icon. the man who played our favorite smalltown sheriff, with the unforgettable whistle, from mayberry to "matlock." our tribute to andy griffith. we have fireworks. and it's our biggest blowout fourth ever. "gma's" party in the usa. and a good morning, everyone. and happy birthday to you, america. 236 years old. you don't look a day over 150, i have to tell you. george, robin, both off today. some argue that sam's only half here. we have amy robach with us. and that crowd has already won the spirit award. they are here, despite those shots, expected to be a very hot one out there. more than 40 million americans hitting the road today. gas is cheaper. we have the latest before you head out the door. we've had that moment of brain freeze when we eat ice cream. what's really going on in our brain? we actually have the science behind it. who knew that doctors and scientists were studying this malady. >> they have answers for you. we are expected to begin the hottest fourth of july ever. how hot is it? take a look here. in wisconsin, one highway buckled and sent that suv flying through the air. a heat wave that's been hammering the midwest and east coast for days now. and sam can tell us what to expect in the days to come. >> good morning, by the way. happy birthday, america. anywhere in the heartland, it's likely you'll be setting records today. let's go to the video and the problems the heat is causing. josh showed you this at the top of the show. let me give you the backstory here. this is highway 29 in wisconsin. this woman and her brother-in-law went up to the bridge because people had been stopping and looking. she thought the camera was on still pictures. but she was taking a video as the car sailed over there. they called 911. and the folks in that suv were all right. but that's the problem. buckling roads all over the midwest. there's a lot of them out there. now, we go to the fires. brand-new fire in palmdale, california. there are 44 large fires and more than 100 and something small fires burning in the west. these are the numbers. all this fire zone here, fire season hasn't really started. it's summer into early fall when we get fires. you've seen how many fires we've had. k.c., about 100 degrees. memphis, 101. anywhere in the heartland, josh, it's likely to be some of the warmest temperatures ever recorded on the fourth of july. >> red and orange. that map's been for at least week. thanks to, sam. one way to beat all of the heat, hop in the car and head somewhere cooler. americans are planning on traveling much more on this fourth of july. though, we will be spending less when we do it. rob nelson got the memo. he's at the smart screen with the numbers. >> i'm in the spirit, everybody. happy fourth of july. americans are hitting the road. look at the numbers. 42.3 million folks will be hitting the road. an increase of about 5% over last year. why? you may ask. gas prices are down. that is good news. but it means we're going to spend less this holiday. look at this survey by visa. we're going to spend 12% less this year than we did last. the holiday, we're still going to party. 68% of us are going to cook out. 49% watching the fireworks. got to love that. and finally, 13% of us are taking a trip. and the 1% of us who have been up all night, we're going to bed. back to you, josh. happy fourth, everybody. now, rob's partner in crime, paula faris. >> good morning to you. kudos to rob nelson, my partner. rocking that smart screen. good morning, everybody. we begin with new revelations of the deadly cruise ship off of italy. sources say the crew kept sailing despite knows about electrical problems onboard. perhaps the biggest bombshell, the crew was using the wrong maps. the ship crashed off the rocks off tuscany. two people from minnesota were among the people killed. and secretary of state hillary clinton's apology has apparently been accepted. she told pakistan's foreign minister that the u.s. was story for the air strike that killed 27 pakistani troops. for the first time, pakistan is reopening resupply routes for american troops in neighboring afghanistan. and the jetblue pilot who had a midair meltdown is off the hook. found not guilty by reason of insanity. clayton osbon left the cockpit and started ranting about terrorists. >> we've got israel. we got iraq. we're going to get -- doomed. >> osbon was charged with interfering with a flight crew. but the judge ruled he is suffering from mental illness. ordered him to undergo further examination before being released. in a medical first, it's soon going to be fast and easy to test yourself for the hiv/aids virus in the privacy of your own home. the fda just approved the test that uses a mouth swab and gives results in 20 to 30 minutes. experts say nearly 250,000 americans are hiv-positive and don't even know it. a politician in australia is under fire this morning. she was on a talk show when the guy sitting next to her had a medical emergency and fainted. we want you to check out her reaction. >> i'm note sure what's -- >> she just sat back and did nothing. she kind of propped him up, as amy noted. she thought he was joking. the man is okay. but he was suffering from flu-like symptoms. she is getting lambasted. blasted by columnists. saying first responder, that's not in her future. >> what do they want her to do? >> thought she was going to catch something. >> maybe she should help. >> maybe she assumed that it was less serious. we should note, he was okay, right? >> he was fine. amy, we know you would react. josh, not sure. >> thanks so much. president obama and republican challenger, mitt romney, are spending this independence day doing the things we expect presidential candidates to do. but one thing more, we're seeing more of the obama children. it's "your voice, your vote." and here's abc's jake tapper. >> reporter: good morning. happy fourth of july. you know, thomas jefferson and john adams both died on the fourth of july. and of course, it's the birthday of president calvin coolidge. it's also a birthday of a member of the family who lives in the big white house behind me. malia obama turns 14 today. a celebration the first daughter can mark with independence day fireworks. which she and the first family will launch with service members and her families. another part of americana that malia and sasha are these days, the election. trying to beef up his number with women voters. >> proud father of two daughters. >> reporter: they appeared in a father's day tribute. >> i think of what kind of world i'm leaving for my two, little girls. >> reporter: the obama girls may be too young to be hitting the campaign trail soon, unlike mitt romney's boys. 18 grandkids. seen here on a vacation in new hampshire. boating. jet skiing. eating ice cream. even squeezing in a game of volleyball. the romney brothers have appeared in a web ad, praising mother, ann, on mother's day. >> slow to judge. and quick to offer a helping hand. >> reporter: and all appeared on conan o'brien, trying to humanize their father. >> no one likes to get pranked. >> we learned that the hard way. >> reporter: the president clearly enjoys bringing his daughters on vacations to places like hawaii and national parks. but thrusting them into the political process could bring unwanted attention. he cautioned against that in an interview with abc news affiliate wcrc. >> those in public life were fair game. our families are civilians. >> reporter: last year, when malia turned 13, the president told robin roberts about a different kind of attention for his daughters that is unwanted. from boys. >> i understand teenagers are complicated. i should also point out that i have men with guns that surround them. >> reporter: tomorrow morning, president obama begins his first campaign bus tour of the election season. visiting the battleground states of ohio and pennsylvania. his family will not be with him. >> jake tapper, thank you for that. now, let's take a moment for all of us to remember andy griffith. the legend we last yesterday at the age of 86. just sit there and listen. couldn't you? for half a century, he entertained america. first, on broadway, then in movies and most of all on television, as sheriff andy taylor, in mayberry. creating an ideal american community where everybody got along, thanks to a gentle push from america's most sensible sheriff. chris connelly is here to look back at his life. >> reporter: he was a downhome hero for generations of fans. chris rock called him the original cosby. andy griffith, a legendary career forged from a mythical place. >> somewhere wandering loose around mayberry is a loaded goat. >> reporter: at a time in the '60s, when smalltown america and its eccentrics held sway over sitcoms, andy griffith was the most appealing embodiment. serving up folksy wisdom. >> next time i go tiger hunting, i'm going to take my tweezers. >> reporter: and plenty of aw shucks smiles. >> i don't need a hair cut. >> how can you tell? >> i can still see. >> reporter: as sheriff andy taylor on "the andy griffith show." its last original episode aired 44 years ago. yet, it would become an enduring tv classic. making griffith himself an icon for millions. on tuesday, as news of griffith's death began to spread, brad paisley, who featured griffith in his video on "waiting on a woman," took to twitter in tribute. andy griffith changed the world. i was so proud to work with him. and so did the actor and oscar-winning director, known back then as ronnie howard. he tweeted, his pursuit in excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations and shaped my life. i'm forever grateful. rest in peace, andy. howard began his showbiz career as opie, andy's son and fishing buddy. griffith started in the '50s, as an ambitious demagogue in "a face in the crowd." and then, country lawyering, in the '80s series "matlock." yet, "the andy griffith show" remains his signature. >> tv shows come and go. but there's only one andy griffith. >> reporter: in 2005, george w. bush presented him with the medal of freedom. >> it was about a little town and all the people who lived in it. all those sweet shows, they just came with the territory. >> reporter: griffith died in his home state of north carolina, at the age of 86. leaving memories of warm sunshine and good times along the country road of anyone's dream. that same interview, andy griffith said they had a rule on the show, if the joke made a liar out of a character, they got rid of it. if they did that for "modern family," it would last about 15 minutes and be as fun as a civil war documentary. >> chris connelly, a wonderful piece. thank you. i'm going to go with disturbing news if you're headed to the beach this holiday. it's unusual to have shark sightings on both coasts. they've been sighted off cape cod in the east and san diego in the west. abc's david wright has the story. >> shark. >> reporter: merely mention a great white shark, people mentally add in the soundtrack to "jaws." this fourth of july, that scary music can scare you, with shark sightings on both coasts. >> you got a shark. we got a panic on our hands on the fourth of july. >> reporter: maybe not panic. but serious concern. on cape cod this weekend, local fishermen spotted two great whites in shallow water close to shore. 1 of them, 16 feet long. >> right here. we'll have to frequent the other beaches, i guess. >> reporter: the chattham harbor master is advising swimmers to stay away from seals entering the water. seals are one of the great white's favorite snack foods. here in southern california, swimmers at la jolla beach heard that scary announcement. >> my 7-year-old was out there. >> reporter: life guards ended up closing the beach for a day. but now, the beaches are open again for the fourth. just like that scene for the movie. >> as you see, it's a beautiful day. the beaches are open. and people are having a wonderful time. >> reporter: are you worried for the fourth of july? >> not at all. >> reporter: would you let your kids or grandkids swim out here? >> my kids do swim at la jolla. more people are injured driving to the beach than get injured at the beach by a shark. >> reporter: of course, that depends on where you're swimming this fourth of july. for "good morning america," david wright, abc news. >> david wright, thank you. poor, misunderstood sharks. now, to another potential summertime hazard. i speak of the dreaded brain freeze. that brief but painful headache that comes when eating something really cold. so, before you indulge this holiday, abc's lindy davis takes a look at what causes brain freeze and how to avoid it. >> reporter: when it's this hot outside, this can be music toe your ears. every year, americans consume six gallons of the cold stuff. even though we all scream for ice cream, it can lead to pain. the dreaded ice cream headache. also known as brain freeze. >> my head. >> it goes to your head. it's the worst pain, headache ever. >> reporter: now, military doctors are studying the rocky road toe brain freeze. here's what they found. this is your brain. and this is your brain on ice cream. as you wolf down that triple-scoop, your frozen treat sends an icy blast to the nerve at the top of your mouth. the same nerve that goes to your head. then, braincicle. >> that disturbance is picked up by that nerve. >> reporter: brain freeze is very common. even more so if you're already prone to headaches. and scientists say speed counts. >> there's an easy fix in store. eat cautiously and slowly like your mother told you. >> reporter: i decided to test that theory. don't think for a second, i'm going to enjoy this. this is strictly in the name of science. all right. it's still going on right now. so, if the summer heat means you just have to have that slurpee, don't sweat it. just slurp at your own risk. try curling your tongue and resting it at the roof of your mouth. or you could prevent it altogether by the best remedy of all, simply slowing down. the good news is, no long-term effect. >> your head has to be -- >> you have to stop eating the ice cream right now. >> you look so ridiculous, the brain freeze isn't your problem. >> let's go through this. >> sam, they're -- you're eating your weather. >> all right. >> i'll eat ice cream. >> they're freaking out. we got to go. here we go. let's get to the boards. here's what's happening. on the areas that we told you, some of them we're going to see the hottest fourth of july ever. right in the middle, the records aren't record-breaking. areas north, minneapolis may be set up for one of the worst fourths ever. the heat index is going 105, 110, might even get to 115. this is very good news. monsoon moisture. we'll talk about it for the rest of this week. moisture moving into the southwest. it's not a lot of rain yet. but it can help the very dry conditions out in the west. >> we have one little shower county,rom montgomery southeast, crossing 370. it is continuing to dissipate. probably going to receive a few drops, especially in montgomery county. temperatures are now in the 70s. honor went to the upper 90s. about 97 for the high. with pop up scattered thunde >> let's get this show rolling along, shall we? a quick look at your fireworks' forecast. >> what do the stars mean? is that good? still to come here on the program, usher's urgent call to 911. an alleged stalker showing up at his door. we have a new twist in the case of the missing millionaire, up next. average of 5,000 switch from cascade to finish dishwasher detergent. that's about 150,000 a month, over 2 million people so far. with finish quantum you get incredibly clean, sparkling dishes without having to rinse them first. now see for yourself why millions have switched to finish. join the finish revolution. and now you can try finish quantum for free. visit us on facebook. 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[ cheers and applause ] see how that works? with the katy perry and the "fireworks." what a great crowd on the fourth of july. we apologize for sam's forecast. sam ruining everything. not raining on their parade. however, i love you, big boy. robin and george are off today. glad to have amy robach here with me. >> thank you very much, josh. and the latest on the alleged superstar stalker who drove usher to call 911. a woman turning up at his home twice in one day, when his children are with him. we'll have the latest. also, the latest on a puzzling mystery. the millionaire, who may have vanished at sea. the boat turned up with the lights on, engine runs. >> is he still alive? what are his relatives saying now? and the growing family feud over his fortune. >> indeed. also, i have quite a "play of t