30/04/2014 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

London was able to operate about half of its normal service.

It is time now for the news across the US, ABC World News with Diane

Sawyer. Tonight, a big message sent to

sports and the nation. Effective immediately, I am planning Mr

Sterling for life. Tornado outbreak, at twisters bearing down.

And tonight, could these storms doubled back and hit the same towns

again? And, surprise in your home. A child's hand stuck in a toy that was

supposed to be recalled. Do you know what recalled items are sitting in

your home? We begin with the seismic decision

today, one which stands at the centre of race, respect, money and

consequences in America. Donald Sterling, the billionaire owner of

the Los Angeles Clippers, banned for life for making racist rep remarks.

The NBA commissioner used everything he had, throwing the book at Donald

Sterling, who will never again sit courtside at another Clippers game.

Effective immediately, I am banning Mr Sterling for life from any

association with the NBA or the Clippers organisation. Banned from

the games, the practice facilities, any say in the decisions, and banned

from contacting the players. All is this after he admitted making racist

comments in a taped conversation with his alleged girlfriend. The NBA

commissioner also announced that he will be fined $2.5 million, the

league maximum. And, they are moving quickly to pressure team owners to

sell the team. I would urge the Board of Governors to exercise its

authority to force a sale of the team, and will do anything in my

power to ensure that that happens. Since the story broke on the

basketball world has united to denounce Mr Sterling. Not a word

from him himself. Last seen on Sunday, leaving a steakhouse with

his estranged wife. She defended him. Kevin Johnson, a former NBA

great, said that this ugly episode should serve as a warning. I hope

that every bigot in this country see `` sees what happened to Mr

Sterling, and recognises that if he can fall, so can you. Just hours

after this decision, the Clippers are returning here to play the

Warriors. While this controversy has brought about a larger discussion

about race and how we treat each other in this country, the Clippers

need to concentrate on winning on the basketball court. Mike, you said

this was going to unleash something big. How big is it? It is about as

big as it can get. We are going to have zero tolerance policy going

forward on this sort of language, this mean`spirited language. Even if

it is in the privacy of one's home, or in a private conversation. We

will not tolerate it, the league will not stand for it, and for now,

almost everyone except the Donald Sterling camp seems to be an

agreement. We will have pictures of some of these 29 owners. You really

think that three quarters of them will vote to force him to sell? I

think they will. There are couple of reasons why. Firstly, the players

are almost unanimous in their support of Adam Silver, and I don't

think this particular fight is one of the owners are for. That is not

just the 75% who are African`American, you are looking at

100% unanimity on not wanting to have Donald Sterling any more. We're

not talking so much about legal challenge, as his business partner

saying, we want you out. Do I think that he has the votes necessary? I

think he had them when he stepped to the lectern and said he was banning

him for life. Does this mean that racism in America or in sport is

coming to an end? No, but slowly but surely, piece by piece, a million

paper cuts, as he said, people get their message, that this kind of

behaviour is not going to be tolerated, and essentially,

eventually, it dies off. They think they are saying, we can be few out

and make you a pariah, then people get the message.

We move onto the epic new outbreak of tornadoes. 22 million Americans

still on alert in the tornado zone, and the map shows where at least 128

twisters were reported since Sunday. This was someone's office, that was

surrounded by glass, but today it is out in the rain. People across this

region, who are just beginning to recover from Monday's tornadoes,

Corinda danger zone again. Danger tonight, in eastern North Carolina,

these tornado was spotted. Across the south, they can't get a break.

Late this afternoon, tornadoes were firing up over southern Mississippi

and central Alabama. Valerie Thompson worries that more storms

may wash what is left of her home away. I was right there watching

TV, and Christmas, and all that, but it is gone. Early reports show that

this deadly tornado was in EF two, with highest wins what up to 135

mph. It destroyed more than 2100 homes.

This man was lucky he was not electrocuted. At our ABC station,

our reporter was live on the air, telling viewers to run for cover. He

was demanding that his 35 co`workers do the same. Already, at least 33

lives lost in this storm across five states. Today, one family told us he

planned to take the weather warning is much more seriously from now on.

Six of them were crowded into this tiny pantry with the family dog. All

of you were in this pantry? Yes. Today, half of their home is here,

the other half across the street. Heed the warning. When they say,

take your safe place, take your safe place. Take your safe place, that is

the message for tonight. Utility crews are trying to restore power,

hoping the weather to operate. Tonight the storm seems to be

spinning in place, threatening families already hit with the second

round. Our correspondent shows us how much longer the threat will

last. It will last another 36 hours. It feels like it has been like this

for ever. Here I am just north of Birmingham, Alabama. It was the fire

department. Last night the tornado tore through here. Now we are under

tornado watch again. Let me show you all the areas seeing the risk again

tonight. So many double up. Mississippi up to Alabama has an

elevated risk. Anywhere in Orange, even North Carolina could see

tornadoes tonight. The threat stays with us tomorrow. It is not to be

ignored. Tomorrow, from North Florida through the mid`Atlantic is

the risk area. But I wanted to tell you the next and start to the

question why is this happening. Our atmosphere is all locked up. It is

something called a cut off low. It gets stuck here and sits and spends

and churns so that violent storms keep happening in the same exact

place `` spins. That is the problem. So many people take their safe

places, I wanted to mention, grab this. A helmet. You never know, in

that state place, you could have debris flying or falling. Good

advice. Something else from the tornado zone. Survivors raising the

American flag above the wreckage. Families comforting each other,

flags flowing behind them. In the midst of such struggle, so many

symbols of the American spirit. Now to news of the gunman who put his

co`workers in the crosshairs. A policeman says that a FedEx employee

opened fire at a package sorting facility in Georgia. He was heavily

armed, he was described as Rambo. Six were wounded and the gunman was

found dead inside. Now an update on the missing Malaysian plane. A

private company has found a clue that it has detected some suspicious

metal readings in the ocean. But this was thousands of miles from the

official search sites and the official team does not give these

clues much credence tonight. And in Washington, the White House has

taken aim at incidents of sexual attack on College campuses. A study

shows that one in five College students in America is the victim of

assault. Joe Biden said that colleges have a moral responsibility

to protect students and to teach them to prevent such attacks.

Doesn't matter if she said yes and changed her mind and said no! No

means no! Obama administered new recommendations for schools to

report assault and created a new website to support victims. We moved

to the news tonight in the ongoing pursuit of Amanda Knox. She is the

American accused in an Italian court of brutally murdering her roommate.

She was convicted, freed, and convicted again. Today the Italian

courts ruled there is reliable evidence placing both Amanda Knox

and her then boyfriend at the scene of the murder of her British

roommate Meredith Kircher. The court was convinced there were multiple

killers but that it was Amanda Knox who wielded the knife that killed

her. The evidence, a minute piece of DNA found on her bra clasp. As well

is a crime scene, they were believed to be keen to cover up their

involvement. It is believed to stem from a disagreement over money. Last

year Amanda Knox spoke with Diane Sawyer about her relationship with

Meredith Kircher. Did you go your separate ways? Did something happen?

No. We spent a lot of time together, and I met her friends. We

were you ever jealous of her? You lack no. Were you ever angry with

her? No. Is evidence had been presented before, and the court was

told how she could have cleaned her own DNA from the crime scene. In a

statement, Amanda Knox says she is innocent from the accusations

against her. She will focus on pursuing an appeal before the

Italian Supreme Court. If the court upholds the conviction it could set

up a fight over whether she should be extradited back to Italy. For

now, she is technically a convicted murderer living freely in Seattle

and preparing to graduate in June. Up next, you will see a child's hand

stuck in a toy which has been recalled either manufacturer. Her

parents did not know. Do you know what recalled items are sitting in

your home? Take our test in two minutes.

A lot of us don't know that there are millions of recalled the

surrounding us. In a surprising test tonight, our correspondent works

into an average house looking for recalled products and fines we are

not as aware as we think. Five`year old Sophia is not happy, because

these firefighters are trying to remove a recalled easy Bake oven

which is stuck on her hands. I was so scared. Million of the toys,

which can trap child's hand and possibly burn them, were recalled.

She bought it at a barrage sale. I found out it was the recalled toy.

It is hard to keep track. A survey shows that 10% of recalled products

are ever returned or repaired. They often become garage sale items.

Millions of homes could have a danger lurking. We went to visit.

Davies is with the consumer product safety commission. Recalled for a

finger amputation danger from a hinge. What is the serial number?

This stroller has also been recalled. This recall was from a

string which could cause a choking danger. With a snip it is gone.

These mattresses are not properly sized, and create a gap. A light in

the baby's room was also recalled. In all we found four items which

needed to be fixed or removed. What you make of it all? It sounds like I

should not be getting hand`me`downs. That's one way. Or do what our

expert did. Check online, fill out warranty cards, and sign up for

alerts. Keep something like this from happening in your home. And now

tonight, a man robbed of almost 25 years of his life, and the community

of strangers who decided to help pull him to his feet. As our

correspondent showed us, after the ordeal, what it is to be America

Strong. You are watching the moment Jonathan Fleming is exonerated after

25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Stepping into the

sunlight and expressing not one ounce of resentment. I feel

wonderful. I am going to eat dinner with my mother mother and my family

and get on with my life. These receipts prove that he was at Disney

World with his children when the murder was committed in New York.

What is it like to be outside on a beautiful day in Central Park? It's

a good feeling. But there are challenges adjusting to brave new

world. Even in cars, the GPS, which tells you exact the way to go, I'm

not used to that. Repairing lost relationships, and then there is

money. I had about $93 in my account. Enter a total stranger, a

Wall Street rancour. Why did you feel you had to do something? After

the hell he has been through for the last 24 years, he came out with a

positive attitude, wanting to live the rest of his life and being

positive. `` Wall Street bank. He went online and created this

website. Within days, nearly $35,000 was donated white hundreds of people

in 15 countries. He wanted to meet his benefactor, so we made it

happen. I want to thank you, man. I'm just glad to be able to help.

Thank you very much. One man finally free, and a group of strangers,

helping him out. They are America Strong. And we are so glad you are

watching tonight. We are always here on our website. I will see you

tomorrow night. Good night. Good morning. Once again, we will be

going into the morning rush hour with a mix of low cloud, mist and

fog. The fog will be at its most dense in the eastern coast of

Scotland and England as well as Northern Ireland. A grey start for

many. Not a huge amount of sunshine,