making news in america this morning -- campaign heat-up. >> president obama hits the road today, starting a two-day bus tour in battleground states. while mitt romney issues a new round of attacks against the president's health care law. a horrific independence day for several families. they lost children who were just looking for a little bit of a break from the holiday heat. lifeguard mutiny in florida. and that sweating spectacle some would say is enough to make anybody sick. the performance at that july 4th hot dog eating contest.

and good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on assignment. with the july 4th holiday behind us, the presidential campaign is taking on new urgency today. >> the focus will be on the economy, as president obama and two top republicans travel to the midwest. and abc's tahman bradley joins us with more. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. don't think the campaigns quit working over the holiday. the romney campaign is in full search mode. while the obama campaign prepares for a crucial swing. these are very important moments in the race for the white house, with the election now just four months away. with the holiday festivities over. >> happy fourth of july, everybody. >> reporter: get ready for a new phase of the campaign. today, the race for the white house kicks into high gear, with president obama launching his bus tour of the election.

stopping in ohio today and pennsylvania tomorrow. as the president stumps in the crucial battleground states, bobby jindal and tim pawlenty will shadow him everywhere he goes, pushing romney's message. jindal and pawlenty are both viewed as vice presidential candidates. >> it's a tradition of my family. it's fun to be back and campaigning this time. >> reporter: romney is taking fire from the obama campaign, in this web video, that attacks the candidate for money they say he stashed overseas in places such as the cayman islands. >> he needs to come clean where that money is and why it's there. >> reporter: the romney campaign calls the obama accusations false. not every ad is nasty. and the romney sons have appeared in a web ad. mitt romney got in line with many republicans yesterday, calling the obama health care plan a tax.

he says it breaks the president's mrench not to tax the middle class. >> tahman bradley live in washington. thanks, tahman. a family fourth of july outing in iowa turned tragic. three children, two little girls and a boy, drowned in the iowa river in marshaltown, about 50 miles northwest of des moines. the children were swimming with a large group when they somehow became separated. and on top of that, young swimmers out enjoying the holiday have been electrocuted in two different tragedies. in missouri, a girl and her brother were killed when racing off a dock. adults shut off the power and tried to rescue those two kids but it was too late. and in eastern tennessee, a boy swimming at a marina was electrocuted and another boy nearly died. the two were swimming between houseboats on cherokee lake. >> we believe that somehow or

another, the electricity at that point got to the middle of the boat. and when the children touched the metal ladder to get in is when the e lech cushion au cured. and we're learning more about a house explosion in new hampshire. an 8-month-old girl was among the injured. and a 2-year-old boy who was standing next to a box of fireworks when it exploded was severely burned. and is now in medically-indu medically-inducmedically-induce coma. as many as 30 people were plunged into oyster bay harbor. not all people have been accounted for. there are reports that two children are among the missing and may be bed. about 900,000 customers in

the mid-atlantic are still without power this morning. 26 deaths have now being blamed on the storm that slammed that region almost a week ago now. crews worked through the july 4th holiday to restore power and remove all those downed tree limbs. millions of americans withstood the record-breaking temperatures to watch the fireworks last night. this celebration was in the nation's capital. it was the hottest july 4th ever for several cities, including memphis and minneapolis. and more records are expected to be broken today, as 23 states are under heat advisories. here's more on the national forecast. it's going to be beautiful, from seattle to san diego, with sunny skies and mild temperatures. severe weather could threaten the ohio and tennessee valleys, with strong winds and hail. showers around the great lakes. >> as for those high temperatures, chicago should reach 100 again today. on top of that, baltimore will be 98, with oppressive humidity there. dallas, indianapolis, kansas and

atlanta will all be in the upper 90s. what a rough start to summer, man. >> it's hot. still ahead this morning, some stunning findings about that ship disaster off of italy's coast. plus this morning, a damaging, new report about countrywide and its actions before the nation's foreclosure crisis. that's coming up in business news. and the lifeguard mutiny in florida. think, no good deed goes unpunished.

welcome back, everybody.

well, economists are crying, four more years. many experts believe that is how long unemployment will stay above 6%, whoever is elected president in november. the economists surveyed by the associated press expected unemployment rates to be 8% come election day. and with 8.2% back in may. we'll get the june figures tomorrow. overseas investors are mostly on the sidelines, waiting for decisions by the european central bank. tokyo's nikkei average fell 24 points today. hong kong's hang seng was up 87 points. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow added 72 points tuesday before taking off for the holiday. the nasdaq index was up 25. well, it seems that countrywide was on your side if you had influence. but congressional report says the mortgage company, whose bad loans helped spark the foreclosure crisis, gave discounts to congress, their

staffs and those with vip status. don't expect another airline megamerger anytime soon. u.s. airways says it's in no hurry to acquire american airlines. american has asked for more time to work its way out of bankruptcy. but u.s. airways says it is interested in acquiring american eventually. you could lose your internet connection this monday. the fbi will shut down some temporary servers it used to break up an internet fraud ring. but a virus is forcing hundreds of thousands of users back to those servers. "the amazing spider-man" is swinging into the record books after just one day. the movie opened up with 35 million bucks in sales. that's the best debut ever on a tuesday. "spider-man" is produced by marvel, which is, like abc news,

part of disney. thanks for the security. when we come back, a real mess in illinois as a coal train comes off the rail. the cleanup there continues today. and the marine punching out the push-ups but for a cause very close to his heart. that and more when we come back. stay with us. a party? [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me!

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the fireworks show in san diego lasted only about 15 seconds because of a major malfunction. after this huge initial explosion, there was nothing else. the coast guard says premature ignition caused the entire fireworks show to go off at once. >> man, i hate when that happens. now, for a look at your morning road conditions on this thursday. it could be wet in the ohio and tennessee valleys. and also around the great lakes. flash floods are a risk, meanwhile, in the southwest. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in minneapolis, chicago, detroit and new orleans. we were all stunned by this

next story once we started hearing the details. >> it's a story out of florida where a lifeguard was fired after actually saving someone's life. and now, some of his colleagues followed him right out the door. abc's matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: when duty called, matt lopez sprinted. >> way down over there. i started running. >> reporter: darting past beach goers monday to save the drowning man. >> i was worried about the guy. he was blue when i got him. >> reporter: instead of being rewarded, he was fired. you see, the 21-year-old, knowingly violated a rule that prevents guards from this privately-run lifeguard company from leaving their station to help a swimmer. >> i just went over and did what i had to do. >> reporter: because someone's life was at stake. tommy's guard station is about 100 yards that way down the beach. now, beyond this sign, he's not allowed to go. but the person who was drowning was over there. a spokesperson for the lifeguard

contractor jeff ellis said, we have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area. suddenly, the rule that got tommy fired launched a mutiny. so, let me get this straight. all of you basically resigned or were fired because of tommy? because of his decision? tommy's fellow lifeguards leaving en masse, seven of them, in disgust. >> what we're basically supposed to do is just watch them die, technically. >> reporter: just then, we came across brian richie, who walked off this guard tower to turn in his whistle and the shirt off his back. brian? did you just quit? >> i did just quit. >> reporter: how did it go? >> it was rough. i'm glad that i can separate myself from this. i knew if the incident ever came up, i would go. >> reporter: they made a pact, choosing to save lives, instead of their jobs. matt gutman, abc news, hallandale beach, florida. >> where was the lifeguard in the area where the person did drown? i don't get that yet.

new details about that deadly cruise ship accident off the coast of italy. court documents claim that the crew of the "costa concordia" kept sailing despite of electrical problems onboard. and on top of that, water h f tight doors were allegedly left open. and the crew was using wrong maps. two americans were among those killed. and the fukushima nuclear disaster, calling the disaster man-made. it concludes government officials and the power company knew the risk a tsunami could pose. but the utility did nothing to make the plant safer. and said that the government misled the public about how serious the accident really was. crews will be back at the scene of a messy train derailment in chicago today, cleaning up and looking for the cause. a 138-car union pacific freight

train hauling coal in illinois. a bridge collapsed, sending several cars tumbling below. no one was hurt in the accident. timeout for the grossout portion of the show. it stars joey chestnut, the still-reigning champion of the hot dog eating contest on coney island. he had 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. >> the woman's winner, sonya thomas. she broke her own record, devouring 45 hot dogs. congratulations to them both. >> love to see their bloodwork after that contest. >> she only weighs 100 pounds. let's turn to real sports and holiday highlights from america's pastime, courtesy of espn. >> i'm jorge andres.

david ortiz, sitting on 299 career home runs. not anymore. see you later. his 400th career bomb. he was the sixth player to hit 400 wearing the red sox uniform. celebrating with his boys. bottom of seven now, tied at 2-2. another former red sox, coco crisp. keep to right center. one-hops the wall. he has wheels with a triple on that one. and the a's have something going in the seventh. next batter, weeks, singles into left. crisp comes in to score. the a's win 3-2. madison bumgarner and the giants in our nation's capital to take on the nats. ryan zimmerman, it clears the wall for a two-run homer. the nationals lead, 6-3.

next batter, another bomb to right. you get the theme here? the nationals lead 7-3. bottom eight. nats up 7-2. rick ankiel. crushing a two-run homer to right center field. his fifth of the season. the nationals go on to win 9-4. don't forget, "sunday night baseball" is on espn. it's the yankees taking on the red sox. presented by taco bell. starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern time on espn, espn3 and the actual espn app. a marine is raising money for wounded warriors. and he's doing it in a typical marine corps way. his goal is to do 100 push-ups by the end of the year. he says he can make it by doing over 2,700 a day. >> that's my routine. he says he can do the push-ups anybody, at the airport, at

works and on top of a fire truck. so far, he's raised 10,000 bucks. and his goal is to double that. up next, "the pulse." things heating up in the tomkat divorce fight. all the details straight ahead. also, the south african athlete looking forward to the olympics. a winner, no matter what. i was living with this all-over pain. a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions.

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welcome back, everybody. time to check "the pulse", this morning, the stories you'll be talking about today. there had been earlier reports that katie holmes wanted her divorce from tom cruise to be held in open court. that would be a highly unusual move in a high-profile case like this. >> but one of the lawyers tells "people" magazine the report is not crew. cruise has hired the same lawyer he used in his last divorce. >> it wouldn't make sents she would want something like this to be public. >> unless it was for a tack take. i don't know. >> well, if she did, well played. we'll see. now, for the question perplexing the salt lake city suburb of murray, utah. >> it involves the handlebar

mustache of mayor dan star. asking residents thumbs up or thumbs down for the stache. >> now, they are viewing parade videotapes. the initial impression was that the people's decision was too close to call. >> can i vote? >> please vote. >> it's gone. >> i second that motion. meeting adjourned. and finally, an athlete all of us can cheer for in the upcoming olympics no matter what. he's a double-leg amputee, oscar of south africa. >> he fought for and won the right to run in london. he'll run in the 400 meters and will part of south africa's four by 400 meter relay team. >> oscar pastorious. he called yesterday one of the proudest days of his life. a marvel of technology and of human spirit. that's a great story. >> amazing. >> we'll be watching for him. for some of you, now, your

local news is up next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with a special american dream for a combat vet who gave so much for our country. my dentist said that the acid in fruit, or fruit juice or fruit teas softens the enamel so that then it can potentially erode. once that enamel is gone, it's gone. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel to help harden that enamel so that it's not brushed away. pronamel protects your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. i can have the best of both worlds with pronamel. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft.

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visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. updating the top stories. president obama heads out on his first bus tour of his campaign today. he'll be making stops in ohio and pennsylvania, focusing on the economy. while on vacation in new hampshire, mitt romney is huddling with his top advisers over his vice presidential pick. romney's gotten in line with other gop leaders, now calling the health care law a tax. and three, young swimmers from been electrocuted in accidents. weather now. beautiful along the west coast, where it could be stormy in the ohio and tennessee valleys. showers in the great lakes. and more scorching heat here in the east. finally, an emotional reminder of what july 4th is

really all about. >> sonia aszasz of our station in houston, shows a community who really pulled together to honor a hometown hero for his service. >> reporter: once a vacant lot, this place represents gratitude. it's a place where people can shake hands with the 22-year-old man who will live here. not just any neighbor. daniel peterson is lance corporal peterson. he lost both legs while on a second tour in afghanistan almost two years ago. >> when i was in the hospital, this was not in my future. >> reporter: for months, we followed the progress of volunteers building the wounded marine a home to return to from the battlefield. sub scouts laid his lawn. >> he fought for our country. and that's something we should all care about. >> reporter: others welcomed

peterson to the neighborhood by roofing, landscaping for feeding other volunteers. >> this is a great reward for him. and i want to be a part of that. >> reporter: inside, everything is designed for peterson's needs. with wider doorways and hallways, lower countertops. pull-outcabinets. and his favorite part, the user-friendly bathroom. >> the shower, it's huge. it's like a shower you see at the gym. >> reporter: all this won't cost him a penny, thanks to a group called homes for our troops. >> it's paid in full with their injuries. >> reporter: so, the key transferred hands to the new homeowner. the gratitude spread across this land is repaid. >> to know there's americans out there that, not just say they support the troops, but actually act. >> reporter: from one man whose service kept the american dream alive. >> that was sonia szasz of ktrk reporting there. that's what's making news in