breaking news this morning, the wait will soon be over. the duchess of cambridge is rushed to the hospital to give birth to the royal baby. and we're live in london. a grisly crime investigation. three women found dead. a suspected serial killer under arrest. why investigators think they will find more victims. also, alligator attack. an animal expert gets too close and learns a valuable lesson in front of a crowd of spectators. and stranded. a woman claims she was swept out to sea, forced to swim for 16 hours. she is telling her story for the first time this morning. and good morning, everybody. we have breaking news. good breaking news coming out of london this morning.

>> the duchess of cambridge has now been admitted to the hospital in london in early stages of labor. let's get the very latest from abc's lama hasan who is outside st. mary's hospital in london where there is just a bevy of activity. good morning, lama. >> reporter: oh, good morning to you. absolutely. this place is a hive of activity this morning, and i think it's safe to say that the great kate wait is over. the excitement, the anticipation is building here. it is the news that a lot of people around the world have been waiting for, and it came in the form of a formal announcement released by kensington palace that had a few details, but, boy, are they vital details including the duchess of cambridge was admitted to st. mary's hospital here behind me earlier this morning in the early stages of labor. we understand that she was driven from kensington palace by car and was also accompanied by her husband, prince william. of course, he's always vowed to be by his wife's side when she does go into labor. now, we understand that kate will have the expert medical

care of the queen's gynecologist, dr. marcus setchell. we also know that william and kate do not know the gender of the baby. they want it to be a surprise, but we do know this, the official title will be prince or princess of cambridge, and he or she will be third in line to the throne. but i can tell you, everyone here is very excited. >> lama, very exciting. we don't know how long we're going to have to wait, but quickly take us through the process. it won't be that the baby is born and there will be a tweet and one someone will run out on the stairs and tell you. there is a lot of formality. what happens? >> reporter: there is a lot of formality, yes, and both william and kate are a very modern couple but they are still sticking to royal tradition. so here's what happens. we just had the first formal announcement. there will be a second formal announcement. the medical note or notice, if you like, will be carried down these steps behind me outside the lindo wing carried by a royal aide rushed to buckingham palace escorted by police, of course.

that note will have information such as the gender, the weight and any other details that they are allowed to release at that point. the notice will be put up on an easel in the full court of buckingham palace, and that's when the world will know, and we'll find out. any other details that they can release, they will do. if you'll recall, when prince william was born, they released details such as he has blue eyes, and he cried lustily. and, of course, that will be the second announcement. the final and third announcement is when the duke and duchess of cambridge will leave the hospital. so those are all the sort of royal traditions that this couple will be sticking to. >> and we will all be on the edge of our seats just awaiting those moments to happen. all right, lama hasan in london for us this morning. thank you for that. >> it is exciting. everybody, stay with abc news for coverage of the royal baby's arrival. we continue to update you throughout the morning this morning and the very latest live from london on "good morning america." well, the torrid heat wave that's been baking much of the nation has been broken by

a source of powerful storms across the country. a storm that rolled through phoenix over the weekend dumped nearly an inch of rain in only a half an hour. flash floods may have caught many drivers off guard stranding them in their vehicles and it had others scrambling for higher ground. >> i was freaking out screaming unplug everything in your room. get everything up, you know, that you don't want messed up, get up, up, high because i don't know how far it's going to go. >> the southwest and all of arizona will be seeing even more rain today before things finally start to dry out. and in california, thousands of evacuees are returning to their homes in communities near palm springs now that crews are getting the upper hand on that wildfire. they had help with rains falling on and off during the day. the fire is now about 70% contained. seven homes, though, were destroyed along with a few other out-buildings. all right, another apparent attack on women in cleveland. a registered sex offender expected to be charged today after three bodies were found. investigators believe michael madison may have been inspired

by earlier -- excuse me, earlier serial killings in that city. abc's kristin fisher reports. >> reporter: police in east cleveland will continue their search today for more possible victims of an alleged serial killer. they were joined over the weekend by residents who wanted to help. >> we're going through the bushes with our sticks. if the doors is open in the neighborhood, we're going all through the houses. >> reporter: police have already found the bodies of three women wrapped in plastic less than 200 yards away from the suspect's home. 35-year-old michael madison was arrested friday after a standoff with police. he's expected to be charged later today. the chief says they believe madison is responsible for all three murders, maybe more. >> we're getting tips from even females saying that they were in his house, and they got away, you know, but never said anything. >> reporter: police fear madison, a convicted sex offender, may have been influenced by the notorious cleveland strangler, anthony sowell, a serial killer

who was sentenced to death two years ago for murdering 11 women. brandon tussle spent time in jail with madison and said he looked up to sowell. >> he said he respected him. >> reporter: this comes ten miles away from where ariel castro kept three women captive for more than a decade. >> it's scarying. i'm about ready to leave. as a matter of fact, i am moving. >> reporter: so far the three victims have not been named, but police say they may release the identity of one of the victims at a news conference later today. kristin fisher, abc news, washington. the maker of that texas roller coaster where a woman fell to her death is defending its security record. eyewitnesses say the woman expressed concern over the safety bar not completely engaging as the ride started, but a spokesman says that they never had any problems with those bars in the 50 coasters built around the world over the past 30 years. >> all right. now to an incredible survival story after a young woman's car plunges off the chesapeake bay bridge. morgan j. lake was on that bridge friday night when a tractor trailer slammed into her from behind. her red 2007 chrysler sebring

plummeted 40 feet and hit the water. >> my eyes were closed. my mouth filled up with water really fast. i got one good scream in, and i started to drown. i felt like my whole body was getting filled up with water. >> once in that water, she managed to free herself from the car, and she swam to a nearby jetty. she spent a couple of days in the hospital, but she is now doing fine. that is remarkable. >> yes, it is. what a story. all right, now let's check the weather from across the nation. those heavy rains in the southwest will continue today even as las vegas and los angeles could see some afternoon storms. there will be severe weather which will also stretch through the upper midwest and along the east coast from maine all the way down to south florida. >> new england into the mid-atlantic will see more seasonable temperatures for july, but it's still a scorcher in the central plains where temperatures could still break the century mark. going to be hot. well, apple appears to be at it again. new overnight reports about the tech giant and what it's

planning next. and a broken arm, a fractured hand, an animal handler making the big mistake finding himself in the jaws of an alligator. also, stranded at sea. an american woman is sunburnt but smiling while telling her story. how she says she survived 16 hours in the middle of the ocean. kate middleton rushed to the hospital to have the royal baby. we will bring you the very latest.

and welcome back. a landmark case involving toyota gets under way today in california. it stems from the death of 66-year-old noriko uno.

her family says toyota is liable for her death because her 2006 camry unexpectedly accelerated to 100 miles an hour before she crashed. toyota says there was no defect to uno's vehicle. the trial is expected to last two months. all right. could the next generation of iphones and ipads have larger screens? according to "the wall street journal" report, the answer is yes. "the journal" says apple and its asian suppliers are now testing smartphone screens larger than 4 inches as well as designs for a a new tablet that measures slightly less than 13 inches diagonally. it's unclear whether either device will make it to the market. apple says the website that its software developers used has been hacked and that some information may have been stolen. the hacking happened late last week and apple says it has been working nonstop to rebuild that site. it's telling software developers that their possible e-mail addresses were compromised. the tsa is expanding the way passengers may enroll in a program meant to speed your screening time at airports. only frequent flyers on some

airlines were eligible for the so-called precheck program, but later this year, u.s. citizens will be able to enroll online. all you have to do is provide i.d., fingerprints and 85 bucks. plenty of moviegoers ready for a fright over the weekend, and a lot went to see the thriller "the conjuring." don't look, diana. it brought in $41.5 million. "despicable me 2," she's really hiding behind her script, "despicable me 2" was second with just over 25 million. "turbo" was third bringing in $21.5 million. you get -- >> i cannot even watch the trailers. it will ruin my night -- i won't be able to sleep when i get home even in the daylight. by the way, "the conjuring" based on a true story which makes it even worse. developing right now involving the royal baby, the duchess of cambridge has been admitted to the hospital. we'll, of course, have an update for you. >> and a big win for lefty. phil mickelson crossing the pond and does something he's never done before in his golfing career.

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power to your mouth™. all right. now for a look at morning road conditions. heavy rains again will be causing flash flooding problems along the east coast from maine to florida, into the deep south into the upper midwest. also the southwest. if you're flying, those storms could cause airport delays in minneapolis, kansas city, new orleans, boston, new york, philly and d.c. and now recapping this morning's breaking news out of london where the duchess of cambridge has been admitted to the hospital. >> yeah, royal officials say kate and william traveled by car without police escort to st. mary's hospital in central london. that's a live shot right outside of the lindo wing, and she is in the early stages of labor. kate is expected to give birth in that private lindo wing of the hospital, and that's where princess diana gave birth to prince william and prince harry. the baby, boy or girl, will be the third in line to the british throne, that is, behind her grandfather prince charles and

dad prince william to be king or queen of britain. 15 other countries including canada and australia, as well. we're going to have full coverage on all the developments on "good morning america." >> and by the way, we just got news she is progressing well and there is no suggestion that she will be induced so this could be a while. >> could be a while. >> that's okay. we'll wait patiently. >> yes, we will. okay, back here at home a worker at a florida gator park check this out is now recovering from what is called a terrifying attack by him during a demonstration. he's speaking out. >> the man suffered a broken arm and a fractured hand. he barely got away with his life. terrell forney has the very latest from hollywood, florida. >> reporter: the ferociousness of an alligator should never be underestimated. just ask will nace. >> i felt the bones break. >> reporter: will's arm is broken, and his hand is fractured after it got caught in the mouth of a large gator at the native village wildlife center in hollywood. will is a volunteer handler at the facility and was in the pit for a show with the mean

12-foot-long, 1,000-pound bull alligator. >> he actually ended up lunging at me before i got to his nose. so my hand happened to be right in front of his face when he lunged up. he actually grabbed my hand and bent it backwards and bit down. >> reporter: the lunge demonstration is when that handler taps this gator on the nose, mouth wide open, and it was in this act where something went terribly wrong. >> what he did next was actually start to back up into the water. so i got down low and started backing up with him because i know if he would have shaken or rolled, that, you know, he would have basically taken my hand clean off. >> reporter: despite his fear, the 23-year-old was able to maintain his awareness as other handlers jumped in to help. >> the alligator opened his mouth. will got his arm out, and the alligator didn't have to be harmed. and nobody else had to get hurt. >> reporter: and in case you are wondering, lunge, the biting gator, will still have a home here. >> we're going to use him as a teaching tool to try to educate more people on what not to do with alligators. you know, feeding and getting close to them is the number one thing.

>> reporter: experts say feeding is how alligators lose their fear of humans. fear, though, is not in will's heart even after coming so close to losing his limb and even possibly his life. >> i'm not going to stop doing this. i still love it. it's my life. lunge is actually my favorite alligator there. >> reporter: and believe it or not, will says that lunge, the alligator, is still his favorite animal at the park. will says he can't wait to jump back inside of the pits. terrell forney, abc news, hollywood, florida. well, we're hearing for the first time from a new jersey college student who managed to survive 16 hours at sea. heather barnes, an aspiring marine biologist was snorkeling off the coast of honduras then disaster struck. she got a cramp and drifted out to sea. >> it's kind of strange because even when i didn't feel like i was strong enough, like my -- there's enough of me that still

wanted to keep going that like i did. like there was not -- it didn't seem like a choice. i just like -- i had to keep going, and so i finally crawl onto land and like in the worst congrega congrega congregateed spanish ever, "i've been swimming for 16 hours." >> she's got a smile on her face. she is going to go back into the water but she'd like to take a break for now. no one can blame her for that. she's nursing some severe burps as well as stings from jellyfish. >> courageous. phil mickelson wins his first ever british open. congratulations to him. >> yeah, here are our friends at espn with the highlights. >> good morning, america. i'm john buccigross with your "sportscenter" update. we begin at fenway park late into the night or early in the morning. mike napoli, a 7-7 game in the bottom of the 11th. going, going, you can kiss it good-bye and the red sox win in walkoff fashion against their heated rival, new

york yankees, and they win, 8-7. phil mickelson, the big sports story on sunday. on the par 5 17th. no one getting to that green in 2 but mickelson did. he would two-putt for birdie from there. you probably thought he won the open. then he knocks it on the green and then thought, i really probably won the open and when he made this putt, as you can tell by his reaction, he knew he won the open championship at muirfield in scotland. >> this is just an amazing feeling to win this great championship and to play probably the best round of my career, and as i was walking up to the green, that was when i realized that this is very much my championship in my control. >> the next major on the golfing calendar is at oak hill in rochester, new york, for the pga championship, a major that mickelson has already won one time.

that's it from "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. have a great day. all right. thanks, john. coming up next, its "the pulse." it's all the buzz on line, a picture tweeted by geraldo rivera that has people talking. >> and cringing, as well. a long lost love of a different kind. a dad's prized possession. .

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mustang mach 1 brought tears to his eyes. >> he parted ways with that mustang 24 years ago. >> he was crying. all right. superhero fans, you can rejoice now because batman and superman are teaming up for a brand-new movie. the surprise announcement came from "man of steel" director zack snyder at comic-con. in san diego. >> after the announcement a giant superman logo aspeared on the screen superimpose d with a batman logo. it will make its debut in the summer of 2015. is 70 the new 50? >> it depends on who you ask. but apparently to geraldo rivera, it is. and he's got the photographic evidence to prove it. >> the fox news contributor tweeted this semi nude selfie claiming 70 is the new 50. >> he apparently is not ashamed of his build. he deleted the tweet within hours. >> of course, it never goes away. we know this much. for some of you, your local news is next.

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4:28 this monday morning. i'm eric thomas. >> breaking news. kate middleton is in labor. we have the latest out of london. >> reporter: buckingham palace confirm it is dutch cess in labor in the lindo wing. same private wing where princess diana gave birth to both princes william and harry. just before ten cloak our time last might prince william and duchess kate alerted media and went lou a back entrance at the hospital. kate has reportedly been hoping for a natural childbirth. she's under the care of a top notch medical team. prince william is expected to stay by her side throughout the labor and take two weeks pate o paternity leave. this is the first time since queen victoria's reign there

have been three. >> whether this baby is a boy or girl we know it is destined because of a recent change in the law to be the future king or queen, monarch of great britain and canada, as you rail, new zealand. >> reporter: as soon as the baby is born, a paper confirming the gendering and weight of the heir to the throne will be taken by page from the hospital to buckingham palace. it will be shared with the waiting public on an easel. placed just inside of the palace gate. but it could be ten days before the baby's name is announced and longer before we, the public, get a glimpse. >> thank you very much. stay with us for the latest on the royal baby watch. live updates throughout the day

and online at any time. you can get instant updates by following us on witnesser. can't tell thank you baby's gender but we can tell you the forecast. >> we have low clouds. also have high clouds coming in. we are going to replace one for the other as we head throughout the afternoon. high clouds eventually could bring us a chance of a horm. not during the day. had a would be more mitt into tomorrow. take a look at the partly cloudy for today. high clouds inland during the afternoon hours. 78 to 90 degrees. 78 in the south bay to north day. around the bay from 64 in san francisco to 69. and oakland to about 76 as you head into the south bay. as the coast and san francisco we will have 64. under mainly cloudy conditions. a look at the traffic. monday morning. how is it going? >> pretty well. it is quite out there. month crashes to report. some construction. san francisco, we had this