And we say good thursday morning to you and, of course, well start with pope francis. A busy day ahead. Traveling here to new york from the nations capital. His first full day in the u. S. Was filled with excitement and emotion, you can see it here as francis made his way to the altar of the nations largest cathedral, the faithful reaching out to touch him. Security guards trying to keep them out of the way. Some images from behind the scenes. Take a look. Pope francis and the president on the white house colonnade and the pope, president and first lady waving to the crowd from the blue room balcony and also inside take a look at this, the pope officially meeting the entire obama family greeted here by first dogs bo and sunny, these images posted by the white house official photographer. And we want to give you a live picture now of the Capitol Building where this morning francis will become the first pope to ever address a joint meeting of congress. Lots of excitement in washington, d. C. Stephanie ramos is there for us. Stephanie. Reporter good morning, kendis and reena. This is a highly anticipated ee seepts here in washington. Nearly every member of congress will be in attendance for the popes speech and given what weve heard from the pope so far we expect hell challenge some of the beliefs and policies of both parties. This is the view the pope will have later this morning when appearing on the capitol balcony after his historic speech to congress. It will be another day of firsts for the pope. Amid the fanfare for his arrival wednesday, the pope injects humility pulling up for his first visit to the white house in a tiny fiat. Then giving his first speech to the American People in english. As the son of an immigrant family, i am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families. [ applause ] reporter the holy father also called for tolerance and for action on Climate Change before heading into the oval office to meet with president obama. The pontiff then boards the popemobile, greeting the thousands lined up for hours just to catch a glimpse of him. Some getting a little more. A kiss on the head for this baby boy. Another little one, 5yearold sophie cruz makes her way through the barricade as police move her back, the pope calls her over and then a kiss as she hands him a letter. How did it make you feel . Happy. Exciting. So excited. Reporter another massive crowd at least 25,000 greet the pope at the countrys largest cathedral for the first ever canonization mass in the u. S. , the late spanish priest Junipero Serra is the first saint named on american soil. I was there at the basilica yesterday and you could just feel pure excitement and joy from the crowds that were in when pope francis arrived. Now, later on this afternoon, pope francis will head to new york where hell lead an Evening Prayer Service at st. Patricks cathedral. Reena. We know that the members of the senate and house of representatives will be at the popes speech but what the Supreme Court justices . Reporter we know six of the nine justices will be on hand. Three of the most conservative and catholic members of the Supreme Court justices scalia, thomas and alito will not be attending. No reason given as to why theyre not attending. Back over to you. Very interesting that the wa thank you. Of course, the pope touches down in new york city this afternoon. 6,000 Police Officers are right now at the ready. The pope actually made it clear weeks ago he did not want the fences but the secret service had the final word. Fences are eight feet high and theyre now surrounding venues where the pope will appear. That includes a large section of central park as well as st. Patricks cathedral. Okay, so from the start heres whats in tore for francis today. He starts this morning with that first ever speech bring a pope to a joint session of congress. Abc will have live coverage and then hell visit Catholic Charities of washington, d. C. And meet with hundreds of Homeless People this afternoon he flies to new york city. After arriving at jfk airport hell take a helicopter into manhattan and finally francis will participate in an evening prayer ceremony at st. Patricks cathedral. Well, the pope is closely monitored the growing refugee crisis in europe. Even housing a syrian family at the vatican and now european leaders are giving a billion dollars to relief organizations who help feed and provide shelter for the refugees. This morning, the New York Times reports that the situation has grown so dire that president obama will try to meet with russian president Vladimir Putin next week in new york. It will be their first facetoface in nearly a year. Well, today president obama meets with another top leader, the president of china. Near seattle yesterday xi jinping met with Mark Zuckerberg own other top executives. Donald trump back on offense boycotting fox news after the Cable Network canceled his upcoming interview on the Oreilly Factor saying hes being treated unfairly. They dont even put me in the headline and im crushing it so youll all figure that out. The press is very dishonest, not all of it but much of it. Also wednesday a rare scene for trump, look at this. Speaking to a half filled room, the campaign claiming it was just a speaking event, not like trumps event later that night that attracted more than 2,000 people. On the democratic side the latest poll numbers show joe biden gaining support even though he has not decided whether to run for president. The bloomberg poll finds clinton with 33 , biden, 25 and Bernie Sanders at 24 . Well, serious weather situation unfolding in the heartland this morning. The radar showing the problem area right now. You see it there, a huge system stretching from oklahoma to wisconsin bringing heavy downpour, flash flooding is also possible. And still ahead here for us, apple fans will not be able to walk into a store and buy the new iphone in certain states. Plus, ducking for cover. People at a gas station in the line of fire. The wild shootout caught on camera. And strange sight. Drivers in traffic and a plane riding by. Gorgeous look there at the u. S. Capitol and a few hours pope francis will be there to deliver the first ever papal address before a joint meeting of congress. House Speaker John Boehner has told lawmakers that the pope transcends politics. Hes asking them to be receptive of the popes message. Well, breaking overnight a quiet neighborhood in columbia, maryland, rocked by a massive explosion. One town house completely collapsed and the fire spread to three other homes. Leaving them totally destroyed or badly damaged. The blast briefly trapped several residents and sent glass and debris flying 50 feet across the parking lot. Two injured including an inspector who was looking into a complaint about a natural gas odor. Volkswagens board of directors set to meet tomorrow to consider potential replacements for its ceo who stepped down in the wake of the smog test cheating scandal and more heads are likely to roll in the coming days. The scandal is taking a huge toll on angry car dealers with inventory they just cant sell and frustrated owners stuck with vehicles they dont want anymore. Well, the hack attack on the government Personnel Office was worse than thought. The fingerprints of 5. 6 Million People who applied or received a federal security clearance were stolen, not 1 million as first reported. Its believed the chinese were behind the attack. The white house has said its going to discuss cybersecurity with the chinese president when he visits today. Well, the latest iphone is hitting the shelves tomorrow but not in every state. Apple is not allowing walkin purchases of the iphone 6s or 6s plus in four states without sales tax. That means people in alaska, delaware, New Hampshire and oregon will have to wait for their new phones unless theyve preordered. Well, apparently well be spending a lot less on halloween this year. The National Retail federation says americans will spend about 74 on halloween. Thats compared to 77 bucks last year of total Halloween Spending is projected to be if nearly 7 billion. I like the little thunderstorm. We spent a lot on that. That sound effect. All right, when we come back a hunter stuck in the woods for days with a bad injury, crawling for miles, how he was finally discovered. And what a picture. You see here,s that a Professor Holding a toddler, the mother in class so why is this image going viral . With the pain and swelling of my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. 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It starts to work. In just 30 minutes. In fact, nothing works faster. So blow away nasal congestion, fast, with claritind. Kids, juicy fyeah. Gum with starburst flavors . mmm. mmm. zipper noise zipper noise baby rattle shaking juicy fruit so sweet you cant help but chew. When youre preparing for game time. Youve got to get your meats, your hot sauces, your chips, your dips and your nexium 24 hr. The allday, allnight protection of the purple pill. Comes without a prescription for frequent heartburn. That means today, youre not just a spectator, today you came to play. Come to walmart for nexium 24hr, and Everything Else you need to make your game time great every weekend. New yorks Empire State Building lit up in the blue and white stripes to honor the late yankees catcher yogi berra who died tuesday night at the age of 90. Well, tonight berra will be honored with a moment of silence before the yankees game against the white sox. Its time to check out this mornings road conditions. The main trouble spots are in the southeast stretching to the gulf coast where its a bit slippery and from kansas to wisconsin youll run into very heavy rain. Okay, so say youre flying. Well, delays are possible in minneapolis, miami and atlanta. In the meantime, in phoenix that area has been on edge since a serial sniper started terrorizing drivers along an eightmile stretch of highway. At least 11 separate incidents are under investigation and the suspect is in custody. But now were just learning how frightening it was for those in the snipers crosshairs. From those newly released 911 calls. I think my window just got shot. Okay, are you injured . I dont feel anything because i just got so scared because i heard a big bang and the window shattered. The suspect leslie merit jr. Charged with 16 felony counts and continues to insist people have arrested the wrong man. Well, Police Near Atlanta are trying to track down two gunmen after a wild shootout was caught on camera. The men opened fire on a car in the middle of a gas station sending people ducking for cover. As bullets flew by the pumps and a tanker, one man was caught in the cross fire shot in the foot. Police are hoping someone recognizes the shooters from this Surveillance Video and its frightening scene there. The two Texas Football players who tackled a referee during a game have been given their punishment. The players have been assigned to an alternate school for 75 days and wont be able to participate in any other school activities. A coach at the school admits he told them to attack the ref. We may learn more about his fate after a hearing today. A hunter in idaho is sharing details of being injured in the wilderness. He was alone in the woods when he fell and broke his leg. He had no cell service so he used sticks to make a splint then he crawled three miles over nearly four days in so much pain he considered shooting himself but he had a change of heart when he started to write a goodbye letter to his wife and kids. Thats it. Write the letter to my family and that just that settled it. I said theres no way im doing this. I will get out of here. Sain was so motivated he kept crawling and praying and thats when he was spotted by a group of bikers who called for help. Well, rush hour tough enough but nobody needs a plane, yeah, zooming right through an intersection landing on a busy street. Thats what happened in the Southern California city of irvine last night. Engine trouble. Thats what forced this small plane to make an Emergency Landing which was caught on dash cam. Amazingly it touched down safely without anyone getting hit. And without getting a speeding ticket. Thats clearly a 25mileanhour zone there. We move on to some sports. Week three of the nfl gets under way tonight with an nfc east battle, the redskins versus the giants. As for last nights baseball highlights from espn. Hes stan. Im neil. I left the coat unbuttoned to get the full effect of the tie. Lets move on to baseball. Yankees wearing a number 8 patch on their sleeves as they remember yogi berra. A moment of silence in toronto as the yankees took on the blue jay, bottom six, kevin pilar with a base hit. Blue jays take a lead. Bottom seven, martin at the plate. Onetwo count. Bailey thought that was strike three. He was wrong. He was wrong with his placement there and martin touching him up for a threerun home run, his 21st of the season. Give him some more love. Jays win it, 40. The lead is 3 1 2 now. So the rangers control their own destiny in you believe in that. They are in oakland and Ellis Andrews got his blue suede shoes on. His seventh of the season for due bronts. Look at him. Hes just happy. Handshakes. Look at that. Look at that. This is why baseball is cool. This is why the rangers are doing so good, a loose bunch. Adrian beltre, he homers twothreerun shot, not as loose. Rankers win 103. Weve taken too long in that inning. Feel free to touch my hair. Back to you. I loved he wanted us to get the full effect of his tie. See what im putting out there. The popes visit, tailgating nuns and the Staggering Amount francis autograph is selling for online. And its good. The extra point that was needed. A little help from a referees head. Ut of the hospital after a dvt blood clot. What about my family . My lil buddy . And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. Then my doctor told me about eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots, but eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Knowing eliquis had both. Turned around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis treats dvt pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made switching to eliquis right for me. Ask your doctor if its right for you. Theres something in me. Theres something in me. As we age, certain nutrients. Longer than ever. Become especially important. From the makers of one a day fiftyplus. New one a day proactive sixtyfive plus. With high potency vitamin b12. And more vitamin d. It is the time for the pulse and were going to start with some fun surrounding the popes visit. It all starts with a group of ladies who are hanging out like they were at a football game. There they are. Nuns tailgating before the popes big mass in washington, d. C. They brought out the folding chair, had a snack. The group from Georgetown Visitation monastery. As the pope embarks on the second leg of his trip a longtime friend says hes looking forward to enjoying a slice of new york city pizza. One pizzeria whipped up a special pie in his likeness, made out of ricotta and his face raspberry dressing. The hot item on ebay. The popes autograph, one sold for 2300. Wow, i knew i should have tried to get closer to him. The best rock song ever . Something by guns n roses. Okay, usually a matter of opinion, better than taste. British scientists have gone a step farther using special software to measure things like beats per minute and lyrical content and this, they say from these guys is the most iconic song ever. Here we are now nirvanas smells like team spirit. Fiat sponsored the commission hoping to find the best song to sell its 500 car before the popes fiat. An image going viral this morning. And its really cute, a Professor Holding a toddler in his arms. The little boy brought to class by his mother. When she couldnt find child care she was worried about what the professor would say but obviously wasnt an issue. He went to my professor and put his arms up like that and without missing a beat my professor picked him up. Were all in this together. Mom was moved to tears by the gesture. Theyve been there have been thousands of sympathetic messages on social media. Heres a High School Football team in texas that really knows how to put some adventure into extra point attempts. This happened under the lights last friday night. High snap. The holder gets it down, the kick comes out a little low, it went off the refs head. Skimmed the crossbar and it went through the uprights. Doesnt really matter how it goes in, right . No. Chalk up another point for the rebels. Only the giants could sign up that kid. For some of you, your local news is next. For everyone else america this morning continues. Hey mcmellin you gellin . Im gellin and zinfandellin. And so is my new bride, helen mcmellin im so happy my eyes are wellin dr. Scholls massaging gel insoles are so soft they make your feet feel outrageously comfortable. Im gellin youre so not gellin dr. Scholls more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about longacting levemir®. As my diabetes changed, it got harder to control my blood sugar. Today, im asking about levemir®. Vo levemir® is an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. And levemir® helps lower your a1c. 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Get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, sweating, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, dizziness, or confusion. Todays the day to ask about levemir® flextouch. Covered by most Health Insurance and medicare plans. Good morning, im tamala edwards, thursday, september 24. Security fences are going up and around the Benjamin Franklin parkway. Were three days away from the popes arrival. Were live on the street closures, parking restrictions and transit changes. Pope francis makes history again becoming the first pontiff to address congress he will touch on Climate Change and other political issues before he heads to new york city and philadelphia. Police commissioner Charles Ramsey is talking more than haircuts as he hits neighborhood barber shops. Well see you in two. Us papal v. That was when francis predecessor ben 2kik9 was here. Now in its second full day already here are so many aspects unique. Heres david muir. Reporter during our visit inside the vatican a couple weeks back we learned pope francis has never used a computer or even owned a cell phone but he is certainly on twitter. Tweets approved by him, 22 million followers. In fact, hes the most retweeted leader in the world more than president obama. Who tweeted himself to the pope welcome to the white house, pontifex. Your messages of love, hope and pane have inspired us all. Pope francis the first pope to take a selfie and so Many American families along the route today know that. Documents his every move. These two young girls snapping a selfie with pope francis. There was the photo with an 11yearold boy he will never forget. Even inside st. Matthews, bishops there capturing the moment too. Amid all the flashes in the oval office this image, the pope and the first familys dogs, bo and sunny. And there will likely be photos when he boards his flight for new york city. An American Airlines crew chosen to take him to new york. That plane dubbed shepherd one. A lot of interesting things happening in washington and new york. I was in d. C. , of course, yesterday for the welcoming session at the white house. I was told id have great seats and, man, you can barely see the pope from where i was standing but also brought back these cute little guys. Very cute. These are just being sold all over the city. Theyve sold about 50,000 of these from the Catholic Book store there in d. C. They dont have anymore. This guy im not sure whats going on here. I wonder how much you could get on ebay for these. You know what, probably a pretty penny, but that would be sacrilegious. Oh, we have lots of Coverage Today on abc and thats whats making news on america this morning. Stay with us for good morning america. Good morning heres whats happening on this thursday september 24. Pope francis is poised to make history on capitol hill as more closures go into effect in philadelphia in advance of his weekend visit. The search is on for a killer after police say a man is shot to death in a quiet neighborhood. Officials investigate claims against an Ivy League School discriminates against applicants. Lets go or