welcome to "world news." tonight the storm strengthens. this evening barrel is now a tropical storm on the move, threatening a huge part of the east coast. we're live on the coast tonight with the warns. and the wild fires and scorching heat from new mexico to michigan. the confession, 33 years later, what was it that this man said that now has police so convinced he was the won who stole that little boy on the way to the bus. why this new development could change the case. the mole at the vatican, what the pope said today as the plot inside the church thickens. the butler arrested first, but who could come next? and a "made in america" mild stone. the american workers american steal, as one famous bridge celebrates a golden moment. tonight, it's that bridge in the backdrop in the starring role.

good evening. we begin this sunday night with that giant storm system now barrelling toward the east coast. late today we learned that barrel now been upgraded to a tropical storm. winds reach up to 70 miles an hour and look at the track tonight. this is the first tropical storm set to hit the coast this year. hurricane season hasn't begun. at this hour the beaches are emp tis. when it hits shore, it will be shy of hurricane strength. i bring in ginger sooe. ginger, david conditions already deteriorating here. wind gusts been above 30 miles an hour and really the surf, that is what is kicking up big time, lot of folks leaving the beach mft it will be deserted in just hours because the gust will more than double. that is when barrel makes land fall headed directly here.

>> reporter: holiday halted. beaches clearing out up and down the southeast coast as tropical storm barrel looms offshore. >> with the increased risk of rip currents, we're urging everyone to stay out of the water ch. >> reporter: rip currents just the first threat from this storm, closing beaches and forcing at least 100 rescues from florida up through the carolinas. i recently learned what it was like to struggle. when i tried to swim straight back, it's not easy. i made no progress. >> a rip current pulls perpendicular to the shore. to get out, you have to swim outside its narrow powerful force. find the shore and start swimming parallel to it. when barrel hits tonight, those in its path from south of charleston to daytona beach expect storm surge of up to 3 feet, 3 to 6 inches of rain and wind gustst up to 656 miles an hour.

a trip to beach was an escape from the summer size sizzler baking the nation 90 to 100 degree heat. >> it's hot. it feels like 100 degrees. >> and it was even hotter on the track in indianapolis. but that didn't slow down drivers in one of the hottest indy 500s on record that made it to 91 dprees. up to 130 on the track. you heard marco andretti say his boot is melting to the gas pedal. >> reporter: from washington d.c. to kentucky the heat was the hot topic. >> it's hot. it's really hot. >> everybody is drinking water. >> i hope our humid summers are back. >> it's like 95 degrees today. it's really hot. >> reporter: the heat is a concern in so much of this country, where you're standing, ginger, it's that surf already whipping up behind you. what's the warning from authorities there? >> reporter: red flags are up and down the beaches here in

florida and also in georgia. so we're hearing and officials have been driving up and down the beaches telling folks to get out of the water if they're touching it and get inside. >> you were telling me earlier this will stick around for a while. where is this headed and how long will it last? >> once it hits tonight, jacksonville is ground zero for that. it is going to move inland a little bit. of course it will weaken, but then it's going to turn itself back out and by midweek it's going to start hitting that atlantic stream again. places like the carolinas will feel its feskt wednesday and thursday. >> thank you. she'll will live first thing in the morning. in the meantime, tonight the other weather alert involves sweltering heat and wild fires burning this evening. cruise are on the fire lines fighting to put out the flames in hundreds and thousands of acres and forces families from their homes. clayton sandell on that part of

story >> reporter: across the country apocalyptic scenes like this ignited a smokey start to the weekend. in new mexico a 122,000 acre monster if forcing people to flee the town of mogollon. >> we are just hoping and praying that mother nature will give us a break. >> reporter: 600 firefighters are up against extreme conditions. high winds, dry fuel and the fire is growing. smoke from new mexico is prompting downwind states like colorado to warn people today about breathing unhealthy air. on michigan's upper peninsula a 20,000 acre blaze is turning the shores of lake superior black. there's good news in arizona. >> i've been displace ds for a long time. >> reporter: firefighters have contained about half of the ve 16,000 acre gladiator fire. >> we got to go home and it's going to make me cry. >> reporter: meaning many evacuees get to spend memorial day back at home. clayton sandell, abc news, los angeles. thanks to clayton tonight.

now to the developing story this evening in chicago. police will braces for something else, what could be another trying evening. over night a staggering number, two dozen shoots in just a matter of hours. alex perez in chicago where police are on alert. >> reporter: well, david. chicago police have had a res lest weekend, more than 24 people shot and 24 hours. including a 7-year-old girl. little deja smith was doing what she loves to do, playing with her friends on her bike outside her south side chicago home when she was caught in the middle of a drive by shooting. >> doesn't make sense all this shooting. everyday. >> reporter: the shooting that injured deja was just one in an outbreak of violence cross chicago. one person has died so far. at least 24 people were shot and injured between late saturday afternoon and early sunday morning. police believe most shoots were gang or drug related. >> it's frustrating that you're here one mirn talking, the next

hour you're dead from a single gunshot wound. >> reporter: despite a number of efforts to get guns off the streets, chicago is still struggling with gun violence. homicides are up 58% this year. 183 so far in 2012 compared to 116 over the same period last year. chicago police say they will assign more officers to areas of high crime, little deja is expected to make a full recovery. but andrew holmes hopes her story won't be forgotten. >> it's tough. it's sick. someone should be behind bars. >> reporter: chicago police are investigating all of these shoots. at this point, they say they can't pinpoint anyone factor that led to up tick in violence this weekend. >> alex thank you y we'll turn now to another case this echk. this one involving the little boy which changed how we sent our children to school. suspect coming forward 33 years later to stealing etan patz.

tonight report of something the suspect might have said could explain why police moved so quickly. people in the law enforcement still have sis z sus miss rrts intimate details about etan patz murder only his killer could have known were revealeded by pedro hernandez, according to new york post. >> scars birthmark ps, unique characteristics. if in fact, pedro did state those things, that does tell you that he had at least some intimate contact with etan. >> reporter: these closely guarded clues known only to a handful of investigators won't be revealed in case hernandez is exonerated ord others involved is in if true, this new information bolster a case many say is looking weaker by the day. hernandez seen her allegedly confessed to luring etan into the basement of the bow dag ga where he worked as a stock boy. disposing of his boky with the

trash. with the crime sooen now 33 years old and no physical evidence, is the confession of a man known to have mental problems enough? even with these sbi smat details. >> if in fact pedro was able to tell investigators unique physical characteristics about etan, i think that's a great piece of evidence. however, i would feel very uneasy going to trial if that is all i have. >> reporter: the fbi considers this case still open. pointing to inconsistencies in hernandez's story and continues to investigate etan's disappearance. >> so many questions even between the new york city police and the fbi. thank. we'll turn now to mystery overseas at the vatican learning about the case of the mole. the butler accuse of leaking those documents. he was almost always @ pope's side. you can see him in imagine we smau holding the pope's umbrella. this evening he is facing trial

and serious questions about whether more arrests are coming within those vatican walls. sate special sunday at the vatican a holy sunday. the hope as always concentrate on questions of faith. but there is one simple question that everyone here is focused on. did the butler really do it? embattled church, 7 year distracted by scandal and intrigue. today we learned more about paul low gabrielle under arrest and accused of leaking confidential documents. gabbee el is said to be a modest man who began at the vatican as a cleaner working his way up. he has been at benedicts side since 2006. there are a lot of people who can't understand why he did it, if he did it, and many think that maybe he was framed up.

>> reporter: this is porta santa ana one of the main gates watched over as always by the swiss guard. apartments up that way around the corner around 100 kbrards. down that way, the apartment of the pope's butler. just over looking the walls of the vatican. we are told that the apartment with the red flowers is where he lived with his family and where the secret church documents were found. he is now being held in a room in the tiemy vatican police station. the documents expose money laundering and kick backs at the secret vatican bank which is operated outside of international banking laws. the head of the bank, fired last week. benedict has tried and failed to reform it. >> reporter: the hunt for potential accomplices of the pope's butler continues here at the vatican, but this is the critical point. court cases at the vatican are held behind closed doors. which means that while some information may come out, we may never know the whole truth behind all this scandal and

intrigue. david. jeffrey at the vatican. thank you. we reported last night on world news noods about the newest massacre in sere y. this time 32 children among the victims. tonight white house is now backing a plan that would remove president assad, not immediately but would remove him nonetheless. alex marquardt reporting in. >> reporter: david, this attack has add add urgency to the question of how to get president assad to step down in no small part because of the large number of young children killed. the key the white house believes is russia. what is being talked about now is putting more pressure in russia to in turn put more pressure on asaid to go. syria is one of russia's closest allies big buyer of russian weapons. the plan they're proposing is get assad to hand over power keeping much of his government in place during a political transition. for the time being, any sort of unified plan is a long way off.

david. >> alex marquardt, thank you. back in this country this evening and to the economy now a promising sign as we continue our reporting on bringing america back, looking for jobs in every corner of this country. it turns out there might be a traffic jam, that has nothing to do with holiday traffic this weekend. this one in the showrooms reports car sales expected to be up 30% this memorial day weekend from last year. our reporter on the revved up sales. >> reporter: in rock land county new york, live ya is enjoying his best month in three years. the confidence is back in his showroom and customers are buying again. >> we found people that were holding back from two years ago. now they're feeling comfortable. >> reporter: how are they winning over these potential buyers? by offering sweet deals one of their biggest weekends of the year. >> lot of arp finance deals. you can get 0% or 1.9% financing. >> on a typical weekend, this

dealership sels 20 cars. this weekend, they're expecting to sell 70. >> detroit is announcing the big come back. already chrysler added nearly 3,000 factory johns to keep up with demand. gm, 4,300 jobs in four states. three years ago manufacturing at this michigan plant was halted. by early this year, those workers told us all 2,200 of them were back. >> how relieved are you? >> if i could jump and touch the sky, i would. >> reporter: back at the dealership, we found joe and his wife buying not one car but two. both american cars helping to create american jobs. >> where are you going to go now? >> i'm going for a road trip. >> reporter: one car off the lot on the road to recovery. it is great to see. still ahead here on "world

news," the famous hollywood backdrop, james bond hanging above the golden gate bridge. move over bond. the real life heroes who built the bridge and why all of san francisco is celebrating a golden moment tonight. i remember the days before copd. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition.

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in the meantime, 75 year requests ago they opened up that golden gate bridge. this backdrop for so many hollywood favorites jimmy stewart, the bridge itself suspense story all its own. in the early 1930s american feat of engineering babt to get underway. 60 miles an hour winds, ocean currents dangerous too. but in the middle of great depression, nothing would match the american might. >> it was regarded by many as a bridge that could not be built. >> there were safety nets catch the workers who fell, pictures showing them walking across beams over to nothing at all. 75 years later, one of those work who are fell and went back to workweeks later, tonight remembered by his son.

>> dad always would say, it took 90% guts, 10 percent know hout onchts at the time thurs for work was so strong in this country, there was no training except what you got on yor to job. supply sent in from three different states. it came time for that first meeting in the middle. >> these two bridge men volunteered to take a trip out along the foot bridge cable. bridge men call it swimming the cable. swim fellas or you'll swim the gate. >> workers with their own nerves of steal. >> did they make it? well, here they are. meet mugs anderson and clyde. the first men to cross the golden gate bridge. >> so many of those who follow, lucky for us in your cars 1.9 billion vehicles kroz the golden gate bridge open on this day 75 years ago. the bridge that pessimists said could not be built has been

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well, tonight lady gaga officially cancelled her soldout show in indonesia. her fans are devastated. mystery in this country in maine on this weekend. lobsters shedding their hard shells early this year. lobstermen pulling in soft shell lob sters amonth ahead of schedules. they said wormer than moral winter is to blame. there's no word yet to a run on those lobster rolls. we'll keep you posted. when we come back here, the children and their messages for their heroes on this memorial day. while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away.

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holiday through the eyes of a children who will mark this day da for the rest of their lives. here is david curley. >> reporter: flags adorn the headstones. the ceremonies underway. the out ward signs of memorial day. but it is what is inside these young americans which is the true meaning of this remembrance. these are the children of the fallen. >> just a lot of fun stuff mostly. >> four years ago, captain andrew pearson killed in iraq, leaving four children. >> it's like the whole future that we had planned is all of a sudden it's gone. it's feels like a bad nightmare. >> he was a good person. >> reporter: still grieves the persons come to this event every year since their loss. tragedy assistance program. kaylee's father was killed in afghanistan. they shared a love of reptiles. >> we would joke around and sometimes scare my mom and say there's a snake out in the backyard. >> reporter: today they wrote

notes to their loved ones from kaylee, hi, dad. i love and miss you. another, i really want you to come back to earth. notes, tied to balloons. a simple act with deep meaning for a 9-year-old boy. >> it helps him because he feels closer to his dad that he's able to send that message and way to get it there. >> reporter: little closer to heaven. >> right. >> reporter: while we remember on memorial day, they remember everyday. david curley abc news. articlington virginia. >> tomorrow we remember all of the men and women who have sacrificed for this country and their children too. good morning america in the morning. i'll be in for diane right here tomorrow night. i hope to see you then. good night.

what a manmade beautiful bridge that is. so historic. >> alan: from around the bay and around the nation, hundreds of thousands of people are gathering right now to mark the anniversary of an engineering feat that many said could not be done. the golden gate celebration is in full swing and the crowds are building along the waterfront. here's a live look as people come together to celebrate the golden gate bridge's 75th 75th anniversary. festivities have been going on all day with a huge fireworks finale at 9:30 tonight. we're live with a look at today's celebration. >> reporter: over 75 years the bridge has come to mean many different things for many different people. for some who appreciate