making news in america this morning, evacuation alert. the flooding crisis in the heartland intensifies. entire towns now fleeing. levees breaching and the eye-opening new report on just how much it could cost to rebuild. president trump's war of words attack the late senator john mccain. >> i've never liked him much. >> the new fallout and how white house insiders are reacting. the mother behind one of the most popular youtube channels under arrest. accused of locking her children in a closet for days without food when they forgot their lines. new this morning, what surprised neighbors the most. plus, an end to robocalls? the new technology that could stop spam phone calls and how .

s n ythink. finally an explanat for why time flies as we get older. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with new evacuations under way in the heartland because of his toring flooding. one said it looked like an ocean. >> entire towns are now under evacuation orders with rivers breaching levees in several states. people are being told to leave immediately. others forced for tanker trucks to deliver drinking water. these described as the worst in decades could get worse. this morning historic rivers flooding along the missouri river. >> the levees have failed all around the city right now. a lot more inside and the city uninundated. >> reporter: everyone in craig

evacuated as water breached levees. >> they say by end of tonight it will be in our homes. >> reporter: many are seeking refuge at a gas station south of the city. >> trying to get in as soon as we can. we're scared about it all because all the levees that broke. all the water has to go down through them and we got to hope with the spring showers the snow melting that it doesn't just come right back in our house again. >> reporter: concerns are also growing in bean lake where the water is just inches below a levee. >> this area behind me will soon be covered in water. the water is coming up through the ground. the missouri river is being contained by this levee. if you look at it, water is already starting to trickle over that levee. the river is supposed to crest two feet higher than the current levels. >> reporter: recent heavy rain and snow melt have overwhelmed rivers. according to the army corps of engineersou states have been breached. of iowa's 99 county, 81 under a

flood warning. in nebraska the damage is being called catastrophic. >> this is the most widespread natural disaster we've had. >> the flood damage in nebraska alone estimated at $1.3 billion. we are also watching a nor'easter this morning packing heavy rain and snow spreading from washington, d.c. into new england and we'll have your weather forecast in less than five minutes. our other big story is president trump's intensifying attacks on the late john mccain. he's been criticizing the former senator and war hero for days but his newest attack got more personal. now white house staffers are reportedly questioning the president's strategy. elizabeth hur is here with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. yes, mccain's daughter meghan is calling this a bizarre new low and now politico is reporting that some people even close to trump are asking and i quote here, why are we doing this? president trump ramping up his

attacks on senator john mccain who died seven months ago. speaking at a tank factory in ohio. >> john mccain received a fake and phony dossier. did you hear about the dossier. he turned it over to the fbi hoping to put me in jeopardy. >> reporter: the pro-military crowd remaining silent as the president blasted the late senator and war hero over his funeral. >> i gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted which as president i had to approve. i don't care about this. i didn't get thank you, that's okay. >> reporter: overnight politico citing people close to trump reporting that the president might be consciously trying to remake the news environment creating a bizarre spectacle to displace criticism. according to p tepid resp the massacre in new zealand and the grounding of the 737 boeing jetliners and imminent reas of robert

mueller's report. strategy or not some republicans on capitol hill are coming to mccain's defense. on twitter senator majority leader mitch mcconnell calling hit good friend an american hero while not directly condemning trump. but other gop senators did go further. >> it's deplorable what he said. >> the president's comments about senator mccain hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of senator mccain. >> reporter: and the president continues to slam that mueller report calling it ridiculous but says he believes it should be released to the public. janai. >> he says he doesn't know when it will be released but let's see if it's fair. breaking news overnight from new zealand. just days after the mosque attacks that left 50 dead, the prime minister has announced an immediate ban on military-style weapons. the ban affects all semiautomatic weapons like those used in friday's attack. the prime minister expects the law to be in place in three weeks and feels the

country will support her decision. >> i absolutely believe there will be a common view amongst new zealanders, those who use guns for legitimate purposes and those who have never touched one that the time for the mass and easy availability of these weapons must end. in authority, every semiautomatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on friday will be banned in this country. >> the government will now offer a gun buyback program which could cost the country up to $140 million. the fbi has now joined the investigation into how boeing's any 737 jet was certified. it comes as senators come to testify before congress about those two recent crashes that killed everyone on board. during october's lion air crash in indonesia, "the new york times" reports the pilot gave control of the plane to the co-pilot so he could flip through a technical manual to try to figure out what was happening. experts say it's clear the pilots were not familiar with

the jet's anti-stall system. >> there are ways to cope with the failure, and what we've seen in lion air and potentially in ethiopia were pilots weren't trained to cope with the problem. >> boeing is releasing a software update for the jet which remains grounded. the senate holds the first hearing on the issue next week. both europe and canada have vowed to conduct their own safety reviews. the united nations is warning that 350,000 people in mozambique are now at risk of new flooding just days after a cyclone killed hundreds of people. emergency crews are flying over flooded areas air-lifting survivors who climbed trees and rooftops. unknown numbers of people are still trapped waiting for help as foreign aid finally begins arriving in that region. back here at home let's take a look at your thursday morning forecast. good morning.

well, flood areas rain-free and welcome drying courtesy of this high pressure system and right on time because we're looking for rivers to go down by omaha and kansas city but back up from kansas city to st. louis. in the northeast it's about the nor'easter cranking up massive rain with a mix to the north and looking for possibly 6 to 12 inches. for the west, widespread unsettled weather that could cause flooding there alone. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, the shocking number of rattlesnakes luring under a home in texas. but first the technology that could allow you to block all of those annoying robocalls at dinnertime. also this morning, the bungee jump nightmare on this cruise ship raising major safety concerns. we'll hear from the man who survived it. the big

>> oh, no. a giant cucumber got into quite a pickle in australia. the inflatable vegetable was traveling along the sydney harbour for a promotional stunt when it toppled off its mooring. the cucumber ripped open. you see it right there, deflated into the water. >> thank goodness it was on tape. otherwise we wouldn't believe it. a florida man is suing royal caribbean after he was badly injured on a cruise to the bahamas. casey holiday was enjoying himself on a bungee trampoline when suddenly one cord snapped and then a second one and he hit the deck hard plunging 20 feet. he dislocated his shoulder, bruised some of his ribs and one

month later he is still struggling. >> it's borderline depressing, right. you're not able to go out and enjoy life and it's not because i didn't do anything. it's because of someone else. it's definitely hard. >> holiday is suing for $10 million and demanding changes. he says cruise line staffers are not properly trained to operate and maintain these type of attractions. a sheriff in oklahoma and all of her have resigned in protest over what they call dismal and dangerous conditions at the local jail. terry sue barnett says a judge ordered her to house inmates in that jail which she says is filled with black mold, exposed wiring and nearly lethal levels of carbon monoxide. she refused. she said it would violate her c conscience. now some regional officials say they're confused over who is in charge in that county. two telecommunications giants are teaming up to stop robocalls. at&t and comcast have partnered up to verify calls made between their networks. the new system confirms legitimate calls by using a digital signature and customers

will receive a to be determined notification confirming that a call has been verified. now, both companies plan to have the system available to customers for free later this year and at&t mobile customers as well. >> looking forward to that. nobody won last night's $550 million powerball jackpot. but that means saturday's jackpot grows to an estimated $625 million, the fourth largest in the game's history. get your dollars ready. someone could be a millionaire. >> and you know you can't win if you don't play. >> yep. if you like your morning coffee or tea steaming hot there's some important health news coming up for you. but first the mother who ran a popular youtube channel with her children now accused of locking them in a closet for days without food. what her neighbor observed. police find hidden cameras in dozens of hotel rooms secretly broadcasting.

how you can make sure your hotel room is camera-free. that's coming up. like now your doctor may be talking to you about screening for colon cancer. luckily there's me, cologuard. the noninvasive test you use at home. it all starts when your doctor orders me. then it's as easy as get, go, gone. you get me when i'm delivered... right to your front door and in the privacy of your own home. there's no prep or special diet needed. you just go to the bathroom, to collect your sample. after that, i'm gone, shipped to the lab for dna testing that finds colon cancer and precancer. cologuard is not right for everyone. it is not for high risk individuals, including those with a history of colon cancer or precancer. ibd, certain hereditary cancer syndromes, or a family history of colon cancer. maybe i'll be at your door soon! ask your doctor if cologuard is right for you. covered by medicare and most major insurers. new lysol wipes are crazy strong.

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this is one guy's tough day at work. he's under a house in texas removing dozens of rattlesnakes and before the job started, the snake catchers were told there were a few in the crawl space. by the time the work was done they had caught 45 rattlers. the homeowner had no idea and i bet they are grateful those snakes are gone. we turn now to the shocking allegations against a woman who started a popular channel on youtube. >> it featured her seven adopted children who she is now accused of abusing. this morning a mom behind a popular youtube channel is under arrest. each week 800,000 subscribers tune in to follow the fantastic adventures of one arizona family on youtube. their videos racking up nearly 250 million views in just over a year. >> oh, yeah, you hungry? >> reporter: but despite what looked like fun in their online videos -- >> cookies, cookies, cookies.

>> reporter: -- police have charged machelle hobson with seven counts of child abuse and say her adult biological daughter megan seen in this video. >> oh, hi, megan. >> reporter: -- tipped them off saying one of her adopted siblings told her that hobson was harming all seven of her adopted children using pepper spray on them, depriving them of food and water for days and locking them in closet. >> we're sent to the house to do a welfare check. one of the kids was offered water. the kid consumed three bottles of water in a short amount of time. they hadn't eaten and they had made statements they sometimes don't eat for day. >> reporter: in interviews with authorities, the kids say hobson took them out of school to record the youtube series and disciplined them if they did not recall their lines or participate as they were directed to. hobson denies the allegations telling police she only grounds, spanks or has the children stand in a corner as punishment. neighbors say they saw no signs of the alleged abuse. >> we never seen them outside,

which is odd because their videos are showing them outside. >> reporter: police have also arrested hobson's two adult biological sons, logan and ryan hackney who often appear in the youtube series charging them with seven counts of failure to report the abuse of a minor. tawny and zeb shnurr say they recently brought two of their kids home to collaborate with them on their youtube channel and were shocked to hear about the alleged abuse and deleted the videos they made. >> being in the foster system and being adopted, they have probably through so much trauma. to know they had to endure more, i just wish there was something i would have seen. >> authorities removed all the children from hobson's home. she's not entered a plea. she is due in court next week. police in south korea have arrested four men in a shocking invasion of privacy case. they are accused of installing hidden cameras in hotel rooms then secretly live streaming images of guests to thousands of subscribers around the world.

police say they found the wireless cameras inside tvs, hair dryers and wall outlets in hotels in ten cities. experts say one way to make sure your hotel is camera-free is buy a rf detector which can find a camera transmitting wirelessly. volvo is planning to install cameras to help with safety. if it detects a problem someone from volvo will call. an if the driver doesn't respond, that car will automatically slow down or even stop. in medical news now a new warning for people who like their tea or coffee extra hot. a new study found people who drank two large cups of very hot tea each day had a 90% higher risk of getting cancer of the esophagus than those who drink it at a cooler temperature. very hot was defined as over 140 degrees. >> not just a burnt tongue. in sports plenty of time will be wasted in offices

today as march madness kicks into high gear. arizona state was the last team to qualify for the field of 64 last night when they beat st. john's. one player's workout is now going viral. this is jihad ward of the colts. he bounces a medicine ball then dents the wall with it. look at that. the lineman's reaction is classic. ward's teammates are giving him a hard time about it. the team had just renovated that weight room. he doesn't know his own strength. look at that. >> the way he reacted was good. up next in "the pulse," an explanation for why time flies as we get older. >> also ahead the scare in the sky over los angeles and it is not what you think. and one congressman's legal battle with a cow on twitter that may have already backfired.

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♪ sweet caroline time to check "the pulse" starting with the sing-along classic "sweet caroline." >> the library of congress just added that tune to the national recording registry. the neil diamond hit is 1 of 25 titles added to that list for preservation. every year the national library selects songs, albums or speeches because of their cultural and historic importance. >> also added to the list this year, ritchie valens' la bamba and jay-z's "blueprint" album. >> love that one. do you feel like time is slipping away from you as quickly as you get >> yes, you're not alone. according to a new study time flies as we get older. that's because our brains get bigger and as they do, images have to travel farther and take longer to process. >> researchers say most of us remember details from childhood days that seemed to last forever because our brains were able to process images in rapid-fire. in that's very interesting. next to

unintended consequence involving devin nunes and a cow. he's suing twitter for $250 million. >> devin nunes' cow before the suit was filed, the account had 1200 followers. >> but now devin nunes' cow has gained more than 552,000 followers. that's 150,000 more than nunes has. how about that. speaking of cows, look at this. a texas ranger tested the store policy at petco, which says, hey, all pets are welcome. >> he walked his 1600-pound steer through the door. the staff welcomed the animal and the rancher with open arms. >> how about that. all right, and finally, people in los angeles, you can relax, there was no war of the worlds moment over the city. >> the lapd had to calm folks after what looked like fireballs streaking through the sky. it was just the red bull air force celebrating the supermoon. two men in winged suits through the air. police tweeted it was not a meteor or an alien invasion.

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we have oakland, fremont mountain view at 47. san francisco at 50. let's see where we end up this afternoon. upper 50s along the coast into san francisco. low to mid-60s. you can see that green splotch there in the santa cruz mountains. that's your best chance of a shower today. we'll talk about the 12-hour planner next. alexis? >> much better conditions out

the door this 're looking at dr almost all the way around. i think it will be an easier commute. we're starting off with a sig-alert in east bay. to northbound 880, it's currently closed due to a semi collision. sounds like it hit that center divide. the left lane was blocked. not quite sure why yet. they had to fully close that connector. working on getting more information. that is backing you up there close to two miles. i will have another hit on that and get information shortly. here's a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. definitely a backup in the cash lanes already. no issues with fastrak. new this morning, san jose police are investigating an accident that left one person dead. the fire department found the suv crashed into a tree at curtner and new jersey avenue. the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. he was the only person in the vehicle. happening today, president trump expected to issue a college campus free speech

order. >> in spotlight, abc news reporter, amy hollyfield live in berkeley this morning for us. a amy? >> reporter: hi, jessica. uc berkeley officials have taken steps to make sure that conservatives can have free speech here safely. today the white house is getting involved. president trump plans to issue an executive order today requiring universities to support free speech or lose federal funding. he's invited four berkeley college republicans to attend the signing. conservative speeches planned by the group in the past on the cal campus have ended in violent and destructive protests. the university has settled a lawsuit promising to accommodate conservative events and paying a $70,000 fine. some question whether this executive order is even necessary. but the conservatives who were invited told the san francisco chronicle they are glad that the president is taking some action

to address this issue. live in berkeley, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. it is now 4:30 on the dot. if you're just waking up to us, good morning. here's a look at your weather and traffic. mike? >> we're going to start with some temperatures. along the east bay, neighborhoods in the mid-40s to low 50s. significantly cooler there. partly cloudy to mostly cloudy conditions. the lack of clouds insulating us allowed us to cool a lot. here's a look from -- we're looking from exploratorium right there. it's at 7:00 when we'll see temperatures in the low to mid-40s. we've got mid to upper 50s at noon. we'll stay in the mid to upper 50s at the coast while we hit the 60s for the bay and inland neighborhoods. we have a chance of a shower near the coast, by 7:00, grab a jacket, we'll be in the mid