this morning on "world news now," record breaking heat. and the dangerous conditions today for millions of americans, including the firefighters in the northwest. the extreme conditions and today's outlook from accuweather. california jolt. the bay area's magnitude 4 earthquake. the reactions caught on camera. why this earthquake has millions worried about the next one. and new this half hour, a modern day sword fight. >> cameras capture an unusual attempted robbery scene and who joined that battle with a bigger weapon. and later, tracy morgan's return after a major accident and legal battle. he's returning to the stage that made him famous. that's in "the skinny" on this tuesday, august 18th. from abc news, this is "world news now."

>> that's a good indication. good morning, everyone. i'm reena ninan. >> i'm phillip mena. >> we were joking around. it's so cold here in the studio that our floor director has his jacket on. >> you do say it was cold in here. >> it is cold. but it's so hot outside. >> completely different story out there. >> record-breaking heat. students head back to school today in the los angeles school district and workers have been making sure air-conditioners at schools are in working order. >> they are in here, that's for sure. that area is coming off its hottest stretch of days this year, not just on the west coast. our coverage begins with abc's elizabeth hur. >> reporter: a scorcher from coast to coast meant millions of americans spent the day baking in the summer heat and looking for any means to stay cool. >> just trying to cool off on this nice day. it's a little hot. he's enjoying the water. >> reporter: the city fountain did the trick for this 8-month-old in philadelphia and the beaches along the jersey shore were a hit for many others. >> that water is great for

lifeguards and people not experienced swimmers. the surfers and body boarders want waves. for me it's easier on my job. >> reporter: out west, soaring temperatures from arizona to nevada and california are keeping officials on their toes with the blistering heat turning playgrounds into danger zones. >> we're running about 130 right here. if a child climbs up the ladder, they could get burned hands. >> reporter: back in the east air quality warnings from virginia to connecticut. officials urging children and anyone with breathing problems to avoid the outdoors and once inside, remember to conserve power and unplug any unnecessary devices. but again, damage already done with dozens of heat records broken in california. and new york city tying the record set back in 1944. elizabeth hur, abc news, new york. >> now to the wildfires burning across the west. resources are stretched so thin, that the 200 active duty military troops are being trained to fight fires and will

be heading to fire lines this coming weekend. the situation is extremely dangerous in central washington. near the resort town of chelan where more than 15 square miles have already burned as local officials taking extra another measures. >> we'll be looking at other nations we work with like australia, new zealand. >> nearly 90 major wildfires are burning across the west. the scorching temperatures are not helping. accuweather meteorologist justin pavek has more. good morning. >> reena and phillip, thanks and good morning to you. heat a huge concern out west once again. in fact, record high temperatures will be challenging but dry conditions. this is only going to lead to an increased fire danger threat going all the way through midweek. the northeast on the other hand will be blazing hot. we're not talking about a fire situation but the combination of heat and humidity might make it feel like it's 100 around boston, new york city or philadelphia, even down south toward richmond.

there could be a couple thunderstorms here the next couple days. nothing that will likely compare with what's going on over the central portion of the country later this afternoon. damaging winds, flooding rains, hail and isolated tornadoes all going to be possible. phillip and reena, back over to you. thank you so much. we'll head out west. a frightening jolt for the san francisco bay area shaken by an earthquake and string of after shocks. the magnitude 4.0 quake was relatively small but they're bracing for something much bigger. abc's aditi roy explains. >> reporter: this earthquake in the bay area jolted the air waves. >> that the a pretty good earthquake there. >> reporter: the quake was centered in piedmont, california, 13 miles east of berkeley at 6:49 a.m. it wasn't the big one. but enough to stop b.a.r.t. trains for ten minutes and give a rude awakening to this baby and these pups. and a wake-up call for some out

of town freshmen at uc berkeley. >> i never felt that kind of shock before. >> reporter: quakes sprung from the hayward fault. it runs directly below where i'm standing and cuts right through memorial stadium here at uc berkeley from goal post to goal post and some seismologists predict a major earthquake along this fault could happen any day. aditi roy, abc news, berkeley, california. prosecutors in south africa are calling for oscar pistorius to be convicted of murder in the death of his girlfriend. pistorious is due to be released from prison friday. the athlete served ten months of his five-year sentence for manslaughter. but prosecutors want his conviction upgraded to murder with a minimum sentence of 15 years. pistorious testified that he thought he was shooting at an intruder, not his girlfriend. closing arguments set for today in the mon slaughter trial of a charlotte, north carolina police officer who shot an unarmed black man. defense attorneys say randall kerrick opened fire because jonathan ferrell was running

toward him and he feared for his life. ferrell had gotten into a car accident when he knocked on a woman's door apparently seeking help. she called police. if convicted, kerrick could face up to 11 years in prison. donald trump arrived for jury duty yesterday in manhattan surrounded by a sea of reporters and photographers. trump was not needed as a juror. there were not enough cases. outside the courtroom, tom llamas tried to ask trump about his plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. >> how would you find them and deport them? >> it's going to be easy. just watch. >> how would you do it? can you give us a specific? >> that he did not. trump resumes campaigning tomorrow. he's hosting' town haul meeting in new hampshire. a setback for the nfl's concussion settlement with former players. a deadline to file appeals against that settlement has passed. about a dozen of those appeals were filed. arguments against the deal which could cost the league $1 billion are expected to be heard this fall.

they are all but likely to delay any payments to former players until next year. >> from her health headlines, more benefits from drinking coffee. boston researchers found colon cancer patients who drank a few cups a day had a lower risk of the disease -- lower risk of death from the disease. coffee has also been linked with a lower risk of parkinsons, diabetes and other types of cancer. the findings only hold true for caffeinated coffee, not decaf. caffeinated. >> healthy. >> starting tomorrow, people -- you like that? all right. a little moral support here. tomorrow, people looking for something stronger, thank you, jack, than espresso. if you're looking for something stronger it may be at more starbucks across the country. starbucks will start selling wine and craft beer at an additional two dozen locations and stores in several cities where alcohol is already on the menu. customers can order by the glass

or the bottle. starbucks is reaching out to expand its evening business and the guys did behind me, bk and jack, this is like made for you two. >> they're selling alcohol? they're going to take over the world. they already have but more so. there is another change coming to starbucks, something in its top selling seasonal drink of all time. recognize those? >> the chain's very popular pumpkin spice latte this fall. there will be a new ingredient. they're going to include real pumpkin. and they're taking out something else. no more caramel coloring and artificial flavors. a lot of products are doing this these days. >> the nutritional fact they will stay largely the same. that means it will still have 300 calories. >> you know what? i do love it. we don't know when it's coming out this fall. i wish they would offer it year round. i'd like to have a pumpkin spice latte in august. >> it is my favorite. as soon as they said, we heard the story, we were like what did they have in it before? >> did he just have a pumpkin

spice latte? >> you got it early. >> now with pumpkin. >> who knew what it had before. coming up in "the skinny" two comebacks, one for tracy morgan and another for a cartoon favorite. >> las -- also ahead, banding together to rebuild new orleans. how harry connick and others made sure the music wouldn't stop after hurricane katrina. >> first all the anticipation for the little pink pill, the so-called female viagra. today is decision day at the fda for a medication that could be a game-changer. you're watching "world news now." >> "world news now" weather, brought to you by belsomra. d news now." >> "world news now" weather, brought to you by bell samra.

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video from pittsburgh showing a market employee wielding a huge sword fighting off a would be robber who was dressed as a ninja. he was carrying a much smaller sword. there are actually two guys dressed as ninjas in the store. the clerk fought off the first guy and said he was not afraid to bust out that weapon. >> he came here to attack me. i attack him like that. and until i throw his sword from his hand. >> what is he doing with the sword behind the register? >> you think you're a ninja? you're no ninja. the second guy was also dressed like a ninja was confronted by a 65-year-old guy, just a customer in the store. that second weak ninja got scared off, too. the store owner eventually though ran out. they ran out because the store owner pulled out a gun at that point. that's when these ninjas bailed. >> so the moral of the story is

if attacked by a ninja, pull out the gun, not the sword? >> uh-huh. bring the gun to the knife fight. and you don't have one of those, pull out a huge machete. >> worst ninjas ever. >> back to the drawing board, boys. it's decision day at the fda as the agency announced the so-called female viagra will be approved whether this will be approved for markets. after clinical studies, there's a delay. will determine whether there be a delay. >> women have been waiting a long time for libido remedy after medicines for men have been prescribed for years. here's abc's rebecca yar vis. >> in the big industry of pharmaceuticals this little pink pill could start making waves across the country this week. the fda expected to announce whether they will approve, deny or postpone flibanserin, a drug dubbed the female viagra. >> this is the age of taking action.

>> but where viagra treats problems with blood flow in men, this drug which works with key chemicals in the brain is specifically aimed at treating hypoactive sexual desire disorder, hsdd which affects approximately one in ten women. this june an fda advisory panel voted 18-6 in favor of the drug. the panel hearing testimony from this mother and daughter. >> i had a wonderful loving husband and no sexual feelings whatsoever. >> my marriage has suffered greatly. so much so that the conversation of divorce is on the table, stemming from my low sexual desire. >> if approved the one a day pill would be the first of its kind available to consumers but it has already faced backlash. some questioning its effectiveness and safety, but for some women, this impending fda announcement could make all the difference. >> no negative side effects. only positive ones. >> really good ones. >> reporter: rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york.

>> apparently this company marketing this started by a husband and wife team and they created sprout pharmaceuticals. >> no word yet on what happens if you experience side effects more than four hours. we'll see. coming up though, meryl streep gets a less on in how to keep on rocking in the free world. >> and two former colleagues battle it out over their new kentucky fried chicken jobs. "skinny" up next. "world news now" continues after this from our ab

♪ skinny, so skinny we begin with hopeful and inspiring news for one of america's funniest. tracy morgan set to take the stage again. >> morgan's triumphant return will be at a familiar place, "saturday night live." he'll host the show in october. morgan was a cast member from 1996 to 2003. he hosted the show once before in 2009 but this will be the first time we'll see him perform live since tragedy struck. >> so many people looking forward to this night. in june, morgan marked one year since that horrific accident that left him in a coma for weeks and killed his friend and comic jimmy mack. it's been a long road to recovery but yesterday a simple message of hope and excitement tweeted out. stoked to be going home. snl. that says it all, doesn't it? >> we're all stoked. after a long hot summer weekend, it can be tough to have a productive monday but don't tell that to mr. stevie wonder.

yesterday he surprised not one, not two, but three cities with free pop-up concerts. >> amazing. wonder started off the day in washington, d.c., he performed at the armory mall outside of rfk stadium. he also spoke on issues of national importance including gun violence and community policing. om d.c., he went to philadelphia for another small show before continuing to new york city. >> he finished off the trifecta in central park to a crowd that somehow managed to get free tickets on line even though they sold out in 30 seconds. wonder is promoting the fall leg of his songs in the key of life tour and those tickets go on sale friday morning. >> those lucky concert goers got a taste of his music last night. meryl streep known for being one of the best actresses alive serious about every role she takes on. so in preparing for her latest role in "ricki and the flash," streep had to make sure that she was authentically rock 'n' roll. >> who better to study with than

legendary rocker neil young? here he is giving streep a lesson how to channel the rock gods through a fender stratocaster. then it was her turn. ♪ >> oh, man, that's flat. >> that is cool. pretty cool. >> it is. she goes on to show streep whatever she uses the secret is you got to turn it all the way up. >> okay, we'll take that lesson. for inspiring rockers of all ages, attitude just as important as musicianship. by knowing how to play some guitar chords does help or so i'm told, right? >> you got to have that swag. now from collaboration to a dual as in two men both claiming to be colonel sanders but who is the real colonel sanders? >> will the real colonel please stand up? the answer is neither. the real colonel died 35 years ago. a few months ago, kfc commissioned darrell hammond to play sanders in commercials.

now there's some confusion with kfc's newly released ads. how did i, folks. it's me colonel sanders. >> hey, that's not the real colonel sanders. i'm the real colonel sanders. this is how you sell chicken. how did i folks, it's me. the real colonel sanders. i'm back to tell you about. >> that's hammon's former co-star norm macdonald as the real colonel sanders. he's even weighing in online. kfc is totally winning the commercial game. first darrell, now norm mcdonald tweeted one chicken enthusiast. >> the kfc responded with first it was me, the real colonel sanders and now it's still me the real slightly more handsome colonel sanders. >> finally scooby-doo returning to the big screen. warner brothers announcing a new movie will hit theaters in three years. >> previous movies mixed live action with cgi scooby. this will be an animated version. the cartoon first aired in 1969. the new movie should feature scooby and all the pals. >> ruh-roh.

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♪ i can't believe it's been ten years after hurricane katrina shattered and flooded the gulf coast. abc news is looking back at all that's changed in the last decade >> as the anniversary approaches, robin roberts talked with singer harry connick junior about how music helped revitalize the gulf coast. >> reporter: right after the crescendo of katrina, there was a very real concern that music itself would become a katrina fatality. >> the people who formed the basis of that culture and music weren't able to come back home. and there was no place for us to come home to. everything was gone, everything was washed away. >> lord jesus. >> reporter: singer ellen smith

whose house was destroyed in the flooding didn't have the means to rebuild. >> mold is growing up the walls. >> i was so devastated. it was so hard. it was hard for me to sing after the storm. it's hard to talk about it. my heart was broken. i needed to get back here and i had to do it any way i could. >> reporter: and it took a village literally to help her do that. musicians village. the idea came from hometown music heroes, branford marsalis and harry connick junior. >> so we got together with habitat for humanity and decided we wanted to build or be a part of building a musicians village which was going to try to get displaced musicians from out of town back home. the music has always been a representation of who we are as new orleanians and has been sort of the backdrop for good times and bad times. so the thought of it not being around anymore was something that made me lose sleep at night.

>> reporter: 72 houses have been built. helping these new orleans musicians get their groove back. >> it was great to have a house that was our own. i kissed every wall in here. >> we love our culture and we will always fight to keep what makes new orleans great alive. >> and you can watch robin's special katrina ten years after the storm this coming sunday night, august 23rd at 10:00 eastern right here on abc. a lot of times we cover these stories and you forget about the devastation and heart ache and the people still trying to rebuild their lives ten years later. it's so great robin is going back to take a look at the lives and the people and especially harry connick junior. his music is so incredible. >> a lot of great musicians from new orleans there, jazz got started there. little wane's from there. it's a great place. >> don't miss updates on facebook. we'll be back. >> this is abc's "world news now" informing insomniacs for two decades. s for two decades.

making news in america this morning, extreme weather. heat and dry conditions fueling wildfires in several states. triple-digit temperatures settling in and a severe storm system spawning tornadoes. we're tracking it all. investigators reaching the scene of a plane crash in indonesia days after it went down. new details just in about what they found. >> caught on camera. a machete wielding robber meeting his match when the store clerk pulled out a much bigger weapon. epic surprise. a wedding party and the groom surprising the bride with a must-see routine. hey, good morning to you, everyone. i'm reena ninan. >> and