29/08/2014 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

backgrounds just won't go away. That's it from me. Time now for ABC

World News. Welcome to World News tonight. No strategy. The President

tonight with a surprising acknowledgement about the fight

against the terror group ISIS. Each alert, while waves demolished a

lifeguard station as two monstrous storms close beaches heading into

the Labour Day weekend. Unfriendly skies. The passenger accused of

attacking a flight attendant in another fight over seat space, and

the air marshals who broke it up. And a health crisis. Joan Rivers in

a critical condition tonight in a New York hospital. The comic legend

fighting for her life. And good evening on this Thursday night.

David Muir will be here anchoring World News on Monday. A surprise

revelation from the White House in the battle against the brutal terror

group ISIS. While President Obama said some air strikes in Iraq have

been effective, he told America there was not yet a solid strategy

in place to fight the militants in Syria. Our chief global affairs

correspondent in Washington tonight. This is the group secretary of

defence calls imminent threat to every interest we have. The group

the Secretary of State vows will be crushed. Yet today, President

Obama's language or no resemblance to that of his Cabinet secretaries.

He made clear that whatever the threats, US military action in Syria

is not happening any time soon `` bore. Just days after authorising US

surveillance flights over Syria to identify possible ISIS target, the

President is now taking a step back. Blue Mac first of all I want to make

sure every body is clear on what we are doing now. Because it is

limited. The options I am asking for from the joint chiefs focuses

primarily on making sure that ISIL is not over Iraq. No talk of

containing ISIS, as he has set in the past, which would surely involve

military action in Syria. The primary focus now, says the

president, is just detecting Americans and infrastructure in

Iraq, with the surprising acknowledgement that as of now there

are no concrete plans yet to take down ISIS in the region ``

protecting. The suggestion seems to have been that we are about to go

full`scale on an elaborate strategy for defeating ISIL. I don't want to

put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet. It was

back in January that we saw an astonishing increase in violence in

Iraq. Fallujah had fallen, and there were concerns that ISIS would sweep

through the North, which was exactly what happened. Mosul Falling back in

June, the Iraqi army collapsing. ISIS is one of the world's richest

terror groups, generating millions of dollars per month for more than

10,000 fighters. Unlike traditional Al Qaeda, it is a real army,

fighting for territory, not just terror. The President's cautious

language today could also be an attempt to signal to Congress that

he will not launch air strikes in Syria without consultations. He will

need their help. And is now to the other major development overseas.

Russia accused of launching a full`scale invasion of Ukraine. The

Ukraine government and Nato officials say it Russian tanks and

troops have moved across the south`eastern border. Today

President Obama said Russia can no longer hide the fact that it is

actively supporting Russian separatists in that country. Here is

Hamish McDonald. Plumes of smoke as shells rained down. Ukraine's

leaders are clear tonight, this is a Russian invasion. Russian military

boots are on the Ukrainian ground. Ukrainian forces today lost control

of border town, and Nato says at least 1000 Russian soldiers are

inside the country, fighting alongside and supporting Russian

separatist. But today the Kremlin was in full denial mode. This

satellite imagery however is hard to dispute. Nato claims it shows

Russian artillery and troops moving inside Ukraine. What is clear is

that there is now a war in Europe. It has escalated far beyond those

fiery protest as we witnessed on the streets of Kiev

those protesters wanted closer ties with Europe. But Vladimir Putin

never wanted any of that. And he is serious. Russia already annexed

Crimea back in March, if rebel forces pushed further west, Russia

might secure a strategically important land corridor all the way

to the Black Sea. Up until a few hours ago, the US and allies had

struggled to find a united voice to confront Putin directly over

Ukraine. Russia has to stop lying. The cost of inaction is

unacceptable. Today is perhaps a turning point. Pacioretty home,

those two monster storms off both coasts are churning up the sea ``

back here at home. Monster waves are battering shorelines. Our

correspondent shows us the dangers caused by two storms hundreds of

miles from land. The biggest southern swell since 1996 continued

to pound the California coast. The iconic lifeguard station at signal

cove north of LA is no more. But from the cliffside by the waves. ``

Signal Cove. It is like watching a friend go down in the water. LA

lifeguards rescued 172 people. Today they are pulling power is back from

the water just in case, cleaning up the beaches, and patrolling the

waves. Slightly smaller Thursday? Slightly smaller but we still have

really big waves and strong currents. Usually when the swell

drops it looks inviting, but we still have really big rip tides.

Waves picked up by tropical storm Marie, 800 miles of sure. I wanted

to make the drop, but it didn't work out that will `` offshore. Coastal

defences are holding. Meanwhile on the east coast, red flagged warnings

in New Jersey, beaches from New York to Rhode Island closed. Hurricane

Christabel will likely pass down the coast tonight, and those beaches

will probably open tomorrow in time for the holiday weekend. The surf is

subsiding, but LA County lifeguards say they are getting all hands on

deck for this holiday weekend. Because the waves are still big, the

weather is great, and the crowds will be enormous.

The NFL has had to think new changes to its domestic violence policy.

That was after a player was caught on video tracking his wife at an

Atlantic City casino. `` dragging. On the first incident, there will be

a six game ban and after that a lifetime ban. It will not just apply

to players, but to owners. A plane was forced to land after a mid` air

fight in the cabin. This time, it took our marshals to break it up. ``

air marshals. Last night, a man fought with a passenger seated in

front of him because he said his legs hurt from diabetes. A flight

attendant tried to calm the man, who reportedly became more eye rake and

tried to grab the flight attendant. That is when a marshals stepped in.

Before, a knee defender. A woman whose seat was restricted through a

glass of water. What is going on? Travellers today are stressed than

ever before. When you do get to your seat, there is less space. The case

was unique because Federal marshals didn't. `` stepped in. Wearing

protective gear, their jobs are to take out a terrorist threat. But

when it comes to a threat that isn't about a terrorist, they have to make

a call. We are tasked with helping the flight deck and the crew and the

passengers. There have been a number of incidents involving unruly

passengers. Airlines have even more plans to pack people in. Now

possible new weapon for the Ebola outbreak. There is a new vaccine

being put to the test. More than 3000 confirmed cases in Africa.

Health officials are worried the epidemic of sick and up to 20,000

people. To our chief medical editor. In Liberia, the airport is on high

alert. They are taking the temperatures of the travellers.

There is a direct on the ground monitoring the outbreak. If we do

not stop this here, we will be dealing with the years. We can still

stop it. In one `` Monrovia, quarantined are still

in place. This is the part of the city that has been quarantined. It

is the poorest part. Violence has escalated as access to food and

water has diminished. We have been reporting from Liberia 's on the

crisis began. Many people with a surprise have been going on. In some

places, just a piece of rope marks the boundary of the quarantine.

Another place, I engaged. `` iron gates. How long have you been here?

It is like you are in prison. How many people have you lost from

Ebola? What is the solution? How will Ebola end? The call that the

international medical community is just starting to hear. It strikes me

just how much work it is going to take to get this under control. It

would be wonderful, but it will be a long time coming. Right now, the

iris is winning. `` virus. The international community is during up

respite. To a health crisis for want of America's most iconic and

prolific comedians. Joan Rivers has been rushed to hospital from an

outpatient clinic. She is in a critical condition. Joan Rivers is

an Emmy`winning and Tony nominated funny woman. She is in a critical

condition after she stopped breathing during throat surgery. She

was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after going into cardiac

arrest. There is no word on what he throat surgery was four. Her

daughter has rushed to her side. Eat it to laugh through her pain, she is

constantly in motion. At 81, she shows no sign of slowing down. Wendy

six appearances from now until November 22. `` with. She plans to

never retire and says that being on stage is what she does. Look at me.

I'm 75. I don't know where it has gone. If you don't do what you want

to do, you are full. Tonight, the serious turn for the woman who made

a name for herself by making us all laugh. She is here at Mount Sinai

hospital. Her family would like to thank everybody for the outpouring

of love and support. Our support with the family. Still ahead, the

frightening scene where swat teams stormed into an office complex. The

elaborate hoax that have them rushing to the door. And busted.

This scam that the panda was running that got her into so much trouble

with her trainers. The elaborate hoax that had a SWAT

team swarming in office complex in Colorado. Yes deadly pranks are

apparently on the rise. Tonight, a US Secret Service agents have joined

the hunt for whoever triggered this. A police SWAT team burst into the

Colorado office where Gordon Mattison was playing a life of the

game with other players watching. Police say the one`on`one call was a

hoax. It triggered a SWAT team that swarmed in on innocent people. Some

people even had mild heart attack. First it was Hollywood. The

celebrities had all been victims. First it was in June. Then a few

days ago near or longer. `` Orlando. Matthewson says it has happened to

him. The FBI estimated there are 400 of these calls per year. It is a

situation that is causing departments that are already struck

financially to spend thousands of dollars each time they have a

callout. The consequences are serious. One man in Texas is now

facing five years behind bars. What starts as a prank and send you to

prison. The big wedding announcement that tabloids have been waiting to

hear. Today Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they were secretly

married in France last weekend. At the wedding, all six of their

children took part. If you wanted confirmation, Brad Pitt was spotted

wearing a wedding ring on the set of his new movie. A mystery in the sky

above Pennsylvania has some people living in UFOs. `` believing. This

woman thought she saw a plane and then he didn't seem to move and

started changing colours. She called police and even they did not know.

Some people have called it a hoax, but for her, seeing is believing.

You won't believe this story about a panda in China. The zookeepers were

thrilled when she started to show signs of residency. She might have

been faking it. She tricked her keepers into giving her more

attention, a single room and more food. It has been shown tonight that

pets inside hospitals can be a perfect restriction for patients and

doctors and nurses. For police work is in Philadelphia, lunchtime is

puppy time. `` workers. They spend lunchtime cuddling kittens. This is

at a hospital in Pennsylvania. This is a place where the tension and the

drama and the intensity of life and death are the norms. Healthcare is

stressful. No matter what department you work in. Heather Matthews found

she could only unwind when she got home to her bulldog Annabel. That

brought the idea about bringing pets to work. She wanted copies and

kittens to come to the hospital. It is called the Pet a Pooch programme.

I have heard people say that they came in with the terrible headache

and they came out feeling better. Some of the hospital workers and up

adopting the pets. This is what happened to this hospital worker. In

minute I saw him, I knew that was my dog. For some health workers,

playing with a pet is just the prescription. I am smiling just

watching that. Thank you for watching. We will see you back

tomorrow. Good night. We have seen a contrast in weather

across the