[swords clank] watch out! give me all your treasure! imagine what a little time can do for your family. ah, ha! take that! missed me! ah! scores, and has had five principals in the last six years. last month, school officials told the teachers they could keep their jobs if they agreed to work longer days. but officials say the talks broke down in part because the teachers wouldn't have been paid for all the extra work. george and ann mclaughlin, the chemistry teacher and guidance counselor, say they have no problem working longer hours but school officials seemed hell-bent on firing everyone without taking into account the difficult nature of the student body. people call your school a failing school. your argument is they're not taking into account the kind of children who come into the school. >> never. >> we did an amazing job with what we have on our hands. >> reporter: the school board voted for an extreme makeover. >> i don't think it's fair. we wouldn't be nothing without the teachers. >> when your names were called out and they voted to fire all of you, what was that like? >> like being shot through the heart. >> yes, it's difficult. yes, it's disruptive. but it's very necessary for us to completely turn the school around. >> reporter: this housecleaning may be a necessary wake-up call for teachers and teachers unions all over the country. with the obama administration now insisting that every state find and fix its lowest-performing schools. education secretary arne duncan came out in support of the firings. >> enough is enough. we can't continue to wait. our children have one chance to get a qualify education. >> reporter: the teachers at central falls high will get to keep their jobs until the end of the school year. in the meantime, they say that like the school mascot here, the warrior, they are going to fight. dan harris, abc news, central falls, rhode island. time for your thursday forecast. another powerful winter storm in the northeast today. powerful winds and up to 2 feet of snow could fall on parts of new york and pennsylvania. heavy rain across new england today and nearly 1 foot of snow in the utah and colorado mountains. rain later on north of san francisco. and up to seattle. >> 40s in billings, boise and salt lake city. 18 in fargo. 22 in omaha. 26 in chicago. new york will hit 36. atlanta 45. and miami is 65. nothing says shock value these days more than lady gaga. now her outrageous ward remember is serving as inspiration for a british farmer. >> desperate to frighten away birds the farmer has created a lady gaga scarecrow, sporting an over the top outfit the singer wore to the awards show last week. he thinks it's pretty scary and the birds seem to agree. >> that's mean. birds have not come near the farmer's crop since the new scarecrow went up. he's thinking of making more ga-ga scarecrows for other farms at all. >> i bet she wouldn't mind at all. >> you're probably right. >> we'll be right back with more world nauz now. 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[ record scratches ] that's right, febreze freshness... to help eliminate odors, while you clean and condition. so your furniture is "swiffer clean"... and your home is "febreze fresh." swiffer gives cleaning a fresh new meaning. ♪ awake again? government-backed mortgage giant freddoreheareddie mac is a huge loss. during the final months of last year the lender lost nearly $8 billion. freddie mac lost nearly $26 billion during the entire year. the lender could face more problems in the months ahead as homeowners fall behind on payments. with home sales at a 50-year low and homeowners in trouble there's plenty of financial advice offered during the recession. >> including one preachy money adviser who thinks credit cards and dent are ungodly. that's what dave ramzi tells his flock as vicki mabry reports. >> reporter: like a fired-up southern preacher -- >> you're not getting out of debt unless you go, go, go! >> reporter: dave ramzi asks his flock to stop spending. >> change your life! >> reporter: their sin, living beyond their means using devil credit cards. >> target that, chase this, what's in your wallet, discover freedom. >> reporter: on stage, on radio, on tv, he's preaching the gospel of financial peace. getting out of debt and staying out of debt. and if in the process you want to praise jesus, that's okay too. >> give no sleep to your eyelids, no slumber to your eyes, and deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, the bird from the hand of the fowler. >> reporter: what is the gospel according to dave? >> if you will live on less than you make, if you will live on a plan, if you will stay out of debt, if you will save for the emergencies, for purchases and for requirement. if you will gave. if you'll do those five things, anybody given a little bit of time can win with money. all right, rock 'n' roll i've got to get set up over there. >> reporter: be a winner with money. a common refrain from a self-help financial guy, right? what may surprise you where his advice comes from. you see, before there was dave ramzi, financial guru, there was dave ramzi, financial failure. >> they were going to take the furniture out of the house. i finally just said, you can't have the baby bed, i've given you everything else. >> reporter: back in the '80s he started out as a successful real estate flipper. >> i was buying and selling real estate. i was doing flip before there was a "flip this house." it wasn't clear. we had about a $1 million net worth. >> reporter: it all came crashing down. >> we hit bottom. >> reporter: ramzi and his young family lost it all. >> it was really, really hard on our marriage. it was -- i was so scared, i didn't know what to do. a 28-year-old kid with a little baby and a toddler and a wife ready to leave. if she had the money she'd have left. >> reporter: is that the best teacher? >> no, no. but it's a thorough teacher. >> reporter: it's a thorough teacher. >> you won't forget the lessons. >> reporter: he slowly dug himself out of debt and had an epiphany. if he could do it, anyone could, if they followed seven simple rules. seven baby steps, he calls them. >> step one, $1,000 in the bank. baby step two, the debt snowball. list your debts smallest to largest, pay them off in that order. then you move on to baby step four. that's where you start saving 15% of your income into retirement and you don't do it until then. then baby step five, which is kids' college. six is pay off the house early. that leaves us with baby step seven, which is become very wealthy and give a bunch of a way. >> reporter: he put his commonsense theories into a book. he was selling it from his car when he went on a local radio show to promote it. when the host quit randy took over the show and had his bully pulpit. >> take that, sallie mae, take that, baby, i've out of here! >> reporter: after his bankruptcy, ramzi loathed debt. credit card debt in particular. >> it's called plastic surgery. >> reporter: what does that plastic represent? what does cutting up that plastic represent? are you going to cut something right now? >> sure. there's something metaphorical or symbolic about it. what does it represent? i've had people walk up to me and say, i can't cut this one up. we know we're getting ripped off. there's this hitting back thing with the big scissors. i get to say, enough already. citi bank, what's in your wallet? money! not you. boom! there's a sense of, i've got power again as a consumer. and i get to hit back. >> reporter: there are critics of dave ramzi who claim he's getting rich off of people in trouble. >> well, somehow i got to keep this place open. there's 300 people in here. they expect their checks to clear. >> reporter: that's another criticism, that people are paying for something that somewhere deep in the back of their minds they already know. >> well, absolutely. and they're more than welcome to listen on the radio for free. you could have sat down and listened to your grandmother, you wouldn't have needed to listen to dave ramzi. >> reporter: commonsense advice and plenty of faith. in himself, is american economy, and of course in god. over the course of this journey, how have you changed? >> i think when i first started i was so sure i was right but i didn't have the proof, i felt like i had to fight so hard and i was mean. and now i'm like, well, if you don't get it, it's okay, everybody else gets it, you're the only guy. and now it's up to you. it's as you will it. it's kind of weird because it's made me more confident and gentler. thank you, houston. you're awesome, we love you. thank you. >> reporter: this is vicki mabry in brentwood, tennessee. >> people really rise to this level of success without some sort of scandal following hip. for his it was a newspaper column. one of his employees was making up the names of people writing in for financial advice. the company that owned the newspaper ended up dropping the column. he apologized and offered to return back all the money. that sort of adds to the skepticism about what he's doing. >> he certainly hit on the right formula. religion and money. things that a appeal to so many of us. when we return, challenges for team usa and vancouver. >> the latest win are winter ol skiing, skating and hockey competitions resume today at the winter olympics games in vancouver. >> team usa remains in the lead with a total of 28 medals, one as of last night. the germans in second place, norway's in third. and with highlights from vancouver, here is abc's. >> reporter: in vancouver an unexpected medal for the women's short track relay team. in the 4,000 relay the south korean skater bumps the chinese. south korea wins the race but is disqualified and the u.s. women take the bronze, their first short track medal in 16 years. also on the short track, reigning 500 meter sprint gold medalist apolo anton ohno cruises to the quarterfinals. but look at this spill by teammate jordan malone. it's the second event he's been unable to finish in. american skier lindsey vonn will leave vancouver battered and bruised. the two-time medalist competing in the giant slalom when she loses control and skis off the course and slams into the barrier. teammate julia mancuso, who's already on the track, has to stop, then skis over to vonn who hurt a finger but will compete friday. the u.s. men's hockey team wins against switzerland in the quarterfinals. two american goals disallowed, including this one, as time runs out in the second period. zach parise of the devils gets america's first goal. with 12 seconds left to play, parise again with an empty netter. 2-0 the final. on the bobsled course, erin pac and elana meyers end up with a bronze medal. the fog's so thick you could barely see the women's freestyle aerials. 16-year-old american ashley caldwell enters the finals in first place but can't withstand the power of the chinese who take two medals. australia claims the gold. brad wheelis, abc news. >> there's some good news there. looks like they're starting to get some snow finally. >> we should show you there was fun in the streets of varch do you have late last night. the canadian hockey team beat rival russia. >> boy, russia, they've got to be mad. they're really not happy about how things are going in these olympics. >> no. >> look out. >> although i'm sure canada thought things would be going even better for them. you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. about switching to lunesta. assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? 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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> time for your "morning papers." you have recently lost a lot of weight. >> yes, as we keep discussing. >> i like to bring it up at every possible juncture. here is a story and perhaps a reason why you should not lose any more. >> okay. >> this woman in st. peters duri burg, florida, she was in atlanta city. she's walking outside a nightclub and feels something. at first she thinks something had hit her. she looks down and sees blood and she realized she's been shot. she goes to the doctor and they say her love handles, this is a quote, her love handles, also known as fat, stopped the bullet before it did any serious damage. >> i'm glad they clarified what love handles are. >> in case you were curious. the woman had been saying, all this time i really want to drop an extra couple of pounds, now she says she will not be losing any weight. >> what a flattering picture too, gorgeous. just the opposite end of the physical spectrum now, we want to show you a kid who has washboard abs, which is great, especially i guess if you're 5 years old. giuliano stroh has just shamed other professional body builders by breaking the world record for air pushups. you can see what that means. basically you push your whole body up. >> wow, those are hard. >> you're telling me, look at that. he's got washboard abs, his dad's been taking him to the gym ever since he was born. of course a lot of critics are like, what is all this? he'll be get ac lot of girls at preschool, i'll bet. >> you'd think he'd have bigger arms. >> well, that will come later. >> oh, okay, sorry. >> let's get to the headlines. >> "the huffington post" did a story. these are the funniest headlines of all time. these are hilarious. let's start off because there's a decided theme in all of them. there's the first one. that was in the paper. sex offenders pitch tents. >> yep. yeah, they do. >> let's see the next one here. mississippi's literacy program shows improvement. unfortunately, the newspaper headline writers did not. >> not gad on that one. okay, let's move on to the next one. statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25. >> all right, on we go to this one. hooker named lay person of the year. >> yes, her name was hooker. her last name was hooker. take a look at this one. royals to get a taste of angels -- we think that's supposed to be colon. angels -- we think that's supposed to be colon. >> his name is colon, to be yah! [horse whinny] [wood breaks] crack! help meeeee! somebody help her! c'mon deputy, let's go! hold on! yah! take my hand! what are you guys doing out here? dad was just helping me take care of katie. you know... runaway stage. well, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. imagine what a little time can do for your family. whale attack. a crowd watches in horror as a killer whale turns on its trainer at a popular amusement park. it's not the first time it's happened. plus, feeling the pinch. the price for some of your favorite produce is through the roof. >> $19 a case. now it's $39 a case. >> and, quick fix. remedies people are taking to detox their bodies. it's a booming business. it's thursday, february 25th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, thanks for joining us. i'm jeremy hubbard. >> i'm vinita nair. it was a horrible scene at seaworld in orlando. an animal trainer was snatched from a poolside platform by a giant whale and drowned. >> it was the third time this particular whale has been involved in the death of a human. our orlando affiliate wftv has more on the story. >> reporter: those attending a noontime show at seaworld's famed shamu stadium left distraught and horrified after one of the whales attacked and killed one of the park's veteran trainers. according to seaworld, 40-year-old dawn brancheau, seen here in a 2005 photo hugging an orca, was petting the whale when she was grabbed by the waist, pulled into the water, and violently thrashed about. >> they just shut the show down right away. >> reporter: the killer whale, 30-year-old tilikum, or tilly, is known for his violent past. in 1991 at a canadian park, the six-ton bull was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who lost her balance and fell into the pool with them. steve huckster, who was in charge of animal care and training there, said tilly was never expected to be a show animal. >> the incident in victoria where the young woman passed away in the tank. because of that incident there's always the odd chance, although very low, it might repeat itself. >> reporter: again in 1999, tilly was involved in another death. the body of a man who had sneaked past orlando seaworld security was found with bite marks, draped over the whale. animal experts say there is an inherent risk working with killer whales, who are known to be notorious predators. >> this is a situation which is going to happen again and again and again. there's a long history of these animals being aggressive, some of these animals being aggressive toward people. >> reporter: seaworld maintains because of tilikum's size and involvement in two previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with him. abc news, orlando. >> dawn brancheau is being remembered as an avid animal lover and a leader in her field. family members say even as a child, brancheau recognized that whales were her calling in life. >> when you talked to her about the whales you thought you were talking to her about her children. she'd tell you who's acting up today, who's not behaving. she loved them to death. >> she says her sister would not want anything done to the whale in question and she understood the risks of her profession. the other big story this morning, the global head of toyota has personally and repeatedly apologized for the problems with his cars. akio toyoda, whose grandfather founded the company, appeared before angry lawmakers on capitol hill yesterday. t.j. winick reports from washington. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. akio toyoda came to the united states to assure customers, dealers and congress that the cars bearing his name are safe. toyoda became emotional when speaking to a group of employees that included dealers and factory workers. since last fall, toyota has recalled more than 6 million of its u.s. vehicles after unintended acceleration problems. at least 39 deaths have been blamed on the issue including the out of control lexus in san diego that killed four members of the saylor family seconds after one of them called 911 for help. >> we're approaching the intersection, hold on! >> unimaginable to lose them. four people. >> reporter: toyoda extended his condolences to the saylor family and took full responsibility for recent safety problems. while lawmakers on the house oversight and government reform committee tried to be hospitable to their japanese visitors they couldn't hide their frustration. toyoda, grandson of the auto giant's founder, was confronted with an internal company document in which managers actually celebrated the savings of $100 million by getting safety regulators to limit a recall connected to sudden acceleration. >> how could you possibly put in writing this? >> reporter: toyota executives dodged the question. >> i do not recalled the meeting in any depth. >> reporter: toyota u.s. has agreed to do more to help out inconvenienced owners of the recalled vehicles. the new nationwide program includes faster repairs and rental cars for drivers when they're without their toyotas. jeremy and vinita? and one more automotive story, general motors says the hummer brand is history. gm is phasing out the suv after its sale to a chinese company fell through. current hummer owners shouldn't worry. gm will continue to honor its warranties and provide parts and service while it winds down the hummer business. the long-awaited and hotly debated health care summit finally happens today in washington. president obama, vice president biden, and about 40 members of congress will gather around a square table inside blair house across the street from the white house. they will have six hours to address four different health care topics. how to revamp insurance, cost containment, expanding coverage and the impact of any health care legislation on the deficit. the senate's republican leader isn't expecting much progress. >> we wonder whether anything will be accomplished, given the fact that the president has already announced exactly which bill he would like to see passed. >> as for the plan president obama is bringing to the table, it would cover more than 31 million uninsured americans at a cost of $1 trillion over 10 years. it includes medicare cuts, some tax increases, and new fees on the health care industries. overseas, the investigation into the assassination of a hamas military leader is widening. we told you about the operation by a group of 11 agents in dubai, parts of which were captured by hotel surveillance cameras. now dubai's police chief says at least 15 more suspects were involved. israel's secret service is being blamed for the hit. now here is a look at your thursday forecast. another big storm hits the northeast dumping up to 2 feet of snow in pennsylvania and central new york. a wintry mix here in the city changing to snow tonight. heavy rain in new england with 60-mile-an-hour winds. snow in the rockies and late-day rain along the pacific coast. >> a wet 53 in seattle. 61 in sacramento. 48 in boise. 20s from the twin cities to kansas city. 30s in new york and baltimore. 65 in miami. now to a story that our fellow night owls could appreciate. how much would you pay for the perfect night of sleep? >> a lot of money. maybe not this much. japanese companies developed a bed it claims creates the ideal sleeping environment. they call it the restino. it comes equipped with mood lighting, ambient music, there's a vibration device that adjusts for each phase of the sleep cycle. and get this. it even wakes you up gently with the lights rising like the sun. >> it sounds like a dream but the price tag may make you toss and turn. get this, it will run you $10,000. >> just take the money that you have sewn into your mattress out then go buy the new one. you can do it. >> $10,000 is a little too much for a perfect night of sleep. >> that's true. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." that goes on my face? a mask straight out of "star wars" emits a bright light that penetrates the skin to leave it sparkling and fresh. afterwards, i did notice a smooth difference. price tag, $650 per visit. but on the feel good scale, 8. the last one i tried, a bird pooh facial japanese geishas swear by. it's aptly named the no fun facial. the main ingredient is nightingale droppings. quite pungent. but go ahead, try any one of these remedies if you dare. as for me, well -- >> keep it going, keep it going. >> reporter: i'm gloria riviera, sticking to sweating it out in london. >> the lengths people will go. i have to say, with all of those things they always tell you you have to do the full course of the treatment. >> sure. >> she only did one. the salt inhalation, it would seem to me like maybe that had long-term -- >> would you cover your face in dung like that? >> no. >> but it works, there are very beautiful people who do that. >> no. >> i think we should give it a shot. >> no. >> i'll bring in some of that bird dung. >> no dung of any kind for me. when we come back, memories of a sudden automotive acceleration problem that did not involve toyota. >> the german automaker that had to reinvent itself to stay in business. diabetes scared me to death. there's so much to learn. i just shut down. but liberty walked me through it all... like when i test at night or after i eat... makes a big difference. when it comes to your diabetes supplies, quality and reliability are important. that's why liberty offers the accu-chek aviva meter. and it's the only meter and strip combination manufactured in the usa. if you're over 65, have diabetes and are on medicare... call now and we'll send you a free meter. it offers alternate site testing, so you can test on your arm. no more pricking your fingers. so it's less painful. it makes a big difference. call now and receive a free accu-chek aviva meter. plus, for a limited time, get a free cookbook when you join. call the number on your screen. in the mid '80s a german automaker was forced to reinvent itself after investigators linked fatal crashes to sudden acceleration in certain audi sedans. >> as toyota executives apologize to customers, we have a look back at what audi had to do to gain consumer confidence. the abc news vault this morning, coverage from august 1st, 1988. >> it is one of the most aggressive sales campaigns in automotive history. >> introducing the audi 100-200 series. rethought, refined, redesigned. >> the reason for the new campaign is simple. audi's sales have dropped through the floor. last year, audi sold 21,000 of its top of the line audi 5000s. this year, if sales continue at their present rate, audi will sell just 8,000 cars, a drop of more than 60%. here's one reason why. and here's another. and another. the drivers of these 5000s claim their cars suddenly and uncontrollably accelerated when she shifted out of park. >> it's not my fault, it's the car's fault. i couldn't stop the car, i'm a good driver. >> reporter: so far, drivers have blamed sudden acceleration for 1,700 accidents and five fatalities. twice juries have found audi liable in sudden acceleration cases. but audi has consistently denied the 5000 has any defects and blames sudden acceleration accidents on drivers who mistakenly step on the gas pedal instead of the brake. audi points out government investigators have found no mechanical faults in the 5000. >> there is no problem. it's a very simple fact. >> reporter: the public isn't so sure. not only are audi 5000 sales off, according to experts their resale value has dropped 50% to 60%. to get buyers back into its showrooms, audi first redesigned the 5000 so that it cannot be shifted out of park unless its brake pedal is depressed. next, audi renamed the car the audi 100-200 series. finally as of today, it began making an unprecedented promise. >> it provides security from delivery to trade-in. >> reporter: audi of america says its new sales campaign is not a make or break proposition. >> audi will survive in the u.s. there's no plans for audi to abandon its position in the u.s. marketplace. >> reporter: ultimately of course it is the american consumer who will decide. steve shepard, abc news, st. louis. >> it's interesting. that defect brought about major changes in the way we drive today with automatic transmissions. you know when the car is in park and you're going to shift it out of that gear you have to put your foot on the brake. that defect is the reason why we do that. >> hm, i guess it should be interesting to see if the toyota problems lead to some other major change that years from now will be part of the status quo. country. >> the special meaning behind her performance. finally this half hour, team usa maintains its lead at the winter olympic games in vancouver. >> american athletes have won a total of 28 medals after last night's competition wrapped up. germany's in second place but tied with the u.s. in the number of gold medals and norway's in third place. >> and our neighbors to the north are in fourth place to the medal count. and a talented canadian skater is showing promise. >> she lost her mother on sunday. here's david muir. >> reporter: here in vancouver they are calling her canada's daughter. >> our next skater, representing canada -- >> reporter: joannie rochette, fighting back tears, skating onto the ice, about to compete in her mother's honor. ♪ landing her jumps to cheers. and so many tears in the audience, both in person and watching on tvs around the world. when she finished, a thunderous standing ovation. holding her heart, she'd just given the performance of her life. waiting for her score, she said, mom, i would love to have you here with me. and then her highest score ever. u.s. olympian peggy fleming told us this was not a sympathy vote. >> it was because she earned it. she skated a beautiful program with a lot of heart. >> when she put her hand up to her heart? >> yeah, i think everyone had a heavy heart last night. in fact, she was amazing. >> reporter: back at her hometown near montreal, a sort of collective heart of her friends and neighbors back home. everyone knowing it was her mother who was her most cherished coach. rochette once writing in her journal, even if it requires quite a bit of humility at 22 to admit you need more of your mother, i expressed it. she is now firmly in running for a medal. so many people here say she's already earned so much more. i've got to tell you, on the streets of vancouver, any place you could find a tv screen people were stopped, at a standstill. you could hear a pin drop as this country watched canada's daughter skate. david muir, abc news, vancouver. >> it really was just an emotional performance if you watched it. according to the "new york times" there was a bit of drama. during the performance, they kept cutting away to a man in the stands and the announcers kept saying, that's her father, norman. turns out her father was watching the performance at a different coliseum altogether. in other words, nbc was identifying the wrong father the whole time. they went on to apologize. but if you logon to nbcolympics.com you can see the shots of the wrong person but they deleted the announcers, what they were saying the whole time. they say it wasn't their fault, a family friend, they had th health care summit. president obama meets with key congressional leaders to tackle health care reform. but can they find common ground? plus, a killer whale lives up to its name. attacking its trainer in front of a horrified crowd. and, home sweet home. one man's recyclable trash is transformed into another's humble abode. it's thursday, february 25th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> at least that guy's got a legitimate excuse for not having visitors. you could say, no, i can't have anybody over, the place is trashed. and he'll mean it. not funny apparently to vinita. but hopefully -- >> i gave you the, oh, that was a good one. someone who's half awake started laughing somewhere. >> i doubt it. good morning, i'm jeremy hubbard. >> i'm vinita nair. republicans and democrats sit down over the issue of health care reform in a few hours. >> both sides are downplaying expectations of any real breakthrough. ahead of the meeting they squabbled about the seating arrangement. here's our sunlen miller. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. the president may not want today to turn into political theater but any time you gather 30 members of congress, drama usually follows. the president's year spent on health care reform comes down to today. >> and i hope everyone comes with a shared desire to solve this challenge. not just score political points. >> reporter: a six-hour meeting at historic blair house across the street from the white house. the president will show up with his plan, covering more than 31 million uninsured americans, costing $1 trillion over 10 years, and including medicare cuts, tax increases, and new fees on health care industries. and as the big day neared, compromise looked distant. >> i don't think it does any good if somebody says, we're not going there to offer our ideas, we're just going there to help people understand how bad the other guy's ideas are. that's not what the american people are looking for. >> they say the definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. and the president clearly seems to be trying to prove that true. >> reporter: cantor and other top leaders of both houses of congress will be there. but the guest list was still being finalized late last night. even the seating arrangements were cause for new year's negotiation. republicans asked for the shape of the table configuration to be changed from a u-shape to a hollow square so everyone could sit at the same table equally. the president will sit in the middle of that table and stay for the entire summit and the whole thing will be broadcast live on cspan. jeremy and vinita? >> sunlen miller, thanks. there was outrage on capitol hill over insurance companies who raised premiums while racking up record profits. case in point, california's largest insurer, wellpoint, intends to increase rates by one-third. here's john karl on the emotionally charged hearing. >> reporter: julie hendrickson, self-employed mother of two, got a letter from wellpoint saying her premium was going up $310 a month. >> in this economically depressed environment i find the act of raising premium costs to individual policy holders for such high amounts truly unconscionable. >> reporter: she's not alone. study shows wellpoint is pushing double-digit premium hikes in at least 11 states. when wellpoint's ceo appeared it quickly got personal. >> how much money do you make? >> my salary is $1.1 million. i received stock compensation with a value of $8.5 million and last year an annual incentive payment of $73,000. >> well, of course it makes sense then you would need a big rate increase. >> reporter: the committee also took aim at wellpoint's record profit last year. >> i don't mind you making a profit but at the end of the year, 2009, a horrible year, you still made two point something billion dollars, and that's not enough? >> reporter: actually the company's profits were $4.7 billion, in part because it sold a subsidiary. wellpoint's profit margin was far lower than most pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms. >> we don't like raising rates that much. we know it's a hardship on these people. >> reporter: but an e-mail from wellpoint's chief act water is pushing a rate hike in california to achieve "target profit of 7% versus 5% this year." wellpoint's ceo says she does care about her policy holders. >> we are on their side. we want to -- >> they don't feel like it. >> reporter: the obama administration also wants to hear from wellpoint. the health and human service secretary has invited the ceos of all the top five health insurance companies in the united states to come to washington to talk about their premium hikes. jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. at a different capitol hill hearing the troubles plaguing toyota were the issue. company ceo akio toyoda says his company needs to rethink every aspect of itself. but as brian ross reports after he apologized in english, most of what he said was lost in >> reporter: akio toyoda did not bow in apology as he had in japan. but he assumed a humble pose in his much-anticipated appearance to answer for his company's runaway cars. >> i am deeply sorry for any accident that toyota drivers have experienced. >> reporter: at least 39 deaths have been blamed on the problem, including the out of control lexus in san diego that killed four members of the saylor family seconds after one of them called 911 for help. >> we're approaching an intersection! hold on! >> unimaginable. to lose them. four people. >> reporter: toyoda gave his condolences to the saylor family. >> i will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happen again. >> reporter: he and his deputy dodged the question of what they would say or do for the other americans killed in their runaway toyotas. >> will you assume their medical costs, their funeral costs? >> we will leave it to our legal counsel. >> this is one of the most embarrassing documents i've ever seen. >> reporter: toyoda and his deputy were confronted with an internal company document that boasted of a safety win of $100 million by getting federal regulators to limit a recall connected to the sudden acceleration problem. >> how could you possibly put in writing this? >> reporter: toyota executives dodged the question. >> translator: i do not know about that specific document you referred to. >> honestly, with my honesty, i do not recalled the meeting in any depth. >> reporter: toyoda said he planned to rectify what he called a culture of corporate arrogance and secrecy that made growth and profits more important than quality and safety. after all, he said, my name is on every car. brian ross, abc news, washington. more car issues, chrysler is reporting problems with sensors in some of its minivans. the company says sensors that control air bags need to be replaced in more than 350,000 2005 and 2006 town and country and dodge grand caravan models. but chrysler says owners should wait until june to contact dealers because it needs time to distribute spare parts. a powerful storm hitting the northeast today is being called a snowicane. parts of pennsylvania that just got more than 1 foot of snow yesterday could be buried under another 2 feet by tonight. this time winds up to 50 miles an hour are also expected. the snow storm is stretching from michigan and ohio into new york. >> just these names. the snowicane, the snowgasm. >> snowmageddon. >> what is up with all of that? >> people are bored and cold. >> coming up with names i guess. here's a look at the rest of your weather. with no names that we made up. the storm will also bring heavy rain to new england along with tropical force winds. a couple of inches of snow in washington and baltimore. heavy snow in the rockies moving into oklahoma by tonight and drenching evening rain from northern california to seattle. >> 50s in the pacific northwest today. 43 in salt lake city. 73 in phoenix. just 18 in fargo. 20s from minneapolis to detroit. 41 in boston. 45 in atlanta. 56 in new orleans. having to camp out at the airport is a nightmare for most people but a 20-year-old in pittsburgh turned her misfortune into a one-woman show. >> ashley klinger stuck in the airport alone after a snow storm caused her to miss her flight, clearly bored. so she decided to get creative. she used her laptop camera to capture her escapades. doing everything from sliding down a ramp, i guess you'd call that sliding. she's on a mcdonald's tray doing that. hope that one didn't go back into circulation. also cruising around in a wheelchair. messing around with some cones. and much more. >> ashley's video is now entertaining hundreds of thousands of people on youtube. >> i wouldn't say entertaining. >> i expected a little more, i'm going to be honest as well. >> it's being shown to hundreds of thousands of people on youtube. >> and two more on this show. >> that's right. >> we'll be right back. hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible ith a hoveround., tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor rand founder of hoveround., when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free overound information kit, that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i've ever owned." terri: "last year, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for "little or no money." jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me." breaking news...when you call today, we'll include a free hoveround collapsible grabber with the purchase of your power chair. it reaches, it grabs, it's 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taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. federal investigators are expected to return to orlando's seaworld today after a killer whale's fatal attack on a trainer. >> visitors will be allowed to return to the park today but not the whale exhibit. we have "american landscape" coverage this morning from orlando's wftv. >> wftv. this is channel 9 eyewitness news at 11:00. coverage you can count on. >> this seaworld trainer had a life-long love of whales. but today it cost her her life. new tonight, seaworld says a whale somehow pulled dawn brancheau into the water and drowned her. >> did she fall in? >> no, she was pulled in. >> reporter: and it's the third time this killer whale has killed. seaworld, the park, will be open here tomorrow. what won't be open is the shamu show. it's shut down until further notice while this investigation continues. david dalton was in shamu stadium at seaworld when the killer whale named tilikum pulled 40-year-old whale drainer dawn brancheau underwater. it happened in a small holding area backstage. dalton described the scene as chaotic. >> all the trainers went running. they shut the show down right away. that's all i really seen. >> reporter: new tonight, eyewitness news learned what happened just moments before brancheau was dragged off the concrete ledge. seaworld zoo's curator chuck tompkins told me the victim had just finished a training session with the whale. >> she seemed to be doing really, really well. he had a great session. and at the end of it, she was apparently rubbing the animal down and then apparently the whale pulled her in. >> reporter: there was another trainer standing nearby and witnessed the whole thing. all 29 whale trainers here at seaworld have been questioned about what they may know. right now, no one knows why tilikum acted the way he did. tilikum has attacked humans on three separate occasions. we asked what may happen to him now. will tilikum be put down, put to sleep, because of, this he's attacked before? >> no, absolutely not. absolutely not. >> why not? >> he's a large animal, he's a killer whale. >> the whale that killed dawn brancheau today is the largest whale in captivity and it has killed before. in 1999 tilikum was linked to a man's death at seaworld orlando. the man hid in the park until it closed then jumped into the whale's tank. in 1991 the same whale killed a trainer at a park in canada. called sealand of the pacific. tonight workers at that canadian park said they were surprised to hear about this new incident and called tilikum a well-behaved animal. >> tonight we found out brancheau discovered her passion for the giant mammals when she was just a little girl. ryan hughes continues our live team coverage now. ryan, brancheau was one of seaworld's best. >> reporter: that's right, bob. in fact, she was tops at what she did here at seaworld in orlando. tonight her sister said she loved the whales just like they were her own kids and her sister is still having trouble coming to grips with what happened here today. dawn brancheau loved the water. she lived by it at a home in st. cloud and she worked in water as a 16-year whale trainer at seaworld in orlando. it's where she died too. her passion to train whales came from a trip to seaworld when she was just 9. more than 30 years later, brancheau rose to become one of the park's leading trainers. no one ever expected a veteran like her would die doing what she loved. >> i'm very sorry to hear about that. someone in our local community. i'm very sorry for her family about what happened today. >> reporter: seaworld officials said the whale came to the surface to attack and pulled brancheau into the water. these are pictures of the killer whale's offspring with brancheau sent to us from a former seaworld colleague. according to a seaworld curator, trainers must undergo years of training before they can ever get close to those killer whales. live at seaworld orlando in orange county tonight, ryan hughes, channel 9, eyewitness news. just wintds the last ten minutes we talked to dawn brancheau's sister who lives in indiana. as ryan reported she said nothing was more important to dawn than the whales. >> she did not have children, the whales were her children, and her dogs. when you talked to her about the whales, you thought you were talking to her about her children. >> tonight we found out dawn brancheau grew up in indiana. her family says she was very popular in high school. in fact, she was her school's homecoming queen and was also the president of her class. >> as a result of today's death, seaworld in san diego suspended all shows involving whales. however, it's not clear if shows at the company's park i an antonio will also be suspended at the company's park i an antonio will also be suspended again until saturday. tilikum weighs more than 12,000 . and has been in captivity since 1983. he was captured in iceland when he was 2 years old. show "belie. >> some of our "american landscape" coverage from orlando this morning on tha kil pconrs o is lannnavi it's been a strange week on "the view." a couple of days ago they had "the jersey shore" cast and whoopi goldberg is like, what am i doing with my career, what's happened here, who are these people? then continuing that trend of strange bookings they had octomom on yesterday. people still are scratching their heads trying to make sense of what she said. she was dressed strangely. and what she said was even more strange. but it was how she laughed that really got everybody going. watch how jimmy kimmel summed it up. >> the octomom was on "the view" this morning in new york. the octomom lives here in l.a. she went to new york. imagine getting on the plane and the octomom's next to you with 14 screaming children. it would be bad. anyway. it would appear she and the barbara bunch had a very good time together. >> ha ha ha! ha ha ha ha! ha ha ha! >> that's a crazy laugh, girl. >> yes, it is indeed. >> i love sherri shepherd. >> the whole time, what is going on with her? a couple of questions were answered, though. she says she may have more kids, one more kid, if she ever gets married down the road. also she says the reason she dropped all that weight, remember? >> right, right. >> was for financial reasons, to get in that magazine spread and make money. >> to sell pictures. >> she makes no bones about it. the obvious choice was for revenue. >> according to her, none of that was achieved through plastic surgery. none of the neck down was achieved through plastic surgery. she says she's like rubber bands. she bounced right back. >> she's something. >> yeah. okay, so yesterday we were talking about charlie sheen and brooke mueller. this story radaronline's talking about is even sadder. by you probably you've heard they're both checking into rehab. now they're saying that charlie sheen and his wife brooke did cocaine and drank alcohol right before she went into rehab. they say the two often partied heavily during the past months and in fact friends are saying that's sort of what they had in common. they called them the toxic twins. keep in mind charlie sheen has been in rehab twice before, previously said drinking alcohol after coming out of rehab the first time triggered a relapse that sent him back in. he says the reason he knew it was time to go back this time for him, he didn't want to risk los kid it sounds like they're both in not good places. >> if your friends are callin you the toxic twosome that's pg kelly ripa. what a great way to pay homage to her husband. they've been married a few years now. since '95, '96, something like that. she got his name tattooed on her wrist. consuelos. hard to read there but well done. had to hurt, right? >> i would think that was a hurt spot. >> i think tanya should do the same thing. >> i have a feeling it may not happen any ton. >> maybuld fres benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you 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.insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this " free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks r and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay... and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... medicare supplement .insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare # insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... medicare guide and customized rate quote. here's some stories to watch today on abc news. president obama's health care summit begins later this morning in washington. he's looking for support and ideas from republicans as he tries to revive the plan. on capitol hill members of the house today review executive pay practices of big financial firms including aig, fannie mae, and freddie mac. lawmakers have been critical of generous executive salaries since the government bailouts. and another major snow storm hits the northeast this morning with heavy snow and winds up to 50 miles an hour. finally this half hour, if someone built a house out of garbage, would you move in? >> depends on how it smelled. some innovative designers in britain found a way to turn discarded plastic, headed for the landfill, into a sturdy building material. >> as the bbc shows us, it could be a trash to treasure idea. >> reporter: this is a pile of rubbish. a mix of household and industrial waste that would normally go to fill a hole in the ground. utterly useless stuff. but this company in swansee has now found a way of turning this into this into this. this two-story house is made almost entirely of that kind of material we saw downstairs. this panel, for example, is made from chopped-up old television sets. >> we're building sustainable houses but we're also recycling waste at the same time. the block is about one-seventh the strength of this material. it's substantial. it's waterproof. it doesn't rot. and it's got a long, long life durability. >> reporter: each of his houses contains about 18 tons of thermal polyrock, recycled waste that would otherwise have gone to landfills. backed by the government and carbon trust the company soon hopes to build its first small estate with plastic houses. this technology is relatively new. but with this material being stronger than concrete, it takes about four days to put up a house like this. at a cost of only 40,000 pounds. so the implications for low-cost housing, or replacement housing in disaster areas, are almost endless. bbc news, swansee. >> it's very cool. >> yeah, i like it. good idea. >> and the outside of the house still looks like a regular structure. i thought it was going to look very innovative and different. >> looks pretty normal. doing the math, he said 40,000 pounds, that's about $61,000. not that bad. >> the nice thing is if it can be built in four days, areas where earthquakes have hit can immediately have housing versus the trailers and all the things we've seen problems with. >> something to do with those old tv sets too. that's the news for this half hour. vo: in the event of a car crash, three t of four kids are not asece as they shoulde bec their seats are not usedorrectly. buthe latch sysm mes it easier get rig and to hold your kids tight. anchortether. latch. learnore safercar.gov.
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