making news in america this morning, some wild early summer weather from coast to coast. the july 4th holiday ruined by too much rain in texas and scorching temperatures are making things more difficult as crews battle dozens of growing wildfires across the west. this as a tornado is doing damage in the sunshine state. hours long standoff at the statue of liberty. a woman protesting some of the president's policies forcing the evacuation of the island. tourists not thrilled. >> our vacation was ruined. >> possible signs of hope in the effort to save that soccer team in thailand trapped in a flooded cave the rescuers are now drilling through rock as new plans to rescue the boys and their coach are being formed. the breaking details coming up.

those stories, plus the american woman who survived the harrowing parasailing accident. you'll hear from her for the first time. also one of the country's most high-profile attorneys, michael avenatti, is looking ahead. we've got some details on his new plans. a question for all you men, do you have expensive tastes? we might know why. quickly trying to evaluate how expensive your tastes are. i'm diane macedo. >> and i'm zachary kiesch in for kendis gibson. we begin with extreme summer weather that's scorching parts of the country and soaking other. >> houston, up to 4 inches per hour triggered flash flooding. at least 160 drivers were stranded that led to some dramatic water rescues like a family of five saved by this good samaritan. >> it was very scary. i have to admit because you yourself are concerned for your

own safety. you're concerned for the safety of the children and everybody involved. and you don't know what else could be in that water too. >> and you don't know what else is heading your way. counties west of houston could see even more heavy rain through the morning. just about everywhere else it's all about the heat. >> especially in the drought-stricken west where high temperatures, dry conditions and gusty winds are fueling dozens of wildfires. here's abc's natalie bernall. >> reporter: burning across 13 states. >> ready to go if we have to. i'm scared. >> reporter: the county fire roared to life saturday afternoon about 50 miles northwest of sacramento quickly spilling into win country, growing almost a thousand acres an hour. ballooning to more than 80,000 acres by wednesday morning. >> the rates have spread. they were dangerous and explosive. >> reporter: fire crews working to protect more than a thousand homes threatened. some reducing to leave. >> making sure when i wake up in

the morning if the house is on fire i know i did my best. >> reporter: in colorado the spring fire torching more than 130 square miles. the state's second largest fire in history. this camera capturing the moments flames overwhelm a couple's vacation cabin. more than 100 homes reduced to rubble. as for california, we don't see this type of fire activity until about august. but we've already had two major fires, the pawnee and county fires together torching nearly 100,000 acres combined. natalie brunell, abc news, los angeles. in florida a tornado touched down damaging three buildings. the twister left a trail of damage but luckily no one injured. we have more weather ahead including your accuweather forecast. a protester headed to court after a standoff at the statue of liberty. she climbed to the base of the statue, held police at bay for

hours and forced thousands of tourists to evacuate all on live television. wabc's jim dolan with the latest. >> reporter: he ended with officers risking their lives to finally capture 44-year-old theresa patricia okoumou of staten island resting under the raised right sandal of the statue of liberty. okoumou put up a brief struggle but at times she cooperated enough that she climbed down the ladder she had early threatened to push over. >> definitely dangerous but that's why we take our time. in the beginning she threatened to push us off, push the ladder off, but, you know, we were persistent. >> reporter: this how it began a protest by a left wing fringe group called rise and resist. when it was over one from the group climbed on top of the pedestal. immediately evacuated the island. a couple of thousand tourists from around the world, most people assumed the protester was a man. >> our vacation was ruined.

that man ruined our vacation. >> reporter: for nearly three hours the woman played a cat and mouse game with esu officers, talking with them and not talking at one point holding up a t-shirt with two different political messages, one about immigration before police finally went after her. >> according to the police who arrested her ms. okoumou was not apologetic for what she did. she is charged again in federal court with trespassing and interfering with government function. from battery park, jim dolan, channel 7, eyewitness news. pushing back against one of the leading contenders for the supreme court. >> as the president weighs his options he celebrated with service members. kenneth moton joins us. >> reporter: the countdown is on for that big monday announcement with that slim gop majority in the senate, it's crucial that president trump have the support of every republican senator.

president trump and the first lady celebrating the fourth of july at the white house with military families. >> happy fourth of july. >> reporter: today the focus is back on his next pick for the soon-to-be open supreme court seat. >> we're going to give you a great one like justice gorsuch. we hit a home run there and will hit one here. >> reporter: he met with at least seven possible replacements for retiring justice anthony kennedy but gop senators have taken aim at one of the candidates on the short list, federal court of appeals judge brett kavanaugh. >> to be a good umpire and a good judge. don't be a jerk. >> reporter: the 53-year-old has said judges should have an open mind and be willing to change. sources tell abc news republican senators rand paul, tom cotton and ted cruz called the president expressing concerns kavanaugh wouldn't be that reliable conservative vote. the ap reports that vice president pence has also met

with some of the contenders. the president's decision is expected by the end of the week, diane and zachary. >> lots of opinions going into that one, kenneth moton live from d.c., thanks. less than 24 hours till president trump's chinese import tariffs take effect. china's commerce secretary is warning the tariffs will hit global supply chains. china's custom agency says chinese tariffs on u.s. goods will take effect immediately after the u.s. tariffs kick in. now, if that happens president trump has already threatened to increase the scope of the u.s. tariffs from $50 billion worth of products to 450 billion. police in britain are investigating what could be a new twist in that lot that nearly killed a former spy and his daughter. a couple in their 40s has been sickened by the same nerve agent in a community just a few miles away from the town where the first incident happened. both hospitalized in critical condition. authorities say at this point it's still not clear whether the cases are connected. it's time to take a look at

your weather forecast for this thursday. good morning. heat continues to build in the desert southwest with hot conditions with winds picking up momentum as well exasperating the problem with wildfires. the heat expands to the northwest corner of the country so heat will expand throughout boise, great falls but staying cool along the coast. for the south central part, dallas, oklahoma city, little rock, possible triple digit temperatures or at least it feels like triple digits and the same holds true throughout a good portion of the southeast except the gulf coast. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams.mi daibo plans being made by stormy daniels' attorney. also ahead, the form persona big change. so what could it mean for the president? and she survived. a near-death experience on vacation in mexico, now she's

speaking out for the first time.

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we're back now with a look at a massive warehouse fire in seattle. this fire set off a series of explosions inside that warehouse as firefighters tried to keep it at bay. the warehouse is part of an automobile wrecking yard. nobody was hurt but property damage is likely extensive here and there's still no word on what caused the fire. president trump's former lawyer and fixer is further distancing himself from his old boss. michael cohen's twitter bio no longer says personal attorney to president donald j. trump. he dropped the phrase just days after telling abc news he now puts his family and country

first but cohen wouldn't say if he would cooperate with federal investigators. he has not been charged. but remains under investigation. and president donald trump could face a surprise challenger in 2020. michael avenatti's stormy daniels' attorney, says he might run for president. avenatti says he will only run under two conditions. if the president seeks re-election and if the candidate -- excuse me if he is the candidate with the best chance of defeating him. the survivor of a horrifying parasailing accident is now speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with abc. katie malone is finally out of the hospital nearly a month after the accident. she was in mexico celebrating her 29th birthday when the boat capsized and the line connecting her to that boat snapped. she drifted in the air for 45 mints before crashing back down. >> when i was up there flipping around and stuff i was able to hold myself and carry my weight and brace myself. but when i was going down fast

that's when i started spinning in circles and got sick so then i just, you know, started saying a prayer. right before i crashed i passed out. >> that crash left her with a broken pelvis, four broken ribs and a collapsed lung. you can hear more of that exclusive interview later on "good morning america" but amazing so see how far she's come. coming up a player's bad day at the ball bark to say the least. check out his epic dugout meltdown ahead. but first new efforts to save those trapped boys in thailand. there's hope they could be rescued in days instead of months. the day after chemo shouldn't mean going back to the doctor just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their day back to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17%

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coast with the largest display here in new york. it was just beautiful over the east river. also, a nice view in san francisco. the fireworks there had an interesting glow as they mixed with the bay area's famous fog. >> beautiful out there. we're getting new video that shows increased efforts to rest those young soccer players and their coach. >> crews drilling through rock to try to get closer to the group. they're creating some gaps to feed in water pipes and power cables. meanwhile authorities are now considering a new rescue plan to have the group float out in life jackets once the water in the cave is below neck level. it's just one of several plans in a very dangerous mission. abc's james longman has the latest. >> reporter: one at a time the trapped boys introduced themselves to the world. and send a message. my health is good. they all say. this young boy making sure he

gets his turn. hey, me too he says. a big smile though it's now their 12th day underground. their parents gathering to watch their children. this mother saying i'm dying to see him. i miss my son. a team of navy s.e.a.l.s including doctors volunteering to stay with the boys. in this video we see them huddled under warming blankets as medics tend to cuts on their legs and feet. hanging in there, a volunteer asks. a sign, "v for victory but the battle is not over yet. the challenge, keeping them healthy, mentally and physically until rescue teams come up with a plan to get them out. you can hear a small voice asking what time will we get to eat? you take a look. you can see those thai navy s.e.a.l.s who have come back with their oxygen tanks. there are hundreds involved

going in and out of that cave every day. placing extra oxygen tanks along the route. one possibility stwiping the boys out. another scenario keeping them in the cave until the rainy season passes which is up to four months away as they continue to pump out water from those caves. james longman, abc news, thailand. >> a new study suggesting a connection between higher testosterone levels in men and stat suss symbol. after a single dose they preferred higher status luxury brands and they say this could indicate a primal need for males to establish dominance evolving from muscles in fists to what they wear and what they drive. >> interesting. for anyone wondering if serena williams deserved to be seeded at wimbledon, well, this may be your answer. >> the seven-time champ took just over an hour to pick up a second round straight set win over a qualifier from bulgaria that extends her all england

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♪ time for "the pulse" and we're going to start things off with hawaii moving one step closer to being the first state to ban sunscreens with certain chemicals that harm the ocean's ecosystem. >> that's right. scientists say the chemicals are toxic to coral reef, some fear the ban will discourage people from using sunscreen. >> that goes into effect in three years. after that point sunscreens with

those chemicals will only be available to those with a prescription. they're concerned with people putting them on and then going swimming and contaminating the water that way. >> i get it. next to a fourth of july tradition. now turning into a tradition for joey chestnut. >> the man cannot be stopped. the ten time champion has just won his 11th title at the nathan's famous international hot dog eating contest. chestnut managed to down a record 74 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes. that's ten more than the guy who finished in second place. >> let's knot women. miki sudo had an unprecedented fifth consecutive win. >> nothing that makes me want a hot dog less than watching the hot dog eating contest and, no, but i would try. i would try. and there was some indoor fireworks at the tampa bay,

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good morning, south bay. let's get up and get going. >> this is "abc 7 mornings." >> good morning. it's 4:27 on this thursday, july 5th. thanks for being here. >> alexis is offer and sue hall in today and mike nicco back. how was your fourth? >> i had fun until last night and like some of us, firework going off waking us up. >> the dull set tones. >> i could have sworn i was in the no firework city. i don't know how that happened. we had fun. let's talk about what's going on weather wise and the fire danger still out there. of course this time of the year it's not as heightened as it was. winds out of sfo at about 12 and 20 at fairfield. everybody else less than 10 miles per hour right now. that's the say calmer conditions that's going to lead to warmer weather today. my accuweather 12-hour planner. low to mid 70s away from the coast at noon, 60s at 4:00 while the rest of us, 76 to 85 and 70

to 79. not as comfortable today. warmer weather coming up in the okoumou seven-day forecast. here's sue. >> we have w accordg to the chp. antioch and ven knee shah bridge. be extra cautious. through emeryville traffic nicely on the east freeway. f traffic is flowing nicely. no major problems on the roads. one issue in san jose we'll check on that in just a couple minutes. now breaking news from the abc 7 live desk. >> breaking news in walnut creek. a fire investigation under way. look at this flames tore through a home there overnight and officials are right now trying to figure out if fireworks are to blame. abc 7 news reporter katie utehs is at the scene for us this morning. katie? >> good morning, jessica. at the time witnesses heard

firework in the area, we all heard fireworks across the bay area. firefighters have not determined the cause. i want to get right to that video you just showed because it is rather impressive. this is what firefighters battled a little after 1:00 this morning. you can see flames shooting out of this house on first avenue near hall lane. it's just south of gary road in walnut creek. firefighters tell us it's an abandoned home. they did search the property to see if anyone was in the building before and/or during the fire. crews got the fire under control in about a half hour and left the scene a little after 3:00. again, still investigating that cause, but fireworks heard in the area at the time of the fire. crews are boarding up the property putting fencing around it so no one can return. pg&e did respond to make sure power was out to the building. katie utehs, abc 7 news. >> thank you. even with warnings about police cracking downn illegal fireworks take a look at your screen.

police still shot them off for hours. the view from our tower camera showing you what happened in the mission district after sunset. it's not just, you know, little sparklers or bottle rockets. these are almost professional-grade pyrotechnics. to the county fire in napa and yolo counties. rugged terrain making it difficult for firefighters to get a handle on it. see the charred area in red. cal fire says it's spreading to the north in places crews can't get to. the yolo county sheriff's office has lifted evacuations, although a stretch of highway 128 is closed. as of this morning the fire is up to 86,000 acres. containment now at 27%. and firefighters are confident they will have this fully contained by tuesday. >> it is 4:30. just joining us, let's get an update on weather and traffic starting with meteorologist mike nicco. the full wind shift yesterday brought all of us clean air. you can see from the