making news in america this morning, suspension upheld. tom brady will miss a quarter of the season because of deflategate. the super bowl champ accused of a cover-up and destroying a key piece of evidence that could have proven his guilt. new this morning, without warning a large tree comes crashing down landing on a group of children at a camp. the parents watching it all happen. worldwide anger. a dentist admits to hunting down a famous lion. the american now a wanted man. the uproar growing online. his business a target on social media. what he's saying about the backlash this morning. and medical milestone. a team of surgeons changing a young boy's life with a groundbreaking operation giving him two new hands.

and good wednesday morning to you all. we start with the four-time super bowl champion new england patriots and their superstar quarterback tom brady. they're heading into camp today with brady, but this deflategate controversy is going to be surrounding their superstar, and it is showing no signs of ending any time soon. >> brady's appeal of his four-game suspension has been denied, and the nfl players union says it's taking brady's case to federal court. here's more from abc's bazi kanani. >> reporter: the four-time super bowl champ will sit out four games. that decision to uphold tom brady's suspension based largely on a new accusation. the nfl accuses the star quarterback of having his assistant destroy his cell phone right before meeting with league investigators. in this 20-page ruling commissioner roger goodell claims brady attempted to conceal evidence of his personal involvement in the tampering

scheme. he says that phone contained nearly 10,000 text messages sent during the time brady was first being investigated for possible involvement in a plan to use underinflated footballs, the same time brady was making his first denials. >> is tom brady a cheater? >> i don't believe so. i mean, i feel like i've always played within the rules. >> reporter: brady went to nfl headquarters last month to appeal his suspension in a ten-hour hearing where analysts believed he had made a convincing case. >> he came off in the words of a person in that room as an "a" plus 10 kind of guy. >> reporter: but this morning, the battle to defend brady's reputation continues. his agent, don yee, calls the commissioner's decision a sham and patriots fans are standing by their man. >> i think it's crazy. you know, like i don't know, they can't prove anything. >> reporter: bazi kanani, abc news, washington. we turn now to a new story

overnight. chaos at a summer day camp in southern california as a massive tree came crashing down on a group of small children. >> eight kids were injured. two of them rushed to the hospital in critical condition as parents watched in horror. it happened near the rose bowl in pasadena outside a children's museum just as everyone was lining up to go home. >> a big crash and a boom, and then people were running around screaming and calling 911, and people were all trying to race over to another place that is safe. >> the victims range from 6 to 8 years old. the tree, about 75 feet tall. it's unclear what brought it down. well, extreme weather for millions overnight starting in tucson where two people made a narrow escape. >> heavy rain triggered a flash flood that swept their suv into a gully and then flipped it over. a man and woman inside scrambled out as the vehicle filled with water. they were swept farther downstream finally coming to a stop under a bridge. paramedics found them. they're okay. storms also brought dangerous lightning to the area.

20,000 people were left without power throughout the night. in des moines 6 inches of rain fell in just four hours late yesterday. driving in the torrent a lot more like boating. storms knocked out power to more than 7500 people. flash flood warnings in effect across the center of the state overnight. today a severe weather threat could deliver damaging winds, hail and even a tornado. >> and the map shows the trouble swirling there in iowa at this hour. storms could reach chicago early this morning and move across the great lakes and ohio valley. by afternoon those storms could reach from the gulf across the mid-atlantic. well, another american has been arrested for an isis-inspired terror plot. this time the target was a popular florida beach. authorities say harlem suarez came to the fbi's attention through his facebook post promoting isis. court documents show suarez told an undercover agent he wanted to make a nail-filled backpack bomb bury it on a beach in his

hometown of key west and detonate it remotely. breaking overnight, there are report this morning that h fugitive taliban p omar has died. but the taliban has yet to confirm it. his alliance with the taliban prompted him being wanted since 2011. it's the strongest it's been for a long time. again. mullah mohammed omar believed dead this morning. we'll continue to follow have breaking story throughout the morning on air and abcnews.com. the new york prison employee who helped two convicted killers escape could now spend seven years behind bars herself. joyce mitchell admitted in court yesterday that she smuggled hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch tool and a screwdriver to the prisoners in frozen hamburger meat. mitchell described a friendship with inmate richard matt which then turned sexual.

also, she sent nude selfies to the other inmate david sweat. >> she got in over her head into something that she never should have started but she did, and she's paying the price. >> a part of the plot was also to kill joyce mitchell's husband. but she backed out saying she really loved him. richard matt was killed while on the lam. david sweat is back in custody now. police have released dash cam video of the dui arrest of mohammad abdulazeez who attacked military facilities there two weeks ago. abdulazeez was pulled over in april for erratic driving. police gave him several sobriety tests then arrested him. abdulazeez was due in court on that charge tomorrow. his family says that hearing along with other financial and emotional problems drove him to kill. authorities in texas have released more jailhouse video of sandra bland, the young black woman found hanging in her cell. bland can be seen getting her mug shot taken, filling out forms and going in and out of her cell over a three-day period. the footage is intended to dispel rumors that she was dead

before arriving at the jail. authorities say such conspiracy theories about bland have led to death threats against county officials. a new video just in from one of california's raging wildfires, the so-called willow fire burning overnight in the foothills near fresno. people near it on standby to evacuate. three square miles of the hilly terrain already scorched. the pine trees that cover those hills fueling the flames. a young boy has admitted to starting the fire while playing with a lighter. there are nearly two dozen major fires burning in five states right now. well, coming up, on the run but not for long. the fugitive who police found on the big screen. plus, controversial kill. an american dentist hunting down a beloved lion in africa. the backlash growing at his office and online. and an 8-year-old becoming the first child ever to undergo a highly complex surgery to give him new hands. an historic accomplishment for doctors.

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it could save your life. know more. take a look at this. joel moran was filling up, forced to jump back and out of the way just as an suv slams into his car. it started when a driver failed to see a stop sign causing the driver of another suv to lose control and spin into the gas station. moran says that he saw the spinning car out of the corner of his eye and just stepped back in the nick of time. the parents of colorado gunman james holmes were trying to persuade jurors to spare their son's life. his father took the stand yesterday saying holmes was an excellent kid but then he described how his son began to show signs of mental illness in 2011. today the gunman's mother

expected to take the stand. holmes can get the death penalty only if all 12 jurors agree. southwest airlines says it's sticking with its bags fly free policy. the company's ceo says he fears that if southwest started changing -- charging passengers for the first two bags, then the airline would lose market share. southwest seems to be doing just fine without charging for bag fees. it just reported its ninth straight quarter of record earnings. and if you're thinking about getting rid of your old iphone, now might be the time to do that. research shows resale values drop about 10% in september and october, which is usually when apple releases new iphone versions. so if you wait until later this fall, you could lose as much as 30% of the phone's secondary market value. michael jackson fans, listen up. you want that glove you have a chance to get it now. one of those sequin gloves about to go on sale. the bidding for the glove starts tomorrow at $20,000, expected to go a lot higher than that, though. that's just the starting price. another of jackson's white

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nope, that's not a pile of dirt there in buffalo, new york. it's what's left of a massive pile of snow that followed last november's record-breaking storm. more than 70 feet found and some of it still melting eight months later. that snow of course outlasting the pile that just finished melting in boston. a check of your morning road conditions now. it's going to be rainy around the great lakes. flooding possible in florida and along the gulf coast. wet from the southern plains to southern california. well, an american dentist under fire for killing a beloved lion in africa. >> cecil the lion was a star attraction at a national park in zimbabwe. dr. walter palmer shot him with a bow and arrow earlier this month after allegedly luring him from a protected area. palmer issued a statement saying he had no idea that the lion was a local favorite now facing poaching charges in zimbabwe and animal conservationists are outraged. >> the u.s. government right now is

considering whether or not to protect lions under the u.s. endangered species act. so fingers crossed if done it will stop from bringing the trophy back here at the very least. >> palmer's minnesota dental practice is closed for now and reportedly paid $50,000 for the hunt and he already has a felony record here in the u.s. for shooting a black bear. the uproar has forced palmer to suspend his facebook page getting blasted on yelp. here's an example here emily from new york writing "you kill defenseless animals. we kill your business." another, shame on you, "killing a majestic creature. lions should not be killed for sport." jimmy kimmel spent a couple minutes talking about the incident giving out the website of the researchers who studied cecil the lion then jimmy got a bit emotional. >> if you want to make this into a positive, you could -- sorry. i'm -- okay. i'm good. make a donation to support them at the very least maybe -- maybe we can show the world that not all americans are like this jack hole here, this dentist.

>> that group that jimmy mentioned, the wildlife conservation unit at oxford they're the ones that tagged cecil for research. in the search for those two florida boys lost at sea, new new clues turned up since their overturned boat was found. but officials believe it's still possible to find them alive. perry cohen and austin stefanos haven't been seen since they started on a fishing trip on friday. the search continued through the night with the help of private pilots who volunteered to join in. federal investigators are looking into a frightening close call for a passenger jet running out of fuel as it tried to land in north dakota. the pilot of the allegiant air flight with 150 people on board told controllers he had only five minutes of fuel left. the airport in fargo was closed though for a scheduled practice by the navy blue angels. >> we're circling fargo. we don't have enough fuel to go anywhere else. >> allegiant 426, roger, there will be a window of opening in about 20 minutes for landing.

>> yeah, i don't have 20 minutes. >> yeah we don't have 20 minutes. the plane had been delayed on takeoff from las vegas. it landed safely after declaring an emergency but the pilot and the airline now are going to have to explain why the plane was so low on fuel in the first place. well, we got some great news to pass along about the daughter of the cincinnati bengals defensive lineman devon still. young leah remains cancer-free. >> yeah her dad says leah had testing done yesterday to check whether her cancer was in remission. those tests came back all good. this is great news, of course, training camp starting off. everybody has followed her story. it has been a great one with the bengals organization, with the player and with the daughter. this has been a great story so a great update to pass along. >> we are rooting for you leah. we can't get enough good stories from her. speaking of football, the new york yankees were scoring last night like they were playing football. >> we get the highlights from our guys at espn. >> this is the "sportscenter" desk in los angeles. we're really fired up to bring you a couple baseball highlights. he's stan, i'm neil.

>> you go first. >> no, you go first. all right, i'll go first. yankees and rangers, top second tied at five. yankees with men on first and second. now, they were down 5-0 after the first in this game. alex rodriguez, the birthday party still isn't over. yankees up 6-5. later in the inning they're up 7-5 with bases loaded. didi gregorius 4 for 5. the yankees got 11 runs in the second inning. >> that's not right. >> they're up 11-5 with bases loaded. chris young, grand slam. he had r five rbi. yankees win it, 21-5. >> the sun has been waiting. sunny gray, he's a dude. a's/dodgers in l.a. get a dodger dog. andre ethier trying to steal -- well that wasn't -- >> curly fries good too. >> yeah. >> had those? >> i have. listen you go to dodger stadium, just plan on chowing down.

ethier's night would only get worse. so ike davis is going to nag that. then look at ethier, man. i hate this bat! i hate this bat. a's won. >> that's all we got. you can probably tell. >> we have more but -- >> back to you. >> wow. thanks, fellas. up next in "the pulse," a surgical first. doctors changing one little boy's life with a delicate and historic procedure. and backyard brouhaha. the confrontation over a barbecue going viral. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. those who have served our nation. have earned the very best service in return. ♪ usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life.

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philadelphia, his future looks bright. one day he may even be able to throw a football. zion, he couldn't be happier. >> i want to say to you guys thank you for helping me through this bumpy road. >> ah. his mother says zion is looking forward to throwing a party so he can show off his new hands. this is fantastic. great personality. great smile going through a lot this life. >> no tears. just smiles from when he woke up in surgery. >> that's good to see. we turn now to washington state where federal marshals have tracked down a fugitive. jason stange served a sentence for armed bank robbery but he was being sought for violating his supervised release. >> so since then he has acted in a low budget movie and his picture, it appear eded in the newspaper in an article about it and an officer noticed his distinctive tattoo then tracked him down and arrested him.

>> you're on the run, don't star in a movie is the moral. >> especially if you have a distinctive tattoo. a neighborhood feud heating up in st. petersburg, florida, over barbecue smoke. >> yeah one homeowner made more than a dozen complaints about smoke drifting from a backyard grill across the street and says it's nauseating and affects her eyes, lungs and stomach and a city inspector actually told the barbecuing brothers dwayne and chris matt to try to contain the smoke to your own property. >> the good news is so far for the brothers no citations have been issued. the men suggested that he might solve the dispute by cooking for his neighbor. >> you know what, that was an olive branch. he has extended for a rib bone. drivers of cars tend to be a tad disrespectful to people who ride bicycles. one cyclist in brazil had enough of this. so when a car was parked across the bike path he got off his wheels and he just moved the car. >> yeah, that's a fiat uno. it weighs about 1600 pounds with no one in it. a crowd cheered him on then he got back on his bike and pedaled away.

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did you know that people born from 1945 through 1965 have the highest rates of hepatitis c but most don't know they're infected? people can live for decades without symptoms but over time hepatitis c can cause serious health problems. if you were born during these years the cdc now recommends that you get a blood test for hepatitis c. so talk to your doctor and find out if you have hepatitis c. it could save your life. know more.

abc7 news begins with breaking news. >> thanks for joining us. i am matt keller here for kristen sze. >> i am eric thomas. the breaking news involve as grass fire currently burning on a hillside in lafayette. right near highway 24. cal fire is on the way. the first reports could have come from the high school. it is burning up the hill on the...west side...the south side of the hill. still burning. don't have any fire crews on scene but we waiting for that to happen. >> grass fires are a major issue today. we check with meteorologist mike nicco. it will be another hot day. >> going to be hot. as hot as yesterday. if not hotter in some areas. good morning. we have fog along the coast

toward point reyes. that will dissipate quickly when the sun comes up. i have camera open and that is the fire. on the south side of 24 -- no, the north side of 24. the 12-hour day planner, 56 to 68. starting off warm this morning. by noon we are 2 at the coast and nbc inland. 4:00 72 at the coast to 100 inland. it is a "spare the air" day. by five o'clock we are comfortable at the cost 68 but hot inland at 92 degrees. now the commute. here is leyla. >> on 680 you can see if there is traffic approaching highway 24. we are seeing heavier traffic as you push to highway 24 southbound. we do have a little spot of slowing and you can see it on

the eastbound portion of highway 24 through lafayette mostly friend as you continue through orinda and we will monitor >> if you have pictures or video of the fire bumping on the north side of 24, post them on social media with # new details emerging of the final moments of an eight-year-old santa cruz girl. madyson middleton was bra tallized -- her debt at the hands of a neighbor. janet? >> the district attorney will be holding a news conference later this morning to discuss the case. the 15-year-old boy who lived here at the tannery could be tried as an adult for the murder of his eight year old neighbor, madyson middleton. yesterday, 200 people gathered at the peach where they celebrated her life