02/05/2014 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

now for a look at the news as seen across the United States a couple of

hours ago, in ABC World News with Dianne Sawyer. Welcome to World

News. Tonight, sudden impact. A torrent of rain causes roads to

collapse. A backyard turns into a sinkhole. And all the rescues, as

millions real from the final punch of an epic storm. Campus crisis, top

universities under investigation for what they do if students report

sexual assault. `` reel. And fear of flying. See the panic attack on the

plane, and the man they call the plant whisperer. Is the answer as

simple as a straw? `` plane whisperer. Good evening. You are

about to see what a record`breaking rain does after so many people have

lived inside of the kind of two Day cloud burst. The earth groaning from

the water. Watch as this road collapses under the weight. Oh my

god. Trees and earth and road going down, so let's get right to our

correspondent who starts us again on the big storm and the battering

aftermath. These streets are just porn up. Chunks of asphalt on

peoples lawns. Much of the country is washed up. Tonight, this massive

storm delivers a final blow in the north`east. Mudslides on Long

Island. Covering these commuter train tracks. When buildings of saw

that much water in a short period of time, it can increase the likelihood

of a collapse. `` absorb. In Baltimore, officials are testing the

ground around this massive sinkhole to see if it is safe to start

digging out the ten cars are swallowed. It was like somebody came

by and ripped up the side of the road. As the record`breaking water

hits Pensacola, homeowners began the long process of cleaning up. Entire

act Carolina. Including a violent storm

what she would run into. At in Arkansas, one of the deadliest in

decades. Extreme flooding in ten states. All told, 860 reports of

severe weather, 39 dead, and $1 billion in damage. Fixing this mess

will not be easy. We are told that would take weeks or months. And we

move on now to the big headline about sexual assault on College

campuses. We learned today that a staggering 55 universities are

facing a federal investigation because of the weight they respond

to their students in a crisis of sexual assault. Our correspondent

has the story. Alcohol, loud music, and late nights. Sexual assault on

campus doesn't always happen like that. It can happen anywhere and any

time. And the colleges may not be doing enough. Today, the warning

shot from the US Department of Education fired at those 55 colleges

and universities which received Federal funds. They are being

investigated for possibly mishandling sexual violence and

harassment claims romp students. Among those on the list, Harvard,

Michigan, Ohio State Tomic and Berkely. This news, just as students

are preparing to make an important decision for their future, which to

attend. This student was a victim of sexual assault on campus. It

happened in her freshman year. She wasn't at a party and no alcohol was

involved. A friend of mine sexually assaulted me in his dorm room. I did

fight him. I said no multiple times. Or Mac we have to do everything in

our power to protect them. These are our children, wives, daughters,

sisters. These people are you. I am someone's friend and daughter, but I

am also a survivor of sexual assault. We reached out to some

schools who said they take the allegations very seriously and are

working to combat it. But tonight, the work is on to make every campus

safer. Heading to Ukraine, the Domino's falling tonight as Russian

sympathisers gain more ground. Tonight, pro`Russian mobs taking

control. All government buildings as Vladimir Putin demands Ukraine

pulled back its troops. One spot after another across eastern Ukraine

falling. This is as Ukraine 's leader says his forces are

helpless, losing parts of the country. Fear is spreading across

the region. It is why hundreds of American troops have arrived here

for joint training in Latvia, where those fears of a Russian invasion

are very real full rock seeing what has occurred ink remain, `` Ukraine,

Crimea, for them, this is real. With 50 pounds of gear, injury training

and live fire, the soldiers navigate a mile long course as rapidly as

possible. This is called a stress shoot. Not only do they have to

shoot, they have to run to get their heart rate up. A gruelling exercise

for Americans and Latvians but one that forges a bond between the

Allies. You all right? Yeah. Does having the US troops here send a

message to Vladimir Putin? I believe so, Mohamed Morsi. And what is that

message? `` I believe so, madam. And what is that message? Better not to

come to NATO countries. But the question is, is Vladimir Putin

listening? Now, news about the tragedy in Benghazi, the attack on

the US consulate that killed four Americans including the US

ambassador. Today, a retired regarded general testified before

Congress that the US military should have tried to do more to fend off

the attack. What would you say to the mother of one of the people that

was killed? I would say, sorry for your loss and your sacrifice. We

should have done more. In the White House pointed out today that the top

military officials have repeatedly said there were no US military

forces close enough to fight back. There is news tonight about the

missing Malaysia passenger plane now 55 days since it disappeared. And

investigation released today into the search shows confusion, wrong

information and a four hour delay from the start. For the first time,

the report reveals it took four hours to launch a rescue. A story of

confusion by air traffic controllers, bad information from

the airline and another country having to tell them that their plane

was missing. The back and forth, the miscommunications, there is no

excuse. Malaysia has finally released the comedic and between the

aircraft and the ground. The mystery begins just after aircraft

controllers handover the flight to Vietnam and what would have been the

aircraft's last communication. Moments later, the aircraft's

location transponder is shut off and it turns around. 17 minutes later,

Vietnam tells Malaysia that it cannot contact the jetliner. At this

point, it was in Malaysia and airspace. But Malaysia NetApp

controllers are unaware, confused and not even contact the military. I

be time it is called, the aircraft is far south over the Indian Ocean.

Today, there is still no idea where it is. The surge area has been

expanded from 21 square miles to 21,000 square miles. Now, the

ongoing turmoil swirling around the Los Angeles Clippers. There is a new

jump ball off the court. Could the owner accused of racism be forced to

sell the franchise? Could one of the buyers be his wife's? Shelley

Stirling has not missed a Clippers game since the scandal broke and

with a galaxy of celebrities waiting to take over the team, she could be

the real one to watch. But if she is to become the new owner, she may

have to overcome racially charged controversies in her own past. Daryl

Williams was one of their tenants. She developed a system of getting

rid of people they did not like. In 2003, Shelley Stirling was

videotaped posing as a government official, allegedly gathering

information on tenants she wanted to evict. Daryl Williams was part of a

housing commission dissemination lawsuit against the Stirling family.

They settled. In another lawsuit, a former property manager said that

she had said... Shelley Stirling has denied making those inflammatory

statements, saying: That lawsuit was also settled out of

court. They were last seen together leaving a steak house on Sunday.

Shelley was defending her husband against charges he is racist. But

that same day, she released a statement denouncing:

And today, the Clippers coach would not respond to questions about

Shelley Stirling taking over the team. I'm not thinking about any of

that. But he did say he expects her in the stands tonight.

Fear of flying. A woman having a panic attack on a plane and the man

they called the plain whisperer, showing how you facedown fear. ``

plane whisperer.