this morning on "world news now" -- tragic end to a brave battle. breaking news from arizona where 19 firefighters have been killed. after being trapped in the wildfire. the biggest loss of life on the scene of such a blaze in decade. plus -- >> nelson mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world. >> president obama makes a somber reflective visit to south africa paying tribute to a hero and embracing the emotion of the moment. also this morning -- >> i will move forward with my education. i won't stop. >> starting today, 7 million students will be paying twice as much interest on their loans. why it is happening and why some now say college isn't worth the expense? it's monday, july 1st.

>> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now" with john muller and diana perez. good monday morning. we begin this half-hour with breaking news. a tragic end to a desperate search for 19 firefighters missing in action in arizona. >> they were battling the yarnell hill wildfire, which burned 2,000 acres in central arizona. now sadly officials have confirmed that all 19 firefighters have been killed. katie o'connor of our phoenix affiliate knxv is on the ground with the latest. >> knowing that's exactly what they are dealing with now, hours later, the fire, the behavior so erratic, so dangerous. unfortunately that's what led to the tragedy earlier today of the 19 firefighters. and they were with, granite mountain, the hot shot crew with prescott fire. 18 dead. another firefighter is unaccounted for, what agency he was working for. he was with the group of 19 firefighters. the hot shot crew, they go in

first they cut the lines, clear all the brush. they're the best in shape is what -- mike rikling with incident command tells me. they train all year for this. this is what they eat, sleep, breathe to train for wildfire conditions just like this. something must have gone wrong, some where. investigation under way about that. meanwhile, helicopter spotted the group of firefighters from the air. one of the -- there was a firefighter who was in the group that did manage to escape. but the other 19 did not. they were not recovered. and that was not released to us. they did pass away until around 8:00 this evening. meanwhile, other firefighters having to go out and fight the yarnell fire despite the tragedy of learning about their best friend. like brothers to them. the fire burning out of control. 0% contained at this time. 250 structures have burned in the town of yarnell. putting this in perspective, a very, very, very small town. 500 structures total.

half of it wiped out by this fire. i asked what kind of structures that would be -- and the incident command said that includes businesses and also homes. and when we arrived here at 3:15 this afternoon. came up off highway 89. we were standing just on the side of the road. we could see the fire quickly, quickly coming toward us. and -- we were told to leave because of the dangerous situation. now tomorrow more fire crews are going to be brought in to relieve. federal aid will be coming in. helicopters. planes continuing to dump water and retardant on the flames. >> that is katie o'connor from phoenix affiliate. thank you for that. such a tragic story. these guys that are called hot shots. they know what they're doing. the best of the best. what they had to do was deploy their emergency shelters. what that really means is, something drastic happens, they dig themselves a hole. right there in the ground. and they put a cover on top of them.

they hope that the fire passes over them, there is like a 50% survival rate with this. so when you are deploying your emergency shelter as the it is called. you know -- it's -- there is a half, half -- odds are that you are not going to make it. >> your last resort. >> last resort. something drastic happened. >> that's what katie was saying. talking about this kind of fire. the, the pictures are one thing. but to talk about the intensity of this fire is a completely different thing. the flames of the blaze lit up the night sky. could be seen miles away. the smoke that was really affecting everyone there could be smelled for miles and miles away. this started on friday from a lightning strike. almost immediately within the weekend spread to 2,000 acres. that's how big it had become. now we are talking about much, much more than that. she was talking about structural damage. nothing compares to losing the life. especially such a tight knit community when you lose 19 firefighters. >> relatively small place. conditions are horrible. perfect storm of conditions

where humidity is low, everything is dry. it is record heat, and high, high winds. >> not the only place it is happening. a lot more places to talk about. here we go. blistering heat fueling the arizona fire is melting record highs from idaho to texas. temperatures shot up to 128 degrees in death valley. and it hit 117 in las vegas. where we have the first known fatality of the heat wave. an elderly man found dead in a home without air conditioning. 140 people hospitalized. some runners passed out during a half marathon in california. so hot commercial flights had to be canceled. a different scenario in the southeast. drenching rain and thunderstorms triggered dangerous flash floods. water rose so fast in durham, north carolina, trapped drivers had to be rescued from their cars. some forced to evacuate from low lying homes. the heavy rain simply not letting up. >> like the rain. punishing heat in the west

expected to stick around. accuweather meteorologist jim dickey telling us what is in store today. good morning, jim. >> good morning, john, diana. temperatures prime to soar once again across the southwest. many spots well into the triple digits. especially from death valley down into the phoenix area. 115, 120. in some cases. many spots toppling record here, once again. this while a very different story across the east. keeping the rain in place. we have seen too much in terms of rainfall. flooding a big time, widespread concern. john, diana. back to you. >> jim, thank you very much. >> president obama travels to tanzania this morning. the third country on his african visit. >> yesterday the president made an emotional visit to the south african prison where nelson mandela was held. abc's jonathan karl is traveling with the president. >> reporter: a desolate speck of land five miles off the coast of south africa, the island is a place with a grim, cruel

history. with a former inmate as their guide, the obama family toured the old prison that confined nelson mandela and others who dared to fight against apartheid. they viewed the quarry where prisoners were forced to labor, endlessly breaking big stones into small ones. silently the president stepped inside the cell, about the size of a broom closet where mandela spent 18 years of his life. during the years, a young white guard was assigned to mandela and the two would become unlikely friends. years later that former guard talked to abc's david muir, remembering the time mandela's wife winnie visited with their new grandbaby. >> she please can i show mandela from a distance. no, no. leave the child. >> reporter: no children allowed not even mandela's grandbaby. what winnie mandela didn't know while she waited in a holding area, the jailer secretly brought the baby to see mandela. >> there were just tears coming

out of his eyes. >> no one ever knew. >> nobody knew. >> reporter: with an ongoing vigil, mandela clings to life. obama has spoken of him at every stop. >> nelson mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world. and he calls on us to make choices that reflect not our fears, but our hopes. >> reporter: although president obama did not get to see mandela he did receive a warm welcome from an aging hero, bishop desmond tutu. >> your success is our success. your failure whether you like it or not is our failure. we pray for you to be a great success. >> reporter: at the end of his tour of the island, the president wrote an inscription in the guest book saying "the world is grateful for the heroes of robben island and remind us that no shackles or cells can

match the strength of the human spirit." jonathan karl, abc news, capetown. >> a member of the cirque du soleil acrobatic troupe has been killed in a tragic fall in front of spectators at the mgm grand in las vegas. an audience member says a wire snapped sending the 30-year-old sarah guyard-guillot plummeting 50 feet into an open pit. the mother of two had been with the show for seven years and an acrobatic performer for more than 20 years. >> top european officials are expressing concern that u.s. intelligence agents, the latest revelation from nsa leaker edward snowden. here's abc's nick schifrin. >> deep inside moscow's airport the world's most wanted man is still hiding and apparently still spilling secrets. edward snowden leaked a document that, according to the german magazine, claims the u.s. bugged european allies offices in washington, d.c. and infiltrated their computer networks.

the u.s. is frustrated that snowden's data time bomb is still ticking and they can't get snowden extradited. >> i continue to be concerned about the other documents that he may have. that's part of the reason why we would like to have mr. snowden in custody. >> reporter: snowden has no passport but is trying to fly to cuba and get asylum in ecuador. here, ecuador provide wikileaks' julian assange asylum. he's been here for 377 days. from here, he's been helping snowden evade u.s. justice. assange told george stephanopoulos on "this week" that no matter what, snowden's secrets would get out. >> there is no stopping the publishing process at this stage. great care has been taken to make sure that mr. snowden can't be pressured by any state. to stop the publication process. >> reporter: ecuador says it can't consider granting snowden asylum unless he gets to ecuador. or one of its embassies.

russia won't let him leave the airport. snowden may be stuck. but he's free to keep revealing u.s. secrets. nick schifrin, abc news, london. it is week two for the jurors hearing the case against neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. they'll hear more today from prosecutors trying to prove that zimmerman murdered trayvon martin. they're likely to call forensic experts, and investigators before defense attorneys get a chance to put their first witness on the stand. >> wackiness from the world of sports over the weekend. we start with golfer, golfer, golfer, golfer, jessica korda, not corder, after disagreement with her caddie saturday at the women's u.s. open, she fired him and had her boyfriend carry her bag. >> very interesting. he was on the bag yesterday. things went well, korda finished ten strokes off the pace. still worth more than $94,000 buckaroos. pretty good for a 20-year-old. >> fired the caddie. talk tour de france. today last of three stages on

the isle of corsica. unreal scene yesterday as a dog runs on the course before a big group of riders rolled toward the finish line. it got out of the way with a second to spare. after saturday's mess where a bus got stuck at the finish line. you may agree anything can happen at the tour. that is scary. look at that little fellow. can you imagine? oh. coming up, if you like a little wine with your movie experience. there is a new food matchup you've got to try. >> millions of students saddled in debt now will be paying a lot more for their education. you are watching "world news now." we'll be right back. ♪ that's what i want ♪ that's what i want ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by airwick national park scents. ncer: "world news no weather brough by ai national park scents. park scents. the grand canyon cactus flower has a subtle, yet invigorating scent,

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♪ that's what i want ♪ that's what i want >> so money may be what you want if you are one of seven million students with college loans, more money is what you need starting today. >> thanks to congress, interest rates on the student loans are doubling today. details from our reporter. >> reporter: when brandon anderson graduates from georgetown university next year, his sociology degree comes with a starting salary of $26,000 and a mountain of debt. >> high interest rates and $25,000 in debt. >> for brandon and 7 million students, loan rates are set to go up doubling because congress failed to reach a deal on new rates. student loan debt in america reached staggering levels. nearly $1 trillion higher than car loans and more than credit card debt. >> is it worth the amount of time and energy and debt we're in?

>> reporter: new york city mayor michael bloomberg is among those who bluntly say it is not. >> being a plumber actually for the average person would probably be a better deal because you don't spend four years spending $40,000, $50,000 tuition and no income. >> reporter: brandon says a degree is essential even if he is saddled in debt. >> i am always worried. and yet i will certainly move forward with my education. i won't stop. >> reporter: lawmakers had a year to resolve differences and failed. congressional leaders in both parties tell abc news they're already hearing a backlash from voters and will reopen negotiations next week when they return to washington. >> abc news at the capitol. >> tough time to suddenly get your interest rates doubled when you are a kid, economy is still. >> the economy stinks still. sometimes either graduated or only graduated a few years ago. probably don't have a job or don't have a very, very good job anyway. trying to pay little at a time. now double this on you. >> seem crazy, right?

>> the question is, is it worth it spending all that money for an education if afterward you kind of get saddled with the bill. it changes on you. >> years ago it wasn't a debate. go to college. go to college. clearly the right answer. these days a legitimate question. anyways. >> still ahead, a hard knock life. >> or maybe not for the girls getting a chance to play annie on broadway. meet some next. you are watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

♪ it's a hard kck life fo ♪ it's a hard knock life for us ♪ >> one of the singers and songs from the musical annie, it's a hard knock life. annie playing on broadway. >> a new documentary about how the young ladies who play the title role got their big chance. abc's david muir tells us more. >> reporter: the musical annie had its broadway premiere in

1977, two years later, recognize that face? the young actress from new york, sarah jessica parker, playing annie. >> the sun will come out tomorrow so you have got to hang on till tomorrow ♪ >> reporter: annie is back, a documentary it's a hard knock life, follows the hopes and dreams of girls hoping for a shot on the stage. more than 5,000 of them auditioning all over the nation. emily got a chance to audition. ♪ >> for the first audition, my shirt said i got me kind of funny. >> where did you learn how to sing like that? >> reporter: from coast to coast just like emily, little girls waiting for the call. a thumbs up from juna and then the calls start coming. >> what's going on? >> georgie james, on the porch, so stunned. she accidentally put the phone down. >> pick up the phone. pick up the phone. >> what are you talking about? >> reporter: an invite. remember emily?

>> hello, yeah? >> reporter: they're telling her on the phone she has been chosen. all of them in new york, the documentary following their rehearsals all the practice time to play the orphans. >> i have never been that mad before. never acted that i am mad before. gives me a chance to get into someone else's life. >> reporter: a chance to get into somebody else's life as they realize a dream. >> i'm 11 years old. >> i'm 11 years old. >> i'm 8 years old from houston, texas. >> reporter: all of them on the stage with annie, now getting ready for their final performance next month. david muir, abc news, new york. ♪ >> how do you do that? how do you only pick one or a group out of all of those, i could never. >> all that talent, all that charm. >> yeah, they don't audition unless they're absolutely wonderful. to begin with. how do you sift through that? that is a job i don't want. >> never forget my daughter alexis sang "the sun will come out tomorrow" first song she sang to us as a family.

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sasave big on car rentals too from $11.95 a day. welcome to "the mix," everybody. we start with an interesting story. this one out of new zealand. 64-year-old woman apparently suffering from a cold. rummaging through her medicine cabinet in the middle of the night looking for cold cream, some kind of ointment. instead of grabbing the ointment to put on her lips, she grabbed super glue. >> my goodness. >> because she has a cold. she can't smell the difference. she applies it to her lips. >> oh, my god. goes to bed, realize she can't open her lips. >> can't even call 911. >> she dials the number and attempts to call for help. but according to the operator on the other line she could grunt, couldn't get her words out. they finally got to her, thinking it was a bigger problem. who knows what is going on. this woman can't speak. they realize it is the glue.

they take her to the emergency room. they use paraffin oil to soak it off slowly but surely. get it off. she's okay. she still has a cold. back home and doesn't have any super glue on her lips anymore. >> don't put crazy glue in the medicine cabinet with cold cream, right. >> what do you think of this one? going to the movies and munching popcorn that tastes like wine? what do you think? >> okay. >> not alcoholic. >> i'm not interested. >> the wine company. pairing up -- i know what you mean. they're making popcorn infused with wine. two flavors, pinot noir, drizzle, and the idea is to just pair up the flavors. apparently, it's quite popular. the sweet popcorn final flavor is, bright, zesty, pairs beautifully with wine. >> really? >> what do you think? >> wondering what it tastes like, curious, never had powdered wine. >> how could you improve on salty, buttered popcorn, really? is anything better than that? >> i have a funny feeling,

kettle corn, regular popcorn then infuse the flavor. i don't think it's without any flavor and just the infused flavor of the wine. there it is. very interesting. i'll give it a try. okay. so you know how every once in a while you get on facebook or twitter, people on television, and you find these really nasty comments from people. sometimes they can be a little offensive. >> yeah. in the caribbean, they decided to make it a criminal offense to do that. ah-ha. >> really? >> yes. >> part of the electronic crimes bill passed late friday in the small caribbean island. penalties include all kinds of things, including, stalking, identity theft, child pornography, so, there you have it. and the way it works, something happens on line, call the police, report it. a judge determines if the message is offensive. the fine can go up to $37,000. and the person can face three years in jail. little arbitrary, that a judge is deciding. >> what if somebody says i hate that outfit you are wearing? does it qualify? >> i don't know.

this morning on "world news now" -- breaking news from arizona. 19 firefighters have been killed battling a wildfire, the elite crew became trapped in the flames. >> a terrifying scene inside a wal-mart. attempted abduction of a little girl all caught on camera. how one brave police officer ended the dangerous standoff. >> called the second miracle on the hudson a helicopter makes a nose-dive into the river with a family of tourists on board. witnesses say the pilot had nerves of steal. >> another week, another celebrity baby and another interesting baby name. we'll tell you what jessica simpson is calling her brand new baby boy. it's monday, july 1st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now" with john muller and diana perez. good monday morning. we begin with the breaking news,

tragic end to a desperate search for 19 firefighters missing in action in arizona. >> they were battling the fast moving yarnell hill wildfire that burned 2,000 acres in central in arizona. now, sadly, officials confirmed that all 19 of those firefighters have been killed. katie connor of our phoenix affiliate is on the ground with the very latest. hi there, katie. >> reporter: that's exactly what they're dealing with hours later. this fire, the behavior so erratic and dangerous. unfortunately, that's what led to the tragedy earlier today of those 19 firefighters. they were with granite mountain, the hotshot crew with prescott fire. 18 died. there was another firefighter who was unaccounted for what agency he was working for. but he was with that group of 19 firefighters. that group of 19 firefighters. now, the hotshot crew they're now, the hotshot crew, they're the ones who go in first, they cut the lines, clear all the brush. they're the best in shape is what incident command tells me. that train all year for this.

this is what they eat, sleep, breeze to train for wildfire conditions just like this. something must have gone wrong somewhere. investigation under way about that. meanwhile, helicopter spotted the group of firefighters from the air. one of the -- there was a firefighter in the group that did manage to escape. but the other 19 did not. they were not recovered. and that was not released to us. they did pass away until around 8:00 this evening. meanwhile, other firefighters having to also still go out there and fight the yarnell fire. the fire still burning out of control. 0% contained at this time. 250 structures have burned in the town of yarnell. putting it in perspective, it's a very, very, very small town. only 500 structures total. half of it already wiped out by this fire. i asked what kind of structures that would be.

the incident command said that includes businesses and also homes. when we arrived around 3:15 this afternoon, we came up off of highway 89. we were standing just on the side of the road. we could see the fire quickly, quickly coming towards us. we were told to leave because of the dangerous situation. now, tomorrow more fire crews will be brought in to relieve. federal aid will be coming in, helicopters and planes continuing to dump water and retardant on the flames. >> really unbelievable. when you consider these guys called hotshots, they've been battling wildfires all summer long. they're the best of the best. they are trained. this is what they do. clearly something drastic must have happened. when they talk about deploying a shelter, what it means it's the last-ditch. there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. they dig a hole and cover themselves and hope it passes over. >> they say in these scenarios where they deploy emergency shelter, it's 50/50 whether they survive.

>> that's their last hope. >> you heard katie connor say that 18 of the 19 are from the prescott, arizona, fire department. the chief issued a statement saying we grieve for the families and the department. we grieve for the city. we're devastated. we just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet. as she said, they're the best in shape to do this. this is what they eat, live and breathe. this is all they want to do and all they do with their time. prepare for this and fight the fires. >> in addition to the 19 who lost their theirs, dozens injured. just a horrible situation. we'll stay on it all morning. >> this is a tough one for everybody out there. >> the deadly wildfire spread as record shattering heat baked the desert southwest. >> no relief in sight this morning. millions of americans will be suffering through a day of brutally high temperatures some some temperatures hovering around 120 degrees. more now from abc's richard cantu. >> try as we might to beat the heat.

>> kind of beats you up. >> reporter: it's the heat that is beating us. millions of americans are trapped under a massive heat dome that has eight states broiling in one of the worst heat waves ever recorded. >> i just try to follow the sun as it goes. and then i just adjust my exposure. try to stay out the heat. you don't want no heat strokes or anything like that. >> reporter: in pasadena, california, 3,000 defied the weather to run a marathon. this man one of a dozen who couldn't outrun the heat. one person is known dead in las vegas. and the sweltering temperatures can quickly turn ordinary events into medical emergencies. the danger signs -- your heart starts pumping faster trying to keep your body cool. red flag, if you stop sweating it's the first sign your body is in distress. another red flag, pale skin. it means your body is diverting blood from your skin to other organs. and you need medical attention fast. while cats are scurrying for the shade, the triple digits have everyone craving for cool.

>> ac in the car or ac in the house. >> reporter: the torrid temperatures turned many a local pool into an oasis. >> just jumping in. you see the lifeguards just jumping in because they need to cool off. yeah. it gets really hot. >> reporter: getting wet was easy for the kids at this water park in tucson. oops, as long as you didn't try to be a water hog. in houston, volunteers offered water and ice to the homeless. >> we send a van out to make sure they know there is an option. by the way, here's some water and we'll see you tomorrow. >> make that several tomorrows. the extreme heat wave won't break its grip for at least the next few days. richard cantu, abc news, new york. >> your monday forecast -- heat advisories and record highs for eight western states from arizona to washington. across the midwest. scattered thunderstorms on the east coast. and periods of heavy rain and flash flooding from georgia to new england. >> nearly 80 around new york and boston. 80s across the south. 70s in the midwest. more triple digits in the southwest.

we are getting our first look at surveillance video shot during a terrifying hostage standoff earlier this month at an oklahoma city wal-mart. the chilling scene playing out with a seemingly deranged man snatching a 2-year-old out of her mother's shopping cart. the video shows the mother. alicia keating pleading with the 37-year-old sammie wallace, as wallace threatened to kill the little girl. >> he had a weapon in his hand. a knife type weapon. holding up against the child. threatening the child's life. >> now, with the situation deteriorating a police officer moved in killing wallace with a sing the point-blank shot. the little girl is fine this morning. >> the first family travels to tanzania as part of their african trip. coincidentally, president george w. bush is also in tanzania. the white house did not rule out a meeting. between the two presidents. yesterday the president and first lady made a visit to the robben island prison where nelson mandela was confined for 18 of 27 years in captivity. as mandela remains in critical

condition in the hospital, a family feud over where the 94-year-old former president should be buried has gone to the south african courts. mandela's oldest daughter and 15 other family members are asking the body of three of mandela's children be returned to their original burial site. >> egyptian president, mohamed morsi defying calls from opponents to step down. he is not quitting. supporters are vowing not to allow protesters to remove the islamist leader. alex marquardt reporting now from cairo. >> wave after wave they came, marching straight toward the palace of president mohamed morsi. and the size of the march is absolutely staggering. it stretches back, as far as the eye can see. these are scenes reminiscent of the revolution 2 1/2 years ago. now the very same protesters are trying to spark a second revolution. >> he is not even trying. he is doing everything for his muslim brotherhood group. >> reporter: nearby the muslim brotherhood held a smaller rally. supporters arguing he hasn't had

enough time to succeed. >> the supporters, they say they want to keep it peaceful, but it is clear they were ready to fight for their president. now the country is afraid it could fall into civil war. violence in the past has claimed seven victims including an american student. on friday, the 21-year-old was a bystander at a protest when she -- he was stabbed. his family said he loved the middle east and want to move here in pursuit of peace. that peace is elusive. egypt is more divided than ever. alex marquardt, abc news, cairo. >> texas lawmakers are returning to the capitol today to resume debate on a sweeping abortion bill that was blocked last week. governor rick perry called another special session. after state senator wendy davis pulled off a marathon filibuster and rallied supporters. across the country. if legislation passes as it is expected to do it would effectively shut down almost every abortion clinic in the state of texas. >> county clerks offices in california expecting a rush on marriage licenses.

federal appeals court removing the last obstacle to make same sex matrimony legal in california. the clerk's office in san francisco the only one in the state open saturday to accommodate those who couldn't wait. >> here in new york, a family from sweden safe and sound now after surviving a frightening emergency landing on the hudson river. they were taking in the sights of manhattan, the manhattan skyline when their helicopter lost power after just 12 minutes in the air. the pilot is credited with averting a disaster, lowering the craft as gently as possible into the water. luckily no one was injured. >> homeowner in cambridge, massachusetts got the scare of her life when she stumbled upon a 4 foot long boa constrictor. irene monroe said the screen door to her back porch jammed yesterday morning. she looked down and found the young red-tailed boa in the way curled up near her feet. >> what if i had a heart condition. i felt like i had one today. you know, really. i almost went into cardiac arrest. >> yeah, if she had a heart

condition she'd be in big trouble. the snake is an escaped pet. they are legal. if the owner doesn't come forward. it will be put up for adoption. diane, you can take it home. it can grow to 18 feet. >> i'm okay. >> coming up why j-lo is forced to apologize for her performance. >> first, a deadly accident at one of the world's most popular live shows. you're watching "world news now". ♪ ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by gerber life insurance.

updating the m updating the morning's breaking news. at least 19 firefighters have been killed battling a fast moving wildfire in central arizona. >> members of an elite group of firefighters called hot shots. marks the single worst loss of life of firefighters, battling a wildfire since 1933. nearly two dozen have been injured. >> now to the other news of the day. in las vegas an investigation under way into the death of a cirque du soleil performer. the woman died late saturday night. >> this happened in front of an audience. now the show has been shut down until further notice. abc's gio benitez has more. >> reporter: the 31-year-old performer fell 50 feet during saturday night's performance of ka at the mgm grand in las vegas. she has nearly a decade of experience and reportedly the mother of two young children. cirque, one of the most revered acrobatic companies in the world never had a performer die in its 30-year history. an audience member tweeted that a wire snapped during the final scene of the show, performers

were at the highest point on the vertical wall. the tweeter added other actors were visibly upset and horrified. crew members were calm and one by one got the other performers off the stage. perhaps the toughest detail, the performer screams and groans could be heard from below the stage. the show was canceled just after this accident. and we have learned it all happened just as cirque was celebrating the opening of a new vegas show. gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> talk about an organization kind of not knowing what to do. they have never been in the situation before. apparently the show went on, momentarily, until people started to realize we have a serious situation here. then a couple minutes after everybody had gotten off the stage. one by one, as gio said, the crew members came and got the performers off the stage. horrified performers had seen somebody they'd worked with for so long, die in front of them. the audience was informed they would get refund and were dismissed.

>> the founder releasing a quote, i am heartbroken, i wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. we are devastated. sad story. >> still to come, why j-lo is apologizing for a performance. in front of the leader of a small nation. >> plus the latest celebrity baby name. we'll have that for you in "the skinny." you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

hey, thanks for stopping by. you know, i've followed your character since the first episode. i'm a big fan, big, big fan... thank you. listen, your storyline makes for incredible tv drama. thing is, your drug use is very adult content. too adult for the kids. so, i'm gonna have to block you. aw, man. yeahh... well. have a good one. you're a nice lady.

♪ ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ >> "the skinny" time. good news. jessica simpson welcoming a new baby boy. >> yes, another one. >> the boy's name is ace knute johnson. >> first one is maxwell. right? >> maxwell. >> a little girl. >> with eric johnson. courtesy of e! news. it's her second child. the little boy born in los angeles, cedar sinai. by a c section. ace knute joins maxwell. and the duo's new family. and the middle name honors eric's swedish grandfather. there you go. middle name is knute. >> or nute for short. >> that's why it is another crazy baby name. we had north, north west, kim kardashian.

>> no one will beat that one. >> hard one to beat. check this out. j-lo forced to apologize. apparently, she went and performed, you know these artists perform, almost all the time for any kind of person that will hire them to come and sing at birthday or whatever it is. she has apparently upset a whole lot of human rights activists. she performed for the president of turkmenistan. she sang happy birthday for the 56-year-old. while he has an oppressive record of human rights violations in his country. so now people around the world are really upset about this. so much so she has been forced to apologize even though her statements are saying that, you know, the entire performance was vetted by her representatives. their intention was not to do this at all, not for somebody with this record. the statement goes on to say, had there been knowledge of human rights issues of any kind. jennifer would not have attended. she attended and sang. there you have it. now she apologizing. >> oops. >> how to make money selling

drugs, a documentary, a war in america and war worth fighting or can it be won? interesting thing, eminem opening up about past drug addiction. he speaks about being addicted to vicodin. in a two-minute video clip that's inside this film. it was released on april 25th. includes appearances from 50 cent and russell simmons. eminem candid about his addiction. >> tmz is reporting that omarosa from "the apprentice" her mom and her at b.e.t. awards. another celebrity, alum, claudia jordan says, that omarosa's mom came and clocked her. in the arm. she filed a police report. once again all according to tmz. she said she called her a stupid -- they were having an argument, claudia, and omarosa.

her mom came over, heard, clocked her in the arm. yikes. >> mom? >> mom! >> mom! >> mom!

♪ oh yeah little red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast ♪ yes you are >> all right, little prince there. next story a great excuse to hear a little bit of little red corvette. the classic car now the big 6-0. >> anything else that turns 60, it's gone through changes over the years. right? abc's david muir take is a look back at where it all began. >> they call her corvette. and she belongs to the highway. >> reporter: it was 60 years ago that the first corvette rolled off the assembly line in america. >> the man who designed this had fun. >> reporter: listen to one of the first ads for the corvette. >> while it is never going to take the place of the family car, i for one am going to have fun owning it. >> reporter: first model built in flint, michigan. 300 produced the first year. so few being built they were assembled by hand.

named after a type of small fast moving navy warship. the idea of the corvette dates back to end of world war ii. when returning gis sang the praises of the little sports cars they had seen overseas. every car looking the same in the beginning. here it is what was called a polo white exterior, red seats, dashboard red and white too. ♪ and listen to this, the base price, just under $3,500. and the available options, a heater, and an a.m. radio. by the way, gas back then 21 cents a gallon. >> the open road and country byways. >> reporter: there were new designs along the way. >> the corvette stingray, america's only true sports car. >> there were shows in which the corvette played one of the starring roles. over the decades, the love affair with the corvette often rekindled. >> four decades ago, a dream car captured america's heart.

and wouldn't let go. >> reporter: and this weekend as corvette lovers across the country mark 60 years, the 2014 corvette newly introduced. since 1953, 1.5 million corvettes coming off the assembly line hoping to find a perfect buyer. >> for mr. and mrs. america, in a carefree mood. what a car. >> reporter: david muir, abc news, new york. >> sexy from the very beginning. >> from the beginning. what a beautiful car. >> white on the outside. red on the inside. always wanted one when i was a teenager. >> i still want one. >> i know, me too. some day, right. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.

>> abc7 news start right now where breaking news. >> i'm deeply disappointed it has come to this. tonight we are going to strike. >> bart workers are officially on strike. bart trains will not run after last minute negotiations fell apart between the transit agency and the unions. abc7 news is starting half an hour early to hope you get through the first strike since 1997. >> that was a six-day strike and it was not pleasant. we have reporters covering the impact on the commute. it could be a slow and difficult