happening now in america this morning, new details emerging about the phone call between president trump and the president of ukraine. what we've learned overnight about the expectations before that call now at the center of the impeachment inquiry and the crucial testimony expected this morning on capitol hill. also new this morning, the vaping epidemic taking a turn for the worse. the death toll rising. the cdc sounding the alarm about a skyrocketing number of illnesses. what doctors are now trying to learn and the new controversy surrounding e-cigarette company juul. uber safety concerns. the bombshell report claiming uber has prevented its own investigators from reporting crimes to police. one driver accused of multiple assaults allegedly still allowed to drive. the company responding this morning.

plus, why the fbi and the military are now issuing a warning about the new "joker" movie. a passenger plane is diverted all because someone got stuck in the bathroom. abd the dog who spent more than 400 days in this animal shelter desperate for a new home. we have an update this morning. good thursday morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. we begin with new details concerning president trump's phone call to ukraine that did fueling the push for impeachment. >> the whistle-blower complaint about that call has reportedly been declassified and is expected to be released as early as today. democrats who have already read it say it shows the president abused his power. a rough transcript of the call reveals the president prodded ukrainian president to investigate joe biden. the president insists he did nothing wrong. >> ines de la cuetara has the latest from washington where the acting director of the national

intelligence is testifying today. ines, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, janai and kenneth. more than two-thirds of house democrats say it's time to impeach as more information comes to light about that phone call between president trump and the president of ukraine. this morning new information about that phone call between president trump and the president of ukraine at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. a source tells abc news that ukrainian government officials understood that to arrange a call with the american president, they had to agree to talk about investigating the bidens. an adviser to ukraine's president saying, quote, it was clear that trump will only have communications if they will discuss the biden case. in a summary of the july call between the two leaders, released by the white house wednesday, president trump directly asked the ukrainian president to coordinate with attorney general bill barr to investigate his 2020 rival joe biden. early in the call trump says, we do a lot for ukraine. the united states has been very, very good to ukraine. later adding, i would like you to do us a favor, though.

he then asks zelensky to investigate an unsubstantiated theory about stolen democratic emails saying, quote, i would like to have the attorney general call you or your people and i would like you to get to the bottom of it. zelensky says one of his assistants has already been in touch with trump's personal attorney rudy giuliani. president trump then has a second request, and it's about joe biden. there is a lot of talk about biden's son, he says, that biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great. the prosecnian company biden's son worked for. hunter biden was paid tens of thousands of dollars a month tot the'be nevidence of any wrongdoing. at the time of the phone call, president trump was holding back nearly $400 million in foreign aid for ukraine. wednesday with the two presidents sitting side by side

at the u.n., the ukrainian leader insisted he never felt pressured. >> i think and you read it that nobody pushed -- pushed me, yes. >> in other words, no pressure. >> reporter: democrats saying the phone call shows an implicit quid pro quo but abc news legal analyst dan abrams says such evidence may not be needed. >> as a legal matter you don't need a quid pro quo. you just need to be able to prove the person knowingly solicited something of value from a foreign national to try to influence the 2020 election. a stronger case against the president if there had been a specific statement or demand that linked dollars to help but in the criminal law and in the impeachment process the congress can certainly read between the lines. >> reporter: first look at the classified whistle-blower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry. a complaint the administration tried to block from congress. >> i found the allegations

deeply disturbing. i also found them very credible. >> reporter: at least two republican senators including nebraska's ben sasse who was recently endorsed by president trump are calling the developments troubling. the whistle-blower complaint will be the focus this morning as the acting director of national intelligence testifies on capitol hill. our mary bruce is there. >> reporter: democrats are telling us that what they've seen of this whistle-blower complaint is deeply disturbing and troubling and they want to know why the acting director didn't stand up for the whistle-blower and why he overruled the inspector general who deemed that complaint to be an urgent concern. >> reporter: supporters of the president holding firm citing reports that the whistle-blower did not have firsthand knowledge of the call between trump and the ukrainian leader. >> to impeach any president over a phone call like this would be insane. >> reporter: and, guys, after two years of the russia probe, democrats are faced with the added burden of having to make their case to an already scandal weary public. janai and kenneth. >> all right, ooips there in

washington, thank you. former vice president joe biden was on jimmy kimmel last night. here's what he said about the phone call between president trump and the president of ukraine. >> based on the material that they acknowledged today, it seems to me it's awful hard to avoid the conclusion that it is an impeachable offense and a violation of constitutional responsibility but, look, that's -- i am confident in the ability of the house and senate to deal with this. my job is just to go out and flat beat him. >> stay with abc news for the latest on the impeachment inquiry. we'll bring you live coverage at 9:00 eastern time when the director of national intelligence testifies. in other news there is new hope that the strike at general motors could be over by the weekend. the union strike is entering its 11th day but officials are reporting progress in congress talks with proposals now reaching the main bargaining table. we turn to the vaping epidemic. at least 11 vaping-related deaths are now reported across the country and abc's trevor

ault reports the cdc is bracing for a sharp increase in the number of people getting sick. >> reporter: the outbreak of illnesses tied to e-cigarette use is about to get even bigger. wednesday health officials telling legislators they're expecting hundreds more cases. >> we are getting new cases reported every day. what we don't know, unfortunately, is the cause. >> reporter: the principal deputy director of the cdc and the acting fda commissioner saying their agencies don't consider e-cigarette products safe for consumers though most of the research has been centered around vulnerable groups. >> we don't know if they're safe for the other people. >> right, but we also are quite concerned about people going back to smoking cigarettes and we don't want them to do that. >> reporter: in the midst of the crisis juul's ceo kevin burns has stepped down. but his replacement, k.c. crosthwaite is already drawing more criticism. crosthwaite previously worked at chief growth officer for tobacco company altria. the american heart association issued a statement saying by appointing a longtime altria

executive as its new ceo juul is fully embracing its identity as a tobacco company that prioritizes profits over public health. we're also seeing states roll out their own actions to try to fight what they view as a public health crisis. massachusetts has instituted a four-month ban on all vaping sales and rhode island's governor signed an executive order banning the sale of all flavored vaping products. the investigation into what specifically is making all these people sick is still ongoing but the acting fda commissioner said some of the products they looked at had vitamin e acetate in them. that might be an indication they were contaminated products. trevor ault, abc news, new york. >> and industry groups say illegal vaping products are to blame. meanwhile, juul has now stopped most of its advertising. time now for a look at your weather for this thursday morning. good morning. tropical storm karen moved north

of puerto rico but it will make a westward jog into early next week even though it will weaken since it will move west toward the bahamas. something we will watch very closely. hurricane lorenzo is strengthening possibly to a category 3 significant hurricane but since it is keeping across open waters, not going to impact any land. a flash flooding threat across the desert southwest remains intact through this evening and an additional one to two inches of local rainfall possible. i'm accuweather meteorologist lauren rainson. coming up, the plane that had to be diverted because someone got stuck in the bathroom. also, the new lawsuit targeting a major dating site. the allegations about fake profiles. later the mystery

we're back with who got stuck inside the bathroom of a united irlines plane. the washington to san francisco flight had to be diverted to denver. that's where fire crews came on board and helped unstick the disabled door and free that trapped passenger. the lead investigator at the murder trial of a former dallas police officer says it's easy to understand why amber guyger was confused the night she killed a man in his apartment. guyger says she mistakenly went to the wrong floor of her complex and then shot botham jean thinking he had broken into her apartment. the texas ranger in charge of the case says even he was confused by the building's layout. meanwhile, marcus moore reports there's some information the lead investigator will not be able to share with the jury. >> reporter: and something the judge will not allow the jury to hear but the lead investigator in this case testified that he does not believe amber guyger acted recklessly nor that she committed a crime but

prosecutors charging back pointing out she had a taser that night and that botham jean should still be alive. >> the investigators says he believes guyger perceived jean ace deadly threat. the dating site match.com is accused of using fake accounts to improve subscription rates. the ftc is suing the company claiming it sent emails from phony accounts to users who were not paying to use the site. those emails claimed a possible love interest was trying to get in touch. but to see the identity of the person, users needed to buy a subscription. the ftc claims more than 400,000 people subscribed because of those phony messages. the company says the ftc is cherry picking data to make its case. mattel, the company behind barbie is launching a new line of dolls that are gender neutral. they come with accessories that can turn them into girls or boys. neither or both. mattel says the dolls celebrate inclusivity. well, domino's has an unusual job opening. the company needs a new garlic bread taste tester. the company says the ideal candidate never met a carb they

didn't like. the job is for one day only. it pays $30 an hour. it's in australia, and you better apply before i do. >> in the words of oprah, i love bread. >> give me all of them. coming up, something you'll find hard to believe about the iphone. but first the new concern about passenger safety at uber. what we've learned about how the company handles criminal allegations against drivers. and why the fbi and the military have now issued warnings about the new "joker" movie. o quit smoking cold turkey. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions,

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otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. we are back with this frightening scene in new york city. two crooks, one you see there pretending to be a fedex worker burst into a home. they taped the hands, mouth and feet of the people inside, forced them to open a safe and stole $130,000 in cash and jewels. the victims were not hurt. now to new allegations about uber and concerns about passenger safety. "the washington post" reports the company has a three-strikes policy. >> that policy reportedly allows drivers to keep picking up

passengers even after they've been accused of crimes. this morning uber is responding to new allegations in "the washington post." an investigation by the newspaper claims the company is putting its own interests in ahead of riders. according to more than 20 current and past employees interviewed the article details one case of a driver accused of sexually assaulting three separate riders and still being allowed to drive. uber says complaints from riders who allege a crime by a driver are sent to a special investigations unit. >> generally people are receptive to the kind of feedback you have about suspected offenders as far as if they should stay on the application or not. >> reporter: lilly flores was an investigator for uber for two years. she says she left the company last year because of the number of sexual assault cases she had to investigate. >> i'm talking about sexual assault all day every day, and it's not easy. >> reporter: flores says there's a policy at the company of not reporting purported crimes to police even when they get

confessions of felonies. >> it was our job to, you know, just take the report for what it was and not hand that off to police. >> reporter: uber says the reason for not reporting alleged crimes to police is to protect the alleged victims saying if those victims want to go to police, they can and uber investigators will cooperate. uber calls "the washington post" investigation inaccurate and the company says it's made changes and invested in safety technology. >> we overhauled the system, and we created something new, and a lot of the policies, a lot of the things that you see in that "washington post" article that were spoken about are outdated. >> many uber investigators have no law enforcement experience. uber says it's hiring people with more experience. new concerns this morning about the upcoming "joker" movie. army officials in oklahoma say they've been alerted to online chatter about a possible mass shooting at a theater when the film is released next week. and the fbi has warned authorities in texas about potential threats on social media. the movie digs into the joker's

past, and some say the character could inspire would-be killers but the director of the film says people can handle the message. >> well, i think it's saying something not necessarily about mental illness but about treatment of people that have mental illness so i think it's saying that, you know, you can't really ignore a problem. it's something that needs to be addressed. >> the film has also been criticized by people who lost loved ones in the colorado movie theater massacre which happened during a showing of "the dark knight rises." new york's metropolitan museum of art has sent a stolen antique back home. the met has returned the gold coffin of an egyptian priest. turns out it was smuggled out of egypt after the revolution in 2011. the coffin dates back 2,000 years. prosecutors say forged documents were used to sell it. a south carolina woman is celebrating an amazing iphone recovery. she dropped her phone in a river 15 months ago. she thought the device and text messages from her late father were gone forever. but a diver found that phone

inside its waterproof case and it still worked. >> pretty cool there. >> amazing. up next in "the pulse," a new way to invite actor samuel l. jackson into your home. also, a police officer learns using an electric car for a high speed chase may not be the best deal. an update on the dog who spent 400 days in a shelter waiting for a new home. a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can disrupt your life for weeks. in severe cases, pneumococcal pneumonia can put you in the hospital. it can hit quickly, without warning, making you miss out on what matters most. just one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia. it's not a yearly shot. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia.

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shift forgot to plug in the car before clocking out. >> so other officers took over but the chase was called off. still, the department says it has faith in electric patrol cars. they just have to be recharged. >> got to plug them in. >> oh, man, how would you feel if you were that officer and find out somebody else didn't charge it. you're like, come on. i almost had him. >> almost had him. next one of hollywood's most recognizable voices coming straight to your living room. >> this is cool. your amazon voice assistant could soon sound something like this. >> what does marcellus wallace look like? >> what? >> what country are you from? >> what? >> what ain't no country i ever heard of. they speak english in what? >> we're going to pull together and we're going to find a way to get out of here. first we're going to seal off this -- >> oh. that scene from "deep blue sea" gets me every time.

samuel l. jackson will be alexa's first celebrity voice. >> for an extra 99 cents the legendary actor will be your digital assistant. you can even choose if you want a g-rated or a little more spicy. >> alexa, how do i get these snakes off this plane? next a dog we told you about last week now has a forever home. >> queen lived at a kansas animal shelter for 400 days and an animal activist moved into her kennel to raise awareness about queen. >> she also escorted queen to her new owners' suv amid applause and rose petals then he moved out of the kennel giving a thumb's up. >> i love that so much. and finally most wedding receptions include the ritual of throwing and catching the bridal bouquet. >> yeah, according to tradition the person catching should be the next person to tie the knot so check out what happened when this guy saw those flowers land in his girlfriend's hand. >> yep. can you see him there? he jumped over a fence, took

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with caress. area, this is abc 7 mornings. making news right now at 4:27, b.a.r.t. goes back to the drawing board it will consider new gate designs this morning to stop fare evaders. and who said what to who? the nation's acting spy chief goes before congress in just about 90 minutes to tell the nation what he knows about the ukraine whistle-blower complaint. the electricity is back on at north bay neighborhoods hit by a pg&e power shoutdown and some people don't think it was worth doing. good morning on this thursday, september 26th. a shout out to everyone who slept last night despite having no air conditioning because that was something else. that would be. >> it was a lot. >> yeah. >> not a lot of sleeping. just a lot.

>> i can imagine with the clack fan -- >> i should have had the clack fan. that would have been good. >> tonight, much better. >> good. >> i promise you. it's almost over. the heat wave, no red flag warning. no heat advisory. no spare the air today. temperatures still mild this morning as we expected them, this to be the mildest morning. 63 in san francisco. 70s in san jose and san ramon and brentwood. mid to upper 60s around the bayshore. 61 in san jose and novato, 67 in napa. here's the afternoon temperatures, look at that. it will be the 60s at the coast. mid 70s in san francisco. 79 in oakland. mid 80s around san jose and upper 80s in the east bay valleys. >> i always worry about extra accidents when we have such hot weather because people don't get enough sleep, lots of brake

lights on southbound 680 in walnut creek. it looks like they might be running a traffic break to clear some road work. i did see a chp car earlier at the top of your screen. it looks like it's starting to pick up and move. hopefully it has recovered. the road work was scheduled to block lanes until 6:00 this morning. hopefully this will look different in the text ten minutes. here's a live shot of the san mateo bridge. traffic is flowing smoothly. abc 7 is committed to billing a better bay area, part of that focus is mass transit including b.a.r.t. today the transit will be meeting to talk about new options for fare gates. >> pab.a.r.t. has been tackling fare evasion. amy hollyfield is joining us live from the pleasant hill b.a.r.t. station in walnut creek. amy? >> good morning. yeah. the b.a.r.t. officials decided these gates that they have right now are not enough to keep people from skipping out on

paying. so today the board is scheduled to vote on their replacement. here are the options. option one, a swing-style gate that will help people from jumping over the gate. option two, they have a retractable barrier. and the third option is a floor to ceiling turnstile. b.a.r.t. officials say they have do something putting an end to fare evading is important to riders. >> i believe we had 89% of the people surveyed believed it was important to reduce fare evasion. >> it is looking like this will cost around 1$150 million, but officials say riders will not be paying extra to get these new gates. they hope to get the new gates in place as soon as possible. reporting live from walnut creek. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> thanks for that update. the time is 4:30. if you're just joining us, we want to get a quick