breaking news, two u.s. olympians are heading home from rio after talking to police for hours. outrage is growing in brazil as police say they lied about being robbed at gunpoint but the swimmers are sticking to their story. we have new reaction from the u.s. team overnight. donald trump's campaign seems to enter a new phase with a surprising statement overnight. he heads to the louisiana flood zone today, but will the president break from his vacation to see the worst natural disaster in four years? a sailboat crew makes an urgent call for help as their boat starts taking on water and then they make a difficult decision. and lightning bolt. usain bolt does it again winning gold in the 200 meters, so why isn't he happy?

a good friday morning to you all. we have breaking news this morning. a u.s. olympic swimmer has just completed a four-hour interview with brazilian police as two of his teammates are set to land on u.s. soil shortly after also being questioned about their claims of an armed robbery. >> so brazilian authorities now say those claims were made up, but the swimmers refute that. take a look as gunnar bentz and jack conger board a flight in rio last night. rio police say the pair along with teammates ryan lochte and james feigen were actually confronted by a security guard, not armed robbers. >> in a statement overnight the u.s. olympic committee says "we apologize to our hosts in rio and the people of brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence." meanwhile, bentz and conger left the police station last night followed by an angry crowd. abc's matt gutman has more on the investigation and what the swimmers say. >> reporter: it's the robbery that police say never took

place, and it's now at the heart of what is becoming an international incident. this video obtained by abc news shows ryan lochte, one of the winningest olympians in history, and three other swimmers going into this gas station bathroom in the early hours of sunday morning. lochte had been partying with friends snapchatting this video of himself at this club packed with 2,500 people. lochte and his younger teammates, gunnar bentz, jack conger and james feigen, say that they got into a taxi then to go home to the olympic village. that's when the story gets fuzzy. lochte initially told nbc that armed men had pulled him over. his account was seen as a vicious black eye to the host city but then as brazilian police began to investigate, lochte appeared to change his story. brazilian police are recommending that he and james feigen be indicted for providing false testimony to police insisting lochte and the others were never victims of an armed

robbery, but as they say, there are two sides to every story. police say the swimmers kicked down the door then vandalized the bathroom inside then those four swimmers continued on here back towards their taxi and and at this point, they allegedly ripped a poster off a wall before being confronted by those security guards. police say the man is actually another armed security officer intent, they say, not on robbing them but on trying to subdue them. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: so the question of whether a gun was pointed at them, yes, the answer is yes. >> reporter: and here when one of the athletes takes out his wallet, police say he was actually trying to give them money to pay for the damages. but sources who spoke to all four swimmers telling abc news lochte and the other swimmers were, in fact, held up by the man they thought were gunmen. the sources say they only released them once the americans coughed up 400 bucks. >> the police are claiming that the statement that lochte and feigen made to them was false,

and that's a crime under brazilian law. >> reporter: even the brazilian police agree it's unlikely that lochte or any of the other swimmers will face jail time. i'm matt gutman in rio. >> the brazilian police say they are recommending charges of false reporting of a crime and that could carry a sentence of up to six months in jail, and we are just receiving word now that james feigen just completed his interview. he's the last of those four swimmers in brazil. >> he's the last one so four hours with brazilian authorities overnight. as you can imagine the morning papers are making light of all of this and getting creative along the way. "the new york post" has the headline, the ugly american with the small caption, "liar, liar, speedo on fire." "new york daily news" is going with the lochte mess monster. >> we'll take a closer look at his past to that short-lived reality show that he had coming up in just a few minutes.

first, new this morning, hillary clinton allegedly got advice to use her personal e-mail account from one of her predecessors, former secretary of state colin powell. the revelation reportedly surfaced during clinton's interview with the fbi. it's also in a new book about bill clinton saying powell told hillary clinton that he had used personal e-mail on the job and except for classified communications she should do the same. first for donald trump expressing regret for some of the thing that's said. trump was uncharacteristically mellow as he read prepared remarks at a rally in charlotte, north carolina, and after more than a year of unapologetically making controversial comments, he appeared to have a moment of contrition. >> sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. i have done that, and believe it

or not, i regret it, and i do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. >> well, trump has been accused of insulting everyone from immigrants to women and even a gold star family. hillary clinton's campaign is calling his remarks a well-written phrase, and they want him to specify exactly which offenses he regrets. trump and his running mate mike pence are expected to visit the flood zone in louisiana today, but a spokesman for louisiana's governor said his office had not been contacted by the trump campaign. the spokesman said trump was welcome to louisiana but not for a photo-op. president obama has been under fire for not cutting his vacation short to visit the flood zone, but the white house says he is closely monitoring the crisis. top republicans are demanding answers after the obama administration acknowledged for the first time that a $400 million payment to iran was used as leverage in the release of several american prisoners. administration officials still insist that despite new details

about the transaction, it was not a ransom payment. russia says it is ready to support a call by the united nations for weekly cease-fires in the syrian city of aleppo. the move comes as this haunting image spreads around the world. the 5-year-old boy was pulled from a building after the city was rocked by another devastating air strike. his injuries turned out to be minor, and the rest of his family survived, but so far the war has left 100,000 children dead. in california, crews are battling a new wildfire. the ray fire has burned at least 600 acres in santa barbara county forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from campgrounds in that area. the fire is now 20% contained. meanwhile, further south some residents are finally going back home after firefighters got some more of the blue cut fire under control. that fire has now burned more than 36,000 acres and is 22% contained. officials still have not been able to say how many homes and other structures have burned. other than to say dozens.

and fire danger in the west remains high as record-breaking heat scorches parts of oregon and washington and the heat will stick around through tomorrow. now to the olympics and usain bolt who turns 30, by the way, on sunday says that he is getting old and you wouldn't know it by his latest gold medal performance. >> that's for sure. bolt won the 200 meters for the third straight olympics giving him eight gold medals. but he says he wants a faster time and -- or wasn't a faster time and that it would have helped if someone faster was in front of him. ah. >> oh, yeah. >> the problem with being the fastest person on the track. >> to which justin gatlin is like really, dude? american ashton eaton hangs on to the title of world's greatest athlete and wins back-to-back gold medals and becomes the first in the decathlon since 1984 and cemented his convict which with a come-from-behind win in the 1500 meters. his wife is a canadian olympian as well. she took the bronze in the heptathlon last week. the united states heads into

today's action with an even 100 medals, more than 40 ahead of second place china. the u.s. also has the most golds with 35. britain is in second there. >> and, of course, the games wrap up over the weekend. well, coming up, the zika outbreak in south florida spreading this morning. plus, would you use a self-riding uber car? the company is betting on it. the high-tech fleet. what's the deal with these, statues resembling donald trump popping up in cities nationwide.

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in finding cures and saving children. visit stjude.org. 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. new developments about the zika virus here in the u.s. at least two cases of the virus have been diagnosed in miami beach. it's believed both cases were transmitted by local mosquitoes.

35 people have been infected so far in florida with most of the cases in an area north of miami. twitter is cracking down on terror. the website has suspended nearly a quarter million accounts for terror-related activity. the spike in suspensions follows a string of recent attacks around the world after facing accusations of not doing enough to stop terrorism on the network. twitter increased daily suspensions by more than 80% over the last year. meanwhile, uber is announcing the rollout of a fleet of self-driving cars in pittsburgh for now. customers will be able to summon the semi autonomous cars but since the technology has not been perfected they will come with human backup drivers to handle any unexpected situations because uber is still testing the service the rides will be free. >> just sitting in the back going, man, turn left here. when we come back, exactly, looking into ryan lochte's past. plus, new details about the investigation into the robbery claims by the olympian and three teammates in rio.

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now for a look at morning road conditions, severe storms are in the forecast from the central plains to wisconsin with damaging winds, hail, even a few tornadoes possible. storms are also possible from the great lakes into the ohio valley. >> despite all that rain that you saw there, it's actually a fairly decent day for air travel. the only possible delay in kansas city. updating our top story, two u.s. olympic swimmers are due back in the country shortly. >> talking about gunnar bentz and jack conger who boarded a flight out of brazil last night spent much of the day meeting with police would determined the pair and two teammates were not victims of a gunpoint robbery. >> one of those teammate, jimmy feigen, is still in rio. he won't be allowed to leave until he donates $11,000 to charity. he just completed a four-hour interview with police there. the other teammate is 12-time medalist ryan lochte who is no stranger to controversy. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: as brazilian authorities intensify their

investigation, we take a closer look at ryan lochte's bad boy past. it's not the first time lochte has had a run-in with the law. court records show he was charged for public urination in florida in 2005. five years later, he was charged with disorderly conduct after police say he was caught actively involved in a physical fight. both dismissed after reaching prosecution deals. he became a household name making a huge name at the london games in 2012 where he took home five medals. the celebrity status earned him a starring role in his own reality tv show on e! "what would ryan lochte do?" the show only lasted one season but lochte told us just last month he would do it again. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> we're going to have much more on the scandal surrounding lochte and his teammates later this morning on "gma." the coast guard came to the rescue of a sailboat taking on water 200 miles off the washington coast. the five people on board had to resort to using bucks when the boat's pump couldn't keep that water from flooding.

amid 20-foot seas and 30-mile-an-hour winds, the crew didn't want to abandon ship so a new pump was delivered and the coast guard left once it was working so they never left the ship. it was a different kind of rescue for a trapped raccoon. this cute little guy had his head stuck in a sewer grate in massachusetts. lucky for him an animal control officer came over, slipped him out safely with the help of some cooking oil. >> a creative animal safety officer. time now for some ports. the patriots returned to thursday night football without tom brady. >> here with the preseason highlights, let's go to our guys at espn. >> good morning, america. he's stan. i'm neil. good old tom and gronk not playing but still the pats got to go first. >> yeah. tom brady cut his hand apparently, his thumb to be more specific with a pair of scissors trying to remove something from his cleats so scheduled to play but didn't play. jimmy garoppolo did. he's going to start the first four games of the patriots while brady serves his deflategate suspension.

better effort from garoppolo this week than we saw last week, much quicker with the ball out of his hands. hooking up for a touchdown there. the patriots beat the bears, 23-22. robert griffin is no longer filibustering in washington. he is now in cleveland. they've already got a king but they're looking for a quarterback. they found it. he threw it to a quarterback. the former quarterback, terrelle pryor, beat an all pro defensive back there on that. pryor looked good. barnidge looked good. griffin looked good. the final score, the falcons looked better, but, hey, man it's all about your first teamers. >> yeah, that looked pretty good. two high quality throws from griffin. >> i thought you were going to pick up on it. it's all about your first teamers. >> i think i know what you meant there. >> you know what i mean? >> that's all we got from the first team. >> thanks, fellas. nice of them.

football just a few weeks away. up next in "the pulse," newborn triplets tipping the scale at nearly 20 pounds. and you might have seen one of these near you. we'll tell you who is behind the naked trump statues. an unprecedented natural outburst seems to have taken over the country. we'll bring you more as soon as new updates come in. this house was literally invaded minutes after the mom came back from a grocery run. hi , i'm stuck in an elevator with a cow. a what ? we have a situation. everything alright in there ? witnesses say this is where it all started, okay guys. we're comimg in now. copy that. all natural, non gmo ingredients with vitamin d and whole milk. new dannon , natural is back. get between you and life's dobeautiful moments.llergens by choosing flonase, you're choosing more complete allergy relief and all the enjoyment that comes along with it. when we breathe in allergens,

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and see ice age: collision course in theaters july 22. ♪ time to check "the pulse" starting with donald trump exposed. >> unlike we -- >> sort of. >> -- have ever seen him before. how do you like that image? want to get up close with that. these life-size statues of a stark naked trump have popped up in l.a., san francisco, seattle, cleveland and in new york's times square where the city has since removed it and you might have guessed it, it's not a tribute. they are the brainchild of anti-trump activists.

their hope is that trump is never elevated they say to the most powerful position in the world. >> and the statues accomplish that how exactly? >> i don't know how. except to scare us, all right. newborn triplets were the talk of the tennessee hospital after tipping the scales at nearly 20 pounds combined. >> so we're talking about jack and stella and luke tipton who arrived in that order. the siblings missed the world record mark for heaviest triplets by just over two pounds. they are now 5 months old doing fine. looking back, mom says it was like having a toddler in my tummy. >> imagine carrying around 20 pounds worth of baby. >> ouch. >> mom got a workout during that pregnancy, that's for sure. >> yes, she did. they better remember that. >> she better remind them any time they misbehave. do you have any idea what i went through? mercedes did going back to the future with its new auto. >> take a look at the the vision mercedes-maybach 6. the automaker calls it a throwback to the golden age of

a echlt rchlt och aero coupes. >> it makes its debut at a show in pebble beach, california. it has an electric engine packed with 738 horsepower but only has a rank of 200 miles so keep a charger handy. >> it looks kind of cool inside. >> it looks like a ship. >> yeah. very nice. all right, check out this bright light shooting across the sky in southern california. it not only sparked reaction on social media, it even stopped traffic there on the road underneath. witnesses described it as blue/green in color. the director of a local observatory said it was probably a meteor, probably. >> and that's the last thing anybody needs in southern california, another excuse to stop traffic. i'm doubting it was a meteor. i am thinking it's end of days. >> maybe somebody else trying to get across another part of town trying to direct traffic that way. >> or maybe it's the new mercedes-maybach. >> futuristicic. >> it actually does fly. more news after this.

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good morning, 4:30 club. i am natasha zouves. >> i am jessica castro here for reggie aqui. it is friday, august 19. the commute is off to a left start. a deadly crash, alexis? >> yes at 2:00 this morning. this is a fatal incident in the vallejo area. someone left the road and the vehicle went into the water. that person is deceased. they got the vehicle and the victim out of water. the investigation is ongoing. we are making calls and trying to see how much, if anything, is blocked on the road. another update in a few minutes. we will check withdrew and at look at friday forecast. drew? happy friday. a look from the exploritorium

camera showing a lot of low cloud over san francisco. we are starting the day with fog and low clouds. look at the three day forecast. it is setting up to be a gorgeous week. friday, fog to sunshine and friday and saturday a wide arraign but a nice cooling friend headed our way. >> thank you. we start at 4:30 with breaking news from new jersey. at least one person is dead. and at least 19 others are injured after two buses collided in downtown newark. this is right near penn station. a emergency transit bus t-bone another at 3:00 our time and witnesses say the driver ran a red light at full speed. you can see the nasty crash and the buses appear to be almost cut in half from the impact. in san francisco, the life size statue of donald trump in the nude grew big crowds and raised

a lot eye withouts. amy hollyfield is at market and castro. what is the latest? all the statue is gone. shear where it was, the department of public works said a reason is that you cannot have something affixed to the sidewalk without permission, you can see the mark it left. that is on reason it had to go and the other reason, the crowds, this make it life sized unflattering statue of donald trump here drew people to it all day long. they took selfies, giggled. it was a spectacle. >> i don't think anyone good to vote for this time so, we will take a picture of hillary clinton, too. >> san francisco is not the only city where this statue popped up. see allege had one. new york got one. one in los angeles, and, also in, cleveland. the activity