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 r

. >> and i'm andrew dymburt. we begin with a developing story. new video coming in from the flood emergency in the northeast. some towns have received an entire summer's worth of rain in only a matter of hours. >> in vermont, entire communities are cut off by floodwaters and the capital city is shut down right now with an emergency health order due to the worst river flooding in nearly 100 years. this morning, rescue teams from across the country are racing to vermont, completely destroyed where flash floods are wreaking havoc on mountain towns. >> swiftwater rescue teams from north carolina. and we have swiftwater rescue team coming from michigan and from connecticut, nearly a foot of rain has fallen since sunday. >> this image taken overnight shows a flooded downtown montpelier, the state's capital . more than 50 people rescued in the state as of last night. some towns are inaccessible, all including ludlow, seen here in this drone video. our infrared picture transportation line run over the mountains. >> all those transportation lines for two

. >> and i'm andrew dymburt.begin with the historic heat from arizona to athens taking a deadly toll. >> a record number of people have fled wildfires in greece and here at home, the sweltering heat is now spreading north and east. this morning, the record shattering heat wave from coast to coast has turned more deadly in texas. officials in fort worth announcing four heat related deaths in the county this month including a 26 year old man working outdoors as. today, las vegas could hit 110 degrees for the 11th consecutive day in phenix, a possible 25th consecutive day america are also facing much higher electric bills. many small business owners say they are struggling in, including those in palm springs, calif, where it was 116 degrees this weekend. >> it is really a double whammy because not only do we have less business, but our costs like electricity, is higher utility bills nationwide were already expected to be up nearly 12. >> this summer compared to last year. the operators of the texas utility grid say

i'm andrew dymburt. happy friday. 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.

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. and we begin with a new warning about a looming insurance crisis affecting millions of homeowners in the us. >> it's been a summer of weather extremes, from historic heat to wildfires and even floods. and soon more american will be paying for it. this morning, experts are warning of an insurance crisis unfolding in multiple states due to extreme weather that's becoming more damaging and deadly. >> insurance companies are realizing that climate change is directly affecting their bottom line. >> in pennsylvania, nearly five inches of rain fell in just 90 minutes saturday, killing at least five people in bucks county. a woman visiting from south carolina was killed after her family's vehicle was overtaken by water. her two young children still missing overnight. this new video of a flooded road shows the conditions at the time. meanwhile, historic heat has tightened its grip across the west and south. today, phenix is expected to see a record nine 19th consecutive day of temperatures top

i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to you. i'm rhiannon ally. we want to begin with new concerns about this extreme heat bearing down on much of the country. heat alerts are posted from washington state to new mexico and from texas to florida. >> in the north, a different set of concerns. more rain for the northeast and tornadoes hitting the chicago area. at least eight tornadoes were reported in the chicago area last night. holy dozens of homes and businesses damaged the debris littering parking lots. car windows smashed. the side of this building gone. the city's airports facing ground stops. video shows hundreds of people taking shelter in this concourse at o'hare airport. and this video from a traveler inside midway airport. >> oh, my gosh, god showing a twister taking shape just past the runways. >> those storms shifting east overnight. people across vermont have been racing to clean up from this week's disastrous floods before more rain arrives today. thousands of people have lost homes and businesses. the recovery could take years, if not

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. we begin with a dramatic scene in phenix, arizona, which is coping with a record breaking heat wave . >> much of the nation is sweltering, but fire crews in phenix had to go to work, facing an entirely different level of extreme heat last night. an extra challenge for firefighters in arizona. a massive fire erupting in phenix where it's never been this hot for this long. the fire breaking out at this propane tank business next to the phenix airport explodes, sending hundreds of propane tanks flying into the air like missiles. we have evidence of propane tanks up to 500 yards past the ground zero, where this has actually happening. >> we have hundreds of these scattered around the area as well as very, very large ones. so there are several that are in pieces over there. so absolutely shrapnel is a concern. >> the cause of the fire under investigation. the feel like temperature, 119 degrees. many local residents are keeping their thermostats in the 80s to keep utility bills down, especi

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. >> happy monday. i'm rhiannon ally.want to begin with the employee at former president trump's mar a lago resort headed to court today in the classified documents case, he's accused of scheming with the president to hide security footage from investors. >> it comes as we learn new details about trump's mounting legal bills while he awaits another possible indictment. abc's em nguyen is here now with the very latest. m good morning . >> good morning, andrew. yeah. instead of shying away from the latest accusation by special counsel jack smith, trump is now centering his 2024 campaign around those legal woes. this morning, donald trump's legal team bracing for a possible new federal indictment over the former president's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. in special counsel jack smith leading a wide ranging investigation into the january 6th attack on the capitol. meeting with trump's team last week, a clear indicator that criminal charges could come any day now. >> these are ridiculous indictment

i'm andrew dymburt. >> happy wednesday. i'm rhiannon ally.want to begin with former president trump speaking overnight after getting a so-called target letter from special counsel jack smith. >> the letter is a strong indication that he'll be indicted again. this time on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. in former president trump is now responding to a potential third indictment, telling a crowd in iowa last night that he's becoming an expert in subpoenas. i have no choice because we have to. sources say special counsel jack smith notified trump late sunday that he's a target of the investigation into events surrounding the january sixth attack on the capitol. sources say the target letter mentions three federal statutes conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the united states. deprivation of rights under color of law and tampering with a witness victim or informant. in a statement, trump acknowledged a target letter is a clear indication an indictment is likely to come soon, possibly within days, he responded. dur

i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to you. i'm rhiannon ally. we want to begin with the extreme heat now spreading into the middle of the country. places like kansas city and chicago now bracing for triple digit heat in the coming days. >> the heat is taking a toll on people's health and on people's wallets. this morning, the record smashing heat wave is expanding. triple digit temperatures are possible in the plains and midwest in the coming days from wichita to minneapolis and by week's end, temperatures near 100 for chicago. we got smoke, we got heat, then we got storms in the forecast all for the week ahead. doctors warn this heat can take a toll on your heart. a new study finds the soaring temperatures combined with poor air quality can double your risk of suffering. a deadly heart attack in arizona. it's the pavement causing a surge in patients at the phenix burn center. >> we have just been seeing a huge spike in the number of people with contact burns. you know, most people don't realize that the pavement concrete, cement, sidewalks, roc

i'm andrew dymburt. >> i'm andrea fujii in for rhiannon. and we begin with former president trump's response to the new charges. >> he faces trump coming out fighting, calling the new allegations ridiculous and claiming they're proof he's being harassed along with his family and his business. the new charges center on the classified documents recovered at trump's florida estate. meanwhile, another person has been charged in the case. abc's justin finch joins us with details. >> justin. >> andrea, good morning. after a chaotic day with his legal team, former president trump accused the justice department of harassing him. this morning, new legal woes for former president trump after the special counsel announced new charges over the alleged mishandling of classified documents. special counsel jack smith filing a superseding indictment yesterday , adding two new counts against trump, including an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and another count of obstruction of justice. trump had already been facing 37

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. happy monday. >> i'm rhiannon ally.want to begin this morning with the search for two young children missing after floodwaters swept away their family's car in pennsylvania. >> it's the latest example of extreme weather wreaking havoc across the country. from record heat to wildfires, smoke to flash floods. the death toll is expected to rise after a flash flood outside of philadelphia. five people were killed in overnight. two children were still missing, including a nine month old boy and two year old girl. >> miraculously, a dad and his son were able to get safely. however, the grandmother, the mother and the two children were swept away by the floodwaters. we have recovered the mother and she is one of the deceased. >> authorities in bucks county say the family was visiting from south carolina when their vehicle got swept away by the floodwaters. >> that could have been any one of us leaving our house and just going to the grocery store or something. >> across the country in riverside county, california, firefighter

i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to you. i'm rhiannon ally. we begin with historic floods and extreme heat taking their toll from east to west. >> we just obtained satellite images of the catastrophic flooding in vermont. here's what the town of richmond, vermont, looked like before this week's torrential rainfall. and then after the local river rising to levels not seen since 1927. >> meanwhile, out on the west coast, another brush fire broke out in los angeles county last night. it is being called the dry fire as the southwest braces for potentially record breaking heat. >> but we begin with the relentless rain in the east. overnight, officials closely watching a dam near vermont's flooded capital city delivered some good news. the water is receding in montpelier, was pounded with nearly eight inches of rain in a matter of hours. a local river cresting at over 21ft. swamp topping downtown. floodwaters swept away the ground beneath these railroad tracks. >> and your house is right there. it's very nerve wracking. >> cynthia gubb watched as wa

. >> i'm andrew dymburt and i'm rhiannon ally.want to begin with new details overnight about hunter biden's plea deal. >> the president's son is now in legal limbo. his plea deal unraveled during a dramatic day in court where the judge questioned whether biden can receive future immunity from prosecution. >> so what happens next? abc's justin finch is here with the details on that. justin, good morning. >> rhiannon good morning. the judge in the hunter biden case is now questioning whether part of the biden's plea deal is even constitutional. reporters in the courtroom described a collective gasp when it was announced the deal that hunter biden reached to avoid prison time was null and void. >> the judge smelled something, wasn't right and decided to stop this plea from going forward. >> biden had agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges set secretly. federal authorities agreed not to prosecute him for the more serious charge of lying about his drug use when he purchased a gun in 2018. as long as biden remains drug fr

i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to all of you. i'm rhiannon ally. we want to begin this morning with president biden's son, hunter. he is due in federal court this morning. >> he's expected to formally agree to a plea deal on tax and gun charges. but the plea deal may not be a done deal if republicans have their way. this morning, there's word that republicans in congress are trying to block hunter biden's plea deal. the president's son is expected to plead guilty today to misdemeanor tax charges, avoiding prison time in what republicans have called a sweetheart deal. >> they've made him a very good deal. and he he sucked it up like a hoover deluxe. and i don't i can't blame him. >> but now the new york times reports congressman jason smith, the chairman of the house ways and means committee, has filed a brief in federal court urging the judge in the case to reject the agreement. smith argues the deal is tainted and cites testimony from two irs whistleblowers who were in charge of the investigation. >> my credibility comes from my job experience wit

here's andrew dymburt. >> the top athletes from a the world gathered to celebrate the past year in sports do not wear a shirt under his suit. it was 90 degrees on the red carpet. >> i have a great stylus. -- stylist. >> best team. >> we are ready go after it. >> ready to roll. >> is that the ring? >> he has the ring on. >> the shore honored lebron james becoming mba's all-time leading short -- score -- the mbas all-time leading scorer -- the nbas all-time leading scorer. >> i think lebron james is the baddest moth -- >> said this about his future. >> i can't -- the day i can't get the game ended -- everything on the floor, that is the day i will be done. lucky for you guys, that day is not today. [applause] >> the most emotional day of the night -- time of the night came when damar hamlin came on stage. there were the first responders on the field when he collapsed. >> by the grace of god and divine intervention, we had the best outcome we could have played for or imagined. >> also honored, the women's national soccer team for their fight for equal pay in the san antonio spurs for helping