making news in america this morning, family tragedy. a father in texas now in custody after going on a shooting rampage that left several of his own children dead. the heartbreaking details straight ahead. president obama makes a call for action in the immigration crisis. he's accusing his republican critics of playing politics on the border. new this morning, a landslide caught on camera in japan following that enormous typhoon. the fear now is that more saturated ground could give way. and some girls who might want our jobs. >> so you're going to have to be out of canada, not even in -- >> that warning and other breaking stories happening now from youngsters delivering the news like you've never seen before.

good morning to you. i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm ryan smith. and we begin this morning with a horrific mass murder in suburban houston. six family members shot dead, most kids and a seventh fighting for her life this morning. >> after a nerve-racking standoff with the children's father, he's now under arrest accused of opening fire on his own family. abc's tahman bradley has the details. >> reporter: a dramatic chase through streets near houston followed by a tense three-hour standoff ended with police nabbing their suspect. authorities say, ronald lee haskell killed six people, four of them his children. the kids were ages 4, 7, 9 and 14. >> it's just a terrible thing. i don't know what could have happened. >> reporter: around 6:00 last night, police rushed to this house after his 15-year-old daughter called 911.

despite being shot in the head, she managed to i.d. her father. authorities say the gunman and his wife are estranged. >> it appears this could be some kind of domestic dispute. >> reporter: the wounded 15-year-old girl also told authorities that her father may have been planning to go to her grand parents' home and kill them. that tip helped police intercept the suspect. >> we quickly put out a broadcast and dispatched units to the street. we only had an actual street name. we didn't know the exact address. we stationed constable deputies on that street. about five minutes after we did that, he comes driving up. >> reporter: the man fled the scene and was followed by nearly two dozen patrol vehicles. >> they're trying to get the car stopped, as you can see. >> reporter: officers boxed him into this cul-de-sac. an armored vehicle ramming into his car. after hours of negotiations, he emerged from his car and was arrested. tahman bradley, abc news, washington. and in tennessee, a national guardsman was shot and killed at an armory near nashville last night. the victim has been identified as a sergeant first class.

he had been with the guard for 20 years. police took a teenage suspect into custody. it's not clear how the shooter got into the building or what his motive may have been. president obama says capitol hill lawmakers must decide if they prefer playing politics or solving the border crisis. the president says his emergency aid bill would address the overwhelming problem of undocumented children streaming across the border. and during a meeting with texas governor rick perry, he asked for support from him and from the entire texas delegation. >> the problem here is not a major disagreement around the actions that could be helpful in dealing with the problem. the challenge is, is congress prepared to act to put the resources in place to get this done? >> the president says his emergency aid bill would provide increased border security and care for tens of thousands of undocumented children that have been detained. in the mideast this morning both israelis and palestinians

seem more determined than ever to intensify their cross-border attacks. israel stepped up its aerial pounding overnight hitting hundreds of hamas targets in gaza. palestinian militants are answering back firing rockets more deeply into israel, and neither side seems willing to back down. >> we told hamas to stop this rocket fire, but they continued and now we are acting. >> the israeli government is fully responsible for this deterioration, and i'm afraid that we haven't seen the worst yet. >> the first diplomatic efforts to end the vicious fighting are under way. the u.n. secretary-general is calling for an urgent meeting of the security council as early as today. we're learning this morning of another major data breach involving the chinese. this morning's "new york times" reports that chinese hackers broke into networks containing personnel records of federal employees last march, and their specific target appears to be workers who have applied for top security -- top secret security clearances. it's not certain what information the hackers got or whether they work for the

chinese government. well, a new report based on documents leaked by edward snowden claims the u.s. spied on hundreds of muslim-americans. >> that list includes professors, lawyers and civil rights activists, and that bombshell report is naming names. here's abc's brian ross. >> reporter: this is the first time that any of the names of the u.s. citizens spied on by the nsa and the fbi were made public. among the five named, faisil gill, a prominent american muslim who served in the department of homeland security in the bush administration and ran for public office in virginia as a republican. >> there is absolutely no question in my mind that the reason i was being surveilled is because i was a muslim yet there is nothing in my background. i always carried a security clearance. >> reporter: gill was 1 of 202 u.s. persons whose names or e-mails were allegedly found on this nsa document taken by edward snowden and turned over to journalist glenn greenwald. >> and at least five of those belong to five muslim-americans who are very prominent and have

absolutely no relationship whatsoever with terrorism or terror plots. >> reporter: the latest snowden revelations came on the same day of extraordinary diplomatic fireworks over spying between the u.s. and germany. it was on july 4th the german authorities first told the u.s. they had arrested a 31-year-old german security employee who had been spying on them for the cia and then -- [ speaking a foreign language ] >> reporter: -- reports that yet another german in the ministry of defense was also suspected of spying for the americans. and all this just months after the u.s. had been caught and apologized for spying on the cell phone of german chancellor merkel, but the former head of the cia and the nsa says spying on friends is commonplace. >> all nations do this, but if you do it, you want to be successful at it, you want to be good at it. to do it and be caught is the worst of all possible worlds. >> reporter: the u.s. had no immediate reaction to the allegations of spying on

germany. as to the allegations of spying on u.s. citizens, particularly muslims, senior officials said it is wrong to assume that anyone is spied on because of religion. brian ross, abc news, new york. french police apparently foiled a terror plot to blow up some of the best-known landmarks in paris. the british newspaper, "the telegraph," reports this morning that the eiffel tower and the famous paris museum the louvre were al qaeda targets. french police told the paper that they intercepted coded messages sent from al qaeda to an algerian man living in southern france. he was arrested. in addition to landmarks, terrorists were taking aim at airports and nuclear plants. and back here at home, meteorologists now say it was a tornado that tore apart communities in upstate new york tuesday night. >> four people were killed including a woman and her 4-month-old baby, and meteorologists say that winds that destroyed four homes and damaged many others were at least 100 miles an hour. one house was blown off its foundation and landed on another

home across the street. and time now for weather across the nation. milder here in the northeast with lower humidity. thunderstorms in the south and throughout florida and in the great plains, and high fire danger in california. there are also downpours in parts of the southwest. 90s in denver and memphis. upper 70s in chicago and detroit. 80s in portland, kansas city, new york and los angeles. phoenix and dallas right around the century mark. well, still straight ahead, a prostitute charged in the death of a tech company executive. the disturbing evidence uncovered by detectives. plus, that stunning scene from japan that we showed you in the headlines. water and mud combining with a deadly effect. the dangerous situation there right now. the family of a duke versus duke university. their newest court battle straight ahead.

who honorably serve, but are so much more. here's to the moms and dads, the grandmas and grandpas.

here's to the athletes, the adventurous, the determined. here's to those who have better things to do than worry about their benefits. because now there's ebenefits, where you can easily access and track all your va and dod benefits online, all in one place. register for your free account today at ebenefits.va.gov. then get back out there. they don't help single moms. hi. hi. what happened to our house last year? it flooded. and the water flooded out. yeah. the red cross arranged the hotel for us. they gave me that break, that leverage, to be able to get it together and... take care of them, you know? i feel like we've come full circle. like that! this is how i'll do it. sarah: there you go.

welcome back. well, gas prices are finally coming down. they're already a few cents lower than a week ago and gasp buddy.com said we could see a drop of 25 cents by next month. in fact, gas could drop below $3 in some southern states. both hurricane arthur and the crisis in iraq appear to have had little impact on oil supply. and airline performance is slipping when it comes to arriving on time. the u.s. transportation department reports that there were more flight delays in may than in the previous month, and year-to-year delays are up. bad weather takes much of the blame, and the airlines with the best performance are hawaiian airlines, alaska airlines and delta. more encouraging news about the economy.

the federal reserve says this october it'll stop shoring up the economy by buying bonds. it's been cutting back for months. the move is a sign of confidence in the economy, but there's still no word on when the fed will begin raising short-term interest rates. don't count out the personal computer just yet. sales of desktop and laptop machines were actually better than expected in the last quarter. just recently, analysts predicted tablets would outsell pcs by next year. their sales are still declining, just not as quickly as before. what's in a name? well, a lot of lawsuits apparently. the latest is over bourbon, but the battle between john wayne's estate and duke university over using the name duke on products is nothing new. both make money licensing the name. >> the movie star's nickname was duke. the north carolina school says calling a bourbon duke tarnishes and dilutes its image. now, the court will decide whether duke university can restrict licensing by the duke's heirs. >> all right. we'll see what happens there.

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new video just this morning of this massive mudslide

in japan triggered by what's being called the biggest summer storm ever. widespread flooding and damage reported across central and western japan. at least two people have died. dozens more injured. back here at home, a look at this morning's road conditions. expect a soggy commute in the southwest. a wet ride across the plains and slick at times along the gulf coast from texas to florida and stretching into the mid-atlantic. dry roads in the northeast. and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in washington, d.c., charlotte, atlanta and phoenix. the search resumes this morning for a swimmer swept away by the high surf off southern california. a 19-year-old was swimming with friends in a rocky cove near los angeles when he was overtaken by a wave. a friend jumped in, but they couldn't reach him. 40 swimmers were rescued in that same area this week after getting caught up in dangerous waves and riptides. a high-priced california call girl is accused of killing a google executive by injecting him with a lethal dose of heroin

and then leaving him to die alone. police say alix tichelman's every move was caught on camera and the video shows she did not call 911 or provide any first aid. after forrest hayes collapsed on his 50-foot yacht last november. >> she was so callus that in gathering her things, she was literally stepping over the body and at one point stepped over the body to grab a glass of wine and finish the glass of wine. >> tichelman is also accused of removing evidence from the yacht hoping to cover her track. investigators say she met hayes, a married father of five on a dating website. the new orleans mayor who led his city through hurricane katrina has been sentenced to ten years in prison on a slew of corruption charges. he was convicted of accepting cash, vacations and other gifts during his two terms from business owners looking for city contracts or his support for various projects. nagin continues to insist he did nothing wrong. los angeles clippers owner

donald sterling says his wife is a pagan liar. he made the comments after shelly testified in court about why she seized control of the team. she told the court she feared her 80-year-old husband was developing alzheimer's. on the stand before his wife sterling insisted again he will never sell the team but the nba wants him out because of racist comments he made earlier this year. and the los angeles dodgers will have to pay millions of dollars to a fan beaten after a game in 2011. a jury found the team partly liable for the injuries suffered by bryan stow. the two men who attacked him were also ordered to make payments. the $18 million award was based on stowe's suffering, lost earnings and medical bills. so george clooney has taken on one of the most powerful newspapers in the world. >> clooney attacked britain's "daily mail" for among other things the paper's website claimed that the mother of his fiancee, amal alamuddin, not only opposed their engagement but didn't think clooney was good enough for her daughter. >> but then a rare apology.

a "daily mail" spokesman e-mailed abc news saying the story has been retracted and they apologized. well, in sports it's decision day for lebron james but sources say he still doesn't know what his next move will be. >> deja vu. king james sat down with miami heat officials in las vegas yesterday but emerged without saying whether or not he will stay with the team. it was believed to be his first meeting with the heat since opting out of his final 2 years and $42 million of his contract. there will be a new champion at the tour de france in a couple of weeks' time. >> that's because last year's winner abandoned the race yesterday after crashing three times in two days. and the other big international sports event going on right now is the world cup. yesterday's highlights from espn now. >> good morning, america. welcome to our "sportscenter" studios. we're here in los angeles. this is neil everett. i'm stan verrett. neil is going to tell you all about the world cup, semifinals. germany on the line. >> it's my understanding in

about 20 minutes we could do this live. argentina/netherlands, who is going to take on germany. this went to pks, penalty kicks. that's the lingo. sergio romero stopping ron vlaar there taking the first penalty shot for neth. that's netherlands. lionel messi, he's very good. he's better than most of the other players. argentina up, 1-0 in the pks. now up 3-2. this is a must stop. it's not stopped. maxi rodriguez, maxi celebration for argentina. they will face germany in the final. baseball, a's and giants, it's a bay area thing. bottom of the fourth. giants up 2-1. hunter pence. it's off jason hammel, it's not coming back, number 12 on the season for him. giants up 3-1 back at their place after losing 2-1 in oakland their cross-bay rivals.

bottom six, up 3-2. one out. pence up the middle. giants go on to win it, 5-2. he had a pair of rb. s. where is lebron james going? do you know? >> to bed. >> good answer. that's all we got. >> that's tough. well, up next in "the pulse," justin bieber and the most expensive eggs he'll ever likely throw. we'll explain. and move over, all you morning news anchors. we're about to hear from libby and sarah. "the pulse" is next.

♪ time now to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today including justin bieber's big fine. >> the troubled 20-year-old pleaded no contest to a vandalism charge but he must pay nearly $81,000 restitution for damage he caused to his former neighbor's california mansion by eggs he threw. >> bieber must also complete 12 anger management sessions and five days of community service. his drunken driving charge in miami, still pending. up next, the latest example of everything is bigger in texas, and this time it's a stadium video board. >> that's right.

texas a&m tweeted this out yesterday saying the last panel of the largest stadium video board in college football is now in place. it's part of a big expansion to the school stadium, kyle field. it measures 164 feet by 47 feet and the aggies point out it's 224 square feet bigger than the ones used by their rivals, the university of texas. >> they really have a rivalry. >> yeah. and finally, an adorable video going viral right now. it features two young, aspiring journalists. >> i love this. it's called news tonight. there they are and basically a homemade newscast anchored by libby and sarah. libby starts with their big story. canada is in big trouble. >> there's going to be a tornado and a blizzard, so you're going to have to be out of canada, not even in an area of canada. out of canada until the area is cleared and safe to go. >> what's happening right now here in utah, it's summer.

so if you guys want to come and visit this place, you can. okay, now back to you, libby. >> back to you. i love it. libby is 7 years old, sara is 5. libby has obviously been watching tv news. she has that anchor script moved down to a tee. >> i love it. we can learn a couple of things from those gals. >> i know. look at her. she's so descriptive. really good. >> yeah. how old do you think they are, like 5? >> 7 and 5 they are. >> that's right. that's right. good luck to them. keep up the great work, girls. i'm learning some great moves from you and i love the pink outfit. >> see you on air in a couple of years. can't you see them here? >> absolutely. for some of you, local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with a very cold summer swim. stick around.

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good thursday morning. thank you very much for starting your day with us. >> i am kristen sze. >> i am katie marzullo. now the forecast. >> almost a full moon but not quite. >> nice to see it as the cloud deck is thicker. we will concentrate on the sea breeze. it is 13 miles per hour at half moon bay and 18 at fairfield and 12 in concord and ten in napa. breezy in spots. emeryville camera is shaking. the cool breezes mean below average temperatures especially inland, east bay is warmest but not where we should be at 78 to 85 and sunny along the coast into san francisco and 60 to 66 and sunny around the bay, 68 to 79679. we are starting off quiet.

happy friday eve. we will look right now at the maps with a lot of friend. we have areas of construction but i will talk about drive time traffic. headed westbound across 580 from tracy to dublin it will take 24 minute westbound from antioch to concord and 101 southbound from san rafael to san francisco a short 17-minute commute. chevron modernization plan for the refinery is under the microscope tonight regarding moving the roth forward. amy hollyfield is in richmond. many speakers turned up last night? >> yes, 130 sign up just to speak. they are very passionate about whams at chevron. the landing commission is considering this $1 billion plan^, a modernization project.

opponents worry what it will do to the environment saying it does not do enough to reduce emissions especially greenhouse. chevron says the land is good for the community but opponents are not buying it. >> as far as many of us are concerned in the community, chevron has zero credibility. there is no reason to trust them because they have consistently throughout the history of our lives lied. >> the project delivers important community benefits, thousands of local construction jobs, 1,300-related jobs and $30 million invested to reduce greenhouse emissions and create green jobs locally. >> if you would like to express an opinion you have another chance. tonight there is a meeting at a ok at john f. kennedy high school in richmond. if the plan clears it will go to