making news in america this morning, temporary cease-fire. the air strikes stopped in the middle east for now. live in the region with the overnight developments. growing concern, western wildfires burning through bone-dry communities. one forbesing a major highway closed. a car ends up like this under a semi and he survives. >> by the grace of god i made it through. >> quick-thinking move that saved his life. sports' big night. the winners of the espys and two emotional speeches everyone is talking about.

well, good thursday morning to you. we begin with a brief cease-fire happening in the middle east. >> the air strikes have stopped for the time being to allow for humanitarian aid into gaza. this follows quite an emotional day yesterday. cameras captured young palestinian boys running away from shelling on a gaza beach. moments later an air strike rocked the entire area. >> alex marquardt was just 100 yards away. four boys ageses 9 to 11 were killed. the israeli military said it launched the strike aimed at hamas militants and called the boys' death a tragic outcome. >> right now the five-hour truce is under way. here's a live look in gaza right now. the question, though, remains. will this truce open the door to for a permanent cease-fire. >> hamish macdonald is live in tel aviv with the latest. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning to you. well, at the moment i can tell you the cease-fire is holding so far. it went into force at 10:00 a.m.

local time and it will last until 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. clearly the pressure is on hamas not to fire any rockets during that period. israel is saying that if rockets are fired then it will respond forcefully. in the last few hours israel says it has attacked and killed a number of hamas militants using underground tunnels to effectively infiltrate israel. but, of course, really today the focus is on the aftermath of the killing of those four boys on the beach in gaza city. they were playing football. an initial strike came in, sent some of the boys running then another two and second and third strike came in killing the four boys. foreign journalists were there just by their hotel. many were left to help rescue and assisted the injured boys but clearly this is focusing the minds of leaders this israel and gaza and internationally to try to get a cease-fire to stick. this cease-fire is just for

humanitarian purposes. what's needed is something that will last much longer and end the fighting. >> hamish, what role is the obama administration playing in all this right now? does the u.s. have any influence at this point? >> reporter: well, it's difficult to tell who has any influence. the problem is in the past egypt has been able to negotiate or broker cease-fires between israel and hamas but there's a new government in egypt, the new leader is no fan of hamas because of its linkages with the muslim brotherhood and designated them a terrorist organization so egypt hasn't been shown to leverage over hamas and bring them to the table for a cease-fire. the united states is certainly putting pressure on for that to happen. we know that hamas seems to be more engaged in talking about a cease-fire this time. but there's a big splinter between the political and military leadership of hamas. >> we're certainly watching this closely.

abc's hamish macdonald live in tel aviv, thanks so much, hamish. a palestinian-american teenager allegedly beaten by israeli police returned home. tariq abu arrived two weeks after the incident. tariq told the crowd he'll never think about freedom in the same way and said no child whether palestinian or israeli deserves to die. now to another foreign policy crisis facing the white house. president obama is sending a strong message to russia over its continued support of militants in the ukraine. mr. obama announced a series of new economic sanctions. >> we're freezing the assets of several russian defense companies and we are blocking new financing of some of russia's most important banks and energy companies. >> russian president putin appeared to brush off the new sanctions sighiaying the white e was hurting american companies.

six western states are battling wildfires with hundreds of homes in danger. one fire in washington doubled in size in a few hours cutting off a major highway that may be needed for evacuations. smoke from that fire could be seen in downtown seattle. a state of emergency has been declared for 20 eastern washington counties. meanwhile, a brush fire north of reno, nevada practically doubled in size in just a few hours overnight. 20% contained thanks to the use of air tankers and helicopters and hard-working firefighters there on the ground. thankfully, though, no homes are threatened. well, much of southern colorado is sopping wet this morning battered by relentless line of powerful thunderstorms. creeks overflowed and sent water through the streets of colorado springs. driver couldn't get home after a major highway and other flooded roads were shut down. the water rose so fast a null of people had to be rescued interest their cars. streets also turned into raging rapids in parts of new england. intersections in southern massachusetts filled up so much

water, cars and low-lying areas could barely get by. by all that water is receding as the northeast gets a break from the rain. time now for the weather across the nation. the heaviest weather will be in texas and surrounding states particularly in dallas/ft. worth and florida will also have rain and some of the sierras. it will be cooler than usual in the northeast and chilly this morning, most of the country will see moderate temperatures and low humidity. army sergeant bowe bergdahl is breaking his size for the first time since he was released bring his taliban captors speaking through his lawyer, the former p.o.w. says he's grateful to president obama for saving his livment. the lawyer says bergdahl is eager to leave the military but officials said they put his status on hold while the investigation continues. he wouldn't comment on why bergdahl refused to meet with his parents. meanwhile, new jersey governor chris christie is heading to iowa f a seriesf republican fund-raisers. christie says his visit is part

of his role as chairman of the governors association and not a prelude to a possible presidential run in 2016. his summer travel schedule is feeding speculation about his presidential ambitions and plans to visit at least 12 other states in july and august alone. well, lots of cheers and tears at last night's espy awards. the most emotional when michael sam received the arthur ashe award. >> he came out publicly as gay and became the nfl's first openly gay player and got emotional during his speech thanking everyone in his life for their unwavering support. >> to anyone out there especially young people, they don't -- feeling like they don't knit in and will never be accepted this, please know this. great things -- i'm sorry -- great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself. thank you and god bless.

>> sam got lots of hugs on his way to the stage including one from our own robin roberts who ef haved the same courage award last year. she'll have more on last night's ceremony later on "good morning america." look forward to that. robin always looks good. coming up, "forbes" is out with its most valuable sports team. the top three aren't even american. >> a deadly chase that started as a bank robbery. stuck at sea. passengers are plucked off a casino boat that ran aground. hear what they're saying this morning following the rescue.

general motors executives will be back on capitol hill in the hot seat today. a senate panel wants to know how the automaker kept a deadly defect hidden for years. the problem occurs when a heavy key ring hits the faulty ignition switch so gm has full page ads in all major newspapers today telling customers to use just a single key. meanwhile, bmw is recalling some of its most popular models. three sedans made between 2000 and 2006. their air bags could explode in some circumstances and involves 1.6 million cars worldwide. but a third of those here in the u.s. well, the ax may fall on microsoft. as many as 12,000 employees will be laid off. the most in the company's history by far. the cuts are probably the result of microsoft's ago which division of nokia's handset unit. the most of the jobs are likely to be in the areas that overlap. the new microsoft co has

promised to make the company more efficient and competitive. well, international soccer cl clubs tops "forbes" list. real madrid is number one worth $3.4 billion. for american teams, yankees, dodgers and cowboys in the top, all worth $2 billion or more. warren buffett's annual charitable giving has reached the highest level ever, $2.8 billion. most to the bill and melinda gates foundation. it was shares of his stock and his company berkshire hathaway holding company. when we come back, caught in the act. a couple is spotted taking something from the museum. what makes the heist so unusual. movie star, the rock, posted this image on instagram. can you tell why it went so viral so quickly? i had this chronic, deep ache all over.

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much of texas is bracing for another day of severe weather after a terrifying lightning storm. a bolt hit an oak tree in houston last night and knocked four people to the ground sending all of them to the hospital. drivers this houston and most of the rest of texas should watch for flooding today. roads will be wet for that entire region and also in florida. if you're flying airport delays are possible in dallas. well, a hostage and two bank robbers are dead after a very dramatic gun battle in stockton, california, overnight. >> three sped off in a stolen suv with three hostages leading police on a 45-minute high-speed chase. two of the women taken at gunpoint both survived after they were shot and thrown from the suv during the chase. police say a third woman, a bank customer, was used as a human shield and killed during the shootout but it's not clear who shot her. >> what is clear is that these gunmen were trying to kill people with their firearms and

put our entire community and nearby communities at risk for a very long time. >> police cars, the getaway cars and homes were riddled with bullets and one officer said he never saw anything like it in his 18 years on the job. the coast guard called off the search for a man who never returned. john petty was last seen sunday along with seven other divers part of a commercial shark diving venture near bahama island after covering 4600 square mile, search crews were only able to find dive gear but no sign of petty. after spending 16 hours stuck at sea passengers stranded on a casino boat are back on dry land this morning. the "escapade" was making its maiden voyage when it hit a sandbar and ran aground off the coast of georgia tuesday night. passengers did have food and drinks along with air-conditioning but some say they were not ideal conditions in part because the boat was listing sideways.

>> it was hot and it was frustrating. >> we had to lean like this to go to the bathroom. >> i'm ready to go home and take a long, hot bath. it's been like 0 hours. >> still unclear why the three-story boat went aground and so far the company that owns the "escapade" is not commenting. tennessee police were sure they were going to find a corpse after a crash yesterday. a honda hit the side of a tractor trailer shearing off its top. no one seriously hurt. the driver ducked but his seat belt almost didn't let him. >> get off to get down as low as i could hoping i was going to make through it. >> if you look at the vehicle and you really wonder how this guy escaped alive. >> so true. she calls it a miracle. the police department often handles similar wrecks but rarely with one as good of an outcome. well, police in north carolina are looking for a pair of museum thieves who were kruth on camera. it shows a man and woman taking a duck billed dine sure acceptly

ka in raleigh. the stolen dinosaur model is worth about $10,000. making the theft a felony. how about that? all right. and a giant lobster is getting a stay of execution. this 18-pounder named luke spent the last three weeks in a massachusetts fish market but the owner has decided to release it back into the ocean this weekend. he estimates the lobster is about 75 years old but this isn't the biggest lobster ever caught off the bay state. the lobstermen's association claims one was more than 37 pounds back in 1974. >> suddenly i'm hungry for lobster. as we mentioned the best in the sports world were honored last night at the espy awards. >> with that, we turn to our friends at espn. >> welcome to "sportscenter." lance stephenson made waves with his game, as well as antics. now a play from michael jordan.

ho you about that. stephenson, the former pacer guard signs a $27 million deal for m.j.'s team. indiana offered him a contract but thought the offer undervalued him. he'll be done with three years and get another payday after that. lakers gm mitch cup crack and jim buss met with byron scott to discuss l.a.'s coaching vacancy. scotton three titles with a showtime lakers in the '80s as a coach. yet to win a ring and took the nets to the finals twice. this will be his third interview for the job. one more note from the espy awards. >> stuart scott was given the jimmy v. award. he has been battling cancer for seven years and his message brought tears to everyone in the audience. >> when you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. you beat cancer by how you live,

why you live and in the manner in which you live. [ applause ] >> you see right there a big applause from our robin roberts at the end of his speech. scott asked his 14-year-old daughter to come on stage for a big hug. what an emotional moment. >> so many great moments last night there. it's a great event. well, up next in "the pulse," weird al is back with another must see video. the hit song in his sights right now. meet the photographer who claims he invented the selfie decades ago. d i have copd. i'm k-a-t-e and i have copd, but i don't want my breathing problems to get in the way my volunteering. that's why i asked my doctor about b-r-e-o. once-daily breo ellipta helps increase airflow from the lungs for a full 24 hours. and breo helps reduce symptom flare-ups that last several days and require oral steroids, antibiotics, or hospital stay. breo is not for asthma. breo contains a type of medicine

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hilarious. a sport on lorde's megahit "royals." ♪ i just like to keep all my flavors sealed in tight with aluminum foil never settle for less ♪ ♪ that kind of wrap is just the best to keep your sandwich nice and fresh stick it in your cooler ♪ >> absolutely love that. the video shifts to the illuminati and the plan to take over the word. eight. this is two of eight. >> long time coming. glad to see him back at it. i guess you have to find something that rhymes with royal so foil was a must do. recognize this person? take a look. dwayne johnson, the rock. he sent this out to his fans and reads fannie pack take it to a whole other level. >> almost unrecognizable. back then he had hair, a

turtleneck and gold chain. he is busy promoting his new film which he plays hercules and talking to warner brothers about playing a superhero. we thought that might have been airbrushed, it just is so wild. >> i thought it was photo shopped like a totally different person. i don't understand why they do throwback thursday and put an old image. i've hidden all my images. selfies are here to stay. millions of us taking pictures of us every day. >> who actually started the craze? a longtime cameraman based in los angeles says he thinks he's the one. he claims he took the first ever selfie with humorist art buchwald back in 1981 and snapped dozens more with other celebrities. >> he doesn't claim credit here for the term selfie. he says his snaps are really silly shots but he says his term didn't really catch on. >> i like the fact there's a selfie with ronald reagan. just seems like two totally not

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tide, downy, and bounce. official products of the national sleep foundation. checking our top stories, a brief cease-fire got under way between israel and hamas so that civilians in gaza can restock food, water and other 134ris. the u.s. hopes it will become long time. one of the longest running wildfis is the fastest growing doubling in size and smoke could be seen all the way in seattle. more flooding is expected across southern colorado. an area already soaked by days of thunderstorms. floodwaters gushed through the streets of colorado springs last night shutting down roads and trapping drivers. today's weather, a little cool but dry in the east and most of the south. heavy rain in the west and texas. mild and mostly dry in the west. and finally this morning a fire has destroyed the home of an indiana family but they aren't all that upset. >> that's because this story's

ending would have been so much worse had it not been for the family dog. drew smith has details. >> reporter: it's a face only a mother could love. >> he's very sweet. >> reporter: yes, you heard right. a sweet pit bull. >> he's very happy dog. >> reporter: how's that? a happy pit bull? >> they're family dogs. they really are. it's not the dog. it's the hand that's raising him. >> reporter: and thanks to this family pit bull, 13-year-old nick lamm is alive and well. >> thank god for ace. >> reporter: nick is deaf and uses cochlear implants to hear. when the house caught fire he wasn't wearing his implants. he couldn't hear the smoke alarms but guess who did. >> he woke me up by lick my face. >> reporter: yep, ace became a first responder. >> reporter: a firefighter said it saved my life. >> reporter: he belongs to a breed that doesn't have the best reputation. however tonight this pit bull is

literally a life saver. >> the fact that he knew something was wrong because you couldn't smell that much smoke and he was in my room with me, you know, the door was shut so he couldn't get out. >> reporter: with ace taking action nick and his best friend for life got out safely. >> i smelled smoke. i thought pore a second someone was home and they were -- they did something wrong cooking and then i went downstairs and the whole house is covered in smoke. i covered my face like this and then we went out the back. >> reporter: ace didn't want to bark about his bravery like all true heroes, he just acted like it was all in a day's work. he's not expecting a reward, but he's going to get one. >> and he's going to get a lot of treats. >> i love that story. dogs are like members of the family of the i want to get one because i think my husband would sleep through a pyre. >> another selling point. a fail-safe fire detector. what a great story tore those guys to be well. >> that's what's making news in

herc this morning. have a good one. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live from the abc~7 broadcast center, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> a controversial new law is now in effect in the district. coming up what police are handing out today as small amount of marijuana become decriminalized. >> happening right now, a few precious hours of peace. why the rocket fire in the middle east is on hold this morning. good morning, washington, dc. >> happy to have you with us at 4:30 on this thursday morning and boy it feels good as you head out the door. jacqui has more on this nice change. >> who left the windows open last night? anybody? it felt so good to get that refreshing breeze back in here feeling a little bit more like fall in spots, but there's a little lingering cloud cover