would happen in rio, long before it did. good evening. and we begin tonight with the new controversy in the race for president. donald trump late today talking about hillary clinton and the selection of supreme court justices. saying, if she's elected, there's nothing you can do. then, adding, quote, the second amendment people, maybe there is. tonight, the outrage is immediate. some saying this is not a political misstep, that this is a dangerous threat. we begin with abc's tom llamas, on the campaign trail. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump accused of crossing the line in a dangerous way. >> hillary wants to abolish, essentially, abolish the second amendment. by the way, and if she gets to pick -- if she gets to pick her judges, thg you can do, folks. although, the second amendment people, maybe there is, i don't >> reporter: just look at how one trump supporter reacted after trump said that. hillary clinton tweeting this statement from her campaign -- "a person seeking to be the president of the united states should not suggest violence in any way." the trump campaign says trump wasn't talking about violence, that he was trying to rally support, releasing this statement -- "it's called the power of unification. second amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great politic clinton will pick the next supreme court justice, the nra coming to trump's defense, tweeting -- "donald trump is right. if hillary clinton gets to pick her anti-second amendment supreme court judges, there's nothing we can do." but clinton supporters not buying it. senator chris murphy, from connecticut, where the newtown shooting still resonates, tweeting -- "don't treat this as a political misstep. seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy and crisis." and it's not just democrats. many prominent republicans in just the last 24 hours say they've had enough of trump. 50 leading gop national security experts writing that letter saying trump would be, quote, the most reckless president in american history. today, another prominent republican, senator susan collins of maine, also saying she won't vote for trump. >> i do not believe that he is the president that we need at this time in our country's history. >> reporter: trump earlier today with his campaign style. >> i've always had a good temperament and it's gotten me here. you can't, and you don't want to, i certainly don't think it's appropriate to start changing all of a sudden, when you've been winning. >> reporter: and dismissing the growing number of gop leaders abandoning him. >> you know, these poll politicians, they don't know me, they don't understand me. >> and tom llamas with us live tonight from north carolina. and tom, back to those words, donald trump addressing, quote, second amendment people today, he's standing by his words, but critics saying this was >> reporter: david, tonight we reached out to the secret service, they told us, they are aware of what donald trump said, but right now, there is no comment whether this will even be investigated. david? >> tom llamas tonight, leading us off. tom, thattinks, as always. and this all comes amid the polls showing hillary clinton expanding her lead nationally, and tonight, there are new polls in the key battleground states. take a look. in the must-win state of ohio, clinton leading 43% to trump's 38%. in pennsylvania tonight, she is now at 48%, to trump's 37%. but hillary clinton's campaign is also facing its own questions tonight, about an unexpected visitor seen right behind her during a campaign event in florida. there in the red cap, the father of the shooter at that nightclub in orlando. abc's cecilia vega on why he was right there behind hillary clinton. >> reporter: a florida campaign rally about 3,000 people strong and right there behind hillary clinton, seddique mateen, the father of orlando shooter omar >> bill and i were in orlando about two weeks ago, and we had a chance to sit down with mayor dyer. >> reporter: mateen taking photos as clinton remembered the attack that left 49 people dead. a site clinton recently visited, laying flowers to honor the victims. mateen telling orlando station wptv he was invited. >> it's the democratic party, so everybody can join. >> reporter: so, how did he get secret service telling us mateen passed through metal detectors like everyone else. clinton's aides will only say, "this individual wasn't invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event." also tonight, clinton under fire, once again, over benghazi. parents of two americans killed in the attacks, including this mother, who spoke out at the republican convention -- >> i blame hillary clinton personally for the death of my >> reporter: -- now filing a wrongful death lawsuit against clinton, tying it to her private e-mail server, saying her, quote, extreme carelessness, caused the attack. the clinton campaign responding, saying nine different investigations into benghazi, and, quote, none found any evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing on the part of hillary clinton. >> and so let's get right to abc's cecilia vega. also with us live tonight. and cecilia, the clinton campaign saying in the last 24 hours, that mrs. clinton is ready for the will participate in the fall. any word from the trump team from that? will he meet her on that stage? >> reporter: well, david, he now says absolutely there will be three debates, but it seems to come with a caveat. he wants to see the conditions and to know who the moderators are. david? >> cecilia vega with us tonight. cecilia, thank you. we move on this evening, and to the investigation after the fall from a ferris wheel in tennessee. we have new reporting this evening about what might have caused that ferris wheel accident. three girls tumbled from the basket, you see right there, authorities tonight acknowledge there were mechanical issues. and many asking, was there no belt, no bar holding them in? here's abc's steve osunsami now. >> reporter: the youngest of the girls, just 6 years old, is in the worst shape tonight. doctors say she suffered a traumatic brain injury when they fell from the ride. >> i've got three kids that fell from the ferris wheel. three kids. >> reporter: investigators say as this orange cart carrying the children rose into the sky, it got caught against this other cabin,nd upside down, throwing the three girls to the gravel, some 40 feet. two of them had to be airlifted to the hospital. >> i just feel bad for the little kid, you know? they just screamed a little bit, and then they just hit the ground and just landed there. >> reporter: parents worried their children might be hurt raced to the ferris wheel, as rescue teams used a fire truck to free riders who were still trapped. >> the ferris wheel was tilted, leaning to one side. >> reporter: the big question here tonight is about seat belt and safety bars. take a look. we didn't see any of either. from the manufacturer, there are no seat belts. >> reporter: inspectors are now saying what happened was a mechanical issue. we took a look at rules on safety restraints at amusement park rides, and found that in some cases, standards are voluntary. david? >> all right, steve, thank you so much. and in kansas city tonight, new developments after the death of a 10-year-old boy on a water slide. and this image this evening, a raft arriving at the bottom of that same slide last month. the rider in the back there without any shoulder harness at all. it apparently fell off on the way that image comes amid questions this evening about those harnesses, and the safety of the slide. abc's alex perez on that story. >> reporter: tonight, investigators searching for what caused caleb schwab to be thrown from the high speed water slide, resulting in that fatal neck injury. new details emerging tonight about previous problems at that very same ride. paul oberhauser says the safety shoulder strap came off last month. you can see his son in the front and his friend in the middle both have straps, but he does not. he held onto handles near his legs. >> i just gripped it really tight. just held on as i went up the top of the next hill. >> reporter: and this photo of an incident in 2016 also shows a man whose shoulder strap fell off. park officials declined to comment today when we asked about reports of faulty safety straps. across the country, 7,200 water slide injuries estimated last year alone. kansas officials say they are investigating whether the park met safety requirements. the slide will be closed for the remainder of the season, but the rest of the park reopens tomorrow. david? >> all right, alex perez with us, as well. alex, thank you. thousands of american passengers remain stranded tonight. more than 1,600 flights canceled now, after that computer meltdown yesterday morning at delta. furious passengers now asking how a computer problem can bring 48 hours of cancellations. >> reporter: more long lines, delays and cancellations. a second day of the delta debacle. >> this is a bummer. >> reporter: tonight, that's led to those more than 1,600 flights canceled over two days, as computers are still slow. >> kiosks wont print boarding passes. this is your only option for a boarding pass. >> reporter: and it is still a worldwide problem, from europe to asia. american jeff quigley is stuck in japan. >> there were so much screaming and yelling, i just had to get out, because it was getting really ugly. >> reporter: ear m equipment failed and its computers crashed. even though electricity was quickly restored, the airline says some of its computer systems didn't switch over to the backup power. some did. and its systems are operating with some instability still tonight. from delta's ceo, a second apology. >> this isn't who we are. this isn't the quality of service and the reliability that you've come to expect from delta airlines. >> so many passengers are going simply not enough, with them still waiting for their flights, now 48 hours later, david. >> reporter: and the ceo says there will be even more delays, more cancellations, tomorrow morning, david. they're hoping by tomorrow afternoon they can get back to a regular schedule, regular operations. >> all right, david kerley, who covers aviation for us. thanks. next here tonight, to the wildfire danger growing in the west at this hour. more than 5,000 families fleeing their homes now. the pilot fire, some 60 miles east of los angeles, a number of schools closed. the fire lines tonight. >> reporter: david, the air quality here is so bad, that parents say it looks like it's snowing ash. the fire jumping fire lines, prompting thousands more evacuations on monday night. scorching nearly 7,000 acres, and sending smoke into nearby cities, forcing those school closures. hand crews using fireproof gel to protect the homes that they can, while eight air tankers drop retardant from the sky. now, the firefighters say the wind is actually helping them for that ridge that there. they say if they lose, thousands more are in danger. david? >> kayna wit whort trackwhitwor fire for us. kayna, thank you. and in the southwest, a giant dust storm blowing over phoenix this afternoon. visibility down to a quarter of a mile there. and then, flash flooding hitting tucson today. let's get to rob marciano, tracking it all for us. >> reporter: david, after a short break, the southwest monsoon is back in action. aided in part by some of the moisture from tropical storm javier. and some of the storms near the phoenix area today, near 50-mile-an-hour winds, which kicked up the dust. more of that tomorrow. sand we'll see some heavier rain. could see one to three inches of rain. flash flooding and mudslides a possibility through thursday. panhandle of florida, this stubborn low continues to spin. we saw nine inches of rain in one spot in the last 12 hours. look for another five at least from pensacola and new orleans. the folks that live in the big easy should prepare for a wet go and the possibility of flooding. david? >> rob marciano with us. rob, thank you. gold and adding to the summer games medal count. and mystery made this evening. of course, swimmer lilly king settling the store with her russian opponent, earning gold herself. but late today, the u.s. women's gymnastics team made that history, keeping that streak alive, holding their gold medals. that image seen across the internet at this hour. and tonight, michael phelps getting his game face on. he will swimor a record number of gold medals later tonight. and already, four days into the game, team usa still well ahead in the medal count. abc's matt gutman, part of our team, right there in rio tonight. women's gymnastics team living up to months of hype. they didn't just win, they vaulted over the competition. anchored by the human spring, simone biles, they won every single category. and later tonight, the man to watch, michael phelps, the winningest olympian ever, who we're used to seeing grinning with gold or in a celebratory flex, but now, scowling in the dressing room. appearing to give his south african rival, who beat him four years ago, the death stare. a rematch, phelps going for his 20th gold. with his mom, fiance and infant son, boomer, wearing those tiny team usa headphones, cheering him on from the stands. phelps won gold in the men's 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay sunday. his teammate, ryan held, sobbing during the medal ceremony. so, a guy that doesn't cry almost ever cries twice in a day. ? >> yeah. >> that's what the olympics does to people. >> reporter: we met held today. >> i cried on the podium. and then michael phelps kind o like, you know, i've been here 19 times before, like, i might start tearing up and crying just on this one. >> reporter: and a cold war rivalry heating up. lilly king backing up her now infamous finger wagging scold, with a medal of gold. touching the wall a blink of an eye before her russian rival. then, refusing to acknowledge yulia efimova, previously suspended for 18 months for doping. and getting in one final cold >> we can still compete clean and do well at the olympic games, and that's how it should be. >> reporter: and more redemption in the pool for americans, 30-year-old david plumber becoming the oldest man to win a first medal in the olympics since 1912. david boudia and steele johnson making a small splash in synchronized diving. coming from behind to win silver. torquing and twisting in near perfect unison. they say this dive is their most difficult, in part because of height difference. johnson is 6'2", boudia, 5'9". crediting their success to sharing the same coach and learning the dives together. david, gymnastics competitions are often decided by a hundredth of a point. tonight, the women's team won by eight full points. now, in london, the women's team called itself the fierce five. its new name seems to be well-earned -- the final five. david? >> the smiles and those gold medals late today. matt gutman, our thanks to you. and there is still much more we have new developments tonight in the death of a second female jogger. that community on edge. the jogger found near her parents' home. and authorities revealing news about their investigation. their news conference, late today. also, take a look at this. the scare on an american highway tonight. this driver seen texti with one of her legs up on the dashboard. a passenger so concerned in another car, recording it all. and then, the security scare at the airport. a passenger apparently missing his flight, jumping from the jet bridge and running toward the plane, across the tarmac. let's just say authorities were gary, gary, gary... i am proud of you, my man. making simple, smart cash back choices... purchase, everywhere. like on that new laptop. quicksilver keeps things simple, gary. and smart, like you! and i like that. i guess i am pretty smart. don't let that go to your head, gary. what's in your wallet? 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[ simultaneously ] she does. help defend against those digestive issues. take phillips' colon health probiotic caps daily phillips. be good to your gut. next tonight, we have new developments in the mystery death of a female jogger in massachusetts. the victim found near her parents' home. the second female jogger found dead in a week. abc's linsey davis, in that community in massachusetts, on edge tonight. >> reporter: hundreds of tips are pouring in tonight in princeton, massachusetts, as a community tries to solve a >> we're still approaching this from every angle. we don't know if this was a random act. >> reporter: 27-year-old vanessa marcotte, a google employee, disappeared during an afternoon jog on sunday. her body was found less than half a mile from her mother's home. abc news has learned investigators are looking into signs of sexual assault and burns on her body. >> doors are unlocked often, but -- not anymore. >> reporter: police in massachusetts haven't ruled out a connection to the murder of karina vetrano, who disappeared while jogging last week in new york. the nypd was back in vetrano's neighborhood last night, giving an update to residents desperate for answers. >> we have collected several pieces of evidence from the crime scene that are being forensically processed as we speak. >> reporter: now, two grieving families. marcotte's father told reporters that his daughter was not in a relationship with anyone. authorities in massachusetts say they do not have a suspect. david? >> linsey davis, thank you. when we come back, the big also, the security breach on the runway. the passenger jumping from the jet bridge, running across the tarmac, trying to get into that little car. and then, the driver spotted on the highway, and the outrage tonight over what she was doing. when my doctor told me i have age-related macular degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan. including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 that the national eye institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd... after 15 years of clinical studies. preservision areds 2. because my eyes are everything. when it comes to healthcare, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. for partners in health, time is life. we have 18,000 people around the world. and work together in real time to help those that need it. the ability to collaborate changes how we work. what we do together changes how we live. constipated? recommended dulcx trust nr use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief suppositories for relief in minutes and stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief (riley) hey guys (jessica) so the new recipe of beneful is really excellent. the first ingredient is chicken. 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>> all right, amy, thanks so much. the power of a boy with a dream. breaking nnws just into denver isis in syria, the family of jordan mctaggart just confirmed about their son's death, he was not there with the military, he was fighting alongside kurdish forces and we are collecting more details and will bring it to you on denver 7 and tonight at 10 pm. aggress fire grows quickly in the eastern arapahoe county, the fire near 1000 acres, there are not flames near buildings or structures and firefighters say it's under control . it got dark quickly here in the metro and you can see storm clouds, here is mike nelson