The Business Owner is offering a 5,000 reward for any information leading to that suspects capture. Months before andrew lucks stunning retirement, patriots star Rob Gronkowski said goodbye to the nfl. And hes now speaking out about his decision to step away in march just before he turned 30. Gronkowski said a string of injuries took away the fun. A quad injury in his final game, super bowl liii in february, was the final straw. I needed to recover. I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down. And i didnt like it. And i was losing that joy in life. Like the joy. Im sorry right now, but oh, dang. Let me oh. I really was. And i was fighting through it. And i knew what i signed up for, and i knew what i was fighting through. And i knew id just have to fix myself. Oh, you can see him get emotional there. Gronkowski says he could barely walk after the super bowl win. He now plans to advocate for players to be allowed to use products containing cbd to relieve pain. Gronk will be on gma later today. Gronk is a man with a lot of heart there. Turning now to the growing alarm over vaping among teenagers. There are dozens of reports of seizures potentially related to vaping and now one possible death. Heres abcs byron pitts. Reporter this week Illinois Health officials warn that ecigarettes can be dangerous after an adult who had been vaping died from severe respiratory illness. We have had 22 total cases in the state of illinois. In all of those cases they all reported a history of using ecigarettes or vaping. And unfortunately one of those 22 cases resulted in a death. Reporter the cdc is also investigating nearly 200 cases of severe pulmonary illness in an effort to determine if the use of ecigarettes is to blame. Vaping has been assumed to be a safer practice than, say, smoking cigarettes. At this point we are unclear whether the injury were seeing is associated with vaping itself, with a particular substance that these teens are vaping, or with one of the agents, oils, or solvents associated with it. Reporter among those hospitalized is 20yearold Alexander Mitchell from utah. I would hit my vape easily 40 times in an hour. I was a pretty heavy vapor. Reporter hospitalized, alexander was kept alive by a team of doctors and advanced support machines. It was taking my blood from my body, removing the carbon dioxide, oxygenating it, then putting it back into my body. Reporter alexanders doctors believe his acute respiratory distress syndrome may have been caused by his vaping habit. Now alexander, who left the hospital on july 7th, has diminished lung capacity and is experiencing shortterm memory issues. The ecigarette industry has surged in popularity, with juul leading the pack. Its revenue is projected to exceed 3. 4 billion this year, nearly triple its revenue from last year. A juul heats up liquid nicotine that users inhale. The Company Claims it was developed for adult smokers looking for a safer alternative to cigarettes. With flavors like mint and fruit and packaging that looks more like that of a sleek tech gadget than a tobacco product, juuls have become a must have accessory for kids as young as 12. But the potential dangers are real. Just one of those flavored pods containing roughly the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, some kids telling us they smoke up to a pod a day. Do not assume just because you can use something inside or buy it on every corner that its necessarily safe. Reporter in a recent interview with cnbc, the ceo of juul, kevin burns, apologized to parents of addicted teens. I tell them im sorry that their childs using the product. Its not intended for them. I hope there was nothing that we did that made it appealing to them. Reporter in a statement to abc news, the company said they are monitoring reports of hospitalization, adding, we stopped the sale of nontobacco and nonmenthol based flavored juul pods to our traditional retail store partners last year, enhanced online age verification, strengthened our retail compliance, and shut down our facebook and Instagram Accounts, while working constantly to remove inappropriate social media content generated by others. We have never marketed to youth and we never will. They can taste like youre smoking candy. I think when you take into account the marketing, the design, the technology, its not difficult to see why this has been appealing to teenagers. Youre inhaling chemicals. Youre inhaling chemicals that i cant pronounce. And if you cant pronounce them, they shouldnt be in your lungs. Just incredible there. I hope people are paying attention. Really paying attention, especially parents that they said, you know, this is popular with kids as young as 12, smoking a pod a day . It is unbelievable. It seems like were doing these vaping stories almost every other day. So Health Officials suspect an association between vaping and lung problems. We know they say more testing is necessary. They havent proved it yet but still testing it. Coming up, why this Labor Day Weekend might be the best weekend of this year to shop. L. Ahh brain freeze no, its my teeth. Your teeth hurt . Sensitivity. I should do something about it. 80 of sensitivity starts at the gum line, so treat sensitivity at the source. New crest gum and sensitivity starts treating sensitivity immediately, at the gum line, for relief within days and wraps your teeth in sensitivity protection. Ohh your teeth . No, its brain freeze crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. Lets dance the last dance tonight and the last dance of summer is quickly approaching. While youre getting your Shopping List together for your big labor day barbecue, you might also want to include a new car, maybe. Heres abcs gio benitez. Macys labor day sale. Reporter labor day sales under way from coast to coast. If youre looking for a new car, youre in luck. 2020 models will be released in the fall so right now you can get a great deal on a 2019 model. Its time to save on the last of the 2019s. Reporter and youll have the widest selection to pick from. Its also a good time to shop for major appliances. Best buy putting that sale price tag on washers, dryers, and stoves, 40 off. Mattress firm labor day sale reporter if youre in the market for a new mattress, Mattress Firm is offering better zs for a lower price, king for the price of a queen, queen for the price of a twin. And summers not over but labor day sales are known as Summer Clearance events. Up to 60 to 80 off summer clothing and outdoor items like barbecue grills. Its a good time to stock up for next years beach season. Gio benitez, abc news, san jose, california. Our thanks to gio. Im still amazed how cool it feels outside in new york and the fact that summer is over. Thats okay. Shell be back. Fall, autumn, whatever you call it, a good time. Coming up, the new milestone hit by nasa. She loved it. Her son loves it. And her husband loves it too. And the delivery woman. Awkward. New gain scent blast. Love it or hate it, its intense. About the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan, available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. Wednesday morning so its time for weird science. Were going to start with a space plane that we dont know much about, a mysterious classified nasa plane. But we do know this, that it just broke a record, apparently. What i do know is the x37b space plane broke a new spaceflight record, surpassing the 17 days, 20 hours, 42 minutes its predecessor spent in orbit just a couple of years prior. Air force notoriously tightlipped about that bad boy. Whats it for . What are you guys doing with it . Hm. Apparently its 20 years ago. What we also know is they were trying to come up with something that would ferry people across the globe in a matter of hours. So possibly like a Space Shuttle type thing. We havent done it yet. So maybe its whats at area 51 . I think they are using that to ferry aliens out, back into space. Maybe. Hey crowds out there, get us some answers. Sticking with nasa, and you know, the outer space world, the nasa chief says that pluto should still be a planet. Poor pluto. I know, plutos been out there, its been demoted. I remember when this happened. Oh my gosh, its been 13 years since plutos fall from grace. Yeah, since we said, youre just too tiny out there. Poor pluto. But apparently Jim Bronstein said hey, it as planet, we should call it that. Put some respect on. Pluto, ive always been rooting for you. Mars, uhuh. Hey, a hole in one again by this little tyke. A perfect putt by this little one here. All right. Hes so tiny. Oh my gosh. But he can make some big shots. Holy cow. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. Whoa, whoa, whoa and there it is. And nissan apparently develops a wait. Okay, the lil boy did not just make that on its own, its a selfdriving golf ball, guys, come on. Nissan develops that selfdriving golf ball for struggling players who putt perfectly every time. Look, the ball even reverses and goes back in. But i thought that little boy there just he made it look pretty cool. You know, fall is coming. It is. Autumns just about here. Sure is. 28acre corn maze. Get your apple cider, pumpkin doughnuts, then get lostor days. See you in the winter. Look at that, just representing. Repping apollos 50th anniversary. This morning on world news now, a state of emergency. Tropical storm dorian is setting its sights on puerto rico. People all over the island, some still reeling from Hurricane Maria, are making final preparations for the storm. Plus the new alert, why florida may be next. Speaking out, more than a dozen women sharing how Jeffrey Epstein coerced and abused them. Hear who they want brought to justice since epstein is dead. Historic church fire. Crews battle flames for hours on end to try and save a 115yearold church. Well show you whats left behind. Plus how do you beat the backtoschool blues . With a warm welcome home. See the special way one teenager is greeting his little brother every day. Its wednesday, august 28th. Good wednesday morning. Thank you for joining us. So cute. I love starting off the morning with Something Like that. Is that how you used to greet your siblings . No, not at all. Instead they were babies so i just took care of them. Oh, thats so sweet. Just rocking them, feeding them, making sure they survived, the usual. We will get to all of that. Coming up later this half hour, but we do begin with the two Tropical Storms in the atlantic. Forecasters think newly upgraded erin will bypass the u. S. East coast and hit southern canada. Dorian seems headed for puerto rico strengthening to a hurricane. The Dominican Republic is also under hurricane watch. Florida may be feeling dorians power this weekend. This is all thats left of a road on the island of martinique about 400 miles south of puerto rico. Many other streets are also flooded after dorian hit the island. In puerto rico the beaches are empty and the stores are full as residents and tourists stock up for the approaching storm. And this group of south florida First Responders assisting puerto rico has expertise in swift water rescues. Abcs maggie rulli has more. Reporter final preparations are now under way in puerto rico. Tropical storm dorian is gaining strength and could become a hurricane. The island of puerto rico is in its crosshairs. People on the island are gathering whatever supplies they can. Just to have enough water and camping food. Reporter preparing for what they fear could be the next devastating hurricane. Still fresh in their memories, 2017s Hurricane Maria, a strong category 4 storm packing 155mileanhour winds and killing nearly 3,000 people. This storm knocking out power to much of the island for months. Abcs Victor Oquendo was on the ground for maria, and hes back there now. No matter how strong dorian is, the power grid, its at risk here. It is, its fragile. And everyone knows that. Reporter many homes across the island still only shielded by these blue tarps. When it rains, what does it look like . There come in a lot of water. A lot of water come here. Reporter this time around fema says theyre ready. Fema took a very aggressive stance for dorian, that its the first system of the year, and we understand that the island is still very fragile. Reporter they say theyre deploying more than 3,000 people and stockpiling five warehouses with vital supplies, ready for whatever dorian may bring. Maggie rulli, abc news, new york. Our thanks to maggie there. We are all thinking about puerto rico this morning. Right now its the lull before the storm in puerto rico. Take a look at this san juan beach that appears peaceful, partly because people are elsewhere getting ready for dorian this evening. Accuweathers adam del rosso is tracking dorian. Gd morning. Dorian continuing its slow westward track across the caribbean, making its way closer to puerto rico as it remains a Tropical Storm. We will feel impacts on the island late today into tomorrow. That also includes the Dominican Republic where we could have hurricaneforce wind gusts up to 80 Miles Per Hour leading to power outages. Theres also the threat for flash flooding with more than 8 inches of rainfall possible across western portions of puerto rico. The storms going to continue its northwestward track through the day on friday, potentially strengthening into a category 1 hurricane by the end of the day. It will turn a little bit more westward and potentially make landfall late sunday somewhere in florida. Heavy rainfall and strong winds are expected. Our thanks to adam. Overnight, President Trump declared an emergency for puerto rico and ordered assistance for local authorities. But earlier he seemed to complain about having to help the u. S. Territory, tweeting, wow, another big storm heading to puerto rico, will it ever end . He added that congress has approved already 92 billion for recovery from Hurricane Maria. But actually congress has only allocated 43 billion and only about onethird has reached the island. Puerto rico might get the other 50 billion over the next 20 years. But congress has not approved that yet. Theres a new development in the legal battle over President Trumps tax returns. In newly filed court papers, Deutsche Bank says it has tax returns related to a congressional investigation into the president , his children and his businesses. They stopped short of saying that they are in possession of his tax returns. Deutsche banks filing was in response to a subpoena issued by two house committees this spring. The president s attorney calls that subpoena unconstitutional and says he will continue fighting it in court. Ethics watchdogs are criticizing attorney general william barr for booking the president s washington, d. C. Hotel for a Holiday Party. Barr says hes paying for the 30,000 event for 200 people out of his own pocket. The Justice Department tells abc news the whole thing was cleared by, quote, career ethics officials. News of the party comes just days after the president floated the idea of holding next years g7 summit at his golf club in miami. So even as the fires rage in the amazon rainforest, the disaster is overshadowed by politics. The president s of france and brazil are in an increasingly nasty and personal dispute. President trump came to the defense of Brazils Bolsonaro saying hes working very hard on the amazon fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of brazil. Bolsonaro has said he will not accept more money from the g7 countries unless Frances Emmanuel macron apologizes for calling him a liar. Later his spokesman said brazil would accept foreign aid as long as it controlled how the money was used. More fires have been reported in the amazon this month than at any point in a decade. Rain that would help put out the fires is not expected for weeks. A day of reckoning in a new york city courtroom. More than 20 of Jeffrey Epsteins accusers shared their stories of how he coerced and abused them and skirted efforts to bring him to justice. Many of the women said that the hearing was the closest theyd come to getting their day in court since epstein died by suicide last month. They urged prosecutors to pursue his coconspirators. It was both empowering and infuriating to know that the person who i needed to hear those words is not here to hear them. It makes me sick to my stomach that theres perpetrators out there that obviously helped him in many ways. Epsteins attorneys expressed doubts that he died by suicide. They say his injuries were much more consistent with assault than suicide. Attorneys also noted that epstein was not despondent or despairing before his death. Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband appeared in court. As expected they waived their right for separate attorneys despite a warning from the judge that sha