Transcripts For WMAR ABC World News Now 20100301

these are people not concerned about the art. but the money. culture is big business. culture is an industry. it controls $25 billion of art. >> these people, these vandals stepped in and took it away from us. >> michael: that was a scene from the art of the steal. this is the documentary about the struggle for control of this priceless philadelphia art collection. >> tony: yes, the monied interests in philadelphia are trying to bring into the city and away from the foundation that's housed it for 75 years. >> michael: for you? >> tony: for me, rent it. i think this is an interesting story, but i think it's just too black and white. i think there are complicated issues that the movie explores but tries to turn it into a story of heroes and villains and overdoes the crime story aspect. >> michael: it's definitely -- went in with an agenda or at least came out with an agenda. a bit one-sided. i say see itment i think it's gripping. >> tony: next up, "prodigal sons", director, kimberley reed. and it's sort of autobiographical story. kimberley reed used to be named paul and was the star quarterback of her -- then his -- high school football team in helena, montana. >> in high school, all the girls -- they were all upset because they asked he, not him. >> michael: i love the set-up where you don't know for five or ten minutes at least that this woman who's narrating the story about going back to her 20th high school reunion was a male back then and is now transgendered. >> tony: i say see it because it's an interesting portrait of family, also her brother who's suffering from a brain injury who has a very interesting secret in his only background. >> michael: yeah, we don't want to give that away too. but this is the best of the three. i say see it. and sticking with dysfunctional families, "october country". >> something done at home, it's like a cycle and it's -- a generation through generation and to somebody comes along to break it. and saying i'm not going to be like that. >> michael: this is an interesting question of how voyeuristic is it too voyeuristic? i say see it. >> tony: i say see it. i think there are some flaws in it, but this is one of the directors -- directed by michael palmieri and donnell mosher. this is mosher's family, and he knows the people well. they're comfortable with him. and there's a feeling of real i want what -- real intimacy and compassion. >> michael: it's heart breaking and grim, and there's a performance element that make mess uncomfortable. i didn't buy it. coming up next, can't decide what to see in theaters? stay tuned for my three to see. closed captioning for "at the movies" is sponsored by -- sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. >> michael: okay, time for my three to see. the envelope please. number three, "the crazies," the remake of the 1973 george a. romero thriller about a biological plague that's messing things up in a small town. number two, "prodigal sons," kimberley reed's documentary in which reed returns to helena, montana, for his 20th high school reunion. the hitch -- back then, everybody knows her as a him. and number one, "the ghost writer". about a writer helping a shady british ex-prime minister. it has a fine cast working in peak form, including ewan macgregor, olivia williams and pierce brosnan. >> tony: very smart, sneaky, sly movie, a lot of fun. >> michael: and the actors are up to the level. >> tony: that's it for now. we'll leave you with a recap of this week's show. remember, the voting is now open for our "out-pick the critics" contest. go to atthemoviestv.com to enter your ballot today. >> michael: join us next week for reviews of richard gere, don cheadle and ethan hawke in "brooklyn's finest". and until then, we'll be "at the movies." ççççççççççççççççe and loaded with value, loaded country potatoes are served with eggs and pancakes. ihop. come hungry. leave happy. for dinner too. the best in nutrition... just got better. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. [ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. sunsweet ones.it is taking america by storm? prunes? wow. it's packaged by itself. that's fantastic. this is delicious. sunsweet ones. the remarkable super fruit. in college classrooms. >> after last month's rampage in alabama administrators banned guns there. the debate is far from over as clayton sandell reports. >> reporter: when history major david kelly heads the class at colorado state, he takes his books. >> that is what i carry. >> reporter: and his bullets. in a state that saw record gun sales last year, banning guns on campus has not gone down well with students like 22-year-old biology major kyle crowley. >> where would i go if somebody would to come into the classroom and start shooting? >> reporter: many students are vowing to fight the ban, collecting thousands of signatures and picking up powerful allies. >> you betcha, i'm coming back here to the state house with a bill to correct this problem. >> reporter: the real problem, say gun ban supporters, is the potential for violence. seen at places like virginia tech or the university of alabama huntsville. the faculty on this campus of 25,000 students say that more guns does not equal more safety. >> we want people to feel comfortable to get into heated arguments and serious debates without having to worry about thence o of weapons in the room. >> reporter: colorado state is backed by an association of campus police who find no credible evidence that students with concealed weapons make campuses safer. in fact, police say without training, armed students may actually make a situation more dangerous. that's what happened in this experiment, where students thought they were armed and were confronted with a staged attack. david kelly says he just wants his campus to be safe. opponents say it can be. without the help of a student militia. clayton sandell, abc news, ft. collins, colorado. >> you can kind of see there why it would be a circular argument in terms of, should i have one, could someone else bring one onto the campus? the interesting thing, if these laws go into effect at universities it affects other things like gun clubs and paint ball clubs. >> i think there's an exception, people in places like colorado would still like the lawless old west where everybody totes a gun. as a native coloradoen i can tell you that's not necessarily the case. interesting to see that dim administration where there were guns in the classroom and the students with them didn't really know how to react. when we come back, back to our top story, that huge earthquake in chile. >> we'll look at the advanced tsunami warning system and how from. we want to go back to our top story, that huge earthquake in chile. >> rescuers are struggling with nuke russ powerful aftershocks. the chilean government imposed a nighttime curfew to prevent looting. >> a growing number of people are still missing. the government says an estimated 500,000 homes were either destroyed or badly damaged. tsunami warnings were immediately posted across the pacific right after the quake. >> the warning system has become very sophisticated and very closely monitored. ron claiborne shows us how it works. >> reporter: for almost an hour it seemed all eyes were fixed on the sea. >> hawaii is under a tsunami -- >> continue to monitor -- >> with these waves they headed for high ground -- >> reporter: cable networks carried it live from hawaii. spectators perched on cliffs. it just may have been the most watched wave ever. and it arrived right on time. 11:19 in hawaii. exactly when scientists had predicted it would, 13 hours earlier. but instead of a powerful tsunami, there were just some seven to nine-foot waves. >> there is an announcement to be made. we have canceled the warning for the hawaiian islands. >> reporter: hawaii dodged a bullet. as the same tsunami moved past the hawaiian islands toward japan where there were some ten-foot waves hours later but no damage. it began with the earthquake just off the coast of chile. the same shifting tectonic plates meet the sea that cause destruction and death on land triggered the tsunami, sending it north and northwest at the speed of a jet airplane. >> you need to have a fairly shallow earthquake which means it is not very deep beneath the surface of the ocean, and of course you need to have the kind of plate motion that moves a lot of water. >> reporter: one massive wave swept away half a village on one of the islands off the coast of chile. the tsunami then spread. one tentacle was heading toward french polynesia, leading to evacuations on tahiti. another toward the u.s. west coast. the third and most powerful heading toward hawaii, more than 6,000 miles away. at 6:00 a.m. local time, more than 40,000 hawaiians and tourists were evacuated from coastal regions of the big island. residents rushed to gather emergency supplies. no one was taking any chances. the 2004 southeast asia tsunami that killed 230,000 people was a wake-up call to the world. afterward, governments and scientists moved to improve their tracking procedures. the most important advancement, the installation of more buoys to detect and monitor approaching tsunamis. before the disaster, there were a total of six tsunami buoys in the world. today, there are 50. >> the buoys tell you the size of the tsunami and also how long the tsunami is, how long will the event last? >> reporter: this time the system seemed to work. local governments moving fast to protect residents from what might have been a disaster. >> such a strong magnitude earthquake, and of course they're saying right now one of the reasons we're seeing a little less destruction than we saw in haiti is because they had a better infrastructure system and that's why a lot of the buildings stood up, although that one's ripped almost completely in half, it's doing much better than haiti with a much less powerful earthquake. >> hillary clinton headed to south america, should be in chile tomorrow, she's already planning to visit several countries there. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? 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[ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ vinita and i went look for laughs in this week's "insomniac theater" and we found them. >> when i saw the preview for this movie i said, nuh-uh, there's no way i'm going to see this movie. yet there i was and i was pleasantly surprised. it's a buddy cop movie, it has bruce willis, it has tracy morgan, they're cops with this do it your own way approach to law. well, they get into a lot of high jinks. this scene in particular ends them suspended from their jobs, they're partners, they can't go to work anymore. bruce willis still needs to raise money for his daughter's wedding so he decides he's going to sell a very valuable baseball card and of course that leads to even more high jinks. >> just be careful. >> you just scratched my ride. >> what the hell are you doing, tommy? get out of the car. >> because i'm black? >> no, because you're 10. >> 11! >> this is probably one of the funniest scenes in the movie. all in all i was like i said really pleasantly surprised. tracy morgan is hilarious and he shines in a platform like this. 3 kernels. and i say believe it or not it is worth seeing. >> it is a hood. i give it even more than 3 concern nels. it was a classic throw-back to the great buddy cop movies. there was a song from the movie "fletch" if you listen closely enough. music that sounded like "beverly hills cop." it was great. tracy morgan was an absolute stitch from beginning to end, he stole every scene he was in. although you remember suesy from "curb your enthusiasm," she stole this one scene. >> shut up! >> you want to shoot me? >> i'll shoot you right in the face. >> i'll shoot you in the face. >> what? shut the -- >> shut up, shut up! >> shut up, man. you see -- shut up! do you see what he's doing? he's trying -- >> don't tap your head with the gun. >> shut up. >> shawne williams scott, he was hilarious in that scene right there, together with tracy morgan. totally funny. i give this movie 4 kernels. i almost went with five. it was one of those movies where i didn't expect to like it but i went in and enjoyed every minute. >> keep in mind jeremy might be a little biassed and take a look why. >> i like tracy morgan, he's my buddy. families searching for loved ones; parents trying to feed their children./ but we can all do something. we can help the american red cross as it delivers the food, water, and medicine that can save lives. donate $10 by texting "haiti" to 9-0-9-9-9. visit redcross.org or call 1-800-red-cross. thanks for your help. rob, what's up? how's it going? how's it going? guys, this is my cousin rob from michigan. whazzup! he's a teenager. totally. hey, what's up? rob: all right. whoa. hey, you wanna slow down? no. really? huh. hey! do you know what a beautiful animal is? a horse. a horse. yeah. beautiful mane. unbelievable muscle tone. when it runs, it looks like poetry in motion. it's the most beautiful thing on earth. and sometimes when you feed a horse, its lips will tickle your hand. just, just tickle it just a little bit. it makes me giggle sometimes. i don't know. i guess what i'm trying to say is, if you don't slow down, i'm going to bite into your head like an apple. and thanks, guys, for listening to my horse stories. i could talk about ponies all day long. chile's catastrophe. more aftershocks this morning as the hope of finding earthquake survivors fades and looting breaks out. plus, disaster preparedness. two earthquakes in different parts of the world. how construction played a role in the outcome and loss of life. and, cuban culture. how the arts is shaping the future of the communist country. it's monday, march 1st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> time to flip the page on the calendar, march 1st already. >> already marchst 1st, can you believe that? >> i can't believe i'm still so cold. >> february is the snowiest month in new york city history and the same case across much of the country. we're ready for february to be gone. >> i thought if we wore spring jack kets spring would come sooner. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm jeremy hubbard. the government of chile is scrambling to get food, water and medical help to thousands of residents hard-hit by this weekend's powerful earthquake. >> the death toll has risen to more than 700 and 500,000 homes have been destroyed or badly damaged. now looters have taken to the streets of the hardest-hit cities. larry jacobs reports. >> reporter: at least 350 people died in the coastal town of constitution, victims of a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that swept through the city. a wave that was ten meters high destroyed my house, this man told us. it also destroyed my mother's and aunty's house. a scene of devastation. a mammoth tremor affected 1.5 million people in central chile and severely damaged 500,000 homes. the president toured the destruction declaring a state of catastrophe. lack of food and water is drive something people to desperation. in concepcion where curfews are now in place police used water canyon and tear gas to disperse looters at a supermarket. i think it's out of necessity, this woman insists. we don't have water or anything to eat. 24 hours after the earthquake struck emergency crews rescued this girl and her mother from the rubble of an apartment building leveled by powerful seismic shocks. security cameras in vena delmar captured the destruction at a pizza restaurant. >> i didn't know what to. just run. >> reporter: 18,000 americans live in chile. the u.s. ambassador says as far as they know, all are safe. he has not heard much from the hardest-hit areas. >> as of this point we are not aware of any fatality of any american or any serious casualty. >> reporter: for now chile has moanized to count and bury the dead, shelter the homeless, provide food and water to millions of survivors who have had to endure more than 90 aftershocks following one of the most powerful earthquakes ever. larry jacobs, abc news. >> the chile earthquake was 500 times more powerful than the one that hit haiti, yet the devastation in haiti is much worse than what we're seeing in chile. ned potter says there could be a lesson in this for other countries. >> reporter: these are shake tables at engineering labs where houses are mounted to see how they'll do in an earthquake. the house on the left was reinforced with extra beams and steel rods. the other was not. and look what happened. in chile, they were mindful of such experiments. >> this is the earth earthquake. this is the earthquake we can learn the most from, both positive and negative. >> reporter: after record earthquakes in 1960 and '85, chile's government got serious, demanding that buildings be reinforced. contrast that to what happened in haiti last month, where poverty rules and cheap cinderblock buildings turned to dust. >> it's very consistent with what we call pancake collapse of concrete buildings. the floors essentially collapse on each other. >> reporter: in california, as in chile, taller buildings can be braced so they hold together when the ground shakes. others are put on giant shock absorbers so that if the ground beneath them vibrates, they roll with the punches. >> what we're trying to do is isolate the building from the ground motion coming from the ground. >> reporter: the carnage in chile was still tremendous. but engineers say you can build to be ready for it. ned potter, abc news, new york. in haiti there are fears about more serious flooding as recent rain there is expected to continue. at least eight people were killed by flooding over the weekend. workers have been cleaning out flood canals in port-au-prince in anticipation of the rainy season. many of those canals are clogged with trash and earthquake debris. there has also been deadly flooding by a storm that's wreaking havoc across western europe. at least 51 have been killed, mostly in france. areas from spain to germany are dealing with stormy conditions and hurricane-force winds. nearly 1 million people in france are without power. still overseas this morning the battle for the strategically important town of marjah, afghanistan, will keep u.s. marines there for months. large parts of the town are now under the control of the marines and afghan forces. they're going to stay there to make sure taliban fighters don't come back. the marines say at least four resupply convoys have been hit by roadside bombs in the last few days. here at home, 2,000 department of transportation workers are being furloughed today because of an ongoing funding battle on capitol hill. kentucky republican senator jim bunning put what's called a hold on a funding bill last week. that hold stopped an extension of funds for highway work. it also blocked extensions to unemployment benefits. for thousands in the northeast, it is fourth night without heat, lights and hot water. 200,000 homes and businesses are without power. new hampshire and new york are the hardest hit with more than 80,000 outages each. maine has been 16,000. hundreds of utility crews have been working around the clock but some places won't get power restored until the middle of this week. >> yuck. here is a look at your weather. making matters worse, more snow falling in upstate new york and new england today. the heaviest snow in maine with 30 to 50-mile-an-hour winds for much of the northeast. snow in the southern rockies. rain from central texas through the gulf coast states. 46 in dallas. 60 in new orleans. 39 in boston. 45 in new york. 54 in atlanta. 30s from the twin cities to detroit. and 60s from seattle down to sacramento. well, sadly, no miracle on ice for the u.s. this time. after canada clinched the gold in a dramatic overtime victory. >> canada had the game in its pocket until the u.s. tied it 2-2 with 25 seconds left in the third period. but 22-year-old sidney crosby became the hero of the game. crosby, when plays for the pittsburgh penguins, scored the final goal in overtime giving canada its 14th gold medal. >> a little trivia, only five of the u.s. players were born the last time the u.s. won the gold 30 years ago. lots of youngsters. i was hoping we'd get to hear al michaels say, do you believe in miracles, again. didn't. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." if you've taken your sleep aid and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. welcome back. the president's health care reform sum mutt last week. what it accomplished and what did not was discussed at length on the sunday talk shows. >> both parties want reform but washington insiders wonder if republicans and democrats can actually work out a compromise. >> "this week" with 20/20 anchor elizabeth vargas. >> madam speaker, welcome back again to "this week." let's talk health care. do you wish the president has posted his bill before this week, that six months ago it might have been more helpful for you, that maybe six months s ag you knew the public option he was willing to drop. >> we still fight for what the public option will do. whether it's in the bill or not its purpose must be recognized and that is to keep the insurance companies honest. keep them accountable. and to increase competition. and i think in the summit on thursday it became very clear that what the president was proposing was regulation of the insurance companies. left to their own devices, they have done harm to the american people. they need to be regulated. and that is one of the biggest differences between the democrats and republicans. another one, for example, is an example of it is, ending the denial of coverage to those who have a pre-existing condition. the democrats have that in their bill, the republicans to not. >> but wa you -- >> that's a major insurance reform that has to take place. >> and we are joined now by the republican point man at the health care center, senator lamar alexander. welcome to "this week." >> thank you. >> when you say political kamikaze, are you saying if the democrats push this through they will lose all their seats in november? what are we talking about? >> here's what i think. i mean, the people are saying, we don't want it. the democrats are saying, we don't care, we're going to pass it anyway. so for the next three months, washington will be consumed with the democrats trying to jam this through in a very messy procedure, an unpopular health care bill. then for the rest of the year, we're going to be involved in the campaign to repeal it. and every democratic candidate in the country is going to be defined by this unpopular health care bill at a time when the real issues are jobs, terror, and debt. "face the nation" with cbs news chief washington correspondent bob schieffer. >> senator coburn, you're a republican leader in the senate said just this morning that as things stand now, all 41 members of the republican party in the senate would vote against health care reform. do you see that changing in any way? >> well, i think it could change if we started over. and we actually worked and treated the disease that is plaguing american health care. the disease is cost. and until we put in the incentives to change the dynamics, the market dynamics, the defensive medicine. that's $250 billion a year in defensive medicine costs. what we need is not more government, we need more market-oriented, patient-centered health care rather than government-centered health care. >> let me go to senator conrad, chairman of the budget committee in the senate. do you see any chance that this divide can be breached, senator? >> i thought there were wide areas of agreement. senator coburn talks about focusing on cost. i believe that's essential already because we're now spending one of every six dollars in this economy on health care. if we stay on the current course we're going to spend one in every three dollars. that's totally unsustainable. that's going to break the bank of the government, of families, of businesses. so we've got to do something and we've got to begin now. >> this is "meet the press" with david gregory. >> senator john mccain, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks for having me back. >> the health care summit. on tv, much anticipated. it happened, many hours' worth. what's changed? >> well, i think the american people are much better informed and i think it was a good thing. because i think there was an in-depth discussion with a lot of -- about a lot of issues. and i'm glad that it happened. but we still have the fundamental problem. do we go on the partisan plan that was rammed through the senate and the house, or do we start over from the beginning? and we obviously -- apparently the president may be intent, along with the speaker and the majority leader, to go the 51-vote route, which i'm sure we'll get into this our conversation. >> that's called budget reconciliation, where they can pass it with a simple majority. how would you react if indeed that's what would happen? >> throughout history, recent history anyway, the majority has always been frustrated by the 40-vote, 60-vote threshold in the united states senate. and when republicans are in the majority, they're frustrated by the democrats and vice versa. i did object strongly when, during the bush administration, when we couldn't get any judges confirmed, that there was the advocacy of the "nuclear option." i objected to that because i believed, as robert byrd does, that we should not be addressing these issues through 51 votes. >> senator, you have voted for bills through reconciliation nine times since 1989. >> yes, i have voted for them. but i objected stren wulsly to us changing the rules of the senate so that 51 votes would prevail. >> can't they alley just get along? look, please just get behind the president's domestic agenda here. even if it's a threat to your own political life. you heard the calls for starting over again when it comes to health care. >> she's saying that we should have another version of a house and senate combined bill, sort of a matter of a couple of days, and she's confident she can sell it to the american people. can she sell to it congress is the real question. coming up, real life drama for the stars of "the jersey shore." here's my fist pump. >> he's been working on that for a while. the canadian humor at the olympics closing ceremonies. was anyone laughing or just fist pumping? i experience ♪accoustic guitar doing that community service, showing that i care about someone else, it was more than any words could describe. i got the opportunity to visit a u.s. army base in south korea. my sister and i got the chance to speak to a few soldiers. now our efforts support all troops. ♪patrick and soldier greeting one another♪ i may be changing the world for the better, some way, somehow. it all started on behalf of my one, and only, awesome, special, and spunky baby brother caden, who was born with a hole in his heart, having to go under three open heart surgeries before his very first birthday. ♪boy cheering no matter how young, or busy you are, you can make a difference. [female announcer] if you know middle or high school students that volunteer, encourage them to apply for prudential spirit of community award. visit spirit dot prudential dot com. the olympics are over. and so is the bizarre behavior. it ended with a very strange sort of wrap-up closing ceremony of the olympics that involved beavers, flying moose, and making fun of how polite canadians are that may have been a bit off-color. perhaps the strangest of it all was katherine o'hare, the famous actress, she's in those christopher guest movies, and her talk of yellow snow. >> hi. i'm katherine and i'm a canadian. and the rest of you, i don't care what language you speak. when you pee your name in the snow, we know who you are. >> the international language of urine spoken at the vancouver games. >> huh. >> strange. >> very bizarre. okay, so jeremy's been practicing his fist pump since we knew this story was going to be in the skinny. there it is. >> i need some music. >> the kids from "the jersey shore," two of them vinny and snooki were out saturday night in new york, when all of a sudden perhaps all of that fist pumping -- >> they raised the roof and the roof came down. >> exactly. the sky you can see there is falling. what basically happened is ice from a skyscraper overhead crashed through the aid trium windows. kind of like a nice restaurant. it was night just snooki and vinny, there was also other notables. chr some people were bleeding. they had to be taken to the hospital for minor injuries. the good thing is they said the kids from "the jersey shore" were dancing and keeping everyone entertained and snooki was tweeting throughout the night. she said at one point, we thought the deejay was beating the beat hart core, but nope, the roof couldn't handle us. >> couldn't handle snooki. strange unsportsmanlike behavior from the folks behind "the hurt locker." this is a favorite for the oscars but now they're sort of in violation of the rules. one of the producers is in trouble for sending out an e-mail basically to academy voters saying, vote for us, don't vote for "avatar." basically the e-mail urged voters to go for "the hurt locker" in the best picture category. i guess you can rate them. number one to number ten in order of preference on the ballot. he said, please vote for "hurt locker" number one and "avatar" number ten. the academy's going after him for violating the rules in terms of promoting their movie by casting another movie in a negative light. the movie distributor behind "the hurt locker" said, we knew nothing about this. it is strange behavior from a movie that's already a favorite to win in that category. >> he's saying he was naive, he didn't know the rules, he should have read them more. >> it seems a little unsportsmanlike. >> who knew. some people out there don't like lady gaga. if you saw -- this is hot off the presses. we were able to get a copy of this because we have a hip d.a. named kristin. lady gaga in "cosmo" is talking about how she dated a guy for a long time who thought she would never succeed. she says he told her she'd never be nominated for a grammy, never have a hit song, and he hoped she would fail. she said to him, this is a quote, someday when we're not together you won't be able to order a cup of coffee at the deli -- deleted expletive -- without hearing or seeing me. she went on to talk about her image. she says it was an issue initially. there was concern she was too pop or too theater. she goes on to say she followed the beat of her own drum and look where she is now. >> i'm more interested in that other headline. >> we're not going to get into the other headlines "cosmo" is covering in the april issue but you can see it. >> matt damon is not very happy with the president. he says he's disappointed in barack obama. he's talking about his new movie that's coming out. he says politics is compromise but he feels like he's disappointed in the health care plan and the troop build-up in afghanistan, he's disappointed in the man that he campaigned for a couple of yes, there is ago. 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. awake again? hire are some stories to watch today on abc news. secretary of state hillary clinton is on her way to meet with south american leaders. part of a scheduled tour but the tour will take her to chile's earthquake damage tomorrow. funeral services are today for the whale trainer who was killed at overruled seaworld last week. and lawyers for convicted enron executive jeffrey skilling will ask the u.s. supreme court to overturn his fraud conviction. skilling is serving a 24-year sentence. finally from us this half hour, an unprecedented look inside communist cuba and how the arts have become an important part of everyday life. >> as you'll see inside cigar factories and in the ballet schools there. the bbc's matt frey reports from havana. >> reporter: it's an irresistible sound. echoing through the nocturnal gloom of havana. locals love it. the tourists can't get enough of it. this is the face of cuban culture much of the world has come to cherish and expect. but did you know thakoon ba is also producing a whole generation of billy elliots? this is the havana ballet school and the playground is full of boysing to what boys don't usually do in playgrounds. ballet and revolution aren't usually words mentioned in the same sentence. but castro encouraged it, and today boys and girls see ballet as a way of pirouetting out of poverty. their angelic faces hide hours of hard work in a school that costs nothing but demands everything. there are so many aspects of cuban culture that are surprising. but perhaps the most surprising of them all can be found inside this former palace. before the revolution, the lavish home of a sugar baron. since the revolution, a factory of cigars. the very finest. each sold in london or hong kong for the equivalent of a monthly salary. ever wondered what makes them so special? the leaves, yes. the rolling technique, of course. but according to one woman, there's another secret ingredient. in a country with one of the highest literacy rates in the world. literature on the loud speaker. she's the official reader at this factory. the party newspaper in the morning. novels and poetry in the afternoon. look, she told me, the psychologists have proven it. hearing fine words improves the quality of the work here. disagree with her if you must. but cuba's extraordinary culture is also a glorious byproduct of a society that is still pitifully short on the distractions of choice and prosperity. >> an interesting inside look there from the bbc's mat vo: in the event of a car crash, three t of four kids are not asece as they shoulde bec their seats are not usedorrectly. buthe latch sysm mes it easier get rig and to hold your kids tight. anchortether. latch. learnore safercar.gov. chaos in chile. earthquake survivors desperate for food turn to looting. this morning, the aftershocks and how the government is cracking down. then, trainer's tribute. the show goes on at orlando's seaworld with an emotional dedication. and, loyal listeners. coast to coast. >> good morning, good evening. >> the early morning radio talk show where any unusual topic is up for discussion. it's monday, march 1st. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> when i was in college i'd listen to that show all the time. back when art bell used to host "coast to coast." it was so strange. it gave voice to a lot of interesting people. and still does. and we'll take a listen to some of that coming up this half hour. we'll introduce you to it. it's pretty interesting stuff. >> i'm vinita nair. offers of aid are pouring in from around the world to help the victims of chile's earthquake. it was one of the strongest quakes in centuries. >> the death toll is just over 700 but it's certain to go up as many areas remain cut off from rescue crews. more than 500,000 homes are damaged or destroyed. >> reporter: this morning search drews are feverishly trying to reach survivors trapped under the rubble two days after the powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake. ongoing aftershocks are keeping rescuers from entering unstable buildings. newly released video from a hotel security camera shows just how chaotic it was when the quake hit. you can see pictures shaking on the walls and guests running for their lives. one man ran out in just his underwear. images of the aftermath are mind-blowing. this is what the tsunami did in a small town west of santiago. families desperately trying to reach higher ground before the powerful wave hit didn't make it out in time and some were swept away. >> reporter: another concern this morning is looting. victims say they aren't getting enough food and water. some are resorting to pillaging gasoline, tvs and refrigerators. the president of chile has sent in the army to help discourage looters. officials are starting to plan the recovery effort in the wake of the earthquake. about 18,000 americans live in chile. the u.s. ambassador says as far as they know, all are safe but not much news has come out of the hardest-hit areas. follow of the survivors, the safest place seems to be the outdoors. at least for now. secretary of state hillary clinton is due in saunt talking go tomorrow morning at a show of support. it's part of a previously scheduled five-nation tour of that region, including stops in uruguay and argentina. now to europe where more than 50 people have been killed by violent storms. most of the deaths have been in france where the atlantic ocean broke through a sea wall in at least one town. sonia gallego is joining us from london with the latest. good morning, sonia. >> good morning, vinita. france has declared a national disaster emergency after fierce storms battered the country over the weekend and left at least 45 people dead in its wake, many of the victims killed by drowning or had been hit by building parts or trees. the western coast suffered powerful winds of 87 miles per hour. that spread across the country as atlantic storms hit the region, also spain and portugal were deaths were reported yesterday. around 1 million are left without power and those left homeless are facing danger from flooding. the storm had been moving north across belgium, the netherlands, germany where there have been deaths reported. also reports of bad weather affecting the swiss alps. also warnings of adverse weather conditions hitting here in britain as well as the storm progresses throughout the continent. this is the worst weather disaster to have hit these countries in over a decade. the french interior minister has said the government would release emergency funds to help devastated communities rebuild as quickly as possible. there were still a dozen people unaccounted for and power companies are saying it will take a few days for electricity to be fully restored during the tail end of this winter, making a bleak road to recovery for those affected. >> and the ripple effect certainly has already begun. at the investigation of a hamas military leader's assassination moves forward the israeli spy agency allegedly behind the hit seems to be reap something benefits. simon mcgreggor-wood reports. >> reporter: the victim is seen on a hotel security camera followed by members of a suspected israeli hit squad dressed in tennis gear. moments later, he was killed in his room. dubai police now say they know how. their forensic tests show that senior hamas leader mahmoud al may buy was first drugged, using a muscle relax ant normally used by doctors. he would have been conscious but unable to resist as he was suffocated with a pillow. dubai police said the assassins used this method so it would seem his death was follow. authorities in dubai say they are sure israel's spy agency mossad is behind the killing. they've named 26 suspects, shown the false passports they were traveling on, and released this video of them tracking their prey. israel will neither confirm nor deny it was responsible. >> i think that you saw too many movies about james bond. >> reporter: in private, israeli officials may be embarrassed by the unwanted publicity but the israeli public is lapping it up. there's been a surge of hits on mossad's website from young israelis keen to sign up. so too in the sales of geeky glasses worn by some of the suspects. one senior government minister said he didn't know who did it. what was important was the result. most israelis would reagree. simon mcgreggor-wood, abc news, london. funeral services are being held today for the seaworld trainer who was killed last wean. dawn brancheau's family and friends gathered in chicago to offer their last good-byes yesterday. brancheau drowned after being dragged underwater by a killer whale she had been training. over the weekend the killer whale show at seaworld resumed as yunji de nies reports. >> reporter: it began with a tribute. >> we want to dedicate this moment to our friend and colleague dawn brancheau. >> reporter: as photographs of the 40-year-old trainer filled the screen, family and friends were moved to tears. 2,000 people filled shamu stadium when the trainers took the stage. the crowd leapt to their feet and the show took off. >> i could see their faces change. their bodies change. their energy change. their purpose was reinvented out there. you could see it. they were doing this for dawn and for themselves. >> reporter: trainers kept their distance from the whales, under strict orders from seaworld. the one and only time they got into the water, the whales were locked away. >> i think it was wonderful. you know, it's so hard to put into words. i'm sure everyone here is feeling what we're feeling. >> reporter: some in the audience cried not just for brancheau but for the killer whales who they say should not be blamed for wednesday's tragedy. >> i don't want people to think that, you know, whatever happens it was their fault. so when i see them there, it's like, wow. >> reporter: the killer whales' majesty was on full display. and after so much pain, this brought comfort. >> re-energized me. made me realize the purpose what was we do. that's going out and sharing our love for these animals with everybody watching. >> reporter: yunji de nies, abc news, orlando. time now a look at your monday forecast. up to a half foot of snow in the northeast with wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour. 6 inches of snow in maine. a couple inches in boston. showers and flurries in new york city. rain from texas into louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. and snow in the southern rockies. >> 51 in albuquerque. 71 in phoenix. 60s along the pacific coast. 30s from the twin cities to kansas city. 39 in boston. 48 in baltimore. 73 in miami. well, now let's go down under where there's no underwear apparently. thousands of people in australia agreed to strip down and bare it all for the sake of art. >> about 5,200 daring souls in all shapes and sizes posed in the buff. >> i can see some naughty parts there. >> people are waking up right now. they posed in the buff on the steps of the sidney opera house. this is all the work of a photographer named spencer tunic who is known for nude group pictures in public. look at all those rear ends. in public places. >> tunic says one of the biggest challenges is getting straight and gay participants to embrace. but eventually everybody complied there. he did that a few years back, i think it was in cleveland or something like that, and a news anchor got naked and got involved. so perhaps that's a new assignment for you. >> i think i speak for everyone when i say, you don't want to see that. >> i don't think that's necessarily true. i've seen the comments from some of our facebook fans. they do not agree. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." if you've taken your sleep aid and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't 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second place there. >> reporter: for canada, for the host country, and for the olympics, it just doesn't get any better than this. canada versus the united states going for the hockey gold. the final event of the winter games. a games so heart-stopping that with seconds left in regulation -- >> they score! zach parise! and the game is tied! >> reporter: american zach parise scored to send it into overtime. but leave it to nova scotian's saysny crosby, sid the kid, the man responsible for winning the stanley cup for the penguins -- >> crosby scores! >> reporter: to give canada a glorious 3-2 victory. for hockey-mad canadians, this may be the only event that really mattered and winning was especially sweet. not just because it was two 8-profile rivals but also because it gave canada a last gleaming gold medal, earning the country 14, the most gold any country ever won in the winter olympics. hockey silver brought the u.s. total to 37. another record, the most medals won by any country during a winter games. then the closing ceremonies. and a chance to finally do it right. to light the last pillar of the olympic flame, a segment of whose hydraulics refused to cooperate during the opening ceremonies days ago. sunday's close proved a light-hearted romp, less proceeds protocol and more party. >> they'll do it all again four years from now in russia. when we come back the early morning radio talk show where just about anything is discussed. >> the unusual callers and the successful host of "coast to coast." i'm chandra wilson, and i'm a mother of three. please store over-the-counter medicines properly out of the reach and sight of children and do not give otc cough and cold medicines to children under the age of 4. to learn more, visit otcsafety.org. radio listeners tuning in during the wee hours of the morning call george norrie if they think they've seen a ufo or if they want to discuss a conspiracy. >> norrie's call-in program "coast to coast" is a hit on more than 500 stations and brian rooney looks into his success. >> reporter: from the city of angels off the pacific ocean, good morning, good evening, wherever you may be across the nation, around the world -- >> reporter: it's the middle of the night and a listener has called in to say an infestation of deadly brazilian wandering spiders is taking over the city of seattle. >> i've actually witnessed five people that have been bitten and died. and the bad thing is within three minutes you die. >> three minutes? >> reporter: that is the essence of "coast to coast," hosted five nights a week by george norrie. ♪ when i feel blue in the night ♪ >> reporter: it's radio for the night people. shift workers and truck drivers. people who are awake, thinking, in need of conversation. >> two months after he died i saw him. i go, dad, is that you? >> the out of body experiences, how does a person get into that? >> reporter: he says it's like sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows. >> you've got big foot, you have paranormal activity, you have ufos. maybe government conspiracies or world governments. >> is there a thread that runs through that? >> i think the thread is the big picture. are we being manipulated by a shadow government? are we being the puppets to the puppet masters? >> reporter: his producer tom dan hiser sits in the other room screening calls. >> when was the last time on the show, ziggy? >> reporter: norly sometimes agrees with people but you don't know if he's just making conversation. it's hard to pin down what he thinks. for instance, do you believe that there are forces that are larger than our government? >> what is that? i don't name names. but there are people out there that you can imagine. >> do you have names? >> i have a few, i have a few. but i don't reveal them on the air. >> big foot, real or imagined? >> i would guess there's something that they're seeing. >> alien abduction, does it really happen? >> millions of people across this planet are testifying that strange things are happening to them. >> the global financial melt-down. >> awful. done on purpose. >> by who? >> again, these higher-ups. there is a push, it's my belief, that we are being pushed into a one world government. >> reporter: he rarely challenges a guest. they can say anything outrageous, improbable, or impossible. and he listens. >> this is a small man. he is supposed to be of the leprechaun persuasion. >> are they mystical? are they magical? >> yes. they were supposed to have knowledge. >> a man was describing he was an expert on gnomes and leb ra kahns. >> you're not going to have me as the host put him down or go after him and crush him. as i could do if i was doing the daytime talk show, confession. >> for instance, on the leprechaun man, why not ask, really, what proof do you have? >> the proof was what he said. he saw them. himself. >> if i were to describe the thread that runs through almost all your topics, it is forces beyond our control. >> and also forces that we just don't understand, yeah, at this time. >> so does that make those things real? or part of our imagination? >> or maybe both? >> reporter: norrie says he's seen two ufos himself. not definitely from outer space. but -- so you would say at the least, most likely, it was not of earth? >> i would say what i saw had the potential of being not from earth. very possible. >> reporter: it's all up for discussion. swine flu -- made up by the drug companies? the federal bailout -- maybe a conspiracy? out of body experience -- people say it happens. >> but i think we owe it to ourselves as people to question the bigger picture. because if we don't, if we take everything at face value, i think we're all in a lot of trouble. >> reporter: but until then, the unknown, the inexplicable, and the unlikely fill the air waves of the night. >> you're a welt of information, okay, we'll push it even harder. the rocket's being designed to take them there, that is, if president barack obama gets his way. that's got to be one of the creepy ones. >> reporter: this is brian rooney in los angeles. >> and there are lots of creepy ones. as we mentioned earlier, he took over the show from art bell who is who i listened to in college. art bell went away about seven years ago. art liked to talk about extra-terrestrials, that sort of thing. now the show is involved in anything weird really. >> sound like he gives you a perfect lat form are in anything weird. his background, a tv news executive. >> that tells you everything you need to know. dicare card, i realized i needed x an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, in fact, it only pays up to .80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you up to ! thousands of dollars. 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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> our first morning paper takes to us russia where a chimpanzee has been sent to rehab to cure him of his smoking and beer drinking habits. need proof? we have pictures. take a look at these before jeremy says they are photo shopped. this is from reuters. not from "the daily mail." >> hold it, that could be water. >> take a look at this next one. in a second. there it is. so what they say is that this particular claim pan zee, who's really aggressive at his circus, they transferred him to another circus, he bothered several baby chimps. at the other circus he picked up these horrible two vices. they say it was so bad, he would pester passers-by for booze. i'm not sure if he was asking for booze or how you pester for booze. >> he was hold that will cigarette like he's used to holding things that aren't cigarettes. >> i thought the same thing, i did. maybe that's how he got calm. >> perhaps it is. hey, i want to introduce you if i can to rubber man. >> rubber man! >> get your mind out of the gutter, willis, not like that. this guy's flexible, really flexible. he's 27, heelgs in the begin necessary book of world records, he was able to squeeze himself through the tennis racket, took the stitches out. watch how he drinks a coke. and i think this next one is what you're supposed to do on an airplane in case of emergency. i'm not really sure. but i think so. if we get the chance to see that one. which we won't. technical difficulties. >> we're really giving quite the build-up for pictures. >> i really set it up. >> i really hope we have the photo for this next one because i think it was two weeks ago we introduced you to the doggie song. now get ready to meet a system that keeps your dog's private parts under wraps. >> it's called pads for pets in case you're interested. why not have a doggy chastity belt, especially in the springtime you may have a female dog and you don't want any problems and you don't want to get the dog spayed or neutered. it not only covers up the goodies, it also has pads so that if the dog is -- >> right, right, yeah, yeah. hm. >> yeah, okay. >> interesting. >> not interested? >> no, it is interesting. >> in case you're wondering, $65 for the belt. >> okay. hey, this is kind of cool. i'm reluctant to set it up because i don't know if i'll have all the pictures. basically this guy has made cool landscape art out of household projects. it's a tornado. see if you can tell what that's made out of. steel wool what is he made that tornado out of. this is a volcano mate outuso id that we share to help us stay close. [male announcer] find out how you can help at uso dot org the uso until every one comes home. ♪upbeat rock i think its important to volunteer because it really opens you up to what goes on in the rest of the world. ♪upbeat rock you learn new things, you meet new people, you help your community, and make a better world. ♪upbeat rock young people across america are volunteering to make a difference; in their neighborhoods, in their cities, and around the world. it shows you care about your community, and you really want to be a part of it. if you know middle or high school students who volunteer encourage them to apply for a prudential spirit of community award. visit w-w-w dot prudential dot com slash spirit. i know now that i've made a difference in someone else's life and it's the best feeling you could ever have. this morning, the latest on the search for survivors in chile after that powerful earthquake. and the government's crackdown on looters. plus, next step, will democrats go it alone and push health care reform through congress? >> time's up. and, dynamic duo. funny man tracy morgan teams up with bruce willis to catch criminals. did they create movie magic? >> star wars? >> it's monday, march 1st. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> that's right, jeremy and i both went and saw "cop out." i will say i went in with one perception of how this movie was going to be and i was surprised. >> me too. pleasantly, i'll say. a little tease for "insomniac theater" coming up this half hour. we'll give you our kernel count for "cop out." that's coming up in just a few minutes. first off, thanks for joining thus monday morning. i'm jeremy hubbard. >> i'm vinita nair. the president of chile says it's going to take a giant effort for her country to recover from this weekend's massive earthquake. the death toll has climbed above 700 and is likely to keep going up. >> up to 2 million people have been displaced. at 8.8 it is one of the most powerful quakes ever recorded. david wright reports this morning from central chile. >> reporter: on this sunday, the order of the day was survival. the ground here has not stopped shaking. more than 90 serious aftershocks have rocked the quake zone. hundreds of frightened chileans spent the night camped out in parks and on sidewalks. this woman said it's safer to be outside than inside because our house could collapse at any time. a tsunami that largely spared other nations was devastating here. moments after the quake struck some coastal villages, large waves swamped them. in some cases a deadly double blow. this man said, a wave that was 30 feet high destroyed my house. in concepcion, the largest city near the epicenter, streets are littered with rubble. rescuers are searching for survivors in a 15-story apartment building that collapsed. historic churches collapsed too. on this sunday, parishioners in this parish picked up the pieces. government officials met in the capital santiago to plan chile's recovery. after the meeting, president michelle bachelet called this a catastrophe of unthinkable magnitude. and said chile will need international help to rebuild. she has spoken with president obama and secretary of state clinton, who's on her way to the region. >> so we're taking a look at those items that the president raised in her speech. search and rescue capabilities, communication capabilities, field hospitals. >> reporter: about 18,000 americans live in chile. the ambassador says as far as he knows, they all appear to be safe. but he's not heard much from some of the hardest-hit areas. still, there are some hopeful signs. at the damaged airport in santiago, international flights began to land. chileans coming home. david wright, abc news, central chile. >> alongside heroic rescue efforts there's also widespread looting in chile. grocery stores, gas stations, banks and pharmacies have been overrun and the army has been ordered into the city. after an outcry from needy residents the president announced a deal had been met with supermarket chains to give away food to those who need it. cities along chile's pacific coast were devastated by a tsunami which was triggered by that powerful quake. the massive winds left little behind other than sticks and scraps of metal. the country's defense minister said the navy made a mistake by not issuing a tsunami warning immediately after the quake. that could have helped residents get to higher ground sooner. in other news this morning we could hear from president obama this week about health care reform efforts. it's expected to come as democrats seem more willing than ever to move legislation forward, with or without republican support. rachel martin reports from the white house. >> reporter: democrats say the time for debate on health care is over. and republicans must either sign on or step aside. >> time's up. we really have to go forth. because what's the point of talking about it any longer? >> reporter: senate democrats are preparing to use a legislative maneuver called reconciliation. that means they wouldn't need 60 votes to avoid a republican filibuster, and they could push their bill through with a simple majority. and there are still some moderate democrats in the house who aren't on board. some say it's too expensive. others want tougher language to prevent federal funding on abortion. >> do you have the 217 votes necessary to pass it? >> right now we're working on the policy. >> reporter: and even if democrats get the votes, republicans say using reconciliation could backfire. >> if you use reconciliation on this health care bill as we see today, what you're going to have is a thumbing of the nose at the american people. >> it would be a political kamikaze mission for the democratic party if they jam this through. >> reporter: house democratic leaders say they hope to bring a vote on a revised health care bill sometime in the next couple of weeks. meantime, president obama is expected to make remarks this week on the state of health care reform as he sees it and the steps forward. rachel martin, abc news, the white house. as for president obama's personal health, he has been declared fit to serve. in a physical yesterday, mr. obama weighed in at 180 pounds with a pulse rate of 56 and blood pressure of 105 over 62. now those are all considered good numbers. his total cholesterol is up to 209, considered borderline high. the president was urged to continue to try to quit smoking. unemployment benefits are expected to be extended by congress this week but only because the extension is a temporary one. those benefits are just part of a big funding fight taking place on capitol hill. also affected are highway projects from coast to coast. because funding for them has not been approved yet, 2,000 employees will be furloughed today. well, there has been a break in the case of a missing teen in california. 17-year-old chelsea king, a cross country runner, went missing last week near san diego. police arrested a sex offender on sunday in connection with her disappearance. they say evidence found in a park where king went missing connected the suspect to the case. it is still unclear if king is dead or alive. here is your monday forecast. strong, gusty winds in the northeast with up to a half foot of snow in northern new england. a couple of inches in boston and portland, maine. showers and flurries in new york city again. rain from central texas to alabama. and snow in the texas panhandle and southern rockies. >> 39 in colorado springs. 57 in boise. 61 in seattle. 27 in fargo. 30s across much of the midwest. 48 in baltimore. 54 in atlanta. 73 in miami. >> sorry, you know they have that little thing on the back of the tie? >> i hope we're not bothering you with what we're doing up here. >> i distracted vinita, sorry about that. the olympic flame has faded away in vancouver but the canadian spirit is sh canadianionp60le tor a canadians were exuberant after their overtime victory over the u.s. men's hockey team and they passed the olympic flag to russia, home of the 2014 winter games. >> the u.s., canada and germany all the big winn the u.s. took home 37 medals overall. the most ever for any nation in a winter olympics. canada won a 14 gold medals. those female hockey players now can really bust out the booze and cigars. they've got something to celebrate. >> oh, wait, they already have. bro, will you relax? ] i'm pretty sure there's not much we can do about it. ugh. he's not even trying. he is actual magic. not impressed. [ gasps ] no! i didn't even know that could get dirty! can we even clean a leather shoe? what do you mean? what is a shooee? he's cleaning things that we don't even know what they are. gloves? brush? chime in any time here. 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>> reporter: angie jackson is a full-time blogger and outspoken atheist who said she opted for an abortion because she had life-threatening complications during her first pregnancy. and because she wants to focus on her 4-year-old son, who has special needs. >> i know that there are a lot of people out there who think that i'm a monster. i was trying to stay alive for my son. i was trying to let other women know that if they're trying to stay alive for their kids, they don't need to feel ashamed. >> reporter: some call it brave. others sad and potentially dangerous. as for angie jackson, she's somewhat taken aback by the response. but otherwise totally unapologetic. >> i hope everybody on youtube has a great and godless day. >> reporter: dan harris, abc, news. >> unapologetic indeed. i think critics could argue a little bit cavalier about all of it. she says she was the victim of child sexual abuse and that that would complicate things if she were to go to term with the pregnancy. >> she's not the first person to do this. back in november there was another woman who during a corporate meeting told the world she was having a miscarriage. she did it on twitter and went on to say she was relieved because she was thinking about crossing state lines. obviously there's a lot of people who say it's an issue we're not discussing. like you say a lot of critics probably think it was cavalier in the way she went about it. >> discussion has begun now. >> yes. after every campus shooting there is renewed debate over whether guns should be allowed in college classrooms. >> after last month's rampage in alabama, administrators at a colorado university campus banned guns there. the debate is far from over as clayton sandell reports. >> reporter: when history major david kelly heads the class at colorado state, he takes his books. >> that is what i carry. >> reporter: and his bullets. in a state that saw record gun sales last year, banning guns on campus has not gone down well with students like 22-year-old biology major kyle crowley. >> where would i go if somebody were to come into the classroom right now and start shooting? >> reporter: many students are vowing to fight the ban, collecting thousands of signatures and picking up powerful allies. >> you betcha, i'm coming back here to the state house with a bill to correct this problem. >> reporter: the real problem, say gun ban supporters, is the potential for violence. seen at places like virginia tech or the university of alabama huntsville. the faculty on this campus of 25,000 students say that more guns does not equal more safety. >> we want people to feel comfortable to get into heated arguments and serious debates without having to worry about the presence of weapons in the room. >> reporter: colorado state is backed by an association of campus police who find no credible evidence that students with concealed weapons make campuses safer. in fact, police say without training, armed students may actually make a situation more dangerous. that's what happened in this experiment, where students thought they were armed and were confronted with a staged attack. david kelly says he just wants his campus to be safe. opponents say it can be. without the help of a student militia. clayton sandell, abc news, ft. collins, colorado. >> you can kind of see there why it would be a circular argument in terms of, should i have one, could someone else bring one onto the campus? the interesting thing, if these laws go into effect at universities it affects other things like gun clubs and paint ball clubs. the way they do business. >> i think there's an exception, people in places like colorado would still like the lawless old west where everybody totes a gun. as a native coloradoan i can tell you that's not necessarily the case. interesting to see that demonstration where there were guns in the classroom and the students with them didn't really know how to react. when we come back, back to our top st we want to go back to our top story, that huge earthquake in chile. >> rescuers are struggling with numerous powerful aftershocks. the chilean government imposed a nighttime curfew to prevent looting. >> the number of dead is exceeding 700 there. the president says a growing number of people are still missing. the government says an estimated 500,000 homes were either destroyed or badly damaged. tsunami warnings were immediately posted across the pacific right after the quake. >> the warning system has become very sophisticated and very closely monitored. ron claiborne shows us how it works. >> reporter: for almost an hour it seemed all eyes were fixed on the sea. >> hawaii is under a tsunami -- >> continue to monitor -- >> with these waves they headed for high ground -- >> reporter: cable networks carried it live from hawaii. spectators perched on cliffs. it just may have been the most watched wave ever. and it arrived right on time. 11:19 in hawaii. exactly when scientists had predicted it would, 13 hours earlier. but instead of a powerful tsunami, there were just some seven to nine-foot waves. >> there is an announcement to be made. we have canceled the warning for the hawaiian islands. >> reporter: hawaii dodged a bullet. as the same tsunami moved past the hawaiian islands toward japan where there were some ten-foot waves hours later but no damage. it began with the earthquake just off the coast of chile. the same shifting tectonic plates meet the sea that cause destruction and death on land triggered the tsunami, sending it north and northwest at the speed of a jet airplane. >> you need to have a fairly shallow earthquake which means it is not very deep beneath the surface of the ocean, and of course you need to have the kind of plate motion that moves a lot of water. >> reporter: one massive wave swept away half a village on one of the robinson crusoe islands off the coast of chile. the tsunami then spread. one tentacle was heading toward french polynesia, leading to evacuations on tahiti. another toward the u.s. west coast. the third and most powerful heading toward hawaii, more than 6,000 miles away. at 6:00 a.m. local time, more than 40,000 hawaiians and tourists were evacuated from coastal regions of the big island. residents rushed to gather emergency supplies. no one was taking any chances. the 2004 southeast asia tsunami that killed 230,000 people was a wake-up call to the world. afterward, governments and scientists moved to improve their tracking procedures. the most important advancement, the installation of more buoys to detect and monitor approaching tsunamis. before the disaster, there were a total of six tsunami buoys in the world. today, there are 50. >> the buoys tell you the size of the tsunami and also how long the tsunami is, how long will the event last? >> reporter: this time the system seemed to work. local governments moving fast to protect residents from what might have been a disaster. >> such a strong magnitude earthquake, and of course they're saying right now one of the reasons we're seeing a little less destruction than we saw in haiti is because they had a better infrastructure system and that's why a lot of the buildings stood up, although that one's ripped almost completely in half, it's doing much better than haiti with a much less powerful earthquake. >> that's true. hillary clinton headed to south america. several countries there. assistance getting around their homes.that my you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? 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scene in particular ends them suspended from their jobs, they're partners, they can't go to work anymore. bruce willis still needs to raise money for his daughter's wedding so he decides he's going to sell a very valuable baseball card and of course that leads to lots of high jinks. i'm going to take care of that son of a b myself. >> put that gun on the deck. >> i'm not going anywhere. somebody steals my stuff? i work too bleeping hard. >> you probably recognize her from "curb your enthusiasm." the movie is funny because of tracy morgan. he's hilarious. 3 kernels and it is surprisingly worth seeing for girls and guys. >> i was pleasantly surprised. it was hard to find a clip without any curse words in it. those were edited versions. more of the story line, a lot of it centers around a stolen mercedes and a mexican drug cartel operating out of brooklyn. bruce and tracy go undercover trying to find that stolen mercedes and along the way they encounter a 11-year-old potty mouth car thief in the process. this is him behind the wheel right here. they also encounter sean william scott, who plays an aggravating thief. >> shut up! you want to shoot me? >> i'll shoot you right in the face. >> i'll shoot you in the face. >> what? shut the -- shut up! >> shut up. >> shut up, man. you see what he'sing to? shut up! do you see what he's doing? he's trying -- >> don't tap your head with the gun. >> shut up. >> trying to live there rent free. reminds me of road trips with my brother when we would try to irritate our parents doing this same thing. i gave this movie 4 kernels. i thought it was hysterical. i didn't expect to like it at all. went in there and laughed out loud, so much so other people in the theater were looking at me. tracy morgan is hysterical. >> i would argue that you might be a slightly biased jury. >> why? >> oh, well, that's right. i know tracy, we go way back. >> they met in the street once for about eight seconds. >> and he was ation online. search for jobs, student loans, social security and other benefits. it's where the government comes together. usa.gov. chile's catastrophe. more aftershocks this morning as the hope of finding earthquake survivors fades and looting breaks out. plus, disaster preparedness. two earthquakes in different parts of the world. how construction played a role in the outcome and loss of life. and, cuban culture. how the arts is shaping the future of the communist country. it's monday, march 1st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> time to flip the page on the calendar, march 1st already. >> already march 1st, can you believe that? >> i can't believe i'm still so cold and it's so close. >> february is the snowiest month in new york city history and the same case across much of the country. we're ready for february to be gone. >> i thought if we wore spring jackets spring would come sooner. >> maybe. >> good morning and thanks for being with us on this monday morning. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm jeremy hubbard. the government of chile is scrambling to get food, water and medical help to thou rnt hs wek >> the death toll has risen to more than 700 and 500,000 homes have been destroyed or badly damage now looters have taken to the streets of test- larry jacobs rs. >> reporter: at least 350 people died in the coastal town of constitucion, victims of a massive earthquake and throue ci a wave that was ten meters high destroyed my house, this man told us. it also destroyed my mother's and auntie's house. a scene of devastation. a mammoth tremor affected 1.5 million people in central chile and severely damaged 500,000 homes. the president toured the destruction declaring a state of catastrophe. lack of food and water is driving some people to desperation. in concepcion where curfews are now in place police used water canyon and tear gas to disperse looters at a supermarket. i think it's out of necessity, this woman insists. we don't have water or anything to eat. 24 hours after the earthquake struck emergency crews rescued this girl and her mother from the rubble of an apartment building leveled by powerful seismic shocks. security cameras in the town of vena delmar captured the destruction at a pizza restaurant. and on the street. >> i didn't know what to. just run. >> reporter: 18,000 americans live in chile. the u.s. ambassador says as far as they know, all are safe. he has not heard much from the hardest-hit areas. >> as of this point we are not aware of any fatality of any american or any serious casualty. >> reporter: for now chile has mobilized to count and bury the dead, shelter the homeless, provide food and water to millions of survivors who have had to endure more than 90 aftershocks following one of the most powerful earthquakes ever. larry jacobs, abc news. >> the chile earthquake was 500 times more powerful than the one that hit haiti, yet the devastation in haiti is much worse than what we're seeing in chile. ned potter says there could be a lesson in thors. >> reporter: these are shake tables at engineering labs where houses are mounted to see how they'll do in an earthquake. the house on the left was reinforced with extra beams and steel rods. the other was not. and look what happened. in chile, they were mindful of such experiments. >> this is the ultimate earthquake. this is the earthquake we can learn the most from, both positive and negative. >> reporter: after record earthquakes in 1960 and '85, chile's government got serious, demanding that buildings be reinforced. contrast that to what happened in haiti last month, where poverty rules and cheap cinderblock buildings turned to dust. >> it's very consistent with what we call pancake collapse of concrete buildings. the floors essentially collapse on each other. >> reporter: in california, as in chile, taller buildings can be braced so they hold together when the ground shakes. others are put on giant shock absorbers so that if the ground beneath them vibrates, they roll with the punches. >> what we're trying to do is isolate the building from the ground motion coming from the ground. >> reporter: the carnage in chile was still tremendous. but engineers say you can build to be ready for it. ned potter, abc news, new york. in haiti there are fears about more serious flooding as recent rain there is expected to continue. at least eight people were killed by flooding over the weekend. workers have been cleaning out flood canals in port-au-prince in anticipation of the rainy season. many of those canals are clogged with trash and earthquake debris. there has also been deadly flooding by a storm that's wreaking havoc across western europe. at least 51 have been killed, mostly in france. areas from spain to germany are dealing with stormy conditions and hurricane-force winds. nearly 1 million people in france are without power. still overseas this morning the battle for the strategically important town of marjah, afghanistan, will keep u.s. marines there for months. large parts of the town are now under the control of the marines and afghan forces. they're going to stay there to make sure talib fig' ome the marines say at least four resupply convoys have been hit f. here at home, 2,000 department of transportation workers are beg fu today beca ging funding battle on capitol h kentucky republican senator jim bunning put what's called a hold on a funding bill last week. that hold stopped an extension it also blocked extensions to unemployment for thousands in the northeast, it as fourth night without heat, lights or hot water. more than 200,000 homes and businesses are still without power after last week's storm. new hampshire and new york are the hardest hit with more than 80,000 outages each. maine has about 16,000. hundreds of utility crews have been working around the clock but some places won't get power restored until the middle of ti >> yuck. here is a look at your we making matters worse, more snow falling in upstate new york an t the heaviest snow in maine with 30 to 50-mile-an-hour winds for much of the northeast snow in the southern rockies. rain from central texas through the loast 46 60 in new 39 in boston. 45 in new york. 54 in atlanta. 30s from the twin cities to detroit. psaco0s from seattle down to well, sadly, no miracle on ice for the u.s. this time. after canada clinched the gold in a dramatic overtime victory. >> canada had the game in its pocket until the u.s. tied 2-2 with 25 seconds left in the third period. but 22-year-old sidney crosby became the hero of the game. crosby, who plays for the pittsburgh penguins, scored the final goal in overtime giving canada its 14th gold medal. >> a little trivia, only five of the u.s. players were born the last time the u.s. won the gold 30 years ago. lots of youngsters. i was hoping we'd get to hear al michaels say "do you believe in miracles" again. didn't. >> didn't happen. we'll be right back with more "world news now." if you've taken your sleep aid and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. welcome back. the president's health care reform summit last week. what it accomplished and what it did not was discussed at length on the sunday talk shows. >> both parties want reform but washington insiders wonder if republicans and democrats can actually work out a compromise. >> "this week" with "20/20" anchor elizabeth vargas. >> madam speaker, welcome back again to "this week." let's talk health care. do you wish the president has posted his bill before this week, that six months ago it might have been more helpful for you, that maybe six months ago you knew the public option was something he was willing to drop before you fought so hard for it? >> we still fight for what the public option will do. whether it's in the bill or not its purpose must be recognized and that is to keep the insurance companies honest. keep them accountable. and to increase competition. and i think in the summit on thursday it became very clear that what the president was proposing was regulation of the insurance companies. left to their own devices, they have done harm to the american people. they need to be regulated. and that is one of the biggest differences between the democrats and republicans. another one, for example, is an example of it is, ending the denial of coverage to those who have a pre-existing condition. the democrats have that in their bill, the republicans do not. >> but would you -- >> that's a major insurance reform that has to take place. >> and we are joined now by the republican point man at the health care center, senator lamar alexander. welcome to "this week." >> thank you. >> when you say political kamikaze, are you saying if the democrats push this through they will lose all their seats in november? what are we talking about? >> here's what i think. i mean, the people are saying, we don't want it. the democrats are saying, we don't care, we're going to pass it anyway. so for the next three months, washington will be consumed with the democrats trying to jam this through in a very messy procedure, an unpopular health care bill. then for the rest of the year, we're going to be involved in the campaign to repeal it. and every democratic candidate in the country is going to be defined by this unpopular health care bill at a time when the real issues are jobs, terror, and debt. "face the nation" with cbs news chief washington correspondent bob schieffer. >> senator coburn, you're a republican leader in the senate said just this morning that as things stand now, all 41 members of the republican party in the senate would vote against health care reform. do you see that changing in any way? >> well, i think it could change if we started over. and we actually worked and treated the disease that is plaguing american health care. the disease is cost. and until we put in the incentives to change the dynamics, the market dynamics, the fraud dynamics, the defensive medicine. that's $250 billion a year in defensive medicine costs. what we need is not more government, we need more market-oriented, patient-centered health care rather than government-centered health care. >> let me go to senator conrad, chairman of the budget committee in the senate. do you see any chance that this divide can be bridged, senator? >> i thought there were wide areas of agreement. senator coburn talks about focusing on cost. i believe that's essential because we're now spending one of every six dollars in this economy on health care. if we stay on the current course we're going to spend one in every three dollars. that's totally unsustainable. that's going to break the bank of the government, of families, of businesses. so we've got to do something and we've got to begin now. >> this is "meet the press" with david gregory. >> senator john mccain, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks for having me back. >> the health care summit. on tv, much anticipated. it happened, many hours' worth. what's changed? >> well, i think the american people are much better informed and i think it was a good thing. because i think there was an in-depth discussion with a lot of -- about a lot of issues. and i'm glad that it happened. but we still have the fundamental problem. do we go on the partisan plan that was rammed through the senate and the house, or do we start over from the beginning? and we obviously -- apparently the president may be intent, along with the speaker and the majority leader, to go the 51-vote route, which i'm sure we'll get into this our conversation. >> that's called budget reconciliation, where they can pass it with a simple majority. how would you react if indeed that's what would happen? >> throughout history, recent history anyway, the majority has always been frustrated by the 40-vote, 60-vote threshold in the united states senate. and when republicans are in the majority, they're frustrated by the democrats and vice versa. i did object strongly when, during the bush administration, when we couldn't get any judges confirmed, that there was the advocacy of the "nuclear option." i objected to that because i believed, as robert byrd does, that we should not be addressing these issues through 51 votes. >> senator, you have voted for bills through reconciliation nine times since 1989. >> yes, i have voted for them. but i objected strenuously to us changing the rules of the senate so that 51 votes would prevail. >> can't they all just get along? house speaker nancy pelosi yesterday appeals to democrats saying, look, please just get behind the president's domestic agenda here. even if it's a threat to your own political life. she wants unanimity there. you heard the calls for starting over again when it comes to health care. >> she's saying that we should have another version of a house and senate combined bill, sort of a matter of a couple of days, and she's confident she can sell it to the american people. can she sell to it congress is the real question. coming up, real life drama for the stars of "the jersey shore." here's my fist pump. >> he's been working on that for a while. the canadian humor at the olympics closing ceremos. was aghin ju the olympics are over. and so is the bizarre behavior. it ended with a very strange sort of wrap-up closing ceremony of the olympics that involved beavers, flying moose, and making fun of how polite canadians are that may have been a bit off-color. perhaps the strangest of it all was catherine o'hara, the famous actress, she's in those christopher guest movies, star of "sctv," and her talk of yellow snow. >> hi. i'm catherine and i'm a canadian. and the rest of you, i don't care what language you speak. when you pee your name in the snow, we know who you are. >> the international language of urine spoken at the vancouver games. >> huh. >> strange. >> very bizarre. okay, so jeremy's been practicing his fist pump since we knew this story was going to be in the skinny. there it is. >> i need some music. >> the kids from "the jersey shore," two of them vinny and snooki were out saturday night in new york, when all of a sudden perhaps all of that fist pumping -- >> they raised the roof and the roof came down. >> exactly. the sky you can see there is falling. what basically happened is ice from a skyscraper overhead crashed through the atrium's windows. they were at a -- kind of like a nice restaurant. it was night just snooki and vinny, there was also other notables. chris noff was there. a girl adrian bylong was there. some people were bleeding. they had to be taken to the hospital for minor injuries. the good thing is they said the kids from "the jersey shore" were dancing and keeping everyone entertained and snooki was tweeting throughout the night. she said at one point, we thought the deejay was beating the beat hardcore, but nope, the roof couldn't handle us. >> couldn't handle snooki. strange unsportsmanlike behavior from the folks behind "the hurt locker." this is a favorite for the oscars but now they're sort of in violation of the rules. one of the producers is in trouble for sending out an e-mail basically to academy voters saying, vote for us, don't vote for "avatar." basically the e-mail urged voters to go for "the hurt locker" in the best picture category. i guess you can rate them. number one to number ten in order of preference on the ballot. he said, please vote for "hurt locker" number one and "avatar" number ten. the academy's going after him for violating the rules in terms of promoting their movie by casting another movie in a negative light. the movie distributor behind "the hurt locker" said, we knew nothing about this. it is strange behavior from a movie that's already a favorite to win in that category. >> he's saying he was naive, he didn't know the rules, he should have read them more. >> it seems a little unsportsmanlike. >> who knew. some people out there don't like lady gaga. if you saw -- this is hot off the presses. we were able to get a copy of this because we have a hip d.a. named kristin. lady gaga in "cosmo" is talking about how she dated a guy for a long time who thought she would never succeed. she says he told her she'd never be nominated for a grammy, never have a hit song, and he hoped she would fail. she said to him, this is a quote, someday when we're not together you won't be able to order a cup of coffee at the deli -- deleted expletive -- without hearing or seeing me. she went on to talk about her image. she says it was an issue initially. there was concern she was too pop or too theater. she goes on to say she followed the beat of her own drum and look where she is now. >> she's like, yeah forget you, look what i've become. >> exactly. >> i'm more interested in that other headline. >> we're not going to get ints covin ti ist with the president. he says he's disappointed in barack obama. he's talking about his new movi 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. awake again? here are some stories to watch today on abc news. secretary of state hillary clinton is on her way to meet with south american leaders. part of a scheduled tour but the tour will take her to chile's earthquake damage tomorrow. funeral services are today for the whale trainer who was killed at orlando seaworld last week. the memorial will be in the chicago area where dawn brancheau grew up. and lawyers for convicted enron executive jeffrey skilling will ask the u.s. supreme court to overturn his fraud conviction. skilling is serving a 24-year sentence. finally from us this half hour, an unprecedented look inside communist cuba and how the arts have become an important part of everyday life. >> as you'll see inside cigar factories and in the ballet schools there. the bbc's matt frei reports from havana. >> reporter: it's an irresistible sound. sounds seeping out of the cafe, echoing through the nocturnal gloom of havana. locals love it. the tourists can't get enough of it. this is the face of cuban culture much of the world has come to cherish and expect. but did you know that cuba is also producing a whole generation of billy elliots? this is the havana ballet school and the playground is full of boys doing what boys don't usually do in playgrounds. ballet and revolution aren't usually words mentioned in the same sentence. but castro encouraged it, and today boys and girls see ballet as a way of pirouetting out of poverty. their angelic faces hide hours of hard work in a school that costs nothing but demands everything. there are so many aspects of cuban culture that are surprising. but perhaps the most surprising of them all can be found inside this former palace. before the revolution, the lavish home of a sugar baron. since the revolution, a factory of cigars. cohiba. the very finest. each sold in london or hong kong for the equivalent of a monthly salary. ever wondered what makes them so special? the leaves, yes. the rolling technique, of course. but according to one woman, there's another secret ingredient. in a country with one of the highest literacy rates in the world. literature on the loud speaker. she's the official reader at this factory. the party newspaper in the morning. novels and poetry in the afternoon. look, she told me, the psychologists have proven it. hearing fine words improves the quality of the work here. disagree with her if you must. but cuba's extraordinary culture is also a glorious byproduct of a society that is still pitifully short on the distractions of choice and prosperity. >> an interesting inside look there from the bbc's matt frei.

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