making news in america this morning -- cancer diagnosis. a new fight for jimmy carter. the former president undergoing treatment. massive explosion. proking an entire town in china. felt from miles away. bob woodruff is there as the blast zone still shoulders. his jet ski breaking down. a teenager forced to cling to a buoy. a scare overnight for concert goers. as a ceiling comes crashing down. the new video just in.

good thursday morning, everyone. i'm reena ninan. >> i'm phillip mena. new reaction overnight that jimmy carter is battling cancer. >> well wishes pouring in from around the world. the former president set to begin treatment in atlanta soon. >> reporter: former president jimmy carter is in atlanta this morning preparing himself for a battle against cancer. the 90-year-old shared with the world in a statement yesterday recent liver surgery revealed he has cancer that is now in other parts of his body. >> cancer from many different i and optimistic. the vp sending prayers, along with president obama. saying in a statement, jimmy, you're as resilient as they come. along with the rest of america,

we're rooting for you. in july, president carter sat down with george stephanopoulos and talked about slowing down. >> i know that in a few years, i'll be 91 in october, that my travel capability and my physical vigor will die down. >> reporter: the statesman has been one of the most active former presidents in history. he only served one term after a defeat by ronald reagan. he's spent the past 30 years using the carter center to cross the globe with a mission of waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope. president carter known for optimism and faith lost his parents and siblings to cancer. he hopes to release more details about his condition next week. ren that and phillip, we're all sending our thoughts and prayers. >> absolutely. >> kenneth moton, thank you. turning to the devastating explosions in china. a burned-out warehouse still

moldering. >> powerful back-to-back blasts ripped through a storage terminal sending up massive fireballs. lefing buildings flattened or up in flames. at least 44 people killed, more than 550 injured. windows and doors blew out miles away. >> this morning, at least 12 firefighters are among the dead. many more remain on the scene as smoke still rises more than 12 hours later. abc's bob woodruff is in china with the latest. >> reporter: hundreds injured. many still missing. the horror beginning just before 11:00 p.m. a fire at a warehouse storing hazardous materials. firefighters respond. the worst is yet to come. 11:30 p.m. two explosions. one after the other. >> my whole building shook. i thought it was an earthquake. i kind of woke up in a panic. looked out the window. and the sky was red. >> reporter: miles away, people

watched from their windows. seconds later, the force of the blast sweeping them off their feet. scientists say it packed the power of 21 tons of tnt. and could be felt more than six miles away. this mang captured on surveillance video moments before the front of the building caves in. in the streets, dazed residents using blankets to cover their mouths, clutching their children. hospitals soon flooded with vick testimonies. as first responders canvassed burning neighborhoods looking for science of life. these explosions were so powerful that weather satellites were able to see them from space. and on the ground, everyone within miles from the disaster is being evacuated just in case the danger is not over. bob woodruff, abc news, beijing. >> we'll have much more from bob on "good morning america." now we turn to the 2016 presidential race. the latest poll of iowa voters

shows both front-runners strongly in the lead. >> among the republicans, donald trump ahead at 22%. the number two candidate, dr. ben carson eight points behind with walker, cruz, and fiorina rounding out the top five. hillary clinton has a firm lead, favorered by 50% of the voters. bernie sanders, 31%. and joe biden, who has not announced he's running, has 12 percent. rand paul is taking on donald truch in a new attack ad. the ad uses statements where trump praises democrats. one in praises hillary clinton as a terrific woman. then there's this. ♪ >> in many cases, i probably identify more as a democrat. i've been around for a long time. and it just seems that -- the economy does better under the democrats than the republicans. >> the paul campaign said that ad would run in iowa and new hampshire throughout the

weekend. as you might imagine, it didn't take trump long to strike back. he released a statement saying that like ronald reagan, his position evolved over time. he said he feels sorry for the people of kentucky who are being used by paul. then he spoke to cnn. >> he's failing in the pols. he's pathetic on the military. he's a mess. there's no question about it. >> trump attacked paul's golf game, saying he can easily beat paul on the golf course and will even more easily beat him in politics. tense moments for jeb bush in a town hall meeting in las vegas. he was asked a question about racial equality. after his response, about 20 members of the audience stood up and began chanting black lives matter. as bush exited the auditorium. one more campaign note. hillary clinton's private e-mail server has reportedly been

turned over to the fbi. the clinton campaign has been trying to reassure supporters that there is no ongoing criminal investigation into her use of the private server while she was secretary of state. u.s. war planes have carried out the first strikes against isis in syria. six f-16s arrived from italy over the weekend. in the past, the u.s. has unied only unmanned drones in syria against isis. the pentagon will not reveal specifics. new concerns about the toxic waste from a colorado gold mine. concerns that it could cause problems for years to come. the toxins in the animus river. when contaminants are strired up, the particles will wash downstream. those states affected cowl soon announce legal action. a judge at a federal hearing

about deflategate has made one thing clear. he wants the whole thing settled without a legal battle. tom brady and ronler good kel were at the hearing here in new york yesterday. neither spoke in court as attorneys from both sides answered tough questions from the judge. he asked about the nfl's evidence and about why brady destroyed his cell phones. both sides back in court next wednesday. coming up, why gas prices are surging in only one part of the country. and ceiling collapse. a late-night concert coming to an abrupt end. the new details just coming in. plus 12 hours at sea. a harrowing night for a teenager hanging on to a buoy after

well breaking overnight. that frightening scene. a ceiling collapse at the famed first avenue nightclub in minneapolis. officials say there were about 1,000 fans listening to a canadian metal band when the ceiling section fell and water started pouring in. everyone was evacuated. three people went to the hospital. tina turner and prince have performed on that stage. drivers across the midwest are dealing with a sudden surge in prices at the gas pump. that surm is being blamed on a bp refinery in indiana operating at less than half of its usual capacity. stations have to get their gast from farther away, which costs more. those costs are being passed to drivers. earlier in week in chicago, gas prices jumped 30 cents a gallon overnight. if you're looking to get the most from your home investment, buy a home near a trader joe's market. home owners sharing a zip code

with a trader joe's saw their property values increase 40%. that's compared to 34% who bought near a whole foods store. the breakfast of champions are branchinging out. they're introducing a new beer. general mills teamed up to make hefe wheaties. the beer will be sold for a limited time and only in minnesota. no word if famous athletes will grace the cans. when we come back, three would-be robbers running scared. forget deflate gate. now there's sketch gate. a courtroom drawing of tom brady going viral. ♪

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by a drone. >> the crew with a parable on board was about two miles from the airport. the pilot was forced to make an evasive maneuver to dodge the drone, which came directly at them. >> what was the altitude? >> eye level with us. about 1,000 feet. passed off our left side. only about 20 feet or so. >> the drone flew right under the rotor. no one was injured. drone sightings are on the rise. the faa has received 650 reports from pilots since the start of the year. traffic is slowly beginning to flow again along the new jersey turnpike. after two big rigs collided last night, igniting a huge fire. fire crews had a tough time because one of the trucks was loaded with paper, sending flames and black smoke into the air. both drivers came away with no major injuries. a new jersey teen is telg an amazing story of survival after he spent an entire night

stranded at sea. he set out from new york on a wave runner from new york to new jersey. along the way it broke down. he hung on as long as he could. them swam to a buoy where he stayed for the next nine hours. at dawn, he started swimming. >> i heard it flying over head. it was a four-mile swim. i hopped in the water and started swimming. i saw a united states coast guard boat heading right for me. i smiled. i was happy. it was the most amazing feeling in the world. >> gowan suffered a bit of hypothermia. he is an emergency medical responder and a junior firefighter. a couple stories involving robbery suspect ps. the first one is violent. we see two suspects running down a street in new mexico. then, they're struck by a car being driven by an 18-year-old who had allegedly just roped a nearby park. the suspects were fine.

they and two others have been charged with robbery. the teen behind the wheel is likely to face chashlgs as well for using the car as a weapon. and this from kansas city. three suspects knocked on a door and barge into an apartment. they start looking for stuff to steal. little did they know the guy who lives there, he's over 6'0" and has advanced martial arts skills. one encounters the guy. all three run away. golf's final major of the year, the pga championship gets under way this morning in wisconsin. jordan spieth trying to make it 3 out of 4 wins mate jor this is season. >> now we get all our baseball highlights from our guys at espn. good morning, everybody. i'm neil. he's stan. this is the "sportscenter" desk in los angeles. >> big baseball moment on wednesday. for the mariners.

h hisashi iwokuma. he takes a no-hitter into the eight. gets joseph to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. can you feel the tension? >> anytime i do this segment, i'm tense. >> one out to go. parra at the plate. and -- that would do it. iwakuma getting mobbed by his teammates. first no-hitter for seattle since felix hernandez did it a few years ago. to wrigley. ryan braun. the brewers are there. anthony rizzo. watching this. if you're a cubs fan, be glad that the guy with the baby wasn't there. he probably would have grabbed that before rizzo could. they reviewed it. the under the tarp rule. he's out. oh, that ball gets by miguel montero. braun comes in to score. brewers down to the final strike. we go extras. montero says, let's not talk

about that. let's talk about this. leading off. walkoff! cubs, 3-2. >> also, the blue jays won their tenth in a row. they've taken over first in the a.l. east after the yankees lost wednesday. >> and also -- oh, we're out of time. up next in "the pulse." the courtroom sketch of tom bra brady. what the artist is saying. going viral. a real-life thumper and bambi. . ...and kid - in all of us. ♪ nutritious wheat for the adult you've grown into. and delicious sweet for the kid you'll never outgrow... feed your inner kidult... ...with frosted mini-wheats® and now you could win up to a hundred dollars when you buy any specially marked kellogg's cereal. outperforms the #1 non-drowsy allergy pill.

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>> that's my favorite. how about in the famous scream painting. >> and the quarterback as michael jackson in the thriller video. >> hadn't seen that one yet. the artist says she's not sure what the big deal is but said to tell tom brady, quote, i'm sorry. >> no word on how he feels. >> he's got bigger fish to fry than that. the sketch artist is getting hated on from all over just for doing her job. if you're an airline passenger who has trouble staying awake for the pre-flight safety checks. check this out. ♪ this right here a seat belt sign so buckle up if it's should chime ♪ ♪ belts sit low a i cross your hip you know it fits when it clicks ♪ ♪ keep it on throughout the flight ♪ >> you know it fits when it clicks. >> the airline is teaming up with actor rip torn along with new england rugby's team for

this men in black safety video. >> some say it could have the opposite effect, getting passengers to jump out of the seats and dance. >> i think anything to make people pay attention more, the better. all right, everyone is familiar with bambi and thumper. they've been around since 1942. that animated classic "bambi" from our parent company, disney. >> here's the real thing. a bit of freaking out going on. neither of them wants to end the fun. >> you figure at some point, one of them would take off. nay never do. that's not the case. they kept there, kept hanging out. seemingly having a fantastic time with each other. there it is. new reality show. >> and it could be. was shot at the ymca in colorado. they could have a reality show. >> that's the pilot. there goes all the papers. >> for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, "america this morning" continues after

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behind that attack. the weather warm and dry from the east coast to the midwest. finally, taking a summer swim is something we take for franted. for one retired veteran, his daily swim is his latest mission. >> he's not just taking a dip in

the backyard pool. hooets swimming the nation's most famous river for those who went to war and paid the ultimate price. katie wiedeman in iowa reports. >> reporter: every day since early june, chris and his support staff unload their kayak those are rough. >> families of military members killed in iraq and afghanistan. >> they paid the ultimate sacrifice. we have our values, beliefs, we can live free. >> my son michael was killed in afghanistan julyd. >> people think it gets easier

as the years go by. for me, it's harder. it seems like -- because you realize he's not coming back. >> reporter: there's nothing suzy want mrs. than for people to remember her son. the way he lived and how he dpipd. >> the vehicle he was in was hit by an ied. >> reporter: their entire living room is filled with pictures and memories of michael. manager she's grateful ring is helping to draw attention to. >> it's amazing. a total stranger would do that for our families. >> reporter: but for ring, he says he's no stranger. rather, he's a reminder to families we're all swimming against some kind of current. together. >> nothing i face is going to come equal to the pain these families have felt. >> what a great story. gate cause. he hopes to reach the gulf of mexico by the end of november. >> good speed. that is a great american. that's what's making news in america this morning. stay >> morning, we're

following a developing story here for you on this thursday morning. >> police are investigating a double shooting overnight that left a block littered with bullets. >> a fiery crash caught on camera closed a stretch of the new jersey turnpike. >> president jimmy carter has revealed he has cancer that has spread throughout his body. >> we wish him good wishes. matt o'donnell is off, erin