right now on "america this morning," the battle over voting rights in america ramping up. >> the big lie is just that, a big lie. >> the president vows to fight republican efforts to change voting laws, but does he have the political power to do it? plus, overnight a new vote in texas on a controversial election law that prompted democrats to flee the state. a new challenge for fire crews in the west as wildfires rage, the fuel shortage that could leave firefighting planes grounded. going backwards. progress fighting the coronavirus now being erased in more states. the city of chicago now asking unvaccinated people visiting from missouri or arkansas to test or quarantine as covid cases in the u.s. double in

three weeks, but this morning, we hear from the top official who says she was fired by her state's health department for promoting vaccines. also this morning, the plane that crashed right into the living room of this $3 million house. an honor long overdue for the all female black army unit that made history during world war ii. and later, what you don't want to find under your bed. a georgia family describes their slithering discovery and it wasn't just one or two. good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with the brewing battle over voting rights in the u.s. in its most forceful comments yet on the subject, president biden said republican efforts to change voting laws are like the return of jim crow laws in the 21st century. just this week the battle over new voting restrictions in texas prompted d state to block the proposals but

a vote was held last night. >> republicans say the new rules will improve security and boost confidence in elections. critics say they'll make it harder for minorities to vote. the question is, can president biden do anything about it? abc's ike ejiochi is here with the latest for us this morning. good morning, ike. >> reporter: good morning, mona. president biden is calling this attack on voting rights the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war. this as several states look to enact restrictive voting laws. president biden speaking in philadelphia about the ongoing republican effort to enact restrictive voting rights. >> to deny free and fair elections is the most un-american thing, the most un-democratic and most unpatriotic and sadly not unprecedented. >> reporter: the president saving restricts that in more

than 16 states are painful and are aimed at denying women and minorities the right to vote. >> have you no shame? >> reporter: biden calling it 21st century jim crow attacking republicans for leaning on lies that the 2020 election was riddled with fraud calling the effort the most significant test to our democracy since the civil war. >> the confederates back then never breached the capitol as insurrectionists did on january 6th. >> reporter: the senate passing their version. it calls for a ban on 24-hour polling locations and drive-through voting, efforts proving to increase turnout among minority voters. that prompted over 50 democrats to flee the state for washington, d.c. in a desperate attempt to stop the vote. >> we are not going to buckle to the big lie in the state of texas. >> reporter: vice president kamala harris meeting with the lawmakers. >> this is not an issue that is about democrats or republicans. this is about americans. >> reporter: still, the legislators risk arrest back in texas when governor greg abbott

says the new election laws will y ll be cabined inside the texas capitol until they get their job done. >> reporter: president biden stopped short of endorcing ending the senate filibuster which would clear the way for federal voting rights legislation. >> ike, thank you. now to the wildfire emergency in the west. officials say fuel shortages could ground some firefighting aircraft. the shortages stem from supply and delivery issues related to the pandemic, and already this year wildfires in california have burned 100,000 acres more than last year, and in southern oregon the bootleg fire is now larger than the state's three biggest cities. in washington state horses ran for their lives as several fires burned near spokane. mandatory evacuation orders there have since been lifted. in the northeast the opposite problem. more flooding. thunderstorms are possible today. this was the scene in philadelphia this week. farther north, new york city is about 7 inches of rain above its

monthly average, and boston just had its wettest start to july in more than 100 years. parts of the upper midwest also face severe storms today. flash flooding in illinois collapsed a bridge leaving this truck stranded. we'll take a closer look at the forecast in just a few moments. we turn now to the pandemic. months of progress are being reversed. covid cases are rising steadily especially in parts of the country with low vaccination rates. still one state has decided to stop vaccine outreach programs. one official says she was even fired for promoting vaccines. this morning, covid cases across the country have doubled in just the last three weeks. 28 states are now reporting at least a 10% jump in infections in recent days fueled by the more contagious delta variant. in mississippi seven children are now in the icu with covid. two are on ventilators. >> these high viral loads combined with low vaccination rates are creating a potentially very dangerous situation for our state.

>> reporter: arkansas, 1 of 30 states with less than half of its residents fully vaccinated has seen hospital admissions spike 54% in 2 weeks. >> can't ignore the fact that arkansas has a low vaccination rate compared to other states. all of our icus and our medical beds, surgical beds are completely full. >> reporter: cheryl tucker was just released from the hospital after surviving her second bout of covid. >> will you get vaccinated now? >> i'm not going to say 100% but i'm thinking about it. >> reporter: in neighboring tennessee the state's top vaccine official says she was fired for trying to spread information about the shot. the state is now reportedly stopping all adolescent vaccine outreach programs. >> politics have been put ahead of the welfare of the people of tennessee and the children of tennessee, and those people are going to suffer. >> reporter: but an official with tennessee's department of health says certain vaccine outreach tactics have hurt progress. meanwhile, there's growing concern in popular tourist destinations like cape cod,

which are seeing so-called break cases of covid, those are infections among people fully vaccinated. this california man and his wife also fully vaccinated tested positive after visiting las vegas. >> it was scary. i mean, i brought home the life-threatening illness that has been killing people around the country. the only thing worse than that is knowing that i gave it to my kids. >> reporter: doctors say breakthrough cases are rare and the vaccines are still highly effective at preventing serious illness. amid the battle over requiring vaccines, six medical organizations have now formed a coalition to urge hospitals and other health care facilities to mandate vaccines for all health care workers. new details about the condo building that collapsed in surfside, florida. documents show the pool deck and underground parking garage needed repairs back in 1996, just 15 years after the building was completed. the problems included extensive cracks and waterproofing issues. 94 people are confirmed dead after the collapse, and 14 are still missing. authorities in cuba have

confirmed the death of at least one person during the biggest anti-government protests in a generation. in a show of solidarity cuban-americans poured into the streets in miami tuesday shutting down a highway and demanding the u.s. take action to support the demonstrators. there's a heavy police presence on the streets in cuba where more than 100 people have reportedly been arrested. some have been released. others are missing. pentagon officials say the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan is more than 95% complete. it comes as violence spikes in that country. senator mitch mcconnell is slamming president biden's withdrawal plan. mcconnell says afghanistan is already untraveling. >> just wait until the biden administration ends up consumed with this humanitarian catastrophe in afghanistan and its destabilizing effects rather than focusing on building coalitions to counter chinese or russian aggression. >> mcconnell says the u.s. troop

withdrawal is a global embarrassment. five members of the same texas family have been arrested in connection with the january attack on the u.s. capitol. tom and dawn munn and three of their kids are charged with illegal entry and disorderly conduct. court papers say they entered the capitol through a broken window and posted about it on social media. >> time now for a look at your wednesday weather. good morning. a stormy day expected across the midwest from chicago to minneapolis. large hail, damaging straight line winds wednesday afternoon and evening. meantime, here in the northeast another stormy day with flooding downpours from new york and washington up into new england and we could see some locally severe storms in there as well. meantime, out west they need the rain. it's been dry. it's been windy. it's been hot. there's fires burning in many of you are western states. high temps near 100 wednesday in spokane. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin coskren. coming up, a big change in venice, italy.

also ahead, the unfriendly skies are getting even more unfriendly. the dramatic spike in air rage in recent weeks and how flight crews are now responding. but first a big day in court for britney spears. a decision that could come today. truthfully, it's frustrating to see how fast dust reappears. but dusting with a cloth is a pain. and dealing with a bulky vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily. grabbing it in all those hard-to-reach places. gotcha!!! and for our floors, sweeper's textured cloths lock all kinds of dirt, dust and pet hair. unlike my vacuum, it sneaks under and around places. look at that!! dust free and hassle free. stop cleaning and start swiffering. ♪ is that gouda shaped like a foot? or maybe you're just projecting your own insecurities? what? (sniffs feet) ohhhh yeah keep your feet fresh with gold bond foot powder.

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and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. take on ra. talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. rinvoq. make it your mission. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. we're back with a random attack in new york city leaving a man with second degree burns. he was walking down the street when a shirtless man snuck up from behind and threw a scalding liquid on his back. the attacker laughed as he fled. a terrifying road rage confrontation caught on camera in houston. a driver tried to change lanes to exit the highway. another driver was so aggravated, he pulled a gun. thankfully no one was hurt. britney spears' legal battle returns to court today, and one major issue is money.

her father reportedly earns $16,000 a month from her conservatorship while britney spears is limited to a $2,000 allowance. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, britney spears will again appear in court fighting for her freedom. ♪ my life has been so overprotected ♪ >> reporter: she's expected to call into a los angeles courtroom when a judge considers her request for a new attorney in her hopes of ending her 13-year conservatorship controlled in part by her father, jamie spears. back in june, britney dropped bombshell allegations about how her father handled the conservatorship calling it abusive, describing how she's been isolated, exploited, even comparing it to sex trafficking. she reportedly wants to hire her own attorney, former federal prosecutor mathew rosengart who's represented stars like louis-dreyfus.rg and julia - her court appointed lawyer has already asked to resign, so

has the financial institution, bessemer trust, which was asigned to handle her estate. even britney's longtime manager has resigned. >> this is understandable why people would jump ship because this is a sinking ship, and there isn't going to withstand this level of scrutiny anymore because now the light has been placed on this conservatorship. >> reporter: in today's hearing, britney's co-conservator of person, jodi montgomery, is expected to ask for security to protect her from death threats and the judge will hear an assessment of how spears' father is spending her money. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: her supporters have become more vocal after the pop star spoke out publicly confessing she was lying in previous social media posts instead saying in court, i'm not happy. i can't sleep. i'm so angry, it's insane. britney's father argues the conservatorship remains in the best interest of his daughter's well-being. the american civil liberties union is weighing in on this case. the organization has filed an

amicus brief supporting britney's right to hire her own attorney. mona, andrew. >> andrea, thank you. overseas italy will now ban large cruise ships from venice calling the city's waterways a national monument. it comes after the u.n. threatened to include the city on its endangered world heritage list. venice business owners opposed the ban which has long been supported by environmentalists. coming up, flying fish. the effort to restock waterways in the west amid the extreme drought.p also ahead, a plane crashes right into the living room of a

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for a limited time get a 5th cartridge free. back now with a momma bear and her cubs seeking relief from the scorching heat. this was was in northern california. they took a dip in the beach in south lake tahoe. it's the second time in recent days that we've seen bears show up at the beach. people fishing in parts of utah will have no problem reeling them in. 200 lakes in utah have just been stocked with fish dropped from above. the planes can drop 35,000 fish in a single flight. but some lakes could not be stocked because of extreme drought conditions. we turn now to california and a plane crashing right into the living room of a house. this morning, federal investigators are looking into what caused a plane to crash into this home in monterey. rorter:wi enginential aircraft cessna took off from monterey

regional airport and just minutes into the flight something went wrong. air traffic control tried to contact the pilot. >> low altitude alert. maintain 5,000. are you experiencing an in-flight emergency? >> reporter: moments later the plane crashing just two miles from the airport. >> now a loud explosion has been heard. not sure if that's the impact or something he. >> reporter: slamming through the roof of this $3 million home scattering debris across a nearby field. the homeowner, who uses the house as a second home, says his daughter was staying there but was away at the time. local officials found a body in the plane but have not confirmed the identity. the crash comes just one week after this incredible scene near san luis obispo, california, a british paratrooper crashing through the roof of a house after his parachute failed to fully deploy during a training exercise at camp roberts. witnesses say that paratrooper spiraled in the air as he fell 15,000 feet crashing into the kitchen of the house, but he

missed the appliances, counters and furniture and suffered only minor injuries. the tsa is restarting self-defense training for flight attendants due to an increase of unruly passengers. nearly 150 incidents reported on planes in just seven days, the largest weekly increase so far this summer. most of those incidents involve passengers refusing to wear a mask. unruly passengers face stiff fines and up to 20 years in prison. in sports a history making all-star game for the man known as showtime. shohei ohtani became the first two-way all-star leading off for the american league and then pitching a perfect inning. vladimir guerrero jr. crushed a 468-foot home run helping the american league win the game, 5-2. and coming up, coke changes its recipe and its look. also head, the family who found 18 snakes under the bed in their home. i order my groceries online now. shingles doesn't care. i keep my social distance.

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♪ all right, time to check "the pulse," and we begin with some long overdue recognition for some of world war i veterans. >> that's right. they were part of an all women black unit known as the 6 triple 8. they deployed to england assigned to sort out a problem with mail delivery and cleared a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail in three months, twice as fast as projected. >> now the u.s. senate has voted to award them the congressional gold medal. the house must still approve it and out of the unit's originally 855 members, it's believed only 7 are still alive today. next we turn to georgia where one family got a slithery surprise. >> and right before bed too. they found not one, not two, not three, 18 snakes beneath one of their beds including 17 newly hatched baby

snakes and one big momma snake. before i went to bed i spotted what i thought was a piece of fuzz on the floor, and i went to reach for it and it moved and then a second or another piece moved and i began hollering for my husband, we have snakes. >> pieces of fuzz don't move like that. her husband used a grabber tool and placed each sanke in a linen bag and released them in a creek near the house. they were gartner snakes which are nonvenomous and n nonlife-threatening. coca-cola is taking a big chance after its 1980s formula fail. >> the company will now tweak its coke sugar recipe. they're promising the no calorie soda will taste even better than before. the new coke zero with new packaging debuts this month. finally a taco lover's dream job. the spice company mccormick is looking for its first ever director of taco relations. >> you can make $100,000 for just four months

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checking the top stories. police are investigating a motive for the random execution style of a shooting at man in a gas station at wisconsin. a suspect shot and killed another man and fired at a driver. the suspect died in a shoot out with an officer. >> a gang of hackers in russia believed responsible for shutting down a u.s. meat processing company in may. has vanished from the internet. days after president biden demanded vladimir putin shut down ransom ware groups. it's unclear if he had any role of the group going dark. >> looters clash with police and at least ten people killed at shopping at a shopping center. authorities are struggling to restore order. triggered by last weeks jailing of former president. >> today's weather strong to severe storms along with heavy

rain. sunny skies in the middle of the country. and along the west coast. >> finally. a visit to the world's largest movie stunt school in france. >> women are center stage on the big screen. from super-heros. to heist movies. female stars are turning out billion dollar franchises. here at the stunt school they are learning to take the hits so the stars don't have to. with hollywood coming back it life post pandemic, so are the calls for better representation of women and minorties in hollywood. she's 20 years old. her dream is to be the next stunt double. >> i started two years ago. we were like ten of 12 women. s typical day at the

biggest stunt school in the world. learni chases to epic battles. >> there's a real demand in th stunt women. >> stunt women the industry most dangerous profession. she paid a heavy price. she was seriously injured while working onset on the movie franchise resident evil. after crashing during a motorcycle stunt. >> it's something you always hear happening to someone else. and that's horrible. you never think it will be you. >> she sued. and ruled the stunt wasn't negligently planned and executed. >> want to be my stunt double ae

right now on "america this morning," the battle over voting rights in america ramping up. >> the big lie is just that, a big lie. >> the president vows to fight republican efforts to change voting laws, but does he have the political power to do it? plus, overnight a new vote in texas on a controversial election law that prompted democrats to flee the state. a new challenge for fire crews in the west as wildfires rage, the fuel shortage that could leave firefighting planes grounded. going backwards. progress fighting the coronavirus now being erased in more states. the city of chicago now asking unvaccinated people visiting from missouri or arkansas to test or quarantine as covid