>> this next one is all about community too. ♪ yes, lord. that is nate lane. he goes by the name saxbay. he says he's the total package. he's strong, smart, and plays the sax. emphasis on the name strong. >> praise the male form because it is good. >> we show all these muscle videos, you talk about how you did that. just sit tight. >> wow. >> wow is correct. >> that makes my back hurt just watching it. show off. >> he's a total show off and i love it. >> this one is worth taking a look. >> i said work on your core. that's not what i meant. >> to keep things in perspective, nate says he wants to inspire generations to use

their god given talents to edify their community. >> i thank the lord he's here to do that. thanks for watching today. rightthisminute.com is all new every day. see you next time.

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a wildfire has for a wildfire has forced immediate evacuations about an hour outside seattle. it is called the jolly mountain fire and has burned more than eight square miles. residents of 150 homes we're told in imminent danger. a lightning strike triggered the fire more than three weeks ago. president trump is pitching his plan to overhaul the nation's tax system. >> he spoke at a manufacturing plant in springfield, missouri, promising that his tax reforms would lead to stronger economic growth for companies as well as workers. he didn't offer any details, but with the health care defeat still on his mind he tried to turn up the pressure on lawmakers. >> so this is on once in a generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for every day, hard-working americans, and i am fully

committed to working with congress to get this job done, and i don't want to be disappointed by congress, do you understand me? [cheers and applause] do you understand? understand. congress. i think congress is going to make a come back. i hope so. tell you what. the united states is counting on it. [cheers and applause] >> after watching the speech, if you had congress in your drinking game, you would be wasted this morning. the president specifically took aim at claire mccaskill, you saw there, the democratic senator, he told the crowd if she doesn't vote to lower taxes, they should

vote her out of congress. >> and arizona senator john mccain returns to capitol hill next week after being treated for brain cancer. the republican is set to lead a debate on a defense policy bill. senator mccain has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy during the august recess. his office says the senator is looking forward to continuing his work for the people of arizona. the fda has approved a new way to fight cancer. it engineers the patient's own cells and directs them to fight the cancer. >> linzie janis has the details. >> reporter: a new frontier in the fight against cancer, for the first time, the fda approving an engineered genetic system that reprograms the patient's own immune cells, sending them back into the body to destroy cancer. >> most of these patients remain in remission years later. that makes us think maybe it's a potential cure for some of our kids, and that's very exciting to us. >> reporter: 12 year old emily whitehead was the first child to receive the treatment developed by the university of pennsylvania. at the time her parents were told there was no hope.

>> we were out of options, and we weren't ready to quit fighting. >> reporter: in may, emily's doctors at the children's hospital of philadelphia declaring her five years cancer free. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> i think it's really exciting. because the treatment that i got, other kids will be able to have the same treatment and have the same outcome that i did. >> reporter: there are serious side effects, but the hope is one day this kind of therapy could be used to treat other cancers. it costs almost $500,000. but the drug company, novartis says it is looking for ways to make sure that the patients who need it get it. linzie janis, abc news, new york. and nearly 500,000 heart patients with implanted pacemakers could be vulnerable to hackers. a voluntary recall has been made because of recently discovered security flaws. patients will need to visit their doctors to get a firmware update. in order to prevent potential

tampering with pacemaker settings. and american dads are getting older. the average age of the father of a newborn is 31, a jump of three and a half years from the past three decades. researchers found the oldest dads were in the northeast, the youngest in the south. well, when we come back, the every day heroes stepping up to help the victims of harvey. >> that's next. you're watching "world news now." he victims of harvey. >> that's next. you're watching "world news now." and you look amazing...ly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know it's half-washed. add downy to keep your collars from stretching. unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth... ...and strengthen fibers. so, don't half-wash it. downy and it's done.

♪ we're getting in some new ♪ we're getting in some new images of victims riding out that storm at shelters all over texas. but some victims are riding out the storm in style, thanks to a small furniture store chain that opened its doors, beds and couches to those in needs. now we're learning the owner didn't just stop there. >> abc's matt gutman caught up with him. >> reporter: this is jim mcingvale, better known as

mattress mack. >> saves you money! >> i am mattress mack, how can i help? >> reporter: a beloved local businessman with a texas-sized personality. and since 1981, he's owned the high-end gallery furniture stores in houston. soon after the winds started blowing, 66-year-old mack went from selling to giving. >> we got lotting of beds, lots of food, lots of water. >> reporter: offering a free port in the storm. mack had plenty of takers. he said a lucky few hundred came in on their own, others rescued by his own delivery trucks. >> we picked up about 200 people stranded on bridges, convenience stores, walking through the water with snakes and alligators. >> reporter: they all found shelter at mack's two houston stores and warehouses where they could recover from their struggles on beds and couches with high altitude price tags. >> we said the hell with

profits. let's take care of the people. that's the right thing to do. that's the way i was brought up. >> reporter: this has also become a crash pad for a national guard company on break. these $12,000 beds quite the upgrade from their standard issue cots. and he's not concerned about any wear and tear. >> when they said gallery furniture, i said think got to be joking. >> reporter: this is carol. she's here with her daughter and two grandsons, home for the past few days has been this living room display. >> you were also in katrina. >> i was also in katrina. i never thought going here we would experience the same thing, but we did. >> reporter: this time she was rescued by the fire department which brought her to mack's place. >> he didn't have to do this. he made us so comfortable. when i left home i left home without some of my medications and medical equipment, and they supplied it. >> reporter: countless other businesses are also stepping up. bakery workers here stuck at work stayed up all night, baking

bread to feed first responders. restaurants, giving away free meals to rescuers as well. and even airbnb teaming up with their hosts to offer free rooms to evacuees. >> this is where we have all our dogs staying. >> reporter: and back here at mack's place, doing everything they can to make their temporary guests more comfortable. nearing his seventh decade, mack himself literally worked 24 hours straight, despite it all, his store, amazingly, is still open for business. >> you know, somebody said, are you all still a shelter or a furniture store. i said we can be both. it's not an either/or proposition. >> reporter: and walking by those mattresses stacked high, we came across ruby hayes reaching out to mattress mack. spent your 84th birthday here. she says harvey took everything from her. and right there, mack does something better than dry off her tears. >> i'll give you a mattress for your birthday, how's that?

i got to give you a birthday present. happy birthday. nice to see you. >> reporter: a true testament to the spirit of texas. >> ah, what a wonderful gift. a wonderful man for what he's doing there. and he did during katrina as well. >> yeah, he's done this before. i also do love that's pointing out, we're still open for business. >> you can still buy something. >> matt gutman asked him, the furniture that the people are using, will you end up selling it? and he said sure, i'll come up with some kind of schtick. >> he has built his storing on an elevated concrete bed so that they would be flood proof. brilliant in knowing that houston, a large part of the city is in a floodplain. >> yeah, he figured purposely, he could avoid the floods himself and provide shelter for those in need. >> one of the folks who was there at the shelter said it's sort of like a slumber party on steroids. >> they also said that they've accepted donations throughout, but now all they need is cleaning supplies. lots of donations there. w all they need is

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♪ ♪ we've seen so many people opening their hearts, their home and their wallets to help those affected by harvey. >> tune in today to "good morning, america" and join robin roberts for the telethon throughout the day. on abc, the network called free form as well as radio disney. >> they have a panel of celebrities fielding calls as well. give them a ring, have a little chat, you never know who may pick up the phone. >> the guest list still a surprise, but we are being told and authorized to tell you there are some big names in sports, tv and actors and some singers you've probably heard of.

>> probably. >> there you go. >> that's insider information. >> a few hints for you, and those are not the only celebrities stepping in of course to help in this effort. we've been keeping an eye on j.j. watt, plays for the houston texans and a huge force in trying to raise money. he originally laid out a goal of $200,000. raised that in under two hours. a few days later he raised the goal to $6 million. immediately reached that. well, now j.j. has increased his goal on the site to $10 million. they're already approaching that as well. and the goal, he said, they've got semi truck drivers donating time and trucks, and all the money will go to the goods going into the trucks, generators, clothing, food, cleaning supplies, and they're trying to make sure the money gets directly to the people who need it. >> the boys just returned to houston after doing practice somewhere else. so a lot of them got to see the

damage close up yesterday. there's a rapper in houston who's pretty popular down there called trae the truth. you see him on the left. and he's been doing some great work. trae was rescued by a boat. after he got rescued, he's been going out by boat with a friend's boat from san antonio, and rescuing people on his own. he actually rescued orlando magic basketball star and forward jonathan simmons. you see him there. who just happened to show up and trae was there. >> paying it forward. he got rescued himself. and decided now that i'm here, i might as well rescue a few others myself. >> and miranda lambert's foundation is focussing on animals. we've seen lots of videos of pets stranded. they've been able to rescue 72 dogs. >> there are so many that have been stranded unfortunately. don't miss our updates on wnnfans.com. includ

good thursday morning. i'm kendis gibson. good thursday morning. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm diane macedo. here are the headlines we're following on "world news now". >> the death toll in texas is rising with harvey blamed for taking 30 lives. thousands have been rescued, including residents of a nursing home in port arthur where at least 70 people were trapped. >> people in texas are beginning to return home. and begin the massive cleanup process. debris includes everything from once prized possessions to soggy carpet and drywall. the city of houston resumes trash pickup today. the pentagon has revealed there are currently 11,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, about 3,000 more than initially reported. and that number is expected to grow to 15,000 in the next few months. and president trump pushing to revamp the tax code, calling on congress.

to approve cuts to bring back main street, he says and help small businesses. those are some of our top stories on this thursday, august 31st. from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, everyone. we're going to start this half hour with another round of heavy flooding in east texas, near the louisiana border. >> forecasters say a downgraded harvey is poised to unleash at least another four to eight inches of rain today and tomorrow increasing the risk of more flooding before it's over. >> and reservoirs are overflowing and we're learning this morning that rising floodwaters knocked out the entire water supply for the city of beaumont, texas. >> 31 people in this storm are confirmed dead. that is expected to climb. and with the new flooding, thousands of marine and national guard troops have been deployed. gio benitez is outside beaumont. with new details. >> reporter: beaumont and port

arthur, texas, flooded. residents waking up to this. i-10 completely under water. cars submerged, and in some cases water reaching rooftops. families in agony, waving white towels, signaling for help. in the last 24 hours, the storm tragically claiming two lives, 41-year-old colette seltzer died, her 3-year-old clinging to her, her little girl miraculously in stable condition. in port arthur, they rushed to this nursing home. more than 70 elderly patients in bedrooms and hallways. workers gathering desperately needed oxygen tanks and medicine. outside, local residents with their own boats taking them to safety. a military chopper later landing on the highway to airlift some

out. city officials pleading for volunteers to come with boats to help with rescues. and we were there as so many stranded beaumont residents finally made it to dry land. how are you feeling right now? >> scared. don't know which way to go. losing everything. >> floating, floating, floating, floating. >> reporter: crystal dortch placing this plea on facebook from her living room, her three children huddle together on a table. the family rescued and safe. in nearby port arthur, even the shelter's flooding. >> enough is enough. we need help. >> reporter: people piling on bleachers. trying to get to higher ground. they, too, are safe, as we met the every day neighbor saving so many lives. you are heroes, getting all these people out of there. >> we're not hero. there are a lot more people hero than us. >> reporter: this is truly the citizens armada. we're talking about every day people coming from all over the

place. more of them coming in right now. and they're not just coming from texas and louisiana. they're coming from nevada, oregon, north carolina, and i can tell you, they aren't going home anytime soon. >> thanks, gio. the department of defense is paying a role in that effort. >> 24,000 national guard troops are deployed in south texas. 14,000 of them are from the lonestar state and 10,000 from other states. so far the guard has made 8500 rescues and evacuated 26,000 people. the marines, coast guard, navy and air force are pitching in. >> they're providing air support. more than 60 military aircraft along with two navy warships. people with boats are coming, even as far as north carolina, mobilized on social media, arriving at a staging area. earlier in the week, the cajun navy arrived from louisiana. they have experienced some flooding in their own state of course last year. and they put those resources

that they gathered at that time now to good use in texas well. the people of texas certainly appreciating all the help. >> more than 32,000 people are housed in emergency shelters. hundreds of shelters are filling up with people in desperate need. an estimated 500 shelters now up and running. 500 shelters. think about that. and that figure includes schools, businesses and churches. in the meantime, the red cross is bracing now for relief effort that will last weeks. they have 12,000 volunteers there on the ground, and hundreds more are on the way right now. >> and the harvey may have moved on, but it's left behind another deadly danger. >> authorities are on alert because of the growing risk of an explosion at a flooded chemical plant. it could happen at any hour. abc's clayton sandell reports. >> reporter: crosby, texas is dealing with too much water and now the potential for fire or worse. the new danger coming from a flooded manufacturing plant, the ceo of arkema says he fears

chemicals will catch fear or explode within six days. adding there is no way to prevent it. in a statement, they describe the situation toe plant as serious. dozens of homes are nearby. and everyone living within a one and a half-mile radius have been ordered to evacuate, their family, pets, whatever they can carry, leaving in school buses and military vehicles. the chemicals used to make things like hoses, foam cups and plastic pipes need to be kept cold, but more than 40 inches of rain knocked out electricity, killed backup generators and now threatens the remaining cold storage units. what is not clear is how big a fire or explosion might be and what impact it might have on people and the environment. right now federal, state and local officials are watching closely. clayton sandell, abc news, houston. >> quite a scene there. and harvey has weakened to a tropical depression. >> it's still dumping heavy rain. and justin povick has the latest

on the storm's track. >> thanks and good morning to you. harvey still producing very heavy rainfall this morning. in fact, we're talking about additional rainfall amounts here in that zone of 8-16 inches, running roughly from memphis northbound to paducah. we will be talking about more flooding as the system makes its move to the north and east. thankfully, it is going to be moving at a quicker clip, but still a ton of moisture with it, so we are talking about big impacts from nashville, point north and east right into the tail end of the week. kendis, diane? >> a big section of the country will get additional rain from harvey. and coming up, many of those desperate for essentials finding that prices for basics like water are soaring to astronomical levels. remembering diana. see how her boys are carrying on her legacy. you're watching "world news now." you're watching "world news now."

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this clean was like pow! everything well? my teeth are glowing. they are so white. step 1 cleans. step 2 whitens. crest [hd]. 6x cleaning*, 6x whitening*á i would switch to crest [hd] over what i was using before. nasa is tracking a large asteroid. nasa is tracking a large asteroid. florence is set to wiz by earth tomorrow. at nearly three miles wide, it is the largest in a century to fly past the planet. scientists plan to study it using ground-based radar imaging. >> with such a sweet name, there's no need to fear. >> florence, so sweet. stay far away. >> unless she has a machine. florence and the machine.

the u.s. economy has picked up momentum, growing 3% in the second quarter. the revised gdp figure suggests the best quarterly showing in two years. the economy is continuing to grow at a robust pace in the second half of the year. the president mentioned the economic growth during his tax overhaul speech in missouri but says he thinks that could jump higher. a new alliance has emerged. as the russia investigation moves forward. according to politico, special counsel robert mueller has teamed up with new york's attorney general to investigate paul manafort. they're sharing information on manafort, including transactions in real estate deals. it may give mueller more leverage to get manafort to cooperate, because the president does not have power over state crimes. so far, manafort has not been

accused of any wrongdoing. home depot will pay nearly $6 million to settle claims that it sold recalled products. the items included washing machines and fire extinguishers. the products were sold between 2012 and 2016. as part of the settlement, home depot did not admit any guilt. and the lottery machine that produced that $758 million powerball ticket has been put out to pasture. i don't know how that works with lottery machines. the massachusetts lottery has retired that terminal. it was used for 20 years before spitting out the numbers for the largest jackpot ever won. by a single ticket holder. they may put the machine on display. now the lottery machine gets to retire too. >> who knew they did that. lottery machines are like sea biscuit. >> just hanging out in a grass field. >> put out to stud. let's get down to the soaring prices in the wake of

harvey. some businesses in texas are accused of hiking prices on some basic supplies, including beer. >> yeah, it also includes case of water being sold for $99. here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: texas tempers flaring, furious over markups on necessities, like this man selling water out of his truck, accused of marking up bottles by 500%. >> you ought to be ashamed of yourself! >> reporter: now in the middle of this massive crisis, the texas attorney general says he's already received over 600 reports of price gouging. just check out one woman's receipt from a corpus christi convenience store. she says she was charged $65 for just two cases of beer at a raceway gas station. >> think this is ridiculous? that they're price gouging. >> reporter: then there's this photo of a case of water for

sale at best buy for $42. raceway says it's investigating this incident, the manager saying it was a clerical error. and not price gouging, adding, we did give a full refund. best buy also apologizing. best buy says it doesn't even sell cases of water. this was a big mistake on the part of a few employees. as a company we are focussed on helping, not hurting affected people. nearby, best western saying it's severing any affiliation with its hotel in corpus christi refunding 40 guests after it was accused of tripling room rates. the hotel chain saying we do not tolerate this kind of egregious and unethical behavior. >> we've seen water up to $99 for a case of water, fuel prices up to $20 a gallon, hotels jack prices up six, seven times. >> reporter: and officials now laying down the law. in texas, offenders can face fines of up to $20,000 per

offense and up to $250,000 if the victim is 65 years old or older. >> we're looking at the price over the last three months, if you increase those prices by more than 10%, we're going to look at it. >> reporter: but selling water for ridiculous prices is not the only kind of prove profiteering. yesterday we were at a shelter, a man rolled in saying he has a semi truck that could take away the surplus donations but officials suspected he was trying to steal the donations in order to sell them. matt gutman, abc news. >> i did like that. water, no, flashlight? no, case of beer? there we go. >> she was okay with the $99 water. it was the beer. the many heroic rescues and emotional reunions. >> including that couple that got rescued on a jet ski. their story next. >> including that couple that got rescued on a jet ski. their story next. to keep hair strong against hot styling tools, you need more than a conditioner, ...you need a miracle. pantene 3 minute miracle daily conditioner...

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♪ ♪ peleop everything they can to get through this storm, harvey. that man playing the piano inside a flooded home. what a scene. and we've also been showing you several scenes of amazing rescues. now we're seeing those rescues come full circle. >> it's actually kind of heartwarming to watch some of them. here's rob marciano. >> reporter: long after the floodwaters recede, these are the images that will stay with us. >> to be able to get through the storm the way we did, and save so many lives is nothing short than remarkable. >> reporter: strangers risking life and limb, saving strangers. by any means available. rafts, jet skis and canoes. a human chain delivering a pregnant woman to safety. good samaritans, showing up to save the young.

>> hello! >> hi. >> hi. you want to go on a boat ride, kate? can i pick you up and carry you? >> yeah. >> reporter: and the old. little premie was evacuated with other critically ill newborns from corpus christi. but as the waters rose, so did a makeshift citizens armada, propelled by both their fishing boats and need to get involved. it's a risky job. the waters teeming with everything from toxic chemicals to fire ants to gators. for hours, they scoured this area, saving family after family. survivors climbing aboard, willing to leave their homes but not their beloved pets. both the small kind and the not so small. this hawk sought shelter and found youtube fame in a taxi. >> he looks scared. he doesn't though what's going on. >> reporter: and of all the unusual rescues, it's hard to surpass this one, karen and j.c. spencer, grandparents in

right through the front door on jet skis. >> tell me how you ended up on a jet ski. >> we had to evacuate. we had to get out of there. so i called chick fil a. now that sounds kind of funny, but i ordered two grilled chicken burritos with extra egg and a boat. >> i know you loaded your possessions on that boat and all of a sudden some jet skis showed up. >> karen jumped on the back of a jet ski and i jumped on the back of another one. >> reporter: the human toll will likely rise as the waters recede, but so, too, will the joyous reunions like this one. that little baby, lily villalobos is back. her parents meeting the plane carrying her home. >> oh, man. i haven't seen her, and just i mean, i love my little girl. i just hugged her and just seeing her made me so happy. she's back, and i'm thankful for

everyone that took care of her. >> reporter: the stetzers got to express their gratitude in person to those jet skiers who whisked them to safety. and remember ayesha, the mother who took to facebook for help? she had a reunion of her own. >> hey! >> oh, my god! >> reporter: a helpful reminder that while so many human possessions can wash away, human life remains precious, fragile and always worth saving. >> look that. ayesha will remember that. did they get their two grilled chicken burritos? that's a really, really, that's great, they got reunited with the guy on the jet ski, that's fantastic. what about the burrito? >> if there's a chicken burrito somewhere to waste, that would be a tragedy. >> we'll be right back. burrito somewhere to waisste, that woul

be a tragedy. >> we'll be right back.

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this is a scene outside kensington palace,ig this is a scene outside kensington palace, right now, in london, where a memorial for princess diana has formed, this on the 20th anniversary of her death. >> her sons and princess kate visited a memorial garden. >> hard to believe it was 20 years and how young diana was when she died, only 36 years old. and her death in paris while being chased by the paparazzi shocked the world. >> here's a look at the news coverage from that day. as the world reacted. >> there were a lot of people crowded around, great panic. i started to take care of the young lady in the back seat, princess diana. so i pulled her head back and put an oxygen mask on her face. >> we are today, a nation, in

britain, in a state of shock. in mourning. in grief. it is deeply painful for us. >> she was such a caring person. and she loved so many people. she touched so many people's hearts. >> her kindness. her generosity. >> she was just a very kind mummy. >> we couldn't get enough of her. she was wonderful. because she was human. >> a light has gone out. it won't come back on again. >> it's going to be a terrible void in everybody's lives. >> all that she lived for, to live in us. ♪ >> it was a fairy story that everybody wanted to work. at the age of 19, you always think you're prepared for everything. and you think you have the knowledge of what's coming ahead. i will fight for my children. on any level, in order for them

to be happy and have peace of mind to carry out their duties. >> she was the people's princess. and that's how she will stay, how she will remain. in our hearts and in our memories. forever. >> her sons have spoken out quite a bit over the course of the past year, unveiling a lot more about their mother, and they said when this all happened they felt like it was a moment where they had a choice, either this was going to break them or make them. and it was the desire to carry on her legacy that kept them going. >> and they said one of the things for them was their last phone call, they hurried off the phone with their mom on that last phone call, and they wished they had known that would be the last, because they would not have done that.

this morning on "world news now," the widening scope of devastation in texas. >> harvey is now moving inland after washing out more gulf coast communities. thousands desperate to be rescued while volunteers flock to the region, trying to pitch in any way they can. meanwhile, the recovery effort in houston is just starting. the scenes of tragedy now uncovered as floodwaters recede. see how residents are trying to pick up the pieces as we examine how the storm is being felt elsewhere. conflicting messages? a key member of the president's cabinet says diplomacy is an option with north korea, but that directly contradicts with what the president says, so

which is it? and making the most of a bad situation. we'll see how families are making the best of living as evacuees and a special birthday boy do a little celebrating in the midst of the situation. it's thursday, august 31st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> doesn't matter that there's a storm, birthdays continue. there are births that actually take place. >> finding little bright spots in all of this, which are always nice to report in the midst of all the destruction. >> they help that the storm is moving away from that area. tropical depression now harvey is spreading its heavy rains into another region. >> you can see the storm moving inland on the radar. it's expected to dump eight inches in kentucky and tennessee. >> the storm's floods possibly damaged 100,000 homes in texas alone. thousands of people have been rescued from homes and businesses that were flooded and stalled vehicles among them. these parents and their baby in port arthur, texas. the infant in a trash bag to try to keep him dry.

>> the outpouring of support from around the country has been incredible. people brought boats from as far as away as north colara into clothing and other items for evacuees is pouring in from all over the country in addition to money, people donating that way. >> very important stuff there. you can see them piling up. marci gonzalez is in houston this morning. marci, good morning. what do you know? >> reporter: hi, guys. this morning, shelters like this one are filling up. they've been bringing people in by the bus load, and they are expecting many more. with the governor saying in some areas, the worst of harvey's impact still is not over. the floodwaters still rising, bringing more desperation in texas near the louisiana border. >> every home in the whole neighborhood. >> reporter: in port arthur, this nursing home under water. more than 70 elderly residents stranded and soaked for it 24 hours until help arrived. >> breaks my heart. >> reporter: in beaumont, rescues by boat. >> i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: and by black hawk. this woman lifted to safety wearing drenched clothes and a

smile. and hard-hit houston still buried. though the sky is now clear here, the water keeps rising in some areas, more than 13,000 rescues here already. >> i didn't realize i was on camera. >> you look beautiful. >> no, i would have worn my wig for the occasion. >> reporter: to moments of levity. and hope. along with unfathomable grief. family members right there as six of their relatives killed when their van was swept away were found. >> family, i just notified them. obviously, they are devastated as we all are as well. >> reporter: the death toll still climbing as fear of more destruction grows. at this flooded plant in crosby, texas, the ceo releasing a statement saying he expects chemicals will explode or catch fire within six days, and more than 30,000 people here in texas

are living in shelters, including this one, where they've had so many people show up here wanting to help, they have had to turn thousands of volunteers away, up until ten minutes ago. there was a line of people all the way around this building, hoping to get in and help on the overnight shift, because that's when they heard the most help was needed. and you might see people walking by while we're talking, and they're all people who have just been turned away, because they have so many people already in there helping evacuees. >> incredible, marci, those are people there in person. i mean, people all over the country are sitting there wondering what they can do to help. are you getting a sense for what they seem to need the most? >> reporter: well, with this disaster and with really any disaster, the organizations who are on the ground will say the most important thing you can do to help is send money. because the organizations here know what's needed.

they know where it's needed. so they can get that help out in the most efficient way possible to the people who need it most. so at this shelter, they had so many donations come in, they had to turn some away, tell people to stop bringing donations because they already have so many supplies. but this is a community organization that has put this shelter together. they're running things, a lot of the money is coming from their own fund. so really, the best way to help is to support these kinds of organizations putting in this kind of effort in helping all of these people who've been so impacted by harvey. >> we've seen so many images of clothes and donations piled up there, marci, thank you so much. the rain now gone. houston's two main airports reopened. >> flights resumed at bush international and hobby airports. >> and houston's school district will offer students three meals a day for the rest of the school year free of charge for everyone. economists say harvey will be

among the costliest natural disasters in u.s. history. the oil and gas city has been hit hard. you're likely to see an increase in gas prices. prediction is 15 to 25 cents before we're done. >> let's go to john porter. john, you kind of tracked all angles of this storm for us. what is it that made this one cause so much damage and disruption, really? >> well, good morning. it is the -- really the fact that the significant and devastating rainfall occurred over such a broad area, over an te pd imnd that has really led to catastrophic flooding in houston and all of the -- and many of the other communities in eastern texas and up into portions of western louisiana. and we think this really is going to be a national disaster in terms of the magnitude of

this, in terms of the number of lives that are affected. we're very concerned the death toll is going to be increasing, potentially substantially, as more and more first responders get into some of the hardest hit areas. and beyond the tremendous human impact, we're also concerned about the impact to the economy as well. our analysis shows that we may be talking about an impact of more than $190 billion to the economy from the storm, so quite significant. this is not like anything we've seen before in terms of the magnitude of the flooding across houston and surrounding areas. >> $190 billion. that would surpass the $60 billion for superstorm sandy and the sum from hurricane katrina. but that said, we're seeing some climatologists saying we're seeing so many of these superstorms, though it's been several years since sandy and 12 years since katrina, you study

this stuff at accuweather. do we expect to see more of these storms frequently? >> that's a good question. when you look at any individual storm, in terms of the impact, you're really looking at all the risk factors that are there. in this particular situation, we're talking about the houston metro area. which is certainly an area that has very little elevation. it's really surrounded by water, and we're talking about the ability for those to be risk factors as well as -- >> i mean environmentally, are the conditions there that we will see more of these storms? >> that is certainly a possibility, as we -- as we head into the future. and, again, not only just the environmental conditions, but also the impact as well and the risk factors based upon increasing population density and other factors. >> and john, you know, houston is starting to finally see the water recede.

other areas are still waiting for that, and other areas are just now starting to get hit. i wonder where you see being able to really kick start the recovery effort? at what point does that even begin? >> well, we think it's going to be quite some time across the houston area. in fact, it's going to take likely weeks and in some places months for the water to recede back to normal levels, as -- as really the water's going to need to move through that complex bayou and channel system and slowly drain out of that entire system. so it's going to be quite some time before the recovery is going to be able to take full effect in some areas. meanwhile, we'll be tracking the rain from harvey as it continues to move out of louisiana and up into places like arkansas, the rest of the lower mississippi valley, portions of tennessee and eventually up into the ohio valley and the northeast this

weekend. >> so it's going to impact quite a few areas beyond the gulf coast states. really, like a week ago we didn't realize harvey would have this sort of impact, so it's hard to prepare for something like this. is there a way to prepare for something like this? >> well, it's always a good idea to be checking back in terms of the latest forecast from here with us at accuweather in terms of keeping ahead of all kinds of weather situations. >> but john, what about supplies at home? is there something you can keep, you know, at home? are there ways to try to get ahead of something like this? when you're not expecting it? >> there sure are. there sure are. it's a good idea to have a backpack ready of things that you'd want to take if you needed to leave your home really for any reason very quickly. so think about the kind of things that you'd take if you had a half an hour before you needed to leave your home or two hours. you'd want to take critical documents and photos and other items. it's a great idea to be prepared and to have that for this

situation or any type of natural disaster that may come. >> that's john porter over at accuweather for us. thank you for joining us, john. we appreciate it. >> we should mention that the president did address the situation in texas again as he traveled to missouri to drum up support. but this time it was for tax reform. >> the president continued to praise the response to the storm and directly acknowledged the victims after being criticized for not mentioning them during his visit to texas. he expressed thoughts and prayers for the people affected by the disaster. he and the rest of the country are with them every step of the way. >> recovery will be tough. but i have seen the resilience of the american spirit first hand all over this country. to the people of houston and across texas and louisiana, we are here with you today. we are with you tomorrow. and we will be with you every single day after to restore, recover and rebuild. >> meanwhile, secretary rex tillerson has personally thanked mexico's top diplomat after the country offered assistance in response to hurricane harvey.

tillerson called the offer generous but did not say if the u.s. will accept it. the countries have been at odds over nafta negotiations and the president's promised border wall. a federal judge has temporarily blocked portions of the texas anti-sanctuary city law have been blocked. it would have personalized. it gave the ability to ask about a person's immigration status. the state will appeal the federal judge's decision. coming up, we'll have more of this morning's headlines, including the latest on an isis convoy hit by a u.s. airstrike. we have the latest on two fronts of the fight against terror. and celebrating a birthday with new friends in the flood zone. we'll look at some of the heartfelt stories of people coming together to keep each other's spirits up.

you're watching "world news now."

the united states showing some firepower in the wake of north korea's missile launch. this is a test of a u.s. intercept weapon, shooting down a ballistic missile near hawaii. it came as president trump tweeted, talking is not the answer in the north korean crisis. but the president's message didn't appear to match the words of his own defense secretary. james mattis says talking with kim jong un's regime remains an option. >> we're never out of diplomatic solutions. we continue to work together. and the minister and i share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests. >> and the secretary of state, rex tillerson, said the u.s. would continue its peaceful pressure campaign. the last formal talks between washington and north korea took place in 2012. new u.s.-led airstrikes are credited for keeping militants from reaching eastern syria. this comes after a cease-fire was reached with hezbollah.

that agreement gave isis safe passage into the region. according to a coalition spokesperson, the airstrikes took out isis vehicles as well as roads along that route. and the pentagon announced there are more troops in afghanistan than previously disclosed. there are actually 11,000 troops in the area, 3,000 more than originally reported. the new members include those there on temporary and covert missions. a police chase ends tragically in sacramento. a deputy was injured during a shootout. at a hotel. investigators say two women led police on a car chase in what was believed to be a stolen car. the injured officers are expected to make a full recovery. three people have been detained in the incident, but apparently that police chthere atd asene de that hotel and resulted in the deadly shoot-out. and new video out of russia shows the start of an intense

weather situation. at least, not one, not two, you count them, four funnel clouds spot the near sochi, which hosted the last winter olympics, of course. some reports say there were as many as a dozen tornados in that area. >> wow. >> very freaky. coming up in our next half hour, a break through in the fight against cancer, how a new treatment approved by the fda is giving hope to leukemia patients. but first, our rob marciano takes us to the skies above houston and southeast texas to survey the damage left in the wake of harvey and the rescue efforts. that's next. 60% of women are wearing the wrong size pad and... ...experience leaks. introducing always my fit. find the number that's right for your flow and panty size on the top of any always pack. the better the fit, the better it protects. always.

and we're back with more coverage from harvey. you can get a sense of the reach when you see it above. >> rob marciano took to the skies with u.s. border and police protection rescuing people in a black hawk helicopter. >> we're in the air over devastated port arthur, texas, pummeled with catastrophic flooding, with cvp air and marine operation searching for residents in desperate need of evacuation. it's surreal. they are true heroes. first up, an elderly couple and

their dog stranded in their neighborhood. this woman soaking wet, hoisted in by basket. a smile of relief, happy to be safe. next, the man and his dog. we've already made one of an elderly couple and their dog. we're right back at it. across texas, dramatic rescues like this. black hawk helicopters spotting families in the floods. first responders rappelling down and hoisting those to safety. with so many to be saved they plan on doing this well into the night. the view from the black hawk was staggering. the water was as high as rooftops. in our 90-minute ride, we rescued 15 people. and the airfield at beaumont is a very busy place. this operation is far from over. >> that's rob marciano there. and so far, there have been so many rescues, 3500 rescues since the storm started. >> they've activated the entire texas national guard, over 12,000 troops right there. >> and half of all of the aircraft that the coast guard has in this country are right there in texas.

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not so much on other teen things. ♪ ♪ time now for "the mix" and we are going to start things off over in deer park, texas, where a group of evacuees from hurricane harvey at a shelter decided hurricane harvey will not stop a birthday celebration. ♪ happy birthday to you >> it happened to fall on tuesday, and the strangers around him decided they were celebrating no matter what. they even got him a cake and presents. can you hear everyone singing "happy birthday" all of the children at the shelter were invited to the party. >> look at him blowing out the candle there. i think he's quite psyched about it as well. >> i'm guessing this is a birthday anthony will never forget. >> indeed. another memory was made at the convention center, 9,000 or 10,000 people at that shelter, to try to lighten up the mode,

spiderman made an appearance. pounding it out. so that's a video shared of spiderman making the rounds at the convention center, just went through the shelter, visited some kids, handed out some stickers. >> pretty cool. >> meantime, made some huge smiles on the kids' faces. >> earlier we saw a father and son dressed as batman. you know what else put a smile on someone's face? on monday, good old ray yoder celebrated his 81st birthday by completing his mission to see all 645 cracker barrels in the country. ray and wilma, you might remember, we told you about them. they were nearing their record as they tried to hit all the cracker barrels, they completed

just in time for ray's birthday, 645 cracker barrels. >> happy birthday and congratulations, and after all that all they got was a tee shirt. >> you know the peg game that you play at the tables? ray apparently knows how to beat it. >> i'm sure he's a pro at it. >> 645 restaurants later, he figured it out. >> it took him until the last one to figure it out. this next video makes you wonder why. this is juan carlos. do you see that? s the closeup,l realize, he is covered by bees. >> oh, no. >> he's an employee. >> heck no. >> at a honey bee farm in the canada area. so he brought 100,000 bees with him, created a beard, and then some. >> no. just no. it's just wrong.

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this morning on "world news now," the desperate rescue effort on the coast. residents finding themselves quickly surrounded by water. as harvey moves away from east texas, areas to the north may see more flooding conditions. meanwhile, a nearby chemical plant is flooded and may be at risk of explosion. the ceo sent out a word of warning. we'll get a live report from the ground just ahead. and new this half hour, the fda approves a cancer break through. >> so who's able to get the treatment called historic? we'll let you know. and it's abc's day of giving. all across our platforms, we're asking you, the viewers, to help the relief effort in texas with lots of surprises from the many celebrities pitching in and forking over major cash donations. how you can help on this

thursday, august 31st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we can say good morning, everybody, on this thursday, and to the breaking news, harvey has weakened. it has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but it's still packing plenty of rainfall as it moves eastward, increasing the risk of even more flooding. >> so the full scope of the devastation is becoming more clear. as we get in more images. more than 30 are confirmed dead. that number is expected to rise thousands of homes are still under water. national guard troops and some marines have been deployed for rescues and to distribute supplies. >> floodwaters still swamping much of houston. but forecasters say the rain is over, at least for america's fourth largest city. that will allow fire crews to begin a block by block search. >> harvey is moving inland. after unleashing a new round of devastation at the texas/louisiana border. gio benitez reports from orange,

texas. >> reporter: we are seeing so many selfless acts here in orange, texas. we are seeing so many people coming here with these boats. they are using these boats, bringing them from all across the country to help people in those flooded homes get them out to safety, get them out to dry land. now we want you to take a look at this video right now. it was released by the navy. and you can see, there's this video there in beaumont, texas. you can see the dramatic air rescues. we've seen residents get to their rooftops to avoid those floods. that is exactly how the navy has been falling these people. you can see this family right there. the navy is pulling this family off the roof. and in port arthur, the most vulnerable, the elderly pulling 70 out to safety. we're seeing these everyday americans jump into action in a really remarkable way.

and we hear about this country being divided. but here in eastern texas, i can tell you, it could not be more unified. >> gio, thanks. good to hear at least. in some houston area residents are starting to return home and getting the first look at the damage. >> but for many others it could take days or even weeks before they can begin mopping up and starting over. look at these scenes. estimates indicate more than 80% of homeowners who were affected do not have flood insurance. >> receding floodwaters are revealing harsh and grim realities, too, like the bodies of six people from the same family, all discovered inside a van. >> there were, there were in the front seat with my brother. and he said, he and mom and dad were under water, you know, like i said, he just panicked. he tried to get himself out. >> couple of grand parents there

and several children died in that van. and take a look at one more image that illustrates the power of the water. forceful enough to toss heavy highway dividers across as though they were toys. >> powerful water. and harvey is also being blamed for oil spills in south texas. about 150 miles outside houston. >> floodwaters from the storm toppled two storage tanks spilling almost 30,000 gallons of crude and a large amount of wastewater. it's not known if any of the spilled oil was recovered. >> and we expect to hear more damage to industry infrastructure as the floodwaters start to recede. and unfortunately, that could come with more environmental damage. we're also likely to hear about more price gouging, a best buy in cypress, texas, was criticized after pictures appeared on twitter, showing cases of water selling for about $43. the chain apologized, saying this was a mistake. the texas attorney general says that's not the worst. another store was apparently charging $99 for water, and a convenience store was looking for $20 for a gallon of gas. >> they had a very calculated price, $42.96. >> they said it was a mistake. the store was closed. >> looting concerned in houston,

one gun-toting man took matters into his own hands and took guard outside a convenience store. he chased off anyone approaching the store. he was a former law enforcement officer. at least 40 people have been arrested for looting in the houston area. >> and volunteers continue to stream in the area to help thousands of people in need. >> let's get to marci gonzalez, live from a shelter in houston. what's the latest where you are? >> reporter: well, we've seen hundreds of volunteers showing up here, wanting to help out with the overnight shift at this shelter. and they just didn't need quite that much help. so they've had to turn, throughout the course of yesterday more than 2,000 volunteers had to be turned away. so many people tried to sign up online to come here to help, the website crashed. then the website crashed because so many people signed up wanting to give donations. such an outpouring here where

there are about 900 people spending the night. there's a capacity for 10,000 people, so they have plenty of room here. they are expecting many more over the coming days and weeks. there are shelters not far from here out or beyond capacity. so they are expecting some of those evacuees to be brought here. >> we're hearing about a nearby chemical plant that may be in trouble. what do you know about that? >> reporter: this is about 30 miles from houston in crosby, texas. and this is a manufacturing plant. they have liquid organic peroxide. so these are chemicals used to make construction materials, plastics. things like that. now the thing with these chemicals is they need to stay refrigerated or they can combust. that plant has about six feet of water in and around it, and because of that, it killed the primary power source. then the backup power source and the secondary backup source went out as well because of all the flooding. so the ceo of this company is

now saying that there, reportedly saying that there is a good chance that in the next six days there could be a fire or explosion at the plant, and because of that danger, they have now evacuated all of the homes within a mile and a half radius of that plant. >> wow. because of the power knocked out. >> many of them are saying it's not a matter of if there's an explosion there but when. marci gonzalez reporting from houston. thank you. and harvey has been downgraded, but it is still packing plenty of power. >> let's get some details from accuweather's justin povick. good morning. >> diane and kendis, thanks and good morning to you. heavy rainfall continues to be a big problem. and right into friday. as we follow harvey off to the north and east, there is a stripe of rain where there could be eight to 16 inches and will produce dangerous flash flooding as all the activity slides its way into kentucky as we venture into friday. meanwhile, over the southwest, a heat wave continues. many spots in and around l.a., around 100 degrees.

diane, kendis? >> justin, thanks. when we come back, we'll look to some of the other stories, and president trump's tax reform. looking to unite republicans and democrats. >> and a break through in the fight against cancer, how stem cells are involved. you're watching "world news now." cancer, how stem cells are involved. you're watching "world news now." because your carpet there's resolve carpet care. it lifts more dirt and pet hair versus vacuuming alone.

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a wildfire has for a wildfire has forced immediate evacuations about an a wildfire has forced immediate evacuations about an hour outside seattle. it is called the jolly mountain fire and has burned more than eight square miles. residents of 150 homes we're told in imminent danger. a lightning strike triggered the fire more than three weeks ago. president trump is pitching his plan to overhaul the nation's tax system. >> he spoke at a manufacturing plant in springfield, missouri, promising that his tax reforms would lead to stronger economic growth for companies as well as workers. he didn't offer any details, but with the health care defeat still on his mind he tried to turn up the pressure on lawmakers.

>> so this is on once in a generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for every day, hard-working americans, and i am fully committed to working with congress to get this job done, and i don't want to be disappointed by congress, do you understand me? [cheers and applause] do you understand? understand. congress. i think congress is going to i think congress is going to make a comeback. i hope so. tell you what. the united states is counting on it. >> after watching the speech, if you had congress in your drinking game, you would be wasted this morning. the president specifically took aim at claire mccaskill, you saw there, the democratic senator, he told the crowd if she doesn't vote to lower taxes, they should vote her out of congress. >> and arizona senator john mccain returns to capitol hill next week after being treated for brain cancer. the republican is set to lead a debate on a defense policy bill. senator mccain has been

undergoing radiation and chemotherapy during the august recess. his office says the senator is looking forward to continuing his work for the people of arizona. the fda has approved a new way to fight cancer. it engineers the patient's own cells and directs them to fight the cancer. >> linzie janis has the details. >> reporter: a new frontier in the fight against cancer, for the first time, the fda approve proving a genetically engineered system that reprograms the patient's own immune cells, reprogramming them and sending them back into the body to destroy cancer. >> most of these patients remain in remission years later. that makes us think maybe it's a potential cure for some of our kids, and that's very exciting to us. >> reporter: 12 year old emily whitehead was the first child to receive the treatment developed by the university of pennsylvania. at the time her parents were told there was no hope. >> we were out of options, and we weren't ready to quit fighting. >> reporter: in may, emily's

doctors at the children's hospital of philadelphia declaring her five years cancer free. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> i think it's really exciting. because the treatment that i got, other kids will be able to have the same treatment and have the same outcome that i did. >> reporter: there are serious side effects, but the hope is one day this kind of therapy could be used to treat other cancers. it costs almost $500,000. but the drug company, novartis says it is looking for ways to make sure that the patients who need it get it. linzie janis, abc news, new york. and nearly 500,000 heart patients with implanted pacemakers could be vulnerable to hackers. a voluntary recall has been made because of recently discovered security flaws. patients will need to visit their doctors to get a firmware update. in order to prevent potential tampering with pacemaker settings. and american dads are getting older. the average age of the father of

a newborn is 31, a jump of three and a half years from the past three decades. researchers found the oldest dads were in the northeast, the youngest in the south. well, when we come back, the every day heroes stepping up to help the victims of harvey. >> that's next. you're watching "world news now." victims of harvey. >> that's next. you're watching "world news now." and you look amazing...ly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know it's half-washed. add downy to keep your collars from stretching. unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth... ...and strengthen fibers. so, don't half-wash it. downy and it's done.

♪ we're getting in some new ♪ we're getting in some new images of victims riding out that storm at shelters all over texas. but some victims are riding out the storm in style, thanks to a small furniture store chain that opened its doors, beds and couches to those in needs. now we're learning the owner didn't just stop there. >> abc's matt gutman caught up with him. >> reporter: this is jim mcingvale, better known as

mattress mack. >> saves you money! >> i am mattress mack, how can i help? >> reporter: a beloved local businessman with a texas-sized personality. and since 1981, he's owned the high-end gallery furniture stores in houston. soon after the winds started blowing, 66-year-old mack went from selling to giving. >> we got lotting of beds, lots of food, lots of water. >> reporter: offering a free port in the storm. mack had plenty of takers. he said a lucky few hundred came in on their own, others rescued by his own delivery trucks. >> we picked up about 200 people stranded on bridges, convenience stores, walking through the water with snakes and alligators. >> reporter: they all found shelter at mack's two houston stores and warehouses where they could recover from their struggles on beds and couches with high altitude price tags. >> we said the hell with

profits. let's take care of the people. that's the right thing to do. that's the way i was brought up. >> reporter: this has also become a crash pad for a national guard company on break. these $12,000 beds quite the upgrade from their standard and he's not concerned about any wear and tear. >> when they said gallery furniture, i said think got to be joking. >> reporter: this is carol. she's here with her daughter and two grandsons, home for the past few days has been this living room display. >> you were also in katrina. >> i was also in katrina. i never thought going here we would experience the same thing, but we did. >> reporter: this time she was rescued by the fire department which brought her to mack's place. >> he didn't have to do this. he made us so comfortable. when i left home i left home without some of my medications and medical equipment, and they supplied it. >> reporter: countless other businesses are also stepping up. bakery workers here stuck at work stayed up all night, baking bread to feed first responders.

restaurants, giving away free meals to rescuers as well. and even airbnb teaming up with their hosts to offer free rooms to evacuees. >> this is where we have all our dogs staying. >> reporter: and back here at mack's place, doing everything they can to make their temporary guests more comfortable. nearing his seventh decade, mack himself literally worked 24 hours straight, despite it all, his store, amazingly, is still open for business. >> you know, somebody said, are you all still a shelter or a furniture store. i said we can be both. it's not an either/or proposition. >> reporter: and walking by those mattresses stacked high, we came across ruby hayes reaching out to mattress mack. spent your 84th birthday here. she says harvey took everything from her. and right there, mack does something better than dry off her tears. >> i'll give you a mattress for your birthday, how's that? i got to give you a birthday

present. happy birthday. nice to see you. >> reporter: a true testament to the spirit of texas. >> ah, what a wonderful gift. a wonderful man for what he's doing there. and he did during katrina as well. >> yeah, he's done this before. i also do love that's pointing out, we're still open for business. >> you can still buy something. >> matt gutman asked him, the furniture that the people are using, will you end up selling it? and he said sure, i'll come up with some kind of schtick. >> he has built his storing on an elevated concrete bed so that they would be flood proof. brilliant in knowing that houston, a large part of the city is in a floodplain. >> yeah, he figured purposely, he could avoid the floods himself and provide shelter for those in need. >> one of the folks who was there at the shelter said it's sort of like a slumber party on steroids. >> they also said that they've accepted donations throughout, but now all they need is

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♪ we've seen so many people opening their hearts, their home and their wallets to help those affected by harvey. >> tune in today to "good morning, america" and join robin roberts for the telethon throughout the day. on abc, the network called free form as well as radio disney. >> they have a panel of celebrities fielding calls as well. give them a ring, have a little chat, you never know who may pick up the phone. >> the guest list still a surprise, but we are being told and authorized to tell you there are some big names in sports, tv and actors and some singers you've probably heard of.

>> probably. >> there you go. >> that's insider information. >> a few hints for you, and those are not the only celebrities stepping in of course to help in this effort. we've been keeping an eye on j.j. watt, plays for the houston texans and a huge force in trying to raise money. he originally laid out a goal of $200,000. raised that in under two hours. a few days later he raised the goal to $6 million. immediately reached that. well, now j.j. has increased his goal on the site to $10 million. they're already approaching that as well. and the goal, he said, they've got semi truck drivers donating time and trucks, and all the money will go to the goods going into the trucks, generators, clothing, food, cleaning supplies, and they're trying to make sure the money gets directly to the people who need it. >> the boys just returned to houston after doing practice somewhere else. so a lot of them got to see the

damage close up yesterday. there's a rapper in houston who's pretty popular down there called trae the truth. you see him on the left. and he's been doing some great work. trae was rescued by a boat. after he got rescued, he's been going out by boat with a friend's boat from san antonio, and rescuing people on his own. he actually rescued orlando magic basketball star and forward jonathan simmons. you see him there. who just happened to show up and trae was there. >> paying it forward. he got rescued himself. and decided now that i'm here, i might as well rescue a few others myself. >> and miranda lambert's foundation is focussing on animals. we've seen lots of videos of pets stranded. they've been able to rescue 72 dogs. >> there are so many that have been stranded unfortunately. don't miss our updates on wnnfans.com.

making news in america this morning, harvey is moving inland and bringing new flooding fears this morning. the waters are still rising in texas and a new mandatory evacuation order has just been issued in houston where as many as 100,000 homes are believed to be destroyed. we're live in texas. and the explosion warning. a chemical plant six feet underwater in danger of catching fire. why there's no way to stop it from happening. and a landmark cancer therapy, it's already proved successful in a child diagnosed with leukemia. so hear why it's being called a new era in the fight against cancer. a good morning to you all. harvey is now a tropical depression bringing heavy rain to northern louisiana and