dependable, longest lasting full size pickups on the road. just announced, it's chevy truck month. get 0% apr for 60 months. or $6,000 total cash back on select 2009 silverado vehicles that have been in stock the longest. ome to "world ne welcome to "world news." tonight, tsunami. major destruction is reported as a powerful earthquake in the south pacific sends giant waves crashing into american samoa. no option. a key senate committee votes down the idea of a public option insurance plan in health care reform. texting trouble. our reporter learns first hand that texting while driving is risky business. and, professional thieves make off with art worth millions, from a california make off with art worth millions, from a california rental home. captions paid for by abc, inc. good evening. we frankly don't know how bald it is. information is scarce, communication lines are down. but every indication is that a tsunami, which struck the south pacific has been very destructive. before dawn, a major earthquake struck the south pacific between samoe and smern samoa. a quarter of a million people live on those islands. we're now getting reports of deaths. with what we do know, abc's bill weir. >> reporter: the disaster began with a violent shift in the earth's crust, deep beneath the ocean's surface. 120 miles away many were just beginning their day when the ground began heaving. it lasted three terrifying minutes, with the violence unmatched in recent memory. >> all the houses are like shaking, you know, it's really stronger than other earthquakes we had before. i felt nervous and i was scared about it. and, you know, it's really dangerous. we had a warning coming in now, so, we need to go. >> reporter: then, as people scrambled for high ground, the tsunami arrived. according to a park service superintendant, a series of four massive waves, 15 to 20 feet high crashed on american samoa, sending sea water up to a mile inward, wiping out villages and leveling a shopping center in the middle of the capital. >> the center and our offices are completely destroyed. >> reporter: on neighboring western samoa, a doctor at the biggest hospital was bracing for casualties from the coastal areas. >> i think the injured people so far will reach about 50 injured people. i expect there will be more coming through. we are still awaiting the people who are injured from the coastal villages. >> reporter: communication has been so spotty there but we managed to get a call to the american embassy, they said six people dead. a gentleman working for homeland security say there are 19 dead this hour and the most chilling, he tells of a hospital calling, saying they need freezer space because their morgue is full. >> all right, bill weir reporting on what we know so far about what has happened in samoa and american samoa. late this afternoon, a tsunami warning was issued for an area along the west coast of the united states. it stretches from the mexico/california border all the way to the oregon/washington border. in the city of washington, there were sill cant developments on the two major issues on the president's agenda. afghanistan, and health care reform. first, afghanistan. meetings have begun in washington on a full-scale review of strategy, specifically, general stanley mcchrystal's recommendation that more u.s. troops are needed. martha raddatz joins us tonight from washington. >> reporter: charlie, there were at least three high level meetings at the white house today, and there will be many more in the coming weeks. the lines in this debate become clearer every day. >> the best way to regain the initiative is to send as many troops as we can. >> we cannot define success. and we particularly can't define success in a way that depends on more troops. >> reporter: but that is exactly what general mcchrystal is asking for, as many as 40,000 more troops. >> we're going to have to provide additional resources to turn the taliban's momentum around. >> reporter: and with the taliban's history of public floggings and especially the treatment of women and girls, many argue that the u.s. has a moral obligation to keep them from gaining power. senator john mccain is among those who strongly advocates for more troops. >> every day we delay puts more and more of those thousands of young americans who are already there in more danger. we owe them more than that. >> reporter: one of the most powerful arguments for sending more forces is the success of the 2007 troop surge in iraq. within a matter of months, the security situation there began improving dramatically. increase in afghanistan point to differences. afghanistan is much larger than iraq, with difficult terrain, a weaker central government. >> the president himself has said we're there to prevent al qaeda from re-establishing bases. we probably can do that from offshore with drones, air strikes, special forces, cruise missiles. >> reporter: opponents of the troop increase also point to history. the failure of british troops a century ago and the soviet occupation in the 1980s that ended in defeat despite more than 100,000 troops. >> i think we will be viewed increasingly by a larger and larger number of afghans not as allies in a shared cause, but as alien occupiers. >> reporter: president obama is weighing that history, but not just afghanistan's history. at the white house, the most popular book is "lessons in disaster," about vietnam, where more and more troops, and less and less public support, eventually destroyed a presidency. expect at least three more weeks of meetings, charlie. president obama has lots of questions. >> all right, martha raddatz reporting from washington, thanks, on the decisions that loom regarding afghanistan. and on health care, a set-back today for the president and liberal democrats. two versions of the public insurance option, when the president supports, were voted down by the key senate committee writing the bill the outlines of what will be in the bill are becoming more and more clear, and our chief medical editor dr. tim johnson is joining us now. the president says we need this public option to keep insurance prices in line. do we face escalating costs? >>. >> reporter: we face that no matter what happens. it is possible to have a very good health insurance system without a public option. there are two countries that come immediately to mind, similar to us, in their outlook. both switzerland and germany have a vibrant private health insurance option. very heavy government regulation of that private insurance industry. so, one way or another, public option or regulation, the government has to play a role. >> tim, throughout this, you have said, and many others in washington have said, to have true health care reform, you have to have measures in this bill that are going to keep health care costs in line, or bring them down. and the president has talked a lot about that. but one by one, are these getting taken out of the bill? >> reporter: it would seem that way. three things you have to have. access. we're doing that with insurance reform, increasing coverage, providing subsidies, getting rid of ideas like pre-existing conditions. but the other two, improved quality and cost control, really require attacking the system itself. changing the incentives the way we pay hospitals and doctors. improving primary care. electronic records. comparative data that item tells us what to pay for and not pay for. >> we could wind up with a bill that actually escalates costs rather than bring them down? >> reporter: it could. charlie, i think of the analogy of a leaky bucket where we pour more water in, in terms of increase coverage, increased money to the insurance companies, without fixing the leaks. that's a formula for cost disaster. >> all right, tim johnson reporting from washington. thanks. the suspect at the center of an alleged pot to attack new york city with a sere roes of bombs pleaded not guilty today. prosecutors say the arrest of najibullah zazi prevented the most serious terrorist threat on u.s. soil nins 9/11, but as brian ross reports, the challenge now is to proven all of that in court. >> reporter: so far, only one person is in custody, 24-year-old najibullah zazi. after entering the plea of not guilty in court today, zazi's lawyer challenged the government's case. >> i'd like to stop this rush to judgment, because what i've seen so far does not amount to a conspiracy. >> reporter: but the fbi is continuing a very obvious round the clock watch outside the homes of at least a dozen possible suspects. one of the is naiz khan who allowed zazi to stay in his apartment on september 10th, and was in pakistan at the same time as zazi last year. police raided the apartment and found backpacks in this closet that agents thought might be used to carry bombs. you're not a terrorist? >> reporter: no, i'm not. >> reporter: in an interview in the abc news studios, khan says the backpacks belong to his uncle, and that he only let zazi spend the night after he met him at the mosque. >> it was just by chance that he came to our house. >> reporter: you are still under surveillance? >> i probably am. >> reporter: indeed, at least four teams ofl>kdundercover age followed khan to abc news studios and sat outside until he left, then followed him home. >> there is still a great deal of concern in the u.s. government in washington that there are people at large, who were willing to participate in a bombing campaign, and we haven't yet found the bombs. >> reporter: because zazi bought large amounts of hair treatment products, which have chemicals that could be used in the bomb, the fbi has warned salons here in new york to be on the lookout. when an abc news employee bought some of the same products, to show them on the air here, the store reported here to the fbi and agents were soon at her door. so, charlie, we can report, the fbi still very much worried about what's going on out there. >> brian ross, our chief investigative reporter, thank you. in california, a major art heist. two former art dealers have seen nearly all of their valuable collection go out the window, literally. the dealers say professional thieves broke into a house they were renting, and made off with masterpieces worth millions and more than 75% of the collection was uninsured. here's lisa fletcher. >> reporter: the heist at the home has left them and the art world in shock. >> i'm not optimistic at all that we're going to see the paintings again. >> reporter: you don't even need to be a connoisseur to know why this theft is valued between $60 million and $80 million. 13 pieces by rembrant, van gogh and jackson pollack. vanished friday afternoon. the owners of the art work say the burglars knew exactly what they were after. >> it had to have been someone that knew our storage procedures and security procedures. >> reporter: police say the only sign of forced entry at the home, a pried screen. where the artwork is now is anyone's guess, but a bigger question is, how do thieves get rid of such rare and easily identifiable more chan dice? >> artworks of this significance are very hard to move. >> reporter: the detective says while sometimes a wealthy buyer may be waiting in the wings, the art heists are usually crimes of opportunity. thieves snatch the art because they can, and then they figure out what to do with it. there's a $1 million, no questions asked reward for the art's return, or $5 million for the return, and information leading to a successful prosecution of the thieves. lisa fletcher, abc news, los angeles. and still ahead tonight on "world news," an anxious anniversary. a year after the dow fell off a cliff, we take stock of wall street's year that was. and the government takes on distracted driving. our reporter get as crash course in the dangers of texting behind the wheel. and a high-flying adventure. two guys trying to squeeze every last mile out of unlimited airline tickets. it's not always easy living with copd, but i try not to let it hold me back... whether i'm at the batting cages... down by the lake or... fishing at the shore. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day. it keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, or have vision changes or eye pain. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate, as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take, even eye drops. side effects may include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. my doctor said i could be doing more to breathe better and now i am. announcer: ask your doctor about lifestyle changes and once-daily spiriva. denise! you've lost weight! it's just all these giant things make me look small. i eat this fiber one yogurt. (mr. mehta) it has five grams of fiber, zero fat, and fifty calories. please, this is too creamy and delicious. it's true, only fifty calories. (announcer) fiber one yogurt. the slightest sound feels as loud as thunder... then, this is your excedrin strength relief. excedrin migraine, one dose and relief starts in just 30 minutes. excedrin. what ache? a yeir go a year air go tonight, we began this broadcast reporting that the house of representatives had voted down the $700 billion economic rescue plan. it was unexpected, it shocked wall street, and so we said that night -- >> as a result today, the stock market plunged, plunged to the single-greatest point loss in the dow average in one day ever. 778 points. >> again that was a year ago. the economic rescue package did pass. but what happened a year ago today touched off a tumultuous year on wall street. here's betsy stark. >> reporter: walking the floor of the new york stock exchange today on what one trader described as a boring day, it was hard to imagine the chaos here of a year ago. >> people began to wonder if the american financial system was about to break wide apart. trader dorreen remembers the feeling of disbelief. >> as you are getting more nays that the market was going down and down. >> reporter: as lawmakers failed to come up with enough votes to pass the bailout bill. >> idiots. >> reporter: and save the financial system from a promised collapse. were you worried that there could be runs on banks? >> we were worried everything could happen. we thought we were looking at the great depression again. >> reporter: what do you remember the most of that day? >> i just remember how the market had one way motion to it. >> reporter: in a series of traumatic declines that fall, the stock market, of course, would crash. bottoming almost 4600 points below where it started a year ago today. now, a dizzying 49% runup has brought the dow back within striking distance of 10,000. a recovery many find hard to fathom, given the sorry state of the economy. >> no one this day last year would guess the market would be here. >> reporter: not with unemployment near 10%, continued record foreclosure, and a 29% spike in the federal deficit to more than $7 trillion. >> i'm in the skeptical camp. there is too much speculative buying. almost like they are buying lottery tickets rather than stocks. >> reporter: some fear another drop is coming. why do you think it's going to sell off? >> we have gone too far too fast. >> reporter: americans are certain lirp feeling better about their 401(k)s than they were a year ago today, but even after the phenomenal gains of the past seven months, the dow is only back to levels it first hit more than a decade ago. charlie, for many americans, the investment savings of the last ten years are still missing. >> it has been a tumultuous year. betsy stark reporting, thanks. and coming up, our reporter finds out first-hand the real changers of texting while finds out first-hand the real changers of texting while driving. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. (female announcer) if you have stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin, tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn may affect how plavix works, so tell your doctor if you are taking other medicines. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than two weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. (male announcer) if you take plavix with other heart medicines continuing to do so will help increase protection against a future heart attack or stroke. feeling better doesn't mean not at risk. stay with plavix. and you worry your pipes might leak (pipe doctor) ask your doctor about treating with vesicare. (pipe woman) then you could treat yourself to a night out with fewer urges or a day with ewer leaks, or a trip with fewer overactive bladder problems. (pipe doctor) " once daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven toreduce, frequent, sudden urges and leaks day and night. if you have ncertain stomach or glaucoma nproblems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. tell your doctor right away if you have a serious ! allergic reaction, severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects " are dry mouth, constipation, an indigestion. (pipe woman) so, you could treat .yourself to more time, with friends and family or more of whatever you like to do with fewer urges and leaks. ask your doctor today about taking care with nvesicare., for joint pain. for joint pain. tota today toyota today announced the largest recall in its history. 3.8 million toyota and lexus vehicles being recalled due to safety problems with the floor mats which can catch the gas pedal. the recall follows last month's fiery california crash that killed four family members. we're going to turn next to drivers distracted by texting. in a recent aaa survey, 21% of drivers admitted they sometimes text while they are behind the wheel. tomorrow, a high level meeting going to be opened on how to deal with the texting problem. our lisa stark has learned first-hand just how dangerous texting can be. >> reporter: to find out how distracting texting is, i went to connecticut's lime rock park racetrack. former race car driver rick pocock, now with skip barber driving schools, agreed to help. we began by driving a course simulating a curvy road with no distraction. >> this is a tight course. it's more like urban driving. >> reporter: now it was time to text. oh. almost ran off the track. with one hand on the wheel and eyes barely on the road, my speed slowed by 20%. i hit more than twice as many cones and at one point, missed a turn completely. >> okay, 43.30, and lots of cone dents. >> when you were distracted, you started impacting objects that were around the course. in our case, they were cones. but they simulated curbs, signs, pets. people. >> reporter: next we tested my driving reflexes. it was easy to drive enough to keep the ball in the cup -- until my blackberry came out. oops. oh, boy. that didn't take long for that to come out did it? i my worst performance was during a sudden lane change. i was texting while driving 40 miles an hour, when red lights pop up signaling something blocking the road. i was forced to switch lanes quickly to avoid an accident. >> every time you hit a cone today in this simulation, the consequences in a real world situation would have been catastrophic. >> reporter: they often are. one study found drivers who text are 20 times more likely to have an accident. lisa stark, abc news, lakeville, connecticut. and up next, sky's the limit. two travelers going very far on limit. two travelers going very far on their unlimited airline tickets. ...and for 29 years. the one thing about smoking - is it dominates your life, and it dominated mine. and the sad thing about it is that you can always use an excuse if cigarettes don't kill me, oh well - something else will. but, you can't use that as an excuse. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. it was very interesting that you could smoke on the first week. chantix gave me that extra help that i needed to get through a tough time. (announcer) chantix is a non-nicotine pill. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. i did have an unopen pack of cigarettes in my purse and then i think i opened my purse and realized it was still there. and i said, "what the heck, i don't need these..." ...i said, you know, "bye, i don't need you anymore, you're not my crutch, i don't need a crutch." (announcer) talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit smoking products. as a non-smoker it's wonderful. the best thing that ever happened. the best thing i have ever done besides my husband, and dogs, and family. with the chantix and with the support system, it worked. it worked for me. (announcer) talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. >>nally finally tonight, we reported a couple of weeks ago on what we found a curious promotion. jet blue offering a month of unlimited travel for $599. so, just for the fun of it, we computed that if you flew as often as you could, and every day, you could get in tens of thousands of dollars in flights. little did we know, two guys would actually do it. here's david muir. >> reporter: we met up with clark dever and joe dinardo today, not surprisingly, in an airport. this all started with that $600 offer from jet blue. fly anywhere for 30 days. who know they'd take it so literally. 22 days in, and 35 flights already. >> we're spending about $13 a plane ticket. so, it's a good deal for us. >> reporter: clark is a web designer. joe works in marketing for a financial firm. at least, he did. two weeks in, and the boss had had enough. >> you have to stop flying around and come back to work or quit your job and keep having fun. >> reporter: he chose the fun. it began with a trip to chicago, west to long beach, north to seattle. east, west, north, back and forth. 43,614 miles, and they still have eight days left. and everywhere they go, someone who has heard of them is waiting with an offer. in orlando, they wrestled with gators. in boston, going to fenway park. >> we landed a home run there. >> reporter: but every once in awhile a city where they got no family, no friends, no place to stay. >> we send out a message to facebook and twitter, and it's been tremendously successful. >> reporter: in ft. lauderdale, they got free massages. after 43,000 miles, they needed one. later tonight, they'll be back on a plane, with the flight crews who have become family. >> talk about, you know, our blog on the pre-flight announcements. that's pretty cool to get a little bit of celebrity status as we fly around. >> reporter: and when we asked what happens when this honeymoon is over, they say they're simply flying by the seat of their pants. david muir, abc news, new york. >> and they do it all with carry-on luggage. that's "world news" for this tuesday. i'm charlie gibson, and i hope you had a good day. for all of us at abc news, have you had a good day. for all of us at abc news, have a good night. captions by vitac