The balance between introspection and productivity is hard to achieve, especially if you are a creative in the midst of a pandemic. Fortunately, for South Florida’s indie-music lovers, Millionyoung (AKA Mike Diaz) was able to get the best out of his time in isolation.
Composed during quarantine as a way to cope with being isolated from loved ones and not being able to perform live, the five-track EP,
Moments, is due out on April 2. Diaz wrote and produced most of the tracks in his bedroom studio, sometimes grabbing inspiration from voice memos recorded while driving through Miami's empty streets.
(Story updated March 8, 2020 @ 5:01 pm)
Super Tuesday brought many national and local races into more clear focus and gave some candidates huge boosts while clearing the field of many others, but two races are still too close to call. As of Friday evening, 250,000, absentee and provisional ballots still remained to be counted, and it may take up to 30 days for final results to be reported
Presidential Race
At the top of the ticket, Democratic candidates for president flipped positions as former Vice-President Joe Biden overtook Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders as the front runner for the nomination after 18 states have now voted.
Jacksonville Office of Economic Development director
The primary issue facing economic development is continuing to recruit and create jobs and capital investment.
Jacksonville is not in a vacuum facing nationwide economic challenges expected in 2021, but Northeast Florida is positioned better than some U.S. regions as companies in pandemic-resilient sectors like logistics, distribution and e-commerce continue to invest in local commercial projects.
It certainly appears that the large landowners are forecasting positive future growth in that area as they go through the permitting cycle.
The city will incentivize what City Hall officials consider job-creating targeted industries like financial technology and medical device manufacturers and distribution, looking at specific industries that are expanding.
Best mile of Miami: The paddle to Monument Island from Miami or Miami Beach. Amid the 305's hustle and bustle, it can be hard to find any peace of mind. Seems like just about every nook in our city comes packaged with honking horns. Good thing, then, that we've got Biscayne Bay, where you can easily get away from it all. Whether you're upright on a paddleboard or sitting in an inflatable kayak, the journey from Miami Beach or Miami to Monument Island (AKA Flagler Memorial Island) is a unique mile perfect for the age of social distancing. Embark from Purdy Marina or Margaret Pace Park on the mainland; depending on the current and the wind, the trek to the uninhabited island can range from laid-back to strenuous. Afterward, you'll be appropriately reinvigorated or worn out; either way, you'll be reminded of how very special this city is.
the united states from mexico legally? >> well, you know, i didn't really have a choice in the matter. i'm glad we did. but, i think as folks come to the united states, they are leaving lawless nations. look at central america. it's a lawless nation. they are leaving that why would you come to the united states only to come to the same thing? so i think it's important to have that process for us to ennorris the laws that we have. it wasn't until i got elected until i realize realized how big human trafficking for example is right here in san diego. it's a huge problem. and it's because of those porous borders. steve: indeed. that's what they say. mike diaz, republican council member, thank you very much for sharing your story. >> you're welcome. steve: 7:20 now in new york city. that immigration debate is dividing our nation ahead of independence day.
>> we need to rebuild our immigration system from top to bottom, starting by replacing ice with something that reflects our morality and -- [cheers and applause] steve: some on the political left continue to push to abolish ice taking to the streets in protests over the weekend. those who enter the country says it's important to follow the proper process. mic disease was born in mike diaz immigrated legally. he joins us from san francisco. mike, good morning to you. >> good morning. how are you. steve: i'm okay. i'm puzzled. do you think the democrats think that is a winning message, abolish ice? >> i don't think so. i think most americans believe that we need laws and that there should be a process for getting here legally and there is we should follow those laws.
is part of welcoming america of network cities and can't enforce federal immigration laws. joining me chula vista city council and legal immigrant mike diaz. thanks very much for being with us, councilman. >> thank you very much. ainsley: before we get into the juice of the story, tell your story. how did you become american citizen?exico. now you're a councilman in chula vista. how did that happen? >> really a long story. my grandparents lived in tijuana where i was born. and during the revolution they moved up into los angeles where my father was born. and then after everything settled in, they moved back into mexico. and, we were born in mexico and then, early on, when i was barely gosh, three or four years old we moved back into the united states. i became a naturalized citizen in 1982 after deciding to take on a job as firefighter. i retired 27 years as a
till the end of the night ♪ ♪ i need a hero i'm holding on for a hero till the end of the night ♪ ♪ he's got to be strong he's got to be fast and fast on the fly ♪ love that shot. >> yes. >> i'm awake now. the walt disney company which also owns abc news kicked off a series of expos to help army veterans find jobs. >> kabc's rob hayes shows us exactly how it works. >> reporter: u.s. military veterans know a thing or two about tough times. but after serving in hot spots around the world, many say finding a job in civilian life is -- >> very, very tough. >> reporter: navy veteran mike diaz is hoping the walt disney company can change that. he came to disney's burbank lot with more than 300 other veterans to test their luck at a career expo designed specifically for military vets. it's part of disney's "heroes work here" initiative. one of its goals, to hire 1,000 veterans. >> another is to create awareness and to exhort other companies to do similar things. and the third is to train. to help them find jobs.
till the end of the night ♪ ♪ he's got to be strong he's got to be fast and fast on the fly ♪ love that shot. >> yes. >> i'm awake now. the walt disney company which also owns abc news kicked off a series of expos to help army veterans find jobs. >> kabc's rob hayes shows us exactly how it works. >> reporter: u.s. military veterans know a thing or two about tough times. but after serving in hot spots around the world, many say finding a job in civilian life is -- >> very, very tough. >> reporter: navy veteran mike diaz is hoping the walt disney company can change that. he came to disney's burbank lot with more than 300 other veterans to test their luck at a career expo designed specifically for military vets. it's part of disney's "heroes work here" initiative. one of its goals, to hire 1,000 veterans. >> another is to create awareness and to exhort other companies to do similar things. and the third is to train. to help them find jobs.
hoveround for little or no cost. call now for your free dvd and information kit. and now every hoveround comes with this tote bag and cup holder for handy access to your favorite items. you don't really have to give up living because you don't have your legs. call now for your free consultation. and right now, get this limited edition hoveround america travel mug free with your hoveround delivery. call or log onto hoveround.com right now! ♪ teach ♪ teach your children well welcome back, everyone. childhood obesity has become a national epidemic. now some parents are opting for some extreme solutions to get their kids' weight under control. >> some parents are sending their kids to weight loss boot camp. abc's juju chang reports on the lessons they are learning. >> reporter: weight loss is the core curriculum here at wellspring academy. for some kids like michael and sydney, this school is literally a last and sometimes life-saving resort. >> seat belts. seat belts became a problem. >> within like a span of an hour, i would eat like a day's worth of calories, for sure. >> reporter: wellspring believes the solution lies as much in the kid's mind as in their metabolism. but it's an uphill climb. >> reporter: when 16-year-old michael schlessinger arrived nine months ago, he looked like this. >> how much did you weigh at that point? >> 428. >> that's a lot. >> yep. >> reporter: he says the first week felt like torture. >> shin splints, it would hurt to walk. it was tough. but the first time i ever got on the scale after my first week here, i lost 15 pounds. >> you lost 15 pounds in a week? >> that made me want to keep going. seeing the numbers on the scale keep coming down. >> where are you now? 269. >> rules here are super strict. no tv except in the gym. only two ten-minute phone calls home per week and absolutely no food outside the dining hall. >> why is it everything so tightly controlled? >> we're trying to teach our kids to gain the control of wanting and desiring that amount of structure. >> reporter: heather richardson is the clinical director. >> we are working at nurturing what we call a healthy obsession. >> reporter: the whole package costs $50,000 for an academic year. some come for half the time. but even then, it's a hefty bill. >> it's expensive. >> uh-huh. a recent study showed that it cost $153,000 over a period of a lifetime to be obese in lost wages and medical expenses. so if we look at that number and then $6,000 a month seems a little bit more reasonable. >> was it easy for your parents to pay for this? >> not whatsoever. >> how did they do it? >> i don't even know to this day, but it got done. in my opinion it was worth every penny. >> reporter: juju chang, abc news, asheville, north carolina. >> those are incredible results. you have to think those parents must be desperate, as well as the children. this camp, this school isn't doing anything that you can't do at home. >> right. >> but i guess -- knowledge is power. a lot of the kids don't necessarily know how to exercise aerobically. maybe monitor their calories. you hope they can take away whatever they learn here when they leave. >> that's right. >> this is an artificial environment. you can't argue with that kid. 150 pounds he lost. >> he looks incredible. >> he looks incredible and feels incredible. >> the biggest loser. that's him. >> there you go. coming up -- military veterans looking for work. >> and how a former "dancing with the stars" champ is giving them some star power. >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our a hey, insomniacs, you're watching "world news now." >> sleep is overrated. ♪ i need a hero i'm holding on for a hero till the end of the night ♪ ♪ he's got to be strong he's got to be fast and fast on the fly ♪ love that shot. >> yes. >> i'm awake now. the walt disney company which also owns abc news kicked off a series of expos to help army veterans find jobs. >> kabc's rob hayes shows us exactly how it works. >> reporter: u.s. military veterans know a thing or two about tough times. but after serving in hot spots around the world, many say finding a job in civilian life is -- >> very, very tough. >> reporter: navy veteran mike diaz is hoping the walt disney company can change that. he came to disney's burbank lot with more than 300 other veterans to test their luck at a career expo designed specifically for military vets. it's part of disney's "heroes work here" initiative. one of its goals, to hire 1,000 veterans. >> another is to create awareness and to exhort other companies to do similar things. and the third is to train. to help them find jobs. >> my friends, i would offer you this. please don't hide that you're in the military. >> reporter: veterans took part in workshops focus on resume writing and interview skills and were able to meet with hiring managers. on hand, actor and army veteran j.r. martinez who credits disney for giving him his big break on the abc soap opera "all my children" and "dancing with the stars." >> if you give them a platform, if you give them a challenge and say we want to give you an opportunity to learn, to do something completely different than what you did in the military, you can almost guarantee and count on the fact they are going to find ways to excel in that position. >> reporter: but the heroes work here program is not a one-way street. in fact, disney official will be the first to tell you that veterans bring a lot to the table. qualities that will definitely help their company. >> these are people that not only have shown a great dedication, but they've been very well trained. so we, obviously, benefit by finding more great people, and clearly veterans benefit by finding jobs. >> military people are extremely skilled and highly motivated. and i think that's one of the advantages that companies have if they hire veterans. >> we also have a lot of great qualities that we possess from serving. integrity. service before self. excellence in all that we do. those are really important to everyone that has served. >> reporter: they'll hold similar expos in new york and orlando over the next few days. >> and, of course, that was rob hayes. that's a big problem we have in this country. our returning veterans have nothing to do and nowhere to go. >> yeah, and a bit of a stigma. one said, don't hide that you are in the military. like you'd have to hide it. you should be proud. >> when my father returned from the military he went to vietnam, he said his -- you know, his papers and a dollar could get him a cup of coffee. they were worth nothing to him he said, which is awful. so this is wonderful that we're doing this. >> great program there. coming up, it's been a season of surprises. >> the "dancing with the stars" finale. who took home the mirror ball? 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>> they keep winning. i don't know what the edge is quite yet. i'm going to figure it out. congratulations to donald but he beat out my william levy and i'm upset. >> eight wins for men, six wins for women over the last six years. >> look at us. >> hey, check that out. we look pretty good. >> see. had he been performing, those other people would have had absolutely no shot. >> dashing, i would say. >> 30 from beginning to end. >> thank god it was a still picture. you'll never know. >> two left feet? >> pretty much. how about you? >> oh, i'm quite the dancer. william levy would be very happy this morning on "world news now" -- airline anxiety. the flight crew that took no this morning on "world news now" -- airline anxiety. the flight crew that took no chances when they suspected a passenger may have a bomb implanted inside her body. >> the emergency response from the airline, the military, and what was going through the minds of fellow passengers. it's wednesday, may 23rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning. i'm john muller in for rob nelson. >> i'm diana perez. paula faris is on assignment. we'll get to the scare in the air in a moment. we'll also bring you the details of another frightening incident, this one as philadelphia's airport. did someone set off a bright flare to interfere with airline traffic? also serious questions about facebook stock after a disappointing 9% slump in value. the feds and at least one other agency starting an investigation into facebook stock after so much publicity leading up to the initial offering. and later on this half hour, from the green bay packers field to a mirror ball trophy in hollywood, why many, though, were surprised by donald driver's victory on "dancing with the stars." you'll get the scoop in "the skinny." first, the security scare at 36,000 feet. a written note handed to a flight crew member was so alarming the jumbo jet carrying 188 people had to make an emergency landing. >> and during that entire ordeal, the frightened crew did their best to actually act naturally and keeping most passengers in the dark about what was really going on. here's abc's lisa stark. >> reporter: the crew of the usairways flight did not want to take any chances. the woman was reportedly acting suspiciously when she passed a note to the flight attendant. sources say the note written in french did not mention a bomb but did claim the woman had a surgically implanted device of some kind. this just weeks after abc news reported that federal authorities are beefing up security over concerns that al qaeda might use surgically implanted body bombs to target u.s. flights from overseas. the crew on this flight was so concerned, it asked for any doctors on board to examine the woman for any recent scars. they found none. but the pilot still decided to get on the ground and fast. bangor, maine, was the closest airport. college student alexa moore who was on the flight told abc news passengers had no idea of the real drama unfolding. >> the pilot came over the intercom and said that we needed to make a landing because we were low on fuel. >> reporter: at the same time, two f-15 fighter jets were scrambled out of barnes air national guard base in massachusetts to intercept the flight. agents boarded the flight immediately after it landed and removed the woman. it was only then that the pilot told passengers what was really going on. >> the pilot said that we were going to make a landing for fuel, which was very unusual. and she's quite small. maybe 4 1/2 feet tall. so i helped her put her luggage in the overhead. >> reporter: the woman was taken into custody. she was thoroughly questioned and examined. there was no explosive device, but officials are praising the actions of this crew saying they made the tough decision to land and the right one. lisa stark, abc news, reagan national airport. >> so the question is, what would you prefer? would you prefer to know what's happening? >> that's a tough one. they handled it perfectly in retrospect. you really can't monday morning quarterback these guys, but i think i'd want to know what's going on. particularly if the woman was subdued. i'd want to know. we have somebody who may or may not. but then maybe you don't want all that tension. >> what i did read somewhere is that some of the passengers started to notice and were taking video of her and so people start to panic and i think if you don't know what's happening, it gets worse when you are not told and you are told it's a fuel situation and then you realize that everybody is running behind you. >> i think we agree. i'd like to know. >> i would, too. moving on. another scare in the air if you can believe it. and yet another usairways crew this time. they were approaching philadelphia. a flight from elmira, new york, was preparing to land when crew members reported seeing a flare dangerously close to their plane. before touching down, the crew reported the problem to air traffic control. >> there's a flare back there 500 feet, piedmont 4321 on final. >> there's a what? i missed it, sorry. >> looked like a flare that was shot up. >> you said was there a flare being shot up at you? >> yeah, it probably wasn't more than 50 feet off our right wing. it looked like a flare gun, it had a little canister that exploded right next to us. >> okay. wow. >> the plane landed safely and no one was hurt. city police say they got a 911 call reporting someone had shot off a flare gun at an intersection near the airport, but they found nothing at the scene. a brazen las vegas heist has been foiled by a brave casino worker. two men disguised in wigs and sunglasses pepper sprayed a blackjack dealer at the bellagio. they took more than $100 worth of chips. the casino employee quickly wrestled one man to the floor forcing him to surrender those pricey chips. police are still searching for the second thief who managed to get away. i have a hunch they'll get him soon. the top securities regulator in massachusetts has serious accusations involving a financial giant and facebook. investigators say clients of morgan stanley were given negative information about facebook before last week's initial public stock offering. at issue, morgan stanley's revenue analysis of facebook and its business plan. facebook stock fell 9% yesterday to $31 a share. >> and that facebook stock slide translated to a mounting loss for founder mark zuckerberg. he was down $1.5 billion yesterday and that's on top of the $1.2 billion that he lost on monday. abc's dan harris has more. >> reporter: when thousands of individual investors race to buy facebook stock, was a key piece of information being withheld? the government's top stock market regulator is calling for a review of the fizzled ipo. >> there are issues that we need to look at specifically with respect to facebook. >> reporter: one of those issues may be the news first reported by reuters that three of the banks behind the deal determined in the final hours that facebook's earnings were likely to be lower than expected. reportedly, the banks did not share that information with the public, only with insiders. >> if i'm a regular investor and i bought this stock and didn't know what the insiders knew, should i be upset? >> if people with more power and money to invest got a different set of facts and information and analysis than the average retail investor, then, yeah, that's troubling. >> reporter: troubling enough that massachusetts has now issued a subpoena to one of those banks, morgan stanley. the bank issued a statement saying it broke no rules. as the stock tanks, lots of little guys are getting whacked, including college senior alper idanalu who bought 50 shares on opening day. >> i ended up selling my shares at an 11% loss. >> reporter: meanwhile, as facebook faces increasing pressure to boost its earnings, the big question we're hearing is, will facebook now plaster our pages with ads, sell our personal information or charge us to use the site? >> i think he's not going to go for the quick buck, but i do think he's going to keep pushing the bar as much as he can. >> reporter: as facebook stock swoons, consider the case of amazon which tanked after it debuted in 1997, but after it proved that online shopping could be profitable, the stock is now up 1,200%. so while the man in the hoody is sucking wind, do not count him out. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> you feel deeply for zuckerberg. i heard you groan. >> i feel so bad. now he's only worth $14 billion. >> i have an idea how facebook can raise revenue. they can charge everybody -- >> mark zuckerberg, you better be watching. >> -- 5 bucks to get rid of timeline and bring back the old one. everyone would probably ante up. i never actually hit it so i have the old one. >> i accidentally hit it. you can't go back. down with the timeline. >> if you gave them five bucks to go back to the old one, would you do it? >> i'd do it. >> revenue generation. let's talk about the wheat harvest in kansas. it's shaping up to be one of the earliest ever. farmers near the oklahoma border have already started harvesting two weeks ahead of schedule because of the early and dry spring. this year's crop is expected to be better than last year's. let's take a look at wednesday's weather. showers and thunderstorms from the northeast down to georgia. more heavy rain in south florida. thunderstorms from new orleans to jackson, mississippi. hail and gusty winds from kansas to minnesota. showers into the northern rockies and pacific northwest. hot and windy in the southwest. >> phoenix hits 102. albuquerque, 94. 61 in salt lake city. wet 58 in seattle. 80s from minneapolis down to kansas city. 70 in boston. 82 in atlanta. okay. a guy walks into a bar with a zebra and a parrot. >> this is a joke? >> there's no punch line here. this actually happened. he was turned away from the dubuque, iowa, bar which happened to be named the dog house lounge and everything went downhill from there if you can believe it. >> after placing his parrot and zebra in the front seat of his truck -- what? he was driving out of the parking lot when police pulled him over. his blood alcohol level was 0.14, well over iowa's 0.08 legal limit and he was arrested. never a good idea to drink and drive. definitely not a good idea to drink and drive when you have a zebra and a parrot. >> how is that allowed? the parrot, i get it. parrots are cute, but a zebra? >> a zebra. what is a zebra doing in north america? >> i do have a punch line to that joke. >> what is it. a guy walks into a bar with a zebra and the bartender says what's with the long face? >> nice. >> well done. coming up -- neighbor versus neighbor and a dirty prank caught on camera. >> that's gross. and what we can expect from splashy high-tech robotic fish swimming under the sea. you're watching "world news now." ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hotwire.com. m. ♪ under the sea ♪ under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter take it from me ♪ welcome back, everybody. there is something unnatural lurking in the waters off of spain, and every move it makes is being traced by scientists. >> it is not some bizarre new form of sea urchin. it's a robotic fish that monitors pollution. the bbc's rebecca morelle gives us the fish tail. >> reporter: on patrol for hidden pollution, this is robo fish. several have been put to the test in this harbor. they are the latest high-tech attempt to keep our waters clean. this robotic fish might have been inspired by nature, but it can do much more. it's packed full of sensors and using artificial intelligence, it can hunt down contamination and report this back to shore in realtime. once it's in, the robots can work alone, without any control from the researchers. just like a real fish, it can maneuver easily through the water. >> if you want to do pollution readings in our harbor, you have to get divers to go down and take pollution samples. with these fish they can run autonomously and do that monitoring for you. but further than that if anything happens, if there's a leak or anything, these fish can find that out straightaway in realtime and track down the source of that pollutant so we can put a stop to it right away. and reduce pollution at sea. >> reporter: the next challenge for the team is to cut costs so the fish can become a permanent presence in the oceans. rebecca morelle, bbc news, northern spain. >> robo fish. >> they cost $30,000 right now, but they are hoping once it goes into mass production they'll cost less, maybe half, but still $15,000 for a robo fish looking for pollution. >> it's a lot of money. >> it's a lot of money. >> i see myself snorkeling in the caribbean bumping into a robo fish jumping out of my skin. >> they can go for eight hours without needing a charge, which is pretty impressive. once they find pollution, they summon up all their other robo fish to map out where the pollution is. how polluted is -- >> there's a school of robo fish? >> how polluted is this place that they need a school of robo fish to come and take care of the pollution. >> kind of neat. >> not bad at all. coming up, the broadway performer who broke a leg and this is actually no laughing matter. >> why donald driver surprised so many with his "dancing with the stars" victory. it's next in "the skinny." >> announcer: abc's "world news ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ welcome back, everybody. it is time now for "the skinny." we start with the story of the night. we can't stop talking about it. "dancing with the stars." and a winner has been crowned. it is donald driver. unfortunately, my husband, who is not there, william levy -- >> really? >> -- was in third place. but donald did a wonderful job this season. and he was just so incredibly excited after that. look at that. and he really did work hard with his partner. and his partner, by the way, her first season was last season. she was booted on the first round. and now she made it all the way to the end, and she won. and because they had two hours to fill, they brought back all kinds of old performers and it was pretty spectacular. sherri shepherd was on there dancing with all kinds of guys. "it's raining men." she did a wonderful job. she is in love with all the men on that show. she was having a blast. going through all those men. i can't really count them. it looks like it's seven. and they also brought back jaleel white, or urkel. he has returned with quite some sex appeal. he was looking pretty good on the dance floor. >> gladys knight. >> and gladys knight brought the entire house to their feet and to tears with that wonderful performance. so it was just a beautiful night altogether. we have a new winner for "dancing with the stars." we couldn't be more excited. >> the nfl, number three. they really have a lock on this. >> william levy lost. i'm heartbroken. let's talk about a meeting of the queens, so to speak. katie couric, abc's queen of television in the daytime, soon to be anyway, starting in september, and she meets the queen of england there. she was at a garden party. about 8,000 people attended. of course, katie got to talk to the queen. she said some very nice things about her. described her as quiet, lovely and charming. and said that she was really schmoozing her guests. although katie said that she probably didn't quite use the word schmoozing, but she said the queen was quite lovely. and we want to tell you that actually katie couric, next week, on tuesday, may 29th, will host a two-hour show to mark the queen's 60th year. it's called the diamond jubilee. she's going to have big interviews with prince william, prince harry, prince andrew. that's next tuesday. >> on a side note, she said she wanted to take that hat off because it was giving her a headache. she also called it a frisbee. >> it was very, very hot. >> it was 70-something degrees. i can only imagine. now we have to bring it down because this is a difficult story. i feel so bad. actor michael mckean. you'll remember the 64-year-old who is lenny in "laverne and shirley." he also is from -- >> "spinal tap." love that movie. >> he's now in a broadway production called "the best man." he, not bury the lead here, was hit by a car near his home on 86th here in new york city. apparently two cars crashed. one of them lost control, hit him. he broke a leg. had lacerations to the face. his agent says he's doing just fine. and this, according to his representative, will be the first time he's going to miss a performance on broadway. we wish that he, obviously, gets better. >> i had a chance to interview him once. very funny. very pleasant. best to him. kelly clarkson known for the power breakup songs. that empower you. she feels like she may be losing her edge. kelly clarkson is actually dating a guy. they are getting along so well, she said, but it's killing me. she told "people" magazine while doing a press interview for the show called "duets" which will be a pretty darn good show. she says that it's ruining my creativity. she's joked that the relationship really has her writing all this happy stuff about rainbows, and she's not channeling that deep emotion. >> oh, it's okay to sometimes write a happy song. >> yeah, i agree. >> why not? ♪ mr. postman ♪ wait a minute mr. postman all right. now to a dispute between neighbors with a dirty little twist involving dog waste and a mailbox. >> you've been saying yuck all morning about this one. it's pretty yucky. one neighbor took it a little too far. one neighbor is relieved to have this behind him. abc's yunji de nies tells us how it all piled up. >> reporter: bob furnad was oblivious to the surveillance camera capturing him and his dog. he looked up his neighbor's driveway, then shoved a plastic baggy into their mailbox. hours later, benjamin dameron and ralph miller discovered just what he'd left behind. >> shocked. >> reporter: shocked because the bag was filled with his dog's business. >> we cannot figure out why he did it. at this point, we really don't care why he did it. it's just a silly prank. >> reporter: a prank you'd expect from a teenager. take a look at furnad's linked in profile. he is the former president of cnn's headline news and a respected professor at the university of georgia. we were unable to reach the 71-year-old, but he told the local paper this was an immature act in response to years of malicious rumor mongering that i consider defamation of character. dameron and miller have lived in worthington manor, a historic home in this quiet upscale georgia town. they say they haven't spoken to furnad in years. any feud is news to them. but nasty neighbor run-ins like this are all too common. this houston man captured his neighbor, a sitting judge, keying his car. in palm beach gardens, florida, a neighbor left steve miller not one baggy of doggy doo but dozens. >> i noticed another ten bags in there that looked like dog poo. >> reporter: furnad was fined $181 for littering, and though they certainly could, these neighbors have opted not to sue. >> i think this is embarrassing enough for him as much as anyone else in covington. >> reporter: yunji de nies, abc news, covington, georgia. >> so these victims are taking it actually not so bad. it was a prank. we'll let it go. i would be furious. >> i would not like it either. the quote was about right. he said this was a very immature thing. this is something you would expect from a 12-year-old boy, but, my goodness, a grown man? >> look how cute. >> check it out with the pooper scooper. >> see, that's the right way to do it. and that goes in the garbage. even if you are a 71-year-old man, that's what you are supposed to do because that's gross. >> not the mailbox. >> gross. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades this morning on "world news this morning on "world news now" -- vital voters. a political push to appeal to women. >> why women could decide if president obama stays in office or if mitt romney might replace him. it is wednesday, may 23rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, everyone. i'm diana perez in for paula faris. >> i'm john muller in for rob nelson. we'll get to politics momentarily and then we'll take you to a burning office building in mexico city where hundreds of people were trapped. the frightening scene and dramatic rescues. >> also ahead, the search for answers in northern california after a suspect's arrest in the disappearance of 15-year-old sierra lamar. what investigators and the girl's mother have to say about this disturbing case. >> so sad. later this half hour, what led up to a dramatic conclusion to this season's "dancing with the stars." so many perfect performances. only one surprising winner. >> can't wait to see. and we begin with politics, though, and mitt romney's latest victories. >> the gop presidential hopeful easily won two primaries last night picking up 42 delegates in kentucky and at least 31 delegates in arkansas. he needs about 79 more delegates for a nomination. as abc's david muir reports, both romney and president obama are realizing they need to appeal to married women voters. >> reporter: the gap among women voters in this country is narrowing. just last month, obama led by 19 points among women. he now leads mitt romney by just 7 points. why the sudden change? primarily married women. just last month, president obama was four points ahead among married women. he now trails romney. and significantly. 55% of married women for romney. 38% for the president. what could be driving this? there was that debate over women's rights, whether employers and their health insurance should have to cover contraception. that debate for a time helping president obama in polling. but that debate has now subsided. also since then, the country has learned more about ann romney. after it was said she never worked a day in her life. overnight, the country suddenly learned ann romney raised five boys, had survived breast cancer and is living with m.s. telling diane what she believes most women voters really care about. >> i love the fact that women are talking about deficit spending and the economy. >> reporter: and a new poll also shows married women are more apt than men to say they're worse off rather than better off during president obama's first term. >> married women are much closer to the day-to-day realities of the economy. from paying the bills to filling up the gas tank. >> reporter: and a new ad from a republican superpac aims to keep the trend among married women going. a character portraying a concerned wife and mother who once supported president obama. >> i supported president obama because he spoke so beautifully. he promised change. but things changed for the worse. >> reporter: but superpacs supporting the president is fighting back saying that family is fictional. they're out with their own new ad and another woman who said she was laid off after bain capital came to town. >> i thought that i was going to retire from there. i had about 2 1/2 years to go. >> reporter: that democratic superpac pointing out their character is real and not fictional, and we should point out among single women, president obama still holds a commanding lead, 35 points over mitt romney. but married women will be just one group we will watch as november nears. david muir, abc news, new york. >> so romney doesn't have a whole lot to go before he gets the nomination. and he is going to get the nomination. and what they are saying is once he hits texas, he'll get it. he'll reach that number. >> they say he's going to name a vice president before the convention in tampa in august. andd then floating out there has been paul ryan of wisconsin. so we'll see. >> i'm sure there are others. >> very interesting the difference between single women and married women. real big divide the >> that is true. now to the campaign issue of same-sex marriage and what could be a reversapc o an abc ews lase shows more people support gay marriage than opit. and this is a first. 53% say it should be legal ile 39% oppose it. and 51% say they support president obama's support of same-sex marriage whie 41 oppose the president's view former first lady nancy reagan is recovering from a fall that left her with broken ribs. the reagan library announced last night that she fell about six weeks ago in her los angeles home. the former first lady is 90 years old, and she is said to be recovering, but slowly. a smoky fire in downtown mexico city high rise forcing hundreds to evacuate. about a dozen office workers ran to the roof to escape those flames and the smoke. one by one, helicopter rescue teams lifted those stranded workers. they carried them to safety. one woman suffered some burns. about 20 others were treated for smoke inhalation. that's pretty dramatic. the family of the man accused of kidnapping and killing a northern california teenager says police have the wrong man. police say antolin garcia torres' dna was found in a handbag of sierra lamar and her dna was found in his car. the girl vanished who months ago on her way to school. police say it was a random act of violence. >> there is no information that we have of any type that the two know each other, have had any contact. we believe this is the worst kind of a crime. a stranger abduction of a young girl. >> i do have a plea to the perpetrator to please, please give the information if you have -- that you have to lead us to sierra to help end this nightmare. >> and the suspect is a 21-year-old married father. his dna has been linked to at least one other attack in the same town. a transatlantic jumbo jet carrying 188 people was forced to make an emergency landing in bangor, maine. as abc's lisa stark reports, the nightmare scenario began unfolding after a female passenger handed a note to a member of the flight crew. >> reporter: the crew on this usairways jumbo jet from paris to charlotte, north carolina, didn't want to take any chances after a female passenger began acting suspiciously and then handed a note to a flight attendant. that note was written in french and it didn't mention a bomb, but it did say that there was some sort of a device implanted inside the woman. well, two doctors who happened to be on board this plane were called. they examined the woman. they didn't see any scars or indications of surgery, but the flight crew decided they couldn't take any chances. not with 188 people on board. so they decided to put down the plane at the nearest airport. that was in bangor, maine. fighter jets were scrambled as a precaution and that plane landed safely. the woman was removed by authorities. she was questioned. she was thoroughly examined. there was no explosive device. she was not a security threat. but authorities are saying this flight crew acted responsibly. they acted correctly when they decided to put that plane on the ground. lisa stark, abc news, reagan national airport. >> an amazing story. and the crew had to take this seriously. it's the summer season. the fbi and homeland security telling the airlines specifically that the possibility of surgically implanted bombs was real so, of course, they took it very seriously. >> with the latest we've heard coming out of al qaeda, which is what -- this is what they are doing. they are talking about surgically implanting bombs into people. this is the only thing you can do to keep everyone safe. and it happened in the best possible place, actually, because this airport has these very long runways because it's usually the first and last airport where planes can come and go to if they are headed to europe. so they are ready for this kind of thing. >> we talked about this earlier. do you want to know as a passenger? >> absolutely. >> i do, too. >> no question in my mind. the more i watch this, the more i wanted to know. >> all right. the school year ended on a sour note for a group of students in michigan all because of an organized bike ride. listen to this. the igh seniecie speno ct oarrived, principal says they created a traffic jam and a safety risk. bah humbug. well, bah humbug, here's another one. a kansas couple had to say their i dos over the weekend and then contend with the ultimate wedding crashers. two tornadoes touched down in harper county not far from where caleb and candra pence were getting married. since this is tornado alley, they did not panic. they just went ahead with the ceremony and made sure that mother nature's party crashers were featured prominently in their wedding pictures. >> man, oh, man. that's a wedding you'll never forget. >> i don't know that i could go that -- >> kind of makes a rainy wedding seem like no big deal. >> couldn't do it. >> get to the reception and ease those nerves with a little bubbly, right? >> i don't know that i could do that. here's a look at your forecast. another wet day along much of the east coast. thunderstorms from jackson, mississippi, to new orleans. severe storms around minneapolis, omaha and sioux falls. showers from billings to seattle. windy and hot in the southwest. >> triple digits in phoenix. 81 in sacramento. 58 in seattle. mostly 80s in the middle of the country. 90, though, in dallas, and 84 in miami. baltimore gets up to 81. new york, it's 77 degrees. prince charles and camilla are wrapping up their four-day canadian trip with a trip to saskatchewan. >> the royal couple is arriving there from toronto, one of the many stops they fit into their whirlwind visit. they've clearly been having a grand old time mingling with dignitaries and crowds of cheering commoners. on this trip -- >> commoners? >> commoners, like the rest of us. the trip is marking the queen's diamond jubilee, by the way. >> i'm starting to like charles. did you see like a few weeks back, maybe only a week ago, when he did the weather on one of the english sttio being a weatherman? that was great. >> they were doing -- i think in scotland where they were. camilla got up there as well. she wasn't so good. >> i didn't see that. i have to look up that video. he was really good. he was having a good time. silly and fun and loose. >> he was blaming the production team so he fit right in. he knew exactly what he was doing. coming up, why the season's "dancing with the stars" champ surprised so many. and putting a robotic lifeguard to the test. life-saving ability you have to see. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, 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with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts # medicare, call this toll-free number now. ♪ someone saved my life toni♪ ♪ someone saved my life tonight ♪ welcome back. lifeguards are testing a new high-tech tool to keep swimmers safe. >> that invention comes just in time as swimmers head to the beaches for the memorial day weekend. kabc's bree winkler brings us this new invention and how they are putting it to the test. >> reporter: emily is a robotic lifeguard that can race across the ocean to help a swimmer in distress. l.a. county lifeguards are l.a. county lifeguards are now testing the device to see how emily can help them during the busy summer beach season. >> emily is a new device that was created to help contact a conscious victim so it's a very good tool for, if someone is still like viable. they're not unconscious. you can use emily to go out and get someone. >> reporter: emily could help save lives, but her name was inspired by a tragic event. >> emily was actually named after a young woman that was tragically killed her in malibu. >> reporter: 13-year-old emily rose shane was walking near pch when she was struck by a car in 2010. to help deal with the loss, emily's parents started a pay it forward campaign. at the time, tony mulligan was working on his new robotic lifeguard. his daughter and emily were close friends. they joined the campaign and named their project emily. >> we knew emily as a person that just always wanted to help people. she always put other people in front of herself and that's really what this robot is about. >> reporter: with summer right around the corner, beaches are about to get busy. to prepare, the l.a. county lifeguards practice their rescue drills using all of their equipment. for the first time, that includes emily. so i volunteered to be the first victim. >> i'm going to have emily contact you. you're going to hang on to emily. and the bay watch boat will pick you up. >> reporter: happy to be in the hands of professionals, i was dropped off beyond the break. emily was deployed from the shore and blasted through the waves to my rescue. i'm saved. emily gave me, the victim, a chance to relax as i waited for the lifeguards to arrive. in rescues, time is of the essence. and emily is able to stretch that time which could save lives. brie winkler, abc news. >> great idea. >> that is pretty cool. i wonder how it knows where to go. >> i'm sure they have the little remote control device. if i was in trouble, i'd be happy to see emily -- there you go. maybe david hasslehoff. >> check you out. >> check out those legs. i've been going to the gym. it's paying off. >> so a robotic lifeguard or pam anderson? >> pam anderson. >> who do you want coming to get you? >> how about the robot to get me back to shore and the cpr from pam. what do you think? >> that's perfect. i love that answer. coming up, yet another pro football player with a trophy. can't be stopped. >> a mirror ball trophy. just one more dramatic chapter from this season's "dancing with the stars." it's next. >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations. ♪ we're going to talk about it again. >> you know we are. >> we're going to do it again. the green bay packers' donald driver won the coveted mirror ball trophy. the "dancing with the stars" finale. >> how did the nfl player waltz his way to the top? abc's juju chang takes a look at the big winner and the season's intense competition. >> reporter: katherine jenkins brought her charm and impeccable technique. >> another perfect score for katherine and mark. that gives you a total of 90 out of 90. >> reporter: william levy turned on the machismo. but it was donald driver who pulled out a clutch performance as befits an nfl great and won the night. >> the new champion of "dancing with the stars." donald and peta! >> this is amazing. to win something, truly special. i'm glad i won for peta. this is the ultimate milestone for her. now she's the champ of "dancing with the stars." >> reporter: so we wondered, what does it take to shake and shimmy yourself to within an arm's length of the mirror ball. all three of the dancers came into the finals virtually neck and neck. >> all three of you are absolute winners. >> all three of this year's finalists were in excellent physical shape. they could pull off any move. they didn't hurt themselves doing it. they knew how to do it. they knew how to execute it, and they were committed to it. >> reporter: ian drew of "us weekly" says there are a few crucial steps to choreographing your way to the winner's circle. first, it helps to have a built in fan base. >> driver to the end zone! >> reporter: driver came with all his cheesehead packer fans. >> donald driver had the athlete effect, as usual. he had the built-in fan base. they were rooting for him every week. >> reporter: while he's certainly hunky, william levy does particularly well with the ladies and the telenovela fans. ♪ katherine jenkins no doubt gets every last welsh vote. >> william levy, katherine jenkins and donald driver had a lot to prove because no one knew who they were. they knew the show was going to make them a big star here. >> reporter: attitude counts. if you look back, not one single reality show star or starlet has won. >> a lot of these reality stars, a lot of these people that come in, they are looking at the fame and the press and the paycheck. >> reporter: but if you just crunch the numbers with donald's win, half of the past 14 winners from skaters to gymnasts to football players and race car drivers have been elite athletes. >> they are used to this kind of competition. of course, they are better geared for it. they are dedicated. they know how to focus and keep their eyes on the prize. >> donald and peta! >> reporter: that allowed donald driver to muscle his way to victory. >> it took me 13 seasons to win a super bowl but only one season to win a mirror ball so i'm happy about that. >> reporter: i'm juju chang in new york. >> i've been grumbling about it all morning. but i'm very happy for donald, obviously. he worked very hard and the only reason i'm upset is because my boyfriend william didn't win. >> you really love this man. hey, check us out. >> we've got our own mirror ball trophy. >> they've been really good to us today. >> we would kill it out there. >> they've been really good to us today. get your head right. and focus. on race day you don't leave anything to chance. ♪ get set every morning with gillette fusion proglide. its microcomb guides hair for its thinner blades to cut close. ♪ great starts begin with gillette fusion proglide. ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> all right. we're going to start out talking a little soccer. are you a fan? so-so? do you remember the world cup a few years back when the octopus from germany was making the predictions? >> that i remember. >> well, it's the european championships now. so other countries are trying to come up with an animal to make predictions. we're going to start out with poland. their answer to that octopus is a pachyderm, an elephant. and the name of the elephant is cita. i think we have a picture of her. put her up. there she is. cita is from the southern polish city of krakow. she's temperamental, 33-year-old female. from india originally. and she has been choosing her winning picks by taking an apple above the logo of the team that she roots for. so that's her method. and she does pretty well. but this is the one that i love. this is from the ukraine. this pig right here, he's a beer loving pig apparently. he loves soccer and beer. big doubts about whether or not he can handle the media glare. he's from the ukraine. his owners say he's a little shy. but he's very good and he loves to watch soccer and apparently likes to have a little beer while he watches soccer with his ukrainian owner. >> and we don't know how good they are. they need their own punxsutawney phil. >> i like the beer drinking pig. >> he is very cute. second story. it's the end of the school year and everybody is trying to top the other person when it comes to senior pranks. you must remember yours. i don't remember mine. but, anyway, this story coming out of boston. there were these kids that put 3,300 balloons into a hallway or stairway. they made it look like it was a huge gum ball machine. what's really great about this story is unlike other stories you're going to hear about, which is where the principal and the superintendent get upset and suspend kids -- >> i hate it when they do that. lighten up. >> these are great pranks. this principal said that this was great. gave everybody lots of laughs. lots of excitement, and they were very happy and congratulated the seniors for doing something they didn't harm anybody. and most of these pranks don't harm anybody. it's great. i think it's really cute. you are expecting. but listen to this. you are a spring chicken. so this doesn't apply to you. but children of mothers over 40 years old apparently are healthier and more intelligent. this is a scottish study. done in glasgow. and it found that the older women are less likely to have accidents or need hospital care and that the children born to these moms over 40 are healthier and brighter and have higher iqs than the younger women. it's probably a nurture thing where they -- the mothers are more ready to give the kind of care. >> that's probably true. and you know what? i have a neighbor who just had a baby and she's nowhere near 40 and she's absolutely wonderful and she is so nurturing to this child and already advanced. madison is going to be s this morning on "world news now" -- emotional anniversary. it was a year ago this morning that storm survivors in joplin, missouri, realized a tornado nearly wiped the city off the map. >> and one year later, joplin's physical scars and emotional wounds are far from healed. it is wednesday, may 23rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, everyone. i'm diana perez in for paula faris. >> i'm john muller in for rob nelson. we're going to take you to joplin and explain how it was possible for someone to survive a plunge into niagara falls. why they call it a miraculous survival story. also the 911 operator who is in trouble after falling asleep and snoring during an emergency call. you'll hear the recorded conversation and get an explanation about exactly why this happened. >> you call 911, you don't think you'll hear snoring. also later this half hour, enlightening lessons for a class where all the students need to lighten up. the strict rules in school only for the overweight. we begin with resiliency on display. joplin, missouri, standing tall and moving forward one year after a monster twister ripped it to shreds. >> thousands of people marking this somber anniversary by marching through the hardest hit neighborhoods, even as the widespread rebuilding effort goes full steam ahead. abc's steve osunsami was there. >> our father, who art in heaven. >> reporter: at st. mary's church in joplin where this lonely cross is all that the tornado left behind, they came to pray for the 161 who were killed here a year ago and for the survivors who keep pushing ahead. >> you didn't have much of a house. >> reporter: we caught up with jessie yunger who hid in her closet while the tornado tore 13 miles through town. when we first met jessie this time last year, she and her neighbors were just digging themselves out from the rubble and telling their story to diane. >> i took two brass bells with me that i have and i thought, if i -- if i'm in there and i can't get the door open, i'm going to ring those bells when i hear somebody to let them know i'm in there. >> so these are the bells? >> these are the bells. >> reporter: she still has those bells in a new home she built with a safe room carved out of solid concrete. >> if you are in here. >> it wouldn't be destroyed. >> the fact you are still alive, god's got something for you still to do. he's got something for us all to do. and i truly believe that. >> reporter: around the corner, this was the howards and what was left of their home. it cost them nearly $150,000 to rebuild and now their children, chase ice cream trucks down the street. >> there's good days and bad days. right now, it's a good day. >> just cherish every moment you've got. just hold on to everything. >> reporter: joplin has upgraded its tornado sirens, handed out thousands of weather radios to families and parents and kids finally broke ground on a new grade school and high school to replace the schools that were destroyed one year ago. steve osunsami, abc news, joplin, missouri. >> it is incredible to see how they've come back around. and just yesterday, president obama was there giving the commencement speech to the high school. because two students passed away during this tornado. they lost so many people. they lost everything. >> look at those pictures. and now kids are ordering ice cream from the ice cream truck. that is remarkable. that safe room out of concrete is very interesting, too. some people opted to build entire homes out of concrete. it's like 5% to 10% more expensive. >> after you go through something like that? >> i might opt for that myself. >> exactly. it's good to see them back. all right. now to the new development in the secret service prostitution scandal. four agents are now fighting their dismissals. the agents claim they are being made scapegoats for behavior that had long been tolerated. meanwhile, secret service director mark sullivan heads to capitol hill today where he's going to tell a senate committee that despite the agents' misconduct in colombia, there was no breach in security. some alarming moments on board a us airways jet from paris to charlotte. in midflight, a woman handed a note to a flight attendant saying she had a surgically implanted device. fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the plane. it made an emergency landing in bangor, maine, where the woman was removed and detained. most passengers had no idea of the potential danger they faced. >> there were several calls for doctors about two hours into the flight. and apparently we heard later the doctors were checking to see if she had scars on her from recent surgery. >> doctors found no scars or incisions on the cameroon-born woman's body. no word on where she is this morning or if she is in custody. a man who tried committing suicide guy throwing himself over niagara falls has defied all the odds. he not only managed to get himself to shore. he survived with relatively minor injuries. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: this man is now the fourth member of a very small club of survivors who all plunged down niagara falls without any protective device and lived. officials are calling the fact he lived a stroke of luck, not only did he manage to survive the 180-foot drop, roughly equivalent to falling off the statue of liberty, he had to contend with bone-chilling waters averaging 30 to 40 degrees, racing by at about 70 miles per hour. at the spot where he tumbled, an estimated 360 million gallons of water gush over the brink each minute. >> the real danger is when you hit and the falls are churning up the water beneath the falls so intensely, some people who have gone over the waterfall have literally been torn limb from limb. >> reporter: the man whose name hasn't been released, was apparently trying to kill himself. but cheated death. >> i was able to get him out of the water and stabilize him over to the shoreline. >> reporter: less than a handful of people live to tell his kind of tale. kirk jones is one of them. he plunged over the falls in 2003 and recounted the treacherous tale on "good morning america." >> it felt like i slammed into a granite table. i thought water would be soft but evidently it was not soft at all. >> reporter: the latest survivor now shares that experience. he's expected to recover. he tested fate and won a second chance at life. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> unbelievable. here's another one. when you dial 911, you expect undivided attention from the operator. but a caller in maryland got anything but. the woman made a desperate emergency call when her husband started turning blue only to hear snoring on the other end. an operator transferred her to a dispatcher who was sound asleep. the operator managed to get another dispatcher on the line but the first dispatcher continued to snore well into the call. >> put one hand on his forehead, the other hand underneath his neck and tilt his head back. >> yes. uh-huh. >> at least 18 of those snores were heard before the dispatcher finally woke up nearly six minutes into the call. he had been working 17 hours straight. can you believe this? >> okay. two things. number one, i hear snoring on the other side of a 911 call and i start to panic. she was totally calm. she was like, i'm sorry, yes, what did you say? right before the snore? i would have freaked out. >> when i first read the story i thought i'd like to ring the guy's neck. and i probably still want to anyway, but 17 hours straight of a 24-hour shift? that doesn't sound like good planning. >> there are a couple of things you can do probably 17 hours straight. we might be able to anchor 17 hours straight. >> i certainly don't want to try. >> no. >> but you can't be a 911 dispatcher for 17 hours. and the person on the other line thought it was her husband snoring. >> really? >> yes. which makes it even worse. >> and he's okay. that's the best part. thank goodness. parts of south florida are under water after getting swamped by record downpours. listen to this. almost ten inches of rain. ten inches in the miami area yesterday. turned roads and parking lots and lakes. the floodwaters trapped a number of drivers. a funnel cloud was also spotted in the area. speaking of weather, your wednesday weather, even more rain in florida. showers and thunderstorms from georgia all the way up to new england. severe storms from omaha and sioux falls up to the twin cities. showers in the pacific northwest and northern rockies. thunderstorms along the gulf coast. balmore 77 in new york. 79 in chicago. 85 in kansas city and 90 degrees in dallas. triple digits once again for phoenix. sacramento at 81 degrees. if you live in the south, chances are you've come across that spreading, suffocating greenery called kudzu. >> they call it the vine that ate the south. it's so thick, so uncontrollable, the people who run an atlanta park have hired a herd of sheep and goats to keep it from choking the native vegetation. >> why not? they cost nothing. they are ecofriendly and can chop their way through an acre of kudzu in less than a week. i did some looking up on this. the japanese government brought it over here as a gift for our 100-year centennial in philadelphia. they planted these gardens. then, in the '30s, the gardeners wanted to control erosion. they planted it and then it got out of control. >> i don't know if you can say we're hiring herds if they are doing it for free. what do they get out of this? >> and they get fertilizer. >> the kudzu is high in protein and good for animals so it is a win-win. >> little vinaigrette and cracked pepper. may be good. who is linking private employers to military veterans who need jobs. >> and tough love for students. learning lessons on lightening up. you're watching "world news now." ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hoveround power chair. can no longer get aroundo you du like you used to? when you fear losing your independence? who do you call? call hoveround now, to see if you qualify for america's premier power chair. hi, i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround. now you can do more, see more, enjoy life more. here's why hoveround 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parents are sending their kids to weight loss boot camp. abc's juju chang reports on the lessons they are learning. >> reporter: weight loss is the core curriculum here at wellspring academy. for some kids like michael and sydney, this school is literally a last and sometimes life-saving resort. >> seat belts. seat belts became a problem. >> within like a span of an hour, i would eat like a day's worth of calories, for sure. >> reporter: wellspring believes the solution lies as much in the kid's mind as in their metabolism. but it's an uphill climb. >> reporter: when 16-year-old michael schlessinger arrived nine months ago, he looked like this. >> how much did you weigh at that point? >> 428. >> that's a lot. >> yep. >> reporter: he says the first week felt like torture. >> shin splints, it would hurt to walk. it was tough. but the first time i ever got on the scale after my first week here, i lost 15 pounds. >> you lost 15 pounds in a week? >> that made me want to keep going. seeing the numbers on the scale keep coming down. >> where are you now? 269. >> rules here are super strict. no tv except in the gym. only two ten-minute phone calls home per week and absolutely no food outside the dining hall. >> why is it everything so tightly controlled? >> we're trying to teach our kids to gain the control of wanting and desiring that amount of structure. >> reporter: heather richardson is the clinical director. >> we are working at nurturing what we call a healthy obsession. >> reporter: the whole package costs $50,000 for an academic year. some come for half the time. but even then, it's a hefty bill. >> it's expensive. >> uh-huh. a recent study showed that it cost $153,000 over a period of a lifetime to be obese in lost wages and medical expenses. so if we look at that number and then $6,000 a month seems a little bit more reasonable. >> was it easy for your parents to pay for this? >> not whatsoever. >> how did they do it? >> i don't even know to this day, but it got done. in my opinion it was worth every penny. >> reporter: juju chang, abc news, asheville, north carolina. >> those are incredible results. you have to think those parents must be desperate, as well as the children. this camp, this school isn't doing anything that you can't do at home. >> right. >> but i guess -- knowledge is power. a lot of the kids don't necessarily know how to exercise aerobically. maybe monitor their calories. you hope they can take away whatever they learn here when they leave. >> that's right. >> this is an artificial environment. you can't argue with that kid. 150 pounds he lost. >> he looks incredible. >> he looks incredible and feels incredible. >> the biggest loser. that's him. >> there you go. coming up -- military veterans looking for work. >> and how a former "dancing with the stars" champ is giving them some star power. >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations.d d d d d hey, insomniacs, you're watching "world news now." >> sleep is overrated. ♪ i need a hero i'm holding on for a hero till the end of the night ♪ ♪ i need a hero i'm holding on for a hero till the end of the night ♪ ♪ he's got to be strong he's got to be fast and fast on the fly ♪ love that shot. >> yes. >> i'm awake now. the walt disney company which also owns abc news kicked off a series of expos to help army veterans find jobs. >> kabc's rob hayes shows us exactly how it works. >> reporter: u.s. military veterans know a thing or two about tough times. but after serving in hot spots around the world, many say finding a job in civilian life is -- >> very, very tough. >> reporter: navy veteran mike diaz is hoping the walt disney company can change that. he came to disney's burbank lot with more than 300 other veterans to test their luck at a career expo designed specifically for military vets. it's part of disney's "heroes work here" initiative. one of its goals, to hire 1,000 veterans. >> another is to create awareness and to exhort other companies to do similar things. and the third is to train. to help them find jobs. >> my friends, i would offer you this. please don't hide that you're in the military. >> reporter: veterans took part in workshops focus on resume writing and interview skills and were able to meet with hiring managers. on hand, actor and army veteran j.r. martinez who credits disney for giving him his big break on the abc soap opera "all my children" and "dancing with the stars." >> if you give them a platform, if you give them a challenge and say we want to give you an opportunity to learn, to do something completely different than what you did in the military, you can almost guarantee and count on the fact they are going to find ways to excel in that position. >> reporter: but the heroes work here program is not a one-way street. in fact, disney official will be the first to tell you that veterans bring a lot to the table. qualities that will definitely help their company. >> these are people that not only have shown a great dedication, but they've been very well trained. so we, obviously, benefit by finding more great people, and clearly veterans benefit by finding jobs. >> military people are extremely skilled and highly motivated. and i think that's one of the advantages that companies have if they hire veterans. >> we also have a lot of great qualities that we possess from serving. integrity. service before self. excellence in all that we do. those are really important to everyone that has served. >> reporter: they'll hold similar expos in new york and orlando over the next few days. >> and, of course, that was rob hayes. that's a big problem we have in this country. our returning veterans have nothing to do and nowhere to go. >> yeah, and a bit of a stigma. one said, don't hide that you are in the military. like you'd have to hide it. you should be proud. >> when my father returned from the military he went to vietnam, he said his -- you know, his papers and a dollar could get him a cup of coffee. they were worth nothing to him he said, which is awful. so this is wonderful that we're doing this. >> great program there. coming up, it's been a season of surprises. >> the "dancing with the stars" finale. who took home the mirror ball? you're watching "world news now." ld news now." when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their 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that accepts # medicare, call this toll-free number now. now, i wear it every day. because damaging uv rays are everywhere with olay daily complete uv, its possible to block 92% of harmful rays for naturally beautiful skin in any light. olay daily uv. pop in the drum of any machine... ♪ ...to wash any size load. it dissolves in any temperature, even cold. tide pods. pop in. stand out. ♪ ♪ yep. it's time to put on your dancing shoes. >> sure is. i've got mine on. >> i've got mine on, too. after three couples' perfect performances, quite a night at "dancing with the stars" finale. >> only one champ. green bay packers star donald driver who won the mirror ball trophy. >> john and diana, some have called this the most competitive season ever for "dancing with the stars." it was a close contest all the way to the end. >> the winners and new champions of "dancing with the stars" are -- donald and peta! >> reporter: the season finished with donald driver on top. after a finale that featured a so-called 24-hour routines. dances the finalists had just a day to put together. william levy and partner cheryl burke finished season 14 with a salsa. katherine jenkins and mark ballas ended their run with a jive. donald driver and peta murgatroyd went with a cha-cha. in a close competition, these dancers may have been the difference. but before a winner was chosen based on the judge's scores and the viewers' votes -- ♪ kelly clarkson performed. as did season 14 contestant gladys knight. according to tradition, the stars who didn't make it this far made final appearances on the dance floor. one more turn in the spotlight before third place was announced. >> william and cheryl. >> reporter: and then finally, the coveted mirror ball presented. with this win, donald driver becomes the third professional football player to win at "dancing with the stars." following in the footsteps of emmitt smith and hines ward. in hollywood, i'm craig gropper. >> clearly these football players have an edge. they should be banned. >> why do they have an edge? >> they keep winning. i don't know what the edge is quite yet. i'm going to figure it out. congratulations to donald but he beat out my william levy and i'm upset. >> eight wins for men, six wins for women over the last six years. >> look at us. >> hey, check that out. we look pretty good. >> see. had he been performing, those other people would have had absolutely no shot. >> dashing, i would say. >> 30 from beginning to end. >> thank god it was a still picture. you'll never know. >> two left feet? >> pretty much. how about you? >> oh, i'm quite the dancer. thorni this morning on "world news now" -- airline anxiety. the flight crew that took no chances when they suspected a passenger may have a bomb implanted inside her body. >> the emergency response from the airline, the military, and what was going through the minds of fellow passengers. it's wednesday, may 23rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning. i'm john muller in for rob nelson. >> i'm diana perez. paula faris is on assignment. we'll get to the scare in the air in a moment. we'll also bring you the details of another frightening incident, this one as philadelphia's airport. did someone set off a bright flare to interfere with airline traffic? also serious questions about facebook stock after a disappointing 9% slump in value. the feds and at least one other agency starting an investigation into facebook stock after so much publicity leading up to the initial offering. and later on this half hour, from the green bay packers field to a mirror ball trophy in hollywood, why many, though, were surprised by donald driver's victory on "dancing with the stars." you'll get the scoop in "the skinny." first, the security scare at 36,000 feet. a written note handed to a flight crew member was so alarming the jumbo jet carrying 188 people had to make an emergency landing. >> and during that entire ordeal, the frightened crew did their best to actually act naturally and keeping most passengers in the dark about what was really going on. here's abc's lisa stark. >> reporter: the crew of the usairways flight did not want to take any chances. the woman was reportedly acting suspiciously when she passed a note to the flight attendant. sources say the note written in french did not mention a bomb but did claim the woman had a surgically implanted device of some kind. this just weeks after abc news reported that federal authorities are beefing up security over concerns that al qaeda might use surgically implanted body bombs to target u.s. flights from overseas. the crew on this flight was so concerned, it asked for any doctors on board to examine the woman for any recent scars. they found none. but the pilot still decided to get on the ground and fast. bangor, maine, was the closest airport. college student alexa moore who was on the flight told abc news passengers had no idea of the real drama unfolding. >> the pilot came over the intercom and said that we needed to make a landing because we were low on fuel. >> reporter: at the same time, two f-15 fighter jets were scrambled out of barnes air national guard base in massachusetts to intercept the flight. agents boarded the flight immediately after it landed and removed the woman. it was only then that the pilot told passengers what was really going on. >> the pilot said that we were going to make a landing for fuel, which was very unusual. and she's quite small. maybe 4 1/2 feet tall. so i helped her put her luggage in the overhead. >> reporter: the woman was taken into custody. she was thoroughly questioned and examined. there was no explosive device, but officials are praising the actions of this crew saying they made the tough decision to land and the right one. lisa stark, abc news, reagan national airport. >> so the question is, what would you prefer? would you prefer to know what's happening? >> that's a tough one. they handled it perfectly in retrospect. you really can't monday morning quarterback these guys, but i think i'd want to know what's going on. particularly if the woman was subdued. i'd want to know. we have somebody who may or may not. but then maybe you don't want all that tension. >> what i did read somewhere is that some of the passengers started to notice and were taking video of her and so people start to panic and i think if you don't know what's happening, it gets worse when you are not told and you are told it's a fuel situation and then you realize that everybody is running behind you. >> i think we agree. i'd like to know. >> i would, too. moving on. another scare in the air if you can believe it. and yet another usairways crew this time. they were approaching philadelphia. a flight from elmira, new york, was preparing to land when crew members reported seeing a flare dangerously close to their plane. before touching down, the crew reported the problem to air traffic control. >> there's a flare back there 500 feet, piedmont 4321 on final. >> there's a what? i missed it, sorry. >> looked like a flare that was shot up. >> you said was there a flare being shot up at you? >> yeah, it probably wasn't more than 50 feet off our right wing. it looked like a flare gun, it had a little canister that exploded right next to us. >> okay. wow. >> the plane landed safely and no one was hurt. city police say they got a 911 call reporting someone had shot off a flare gun at an intersection near the airport, but they found nothing at the scene. a brazen las vegas heist has been foiled by a brave casino worker. two men disguised in wigs and sunglasses pepper sprayed a blackjack dealer at the bellagio. the casino employee quickly wrestled one man to the floor forcing him to surrender those pricey chips. police are still searching for the second thief who managed to get away. i have a hunch they'll get him soon. the top securities regulator in massachusetts has serious accusations involving a financial giant and facebook. investigators say clients of morgan stanley were given negative information about facebook before last week's initial public stock offering. at issue, morgan stanley's revenue analysis of facebook and its business plan. facebook stock fell 9% yesterday to $31 a share. >> and that facebook stock slide translated to a mounting loss for founder mark zuckerberg. he was down $1.5 billion yesterday and that's on top of the $1.2 billion that he lost on monday. abc's dan harris has more. >> reporter: when thousands of individual investors race to buy facebook stock, was a key piece of information being withheld? the government's top stock market regulator is calling for a review of the fizzled ipo. >> there are issues that we need to look at specifically with respect to facebook. >> reporter: one of those issues may be the news first reported by reuters that three of the banks behind the deal determined in the final hours that facebook's earnings were likely to be lower than expected. reportedly, the banks did not share that information with the public, only with insiders. >> if i'm a regular investor and i bought this stock and didn't know what the insiders knew, should i be upset? >> if people with more power and money to invest got a different set of facts and information and analysis than the average retail investor, then, yeah, that's troubling. >> reporter: troubling enough that massachusetts has now issued a subpoena to one of those banks, morgan stanley. the bank issued a statement saying it broke no rules. as the stock tanks, lots of little guys are getting whacked, including college senior alper idanalu who bought 50 shares on opening day. >> i ended up selling my shares at an 11% loss. >> reporter: meanwhile, as facebook faces increasing pressure to boost its earnings, the big question we're hearing is, will facebook now plaster our pages with ads, sell our personal information or charge us to use the site? >> i think he's not going to go for the quick buck, but i do think he's going to keep pushing the bar as much as he can. >> reporter: as facebook stock swoons, consider the case of amazon which tanked after it debuted in 1997, but after it proved that online shopping could be profitable, the stock is now up 1,200%. so while the man in the hoody is sucking wind, do not count him out. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> you feel deeply for zuckerberg. i heard you groan. >> i feel so bad. now he's only worth $14 billion. >> i have an idea how facebook can raise revenue. they can charge everybody -- >> mark zuckerberg, you better be watching. >> -- 5 bucks to get rid of timeline and bring back the old one. everyone would probably ante up. i never actually hit it so i have the old one. >> i accidentally hit it. you can't go back. down with the timeline. >> if you gave them five bucks to go back to the old one, would you do it? >> i'd do it. >> revenue generation. let's talk about the wheat harvest in kansas. farmers near the oklahoma border have already started harvesting two weeks ahead of schedule because of the early and dry spring. this year's crop is expected to be better than last year's. let's take a look at wednesday's weather. showers and thunderstorms from the northeast down to georgia. more heavy rain in south florida. thunderstorms from new orleans to jackson, mississippi. hail and gusty winds from kansas to minnesota. showers into the northern rockies and pacific northwest. hot and windy in the southwest. >> phoenix hits 102. albuquerque, 94. 61 in salt lake city. wet 58 in seattle. 80s from minneapolis down to kansas city. 70 in boston. 82 in atlanta. okay. a guy walks into a bar with a zebra and a parrot. >> this is a joke? >> there's no punch line here. this actually happened. he was turned away from the dubuque, iowa, bar which happened to be named the dog house lounge and everything went downhill from there if you can believe it. >> after placing his parrot and zebra in the front seat of his truck -- what? he was driving out of the parking lot when police pulled him over. his blood alcohol level was 0.14, well over iowa's 0.08 legal limit and he was arrested. never a good idea to drink and drive. definitely not a good idea to drink and drive when you have a zebra and a parrot. >> how is that allowed? the parrot, i get it. a zebra? >> a zebra. what is a zebra doing in north america? >> i do have a punch line to that joke. >> what is it. a guy walks into a bar with a zebra and the bartender says what's with the long face? >> nice. >> well done. coming up -- neighbor versus neighbor and a dirty prank caught on camera. >> that's gross. and what we can expect from splashy high-tech robotic fish swimming under the sea. you're watching "world news now." ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hotwire.com. ♪ t ♪ under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter take it from me ♪ welcome back, everybody. there is something unnatural lurking in the waters off of spain, and every move it makes is being traced by scientists. >> it is not some bizarre new form of sea urchin. it's a robotic fish that monitors pollution. the bbc's rebecca morelle gives us the fish tail. >> reporter: on patrol for hidden pollution, this is robo fish. several have been put to the test in this harbor. they are the latest high-tech attempt to keep our waters clean. this robotic fish might have been inspired by nature, but it can do much more. it's packed full of sensors and using artificial intelligence, it can hunt down contamination and report this back to shore in realtime. once it's in, the robots can work alone, without any control from the researchers. just like a real fish, it can maneuver easily through the water. >> if you want to do pollution readings in our harbor, you have to get divers to go down and take pollution samples. with these fish they can run autonomously and do that monitoring for you. but further than that if anything happens, if there's a leak or anything, these fish can find that out straightaway in realtime and track down the source of that pollutant so we can put a stop to it right away. and reduce pollution at sea. >> reporter: the next challenge for the team is to cut costs so the fish can become a permanent presence in the oceans. rebecca morelle, bbc news, northern spain. >> robo fish. >> they cost $30,000 right now, but they are hoping once it goes into mass production they'll cost less, maybe half, but still $15,000 for a robo fish looking for pollution. >> it's a lot of money. >> it's a lot of money. >> i see myself snorkeling in the caribbean bumping into a robo fish jumping out of my skin. >> they can go for eight hours without needing a charge, which is pretty impressive. once they find pollution, they summon up all their other robo fish to map out where the pollution is. how polluted is -- >> there's a school of robo fish? >> how polluted is this place that they need a school of robo fish to come and take care of the pollution. >> kind of neat. >> not bad at all. coming up, the broadway performer who broke a leg and this is actually no laughing matter. >> why donald driver surprised so many with his "dancing with the stars" victory. it's next in "the skinny." >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations. >> announcer: abc's "world news ♪ skinny ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ welcome back, everybody. it is time now for "the skinny." we start with the story of the night. we can't stop talking about it. "dancing with the stars." and a winner has been crowned. it is donald driver. unfortunately, my husband, who is not there, william levy -- >> really? >> -- was in third place. but donald did a wonderful job this season. and he was just so incredibly excited after that. look at that. and he really did work hard with his partner. and his partner, by the way, her first season was last season. she was booted on the first round. and now she made it all the way to the end, and she won. and because they had two hours to fill, they brought back all kinds of old performers and it was pretty spectacular. sherri shepherd was on there dancing with all kinds of guys. "it's raining men." she did a wonderful job. she is in love with all the men on that show. she was having a blast. going through all those men. i can't really count them. it looks like it's seven. and they also brought back jaleel white, or urkel. he has returned with quite some sex appeal. he was looking pretty good on the dance floor. >> gladys knight. >> and gladys knight brought the entire house to their feet and to tears with that wonderful performance. so it was just a beautiful night altogether. we have a new winner for "dancing with the stars." we couldn't be more excited. >> the nfl, number three. they really have a lock on this. >> william levy lost. i'm heartbroken. let's talk about a meeting of the queens, so to speak. katie couric, abc's queen of television in the daytime, soon to be anyway, starting in september, and she meets the queen of england there. she was at a garden party. about 8,000 people attended. of course, katie got to talk to the queen. she said some very nice things about her. described her as quiet, lovely and charming. and said that she was really schmoozing her guests. although katie said that she probably didn't quite use the word schmoozing, but she said the queen was quite lovely. and we want to tell you that actually katie couric, next week, on tuesday, may 29th, will host a two-hour show to mark the queen's 60th year. it's called the diamond jubilee. she's going to have big interviews with prince william, prince harry, prince andrew. that's next tuesday. >> on a side note, she said she wanted to take that hat off because it was giving her a headache. she also called it a frisbee. >> it was very, very hot. >> it was 70-something degrees. i can only imagine. now we have to bring it down because this is a difficult story. i feel so bad. actor michael mckean. you'll remember the 64-year-old who is lenny in "laverne and shirley." he also is from -- >> "spinal tap." love that movie. >> he's now in a broadway production called "the best man." he, not bury the lead here, was hit by a car near his home on 86th here in new york city. apparently two cars crashed. one of them lost control, hit him. he broke a leg. had lacerations to the face. his agent says he's doing just fine. and this, according to his representative, will be the first time he's going to miss a performance on broadway. we wish that he, obviously, gets better. >> i had a chance to interview him once. very funny. very pleasant. best to him. kelly clarkson known for the power breakup songs. that empower you. she feels like she may be losing her edge. kelly clarkson is actually dating a guy. they are getting along so well, she said, but it's killing me. she told "people" magazine while doing a press interview for the show called "duets" which will be a pretty darn good show. she says that it's ruining my creativity. she's joked that the relationship really has her writing all this happy stuff about rainbows, and she's not channeling that deep emotion. >> oh, it's okay to sometimes write a happy song. >> yeah, i agree. >> why not? ♪ wait a minute mr. postman all right. now to a dispute between neighbors with a dirty little twist involving dog waste and a mailbox. >> you've been saying yuck all morning about this one. it's pretty yucky. one neighbor took it a little too far. one neighbor is relieved to have this behind him. abc's yunji de nies tells us how it all piled up. >> reporter: bob furnad was oblivious to the surveillance camera capturing him and his dog. he looked up his neighbor's driveway, then shoved a plastic baggy into their mailbox. hours later, benjamin dameron and ralph miller discovered just what he'd left behind. >> shocked. >> reporter: shocked because the bag was filled with his dog's business. >> we cannot figure out why he did it. at this point, we really don't care why he did it. it's just a silly prank. >> reporter: a prank you'd expect from a teenager. take a look at furnad's linked in profile. he is the former president of cnn's headline news and a respected professor at the university of georgia. we were unable to reach the 71-year-old, but he told the local paper this was an immature act in response to years of malicious rumor mongering that i consider defamation of character. dameron and miller have lived in worthington manor, a historic home in this quiet upscale georgia town. they say they haven't spoken to furnad in years. any feud is news to them. but nasty neighbor run-ins like this are all too common. this houston man captured his neighbor, a sitting judge, keying his car. in palm beach gardens, florida, a neighbor left steve miller not one baggy of doggy doo but dozens. >> i noticed another ten bags in there that looked like dog poo. >> reporter: furnad was fined $181 for littering, and though they certainly could, these neighbors have opted not to sue. >> i think this is embarrassing enough for him as much as anyone else in covington. >> reporter: yunji de nies, abc news, covington, georgia. >> so these victims are taking it actually not so bad. it was a prank. we'll let it go. i would be furious. >> i would not like it either. the quote was about right. he said this was a very immature thing. this is something you would expect from a 12-year-old boy, but, my goodness, a grown man? >> look how cute. >> check it out with the pooper scooper. >> see, that's the right way to do it. and that goes in the garbage. even if you are a 71-year-old man, that's what you are supposed to do because tha