this morning on "world news now," the desperate rescue effort on the coast. residents finding themselves quickly surrounded by water as harvey moves away from texas, areas to the north may see more flooding conditions. meanwhile, a nearby chemical plant is flooded and may be at risk of explosion. the ceo sent out a word of warning. we'll get a live report from the ground just ahead. and new this half hour, the fda approves a cancer break through. >> so who's able to get the treatment called historic? we'll let you know. and it's abc's day of giving. all across our platforms, we're asking you, the viewers, to help the relief effort in texas with lots of surprises from the many

celebrities pitching in and forking over major cash donations. how you can help on this thursday, august 31st. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we can say good morning, everybody, on this thursday, and to the breaking news, harvey has weakened. it has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but it's still packing plenty of rainfall as it moves eastward, increasing the risk of even more flooding. >> so the full scope of the devastation is becoming more clear. as we get in more images. more than 30 are confirmed dead. that number is expected to rise thousands of homes are still under water. national guard troops and some marines have been deployed for rescues and to distribute supplies. >> floodwaters still swamping much of houston. but forecasters say the rain is over, at least for america's fourth largest city. that will allow fire crews to begin a block by block search. >> harvey is moving inland.

after unleashing a new round of devastation at the texas/louisiana border. gio benitez reports from orange, texas. >> reporter: we are seeing so many selfless acts here in orange, texas. we are seeing so many people coming here with these boats. they are using these boats, bringing them from all across the country to help people in those flooded homes get them out to safety, get them out to dry land. now we want you to take a look at this video right now. it was released by the navy. and you can see, there's this video there in beaumont, texas. you can see the dramatic air rescues. we've seen residents get to their rooftops to avoid those floods. that is exactly how the navy has been falling these people. you can see this family right there. the navy is pulling this family off the roof. and in port arthur, the most vulnerable, the elderly pulling 70 out to safety. we're seeing these every day americans jump into action in a really remarkable way.

and we hear about this country being divided. but here in eastern texas, i can tell you, it could not be more unified. >> gio, thanks. good to hear at least. in some houston area residents are starting to return home and getting the first look at the damage. >> but for many others it could take days or even weeks before they can begin mopping up and starting over. look at these scenes. estimates indicate more than 80% of homeowners who were affected do not have flood insurance. >> receding floodwaters are revealing harsh and grim realities, too, like the bodies of six people from the same family, all discovered inside a van. >> there were, there were in the front seat with my brother. and he said, he and mom and dad were under water, you know, like i said, he just panicked. he tried to get himself out. >> couple of grand parents there and several children died in that van. and take a look at one more image that illustrates the power of the water.

forceful enough to toss heavy highway dividers across as though they were toys. >> powerful water. and harvey is also being blamed for oil spills in south texas. about 150 miles outside houston. >> floodwaters from the storm toppled two storage tanks spilling almost 30,000 gallons of crude and a large amount of wastewater. it's not known if any of the spilled oil was recovered. >> and we expect to hear more damage to industry infrastructure as the floodwaters start to recede. and unfortunately, that could come with more environmental damage. we're also likely to hear about more price gouging, a best buy in cypress, texas was criticized after pictures appeared on twitter, showing cases of water selling for about $43. the chain apologized, saying this was a mistake. the texas attorney general says that's not the worst. another store was apparently charging $99 for water, and a convenience store was looking for $20 for a gallon of gas. >> they had a very calculated price, $42.96.

>> they said it was a mistake. the store was closed. >> looting concerned in houston, one gun-toting man took matters into his own hands and took guard outside a convenience store. he chased off anyone approaching the store. he was a former law enforcement officer. at least 40 people have been arrested for looting in the houston area. >> and volunteers continue to stream in the area to help thousands of people in need. >> let's get to marci gonzalez, live from a shelter in houston. what's the latest where you are? >> reporter: well, we've seen hundreds of volunteers showing up here, wanting to help out with the overnight shift at this shelter. and they just didn't need quite that much help. so they've had to turn, throughout the course of yesterday more than 2,000 volunteers had to be turned away. so many people tried to sign up online to come here to help, the website crashed. then the website crashed bec

so many people signed up wanting to give donations. such an outpouring here where there are about 900 people spending the night. there's a capacity for 10,000 people, so they have plenty of room here. they are expecting many more over the coming days and weeks. there are shelters not far from here out or beyond capacity. so they are expecting some of those evacuees to be brought here. >> we're hearing about a nearby chemical plant that may be in trouble. what do you know about that? >> reporter: this is about 30 miles from houston in crosby, texas. and this is a manufacturing plant. they have liquid organic peroxide. so these are chemicals used to make construction materials, plastics. things like that. now the thing with these chemicals is they need to stay refrigerated or they can combust. that plant has about six feet of water in and around it, and because of that, it killed the primary power source. then the backup power source and the secondary backup source we

out as well because of all the flooding. so the ceo of this company is now saying that there, reportedly saying that there is a good chance that in the next six days there could be a fire or explosion at the plant, and because of that danger, they have now evacuated all of the homes within a mile and a half radius of that plant. >> wow. because of the power knocked out. >> many of them are saying it's not a matter of if there's an explosion there but when. marci gonzalez reporting from houston. thank you. and harvey has been downgraded, but it is still packing plenty of power. >> let's get some details from accuweather's justin povick. good morning. >> diane and kendis, thanks and good morning to you. heavy rainfall continues to be a big problem. and right into friday. as we follow harvey off to the north and east, there is a stripe of rain where there could be eight to 16 inches and will produce dangerous fl

as all the activity slides its way into kentucky as we venture into friday. meanwhile, over the southwest, a heat wave continues. many spots in and around l.a., around 100 degrees. diane, kendis? >> justin, thanks. when we come back, we'll look to some of the other stories, and president trump's tax reform. looking to unite republicans and democrats. >> and a break through in the fight against cancer, how stem cells are involved. you're watching "world news now."

because your carpet there's resolve carpet care. it lifts more dirt and pet hair versus vacuuming alone. resolve carpet care with five times benefits tha...oh, burnt-on gravy?ie. ...gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. new cascade platinum powers through... even burnt-on gravy. nice. cascade.

we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now. with a medicare supplement plan, you'll be able to stay with your doctor. oh, you know, i love that guy. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] these types of plans let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. and there are no networks. you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long.

a wildfire has forced immediate evacuations about an hour outside seattle. it is called the jolly mountain fire and has burned more than eight square miles. residents of 150 homes we're told in imminent danger. a lightning strike triggered the fire more than three weeks ago. president trump is pitching his plan to overhaul the nation's tax system. >> he spoke at a manufacturing plant in springfield, missouri, promising that his tax reforms would lead to stronger economic growth for companies as well as workers. he didn't offer any details, but with the health care defeat still on his mind he tried to turn up the pressure on lawmakers.

generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for every day, hard-working americans, and i am fully committed to working with congress to get this job done, and i don't want to be disappointed by congress, do you understand me? [cheers and applause] do you understand? understand. congress. i think congress is going to make a come back. i hope so. tell you what. the united states is counting on it. [cheers and applause] >> after watching the speech, if you had congress in your drinking game, you would be wasted this morning. the president specifically took aim at claire mccaskill, you saw there, the democratic senator, he told the crowd if she doesn't vote to lower taxes, they should vote her out of congress. >> and arizona senator john mccain returns to capitol hill next week after being treated for brain cancer. the republican is set to lead a

debate on a defense policy bill. senator mccain has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy during the august recess. his office says the senator is looking forward to continuing his work for the people of arizona. the fda has approved a new way to fight cancer. it engineers the patient's own cells and directs them to fight the cancer. >> linzie janis has the details. >> reporter: a new frontier in the fight against cancer, for the first time, the fda approving an engineered genetic system that reprograms the patient's own immune cells, sending them back into the body to destroy cancer. >> most of these patients remain in remission years later. that makes us think maybe it's a potential cure for some of our kids, and that's very exciting to us. >> reporter: 12 year old emily whitehead was the first child to re

pennsylvania. at the time her parents were told there was no hope. >> we were out of options, and we weren't ready to quit fighting. >> reporter: in may, emily's doctors at the children's hospital of philadelphia declaring her five years cancer free. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> i think it's really exciting. because the treatment that i got, other kids will be able to have the same treatment and have the same outcome that i did. >> reporter: there are serious side effects, but the hope is one day this kind of therapy could be used to treat other cancers. it costs almost $500,000. but the drug company, novartis says it is looking for ways to make sure that the patients who need it get it. linzie janis, abc news, new york. and nearly 500,000 heart patients with implanted pacemakers could be vulnerable to hackers. a voluntary recall has been made because of recently discovered security flaws. patients will need to visit their doctors to get a firmware update.

tampering with pacemaker settings. and american dads are getting older. the average age of the father of a newborn is 31, a jump of three and a half years from the past three decades. researchers found the oldest dads were in the northeast, the youngest in the south. well, when we come back, the every day heroes stepping up to help the victims of harvey. >> that's next. you're watching "world news now." and you look amazing...ly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know it's half-washed. add downy to keep your collars from stretching. unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth... ...and strengthen fibers. so, don't half-wash it. downy and it's done.

♪ we're getting in some new images of victims riding out that storm at shelters all over texas. but some victims are riding out the storm in style, thanks to a small furniture store chain that opened its doors, beds and couches to those in needs.

didn't just stop there. >> abc's matt gutman caught up with him. >> reporter: this is jim mcingvale, better known as mattress mack. >> saves you money! >> i am mattress mack, how can i help? >> reporter: a beloved local businessman with a texas-sized personality. and since 1981, he's owned the high-end gallery furniture stores in houston. soon after the winds started blowing, 66-year-old mack went from selling to giving. >> we got lotting of beds, lots of food, lots of water. >> reporter: offering a free port in the storm. mack had plenty of takers. he said a lucky few hundred came in on their own, others rescued by his own delivery trucks. >> we picked up about 200 people stranded on bridges, convenience stores, walking through the water with snakes and alligators. >> reporter: they all found shelter at mack's two houston stores and warehouses where they could recover om

struggles on beds and couches with high altitude price tags. >> we said the hell with profits. let's take care of the people. that's the right thing to do. that's the way i was brought up. >> reporter: this has also become a crash pad for a national guard company on break. these $12,000 beds quite the upgrade from their standard issue cots. and he's not concerned about any wear and tear. >> when they said gallery furniture, i said think got to be joking. >> reporter: this is carol. she's here with her daughter and two grandsons, home for the past few days has been this living room display. >> you were also in katrina. >> i was also in katrina. i never thought going here we would experience the same thing, but we did. >> reporter: this time she was rescued by the fire department which brought her to mack's place. >> he didn't have to do this. he made us so comfortable. when i left home i left home without some of my medications and medical equipment, and they supplied it. >> reporter: countless other businesses are also steppi

bakery workers here stuck at work stayed up all night, baking bread to feed first responders. restaurants, giving away free meals to rescuers as well. and even airbnb teaming up with their hosts to offer free rooms to evacuees. >> this is where we have all our dogs staying. >> reporter: and back here at mack's place, doing everything they can to make their temporary guests more comfortable. nearing his seventh decade, mack himself literally worked 24 hours straight, despite it all, his store, amazingly, is still open for business. >> you know, somebody said, are you all still a shelter or a furniture store. i said we can be both. it's not an either/or proposition. >> reporter: and walking by those mattresses stacked high, we came across ruby hayes reaching out to mattress mack. spent your 84th birthday here. she says harvey took everything from her.

something better than dry off her tears. >> i'll give you a mattress for your birthday, how's that? i got to give you a birthday present. happy birthday. nice to see you. >> reporter: a true testament to the spirit of texas. >> ah, what a wonderful gift. a wonderful man for what he's doing there. and he did during katrina as well. >> yeah, he's done this before. i also do love that's pointing out, we're still open for business. >> you can still buy something. >> matt gutman asked him, the furniture that the people are using, will you end up selling it? and he said sure, i'll come up with some kind of schtick. >> he has built his storing on an elevated concrete bed so that they would be flood proof. brilliant in knowing that houston, a large part of the city is in a floodplain. >> yeah, he figured purposely, he could avoid the floods himself and provide shelter for those in need.

there at the shelter said it's sort of like a slumber party on steroids. >> they also said that they've accepted donations throughout, but now all they need is cleaning supplies. lots of donations there. re. i love you, couch. you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordo's... everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. soft surfaces trap odors. febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up to 45 days. breathe happy with febreze.

clearasil rapid action begins working fast for clearly visible results in as little as 12 hours. but can ot fix this teens skateboarding mishap? nope. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen ings. tand, our adulte children are here. so, we save by using tide. which means we use less. three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. those are moms. anybody seen my pants? nothing cleans better. put those on dad! it's got to be tide.

♪ we've seen so many people opening their hearts, their home and their wallets to help those affected by harvey. >> tune in today to "good morning, america" and join robin roberts for the telethon throughout the day. on abc, the network called free form as well as radio disney. >> they have a panel of celebrities fielding calls as well. give them a ring, have a little chat, you never know who may pick up the phone. >> the guest list still a

surprise, but we are being told and authorized to tell you there are some big names in sports, tv and actors and some singers you've probably heard of. >> probably. >> there you go. >> that's insider information. >> a few hints for you, and those are not the only celebrities stepping in of course to help in this effort. we've been keeping an eye on j.j. watt, plays for the houston texans and a huge force in trying to raise money. he originally laid out a goal of $200,000. raised that in under two hours. a few days later he raised the goal to $6 million. immediately reached that. well, now j.j. has increased his goal on the site to $10 million. they're already approaching that as well. and the goal, he said, they've got semi truck drivers donating time and trucks, and all the money will go to the goods going into the trucks, generators, clothing, food, cleaning supplies, and they're trying to make sure the money gets directly to the people who need

>> the boys just returned to houston after doing practice somewhere else. so a lot of them got to see the damage close up yesterday. there's a rapper in houston who's pretty popular down there called trae the truth. you see him on the left. and he's been doing some great work. trae was rescued by a boat. after he got rescued, he's been going out by boat with a friend's boat from san antonio, and rescuing people on his own. he actually rescued orlando magic basketball star and forward jonathan simmons. you see him there. who just happened to show up and trae was there. >> paying it forward. he got rescued himself. and decided now that i'm here, i might as well rescue a few others myself. >> and miranda lambert's foundation is focussing on animals. we've seen lots of

pets stranded. they've been able to rescue 72 dogs. >> there are so many that have been stranded unfortunately. don't miss our updates on wnnfans.com.

z2gzpz zi0z y2gzpy yi0y

making news in america this morning, harvey is moving inland and bringing new flooding fears this morning. the wears are still rising in texas and a new mandatory evacuation order has just been ordered in houston where as many as 100,000 homes are believed to be destroyed. a chemical plant six feet underwater in danger of catching fire. why there's no way to stop it from happening. a landmark cancer therapy is already proved successful in a child diagnosed with leukemia. so hear why it's being called a new era in the fight against cancer. a good morning to y