i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. let's start with that severe weather rolling across the middle of the nation. at least two tornadoes were reported in the chicago area late yesterday. the areas they were spotted in are very rural. no initial reports of any damage from the tornadoes. >> take a look at this. the scene at wrigley field in chicago. a strong thunderstorm bringing the tigers/cubs game to a haul. the delay lasted more than two hours before the game could start again. >> several suburban chicago areas were hit hard by the storms. it's believed a lightning strike ignited at least one house fire. at one point nearly 15,000 customers were without power. >> the radar, you can see the system swirling in the midwest. lots of rain coming from those storms plus triple digit temperatures. accuweather's justin povick tracking it all. good morning, justin. >> reporter: phillip and reena thanks, good morning. another steamy start, another steamy afternoon on the way for the northeast and i think it will spark at least a

i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin with those three fallen firefighters identified killed wednesday battling a wildfire in washington state. >> they were part of an elite group that scouts wildfires ahead of the arrival of larger groups of their colleagues. as the fight against the blaze that took their lives continues, they're being honored as heroes. this morning, a somber procession, more than a dozen fire and police vehicles escorting the bodies of three firefighters, 20-year-old tom zbyszewski, 26-year-old andrew zajac and 31-year-old richard wheeler dying on the front lines. all killed when their vehicle crashed overtaken by flames in twisp, washington. >> it hurts deep, but the job goes on. >> reporter: another firefighter, 25-year-old daniel lyon, suffering critical burns. >> this was his first season as a firefighter. he's the kind of kid that his mother and i and family are so proud of. >> reporter: lyon was flown to a hospital in seattle and is now fighting for his life. washington governor jay insl

i'm reena ninan. >> i'm t.j. holmes.e are some of the top headlines we're following this morning. more than 12,000 people have been ordered out of their homes because northern california's largest wildfire is raging out of control. over the weekend, the rocky fire more than doubled in size. how firefighters are battling the flames. >>> a pair of explosions shook two church congregations in new mexico during sunday's services. investigators haven't said how the two blasts are linked. >>> the jury in the colorado movie theater resuper z-deliberations this morning in the sentencing phase, whether the death penalty should be considered for james holmes convicted of killing 12 people. >>> danger in the skies. another drone sighting dangerously close to an airline filled with passengers. the airline said it was 30 feet away as he was landing last night at new york's kennedy airport. those are some of our stories on this monday it, august 3rd. >>> from abc news, this is "world news now" with t.j. holmes and reena ninan. >> we s

reena reena? phillip? >> thank you, stephanie. >>> more breaking news. a devastating day for global stock markets. in china, today is being called black monday. shares in shanghai plunging more than 8%. major averages in hong kong, tokyo, and taiwan all losing more than 5% of its value. all signs point to a volatile week ahead. rebecca jarvis has a takeaway for anyone with money in the markets. >> what do you do? what do you do with this information? it's not the answer you want to hear. it's the right one. it's to sit tight. historically, those who stick it out tend to make their money back and then some. >> investers who pulled out of the market in 2009 lost half their money. the people who stuck it out made everything back and then some. and within three years of that. with more, rebecca jarvis will bonn "gma" this morning. >>> now to the wildfire crisis across the west. exhausted crews battling the flames in washington state. >> hundreds of volunteers are expected to join the fight this week. firefighters from australia and new zealand are on the way

reena, t.j.?rena, thank you. >>> a republican-led push to cut federal funding for planned parenthood has failed in the senate. this comes after secretly recorded video showed planned parenthood officials discussing the use of fetal tissue for research and how to set prices for it. democratic senators were among those speaking out against the effort. >> many of these women who rely on planned parenthood have nowhere else to go. and i think it's about time that the women in this country say leave our bodies alone. >> louisiana governor bobby jindal took action on his own removing planned parenthood from the state's medicaid system. >>> the man accused of killing a police officer in memphis has surrendered ending a two-day manhunt. 29-year-old tremaine wilbourn a convicted bank robber will be arraigned today. police say he shot officer sean bolton multiple times as he interrupted a drug deal. >>> the search continues this morning for the bomber or bombers who targeted two churches in new mexico. no o

and reena, back to you. >>> thank you. we expect to learn new details about president's obama sweeping plan on climate change. the most aggressive of regulations requires the nation's existing power plants to cut emissions by one-third in 15 years. the plan also places heavy emphasis on renewable energy sources. power companies expected to quickly challenge the plan in court. and on capitol hill today, showdown over funding planned parenthood. a republican-led effort to cut funding for the organization is expected to fail. it was started after a series of videos which focused attention on planned parenthood's practice of providing fetal tissue to researchers. planned parenthood says it has broken no laws. >>> an intense manhunt wade for a gunman who shot and killed a police officer during a track stop in memphis. the suspect identified as 29-year-old tremaine wilbourn was a passenger in the car that was pulled over by officer sean bolton. police say bolton had interrupted a drug deal. he was confronted by the shooter, got

. >> good morning, reena and phillip. now not the best of news to kick off the workweek across the pack northwest. wildfires continue to burn across washington, oregon and idaho. so the heat remains on for monday. also some winds coming out of the west. southwest helping to fan some of those blazes, as well. so something to be on alert about. meanwhile, we keep an eye out on danny pushing into the northern leeward islands expecting to continue to weaken but still feeling impacts such as heavy rain, gusty winds and also some rough surf. also keeping an eye out on kilo, now, unlike danny, kilo is expected to strengthen for the early half of the week. could potentially become a category 1 hurricane and bring impacts to hawaii. reena and phillip back to you. >> all right, molly, thank you. >>> three americans who took down a suspected terrorist on a european train are receiving france's highest award today. the long-time friends honored with what's called the french legion of honor at the u.s. embassy in paris yesterday. they

. >> thanks phillip and reena. for monday, heavy travel delays going to be a strong possibility across florida. erika's moisture continues to get pushed into the state. we're worried about some flash flooding issues. we have watches in effect, tampa, orlando it, 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected. where we see that dark green shading with locally higher amounts just to the north of miami, we've already picked up over 5 inches of rain and this threat continues into the middle half of the workweek. meanwhile, we continue to keep an eye out on hurricane ignacio. although going to likely miss hawaii impacts still going to be felt. we're looking at rough surf through thursday. gusty winds and locally heavy rain. phillip and reena, back to you. >> wow, that's fascinating. you were saying ignacio means nacho. >> no, it's like a nickname. hey nacho. >> i wouldn't tees is just yet. thank you so much for that. now phillip to your hometown, el paso. sorry. >> get it right. >> to determine the fastyer wiener in el paso. >> ther

. >> and i'm reena ninan. here are some of the top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." >>> democratic front-runner hillary clinton faces a challenge in iowa as rival bernie sanders picks up support, and donald trump is still gaining in the state with ben carson coming in second. full coverage straight ahead. >>> ahead of president obama's visit to alaska today, the white house announcing the name of mt. mckinley has been changed to denali. alaskans have informally called it denali for years. it means the high one. >>> the family of a 62-year-old hiker rescued after missing for nine days says she's recovering from surgery. she was discovered in a remote area of the sierra national forest after using a whistle to alert rescuers. >>> and at last night's mtv music awards, taylor swift presented kanye west with a prestigious video vanguard award. the pair have a long history at the annual show starting with that infamous on-stage encounter six years ago. those are some of our top stories on

good morning, molly. >> thanks, phillip and reena. for monday, we're looking at localized flooding across florida. flash flood watches in effect from tampa into orlando. until monday night. we have erika's moisture just being funneled into the sunshine state. over the next couple of days, the rain could add up. two to four inches between tampa, orlando, and jacksonville. prepare for some pretty heavy travel delays, as well. meanwhile, we keep an eye out on hurricane ignacio. phillip and reena, back to you. >> molly, thank you. >>> breaking overnight, two southwest planes clipped each other at the airport in oakland, california. passengers posting alarming photos to social media. you can see there, the top part of one wing is broken off. southwest says that both aircraft have now been taken out of service to undergo a maintenance check. no one was hurt. passengers were put on later flights. >>> and a security breach at newark liberty airport forced the shutdown of a busy terminal. a man was taken into custody after he entered a secure

. >> appreciate it, reena, phillip. erika now tracking her way and expected to curve up towards florida by the time monday rolls around, and she's slowly going to gain momentum. i want you to think of this storm as a big snowball, and it's rolling uphill as it goes through the disruptive wind, and this area is unfavorable for it form or get stronger, but as soon as it comes over the edge with more favorable conditions here, it's going to get bigger as it rolls downhill just like a snowball, possibly developing into a category 1. reena, phillip. >> thank you, paul. >>> and former president george w. bush and his wife laura visit louisiana and mississippi today to help mark the ten-year anniversary of hurricane katrina. >> a decade later and images like this are still seared into the minds of many people, homes submerged, residents sitting on rooftops. today the people of new orleans will celebrate the city's resilience coming back from this devastation. >> and abc's bazi kanani is joining us from new orleans with more. b

. >> i'm reena ninan. we begin this half hour with former president jimmy carter telling reporters that he has started treatment for cancer which has spread to his brain. >> mr. carter had radiation yesterday in georgia. he's also being treated with a cutting edge drug. abc's marcy gonzales reports now from atlanta. >> reporter: with humility and even humor, former president jimmy carter openly detailed his melanoma diagnosis sharing his fears when he learned the cancer first discovered on his liver had spread with doctors also finding it on his brain. >> i just thought i had a few weeks left. but i was surprisingly at ease. you know, i've had a wonderful life. >> reporter: a life the 90-year-old is optimistically fighting for, undergoing radiation treatment on the four small cancer spots on his brain. >> the goal here is to prevent them from growing so he can continue to live the high quality life he is right now. >> reporter: some of the focus of his life though now changing. >> my name is jimmy carter,

i'm reena ninan. >> and

i'm reena ninan. here a >>> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> i'm reena ninan.e top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." donald trump faced tough questions as he reported for jury duty in new york highway his republican rivals try to find support in the key state of iowa. we'll get the latest on the presidential race in just a moment. >>> rude awakening. people across the san francisco bay area are bracing for more aftershocks after getting rattled by an earthquake. the 4.0 magnitude quake shook up homes and knocked pictures off walls but there was no major damage. >>> shell has a green light to drill for oil in the arctic ocean despite opposition from environmentalists. the feds granted shell the final permit to drill off of alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades. >>> and the head of amazon is disputing a "new york times" story about workplace conditions. jeff bezos says amazon will not tolerate the kinds of business practices described in that article. those are some of our top stories on this tuesday, augus

. >> reporter: good morning, reena, good morning, t.j. it is a relief for some and a major disappointment for seven others who did not make the cut and who analysts say will now struggle to keep their campaigns alive. this is the starting line according to analysts and these are the ten republican candidates who have reached it. with the highest poll numbers, donald trump will take center stage at the first gop debate. jeb bush and scott walker beside him. for the seven republican candidates who didn't make the cut, the consolation prize is a separate forum four hours earlier, not likely to get much attention. while donald trump has claimed he will not practice for the debate, analysts believe the other candidates will be well prepared to take on trump head on. something they refused to do monday night at a forum in new hampshire that trump skipped. and while trump has refused to back away from any of his controversial remarks, jeb bush is yet again clarifying comments he claims were misspoken. >> although i'm not sure we need a half a bi

i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. let's get started this half hour with those wildfires in the west. some of the most serious burning around chelan, washington where nearly 1,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation. >> in idaho fire conditions the worst since 1926. here's abc's brandi hitt. >> with at least 90 large wildfires now burning in the west, the 30,000 firefighters on the ground are stretched so thin, the army is now being called in for the first time in nearly a decade. >> soldiers, you know, we're hard workers and it just comes natural to us. >> reporter: 200 active duty soldiers from joint base lewis-mcchord have been deployed in washington state to battle relentless flames tearing through chelan. here you see a black hawk helicopter crew gathering water and just seconds later making this air drop over a northern california wildfire. that military might also desperately needed to save hundreds of homes threatened in washington. >> we had a really big, big living room. >> carol jenkins' home is one of

and reena, back to you. >> all right, molly.ou so much. >>> we talk about those fires now she was mentioning. there are now more than two dozen of them in northern california, plus others in oregon and washington. the biggest, the rocky fire, about 100 miles north of san francisco. within five hours this weekend, it doubled in size to 54,000 acres. more than 12,000 people have been told to leave their homes. two dozen homes have already been destroyed. >>> the governor of new mexico calls whoever set off two bombs at churches in her state cowards and says they will be caught. the blasts went off during sunday service at a baptist church and a catholic church, about four miles apart. they caused only minor damage but the services came to an abrupt halt. >> i didn't even see the police, like, walk up to the altar. then all of a sudden, i hear they need everyone out of the church, and i'm like, what happened? like, what did we miss while we were -- >> right. >> lots was happening. >> the fbi, the atf and homeland security are joini

i'm reena ninan. >> i'm phillip mena. here's some of the top headlines. lep is on the way for fire crews battling washington state's most dangerous wildfire. volunteers are expected on the fire lines this week and crews from overseas will be join joining the fight, as well. more on the crisis straight ahead. >>> indy car driver justin wilson was seriously injured when he was hit by a piece of debris from a cash yesterday during a race in pennsylvania. wilson was airlifted to a hospital. he's in a coma in critical condition. >>> authorities are trying to determine what caused a massive explosion at a u.s. army depot outside of tokyo, japan. the building contained canisters of it compressed gases including nitrogen, oxygen and freon. so far no injuries have been reported. >>> and president obama back at the white house after two weeks vacationing on martha's vineyard. he travels later today to nevada where he will deliver a speech on green energy. those are some of our top stories on this monday, august 24. >>> from abc new

reena and phillip?o football player ray mcdonald is now facing rape charges. mcdonald, a former member of the san francisco 49ers was indicted by a grand jury in california yesterday in connection with an incident involving a drunk woman at his home last december. if he's convicted, mcdonald could face up to eight years in prison. current 49ers linebacker ahmad brooks has also been charged with a misdemeanor stemming from the same incident. >>> closing arguments began this morning in the rape trial of a former prep school student. his defense called one witness, the accused. he admitted he lied when he boasted he had sex with a 15-year-old. abc's gio benitez reports from new hampshire. >> reporter: the 19-year-old accuses of rape, taking the stand. his 16-year-old alleged victim watching in the front row. >> my name is owen labrie. >> reporter: their encounter, a so-called senior salute where a graduating senior at their elite prep school spends time with a younger student. labrie saying he was fond of

reena, t.j.? >> incredible.n a bit, but our debate coverage continues now with abc's deputy political editor, shushannah walshe with some insight. what was your favorite moment? >> it was really right out of the gate. and of course, it featured the donald. let's take a listen. >> i can totally make that pledge. if i'm the nominee, i will pledge i will not run as an independent, and i am discussing it with everybody, but i'm talking about a lot of leverage. we want to win, and we will win, but i want to win as the republican. i want to run as the republican nominee. >> of course, he was the only one on the stage that wouldn't promise not to run as a third party, as an independent candidate. now, that would tear apart the party and ensure a democratic, likely a hillary clinton, win, for sure. >> that kind of set the stage for me at the beginning. you know i was excited, because they set him up for that. you knew he was the only one. that question was for him. >> it made for great tv. >> absolutely, absolutely. >>

reena, phillip?immy carter's health crisis when the former president speaks today in atlanta. it was just days ago mr. carter revealed he had cancer and that the disease had spread throughout his body. the former president did not reveal what kind of cancer, but his brother, father and two sisters all died of pancreatic cancer. >>> we're following a developing story here from egypt. a large bomb has exploded this morning in cairo near a national security building. six people were hurt, including a police officer. the powerful blast tore off the front of the building. windows were shattered blocks away. glass was littering the streets. no claim of responsibility. >>> devastating news from the wildfire zone in washington state. at least three firefighters battling a blaze in a remote part of north-central washington have been killed. several others were injured, one critically. the fast-moving fire was being pushed by gusty winds at the time that the firefighters were killed. one official called it "a

reena, phillip?sands of firefighters across the west. they're battling at least 90 large wildfires which have scorched more than 1,500 square miles in the last two weeks alone. several intense fires near chelan, washington, have now destroyed more than 70 buildings. resources across the west are so thin, military troops are being trained to help fight the fires. >> soldiers, you know, we're hard workers, and it just comes natural to us. >> when the 200 soldiers being trained are ready, they'll hit the fire line in central washington. an official in idaho says fire conditions there are the worst that they've been since the mid-1920s. >> oh, boy. >>> and the temperatures in the northwest will be around 90 degrees today, making things a little more difficult for fire crews, and there could be more severe storms elsewhere. abc's ginger zee looks at the damage and today's outlook. >> reporter: tornado in eastern iowa. >> get ready. get in the basement. >> reporter: these images just streaming in, reports

i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena we begin with the race to 2016 and major developments in the clinton campaign overnight. >> first the shocking new numbers for the first time a major poll shows bernie sanders pull ahead of clinton in key straight of new hampshire. sanders over clinton 44% to 37% half democrats say while they could support her they're not enthusiastic about clinton's white house bid. >> the move comes as clinton makes a surprising change, she agrees to hand over her private e-mail server. abc's kenneth mota is tracking that live from washington. >> reporter: good morning, phillip and reena, yes, this could mean big trouble for clinton, handing over the e-mail server she's been under scrutiny for months. the democratic front-runner say that this shows she mishandled classified information. former secretary of state hillary clinton's private e-mail server will finally be in the hands of the government, this as the intelligence community's inspeck tar general revealed at least two of the e-mail on that server contained top-secret information. classified details of

>>> good morning, i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin this morning with the three young americans. late least week, they were a group of guys heading from one european capital to another. >> now they're the recipients of france's highest medal of honor. abc's stephanie ramos joins us this morning. >> reporter: good morning. the president of france this morning thanked the three brave americans permly for their courage. in a ceremony at the presidential palace in france, three american friends humbly received france's highest honor, the leej on of honor. alek skarlatos, spencer stone, and anthony sadler and a british businessman were thanked for their courage. they made a split-second decision to stop a gunman. >> it was do something or die. >> reporter: stone showing a lack of regard for his own life sprang into action. >> we hit the ground. alek came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while i put him in a chokehold. it seemed like he kept pulling more weapons left and right. >> reporter: the gunman neverly severed stoep's h

reena, phillip. erika now tracking her way and expected to curve up towards florida by the time monday rolls around and slowing going to gain momentum. think of this storm as a big snowball and it's rolling uphill as it goes through the disruptive wind and this area is unfavorable for it to get stronger. as soon as it comes over the edge with more favorable conditions it's going to get bigger as it rolls downhill like a snowball possibly developing into a category 1. reena, phillip. >> thank you. >>> former president george w. bush and his wife laura mark the ten-year anniversary of hurricane katrina. >> images like this are still seared into the minds of many. homes submergeded. residents sitting on rooftops. today the people of new orleans will celebrate the resilience of people coming back. bazi kanani has more. >> reporter: good morning. >>> new orleanians refuse to give up proving there are some things even a hurricane can't destroy. in new orleans, this morning, a renaissance, hundreds more res

reena and phillip. >> so true, brandi.o much. >>> as she mentioned there, the los angeles area is coming off its hottest stretch of days this year ending just ahead of today's first day of school for the l.a. unified school district. workers have been making sure school air conditioning units are up and operating. district has more than 30,000 classrooms here in the northeast, another scorching day on the new jersey shore. readings there in the 90s yesterday. everyone at the beach being told to stay hydrated. they can expect more of the same today. dangerous heat indexes and poor air quality. our coverage continues with meetologist justin pavek. good morning to you. >> thanks and good morning to you. the heat is on on then tuesday and right into midweek on wednesday, the reason why high pressure off the coast is funneling those hot winds. not going to be especially windy. we're talking about temperatures in the 90s. it's going to feel like it's close to 100 degrees new york city, philadelphia, d.c. and baltimore. could be

good morning, justin. >> phillip and reena, thanks, and good morning. showers and thunderstorms are making their march slowly to the east, and we are concerned that these are going to produce very heavy rain, in fact, flash flooding is going to be possible from pittsburgh to philadelphia and south to our nation's capital around richmond looking at some very heavy rain, as well. one more dry day from hartford to boston.founfounlete in those areas. in the northwest we need the rain here desperately, unfortunately, not in the cards today or tomorrow. instead the winds are going to increase. bad news for the ongoing fire situation. in terms of the tropics we still have danny churning westbound though it's not going to be strengthening rapidly any time soon. phillip and reena, let's toss it back over to you. >>> now breaking overnight at least three have been killed in a shooting in rochester, new york, near a boys and girls club. another four people were wounded by this drive-by. police say that gunfire rang out when a basketball game was under way. across

. >>> good wednesday morning to you, i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. >>> we begin with the race to 2016 and major developments in the clinton campaign overnight. >> first, the shocking new numbers. for the first time, a major poll shows bernie sanders pulling ahead of clinton in the key state of new hampshire. "the boston herald" poll has sanders over clinton 44% to 37% half of the democrats said, while they could support her, they're not enthusiastic about clinton's white house bid. >> the news comes as clinton makes a surprising change, after months of resisting, she agreed to hand over her private e-mail server. republicans jumping on that reversal. abc's kenneth moton is tracking that live from washington. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, phillip and reena, clinton's campaign has repeatedly said she did nothing wrong. this could all mean big trouble for clinton, handing over the e-mail server she's been under scrutiny for months. during her time as the nation's top diplomat. former secretary of state hillary clinton's private e-mail server will finally

reena? >> a september to remember. i like that one. bazi kanani, live in washington. thank you so much. >>> to the extreme weather on both coasts. >> in florida, what's left of tropical storm erika is expected to drench the state through wednesday. with as much as six inches of rain. the ground is saturated already. several rivers are at or approaching flood stage. >> hawaii likely to see heavy rain and strong winds this week, as hurricane ignacio passes by. it will pass about 200 miles northeast of the big island and maui. residents and vacationers are likely to see rough surf and strong rip currents. >>> in the pacific northwest, people are cleaning up after strong wind storms. thousands lost power. most have had service restored. all major and secondary roads are now clear of fallen debris. >>> let's get the complete forecast from accuweather's molly cochran. >> for monday, we're looking at localized flooding across florida. flash flood watches in effect from tampa into orlando. until monday night. erika's moisture funneled into the sunshine state. over the next co

i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena.g news from the battle against the wildfire in washington state.

i'm reena ninan. >> i'm phillip mena. just unspeakable tragedy in virginia. >> could never have imagined. we've heard about isis terrorism in the middle east. never spengting something to happen live on television. the shoot ter actually faxing to abc news a manifesto suicide note saying that he was a human powder keg just waiting to go boom. we're going to begin this half hour with the on air murder in central virginia. it's a story hitting particularly close to home with so many people in the industry. focusing on this. >> absolutely. we have all done stories in the field, and up till yesterday, we hadn't ever actually seen one that ended in deadly gunfire. abc's kenneth moton has the latest now live from moneta, virginia. kenneth. >> reporter: phillip and reena, right now state police are still watching over the scene behind me just outside of roanoke. i can tell you this morning we are learning more about the disturbing mind of the suspected shooter who made accusations of sexual harassment and racism against his form

. >> and i'm reena ninan. we begin this morning doing what we know many others are doing in newsrooms around the country, thinking about those two young journalists killed on the air in virginia. >> alison parker and adam ward were known at their station as the "a" team, both of them just a few years into their careers. vicki gardner, who was shot while being interviewed, is hospitalized in stable condition. >> and last night, candlelight vigils were held to honor and remember the victims. abc's kenneth moton has more from moneta, virginia. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, reena and phillip. you can see behind me virginia state police are still watching over this scene because today the intense investigation will continue. meanwhile, this community is honoring the fallen journalists who had bright futures ahead. late into the night, investigators searched for clues and answers at the home of the man accused of gunning down two roanoke, virginia, journalists on live television. >> it did not re

i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm phillip mena. it is hot here in new york, across the northeast. >> it was pretty hot here. i was down in florida. i felt like i was taking a shower every three hours. it was so sticky. >> it's officially a heat wave in the northeast into it really is. boy do you feel it. we'll kick it off with the wildfires out west. >> it's complicating things. it is going across the south, the western united states rather. air power being brought in to fight major blazes in several states. >> fire crews are stretched so thin at this moment, they've decided to bring in the military. we're talking 200 active duty military troops. they're being trained in firefighting right now. and they'll head to the fire lines next sunday. abc's brandi hitt has the latest on this desperate battle. >> reporter: an intensifier fight across the west. where massive wildfires are raging out of control in four states. leaving behind a path of destruction. >> i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: more than 30 homes have been

reena, phillip? >>> the staunch espionage trial is coming to a close for a journalist detained in tehran after more than a year. jason spoke in his own defense in the hearing yesterday, a final hearing. it was held behind closed doors. his lawyer gave no details about the testimony. his family says he is an innocent victim of years of hostility between the u.s. and iran. >> he's very tired. he's very isolated. they don't have him with other people that he can speak with the same languages. english, farsi. and so he's very isolated. >> u.s. officials have pressed for the release of rezaian and other americans detained in iran but their freedom was not a stipulation in the landmark nuclear deal. >>> about a dozen rowers got sick during a trial run for next summer's olympic games. the team doctors say the dirty water near the competition area in rio de janiero may have caused the illnesses. but u.s. and international sailing officials say there's no evidence to support that. some have raised concerns ab

good morning, justin. >> phillip and reena, thanks and good morning to you. we're very concerned about tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail later on this afternoon over the nation's heartland. this is a very intense storm system for this time of the year. numerous travel delays expected from des moines to chicago and all the way south toward kansas city and wichita, but it's not just the center portion of the country that we're concerned about. out west it's the heat, it's the drought and also a continuation of high fire danger right through midweek, and then into the east it's just the heat and the humidity. again, it's coming in a little bit late. it's still mid-august, so we can definitely feel the heat this time of the year. we're not talking about record highs, but it's going to feel like it's around 100 degrees in a couple of locales is wednesday along the interstate 95 corridor. phillip and reena, back to you. >> thank you so much. >>> breaking overnight crews in indonesia have finally reached a passenger jet that slammed into a mountain on sunday.

i'm reena ninan. >> i'm phillip mena.hose americans that stopped that suspected terrorist attack on a european train are getting a rare honor today. >> such a great positive story. all three of these guys you see here were honored with france's highest award. the legion of honor. they've been telling their story saying they acted on "gut instings." david wright reports. caught on camera, the immediate aftermath of this foiled attack on a train bound for paris. >> he seemed like he was ready to fight to the end so were we will. >> the gunman trusted up on the floor, hog tied with a conductor's red necktie. beside him his small arsenal of weapons. the american airmen who stopped him bloody and wounded but immediately giving first aid to another passenger who had been shot air man first class spencer stone now speaking for the first time. >> i was going to use my shirt at first but realized that wouldn't work. so i just stuck two of my fingers in the hole found what i thought to be the artery, pushed down and the bleeding st