will drill a relief well near the original one. use it to pump mud and rocks into the old well until it stops leaking. that could take months. it could also take its toll on the gulf's fragile ecosystem. and its seafood industry. all anyone here can do is hope that those robotic arms, working 5,000 feet down, can stop the leak. ryan owens, abc news, over the gulf of mexico. jury deliberations begin today in the case of the former college student charged with hacking into sarah palin's e-mail account. david kernel never took the stand in his defense. an attorney says kernel never had criminal intent but prosecutors claim he purposely hacked into the account to derail palin's vice presidential campaign. all right, time now for a look at your tuesday forecast. a big storm in the west dumps rain from san francisco to seattle. and 1 foot of snow in the sierras. morning showers in parts of missouri, illinois, and the northeast today. rain and mountain snow in new england and thunderstorms and showers across dixie. it will be wet in alabama, georgia, the carolinas, tennessee and kentucky. >> 75 in new orleans. 65 in atlanta. 56 in new orleans. 60s from fargo to kansas city. a hot 94 in phoenix. 74 in albuquerque. 64 in boise. you know, 6 pounds 14 inches tall sounds about right for an average newborn. not when that bouncing boy is a horse. >> this is ridiculous. 6 pounds. that is all einstein, the pinto stallion, weighed when he was born in new hampshire friday. that could make him the world's smallest horse. einstein as miniature breed but experts say he is still super small, even by those standards. >> there's the yardstick just to prove it. breeders say einstein shows no signs of dwarfism, just simply a tiny horse. it looks like a stuffed animal. >> it does. >> we told you about thumbelina. we've shown you before, the horse who lives in st. louis, was born weighs 9 pounds, does have signs of dwarfism. this one doesn't. >> can we see that picture one more time? it does look fake. >> a stuffed toy. >> i wouldn't know that was a horse. >> photo shop, i tell you. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." diabetes scared me to death. there's so much to learn. 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. it makes a big difference. diabetes testing supplies may be covered by medicare. join over a million others who have chosen liberty medical. call now and receive a free accu-chek aviva meter. when you join. outspoken protesters across the u.s. and mexico are expressing their anger over a new arizona law that is aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from entering that state. >> that law enacted friday allows police to stop anyone and ask for their identification. clayton sandell reports on the widespread criticism. >> reporter: as a handful of protesters gathered, garner jan brewer defended arizona's new immigration law. >> it was time that arizonans did step up. >> reporter: the law requires anyone stopped by police to prove that they are in the country legally. critics say that leads to unfair racial profiling. >> there are consequences when you target a whole group of people. >> reporter: governor brewer believes proper police training will prevent racial discrimination. >> and we're going to make absolutely sure that that law, senate bill 1070, will be implemented properly and respectfully. >> reporter: some arizona lawmakers say the law was needed because the federal government has ignored arizona's pleas to secure the mexican border. >> the fact is that our borders are broken, they are not secure. >> reporter: after a large weekend protest, someone smeared the state capitol windows with refried beans in the shape of swastikas. on monday, mexican president felipe calderon warned arizona's law will damage his country's relationship with the u.s. at a time the two nations are working together fighting violent drug cartels. calderon says the law opens the door to intolerance, hatred and discrimination, and abuse of law enforcement. arizona's law will start being enforced sometime this summer. if it survives multiple legal challenges being promised by opponents. clayton sandell, abc news, los angeles. >> you can imagine a lot of outrage about this. the reverend al sharpton says he's ready to go to arizona and march to protest the new law, some activists say it's time for civil disobedience to put up a fight here. >> you heard clayton mention arizona felt like federal laws sort of ignored them. now there's a question of can a state do this when it hasn't been done by the federal government? is it actually legal? the justice department is looking to see, is this law valid, can they do this to people? >> look, this is a serious problem, if you're not going to do something about it we will. now to the dangers in health care fraud. in the past those convicted of cheating medicare and medicaid were considered white collar criminals. >> federal investigators say heavily armed members of organized crime are ripping off the health care system. here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: these are medicare fraud investigators, not the fbi. they used to worry about catching mostly nonviolent offenders. now they're concerned about something far more deadly. >> our folks are out there engaging a criminal element that is dangerous. >> reporter: for gangs, members of the mafia, and other thugs, medicare fraud is becoming big business. >> it's so easy to steal from medicare and medicaid, it attracts a violent criminal element so they can cash in on their schemes. >> reporter: crime rings across the country are ripping off taxpayers of millions in medicare dollars. >> in california, we see armenians. in texas, we see nigerians. florida, cubans. in the northeast, we'll see ukrainians and russians. >> reporter: here's how it works. they set up fake companies like this one in florida and each can bill the government for equipment and services never delivered. this one armenian gang in los angeles plotted to steal $30 million in medicare money. this undercover video, gang members confront an accomplice suspected of skimming their profits. they threaten to kill him. >> $200,000, it matters. >> reporter: police say some of the groups won't hesitate to bribe or threaten to further their scams. those threats are backed up by high-powered paramilitary wea n weapons. >> these are 50 caliber sniper rifles. here we have an example of a machine pistol. it actually shoots rifle rounds. >> reporter: in san francisco, authorities seized dozens of weapons at a medical equipment company operated by a gun runner who was working with a mexican cartel. >> these are hard-core crooks and we've got to do something about this. 18,000 new applications every month come into the medicare program. and we are now realizing that far too many of them are really criminal element and fraudsters. >> how are you going to improve the vetting process? >> we're going to do that by making sure these are legitimate businesses, by making sure that we go on-site like you did. >> reporter: he claims in the first year these new measures were put in place, 16,000 companies did not stand up to scrutiny. officials admit that's only a start to rooting out all that fraud. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> it really makes you wonder who's minding the store when it comes to medicare. there are an estimated $60 billion a year in losses associated with that program. somebody's not paying enough attention, there's not enough scrutiny. >> the good news is there are now convictions and there's sentencings happening. yesterday in detroit a doctor and so-called patient recruiters were sentenced, seven years for the doctor, three years for the accomplice. they're going to have to pay millions back because they stole millions. >> as we said, not just white collar crime anymore, it's violent now. coming up, the next big legal battle for manuel noriega. >> why the american justice system bid noriega farewell after a long prison sentence. that's next. former pan manian dictator manuel noriega said farewell to miami and the federal prison last night where he spent two decades. >> he boarded an air france flight for paris. france can put him on trial for money laundering. his force court appearance is today in paris. >> noriega's attorneys had fought this move. >> served a federal sentence on drug trafficking after his conviction 18 years ago. april 9th, 1992. >> reporter: there was a moment for the history books today in miami. the first leader of a foreign nation ever taken by force and brought to the united states for trial has been found guilty. general manuel noriega, the former dictator of panama, was convicted on eight of ten drug and racketeering counts, and here's abc's mark potter. >> reporter: for five days, a u.s. marshal's van had brought the 12 jurors to the miami federal courthouse to deliberate. yesterday, they said they were deadlocked. today, they returned a verdict. general noriega, guilty of racketeering and conspiracy. for protecting shipments of cocaine from panama to the united states. guilty of assisting this cocaine smuggler. guilty of supplying chemicals for this cocaine lab in colombia and for protecting another cocaine lab in panama. he was found not guilty of helping smuggle cocaine aboard this yacht. general noriega showed no emotion as the verdict was read. outside, prosecutors were jubilant. >> it was all worth it and we're proud of what we did and what the agents did most of all. >> reporter: a u.s. grand jury indicted noriega four years ago. but he was not arrested until january 1990 after the u.s. invasion of panama. he has been in custody ever since. noriega was accused of what amounted to selling his country to colombia's medellin cocaine cartel. under his protection traffickers allegedly manufactured and smuggled tons of drugs through panama to the united states and laundered billions of dollars in illegal profits. in closing arguments a prosecutor described noriega as a crooked and rotten cop who received $24 million in prescribribes. defense attorneys claimed u.s. drug charges were nothing but a political convenievendetta. they said many of the prosecution witnesses were confessed drug traffickers, lying in exchange for lesser prison sentences. noriega, they argued, was actually a u.s. ally in the war on drugs. noriega himself never took the witness stand. >> the decision was difficult. and it was a decision that was heavily debated back and forth. >> reporter: defense attorneys will appeal. >> this is a victory for america's foreign policy in destroying countries who don't kneel and give praise. >> reporter: general noriega will be sentenced on july 10th and could get up to 120 years in prison. and he still faces marijuana smuggling charges. mark potter, abc news, miami. "world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> all right, it's time for your "morning papers." talk about a friend worth fighting for. this first paper is going to make you go, aww! it made willis go, aww! >> there's road kill. >> that's not the part that's going to make you go aww. you're watching a squirrel out with his little squirrel friend, and you can see what happens to the squirrel friend. it wasn't pretty for him. the next thing you know, squirrels are basically trying to eat the carcass. >> the birds are trying -- >> excuse me, the birds are trying to eat the squirrel's carcass. this squirrel you can see at one point lies over the entire carcass to defend it from the squirrels. this is something that i used to work at wild birds unlimited. squirrels are really defensive. you can see in that video, the way they recount the story, first it's one crow, the second crow, the third. all three of them ganging up. . there he is saying, get away from my friend. >> there he is protecting the rotting corpse of his friend. >> don't say it like that. >> horrible. so this makes you feel good about national security and taking the subways at a time when they're under constant threat. turns out you can get a key that accesses every turnstile to the subway for 27 bucks. >> wow. >> that's less than the cost of a monthly metro card. these are floating all over new york city, apparent already the new york daily news did this investigation. they got ahold of one of keys, tried them out at several of the 468 subway gates in the city, sure enough it worked every time. it does make you wonder, if any random joe with 27 bucks could get it i wonder if the terrorists might be able to get a hold of one of those? hm. >> there's off then that turnstile operator. >> yeah, basically the idea was you have to make sure the cops aren't around and yous use a key. >> that is scary. and underpriced. okay, take a look at this. this video is out of albuquerque, new mexico. a store is having their grand opening and they invite everyone. bring your kids, come out, be part of our store opening. people were horrified when they realized there was a pool of alligators. not only was it a pool of alligators, they're tossing bunnies and mice. these people show up with 3 and 4-year-old kids and they're completely freaked out at the reality they're watching alligators in a pool eat animals. >> they were feeding them live animals? >> they needed a squirrel to protect them, didn't they? >> where's that buddy when you need him most? here's some fun video as we leave you in this "morning papers" edition of the red wheelies. people with multiple sclerosis who like to have fun on their mobility scooters. you know on this show we're a mobility scooters. you know on this show we're a big fan of mobility scooters. this isn't going to be just any flu season. and expectant mothers, children, and young adults are especially at risk for the h1n1 flu virus. so let's join together and fight the flu. by getting your flu vaccine, you'll protect yourself and help prevent the spread of the flu. flu vaccines are safe and are the most effective way to prevent the flu. get the facts at flu.gov. together, we ca all fight the flu. risky business. the showdown on capitol hill today between congress and the ceo of goldman sachs. did the nation's biggest bank bet on the housing collapse? then, an historic lawsuit accusing walmart of discrimination against women is given the green light. and, price point. are expensive jeans better than a cheap pair? we're putting denim to the test. it's tuesday, april 27th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we're just talking about price tags for jeans. you have some. >> i think there's a direct ratio between how big my rear end looks and how much i spent. so it's worth the money. >> if you spend a lot the rear end looks small? >> yeah, which is desirable in case you missed that. >> news you can use about your rump. >> you'll hear much more about that. although i think they tested young girls so they don't have the rump problem. but i'll add my two cents. good morning and thanks for being with us. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm jeremy hubbard. we start this half hour with a showdown in the senate. lawmakers demanding answers from goldman sachs, the nation's most powerful bank. >> senators want to know if bank executives developed a strategy to make billions from the collapsing housing market. john hendren is joining us from washington this morning with a preview. john? >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. it's looking like a showdown on capitol hill. in advance of this morning's hearing, senate democratic leaders released damaging e-mails about goldman sachs and goldman's ceo released a polite but firm defense of his company. goldman sachs faces a grilling on capitol hill. >> they misled the country, i believe. and they were not fair to their customers. >> reporter: a senate committee plans to ask ceo lloyd blankfein about e-mails suggesting in 2007 the bank positioned itself to make a fortune off the mortgage crisis. sounds like we will make some serious money, one executive wrote. the bank already faces charges by the s.e.c. it misled clients by selling mortgage investments secretly designed to fail. the head of the senate committee says goldman contributed to the nation's economic clams. >> goldman profited while the market dropped, taking many goldman clients with it, not to mention the damage that was done to the u.s. economy. >> reporter: in his prepared testimony, blankfein says he strongly disagrees with the s.e.c. charges. the company promised a vigorous defense. >> i know the stock market's making more money -- >> reporter: in the full senate a united republican front blocked democrats from getting the 60 votes they need to move ahead on the president's financial reform plan. >> democrats stand for bringing more accountability and transparency to wall street. as far as i can tell, the only thing republicans stand for is standing together. >> reporter: republican leaders are voices a familiar refrain. >> we're not going to be rushed into another massive bill based on the assurances of our friends on the other side. >> reporter: a new abc news/"washington post" poll finds two-thirds of americans support stricter regulation of banks. both parties say they want reform but they don't agree on just what that means. now republicans may offer their own version of a crackdown on wall street. jeremy and vinita? >> thanks to john hendren. one retail analyst calls a discrimination lawsuit against walmart a big black eye for the company. an appeals court cleared the way for the class action suit to go ahead and walmart says it will continue fighting the discrimination claims. vic lee reports. >> reporter: the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in american history got the go ahead monday after the ninth federal court of appeals said a case that pits female employees against the retail giant, walmart, could be heard. >> the case will go to trial in san francisco, hopefully within the next year. >> reporter: as many as 1 million women could be included in the class action suit, which alleges that walmart historically paid women less than their male counterparts, and offered them promotions fewer and far between. walmart employs 1.4 million in the u.s. alone. betty dukes, along with six other women, filed suit nine years ago against the company she has worked at for nearly 16 years. the corporate culture she describes favors men. >> we knew pretty much at the end of the day that a male was going to have the position. if you make too much noise, you could put your job at jeopardy. >> reporter: lawyers for the women say they have scores of witness statements that back this up. >> asking why they didn't get a promotion that went to a man, they were told, management is men's work, not women's work, you should be home taking care of your family. >> reporter: walmart said it would appeal to the supreme court and issued a statement saying walmart is an excellent place for women to work and fosters female leadership among our associates and in the larger business world. for the women involved, winning this case could result in back pay, and punitive damages. and considering the number of employees involved, and the many years of pay at issue, the amount of liability could be in the billions. vic lee, abc news, san francisco. this fall the supreme court will hear arguments in a case centered on violent video games. at issue whether a california law banning the sale of those games to minors is constitutional or whether it violates free speech. the law never took effect in 2005 because it was challenged almost immediately after it was signed. april an attorney for some video game companies say the case may help determine how far lawmakers can go in regulating depictions of violence. in the gulf of mexico, a remote sub is trying to shut off an underwater oil well that's gushing 42,000 gallons a day from that sunken drilling platform. if it doesn't work crews are prepared to drill another well to redirect the oil but that could take weeks. hundreds of miles of coastline in four states could be threatened if the oil slick continues to spread. kidnapping charges have been dropped against ten american missionaries accused of trying to take children out of haiti after the earthquake. but the group's leader laura silsby remains in jail accused of a lesser charge. silsby faces up to three years in prison if convicted on the remaining charge. four atlanta college students claim they were put on hold when they called 911 while being carjacked at gunpoint. two of the students from moorhouse college say they made the calls from the trunk of the car over the weekend but atlanta police say the calls were inaudible or did not give enough information. the students eventually got help by calling campus police. a new study demonstrates what effect unhealthy behavior can have on high pressure lives. it says those who engage in four activities -- smoking, drinking too much -- drinking too much, limited physical activity, and a poor diet age faster than those who don't fall into those categories. the study's author says her findings are a reason to adopt a healthy lifestyle. >> drinking, limited physical activity -- >> check, check, check. >> poor diet, check, wow. >> poor diet you can x off. >> i'm 75. here's your tuesday forecast. rain from san francisco to seattle. up to 1 foot of snow in the central sierras. windy in southern california. scattered showers and thunderstorms from georgia and the carolinas to kentucky. early showers from d.c. to new york today. all day rain in boston and heavy mountain snow in northern new england. >> mostly 50s in the northeast. 85 in miami. 75 in new orleans. 60s from minneapolis to kansas city. phoenix will hit 94. albuquerque 74. let's play where are they now. why don't we. a rare sighting in our nation's capital, a guest appearance by someone near and dear to us here at abc. >> oh, charlie. if you're wondering what former "world news" anchor charlie gibson has been up to, he is clearly enjoying his retirement. earlier this weekend, charlie threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the nationals/dodgers game. not too bad. >> good pitch. >> 60 feet from home? >> i think that's right. >> 60 feet 6 inches. >> that's far. >> pete, the former baseball player, would know that. >> yeah. >> well, he looks great, doesn't he. that's what he's been doing for weeks, practicing for that pitch, he didn't want to be embarrassed. >> setting up for it, probably. >> it worked out well. we'll be back with more "world news now." and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement .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 would you go next if you had a 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 collapsible and it's portable. it goes wherever you go. get it free while supplies last. call the number on your screen to get your free video, brochure and your free hoveround collapsible grabber. call the number on your screen. well, it was supposed to be a vacation in paradise to help a hollywood executive and his wife sort out a rocky marriage. >> they checked into a luxury cancun resort and shortly thereafter the wife was found strangled to death. >> one month after the crime the woman's body may be released today. cynthia mcfadden reports on the investigation. >> reporter: it was to have been a family holiday. on the beach in cancun. a mexican vacation for hollywood producer bruce beresford-redman, his wife monica, and their two little kids. it turned into a nightmare. on april 8th, monica's 42nd birthday, her strangled body was found in a sewer at the posh resort where they were staying. her family had the painful task of claiming her body. they will be flying it home to california. her sister, jean. >> my sister's no longer here and i'm not going to be able to call her and talk to her and see her. it's like horrible, it's just so hurtful, i can't even express how much pain's inside my body. >> reporter: but who would want to kill the mother of two? her husband was a successful producer of such shows as cbs' "survivor." and mtv's "pimp my ride." he says his wife left the moon palace resort to go shopping on monday, april 5th, and never came back. by tuesday, he flew the children home to california and reported his wife missing. telling a los angeles television station he was very hopeful someone will find my wife very soon." "still, she hasn't been located. and we're looking." according to mexican police his story doesn't add up. the night before she disappeared, several guests at the resort say they heard fighting coming from the couple's room. one guest reportedly heard a woman screaming for help. and there's no record of monica leaving the hotel to go shopping. security guards check all cars entering and leaving. >> i knew that something very wrong had happened. because my sister would never in one million years leave her kids a whole day with the father, without her cell phone. >> reporter: family members say the mexican vacation was planned to help the couple sort out problems in their marriage. including that he allegedly had a mistress. >> they had a rocky relationship and i think that was fairly well-known. and we know that there was, in fact, a mistress. and we've provided all the information that we have to the authorities. and we're hoping that all areas of this case will be looked into. >> reporter: tmz posted this photograph last week of bruce with a woman named joy pierce, quoting multiple sources who say she and the former "survivor" producer had an intimate relationship. radaronline obtained copies of e-mails reportedly exchanged between beresford-redman and pierce. last week the family delivered those e-mails, written a month before monica was strangled, to prosecutors in mexico. one from bruce read, in part, "i didn't feel i would be happy without you and that i was going to leave my family so that we could be together. i am not proud of the way i conducted this." all of which has led mexican law enforcement to bruce beresford-redman, the man they say is their main suspect. though he's not in custody, he has been told he cannot leave mexico until the investigation is completed. >> we love my sister and we want justice. we want to make sure this is going to be accomplished. >> reporter: meanwhile, monica's family is frustrated no one has yet been charged with her murder. over the weekend, they held a rally in los angeles at the brazilian restaurant monica owned, demanding justice. >> we want the person that murdered my sister in this terrible way, doing something to a mother that didn't deserve, i want this person in jail to pay for the rest of his life for what he did. >> reporter: the two people who will undoubtedly pay for the rest of their lives are only 3 and 5 years old. their children. >> again, that was cynthia mcfadden reporting. you can see the family is obviously and understandably very upset with what's going on. they think an arrest is imminent and they're saying the husband is not right now allowed to leave. he's still in cancun, still in mexico, i should say. we don't know if he's still in cancun. >> right, exactly. there's been a struggle bringing her body back home but they think they'll be able to do that, perhaps as early as today. >> bizarre story. more news coming up. talking about those fancy jeans vinita was talking about and covering her -- >> okay. >> -- hindquarters. $13 billion a year, that's how much americans spend on jeans. believe it or not. that's not surprising if you've seen the price of designer denim. >> you've probably seen it. these so-called premium pairs of jeans. they can cost about $200 or more. we checked out bargain jeans and a designer pair and put them to the test. >> reporter: they're the most worn item in every woman's closet. >> i have at least 20 pairs of jeans. >> 10. >> 20. >> over 2,000. >> reporter: but if you pay a lot -- >> it's extremely frustrating. very expensive. >> reporter: you get a lot? >> the ones you pay more money for are built better. >> i think jeans are overpriced. >> reporter: call it the denim dilemma. no one's going through their blue period more than my stepdaughter eric. >> i have fears when it comes to buying expensive jeans. >> reporter: eric and ashley are a perfect fit for this experiment. cheap versus expensive jeans. can you tell the difference? to help these jeans teens size up their perfect pair, fashion news director of "elle" magazine. first stop, super chic saks fifth avenue. >> most people are charging around $200. so you definitely want to get as much value out of that investment as you can. >> all right, supermodel. >> reporter: after a firing squad of harsh critics -- >> okay, then turn around. >> reporter: ashley decides on these. the damage, $200. talk about distressed denim. across town, i'm trying to convince my stepdaughter to penny pinch on her pair. i'll leave that to this jean queen. >> i think there's never been a better selection of affordable denim on the market than there is now. >> the fit is actually a lot better than i expected it to be. >> reporter: she liked them. for 29 bucks, so do i. on the left, $200 decadent denim. and the right, lean, mean, $29 jeans. but can you tell the difference? >> i think these are the expensive ones. >> yeah? >> yeah. those. >> those. >> these are the ones. >> old navy jeans, those don't look very cheap. >> no. >> reporter: the verdict? a hung jean jury. split 50/50. but what about the durability? does more money buy you a longer life span? we're putting these jeans through boot camp. stretching. pulling. bursting at the seams. ouch. but the workout doesn't tear either pair. so if they hold up the same, what about wash and wear? a dozen whirls in the washing machine leave the pricey pair pristine. but the cheaper pair a little bit faded. so if you can't tell on looks and you can't really tell on wear and tear, why are these jeans more expensive? according to ann you're paying for the fabric. >> there's certain brands in japan that cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars where you have people actually hand-scrubbing the denim. >> reporter: this pricey fabric molds to the shape of your body the longer you wear it. >> this is a slim fit jean. this is constructed to hold you in. >> reporter: as for our girls, form-fitting fabrics didn't make much difference. >> these inexpensive jeans are actually becoming my favorite pair. >> i think the biggest surprise is that you can get a great pair of jeans at a really moderate price point. >> reporter: so this means you don't always have to drop big dollars on your denim. now, that's just jeans. >> she didn't address what i think is the real reason i spend too much money on jeans. >> which is the -- >> which is i think that they dye them in a more flattering way. the center of the leg is white and it looks like your leg is skinnier. >> makes your rump look smaller? >> yes. i'm going to pay, if for $100 you can make my rump look smaller. >> 30 bucks. that's my price limit. >> no, you couldn't tell. stance 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 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power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. there's so much to learn. 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. it makes a big difference. diabetes testing supplies may be covered by medicare. join over a million others who have chosen liberty medical. call now and receive a free accu-chek aviva meter. when you join. i wish they could have seen you dancing to that song. >> i like that one. >> that was a subdued version of what was happening here. the drama of the 2000 presidential election and the white house reaction to the september 11th attacks will be key points in former president george w. bush's book. >> his publisher showed off the new cover and shared details about the book called "decision point." instead of a traditional memoir the former president wrote about his life-changing decisions. the $35 book is going to go on sale november 9th. finally from us this half hour, california governor arnold schwarzenegger, who drummed up support to save a world-famous symbol of tinsel town, was proud to announce his success. >> the world-famous hollywood sign was at risk of being torn down. but as mark mullen reports, some celebrity fund-raising helped save it just in time. >> reporter: it's fitting a famous body builder turned box office action hero turned governor was the one to announce a hollywood sign had been saved. governor schwarzenegger said the sign has long symbolized that anything was possible. and thanks to some big-time donations the iconic sign and the land around it will remain unspoiled. >> the hollywood sign will welcome dreamers and artists and austrian body builders from around the world to continue coming over here for generations to come. >> reporter: the sign was built in 1923 as a super sized ad for the hollywood land real estate development but would soon become a symbol of hollywood and a tourist attraction. later sold to chicago investors the property, located on a peak, was later zoned for luxury homes and put on the market for $22 million. hollywood's elite at that time stepped in to raise the cash and save the property from development. the likes of steven spielberg and tom hanks. with "playboy" founder hugh hefner kicking in the last $900,000 to close the gap. >> all of us here who love the sign and those who admire it from around the world say hats off to hugh. >> reporter: donations came from movie fans from every state and 15 countries, from a private land trust and the state of california. >> i did what the terminator was supposed to do, which is jump into action. >> reporter: setting up the final scene, the 138 acres now will be turned into a public park. >> we have today a true hollywood ending. >> reporter: mark mullen for abc news, hollywood. >> i can't imagine hollywood without the hollywood sign. although there have been several incarnations. it started out as hollywoodland and that got shortened. >> who better than hugh hefner to invest in something big. face-off on the hill. the ceo of goldman sachs in washington today. answering tough questions about the bank's risky investments and the housing bubble. plus, caught on tape. exclusive video of the christmas day bomber training. and, we'll hear from the scientist who says aliens are in outer space. it's tuesday, april 27th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> bumpy ride there. i've never thought about this though or talked about it. do you think there are aliens out there? >> i think there are probably life forms, i don't know if i think they're intelligent. >> who's to say this life form is all that bright either. we'll look at that. stephen hawking is saying that perhaps that does exist. so we'll delve into that. >> set that one up for you, didn't i. thank you for not going there. >> good morning, i'm jeremy hubbard. >> i'm vinita nair. the head of the nation's most powerful bank is facing tough questions from lawmakers today on capitol hill. >> using goldman sachs' own e-mail senators are expected to grill the bank's ceo over billions in profits from the housing melt-down. a new abc news poll finds most americans, 65%, say they favor much stricter regulation of the financial industry. david muir has more on the goldman hearing. >> reporter: the opening salvo from goldman sachs on the eve of what's expected to be a grilling of ceo lloyd blankfein. we learned the ceo will thank taxpayers for the bank bailout, noting goldman has paid it all back with interest. blankfein will talk about the day the s.e.c. charged his bank with duping investors, selling toxic mortgages purposely bundled to fail, saying it was one of the worst days of my professional life. while blankfein will strongly disagree with the s.e.c. he plans to say, i also recognize how such a complicated transaction may look to many people. to them it is confirmation of how out of control they believe wall street has become. is there any question in your mind that you'll be able to hear a pin drop on wall street? >> you'll be able to hear a pin drop on the new york stock exchange, in the symbolic sense. we're putting them in stocks in the town square. >> reporter: born in the bronx and raised in a brooklyn housing project, blankfein rose through the ranks on the rough and tumble side of wall street. a take no prisoners trader. surviving interrogation on capitol hill comes next. if anyone knows survival it would be blankfein. >> absolutely. >> reporter: blankfein will have to explain e-mails from inside goldman sachs about his bank betting against the mortgage market. what's called shorting mortgages. one executive writing, sounds like we'll make some serious money. blankfein writing, we lost money then made more than we lost because of shorts. asking, should we have cleaned up these books before? are we doing enough right now to sell off cats and dogs? those mortgages. the bank says those e-mails were cherry picked by senators with political motivation. blankfein plans to say, we didn't have a massive short against the housing market and we certainly did not bet against our clients. >> this is one of the first times you can actually peel off the veneer and see what goes on beneath goldman sachs. he's going to have to address them and that's relatively rare. >> reporter: the battle lines drawn as goldman sachs' ceo plans to go to capitol hill today. he's considered the most powerful man on wall street but he'll have a lot of explaining, including those e-mails, a long list of questions from senators as a nation, from the poll numbers, we can tell fed up with the banks, watches on. david muir, abc news, new york. >> more business news, walmart says it's going to appeal a sexual discrimination class action lawsuit to the supreme court. the lawsuit received the go ahead yesterday from a federal appeals court. in it walmart faces charges that it pays women less than men for the same job and that female employees receive fewer promotions than their male counterparts. long-time employee betty dukes is among the original plaintiffs. >> i am absolutely ecstatic about today's ruling. we have worked very hard to get as far as we have. >> and i can't imagine a bigger message being sent to big employers and employers overall. they could be held accountable, the laws apply to them, they are not too big to be held responsible. >> in a statement the company said, walmart is an excellent place for women to work and fosters female leadership among our associates and in the larger business world. there is new information this morning about the christmas day bomber. brian ross has an exclusive video of the so-called underwear bomber and the men who were training with him. >> reporter: the tape produced by al qaeda of the arabian peninsula shows a group of about two dozen men in a desert training camp believed to be in yemen. firing range targets include a jewish star, the british union jack, and the initials u.n. among those firing, umar farouk abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old nigerian who left yemen in december for his christmas day suicide mission. later in the video, abdulmutallab delivers what appears to be a farewell martyrdom statement, perhaps aimed at possible recruits. the enemy is in your lands with their armies, he says. the jews and the christians and their agents. and then citing a passage of the koran he said, god said if you do not fight back he will punish you and replace you. of greatest interest to u.s. officials now are the others in the video who trained with abdulmutallab. the man he said would carry out the next round of attacks. what the government will probably do is show this tape to abdulmutallab in prison and ask him to identify people on the tape. >> reporter: the u.s. apparently knew of the existence of this camp. the al qaeda video shows an unmanned aircraft flying overhead with the al qaeda members trying, without success, to shoot it down. officials say that camp is likely one of the camps the u.s. later attacked with cruise missiles. although only after abdulmutallab had left for his flights to detroit. brian ross, abc news, new york. former panamanian dictator manuel noriega is facing french justice for the first time today. noriega was extradited yesterday from the u.s. to france where he'll face charges of laundering drug money. he had been held in a federal prison just outside miami. since being convicted on drug and other charges here in the u.s. back in 1992. noriega was ousted from power in panama in the 1989 u.s. invasion. the controversy over arizona's new law, cracking down on illegal immigrants, continues to grow. opponents used refried beans to smear swastikas on the capitol yesterday. civil rights leaders are demanding a boycott of the state. the governor predicts the protest will die down in the coming days. yesterday the state's senior senator blasted the federal government for not doing enough to secure the border. >> there's no intention whatsoever to violate anyone's civil rights. but this is a national security issue. this is a national security issue where the united states of america has an unsecured border between arizona and mexico which has led to violence, the worst i have ever seen. >> the obama administration is now weighing a possible legal challenge to the law, arguing that only the federal government has the power to enforce immigration. all right, time for a look at your weather. rain from northern california to washington. heavy snow in the sierras. early showers in new york, philadelphia, and d.c. lingering rain and mountain snow in parts of new england. and scattered showers and thunderstorms in the carolinas, tennessee, and kentucky. possibly turning severe in georgia and alabama. >> 65 in atlanta. 61 in baltimore. 50s in chicago, indianapolis and detroit. a wet 58 in seattle. 64 in boise. 79 in salt lake city. well, now to a pretty darn amazing feat for anyone who's not born with fins or scales. >> wake up and take a look at this one. a new zealand man dove head-first into history by setting a new world record in free diving. 29-year-old william trubridge reached 380 feet in the waters off the bahamas, unassisted, with one lungful of air. trubridge spent 4 minutes 9 seconds underwater using what he says is a unique breast stroke to propel himself. >> this is the tenth world record for trubridge, now leading the pack, vying to become the world's best all-around free diver. that's really dangerous stuff so i'm glad that he made it up. >> i wonder how you train for something like that. you sort see how far down you can go? >> stick your head in a bathtub and see how long you can hold it. >> start the timer, someone. >> hope there's no bubbles. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." 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[ male announcer ] hate lingering odors? febreze air effects actually eliminates odors caused by bacteria and leaves a light fresh scent. febreze. it's a breath of fresh air. if you are awake and watching at this hour you might just have a case of insomnia and you are not alone. 40 million americans have sleep disorders. >> some of the worst disorders involve people who can't sleep at all and die. eric horng reports on this extreme insomnia while checking into a sleep clinic. >> reporter: you're looking at a man who hasn't slept for months. his name is sylvano. in this video he's neither fully awake nor asleep. >> he was basically a very sick-looking man who had not slept for months. >> reporter: sylvano suffered from an extremely rare sleep disorder called fatal familial insomnia, ffi. it's a genetically linked, incurable brain disorder that destroys the mind's ability to regulate sleep. a former dancer, he could no longer move normally and he was tormented by his inability to rest. months later, he slipped into a coma and died. his case proving that never sleeping will eventually kill. ffi is sleeplessness in its most extreme form. even one night of insomnia can have serious consequences. >> an individual who has sleep deprived himself for one, just one single night, is as impaired as somebody who is legally intoxicated. >> reporter: dr. michel cramel-bornema is one of the top sleep experts in the country. are americans getting sleepier? >> i think in general americans are probably getting sleepier. i think our culture is based on a 24-hour culture. so i would imagine that until we start to see these trends change, that this will only continue to get worse. >> reporter: dr. bornema agreed to help us test the effects of sleep deprivation. our admittedly less than scientific experiment began two days earlier when i skipped a night of sleep. in the cab on the way to the airport for my trip to the sleep clinic. at this point i've been up about 24 hours straight. definitely feeling it. when i arrived, dr. bornema tested my concentration and memory. he had me repeat a sequence of numbers from lowest to highest. >> one, two, three, four, six -- eight, nine. >> reporter: he asked me to recite a long list of words from memory. >> watch. strand. insect. watch. i said that, didn't i? wow, so this is it. >> here you go. your night in the sleep lab. >> reporter: a technician connected dozens of electrodes to my head and body. how many electrodes total? >> 462. >> really? >> no. >> reporter: they measure everything from brain wave activity to leg movements and breathing patterns. so i'm all wired and up ready for a restful night's sleep. i've been up over 38 hours at this point. i'm just ready to knock out. the sleep lab's cameras recorded me through the night. every toss, every turn. over the course of hours, i dipped in and out of rem sleep, the deepest and most restorative type. as morning came, it was clear my body had needed the rest. >> this has been a pretty consistent consolidated period of rem and it is approximately 8:45 a.m. >> what a night. >> what a night. >> morning. >> rather, good afternoon. >> yeah. >> reporter: i aced my concentration and memory test. >> dime. cave. deck. nail. bank. couch. >> not only did you get 100% right, but in the absolute correct order of how i had told you. >> verbatim. >> absolutely verbatim. >> reporter: there were no red flags for my night of sleep. no sleep disorders, snoring problems or insomnia. >> you were expressing rem sleep even 8:00 a.m., you know, at 10:00 a.m. >> you're saying i have the body clock of a lazy college student. >> absolutely. but your words, not mine. >> reporter: in fact, dr. bornema says when we sleep and how much we need is determined by our dna. yet many of us try, whether it's with coffee or energy drinks, to trump nature with nurture. >> fatal familial insomnia is a case where lack of sleep can kill. it is a doorway into the mysteries of sleep, as well as the importance of sleep. >> reporter: which brings us back to sylvano, the man who died because he couldn't sleep. for him and other ffi victims, sleeping wasn't a choice. and for the rest of us, it isn't one either. this is eric horng in minneapolis. >> we can relate. being on this shift we can relate to that. the idea it's somehow deadly. you hear these studies that say sleeplessness can be deadly. then you see a living example of that. not living sadly but proof of that. >> the reality is anyone who's ever worked this shift knows about cognitive abilities. you feel you're always on jet lag. >> right. >> you can imagine how the prolonged effect of it. you can see the full thing. you saw eric was talking about it. "explore: fatal insomnia." it airs tonight on the national geographic channel starting at 10:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. >> check it out. coming up the domestic abuse investigation involving a former porn star and her celebrity boyfriend. >> actor michael douglas makes an astonishing admission. vinita was just dodging the flash bulbs. >> i know this well from my own life. >> walking down the sidewalk at home, she's inundated. >> when i leave the steps they're just lined up. >> fans and photogs. tito ortiz does most of his fighting inside the octagon. now he's accused of doing it at home with his porn star girlfriend and the mother of his children, jenna jamieson. he was arrested on domestic violence charges yesterday. jenna jamieson made the call to 911, had visible injuries when officers spoke to her about what happened. and she also later talked to radaronline. listen. >> my arm's okay. my arm's okay but i just think it's important for any girls that go through any kind of domestic violence to say something. you can't just let it go. and i'm not going to let it go. >> you're going to press charges? >> of course. >> she also told tmz, tito's a loving, sweet man, i've always supported him through everything. for him to lash out at me like this is shocking. i feel completely betrayed, i feel bad for my children. they've got twin infant sons together and now the question is, is he going to be able to keep his job? the ultimate fighting championship honcho dana white says he could be booted from the organization if these charges against him prove legit. >> that's a terrible story. >> it is definitely. >> really hard to hear. "dancing with the stars" is on last night. leave it to them to combine dancing and schtick. there was a really quality moment in case you missed it. take a look. this is niecy nash. they were having fun with the segment, it was supposed to be the swing dance stuff. they were all doing crazy stuff. she went there. she decided she wanted to sort of make fun of her own weight and make it look like she actually crushed her dancing partner. they were supposed to be doing an argentine tango. but like i said, this is part of the swing dancing portion. it was actually pretty funny. in addition to the crushing him, at the end of this he pulls out a cookie to give to her, at another part she tries to eat a rose. >> that's funny. >> it is funny. she's having fun on the show, obviously. although she keeps saying, i'm a big girl. i don't think she's that big. >> she's not that big. >> she really feels she's out there doing it for the big girls. >> she won't be big after doing that show. you hear how many calories they kill doing those workouts. not for long, niecy nash. okay. we've got everything you ever wanted to know about michael douglas' sex life but were afraid to ask. this is a little too much information. >> didn't want to ask. >> apparently he says two of his mom's friends taught him everything he knows about sex. he was 16 at the time. they were 30. and basically, they -- they showed him how it's done apparently. >> isn't it bizarre? he says he basically was in bed with one and another one of the women popped out of the closet. that was the interesting part for me. >> he said, let's just say that took care of the rest of that night. there's some more here that we're learning. apparently his first time he saw catherine zeta jones, his opening comment to her was, i want to faer your children. and though he found his true love he said if he could have one more one-night stand, it would be with tina turner. 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? because their mobility experts are also medicare experts. and that means the scooter store is your best shot at qualifying for a scooter that costs you little to nothing. hi i'm doug harrison. pay little to nothing out of pocket. how do we do it? 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who else is out there? from "the war of the worlds" to "independence day" we've imagined alien invasions. now stephen hawking says, theoretically this could happen. >> to my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. >> reporter: 100 billion galaxies out there, why would earth be the only populated planet? >> when the smartest man in the world utters anything, it's an occasion to listen. even if it's a little bit humorous. you would be inexcusably egocentric to suggest life on earth is alone in the universe. >> the real challenge is to try and work out what aliens might actually be like. >> reporter: he doesn't think they'll all be like "aliens 2." but any alien that makes it to effort could be unfriendly. >> the outcome would be much when christopher columbus first landed in america, which didn't turn out very well for the native americans. >> reporter: i spent some time with ufo believers and i thought they were lunatics. >> they don't like the flash. >> right. >> reporter: looks like i'm the chump. hawking believes aliens in huge spaceships might really be searching for planets to colonize. >> they'll kill everyone, we've got to stop them! >> reporter: hang on. was dr. martin in "killers from space" right all along? >> where do you come from? >> from a planet yet unknown to you. >> nick watt, london. >> it does seem a little arrogant to think we're the only ones out there, doesn't it? >> maybe we should seek them out. maybe we should take a journey of sorts. >> going to space right now. >> maybe we have a blastoff button and we could just take off.