making news in america this morning, puerto rico is devastated by hurricane maria. the entire island is without power. some airs ya are underwater and the storm is strengthening again. we have the new track on where it's heading next. overnight desperation. the search in mexico city growing increasingly frantic. survivors still buried in the rubble following that powerful earthquake there. new concerns about safety following the second death of a college football player this week. his teammates in shock and another school is mourning. and another cabinet secretary under pressure forced to justify why he took five flights on a private jet in just one week.

good morning. hurricane maria regaining strength after leaving behind an island with destruction and power outages in puerto rico. >> maria is a major hurricane back up to a category 3 storm as it brushes the dominican republic and aims for the turks and caicos. >> and that means winds of 115 miles an hour but this is the scene in puerto rico. it was a category 4, 155 miles an hour when it pounded into the island and left streets looking like rivers after more than two feet of rain fell in some areas. we begin with abc's arlette saenz. >> reporter: puerto rico picking up the pieces from the wrath of hurricane maria. the category 4 storm tearing through the island. roofs ripped off buildings. debris flying. structures toppling. some areas seeing 30 inches of

keep the water out of their homes. >> the wind howls and screeches. the doors rattle. >> reporter: the emergency management director saying the entire island is destroyed. many homes not built to withstand hurricanes, let alone a category 4. abc's victor oquendo witnessing the aftermath up close. >> we are outside of san juan in the town of guaynabo that was hit hard. a lot of destruction ho homes, downed trees and power lines and dealing with this, flooding in every direction. >> reporter: the island's people in the dark. 100% of puerto rico lost power. hospitals now running on generators. 12,000 people packing into shelters. hotel ballrooms and sports arenas turned into safe havens. residents singing about strength through the storm. ♪ the recovery slowly beginning clearing debris from streets. search and rescue teams deployed. a coast guard cutter standing by

gallons of water to the island. arlette saenz, abc news, washington. >> and puerto ricans say maria is one of the worst storms the island has seen in nearly 90 years. >> felix ortiz was born there and still has family there and relatives described the storm as a monster, he said. >> everybody in puerto rico right now feel the same way, that this has been one of the worst hurricanes especially the way this hurricane came through and also the magnitude or mile per hour, 185 mile per hour so and the eye really crossed in the middle of the island from south to north and the devastation is just amazing. >> the assemblyman says he was able to contact family members. their home is underwater but somehow they are managing to cope. ortiz is among those concerned that the island's dire economic condition could mak

even more difficult. and authorities are still assessing the damage maria caused on st. croix. communications in the large ef of the u.s. virgin islands are limited. the other main island, st. thomas and st. john were also hit by hurricane irma. tourism officials are asking potential visitors to delay any planned trips. meanwhile, in dominica where at least seven people were killed. one official described the country as being in a daze. all available public buildings are being used as shelters and we'll take a look at where maria is heading next in just a few moments. >> let's move on to that other disaster, rescuers in mexico frantically in some cases using their hands working to save trapped survivorsafter that earthquake claimed 230. >> look at this. part of a damaged building collapsed on live television overnight as crowds gathered near a flattened school where rescuers are trying to save a school still buried. kabc's carlos

>> reporter: crews are trying to find survivors. we're in the central district and you can see one building that collapsed. rescuers have been here all day. they know they have a small window of opportunity to find people alive. now, they sometimes stop and raise their airports asking for silence as they pause to listen for voices in the rubble. in mexico city alone 52 people have been damaged from buildings. a tragedy occurred at a school in the south of the capital. 25 bodies found in the rubble so far. almost all of them children. there are still two students and country teacher unaccounted for. that has become a gathering point for volunteers by the thousands coming to help. some bringing food and water to hand out to those involved in the search. in this always businey capital y say a number of buildings are in serious condition and worried they could collapse if there are any aftersorts. reporting from mexico city, i'm carlos granda. >> that little girl at the school has been given water a

oxygen. she also was able to tell rescuers two other children are near her but she doesn't know if they survived. >> the mexican president has said electricity has been restored to part and rafa fernandez is there. >> kind of going back to normal. you can see the city coming back to life. like i said there's been so many volunteers, authorities are actually now asking people to stay at home and the best way they can help by donating something. they don't need any more boots on the ground. >> mexico has accepted assistance from a number of countries including the united states. israel and as far as japan. back here at home special counsel robert mueller is requesting white house documents suggesting president trump himself may be under juteny in the russia investigation. the documents tem from the president's oval office meeting with russian diploma

james comey. mueller also wants information on donald trump jr.'s misleading response to his meeting with russian operatives. we later learned the president was directly involved in crafting that initial response. and new this morning, trump campaign chairman paul manafort reportedly offered private briefings on the presidential race to a russian billionaire with ties to the kremlin. sorts tell "the washington post" the offer was made by e-mail less than two weeks before the republican convention. but there's no evidence in the documents showing that the offer was ever received or that any briefings took place. let's return to our top story and take a look at your weather. maria may still be a category 3 storm after it passes the dominican republic and reaches turks and caicos. it's going to be around for awhile. by monday it'll be up near the carolinas. forecasters say it is too early to tell whether maria will directly impact the continental

u.s. tropical storm jose is impacting the u.s. warnings are in effect today for the southeast of massachusetts. they have sustained winds of 70 miles an hour that kicked up high surf along the nantucket beaches. well, still ahead right here another trump cabinet secretary under fire over his air travel. plus, jimmy kimmel is keeping himself in the middle of the new battle over health care. hear what he had to say overnight. a frightening moment, an update on the little girl injured by a line drive that went into the stands.

which part don't i understand. where you cut billions from health care. am i not understanding where states allow insurance companies price you out of coverage for haviing pre-existing conditions. >> he's slamming senator cassidy over the plan to replace obamacare. >> it comes after cassidy said kimmel does not understand the legislation. kimmel entered the fray after his son was born with a heart defect and claims cassidy lied when he promised to pretext people with pre-existing conditions on his program. republicans are hoping to vote on the bill next week but are scrambling to get enough support before the deadline. former president obama said efforts to repile his health care law are aggravating. he said it's frustrating to mobilize every few months just to stop those efforts. president trump says he searched a decision on whether to pull out of the iran nuclear

that decision yet. secretary of state rex tillerson says the president has not even informed him or others in the administration about the decision. meanwhile, iran's president has fired back at trump's u.n. speech in which he denounced iran as a rogue state. the iranian leader calls the speech ignorant, absurd and hateful. >> it's happened again, the trump administration defending the use of private jets by a cabinet minister. this time health secretary tom price. he reportedly chartered five flights last week for public business. his destinations including maine, new hampshire and philadelphia could have been reached by commercial flights or train. a spokesperson said price tries to fly commercial but says that's not always feasible with his busy schedule. some congressional democrats are calling for an investigation. california is challenging one of president trump's signature campaign promises, the state is suing to stop construction of the mexico border wall. the lawsuit claims the trump administration has failed to comply with federal and state

it also claims the plan infringes on states' rights. when we come back, big advice from us. go ahead and cheat. on your diet, that is. you hear why cheat days might be the key to success. first lady melania trump is speaking out against cyberbullying. but not everyone is on board with her efforts. we'll be right back. hi, i'm mindy kearns. it's great to finally meet you. nice to meet you too. your parents have been talking about you for years. sorry about that. they're all about me saving for a house, or starting a college fund for my son. actually, i want to know what you're thinking. have a seat. knowing that the most important goals are yours. multiplied by 14,000 financial advisors, it's a big deal. and it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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people. more than 50 others have been pulled from collapsed buildings in mexico city but crews are frantically trying to save many more including a girl trapped in her flattened school. back here in the u.s. first lady melania trump is speaking out against cyberbullying. >> she's asking social media companies to join in that effort but abc's tom llamas reports not everyone is cheering her on. >> reporter: first lady melania trump taking a public stance against a problem some say her husband is contributing to. >> we must turn our focus right now to the message and content they expose to on a daily basis. >> reporter: last week president trump retweeted a video of himself hitting hillary clinton with a golf ball. before that body slamming cnn. and melania trump who said she has talked to her husband about some of his tweets defending his response during the campaign. >> when

punch back ten times harder. >> reporter: some criticize the first lady for taking a stance against it following her husband's behavior but others are defending her saying she's courageous for taking up an issue so widespread in today's society. tom llamas, abc news, new york. and new this morning former white house press secretary sean spicer opening up about why he left the white house. he sat down with abc's paula faris who also asked spicer if he has any regrets about his relationship with the media. >> i made mistakes. there's no question. i think we all do. some of them i tried to own very publicly. and in some cases there were things that i did that until someone brought it up i said, gosh, i didn't realize that was a mistake but to watch some of the personal attacks questioning my integrity, questioning what my intentions were, i think were really over the top. >> we'll hear a lot more from sean spicer including what the president said aft

surprise appearance at the emmys. that's coming up on "good morning america." an update on a young girl rushed to the hospital after being hit by a foul ball during the yankees game here in new york. >> the ball was traveling 105 miles an hour when it was hit into the stands. players were visibly shaken as you can see. some even had tears in their eyes as they watched emergency crews treat the girl and escort her out of the stadium. her father spoke to reporters at the hospital overnight. >> how are you doing, sir? >> just keep her in your thoughts. >> he knows she got hit by a baseball. >> after the game several players urged the team to extend protective netting on the field all the way down the foul lines. the yankees say they are exploring that possibility for next season. a college football player has died from injuries that he suffered during a game in texas over the weekend. midwestern state

while making a tackle. the 19-year-old died at a houston hospital tuesday. he's the second college football player to die this week. clayton geeb, a lineman died on sunday after complaining that he wasn't feeling well after saturday's game. well, this morning some encouraging news for people trying to lose weight. those so-called cheat days may be the key to success. >> all right. a new study finds taking an occasional break from your diet helps you keep the weight off. in fact, researchers found two weeks on and two weeks off is a more successful model for long-term weight loss than continuous dieting. >> wow. >> they said starving yourself can trigger what they call starvation mode. which is when the body responds to the reduction in calorie by intake lowering your metabolism. a lower metabolism makes it harder to lose weight in the long run. next up in "the pulse," pizza for everybody. no. bill gates says sorry for something you likely use every

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keyboard didn't want to go along with gates' request for a single key. you're bill gates. you can't insist on these things. >> you create software. you can just do it and they will follow. why does it have to be all over the place in they're trying to make it difficult. next to the couple that is charging their guests to attend their wish. a british couple ben and claire getting hitched next june. >> the wedding is being held at a ritzy hotel over the course of three days and ben has a plan to charge guests about $200 each. but he says for that you get everything included. hotel, access to the pool, the spa and food and beverage. >> not bad. they're calling it more of an all inclusive holiday than a wedding and say their 80 guests have already paid depot sits. they are kicking in a couple thousand dollars for the cost as well. it's not that bad. not that there's a door charge. >> they're getting a lot for that 200 bucks. >> how do we sign up for that.

all right. we all love our pets, but sometimes that love is put to the test. like when your dog floods your apartment. >> man in taiwan shot this video. water all over the place in his new apartment. somehow his dog managed to turn on a faucet and it just kept running. >> oh, no. the worst part is that the apartment is on the tenth floor of the building and so all that water has to drain somewhere like into the apartments below. >> so he is still happy with his dog. his neighbors are trying to get rid of the pet. >> i don't think the neighbors will be too happy about ha. >> oh, man. well, more news after thisbreakg overnight-- after briefly losing some strength-- hurricane maria is once again a category three storm. maria now moving away from puerto rico after making landfall for hours wednesday. officials say the storm caused widespread damage that is still being assessed. at one point, maria even knocked out power to the entire island. breaking news in

death toll is rising, as search teams race to reach survivors of a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. right now-- at least 245 people are confirmed dead, and thousands are injured. professionals and volunteers continued working overnight, looking for survivors at dozens of wrecked buildings across the capital. good morning washington. toss to eileen - feeling more like august through the weekend - fall arrives at 4:02 pm tomorrow - cooler by late next week - maria regains major hurricane strength today: sunny to partly cloudy. warm and humid. highs: 85-88 winds: nne 5-10 mph tonight: mainly clear and comfortable. lows: 62-68 winds: n 5 mph friday: partly to mostly cloudy. continued warm. highs: 83-86 winds: n 5-10 mph following more breaking news on the roads

breaking news on the roads a stretch of route 50 shut down overnight after a car overturns. this was the scene near church road. state police tell s

accident. one person was rescued, and another was temporarily trapped inside their car. new developments about a story making national headlines. about a story making national headlines. now-- there are reports of a second hazing incident, connected to the wheaton college football team. the victim in this case was a freshman - but he was not seriously hurt, and did not file a police report. this comes as five football players are charged with felonies - accused of kidnapping another freshman player... tying him up.. and trying to sexually assault him. a lawyer for one of the players says-- his client is upset because the school already punished him a year ago. the attorneys say the school investigated the claims a year ago and ordered all of the players to complete community service and write an essay. they were all allowed to stay on the team, and the crime was never reported to police.

hillary clinton's book has only been out for a week - but it's already breaking records. her campaign memoir "what happened" sold 167-thousand hardcover copies in one week. that's the biggest first week for a hardcover, nonfiction book in five years. it also sold more digital audio copies than any book in publisher "simon and schuster's" history. happening now around the district-- it is getting harder for dog owners to bring their pooch out to dinner with them. district health officials are cracking down on bars and restaurants that allow dogs on their patios. officials are calling it a a health and safety issue-- but critics say they want to see the decision left to the businesses themselves. district commissioners are working on legislation that would allow dogs on restaurant patios but there is still no word on what it would look

would be voted on. it's xx and we're just getting started. breaking right now - islands devastated. hurricane maria - gaining strength overnight - after tearing through puerto rico and the virgin islands. the mayor of san juan saying - "the puerto rico and the san juan that we knew is no longer there" this morning - the latest track on where the storm is headed next. good morning washington. - feeling more like august through the weekend - fall arrives at 4:02 pm tomorrow - cooler by late next week - maria regains major hurricane strength today: sunny to partly cloudy. warm and humid. highs: 85-88 winds: nne 5-10 mph tonight: mainly clear and comfortable. lows: 62-68 winds: n 5 mph friday: partly to mostly cloudy. continued warm. highs: 83-86 winds: n 5-10 mph