it is wednesday, july 29th. in the news this morning, special risk. a new report says that is what pregnant women face from the h1n1 swine flu. important decisions about flu season are being made today. to the edge of death. that's where a friend says michael jackson told him he wanted to go. chilling, new words as the investigation hits a sg. and cancer risk. tanning beds give you that glow. but there is word they could tanning beds give you that glow. but there is word they could actually be deadly. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. thanks for being with us on this wednesday. federal health officials take on a critical task today. they begin deciding which americans should be first in line for the h1n1 swine flu vaccine. >> health care workers are expected to get top priority. but pregnant women will likely be right behind them. lisa stark has the results of a new study that highlights the

risks of moms-to-be. >> reporter: the study in "the lancet" says, that pregnant women e more likely to be hospitalized and die from the swine flu than the jen population. the cdc found from mid-april to mid-june, 13% of those who died from the swine flu in the u.s., were pregnant women. that was 6 out of 45 deaths. they say the women appeared to be healthy. then, they got the swine flu, pneumonia and respiratory failure. the cdc is recommending that any pregnant woman who thinks she has the flu or flu-like symptom, get an antiviral medication, as quickly as possible. and the agency also says if there is a vaccine program, they hope that pregnant women get vaccinated against the swine flu. that's recommended for pregnant women, even with the seasonal flu. but only about 14% get the vaccination. lisa stark, abc news, washington. and word comes from capitol

hill that five senate pages are stick with what could be the swine flu. the pages are high school students who deliver water and papers to senators on the floor. the sick pages won't be back until they get the clear from the senate doctor. president obama takes his case for health care reform on the road today, with town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia. yesterday, the president tried to reassure senior citizens at the cost of the program and how medicare would be affected. and even though there has been some progress in congress, mr. obama is still facing fierce opposition from republicans. >> if we can control health care inflation, how fast costs are going up, then not only can we stabilize the medicare trust fund. not only can we help save families money on their premiums, but we can actually afford tprovide coverage to people who currently don't have health care. >> the democrat plan for health care reform amounts to a government takeover of health care in this country, paid for

with more than $1 trillion in higher taxes. and it must be opposed. >> the right thing to do, as the leader said, is to do it right. not do it quickly. and that starts with going home next month, asking our constituents what they think. >> it is not just republicans who are opposed. the so-called blue dog democrats in the house have refused to budge over changes they want made in the bill. president obama is threatening to use the first veto of his presidency, for a spending bill on f-22 jet fighters. the bill includes $120 million for jets. the military has 187 of the f-22s in its fleet. the president also wants to eliminate funding for a new fleet of presidential helicopters. the house begins debate on the bill this week. president obama's choice for the u.s. supreme court moves to the full senate. on tuesday, the judiciary committee voted 13-16, to send

judge sotomayor's nomination forward. only one republican, lindsey graham, joined democrats in saying yes. a coroner's report on what killed michael jackson is reportedly being delayed again. but the criminal investigation continues to target his personal physician. police and federal agents yesterday raided a second home and office of jackson's doctor, conrad murray. he reportedly administered the powerful drug, propofol, al known as diprivan, to jackson on the night before his death. on last night's "nightline," deepak chopra talked to chris connolly about the drug's allure to jackson. >> on one occasion, and i have not mentioned this to anyone. he said to me, deepak, you know, it's something that takes you right to the edge, to the valley of death and then brings you back. do you know anything about it? at that time, i had never you know, even thought of diprivan or anesthetic.

what were you talking about? >> what did he mean when he said that? >> well, that's now in hindsight, that diprivan takes you right to the edge, if it's taken in sufficient amounts and it brings you back. it's a short-acting anesthetic. the diprivan, which can only be administered intravenously, should not be given unless you have the ability to intubate a patient. this should only take place in a hospital setting, where you have procedures available to you to resuscitate a patient. so, this drug should not have been in those facilities at home. >> according to an a.p. report, jackson relied on anesthesia to put him to sleep, and awaken when he wanted, like an alarm clock. there is a health warning this morning for people who go for the fake sunshine. the world health organization has now moved tanning beds into the highest risk category for

skin cancer. for years, scientists said only that the beds were a possible cancer risk. but 20 studies found the risk of skin cancer jumped 75% for those who used tanning beds before the age of 30. a powerful carbomb went off near police barracks in spain this morning. it happened in the northern city of burgos, seriously damaging the 14-story barracks. police said there were no warnings that a bomb had been planted. it's been blamed on a bask separatist group. record-breaking temperatures gripping the pacific northwest are about to get even higher today. >> seattle is better known for muching soier weather. but it's expected to climb to 100 degrees for the first time ever. and people in the area have been heading to the water to cool off. and now, for this morning's weather the from elsewhere around the nation. sticky, with severe weather, from new england to florida and the gulf coast.

hail, gusty winds and isolated thdakotas and minnesota.orado to and heavy rain and flooding in northern texasho, lamaok nd arkansas. t.thot and dry out wes e 100 we mentioned sineattle. 106 in portland. and 109 in phoenix. icago and detroit climb to 80. while fargo only gets up to 70. humid in the 80s from boston to atlanta. highs in the 90s from miami, new orleans and dallas. and when we come back this morning, two tech titans finally joining forces today. microsoft and yahoo! have their sights trained on google. business news next. and dry times in texas. the two-year drought being made worse by triple-digit temperatures.

it is a mixed picture for overseas stock markets this morning. tokyo's nikkei average rose nearly 0.3% today. hong kong's hang seng is tumbling. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street starts the day with the dow at 9096, after slipping almost 12 points yesterday. the nasdaq added 7 points to close at 1975. microsoft and yahoo! are teaming up to take on google. the two tech giants are finally expected to announce a search engine partnership today. microsoft has been courting yahoo! for several years, including a nearly $50 billion offer last year to buy the company. but even after joining forces, the companies will rank a distant second to google's

search engine. there is growing evidence the housing market is stabilizing. home prices rose in may for the first time in three years. but exrts warn it will still be several months before prices really start climbing nationwide. this report follows monday's numbers showing new home sales surged last month. general motors is looking to boost sales by offering leasing once again starting next month. the automaker dropped leasing last august, because of the decline in resale values. at the time it accounted for about 20% of gm's new consider business in the u.s. the decision on the size of the program and the details to be covered are being hammered out. bernard madoff is giving his first interview since going to prison for running a massive ponzi scheme. a lawyer told some victims he couldn't believe he got away with it for so long. well, the king of pop could soon top the best-seller list for books. michael jackson's memoir,

"moonwalker" will be reissued in october, with a new introduction by a mystery friend. the book was published in 1988. it's been out of print now for more than a decade. you can get the latest business news anytime at our website. the address is abcnews.com. and when we come back, an apartment in massachusetts is the scene of a horrific crime. details ahead. and an unaccustomed finish for michael phelps. the suit versus

welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news. a new study finds pregnant women face a greater risk of dieing from the h1n1 swine flu, particularly in the late stages of pregnancy. judge sonia sotomayor is one step closer to the supreme court. only one republican joined democrats as the judiciary committee sent her nomination to

the full senate. and president obama holds town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia today, pushing his health care reform plan, which is currently bogged down in congress. south texas is locked in its worst drought in more thanalf a century. thisum sr'scmes orching, relentless heat is making matters even worse. but the impact of the drought is not confined to texas. it is being felt across the country. here's abc's ryan owens. >> reporter: these days in texas, cattle auctions are crowded. ranches, forced to sell livestock they can't afford to feed. >> some we sold because their body's breaking down. >> reporter: weeks of 100-degree heat have compounded 2 years of drought. pastures are scorched. cows are starving. >> when they're gone, the price of cattle is going to go up. and the people in new york is going to pay a whole lot more for the beef. >> reporter: and it's not just

cattle. texas produces more cotton than any other state. many of the fields have withered to nothing. state agricultural officials estimate $3.5 billion in crops and livestock have already been lost. cities like san antonio have deployed off-duty officers to search for water wasters. neighbors are calling in to tattle on each other. >> that sprinkler has been on running all day, for four days. my grass is dead out in the front 'cause i'm conserving water. and they're wasting it. >> reporter: austin's lake travis is more than half-way empty. so bone-dry, the sheriff has recovered cars dumped decades ago. these boat ramps give you some idea of what this drought has done to summer recreation here in texas. this drought has gone on for nearly two years. look at this dock. no one's been here for quite some time. of the lake's 12 boat ramps, this is the only one still open. boaters say islands are popping

up in the middle of the lake. >> all of a sudden you look out. and ten feet away you see dry land. and you're like, holy cow. >> reporter: meteorologists are promising a wetter-than-usual fall. but for so many here, fall seems an awfully long way away. ryan owens, abc news, austin. a murder mystery in worcester, massachusetts, has authorities searching for an 8-month-old fetus. the mother body was found in an apartment on monday. an autopsy revealed that her child had been removed from her womb. neighbors said they got suspicious when the victim mysteriously disappeared. >> she hadn't come down. and from thursday, friday and saturday, everybody questioned where she was. and nobody knew. the landlord went in monday morning and found her in the closet. >> according to medical personnel, given the late stage of pregnancy this infant was viable and it could, perhaps, survive, it may be alive as we

speak now. but the baby would be in dire need of medical attention. >> police are revealing very little about their investigation in order not to tip off whoever is responsible. in a wichita, kansas, courtroom, anti-abortion activist, scott raider has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of george tiller. he faces life in prison if convicted for gunning down dr. tiller at a church service in may. the search for more than 70 missing haitian migrants continues in the caribbean sea this morning. 100 survivors and 15 bodies were pulled from the waters, after their overloaded boat truck a reef and disintegrated in the turks and caicos islands. the migrants had been bound for florida. the recession has affected just about everyone. and nation's top money man is no -- ben bernanke tack a substantial hit on his investments in 008.

mutual funds and other assets that were worth $2.5 million the year before, fell to as little as $850,000 last year. nobody is immune. not even him. coming up on "america this morning," white sox pitcher mark buehrle picks up whereleftft off in his perfect game. how it turned out, next in sports. ouch! ow! oops! it's neo to go!®, ready. aim. protect. neosporin® gives you infection-protection, and pain relief. neo to go!® plus pain relief. every cut. every time. .everywhere. ♪ 'cause germs do't stick on me! ♪ only band-aid® brand plus antibiotic waterproof... has antibiotic ointment .directly on the pad. d now t's 100% waterproof. one-step infection protection rom the brand you trust. ♪ 'cause band-aid® helps heal me! ♪ naturally energizing green tea, and b vitamins. it's a good-for-you kind of energy that helps you get stuff done.

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how about enough water and energy savings... to pay for the dryer? another reason why more americans choose... energy star-rated kenmor appliances than an other brand. bret brett favre seems more likely than ever to have seen his last nfl field. the coach of the vikings who have been in touch with favre about possibly coming out of retirement says it's likely not happening. he says favre does not want to put himself through a 19th season. well, the swimmer who shtered records in the last olympics is reeling from a shattering defeat in rome. michael phelps came in a distant second at a competition. and his coach is blaming the sleek, new body suits the competition is hearing. he said phelps may boycott any future events until those body

suits are outlawed next year. a german swimmer broke phelps 200-meter freestyle record by 1.22 seconds. an off-the-field highlight from the tigers/rangers game. michael young fouls one off. >> and check out the father who cahes it in his left hand while, get this, holding a baby in his right. the child, none too pleased. but only imagine how the mother felt. >> i imagine the mom had the same reaction. for the other baseball highlights, here's anish shroff of espn news. >> good morning. white sox pitcher mark buehrle threw a perfect game the last time he took the mound. johnny vand mere, the only pitcher to threw consecutive no-hitters. he retired the first 17 twins he face. in the fifth, strikes out michael cuddyer. 47 batters retired. a record. mark crede lines to short. and buehrle has the record for

most batters retired. perfect through five with two outs in the sixth. he walks alexei cass ya. the twins fans, the other team, gives him a standing ovation. denard span, the next batter, single to center. that's clean. there goes the no-hitter. lost the perfect game. lost the no-hitter. joe mauer hits one hard to left. a bounce in the seats for the double. there goes the shutout. they hava 1-1 game. bottom seventh. twins up 2-1. nick punto, the two-run single. all fell apart that fast. buehrle, five earned runs in 6 1/3. twins win 5-3. the fans applaud buehrle's efforts. astros and the cubs. cubs on a five-game win streak. gets a visit from his catcher, who calls for the trainer. oswalt would leave the game with a lower back strain.

top five, that's miguel tejada. a two-run shot. he had five rbis. astros win 11-6. cubs' five-game hit streak comes to an end. that does it for this update. i'm anish shroff. now, back to "america this morning" with jeremy and vinita. if eating is your sport, a whopper of a weiner is donning the menu of a michigan restaurant. >> it's a specialty hot dog, big enough to feed an entire family. the coney dog is three feet long. so big, the bread pan for its bun had to be custom made. and in case that's not enough, the meal also includes a three-pound bucket of flies. and a large drink to wash it down. >> it costs $30. anyone who can finish the entire meal, though, gets it for free. there's not a time limit, i think i could do it. ♪ i'm cool like that [ female announcer ] there's a smarter, cooler way to get your clothes brilliantly clean. and it's a t tn for the beer. [ male announcer ] tide cololdwater.

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finally from us this morning, an overwhelming response to a bewitching help wanted ad. it was placed by a british tourist attraction. >> and it's a dream job if you don't mind carrying a broomstick, wearing a pointy, black hat and hanging out in a cave. >> reporter: any job interview is nerve-racking. but this really was the

selection process from hell. waiting for your slot, you want to be as well-prepared as possible. you want to look your best. and you need to keep busy. knit away those nerves. >> it's very difficult with talons, though. that's the only problem. >> reporter: 300 would-be witches. but only one job. [ laughing ] >> reporter: have a breath. have a deep breath. who's going to get the job? >> i can't stand the thought of going back into the office again. >> the kids all think i'm a witch. might as well make a living out of it, mightenn't i? >> reporter: this is the prize. leaving in these cavs. entertaining tourists. but also earning 50,000 pounds a year. no wonder things were getting tense among the waiting witches. >> go on, you hags.

go on. look at you. >> reporter: they each had a minute to pitch for theob of witch. he didn't win. she did. calamity carla, from shepton mallet. >> i knew it. i knew it. i knew it. >> reporter: the judges said they liked her naughty side. and she comes perfectly qualified. until now, she's been an estate agent. john kay, bbc news, sommerset. coming up on "good morning america," did a powerful drug kill the king of pop? details on the dangerous surgical anesthetic on the cent