an injured climber is recovering in an oregon hospital after a daring rescue on mount hood near portland. a national guard blackhawk helicopter airlifted the man to safety after he lost his grip and fell about 700 feet. the chopper had to balance on a small ridge of snow 11,000 feet up. nearby climbers caught it all on camera. the fda has suspended its ban on juul cigarettes. >> just last month, the agency ordered the vaping company to

pull its electronic cigarettes off the market due to insufficient information about the potential health risks, but an official appeals court temporarily blocked that ban, so the fda now says there are scientific issues unique to juul that warrant further review. the weather is giving residents in and around sydney, australia, a slight break from major flooding. heavy rains around the city have eased, but the homes of 85,000 people are still being threatened. they're under evacuation orders. sydney has been under a flood emergency for nearly a week. australia's prime minister says the flooding is a wake-up call to fight climate change. changing gears now because things are getting serious at wimbledon. the men's final four will be completed later today. >> that's right. one of them could be a controversial australian who knows plenty of fans want to see him lose. abc's andrea fujii has more. >> reporter: this morning, as an australian tennis star is about to compete in one of the most important matches of his life, he's facing an accusation that

could land him in jail. >> game, set, match, kyrgios. >> reporter: nick kyrgios, the so-called bad boy of tennis, has advanced to wimbledon's quarterfinals, only the second time in his career. but his ex-girlfriend is now accusing him of assault over an incident back in december. his attorney saying, "the allegations are not considered as fact by the court, and mr. kyrgios is not considered charged with an offense until the first appearance." this just the latest controversy for the 27-year-old. his exchange with a reporter this week went viral after he was asked why he disregarded wimbledon's dress code by wearing red shoes on the court. >> why, then, would you step onto centre court with bright red trainers on and do an interview in a red cap? >> because i do what i want. >> so you're above the rules? >> no. i'm not above the rules. >> so what is it? they don't apply to you? >> um, i just like wearing my jordans. >> reporter: and last week,

kyrgios spitting towards a fan during the first round got him fined $10,000. he claims the fan was taunting him. he was also fined $4,000 for swearing out loud after a code violation during his third-round match against a greek player who called him a bully. >> i got ultimate respect for him. whatever happens on the court, i love him, and i'm close with his brother. >> reporter: kyrgios plays in the quarterfinals this morning. as for the assault charge, he's due back in court next month and could face two years in prison if convicted. mona, andrew. >> andrea, thank you. by the way, his match is at, i believe, 9:00 a.m. this morning. >> uh-huh. >> if he wins, he would go on to the wimbledon final, if he's able to play. >> that's right. and he could play none other than rafael nadal in the semifinals, and, you know, he says that people would love to see him lose, but these are pretty serious allegations, and he's looking at at least two years in prison. >> he actually had a rise to

wimbledon fame as a teenager. i believe he made it all the way to the quarterfinals and then lost to rafael nadal. so if he does win, it could be a rematch in the making. >> we will see. >> all right. coming up, this happened in florida. a woman following behind her husband driving himself and three children when his pickup truck is struck by a bolt of lightning. you see it there. >> wow, that is incredible video. but first, the parents of nfl star demaryius thomas opening up for the first time since his death last year. that's next. you're watching "world news now."

>> announcer: "world news now" continues this from our abc stations. scene 103, take one. here we go. my name is wesley, and i'm with my knucklehead brother. my friend nafi. my boyfriend doug. i thought we'd be on the same page about this and we're not. how do i know the way i'm going to respond to it? there's not that long term research out there yet. i don't want to be on the front line. but you're human. you're going to make a mistake. i'm just saying everyone has a right to make their own decision. but why would you want to take that risk? can you imagine being the person that goes to somebody's house and gives them the virus that kills them? what if you end up in a hospital? yeah. that's what i'm scared of. if you were to die, man... that would literally kill me, man. if it makes you feel that way bro... i will probably do it. can i hug you? yeah.

i love you, man. i love you too. ♪ welcome back. it was barely seven months ago that the sports world was stunned by the death of nfl super bowl champion wide

receiver demaryius thomas. >> now his parents are opening up for the first time since his death about what they've learned of his condition and how they hope it might help future athletes. here's abc's kaylee hartung. >> demaryius thomas, nice move. >> reporter: at just 33 years old, super bowl champion demaryius thomas' death rocked the nfl. >> you're going to see a tribute right now for the broncos. >> the fans now realize -- >> reporter: found unresponsive in a shower in december 2021, the mysterious circumstances of his death are now coming to light. >> cardiac arrest, you know, is the way that they're trying to say what kind of happened to him. suffocated. he died. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with abc news, his parents now sharing what they've learned since donating his brain to research. >> he suffered from cte stage 2. >> reporter: the first cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease known as cte, were found in the brains of former nfl players nearly two decades

ago. at boston university's cte center, dr. ann mckee says she's diagnosed it in 600 to 700 athletes after death. >> cte itself does not cause death. you don't die from cte. what cte does is it changes your behavior and your personality. >> reporter: thomas' parents say they saw him struggling in the year leading up to his death. >> he was paranoid all the time. but memory loss, i saw that as well. every single day he complained about having a headache. >> his mood would change, and he would also isolate himself sometimes. he was like, mom, i don't know what's going on with my body. you know, i got to get myself together. he said, i don't feel like myself anymore. >> he was seeking medical help. not sure if the medical help he was seeking was helping him, which from my understanding right now, what i've learned, it wasn't helping him. >> reporter: in 2021, thomas also started experiencing violent seizures, which dr. mckee believes were due to severe traumatic injuries off the football stairs, including a car wreck and a fall down stone stairs.

>> i'm demaryius thomas. i finally came to a decision to hang it up. >> reporter: in july 2021, thomas announcing his retirement. ur urchlt. >> you know, a year oh so, you know, i've just been trying to find myself. it ain't easy leaving football. >> him finding himself was really trying to find out what was going on with himself without them knowing what he was going through. >> he was a very private person. >> yes. >> he didn't want people to know, you know, what was going on. >> reporter: less than six months later, after having another seizure, thomas was dead. how did you all weigh the decision to donate his brain to be studied? >> at first i didn't want to do it. i was against it. but then i remember a conversation d.t. and i had where he said that, you know, mom, if anything ever happens to me, i want to be able to help other players. >> reporter: dr. mckee says she believes they are on track to possibly be able to diagnose cte in living players within five years, and she says that would

completely change the landscape of how this disease is addressed. kaylee hartung, abc news, los angeles. >> our thanks to caylee now for that very powerful story. the nfl for its part has invested millions in research and also changing helmet technology, changing some of the rules to kickoffs, for example, to just sort of reduce those number of collisions. but as another former nfl wide receiver, dez bryant put it, you know, cte, a lot of players have it. they're scared of it. the nfl knows it, as he said, and doesn't think enough is being done about it. >> this conversation is a recent conversation. it took a while for the nfl to even acknowledge cte, to acknowledge the impact it's had on players. as kaylee mentioned, they want to be more preventative and reactive. we think about junior seau, aaron hernandez, players that also had their brain donated to research and were diagnosed with cte. 33 years old. very, very young.

>> this isn't something that only affects professional athletes. there are also younger people who play football as well. so hopefully this, you know, sheds some awareness on the dangers of cte. fair and honest bidding site. this kitchenaid mixer sold for less than $26. this i-pad sold for less than $43. and this playstation 5 sold for less than a dollar. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find

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♪ time now for "this happened," starting with a terrifying scene playing out on a highway in florida. >> during an electrical storm. >> michaelle may whalen, who shot this video, says her husband and three children were traveling in the truck ahead of her when a lightning bolt struck them. whoa. >> it happened on a highway in tampa bay, but the tampa bay lightning, the nhl team, yeah, they lost the stanley cup just about a week ago, but whalen says she and her family were heading home from vacation in two vehicles when this happened. >> ooh. whalen says her husband and kids were not injured, but the truck was, quote, completely fried. she just happened to be recording. what a coincidence because i don't know if i would believe her if she told me.

>> right. >> all right. next, to an actual disco inferno at one couple's wedding. >> this happened at a barnyard reception. video showing the moment a guest who was described by witnesses as being a little inebriated took to the dance floor, waving around a pair of sparklers, and that's when things got out of hand. >> disco is back? that's what i got out of the story. the guest named greg or craig set a nearby centerpiece on fire. the flames threatened to set the entire barn ablaze, but greg or craig calmly swiped and stomped out the flames and then got right back to stomping out the dance floor. as you should. >> he caused it. he solved the problem, and he never stopped dancing. >> but he really did start the fire. ♪ he didn't start the ♪ okay. next, to the world's youngest author with her own book series. >> this happened in saudi arabia. 13-year-old rita hussein alhazmi now holds the world's record title for youngest female to ever publish a book, and she did it when she was only 12 years old. what are we doing with our lives? >> and we're double that.

her first novel, "treasure of the lost sea," was published in 2019 and was followed by two sequels. rita says she's currently working on her fourth installment of the series. she wrote her novels in english and says she's been writing since she was just 6 years old. >> yeah. it's not just a book. it's the whole series. >> right. >> you better go, girl. >> genius. finally, to the creative bear creating a masterpiece with her face. >> so this happened at a zoo in washington state. northwest trek wildlife park captured fern, the bear, getting her paws into a puddle of paint and diving right in. oh, my gosh. >> zookeepers say they poured the paint hoping to get a multicolored paw print to be sold at future fund-raisers. but instead they were surprised to discover fern using her face as a paintbrush and the floor as a canvas. don't worry, officials say the paint is safe for animals and probably kids, too. this is probably something i would do. >> i literally was going to say toddlers and animals. >> you've heard of a black bear and a brown bear, but how about a turquoise bear?

>> i mean what was b

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♪ ♪ >> announcer: it's "live with kelly and ryan!" to tell you from keeping up with the joneses, vivica a. fox. plus, the future is now. how to money from jean chatzky. your questions and comments when we open up sandbox. all next on life. now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest. ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause]