making news in america this morning, hurricane irma crashing into the caribbean. one prime minister says 90% of his island is leveled. >> it's scary. and i pray for everyone that's out there. >> the 185-mile-per-hour winds folding a massive cell tower splitting palm trees in half and sweeping a woman away. >> the powerful storm is demolishing everything in its path as it turns toward florida. millions being urged to leave. >> you can rebuild your home, not your life. >> the state's highways jammed. gas stations empty and flights fully booked. >> just told me all the flights are full. >> this morning two more hurricanes are taking shape. we're tracking it all.

a good thursday morning to you all. i'm diane macedo. >> and i'm nick watt. we have the latest information on hurricane irma as it tears its way across the caribbean. >> the incredible size of the storm. its winds have decreased a little to 180 miles per hour but they can be felt as far as 50 miles from the center of the storm. >> and new video shows what irma did to antigua knocking down trees, blocking roads. >> but some 30 miles away on barbuda an official calls it absolute devastation. cell phone towers were snapped in half. on st. martin streets are underwater and major buildings damaged. the waves were strong enough to knock people off their feet. the eye moved past puerto rico overnight. abc's linzie janis is there. >> reporter: nick and diane, the eye of hurricane irma just passed us in san juan 50 miles

to the north off the coast. that's a little further away than it was predicted to come but we just now feel safe enough to come outdoors because we have been experiencing sustained winds of 55 miles per hour with gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. we have seen objects flying, trees falling, transformers popping. there's a lot of concern about rain. there is a predicted 20 inches in some areas. but hurricane irma has already devastated parts of the caribbean. at least three people are dead. authorities in barbuda and st. martin, they report more than 90% of those islands are damaged or destroyed. cars seen floating through the streets, buildings shredded. terrified tourists riding out the storm. irma also ripping through the u.s. virgin islands. here in san juan the governor warned the impact of this storm could be catastrophic. already there are nearly 1 million people here without power and it's not over yet. nick and diane. >> no, very far from over.

linzie, thank you. according to most forecasters it is on track to slam into south florida this weekend. >> after that irma's potential pathway is varied. it will barrel its way up florida's east coast and then hit georgia and the carolinas next week. >> mandatory evacuations are already under way in the florida keys where the only road out to the mainland is backed up for miles. abc's stephanie ramos joins us now from miami with the latest. stephanie, good morning. what are you seeing? >> reporter: diane and nick, good morning. it is calm and quiet here in miami. but not for long. hurricane irma is expected to hit florida in the next few days and what we've seen so far from this storm in the northern caribbean islands is terrifying. floridians are nailing down their evacuation plans. >> never had a cat 5. never experienced it. and it's just scary. >> reporter: or getting ready to hunker down and weather the

category 5 storm. most store shelves are bare as people try to stock up on supplies. there are traffic jams on the highways and here's another common sight in southern florida. lines of cars stretching into the street as drivers try to gas up their vehicles. >> gas is running out everywhere right now. so i'm just a little too late trying to get it, i guess. >> reporter: people here are bracing themselves for what could be one of the worst storms in florida history. >> this is serious and we cannot take chances. it's life-threatening. it is not a storm you can sit and wait through. >> reporter: here in miami mandatory evacuations are beginning in certain areas and to make that process faster, drivers don't have to pay any interstate tolls as they're getting the heck out of here. florida governor rick scott says even though we are at least 48 hours from this dangerous and powerful storm hitting this area everyone should take preparations seriously and should act now. diane, nick.

>> it's heartbreaking seeing people try to leave trapped by either lack of gasoline or by traffic and, stephanie, that's what's happening for people trying to drive out. what about for people trying to fly out? how are flights out of florida? >> reporter: well, a lot of the flights out of florida are fullying booed and a lot of them have been canceled. miami airport says that if you're in florida and you're trying to get out, go ahead and contact the airline directly to make sure that your flight is a go. but i can tell you flying into miami like i was yesterday plenty of seats available so it seems as though a lot of residents here and a lot of people heeding that warning and getting out of this area. >> all right. good advice. stephanie ramos there live for us from miami. thanks. stay safe. irma isn't the only strong storm right now. hurricanes jose and katia are gaining strength. jose in the caribbean. katia in the gulf of mexico. >> right now neither is a threat to the u.s. but forecasters are keeping a close eye on them and now let's get the latest on irma

from accuweather's justin povick. justin, good morning. >> reporter: nick and diane, thanks and good morning to you. major hurricane irma continues to spin north-northwest impacts through northern hispaniola into tonight toward the turks and caicos islands where we're looking at not just damaging but devastating impacts as we venture through today and also into tonight. notice the movement off toward the west and the northwest. there will be some fluctuations in intensity over the course of the next couple of days but, again, between a 5 and 4, a 4 and a 3, we're still talking about major impacts and notice that movement here to the west-northwest bending more north-northwest over time. you need to focus in on the cone where we are projecting eastern florida, the most likely scenario but do still need to watch out further toward the east, georgia into the coastal carolinas, notice again this remaining a category 5 and 4 as we go throughout the next several days. movement, again, takes it off toward the west and the northwest.

nick, diane. >> justin, thanks very much. the morning's other top stories ahead including a stunner at the u.s. open overnight. plus, the president is aligning himself with democrats on a number of fiscal issues. catching republicans by surprise. and a tiger on the loose in the middle of a neighborhood. >> the tiger in the front yard. >> there's a what, ma'am? >> a tiger. >> where police now say it came from. ok, let's try this.

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delivered a stinging employee to members of his own party. >> the president overruled congressional republicans to side with democrats on a deal to raise the debt limit and keep the government running as they pay for harvey relief. abc's janai norman has more. >> reporter: it's the art of making a deal, one that this time includes president trump working across the aisle and blindsiding his own party. >> the president agreed with senator schumer and congresswoman pelosi to do a three-month cr and debt ceiling into december and as what i will be offering based on the president's decision to the bill and we'll try to get 60 votes and move forward. >> reporter: fema will be able to quickly get emergency funding for hurricane harvey and the debt ceiling will be raised avoiding a shutdown and funding the government but only for three months. earlier in the day paul ryan scoffed at that idea. >> i think that's a ridiculous and disgraceful -- >> reporter: they wanted to increase it for 18 months hoping to avoid another bruising budget

fight before midterm elections. but democrats brokering the more appealing deal looking for greater leverage later in the year on other issues like daca. >> today was a good day in a generally very partisan town. this is a really positive step forward. >> reporter: janaino news, washington. >> and president trump says he's also ready to work with democrats on legal identifying the dacas willing to revisit the issue. but the president insists he has no second thoughts about ending the program that protects immigrants who c as children. and there's a new legal challenge. 15 states are now suing the government over that plan to repeal daca. and donald trump jr. is heading to capitol hill today for a meeting related to the investigation into russian election meddling. he will appear senate judiciary committee behind closed doors where he's expected to be asked about his preelection meeting with a russian lawyer. the committee plans to call him back later to testify in public

and under oath. and facebook has given congressional committees details about the purchase of political ads bought from fake accounts linked to a russian company. facebook claims that that company purchased $100,000 worth of ads during the presidential election. the ads were used to amplify divisive issues including immigration, they did not mention specific candidates. when we come back the latest track of hurricane irma and concerns growing about new buildings in florida. can they withstand the winds from the storm? and an nfl player with a gun pointed at his head. why he's accusing police officers of racial profiling. i am totally blind. and for years i've struggled with non-24, a circadian rhythm disorder that can turn my sleep cycles upside down. it kept me from doing the things i truly love to do. sometimes i'd show up early; sometimes i was too late. and sometimes, even though i was there...

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50 miles from the center. irma is expected to reach florida this weekend. as part of hurricane preparation the city of miami has issued lockdown order force dozens of high-rise construction sites. >> among the city's main construction cranes that cannot withstand a category 5 hurricane. abc's tom llamas has details. >> reporter: hurricane irma causing a sky high scare forflo. in downtown miami a combination of condo canyons and massive construction cranes leading to new warnings. 1992 and hurricane wilma in 2005 led to stricter building codes including in some cases mandating impact resistant windows. >> three, two, one. >> this demonstration shows how impact glass can stop a projectile in its tracks. the other major concern in south florida, those massive cranes. this family lives on the 44th floor of a high-rise right next

door to one of those crane. >> they just heard that we might have to worry about the cranes. >> reporter: tom llamas, abc news, miami. turning now to the pacific northwest where two major wildfires in oregon have now merged into a massive 32,000-acre fire. the eagle creek fire and indian creek fire together now span 50 square niles in the columbia river gorge. evacuation orders remain in place for many nearby towns. only one home and four out-buildings have been destroyed but the fire is currently 0 percent contained. take a look at this. a handful of golfers in oregon just casually finishing their game as that wildfire rages behind them. and there is now a firm number when it comes to additional u.s. troops heading to afghanistan. a u.s. official confirms that just over 3500 more soldiers will be deployed but it's still unclear exactly when they will be going. the extra troops will raise the total number of american

military personnel in afghanistan to more than 14,000. and authorities in northern indiana are trying to determine if an explosion at a post office was an act of terrorism. the blast happened last night in the city of east chicago. a female postal employee who is believed to be pregnant suffered minor injuries. two pipe bombs were reportedly found at the scene after the blast. the fbi is leading the investigation. pope francis is spending his first full day in colombia. he's meeting with the country's president in hopes of bringing unity to what's been a tense peace process there. 52 years of war that left more than 200,000 people dead. finally ended last year. the pope will also celebrate an outdoor mass in front of hundreds of thousands in bogota. and charges are pending against the owner of a bengal tiger that escaped leading miss on a wild chase through suburban atlanta. feld entertainment was transporting 14 large cats from florida to tennessee reportedly bound for germany to perform in

a european circus when a 6-year-old bengal tiger named susie got free during an overnight stop. in the front ya >> there's a what, ma'am? >> a tiger. >> you said there is a tiger in the front yard. >> full size tiger. >> now police say they were forced to shoot and kill the tiger. a resident says it was attacking her dog at the time and that dog reportedly survived the attack. seattle seahawks defensive lineman michael is bennett is considering a civil rights lawsuit after a police officer threatened to shoot him in the head. in video posted he is apparently forced to the grund and handcuffed after last month's big boxing match. now minutes before bennett said he heard what he thought were gunshots and he and others started running. he says he believes police singled hims black. >> i didn't ask for this moment. it just happened to be me and i'm just lucky to be here to be able to speak about it as any

moment i could have made the wrong decision and moved or felt like i was resisting or doing something wrong and you guys would be wearing -- the seahawks would be wearing the patch with number 72 on it. >> police are investigating. he they said he failed to stop for officers searching a crowded area for a possible gunman. the reported shots turned out to be a false alarm and bennett was ee leased without charge. the highly anticipated first u.s. open meeting between roger federer and rafa nadal has been derailed again. >> nadal did his part but federer dropped his match and lost in four sets to 2009 champ juan martin del potro. nadal and del potro meet tonight. the women, it will be an all-american affair for the first time in 36 years. madison keyes and cocoa vandz da way and venus williams takes on unseeded sloane stephens in the other semi. up next, in "the pulse," how

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arrived. the last flight out of the san juan airport before it closed. delta says the weather conditions were, well within the safety limits for a boeing 737. >> all right. good to know. next the certainly keepsake for new england patriots fans as they kick off the new nfl season. fans attending tonight's game against kansas city will be given a special glass courtesy of bud light. >> and those glasses will light up every time the patriots score a touchdown this season. to make it light up you have to download an app and keep your phone within 30 feet of your glass. >> now, the glasses are also being sold through bud light's website. just for the patriots. >> just for the patriots. not for -- anyway, brace yourself for the latest culinary craze. raw chicken. >> yeah, he said raw chicken. so far only a few restaurants in the united states are serving this so-called chicken sashimi. it's prepared by boiling or searing the chicken for no more

than 10 seconds. >> health and safety experts say that's not nearly long enough to kill such harmful microbes as salmonella and even in japan where it's more popular officials are requesting they heat the meat to at least room temperature. >> that's even worse than if it was just cold. by the way i have some good news for you. turns out they are making those glasses for other teams. >> okay. that takes our mind off raw chicken. >> i was just trying to distract. more news after this. getting your flu shot at walgreens is easier than ever. just walk right in and pay zero dollars with most insurance. plus, when you get a flu shot at walgreens, you help provide a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need through the un foundation. it's that easy to get your flu shot and make a difference. so swing by your local walgreens today. walgreens. at the corner of happy & healthy.

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>> good morning i'm tamala edwards, we're watching hurricane irma, the massive category five has leveled almost all islands across the caribbean a consumer alert, the government says 1 1/2 millions of the these dressers are under recall because they could hurt your child, we'll have a look at accuweather forecast and traffic next on "action news." and with hurricane harvey just barely gone irma in full swing and jose and katia not far

behind we wonder if it's unusual and could climate change be a factor. >> the man with some of those answers is phil klotzbach. here's what he had to say. >> we have three hurricanes and does happen on occasion. last time we had it was back in 2010 and if you use it to look back through we've had satellites and have seen it once every nine or ten years so it's unusual but not unprecedented and obviously irma as already been discussed is doing incredible damage. it is an incredibly strong, powerful hurricane. one of the strongest hurricanes we've ever okay served in the atlantic basin. the last few years in the atlantic have been pretty quiet. we haven't had that much activity but with irma it's been incredible. shattering records and got incredibly intense but got intense further east for the first time, 185-mile-per-hour

winds. until last year we hadn't even had a category 5 since 2007 so the storms have been quiet but the strong storm and this storm is not necessarily rewriting the intensity scale but the longest we've had it at this strength. 36 hours and remarkably strong for a very long time. we have three hurricanes out there, the models are showing maybe another one or two storms in the next ten days and certainly the season is still going strong and hopefully the rest of the storms that form this year will all stay out to sea and not impact land masses because we've already seen, it's been devastating in the united states and in the caribbean, as well. >> he said this storm will be even more powerful than hurricane andrew was in florida. we know how much devastation that caused in some areas. they are not only encouraging residents to evacuate and ordering residents to evacuate but even saying those that don't may not be able to receive help. >> i mean, listen, see what it did in barbuda. 90% of buildings destroyed. 60% of the

>> good morning everyone 4:30 a.m. on this thursday, september 7. >> we're following a major developing story, hurricane irma is tearing caribbean islands with 185-mile an hour winds. we'll have a live report. as people flee from the storm's path, local crews are heading down south to help the victims. >> thieves sneak around security to steal vehicles at a philadelphia car rental lot. first up, weather and traffic with david murphy and matt pellman in for karen rogers. >> reporter: we're turning toward improvement,