tions, sir. - thank you. you'll be back raising the roof again next week. we'll see you then. ♪♪ captioned by los angeles distribution and broadcasting, inc. more than 100 million americans facing relents this heat. it's so hot. people are suffering serious burns from the pavement under their feet. the impact of the extreme conditions runs from coast to coast.

>> case closed. the mystery over who left cocaine in the west wing of the white house left unsolved. why the secret service says it's unable to identify a suspect. >> new questions and new confusion about aspartame. the artificial sweetener in everything from diet soda to chewing gum. one medical group now saying it could potentially cause cancer. this morning, a reality check why many experts are down playing the concerns. >> overnight, word of an arrest in connection with the death of actor robert de niro's grandson. >> plus, lisa marie presley. cause of death, doctors explained the bowel obstruction that claimed her life. >> no lights, camera or action. the hollywood shut down overnight. actors walking off the job by executives say the actors demands are unrealistic. >> and later, seeing green on the robot that promises to cut guacamole preparation time in half. >> from abc news in new york

this is america this morning. >> good friday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. happy friday. i'm rhiannon ally. >> we want to begin with the life threatening heat bearing down on several regions of the country. parts of california could see high temps topping 120 degrees. meanwhile las vegas is prepping to break an all time record. >> and in arizona, doctors are seeing more burn injuries. but these are not sunburns. phenix arizona is in the middle of a record breaking run of temperatures hitting 110 or higher for more than two weeks. even at night, it's still in the 90s. it's so hot. the arizona burn center is treating people with serious burns from the pavement outside, which can warm up to 180 degrees during the day. >> we're actively taking care of ten of those patients in the hospital right now. in fact, i just walked out of the operating room after operating on a patient who had gone down and suffered really bad pavement burns. >> heat advisories and warnings stretch from arizona to florida , affecting more than 111 million people. the heat index

in miami hit 105 yesterday. >> and in some spots in the keys, it can be even hotter than that, like in marathon, where it feels like 116 right now. that is crazy for even us here in south florida. >> in hollywood, florida, the heat is keeping people away from bars and restaurants on the beach until we're like around 6 or 7:00. >> people really aren't coming out. >> it's not just bad for business. doctors say heat can also take a toll on mental health. people will talk about how they have reduced feelings of joy and happiness and increased amounts of stress and anger and fatigue. >> even with temperatures above 70 degrees, 1500 miles north, flood ravaged vermont, where thousands saw their homes and businesses damaged or destroyed. >> this week is bracing for more heavy rain. up to four more inches. rescue teams have been pre-positioned ahead of this weekend. the streets of montpelier are now lined with these gigantic piles of furniture and other items that were ruined in this week's flooding. >> and now there's even more rain on the way. and just across

the border, whole, jeez, the tornado touching down near ottawa, canada, damaging more than 100 homes and we learned overnight that a total of 11 tornadoes hit the chicago area wednesday night. >> we'll check today's forecast out in just a few moments. >> the man who is in one of the most memorable photos from the january 6th attack on the us capitol has now learned his fate. a judge is sentenced. kyle fitzsimons, a butcher from maine, to seven years in prison. he wound up with a bloody head wound after clashing with police that day. he was convicted on several counts, including attacking officers. one who was forced into retire moment. >> now to a mystery at the white house that may never be solved. who left cocaine in the west wing? the investigation is over, leaving more questions than answers. abc's justin finch is here now with more. justin, what can you tell us this morning? >> well, andrew, good morning. after days of investigating, the secret service says we may never know the identity of that cocaine culprit. but this morning, house speaker kevin mccarthy blasting the secret

service after the agency closed its investigation into how cocaine ended up in the west wing of the white house without identifying a suspect. >> anything involving around biden, inc gets treated different than any other american. and that's got to stop the cocaine was found july 2nd near the situation room in one of 182 cubby holes on a wall used by visitors to store items during invitation only tours. >> as the secret service says, surveillance video provided no leads. agents not saying whether that particular cubby was in a blind spot. and they say advanced fingerprinting along with dna analysis could not help determine who left the drugs. members of congress say the secret service only narrowed down the list of suspects to 500 people. >> it seems like it's at this point it it's just inconclusive . >> republicans are questioning what the dead end investigation means for security at the white

house, claiming it's evidence of incompetence by the administration. >> in biden, ink strikes again. how can in the white house 24 over seven secure? they find cocaine, but now they just close the investigation? where in the country did they get treated like this? only with the bidens is with the bidens in charge there is no equal justice. >> some people are saying everybody should be drug tested on the way into the white house and, you know, these are the same people who are opposed to covid 19 tests. so i don't see a lot of coherent case in the criticism. >> so still lots of questions. the national security adviser has said the situation room is under construction, suggesting there may have been more foot traffic at that time. andrew, we may never know who it belonged to. >> justin, thank you. one day after getting some good news about the inflation rate, some

troubling news about the federal deficit, nearly tripled in the last nine months. government spending on medicare and social security went up while tax revenue went down. the bank bailouts back in march. also contributed overseas. >> a russian general commanding troops in ukraine says he's been fired for criticizing top military brass. in an audio message purportedly from the general, he raises concern about the casualty rate among russian troops and the lack of support. president biden before leaving europe yesterday. also had a sobering message for vladimir putin. >> there is no possibility of him winning the war in ukraine. he's already lost that war. my hope is and my expectation is you'll see that ukraine makes significant progress on their offensive and that it generates in a negotiated settlement somewhere along the line, the pentagon confirms that controversial cluster bombs have arrived in ukraine in the race

for president, florida governor ron desantis may be ready to change his strategy. >> sources say his campaign, which has been struggling in the polls, is considering changing its media strategy and is leaning toward granting interviews with mainstream news outlets. abc news has also obtained a memo indicating outing the campaign will hold off on dedicating resources to super tuesday contests in order to focus on new hampshire, where he trails former president trump by double digits. >> we turn now to the questions and confusion about aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener consumed by millions of americans every day. a new report claims it could potentially cause cancer. but many experts are downplaying the concern. here's abc's andrea fujii this morning. >> the world health organization is out with what appears to be a troubling headline about the artificial sweetener. aspartame it's commonly found in diet sodas, sugar free gum and table top sweeteners. the international agency for

research on cancer is now classified in aspartame as a carcinogen, meaning it's capable of causing cancer, specifically liver cancer. but the agency warns more research is needed. many experts here in the us are highly critical of the report. i think that it's unfortunate that it puts this out because they're really not in involved with the actual safety assessment of substances and this is only going to add to confusion and alarm in the public and it's totally unnecessary. the fda saying scientific evidence has continued to support the fda's conclusion that aspartame is safe for the general population. aspartame has been widely used since the 1980s. experts say this report does not mean people should change their lifestyle as long as they consume. only a moderate amount of aspartame. so how much is safe the w.h.o. says the acceptable daily level for a person weighing about 155 pounds is the equivalent of up to 14 cans of diet soda per day.

>> i think the main thing is, is that aspartame is a safe substance that can be consumed in quite large amounts, much larger than the humans generally consume. >> so to be clear, no doctor would say 14 cans of soda per day is good for your health. we're only talking about aspartame levels. the american cancer society says it welcomes more research on the issue. andrew rhiannon andrea, thank you. >> time now for a look at your friday weather. good >> the heat persists for many in the south into this afternoon with accuweather realfeel temperatures as high as 115 from texas to florida. stay hydrated and try to stay cool. meantime it's going to be another stormy day on the plains between denver, omaha and oklahoma city . could see some flash flooding and hail and travel delays are likely on the i 95 corridor cities into tonight with thunderstorms. flooding is likely with thunderstorms across the east this weekend with

severe heat in the southwest. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin corcoran in. >> coming up what we have learned about the death of lisa marie presley. >> also ahead, an arrest in connection with the death of robert de niro's grandson. >> and later, the debate over raising the speed limit on us highways. could it help prevent traffic

revlon hair tools. >> back now with a brawl during a speech about peace, kosovo's parliament erupted when a lawmaker threw water on the prime minister. the speech was about how to lower tensions with ethnic serbs. the session did not resume until four hours later. >> an autopsy has revealed lisa marie presley's cause of death. the l.a. county medical examiner says elvis presley's only child

was killed by a bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue from surgery years ago. the report says opioids were also found in her system, including one that treats opioid overuse. presley died in january at the age of 54, and police in new york have arrested a woman in connection with the death of robert de niro's grandson. the suspect is known as the percocet princess. investigators say she may have sold the drugs to the 19 year old and police believe he died of a possible overdose. >> now to the shutdown in hollywood overnight, a second major strike. this time, actors are demanding better pay from streaming services and protection from artificial intelligence. but the studios say they want too much. this morning, for the first time in 63 years, two major hollywood unions have walked off the job, bringing the film and tv industry to a halt at midnight. the actors union, sag-aftra going on strike, unable to reach a deal with major studios. >> we are being victimized by a

very greedy entity. i am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. i cannot believe it, quite frankly. how far apart we are on so many things. >> fran drescher, best known for her role as the nanny and now the president of sag-aftra, took aim at the major studios. >> they plead poverty, that they're losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their ceos. it is disgusting. >> earlier in the day, bob iger , the ceo of abc's parent company disney, called the union's demands unrealistic. >> there's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic and they are adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing that is quite frankly, very disruptive. >> actors matt damon and emily blunt were among those walking out of the london premiere of

the new movie oppenheimer in support of the strike seen here earlier on the red carpet. >> unfortunate. they're off to break their picket signs. press tours for upcoming movies like barbie are expected to mostly come to a halt. >> the strike means no actors on red carpets and no social media promotion and no talk show appearances. despite this, at least one major studio is expected to see a major windfall this week when the new mission impossible is expected to rake in between 85 and $95 million through sunday. an estimated 80% of movie and tv productions were already shut down due to the ongoing writers strike. >> coming up, a birth control game changer. what's next after the fda approves an over-the-counter pill? also ahead, more tourists behaving badly. >> this time, the manatees in >> this time, the manatees in florida are the victims as when it comes to your hair, ingredients matter.

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showing manatees in florida and people who are breaking the law. experts say the manatees were likely mating. the animals are considered threatened and petting them could result in a hefty fine. and a year in prison. it's another example of people getting too close to wildlife, including the harassment of bison at national parks, often for social media videos. these stunts are also putting the animals at risk. >> every repetitive interaction touching, petting a manatee that desensitizes them there should be a healthy concern of not being around humans, he says, due to the manatees threatened status. >> every birth is important. >> new reaction this morning after the fda gave the green light to the first ever over-the-counter birth control pill. it comes as several states moved to restrict access to birth control and abortion services. this morning, a milestone decision by the fda approving a daily oral contraceptive pill that for the first time can be bought over

the counter without a prescription. >> and patients will be able to walk into a grocery store, a drugstore online, even, and purchase this like they purchase advil, tylenol or something like that. >> this is just an amazing moment. the once a day hormonal pill is called a pill. >> the fda decision will remove certain challenges for women seeking birth control, such as having to pay for a doctor's visit or taking time off work. >> we know that those barriers are part of the system, like barriers faced by many people trying to access health care in this country. and we're particularly hopeful that it will transform access for those folks. >> before the fda's decision, in an independent advisory panel, found the less complex, active ingredient in pill posed fewer risks than other birth control pills that rely on estrogen. the company behind the pill released a statement yesterday calling it a truly momentous day, adding that nearly half the pregnancies in the us every year are unintended. but pill will not have an age limit for sales,

which could be a point of contention. i do think you're going to see some pushback from conservative groups that say, you know, there really should be an age restriction on it because parents should be involved in that. it also comes as dozens of states have sought to restrict access to birth control and abortion services for women that are in the states that have very restrictive reproductive health laws. >> women who are in a marginalized community. this is really going to help them. >> the pill hits the market early next year, but there's no word yet on the price is coming up. >> the debate over raising the speed limit. >> plus, richard simmons >> plus, richard simmons breaking his silence this dupixent helps you du more with less asthma. and can help you breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not or sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches

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>> the chain has designed a robot to help make guacamole employees dump 25 pounds of avocados into the robot, which peels and cores the mountain of avocados. >> an employee still has to mash the avocado with other ingredients to make the guac with the auto keto robot cuts the prep time in half. the company says dishwashing robots may be coming next. >> we've truly hit rock bottom next, the debate over raising the speed limit. >> could it help reduce traffic and speed up commute time? >> according to a new study, the answer is no. triple a found raising the speed limit increases the number of crashes and fatalities and could therefore make traffic worse while also making roads less safe for pedestrians and bikers, the study found. >> raising or lowering the speed limit resulted in little change to commute times. >> next exercise guru richard simmons just turned 75. the reclusive 80s icon hasn't been seen in public in nearly a decade, but a spokesman told entertainment tonight the simmons is happy and doing well. the mystery surrounding his withdrawal from the spotlight sparked wild speculation. one

rumor even claimed his housekeeper was holding him hostage. >> next, a special day for golden retrievers all around the world, hundreds of them came together with their owners in scotland to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the breed. it was the largest ever gathering of golden retrievers in one place. >> ain't no party like a puppy party. and finally, some hikers who are a little sheepish. when they made a discovery in australia, they thought what they saw was a rock. >> it's not a rock. they realized it was an abandoned sheep with a very overgrown coat . they sheared off 54 pounds of wool.

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>> building a better bay forward, finding solutions, this is abc. >> thousands of actors joining writers on the picket line, what is at stake for tv shows and moving -- movies? >> a cyberattack that temporarily shut down some of its services. >> a spare the air alert is in the air right now. we are going to heat up today. welcome to friday. >>