making news in america this morning -- battleground visit. >> newly minted romney-ryan team spreads out in must-win states today. while president obama kicks off a three-day bus tour of his own. campaign 2012 is heating up. collision question this morning after an american destroyer runs into a massive tanker in one of the world's most dangerous water ways. and thank you, london. summer olympics are all over. but not before four more golds and the a massive musical closing ceremony. and big news from hollywood. jennifer aniston is engaged. he asked, she said yes, and they're all set to be married after dating for more than a year.

good monday morning, everyone, i'm paula faris, good to be back here in new york. >> good to have you back. it's good to be here myself filling in for rob nelson. i'm john muller. after a week campaigning together the gop ticket splits up today. >> mitt romney looks for voters in florida as his new running mate stays closer home in iowa. the choice of paul ryan has given both campaigns new momentum. tahman bradley joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. conservatives praising mitt romney for picking paul ryan but strangely democrats like this pick too. >> you know what, north carolina, we can do better than this. >> mitt romney's selection of paul ryan energizing conservatives. the gop ticket attracted huge crowds over the weekend and hopes that continues today as romney travels to florida and ryan heads to iowa. but it puts the controversial budget proposal in the center of the race. >> we know the principles that

built this country. we'll reapply those principles to get this country back on the right track and leave our kids the better future. >> reporter: democrats pounced to tie romney to the budget plan that includes tax cuts to the rich and major changes to medicare. >> they have tried this before. they've tried to sell us this trickle down fairy dust before. and guess what. it did not work. >> medicare itself will be in a death spiral, because it will be dissipated by seniors -- healthy seniors going into a private system leaving sick seniors in the existing medicare program. they do not believe in medicare. >> reporter: romney said he picked ryan so he has a partner to solve tough problems such as medicare. but last night on "60 minutes," romney seemed to distance himself from ryan's budget plan. i have my budget plan that i put out. that's the budget plan that we're going to run on. >> reporter: the ryan pick makes it harder on republicans because

the proposed changes to medicare could anger and motivate seniors in crucial states like florida and ohio. >> tahman bradley reporting in washington this morning. thank you. the house oversight and reform committee plans to file a civil lawsuit against eric holder today. holder refused to turn over all of the documents the committee wants relating to the failed fast and furious gun operation. the house vote found holder to be in contempt. and the navy is investigating why one of its own destroyers collided with a giant oil tanker. it happened in the strait of hormuz, the strategic waterway which so much of the world's oil is shipped. abc's martha raddatz has the details on what we now know. >> reporter: it is a major embarrassment for the navy. "the the "uss porter," a billion dollar guided missile destroyer left with a gaping hole in the right side after a violent collision with the

japanese tanker. we were on a destroyer earlier this year in the strait and saw then how difficult the transit can be. >> the shipping lane itself is only about two miles wide, so there is very little room to maneuver. that's the massive aircraft carrier "uss abraham lincoln" just behind me. >> reporter: but it seems to break all of the rules of navigation. the navy ship was exiting the strait into the persian gulf. the japanese tanker, twice the size of the destroyer was entering the strait. ship traffic is much like car traffic. each vessel was supposed to stay to the right. instead, say official, the "uss porter" turned left into the on coming tanker. >> why a u.s. warship would turn in front of a less maneuverable super tanker. >> reporter: fortunately there were no injuries but the ship's captain will almost certainly be relieved of command. >> this also takes the destroyer out of commission at a critical

time when the u.s. is trying to build up missile defenses in the gulf in case israel attacks iran and iran tries to retaliate against u.s. ships. egypt's first newly elected president has made bold moves to regain power that the military seized after the fall of mubarak. forcing the resignation of the defense minister and chief of staff and overturned. after a thousand of his supporters came out to celebrate. and in iran, residents spent another night sleeping in tents as aftershocks continue to rattle that area. the death toll rose to more than 300 with entire villages leveled after that 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit saturday. a second kuwait hit minutes later. iran is located on a fault line and prone to those seismic shifts. sunday services resumed at a

sooek sikh temple in suburban, milwaukee. after a gunman killed six members of its congregation. hundreds of folks came from all across the country to take part. the service capped a weekend in memorials. paying respect to those victims. the reverend billy graham is hospitalized recovering from a bronchial infection. the 93-year-old evangelist was admitted to the hospital over the weekend. a spokesman said reverend graham is alert, and in good spirits and looking forward to going home. a major milestone in the recovery of gabby gifford. she and her husband have moved back to their home town of tucson. >> the couple had been living in houston while she underwent intensive theat intensiveive therapy from injuries she suffered in that assassination attempt.

>> she'll continue to undergo more therapy but not six to eight hours a day. this is a step to normalcy. >> she looks remarkable. time for the weather across the nation. parts of the midwest, the great lakes which i was just vacationing, lovely michigan. and deep south will get much-needed rain. indianapolis and memphis could see heavy thunderstorms. dry in the midwest. southwest bakes. phoenix hitting temperatures of 113. usual temperature, 105. it's cooled off nicely in the midwest after summer of oppressive heat. chicago 75 degrees with cloud cover. coming up, big news about one of the world's richest men. >> and gas prices, news no one wants to hear, unfortunately affecting all of us. then the flames in london that had nothing to do with the olympics. it took a lot more to extinguish these than the ones at the stadium. inguish these than the ones at the stadium. ñc?xús1@ú?

welcome back to america this morning, everyone. anyone who hit the road over the weekend, you saw it and probably felt it. a spike at the gas station with the average price of gas climbing a penny a day. it stands at 3.69 a gallon this morning. that's up 8 cents in just a week and 30 cents higher than it was one month ago. the huge fire at a chevron refinery near san francisco last week is one reason gas prices are up. almost 4,000 residents of richmond, california filed claims against the oil company. many looking for reimbursement of medical costs after going to the hospital with breathing problems as well as irritated eyes.

general motors is making progress toward a better electric car. they're working on a battery that should give a range of 100 miles per charge within the next few years and maybe as much as 200 miles. right now the chevy volt can go 35 miles before switching over to gas. at the movies this weekend "the dark knight rises" was bumped by the latest mourn movie. "the bourne legacy" took in 40.3 million bucks. "the campaign" took in 27.4 mill and "the dark knight rises" took $19.5 million. i think i need a repreach from the political satire going on. i want to see the will farrell movie. >> i think it will be funny. >> you won't get a reprieve. maybe the third time will be the third time for billionaire.

george soros. he announced he and his 40-year-old girlfriend are engaged. tamiko boldin. he's worth about $22 billion. >> there you go. >> yeah. >> she loves him, though, i'm sure. >> lucky man. >> when we come back, big trouble for chad johnson. he's got some new legal problems this morning and no nfl team to play for. >> and one last trip to london for the closing of an olympics that defied all expectations. i: charles walgreen had a mission to help people be happy and healthy. from inventing the first chocolate malt... to creating a nonprofit pharmacy for our troops... to the first child safety caps. walgreens has been innovating for over a hundred years. and we're just getting started. with more and more ways to be well every day. here at the corner of happy and healthy.

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indianapolis and memphis. and there's a long list of possible airport delays mostly because of thunderstorms. orlando, chicago, milwaukee, memphis, nashville, denver, albuquerque and las vegas. >> fire fighters in london, fought to put out a massive fire. the smoke could be seen across the city and at the olympic park seven miles away. but the fire was under control when the closing ceremonies began. >> millions around the world watched as the summer games came to an end in spectacular fashion. >> sure did. the olympics turned out to be far more successful than many in london expected. abc's tom rivers is there. >> reporter: the athletes marched into the olympic stadium for the last time. they stood to honor the marathon runner from uganda. then it was time to party, dancing into the night to

the sounds of british rock and pop. the olympic flag lowered the olympic flame extinguished. time to say good-bye. team usa is leading the london games as the champion, american athletes won 104 medal, 46 pure gold. china and great britain follow. in the gold rankings. the u.s. men's basketball team snatched one of the last golds. the dream team pulled away from spain to win 107-100. >> those guys were real troupers. >> reporter: kobe bryant added 17 points to win his second gold medal along with his five nba championships. >> you understand this is much, much bigger than yourself. it's much, much bigger than the sport of basketball. this is about our country. >> reporter: jake varner earned america's second gold on the final day of competition, winning the men's 96 kilogram freestyle wrestling. maybe he'll have another goal at gold in rio de janeiro. the brazilian metropolis is the next site of the olympics four years from now first time in

south america. tom rivers, abc news, london. and penn state trustees backing a decision to accept the tough ncaa penalties against the football program. the trustees say the school president faced an impossible choice and acted in the best interest of the university. their comments were made during a sunday conference call. they agreed it was time to move on. six-time pro bowl receiver chad johnson has been cut from the miami dolphins. it followed his arrest on a domestic battery charge. johnson formerly known as ochoa cinco was accused of head butting his wife during an argument. they were larmarried last month. le dolphins warned him. and the final major tournament of the year, it wasn't close. rory mcilroy finished with an eight-shot lead, breaking a record, seven-shot margin of victory set by jack nicklaus in 1980.

that's his second win in a major. mcelroy also won last year's u.s. open. >> two major, wow. plenty of other sports to tell you about. highlights now from the men at espn. >> welcome to the "sportscenter" update. i'm jorge andres. >> let's go to baseball. dodgers taking on the marlins. swing! capuano, not a single earned run. top eight, now, 1-0. dodgers, hanley ramirez. ramirez, two for three. as the dodgers go on to win 5-0. >> how about andrew luck playing the first preseason game. he took on the rams. luck's first play from scrimmage, the screen pass. to donald brown. finds the hole and turns on the jets.

63 yards for the touchdown and it's quickly 7-0. sam bradford at quarterback for the rams. bradford, gets rid of it quick. to avoid the hit. completes to kendrick. the rams moving the ball. bradford, great hit. this time sees smith on the outside. a gain of eight yards. bradford with the shotgun. hits austin pettis on the route. movement change for the rams. bradford went seven for nine with 67 passing yards. second quarter. finding t.y. hilton for the first down. on the same drive again. luck, surveying the field, this time, finding austin caulley in the end zone. his second touchdown of the day as colts go on to win. don't forget "monday night countdown" starts 7:00 eastern, it's cowboys and raiders on "monday night football."

so ready for football. >> pretty cool. the olympics symbol isn't the only place to see the five rings. >> five brothers and sisters in mesa, arizona threw a megawedding. they got engaged within a few months of each other. while struggling to pick wedding dates they decided to walk down the aisle on the same day. they held five individual ceremonies but ended with one massive reception, complete with five cakes and hopefully five separate honeymoons otherwise things would get a little weird. >> that must have been a great event. look at them. up next "the pulse," jennifer aniston getting ready to tie the knot again. >> first you saw paul ryan, he shook the media and ended up with mitt romney. that's all straight ahead. with mitt romney. that's all straight ahead. ♪

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i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections,

have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. it is time to check "the pulse" stories, i'm guaranteeing you'll talk about. beginning with breaking news for jennifer aniston. she's engaged to marry her boyfriend justin theroux. they met on the set of the movie "wunderlust." >> theroux's spokesman said aniston gave him an extraordinary gift last friday when she said yes. her marital status has been tabloid fodder since she broke

up with brad pitt and he took up with angelina jolie. >> well, we know the all-star contestants coming back for a mirrorball trophy, we'll find out which celebrities will be paired on "dancing with the stars." did you get that? >> i get it. and some of the stars have already been tweeting some pretty good hints. stay tuned for "good morning america," they'll have the big reveal. >> finally the cloak and dagger act put on by new republican vice presidential candidate. >> it all started on janesville, wisconsin, acting like he was locked out of his house. he went around the back. >> instead of going inside he made his way through the woods. his current house backs up against the one he grew up in. he made his way through the woods. that's where an aid picked him up and brought him to the airport. the next time he was seen as mitt romney's running mate. you thought he was locked out of his home, was part of the plan. my husband said he went ninja on everybody. >> he's like a teenage boy sneaking out in the woods. he said he knows every inch of

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next the battle overthomas kincade's estate heads back to court today. hundreds of firefighters struggling with two wildfires. mike has your forecast. conditions for the firefighters and talk about the heat. your back to work creating some unusual sand storms there. and finally, we have all seen it. we've all been awed by it. lightning is one of nature's incredible displays of power. >> but there's still a lot not known about lightning. ginger zee followed scientists

and daredevils on a mission to learn more. >> oh, my god. that was huge. >> reporter: we're chasing one of nature's most destructive and unpredictable forces. tim is a seasoned storm chaser and no stranger to wild weather but today he's focused on another nearly impossible mission. he's attempting to document the birth of a lightning strike. armed with a high-speed camera he'll try to capture this illusive moment as it's never seen before. his results so far have been impressive. these shots came from a high speed camera called the phantom. it can record slow motion at 10,000 frames per second, but in order to capture that fleeting moment when the lightning bolt is actually born, he will need something much faster. >> there's actually 82 cameras on this instrument here taking one picture of the lightning and

one microsecond step of time. >> reporter: he's proud to tell us it's the high-speed, high-resolution camera in the world. >> oh, my god, oh, my god. >> reporter: there it was. due north, a classic thunderstorm, bursting with lightning. >> c.g. i would say 12:00. >> reporter: then we snagged one a beautiful cloud to ground strike or c.g. pay dirt for tim. >> numerous branches then the first one hits the ground. >> reporter: it's a beautiful image but wasn't taken with the kahuna. she that bright flash? that means the camera wasn't fast enough to capture the exact moment when the bolt was born. maybe next time. kahuna or not, for those of us who live for storms, sometimes the chase alone is reason enough to sit back and just enjoy the show. wow. that's what is making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." have a great monday. morning. >> stay tuned