this morning on "world news now," president trump goes on the defensive. >> he insists he's very proud of the job the u.s. is doing as puerto rican citizens beg for more to be done. and an upset as firebrand former alabama chief justice roy moore wins the republican runoff. and a quick-thinking bus driver narrowly misses driving into a group of kids on a sidewalk after being hit by a car. and don't let a

get in the way of a good party. a woman makes friends and busts some serious moves. just don't ask them to dance on the ceiling. but we might, on this wednesday, september 27th. ♪ come on and sing along ♪ forever ♪ come on and sing along from abc news, this is "world news now." >> to quote that great poet, well, my friends, the time has come. ♪ let the music play on, play on, play on, play on ♪ >> it is wednesday. we are going to start with the humanitarian crisis that is growing by the hour in puerto rico. and president trump is defending his reaction to the situation. >> the president is denying that he was preoccupied with criticizing the nfl rather than focussing on the devastation from hurricane maria. this after firing two dozen tweets about the anthem controversy and six

critical of puerto rico. >> reporter: president trump in the rose garden with a message for puerto rico. >> we will get through this, and we will get through it together. >> reporter: on the ground, total devastation, nearly the entire island still without power, more than half of it without water. but many say until now, the president's public response has been subdued. in a series of tweets, president trump emphasized puerto rico's massive debt, saying it owes billions of dollars to wall street and the banks which sadly must be dealt with. among those who called him out, the mayor of san juan, who said you don't put debt above people. you put people above debt. and nydia develop velasquez goi further. >> this is going to be mr. trump's katrina. >> reporter: is puerto rico getting all the help it needs from you, mr. president? >> puerto rico is very important to me, and pue

i grew up in new york, so i know many people from puerto rico. i know many puerto ricans. >> reporter: the president highlighting the praise he's received. >> it's on an island in the middle of the ocean. you can't just drive your trucks there from other states. the governor said we were doing a great job. >> reporter: while brushing off questions about whether he's been preoccupied with his battle with the nfl. >> was i preoccupied? not at all. not at all. i have plenty of time on my hands. all i do is work. >> reporter: the white house released these photos to show it. the president in the situation room being briefed on puerto rico. and he says he will head to puerto rico on tuesday, but also headed to puerto rico, the u.s. navy sh navy ship "kvt comfort." people in puerto rico are

begging for help. many elderly residents are in desperate need of medication. gas lines are getting longer and hundreds are waiting at the airport for a limited number of flights. the mayor of san juan tells eva pilgrim that red tape is holding up aid. >> reporter: are you getting the stuff you need fast enough? >> no, no. but i'm sorry, that's not politically correct to say, but president trump, please, whatever you need to do. >> senator marco rubio is warning about the horrific conditions after going to puerto rico to survey the damage himself. he restrained from criticizing the president but said he hoped we don't siee katrina-like images. maria has been downgraded but is

east coast. her 70-mile-per-hour winds will be kicking up rough surf and dangerous rip currents from florida to maine. the biggest threat is a 4-foot storm surge for north carolina's outer banks. and looking ahead asth maria skirts the coast. fire crews are making progress on a major brush fire that has forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 homes. the canyon fire burning in the santa ana is only 15% contained. a tractor-trailer was destroyed. the fire is burning dangerously close to the 91 flreeway, forcig the closure of two lanes. >> from a firestorm to a fire brand. breaking overnight, a major defeat in alabama for a senate candidate backed by the president. and roy moore beat

republican primary runoff. but moore says he'll support president trump's agenda if he wins the general election in december. abc's janay norman with more. >> reporter: voters in alabama have spoken. >> i'll fight for you, in the united states senate. i'll fight for the people of this state and of this nation who want to bring our country back. >> reporter: conservative roy moore, the gun-toting, horse-riding former alabama chief justice, winning the state primary tuesday night, beating out luther strange. >> this is not the result that we wanted. but i've congratulated judge moore. i've already talked to him on the phone. >> reporter: moore is a hero to the religious right to garnered the support of president trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon. the elections garnered national attention, pitting trump and bannon against each other and testing the political sway of trump's administration and those who put him in the white house.

congratulations to moore. trump admitting backing strange may not have been the right choice. >> i might have made a mistake, and i'll be honest. i might have maidde a mistake. >> reporter: even as the senate leadership fund pumped $7 billion into the race. >> let's go again to make america great. >> reporter: republicans say they're moving on and focussing on reforming the tax code, but they say they will make good on that hallmark campaign promise to repeal and replace obamacare. and republican leaders in the stat say they're moving on to tax reform after abandoning their effort to replace obamacare. mitch mcconnell made that announcement. they didn't have the votes to pass the bill after susan collins announced shy woue woule against t but one of the authors say the republicans need to keep working on health care.

can you imagine if we don't fulfill this prom sn fulfill this promise? >> any agreement might be too late to avoid higher premiums next year. a long-time ally of the president has testified before the house committee. roger stone. and in a separate russia probe, robert mueller might start interviewing current and former white house staffers as soon as this week. those on mueller's list include former press secretary sean spi spicer who reportedly kept detailed daily note the and reince priebus. several people were arrested during a tension-filled rally at berkley. that was led by joey gibson, shoving and y

followers and protesters. student organizers canceled a so-called free speech week. it was quite an unusual scene in richmond, virginia for many commuters. take a look. hmm. >> so that is a little small pig running around, crossing the highway. tying up some traffic. police were called out in an effort to keep the little pig safe. didn't want anybody to take him down with the car. and -- >> they shut down the highway. >> and the cops delivered. >> the little pig was eventually captured without incident. they're hoping for a smoother commute today. >> so basically, the cops brought home the bacon, you could say. maybe. >> wow. >> no? >> they did keep like 6 degrees from that bacon. >> that part i didn't get. >> kevin bacon? if you have to

it doesn't -- internal voice. the scandal rocking college basketball. why the fbi swept in and arrested four coaches at some of the country's top division one programs and what they're accused of doing. and the new candidate for the world's hottest pepper. how hot is it? and is it actually safe to eat? >> is it good on bacon? >> i don't know. remember to find us on facebook and twitter. you're watching "world news now."

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police in hartford, connecticut are investigating after a crash nearly sent a city bus into a group of school children. the bus dash cam video shows an oncoming car crossed the center line which hits the bus that swerves, barely missing children on a sidewalk. police are trying to determine whether the driver of the car was distracted. o.j. simpson's release from prison appears to now be imminent. he's expected to be out as early's next week after he was granted parole back in july in nevada, b

to remain in that state for some time. he has yet to file paperwork allowing him to live with his children in the sunshine state. and it's being called one of the biggest crackdowns on corruption in college basketball. >> the fbi has charged nearly a d dozen men including four choeoas and a top executive. >> reporter: a massive scandal rocking college basketball. the fbi announcing fraud and corruption charges against ten people, including four assistant coaches at some of the country's top programs. auburn's chuck person. usc's tony blarngsd arizona's book richardson and oklahoma state's lamont evans. it alleges coaches took cash bribes. >> today's arrest should serve as a warning to others, we have

>> reporter: among those charged, the global hid of march connect for adidas, jim gatto. >> these defendants conspired to funnel to families of players. >> reporter: if the allegations are true, they are despicable breach of trust. coming up, new progress in the president's effort to strengthen border security. but first, keeping their politics on the down low, we're talking to trump supporters in california and democrats in texas. that's next in "world news now."

♪ come on, people now ♪ smile on your brother ♪ everybody get together ♪ try to love one another right now ♪ let's all get together right now. apparently it is that rare sighting. you don't need binoculars for it, but there are republicans in lapgs county and democrats in deep red texas. >> so the question is, how are parents teaching their children to talk about politics, especially when their views aren't popular in their own communities. we're up all "nightline" with nick watt. >> reporter: politically divided, politically active. most americans believe their country is today deeply divided. and is there any hope? local democrats we talked with called this the reddest metro area in ameca

shall lushawns, thenyou reac this house. texans for hillary still stuck in her lawn, rein bainbow stars stripes. >> my neighbor across the street had a trump sign. i would vote for her if i could again. >> reporter: living deep in a red state. ? there were kids in the cafeteria talking about building the wall. there was this kind of baiting that was going on. i'd get poked at and made fun of a lot for being the black sheep of the family. they're concerned that being a democrat means i don't have a relationship with god. >> reporter: over in deep blue southern california, we met republican women feeling similarly shamed. they meet on a private facebook page to chat without backlash. it's all republican moms. >> yes. i'm not going to say republican.

it's if you support trump. that's where it's shifted to. it's gotten so bad for people. >> reporter: in the course of my daily life in los angeles, i do not meet many trump supporters. >> people can't be out about it. it could jeopardize their career. >> reporter: we met these moms and their kids at the reagan library in simi valley. they did not want their last names used. do you like politics? >> yes. >> reporter: who do you like? >> i like donald trump. >> i voted for trump in our school's mock election, and when my friends asked me, i said oh, i vote for trump and they're like, you're a disgrace. >> reporter: you're a disgrace. >> i should have my own political beliefs. i don't harass you for obama. >> i find that a lot of people on the left are very vocal about their opinion, but when i'm vocal about my opinion i'm a racist, intolerant. >> reporter: l.a.

clinton, 22.5% for trump. >> i think it was divided in obama. pitting groups against others and making inflammatory statements about police behaving stupidly or things like that. most people have a couple major causes. but the other stuff we have in common. >> reporter: how do we move beyond this? >> we have to be adults and have conversations that are hard to have. >> reporter: maybe we need to be a little more like kids, calm down an a little. >> i've seen on youtube people getting into fistfights. >> reporter: talk about other stuff as well. talking about fidget spinners and things like that. >> fidget spinners and -- are dead. >> reporter: nick watt in california and texas. >> i did not know that we are not up with what the kids are down. >> fidget spinners and dabbing. oh, yes. who knew. >> gamon

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it is time for your wednesday "mix." and there are two choices when you get to the airport and have flight delays. you can either get completely angry, tweet at the airline, complain, complain, complain or just party your way through that delay. >> now we're talking. >> this is what she did, she was stranded at the airport there in charlotte, so she decided to have some fun and make a little video. she missed her flight and got stranded overnight. she put it to a little lionel richie from 1983 and made some friends along the way, clearly, that's one way to get through your flight

>> that's awesome. i take it the hotel bar was open? >> yeah, i think so. >> well, that's good. even more so. i do have something that may spice up the party, however. so apparently, there is a new pepper set to dethrone the carolina reaper for spiciest pepper. 3.18 million heat units. just to give you an idea how a jalapeno is between 10,000 and 20,000. this is 3.18 million. the current record holder comes in at 1.4 to around 2 million scovilles. let's take a look. you my remember dan childs got to take the current california reaper. his reaction. >> oh.

oh, boy. ho. militi oh, milk, milk, milk. >> do you think we should sign up dan for pepper x? >> it is not safe for consumption at all in its original. >> to. you can only have it in the form of a hot sauce. that hot sauce is already sold out. but why? how is the hot sauce sold out? why would you want to put yourself through this? >> clearly, exactly. by the way, we haven't seen dan since that appearance. >> that was like 2 million scovilles. >> this is the thing in the meantime that has broken up many marriages and relationships. the grocery list. and this one woman says she has found the definitive way. you see the couple here. ? they look happy. >> to make sure her husband has zero problem with the grocery list. she solves the problem by making a meticulous list, explaining how to pick the right veggies,

illustrating what she meant by a medium-sized potato and not to opt for spinach with holes in

this morning on "world news now." a major defeat in alabama for the president as conservative, gun-toting roy moore wins the republican runoff for senate. defeating an incumbent backed by the president. president trump defends himself over puerto rico, insisting he's proud of the u.s. response post hurricane and not distracted by the national anthem crisis. this as the situation in puerto rico is getting dire with desperate pleas for help. we're hearing from people who found a month-old baby still strapped to a car seat.