this morning on "world news now," on alert. hurricane joaquin grows stronger in the atlantic and could head for areas already pounded by flooding downpours. the new storm track overnight. military might, russia launching air strikes in syria is the putin government really fighting isis? new questions emerging. >> new this hour, an eye popping and unpleasant surprise in a toy box. >> one man says she ordered a gift for her son from toys "r" us and she says real ammunition was inside the box. >> later in the skinny, the legal battle for caitlyn jenner after a terrible accident on a california highway, is she in the clear? it's thursday, october 1st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning on this thursday. i'm reena ninan. >> i'm kendis gibson.

we do thank you for joining us on this first day of october. the year is just moving by, but a lot of people are paying attention to what is moving off the coast of the eastern border right now. we begin this half hour with mothernaire's double whammy impacting millions of people in the west. in the east. >> first flooding, now a hurricane. joaquin taking aim at the bahamas and could steer toward populated areas of the u.s. east coast by sunday coast. our coverage begins with abc's devin dwyer. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: with tropical moisture already saturating several eastern states, virginia's governor after this relentless rainstorm issued a state of emergency. from the mid-atlantic up to maine, roads have turned into rivers. >> about 30, 35 on the highway. that's it. >> portland, maine, getting hammered. >> reporter: 23 kids all aged 4 or younger were inside this daycare when water rushed in. >> in a matter of ten minutes, we were completely underwater with a couple of inches.

>> everyone ordered upstairs to safety. in maryland, they're pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of water out of a ymca. >> it could be days and weeks before we're back up and running at 100%. >> reporter: flood watches and warnings are posted as hurricane joaquin possibly takes aim at the mid-atlantic. it's the first major storm threat in this area since 2012 when super storm sandy struck hard. homeowners in hard hit seaside heights, new jersey, are on edge. >> right now taking anything that's loose off of the property and putting it inside. making sure that there's no debris that's going to get on any neighbors or become flying objects. >> reporter: even though joaquin's path is not yet certain. devin dwyer, abc news, washington. >> and more on this right now. hurricane joaquin is expected to strengthen in the hours ahead. you can see right there, gaining power as it threatens the bahamas. our coverage continues with meteorologist justin povick.

hey, justin, good morning to you. >> thanks and good morning to you, as well. we are following a very dangerous intensifying major hurricane. this is joaquin. over the past couple days, this has undergone a lot of changes, unfortunately changes that are not so good now if you're living along the eastern seaboard because this is not a storm system to mess with. it has a lot of wind and energy and will produce a lot of rain, as well. we follow the potential track window. again, we're leaning on the left side of this. so the outer banks of the carolinas northbound into eastern virginia, we're watching the system as we head toward saturday and also sunday for heavy flooding rains, battering winds and very high surf. reena and kendis, back to you. >> thank you so much. now to something that's not happening today. no federal government shutdown. thank you, pope. i think the pope had something to do with this, right? just hours before the deadline, congress approved a stopgap

funding bill, but the ball kicks the funding down the field because the funding runs out early in december. house republicans will have new leaders likely to be less willing to col pro mice. still unresolved are the funding for planned parenthood. the pope was down at capitol ll. >> yeah, speaking to a joint session. >> maybe there was some holy water involved. i don't know, i can't confirm that. we might need him to come back and speak to them again. also out of washington, the secret service apologizing this morning to a utah congressman after an embarrassing new revelation. a report indicated dozens of agents improperly accessed an old job application of lawmaker jason chaffetz who was investigating the service. the report also found assistant director suggests leak g embarrassing information to try to retaliate againinst the representative. the homend security secretary has apologized. and the u.s. and russia are expected to hold urgent new talks over the escalating crisis in syria. russian warplanes carried out air strikes on rebel training by the cia, giving the u.s. only

hours notice before the air strikes. here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: the deadly roar of russian air power. images posted by syrian activists showing the sudden, dramatic escalation in russia's involvement. fear in the streets, chaos in the hospitals. the russians say the targets were isis fighters and command posts. but this is where the bombs hit. just outside of homs. there are no isis fighters here. >> it does appear that they were in areas where there were probably not isil forces, and that is precisely one of the problems with this whole approach. >> reporter: the target the russians more likely were going after? opposition forces, some backed by the u.s., here seen with an advanced tow missile, who are fighting against syria's brutal dictator, and america's enemy, bashar al assad. the other concern? russia gave the u.s. only a

one-hour warning about the air strikes, putting u.s. pilots flying strike missions there in greater danger. >> putting lots of different airplanes in the same air space creates the potential for collision. >> martha raddatz, abc news, washington. donald trump tells supporters in new hampshire if he's elected president, he would send back syrian refugees taken in by the u.s. because they may be isis militants in disguise. trump said it could be one of the greatest tactical ploys of all time. hackers linked to russia tried to access hillary clinton's account while she was secretary of state at least we're told some five times according to newly released e-mails. the infected messages came in the form of speeding tickets from new york. clinton's campaign tells abc news she received spam just like millions of other americans, but republicans say it shows how vulnerable her server was. prison execution scheduled in oklahoma has been postponed. governor mary fallin issued a

37-day stay of execution last night saying there's still questions about the state's lethal injection system. richard glossip has been sentenced to death for hiring the hit man who killed his former boss. in a recent interview he said he didn't do it. >> i didn't commit this crime. and there's no doubt in my mind that i may die because of this. >> the new execution date is november 6th. governor fallin had previously turned down requests for a stay of execution. glossip has been getting support from death penalty opponents, including the catholic church. >> there's new support for low nicotine cigarettes. ray new study indicates they help people cut down on the number of times they light up every day and help them quit all together. it confirms the link between nicotine addiction and cigarette consumption and may encourage the government to require tobacco companies to reduce the amount of nicotine in their products. a busy virginia mom trying to save time by ordering

birthday gifts for her son online got more than she bargained for when the package from toys "r" us arrived, it was so much heavier than she expected and she found the mine craft diamond sword she ordered and 100 rounds of real, not toy, ammunition. >> very shocking, you know? you're ordering from a toys "r" us store. you don't expect to get ammo in a box with the toys. >> she also found it pretty ironic coming from a store with a strict no firearms policy. toyses are us says it's working with its carrier trying to derp how the mix-up happened and how the ammo could have been included in her shipment. >> that's a weird one. >> what were you saying? you were saying earlier about this mine craft sword? >> mine craft is very popular. >> it's a good one. you know? >> what's the deal with the mine craft sword? >> you can cut through any material. >> including ammo? >> yeah. all of it. >> okay. >> just it's the best. >> mine craft. >> yeah.

>> so we know what he does. >> so creeped out by that particular shot, by the way. camera one and then hey, how are you. >> how you doing. >> see you later. >> come here often? >> oh, boy. >> i'm creeped out by that. time for brief sports with reena. major league baseball edition postseason spots are filling up in the american league. >> that's right. the latest team to punch their playoff ticket the toronto blue jays clinched the ale east title yesterday beating baltimore in the first game of a doubleheader. their celebration restrained at that point. but after losing the second game, they celebrated. look at this. you got to hope that was cheap champagne. we don't do this if it's good. this is the first division crown for the blue jays since 1993. what kind of champagne? >> canadian ice wine. >> i hope that was not expensive. coming up in "the skinny," prince harry's love life and rumblings about taylor swift's $25 million splurge.

>> the faa's new crackdown on drones flying too close to airliners. the airports being targeted. >> how about a vacation on top of the world? it's a hotel on a mount peak that promises to take relaxation and adventure to new lights, but first the national forecast map. you're watching "world news now." "world news now" weather. brought to you by mucinex fast max. brought to you by mucinex fast max. go. but these liquid gels are new. mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. these are multi-symptom. well so are these. this one is max strength and fights mucus. that one doesn't. uh...think fast! you dropped something. oh...i'll put it back on the shelf... new from mucinex fast max. the only cold and flu liquid gel that's max-strength and fights mucus. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

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it destroys limescale in seconds without scrubbing. tough hard water buildup - gone! no scrubbing. turbo power destroys it. for lime, calcium and rust, lime-a-way is a must! okay. if you're planning to fly somewhere for the holidays, get moving. fares already cheaper because of lower fuel costs, but they always centers start going back up in the fall. there also won't be as many seats available as in the past year as the travel site orbitz

says. best date to book, october 6th which is next tuesday. if we've told everybody in america it's the best time to book, they're going to start booking earlier. >> all those seats that are few will be gone do it right now. >> you might need deeper pockets if you take amtrak. they're getting on board the baggage fee bandwagon. till today they haven't charged for baggage at all. passengers were allowed two carry ones and two checked bags each weighing less than 50 pounds at no charge. that hasn't changed. but now passengers with more bags than that or bags heavier will have to pay extra. amtrak says it's not doing it for the money but for safety. >> okay. that's a good excuse. about 1 million of us will be unwrapping drones, unwrapping drones? >> what? >> sometime during the holiday season. it's a gift giving trend that has fer authorities on edge. i would never want to give somebody a drone. >> it wouldn't be on my list. with the number of close calls involving drones soaring, plans

for a crackdown getting under way. we get the latest right now from abc's brandi hitt. >> can you buy a drone on amazon? >> we almost got hit by a drone. >> reporter: it's becoming an increasingly dangerous problem across the country. >> this guy's a little too close. >> reporter: one close call after the next, drones nearly hitting helicopters and commercial airplanes. >> about 100 feet below us just off the right wing. >> it's a huge spike in the drone encounters. >> reporter: the situation so out of control, denver international airport officials met with the faa to discuss risks to passengers, potential drone use by terrorists, and outreach efforts. >> to get rid of the grandparents, but their grand kid's out there the operating just because they don't know the where they are. >> reporter: the faa says drones have nearly hit ten planes at denver international this year alone. >> sooner or later we're going to lose an airplane due to a collision. >> reporter: the unmanned aircraft now in such high demand surveillance video shows thieves stealing drones this week worth

$2900 each from this california store and while their footage can be magnificent, california fire crews say drones are even getting in their way during critical fire fights. >> we shut the aircraft down for the rest of the day. if you fly, we can't. >> reporter: faa law prohibits any recreational drone use within five miles of an airport. you can't fly more than 400 feet in the air even though many of these machines can fly much, much higher. >> brandi hitt in los angeles for us. thank you. coming up, caitlyn jenner involved in a fatal car crash and prosecutors dropping charges. but why the case is not closed. and the world's most eligible bachelor opening up about getting married. "the skinny" up next. "world news now" continues after this from our abc "world news now" continues after

♪ skinny, so skinny all right. leading us off this morning caitlyn jenner and that car crash she was involved in earlier this year. >> prosecutors have decided not to charge jenner in the accident. their reasoning, not enough evidence for a conviction. it happened in february right before jenner went public as a transgender woman. authorities said she was towing an off-road vehicle in an suv when she crashed into two cars. >> one of the drivers kim howell

was killed when her car was pushed into oncoming traffic. despite the lack of charges, jenner still faces two separate civil suits related to the accident. we move on to monica lewinsky taking on a new anti-bullying initiative. aimed at changing the way people react when them see or encounter bullying. >> in an interview yesterday on gma, monica told amy robach why she decided to speak out publicly now. she said "it was -- it really was time." amy also asked how she was handling hillary clinton being in the news every day as she makes a run for the white house. >> i think it's really wonderful that we have two women from both parties running for higher office and i think however it may affect me personally is not something i want to talk about today. >> lewinsky did however say, "even though i have suffered from shame, i am not ashamed of who i am." it has taken her years, i would

say almost like a decade to kind of get over this, and she says she never escapes the fact of what had happened between her and president clinton at the time. it's constantly brought up. so the fact that she's able to turn something like this into something good and be able to say, you know what, it's been a hard road. >> as an effort for everybody else, it's great. at 42 years old, hard to believe how long it's been. but many remember that. next up, the world's most eligible bachelor is not me. it's prince harry. he's telling the world don't hold your breath for the next royal wedding. the prince spent yesterday trekking some 1 miles for walking with the wounded walk of britain. >> he joined six wounded veterans four british and two americans when he was asked this question by a reporter from itv. >> one day i suppose settling down. are you anywhere near that? >> no, at the end of the day, there's a lot of things to get done before settling down. everyone looks forward to settling down. in the meantime, it's work as usual so crack on.

>> crack on. >> i didn't see the full interview, but i would have asked, what's up with the beard? >> i like the beard. >> you do? >> he's sexy no matter what, right? >> yeah. >> so there is a chance. >> there is a chance. >> harry will be heading to washington, d.c., and then he's back in orlando next year for the invictus games in 2016. finally taylor swift and a report from variety she has made a bit of a real estate purchase. >> according to their sources she shelled out 25 million in cash to buy a place that samuel goad win estate in beverly hills, california. >> swift neither confirmed or denied the report and now the owner of the property which includes an 11,000 square foot main house, a two-room guest apartment above the garage, a tchenette.ool with a a swimming it's certainly a place where she can party with all the famous friends she made on tour. she can party like she's 22. oh.

>> love that song. >> feeling 22. feeling 22. i did everything i could to make her party perfect.

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♪ ♪ and finally this half hour, an awe inspiring is four-mile journey up the ancient mountains of the incas to your hotel room. >> you can't beat the views, but you might have a little trouble getting back down. for more, we're up "up all nightline" with abc's byron pitts. >> reporter: it's called sky

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>> well, that looks great. and so does this. it is homemade cookie day. and reena cooked up, she made reservations. >> i made reservations. >> and brought us this in. >> we are lucky the good folks over at insomniac cookies which we were talking about yesterday brought us these because they're the best in cookies. >> and it's huge. i was wondering why i've gained ten pounds since i've been here four weeks. >> you have not. stop it. >> this is insane. >> do you know the average homemade chocolate chip cookie contains roughly a gram of protein? how is it. >> it's great. what about the calories? >> the calories are all in your head. it's however many you assign in your head. speaking of which -- >> i wouldn't say this was that heavy. >> this is abc's "world news now" informing insomniacs for two decades. two decades.

making news in america this morning, tracking joaquin. forming into a major hurricane overnight. the intensity and track changing by the hour. we'll have the latest. syria crisis. an escalation in the war torn country. russia now getting involved accused of attacking american-backed rebels. the high-level talks happening today. football fight. parents brawl in the stands but it's their kids on the field getting punished. swept away. a dramatic rescue after floodwaters take away a man and his vehicle. good thursday morning. we begin with the breaking news overnight, hurricane joaquin intensifying rapidly putting more people on alert. >> joaquin is now a powerful category 3 hurricane sustained