right now on "america this morning," president biden's new plan to address the surge in violent crime. the murder rate skyrocketing. a 2-year-old boy shot and killed on a detroit highway. a police officer ambushed and killed near denver. what the president is announcing today. plus, an inside look at what could be the future of police training. going in the wrong direction. infections from the delta variant of the coronavirus now doubling every two weeks. we hear from a nurse on the front lines in the midwest where cases are spiking more than 50%. what she's seeing. the homeowners cashing in. the stunning new figures on home prices in america and what's expected in the coming weeks. a crucial day for britney spears. the pop star expected to address

a los angeles court. what we're learning about the legal battle over her career and fortune. pitcher's protest. a major league star taking off his belt, not happy with the new rule. plus, how nasa hopes to solve a dirty laundry dilemma at the international space station. ♪ give us dirty laundry ♪ good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with president biden today announcing a new plan to tackle the violent crime plaguing so many cities large and small across this country. >> here in new york city shooting incidents were up a staggering 73% last month compared to the same period last year. experts cite several reasons for the spike in crime. everything from bail reform that allows repeat offenders back onto the streets to reduced funding of police departments to frayed relations between officers and the communities they serve. >> today the president is expected to announce more financial support for law

enforcement and a new effort to target gun traffickers. >> abc's ike ejiochi is here with more. ike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. president biden plans to address the spike in violent crime over the past 18 months, as well as the root cause of that spike. today, president biden turning his focus to the rising tide of crime in america. >> there are major cities across the country where gun violence is absolutely the driver where it is absolutely increasing. >> reporter: one part of the plan, more money to target gun crime from covid relief funds. the justice department will also deploy so-called strike forces to crack down on illegal gun sales. the strike forces will deploy to these five cities where crime levels have surged, but the problem extends far beyond these five locations. a recent analysis of more than three dozen cities nationwide found the murder rate has spiked by 18% this year, and that comes after a 30% spike in 2020.

in detroit, authorities are investigating the deadly shooting of 2-year-old brison christian who was in his family's truck driving down the highway when police say two gunmen now charged in the case pulled up alongside them and opened fire thinking it was someone else. >> it was a mistaken identity of a car, an innocent family shot at by somebody too reckless to know who it was they had a beef with. >> reporter: and in colorado last night -- ♪ amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ >> reporter: -- dozens packing this church in suburban denver to remember officer gordon beesley. police say he was shot and killed in the shopping district monday solely because he was a police officer. a good samaritan who rushed to help was also killed. >> i can tell you that gordon was targeted because he was wearing an arvada police uniform and a badge. officer beesley was ambushed by

a person who expressed hatred of police officers. >> reporter: president biden is also expected to promote community policing focusing on building better relationships between officers and the communities they serve following a year of unrest in the wake of george floyd's death and other police involved shootings. it all comes as congress considers a police reform bill and as departments across the country come up with new ways to train officers. >> find cover. find cover. >> reporter: abc news getting an exclusive look at this so-called de-escalation simulator being used to train officers in oakland, california. >> we are beginning to have conversations about the safety of the people that we interact with. how can both people leave that interaction safely? how can we both live through this experience and make sure that nobody gets hurt? i think that's our objective. >> reporter: now when asked if rising crime could hurt the push for police reform, the white house says the two issues are not mutually exclusive, andrew. >> ike, thank you. democrats are vowing to fight on after republicans blocked debate on the largest voting rights overhaul in a

generation. the for the people act was aimed at countering new voting restrictions passed into law in several republican led states. at least ten people were arrested outside the phoenix office of democratic senator kyrsten sinema. they were protesting her support for the senate filibuster, which required 60 votes to pass most bills. top democrats say they're not giving up on the voting rights issue. >> this vote, i'm ashamed to say, is further evidence that voter suppression has become part of the official platform of the republican party. in the fight for voting rights, this vote was the starting gun, not the finish line. >> look, what this is really about is an effort for the federal government to take over the way we conduct elections in this country. it is a solution in search of a problem. >> reporter: senator schumer says another vote on the issue could be held before the fall. turning now to the pandemic, officials say infections from

the delta variant of the coronavirus are now doubling every two weeks, and this morning we're hearing from a nurse in missouri sounding the alarm for young adults. this morning, the highly contagious delta variant spreading fast within america's borders now accounting for 20% of new covid cases in the u.s. and doubling every two weeks. >> the delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the u.s. to our attempt to eliminate covid-19. >> reporter: the variant now confirmed in nearly every state and now accounting for nearly half of all infections from iowa to colorado. officials warn younger people could be more vulnerable because only 38% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 are at least partially vaccinated. a nurse in springfield, missouri, says her hospital beds are filling up with younger unvaccinated patients who are getting sicker quicker. >> what we're seeing now are the patients who are coming in who

don't think that they're going to get sick from it, who aren't mentally prepared to make life and death decisions, do they want to be intubated? do you want cpr if your heart should stop? >> reporter: the biden administration now concedes it will not meet its goal of getting 70% of american adults at least partially vaccinated by july 4th saying it will likely take several more weeks. in florida pastor marcel davis is going door to door urging people to get the shot. >> i want to encourage young people to realize, yes, wake up, be woke and know the consequences. >> i've gone to at least two dozen funerals of people who have had covid, but i often say i've not been to any funerals of someone who died from the vaccine. >> meanwhile, in houston, 153 employees at a hospital system have now been fired or resigned for refusing to get vaccinated. a judge dismissed their lawsuit over the hospital's vaccine requirement. the pandemic housing boom is far from over. home prices in may posted their

largest annual jump in 22 years thanks to more people working from home and historically low interest rates. the median selling price in the u.s. was more than $350,000. the inventory of available homes for sale rose slightly last month giving buyers some hope about the weeks ahead and the months ahead as well. airlines continue to grapple with a massive surge in travelers. delta now says it will train 1,300 new reservation and customer service agents. wait times on the phones have exceeded seven hours. it could take weeks to declare the winner of the democratic primary in new york's race for mayor, but we know who did not win. former presidential candidate andrew yang conceded overnight after trailing in fourth place. former police captain eric adams is currently leading, but there are multiple rounds of counting ahead. it's the first time the city is using rank choice voting which allows voters to pick five candidates in order of preference. time now for a look at your wednesday weather.

the wildfire threat in arizona is so severe that beginning today several national forests are closed to the public. nearly 50 large wildfires are burning across the west, 15 of them in arizona. thunderstorms and dry lightning could spark more fires today in extremely dry western areas. storms are also expected in the midwest and heavy rain is in the forecast along the gulf coast. checking today's high temperatures, 77 from washington to boston. more extreme heat for the southern plains into texas. 95, dallas. coming up, a major development in the kobe bryant helicopter crash. also ahead, a school district calls an emergency meeting after basketball players are seen throwing tortillas at latino players. the new fallout. and later a woman goes to the atm only to realize she had nearly $1 billion show up in her account. what she did next. ♪ if you have moderate to severe psoriasis...

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back now with major league pitcher max scherzer fed up with baseball's crackdown on sticky substances, threw down his hat, glove and undead his belt during his third inspection by umpires and later stared down joe girardi who came on to the field and was then ejected. >> a settlement has been reached in the wrongful death suit that stemmed from the helicopter crash that killed kobe bryant. terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. nine people died when the aircraft went down in foggy conditions in january of last year. >> we turn to growing outrage over an incident caught on camera in southern california. players were seen throwing

tortillas at the opposing team from a latino school and now the coach is out of a job. >> this was a racial incident no matter how it was cut. >> reporter: emotions running high at this san diego area high school after what many are calling a racist incident during a basketball game last weekend. >> those were not two tortillas. those were bombs of racism thrown at the people. >> reporter: moments after the game ended, fans and players from coronado high school were seen throwing tortillas at members of orange glenn high school, predominantly latino. >> it had a lot of build-up before the game it. wasn't based on race or class but a great game between two great teams. >> reporter: coronado high school holding an emergency meeting and they voted unanim unanimously to release the team's head basketball coach and some called it more than a high

stakes competition that turned ugly, blaming someone not affiliated with the team for blaming the tortillas to the game. >> i would like everybody to step back when it comes to the teenagers and student-athletes. >> reporter: the san diego branch of the naacp is asking coronado to share the title with orange glenn or strip the title all together. so far no students have been disciplined in the incident. coming up, the dramatic 9-1-1 call as a chimpanzee viciously attacks a woman in oregon. >> a crucial day in britney spears legal battle with her all the serums out there this is the #1 in america this is serious revitalift hyaluronic acid serum from l'oréal.

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back now with dozens of cows running for it after breaking loose from a slaughterhouse near downtown los angeles. some went through a yard fence before most of them were recaptured. one cow was seen charging onlookers. and to oregon and a frightening incident with a pet chimpanzee. police in pendleton had to put down the animal after it attacked a woman. the woman said it attacked her 50-year-old daughter and told officers the 200-pound animal had to be stopped. >> 911, where is your emergency?

>> we need an ambulance, and we need an armed deputy. >> what's going on? >> my pet chimpanzee has attacked my daughter. she is bleeding profusely and the animal has to be shot. >> the woman suffered bites to her torso, arms and legs. the chimp's owner said the animal had never attacked anyone in nearly 20 years and it's not clear what triggered the attack. we turn now to the unfolding in a los angeles courtroom today. britney spears is finally expected to speak out about the legal battle with her family over her fortune, her career and her personal troubles dating back more than a decade. here's abc's kyra phillips. ♪ hit me baby one more time ♪ >> reporter: that unmistakable sound that can only be britney spears. ♪ toxic ♪ >> reporter: for the first time in nearly 13 years, britney will address the court directly telling the judge what she thinks of the conservatorship she's been under. britney's conservatorship was initially orchestrated by her

father jamie allowing her father to make life decisions for her while also controlling what is now her estimated $60 million estate. britney's court appointed lawyer says his client has called the conservatorship voluntary but is seeking substantial changes including her father's removal as co-conservator of her finances. ingham says britney is afraid of her father and will not perform again if her dad is in charge of her career. >> britney never expressed those words to her father. >> reporter: while he retains control of her finances, jamie did step down as personal conservator in 2019 citing health reasons. "the new york times" out with a new report after obtaining confidential court records from 2016 revealing britney was more opposed to the conservatorship than previously known and felt forced to perform. the conservatorship restricting

who she dated, even the color of her kitchen cabinets. so far britney has not asked the court to end her conservatorship. >> i'm totally fine. i'm extremely happy. >> reporter: now the question is, will she also tell that to the court? kyra phillips, abc news, washington. >> thank you, kyra. and coming up, an easy way to make sure the next wedding you go to has an open bar. how astronauts could soon do how astronauts could soon do laundry in space. my nunormal? fewer asthma attacks with nucala. a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala.

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>> checking the top stories, a major change for the military justice sentence. defense secretary lloyd austin said he will work with congress to remove sexual assault prosecutions from the military's chain of command after sharp criticism of their handling of sexual assault and harassment cases. >> the taliban is retaking space across afghanistan as u.s. forces withdraw and it shows afghan soldiers surrendering their weapons. the taliban is accused of carrying out the worst violence in decades and many fear they will be killed while waiting for visas to leave the country. >> the demand in the u.s. for used vehicles is so high, up 30% in the past year. supplies of new cars dropped drew to shortage of

semiconductors. >> sunny and pleasant for most of the east. heavy rain and thunderstorms in the midwest. dry lightning could spark more wildfires across the west. >> the search for a missing golden retriever in new jersey has ended swimmingly. >> reporter: any fan of the goonies would know chunk loves an adventure. >> your mind starts to think did he get hit by a car. >> reporter: the 3-year-old golden retriever was missing for more than two weeks. >> he ran into the woods with his toy and turns around and looked at me. i said come on chunk and he turned around and booked. >> reporter: on tuesday two joggers spotted the very good boy going for a swim. they recognized the pup from his missing posters around town. >> the person directed me with their hand.

>> reporter: jim mathis was in a fishing boat. >> he kept trying to stay away from the boat. once i backed off, he started to swim over towards the land. >> reporter: that is when new jersey state police got involved. >> we positioned our boat, got a line ready and acted as a leash and were able to get the line around the dog and guide him to the docks. >> damp and dirty. >> he had mats in his fur that were shaved out, covered in ticks. >> but back home after two weeks on a solo adventure since june 6th. saying they worked with an animal rescue service to set up traps which didn't work, but they never gave hope. >> i don't think i have the words to say how grateful that i am for all of the support. >> saying this morning it is like a hollywood movie. she did not specify the goonies. but he is a strong dog and it

right now on "america this morning," president biden's new plan to address the surge in violent crime. the murder rate skyrocketing. a 2-year-old boy shot and killed on a detroit highway. a police officer ambushed and killed near denver. what the president is announcing today. plus, an inside look at what could be the future of police training. going in the wrong direction. infections from the delta variant of the coronavirus now doubling every two weeks. we hear from a nurse on the front lines in the midwest where cases are spiking more than 50%. what she's seeing. the homeowners cashing in. the stunning new figures on home prices in america and what's expected in the coming weeks. a crucial day for britney spears. the pop star expected to address