later. >>> later this half hour, it is the longest running movie series to date. the next james bond thriller just went into production, and daniel craig will tell us what is next for the famous 007. >>> first, that dangerous weather is now threatening parts of louisiana as you mentioned. and everyone there is being warned about possible tornadoes. >> they've seen the incredible power of these spring storms in texas firsthand. we begin with abc's kristine dobbyn live. good morning to you, kristine. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. there have been many reports of damage here. it's very widespread. at least nine cities within a five-county area. also dfw airport experiencing major problems because of the storm. at least 100 planes have some kind of hail damage. and many of those delays are expected to trouble passengers yet today. the tornadoes' power and fury lifted tractor trailers sky high, twirled them around like match sticks and dropped them like toys. frightened first graders ducked and covered. outside, people realized they were targeted for destruction. >> get in the house! >> we heard the sirens and we threw ourselves on top of the kids. >> reporter: protecting the children was a top priority. >> i had three infants with me, three kids with me, and i just put them in the bathtub, laid on top of them. we just prayed. >> reporter: funnel clouds raced toward highways. >> all of a sudden, it just went dark and the car shook like this. >> reporter: it seemed there was no end to the nightmare. >> i just heard wind and it sounded like a train coming through the house. >> it just hit the house. when i came out, everything was destroyed out here. >> reporter: the tornadoes cut a swath of destruction through many neighborhoods. flinging cars into houses. tearing off roofs. but, incredibly, leaving these bookcases intact. despondent residents looked at the pile of debris. some tried to salvage what little was left behind. a pair of shoes. a bag or two of personal belongings and a little girl's teddy bear. rob and paula, there is still a lot of damage to assess today. we do know already that the mayors in two of the suburbs here have declared states of emergency. but we expect that to climb today. >> the amazing thing about the coverage of these storms was just how much home video has been taken. this incredible sneak peek into the storms at their worst. >> absolutely. we're living in a different age now where so many people have those phones ready. a lot of people even taking chances, taking risks trying to capture things. some of the pictures absolutely amazing and really showing the fury of the storm. >> flights canceled. how are they trying to accommodate all of those stranded air travelers at the airport? >> well, quite a mess. a lot of people stuck. there were about 400 cancellations. a lot of delays. of course, it's going to take awhile to get everything up and running again today. so a lot of people are going to have to wait. we do expect some flights to take off. but with all of the damaged aircraft, it's going to be difficult, specifically for american airlines. they have a major hub here. to get everything off the ground and a lot of those passengers where they need to go. >> thanks to abc's kristine dobbyn, live. >> hail the size of tennis balls. that can destroy a car, planes even. it's staggering, wow. >> the threat of severe weather is far from over this morning. >> our coverage continues with meteorologist jim dickey at accuweather. good morning to you, jim. >> good morning, rob and paula. another round of strong thunderstorms on the way here for today. powerful low pressure system spinning over the central plains. drawing in that warmth and humidity off the gulf of mexico. dry air surging eastward. two air masses colliding and forcing this air upward bringing those strong storms. today in particular, the lower mississippi valley. new orleans through mississippi, into arkansas. the main threat, we still could see a few tornadoes. damaging wind gusts over 70 miles per hour and large hail. rob and paula, back to you. >> how much weather news we've seen over the past year. it's just amazing. here we go again. >> we'll be live from the heart of it all on "good morning america." >>> the rest of today's weather. the northeast is warm and dry but expect a 25 to 30-degree drop along with some showers and even snow by evening. a big sigh from rob there also. also snow flurries around denver. rain and snow in the pacific northwest. >> well above normal temperatures with 60s and 70s across much of the country. 50s in the northwest. high 80s, downright summer-like in the sunshine state. >>> and we turn now to an ominous warning posted online that claims al qaeda is plotting a new attack on new york city. the threat is made to look like a hollywood movie poster. and now federal agents are working to find out if it's fact or fiction. here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: the image, posted on a radical website, could not be more stark. "al qaeda, coming soon again in new york." >> we are still, obviously, very much concerned about the origination of this message. new york is still very much on their minds. >> reporter: the image combines a stock new york city skyline shot with a sidewalk scene. authorities suspect the author may be egyptian based on the style of arabic used on the website. there's been no terror attack on new york city since the failed times square car bomb in 2010. officials say there is no sign of a specific new plot, but they are sparing no effort to find out whether this poster is wishful thinking or something more. >> nobody in u.s. intelligence and security wants to be the person who overlooked a clue. that's happened in the past, and we paid for it. >> reporter: every u.s. intelligence agency is trying to find out if radicals posting on this site are in a position to know details of terrorist operations. since 9/11, u.s. intelligence has closely monitored thousands of radical islam >> the internet is, as we used to say, the new afghanistan. that's where training happens, where radicalization happens. >> reporter: there's a reason why u.s. officials are concerned. if al qaeda has been severely weakened by the u.s. government killing leaders by bin laden. but one senior official recently warned me, at some point, al qaeda is going to try to respond with an attack here at home. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> sobering news for all of us. >>> police in new york are also investigating the death of a top french official. richard descoings was the president of france's most prestigious college. police say his nude body was found in a hotel room after he failed to show up at a conference at columbia university. alcohol and prescription drugs were found inside of his room, but police say they have no evidence of a crime. >>> to politics now and the republican race for president has taken a major turn with mitt romney's decisive victories in wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c., last night. polls show romney was supported by key voting groups who had refused to back him in the past. tea partiers, middle income earners and college grads. at his victory rally he focused on the white house. >> president obama thinks he's doing a good job. i'm not kidding. he actually thinks he's doing a great job. he thinks he's doing an historically great job, like abraham lincoln and lbj. and fdr. and, no, he did not say that on "saturday night live." >> even with romney's impressive wins last night, rick santorum and newt gingrich say they will not leave the race, even though folks from the republican party continue to urge them to get out because it's just going to weaken their chances in november. >> some would argue it's time to wave the white flag and get out. they could be staying around to jockey for another position, whether a place on the ticket or secretary of this, secretary of that. romney last night kind of painted the president as out of touch. this his new buzz phrase -- government-centered society, trying to paint the president as someone who wants government to take over. so look for that as part of the new political vernacular from the romney campaign. ironic. romney calling him out of touch considering his gaffes the last few months. but that's his line of attack. >> according to the white house, it's almost all but over. they aren't even acknowledging santorum and gingrich. they are attacking -- especially with some television ads they've unleashed on romney. >> the first time the president mentioned him by name. it's getting down to mano-e-mano. which kind of gets fun. >> biden will probably be the one to do the dirty work from here on out, though. >>> time now to raise your hands up for our favorite story of the day. happens every year at just about this time. the easter bunny looking for the best possible hiding places for his eggs. >> and to do that in the florida keys, he needs scuba gear. that's because this easter egg hunt is going to take place under water near a coral reef off the coast of key largo where there are tons of great places to hide eggs because every little child knows how to scuba dive, right? >> the good news, it's all ecofriendly. the eggs are real. the coloring are nontoxic. >> who is going to participate in that easter egg hunt? >> who knows the mysterious ways of the easter bunny. you know what i mean? >>> we're going to be right back with more "world news now," everybody. ♪ here comes peter cottontail hopping down the button trail hippity, hoppity ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by rosetta stone. 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[ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. ♪ ♪ you don't know you're beautiful ♪ >>> welcome back, everybody. we now have an update on lauren scruggs who was seriously injured last december. you might recall she's the young woman who accidentally walked into the propeller of an airplane. a grisly injury. >> there's new evidence about just how well her recovery is progressing. >> she's smiling and seemingly exuberant in the texas sun. over the weekend, lauren scruggs spotted leaving this dallas-area sporting goods store no longer shielding her wounds from public view. for the first time since the former model accidentally walked into an airplane propeller after a sightseeing tour in december, we see what remains of her left arm as well as her new prosthetic eye. both revealing just how much she's lost and how far she's come. >> people like lauren just sort of redefine themselves as saying, well, this is who i am. you know, i have a prosthetic eye, a partial arm. i am still who i used to be on the inside. and these things are just small aspects of who i am. >> reporter: her parents cheryl and jeff scruggs, seen alongside their daughter, also smiling and with her every step of the way in her battle back to her vibrant life as a fashion blogger. >> i am lauren scruggs with lolo mag. >> reporter: now another step toward closure after her horrific accident. the 23-year-old reportedly just reached a legal settlement with the pilot's insurance company and the plane's owner. scruggs said representatives from the insurance company verbally offered to pay her $200,000, which is the most they can pay out to a passenger involved in an incident. but scruggs filed court papers challenging that saying she was not a passenger of the aircraft at the time of the accident and, therefore, isn't limited in her claim amount. the exact amount of that settlement remains undisclosed, but speculation has it as high as a million dollars. >> i don't mean to seem insensitive to this story, but, one, i still don't think it's clear why she walked into a propeller. she said she wasn't drinking or anything. number two, how is she entitled to money for something that was clearly her fault? >> that's a very good question. i don't really have any answers. she'll get a book deal out of it. >> i want money for walking into a propeller of a plane. >>> coming up next, ryan gosling's life-saving act, and this was no movie. >> if only we had a story about the royals to go right here. >>> tom cruise also puts a little more skin into "the skinny." it's all next, and this guy is fired up. >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stati ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ >>> i know i don't need to update you on what happened with "dancing with the stars" because you faithfully watch it every week, but i need to update everyone else. in case you didn't get a chance to tune into abc. so, anyway, week three elimination, jack wagner got the boot. he's out. it was between him and gavin degraw? why do i always say gavin mcgraw? i have no idea. gavin degraw was actually on elimination row for the second time. and he's coming back. wow. they actually said this was one of his better performances. >> dear god, really? >> yes. i just don't think we want to see him in that low cut -- william levy, the hottie from cuba, he actually scored a -- not a perfect 10, but -- he got a ten from one of the judges. katherine jenkins, the welsh opera singer, remains in first. >> i like her. she's doing well. >>> also, of course, we all remember the hit musical "rock of ages" which is -- >> you're like, um, what is it again? >> sorry. a rough segue. hit musical "rock of ages." they are making a movie out of it. tom cruise is one of the big stars. we get a look at him playing stacee jaxx. take a look at the clip. >> oh, my god! i love you, stacee jaxx. i love you! >> tom cruise at it again. 49 years old. 26 years since "top gun." we see him do his musical thing again. "rock of ages" soon to be in a theater near you. >> reminds me of when you go out in public and your fans see you. sign me, please. >> i'm very popular among the homeless, yes. >>> levi johnson, according to jimmy kimmel is the alaska version of flava flave. he has procreated again. not with bristol palin. he found a new girl, a preschool teacher from wasilla. they've been dating for over a year, and they are so excited. she's less than three months along in her pregnancy. of course, she has yet to show any signs of a baby bump. she's 20 and she's in her first trimester. >> what does she do? >> she's a preschool teacher. >> thanks to tmz for that photograph right there. >> thank you, tmz. >> nothing like a fertile failure. >>> also this morning, ryan gosling, speaking of the other -- he's a good samaritan. the ladies love him. he saved a woman here in new york again. she was about to walk out in front of a cab. he yanks her back. take a look at the tweets, why this became news. laurie penny said i literally just got saved from a car by ryan gosling. literally that just happened. then she also wrote, i was crossing sixth avenue in a new pink wig not looking the right way because i am from london. ryan gosling grabbed me away from a taxi the second time in the last couple of months he's saved someone here in new york. >> i'd let him grab me from a taxi. >> i didn't know where you were taking that sentence. >> where did you think? let's just let all you think about that. [ male announcer ] if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd... you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. ♪ >>> a little j.b. finally this half, bond, james bond. part of a big year for england. the upcoming london olympics and the queen marking 60 years on the throne. >> we haven't heard anything about that, have we? also, the bond film franchise is turning 50 and celebrate with another movie. >> the bbc talks to the star. >> reporter: bond is undoubtedly a british icon. and so it seems appropriate that for this movie, and usually much of the filming has been taking place above and below the streets of the capital. five months into filming, daniel craig says he's keen to be remembered as a great bond. >> the deal for me has always been to make bigger and better ones. if i am still making them, i want to kind of make them in -- i want to sort of leave my mark. i feel very much with this one that it's going to be different from the last two, but it's still going to be a very good bond movie. >> reporter: starting with "dr. no," it's the longest running franchise in history. 007 has been played by six different actors. >> bond, james bond. >> reporter: over 23 official movies with the series in total taking over 3 billion pounds at the worldwide box office. one factor in the series' continuing success has been its ability to constantly reinvent itself over the years to reflect changing times. and that theme has continued with this movie. guns but fewer gadgets are making bond less superhero and more superspy. craig, though, knows he won't be bond forever. >> i'm under no illusions. i know there will be someone after me. and hopefully someone after them again. so it's just being a part of that process. i'll keep going until they tell me to stop. >> reporter: his first two outings as bond have gone down well with audiences and critics. he's hoping that will continue when this latest film is released laterout in october. >> looking forward to it. maybe we can preview that for insomniac theater. >> also, go on facebook and let us know which actor was your favorite james bond. i say sean connery. >> i like craig a little bit. he grew on me. i didn't like it at first. then after i saw it i was like -- >> your favorite. >> oh, yeah.