meking news in america this morning -- fierce fight. 50 wildfires, 10 states. and an american treasure in the crosshairs of some quick-moving flames. out of hiding. george zimmerman is pictured for the first time since his acquittal. and he's with a gunmaker. what kind of firearm is he trying to buy now? superhero surprise. today, we know who will play batman in the next movie. and the studio's choice caught a lot of people off guard. road hazard. amazing, new video this morning showing a motorcycle crossing paths with a bear. good morning. i'm reena ninan, in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. as more than 50 wildfires burn

out of control across the western states, 1 of those fires is becoming a particular danger. >> the wildfire outside yosemite national park has nearly quadrupled in size, triggering a state of emergency and massive evacuations. abc's preeti arla has the latest. >> reporter: a tough battle ahead for firefighters out west. there's some 50 uncontained wildfires raging out of control in 10 states. >> ready. ready. drop. >> reporter: in the air and on the ground, more than 19,000 firefighters are attacking all these blazes. many times they fight through a wall of smoke. >> there's fire over there. and there's fire here. you're right in the middle of these two coming together. okay? >> reporter: california's governor declared a state of emergency. the wildfire at yosemite national park has nearly quadrupled in size. it's peak season. and tourists who travel to take in the park's natural beauty are, instead, watching flames take over. tourists and residents across

the area have been asked to evacuate. >> we have everything loaded and ready on trailers and stuff to go if we need to go. everybody's on high alert. >> reporter: for now, some are standing their ground, hoping to protect their property. >> the shelter in place. protect what i can as long as i can. >> reporter: the blaze at another park just west of yosemite, has stretched 25-square miles and is only 5% contained. >> right now, this fire has grown so large, the head is creating its own weather. >> reporter: while it's been a difficult battle, one small victory. this business owner watched a dc-10 plane drop flame retardant and stop the blaze from progressing towards his camp. >> we just wrote off the entire mountain. it was going to be nothing but sticks. next thing i see is the dc-10. it saved our life. >> reporter: but these fires appear to have plenty of strength left. and for firefighters, a long road ahead. preeti arla, abc news, washington. now, to the growing international pressure on syria over its alleged use of chemical

weapons. the u.n. is urging that its inspectors be allowed into the damascus neighborhood where this attack took place allegedly. the security council meets here in new york today to consider further actions. the state department says the death toll from the attack could be in the hundreds. the threat of more political violence hangs over egypt, with the muslim brotherhood calling for a day of protest. this follows a release from prison yesterday of former president hosni mubarak. the 85-year-old is being held under house arrest at a hospital. and here at home, hundreds rallied in front of the white house, demanding that president obama take action to protect egyptians. some frightening comments from outgoing fbi director robert mueller about the current threats faced by the u.s. in an interview with abc's pierre thomas, he says bombs on airplanes and terrorists using biological and chemical weapons are the most urgent threats that he worries about the most. he talked about americans who have gone to syria to fight alongside the rebels, as well. >> you are concerned about what they, number one, the associations say they will make.

and the expertise they will develop. and whether or not they will utilize that expertise to undertaking attacking the homeland. so, yes, we are concerned about that. >> for the first time, mueller was definitive in saying the boston marathon bombing plot was not directed from overseas but was homegrown radicalization. and he admitted the authorities won't always be able to stop individuals who become radicalized on the internet. mueller leaves his post on september 4th. new this morning, george zimmerman is again making headlines, touring a gun factory. tmz is reporting zimmerman visited the headquarters of cal tech, the manufacturer of the pistol that killed trayvon martin. zimmerman posed for a photo with a company employee inside the assembly plant at cocoa, florida. no word on whether he bought the kfg model tactical shotgun he was reportedly asking about. there may be a light at the end of the tunnel today for the sexual harassment saga that's rocked the city of san diego. embattled mayor bob filner is

reportedly prepared to resign today, if the city council accepts a proposed mediation deal. 18 women have accused filner of sexual harassment. his former communications director has filed a lawsuit and is reportedly set to accept a six-figure settlement. the army private convicted of spilling government secrets has returned to the military prison at ft. leavenworth to begin his 35-year secret. but not before spilling one more secret. before leaving for kansas, manning revealed he considers himself female and asked to be referred to by the name chelsea. he also wants to be allowed to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. bradley manning got a show of support last night in upstate new york, as two women tried to shout down president obama. the crowd drowned out the protesters with booing. and they were led away. the president appeared rather good-natured about the interruption. >> as hecklers go, that lady was very polite. she was. and she brought up an issue of importance. and that's part of what america is all about. >> the president will continue

his bus tour today, with a town hall stop at binghamton, university, and a speech at lakawanna college in scranton, pennsylvania, the hometown of vice president joe biden. biden is expected to appear with the president. some presidential praise for the hero of the week, antoinette tuff. she's the worker who talked down the gunman at a school near atlanta on tuesday. well, as she was waiting to make a tv appearance, tuff took a call from the president. he thanked her for courage under pressure. tuff called their conversation, quote, awesome. >> she is, quote, awesome. former nfl star aaron hernandez has been formally indicted on murder and weapons charges. during a brief court appearance yesterday, hernandez was charged in the death of 27-year-old semipro football player, odin lloyd. he's already pleaded not guilty. hernandez's attorney says there's been a rush to judgment in this case and that prosecutors cannot prove the charges. ryan braun of the milwaukee brewers is saying he's sorry for using performance-enhancing drugs. in a statement yesterday, braun said he deserved the 65-game suspension that he's currently

serving. and that he has no one to blame but himself. braun called his use of an unspecified cream two years ago, a huge mistake. he famously denied using illegal drugs when charges against him first surfaced. now, some of that harsh weather that rolled through colorado. take a look at this video that rolled through the southern part of the state. a street turned into a raging river after more than an hour's worth of rain. the neighborhood got a light coating of hail. much of the same scene in the central part of the state. you see a healthy dose of hail there. witnesses said some of it was quite large. the area suffered localized flooding. apparently, that can all happen again today. and checking the maps. you see more thunderstorms in that area. it will be mostly showers in the northern rockies. hazy, hot and humid in texas and across the southern plains. the southeast can expect more storms. and the rain stretching up for much of the east coast. >> it will hit 85 in washington, baltimore and here in new york. dallas also dips below 100, down to 99. phoenix still up there at 100.

mostly 80 degrees in california. and only into the 70s in the northwest. a serious glitch on wall street brings trading to a halt. how did this affect the markets during an already down week? and stranded at sea. a fisherman is saved after treading water for nearly an entire day. this morning, hear from the survivor's wife and the man who made the rescue. also, whipping winds sending a giant balloon flying through a parking lot. a closer look at some must-see video of the day.

technicians, still scratching their heads on wall

street over what triggered that computer glitch that halted operations at nasdaq yesterday. the problem shut down trading for about three hours and worried investors as it hit several big tech companies, like apple and microsoft. fortunately, however, the market closed up, ending wall street's six-day losing streak. the dow posted a gain of 66 points. the nasdaq, despite that break in trading, closed up 39. the s&p 500 gained 514 points. 14 points, excuse me. >> there you go. >> that would be a banner day. the nfl's regular season is still a few weeks away. but major advertisers are already looking forward to the super bowl. ads for the big game next february are already 85% sold out. it will cost about $4 million for a 30-second ad. that's up from $3.8 million last season. and it looks like the whiskey market is doing well. the proof, jack daniel's is starting a $100,000 million expansion to its distillery.

and that means it will be hiring 90 new full-time workers. the company says their expansion is necessary to keep up with the global demand. >> wow. gender gap, now, among teenagers when it comes to apps that track their locations. the pew research center showing 59% of teen girls turn off location tracking features, compared to just 37% of boys. researchers say that teens may not only be worried about advertisers tracking them, but also their parent, as well. hmm. >> interesting. >> yeah. when we come back, a store robbery with a twist. wait until you see what happened to a suspect who picked the wrong store clerk to mess with. fined over fashion. what goes wrong with a quarterback's t-shirt that caused the nfl to fine him a big amount of money.

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and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible. check this out. surveillance video from a toyota

dealer in florida caught this footage. a giant balloon, blown around by a strong storm. the 30-foot balloon traveled nearly 200 yards across the lot. totaled one car. damaged six others. the damage totalling the tens of thousands of dollars. going to be more storms in that area today. going to make wet road conditions. i-95 along the eastern seaboard will see rainstorms. problems in the rockies, as well. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in new orleans, charlotte and salt lake city. now, to florida. an amazing story of survival. a fisherman who spent nearly 24 hours in the gulf of mexico after falling off his boat. >> with more on the man and his family and friends who reused to give up, here's eric waxler of our sister station in tampa. >> i don't know what to say. it's a miracle. it really is. >> reporter: after hours of waiting, a distraught wife got an unbelievable call. steve was alive.

>> i don't know where he ended up. >> reporter: he was pushing alone in the gulf, in this boat, when he fell overboard without a life jacket. >> he went to grab a life vest. >> reporter: he treaded water through the night. then, at 1:00 this morning, he saw a shrimp boat and thought he was about to be saved. >> he got 100 yards from it, and they pulled up and left. he was just floating. >> reporter: night turned to day. the search went on, by water and air. todd and his family were out scalloping. they were on the lookout for steve, too. >> i was driving. and danny was up front with me. we looked and said, what is that? and we weren't sure. so, we headed that way. >> reporter: it was steve. 22 hours after he went in the water. and within minutes, he was back on shore. weak and dehydrated. but alive. >> might as well be a brother. and i know if anybody could do it, he could do it. >> reporter: these stories don't normally end like this.

>> i know. but you don't know that man in there. >> we've been married for 28 years. you have that feeling. i didn't have that feeling. i guess it was right. i was hoping for the best and for a miracle. and it's happened. >> this morning, steve is recovering in the hospital, suffering from dehydration. they'll have much more on this story coming up on "good morning america." >> look forward to that. now, to the tragic death of a world war ii vet in washington state. police in spokane say he was beaten to death as he waited to walk a friend home. friends describe him as a tough, old bird who survived the battle of okinawa. james wood is now leading an online campaign to find the two teenagers police suspect killed him. on the east coast, a bittersweet honor fallen in the line of hero during the boston bombing manhunt. m.i.t. official, sean collier, yesterday, the summerville police department swore collier

in. they immediately retired his badge. things didn't go exactly as planned for a couple of criminals in brazil. you see the bad guy there, pulling up on a motorcycle. one guy waits while the would-be robber goes inside. about 30 seconds later, surveillance cameras capture the moment when he goes -- come on now, wait for it. flying through the window, on to the pavement. the robbery foiled. epic fail. north of the border, check this one out. a camera mounted on the helmet of a motorcycle caught a young black bear crossing the highway just a moment before it collides with the motorcycle. it threw him off the bike. luckily, the motorcyclist suffered only minor injuries. and the bear, police say the bear just walked away. >> tough bear. preseason football last night. >> here's neil and stan with all of the highlights. >> good morning. welcome to our "sportscenter" set here in los angeles. i'm stan verrett. this is neil everett. it's only the preseason. but this score between the lions and patriots, wow. >> yeah. it was an undressed rehearsal

for new england. and detroit just took it to tom brady and the gang. and brady and the patriots looked so good in the first two games. the big pickup for the lions this season, is a kid named reggie bush. you may have heard of him. he had a career at usc. went to new orleans. and then to miami. they hope he can bring big things for the motor city. patriots, four turnovers in the first half. the lions, 40-9. first time under coach belichick the pats allow 40 in a preseason game. it's time for dodger baseball. l.a. in miami, finishing up that series. yasiel puig, that's out in 27 of the 30 parks. but one of the three it isn't out in is that one right there. puig, one for three and rbi in the game. clayton kershaw, speaking of outs, looking for his 13th win of the season.

double-plays helped him. dodgers win. 6-0, kershaw, eight innings. boston at dodgers stadium, friday, saturday, sunday. first time since 2002. >> that's all we got. back to you. >> guys, thank you. robert griffin iii, quarterback of the washington redski redskins, a bit lighter in the wallet. rg-3, fined 10,000 bucks by the nfl for an apparel violation. he wore a t-shirt wore by adidas. and players must wear nike gear. 10,000 bucks. he won't make that mistake next time. up next, "the pulse." we know who will be the next batman. and the choice may surprise you. >> very surprising. and a crazy contraption. a handful of daredevils becoming the internet stars all because of their latest invention.

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♪ time to check, "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today. we start with the new face of batman. >> warner brothers announced ben affleck will star as the new inkarnation of the dark night. the actor/director will take up the role, bringing batman and superman together. >> there's speculation of whether he will sit in the director's chair for future batman films. what do you think? >> i would love to see director and batman the actor. >> thumbs up. how about this for creepy? a stalker managed to live undetected for nearly a week at low's pool in the hamptons. security guards failed to see the guy or notice that his car was parked out in front. >> when caps arrived, they caught the accused stalker. he told them he was j. lo's husband and father of her

children. she's taken out orders of protection against him. finally, the desire to get every last drop of fun out of the summer. it's our "play of the day." it's gone viral over the last few days. >> check out these young daredevils as they put an atv to pull season back, releasing them into a horizontal back and forth bungee jump. they call the whole thing the human bungee slingshot. >> it's the latest undertaking of a director. the copy says it looks pretty cool. but i think it looks terrifying. would you do it? >> i would never do it. absolutely not. i wear my seat belt in the car. keep my feet on the ground. maybe a rollercoaster. >> exactly. rollercoaster is about right. i think we'd be good on vacation there. that extreme stuff gives me the keeps. he looks scared. >> that's an interesting camera shot there. >> when good times go bad. let's hope not, anyway. >> i would do it.

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning, welcome to friday. >> made it! it is 4:289. time for our first check on weather. mike nicco? good morning to you. live doppler 7 hd shows it is quiet. there is extensive cloud cover. you can see it from the exploritorium camera. high definition picture shows the bay bridge and the clouds lingering on top. today is brighter. we will get sun an hour faster than yesterday, bringing the temperatures in light to where they should be, around 70 to 88 at the bay and the coast to san francisco mid-to-upper 60's. sue? >> good morning, everyone.

we have an accident out of the chute in the clearing stages in san rafael after lucas valley road. a white van plowed off to the right side of the shoulder hit a power poll and a couple of trees. they got the person out and are trying to fix the power pole. we have a stall off the altamont pass west 580. san rafael shows cars on the side of the road and we will try to get the shot next time around. >> all lanes of highway 101 in san may year back open after a fatal crash northbound 101 just after 11:30. a sig-alert was in place if two hours while crews worked to clear the scene. no word on the identity of the person killed and the cause is under investigation.

>> the rim fire has quad drum peopled in size and only 1 percent contained down from 2 percent yesterday. katie marzullo is in the newsroom with more. >> the numbers are going in the wrong direction. fire officials have ordered campers to leave. the rim fire is out of control. the fire has burned more than 63,000 acres, 99 square miles. containment is dropping from 5 percent at height to 2 percent and now 1 percent this morning. a mandatory evacuation order. since the fire break out on saturday there have only been voluntary evacuation advisories and now the sheriff says there is now an immediate threat to life or property. >> we have everything loaded and ready on trailers, ready to