weekend. >> we want to take you back out live. there is a house fire at 6:00. tonight on "world news," the hurricane on the move. where earl is right now, and why so many americans traveling through new england are on alert. we're along the coast tonight. more jobs lost, and the president just today taking the republicans on. are they standing in the way? the feds take aim at the controversial sheriff at the center of the immigration storm. and that sheriff tells abc news tonight the feds should be thanking him. the whistle blowers and those tainted eggs. tonight, what they saw and what they warned. and, did you see the unlikely star who stood up right in the middle of the emmys this week again and again and again? tonight, she stands up right here as our "person of the week."

and good evening on this friday night. that unwelcome holiday guest, hurricane earl, on the move right now. monster winds and driving rains. here's the track. now moving up the coast of new england. earl reaching speeds up to 85 miles an hour today. 25 million people still in its path. here are the live pictures coming in right now. off the coast of long island, huge waves this evening, and the ocean churning. and our john berman is live in the middle of it all tonight in montauk, new york. john, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, david. well, the eye of the storm right now is about 150 miles that way, and as you can see, it's kicking up pretty serious waves here. the highest waves at this beach today were about 15 feet. they've come crashing all the way to where i'm standing right now. this is normally a pretty wide beach. now nothing here at all. this area, they've shut down the trains to this part of long island there's no more ferry service in and out. they're expecting top winds to reach 50 miles an hour. going to get a few inches of rain here. but the real issue, the big

waves. one interesting thing, david, there's only one way in and out of this part of long island, one road. on my way here, i noticed all the cars were still coming this way from new york city, so, people not scared to come spend the holiday weekend here, even with this weather. david? >> very soaked john berman, proof that earl has arrived. and we want to move north now to cape cod, massachusetts, the calm before the storm there, and linsey davis on the beach there. good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, david. earl is expected to hit cape cod later on tonight, as a category 1 hurricane. still, david, a very serious storm. eastern massachusetts is bracing itself. >> the threat to the public remains through tonight. >> reporter: the governor says they're prepared. utility crews are at the ready. the state even recruited inmates to fill sandbags. >> we have not gone from 3 to no hurricane, we've gone still from 3 to a category 1 hurricane. >> reporter: this is the strongest hurricane to threaten

new england since hurricane bob killed 20 people in 1991. the worst of earl is expected to hit here, cape cod, massachusetts. recently named one of the top ten labor day destinations. the popular resort area has a year-round population of more than 200,000 people. the island normally swells by 50,000 this weekend, but the chamber of commerce says they've lost about 10% of that to earl. jordan skolnik waited until this morning to evacuate. >> we just didn't feel like it was safe, just in case they close the bridges to the cape. >> reporter: now, the bridges remain open to the main land. they'll only close if the winds exceed 70 miles an hour. but david, that's still very possible. >> we see the fog rolling in there. linsey davis, thank you. this morning, we woke up and many of the headlines were that the carolinas dodged a bullet. but then the pictures started pouring in today, hardly a glancing blow. and steve osunsami rode out the

worst of the storm in nags head, north carolina. >> reporter: the storm passed within 85 miles of the outer banks, in the middle of the night, with five feet of storm surge in some places and wind speeds that reached more than 80 miles an hour. it's midnight and the storm is moving in. we were in the thick of it. at midnight, at 2:00 a.m. and just before sunrise, when the winds howled. it's pretty strong. streets flooded, a few buildings were damaged, power lines had to be repaired. but in the words of north carolina's governor today -- >> we dodged a bullet, purely and simply. >> reporter: today, many residents who evacuated were allowed to come home. >> just a lot of wind and rain. >> not as bad as it could have been. could have been a lot worse. >> reporter: at hurricane mo's, mo opened for business, but the evacuation means fewer customers this labor day weekend. >> it's going to put a hurting on us. >> reporter: there is a feeling here of relief that no one was hurt and that everyone will bounce back quickly. david? >> steve osunsami. steve, thanks very much. the national hurricane center is tracking earl as we move into this holiday weekend. and so we turn to bill read again tonight, the head of the

national hurricane center. and bill, where is earl right now and how long before we're out of the woods on this? >> right now, earl is south of new england and moving northeast at over 20 miles an hour. it will speed up overnight, come just south of nantucket and cape cod, and then move off into the canadian maritimes during the day on saturday. so, after people get up saturday morning, the skies are going to start clearing. >> and that is the good news. you told me earlier that you have your eye on several systems already in the pipeline. what does it look like? >> this is the wave that with us was gaston. another wave that came off of africa yesterday. these are ones that we are watching for potential development. and you can see the clusters of storms making their way from east to west across africa. once they come out in the tropical atlantic, we'll have a better feel as to whether they become an issue or not. >> bill read at the national hurricane center, bill, thank you. and, of course, not in the clear from earl yet. but we do turn now to the political storm brewing in washington over the new jobs numbers out today.

this country lost another 54,000 jobs in august, and the president today took on the republicans, saying they're the ones blocking help for small business. that, in a moment, but first, the numbers. word that the nation's employers cut another 54,000 jobs in august, marks the third month in a row that this country has seen a net loss of jobs. but some economists say there is still a silver lining in these new numbers, because if you take away the 115,000 temporary government jobs, those census jobs we knew were going away, a slightly different picture emerges. the private sector actually adding 67,000 workers in august. health care and construction leading the way. and that comes after the private sector added 107,000 jobs in july, 61,000 in june. it's growth, but not the number needed to keep one the nearly 15 million americans still looking for work. and as i mentioned, the president was quick today to frame the numbers his way and so let's turn right now to jake tapper. >> reporter: the president today tried to put a sunny face on the

end of the so-called recovery summer. >> now that's positive news. >> reporter: he emphasized the modest private sector job growth and didn't mention that august saw a net loss of jobs because of the end of those temporary census jobs. the underwhelming recovery of recovery summer has given republicans campaign ammo. >> recovery summer has become the summer of despair. >> reporter: to help create jobs for those out of work, the president continued to push a lending initiative he said could help provide credit to small businesses. >> republicans in the senate have blocked this bill. a needless delay that has led small business owners across the country to put off hiring, cut off expanding and put off plans that will make our economy stronger. >> reporter: beginning monday, the president will be outlining a number of other relatively small-bore measures. more money spent on infrastructure. a research tax credit. and other ways to encourage small business investment. everything i hear out of this administration is relatively modest compared to what many economists are pushing and

compared to what the original stimulus was. >> you know, for this economy to come back, it's going to have to be the private sector that comes back. what we're talking about now is not a second stimulus, it's targeted measures. but they can make an appreciable difference. >> reporter: some liberal economists maintain the problem was that last year's $864 billion stimulus package was not enough. >> but it was obvious from the beginning that it was too small. he clearly needs more. the economy needs more. we need a real effort to get this economy moving. >> reporter: republicans argue businesses are loathe to invest when facing new taxes, mandates and regulations. >> this administration has done a lot to discourage business from growing and hiring and that's the problem. >> jake, you heard senator mcconnell say the president has done a lot to discourage business. the president today saying the republicans are getting in the way of helping small business. so, how do you cut through it? >> reporter: well, they both have a point to make. and this is what we're going to be hearing from now until the november mid-term elections.

there is evidence that, of course, republicans have been obstructing the small business lending initiative and there is evidence that many small businesses are waiting for that credit. and many business leaders do say that it is the uncertainty of many of the obama administration's priorities and legislation that has kept them from spending money. so, these are the arguments we're going to be hearing for the coming months. >> all right, jake tapper, thank you. we're going to turn now to the controversial sheriff in arizona who is now the target of federal investigators. joe arpaio, the outspoken sheriff who has made no secret of going after illegal immigrants, stands accused of violating the rights of hispanics now. our pierre thomas called up the sheriff and he's firing back tonight. >> we're trying to get the job done, okay? >> reporter: arizona's joe arpaio. sheriff joe. the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff. >> i'm an equal opportunity law enforcement guy. we lock up everybody. >> reporter: relentless in his pursuit of illegal immigrants. >> this sheriff is going to go

out and enforce the law. >> reporter: but now sheriff joe is in the sights of the u.s. justice department, under investigation for possibly violating the civil rights of latinos. there are allegations of unlawful searches and seizures, discriminatory police conduct and a failure to provide basic services to individuals with limited english. and this week, the justice department did something it had not done in 30 years. it filed a lawsuit accusing the sheriff of trying to block their civil rights investigation of his department. the sheriff's reaction -- defiance. >> the people of arizona that they're going against. using me at a puppet. >> reporter: today, he was still angry. >> the federal government should be thanking me, thanking me for all the work we are doing assisting them. >> reporter: sheriff, what do you say when they say you're stone-walling? >> we're not stone-walling. they have received thousands and thousands of our documents. >> reporter: does your department discriminate?

>> we do not discriminate. we do not racial profile. >> reporter: don't expect arpaio to change. he's been elected five times, and not up for re-election until 2012, but he's already raised roughly $2 million, much of it from out of state. being tough on illegal immigration has been good politics. the question tonight is, whether taking on the justice department is good politics, too. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> our thanks to pierre. now to iraq tonight, where this week we marked a major milestone. iraqi forces taking over. and so, 7 1/2 years later, dan harris returns to baghdad with a simple question -- was the war worth it? and what a difference, in what he heard seven years later. >> reporter: it was amid the ink-stained giddiness of iraq's first democratic elections that we first met this schoolteacher. >> this mark means my whole life. >> reporter: over the subsequent years, as iraq descended into sectarian madness, i interviewed

her several more times, and she remained relentlessly upbeat. why are you optimistic? what gives you this hope? >> because i love my country. >> reporter: today, she's a newly wed. can i see the ring? >> yes. >> reporter: very nice. good job. things may be good in her personal life, but as american troops leave, while the iraqi government is mired in political paralysis, her view of the future has changed. >> dark one. i see a dark one, really. >> reporter: you see a dark future? >> yes. >> reporter: if the americans leave, it will be a dark future? >> yes. >> reporter: but she says that dark future is still better than the past under saddam. looking back, was it worth it? >> for us, of course. >> reporter: for you specifically. >> yes, yes. >> reporter: when we first met stephen browning in 2003, he was a gung ho, can-do american,

freshly arrived to help rebuild iraq, as part of the pentagon's temporary government. >> i personally believe that there is no mission in the world more important than the mission that we are doing right here in this country today. >> reporter: today, he's a father of two, living outside of denver and his assessment of the war now genuinely surprised me. you don't think it was worth it? >> i don't think it was worth it. i mean, we'll see. maybe iraq will be a shining star of democracy in the middle east. i just don't see it happening. >> reporter: this boy appeared in an abc news story in 2007. at age 12, he was working in a mechanic's shop because his father, the breadwinner, had died during the invasion. "i dream," he told us, "of going back to school." but three years later, we found him, still at work. i met this shia sheikh in 2003 when he was a serious 29-year-old. he is now a militia leader who is so venomously anti-american

that our local staff said interviewing him would be, quote, like throwing yourself into the abyss. perhaps the most moving reconnection we were able to make involved this family. abc news first interviewed them in 2008. after an american air strike destroyed their house and killed their 2-year-old son, ali. ali's mother told us then that they'd wanted to move, but didn't have the money. "i begged my husband to leave the house when the fighting began," she told us, "but he said if we die, we will die together." a viewer bought them a new house, which they proudly showed off to us the other day, along with their new son, also named ali. he looks astonishingly like his older brother. his father told us that despite all he'd been through, he was grateful to american forces for toppling saddam. his wife, however, struck a different note, saying the americans should leave, that they'd killed too many children for nothing.

"the death of my son," she said, "left a hole in my heart." dan harris, abc news, baghdad. and still ahead here on "world news" this friday night, the whistle blowers and those tainted eggs. what they saw, what they warned. out of bounds. what was this at the u.s. open? huge fights during tennis? and, later here, did you see this woman? the woman that had so many people wondering during the emmy's this week, who is she? tonight, she's our "person of the week." well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you urture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources.

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last month, what they found was shocking. including eight-foot piles of manure and rodents. two former workers say they tried to sound the alarm for years, but were ignored. >> i seen junk coming in on the belts when the eggs come from the barns, food wrappers, tools, a cat, mice. >> reporter: robert arnold and his wife deanna said they raised their concerns with government officials at the egg farms perhaps a dozen times. >> i reported it to the usda worker that was there. she seen it and she knows about it and they weren't doing anything about it. they would just let it go. >> reporter: we called the usda. they told us they had nothing to do with the safety of these eggs. their workers weren't even allowed in the hen houses. they were only there to judge the quality of the eggs. safety rests squarely with the fda. they'd never inspected the farms, but could have, if they'd known about the problems.

what about the usda's argument, that it's not our job, we're not allowed to go into the hen houses? >> i mean, that's technically correct. but it's a little sad that they can't pick up the phone and call the people whose job it is. >> reporter: late today, wright county egg told abc news it expects workers to report any issues, and that, to its knowledge, no concerns were raised. that is, of course, until 1,500 people contracted salmonella. lisa stark, abc news, washington. and when we come back tonight, the brawl at the u.s. open, during tennis? [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time...

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we're following a massive earthquake that struck the heart of new zealand today. thousands have lost power and buildings have crumbled. with bricks hitting the street, crushing cars. the quake hit in the middle of the night. some minor injuries have been reported. so far, no tsunami alerts for the pacific. and back here at home, here's something you don't see every day at tennis. a fight breaking out in the stands at the u.s. open. a woman reportedly taking offense to some foul language from a fellow fan. the woman's father comes to her defense, but then watch this. he soon takes a tumble in the seats. even the players on the court had to stop playing, and those fans, they were tossed out. when we come back here, the woman who suddenly stood up at the emmys, more than once. our "person of the week." ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors.

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you and me both. if copd is still making it hard to breathe, ask your doctor if including advair will help improve your lung function for better breathing. get your first full prescription free and save on refills. and finally tonight here, the woman who stole the show at the emmy's this week. in the middle of all those stars, steals the show right here tonight. our "person of the week." she was the woman who stood up right in the middle of the emmy's, again and again and again. her smile brighter than the stars all around her. the hbo movie, "temple grandin," won seven awards and that woman is temple. born in 1947 in boston, her mother had no idea why her

daughter wasn't talking, wasn't smiling and wasn't hugging. she was diagnosed with autism. and temple's mother was told what so many other parents at the time were told, too. >> it's been suggested that it may be a lack of bonding with the mother. that at a crucial phase the mother was cold, aloof, when the child most needed physical affection. >> but that is not what happened. >> reporter: temple's mother would not give up. actress claire danes portrays temple in the movie. >> she was one of the first people to challenge these completely absurd and very accepted theories of autism. autism was meant to be the product of a frigid mother. >> reporter: instead, temple's mother took her to a neurologist and speech therapy. the kind of intervention unheard of at the time. a move temple herself told us today changed everything. >> i think it's absolutely awful that mothers went through all of that pain and they were blamed for something they didn't cause, you know? autism is a neurological disorder of the brain.

it varies from someone who is going to remain non-verbal all the way to the geniuses of silicon valley. i cannot emphasize enough the importance of early educational intervention. >> reporter: as we grew older, her family would recognize temple had a remarkable mind. cataloging images and fixating on moving objects. easily able to understand how they work. and then the summer that changed her life, visiting her aunt's ranch. and temple could see in animals what most of us could not. >> danny's looking at you. he can see all around without moving his head. >> so how do you know where he's looking? >> his ears, he points his ears where he is looking. see, he's looking at you. >> i just love that scene with the horse's ears. one of the things that helped me in my work with animals is i'm a visual thinker. the movie did a fantastic job in showing how my mind works visually. there's a scene in there with a whole bunch of shoes come up in rapid succession. my mind is like google for images. >> reporter: temple would go to college and then graduate school

for animal science. championing the way animals are treated in this country. and in doing so, became a champion for the autistic children who would follow. and when the movie won top honors, a hug for the producer from the little girl who once couldn't do it. >> oh, absolutely, i was hugging everybody that night. >> temple. >> mother, stand up, please. right out there. please stand up. >> reporter: giving credit to her mother there. and so we choose temple grandin. and it turns out the night of the emmy's was her 63rd birthday. and we asked her where was the fancy gown for the emmy's? she said, i have a farmer's not your typical freeway wreck mpl at 6:00 what caused a helicopter to go down on highway 101. >> my whole life turned upside down in one moment. >> and tough job of being a

cop's wife. her reaction to her husband's shooting and recovery. >> the 49ers move into that new stadium. how much of a tickets really cost? 7 on your side is coming up. >> and the bear invasion in tahoe. why sightings are way up, and the controversial methods being taken to control them. >> he just crashed in the water. the plane just crashed in the water, oh, my god. oh, my god. >> witness to tragedy. that is the sound of yesterday's small plane crash into a lagoon in redwood shored and a stunned reaction of a man who watched it hit the water. >> the plane has been pulled out of the wafter more than 24 hours after it went down. >> there is