making news in america this morning, tracking the tropics. erika barreling through the caribbean overnight. already being blamed for a number of deaths. new video just in of the damage it's leaving behind as the u.s. coast prepares. new details in the on air murder of two journalists, what we're learning about the gunman, his past, getting fired from the tv station where the victims worked and the items discovered inside his car. hair defense. in front of a packed crowd, donald trump calling a person up to check his trademark hairdo. >> i don't wear a toupee. we're going to settle this. >> a tug of the hair hoping to put those rumors to rest. >> and mowed down. stopped in his tracks, the fastest man in the world taken

out by a segway. well, good friday morning to you. florida and the bahamas now on alert as tropical storm erika unleashes deadly mudslides and flooding in the caribbean. >> erika right now on radar lashing puerto rico overnight. reports of heavy wind and downpours on the island right now. the storm expected to dump up to 12 inches of rain in parts of the caribbean. >> rescue crews are fanning out across the caribbean island of dominica. the storm washed away cars and buildings and unleashed landslides. at least four people are dead and more than a dozen are still unaccounted for. >> the sunshine state is still in erika's path. people in south florida already preparing. water and supplies are already flying off supermarket shelves. we get the latest now tracking from accuweather's paul williams. good morning, paul. >> appreciate it, reena,

phillip. erika now tracking her way and expected to curve up towards florida by the time monday rolls around, and she's slowly going to gain momentum. i want you to think of this storm as a big snowball, and it's rolling uphill as it goes through the disruptive wind, and this area is unfavorable for it form or get stronger, but as soon as it comes over the edge with more favorable conditions here, it's going to get bigger as it rolls downhill just like a snowball, possibly developing into a category 1. reena, phillip. >> thank you, paul. and former president george w. bush and his wife laura visit louisiana and mississippi today to help mark the ten-year anniversary of hurricane katrina. >> a decade later and images like this are still seared into the minds of many people, homes submerged, residents sitting on rooftops. today the people of new orleans will celebrate the city's resilience coming back from this devastation. >> and abc's bazi kanani is joining us from new orleans with more. bazi, good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

reena. good morning, phillip. new orleanians refuse to give up on their city proving there are some things even a hurricane can't destroy. ♪ in new orleans, this morning, a renaissance, hundreds more restaurants, a burgeoning tech industry, a billion dollar medical center and higher graduation rates. >> the fact that we can make this many strides ten years after a terrible epic disaster, i think, is an indication of the kind of spirit that we have in this city. >> reporter: president obama called the city an inspiration while touring parts of the lower ninth ward thursday highlighting the remarkable progress made after an apocalyptic storm. hurricane katrina flooded 80% of the city drowning hundreds in their own homes leaving thousands stranded and desperate. [ sirens ] >> the early recovery was not good, and i think that this country is in a much, much

better place because of what we went through. >> reporter: but in the city preparing to celebrate and to commemorate on this weekend's anniversary, there remain stark reminders of loss. >> it's just -- it's just horrible. >> reporter: abandoned homes or just empty lots in predominantly african-american neighborhoods still waiting for revival. poverty remains high, and what about those failed levees. the city is now fortified with a new $14 billion levee system, one of the best in the world. still, there can be no guarantee against the power of mother nature. >> every time you build a wall, there's a bigger storm that comes. >> reporter: it is a risk those who love this city are willing to take. now, again, to commemorate the ten-year anniversary, former president george w. bush will be here later today, and former president bill clinton will visit tomorrow. reena, phillip. >> just amazing to see the recovery. abc's bazi kanani live in new orleans, bazi, thank you.

now the grief after those tv shootings in virginia. memorial services are being planned for reporter alison parker and adam ward. >> their colleagues at wdbj in roanoke, virginia, receiving support from their community as they deal with their deaths and police now finding out more about the gunman. abc's elizabeth hur is in roanoke. >> reporter: the 41-year-old shooter worked here at the station with the two victims until he was let go. station officials say he did not take the firing well, but they never saw this coming. new evidence suggesting the 41-year-old former reporter, bryce williams, whose real name was vester flanagan was preparing to evade authorities. police finding a wig, sunglasses, a shawl, black hat and three license plates, along with a glock 9 millimeter pistol and six magazines of ammunition inside his getaway car. >> the suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous. use caution. >> reporter: flanagan committed suicide while on the run from

troopers, this after killing his two former co-workers on live tv. >> please join us now in a moment of silence. >> reporter: exactly 24 hours later, virginia station wdbj observed a moment of silence for reporter alison parker and her cameraman, adam ward. their sudden and tragic deaths uniting a news team still grieving. >> they cry, they hug, and then they get the job done. >> reporter: in a suicide note, flanagan called himself a ticking time bomb. in a lawsuit against wdbj in 2014, he claimed to be the victim of racial and sexual harassment, allegations the station denies. >> i would defend the actions of every person who was in that newsroom when he was here because i saw the way he behaved. >> reporter: the station did order flanagan to get counseling before firing him two years ago, counseling for behavioral, not mental health, issues. elizabeth hur, abc news, roanoke, virginia. in georgia, a student at

savannah state university has been killed in a shooting on campus. a spokeswoman says the victim was shot during an altercation at the student union. the campus was briefly on lockdown during the incident. the victim identified as a junior from atlanta. presidential politics and hillary clinton on the attack during an appearance in ohio. clinton drew parallels between terrorist organizations and the field of republican candidates when it comes to their views on women. >> extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups. we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world, but it's a little hard to take coming from republicans who want to be the president of the united states. >> jeb bush tweeting his response, "hillary clinton compares pro-life americans to terrorists but defends despicable planned parenthood treatment of the unborn." donald trump had the

photo-op of the day speaking to a crowd in greenville, south carolina, trump blasted a recent story that indicated he wore a toupee. that's when he asked the wife of a local politician to step on up and feel for herself. >> you have to do an inspection. this is getting crazy. this is crazy. just real quick, we don't want to mess it up too much because i do use hair spray. come, come. is it mine? look. >> it is. >> it is. say it, please. >> yes, i believe it is. >> thank you. [ laughter ] >> tiny tug on the back there. the billionaire putting those rumors to rest. >> okay. well, mark your calendar, apple fans. a date set officially for the next big announcement. and little hero. a boulder smashes in a hiker. his young son thinking on his feet and coming to the rescue. plus, stopped by a segway, usain bolt taking a tumble on the tracks.

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showing a robust rebound after a roller coaster of a ride on wall street this week. the dow closed up 369 points. the second day of rallying in a row. if today's report on consumer confidence is encouraging, investors could see more gains. asian markets also posted gains overnight. well, all the rumors are true. apple has an announcement to make. the company sent out invitations yesterday for an event in san francisco on september 9th. it's widely expected that apple will use the get-together to introduce a new iphone and a revamped tv set-top box. well, a landmark labor ruling will make it easier for fast food workers and other

contract employees to be represented by a union. the national labor relations board changed a key relationship between employer and employee which has held since the days of president reagan. the decision was immediately attacked by business groups who called on republican lawmakers to overturn it. and the nebraska lottery is spicing up its offerings with sriracha. it's rolling out a new $2 hot sriracha scratch-off game. it actually smells like the famous hot sauce as you scratch it off. players can compare scent with the smell of real sriracha sauce tomorrow at the nebraska state fair. tickets will be available at retailers soon. i'm going to get my dad some of those for christmas. >> scratch and sniff. >> he loves his sriracha. when we come back, caught on camera. a bus driver attacked by a passenger while the bus is moving. and self-photography 101, the college now offering a course in selfies.

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roads could be slippery in the upper midwest with heavy rain. and if you're flying, airport delays possible in miami, kansas city, minneapolis and seattle. michigan police say there may be a sniper targeting freeway drivers. >> they are investigating after at least five motorists reported being shot on two major roads. the shootings occurred between the end of july and last week in the southern part of the state. there may have been others. no one has been injured. the same area was targeted three years ago with nearly two dozen shootings. newly released surveillance video shows the brutal attack on a phoenix bus driver. the attack caused the driver to lose control and crash the bus. eight passengers were on the bus including three children. the man who has been charged with that attack is now apologizing. he says he's a drug user and he does not remember the attack. well, a 13-year-old boy is credited with saving his dad's life after an accident on a hiking trail. charlie finlayson and his dad were in the idaho wilderness when a huge boulder fell and

suddenly injured the father. there were other rocks all over the slope that could have come loose at any moment. charlie says he remembered a very important lesson from boy scouts, don't panic. first he went back to their camp about a mile away to get supplies. >> charlie was right on top of things. he got me lowered down to the ground and got the first aid kit lowered to me. >> there's not a ton to it. you just got to make sure you're staying calm. >> well, he stayed calm for awhile and took care of him for a couple of days then hiked several miles to get help. father and son are already talking about the next adventure on a beach this time. i don't blame them. huh? >> not at all. things are getting serious now at the little league world series. >> plenty of drama to go, but before the champ is crowned on sunday, let's get the highlights from espn. >> chris hassel right there from the east coast. neil, right here, always on the west coast. this is the "sportscenter" set. go. >> okay.

little league world series from the east coast area it's in williamsport dancing with a bear. and, boy, this was a fun game. texas was down 7-6, extra innings, bottom of the eighth and ben gottfried ties it up. two batters later, one on for caleb low who was 0 for 5 with five strikeouts in the little league world series until he just walks off. dramatics from texas on to the u.s. title game to play pennsylvania. >> little league, by league, the mets were down 5-0 to the phillies. thought they would gain a game. bottom ten, two outs. jeff francoeur at the plate off carlos torres to daniel murphy back to torres. this is why we have spring training, fellas, to practice plays like this. you know what, that is a tough play. if you're ever wondering what is a tough play, that's air tough play. now, this is just a really good play. it's murphy again, he's been red hot in august in the 13th, he drives in the go-ahead run and

the phillies fall apart and the mets beat the phillies 9-5 in extras. >> second largest division lead in all of baseball. only the royals have a larger lead than the mets. they'll make the playoffs. >> in other news, who do you like in that fight saturday? >> santa cruz. >> there you go. >> i'm going with santa. >> you heard it. have a good day. >> but you're going with pearland, texas. >> yes, pearland, those are the guys that won in a walkoff. >> rooting for them then. earlier in the baseball season we showed a couple catching foul balls in their beer cups. >> this happened at a minor league game in california. the fly ball finally comes down, way up there, the guy catches it right in his cup. there it is, of course, now he does what everybody would do at such a great moment in life, he chugs that beer. look at that. he spilled a little on himself. but look at that. >> my first thought would have been to get the cup -- >> he says hi to someone first. he sees it's coming. bang, right in there. >> that's confident for you. >> he seized the moment, good

for you. up next in "the pulse," another trailer for the upcoming "star wars" movie is released. and a strange place to be sunbathing. the story behind this guy, yep, he's on top of a wind turbine. today, i'm asking about levemir®. vo: levemir® is an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c. levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. levemir® comes in flextouch, the latest in insulin pen technology from novo nordisk. levemir® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious

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♪ well, time to check "the pulse" starting with a new trailer from one of the most anticipated movies of the year. >> "star wars: the force awakens" from our parent company disney, it popped up on instagram and quickly went viral. >> there's been an awakening. i felt it. >> it's going to be legit. >> get your lightsaber. >> lots of lightsaber action on this. and that's the best part when you're a kid playing with the lightsaber. >> of course.

of course, but it's only really 15 seconds but you can expect "star wars" fans, they're going to dissect it and discuss it, every single second. you got to google it. >> blogs probably already doing conspiracy theories and all that. just such a hunger for "star wars." >> coming this fall to indiana university northwest, selfie 101. >> that's right. students will study selfies. the professor says the class will examine research on selfies, as well as exploring selfie etiquette such as when is an appropriate time to take a selfie. >> really? >> really. >> you don't do chemistry or physics. apparently it's not the only university offering a course on selfies. at the university of southern california, a freshman class explores what selfies say about ethnic gender, sexual and class identities. okay, i get that one. >> i think it says that you can't ask a stranger to take a picture for me. that's what it says, lack of social skills. >> oh, i didn't know that was inappropriate. i do it all the time. >> i would think so -- take selfies. you can tell. there you go. i take it all back then. all right.

next up, a guy who had a chance to take a really great selfie, no doubt about that. he was spotted by a drone flying right next to that wind turbine in rhode island. >> this is a rather odd place to catch some ray, wouldn't you say? he doesn't seem to be too pleased about being found. he knows he was busted there and he flipped the drone off. >> yeah, look at that. it's unclear who this guy is or how he got up there. but he was upset that they found him. i mean, i could see that. that's the one place you thought that no one is going to find you and, sure enough, a drone comes by, takes your spot, guess you got to soak up that sun wherever you can. the unofficial end of summer is next weekend already. >> okay. and finally, even the world's fastest man, usain bolt, couldn't get out of this one. the sprinting legend from jamaica was taken down from behind after a cameraman lost control of his two-wheel scooter. >> he just won the race at the world track and field championships in china,

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good friday morning. it is 4:28. i am kristen sze. >> i am eric thomas. now a check on the weather forecast. here is meteorologist mike nicco. >> good morning to you, it is warm out this morning. we barely have any win, at three miles per hour. or nonexistent. can you see how clear the air is from the east bay hills camera. 60-70 degrees through 7:00 this morning. high clouds and sun. still going to be warm at noon. 74 at coast. 80 away the bay. 88 inland. we will top 90s inland. low 70s at the coast. a delightful evening, 60s at the coast, 80ss inla

70s around the bay. >> detroit will if you are headed interest san francisco. no 87 northbound is light. moving over to drive time traffic i-80 westbound highway 4 to the maze, 16 minutes and at the bay bridge, eight minutes. 101 southbound from san francisco to sfo you will be on time at 11 minutes. >> the oakland police chief is defending an answer who fatally shot hill after the officer was attacked with a metal chain. >> police say the officer would shot and killed the suspect was wearing a body camera so that video will be reviewed along with this video showing the chaos right after the shooting took place yesterday morning. this video shows a wounded man on the ground moving his head

and as. police say the man initially attacked the officer multiple times with a metal bicycle chain. a bystander called for help as the officer radios for backup, the gun on the suspect. some question if the shooting was necessary. >> rather than shooting him they could have tasered him or placed him. i don't think what he did was worth his life being taken by knowing him >> metal chain is a weapon. >> protests matched against violence. the man who was shot was often seen in the neighborhood sleeping outside and sometimes combative with those who tried to get him to move along. the officer is an 18-year veteran of a department and was treated for injuries and now is on paid leave i'll the investigation