>> right now on america this morning, the impact of the catastrophic flooding in the northeast. the new images and the latest on a dam at capacity threatening a state capital. >> and in the west, just how hot it could get in las vegas and phenix. the costly toll of climate change now prompting a major insurance company to pull out of one state and reduce coverage, illegal fees and fake accounts. >> regulators announcing big fines for bank of america. how bank customers could now be cashing in.

>> charles manson, follower walks free. >> i stabbed mrs. labianca in the lower back about 16 times after serving decades in prison for two brutal killings. >> why? leslie van houten says she deserves her freedom. >> two, developing stories overseas reports that a top russian general has been killed. and new details coming in as north korea test fires an intercontinental ballistic missile. >> the dramatic standoff at caesars palace in las vegas. furniture and other items come crashing through a window and falling onto the pool deck below . >> and later, looking for an affordable summer vacation. the new rankings of the top travel destinations in the us. the city that's topping the charts once again. from abc news york. >> this is america this morning. >> good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to you. i'm rhiannon ally. we begin with historic floods and extreme heat

taking their toll from east to west. >> we just obtained satellite images of the catastrophic flooding in vermont. here's what the town of richmond, vermont, looked like before this week's torrential rainfall. and then after the local river rising to levels not seen since 1927. >> meanwhile, out on the west coast, another brush fire broke out in los angeles county last night. it is being called the dry fire as the southwest braces for potentially record breaking heat. >> but we begin with the relentless rain in the east. overnight, officials closely watching a dam near vermont's flooded capital city delivered some good news. the water is receding in montpelier, was pounded with nearly eight inches of rain in a matter of hours. a local river cresting at over 21ft. swamp topping downtown. floodwaters swept away the ground beneath these railroad tracks. >> and your house is right there. it's very nerve wracking. >> cynthia gubb watched as water swallowed the road just feet from her home in londonderry. >> well, we know the wall held

during irene. >> so we were hopeful it would hold during this storm, too. this one doesn't even have a name for it. >> and now the state is bracing for up to four more inches of rain by this weekend. meanwhile, 65 million people from florida to california are under heat alerts. phenix is expecting the 13th consecutive day of temperatures of 110 degrees or higher. most of california is seeing temperatures more than 15 degrees above normal. and las vegas could hit an all time record of 118 degrees this weekend. >> if las vegas and this is kind of a nerdy thing that i'm always interested in, if las vegas passes 117, which is kind of their cap, that would break an all time record. i remember being out at the national weather service in las vegas and asking them, why is it 117 well, it looks like this sunday we might even be able to break that heat. >> is the deadliest natural hazard in the us with an average of nearly 1400 additional deaths each year due to more days over 90 degrees. and it's not just rising temperatures on land.

about 40% of the world's oceans are experiencing a heat wave. scientists say climate change is also triggering more extreme rain events, which could be a factor in this slow moving disaster unfolding in southern california. at least 12 homes are collapsing into a ravine in rolling hills. estates 16 others are at risk. >> state geologists tell me that record rains this year have unleashed thousands of landslides, and it's often the biggest ones that take the longest to form, which is why there is concern of a additional landslides here in the coming months. >> scientists are also taking a closer look at what they call underground climate change in big cities. a new study found the land beneath chicago has warmed by more than five degrees in the past 70 years, causing the ground under buildings to swell and crack the effects of climate change proving to be expensive, farmers insurance is now reducing coverage in florida and california, due in part to extreme weather. we'll have a more detailed look at today's forecast in just a few minutes.

>> well, the search is on for a murder suspect who escaped from a jail in northwest pennsylvania . it's now expanded with police receiving tips from at least six states. the manhunt for michael durham is now entering day six. the reward is up to nearly $20,000. a picture shows a rope that was made of bedsheets that police say he used to escape. they say investigators are now looking into whether he had inside help. a local newspaper reports police were delayed in getting security video after durham escaped a developing story from the war in ukraine. >> reports say a top russian general has been killed. it comes ahead of a crucial day at the nato summit where president biden is meeting with ukraine's president, who is voicing his frustration with the alliance. abc's justin finch is here now with more. justin, good morning . >> andrew good morning. ukrainian president zelensky is not getting what he hoped for at the nato summit. that is a timeline for ukraine to join nato. but he is getting some significant news from the frontline lines this morning. another top member of the

russian military has reportedly been killed in ukraine. an adviser to ukraine's minister of internal affairs posting on social media that lieutenant general oleg zhakov was killed by a missile fired by ukrainian forces. so cove was sanctioned by the eu for his role in the war, but russian officials have not confirmed the reports about his death. president biden is meeting one on one with ukrainian president zelensky at the nato summit in lithuania today. nato leaders have agreed to make it easier for ukraine to eventually join the alliance, but they are not providing a timeline line. zelensky called that unprecedented and absurd, criticizing nato's vague wording about conditions and adding uncertainty is weakness. zelensky spoke to a crowd of thousands in lithuania, nato declaring that nato will give ukraine security and ukraine will make nato stronger. president biden did not attend

the dinner with other nato leaders last night. the white house said he was preparing for his big speech later today. andrew. >> justin, thank you. north korea has test fired another intercontinental ballistic missile. state tv showed kim jong un overseeing the launch of the missile. kim sister on monday accused the us of flying a spy plane near its territory. >> wall street gets a new report on inflation this morning. it is expected to show that prices rose just over 3% in june from the year before. and that could be a sign that inflation continues to ease and could make the federal reserve think twice about raising interest rates again. thousands of bank of america customers will be getting some money back. the bank has been ordered to pay $100 million to customers who were charged twice for a declined transaction or had their credit card rewards or sign up bonuses withheld. regulators are also finding the bank $150 million for illegal fees and fake accounts. the bank is response ssible for sending payments to those affected

customers. >> now to the follower of cult leader charles manson, walking free for the first time in more than 50 years. her release after serving time for two brutal killings in 1969, is not without controversy. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> this morning a charles manson follower responsible for one of his cult's brutal killings in the late 1960s is now out of prison. >> leslie is just ecstatic that she's going home. finally, after all these years. >> leslie van houten, now 73, has been granted parole after serving 53 years behind bars for her role in the savage murders of wealthy grocer leno. labianca and his wife, rosemary. at their los angeles home in 1969. >> this is a really bad murder, for lack of a better term. and i think that most most people who live in california are going to be appalled by this decision. >> van houten has been granted parole five times each rejected by multiple california governors , including current governor gavin newsom. but newsom

recently dropped his fight to keep her locked up, saying an appeal was unlike plea to succeed. van houten's attorney says she is remorseful. she's so sorry for what? >> what she's responsible for the murders in 1969 came a day after other manson followers killed actress sharon tate and four others. >> van houten did not participate in the tate killings , but she spoke to abc's diane sawyer in 1994 about how she attacked rosemary labianca. >> i stabbed mrs. labianca in the lower back about 16 times. >> what kind of punishment do you deserve? what is enough? >> i don't know when enough punishment will be enough for me. >> she long insisted she was brainwashed by charles manson and says she's now a changed woman. van houten is now in a transitional living facility. while charles manson did not commit the killings, he ordered his followers to do so. he died in prison in 2017. andrew rhiannon. >> andrea, thank you for that.

it is time now for a look at your wednesday forecast. >> good morning. the danger is heat is expanding across the south into this afternoon. an elevated risk of heat related illnesses and accuweather realfeel temperatures as high as 115 degrees, especially on the gulf coast. it's all because the jet stream is lifting north. it's a typical summer pattern this week, allowing the heat to expand. now the jet stream is also the storm track, so we'll get some severe storms today and tonight south of chicago could give you some travel delays. meantime the heat is returning to the northeast 90s for many i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin corcoran. >> coming up, hollywood braces for a second major strike how it could affect tv and movies. >> but first, a wild scene at caesars palace in las vegas. furniture thrown out a window and the abc news exclusive. >> we hear from the woman who was dating the colorado dentist. now charged with killing his

wife by allegedly poisoning her protein shakes

morning, america. >> we are back now with video of a crash landing by a twin engine plane that was carrying 30 passengers. >> look at this incredible video. it was flying into somalia's capital. everyone survived. the airline is examining the video, which was shared by a journalist at voice of america. local officials suggest pilot error could be to blame. >> a man is under arrest after throwing furniture and other items out of a window at caesars palace in las vegas. police say he was arguing with a woman during an hours long standoff. a swat team finally entered the room and took the suspect into custody. the woman was unharmed. details about the relationship were not released. the following items landed on a pool deck and no one was hurt. >> and now to an abc news

exclusive about the dentist accused of killing his wife, allegedly poisoning her protein shakes. a woman who dated the suspect is now speaking to good morning america. it's a story that made national headlines earlier this year. the shocking death of a colorado mother of six, angela craig, who died after a mystery illness soon after, her husband, dentist james craig, was arrested for allegedly poisoning her. according to the arrest affidavit, that authorities suggest he had murdered his wife to be with another woman. now, that woman, karen kane, is breaking her silence, speaking exclusively to good morning america to set the record straight, telling abc's matt gutman that her relationship with craig was just beginning. only weeks old, she says she's now come to realize it was all based on lies. you've been labeled the mistress in this story. >> yeah. >> i don't like that label. if i had known what was true, i would not have been in with this

person. >> according to the affidavit, just days after meeting karen kane, james craig began researching potassium cyanide, a poison. he also allegedly googled how much arsenic it would take to kill someone and whether it would be detectable during an autopsy. >> do you think that james craig allegedly poisoned his wife to clear the decks so he could be with you? >> there's no way i motive. there's been no planning a future together. >> the next step in the case against craig comes today when he's due in court for a preliminary hearing. coming up later on good morning america. we'll have much more of that interview with karen kane, including how she reacted when she read the allegations against james craig. >> hollywood could be hours away from a second major strike. the tv and film actors union and major studios have until the end of the day to agree on a contract, or the union could strike. they've agreed to bring in a federal mediator. analysts say a strike would shut down whatever film and tv production

hasn't already been stopped by the ongoing writers strike. >> coming up, another mega lottery jackpot grows larger. >> also ahead to the pga tour sell out to saudi arabia. their proposed merger ignites debate proposed merger ignites debate on capitol hill we love our house. the outdoor space is great. but we do have invasive weeds. i think they got in the house. i think you're right. tv: he shoots... tv: ...and of course, water. this particular rose bush... stay away from my family! why are you so strong?! at least geico makes bundling my home and car insurance easy. we save so much. do you want me to get the spray stuff? get the spray stuff! where is it?! it's up here! for bundling made easy go to geico.com. okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we provide nutrients to support immune, muscle, bone, and heart health. yaaay! woo hoo! ensure with 25 vitamins and minerals and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein.

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merger between the pga tour and saudi backed liv golf is back in the spotlight. pga officials were grilled for more than two hours on capitol hill yesterday. >> there is something that stinks about it. this path that you're on right now because it is a surrender and it is all about the money. senator blumenthal blasting the decision as a shocking betrayal, bringing up the saudi government's alleged support of nine over 11 hijackers and its history of human rights offenses, along with the murder of washington post journalist jamal khashoggi . >> but pga officials say the merger agreement was the only way to protect their business from an attack by the far better financed liv golf, which was poaching top players instead of losing control of the pga tour, we pursued a piece some families of nine over 11 victims say the merger deal opens fresh wounds. >> it was very upsetting. you know, it was like a gut punch. i mean, just like the like the floor falls out from beneath

your feet. but some lawmakers are defending the merger, saying the pga tour should not be held responsible for the saudi government's track record. >> but it would be grossly unfair to expect the pga tour to bear the full burden of holding saudi arabia accountable. >> pga officials say they're looking to the future. i think there are 18 million men and saudi women that are under the age 32. >> and i think it would be good if they didn't think every american hated him. you know, because they had absolutely nothing to do with nine over 11. pga officials say if the deal is finally closed, they'll retain control over operations and players will not be penalized for criticizing saudi arabia. >> but some lawmakers are not convinced and could try to block this deal on antitrust grounds. depending on how that merger is finalized. rhiannon andrew lionel, thank you. >> lottery fever is showing no signs of breaking. nobody won last night's $500 million mega millions drawing. so friday's drawing will be worth at least

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guests will be able to mingle with hallmark stars, enjoy holiday crafts cookies along with the premiere of a new hallmark movie. but if you're looking to travel right now, here's some suggestions for you. >> travel and leisure is out with its annual list of top us destinations. charleston, south carolina, is number one for the 11th consecutive year. thanks to its southern charm and urban flair. the runner up was santa fe, followed by new orleans. next, the return of willy wonka, starring timothee chalamet. >> the first trailer is out for the upcoming wonka movie, and it shows hugh grant playing an oompa loompa. >> so you're the funny little man who's been following me. i will have you know that i am a perfectly respectable size for an oompa loompa number. what? >> now, allow me to refresh your memory. oh i don't think i want to hear that. >> too late. >> i've started dancing now once we've started, we can't stop. >> what a cast. the movie hits theaters in december next. a bizarre new offering from burger king. >> i hope you like cheese and a whole lot of it. this new

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announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> you see flames popping out in front of you. >> quick t native. the actions you took when he saw a man intentionally starting a fire. >> a former follower of charles manson a free woman. the decision to allow her release from prison getting mixed reviews. >> new images from across the country. devastating damage caused by floodwaters. extreme weather impacting several states. >> in the bay area, it was pretty warm yesterday. it will be warmer today and tomorrow. we