making news in america this morning, crisis in iraq. insur generals now have the country's largest oil refinery surrounded as the battle takes shape in washington over an american response. wild weather. another round of severe storms overnight spawning tornadoes and damaging wind. plus, a late spring heat wave with triple dimming it? s for some people today. road to recovery. a decorated olympian showing signs of improvement after an atc crash. >> it was one of those things where i looked at my husband and basically said, i love you, good-bye. >> the emotional farewell to her husband and the x-rays showing her injuries. and hot pursuit. the wild police chase that turned a fairway into a speedway.

good thursday morning to you. the crisis unfolding in iraq is turning into a politically delicate situation in washington this morning. >> president obama and congressional leaders say the administration doesn't need approval to take military action. setting up a potential clash between the white house and congress. >> abc's tahman bradley is live in washington with the latest. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: devin and reena, good morning. the militants have reached iraq's oil fields raising the stakes more. now the iraqi government has asked the united states for help. in iraq, the militants have the momentum, city after city is falling and now struck at the heart of the country's economy, iraq's biggest oil refinery is on the verge of falling into the hands of the militants if it sees it has the ability to control the sale of gasoline and cut power across the country. >> it raised extremist flags and

triggers in me the same thing that runs through the mind of any veteran that served there which is bitter disappointment. >> reporter: president obama is weighing options. he's considering ordering special forces troops to help advise iraqi forces and not ruled out small limited air strikes. leaders of the house and senate meeting with the president wednesday at the white house say they do not think those options require congressional authorization. but some rank and file members may disagree. president obama ruled out sending in u.s. combat troops. >> we have done everything we could to help them, but it's up to the iraqis. >> reporter: as the chaos in iraq worsens some republicans are blasting president obama's foreign policy in a bliss tering "wall street journal" op-ed former vice president dick cheney writes rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many". the white house's response. >> which president was he talking about? [ laughter ] >> reporter: intelligence agencies are trying to identify

possible targets for limited air strikes if that's the route the president decides to go. reena and devin. >> tahman live in washington, thank you so much. the crisis in iraq is beginning to have an impact at home. gas prices in the u.s. have soared to a six-year high for this time of year. the average national price for a gallon of gas is now $3.67. that's still well low the record set in july 2008 when it topped $4 a gallon. analysts don't expect bryces to drop any time soon. the libyan man thought to be the mastermind of the attack of the u.s. consulate in benghazi apparently planned other attacks. the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. defended the secret mission to cap our abu khatallah. calling it in he to prevent those alleged attacks khatallah is expected to arrive in the u.s. in the coming days to face trial in washington, d.c. people in parts of south dakota are waking up to a huge mess this morning after getting slammed by a powerful line of storms. this massive tornado touched down about 8:00 last night

separating into two before merging back into one. another twister swept into the north slicing through the heart of wessington springs and destroyed more than a dozen homes and businesses. >> it was loud. the wind that kept going. we were hearing glass that was crashing. i mean, we were hearing things hitting the house. it was just this loud whirling noise that's so eerie to hear ha. >> two people were injured and the national guard called in to help. and summer still two days away but the heat is on. washington, d.c. was the hot spot yesterday. temperatures there climbed well into the 90s driving people to water fountains to cool off. more of the same on the way today. accuweather meteorologist jim dickey has a forecast. >> good morning, devin and reena. keeping it mild across the south and east. a good many spots in the 90s. when you factor in the humidity it will feel like it's in the triple dinl it? s from the mississippi valley into the mid-atlantic now in the mid-atlantic and northeast,

though, the scene is starting to break down. it will bring widespread thunderstorms and d.c., baltimore, across the delmarva peninsula, another round of severe storms across the midwest and plain, as well, gusty wind, large hail and flash flooding. devin and reena, back to you. >> today republicans in the house will vote to elect a new majority leader. eric cantor is stepping down after being beaten in his primary last week. kevin mccarthy of california appears likely to win the post. family and friends of a firefighter who vanished in southern california are holding out hope this morning. michael herdman was last seen friday night chasing after his dog during a backpacking trip. search teams spotted a dog matching the description of herdman's dog duke but still no sign of his owner. herdman was supposed to return home to his wife and 6-year-old daughter on father's day. an 89-year-old philadelphia man faces possible extradition to germany on charges he helped kill thousands of jewish men, women and children at a nazi

death camp. johan hans breyer has been under investigation for years. he has admitted he was a concentration camp guard but says he had nothing to do with mass killings. in spain, they're greeting a new king after an extraordinary transfer of power. king juan carlos stepped down after four decades on the throne handing over the royal sash to his 46-year-old u.s. educated son filipe of the his wife is a former journalist and commoner. they have two young daughters. juan carlos said he wanted to let younger blood help rally the country out of economic doldrums. and speaking of spain plenty of criticism of its national soccer team. the defending world cup champions were defeated by chile yesterday, 2-0. it was spain's second loss of the tournament and means they have no chance of advancing. spain finishes the world cup campaign monday with a meaningless match against australia. and before that match in

rio, about 100 chilean fans without tickets busted into the stadium and brown down the wall of a media room. they were trying to get into the stands but failed. security corralled them all into one area. they were arrested there. they're waking up this morning in jail and will be deported. i hope it was worth it. >> i hope so too. still ahead a dominating performance. the late night no-hitter from one of the best pitchers in baseball. mounting disapproval for one of the nfl's most established brands. the major ruling handed down against the redskins over their name. plus, from the classroom to the courtroom, a fourth grader sues his classmate for bullying.

it's being called a game changer. online giant amazon unveiled its new smartphone called the fire and it has four extra cameras. they read where your face is to give you a 3d effect on the screen. another feature is just the ability to recognize just about everything it's looking at. uses the camera to do that or even hearing it and puts those items directly in your amazon shopping cart. more vehicles are under investigation for ignition problems but it's not gm this time. regulators are look at 700,000 chrysler cars that could have the same problem as millions of gm vehicles. it involves the dodge grand caravan and journey and chrysler found and country. meanwhile, gm's ceo mary barra was on capitol hill defending the results of the internal gm investigation of its long delayed recall of millions of vehicles with ignition problems. their defects are linked to at least 13 deaths but house lawmakers were skeptical asking

if the changes barra made to the company have really made any difference. a vehicle with a unique place in american culture could soon be getting a makeover. when you think of harley-davidson, the words powerful, big and loud come to mind but this is what one hog may soon sound like. listen to this. >> that's right. pretty quiet. the usual rumble of a gas-powered bike can gone there. harley-davidson released this overnight. it likely means the announcement of an electric-powered motorcycle. what are you having for breakfa breakfast? new study about how popular bacon is. 1.1 million servings were eaten in april. that's just 6% more than the previous year. the experts say an overwhelming majority is pork bacon but other varieties are gaining popularity. all right. when we come back, a scare in the air.

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and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save. hassle, time, paperwork, hair-tearing out, and, yes, especially dollars. esurance. insurance for the modern world. now backed by allstate. click or call. people in western new york are recovering from a violent storm that knocked out power to thousands. utility poles in the rochester area crashed to the ground and burst into flames. trees snapped under powerful winds but no electricity many businesses were forced to shut down. some restaurants had to throw out their food. a much drier commute for upstate new york and new england. wet roads from western pennsylvania to the mid-atlantic coast also slick at times from the ohio valley to kansas. and thunderstorms make for a slippery ride along the gulf coast. if you're flying today weather-related airport delays are expected in minneapolis and kansas city. the management of the

washington redskins is wasting no time fighting a ruing by the u.s. patent office. the team is appealing a decision that calls the redskins' name disparaging of native americans. >> the patent office also says the team should be stripped of its trademark protection which could potentially enable anyone to make and sell redskins merchandise. the court fight over the name could take years. the team's owner has vowed to never change the name. a case of school yard bullying is going to court. in illinois mom and dad have filed a lawsuit on behalf of their fourth grade son against a classmate who bullied him all year and names the school [, the principal and the parents. the family says the attacks escalated from spitting, hitting and kicking to threats on the boy's life. >> one time he was choking him and told him he was going to go home and get a knife and come back and tab him until he was dead. >> the boy's parents say he was so afraid when he goes to school that it's a distraction from learning. they're suing for damages but

say they hope the lawsuit will help change the school's policies about bullying. a southwest airline flight in tampa was forced back into the airport after it struck a flock of birds. an airport spokesman said it caused an unusual amount of damage to the plane's left wing and the pilots opted for the emergency landing. none of the passengers were injured. they were booked on another flight to houston. and this from los angeles. a car dangling dangerously out of a four-story garage. it crashed through a protective railing and was hanging over the side. the driver was pulled out safely. no injuries and the car was towed back inside. the tap water in one california community is catching fire. the water in a mobile home park is so contaminated with methane, residents have had to avoid open flames. six years ago methane caused a toilet to explode and destroy a home there. scrubbers were installed in the well to remove it but the system failed in may. residents had a petition to get the state to have those scrubbers replaced. officials say new parts are on

the way. olympian amy van dyken continues to inspire after an atv accident left her paralyzed. she arrived in denver after spending 12 days in a hospital. van dyken severed her spinal cord and broke several ribs in that accident. she recalls the message she gave her husband just before being wheeled in for a possible life-ending surgery. >> and so it was one of those things where i looked at my husband and basically said, i love you, good-bye, you know, please continue on with your life. i allow you to date, which was hard to say, but we said our good-byes so, yes, this injury sucks and, yes, things hurt, but i'm alive. >> van dyken has been very active on social media about her injuries. tuesday she tweeted this image of her fractured spine and the pins holding it together. all right. a nice event last night in washington for a great cause. former congresswoman gabby

giffords threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the annual women's congressional softball game. >> the ball she used was signed by players two years ago after she was wounded when the game was dedicated to her. a team of lawmakers defeated the women's media team, unfortunately, 10-5. the event raised $150,000 for a breast cancer charity event. there are three more matches at the world cup today. >> that's right. they include a must win showdown between england and uruguay. a second loss for either team will likely end their hopes. >> there's world cup in our highlights but this morning some baseball history from espn. good morning, america. welcome inside "sportscenter." kevin connors. clayton kershaw had a career night at dodger stadium throwing his first career no-hitter. kershaw shut down the rockies, 15 strikeouts, no walks. lost the perfect game when cory dickerson had a throwing error in the seventh.

second of 2014. josh beckett no-hit the phillies in may. kershaw rewarded with a gatorade shower and a bubble party. meantime, at the world cup, spain taking on chile, chile on the attack. how about eduardo vargas puts it in. chile a 1-0 lead on the reigning world cup champs and in the 43rd minute sanchez takes a shot on goal deflected away but there is charles aranguiz to win. chile wins 2-0. spain eliminated from world cup contention. elsewhere to the victor go to the spoils and again in san antonio, wednesday they're spoiled. fifth victory parade in 16 year, three nights after the spurs finished off the heat in five games. the first title for finals mvp kawhi leonard, number five for that man gregg popovich. for more check out a live "sportscenter" 9:00 a.m. on espn. all right, up next in "the

pulse," the pint-size golfer preparing to tee off at the u.s. women's open today. and watch your step, the ultimate treadmill fail. i'm m-a-r-y and i have copd. i'm j-e-f-f and i have copd. i'm l-i-s-a and i have copd, but i don't want my breathing problems to get in the way of hosting my book club. 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 that increases risk of death in people with asthma. it is not known if this risk is increased in copd. breo won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd

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♪ well-a, well-a, well-a, uh! tell me more, tell me more... ♪♪ twizzlerize your summer fun with twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. ♪ all right, time for "the pulse." we start with a youngster we mentioned before, 11-year-old golfer lucy li who starts to play this morning at the u.s. women's open in north carolina, yes, you heard that right. 11 years old? she's the youngest ever qualifier for the tournament. li keeps it simple when it comes to playing the game that's made for her. >> i like golf because it's different from other sports,

anybody can play it. if you're tall, short, fast or slow, that's what i like about it. >> li says she likes playing in front of big crowds. she claims it makes her a better player. >> she also says she loves going to dave & buster's. a big fan of sherlock holmes books. must have a lot of patience too. >> i could never perfect my golf swing. i don't know how she does it. >> good for her. u.s. open, a big deal. the owners of a minnesota golf course must be teed off after a high-speed chase tore up their fairways. >> no pun intended. a drug suspect drove his pickup right on the green with police following close behind. they ripped out big clumps of grass. the golfers had to scramble out of the way. >> are you kidding me? the chase ended across the state line at a mall. can you believe it in fargo and now on top of drug charges, the driver was booked for fleeing police and property damage. if i was maintaining that lawn, are you kidding me?

i would have all those policemen, everyone involved in the chase coming back to return all of the grass. >> that's right. i hope he had some time to get out and play once he got this and fended off the cops. the next clip is a candidate for the one of the world's funniest videos. you know those videos, these make us laugh pretty hard. have people getting hurt but take a look at this from a gym. two beefy guys doing an interview. take a look at the guy behind him. skinny guy steps on a moving treadmill. ow. >> he gets thrown across the room. he lays there in a dade. one of the other glances over but then goes on with the interview. crazy. do you want to know what happened. he was really looking at a girl and trying to get her attention is what we heard and falls to the ground. >> it really hurts and i feel for that guy. i mean he stepped on it. it is painful when you fall off a treadmill. >> have you had a moment like that. >> not stepping on one but being on one. i'm a bit of a klutz. >> for some of you your local

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>> good morning, everyone, i'm matt o'donnell. it is 42:78 on the clock. thursday, june 19. ment action cam was all over the region gathering video from heavy thunderstorms. heavy rain has flooded streets, city council hopes to change the penalty for carrying a small amount of marijuana in the city of philadelphia. a police officer in oklahoma jumps into a ravine to save a from his burning truck and then arrests that same man. those 90-degree days are over, karen rogers has details on the dramatic change just in time for the beginni finally this morning, a story that might have you thinking about the famous dancing cop who hits the streets in rhode island during the holiday sfs that's right but this centers on a crossing guard trying to bring smiles in a

place that's known way too much sad that is. keith koontz spoke to her in newtown, connecticut. >> reporter: cat hollic brings her own rhythmic flair to her job as a traffic cop in newtown. >> i realized it was similar to dance moves, as cars would go by with their music, i would kind of get a little more to it so i decided, well, let's give this a shot because my smiles were already promoting so much happiness. >> reporter: her moves and contagious smile always a hit with drivers and walkers around schools in town where she's directed traffic since last fall. for kat, cheers of encouragement are par for the course but some drivers can't help but help themselves in joining in the fun. >> i see a lot of them dancing, they'll be driving along and from all ands on that one too i've had little old ladies dancing in their cars.

>> are you crossing. >> reporter: kat says appreciative parents and students have given her everything from gift cards and flower to jewelry as a way of saying thanks for putting a smile on their face. but for this guard in a community that has faced so much heartache, her message is a simple one. >> anger and sadness will never get you through your problems. happiness and smiles will. >> reporter: words to live by from a woman who certainly dances the dance. keith koontz, news 8. >> she's got some moves. >> she does have some moves and good for her. happiness and smiles gets you through the problems. it is contagious. just makes me smile looking at her. >> i think we should -- >> that's a town that needs a lot of smiles and love. >> i think we should be required to have some sort of a jig that hour of the day. >> look at those knee action right there. white glove, baby. thanks so much for watching us. have a great day, everybody.

>> hello everyone, here's what's happening thursday, june 19. >> new video shows the line of severe thunderstorms that moved through the area overnight with heavy lightning and rain. >> thieves have stolen a 100-year-old artifact and other goods from a kensington church. >> delaware officials have weighed in on what caused the i-495 bridge to tilt. >> we had storms this morning they probably woke you up. good morning, everyone, david is