make news in america this morning -- relief from the heat for millions of americans. >> but it comes at a price. storms causing damage across a large swath of the nation. can you log on to the internet this morning? there's a chance tens of thousands of folks will not be able to. we look back at the life and work of one of hollywood's most unlikely stars. he passed away at age 95, ernest borgnine. and the fall near the end. a new meaning to the term

death-defying feat. good morning, everybody. we begin with the violent finale to the sweltering heat wave. powerful storms blasting away the scorching temperatures. >> two dozen cheer leaders barely escaped last night as a tornado hit, blowing out windows, knocking down walls, ripping off the roof of a dance studio. this morning, the death toll from the heat is nearing 50. >> reporter: overnight, temperatures finally fell across much of the country. extreme weather triggering severe storms is expected as the cold air smacks into hot air. this enormous thunder clap -- [ thunder ] -- sent the players and umpires running for cover. popup storms are expected in some parts of the country. despite the storms, millions of

americans are glad miserable heat is over, at least for now. >> i have been sweating missile ts, not bullets, okay? this heat has been unbearable. >> when you're sweating to death, times you get a little angry. >> reporter: across the country, over 2,000 record highs. at least 46 people have died nationwide. in washington, d.c. yesterday, the tires of a u.s. air ways jet sunk into the melting tarmac at reagan national airport. the heat is blamed for this manhole explosion in h new york. the relief is little consolation for those still without power. >> we're so angry about is we can see people around and about out in the community sh and they have their power. >> reporter: damage in virginia by another storm. >> we were scared. just praying to god, hoping we were not going to die. >> reporter: here in washington, d.c., the temperature reached 95

or higher for a record 11 straight days. today, some relief. the high expected to be 85. rob? paula? >> tahman bradley reporting this morning. stay cool. >> love to see you power bill next month. >> yeah. time for a look at weather across the country on this monday morning. we have hail, gusty winds, a chance of tornadoes in the carolinas. thunderstorms from florida to texas. pop-up showers from minneapolis, des moines, chicago. thunderstorms from albuquerque and cheyenne. >> 101 in boise. 90s from billings to salt lake city. 80s across the midwest and northeast. in other news this morning, computer users could be dealing with a monday morning meltdown. this is doomsday for a virus that's been lurking for months. more than 50,000 compute ners

this country and more around the world could be disrupted around the world. the fbi set up a safety net to protect computers. the backup system ran out today. six u.s. service members have been killed by a road side bomb in afghanistan. an american tank ran over a bomb last night. and afghan president hamid karzai is in tokyo. a group of donees is offering $16 billion in development aid to his country. in return for the aid, afghanistan vowed to improve things and fight violence. they're counting the ballots in libya. final results will not be in for a few days. partial results give the edge to a western-leaning liberal

alliance. if that holds, it would buck the trend where arab spring movements led to elections favors islamic parties. in syria, military exercises are under way. it seems to be a warning to other countries against sbeer veening in their ongoing political violence. the international call for the regime to step down is growing louder. but president assad remains defiant. the russian president has ordered an investigation after a deadly flood over the black sea region. at least 170 people died. torrential rains dropped up to a foot of water in less than 24 hours. investigators want to know if there was advanced warning of that disaster. and back here at home, actor ernest borgnine is being

recommended for a long career. >> as abc's brad wheelis reports, borgnine did it all. >> reporter: a generation will best remember him in plaque and white as the skipper of "mchale's navy." with his gap-tooth ed smile, he was not expected to be a star. >> who's the broad? >> my sister. >> reporter: hollywood quickly cast him as the villain. but it was as marty, a gentle butcher looking for love that he became a star. >> i'm a fat little man, an ugly man. i'm ugly. i'm ugly. ma, leave me a loan. >> reporter: he 'peered in over 100 films. he played a wily general in the

dirty dozen. >> i would like to say a few words for the dear dead departed. >> reporter: and he fought for survival in the poseidon adventure. >> the bow's underwater. >> how do you know? >> reporter: there were more seri series. air wolf and the single guy. he lent his voice to the simpsons. >> don't worry kids, i'll take care of him with hi trusty -- uh -- uh -- >> reporter: he acted well into his 80s. asked about his longevity, as long as character actors are living and breathing, they can work. and he loved his work. >> he did a voiceover for "spongebob squarepants." if you don't have kids, you probably don't know who that is. >> a career that spanned a long, long time. >> may he rest in peace. coming up, the next big

thing for the auto industry. and what to watch in politics including a new tax cut proposal we'll look for today. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you?

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welcome back, everyone. the next big thing in the auto industry, it might be a truck. industry insiders think it will be the compact pickup, aimed primarily at young, male drivers. the group is looking for a

fuel-efficient pickup at an affordable price for their outdoor hobbies. overseas markets are down or flat. tokyo's nikkei average fell 124 points today. hong kong's hang seng down 348. the dow lost 108 points last week. the nasdaq index picked up two. you might call it 50 shades of green. the erotic book trilogy is expected to hit a milestone in week. 20 million copies sold. thanks to paulie, the books rank first, second, and third on the bestseller list. sales split between electronic and print edition. >> i'm waiting to borrow them from you. "spiderman" went to the top of the box office this weekend. it seemed to start slowly midweek, but spider-man took in

$65 million over the weekend. nearly double the take of "ted." and "brave" was third. a new jersey company blasted itself into fame. fireworks in san diego went off all at once. now garden state fireworks is getting more attention than it ever wanted. a lot of disappointed folks in san diego with that show. >> hey, everybody. here's the finale. and everything else. >> boom, all in one shot. when we come back, presidential politic. speaking of fireworks. president obama with a new tax cut plan and mitt romney taking criticism from his party. look out. the runaway truck that nearly diverted disaster. people keep asking me if that lady in the viva commercial

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a very close call at gas station in akron, ohio. take a look at this. you see a tractor trailer come barreling straight out of traffic and plow right into that station. eyewitnesses terrified there could still be an explosion raced to the rescue. the driver told authorities his brakes just went out. man, that could have been bad. >> unbelievable. somebody could have been in the way. there could have ban child, oh, scary. now for a look at morning road conditions. thunderstorms dremplg the south from florida to texas and oklahoma. wet highways from albuquerque to denver as well as cheyenne. if you're flying today, delays possible in charlotte and the mile-high city of denver. a battle could be looming between the president and lawmakers over tax cuts. today, the president will call for a one-year extension of the

bush tax cuts for individuals earning less than $250,000. he'll urge tax cuts for people above that to expire this year. democrats are stepping up the pressure on mitt romney to explain his finances. >> this follows new reports that romney's personal worth might top $250 million. amy walter is following the campaign. good morning, amy. >> reporter: paula and rob, house speaker john boehner said voters don't need to love mitt romney in order to vote for him because this election will not be a referendum on mitt romney. it will be a referendum of president obama and the economy. >> it's another kick in the gut to middle class families. the president's policies have not been successful. >> reporter: while voters don't need to fall in love with mitt romney. they need to like him. or at least not dislike him.

there's fresh evidence that democratic attacks are starting to get traction. there are new calls this weekend by republicans for a stronger pushback from mitt romney on some of these attacks. they say they want to see a more active and strong response from mitt romney any time that democrats try to define him. back to you, paula and rob. three boys who were seeking relief from the heat have drowned in a creek on maryland's eastern shore. the victims were two 12-year-old cousins and an 8-year-old friend. they were last seen playing basketball in the parking lot of a church on saturday. and two families in indianapolis are in trouble for leaving their children this cars in triple-difficult heat. an 18-year-old man was arrested after his 4-month-old died in a hot car. and a mother left her baby, a

16-month-old in the car to go shopping. something of a cultural exchange from havana. american college baseball stars are playing a five-game series against cuba's national squad. this is the first time this has happened since 1996. the cubans lead 3-1. the final game is tonight. and major league baseball has reached the all-star break. there's a new king of the grass courts. >> your sports highlights now from espn. good morning and welcome to your "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti. the drought at wimbledon is over. not the one we thought. roger federer. again, andy murray. break point, first set, murray. federer played in 24 grand slam finals. murray was looser out of the gate, much to the celebration in his scottish hometown. later in the set, more troubles

for federer. one way to get the swiss star's attention. third set, after a 40-minute rain delay. the court is still wet. murray finds that out the hard way. federer with incredible touch. aid by murray slipping and fall. and so were his chances for victory. federer won set three. fourth, break point for federer. pete sampras says he might have one, maybe two more wimbledon titles left in him. scary proposition for the rest of the competitors. championship point number two for title number seven. federer gets it done in four sets. he ascends to the number one ranking in the world. and a week from now, will break the all-time record for that. major league baseball. red sox-yankees at fenway. seventh inning.

andruw jones, deep and gone. yanks take 3 of 4 in the series. speaking of the yankees, team cano, team kemp, the state farm home run derby, tonight, 8:00 eastern. from talk to blood sport over the weekend at a television station. things got way out of hand. >> that's right, one politician hurled his shoe, then whipped out his gun. no shots were fired the the man without the gun plans to file attempted murder charges. >> the man with the gun just tucked it right pack in his belt. >> unbelievable. you think our politics is tough? man. another day on the job at the top of the nation's tallest building. and "the pulse" starring the high-wire daredevil in china. things did not go quite as

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battles over the custody of their to children. tmz reporting this tragedy is bringing the family together. turns out pets are good for a kid's health. babies who grow up around dogs and cats end up being healthier. >> researchers looked at kids throughout their first years. those exposed to cats and dogs had fewer ear infections. they obviously didn't poll the faris family back if the '70s and '80s. and a chinese high wire walk you have to see. back wards, blindfolded about 650 feet above a lake. no net, no harness. >> after nearly an hour, as he was closing in on his goal, he loses his balance and slips and falls. amazingly, after falling almost

100 feetings he walked away unharmed. >> could have been far, far worse. excuse me, sir, do you know how fast you were going? exactly 25 miles per hour. that makes you a safe driver. keep driving safe. -are you serious? -absolutely. i couldn't help but notice, you applied your brakes smoothly and evenly. you know, progressive rewards safe drivers. think of this as a reward forward. thank you! nice -- you stopped at the stop sign. you qualify for a safe driver discount. wow! keep safe and keep saving. it just wouldn't go away. 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

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updating the top stories now. a tornado is being blamed for destroying a packed dance studio in virginia. amazingly, only two adults were injured. time has just run out for some computer users out there. they'll be unable to get on the internet today. the fbi pulled the safety net that was protecting against malicious software called dns changer. the president is urging congress to extend middle class tax cuts. a look at weather. thunderstorms around cheyenne and albuquerque. chance of tornados in the carolinas and virginia. high drama, high above one of my favorite cities, the windy city, chicago.

>> brave crew went to the top of chicago's tallest building to tackle the removal of an antenna. >> reporter: a delicate process involving precision and a lot of guts. the task, to disable and remove the almost 30-foot abc-7 antenna on top of the willie tower. the tools -- this helicopter and these brave men working hard not to mess anything up. they climb all the way to the top and losing the bolts holding down the antenna. up comes the chopper with a long cable. at the end of it, a hook. the guys on top attach the cables from the antenna to the hook. in one careful move, the antenna is out of the tower. it's been lowered safely to a waiting truck on the ground. it's been part of the chicago skyline for 30 years. moving it is monumental.

especially for john, the man all the way at the top. he was part of the team that installed origin that will tower in the 1970s. >> i love it. a monument. to ourselves. every time we dpoup and down with dan ryan, we look up and say, we put them up there. >> reporter: the change does not affect abc-7 viewers at home. so why we move the an ten in? because technology keeps changing. improvements need to be made to get stronger television reception. sflit will be a digital signal, 1 million watts. it will increase our reception area and coverage. >> reporter: when the new antenna arrives in august, the installation will begin. >> everything went great. safety. everyone's good. >> reporter: diane pathew,