making news in america this morning -- evidence of espionage. an army private accused in the biggest-ever security leak will be back in court today as the judge decides his fate. we're live in washington, with the latest. more drama from the anthony weiner camp. this time, the attention surrounds his spokesperson, as the mayoral candidate releases a new campaign ad. and source revealed. this morning, health officials are sounding the alarm after the cause of a nasty stomach bug is believed to be discovered. and escape artist. the drastic attempt for freedom. they caught on camera the elaborate plan and the people i caused of helping him to pull it off.

good wednesday morning, everyone. the sentencing phase beginning today for a contentious case that involves an army private accused of being a traitor. >> yesterday, a military judge found bradley manning guilty of releasing classified information, which eventually found its way into terrorists' hands. he was found not guilty of even more serious charges. abc's devin dwyer is live for us in washington to explain. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning, diana and john. that's right. manning was found guilty on 20 of 22 charges against him. but prosecutors were unable to prove that manning was intending to help al qaeda or had general evil intent. he was behind the biggest leak of classified information in u.s. history. 25-year-old army private bradley manning, now convicted of espionage, theft and computer fraud. today, manning begins to make his case that he shouldn't spend the rest of his life behind bars. >> i think he's looking at a

very substantial sentence. possibly in the double digits. >> reporter: experts say manning could face 136 years in a military prison. that, despite being acquitted by the court of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. manning has admitted to leaking 700,000 classified documents to anti-secrecy group wikileaks. the group's founder, julian assange, calls manning a hero. >> it can never be that conveying true information to the public is espionage. >> reporter: that information included this 2007 video of an american helicopter attack in iraq that killed innocent civilians. manning supporters say the disclosures reveal the true costs of war. >> he mourned these deaths. he was against the slaughter, the needless slaughter of human lives. and he reported this. >> reporter: but government officials say secret information fell into dangerous hands. u.s. military battlefield reports were found on osama bin laden's computer after the raid on his compound. >> it's a fairly simple matter for a talented enemy, to go

through those reporting cables and begin to design who may have been our sources. puts real people at real risk. >> reporter: a military judge will weigh the alleged damage from manning's leak before giving out a sentence some time next month. diana? >> abc's devin dwyer in washington for us. thank you. being tried in the court of public opinion, new york city mayoral hopeful anthony weiner. and right now, according to the polls, he is losing. despite his popularity taking a nosedive, weiner has just released a campaign video, saying he's not getting out of the race. the video was posted on his website yesterday evening. >> i know that there are newspaper editors and other politicians that say, i wish that guy weiner would quit. somebody wants to come out something embarrassing about you in your private life, you have to talk about that for a little while. >> reporter: that's all that anyone seems to be talking about. his ever widening sexting scandal. it came up again last night at a campaign stop in new york's city island. weiner got confrontational. >> i don't quit. new yorkers don't quit.

i'm not going to go to the corner because you found out something embarrassing about me. >> reporter: that embarrassing something is now hitting the airwaves nationwide. one of weiner's most recent indiscretions, 22-year-old sydney leathers, sat down with howard stern. >> you had to say to yourself, this guy is one sick puppy, right? >> oh, totally. especially after the first scandal had already happened. >> reporter: and the online porn site thedirty.com, has published extreme, nude images of what it says is anthony weiner, because it says new york deserves better leadership. meanwhile weiner's campaign appears to be shaking down to its very foundation. former intern olivia nuzzi wrote a tell-all expose, alleging that weiner staffers encourage the campaign, only to curry favor with weiner's wife, huma abedin for her connection to hillary clinton. that triggered an obscenity-laced response by weiner's communication director, barbara morgan, basically denying nuzzi's claims. weiner is remaining steadfast.

>> quit isn't the way we roll in new york city. >> the latest polling numbers show anthony weiner's support has dropped a full 10% just over the past week, from 26% to 16%. now, to the embattled mayor of san diego, who is going to have to pay his own legal bills. the city council voted unanimously last night not to cover legal expenses for mayor bob filner in a sexual harassment suit. eight women have alleged that filner made lewd comments and advances, including touching and forcible kissing. he admits he has a problem but says he's not going to resign. this morning, israeli and palestinian negotiators plan to meet in two weeks after wrapping up their first round of talks in years. representatives from both sides went to the white house for a short meeting with president obama. they spent most of the day with secretary of state john kerry, who is hoping to work out a peace agreement in nine months. it's aimed at creating an independent palestinian state. more information is trickling in about that deadly train disaster in spain. we now know that the driver was on the phone at the time of the crash. he had taken a call from a rail official. and he was also reading a document. the train was going almost twice

the speed limit when it hit a curb and slammed into a wall, killing 79 people. the driver had hit the brakes just seconds before losing control. pittsburgh medical researcher has pleaded not guilty to poisoning his wife to death. dr. robert ferrante facing a judge yesterday after waiving extradition from west virginia. prosecutors say ferrante bought half a pound of cyanide, not related to his research. and they say he also took steps to delay medical care for his dying wife. at least four workers injured in that propane plant explosion and fire in central florida remain in critical condition this morning. the intensity of the fire became apparent yesterday when the danger was over. thousands of exploded canisters were strewn around. the fire's heat even melted parts of some cars. investigators believe the initial blast was caused by either an equipment malfunction or even human error. the other shoe in baseball's current doping scandal may be about to drop on yankees' slugger alex rodriguez. "the new york daily news" reporting this morning that the major league baseball will suspend a-rod and eight other

players by the end of the week. rodriguez is likely to face a longer suspension than the others because the league believes he interfered with the investigation. a-rod's attorney says any suspension will be appealed. all right. let's look at the weather across the nation. you want to keep an umbrella handy later today on the east coast. showers and localized heavy thunderstorms in the rockies. much of the same for the upper midwest into the great lakes. and clear along the west coast. >> look for 76 degrees today in l.a. check out boise at 98 degrees. high in the 70s and low 80s in the midwest. also, in the 80s for the entire east coast. what do you think is the most popular book requested by people at guantanamo bay? we're talking about the inmates. the answer to this question could surprise you. plus, we have an update on that vicious stomach bug that's spreading across the country. we're learning what food items the parasite likely originated from. and jailbreak. a convict dives through a window, quickly making his mistake. a video shows how he pulled it off. and the people, investigators

say, lent him a hand.

good time to sell your house. new numbers show a surging housing market. prices are at their highest level in seven years. even in cities hard-hit by the housing collapse. miami up 14%. phoenix and las vegas, both up more than 20%. fruit and vegetable prices could climb 10% this fall due to soggy summer weather in the south. fields and orchards are drowning in some areas which have seen rainfall 20% more than normal. mercedes c-class tops the list of most stolen luxury cars, followed by the bmw 3 series and

infiniti g. most of the thefts are happening in new york, l.a. or miami. however 80% of the high-end cars have been recovered. a powerball drawing is sure to draw new eyes as the jackpot stands at a healthy 235 million bucks. powerball is played in 43 states, washington, d.c. and the virgin islands. and it's a steamy summer at guantanamo bay, apparently. not just because of the weather. the "fifty shades of grey" series of erotic novels is tops among the prisoners. even more requested than the koran. according to a congressman who just visited there, some prisoners have read the entire series. >> that surprises me a little bit. i must say. >> especially since it's, like, filled with raunchy stuff. well, maybe i'm not surprised anymore. >> yeah, i know. >> what else is going on? >> lot of sometime time to pass in that prison cell, don't you? when we come back, inside a twister. amazing video showing a tornado you probably have never seen in this way before. plus, behaving badly on the job. serious violations by tsa

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those images coming out of italy. a rare look at a tornado from the inside-out. a man near milan captured this on his cell phone, staying in his apartment. thanks to huge picture windows, he had an incredible view of the twister. only a handful of people were injured in that twister. it's going to be a lot more calm than here in the nation's roads today. your evening commute could be wet along much of the east. and flash flooding could be a problem. storms in the midwest, as well as the rockies. >> if you're flying today. not too bad. atlanta is the only city where there's expected to be weather-related airport delays possibly. an intense manhunt is under way after a dramatic jail escape in arkansas. >> yeah. this video is pretty unbelievable.

here's abc's ryan owens. >> reporter: that inmate on the phone is about to make a break for it. the arkansas man dives through the window that leads to the jail waiting room, just ahead of a deputy who does the same, but not quite fast enough. yes, a felon with a rap sheet a mile long, runs to a waiting getaway car on sunday afternoon. and he's still on the lam. >> with all our past dealings, he should be considered armed and dangerous. >> reporter: 33-year-old derek estelle, a convicted burglar, was transferred to the jail in hot springs for a court appearance on 26 new charges. investigators say his dive to freedom -- watch it again. that window is just a foot high and 2 1/2-feet wide. was more sophisticated than it looks. >> this was totally unexpected. >> reporter: investigators are watching the tape for clues. see the man in the blue shirt? investigators say he was an

accomplice, distracting the deputies on duty. he is now in custody. then, there's this woman, still on the run. police say she was waiting in a getaway car, passenger door open. the couple ditched this minivan a few minutes later. an elaborate scheme to get a hardened criminal out of the big house, through an awfully small window. ryan owens, abc news, dallas. all right, accusations of wrongdoing by tsa officers speaking 27% in the last two years, according to a government report. this shows the passenger employees received light punishments for sneaking items past scanners. or napping on the job. in one instance, tsa agents were accused of taking bribes by drug traffickers. nearly 2,000 were possible security threats. the report calls on the tsa to improve how they follow up after investigations. health officials in nebraska and iowa believe they have partially cracked the case in a

nationwide outbreak of psych spore ra. they trace it back to cabbage and carrots. it's no longer on the shelves of those states. abc's richard besser has tips about the popular bagged salads. >> produce is one of the riskiest things because we don't cook it. if you get unwashed produce, you want to wash it. but for the produce that's rewashed, reach into the refrigerator cabinet and get the coldest you can find. you want to make sure it's far from its expiration date. and them use it right away. >> the average weight loss is around ten pounds. and it can lost more than a month. the battle over banning big sugary drinks goes on in new york city. michael bloomberg ordered a ban on high-calorie drinks. he says the ruling is a temporary setback and will keep on fighting. a major setback is one of the real housewives of

new jersey. terrese giudice and her husband, joe, are accused of hiding their reality show fortunes. if convicted, they carry a prison sentence of 50 years for her. and he not being a u.s. citizen, could be deported back to italy. a high-profile television personality will be the focus of a courthouse in london. nigella lawson is divorcing her husband. it comes just weeks after he was caught on camera choking her at their favorite london restaurant. the couple has said to be worth more than $200 million. now, a sad passing to note out of hollywood. veteran actress eileen brennan as hidied. she was known as doreen lewis in the hit "private benjamin." she won an emmy playing that same in the television spin-off. brennan had been battling cancer. she was 80 years old. another dramatic win in los angeles.

this time, against the bronx bombers. >> details, now, from espn. >> welcome to our "sportscenter" studios here in los angeles. along with neil everett, i'm stan verrett. yankees and dodgers. a great game to headline a full slate of major league baseball tuesday night. >> 17 games. it's time for dodger baseball. how about a maker's mark. mark ellis, one for the road. then, let's call it the a a night. andre ethier scores. l.a. wins again. dodgers, 3-2, in the first of the two-game series. cardinals and pirates. a.j. burnett making the start for the pirates. tied after nine. they played on. off the glove of kevin seaver. russell martin scores. pirates win both of their doubleheader. they're in fourth place in the n.l. central. the bags are packed, i'm ready to go. so it was jake peavy.

boston with tampa bay. seven players involved. three are making some noise. peavy to boston. detroit gets jose iglesias. he can step in at short if jhonny peralta gets suspended. and jorge garcia, nickname little miggy. i'm little neily. have a good day. >> thanks, guys. coming up next, it's "the pulse." no more excuses, guys. we're going to show you the manliest stroller ever. >> manly stroller? >> manly stroller. and getting fit to 4g. why a smartphone company is putting out an exercise video for your phone.

time to check "the pulse." we begin with a serious effort to strengthen your thumbs. this comes from a british smartphone provider, 02. they're introducing thumb belt. >> you can see obvious "rocky" references are included. you have to love this scene with the chicken nuggets. this is meant to promote 02's mini weight training device. thumb stamina and strength. >> that's supposed to allow you to use your phone longer and without pain. >> i don't know what other exercise you could do with your thumbs aside from texting, that's going to help you. >> the teenage girls, the best at it. and their thumbs have to be stronger. they can blow me away. >> exactly. coming up next is our "play of the day." it comes to us from china, where a tight rope walker has just set his fifth guinness world record.

>> this was for the speed of his walk between two hot air balloons. the steel beam he was walking on was 2 inches wide, not to mention 300 feet in the air. >> his 54-foot walk between the 2 balloons took just over 38 seconds. he would have been faster had he not had to crouch down for a moment to stabilize himself. >> it's a good idea to stabilize yourself. now, a simple solution for dads going for that macho look when they take a little one out in the stroller. >> that's a good look. check this thing out. it's supersized manly baby buggy designed by a czech carmaker. 20-inch alloy wheels that lift the baby high off of the ground. unfortunately, though, john, you can't get too excited. >> that's too macho. >> it's not for sale. >> it's part of a car promotion. that makes sense. it was inspired by a survey that found many dads are embarrassed to push a conventional stroller. >> i don't understand why a dad would be embarrassed. it's so manly. you made a child.

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good wednesday morning. thank now starting your day with us. first up, a check on the weather forecast. what will it be like today? >> how about ground hog day? the same thing every day. we are stuck in a rut. i ran into mist this morning coming in across the bay bridge. there is a little there. kristen sze is waving her hand and, yes, what would you like to see? >> drizzle. >> little drizzle on the peninsula. >> good morning, everyone. here is the forecast. downtown san francisco from the roof camera, temperatures are still below average at 74 to 84

with afternoon sunshine and hazy. 65 to 76 at the bay. not a "spare the air" day. now leyla gulen has traffic. >> good morning, we have construction to get going and a gas leak in mountain view. we will see if there are lane closings. it is around charleston and independence. right now we do have this in effect until 6:00 a.m. this morning southbound highway one we will see one lane blocked for maintenance. outside, berkeley shows the traffic is moving smoothly westbound from albany toward the maze. no problems there. no crashes. >> we have breaking news from san francisco where two people were stabbed this morning in golden gate park at alfred lake at the east end of the pack.

a man and woman were taken away by ambulance that could be connected to a fight at a nearby bar. this is not affecting traffic. we are working to get more information do bring you an update when details are available. >> this morning, the oakland city council approves two new tactics to curb violence especially during protests. will abc7 news reporter katie marzullo has details. >> it was after 1:00 o'clock a.m. the oakland city council passed an ordinance allowing police to question table a demonstrator call with "tool of violence." it could be a hammer or bicycle lock that we saw people using to shatter windows at the protest of the george zimmerman verdict. a waiter was hit in the face with a hammer during the protest. the ordinance which prevents damage and injuries passed 5-0 but not all council members