tv Good Morning America ABC August 12, 2014 7:00am-9:01am EDT
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good morning, america. the life and death of robin williams. >> in this class you need to call me mr. keating. slightly more daring, captain, my captain. >> the actor found dead after battling severe depression, the news sending shock waves through hollywood and across america. >> we'll miss him. he left way too early. >> now his daughter speaks out overnight. >> and an outpouring of grief. >> it's shocking how fragile life is. >> for the man who made us laugh and cry as an alien. >> nanu nanu. >> a genie. ♪ you ain't never had a friend like me ♪ >> a nanny. >> hello! >> and everything in between. >> fussy, fussy, you do martha graham, martha graham. >> good morning, vietnam! >> whoo! >> celebrating robin williams
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this morning in a special edition of "gma." >> you make us feel good, robin. >> thank you. it's a good job. it's my day job. >> and we do say good morning, america. and, boy, he did make us feel so good about everything and, ah, we are all in such, you know, like everybody else when they first learned about this, he was such a friend to all of us here at "good morning america." big part of so many people's lives and the disney company and all that he did. >> lit up the entire studio every time he came to "gma" with his incredible, incredible humor. president obama speaking out overnight releasing a statement saying "he was one of a kind. he arrived in our lives as an alien but he ended up touching every element of the human
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spirit." nanu nanu as he would say. >> indeed and there it is. take a look. there's robin williams' star on the hollywood walk of fame and the tributes just continue to pour in since the news broke. one person leaving a very simple note, we will miss you, rest in peace. >> indeed and cecilia vega is outside the san francisco home made famous in his hit movie "mrs. doubtfire." she has the latest for us. good morning, see seal ya. >> reporter: good morning to you. that's right. this is that famous home indeed. this memorial growing. republic was last seen alive at his home in marin county, california, on sunday evening. police now calling this an apparent suicide but the exact cause of his death remains under investigation. >> maybe you're perfect right now. >> reporter: outside the northern california home of oscar-winning actor robin williams overnight, so much sadness for a man who brought so much laughter. mourners paying their respects just hours after the 63-year-old actor was found dead.
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investigators calling it a suspected suicide. police saying a 911 call came in just before noon reporting that a man unconscious and not breathing had been found inside williams' home. the comedic great pronounced dead at 12 o 02 p.m. his spokesperson saying lately he has been battling severe depression. last month williams checked himself into rehab, a follow-up to treatment he received eight years ago at a substance abuse rehabilitation center for drinking. >> he definitely said he had a drinking problem and that was the issue that he had most recently had to deal with. >> reporter: williams is survived by three children, zachary, zelda and cody. williams' familiar is in mourning, his wife susan schneider said, "i lost my husband and my best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and human
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beings." >> reporter: his final tweet a 25th birthday wish two weeks ago to his daughter sell d.a., always my baby girl. sell d.a. tweeting overnight "i love you, i miss you. i'll try to keep looking up." >> and those tributes coming from from all over the country. this memorial here at this iconic landmark. flowers, kabdzles all being left for a man who brought us so much joy. police are expected to update us on the status of the investigation into his death in just a few hours. >> thank you very much. and the tributes like that all across the country. in fact, in boston, that bench that he sat on for "good will hunting" putting a tribute to him there in that park. >> he was going to reprise that role as mrs. doubtfire. we were so excited about that and his genius touched so many generations. rank limitless, versatility through comedy and drama. he got his first big break on
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"happy days," 1978. look at this appearing -- he'll take richie cunningham back with him and breakout role in "mork & mindy" and chris connelly has a look back at this unique career. >> reporter: he began in the 1970s as the most relentlessly funny comedian of the age. jokes impressions and insights. >> flipping now. >> i'm melting. help me. help me. >> reporter: the sitcom "mork & mindy" became a showcase for his quick silver wit and dazzled on television and talk shows. >> i told you, i saw it first. >> reporter: soon the movies would utilize his rapid-fire always switched on skills. an armed forces radio deejay in 1987's "good morning, vietnam." the voice of the genie in the
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animated hit "aladdin." >> 10,000 years will give you such a crick in the neck. >> reporter: and massacre raiding as a british nanny in "mrs. doubtfire." >> hello clom. >> yet he was more than a funny man. robin williams would make his greatest mark on the movies playing characters of compassion as a teacher in "dead poets society." >> we must constantly look at things in a different way. >> reporter: as a doctor looking after children in "patch adams" and as a therapist counseling matt damon's math student in "good will hunting." >> you don't know about real loss because it only happens when you love something more than yourself. >> reporter: for which he would win a supporting actor oscar. >> this might be the one time i'm speechless. >> reporter: leads others to hope in the wake of despair he did that in real life too entering the hospital room of his classmate christopher reeve after the depth that paralyzed him. he worked alongside whoopi
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goldberg and billy crystal for the charity comic relief and on the 9/11 tribute. more recently he played darker obsessive roles in "one hour photo." last year he starred on "the crazy ones," his first sitcom since "mork & mindy" and reunited with his old co-star pam dawber. >> you're like an alien. >> reporter: for the millions delighted by his inexhaustible comic gift or moved by his wellspring of deep feeling that williams voice has been stilled forever is an occasion for sadness and tribute. >> thank you, boys. thank you. >> this is not a farewell anyone wanted to see because no performer was ever more generous with his comic gift than he was. david? >> all right, chris connelly, our thanks to you. pam dawber saying overnight she was completely heartbroken and speechless like so many friends and other actors who worked with him over the years. >> hearing from so many of them.
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>> indeed we are. the tributes for robin williams have been rolling in all night and as robin just mentioned the bench in boston from one of his most famous scenes in the movie "good will hunting," well, fans are writing notes in chalk in it including his line "your move, chief." one of the many ways fans are remembering this unmatched talent this morning. overnight hundreds of onlookers stopped by the hollywood walk of fame leaving permanent notes and flowers, by the star of robin williams. eager for a chance to say good-bye to a legend. >> he was like a ray of sunshine in a way. >> like a fuzzy teddy bear. >> the whole captain my captain standing on the deck. i almost felt like doing that today. >> reporter: outside the laugh factory where he first took the stage in 1982. paul rodriguez got choked up talking about him. >> i'm not the only one. everybody in america tonight i'm sure felt like, wow, you know, you got punched in the tom. >> reporter: at the premiere of
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"expendables 3" sylvester stallone expressed dismay. >> i knew robin from the '70s. it's just shocking how fragile life is. >> reporter: and henry winkler who met williams on the "happy days" set -- >> you met him and there was a wave of warmth that swept out of him that covered you hike a blanket. >> we're absolutely stunned. >> reporter: conan o'brien got word of williams passing as his show was almost done taping and came back on set with guest will arnett to share the news with the audience. >> as funny as he was he's truly one of the all-time greats, he was even better as a person. he was even more fantastic as -- he was just the loveliest sweetest one of the kindest guys. >> reporter: his legends of celebrity friends paying their respects. "mork & mindy" co-star pam dawber released a statement saying "i am completely and totally devastated. what more can be said." ben stiller tweeted "a tweet
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cannot begin to describe the hugeness of robin williams heart and sale and talent" and billy crystal tweeted simply "no words." and robin williams was a great friend and legacy here at disney. our chairman and ceo bob iger saying overnight we're deeply saddened by the loss of robin williams. a wonderfully gifted man who touched our hearts and never failed to make us laugh. an incredible actor and a comedic genius. robin will always be remembered for bringing some of the world's favorite characters to life. indeed he will. >> well said there by bob. thank you, lara. joining us for more is larry hackett the former editor of "people" magazine, always a good friend of the program. you saw in lara's piece, he was beloved by everyone in the hollywood community. >> he really was. he was someone who was hollywood royalty. you could tell by the reaction people had he will be unbelievably missed. we talk about genius and when someone dies unexpectedly everybody is beloved. this man truly was.
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you would watch him on television. my favorite of the talk shows with carson and others, and you just strapped in and you just unbelievably were amazed by the associations he could make and you were laughing. lots of people are funny but to be funny and see those kind of comic connections to reference martha graham and arnold schwarzenegger in one sentence was something to behold. >> it was and we were fortunate to be able to see it here on this program and people all across the world and this iis when i love social media. everybody was sharing their favorite movie and line. what do you think ultimately his legacy will be. >> i think an incredible joy and an incredible humanity. when something like this happens, you look back at that person's life but you also -- it's about your life. when you first saw "mork & mindy" or for my children when they saw "mrs. doubtfire" or "aladdin." everyone has their own permanent memory that informs their own life. there is nothing about the man that go joy and humanity and reaching out to the audience.
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he could be cynical and ironic and a bit cutting but never came from a place of hate or meanness. it was 40 years of celebration about what life was about. >> i can't remember who sent out a tweet so appropriate and said the man who made us laugh made us so happy couldn't find happiness himself and i think that's what really took people aback. very familiar because he was very open about his addiction but not the depression. >> but it's what made him human, as well. everything he did, all of his roles whether it was the kind of manic comedy or more serious roles you could just tell there was a humanity coming out of there and pain and suffering is part of that. it's part of comedy. we didn't know about the depression or the substance abuse. it was a shock when it happened but you just -- you know, he had surgery about six years ago and clearly affected -- open heart surgery and notions of mortality crept into what he was feeling. so an extension of that could be the suppression but it's not only tragic and horrible but perhaps makes him human and someone we can connect to. >> we will remember him with a
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big smile on our face. >> absolutely. >> larry, thank you very much for coming in. we do appreciate it. we'll talk more about robin throughout the morning but now to the morning's other top developing stories with amy robach. >> yes, good morning. we begin with a second night of violence near st. louis. police firing smoke grenades at protesters furious over the police shooting of an unarmed teenager and shows the looting and chaos and the fbi is getting involved and steve osunsami is there with the latest. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, amy. the streets were busy again last night with so many people trying to meet at this burned down quick trip which has become the valleying point for young people protesting the death of this unarmed teen. police used tear gas and rubber bullets to send people home. michael brown's grieving parents are asking for peace saying if they don't get it they may close off their son's funeral. i spoke with them last night. they were heartbroken demanding justing from local police and
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they may release the name of the officer who killed their son today. they say he or a friend fought with the officer but the family says that's just not true. amy. >> still so many questions. steve osunsami, thank you. now to the crisis in iraq, the u.s. has conducted its fifth air drop of food and water to refugees fleeing the isis terrorist group. the pentagon admits despite nearly 20 air strikes the isis fighters are as strong as ever and just this morning they posted a new message online threatening the united states. meanwhile, president obama is pledging support for iraq's newly nominated prime minister, but the current prime minister, nuri al maliki is refusing to leave office. well, more than 1,000 people have now died in the ebola outbreak in west africa. overnight we learned the latest victim a missionary priest from spain evacuated from liberia last week. the world health organization is now supporting the use of experimental drugs in treating patients. and take a look at this video from the pacific.
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a cargo ship rescued three on this sailboat that became disabled in 30-foot waves in hurricane julio winds gusting up to 150 miles an hour broke the mast but everyone okay remarkably. it's being called the world's largest backyard pool. a man near houston spent $3 million to build a swimmer's dream. it features a 21-foot slide, a rock waterfall. a rope swing, a spa that fits 30 people. there's also a 500-foot lazy river and there you see it, a swim up bar. the owner, though, has invited everyone in town over for a swim. to word on how he will get them out of his pool. >> exactly. florida exactly. >> they're never going to leave. >> with the heat in houston the pool comes in handy. to all the flooding and heavy rains and storms heading for the northeast. ginger, you have the latest. >> a natural pool on highways in the detroit area. i-75 closed for a bit.
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video from yesterday around the detroit area all parts of m mid-michigan, southeastern michigan shutting down that highway for parts at a time and up to a half foot of rain, storms like that move to the east and so you can see there are some bull's-eyes in parts of pennsylvania and up through new england. this is the next couple of days. your local forecast is in just 30 seconds. >> hi i'm meteorologist karen rogers with your accuweather update. the rain is already moving in. we'll see rain at times today and it could be heavy.
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right now we're looking at the ben franklin bridge. we have lots of clouds and it hasn't been very wet yet in philadelphia. let's look at your accuweather forecast. it's 73 right now but with the clouds and with the periods of rain we're holding temperatures down to about 79 degrees. we could see a strong thunderstorm especially west of the city of philadelphia later today. tomorrow clouds and some rain give way to some sunshine and a spotty shower, a high >> two pockets of severe weather. i'll go into detail coming up in the next half hour. >> all right, thanks, ginger. robin williams gave us so many incredibly funny moments from movies to stand-up to tv appearances, his rapid-fire over the top style really unmatched by anyone. in in addition to his oscar won four grammys for his comedy albums and a few of our funny moments ♪ i'm driving in my car ♪ i turn on the radio >> look at this thing. look, flipper. ah!
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>> sign, they are big signs that say you will not get into the kingdom of heaven and i look at these geeks and go, are you going to be there? i'm not going. >> waiting for godot and did shakespeare, exciting to wear tights and people go, i can't see anything. >> fabulous. >> oh, kind of dear, if you like that handsome rugged type. but personally i prefer short furry and funny. >> you tell us what you found out about the enemy since you've been here? we found out that we can't find them. >> you do an eclectic celebration of event, fosse, fosse, martha graham or twila, twila or michael kidd, michael kidd or madonna, madonna, madonna but you keep it all inside. >> lawrence, you saw, you saw what he did just then.
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>> let's go over to the bus station. >> i'll make those announcements like you never understand. >> i want the guy who does soccer to do golf one time. the ball is rolling. oh! those models are like deer in a thong. they walk by like this, hello. ♪ mr. aladdin sir what your pleasure be let me take your order jot it down you ain't never had a friend like me ♪ >> i'm not afraid. this is mork signing off till next week. nanu nanu. [ applause ] >> that's how we first got to know him. just everything that he did. >> hard to pick your favorite because he was so good at everything he did. >> it's funny, i asked people to tweet us their favorite moments and so many said all of them. >> great answer. >> too many. too many to choose. >> his voices, improv. genius in "aladdin."
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brought tears to my eyes in "birdcage." >> martha graham. >> "mrs. doubtfire." >> i know people at home you're doing the same thing as we are and we're going to have much more of our special tribute to robin williams, a look at also his years battling addiction in his own words. >> he was really the bob hope of his generation, remembering that robin williams gave back to our men and women in uniform. something he would do after every show that we never even knew about coming up right here. >> forget you! you have no idea! everyone in america ] whe almost every day, you notice a few things. like the fact that you're pretty attached to these. ok, really attached. and that's alright. because we'll text you when your package is on the way. we're even expanding sunday package delivery. yes, sunday. at the u.s. postal service, our priority is...was...
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receive your gift with any $35 lancôme purchase. >> ♪ >> good morning, i'm tamala edwards. it's 7:26 now on this tuesday august 12th. let's go over to matt pelman, he's starting off in chester county. good morning. >> good morning. if it wasn't this it would be sun glare. this morning it's rain slowing us down along with the volume on the 30 bypass. eastbound from approaching 322 through this point approaching 113 it is a slow go as you
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head towards exton on 30. also seeing some rain and a crash as well along 422 eastbound side past arm and hammer boulevard. the vehicle ran into the guardrail there. the good news is you can get by so we're not seeing huge delays as you come out of pottstown. slow farther east from about trooper into 23. also we have a crash in worcester montgomery county along skippack pike at valley forge road by the exxon station. in abington there's one along huntingdon pike along morton road. one in wyncote on church road at washington lane. and in chester delco watch out for a crash along providence of a 320 at 22nd street by campus dental center. tam. >> okay, thank you, matt. let's take a live look out there right now looking out on sky 6 over philadelphia international airport. you can see we're starting to see some gray in the skies and karen, you say we'll see only more of that as the day goesology. >> that's right. we're going to keep the clouds today, tam and we'll see periods of rain. it's not raining right now in philadelphia just damp. storm tracker 6 live double scan showing certainly raining
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throughout much of the region. it's going to be on and off today. it's not going ton constantly raining all day but these periods of rain, the problem is some of it could be pretty heavy and we could have a strong thunderstorm especially west of the city that could be strong to severe. 79 degrees for your high today. with these periods of rain straight through tonight. tomorrow clouds, some rain very early and then some sunshine, maybe a spotty shower, a high of 83. after that, tam, the weather >> love that. thank you, karen. that's it for "action news" right now. we send you back to "gma" and more remembering of robin (vo) ours is a world of passengers. the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiting... ...for a safe arrival. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. designed to help the driver in you...fothth. the subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan.
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robin williams in "good will hunting." >> nominated three times, this is his first academy award. >> thank you. oh, man. this might be the one time i'm speechless. and most of all, i want to thank my father up there, the man who when i said i wanted to be an actor he said wonderful, just have a backup profession like welding. thank you. god bless you. >> oh. and i love that billy crystal was on the stage with him when he won. how fitting that was. one of the many highlights from robin williams' career. his oscar for best supporting actor in "good will hunting." as we say good morning, america. and there is so many moments, so
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many more that we want to share with you this morning. >> we love wedders but thank goodness he followed his heart. can you imagine? in that's true. >> if he hadn't. part of remembering robin williams was also his honesty, his honesty about his battle with addiction in his own words coming up this morning. >> you know he loved, of course, making people laugh and one of his favorite audiences was our troops. he began touring with the uso in 2002 and you'll hear what he had to say about meeting those heroes coming up. we also have one of robin's co-stars to join us talking about working with and cracking up. can you imagine working alongside robin and keeping a straight face? >> no, because i know when he came here in our studio we were all cracking up so i can only imagine what was like on the set. robin williams, very open, though, about his struggles throughout his career, no matter how successful he was, he could not shake the demon of addiction. a problem that plagued had imfor decades putting him in and out of rehab and our juju chang is here with more on that. good morning, juju. >> reporter: it's a tragic truism we all kind of know in
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our gut that depression and substance abuse also go hand and hand and robin williams often made self-medicating a punch line to a lot of his jokes but he also knew through years of personal suffering that it was no joking matter. >> ah! >> reporter: you wouldn't know it from all the hilarious roles he conjured up on screen like mrs. doubtfire and "the bi birdcage" but offscreen legendary actor robin williams was tormented by addiction for decades. a dark demon he frequently joked about on stage. >> and alcohol is especially dangerous for people like myself alcoholics or you can say ethanol challenged. whatever you want to call it. >> reporter: it wasn't just alcohol, abusing cocaine in the early '80s but quitting after his friend john belushi's overdose telling barbara walters about it. >> he was a one of the toughest
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people you can meet and it cleaned up a generation of people because he was as strong as anyone you could meet. >> when we hear about people using drug, most of the time they use it for getting high. >> for me it was basically a way to escape and cut off from people. >> reporter: he told abc news in 2011 the role of a lifetime that helped keep him sober for 20 years was that of father. >> the one thing that cleaned me up was having a kid. that's immediate. if that's the same -- i didn't have any rehab or any, you know, any groups. >> reporter: but after those two decades of sobriety williams says he sampled some whiskey in 2006 and within a week he was hooked. his family reportedly staged an intervention. he spoke about the grip of addiction with diane sawyer just two months after leaving rehab. >> away, quiet time, good though and back. people say how do you feel. with my fingers. >> just alcohol? >> just alcohol. that's enough really. >> to talk about it as caused by
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something -- >> thought caused by anything. it's just there. lays in wait for the time when you think i'm fine now, i'm okay and then, beep. and then the next thing you know it's not okay. you're standing at a precipice and you look down, there's a voice and a little quiet choice that says just one. and for someone who has no tolerance for it that's not a possibility. >> reporter: was there something somebody said, one sentence that got through that sailed through -- >> you're a drunk! no, it's like it got through to me saying you need help and that's the best sentence that got through. >> reporter: williams said he spend years thinking he could handle his alcohol problem on his own. >> i can do this, i can stop and you really think you can and you realize you can't. >> reporter: it was that relapse in 2006 that reportedly cost him his second marriage. earlier this summer williams checking into the renown hazelton clinic to focus on his continued commitment to sobriety. his rep telling abc news it was not a relapse.
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the world now left with the advice a wise williams once gave to a younger version of himself. >> don't be running so fast and that's it. how much have you loved? that's a simple question. how much have you loved. love doing what you do or love being with people. if you can answer that pretty positively you're doing okay. it's a good life. >> the most profound lesson he is giving us all whenever someone is universally beloved and loses such a hard fought battle with depression it reminds us all this is a brutal, cruel disease that strikes people no matter who you are, how much wealth or stature or support from loved ones somebody has. robin. >> all walks of life. you got that right, juju. abc news senior medical contributor dr. jennifer ashton joins us, addiction, depression. what exactly is that relationship? >> it's very complicated and we do see quite often they can exist in parallel. i mean, of course, depression can lead to addiction and addiction can lead to depression
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but they can be two parallel disease processes and when one or both are out of control, they can spiral precipitously downhill very quickly with life-threatening and fatal consequence. >> we knew so much more about robin williams' addiction. he talked openly about that but not about the depression. we can talk about cancer and all these different types of diseases and ailments but when it comes to depression, jen, it seems like there's a stigma attached. why is that and how do we get past it. >> we have to get past it. it's something that existed when i was in medical school. it exists today and we keep seeing these well-known figures again and again with their lives lost because in many ways we as a society are not really that equipped to handle embracing something that doesn't have a scar or as you were saying if you're on chemotherapy and lose your hair people can see that. people can't see depression all the time and tears of a clown, right, that famous song, this was what robin williams embodied
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and what so many people who live and battle with depression deal with. they can be smiling on the outside and they can be in utter agony and in some cases frankly psychotic on the inside and we need to be more embracing of this and drop the sigma. >> there are a lot of families shaking their head because they deal with this. it's not just famous people like jooumg said. it's not because you're wealthy. it does not matter. what is the lesson we learn here? >> let's not let another person die in vain and increase our awareness and understand when a person is profoundly depressed they need one-to-one help. >> that's a part of the story this morning. all right. jen, thanks so much. appreciate that. time for the weather and ginger. >> it is such a great conversation to have. like you said, so many families nodding. i do want to start with some really great video out of seattle because we do have to talk about severe weather, a real threat today but last night, it was beautiful. in slow motion you're seeing it
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there. the lightning itself. two pockets we'll watch today. one in the northeast damaging wind possible from this part of west virginia all the way through baltimore and washington, d.c. it includes pittsburgh and then another one right back here in the west, this could spark some lightning and that would not be good. flash floods on some of >> thanks, ginger, i'm meteorologist karen rogers with your accuweather update. grab the umbrella. periods of rain throughout the day today. 79 degrees for your high. tomorrow clouds and some rain give way to some sunshine and a spotty shower and a high >> all that weather brought to you by elmer's school glue. robin and david. >> coming up, a terrifying scene. >> that stroller. we all watched it. a baby inside. you'll see it right there and then another woman runs in. we don't know if it's the mother to get the stroller, just extraordina extraordinary. >> boy, everybody all right. and robin williams was the bob hope of his generation.
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that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute to the universe. >> profound words this morning. 7:43 now and robin williams so good on the big screen, so generous off the screen of the we've been saying it all morning, sort of the bob hope of his generation touring with the uso and abc's martha raddatz has more on what he gave the men and women in uniform. >> good morning, vietnam! >> reporter: playing the air force disc jockey adrian crow nature he made the troops laugh in "good morning, vietnam." >> good morning, virginia. >> robin williams made instant connections with our troops wherever he went. he traveled to war zones, entertaining close to 100,000 of
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our troops in 13 countries during his uso tours. >> photo. merry christmas. >> reporter: after his shows he'd always stick around, seeking out those who couldn't come to the main event. >> he'd go to the guard towers. he'd go to the dining falls. he'd go to the security police who couldn't come to the show because they were on duty. and he would spend time with them individually. that was very moving. >> reporter: and for the veterans and especially the injured back home, williams used comedy as therapy telling our own bob woodruff during a fund-raising stand up for heroes event in 2012 -- >> i'm so honored to meet them and know what they've gone through and say, hey, dude, this is just something that really humbles me. >> reporter: another humbling moment for williams came during a performance in kuwait in 2007. >> uh-oh.
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>> reporter: the soldiers knew that bugle meant the flag was being lowered. williams wasn't sure why the troops were turning their backs on him but he, of course, found humor in ha moment. >> i'm not going to forget that. [ laughter ] i've never had an entire audience go, forget you. i was also wondering what's coming from that way. >> reporter: williams would joke about that for years to come. but you could always see that pride in our troops, that respect and they always gave it back. >> i just want to say, thank you to all our men and women serving our country. thank you very much. >> general ham who you saw in that piece traveled with him on uso tours and said to me of williams, he loved the troops. they loved him and the general added, i did too. david. >> so powerful. i love that moment when they turn around. never had an entire audience -- >> he was just so quick. >> it's happened to us all. coming up here walmart making a big move into medical
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but never duplicated, duplicated. duplicated. genie of the lamp! >> such a great moment from "aladdin" where we really see robin williams' immense talent and so many people sharing their favorite robin williams characters and mopes all the top trends on twitter and overnight celebrating the one and only robin williams. and this really captured people's emotion. this image tweeted from the academy with the caption "genie, you're free." and that moment from robin williams' famous "aladdin" role retweeted more than 225,000 times overnight and over here, steve martin was one of the first celebrities to pay tribute on social media praising him as a mensch, acting partner and genuine soul and the word heartbroken coming up in so many remembrances. robin, want to get back to you at the desk. >> it was like a collective hug
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from everyone when you went on twitter last night and just everyone just sharing their moments and you just feeling this connectedness. >> people will have robin williams marathons, i guarantee it, watching all their favorite movies. >> goes on and on. we want to know your favorite robin williams moment so tweet us @ gma #socialsquare. coming up much more of our tributes and talk live to one of his co-stars. come on back.
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>> ♪ >> good morning be i'm tamala edwards t 7:56 now on this tuesday august 12th. the rain looks like it's coming in and that could make the roads messy, matt pelman. >> sure could, tam. dry for now. we have other problems. a broken down vehicle along 95 northbound side right in the work zone at cottman right under that little bit heavier than normal travel time that you see, 20 minutes from the vine up to woodhaven. ideally should be 14. broken down taking out the right lane. slow from bridge street. and southbound you have the normal morning delay from the betsy ross bridge into girard. new crash to of a void in ambler along main street near
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butler avenue. skippack pike valley forge road. chester wreck on proof dense avenue and close do winterthur there's atoned pole closing shannon road. stick to route 52. >> sky 6 hd taking a look out over penn's landing. , see it's gray in the what the, gray in the skies above. that's because rain is coming our way. let's head over to karen, she's got more details. , go. >> that's right, tam, we have cloudy skies, storm tracker 6 radar we can see the rain to the north and to the west not steady. we're going see these showers on and off, some downpours here or there at any point today you need to be prepared for that. we could get 1 to 3 inches of rain out of this. clouds, rain at times will hold our temperatures down to 79. we could even see an isolated thunderstorm that could be strong to severe west of the city so a lot to watch for today. it continues tonight and ends early tomorrow so tomorrow
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starts off a little wet with clouds. we give way to some sunshine, 83 degrees for your high, a shower around tomorrow. it gets much better after that. by thursday, tam,'s just gorgeous. and get to the parts that we and get to the parts that we enjoy. that's it for us right now. enjoy. what's up, george? massage chair. my little indulgence. dunkin' french vanilla swirl, my little indulgence. indulge in the sweeter, creamier taste of dunkin's new french vanilla and hazelnut swirl coffees and lattes -- try one today!
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america runs on dunkin'. good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. the life and death of robin williams. >> no matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. >> saying good-bye to one of hollywood's greatest talents. >> it's not your fault. >> from mork. >> live, be free. >> to mrs. doubtfire. >> hello clom. >> to the genie and the poetry professor. >> boys, you just strive to find your own voice. >> his most memorable interviews. >> yes! >> you make us feel good, robin. you know that. >> thank you. it's a good job. i like it. it's my day job. >> celebrating the life of robin williams in a special edition of "gma" this morning.
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>> and so wonderful for the crowd to come out and celebrate as we are remembering the arc and a legend, robin williams. so many great memories, being shared all morning long. he was a great friend to all of us here at "good morning america." oh, that was 2009 and you just sit back and you just knew that you had the best seat in the house sitting in front of that man. >> he tells you, it's my day job. >> we'll look back at some of his most memorable performances and interviews. >> and talk with one of his co-stars through the years talking about what it was like to work on the set with him. how you keep a straight face when the cameras were rolling. huge blank spots in the script where he would ad lib. >> what a joy and i know all of us so heartbroken when we heard the news. what a loss. and then we also will have this hour should you really get your checkup where you do your shopping? walmart is making a move right now into medical care and we'll
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get into that as well as celebrating the life of robin williams. >> that too. we're also talking about a trend that is changing how people live right now. the question, could you spend every day in a tiny house under 100 square feet? if it looks like that. it looks nice. how easy would that be to clean. >> with all of times square looking in, yeah. >> there's that. >> that's a lot of new york city apartments right there. >> a lot of us do. >> we weren't complaining. it looks like our first apartment. >> a lot of people fighting you for you. >> we have so much to discuss but we'll begin with the latest on robin williams, the actor and comedian found dead in his northern california home monday afternoon and abc's cecilia vega is outside the san francisco house that, well, he made famous in his hit movie "mrs. doubtfire." good morning, again, cecilia. >> reporter: good morning to you again. you can see this memorial behind me is growing. robin williams was last seen alive at his home in marin county, california, on sunday and in just a few hours police
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will be updating the status of the investigation into his death. this morning, the shocking news of the sudden death of comedic icon robin williams. >> maybe you're perfect right now. maybe you don't want to ruin that. >> reporter: the 63-year-old oscar winner was ground dead in his marin county, california, home on monday just after 1:00 p.m. investigators calling it a suspected suicide. overnight williams' spokesperson saying that lately the comedian has been battling severe depression. >> you made a 50-year-old jingle sound like a gold record. >> reporter: williams is survived by three children, zachary, zelda and cody. williams' wife susan schneider saying in a statement "i lost my husband and my best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings." >> that's what made her my wife. >> reporter: the final tweet "a 25th birthday wish nearly two weeks ago to his daughter zelda adding, always my baby girl and
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zelda tweeting overnight "i love you, i miss you. i'll try to keep looking up." so many tributes. you know, i can tell you firsthand what a huge part of the san francisco bay area community robin williams was. i grew up out here and you would see him riding his bike. see him out and about in town. this memorial you see growing behind me just a small example of how much he will be missed. >> yeah, he was a big sports fan there too. many of the local teams were tweeting about him. okay, cecilia, thank you very much. we'll speak to one of his co-stars in just a little bit. but now other top stories that are overnight -- >> you know the memorials will just get bigger and bigger over the days and shows the impact he had on so many. the other headlines this morning. we begin with the new fire threat that's in the northwest. more than two dozen major wildfires burning this morning and more thunderstorms today could spark even more, unfortunately. this morning, though we have a story of survival. three firefighters in northern california became trapped in the
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wind-driven flames on monday. they were forced to deploy their personal fire shelters like these ones and it allows the flames to burn over them, all three survived with no serious injuries, remarkable. and overnight police near st. louis fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds protesting the police shooting of an unarmed teenager. this is the second night of unrest. the family of the victim, michael brown, is demanding police reveal the name of the officer who fired those shots. they deny their son ever fought with the officer. the fbi is now investigating. also breaking overnight militants in iraq have issued a new threat to america vowing to plunge iraq into further crisis despite u.s. air strikes saying "this is not a game." the u.s. is promising significant new aid for iraq if the new prime minister forms an inclusive government but iraq's current prime minister right now is refusing to leave office. in medical news, the fda has approved a dna test that will
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screen for colon cancer. it's called cologuard. it's detected 92% of colon cancers in a study of 10,000 patients. colonoscopy is still the most accurate screening tool but many people avoid the invasive procedure so this is certainly big news. a stunning number from the postal service, it lost $2 billion between april and june. this is a far bigger loss than the same time last year even though it raised prices. and a wild scene near phoenix. shoplifting suspects caught on camera spraying a security guard with pepper spray as they tried to flee this mall. police say the suspects are from the same family and have been hitting up stores for more than a year reselling those items then at yard sales. well, some frightening moments at the subway station in london. take a look at this. a baby stroller left unattended, oh, my goodness, it rolls off the platform onto the tracks with the baby inside. you'll then see a woman jumping down and rescuing the child before the train arrives.
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no word if she's the mother or just a good samaritan but police are trying to find her and everyone is okay. remarkably. finally one man stole the show at wrigley field. watch this home run and then watch the man, oh, my goodness. he is sitting in the last arm. what an arm. he catches the ball, he nabs it and comes pretty close to falling off that bench right there. >> he throws the ball back on to the field. guess what, he caught it but it still counted as a home run for the other team. maybe he should, you know, go on the field. >> nice snag there. >> hope he's feeling okay this morning. no back injuries. >> advil. >> thank you amy. how about what's coming up. >> here's what's coming up on our "gma morning menu." first robin williams, being himself. we have highlights from some of his most memorable interviews. and then his genius and energy as a stand-up comedian. just unmatched and we'll have a look at where robin williams got his start. then we will turn to the big new trend of going small.
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actually going tiny. could you live in a house if it was less than 100 square feet? we all said yeah if it looked like that and we'll show it to you live on "good morning america" here in times square as we celebrate the life of robin williams. stay with us. "gma's morning menu" is brought to you by nexium. new nexium 24 hour, now available without a prescription.
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♪ that that dude looks like a lady ♪ >> a scene to remember. letting loose as mrs. doubtfire. whoo! one of his most vivid and beloved transformations, yes, we are celebrating his incredible life and career all morning long here. >> i think that might be my favorite movie. i really do. >> it's fun. >> i can watch it again and again and again. >> i love what cecilia was saying, he was part of the san francisco community too. you would see him in the corner store. >> riding his bike. >> i want to have a movie marathon now just because so many moments -- >> wouldn't that be something. >> wouldn't that be great? he gave us so much. not only in his comedic roles but the roles where you saw his drama, yeah, his heart. >> yeah. we all have our favorite movie scenes. you to that and robin williams was often at his best when he was just playing himself. funny, smart, touching, always lightening fast, a guest so many
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ties on "good morning america" throughout the years and it was a privilege to sit across from that man. let me tell you, he kept you on your toes. robin williams, a man so gifted, friend billy crystal once said, he bounces around 9 room like light off a mirror and he brought that special light to each and every interview he gave. here on "gma" over 30 years ago in 1982. >> robin, can you ever turn off? >> easily, yeah. >> can you really? >> well, yes, watch. >> did you go into comedy because you couldn't make it as an actor? >> yes, actually -- >> is that true? that's what i read. you couldn't get a job as -- you cry on this program and i won't run any of it. you promised me you wouldn't cry. >> i couldn't make it as an actor. i remember doing "hamlet." to be, line. i found it very difficult being in tights and you're wearing ties and doing shakespeare and they can tell what religion you
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are. >> tears come down your cheeks. >> robin, do you ever just talk straight? >> yeah. >> for how long? >> hours at a time. >> yeah. >> yeah, i mean i can -- for a long time. i don't like to because it's more fun to play. >> reporter: behind the playful ness williams struggled with the demons of addiction something he spoke about with diane sawyer in 2006 two months after he left rehab. >> was there something people said to you. >> many people. it was pretty much unanimous on that level. and then you go and you say, that's it. yeah, you're right. >> how long before you decided this is it? >> i don't know. i was -- a couple of years of just thinking i can do it on my own and you can't. that's the bottom line. i can do this. i can stop and you really think you can and then you realize i need help and that's the operative word. >> reporter: williams was dealt another blow in 2009 when he had open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. he later told barbara walters
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who herself faced the same procedure the experience was humbling. >> are you a different person today? >> yeah, i think much more grateful. for everything. you and i both have been given a second chance literally and to take that and go with it. >> and i too was one of the lucky ones who basked in the light that was robin williams. >> so lovely to see you again. >> diane kept confusing us. >> people confuse us all the time. let's do this whole thing. >> oh, robin robert. >> separated at birth. >> yo, baby please. >> bless your heart. you make us laugh. >> thank you. it's a good job, i like it. it's my day job. >> don't ever quit your day job. >> thank you. >> don't ever. >> thank you. >> it's something that just seems like it's just -- you were meant to do this for us. >> cool, thanks very much. >> a man meant to bring joy and for that, we thank you, dear robin, as you travel home.
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>> go back. go back. >> there we go. >> sweet robin go back. >> those are the days when you added ten minutes to the segment with robin williams because he would just take. >> that's when you just sat back in your chair. >> let him do -- >> do the work and many of our crew members, they've known him over the years too and have said the same thing. he was just incredibly personable. good to see, jess. >> from, of course, "people" magazine, "entertainment weekly." we always love it when you come on. a subject that's tough this morning. he was un vaiversally admired a loved in hollywood. >> he really was. a lot of comedians are known for being angry much that's the rap they get. he clearly was a complex guy but always incredibly professional. he was very, very kind.
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whether you were -- whether you were operating the camera or acting with him or sitting in a movie theater he wanted you to like him. he wanted to make you laugh and he was always on. and i think what's so sad about this is we realize that manic energy was really -- it was masking such profound, you know, sadness and difficulties in his own life. >> and we've heard that from many people saying that about tears of a clown. that that's something we don't realize that they're dealing with and as you said, in the same -- he was always on. and no one knew really about this side of him, did they? >> no, and he never unleashed his demons on the rest of us. you know, he really wanted to make the world a better place. he was -- whether he would decorate his house, you know, for the holidays and hang out with the kids, he loved children because they were a great audience, you know. they loved to -- he loved to make them laugh. >> childlike enthusiasm. what do you think his legacy
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will be. >> like jonathan winters of a previous generation. he really defined a particular kind of comedy for a generation. and nobody -- it's really hard to find anybody who has ever had that kind of versatility as an actor. you know, that from "mrs. doubtfire" to the, you know, to the therapist in "good will hunting," he just -- i think that his own -- i think again his own complexities also made him a great actor. >> he just embraced everyone. do you know what i mean? on screen and off screen. >> he was best at playing himself. that's what somebody said and i think that's so true when you see all those clips over the years. >> a generous guy. the clip with the troops and did a lot of charity work. >> for the homeless. >> jest, s, thanks so much. thanks for sharing your thoughts on the one and only robin williams. cheryl hines starred with him in "rv" and remembers her
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co-star and friend. good morning. thank you so much for being here to celebrate the life of your friend, robin williams. >> good morning. i'm really glad you're celebrating his life. because it's such a sad time but he brought so much happiness and laughter to everybody and i think that's the right thing to do is celebrate that. >> as they what his family has wanted everyone to do, as well. and so tell us, because we've been talking about how we knew him here in "good morning america" but what was he like when the cameras weren't roll yg. >> one of my first encounters with robin, i didn't know him before we started shooting "rv" and we shot in canada and it was very hot and between scenes i made a comment about being hot and sweaty and he immediately lifted up my arm and planted his head in my armpit and the
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whole -- of course, the whole cast and crew was watching and that was the beginning of our relationship. >> cheryl, he was famous for sort of ad-libbing, leaving big spaces they did for him in all of the scripts because they just knew he would take it and run with it. >> yes. of course, that's what he did best. so i would wait for him to finish. it didn't matter trying to memorize your cues because there was never a cue. you had to just wait till he wound down and then you'd say your line. >> and, cheryl, you have worked with so many comedic greats but how does robin stand out for you among all of them? >> well, you know, robin was very, very generous soul and he knew that people were excited to meet him and were excited to be on the set with him and just like you all have been talking about this morning, he really
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did make it a point to talk to the person that was taking out the trash on the set and even when my mom came to visit from florida, and he -- every time he saw her would get up and hug her and make her feel special. and that was a quality that a lot of people in general don't have, much less comedians. >> yeah. >> so true. >> so true. so wonderful. hey, cheryl, thank you so much for sharing your insight. your memories and before we go, we all want to say congratulations. >> yes. >> on your recent marriage. >> thank you. >> wish you all the best. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thanks for taking the time to celebrate robin williams. we do want to get one more check of the weather with our ginger zee. >> oh, and you know what, we are all celebrating too out here. the life of robin williams and a couple of other things. i met jonas from new jersey. what did you want to say. >> today is my mommy's birthday. i love her just the way she is. >> that's what he told me so i
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said say it again. how sweet. happy 39th birthday. let's go ahead and check the forecast. we have a couple of things to share with you including more moisture for the southwest like in las vegas, flash flood watches that will go through wednesday night and then red flag warnings and some of those burn scars could see some big issues, you could see gusts up to 50 miles per hour. the west will be a headline for days to come. it is much nicer drier but cool. look at chicago today. a high of only 71 off the lake there. 80 for minneapolis and 80, st. louis. 85 for memphis and that's what i'll leave you with, a look across the nation. >> thanks, ginger, i'm meteorologist karen rogers with your accuweather update. don't forget the umbrella as you head our the door. lots of rain headed our way. here's your forecast. we'll see periods of rain, the current temperature 73. we're headed up only to 79 today. lots of clouds, rain on and off, even a strong thunderstorm possible later on. and then tomorrow the rain ends early on with clouds
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giving way to some sunshine and a spotty shower and 83. after that it's gorgeous. thursday nice and less humid, 80 with bright sunshine, mostly sunny on and we artying our celebration. one more thing we wanted to say hello to who -- >> max. hi, max. love you, max. >> little max is her little brother. hi, max. >> little max is smiling. so are we when we think about the scope of robin williams' career and the moment that might have started it all and we wanted to show you. this is mork all started thanks to a small role on "happy days," 1978. take a look at when someone shows up at the door and the fonz opens it. >> remember me mork from ork, you called me the nutso from outer space. >> you tell me men don't kiss women on your planet. >> kiss, i don't know what that means. nice word, has a pleasant ring to it. kiss, kiss, kiss. can you hear the ring? >> yeah, yeah, yeah, i ya.
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>> but you see i need your help. you are known throughout the universe for your expertise in this field. >> i am oh, yeah, that's true, right. all right. all right. i'm going to try to find you a date. >> hey, hey, hey. >> just got to do me a favor. go up to richie's room and get on to some of his clothes to make you look normal. >> my clothes do need time warping. >> timeless. >> so funny. garry marshall auditioned him and said he hired him on the spot because he had never interviewed an alien before. >> and he played the role. >> i can't imagine anybody else doing that role. >> you'll have a special on "0/20". >> an hour look back at all the great moments to celebrate him. >> how will you fit it into an hour? so many. >> can't wait for that. >> coming up next on "good morning america," we're talking about a new trend. a home of less than 100 square feet. >> what? say what? >> for you. >> coming up.
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>> ♪ >> out of west deptford gloucester county, that's where police say a gunman took aim at the municipal building around 4:00 a.m. this morning. authorities say surveillance video shows a dark colored vehicle driving into the nearby public library parking lot. someone then fires towards the building which houses the police station. we're told seven bullets hit the exterior of the building and police are searching for that shooter. 8:27 on this tuesday august 12. i'm tamala edwards. let's head to matt pelman. taking a look in chester county good morning. >> little damp and a little slow on 202 northbound side from the 30 bypass through this point approaching 401 up to 29 we've seen worse mornings but somewhat damp conditions are slowing us down a little bit. not too far off in west goshen watch out for a crash along
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phoenixville pike at 322. still have the one in ambler montgomery county close to bridge's steakhouse along main street near butler avenue. meanwhile down in northern delaware shannon road remains closed because of a downed pole. head for 52 kennett pike as an alternate. ben franklin bridge some slowing here on the westbound downside headed into center city. tam. >> okay, thank you for that matt. let's talk about that rain that's expected to come in today and at points be heavy. let's go to karen. good morning. >> good morning, ear already seeing in parts of our region just not in the city itself right now. storm tracker 6 live double scan, and with double scan we can pick up some of the heavier rains like this cell right here in west chester and downingtown, really coming down good right now so be careful as you're headed out in parts of the region right now already getting the rain. we'll see periods of rain, not raining all day long but here or there you could see a downpour at any point today or tonight. stein 79 degrees for your high. we could have a strong to severe thunderstorm west of philadelphia. the rain ends tomorrow morning
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♪ baby >> we have a wonderful crowd outside here. hello, everybody. good morning to you. thank you for being with us. you're listening to florida georgia line. their smash hit "cruise" and the country superstars will take over central park this friday and hoping you'll join us then because we can't wait for it. >> can't wait for that. also this half hour we'll ask that question a lot of people go to walmart for the deals and shopping but do you go to get your diagnosis there? check in with the doctor there? we're going to look into that coming up this half hour. yeah. i'm excited to hear about it. and, hey, have you noticed, these guys, tiny houses outside here in times square. this is a trend to go smaller and that trend is getting
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bigger. so we asked could you live in -- under 100 square feet? and pretty darned good. this one especially is so cute with the bunk bed. however, there's no bathroom. so that's -- >> i thick that one. >> as long as you're living alone and not with all my children. as long as it's one person. >> how many people actually are living inside there. we'll find out but more now our special tribute to robin williams. his creativity and natural comedic timing and abc's chris connelly has more from leaks. good morning, chris. >> reporter: you're so fast. so fast, so dynamic. watching robin williams do stand-up could be as exhilarating as watching a great athlete in motion. at least when you weren't just laughing your head off. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome robin williams.
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>> reporter: stand-up was the beating heart of robin williams' body of work. >> you know the difference between a tornado and divorce in the south, nothing. someone is losing a trailer, number one. >> reporter: on stage in clubs on records or live on one of his concert tours. he displayed a comic mind working at the speed of a microprocessor. >> football referees would have that, too much commercial time. bad white men dancing on the field. >> reporter: with a mouth to match. >> you telling me that the oscars are also political? oh, my [ bleep ] god. >> reporter: he could combine a kind of improvisational wizardry with the attention span of an overcaffeinated kindergartner. every word, voices and sounds. with a velocity of a fire hose. >> under the influence of quaaludes entitled -- >> reporter: and amid his mouth mouth madness there was a meth thoed to miss mad this is tackling from -- >> obama is a kenyan word for
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kennedy, god bless us. >> reporter: to technology. >> be the good parent and put on a videotape. okay. >> reporter: to relationships. >> it isn't even sex anymore. it's emotion, it's freud, it's psychology. you are a relationship you go to therapy. you find out, so my momma is a guy, so what? >> reporter: even his own issues over the years. >> ebay and alcoholism. perfect storm of addiction. find yourself with george foreman grills and sham wow. >> reporter: he could leave both audiences and his colleagues in the comedy elite incapacitated with laughter. >> good night! >> reporter: that same laughter that so many are remembering so fondly this morning. so much of his comedy, i mean you couldn't write it down. you couldn't retell it. it was just uniquely robin williams. and we're really going to miss that robin. >> we certainly will. you got that right, chris.
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>> wow. >> it's one of those mornings where, yes, you're sad but it's like cheryl hines and how robin williams' family said let's remember how he lived his life. let's remember and celebrate that and there is so much to celebrate. >> there is. >> well, just wondering if we need to water the flowers on this little house here. is it going to rain out. >> you know it is. we may get a sprinkle -- you guys have umbrellas with you? no, these people from l.a. they may or may not be used to this but we are going to get some rain in the next 24 to 36 hour, heavy at times throughout the northeast. that's where i want to begin. flash flood watches in parts of the northeast and mid-atlantic because we could see severe weather that we were talking about earlier. the warm front has a lot of l t ling, lifting in the atmosphere, new england, upwards of 3 must inches for the next couple of days. i wanted to leave you a look across the nation. the stormiest stuff certainly happening in the northeast. drier back in the midwest and
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plains. >> thanks, ginger, i'm meteorologist karen rogers with this accuweather update. be careful, some heavy rain on the way. we'll see it on and off today so periods of rain, a high of just 79, could even see a strong thunderstorm later today. tomorrow clouds and some rain give >> all this weather has been brought to you by audi and i do have one more thing to talk to you about, shark week. we got to talk a little more about it. i want you to look at this exclusive preview. remarkable footage of great white sharks on attack. it continues with jaw-dropping, heart-stopping and if you watched any of this stuff it doesn't let you sleep documentaries about those beasts from the deep. >> you would know. >> i do. >> swimming with the sharks. >> a little too close. >> hey, coming up, you can find almost anything at a walmart including now a diagnosis. so should you be getting your medical care where you shop? we'll get into that coming up on "good morning america." here in times square.
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the coolest thing you can do this summer is dump a bucket of ice coal water over your head. no, seriously it's called the ice bucket challenge and friday live in central park this could be the biggest ice bucket challenge ever so watch us raise the bucket and als awareness on "good morning america." well, you can get pretty much anything at walmart these days and now you can add a
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doctor to your shopping list. the retail giant is opening primary care clinics in many of its stores and abc's brandi hitt has the story. >> reporter: walmart, the one-stop shopping destination for everything from groceries to clothing even treadmills and now your physician. the nation's largest retailer is marketing itself as a primary medical provider in addition to 100 basic care clinics walmart is opening six primary care clinics inside stores inside texas and south carolina with licensed nurse practitioners ready to diagnose and treat chronic illnesses and injuries. all for $40 a visit. just $4 if you're a walmart employee. the clinics are located in areas where doctors are scarce and all sites supervising physicians are ready to step in when needed. dr. michael rodriguez is not affiliated with walmart. >> more access to care is extremely important but that care needs to be high quality care.
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>> reporter: it's the latest step in a growing trend. drugstore clinics at walgreens and cvs stores offering limited screenings and vaccines have been growing in popularity. >> when i am jammed with time, our time schedules are tight, it's very convenient for us. >> reporter: but dr. rodriguez says walmart is taking it a step farther and he's concerned that primary care givers at the helm are nurse practitioners, not doctors. >> their training and expertise is not the same as primary care physicians. >> reporter: walmart is opening six more primary care clinics by the end of the year. it tells abc news we aim to be part of a continuum of care while driving down costs for our associates and customers. adding that it also offers referrals to specialists as needed. for "good morning america," brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. >> and abc news senior medical contributor dr. jennifer ashton joins us now. brandi mentioned i got my flu shot at the pharmacy.
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this is about access and there's concerns about quality. what are your thoughts on this? >> you know, usually i'm a big believer in staying in your lane when it comes to medical qualifications but i actually think this concept is a net positive and i think we teed to see how it plays out. i don't think that doctors should feel threatened from the get-go. the reality, there are many people especially those who live in poor rural areas whether they have insurance or not they don't have the access to a medical professional and they need that interface with someone whether it's a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant or an md to continue their medical management of chronic issues. we're not talking about doing dialysis or fibroid management at a walmart. this is, you know, low-level things that need some kind of medical oversight that could be absolutely done by a nurse practitioner who is very skilled, very qualified and while they may not have the exact same credentials as an md, they are more than capable and competent to handle these issues. >> it's affordable, convenient.
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what are the downsides. >> you mentioned cost. $40 a visit sounds enticing but when you think about the fact that a lot of these people have chronic issues, some people with chronic issues need to be seen once a month. now all of a sudden you're talking about almost $500 a year so the cost is a factor. what i really worry about also, amy, is the doctor/patient or health care provider patient relationship. will that continuity and follow-up exist here? >> what should you do? do you have advice for people who are planning to go to these facilities or go to the ones that are doc in a box. >> i often have patients away at college or traveling and go to an urgrcare or doc in a box. if possible, always bring someone with you. i mean these are your extra set of ears and eyes for something that might be a very stressful situation for you and get copies of everything. that means your tests, your results, the interaction, the notes that the health care provider did, all of those are very important when you
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hopefully will see another provider down the road for follow-up because -- >> if something serious comes up you want to go to an md. >> and uniformly when have a patient that went to one, what kind of test, what was the diagnosis people say, i don't know so get the paperwork. >> all right, dr. jen ashton, always great advice. thanks so much. we appreciate it. we asked would you use an in-store clinic. 36% said yes and 64% of you said no. coming up, we are squeezing into some pint-sized homes that are becoming a bigger trend than you might think. ♪ suddenly i see how big is acme's anniversary sale? it's huge! ♪
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claritin. ♪ suddenly i see >> check this out. we are living large inside this tiny house. here i am right on the corner of wee and tinytown. this one is a demo so you can get a good look. a sleeping loft but homes like this are where people really live year round. the new reality series "tiny house nation" is where you can find them. here's a look at a tiny living trend. ♪ from tiny dogs to tiny cars, even tiny "gma" anchors. >> let's get a look at the weather from ginger. >> and now tiny homes. >> it's your new home. >> beautiful. >> oh, my god. >> the tiny trend is growing so fast there's even a tv show about pint-sized palaces. tiny house nation so what's the big deal? >> basically makes you feel like james bond because you have things that fold out of the wall. everybody likes to show off their gadgets. >> oh, my gosh. >> tim and shannon's 210-square-foot studio features a dog crate island.
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>> for the dog. >> dog food. >> so cute. >> you like to have guests so what we did was make this actually leaf out. now it turns into your kitchen table. >> this is awesome. >> normally this would be a bedroom. we managed to fit the bed underneath your office. >> they say their tiny home doesn't feel cramped. >> like i hate to even call this a tiny house because it's really not that tiny. >> with a full kitchen, living space, music studio and sleeping loft it's practically spacious. >> one of the best things about tiny house living is the freedom that it provides you. >> for the kassel family the decision to downside was easy. >> we value our experiences together as a family more than our possessions. >> the hardest part, getting rid of stuff. >> it's gotten easier and easier to get rid of all the excess and now it's really exciting. >> reporter: aside from purging material possessions, the key to successful small living is all about creativity. >> use the vertical space and furniture that does more than
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one thing and storage. all about storage. >> gram, how is it going? >> that's something graham hill nows all too well in his micro manhattan apartment. >> it transforms into five or six different rooms. so it's a living room. it's the office. it's a master bedroom. >> living proof that good things come in small packages. >> okay. i'm getting sold. i don't know about you. let me show you a little something. we have a real tiny house owned by dan lushay of atlanta. we've got just a little something to show you. hello. look at this. so you sleep up top here. it has a very cabin feel inside and you've got a bathroom. like it's an actual stand-up shower. your toilet. you have that small mini kitchen. everything is so cute and someone really uses this home. he was nice enough to let us borrow it. little kitchen has plenty of room to cook and look at this. we even have some tiny cupcakes. they're delicious. i love it so we're really
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celebrating all tiny things but it does make you think like could we do this and we thought why not because it's getting a little stuffy. let a little air in here and there's an actual window. of course, isn't that nice? this is such a beautiful place. lightning is perfect. chandeliers in the other -- i think you could dress them up and see a whole lot more because we want to tell you that show is on fyi network. you can join us for that tiny trend and see a whole lot more. we want to thank our friends at melissa's bakery for that tiny little cupcake. you can see that show again. fyi network wednesdays on fyi. i haven't even had an idea -- i want to come out here one more time. look at this thing. baked by melissa. had the tiny cupcakes and we have the tiny houses right in times square. we'll see you soon. right back here on "gma." ♪ makes me feel like i could be a tower ♪ ms. harris: camden students face a lot of challenges
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but they meet them with determination and drive. chanelle: teachers like ms. harris made me feel like i'm part of a team. not just on the basketball court. but in the classroom. ms. harris: chanelle is not just a star athlete. she is a star student. chanelle: i headed to clemson university where i can combine my love of sports and learning- and maybe even win a championship. ms. harris: i wouldn't bet against her. or any of my students reaching for their dreams.
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"good morning america" is brought to you by listerine, power to your mouth. we appreciate everyone joining us for a special edition of "gma." celebrating robin williams' life. we're going to leave you this morning with some very special words from his amazing performances. have a good day. >> it's not your fault.
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it's not your fault. >> why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and god forbid maybe even humor. death is not the enemy, gentleman. >> you are my life. i apologize for every time i failed you, especially this one. >> i can also tell by the way you treated me so far and the way you carry out your job you're a good man. good husband and father and man who appreciates his good fortune. you're not the type of father who would cheat on his wife or hurt his family, betray their trust. >> i love you. i love you. and i think you're the greatest
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thing since spice racks and i'd be knocked out several types if i could just have that first kiss and i won't -- i won't be distant. i'll come back in the morning and i'll call you if you let me. >> it is very simple. he can do wonders when he's wearing his magic gloves. if his wife is sad he touches her with his gloves and he's happy. if his children are crying, he toughs them and he smiles but he can't feel them. he yearns to feel. he can even hold off death with his magic gloves but he can't feel life. >> it's work, play, friendship. family. these are the things that matter. this is what we've forgotten. ♪
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gunman took aim at themunicipald 4:00 a.m. this morning. authorities say surveillance video shows a dark colored vehicle driving into the nearby public library parking lot. someone then fires towards the building which houses the police station. we're told seven bullets hit the exterior of that building. police are now searching for the shooter and of course we'll have more on this in a live report coming up on "action news" at noon. i'm tamala edwards. let's finish your morning with a last look at traffic with matt pelman. good morning. >> we've had a number of traffic troubles for that tuesday trip to work, tam. here on 422 it's just some heavy volume we're dealing with on the eastbound side from the saint gabriel's curve through this point approaching troop near 23, pretty much normal stuff and at this point this portion of roadway is damp at worst in other spots you're dealing with more rain. burlington bristol bridge set to go up in just a few minutes so head for the turnpike connector bridge instead and in burlington county there's an overturned truck on the ramp from the new jersey turnpike southbound exit 5 but traffic can get by it. tam. >> okay, thank you, matt.
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let's find out about this day of rain and go over to karen rogers. good morning. >> good morning, for a couple hours in philadelphia it's been a bit damp. we've got maybe a touch of drizzle right now. let's take look at storm tracker 6 live double scan you can see the heavier rain is out to the west. they're getting hit in lancaster, harrisburg. today we'll see periods of rain today some of which could be heavy enough to cause localized flooding. we could even see a strong to severe thunderstorm west of the city later this afternoon. a high of only 79. tomorrow with start with clouds and end with some sunshine, tam. >> thank you karen. coming up on "action news" at noon we'll have more on the live report from hollywood also how your college student can save on textbooks this semester. it's all ahead on "action news" at noon. jessica alba coming up on
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have you seen tom corbett's ads attacking me... get real. it's tom corbett who's been sticking it to the middle class on taxes. corbett cut a billion dollars from education... ...now almost 80% of school districts plan to raise property taxes. meanwhile, we're the only state that doesn't charge oil and gas companies an extraction tax. but corbett raised your gas taxes through the roof. i'm tom wolf, i'll be a governor who stands up for the middle class for a change. oh yeah. about your dream car? yeah. silver convertible with dual stripes. cool! [curiously] how'd you know? you've been staring at that new instant game from the pennsylvania lottery. yep. "muscle car money." i could win up to $100,000, or a chevrolet camaro 1ss. (announcer) wanna see your dreams come to life? you could scratch your way to instant winning today. fuzzy dice. nice.
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