. >>> tracking erika. at least 20 are dead as the tropical storm roars over the caribbean. florida's in a state of emergency right now preparing for a hit. we're there as residents stock up on supplies. where is she headed next? >>> split verdict. >> guilty. >> former prep school student owen labrie breaking down in court at the jury's decision, convicted on some charges, but cleared of the most serious ones. nancy grace breaks it all down for us this morning. >>> and "uptown girls." uptown girls she's been living in her uptown world >> amy schumer and jennifer lawrence dancing on top of billy joel's piano. their surprise concert appearance that brought roars from the crowd. i'm in love with an uptown girl >>> and good morning, america. dan, as you can see, is taking some well-deserved time off with his beautiful wife and adorable little boy. it is great to have tom llamas next to me. >> great to be here. >> welcome. >> thank you so much. >>> so much news to get to overnight. we start with that texas sheriff's deputy gunned down in uniform, shots ringing out at this gas station in the hou

florida in a decade. it has caused problems in the islands and caribbean causing major damage blamed for at least four deaths. abc's rob marciano is in miami for us this morning. good morning, rob. robin. it has been nearly ten years since this state has been hit by a hurricane and that may hold through the weekend but judging by what erika has done as a tropical storm, miami and the rest of the state taking no chances. overnight, erika battering the caribbean bringing a staggering 15 inches of rain and 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts to the island of dominica thursday killing at least four people. more than 20 others still missing. raging floodwaters proving to destructive. destructive. too much for this church. thrashing this airport runway with debris, damaging at least one plane. sweeping away cars and swallowing the roads underneath. the middle of this road gone. others plagued with sinkholes. the storm knocking out power for at least 80% of the island nation. >> we're preparing for a hurricane. >> now erika taking aim at the u.s. with at least 10 million americans in the crosshairs

and new path that has it heading to florida. >> dramatic testimony as that former prep school student charged with rape takes the stand. denying the charges against him, confronted with deleted facebook messages that prosecutors say should put him behind bars. >>> an abc news exclusive. a little boy hit by a 1345u8 plane crashing on a beach tells his story for the first time. the amazing survival story from the kid his friends call the miracle dude only on "gma." >>> we do say good morning, america and we want to get right to that tragedy that unfolded on live television. two young journalists gunned down. >> we have a live look right now at the memorial where people are paying respects to alison parker and adam ward, of course, they were gunned down by a former colleague, an angry former colleague. that community and their families are in a state of shock and their station held a moment of silence in their memory this morning? they're back on the air this morning, the morning team which they were so much a part of. we have much mo to get to. many questions about what drove th

the florida coast. out west those wildfires wreaking havoc. smoke spreading across the country delaying flights and may even cancel a major college football game. >>> school scare. terrifying new details this morning about a student who held a high school class hostage. the 14-year-old with a loaded gun in a packed classroom. the hero teachers who helped prevent a tragedy. >>> and flipping out. a massive humpback whale weighing more than 80,000 pounds doing a backflip just feet from tourists. the incredibly rare jump caught on camera. jump >>> we do say good morning, america, on this wednesday morning. that never happens to me when i go out on a whale watch. >> occasionally i get a wave of a flipper. >> this was an incredible sight for those whale watchers. very few people have seen something like that. and what did we see on the campaign trail yesterday with donald trump? he is again making headlines. >> he sure is from that key state of iowa facing off with america's top latino journalist over immigration. his controversial plan is getting all kinds of support and criticism.

his home, i suspect, northwest of tampa just north of hudson, florida, on the coast of the gulf of mexico and he was basically instead of chasing storms, he was being chased by this thunderstorm. you see him looking nervously over his shoulder, and he is just trying to get back to shore. this is kind of a lagoon type of area, kind of an inland water area. thunder and lightning coming down, he's got the face mask on, scrambling to get back. he does eventually make it home but nervous times and that i assume gopro camera taking it all in for us. >> this weather report is have a great saturday, everybody. >> thank you, rob. you're not going anywhere so -- >> there's a little more show to go. "pop news." >> "pop news." >> coming up here on "gma," music to his ears. the fan who lost his money selling his concert tickets and how the abc news fixer got it back and her words of advice about how to use those mobile pay apps safely. >>> one of my favorite things to do behind the scenes is lightning rounds with you guys. today we have a little dan b. harris. what does the "b" dan for? >> beef

three-foot-long shark bit her leg at jacksonville beach in florida. >> we do say good morning, america. a lot to get to on this friday morning and wanted to give a shoutout to robin down in the gulf coast, her hometown of pass christian, mississippi, ten years after hurricane katrina and that's robin's extended family because she has tracked their recovery for ten years now talking to her coming up. >> you can feel the love in the pass as robin likes to call it, yep, looking forward to that. >>> first, it was an emotional day in court in that prep school trial, the young accuser in tears sharing her side of the story and facing a tough cross-examination. her mother and the school nurse also taking the stand. dan and nancy standing by to discuss but first abc's gio benitez has the latest from concord, new hampshire. good morning, gio. >> reporter: amy, good morning to you. that girl walked out of that courtroom in tears after tough questions about whether she's telling the truth. this morning, the alleged victim in the prep school rape trial is off the stand after spending nearly three

. trump is actually leading in bush's own state of florida along with pennsylvania. and just behind the sitting governor of ohio john kasich in the buckeye state but head-to-head with hillary clinton, a different story. clinton ahead in ohio and pennsylvania, but trump on top in florida. the only republican to beat hillary in those three swing state, senator marco rubio. george. >> boy, trump is defining this race right now. tom, thanks very much. >>> now to the latest on jimmy carter's health battle. he's set to hold a news conference this morning a week after revealing he has cancer. abc news chief white house correspondent jonathan karl joins us from the carter center in atlanta. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, amy. the 90-year-old jimmy carter is an incredibly active former president who continues to travel the world doing humanitarian work. later this morning here at the carter center he will speak only for the first time about that cancer diagnosis revealed just last week. just days ago, jimmy carter did what he does most sundays, he went to church in his hometown of

florida, looks like an alien invasion. >> it looks like "the exorcist." >> it's called a rolling shudder. >> when the light shaft came through, you were going to die. >> so excited about that. >> someone out there knows my reference. >> she loves the scary movies. >> you never cease to amaze me. love it. keep it going, amy. >>> coming up, what's really in the local pool you're using to cool off. "gma" investigates, putting the water to the test with results you need to know. >>> and later this morning, a sorority under fire for this recruitment video right here. what the university is saying about it right now. you went to school to learn now. things you never, never knew before. like "i" before "e", except after "c". why two plus two makes four. now, now, now, now. all you gotta do is repeat after me. say... a-b-c, it's easy as 1-2-3. as simple as, do-re-mi, a-b-c, 1-2-3 baby you and me. it's easy to go back to school in style with target. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me... and you're talking to a rheumatologist about a biologic, this is humira. this is humir

. disney's big, new plans to bring the epic adventure to life in florida and california. so, how long do we have to wait until we can mingle at the catena and pilot the millennium falcon. >>> live from abc news in new york, sunday, august 16th, 2015, this is "good morning america." >> good morning. there were some high, high level nerdry going on at the d23 expo. the big disney convention this weekend. they also unveiled the commemorative poster for the "star wars" movie, featuring harrison ford yourself. >> your voice went up. we also got a closer look at the bad gal from the film. >> i got to tell you, makes me feel like i'm 44 going on 7. >> that's a good feeling. >> it's going to be a good time. >> i want to see that. >> much more on "star wars" coming up. >>> but our top story, all-out battle against those wildfires roaring against the american west. >> there's dozens of large fires burning, fueled by high heat and wind. causing evacuations, as well as air quality concerns. abc's kayna whitworth is in simi valley right now. >> reporter: good morning to you. we have 51 large fires burni

alligator attacking a kayaker in florida. dragging her under the water. the new 911 calls coming in this morning. what may have happened that saved her life. >>> plus, palace fight. the paparazzi and the dangerous tactics they're using to get photos of little george. how the royal family is taking action. sami has no idea why her coat is so shiny; buddy doesn't know why he's full of energy; but mom and dad know that they're feeding them the complete nutrition of natural balance . now available at petsmart! we're always looking to bring you the very best in pet nutrition. with natural balance , part of our family of natural foods, you can give your pets premium quality ingredients. introducing natural balance at petsmart. save up to 10% on dry and wet food! fill your pet with love. petsmart . inspired by pets. across america people, like basketball hall of famer dominique wilkins, are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes... ...with non-insulin victoza. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza. he said vi

florida, say a teenager who entered this country illegally from belize is under arrest. he's chargele with killing his aunt, his pregnant cousin and her boyfriend. family members say they can't think of any reason for this attack. >>> in new jersey, cameras rolling when a school bus drove through this intersection hitting an suv before slamming into that liquor store, most of the 11 children and 2 adults onboard, the driver said the brakes failed. >>> similar scene in miami, fire truck and ambulance both responding to merge calls at that time. the patient inside that ambulance had to be rescued. >>> and a big surprise overnight from the quarterback tom brady as he fights the toughest battle of his career in court. he shocked everyone last night taking the field during the patriots' preseason opener. check it out. >> beautiful night for football inside a happy gillette stadium. tom brady comes out for the first offensive series for the patriots. >> the hometown crowd going wild giving brady a standing ovation. he threw four passes. off the field, lawyers for the league and pla

grandfather's country band back in florida where you grew up. >> yeah. >> and the grand ole opry. >> yes. >> he passed away in february, i brought his guitar. >> what he would say if he saw you on "good morning america." >> congrats on the success this morning. we're cheering you on. here's the song "kiss you in the morning" take it away. them jeans are faded in all the right places you got me hanging on tight to your curves like little e races girl your funky little back beat's got me feet like i'm tipsy and i ain't even had a drink i wanna kiss you in the parking lot under the moonlight kiss you running red lights, baby set the mood right just like everything your doing to me right now is making me crazy i wanna kiss you on the dance floor kiss you like a let's go come on baby let me hear you say o oh i wanna kiss you with the neon light in your eyes glowing then i wanna kiss you in the morning yeah i wanna kiss you in the morning oh you little outlaw stealing my heart and all when you drop it down low, touch your toes girl you know you just showin' off that little tattoo on your tan l

, everyone. overnight, in central florida, a walmart evacuated after 13 people inside were sickened by high levels of carbon monoxide. seven of those people were treated at local hospitals this morning. firefighters are working right now to ventilate the building before allowing the workers to re-enter that storm. >>> 45eding overseas, taiwan and mainland china have been hit by typhoon soudelor. officials reporting that 22 people are dead or missing. china being hit by heavy rain triggering mudslides. >>> back in this country, in texas, three adults and five children were found dead inside of a house near houston, texas, and a suspect is now in custody. this happened saturday night. they went to the home to do a they saw a child on the floor found the victims inside and the suspect was arrested later. >>> in seattle, black lives matter activists disrupted a rally for democratic presidential hopeful bernie sanders. two activists jumped on the stage and grabbed the mike. they were met with a mix of boos and some cheers from a crowd of about 2,000. sanders eventually left that event without gi

morning other republicans hitting the campaign trail. former florida governor jeb bush working to regain his footing about what some are calling a poor performance at the debate. >> i think i have a bigger message that will appeal to people inside the republican party. >> and previous underdog carly fiorina gaining traction after a strong showing in the second tier republican debate. >> in order to win, we're going to have to have a nominee who throws every punch. >> now the trump campaign has responded to being disinvited to that republican event calling the organizer eric erickson as a weak leader. trump is planning another campaign event. this is not the end of donald trump. trust me. >> he was invited and uninvited. >> yep. >> you're always invited to our table. >> thank you very much. >> let's bring in abc news political analyst matt dowd. who we watched the debate together the other night. let me just start with this. how big a deal is this disinvitation for the event? >> it's not the disinvitation isn't the problem. it's a symptom of a problem which is trump's remarks over

his florida vacation home. and this morning, animal rights activists are also taking aim at the companies that facilitate big game trophy hunting by shipping home the horns and heads. >> if these guys cannot bring the trophy home they won't kill the animal in the first place. >> the #boycottups is gaining ground after it was said the company will still allow big game trophies saying, there are many items shipped in international commerce that may spark controversy. we avoid making judgments on the appropriateness of the contents. as for that professional hunter theo bronkhorst this was just a preliminary hearing this morning, the whole thing over in minutes. the case is now continued until the end of september but the bigger question here, will walter palmer have to go back to face the music? unlikely, that's the answer that we're hearing. the u.s. does have an extradition treaty with zimbabwe but robert mugabe's government is not exactly known to its commitment to due process so the u.s. authorities may be unlikely to send them. >>> wildfires out west, 7,000 structures now thre

daughter killed. dozens injured as severe weather strikes from maine to florida. record downpours turning roads to rivers putting cars and homes underwater. >>> new this morning, bad behavior. a sheriff caught on camera handcuffing a third grader. >> ow, that hurts. >> the 8-year-old with adhd crying out in pain punished for his behavior after teachers said he was acting out. >>> split second. the incredible rescue caught on camera. a sheriff's deputy pulling a man to safety the instant before a train smashes into his car. >>> and pipe dream. the daredevil giving new meaning to riding the waves speeding across the water on his motorbike taking on 30-foot high waves. what he's saying about his death-defying stunt only on "gma" this morning. >>> and good morning, america. let's get right to those severe storms passing through the northeast overnight and early this morning. look at that lightning over new york city. >> yeah, that lightning and the thunder was just one of those mornings you wanted to stay in bed. everyone agree but we all came in anyway and had a deluge on the way to

florida. >> ridiculous last week and a half or so in tampa. waking up in the bend of >>> a perfect capture of cloud-to-cloud lightning over a rainbow. that was taken by bob and gene miller. in west michigan. >> all right. thanks for that, ginger. >>> all right, so much ahead this morning, worldwide out jake growing over cecil the lion's death and big game hunting in general. now, a second american accused of illegally killing a lion. we will hear from the hunters coming to the defense of the sport they love this morning. >>> and that world famous surfer who fought off the shark on live tv goes back in the water. wait till you see what happens next. >> there it is. straight out. i just saw it. directly straight out. >> mick fanning talks only to us right ahead. a-b-c, it's easy as 1-2-3 as simple as do-re-mi, a-b-c a-b-c, it's easy, it's like counting up to 3 sing a simple melody that's how easy love can be 1-2-3, baby you and me it's easy to get it all at target. get up girl, show me what you can do. it's just a summer thing double it up this summer... with a hot deal from mcdonald

feather from a pet store in florida. do you think talented or annoying? >> that would drive you crazy very quickly. >> i think -- i think there's somebody behind the camera. >> it's like listening to a sibling constantly saying -- shut up. >> or sitting next to sara haines. >> my brother used to do that. >> i'm kidding. we love you, sara. >>> coming up, a more serious animal story. the shark that tried to swallow a surfer during a competition. terrifying. we now have new video surround this all too close encounter. >>> but first we're going to start with the dad who allegedly got so angry at the teenagers fighting with his daughter that police say he resorted to truly drastic measures. >> the frightening moments caught on camera. how he allegedly look at this tries to run over this group of teens with his suv as they dove out of his way and now not surprisingly he is facing a slew of charges and abc's aditi roy joins us in studio with more. hi, aditi. >> reporter: hi there, paula and dan and what you're about to see may make your heart race, an suv barreling towards a group of teens. they