b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b bh@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@ter on "good morning america" or anytime at abcnews.com. >> have a great thursday. making news on this thursday, september 9th. >> severe storms. tropical weather still whipping through the heartland. floodwaters sweeping away cars as multiple tornadoes touch down. moving ahead. the man planning to build an islamic center near ground zero says moving the mosque could make america less safe. and consumers have spoken. who really makes the nation's best burger? and good morning, everybody. thanks for being with us. tropical storm hermine has broken up. but it is not done wreaking havoc. >> hermine's latest chaos,

tornadoes around dallas. funnel clouds landed into buildings and power lines, casting off debris and electrical sparks. >> the rain moving s moving in a northeasterly direction, toward illinois. and it will continue to clobber the area with heavy flash flooding. brad wheelis has details. >> reporter: the water rose so quickly, emergency responders used whatever means necessary to get to people in need. >> i'm so thankful they were here to save us. my boyfriend told me to get on the roof. and i did. they put me in the vest and got me across. >> reporter: residents were trapped on roofs and balconies after flash floods turned roads into rivers. the remnants of tropical storm hermine, drenched dallas austin and san antonio. 10 to 20 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. >> it's been very hard for the people that live here. and very scary for the family. >> reporter: cars were barely visible above the water.

homes were islands. schools were evacuated. even pets needed help to reach dry land. one woman was forced to abandon her minivan, wading through waist-deep water. the abc affiliate teamed with emergency crews, flying their news helicopter to the scene to assist with rescues. wednesday night, what's left of hermine spawned several tornadoes, one including one close to downtown dallas. from here, the storm is marching north. much of the midwest will feel the storm's wrath by the end of the week. brad wheelis, abc news. the wildfire burning near boulder is now the worst in colorado history. at least 135 homes have been burned to the ground. and several others have been damaged by the fire. four people remain unaccounted for. thousands of residents are spending the night away from home. but many of them may be allowed to return today. the imam behind that planned mosque at ground zero is warning that moving the facility to a different location would

inflame extremists and endanger americans. in an interview with cnn, the imam said if his plans would spark so much controversy, he may have chosen a different location. the tax cut battle between president obama and republicans is now getting personal. he has taken his message to ohio, which happens to be the home state of a leading gop lawmaker. jake tapper reports. >> reporter: president obama came to cleveland, ohio to kick off election season. >> we have business to do today. >> reporter: using the same themes that worked two years ago to contrast himself from republicans. >> unity instead of division. hope instead of fear. it's still fear versus hope. the past versus the future. that's what this election is about. that's the choice you will face in november. >> reporter: one major choice is about the bush tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year. president obama wants to extend them for everyone who earns

under $200,000 a year. or $250,000 for families. republicans want to extend them for everyone including wealthy americans. >> what that will do is help small businesses who have no clue what the coming tax rates are going to be. gives them some certainty. >> reporter: the president has been going after house minority leader, john boehner, for days now. >> the republican who thinks he's going to take over as speaker -- [ crowd reacts ] >> i'm just saying, that's his opinion. >> reporter: the president mentioned himg by names, eight times. >> mr. boehner. mr. boehner. mr. boehner. mr. boehner. >> reporter: he's trying to make boehner, a republican house yethe bush years, his de facto republican opponent. seizing on a speech he made just two weeks ago. >> there's no new ideas. it was the same philosophy that we had already tried during the decade they were in power. >> reporter: the president was full of praise for some republicans. eisenhower, lincoln, reagan all

of whom are dead. he called them great leaders. suggesting that the current crop of republican leaders is not. jake tapper abc news the white house. we will get more of president obama's take on the tax cut issue in a special interview with george stephanopoulos coming up on "good morning america." as the nation struggles with some bitter divisions over the economy, foreign policy and wars overseas secretary of state hillary clinton says it's time to seize what she calls a new american moment. in a major speech to the council on foreign relations, clinton said we must try striking a balance to avoid sending a, quote, weakness internationally. >> i think the world is counting on us, today, as it has in the past. when old adversaries need an honest broker or fundamental freedoms need a champion people turn to us. >> clinton added that the obama administration's diplomatic approach to foreign policy is already paying dividends. she pointed to new middle east

peace talks and ambitions to curb nuclear ambitions in iron and north degree. critics are blasting the bp report on the gulf oil disaster. it lays much of the blame on its partners, transocean and halliburton. experts say the report is a preview of bp's likely legal strategy, as it faces billions of dollars in lawsuits. top officials in detroit are defending their handling of a series of fires in the city. residents complained that it took firefighters 90 minutes to respond in some cases. about 85 structures were burned in those fires which were apparently sparked by gusty winds and downed power lines. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. the remnants of tropical storm hermine hermine. stormy from the dakotas to montana, with isolated tornadoes. showers in the pacific northwest and northern new england. >> cooling down in the northeast. with highs in the 70s from

boston to baltimore. 90s across the gulf coast. and mostly 60s from detroit to fargo. it's just 62 in seattle. 72 in salt lake city. and 79 out in sacramento. still to come on this thursday morning, the man behind the controversy. a new york imam defends the plan to build a mosque near ground zero. and food for thought this morning. we're ranking the nation's best burgers. at purina one, we want your dog to be as healthy as possible. so, we set out to discover the science in some of nature's best ingredients. we created purina one with smartblend. new, delicious shredded morsels and crunchy bites, with real meat, wholesome grains and antioxidants, for strong muscles, vital energy, a healthy immune system, and a real difference in your dog. purina one improved with smartblend. discover what one can do.

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employers may be ready to step up hiring. job openings rose in july for the first time in three months. the number of jobs advertised climbed more than 6%. but many experts worry the unemployed don't have the skills to fill those jobs making it harder to lower the unemployment rate. also households cut back on their borrowing again in july as credit card use fell for the 23rd-straight month. the decline in borrowing and increase in savings are acting like a drag on the economy. let's get a check of market activities starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.8%. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street the dow rose 46 points yesterday. the nasdaq gained 20 points. toys "r" us is opening 600 pop-up stores for the holidays toys "r" us is opening 600 pop-up stores for the holidays.

taking advantage of all that open mall space. the retailer is hiring 10,000 workers to staff the stores. about half of them are already open, the rest opening by the end of october. most will close in january. but some could become permanent. mcdonald's has sold, of course, billions of burgers. but that doesn't mean it's the best-tasting burger. in fact, mcdonald's burger ranked dead-last in a recent online survey by "consumer reports." respondents said it was the least delicious out of 18 fast food chains. in-n-out burger and five guys were the favorites. >> i love five guys. glad it made the list. coming up next on this thursday, new opposition to the plan to burn copies of the koran. will the pastor planning the event back down? and the vice president thanks the troops on late-night tv.

texans are cleaning up and drying out this morning, after getting slammed by the leftovers from tropical storm hermine. as we have been showing you,

several tornadoes touched down in the dallas area, bringing down part of a strip mall. at least two people died in flash floods. and many others had to be rescued from their homes. lingering flooding for the morning commute, from dallas to oklahoma city. i-40 will also be drenched into little rock and memphis. flooding in the northern plains from fargo to billings. wet on i-5 in the pacific northwest. and on i-95 and 90, upstate new york and new england. >> if you are flying today, expect airport delays in seattle, salt lake city, kansas city, memphis and dallas. the outrage over a florida pastor's plans to burn the koran is spreading around the world, across religious and political lines. but so far, the criticism hasn't deterred pastor terry jones in the least. emily schmidt joins us with details. good morning, emery. >> reporter: good morning to you. two days from now, a pastor of a congregation that only has a

couple dozen people, is planning an action in a the u.s. fears will have international backlash. so far, though, all of the warnings haven't led to my change. pastor terry jones says his small florida congregation, still plans to burn the koran this weekend. although, it seems most of the world disagrees. >> we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing. >> reporter: sarah palin tweeted her opposition to jones. televangelist, pat robertson, criticized him on tv. >> this is so stupid. >> reporter: the fbi says retaliation for koran burning is likely. and the state department ordered u.s. embassies to assess their security if jones goes ahead with his plan. >> we want to be judged by who we are as a nation. not by something that is so aberrational. and we'll make that case as strongly as possible. >> reporter: the burning is planned to take place on saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. two blocks from ground zero there is more anti-muslim debate. the cleric behind a proposed

mosque and cultural center, tells cnn moving it now would give into radicals. >> we would not have done something that would create more divisiveness. our national security now, hinges on how we negotiate this. >> reporter: rauf also said he was shocked about the protests about the project. >> if i knew this would happen, this could cause this kind of pain, i wouldn't have done it. >> reporter: back in florida, an imam called on jones to change his mind. one more plea that so far is in vain. >> i told him, the world will admire your courage, if you come out and say, because of my devotion to christ and to the bible, i'm going to do the right thing. >> reporter: in a new abc news poll, 26 million americans admitted feelings of prejudice against muslims. just over half see islam as a peaceful religion. rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt in washington. thanks, emily. a new abc news poll overnight finds that more americans are worried about the nation's security. just 48% of americans in this

poll says the country is safer now than it was before september 11th, 2001. and that is down 62% from two years ago. the poll finds 9/11 has strong resonance for most people. 64% say they think of that day often. a private contractor is denying allegations that it knowingly sent incompetent military translators to afghanistan, possibly endangering troops. a whistle-blower says failing grades were changed for translators who can make more than $200,000 a year. the company $1.5 billion contract is under investigation. you can see the full report at abcnews.com. new figures show fewer people are dying on the nation's highways, with last year's death toll dropping to the lowest level since 1950. the transportation department says traffic deaths fell 9.7% from 2008 to 2009,

down nearly 34,000. the decline is being attributed to seat belts, safer cars and tougher drunk driving laws. a star of the reality show "jersey shore" has been fined and sentenced to community service for disturbing the peace. nicole "snooki" belizewas lectured by the judge who called her a lindsay lohan wannabee. he questioned whether she had staged the event for the show. it is time, now, for sports. here's steve weissman at espn news. >> good morning. i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. we begin with the tight race in the n.l. east. phillies starting wednesday in first place for the first time since late may. hosting florida. bottom four, two on for ryan howard. the big fella with his second homer in as many days. 250th of his career. he's not done. 9-0, philly. bottom seven, howard another base hit. shane victorino scores. howard went three for five with six rbis. phils win this one by a final of

10-6. so, can atlanta keep pace? looking to bounce back with a win on wednesday, after losing to the pirates the day before. top three, 4-0, braves. derek lowe, laying down the bunt. daniel mccutcheon fields. throws it away. braves win 9-3. they remain a half-game behind philly in the n.l. east. time to hoop it up. spain taking on serbia. quarterfinals of the fiba world championships. fourth quarter. spain down five. juan carlos navarro. three names, three-points. he led all scorers with 27. 30 to go. spin spain still down two. marc gasol to the rack. we're all tied at 89-89. still tied. 1-7 on threes at this point. pulling in from deep. serbia, 92-89. 3.1 on the clock. jorge garbajosa, losing control. serbia holds on to win. the reign of spain, the defending champs, now over.

that is your espn news update. i'm steve weissman. back to you in new york. you know what that means, vinita. football season, kicking off tonight. everyone, of course, this time of year, ready for a little otball. including first lady, michelle obama. she showed off her skills during a flag football game, where else? in the city of the super bowl champs. >> i don't know if they can tell your tie has fleur-de-lises on it also. >> i'm in football mode. >> mrs. obama encouraged players and former players to encourage children to move at least an hour each day. it was an all-american homecoming for u.s. troops returning from iraq, thanks to two familiar faces. >> comedian stephen colbert paid tribute to american forces by packing them in his studio and serving them up with a diet of beer, ice cream and hot dogs. guess who he got to help serve up the hot dogs? none other than the vice presidenenoe biden. it was simply for the troops. very cool.

>> to say the least. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today. we'll be right back. going? they'reiscovering the first self-injectable ra medicine you take just once a month. it's simponi™ and taken with methotrexate it helps relieve the pain, stiffness, and swelling of ra with one dose a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi™ can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, cancer in children and adults heart failure nerus system disorders, lir or blood problems, and allergic reactions. before starting simponi™ your doctor should test you for tb and assess your risk of infections including fungal infections and hepatitis b. ask your doctor if you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections or develop symptoms such as fever, fatigue cough, or sores. you should t start simponi™ if you have an infection. [ female announcer ] ask your rheumatologist about simponi™. just one dose, once

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to help me breathe better all day long. spiriva does not replace fast acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain... or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate... as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take... even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. now, i'm managing my chronic bronchitis every day. ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you. now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this thursday. what's left of tropical storm hermine is moving out of texas, northeast toward illinois. forecasters warn it will unload a lot more rain today and trigger more dangerous flash flooding. some residents in boulder may be allowed back to their

neighborhoods today, as crews continue to battle the worst wildfire in state history. florida pastor terry jones' plans to burn the koran has u.s. embassies around the world bracing for the worst. the state department is ordering them to convene emergency action committees, to assess security ahead of pastor jones' actions this weekend. jews around the world celebrate the new year. and muslims mark the end of the holy month of ramadan. and the nfl season begins tonight, with the super bowl champion saints taking on the vikings at the superdome. a huge parade and concert proceed the game. many schools and businesses will be closed for the celebration. >> who dat nation. coming up later today on "good morning america," the president sits down with george stephanopoulos, talking about the koran controversy and the upcoming midterm elections. he'll also get personal about the first lady and how they explain difficult issues to their daughters. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right

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m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m finally this morning, stretching the truth about your waistline. >> it looks like many men are being kept in the dark when it comes to picking out the

best-fitting pair of pants. it's a trend among retailers that is proving size really does matter. call it the tight truth. "esquire" magazine has discovered a secret technique used in the pantsmaking industry. it's called vanity sizing. in essence, what you think your waist size is in your favorite pair of slacks, in many cases is a big, fat lie. for example, the clothing megachain h&m size 36-inch dress pants are actually measures out to 37 inches. and the gap leaves a gap in their measurements, too. their 36-inch pants are missing an entire 3 inches. and the worst waistline offender, old navy. their 36-inch dress pants

come up 5 inches light, with an accurate measurement of 41 inches. so, we took to the streets to see if men have been suspicious of all of this vanity sizing. >> you know how it is. you work so hard to lose weight and be fit. they're telling you the wrong size. >> i'm hurt. i'm hurt. i mean, i honestly don't know. i think i would just try it on. >> i notice from one brand to another, it's different. but not from one store to another, it's different. >> if they tell me i'm 31 and it fits and it works, i'm 31. >> if they tell me 32, and it fits and it works, i'm fine with that, too. >> reporter: but the white lies are not laughing matter. a report in "the archives of internal medicine" shows that men with waist sizes of 47 inches or bigger, have the risk of dying from a health-related issue. so, if you think your pants measure out from 42 to 47 inches, you might want to take a tape measure with you the next time you go shopping.