in your hands or feet? try innovative nerve relief from the world's number one nerve care company. nerve contains allah to relieve nerve aches and b complex vitamins to fortify healthy nerves. try nerve iv and try innovative pain relieving roll-on. >> checking more top stories. raging wildfires on the hawaiian island of maui are now blamed for 36 deaths and officials fear >> this morning, paradise burning. the deadly fire disaster on the island of maui. fears that hundreds of homes may be destroyed. the flames devastating the historic town that dates back to the 1700s. we talked to people who barely made it out alive. new details overnight about what the us military is doing to assist the search and relief efforts and where thousands of evacuees may now be sent. >> plus, how you can help. also

breaking overnight, a brazen attack. >> a presidential candidate in south america is assassinated on the street. >> the new request from president trump in the mar a lago documents investigation and trump overnight hints at whether he'll attend this month's gop primary debate where he could share the stage with former vp mike pence. >> dramatic rescue. a construction worker is trapped high in the sky atop a crane with a broken leg. how emergency crews got him down later, the rookie who did the unthinkable during his first at bat in the major leagues. and a new announcement overnight from taylor swift. new york. >> this is america this morning . >> good thursday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> i'm andrea fujii in for rhiannon. we begin with the fire disaster unfolding on maui. >> hawaiian authorities just confirmed at least 36 people

have died and more than 270 homes and buildings are damaged or destroyed. this is a new aerial view of the destruction. some people were forced to jump into the ocean to escape the military's deploying more resources to help with the search and rescue effort. >> the flames tore through the historic community of lahaina, home to buildings that date back to the 1700s. the heavy winds that fueled the massive fires are expected to calm down today. >> we're now hearing terrifying new accounts from people who fled the flames with just minutes to spare. they say they had little warning and lost everything except their lives. abc's lionel moise begins our coverage this morning. >> a state of emergency as deadly wildfires spread across maui. the massive fires with thick smoke and flames. thousands trying to evacuate this apocalyptic scene. firefighter on duty around the clock, but dry conditions and heavy winds fueling the fires even more. >> it looked like an area that had been bombed in a war. >> pilot richard olson flew a

helicopter over lahaina to view the devastation. we were not prepared for what we saw. >> it was it was heartbreaking. there's hundreds of homes burned down to the ground and the entire area of front street, the whole historic area, is gone, burned to the ground, the harbor, the boats are burned to the water. we were just speechless with one another as we viewed this this horrible destruction of the town, army and navy helicopters are now assisting the coast guard in search and rescue missions. >> leif wright, who lives in lahaina, says he received no warning about the fires until after he and his friends had already evacuated. >> and how do you think outside the box when you're worried about burning to death? everything around you is a hazard. everything around you has a and you have no idea what's going to happen. >> cell service there extremely limited, making it hard to check

on loved ones or get updates on the fires. >> our two friends were bawling their eyes out. they were scared. they were scared to death. >> leif describing some of the chaos as they left everything behind and it was pandemonium. >> um. like it was maybe 15, 20ft of visibility. this lady comes walking out of the smoke, just covered in soot, no shoes, walking aimlessly with two dogs, kind of like following her. >> claire kent says as she evacuated, she heard explosions coming from gas stations. >> there's like explosions and just black smoke everywhere. and your skin was thick with dust and the wind on top of all of that was so crazy that at any point in time, you're like, you were dodging branches and just things flying through the air. and then there's a whole wall of black smoke behind us with deteriorating conditions, at least a dozen people jumped into

the ocean to escape the flames. >> stephen scott made a break for the harbor after flames surrounded him. >> i was with a hose shooting it up, trying to protect our building and plantation house. all of that blew up and then all the fires over here. so i was trapped. so we had to run down to the harbor. >> scott was still searching for his wife last night after the couple became separated in the chaos. i'm trying to find my wife. >> i know she's safe. i think she's safe. but i haven't found her yet. the american red cross telling families to call one 800 red cross to get assistance locating loved ones. >> and if you'd like to help, the red cross is accepting monetary donations to help with their efforts on the ground. the salvation army is also working to help with food and shelter for people who are displaced. we've also been told the hawaii convention center on oahu is preparing to house up to 4000

evacuees from maui. >> the number of lives lost is just devastating, and that number could grow. >> really, really heartbreak. to hear that and to see how did difficult the conditions are right now. the initial reports were six dead now up to at least 36. >> lionel, thank you. stay with abc news for the latest from maui with live reports from gio benitez and will carr later on good morning america and streaming on abc news live. now to another breaking story overnight, a presidential candidate has been assassinated in ecuador. anti corruption candidate fernando villavicencio was shot leaving a campaign rally. a firefight ensued in sued and the suspect, the suspected gunman, was killed. ecuador's president is blaming organized crime that country has seen a major spike in drug and gang related violence. with mexican cartels growing more powerful in the region. >> former president trump has a new request in the mar a lago documents investigation. he wants to establish a secure facility at the resort to discuss the case. meanwhile, trump is now hinting at whether he'll participate in the gop

primary debate later this month. abc's justin finch is here with details. justin good morning, andrea good morning. >> with that debate looming at the end of the month, trump is expected to be arraigned again today, this time for that superseding indictment in the classified documents case. he's not required to attend that arraignment. and as for that new request from trump, his lawyers are asking a federal judge to establish a secure facility at mar a lago to give trump and his team a place to discuss evidence in that case, it would allow trump to review the same classified documents s that he's charged with illegally keeping at that resort. meanwhile, during a new interview overnight, trump said he will not sign a pledge to support the republican nominee if he loses the presidential primary. it suggests trump does not plan to participate in this month's debate because the pledge is a requirement for attending that debate. >> why would i sign a pledge if

people on there that i wouldn't have? i can name 3 or 4 people that i wouldn't support for president. so right there, there's a problem. >> meanwhile, there's another major development from the special counsel investigation into trump. we've learned special counsel jack smith obtained a search warrant earlier this year for trump's twitter account, which was kept secret from trump upon learning about that warrant, trump called it a quote, a major hit to his civil rights. andrea. >> justin, thank you. now to the deadly shooting involving the fbi and a man accused of plotting to harm president biden. >> we're learning more about the moments leading up to the violent confrontation in utah this morning. president biden is safely in utah for an event today on health benefits for veterans. but just hours before his arrival, the fbi says a provo man was fatally shot as agents tried to arrest him for threatening to assassinate biden. authorities say 75 year old craig robertson had made credible threats, posting to

social media, quote, i hear biden is coming to utah digging out my old ghillie suit and cleaning the dust off the m24 sniper rifle. welcome buffoon in chief. a federal complaint reveals dozens of robertson posts, including pictures of an arsenal of weapons, images of robertson dressed in camouflage armed with a rifle and multiple references to killing the president. the fbi says it's investigation also uncovered threats against other democrats and against law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against former president trump. after a months long investigation, the fbi moved in yesterday. >> the tipping point to me was president biden was coming. he was going to be in close proximity. and this individual all had looked like he was on a planning path to carry out the attack. the associated press reports robertson was armed at the time of the shooting. >> new details about the release of an america nurse and her daughter kidnaped in haiti last month. the christian aid group, or alex dorsainvil, worked, says they were safely returned. abc news has learned there were

tense negotiations with the notorious gang following a ransom demand. >> a new york judge says the suspected gilgo beach serial killer must provide a dna sample. rex herman's lawyers tried to argue that prosecutors had no probable cause. investigators already have a napkin and some pizza crusts found near his office. the long island architect is charged in the murders of three women. a dramatic rescue north of new york city. >> a construction worker broke his leg and was stuck on top of a crane 200ft in the air. emergency crews climbed up the crane, stabilized his leg and gently brought him down. he appeared to be in good spirits, waving as he was slowly lowered from the crane. it took nearly one hour, but he was finally loaded into an ambulance. time now for your thursday weather. good morning. >> hurricane dora in the pacific ocean is a major hurricane as it moves away from hawaii and the

good news is the strong winds around the hurricane will be lessening in hawaii with those wildfires going on in maui. that's good news. meantime, dangerous heat is not good news all across the southeast. all of florida, the gulf coast, real field temperatures today well above 100 degrees. we also have severe weather, including tornadoes and flash flooding early this morning from arkansas eastward. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin corcoran. >> coming up exclusive new reporting on the tupac shakur murder case. also ahead, the terrifying crash at a family picnic and florida governor ron desantis explains why he suspended another state prosecutor who was elected and

what would you give for a child you loved, to make their wish come true? to help them fight a critical illness, just imagine what you'd do. every single one of us can make the stars align. because when we come together, hope and joy will shine. ♪ ♪ >> good morning america. a shocking scene at this family

picnic when a parked car plunged off a cliff with a girl sitting inside. >> her father tried to save her, but both ended up in the water. the bystanders then swam over to rescue them. police say the cars handbrake failed. >> exclusive new video this morning from the investigation into the 1996 murder of rapper tupac shakur. swat team video shows last month's raid on the nevada home of dwayne davis, who claims he witnessed the murder and was affiliated with a los angeles gang. police ordered him to come outside and then seized electronic devices, pictures and other items is now in the hands of a grand jury. they also collected bullets which abc news has learned did not match the shell casings from the 1996 crime scene. >> we turn now to florida, where governor and presidential candidate ron desantis is explaining why he removed a top prosecutor from her job, even though she was elected by voters. the prosecutor calls it a hit job. this morning, the top state prosecutor in orlando, florida, who was elected to her position remains defiant after

being suspended by governor ron desantis. she claims desantis is acting like a dictator. >> i am your duly elected state attorney for the ninth judicial circuit, and nothing done by weak dictator can change that. this is an outrage. >> desantis removed monique worrell for what he calls neglect of duty. she faced criticism this week after two police officers were shot allegedly by a man with a long criminal history who had been released on bond. >> whether or not someone gets released on bond is in the discretion of the court and bond is a right bond is a constitutional right. >> but the governor and the local police union cite other cases accusing worrell of being soft on violent offenders. >> what this state attorney has done is abuse that discretion and is effective, nullified certain laws in the state of

florida that that breaches her duties that she owes to the people of florida under our state constitution. >> worrell, who was elected in 2020 with 66% of the vote, says crime is down. the orlando police chief reports a 10% drop in violent crime in the past year and a 30% drop in shootings . worrell is the second democratic state attorney removed by desantis. he suspended tampa area prosecutor andrew warren for suggesting he would not enforce florida's 15 week abortion law. the state's highest court rejected warren's plea to get his job back. worrell and warren both say they plan to run for reelection. >> in coming up, the mystery surrounding the reported death of a 14 year old internet star. >> plus, how thieves took off with $300,000 in goods from a with $300,000 in goods from a luxury store (♪) rsv can be a dangerous virus... [sneeze] ...for those 60 and older. it's not just a cold.

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>> music fans are remembering robbie robertson, guitarist and songwriter for the rock group the band his career included playing with rob, bob dylan and composing film scores with martin scorsese. robertson was 80 years old this morning, mystery surrounds the reported death of a 14 year old internet star. >> she was known for her controversial rap lyrics. i'm out here flexing and all y'all broke haters. she was the foul mouthed trash talking tween flaunting her alleged wealth and extravagant lifestyle. and now we'd be living in the hills. >> see that view? y'all don't have that view. and i'd be holding your mama's ranked lil tay real name claire hope rose to fame as a nine year old rapper and social media star, ultimately amassing more than 3 million followers on instagram, telling nightline back in 2018, i'm only nine years old, but i'm richer than all these broke haters. youngest flexer. and i'm working hard to make all my money and insisting this was her authentic self. they're saying

that like someone's forced me to do this, but this is just who i am. like, this is my person. banality. >> but now a statement shared on her verified instagram account has announced her death at the age of 14. the statement also announced the death of her older brother and said that the deaths are under investigation. now, it's unclear when or where either of them are said to have died. deepening the mystery when reached on the phone by abc news lil tay's father, chris hope declined to comment on the statement of her death. he also declined to answer whether she's still alive. >> two on your racks on this car , y'all saying i wrecked my cars ? >> her use of expletives and racist slang raised red flags among her critics. even rap mogul snoop dogg accused her. then 16 year old brother of coaching her, saying she needs to be in school, learning how to be a little girl, sparking the hashtag save lil tay. but still, her mother supported her, claiming to nightline that her daughter was a straight-a student. i'm a proud mom. >> i'm a great parent, and also my daughter has accomplished so

much by herself. she would be a superstar. >> the statement announcing lil taste death was the first message posted to her instagram account since 2018. >> police in glendale, california, are searching for the thieves who pulled off a brazen flash mob robbery at this upscale shopping center. at least 30 people made off with about $300,000 worth of luxury merchandise from an yves saint laurent store. a $50,000 reward is being offered for their arrest. >> coming up, the hero golden retriever who took on a bear. >> plus, the rookie who did the >> plus, the rookie who did the unthinkable the pandemic may be over, but unfortunately covid-19 isn't going anywhere. in fact, it's still among the top five leading causes of death in the us, right after heart disease and cancer. and covid-19 related er visits are three times higher than the flu. so stay up-to-date with the latest covid-19 vaccines this fall, just like you do with the flu. because you've got no time for 19.

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wilson just got called up by the phillies. >> and last night after spending seven years in the minor leagues, mostly due to injury, he got to the plate and hit a home run. talk about making the most of an opportunity. the 28 year old rookie, his father was in the stands. take a look. he was understandably emotional after this journey. but later, wilson was actually upstaged by his teammate, pitcher michael lorenzen completed a no hitter. his family was also in the stands celebrating next to boston and something even longtime red sox fans say they've never seen before. >> it happened at fenway last night. take a look. >> it's a shot out to left. he'll shoot it back racing. can't get it stuck in the in there. it's stuck inside the light. >> that was huge. >> he couldn't find it. look at this. busting the light. >> oops. wow. it was ruled a ground rule double. >> well, next, a golden retriever being hailed a hero, protecting his human family from a bear. >> a four year old was playing in his connecticut yard. the security camera caught little

gavin picking up his toys and suddenly a bear comes running. but he was chased away by jake, the hero golden retriever, jake never even hesitated. and finally, a big announcement from taylor swift as she wrapped up her concert in los angeles. >> she's rereleasing her 1989 album, swift has been rerecording her first six albums, 1989 initially came out albums, 1989 initially came out in 2014, and she said ♪ there it is. that feeling you get... when you can du more with less asthma. it starts with dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... and can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids. can you picture it? dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain,

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when you du more with less asthma. ask your asthma specialist about dupixent. ♪ >> this is downtown front street. it is hard to put into words what this looks like. it looks like a war zone. >> when i saw this video this morning, it it truly breaks your heart. parts of maui reduce to ash. the fire still burning. this morning, the death toll stands at 36. hundreds of homes destroyed. historic communities leveled and evacuations in place. the latest on the firefight. >> in the bay area, still smoldering