making news this morning -- emergency landing. >> fighter jets scrambled. a transatlantic flight forced back to the u.s. and it's not the only air scare, as a bird strike tears a hole in a 737. plus, the airline food crisis, not over yet. another needle is found in a prepackaged sandwich. this time, the discovery made closer to the u.s. stranded. arizona's summer monsoons strike with a vengeance. trapping people in their cars overnight. a baby among those needing rescued. and the greatest. michael phelps becomes the most medaled olympian. and he's not even done yet.

good wednesday morning. i'm sunny hostin in for paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. we begin with the threats to airline passengers and unattended camera, a bird strike and another needle in an on-flight meal. >> with all that, it's no surprise we've become so jittery with the safety of flying. here's tahman bradley. >> reporter: tense moments onboard a united airlines jumbo jet, headed from newark, new jersey, to geneva, switzerland. the flight diverted, escorted by fighter jets after a pilot noticed something unusual. a camera in a compartment in an empty seat. passengers were rescreened and the camera inspected. tsa said the measures were taken out of an abundance of caution. another emergency aboard a plane yesterday. a gaping hole near the nose of this united 737.

on approach to denver international airport, the plane collided with what appears to be a large bird. flight sensors were ripped off. but none of the 151 passengers or the crew were injured. bird strikes are a growing threat. they cost the airline industry $600 million of damage every year. one of the most famous incidents, when sully sullenberger landed on the hudson river. >> it's dangerous when an aircraft hits a bird. in this case, it was something that the crews were trained to handle. >> reporter: a different scare, this time the food. the discovery after a sewing needle in a sandwich onboard of an air canada flight from victoria to toronto on monday. no word if the scare was tied to the half-dozen sewing needles two weeks ago on delta flights. one more word on bird strikes, they're rising. the faa said there were nearly

1,900 bird strikes. in 2010, 9,600. >> a huge hole. >> what an image that is. tahman bradley in washington. thanks, tahman. mitt romney is back home in boston this morning, after his high-profile trip to britain, israel and poland. now, speculation is building about his choice of a running mate. and the campaign is likely glad to have the attention shift away from that foreign trip that was marred by a series of gaffes. abc's david muir covered the trip. >> reporter: in the final hours of his foreign tour here, mitt romney visiting the tomb of the unknown soldier in warsaw. the kind of photo op the campaign hopes for many on his world audition. but there was also this. >> what about your gaffe? >> mr. romney? what about your gaffe? >> reporter: he didn't answer. but an angry spokesperson telling one reporter to shove it. >> we haven't had a chance to ask some questions. >> [ bleep ]. this is a holy site for the

polish people. >> reporter: another unwelcome headline. the palestinians suggested culture. why israelis are widely superior. the campaign called that a mischaracterization. mitt romney is back in boston. his wife, ann, in london to watch the olympics. mitt romney is to choose a running mate. and if ann romney's horse does well, she won't be back until august 9th or 10th. david muir, abc news, warsaw. one other political note. the tea party is favoring a big win in texas. conservative ted cruz won the runoff for the republican nomination for the senate seat being vacated by kay bailey hutchison. cruz, a lawyer and state solicitor general has never ran for office. he thanked supporters, including sarah palin. and secretary of state hillary clinton began a new

multination tour overnight. arriving in the african nation of senegal. she'll speak, today, at a university there and preside over a peace corps swearing in. later, she travels to four other nations and will meet privately with nelson mandela. conditions in syria's largest city continue in an 11th day. residents in aleppo are running out of food and cooking gas and electric power is spotty. thousands of people are streaming out of the country. in india, power has been restored across the country, after a major system collapse led to the worst blackout in world history. an estimated 620 million people were without power after 3 power grids failed. now, questions on whether india's outdated infrastructure can keep up with the surging demands for electricity. overnight, we learned about the passing of gore vidal, one

of the most influential literary voices of the last century. vidal was known for his over-the-top personality and scathing wit. his works included hundreds of essays and the best-selling novels, "lincoln" and "myra breckenridge." he died after a battle with pneumonia. he was 86 years old. summer vacation is over for children in oklahoma city. but the heat is on for their first day of school. they're returning to class, as temperatures soar to a record 110 degrees. dozens of classrooms do not have a.c. even just the school buss, in fact. officials say students will be watched closely and given plenty of water breaks. a hot day in class. hard to learn when you're sweating everywhere. that is early. august 1st. well, time, now, for the weather from across the nation. stormy with flash flooding from the four corners region into

southern california and nevada. scat etered showers in the northern plains and upper midwest. pop-up thunderstorms from new england, down to florida and alabama. >> mostly 90s in the southeast. great plains and rockies. triple-digits from the rockies to phoenix. and 70s in the pacific northwest. and still ahead after the break, scandal at the olympics, after a team appeared to lose on purpose. plus, that developing story from overnight. rising waters from severe summer storms, stranding people in their cars. also this morning, the oscar-winning actor. now wanted by police in new orleans.

welcome back, everybody. there is one less worry this morning for the financial markets. congressional leaders have a tentative agreement to keep the government running past the election. but there was little reaction on wall street, perhaps because congress still has to deal with the automatic spending cuts and the expiration of tax cuts, both of which are set to take affect at the end of the year. and a key revision of the health care reform law takes effect today. the new law requires most insurers to provide birth control to women for free with no out-of-pocket provision. 14 u.s. treasury secretary, timothy geithner, says europe has the tools it needs to deal with its financial crisis. but its leaders need to be more forceful. he spoke yesterday at the los angeles world affairs council, after meeting in europe the day before. geithner says the challenge for european leaders is how to sell the fixes to their voters.

and it may be crowded outside chick-fil-a today. thousands of people plan to demonstrate their support of comments made by the chain's ceo opposing same-sex marriage. protests by the other side are scheduled for friday. chick-fil-a says it does does not discriminate either in hiring or who it serves. facebook shares are at a new low. 43% below their initial price. and ubs says it lost more than $500 million on facebook because of, quote, the gross mishandling of facebook's debut by the nasdaq exchange. ubs plans to sue nasdaq which has put aside only 62 million bucks to compensate customers who lost money. and tickets for a canceled rock concert will be honored, 33 years later. the 1979 performance by the who in providence, rhode island, was cancelled because of safety

concerns after a fatal concert stampede in another city. anyone who has providence tickets can trade them in for the band's concert this february. the tickets originally cost $11.50. >> can you imagine these days? a concert for 12 bucks. are you kidding me? >> i wonder who has the tickets. >> you never know. one angry fan out there. one day. coming up next on this wednesday morning, on alert. new reason to fear great whites. new details on that weekend shark attack. and the golden glow around team usa. a day to remember for michael phelps and gymnastics' fab five. [ alicia ] i snack all the time throughout the day. i love fruit. grapefruits, pineapple. i put lemon in my water. these are all highly acidic. the acid can affect the enamel. i think lemons are good for you. [ laughs ] just not for my teeth. my dentist recommended pronamel. he told me that pronamel would help protect the enamel of my teeth from further acid erosion.

now that i use pronamel, i feel more confident about having these acidic foods in my diet. i really care about these things, and i want to be doing what's best for my body and for my teeth. car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have like, a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um" or, "no comment." then there's esurance. born online, raised by technology, and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save. hassle, time, paperwork, hair-tearing-out, and yes, especially dollars. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call.

nine people, including a baby, had to be rescued from their cars in phoenix. three cars and a dump truck were swept off a highway after severe

storms triggered flash flooding, leaving them standed. and more stormy weather is on tap for later today. those storms drench highways from the southwest to the four corners region to las vegas. showers and thunderstorms make for a slick commute from the dakotas to wisconsin. and look for wet roads along the east coast. >> if you're flying today, airport delays are possible in minneapolis, new york, philly, and the nation's capital. now, for an update on the apparent shark attack on cape cod. experts believe a great white shark may be to blame. >> this happened on monday when christopher myers was swimming with his teenage son. myers was taken to the hospital with cutting on both legs. the injuries and the presence of gray seals, which sharks feed on are consistent with a great white attack. we'll get a firsthand account later on "gma." police in maryland have released the video of the man wanted for kidnapping cal

ripken's mother. the video shows the man in an orange cap and a light-colored coat going in and out of what appears to be a walmart. vy ripken was taken from her home last week. she was released unharmed. it was an emotional first day in the murder trial of drew peterson. the former suburban chicago police sergeant charged with killing his third wife. kathleen savio's neighbor testified about finding her dead in the bathtub. and she cried when she saw a photo of her friend's lifeless body. prosecutors say peterson killed savio to keep her from getting his money in a divorce settlement. he was only charged after his fourth wife went missing. you know what that music means. all that glitters, is, in fact, gold. the americans are shining in london right now. >> yes. from the pool to the gym, team

usa wracked up the medals tuesday. and miaeael phelps showed the world he is truly an athlete for the ages. abc's tom rivers is at the games. >> reporter: michael phelps is on top of mt. olympus. the superstar swimmer needed just two more medals, any medal, to make history as the most-decorated olympian of all-time with 19. phelps surpassed the record by winning the 200 freestyle relay. his 15th gold overall. he came close to another gold, slipping out of first place right at the end of the men's 200-meter butterfly. ye shiwen won the 200 meter medley. the 16-year-old raised eyebrows on saturday when she swam the last 50 meters in the 400 individual medley faster than ryan lochte.

american men return to the basketball court. team usa defeated tunisia, giving them their second win in a row. american women gymnasts achieved what they set out to do. flipping, spinning and soaring their way to a gold medal, the first since 1996. and it wasn't even close. the americans were favored to win. but superstrong performances from top-to-bottom sealed the deal. and it was a bull's eye for vince vincent hancock. he struck gold, giving the u.s. a sweep, after kimberly roadie won the women's competition. tom rivers, abc news, london. >> as tom said, michael phelps' 19 medals make him the king of the olympics. no athlete has ever won in a many. >> and phelps shattered a record that stood for 48 years. a gymnast for the former soviet union. and between the 1956, 1960 and

1964 games, she hauled in 18 medals. she's now 77 years old. and she was actually on-hand in london to see michael phelps eclipse her great achievement. look at that. >> what a great moment in olympic history. very cool that she was there. also, the investigation is on into an olympic badminton controversy that is boiling over. >> the chinese women team threw a match, deliberately serving into the net over and over, as the crowd booed. they had already qualified and didn't want to end up in the same round as the other chinese people. by losing, they hope to get in a different round and meet in the finals with a lock on gold and silver. >> interesting dilemma there. taking a look at the standings, now. the u.s. and china are tied up in the medal count. 23 apiece, as of right now. china leads in the gold medals at 13. japan in third, with 13 medals. >> looking at some of the events

coming up today. men's swimming will be a good one. the final. the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter breaststroke. >> and men's gymnastics is taking place today. it will be the individual all-around final. and women's fence willing be closely watched, as well. the u.s. opening ceremony's flag bearer is going for the gold. exciting. >> i'm obsessed with the olympics. up next, where is cuba gooding jr.? new orleans police would like to know. and the well-planned marriage proposal that didn't go and the well-planned marriage proposal that didn't go quite as planned.the pain of moderate rheumatoid arthritis could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. 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. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira.

are a sizzling deal, starting at 6 bucks. try our new lunch-size chicken fajitas, sauteed onions and peppers topped with grilled chicken, served with soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks.

all right. time to check "the pulse" this morning, the stories you'll be talking about today. >> some people have olympic fever. others have olympic anger, though. a lot of fans have been furious about nbc's decision to tape-delay the action. the tweets have been flying for days now. >> but the folks at "the wall street journal" aren't about to let some billion-dollar broadcasting rule put a damper on their courage. they got creative and put together this re-enactment of michael phelps triumph. a little imagination is all you need. >> well done. well, cuba gooding jr. is a wanted man in the big easy.

police say the "jerry maguire" actor was at a bourbon street bar in the wee, wee hours when he became upset that other patrons were taking his picture. >> these he's accused of pushing a bartender after she told him to calm down. his attorney is taking necessary actions to address the matter. he was in the big easy, working on a new movie with oprah winfrey. and a guy who wanted to score big points by popping the big question at a baseball game almost struck out. >> the man took his unsuspecting girlfriend to a chicago cubs' game and arranged for the scoreboard to flash, erica, will you marry me. erica missed that magic moment because she was in line for a beer. >> she got the ring anyway, sayingy e to a more traditional proposal. we'll hear more from that couple when they join us on "good

morning america." >> timing is everything. for some of you, now, your local news is coming up next. 've been training all year for the big race in chicago, but i can only afford one trip. and i just found out my best friend is getting married in l.a. there's no way i'm missing that. then i heard about hotwire and i realized i could actually afford both trips. see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so i got my four-star hotels for half-price! >> men: ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com >> announcer: save big on car rentals too, from $12.95 a day. i was teaching a martial arts class and having a heart attack. my brother doesn't look like a heart attack patient. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and now i don't have that fear.

updating the top stories. a transatlantic flight made an unscheduled stop in boston, after a flight attendant found an unclaimed camera onboard. it turned out to be a false alarm. an apparent collision with a bird left a huge hole in the nose of this united plane that was planning to land in denver. no one was hurt. and fans are remembering influential writer, gore vidal who died yesterday in los angeles. he wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels and plays. vidal died after age 86. pop-up thunderstorms along the east coast. and a scorcher in the plains. scattered showers from wisconsin to the dakotas. thunderstorms and flash flooding in the southwest. and finally from us this morning, the erotic novel and your favorite, "fifty shades of

grey," has expanded its influence from the bedroom to the delivery room. >> ob-gyns, including my sister-in-law, say they are seeing a baby boom, nine months after mom read the sexy book. here's amy robach. >> reporter: the immensely popular book, previously called porn for the mommy set, have been heating bedrooms across the country for months. >> i got caught up in the fantasy world. >> it was erotic and sensual. >> reporter: and now, nine months later, the book is being secreted with its very own baby boom. >> reading "fifty shades of grey" is acting like an aphrodisiac for women. it's putting them in the mood more frequently. they're having more sex. and they're getting pregnant faster. ♪ i'm bringing sexy back >> reporter: bringing sexy back in the bedroom is one thing. but could the book be stirring the birds and the bees, too? according to some couples, it does just that. after 14 months, carly and leroy

gibson after spokane, washington, found that trying for another baby had taken the sexy out of sex. >> yes. it was a score. >> i think the fun was taken out of it at times because you were -- you're like, okay. here it is, day 14. we got five days to go. go strong. i don't care if you're tired or whatnot. it's time. get to work. >> reporter: after having two kids with relative ease, scott and danielle of new york were also striking out. >> it was getting frustrating. >> she was stressed. >> and christian grey entered my life. >> reporter: the author, e.l. james, hasn't weighed in on a possible baby boom. but sales figures seem to show a pot earn. >> i'm due february 1st. >> my due date is february 20th. >> reporter: and the book may have spawned another trend. >> i would like to name the baby anastasia, if it's a girl, which is the name of the main