british coalition government, the first in the country since world war ii when winston churchill was running the country. the new prime minister david cameron, leader of the right wing conservative party, the youngest to be elected in nearly 200 years, heads this government. his deputy prime minister is the leader of the centralist liberal democrats. both parties have had differences on quite a few issues. david cameron noted the economic problems during his acceptance speech. >> we have some deep and pressing problems. a huge deficit. deep social problems. and a political system in need of reform. for those reasons, i aim to form a proper and full coalition between the conservatives and the liberal democrats. >> reporter: now, what this means for the special relationship between the u.s. and the uk is that cameron is adamant that it does continue and that bond could actually be strengthened even though cameron supports military assistance in afghanistan, while clegg wants the troops to withdraw. his private car immediately ran into traffic without an official motorcade. president obama thanked brown for his help during the economic price sister. looking at the london papers this morning, david cameron in front of the iconic door of number 10 downing street. a lot being mentioned of change, and of course of that historic coalition. >> not a bad address to move to. all right, sonya guy yaig go reporting live for us from london, thanks. fewer victims than originally thought were killed in monday's string of tornados in oklahoma. several children who were feared dead turned out to be survivors. oklahoma's governor has declared dozens of counties in his state a disaster area. the hope that opens the way to more potential of federal assistance. unfortunately, some poor weather still on the way for some people today. here is your wednesday weather forecast. another stormy day in the plains. gusty winds, large hail, and even a chance of more tornados. around dallas, oklahoma city again, wichita, st. louis. also, rain from texas to the midwest and northeast. up to 1 foot of snow in colorado, wyoming, and south dakota. >> 55 in salt lake city. 65 in seattle. 83 in phoenix. 47 in the twin cities. detroit is 57. a wet 53 in boston. 52 right here in new york. 84 in atlanta. you know, if you work these ungodly hours like you and i and the rest of us here, caffeine may be your best friend. >> researchers now say it even helps people do their jobs better. whether you get your caffeine from coffee, tea or pills, it can boost memory, attention, perception and reasoning. >> researchers even say a jolt of java is more effective than a power nap in reducing errors at work. >> this is the perfect opportunity to introduce jim, our new stage manager, who nearly is in need of some jaw value. >> what's that? >> one minute? the one-minute sign, upside down? always a pleasure there, jim. take a cup of coffee. welcome aboard. >> thank you. >> replacing peter grimm. >> i'm going to try my hardest, i appreciate it. >> is caffeine the trick? >> can't you tell? i'm here and i'm ready to go, baby. >> i'm proud of you. you got the sign flipped the right way. >> thank you. >> even before the coffee, that was good. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." welcome back. we want to give you a closer look at a controversial business that deals with the buying and selling of women's eggs. >> it is such a fascinating business. and get this, some families are paying a fortune for the eggs of smart and beautiful women, and some women are selling multiple eggs. here is sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: sarah gwaltny worked as a model through school. her good looks proved valuable again. >> have something income was very helpful for me at that time in my life. >> reporter: she ended up donating her eggs not once but six times. >> in the two years i did it it was just under $100,000. >> reporter: the american society for reproductive medicine, the group that oversees the field, says compensation over $10,000 is not appropriate. they also say women shouldn't be paid more based on their looks or intelligence. but lynn mcdonald, whose twins came from donor eggs, say parents should be able to pick the traits they want in a donor. >> you want your child to have some resemblance of you and your family. i really picked a girl that just a little bit younger and prettier than me. >> reporter: but we wondered, are certain traits worth more than others? we asked abc employees to respond to ads to find out. rachel was told her eggs were worth more because she's blond. susan was told her degree from wellesley made her eggs more valuable. >> it would be $25,000? okay. >> reporter: $25,000. more than $15,000 over the guidelines. we asked asrm's dr. roger lobo to watch the tape. if an agency is operating outside of the guidelines, do you have any power to do anything about it? >> no, unfortunately, we don't. >> reporter: because these are private, not government guidelines. and what these agencies are doing is not illegal. and while some critics say donors shouldn't be paid at all, sarah disagrees. >> we live in a free market society and there shouldn't be a cap. >> reporter: in fact, she's opening her own donor agency, hoping to match donors with would-be parents willing to pay anything for a priceless gift. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> i shudder to think how cheap my eggs would be going for. >> i'd offer a lot of money. not that i'm in the market, but you know. >> you know how they were showing s.a.t. scores? they say for every 100 points that a girl scores, that can be the difference of about $2,000 in terms of payment for the eggs. your scores getting into college could affect. >> i'm not sure how i feel about that. >> more news coming up. ♪ ♪ at the playground >> i thought that was chris cross, it's not. for some children, recess is the highlight of the day. unfortunately for some it is a nightmare. >> the playground is supposed to be a sanctuary for kids. how can you turn a sometimes scary place into a fun one? here's t.j. winick with the recess coach. >> reporter: on many school playgrounds, this is recess. >> fighting. hitting. this is a mess out here. >> reporter: and when push comes to shove, free play -- >> he elbowed me in my face. >> everybody can't get on there at the same time. >> reporter: in the last year alone there were 108 suspensions at stevens elementary in little rock, arkansas. almost all of it coming from the playgrounds. according to a gallup poll released earlier this year, 89% of discipline-related incidents happen either during lunch or recess. >> children learn how to play by watching other people. if those cues are combative and not cooperative, that's what they're going to learn. >> reporter: looking to restore order, the staff at stevens has enlisted the help of charles coop cooper, recess coach. armed with hundreds of games, coach coop's here to put stevens through recess rehab. >> i am an expert on polite because that's what i do. >> walk into a playground of 1,000 students and shut it down. >> reporter: his prescription for play, a spoonful of tough love. >> i know that there are people here who know better than to push and kick and tackle in school, let alone in a gym. >> reporter: and a serious dose of order. coach coop is with play works, a nonprofit that specializes in rehabilitating bad recesses all across the country. >> all you do is swing your arms behind your back like this. >> reporter: it's day one and coach coop has got his work cut out for him. >> not everybody's on board immediately. some people have to see it first. ready, go! oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh! >> reporter: coop begins by splitting the kids into two more manageable gripes. >> this area right here is for circle dodge ball. >> reporter: one group plays dodge ball. the other, a crab crawl relay. >> what you talking about? >> reporter: eventually, trouble finds its way onto the court. >> we done? yeah, a boy was talking about one of the girls, called her name, he said she was somebody's sister. can y'all do the high five? i'll give you a i high five. i'll give you a high five. tomorrow we're going to do our high five tomorrow, you two, i'll remember, we'll do our high five tomorrow. >> reporter: on day two coach coop pays a visit to each class, where he introduces play work's ultimate weapon to resolve conflicts. the old school hand game of rock, paper, scissors. >> rock, paper, scissors. >> oh! good job. i get to see those breakthroughs on the recess yard. those little -- when the kid breaks down and does a rock, paper, scissors instead of knocking somebody out. >> reporter: even so, by the time recess rolls around -- >> i still expect some chaos. a little more organized chaos. >> reporter: coach coop's novelty seems to have worn off. as some kids slide back into their old ways. on the other side of the playground, as a relay race begins to form, cameron is refusing to play coach coop's games. but after seeing his friends join in, even cameron gives in. with recess at stevens having turned an important corner, coach coop readies for his next challenge. saying good-bye. i'm sure a lot of kids get emotional, sad to see you go. is it emotional for you as well? >> can't you tell? yeah. it's tough. it's the toughest part of my job. it's the toughest part of my job by far. >> reporter: i'm t.j. winick in little rock, arkansas. >> now, if you're wondering whether this company is coming to a school near you, it currently serves about 170 schools in ten cities but they plan on expanding quite a bit. >> if you're wondering, i was shamed by our control room, not chris cross. a short time ago, this woman suffered from around his house. these people chose freedom over restrictions. independence over limitations. they chose mobility. they chosehe scooter store. and this is the team of mobility experts who made it all happen. ii great news, you've been approved for payment. dr. cruz, i'm calling on behalf ofmarie stanford. and they can make it happen for you. hi, i'm doug harrison, if you're living with limited mobility, call the scooter store today. i promise, no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to ensure your total satisfaction. i expected they'd help me file some paperwork with medicare and my insurance. i never expected them to be so nice or work so hard to get me a power chair at no cost to me. if we qualify you and medicare denies your claim for a w scooter or power chair, i'll give it to you absolutely free. that's the scooter store guarantee. we'll wo with your insurance company, even help with financing. if there's a way, we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. world news now delivers your "morning papers." >> that's right. it's that time of the morning. i know you have two little kids. >> yes, i do. >> 3 and 5. have you done the whole, this is why you shouldn't smoke, lesson? >> we haven't quite gotten there yet because they're still a little young. they do ask about things like that. oh, he's smoking. that's a cigarette. something like that. >> i hear a lot of parents do this traditional thing where they force a child to smoke a cigarette and then say, oh, isn't that horrible, now don't you feel you shouldn't smoke? a woman in tennessee did that, now she's in jail. she's being held on $12,500. according to police they were in a car and they see this woman, she's with her 5-year-old son, and this kid is smoking a cigarette. they go up to her, and she says, i was forcing him to smoke a cigarette because i was teaching him not to smoke. in addition to that, they also found a bag of marijuana in the car. >> oops. >> not really exhibiting the best parenting skills. >> i shouldn't laugh. i pictured this kid sitting in the back seat smoking a cigarette at 5 years old. >> at least he was smoking the cigarette, not the weed, that would have been worse. maybe that was the chaser. >> all right, she should be arrested. this next story comes from our very own abcnews.com website. the most-viewed story. not surprisingly. it's all about the next edition of "playboy." it comes with a pair of 3d glasses. that's right. you can sit at home and for the guys -- >> what? >> -- who don't actually just read the articles, they can see the pictures in 3d. almost life-like. exactly, that's what i'm saying. hugh hefner said, what would most people like to see in 3d? probably a naked lady. i think he has something there. "playboy" has been hurt by a lot of things going on the internet. their circulation has dropped from 3 million a few years ago to 1.5 million today. they're struggling to get people to look. hugh thinks this will make people look. >> so it's all in 3d? >> maybe not the articles. but yeah, the pictures. i say that -- i'm not sure every picture is in 3d. >> willis? >> i'm not sure we really needed a prop on-set, i think. >> yeah, we'll work on that for you buys. last but not least, this is so sad. take a look at this poor seagull. this one's not funny at all. this poor guy, they think someone from a cross bow put that dart through his head. the weirdest thing, it's not affecting him. apparently the guy who took this picture says he walks a certain part of town all the time and he sees this poor seagull with a bolt from a cross bow stuck in his head. they're saying it's happening more and more often. >> i think we should ask the bird if it's affecting h health care. vice president biden's 41-year-old son suffers a stroke. his hospitalization and prognosis. then, survivor stories. the men escaped a burning oil platform in the gulf. >> we knew they were burning. we knew they weren't going to make it out there. >> was this a preventible disaster? innovative intention. the high-tech device sniffs out battlefield bombs. how students made it possible. it's wednesday, may 12th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, everyone. thanks for joining is us. i'm todd connor. jeremy hubbard is off. >> we should say he's working. people on facebook started to say he's taking too many vacations, he's not, he's working for "nightline" so you'll see his stories more and more often. whoever asked, did we eat him? we did not eat him, no. >> he's always working, he's always out on the stories. >> he really is, we keep him busy. >> which is good for me, i get to sit with you. >> i like to start the morning off with a compliment. we begin with the health scare for the family of vice president joe biden. his son beau is in a philadelphia hospital after suffering a stroke. >> the younger biden, who serves as the delaware attorney general, is in his early 40s. steven portnoy reports. >> reporter: doctors are calling it a mild stroke. the 41-year-old oldest son of the vice president is expected to make a complete recovery. beau biden was admitted to a delaware hospital tuesday morning. his father's office issued a statement saying he's in stable condition, alert, with full motor and speech skills. doctors said he was in good spirits, talking with his wife and parents. joe biden was already in delaware doing morning show interviews. instead of returning to washington, the vice president went to be with his son. beau reflected on his father's dedication to family. >> my grandma has a phrase, there's a reason for everything. and another one that you know is, you're not given a cross you can't bear. my dad bore it and did it with dignity and did it with the focus on his boys. and i've been a lucky son. >> reporter: beau had considered running for the senate seat his father had held. after returning from a year-long deployment to iraq with the national guard, beau biden decided to seek re-election as delaware's attorney general. the married father of two young children says he wants to stay focused on his workload and his family. later in the day, beau biden was moved to a hospital in philadelphia. steven portnoy, abc news. president obama meets with afghan president hamid karzai to try and smooth tensions between the two countries. secretary of state hillary clinton conceded tuesday u.s. relations with afghanistan are strained but she assured president karzai the u.s. will stand behind his country long after the last american soldier is gone. after a day of stunning political drama, britain has a new leader this morning. he's 43-year-old david cameron, the first conservative british prime minister in 13 years. abc's nick watt watched as cameron swept into office and former prime minister gordon brown was ushered out. >> reporter: as tradition dictates, david cameron was summoned to buckingham palace and asked by the queen to form a government. britain's youngest prime minister in nearly 200 years had campaigned on a promise of change. >> change we need -- >> reporter: sound familiar? >> i came into politics because i love this country. i think its best days still lie ahead. >> reporter: just an hour earlier, gordon brown took one final drive as prime minister, to the palace to resign. brown was tony blair's political ally and successor but lacked blair's charisma and popular touch. >> thank you and good-bye. >> reporter: britons went to the polls last thursday. but no one party won an outright majority. after days of horse trading, hand-wringing and flaring tempers, david cameron's conservative party joined forces with the liberal democrats. as unlikely partners perhaps as george w. bush and bill clinton. but they create british's first coalition government since the second world war. their relationship with the u.s. will be, as one official said, solid, not slavish. britain will remain a staunch ally in the war in afghanistan and the broader war on terror. david cameron moved into his new house, and gordon brown got stuck in traffic. president obama has already called mr. cameron to congratulate the new prime minister, and the obamas have invited mr. cameron and his wife samantha to visit with them in washington this summer. nick watt, abc news, london. in georgia, a former kindergarten teacher has been found not guilty in a molestation case which grabbed national headlines. tanya craft was accused of inappropriately touching three girls when they stayed at her home. the trial had been shadowed by ethical questions. the judge refused to step down even though he had represented craft's ex-husband in the couple's divorce. the prosecutor had written about the case on his facebook page. four members of a family are dead after a nearly unimaginable sinkhole tragedy in canada. the victims include a man and woman in their 40s and their two children. they died when the ground beneath their home in quebec gave way. three cars were also swallowed in that sinkhole and part of a road was swept away. several nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution. oklahoma's governor has declared a state of emergency in the 56 counties affected by monday's deadly tornados. and the death toll from those storms has been revised down to two people after it was discovered that three children survived. barbara pinto met some victims in hard-hit norman, oklahoma. >> look at them, they're all over! >> reporter: a wall of wild and violent storms dumped hail the size of baseballs and spawned at least a dozen twisters, including this three-headed monster. >> that's a strong tornado. >> watch it, watch it. >> reporter: one funnel took direct aim at diana burns' home. she and her dog cocoa huddled under a blanket in the hallway. >> it felt like hours. and i was just laying right there and just screaming. >> reporter: residents took shelter anywhere they could. 50 of them packed the walk-in coolers at this devastated truck stop. >> things got pretty hectic pretty rapidly. lots of debris, wind, obviously a lot of destruction. we were hunkered down trying to make our way through it. >> reporter: across the state, tens of thousands lost power. rush hour traffic stopped too. major interstates littered with toppled cars and tractor-trailers. the superintendent of a school district showed us his office. there's nothing left. >> there's nothing left. i haven't found my desk yet. no telling where it's at. >> reporter: still, he feels lucky. the twister hit hours after school let out. meteorologists from the national severe storm prediction center here at norman were out surveying the damage. how powerful a storm was this? >> well, this is probably ef-2 or ef-3. we're looking somewhere on the order of 150-mile-an-hour winds probably. >> reporter: deanna burns survived a bone marrow transplant, heart surgery, and now this. like most others here she's picking up the pieces. these antique dishes, i want to be sure they didn't get hurt. >> barbara pinto, abc news, norman, oklahoma. >> wow, some amazing damage there. here is your wednesday weather. hopefully it's better than what we've had out in the plains. rain and thunderstorms from texas to the midwest and northeast. damaging winds, large hail, and tornados in north texas, oklahoma, kansas, missouri, iowa, and illinois. so be careful. up to 1 foot of mountain snow in colorado, wyoming, and south dakota. 4 inches in denver. >> as for your wednesday highs, 60s in seattle, boise, and 78 in sacramento. just 47 in the twin cities and 51 in chicago. wet in the 50s in boston and new york. 80s in miami, new orleans, as well as dallas. you know, he pulled a disappearing act, and voila, he suddenly popped up again but he was 200 miles away from home. >> that's right. frankie the boston bull terrier was reunited with his family in suburban chicago yesterday four months after he vanished without a trace from their home in battle creek, michigan. the man who found frankie took him to the vet where thankfully, smartly, the owners put that microchip in him. that we when hear so much about these days. >> absolutely. no one really knows how or where frankie spent the past four months. he's not talking. but his family is thrilled he's back and they're grateful for that microchip that you talked about. my dog is microchipped. she doesn't go anywhere but just in case she does. >> that's a smart way to go. >> yeah, absolutely. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." you go next if you had a ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/d 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. 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reporter: the tapes show a kind of coast guard war game, held just this march, to deal with a huge oil spill. >> this is a drill, this is a drill. >> reporter: the session brought together coast guard and industry officials to practice a quick response. >> we just have the morning overflight from this area, there's oil over here. >> i'm still looking for a boom. >> reporter: in the exercise, known flaws were overlooked and the officials declare themselves well-prepared for a major oil spill disaster. >> we expect to have approximately 9,000 barrels offloaded and be finished with our operation by 1800 this evening. >> reporter: but in reality, little worked as had been planned. after bp's deep water horizon rig exploded into flames on april 20th. >> there was chaos. everybody was scared to death. nothing was playing like it was supposed to. >> reporter: many of the men had worked together on the deep water horizon since they first arrived on-station eight years ago. including crane operator micah sandell. and duane martinez, who supervised the roustabouts. >> it's been a good rig. a lot of good people. >> reporter: they worked 21 days on, 21 days off. grueling 12-hour shifts night and day, sending more than a mile's worth of pipe to the oil beds below. ♪ put on your gloves when you be working ♪ >> reporter: it was a close-knit group that made their own rap music video about safety, keeping their hands free of injury on deck. ♪ these are the tools we've been given to stay incident free all the time ♪ >> reporter: underwater, the men's safety relied on a device called a blowout preventer to send an alarm and cut off potentially discharges of oil or gas. >> they always tell us that we have safety devices and warnings and ways of shutting it in. don't seem like they're hitting nothing. >> reporter: in fact, documents show the rig operators, including transocean, have long known that blowout preventers, bops, have a poor record of reliability. >> and now, sadly, this one has horribly not worked. and here we are suffering the consequences. >> reporter: the explosion on the rig came without warning. there was no alarm. >> it either tells you that the alarms failed or that somebody needed the alarm because alarms are so common in the oil patch, sometimes as a matter of course they mute alarms. >> reporter: the men on the deck floor had no time to get to safety. >> there was people screaming and hollering and people jumping off the side. >> reporter: martinez and sandell made to it a lifeboat and watched flames engulf the rig, knowing many of their friends did not make it out. including don clark, steve curtis, and jason andersen. >> we knew we were burning, we knew they weren't going to make it off there. >> reporter: since then, as seen in one of the underwater videos made public by bp, oil has been spewing into the gulf at an estimated rate of 5,000 barrels a day with no ability yet to stop it. >> i think that reflects the reality that once this disaster happens, we really don't have the tools to cope with it. >> reporter: the coast guard war game tapes show one of the big problems. the inflatable booms that are supposed to be the first line of defense against a spill worked very poorly in even light winds. >> it's killing us. >> reporter: and the water's light chop make the booms almost useless. >> see that? we won't be skimming any oil in that. >> reporter: members of congress took bp and its american president, lamar mckay, to task over its failure to be prepared for such a major spill. >> and you seem to be jumping from action to action, which we all hope and pray can work, but that doesn't give me a sense of a plan that was ready to be implemented in a worst case scenario. isn't that a fair criticism? >> let me explain what we are doing. we have multiple parallel efforts at every level of this crisis. we're fighting it aggressively offshore. we are using dispersant in situ burn and skimming. we're protecting the shorelines with booms -- >> i appreciate your litany of what you're attempting to do. but i get the sense you're making things up as you go along. >> brian ross, abc news, new york. >> some hard questions from the senator. a lot of people are wondering about right now. the good news, i guess you could say arguably good news, is that junk shot idea where they were going to put shredded golf balls and tires into the pipe in the hopes of clogging it, now it's more natural gas versus oil, it looks like that plan could still work. >> all right, keep our fingers crossed, i guess. not many other choices out there right now. when we return, last week's sudden and puzzling nose dive on wall street. >> federal regulators ask tough questions as they investigate. >> federal regulators ask tough questions as they investigate. did they get answers? ♪ [male announcer] to the men and women of the united states armed forces, the uso delivers the joys and comforts of home. even out here. find out how you can help at uso.org welcome back. take a look at this violent attack on the cartoonist who angered muslims by depicting the prophet mohammad as a dog. lars vilks was giving a lecture on free speech at a university in sweden when a man on the front row ran up and head-butted him. vilks has been the target of numerous threats but this is the first time he's been physically assaulted. a couple of years ago a group linked to al qaeda in iraq offered $100,000 for killing vilks. >> wow, heated. >> pretty amazing. so far this week, things on wall street have been pretty calm, especially when you compare it to last week's flash crash. >> that's for sure. tuesday, the s.e.c. took action to prevent a repeat, even though what caused it is still a bit of a mystery. linsey davis has more. >> reporter: lawmakers and investors are trying to figure out solutions. when they aren't really sure about the problem. >> we have not found evidence of computer hacking or a fat finger or a particular large trade that drove the market initially. but we're not ruling anything out at this point. >> reporter: in just six minutes last thursday the dow plummeted almost 1,000 points. the u.s. securities and exchange commission chair says regulators are still sifting through more than 17 million trades in the hour before the drop. >> it was sort of the turbulence in the skies added with a lot of signals that were coming in, that markets do work on as i say fear and greed, and in those critical moments i think, in a sense, the fear took over. >> reporter: the incident highlights an even bigger question about the stock market and its high-stakes, fast-paced processing. the intent now is to come up with an emergency brake of sorts. a new system to slow down or halt trading when the market swings wildly. industry experts agree stock-specific circuit breakers could have kept the downfall from being as severe. >> we'll ultimately find the cause or causes of the disruption and we'll put in place safeguards that will help prevent the type of unusual trading activity that occurred last week. >> reporter: last week the new york stock exchange and nasdaq both agreed to cancel any trades that were 60% or more away from thursday's norms. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> it's hard to believe, especially with one happened last week with the sudden dive, but the "new york times" reporting that three banks made daily profits from trading the first 61 days of the year so far, which is kind of the equivalent of a perfect baseball game. 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 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again. but turned out to be nothing, fortunately. >> drops are falling though. >> certainly all day today. meanwhile, roadside bombs continue to be the number one killer of troops fighting in afghanistan. now a new way to save lives is coming from a rather unlikely place. >> a group of high school students in england have created a science class project that is not only getting them good grades, it's receiving some real attention on the battlefield. here's the bbc's robert hall. >> reporter: appearances can be deceptive. in the grounds of hazelwick's school, a sixth form engineering project that might just help to save lives. ieds, improvised roadside bombs, present one of the greatest and deadliest threats to british troops in afghanistan. detection inevitably puts others at risk. the challenge is to create a machine that will help to do that job. >> we were taught that there were troops in some places and they were dying because there were ieds exploding and they were unaware that they were present. so we had to create a device, a buggy, that would identify the location of these and keep these soldiers away. >> reporter: the project, run as part of the national engineering education scheme, presented the sixth formers and their mentors with a series of hurdles, creating the mobile metal detector was hard enough but they also had to prevent their electronics interfering with the detection process. >> once we had it all together, we tested the metal circuit works, then we noticed it was registering the metal. that was a pretty big moment. >> reporter: and always in the background, the hope that their achievement would prove more than a school experiment. >> we hope that companies like tally s actually have a look at our project and just pick out ideas like interference and shooting from that. >> i think it would be really great if this was actually deployed in afghanistan or iraq, even the basic concepts of this such as the shielding or the simplicity of the buggy. because it is really a basic device. >> reporter: sponsors tally systems say their engineers will now look at the invention in detail. whatever happens, weeks of hard work should ensure that the development team have a bright future. robert hall, bbc news, west sussex. >> you have to keep reminding yourself in that piece, they're just high school students who basically created a way to sniff out a bomb. >> clever kids, though. good for them. >> that is the news for this half hour. you can connect with us any time as a fan on the show on facebook. pointing fingers. oil company executives blame each other for the huge spill in the gulf. >> i hear one message and the message is, don't blame me. >> the frustration on capitol hill. then, afghanistan agenda. president obama's meeting today with hamid karzai. why it is so critical. and, unicorns undersea. what marine scientists are learning from some unusual creatures from the deep. it's wednesday, may 12th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning and thanks for being with us on this wednesday. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm todd connor sitting in for jeremy hubbard. as there are new developments in the gulf of mexico oil spill this morning, including some rather encouraging news. >> first to capitol hill where top oil executives can expect another tough day of questioning. john hendren joins us from washington with more this morning. hi, john. >> reporter: good morning, vinita and todd. on capitol hill there were two hearings filled with frustration and finger-pointing. as each of the companies involved in the bp oil spill directed blame at each other. don't blame bp, the company says, blame the rig operator, transocean. >> transocean, as owner and operator of the deep water horizon drilling rig, had responsibility for the safety of drilling operations. >> reporter: transocean says blame halliburton, which encased the leaking pipe in cement. >> there was a sudden catastrophic failure of cement, the casing, or both. >> reporter: halliburton says blame transocean and its safety device, called a blowout preventer. >> had the bop functioned as expected this catastrophe may well not have occurred. >> reporter: in two capitol hill hearings, the blame-shifting left senators frustrated. >> i hear one message. and the message is, don't blame me. shifting this blame does not get us very far. >> reporter: interior secretary ken salazar is frustrated too. he's splitting the federal minerals management service into two agencies. one overseeing drilling, another, drilling leases. an internal report found regulators were sometimes literally in bed with the regulated. >> the sex parties and the pot parties, mms needs to clearly be cleaned up. >> reporter: far from capitol hill, on alabama's dauphin island where the smell of crude is in the air but still offshore, these catfish washed up on the beach, possible victims of the spill that so far has only brushed louisiana's barrier islands. >> if that oil does come ashore and get on the marshlands, it will be worse than ten katrinas. >> the white house says the president is frustrated with the blame game too. he had hoped to attract republican support for his climate control bill by expanding offshore drilling. vinita and todd? now to what could be positive developments in containing the oil. abc news has learned the amount of natural gas coming out of the well is increasing which could mean less oil is actually polluting the ocean. and second, the smaller oil containment box which was lowered to the seabed near the oil spill is there. underwater robots should position the box over the leak by tomorrow. abc news cameras found nearly 500 fish washed up on a beach in alabama. there's no confirmation the oil spill killed the fish, though. the fish will be tested to find out why they died. supreme court nominee elena kagan heads to capitol hill today as she begins the long process toward confirmation. kagan is to meet with leaders of both parties as well as judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy. republicans say they're anxious to review papers kagan wrote while she served in the clinton administration. britain's new leader is its youngest in almost two centuries. 43-year-old david cameron and his wife moved into the prime minister's residence at 10 downing street yesterday. that came after cameron's conservative party agreed to a coalition government with a third party. that move effectively forced the resignation of former prime minister gordon brown. president obama's first meeting with cameron will be at an economic summit next month. the mothers of three young american hostages in iran are allowed to visit them in prison. the americans have been in iranian custody for nine months now. they were captured while hiking along iran's border with iraq. the father of one of the captives is excited about the development and hopes it leads to their release. >> it's great to hear the news. at the same token, you don't want to get way up here and the rug's pulled out underneath you. >> iran accuses the three americans of spying and having links to u.s. intelligence. the u.s. denies that. a memorial service is set later this month for professional golfer erica blasberg. the 25-year-old was found dead in her apartment in suburban las vegas over the weekend. police won't reveal how she died or who placed the 911 phone call. it could be weeks before final autopsy results are available. stunning video out of australia. a father is seen pushing his infant son in a stroller and pulls the child out just as both of them are struck by a car. they were pinned against the front of the shop. dad suffered a broken leg and his parents were also injured but the baby was just fine. the 2008 incident was shown on australian tv yesterday for the very first time. >> unbelievable footage, my heart just leapt. well, on friday, walgreens drugstores will begin selling over-the-counter dna tests. manufacturers say their tests determine if you are at risk for several diseases including cancer. chris bury reports from chicago. >> reporter: coming soon to your neighborhood walgreens amid the toothpaste and deodorant, kits that test your dna for everything from alzheimer's to breast cancer. >> our kit is very simple. it has a saliva collection tube. >> reporter: the kits, made by pathway genomics, mark the debut of dna testing at corner drugstores. dna kits are the latest example of a booming market in home medical tests. including diabetes, cholesterol, and illegal drugs. critics warn dna results are much more likely to be misinterpreted. that without medical guidance, consumers will get wildly misleading results. >> it's not a good at all. most of what they're going to find out is not going to be helpful. what they do find out may be interpreted to help them when, in fact, it doesn't. >> reporter: the fda told us the dna kits do not have its approval. if they start selling this on friday without your approval is that illegal? >> they will be putting themselves at some legal jeopardy, yes. >> we follow all federal and state regulations. >> reporter: for $249, your dna is checked for 23 genetic conditions, including diabetes, along with risk for alzheimer's, heart attack, lung cancer, and multiple sclerosis. >> with that information, you make better lifestyle choices. >> having the genetic marker doesn't mean they have the disease or will develop the disease in most circumstances. >> reporter: dna testing should be a consumer's choice, walgreens says. the fda plans to investigate the kits once they hit the shelves. chris bury, abc news, chicago. if you like watching cable tv you may want to pay attention to this next story. a drifting satellite could mean trouble for cable tv viewers in some parts of the u.s. the satellite, galaxy 15, went out of control last month. controllers say when it crosses the path of another satellite, known as amc 11, it could interfere with cable signals. nobody is saying how long the interference could last. it appears there were fewer victims killed in monday night's tornados in oklahoma than originally thought. the death toll was revised down to two yesterday after it was discovered several children who officials thought were dead have in fact survived. 56 oklahoma counties have been declared disaster areas, and thousands are without power. and the hope is that the weather gets a little better for these folks, although it doesn't look like that's the case. >> i know, another rough day ahead. here's a look at your forecast, by the way. another day, as we said, of severe weather in the heartland. but not quite as bad as monday, they believe. it's going to be rainy from texas to minnesota and in the northeast as well. gusty winds, lightning and hail around the nation's capital. heavy snow in the rockies and lighter in denver and salt lake city. >> phoenix will hit 83. albuquerque 68. colorado springs is 50. 50s in omaha, colorado and detroit. 76 in baltimore. 80s in much of the southeast. people in rural iowa, because they live in the rural area, they don't get to visit art museums probably all that often. now the art is coming to them. at least that's the idea. >> yeah, that is the idea behind an exhibit along interstate 80 in iowa city. take a look at this. drivers basically get seven seconds to see three huge works propped up on a farm field. there's not much time to even figure out what the images are. you can see that one super-quick. now a closer look shows they are actually painted panels, and as you can see, they are pieced together to look like a puzzle. >> that one looked like betty white. they actually depict three emotions. anger, confusion, and amusement. >> huh. >> amusement describes betty white. >> it makes me nervous to think people are looking at these on the road. i feel like after that you're not paying attention to the road. you're trying to figure out, what did i just see? was that person angry? >> it's an interstate in iowa, you're not looking at anything, it's straight across, i've been there. >> unless there's a deer in the road. >> or a cow. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." pick a city. any city. hotwire has special deals with hotels. when hotels have unsold rooms they use hotwire to fill them, so you get them at ridiculously low prices. like four stars in san francisco, hotwire hot rate from $85. so pick a city. then get a four-star hotel at a two-star price, ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e save big on car rentals too. from $13.95 a day. awake again? but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady ♪ who's that lady? 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[ slurping ] ♪ , afghan president hamid karzai has been in washington all week but today's meeting with president obama is especially critical. >> relations have been tense with afghanistan, and abc's white house reporter karen traverse joins thus morning with a preview. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning. >> what is the white house hoping to accomplish during this one on one meeting? >> reporter: the white house is going to great lengths to try and smooth relationships between the united states and hamid karzai. or at least they're trying to present the image of an improved relationship. after weeks of tensions that have escalated with the white house pushing very hard on karzai, karzai pushing back. now, in just a couple of weeks the united states is going to launch a major offensive in the southern region of kandahar. that is where the taliban originated and where the taliban remain strong. this is very important for the united states to have the backing of the karzai government on this. but also to have the backing of the american people. and i think the white house realizes that right now, they need to show that they have an able partner in hamid karzai or else the american people are going to wonder what is going on over there. >> certainly a change of tone. they're looking to mend fences. but there is a big back story here. you were with the president in march during that surprise visit to afghanistan. how did things get so tense between the two heads of state then? >> reporter: it really started on that trip, vinita. president obama made that surprise visit into afghanistan and really hamid karzai's government didn't know until the final days that he was actually coming. after that meeting where president obama really pushed to make a crackdown on corruption, hamid karzai read some of the comments from senior administration officials that were made on the way over there and he was not happy. general johns called him an adequate strategic partner. that does not sound like an ally, that does not sound like a close friend, they were not happy with that. hamid karzai later in early april really was upset with the way things were going. he said the united states was behind the corruption in the afghan election. he did not back down from that. in fact, in the meeting with members of parliament, he became so angry he said if the united states did not stop meddling in his country's affairs he might consider joining the taliban. as you can imagine, this greatly irked the white house and they did not back down in their tough language against him. the relationship had been souring over the course of april. they're recognizing now they need to improve things. this trip is going to go a long way to smooth that over. >> the taliban comment didn't go over so well. what is on the agenda. do we know exactly, for today's meeting in the oval office? >> reporter: three things i think are going to be key on this agenda. what is interesting is that public tone is going to be one of cooperation. but there still could be some tough language behind the scenes. president obama is going to continue to push hamid karzai to really increase better government outside of the capitol, to crack down on the uptick in violence there. again, that message of corruption. they really want him to really crack down on what's going on there. but again, that tone might be different. you won't hear president obama being as harsh as he was in march. in fact, secretary of state hillary clinton said today she applauded hamid karzai for his efforts on that front. i think you're going to see a little bit more of a kinder, gentler white house, knowing what's at stake over the next couple of days. >> in response to secretary of state hillary clinton, he wanted to thank the u.s. for the blood and the treasure we have spent in helping afghanistan. but do you think they'll talk about some of the concerns of the afghani people? in other words, this notion that the u.s. could abandon the country as our troops withdraw? >> reporter: envoys that i spoke to yesterday said the president's speech at west point last december where he outlined that time line for withdraw greatly concerned the afghan people and members of karzai's government. the white house is going to have to go to great lengths to say this commitment between the united states people and the afghan people does not end in july of 2011. this is going to be a commitment that will continue even as troops withdraw. but that is something that's going to be definitely a very tricky thing to navigate, something president karzai is expected to bring up at the white house. >> it's certainly a change in tone. as you mentioned for so long we've seen these two heads of state going head to head. now to hear them mending fences, it really is a change. >> reporter: it is, a significant meeting tomorrow at the white house. >> thanks to karen traverse joining us this morning from washington. you know, if there was anything to distance miley cyrus more than her last music video i would say this music -- this video, rather, pretty much takes the cake. so the latest is a video that's being shopped around that apparently shows miley cyrus, taken about seven months ago, shows her giving the director of her new video, which is called "can't be tamed," a really risque dance. when i say that i mean she's at one point giving him a lap dance. people say he has a drink in his hand at one point, she grinds up against him on the back side of the dance floor, then he grinds as well, they're both grinding all over each other. then apparently she turns around and opens the top layer of her shirt, obviously making some more flirty dance moves. like i said, this video is being shopped around. we may or may not see it. now, in response, the video's producer, adam shankman, he's the guy who's in all of this with her flirting and whatnot, he calls her his angel little sister and says, these are behind the scenes moments, and they shouldn't necessarily have been shown to the rest of the world. you can see right there, that's more or less what it looked like. as for her parents, they were apparently not present at this party which was in honor of the already risque video. >> one of the most disturbing parts of the story from my point of view, there were apparently young kids at this party as well, like five feet away from her as she was doing this. to me that's not in very good taste. that's pretty bad. plus she was 16 when she did it. >> right. i think her image is certainly evolving shall we say. >> i think she wants to be looked at as more grown-up. that may not be the way to do it. we go to jail now, rikers island. the rapper lil wayne, he's behind bars, busted for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. he's in jail for that. he got busted again for music contraband. how sad is that? music contraband. apparently officers inside rikers island found he had a charger and ear phones that you plug into a watch which actually is like an mp3 player or digital music player, i believe. so he's up on music contraband charges. they're trying to find out how he got this inside the prison where of course you can't have that kind of stuff, can't listen to music, even if it's your own. >> he's behind bars a year now, it makes you wonder if the possibility of him getting off earlier, this could affect it. >> it might will be it's kind of a minor infraction, i think. but it could affect his time in jail. by the way, he and charlie gibson were playing scrabble not too long ago on jimmy kimmel. there is no truth to the fact that charlie gibson smuggled that in to him. just to point that out. >> i didn't see that jimmy kimmel, now i'm going to have to google it. >> check it out. >> let's talk about the miss usa pageant. you know how traditionally you see the pictures of the girls all in their ball gowns, they look all beautiful. >> and the swimsuits and all that stuff. >> right. well. this year's publicity photos, it shows all of them posing seductively in lacy lingerie while lounging around in bed. so donald trump, this is the first time he's speaking about it, the pictures came out earlier in the week. and he's saying he has no problem with any of it. he says we're out -- >> of course not. >> he says, we're off network television. the three girls you're seeing, one is miss new jersey, one is pennsylvania, one is wyoming. those are the faces of the new miss usa pageant. >> tend to get more ratings, who knows. >> yeah. >> tiger woods. he's being dropped again, apparently, via text message of all things. his swing coach, hank haynie, apparently said via text that he's quitting as tiger's swing coach. remember tiger dropped out of a tournament because of a bulging disk in his neck. now he's got more problems to face, all courtesy of hank haynie. z 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. 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[ male announcer ] cleans " and leaves febreze freshness and kills 99.9% of bacteria. also try our new bathroom spray that tackles soap scum and leaves febreze freshness. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. doctors at a philadelphia hospital are keep an eye on beau biden. the 41-year-old son of the vice president suffered a mild stroke yesterday in delaware. ash clouds from the iceland volcano are delaying flights in parts of europe and north africa. today, european aviation officials discuss contingency plans for dealing with travel disruptions during the busy summer months. details are emerging about the energy and climate bill considered in the senate. if passed coastal states may opt out of plans to drill for oil up to 75 miles from shore. and now we take you to northern greenland where -- you love that sound, don't you. where one scientist is on a mystical mission. >> she's hoping to get an answer to one of global warming's most pressing questions. here is bill blakemore. >> reporter: peer under the frozen surface of the arctic sea. if you're lucky you might see a unicorn. a real one. the narwal. source of the unicorn myth ever since their single nine-foot tusks showed up on ancient trade routes and made people wonder, where did this come from? visit north greenland, you may spot biologist kristin leidra from seattle wrestling narwals. which breathe, like all whales, through a blow hole. she's doing it because she needs their help. the problem? scientists are desperate to learn how fast the deep currents under the arctic ice are heating up from global warming. using ice breakers to get enough temperature readings would cost millions. so kristin had an idea. why not add thermometers to the computer tags they were already using to track narwals? they transmit their data to satellite every time the narwal surfaces. >> narwals are perhaps one of the most reliable platforms we can use up here. they are cheap, they predictably go to the bottom of ocean, and they always find the surface because they need to breathe. >> reporter: how does she find the narwals in the first place? she works and lives six months a year with the experts. >> the hunters that live here are the last kayak hunters essentially in the arctic. these people are extraordinarily skilled at hunting narwals from their kayaks. >> reporter: they work some scientific magic with a little help from these mysterious creatures, who are now helping to study how fast their beautiful, icy world is melting away. bill blakemore, abc news, off the western coast of greenland. >> they are just such fascinating animals. historically, for thousands of years, they've been hunted by inuits for their meat and their ivory.