bit of pressure to play well this year, but they're optimistic about the season and the future. we certainly wish them well. world news tonight with david muir is next. tonight, several developing stories. three ef-2 tornadoes tearing through. the severe weather threat as we come on across several states. the shopping center destroyed. one tornado hitting a hospital. and tonight, just days after hurricane dorian, a new tropical disturbance we're watching now. it could very well affect the u.s. also tonight, the workplace stabbing rampage. several people attacked. an employee allegedly armed with a knife shortly after arriving at work, targeting his coworkers. some jumping in to try to stop him. tonight, amid several deaths linked to vaping, president trump and the first lady saying the white house will now call for a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. the stunning new number tonight. the new discovery in the bahamas.

two major stories involving planes tonight. the emergency mid-flight. the flames shooting from the engine. and the cargo plane, the deadly crash in the heartland. we have breaking news tonight. what the makers of oxycontin are reportedly agreeing to. the disturbing new headline about nfl superstar antonio brown, on his first day with the patriots. what his former trainer is accusing him of. the stage is set. the first time all leading democratic candidates on one stage, one night, in just 24 hours. standing center stage with joe biden, elizabeth warren, on the rise. the new recall. millions of vehicles. concern over the brakes. and the uproar in the uk. d the new prime minister lie to the queen? it could have major consequences. and on this 9/11, we remember. and good evening tonight from houston. the debate stage is set behind me for tomorrow, but on this night, of course, we do take

note that the nation pauses to remember 9/11. the images and one incredible story all these years later in just a moment. but we do begin tonight with the horror that played out as three ef-2 tornadoes ripped through the center of the country. they were all part of at least 11 reported tornadoes in just the past 24 hours. this massive twister north of ft. laramie, wyoming. sioux falls, south dakota, hit especially hard. those three ef-2s confirmed inside the city. winds of at least 125 miles an hour, destroying a shopping center and slamming into a hospital. doctors and nurses had just minutes to wake up patients, to get them to safety. and tonight, major questions about why some of the city's sirens did not go off. officials now say it was human error. and all of this, as we now watch yet another tropical disturbance that could cause trouble for the u.s. abc's alex perez leading us off tonight from sioux falls. >> reporter: tonight, families across the upper midwest bracing for a second night of severe storms.

>> oh, god, it hit something! >> reporter: nearly a dozen twisters reported in the last 24 hours. the dangerous weather striking south dakota's largest city in the middle of the night. tornado sirens sounding the alarm in sioux falls. there are 77 of them across the city, but officials say not all of them were activated, blaming human error. at least three twisters touching down in the city, all ef-2s. the one striking this hospital campus had winds up to 130 miles an hour. >> our staff was courageous. they had ten minutes to wake up 102 residents, get them to the center of the building and all are safe and sound. >> reporter: another ef-2 twister quickly tearing through this shopping complex. total devastation in just 60 seconds. this woman's business destroyed. >> we can start over. nobody was hurt. and that's really all that counts. >> reporter: powerful winds sending a tree crashing onto charles' home.

>> i mean, this is a multiple hundred pound tree. and i'm surprised the house didn't go down. >> reporter: residents here worried, watching the skies for more possible storms tonight. >> and alex joins us now from sioux falls. he's live tonight. and alex, after all they have already been through, we know more storms are possible there tonight? >> reporter: yeah, david, we've already had some rain push through here. i want you to look behind me here. you can see just how powerful those winds were, completely destroying this auto parts store. basically a shell of a building here. and with more storms on the way, officials here say they are taking steps to make sure those problems with the sirens don't happen again. david? >> alex perez leading us off tonight. alex, thank you. let's get right to meteorologist rob marciano, tracking it all, watching the severe weather into the night and, of course, that new tropical threat. rob? >> reporter: good evening, david. we'll start with the severe. the atmosphere primed again in the midwest. and sioux falls is right there, along the stationary boundary. we expect storms to fire there and across madison, through detroit, michigan, and minneapolis in the morning. you'll see storms. and then again in the afternoon,

as will des moines, iowa. it's the peak of hurricane season. we've got three disturbances in the atlantic. one can uncomfortably close and forecast to get into the gulf of mexico, potentially as a tropical cyclone this weekend. at the very least, we'll see heavy rain for florida and much of the gulf coast states. more details to come on this tomorrow. david? >> rob marciano with us again tonight, as well. rob, thank you. and we're going to turn tonight to the workplace stabbing rampage playing out today in tallahassee. a worker minutes after showing up to work pulling out a knife and attacking his colleagues. some jumping in, trying to stop him. abc's victor oquendo is on the scene in tallahassee tonight. >> reporter: tonight, tallahassee police say the stabbing spree at this workplace could have been much worse if not for the heroic actions of coworkers who fought back. >> several employees armed themselves with whatever they could and tried to engage him and actually held him at bay at one point while officers were arriving. >> reporter: 41-year-old antwann brown in custody tonight. authorities say he clocked in at

8:00 this morning at dyke industries, but after some kind of dispute, was told to clock out at 8:20. just 13 minutes later, police receiving their first call about the stabbings. >> from what we know how, he appeared that he had actually sought out certain victims. >> reporter: five employees were stabbed with what was described as a common pocket knife and transported to the hospital. one of them in serious condition, but expected to survive. >> horrible scene there. victor oquendo joins us live outside the scene and police are still working to determine a motive tonight, victor? >> reporter: that's right, david. police say the suspect appeared to target specific people, but there is no word on a motive. they say he only worked here for a few months and there were no issues until today. david? >> victor oquendo with us. victor, thanks. we reported last night here on yet another death possibly linked to vaping. this time, the patient in his 50s. and here in the houston area, that student collapsing. he was rushed to the hospital. he's okay now. tonight, the president and the first lady and the plan to ban flavored e-cigarettes. all of this comes as authorities

in wisconsin shut down a massive operation making counterfeit vaping cartridges. here's abc's steve osunsami. >> reporter: with the first lady at his side, the president shared a personal reason for tonight's move to ban certain e-cigarettes, saying that they pose a risk to children the same age as their son. >> we can't allow people to get sick and we can't have our youth be so affected. and i'm hearing it, and that's how the first lady got involved. >> reporter: the federal government says it is now finalizing plans to remove e-cigarette products from the market that have fruit and candy flavors popular with teenagers. only tobacco-flavored products will be allowed. their data shows that more than a quarter of high school students are current e-cigarette users and the "overwhelming majority" use "fruit and menthol or mint flavors." while the president's announcement focused on tobacco, police in the milwaukee suburbs announced at a press conference the arrest of these two brothers, accused of filling tens of thousands of counterfeit e-cigarette cartridges inside a

rented condo, using mason jars filled with high grade thc oil. >> it's not candy. it's highly potent drugs. >> reporter: police say this was some of the packaging. sour patch and fruit flavors. >> this is packaging that i've seen in stores and other stories across the nation. >> reporter: it's still not clear exactly what is getting users sick. dylan nelson barely survived. >> i didn't think he was going to come out of it. i thought that i was seeing my son the last time. >> reporter: the american vaping association is responding to all of this, saying that a flavor ban does nothing to stop drug dealers from selling contaminated cartridges. david? >> steve osunsami with us tonight. steve, thank you. president trump there on vaping today. he also said today he might watch the debate tomorrow night. the stage is set right here behind me and some big differences this time. the first debate held on just one night, with all the leading democratic candidates on one stage. you can see the stage right here here behind me tonight.

former vice president joe biden will be in the middle. he's the front-runner. several new polls, including ours, have him at the top. and for the first time right beside him, center stage, elizabeth warren. she's been gaining in the polls, including our own. so, let's take a wide shot of the stage here at texas southern university, where mary bruce is up on the stage where the candidates will be tomorrow night. and mary, the stakes could not be higher for all the candidates as they try to break out. >> reporter: yes, and david, for the first time, voters will be able to compare these two candidates side-by-side. standing right here will be joe biden and right here next to him will be elizabeth warren. these two candidates have wildly different campaign styles and visions for the future. we'll be watching closely to see if they attack each other. with warren on the rise, will biden take some shots at her? and will the other candidates, too, like bernie sanders? he and elizabeth warren share many of the same positions, but so far, they've declined to go after each other. now, standing next to them will be kamala harris and pete buttigieg. they are looking for a boost. while, david, these candidates on the wings, they are in need of a jolt, too. they're looking for that breakout moment, hoping to upend the race. david? >> all right, mary, you'll be

right here with us. i'll be moderating with our george stephanopoulos and linsey davis and our colleague jorge ramos from univision. tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, one stage, one night, right here on abc. in the meantime, we turn to the other news tonight, a bombshell allegation against an nfl star, antonio brown, on his first day with the patriots. a woman who was his former trainer claiming he sexually assaulted and raped her. it comes as brown suited up for his fit practice with the new england patriots. and tonight, antonio brown's response. abc's paula faris is in foxborough, massachusetts. >> reporter: tonight, the patriots are standing by newly-signed star wide receiver antonio brown, seen here practicing for the first time with his new team, just hours after the bombshell news that he's facing a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault. britney taylor, a former lsu gymnast, who first met brown in college and later went on to train him, alleges three separate incidents of sexual assault in 2017 and 2018. she claims he even bragged about

one encounter through "astonishingly profane and angry text messages." taylor claims she told her mother and even a chef who worked for brown shortly after one of the incidents, and that brown texted he was going to fire her. police reports were never filed for any of the allegations. it's unclear if the nfl will take action. >> we're taking it one day at a time. just like we always do. >> reporter: the team is not commenting on whether he'll play on sunday, but brown's power agent, drew rosenhaus, saying his client vehemently denies the allegations and will cooperate with any investigation. >> this is a money grab. in my opinion, this is a money grab. >> reporter: reps for antonio brown plan on countersuing britney taylor. she's seeking unspecified damages, is demanding a trial and is reportedly meeting with the nfl next week as the league is conducting its own independent investigation. david? >> paula faris tonight. paula, thank you. and from the bahamas this evening, the stunning new number. authorities now say 2,500 people are missing.

2,500. and after those images we showed you last night here, what it was like inside a home, a family trapped in that cat 5 hurricane, you can understand why that number of missing is now staggering. abc's marcus moore there again tonight. >> reporter: we saw the images. that storm surge pounding so many homes. nine people helpless inside this one in abaco, watching the windows break. the category 5 winds blowing through the living room. and when the eye passed over, this group made their escape inside this car. but the fear tonight is that so many did not. some possibly swept out to sea. the bahamian government tonight declaring 2,500 missing after hurricane dorian obliterated parts of the bahamas. government officials now cross-checking those names against the lists of those who evacuated or went to shelters, as they try to determine how many lives were lost in this historic storm. we were there today with the fairfax county search and rescue

team, checking neighborhoods in abaco, and that's where we met micheline, cooking inside an abandoned school. her home destroyed. she told us she lost four friends, and plans to live here as long as she's allowed. it's unclear how long the search and rescue teams will be on the island, but the team we traveled with today says they plan on staying until the job is done. david? >> marcus moore tonight. marcus, thank you. we turn next to a developing headline. the opioid crisis in america and tonight, a source now telling us purdue pharma, the maker of oxycontin, has reached a tentative deal to settle thousands of lawsuits, it could involve billions of dollars. and here's abc's chief business correspondent rebecca jarvis. >> reporter: tonight, purdue pharma, the maker of oxycontin, reaching a tentative deal with more than 20 states and 2,000 local governments to settle claims over the nation's deadly opioid epidemic. a source close to the negotiations tells abc news the pharma giant will pay up to $12 billion, including $3 billion from the sackler family. the majority of the settlement

is expected to go towards treatment, rehab and anti-overdose measures. the deal stipulates purdue pharma would declare bankruptcy, but the company will continue to sell oxycontin. >> so, let's get right to rebecca jarvis tonight. and rebecca, we know many states are coming out against this deal tonight? >> reporter: that's right, david. the opioid crisis, aording to the cdc, cost the u.s. $78 billion a year. and attorneys general in a number of states tonight, including new york, connecticut, pennsylvania and massachusetts have come out against the deal, saying it doesn't go far enough and that purdue pharma needs to admit wrongdoing, david. >> rebecca jarvis, i know you'll continue to follow it. thank you. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. two major stories involving planes tonight. the deadly crash of a cargo plane in the heartland. and the emergency mid-flight. the flames shooting from the engine. we'll have more on this in just a moment. also, news tonight about that close call. this was a difficult piece of video. the little girl nearly struck getting off the school bus. well, what police are now saying tonight.

and the major recall, nearly 3.5 million vehicles, because of a possible problem with the brakes. a lot more news ahead tonight. a lot more news ahead tonight. i'll be right back. when one student gleft behind, we all get left behind. this is a problem that affects each and every one of us. together with ibm, we created a whole new kind of school called p-tech. within six years, students can graduate with a high school diploma, a college degree, and a pathway to a competitive job. you know what's going today? my poster. today, there are more than a hundred thousand p-tech students around the world. it's a game changer. prpharmacist recommendedne memory support brand. p-tech students around the world. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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when pain happens, aleve it. all day strong. we're going to turn next tonight to the bird strike emergency north of the board rd. a passenger jet forced to make an emergency landing moments after takeoff. passengers watching flames shoot out of an engine. abc's david kerley covers aviation. >> reporter: this is what passengers saw just as they took off. >> fire! fire! >> reporter: tonight, recounting their fear. >> i started seeing flames coming out of the right engine. >> reporter: moments earlier, the 737 hit as many as four geese as it raced down the runway. >> bang, bang. the lights would go out, come back on. and it was like, this is strange. >> so, i just started yelling, "there's fire, fire on the right engine." >> reporter: it's called a compressor stall. the damaged engine still running, in essence backfiring with excess fuel. passengers worried whether they would make it back to abbotsford, canada, tuesday. >> i started texting my mom, i was like, "hey, something's wrong with the airplane." i was like, "i love you." >> reporter: once on the ground,

mechanics taking a close look at the engine on that jet, owned by swoop, an ultra low cost carrier. bird strikes can be dangerous, and they're not unusual. worldwide, there are an average of 40 every day. david? >> david kerley. thank you. when we come back, the major recall from gm. nearly 3.5 million vehicles. concern about the brakes. also, more on that deadly cargo plane crash in the heartland. and news tonight about that 5-year-old girl nearly struck while getting off the school bus. and what police are now saying about the driver. the index is next. if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture now might not be the best time to ask yourself are my bones strong? life is full of make or break moments. that's why it's so important to help reduce your risk of fracture with prolia®. only prolia® is proven to help strengthen and protect bones from fracture with 1 shot every 6 months. do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it or take xgeva®

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to the index of other news tonight. the deadly cargo plane crash in toledo, ohio. authorities say two people onboard were killed. the plane flying from memphis, crashing near the airport while trying to land, bursting into flames in a parking lot. the cause is still under investigation. and this scare at the airport in boca raton, florida. two people injured when their small plane crashed shortly

after takeoff, skidding past the hangars. maintenance workers standing right there. the pilot reported a problem before trying to return to the airport. the driver arrested tonight for a frightening close call in houston. 5-year-old melina kirk taylor was nearly struck by a car while stepping off the school bus. this was for the first time ever on the bus. her mother posting the images online, showing them to police. the driver is now charged with reckless driving. houston officers citing more than 1,000 drivers for school safety violations since just the start of the school year this year. gm issuing a major recall tonight. the company warning about a possible problem with power assisted brakes effecting 3.4 million pickups and suvs. the distance needed to stop may increase as the brakes get older. the recall includes six models, including some chevy silverados, gmc sierra pickups and cadillac escalades. and we do have a passing to note here in texas tonight. oil tycoon and philanthropist t. boone pickens has died. he made much of his fortune in the oil industry before turning his attention to clean energy. he used to say, "i like making

money, i like giving money away." t. boone pickens was 91. when we come back here tonight, on this 9/11, 18 years later, one incredible story. (chis not just hurting you.ng if you can't make up your mind to quit for yourself, do it for those who love you. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help

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which means you can retire, without retiring from life. having the flexibility to retire on your terms. that's the power of pacific. ask your financial professional about pacific life today. finally tonight here, across the country today, a nation paused to remember. it's difficult to believe it's been 18 years since 9/11. the images seared in all of our memories. and the pain and loss for so many families still there today. it's been 18 years since the horror played out on that clear september morning, 9/11. and every year, we as a nation

pause to remember. at the flight 93 national memorial in shanksville, pennsylvania, a mother touches her son's name. at the 9/11 memorial in new york city, this woman remembering her cousin, robert horohoe jr. and every year, the bells at 8:46, when the first plane hit. and it never gets easier. the names. >> my aunt, for whom i named my daughter after -- we love you forever. we miss you infinitely and our lives have never been the same. >> my father, firefighter martin nicholas demaio, hazmat company one. we miss you, we love you and we know that you're proud of us. >> and then, there was this. last week, nearly 18 years after the planes hit, firefighter michael haub's remains were identified. this was the wake for him in 2002, his wife erika, his son

michael, just 3 years old at the time, wearing a fire helmet. and now, with those remains 18 years later, his family again. his daughter, kiersten, his widow, his son, michael, right there again. he's now 21 and in uniform, saluting. he's a corporal in the marines. the firefighters presenting michael with his father's helmet. tonight, we honor that firefighter and his family and all of the families forever changed by 9/11. we remember all of those who were lost on 9/11 and we honor their families. thank you for watching here on a wednesday night. the democratic debate with all the leading candidates all on one stage right here tomorrow night. i'll see you then. good night.

only abc 7 news catches up with a millionaire murder suspect. her trial starts tomorrow. today lawyers from both sides spoke with us about the case. out of a job again. the judge in the brock turner case won't be working as a coach anymore. we expose current conditions of a memorial to a north bay woman among the victims of 9/11. now, news to build a better bay area from abc 7. tomorrow this woman will be on trial for murder, and only abc 7 news got a glimpse of her today heading to court for a hearing on final motion s before opening argument takes place tomorrow. >> it's been more than three years since the murder which was one of the most sensational crimes. >> tiffany lee and her

boyfriend, kava are accused of murdering the father of her two children. >> vic lee is live at the hall of justice with details on the case that you'll see only on abc 7. vic? ama, dan, a jury has been selected. motions have been filed. the last one here at the san mateo county courthouse today. and let me tell you. we were surprised to see tiffany lee here. >> finally, we can get this to trial and let members of our community sit on that jury and decide whether or not they committed this crime. >> reporter: on the tay befoday her trial, tiffany lee attended court. lee had been diagnosed with cancer last year. . >> she was almost stage four. by the time she got to surgery on breast cancer and is lucky to be here at all. >> reporter: tiffany lee, charged with murder, the daughter of a powerful, wealthy