a man she referred to as uncle sam. >> sam moore. you probably know him better as half of the '60s singing duo sam and dave. best known for their hit "soul man." yet a drug addiction brought him to the bottom, devastating his life and career. >> his life intersected with whitney houston in many ways through the years. and at the end, he hoped to help bring houston back from her addiction. don lemon has the story. >> reporter: it was february 12th, 2011. a year before whitney houston died. a pre-grammy party. >> miss whitney houston. >> reporter: whitney was back. back from years of erratic behavior and drug use. ♪ walk on by >> where's the voice? >> you're saying she couldn't sing? >> yeah. ♪ from the moment i wake up >> reporter: rock 'n' roll hall of famer sam moore was in the audience. an old houston family friend, he and his wife, joyce, knew the girl everyone called nippy growing up was in trouble. >> she came in and she looked over and she saw me. and i said, "nippy! hey, baby!" and she fell on her knees. i said don't get on yo

and of course, sam houston is a paradigm of honesty. you will no doubt do ample justice to the motives which prompts this communication to you. and i should censure myself if i were to conceal from you the knowledge of any facts which would enable you during your administration -- during your administration to acquire texas. so houston wants to acquire texas on jackson's watch. during his administration. if it is in accordance with the policy of the united states, if you want it, i want to make it happen for you. it is probable that i may make texas my abiding place. in adopting this course, i will never forget -- and that's houston's emphasis, that's not mine -- i will never forget the country of my birth and he never did. so let's recap. there's old hickory himself. okay, houston arrived in texas intent on fomenting the evidence. john wharton, a prominent member of the war party, invited houston to texas and wrote openly of an anticipated rebellion as early as june 1832, according to albert pike who overheard the chin comment, houston

i'm just going to call sam and clear this up. yeah. sam, hey, it's ryan. a favor, call me back as soon as you get this. okay? just... as soon as you get this, call me back. try again. try again. (phone ringing) simmons: wolfe can't get her on the phone. tripp sent a car to her address, but nobody's there. where did she go, walter? i don't know but, wherever it is, it's without her car. her saab's still parked out front. oh, they're not delivery. they're new digiorno pizza dipping strips. with two sauces? who needs delivery? [ horn honks ] that guy. [ male announcer ] twelve pizza strips, perfect for dipping. it's not delivery. it's new digiorno pizza dipping strips. ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ goodbye [ flushing ] ♪ [ both ] ♪ na, na... [ woman ] ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye [ male announcer ] with kohler's powerful, high-efficiency toilets. flush. and done. [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye mom! look what i found in the shed! no! no! no! ♪ were you guys just making out in here? what? no! really, cold cuts from a packag

i'm just going to call sam and clear this up. yeah. sam, hey, it's ryan. a favor, call me back as soon as you get this. okay? just... as soon as you get this, call me back. try again. try again. (phone ringing) simmons: wolfe can't get her on the phone. tripp sent a car to her address, but nobody's there. where did she go, walter? i don't know but, wherever it is, it's without her car. her saab's still parked out front. oh, they're not delivery. they're new digiorno pizza dipping strips. with two sauces? who needs delivery? [ horn honks ] that guy. [ male announcer ] twelve pizza strips, perfect for dipping. it's not delivery. it's new digiorno pizza dipping strips. ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ goodbye [ flushing ] ♪ [ both ] ♪ na, na... [ woman ] ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye [ male announcer ] with kohler's powerful, high-efficiency toilets. flush. and done. [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye mom! look what i found in the shed! no! no! no! ♪ were you guys just making out in here? what? no! really, cold cuts from a packag

hey, sam. >> good morning, george.e-handedly in 30 years on "gma," has taught more americans about wildlife, than anybody on the planet. jack hanna. >> thank you. >> it's great to be here with you. >> especially with josh. >> he's teaching me how to stay afloat. seaworld made a big change that i think everybody needs to hear about. >> it's amazing. they're going from plastic to paper. all seaworld parks, which will save 4 million plastic bags a year. when i travel the world and see the sea turtles, plastic bags are in their guts. choking them. balloons, all those sorts of things. people would just avoid that. it looks like a jellyfish in the ocean. it does. they have a 3d thing of a sea turtle eating a plastic bag. >> no more plastic at seaworld. we'd like you to think no more plastic ever for reasons like that. jack's going to take us below the water again. let's look at weather this morning. delay your departure a little bit. here's where all the heat is going on in the nation today. 101 in midland. 96 in amarillo ag

those are the befores. >> that's sam's. >> that's sam's.>> i was a little frightened. >> let me say one word, elephant. >> and color. color. i didn't have color before lara came into my life. >> can we go back to the elephant? >> let's just say, the elephant in the middle of the room. and we'll explain that later. >> nice tease. >>> put up the picture. mollie king, lead singer of the saturdays. >> please. >> there it is right there. that's the one on the right. but is she prince harry's new girlfriend? she is not denying it all. but is she telling the whole truth? we're going to find out in a little bit. >>> first, let's get news from josh. >> good morning to all of you. we're going to begin with the shocking story out of texas this morning. police have recovered 3-day-old keegan golden, just hours after his mother was shot to death in a doctor's office parking lot and he was snatched from her arms. abc news has learned that verna mcclain, a registered nurse, has been arrested and charged with capital murder. authorities believe mcclain wan

and the center is the repository for sam rayburn's papers. sam rayburn served as the democratic party's minority leader in the house of representatives during the first two years of eisenhower's first term, and he served as speaker of the house for the remainder of eisenhower's presidency from january, 1955, until january, 1961. although rayburn and eisenhower had more than their share of legislative disagreements, basically over domestic policy, they nevertheless had a very warm personal friendship. eisenhower was born in denison, texas, which was in rayburn's congressional district. in private meetings at the white house, rayburn often joked with president eisenhower about rayburn being eisenhower's congressman. mr. sam who was eight years older than eisenhower also called eisenhower catton when they had private meetings. that was a habit he picked up from cactus jack garner when he referred to him as capt every time they were in private meetings. they had middle of the road philosophies and a strict sense of national duty and both understo

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>> sam? sam? sam? sam? sam?hank you very much. >>> and now, to the latest on former model lauren scruggs. new photos emerging, showing her life now four months after her accident with a spinning plane propeller. abc's paula faris has the story. >> reporter: she is smiling and seemingly exuberant in the texas sun. over the weekend, lauren scruggs spotted leaving this dallas area sporting goods store. no longer shielding her wounds from public view. for the first time since the former model accidentally walked into an airplane propeller after a sightseeing tour in december, we see what remains of her left arm, as well as her new prosthetic eye. both revealing how much she has lost. and how far she's come. >> people like lauren, just sort of redefine themselves. say, this is who i am. i have a prosthetic eye, i have a partial arm. redefining themselves. this is who i am. i am still who i used to be on the inside. and these things are just small aspects of who i am. >> reporter: her parents, cheryl and jeff scruggs,

>> thank you, sam.scared this guy's girlfriend to tears. we're going to talk to them all. you weigh in, george. some places i go really aggravate my allergies. so i get claritin clear. ♪ i can see clearly now the rain is gone ♪ look! see that? this is all bayberry, and bayberry pollen is very allergenic. non-drowsy claritin relieves my worst symptoms for 24 hours... you guys doing good? ... including itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. and only claritin is proven to keep me as alert and focused as someone without allergies. ♪ it's gonna be bright bright sunshiny day ♪ live claritin clear with non-drowsy claritin. ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ [ female announcer ] fresh milk and real cream makes philadelphia and the moment a little richer. there's another way to help erase litter box odor. purina tidy cats. only tidy cats has new odor erasers... making it easy to keep things at home... just the way you want them. new tidy cats with odor erasers. is another wa

now, this is before sam houston has ever set foot in texas. and he's already thinking about becoming president of a nonexistent republic. now, this is a letter to his friend james prentice. my opinion is that it would be of vast importance to have persons there, texas, who could look at matters with a view to make changes, to make changes, which are necessary and must take place before long in that country and without which it could never be what it ought to be for the benefit of those interested. several persons have said to me that i was looked for. well, we know who that was. and earnestly wished for by the citizens of texas. dr. dillard, a highly respectable gentleman, was one of the numbers. the people looked to the indians on the arkansas river as auxiliaries in the event of a change. he's being kind of coy here. so i will pass that way and see my old friend. i will ride -- he's still in the united states when he write this is -- i will ride to the hermitage this evening and see the old chief, general jackson. salute our friends. so, aga

i'm sam ford with that story coming up on abc 7 news. >> doug hill in the bellport furniture weather center, a few sprinkles and showers. what should we expect? we love gardening... yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual. i want you to grow big! if you grow for me you'll get cookies for free. nothing worked. ♪ ♪ but we started using miracle-gro garden soil. you just mix it with your backyard soil... and it feeds your plants for up to 3 months. my plants grew bigger... more beautiful... withth more flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. everything changed with miracle-gro. for you are these flowers, like soap is for showers. everyone grows with miracle-gro. >> you are watching abc 7 news at 6 with gordon peterson, maureen bunyan, doug hill, and tim brant. this is abc 7 news at 6. on your side. >> maryland lawmakers are taking the plant for the maryland casino right down to the wire. this is the last day of the legislative session. also, a proposal that could add a casino to prince george's county. this is being closely watched that national harbor. scott thuman is live in annapolis.

. >> sam, hello. there for jay-z, and kanye west. and now, he's there for us. >>> and i hope everybody has a big appetite. we're serving up a feast, texas-style. that's coming up. very excited about that. >>> you know who is sexy and knows it? that is cameron mathison. it's a story of a real-life giant who is the subject of a new book, "giant george, life with the world's biggest dog." written by his owner, dave nasser. just how big is he? cameron mathison went to find out. >> reporter: you guys are having way too much fun there. it sounds like you're having a rave in times square. if you meet this dog, you're not sure if he's a dog or a horse or part-giraffe. he's so intimidating that people usually cross to the other side of the street when they see him out for a walk. but in reality, he's a total gentleman. in fact, i think i made a new buddy. take a look. the camera just loves him. he has over 90,000 facebook fans. over 1 million hits on youtube. he's even been a guest on account "oprah." >> hi, g

were you partying with old hitler, sam? he was a had a loose nation. >> that old hitler (bleep) was real. >> jon: i think it's time for you level headed females to come home. >> we are, home, john. >> if you see jason remind him to feed my children. >> jon: all [cheers and applause] >> jon: welcome back. hey it's a new yorkú"eprimary. [ laughter ] you know why -- because doesn't matter. jason jones has more. >> the republican primary has been a 24 hour news extravaganza for states like new hampshire and iowa. candidates and reporters flocked to local diners, newsstands, lunch counters, cafes, diner and greasy spoons drowning them with attention and pa lrnt i cheese. it was on to new york but with the early states making mitt romney the presumptive nominee no one is here. there were no tv cameras new york supporters. >> off to vote? no. >> voters like kevin hardwick were disappointed. those people in iowa and new hampshire. on my bucket list just once i want to cast a vote that matters. >> i knew i what i had to do you know

>> sam, thank you. i know you said you're going to have more later. >>> now, the trayvon martin case, heating up this morning. as we came on the air, we learned that six shots have been fired into a cop car right near where george zimmerman lived. and we're hearing for the first time, from him, breaking his silence on his own website to get out his side of the story. matt gutman is in sanford, florida, with the latest. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning to you, robin. that's right. six shots fired into that empty police cruiser, waiting right outside that tidy, middle class community where trayvon martin was staying and george zimmerman had lived. all that has tensions rising in this town. they're reaching a boiling point. three counties have activated their emergency operations centers. at the same level of preparedness as if a hurricane were about to hit. and the man at the center of the storm is going public for the first time. for the first time, george zimmerman is speaking out, online.

sam and the extreme weather team tracking this. we'll talk to sam in just a minute. but let's start with abc's ginger zee in woodward, oklahoma where she was up close with the tornadoes all weekend. good morning, ginger. >> reporter: good morning. the tornado that injected this truck into a carpet store was not the strongest of the weekend. of the 136 reported tornado, though, it was the only tornado that was deadly. >> look out. >> that is unbelievable. look at that. >> it's coming right for me. >> reporter: from the astonishing -- >> oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. >> reporter: -- to the simply unbelievable. >> two tornadoes. >> reporter: tornado after tornado, sometimes two at once, pounding the midwest. >> what is that noise? >> reporter: and we were there. all that suction that a tornado has in it. not just this. you have the vertical. can see it growing on the sides of this tornado oh, my gosh. in woodward, oklahoma at least six people are dead, three of them children after this storm 165 miles per hour cut through the town. >> i ain't never seen one eat up everythin

we really appreciate it. >> thank you, katie. >>> time, now, for the weather and sam. sam? we're going to start with the storms in colorado. blizzard-like conditions in limon, colorado. 30 inches of snow in southern colorado. it was that bad. watch the low pressure take the tornadoes out, take the snow out and move these storms. we don't think there's many tornadoes with the storms today. but we're getting strong to severe weather going on in new orleans. flood watches and warnings in that area. and this is a powerful setup here. for the rest of the day, 55 degrees. making it into the mid-'70s out of the metro later on today. showers and virginia. tomorrow, back to sunshine. >> and all of that weather was brought to you by burger king. katie? george? >> all right, sam. >>> coming up, alec baldwin is back in the headlines, defending his new fiancee. why leez taking aim at the media. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's

the sam irvin versus ted kennedy story. do you know that one? >> i do. >> why don't you tell us about it. >> when watergate first became evident as a budding scandal, particularly early in 1973, senator edward kennedy realized that this was going to be big and the senate along with its longstanding traditions should set up an investigative committee to find out what nixon and his friends were up to. mike manfield the senate majority leader with a deep sense of history also recognized that. frank valeo didn't. he said it will blow over. mansfield said, no, we need to put this in very stable hands. not that edward kennedy wasn't, but we don't know where he'll go with it. sam irvin of north carolina, democrat of north carolina, is the guy for the job. he was chairman of the senate government operation committee as it was called back then. and this is government operations. and so irvin didn't -- was reluctant to take the job and finally did. and the rest is history as they say. >> so, what did frank -- what did senator mansfield, the majority leade

. >> sam, listen to this.y, kanye has been smit with kim for quite a long time and pursued her before she got involved with kris humphries. the pair have been spotted together several times in recent weeks. and west, who is a friend of jay-z, calling kim his, quote, beyonce. that's his beyonce. anybody else notice? or was it just me? both have "k" names? coincidence? i think not. >>> in other "pop news" -- >> could there possibly be other "pop news" after that? >> we've heard about the abc show called "duets." where music superstars mentor and sing with someone looking for their big break. and one of the stars of the show, kelly clarkson, is trying to get a head start in finding the best person out there. she's looked at countless videos of people vying for the chance to be on the show. she narrowed it down to two. and you're looking at video last night at her concert in san diego. she pulled her favorite two on the stage to duet with her on the spot. >> oh, wow. >> saying, it's one thing to be able to send in

sam is out there with the people. sam? >> live in times square. good morning, everyone.n. >> ethan. and who is this? >> lisa. >> ethan. your dad is some place you can't tell us. where is he? >> he's in akutan, alaska, for six months. >> and the weather's been bad there, right? >> yeah. >> and he watches the show? >> yes. >> tell him hi. >> hi. >> good job. thank you for bringing the sign in. one or two things we want to show you. how about freeze warnings out. about 16 states out now have freezing temperatures. it's been so warm early in the year. we have to tell you when the temperatures dip below freezing because they'll damage plants. it's very dry air. we have high fire danger in a lot of places around the country during the day today. here's where the strong to severe storms will kick up. there's two dots where the storms are going to be strongest. and by tomorrow morning, they slide down to southern >> there is so much more on "good morning america." >>> here's what's ahead on the "morning menu." alicia silverstone says it's natural to feed her baby like a momma bi

what is he doing to me, sam? >> mr.o340e9ing that. >> what else have you been up to? went to china. >> went to china. >> are you enjoying your new life? >> yeah. >> you were looking forward to not be on television every day. but you must miss it. >> sure. every now and then. i think something happens, and i think i'll tell this story tomorrow. but there is no tomorrow. you did some acting with pretty white. >> it's coming up. "hot in cleveland" i'm chasing her. >> are you playing her love interest? >> i think so. i have the script, i'm told. i'm playing a character. i have a dresser. she dhis he's gay. and she finds out, he's straight. right down my alley, baby. >> how does she find that out? >> when i come after her. i want betty white. >> you've been singing with tony bennett, right? >> singing with tony bennett? >> is that wrong? >> who told you that? >> the researchers did. >> tony bennett, see if i've been singing with him. i'm not going to talk about you. you were so sweet on my last day. we went out for a couple

thank you very much. >> otherwise. >> dan, take care. >>> let's get back over to sam. sam?bin, feeling repentant. twitter is taking me to task. we'll start on the west coast. southern california, l.a. area needs the rain. watch this when a tornado drops into sacramento -- actually, stockton, california, that's very unusual. most of the tornados in that zone will come from a waterspout moving onshore. this one dropped right into the ground. on this, there's more heavy rain for california. on the eastern seaboard, these chillier temperatures you wake up with this morning, it's been a trend the past few mornings, we're on our way to warmer temperatures. but you have to put up with, boston, the cool air. 53 and 56. philly at 59. have to put up with it again today. here's the zone 43 degrees downtown and beshine today and it will treezy and relatively cool mos day which will be in the 50's. total sunshine and up and by the weekend, >> now, it's time for the "good morning america" pollen report. levels of tree pollen soaring from oklahoma to florida. wheat pollen holding steady i

>> all right, sam.> coming up, jennifer lopez flaunting her much-younger boyfriend in her music video. but could it lead to the couple hitting a sour note? some places i go really aggravate my allergies. so i get claritin clear. this is all bayberry. bayberry pollen. very allergenic. non-drowsy claritin relieves my worst symptoms only claritin is proven to keep me as alert and focused as someone without allergies. live claritin clear. and i know there's no orange like a tropicana florida orange. the soil and sunshine are just perfect here. tropicana pure premium is made with 100% florida oranges. because the best oranges make the best juice. the next generation and then countless more. how do you kill them? frontline plus. it uses two ingredients. one to kill adult fleas and ticks. plus another to eliminate flea eggs and larvae, annihilating the next generation of fleas. and, frontline plus works non-stop for thirty days. no wonder it's the number one choice of vets for their pets and yours. ask your ve

. >>> sam? >> good morning, everyone.d morning, robin roberts. >> did you really give a daily key west update while i was away? >> i did. >> you didn't use the bikini shot, though? >> i did not. there is a shot of someone reading a book in a bikini at a pool, we didn't use that shot. >> nor will we. >>> let's start with the hottest streak in history, i'm not talking about "gma" in the last year, i'm talking about the records that have been going on. just saying. so january, february, march, the warmest start to a year ever since we have been keeping records since the 1800s. then take a look at this number. the 15,000 number, that's record highs and record night time warmth as well. so all warm, all heat since the first of the year. big deal. here's where the storms are lining up. these could be a little severe. tornadoes possible. 80-mile-per-hour winds, large hail in that zone. a quick look at the big board. we'll talk more about it during the morning. >> all that weather and the amazing statistics brought to you by all.