right now on america, this morning, the destructive tornado hitting the east coast. severe flooding in the mid south and the death toll rising from the historic summer heat. the new ways people are trying to adapt . >> a murderous barrage of fire.

several police officers are ambushed in fargo, north dakota . the shocking stash of weapons, including 1800 rounds of ammunition police say was inside the cop killer's car. the questions being raised about the hunter biden investigation to whistleblowers testified to congress. >> why they claim the president's son got special treatment. and what comes next. >> plus, the investigation into the suspected gilgo beach serial killer expands into another state. >> breaking overnight, we have a winner. what we're learning about the one winning ticket for that $1 billion powerball jackpot. and later, the nfl player who knows how to make an entrance at training camp. >> from abc news in new york, this is america this morning. >> good thursday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. happy thursday. >> i'm rhiannon ally. we want to begin with the weather extremes from coast to coast and the rising death toll from this historic summer. >> so far it's been over 110

degrees for 20 consecutive days in phenix and now some children in arizona are going back to school in the record heat under a new school calendar. elsewhere severe storms like this one that ripped the roof off of a building in alabama are leaving a trail of destruction. >> relentless rain has also left parts of kentucky under water. >> but it's the mid-atlantic that got hit the hardest in the last 24 hours. a tornado. packing 150 mile per hour winds destroyed homes and businesses northeast of raleigh, north carolina, coming this way, tearing apart this pfizer plant in rocky mount, scattering medicine around the complex. >> there's obviously going to be impacts to pfizer's operations here. how much potential medicine or health care supplies may be lost as a result? potential impacts on the supply chain in southwest kentucky, up to a foot of rain flooded neighborhoods, prompting the governor to declare an emergency. >> the storms fueled by triple digit heat, baking much of the country in phenix, the low temperature was 97 yesterday, an

all time record. officials in maricopa county, arizona, say at least 18 people have died from the heat. so far this summer. >> we're starting to see those individuals with other medical problems and even those that are healthy that are exposed to these extreme temperatures come in with a variety of conditions. >> in florida, a farm workers death in the heat this month is prompting change at the miami dade county commission is supporting new protections for workers, which would include the right to a ten minute paid rest and shaded water breaks every two hours. it's not just hot air in florida. the ocean temperature is in the 90s, about six degrees above average, threatening the coral reefs. >> it doesn't happen like that, like it takes a lot for water to heat up. >> no, i mean, even breaking an air temperature by six degrees is pretty impressive to break a record by. so to do it in the ocean is just incredible. >> there are problems inside too many air conditioners can't keep up. experts say most ac units are only designed to work in

heat up to 95 degrees. but with temperatures well above 100 in so many places, repair calls are surging. and back outside this exhausted squirrel in texas says it all. and the dog days of summer are far from over. try and find that shade like that squirrel. more record heat is expected today in texas, alabama and florida with feel-like temperatures topping 110. >> breaking overnight, a police chase near san antonio, texas, allegedly involving human smuggling. authorities say they found a dozen migrants crammed inside the passenger compartment of a stolen 18 wheeler. one of the migrants, a pregnant woman. police say the group was being smuggled from mexico, honduras and guatemala. the truck driver finally pulled over and was taken into custody and police say he was armed. a major development now in the shooting of three police officers in fargo, north dakota. >> police say the suspect had 1800 rounds of ammunition, multiple guns and a homemade grenade in his vehicle. they say the suspect ambushed the officers who were investigating

a car crash at the time one officer was killed. the two others are in critical condition . authorities say the suspect appeared to have plans for further mayhem, but he was shot and killed by police. >> now to the hunter biden investigation. in two irs whistleblowers have now testified before congress, claiming the investigation into the president's son was anything but normal, suggesting he was let off easy. abc's faith abubey is here with their testimony. faith good morning. >> good morning to you, rhiannon. the whistleblower claim that hunter biden got special treatment from the department of justice and one of them actually went public for the first time on capitol hill yesterday. this morning, the investigators who looked into hunter biden's alleged financial crimes are blasting the justice department. >> there should not be a two track justice system, depending on who you are. and who you're connected to. yet in this case, there was the house oversight committee heard testimony from two irs agents who say their recommendation to file felony tax charges against hunter were

ignored. >> instead, the president's son pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charges in what republicans call a sweetheart deal. >> it appeared to me, based on what i experienced, that the us attorney in delaware in our investigation, was constantly hamstrung, limited and marginal by doj officials as well as other us attorneys. i still think that a special counsel is necessary for this investigation , the other whistleblower said. >> the treatment hunter biden received was different from any other investigation he's seen in his 14 years at the agency. >> at every stage, decisions were made that benefited the subject of this investigation in, for example, prosecco shooters concealed contents of hunter biden's laptop from investigators doj slow walk steps to include interviews, serving document requests and executing search warrants warrants that were ready as early as april of 2020. but were delayed until after the november 2020 election and never pursued by. >> the justice department, has denied the whistleblower claims and the us attorney in delaware

in charge of the investigation who was appointed by former president donald trump, has said he's willing to testify about the case. democrats called yesterday's hearing a political stunt. >> we can conclude that this inspector clouseau style quest for something that doesn't exist has turned our committee into a theater of the absurd. an exercise in futility and embarrassment. >> and rhiannon. hunter biden has since paid that overdue tax bill that led to the charges. but a judge still has to approve his plea deal, and that decision could come as soon as next week. rhiannon faith abubey, thank you so much for. >> president trump faces a deadline of today to appear before the january 6th grand jury, but he is not expected to actually show up. trump is bracing to be indicted as early as tomorrow after receiving a so-called target letter from the justice department stemming from the investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. source say the letter cites three laws concerning easy to defraud the us tampering with a witness, victim or informant,

and deprivation of rights under a civil rights statute. >> the family of a us soldier who crossed into north korea says they are baffled by his actions. a photo taken by a tourist shows 23 year old army private travis king from the back just moments before he ran across the border. officials say king was then taken away in a van. they believe he's being interrogated in north korea's capital, pyongyang. king was facing discharge from the army after spending time in a south korean jail on assault charges. >> the investigation into the suspected gilgo beach serial killer in new york is expand ing once again. abc news has learned investigators in yet another state are looking into a possible link between the suspect and other cold cases. the investigation into alleged gilgo beach serial killer rex human is expanding to a fourth state, new jersey. authorities are looking into his possible ties to atlantic city and a string of unsolved killings of prostitutes. they're also interviewing other sex workers currently behind bars about

their interactions with human. he had reached out to them for sex. >> they took the calls but did not meet with him. >> and now, a week after huberman's arrest on charges he killed three women in long island, new york, who worked as escorts, his wife of more than 25 years has filed for divorce course. it comes as investigators search land that human owns in south carolina looking for any evidence that could link him to the killings. they've already seized this chevy truck. anything going from hair to a trophy, souvenir jewelry, anything that can help us connect these victims to that vehicle will be instrumental in strengthening the case. police in las vegas, where human has a timeshare, are also taking a new look at unsolved cases. human has pleaded not guilty to the three killings in long island. he's

also been named a prime suspect in a fourth murder for the first time since april 19th. >> been there is a powerball jackpot winner. it's probably not you. the grand prize was more than $1 billion last night. the third biggest jackpot in the history of the game. and there was only one winning ticket. officials say it was sold in california at the las palmitas mini market on wall street in los angeles. if you're not the winner, there's still tomorrow's mega millions jackpot worth $720 million. >> got to play to win. time now for a look at your thursday weather. >> well, good morning. in this green stripe you're seeing in the midsection and northeastern part of the country is going to bring some severe weather with you. all modes of severe weather are going to be possible thursday into your thursday night with the troy and indianapolis getting in on the more numerous storms. on top of that, i'm seeing the renewed risk for flooding, especially in places in the northeast and new england that already don't need to see more rain. and you have the potential for some localized

severe thunderstorms as well for accuweather, i'm meteorologist michelle mcleod. c typo causing trouble at the pentagon. >> but first, new doubts surrounding the kidnaping story told by an alabama woman. what her internet searches revealed. >> and later, we hear from a surfer thrown off his board. his foot ended up in the jaws of a shark. we'll tell you what happened next. coming up

what would you give for a child you loved, to make their wish come true? to help them fight a critical illness, just imagine what you'd do. every single one of us can make the stars align. because when we come together, hope and joy will shine. ♪ ♪ morning, america. >> ups and the teamsters union have agreed to go back to the bargaining table next week in hopes of avoiding a costly strike at the end of the month. talks broke down two weeks ago as both sides clashed over pay for part time workers. and broadway is now facing a potential strike. a union representing stagehands and

other workers is holding a strike authorization vote that could lead to a walkout as soon as tomorrow. they would join hollywood actors and writers who are also go on strike. >> we turn now to alabama and the case of an alleged kidnaping. one woman's story which quickly went viral over the weekend, is now coming into question. abc's andrea fujii has the new details for us this morning. >> new doubts about an alabama woman's claim that she was kidnaped last week after she reported seeing a toddler on the side of this highway. carly russell's story immediately gained national attention, but now police have revealed what they describe as highly unusual internet searches before she went missing, including a google search for the movie taken down. >> i will look for you. i will find you and i will kill you. >> i do think it's highly, highly unusual to the day that that that someone gets kidnaped, that several, seven hours, eight hours before that, that there

are searching the internet, googling the movie taken about an abduction. >> investigators say russell also googled amber alerts and how to take money from a register without being caught. and the day she disappeared, police say she researched a one way bus ticket from birmingham. they say when she left work, she was seen taking a roll of toilet paper and other items. none of which were found in her car on the side of the highway after she called 911 thursday night. i am on interstate 459 and there is a kid just walking by themselves. when officers arrived, russell was gone. she returned home on foot saturday, claiming she'd been kidnaped by a man and woman and managed to escape. but police say they've been unable to verify her statements and found no evidence of a missing toddler. for carly, russell was taken to a hospital and has since been released. police want to speak with her again, but her parents say she's not in the right mental state yet. andrew rhiannon andrea,

thank you. >> wesleyan university is the latest school to announce it's ending the practice of legacy admissions. it follows a supreme court's ruling striking down affirmative action. the university says children of alumni will continue to be admitted, but only on their own merits. carnegie mellon is also reportedly ending legacy admissions, a simple typo has misdirected millions of us military emails to an african nation that's allied with russia. >> instead of being sent to addresses ending in.mil, they were actually sent to addresses ending in dot html. that is the designation for the african country of mali. some emails reportedly contained sensitive information. >> asian always check the spelling coming up, a surfer describes being pulled underwater by a shark. also ahead, the lawsuit over a steaming hot chicken mcnugget. >> the payout one family will now receive

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the southern border due to razor wire and floating barriers installed in the rio grande. >> but state officials are disputing one state troopers claim that he was ordered to push migrants back into the river. they say the trooper missing interpreted the orders. a college student in florida is describing the moment he was bitten by a shark while surfing . >> chris pospisil was off new smyrna beach when a shark yanked him off his surfboard the moment was actually captured on camera there. chris says the shark grabbed him by the foot and then dragged him underwater. >> i thought my foot might be gone when it when it first attacked me and the first thing went through my mind was, this can't be real. later on, good morning america here from chris friend who helped him after the attack. >> we turn now to a lawsuit over a chicken mcnugget, a florida family claimed their daughter suffered second degree burns and now a jury has decided how much money the family will get. $15 million. that's what lawyers for the family of eight year old olivia were requesting from a

jury after she was severely burned by a chicken mcnugget. >> this is a verdict for all time. when we walk out of those doors, that's it. we don't get to come back and say, let's check in on olivia. in five years. >> back when olivia was four, her mom took her to a mcdonald's drive through for a happy meal. when she handed the meal to olivia in the back seat, a nugget fell, getting caught between her car seat and her thigh. she suffered second degree burns and when you take a child at a young age and you enforce or put trauma on their life that can carry with them to adulthood, lawyers for mcdonald's and the franchise protested that $15 million figure. they say olivia has since healed. so they offered a far lower payout. >> this is the total award, $156,000. again again, use your common sense. this is over pain is gone. wound is healed. she's not worried or bothered by the injury. >> it came down to the jury, which took just two hours yesterday to decide the final number. the family will get

$800,000. olivia is mom satisfied? i'm actually just happy that they listen to olivia's voice and she the jury was able to decide a fair judgment. >> i'm happy with that. >> olivia's family says she still enjoys mcnuggets, but it from a different mcdonald's. >> coming up, the health benefits of strong coffee. >> plus, the nfl player making quite the statement at training camp (swords clashing)

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questionable research that he oversaw. >> and at northwestern, there's growing fallout from student articles on the hazing scandal that led to the firing of the football coach. the power of journalism, next. new evidence showing the benefits of a strong cup of joe. >> it could help protect you from alzheimer's. researchers in italy found that strong coffee or espresso, too, can destroy certain proteins that gather in the brain that are believed to be a factor in causing dementia and alzheimer's. they claim even an espresso martini can offer the benefits. but only in moderation. >> of course, great news for me . >> next, a wild fish tale. that's actually true in oklahoma . >> boy reeled in a fish that had human like teeth. it's a part of a south american fish closely related to piranhas. likely someone's exotic pet that ended up in a pond. >> thankfully, they are not harmful to people. next, it's shaquille o'neal, the prankster. the nba legend pulled off a good one while on vacation in hawaii. he was pretending to drown in a pool full of kids. everyone knew he was joking. it was setting

the stage for a miraculous rescue. >> the kids pulled the seven foot one 300 pounder to safety. or rather, he just kind of stood up on his own. seven kids couldn't get him out of the pool. >> finally, talk about making an entrance. >> a player for the new york jets showed up at training camp shirtless, carrying a bat wrapped in barbed wire. the jets are the subject of the hard knocks documentary on hbo, so maybe michael clemens was playing for the cameras. or maybe he's a fan of negan from the walking dead. >> i'd say so. >> top headlines coming up next >> top headlines coming up next . martial arts is my passion. i work out whenever i can. but with my moderate- to-severe eczema, it can be tough. now, i'm staying ahead of it. dupixent helps heal your skin from within. so you can have clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor.

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. reggie: a stunn announcement from the antioch chief of police. even ford says he is going to retire. the news comes days before he is due in court to testify about the department's racist text message scandal. >> no minor should not have to be zip tied on the street, treated like an animal, without calling their parents. kumasi: criticism over san francisco