i needed help getting there. >> juju: tell >> there was no matt gutman.ng to mourn me. so i was a speck in a limitless universe. and i stayed there for some time. you've conquered the thing that is the scariest in the world. you've been through this death zone and you've come out of it. it also helps reframe the way you think about yourself. >> juju: after turning himself into a human elaborate, trying exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, he dropped the prelive shot rituals that amped him up in favor of calmer methods. >> this is actually from a hypnotist who i worked with. but it's a great relaxation technique. >> juju: okay. >> and after a while, you get to do it in your brain. you just imagine that the shoelace exists. >> juju: okay. >> so you close your eyes. you take a deep breath hoelt holdi holding on to the top knot and exhale. >> juju: it makes you focus on something other than the thoughts in your mind. >> it's a combination of mindfulness, hypnosis and meditation. >> juju: prayer. it looks like a rosary bead. >> buddhist knots. >>

matt gutman on the ground. >>> late today, authorities confirming four sightings of that convicted killer that escaped from a prison outside philadelphia. new audio from the suspect's mother, broadcasting a desperate plea to her son for him to turn himself in. one homeowner telling us the fugitive broke into his home and stole his food. what we've just learned. >>> a record-breaking heat wave in the east. from texas to major cities along the i-95 corridor. one of the hottest labor days on record. and the new threat in the tropics tonight. the new system that could potentially threaten the u.s. rob marciano timing it all out. >>> and tonight, deadly rip currents up and down the east coast. we just learned three people were killed at the jersey shore. multiple rescues over the holiday weekend. >>> the news just coming in from overseas. word of a critical meeting between north korea's kim jong-un and vladimir putin in russia. what the u.s. is saying tonight. >>> our exclusive interview with ukraine's first lady. the brutal toll this war is having on ukrainian children. britt clennett standin

. >> reporter: for the past 15 years he's covered all over the globe reporting for abc news. >> matt gutmanc scene here. >> reporter: natural disasters. >> you can feel the intensity of the heat. >> reporter: and social calamity? >> are you prepared for confrontation if it happens? >> reporter: behind his fearless face he says was a man crippled by panic. you call yourself a courageous coward. >> paradox of the courageous coward. i lived for that reporting. but when things were calm and there was the expectation of perfection i crumbled. >> reporter: now he is turning the table, investigating himself and what he describes was a life time of panic attacks in "no time to panic." writing about his seering tragedy at age 12 when his father was killed in a plane crash launching him into years of therapy and anti-depressants. but panic always percolating beneath the surface. >> i don't know that there was direct line between my dad and the panic attacks. conflict reporting, always being in the turmoil, the natural disasters, those things appealed to me. i was able to speak in this shared language

and, chief national correspondent and author, matt gutman. work of art from devon rodriguez and we continue "live loves ny week." all next on "live!"

matt gutman, abc seven news in nevada. >> all right. we think matt for that report and we've also been show sharing updates on burning man and what's going on there and you can stay up to date by downloading the abc seven news bay area app enabled push alerts. you can get notifications like this one sent straight to your phone. >> parts of yosemite national park are closed because of cracks in a cliffside. the super slide climbing route is shut down after a giant crack was seen in the nearby royal arches cliff. it's located just below north dome and above yosemite valley, which is a most popular area of the park. they believe a major rockfall could happen and they have a geologist monitoring the scene. it's unclear when the attraction will reopen as we mark labor day. >> there is plenty of labor unrest across several industries from the hollywood writers and actors to the united auto workers being close to a walkout. jobina is at the live desk with more on how talks they are going. jobina. >> thank you, koumassi. in two weeks, the unite

. >> page abc news national correspondent matt gutman shares his story about anxiety and panic attacksning is awesome. but her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. i was always so itchy especially when i was hot. now my skin doesn't itch as much. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, they can have clearer skin and less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a wonderful thing. ask your child's eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal their skin from within. ♪ you're the one that i want! ♪ your dog is the one you wanted. you want what's best for them. ♪ ohh, ohh, ohh! ♪ so ask

first look, i'm matt gutman, abc news. blackrock nevada first lady doctor jill biden has tested positive for covid. >> jobina is at the live desk. what we know about her condition this morning. jobina >> thank you, coomassie. the white house says the first lady is experiencing mild symptoms. she will remain at the first family's delaware home during her recovery. president biden and the first lady were last together on saturday. mr. biden is preparing to head to india this week for the g20 summit. both tested positive for covid last summer and were treated with paxlovid. dr. biden's diagnosis comes after a new variant was detected in several states. government data shows hospitalizations and deaths are up nearly 20% in recent weeks. an updated covid shot is expected utd later this month. the cdc is set to discuss the exact timing of all of that. the new cdc director has already said she recommends everyone get the updated shot once it becomes available. so we'll be tracking that. coomassie. >> thanks, jobina. today, dianne

here's abc news reporter matt gutman. gma first look, an abc news exclusive. >> tell me about her. tell me the side that we can't see. the author who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband died, charged with his murder. now, cory richards brother speaking to gma. do you stand up for your sister because you think that she's innocent or because you've known this person your whole life? it is my sister . >> eric was my brother in law when i got the news that eric had died, i broke down into tears. he was like a brother to me. so i don't have anything bad to say about eric. he was a good guy. i mean, he lived life to the extreme. and you know, eventually got him. but it's my sister. i knew eric. she didn't do this. >> and we'll have more of our exclusive interview coming up at 7 a.m. and the letter found in cory's cell. with your gma first look, i'm matt gutman, abc news, san francisco. tonight on an all new 2020. >> it's the chilling kidnaping case of 12 year old polly klaas. she was taken from her home in pet

abc's matt gutman is in spanish springs, nevada. >> reporter: in the remote desert, a line of cars stretching caught in a slow-motion exodus out of black rock lake, capping a sometimes chaotic final weekend at burning man. >> it was like a war zone. >> it was like mad max. >> no public announcements, no infrastructure, no information, no way to call, no way to get news. >> horrible. so we -- they shut the water down. >> many hours of rain. >> reporter: the show called "burners," attendees at the nine-day event typically filled with parties, deejay sets, meditation and art installations, stranded for days due to heavy rain. monsoonal rains changed this lakebed into a mud pit that trapped everything. rvs, shoes, people. now the roads have dried out enough that exodus has begun. deborah took videos of the sludge created by the storms. >> this much mud under our feet. >> reporter: she sent them to a friend. within hours they were featured in "the new york times," the "wall street journal," even on german tv. >> i'm so famous. which is really funny. we didn't even know it was picked up by the medi

. >> matt gutman, thank you. >>> now the threat against mgm casinos.rom atlantic city to las vegas, it's intensifying. atm and gambling scenes going dark, our reporter witnessing customers paid by hand. >> reporter: tonight, the hackers that brought down computer systems at mgm properties across the country threatening more attacks if a deal is not reached. the outages frustrating guests. at 13 hotels and casinos along the strip. teams of mgm staffers are roaming the casino floor, paying people their cash winnings by hands. and so many of these machines are not paying out of the way that they're supposed to. and there are countless more that aren't even working. >> this is the scene right now at the bellagio. >> reporter: las vegas native, jacob orth, in the casinos all week. >> those first couple of days, it was pretty chaotic. at this point is definitely noticeable progress. >> reporter: the second major attack on casinos in days. caesar's now offering identity theft protection to customers in the loyalty program, whose personal information may have

here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: jess ikes wasn't planning on leaving l.a. any time soon.this stage in life, she definitely didn't think she'd be moving back in with her folks in vero beach, florida. >> it's very embarrassing to feel like, i'm a grown person who can't pay my bills. but i know i'm not the only one. >> reporter: she's "the industry" as they call it in l.a. even though she's not a writer or actor, the ongoing strikes in hollywood have left her out of work for months. leaving her to pack up over 20 years of memories. >> i have to think about what will fit in a 10 by 10 storage unit? so that has been stressful. >> reporter: ikes is one of hundreds of thousands who have done the work that have helped hollywood tick. working as location manager on shows like "the dropout." >> what if you could test in your own home? what if it wasn't a whole vial but just a drop? >> reporter: and "hacks." >> it's going to be hard to work together if we can't communicate. >> we don't work together, you work for me. >> reporter: most people think, oh, people in hollywood, they must

matt gutman on the ground. >>> late today, authorities confirming four sightings of that convicted kil

matt gutman is outside the sheriff's office with that story. ning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the los angeles sheriffs department reported they have detained a person of interest in the killing of that sheriff's deputy. until now they had been pleading with the public for help. in what they are calling an ambush style killing. this morning an arrest following that urgent manhunt for the killer of l.a. sheriff deputy ryan clinkenunboomer. >> please, i beg you. somebody has information. please make things right. >> reporter: authorities say clinkenboomer was in his vehicle when he was ambushed. he was outside the palmdale sheriff's station. investigators zeroing in on this survillance video trying to determine if it shows the moment of the attack, calling the car that pulls up next to the deputy's cruiser a vehicle of interest, describing it as a 2006 to 2012 dark gray toyota corrolla. authorities pleading with the public for help. >> check your cameras. check your cameras. that could be the listing link to the information that we nee

chief national correspondent matt gutman is near the scene with the latest for us. morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, michael. this some of the traffic trickling out of burning man. i'm told that it will take about 8 to 12 hours just to get out of that camp. the monsoon rains over the weekend turning the lake bed where the event was held into a mud pit. event goers told to conserve water, food, fuel and at one point asked to help clean the under serviced port o toilets. overnight event goers burned the giant sculpture of a man, marking the end of the burning manifest val and the start of the slow exodus from black rock lake after thunderstorms transformed this make shift city into a land of muck and mud. those monsoonal rains changed everything, turning this lake bed into a mud pit that trapped everything. but now the roads have dried out enough that you see this mammoth li line, it stretches for almost 1.5 miles. organizers asking the attendees to consider delaying their departure until this afternoon to prevent more congestion. but after a weekend of ankle

chief national correspondent matt gutman is in wadsworth nevada with the latest. od morning matt. >> reporter: good morning michael. not only were they told to shelter in place, they were told to conserve food water and fuel. typically ahead of burning man the concern is for excessive heat or sand storms. this time it was thunderstorms and the situation got so muddy and possibly so dire that the white house said it had to brief president biden about it. this morning, thousands still stranded in this remote stretch of desert at burning man, the annual gatherings in the black rock desert of nevada after a storm turned the festival into a mud bath. >> we have thousands of people trying to leave right now. >> reporter: on friday parts of the desert got 2-3 months worth of rain in a matter of hours. >> many hours of rain. >> reporter: shutting down the road in and out, festival goers told to shelter in place after major flooding shut off the main gate way for vehicles and emergency crewsment one person reported to have died. the shoves investigating the death saying it

matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: kouri richins gained infamy for allegedly putting a deadly dose husband's cocktail and writing a children's book about grief. her attorney and her brother paid a very different picture of a devoted super mom, of a business woman in her own right who are neither had the means or motive to murder her husband. this morning, the family of kouri richins accused of fatally poisoning her husband and writing a children's book about grief. i just wanted some story to read to my kids. i couldn't find anything that really suited them or help them find comfort and peace. >> reporter: speaking publicly for the first time. we know kouri is innocent and all that is going to come out in court. >> reporter: guards opening this letter in which prosecutors allege kouri tried to koch family and friends into giving false testimony on the stand. the attorney says it is what attorney-client privilege and should never have been opened in the first place. her brother accusing the jewel of ms administering medication to get her out of the cell. >> you say they have messed

matt gutman joins us with more. >> reporter: as migrant crossings continue to spike along the border,local officials very frustrated. as one county supervisor told me in san diego, it's time for the federal government to step up. overnight the biden administration saying it's taking new action to handle situations like this. thousands of migrants arriving daily at the u.s. southwest border. this group just a small part of the roughly 7,000 people local officials say have crossed into the small town of eagle pass, texas. now the administration said it's sending a surge of active duty department of defense personnel to the border including 800 active duty members in addition to the 2,500 already deployed to assist customs and border protection. this as the number of migrant crossings has spiked in recent weeks. this train carrying hundreds of migrants arriving just south of el paso, texas. they braved the journey just one day after officials had temporarily shut down those trains after a half dozen migrant deaths were reported. with so many migrants arriving to the border, ngo's and loc