this morning, dang damage and destruction. >> the end of the summer slam, thanks to powerful storms, outages, flooding, towned trees from florida to maine. the president on letterman. the first words since romney rocked the famous 47%. regis philbin, announcing his new daytime tv gig, one he doesn't plan to get up too early for. and jennifer aniston's new role, pregnant with triplets. her hilarious new video, not afraid to make fun of herself.

good morning, everybody. i'm john muller. >> and i'm sunny hostin. paula and rob are on assignments. we begin this wednesday, with millions of people on the east coast, dealing with the aftermath of a wicked storm. >> the powerful weather system, leaving a huge mess in its wake. from the maryland shores, to manhattan sidewalks, the fierce storm caused chaos, as high winds and heavy rains, delivering a dangerous double-punch. as the cold front swept in from the west, the system barreled up the east coast. a corporate jet trying to land in blinding rain in macon, georgia, hydroplaning and crashing. more than eight inches in rain in towns outside of philadelphia. and millions of people in the new york area, spending hours under a tornado watch, as power lines snapped and trees were tossed on to houses and cars. and this morning, up and down the i-95 corridor, from washington, d.c. to boston, utility crews will be scrambling to restore electricity to tens

of thousands of people, as chain saws roar into action, cleaning up the debris. autumn arrives in three days. but the summer of 2012 is not leaving quietly. stay with us. sam champion tracking it all. he'll have the latest on this wild weather coming up on "good morning america." and now, to the storm growing over the romney campaign after those remarks on hidden videotape. >> running mate paul ryan defends the comments. but also calls romney, quote, obviously inarticulate. and president obama has weighed in, as well. here's abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: appearing on cbs' "late show with david letterman," president obama threw an elbow at mitt romney, for his controversial comments, that almost half of americans view themselves as victims. >> one thing i've learned as president, is you represent the entire country. my expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody. not just for some. >> reporter: it was the president's first time weighing

in on the secret video, showing romney telling wealthy donors that 47% of the country is dependent on government. >> they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. >> reporter: since the tape's release, the romney campaign has been scrambling to control the damage. romney, last night, on fox news. >> we were, of course, talking about a campaign and how ease going to get close to half the vote. i'm going to get half the vote. i want to get 50.1% or more. >> reporter: launching this web video, with chicagoans reacting. >> it shows he's out of touch. >> reporter: the controversy comes at an awful time for the gop nominee. he's falling behind president obama in most polls. and the comments highlight one of his weaknesses. voters don't believe his empathetic. a recent abc news/"washington post" poll found that 58% of americans thought that romney would favor the wealthy over the middle class. pointing to an audio recording

of state senator obama, 14 years ago, appearing to endorse wealth redistribution. the obama campaign called the attack desperate. john and sunny? >> tahman bradley in washington. thank you. overseas news. a french satire magazine is publishing cartoons of the prophet muhammad today, which could ignite flames. it put out an issue that supposedly gets edited and got the offices firebombed. the magazine is claiming its right to free speech. nato commanders have ordered a temporary halt to rejoin operations with afghan troops that are the cornerstone of the west exit strategy. the move come after a spike in nato troops killed by afghan counterparts. the so-call insider attacks, as the turmoil over that film rages on. and in beijing, the american ambassador got swept up in a protest against japan. chinese demonstrators surrounded

his car, which is close to the japanese embassy. the incident comes as american embassies around the world are on high alert. investigators are trying to figure out what caused this explosion and fire at a gas pipeline facility on the texas/mexico border. at least 26 people died in the accident near the city of reynosa, across from miguel in texas. hundreds of thousands of students head back to the classroom this morning in chicago. striking teachers have agreed to return to work after more than a week after walngicket lines. one of the main sticking points over teacher evaluations appears to have been resolved. the city agreed to reduce the emphasis on student test scores. the teachers also agreed on a longer school day. the catholic church has been hit with a new round of allegations in the child sex abuse scandal. eight new lawsuits claim the

archdiocese of philadelphia covered up child sexual assault allegations against seven convicted catholic priests. william lynn is among those named in the lawsuit. space shuttle "endeavour" takes off for its final resting place in california. the flight from florida had been delayed for two days because of stormy weather en route. the entire spacecraft will spend tonight in houston before taking off again for los angeles. >> all right. time, now, for the weather across the nation. all that rain clearing out in the northeast, except for a few lingering showers in maine. scattered thunderstorms in florida. showers in the upper midwest, from minneapolis to the canadian border. up to ten degrees warmer than normal in the pacific midwest. >> 76 in seattle. mostly 80s in the rockies and great plains. 70s from boston all the way down to atlanta. and when we come back, what some people are doing today just to get a free doughnut. and pink slips aed a major airline. why american is ready to let thousands of mechanics and ground workers go. and later, regis philbin,

trading his morning retirement for a new gig.

welcome back. the belt-tightening at american airlines is under way. the bankrupt carrier has notified more than 11,000 workers they could lose their jobs. and it's cutting flights this fall. and with the pilots staging unofficial job actions, at least one travel writer says american is unreliable. and travelers should choose another airline. there is another sign this morning of how tough it is to buy a home. mortgage lending last year hit

its lowest point in 16 years, a combination of weak demand for the loans and tighter standards for the borrowers. lending activity fell in most areas. they were hit hard by the foreclosures and the falling prices. things just keep getting better and better for apple. its stock closed at more than $700 a share yesterday, thanks to the strong presales for the iphone 5. investors apparently believe the company's revenue will keep growing. apple's stock is up 73% just this year. it was already the world's most valuable company. and if you absolutely, positively have to be the first on your block with an iphone 5, and don't want to wait online, there's always ebay. bidding for an unlocked phone that will work on canadian service, is above $11,000 now. but it does come with free shipping. american phones are running $900 and up. you can get a free doughnut

today if you don't mind acting a little foolishly. it's talk like a pirate day at krispy kreme. you will get a dozen doughnuts if you dress up like a pirate. >> i can do that. >> i'm not going to do that. i think i just did it for enough people. right? >> it was good. >> it was all right. coming up, a sports marat n marathon. not on the track, on the baseball field. a little fun got lifeguards in hot water. now, people are coming to their rescue. an awesome display of nature's fury. a breath-taking spectacle called a firenado. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places

and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme. from your eyes, causing irritation and dryness. really? [ male announcer ] revive your eyes with visine®. only visine® has hydroblend to soothe, restore and protect eyes for up to 10 hours of comfort. aaaahhh... [ male announcer ] visine® with hydroblend. for up to 10 hours of comfort. aaaahhh... almay primer the first step to a beautiful look a swirl of green correcting your color a twirl of lavender "...brightening your glow" together, these two colors create the perfect canvas

just a second. just, just one second. ♪ get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. for wherever life takes you. and now qualified buyers can get 0% apr financing for 48 months on a 2012 cruze. ♪ begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. and looking at a rare sight captured on camera. 100-foot flames swirling into a so-called firenado. the spinning inferno popped up

in the australian outback, after a week of brush fire there's. the filmmaker who took it, happened to be in the area scouting for locations for a video. it sounded like a jet engine and lasted for 40 minutes. and now, for a look at morning road conditions. slick spots in the upper midwest, around the twin cities, green bay and the upper peninsula of michigan. a wet commute in maine. and showers could dampen roads in florida, anywhere to the south of jacksonville. >> if you're flying, it should be easy going. weather-related airport delays are expected in boston and miami. and speaking of travel, prince william and kate have wrapped up their visit to the solomon islands. >> the royal couple return home, after scored a legal victory in the battle over the topless photos of kate. here's abc's bob woodruff. >> reporter: just as the court's decision w coming down, will and kate were enjoying some regal treatment. it would be a happier day for the famed couple, certainly

worth a little dance. the french court's ruling prohibits the magazine called "closer" from publishing anymore of the pictures of kate. while demanding the digital copies be returned to the royal family within 24 hours. but the magazine has sold 400,000 copies. and the photos have been published in ireland and italy. next, the royals want criminal charges brought against the magazine and an investigation into who took the topless pictures of kate. >> williams' very angry. this type of photography and journalism won't be tolerated. >> reporter: the photographer could spend up to a year in jail. the royal couple determined to seek justice. bob woodruff, abc news, solomon islands. a former yale university student is being held in california on a $1 million bail, accused of making threatening comments online. 21-year-old eric ye allegedly posted on espn's website that he

was watching children and wouldn't mind killing them. there was mention of an aurora, colorado, style massacre. police linked the comments to the home where ye lives with his parents. they found several guns in the home which overlooks two schools. 13 california lifeguards and their manager, fighting to get their jobs back. ♪ >> they were fired because of this spoof of the dance craze "gangnam style." officials found they used the city resources without permission. hundreds of supporters turned out for a city council meeting last night. no decision, yet. but the mayor has launched a new investigation. give me a break. give them their job back. intriguing scrap of paper is renewing a debate. did jesus have a wife? a harvard scholar has revealed a paper that contains the phrase,

quote, jesus said to them, my wife. it goes on to say, quote, she will be able to be my disciple. karen king, the harvard professor, is asking other experts to weigh in. the driving force behind nfl films has died. steve sabol was the nfl films president. he started the network with his father in the 1960s. and it revolutionized how sports is broadcast on tv. he died yesterday, after battling cancer. in sports, a wild night in baseball. one game just wrapping up. we'll get to that in a moment. first, a series of blowouts across the big leagues. we get the highlights from espn news. >> good morning. randy scott here with your "sportscenter" update. justin verlander won the mvp award for the tigers last season. he wants to keep the mvp in the "d" this season. miguel cabrera, looks like he has moves. tigers, hosting the athletics last night. bottom three.

that's miguel cabrera. that's gone. that's his 39th of the year, but his 1st of the night. in the eighth, the bases loaded. the tigers up sixth. and that's a grand slam. his 40th of the year. rangers and angels. mike scoscia's boys trying to keep pace in the wild card. that's tanner sheppard, with a wild pitch. iannetta scores. he's in behind him. the angels would get eight runs in that inning alone. and later, erick aybar, a little more insurance, adding to that lead. 11-3, your final. the halos win. astros/cardinals. st. louis. 8 of 11, taking on a team that -- that's kyle lohse. he's a pitcher. he's working the dish in the bottom of the fifth. plates a run. next batter. that will go to left center. and lohse comes in to score. and the way he pitched, that's

fine. seven scoreless innings. the cardinals win. 4-1, your final. espn's wednesday night baseball tonight from the motor city. coverage starts at 7:00. justin verlander on the mound for the tigers. i'm randy scott. have a great day. and finally, some sleep for seattle baseball fans. but they went to bed unhappy. the mariners and the orioles went to 18 innings before taylor teagarden blooped a base hit in right field to bring in the go-ahead run. baltimore won 4-2. the game went 5:44, ending just short of 1:00 a.m. seattle time. >> they're a little tired. >> 18 innings. >> 18 innings. up next, "the pulse," with jennifer aniston sporting a giant baby bump. and call him the brew master in chief. the president opens up about that new hobby. and regis philbin, finding a new home on daytime tv. hi, i'm phil mickelson.

i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you.

[ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine it'and start talking aboutt whawhat you really wanthroom. from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft and strong is stronger than the leading value brand, for a confident clean. we might still be making mix tapes. find this. pause this. play this. eject this. write this. it's like the days before esurance express lane™. you had to find a bunch of documents just to get a car insurance quote. now express lane finds your driving info with just one click, saving time to be nostalgic about the days before express lane. thank you, insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec®

at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. well, it's time to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today. and it wasn't all serious local talk when president obama paid a visit to the late show last night. >> david letterman asked him about a little side project at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> is it true you're making beer in the white house? >> that is true. >> is that legal? >> i don't know. >> we'll look into that. >> we got a little operation going there. you know, if the president sees this thing doesn't work out, well you know, have a little microbrewery thing going on. >> yes, when the president came out, there was an empty seat joke. that clint eastwood routine with

the chair is still good for some laughs. >> got to love it. is it legal? i don't know. >> you tried to make some beer, right? >> me and a buddy tried to brew beer in college. three weeks. we followed all the directions. we bought all of the material. it was awful. >> maybe the president's is a little better. >> he probably has great help. we were flying blind. when regis left "live" last year, he made it clear he was not retiring. he's back on the air for another morning show. this time, paired with rachael ray. >> reege will be joining the perky ray one morning a month. the 81-year-old host said when the offer time in, he couldn't refuse. he can't cook a thing. well, jennifer aniston is turning heads with her new viral n a o, as she's poking fun at new ad. >> the commercial was a spoof on what might be going on behind aniston's closed doors. it takes place on her home

security tapes. it's tabloid fodder, including a comical baby bump. take a look. >> oh, god. oh, god. oh. so much better. how are my triplets doing? >> pretty good there. aniston had fun with her rachel hair-do. there's cameos by jimmy kimmel. ryan seacrest acting as a host of a fake magazine show. >> that's nice, right? see her poking fun at herself. she has been the subject of all of this tabloid stuff. is she progress? is she not pregnant? >> now, she has triplets and the rachel hair was a wig. how little we knew. very good. for some of you, the local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be

back with shark researchers turned shark wranglers. and getting up close with a real great white.

♪me and you - a little rendezvous.♪ ♪that little reward for all the things you do.♪c1: luscious, creamy filling - combined with our slow melting chocolate - the one and only ghirardelli squares chocolate. for all the things you do. ghirardelli. moments of timeless pleasure. try our caramel, now with sea salt.

updating the top stories. classrooms in chicago reopen this morning after the teachers union voted to end its strike. both sides agree that the new contract is not perfect. but call it an honest compromise. president obama responds for the first time on those remarks that were made on that hidden tape about mitt romney. mr. obama, the president, has to work for the entire country, he says, as president, and not just some people. the shuttle "endeavour" takes off this morning for its final flight. it travels across country, atop a jumbo jet. first, a stop in houston before arriving in los angeles. a quick look at today's weather. warmer than normal in the pacific northwest. pop-up thunderstorms for much of florida. and a few lingering showers in maine. and finally this morning, hooking a big one off the coast of cape cod. >> yeah. real big.

scientists and fishermen, combing the waters of new england, searching for great whites. and they managed to wrangle a 2,000-pounder. liam martin of our boston station got onboard. >> reporter: we're about three miles off the coast of chattham, on the world's only vessel that can catch, capture, tag and research the ocean's top predator. >> they're breeding here with the bloodwork. >> reporter: this is the architect. chris fisher of "shark wranglers." the goal is to pull great whites onboard so they can tag and study them. and on thursday, they got the catch of a lifetime. >> whoa. >> reporter: she's been dubbed genie, a 15-foot great white. scientists were able to attach this tracking device, an axel rommer the to her dorsal fin. and release her. researchers have been tracking genie ever since. >> for the first time, a north atlantic white shark was

spot-tagged. now, we'll be able to solve the puzzle of her life. >> reporter: learning that pattern will tell researchers where genie breeds and gives birth. that information is vital to protecting her. >> they're under assault right now. up to 70 million sharks a year are killed for a bowl of soup in china. >> reporter: the operation is expensive. a $2 million endeavor and relies on donors. joshua morrow of "the young and the restless" is one of the contributors. and this shark expert says the recent increase of great white populations off massachusetts means this could be a common sight going forward. >> there's clear indications that we're taking more and more each year. we went from tagging eight in 2011, to now, we're over 15, 16, in 2012. >> reporter: liam martin, news center 5. >> amazing stuff. >> yeah. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "goo