making news in america this morning, hurricane maria is lashing puerto rico and the virgin islands overnight. it could be the worst to hit puerto rico in a century. see the last-minute preparations and the american medical student missing after the hurricane made landfall on dominica. devastation in mexico. a powerful earthquake topples buildings. hundreds are dead and many more trapped in the rubble. new details from a witness in mexico city as rescuers search for survivors. president trump has threatened to destroy north korea and now the world is reacting. see how his u.n. speech is being received and what the president said overnight about other world leaders. massive sinkhole swallows part of a flori

the owners watching it all play out. what is being blamed for causing that? good wednesday morning. lots happening starting with hurricane maria bearing down on millions. >> it's 160-mile-per-hour winds have been lashing the u.s. virgin islands overnight before an expected direct hit on puerto rico. the governor of the u.s. territory warns maria could hit, quote, with a force and violence that we haven't seen for several generations. >> we also heard from the island's public safety commission commissioner sounding the alarm with a blunt message for people in vulnerable areas saying you have to evacuate otherwise you're going to die. we begin with abc's arlette saenz. >> reporter: hurricane maria barreling towards puerto rico. the island's 3 million u.s. citizens bracing for impact. >> this is without a doubt the

generation. >> reporter: many in puerto rico heeding warnings to evacuate. streaming into shelters, catching last-minute flights out of san juan. cynthia manfred and her family seeking refuge in a hotel. >> with a bum leg, three dogs and 99-year-old mom, i didn't want to risk it. >> reporter: puerto rico facing up to nine feet of storm surge and two feet of rain. in the neighboring virgin islands, the u.s. navy evacuating all military personnel ahead of the storm. maria escalating from a category 1 to a category 5 hurricane in just nine hours. the storm battering the caribbean first making landfall in dominica, winds gusting at 160 miles per hour. the only category 5 hurricane to ever hit the island. >> i believe we caught a very bad blow. there appears to be a lot of destruction. >> reporter: families of american medical students still trying to reach loved one. >> marco has been there since may. he is an

need to hear from him. >> reporter: the storm already turning deadly killing at least one in guadeloupe and more still missing. arlette saenz, abc news, washington. >> so once again a direct hit expected just in a matter of hours and the president also tweeted his support for the people of puerto rico promising help after maria moves through. of course, we'll have live reports from there on "good morning america." but now to our other breaking stories, the earthquake disney in mexico. the death holl has been rising now into the hundreds. >> there are concerns this morning that more buildings in mexico city could collapse like that one. dozens came down following the 7.1 magnitude quake trapping an unknown number of people and get this, 40% of mexico city, a city of 20 million, is without power. >> the earthquake also churned up the waters wildly rocking boats in a nearby river. abc's danya bacchus has more

images from inside buildings showing the power of the 7.1 earthquake. and this newsroom, ceiling lights swinging uncontrollably as one man steadies himself against a wall and in a restaurant at the airport, tourists take cover under a table. >> earthquake. >> the whole building was shaking for like five whole minutes. people just running in every direction. >> reporter: one american tourist describing the chaos. >> walls starting falling down. people were screaming. people were crying. >> reporter: outside, buildings rocking so hard glass from a window falls to the ground. light posts shake violently from the air, a clear picture of the devastation, more than two dozen buildings collapsed with reports of some children inside. "i was trapped on the third floor" says this woman. we tried to get out and the people in the house next door helped me get out with a ladder. rescue workers racin

safety. another woman covered in dust is carried through a crowd on a stretcher. with the death toll expected to rise, crews are now scrambling to find more victims. millions of residents are without electricity as the country now begins to assess the earthquake's toll. danya bacchus, abc news, los angeles. and how ironic, the quake came on the 32nd anniversary of an earthquake that killed thousands in mexico city and to mark that anniversary, thousands of people actually took part in a quake preparedness drill just hours before the shaking started. >> earlier we spoke on the phone with fusion reporter rafa fernandez who was in mexico city when the quake hit. he said even he was frightened. >> well, i was actually on the 12th floor of a skyrise in reforma avenue which is one of the main avenues in mexico city and i just felt, you know, i thought it was a second drill, because we had a drill an hour

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. at first it was a bit of chaos, you know, a lot of people, you know, walking in all different directions not sure where to go. they were also worried about, you know, other earthquakes coming in after this one. >> that was reporter rafa fernandez for us in mexico city. now, to make matters worse experts say mexico city's one of the worst places for earthquakes because of its soil. the city was built on a lake bed and that can actually amplify the shaking. our quake coverage continues later on "good morning america." now to president trump, tweeting overnight that world leaders are in agreement with his fiery u.n. speech blasting north korea. the president urged the united nations general assembly to confront kim jong-un over his nuclear arsenal and sued to wipe the country off the map if pushed too far. the north korean delegation waed

president took to the u.n. stage for the first time firing off threats and mocking their leader. >> the united states has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself for its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. the united states is ready, willing and able but hopefully this will not be necessary. >> by the way overnight searches of rocket man surged about 4500%. the president also slammed the iran nuclear deal as an embarrassment to the united states and accused the country of funding terrorism but he did not say if he would withdraw from that agreement. now let's take a closer look at your weather. this was the scene in north

left of hurricane jose churned the atlantic ocean sending 12-foot waves crashing into the seawall. meanwhile, residents and visitors to cape cod in massachusetts are bracing for what's now tropical storm jose with winds of 70 miles per hour moving further out to sea not expected to directly hit land but is causing dangerous rip currents and rough surf for just about the entire eastern seaboard. well, still ahead right here amazon explaining why customers received an e-mail about their nonexistent baby registries. and jimmy kimmel gets serious on late night as republicans make a final push to repeal and replace obamacare. hear why he called one connected to the bill a liar. this sinkhole and how the family

scene from washington, d.c. overnight where senate republicans are scrambling to drum up support in a last-ditch effort to repeal obamacare and they only have until the end of the month to get it done. >> the new plan would end affordable care act subsidies and shift federal funds to states to use at their discretion. it would likely mean big cuts to medicaid and higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. republicans can only afford to lose two votes if they want it to pass. and republicans may lose a lot more than two more votes after jimmy kimmel's show last night. if fans have anything to say bit. in a scathing seven-minute monologue he took aim at bill cassidy. he said the senator

promising to make health care available and affordable for all children in need. >> most of the congresspeople who vote on this bill probably won't even read it and want us to treat it like an itunes service agreement and this guy, bill cassidy just lied right to my face. do you believe that every american regardless of income should be able to get regular checkup, maternity care, et cetera, all of those things that people who have health care get and need? >> yep. >> so yep is washington for nope, i guess. >> quick and quiet yep. >> he wrapped up saying there is a new jimmy kimmel test for him. a lie detector test. in a statement cassidy did not directly address kimmel's monologue but reiterated his commitment to the latest proposed legislation, cassidy had said his kimmel test was to make sure that kids like jimmy's would be able to get care regardless of their financial situation.

deputy attorney general rod rosenstein has been interviewed by the staff of the special counsel. robert mueller as they look into the firing of fbi director james comey. the interview first reported by "the wall street journal" took place over the summer. rosenstein appointed mueller and oversees the investigation into russian meddling. now he had written a memo that president trump initially used as justification for firing comey. rosenstein has repeatedly said he would recuse himself from the investigation if necessary. well, amazon has sparked confusion and even anger among some of its customers after sending an e-mail about baby registries. the problem was the customers who got this message saying they've received a gift were not expecting babies. random customers received this e-mail notice telling them a gift from their baby registry had been purchased. well, this morning, amazon is blaming a glitch and has apologized for any confusion the e-mails caused i got one of those. >> did you get the gift. >> i don't have a baby registry. wa

>> psych. all right, when we come back overnight college football players connected to a hazing investigation turned themselves in. what they're accused of doing. caught on camera, a family injured in a lightning strike. with safelite autoglass, ee you get time for more life. this family wanted to keep the game going. son: hey mom, one more game? tech: with safelite, you get a text when we're on our way. you can see exactly when we'll arrive. mom: sure. bring it! tech: i'm micah with safelite. mom: thanks for coming, it's right over here. tech: giving you a few more minutes for what matters most. take care! family: bye! kids singing: safelite® repair, safelite® replace.

laxatives. stimulant laxatives make your body go by forcefully stimulating the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body to hydrate and soften. unblocking your system naturally. miralax. looking at the radar as hurricane maria is hitting puerto rico. the category 5 storm has 160-mile-per-hour winds. officials are warning more than a foot of rain could trigger deadly landslides and flooding. well, heavy rains from hurricane irma believed to have helped form a sinkhole that swallowed an entire house in central florida. >> the couple inside was forced to make a quick escape. littl they first noticed a depression monday night. by early tuesday they saw some cracks in the walls but then when they saw bigger cracks they knew it was time to go. after grabbing what they could the family sat in lawn chairs and watched their home of nearly 50 y

now, that area near orlando is prone to sinkholes. the millers are now trying to figure out what to do next. in south florida, a ninth nursing home patient has died. 93-year-old carnos canal is the latest victim. residents spent several days in sweltering heat after power was knocked out. the rehabilitation center is under criminal investigation and facing several lawsuits. two college football players accused of a brutal hazing attack turned themselves in overnight among five wheaton college players accused of kidnapping a freshman teammate, binding him with duct tape and punching him attempting to so m sodomize him and dumping him on a field half naked. wheaton college is a christian school outside of chicago. the victim's attorney says he suffered torn muscles in both shoulders requiring surgeries. in the meantime, police in baton rouge made an arrest in the murders of two black men that they say may have been racial

kenneth gleason targeted black families and hopes shooting and killing a homeless man and another man who was on his way to work when they searched gleason's house, they say they found a copy of a speech written by adolf hitler. the navy is investigating some images of newborns at a florida military hospital. two staffers at the navy hospital in jacksonville have been removed from patient care after the images appeared on social media. they were seen giving the middle finger to a baby and calling the babies mini satans. the navy's surgen general has banned cell phone in patient care areas. a powerful lightning strike injuring a father and two young sons. >> oh, my god. i just got shocked. >> that was a short distance from the scene of the lightning strike near fresno. witnesses say the dad and sons fell into a lake after they were shocked. the bolt fused the father's clothes t

recovering from burns and punctured eardrums. time now for a look at sports. this morning talking baseball and highlights from espn. good morning, america. larry, stan. we have the best from a tuesday night for you. >> we're talking home runs. a whole bunch of them in major league baseball this season, in fact, more than any single season in history. here's the one that broke the record. blue jays and royal, kansas city's alex gordon with number 5,694 of the season and still a couple of weeks to go in the season. that record will get shattered this season for the most home runs. how about jay bruce and the indians taking on the angels. angels trying to catch minnesota for the wild card. man on, second and two out. top of the right field wall. rbi double and indians up, 1-0. now it's a 2-1 lead in the sixth. bruce to right field. calhoun lays out.

that's i triple for bruce who would later score. he finished the night a home run-a cycle on a night we had a ton of home runs. angels down 3-2. mike trout, mr. clutch. can't get it done in this situation and angels fall 6-3 to stay a game and a half back of the twins who also lost. >> so the indians right back winning again after that long win streak. >> that's all they do. >> that's it from here. back to you. >> thanks, fellas. up next in "the pulse," the celebrities you don't want to look up on the internet. two friends are neighbors but they just found out they're a lot closer than that. hear their story coming up. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again.

eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, u may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you.

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celebrities on the internet. >> avril lavigne took the top spot as the star most likely to land you on a site that carries environments or malware. bruno mars debuted in second place followed by carly rae jepsen, zayn malik and celine dion. >> got to be careful. next, take two for a viral proposal that went all wrong. so we've shown you this video. remember the guy seth who proposed to his girlfriend on the bridge and fumbles the ring, drops through the bridge cracks, lands in the water. >> gone. $3,000 ring. take two came last night on jimmy kimmel's show. the couple thought they were in l.a. for an interview. >> actually they were there so seth could propose again using a mock-up of the bridge and a ring from jeweler neil lane. ruth happy to say said yes and just in case of any problem guillermo was there with a net.

backup. >> a really big net at that. >> now to a reunion between a long lost brother and sister 50 years in the making. phillip osborne and marilyn meyers both moved to the senior community in rockford, michigan, to be closer to family but didn't know how close as soon as they figured out they were siblings. >> they have the same mother but meyers was put up for adoption at birth. meyers realized her neighbor was her brother after meeting osborne's wife. well, now they're making up for lost time and play golf together and they have breakfast every friday withall eyes on hurricane maria as the category 5 storm nears puerto rico. the storm is expected to make landfall in the next few hours-- after devastating the island nation of dominica. officials telling residents in puerto rico, they must evacuate or die. president trump tweeting last night-- telling millions of people in the u-s territory to be careful.

breaking in mexico-- the death toll skyrocketing overnight after a powerful earthquake. government officials say at least 248 people are dead, after a magnitude 7.point.1 quake knocked down dozens of buildings. crews are now racing to rescue people reportedly trapped under the rubble. good morning washington. toss to eileen - maria heading towards puerto rico. landfall just a few hours away. - still a category 5. max winds 165 mph - unseasonably warm weather ahead - fall arrives friday at 4:02 pm - dry through the weekend today: mostly sunny. warm and muggy. highs: 85-88 winds: nw 5-10 mph tonight: clear to partly cloudy. patchy fog. lows: 63-68 winds: nw 5 mph

to partly cloudy. highs: 84-87 winds: nw 5 mph former trump campaign chairman paul manafort is addressing reports

paul manafort is addressing reports that he was wiretapped by federal investigators. manafort is calling on the justice department to release details of conversations obtained through secret surveillance. according to c-n-n-- manafort was wiretapped before and after last year's election under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. manafort is a central figure in the special counsel's probe into russia's election interference. an incredible medical story out of george washington university hospital is making headlines this morning. the facility is now the first hospital in the world to use a unique, flexible robotic tool during surgery. the futuristic method is less invasive- allows doctors to get a better view- and helps patients recover faster. doctors say robotic aids like this one, may soon be used in many surgeries because it is so versatile. doctors say they recently used the technpology to remove a cancerous

tonsils. and it was so precise- the patient didn't need to have chemo or radiation. meanwhile-- the u.s. navy is using a more familiar technology to help sailors operate equipement-- x-box. the xbox's 360 controller- is going to be used by the navy to operate periscopes on new submarines! this is according to usa today. it starts on the u-s-s colorado next month. the navy says it'll save money - and many young sailors are already familiar with the technology. it's xx and we're just getting started. it's xx and we're just getting started. good morning washington. we are following breaking news. puerto rico bracing for a direct hit from hurricane maria.

- maria heading towards puerto rico. landfall just a few hours away. - still a category 5. max winds 165 mph - unseasonably warm weather ahead - fall arrives friday at 4:02 pm - dry through the weekend today: mostly sunny. warm and muggy. highs: 85-88 winds: nw 5-10 mph tonight: clear to partly cloudy. patchy fog. lows: 63-68 winds: nw 5 mph thursday: mostly sunny to partly cloudy. highs: 84-87 winds: nw 5 mph breaking overnight. death and