this morning on "world news now." the tough road to recovery after harvey ravages texas. >> rising rivers have completely washed out communities and the flood waters remain at historic highs. rescuers work to save the most vulnerable victims. we have the latest in a live report. meanwhile, the economic impact of the storm has been felt all over the country, but we're already seeing gas lines forming for blocks. we'll get a look at some of the devastation that evacuees are returning to. dash cam video catches a police lieutenant telling a white driver, quote, "we only kill black people." he was expected to be

out. now he a's retiring. one dad is getting pretty used to his interim surroundings on his daughter's college campus. we're heading back to school on this friday, the first of september. from abc news, this is "world news now." and a good morning to you all. that dad getting very comfortable there in his daughter's class. she doesn't look so happy about it. we'll get to more on that. but kenneth moten in for kendis gibson. we don't get to have you. >> it's good to be back while kendis took some much-needed time off. the guy couldn't make it to friday. ouren ti our entire team has done such a wonderf wonderful job with the images coming out of texas. >> nothing compared to the people on the ground. we know you're heading there this weekend. we will be continuing to stay on this story. and with th

the latest on harvey. the official death toll stands at 39, although it is expected to go much higher. >> at least four of those deaths occurred in the hard-hit beaumont, texas area. there's no word on when the city of 20,000 will have running water again. >> firefighters have been going door to door checking for stranded residents and victims, and new flooding is expected as nearby rivers keep rising. >> the estimate the eventual damage is pegged at $108 billion. marci gonzalez joins us. >> reporter: the mayor in houston says the city is finally drying out. but as you mentioned, the situation is still dire in communities east of here where the water isn't expect the to start receding for days. the flooding in beaumont, texas now so overwhelming this

every other shelter evacuated. >> i can bring my backpack, right? >> reporter: families who came in with so little rushed out with even less. nearby, 200 patients evacuate the from this hospital. and in homes, people still stranded with the water rising. the coast guard hammering through this roof to free a family from their attic. rescue after rescue. from the air. >> it's time to go. >> reporter: and by boat. >> i never thought it would happen to me. it always happens to somebody else, but never to you. and now it is. >> reporter: further west in crosby, texas, officials down playing concerns that this flooded chemical plant, even though they believe more fires there are inevitable. 30 miles away in houston, this house in flames. >> we're about a hose short right now. >> reporter: firefighters diving into the flood water just to get to the hydrant. but in other communities, the water finally

enough for people to return home. >> i'm speechless. it's just devastating. >> reporter: help coming in from across the country, for people who have lost everything and those whose lives are now being saved. >> it didn't matter what race, religion we was. we all come together in unity. >> reporter: and an example of that unity, even though this area was so hard hit, the shelters here in houston are now taking in all of those people who are now being evacuated from the shelters in beaumont. guys, back to you. >> and marci, take us back to that chemical plant. we initially heard it could be days away from an explosion, then hours later, it actually happened. what's the latest on that? >> reporter: right, so there were fires there yesterday, as predicted. and there were several officers, deputies, who were taken to a hospital to be treated. they have since been released. but now the issue is, there are still eight

plant that have chemicals inside of them that they say it's pretty much inevitable that those, too, will catch fire. so the epa sent aircraft into the area. they did some testing of the air quality, and they say they didn't find any toxic concentrations of chemicals in the air there, so they're their plan for now, the safest thing is to let those trailers of chemicals catch on fire. they don't think there is as big of a threat because they have evacuated within a mile and a half of that plant and they will have first responders outside of the evacuation zone just as a precaution. >> wow, an incredible situation to keep a watch on there. and marci, to the east, the town of beaumont has been without water for 24 hours now? >> reporter: yeah, it is a really, really tough situation there. what's happening is the two main water pumps that bring water into homes and businesses that keep the regular water flowing in that community are under

all. so they can't get clean water. they've had to evacuate 200 patients from one hospital, all of the dialysis patients from another. and they say they probably will not be able to get in to make repairs until the water recedes, and that is not happening for at least a couple of days. >> woi. >> just feels like one problem after another. abc's marci gonzalez live for us in houston. thank you. and the storm has weakened. but it's still causing lots of trouble as it moves further inland. >> the remnants of harvey are now in northern alabama, georgia, tennessee and kentucky. those red and orange areas you see there are the strongest storm cells. >> the low pressure system spawned a tornado in sta standtonville, tennessee. >> in alabama they weren't so lucky. there was a damage there injured four people.

>> later today the system will be moving to the ohio valley. >> you may have noticed a spike in gas prices. operations have slowed at two major gulf coast pipelines, which is taking a toll on gas supplies in the u.s. unfortunately, the combination of those temporary shortages and the long holiday weekend has sent gas prices soaring to a two-year high, about 20 cents a gallon in some spots. the energy department has released 500 us that gallons of oil from the emergency stockpile. texas state and federal authorities have also formed a task force to investigate and prosecute illegal activity relate the to hurricane harvey. those crimes include price gouging and looting, along with insurance and charity scams, they will use all their resources to track down on any one trying to take advantage of victims. one example we

of people going to houses and pretending they were from government agencies, hoping to get them to evacuate. >> the vp was up close and perm with storm survivors. he wrapped his arms around them and put on a pair of work gloves to clear' way debris. pence and several trump cabinet members visited a damaged church and prayed. >> the vice president praised the citizens for their strength and promised to help the state rebuild. >> you've inspired the nation by your resilience and by your courage. we just came here to commend you and to encourage you. >> and the president heads back to texas tomorrow with first lady melania trump. the white house says they plan to meet with victims in the houston area and in southern louisiana. the president is pledging to donate $1 million from his personal fortune to victims in texas and louisiana. it's one of the largest

charitable donations made by a sitting president. >> the vice president is also expressing confidence in the president's pending decision on so-called dreamers. undocumented imtwrants brought to the u.s. as children. the president will make the determination with, quote, big heart. abc news reported last wreak that trump was leaning toward ending the daca program which protects from deportation. the trump administration is dramatically slashing funding designated to get people to sign up for obamacare. it will be cut from $100 million to $10 million. and workers who guide consumers through the enrollment process will be reduced by 40%. democrats say the administration is trying to sabotage the health care system after failing to repeal and replace it, but the administration says it hasn't benefitted from advertising. obesity rates may be finally

leveling off. new reports show that for the first time in 14 years some states are dropping and others are slowing. but still at least it20% of adus in every state are obese. half of the country had rates above 30%. to put that in perspective, in 2000, no state had reached that level. apple makes it official. our first look at the iphone 8, right now, here it is. no, it will happen on september 12th. >> i just got all excited. >> you like the abc logo? >> well done. >> that's how i now it's my who work phone. >> the company sent out an announcement saying let's meet at our place in couper tee know, california. it will include the launch of an iphone 7 and 7 s and a new 4k apple tv. >> what's this bad boy, the iphone 4? >> that's the

>> we'll be keeping an eye for the new goodies. but coming up, we will have more images out of texas, and a group of officers trying to help in that rescue effort ended up needing to be rescued themself the. we'll show you the video as their boat capsizes >> also an officer trying to calm a nervous white driver by saying, quote, we only kill black people. >> and remember to follow on facebook at wnn fans.com. you've watching abc news world now. to keep hair strong against hot styling tools, you need more than a conditioner, ...you need a miracle. pantene 3 minute miracle daily conditioner... has a super concentrated pro-v formula... ...that makes hair stronger* in just 3 minutes. so your hair is smoother everyday. pantene 3 minute miracle daily conditioner. because strong is beautiful.

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looking at some incredible new video out of texas of civilians coming to the eight of first responders. the first responders were out on rescue missions when their boat flipped over. the officers, you can see them tossed into the rushing floodwaters. >> thankfully, three civilian boats rushed in to rescue them. all the first responders were

saved. >> this is a reminder that they are putting their own lives on the line. >> and a veteran police officer is out of a job this morning after making an apparently sarcastic comment that cops only kill black people. >> he announced hit retirement as they were getting ready to discharge him over his remarks. richard cantu reports. >> reporter: now more than a year later, cobb county lieutenant greg abbott is charged with making those statements as he stood alongside a woman's car during a dui traffic stop in july of 2016. mike register explaining that he and his staff looked at the video this past friday. >> i've known lieutenant abbott, and i've perceived him to

honorable man. i doesn't knn't know what's in heart, but i know what came out of his mouth. >> reporter: he was meetly put on administrative duties. >> we don't kill black people, right? >> reporter: register says an internal review of the incident report purports -- >> lieutenant abbott was attempting to use that kind of dialog from a sarcastic standpoint as also as a tool to certainly address the situation as he perceived it at that time. >> reporter: abbott's attorney adding he was attempting to de-escalate a situation involving an uncooperative passenger. the driver's attorney shocked by what he heard. >> i can see how he was frustrated and responded with this sarcasm. but it's still unacceptable. like it just makes you cringe when you hear it. >> reporter: richard cantu, abc news, new york. >> and as the chief was announcing the move to terminate him, the officer apparently was sending an e-mail annnc

retirement. so it's not yet clear exactly how that move, anouning his retirement will affect the termination. >> and he said it was sarcasm, but with so many tensions between so many communities and police, you would think he would be a little more sensitive, right? >> odd comments, for sure, and his attorneys have tried to say, like the chief said, that this is an attempt to defuse the situation. but it's just inexcusable. >> inappropriate. frightening video shows a close call for two florida sheriff's deputies. >> they're helping people involved in a three car crash when suddenly two pickup trucks collide at the same intersection. this was on florida's gulf coast. >> an eyewitness was knocked about six feet back along with the deputies. luckily no serious injuries were reported. incredible video. >> it's surprising no one got seriously injured in all of that.

hour. as the flooding slowly recedes. thousands of survivors are returning home where they're finding new dangers. but first, this table at a houston convention center is bringing victims separated bihar i have together. one volunteer calls it the match.com for missing persons. that's next on "world news now." chugging hot sauce? ...oh jeremy. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen things. there'in herbal essences it's bio:renew a blend of sea kelp, aloe and antioxidants that help bring your hair back to life. herbal essences. let life in.

♪ thousands of people headed for shelter at the houston convention center after harvey made landfall, evacuees are still trying to reconnect with family and friends. >> it's the missing persons table that has become a place to reunite. >> she's looking for her brother, missing since the storm. >> my parents are sick with grief, because he's the baby. and it's just, you know, it's a miracle that things fell into place. >> a missing person's table is set up at the george r. brown convention center. >> there's no way i'm going to

about 70% of the missing. over all, thousands remain. help is coming from all over, with so many giving, from clothes, to haircuts, to hugs for kids. has it been a rough few days? yeah. this high school dance group are here to ved some cheer. what's it like when you see the kids smile? >> i have a little brother, and it's like, you know, to see that smile, oh, my gosh. >> reporter: it's a nice sight to see all these volunteers getting food and clothes and everything else here, a real outpouring of support. it's also good to see the number of people here drop. at its peak, it was 9,000 people, now at 2500 people, a lot of people today starting to move out, either towards hotels or maybe possibly back into their homes. reporting live from houston, alex michaelson, abc 13, eyewitness news. >> certainly hope m

home, but kind of nice to see the dancers bringing a smile to the kids' faces and the kids are bringing a smile to the dancers' faces. what happens when harvey strands you at your daughter's grad school?

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♪ time for "the mix". we know that the devastation of harvey has just displaced a lot of people. and people after going through something like that, they want to be with family, friends in other parts of texas. so a lighthearted moment here when a father decided to take refuge at his daughter's dorm room at college. and she's not happy about it. >> ah-oh. >> so the father ended up showing up, even in classes alongside her. in a hilarious tweet that went viral, the son shared that quote, my pops can't fly back to houston because of the hurricane, so he's going to grad school with my sister, and she's not happy. >> look at the

she says get out. mommy come get him. seriously, he needs to leave. he stayed for the intro, he has a syllabus. he won't leave. he's distracting me. dad is pumped to be in class. and over to washington, we've seen the million man march, the women's march and now a new march on washington. >> which one is this one? >> about 100 demonstrators showed up at the white house dressed as inflatable dinosaurs. they're apparently trying to raise awareness about cuts to the national service budget. you want to know what's weirder than that? the harp polka. ♪ ♪ ♪

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this morning on "world news now." rescue missions across east texas flood walters struggle to drain in the wake of harvey. we'll go along with matt gutman as he takes to the skies, getting victims from that massive underwater scene. >> meanwhile, people try to pick up the pieces while thousands remain in shelters. others return to find their homes destroyed. and new this half hour, why parents are spending more on back to school supplies. >> it's no surprise if you have kids getting ready to head back to class. those details just ahead. and all rise. justice sotomayor taking in a