. >> and so, we begin with abc's mark greenblatt. he's in hard-hit lower manhattan this morning with the latest. good morning to you, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you. and most of the lights here in lower manhattan do remain out. but in a sign that life is at least beginning to get back to normal, in just a couple of hours we expect normal trading to resume on the floor of the new york stock exchange, after a devastating storm. it was another night of no lights and no power for thousands in the big apple. and there's still no clear idea of when power will be restored. new york city, which shut down its entire mass transit system, will spend the next several days pumping out flooded tunnels, hoping to get everything moving again. in breezy point, new york, a beachfront community of firemen, policemen and blue-collar workers, are still taking stock from sandy and from a fire that destroyed more than 100 homes. >> nothing i could identify except for the kitchen tile and the bathroom tile. that's about it. >> reporter: the cause of

mark greenblatt, here in new york. appreciate that report. >> miles of track underwater. unbelievable. >>> as mark explained, the famed jersey shore was especially hard-hitds of residents who chose to stay in their homes are being rescued. >> they have no power, are running low of supplies and are running the threat of explosions from fuel-laced water. terry moran is in seaside heights. >> reporter: we canoed through the flooded streets of seaside heights. a town overwhelmed and eerily silent. this is incredible. here and there, those who stayed. they're refugees now. did you ride the storm out? >> we stayed here. >> reporter: thomas and anna stayed dry in this second-floor home. but now, they are stranded, cold and in dire straits. >> i've been through four hurricanes. never seen anything like this. >> reporter: and it is getting dangerous here. gas lines are broken. there is fuel from boats and cars sitting in the floodwaters across the town. >> they said if they couldn't shut off the gas, everyone has to leave because the whole town could blow. >> reporter: the boardwal

mark greenblatt joins us live from lower manhattan. >> reporter: good morning.right now the power remains out in lower manhattan. as you just mentioned there is a big sign of life because this morning mayor bloomberg is going to be out ringing the opening bell on the floor of the new york stock exchange resuming normal trading after a really devastating storm. it was another night of no lights and power for thousands, still no idea when power will be restored. new york city which shutdown its entire mass transit system will spend the next several days pumping out flooded tunnels hoping to get everything moving again. in breezy point, new york a beach front community of firemen, policemen and blue collar works they are taking stock from a fire that destroyed 100 homes. >> nothing i could identify except the kitchen and bathroom tile that's about it. >> reporter: the cause of the fire unknown. new jersey took the brunt of sandy with coastal communities hit especially hard, entire neighborhoods consumed by sand and water. >> we'll rebuild no question we'll rebuild

>> mark greenblatt, thank you. >>> and from the tsa under fire to a border patrol agent under fire. the agent shot and killed a mother of five while she was in the driver's seat of her car. there are two very different accounts of what happened just before that shooting, and here's abc's reena ninan now. >> reporter: a makeshift memorial to honor a mother of five who family and friends say shouldn't have died at the hands of a u.s. border agent. >> i think we're all shocked, and we want answers. >> we just want justice, that's it. >> reporter: there are varying accounts of how 32-year-old valeria alvarado was killed in her car friday night during a confrontation with a plainclothes agent serving an arrest warrant to another individual in the neighborhood. >> she stops right here, backs up a little bit. you see the guy coming from -- walking from behind the car coming to the front and just shooting like 10, 12 bullets at her. >> next thing you know, he gets to the car, he opens the door and pulls out his badge like that. i'm like, whoa, that should have been the first thing. >> repor

mark greenblatt. >>> still a lot of work to do this -- to do there. >> having lived in new york, untilways are open nothing is back to normal that's how you get to work or anywhere. meantime, i know what you are watching. >> the weather. >> absolutely. you can watch the weather too, open the weather window embarcadero still looks a little wet to drizzle overnight going to be drier through the mid-morning into the mid-afternoon hours drizzle going to hang around through 9:00, 10:00. live doppler spinning, waiting for the rain to make it here it will be the first to show us in the north and storm is coming from the northwest cloud cover right now not as much fog as yesterday, mild, mid to upper 50s, 61 in mountain view, mid 50s monterey bay and inland. today, morning drizzle for the commute, rain in the evening overnight hours and through tomorrow morning dry and warmer for the weekend. here's what is happening to areas of high pressure we've been watching these two put up that roadblock still stubborn bulk of energy heading north now as it pushes that high out of the way you can see rai

. >> mark greenblatt joins us from lower manhattan with the latest on conditions there. >> reporter:ood morning. here in lower manhattan power remains out, in a few signs that life is beginning to get back to normal there have been people all morning taking pictures in less than 15 minutes mayor bloomberg is going to be ringing the opening bell on the floor of the new york stock exchange as trading resumes. it was another night of no lights and no power for thousands in the big apple, still no clear idea of when power will be restored. new york city, which shutdown its entire mass transit system, will spend the next several days pumping out flooded tunnels, hoping to get everything moving again in breezy point, new york a beach front community of firemen, policemen and blue collar workers are still taking stock of not only the damage but from a fire that destroyed as many as 100 homes. >> nothing i could really identify except for the kitchen tile and the bathroom tile and that's it. >> reporter: the cause of the fire is unknown. new jersey took the brunt of sandy with coastal commun

mark greenblatt, abc news, new york. >> that video is extraordinary.asy it was to get one of those things. >>> a lot of other news developing overnight. for more on that, we turn to mr. ron claiborne. >> good morning, everyone. in the news, the superstorm is threatening to alter campaign plans for both president obama and mitt romney, as they come down the final stretch. romney and vice president biden have canceled weekend rallies in virginia. >>> and the businessman who sued facebook founder mark zuckerberg, for half of the company. he's been arrested on fraud charges. authorities say he fabricated and destroyed evidence to support his claims. >>> and the seven-time tour de france winner, lance armstrong, will not be awarded the award -- it was stripped from him. it will not be awarded to any other riders. the governing body will remain blank for all of the years that armstrong had one. the committee also said that armstrong should return his prize money. >>> finally, an unexpected guest at a wendy's in kentucky. a deer came crashing through the door

mark greenblatt is here with this story. and that is true. not who you would expect. >> reporter: good morning to you. one of those charged here is a former intern to a new jersey senator. and police say, those peddling drugs have become so comfortable now, they've turned to openly advertising on craigslist. the booming business of dealing drugs on craigslist took a hit this week, as police caught on to bold ads that promise xanax, adderall and bundles of dope. >> oh, my god. that's so bad. >> reporter: the nypd announced 21 arrests in "operation dotcom." including a brooklyn dental assistant who denies allegations she illegally sold pills to undercover cops three times. and a grad student at nyu pled not guilty to feeding the growing desire for stimulants on college campuses. you have friends who take adderall? >> yeah. >> reporter: if you wanted to, would you know where to get it? >> i think so. >> reporter: it's that widespread? >> yeah. definitely. >> reporter: the arrests, just the latest in the growing trend that's taken drug dealing fr

abc's mark greenblatt with the story. ♪ hey, must be the money >> reporter: rapper nelly is famous forrammy-winning music. ♪ my wife, she left me >> reporter: the tough-talking texas officers weren't asking for autographs after finding drugs on his tour bus. ♪ they didn't arrest nelly. tracing the drugs to his security manager's suitcase instead. the rapper has said, "neither i nor anyone else on the tour bus knew he had them." but the bust went down in a place starting to be called the border checkpoint to the stars near the tiny town of sierra blanca where officers look for drugs in vehicles, whether they're from mexico or just driving through from hollywood. ♪ i've been a bad bad girl >> reporter: but everyone heard about it when the checkpoint busted fiona apple with hashish. she spent a night in jail. and the same checkpoint snared willie nelson for possession of marijuana in 2010. ♪ south of the border down mexico way ♪ >> reporter: snoop dogg railed against that arrest to tmz back then. >> willie nelson is a legend. sometimes you have to back up off certain people that have a ce

mark greenblatt, abc news, new york. >>> and drivers in los angeles can expect no more than the usual commuting headache this morning. doesn't say much, does it? but ten miles of the freeway opened overnight well ahead of schedule. the road was closed all weekend long to allow demolition of the bridge. crews used the closure as an opportunity to repair potholes, trim trees and repaint lanes. >>> they are finally drying out in west central texas after a weekend of floods. the colorado river quickly rose after ten inches of rain fell saturday. residentses were eventually able to return home it was especially frustrating because they've been in a drought. >>> severe weather moving east brings storms to atlanta, tallahassee and mobile. it will spread rain to the carolinas by this afternoon and to d.c. by late evening. thunderstorms possible across south florida. >>> california will bake in record-breaking heat. downtown l.a. could push 100. and it will be san francisco's warmest day of the year so far. cooler in new england and upper midwest. honolulu will be in the mid-80s. >> the weathe

abc's mark greenblatt leads us off. >> reporter: the pharmacy at the center of the meningitis outbreak today announced a voluntary recall of every product it makes saying this action is being taken out of an abundance of caution due to the potential risk of contamination. >> i'm scared. >> reporter: the number of meningitis patients jumping today from 64 to 91 confirmed cases in 9 states with 7 confirmed deaths. the outbreak began with a contaminated shipment of drugs from the new england compounding center. that drug injected into the spine for back pain was contaminated with a fungus that can go from the spinal fluid up to the brain causing a rare form of meningitis. the company is one of thousands of compound pharmacies that mix their own medicine, but don't have to meet fda safety standards for manufacturing drugs. the idea, to let some tailor make drugs for patients who foot a special blend like those with allergies but it's not the first problem linked to these pharmacies. nine patients died last year in alabama after receiving a feeding solution made by a compound pharmacy conta

here tonight abc's mark greenblatt. >> reporter: for the eighth straight day the number of people infectedith fungal meningitis has risen. marcia martin's mother died. >> one of those people who could not sit still, wanted to be outdoors, loved to garden. >> reporter: the number of cases confirmed by the cdc jumping today to 205 from 198 including 4 new cases in new hampshire, the first found in that state. and this weekend, more questions about the company responsible for those contaminated spinal injections. the new england compounding center. it's a so-called compound pharmacy and allowed to mix small batches of specialized medicines for individual patients without fda oversight. but the company is now facing a class action lawsuit from meningitis patients in minnesota while pressure mounts to increase oversight of similar companies. congress must now wake up. >> pass a law so that the fda can protect the american health. >> reporter: more troubling tonight the only two treatments for fungal meningitis have very dangerous side effects and our own dr. richard besser says that they would

. >> mark greenblatt has latest from new york city's battery park. >> curious new yorkers from coney island to battery park wanted a glimpse of sandy's wrath. joggers were undetered. >> this is pretty cool. >> on foot just might be the only way left to get around town. mass transportation has come to a halt. subways stopped running at 7:00 last night. buses soon after. sandy comes ashore in new jersey the concern here? a surging wall of water, 11 feet of it. new york city and long island are right in the bulls's eye. most at risk neighbors, lower manhattan. the stock exchange will close for a second day. >> if you can find a way to leave, leave immediately. >> this afternoon a crane dangled atop a high rise due to high winds. with heavy winds comes the next problem. power outages. if it happens to you? >> use up things that are likely to spoil. >> this super storm is coming faster, stronger than earlier projections, 50 million people lay in the path. >> we've been talking about how this is no longer a hurricane. >> there are still massive problems. >> that is crew. it's been down gra

here's abc's mark greenblatt. >> reporter: just blocks from times square, tourists trust hotels likehe hilton garden inn for a safe night's sleep. but when abc news checked in, we discovered a major security hole. electronic locks on guest rooms can open without a key. >> i'm going to insert this marker into the bottom of the door and the door is going to open. >> reporter: you are in my room with your hands on my ipad. this security consultant showed us just how easy it is to break in, with a device that costs just $50 to build. >> i can go down the entire hallway and unlock every single door. >> reporter: and it worked at the nearby holiday inn express. where once again, no key, no problem. hackers first exposed the problem earlier this summer. posting videos like this one on youtube. using more primitive gadgets. now, the tools can be hidden in magic markers, even iphone cases. and the how-to guide is just a click away online. big name hotels reportedly bought millions of the faulty locks from a company called onity. >> i would say millions worldwide are at risk every single day.

abc's mark greenblatt is at a gas station here in new york city. >> gas prices are going down fast. here this morning in new york, the price for regular unleaded gallon of gas is $4.14. at long last, gas prices look like they're final plunging. experts predict, soon, every gallon could cost 50 cents less than the peak price of $3.90 a gallon. >> it's a good thing. >> 50 cents is significant. >> reporter: for drivers with an eye on the holidays it's not a moment too soon. from montana to florida, prices are finally headed in the right direction -- down. with the national average already falling 17 cents this month to 3.69. gasbuddy.com forecasts they'll keep falling. >> coupled with an expected with a drop in demand which we're already seeing equals lower price. >> reporter: one reason, problems with oil refineries on the west coast and in the midwest has begun to soften. pu in hardest-hit california, consumers don't want to wait three weeks for even more relief. they saw gas rise above $5 a gallon. but there's good news for those in california, if there's not a major world event, we

abc's mark greenblatt is at a gas station here in new york city this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, dan. and gas prices aren't just going down, but they're going down fast. here this morning in new york, the price for a regular unleaded gallon of gas is around $4.15. within a couple of weeks it's expected to be somewhere in the 3s. at long last, gas prices look like they're finally plunging. and experts predict soon every gallon could cost 50 cents less than the peak price of nearly $3.90 a gallon earlier this month. >> a good thing? it's a great thing. >> 50 cents is significant. >> reporter: for drivers with an eye on the holidays, it's not a moment too soon. >> starting to come down, thank goodness. >> reporter: from montana to florida to minnesota, prices are finally headed in the right direction, down. with the national average already falling 17 cents this month to 3.69. and gasbuddy.com forecasts a peak tumbling to 3.35 within a few weeks. >>> the supply is expected to begin increasing coupled with an expected drop in dema

mark greenblatt is on the story this morning. >> students and parents at most high schools are busy gearing south jersey, talk about an exploding sex scandal involving teachers and students, even the school's principal, arrested now for covering it all up. rumors of sex between teachers and students at triton high school surfaced this summer. not one, but three teachers of the south jersey school are caught up in what's become an all-out scandal. >> i think it's terrible. i mean, they shouldn't even look at students in that way. and it's sad because now, it's like, are they looking at my daughter that way? >> reporter: prosecutors alleged the repeated sexual activity began last fall and didn't stop until this june, with sexually explicit text messages sometimes sent during the middle of class. one teacher becoming so comfortable, he went to a jersey beach with a student. >> it's obvious the culture at triton high school, where teachers thought they would get away with improper relationships. >> reporter: nick mart nelly's alleged victim was 18 years old. he's charged with official misconduc

and abc's mark greenblatt is covering it this morning. >> reporter: good morning to you.his is a story that begins with a 12-year-old girl, who is at home alone. hearing loud sounds of banging at the door. and the glass shattered and her instincts kicked in. home alone. kendra st. clair heard the sounds of an intruder approaching and then breaking into her house. >> i was scared. not knowing what i was going to do next. >> reporter: petrified, her first call was to her mom. >> i said get the gun and get into my closet and call 911. >> reporter: terrified, the sixth grader followed her mom's orders to a tee. >> someone's trying to get in the house and i don't know who they are. >> okay, i want you to stay on the phone with me. >> okay, please. i think they are in the house. >> reporter: holding a .40 caliber glock like this, kendra's fear only intensified as the intruder headed for the closet. >> please, please, help me. >> you have your mom's gun there? >> yes, i do. i have it in my hands. >> reporter: suddenly, sheer terror as the doorknob to the closet begins to turn. t