prepare now. harvey strengthens overnight to a category two hurricane. rest detz are evacuating. gasoline prices spiking. extreme rainfall is expected to lead to flooding. >> a brewing battle between the president and gop leadership is becoming a political clash of the tight ans. >> the fist were flying not once but during three bench-clearing brawls between the yankees and tigers. fines an suspensions could happen look who is back from summer vacation. >> one person who has done so much for us is steve bannon. i wanted to give him a proper goodbye. come on up here, steve. ♪ "early today" starts right now. >> good

i'm phillip frances rivera. millions are preparing for protein shal devastation as harvey up gramted to category two hurricanes, hurdles to the gulf coast. powerful winds reaching over 100 miles per hour expected to bring torrential rain and flooding. energy companies are scrambling to prepare for the hurricane. some refineries are shutting down completely. gas prices have been spiking since wed winesday with one exp saying a 10 cent increase look at what the folks aboard the international space station see as they look at the storm from space. it could be the strongest hurricane to hit the u.s. in over a decade. maya, what is the latest on hurricane harvey, from corpus christi, texas. >> reporter: right now we're seeing all of the signs a major storm is approaching the area. you have people filling up their cars and getting out of tune.

have garbage pickup suspended. on our way into corpus christi we saw a steady stream of cars making their way out of town. when we stopped at a store in the houston area, it was completely devoid of any water. lots of people in there stocking up on essential also they are going to need for the next couple of days. of course, the concern here in texas is a double disaster. not just the winds from a major hurricane, but also the possibility of flash flooding because of the torrential downpours hurricane harvey is expected to bring. it has not started raining yet, but the winds are starting to pick up. we had houston police practicing water rescues yesterday just in case that is needed. of course, there are voluntary evacuations in place here in corpus christi. the mayor of corpus christi had something to say about that. take a listen. >> we are going to in the strongest possible terms encourage the residents in the

get out of dodge. >> reporter: now the city is basically putting together assisted evacuations starting today at 8:00 a.m. going until noon. what they're doing is bussing people out of low-lying areas to san antonio if people have no other way to get out of town. phillip. >> watching a lot there. >> absolutely. thank you, maya. meteorologist ben kenneth joins us, tracking the storm. where are people in the most danger here? >> corpus christi north wards today and then victoria to houston. we're about to see what happens when a hurricane stall also over a region for four, five, maybe even six days. you can see no surprises overnight. it slouwly increased in intensiy but no big jump. i can take category four off the board. still chance of getting to category three. but most likely category two as it makes landfall. 105 are the winds, so still a

formidable storm. we're still going to have storm surge and wind damage. we will deal with the epic historic flooding after that. friday at 7:00105 mile per hour winds heading towards corpus christi. so that's what we'll be watching. that is kind of the telltale signs of this storm, is really when we're said and done will be historic flooding. >> thank you, bill. a lot to look at now to president trump, who also is monitoring the hurricane. speaking with texas governor abbott, even putting out this video showing him touring feem 'headquarters three weeks ago and meeting with administrators, urging the public to prepare. as harvey looms large for texas this morning, it is the white house preparing for an all-out political storm as the president hunkers down, promising to fight republican lawmakers and shut down the government if his much-promised border wall isn't funded. here he was vowing just that earlier this week. >>

democrats would like us not to do it but, believe me, we have to close down our government, we're building that wall. >> mr. trump is even calling out republican lawmakers by name, taking direct aim at speaker paul ryan and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell on twitter. they say trump is holding law majorers feet to the fire. >> we're going to make sure the wall gets built. >> no one wants the government shut down. the president made clear he ran on the wall, won on the wall and he is dead serious about building the wall. >> edward lawrence is following this political clash of the titans. how is washington reacting this morning? >> reporter: we have the making of a dysfunctional family here. a lot of mixed messages flying around washington. we have the president specifically attacking the leadership of his own party as well as specific republican senators. the white house press secretary then saying they can all get along and work together. now, political insiders say it is a pit

mcconnell is just at a 19% approval rating. that makes him the least liked politician in the country according to a harvard harris poll. the president is trying to get a campaign promise fulfill by asking for funding along the -- for a wall along the mexican border and threatening a government shut down to get that funding. republicans in congress pushed back. >> shutting down the government would be a terrible mistake, completely counter productive. >> i'm never willing to shut down our government. no one elect us to go to washington to shut down the government. >> i don't think we should be thinking of shutting the government down as a tool for anything. >> we should be using technology and manpower in order to secure the 2,000 miles of our border, and that is a fraction of the cost of building a concrete structure. >> and white house sources say the president is serious about shutting down the government

government without wall mon t f stop-gap and then fighting that battle later. frances, phillip edward lawrence, thank you the sole winner of wednesday night's monster powerball jackpot has come forward. mavis wanczyk of massachusetts claimed the winnings worth $758 million, one of the largest in history. the 53-year-old mother of two says it has not quite sunk in. >> as i'm driving here i'm still like, oh, this isn't true, this can't be. and then now it is like, ah, i am a winner. >> yes, she is. nafe nafe says after 32 years working at a hospital she is ready to sit back and relax america's favorite passed time turned into a brawl between the yankees and tigers. language-standing tensions rose higher when sanchez was hit by

>> whoa! that ball thrown behind miguel cabrera. cabrera now will -- oh, look out. there's a fight at home plate. >> both benches there come out, the park cleared as cabrera traded punches with yankee's catchy. both were ejected along with the pitcher who threw behind mickey but bad blood continued. james mccann was drill in the head. the benches would kill. four batters were hit and eight people eject. the tigers took the game 10-6. major league baseball is expected to hand down suspensions and fines on both sides. all right. turning to sarasota, florida. an amazing site caught on camera. two water spouts next to each other. hundreds of these sea twisters strike florida each year, a double water spout like this is pretty rare. >>

karins has more on the powerful hurricane threatening the gulf coast. >> the rainfall predictions are atroe no, ma'am cal. even when mathieu came ashore we didn't have widespread huge amounts of rain predicted like with this show. the pink shows 15 inches of rain plus. from corpus christi to victoria to houston, san antonio and austin it has improved a bit for you. both our long-range forecast, both target that area from victoria to corpus christi to houston. that's where the astronomical flooding is potential of two feet, maybe towards three feet. that's just crazy. here is a closer look at the day ahead. well, you can see the weather will quickly deteriorate in the south coast of texas today. tropical storm force winds moving in during the day and hurricane winds this evening. we will see rain bands getting into areas of florida but associated with a different frontal system and different tropical w

oulderent facets of this. get isolated tornados in texas today when we get landfall, too. so we are telling everyone if you can get out of southeast texas, go. >> as if the storm surge isn't bad enough, that to worry about. thank you these furry friends got a chance at a new home. 200 dogs were air lifted from puerto rico to be put up for adoption in u.s. they have struggled due to lack of funds. this effort is believed to be the largest number of dogs saved in a single trip by animal welfare advocate also. >> ahead, remembering a favorite actor from cheers and other shows and what is causing major hearing damage in diplomats from cuba. "early today" is back in two. that moment you suck up all that doubt that fear all those reasons why not and decide to begin.

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jay thomas has died. he was best known for his roles on a pair of the classics as a tabloid talk show host on "murphy brown" as on "cheers." letterman fans know him from appearances on "late night." he hosted a show on sirius exam. jay thomas was 69 years old. leading the news this morning, at least 16 u.s. officials and their family members in cuba are now experiencing symptoms like hearing damage. that's according to the state department who said they're taking the situation very seriously and are providing medical care and treatment though those injured. it is the first time the agency has spoken publicly on what they describe as incidents that began late last year to those who worked at the u.s. embassy in cuba. it is unknown what caused the health symptoms in the 16 americans, but the state department's spokesperson is calling them unprecedented. the u.s. is still not assigning blame, saying

is ongoing and the cuban government has denied directing any action against the u.s. amazon is wasting no time making changes at whole foods that's sure to make a lot of customers out there smile. the online giant announced thursday it will immediately slash prices on certain items starting monday, the same day its $13.7 billion takeover deal of the grocer closes. customers will see prices drop on grocery staples like bananas, eggs, beef and rotisserie chicken. they're looking into a whole foods reward program for its prime members. >> pretty smart. the only thing holding them back is how much whole foods usually costs yeah national parks are celebrating 100 years today, but a major deadline looms if you want to go to one. it could be the most lucrative fight in history, but will mcgregor versus mayweather live up to the hype? you're watching "early today." is to make sure that that enamel stays strong and resilient for a lifetime the more that we can strengthen

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♪ why did you do it? >> fast forwarding into friday, in detroit a former volkswagen engineer will be sentenced in the scandal. he pled guilty to defraud the u.s. government. >> the first span of new york's new mayor m cuomo bridge is set to open to traffic. the bridge took five years to build on a four billion dollar budget. >> the national park service turns 101 years old. to mark the occasion park entrance

this is last weekend for pplric increases to mayather jr. and connor mcgreg or will face off tomorrow night. blake mccoy is here with us with a preview. >> reporter: i know you're excited about this one. it is called the money fight, expected to be the most-viewed combat sporting event in history. why all of the hype in this fight? mayweather is the greatest fighter, undefeated. record of 49-0. the much-younger connor mcgreg or is someone he wouldn't normally fight. a mixed martial art sport, which allows kicking. with this fight mcgregor will have to play by boxing moves which puts him at a disadvantage. mayweather is to win six to one.

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a lot of people don't know this, but you can damage your eyes by looking at an eclipse. no one predicted this. they could never, think of it all by myself. let me take these glasses off and see what you people look like. okay. wow, everyone is so white, so white here. it is fantastic. and look, they found the one black guy at the rally and sat him right behind me. because of the eclipse i can't tell. are you really black? >> that's what the ad said you was looking for. >> okay. >> alec baldwin returning as president trump last night on "weekend update." "snl" will kick off their 43rd season on september 30th. the host ryan gosling and the musical guest is jay-z it will be a huge one already, the line-up there. >> absolutely. >> taylor swift is back with some attitude. ♪ i took it once but i check it twice ♪ ♪ look what you made me do >> after a month of

released a new single late last night. the title "look what you made me do." the track is the first in nearly three years. fans were quick to speculate on whether it would reignite her feud with kanye west. the feud may continue on this weekend with the vma. >> she has beef with everybody these days. as if the horror movie couldn't get any creepier, a theater in austin texas is planning a clowns only screening of the upcoming movie which features the appearance of a clown to terrorize children. you have to be dressed as a clown to get in. the movie hits theaters september 8th. it is terrifying. >> it is, adults and for kids. keep them away. they will be traumatized for life. >> i will be skipping that for sure. this is "early today."

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it is 3:58. good morning everybody. straight ahead at 4:00 a.m., here comes harvey. the massive hurricane kicks up a hunch overnight barreling towards the coast. sheena? >> that's right, erika. all eyes are on hurricane harvey. it's

now at 4:00 a.m. gaining strength. hurricane harvey picks up speed and moves closer to shore. the danger as millions in its path prepare for

the new concerns for federal workers and what president trump may accept to keep the government open. only on news 4, local cops making fun of a burglary victim. how they were caught and the action the department is now taking. good morning everybody. i'm erika gonzalez. we start with the massive hurricane gaining strength in the coast. sheena parveen is tracking hurricane harvey and the impact that we'll eventually see here. i have to ask you, is this tied to the noticeably cooler temperatures we have or is that a totally different thing? >> i wouldn't say that, erika. our weather is actually coming in from canada, the high pressure bringing us cooler weather. harvey is so far south right now, it's not impacting our weather. as we get closer to labor day weekend, we could see the remnants. this has intensified overnight. it's a category 2 hurricane.