this morning, threat by mail. the investigation gaining steam overnight. who targeted new york's billionaire mayor sending letters laced with a potentially dangerous poison. we're live with the very latest. >> wild weather not letting up overnight. a region rocked by powerful winds bracing for triple-digit temperatures today. in her own words, the american mother of seven jailed in mexico accused of drug smuggling. she gives an emotional first interview about surviving behind bars. and the wedding photo rocking around the internet because of one very unwelcome guest. good thursday morning, everybody. we begin with new details on the story that's been developing overnight, the poison-laced

letter sent to new york's mayor and his gun control group. >> both letters postmarked in louisiana tested positive for ricin, the deadly poison made from castor beans. abc's devin dwyer is joining us from washington this morning. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning, diana. good morning, john. ricin has become in the words of one official "a weapon of choice for would-be terrorists." investigators are taking this latest incident very seriously. the ricin-laced letters intended to intimidate or kill two top advocates for gun control, the letter to new york city mayor michael bloomberg was interseted blocks from his manhattan office at a mail screening facility. a second letter targeted the director of bloomberg's mayors against illegal guns in washington, d.c. >> the letter was obviously referred to our anti-gun efforts but there's 12,000 people that are going to get killed with guns and 19,000 are going to commit suicide, and we won't walk away from those efforts. >> reporter: the letters did not harm any of the intended

recipients but three emergency responders who examined one of the letters did experience minor symptoms. ricin is derived from castor beans and can be made into a deadly poison by amateurs at home. >> if it's the real stuff and you get enough of it into your system, it's lethal and there is no antidote for it. >> reporter: so far this year, there have been several attempted ricin attacks. last week a washington state man was arrested for trying to use the poison to kill a federal judge. letters with ricin have also targeted president obama and members of congress. a mississippi man has been charged in that case. bloomberg says the threats don't intimidate him. >> there are people who i would argue do things that may be irrational, do things that are wrong, but it's a complex world out there, and we just have to deal with that. >> reporter: now, the nypd and fbi are investigating the letters. so far, no word on any potential suspects. john? >> all right, devin dwyer in washington. thank you. our other main story this morning, the violent weather across the middle of the nation that seems to be showing no mercy. >> here's what it looked like

late yesterday as one of several twisters rolled across parts of nebraska. a couple of those tornadoes were reportedly on the ground for several minutes. >> flash flooding also a big problem, particularly for one community college in illiis. watch as the floodwaters come right through the front doors earlier this week. the school is closed through tomorrow while they count up the loss of the equipment there. >> accuweather meteorologist jim dickey tells us what is in store for today. >> good morning, john and diana. still tracking widespread thunderstorms through these early morning hours. the threat for tornadoes certainly wound down here but still soaking rainfall. localized flash flooding will be an issue especially into the midwest. we've seen so much rainfall the past couple of weeks. now, more storms expected as we head through the day and daytime heating and storms firing. the corridor with the highest threat central and northern missouri back into northeastern oklahoma. john and diana, back to you. >> jim dickey, thank you at accuweather. meanwhile, here on the east coast, it is time for the first heat wave of the year. temperatures along the entire northeast corridor from boston

to washington will be above the 90-degree mark. those types of readings are expected from today through saturday. but before those high temps, a wild scene. severe storms brought high winds and pounding rain to upstate new york. one driver captured the chaos in the city of troy. after the system moved through, residents couldn't believe the damage, tree limbs littering the damage, power lines. one woman trapped inside her car. she is okay. breaking overnight, that weather, a possible cause for this accident. seven people are dead following a collision between a minivan and a semi truck in upstate new york. the accident happened near the small town of truxton between binghamton and syracuse. police say the trailer portion became detached from the cab, crossed the median and slammed into the van. all of the victims were riding in the minivan. two people in the truck were not hurt. an army sergeant charged in the massacre of 16 afghan villagers is pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty. his lawyer says staff sergeant robert bales was crazed and

broken the night of the attack, but he was not legally insane. families of the villagers killed in the massacre had been demanding he be executed. pakistani officials say a suspected u.s. drone strike killed the number two man in the taliban. the man is said to be responsible for hundreds of bombings and shootings in pakistan. the u.s. had to put up a $5 million price on his head. the white house not confirming that he was among those killed in the drone strike. attorney general eric holder is meeting today with bureau chiefs from several media organizations amid recent controversies over leak investigations. it's part of a review into justice department policies. it follows criticism over the department's secret monitoring of a fox news reporter and the seizure of phone records from associated press reporters. and a former top bush official is expected to be president obama's choice to head the fbi. james comey was a deputy attorney general under george w. bush. he created quite a controversy when he threatened to resign over the president's

warrantless wiretapping program. all right, for the first time we are hearing from the arizona mom jailed in mexico on drug charges. the mother of seven appeared in court yesterday where her lawyer argued she was set up and sat down with our affiliate navidad. she insisted she did nothing wrong. >> reporter: that wasn't always the case for yannira maldonado. >> i was in shock. i'm like this is not real. >> reporter: it was the worst thing that could happen to a woman who just lost her aunt. ya fire row and her husband gary traveled to mexico by bus for a funeral, but when they boarded the bus to come back to phoenix, that's when her nightmare started. mexican military police searched her bus claiming to find these drugs under her seat. during questioning yannira thought they were trying to help her. >> she's like, i'm here to help. i'm here to put criminals behind bars, and i said, thank god.

i'm innocent, so i thought she's going to help me. >> reporter: but instead she realized the military police already planned on taking her to this prison in nogales. >> they put my cuffs in my seat and in my hands and it was horrible. >> reporter: and the nightmare will continue for yannira but she says her freedom is just around the corner. >> i'm going to be free. i'm not guilty. i don't have nothing to hide. >> reporter: now witnesses say maldonado was only carrying a purse and blanket when she boarded the bus. a federal judge in mexico will decide tomorrow if this case should go to trial. still ahead, the newest fast food mash-up combines two tastes you may think never went to together. >> these are always interesting. plus, it's being called a threat to the world. why experts are afraid a new virus may spread too quickly to control. also coming up, mind-blowing discoveries or mockumentaries. inside the animal planet's search for mermaids.

and welcome back. investors are hoping for a better trading day today as the dow suffered its worst one-day loss in weeks. it was down nearly 200 points but came back to close just 106 points down. investors may be concerned that the federal reserve will start winding down its stimulus program. meantime, the nasdaq stock market has agreed to pay $10 million to settle federal civil charges stemming from the disastrous initial public offering of facebook shares. computer glitches and technical problems marred the may 2012 ipo. that $10 million is the largest ever penalty imposed against an exchange.

a chinese company has agreed to buy the biggest producer of pork, smithfield foods. if approved, the deal would be the largest takeover of an american firm by a chinese firm but the deal will likely face tough scrutiny given the serious questions over china's food safety. more good news about the housing market. we learned overnight the sale of foreclosed homes hit their lowest level in five years accounting for 21% of the total market. that's down from 45% during the height of the housing crisis. but mortgage rates, they seem to be on their way up from record lows. they are hitting some reasonable 3.9% as of last week. it's the highest in about a year. and finally, attention all you burger lovers, that means you too, john, the pretzel bacon cheeseburger is coming to a wendy's near you. just as it sounds, this is a cheeseburger with bacon on a pretzel bun, and it should be on the menu by this summer. one analyst loves the idea saying it could increase sales

for wendy's stores by as much as 3 whole percent. >> sign me up. i want one of those bad boys. >> i think i might try that too. >> i'll try it. once in a while. once in a while. >> why not. when we come back, the new photos that compare drug addiction to soda abuse. plus, a principal gets schooled. how her students got away with duct taping her to the wall when we come back. [ female announcer ] love. it's the most powerful thing on the planet. love holds us in the beginning. comforts us as we grow old. love is the reason you care. for all the things in your life... that make life worth living. ♪ ♪ sweet love of mine

next minute i'm in the back of an ambulance having a heart attack. i was in shape, fit. i did not see it coming. i take bayer aspirin. [ male announcer ] so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. see your doctor and get checked out. it's a new worldn aof wonder.et,imen. at petsmart, the destination for everything reptile. during reptile mega month, save up to 20% on select terrariums from top brands. and save 50% on all ball pythons. at petsmart®.

a giant ice jam is starting to finally loosen up after sending floodwaters gushing into a tiny alaskan town forcing almost everyone to evacuate. as temperatures rose chunks of ice at the front of this 30-mile-long jam broke off yesterday. that means that the frozen mass will begin to move soon allowing the waters to finally recede. >> let's take a look at the road conditions. wet roads possible in the northwest and things could be dangerous again today across the middle of the country. more violent storms will roll through particularly this

afternoon. and as you might expect if you're flying, airport delays are possible in kansas city, chicago and minneapolis. all right, now to a new and deadly virus that tops a public health official's call as a threat to the entire world. right now there's no treatment and no vaccine. >> and there is a new study suggesting people who have this virus be isolated for at least 12 days to avoid it from spreading. here's abc's dr. richard besser. >> reporter: a medical mystery. a respiratory virus known as mers. 49 have been sickened. 27, more than half, have died. no cure. no vaccine. the symptoms come on like the flu, fever, chills, muscle aches and then get rapidly more serious. breathing becomes difficult. so far every person with mers has traveled from the middle east or caught it from someone did, but the fear is it could take off like sars, the deadly virus that went global ten years ago. one case of sars in a hong kong hotel in 2003 infected 12 other hotel guests who flew out of hong kong.

within 9 months, there were more than 8,000 cases over the world. more than 7,000 died. now i'm ready to work. to keep the new virus from taking off, the only line of defense is containment in special wards like this one i saw in hong kong. this is pretty incredible. a futuristic isolation ward where everything is engineered to keep a virus from spreading. we can only hope it works. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. well, here's a jarring wake-up call for anyone who drinks a little too much soda. researchers say over time your teeth could end up looking just like the teeth of a drug addict hooked on meth or crack. the study found striking similarities in the way citrus acid in soda erodes the enamel and eventually the entire tooth. diet soda, by the way, was just as damaging if you drink more than a 12-ounce can per day. all right. an amazing story from maine, a reporter from our abc station in portland was about to go live with an update about a missing man. well, just before going on, the 73-year-old man, there he is,

robert mcdonough, emerged from the bushes and introduced himself. mcdonough suffers from dementia. he's been missing for 14 hours. the station's crew called the authorities. and now to sports. the pacers and heat face off tonight in game five of their nba playoff series. as for hockey, game seven highlights now from espn. welcome in to your "sportscenter" update. i'm dario melendez. the chicago blackhawks have never come back to win a best of seven series down 3-1 in the series. well, they had a chance to right that wednesday night taking on the red wings in game seven of the western conference semis. second period, no score. red wings caught on the line change and patrick sharp made them play and puts the hawks up, 1-0. the third, same score, henrik zetterberg, going to change that. the equalizer. take another look. zetterberg knocking on the back door. just like that, we're tied at 1. later in the third, under two to go, niklas hjalmarsson is going to get the pass and

check it out. the go-ahead goal with under two minutes to play in the third period, but take another look. the play stopped before the goal because kyle quincey and brandon saad caught up. the officials wave off the goal. so we're heading to o.t. in o.t. brent seabrook will pick up the loose puck and he is going to play him some hero to beat jimmy howard for the game winner. the blackhawks win it in o.t., 2-1 and face the kings in the western conference finals. on the diamond, jered weaver making his first start back since fracturing his n nonthrowing elbow back on april 7th and in the top of the fifth works out of a bases loaded jam. seven ks. to the fifth, same score mark trumbull breaking out his big stick. 12th of the year. the angels go on to win it, 4-3. weaver picks up his first win of the season. that is your "sportscenter" update. i'm dario melendez. have a great day. all right, now to a couple

that is clearly a match made in heaven. just months after tyisha benson gave one of her kidneys to her boyfriend, travis spiresweet, their touching story earned them a chance to throw out the first pitch at a kansas city royals game. travis had a surprise up his sleeve. he proposes. check it out. there he is. come on, fellow, get down on one knee. he's going to do it. don't cry, diana. and, yes, she did, in fact, say yes. you get emotional when you hear these stories. >> i know. every single one of these. okay, moving on to this really cool school. some high school kids in virginia have come up with a cool way to raise money for victims of the tornado in oklahoma. they call it dollars for duct tape. each got them a foot of tape to secure their chemistry teacher on to a wall. >> love that. some kids showed some mercy giving her lunch during the ordeal. others had some fun coloring a mustache on her face. check it out. >> all for a good cause. >> all for a good cause.

>> oh. >> there you go. is there anything duct tape can't do? >> i don't think so. i think it's the conquer all tape. coming up next, "the pulse." talk about a photo bomb. the t-rex spoiled the show at a louisiana wedding. yes, t-rex. >> from dinosaurs to creatures of the sea, the animal planet's search for mermaids. and sugar rush like none other. take a ride on a sweet slip and slide. capella university understands businesses are trying to come back from rough economic times. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever. when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in? with a degree in business from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to go further in your career than you ever thought possible. let's get started at capella.edu

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and didn't know where to start. used a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea. before you have any work done, check angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey. ♪ it's been a hard day's night and i've been working like a dog ♪ thursday's "pulse," a hard day's night even for a terrorist. >> this story getting a lot of attention online.

it involves the al qaeda operative mokhtar belmokhtar. he reportedly missed important s blasted for messing up routine kidnappings. needless to say, no longer with al qaeda. >> a job is a job. animal planet hoping to repeat its ratings magic with a follow-up to its most watched documentary. >> the mockumentary "mermaids: the new evidence," sequel to last year's "mermaids: the body found," which pulled more than 3.5 million viewers, all totally fake. even the government scientists are actors. >> ah, the show's executive producer says it's not about trying to trick the viewers but wanting people to approach the story with a sense of possibility and wonder. >> my daughter believes. she believes in mermaids. >> "the little mermaid" made all of us believe. >> yep. all right, we all heard of those wedding disaster stories, bad food, lousy music. how about a meat eater breathing

down your neck at the wedding party. >> the work of brilliant photographer and photoshop artist quinn miller. his shot of t-rex is on the attack has gone viral. miller says he's never had more fun shooting a wedding. >> pretty cool. >> yeah. you have to know what you're doing when you shoot that picture. >> oh, yeah. >> in order to get the right reaction. okay, and finally, a rather sweet idea for some fun in the sun. the reason why this is our "play of the day," they're calling this the giant chocolate syrup slip and slide. >> yeah, really is amazing how much fun you can have with a few simple things like gently sloping hills, 50 gallons of chocolate syrup and about 200 feet of plastic sheeting. >> too much fun. video part of the promotional campaign for the ford fiesta and it doesn't really matter because this looks like a really good time. i can get down with that. >> it actually looks like a good time. >> no way to keep it clean when you're talking about chocolate or slip and slides, that doesn't apply. >> for some of you, your local news is next.

>> for everyone else, we'll show you the quickest way down from mt. everest you've ever seen. stay with us. we'll be right back.

>> abc7 news starts right now with breaking news. >> good morning, at 4:28. breaking news is in san mateo where firefighters were on the scene of a house fire. abc7 news reporter is there with the latest details. matt? >> this home was under construction so no one was living here. you can see firefighters still here making sure no hotspots flare-up. the call came at 12:40. it wasn't from a neighbor here but someone a quarter mile away across the canyon. firefighters arrived and the flames were in the first floorallic. they got a good jump the plains of and firefighters will be here for several hours with an investigator to see what started

the fire. >> we will check back. we will check the weather forecast. >> the weather is fairly calm this morning. they will pick up this morning. live doppler 7 hd shows less cloud than yesterday. the commute will be dry, no drizzle or mist. a change to the dry and warmer air mass right now. at san francisco toward the east bay hills, around the bay it will be mild and 66 to warmer at 76 in the south bay. the warmest is 85 in brentwood. the coast will be in the upper 50's to near 60. total sunshine everywhere. leyla gulen has traffic. >> good morning, everyone, we have construction in the east bay along eastbound highway 4 traveling between summersville

road and a street we have paving until 6:00 a.m. the westbound commute is clear. it is an easy breezy drive to concord. this is the drive from...the golden gate bridge and traffic is pushed to the left-hand side and cones will be picked up at 5:00 a.m. >> police are looking for the man who tried to hold up a woman leaving nordstroms in walnut creek. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is at broadway plaza. >> very scary. can you imagine this open parking lot. we are standing on the sidewalk. you can see inside the parking lot from the street. it is lit. it is popular shopping center and always full of people. that may have been what helped her. she was attacked before 9:00