17/07/2014 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

We will have the rest of the news in half an hour. Time now for a look at

ABC World News with David Muir. Welcome. The children caught in the

crossfire. The video of the boys in the beach running for their lives

caught in an explosion. The fighting between Israel and Hamas. We hear

the explosion. The president weighs in. New details of a POW rescued

from the Taliban. His first message to the American people. Severe

weather hitting tonight. The girl carried a mile through a storm

drain. How she survived. This was the scene within minutes.

The mid` air emergency. The turbulence and the cracked ceiling

where heads were hit. Good evening. We begin with the

developments. The president speaking a short time ago about the violence

in the Middle East after what we saw. These images on the ground in

Gaza. The relatives of four boys. They were hit by Israeli air

strikes. Israel calls it a tragic outcome. What they agree to this

evening could only last a matter of hours. Our team was not far away.

The race to the scene. At deafening blast as an Israeli air

strikes. Just 100 yards from the hotel housing foreign journalists.

On the beach, a group of boys playing. They were running in

terror. They can be seen fleeing in this video. Then, another strike.

The boys are hit. We found chaos at the scene. Here, here, shouts one

man. There is a severely mangled body of a dead boy being put onto a

stretcher by paramedics. The boys were killed. Two Brothers and two

cousins between nine and 11 years old. Their parents in anguish as

they were laid to rest tonight. President Obama addressed the

conflict this afternoon. We have been heartbroken by the violence.

Especially the death and injury of so many innocent civilians. Men,

women and children were caught in the crossfire. Strikes come after a

truce failed to take hold. Israel insists it takes precautions to

avoid civilian deaths. Tonight, the military said: Tonight, Israel's

military agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire for five hours tomorrow to

allow aid into Gaza. They warned that if Hamas takes

advantage and continue spiralling rockets, they will respond

forcefully. You hurt the President. He spoke

about the concerns on the Ukrainian border. Russian troops are massing

at the border. Obama announcing the toughest sanctions aimed at the

Russian economy, banks, defence firms. The President said Russia has

failed to take steps to end the conflict in Ukraine. And, the

American POW, Sergeant BoE Birkdale. You will remember the moment as he

was released by his captors. That was six weeks ago `` Bowe Bergdhal.

He has worked for the President and the American people.

Today, for the first time, Bowe Bergdhal offered his gratitude to

the President for being rescued from the Talybont in that dramatic

prisoner swap `` Taliban. He is deeply grateful to the President and

believes he saved his life. I think that is true. As the military

investigation begins into how he became a Taliban prisoner in the

first place, his lawyer says that when the story of what happened

comes out, critics will be more hesitant to call him a deserter. It

is unimaginable to spend five years in the hands of people who, as far

as we can tell, are willing to kill him, brutally, at a moments notice.

His lawyer would not comment on his decision not to speak with his

parents who have told friends they have tried without success to reach

him. The lawyer says he is eager to leave the military. Officials have

put his status on hold while the investigation continues. I hope that

Bowe Bergdhal, in recognition of the ordeal he has experienced, will be

permitted to go his way. I hope, with the benefits that veterans are

entitled to. The next step will be known in a month when the general

conducting the investigation can recommend nothing be done, he be

reprimanded or face a court martial. We turn to the weather hitting

tonight. We have seen the relentless rain and flash flooding. The story

of a 12`year`old girl swept away in a storm drain. She survived. Look at

this. That is a parking lot becoming a lake in seconds. Tonight, our

Biche `` meteorologist. I have never seen such devastation in such a

short period of time. Four inches of rain in 12 hours in parts of New

Hampshire. 2000 miles west, flash flooding swallows apart of Idaho. ``

parts. A fast moving storm dropping two inches of rain in under an hour.

How does two inches of rain turn into this? It has a lottery do with

where it it was located. Idaho is on the slope of a hill. It rushed down

into the campus. The drainage system couldn't handle the water. A

frightening tale from this girl. Her sister and friends were standing on

the edge of a swollen creek on Monday's heavy rain in Pennsylvania

when Taylor fell in. I didn't know there was a drop in the ground and I

went under and was trying to get up and my friends tried to help me but

they couldn't. Helpless, the group watched as she was swept underground

for half a mile through drainpipe. I was swept under. I tried to look

back and see if my sister was there. I was trying to yell. I couldn't. I

didn't want to open my mouth. Holding her breath of the whole

time, certain she would die, she made it out with only bumps and

bruises. " she is OK. Where should we be

watching tonight? Let me take you through the severe storms first and

foremost. Florida, here in the Texas Panhandle, we are under a severe

watch in parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. It seems

southwards `` sinks. Here is what I was talking about. The rain. Through

Saturday, look at parts of Oklahoma. You can see some areas getting over

five inches. If you get half a foot of rain, it will be a big deal.

Elsewhere, the chill. It is feeling good for a lot of folks waiting up

in the 50s and 60s. The other headline, from the west. In the grip

of an epic drought. This picture says it all. The bright green on the

left is artificial grass. That is the real stuff on the right. The

restrictions for millions of families when it comes to their

water. Our correspondent with those on patrol as firefighters worked to

knock down the fires raging in the dry conditions.

The sleepy Nevada at its lowest point since they built the Hoover

Dam. We need water and we are going to have to get water. In California,

the crisis is so bad that officials are imposing mandatory statewide

Wattel restrictions. Starting today, it is illegal to let your sprinklers

flow into the stream. Illegal to hose down sidewalks. Illegal to use

an open host to watch your car. Fines of up to $500 per day. Until

now, shame has been the only weapon. Not to no avail. Too many people

have ignored the Governor's please to cut down on water. Statewide,

water use has gone up. I think my husband has been guilty of coming

out late at night and doing a little bit of secretive watering underneath

the trees. Californians are being encouraged to rat out their

neighbours. Lawn sprinklers and car washes aren't the only culprits.

Agriculture uses 80% of California's water. The drought is

projected to cost more than $1 billion in crop losses this year.

That will likely mean higher food prices will nationwide. `` food

prices nationwide. Look around here and you would have no idea there was

a water shortage. This man`made oasis is unsustainable. And now to

Washington, where the head of the CDC was in the hot seat today. We

have reported on those three close calls in just one months. Scares at

the nation's top labs. Anthrax, smallpox, and influenza. Reports

just revealed. How is CDC reporting it all? A new blow to the reputation

of Federal laboratories. A 60`year`old smallpox virus in an old

refrigerator was not enough, but today it was revealed that inside

that same forgotten space, 12 Ox is of carefully packaged a deadly germs

`` 12 boxes. The director of the centres for disease control grilled

about lax storage, the accidental shipment of deadly avian flu. And

transporting within the CDC, potentially lethal anthrax in Ziploc

bags. What in heaven's name would go through the mind of scientists,

thinking that Ziploc bag is enough to protect somebody from anthrax.

Completely unacceptable. Deeply troubling problems. Inadequate

culture of safety. Agreeing that this agency missed a culture of

safety lapses. We need to greatly improve the culture of safety.

Specifically, the CDC has specifically stopped shipping

specimen such as avian flu. They have closed their influenza and Io

terrorism labs, both involved in the States. And they have appointed a

senior scientist to oversee safety issues. How do you expect to get the

trust of America back? The scientific work we do is at the

highest standards. And we will make sure that the safety at CDC is also

at highest standards. CDC saying that some scientist are too

comfortable with dangerous organisms. A lax attitude he intends

to change. And now to that scare in the sky. A heart stopping moment on

board a jumbo jet. Tonight we hear from passengers on an international

flight, at least 20 of them injured. A passenger hitting with

such force he put a hole in the ceiling. Our correspondent on the

most dangerous part of the plane went turbulence strikes. Turbulence,

the kind that can rock a plan like this, rocked last night's flight so

violently that these are images of the overhead compartments, cracked

by passengers catapulted into the air. Look closely at this whole,

punched in by a passenger's had. 20 injured as the South Africa Airways

flight crossed the equator from Johannesburg to Hong Kong. Some

passengers were evacuated in cervical collars. Most hit their

heads on the top of the roof. Turbulence can hit in the calmest

conditions, often caused by a pocket of air. We flew in a simulator in

Miami. So where would you experience the most turbulence? In the back of

the air plane. On average, 23 passengers are hurt the year. Most

of them not wearing seatbelts. Most pilot learn about this on the

headset on the recording of other pilots ahead of them. A new

detection system is in the works, using lasers in hopes of giving

pilots up to a 62nd warning that a rough spot is ahead. But not soon

enough for the jostled passengers last night. And tonight, back here

at home, more than 90 passengers are just back on dry land, telling their

tails, trapped in a floating casino on the water. The emotional family

reunions onshore after their casino boat got stuck the coast of Georgia.

It ran aground, stranding everyone with no beds for over 24 hours. The

job was made even tougher today when tired vote lines kept snapping.

There is much more ahead on World News this Wednesday night. Some

speed traps revealed right here. Tonight, some of the secrets. Is

your town rewarding officers who pull over the most drivers? And you

will see drivers fighting back. will see drivers fighting back. Next

tonight, before you hit the road with your family the summer, it you

will learn some of the secrets of those speed traps from a former

police officer. The average cost of a ticket, about $150, as you might

know. Tonight the question, as some towns rewarding the police officers

who pull you over the most? `` as some towns? We know, sometimes it

can seem so unfair. You are driving on summer vacation and the speed

limit suddenly drops for a very short stretch, and waiting under the

sign is a friendly police officer writing tickets like there is no

tomorrow. Meet a retired Detroit area copper. I said to myself that

when I got a chance to speak out, I would. He said that cities and

counties make did money from speed traps, it is like shooting fish in a

barrel. It is a dirty secret. Tourist at other drivers are

fighting back, reporting more than 82,000 speed traps since 2000 to the

national speed trap exchange. Houston ranks number one, with

nearly 500 reported since 2000. But the police lights are flashing all

over the country. Lindell Ohio, the speed drops to 64 about 14 seconds

on the highway. And therefore as Court stepped in, the town collected

thousands. 80% of the Budget for Henderson, Louisiana was covered by

speeding tickets handed out at the bottom of this bridge. There is now

a class action lawsuit brought by drivers alleging that police got

paid extra for riding citations. The law clearly and unequivocally

provides that officers cannot be paid by the ticket. The police chief

in Georgia took me out for a little bit of drivers had at a hill near my

home. He says these are not speed traps, they are just trying to slow

drivers down. He says families on the road this summer should put

safety first. You've got to see this tonight. A diver coming to the aid

of the total whose Flipper had become tangled in a fishing line. He

removes the rope, the total swims off, but watch this. He doubles

back, as if giving his new friend a hug. It on camera by a fellow diver.

The wounded warrior who found a new way to fight for his country. He led

team USA to a goal that'll insert she. `` in Sochi. We talk with him

today, it inspired us. Right there in the back row, playing hockey. For

his high school team. He would join another team, the Marines. A proud

sergeant on deployment in Afghanistan. It was there that

everything changed. Allowed explosion went off and I remember

asking for help. Time flew by. An IED exploded, and when he woke up,

both legs had been amputated above the knee. This fighter would prove

he would fight again, determined to be part of a team again. The intends

rehab, weights, strength building, and soon, the new challenge of

playing hockey again `` intense. After injury, you wonder what you

will do again, and what is going on. Getting back on the ice reminded me

that I am still the same person I was, and I can still go out and have

fun. He would return to the ice. But this time, he would play hockey on a

sled. Balancing on two blades underneath. And it was his goal that

would win the gold for team USA against Russia. Being part of a team

again after being injured and pulled away from my guys, it is huge. It

feels like I am part of the unit began, and it is the sled hockey

unit. So deserving of that award. I hope to see you right back you

fought World News tomorrow night. Good night. `` for world news.

Hello. If you have plans for Saturday, keep across the forecast.

We are looking at the potential for some really nasty thunderstorms to

head north across the UK. We'll take a look at that in just a moment, but

the thunderstorms will be the result of building heat and humidity in the

next couple of days. This is how it looks for early risers in the

morning. A mixture of cloud and some sunshine. It