reasod will it show another negative quarter, and does that mean we're in a recession? the white house and some economists giving two different answers. prisoner swap proposal. the white house offering a deal to release two americans held in russia including wnba star brittney griner. new details about the russian prisoner they could be swapped for. this as griner describes her arrest in court. what she says an interpreter did not do. a child's theme park now facing a class action lawsuit after videos appeared to show characters ignoring black children. sesame place is now responding to the allegations.

plus, new guidance on lasik surgery and potential risks from the procedure. ditching its classic look the big change coming to sprite after 60 years. proof of the mythical monster. why scientists say the existence of the loch ness monster is plausible. it's thursday, july 28th. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with the release of a crucial economic report in just hours. >> experts are forecasting the quarterly report will show a second straight decline in growth. some economists call that a recession. >> but the white house doesn't see it that way. today the commerce department releases its much anticipated report revealing whether america's economy is in a recession. depending who you ask. the report could show america's gross domestic product in the negative for a second consecutive quarter. some economists say that's technically a recession.

but the white house disagrees. highlighting areas of strength including job growth. >> the way that we see is that we are not currently in a recession or a prerecession. >> reporter: it comes after the federal reserve raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage point yesterday, the fourth rate hike this year. now there are some indications the rate increases are working toward the fed's goal to slow down the amount americans are spending in order to ease the record high inflation. >> the slowdown in home sales, consumer spending starting to pull back a little bit. even consumer confidence now lower for the third straight month. and this past week, walmart cut its profit outlook saying higher prices for gas, fuel, just about everything else squeezing people's pocketbooks. >> reporter: fed chair jerome powell admits it's a difficult task. >> we're not trying to have a recession and we don't think we have to. we think that there's a path for us to be able to bring inflation down while sustaining a strong labor market. we continue to think there's a path to that. we know the path has clearly

narrowed. >> reporter: and this morning, gas prices, a major contributor to inflation, are still falling. down 60 cents from a month ago but the cost of diesel fuel which many businesses rely on is coming down at a much slower pace. "the new york times" reports the ice cream truck industry is now at risk because of rising food and fuel prices. one industry leader tells "the times" the ice cream truck is becoming a thing of the past. meanwhile, back on capitol hill, a major win for the biden administration's economic agenda. in a major reversal democratic senator joe manchin says he will back an energy and health care bill spending $369 billion on energy and climate initiatives and raising taxes on big corporations and the wealthy. the president says the agreement will also lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for 13 million americans. now to a potential deal on the table to bring brittney griner home. the biden administration is offering a prisoner swap to free

the wnba star and a marine veteran, paul whelan, also being held in russia. they may be traded for a notorious russian arms dealer. let's get right to abc's jay o'brien who joins us now from washington, d.c. jay, good morning. >> reporter: andrew, good morning. secretary of state antony blinken now says he's planning on discussing this with the russian foreign minister in a call in the coming days, but he says this offer was made weeks ago, and there is no deal yet. this morning, russia is considering what the white house calls a substantial proposal to secure the release of american detainees brittney griner and paul whelan. sources confirming to abc news the u.s. is offering a prisoner swap proposing trading infamous russian arms dealer viktor bout to bring the two americans home. bout, nicknamed the merchant of death, is currently serving a 25-year sentence at this federal prison in illinois convicted of selling weapons to terrorists. secretary of state antony blinken saying he'll press for the potential deal with russia's

foreign minister later this week in their first call since russia invaded ukraine. >> we put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal. >> reporter: paul whelan, a former marine, has been detained in russia for more than three years, convicted on espionage charges, which he denies. >> i want to tell the world that i'm a victim of political kidnap and ransom. >> reporter: and brittney griner, a wnba star and two-time olympic gold medalist, is accused of illegally bringing cannabis oil into russia. in court again yesterday, griner >> i did not plan or have an intent to bring any cannabis or banned substance to russia. >> reporter: testifying earlier this week, the basketball star jailed for more than five months holding up pictures of her wife and teammates.

russia has suggested it wants to see griner's trial play out before agreeing to any deal, but the u.s. and the kremlin have done prisoner exchanges in the past, most recently bringing american trevor reed home. last month in an interview with abc news, reed and his parents said it would be worth it to trade viktor bout if it meant bringing griner and whelan home. andrew and mona. >> all right. we'll see what happens next. jay o'brien in washington, thank you. president biden is no longer isolating after testing negative for covid. biden delivered remarks in the rose garden touting his administration's pandemic response. he said he benefited from the covid fighting tools that are now available to every american, and he drew a comparison to the former president. >> here's the bottom line, when my predecessor got covid, he had to get helicoptered to walter reed medical center. he was severely ill. thankfully he recovered. when i got covid, i worked from upstairs of the white house in the offices upstairs and for that five-day period.

the difference is vaccinations, of course. >> biden added americans can live without fear by doing what he did, get boosted, get tested and get treatment. nearly a million people are on lockdown in wuhan, china, where the first cases of covid-19 were detected. four cases were recently detected in a city district. residents there are being ordered to isolate. next the suspended principal of robb elementary school in uvalde, texas, is defending herself against a wave of criticism. mandy gutierrez tells cnn she cmpletely disagrees with the new legislate i have report that points to, quote, a culture of noncompliance with safety policies before the mass shooting that left 19 children and 2 people dead. >> i believe that i did my job to the best of my abilities. any time that an alert went out, every single teacher on that campus took it to mean it could be a potential escalating

situation and so every -- everybody follows protocol. >> last night texas governor greg abbott announced a $1.25 million grant to provide counseling needed by students and teachers trying to heal in the aftermath of the deadly attack. now to the gunmakers grilled on capitol hill. the ceos faced aggressive questioning from lawmakers about their company's responsibility for recent mass shootings. abc's morgan norwood has the details. >> reporter: as the epidemic of gun violence continues to languish across america, the ceos of major gun manufacturers facing tough questions about how they market their weapons that have been used in deadly massacres. >> how many more american children need to die before your company will stop selling assault weapons to civilians? >> reporter: lawmakers wasting no time in their search for answers. congresswoman carolyn maloney opening the hearing calling out smith & wesson whose high-powered rifles were used in highland park and parkland, florida, shootings. >> i'm announcing my intent to

issue a subpoena for documents from smith & wesson's ceo and other top executives so that we can finally get answers. >> reporter: families sharing how the recent mass shootings have shattered their lives. >> my fiance was shot and killed on may 14th by a white supremacist. >> daddy. >> when he went to tops to buy our son a birthday cake. what are you going to do? >> it's okay. >> to make sure that your products don't get into the hands of a white supremacist mass shooter ever again. >> reporter: manufacturers responding pointing the finger at those who pulled the trigger. >> these acts are committed by murderers. the murderers are responsible. >> reporter: waving off the blame, the ceo of ruger pointing to the shooting at sutherland springs. >> the evil person who perpetrated those crimes and committed those murders was

allowed to buy a firearm that he frankly shouldn't have been allowed to do. >> reporter: committee democrats shared their report that found that major assault weaponmakers have made over $1 billion in revenue over the past ten years as these mass shootings have surged. mona, andrew. >> morgan, thank you. let's take a look at your thursday morning weather. so, more flooding is likely today from west virginia to tennessee and across the plains. all because a front is stalled allowing storms to soak the area. on the radar there's also rain today across most of the eastern u.s. and monsoon storms are likely to bring more flooding to the southwest. and checking today's high temperatures, 90s in the pacific northwest where at least two deaths in oregon are blamed on the current heat wave. still, over 100 in texas and high 80s in the northeast. 102 in dallas. 99 in phoenix. coming up, the new guidance from the fda on lasik eye

surgery. also ahead, a wild road rage shooting caught on camera. the victim had a 2-year-old boy in the car. what we're learning about the suspects. and the new class action lawsuit filed after a second family claims they experienced racial discrimination at sesame place.

back now with a couple near houston under arrest in connection with this road rage incident. the woman is seen firing twice at a fleeing car. the man behind the wheel suffered a graze wound. his 2-year-old was also in the car. fortunately, he wasn't injured and the suspects face assault charges. sesame place has been slapped with a lawsuit. they claim some of the characters refused to interact

with children because they were black. >> reporter: this morning new video of another racial snub by sesame place carings has led to a lawsuit. >> it makes me want to cry every time i see it. >> in the video, one character appears to avoid 5-year-old kennedy burns while high fiving other white children. kennedy visibly upset. another character high fives while kennedy's arm remains outstretched. >> we stand here today trying to fight and protect little black children and their fundamental civil rights. >> reporter: the baltimore maryland family said they came forward after seeing this video that went viral last week, posted by one of the girls showing the character rosita high fiving a white child and a woman, then gesturing no to two

little black girls. that family has also hired an attorney. they said it was way too. like what they experienced in june. the lawsuit against the seaworld parks and entertainment alleges they engage in pervasive and appalling race discrimination against children in the operation. >> these are our children that taught me, all of us how to be a friend. how to love people. >> reporter: the suit claims sesame place broke a contract to parkgoers who bought a ticket and violated the terms. >> the reason is simply because of their race. >> reporter: sesame place says they will review the lawsuit and are committed to delivering an inclusive, equitable and entertaining time for all guests. >> reporter: the suit call for

mandatory sensitivity training for all employees. >> thank you. an unwanted first for facebook. meta reported a 1% revenue decline. that's the first time since going public a decade ago. the government is pushing back for more transparency when it comes to lasik eye surgery. the fda outlined the benefits and potential risks. they want patients to be warned about the possibility of adverse aeffects like dry eyes or discomfort. coming up, remembering a classic tv legend. and a big day in court for britney (nanci) gemma's my show dog. she's an athlete-she's a canine athlete. prior to blue buffalo, i was feeding proplan but i really wanted to feed a high quality dog food that didn't contain chicken by-product meal

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of pop will not have to answer questions from her father's legal team. ♪ now i'm stronger than yesterday ♪ >> reporter: a california judge denied a motion by jamie spears who wanted his daughter to be deposed as his lawyers fight allegations made against jamie when he was conservator of britney's estate. britney's lawyer argued an in-person grilling by jamie's lawyers would leave her traumatized. >> she wants to move on with her life and yet that man, her father, her flesh and blood, does not want that. >> reporter: in her ruling the judge said britney likely lacks any relevant knowledge about her father's disputed conduct during her 13-year-long conservatorship including allegedly spying on britney by placing cameras in her bedroom. they plan to appeal.ng court approval for jamie's handling of britney's finances dating back to 2019 and permission to bill her estate for his ongoing legal fees. >> even though britney was freed on november 12th, the court case

lives on because there are a lot of people, mainly lawyers and o britney that they think that they are due. >> reporter: jamie's legal team defended him in court saying the conservatorship is the reason britney is where she is today. earlier this month the judge ruled jamie spears must sit for a deposition and produce documents as part of the investigation. coming up, the major change for sprite. also ahead, why scientists say the loch ness monster may not be a myth after all. new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go.

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the own believed it fell out of his pocket. he called police to give it back. >> he told the mayor he found this wallet. he wasn't quite sure if i was telling a little joke. >> i went to a phone call to figure out why gary of all people has mr. shatner's wallet in his possession. >> the men returned the wallet after tracking down shatner's agent. next, a new theory about the loch ness monster. researcher say it is plausible. it suggested it may have lived in water. next big changes for a popular soda. >> they are going green by dropping the green bottle. >> starting monday, it will only come in ■clear plastic ottles. >> and finally a history making

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job of focusing our efforts on prevention and treatment. reggie: the new data showing which county is impacted the most. kumasi: what we know about a police chase through san francisco. reggie:: the vote tonight that will determine the future of masking on trains. drew: fog out there and that afternoon sunshine. live doppler 7, visibility is not too terrible. petaluma, three miles visibility. otherwise we are doing ok. outside in the 50's and 60's for the most part. live look at sfo right now. early morning at the airport. we are dealing with a marine layer that is pretty thick this