street hanging out. making news in america this morning, will brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court be derailed? this morning, two key republican senators make a new demand as kavanaugh faces a sexual assault allegation. what the a herusow nas > thfuryf flence the relentless rain taking more lives. >> the loss of life is very, very possible. closing major highways, compromising a dam. even playing a role in this train derailment. hundreds rescued, more evacuated overnight. this morning, just how bad it uld get. shark attack. off cape cod, the man who saw his friend get pulled under by the shark describes those frantic seconds. plus a health alert about aspirin and preventing heart

the new recommendations out this morning. also, the nfl player shocking his teammates after deciding to retire at halftime. and later, the rascally raccoons caught breaking into one of the most sophisticated trash cans ever. and there you thought this was creative. the raccoons got them beat. good morning on monday morning, everyone. i'm kendis gibson. >> i'm janai norman. i'm in for diane macedo. we begin with a new setback for the supreme court nomination of brett kavanaugh. >> two republican senators are now callfodeg inyee d thr unti m the woman who accuses him of sexual assault. that woman, a professor in california, has now come forward to reveal her name. >> abc's stephanie ramos has the new details. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, janai and kendis. good morning. here's the big question. ug ekh?eree a votewekas hina

well, democrats and even some republicans are calling for a delay after these new allegations of sexual misconduct against him. explosive new developments involving supreme court justice nominee, brett kavanaugh. a woman named christine blasey ford is accusing the judge of high school party in the early '80s. ford says, kavanaugh tried to attack her and remove her clothing. she says she thought kavanaugh might inadvertently kill her. she shared her story confidently with senator dianne feinstein who forwarded it to the fbi last week. it was not a topic addressed during his confirmation hearings, but is now threatening to possibly delay a vote. republican senator susan collins who has been undecided about voting for kavanaugh spoke about the accusations last night on cnn. >> well, i obviously was very

issue that i brought up with him last friday, and he denied as he did in his written statement. >> reporter: republican senator lisa murkowski was asked if the senate judiciary committee should delay the vote. she said she was open to it. republican senator lindsey graham said in a statement, if miss ford wishes to provide information to the committee, i would gladly listen to what she has to say. me senate republicans believe so this is all a ploy by democrats to delay the vote. kavanaugh has denied the allegation saying, i did not do this back in high school or at any time. a spokesman for the committee's chairman, chuck grassley says the vote would proceed as scheduled, but some republicans like senator jeff flake say, they are open to delaying the vote so they can hear directly from ford. kendis, janai, back over to you. >> most of the senators are back on the hill today. stephanie ramos, thank you.

we turn now though to the remnants of hurricane florence swamping the carolinas this morning with punishing rain and treacherous flooding. >> and dams near their breaking point triggering new evacuation orders in north carolina overnight. many swollen rivers are about to crest, and hundreds of people have been rescued from the floodwaters. >> abc's emily rau is in wilmington where washed out roads have cut off this entire city. good morning, emily. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and janai. the rain has stopped for now here in wilmington, but as you know, more water rescues overnight days after florence made landfall. after days of pouring rain, the catastrophic flooding forecasters warned of becoming a reality. rivers rising to record levels flowing through neighborhoods and cutting off towns. >> so far what we're dealing with probably the most catastrophic disaster that this county has seen in the last 50

or 60 years. >> reporter: first responders working around the clock on hundreds of rescues. the coast guard pulling a mother and it annfe e safety in this nursing home in goldsboro, north carolina. >> floodwaters are raging across parts of our state, and the risk to life is rising with the angry waters. >> reporter: more than 170 roads in north carolina impassable, including two major highways leaving some drivers stranded. this is highway 74, a main east/west corridor leading in and out of wilmington. take a look. a car driving through that high water is going right over the highway. at times it's been too high for cars to get through. abc's amy robach joined a rescue coast guard team as they set out to help those still trapped. >> with so many roads flooded and impassable in this area, these helicopters become a lifeline for those who have medical emergencies in the storm zone. >> reporter: and long lines forming at the few open businesses as people venture out for the first time in days. >> we had to get out.

with no electricity, you can't cook. we finally came out today. >> it's scary. you think the worst of it is over, and then we get another gust of wind. bad, high winds and then rain. >> reporter: and here in wilmington, just a couple of blocks down the street is the cape fear river. it already broke a record on friday, and this morning, phones are buzzing once again because a flash flood warning is still in effect. kendis and janai? >> our thanks to emily rau there in wilmington, north carolina. that's where the financial toll of the storm will be devastating. in north carolina where an estimated 250,000 homes are expected to be damaged, but listen to this. only about 3% of the homes in the state have flood insurance. and the storm may be to blame for this train derailment in north carolina. a freight train jumped the tracks near the border with south carolina. rain and flooding may have washed out those tracks. officials are investigating whether there was any hazardous material on board. let's get a closer look now

at your weather for this monday morning. >> reporter: good morning. while florence is causing havoc throughout the ohio valley region, the mid atlantic combining with humid air, and the tracking here will allow for it to settle into the eastern portions of kentucky for this morning, and then continue to carry its way towards the northeast and in its path, bring around catastrophic flooding. we're looking for a possible maximum of 40 inches of rain in some areas throughout the carolinas with major mudslides, washouts, as well as major river flooding. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, workers at amazon accused of taking bribes to delete negative product reviews. how the company is responding. but first, new details on the cause of those gas explosions that damaged or destroyed dozens of homes near boston. and later, a major scare at the circus as trainers lose

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we're back with the new images of a massive storm that's slamming china. the typhoon has left a trail of death and destruction after hitting the philippines with winds of 165 miles an hour there. at least 70 people have died, and dozens are missing and feared buried in landslides. these are some of the scenes from china as well. it's one of the most powerful storms to hit the region in decades. a border patrol agent in texas accused of being a serial killer is being held on more than $2 million bond. 35-year-old juan david ortiz allegedly killed four women and tried to kidnap another. he was arrested this weekend after a woman allegedly escaped from his truck. police say he preyed on prostitutes.

ortiz is a ten-year veteran of the border patrol. we're learning more about a series of gas explosions that damaged or destroyed 80 homes north of boston and left a teenager dead. investigators have confirmed that there was too much pressure in the gas lines. they say that the pressure sensor was wrongly attached to a gas line being taken out of service. at least a dozen families have been permanently displaced by this leak. thousands of other residents were finally allowed back into their homes. >> i don't know how long it's going to take to get over the mental and physical toil and ordeal that we have all been through. >> my daughter's throwing all my frozen foods out. she is taking pictures of everything. why? we're going to end up paying for it. >> the gas company has been reportedly linked to explosions in massachusetts, west virginia and ohio. officials say this investigation could take two years to be completed. amazon is reportedly launching an investigation into whether sellers are bribing the company's employees. "the wall street journal"

reports some merchants are gaming the site's rating system by paying amazon workers to delete negative product views. the report says the practice is prominent in china, but u.s. employees are also being checked to it. amazon says workers could be arrested if they are caught. paul mccartney's still got it. the former beatle's new album, "egypt station" topped the 200 list. it's his first number one in 36 years. >> not bad. >> at age 76, makes him one of the oldest to score a number one there on the charts. >> good here pifor him. well, coming up, important news about aspirin and the harm it can do. we have the new recommendations. and also ahead for the first time, we hear from the friend of a man who was killed by a shark off cape cod. what we saw in the water. and the nfl player igniting a firestorm after quitting at halftime. makes it hard to brea. so to breathe better, i go with anoro.

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back now with new details on the shark attack that killed this 26-year-old man off cape cod. it's the first fatal shark attack in massachusetts in more than 80 years. >> and now we're hearing from the victim's friend who was there in the water and saw it all happen. >> reporter: terror in the water off the coast of cape cod. >> just a giant eruption of water. 15 foot wide, and just it looked like i saw a tail and a lot of thrashing. >> reporter: 26-year-old engineering student arthur medici was boogie boarding when police say the shark grabbed ahold of him. >> i just saw him getting, like, dragged under the water. >> reporter: medici's friend, isaac rocha was nearby. >> and then just him appearing again, and there was blood in the water and screaming. >> reporter: rocha said he swam to medici as fast as he could. >> i dragged him out of the air -- water. i got the boogie board strap. and i tried to tie it around his leg to stop the bleeding and

made a tourniquet. >> reporter: life guards who were on the beach jumped into action. >> they are currently carrying the party up to the parking lot at newcomb hollow beach. >> reporter: medici was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive. the attack coming one month after 61-year-old william litten was attacked by a shark four miles up the coast. >> i tore these two tendons here, and at that point the shark let go and swam away. >> reporter: authorities say environmental protection laws in the area resulting in a booming seal population are now causing sharks to become more aggressive. >> you have got predators like sharks moving in to try to get to them. the general public needs to be incredibly vigilant. >> reporter: now people are demanding lawmakers try to find a solution. >> let's finally get these politicians, state reps, the congressional leaders and our local leaders in a room, shut the door and say, you know what? we have got a problem here. >> we should mention that beach has been closed to swimmers since the attack.

now to a scare at a circus in pittsburgh that has left seven people injured, including six children. handlers had to corral a bucking camel that you see there. the frightening scene happened during a break when kids were allowed to ride the camels and ponies. police say the animal was startled, but they are not sure how. healthy older people who take daily aspirin could be doing more harm than good. a low dose aspirin regimen is followed by millions of americans to curb the risk of heart attacks and strokes, but a new study finds that there are no benefits for healthy people over 70, and it actually increases the risk of bleeding in the brain and digestive tract. aspirin is recommended for people with known cardiovascular problems and speak to a doctor before breaking routine. and serena williams is breaking her silence in the aftermath of her controversy insisting she did not cheat. she spoke with an australian news program in her first

interview since her face why you have -- faceoff with an umpire. she says this is proof of the sexism in the sport. >> your coach admitted he was coaching from the sideline. >> he said he made a motion. i don't understand what he was talking about. we have never had signals. if you are a female you should be able to do even half of what a guy can do. >> williams forfeited the game after calling the umpire carlos ramos a thief. she was also fined $17,000. ramos says he stands by his decision during the match. turning to football, the cowboys beat the giants 20-13, sacking eli manning six times, but the big headline from the nfl is kansas city's 22-year-old quarterback patrick mahoney who threw six touchdowns against the steelers. he has thrown a record ten touchdowns in the first two weeks. se trade subpoen's lookingdaocm

be png anymore, anhis teammates said they didn't find out until the second half. imagine how they felt. he tweeted he meant no disrespect to them, but had an honest moment with himself. at halftime, the tampa bay bucs are undefeated and their quarterback, ryan fitzpatrick broke out the bling and the chest hair after beating philadelphia. he says he boar rrowed the look from the teammate you see there, desean jackson. >> everybody wins. and check out the play of the football weekend. north texas and arkansas saturday, he catches the punt and fakes everyone out by standing still and then he is gone. you see him there. he went 90 yards, and a touchdown. caught them flatfooted literally. >> he made it the whole way. 90 yards. not bad. >> got to stay on your toes. up next in "the pulse," the man thrown out of an all you can eat restaurant.

just how much he ate. also, how the weather channel depends this reporter accused of exaggerating the wind. because those fellows, are they miracle walkers? walking calmly behind him. and the raccoons who outsmarted the smartest trash bin. outsmarted the smartest trash been.

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this is about as nasty as it has been. in the eye wall, we were not on tv. it was a dark and raucous night. >> you see those two guys strolling in the background. they didn't have any trouble staying on their feet there. >> it doesn't seem like the wind is blowing behind him, but the weather channel said they were walking on concrete while seidel was on grass making it harder to keep his footing. if you have ever wondered what it takes to get kicked out of an all you can eat restaurant, we have the answer. >> a guy in germany was kicked out of a sushi restaurant after eating 100 plates of fish in one sitting. he is an athlete and he follows an extreme diet where he doesn't eat for 20 hours. >> he got quite the value. nearly 100 plates of fish for 18 bucks. it's intermittent fasting. >> not bad. speaking of all you can eat, never underestimate a raccoon's determination to break into your trash. >> the city of toronto spent $31 million on specially designed trash bins to fight

their raccoon problem, but look at this. the raccoons apparently figured out the bin's rotating handle. >> the company that makes the bin says those ones were either faulty or broken. >> oh, okay. it's not their fault. and it's mission accomplishaccomplis accomplished for a girl with big goals. >> hailey drawen threw out the first pitch at every major lead stadium. >> she is raising money to donate money to create hands similar to hers. we'll be back. hand. >> she's using the money to donate and create hands for similar girls. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened.

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miralax . hi. good morning. it's monday, september 17th. thanks for joining us. natasha is off this morning. >> hopefully you had a good weekend. you're never more than seven minutes away from the accuweather forecast. how will we do today? >> i think we will do more. happy once again. hi. let's look at what's going on temperature wise. 40s in some areas, especially the deepest areas from novato, santa rosa, ukiah and morgan hill. the rest of us in the mid to upper 50s. 52, san ramon. high temperatures today, mid-60s along the coast, into san francisco. a little breezy, a little more cloud cover. upper 60s to mid-70s throughout the bay. temperatures pretty comfortable for this time of the year.

we'll look at what florence is doing coming up. with a sig-alert in castro valley s. police activity that has a full closure of westbound 580 right at st. route 238. 238 to west bound 580 is closed. we just got a few additional closures. foothill in castro valley to 580 all shut down. it does sound like they're pretty hopeful about how long this will last. they were seeing initially 30 minutes. working on getting more information. another update in just a few. happening now, heavy rain from tropical depression florence is causing record blooding in the carolinas. >> the storm has claimed at least 17 lives, 10 in north carolina, 6 in south carolina. abc aer of pun iing rain, the catastrophic

flooding forecasters warned of now becoming a reality. flowing through neighborhoods and cutting off towns >> so far what we are dealing with is the most catastrophic disaster this county has seen in the last 50, 60 years. >> reporter: first responders working round the clock carrying out hundreds of rescues. the coast guard pulling a mother and infant from danger. elderly being taken from safety in this nursing home in goldsboro, north carolina. >> floodwaters are still raging across our state. the risk to life is rising with the angry waters >> reporter: more than 170 roads in north carolina impasse bible. including two major highways. leaving some drivers stranded. this is highway 74. east/west corridor. a car driving through the high water is going over the highway. at times it has been too high for cars to get through. >> long lines forming at the few open businesses as people

venture out for the first time in days. >> we had to get out. you can't cook or anything. so we finally came out today. >> it's scary. you think the worst of it is over, then we get another gust of wind and rain >> reporter: cape fear just down the street. it broke a record on friday. this morning a flash flood warning is still in effect. emily rau, abc news, wilmington, north carolina. >> and the american red cross is organizing a relief effort for people affected by tropical storm florence. and you can make a $10 donation by texting florence to the number that you see there on your screen. 90999. >> it is 4:30. if you're just joining us, a quick update on your weather and traffic. >> we'll start with florence. tropical depression. 30-mile-per-hour winds north of bristol, tennessee.