>>this morning, remembering a master of the small screen. >> the untimely death of james gandolfini, sending shock waves around the world overnight. his signature role, a universal hit. >> you tell i'm nothing. people that used to run. >> a bad guy on screen, a good guy in life. tributes pouring in overnight. and we have new details about the passing of the man who called himself the 260-pound woody allen. plus, domestic drone. the latest surveillance shocker. is the fbi spying on americans in the u.s.? and adrenaline rush. up close and personal with a waterspout. good thursday morning. there is stunned reaction from fans to the sudden death of

james gandolfini. especially because of his age, just 51. >> and this morning, we're learning new details about the passing of "the sopranos" star. he was on vacation in rome with his teenage son, a kind of guys' trip, when he suddenly suffered from an apparent heart attack. he was due to appear in a film festival in sicily tomorrow. overnight, gandolfini being remembered as a genius, a gentle giant and a great man. >> gandolfini was a veteran of movies, tv and even broadway. but he will always be remembered as tony soprano. >> with more on that legendary role, here's abc's terry moran. >> reporter: sometimes an actor finds a role that just connects. the role of a lifetime. ♪ woke up this morning >> reporter: for 86 episodes, over 6 seasons on hbo, gandolfini seared america's eyeballs with his all-out portrayal of a new jersey mob boss plagued by self-doubt and petty problems, yet capable of

staggering and ruthless violence. with news of his passing, apparently of a heart attack while he was in italy, the world has lost not only an immensely talented actor, but also a cultural icon. but success was a long time coming for gandolfini. >> i had such anger back then. when you're young, a lot of people do, everybody does, you're pissed. and you're not sure why. that's probably why you're all sitting here. because you want to express something. you don't know what it is. >> reporter: gandolfini began his career playing cold-hearted mob enforcers, in films like "true romance." >> maybe you can help me. i'm looking for a friend of mine. >> reporter: and "terminal velocity." >> i'm here to determine if charges should be brought against you. >> reporter: he kept getting cast as those rough characters. and he kept it selling in the roles. as his career developed, so did his portrayal of some of seats roughest characters. in the 1990 hit,

"the juror," he played a hitman with a conscience. >> you better get out of there. >> reporter: and by the time the world met tony soprano in 1999, gandolfini had become a seasoned master of bringing to life the gray areas between crime and civility, evil and humanity. and that was the secret of his success of tony soprano. >> he got shot and got away. >> what do we do now? >> reporter: he wasn't just a homicidal mafioso, a brutal tough guy. he was, in a sense, every guy. he had problems. >> even though there's little pieces that just don't match up. and you have no choice but to put them in your place in your brain, where you say i'll just deal with that another time. >> terry moran there. fans are remembering gandolfini at holsten's confectionery in bloomberg, new jersey. that's where the final episode of "the sopranos" was filmed. >> he was a nice guy when the cameras weren't rolling, as well. they can't get over the news of his unexpected passing. >> i can't believe it.

i'm in shock. so talented. so young. it will be a great loss. >> on the table where that last scene was shot there, they're still holding a place for him. it says reserved. >> and this from new jersey governor, chris christie. james gandolfini was a fine actor, a rutgers alum and a true jersey guy. i was a huge fan of his and the character he played so authentically, tony soprano. >> and among so many tributes on twitter, senator john mccain, rest in peace james gandolfini. he was one of the nicest guys i ever met. high praise from around the world. the tragic news is also shining a spotlight on the actor's health. as we said, it's believed he suffered a heart attack. abc's chief health and medical editor, dr. richard besser will be joining us in a few minutes to talk about the possible cardiac risk factors. we'll also have more tributes coming up, even some from the past few minutes, about the loss of james gandolfini. another stunning revelation has come to light as lawmakers now looking at the national

security agency's controversial surveillance program. for the first time, the fbi has acknowledged using drones to spy on americans. abc's devin dwyer has the very latest from washington. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning, john. we all sort of knew this moment was coming. the u.s. has thousands of drones, more than any other country in the world. of course, they're normally used to target suspected terrorists overseas. but yesterday, a bombshell admission from the fbi director during questioning on capitol hill. >> does the fbi use drones for surveillance on u.s. soil? >> yes. >> i want to go on to a question -- >> let me put it in context. very, very minimal way. and very seldom. >> reporter: the fbi says it only uses drones to monitor stationary subjects, such as hostage-takers in a standoff with police. and they say the drones are critical for safety, allowing law enforcement to monitor dangerous criminals from a distance. but privacy advocates say this

is an enormous new threat. congress is now pressuring the fbi to establish guidelines that would limit spying on innocent americans. the fbi says it's working on those guidelines but will continue using drones in the meantime. john? >> all right. devin dwyer in washington. thank you. there's a new documentary that's fueling controversy over a devastating plane crash back in 1996. twa flight 800 exploded over long island on its way to paris, killing all 230 passengers onboard. a four-year investigation that included piecing that entire plane back together, determined that a faulty fuel tank brought the plane down. but six people involved that that investigation claim there has been a cover-up. >> it was either a terrorist attack that they wanted to ignore. or an accident as a result of military operations that went wrong. >> i find that ridiculous, quite frankly. everything i've heard so far is just a rehashing of old speculations, if you will, that don't match the facts of the investigation.

>> some officials have petitioned the ntsb to take another look. but the agency says there's nothing new to consider. the documentary is due out next month, on the 17th anniversary of that crash. a sweeping deal on immigration reform expected to be announced today. a bipartisan group of eight senators reaching a compromise last night with some of the more conservative republicans in the senate. now, the landmark legislation is expected to increase border security with more money, border patrol agents and fencing. the supreme court could hand down two key rulings today. gay activists are hoping that justices will overturn the defense of marriage act and clear the way for same-sex couples to receive federal benefits connected to marriage. a decision is also expected on affirmative action, stemming from a challenge to the university of texas policies. switching, now, to the weather. let's look at what it looks like across the nation. the last day of spring could be a stormy one for the eastern dakotas, minnesota and iowa. scattered showers and thunderstorms from washington state eastward to northern idaho. >> picture-perfect in the northeast, with low humidity and temperatures in the 70s. it will be 95 and above for

parts of southern california, nevada and new mexico. 80s across the ohio valley. coming up after the break, new trouble for one of the nfl's rising, young stars. details straight ahead. plus, how to get an iphone 5 for free. a popular trade-in deal is coming back. what james gandolfini meant to cable tv and the industry as a whole. the short answer here is a lot.

welcome back. interest rates are going up. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke says the fed will begin scaling back its stimulus program of buying up bonds later this year. the program has kept interest rates at record lows. but bernanke says the economy is clearly on the mend. mortgage and car loan rates are

expected to rise as a result. and the fed's plan rattled investors. and stocked plunged on the news. all fell on how smoothly those interest rates will rise. best buy is bringing back the popular iphone trade-in deal. beginning tomorrow, until next saturday, you can turn in an iphone 4 and 4s and get an iphone 5. men's warehouse has fired its founder, george zimmer, as the man who promised you'll like the way you look. he turned one texas store into a chain of more than 1,100. he stepped down as ceo in 2011 but remained executive chairman until yesterday. in a statement, zimmer said only the he and the board of directors disagreed about the company's direction. and more on the death of james gandolfini. television is paying tribute to what his most famous character did for the media.

"the sopranos" led the way to a new era of well-written tv shows, featuring complex characters, and rich, dramatic plots. the six seasons brought big money for hbo and showed that cable tv could get blockbuster mainstream audiences and actors. when we come back, we'll consider what could have brought about gandolfini's death. concerns from our own doctor, dr. richard besser. and paula deen in some hot water for things she is admitting she said in the past. [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food. so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel.

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eastern dakotas, iowa and minnesota. wet roads expected in washington, oregon and idaho. >> a good day for air travel. the only major airport where delays are expected is minneapolis. new details overnight on our top story, the death of james gandolfini. "the sopranos" star was on a trip with his 13-year-old son when he apparently suffered a massive heart attack. >> witnesses say he was alive when he was taken in an ambulance. >> tony soprano was one of the greatest characters ever on television. he changed the way people thought of the whole media. and no one could have played him like james gandolfini. >> gandolfini starred on broadway and several films. he shot two movies in the last year. they have not yet aired. what could cause a 51-year-old to suffer such a massive heart attack? >> earlier, we spoke with our medical editor, dr. richard besser. >> whenever you hear of a person

having at a young age having a heart attack, you want to look at risk factors. there's defined factors. smoking, did he have high blood pressure? diabetes? was there anybody in the family who died early of a heart attack. those are red flags and what you want to look for in any patient, that would put them at risk of having a heart attack and a fatal heart attack at a young age. in addition to having a classic heart attack, where one of your arteries is blocked, one of the things you have to think about is, could it be a problem with the heart rhythm. something that leads to sudden cardiac death. that's something you want to consider. rhythm disturbances of the heart can be seen in people who are younger who don't have all of the classic risk factors for a heart attack. but it can be a cause of sudden death. >> all right. abc's dr. richard besser. stay with abc for continuing coverage of the death of james

gandolfi gandolfini. we'll be hearing from some of the actors who knew him best. that's coming up later on "good morning america." new trouble this morning for nfl star aaron hernandez. police are still searching his home after a murder happened near his home. and a suit is being sought in florida for allegedly shooting a friend in the face in february. and police are looking to a link of a triple shooting. this is a different shooting in rhode island. paula deen admits she has used racial slurs in the past. but she insists she's not a racist. deen and her brother are being sued by a former restaurant manager who claims she was sexually harassed and worked in a hostile environment. deen admitted to using the "n" word but said that was years ago. honesty from an unemployed teacher in texas. candice scott was driving down the street when she ran over a plastic bag. she realized that the bag belonged to chase bank and was

stuffed with $25,000 cash. she didn't pocket the money. she returned it to the bank. chase says its courier service dropped it. as a reward, the bank gave her a $500 gift card for returning $20,000 in cash. >> from a bank. that's tempting. they have lots of money. let's go to sports right now. the nba season coming down to one game tonight. spurs and heat here on abc. as for some of last night's highlights, we get those from espn. >> hello. welcome. i'm stan verett. this is neil everett. >> i handle the hockey. the ten-minute mark of the first overtime. brent seabrook says let's go back to chicago with the series tied. game five saturday on chicago's ice after the overtime win. and seabrook has a beard. >> i just tried to get it past the first guy. and our forwards did a good job

of getting in front. and boxing out. and just a great play. >> they all turn into ware wolves. dodgers and yankees. handily ramirez, a base hit. ramirez, two for four. a pair of rbi. dodgers with a 4-0 lead. top seven. teeing off on adam warren. he's two for four with a home run and three runs scored. dodgers win game two, 6-0, over the yankees. what are you doing thursday night? >> i'm going to the dentist. oh, thursday. i'm going to watch the nba. >> game seven of the nba finals. >> my teeth will be white. >> mine, too. >> let's go to the dentist. next in "the pulse," a special tribute to james gandolfini, at the place his

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♪ don't stop believing hold on to that feeling ♪ that, of course, is the classic journey song, millions of us can't listen to without thinking of "the sopranos'" final episode. >> six years after that final episode at holsten's diner in bloomfield, it is still one of the most talked about scenes in tv history. fans are still divided about tony's fate. >> the diner paid tribute with this photo, a simple reserved sign on that table where the scene was filmed. he is being remembered as a normal guy.

born and raised in new jersey, but lived in new york city. "the new york times" spoke to his former doorman who was in tears. he said james would invite all of the building workers up to his apartment for champagne on new year's eve. >> tributes flooding twitter overnight. julia louis-dreyfus saying, you are the sweetest man. "modern family" star jesse tyler ferguson tweeting, could not be more heartbroken. you're going to like this story. it's a 3-year-old boy from north carolina, who hears his mom and dad and everything else around him for the first time ever in his life. >> unbelievable story. little grayson, born deaf. the moment he began hearing is captured on camera. >> can you hear your daddy? >> get in his face. >> can you hear daddy? >> yeah. >> the first child in the united states to have what's called an auditory brain stem implant. it's a microchip implanted in

the brain to process sounds. it was done by doctors at unc hospital chapel hill. his parents say it's been phenomenal. >> oh, my gosh. that is just the best story. and i love how he's such a child. he heard his dad. he heard the doctor. back to playing. >> okay. >> pass me a box. i have to keep going. and finally, whatever happened to alaska being called the nation's icebox? anything but that over the last few days. >> folks who just came through a brutal winter are heading to the beach. it's alaska. they're heading into the water. escaping record-setting temperatures. one small community hit 96 degrees. that's warmer than hawaii. the heat comes weeks after several cities had record lows. alaska has not seen a heat wave like this since 1969. >> wow. they're barbecuing. >> where do they buy a bathing suit in alaska? >> where do you buy shorts in alaska? >> now, they're all listening going, we're just like you. what do you mean? >> can the 96-degree weather get here, now. the east coast?

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good morning on this thursday. it's 4:28. thanks for joining us. >> you almost said it. friday. >> wishful thinking. >> we have winds out there this morning. we know that's going on. >> friday eve. first day of spring. good morning, everyone. we don't have any fog or clouds really. just maybe a tiny bit of fog along the coastline but that's about it. we do have a trough of low pressure moving out of our system and it will be replaced by a ridge of high pressure. that's what's bringing in our warmer weather. we are going to see an increase in temperatures over the next couple of days as we take a look from our roof cam, it's a gorgeous start to the morning.

current conditions 54 degrees in san francisco, oakland we'll be be in the mid 50s. santa cruz down to 51 degrees. your full forecast coming up in just a little bit. right now we do have a couple things to get to. one crash that is involving at least one car and if i could find my clicker. here we go. thank you so much. this is along 24 if you are heading along in the eastbound direction. it is a car versus center divider. it's causing a bit of slowing. you can see red there as you head toward lafayette. construction project. we will have one-way traffic control until 7:00 a.m. this morning. let's take a peek right now. a gorgeous shot from walnut creek southbound 680 over to 24 looking clear out there. >> in just a few hours the u.s. supreme court could hand down rulings on prop 8, california's ban on same-sex marriage as well as the federal defense of

marriage act. this comes as san francisco officially kicks off sf pride. we go live to city hall with anticipation and preparation. amy? >> reporter: city hall is ready for the decision and pride. you can see the rainbow flags flying at city hall. this is where it began for san francisco backs in 2004 when gavin newsom started allowing same-sex marriage starting the path to this u.s. supreme court decision which could come today. it comes just as pride is kicking off. there was a red carpet party last night to start pride. the focus is the gay pride celebration but the supreme court and the fate of prop 8 was on the minds of many. >> still very hopeful about it. i'm really excited. i think what we see around the country so many states have marriage equality movements and so this is a very exciting time and for it to happen in the middle of pride i think couldn't be