abc's neal karlinksky has details. >> reporter: the west is burning. a combination of excessive heat warnings and wildfires baking the region and threatening to shatter records in four states. >> the record is 115, expected to hit 118. >> reporter: in arizona, 25-year-old anthony quatela died and his friend was hospitalized after they ran out of water hiking this trail in the extreme heat. in phoenix, we found this father and his kids trying to help others by donating water. >> just give back, you know. i don't know. something to do. it was hot. >> reporter: the homeless, the elderly and even pets, all being given special attention amidst warnings the heat can be a killer. cooling stations are now open. >> we don't have earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes but the heat is our disaster. >> reporter: with a heat measuring gun in hand, we surveyed the temperatures on the ground. 158 degrees. 171 on this swing. the slide, 185 degrees. careful with the door handle. out in the sun, 146 degrees. many staying inside. >> when you're dehydrated, your head starts

neal karlinksky, abc news, wichita, kansas. >> let's get the forecast not only for that region but also where the storm is going next. >> accuweather's paul williams joins us now. paul, good morning. >> good morning to you, as well. kendis, diane. unfortunately, we have another set of severe storms that will rip its way throughout the mississippi valley region from st. louis all the way down towards memphis, reaching down towards new orleans and eventually affecting the folks in springfield as well as little rock over toward shreveport and encompassing houston where it's not needed but it is going to hit. torrential down pours, isolated tornadoes, damaging winds and possibility of even worse storms. and if that's not enough, we have another very strong system that's going to slide across is the pacific northwest. and it will make its way throughout arizona and new mexico. now, this is how it's going to shape up. we'll have a strong jet stream that will create even more problems with additional storms that will flare-up again on friday in texas. diane, kendis. >> all right. our thanks to

neal karlinksky, abc news, seattle. >> got to feel bad for her. clearly something wrong there. aviation consultants actually say the crew could have done a better job here. they should have called the paramedics before calling the police. >> that was one of the first things they do. that flight was heading to portland, oregon. i get upset sometimes over not having peanuts on a flight. not quite that sort of temper tantrum that took place there. it's getting increasingly hostile in the air for many people. by the time you get on the flight, you've gone through all the sa lines we've talked about. >> people's patience runs low. every now and then you find a passenger having a problem. sometimes it helps to catch the warning signs before it gets to that point. that's kind of what they're saying. either the crew could have handled it better or maybe the gate agents need to keep a better eye out. even other passengers. the crew can't catch everything. if you see someone that seems like they're agitated maybe there's a way to circumvent it. before it gets the to that point. >> if you

here's abc's neal karlinksky. with the danger sign. >> hit the jump. hit it! hit it clm! >> reporter: a father and son back country ski outing turning to a heart-pounding fight for seconds as 15-year-old ethan goss disappears amidz the trees. >> are you all right? >> reporter: he's fallen out of sight in the tree well. >> ethan? >> reporter: winston goss digs his son out. the boy fighting suffocation. >> here we go. here we go. i got you. >> i need to breath. >> reporter: the video now viewed more than a million times online as this father uses his close call to warn others calling it the most frightening experience he's had as a parent. >> i remember sitting there watching the video with him and my leg was shaking just a bit. it was pretty emotional afterwards. it was a true moment, you know, for me to pull him out. >> i had a near-death experience. >> yeah. >> you never expect something like that to happen to you, but once it does, it's kind of shocking. >> reporter: it's hard to see until you're right here up close. but these branches block so much snow. one step down

neal karlinksky, abc news, burns, oregon. > incredible video. >>> coming up in our next half hour, a major development in the case of the so-called affluenza teen, ethan couch, back in the usa this morning after weeks on the run in mexico. what kind punishment will he face now? >>> first, putting those virtual assistants to the test. siri versus cortana versus google. the one that came out on top. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" >> announcer: "world news now" continues after i thought, "the red cross does katrina. they don't help single moms. hi. hi. what happened to our house last year? it flooded. and the water flooded out. yeah. the red cross arranged the hotel for us. they gave me that break, that leverage, to be able to get it together and... take care of them, you know? i feel like we've come full circle. like that! this is how i'll do it. sarah: there you go. ♪ >>> facebook is taking on periscope with a new live streaming feature. it allows users to broadcast video in realtime directly to friends via their social network act. account. as of n

neal karlinksky, abc news, cupertino, california. >> big mystery, who was that third party? >> that is the big mystery. >> apple so far, they sound a little skeptical of how that third party is going to break into it. there was during a conference call with a senior executive for apple on monday, they were saying the company wants more information about the method that would be used to break that iphone. i don't think they quite believe it is possible. >> my iphone did break over the weekend. cracked right in the middle and i can't touch it. >> not somebody hacking into it. >> no, but cracking is devastating enough. >> okay. all right. >> got to get that fixed today. >> there is that first world problem we'll call it. >>> well, coming up, the world rallying around brussels. >> look at these images, everybody, all around the world, remembering brussels and belgium. and belgium. e one thing i need to be predictable is to be flake free. because i have used head and shoulders for 20 years. used regularly, it removes up to 100% of flakes keeping you protected every week, every mo

here's abc's neal karlinksky. >> reporter: more than 100,000 people seeking spiritual help flocked to this website, christian prayer center, desperate for the power of prayer and the help of pastors like john carlson. >> people are thinking their problems are going to be solved. >> reporter: the online church came with a digital collection plate, a fee of between $9 and $35 for prayers. washington state's attorney general says it was all a scam. pastor carlson is outraged too, saying his name was used without his permission. in fact, investigators say all kinds of fake religious leaders and testimonials were used to entice people to the tune of $7 million worth of paid prayers between 2011 and 2015. all of it, they say, the brainchild of this man, benjamin rogovy. >> at the basic level, it's a scam and he was asking people to give money under deceptive circumstances. >> reporter: rogovy couldn't be reached for comment. the website is closed saying, we thank you for all the prayers. they say he's now agreed to pay back $7.75 million to more than 150,000 customers. neal karlinksy, abc n

neal karlinksky is there with the latest for us. >> reporter: el nino's fury ripping apart a chunk of the california coastline. a drone video catches a huge slab falling away. police have now yellow-tagged an entire apartment building, telling residents to get out while they still can. >> did you sleep with one eye open up until today? >> yeah, alert. time to go >> reporter: take a look at this. this bluff in the city of pacifica battered by rough surf and pounding rains, leaving homes and businesses in danger of falling. just imagine if this was your balcony. underneath here, the entire coastline continues to fall away with no end in sight. this home's patio has been left poking out with little support. pictures from before show the dramatic difference. despite the threat, some residents refusing to leave. >> you guys will have to physically drag me out. >> reporter: and despite efforts to shore up this bluff, people here know the danger is far from over. neal karlinksy, abc news, pacifica, california. >> god, it's so scary. also the home values for these people who invested so much