we have several breaking stories tonight. the deadly explosions. two massive blasts in china, the mushroom cloud glowing in the sky, the walls crashing in. several dead, hundreds reportedly injured. our bob woodruff standing by in china tonight. also breaking, former president jimmy carter just revealing he has cancer. his message late today. the police officer fired opportunity after shooting and killing this unarmed football star. the officer now claiming tonight the police chief acted too quickly in firing him. tom brady's last chance to get that suspension lifted, today the quarterback coming face-to-face with the nfl commissioner. and tonight the judge revealing which way he might be leaning. and could she be the biggest great white shark ever captured on video? nearly 5,000 pounds.

good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy wednesday night. we begin with the horrific scene in china. a series of deadly explosions so powerful they could be seen from space. several dead, hundreds injured tonight. and you can see one of the explosions right there. the blast spotted and heard from miles away. so many reports tonight, the explosions felt like a major earth quake. and you can see the aftermath coming in now, homes, buildings, entire neighborhoods on fire. it's believed it was an explosion at a warehouse storing hazardous materials. we have late details coming in at this hour. abc's bob woodruff is in china leading us off. >> reporter: the mushroom cloud, eating up the night sky tonight. hundreds injured. many still missing. the horror beginning just before 11:00 p.m. a fire at a warehouse storing

hazardous material in the port city of tianjin. within 15 minutes firefighters respond, but the worst is yet to come. 11:30 p.m., two explosions, one after the other. miles away, people watch from their windows. seconds later, the force of the blast sweeping them off their feet. scientists say it packed the power of 21 tons of tnt and could be felt more than six miles away. this man, captured on surveillance video moments before the front of a building caves in. in the streets, dazed residents using blankets to cover their mouths, clutching their children. hospitals soon flooded with victims. at least 13 people dead and reports of three to four hundred injured. as of tonight, first responders canvas burning neighborhoods looking for signs of life. david, these explosions were so powerful that weather satellites were actually able to see them

from space. on the ground everyone within miles of the disaster is being evacuated just in case this danger is not over. bob woodruff in china for us, thank you. we're going to turn now to that other developing headline here at home tonight. we learned late today that former president jimmy carter has been diagnosed with cancer. revealing tonight it has spread, discovered during surgery earlier this month. abc's david kerley on president carter's message. >> reporter: the former president, tonight sharing with a world he's been so engaged with that he has cancer. and it has spread. in his statement tonight, mr. carter says the cancer was discovered during "liver surgery" the cancer was discovered which is now, quote, in other parts of my body. president carter reminisced with george stephanopoulos about his latest book, "a full life," acknowledging that the final chapters are being written. >> i know that in a few years since i'll be 91 in october, that my travel capability and my vigor -- physical vigor is going

to die down. >> reporter: mr. carter's parents, two sisters and brother all died of cancer. the 39th president, from plains, georgia, was denied a second term, losing to ronald reagan in the midst of the iranian hostage crisis. but his post-presidency, one of the busiest ever. filled with the work of the carter center. president carter is cancelling his schedule so he can stay in atlanta for treatment and will possibly reveal more about his condition next week. the current president, mr. obama says, we hope for a fast and full recovery and says they are praying for the entire carter family as they face this challenge with the same grace and determination they have shown so many times before. david? >> we all feel that way tonight. david thank you. i want to get right to dr. richard besser. rich, they discovered this during surgery on his liver a few weeks back. what does this tell you? >> cancer from many different parts of the body can show up in the liver. doctors are going to be working to figure out where did this come from, and then at a cellular level, what made these

cancer cells turn cancerous. tomorrow at that point can they determine the best treatment as well as prognosis. >> we are all pulling for president carter tonight. rich, thank you. we're going to turn now to new outrage this evening after a texas police officer was fired for fatally shooting this high school football star. the surveillance footage showing the 19-year-old at a car dealership, authorities say acting erratically, damaging some of the cars. police answering the call but it's what happened when they followed the suspect that wasn't captured on camera. tonight that officer says the police chief acted too quickly in firing him. abc's ryan owens in texas. >> reporter: from the moment christian taylor swings on the gate outside this dallas area car dealership, his behavior is erratic. surveillance cameras capture the 19-year-old trying to break car windows with his bare hands, jumping on cars, even driving his jeep through that same gate, slamming it into the showroom. the college athlete paid for his bizarre behavior that night, with his life.

shot and killed by 49-year-old arlington texas police officer brad miller moments after you see him walk into the dealership. >> i have decided to terminate officer miller's employment with the arlington police department for exercising poor judgment. >> reporter: the chief fired the rookie officer, who was still in training. the chief says the rookie violated department policy by going right into the building right after tailor without even telling his training officer. the chief says five other police officers were setting up a perimeter, making up a plan, but officer miller went in alone. >> decisions were made that had catastrophic outcomes. >> reporter: the chief says miller shot tailor four times. several officers suspected taylor had a gun in his pocket. it turned out to be nothing more than keys and a cell phone. miller's attorney says the chief rushed to judgment to quiet protestors, and says the rookie made decisions in the heat of a violent confrontation to save

his and other officers' lives. because he's a rookie, miller cannot appeal his firing, but he might have a whole lot more to worry about than that tonight. he's now the subject of a criminal investigation that will end up before a grand jury. david? >> ryan owens tonight, ryan, thanks. now to tom brady tonight coming face-to-face with the nfl commissioner today and the judge who will decide if the suspension will stand. the clock ticking for brady. smiling as he headed into court. four weeks into the patriots take the field. perhaps his last chance to get that suspension lifted. nfl commissioner roger goodell in that room, too. abc's ryan smith tonight on what the judge said today about whether there's any evidence directly linking brady to deflate-gate. >> reporter: tom brady, met by cheering fans outside new york federal court today, bracing for battle to get back on the field. the superstar quarterback going head-to-head with nfl commissioner roger goodell, booed upon his arrival. >> the liar has aarrived!

>> reporter: the courtroom showdown as brady fights his four-game suspension, denying any involvement in deflate-gate. the judge says he's still making up his mind but added he's "having trouble" finding evidence brady was part of any conspiracy to deflate footballs. grilling the nfl for "direct evidence" implicating brady, the league insisting "there may not be a smoking gun but there is evidence of culpability." but the judge had tough questions for brady's side too. like why brady destroyed his cellphone during the investigation. his lawyer, claiming he did it to protect his privacy but acknowledging it "could have been done a different way." >> the judge was trying to send a message today that if this case does not get settled, then it's going to be resolved in a way that's not going to make everybody happy. if the suspension is upheld, brady will be on the sidelines until october 18. if both sides can't reach an agreement within the next week, the lawyers will be back in this courthouse next wednesday to argue their cases. both sides agreeing they want this case settled a week before the patriots' first regular

season game. david? >> ryan smith here in new york. tonight there is late word from the epa after that toxic spill in colorado. concern growing over the safety of the water. 100 miles of river contaminated with 3 million gallons of toxic chemicals, arsenic, lead among them. winding from colorado toward the grand canyon, closing in on a key drinking water reservoir, lake powell. now one week after the spill, the epa now on the scene with new test results. is the water safe, and will neighbors believe them? here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: tonight, one week after the epa's mistake at a nearby mine turned these rivers yellow with millions of gallons of toxic chemicals, the head of the agency says the situation is improving. >> the levels have returned to preevent conditions. >> reporter: colorado state officials giving the green light tonight to begin treating and using water from the animas river. >> that plume is still moving. as pretty as the animas river

looks to us, this is not the end of the story. this is the beginning. >> reporter: i'm more than 40 miles downstream and look at this. it doesn't take very much to kick up these toxic heavy metals. the water moving 213 gallons a minute toward lake powell. >> i've called all sorts of people to try to figure out what exactly is involved and we don't know. >> reporter: the epa telling abc news they're in boats testing lake powell. despite the toxic leflgs here, david, there's no word on when they'll re-open this river. >> thanks to you again tonight. overseas and to an accident involving a u.s. helicopter. these images coming in from japan. the helicopter in pieces on the deck of a navy supply ship after making a hard landing, a routine training mission. the tail snapped off, seven people injured. back here at home tonight, the race for 2016 and the firestorm growing for hillary clinton tonight. mrs. clinton now reversing course, turning over that home

server after insisting she would not. abc's jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: it's the e-mail server hillary clinton kept here at her home in chappaqua, new york. for months she has flatly refused to turn it over. >> i have met all of my responsibilities. the server will remain private. >> reporter: but now, a reversal. clinton has agreed to turn that server over to the justice department which is investigating whether classified information in her e-mails has been properly secured. abc news has learned that at least two of clinton's private e-mails included information now classified as top secret. mrs. clinton once denied sending any classified information whatsoever. but listen closely to what she says now. >> i am confident that i have never sent nor received any information that was classified at the time it was sent and received. >> reporter: the e-mail controversy has been overshadowed lately by the donald trump show. >> ladies and gentlemen, the

next potus, donald j. trump! >> reporter: but now trump aiming his fire at hillary clinton. >> did she commit a crime? yes. will they prosecute it? perhaps no. >> reporter: and today, jeb bush knocked her for storing sensitive information in that chappaqua server. >> thinking that her server would be safer than the state department's firewalls? we need a president who recognizes that there are threats in the 21st century that are dramatically different than the threats of 30 years ago. >> reporter: now mrs. clinton's unlikely challenger is soaring. over the last few days, bernie sanders has addressed huge crowds. 15,000 in seattle, 28,000 in portland, 27,000 in los angeles. >> jon karl with us live. you mentioned bernie sarnders. i want to show everyone at home new numbers out tonight in the key state of new hampshire. a new poll showing him leading hillary clinton, 44 to 37%. this is the first time we've seen that in this race? >> reporter: that should be a real wakeup call to the clinton team. while she is still leading in

iowa, it's getting closer there, too. the bottom line, david, is this has been a tough summer for hillary clinton. while she remains the clear front-runner, this is shaping up to be a much tougher race for her than anybody expected. >> jon karl live with us again tonight, thank you. major developments tonight in that international custody battle. actress kelly rutherford in tears, a judge sending her two young children back to their father overseas even though here children are u.s. citizens. tonight new images of the children arriving back overseas and a new statement from rutherford blasting the judge. here's linsey davis. >> her meese and he will na, the children of gossip girl star kelly rutherford landed in niece this morning with their paternal grandmother after yesterday's ruling by a new york judge ordering these young american citizens back to monaco to live with their father, daniel giersch. >> how are you feeling, kelly? >> reporter: a teary rutherford left this manhattan federal

court without her children yesterday. >> like any parent would feel, you know, that loves their kids. >> reporter: they've been staying with her for the past five weeks. as part of a custody arrangement she's been battling for six years, calling it unfair. the couple was originally supposed to share couple after their divorce until giersch's visa was revoked in 2012 when a california judge ruled the children should live with their dad temporarily. when rutherford failed to return the children last week as mandated by that agreement, her ex-husband took emergency legal action to get them back. >> i have no words at this moment, no words. >> reporter: but she had some choice words today for the judge and legal system, releasing this statement which says in part, what the judge did yesterday was shocking, illegal and abusive to my children. giersch's attorney fired back. >> he's very pleased that the order has been enforced. >> reporter: it's unclear whether she'll be able to get her children back. legal experts tell us rutherford is in a legal no man's land with

few options and say that this latest attempt to keep them likely worked against her. >> linsey davis, thank you. we're going to turn to that stunning image today, a monster great white believed to be the single biggest great white ever captured on video. abc's ron claiborne tonight with the numbers. >> reporter: it is an amazing up-close look at one of the biggest great white sharks ever captured on camera in its natural habitat. researchers call her "deep blue," a female shark. at the time this video was taken, pregnant and hungry. just how big she is, is hard to say. researchers' best guess, more than 20 feet long and probably pushing 5,000 pounds. deep blue is believed to be around 50 years old. deep blue was found by the discovery channel crew. they are planning to share more thilg thrilling shark moments during "shweekend" on discovery, later this month. >> wow, we got a really big shark around the boat. >> reporter: this just released video providing a new look at

this gargantuan creature, both frightening and fascinating. researchers have been tracking deep blue ever since they shot that video off the coast of mexico. it's rare for a shark to be longer than 16 or 17 feet. david, this is truly one of the biggest great white sharks ever recorded alive. >> ron, our thanks to you. there's still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday night. we're back on the case. charities and swindlers. now the beauty pageant winner accused of doing the same thing, faking her cancer. how much money did she allegedly get. also the new headline tonight, the one supermarket that can boost the value of your home if you live nearby. then later tonight, the jaw-dropping high wire walk, 1,000 feet above the ground from one cliff to another, whoa, then he falls. he is standing by checking in with us right here tonight. with. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count.

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the beauty pageant winner accused of faking her cancer so she could ask for your donations. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: she's supposed to be a role model for the young women of pennsylvania, but tonight this disgraced beauty queen is behind bars, accused of declaring for more than two years that she had cancer when she did not. >> i would never think that somebody would exploit a disease to gain money. >> reporter: here you see 23-year-old brandi lee weaver-gates, miss pennsylvania u.s. international without hair and wearing a mask in a photo posted on facebook in 2013. she told friends, even her own family that she had been battling stage two leukemia, raising money by inviting people to a fundraising called bingo for brandi. >> they raised between 13 and $14,000. >> just one fundraiser? >> one fundraiser. >> reporter: the investigating officer seen in this image that went around the world allege k she never got treatment at the hospitals she claimed treated

her. tonight she's charged with theft by deception and receiving stolen property. miss pennsylvania u.s. international stripping her of her title, saying she must return that sash and crown as soon as she can. david, that may take a while. brandi weaver-gates is in jail because she couldn't make bail. if convicted, she could spend 14 years in prison, david. >> a sad story all the way around. thanks. when we come back here tonight, the new mystery in space, what someone spotted, a ufo? you decide after the break. also the one supermarket you might want in your neighborhood. some saying it could predict a jump in the value of your homecoming up. rituals

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talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your risk. finally, out to break a world record, he had us break into a sweat, no harness, no net. >> reporter: that's spencer see brook walking down the path straight for the cliff. where most of us would stop, he's just getting started. a sport called slack lining, a high stakes tight rope nearly 1,000 feet up when suddenly, this. watch as he pulls himself back up. at 26, he's been at this for years. even in the kitchen. how do you take your coffee? most of the time he uses a harness, but no harness now.

late today checking in with us. >> what i'm doing is really pushing the limits of myself and the sport. take the harness off and do what you've done before but it's just a whole other mental game. >> reporter: about that fall, he told us it was intentional. that he felt something was wrong and wanted to reset. >> i looked down at the line and i just wrapped my body around it to secure myself. >> reporter: soon back up and one foot in front of the other. 210 feet across, a world record. >> i've been dream aboing about for a long time. to step onto the solid rock just felt amazing. >> better him than us. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. good night.

this is the "jeopardy!" tournament of champions. now let's meet today's semi-finalists -- a data and translation coordinator from eastpointe, michigan... a tv news producer originally from south coffeyville, oklahoma... and an i.t. consultant originally from florence, south carolina... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny gilbert. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. well, our two winningest players of the past season -- julia collins, who won 20 games, arthur chu, who won 11 games --