5 Things to Know This Morning

5 Things to Know This Morning

ByABC News
July 9, 2014, 6:04 AM
President Barack Obama laughs as he spots a man wearing a horse-head mask during an impromptu walk after having dinner at Wazee Supper Club, July 8, 2014, in Denver.
President Barack Obama laughs as he spots a man wearing a horse-head mask during an impromptu walk after having dinner at Wazee Supper Club, July 8, 2014, in Denver.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.

1. Obama 'The Bear' Lets Loose in Denver

A bear was on the loose in Denver Tuesday … a presidential bear, that is.

Just as the White House cautioned, President Obama, “The Bear,” went “loose” in Denver, breaking the “bubble” to meet with average Americans.

Shortly after arriving in the Mile-High City, the president sat down for dinner at the Wazee Supper Club with five people who wrote him letters. He later walked the streets, a stroll that reportedly appeared to surprise even his own staff.

2. Mom Who Left Baby On Subway Saw Boyfriend Killed, Dad Says

The woman accused of abandoning her baby on crowded New York City subway platform has been erratic since seeing her boyfriend shot to death while she hid nearby, the woman's father told ABC News.

Frankea Dabbs, 20, left her 10-month-old daughter on a busy Manhattan subway station and got back on the train and left on Monday. She was arrested and charged Tuesday with abandoning a child and committing actions injurious to a child less than the age of 17. She told police she was homeless after arriving in the city on June 2 and couldn't handle being a mother.

"She felt she couldn't take care of the baby and thought she was leaving her in a safe public space," said Stephen Davis, spokesman for the New York Police Department.

3. 4 Dead, Homes Destroyed by Storms in Central New York

Four people died and four homes collapsed in Central New York Tuesday due to severe storms, authorities said.

The deaths were reported after 7 p.m. in the community of Smithfield, Madison County, officials with the county sheriff’s office told ABC affiliate WSYR-TV.

The storm brought down numerous trees and utility lines, with damage also reported in the towns of Sullivan and Lennox.

4. George Clooney Slams Tabloid Report of Future Mother-In-Law's Objections

George Clooney is firing back at a tabloid report that his future mother-in-law is opposed to his impending marriage to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, refuting the Daily Mail's coverage in an op-ed for USA Today.

“First of all, factually none of the story is true,” Clooney wrote in the op-ed, which appeared online early this morning. “Amal’s mother is not Druze. She has not been to Beirut since Amal and I have been dating, and she is in no way against the marriage, but none of that is the issue.”

5. Dave Chappelle Left Spotlight Because it Wasn't 'Conducive to Raising a Family'

Dave Chappelle told People magazine that he left his hit show in 2005 because of what was most important to him.

"I never stopped being on stage. What I did was step off of the main stage," he said. "That kind of attention wouldn't have been conducive to raising a family."