this morning on "world news now." the devastating and deadly earthquake that rocked mexico city. >> the desperate middle of the night rescue efforts now under way. dozens of buildings have collapsed. thousands of residents sleeping outdoors this morning. we have a reporter on the scene in mexico city live with the very latest. and hurricane maria takes aim, lashing the u.s. virgin islands with puerto rico also bracing for a direct hit. this could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in a century. then world reaction to president trump's new threat at the united nations. this time vowing to totally destroy north korea if the u.s. is forced to defend itself. and normally, when you hear

camera, it's usually not good for the people involved. but this time you'll see surveillance footage of a young man doing something nice for a strange ir. it's wednesday, september 20th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> and we're going to say good morning on this wednesday. it's a very busy one indeed. the mexican president preparing and calling for calm. the striking images that we've been seeing, many buildings like that, collapsing in a cloud of dust. >> the violent shaking hit the region of 21 million people right in the middle of the work day. the death toll so far from the magnitude 7.1 quake has risen to around 150 people, and that number is still expected to keep growing. rescue crews are still out across the

school is among the many sites being searched. >> the quake came ironically on the 32nd anniversary of another quake that killed thousands in mexico city. and because of that anniversary, many people took part in a drill hours earlier. a reporter is in mexico city and joins us by phone. you're in mexico city, just about 20 miles or so from where the epicenter took place. what's the latest right now? >> reporter: that's right. well, the president came out with a message on national tv saying that at least 40% of mexico is without electricity, you know. there's a lot of calls for unity, rescue operations are under way. but there's no electricity. there's no light in a lot of these neighborhoods, especially in the neighborhoods where a lot of buildings crumbled and there are still people

beneath. now what i've seen on the ground is a lot of just residents of this neighborhood coming out to help, military and police, you know, trying to break rocks, trying to break blocks of concrete to try and take these people out. even some pets that were trapped beneath some of the buildings that crumbled. so i think we're showing our best side to the world and also to ourselves at a time where, you know, this is a tragedy and it happened, you know, very bizarre circumstances and coincidences, right on the anniversary of the 1985 earthquake and also an hour after we had a drill, precisely to prepare for this. >> the timing is just incredible. we're also seeing some of the video images coming in. the devastation is really hard to fathom, even though we can see some of it already. what does it feel like when it hits? >> reporter: well, i was actually on the 12th floor of

of mexico city. and i thought it was a second drill. we had a drill an hour before that. and but i suddenly saw that everyone was shaking. the building was kind of going side to side. and you know, everyone just started walking and running down the stairs, trying to get back into the streets. and basically, there were just thousands of people on the street. several gas leaks, which made it a bit dangerous. people were shouting at other people not to smoke, not to light any cigarettes because of all these gas leaks that we had around the city after the earthquake hit. so, you know, at first, it was a bit of chaos, you know, a lot of people, you know, walking in all different directions, not really sure where to go. they were also worried about other earthquakes coming in after this one. >> rafa, what did

feel like for you and sound like for that matter? >> caller: well, you know, the alarm went off, and we were hearing that. and everything was shaking, you know. some of my colleagues went under the table, but, i mean, for me, adrenaline pumped in and we were just trying to get out of there. we could feel the ground beneath me shake. i thought at any moment this is going to go down, so i need to get the hell out of here and go back to the street. >> it looks like some buildings did go down. >> rafa fernandez from fusion television joining us. 40% of the residents of mexico city, a city of 20-plus million without power as a result of that earthquake where the search efforts still continue. thank you for joining us. meanwhile, puerto rico is bracing for what could be

century. >> it is passing over the u.s. virgin islands right now and within hours will make a direct hit on millions of americans living in puerto rico. >> as residents prepare, the governor has warned they should expect power and communication blackouts for several days. elizabeth hur has mosh. >> reporter: hurricane maria, closing in on puerto rico. after first making landfall on dominica as the first category five hurricane on the island ever, packing ferocious winds, gusting 160 miles per hour. the storm proving deadly. and families reporting their loved ones still missing, including an american student. >> micah's been there since may, an awesome kid. and i'd just like to hear from him. >> reporter: puerto rico and its 3 million u.s. citizens preparing for a direct hit, with the governor warning residents

evacuate now. >> this is without a doubt, the most dangerous storm in our generation. >> reporter: the u.s. navy also pulling military personnel from the neighboring u.s. virgin islands ahead of the storm. along the east coast in the meantime, all eyes on hurricane jose, bringing wind and rain and creating dangerous rip currents. the big concern? coastal flooding and beach erosion, threatening to wash away sand from beaches devastated by superstorm sandy in 2012. >> there is an unpredictability to the weather pattern, what we believe here in this state is better be prepared. >> reporter: the good news is hurricane jose is not expected to make landfall, but, again, be better safe than sorry and officials are prepared. >> our thanks to elizabeth hur there. as we mentioned, the u.s. virgin islands are hurricane ma

>> st. croix is experiencing hurricane-force winds already. its governor has warned citizens to be prepared to evacuate their homes. accuweather's paul williams is looking at the paternity of t looking at the path of the storm. >> it's expected to be downgraded to category four when she's done ravaging puerto rico and will move to colder water. problem with maria? we' we're expecting extreme risk of damage to property and a high risk in hispaniola. when you take a look at what's happening with tropical storm jose, the size still causing problems along the east coast. kendis, diane? >> early models shoma rea staying away from the u.s. that would be good news in areas of florida hit hard by irma. in florida, a ninth nursing home victim has

93-year-old man. they spent days in sweltering heat after hurricane irma knocked out power. it is under criminal investigation and facing several lawsuits. let's turn now to president trump delivering that fiery speech and message to north korea and the world. the president called on the leaders at the united nations general assembly to confront kim jong un over his nuclear arsenal, mocking him once again as rocketman. he referred to the north korean government as a band of criminals and threatened to wipe the nation off the map if pushed too far. the north korean delegation walked out in protest well before the speech started leaving behind two empty front-row seats as the president railed against their country. >> the united states has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. >> well, the president also slammed the iran nuclearea

states and accused the country of funding terrorism but didn't say if he would withdraw from the agreement. senate republicans are scrambling to drum up support for a last-ditch effort to rye pe -- repeal obamacare. it would shift funds to states to use at their own discretion. but that could mean higher premiums for those with preexisting conditions and others could lose coverage for prescription drugs and maternity care. >> here's the choice for america. socialism or federalism? when it comes to your health care. >> we do need to reform the affordable care act, but we need to do so in a bipartisan, careful way, making sure we understand the consequences. >> okay. so republicans can only afford to lose two votes of senator john mccain had called for bipartisan cooperation before

with a dramatic thumbs down you see there. so par there's no word on how i would vote this time around. persistence has paid off for a powerball player. she has played the same set of numbers for 30 years. they finally came through, earning her more than $133 million. >> the winning numbers are all birthdays from her family. she and her husband mack plan to share their wealth. they'll help family, friends and hurricane and forest fire victims. she says she was shocked when she saw the winning numbers on her phone. >> so i do like this. my husband, mack, he's still sleeping. i go in, i wake him, i said mack, mack, and i'm doing like this. mack. he thinks i'm having a heart attack. >> 67 year old of took

lump-sum payment and immediately retired from her job which was selling xerox machines and real estate. her husband says he just wants a new set of tires for his 21 year old truck. >> that's it. we're heading back to florida where crews are racing to stop another sinkhole from growing. could hurricane irma be to blame for this one? it's the same dress, but these are not brides maids. so how did it happen? remember to find us on facebook, wnnfans.com and @abcwnn.

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we're keeping an eye on hurricane maria, the category five storm expected to reach puerto rico in just a matter of hours now impacting the u.s. virgin islands. the worst conditions on st. croix right now. officials are warning residents to be prepared to get out of their homes very quickly. investigators in florida are trying to uncover the cause of a growing sinkhole that already swallowed part of a house. the family discovered cracks in the wall on monday night and were hoping to make repairs. but suddenly the wall started

they were laying in bed. the millers and their daughter raced to retrieve what they could and evacuated the home. now they're waiting for the insurance company to survey the damage, but the sinkhole keeps growing. authorities speculate it could be due to floodwaters from hurricane irma. police in baton rouge, louisiana have made an arrest of someone in the death of two black men. clees gleason is accused of shooting a dishwasher and another man as well as shooting up another family's home. >> had there not been a swift conclusion to this case i feel confident this killer would have killed again. >> he hoopened fire from his ca and walked up to the victims and fired repeatedly. when they searched his

they found a speech written by adolf hitler. police in fresno, california are turning to a brand-new tool to catch criminals. it's invisible, ordinarile odor cling onto skin or clothing for years. it's smart water csi, a liquid that can be seen only under ult ultraviolet light. think arrested two men who had been stealing train horns from union pacific trains. the major debate at one high school. >> girls have been told they have to get their dresses pre-approved before heading to homecoming. that's next on "world news now."

♪ no shoes, no shirt, no problem ♪ >> no shoes, no shirt, no problem. well, that is not the policy at a high school in milwaukee, raising controversy for a new dress code requi

to submit photos of their homecoming dresses before they can get tickets to the dance. here's amy robach. >> reporter: strapless, low back and cutouts were some of the latest dress trends at the emease, be emmies. >> we haven't been allowed to show any part of our back, strapless, low cut, nothing like that. >> reporter: 17-year-old nicole starr is a senior where dress codes have always been strict and recently, the administration sent an e-mail, reminding parents and students that before purchasing a statistic, we are kr requiring students or non-phs guests to submit a photo of themselves in their attire. >> i think the fact that we have to submit a picture of us wearing it front and back is creepy. >> reporter: but caliissa who carefully chose her dress is concerned it may not make the cut this

at the chest which i'm worried about. >> reporter: the school says they require these photos in advance so students aren't turned away the night of the dance. >> honestly, i'd rather get turned away at the door than to send a picture of myself in a dress. >> i don't want them to go too far when you go shopping you can't find anything because you're worried about the front, worried about the back. >> reporter: while more than 64% of schools have dress codes, some think this sends the wrong message to young women. >> what we're looking at are arbitrary standards that an adult gets to decide and what that does is shame the young person and says you don't get to belong here because of the way your body looks. >> reporter: on monday, the school updating the policy saying if someone feels uncomfortable sending in a picture, the parent can e-mail the administrator saying the child understands and will comply with the dress code. >> some parents are upset becaus

specifically targeting girls. >> not sure there were policies that guys had to have full pants and not shorts. >> and they can't show their back, open back. >> these rules.

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that will be here for you now - and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. ♪ okay. it is time for your "mix" here on a wednesday. i want to show you this kid. i wonder how many kids out there that would do this. this guy loses his wallet with credit cards and stuff inside, $1500 cash inside. and not only does a teenager find it. ♪ money, money, money, money >> uh-huh, he's seen on surveillance camera returning it. look at this. you see surveillance videos of people stealing stuff. this is surveillance video of the kid who found that wallet, returning to the home and then putting it under the doormat. the homeown

the video and saw that the kid had done it. they actually tracked the kid down and gave him $150 for his good deed. >> more? >> there's more than that. >> it's 10%. >> oh. how much would you give, jack, for someone to return your wallet? >> well, more than that. >> that's a very specific answer. >> yeah. >> i don't want to be put down for anything, you know, whatever. >> there you have it. >> all righty. i want to show you a wedding picture and sigh if you can pick out what's wrong with this photograph. >> the bride's wearing white, is it not allowed? >> no, that's still in style. see all the ladies with the same dress on? >> great brides maids. >> they are not brides maids. >> oh. >> this happened in new south wales in australia. six women, they were guests at the wedding and wore the same dress. great minds think alike. apparently lots of great minds at the wedding. the facebook photo

racked up nearly 50,000 likes. >> makes you wonder, where do you get this dress? and there must have been some type of sale. >> well where are the brides maids? >> we're all going to dress alike! those would be great brides maids dresses. here's a great idea for a bagel. or for anything. >> mm-hm. >> fireball bagel. >> as in the whiskey? >> yeah. fireball. ♪ doot, doot, doot, doot >> the first fireball infused bagel. >> how does that happen? >> so it actually has some of the elements of it. the cinnamon-flavored booze inside of it, although there's no real alcohol content. >> boo! >> you have to be 21, still, to get it. it was inspired by a radio host who wanted something for the fireball. >> can we just have the fireball and skip the bagel or is that

bagels to donuts. this is in lincoln, they decided to have fun with the

this morning on "world news now." a monster hurricane maria battering the virgin islands and preparing to strike puerto rico head on in just a number of hours. authorities not taking any chances, warning residents to evacuate. the latest reports from san juan and the storm track. also happening now, a frantic rescue effort in mexico city following a powerful and deadly earthquake. panic and chaos, as dozens of buildings swayed or collapsed. and thousands are sleeping in the streets overnight. we have the latest from the region. and new this half hour, a college football program rocked by an alleged hazing scandal. >> some are accused of kidnapping a fellow teammate. and they've now turned