tal of... [cheers and applause] speaking of clockwork, you just keep going. come back and finish the week with us tomorrow. we'll see you then. captioned by los angeles distribution and broadcasting, inc. on america, this morning, a plea deal for three men charged with planning the september 11th attacks, including the alleged mastermind decades after his capture. what the deal calls for and reaction from families who lost, loved ones on 9/11.

>> in the race for president. racial identity in the spotlight as former president trump questions whether vice president kamala harris is black, her response and why trump calls her a phony. >> the middle east on the brink what iran's leader is now saying about a possible attack on israel airlines canceling flights as tensions rise. >> an urgent new warning about young people being diagnosed with cancer. the 17 types of cancer on the rise and what's being blamed. >> hundreds of thousands of power outages overnight as severe storms slam the middle of the country. meanwhile, the western wildfires turn deadly. the national guard deployed in colorado at the olympics. >> simone biles back in action today, but she's not the only female athlete making history in paris, and later, an act of kindness between a major league baseball player and a five year old. >> from abc news this is america this morning. >> good thursday morning,

everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. good morning to you i'm rhiannon ally. >> we begin with new details about a plea deal for three men accused of planning the september 11th attacks, which killed nearly 3000 people. >> the men, including the alleged mastermind of the attacks, khalid sheikh mohammed, will now avoid a trial and they'll avoid the death penalty. it comes after decades of litigation, and this is not sitting well with some families of those who died on nine over 11. >> here's abc's andrea fujii. >> this morning anger from some families of nine over 11 victims after word that the alleged mastermind of the nine over 11 attacks and two other defendants have accepted a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. >> we're the ones that suffered the loss, but they're making deals for them for what they want. >> the victims families were notified in a letter explaining that khalid sheikh mohammed, who was captured in 2003 along with walid bin attash and mustafa al-hawsawi, have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2976 people. all three

are held in guantanamo bay, where they're expected to remain for the rest of their lives. terry strada's husband was killed on nine over 11. she says her family deserves a trial. >> what happened today was khalid sheikh mohammed and the other two that pled out. they have a victory today, and i don't think we ever should have given them any type of victory. >> but the case of the nine over 11 conspirators has been plagued by legal challenges and delays for years. patrick white, whose cousin died on the plane that crashed in pennsylvania, saying, i've made my peace with it. life in prison, along with an admission of guilt. the aclu, noting the controversial interrogation techniques used after 9/11, saying for too long, the u.s. has defended its use of torture and unconstitutional military tribunals at guantanamo bay, the torturer of these defendants makes this plea both necessary and just billions of dollars in property damage, 3000 dead in an international

community and the united states government is worried about if they poured water on him. dan dallara's twin brother was a port authority officer who died trying to rescue people in the north tower. >> the united states has compiled a lot of evidence. we have spent millions and millions of dollars compiling this evidence, and i would like to see that presented. >> the victims families are being offered the chance to ask the three men questions during sentencing, but some say they're not interested. >> they will give answers that will inspire their brothers. and i don't think we should ask them any questions. i don't think we should give them an opportunity to have the media, cover, you know, their answers. >> i know why they did it. the mass murderers, they're pure evil. >> the biden administration says it played no role in the plea agreement. nine over 11 victims families were also in court yesterday in a civil case trying to hold saudi arabia accountable

for its role in the attacks. rhiannon andrew, now to the presidential campaign and race taking center stage after comments from former president trump at a convention of black journalists. >> now, this morning, vice presidential candidate j.d. vance is coming to his running mate's defense, saying the media is overreacting to former president trump's remarks to an audience of black journalists. >> unlike kamala harris, president trump showed up and took some tough questions. the press treated him the same way they have since he came down. that escalator in 2015. they were rude. they cut him off. >> trump, speaking to the national association of black journalists, questioned the race of vice president kamala harris, whose father is black, born in jamaica and whose mother was born in india. >> she was always of indian heritage and she was only promoting indian heritage. i didn't know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now

she wants to be known as black. >> trump also blamed harris for the surge of migrants crossing the southern border. >> i will tell you that coming coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking black jobs. you had the best. >> what exactly is a black job, sir? >> a black job is anybody that has a job. that's what it is. anybody that has a job. >> all right, the white house is calling trump's comments repulsive and insulting. harris in houston last night reacted to trump's comments about her racial identity. >> and it was the same old show. the divisiveness and the disrespect. and let me just say, the american people deserve better. >> also, last night, trump returned to pennsylvania for the first time since the assassination attempt. in that state, saying he didn't even know harris's name until recently. >> i mean, two weeks ago, i was talking about biden. i didn't even know her name. nobody did.

kamala. hello, beautiful. i didn't even know her name. kamala i heard she was a rotten border czar. >> trump made no mention of his earlier comments questioning harris's race, but he did accuse her of faking a southern accent in her speech in atlanta last night, kamala harris even tried to out brand a new southern accent. >> did you hear a new accent? if i ever did that, all of those people back there, look at that. look at all those cameras. that's so good. oh, would i go through hell? i'd have a week of hell if i ever tried to do that. >> trump was also asked yesterday if j.d. vance as vice president, would be ready on day one to take over. if necessary. he did not answer the question, only saying he respects vance and saying vp candidates don't usually make a difference in the election. >> now to the growing concern about a wider conflict in the middle east. the new york times reports iran's supreme leader has ordered an attack on israel after the killing of a top hamas

official. abc's em nguyen is here now with the latest em. good morning. >> raanan. good morning. iran's supreme leader reportedly issued an order to strike israel directly. the last time we saw such an attack was in april, when iran fired hundreds of projectiles. most were knocked down by the u.s. and israel. but with tensions in the region rising, at least two major airlines are suspending flights to tel aviv. it comes after that top hamas official was killed while visiting tehran. hamas says ismail haniyeh was killed when a rocket hit the room where he was staying. israel has not commented on that strike, but israel does acknowledge killing a top hezbollah official in lebanon hours earlier. of course, all of this stemmed from israel's war against hamas following the october 7th attack. today marks 300 days since that surprise attack. eight americans are still in captivity, including hersh goldberg-polin. his parents fear the killing of that hamas official in iran will only complicate talks for a hostage

deal, because he was a key negotiator. >> hopefully, it's that one step backwards, three step forwards that sometimes happens in diplomacy and we just have to continue to find optimism. >> i would pray that those people in those rooms are still having those conversations, and that they are somehow able to be having some movement forward. >> the families holding out hop. but yesterday, a hamas official declared peace talks are all but over. andrew >> all right. m thank you. a major health headline from the american cancer society. a new study finds younger people, including millennials and generation x, are more likely to be diagnosed with 17 types of cancer compared to older generations at their age. younger patients have also been dying at rates up to three times higher than previous generations. cancer's on the rise include ovarian, liver, kidney and pancreatic obesity.

bad diet and alcohol are among the factors to blame when the national guard is now helping battle four major wildfires near denver, one person has died and the flames have forced thousands of people from their homes. >> meanwhile, smoke from northern california's park fire has prompted an air quality emergency across hundreds of miles. the other big weather story is in the plains severe storms ripped through eastern nebraska with widespread power outages. let's get a check of your thursday forecast now >> good morning. august is here. we're dealing with some poor air quality big fires continuing in parts of colorado, sections of nevada, california, other nearby states, and the winds are shifting the smoke back to the north after recent improvements, conditions are going to deteriorate again in washington state into seattle, for example, and overall, the heat will be building and we're going to be flirting with records over the next several days with more fire danger in the northwest. for accuweather, i'm jeff cordish

for abc news. >> coming up, more accusations that customers are getting ripped off buying concert tickets. >> but first hear from the parents of a toddler trapped inside a pipe just one foot wide and 12ft deep. the dramatic rescue and simone biles back in the spotlight. >> the latest fargo makes banking faster, and easier. (woman) fargo, turn off my debit card! (vo) lets you pick up the tab, even if you forget your wallet...

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tonight with david muir than any other newscast. >> first responders near wichita, kansas, had to dig deep to lift a toddler from an underground pipe. little bentley fell about 12ft, but the pipe was only a foot in diameter, so crews tied a rope to a smaller pipe and guided the rope around him. his parents say the cover of the pipe in their yard got loose. >> when he stepped on it, it flipped, but he fell so fast like i can't grab him. i

automatically screamed and screamed for him. >> that horrible scream. i was with her when she gave birth to two babies. and this isn't the scream that you ever want to hear, because you know that it's something treacherous has happened. >> not only is bentley okay, he was back to his playful self in just a few minutes. >> so glad he's okay. turning to the olympics now, simone biles is back on the mat today in the women's all around final, but she's not the only female athlete making history in paris. make it eight olympic golds for katie ledecky, the freestyle phenom, destroying the competition in the women's 1500, cementing her place in the history books. >> just happy with the time and i'm just happy with how it felt. and, you know, any gold medal is it's not easy to win, so just i'm just trying to appreciate i, appreciate the moment. >> the win making ledecky the first female swimmer to win gold at four separate olympic games. and she says she may try for

five. >> i don't feel like i'm close to being finished in the sport yet. i'd love to continue on. >> it was a big day for the home team in paris, too, leon marchand shattering an olympic record, pulling off stunning back to back wins in the butterfly and breaststroke, winning two gold medals in just two hours. meanwhile, team usa saw wins in men's basketball and women's soccer, both teams advancing but a disappointment for coco gauff. the tennis ace knocked out after two straight losses. another u.s. tennis star blames her early departure from the games on the organizers. danielle collins says she dropped out of her match due to an abdominal injury. she says the muscle pull was due to dehydration after organizers failed to provide cold water for athletes in the blistering heat along the seine, the triathlon finally kicked off after multiple delays, racers taking the plunge after officials decided contamination levels in the river were safe. canadian racer tyler mislawchuk vomiting

after getting out of the water. although it's unclear if he was sick from swallowing the water or simply overexerted himself. we hope he's feeling better. one event that did not move ahead as planned was the surf competition in tahiti, and that was due to unfavorable conditions. all right. >> coming up, an act of kindness between a major league baseball player and a five year old. >> but first, the new plan to >> but first, the new plan to bring down ♪ which you do you want to be today? at tj maxx, you can afford to turn your closet into a place of endless expression. with the quality you deserve, styles you crave, and prices you love. ♪ ♪ (♪) to stay on top of my game, i need to keep up my energy. clif bar is purposefully crafted

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>> an ammonia emergency near washington, d.c. as 26 people had to be hospitalized after a leak at a commercial food building in sterling, virginia. officials say local residents were not in any danger. >> we're getting a clearer picture of sonia macey's mental state in the days before she was shot and killed by an illinois sheriff's deputy now charged with her murder, two 911 calls were made from macy's home, claiming someone wanted to hurt her, and macy's mother called 911 the day before the shooting, reporting her daughter was having a mental breakdown. here's what she said. >> i don't want you guys to hurt her. please, please don't send no combative policemen that are prejudiced. please. i'm scared of the police. please, please tell something to be fearful of, ma'am. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> some time they make this day worse. >> okay? help's on the way. thank you. >> macy's family says she recently got treatment for mental health issues. >> we turn now to the cost of

child care and a possible way to ease the burden on parents. any working parent will tell you child care costs have skyrocketed. the numbers don't lie. parents have seen prices rise at nearly double the pace of inflation. daycare and preschool costs are up 263% since 1990. >> we felt like it was important for us to come together to have a common sense, bipartisan solution. >> and now a new proposal in washington aims to make child care more affordable by retooling existing tax credits to help working parents. the plan, from senators tim kaine of virginia and katie britt of alabama, would double the amount of expenses that employees can put into pretax savings accounts for child care, and it would increase the child care tax credit to $2,500 for single child families and 4000 for families with multiple kids. >> we nearly double the size of the tax credit and we make it refundable. a lot of low income families are not paying federal

income tax, so the tax credit doesn't help them. you make it refundable. they can use it. >> the proposal also includes grant money to boost pay for workers to hopefully keep them from fleeing to higher paying jobs in other industries. kane and britt are optimistic there is political will to pass this plan in the near future. >> people are talking to every member of congress, democrat or republican, house or senate. we're hearing about this at home. we need to find a solution. and this is a novel kind of a new approach. >> well, the senate is expected to vote today on a separate proposal that would expand the child tax credit, but that is expected to fail coming up, new allegations of concert ticket rip offs. also ahead, big news about maya rudolph just in time for election season

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>> it's time to check the pulse. and we begin with portrayal of the vice president. we've all been clamoring for. >> maya rudolph is reportedly returning to snl to reprise her role as kamala harris, which won her an emmy. by the way, tonight i'm not going to worry about the polling numbers. >> i'm just going to have fun and see if i can get some viral moments. mama needs a gif. i'm going to tell my kids this was michelle obama. >> rudolph is expected to stay through november's election. next. stubhub is facing a new lawsuit. >> washington dc's attorney general claims stubhub is tricking customers into overpaying for tickets by hiding mandatory fees until just before buyers make their purchase. stubhub insists its practices are consistent with the law. and next, a heartfelt exchange in baseball. >> orioles rookie jackson holliday hit his first big league home run yesterday. it was a grand slam clear out of

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