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

opening in the front seat before taking off in the car, leading officers on a wild chase. and pharrell's fountain of youth, facing accusations of being a happy vampire, he's had enough and is setting the record straight on this thursday, september 7th. from abc news, this is "world news now." a good morning to you all. we begin with irma, one of the most powerful atlantic hurricanes ever is ripping its way across the caribbean. >> nearly every building on the island of st. martin has been damaged or destroyed. and there is no drepgsiinking w or electricity. on the french half of the island, at least six people are dead. the famous low-flying airport in the dutch half is gone. >> it's moving away from puerto rico, but its winds and rains are till extending about

miles away from the storm. >> abc's linzie janis is there. >> reporter: nick and diane, eye of hurricane irma just passed us near san juan, about 50 miles to the north off the coast, a little further away that it was predicted to come. but we just now feel safe enough to come outdoors, because we have been experiencing sustained winds of 55 miles per hour with gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. we have seen objects flying, trees falling, transformers popping. there's a lot of concern about rain. there is a predicted 20 inches in some areas. but hurricane irma has already devastated parts of the caribbean. at least three people are dead. authorities in barbuda and st. martin report more than 90% of those islands are damaged or destroyed. cars seen floating through the streets. buildings shredded. terrified tourists riding out the storm. irma ripping through the u.s. virgin islands. here in san juan, the governor has warned that the impact of

there already 1 million people without power and it's not over yet. nick and diane? >> thanks very much. irma is now a category five hurricane and expected to remain that strong for several days. let's find out somewhere's headed next and what's in store for us in the u.s. >> accuweather's justin povick is tracking the storm for us. what's the latest? >> we're looking at a very powerful hurricane like you said. wind speeds here, 180 miles per hour. impacts will continue to decrease for puerto rico but increase throughout day from northern hispaniola. winds could exceed hurricane force. major impacts at the turks and caicos with a dangerous storm surge and flash flooding with mudslides. we venture into the weekend, notice that bend to the north and north west. most likely scenario, it makes its move to northeastern sections of florida. anywhere in the cone here, you need to take that seriously,ut

even areas to the north. regardless, it is going to be a major hurricane throughout its life cycle. >> and mandatory evacuations are under way in the keys, understandably so. it's causing a traffic jam on that road. as well as long lines at gas stations. emergency officials say most visitors to the keys have already cleared out. but some of the 80,000 residents are staying at least four to board up homes and businesses. others are stocking up on supplies, insisting they plan to ride this storm out at home, hoping they can protect their property. >> miami dade officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for low-lying coastal areas and warn that more evacuation orders could come later today. >> but that creates even more problems, because already a quarter of miami's gas stations are running out of fuel. alex perez is there. >> reporter: a rush on gas

across florida. >> well, the gas lines are crazy. >> reporter: bumper to bumper lines, desperate residents waiting to fill up. >> nothing you can do. >> reporter: pumps drying up. more than 25% of gas stations in miami dade out of fuel. at grocery stores, even more lines. water flying off shelves. >> it's been hard to get. we seem to be having a difficulty finding water. >> reporter: the governor urging residents to be prepared with a three-day supply of food. warning on gma. go wei >> we can rebuild your home, we can't rebuild your life. >> reporter: floridians also stocking up on sandbags. another big concern in miami, you see them all over the skyline, these massive construction cranes up high in the sky. crews are working hard to secure them. they secure them by allowing them to spin. >> we put the crane into

weathervaning position. when the crane can spin, it won't take it out of balance. >> reporter: but city officials warning those who live near cranes to leave their homes. the utter devastation that hurricane andrew brought to the state 25 year ago, etched in memory for so many. >> this is bigger than andrew, it will have more storm surge than andrew, and it looks like it will bear down on the middle of the state of florida. >> reporter: the president also concerned. >> it also looks like something that will not be good. believe me, not good. >> reporter: the issue is increased demand and being able to deliver it quickly enough. alex perez, abc news, miami. >> we'll have more coverage of irma ahead in this half hour, including new video just coming in from the u.s. virgin islands. the fbi is leading an investigation into an explosion at a post office in northern indiana. it happened in the city of east chicago. a female postal employee suffered any

the victim is pregnant. two pipe-bombs were found at the scene after the blast. it's unclear if it was an act of terrorism, but they say is there no ongoing threat. congressional democrats are beaming after president trump delivered a stinging blow to members of his own party. he overruled congressional republicans and agreed with the democrats to keep the government running as they pay for harvey relief. abc's mary bruce has more. >> reporter: in the oval office, that stunning picture. the president cutting a deal with democrats and blind siding his own party. the speaker of the house blasted the democrats' proposal to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government for only three months. >> i think that's ridiculous and disgraceful. >> reporter: the republicans wanted a long-term solution. to avoid another bruising fight in december. but in the oval office, sitting down with leaders of both parties, the president sided with the democrats. a surprise snap decision that left republicans reeling. the meeting grew even more tense when ivanka trump walked in.

sources say the conversation veered off topic, as gop leaders grew visibly annoyed. afterward, back at the capitol, mitch mcconnell frustrated but resigned. >> the president agreed with senator schumer and congresswoman pelosi. >> reporter: democrats gleeful. >> today was a good day in a generally very partisan town. >> reporter: and the president painting a rosie picture. >> we walked out and everybody was happy. not too happy, because you can never be too happy, but they were happy enough. >> reporter: but many republicans i spoke to were not happy. this is a major blow to the president's own party. it sets up a big battle in december and gives democrats leverage as the republicans are trying to seal a deal on tax reform, potentially tying their hands on one of the president's top priorities. mary bruce, abc news, capitol hill. president trump also says he's ready to work with democrats on legalizing the daca program after tweeting that he's

but the president insists he has no second thoughts about ending the program that protects immigrants who came to the u.s. as children. and there is a new legal challenge. 15 states are suing the government over the plan to repeal daca. coming up, the daring escape by a shoplifting suspect in texas. >> what she used as a get away car, pushing 100 miles per hour, we'll show you how it all ended. >> we'll also check in on the latest, up to the minute radar on the position of irma and where the form is currently tracking. you're watching "world news now."

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so switch to lysol. what it takes to protect. we're looking at some new video from the u.s. virgin hinds which suffered severe damage from hurricane irma. most of the trees damaged, you can see power poles knocked down. resident spent as much as 12 hours riding out the storm in their basements. the eye is 140 miles from puerto rico. the hurricane-force winds can be he felt as far as 50 miles from the stor

suspect, stealing a police vehicle when officers weren't looking. >> she managed to slip off her handcuffs and squeeze through a small opening in the front seat. clayton sandell takes it from there. >> reporter: normally handcuffs mean the story's over. but this shoplifting suspect is just getting started. quietly slipping free, diving to the front seat and speeding away. the 23-minute chase through lufkin, texas pushing 100 miles per hour. officers coming head on swerve out of the way. she swerves too, avoiding spike strips. but finally, knocked off the road. guns drawn, police smashed the window to get her out. the opening between the front and the back seats in these patrol units is only about 12

inches, but even so, lufkin police are making a change. releasing this video, installing new barriers and showing a sense of humor, #fool me once. >> cases like this can be so dangerous. i remember working on one where an officer was run over by a suspect who did the same thing. and in this case, the officers say they could see her reaching for the officer's shotgun, but it was locked to the vehicle. >> i'm amazed they're having a sense of humor about it, releasing that video with the drill and thumbs up. >> glad they are addressing the issue. >> yes, indeed. when we come back, will smith gets jiggy with a new song. >> and it's the end of the line for an emmy award winning comedy. "the skinny's" next. rwear that's actually pretty. surprised? it's called always discreet boutique. it looks and fits like my underwear.

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♪ i came here tonight to hear the crowd go ♪ ♪ boom, shake, shake, shake the room ♪ ♪ boom, shake, shake, shake, shake the room ♪ >> boom, shake, shake, shake the room? it's skinny time, and we're getting the party started with deejay jazzy jeff, the fresh prince. >> i do know all the words. not to this song yet, but pretty much the rest of their songs, including their commercial. anyway, by now, will smith has established himself as one of hollywood's elite, but he and jazzy jeff have been getting together, playing concerts together and working on new music. >> and on facebook, will shared a live performance of their new song "gets lit." ♪ in the darkness ♪ you need to light it up ♪ come on, come on ♪ i need beam to light it up ♪ light it up

>> i mean, it's all right. it's not boom, shake, shake, shake the room. >> i still like the 900 commercial. >> i don't know what that is. >> most people don't. they used to have this 900-number, back when 900 numbers were a thing. and they had this whole rap song that went along with it. >> i have no idea about anything you're talking about right now. >> i used to know all the presidents in order. i can't remember that, but i remember every word to will smith and deejay jazzy jeff's 900 number. >> important information to retain there. >> this is how my brain work. he's working on the live action aladdin movie and shared behind the scenes shots. check it out. >> i think it's the first cast photo, a selfie, of course, and he includes in the caption "i'm over here, getting my g on." >> it's one of my favorite

disney characters ever. >> i saw it on broadway a month or so ago and it's all about the genie. >> thing is, though, i've never seen it on broadway. i've only seen the animated film. to me, the genie is synonymous with robin williams. it's hard for me to imagine anyone else playing it. >> i can't remember the guy who was playing it on broadway, but it's all about the genie. >> you really are filling in for kendis, just a block of ice in the center of that chest. okay, now we know. no love stories for nick, noted. next to the "happy" music man, pharrell williams. >> now over the years, pharrell has made a name for himself as a unique and stylist artist. he can wear whatever he

and that's perhaps because he never seems to age. some of the looks hard to pull off at the age of 44. but he does it. the guy's my age. look at it. >> really? >> it's a stark contrast, isn't it? a stark contrast. >> some are even accusing pharrell of being a vampire, pointing to this supposed photographic evidence. >> what's, so that's supposed to be him in 1492? >> but even just looking at 1990 to 2013, unbelievable. >> yeah. >> but pharrell is now sharing his secret. >> and it's not magic, not trickery. apparently, it's all about exfoliation. pharrell revealed that his skin care regimen, he revealed it to a magazine, saying he exfoliates like a monster and like a, quote, narcissistic mad man. >> oh. >> and he drinks a lot of water. >> oh. >> you know. >> so water. >> it is what they say. i've heard exfoliation, water.

don't worry, don't we're. >> all right, fine. >> exfoliation -- >> those three packs of cigarettes a day, either. probably not. >> speaking of people aging gracefully, happy birthday to our own kendis gibson. >> do we say how old he is? >> he doesn't look a day older than 21. >> do we know how old he is? >> 21. >> where is he, anyway? is he mountaineering in in and deep sea diving. >> is he spelunking in new zealand? >> check it out, julia louis-dreyfus has announced her smash show is coming to a close. >> bad news. according to the hollywood reporter, the show will end after next year's season seven. >> i'm going to be president. i'm going to be the first-elected lady president. billy joel is going to sing. so you guys have to stop the recount. >> i'm sorry, what? >> stop the count. >> i'm

>> the story has a finality to it and it feel the like the end. >> she says it was the role of a lifetime. >> one of my favorite shows of all time. >> we'll be right back. any doctor hoose or hospital that accepts medicare patients. you could stay with the doctor or specialist you trust... or go with someone new.

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a blockbuster season number 25 of "dancing with the stars" skiks off september 18. the couples who will dance, just revealed on "good morning, america." then all of them heading to the red carpet at planet hollywood, telling us that the competition will be fierce. but abc's queen shark, barbara corcoran isn't intimidated. >> if you think all the young chicks have anything on me, you're mistaken. i'm going to get the sympathy vote. >> reporter: and he's about to get married. >> i don't want to be the uncoordinated, tall, skinny guy, like, this is is my wedding dan. >> reporter: also competing, nick and vanessa lachey, paired up with max and peta. >> every woman's guilty pleasure is to dance with this guy. >> reporter: does he think his boy band experience will help? >> not really.

rocking, back to this thing. >> reporter: but the contestant to take home the mirror ball for more inspiring story, victoria arlen, who just began to walk a year ago. >> i was like, i'm going to go for it. >> reporter: her partner val, is just as inspired. >> i want to focus on her, her journey and making this a unique experience another. >> ah, thank you. >> reporter: and new this season, you can play along with the first official fantasy league. all of the details on abc news.com. lynda lopez, abc news, new york. >> finally, a fantasy league i can get behind. >> i don't care about the celebrities. i'm all about val. >> what about max? >> yeah, max, he's okay. >> they were on gma. i was in the green room with them. i was sitting there eating. oh, what is this? what is this? no, no. >> forget about max and val.

[ laughter ] ♪ >> that's not fair.

making news in america this morning, hurricane irma crashing into the caribbean. one prime minister says 90% of his island is leveled. >> it's scary. and i pray for everyone that's out there. >> the 185-mile-per-hour winds folding a massive cell tower splitting palm trees in half and sweeping a woman away. >> the powerful storm is demolishing everything in its path as it turns toward florida. millions being urged to leave. >> you can rebuild your home, not your life. >> the state's highways jammed. gas stations empty and flights fully booked. >> just told me all the flights are full. >> this morning two more hurricanes are taking shape.