tonight, america's battle over abortion rights now at the center of the midterm elections. voters in kansas soumeurth haveheonn he soy restate. the first indication of where voters stand following the supreme court decision overturning roe versus wade. president biden is calling the vote a decisive victory. how one state's vote could reshape the midterms. rachel scott standing by. also tonight, 100 million americans under heat alerts tonight. extreme temperatures from texas to maine. in flood-ravaged kentucky, where thousands are without water or power, the heat index hit triple digits today. rob marciano tracking it all. the courtroom showdown between conspiracy theorist alex jones and the parents of a sandy hook victim. for years, he's called the massacre a hoax.

what he finally conceded on the stand today. and the family's attorney dropping a surprise bombshell. news tonight about the alleged gunman charged in the deadly mass shooting in highland park, illinois, answering to 117 felony counts in court today. and a new image of one of the youngest victims to survive the attack. the alarming report from the u.n.'s nuclear chief. europe's largest nuclear plant is, quote, completely out of control. his urgent plea to ukraine and russia to help avoid a nuclear disaster. house speaker nancy pelosi's defiant message to china following her whirlwind trip to taiwan. and meeting with leaders and dissidents. china's now launching military drills around taiwan following her visit. late word tonight about a u.s. congresswoman killed in a horrific car crash. members of her staff among the victims. the death defying fall, thousands of feet in the air. the paraglider tangled in his parachute, plunging towards the ground. how he saved himself at the last possible second. and the voice of america's pastime. the gold standard.

>> swung on and missed. a perfect game! >> tributes to dodgers announcer vin scully. more than six decades in sports broadcasting. one of baseball's greatest and most beloved icons. good evening, everyone. thanks so much for joining us on this wednesday. i'm linsey davis, in for david. we begin tonight with the surprise vote on abortion rights and what it could mean for the midterm elections. voters in the traditionally conservative solid red state of kansas overwhelmingly protecting the right to abortion, less than six weeks after the supreme court overturned roe versus wade. on the heels of the kansas vote, today, president biden saying voters of kansas sent a powerful signal. several of last night's key races are still undecided, including the republican primary for arizona's governor, testing donald trump's hold on the republican party. democrats and republicans are

now looking for momentum with less than 100 days until the midterms. abc's rachel scott is in kansas and leads us off. >> reporter: in washington today, president biden praising the surprise show of support for abortion rights in kansas. the first time voters made their voices heard since the supreme court struck down roe versus wade. >> i am so proud of kansas right now. >> the court practically dared women in this country to go to the ballot box and restore the right to choose that the court had just ripped away after 50 years. >> reporter: by a resounding margin of 61-39, kansas voters rejected an amendment to strip away the right to an abortion from the state's constitution. kansas is a ruby red state. donald trump won here by 15 points and there are 350,000 more registered republicans than democrats. but last night's vote wasn't even close. turnout was overwhelming. 900,000 people showing up to vote on a tuesday in the middle

of august. voters we spoke to, like breanna and kyle o'brien, told us the stakes could not be higher. what do you think is at risk? >> i would say, first and foremost, it's not just about kansas women. this is going to be an example that's set throughout the whole u.s. >> reporter: for the o'briens, its personal. breanna had an abortion in june after learning their child would be born with rare and severe genetic conditions. >> every family has -- should have that right to decide what's best for their babies. >> reporter: democrats hope what happened in kansas will shape the midterm elections. >> the voters of kansas in a powerful signal that this fall the american people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let them be ripped away by politicians. >> reporter: but in washington, the republican senator from kansas roger marshall says, not so fast. he admits he was stunned by the results in his state. >> i was absolutely surprised and i have no explanation. and again, it was just a gut punch.

that's all i can tell you. >> reporter: but marshall tells u voters will have other things on their minds when they go to elect candidates in november. >> i think voters come november will be very focused on the cost of gasoline and groceries and rent. that's all i hear about. >> rachel scott joins us now from overland park, kansas. rachel, the results in kansas are clearly the story of the night. but we also saw key primaries in five states and big victories from republican candidates who had donald trump's seal of approval. >> reporter: yes, linsey. and the starkest example was in arizona, where you have primary winners up and down the ballot who have embraced trump's false claims about the 2020 election. the republican winner for secretary of state in arizona even attended trump's rally on january 6th. if these candidates were to win in november, they would have a significant role in overseeing the next presidential election, linsey. >> rachel scott, our thanks to you. next tonight, heat alerts are in effect for nearly 100 million americans from texas to

maine. triple digit temperatures in dallas once again. in kentucky, where deadly flooding left thousands without power or water, residents now face extreme heat. in northern california, the mckinney fire leaving a small town in ruins. let's get right to abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano. any relief in sight, rob? >> reporter: no, and unfortunately, linsey, we're entering august the same way we left july, which is unusually warm. and now there are several big cities on track to have their warmest summers on record. take a look at this. houston, san antonio, austin, memphis, tampa, if august is like june and july, that's going to set a record. heat advisories up again through texas and the midsouth. yes, eastern kentucky. and in the northeast, where tomorrow, big cities like newark and hartford and boston could set records. temps getting to near 100 degrees. still dangerously warm on friday. not much cooling on saturday. there's a cold front that's trying to push into this warm air. severe thunderstorms from st. louis to detroit tonight. this doesn't make a whole lot of progress, it kind of washes out. so, don't expect any sort of big cooldown here in the east. linsey? >> the summer of extremes continues. rob, thank you.

next tonight, the courtroom showdown between conspiracy theorist alex jones and parents of a sandy hook victim. for years, he has called the mass shooting of 26 children and staff a hoax. at trial today, he conceded the massacre was 100% real. and while he was on the stand, the family's attorney delivered a stunning twist. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, that admission from conspiracy theorist and radio firebrand alex jones. >> it was, especially since i met the parents. and -- it's 100% real. >> reporter: finally acknowledging the tragedy the world witnessed in 2012. 20 elementary school students and six staff gunned down at sandy hook. >> i can't even describe the last 9 1/2 years of the living hell that i and others have had to endure. >> reporter: the parents of 6-year-old jesse lewis now seeking $150 million in damages, telling a texas courtroom that jones has compounded their

anguish by calling the 2012 school massacre a hoax. and calling them crisis actors. inciting his millions of followers against them. the parents saying they've endured violence, harassment, and death threats as a result of his toxic rhetoric. jones shaking his head as jesse's mom scarlette confronted him directly from the stand. >> you keep saying it. why? why? for money? >> reporter: throughout his testimony, jones stating he'd lost nearly everything after he was banned from facebook, youtube, and apple platforms. his company filing for bankruptcy. but the family's attorney revealing jones' lawyer mistakenly sent him two years worth of jones' text messages showing jones' infowars businesses brought in roughly $800,000 in one day from sales as he peddled mistruths. jones claiming in court that number wasn't the norm. on tuesday, the judge admonishing him. >> you may not tell this jury that you are bankrupt, that is

also not true. you must tell the truth while you testify. this is not your show. >> reporter: linsey, the jury now has this case. alex jones has already been found liable. they will now decide how much to award in damages. linsey? >> erielle, thank you. news tonight about the alleged gunman charged in the deadly mass shooting during the fourth of july parade in highland park, illinois. he appeared in court today where he entered a plea of not guilty to killing seven people and wounding dozens of others, allegedly opening fire on the crowd from a rooftop. the victims range in age from 8 to 88. here's abc's ike ejiochi. >> reporter: the accused gunman in the july 4th massacre in highland park, illinois, in court today pleading not guilty. 21-year-old robert crimo iii charged on 117 counts after allegedly opening fire on the parade crowd from a rooftop, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others. prosecutors say crimo planned the shooting for weeks, even disguising himself as a woman to

escape from the scene. the victims ranging from 8 to 88. ashley beasley, who was at the parade with her son that day, says it was important to be there today. >> i'm here today because people from my community cannot be here. they're not ready. they are broken, living in fear. >> reporter: tonight, 8-year-old cooper roberts, who was paralyzed in the shooting, is finally out of the hospital. he's undergone multiple surgeries, but is still recovering at a rehab. his family sharing photos of his reunion with the family's dog. they say they hope to have him home soon. now, crimo is facing 21 counts of first-degree murder. prosecutors saying today if he's convicted of at least two counts of murder, he'll face life in prison without the possibility of parole. linsey? >> ike ejiochi in chicago for us. thanks, ike. overseas tonight, the alarming report from the u.n.'s nuclear chief. he says the war in ukraine has left europe's largest nuclear plant, quote, completely out of control. he warns the situation is

growing worse by the day and immediate action needs to be taken to avert a nuclear disaster. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is in ukraine. >> reporter: tonight, the head of the u.n. nuclear watchdog warning the zaporizhzhia power plant in ukraine is completely out of control. rafael grossi, the director general of the international atomic energy agency, telling the associated press -- >> what's at stake is the nuclear safety and security of the biggest nuclear power plant in the european continent. >> reporter: ukraine accusing russia of storing explosives, weapons, and heavily-armored vehicles inside the plant, using it for cover to fire rockets at a nearby town. the facility in southeastern ukraine was the scene of fierce fighting in march, when russian forces took control. russia's accused ukraine of attacking their positions. a recent ukrainian military drone video showing an attack on russian forces based at the plant. but secretary of state blinken blaming the kremlin for the risks. >> russia is now using the plant

as a military base to fire at ukrainians, knowing that they can't and won't shoot back. >> reporter: the u.n. nuclear chief warning the situation is getting more perilous by the day, pleading with both sides to allow experts in to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear disaster. linsey? >> such a grave situation there. ian, thank you. next tonight, house speaker nancy pelosi is on the next leg of her asia tour following her quick trip to taiwan. speaker pelosi with a message for china, vowing the u.s. will not abandon taiwan. while there, she met with two top computer chip executives, an industry crucial to the u.s. and its national security. her trip angering china, which is now responding with military exercises off taiwan's shores. next tonight, indiana republican congresswoman jackie walorski has been killed in a car crash. walorski had represented indiana's second district since 2013. she served on the house ways and means committee and was the top republican on the ethics committee. walorski was 58. three others, including two

members of her staff, emma thompson and zachery potts, also died. flags at the white house and congress will be flown at half staff in honor of the congresswoman and her staff. we move on now to major developments tonight in the justice department's investigation of the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. abc news reports a grand jury has subpoenaed former trump white house counsel pat cipollone following his revealing testimony to the january 6th committee. here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the justice department inceasingly locking in on the white house and the actions of president trump. abc news first reporting that former white house counsel pat cipollone and his top deputy have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. making cipollone the highest ranking trump administration official known to be called so far. he can provide insight into critical areas the justice department is investigating, including what was going on in the white house as the insurrection unfolded. >> so, are you aware of any phone call by the president of

the united states to the secretary of defense that day? >> not that i'm aware of, no. >> reporter: doj also clearly wants to know more about the scheme to use so-called fake electors who supported trump to derail biden's certification as president. cipollone opposed that plan. he also told the january 6th committee some of trump's advisors even proposed seizing voting machines. >> why was this on -- on a broader scale, a bad idea for the country? >> to have the federal government seize voting machines? that's a terrible idea. that's not how we do things in the united states. >> reporter: cipollone has already testified before the january 6th committee on a range of topics for more than seven hours. though he frequently invoked executive privilege. it's unclear how much he would do that in front of a grand jury. linsey? >> pierre, thank you. one more headline from the justice department to note tonight. today, the doj filed a civil lawsuit against former top trump

adviser peter navarro. he's accused of violating the presidential records act, allegedly using a private email account for official messages that should have been preserved. navarro is already under criminal indictment for defying a subpoena from the january 6th committee. news tonight about a major error possibly affecting the credit scores of millions of americans. "the wall street journal" reports eck by fx issued the wrong scores, potentially causing some borrowers to be wrongfully denied loans or forced to pay higher rates. the company is blaming a coding issue, but claims the impact was minimal. here's abc's trevor ault. >> reporter: tonight, one of the nation's largest consumer credit reporting agencies under fire as equifax admits it miscalculated some credit scores this spring. >> if affected, it can have gotten in the way of your ability to access a loan or credit at a time when you might have needed it, especially at a time when interest rates were a little bit lower than they are now. >> reporter: equifax blames the error on a technology coding issue from mid-march to early april, saying in a statement,

"less than 300,000 consumers experienced a score shift of 25 points or more," and "there was no shift in the vast majority of scores." the ceo addressing the issue at a financial conference in june. >> we think the impact is going to be quite small, not something that's meaningful to equifax. >> reporter: but "the wall street journal" reports "equifax provided inaccurate credit scores on millions of u.s. consumers" as they applied for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. some potentially receiving higher interest rates or being denied loans altogether. >> you can talk to the lender and have them reassess your application and give you more details about how they made their decision. >> reporter: and linsey, equifax says the coding issues have been fixed since april and they are now working with customers to determine the true cost of these errors. linsey? >> many might be reassessing. trevor, thank you. following an emotional battle in the senate, president biden is expected to sign the p.a.c.t. act into law on monday. the bill provides health care to help american veterans exposed

to toxic burn pits. the senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11, after republicans delayed passage because of a technical error. jon stewart, who fiercely advocated for the bill, celebrated with veterans and military families after the bill's passage. when we come back, the dramatic images from a botched robbery in california. how the store owner fought back. and remembering vin scully. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including

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after four men tried to rob him at gunpoint. police are now investigating these images. one man enters the store with a long gun. the 80-year-old owner armed with a shotgun then fires, wounding a suspect. they all race out of the store and flee. four men were arrested. the owner suffered a heart attack after the incident and is now recovering. when we come back, the frantic race against time. a paraglider who managed to save his own life just in the nick of time. who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections.

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to the index.

the nfl is appealing the six-game suspension of cleveland browns quarterback deshaun watson. on monday, an independent judge ruled watson had violated the league's personal conduct policy. the nfl reportedly had asked for a much longer suspension. watson has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women but has not been charged with a crime. he denies any wrongdoing. and take a look at this story. an extremely close call for a paraglider in spain. his parachute fails to open while he was trying to perform a trick. you can see the parachute becomes trapped around him as he gets closer to the ground and he can't reach the safety chute. he later said he did not panic in those harrowing moments as he was falling. just in the nick of time, he was able to deploy that backup chute and he says he'll go back up again. when we come back, a look back at the life of the legendary sports announcer vin scully and how he wanted to be remembered. the sports broadcast ervin scully and how he wanted to be remembered. ♪ got my hair got my head ♪ introducing new one a day multi+.

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finally tonight, america strong. remembering a giant of baseball who never threw a pitch. >> it's time for dodger baseball! >> revered as the voice who provided the soundtrack of summer -- hi, everybody, and a very pleasant sunday to you, wherever you may be. >> his voice accompanied the plays from football to golf. >> welcome to the final round. >> of course, on the baseball field, he was royalty. vin scully knew what he wanted to do since he was 8 years old. >> i used to crawl under this big radio. i was intoxicated by the roar of the crowd. and kept thinking, wow, i'd love to be there. i'd like to be that fella broadcasting the game. >> on radio and tv, every windup, every pitch, every hit.

>> in there standing with a double. >> starting back in 1950 when he was 22, scully's enthusiasm and love of the game went hand and glove with the experience of dodgers baseball. he would call the game for of the greats, including jackie robinson and gil hodges. a gifted storyteller known for using restraint to call a game. >> a perfect game in a world series. >> in 1965, he called sandy koufax's perfect game. >> swung on and missed. a perfect game. >> in 1974, when hank aaron smashed babe ruth's home run record -- >> to the fence -- it is gone! what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. a black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep south. >> the 1988 world series game when kirk gibson hit a homer and hobbled around the bases. >> she is gone! >> over the course of his more than 60-year career, his voice enshrined in baseball history.

>> believe me when i tell you, i've needed you far more than you needed me. >> he would receive the presidential medal of freedom. but for all his achievements, scully said this is how he wanted to be remembered. >> i just want to be remembered as a good man, an honest man, and one who lived up to his own beliefs. >> vin scully was 94. the beloved voice of baseball. thank you so much for watching. i'm linsey davis. for david and all of us here, good night. >> tonight live team coverage

tackling a topic, drug overdoses, what is been done to build a better bay area. >> a new bill that will legalize safe ingestion -- injection sites. we will tell you why some are calling it a mistake. >> a crowd of protesters, housing construction at berkeley's people's park. a look at the fury over housing development in a new protest that is happening right now. >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions this is abc7 news. >> for cases like this i will be seeking felony charges. >> a pledge to hold drug dealers accountable. good evening i ama -- ama daetz. dan: drug overdose have claimed more lives than covid. the main culprit is fentanyl.

>> it is 50 100 times more potent than heroin, and responsible for 74% of last years overdoses. what can be done to save lives? dan: we're are looking at possible solutions with team coverage, luz pena looks at how close california is to legalizing safe injection sites here in the bay area. as hear from leeann melendez about policies from the new district attorney to hold drug dealers accountable. reporter: dan, if you remember in mid july, brooke jenkins told her staff she wanted to review all plea offers that were still active in -- and made by the former da. at the time, she said she might reconsider some of them. well, she has done that. more than 30 have been revoked because of the nature of these cases. people arrested for selling large quantities of fentanyl and being offered only misdemeanors. the people selling