. making news in america this morning -- crucial agreements. democrats in congress say they've reached them. and that a deal on a health care reform bill is all but done. educating america. all but two states sign on to the new school standards. and one-man team. the school that booked its place in the big dance, thanks to an amazing comeback and a star player who couldn't miss. it's thursday, march 11th, 2010. good morning. and thanks for being with us. we begin this morning with a new optimism coming from president obama's democratic allies on capitol hill. word is they're close to a deal. >> there's been plenty of fits and starts in this debate. but this morning, democrats say there's one small item that stands between them and a deal of health care. >> reporter: here in the nation's capital, and across the united states, both sides appear to be bracing for sweeping health care reform. this morning, democrats believe they are on the brink of history. >> i don't get worn down. i wear them down. >> reporter: confident his landmark health insurance reform plan will be passed within a week, president obama was defiant, speaking at a st. louis fund-raiser. >> americans will continue to dread opening the next premium statement or the next bill. >> reporter: the white house and congressional democrats are still fighting for votes. but cite near agreement on crucial issues. republicans committed to blocking the bill insist opposition to the president's plan is also united. >> the fact that we're still even talking about a health care bill that raises costs, increases premiums and increases government spending is a complete mystery to most people. >> reporter: as the debate rages on in washington, 34 states have filed or proposed measures rejecting the health insurance mandates. yesterday, virginia's ahlemedly, led by a republican governor, became the first in the nation to approve such legislation. >> the obvious tenet of the legislation was the state government saying to the united states congress that if you have a provision in there mandating that virginians are required under federal law to buy health insurance, we object to that. >> reporter: in a letter wednesday, all 41 republican senators reiterated their position that they will do everything in their power to kill the health care legislation. vinita? >> t.j. winick, reporting from washington this morning. the government ran up the largest monthly deficit in history last month. the february shortfall totaled $220.9 billion. so far this year, the government is $651 billion in the red. about 10% higher than a year ago. much of that spending has gone to the government's stimlutz programs and various tax cuts. meanwhile, as they face growing anger over spending, lawmakers in congress have agreed to a restriction for funding for pet projects. not to be outdone, republicans are now calling for an across the board ban on earmarks. a similar effort faces a much tougher challenge in the senate. officials say the no-fly list has doubled since christmas. and it will continue to grow. the list has been under review since the so-called underwear bomber was able to board a plane freely on christmas day. the government says adding names and increasing the lists daily increases the odds of catching terrorists. students in kansas city, missouri, is going to have fewer schools to attend soon. if board cut 29 of the 600 schools. the school superintendent says many classrooms are half-full as attendance has plunged. fewer students means less state funding. lesson plans could undergo an overhaul. governors have come together to come up with new standards on what students learn in math and english. they will replace the current standards on a state-by-state basis. >> i'm going to see the same level of instruction. the same level of accountability in any school, in any place across the country. >> these are not standards that were just created in washington. and they're not standards developed because the federal government told us to do it. >> two states have refused to join the plan. a rock the size of a basketball, fell on a colorado mountain highway, killing a woman on her way to work. the passenger was not injured. this accident happened on a detour around interstate 70 which was closed down on monday after another massive rock slide. and a calmer day is in store for the south, that was battered by tornadoes, heavy rain and hail. >> arkansas was the hardest hit, with four twisters ripping through the state. more in an a dozen homes were damaged near little rock. and three people were seriously injured. there was a tornado in louisiana. and golf ball-sized hail in texas. a stormy day in the southeast, with heavy rain, hail and gusty winds in orlando, atlanta and charleston. that eventually pushes into the mid-atlantic, ohio valley and midwest. snow in kansas, nebraska, dakotas and the rockies opinion. >> 49 in seattle. 51 in boise. and 65 in sacramento. 40s from the twin cities to connecticut city. and miami is 82. when we come back on "america this morning," new just-released data on foreclosures across the country. that and business news straight ahead. and the fda takes action over the osteoporosis drugs that are supposed to prevent broken bones. it stems from our reporting. 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(guitar music) buy the car, you're gonna love it! he said, "carfax." same thing, huh? a carfax report can help you choose a great used car. it's free at thousands of reputable dealers. just say, "show me the carfax!" overseas stock markets are mixed on this thursday morning. tokyo's nikkei average rose 1% today. hong kong's hang seng is up slightly. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow ticked up three-points yesterday. the nasdaq climbed 18 points. the foreclosure crisis is finally showing signs it may be slowing down. the number of homeowners on the brink of losing their home rose 6% compared to a year ago. but that's the smallest annual increase in four years. it's too early to declare victory. high unemployment is expected to keep foreclosures at record levels. taxpayers could lose $6 billion for bailing out gmac. the treasury pumped $17 billion into the company without a clear way to get if money back. the government says the bailout provided critical finances that helped save general motors and chrysler. you may notice the size of your orange juice container shrinking. pepsico will lower the size while keeping the price is same. and gallon containers will cost an extra 5 cents to 8 cents. panera bread will be the first chain to post calorie information in all of its company-owned restaurants. they will be posted on menu boards by march 24th. here's something that is sure to start a few debates on the internet. the internet has been nominated for a nobel peace prize. the italian version of "wired" magazine has been advocating for the net, saying it spreads dialogue, debate and consensus. if it does win, we want to know who collects the prize and collects the reward money. we'll find out in october. an interesting, curious choice. >> it is. maybe al gore could take that. >> perhaps. when we come back, a troubling trend in africa. >> an alarming report out about one nation's drive against homosexuality. and an american's role in kicking it into high gear. 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[ female announcer ] quilted northern ultra plush is the only three-layered ath tissue with plush-quilts. it has two layers for softness and a third for absorbency. quilted northern ultra plush. experience three layers .for yourself. son: hey mom! wife: what is this? guy: it's a special paste i invented to replace socks. wife: why? guy: because we can't find socks that shape to our feet. we're sick of it! announcer: hanes makes better-fitting socks. guaranteed or your money back. now, nor a look at your morning road conditions across the country. wet and flooded highways from florida to the ohio valley and upper midwest today. snow-covered on parts of i-80 in nebraska, i-4 in north dakota. and the southern and central rockies. rain on i-5 in washington and oregon. >> if you're flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, minneapolis, chicago, detroit and kansas city. and in the east, from d.c. to miami. the fda has sent out a notice to doctors nationwide, asking they be on the lookout for potential side-effects for popular osteoporosis drugs like fosamax. that comes after a conversation with richard besser. >> this is a big step for the fda. we said these are the right drugs for protecting hips. physicians need to watch for the possibility of possible risk of femur fractures. and that didn't just apply to fosamax. this is for all of the drugs in the group. they're looking at this. they want more information. they want doctors to report in if they're seeing patients with this. and this is the first step towards determining who's at risk and how to prevent it. >> in its drug safety communication, the fda makes clear this time there's no clear connection between osteoporosis drugs and an increased risk of femur fractures. a new study shows too many patients may be undergoing evasive heart tests unnecessarily. researchers studied 2 million angiograms. and found 30 million patients had clear arteries. they drive up the cost of health care and involve exemployee sure to radiation. corey haim is being remembered this morning as a talented actor with a tormented sole. he scored in "the lost boys" and a number of other films before spiraling into drug abuse. he died in los angeles yesterday. haim was 38 years old. a new movement is sweeping through the african nation of uganda, boldly tartgeting gays. they're trying to make homosexuality punishable by death there. dan harris has more from uganda. >> the gay movement is an evil institution. the goal of the gay movement is to defeat the marriage-based society. >> reporter: this is the american evangelical scott lyely, speaking at an event at a seminar exposing the homosexual agenda, half a world away in uganda. >> we don't allow homosexuals. >> reporter: we went to uganda to investigate what has happened in the aftermath of that conference. this. >> here in uganda. we don't want it. >> reporter: an extraordinary wave of homophobia. which even includes a bill that would put some gays and lesbians to death. the bill is supported by one of the country's most popular pastors, martin seppa, who helped host that conference with the amer an evangelicals. at home, these views may be marginalized or mocked. but the hundreds of ugandan teachers, cops and politicians at the conference, took them quite seriously. months later, a bill was introduced called the anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, which calls for death by hanging for gay and lesbian serial offenders. and also, prison time for anyone, including parent, who fail to hand over someone they know is gay or lesbian to the police. this bill says if you get married while gay or lesbian, to another gay or lesbian, you're going to prison for the rest of your life. do you agree with that? >> i agree with that in my country. >> reporter: but the outrage in the west may mean the bill gets watered down or killed. the ugandan parliament will be holding hearings on it later this month. as for scott lively, he says, if they drop the death penalty, he will endorse the bill. >> these are good christians -- better christians in uganda than here in this country. they care about each other. and the reason this law is in place, the reason they -- i think they're pushing so hard on this is that they don't want to see happen to their country what's happened over here. >> reporter: this is dan harris, in kampala, uganda. well, the track star once known as the fastest woman in the world, is taking her skills to the hardwood. >> former olympian, maryann jones, has signed on to play with the tulsa shock. she was the point guard on north carolina's national championship team in 199 4. >> jones was sent to prison for lying about her steroid use. as for men's college basketball, all of the major conference tournaments swing into high gear today. >> one tournament ended in stunning fashion last night. details from espn news. >> good morning. i'm anish shroff. two more bids to the big dance, handed out wednesday night. we begin in the big sky conference. big sky title game. montana against weber state. second half, weber state up two. this is dimmian lillard. anthony johnson, one-man wolfpack in the second half. he scored the final 21 points of the game for montana. he had 34 points in the second half. finished with 42 points. and with montana down one, johnson, the jumper, to put them ahead. montana dancing. they win the big sky championship, 66-65. n.e.c. championship. robert morris against quinnipiac. this one in hamden, connecticut. robert morris, up by two. final seconds. robert morris up two. but a missed free throw by the colonials. quinnipiac, a chance to win it. james johnson, that ball short. robert morris, dancing for the second-straight year. mavericks, going for their 13th-straight win. the nets have won seven games all season. jason kidd used to be a net. now, he's a mav. he's better for it. 20 points. five of eight from downtown. had nine dimes. dallas wins its 13th in a row, beating new jersey, 96-87. that does it for this look at sports. i'm anish shroff. back to you in new york. a school bus carrying more than 30 children on a washington state roadway rolled over into a ditch. amazingly, no one was hurt. >> investigators believed the driver who was new on the job was looking down at a map when the bus strayed off the pavement. and in south florida, a frightening close call for four bridge workers. a drawbridge suddenly opened up by itself while men were still on it. three of the workers were immediately harnessed and brought down. but the last man was left clutching a guardrail until firefighters could come to his rescue. no one injured. the officials are calling it a hydraulics failure. >> what a terrifying couple of moments for that guy. >> there's nothing to quell the fear. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today, including health care momentum, being claimed by congressional democrats. and cleaning to be done around arkansas after a round of tornadoes roared through. 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[ female announcer ] ask your rheumatologist about simponi™. just one dose, once a month. and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this thursday. congressional democrats are planning new momentum in the drive for health care reform. they say some small items need to be worked out before measures are complete. how republican leaders are pushing for a vote that would ban federal dollars going to pet projects. look for reaction to new foreclosure figures that show the number of homeowners losing their home rose 6% to a month ago. that's the smallest annual increase in four years. vice president biden wraps up his visit in israel and moves on to jordan. when he gets there, he will have a dinner hosted by king abdullah. plenty of clooening up to do to do in arkansas. there were reports of several injuries. while facing potential bankruptcy, the kansas city, missouri, school board has voted to close half the district's schools starting next year. coming up later on "good morning america," the next big thing on the small screen, in full color and three dimensions. >> are americans ready to welcome 3d technology into their living rooms? and will we need the glasses. i cant wait to see what this is going to be like. for some of you, your local news is next. >> and for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right after this. perfect. put your milk in. okay. ♪ whoa. okay, that's good. 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(female announcer) if you want to slim them down, wear them out, or clean them up, you can find exacly what you need during the pesmart solutions sale. save up to 20% on hundreds of items! right now, at petsmart. it's a classic scenario for police cadets. what to do in a robbery attempt. some of baltimore's finest were quick on their feet when the real thing went down. a new school being built already causing concern for parents, we'll tell you why. move over oprah, there's a new daddy topping forbes' billionaire list. we're sporting the orange again today. if you haven't heard about this, it's ms awareness week. we're stretching the wardrobe to find as much orange as we can. >> justin berk, beautiful day. >> temperature boost, 60 degrees. few extra hours of bonus sunshine. we may do it again today. we're still expecting it to stay warm. just you wait. we're just looking at another day with sunny breaks into the afternoon. after a cloudy start. heavy rain still on target for thursday night through saturday. potential flooding across the region. 44 at perry hall and ellicot city. 45 middle river towards rock hall. back edge of the clouds pushing just west of hancock and hagerstown. that will get here around lunch time in the afternoon. this morning we're still watching rain in southern maryland. showers to the south of the bay bridge. look for afternoon sun with a high around 61 degrees. let's get a look at the roads with kim. >> traffic off to a good start this morning. no problems or accidents around the baltimore metro area. no problems in