making news in america this morning -- bracing for arthur. the tropical threat churning off the coast. evacuations already under way. we're live where the storm could ruin the fourth of july. plus, the severe summer weather elsewhere that lit up the late-night sky. a raging wildfire in california's wine country with no signs of slowing. firefighters working overnight to keep the 234r5iflames away f more homes. all on a jumbo jet packed with passengers. and wild ride. a man and woman's unexpected surprise from in the water. and they get tossed from their boat.

good thursday morning, everyone. we do begin with arthur, threatening fourth of july plans for millions on the eastern seaboard. >> hurricane warnings are in effect right now for parts of north carolina's coast, where people are evacuating as arthur approaches. >> abc's marci gonzalez is there in nags head, north carolina. marci, good morning. >> good morning, reea and tahman. the wind and waves are calm here along the beach. a mild lead-up to the storm gaining strength in the atlantic and heading this way. loading up and leaving town, ahead of arthur. >> if it's mandatory, you have to go, so there's no decision to make. >> reporter: those mandatory evacuations in effect for hatteras island, north carolina, as residents and vacationers on the rest of the outer banks brace for the brunt of the storm. >> we're going to weather it out. if it gets bad enough that we have to leave, we'll go. it's hard to get into the

hurricane spirit. >> reporter: when it looks like this. >> when it looks like this. >> reporter: misleading sunshine, as arthur makes its way north. threatening to bring 80-mile-per-hour winds and coastal flooding to parts of north carolina. >> the people that live down here full-time, you can bet even though it's a 1, they're taking it seriously. >> reporter: with hurricane watches and warnings in place, the governor has declared a state of emergency for 25 counties. and lifeguards from florida to the carolinas, are already seeing the effects of arthur. >> the rip currents and stuff out here with the storm coming in. >> reporter: and as the storm comes in, business owners worry about customers heading out, ahead of the normally busy july 4th weekend. >> we're doing really good business today. but we have heard people talking about leaving. so, if they leave, then our business is going to go down. >> reporter: yeah, not the best timing. but a lot of people say they do plan to ride out the storm, even though it is expected to pass here early tomorrow morning, as

a category 1 hurricane. reena and tahman, back to you. >> marci, thanks very much to you. marci gonzalez, live this morning. the approaching storm is changing holiday plans up and down the east coast. in boston, arthur is expected to arrive tomorrow evening right around the time of the an jewel fourth of july extravaganza. instead, it will happen tonight, complete with fireworks. accuweather meteorologist stef davis joins us now. >> arthur is north-northeast of jacksonville, florida. and it will continue to push north. we expect it to reach myrtle beach, south carolina, thursday night. bringing along with it, rain of one to three inches, with wind gusts between 40 and 60 miles per hour. the worst conditions are expected thursday night into friday for the outer banks. rain between three and five inches. and wind gusts between 60 and 80 miles per hour. these are prompting some

adviso advisories. tropical storm warning for myrtle beach and virginia beach, a hurricane warning for the outer banks. people heading to the beaches on the fourth of july holiday, rough surf and strong rip currents are the biggest threat. the bulk of the rain and wind will be offshore. back to you. >> stef davis, thank you. and stay with abc news, as we track arthur's path. the very latest coming up on "good morning america." damage and power outages overnight as nasty thunderstorms go through new york city. no injuries or damages were reported. the decorative facade of a wall under the brooklyn bridge collapsed. five pedestrians were slightly injured. and north of the city, an elderly woman had to be carried from her home after raging floodwaters surrounded her house. severe weather took its toll on firefighters in vermont. seven were sent to the hospital after lightning struck near them while they were fighting a house

fire. it's believed the blaze was also started by lightning. none of the firefighters were seriously injured. but one or two were kept in the hospital overnight. the rain in northern california's wine country is feeding a wildfire. so far, the fire has destroyed two homes and seven other structures. hundreds more homes are in danger. and mandatory evacuation orders are still in place. the immigration debate is heating up in southern california. a huge crowd gathers to debate the recent influx of central american kids entering the country illegally. more than 700 people showed up for a community meeting in marietta. where the mayor says it feel dumped on by the federal government. angry protesters blocked three buses carrying undocumented women and children from processing centers in texas. a woman facing terrorism

charges after she allegedly fell in love with an i.s.i.s. fighter online. documents revealed that shannon conley planned to marry her 32-year-old suitor and join his camp. conley is a nurse's aide with military training. the fbi says she was bent on waging jihad. there's another wave of violence in the middle east overnight. more than a dozen israeli air strikes aimed at hamas targets in gaza. at least ten palestinians were injured as rockets rained down near a hamas training camp. palestinians have accused israeli extremists of killing an arab teenager to avenge the murder of three israeli teens. testimony in the murder trial of oscar pistorius could conclude as early as today. the last witness is on the stand. in court yesterday, part of a psychologist report was read, stating that pistorius is suffering depression and

posttraumatic stress disorder, since he shot and killed rieeva steenka steenkamp. toronto mayor, rob ford, is out with some stark admissions now that he's back on the job. during interviews yesterday, ford said he used, quote, every drug you can probably think of. those include marijuana, cocaine, crack and mushrooms. but ford says he never used heroin. he also admitted drinking at city hall. but says he never used drugs there. >> good luck to him. >> yeah. just in came for independence day, a large group of new americans have just been sworn in in atlanta. >> nearly 1,100 people from 20 countries took their citizenship oath yesterday at turner field, the home of the braves. similar ceremonies will be taking place all across the country this weekend. >> one of the men who became a citizen, said his first job in america was to clean the same stadium 14 years ago. congrats to all of them.

>> welcome to america. coming up, better late than never. the story of a letter that arrived more than three decades after it should have. and planes are forced to land for all reasons. but flooding? the water problem at 30,000 feet in the air. plus, catch of the day. a baseball game vendor steals the show from the stands.

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this morning, all eyes are on the june unemployment report. as of last month, the u.s. economy has now recovered all of 9 million jobs it lost. the great recession six years ago. and a report says the private

sector went on a hiring spree last month, adding more jobs than expected. the market riding high with the dow and s&p 500 breaking records again yesterday. chrysler says this is the most powerful muscle car ever. the dodge challenger srt is rated at more than 700 horsepower. it has the most powerful v8 engine the company has ever produced. the hell cat, as they call it, will go on sale this summer. no word on how many miles to the gallon it gets. and the price of beer is on the rise, particularly microbrews. hops prices are going up. microbrews use more hops than regular beer. and increasing popularity of microbrews is why there's a shortage. 7-eleven has doritos loaded. a pack of four costs $1.99.

the doritos crust has the same texture as a mozzarella stick. >> we would eat anything at this hour, frankly. and what about this? some cotton candy flavored coda would be perfect? >> bring it on. >> yeah? >> the folks at faygo beverage company in detroit. the blue-colored cotton candy soda is their 54th flavor. cotton candy soda? >> i don't know. but i need to step away to get some food. all these foods. >> there's crusty bagels at the break room. when we come back, danger beneath the water. a man fishing at a pond is attacked by a gator. hear from the woman who carried him to safety. plus, royal surprise. what happened at wimbledon that put these expressions on kate and will's faces.

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driving, they should make sure their windshield wipers are working. the roads will be wet and sometimes flooded on the eastern seaboard. there will be rain in big sky country. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in boston, washington, philadelphia, new york and charlotte. qantas airways says it's trying to determine what caused a water leak on one of its flights. >> water rained through the ceiling of the double-decker a-380 jet tuesday night after takeoff from l.a.x. it was headed to australia. but as the water flowed, the pilot turned the plane around, returning back to l.a. >> yeah. you couldn't keep going 15 hours like that. >> the airline said there were no safety concerns because of the leak. but it's getting to the bottom of how it happened. the 400 or so passengers were put in hotels and rebooked for another flight to australia yesterday morning. emergency crews are working this morning to clear train tracks outside pittsburgh after

a derailment and fire. investigators believe one train rear-ended another, derailing three cars within seconds. two fuel tanks caught fire, sending huge plumes of black smoke and flames into the air, dangerously close to homes and businesses. >> we heard a big crash. it was like the loudest crash ever. we all looked over from the pool, over towards the railroad. and the biggest ball of flame i've seen in my life. >> as a precaution, nearby residents were evacuated until the fire was put out. one of the trains had residue of ethanol, which can be toxic around flames. crews hope to reopen the tracks later today. tour buses for two classic rock bands went up in flames in a philadelphia parking lot. the two buses belonged to styx and foreigner. the fire started of one of them and spread to the other. they were parked and unaccompanied at the time. the bands are going to perform

in jersey tonight as scheduled. a scary situation from a state park near houston. an alligator attacked an elderly man who was fishing there. the gator measured about eight feet long. it bit the man on the hand after he fell down when running away from it. luckily for him, a good samaritan came to the rescue. >> the alligator bit him in the hand. i was running. and i stopped and just ran back, pulled him up and ran with him. >> wildlife officials captured the animal and eventually put it down. the man will be fine. there will be a new men's champion at wimbledon now that andy murray has been defeated. he lost in straight sets yesterday to a player from bulgaria. >> murray became the first british player to win the wimbledon title in 77 years. but hes was overmatched yesterday, admitting afterward his opponent was the better player, start to finish. >> and will and kate were at the

match. the anguish, written on their faces. >> always looking good, though. there's one more day of rest today for the teams still involved in the world cup. >> in the meantime, we'll get some baseball highlights from our chatty friends at espn. >> good morning. welcome to our "sportscenter" set in los angeles. i'm stan verrett, with neil evere everett. >> you didn't say good morning, america. >> what if there's people watching not in america. >> good point. >> or in america, not american. >> it doesn't matter where you are. you love baseball. if you're a dodger fan, you don't love brian wilson. he allowed just one run in his last 16 2/3. but he would give up three in 1/3 against cleveland. dodgers have a chance. two on. two outs. bottom ninth. matt kemp. and you need another two or three scoops of wheaties. cleveland holds on for the 5-4

win. giants taking on the cardinals. top third. no score. two runners on for matt carpenter. carpenter fielded something. oscar tavares comes in to score. 1-0, st. louis. later in the third, same score. matt holliday, ready to celebrate. mark ellis scores. adam wainwright did the job. cardinals win it, 2-0. >> so, dodger fans are happy the giants lost. the giants fans are happy the dodgers lost. >> or the other way around. >> see how well we work together? that's all we got. >> all right, guys. appreciate you. a great catch to show you from the majors. but it didn't happen on the field. it was in detroit. and it is our "play of the day." >> foul ball in the stands behind third base. and look who caught it, a vendor using his ice-filled bin. he was nice enough to hand it off to a fan. >> and he took a bow.

it was well-deserved. great going. somebody give that vendor a contract. >> absolutely. >> it wouldn't have been nearly independence day without a wiener dog race, right? >> that's what they're doing, right there in pittsburgh. it was the tenth annual wiener 100 dachshund races. >> some took a straighter path to the finish line than others did. but they all got their eventually. and their owners love them no matter if they won or lost, which is the point, right? >> yeah. >> it's all about running the race. >> they're cute. >> they are. up next in "the pulse." surprisingly we're not loving it. the results of fast food titans. and caught on camera. a behemoth capsizes a 20-foot boat. is coming up... have agreed to... kid for a night.

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you can get a 4-star hotel for up to 60% off, even at the last minute. in the neighborhood where we wanna go? yes. you just won't the name until after you book. hmm. ooh. definitely. it's all about sleep. it's not all about sleep. yeah, well, for me it is. lucky me. ♪ time, now, to check "the pulse," the stories you'll be talking about today, starting with a new guide, of sorts, for fast food lovers. >> maybe they want to steer clear of the golden arches. a consumer reports sur faye on fast food said mcdonald's has the worst tasting burger of all.

>> when it comes to tacos and burritos, taco bell came dead-last. and chicken, kfc is the bottom of the bucket. >> i like the doritos loco things. >> i like all of them. the 2 cent stamp gave it away. a letter mailed 80 years ago was found just last week. it was in the incoming mail. but the person to whom it was addressed, is no longer alive. there was an apology for taking so long to write. >> dearest mother, i'm just getting around to writing. and i imagine you have been anxiously awaiting a letter all week. there's lots of things to tell you, too. and she goes on. >> the letter may have been stuck in sorting equipment all these years. but sometimes pranksters deposit letters in mailboxes just to

cause a stir like this. >> pranksters. i want to know the 90-year-old man who had it. >> exactly. and two people hoping to catch a whale or two on camera off the coast of san diego got much more than they bargained for. >> they were snapping away when an enormous blue whale slammed into their boat. it was no contest. the boat turned over. and they got dumped in the water. but help came quickly. and they ended up with plenty of pictures of their extremely up close and personal look at that whale. ironically, they were whale watching, if you can believe that. >> they'll be tweeting out those pics. >> you have big plans for the fourth of july? >> headed back to washington. i might do a water sport activity. maybe a picnic. >> picnic sounds good. barbecue, maybe. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, team usa's tim howard and his high school

yearbook quote that's right on point. that's your guy, right? tim howard? >> i love him. ♪ abe! get in! punch it! let quicken loans help you save your money. with a mortgage that's engineered to amaze! thanks, g.

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>> the search will resume this morning for a boater who vanished whilen the delaware river. "action news" is next. thunderstorms will extend from the gulf coast up into texas. and it will be hot in the west. so, finally this half hour, back to the world cup. >> yeah. the quarterfinals get under way tomorrow without the united states. and as you likely know, team usa bowed out tuesday, despite a

valiant effort, particularly from goalkeeper, tim howard. your favorite. >> my absolute favorite. now that the team is coming home, howard is getting plenty of attention. abc's paula faris reports. >> again, tim howard. >> reporter: goalie, tim howard, saved his best performance for the world's biggest stage. in spite of it all, team usa falling to belgium 2-1. howard, his voice still hoarse from that epic match. >> our heads are high because we couldn't have given any more. sometimes you don't win. but we're proud of ourselves. >> reporter: amazing success for howard, whose own mother once worried his tourette's syndrome would keep him from becoming a star. >> i was concerned that people who met him would not be able to see past the ticks and switches to the person that tim was. >> reporter: with each save, howard's popularity on the

internet, surging. a #thingstimhowardcouldsave, took off with these photos. there he is saving the "titanic." this quote from his high school yearbook. it will take a nation of millions to hold me back. and as the u.s. team prepares to head home, a simple message on twitter from the belgium team captain that says, #respect. reena and tahman? >> 21.5 million people watched the match in the u.s. you have anything to say about your boo? >> he's clearly a ratings drawer. what about tim howard for "the view." he would be a great co-host. >> i would love to have him as a co-host. >> i know you would. throw me out. i'm out of here. >> come on back. that's what's making news in america.

>> we are working on several developing stories on this thursday july 3.ng on several a frantic search will resume for a man whose sale boat capsized on the delaware river. >> a thunderstorm that brought rain and flooding and lightning to parts of the tri-state area a live report is coming up. >> a hurricane and stormy weather is bearing down on coastal cities. good morning, everyone, we'll have more on the stories. >>