good morning, america. new this morning, flash flooding emergency. torrential rains turn restaurants into rivers. police car for evacuations, roads give way as dry conditions spark new wildfires out west. dozens burning at this hour. hundreds forced from their homes. [ sirens] and breaking overnight, fatal shootout. three suspected bank robbers taking hostages leading police on a deadly chase. bullets flying everywhere. a hostage killed in the bloody standoff. new this morning, what caused this massive hole in the ground to suddenly open up? it's 260 feet wide. scientists headed to investigate at this hour. conspiracy theories growing right now. ♪ it feels good to be strong >> and sports. strongest night, robin right there celebrating this year's most inspirational athletes from

team usa soccer to michael sam with the night's highest honor for his courage off the field. for breaking barriers and superstar drake had everyone laughing. >> what's going on? this is drake. good morning, america. >> that was drake, baby. and good morning, america. what a great night for sports. robin up early in l.a. and, robin, it looks like you had a lot of fun last night. >> yes, always scary to be on the big screen when you've had no sleep. up all night on that big monitor. thank you very much for that. it was a great night and you know what, the athletes have so much fun because they never get hletes from all various different sports coming together f botna al comootoful,rts. ir h

creek behind me but this morning an insignificant you did see it is a ragin river. even ting out this tree here, flash flooding came blasting throug area when 4 inches of rain fell in just six hours. overnight water rushed into the streets of maniu, colorado springs, colorado. a wildfire scorched the earth bare with no trees or vegetation to hold the soil in place, mud and rocks come barreling straight through town. police called for evacuations including nearly 200 boy scouts whose camp was flooded out. roads were shut down. some giving way. rain falling so hard and so fast, this motorcyclist was knocked over. colorado springs got hit too.

flood channels filled to capacity. restaurants that used to have a nice view of the creek found themselves in the creek. overnight, rain turned to pounding hail. strong enough to bust car windows. >> lost my back window. >> reporter: the good news is that those evacuees have been told they can go home but there is another chance for more rain today. lara? >> all right, clayton and from flooding to wildfires raging out west, the extreme heat and dry conditions are fueling them and right now hundreds of homes have been evacuated and more are being threatened. ginger is here tracking it all and got the very latest. >> absolutely. so many people look out west to the sky and seeing this. this is from washington state but there are 27 large wildfires from texas up to oregon and, of course, just east of seattle and that's where this video is from, just stunning pictures coming in, not the type of thing you

want to look up and see but some 860 homes in that area alone evacuated. we he 1200 acre uncontain as that one keeps burning i nf uortunate ne red flag warnings are in place for that same area in the cascades all the way over there into parts of eastern washington state and down into oregon. that means some of the wind gusts along the ridges could get up to 25, maybe 40 miles per hour so we'll update you on the dry and gusty condition, a little cooler coming but also the flooding happening. >> we'll turn now to terrifying moments in california. three bank robbers take hostages, lead police on a wild chase. when it was over three people dead including one of the hostages. abc's david wright is in los angeles with the latest. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, george. an incredible scene and this morning stockton, california, is still reeling from it. almost every squad car in town chasing this group of bank robbers, extra rounds of ammo taped to their bodies and using

hostages as human shields, this was truly the wild west. [ sirens ] in stockton, california, a bank heist straight out of the movies that led to this deadly chase. through city streets and neighborhoods at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. >> went flying through the intersection. we jumped back on to the sidewalk. >> reporter: it started wednesday at this bank of the west branch. authorities say three robbers made off with money and three female hostages. misty holsing's cousin was one of them and her daughter watched in horror as the robbers dragged her mother away. >> she was just going to pull out money. she left her kid in the car. her daughter had to text her husband saying, hey, they took mom. >> reporter: police say the suspect stole a bank employee's suv and fired ak-47-type assault weapons at police cars in hot pursuit. the hostages there in the car with them. at least 14 other cars struck

with stray bullets. >> the actions of the dangerous criminals today was beyond reckless and chaotic. no words can describe it. >> reporter: police say during the chase two of the hostages were tossed out of the getaway car. one of them shot and injured. this cell phone video shows one of the hostages on the road. >> her leg was all tore up and bleeding. >> reporter: after more than an hour's chase it all ended in a bloody shootout heard on this cell phone video. in the end a weapon on the ground, the suv, riddled with bullet hole, all three alleged bank robbers shot, two of them killed. that third hostage was also killed. police say the hostage who was killed, that mother, misty was used as a human shield and eyewitnesses said it looked like a war. continuous gunfriar for five straight minutes. the other two hostages have been hospitalized. no word on their condition but they must be very shaken,

george. >> that is just shocking stuff, okay, thanks very much. >> so brazen. we turn now to the latest on the crisis in the middle east. both sides accepted a temporary humanitarian cease-fire early this morning. but two hours later, rockets were launched into israel. abc's alex marquardt is in gaza city right now with the very latest. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, lara. just a short time ago three mortars were fired from gaza into israel in the middle of this five-hour cease-fire requested by the united nations. for the most part, it has held. the violence that has raged now for ten days all but stopping. united nations using this lull in the fighting to distribute aid across gaza and people here trying to get back to their daily routines. all this comes a day after one of the worst episodes yet. four young palestinian boys killed right near here hit by two israeli air strikes as they played on the beach. the israeli military saying it was targeting hamas terrorists operatives and calling the boys'

death a tragic outcome. more than 230 palestinians have now been killed and 1 israeli. both sides say they want a real cease-fire but there's no sign that they're close to an agreement and the firing will likely start once again once this temporary truce is over. lara, george. >> okay, thanks to alex for that. we turn to president obama slapping new sanctions on russia for the crisis in ukraine. some of the mostunishing ures yet and this morning vladimir putin is saying he'll strike back ju as hard. jon karl has the latest. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, george. these are sanctions designed to inflict some real economic pain on russia. they hit two of the largest russian energy company, two of the largest russian banks and it comes just as russia has amassed some 12,000 troops on the border with ukraine and the white house is worried that there could be further problems in that country. the russians are saying putin himself saying this is actually going to hurt the u.s. economy. exxon mobil has deals with one of these big energy companies and the kremlin has denounced

these as a primitive attempt to take vengeance for the fact that events in ukraine are not going according to the washington script. >> he's taking a broadside against president obama's foreign policy. politics, new jersey govern governor chris christie putting his toe back in the presidential waters heading to iowa after that traffic scandal. now he has a full schedule. >> reporter: it's a long way from the george washington idge. officially this is simply an effort to help iowa governor terry branson in his re-election but sure looks like he's testing the waters for a presidential run and later he's going to new hampshire. >> decent poll numbers in iowa, as well. jon, thanks very much. nowo the ongoing immigration crisis on our southern border, thousands of n unaccompanied children making their way here from central america. many of them not getting adequate medical screening and that is raising some serious health concerns. abc's jim avila has the story. >> reporter: this morning, the flood of immigrant children

streaming across the southern u.s. border is so overwhelming cannotedically screen all of them properly. according to a government memo reviewed exclusively by abc news some children are leaving border patrol processing centers with high fever, flu-like symptoms and other contagious diseases. the memo says the director of refugee health at hhs has identified a breakdown in the medical screening processes at the border patrol facility in nogales, arizona. some children flown to a navy base in ventura were sick, fevers and coughing. others had chicken pox and coxsackie virus. two suffering from pneumonia. >> it's very concerning that children who had pneumonia were allowed on a plane risking their health and other refugee children. >> the lack of screening according to government sources may jeopardize the health of

workers and other children at the facilities. in fact, abc news has confirmed that just a week after the unscreened kids arrived there appeared to be a pneumonia and influenza outbreak spreading through the ventura facility. in texas abc news learned of one confirmed case and two probable cases of the h1n1 influenza strain known as swine flu linked to the unaccompanied children. >> it's important to note none of these diseases have spread into the communities around the facilities and sources tell abc news the government is now adding a fit to travel screening for the children. they must pass it before being put on a plane and sent to facilities away from the border. lara and george? >> all right, jim, thank you. now to amy with the rest of the morning's top stories. >> lara, good morning. we begin with new worries about growing instability in afghanistan. this morning the taliban launched a daring attack on the main airport in kabul firing gu guns and grenade, the second

airport attack in two weeks. the afghan equivalent of the secret service came under attack today highlighting major security concerns as u.s. troops withdraw from that country. and in washington, a major development in the irs targeting scandal. the agency is accused of targeting conservative groups. now there is word the justice department will investigate the disappearance of e-mails the agency claims were lost when a computer crashed. the e-mails were to and from lois lerner, a key former irs official who has refused to testify. general motors says it will hire an outside law firm to investigate how its own lawyers handled the ignition defect blamed for 13 deaths. today gm's top lawyer is appearing before a senate committee and lawmakers want to know how they kept it quiet. meantime, they are taking out newspaper ads urging drivers to use a single key instead of a heavy key chain to prevent that ignition glitch. it is a miracle of driver of

this honda survived crashing into an 18-wheeler in tennessee. look at those pictures. the impact literally sliced his car in half but he slid down in his seat and was able to duck just before the crash. >> wow. >> he walked away with only minor injuries. incredible. and a growing mystery overseas. scientists are being sent to siberia to figure out what caused this massive hole to open. it's 260 feet wide. authorities ruled out a meteor for now. melted ice or a natural gas explosion are the leading theories. and finally, many of us though this more than others. keeping a straight face on live tv is not always easy. especially when you swallow a fly. well, that's what happened to a reporter -- you have to watch his reaction. >> certainly if we look at, you know, the changing complexion of this cabinet compared to -- the last one, the one yesterday -- what we can see is that --

>> do you want to take a pause? do you want to take a pause. >> you've been talking nonstop. >> no, i swallowed a fly. that's all right. >> i mean -- >> just swallowed a fly. >> he kept going. true form there. i don't know. i mean -- he just went for it. >> the british accent just even makes swallowing a fly -- >> dignified. >> perfect line. keep calm and carry on. that's what he did outside 10 downing street. that is great. back to robin up early in l.a. after last night's espys. it is always the most glamorous event in sports last night no exception. >> last night, the night hasn't ended for many here. we are here live in the lobby of the jw marriott, just a stone's throw from the nokia theater where the espys were held last night and the after-party wrapped up, not kidding, just moments ago right here as

always, there was so much to celebrate. ♪ it's the sports' world most glammous night. >> drake. >> this man right here. >> reporter: the espys celebrating this year's top athletes. >> good to see you. >> i love all of you until you start losing then you're dead to me, okay. >> reporter: rap star drake taking center stage as host. his personality contagious even when poking fun. >> you don't always come in first place we know but somehow in nascar you're the only face we know. >> reporter: all good-spirited. >> it was all love. you know, i just wanted to touch on things in sports that i hadn't really heard people make jo jokes about before. >> making best moment -- >> we all feel that soccer is going to make it. it's just a matter of time. >> reporter: but strength off the field recognized too. >> the st. louis rams select

michael sam, defensive end -- >> 2014, arthur ashe courage award, michael sam. >> late great arthur ashe wasn't just courageous, he was brill yafrnts too. in fact, he once put all the wisdom in the world in three short sentences. i'm sorry. start where you are. use what you have and do what you can. those were words to live by whether you're black or white, young or old, straight or gay. >> i was very emotional, very. >> reporter: and my dear friend, espn's own stuart scott, honored with the jimmy v. perseverance award recognizing his courageous battle with cancer. to receive this, what does it mean to you in your heart? >> i can't claim this as like this is mine. this symbolizes a group effort from a lot of people who happen to care about me who kept me

upright for the last seven years. >> reporter: and capping off a night of winners, the biggest of them all, this year's best team. >> seattle seahawks. >> to win the first ever super bowl in our franchise is truly special. >> reporter: all-star night with the champions we all love to cheer on. and there was much to cheer about and there were so many special moments. i was here for my friend stuart scott. he has been so amazing and courageous and it was also very special to get on that stage and to announce for the first time that two great cancer organizations are joining forces, stand up to cancer is i. foundation for cancer resea d that was a moment that i chance to just really just experience for the first time just s from vehaehi morning time with micha sam, his comments and what he

said on the stage last night really resonated with many people and i'll be sharing my interview with him a bit later. >> we really want to see that. boy, stuart scott, such a powerful spirit. we have to move on to weather. >> even near dallas we're having big flash flooding problems. parts of i-35 closed. they have more than 10 inches of rain overnight and next couple of days similar from there in parts of texas to southeastern arkansas and even mississippi. watch for that and the potential for severe storms.

>> and coming up on "gma," the call girl accused of killing a top google executive now in court. why she's claiming the whole thing is an accident. also coming up, the mysterious disappearance of an experienced diver in the bahamas. the baffling clues just found from his swim with sharks. and abc news exclusive, cory monteith's mother speaking out

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>> good morning, i'm matt o'donnell, 7:26 on this thursday, july 17. let's head to matt pellman and see what's jamming up the roads, matt. we have a jam for people heading northbound toward camden because of a broken down truck on the ramp attempting to get to 42. speeds are around 11-mile an hour. if you're coming north, bail 45 or 47 delsea drive. one to 130 from 130 you can get back to the walt whitman bridge and route 42. we have a broken down vehicle in west conshohocken. the people took off, the vehicle is abandoned on the blue route southbound. you can get by this unlike the ramp in new jersey. on the pennsylvania turnpike the

crash eastbound proask downingtown -- approaching downtown it's off to the side. >> refreshing is the way to describe what you will feel when you step outside, meteorologist karen rogers filling in for david. >> reporter: hey, matt we have bright sunshine and blue skies and light breeze. let's check the forecast, 68 heading up to 83. temperatures are below average. you're right feeling refreshing low humidity. tomorrow, 85. saturday, nice, 85 degrees, clouds and sun, sunday, 86 degrees, now looks like sunday should be dry. monday we'll see clouds of sun, high of 87. chance of a shower or thunderstorm. tuesday, 87, wednesday, warm, shower or thunderstorm. 89 degrees. >> if you're leaving for summer

♪ with aluminum foil foil never settle for less ♪ ♪ that kind of wrap is just the best to keep your sandwich nice and fresh ♪ ♪ stick it in your cooler >> weird al is at it again burning up the internet with his version of lorde's "royals" her

big hit and his "foil." he has eight in eight days we showed jack black the other day. >> i remember "eat it" from way back then. ♪ eat it eat it >> i like that he's coming back. go. >> prolific, he is. also coming up on "good morning america," an expert diver's bizarre disappearance. he's gone missing off the coast of the bahamas and the puzzling clues this morning from his swim with sharks. and an abc news exclusive, cory monteith's mother speaking out one year after the "glee" star's tragic death. how she is honoring her son and the message she has for all parents. and you're looking at the man who claims he invented the selfie. you know, we snap 93 million of these every day. i did one moments ago. how he says he came up with the idea in the first place. >> he's got a good claim.

we'll get to that. first the case of the google executive found dead on his yacht. expensive escort has been charged with giving him an overdose of heroin and security cameras showing him stepping over him and sipping a glass of wine on her way out. cecilia vega has the story. >> reporter: we are learning more about her side of the story. tichelman's lawyer says she had no intention of harming that executive. police are telling a different story and want to know if there's more victims out there. she is the alleged high-priced call girl accused of killing a google top executive. this morning alix tichelman is behind bars saying the whole thing was an accident. >> i don't believe this was an intentional crime. this case is about two adults engaged in mutual consensual drug usage. >> reporter: forrest hayes was found dead last november.

police say surveillance footage from an onboard camera shows tichelman helping the father of five inject himself before he collapses. they say he can be seen stepping over his body and finishing her glass of wine. >> she did nothing to show concern, any care. >> reporter: now investigators are poring over her internet accounts and the 200 prostitution clients she allegedly boasted about searching for more potential victims. >> is there somebody out there who had a near-death experience or managed to survive this. >> reporter: police wonder if 53-year-old dean realpelt did not escape. >> my boyfriend overdosed. >>? just released 911 tapes she said dean has just collapsed but she repeatedly hangs up on operators. >> is he awake? >> he is -- no, not really. >> is he breathing? >> yeah, he's breathing, like

he's not -- i don't think he's going to die. he scared me. >> reporter: atlanta police had ruled his death accidental unlike hayes' death back in california where tichelman is now being held on $1.5 million bail. and tichelman's postings online will be key for police. now, they say they tracked her down by pretending to be a client and her goal was to spend a lavish weekend with a wealthy man and say she charged more than $1,000 per customer. george, she's now facing charges that include manslaughter, possession and prostitution. >> cecilia, thanks very much. let's bring in dan abrams. it's not a slam dunk case. >> she's charged with voluntary manslaughter. typically that is heat of passion or a fight. to prove voluntary manslaughter in this case they'll have to still demonstrate that she had the intent to create serious injury. the defense says, look, we were doing drugs together. i didn't have any intent to do anything wrong here. so i think that this is a play

by prosecutors to try to get her to plead to involuntary manslaughter meaning to say, look, we'll cut a deal because it seems like based on what we know right now, it seeps much more like a possible involuntary manslaughter case. as a result the sentence would be lower. >> how about the overdose of the former boyfriend? will prosecutors bring that into the case? >> they have to figure out if it was an overdose or something else. if it was just an overdose, they may not be able to and probably won't be able to. if they can somehow demonstrate that in that case, she was responsible in some sort of criminal way, then they might be able to introduce that. >> finally that security video they say they have of her being very callous, just ignoring the body. >> so powerful in front of a jury. bring that video in front of a jury and say, look what she's doing. she didn't care yet when you think about the actual charge here, the question is, is it really legally relevant?

it's going to come in but i don't know it should be that important legally what she did after the fact. they're not suggesting she murdered him. they're not saying she wanted to -- him to die and then she callously walked out. even prosecutors at this point are saying, she may not have intended to kill him and i think that's why the after the fact behavior shouldn't be that important. >> dan abrams, thanks very much. now to we turn to the disappearance of an experienced scuba diver when he vanished in the shark-infested waters of the bahamas. the coast guard has now called off the search and local police are declaring him dead. abc's matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: this morning, four days after texas cairo track ter john petty dove down to a world dominated by sharks and never surfaced his family getting gut-wrenching news. >> we confirmed with the bohemian police department they did recover some scuba items.

>> with the evidence recovered, they determined that it was a shark attack. >> reporter: the 63-year-old also an amateur underwater photographer mysteriously disappeared while shark diving in the bahamas sunday but after scouring 4600 miles of sea, the coast guard suspending its search for petty wednesday without announcing a cause of death. >> this was just to be one more adventure to go along with his many others. he had such an adventurous spirit and nothing, nothing slowed him down. >> reporter: all that was found abc news learned was the photographer's beloved camera, his mask and diving vest all of them shredded by sharks. petty had been with the same outfit that took my team shark diving twice in the past year. >> one, two, three. >> reporter: introducing us into a world ruled by 16-foot tiger sharks. every dive preceded by a two-hour safety briefing. >> make sure it's on there good.

pull on it a couple times. >> reporter: underwater that swirling shark, the sharks mostly ignoring us but curious about that white camera pole and had they got too close a guide putting his own body between us. the charter company telling abc news overnight it believes petty was likely not killed from a shark attack, but may have died from a drowning first and awaits a full investigation. for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, miami. >> very sad. all right. now we want to turn to the weather and ginger zee. ginger. >> and we're starting with a big weather wow. check this out from a helicopter you can see a waterspout over the gulf of mexico very close to near freeport, texas. the southeast along the cold front what's going to happen. unsettled weather and storms there. new orleans clearing and 86.

81, memphis. and i'll leave you with a look at that refreshing air mass that has settled in not only throughout parts of the mid-atlantic and great lakes lew also the northeast and new england. drier too. feeling a lot less >> reporter: hey, ginger, i'm meteorologist karen rogers just soaking up the sunshine out here. 68 degrees right now in philadelphia. heading up to 83. refreshing low humidity, lots of sunshine. tomorrow another >> all that weather brought to you by famous footwear. george and lara. >> ginger, thanks. coming up, the new study revealing one vitamin you may be taking every day could be dangerous for your health. more than 93 million selfies are taken a day. now the man who says he invented it and came up with the idea long ago that's become such a craze. keep the change. ♪

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♪ freeze frame coming up on 7:43. some of the selfies you sent us using the #wakeupselfie. who knew that it all began back in 1981. we're about to meet the man who says he started it back then. he says it began with a single impromptu snapshot. abc's nick watt has the story. >> reporter: every single day we snap millions of selfies. over 93 million on android

phones alone every single day. and now this guy claims he invented the selfie. >> i called them back then silly shots but i must say. >> reporter: that didn't really catch on. >> no. >> reporter: someone else called them selfie and that's what's in the dictionary. >> i did contribute something to the photographic art form. >> reporter: lester wisbrod was a cameraman in l.a. and claimed this was the first one with art buchwald out of focus. it took time to hone his craft. >> is that the bottom half of kenny rogers' face? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: he snapped everyone from morgan freeman to fabio. what did you do with these all these years? >> it's in a pile. >> reporter: now he's gone public and some are questioning his selfie invention claim. one credits susan sarandon and geena davis in "thelma and

louise." not everyone was as willing as a young neil patrick harris but he's only had one selfie refusal in 30 year, loretta swit from "m.a.s.h." >> i guess she thought if i was that close she wouldn't look good. >> reporter: even the first lady henry husband succumbed. >> reagan said, gosh, i've never had my picture taken like that before. never had a selfie, wow. i'm on to something there. >> reporter: he was. these days, presidents even snap selfies themselves. for "good morning america," nick watt, abc news, los angeles. >> well, whether it was first or not, that's an incredible collection. >> amazing. and all with a cannon sureshot which just can't be easy to do. one thing i thought was interesting, he said holding his arm out the act of holding his arm out disarmed actors. for some -- loretta swit. >> he was very nice about her. send us your morning snapshot

with #wakeupselfie. coming up, cory monteith's mother is speaking out. weird al is the king of the internet right now. his blitz of new music videos getting a royal or foil reception. ♪ is just the best to keep your sandwich nice and fresh ♪ i know the tastiest fruit is the freshest fruit. i know that what goes into this soil will effect these trees. and i know how to spot that perfect moment of ripeness.

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♪ royal >> we're heading over to the

social square with the latest on the music sensation that's gone viral on this throwback thursday talking about weird al. weird al yankovic is back more popular than ever dominating facebook, twitter all these past few days and ryan smith has all the latest. what is he up to now? >> oh, he is on a viral spree, lara. weird al, his hits from his newest album all parodies of popular songs, the latest is "foil" a spoof on lorde's "royals." ♪ with aluminum foil foil never settle for less ♪ ♪ that kind of wrap is just the best to your sandwich nice and fresh ♪ ♪ stick it in your cooler >> love that, right. more than 2 million clicks in 24 hours and it's just one of the eight he's releasing this week. there's a bunch. doesn't that sound good? how about this called "tacky."

what do you think? that was earlier this week and then there's "word crimes." ♪ word crimes." robin thicke. love that. >> i got to tell you the viral parodies have been weird al's thing for more than 30 years. he had hits like this -- remember this -- ♪ i'm fat i'm fat >> who could forget it. >> after michael jackson's "bad" but in the age of youtube he has a lot more competition. can't wait to see what's next. >> don't have time for it. i'm saving you. we'll be right back. >> here's a good improve this summertime tip from lowe's. keep your plants watered while on havevacation, do this. ♪

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>> good morning, everyone, i'm matt o'donnell, 7:56 on this thursday, july 17. matt pellman is standing by with

a look at what's jamming up the roads. matt. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt, i'm not hating on the sunshine out there, but the sun glare is giving us problems. people are blinded on the eastbound side of the 30 bypass in chester county. didn't see the vehicles stopped in front of them, and hit them. there's a bad crash. you can see the fire crews on the scene knocking out the left lane causing heavy delays from reeseville road to 340. a multi-vehicle accident westbound on the turnpike near fort washington. causing speeds in the teens from bensalem to fort washington. we have a broken down truck blocking the ramp 295 northbound to 42. speeds at 10 and 11 miles per hour. use 45 or delsea drive to get to 130 to get to the walt whitman bridge instead.

>> philadelphia international airport live on sky 6. if you're traveling to dallas, fort worth you could see delays, heavy thundershowers there. none around here. karen rogers filling in for david murphy. >> reporter: quite here and the next few days. 71 in philadelphia. the upper 60s in the lehigh valley and in millville. 68. we started this morning with the suburbs in the upper 50s, you can see temperatures responding to the sunshine. refreshing today, 83 for your high, mostly sunny skies, another beauty tomorrow, 85. the weekend is nice, nice saturday, 85. sunday, 86. we've had winning weather on the weekend spring and summer that continues. >> jim gardner goes one on one with the head of the philadelphia s

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monteith, his mom is speaking out about her struggle. her message for all parents this morning. ♪ this is the moment tonight is the night ♪ you can't hold this back. macklemore revealing his softer side. the best decision he says he's made in a long time. ♪ if you close your eyes great deals from gilt that you don't want to miss. >> all: good morning, america. and look where ginger is on the u.s. coast guard cutter the "eagle." beautiful morning. beautiful ship thanks to our wabc chopper great shot there and we'll get back to them in a just a little bit. >> just a gorgeous day out there and right here the inspiring story of a couple who cut their body weight in half. they did it together.

talk about teamwork. they lost nearly 300 pounds combined so how did they do it and what finally motivated them to get in shape? their amazing transformation is just ahead. you won't believe what they look like now. >> i can see them. they look fantastic. can't wait for you to see them as well. we'll talk about a hot topic among parents, one mom's decision to go on vacation for ten days without her daughter. why she says parents should not feel guilty about going away. >> she seems happy there. >> me time. me time. >> as long as there is a baby-sit sfler exactly. >> involved. that's okay. we do want to hear from you. do you think it's okay for parents to take a little me time as ame says, a vacation without their young kids. go to our website goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo! and let us know your feelings. news first from amy. good morning, everyone. we begin with a state of emergency in the pacific

northwest as more than two dozen wildfires rage and homes are being evacuated where it is so smoky authorities cannot tell how big the fire is and, unfortunately, more hot, windy weather expected today. a different scenario across southern colorado. slammed by 4 inches of rain in just six hours, raging floodwaters overtaking a restaurant and washing out roads and just this morning reports of nearly a foot of rain falling in north texas. we have more on ginger's forecast coming up. also breaking overnight the five-hour humanitarian cease-fire between israel and the palestinians was interrupted this morning when mortars were fired from gaza. talks for a more permanent cease-fire are under way this hour. meantime, israel's military has promised to investigate the killing of four boys playing on a beach in gaza. also overnight new security concerns in afghanistan after yet another taliban attack on the airport in kabul. afghan forces stopped that attack without any civilian

casualties. cars and homes are riddled with bullets this morning after a wild bank robbery and police chase in stockton, california. speeds reaching 100 miles per hour as those suspects fired ak-47s out of a stolen suv. one woman taken hostage was killed along with two of the three robbers. in north carolina, a pair of museum thieves have been caught on camera. take a look at this surveillance video. it shows a man and a woman stealing the replica a small dinosaur from an exhibit at the museum of natural sciences. it's hard to see but police say the stolen dinosaur model is worth about $10,000 making this theft a felony. and a woman stripped of her miss delaware title for being too old is now suing the miss america organization for $3 million. amanda says she repeatedly provided her birth certificate and driver's license to pageant officials and allowed her to compete even though she turns 25 in october.

finally, talk about throwback thursday. let's see if you all can recognize this actor. who do you think that is? >> the rock. >> oh, it's 9 rock. that's right. you guys are too good even it was on prompter. just saying. he sent this picture from t the '90s with the caption "fanny pack and lean." however it's fair to say he does not mention the hair, turtleneck or chain he's wearing circa 1980 or so. >> i'm glad you showed it but -- >> the fanny pack -- >> it's new. it's coming back. >> allegedly. allegedly. >> it's back. >> the fanny pack is back? >> yes, indeed. >> we're getting you one for your birthday. >> well, thank you very much. it'll be regifted. we turn now to a brand-new study of a vitamin in many medicine cabinets that could be dangerous. niacin known as vitamin b3 for those trying to control cholesterol but side effects could outweigh the benefits.

dr. jen ashton here to explain. >> here's the actual study. some cardiologists are calling this a landmark study. what they did is looked at a group of patients already with cardiovascular disease and put some of them on a combination drug, niacin or vitamin b3 with an anti-flushing drug and compared them to placebo and what they found while nye son dropped their numbers it raised their good cholesterol, it do not prevent end events like heart attack and stroke and check out these side effects. they were significant. the patients on this high dose, 2,000 milligrams of niacin had gast gastrointestinal distress, diabetes, infections, bleeding. merck funded this study. not good news. >> definitely side effects. you couldn't have a gastro -- >> we've phone for awhile niacin can do this but how much and to what extent wasn't delineated

before this study. >> people think it's a vitamin. it must be safe to take. is there a dosage that's safe? >> the recommended daily allowance is between 14 and 16 milligrams. these patients were on 2,000 milligrams but think of it like this, yes, it's a vitamin, yes, it can be available over the counter, yes, it's natural but there are always risks and in medicine we have to weigh the risks versus the benefits and the premise of medicine, do no harm. >> would you tell patients to take it? >> in this dosage, absolutely not. way too risky. >> okay. >> thanks, jen. "pop news" is coming up and weather too. first, lara, the "morning menu." >> i do, indeed. coming up in "pop," who is the smartest celebrity of all on twitter? the numbers have been crunched and we'll have an answer for you. also, the inspiring couple who lost nearly 300 pounds together. they are a team in every sense of the word and they're going to tell us how they did it and how they can inspire you.

and then an abc news exclusive, cory monteith's mom is now speaking out, it's the first time she has with a message of hope for all parents. all of that and so much more coming up on "good morning america" live in times square. ♪ "gma's morning menu" is brought to you by nexium. new nexium 24 hour now available without a prescription. [ male announcer ] if you had a dollar for every dollar

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new olay regenerist luminous facial oil. with 9 lightweight oils that seal in moisture for luminous skin day or night. the perfect accessory to your luminous collection. olay. your best beautiful. ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome back, everybody. time for "pop news" and ryan smith with that. >> good morning. let's start with macklemore. we know he's kind of a big deal but turns out his cat choir row has star power of her own.

he introduced her to the world when he brought her back home in may and now she has her own instagram page with over 90,000 followers. some of the priceless snapshots like this one right here and you have where she borrows his gold and then with the rapper himself. >> she has some wide eyes. >> she's a rescue, i'm assuming? >> i don't know but she likes gold. >> you should know. >> i should know better than anybody. no follow-up questions allowed. people find out. i'm going to assume it's a rescue. >> i'll go with that, thank you. >> because i'm an advocate for rescues. it's not about me. it's about you. let's talk -- thank you, lara. you make me feel good inside. leonardo dicaprio has been announced as the smartest celebrity on twitter following an investigation by "time" magazine.

"time" tested his twitter smarts with a reading comprehension test as the simple measure of gobbledygook, it measures how many three syllable words are used by stars and he comes in at number one because he tweets the conversation conservation a lot. jimmy kimmel made the top three and ludacris. i know you're wondering, how did we score? i heard you just say that, right? in your minds so let me tell you how you scored. >> no need. >> george, you're first, seventh grade level, congratulationses. >> seventh grade. how about that. >> lara, you tied seventh grade level. how about that. amy, ginger, robin, all at a sixth grade level. that's okay. >> can i just say this is a stupid test. >> why? >> hey, george, let me say i agree with you because i'm on a fifth grade level. >> one and two syllable words

and everybody understood what i was saying. >> i tweet to express, not to impress. >> i love that. >> i love that. i'm very proud of you. >> but this will be the only test i ever take in my life that i tied with george so can't we say it's important? >> yes, yes. >> it's important? as i tweeted this morning, supercalifragislistic- expialidocious. >> think of his score. >> fifth grade. >> all right. oh, by the way we're giving you time to plan for an important day. take a look at this. tomorrow, friday is sloth giving, the celebration of the slowest animal on the planet and to get us in the mood they put together a not so scientific video of things you may not know about sloths. >> oh, we're alter tied of touching the ground. >> something most people don't know about me, i'm really good at parkour. >> we can actually move really fast. we're just waiting for the right

opportunity >> that's the key to being laid back. slothsgiving is happening, it's a thing. they sleep 20 hours a day. >> how about that? >> so good. >> "heat index" coming up. first back to ginger. she is on that amazing u.s. coast guard cutter the "eagle." hey, ginger. >> here we are, the famous ship. i'm sailing this morning. you did see from above there what she looks like, a beautiful shot behind me too where you can see the statue of liberty. you know, it's not only gorgeous through this morning but through the weekend. this ship known so well for training cadet, 150 at a time will be here friday and saturday for people to tour by the "intrepid." the weather with you this weekend, as well. some of the numbers coming up will be drier, comfortable, less humid, so we're talking places like new york city, boston, that air mass is going to settle in and feel, oh, so good. that's the big picture. >> reporter: thanks, ginger, i'm

meteorologist karen rogers beautiful weather in philadelphia. we're up to 71 degrees, heading up to 83 today a little below average. refreshing with a cool breeze, low humidity. tomorrow another beauty, 85 degrees mostly sunny skies, saturday, nice, 85. sunday, partly sunny skies, 86. the weekend is good. monday clouds and sun, 87. tuesday, more humid, 87 degrees chance for a thunderstorm. >> so much more coming up from right here on the "eagle." george. >> looks great out there. we kick off our "heat index" with an issue that stirs up strong emotions with parents with young kids. should you go on vacation without them? one mommy blogger generating lots of buzz saying she felt no guilt after leaving her 3-year-old behind for a ten-day vacation and linsey davis has the story. >> reporter: many mothers struggle with the daunting need to be in several places at once like miranda in "sex and the

city." >> feeling guilty had become a part of miranda's daily routine. >> she came up with this creative solution for inner peace. but 37-year-old mom kerry westby is taking a different approach saving in a huffington post blog sometimes in order to maintain inner peace moms need to get away. >> it's crucial for our children to see motherhood is an addition to one's life and not a subtraction. >> reporter: she went all the way to paris and italy for ten days, maia stayed at home with her partner. >> when a mom says i need some me time the reaction is very much like who are you to take off? this is your role. this is your job. >> it's very important that moms take permanent time so they can be better parents. it gives them more energy. it makes them feel recharged. >> reporter: westby admits getting over the mommy guilt was daunting at first but she believes it's important to show children that personal time is part of creating a balanced life. >> self-love is the most

important lesson we can teach our kid. >> we have this sense of obligation to be with them 24/7. as a mom it's really important you strike a balance between your needs and your children's kneads. >> reporter: westby knows not everybody has the luxury of a ten-day trip. she suggests that something as small as taking a bus ride around town or a trip to the movies alone or even just taking a night off and letting your partner take the reins, whatever it takes to help put the "me" back in mommy. for "good morning america," linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> all right, lins. next up in our "heat index." finding the determination to shed the unwanted pounds. we asked you 0 tell us how much weight you lost and got so many inspiring tweets, people losing 25 up to 15 pounds. we're about to meet a remarkable couple that did it as a team and, boy, did they succeed. here's their story. in the spring of 2012 jessica and robert foster were a couple

struggling with obesity. >> food was my comfort and when i was feeling down or blue or angry, anything, you know, i'd just -- i ate. >> i kind of played the fat guy part and that was kind of what i saw as being my identity. >> reporter: finally fed up, they decided to change their lives together. she took up zumba and encouraged rob to start running and changed their diets and eventually became vegan. >> every time we dropped a pants or shirt size it did nothing but boost what was battered self-esteem from all those years before. >> reporter: their goal to be healthy role models for their four young daughters. >> i wanted to show these girls you can do anything you put your mind to and don't let anybody ever tell them that they can't because look at us. it's me. i did it. >> reporter: two years later

they are transformed losing 280 pounds together. they did it all right. so are you ready to meet this wonderful couple? come on out, robert and jessica. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh. you look great. >> awesome. >> fantastic. >> so let's start with jessica. here's jessica two years ago. this mother of four weighed 287 pounds and worried about the threat of diabetes. she went on to lose 120 pounds and, boy, do you look amazing. >> yeah. >> all right. so now robert, he weighed 327 pounds. he didn't have any energy. couldn't play with his kids. he said enough's enough and lost 160 pounds. he's running marathons. you guys look great. come on over. [ applause ] that's fantastic. it is a pleasure to meet you. >> nice meeting you. >> so inspirational to so many who want to do it but don't know where to start. what advice do you have? >> you know, i think the couple

biggest things that i could say is, you know, you got to start off with the right goals, you know, so many people out there -- >> meaning don't set them too high. >> don't set them too high and don't make them short term. i want to lose x number of pounds. once you get to the point where you lost that weight where do you go from there? >> you don't have to get an expensive gym membership. you did a great approach at home with milk bottles. >> we didn't buy gym memberships, all at home, cross fit in our home and that was kind of later down the line. we started off with very, very fun type of activities, though, because getting started is tough. and if you start with something that's fun that you can incorporate other people into, friends and family, makes it really easy and you get that high from doing, you know, physical activity and that

exhaustion and you just crave more at that point. >> easy and fun. >> fantastic. love it. >> you look amazing. >> a couple, a great team and hopefully our viewers are really getting inspired. thank you so much for being with us. george, over to you. >> they look fantastic. we turn to that emotional interview with the mother of "glee" star cory monteith who died last year of an overdose. in this abc news exclusive she has a message for parents and spoke with bianna golodryga about drug abuse. ♪ just a small town girl >> reporter: it's been one year since cory monteith who shot to fame on the hit series "glee" lost a lifelong battle with drugs and alcohol at the age of 31. now cory's mom, ann mcgregor is speaking out for the first time about the son she called baby bear. how are you feeling right now? >> the last few days i'm beginning to accept it.

the loss is horrendous. until three days ago i couldn't look at a picture of cory so there's been progress. >> reporter: can you talk about that night one year ago? >> no. >> when you found out? >> no. ♪ i know it's late and lea, do you keep in touch with lea. >> i do. she texts me and e-mails me. she's hurting too. >> reporter: she last saw cory two days before his death and said he was planning to sign a lease on a new place in vancouver. >> so he wanted to give hollywood up. ash t wn ated his eyes t hav .ehatation, h cay to them? live every moment. grab the second. >> do you blame hollywood at all? >> i don't think blame is a good thing to do, no, he could --

that was his choice. ♪ just the same shy does everything ♪ >> you have to get some satisfaction when you saw how much talent your son had. >> pretty amazing. >> and he was a star. >> i'm still in awe. i always will be. >> and i asked her how she felt the show dealt with his death. she said she hasn't been able to watch it since. in fact, she can't even look at cory's photos so this was a cathartic moment to finally talk about her son and little things she said we know him as this tall, strapping man he was a peopleny born at 4 pounds. the doctors said if he survives he'll keep on growing. >> a lot of pain and wisdom. >> and big message for parents. coming up, neil patrick harris, he's going to be here live. ♪ tomorrow, hold on tight for the dance party in the warrick for zedd igniting the morning with the smash hit --

♪ >> presented by dreamwalk by dr. scholl's. >> 8:27 now, we have breaking news from the lehigh valley. chopper 6hd is live over a shooting scene in white hall, township. two state constables were involved in a shooting that wounded an adult male suspect trying to serve a an arrest warrant before 8:00 a.m. the police say the suspect tried to run them over, so one constable opened fire. the suspect is hospitalized.

there's more at 6abc.com. i'm matt o'donnell good morning, we have traffic and weather. >> reporter: the weather is nice, the traffic is not nice in a few spots like the schuylkill expressway westbound side from the blue route to 202. a multi-vehicle crash is taking out the right lane. government county we're locked up -- gloucester county we're locked up from national park to 42. use 130 to get to 42 instead. i-95 in delco we're slow from marsh road in delaware where there are several disabled vehicles. >> dave is off, karen rogers is here with a spectacular forecast. >> reporter: it is spectacular. 71 degrees in philadelphia. we started the suburbs in the upper 50s, now most areas in the upper 60s low 70s him cooler

than average. that's the way we'll stay today. 8 # is the high -- 83 is the high, another beauty tomorrow, 85. saturday, nice, 85. sunday, partly sunny, 86. >> okay, karen. we have posted details of a tragic crash in north jersey that left a police officer dead. the full story

♪ out in times square this morning, let's see who is inside right now. neil patrick harris. there he is in the social square. we caught him right there. what can't that man do? he has so much going on. new movie coming out "raising a family." can't wait to talk to him about that. >> ginger taking to the high seas. we have a look at her at the helm of the u.s. coast guard cutter the "eagle" looking at 21,000 feet of sail, five miles

of rigging and it's all under ginger's direction right now. >> any time i see her in -- i know there's some kind of adventure happening. she's fearless. then the best-selling author who says we're all related. he's on a mission to organize the world's biggest family reunion and explain what that means to all of us and all of you. >> okay, but first summer is in full swing if you haven't noticed and time to upgrade your warm weather staples everything from sunglasses to sandals. edit editorial director of gilt online. maybe i was on it yet. share the secrets and how to get them for a whole lot less. >> thanks for having me. >> so our first look is alex. she is wearing a denim dress and some think denim is hot for summer but hot in a good way. >> hot in a good way. the dress is a great way to get the look.

make yourself a little more comfortable for summer and treat it the same way you do your jeans, it's a blank canvas, dress it up, this is by rachel zoe. she has a great clothing line on gilt.com. >> you paired it with some cute flat sandals. >> those of us who suffer flew the platform heels are relieved to know flat sandals not only feel so, so comfortable, love wearing these everywhere. this pair is only $49 from thenary from maiden lane found exclusively on gilt. >> very blue sunglasses. can anyone pull those off. >> absolutely. summer is laid back season. so don't take yourself too seriously. these are from quay, only $29 and great for low maintenance beauty days. you don't need to do your makeup. just put those on. >> we want to bring out rayshon and wearing this great

printed -- >> they're so easy. one-piece dressing, put on one thing and this is from french connection, $39. so versatile. wear it as a cover-up, at the pool or out for drinks just by throwing on a blazer, great jewelry and high heels. could not be easier. >> i love the sandals. so simple and classic. white piping and speaking of white you say white is the new black for this summer. >> white is having a white hot moment once again. those of us who look to the '80s think white shoe, white handbags, a little stuck in that decade. it feels fresh. choose something that has a modern silhouette and texture and this great clutch from bcbg, $69 and summer is the time to do it. >> we should mention all of these pieces are all under $75 and that's the great thing about gilt.

designer fashion. >> yes, exactly. >> thank you so much and nice look at both of these beautiful outfits for the summer. we'll tell you how to get these deals and more, just logon to goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo! thank you so much. we appreciate it all. let's head back out to ginger now. she is on the u.s. coast guard cutter the "eagle" for a final check of the weather. take it away. >> hello, everybody. good morning, everybody. here i am on the top. i just learned what this is called. climbed up after the last time you saw me on the u.s. coast guard's "eagle" where we've got five miles of active rigging. this ship so impressive and if you're in new york city you can see it both tomorrow and saturday. so we'll be talking a lot more about what happens on the boat but let's get to the weather forecast. severe weather possible in the heart of texas there so just north and west and including dallas. you could see damaging wind, hail, even an isolated tornado. always hearing many reports about severe weather there. i also want to give you a look

from west to east across the nation but for now i'm going to sit right here in the beautiful sunshine. oh, new york is looking good this morning. >> reporter: nice and bright out here ginger, i'm meteorologist karen rogers with your accuweather update. 71 degrees we're heading up to 83. refreshing low humidity, lots of sunshine. another beauty tomor >> and all that weather is brought to you by target. george. this is -- you got to get out here and see the ship. >> it is so magnificent. you look great up there, ginger. what a great site in the harbor. we turn to one man's quest to show how we're one big family. best-selling author a.j. jacobs is creating the biggest family tree. sara haines has the story. >> reporter: what if i was related to channing tatum or kate middleton or denzel. could it be? is it possible as i look around

i'm related to everyone here? >> not possible, it's true. absolutely -- >> reporter: meet a.j. whose goal is to throw the world's biggest family reunion right here in new york and says even he and i are related. a mere 31 steps away. yep, a.j. is my fourth great uncle's great daughter's nephew. you got it? you're connected through -- >> the ziegenthuse. >> my grandmother's maiden name. >> you have to come to the global family reunion. >> we want to get the word out about it so cousin amg and i sat out to try to meet and invite family minimums. >> you have 77 million cousins. two new cousins. welcome to the family. >> a.j.'s family tree has over 77 million leads and continues to grow. >> here i am and then just 23 relatives away there's george stephanopoulos, people say that they don't feel alone anymore.

they feel connected. >> i'm daniel radcliffe and a.j. jacobs and he's my cousin and we are probably cousins. >> reporter: even though his own family claims two american presidents, not everybody is impressed. >> tory, it's your cousin a.j., we're just 17 steps away. it's your cousin through the donskis. relatives maybe no one will notice she's notreunioning a,bcs

what's your favorite place in america? the place that makes you the happiest. this summer that's what "gma" wants to know.

maybe it's where you had your first kiss or walked as a child with your dad. go now to goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo! and tell us about your favorite place in america and, who knows, we might just drop in and visit you there. incredibly multitalented neil patrick harris is here, so excited about that. >> thanks. >> he is starring in ""hedwig" n broadway and here to share another talent. he's been hired as ambassador to the art at the exhibition. art of the pixel and tell us all bit. what is the pixel. >> thank you. well, the pixel is a small little dot that is used in tvs now. lg is a great company asked me to be a partner with them. called the art of the pixel competition and asked students from around the world and art schools to submit digital media that would look great on these amazing technological tvs.

nine students from nine different art schools and you can go online to lg.com and vote for your favorite and they win money and the schools win scholarships and it's just to show off these unbelievable ultra hd and the oldechnology is astonishing and now the digital art world can start using a bigger canvas. you know what i mean. >> are you an artist yourself? >> i'm not an artist. i'm more of like a collector of contemporary art and so i always assumed eventually technology would get this good and so there's really phenomenal things. i like that i can honor and represent digital artists. >> and young artist. >> young emerging artists who look up to artists who follow their dream whether it was in a different medium. >> you have until july 31st to vote. lg.com which is convenient because that's the name of the company.

>> it's weird like that. i nknow any chance i see you doing something i'm a big fan and in love with you, frankly and love your work and love talking about the books you write and plays you do. >> thanks. >> and i don't know how you do it all because while you're spending time with emerging artists you're across the street, directly across the street doing "hedwig" for which you just won a tony award. >> thank you. thank you. >> no thought that i would forget to mention, hard to miss when you notice that -- >> you're wearing your glitter nail polish. >> we put it on yesterday and i was remiss to take it off for a few days. the show is going fantastically well in it through mid-august and it's like a crazy rock 'n' roll tour de force-y kind of role and i've been having a blast doing it. it's killing me. it's slowly crushing me

physically but that's why we act. >> is it the hardest thing you've ever done, you know, in all -- >> yeah, it is. when you're first rehearsing it you're learning about it and when you're first performing it, you're sort of shell-shocked so you have to sort of maneuver your way through it and yet you're also trying to be iggy pop and be sort of spontaneous punk and with that comes flailing and doing it differently every night and different improve vegas things that happen and she's such an angry fractured person that i get to -- it's a little bit of an opiate at this point. it's a lot to get into with the physical therapy and the exercise and the makeup and getting ready for it and then when you're doing it you're in this wonderful 100 minutes of insanity. >> you told me right when the show was starting you wouldn't use an understudy. you didn't feel you could. have you stayed true to the word. you haven't missed a show. >> i haven't missed a show yet. we've done show 105 so it's good

but the nice thing about hedwig she's doing a one -- one-time performance is the con seat of the show. it's rock 'n' roll so if she's scratchy or under, it just makes her more angry. >> which i can tell you having seen the show is fun. >> i care about broadway and it being really good every time you want to see a show. that's why you come to new york and see these things. it's in my best interest to be skinny and angry and vocally on point. >> we have a question for you from one of your many, many fans out there. jessica portillo on twitter asks, how do you prepare yourself before a show and do you get nervous still? >> second part first. i'm not really nervous. i just get more adrenaline rush. i don't get too confident i think if you feel like you're going to be really good that's when i it end to slip on my heels. there's a lot of ritual before the show.

i have usually a vocal warm-up. i eat three hours before. i have a vocal warm number two hours before. 90 minutes i start getting into the makeup. at about a half hour we get into the wrrd and the wigs, so it's a lot. i'm there many hours before the show starts and it takes about an hour to recover. it makes it sound like i'm exhausted like a terrible job. it's the best thing ever. it's crazy. >> it's full steam ahead. >> and emotional and it's rock 'n' roll and it's -- you get to sing and stomp around like mick jagger and sit really still. >> remember i said -- you watch it and you -- it makes you want to go try something different yourself, push yourself which is a really great message which is a perfect time to transition to "gone girl." talk about a juxtaposition of characters. >> right. >> how is that? some people are saying like the anti-barney. like kind of creepy. >> i didn't choose to be in

"gone girl." david fincher who is probably the best director going right now, i'm a massive fan of his from the game on. i got an e-mail saying he wanted to have lunch with me to talk about a project and you drop everything and do that and he is the coolest guy and "gone girl" i had raid the book as did millions and millions of people and said, yes, wholeheartedly and i play sort of a count counterpoint to the lead to named desi collins, always been in love with rosalynn pike's character and it's so good. i just think every shot that david does is like a piece of art. you can freeze frame everything and it's all so gorgeous and symmetrical and well lit and it was really like another level of acting, especially having just done a multicamera sitcom which i'm so proud of. >> will you do me a favor? take a vacation at some point.

>> that's my plan. after "hedwig" is done i'll take a nice break until the first of the year. >> give david our love and beautiful kids our love. >> thank you. >> when your book comes out, i had a real fun game of would you rather. promise me you'll come back. >> absolutely. i'd love to. thank you. >> keep up the great work. >> cheers. >> neil patrick harris, the art of the pixel. >> >> reporter: of the pixel. lg.com. >> ambassador -- >> art ambassador. >> i mean, come on. thanks again and coming up here -- there we go. the star of disney's "planes: fire & rescue" is with us.

♪ i can't remember disthink's "planes: fire & rescue" was a worldwide hit grossing $219 million. now, fearless fly boy dusty crop hopper is back with "planes: fire & rescue" where engine damage has him setting a

completely new course, take a look. >> give them a go. >> huh? all right. let me just get this -- no. >> pop the wheels, genius. >> pop the wheels. >> oh, that's it. >> yeah. >> you think. >> yeah, i'm tall. look at this. >> the man behind dusty, crop hopper is here, dane cook, reprising the lead role. welcome, to "good morning america." >> great to be here. >> great character and he's really struggling with like a career path. he needs to sort of forge his own way. >> it's one thing that i think is like classic disney is that they allow characters to grow and i think that's what we bring to this next one. the humor is bigger and then the grit is grittier. >> what is it like being in a disney -- you know, it's -- i would imagine it's sort of a big deal even for a major -- >> i get into it. i really do. i live with planes for a year

now. i live in a hangar and sleep on a tarmac. no, it's the greatest experience to get in there with great comedic actors and see it come to fruition is incredible. >> it's a nice juxtaposition from the dane cook that many of us know with a saucy flavor. >> parents say we love the movie and where are the swear words? that's another show altogether. yeah, this is really about getting, you know, getting the whole family together and just having a blast for a couple of hours. >> it's an awesome franchise. i don't know if you know this but i actually was also a character. i play a reporter who is a corvette and did not make the cut but i want you to know we are colleagues existentialally. >> that will be in the extended -- i made like the dvd. so it's that. >> welcome to our world. >> i love that you have another comedy special coming up on

showtime. >> i do. >> and explain the title "troublemaker." >> yes, because i never get into any of that in my entire career. you know it's about the material. it's about the content. people know i always kind of like to push things a little bit and so you'll have to see why the title -- >> can you give me a preview of -- >> can you beep me for the next 40 seconds? i always like getting into the relationship stuff and i say at the beginning if you came to the show tonight and you're in a relationship, 60% of those relationships will end before this night is through because we're going to really rip the lid off of it so you got to see. you got to see who stayed together and who left. >> that's on showtime and that is coming out -- >> october 17th. >> but, meanwhile, dusty. >> "planes: fire & rescue." if i may the family movie of the summer. the one you want to go to and have an incredible movie. i saw the movie with the entire cast. >> were you missing and longing

for that reporter? >> there's like something missing -- >> something not quite right. you steal the show. it is a great movie. i have two kids and they loved it. thank you for all your work. pleasure to get to know you and "planes: fire & rescue," in hd

♪ because i'm happy "good morning america" is brought to you by olay. challenge what's possible. >> and look at little nicholas

pergleh rife simon. newest member of our "gma" family. son of margaret and her partner barbara. everyone is doing great. he looks terrific. >> congratulation, ladies. have a great day. >> hoarse an update -- here's an update on our breaking news story from the lehigh valley. one state constable fired a weapon while serving a warrant in white hall township. two constable also were along portland drive when the focus of the warrant tried to run them over with a car. so police say one constable

opened fire on the man. the suspect is hospital hospitalized. let's check traffic with matt pellman. >> reporter: we have heavy traffic on the schuylkill expressway approaching 202 we have a multi-vehicle accident out here. the good news unlike the last half-hour it's off to the side. both lanes open, but again, a 1 mile delay on the westbound side of 76. delayed on the northeast extension southbound between quakertown and lansdale there's a crash between those two points knocking out the left lane. the broken down truck on 259 northbound 42 northbound are gone. delays persist. >> let's go outside to karen rogers with the accuweather forecast. >> reporter: we have sunshine and temperatures are 73 in philadelphia. 69 in allentown. 72 in millville. we started with suburbs in the

upper 50s. here's the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast we're heading up to 83. refreshing low humidity mostly sunny skies, another beauty tomorrow, 85. at this point the weekend looks great. >> thanks, karen. coming up on "action news" at noon, delaware a preparing for a visit from president obama snrrchlts plus the investigation into eowe. plus the investigation into a man and woman found dead in a philadelphia home and their connection to a top city

>> are kelly ripa and michael strahan! [applause]

elly: thank you. hello.