right now on "america this morning," the monkeypox outbreak spreading. more states reporting suspected cases. the government now releasing some vaccines from the national stockpile. this morning, a possible explanation for what could be to blame for this rare outbreak. new video overnight of a monster tornado in texas. the severe weather threat today, plus the extreme drought in the west. the water crisis deepening. the historic new restrictions california could soon face. primary showdown. how former president trump's political power is being put to the test in georgia today and why the results could have nationwide consequences. caught on camera, a brawl at the airport. why an airline worker took on a pro football player. plus -- >> talk to me, goose, talk to

me. >> tom cruise flying high on late night tv. and later the health benefits of hugs revealing yet another difference between men and women. mni everyone. we begin with growing concern about the rare outbreak of monkeypox. >> suspected or confirmed cases are now reported in at least five states, and this morning, one expert says the outbreak could be linked to sexual activity at two parties held in europe. >> abc's em nguyen is here with the new details. em, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mona. another state is looking into a possible case of monkeypox, and now a leading expert says the rare outbreak was likely amplified by rave parties in europe. doctors in washington state are the latest to announce they're treating a patient with a suspected case of monkeypox bringing the number of states investigating cases to five.

there's one confirmed case in massachusetts. and overnight health officials near seattle announced the country's sixth presumptive case. a man who recently traveled to a country where monkeypox cases have been identified. in south florida, doctors are investigating two presumptive cases. both patients also recently traveled internationally. >> and the people who are in contact with that person, you know, know about it. >> reporter: the virus typically only seen in africa is spreading with more than 200 confirmed or suspected cases in 18 countries. doctors say it's spread by coming into close contact with lesions, bodily fluid or respiratory droplets. the flu-like symptoms lead to rashes on the body with a recovery time of two to three weeks. the cdc is raising awareness in the lgbtq plus community because many of the cases worldwide involve men identifying as gay or bysexual.

an adviser to the world health organization tells the associated press, the leading theory to explain the outbreak is sexual transmission at rave parties in spain and belgium. >> i don't think that there's a great risk to the general community from monkeypox right now in the united states. i think that we need to pay close attention to the communities in which this might be circulating. >> reporter: the u.s. government is now releasing some monkeypox vaccines from the national stockpile. the cdc says those vaccines will be for a small number of people who have been exposed. mild.s there's no need to thge no deaths reported. mona. >> em, thank you. breaking overnight, confirmed tornadoes touching down this northern texas. this massive twister near the city of morton and a second one reported 25 miles away. so far no reports of damage or injuries. another round of storms is

expected in texas today, and we'll have the full forecast in just a few minutes. meanwhile in california, the extreme drought could soon mean tough new water restrictions. governor gavin newsom says mandatory statewide restrictions could go into effect this summer unless residents cut back on water consumption. despite the driest start to any year on record, californians actually increased their water use. experts warn water supplies could be up to 20% lower due to the latest drought. now to the big face-off in georgia today. it could have major political ramifications nationwide. abc's rhiannon ally reports on the race that's divided former president trump and former vice president mike pence. >> reporter: today in georgia, a test of former president trump's hold on the republican party. >> this is a race between people and politicians. >> reporter: in the governor's race trump is backing david perdue, the former senator, while former vice president mike pence is siding with the other man in the race, incumbent governor brian kemp. kemp earned trump's ire for

refusing to overturn joe biden's win in georgia in 2020. trump calling kemp a coward. >> brian kemp is truly an embarrassment to the republican party because of what's taken place in your great state of georgia. >> reporter: but polls show kemp holding a big lead. the winner takes on democrat stacey abrams in december. >> i'm here because brian kemp is the only candidate in tomorrow's primary who has already defeated stacey abrams, whether she knows it or not. >> reporter: pence praising kemp for his focus on jobs while slamming abrams for this statement she made criticizing her home state. >> i am tired of hearing how we're the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live. let me contextualize. when you're number 48 for mental

health, when you're number one for maternal mortality, when you have incarceration rates that are on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the number one place to live. >> reporter: also today georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger who famously during a phone call in january 2021 refused to find former president trump more votes faces challenger jody hice who still falsely claims that georgia's presidential election was a fraud. voters in four other states also head to the polls today including texas where the bush family dynasty is on the line. george p. bush is set to face off against trump backed attorney general ken paxton. mona, andrew. >> rhiannon, thank you. new fallout from president biden's comments about the u.s. military defending taiwan from mainland china. biden appeared to upend decades of u.s. policy with his remarks yesterday, but today in japan he

insisted u.s. policy has not changed. abc's britt clennett is traveling with the president. >> reporter: on president biden's last day of his asia trip, he's meeting with the leaders of japan, india and australia. biden with a message of unity against a china flexing its muscles in the region, but overshadowing today's diplomatic events biden's statements about defending taiwan. the president yesterday appearing to deviate from the united states' long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity. biden giving an emphatic yes when asked whether the u.s. would defend taiwan militarily. earlier i asked u.s. trade representative katherine tai about those taiwan comments. let's take a listen. we know that biden has made those comments before. does that make your job harder? does it make getting china to the negotiating table harder? >> look, the u.s./china relationship is also one that is extremely complex. there's nothing about this relationship that is easy.

but we are committed to getting this right. >> reporter: nevertheless, biden's comments unsurprisingly angered beijing. the foreign ministry warning not to underestimate china's resolve to protect its territorial integrity. biden today once again said the u.s.' policy on taiwan has not changed, but he refused to elaborate any further. britt clennett, abc news, tokyo. >> britt, thank you. a veteran russian diplomat has resigned in protest of the war in ukraine. in a scathing letter the diplomat who works in switzerland wrote he's never been so ashamed of his country. he called the invasion of ukraine an aggressive war unleashed by putin. meanwhile, president zelenskyy is warning the coming weeks of war will be difficult. he's appealing for more weapons to fight russian forces as they ramp up attacks in the eastern donbas region. abc's ian pannell is near the front lines. >> reporter: the air is thick with the sound of artillery barrages and the sound of air raid sirens that ring out everywhere. and it's not just the military

that's hitting each other, but often it's civilian targets like this causing a loss of home and a loss of life. >> a british intelligence report claims the russians may have lost as many soldiers in ukraine in three months as the soviets lost during nine years in afghanistan. authorities have identified a person of interest in connection with sunday's random fatal shooting on the new york subway. the man seen in these photos has 20 prior arrests. police say he gave his gun to a homeless man who sold it to a third person. new york's mayor wants to install scanners at a city bus station to stop the flow of out-of-state guns. time now for a look at your tuesday weather. up to three inches of rain in central north carolina triggered this street flooding. the same storm system took down a tree in chapel hill and left thousands without power. more rain is expected in that region today. on the radar rain is also

expected from texas to the western great lakes and more snow in the northern rockies. checking today's high temperatures, mostly in the 60s across the northern u.s. 80s in the southeast and hot and dry with high fire danger across the southwest. 69 in new york. coming up, a boy scout describes being attacked by a bear in his tent. also ahead, what we've learned about three americans found dead at a luxury resort in the bahamas. and later what was behind this brawl at the airport? an airline worker taking on a pro football player.

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back now with the truck getting in trouble near miami. the rear part of the trailer got stuck on that safety barrier there. eventually the driver hit the

gas and the impact ripped the back wheels completely off. the driver kept going before finally being forced to stop. we turn now to chicago and a long road to justice for a man who spent more than 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. now the city is paying up. this morning the city council in chicago has voted unianimously to award daniel taylor a settlement of more than $14 million after he spent decades in prison for a double >> i never thought i would have to go through what i went through to receive something like this. >> reporter: taylor was 17 years old when he was arrested for the murders back in 1992. he says he was coerced into confessing. at the time of the killings, taylor was already in police custody. he had been arrested a short time earlier for causing a disturbance. taylor's attorney said police hid that evidence which would have exonerated him. >> the city knew daniel taylor was innocent in 1992. and they fought to convict him

and then they fought his innocence claim and then they fought his civil suit for almost nine years. >> reporter: after more than 20 years, taylor was finally released from prison. his conviction overturned. since then, he's been readjusting to life outside prison walls. >> i look forward to the rest of my life. i have a 7-year-old who i love. >> reporter: three other men convicted with taylor also had their charges cleared. they also won millions from the city. carbon monoxide poisoning is reportedly to blame for the deaths of three american tourists in the bahamas. a they were found dead this month. investigators are looking into possible leaks with the water heater. a boy scout is talking about a bear in his ten. he was camping with his troop when a bear wanted entered into their camp site while they were sleeping and bit henry on the leg. the bear randal away. the scouts woke up screaming. >> i look up and it is a giant

bear. i thought it was something out of a nightmare. it was crazy. i didn't think i was awake. i made a mistake. i left some food in my bag. i spilled some on my leg. and also, it was other people. they left a lot of trash around. you have to be really, leave no trace. >> valuable lesson there. henry and the scouts still completed their hike the next day. coming up, a pre wedding nightmare. the hackers targeting pre wedding registry accounts. and a (blue mom) hey jerry! (cat chow guy) hey! (blue mom) i didn't know you feed bubbles cat chow. (cat chow guy) yeah, you give molly blue buffalo huh? (blue mom) molly devours it and i love the ingredients. (cat chow guy) well, like what? (blue mom) deboned chicken, chicken meal, menhaden fish meal, brown rice and barley. (cat chow guy) cat chow is pretty similar i think. chicken by-product meal, whole grain corn, soy flour, whole grain wheat, and corn gluten meal. ok, but blue's more expensive. (blue mom) i did the math. blue's less than 20 cents more a day. (cat chow guy) we're switching to blue bubbles!

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heard trial. the big news was something that did not happen as expected yesterday. this morning a strategy shift from amber heard's legal team in the $50 million defamation lawsuit brought by her ex-husband johnny depp. it stems from an essay in which she claims to be the victim of abuse. depp's name was on the witness list but in the end heard's team decided not to call him to the stand. >> calling him in her case would have been a bad choice. there's nothing co-say that would help her. but johnny's side can call him as a witness. i anticipate we'll see him. >> also set to take the stand, the super model kate moss. she date him in the 1990s. heard claimed he once tried to push her down the stairs. >> depp says that never happened and is bringing in kate moss. >> with the trial nearing its conclusion, the legal analysts say heard's defense is facing

substantial challenges. >> there's a lot of inconsistencies with her statements. they don't make sense to me. the jury will have to determine in this he said-she said dispute. the evidence does not add up in my mind. >> more witnesses took stand in heard's defense yesterday including a surgeon who cast doubt on depp's claim about how his finger was severed. but it appears heard may have already lost. she has faced widespread back lash on social media. >> it is johnny's allegation that amber has lied about her claims of abuse and has used the me too movement to get support for these false claims. if true, she's done tremendous damage tom movement. we're also seeing that we have to balance the need to protect the victim versus the need of due process for the accused. >> the trial is expected to wrap up friday. the wedding planning sign says it has fallen victim to

hackers. they claim they have charged thousands of dollars on their credit cards. zola says all cash funds have been restored and it is working to fix the overall problem. they said hackers took advantage of people who used the same credentials on multiple websites. boston led from start to finish last night. final score, 10 did you-82. coming up, the health benefits of hugs revealing another difference between men and women. ? tom cruise flying high on late i assumed dust always stayed put. turns out? it can be on the move. we were breathing that day and night! that's when we started using swiffer. in just a few minutes, duster captures dust before it gets airborne. it traps and locks dust in one swipe. yes! for our floors, sweeper's heavy duty cloths easily trap dust, dirt and hair... locking it in. see ya, dust! and swiffer partners with the american lung association

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promotion for toop gun movie. cruise went up with cruise at the controls. he is a licensed pilot. one flight down and a more extreme flight to go. >> you see these trees here, right? >> i see the trees. i'm not blind. i feel like i can touch the trees. >> look at that. >> this is absolutely ludicrous. >> we're on the edge of a cliff. don't be stupid. tom, tom, oh, my god! this is crazy. >> just too much fun. >> is it? is that what you call it? too much fun? >> cruise also briefly flew the plane upside down. i wonder what he has next for mission impossible. >> next our first look at the new marvel movie. thor love and thunder. >> they promised the trailer would blow your mind. take a look.

>> after all that -- he reclaimed his title as the one and only thor. oh, spoke too soon! jane? >> natalie portman is back as thor's ex-girlfriend. it reveals thor, the god butcher. the movie hits theaters in july. next, what looks like creature from a horror movie. what is being called the dragon of death. >> experts found fossils from a flying reptile that lived 30,000 years ago. it was one of the first animals to fly. and finally, the health benefits of hugs. do they really make a difference? for women, yes. for men, not so much. how people responded to stress after getting a hug. for women, a stress hormone dropped but for men, nothing

changed. >> researchers said it could be from prom dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. more protection, more sun, more joy. neutrogena® beach defense® the suncare brand used most by dermatologists and their families,

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>> building a better bay area. moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. reggie: now at 5:00, a hit-and-run investigation in the east bay. a crash that sent a chp officer to the hospital overnight. kumasi: hot temperatures bringing high fire danger to the bay area. the busy start, including where some evacuations took place. reggie: the warriors look ahead to game four and a possible sweep against the dallas mavericks. kumasi: good morning everybody. reggie: we are going to start with your weather. drew: it is going to be a hot day for a lot of us with temperatures in the 80's and 90's. right now we are waking up to temperatures mainly in the 50's. 71 degrees in antioch. san francisco and oakland sitting at -- here is a live look with clear skies. we will have a lot of sunshine

today and we