ron claiborne has a some brer roy on. getting ready to party. >> it is cinco de mayo. >> you know a little bit about cinco de mayo. >> it's not mexican independence day, which a lot of people thought. september 16th, we were discussing. >> that's the biggest holiday for them. they don't celebrate cinco de mayo. >> who celebrates cinco de mayo? >> we do. >> chili's. i'd like a tortilla, please. >> they call it mexican st. patrick's day in mexico. >> do people go out drinking and stuff like that? or only here in america? >> it's not as big as we blow it up to be. we've taken it and made it bigger. >> cheers. >> we're drinking tequila, by the way. he has a >>> it started out well. look at this woman posing for pictures with adorable, litting cheetahs. animals she thought were safe and tame. but the animal starts attacking her. she manages to escape alive. but here's the burning question this morning. why did her husband stand by and continue to take these pictures while his wife was being attacked? we should say she's just f

top that, ron claiborne. >> oh. >> a right, right to the jaw of dan harris there.ula. john. good morning, everyone. in the news, the blind chinese activi activist, on a plane headed to the u.s. right now. chen guangcheng who made a dramatic escape from house arrest last month, is at the airport. >>> and arizona is threatening to keep president obama off the ballot, unless hawaii produces his birth certificate. hawaii says it will provide the birth certificate, if arizona proves it needs it. >>> and the operation to raise the cruise liner begins in days. salvage experts outlined their plan to pull it off the sea floor on the coast of italy and tow it away. >>> finally, first, it was facebook. now, the super bowl, general motors stopped advertising on the social network earlier this week. and now, it will stop running commercials during football's big game because it's become too expensive. >>> now, for the weather, over to ginger zee. [ speaking foreign language ] >> i have no idea what you said. let's go to miami and start the morning off. wplg, our wonderful affil

ron claiborne. line of the morning -- this is not an impulse buy. thank you, ron. >>> let's get it over to ginger zee for the national forecast. good morning to you. >> a really active day severe weatherwise. let me show you this tornado video again. this is from kansas, 50 miles southwest of wichita, you're looking at some debris flying, a very fortunate thing, it happened in a rural area. so no one was injured or killed. but we had 200 reports, 25 of those tornado reports. lot of times those aren't filtered. but look at the wind and hail, too. we'll have another severe weather day, this is the area that needs to be alert today. from green bay through chicago, into parts of northwest indiana. so all included in this. and oh, there's this. this is the annual solar eclipse the moon goes over the sun, anywhere with great weather, from flagstaff, up to parts of eastern, northern california. that's the big picture. let's get a check a little closer to home. >> some cooler weather helped fire conditions

. >>> four all the headlines over to ron claiborne. >> good morning to you again. the first time actually, dan and good morning, sharyn. good morning, everyone. >>> well, we begin with a potential complication in bringing that blind chinese activist to the united states. two republican senators are planning to introduce a congressional resolution urging the obama administration to grant chen guangcheng political asylum but human rights experts are worried that it threatens a deal with china to allow chen to study here. >>> a family of junior seau is reportedly having second thoughts about donating his brain to research. the family's pastor says the family is now reconsidering their decision to let those researchers examine the brain. i'm sorry, they now want to look at that decision to examine the brain and see if possibly they will not let the researchers do it. seau, of course, killed himself last week. >>> a debate over renaming post strtraumatic stress disorder is about to heat up. a group of kye sol gists want to change the word to injury. doctorssay that may

ron claiborne. >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks will finally face a military court today at guantanamo bay. khalid sheikh mohammed and four co-defendants will answer to charges including terrorism and murder. all could get the death penalty if convicted. family members of those who were killed on 9/11 will be able to watch a transmission of the arraignment at u.s. military bases a aroundhecountry. six families will be there in the courtroom. >> i want to see the people that killed my sister face to face. that's what you do in america. you face your fight. that's our justice system. if we didn't have our justice system, we don't have america. >> the actual trial is probably a year away. >>> president obama kicks off his re-election campaign today. he old hold rallies in two battleground states, ohio and virginia. he's been in campaign mode for months, but the official rallies will free him to pick up an even more direct aim at his certain republican opponent mitt romney. >>> the job

ron claiborne. quite an introduction. >>> we'll begin, we begin with that powerful earthquake rocking northern italy. it struck near bologna. lama hassan has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ron. that's right. a powerful earthquake, one of the strongest quake in the last couple of years, followed by at least 20 aftershocks have hit the northern region of italy. 22 miles northwest of the historic city of bologna. at this hour, rescue teams including firefighters and medics across the region are being deployed. coming the area, looking for survivors. the dwak struck overnight, shortly after 4:00 a.m., terrified residents jolted awake by the quake. people scrambled for safety. the skwak caused a significant amount of damage. and on this sunday, ron, many churches are being closed until they are deemed safe enough. >> thank you for that. >>> and the blind chinese activist, is now in the u.s., chen guancheng arrived at his new home in new york city, he said that he's grateful to the u.

we go to ron claiborne. >>> we begin with the breaking news out of new zealand. boston university students were killed in a car accident early this morning. five others were injured. john muller has the details. >> reporter: these photos show the horrifying aftermath of the school trip turned nightmare. book bags and personal belongings strewn on a remote new zealand highway. the minivan they were riding in crumpled and flipped over just moments from their destination. killed, dan nel alecko, rock giberti, and austin brashears. the driver overcorrected after swerving. >> the wheels touched the gravel, the driver overcorrected. the car went into a bit of a roll. >> reporter: at home, an outpouring of support on the boston university website. >> it's shocking and devastating news. heart breaking for the people involved. >> reporter: the university says they have people trying to help. john muller, abc news, new york. >>> and john edwards' attorneys start their defense on monday. edwards' lawyers argued that prosecutors failed to prove that he intentionally broke th

here's ron claiborne. >> reporter: it's a common friendship, a young woman and her dog.non tomlinson and her 2-year-old lab clover. but watch as something ordinary becomes extraordinary. clover nuzzles shannon. just a friendly sign of affection? no. look closely. she keeps going insistently until shannon lays down. shannon is about to pass out, and clover's warning may have just saved her life. >> she cares enough to tell me that my heart's having a problem and to lay down. >> reporter: shannon has a rare condition in which her blood pressure drops suddenly. before clover at her worst, she fainted daily. she had to wear a helmet to protect herself. >> in a two-year span, i had 12, 13 concussions. >> they were life-threatening injuries. was one of those times going to be the last time? we didn't know. >> reporter: then last year shannon heard about dogs like clover, training at a nearby school. dogs that can actually detect swings in blood pressure. they start as puppies. about one in five show clover's talent. they are an elite. and no one knows quite how they do it. exp

ron claiborne is back with that story. >> dan, her family is calling this a miracle. even her husband said he had given up hope of finding his wife alive but trapped in the wreckage of her vehicle desperate and scared she was able to figure out a way to get water and eventually a way to get out. it happened here when veronica's van veered off the road flipping over and over landing in a ditch. >> i wondered how i was going to get out. i mean i was really, really hurt. my back hurt so bad, i couldn't figure out what to do. >> reporter: mcfoy found herself trapped unable to open any doors in the mangled wreck. fearing for her life. >> to not know whether you're going to make it or not, it's hard. i didn't know how much strength i'd have. >> reporter: days turned into night as she lay stuck in the vehicle unable to get out. the ditch was so overgrown with vegetation that anybody passing by could not see the van. as the hours ticked away this mother of two went into survival mode with no food and running out of liquids she used an empty water bottle she had in her van to

we go to ron claiborne. >>> good morning, dan, paula, everyone.gin with the breaking news out of new zealand. two boston university students were killed in a car accident early this morning. five others were injured. including one critically. abc's john muller has the details. >> reporter: these photos show the horrifying aftermath of the school trip turned nightmare. book bags and personal belongings of boston university students strewn on a remote new zealand highway, half a world away. the minivan they were riding in crumpled and flipped over just minutes from their destination. the spectacular tonga crossing. one of the most spectacular hiking sites. killed, danielle alecko, rock giberti, and austin brashears. five other students were injured. at least one critically. new zealand police say the driver overcorrected after swerving. >> the wheels touched the gravel, the driver overcorrected. regrettably, the vehicle went into a bit of a roll and threw a number of students out of the van. >> reporter: at home, an outpouring of support on the bost

here's ron claiborne. >> reporter: it was 15 years ago that ellen degeneres's character was about tohare a secret. >> susan, i'm gay. >> reporter: when size advertis heard that, they fled. one of them was j.c. penney. flash forward to this clothing ad featuring two women, wendi and maggie, a real-life same-sex couple. now out in an ad in j.c. penney's may catalog. quietly, largely and without pro test advertising is starting to reflect new attitudes. >> our cultures change and i think the broader consumer and the spending power in the country has become more progressive. >> reporter: there are gay couples on prime time television shows. >> it might be a little awkward at first. but i think after some time -- >> reporter: and now gay couples are coming out of madison avenue's closet. and more interracial couples, reflecting the rising number of mixed race marchriages in the u. and in this commercial, a grandmother is the caregiver for a young child. what message are they sending subliminally or overtly? >> we are you. we know your struggle. we understand what you are going through. we

ron claiborne, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to ron tonight. >>> when we come back, the commencementpeaker about to shock his classmates, and us, when we watched. ready? as i'll ever be. break a leg! i used to love hearing that phrase... but not since i learned i have... postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture. i want to keep acting but a broken bone could change that. so my doctor and i chose prolia® to reduce my risk of fractures. prolia® is proven to help make bones stronger. proven to help increase bone density. i take prolia®. it's different. it's two shots a year. [announcer:] if you take prolia® (denosumab) you should not take xgeva®. prolia® can cause serious side effects, including low blood calcium levels, serious infections... ...some of which may require hospitalization, and skin inflammation, rash and eczema. tell your doctor if you develop dental problems... ...as severe jawbone problems may happen. what's out there matters to me. so does what's in here. break a leg! thanks ed. ask your doctor if prolia® is right for you. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ]

ron claiborne, thank you.'sle check the weather with our ace meteorologist, ginger zee. >> good morning, everyone, out there. i want to start with a tornado that killed someone and also injured dozens. but this was not in the u.s. it was in japan. in the u.s. we get more than 1,200 tornadoes annually. japan, only 20. this is pretty rare for them. 40 mys northeast of tokyo, that was the picture and that was the damage. now, here in the u.s., and back here domestically we do have a chance for isolated tornadoes today, also damaging wind and large hail. i think that's going to be the big picture anywhere from chicago, madison, wisconsin, you're included in there. so is dallas. huge part of the country included in this. something you're going to want to just be aware of and, of course, keep up with us, facebook and twitter we'll keep updating for you fueled in part by heat, dallas, 92, 90 jackson. don't see we'll see a whole lot of records but near record and certainly more summerlike heat than it would. it won't

abc's ron claiborne discovered the difference they can make. >> reporter: it's a common friendship, aan and her dog. shannon tomlinson and her 2-year-old lab clover. but watch, as something ordinary becomes extraordinary. clover nuzzles shannon. just a friendly sign of affection? no. look closely. she keeps going. insistently. until shannon lays down. shannon is about to pass out, and clover's warning may have just saved her life. >> she cares enough to tell me that my heart's having a problem and to lay down. >> reporter: shannon has a rare condition in which her blood pressure drops suddenly. before clover, she fainted daily. wearing a helmet to protect herself. >> in a two-year span, i had 12, 13 concussions. >> they were life-threatening injuries. was one of those times going to be the last time? we didn't know. >> reporter: then last year shannon heard about dogs like clover, training at a nearby school. dogs that can actually detect swings in blood pressure. they start as puppies. about one in five, show clover's talent. they are an elite. and no one knows quite how they do it.

ron claiborne.rning, again, sir. >> dan and sharyn, hi. >> good morning. >> john, good morning. good morning, everyone. >>> in the news, five men charged with plotting the 9/11 terror attacks refuse to enter pleas during a dramatic day in court in guantanamo. the defendants disrupted the hearing shouting at the judge and ignoring him and praying in court. >>> and for the first time in 40 years, japan is a nuclear-free power. the last of the country's nuclear reactors has been turned off for checkups following last year's earthquake and tsunami that set off meltdowns. >>> and billionaire investor warren buffett says he feels terrific despeed recently being diagnosed with prostate cancer. at his company's annual get-together buffett says that berkshire hathaway is prepared to replace the 81-year-old if and when it is necessary. >>> and finally, and, sharyn, you can help us decide this one here, new research showing that having kids may make us happy after all. for decades people believed that parents

and abc's ron claiborne tonight on why so many are trying to get to the top right now. >> reporter: thesere images from high up on everest. the path to the peak clogged with climbers, as many as 200. gambling with their very lives. in this time lapse video, you can see the head lamps of the climbers nearing the peak. >> looking up at the black mountain, you could see at least 100 pinpricks of light, all in a vertical line going straight into the stars. >> reporter: the log jam has been caused by so many people rushing to get to the top, on the last weekend of the climbing season. but the going is slow and the oxygen runs out quickly. as they pass through the notorious death zone of thin air and sub-zero temperatures. national geographic is documenting the assent by one of the teams, which team reached the summit, where they took this photo. >> we all had to pass dozens upon dozens of climbers, a fair number of whom have no business being on everest. >> reporter: some have made it to the top, including a 73-year-old japanese woman, who is now the oldest person to ever climb mt. everest. bu

here's ron claiborne. >> reporter: it was 15 years ago ellen degeneres's character was about to share a secret. in that now iconic scene. >> susan, i'm gay. >> reporter: when advertisers heard that, they fled. one of them was j.c. penney. pulling their ads from the show. 15 years later, ellen is now the face of j.c. penney. >> cheerio, my fair lady. >> reporter: tonight, a new clothing ad, featuring two women, wendi and maggie, a real-life same-sex couple. now out in an ad in j.c. penney's may catalog. quietly, gradually, advertising is starting to reflect new attitudes about the many definitions of the american family. >> why is that so funny? >> our cultures change and i think the broader consumer and the spending power in the country has become more progressive. >> reporter: there are gay couples on prime time television shows. >> it might be a little awkward at first. but i think after some time -- >> reporter: and now gay couples are coming out of madison avenue's closet. and more interracial couples. >> here we are because of an online dating site. >> reporter: -- reflecting the

ron claiborne. morning. >> wow, that's quite an introduction. good morning to you, dan, and, paula, good morning, everyone. >>> we begin with that powerful earthquake that is rocking northern italy this morning. the deadly quake struck near the city of bologna. and abc's lama hasan joins us now from london with the latest. good morning, lama. >> reporter: good morning, ron. that's right. a powerful 5.9 earthquake, in fact one of the strongest quakes in the last couple of years followed by at least 20 aftershocks have hit the northern region of italy. 22 miles northwest of the historic city of bologna killing at least 6 people and injuring more 50 others. at this hour, rescue teams including firefighters and medics from across the region are being deployed combing the area searching for survivors. the fear is that many are still trapped under the rubble. the quake struck overnight, shortly after 4:00 a.m., terrified residents jolted awake by the quake. reports out onto the street ss wrapped in blanke

all right. >>> ron claiborne's here with another look at the top headlines.t to the jaw of dan harris there. good morning, again, dan and paula. john. good morning, everyone. in the news, the blind chinese activist at the center of a diplomatic standoff between the u.s. and china, is now on a plane headed to the u.s., right now. chen guangcheng, who made a dramatic escape from house arrest last month, left a beijing hospital this morning for the airport. >>> and arizona's secretary of state is threatening to keep president obama off of the ballot in that state in november, unless hawaii produces his birth certificate. re-igniting a debate that's long been settled. hawaii says it will provide the birth certificate, if arizona proves it legitimately needs it. >>> and the operation to raise the wrecked "costa concordia" cruise liner begins in days. salvage experts outlined their plan to pull it off the sea floor on the coast of italy and tow it away. >>> finally, first, it was facebook. now, the super bowl, general motors stopped advertising on the social networ

ron claiborne is out this morning. we have reena with us.ting out the pippa middleton's dress. >> it looks like pippa's dress for yesterday. you wear it much better. >> thank you. >>> good morning to you guys as well. in the news, a fast-moving wildfire in new mexico has grown to 100,000 acres and the smoke is spreading across the state. poor weather conditions has prevented the crew from getting any containment so far. >>> two female army reserve officers are suing the defense department and army in an attempt to reverse the ban of women serving in combat roles. >>> lady gaga's cancelling her sold-out concert in indonesia early next month because of security concerns. muslim hard-liners were threatening violence when the pop star performs. claiming that her provocative clothing and dancing could corrupt youth. >>> and finally, tens of thousands of people are expected to celebrate the golden gate bridge's 75th anniversary today. since opening in 1937, more than 2 billion vehicles have crossed the bridge. >>> and now time for weather, ginger,

all right, thank you. >>> let's get it over to ron claiborne with a look at the hid lines.ing. >> good morning, everyone. >>> in the news, 33 years today since the disappearance of etan patz, pedro hernandez was charged with murder, with patz's murder. hernandez is being hold without bail. his is bipolar and he has a history of hallucinations. >>> and a charity started by former penn state coach jerry sandusky is closing. the charity wants to transfer its money to a texas based youth ministry. >>> and jamie dimon has been called on the carpet for his campaign's $2 million loss. he have been asked to testify before a senator panel on june 7th. >>> and a much different business story from apple's ceo. tim cook is passing up $75 million in dividends. without that money, he is still one of highest paid ceos in the country. . >>> it's time now for the weather and ginger zee. ginger? >> we want to begin with beryl. maybe you heard about the atlantic hurricane season starting early. it's not supposed to start until friday. june 1st, the official start. don't tell the second named

ron claiborne has the story on how she had to get back to her children. >> reporter: it happened here when the van veered off the road, flipping over and over landing in a ditch. >> wondering how i was going to get out. i was really, really hurt. my back hurt so bad i couldn't figure out what to do. >> reporter: she found herself trapped unable to open the doors in the mangled wreck fearing for her life. >> not knowing if you are going to make it or not is hard. i didn't know how much strength i had. >> reporter: days turned into night as she lay stuck in the vehicle unable to get out. the ditch was so overgrog with vegetation that anybody passing by could not 'the van. this mother of two went ain't to survival mode with no food and running out of liquids. she used an empty water bottle she had in the van to catch rainwater. >> when it rained i would get the rainwater in the bottle. i'd catch a few drops at a time. i got so thirsty that became a big focus for me. >> reporter: finally, on the third day she was able to muster her strength and break free through the back window. >> final

ron claiborne, abc news, cochransville, pennsylvania. >> that's not the only thing they do. braces. so they brace you when you are about to fall in case you do faint. >> if you get a sugar low, they'll go get juice on command. >> if you need to call 911, they'll go and get the phone for you. and then they are just so beautiful and wonderful to be around. >> that, too. they give you a lot of love. >> i know. >> we love dogs. >>> this morning on "world news now" -- prostitution scandal. the head of the secret service answers tough questions about his agents at a wild drunken sex party. >> the investigation, the agents involved, and has this misconduct happened before? it's thursday, may 24th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, everyone. i'm diana perez in for paula faris. >> and i'm john muller in for rob nelson. we're going to get to that secret service testimony coming up. and then we're going to keep an eye on a developing story. a nuclear submarine up in flames in a new england shipyard. the injuries, the safety precautions and the chal

here's abc's ron claiborne. >> reporter: first it was aimee copeland, who cut her leg zip lining and plunged into this river. diagnosed with flesh-eating bacteria which ravaged the body skin and tissue. doctors had to amputate her leg. she is still fighting hear her -- for her life. >> i don't know that she's aware that she's lost her left leg, but she understands the miracle of her existence right now. >> reporter: now news of lana kirkendal, a paramedic from south carolina who had just given birth to twins. she noticed a bruise on the back of her leg. rushed to the hospital, her diagnosis, flesh-eating bacteria. her condition is caused by a strain of bacteria called streptococcus. for many the bacteria simply causes strep throat. in rare instances it causes pneumonia, like what killed jim hanson. but it's led to the flesh-eating bacteria, she's one of several hundreds cases in the u.s. every year. experts say the bacteria affects everyone differently, depending on their immune system. one leading expert says she most likely got the bacteria by inhaling it. the same way anyone could

. >>> ron claiborne is out today. we want to check the morning headlines. good morning, guys. >> great to see you. >>> good morning, everyone. we begin with more violence in syria, a day after the white house condemned one of the worst massacre since the uprising began, activists said that they shelled residential areas today. u.n. observers visited the village on saturday, confirming that shells were found at the neighborhood. >>> e joe biden said that the u.n. can focus on new global challenges after a decade of war in iraq and afghanistan. speaking to graduates at west point, biden said that we have been able to replace and rebalance our foreign policy. biden told the nearly 1,000 graduates that they deserve special praise for pursuing their military service. >>> the former high school football star whose rape conviction was thrown out last week, said that he won't sue the woman who falsely accused him more than a decade. he'll file a claim against the state of california, seeking $100 for every day that he was wrongly incarcerated. he spent five years.

let's check the rest of the morning's headlines now with my other friend, ron claiborne. >> good morning to you, dan and paula. everyone. the fbi is investigating a man who rushed towards a cockpit at the ind of a flight from jamaica to miami. he will be in court. the flight was taxiing to the gate and the man defied crew instructions to be seated and other passengers tackled him and turned him over at the gate. >>> new details in the disappearance of a louisiana disappearance of mickey shunick. the police have a new surveillance video they believe shows her on a bicycle. they are looking for a white pickup truck seen in the video. she was seen riding her dice. >> kyle: home from a friend's house. >>> and a former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend is seeking a new trial. he has filed the papers for what they say is a series of errors before and during his trial. he was convicted in february and faced 26 years in prisonen. >> and a very emotional joe biden opened up about his own family tragedy in a speech to the family of soldiers in virginia.