it's the recent surge in gas price. this morning, the president is considering drastic measures to turn it around. >> here's why. according to one survey, the average price for a gallon of gas is $3.47. 7 cents higher than last year this time. >> emily schmidt has details. >> reporter: good morning to you. the calendar says march, but it might as well be memorial day when it comes to gas prices. they are going up higher and faster than anytime in history. and now, some are asking the president, what are you going to do about it. with gas prices skyrocketing, americans are reaching their limits earlier. >> i cannot afford to fill up the tank. >> reporter: the nationwide average is $3.38 a gallon. a new lundberg survey says that's up 33 cents in two week. the second biggest price increase on record means spending more. >> up until this point, $50 about every two weeks. and now, it's gone up to $60 every two weeks, now, we're up to almost $75. >> reporter: the prices go with the middle east uprising. so far there are no shortages, just worry. the white house says it's considering of tapping into the 27 million barrels of u.s. oil reserves. >> it's something done on rare occasions. >> this is not an emergency. >> reporter: one oil analyst says there's political pressure. >> he can say, i can do something, and you're better off. what elected official would not want to do that. >> reporter: in the meantime, the squeeze is on. >> it's hard to ask our customers for increases right now. we really have to suck it. you and that hurts. >> reporter: leaving drives and gas tanks with an increasingly empty feeling. some analysts say when gas gets above $4 a gallon demands prices drop. but in many parts of the country, $4 a gallon gas is now a reality. >> thanks a lot. that unrest in the middle east shows no signs of slowing. in libya, forces say they're going to bring in heavy weapons. rebels pushed to toward the capital tripoli sunday. gadhafi forces pounded the opposition with artillery rockets and gunfire. well, there's a showdown looming between a powerful u.s. law make are and some members of the american muslim community. representative peter king is holding a hearing on thursday on whether u.s. muslims are becoming more radical. about 300 people protested in new york's times square yesterday about the proposed hearing. among the demonstrators, hip hop mogul russell simmons. >> what i wanted to do right now, for the wholesome immunity with the fault of a few. >> he told people at a mosque yesterday that he ceases muslims as part of the solution of fighting terror. and no signs of easing the governor scott walker's proposal to strip government workers of their bargaining rights got together in madison yesterday. but they were outnumbered outside. the report in this morning's "wall street journal" says that wisconsin's democratic state senators who have been on the lam in illinois for weeks now expect to return to vote on walker's proposal soon. a big chunk of the country is recovering from some wild weather that has triggered tornadoes, snowstorms even drenching rain out there. a tour bus actually crashed in northern pennsylvania last night. leaving at least one person dead. it is not clear if freezing rain and snow played a role in that. larry jacobs has more. >> reporter: severe storms hit north carolina last night, outside of recall lay, reports of a tornado and a powerful thuner storm. >> one of my granddaughters was out running and she said she saw it coming across the field. and it was about 500 feet up in the air, from what she could tell, a swirl. >> so many trees were down. one house caught fire, possibly from a bolt of lightning. >> by the time we got up, it was just the wind. looked to the front and we saw the damage there and then it was gone. >> reporter: and record rains hit the asheville area. flash flood warnings were in effect for one of the weekend. as the white river crests neighbors are ready with waders and boats. more rain is expected across indiana tomorrow, adding to the threat. but in new england, there are fears of floods along connecticut's farmington river. the river is rapidly rising because of downpours. also in new england, the snowstorm could make matters worse as property owners take precautions. and in the small town of rayne, louisiana, a deadly twister ripped through over the weekend. after a nightmarish storm. larry jacobs, abc news, new york. for the forecast around the country. it will be stormy out west. rain from seattle to san francisco. up to 2 feet of snow in the sierras, and the rockies. a clip bringing light snow. snow wraps up in vermont in he he. 80 in miami. 60s from new orleans to dallas. a high of 47 in kansas. 33 in minneapolis. 13? fargo. phoenix warps up to 73. sacramento, 60. boise, 46. danger a look at this as we're getting a look at dramatic pictures from hawaii's volcano. a new vent opened on saturday. scientists say it could collapse without warning. lethal gas can be present even far downwind. kilauea has been erupting since 1983. >> spectacular pictures. coming up next, a peanut butter recall. a brand you that might find in your kitchen. that's right. and another athlete dies in a game. what is being done to prevent such loss? plus, busted, the fireman who took the truck out for a spin after a few dri as we mentioned earlier, oil is still rising because of the 81 rest in the middle east. prices topped $106 a barrel in asia this morning. and the white house is now considering tapping the strategic petroleum to bring the prices down. one of the biggest two-week jumps on record. overseas stocks are lower on that concern as they derail the economic recovery. tokyo's nikkei tumbled 0.8%. london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the nasdaq picks un3 points. if the airlines are taking you for a ride now with all the fees, just wait. many carriers are considering charging for things that were never part of a ticket. "the wall street journal" reports they're testing for fees for seats that recline more and higher-ended food. some jars of skippy peanut butter are being pulled off the shelves for salmonella. you can check abcnews.com for details. the good news for "rango." took on $38 million in ticket sales. it features the voice of johnny depp as rango. "the at judgment bureau." and "kings speech" dropped. >> the only picture that did worse after being best picture "no country for old men." a dramatic rescue from a blazing oil rig. and also, party time in the big easy. ♪ there are milestones that no parent wants to miss. let's see, there's first steps. first words. first time riding a bike without training wheels. and the first vacation memory that will last till roughly... forever. now, there's a first. tell us what you've always wanted to do, on facebook. [ ship horn blows ] but the nicoderm cq patch gradually steps you down off of nicotine in just three steps, doubling your chances for success. nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free. ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have anallergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms and works when you need it most. benadryl®. .you can't pause life. the famous parade of mardi gras back on the streets of new orleans after most were washed out by heavy rain on saturday. the festivities in the big easy will only be getting better today. mardi gras will start tuesday. tomorrow is the official end to carnival season in new orleans. a city that knows how to throw a party. >> i think you've been there once or twice yourself. >> i've had 11 mardi grass when i live there had. wet and flooded on i-95 from new york to maine. i-90 from boston to albany. wet on i-5 from seattle to portland and windy in southern california. >> if you're flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, salt lake city, denver, minneapolis and boston. and now the story that's getting a lot of attention this morning. it involves young people. seemingly very healthy young people, suddenly dying during physical activity. >> last week, we told you about wes leonard there on the left he died after a basketball game. and now the case of matthew hammerdorfer. >> reporter: 17-year-old rugby player matthew hammerdorfer took a powerful hit to the chest and died. it's caused by a condition known as sudden cardiac death. experts say it happens far too often to young athletes in the prime of their life. it's estimated as many as 1 in 350 kids may have dangerous underlying heart condition. >> athletes are probably at higher risk than the general population because they exercise more. ironically, we know exercise is a healthy benefit for all of us. in some persons with an underlying heart condition, exercise can be the trigger. >> reporter: matthews death comes just day, after michigan high school basketball player wes leonard collapsed and died after the winning shot for his team. >> it's just tearing me up. he was just a kd with a passion you that just don't get to see all the time. >> reporter: young people dying of heart failure, it's far more common than most of us realize. stories like these are being repeated around the country. with estimates as high as one death every three days. support groups like parent heartwatch are trying to prevent the tragedies. they say athletes should get mandatory screening with an ekg. it's significantly lowered the death in italy. but medical experts say the huge costs could outweigh the benefits. and they encourage to have heart defibrillators at games. friends say matthew hammerdorfer was always smiling, always ready with a joke. and now many are calling attention to a most serious problem. clayton sandell, abc news, ft. collins, colorado. >> many spent the weekend mourning his death. dozens turned out with a memorial service honoring him. also black flags have been placed all around team. the team plays its first tournament game without leonard tonight. >> the other of a college student who was missing in spain says she's certain her son will be found. friends say the student had been drinking beforehand and did not appear to feel well. the astronauts aboard space shuttle "discovery" are up and around this morning after being awakened by the theme of "star trek" appropriately so. an 79 missions it's inlocking from the space station for the last time. "endeavour" final flight is set for april and "atlantis" in june. in the gulf of mexico, an oil rig suddenly caught fire. two men evacuated and were eventually picked up by a passing by ship. no oil from that rig escaped into the water. and some volunteer firefighters over the weekend had that drinks and took their rigs out for a spin. this happened along a winding road. t forced a police officer off the road. the same officer pulled the driver over. the driver behind the wheel was charged with dui. many college basketball conference tournaments are under way, kicking into high gear later for today. here is will selva at espn news. good morning, it has been a rough stretch for the miami heat. and it just got rougher as they took on the bulls. that game was on abc. derrick rose, focused as he always is. under four minutes to go. bulls up by four. rose buries the "j." bulls up by six. heat down. mario chalmers, the heat tie it up at 84-84. under 30 seconds to go. lebron. chalmers. and chalmers knows exactly what to do with it. luol deng, a foul line. deng, this is a foul shot. loose ball. deng fouled again. the bulls take an 87-86 lead. final possession of regulation. lebron can't finish. wade, huh-uh. bulls end up winning it 87-86. in the series versus miami. number one wisconsin, number one ohio state. the senior, the buckeyes go undefeated at home for the second time in less than 20 seasons. 17 of 20 from downtown in the past two games. william buford. he can shoot as well. buford with 18 points. buckeyes up by 15. jerry saling dold several people he wanted to beat them badly like 22 points. ohio state finishing undefeated at home for the second time in the past 20 seasons. that will do it for this espn news update. back to you in new york. >> and let's not forget that my tar heels did beat duke over the weekend. just had to put that out there. coming up next. new signs that donald trump is eyeing the white house. and also coming up later, the first images of lindsay lohan now making the famous visit to a hollywood star. and charlie sheen. hot waffles... the smell of warm maple syrup. honeysuckle and rosemary. the smell of shaving cream. whatever scents fill your household, purina tidy cats scoop helps neutralize odors in multiple cat homes... giving you just what you need to keep your house smelling like it should. purina tidy cats scoop. keep your home smelling like home. ♪ are you having any joy? ♪ what you getting out of living? ♪ ♪ what good is what you've got ♪ if you're not having any joy? ♪ ♪ are you having any laughs? ♪ are you getting any loving? ♪ ♪ if other people do, so can you ♪ ♪ have a little joy [ female announcer ] how does your next week look? why not get away and book a royal caribbean cruise at royalcaribbean.com today? let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. i am a banker with quicken loans. this is kathy, who i helped do her first home loan, and this is her sister tina, who i also helped do her first home loan. it was unbelievable how well it all fell together. kathy said, "well, let me give you rachel's number." easy. easy. easy. the whole loan process was simple and convenient! that's why i love quicken loans! [ male announcer ] and you'll be glad to know j.d. power and associates ranks quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction." to learn more call 800-quicken or visit us online at quickenloans.com. and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this monday. there is a lot of cleaning up across the south this morning, after a line of severe storms ripped through the area. a reported tornado is being blamed for leaving a trail of twisted debris in north carolina, just north of raleigh. and the handful of presidential contenders, including donald trump and newt gingrich make appearances in iowa. caucuses in the critical state are less than a year ago. the accused east coast rapist appears in a connecticut court today. police say dna evidence linked aaron thomas, an unemployed truck driver dating all the way back to 1997. the chicago cubs are hiring a new public address announcer at wrigley's field. today is the last day to submit applications. finalists will be submitted next week and the winner will be hired at the end of the month. coming up, your local news is coming up next. for everybody else, "saturday night live" takes on charlie sheen. ♪ oh, bayer aspirin? oh, no, no, no... i'm not having a heart attack. it's my back. trust me. it works great for pain. [ male announcer ] nothing's proven to relieve pain better than extra strength bayer aspirin. it rushes relief to the site of pain. no matter where you're hurting. feel better? yeah. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] for powerful pain relief, use bayer aspirin. sounds like a mini-wheats day to me! and becka's science fair is on the 8th. she's presenting the solar system. hey, i've got just the wholegrain fiber to keep her full so she can stay focused. um, you rock. she'll be ready to rock. [ female announcer ] make your kids big days, mini-wheats days. packed with 100% whole grain fiber, kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal has what it takes to help keep your kids full so they can stay focused on the days that matter most. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. so they can stay focused on the days that matter most. gotta get that bacon! there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time! well, after a media blitz that raised eyebrows around the world, charlie sheen may be ready for a whole new world as a humanitarian. >> sheen says he plans to head to haiti where he will be with sean penn. he used the show titled "sheen's corner" to rant for nearly an hour. >> and, of course, from my big, beautiful warlock brain, welcome to "sheen's corner." a big shoutout to my children. daddy loves you. if you're watching, tell mom to leave the room, it's on. >> and of course, "saturday night live" does not waste any time pouncing on sheen. >> no they did not. they put on a sketch portraying him in a show called "duh winning." >> welcome to the show entitled "duh winning." for those tired and ready to celebrate warlocks. >> the sketch featured lindsay lohan and libyan leader moammar gadhafi. and other stories in the news, the criminal case against lindsay lohan. that case can get a lot more complicated now at that jewelry store has sold this surveillance tape of low man for a reported 35 grand. >> she's due back in court on thursday. on top of all of this, singer cyndi lauper is proving that she still knows how to grab fun. she grabbed a microphone as tempers flared among trapped travelers.