>> big, big detail. making news in america this morning, a new twist overnight in the investigation into president trump's claim that the fbi spied on his campaign. the crucial meeting in washington today and the new invitation being extended to democrats. shocking new video from the volcano disaster in hawaii. the massive crack opening in the ground threatening homes and overnight more blue flames breaking out as fountains of lava threaten to trap hundreds of residents cutting off their escape route. a landmark ruling in a sexual assault case. a jury awards a billion dollars to a rape victim. her message this morning to other women about the value of justice. plus, the new effort by scientists to find the loch ness monster. and the research is in on who is better at navigating, men or women. the battle of the sexes over

sense of direction is decided once and for all. >> it's men. just because you refuse to ask for directions doesn't mean you actually know where you're going. >> oh, yeah, we do. >> get lost. >> the great debate. get lost. >> it continues. a good thursday morning, everyone. we're going to start things off with the congressional gang of eight getting a last-minute invitation to a top secret intelligence briefing today as president trump raises questions about spying during the campaign. >> so, all of this means democrats who were initially left out will be in the room for one meeting today, but the other briefing is for republicans only. abc's kenneth moton has the new details on it. good morning, kenneth. it's men, right? >> reporter: hey, good morning. yes. kendis and diane, i can tell you a lot of back and forth overnight about who would be briefed by the justice department and when. president trump says on this russia investigation, he's just looking for total transparency.

if it were a spy novel, it appears president trump would be the author. >> a lot of bad things have happened. we now call it spygate. >> reporter: with no apparent proof, president trump has gone all in on his claim that the fbi and the justice department planted spies in his 2016 campaign. >> it looks like a very serious event. i hope it's not true, but it looks like it is. >> reporter: on twitter the president called the alleged conspiracy one of the biggest scandals in history carried out by a, quote, criminal deep state. a spy put there by the previous administration for political purposes. >> president obama? >> after we look at the proof, would he know, i would certainly hope not, but i think it's going to be pretty obvious after a while. >> reporter: the president also claimed obama director of national intelligence james clapper admitted on abc's "the view" to having spies in the campaign, but that's not what clapper said. >> was the fbi spying on trump's campaign? >> no, they were not. they were spying on -- a term i

don't politically like but on what the russians were doing. >> reporter: today the justice department will hold two highly classified intelligence briefings on the fbi's russia investigation. the first meeting initially planned by the white house republican only. >> no one should trust anything they say coming out of that meeting. it will be a sham. >> reporter: democrats will now be part of a second briefing, a bipartisan group of house and senate leaders known as the gang of eight. president trump says he's not trying to undercut the russia investigation, and what he's doing is a service to the country. diane and kendis. >> all right, kenneth moton live from d.c. for us. thanks, kenneth. well, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser jared kushner has now received full security clearance finally clearing the fbi's background check. we've also learned kushner was questioned for seven hours by the special counsel robert mueller's team. some angry words overnight from north korea that could put next month's summit with president trump in jeopardy. today a north korean official called vice president mike pence, quoting here, a political dummy.

all of this for suggesting that north korea could end up like libya if it doesn't stop its nuclear program. the official said whether the summit will happen rests entirely on the behavior of the united states. we're following some breaking news in northern italy. a train crashed into a truck that had stopped on the tracks near the city of turin killing at least two people as that train derailed. officials say the barrier had lowered properly, so they're not sure how the truck ended up on the tracks. and in hawaii authorities are growing more concerned that the lava spewing from the kilauea volcano could cut off a major highway leaving about a thousand people who may need to be air-lifted from their homes. also overnight, more blue flames have been spotted from the burning methane, and we're getting our first look at a massive crack opening in the ground and threatening homes. nur video from the army national guard shows lava snaking its way across the big island as hawaii faces a new threat from the kilauea volcano. this family returned to their home in leilani estates to find

a massive ten-foot-wide crack running 500 feet through their backyard and beneath their home. >> it is the other side of the house. just a tad damaged. there is the massive crack and this goes all the way to the road where it swallowed that van. >> reporter: noah friend tells "the hawaii star adviser" that it started as tiny cracks until the earth slowly opened wider shifting their house by four feet. >> they have a massive crack system, and the house is literally falling into that crack system here. >> reporter: his neighbor's home also unlivable with these cracks leading up to the foundation. the family says they grabbed important photos and documents from their home but say all their other possessions have been ruined by the toxic gas coming from the volcano. that gas is a major concern with authorities warning of the potential for more evacuations. but for now they say winds are blowing the toxic air away from populated areas. meanwhile, there is some good news about a local power plant. the lava has actually formed a

wall protecting the plant. a little irony there. >> interesting. milwaukee's mayor is demanding accountability after a video was released showing the arrest of an nba rookie. officers were called because of a parking violation, but things quickly escalated. the milwaukee police department under fire this morning after the release of this video. >> you don't see the issue here? >> reporter: it shows a confrontation in january between officers and sterling brown, a player with the nba's milwaukee bucks. police say they were called at about 2:00 in the morning after brown illegally parked his car blocking two handicapped spaces. >> i just told you to back up. >> reporter: with things getting tense, the officer calls for backup. then surrounded by nearly a dozen officers, brown refuses to take his hands out of his pockets. >> take your hands out of your pockets now. >> no, i got stuff in my hands. >> reporter: the officers wrestle the 6'6" brown to the ground and use a taser on him. >> taser, taser, taser.

>> reporter: hours later brown was back on the basketball court and was asked about the mark on his face. >> are you able to confirm if, you know, the bruise and scab on the side of your face is from that incident? >> like i said, you know, it's an issue i'm dealing with right now. that's all i really want to say right now. >> reporter: after the release of the body cam video, the police chief is condemning the use of force. >> our department conducted an investigation into the incident which revealed members acted inappropriately, and those members were recently disciplined. i'm sorry this incident escalated to this level. >> reporter: the mayor says the video raises questions about the officers' conduct. >> i am offended by what i saw on the video. >> reporter: and on twitter brown now posting, i will take legal actions against the milwaukee police department to continue forcing change in our community. and we should mention no criminal charges were filed, but brown did get a parking ticket. time now for a look at your weather on this thursday morning.

good morning. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. isolated thunderstorms expected from winnipeg, fargo down toward sioux falls causing delays along 94, 29 and 90. now, as we go into the weekend we're watching out for thunderstorms throughout the deep south for saturday, and this is just a warm-up for what we're expecting with the possibility of tropical moisture and a possible tropical storm that could bring gusty winds with rough surf along with localized flooding throughout the southeast, and that will continue to squirt its way to the north by sunday. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, the most common passwords. is yours on the list? >> oh, boy. and first the nfl announces a new policy on kneeling during the national anthem. see how teams are reacting. and a woman escapes from the trunk of a car during this apparent kidnapping. why sh

we're back with what's left of a church in phoenix after a powerful explosion. nobody was inside at the time and authorities say the blast was likely caused by natural gas. neighbors have now been allowed to return home. the head of the nfl players union calls the league's new national anthem policy a blow to freedom of speech. the policy basically gives players the option to stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room until the anthem is over. teams could be fined if players don't comply. commissioner roger goodell calls the policy a compromise that was unanimously supported by owners. >> we want people to be respectful to the national anthem, and we want people to stand. that's all personnel and make sure that they treat this moment in a respectful fashion. >> but goodell's claim about

that unanimous vote has been disputed by the owner of the 49ers who says he abstained from the vote. the owner of the jets says he will not discourage players from expressing themselves and will pay the fines if necessary. a federal judge has ruled that president trump cannot block people from his twitter account just because they disagree with his political views. the judge says the president's twitter account is a public forum operated by the government which means viewpoint discrimination is not allowed. the justice department disagrees and is considering whether to should take further action. some iphone users may be getting a $50 refund from apple. customers who had to replace batteries on iphone 6 models or later models out of warrant paid $79 apiece. now, those replacement batteries now cost just $29. apple is sending e-mails to those eligible for a refund. those well-known cyberattacks and data breaches have not stopped americans from using overly simple passwords. okay, so topping the new list right now of the most common passwords, 12345678.

at least we moved it on to the 8. that's followed by, of course, the password, iloveyou, football and princess. >> princess, they stole yours. didn't they? >> they did, that and sunshine. >> change all your passwords. coming up, the mysterious noises heard in the middle of the night near a major city. why the fbi is now joining the investigation. also the $1 billion verdict in a sexual assault case. we'll hear from the victim. plus, the bombshell gwyneth paltrow just dropped about her ex-boyfriend, brad pitt. paltrow just dropped about her ex-boyfriend, brad pitt. helping millions of children here at home... and around the world... starts with one person... you. this red nose day... stop by walgreens and help end child poverty... one nose at a time. because every. one. counts. walgreens, trusted since 1901.

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behr presents: ordinary versus overachiever. behr premium plus, "behr" through it all with a top-rated paint at a great price. right now, get incredible savings on behr. exclusively at the home depot. we're back with we're back now with some pictures showing what looks like a kidnapping in virginia. a woman is escaping from the trunk of a car in a walmart parking lot. two men chase her down but they surrendered after seeing pictures on the news and could face charges. police say they staged it in hopes that the video would go viral. >> successful. we turn now to a growing

mystery in pennsylvania. >> the fbi is now investigating some unusual sounds early in the morning. people have heard frequent booms and have felt the ground shaking. john rollins from our station in philadelphia has the story. >> i remember it being like the middle of the night. >> reporter: samantha ritter recalling how last month she thought she heard fireworks nearby. >> i looked out the window thinking maybe the neighbors were setting off fireworks or something, and i didn't see anything, so i just went back to sleep. >> reporter: since early april police across upper bucks county and lower lehigh county received complaints of explosive sounds and more. >> the ground is actually almost shaking. the buildings are shaking. ceiling tiles are moving. windows rattling. >> reporter: richland township's chief says kales about the sounds come overnight between midnight and 5:00 and some describe it as a thud like vehicles slapping together and

others are reminded of underground blasting. donna weaver says it startled her and her dog. >> it was really loud. >> reporter: what did it sound like? >> it sounds like a big boom. just boom. >> reporter: given the complaints come from communities that are miles apart, the state police are investigating and the atf and fbi are assisting. in richland township the chief says two of his officers heard the sound, one seeing a flash. >> there was a flash of light and maybe several seconds before he actually heard the sound and then the other officer who was further away heard the sound later than he did, and they both thought it was coming from different directions. >> our thanks to john rollins there. police say the sounds are not heard every night and some people hear them while their neighbors do not. some speculate it's drilling or explosions or even space junk. >> space junk? >> space junk, yeah, totally but right now authorities say it's certainly a mystery. federal prosecutors are now investigating sexual abuse allegations against harvey weinstein. this comes as a grand jury in new york is seeing evidence by the manhattan district attorney's office.

meanwhile, gwyneth paltrow has shared new details about her confrontation with weinstein in a hotel room in 1995. she said after the encounter her then boyfriend brad pitt tracked weinstein down and threatened his life. an eye-opening verdict in a sexual assault case in georgia. a jury has ruled that a security company must pay $1 billion to a woman who was raped by a guard at an apartment complex in 2012. that guard is now behind bars. after hearing the verdict, the victim who is now only 20 years old spoke out about her long ordeal. >> 12 strangers feel like what i went through and my story and how i feel after six years is worth a billion dollars. that is life-changing. >> she said she wanted to go public to provide strength for other sexual assault victims. the civil lawsuit accused the security company of negligence and ignoring the guard's behavior. an appeals court is expected to lower the verdict.

in medical news federal health authorities are warning parents not to use certain teething medications. the fda says various gels and creams containing benzocaine can cause rare but deadly side effects. the agency says there's little evidence the products work and are ordering companies to immediately remove the products from store shelves. now to the nba finals and the celtics are one win away from the finals after dominating the cavs last night. boston jumped out to a big lead and actually never looked back. the celtics can wrap up the series tomorrow night in the land of cleveland, of course. and on the ice the capitals dominated game seven from the very first minute. you see there ovechkin scoring early and the caps won 4-0 and will play the las vegas golden knights in their rookie year for the stanley cup final. >> not bad. coming up, the legendary children's show is getting a reboot. yep, and also ahead, searching for nessie. how scientists hope to find the

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you know the stereotype how men know where they're going and women will just pull over and ask for directions. >> because -- a new study conducted at the university of california seems to support those scenarios. it analyzed the navigation styles of men and women. >> and concluded men are more efficient at getting to the destination because they're more likely to look for shortcuts. women usually want to stay on the certain path. >> can you say that first part about men being more efficient. >> something wrong with that -- >> did you hear that? dna technology -- >> terrible driver. >> -- could finally answer the question about whether the loch ness monster is real. >> scientists are heading to scotland to take samples from different points in the lake. they'll conduct dna tests to determine what species have lived there and compare the results against the database of known species. >> so they say they could have answers by the end of this year. >> there you go.

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. you can see a few radar returns off the coast. that's the green. notice it's heading due north. that's more moisture that will keep us cloudy again today and below average. right now temperatures running mainly in the mid to upper 50s. danville at 52, los gatos at 48 and clear lake at 48, also. we'll take a look at the

accuweather 12-hour planner next. how is the commute starting? >> a couple of issues to talk about already this morning. the first one on the peninsula, a crash on southbound 101 past hillsdale boulevard. sounds like they're in the clearing stages now. i'm not seeing any delays approaching that scene. i will keep an eye on that. golden gate bridge, boy, whether a difference 24 hours makes. as mike mentioned, much, much dryer this morning. you should not have to deal with that slick pavement today. however, we are hearing about possible flooding in san jose. we'll check that coming up next. commuters know it well. the traffic nightmare crossing the altamont pass into the bay area. now b.a.r.t. plans to look at a solution. >> today the board is considering another big expansion. east to livermore. abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield live at the dublin-pleasanton station. >> reporter: good morning, reggie. as you can imagine, commuters here love the idea. b.a.r.t. stops here,

dublin-pleasanton is the end of the line here in this direction of the east bay. with so many people coming from the central valley, they say they would love a station closer to them. b.a.r.t. is planning to consider two proposals today. one is extending b.a.r.t. that would cost $1.6 billion. the other idea is a light rail, like a bus extension. that would be cheaper and would go out to livermore. interstate 580 is so congested with people coming from the tracy area and central valley, commuters say this would really improve their lives. >> that would be great. that would eliminate a lot of the commute around here. >> how does it help you? >> it helps a lot. actually 20 minutes on my traveling time in order for me to drive. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. is already reaching further east on highway 4. the antioch extension station is set to open this saturday. people in that direction are very excited a about that.

now they will talking about going out to livermore. we will keep you posted on how today's vote goes. reporting live in dublin, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. also today, b.a.r.t.'s board of directors expected to take the first step in bringing identify to trains. our media partner, "the mercury news" reports the board is expected to approve an exclusive agreement to provide wi-fi to b.a.r.t. station and its platforms. it also includes cell service for muni metro substations in san francisco. b.a.r.t. and muni officials have six months to reach a deal with the wi-fi company. it would still take a few years to install the hardware. let's get a quick update on weather and traffic starting with meteorologist mike nicco. >> let's look from our roof camera at the 'em barrick darrow. yesterday measurable drizzle. today, pretty dry. winds are still blowing off the ocean today. that's going to keep us locked down with