and green. we could use a little green. looks like that could happen by the weekend. winds are northwest at 13. continue to bring in that cool air. our view from arlington, why not. we had clear weather for the shuttle discovery. clouds rolling in later in the day. now the sun back out. annapolis the same deal. sun, clouds and back to some sun later in the day. maryland's most powerful radar crystal clear. we hope that will hold up all five sweeps. temperatures running, 50s in the mountains. 80 in ocean city. winds steady from the northwest will continue to bring in the cool breezes. that's also bringing in nice dry air. even though the highs were near 100, 19% at the inner harbor. that makes things feel so much more comfortable even when they get on the warm side. cooler, colder air funneling in north and west. a cloudier day, less sunshine and even the chance for some showers. it does not look like a lot of

karen travers has the story. >> reporter: the calendar may say spring.ld man winter seems too be making one final appearance. the nor'easter could dump several inches of snow. western pennsylvania as well as new york state can expect more than a foot of snow by the day's end. the blast is no big deal say locals. >> that's part of living in pittsburgh. we are not in florida, we are in western pennsylvania. >> i put it down to the tempestuous nature of spring. >> reporter: it is not just the northeast, a winter storm warning was also issued for parts of north eastern ohio, 3 to 7 inches of snow forecasted. the nor'easter turned up strong winds some up to 50 miles an hour, knocked down trees and branches, 1600 residents of long island are without power. storm caused plenty of disruptions drenching most of east coast with several inches of rain. some in new jersey navigated through flooded roads last night. the downpour is a welcome sight parts of the northeast received below normal rainfall for this time of year. the drought has sparked several major brushf

more from abc's karen travers. >> reporter: the leading edge of a powerful late season nor ooers. it's barrelling up the east coast. it washed out baseball games in washington, d.c. and boston. parts of several states are under a flood watch. more than three inches of rain forecast in some areas. wind gusts of over 40 miles an hour in others. western pennsylvania and new york could be socked with over a foot of snow. >> we have leaves on the trees. they'll act as collectors, they'll make the branches heavier. >>eporter: the weight will bring down tree limbs and power lines. just like the rare prehalloween storm in the fall. >> it will take awhile to get out of here. >> reporter: 100 power crews are being moved to the area. hospitals are being told the have backup generators ready to go. and a local hardware store, snow shovels and salt have been brought out of storage. the storm system that could create hazardous travel conditions for the morning commute. karen travers, abc news, buffalo, new york. >> new england can expect lingering rain and snow until tomorrow morning. >>> in no

karen travers has the story. >> reporter: the calendar may say spring. c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

abc's karen travers, our resident phillies fan in the house. brave >> reporter: peanuts, cracker jacks and the crack of a bat. major league baseball is officially under way. >> opening day 2012. >> reporter: it's the annual rite of spring that has millions of americans dreaming of world series glory. in cincinnati, baseball fans started celebrating before dawn. >> i think we're the first bar that's going to be open today. so we're going to be packed at 6:00 a.m. >> reporter: across the nation, fans enjoyed perfect weather for their first trip to the ballpark. >> absolutely beautiful weather for baseball. >> reporter: maybe the best part of opening day, everyone has a reason to be optimistic. the players. >> i think that was the first thing i thought of when i got in the dugout was that i was leading the major leagues in home runs. >> the fans. >> every year is a fresh start. hopefully this year is the year we actually do something. >> reporter: even those long-suffering chicago cubs fans. >> cubs are in first place. which doesn't happen too oft

karen trave vers has -- travers has the latest. >> reporter: what does april snow bring? folks in upstate new york are about to find out. a streak storm dumped snow. >> it's bad. it's about four to five inches. trees are breaking all over the place. you can stand there and listen to them. >> reporter: along the east coast warmer temperatures meant rain instead of snow with winds whipping up to 50 miles an hour. this rocky late april weather kept off the winter season. it was the warmest in 40 years. great ones for the lucky ones who hit the beach or those who hit the slopes in bathing suits. in march a record number of tornadoes ripped across the midwest from the south causing significant damage. temperatures have been fluctuating like a see saw. last week in philadelphia it was nearly 90. boston it was so hot that runners opted to skip the marathon. over the weekend these fields inial vier a, new york, were packed with soccer games. today they're a slushy mess. heavy rains throughout the day melted all of that morning snow and probably all of the snow men. karen travers,

as abc's karen travers reports, the witness list looks like a cast of characters from a tv soap opera. >> reporter: it's shaping up to be the most explosive political trial in years. >> i'm not going to say anything. thank you. >> reporter: and the witness list could produce major fireworks. testifying for the defense and the prosecution, rielle hunter, john edwards' mistress and the mother of his child. she's the woman at the heart of the sex scandal that ruined his once promising political career. edwards' oldest daughter kate could also take the stand in his defense. >> having his lover and the mother of his child along with his daughter from his last marriage in the same courtroom adds to the spectacle. >> reporter: a newlywed and a lawyer herself, kate stood by her father's side and seems to be the glue holding her family together after her mother elizabeth's death. kate hasn't commented publicly on the case, but there's no indication she was aware of any efforts to hide her father's affair. >> was completely john edward' idea, completely john edwards' plan. >> reporter: also and

karen travers has this preview. >> reporter: mitt romney's argument can be nailed down to one argument. >> this president has failed to turn the economy around. >> reporter: the resumption nominee brought issue back to the economy. >> i'm by far the best qualified in this race between myself and president obama to help the american people get good jobs and rising incomes and eliminate the massive deficit. >> reporter: this was the first joint interview for the romneys this year. >> as it begins toward november, what would each of you say to president and mrs. obama? >> well, start packing. that's what i would leck to -- like to say. >> i believe that the country needs the kind of leadership that he is going to offer. >> reporter: on the trail, romney said what would be a winning issue. >> 92.3% of the people who lost jobs have been women. >> reporter: on sunday treasury secretary tim geithner fought back. >> a lot of men have lost jobs. a lot of women lost jobs later on. >> reporter: romney said he picked a long time aide to -- for the selection process. >> it will be in less than a ha

karen trave vers has the -- travers has the story. >> reporter: an alarming new study says maybe. the study says more than 500 autistic children are in california and compared them to the same number who do the not have autism. they said the risk was 60% higher among those born to mothers who were owe berks hypertensive or diabetic. >> now scientists have to explain y what is this about obesity. is it the high levels of sugar in the blood, high levels of insulin or the chronic inflammation. >> reporter: one in 88 american children now have autism. that's up from one in 110 in 2006. obesity is also on the rise in the u.s. affecting more than one third of american adults but medical experts say there may not be enough information to say whether the two are connected. >> if you're pregnant and you're obese, wouldn't lose sleep over the study. i think the chances that your obesity will cause obesity in your child as -- are as of yet unprove & if you really want to give your child the best start in the world, then you have to pay very careful attention to your own health. >> reporter:

abc's karen travers is on the story this morning in washington. ren, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. this has been a remarkable fall from grace for john edwards. eight years ago, he was the democrats' vice presidential nominee. now, he's fighting the stay out of prison. it's shaping up to be the most explosive political trial in years. >> i'm not going to say anything. thank you. >> reporter: and the witness list could produce some major fireworks. testifying for the defense and the prosecution, rielle hunter, john edwards' mistress and the mother of his child. she's the woman at the heart of the sex scandal that ruined his once-promising political career. edwards' oldest daughter, cate, could also take the stand in his defense. >> having his lover and mother of his child, along with his daughter from his last marriage, in the same courtroom adds to the spectacle. >> reporter: a newlywed and a lawyer herself, cate stood by her father's side and seems to be the glue holding her family together, after her mother, elizabeth's, dea

karen travers, abc news, washington. >>> today marks the 17th anniversary of the deadly oklahoma cityng. a bagpiper led the solemn sermon at the site of the former murrah federal building where 1 of 8 were killed and 500 -- where 168 were killed and 500 wounded. one of only six children survived now a senior at the university of oklahoma. >> we come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. may all who leave here know the impact of violence. may this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity. ♪ ♪ >> two americans timothy mcveigh and terry nichols were convicted on charges related to the attack. mcveigh was executed in 2001. nichols is serving life in prison. >>> we are going to switch gears. a breakfast designed forañ real heroes. i had the honor of emcees the -- emceeing the american red cross heroes event in san rafael this morning. several different awards were handed out to individuals and groups that went above and beyond to help a neighbor or stranger and in some cases, save a life. one example the tiburon ferry compa

karen travers with the latest. >> reporter: the secret service party with prostitutes may not have beenr of the moment. we have learned that before the agents went out to the play club they reserved a space at their hotel large

karen travers, abc news, buffalo, new york. >> messy day for millions of folks out there. it's going to be a tough day, too, for travelers with the delays already reported at many airports here in the northeast. >> and our coverage continues with accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. good morning, jim. >> good morning, rob and meg. we couldn't quite get the snowfall during the winter in many cases. we're getting in here today. a strong area of low pressure dragging in cold air out of canada. with that, snow will continue to fall from western new york state down through northern and western pennsylvania, including the pittsburgh area. heavy, wet snow will bring down trees and power lines. some spots going to see as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow before all is said and done. this low with a soaking rainfall which will lead to localized flooding in new england. >> jim, thank you. >>> all the nasty weather in the new york city area was one reason search efforts in the case of etan patz were delayed. investigators plan to continue digging out a basement near the boy's parents t

karen travers has more. >> reporter: president obama traveled to colombia to talk about free trade andoosting jobs. but his trip was overshadowed by the scandal involving secret service personnel and prostitutes. >> if it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then, of course, i'll be angry. >> reporter: thosally gages include heavy drinking and soliciting prostitutes. >> security was compromised by the fact that these agents were in this compromised position where they could be blackmailed. >> reporter: the team arrived in colombia about a week before the president. the staff became aggravated with the agents' heavy drinking and partying. source say they were bringing local pros stiewts -- prostitutes. >> one of the women did not least room. police had to come to ask her to leave. she wouldn't leave, so the secret service agents paid her money that she said was owed to her. >> reporter: the state department was call) all the agents were sent back to the u.s. and suspend pending an investigation. congressional hearings are inevitable. >>

now more from karen travers. >> the secret service investigation into what happened with their agents and colombian prostitutes is widening. the theory on capitol hill is growing. the agents involved will now be forced to take lie-detector tests about the night in cartagena. some have been trying to explain away their bad behavior. >> some are denying there was any involvement with prostitutes, that these were just women they met. >> you officials -- u.s. officials are on the ground in cartagena collecting hotel surveillance video and doing interviews. >> for the women to get into the hotel, they have to leave their photo id of the main desk. >> many of the prostitutes have been identified and will be interviewed. the pentagon says it is investigating 10 or more service members from all four branches of the military who may have also been involved. lawmakers are demanding answers. >> i do think that what was going on is very embarrassing. i think it is clear there are investigations going on at the pentagon and at the secret service and i hope they get to the bottom of it. >> some say

she won a record eight championships, karen travers, every player that she coached graduated. >> tennessee pat summit is known as a coaching legend. now after 38 seasons action summit is stepping down. less than a year after finding she has early onset dementia. >> i have loved my work at the university of tennessee. its been great. >> reporter: she is the winneest coach, maleo female in college basketball history. >> we have managed to win some ball games and home championship banners. . >> reporter: that's a huge under statement. during her time at tennessee summit won 1, 98 games, she coached in 18 final fours and her team won eight national titles. >> we have grown the game. >> reporter: the final season of that was emotional. summit announced last august her devastating news. >> boy wake up in the morning and i would think where am i? >> reporter: she said she as the resulted losing her keys and forgetting her schedule, a specialist confirmed her worst fears. >> i hate to sound this way but why me? why me? >> reporter: she will now be coach emeritus of program she built. she will brin

karen travers, abc news, washington. >>> today marks the 17th anniversary of the deadly oklahoma cityng. a bagpiper led the solemn sermon at the site of the former murrah federal building where 1 of 8 were killed and 500 -- where 168 were killed and 500 wounded. one of only six children survived now a senior at the university of oklahoma. >> we come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. may all who leave here know the impact of violence. may this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity. ♪ ♪ >> two americans timothy mcveigh and terry nichols were convicted on charges related to the attack. mcveigh was executed in 2001. nichols is serving life in prison. >>> we are going to switch gears. a breakfast designed forañ real heroes. i had the honor of emcees the -- emceeing the american red cross heroes event in san rafael this morning. several different awards were handed out to individuals and groups that went above and beyond to help a neighbor or stranger and in some cases, save a life. one example the tiburon ferry compa

with more, here' abc's karen travers in washiton.er: for mitt romney, the general election is now officially under way. >> you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and together we are going to win on novembe 6th. >> reporter: it was a big night for romy with wins in the five states holding aries. but underscoring his pivot to thgeneral election, the presumptive republicanominee spoke in new hampshe, which didn't vote but is a key battleground state in november. obama boiled down to a few questions. >> are you making more at your job? >> no. >> do you have a better chance to get a better job? >> no. >> a you paying less at the pump? it still about theeconomy. and we're not stupid. >> repr: this week, president obama is crting college students in three key battleground states. north carolina, and io. but as a voting group, they a much less enthusiastic now than four years ago. president didn't mention romney by name but he did seem to draw a sharp contrast betwe their backgrounds. >> michelle and i, we've been in your

with more, here's abc's karen travers in washington. >> if it turns out that some of the allegations that have made in the press are confirmed, then of course, i'll be angry. >> reporter: those allegations include heavy drinking and soliciting prostitutes. sources say 11 secret service personnel and more than 10 u.s. service members were involved in the incident. >> we let the boss down because nobody's talking about what went on in colombia, other than this incident. >> reporter: the secret service personnel have lost their security clearance, pending the outcome of the investigation. congressional hearings are inevitable. >> security was compromised by the fact that these agents were in this compromised position, where they could be blackmailed. >> reporter: the team arrived in colombia about a week before the president. by last wednesday, staff at the hotel caribe became aggravated with the agents' heavy drinking and partying. sources say they were bringing local prostitutes into the hotel. the whole incident may have stayed a secret. but -- >> there was a dispute the next morning

abc's karen travers has the latest. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob.good morning, tanya. the obama administration pledged to bring bp officials to justice. these first charges show that some officials at the oil company knew how bad the damage was, even as they were trying to publicly downplay it. just over two years after the devastating oil spill in the gulf of mexico, the first criminal charges have been filed. kurt mix, a former bp engineer, was arrested on two counts of obstructing justice. he's accused of intentionally deleting more than 300 text messages. text messages that showed that some officials at bp knew the massive amount of oil that was gushing into the gulf but lied to the public about it. the government says that in a text message to a supervisor from may 2010, kurt mix estimated that 15,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking, not the 5,000 the company was saying publicly. the justice department said mix later deleted this text. in february, attorney general eric holder vowed to bring bp officials to justice. >> people and organizati

abc's karen travers is in washington with details on this. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. imagine that for mitt romney, rick santorum is a pesky little gnat who is going to be sticking around for a couple of weeks, and he really just wants to ignore him. with his decisive sweep, mitt romney has fully pivoted to his november showdown. at a speech in washington, romney blasted president obama. >> he wants us to re-elect him so we can find out what he'll actually do. with all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for president obama's hide-and-seek campaign. >> reporter: the president also seemed antsy for the bell to ring to start the general election fight. he slammed romney for supporting the republican budget plans in congress. >> he even called it marvelous, which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget. >> reporter: a new poll shows the president with his largest lead yet nationally. in 12 battleground states, he's leading romney by 9%. and if you dig dee

karen travers, abc news, washington. >> i watched the president yesterday at unc.ld see him taking subtle jabs at romney by saying, look. i didn't have to read about this. michelle and i lived this in terms of, we're not wealthy. eight years ago, the president of the united states. eight years ago just paid off his loans? >> it's incredible. certainly. even romney is not going to go against ththis. he's not going toome out and say we should have students be in debt for like -- i think a lot of people are going to be on board obama's take on this. >> we're not going to let college kids have to get their interest rate doubled. july 1st is the big deadline. could cost an average benefit $1,000 more a year. >>> also marco rubio rumored to be a potential running mate for mitt romney. he has some threats against his life. they are taking this pretty seriously. now they have police protection in d.c. and at rubio's home in west miami. that's according to the "miami herald." things intensifying. marco is up there on the short list. they are taking security very, very serio

let's go to abc's karen travers also in washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: so much for the friendly skies. they're more likely full of angry birds taking aim at high-ranking officials. these bird strikes are fairly common. but sometimes they can cause significant damage. on thursday, three high-profile incidents of birds flying into jet engines. first, air force two. vice president biden's plane was on approach into california's santa barbara airport, when the 757 was hit by birds. the pilots noticed the bird strike right as it happened. but sources say passengers couldn't even tell the plane had hit anything. >> it could be a small bird, a couple ounces, to eight, nine, ten pounds. the size of the bird matters. how fast the aircraft is going matters. >> reporter: the v.p.'s plane touched down safely. an air force official said no one was in danger. on the same day, a bird flew into the engine of the plane carrying secretary of state hillary clinton. the flight was smooth. officials only discovered the bird after the plane h

karen travers joins us with more this morning. hi, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob.ere may be no person bigger in women's college basketball than pat summitt. and yesterday on a court named in her honor she, reflected on her amazing career and talked about her next challenge ahead. tennessee's pat summitt is a coaching legend. famous for a competitive drive that pushed her to the top of the record books. >> get her! get her! >> reporter: but now after 38 seasons, summitt is stepping down. less than a year after being diagnosed with early onset dementia. >> i have loved my work at the university of tennessee. it's been awesome. >> reporter: summitt is the winningest coach, male or female in ncaa college basketball history. >> we have managed to win some ball games and hang championship banners. >> reporter: that's a huge understatement. during her time at tennessee, summitt won 1,098 games. she coached in 18 final fours and her lady vols won eight national titles. >> we have grown the game of women's basketball. >> reporter: but the final season of that journey was an

abc's karen travers is covering the case and joins us with more. hi, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob and sunny, a day of tough questioning for andrew young as john edwards' defense team tried to rip holes in his story. john edwards' defense team is fighting back hard. their goal, paint aide and confidant andrew young as a liar looking for revenge. it was the fourth straight day on the witness stand for young. he was on the hot seat. edwards' attorneys accuse young of lying to profit from the scandal of edwards' affair with rial hunter. the key issue whether edwards participated in an illegal finance campaign to protect his career or whether he was trying to keep an affair secret from his wife as the defense team claims. the person he was trying to avoid finding out about the affair was mrs. edwards, the former senator's attorney said in court. i assume so, young said. >> the defense's position is this was a personal cover-up. not a political activity. >> reporter: the defense team tried to rip holes into two key areas of young's story. the tim

with more on the latest developments, karen travers is joining us from washington. ng, karen. >> reporter: hi, rob and paula. nobody could have predicted rick santorum's run through the primary season. he went from the back of the pack to a legitimate contender who made mitt romney spend his money and fight for every vote. rick santorum took many top advisers by surprise. >> this presidential race for us is over, for me. we are not done fighting. >> reporter: mitt romney took the news quite well. >> this has been a good day for me. >> reporter: he issued a gracious good-bye to his rival. >> he has made an important contribution to the political process. he will continue to have a major role in the republican party. >> reporter: santorum proved to be a scrappy campaigner. he pulled out a narrow victory over mitt romney in iowa and went on to win nine more states and defy the pundits. >> miracle after miracle, this race was as improbable as any race that you will ever see for president. >> reporter: as newt gingrich faded, santorum successfully positioned himself as th

abc's karen travers has that part of the story. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. republicans have been hammering president obama about high gas prices. they see this as a winning political issue. and yesterday, the president fired back. but what he proposed may not make much of a difference in our wallets. president obama took on a new target in his fight against rising tax prices. oil speculators. >> we can't afford a situation where some speculators can reap millions while millions of american families get the short end of the stick. that's not the way the market should work. >> reporter: the president said speculators manipulate the market by buying up large amounts of oil, then driving up prices in order to flip it for a profit. gas prices have been going up, and mr. obama said speculators are partly to blame. some analysts believe we may have seen their peak. for the second week in a roerks prices have dropped, down 2 cents. the $52 million legislatesive plan the president unveiled would

abc's karen travers is in washington with details on this. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning rob. good morning, paula. imagine that for mitt romney, rick santorum is a pesky little nat who is going to be sticking around for a couple of weeks and he really just wants to ignore him. with his decisive sweep, mitt romney has fully pivoted to his november showdown. at a speech in washington, romney blasted president obama. >> he wants us to re-elect him so we can find out what he'll actually do. with all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for president obama's hide and seek campaign. >> reporter: the president also seems antsy for the bell to ring to start the general election fight. he slammed romney for supporting the republican budget plans in congress. >> he even called it marvelous, which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget. >> reporter: a new poll shows the president with his largest lead yet nationally. in 12 battleground states, he's leading romney by 9%. and if you dig deeper,