this morning, the furnace is on. >> it is a dangerous heat wave for half the country, just as summer officially arrives later today. heat warnings already in effect. some of the hottest temps so far this year. dottie to the defense. jerry sandusky's most potent witness yet, slamming his accusers. but does it mean he will take the stand today? extreme pat-down. the passenger who groped a tsa agent now facing charges. she, herself, is a former agent. and star scuffle. alec baldwin pops the paparazzo as other photographers snap away.

good wednesday morning, everybody. we begin with the searing temperatures, baking the northeast, ushering in this very first day of summer. kicks in about 8:00 eastern time tonight. but it's going to be a rough one. >> you have your countdown, right? >> yes. >> and what a difference a day makes for millions of folks. it's 20 degrees hotter than it was yesterday. heat warnings and advisories have been issued in a dozen states, from maine, all the way down to west virginia. and it's not going to let up for at least two days. it's a cruel, cruel summer. and many in the east are about to find out just how cruel oppressive heat and high temperatures can be. much of the midwest has been blanketed in the heat for days. folks in the chicago area tried to flee the storied temps by flocking to beaches and pools. >> trying to keep cool. i wanted to bring her out and not be in the house all day. >> reporter: for people like milwaukee's chet taylor, who rides an asphalt paving machine for roughly ten hours a day, there's no escaping the heat.

>> i have, like, the hottest job out here. we joke with the guys up top. we have umbrellas. we never pull them out. it kind of holds the heat in. it doesn't escape. so, i don't put them on. >> reporter: even driving can be hazardous as motorists in south dakota learned, after the road began to buckle right under them. the greater flint boys and girls club held football practice outside. but the kids didn't mind the heat. they took frequent water breaks. those in charge, keeping a close eye on the temperatures. >> have a chance to go in the shade. we have plenty of water. and plenty of adults to keep their eyes on the kids to see if they're showing any signs of being overheated. >> we're going to have to find some shade. i'm noticing there's not a lot. some water and just take a lot of breaks. >> reporter: that's something those braving the heat in the east today might want to keep in mind. as the east coast begins to bake, keep this in mind. it's already hit 90-plus in chicago this season at least a dozen times.

and in st. louis, about 17, rob. and we turn, overseas, now, to egypt. and massive, new protests in cairo's tahrir square. all this follows a de facto coup by the military dissolving parliament and also limiting the powers of the new president. adding to this volatile mix is news that hosni mubarak has been declared clinically dead. christiane amanpour was the last western journalist to interview mubarak. and she reports, now, from egypt. >> reporter: he told me he would never leave egypt. and he would die on egyptian soil. and to that end, he didn't leave, unlike some of the other arab dictators. and he didn't stay, unlike some of the other dictators. he's the only one of the arab spring, if you like, who stepped down after 18 days of his people protesting. and is facing justice in his own country at the hands of his own people.

>> christiane says mubarak wanted to be treated with respect but felt he had been abandoned. back here, now, where former penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky could take the stand in his own defense today. abc news has learned that his lawyers were leaning towards having him testimony. but they plan to make that decision overnight. abc's jim avila reports on yesterday's star witness. >> reporter: a woman on a mission. dottie sandusky marches into court to save the remaining days of the man she has known and loved for nearly 50 years. taking the witness stand with a wink, directed at her husband, jerry, she capped the defense's strongest day yet with spirited testimony, that claimed he was too busy to molest children. while delivering a non-too-subtle attack on the boys who say the former penn state coach assaulted them. >> i saw in dottie sandusky's testimony a loyal wife. a wife who had to concede the obvious points of the

prosecution's case. these boys were there, in the home, with frequency. and in the basement. and being tucked into bed by her husband. >> reporter: the 69-year-old dottie hails from tennessee. she and jerry met as college sweethearts. he calls her sarge because she's in charge at home. married 45 years with 6 adopted children. in a firm but soft voice, mrs. sandusky denied the state college home where she lives with jerry was a house of horrors for little boys. alleged victim number nine told jurors last week he was assaulted in her basement while she was at home and screamed for help. but no one came. he thought the basement might be sound-proof. defense attorney joe amendola asking her directly, is your basement sound-proof? no. how's your hearing? i'm a light sleeper. i hear noises. she told jurors her husband is in bed before she is 99% of the time. they sleep together in the same bed. and when asked point-blank, did you ever hear any of the young

men yelling for help? dottie said, no. during a gentle cross-examination, dottie told the jury, she does not know why the boys would lie about her husband, but took a parting shot at the boy who started it all. known as victim number four. what kind of kid was he? she said, he was conniving, demanding, wanted his way. jim avila, abc news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> and again, sandusky himself could testify today. and shifting gears, now, to politics. and an about-face on marco rubio's vice presidential prospects. abc news was first to report the surprising news that the romney campaign was not even doing a background check on the popular florida senator. at first, mitt romney refused to comment. but later, he told an interviewer that rubio is being thoroughly vetted. a house committee is slated to vote on a proposal to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt of congress. representative darrell issa wants holder to turnover more documents about an investigation into gun smuggling. but holder says he's already provided a lot.

and that this latest move is merely political. fire officials now say it could be weeks, even months, before that massive wildfire in northern colorado is finally controlled. more residents will be warned to get ready to evacuate after a spot fire erupted near that main blaze. the 93-square-mile fire that has destroyed nearly 200 homes is only 60% contained. several more fires continue to burn in colorado, as well as eight other states. of course, the lack of moisture, the lack of humidity is not helping the situation out there. >> fanning the flames figuratively and literally out west. time, now, to look at weather across the country on this wednesday morning. as we mentioned earlier, extremely hot and sticky here in the northeast. the heat index in new york city going to get to 100 today. also, some afternoon thunderstorms from western pennsylvania to west virginia. still hot in chicago and in detroit, as well. stormy with heavy rain and flooding around fargo, omaha and minneapolis. hail and high winds in northern wisconsin and michigan. some thunderstorms in east

texas. >> triple digits in phoenix. what's new out there, right? 70s from seattle to fargo. upper 80s in the south and the middle of the country. and 90s in the northeast. still ahead this morning, minting millionaires. where most of the world's millionaires now reside. here's your first clue. it ain't the u.s. plus, an on-air scare for a sports announcer. take a listen. >> what actually happened was, his henchmen. he's literally -- >> strange phrases like that. were they the sign of a stroke? >> wow. also, the traveler who took revenge on a tsa supervisor, groping the agent, in fact. and getting, well, a one-day ticket, now, to court.

welcome back, everyone. new evidence this morning of just how bad things are in the job market. employers posted the fewest job openings in five months in april. in fact, april saw the biggest decrease in open positions in nearly four years. and with more than 12 million people unemployed, that means there were almost four people for every open job. that report will increase the pressure on the federal reserve to do something to shore up the economy. but europe already has. a bombshell deal has emerged at the g-20 summit. a trillion-dollar bailout. chairman ben bernanke and other

will wrap up their two-day meeting. and in fact, overseas markets are up nearly across the board. tokyo's nikkei average rose 96 points today. hong kong's hang seng added 121. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow picked up 96 points. the nasdaq index was up 34. well, judgment day may be coming to the kosher hot dog company that has long boasted it answers to a higher authority. a class-action lawsuit claims that hebrew national franks are frankly not kosher. con-agra insists they are. at issue here, is how the beef is slaughtered. jewish law requires that certain humane methods to be certified as kosher. asia now has more millionaires than america. but not by too much. and the combined wealth of north america is still greater. the analysis by the banking firm and the royal bank of canada

says wealth is shifting because of all the turbulence in financial markets around the globe. next on this wednesday morning, a police dog rushed to the vet after being bit by a suspect. >> crazy story there. also, lebron james in the finals, being praised for another rock star performance last night. pooches and puppies, we are fed up with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. and a tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest and raise our barks to rally till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. and somebody asks me a question about the volt. what really blows them away is when i tell them i almost never go to the gas station, despite the fact that they see me driving to work every day.

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welcome back, everybody. well, it appears ice cream has gone to the dogs in italy. with temperatures near 100 there, a pet store is now serving doggy gelato. ice cream for dogs. >> contains no milk, no eggs, no sugar. no taste. and comes in vanilla, rice and yogurt flavors. and the owners, as you can see, also enjoying it. >> if it cools you off, do what you got to do in this heat, folks. >> that's right. now, for a look at morning road conditions. flooded streets from the dakotas

to kansas city, omaha and the upper midwest. also wet across east texas and south florida. slick at times from western p.a. to west virginia. >> if you're flying today, it should be a pretty smooth trip. weather-related airport delays only expected in the city of minneapolis. >> isn't that two days-straight, for minneapolis? three days-straight maybe? >> keep it clean. well, a florida woman is trying to clear her name after complaining about a tsa pat-down. >> surveillance video from southwest florida airport actually shows the passenger, carol price, doing the patting down. she grabs a tsa supervisor, trying to demonstrate how she, herself, was searched by an agent. well, price's attorney claims the agent had groped his client's genitals and her breasts. >> she did not touch the supervisor as intrusively as she was touched. >> price is actually a former tsa agent herself, who worked at the airport until just a few years ago. she says she knew the agent who allegedly gave her that inappropriate pat-down. >> you see her hugging one of

the other agents, as well. and a revolting story, now, from wilmington, north carolina. a real-life story of man bites dog. max the police dog was injured in the line of duty when he tried to capture a fleeing respect. officers say 22-year-old travis glaspie chomped down on max's ear so badly, it was severed in two. max needed over 15 emergency stitches to mend that ear. the suspect is now in jail. a new study finds that night work can increase a woman's chances of developing breast cancer by 30%. >> great. >> that is the same risk as genetic mutation, a late first pregnancy or even taking hormones. scientists aren't quite sure why just yet. but suspect that night work may disrupt body clock genes. or sleep deprivation may alter your immune system. not the news we like on this shift. >> isn't that any good news about working the overnight? >> no. everything we have reported, always bad about this shift.

>> i do love working with you, though. >> yeah, that's the good part. for however long we have each other. a couple more weeks. all right. well, medical testing has been ordered for the texas rangers play-by-play man. dave barnett was announcing monday night's game when he started talking gibberish. take a listen. >> the go-ahead run is at fifth. on what adams is insisting on calling a botched robbery. what actually happened was his henchmen. >> scientists say that language is actually a sign of a potential stroke symptoms that can be an indicator of a serious health problem. >> wish him the best. another thriller, though, in the nba finals last night. here are all the highlights from espn. >> good morning. and welcome to your "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti. game four of the nba finals. lebron and company overcoming a 17-point first quarter deficit and turning it on when it

mattered the most. lebron, one rebound short of a triple-double. dwyane wade has been on this stage and shined before. he had 25. russell westbrook, though, would not go quietly. player of the game, hands down. 43. franchise record high. d. wade doesn't just score, he hustles. just getting a piece of the thabo sefolosha shot. mario chalmers was the closer. he had 12 of his 25 in the fourth. miami up five. russell westbrook, so good, even stephen a. smith had to have a postgame mea culpa. gets them to within three. but off the jump ball, okc needed to get possession. heat got it instead. they have a 3-1 series lead. nobody's ever rallied from that deficit. and europe 2012. say hello to england/ukraine and controversy. that's wayne rooney, back after a two-game suspension. making his presence felt. 48th minute, finding the near back post and finding the net. he takes care of the rest.

the co-host country sure wishes there was replay in uefa. marco devitch with the chip. appears to have got this out at the last second. but upon review, it looks like ukraine had tied it. but instead, it's disallowed. england wins the game, the group, and will face italy. the college world series, 8:00 eastern time tonight. kent state and two-time defending champion, south carolina, on espn3 and watch espn. coming up on "america this morning," who is the highest-paid actress in hollywood? you might be surprised. >> yeah. i didn't expect that one, either. also, what really happened after alec baldwin picked up his marriage license here in new york? the conflicting stories about his latest dustup with the paparazzi. rinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair.

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. it is time to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about all day, i'm sure. especially at the watercooler, right? you'll be amazed who the highest-paid actresses are. third on the "forbes" list with year, sandra bullock, with $25 million. second to cameron diaz, at $34 million. >> and in first place, kristen stewart, with $34.5 million. thanks, of course, to the "twilight" films. as well as "snow white and the huntsman." stewart can command big bucks now because all of the success of "twilight."

didn't see that one coming. but hey, must be nice. >> julia roberts not up there. first time in a long time. see how out of touch i am? i don't see movies these days. alec baldwin picked up his marriage license yesterday, and then picked a fight with a couple of photogs. photographers claimed he lunged at them and apparently even slugged one of them. >> but baldwin said he was jux protecting himself. tweeting that the photographer should be waterboarded. and compared the incident to the shooting of trayvon martin. >> a little exaggeration. something for the outdoorsy crowd. if you love the feel of freshly-cut grass, you can now enjoy it 24/7. >> check out these new flip-flops. the thick and grassy sole is synthetic but feels like the real thing. the shoes are designed to hug the individual contours of your feet. >> if you'd like a pair of these earthy flip-flops, they will run you about $50. >> no way in the world.

for some of you, now, your local news, coming up next. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

next, the latest reports out of egypt. protests continue as the news agency says former president mubarak is on life support. >> today investigators begin digging through the rubble of the fire that burned next to the west oakland bart that paralyzed the commute last week. mike has our forecast. >> longest day of the year also hottest. >> join us next the mid-atlantic. looking at the weather. let's take a look at the rest of the day's weather. stormy in minnesota. expect afternoon showers today from charleston, west virginia, all the way up to pittsburgh. and finally from us on this wednesday morning, a good reason to run out and get yourself a

family pet. turns out, they can do a lot more than just play fetch and lift your spirits. >> experts say that owning a dog or cat actually does a body good. abc's cecilia vega explains. >> reporter: what if you could trade everything in your medicine cabinet for this? >> basically, a furry, four-legged life support system, cleverly disguised as a pet. so, what i'm telling you, it might be poodle instead of prozac. it might be labrador instead of lipitor. it might be beagle instead of benecar. >> reporter: veterinarian marty becker wrote a whole book about the healing power of pets. and now, scientists in san francisco think they, too, may be on to something. they say dust found in the home of dogs, kids will be less likely to develop asthma. the benefits of having alex, george, raven, lightning, and shelton the labradoodle might not end there.

so much for an apple a day. australian researchers discovered people with dogs visit the doctor less. >> lassie? >> reporter: one study found that watching this old girl calmed nerves. that connection with animals, thought to have a drink to a drop in chemical levels linked to stress. have heart disease? you might want to consider getting a cat. researchers in minnesota found that those who never owned one were more than 40% more likely to die from a heart attack. that calming purr may actually soothe anxiety. >> close, physical contact. that connection we share, that's where you get the healing power. >> reporter: fido may be our antidepressant, our cholesterol killer, our lifesaver. now, if only man's best friend could help solve world peace. who knows? maybe they can. cecilia vega, abc news, los angeles. coming up later on "good morning america," a princely payday on his 30th birthday. prince william set to inherit millions of bucks tomorrow. we've got all the details from london live on "gma." >> so tough living that life, isn't it? your heart just goes out. >> how does he do it? that's what's making news in america m