that's what's making news in america. >> "good morning america" is coming up. this morning, gaining the upper hand. firefighters across the west get help from mother nature overnight and gained ground on major fires in three states, might not be for long. higher temperatures expected to return. breaking news, in back in court. murder suspect oscar pistorius coming out of hiding for the first time in months live from the courthouse. heading home, the last victim finally leaves the hospital with her spirits intact. damage control because of this, the image going viral overnight. and good tuesday morning. it is another critical day on the front lines for thousands of firefighters in at least three western states. >> now, thousands of acres have

been plaquened in colorado, california and new mexico. but more favorable weather conditions are helping across the region. >> the newest fire is here in the foothills west of denver. residents have been allowed to go back home after being evacuated ahead of a fire. even though it's calm now they're being warned conditions could change quickly. north of los angeles, the powerhouse fire 60% contained. several damaged. in the mountains of new mexico hundreds of firefighters are battling high winds in an effort to contain two fires. they're especially worried about a blaze heading toward a river watershed that provides water to the city of las vegas and this is just the beginning of wildfire season in the west. all right, in other developing stories, the fbi investigating the kidnapping of a former u.s. marine in mexico. armando torres iii drove from texas to visit his father's ranch in mexico. shortly after arriving armed gunman took him along with his father and uncle. law enforcement officials tell abc news it's unclear why anyone

would abduct members of their family. they say the cartel is active in that region. the top military officers headed to capitol hill as lawmakers look to dramatically overhaul the way sex assaults are handled within the ranks. the commanders are expected to voice reservations over giving prosecutors too much power. abc's devin dwyer is in washington for us this morning. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning, diana. that's right. the commanders will face seven powerful women senators. they want new steps to prevent military assaults which have affected a stunning one in three women in the u.s. military. a historic hearing for a staggering problem in the u.s. military. today, the pentagon's six top military chiefs will address the growing epidemic of sexual assaults appearing before congress for the first time on a single issue. >> now is the time for moral courage at every level. there can be no bystanders. >> reporter: top military brass have pledged to fix the problem, but lawmakers of both parties

say culture change is not enough. congress is now considering at least seven bills that would overhaul the military justice system. one measure would take prosecution of sexual assaults out of the chain of command. it would prevent commanding officers from deciding which crimes should go to trial or dismissing a verdict altogether. >> this is a crime. it is a violent and vicious crime. >> reporter: the issue has taken on new you aurgency after a sha increase in military sexual assault cases. a recent pentagon report found as many as 26,000 last year, up from 19,000 the year before. among the accused perpetrators several military leaders tasked with running prevention programs. >> how can we possibly stop the amount of sexual assault and rape in the military if the person in charge of enforcing these policies commits the same crime? >> reporter: victims of military sexual assault add mraud the change. >> the system is rigged against the victims. >> reporter: now, pentagon

officials are open to some of the proposed changes but they say limiting commanders' power to punish or pardon subordinates could undermine their authority and ultimately the effectiveness of the military. diana. >> devin dwyer in washington for us this morning. thank you. all right, well, lying about military honors could lapd you in prison. president obama signed the stolen valor act into law. it makes it a crime to do so. scammers have lied to military officials to get medals and receive set van benefits, government contracts and jobs. violators could face a year in prison. heated reaction to a new supreme court decision that allows police to routinely take dna samples from suspects. the aclu says the ruling is a gaping new exception to the fourth amendment but a group fighting against rape and sexual assault praises the decision and says dna is the most important tool police have in solving those kinds of cases. funeral services are tomorrow here in new york-for-senator senator frank

lautenberg. he died after a battle with pneumonia. his passing marks the end of an era on capitol hill. he was the last world war ii vet serving in the senate. frank lautenberg was 89 years ode. governor chris christie is facing quite a political challenge in naming a replacement for senator lautenberg. christie is likely to name someone from his own party but in choosing a republican christie has to find one who won't anger democrats and ruin his re-election bid. 13-year-old boy being blamed for a bomb scare at a middle school in south florida. the sixth grader is being questioned reportedly told classmates he placed bombs on the campus. his school and a nearby elementary school were both evacuated but the device turned 0 out to be fake. the hoax bomb was made to look like a real explosive device. one of the highest profiled mob murder trials begins this morning in boston. after being on the run for years. whitey bulger is finally facing justice for a long list of crimes. rhondella richardson reports.

>> reporter: james "whitey" bulger sat through more than a dozen pretrial motions during a marathon session. a key issue the judge ruled on was to ban all emotional testimony from victims' family members. fiery, emotional feelings will have to wait until victim impact statements. the families will try to cope but want the trial under way. >> very frustrating. every time i see him, my blood boils. >> i have trouble controlling myself half the time. and i just have to bite my tongue, you know? >> and what the defense was saying to the judge was you really have to limit that testimony. that it would be totally unfair to whitey bulger to let some members of the the family testify to what these crimes meant to them because that's not what the trial as it is about. >> reporter: 83-year-old bulger, 2 years after his arrest on 19 murder charges will tuesday see the first of more than 600 perspective jurors file through. the judge apparently made

another definitive ruling at the hearing because the normally talkative attorney j.w. carney said only this. >> i hope you have a pleasant evening. >> reporter: the hearing was billed as standard pretrial house cleaning. but onlookers know there will be nothing standard about this trial. >> it was tense, but i mean i think these are all lawyers who have been there before. they're ready for it. >> reporter: rhondella richardson, abc news, boston. >> time now for the weather across the nation. stormy weather stretches from oklahoma into missouri. the northern plains and upper midwest just as we learned the port of st. louis is closed due to flooding. heavy rain also along the gulf coast, showers and thunderstorms from the florida panhandle through the carolinas, another day of fire danger in the southwest. >> 80s from seattle, san francisco, 103 in phoenix. upper 60s and 70s in the nation's midsection and 70s in the northeast. still to come that breaking news from south africa. oscar pistorius is back in court. plus, buying in bulk, the

late latest from an airport. will it fly? a horrific attack by a swarm of bees. what the victim did to swarm up

no letup overnight to the roller coaster for investors. most asian markets were back up today following the solid tart this week by american markets. all three major exchanges were up yesterday. the dow by 138 points. an up day for the dow today would be its 21st straight tuesday that the dow closed higher. well, the s&p 500 gained yesterday and later this week it'll gain something else, bailout recipients, aig and general motors will rejoin the

index. that's a major milestone in the recovery. both got billions of taxpayer dollars are flourishing. gm up 19% this year, aig up 26%. and more good news from detroit. general motors reported its best performance in five years. sales were up more than 3%. cadillac sales jumped 38%, the best since the carter administration. ford and chrysler also reported double-digit increases as customers bought more than a million cars and trucks in may. united offering passengers what it calls subscriptions to tailor their travel experience. for $349 a year you can cover the cost of checking your first bag on every domestic flight you take during the year and biannual upgrades to seats with extra legroom for $499 a year. and just in time for friday's national doughnut day celebrations, a sweet treat and a sweet new offering from dunkin' donuts. this one called the glazed doughnut breakfast sandwich,

fried egg and bacon coming in at 360 calories, 30 calories less than their truckee sausage sandwich supposed to appeal to the healthy conscious. >> we tried this. >> yes, we did. >> it was interesting. >> it was interesting, yes. when we come back breaking news from south africa. olympian and murder suspect oscar pistorius, he's going to appear in court. what a judge decided about his freedom. also, ahead, down to two, the nba final matchup is set. sports is coming up, stay with us. angie's list is essential. i automatically go there. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list.

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to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. advil pm® or tylenol pm. the advil pm® guy is spending less time lying awake with annoying aches and pains and more time asleep. advil pm®. the difference is a better night's sleep. menacing floodwaters are rising across parts of the midwest this morning. the mississippi river has risen above its banks in a number of cities including davenport, iowa, creeping up on a baseball diamond. it's expected to crest wednesday at nearly 17 feet, and we learned this morning that the port of st. louis has been

closed because of flooding. all right, now let's take a look at the morning road conditions. thunderstorms will create a soggy commute across much of the plains and midwest. heavy downpours drench highways along the gulf coast states. wet roads from florida into the carolinas. and if you're flying, just a couple of cities to look out for. airport delays are possible in kansas city and minneapolis. all right. now our breaking news out of south africa where olympic athlete oscar pistorius made a brief court appearance this morning. >> this is in connection with the murder charges against his former girlfriend reeva steenkamp. brandi hitt is in pretoria, south africa, with details. good morning, brandi. >> reporter: good morning, john and diana. this is another media frenzy here outside the courthouse in pretoria, south africa, where oscar pistorius appeared in court once again for a pretrial hearing. he showed no emotion in court as both attorneys on both sides asked for a postponement, and so the judge did agree and allowed them more time until august 19th now to finish their investigation so they can move forward with the trial. we spoke to pistorius' agent

overnight, and he tells us that oscar is very sad on most days and sometimes cries, but he is confident he will be found not guilty, and, of course, we will continue to follow this development on "good morning america" later this morning. john and diana, back over to you. >> all right, abc's brandi hitt reporting this morning from pretoria, south africathank you well, more than seven weeks after the boston marathon bombings the last victim has left the hospital. eric brannock -- erika brannock, excuse me, received a very warm welcome from her friends and family as she returned home to maryland yesterday. the 29-year-old preschool teacher lost most of her leg in the blast, and her right leg was badly damaged. after 11 surgeries, she couldn't wait to see some familiar faces. >> it's wonderful. it's really good to be with the people that know me the best and to finally be home with them. it's a little overwhelming too. >> reporter: brannock starts rehab in baltimore today.

in the coming days, she plans to attend her students' graduation and she'll be the maid of honor in her friend's wedding. in the central valley, amtrak service was restored after a freight train derailed all caught on surveillance cameras. the train kicking up dust as ten cars came off the tracks. no one luckily was hurt, but sections of that track had to be replaced, and the station platform was damaged. there is that dust. a developing story from central florida now. this 30-foot sinkhole opened up in a backyard near orlando. it sucked in several trees, part of a pool and the watering side of it. the homeowners had gone to dinner, and when they came back, half of their backyard was gone. a texas man has died after inadvertently riling up a swarm of killer bees. larry goodwin disturbed the hive of africanized bees when he hit a pile of wood with his tractor and he was stung more than 3,000 times. his daughter and everyone else who got close enough to try to help him was attacked. one neighbor hospitalized. medical news,

new evidence using sunscreen can help you look younger. doctors in australia found people who applied sunscreen daily had fewer wrinkles. skin was less saggy, as well. the study looked only at fair-skinned people younger than 55. they got the results from using spf 15 which filters about 92% of the sun's rays. now to some sports. the nba finals begin thursday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on abc, and we finally know which team will represent the eastern conference. details now from espn. welcome in to your "sportscenter" update. i'm dario melendez. doesn't get much better than it did monday. game seven of the eastern conference finals, heat and pacers. second quarter, lob city finding lebron james, heat up 6, then later, ray allen, a perfect 3 from 3 behind the arc. third quarter now, heat up 12. lebron james getting it done from downtown, as well. he had 32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists in the game. dwyane wade, though, looking like his old self,

he had 21 and 9 as the heat win it, 99-76 and head to the nba finals to face the san antonio spurs, thursday 9:00 eastern right here on abc. on the ice sydney crosby and the penguins looking to even their series against the bruins. opening minutes of the game, this not good, crosby, the lazy pass, and brad marchand just taking advantage. bruins up, 1-0. it would be a short night for tomas vokoun, the pens' goalkeeper, because this would make it a 3-0 game courtesy of david krejci. vokoun, 3 goals, 12 shots. not a good average so on comes marc-andre fleury. different keeper, but it's going to be the same type of night, jaromir jagr, finding the back of the net. the bruins go on to win game two, 6-1 taking an 2-0 eastern conference final series lead, and that's your "sportscenter" update. i'm dario melendez. have a great day. going back to basketball for a second here for the third year straight year the miami heat are in the nba finals.

they are the defending champs and will host the two games against san antonio thursday and sunday night. >> and as we mentioned, you can see every game of the finals right here on abc. >> oh, yes. okay, coming up next in "the pulse," lessons on how not to launch a ship. >> whoops. >> yikes. the amazing video of the epic fail. plus, simply adorable pictures of an orphaned foal and his best new friend. look at that. pictures of an orphaned foal and his best new friend. he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ new honey bunches of oats greek yohere we go.ole grain. honey cornflakes and chunks of greek yogurt.

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>> that must have been a thrill. swift joined mick jagger and the other stones. she sung "tears gone by" posted on their facebook page moments ago. she's just the latest guest to sing with them on this 50 and counting tour including lady gaga and carrie underwood. >> quite a thrill for the 23-year-old. >> no doubt. coming up next, a video gone viral right now. the launch of a government ship gone completely wrong. the "ruben lassiter" was put into lake michigan last year. >> yeah, watch this. when it lurched into the water, debris comes spraying into the camera. onlookers were actually injured. one suffered a broken leg. the guy behind the camera came away with a lot of bumps and bruises, as well. >> that's scary looking. >> not a smooth launch. taco bell scrambling to recover from a pr nightmare after a photo that would make any customer cringe was posted on its facebook page. >> not surprisingly it's gone viral. as you see, it appears to show a taco bell worker licking a stack of taco shells. that's gross.

not clear if it was a foolish prank and those shells were headed for the trash. >> there are reports that the worker has been fired. rightfully so if that happened. >> yeah. okay, and there's nothing like some tlc no matter where it's coming from. in this case, it's a baby horse named breeze getting some loving from its teddy bear called buttons. >> you got to love this one. workers at an animal sanctuary in england found breeze, and they knew he needed some tenderness that they couldn't provide, so they put buttons in there with them, and apparently the two are virtually inseparable, not to mention too cute. >> apparently the baby horse is doing better because of buttons. >> shouldn't they have gotten him a baby stuffed horse instead of a baby stuffed bear? he likes buttons just fine. who cares. >> maybe that's all they had on hand. who are we to judge. >> who are we to judge? he seems quite happy. for some of you, your local news is next. for everybody else, we'll be back with the amazing

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use seven starts with breaking news. >> 4:28 on tuesday morning. >> potentially huge problem for the morning commute has been removed for drivers coming into san francisco from marin county. large boulders were blocking 101 in sausalito. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is on the scene. >> they got it cleaned up. the highway is open. just in time for the commute. they knew they needed to get it cheered up. what a terrifying few moments for the drivers on southbound highway 101. rocks came tumbling down at 2:15 southbound 101 in sausalito. there was a crash because of the rocks and some injuries.

some ran right into the boulders >> they could not see. you could not see what you were coming up on. >> this is not the first time it happened. in march, large rocks came crashing down again on the southbound 101 in sausalito. three cars were damaged. the driver of the mercedes s.u.v. was taken to the hospital. two lanes that time were shut down. this time they had to shut down three lanes for a couple of hour s. this happened overnight, the one in march happened early at 4:45 in the morning so both times it wasn't during the con justed time on southbound 101 but terrifying for the drivers.

>> thank issue amy. >> i will get the effect is minimal on the commute. that is an amateur guess. here is leyla gulen. >> in sausalito well look at 101, nothing but green. we are at top speeds over to the golden gate bridge. if you are headed in the northbound direction, you are looking at cheer conditions. this did happen in march and it damaged some cars. as we take you to the east bay along we four it is not so clear with construction projects. this is going on until 7:00 a.m. the on-ramp is shut down because of construction work. always slow not cones. in walnut creek, 680 southbound direction the drive to highway 24 is looking nice and clear and it is great into san ramon and