president's day. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm meg oliver. paula faris is on assignment. we're following a developing story overnight from washington state. >> that is where three skiers have died. the tragedy mapped at a popular ski resort not far from seattle. >> reporter: 13 skiers headed to an out of bounds area around noon just on the perimeter of stevens pass. >> and as they were going dune the chute on the back side of the ski area here, an avalanche happened. >> reporter: pro skier lee stockset was with the group sand told espn that the snow gave away. the general manager of the ski resort showed us the path of destruction. >> slide started here. carried them down to this point where the rescuers are at. about 2,000 vertical feet. >> reporter: about half the group got swept down. some farther than others. >> once the avalanche happened, everyone waited for the snow to settle and immediately went into rescue mode. >> reporter: those who could dug themselves out but three men remained buried at the bottom. ski patrol responsed to a 911 call. by the time the rescue arrived those three men had died. apart from the three men who died, it is amazing that no one else was hurt, given that several people were swept up in this avalanche. joel moreno, for abc news. as this shows, inflatable equipment can save lives. this video showing a professional snowboarder during a back country competition in colorado last month. when she pulled a cord that inflated the air bag and her special backpack and that allowed her to float on top of the snow instead of being buried underneath. a second type of air bag allows a buried skier to actually breathe underneath all of that snow. we will actually hear from that skier who survived only on "good morning america." the other major story is the sudden spike in oil prices. near $105 a barrel in early trading. gas prices here at home were at record levels even before this latest increase. abc's tahman bradley reports from washington where this has become a political issue. >> reporter: gas prices have shot up. way up. >> wow, that's impressive. >> reporter: the cost of gas hit its highest point ever for president's day, causing big pain at the pump. >> they are getting ridiculous. i suppose they have for a while now. it seems to be getting higher and higher. it seems to be getting crazy. >> i don't like it. i don't like it but what can you do about it? >> reporter: across the country, look at these prices, 3.45 in texas. lewisston, new york, $38085. and 4.15 in california. >> it used to take $30, now it takes $50. >> reporter: over the past months, the gas prices have soared 18 cents a gallon. it could reach $4.25 by the end of april. >> gas prices will likely remain at elevated levels. >> reporter: as if those predictions were bad enough, a new concern could make it worse, iran is halts oil sales to france and britain as a preemptive strike on tough new sanctions. gas prices could also become a major election year issue. at the white house, the obama administration is looking at ways to boost energy production here in the u.s. in the meantime, some americans are looking for ways around buying gas. >> i should have got a scooter. >> reporter: tahman bradley, abc news, washington. >> though we mentioned the increasing tensions and what steps the u.s. may take, they're urge naught to attack iran but to give the international sanctions more time to work. they warn any attack could have grave consequences for the region. so far, israel has refused to rule out a military option. we now turn to politics in what seems like republican rick santorum questioning president obama's faith and values. over the weekend, santorum accused mr. obama of using what he called, quote, phony theology. and the president exercising his own values and trumping those of the church. an obama spokesman shot back yesterday saying santorum had reached a new low. whitney houston now lies to rest in a quiet ceremony. houston's golden hearse travelled from her town of new jersey to a cemetery where she was buried next to her father. more of houston's star-studded funeral coming up later in the half hour. >> it really was a remarkable service. now a look at weather on this president's day. showers in st. louis, kansas city, omaha, des moines and chicago. up to 3 inches of snow in wisconsin, minnesota and eastern colorado. and meanwhile, rain in the pacific northwest. morning fog in san francisco to san diego. >> and 60 in sacramento. near 50 in seattle, 43 in boise. mostly 30s from fargo to detroit. 48 here in new york. 62 in new orleans and 65 in dallas. and coming up, crunching the numbers on this president's day. who would be our richest president? and a consumer alert. a new investigation into those popular breathable shots of caffeine. and also get ready for a new addiction with an all new version of yet angry birds. welcome back, everybody. well, u.s. banks, post offices and, of course, stock markets are closed on this presidents' day holiday. meanwhile, overseas, tokyo's nikkei up 101 points. hong kong's hang seng lost 67. in london, the ftse opened higher. well protests against greece's severe budget cuts rioting in athens today. the greek government agreed to the so-called austerity measures. greek wages, health benefits and pensions will all be cut. on this presidents' day, we're learning that our wealthiest president was our first. adjusting for inflation, george washington was worth more than $500 million. thomas jefferson was second, worth 212 millions. and theo roosevelt only worth a third. the winner at the box office "safe house." and right behind it "the vow." $24 million each, still close to skull. on top of that "ghost rider: the spirit of vengeance" is right around $22 million. we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the final numbers. an there's more hope for angry birds, the next edition coming out next month. with zero gravity and nasa and national geographic are involved somehow. it will be wlereleased simultaneously in multiple formats. >> i don't play that game but people are depicted to it. next, the scare that sent several thousand tons of steel dangling. and the driver rescued by a very heroic trooper. [ indistinct conversations ] come for a smoke? yeah. no. you telling me you quit? yeah, i'm on my way. i'm trying nicoderm cq. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, celebrate a little win with nicoderm cq, the patch with smart control technology that gives you a burst of nicotine in the morning then continues working for up to 24 hours so you can go from one little win to another. until you reach your goal. nicoderm cq. quit one day at a time. a terrifying sight in downtown san francisco. a six-ton storage box dangling 600 feet above the sidewalk near the 50th floor of a sky scaper. workers can hoisting it to the roof when the crane fell. police locked down everything within six blocks while crews winced the box up manually which could took hours. icy from fargo to chicago. wet in kansas city. slick on i-80 from cheyenne to omaha. i-25 from cheyenne to colorado springs. 90 in the pacific northwest and north rookies. >> if you're flying expect delays in minneapolis with the twin cities. we turn to whitney houston and the moving sendoff around the globe. >> to celebrate the life of an amazing talent gone too soon. more from abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: one day after the joyful noise of her church home going, her family, including mother cissy, accompanied whitney houston on her final journey. with a golden hearse he went privately and quietly. the singer was buried in this assessme cemetery next to her father. it was a life celebrated on saturday. ♪ >> reporter: a tribute to the golden voice now in a choir of angels. >> everyone in heaven, including god is waiting, and i just know you're going to raise the roof like no one else has done before. >> reporter: the service continued uninterrupted, despite houston's ex-husband bobby brown who left abruptly after a few minutes. we were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three different occasions. security then prevented me from seeing my daughter bobbi kristina. saturday night, brown performed in connecticut where he saluted his former wife. >> i want do give blessing to my ex-wife, whitney houston. i love you. >> reporter: a final farewell to a once in a lifetime talent. ♪ i will always love you ♪ ♪ >> we will have much more about houston's sendoff on "gma" when pastor marvin winans joins us. trooper allyson powell stopped the cruiser as close to the fireball as she could and found the driver unconscious to the wreckage. she dragged him 180 feet to safety. the driver is safe now. it caused structural damage to the road. the fda is opening an investigation into a hot new way to get your caffeine kicks. it's called aeroshot around lets you inhale a 100-milligram shot of caffeine with each use. that's about a cup of coffee. the government will look into whether it's safe for makers and dietary supplement. there may be a solution to losing weight and living longer. all you have to do is starve yourself. researchers say depriving yourself of food on alternate days appears to protect you from diseases like alzheimer's. there appears to be similar recalls with humans. now, some sports and the sign that means warmer beth is getting closer. baseball spring training camps are open. including that of the defending world series champions, the st. louis cardinals. the marineners play the "a's" i san francisco. how could i start with any other mecca than madison square garden where jeremy lyin and th knicks are hosting the mavs. 33 points for nowitzki. fourth quarter now, incomes down two. lin leading the break he finds steve knnovak? yeah, steve novak, knocks down the three. lin, with nowitzki in his face, knicks up nine. three to play. knicks are up two. the fans are going crazy. the knicks are going crazy. lin is going to pull up, hits a three again. with a minute remaining, the mavs down five. jason terry drives. misses. he misses the bucket but tyson chandler is called for basket interference. the mavs down three. one final chance for jason terry, missing the three. lin with the rebound, finding -- j.r. smith? who scored 15 for the knicks. jeremy had 28. the knicks go on to win. kevin durant and the thunder taking on the nuggets at home. fourth quarter action. seven seconds left. durant blows by everybody. finishing with the dunk. high in the game. we go into overtime. thunder up three. durant playing a little defense with the steal, coast to coast with the finger roll. a career-high, 51 points for kevin durant. the nuggets with a chance, down four. they're in a drive but the block. 24.60 rebounds. 11 blocks for ibaka and the thunder win. >> i'm cris carter, inclues rest of your day. there's plenty to be excited for the new york knicks fans. >> all of the credit goes to one popular guy. >> american asian lin. >> i couldn't sleep last nine. >> lin vincible -- >> it was lin safe! >> can you ever think of so many things to do with the word lin? coming up linsanity takes over "saturday night live." plus, fresh concerns about bobbi kristina brown. was she really doing drugs an her mother's funeral? that i could smoke when the e for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and you are. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new nature fusion cold & flu from vicks. ♪ welcome back, everybody. time to check "the pulse." the stories you'll be talking about today. whitney houston's only child, of course, understandably is having a tough time dealing with her mother's sudden death. now there's word she's using drugs to cope. >> bobbi kristina was reportedly found getting high at a hotel saturday. a family spokesperson is denying allegations but the 18-year-old has reportedly been struggling with substance abuse for several years. >> sources tell tmz houston's family plans to get bobby christine to check into rehab. how she grew up, seeing what she saw, you can understand how this downward spiral may have started. lightening the mood with a little more lin. you saw lin from the champs in dallas earlier in the show. >> on "saturday night live," they had a plunge with the media coverage of him. >> you have linsanity? >> you better lock me up, i'm criminal neal lin sane! >> my feels are lin -- tent. >> it's lin-describable. >> our sister network espn has fired a writer, also suspended an anchor for an offensive head line of the player. >> espn apologized for the whole incident. >> don't try to be who clever, sometimes, the moral of the story. maybe this guy in san francisco didn't show such good judgment either. this is his porsche 911 stuck in cement. apparently he was trying to go around road crews on the street. >> we've got to imagine, the underside of the car was a mess. >> if he can afford a porsche, my heart isn't exactly there. >> for some of you your local news is next. for everyone else, jeremy lin and the new spotlight. ugh, my sinus congestion, and it's your fault. instead of blaming me, try advil congestion relief. often the real problem is swelling, not mucus. advil congestion relief reduces swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. advil congestion relief. updating the top news stories now, three experienced skiers died after being swept thousands of feet down a washington state mountain in an avalanche. one survivor was saved by the safety device that she was wearing. oil prices overnight came within a whisper of $105 a barrel after iran said it would no longer ship crude to britain and france as part of the dispute over iran's nuclear program. and mardi gras parades will be rolling across louisiana and wherever carnival festivities are taking place. ahead of tomorrow's big climax which is fat tuesday. heavy know in the northern rockies, lighter in the dakotas, wisconsin, showers from kansas city, des moines omaha and chicago. finally this half hour, you've seen him in action, of course, you've likely heard what everyone else is saying of jeremy lin of the new york knicks. >> now it's his turn. he spoke with rachel nichols of espn. >> when is the first time you realized, okay, this isn't one day on the back of the newspaper, that kind of thing? this is a thing, this is a n phenomenon? >> maybe started to realize five days into it. lin this, lin that. it was a little overwhelming. >> what was it like when you see someone walking around and you see someone wearing your name on their jersey. >> i was shocked. i didn't even know they made my jersey. >> your 85-year-old grandmother is back in taiwan, she's getting stalked by paparazzi. she's like the britney spears of taiwan. >> oh, i didn't even know that. i think that's crazy. i've learned that social media and, you know, our private lives are not so private anymore. so it takes a little bit of getting used to. >> what's the weirdest paparazzi moment you've had? >> sufficient about me dating kim kardashian. i have no idea where that came from. >> some say that asian-americans athletes have to deal with? >> that's funny, people are still saying, oh, he's quicker than he looks. i'm like, what does that mean? do i look slow? i'm not really sure what that means. so, people are always saying he's deceptively great, deceptively athletic. i don't know if nathat's asian. >> what's your thing, like if you're not working? >> if i had a day to myself, i would play video games with my brother. >> you're 23 years old? >> my family likes to call me an oversized kid. i think that's accurate in some ways.