making news on this thursday, september 30th. >> nicole's knockout. the fast-moving tropical system, set to bring flooding today from miami up to maine. what if? time square bomb blast that almost was. and cooked. the new las vegas hot spot, hot enough to melt flip-flops. a shiny, new hotel, sending concentrated sunshine on the poolside patrons. good morning. and thanks for being with us. well, get ready for a drencher,

up and down the east coast today, with air delays stretching nationwide. >> it's all because of a powerful storm system, already spawning possible tornadoes and tearing apart trees. we begin coverage now with emily schmidt. >> reporter: it's hard to know, looking at all of the rain falling all along the east coast. if people are testing the water. >> first tropical storm i've ever been in. so, it's kind of cool. >> reporter: or is the water testing them? north carolina's governor declared a state of emergency, after wilmington at 18 inches of rain since sunday. 4 months worth of water in 100 hours. one inch more would top a record set by hurricane floyd a decade ago. for landscape businesses, it's disappointing. >> it hurts you. like four days in the house doing nothing. >> reporter: for others, it's disorienting. >> i normally make my swing around to go to this box over here. to deliver. and the pavement, you know.

>> reporter: clarence williams drives this postal route all the time. but standing water hit where he thought the road would be. >> i think it's good if you're a duck. >> reporter: in florida, portable pumps have been working for days. emergency workers in south carolina are ready for long hours, too. >> there's always somebody or someone what doesn't pay attention to what they're doing. they drive in. the car stalls out. next thing you know, you have a water rescue on your hands. >> we had the water level come right up to the door. we went 21 days without any rain. and we had six inches a few days ago. >> reporter: flood watches and warnings now extend as far north as new england. the remnant of a tropical storm looking to test even more people, before it finally passes through. emily schmidt, abc news. so, some water-logged areas will get even wetter today. >> ava dinges at accuweather.com shows us what to expect. hi, ava. >> xwoom, rob and vinita.

moisture that's from left overnicole goes up the east coast. this is going to lead to major flooding as we go throughout the day. we're looking for gusty winds on the outer banks of the carolinas. 50 to 60 miles per hour. more gusty winds from the jersey shore, back across eastern long island. but rain, that's going to be the biggest of concerns. not only travel delays at the airport and interstates. but we're also talking about major flooding on the roadways and flood-prone areas. now, back to you, rob and vinita. >> thank you, ava. our team will continue to track the tropical weather, with sam champion in north carolina, later on "good morning america." there are new tensions this morning between the u.s. and pakistan. after a deadly incident on the afghan border. pakistan claims a nato helicopter air strike inside pakistan killed three of its soldiers. shortly after that, pakistan began blocking supply shipments to nato forces. a similar air strike over the weekend has been strongly

protested by leaders in islamabad. the government has released a chilling, now videotape of what the times square bomb could have done had it gone off as planned. faisal shahzad wanted to set off a second bomb. here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: this is what faisal shahzad had in mind for a busy night in times square. this car bomb based on the design shahzad had used was detonated in pennsylvania. authorities detonated the video, with one word. devastated. sources involved with the test tell abc news, while's unlikely the resulting blast would have taken down any buildings, it would have killed dozens of people. investigators also believe that glass and twisted metal shooting out from the car bomb would have formed a spray of deadly shrapnel. shahzad was portrayed as

cold-blooded and calculated. court documents say before the bombing, he was regularly in contact with the pakistan taliban, exchanging information about the bomb he was building. in the end, the people in times square were fortunate. shahzad was incompetent. he used the wrong bombmaking material and had faulty detonators. we learned he was planning to set off another bomb if he had gotten away with the first one. but we don't know where. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. congress is starting its autumn break. before adjourning early this morning, both houses passed funding bills. the house passed a bill governing nasa's future. they would extend the life of the space program for a year. and house lawmakers passed a bill for $7 million for workers who got sick during cleanup of new york's ground zero. there's a political bombshell in a close race nor governor of california. meg whitman admits she employed an undocumented mexican

immigrant as a maid. the maid appearing with gloria allred, said that whitman knew about her legal status. but allred is backing jerry brown in the govern ears race. we'll hear both sides coming up on "good morning america." also, the president's outgoing chief of staff will begin campaigning next week to be mayor of chicago. rahm emanuel is expected to announce tomorrow, that he is officially leaving the white house. a chicago newspaper is reporting that emanuel will move back to the windy city this weekend. defense secretary robert gates is questioning if americans have become apathetic towards the nation's wars. in a speech at duke university, gates claimed the nation is now too detached from the fighting in both iraq and afghanistan. and with fewer americans seeing service as their duty, more money has the to be spent to keep active-duty soldiers from quitting. aside from the storm drenching the east coast, here's the rest of the morning's weather.

no rain. but flooding in the upper midwest, as rivers continue to rise after torrential downpours earlier this week. showers south of los angeles, into san diego. otherwise, dry for most of the country. >> phoenix will heat up to 106. sacramento, 93. 70s from fargo to detroit. as well as boston down to atlanta. 80s from new orleans to dallas. still to come this morning, gay students taunted and driven to suicide. another campus reeling this morning after a promising student ends his life after a secret sex recording of him and another man. plus, the heroic pilot behind the latest miracle landing. 3333alks about that night.

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke heads to capitol hill today to testify on the progress of rolling out that new financial overhaul law. in prepared testimony, he'll tell lawmakers the fed is working closely with other regulators to implement the biggest overhaul of financial rules since the great depression. the goal, of course, is to prevent another financial meltdown. new numbers show a pickup in foreclosure sales. one in four homes was in foreclosure. selling 26% less than properties not in the foreclosure crisis. this will help heal the housing market. jpmorgan chase is freezing more than 50,000 foreclosures. the bank is reviewing documents

for possible flaws. but experts don't expect the delay to reduce the number of foreclosures. overseas, stocks are falling this morning, due to new concerns about europe's debt problems, after spain's government debt was downgraded. tokyo's nikkei average tumbled 2% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow slipped nearly 23 points yesterday. the nasdaq was down three points. "fortune" magazine is out with its annual list of the 50 most powerful women in business. pepsico chairman and ceo, indra nooyi tops the list. irene rosen feld is second. followed by patricia woertz. facebook and skype are considering a partnership. it could allow members to skype with their facebook friends. a deal is expected to be announced within the next few weeks. and skype is saying the version of skype, skype 5.0, should be

released in the next few weeks. this is moments away from us. >> we're becoming more interconnected these days. crazy. coming up on this thursday morning, new debate over how soon to get a mammogram. and burned by a building? sin city's newest resort reflecting the sun and burning people poolside. the mystery of the vegas death ray. next. 33 for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal.

and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. it was a mystery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and with less pain, i can do more of what matters to me. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery

until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. that storm swamping much of the east coast today is already battering the nation's capital this morning, as the rain gets heavier throughout the day, flooding is expected in more than a dozen states. >> and look for dreadful morning road conditions all along the eastern seaboard. flooding on i-95 from the carolinas up to maine. and i-80, from new york to pittsburgh. out west, it's wet on i-5 and 10, south of l.a. >> and if you're traveling today, you can expect airport

delays on the east coast, in the cities of boston, philadelphia, new york, washington and charlotte. now, to a campus tragedy triggered by a callous invasion of privacy. >> a college freshman has taken his own life after his roommate secretly videotaped an intimate encounter and broadcast i'd over the internet. more, now, from abc's richard cantu. >> reporter: at 18, tyler clementi was pursuing his dream at rutgers university. as clementi had a sexual encounter with another man in his dormroom, place say his roommate sent it live to the internet a hidden camera. then, boasted by tweet, roommate asked for the room till midnight. i went into molly's room and turned on the web cam. dharun ravi, and molly wei were

arrested. >> it makes you feel like you're careful who you talk to. who is in your room. >> it's scary a little bit. knowing your face and your personal privacy could be invaded. and could be accessed by millions of people. >> reporter: in a statement, tyler's relatives say, the family is heartbroken beyond words. one gay rights group is calling this is a hate crime. writer dan savage started a youtube channel where gay adults can post videos to encourage gay teens that however bad it is, it gets better. >> social media shows kids can have help and support. >> reporter: this support comes too late for clementi's family. richard cantu, abc news. and you can hear more about dan savage's project. it gets better. check out our website at abcnews.com. federal investigators will on the scene of a fatal bus crash in suburban washington today. the bus was returning to pennsylvania, when it went through a guardrail near

bethesda, maryland. it then plunged 45 feet to the interstate below. the driver, who may have had a medical problem died in the crash. ten passengers, including several children, were hurt. we are hearing from the hero pilot who was forced to make an emergency landing last week here in new york. passengers onboard delta flight 4951 credited captain jack conyard for saving their lives with his dramatic landing. >> first people i need to say thank you to are the crew. the crew performed their duties flawlessly. but would also like to thank the passengers were remaining calm during the entire process. and proved that once again, new yorkers are a special breed of people. >> he says this was the most difficult challenge he faced in 32 years of flying. it could be more confusion this morning in the debate over how soon to get a mammogram because of a major, new study. researchers found women between the ages of 40 and 49, who have

mammograms at least every two years had a 26% less chance of dying from breast cancer than those who didn't have the regular screening. the study flies in the face of government recommendations last year, which said it should be up to individual women under 50, to decide whether to undergo the annual screening. and some sports news this morning. american golfers have one more day to practice before the ryder cup begins tomorrow out in wales. here at home, though, it's all about baseball's stretch run. details now from espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. and we start with a wild, wild n.l. west. we go to san francisco. the giants hosting the diamondbacks. that is tim lincecum on the mound. down goes adam laroche. looking. and then, miguel montero, swinging through the freak feeling it early in this game. bottom of the fourth inning, pat burrell. they used to call him pat the bat in philly. 18th home run of the season.

and the giants have a 3-1 lead. tim lincecum continues to sizzle. down goes ryan church. lincecum had 11 punchouts. and the giants win it, 3-1. and they remain in first place in the n.l. west. chris young and the padres in action against the cubs. top of the third. cubs down 1-0. aramis ramirez going deep to left center. will venable, track, wall. makes a great catch. sensational catch against the wall. robbing ramirez of the home run. bottom of the fifth. padres lead 2-0. david eckstein, tacking on. that's an rbi. the padres win it 3-0. they're two games out of the west and a game and a half out of the wild card. marlins and braves. manager bobby cox honored before the game. derek lowe. striking out mike stanton. derek lowe had his a-game. bottom of the third. brooks conrad, he also did pretty well. thank you. that is a home run to left

center field. the braves lead 4-0. top of the fourth now. back to lowe. he had 9 punchouts in 5 2/3 innings of work. the braves have a game and a half lead over the padres in the wild card. that is your espn news update. now, back to you in new york. some major news in way in outer space. astronomers are excited about what they believe could be another earth. they say it is a planet that could support life because it's almost perfectly situated in relation to its version of the sun. it's believed that temperatures there range from 160 degrees to 20elow zero. but they say it is short-sleeve weather between. and by the way, it is 120 trillion miles from earth. well, tourists looking for a vegas hot spot are getting a little more than they bargained for. >> the shiny, new, vdara hotel was jokingly being called a death ray. when the sun reflects off the hotel, it had guests running for

cover. one man said the heat by the pool was so intense, it singed his hair and practically melted his flip-234r07s. the vdara opened last summer. now, management is fixing the problem. >> they're saying some of the solutions could be thick umbrellas. but singed hair is never how you want to leave the pool, is it? coming up next, we will update our top story. today's flooding threat from tropical storm nicole. and the steroid scandal unfolding today around the winner of the tour de france. we'll be right back. sir, it's a simple question, do you want heartburn pain now or later? [ male announcer ] these heartburn medicines make you choose between hurting now, or later. pepcid® complete doesn't. it starts to neutralize acid in seconds and keeps it under control all day or all night. sometimes you gotta make compromises, man. [ male announcer ] no you don't, man. pepcid® complete works now and works later.

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and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching today. most of the east coast faces a threat of flooding today, as what remains of tropical storm nicole moves north. some areas of eastern north carolina could see over a foot of rain today. fresh from a four-state campaign swing, president obama meets with democratic leaders in washington. they are strategizing ahead of the midterm elections. fed chairman ben bernanke testifies on the progress of inplummeting the new financial overhaul law. congress left much of the substance of the new rules to the discretion of regulators. we will learn the details today about a massive recall from fisher price. it's believed that over a dozen products are involved, including millions of tricycles and highchairs. former president jimmy carter is expected to be released from the cleveland hospital where he spent the last two nights. doctors said a viral infection likely caused the upset stomach that cartered suffered on

tuesday. and tour de france winner alberto continued dor tested positive for a banned substance in july. he says it's linked to food contamination. for some of you, your local news is next. when i had my heart attack, i couldn't believe it.

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the last laugh from the quintessential single girl. >> after more than three decades of dilemmas, diets and dating one mr. wrong after another, the comic strip "cathy" makes its final run this sunday. >> reporter: cathy has created her cartoon alter ego, cathy, here in her l.a. studio for 17 years. although she started drawing cathy 34 years ago in detroit, when she was working in advertising. >> i was drawing myself. >> reporter: the cartoon cathy and the real one, were a voice for the women of a generation told they could have it all. and they couldn't. a voice that made it to a half-hour special in the '80s. >> my name is cathy. i spent last night celebrating my employee of the year nomination with a box of oreo cookies. >> reporter: now, the real cathy is done with deadly deadlines. it was a significant birthday for her and her daughter's last

year in high school that helped make up her mind. >> i have loved this job. it's been a fabulous way to connect with everybody. i've loved being able to get back at this industry and the makeup industry. and my mother, occasionally. >> reporter: the cartoon started with little drawings she sent her parents to illustrate her life. her mother convinced her to send them for syndication. and they were. this will not be the last we hear from cathy, who has care fly or caved the 12,000 strips she's drown over 3 decades. >> i know i'm doomed to be a citer. i will write about something else. >> reporter: when the last "cathy" runs on sunday, we may want to save it like we've saved so many others. >> one of my proudest things is i know how many refrigerators my comic has been stuck on. and to be placed close to food is the triumph of every artist. >> every creator has seen themselves in one of "cathy's