making news in america this morning, alleged mastermind captured. special forces use the cover of darkness to nab a suspect in the benghazi attack. what's next for the accused terror group leader now on his way to the united states? severe weather. more tornadoes tearing through the heartland where the dangerous conditions linger today as record-breaking heat settles down in some areas. and prime suspect. a mother who documented her son's illness online is now under arrest for his death. how prosecutors say she caused his lifelong medical crisis. caught on camera. the driver of an suv loses control and goes airborne on the side of a highway.

good wednesday morning to you. we're learning more about that critical takedown by u.s. special forces. >> the man believed to be the mastermind of the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi now aboard a u.s. ship in the mediterranean. >> but that attack remains at the center of a partisan battle on capitol hill. abc's tahman bradley joins us live from washington with more. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, devin. good morning, reena. u.s. officials tell abc news the suspect had been under surveillance in libya for months. he was surrounded by special forces and taken into custody. the obama administration thinks it's nabbed one of the masterminds of the deadly attack on the american consulate in benghazi, libya. ahmed abu khatallah, leader of an islamist group, had been sought by the u.s. for 21 months before u.s. special forces finally captured hip. >> no matter how long it takes we will find those responsible. >> reporter: abu khatallah is

being atear gated aboard a u.s. ship in the mediterranean before being brought to the u.s. for trial. they hope to get as much intelligence out of him as possible. >> the most valuable thing we can get from this terrorist is information about who he was involved in it. >> reporter: u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in benghazi. the massive attack has fueled intense partisan criticism of the obama administration and the role of then secretary of state hillary clinton. >> we want to know who was behind it, what the motivation of the leaders and the attackers happened to be. there are still some unanswered questions. >> reporter: patricia smith's son sean was one of the americans killed. she told our san diego station kgtv she still has many questions about what happened. >> i'm glad they got one of them. there was a whole bunch that set fire to that place. >> reporter: abu khatallah is charged with terror-related crimes, and he'll be tried at a federal court here in washington, d.c. reena and devin. >> tahman bradley live in washington.

thanks, tahman. the other top issue in washington this morning is iraq. president obama has decided not to use air strikes for now because there's not enough information on good targets. >> the president is expected to brief top lawmakers on the crisis today. meanwhile, on the ground, the islamic militants continue their march toward baghdad. abc's alex marquardt filed this report moments ago. >> reporter: it is now a fight to save the capital baghdad from falling. here kurdish fighters from northern iraq pinned down as rounds from nearby isis fighters land all around them. iraq's army is coming up from the south to meet the oncoming wave of insurgent jihadists which has attacked town after town. "they shot at a convoy of civilians" this man said. "the bus was carrying 24 men. they killed them all." this morning, sunni militants reportedly attacked the country's biggest oil refinery in baiji, just 130 miles north

of baghdad. iraq's prime minister has appeared on tv with other leaders calling for unity. a call that has so far fallen on deaf ears as he faces accusations of stoking the deadly sectarian violence. >> if i were an iraqi of whatever persuasion, i would be thinking hard about do i want maliki to continue to be the prime minister? he has failed as a leader. >> reporter: the u.s. is now sending almost 300 troops including special forces to help secure american facilities including the embassy. president obama has ruled out putting americans into combat on the ground. this administration that proudly pulled american forces out of iraq now forced to decide to what extent they have to go back in. alex marquardt, abc news, jerusalem. millions of americans are watching the skies this morning with vicious storms reigniting again today. >> that's right. those storms spawned this, what the weather service is calling a large, violent tornado in the town of coleridge, nebraska.

storm chasers caught the slow-moving twister on camera as it tore a path to the northeast. just take a listen to these winds. officials there say it's still too early to estimate damages. from the storm. >> about an hour south where a pair of giant tornadoes virtually leveled the town of pilger. nebraska's governor flew over to inspect the damage. he says it's by far the worst thing he's seen since he took office. dozens of homes were completely torn apart or damaged beyond repair. the town area is not much more than a pile of bricks. the worst of all, two people are dead including a 5-year-old girl. the disaster has left many doubting the town can ever rebuild. >> everything is gone. they found some of my mom's clothes like three miles north. >> their motto is "a town too tough to die." so i think they're going to give it every effort. but it's going to be very tough. >> the governor has declared a state of emergency. the national guard is moving in to help with the cleanup. the worst of stormy weather is moving east away from nebraska. >> that's right, and those hot,

sticky, summerlike conditions are about to stifle some parts of the country. our coverage now continues with accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. good morning, jim. >> good morning, devin and reena. keeping it mild across much of the nation's midsection on into the east here today. widespread 90s expected once again. you factor in the humidity. it will feel like the triple digits from the plains on into the southeast. the carolinas up on towards d.c., towards philadelphia. into the 90s on the fringes of that mild air mass we're going to see another round of severe storms. from philadelphia, new york city, westward across the chicago area, all the way west in the dakotas, so it will bring gusty winds, large hail, even the threat for tornadoes. devin and reena, back to you. >> thank you, jim. overnight two death sentences have been carried out the first since that botched execution in oklahoma seven weeks ago. a missouri man was put to death for killing two women, and in georgia inmate marcus wellons was executed for the 1989 murder of his 16-year-old neighbor, india roberts. there appear to have been no complications in either of the

executions unlike the one in oklahoma where the condemned man eventually died of a heart attack. alarming new details now from the phoenix v.a. hospital at the center of that veterans health scare -- scandal rather. workers there received about $10 million in bonuses even as investigators say hundreds of vets waited months to get an appointment. a newspaper investigation found that more than 2,000 employees got the bonuses over a three-year period. the bonuses were triggered after some staff manipulated patient wait time records. dr. oz vowing to join the fight against unscrupulous sellers of weight loss products getting grilled on capitol hill. the tv doctor testified about promoting specific products on his show after making claims about green coffee bean extract. companies started popping up on the internet. >> why would you say that something is a miracle in a bottle? >> i still am comfortable telling folks they can buy a reputable version of it. and i say this all the time. i don't sell it and these are not for long-term use.

>> one company is now facing a federal lawsuit accused of false advertising and using dr. oz's name without permission. dr. oz says he's since changed the way he talks about some products. now to the world cup. team usa back in preparation mode getting ready to play portugal on sunday. the players had a light workout yesterday after monday's emotional victory over ghana. coach jurgen klinsmann says he hopes forward jozy altidore can recover from that hamstring injury before the tournament ends, but that's far from certain at this point. and the world cup even has an audience in space. three astronauts on the international space station were watching monday's action. unfortunately for them, they can only see 20 minutes of tv at a time due to satellite limitations. and coming up, pricey spices. popeyes just shelled out a staggering amount of cash for a chicken recipe. plus, a mommy blogger who documented her son's illness and death is now accused of making him sick. how prosecutors say she did it. and road to recovery, the circus acrobats seriously

injured in the hair-hanging stunt now talking about how their lives are forever

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help support the trust for public land and the gift of parks today. if you've been experiencing some sticker shock lately when out shopping, you have good reason. consumer prices are the highest they've been in three years, and beef prices are now at record levels. the government says the price of beef is up an astounding 74% over the last five years. prolonged drought in texas is blamed for keeping cattle herds small. meanwhile, food costs overall are up fractionally. something else is going up, airfare. a new report says fares jumped nearly 6% in may. that's the steepest one-month increase in 15 years. analysts say rising fuel costs

because of the situation in iraq meant that ticket prices are unlikely to come down soon. and amazon expected to launch its first smartphone today. one feature that's likely to be part of the phone is a 3-d printer of photos, that is, and we should get answers today about how it'll interact with amazon's retail website. fast food chain popeyes has shelled out $43 million to own its own secret recipe. it turns out the original recipe had been held by a third party. the fried chicken chain had been paying more than $3 million a year in licensing fees. and when we come back, home alone. a quick-thinking little girl makes a brave move after men break into her house while she was there. and a wild wreck. a jeep careens out of control and goes airborne. instead of mailing everyone my vacation photos, i'm saving a ton of time by posting them to my wall.

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welcome back. tornadoes rage in the plains and summerlike heat bakes the southwest. a rare snowfall has hit parts of utah. as much as 3 inches fell in the northern and central mountains there. a winter weather advisory is in effect until noon today. >> drivers there will need to be careful with lots of rain on the way. look out for wet roadways and some flooding across the northern tier. and the storms are affecting air travel. airport delays are possible today in minneapolis, chicago, detroit, new york and philadelphia. back to the news now and the bizarre case involving a mommy blogger in suburban new york city. >> that's right. lacey spears wrote extensively on social media about the multiple medical crises suffered by her 5-year-old son, but now she's charged with murder for killing the child by feeding him too much salt. >> this defendant researched, planned and executed her crime against her own son in a wanton and depraved manner. >> authorities suspect she

poisoned the boy three times back in january. they believe it happened when she was alone with her son in the hospital, and his sodium intake spiked to suspiciously high levels. a 12-year-old girl in south florida is being lauded for stopping a burglary in progress. her name is kylie. she was home alone on monday when she heard someone trying to get inside. it's believed at least two men broke in but didn't realize the girl was home. she called her mom and then dialed 911. >> what room are you in? >> i'm in the back room, and i'm in my sister's room and i'm in my sister's bathroom in her room. >> i was just trying to stay calm and think of the positive things like not worry about what might happen. >> police dash cam caught the suspect's car speeding away. it's believed the same man broke into a nearby home and stole thousands of dollars in jewelry and electronics. for the first time we're hearing from four of the acrobats injured during last month's hair-hanging circus stunt. the women are planning to sue after crashing 20 feet to the

floor. it happened, of course, during that ringling brothers and barnum & bailey show in rhode island. the eight acrobats involved have had about two dozen surgeries combined. five of them are still in the hospital. >> my dream was to be a star performer. now my dream is to get up and walk. i will walk and one day so i can take my 1 1/2-year-old son to a park. >> investigators believe a clip used to suspend the acrobats in the air snapped. lawyers for the women are not saying who would be the focus of their lawsuit. search crews are stepping up their efforts to find a firefighter who went missing during a camping trip in southern california. michael herdman was hiking with a friend in the rugged terrain of los padres national forest when he went running after his dog, he was barefoot wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. searchers are hopeful because herdman is an experienced outdoorsman. in kansas a motorist caught a spectacular accident on

interstate 70 with his cell phone camera. a jeep grand cherokee smashed into a pickup sitting on the shoulder. it went airborne and landed in a ditch. the driver survived and is hospitalized. and an odd situation for golfer rory mcilroy. the tweets tell the story. >> that's right. mcilroy tweeting his airline saying, "hey, united, landed in dublin yesterday morning from newark and still no golf clubs. sort of need them this week. can someone help?" he's, of course, playing in the irish open starting tomorrow. he'll need those clubs. united replied "we have good news. your clubs will be in tomorrow and we'll deliver them to the tournament for you." i guess we'll see. >> that's right. all right, at the world cup three more first round matches on the schedule today. >> south korea and russia tied yesterday. belgium won and mexico took on the host brazil. highlights from espn. >> good morning, america. welcome inside "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. goals have been coming at a ridiculous pace at the world cup in brazil, but on tuesday a goalie from mexico was the star. guillermo ochoa.

to the highlights. neymar, brazil's star, attempting the header. but look at the ground ochoa covers, gets a mitt on it and keeps it out. that close. 86th minute. tiago silva gets free but, again, ochoa is there. the game ends in a scoreless draw. brazil and mexico tied atop group a. looks good for them to advance. one game left in their group. mike trout had no trouble scoring tuesday night. no goalies in baseball. two home runs, his 15th and 16th. angels beat the indians 9-3. with the win the angels 38 and 32, they hold the first wild card spot in the american league. how about masahiro tanaka of the yankees. cy young favorite, maybe an mvp candidate down the line. he won his 11th game of the

year. yankees beat the blue jays. leads the a.l. with a 1.99 e.r.a., clearly valuable to the yankees so far. for more, check out a live "sportscenter" coming up, 9:00 a.m. eastern on espn. up next in "the pulse," a serious situation for the situation. new details about why police arrested the reality star. and nearly an entire high school class busted for cheating on final exams. how the teacher caught on. stay with us. [ male announcer ] type 2 diabetes affects millions of us. and for many, it's a struggle to keep your a1c down. so imagine -- what if there was a new class of medicine that works differently to lower blood sugar? imagine...loving your numbers. introducing once-daily invokana®. it's the first of a new kind of prescription medicine that's used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.

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officials at a suburban detroit high school believe some students got ahold of the answers for a final exam while the teacher stepped out of the classroom. they took pictures of the answers and then shared them with everyone. >> but they weren't all that cagey because almost the entire class scored 100% on the test and that made the teacher pretty suspicious. >> all right. check those phones at the door. all right. next up, the situation, you will likely remember him from mtv's "jersey shore." >> mike sorrentino was apparently arrested at his new jersey tanning salon after getting into a fight with his brother frank. the sitch is charged with simple assault. >> the brothers have been fighting over twitter. the fight reportedly happened when he fired him from the salon. by the way, reena, the new reality show debuts in a few weeks. >> i'm not so convinced this wasn't possibly staged. well, it took a while for traffic to hobble back to normal after some serious gridlock in thailand. check it out. you won't believe what caused it. >> a gazillion ducks decided to

cross a rural road all at once waddling along as drivers waited and waited and waited for them to go by. the apparently endless parade of ducks hurried through the cars after appearing completely out of nowhere. >> listen to those quacks. it's still not clear where the ducks came from or where they were going to, but they are going there in a hurry. >> they say there's about 100,000 ducks there and thailand, it happened in thailand. good for incredible animal video from elephants to ducks in this case. >> all right. look out. >> it's like stamping of -- what do they call it, the running of the bulls. >> the running of the ducks. >> the running of the birds. well, for some of you, your local news is next. for everybody else we'll be back with what our four-legged friends are really thinking. stay with us.

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good wednesday morning. thank you for joining us. >> we want to get you started with a check of the forecast. >> it is the hottest day of the week. >> is a possibility. the reason why you can see the high pressure dominating our forecast again on live doppler 7 hd and look at lack of winds, fairfield is only two miles per hour and when is the last time you have seen that slow of a wind as you head into the central valley? we will talk about the forecast, good morning, we will look at what is going on as far as the sunrise, there is a lack of clouds today and maybe hazy an the bay and 74 to 84, warm inland and 84 in the north bay to 92 in the east bay, 63 at the coast and 72 in downtown san francisco. how the commute? >> leyla gulen?

so far, so good. happy hutch day, everyone, 580, tracy to dublin is going to be 22 minutes along highway 4, from antioch to conquer at 15 minutes and 101 southbound from san rafael to san francisco, that is going to take you under 20 minutes and the bay bridge toll plaza everything is moving along fine and funneling into the tolls from emeryville, a few cars and no delays across the water. pg&e, state regulators and the public will discuss security and safety in the wake of an attack at a substation in san jose last year. it shows how terrorisms could target our power grid. matt keller is at the substation. matt? >> the attack has been described as the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid in the united states. today, the meeting will address the security concerns. look at some of the surveillance video from the morning of the attack. it happened april 16, 2013,

before 1:00 o'clock in the morning at the substation, you can see a streak of light and the muzzle flash of rifles and bullets hitting the fence around the substation. 100 shell casings were found at the seen and a former f.b.i. agent said it was orchestrated planned and looked somewhat professional and someone dropped into the vault and cut phone cables interrupting service to most of gilroy. it took a month to bring the substation back to full operation. today a public workshop is held by the california public utilities commission to talk about the attack at the substation and to draft physical standards. a discussion will take place in san francisco. the meeting starts at 10:00 this morning. fire crews spend the night in antioch after a fast-moving grass fire came inches of homes and left one person recovering from smoke inhalation that broke out after 7:00 last night in an