some throwing plywood, chairs and other items. subways bypassing stations. as many as 1,000 police officers rushing in to restore order. some in riot gear pelted by bottles. several officers reportedly hurt. trevor ault on the scene tonight. as we come on the air, severe storms taking aim at the northeast. millions on alert from pennsylvania to maine. in the south, powerful storms bringing torrential rain. at least ten people hurt in alabama. and dangerous heat returns. alerts from california to florida. rob marciano timing it out. former president donald trump one day after his historic arraignment in washington, entering a not guilty plea for the second time in as many days to the new charges in the classified documents case. the new abc news/ipsos poll that shows a majority of americans say the special counsel's election charges against trump are serious, while a significant minority say the case is politically motivated. trump now juggling growing legal battles with his campaign for president. pierre thomas covering it all. the significant development in the gilgo beach investigation. another victim, jane doe number seven, identified. a 34-year-old woman from manhattan, 27 years after she went missing. overseas, the u.s. prepared to put american marines on commercial ships in the persian gulf to protect against threats from iran. could this increase the risk of a broader conflict? the war in ukraine, the dramatic attacks on a russian warship in the black sea by an apparent marine drone. the ship seen limping back to port under tow. ian pannell from ukraine tonight. the idaho college murder suspect offers an alibi, but does it help the prosecution? one of the biggest jackpots in american lottery history is just hours away. and america strong tonight, the teen in desperate need of a kidney saved by an unlikely donor. >> whit: good evening. it's great to have you with us on this friday night. i'm whit johnson in for david. several developing stories as we come on tonight. but we begin with that tense scene here in new york city. thousands of young people converging on manhattan's union square park after a social media influencer with 20 million followers announced a video game console giveaway at the park. the crowd growing very quickly, overwhelming the park. underground, subways bypassing the station. some turning violent, pelting officers with bottles and other objects. one using plywood as a shield. the nypd issuing a level four mobilization. that's the highest level. as many as a thousand officers responding, some in riot gear, struggling to control the crowd. there are reports of injuries and many arrests. young people describing the chaos after waiting for hours for the giveaway. police say the crowd in union square has been dispersed, but there are smaller groups still roaming manhattan, and the drone technology now being deployed. abc's trevor ault leads us off tonight on the scene at union square. >> reporter: tonight, mayhem in manhattan with thousands of young people packing the streets for a social media star's video game giveaway. >> there are several thousand people here. >> reporter: the crowd swelling as new york city's evening rush hour got underway. >> people have been throwing things at each other as well as at police in the streets, so this has become a very dangerous situation. >> reporter: people climbing on cars, statues, and subway stations after twitch streamer kai cenat announced to his 20 million social media followers he would be giving away playstation 5 gaming systems, gift cards and more. >> it's a $100 gift card. $100 gift card. all here, bro. we going to go crazy for new york, man. >> reporter: police using plywood as a shield as they're pelted with bottles and other objects. some officers reportedly injured. cenat seeing the police response -- >> yo, chat, i know y'all here with me, but what goes on from here on out, bro, you feel what i'm saying? everybody for themselves. it's a war out there, man. >> reporter: and even briefly live-streaming from inside the chaos as he was mobbed by fans. an suv spotted speeding away with multiple people hanging on. the twitch star possibly inside. >> oh, and there just fell -- someone just fell off. >> reporter: wabc's cefaan kim on the ground as police move in. >> police just broke the barricade. they bum-rushed the crowd, this entire crowd down broadway. hundreds of people went sprinting down broadway. >> reporter: police making multiple arrests, finally gaining control of the area after more than two hours. whit, police are here now and we're still seeing fights popping up here. authorities say they've made dozens of arrests, including some officers have been injured, and now that streamer, kai cenat, he's being questioned. he could face possible charges, including inciting a riot. whit? >> whit: that unrest still playing out. trevor ault, you and the team please stay safe. thank you. we're also watching the severe weather threat for million as we come on tonight. storms firing up from pennsylvania to maine as dangerous heat returns across the south and in the west. nearly a foot of rain in union city, tennessee. residents forced to evacuate this mobile home park. in northern alabama, flooded roads and treacherous morning commute there. abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano tracking it all. the northeast bracing for torrential rain tonight. >> reporter: yeah, whit, parts of the northeast have already gotten some of that. that front will be drifting into the i-95 corridor over the next few hours. severe thunderstorm watch for parts of pennsylvania, up through new england. vermont got hit hard again. some will add not just heavy rains, damaging winds as well. getting a break in tennessee for now, but more rains coming into the plains in the dakotas. that's overriding the ridge that's creating the heat. expanding heat warnings. from miss into dallas. 108 expected in oklahoma city. remember, these temperatures are measured in the shade and do not include humidity. our friends near the deep south and gulf it will be oppressive tomorrow. >> whit: some of these areas just can't catch a break. rob, thank you. now to the major new development in the gilgo beach killings on long island. the remains of jane doe seven, initially found 27 years ago, have been identified using genetic genealogy. now the question of whether her death has any link to rex heuermann, accused in the murders of three women already. here's abc's senior investigative reporter aaron katersky. >> reporter: tonight, a significant development in the investigation into the gilgo beach serial killings that terrorized coastal communities on long island for decades. >> we were able to identify fire island jane doe as karen vergata. >> reporter: vergata, known as jane doe number seven, one of ten victims whose remains were discovered around gilgo beach. her remains were initially found on fire island back in 1996 and later linked by dna to a skull located near gilgo beach. >> in august of 2022, approximately six months after we formed this gilgo task force, a dna profile suitable for genealogical comparison was developed from the remains of karen vergata. >> reporter: the fbi using genetic genealogy to identify vergata before authorities were able to confirm with a cheek swab from a relative. vergata was 34 and living in manhattan when she vanished on valentine's day 27 years ago. no missing persons report was filed at the time. and like other gilgo beach victims, according to authorities, she worked as an escort. there have been no charges in connection with her disappearance, and investigators have made no link to rex heuermann, the suburban father and architect who has pleaded not guilty to killing three gilgo beach victims. authorities are now asking a judge to order heuermann to turn in a direct dna sample to see if it could help tie him to any other killings. in addition to karen vegata the remains of five other gilgo beach victims were found along these parts and their murders remain unsolved. whit? >> whit: aaron katersky tonight for us, thank you. now to developments in president trump's multiple legal battles. today his legal team filing his plea, not guilty to the new charges in the classified documents case. and he's also asked for permission not to appear to his hearing scheduled for next week. but the former president is set to attend a campaign event in alabama tonight, insisting the prosecutions he's facing are political attacks. and tonight, the results of our latest poll and what the majority of americans think about the severity of the charges. here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, new developments on multiple fronts in the criminal cases against donald trump. just 24 hours after he was in washington, d.c., pleading not guilty to charges in the special counsel's election interference case, trump and his legal team filing a plea of not guilty to the new charges stemming from jack smith's classified documents case alleging a scheme to destroy surveillance tapes. trump also asking not to have to appear in person at next thursday's hearing in that case involving the former president's handling of classified documents after leaving the white house. trump is still the clear republican frontrunner in the presidential race, heading back on the campaign trail tonight. but our latest abc news/ipsos poll might give his campaign a reason to pause. it shows 65% of the american public think the allegations that he tried to steal the election that he lost are serious. and a sizeable amount, 49% of americans, think he should suspend his campaign. but trump is claiming he is the victim of a politically motivated prosecution. >> this is persecution of a political opponent. this was never supposed to happen in america. >> reporter: according to our poll, nearly half, 46% of americans, agree, it is political. leader in the gop standing by trump. >> stop using government to go after people who politically disagree with you. that is wrong, and that should stop now. >> reporter: and with a potential fourth criminal indictment coming in georgia, the former president will be juggling a packed calendar in the coming months as both defendant and candidate. trump has a hearing in the special counsel's election case on august 28th. that's only five days after the first republican debate, even though it's unclear whether he will participate. and in the spring just after super tuesday, the heart of the primary season, his criminal trials in the hush money case and the classified documents case are scheduled to begin. he's denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges. >> whit: pierre thomas joins us now from the federal courthouse in washington, d.c., where trump was arraigned in the special counsel's election interference case. that was just yesterday. and, pierre, the former president's schedule about to get even more complicated. >> reporter: whit, the judge overseeing the case already pushing to get a trial date. she's given the special counsel's office until next thursday, august 10th, to come up with a date and is calling on trump's defense team to respond with their own proposed date a week later. whit? >> whit: pierre, thank you. we're getting new information tonight about u.s. plans to deploy marines on board commercial ships sailing in the persian gulf area after iran seized oil tankers a number of times in recent months. let get to abc's chief white house correspondent, mary bruce. mary, this is a remarkable escalation in the longstanding tensions with iran. >> reporter: it is, and whit, the hope here tonight is this will be an effective deterrent to iran's aggression. tonight we're told the u.s. military is prepared to offer protection to commercial ships to try to stop iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels as in scenes like this one. we have some video of this. the plan is unprecedented, but we are told it is likely to be approved. u.s. marines have already been training for this for the past two weeks. now, the plan is to put armed personnel in teams of 20 on commercial ships that request protection. the marines would have the right to self-defense, and while the intention is to put iran on notice, there is no question it increases the risk of miscalculation or possible confrontation with iran. whit? >> whit: mary bruce at the white house, thank you. next tonight, ukraine appears to be ramping up its offensive. a sea drone targeting a russian warship in the occupied territory of crimea. dramatic new video showing the moment of impact be the crippled ship being towed back to shore. abc's ian pannell is in ukraine tonight. >> reporter: tonight, an attack on a russian warship from what appears to be a marine drone bearing down on it, captured in video circulating online. this is what the ship now looks like, limping back into base, being towed by a tug, listing heavily on one side. ukraine not saying it was responsible, but security services confirming to abc news they carried out the attack, claiming the drone was packed with almost a thousand pounds of explosives. normally russian ships are heavily protected, as the black sea becomes a battleground. today, president zelenskyy appearing to congratulate his forces and warning russia, saying -- [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> reporter: what you give to the world is what you get back. whit, this ship was recently pulled back to base just to protect it. ukraine now showing it's increasingly capable of attacks by air and sea and far from its own borders. whit? >> whit: ian pannell, thank you. back here now to a new development in the idaho college murders. lawyers for suspect bryan kohberger in a new court filing offering an alibi for the night the four students were stabbed to death in their beds, but could that alibi actually help the prosecution? here's abc's mola lenghi. >> reporter: tonight, for the first time, accused killer bryan kohberger is offering an alibi, saying he was driving in his car on the night four college students were stabbed to death at the university of idaho. in a new court filing, the defense team saying, "mr. kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone. often he would go for drives at night." however, he is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time. >> his alibi, he was driving alone, does not give a precise thing or person that can place him somewhere else. so that's the question the judge must determine is whether or not that can actually be used as an alibi. >> reporter: a not guilty plea was entered on kohberger's behalf, and his defense attorney claims his alibi for that night could be corroborated by witnesses at trial. >> i'm just curious about the law. i don't mean to -- >> oh, no, yeah, i can find it for you. >> reporter: but kohberger's white hyundai elantra, seen here during a traffic stop, is a key piece of evidence for prosecutors. investigators say they have surveillance showing a white elantra near the crime scene, along with cell phone data and dna linking kohberger to the crime scene. >> there's an array of good versus bad alibi defenses. the defense of "i was out driving my car alone" is going to be a very difficult sell to a death-qualified jury given these facts. >> reporter: whit, in a recent court filing, kohberger's attorney requesting that the indictment against him be completely tossed out. kohberger's next hearing is scduled for august 18th, and his trial is scheduled to begin october 2nd. though that date is likely to get pushed back, whit. >> whit: mola lenghi, our thanks to you tonight. when we come back here, the fatal stabbing of a gay dancer in brooklyn. >> reporter: and the terrifying moments on the runway. what a jet blue pilot saw from the cockpit in the close call with a leer jet. to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can dramatically relieve ra and psa symptoms, including fatigue for some. it can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. done settling? 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