this morning on "world news now," tragedy at sea. new details overnight about the cargo ship that sank after heading right into hurricane joaquin. the search going on right now and what the coast guard says about the crew. carolina disaster. the overflowing rivers washed away roads. the rescues and the heart break. who is reaching out to help. and new this half hour, the girl who has been sneezing 12,000 times a day. >> oh, boy, this is a painful problem. what she's doing to make it stop. and why doctors call it a mystery. >> later in the "skinny" the emotional night on "dancing with the stars." why tears were shed on stage. plus the latest to be eliminated from the ballroom. this is tuesday, october 6th. from abc news, this is "world news now."

>> it was a sad day on "dancing with the stars." >> it was very emotional. i started the show and felt like whew, that took a lot out of he employee. >> it was draining. >> reena ninan with kendis gibson. there's actually another anxious night for families of those missing from the cargo ship el faro. >> the huge ship sunk in hurricane joaquin. a vigil was held last night in maine where several of the crew members lived. friends and family still holding out hope. abc's linzie janis is tracking developments from miami. >> reporter: new images of this empty lifeboat with a giant hole in it belonging to the el faro. >> we've modified our search efforts to focus more on potential people in the water, lifeboats and life rafts. >> reporter: also spotted, a life ring and several emergency survival suits. >> in one of the survival suits, we did identify human remains. >> reporter: an abc news crew was on board this c-130 flight as searchers discover a 300

square mile area of debris, the ship making a distress call as it was getting battered by hurricane joaquin. the el faro equipped with two lifeboats and survival suits like this one for all 33 crew members including the 2 americans. >> they insulate you. they keep your body temperature intact for an extended period. >> reporter: as many families of the crew struggle to understand why the ship ended up in a hurricane, the company that owns the el faro revealed that the captain had planned to bypass it but ran into trouble. >> regrettably, he suffered a mechanical problem with his main propulsion system. >> reporter: the mother of crew member 34-year-old danielle randolph reading an e-mail her daughter sent the day they lost contact. >> we are heading straight into it, category 3. last we checked, winds are super bad and seas are not great.

love to everyone. >> reporter: the ntsb heading here to florida to begin investigating what went wrong. linzie janis, abc news, miami. >> we turn our focus now to the other major story, the historic flood disaster in the carolinas. rivers still rising this morning after five straight days of soaking rain. the death toll has climbed to at least 13 and search teams in south carolina are still scouring submerged homes and apartment buildings for anyone who may still be trapped inside. hundreds of roads and bridges remain closed and 40,000 people have no drinking water. in the meantime, president obama has signed a disaster declaration for the most hard hit counties in south carolina clearing the way for federal aid to help in the recovery effort. fema has been rolling out trucks loaded with food, water, cots and blankets. the supplies were being kept at a is takening area in fort bragging in preparation for hurricane joaquin but most of it is now being sent to south carolina.

the aid is welcome news for hundreds displaced by the flooding. some towns cut off as the water rose faster than anyone anticipated. one family was rescued in dramatic fashion. a young mother and her baby plucked from a roof and airlifted to safety. abc's rob marciano has the details. >> reporter: a mother and 15 month old lifted to safety. and a father thankful. >> it was one of those things, it was so chaotic, so fast. >> reporter: ian waltz couldn't believe how fast the water came up. as these photos he took out the window show, it was already too late to call 911. >> they said there's nothing we can do for you right now. >> reporter: they tried the coast guard next. just after 6:00 a.m., his fiance cristy posting this frantic plea on facebook, can anyone please help? this is their home, on eight foot stilts. usually on dry land. the water came rushing in and when it did, they evacuated to a neighbor's house by boat, got on to the roof where the u.s. coast guard picked them up. >> reporter: the coast guard helicopter spotting them from above.

ian and 9-year-old braden hold on for boat rescue. cristy and the baby hoisted up to the chopper. >> probably the most horrifying moment of my life. >> reporter: safe and smiling on the tarmac with the usgc saviors. >> reporter: that family very happy when i called them to tell them their home was still there. the river though will be slow to recede. the drier weather will begin in earnest on tuesday. rob marciano, abc news, charleston. across the country record break agrain in las vegas. the storm led to traffic accidents, power outages and this dramatic rescue of a hopeless woman and her cat from the storm drain. they're both going to be okay, we're told. fire department bought the woman a week's worth of groceries. the red cross is finding a place for her to stay. >> we love our firefighters. as a tight knit community, oregon struggles to come to grips with last week's shooting. they're getting a visit from president obama, the president

heading to roseburg friday to meet privately with the families of the victims. the shooter killed nine people at umpqua community college before turning the gun on himself. one survivor spoke exclusively to abc news. >> i will never ever take for granted a second, a minute, every day is special. and you never know when something's going to happen. >> anastasia boylen also said the gunman identified as chris harper mercer laughed after shooting the teacher. a law enforcement source said mercer ranted in writings about not having a girlfriend and thought everyone else was crazy. >> a texas teenager is recovering after a shark bite. the boy was bitten on the ankle but also suffered injuries to his hands while trying to get the shark to let go. the beach patrol in galveston said the teen and his brother waded into a school of fish, and that's when the shark chomped down.

they say shark bites in the area very, very rare. in the meantime, a florida surfer is in surprisingly good spirits one day after he was bitten on the hand. the surfer was pad ling in water at new summer na beach when the shark fassed by. you can see the gruesome results in the photos taken afterward. teen will need surgery but says he'll be back on his board in no time. >> the parents of a 12-year-old texas girl are desperate for answers why she developed suddenly nonstop sneezing spells. their daughter kaitlyn sneezes up to 20 times a minute. that comes out to 12,000 times a day. and doctors have ruled out a virus, they've even ruled out allergies. the sneezing has taken over her life. forced her out of school and compromising her health. >> i'm constantly in pain with you know my abdomen and my legs are hurting because i've been weak and i can barely eat. >> never went away. >> the parents say the sneezing began three weeks ago. the only time she has relief is

when she's sleeping. and that only happens after she's taken benadryl and listened to music to relax. how strange issing this? yeah. i hope she's gets some relief. and they find out what's going on there. >> some sort of help. that's really strange and sad there. general mills is recalling nearly 2 million boxes of its gluten free cheerios because they may not be gluten free. the recall involves original and honey nut cheerios made in july at a plant in california. all 1.8 million boxes of them have better if used by dates of next july. the company says wheat flour was inadvertently used in a gluten free oat flour system. oops. today is the day. yes. >> i didn't know it was today. >> today is the day. >> why didn't you warn me. >> it is the day. >> i would have saved up my calories yesterday. >> mcdonald's starting all-day breakfasts.

the company says it's received more than 120,000 tweets in the last year demanding egg mcmuffins and hash browns all day. those items and others aren't being cut off this morning at more than 14,000 locations the move is designed to boost slumping sales. food industry analysts say it could put additional strain on the nation's egg supply which would drive up prices. >> now to a generally hiry situation they're starting to recover from in the australian alps. it was the 2015 world beard and mustache championship. >> they had more than 300 participants all sporting their own unique look. it featured three groupings of dudes, the moustache group, the partial beard group, and of course, the full beard. >> this was the austrian alps, not the australian alps. that would be an interesting location. well, there's enough of fancy facial hair. we should let you know the u.s.

beard and mus ach championships are coming up saturday november 7th. it's in brooklyn, new york. >> oh, yeah. all right. we have our plans. coming up in "the skinny," amy schumer, jennifer lawrence, and chris pratt have something very new in common. >> and also ahead, superstition involving taylor swift and her performances at big ballparks. is the pop superstar bad luck for major league teams? >> and the 12-foot long python that put the squeeze on a shop worker. the police officers who could not believe what they saw. first let's take a look at the forecast map. you're watching "world news now." you're watching "world news weather brought to you by hughes nex fast max. ll 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...

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a tractor-trailer and suv colliding on a ramp between two highways rupturing the truck's fuel tanks. the truck's cargo of lumber fed the flames. the burning wood fell onto the roadway below creating a second fire. the truck driver escaped without injury but four people in the suv passed away. and in philadelphia, an suv rear ended a city trolley bus leaving one person dead. the driver and passenger in the suv were taken to the hospital where the driver was pronounced dead. the passenger is in critical condition this morning. 19 people on the bus including the driver were also taken to the hospital. a pet shop owner in kentucky is in critical condition after a 20-foot long python wrapped itself around the man's neck and squeezed. >> the 911 calls were absolutely frantic. thankfully one of the officers who arrived on the scene knew exactly what to do. john genovese of our cincinnati station picks it up the story. >> he was feeding his snake and

the snake wrapped itself around his neck. >> the snake is squeezing. it's wrapped around his neck. his whole face. his face is covered. >> reporter: at this small store. >> someone got bit. >> reporter: a massive python piercing owner terry wilkins in the arm before squeezing him unconscious. >> i come out, lease a girl screaming, beating on window. i asked her what happened. she kept screaming a snake got him. >> reporter: within minutes greg rapberger and sergeant daron arnberg were rushing inside. >> it's not every day we're confronted with a 15 to 20-foot snake. their instinct quickly kicking in. >> i grabbed its head. we started pulling on the snake. at that time, the sergeant started, as i'm pulling he started unloosening the coils around the guy and finally the snake came off. we were able to put it back in its cage. >> free from the reptile wilkins was rush the to rushed to uc

medical center. at last check breathing and awaking. > been a policeman 39 years. it was traumatic. >> police chief tom collins has no doubt his men saved wilkins life. >> this is a python. he's a 15-foot long snake. this isn't something, i don't want to fool with him. i'll tell you that. >> reporter: a wild encounter they won't soon forget. >> if everything ends up well, he's probably got newfound respect for them. it didn't bite me. when i grabbed ahold of it, i had a really quick newfound respect for it, as well. >> absolutely amazing. john genovese reporting from newport, kentucky. >> there were 100 snakes apparently in there and the police chief calls the police officers who came in to help heros. >> yeah, i'd say they were. we're going to switch gears. coming up, dancing with the stars a contestant refusing to admit defeat. >> and pepsi goes back to the future. "the skinny" up next. "the skinny" up next. "world news now" c

♪ skinny, so skinny going to need this for "the skinny." "dancing with the stars" some of them called it crying with the stars last night. the highlights. >> you were very emotional today. truly you really were. the theme of the evening my most memorable year for alek skarlatos he chose 2015 after stopping a terrorist overseas. he felt powerless last week

rushing home to oregon following ots horrific shooting at his college. >> alek returned with a passionate pasodoble earning 24 from the judges and bindi irwin chose 2006, the year her father tragically died. she and partner derek hough danced to the police's "every breath you take," earning her the top score of the night. 28. bindi breaking down in tears there after the performance leaving not a dry eye in the house. >> seeing her mother and little brother crying too was so ck carter got emotional in talking about his rough upbringing but he lightened the mood by butting off a fan favorite dusting off his back street boy moves. after it was all said and done someone had to go although he put up a bit of a fight. >> the fact that i've been eliminated is false because i will -- >> it sounds like a preview of what trump's speech will be later on.

sorry, gary busey, but it's true. it's your time to go. gary actually meant he and partner anna's energy will remain in the ballroom. >> he did have a good run but all things must come to an end. maybe he will show up next week and put up a fight. you never know. next up, a fearsome hollywood foursome exemplifying the often hash tagged term squad goals. >> earlier this year, amy schumer and jennifer lawrence announced they were working on a film together. now it seems they've added two more heavy hitters to their crew, aziz ansari and chris pat. they've shared their activities together through video posts on instagram. >> the first shows aziz waking up schumer saying it's writing time. come on, what is this? we writing scripts or staying at a bed and breakfast. let's go. >> and a little later. >> hi, guys. >> a short film entitled "hi guys" as he swings while pratt stands there just looking like

pratt offering nothing but his cool stare at the camera. not sure how much work they got done. we shall see next year. this is good news for soda fans. you now get to go back to the future for your soft drink desires. >> marty mcfly knows what we're talking about. >> all i want is a pepsi. >> turned out no delorean needed to get yourself a pepsi perfect. they'll be releasing a limited edition bottle later this month. >> you'll be able to order it online for the price of $20.15 which is about what it will cost in the future anyway when you account for inflation. >> and finally if you refuse to turn up as the kids say and still prefer to get jiggy with it, good news. will smith has been busy in the studio. >> in a radio interview, smith said he has about 30 songs recorded and plans to release his first album in about ten in over ten years. the fresh prince also said he plans to hit the road next

suer with d.j. jazzy jeff. ♪ d.j. jasy jeff.

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cascade. now that's clean. ♪ baseball music. okay, so could super pop star taylor swift be leaving bad mojo behind after performing in major league ballparks? >> i don't know about this one. baseball players believe they've been cursed after her concerts at their home fields. abc's juju change looks into all the superstition. >> reporter: does taylor swift have bad blood with baseball? ♪ i knew you were trouble when you walked in ♪ >> reporter: some superstitious fans think the superstar is nothing but trouble for their favorite teams. it seems after her 199 tour stops at an mlb stadium, the home team strikes out. the so-called curse started back in july. taylor swift lit up the washington national stadium. >> uh-oh.

that's not good. we have some lights out here. >> reporter: but the next time the nats took the field, the lights went off. three times. pitcher max scherzer tweeting about swift, i blame her for the power outs tonight. we now have bad blood. then the first place nationals tanking and missing the playoffs. the houston astros didn't do much better after they hosted her. they lost seven of their next eight games. the padres had 12 wins and 21 losses after she played in san diego. now, it's toronto's turn to be on edge. blue jays fans previously turned taylor's blank space into a parody song called "first place." ♪ take a look at first place baby you'll see the jays ♪ ♪ i got a blank space baby and i'll write your name ♪ >> reporter: but they may not want to the associate with the star now.

t. swift had the two sold out shows over the weekend in rogers centre, and the jays drop odd both of their following games. >> the rays are going to win it. >> reporter: with the postseason series looming, we'll soon find out if the blue jays can shake it off. juju chang, abc news, new york. as a nats fan i understand and feel the pain. there's one team that swift brings good luck to, the san francisco giants. get this. every year that swift released a new album, the giants in the world series, they have won. 2010, 2012, 2014, all those albums released in october. >> that's great. did she have one this year? >> no, 1989 from 2014. >> okay. maybe next year. giants. >> maybe. this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades. informing insomniacs for two decades.

making news in america this morning, historic flood. the rain is finally ending, but there is a new host of concerns in south carolina. water supply running short. rivers still cresting and dams on the verge of breaking. we have the latest. in-flight emergency of a pilot dies while at the helm of a packed plain. the co-pilot taking over. passengers unaware what's happening in the cockpit as the plane is diverted. they're talking about the ordeal this morning. >> rescued from a reptile. a massive snake putting the squeeze on a pet store worker wrapping around his neck. how he was freed just in time. and a mcmuffin in matter the time. the mcdonald's menu change today that's got the internet buzzing right now.