abc news reporter michelle franzen has the story. >> release me, please, i'm begging you. >> sergeant bowe bergdahl's plea has been answered. after five years, the only prisoner in afghanistan is now on his way home. u.s. special forces picked up bergdahl by helicopter from his taliban captors in the middle of the night along the afghanistan/pakistan border. they told him we have been looking for you for a long time. bergdahl broke down in tears. officials say he was released in a three-party prisoner exchange. one american for five prisoners from afghanistan detained in cuba. america's east ally, qatar, acted as a negotiation so they would not deal directly with the talbiban taliban. the five will not be allowed to leave qatar for a year. >> he was not forgotten by his family or the military. >> bergdahl got a call from president obama and joined him in the rose garden. >> i just want to say thank you to everybody who has supported bowe. >> i would like to say to bowe right now who is having trouble speaking ñrenglish, i'm your fath father, bowe. >> back in idaho, bergdahl's hometown

michelle franzen, abc news, new york. >>> the university of california system is urging students and staff who might be in iraq to evacuate the country. administrators at uc berkeley trying to find out if anyone connected to the campus is there. even though the uc study abroad program doesn't offer programs in iraq, many staff and graduate students travel abroad independently for research during the summer. >>> it's a beautiful day here in the bay area. the kind that is just perfect beach weather. this is a look from earlier in santa cruz at the beach, people soaking up the sun. tomorrow, might see fewer beachgoers. we have details and live doppler. >> good evening. things are cooling down for us tomorrow. live doppler 7 hd showing a break from the high clouds that we saw this afternoon. so we have clear skies over parts of the bay area today but look how much we warmed up and especially in some inland locations, gil roy -- concord, 89, san jose, 88, oakland, 82 and san francisco quite mild at 75 degrees. but, right now, things are starting to cool down compared to 24 hours ago and t

abc's michelle franzen has details. >> tracey morgan and six others riding mangled suv limo bus when six car pileup happened on the stretch of the new jersey turnpike. police sources take a truck driver may have dozed off and failed so tee the slow moving traffic ahead and the semi-swerved to avoid morgan's vehicle and ended up slamming into it. and the limo bus then lost control, spiping into two other vehicles from landing on its side. >> the truck driver identified as kevin rope frer george as was charged including the death of morgan's long time friend and comedy writer james mcnair that died at the scene. >> he's done the circuit for years and he and tracey performed at some of the same venues and next thing i know i'm writing for tracey and they got closer and closer. >> medics rushed four people to the hospital. three of them said to be in critical condition including morgan, he sustained head injuries. 45-year-old morgan has been on the comedy circuit for over two decades. he rose to fame as regular on saturday night live from 1996 to 2003. >> from 2006 to 2013 morgan played

michelle franzen with a look back at the man who left his fans with a message. >> reporter: his voice was legendary. spanning the air waves for decades. counting down our hits. >> countdown of the most popular songs in the usa. >> reporter: he was born in detroit, michigan, in 1932, to lebanese parents. ironically, kasem never wanted to spin records. >> i wanted to be a baseball player and actor. not a disc jockey. >> reporter: everywhere he turned there was a radio. first a radio show in high school. he spent time in korea drafted by armed forces radio. >> the number one song in the usa -- >> reporter: his pioneering show "american top 40" launched july 4, 1970. a whole new generation knew him in cartoons. his most famous cartoon character, shaggy, from "scooby-doo." he shocked fans in 2004 when he stepped down, handing the microphone to ryan seacrest who said, it's a sad day for the broadcasting community and for radio listeners around the world. kasem later developed lewy body dementia. a degenerative condition similar to parkinson's disease. eventually leading to a bitter family f

for "good morning america," michelle franzen, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to michelle franzen for >>> also lots going on here this morning. we want to get another update from ron. >> hi, everyone. >>> in the news, we begin with that terrifying accident in utah, a cannon misfiring during an historical reenactment. at a parade in utah. one witness said that she saw three children on fire following that blaze. kids recovering at hospital. >>> and overseas, iraqi forces are fighting back against the jihadist extremists known as isis. the extremists are now using social media, saying that they have executed 1700 prisoners. meanwhile, iran say it's willing to work with the u.s. to fight isis. >>> and drivers in the chicago area, they're gearing up for traffic, also known as carmageddon, several lanes of the busy kennedy expressway are shut down to demolish a bridge. >>> and talk about looking for bear necessities. get it, bear necessities. a young black bear was caught on surveillance camera spotted strolling a convenience store. apparently, he didn't find what he was looking for, becau

michelle franzen, abc news, new york. >>> a man suspected of orchestrating the deadly attack on the u.s embassy in libya face adjudge for the first time today. ahmed abu katala was flown to washington, d.c. from a navy warship where he was being held. his public defender gave a plea of not guilty. four died in the attack on the benghazi embassy attack. one of those was bay area native and u.s. ambassador christopher stevens. >>> developing news tonight out of north korea. according to a government-run news agency, the country has just fired two short-range missiles. the apparent test comes just days after the country tested what it says were new precision-guided missiles. this video is from a previous test. a series of missile and artillery tests this year boosted tensions with rival south korea. >>> pope francis was back at work a day after cancelling a scheduled mass, leaving many worried about his health. friday marked the third day this month the 77-year-old has scaled back or canceled an event because of fatigue or illness. the vatican says pope francis, who is known for his relent

abc's michelle franzen has more. >> reporter: overnight out of nowhere a tractor trailer slammed into this crowded ithaca, new york, restaurant. >> i thought the kitchen exploded. >> reporter: carrying two decks of cars, the massive truck crushed everyone and everything in its path. >> at least people two down, possible fire. >> reporter: the crash killing a bartender at the bistro. according to the restaurant's co-owner, she was the mother of a 14-month-old baby who was also pregnant with her second child. >> four or five of us tried to pull the bar away and then there was four or five-foot flames coming off the tractor trailer. >> it happened so felt, i feel like i just felt a truck drive straight into the building. >> the truck came down the street, so i literally had to jump out of the way. >> reporter: this bystander stunned after his terrifying brush with death. >> thank god i'm here today. >> reporter: and while police scramble to find out exactly why this happened -- >> the operator of the tractor is in police headquarters right now. we're in the process of interviewing him. >

michelle franzen, has the latest. >> thousands of iraqi from baghdad and across southern iraq took up arms saturday marching towards assembly points waving gun and flags. they answered urgent call to defend their country against islamic militant. a blood tliingty group of militants in northern iraq and closing in on the capital. baghdad is bracing for attack from the isys fighters from islamic state of iraq and syria and known the u.s. labeled thermometer riingts. >> the dramatic gains made by jihadist fighters have potential to plunge a rock into warfare with different ethnic and religious groups fighting each other. hundreds of thousands have they had anywhere homes of refugee camps overflowing. and officials say the situation is grim. >> but very serious threats to the integrity of the country. >> the whitehouse is on high alert. pentagon officials are drawing up contingency plans to he jackiate or protect 5,000 american contractors working in iraq. president obama has ruled out any ground forces to shore up the iraqi government forces and other options are on the table including a

abc's michelle franzen has more. >> and a houston couple nearly came face to face with a creepy criminal who broke in while they were there. his every move caught on camera. overnight, an audacious burglar breaking in with the owners still inside. this surveillance video shows the robber outside the home trying to scale the fence. his first attempt, unsuccessful. but he later managed to get into the couple's house. homeowner didn't want to identify himself, but did talk to reporter jessica willie from our houston station. >> the fact that somebody has come into my space and taken my stuff while i'm here. how brazen is that? >> reporter: take a look. you can see the burglar meandering around the patio, even with the lights and tv on inside. he momentarily leaves, but shows right back up. the suspect made his way upstairs, where one of the security cameras caught the clearest image of his face. >> makes me wonder, what if he came here before? >> reporter: and he entered the bedroom where one of the homeowners was sleeping and took a wallet and watch. he swiped a laptop, and even took off w

abc's michelle franzen is here with the very latest. chelle, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. it's usually the hit of the party, right, the bounce house, kids can't wait to climb into. according to nationwide children's hospital, though, the number of injuries the past 20 years from inflatable bouncers has skyrocketed. turning a day of fun into a frightful moment. another terrifying scene saturday involving a bounce house. as this inflatable slide went tumbling across a field at a littleton, colorado, park. [ screaming ] the slide was tossed about for 300 feet until it finally came to rest. officials say two 10-year-old children were trapped inside, as it tumbled across the field. >> we saw the wind kicking up and all of a sudden, the wind took the jumpie slide with it and we were just horrified. >> reporter: the alarming incident, a grave reminder of the dangers poised by the inflatable attractions, popular at carnivals and children's parties. just last month in upstate new york, a bounce house went airborne and seriously

and michelle franzen is here with the latest. good morning, michelle. >> reporter: the group has gathered on the sprawling deck, ready to mark the happy moment with a photo. when suddenly, the wooden structure gave way. more than a dozen people are recovering after a deck collapse at an ocean front inn in south carolina. >> it's horrific. wood and splinters and nails and a lot of blood. >> reporter: police say about 25 people were on the deck. about 12 to 15 feet off the ground, when it buckled like a trap door. >> the people on the bottom suffered the most serious injuries. >> reporter: that rescue effort, massive in scale. ten ambulances, six fire trucks, various police and a helicopter were called in. >> we have injures possibly broken ribs and difficulty breathing. all of the others had broken bones, contusions, sprains and that type of thing. >> reporter: witnesses say the group was trying to take a selfie, against this rainbow that appeared after a thunderstorm right before the deck came crashing to the ground. >> i was stan

abc's michelle franzen is here with more. >> reporter: the little-known virus is just getting started in the u.s. so far, the cdc shows the number of cases for 2014 has surged past the u.s. yearly average. enough for health workers to issues travel advisories to countries dealing with widespread outbreaks. new health concerns this morning as the spread of a mosquito-transmitted virus grows. three more cases of the virus called chikungunya are being reported in tennessee. for the first time, spreading to the northeast, with two confirmed cases, in rhode island. health officials say there's no known cure or treatment. >> there's no vaccine for it. there's nothing else you can really due but avoid mosquito bites. >> reporter: easier said than done with mosquito season just getting started. in all, there's been 41 reported cases in the united states. florida the hardest hit. with cases also reported in north carolina, tennessee and rhode island. more than a dozen caribbean nations are dealing with an outbreak with an estimated 100,000 cases. travelers from those countries, now bringing it