this morning, extreme summer conditions, getting worse. >> new video from overnight. up close with california's newest monster blaze. closing in on towns and homes. the driest conditions in years, also shutting down the mississippi river. stranding ships and essential cargo. taking a stand. the congressman refusing to resign from a race for what he said, despite his own party pulling all support. will she do it? an electric morning in the florida keys. diana nyad expected on shore within hours. swimming without sleep since sunday. and party time. a new name on top thisorning. the dubious distinction of top party school in the u.s. of a.

good morning. and welcome back to my co-host, who had a lovely time, right? >> paris is wonderful. good to be back in the states, for sure. good to see you again, too. >> good morning, everyone. thousands of people who live in the path of a raging california wildfire will spend their third day evacuated from their homes. >> look at this. brand-new video of the ponderosa fire. the fiercest one this morning. it is baring down on the towns north of sacramento. an army of firefighters is battling the flames, as well as the heat and the wind. >> there are dozens of other front lines this morning. abc's neal karlinsky reports from suterville, idaho. >> reporter: across the weltering west, for thousands, summer has turned into a nightmare of burning forest land and scorched earth.

look at the map. more acres burned than at any time in the last decade. old-timers on the fire line told us they can feel the difference this summer. how bad is this summer for you guys? >> it's quite bad. this is quite severe. >> reporter: most aren't here to see this. this couple had to evacuate. and they're not afraid to admit, they're scared. >> that is our home. it's our only home. yeah, we're scared. >> reporter: forecasters are watching this summer closely for patterns. but in the fire zone, change in weather can't come soon enough to dampen a brutal year. hard as these firefighters work, they can only play the hand mother nature deals them. and this week, it hot. i'm neal karlinsky, in suterville, idaho. those fires come, during a historic drought that's also being blamed for backing up traffic on the mississippi river. dredging is clearing the way in

most cities. but an 11-mile stretch of the river remains closed near greenville, mississippi, where 100 boats and barges are waiting to go by. water levels are at their lowest in nearly a quarter-century. republicans have until 6:00 p.m. eastern time tonight to convince missouri congressman, todd akin, to suspend his senate bid and let someone run in his place. they are worried that comments about legitimate rape will hurt his chances to win. tahman bradley joins us this morning. >> reporter: the pressure for todd akin, is dropout is intense, partly because the missouri race is crucial to the republican effort to take back control of the senate. missouri congressman todd akin vows to keep his senate campaign going, even though this morning republicans are relentlessly pressuring him to drop out. akin is under fire for a statement he gave why he opposes all abortions, even in the case of rape.

>> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has a way to shut those things down. >> reporter: those comments sent republicans scrambling to prevent widespread damage. >> the views expressed for offensive. rape is rape. >> reporter: gop presidential hopeful, mitt romney, trailing president obama among women in polls, condemn his remarks. >> his comments about rape were deeply offensive. and i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> repter: akin apologized. >> i made that statement in error. let me be clear. rape is never legitimate. what i said was ill conceived and it was wrong. and for that, i apologize. >> reporter: but the congressman's words may be too little, too late. akin is facing one of the most vulnerable democrats up for re-election, senator claire mccaskill. and republicans who want to take control ofhe senate want him out of the re. the pressure is mounting. the group that supports candidates, told akin it would

withdraw $5 million in planned advertising for the race. same with karl rove's super pac, who had planned to spent more than $2 million. the deadline to get another republican on the missouri ballot is today at 5:00 p.m. but akin is showing no signs of dropping out. in fact, last night, he launched an online fund-raising effort, pegged to his decision to stay in. paula? >> tahman bradley, in washington this morning. congressman akin failed to show for a cnn interview last night, leading to this unusual scene. piers morgan and that empty chair. morgan blasting the congressman cancelling at the, quote, last possible moment. president obama's re-election campaign spent more than it earned in july for the third-straight month. they drained the coffers to get the jump on mitt romney on grassroots organizings and ad buying. but republicans are on track to outearn the democrats so far. and romney's campaign is still in the black.

a police officer in pensacola, florida, is out of a job and faces charges for being too rough with a female suspect. the incident was caught on his dash cam. he had pulled over the woman, as a suspect in hit and run. when he thought she wasn't listening to him, he grabbed her hair and slammed her into the car several times. the superiors reviewed the tape and now, he has been charged with battery. in brighter news this morning, diana nyad is on track to complete her record swim from cuba to florida, some time later this morning. the 62-year-old is trying to fend off hyperthermia, after suffering through painful jellyfish stings and weather on top of that. but she said she is doing well. her spirits lifted by a surprise visit from a boatload of friends and family. her last two tries in a year. tomorrow, on top of everything else, she will celebrate her birthday, turning 63 years old.

what a birthday gift that will be. >> i have a feeling she's going to sleep through it because she's done this whole swim without sleeping. >> amazing, too. we'll keep an eye on that throughout the morning. we'll have the latest coming up on "good morning america." time, now, for the weather from across the nation. stormy from the pacific northwest, to the four corners region. thunderstorms on the gulf coast, into the florida panhandle, as well as the carolinas. pop-up afternoon showers around pittsburgh, and indianapolis. >> 80s from atlanta to dallas and home ha. 90s from boise to albuquerque. 106 out in phoenix. car owners pay attention to this next story. the most popular car in america for thieves. is yours the most stolen? we'll have all of the details. plus, an odd pairing. how harley davidson is about to be honored at the vatican. and cheers. a new school named the top party campus in the country. we're right back.

welcome back, everybody. well, apple begins, today, at a historic high with its stock at a record level. thanks to the recent run-up of its stock price, the company is now wall street's most valuable property ever. and just about $624 billion. apple stock has soared due to optimism about the impending launch of the iphone 5 and possibly a smaller, less expensive ipad, as well. and once again, some models of the honda cars are among the

most frequently stolen. a new study says a 1994 honda accord, it tops the stolen car list for the fourth-straight year. nearly 7,600 were stolen last year alone. the reason were the vehicle's popularity and its lack of security features. the '98 honda civic was second on the list. southwest airlines is among the carriers offering less leg room these days. passengers now have an inch less between seats because southwest has added six more seats to its planes. jetblue and the canadian airline west jet are also losing leg room. it's all about generating more leg room by selling seats with more leg room. can flying become more miserable these days? harley davidson is a brand for in motorcycle enthusiasts. and now, the brand is truly blessed. as part of its 100-year anniversary, some of the bikes will be blessed by pope benedict

at the vatican next june. there will be anniversary events in other cities around the world. did you ever think you would hear holy harley? >> that is a bizarre story. all right. and new research shows that while we may all hate mondays, tuesdays, wednesdays and thursdays are actually all eq l equally unloved. a poll over 300,000 folks found moods were no worse on mondays than other working days, except fridays. so, bring on the weekend. >> unless you have to work on the weekend. >> then -- >> you don't like saturday and sunday, either. >> we got close to the weekend. we all hate to work. next on this unlikable tuesday morning, right? >> yeah. >> rosie o'donnell's massive heart attack. an important lesson for all women. and the superstar at the little league world series, pitching a no-hitter. highlights ahead from espn. when it comes to toilet paper,

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welcome at this. another ominous scene across lake michigan after nine funnel clouds were spotted over the weekend. the skies were at it again. this time, fast-moving clouds shrouding the chicago area, as the storm triggered lightning, rain and hail. had the clouds touched the lake, they would have turned into a waterspout. i thought it was heaven on that city. >> no bias on your neck of the woods. let's take a look at your morning road conditions, shall we? a slick commute into the pacific northwest and northern rockies. thunderstorms drench highways in the four corners of the southwest. also some red roads from the gulf coast to the carolinas. >> you don't have leg room. but it will be a great day for flying across most of the country. dust storms could cause airport delays in phoenix. >> all right. back to the news this morning. casey anthony will be a free woman sometimes this week.

her one-year probation for check fraud is coming to an end. >> the state of florida will not reveal exactly when out of concern for her safety. anthony has been serving probation in hiding because of death threats. she was acquitted last summer of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. the apparent suicide of director tony scott is still a mystery. doctors are not expected to release autopsy results or details about the note left behind for weeks. he was believed to leave a suicide note at his office before he jumped to his death off a bridge. a serious health scare for rosie o'donnell. the 50-year-old comedienne suffered a heart attack last week. o'donnell took an aspirin and went to the cardiologist the next day. an artery was 99% blocked. and she had to have a stint put in. rihanna just told oprah she

has forgiven ex-boyfriend chris brown. but that's not good enough for the courts. brown is expected to go before a los angeles judge today. the court appearance to determine whether he has completed the domestic violence classes and community service he was sentenced to after beating up rihanna. and so what if roger clemens hasn't pitched for a baseball team for five years. the rocket who is now 50, signed yesterday for a minor league team in texas called the sugarland skeeters. the skeeters. his first game is on saturday. the game is sold out. and a workout with the team, clemens' fastball was 87 miles per hour. go, skeeters. >> we'll see if he still has it. none of clemens' major league teams feature in our sports update. but that does not mean there's no baseball. some highlights, now, from espn. >> good morning. i'm hakem dermish with your espn news update. a historic day in williamsport. will lucas and the kids from

connecticut, facing new castle, indiana. top two, strikes out bryce utley. then gets jared porter looking. top six, lucas, three outs away from a no-hitter. drama. blake burress at the plate. blasts one to center. on the warning track. makes the grab. lucas, thankful for the defense. another strikeout, his 12th of the game. one strike away from the no-hitter. he gets a strikeout to end it. 13 ks. will lucas, the first pitcher from connecticut to throw a no-hitter in history. bradley smith and petaluma, california, taking on the sides from california. emil matti. david tom at the plate. that gets down.

tying run comes in to score. check this out. he gets caught in a tagout in third. game tied at 4-4. we go to extras. danny marzo, leading off for petaluma. california wins 5-4 and advances. in other news this morning, phyllis diller is being remembered this morning for her signature cackle. >> she had a great laugh. she was a 38-year-old married mother of five when she decided to become a professional comedienne. she rose to fame, poking fun at herself, at her looks, her poor housewife skills. she was an inspiration to many other women stand-ups, including joan rivers. >> she showed them a woman could stand up there and keep you laughing for an hour and she doesn't need to sing. >> diller was 95 years old and

was well in her 80s. her manager said she died peacefully in her sleep, with a smile on her face. >> that's what he like to hear. 95, a ground-breaking life. up next, "the pulse," and the top party schools in the country. >> neither of ours are on the list. 14 and the new honor for condoleezza rice that some say has come decades too late. i've discovered gold. [ female announcer ] the gold standard in anti-aging. roc® retinol. found in roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. it's clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. now for maximum results... the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum to create retinol correxion® max. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. new roc® retinol correxion® max. nothing's better than gold. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card,

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all right. time to check "the pulse" this morning, the stories you'll be talking about today. we start with one that will have plenty of people saying, it's about time. >> talking about augusta national golf club, home of the masters tournament. they will admit this coming october, their first two female members. they are former secretary of state, condoleezza rice, teeing it up there, and darla moore. >> both ladies have accepted the invitati invitations. and their inclusion ends a ten-year battle over the club's ten-year membership. >> their names game up five years ago. >> 2012. all right. colleges are getting back in gear, of course, this time of year. that means one of the most infamous lists of the year is out. the top party schools. >> drumroll.

here they are. number one, west virginia university. the mountaineers having a good time in morgantown. then comes iowa. last year's number one, o.u., ohio university, followed by illinois and georgia. >> mostly big-time football schools, of course. get ready for those tailgaters. by the way, the most sober school for the 15th-straight year, byu. >> my alma mater needs to be on there somewhere on the top five. >> silver list. >> just to clarify. >> it was a dry campus. it doesn't matter what kind of college they go to. this year's freshmen see the world differently than everyone came before them. they have never seen an airline ticket, for example. and they don't remember anyone carrying a suitcase. only rolling ones. >> in their lives, women have piloted more planes and space shuttles. but some of them are entering college showing signs of hearing loss. all of those iphone buds.

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[ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. breaking news, now, from afghanistan. a taliban missile strike on bagram air base has damaged the plane being used by general martin dempsey. thankfully, no one was injured. pressure is building on missouri republican todd akin, to bow out of the senate race. he is vowing to fight on but is losing millions in campaign funds. and diana nyad hopes to wrap up her record swim from cube da to florida today. she is forging ahead, despite jellyfish stings and powerful storms. heavy rain and thunderstorms in the southeast and gulf coast. spotty showers from pittsburgh to indianapolis. thunderstorms in the west with flash flooding in the four corners region. and finally from us this morning, a first time event for the white house. rolling out the red carpet for more than 50 special guests.

>> the fancy dinner was actually lunch. and the guests, well, they weren't even old enough to drive. abc's jake tapper has the story. >> reporter: a state dinner, they called it. and first lady michelle obama was front and center. >> is this not cool? this is just so very cool. >> reporter: what was so very cool? the trappings, sure. the beautiful centerpieces and the place cards. but what was interesting were the guests. not statesmen, or celebrities or big-money donors. but kids. though they made their big entrances in fancy threads. >> this is one of the best events we've ever had here. our first-ever kids' state dinner. >> how did these 54 children get invited here? they won the healthy lunchtime challenge, part of the first lady's let's move campaign.

>> i'm going to be prepping a salad i like to call secret service supersalad. >> reporter: madeline and michael were picked. >> i remember that. delicious. phenomenal, really. >> reporter: this lighthearted day has a greatly serious context. >> one in three kids of this generation will die of diabetes in their lifetime if we don't change course. >> reporter: and then? >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: president obama pulled a salahi. >> usually, i get invited to the state dinners. this time, i just had to crash. >> reporter: as the lucky winners left, their stomachs were full. but they were walking on air. >> i really wanted to meet the first lady. >> it was more than awesome. >> the highlight for me was when i shook hands with the president. >> reporter: at the very least, their essays of what i did over my summer vacation will be tough to beat. this is jake tapper, at the white house. a day they'll never forget. >> cool event.