making news in america this morning -- >> facing his accusers. the first explosive testimony as the child sex abuse trial of jerry sandusky gets under way. deadly wildfires burning out of control and still growing in the west. and now, one person has fallen victim. new crop. apple unveils new computers and some new features. still aiming for a bigger bite of the competition. and robin's fight. our own robin roberts facing a new health challenge with immeasurable grace. good morning, everyone. it is the case that raised so

many questions about sports programs, coaches and their power over the young people who ultimately put a whole lot of trust in them. >> absolutely. the trial of former penn state assistant football coach, jerry sandusky, is now officially under way. and his accusers are speaking out from the stand. abc's t.j. winick reports now from the courthouse. >> reporter: will jerry sandusky take the stand in his own defense? attorney joe amendola said his client could tell the jury about how his own experiences growing up explain some of his alleged behavior. it was routine for people to get in the showers in jerry's culture. he's going to tell you later it was routine for individuals to take showers together, amendola said. he argued that sandusky isn't a pedophile. he suffers from an attention-seeking personality disorder. but in graphic afternoon testimony, alleged victim number four, the first state witness, said how sandusky repeatedly molested him, whether in the shower, or on a bed. later, his mentor would write him a letter that began, i know

that i have made my share of mistakes. however, i hope i will be able to say that i cared. the now-68-year-old is charged with abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. in all, he faces 52 counts. the lead prosecutor promised that eight of sandusky's accusers would take the stand, to recall details of the alleged abuse, labeling sandusky a serial pedophile. while the former coach denies all of the charges, you can bet prosecutors will play parts of "the new york times" interview for the jury, the interview where he says -- >> if i say no, i'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because i'm attracted to young people. boys, girls. >> reporter: the defense claims that all of these accusers have a financial stake in the outcome of this trial. that essentially, they've a better chance of winning damages from penn state university and other parties if jerry sandusky is found guilty. paula and rob? >> thanks, t.j., for that report. and now, to the morning's

other big story, the fires that are raging out of control in the west have now claimed at least one life. >> officials in colorado say they tried to warn the woman who died. even sending a firefighter right there to her cabin. but her remains were discovered yesterday. with more on the fires, here's abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: overnight, the vicious wildfire burning in the colorado mountains north of denver, grew to 41,000 acres. the flames were racing near homes at 400 feet per minute. the smoke is so vast, it's stretching into wyoming and nebraska. this morning, firefighters are hoping to report progress, after officials said late last night, that the blaze was zero percent contained. >> they were able to make some progress on the southwest corner. they've established an anchor point and have built some line there. >> reporter: some 400 firefighters are fighting the flames, which are shooting hundreds of feet in the air. and engulfing everything in their path. this video shows the fire moving in on one house. >> it's coming in here now.

>> reporter: more than 100 structures have been destroyed. many of them homes. evacuees are anxiously awaiting to learn if their own home was one of them. >> knowing that this is -- you may not have much at the end of this, is pretty daunting. >> it's a really difficult thing to just sit there and wonder if you have to start your life over again. >> reporter: hundreds have been evacuated. but one missing woman, it appears, died in her home. >> we managed to get up there today. used some fire engines to cool off the remnants of that building. ultimately they found what believed to be human remains. >> reporter: in new mexico, a similar story. firefighters battling out-of-control blazes, fanned by winds and drought. 435 square miles of forest have burned. more than 1,000 people evacuated over the weekend. less than half of the fire has been contained. tahman bradley, abc news.

and the search for a suspect in the auburn university shooting has been developing overnight. s.w.a.t. teams converged on a house in montgomery after getting a 911 call that the suspect was hiding there. now, two alleged accomplices have been arrested. three people shot to death saturday night at a party that was not far from the auburn campus in an apparent dispute over a woman. two of the victims were former auburn football players. the coast guard says a reported explosion on a yacht off central new jersey likely was all a hoax. and now, they want to know who was behind it. the emergency call launched a huge rescue operation yesterday afternoon. but crews never found any evidence of the boat or of the explosions. making a false distress call is a serious federal offense. preliminary figures from the fbi show violent crime is on the downswing nationwide. crimes including murder, rape, assault and robbery, dropped by 4% in 2011, over the previous year.

and even more astonishing is what's been happening over the last 20 years. steadily decreasing almost every year since 1991. so, a bit of good news there. now, in the category of not-so-violent crimes, the massachusetts town of middleborough is dang fed up with public profanity. so, gosh darn it to heck. >> keep going. keep going. >> that's how i normally talk. residents voted to approve a proposal allowing police to impose a $20 fine on anyone who cusses in public. that study is bullish on profanity. i think that's a bold move on their part. >> when i think of you, i think clean language. >> thank you so much. time to go for the weather from across the nation. a wet day for much of the east coast. oh, we could have totally gone "r"-rated there. >> if the show was on cable. >> rain from boston to d.c. thunderstorms for the carolinas, florida and the entire gulf coast. hail, 70-mile-per-hour winds and a chance of tornados, from dallas to denver, cheyenne and

rapid city. showers in the pacific northwest. >> 80s from boise to albuquerque. 105 in phoenix. mostly 70s in the nation's midsection and the northeast. 80s in the south. well, business news is next, including apple's unveiling of its newest gadgets that you're going to want, of course. of course, you're going to want it. >> of course. also, news in the fight against autism. researchers suffering a major setback. we'll explain exactly what it is when we come right back.

welcome back, everybody. some astonishing statistics about what the recession has actually cost us. the average american household lost almost 40% of its wealth during the recession. knocking net wealth back to the levels not seen since the early '90s. the federal reserve says middle-class families took the biggest hit because much of their wealth was invested in their homes. well, the signs were there for jpmorgan chase. sources tell "the wall street journal" that company officials were told of risky practices by london-based traders. their mistake led to a loss of more than $2 billion. jpmorgan ceo, jamie dimon, will be questioned by congress tomorrow about those mistakes. >> should be a grilling there. overseas markets are mostly lower today as investors realize that spanish bank bailout is only a short-term fix. tokyo's nikkei average fell 88 points today. hong kong's hang seng slipped 74. in london, the ftse opened

lower. and on wall street, the dow lost 143 points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq index lost 49. well, apple has made a series of product announcements. the new ios 6 mobile operating system, integrates facebook, replaces google maps with apple's own app and also adds siri voice-recognition to the new ipads. the tech giant yesterday also announced an update to its mac book line of laptops. trying to imagine people speaking into that large ipad. >> it would look a little weird. siri. donating to your favorite political candidate just got a little bit easier. late last night the federal election commission unanimously approved making political contributions, get this, via text messages, the same way you can make donations to charities, that kind of thing. both the obama and romney campaigns were, of course, very much in favor of that, as they go on the big money grab across the country. >> raises millions and millions of dollars. >> it's all about this. well, next on this tuesday morning, elation in l.a.

a dominant end to the series for lord stanley's cup. >> l.a.'s still partying, i'm sure. >> they are. and also, more serious news this morning. robin roberts, ready to face her next health challenge head-on and with amazing grace. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] if a phone rings at your car insurance company and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound? [ meows ] or if a tree falls on your car and no one's around to answer your call, do you make a sound? the answer is probably "yes" [ growling ] and "like a howler monkey." unless you're calling esurance. they have live humans on the phones to help 24/7. so you might make different sounds, like happy human sounds. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call. esurance. insurance for the modern world. it's time to get real about what happens in the bathroom. and start talking about what you really want from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft & strong. stronger than the leading rippled brand.

for a confident clean. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

cuban ask your doctor if lyrica is right cajun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cashback. signup for 5% cashback at restaurants through june. it pays to discover. and we are back, now, with daredevil nick wallenda. look at him. he's practicing for the first-ever tightrope walk across niagara falls at night. of course, it's on live tv. he will maneuver across the high-wire cable, suspended 173 feet over the falls, crossing from canada into the u.s. you can watch the death-defying stunt, friday night live here on abc. he will be wearing a harness. >> that's good news. thank you for that. now, a quick check on the road conditions for your tuesday morning commute.

expect some wet highways from new england down to florida. also, thunderstorms make for a slick ride along the gulf coast. severe storms drench roads from texas into the rockies. also, a little bit wet in the pacific northwest. >> if you are flying, airport delays possible this morning in new york, philly, d.c., dallas and new orleans. and now, to a personal battle that is hitting home for all of us here at abc news. the sobering announcement from our friend and colleague, robin roberts. >> that's right. first, of course, it was breast cancer a few years ago. and now, robin is battling a rare blood disorder and preparing for a transplant in just a few months. more, now, from abc's karen travers. >> reporter: five years after beating breast cancer, "good morning america's" robin roberts announced she's facing another major health challenge. >> sometimes treatment for cancer can lead to other serious medical issues. and that's what i'm facing right now. >> reporter: robin's been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or mds. >> it's a disorder of your bone marrow.

as a result of her breast cancer treatment, she's developed mds. >> reporter: the public outpouring of support for robin has been enormous. >> i just want her to know to keep the faith. >> reporter: more than 15,000 messages have been left on the "good morning america" facebook page. and thousands of fans have reached out on twitter. even first lady michelle obama sent this personal message. the "good morning america" anchor begins pretreatment chemotherapy to prepare for a bone marrow transplant later this year. >> the reason that i say i'm blessed, my big sister is a virtually perfect match for me. >> reporter: it's been a rollercoaster two months for robin. in april, "good morning america" beat the "today" show for the first time in 16 years, a day that should have been a career highlight. but that same day, robin received her mds diagnosis. and during a painful procedure to extract bone marrow for testing, robin found out she

would sit down with president obama the very next day for a groundbreaking interview. >> i'm like everyone who faces some life-altering situation, whether it's your health or finances or whatnot. and it's getting up off the mat and fighting. >> reporter: robin said that what she craves now is normalcy. with her "good morning america" team, she indulged in her favorite comfort food, popeye's fried chicken. karen travers, abc news, washington. >> and robin will be back in the anchor chair this morning. she will be sharing lots of the kind messages from viewers from around the country. that number's approaching 21,000. don't be alarmed if she has a band-aid. she had her first round of treatment last night. that bandage will be because of that. >> and doing well. she puts love out there and is about to get it back. robin, we're praying for you. you know that. also this morning, a devastated blow to autism research this morning. a freezer malfunctioned at the massachusetts hospital that houses the world's largest collection of autistic brain samples. now, one-third of those samples

were damaged. initial test show some of the damaged tissues and organs can still be used but only for limited genetics research. experts are calling this loss a ten-year setback. u.s. commerce secretary john bryson is now taking a medical leave of absence, after suffering a seizure over the weekend in l.a. we first learned of bryson's medical problems after his involvement in two car crashes. bizarre crashes, in fact. officials say bryson does not remember much about those accidents. on top of that, it's still unclear if the seizure caused the collisions or resulted from them. time, now, for sports. and something that has never happened before. hockey's kings finally taking home the nhl crown. we'll get the latest from espn news. good morning. i'm todd grisham. this is your "sportscenter" update. and they're drinking out of the stanley cup for the first time ever in los angeles. at least the players, their friends, and immediate family are. they knocked off the new jersey devils in game six.

and here was the defining moment. steve bernier from the devils slams rob scuderi into the boards. bernier ejected and given a five-minute major. that's all the kings would need because they caught fire during those five minutes. and the kings get another one, just moments later. jeff carter, he had two goals on the night. as the kings win it by the final score of 6-1. it took them 44 seasons to do it. but the kings have their trophy. conn smythe winner, jonathan quick, the goalie, he's the mvp. baseball. the sox and the marlins. boston lost six of seven. the marlins have lost six in a row. something had to give. somebody had to win. and logan morrison, just off the top of the wall scored john carlos stanton. and it's 2-0, marlins. johnson, seven innings pitched, four hits, one earned run and seven strikeouts. everything was working. jose reyes bare-hands that deflection, as the marlins win it, 4-1.

it all begins tonight. the match-up nearly everyone wanted. heat versus thunder. lebron versus durant. you can see it at 9:00 eastern, on abc. and it didn't take long for l.a. kings fans to swarm the streets outside staples center and across the city to celebrate the long-awaited victory. so far, we hear the partying has been peaceful, unlike some of the violence and vandalism marking some past laker victories. let's see if maybe the oklahoma city thunder can win their first nba finals championship. >> would be okay. root for them. i hear you. all right. should be a good one. coming up next in "the pulse," captured, one bear's vacation on cape cod. yeah, it's over this morning. and a view of the world from a toddler's perspective. we're right back. licate surface. while melting into those creamy mashed potatoes...

bringing a rich, warm tenderness to your peas. ohhh! it's i can't believe it's not butter! fresh butter taste with 70% less saturated fat than butter go ahead. cheat on butter. you naughty thing. of single mile credit cards. battle speech right? may i? [ horse neighs ] for too long, people have settled for single miles. with the capital one venture card, you'll earn double miles on every purchase, every day! [ visigoths cheer ] hawaii, here we come. [ alec ] so sign up today for a venture card at capitalone.com. and start earning double. [ all ] double miles! [ brays ] what's in your wallet? can you play games on that? not on the runway. no.

can you play games on that? in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. he's my success story. [ laughs ] and it is time to check "the pulse," starting with the first bear ever seen on cape cod. >> the black bear that's been roaming around the cape since memorial day weekend has now been caught. wildlife experts tracked it down and shot it with a tranquilizer dart. >> they believe it's a 3-year-old male who swam across cape cod canal from the mainland. so, the bear was doing a little extra -- >> see you later, smoky. british prime minister david cameron and his wife are taking

flak for an embarrassing laugh. >> they returned home from lunch one child short. they forgot their 8-year-old daughter at a pub. and they did not realize she was missing until they got home. little nancy was left behind when she went to the bathroom. >> the family and friend were driving in two cars. the prime minister thought that nancy was with his wife. and the wife thought nancy was with him. she said, i know how to make a margarita. >> lifelong lesson, girl. now, to another british dad who knows where his daughter is. he is even following her every move. >> this is where life looks like from a toddler's point of view. daniel brace strapped a camera to his daughter, olivia. it's three minutes of running, giggling and panting, as little olivia hunts for her daddy. >> the video has received 3 million hits. for those of you, your local news is next.

>> for everyone else, we'll be back with the most daring escape ever from alcatraz. and why some think those guys may still be alive. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. kraft natural cheese with flavorful spices and breadcrumbs. all to help you make something amazing. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i've ♪ ♪ found but what about your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in one week. why wait if you don't have to.

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ask your doctor if spiriva can help. next, vacant home burns in martinez. investigators are asking whether scatters may have started it. >> court drama expected today in the battle over the estate of thomas kincade. family vs. girlfriend. mike has the forecast. good news re-- relief from the heat is coming it >> tpraopb says has traffi the rockies and south dakota. showers in the pacific northwest. and it was one of the most daring prison breaks ever. 50 years ago, 3 inmates setting

sail from alcatraz on a raft main of raincoats. and then, vanishing forever. >> cecilia vega reports, that one man believes they're still alive. >> reporter: they called it the rock. an island prison that to no man would ever escape. except for maybe these three men. john morris, clarns anglin and his brother, john. it is the stuff movies are made from. but for one u.s. marshal, the escape from alcatraz is a very open case. >> there's never been a body recovered. we have to operate under the assumption there's a possibility they made it. >> reporter: i'm standing inside one of the cells one of the men escaped from. how did they do it? they used spoons. a drill from old vacuum parts. and it took months to dig through this thick wall, into a

in aer row space behind it, into the bay outside. they stuffed billows under the bedsheets. and life-like mayber ma chez heads. the prisoners made a raft and live preservers from 50 rubber raincoats. and they set out, fighting the winds, rough currents and the frigid shark-infested waters. >> i've seen that the raft landed on angel islands. i've gotten leads from all around the world. different leads that make me feel there the brothers probably lived. >> reporter: david and kenneth widner are nephews of the anglin brothers. and they believe their uncles survived. >> they were excellent swimmers. >> reporter: today, all three prisoners would be in their 80s and look something like this. and the lone investigator on the case is still searching for them. if you find these guys, what's the first thing you would say? y