marci gonzalez is near the carr fire. >> reporter: the death toll rising to six. bledsoe and two of her great grandchildren among the victims. relatives say her body was found draped over the children in a final effort to save them. several other people still missing. the destruction here now spanning the size of philadelphia. >> all these homes are gone. >> reporter: entire neighborhoods incinerated, more than 500 structures destroyed. these photos showing the before and after of one of those homes. thousands more still threatened. and there are so many areas like this burning that firefighters can't tackle them all, having to strategically choose where to focus their firefights. more than 3,000 firefighters risking their lives on the front lines. some after losing everything themselves. so that was a firefighter's house right there. >> yeah, a lot of firefighters lost their houses. >> reporter: this one of 59 wildfires burning across 11 states. dozens of structures threatened in san diego. california's governor expanding the state of emergency to more counties.

tonight abc's marci gonzalez asked angela for the secret to her decades of success. >> reporter: sheina turner in "what's love got to do with it." ♪ the queen of wakanda in "black panther." >> it is your time. >> reporter: and perhaps most iconic, torching her cheating husband's car in "waiting to exhale." angela bassett has been playing bad-ass women for more than 30 years. >> cathartic. everything was safe, but that fire is still hot. upon reading that i felt like there was such a freedom in her letting go, of her coming into herself, and that was the culmination of it. >> reporter: that scene resonating with women everywhere. becoming a viral gif on social media. have you seen this? >> oh. >> this is something everyone's texting around to say, all right, i'm done. i don't have to take this anymore. >> i love it. >> reporter: her star power has sustained in part because she's stayed true to herself. choosing roles that align with her values. >> as an actress, that's my purpose, to illuminate that human struggle. the strength of it, the vulnerability of it, the whole of it. that's w

here's abc's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: a stuffed animal frenzy creating snaking lines. >> i didn'think it would be like this. >> reporter: and unbearable waits as long as six hours at build-a-bear workshops across the country. >> this is crazy. this is a crazy event. >> reporter: the chain offering a one day deal. their plush creatures which normally cost between 10 and $30 without accessories on sale for the price of your child's age. shay o'brien is 7 years old. >> so you're going to pay $7 for a bear. >> yep. >> that sounds like a good deal. >> yep. >> reporter: it turnout the company calls,0op. >> reporr: whileroting of frust. >> there's people that been out here for seven hours. and that want to get in to their babies. >> reporter: some turned away with concerns growing about child safety. >> you better call somebody real fast. we're about to have a bleep problem out here. >> reporter: build-a-bear offering $15 vouchers to those forced to leave lines and all members of their reward club. marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >>> only the people who showed up got the $15 vouch

marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >> i got excited about teletubbies as a kid. >> i had no idea there was a frenzy around these bears. people take these serious. >> they do. >>> people also take the bachelor and bachelorette seriously. so much so there was chaos. we'll tell you where and why. >> and who just took the in my feelings challenge to a new level. >> and who just took the in my feelings challenge to a new level. before the binge-watching begins... that's when you know, it's half-washed. next time, add downy fabric conditioner. downy conditions fibers with a long-lasting fresh scent. so your blanket will stay fresh through next week's finale. downy and it's done. ♪ skinny ♪ just give me "the skinny" >>> it is an action-packed skinny. >> the front of our studios was mobbed with young women hoping for their shot at love. a major casting call for the next season of the bachelor. >> come to the city to find labels and love, right? >> i want to find somebody who wants to know me. >> i look for good energy, someone who really is going to be in this to maybe find love. >> i'm

abc news reporter marci gonzalez is on scene to explain what happened. >> an incredibly tense day here in los angeles. you can see police are still on the scene here where dozens of people, including young children, were held hostage inside a trader joe's. and one woman was killed. police say it started saturday afternoon after the suspecthot ril cond.a.me, anher woman also suffered a graze wound. police say the suspect kidnapped her, stole his grandmother's car, used low jack technology to track the vehicle. the suspect exchanged gunfire with officers during that pursuit and again after crashing that stolen car outside of this trader joe's grocery store. he was injured in that shoot-out and then ran into the store, killing a woman and taking hostages. after three hours of taking with hostage negotiators, we're told that suspect surrendered and he's now in custody. marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >> trader joe's released a statement on today's situation, saying, our hearts are broken over what happened today. this has been an incredible trauma and our thoughts are with our crew

marci gonzalez, abc 7 news, los angeles. >>> people will gather for a memorial in san francisco today. it marks the third mario woods remembrance day. woods was killed by police in the bay view in december of 2015, his death recorded by cellphone sparking national outrage. today would have been his 29th birthday. organizers expect hundreds of people to attend. it starts at 11:00 this morning at martin luther king jr. park on third street. >>> a deadly end to a police chase in the east bay. abc 7 news was on westbound highway 24 in orinda. the contra costa county sheriff's office told us a driver sped away during a top:00 ye oichadft car it seeingit, as you do there, overturned on the freeway. one person died, another is in the hospital. >>> two drivers are under arrest following a crash in san francisco. it involved a tour bus and a mustang. abc 7 news was at the civic center after police took both drivers into custody. officers say the bus driver assaulted the man driving the ford mustang. they also arrested the mustang's driver, claiming he drove recklessly. one of the bus passenger

abc news reporter marci gonzalez has the details. >> unbelievable. >> reporter: with flames just feet from his home, former firefighter matt smith grabs a garden hose, refusing to give into the inferno. his one-man battle raging for hours, saving his house and others nearby. >> i barely saved it, as you can see. it was a fight to the death. >> reporter: a few blocks away, surrounded by flames, firefighter joshua wilkins spots this golden retriever on top of a car. some of her fur singed, paws badly burned. he carries her to the fire engine, later reuniting her with her owner. >> if it was me, and i had just lost my home, having your pets back is i think the biggest consolation thatca>>e wepornte providing goes even further. >> kids started coming back to their homes today, it was all burnt. we gave them some stickers but we didn't have teddy bears and stuff. >> reporter: at the end of an exhausting 60-hour shift, these three firefighters go shopping, stocking their truck with ys ou. we wanted to make it as easy for them as possible. >> reporter: an entire community finding ways to eas

abc 7 news reporter marci gonzalez has the details. >> reporter: she appears calm as she walks into thisnia gas station. this morning we're learning the utter fear she was masking. the conversation she's seen here having with this cashier actually a desperate plea for help. >> she grabbed ahold of my wrist and said, please, please help me, they kidnapped, they have two guns in the car. >> reporter: that clerk, savannah pritchard, acting fast, locking the front door, casually walking the woman into the restroom and locking her inside after giving her a cellphone to call 911. >> i knew if i left the door locked, they would have caught on to something and probably took off. i went back and unlocked the door. they seriously had no idea that i knew anything. >> reporter: minutes later, officers storm in, guns drawn, arresting 18-year-old anthony sandoval and eventually three juvenile suspects, allegedly finding a gun in the store, another in the suspect's car. investigators are saying two of the suspects corroborated the victim's claim that she had been kidnapped a day earlier, 90 miles away

with temperatures in the triple digits, marcie gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >>> temperatures are soaring across california this afternoon. abc 7 news was in antioch at the antioch water park as people sought out the water to get relief and have fun in the winter heat. temperatures topped out at 98 degrees there this afternoon. the fog kept san francisco nice and cool today compared to the east bay. kids playing around needed their jackets. abc 7 news was at where the cool did not stop them from enjoying it. >> i had friends in town from the east coast, wait a second, it's 60 degrees in san francisco, and it's 100 degrees in the east bay. what's going on here? >> it's not muggy, no complaining, right? >> let's get to spencer christian which is loaded with contrasts. >> it can seem rather dramatic to newcomers to the bay area. but this 30 to 35 degree range from coastal temperatures to inland temperatures is quite typical in the summer. however, it's more extreme than that in some spots. right now it's only 59 degrees, typical reading for this time of day, midsummer in half moon ba

marci gonzalez reports. >> reporter: the actions of two portland state university police officers under investigation after a man was shot and killed as he tried to break up a fight. family saying this is jason washington, seen in cellphone videos trying to calm tensions between a friend and a group of men early friday morning. here you see the gun in his hollister. he falls and the gun tumbles to the ground. as he reaches for it, police shout, then shoot multiple times. >> i understand the guy has a gun. you don't know, but still. we didn't feel threatened by the guy with the gun. he was a cool guy, nothing was going to happen. >> reporter: the sheriff saying washington did have a concealed carry permit. just hours earlier, washington, who was a navy vet to talk to our abc affiliate as he and his friends watched the college world series. >> going to be champions tonight. >> reporter: near the scene this weekend, one of his daughters writing i love you dad, you didn't deserve this. and the psu police department hasn't commented except to name the officers involved, officer shaun francis

marci gonzalez has details on the other fires burning hundreds of miles to the south. >> reporter: the california burning out of control. quickly exploding in size, tearing through more than 4700 acres and growing. those flames destroying several homes, threatening hundreds more. >> we're going to try to save every house that we possibly can. >> reporter: mandatory evacuation orders in place. hundreds of kids at summer camps and residents rushing to get out. >> i was like, we got to go. he looked outside and there was smoke. and the ashes were coming down, and it was pretty crazy. >> reporter: the suspected arsonist accused of starting this fire now arrested. more than six dozen other large fires burning in the western u.s., including the ferguson fire, forcing yosemite national park to close for the first time in 28 years. and dry brush is a major factor in this and so is the heat with temperatures again in the triple digits. marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >>> the man who has handled the trump family money has just received a subpoena. allen weisselberg's name was mentioned in

telling our marci gonzalez he used a garden hose to fend off the flames that had already leveled his neighbor's home. >> so, as your backyard is burning, you're right here, trying to fight the flames with a garden hose? what was going through your mind? >> save the house. >> reporter: crews racing to douse the flames and cut fire lines. up against triple-digit heat and tinderbox conditions. >> there's not a single firefighter that's wearing less than 60 pounds on their backs, working these hills, in already record temperatures here. >> reporter: firefighters still struggling to gain the upper hand. >> rob joins us live now from that california fire zone. we see one of those neighborhoods devastated just behind you. talk to us about the weather conditions out there and what the days ahead look like for those fire crews. >> it's so, so tough, tom. the heat is locked into place. we have seen this really all week long and it's going to continue. a familiar map tonight. the heat ridge is over the inner mountain west. hot, dry conditions right over the inland areas where those fires are bu

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight, the actions of two portland state university police officers under investigation, after a man was shot and killed when he tried to break up a fight. family members say this is jason washington, seen in videos trying to calm tensions between a friend and a group of men early friday morning. you see the gun in his holster. he falls, and the gun tumbles to the ground. as he reaches for it, police shout, drop the gun, then he is shot multiple times. >> i understand the guy has a gun. but he was a cool guy, nothing was going to happen. >> reporter: the sheriff's office telling abc news washington did have a concealed carry permit. just hours earlier, he happened to talk to an abc affiliate as he and his friends watched the college world series. >> they'll be champions tonight. >> reporter: one of his daughters writing, i love you, dad. you didn't deserve this. the psu police department has not commented except to name the officers involved, saying they're both now on administrative leave. >> marci, thank you. >>> there's still much more ahead on "wo

marci gonzalez is at the scene. >> reporter: tonight, police piecing together the chaos. ending in a deadly standoff in this busy los angeles trader joe's. the woman killed, identified as the store manager. police still not saying if she was shot by the suspect or caught in the crossfire. investigators say gene atkins began his violent rampage around 1:30 saturday afternoon, shooting his grandmother, mary elizabeth madison, seven times in her home. >> i think the cause of the shooting pretty much had something to do with the girlfriend. the grandmother didn't want the girlfriend over at the house. >> reporter: police say one of atkins' bullets grazed that girlfriend in the head before he forced her into his grandmother's car and took off, firing at officers as they followed. the vehicle, crashing around 3:30 p.m. ten miles away, outside of the supermarket, where the gun battle with police continued. >> it was a pretty hefty gun. he turned it around and shot at the cops. >> reporter: the suspect, shot in the arm, rushing into the packed store. customers, and employees, des

marci gonzalez joins us from the fire line in redding, california. >> reporter: tonight, the carr fire spreading in every direction. the death toll now rising to six. melody bledsoe and two of her great-grandchildren among the victims. relatives say her body was found draped over the children. in a final effort to save them. several other people still missing. the destruction now spanning the size of philadelphia. >> all these homes are gone. >> reporter: entire neighborhoods incinerated. more than 500 structures destroyed. these photos showing the before and after of one of those homes. thousands more still threatened. and there are so many areas like this burning that firefighters can't tackle them all, having to strategically choose where to focus their firefights. more than 3,000 firefighters risking their lives on the front lines. some after losing everything themselves. that was a firefighter's house right there? >> yeah, a lot of firefighters lost their houses here. >> reporter: this, just one of 59 wildfires burning across 11 states in the west. including one near yosemite wher

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight, investigators pouring over this wreckage scattered on a new mexico highway. a change reaction crash, killing at least three people. two dozen others hospitalized. investigators saying it started around 2:00 a.m. this morning when the driver of this car crashed into a pickup truck in the southbound lanes of interstate 25 and was ejected. this charter bus, with 35 people onboard, reportedly trying to avoid hitting the driver. swerving, losing control, and rolling into the northbound lanes, where it was sideswiped by this semi. the tractor-trailer then crossing the highway north of albuquerque, landing in this embankment. rescuers rushing to the scene, which stretched for about 100 yards, using the jaws of life to pull some of the victims from the mangled vehicles. at least four of the injured listed in critical condition tonight. and the highway is back open after being closed in both directions for about 12 hours. local, state, and federal agencies are now working on the investigation. tom? >> marci, thank you. >>> tonight, inside a midair

here's abc's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: smiling and ready for the trip of a lifetime.group of recent high school graduates showing up to the airport only to learn they say the thousands of dollars they paid for their senior trip to mexico got them nothing. the group of about 30 students from southern california said they saved for months, each yin called senior grad trips for a vacation to cancun, telling us they got the disappointing news at check-in. >> delta told us that all of our seats were reserved but two days prior, cancelled it. >> reporter: the hotel didn't have reservations either. the owner of senior grad trips george barragan telling abc news that the company made all purchases as promised saying, the flight issue seemed to have been some problem with delta. the airline denies that, telling abc news, we never received payment in full for any of the tickets. barragan didn't respond to our follow-up. complaint of this kind about senior grad trips. the company has an "f" rating with the better business bureau and he is reportedly under investigation in at lea

abc's marci gonzalez has much more on ry marci, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, guys.ng. yeah, it really is incredible how perfectly both of these women handled this. the victim convincing her alleged captors to stop and let her go inside that convenience store to use the restroom. and then seizing the moment. she appears calm as she walks into this northern california gas station. but this morning we're learning. the conversation she is seen here having with this cashier actually a desperate plea for help. >> she grabbed a hold of my wrist, and she said, please, please, help me, i've been kidnapped. they have two guns in the car. >> reporter: that clerk, savannah pritchett, acting fast locking the store's front door, casually walking the woman towards the restroom and locking her inside after handing her a cell phone to call 911 then letting the alleged kidnappers into the store. >> i knew that if i left the door locked, they would have caught on to something and probable took off. so i went back up there and i unlocked the door. they seriously had no idea that i knew

abc's marci gonzalez joins us with more on that. peculation, a lot of excitement. of course, no one knows where lebron could be headed next. but his arrival here in l.a. has some guessing that maybe the staples center could soon be his new nba home. lebron james stepping off his private jet in southern california saturday and into a now ramped-up rumor mill. >> when he chooses his team, when he makes a shift like that, it changes the nba. >> reporter: sure, he owns homes here in los angeles. but the timing of this trip raising the question, could king james soon be bringing his talents to the lakers? >> lebron james is clearly one of the biggest names in the sport in a general rag. and anything lebron james does is magnified times ten. >> reporter: frenzied fans across the country feverishly following the superstar's every move. from his caribbean vacation, where he spent the past few days living it up with his family in his so-called decision cave. to his leap into the free agent market. but who will the four-time nba mvp now be jum

abc's marci gonzalez has the latest on the investigation from our los angeles bureau. i, good morning. >> reporter: paula, good morning. where and how this happened making this a really unusual case. and for now investigators are still trying to piece together if this was a random shooting or if the doctor was targeted. this morning, police hunting for the gunman who killed this prominent houston cardiologist in broad daylight. dr. mark hausknecht seen here with one of his past patients, former president george h.w. bush. the beloved physician gunned down just before 9:00 a.m. friday morning while riding his bike to work. >> the suspect was on a bicycle as well. drove past, rode past the doctor, turned and fired two shots. the doctor immediately went down. >> reporter: a private ambulance happened to be driving past. >> i seen somebody flagging us down, and i said, you know, something is wrong, and then i drove up a little further and i seen a gentleman sprawled out on the floor with blood all over him. >> reporter: first responders then rushing hausknecht to the emerge

abc's marci gonzalez is in los angeles covering all the developments for us this morning. hi there, marci. >> reporter: hi, paula and dan, good morning. that judge ordered families be given at least 12 hours' notice that these reunions are finally happening after many parents including the mother you're about to see got approval and details at the last minute. having to scramble to be there for these long awaited moments. this 6-year-old girl whose voice for many sounded the alarm on the issue of migrant families separated at the border now hand in hand with her mother again. alison jimena valencia madrid heard in this recording first obtained by propublica. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> reporter: reunited with her in houston after a month of being held in detention centers hundreds of miles apart. describing how much she missed her. [ speaking a foreign language ] cindy madrid saying she came to the u.s. to escape violence in el salvador now focused on her asylum fight and encouraging other parents separated from their children. yeni garcia from guatemala traveling fr

abc's marci gonzalez is on the scene for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: paula, good morning. this store was packed when the gunman ran in, we were out here with employees who managed to quickly escape as they got that devastating news that one of their co-workers was killed. this morning, the man police say caused this intense scene in custody, accused of a deadly shooting spree and of holding dozens of people hostage in this los angeles supermarket. >> shots fired, trader joe's, handgun. >> reporter: police say it started around 1:30 saturday afternoon with a gunman shooting his grandmother seven times at her south l.a. home, leaving her in critical condition. investigators say another woman grazed in the head by a bullet was then kidnapped by the suspect, taking off in the grandmother's car the suspect allegedly shooting at police through the back window as officers followed him. the pursuit ending here with a stolen car crashing outside of this trader joe's. >> he came out, the cops were firing at him, he fired two back. >> r

marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >> thank you for that, marci.e quick thinking that could have been life-saving. i'm surprised that the captor said, oh, you have to go to the bathroom. let's pull over and allow you to do that. >> the clerk said the first thing she did, she was short, succinct, she got her message out and it worked. >> everybody did the right thing in that instance to save her life. >> definitely. , almost har remnt right? that's why we're opening up the "abc news vault." you're watching "world news now." ♪ >>> more than a million items are set to go on sale on amazon at 3:00 p.m. eastern at the company's fourth annual prime day. >> we're going to have to set our alarms. the company has come quite a long way from its beginnings back in the '90s when it was just a giant bookstore. we're opening up the news vault to july 8th, 1997. >> there. that's opening up the vault. >> business leaders from around the globe have asked delegates to a european internet conference to keep the internet free of government restrictions. but even freed

marci gonzalez was there. >> reporter: the celebration of the year's biggest sports performers. >> ihank the good lord for giving me the ability to play the game i love. >> reporter: and performances. >> the u.s. women's olympic hockey team. >> reporter: hosted by a woman for the first time ever. >> the espys have never had a host like me before. i'm the first race car driver. >> reporter: danica patrick at the helm of the espys. other athletes, and non-sports-stars among the presenters, including jennifer garner, an award to the gymnasts who spoke out against larry nassar. >> if one more victim of sexual abuse feels less alone tonight then our suffering has meaning. >> reporter: the night all about meaningful honors. >> the recipient of the 2018 jimmy v award. jim kelly. >> reporter: with top honors going to best female athlete. >> chloe kim. >> reporter: and male athlete. >> alex ovechkin. >> reporter: and the best team. >> the houston astros. >> reporter: and the winners were voted on by fans, so it shows to many which teams have the most dedicated and enthusiastic supporters. ken

abc's marci gonzalez is in l.a. with the story. orning, marci. >> reporter: good morning, george. such a terrifying situation. you can see the front entrance boarded up covering the bullet holes and people have been coming by leaving these notes of sympathy and love for the manager who was killed here. chaos unfolding as investigators say the suspect, 28-year-old gene atkins, was on the run from police after shooting and injuring his grandmother and girlfriend at their home saturday. crashing his car into trader joe's, a gun battle with g mmy devin field. >> i just sort of thought, okay. i need to hide. i need to get down and be out of his eye line as fast as possible. >> reporter: witnesses describe manager melyda corado heading towards the front door to see what was happening when she was killed. police still unsure if she was caught in the crossfire or shot by atkins. terrified employees and customers desperately running as the gunman headed inside. >> it was very chaotic. people were falling and tripping as they were running. >>

marci gonzalez joins us from the los angeles bureau.is was the first time they came face to face with becca since being sent home. we were right there for the tears and the drama. the bachelors who battled for bec becca's heart reuniting tonight in an explosive new episode where tables are turned. and the men tell all. >> no one i think is used to walking into a room full of all of their exes. so -- i didn't really know how to process it. >> reporter: we're getting an exclusive sneak peek at the fireworks between the guys. >> which topic do you want to talk about? tia or jordan? >> reporter: colton and jordan still going at it. >> at least give them a good time. give them a good catch, not a good chase. >> reporter: what rub youd the wrong way? >> he was always a distraction in relationships. not only with me but other guys too. >> you lack integrity. >> reporter: and getting a backup and almost an apology with david. >> i felt like jordan never attacked you, david. david, you were like a bully consistently poking at jordan. you didn't