i say good morning to you. there's a flurry activity and i'm ready for you. i'm robin meade. here's what's going on. toyota's problems include the prius and it's not the gas pedal. what we have learned about brake problems in some of the hybrid cars. a man charged in the manslaughter in connection with the deaths at a sweat lodge. his tearn is talking about what happened. an suv slammed into a gas station. what he fletenned to do. it wasn't turned on. that was his problem. first, it looks like there may be problems with another toyota mod model. this time, it's the brakes on the prius. the dealers are working overtime, hiring extra staff to answer the phones, making house calls to fix the problems. toyota is giving u.s. dealers payments of up to 75,000 dlarls for the extra expenses. what is the deal with the prius? new, this morning, there's a stunning admission about that make of car. jennifer west hochb is here with more on this. good morning. >> good morning. toyota admitting design problems with the other pedal, the antilock brake system in the prius. there have been complaints about the brakes. drivers say it surged forward or lost braking power temporarily. this morning, they said they fixed the prius models sold since late january. but, it hasn't said what it's going to do with the cars sold before that, the ones on the road. i'll be back with toyota's other big problem, the gas pedal and how it's caused confusion. our government is putting pressure on them. in japan, they are putting pressure on them for the brake problem. >> people with driving them anyway. motivational speaker was arrested in connection with three deaths at a sweat lodge. he'll be in according to. th authorities say they encouraged people to stay in the sweat lodge, even after they felt ill. they say it was a terrible accident, not a criminal act. americans will find out if they are staying in jail. they say they were rescuing orphans after the earthquake. but, they are charged with child trafficking. haitian and dominican authorities said they were warned their plan was illegal. >> i warned her. i said as soon as you get there without the proper documents, you gonna get in trouble. they are going to accuse you because you have the intent to pass the border without the proper papers. they are going to accuse you of kids trafficking. >> meanwhile, an official says a police officer is being questioned and asked whether he took a bribe to provide them with illegal travel documents. the death total is topping 200,000. another 300,000 may have been treated for injury. world organizations say they have been feeding about 300,000 people. they need to reach as many as 2 million. we know when casey anthony's murder trial will begin. it's may 2, 2011. it's a year after it was supposed to start. she's accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. she's pleaded not guilty. no word on where the trial will take place. the movement of the conservative activists, the tea party will begin today. sarah palin is the keynote speaker. the more than $500 ticket price alienates people. the sold out event will build alliances to make change in both parties. >> michael jackson's former doctor could arraigned tomorrow. they are charging him with involuntary manslaughter. he gave the singer strong drugs to help him sleep. he insists nothing he gave jackson could have killed him. they say he's ready to surrender. >> so many people are wondering how could it happen. somebody should pay for it. it wouldn't surprise me if the d.a. wasn't interested in a surrender deal. they like the perp walk. somebody being in handcuffs. it's what perspective jurors will see. >> he's in default on a $132,000 debt for medical equipment and services. a judge in las vegas made that ruling yesterday. his personal and professional debts. he nearly foreclosed on a house. t. >> it's a lot of news happening. what about what your day holds. i know, we are already looking toward the weekend even though it's thursday. here is bob van dillen. the same place is getting wet as befo before. >> they are getting slammed. the gulf. d.c., baltimore, up to philadelphia, starting friday afternoon through saturday, a foot of snow in virginia. more on that in a second. i want to show you what's happening now. coming out of the gulf of mexico, blue and green is heavy rain. it's a great deal of acreage. still dry when you get toward atlanta. it comes in and moves to the carolinas. what about new orleans? heavy rain now. it's spilling in toward mississippi. the next 48 hours, watch the rain stretch to the carolinas, to the mid-atlantic and the northeast, too. the red striping five inches of rain. possibility, western parts of florida, especially the panhandle. then get away from that and the cold air is in place from new mexico and northern new mexico to texas, western oklahoma and kansas. all the white is snow. it's coming down well now. central kansas, nebraska about two to six inches possible. because of that, we have advisories out there. all the areas in blue-green including kansas city, south dakota, nebraska, holding on to the warning for the eastern parts of new mexico. let me show you the video we got from mexico yesterday afternoon. two to five inches of snow around the region. interstate 40 was closed for a couple hours. you can see that. unbelievable. well, it's not unbelievable, it's february. it's the el nino pattern. ift's something you get every four to five years. rain in the southern half of the nation. more on that in a bit. >> thank you. that's it "american idol" auditions are over. 181 con tes at that particular times have their tickets to hollywood. that includes lacy. ♪ somewhere over the rainbow note bluebirds fly. >> you know what? simon loves that song. it almost made him blush. she made it to the top 50 in season 8. kara said she's one of her favorites this season. she is a shy, soft spoken 16-year-old who tried out last night. ♪ i can almost see it ♪ that dream i'm dreaming ♪ but there's a voice inside my head ♪ ♪ saying you'll never reach it. >> he's going to hollywood. simon thinks the moms will like him. the transportation secretary has something else to say about the toyota recall. he'd like to recall what he said. a woman with a potentially deadly disease is desperate for health insurance. hear what she's doing to get coverage. all right. time for our salute to the troops. today's for captain richard sharpe. she and the kids are so thankful to have a wonderful husband and father whether he's with them or hundreds of miles away. maybe you have somebody you love in the service. salute them. "avatar" is officially now the biggest money making move in the united states. this week, it topped $600 million, putting it just ahead of "titanic." it shattered the overseas box office with over $200 million. he is pushing for an "avatar" sequel. her car pool buddy was a little too quiet. >> you have to be kidding. it's a mannequin that looked good. you have to hear what tipped off the deputy. it's new for you in less than 30 minutes. as if toyota's problems were not big and bad enough, the o bomb ma administration briefly set off a fire storm after an official told the drivers to stop driving their toyotas then somebody said do over. >> it was frightening. if you have a toyota or anybody in your family drives one. the transportation chief said don't drive your toyota. then he backed off. take a listen. >> my advice is, if anyone owns one of these vehicles stop driving it. take it to the dealer. they believe they have a fix for it. the stop driving it got people worried. it was ray lahood. he said he misspoke. he didn't mean to frighten people, just get their cars to the dealership. >> i felt it take off like a rocket and i immediately hit the brakes hard. i was laid out, streeched out on the brakes, which had no effect. >> toyota says the problem with sticky gas pedals is rare. we will watch this story very closely, of course. sign companies are spending more time on technology. it's good news in a bad economy. its chief said, based on the quarterly profits, this is a guy who has seen technology spending all over the world. he said they have entered a new phase of technology. companies are spending more on technology. the question is when does it translate into jobs. back to you. >> thank you. planned parenthood is taking on tim tebow on a super bowl ad. you have to see this one. a guy goes to get gas and crashes his suv into the store. waiting to hear what ticked him off. good morning, coffee drinker. 15 minutes after the hour. some people in a vegetative state may have signs of consciousness. scientists detected glimmers of awareness and they communicated with one man. it suggests tests may overlook it in some patients. only a few of those tested showed signs of awareness. a california woman is posting on youtube to find a husband. he doesn't want to marry for love. she's up front about it. she wants to marry for your health insurance. because she has a pre-existing condition, no one will cover her. she talked with hlns mike. >> seven e-mails in my inbox. >> wow. >> half of those are proposals, the other half are desperate people. >> pictures? >> no. no pictures. i said no pictures. you have to send me your co--pay information and lifetime insurance. i haven't gotten a single picture. >> she's like i want the prescription card. isn't it sad people have to resort to that? get the latest on prime news at 5:00 p.m. eastern on hln. you have to see this surveillance video. yeah. watch as a man plows his explorer through a gas station window. this was sunday. police in alabama say, right before he threatened to kill the attendant because the pump wasn't on. she wasn't hurt. police say, after the crash, a deputy had to taser the driver. he's charged with attempted murder and resisting arrest. tim tebow's perceived antiabortion commercial has a response from planned parenthood. we haven't seen the tim tebow ad. >> we have not. nobody has. we would air that in response, if we did. this ad was released on the internet. all the ads for the big game have been sold. they enlisted the help of two athletes, sean james and al joiner. >> there's a lot of talk leading up to the super bowl about an ad that supports family. it features a great football player, tim tebow, and his mother. i respect and honor her decision. >> i want my daughter to live in a world where everyone's decisions are refect spected. >> we would air tebow's ad in response, but it's not been released. it will run in the first quarter of the super bowl. yesterday, we told you how indiana schools would open two hours later because of super bowl? nope. the official said no. threw a flag on the play. it did not give officials the right to delay school. the reason they wanted to do it was the last time the colts were in the super bowl, bus drivers called in sick. they reached a compromise. they will open an hour later and kids will stay 30 minutes late. how about a hall of famer. now, there's an online bidding contest to get the greatest of all time, barry sanders to come to your house for the big game. >> wow! >> the bidding is at 9 grand. all the proceeds go to cancer research. he'll watch the entire game with you, robin. barry sanders. >> you know how many snacks you have to have? he's a big man. >> they will provide food and snacks. >> it's a full party. thank you. have you see the jersey shore? the htv reality show has been spoofed and spoofed and spoofed. here is a look at one of the stars doing her thing. she likes to dance. she likes to drink. she has a bit of a crazy side. now, here is a pint sized spoof that's become a viral video. >> i love being at the jersey shore and i love being -- >> good summer. >> yeah. >> efbd has on their spray on tan. that's what that's supposed to be, i think. it's all over the web. we found it on babblegum.com. no, i do not like that part. did i see little people -- i don't like that part. we'll cut that out. >> i haven't seen that show. >> you haven't seen snookie? >> i lived it years ago. let me show you what's going on n now. it's going to be a rough travel day in the lower half of the country. starting out in atlanta, here's atl. no problems. the planes coming in and coming out. the rain gets here later in the afternoon. it's going to be heavy at times tomorrow. calling for an hour or more in atlanta in the afternoon with the rain headed in. san francisco more rain, hour delay. memphis, a half hour. dallas, you are getting the rain coming in. showers with rain and snow around kansas city. full details in just about a half hour. >> you got it. one of president obama's relatives could get booted out of the united states. his aunt is in the united states. the new senator-elect from massachusetts is expected to be sworn in this afternoon. scott brown ask that his election be certified immediately. the republican says there are several upcoming senate votes he would like to take part in. a key taliban lead er in pakistan is dead. a senior official says he died in a missile attack there last month. the leader is linked to dozens of suicide bombing, including one in afghanistan that killed seven cia agents. no one has officially confirmed his death. hundreds of marijuana shops have to shut down. the mayor signed an ordinance. it's limited to 70 and creates a buffer zone. the new rules won't be enforced for at least 45 days. it's just a little look at the top stories. looking at you, nice jammy's and bed head. don't worry about it. i'm robin meade. toyota is working hard to fix the sticky gas pedals. toyota expects to fix millions of cars. it's causing sudden acceleration in a number of cars. >> the furniture is returned and part of the wall missing. i walked up to the front of the lobby and found the car parked inside the building. it was still try iing to come inside. it was try to accelerate forward. >> we are expecting to see 5,000 to 6,000 of these vehicles. the best thing to do is wait until you get notified. come in at your leisure. >> they are giving dealers payments up to $75,000 to fix the problem quickly. colin powell is changing his mind about gays in the military. they should be able to serve and the don't ask don't tell policy should be repealed. he said attitudes and circumstances have changed since the law was put in place. a survey shows teens and young adults aren't using blogs and twitter as much as they used to. the number of teens dropped from 2006 to 2009. a report found that more young people prefer facebook and texting to keep up with their friends. we got our facebook going this morning. we would like to keep up with you that way. a woman is accused of using a well-dressed dumby to use the hov lane. the sunglasses were the tip off because it was overcast. oops. >> the passenger was wearing sunglasses and the visor was down. it was cloudy out, didn't make any sense. >> the 61-year-old woman faces a $135 fine. her mannequin has been confiscated. what's that, bob? >> was she driving to wood stock? what's with the flower power and hair. >> it was the only mannequin she could find. where do you get a mannequin, anyway? >> i don't know. what's up? >> i cannot believe how far that rainstorm stretches this morning. >> it affects million ofs people. it's the main weather story. the low pressure system that was yesterday, around the four corners. now, it's merging in the gulf of mexico. look at the clouds, the gray, the white. it's extending into chicago. the rain, specifically the gulf coast getting to the mid-south. houston, dallas, it's moving to louisiana and mississippi, stretching to alabama. it gets to atlanta. travel problems as the rain show pre presses to the northeast. here is the new orleans radar. covered up with heavy downpours. maybe three inches of rain for the buy you. the storm moves to the mid-atlantic, turns to freezing rain and sleet then all snow for virginia, maryland, philly and d.c. getting snow friday and saturday morning. the snow is in areas around northern texas, it's it's, breaking up a bit in these areas. light snow around new mexico, too. that's the upper level low. advisories are all here near south dakota, nebraska,ette gets to west of oklahoma city. okc, temperatures above freezing today. not a lot of snow. north of you, the darker shade of blue is about six inches of snow. it stretches south of chicago. the snow will definitely get to the ohio valley tomorrow, too. more on that in a bit. look at this in malibu, california. whales caught by the camera swimming offshore. about a month from now, the humpbacks get to hawaii. nice time of year out west. more on that in a bit. >> it is relaxing, suspect it? >> nice and easy. it's better than the weather we are having. children at a school in kentucky were told to expect a special guest. two kids didn't know it would be their father. the helicopter pilot is on leave from afghanistan. at first, they were shocked then overwhelmed with joy. >> i don't know how to describe this. >> how much did you miss your daddy? >> like more than he loves me. >> i feel happy and i really liked it because i never saw him in a long time. >> aw. their dad thanked the class for sending a christmas care package. how safe is your truck? you have to hear about the rollover test results. okay. it's my job to put you in the right mood this morning. let's look at the headlines from some of the papers. usa today reports on a growing number of high schoolers not cutting it when it comes to advanced placement tests. the ap program is supposed to give them credit towards college. they are raising questions about how prepared the students and teachers are for those classes. >> look at this election worker in chicago. it illustrates how close the race for the governor has been. dan hines is expected to concede the nomination to pat quin later this morning. >> it's time to say good-bye to a pair of pandas living in atlanta and d.c. the 3-year-old and 4-year-old will travel on a fedex jet. it's the panda express. from washington to a breeding center in china. to help the translation, they have been teaching the panda's to understand hand signals. >> wow. >> you know, we are working now -- we're not sure, but we are going to try to get you a live shot when it happens at the atlanta airport. if, we can see it. wouldn't that be strange. >> if she can do hand signals, can she wave? >> they know the language you teach commands in. troubling results from the roll over test. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. good morning. >> good morning. there are going to be new regulations for roofs for the roof strength. the insurance institute looked at the brand-new models of the compact pick up trucks out there. you may not like this. out of the five they tested, three of them were marginal. the highest rating when to the nissan frontier. it's also the suzuki equator. the ranger was acceptable. the dodge dakota, the toyota tacoma and chefy colorado got marginal ratings. stuff to look out for, if you think about safety when buying a car. at ground zero, new york city, the new world trade center is rising. you can see structural steel for the new tower. it's up about 20 floors now. when it's done, it's going to be 104 stories. about 50 fetal the twin towers. back to you. but, i mean, finally, right? years later. finally. >> finally. thank you. the man who ran an arizona sweat lodge is due in court this morning. major charges against the motivational speaker. someone is trying to make money on the tiger woods scandal. see the mistress collection. a 2-year-old boy fell from a second story window and his brother was there to catch him, accidentally. the teen says he left his little brother in the upstairs game room to go outside and skateboard. >> i hea