this morning on "world news now," hurricane irma's fury aimed right at florida. >> the monstrous storm is pummeling the caribbean with heavy wind and rains. in florida, millions are trying to get out of harm's way, and we'll go to accuweather live for the latest forecast. irma is one of three hurricanes in the atlantic. what's behind this active storm season? and are the storms tied to climate change? and is president trump having a change of heart? the administration sends mixed messages over the decision to end the daca program that

protects young undocumented immigrants. plus, the explanation nfor this image. an airliner headed directly into hurricane irma. air traffic control, what's happening? from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning to you all. we're going to start things off with the latest update on hurricane irma now passing north of puerto rico. >> you can see on the satellite its extremely strong winds are battering the u.s. territory. the category five storm is moving west-northwest and is still on track to hit south florida this weekend. >> irma is pounding puerto rico with powerful wind and rain. nearly a million are without power and 50,000 without water. this is the strongest hurricane to hit puerto rico in nearly 90 years. >> nearly every building on the island of

when the eye of the storm passed right over. about 60% of the residents are now homeless. the prime minister called the island, quote, barely inhabitable. >> st. martins was devastated. a visitor called the storm po apocalyptic. >> we ran to the storm bunker and had to hold the door down all night. it was very scary. i think the winds might have been around 200 miles per hour. we had a hurricane shutter from the windows. first those got ripped off and half a second later, this sliding door window got ripped out. we ran for it. i was feeling the winds beating us in the room. when we got to the storm bunker, i couldn't speak. we were so scared. we all feel really blessed to be here for sure. >> the island has no

or drinking water and it has very few buildings still standing everything the latest estimate is 70% are destroyed. >> irma expected to go north and take aim at florida. >> then the projected path spread out. it will go up florida's east coast, impacting the carolinas next week. >> operations are being shut down in miami but at least two airlines are helping people leave. jetblue is offering $99 flights. >> some routes for amtrak will terminate in jacksonville today and all are canceled fort weekend. >> people in the keys are known for toughing out storms, but not this time. all right florida keys under a full-scale evacuation. >> the track now has it forecasted to impact the keys on sunday. >> reporter: some

residents live here full time, and many, including elizabeth, are heeding that warning. >> give abe >> i've been through george, andrew, but i'm not staying for irma. >> reporter: julia keeping a close eye on weather report and stocking supplies. >> we're planning to stay until the friday update to see twhr thing's going to go. if it's bad we're going to get out of here. >> reporter: tourists already told to leave. drivers rushing to fill their tanks, facing long lines and shortages. this is what we're seeing all over the florida keys. out of service, and chair after cha chair blocking gas pumps. authorities say it could be dangerous to wait. >> if you stay, you think you're a tough guy , you're on your ow. we're not going to put ourselves at risk. >> this one is very different. i have never seen people take a

f f frr. >> reporter: the average key is six feet above sea level. this is a lot less, so flooding is a major concern here. gio benitez, coe wekey west flo. >> where it goes next is not so clear. >> accuweather's justin povick joins us with the forecast. good morning, justin. >> nick, good morning to you, diane as well. very, very powerful. i can't stress this enough. this is a major hurricane. it has already done very doudes damage through barbuda and . we have never seen a hurricane since the modern satellite era in the '60s that has maintained this intensity this long. devastating impacts throughout northern

this turns toward the turks and caicos and later on this weekend we'll see this make its move to the north and the west. and, again, the most likely scenario does paint a picture for eastern florida, but you do need to keep in mind that is there cone. there will be impacts as we go down the line. >> florida's governor is warning that irma is stronger than andrew in 1 t992. how does it compare? >> he is absolutely correct in terms of wind speed and pressure. this is more intense. at this stage rate now as i'm talking, this has winds of 185 miles per hour. andrew, a little below that. very damaging. but this is more intense right now. >> justin, thank you very much. and we will have more coverage of hurricane irma ahead i

half hour, including how rare it is to have three active hurricanes at one time. shifting to the day's other top steer. president trump is now facing legal opposition over his plan to o end tto end the daca progr. 15 states are suing. saying it was motivated by prejudice against mexicans. now after promising to revisit the issue if congress can't row sol -- resolve it, the president says he has no regrets about his decision. >> reporter: in the oval office we asked if he was having a change of heart. o. >> no second thoughts. >> reporter: that tweet, the president saying he could revisit the decision. on air force one, he says he is not sending mixed signals. >> if i

ha -- where wei have good border security, i'd like to see a permanent deal. >> reporter: and the president thinks that deal is going to happen. now the president says that legislation to protect these dreamers and border security go hand in hand. the question this white house is not yet answering is whether the president would support legislation to keep daca in place if it does not fund his border wall. cecelia vega, abc news, the white house. and president trump's eldest son is heading to capitol hill today for meeting relating to the election meddling. donald trump jr. will appear before the senate judiciary committee behind closed doors. he's expected to be asked about his preelection meeting with a russian lawyer. he is expected to be called back later to testify under oath publicly. and facebook reveals that a company purchased

of ads during the presidential election. the ads didn't mention specific candidates. they were used to amplify divisive issues, including immigration. we have information about additional troops heading to afghanistan. just over 3500 more soldiers will be headed to the war zone. it's unclear when their dae employments will begin. the extra troops will raise the total number of american military personnel in afghanistan to more than 14,000. and pope francis is in colombia carrying a message of hope. an estimated 500,000 people greated t greeted the pope as he arrived in bogota. many colombians are upset with the peace process. and the first day back at school, what do most kids ask their classmates? how did you spend your

>> so 10 year old liam has a good answer. he spent his summer making lunches for homeless people. with the help of his dad, he made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and delivered them with a bottle of water. >> he says most of the homeless people he meets are really nice and need a little kindness in their lives. profound words from a fifth grader. >> we can all learn a few lessons, sounds like dad's setting an example, helping ley -- liam out. and you'll hear tan emotionl explanation. is there a scientific explanati explanati explanation for this active hurricane season? i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan.

[ 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. your toilet is germ-ridden with mineral buildup. clorox toilet bowl cleaner with bleach is no match against limescale. but lysol power toilet bowl cleaner has 10x more cleaning power against limescale.

what it takes to protect. 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.

ialmost everything. you know, ke 1 i n 10 houses could get hit by an expensive septic disaster. but for only $7 a month, rid-x helps break down waste. avoid a septic disaster with rid-x. hurricane irma is now

passing port re c passing puerto rico but still sending winds across the territory. >> overnatight they have seen strong winds and heavy rain. more than half of puerto rico is without power. and it may be months before everything is restored. but let's check in with a research scientist at colorado ta state university. >> what can you tell us about th this barrage of storms. is this a rare phenomenon in >> it is rare. the last tame ime we had it was 2010. you see it about every nine or ten years. it's unusual but not unprecedented. it starts in the middle of august.

and wei and we a jose and katia joining the litany. and irma has been doing incredible damage. it's an incredibly strong, powerful hurricane. one of the strongest hurricanes we've ever observed in the atlantic basin. >> in the wake of harry, now seeing irma breaking records before the fostorm is anywhere near over. how does climate change fit into this? and is there any other read on a cause for this in. >> caller: we haven't had that much storm activity. most of the storm activity has been later, in october. but this year, with irma, this form is incredible. it's satyri it's hattering all

records. most get strong in the western caribbean. this one got strong east of the leeward islands. 185-mile-per-hour winds that far east, this is the first time. >> are we going to create a category six as we see more of these stronger storms in . >> until last year, we hadn't seen a category five. we will be rewriting the intensity scale, but it's more how long lived it's been. it's the longest time we've had a storm this long. it's 36 hours now this strong. >> is there any idea how long this season could last in it

once pretty clear are getting increasingly blurry. >> caller: typically, the official end date is november 30th. by the end of october usually the season's done. we've had two hurricanes make landfall in november. typically the season peaks around september 10th. then it starts to get a little quieter, but the large scale conditions this year are conducive for active season. we have three hurricanes out there now, the models are showing another one maybe in the next ten days. hopefully the rest of the storms that form this year will not impact any land masses. we've already seen devastation in the united states and the caribbean as well. >> phil, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it. >> caller: thank you for having may. coming up, the seattle seahawks star, michael bennet says a

to kill him. we'll have that encounter next on "world news now." rethink what's possible. rethink your allergy pills. flonase sensimist allergy relief helps block 6 key inflammatory substances with a gentle mist. most allergy pills only block one. and 6 is greater than one. flonase sensimist. ♪

shatteri seattle seahawks' michael bennett has retained a lawyer as he considers a lawsuit against the las vegas police department. it stems from an encounter with the police after a big boxing

>> hours after the mcgrego mcgregor/mayweather fight, an officer is seen handcuffing bennett. he says he was innocent, wasn't doing anything. police say the investigation of the incident is just starting. k >> as of today, we know when there are at least 126 individuvideos associated with those cameras we have to review. if any training or procedures were violated those officers will be held accountable. >> he also claims that bennett failed to stop. he spoke to reporters about it. >> this is a yes motionn emotio. it just happened to be may. i'm lucky to be here to pespeak about

would be wearing the patch with number 72 on it. i'm lucky to be here and continuously fight for people, the equality of all people. regardless of their color, regardless of their gender, and i want to keep doing what i do. >> he waited to address the issue. he ended up being released without charges. and nearly half a century of the charles manson murders terrorized people, the youngest of his followers has been up for parole. >> it was vanhouten's 21st appearance before a parole board. her fate is now in the hands of governor jerry brown. >> since she was incarcerated, she has earned multiple college degrees and

as a model prisoner, but for so many people where those murders are such vivid memories, a lot of people are having a hard time with this one. >> absolutely. coming up, riding out hurricane irma in a wine cellar. go we'll have more next.

clearasil rapid action begins working fast for clearly visible results in as little as 12 hours. but will it stop this teen from being embarassed by her parents? nope. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen ings. hey honey, good.as practice? must've been hot out there today, huh? yeah. yeah. why don't you go put that stuff in the laundry room right now? ok. do your athletes bring home big odors? tide sport is super concentrated to beat even...

hey, buddy! hey. woo! somebody ran laps. yup the new tide sport collection. it's got to be tide. we're back with some more on hurricane irma. and we're taking a look at an incredible image of a flight. 173 dell ta passengers plus cra found themselves right in the middle of hurricane irma. you can see the flight there on the radar. it safely made it from puerto rico to jfk in less than three and a half hours, and while the idea of being in a form like this while in flight sounding terrifying, experts say it's really no different than flaying through a big thunderstorm. >> were they

they say it was a bit bumpy, a bit rainy and dark, but they got through it. go the airport in st. martin, the very famous airport where tourists hang onto the fence as the planes come over the beach, that airport is now almost completely destroyed by irma. we we've had reports from tourists on the island calling the scenes apocalyptic. the baggage hull, everything is is destroyed. unclear how they can come back from that. >> well, if you are going to ride out the storm, here's where you do want to do it. richard branson rode out the storm on his private island in the british virgin islands in his concrete wine cellar. >> of course he has a concrete wine cellar. >> yes, he does. this'she

his son wrote on tram, all humans are okay. the main house is uninhabitable. he wrote, please don't take this hurricane lightly. do find somewhere safe. homes can be rebuilt, but lives can't. >> they've had to rebuild that home before, there was a fire, and richard branson was staying in a guesthouse and ran up naked to help rescue his own mother from the house. will he rebuild again? who knows. the path of irma through the caribbean. i mean, barbuda, the prime minister there is saying the island is uninhabitable. >> nearly 90% now is the estimate of buildings destroyed. so good advice not to take the hurricane lightly if it's heading your way, and it sounds at least as if the

seriously. we of course will have more coming up on the storm's path and preparations under way rate

now." hurricane irma takes aim at the u.s. the monster category five hurricane has turned deadly, battering the caribbean. we have team coverage from puerto rico to miami, as millions heed the warning to evacuate and prepare, desperate to gather supplies, but fuel is running out. we'll have the very latest forecast from accuweather live. and the deal president trump made in the oval office with democrats, taking republicans by surprise. many of them are not happy. and new this half hour, a suspect steals the very police car she's being held in. >> so she manages to lose the cuffs and cram through a tight