morning america." rning america." io overnight in the southern california inferno. historic winds fanning the flames. >> so scary. so scary. >> it was time to go. it was frightening. >> fire reaching one of l.a.'s most famous neighborhoods. cameras rolling as this building in the distance explodes. this morning the air quality concerns, the schools closed and the shocking video as a man runs rabbit. what happened next. democrats turn on al franken. the senator set to make a big announcement today amid new calls for his resignatiouct allegations. >> enough is enough. >> the next step for democrats if franken steps down. wild shoot-out. guns pulled on this busy street. how road rage set off this dramatic scene in texas and how

it ended. the security scare for prince george, the suspect terror plot targeting the royal family. and stopping traffic. how football superstar tom brady's good looks are being used to stop drivers from speeding. a good morning to you all. we begin with those wind-driven wildfires in southern california where officials have expanded evacuation orders to include the ventura county town of ojai. overall 150,000 people are now under mandatory evacuation. >> so that fire in ventura county has already burned more than 140 square miles and fire crews say they're nowhere near containing it. in the meantime, l.a.'s fire chief warns that today's brush burning index, which is the number used to rate the threat of a brush fire, is the highest he's seen in three decades. >> wow, at least five fires are

burning right now, but more are expected to erupt today beca winds could reach hurricane force. abc's kenneth moton has the latest from the front lines. >> reporter: new from overnight the california wildfire threat exploding. from the air this intense wall of flames in ventura county. >> wow, look at this. >> reporter: the skirball fire in los angeles county also moving fast impacting the busy 405 freeway. a hellish commute for drivers caught by surprise literally sitting next to burning hillsides. >> this is really frightening. there are a lot of homes here. >> reporter: the fires have already taken out several multimillion dollar hopes in bel air. 350 firefighters on the ground. abc's matt gutman right there. >> that house is completely engulfed, and the smoke coming out is noxious. it's like breathing in tear gas. there's a helicopter overhead now. it's dropping water right now so might get wet. >> reporter: thousands of homes

are in the threat zone in southern california sparking mandatory evacuations. in ventura 90,000 acres burned. people returned to find their houses reduced to rubble. >> i have a 16-year-old son and it's the house he grew up in, so it's hard for him but he has a good attitude. >> reporter: thoses whose homes were spared now pitching in to help their neighbors. >> i'm grateful we have our home but i'm very sad for my neighbors and the way my neighbors look and it's just horrible. >> reporter: fire officials say those santa ana winds reaching 70 miles per hour in some areas. some relief expected by the weekend. kenneth moton, abc news. >> our thanks to kenneth there. and as you know, most people are scrambling to escape the fastoving flames. >> that's right, but this man risked his life to save a wild rabbit. he ran up to those flames along the roadway and after a few minutes he did manage to grab that rabbit and carry it to safety. we move on to the big news that is happening today. democratic sources tell abc news they expect senator al franken will resign today. two more women have come forward accusing him of sexual

misconduct bringing the total to eight. one of the new accusers claims franken tried to kiss her. another says he groped her. dozens of democrats are now calling on franken to step down. >> you are saying he should resign? >> and i get no pride or pleasure in saying that. >> i think today's revelations just further add to a fact pattern here that's just unacceptable. if franken resigns, minnesota's dominique hue minnesota's democratic governor will choose a replacement until a special election is held next year. turning now to the russia investigation, donald trump jr. spent nearly eight hours being questioned by the house intelligence committee. but he reportedly refused to answer questions about the conversations he had with his father after his 2016 meeting with a russian lawyer became public. the committee's top democrat says trump junior cited attorney/client privilege because there were attorneys present for that conversat

some are now questioning whether that privilege applies in this case. there's new information about some text messages allegedly sent by former national security adviser michael flynn during president trump's inaugural address in january. a whistle-blower claims flynn texted a former business partner that a plan to build nuclear reactors in the middle east was good to go. this is according to a letter released by the top democrat on the house oversight committee. now, the plan involved russian partners. now, sanctions on russia would be ripped up. the details have now been shared with special counsel robert mueller. and the middle east is on edge this morning one day after president trump defied warnings and officially declared jerusalem the capital of israel. anti-american sentiment is running high among palestinians and some of america's closest allies are calling on the united nations to hold an emergency meeting. abc's molly hunter joins us from jerusalem with the latest. good morning, molly. >> reporter: diane, good morning. that's right. it is the biggest news here.

everyone is talking about it anticipate it's on the cover of every single newspaper here. here you've got "the jerusalem post." trump on jerusalem. it's that city's capital. you've got this, "u.s. recognizes jerusalem as the capital of israel" and here's a picture of the israeli flag and the american flag projected onto the walls of jerusalem's old city. the state department is warning israel to restrain its reaction to that announcement to tamp down any anti-american sentiment in the region. >> i have determined that it is time to officially recognize jerusalem as theapital of israel. while previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. today i am delivering. >> reporter: and just like that, in a matter of minutes president trump reversed nearly 70 years of u.s. policy and did what no peace process has ever done, named jerusalem as the capital

of israel. he also started the process to move the u.s. embassy. no other country on earth has an embassy in jerusalem. >> we cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. >> reporter: but the reaction was swift. palestinian president mahmoud abbas saying it could lead to wars that never end. the turkish foreign minister calling it a grave mistake. britain's prime minister calling it unhelpful to the peace process. french president macron saying it was regrettable and protests with palestinians declaring jerusalem their capital and saying the blood of martyrs won't be wasted. the only comments overseas that were positive -- >> this is a historic day. >> reporter: now prime minister netanyahu is thrilled, of arclosed.ut here in east in the west bank a massive general strike. palestinians have called for three days of rage yesterday,

today and tomorrow, but, tomorrow, guys, after friday prayers is what we'll be watching. diane, kendis. >> that, indeed. our thanks to molly hunter in jerusalem. and time now for a look at your weather on this thursday morning. >> good morning. a serious situation continues here over southern california with very low amounts of humidity and fierce winds from the north and east and also talking about some warm temperatures and, again, homes are going to continue to be threatened here through friday with these explosive fire conditions. and to the northeast chilly air making its move on in along with gusty winds and even some significant lake-effect snow and, meanwhile, over the southeast we're talking about travel delays due to wet conditions along the 10. i'm justin povick with your accuweather forecast. coming up, why walmart is changing its name. but first road rage leads to this wild shoot-out on a busy street. what police say sparked the violence.

and ter we take you inside jay leno's new historic mansion. we will never have time to show we will never have time to show you all the rooms, but we're @@v

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this frightening scene was caughtn camera by a news crew in houston. that's two men opening fire at each other in broad daylight on a busy road. this all started as a rear end collision before it escalated into a dangerous case of road rage. >> the guy in the jeep said drop the gun, drop the gun, drop the begun, and the other guy is like pulling the gun like that and then it's like crazy. >> a woman grazed by a bullet is expected to recover. one of the shooters was also injured but not seriously. a volkswagen executive has been sentenced to seven years in

prison for the company's scheme to cheat on emissions inspections. oliver schmidt has been ordered to pay $400,000 for his role in the scandal. you'll recall rigged devices were placed in diesel cars so they could circumvent fedal emission tests. the results of the new crash test are out this morning. the insurance institute for highway safety says cars from hyundai, kia and subaru performed the best. for the first time passenger side crashes and headlight inspections were factored in the ratings. our website has the complete list of cars that fared the best at atmfans.com. and walmart has changed its name. ready for this one? it's dropping the word stores from its official legal name as part of a marketing plan to emphasize online shopping and it's also dropping t hyphen that used to separate wal from mart. so now walmart is called walmart.

on a more serious note, we're learning more details about that massive data breach at uber. reuters is reporting that a 20-year-old man who lives with his mother was behind that cyberattack that compromised the data of millions of users. uber reportedly paid that man $100,000 to destroy the data and keep the breach a secret. a source says the man did it because he wanted to help pay the bills at mom's house. >> well, mom -- >> mom is a tough landlord. >> it's not free. up, new rese about birth control and the health risk for certain women. but first the picture of a 4-year-old prince george at the center of an alleged terrorism plot. the suspect now facing charges. plus, the mystery buyer who paid $450 million for a da vinci painting is finally revealed. t . could this happen again? was my warfarin treatment right for me? my doctor told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again.

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nearly hitting a tanker truck. the pilot was killed. the ntsb investigating the cause. a florida man is facing a felony charge after allegedly blinding police helicopter pilots with a laser. the sheriff's office said about ten flashes hit the pilot's eyes near tampa. they eventually arrested him at hi turn now to team usa and the possibility that american athletes may be pulled from the 2018 winter olympics for security reasons. >> the u.n. ambassador nikki haley said it's an open question. when she was asked whether u.s. athletes will be able to attend the games in south korea in two months. haley told fox news the situation with north korea is changing by the day and they plan to take every precaution to keep americans safe. and today is sentencing day for a former u.s. gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty to molesting teen girls. prosecutors want larry nassar to get 60 years in prison for possessing child pornography and will be sentenced separately

on assault charges. mckayla maroney is expected to be in court today. she wants life in prison for nassar. her mother wrote a letter to the court about the toll the abuse has taken on mckayla saying she has transformed from a bubbly positive, loving world class athlete into a young adult who was deeply depressed. at times i was unsure whether i would open her bedroom door and find her dead. a british man is in custody for allegedly helping plan an attack on prince george. a man is accused of putting a photo and information about the 4-year-old's preschool in a social media post that was encrypted. prosecutors say the 31-year-old suspect was trying to help others plot a terror attack. royal watchers say george's parents face a difficult challenge when it comes to security for the kids. >> i mean they need to be followed round the clock by royal protection officers and by bodyguards, but at the same time they want them to feel as though they're not special and that they can go and play with their friends and that they're having normal interactions with people. and so it's a constant balancing act. >> the suspect has pleaded not

guilty to the charges. now to new research about low dose birth control pills. doctors in denmark found the new pill raised the chance of developing breast cancer. results were the same for hormone infused devices such as iuds but doctors say the danger is considered small, so most women don't need to give up their birth control due to this. the price of viagra is about to be cut in half because pfizer's new generic version hits the market next week. instead of a blue pill it will be a little white pill. now time for sports highlights. >> let's get those from espn. >> good morning, morning people. i could use some jolly ranchers right now to give me a little let's go. let's go to kansas. washington, they were all jacked up. kansas, i mean, their average margin of victory this season 31 points, best in the country. look at thybulle. a couple of slams right there.

mike hopkins came over from syracuse, replaced lorenzo romar. great job by him. oh, that's deep. washington's first ever win against an ap top team too. i mean, they shock bill self and company, 74-65. it's good to be king and have your own way. lebron james isn't really a king. that's just a nickname. dwyane wade to jeff green right there. this is the cavs against the kings. james to green. again, green 17 points off the bench. james, oh, look at this. stepback, bobby jack, james an assist shy of a triple-double the cavs have won 13 in a row. that was fun. have a great thursday. >> all right. thank you. and coming up the number one video of the year on youtube. can you guess which one? >> no. also ahead inside jay leno's historic new home and the big discount he got. plus, more proof that tom brady can do it all.

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♪ ♪ time to check "the pulse" and we finally know who shelled out a record da vinci painting. >> the deep pocketed new owner of "salvator mundi" is a saudi prince. according to "the new york times" the painting will hang in a museum in abu dhabi. >> "the times" says he used his money from real estate holdings to pay for that painting. youtube is out with this, number three, a group of guys doing trick shots with ping-pong balls. take a look. ♪ >> so the video has 93 million views since april.

not bad. >> not at all. >> next up, the second most popular video of the year. ♪ >> that's a group of dancers and their routine to ed sheeran's "shape of you" raking in 119 million viewers. but can you guess number one? top video of 2017, check it out. ♪ >> what in the world? this is the stuff nightmares are made of. >> that, ladies and gentlemen, is a man dressed as an oyster. this is part of a singing competition in asia featuring masked celebrities and elaborate costumes. it has 183 million views. >> to quote the poet future, i would like for him to take the mask off. next tom brady can stop traffic just about anywhere. >> especially around boston. and now there's hope that the patriots star can slow down cars as well.

>> a teacher attached brady a face to the crosswalk signs outside school and hopes brady's mug will get drivers to pay attention and slow down and so far it's working. >> all right. well, jay leno, by the way, now owning a new stunning oceanfront home. >> amazing, so he bought this mansion in newport, rhode island, for $13.5 million. it was listed for 17 million. >> it has 8 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms. he may have to add another garage for his car collection, though, because it only has a six-car garage. >> oh, only. >> poor jay. >> #prayforjay. nobody does it better. he's also an avid cookie connoisseur. dig in, big guy. but when it comes to mortgages, he's less confident. fortunately for nick, theres rocket mortgage by quicken loans. it's simple, so he can understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently. rocket mortgage by quicken loans.

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we're going too get to weather and traffic starting with you, mike. >> it's breezy in the hills. i thought we'd start with that. oakland 24, gusting to 29 on mt. tamalpais. through the altamont pass only 7 miles per hour. lower elevations gusting to 25 at half moon bay a quick look at your temperatures, 34 in santa rosa to about 52 in san francisco to 59 in half moon bay. oakland, 48. san jose, 41. concord, 42. a look at your 12-hour day planner next. hi, sue. quiet this morning at 4:27. let's look at the san mateo

bridge. the taillights heading to the high rise and over to foster city. everybody is moving at the limit for about a 14-minute drive. our first look is an incorrect number. do not pay attention to that. no problems, a little bit of slow traffic with the cash paying lanes. we'll check back with your real drive times in a couple of minutes. >> sue, thank you. it's 4:28 now. at the live desk this morning powerful winds are bringing extreme fire danger in southern california right now. ucla canceling classes today because of the wildfires burning near campus. i want to bring you a live look. you can see the ridge of fire in ventura county. it has grown to 90,000 acres, just 5% contained. overnight strong winds fueled several wildfires burning in southern california. evacuation orders are still in effect impacting thousands of people. our sister station in los angeles has the latest. >> reporter: overnight conditions proving to be

treacherous for firefighters. winds whipping flames in every direction. at one point we were completely surrounded by a wall of flames that were reaching hundreds of feet into the air. explosions from trees bursting into flames as firefighters worked to protect homes in this area. firefighters not shying away from this danger but digging their heels and making sure these structures are protected even as a fire rages around them. we were concerned about high winds tonight. we haven't seen extreme gusts, but the winds are certainly pushing the fire in almost every single direction. it's an extremely precarious situation out here. at one point we had to run to get away from some of the embers that were falling from the sky and even as conditions remained terrible for these firefighters they're staying put this morning. i'm veronica miracle in ojai for abc news.

news helicopters getting dramatic images like this explosion near a home near the thomas fire in ventura county last night. it's not clear what exploded there. you can download the abc 7 news app and enable push alerts for breaking updates on the southern california fires. it is 4:30 right now. if you're just joining us, a quick update on your weather and traffic starting with you, mike. >> so apocalyptic to look at those. red flag warning, high fire danger. about 8.7 million people within that area around los angeles to san diego all the way up. the winds have come a little bit about 14 to 24 miles an hour. by 7:00 they're up to about 40 miles per hour. overnight again tonight through tomorrow morning up around 40 to 45 miles per hour. it's kind of quiet.