this morning on "world news now" -- the president lashing out, blasting the russia investigation on twitter. even taking aim at hillary clinton. more than 200 days after the election. all of this in the wake of a report that he is under investigation. meantime, a different sort of emotion across town. as congress comes together to play ball. >> doctors making a stunning revelation, american student who returned home days ago, after being imprisoned in north korea has extensive brain damage as his father speaks out showing raw emotion wearing the jacket his son wore to defend himself. >> new this half-hour, the investigation into what caused a blimp to burst into flames near the u.s. open. >> golfers and spectators couldn't believe their eyes as the blimp literally fell from the sky in a ball of fire. >> jay-z is back on twitter. possibly maybe, somewhat under the influence.

and thanking every rapper that he knows. why? because he is the first hip-hop artist given an honor so big even former president barack obama sent him his praises. we're going to tell you what it is all about in "the skinny" on this friday, june 16th. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." just under the influence, he was celebratory. >> celebratory, thanking everybody. >> he wasn't drunk tweeting for pnon there is, there 'tis well not that it is justified. >> not that it was drunk tweeting. not judging. >> no judgment. >> many, many games. get to that in "the skinny." >> we'll explain. >> start this half-hour with orm.ident trump's latest tweet jay-z had a tweet storm. the president felt left out

figured i will go on a tweet storm. this time. >> this is his habit. >> yes, the president was the original tweet stormer. >> this time complaining abut his democratic opponent seven months. after election day. >> the president lashing out following a report he was being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. tweeting, why is it that hillary clinton's family and democrats dealing with russia are not looked at. my nondealings are. >> as a special counsel advances, vice president mike pence has hired a personal lawyer to represent him on all things russia. that's new overnight. and we get latest though from abc cecelia vega. >> reporter: inside the white house president trump ignored questions about the bombshell report he is under investigation for obstruction of justice. >> mr. president, do you believe that you are under investigation now? >> but he lashed out on twitter. calling it a phony story, saying, you are witnessing the single greatest witch-hunt in

american political history. led by some very bad and conflicted people. the white house tight-lipped refusing to say who those bad and conflicted people are. but "the washington post" report that the president himself is now the subject of special counsel robert mueller's investigation comes as a major turning point in the russia probe. a key question -- did the president fire former fbi director james comey because of the russia investigation? comey says, yes. >> i was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change the way russia investigation was being conducted. that is a very big deal. >> now it is no longer just he said/he said. investigators are looking into whether the president repeated something he did with comey. telling all government officials to clear out of a white house meeting so he could be alone with cia director mike pompeo, and director of national intelligence, dan coats. there the president reportedly asked coats to intervene in the investigation into fired national security adviser mike

flynn. during his testimony on capitol hill, coats refused to answer most questions but said he never was pressured to intervene. >> confidential conversations between the president and myself. i don't believe it's appropriate for me to address that in a public session. >> the president also reportedly called coats and nsa director admiral mike rogers and asked them to publicly declare there was no collusion with rush yeah. they refused. the former deputy wrote a memo at the time documenting the phone call. and now the special counsel investigators want to talk to all three men. and with these questions swirling, the president its still tweeting. hammering hillary clinton the democrats and what he calls that phony story. and word now that like president trump, vice president mike pence has hired his own personal legal team to answer all special counsel related inquiries. his name is richard cohen,

vice president's office tells us the vice president looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter. cecelia vega, the white house. >> from the white house, the president head to miami to announce plans to reverse course on cuba. the president is rolling back some of the changes president obama made when he restored diplomatic ties with the island. the current administration's revised policy will make it harder for americans to travel to cuba. and restrict businesses, business between u.s. and cuban companies, many of them owned by the military. the u.s. embassy will remain and americans will be allowed to bring back cigars and rum. so, the important part there as far as cigars and rum. >> really? >> you're right. >> rum is still going to be okay. >> okay. >> sorry correction. >> thank you for the breaking news headline. >> you bet. >> unity the theme of the night at annual congressional baseball game. >> democrats and republicans

gathered at second base to pray for the victims of course of wednesday's attack during a republican practice. representative steve scalise remains in critical condition this morning. and lobbyist matt mika still hospitalized. capitol police officer, a great moment, david bailey, who was also injured in the attack received a heroes welcome as he threw out that first pitch. >> great to see so much of us coming together around this event. first daughter ivanka trump among the crowd of 25,000 people. that is a record. in the president's video message he said despite disagreements. americans are unified by their love for the country. >> and more than ever, we must embrace it, so that on this special night, i leave you with three great american words, that for generations have torn down barriers, built bridges of unity, and defied those who have sought to pull us apart. ladies and gentlemen, let's play ball! >> during the game, teddy

although some said he cut the last corner. >> he kind of did. we should mention democrats won the game. but teddy usually loses. that is a big deal for teddy to win. >> giddy up in his gallop. >> the democrats won. so they hold the record for the series so far. but they gave the trophy to the republicans, so that it can be kept in congressman steve scalise's office. great tribute. >> very touching tribute. of course, a lot of prayers are going up for representative scalise. hospital official says he will require, more operations during his recovery. and he is expected to be hospitalized for quite some time. >> investigators say the guns used in wednesday morning's attack were purchased legally. they say james hodgkinson obtained his rifle and a handgun from licensed firearms dealers. and during an emotional appearance, his widow, says that she had no idea he would attack republican lawmakers. >> just unimaginable.

inmates recaptured. the two taken into custody in tennessee last night. not far from nashville. as they allegedly tried to steal another car. officials say the pair escaped from a prison bus in georgia earlier in the week by killing two guards. >> the father of the american college student released by north korea says his family feels relief and anger. otto warmbier in a coma. he has severe brain damage. his dad says relatives are trying to cope. here is maggie rulie. wearing the same jacket his son wore, while being in tear gatd in north korea, otto warmbill. er's father speaks for the first time since otto came home. >> we went for 15 months without a word from, or about, otto. >> reporter: they learned just last week that their son has been in a coma for more than a year.

>> there is severe injury to all regions of the brain. but because of the family's sensitivity we are going to refrain from discussing what that, the future holds for him. >> north korea is a pariah regime they're brutal and they're terroristic we don't believe anything they say. >> for 18 months the 22-year-old was held prisoner in north korea. sentenced to 15 years hard labor for allegedly trying to steal a political poster from his hotel. >> i have made the worst mistake of my life. >> warmbier's release comes after secret talks between top officials in norway. >> we received a nice phone call from president trump. warmbier's father credits the current administration for his son's release. north korea says they let him go for humanitarian reasons. warmbier's father pleaded for the release of the three other americans still being detained in north korea. maggie rulli, abc news, new york. >> the l.a. police department ordered a full review of teen cadet program after three cadets

they let officers on wild chases through city. two vehicles crashed. third recovered. all three teens aged 15 to 17, have been arrested. >> woops. how many teens can put, building a roller coaster on to their list of hobbies. >> let's look at something positive in the teen market. 19-year-old, jackson crossno of georgia finished his labor of love this year. took him five years to build the roller coaster in his backyard. >> he calls it white mountain railroad and said he wanted to copy the walt the disney imagineering process. based on a logging company turned into a tourist attracts. >> maybe somebody will turn his backyard into a tourist atraction. >> in "the skinny," lebron james loses his crown and his hair. wait till you see what his new do looks like. and who was throwing shade at him. >> the shocking scene in the

over the u.s. open. a blimp explodes and burns to the ground. what we are learning about the pilot. you are watching "world news now". blimp exploedes and burns to the ground. what we are learning about the pilot. you are watching "world news now".

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if you've got a life, you gotta swiffer now to midair disaster nr

wisconsin involving a blimp. >> the blimp deflated and plummeted to the ground in the fiery crash and was caught on camera. abc's alex perez with the latest. >> reporter: investigators working to figure out what caused this fiery blimp crash. the multiple explosions caught on camera by fox sports. during the opening round of the u.s. open golf tournament in wisconsin. >> oh, there it goes! >> reporter: the blimp deflating then plummeting to the ground in front of thousand of fans. >> they're both saying oh my god something you would be seeing on tv. then as you seen it going down. they said the major explosions when you realize there is probably some one in there. >> that's the blimp not. good. >> rescue teams quickly rushing to the scene. >> we have a blimp down. manned aircraft down. >> the pilot going down with the blimp.

>> he is in our car, he is injured. >> pulling him from the wreckage in time before the explosions. >> we have a 200 pound male patient, 40% burns on his back. >> the pilot carried off on a stretcher and into a awaiting medevac chopper. the owner of the blimp, air sign, telling abc news they don't know what caused the crash but it happened shortly after the blimp refueled. the pilot is being treated for burns but his injuries are not life threatening. the ntsb investigating the crash. alex perez, abc new, hartford, wisconsin. >> coming up. barack obama showering his friend, jay-z with praise in a special message overnight. >> the bat signal over los angeles. "the skinny" is next. ♪ or suffer excess mucus? left untreated mucus can build up causing further problems. treat mucus buildup early with #1 doctor recommended mucinex 12 hour. the bi-layer tablet immediately releases to thin and loosen excess mucus and lasts for 12 hours. learn more at mucinex.com treat excess mucus with mucinex 12 hour

d enjoy living well.

♪ ♪ skinny so skinny >> okay. kicking off "the skinny" with the newest inductee into the

songwriter's hall of fame. >> for the first time ever, a rapper made it in. so who might be the first hip-hop artist to be honored? >> let me reintroduce myself. >> h to the izzov to the. >> jay-z, mr. sean carter, congratulations to you. >> to celebrate, jay made an rare appearance on twitter. jay receiving heartfelt message from his bro. >> bro. >> look all of you i am a fan. listening to jay since i was a young and hungry state senator. so i am pretty sure i am still the only president to listen to jay-z's office in the oval office. that may chae

pretty sure that is true now. >> what? we don't think president trump is into the man? >> after the concert, hillary was running for president. just saying. but in the video, obama mentioned he and jay-z both have wives who are significantly more popular than them. >> speaking of his wife. all eyes are on beyonce. rumors swirl about her birth. many fans convinced she is giving birth to their twins at l.a. hospital. so far no official word. only rumors. >> allowed to show that picture on tv. i apologize. >> have you seen our show? ybe due soon.child birth.. >> think? >> lebron james keeping his head up. >> i am on the same team as lebron james. of course not for basketball or any other team for that matt

>> of course you look exactly the same. >> twinsies. >> lebron saying good-bye to the receding hairline, which was not cute. and, yeah, posting this video with the caption, bald head. >> okay, lebron. added hash tags. hear i am praying on my downfall. funny at the precise time, lebron posted the video a party was going on. >> yeah, this party. one that, he was not invited to. the golden state warriors celebrating their nba championship win with the parade in downtown oakland. and check out this shade. thrown at -- at the cavaliers from draymond green, the t-shirt, nba trophy and quickie. quicken loans arena. the fact that they kept the trophy for one year because the warriors took it back. >> but not rubbing it in that much. >> no. >> lebron has three rings i think. how many do those? cavs players have? >> those, warriors? >> yeah, exactly.

>> all right, thanks, jack. overnight in los angeles, caped crusader summoned. >> this was so cool. >> really the bat signal there. shining on to the los angeles city hall in honor of the original, the only batman, really, adam west who passed away last weekend. that is the old school logo as well. >> thousands of fans were there to pay tribute to west. >> fitting tribute. >> many while on the other side of town, the light night was busy keeping streets safer or something like that. >> this is not adam west. this is jaden smith. >> oh, son to will and jada. has a new song out. he sings. called batman. acompanying video of him. there. >> we have seen, about town, getting more mileage out of his white batman suit he wore to kim and kanye's wedding. the outfit, yes, the song? i'm feeling it. >> not that bad. >> liked it better when drake and future did it.

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♪ we are wrapping up a week of headlines that started with a somber anniversary and ended with calls for unity in washington, d.c. >> yeah, certainly bittersweet. there was room for sports victories, and strawberry shortcake. here now is our weekly friday rewind. ♪ seasons of love >> 365 days after one act of hate and the darkest night in the city of orlando. ceremonies honoring the victims and survivors going on more than 24 hours across the city. and the day was deemed orlando united day with the under lying message to spread love and

a raging inferno high above london. flames shooting from an apartment complex. >> smoldering. absolutely blackened. there are still flames up there. down on the ground, police are actually screaming, get back. >> attorney general jeff sessions in the hot seat. sessions defiant, recused himself from the russian investigation from the start because he was on the trump campaign. >> i recused myself from any investigation into the campaign for president. but i did not recuse myself from defending my honor against scurilous and false allegations. >> this is an abc news special report. >> we are coming on the air right now, there are early reports of a shooting at a park in alexandria, virginia where members of congress were playing baseball. >> 66-year-old, james t. hodgkinson opened fire on the players apparently deliberating targeting the gop. six injured including congress

critical condition. >> a violent tornado caught on camera. >> oh, no! >> the twister touching down in southern wyoming tearing apart a barn and ripping the roof off a home. >> there it is! redemption for golden state. >> golden state warriors for the second time in three years have defeated the cleveland cavaliers to take the nba championship. >> time now for the mix. kendis, you enjoying the strawberry shortcake. no butter in this, right. >> strawberry shortcake. >> shortcake part doesn't refer to diet? >> no. >> like shorter version of cake? >> yes. no? >> ha-ha. >> there is not a lot going on up here. especially with these hours. >> it's been a long week. and you know while we have had some of the hardest stories to hear, some celebrations as well. >> we have big things in the next week. father's day. take your dog to work day. fun times ahead. >> enjoy it. >> enjoy it.

[000:27:58;00] making news in america this morning, republicans and democrats taking to the field coming together after the shooting rampage during practice. the first pitch by one of the capitol police heroes. there it is. the accused shooter's wife speaking out. more trouble for the president's inner circle. the new report about jared kushner being under investigation. and the new attack from the president aimed at hillary clinton. plus, what he's expected to announce today about u.s. relations with cuba. breaking overnight, captured. the escaped inmates accused of killing prison guards back in cuss dichlt how they were found. a blimp falling out of the sky not far from the u.s. open golf tournament. the fireball after it crashed and an update on the pilot's