this morning, a summer scorcher. >> much of the country bracing for downright dangerous temperatures. the mercury expected to soar past 100 degrees in some places. landmark legislation. the immigration debate is heating up this morning, following a historic vote. but the bill still faces an uncertain future. we're live in washington. a hole in the roof and a mystery unfolds. what fell from the sky tearing through a home? plus, unfolding overnight. a tirade on twitter like you've probably never seen before. what caused alec baldwin to go on a profanity-laced rant? friday morning, everybody. just a week ago, we welcomed in the first day of summer. and it hasn't taken long for

things to really heat up. >> particularly across the west. the fountains in l.a. are expecting more visitors today in the scorching and even life-threatening temperatures. a heat alert is in place there until monday. and in las vegas, this weekend promises to be one of the hottest ever recorded. and in denver, the baking temperatures have officials issuing warnings all over the place. abc's clayton sandell is there, sweating it out. >> reporter: the air here in denver is pushing 100 degrees. but measure the surface of this swing. 162 degrees. >> keep on eye on the kids out there. also, from texas, the extreme heat is being blamed for buckling the pavement in the city of lubbock. plenty of record-high temperatures will be challenged today and over the weekend. >> for a closer look at all of it, we're joined by accuweather's jim dickey. he's part of our extreme weather team. good morning, jim. >> good morning, john and diana. temperatures prime to soar here, from the west coast down on into the southern plains, into texas. the jet stream continues to

ridge its way northward. and the heat will continue to build as a result. daytime highs here friday, 104 in dallas. 101 in houston. 100, oklahoma city. this doesn't factor in the humidity. when you factor that in, too, warmer than this. flirting with 130 degrees this weekend in death valley. john and diana, back to you. >> jim, thank you. our sam champion is tracking the heat, as well. he'll have the latest forecast on "good morning america." breaking overnight, the u.s. businessman held captive by his workers in china has returned home to florida. chip starnes was welcomed by his family at the airport last night. he was freed yesterday after a deal was reached to pay the workers who demanded severance packages, even though they weren't being laid off. there's been a major step towards reforming the nation's immigration system. the senate has approved a plan which would step up border security and provide citizenship for millions of immigrants. but the bill is still facing some serious challenges. abc's devin dwyer is joining us from washington with more. good morning, devin. >> reporter: hey, good morning,

diana and john. that's right. this was a significant milestone for immigration reform. in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation. but a dispute over border security could still derail this deal in the house. >> the bill, as amended, is passed. >> reporter: a euphoric moment for hundreds of immigrants, packing the hallways of congress. the sweeping immigration overhaul cleared the senate with strong bipartisan support. it would offer a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, expand visas for low skilled workers and impose the toughest enforcement measures in u.s. history. the senators who brokered the compromise put the republican house on notice. >> we needed a significant number of republicans. we got them. >> reporter: supporters say the bill is far from amnesty. telling immigrants living in the shadows -- >> you will be paying taxes. you're going to have the pleasure of getting to know the irs like the rest of us. welcome to america. >> reporter: it's a message oscar, who crossed the southern border illegally, says he's been

longing to hear. >> the only thing we are looking for is the same opportunities that others had in the beginning of this country. >> reporter: but critics say that opportunity should not be granted until congress guarantees there will be no more oscars in the future. despite $18.5 billion a year spent to secure america's borders, illegal crossers and contraband still make it through. >> people have to have confidence that the border is secure before anything else is really going to work. otherwise, we repeat the mistakes of 1986. >> reporter: now, the senate plan would add some 20,000 more border patrol agents and 700 miles of border fence. but that's not enough for many house republicans, who insist any plan that includes a pathway to citizenship is a tough sell. john and diana? >> devin dwyer for us in washington this morning. thank you. and also from washington, new this morning, a former vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is a target of investigation into the leak of classified information,

including revelations about a cyber attack in iran. a source confirms that the justice department is investigating retired marine general james cartwright. he allegedly leaked the secret information to reporters about the stuxnet computer virus used to target iranian nuclear facilities. the details ended up in a book and "new york times" article last year. the south african government says nelson mandela is showing some improvement, but still in critical condition. but he is stable. hundreds of people gathers outside the hospital in pretoria and across the country, to celebrate mandela's life and support his family. his oldest daughter warned that her father did not look good. saying, anything is imminent. president obama heads to south africa today, with mandela clearly on his mind, calling the anti-apartheid icon his personal hero and hero for the world. in senegal, the first family visited goree island, where they toured a slave house and stood in the infamous door of no return. we're learning more about the alleged murder behind the boston marathon bombing. authorities say tsaranev scrawled what amounts to a

confession on the inside of the boat where he was found. saying, quote, stop killing our innocent people and we will stop. tsaranev has now been indicted on 30 counts, including 1 connected to the death of his brother. >> tsaranev drove over his brother, seriously injuring him. and contributing to his death. >> authorities say the only question now is whether tsaranev will serve life in prison or get the death penalty. from massachusetts, more allegations this morning against former patriots player aaron hernandez. he was denied bail yesterday for a second time. hernandez faces murder charges for the shooting death of a friend. now, abc news has learned he is also being investigated in connection with the shooting deaths of two other men in boston last year. it's getting personal in the battle in abortion in texas. governor rick perry hit back at the state senator whose filibuster helped derail a vote earlier this week. perry said wendy davis' rise from a tough upbringing to harvard law graduate should have taught her the value of each human life is there. the governor then wondered

publicly what would have happened if davis' mother had had an abortion. davis shot back, saying the governor's statement tarnishes the high office he holds. another vote is expected next week. and there was some stirring words spoken as family and friends gathered for actor james gandolfini's funeral. his relatives and practically every actor gandolfini starred alongside in "the sopranos" attended yesterday's service here in new york. in his eulogy, "sopranos" creator, david chase, recalled the way gandolfini brought a childlike aspect to his rolls. a "sopranos" co-star said, simply, we lost a treasure. alec baldwin takes his frustrations to twitter. what caused the actor to go on an expletive-filled rant overnight? paula deen's deals continue to evaporate. a couple more big businesses are saying good-bye to the former food network star. from the george zimmerman trial, the star witness that has so many people talking.

and welcome back. the era of historically low mortgage rates appears to be over this morning, after the biggest 1-week leap in 26 years. the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now at about 4.46%, the highest in two years. and a big jump from just 4% last week. the increase adds thousands of dollars to the cost of a house. as those rates rise, so does the stock market. the dow is back above 15,000 this morning, after its first 3-day winning streak since last april. more corporate sponsors dropping paula deen. the tv chef has lost target, home depot, and a diabetes drugmaker. as we reported, other big corporation names like walmart,

dropping deen earlier in the week, after she admitted to using a racial slur in the past. despite losing the deals, the second paula deen-themed cruise will set sail next year. things are getting interesting at the summer box office, with a real battle brewing this weekend. on one side, channing tatum and jamie fox on "white house down." on the other, sandra bullock and melissa mccarthy in "the heat." both are expected to make about 30 million bucks this weekend. hollywood will be watching this one closely to see if the girls beat out the guys. we always do. >> all righty. all righty then. when we come back, look out below. a homeowner gets quite the surprise when something strange falls through the roof. what is it? where did it come from? and special delivery. a routine traffic stop for a couple police officers turns into a night they'll never forget. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it.

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nasa has launched a

satellite on a mission to examine a little-known region of the sun. the i russ satellite rode into a racket. the two-year mission is to predict weather in space. back here on earth, it's time to check your road conditions. it's going to be wet today across most of the eastern u.s. storms throughout that region could be violent at times. flooding is possible, particularly in new england. >> speaking of new england, if you're flying, airport delays are possible in boston. that's thanks to those storms. now, to the contentious testimony about the final moments of trayvon martin's life. >> martin's friend returned to the stand in the george zimmerman trial. >> reporter: george zimmerman's lawyers spent the better two days hacking away at the prosecution's key witness. >> didn't that make you more worried? >> i called back again, sir. >> reporter: rachel jeantel was on the phone with trayvon martin, just seconds before neighborhood watchman george

zimmerman shot him february 2012. she testified that zimmerman followed him and then confronted him. but hundreds of questions from the defense, challenges her account of the pivotal moment. >> it could have been trayvon martin smashing george zimmerman in the face, is what you heard. >> what? >> yeah. just earlier today. >> by who? >> she has given the defense ammunition to argue that her testimony shouldn't be considered by the jury. >> reporter: throughout jeantel, squirmed in her seat. sometimes seemed combative. zimmerman's defense not only attacking her liability, but also exposing her inability to read this letter. >> can you read any of the words on it? >> i don't understand. cursive. i don't read cursive. >> reporter: throughout the day, she seemed to stick to her core

testimony, that it was zimmerman that followed martin. and martin was afraid of zimmerman. matt gutman, abc news, sanford, florida. a bishop has been arrested as the church tries to clean up the vatican bank. the bishop was one of three people arrested. he is accused of taking nearly $800,000, a little at a time, and giving it to friends who gave him checks in return. rescuers working for six american and a british man, thinks they're boat sank somewhere between australia and new zealand. the captain, his wife and 17-year-old son were among those onboard. a wooden sailboat when they lost communication during a storm three weeks ago. even though the boat hasn't been found, searchers say some crew members may have survived on a life raft. and florida a&m university marching band will be allowed to perform again, a year and a half after the hazing death of robert champion. the school lifted the band suspension yesterday, citing that all necessary precautions had been taken to keep it from happening again. the number of babies being

born to u.s. mothers is at an all-time low. this is according to new figures out this morning. the cdc says the fertility rate fell 1%, from 2010 to 2011. premature births dropping 12%. and births to teen moms, dropping 10%. one baby who couldn't wait to be born in milwaukee. police pulled the dad over for speeding. he was rushing to get mom to the hospital. when they saw what was going on, they jumped in to help. and a few minutes later, baby isabella was born. >> i've taken -- we've taken plenty of people into custody. but able to bring a life into the world doesn't compare to anything else. >> good job, guys. staying cool under pressure. mom and little isabella are doing just fine. by the way, today was supposed to be mom's due date. isabella clearly couldn't wait. >> she was in a hurry. time for sports highlights. >> one place to get those, from those guys over at espn.

>> welcome to the "sportscenter" set here in los angeles. i'm stan verrett. this is neil everett. he'll take it from here. >> you think we're a pair. check out the pair they had going in the nationals and diamondbacks game. they figure in the decision. but the top of the 11th, when he does that to score. they avoid the sweep and win again on a corbin start. the dodgers able to win five in a row, coming off the sweep of the giants. taking on the phillies. chase utley. that's puig chasing it. heeds going to run into the wall. but the wall is over the wall. utley's ninth home run. puig hit the wall hard. stayed in the game. bottom seven, he's at the plate. 0-2 count, he reached out and touched that one. a.j. ellis and uribe score. the dodgers are rolling with puig.

go to yankee stadium. new york/texas. derek holland, the former spokane indian. greg gardner good game to watch. jayson nix, that will leave a mark. holland, complete game 92 pitches. efficient. rangers, 2-0. anthony bennett from unlv, the number one pick in the nba draft. the rest of the draft, at espn.com. >> rebel yell. that's all we got. a seattle family has a mystery on its hands after a bar crashed right through their roof. the three-pound piece of metal left a hole the size of a shoe box in their ceiling. >> first, they thought it came from a passing airplane. the faa says it's not the case. they think it's part of a tree-trimming machine. >> i like your theory. coming up next, it's "the

pulse," a twitter meltdown for alec baldwin. why the actor went on a rampage in the middle of the night. plus, martha stewart reveals something you probably never would have expected about her sex life. [ female announcer ] love. it's the most powerful thing on the planet. love holds us in the beginning. comforts us as we grow old. love is the reason you care. for all the things in your life... that make life worth living. ♪ ♪ sweet love of mine

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all right. time to check "the pulse", the stories we're sure you're going to be talking about today. starting off with an irate alec baldwin. this is not news. we talk about this all the time. firing on on twitter, with a profanity-laced rant. >> alec baldwin reacting to "the daily mail" article saying his wife was tweeting about shopping during the james gandolfini funeral. he wrote, my wife and i attend a funeral to pay our respects to an old friend. and some toxic brit writes some tash. >> i'm going to blank you up.

whoa. baldwin then shut down his twitter account. >> shut it down, huh? stop the madness. >> yeah. looks like things could get pretty steamy in theaters next summer. the "fifty shades of grey" movie has been given a release date of august 1st, 2014. >> we don't know who will play christian grey or anastasia steele. the series has sold more than 70 million books worldwide. would that be a chick flick? it seems like it's a -- >> i think plenty of guys will like that one. >> uh-huh. on the subject of saucey, how about martha stewart, getting a little wild. >> this story makes me cringe. the domestic diva appeared on "watch what happens" live,

alongside magly gyllenhaal. and they played has martha do it? >> has martha had a threesome, maggie? >> i would say yes. >> maybe. >> the 71-year-old stewart also admitted to sending racy text messages or sexting, as the young guys call it. and having a one-night stand. that's what makes me cringe. but she denied having a lesbian affair. what a relief. and says she's never been to a strip joint. >> the one-night stand makes you cringe, but the threesome, no? >> i can't do it. this one is too big. >> a 22-pound monster lobster caught off the coast of maine. they're trying to determine how old this big guy is. the lobster, not the fisherman. either way, he's so rare, he's been spared from the lobster pot. oh. >> draw butter and put on a bib.

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning, everyone. happy friday. i am katie marzullo. >> i am kristen sze. nice to have you, katie. look at this, to within you to u -- to welcome you to the set, the bay bridge lights and clear enough to see. >> lot of sunshine. a few clouds at the coast. the visibility is better than this time yesterday. the fog is gone. you can see how dry from the live doppler 7 hd.

the lights are being tested and they dance around. the forecast will be warmer today than yesterday. inland temperatures, the coolest is 92. the warmest is 101. around the bay we go from 77 in san francisco to 92 in san jose. at the coast well hit the 70's. leyla gulen? >> a happy friday to you. we are starting off with an accident. this will be on 101 if you are headed northbound direction. there is no slowing and it involves a big rig on the shoulder. the bay bridge toll plaza is moving smoothly to san francisco. there are a lot of headlights but nothing to slow you down. >> bart unions have given the 72 hour notice to strike. they promise they will walk monday morning if there is no

contract with bart. officials are holding a news conference this morning. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is at the walnut creek station. amy? >> we hope to learn more at the news conference why the unions decided to issue this warning 72 hours is the notice given to strike on monday morning. bart workers have been visible talking to passengers trying to let them know this could happen. this announcement makes it seem more likely. this was a day of negotiations where union members called unproductive. bart has made a new offer, a 1 percent raise each year for the next four years but the unions want a 5 percent raise each year. >> obviously it is a big difference and not received very well. >> it is time the serious stop playing