breaking news overnight, western wildfires taking a toll. >> new numbers just in. california's monster blaze tearing through home after home. dozens of buildings destroyed. tropical trouble. isaac, churning through the caribbean right now. threatening to turn towards tampa. a possible spoiler for the republican convention, just five days away. plus, the huge blast right under one of new york's busiest streets. a dynamite explosion during the lunchtime rush. all of it captured on camera. and bad dog. owners getting revenge on their misbehaving pets by going online. good wednesday morning, everybody.

the fiercest wildfire burning in the west right now has exacted a devastating toll. fire officials reported overnight that california's ponderosa fire has now destroyed at least 50 structures, many of them homes. and the fire is still raging in the mountains north of sacramento, threatening several communities there. >> now, the thousands of people who were forced to evacuate days ago have more reason to fear they will have nothing to return home to. nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling to save those homes from the fire that has grown to cover 30-square miles. and we are tracking another threat from mother nature. tropical storm isaac could be heading to tampa, as 70,000 people gather there next week for the republican national convention. that storm is inching closer to guadeloupe this morning, with 40-mile-per-hour winds. but forecasters say it could strengthen into a hurricane by tomorrow. the gop and florida officials do have some contingency plans in place, including an evacuation if that becomes necessary.

also, the threat from troublemakers is more certain, though. tampa police discovered pipes, bricks and even an anarchist symbol on the rooftop near the convention site. an online video has hinted that members of the group anonymous will be there next week. the police and federal authorities say they are ready, after preparing for the worst, with drills and riot simulations. one prominent democrat will be in tampa next week, as well. vice president joe biden is including the gop convention site in his campaign swing through florida and joking that he just might crash their party. the obama/biden ticket won the sunshine state four years ago. and they are fighting hard to do it again this year. and despite all his antics, vice president's joe biden's favorability rating is the same as his unfavorability rating, 43%. that's according to a new abc news/"washington post" poll. paul ryan, on the other hand, is deemed favorably by 41% of people and unfavorably by 37%, though the margin of error makes

them about even, as well. in other news this morning, a washington state man will be in court this afternoon for allegedly making threats against the president. secret service agents rushed to the man's suburban seattle apartment after he reportedly sent a threatening e-mail to a general fbi account. 31-year-old anton calouri greeted them with a shotgun. and they later arrested him. a search of his apartment uncovered no bombs, though. calouri lived with his mother who said he's a good boy, who just did a stupid thing. the deadline for todd akin to give up his senate bid has come and gone. the missouri republican did apologize for his controversial remarks about rape. but he is vowing to stay in the race. abc's tahman bradley joins us from washington with the very latest. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, paula. the republican establishment wanted todd akin gone. but he's staying in. and democrats sense an opportunity. this is what republicans now face as the campaign enters the home stretch. an aggressive effort by democrats to link mitt romney

and paul ryan to todd akin. wrong for women, this banner says. the missouri senate candidate apologized for his legitimate rape comments. and in a radio interview said he shouldn't be asked to drop out. >> basically, i misspoke one word and one sentence on one day and everything changed overnight. and you know, some of the liberal media was sharpening their long knives. and so, they've asked me to step aside. >> reporter: but it's not liberals calling on him to drop out, it's republican leaders, tea party groups, and sources tell abc news, paul ryan personally called akin to tell him to think about what's best for the party. >> the republicans did an immediate read of the politics of this situation and decided his candidacy was not retrievable. this is a seat republicans thought they had the best chance of turning republican from democratic. >> reporter: a defiant akin says the gop is making a hasty mistake.

some of his supporters agree. >> how do we continue as a republican party if we're going to knock down on one thing, a congressman who has been serving and doing a fantastic job? >> reporter: the problem for republicans, akin has given democrats an opportunity in the final days of the campaign to paint the gop as out of touch on women's health issues. the republican party just approved an anti-abortion amendment in its platform that makes no mention of an exemption in the case of rape or incest. democrats call it the akin amendment. rob and paula? >> tahman bradley, live in washington this morning. thanks for that report, tahman. in other news today, the west nile virus has claimed two more lives in houston, as more aerial spraying gets under way. more than 60,000 acres near houston are scheduled to be sprayed with insecticides this evening. the death toll is also growing in dallas, which has been the epicenter of the outbreak. so far, 11 people have died there and more than 250 have been infected.

well, diana nyad is all but ruling out a fifth try at that elusive record swim from cuba to florida. nyad, who turned 63 today, arrived in key west yesterday, pulled from the water, after logging nearly 42 hours. she insisted that her muscles weren't even sore. but the jellyfish stings, the storms and the sharks forced her to quit. nyad sadly acknowledged that she's not going to get that moment that she had dreamed of for so very long. but at least she went for her dream. it's better to try and fail than fail to try. >> and you can't knock her persistence and her determination. that woman's got a lot of fight in her. that's for sure. time, now, for a look at your weather across the nation on this wednesday morning. we have some rain and flooding from the desert southwest into the colorado rockies and salt lake city. also, warming up across the plains. drenching downpours, meanwhile, and also some flash flooding in central florida. showers from atlanta into the carolinas. >> 80s for much of the east coast and midwest.

90s in dallas, kansas city and colorado springs. 68 in seattle. and 88 in sacramento. coming up next after the break, why "the simpsons" were a really bad bet for the already troubled u.s. post office. plus, the power of "fifty shades of grey." spectacular sales coming to the rescue of one book selling behemoth. >> your favorite book. and that explosion on second avenue. a dynamite blast right under a manhattan street. i'm only in my 60's...

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welcome back, everybody. a fashionable west coast fast food chain is now looking for a new beef supplier. in-n-out burger is cutting ties to a slaughterhouse that's been shut down for animal cruelty. undercover video shows that some of the cows in the california slaughterhouse were sick. so far, there's no recall of that beef, though. the facility also supplies meat to the federal school lunch program, as well. a study finds that most generation "y" members who have jobs are working in retailing. those are among the lowest paying jobs. the 19-year-old to 30-year-old workers often settle for retailing while looking for better opportunities in their chosen field. the survey found that about five out of six young clothing store clerks have college degrees. interesting. and barnes & nobel is reporting good earnings thanks to the "fifty shades of grey" trilogy. the erotic novels aimed at women are largely responsible for -- why are you looking at me, rob? for 46% increase in ebook sales.

they're one, two and three on "the new york times" list of best sellers. they're particularly popular for ereaders because nobody knows what you're reading. a covert confession. haven't read any of them. >> i just noticed a little smile while you were reading that story. that's all. >> won't read them. haven't yet. an internal report says the postal service is now stuck with hundreds of millions of stamps featuring "the simpsons." the agency printed a billion of them three years ago but then sold less than one-third. and that wasted more than 1 million bucks. the news comes as the postal service, of course, is struggling with huge losses. it's promising to do better on stamp production. d'oh. >> bad move. >> yeah. next on this wednesday morning, a shocking arrest. a u.s. open referee arrested in her uniform. the charge, murder. and juicy, new details. a new book taking readers behind closed doors at penn state.

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well, the washington monument was damaged by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake a year ago tomorrow. but some good news about it this morning. surveyors say it didn't sink any further into the ground during the quake. the monument has sunk into its base since early in the last century. it's going to be closed for repairs until 2014. >> hard to believe it's been a year since that quake. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. storms flood streets in the desert southwest, from albuquerque over to vegas. also, some wet roads in florida, around orlando, tallahassee and jacksonville. a slick ride from atlanta into the carolinas. >> if you are flying, airport delays possible in the following cities. we have miami, phoenix and las vegas. and back to the news this morning. a real stunning story here. a 70-year-old professional tennis referee accused of

murdering her husband. lois goodman is in custody here in new york this morning. >> and she will soon be on a plane heading home to l.a., where she will stand trial. abc's brandi hitt has the story. >> reporter: lois goodman, a professional tennis referee, was just hours away from working a qualifying match at the u.s. open in new york, when she was arrested in her uniform and charged with murder. los angeles police say the 70-year-old woman killed her husband of 50 years in their home months ago. 80-year-old alan goodman was found dead, bludgeoned to death. the felony complaint against lois goodman says on april 17th, she committed the murder and personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a coffee cup. >> we located that coffee mug in several pieces at the crime scene. >> reporter: detectives say goodman initially had told them her husband had fallen down the stairs. but they said the evidence did

not add up. >> we listed it as a suspicious death right at the beginning. >> reporter: then, the coroner came back with his findings. >> the autopsy revealed that mr. goodman suffered multiple stab wounds. and we ruled the case a homicide. >> reporter: police won't release the motive behind the crime. but they knew where to find goodman. just before tuesday's match, she was arrested leaving her new york city hotel room to go to work. >> she was definitely surprised to see us. >> reporter: brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. and amazingly, no one was hurt when a planned explosion on a new york city subway project went completely awry. a passerby captured what looks to be like a volcanic eruption yesterday on manhattan's upper east side. the blast was part of the construction of a new subway line. it sent concrete and bedrock up to eight stories high. there was no structural damage to nearby buildings. but some windows were broken. work on that site has been halted while the explosive

mishap, so to speak, is investigated. and a developing story this morning. a trip to blow off steam is turning into a major embarrassment for buckingham palace. we showed you the pictures of prince harry partying in las vegas, spending time poolside and at nightclubs. well, overnight, we hear photos of a naked harry have surfaced taken at a party in his room. the palace has confirmed the photos are real. and the palace says it will not be making any further statements. and there are some bombshell revelations in a new book about former penn state coach joe paterno. the just-released book says that paterno and jerry sandusky despised one another during their time coaching the nittany lions. joepa apparently thought sandusky spent too much time with his charity and with children instead of the football team. sandusky is waiting sentencing after his sexual assault conviction. joepa died in january. at the little league world series, it's the teams from tennessee and texas that will face off later tonight. and as for the major league,

some highlights now from espn. >> good morning. and welcome to your "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti. giants and dodgers. tightest race in major league baseball just got a little more separation, thanks to that man. buster posey. bringing in two. nobody has been hotter since the all-star break than the giants' all-star catcher. 2-0, san francisco. fourth inning, dodgers shooting themselves in the foot. giants didn't need to do anything. not what he's looking for. blanco, all the way to third. putting san fran in prime scoring position again. brandon crawford gets to the dish. he'll square this one into left. giants win 4-1. they lead the dodgers by 1 1/2 in the division. stephen strasburg and the nats, hosting the braves. 183 strikeouts this year. ten of them on tuesday. he went six innings. fifth-straight start he's gone six. he's got the inning winning on him. last time the nats had a

division lead this big, they were known as the montreal expos. they've got the best record in baseball. strasburg, a major reason why. nats take it, 4-1. elsewhere, phillies/reds. aroldis chapman, look fast. 101 miles per hour. reds looking to snap that seven-game losing streak in philly. and they, indeed, do get it done. they hold on to win it by a score of 5-4. that is your "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti. have a great wednesday. >> reds are my pick for the pennant, by the way. up next, "the pulse." the big change for abc's jimmy kimmel is going to mean a new battle in the late night. and how would you like to walk in lebron's shoes? going to cost you a little bit of dough, though. about 300 bucks. at usaa, we believe honor is not

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tumbler, along with details of their crimes of choice. >> it says, i dig up the yard and i try to bite every man that i see. sad face. i hid meat in the couch. >> who hasn't? let's be honest. >> i like to hump this cat. that's funny. >> oh. play on, player. >> oh, yeah. the bad behavior seems to be the most common infraction in the doggy hall of shame. i jumped on the table, ate a whole stick of butter and then proceeded to puke it up all over my owner. >> that's in good shape. >> that's a little long. i feel a maximum of five words. and would you pay more than $300 for shoes like lebron james? well, get this. the miami heat player, of course, is the most talked about star in pro hoops. st how strong his fan base ut really is. >> its new lebron james shoes reportedly will cost, wait for it, $315. and include motion sensors to

measure how high players jump. last year's lebron james shoe was only $180. but all sneaker prices are higher this year, as costs for labor and materials go up. if you jump like lbj, after you buy those, i say they're worth it. >> that's a lot of money for a pair of sneakers. >> $180 to $315, that's a jump. >> jordans were expensive. like 100 bucks. now, $300, wow. now, good news for our friend jimmy kimmel. he's ready to take on the big dogs. >> abc is shifting his show one half hour earlier, where he will go head-to-head with jay leno and dave letterman. but there will be other changes that come along with this move. jimmy joked about some of them last night. >> starting in january, "nightline" will be on after us. but other than that, not much will change. although, we are in negotiations to replace guillermo with mario lopez. i'm really sorry, guillermo. >> it's okay. >> i'm sorry. but sex sells, you know? >> it will be his tenth year on the air when it moves in january.

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next, breaking news, pg&e crews near uc berkeley where a car has crashed and triggered a gas leak. another homicide in san jose. we'll have the latest. meteorologist mike nicco will have your forecast. >> ran into mist on the way storms could trigger floods in the west around albuquerque, salt lake city and sin city. and finally this wednesday morning, a journey -- a cold journey, albeit, to the top of the world. >> very cold. it was taken by our friend and colleague, linsey davis, all to track down an animal that very

few people have ever seen in person. and here's what she found in extreme northern canada. >> reporter: i'm traveling to one of the most inhospitable places in the world, the middle of nowhere, bathen island, deep inside the arctic circle. this is the price of admission for a shot at seeing one of the most elusive creatures on the planet, the narwhal, the so-called unicorn of the ocean, with that single tusk that can be up to ten feet long. they're rumored to live to 90 and dive a mile below the surface. it's the stuff of fantasy. the problem is the arctic sea ice is melting faster this year than any other on record. and it exposes the narwhal to predators, making it the most vulnerable species in the arctic to climate change. these cracks are a stark reminder of global warming. the ice is literally disappearing beneath our feet. welcome to the edge of the world, right? >> right.

this is our arctic base camp. >> reporter: tom lenard is our fearless team leader from arctic kingdom polar expeditions. finally, we head to the edge, where the sea ice meets the open water. one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. >> never get sick of it. 6 billion people on the earth. 20 people here on the flow ice right now, watching this. >> reporter: an arched back off in the distance. we try for a closer look. suddenly, we hear something take a massive gasp for air. >> there it is. you see right there? >> reporter: they're all around us now. but just as quickly as they appear, they're gone. a lesson in why they're among the least understood creatures on the planet. and why some scientists worry they could disappear before we ever get a chance to know them. linsey davis, abc news, bathen island, canada. >> hope linsey is somewhere warm. >> she is a brave soul. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> make sure you stay with us for "good morning america." have a wonderful wednesday,