And what he told us that left his own parents speechless. Good evening. Its great to have you with us here on a saturday night. And we do begin with that deadly weather. The flooding, 24 hours of nonstop rain and the fierce winds coming with it. Look at the view from above tonight. Nearly two feet of rain falling in florida. These images from delray beach. Further north, fierce winds and a reported funnel clouds destroying these homes in raleigh, north carolina. Unreal. Just before families could move into those homes. The devastating damage, coming in. And look at these images. The frozen rivers melting across this country, threatening to spill over. Including new jerseys Delaware River there. And in pennsylvania, blocks of ice beginning to move on the susquehanna river. In the northwest tonight, a powerful storm hitting while were on the air. Tens of thousands already in the dark. We have it all covered here, beginning with abcs linzie janis. Reporter tonight, the polar vortex thaw, triggering massive flooding. Ive lived here five years. And this is the first time that its flooded this bad. Reporter in palm beach county, florida, nearly 22 inches of rain in 24 hours. Residents wading kneedeep. Some even using kayaks to escape. Hasnt been like this since hurricane katrina, last i could remember. Reporter Authorities Say the driver of this suv died because she couldnt see where the street ended and the canal began. In georgia, strong winds sent a tree crashing through the roof of this mobile home, pinning a 14yearold girl inside to the floor. Very delicate situation where we had to keep the tree stable at all times so it didnt continue to fall on this young lady. Reporter rescuers used an air bag to prop up the tree to free her. Her 2yearold cousin found nearby was safely rescued, too. And check out this video in raleigh, north carolina. Heavy winds ripping through these houses being built. Farther north, at new jerseys freehold raceway, a slick track sent this starting gate car plowing into the horses. We have an accident on the track. Reporter tonight, those horses are all okay. And in falmouth, maine, freezing rain triggering this major accident between four tractortrailers and two cars. Here in new york city, the big thaw, bringing warm temperatures and plenty of rain. But in the western part of new york state, a flood watch still in effect. David . Some real flooding fears as we head into tonight. Our thanks to linzie. I want to bring in meteorologist Chris Knowles in from the Weather Center tonight. Chris, great to have you. You were saying, this rain continues right on through the night. Thats right, david. Another storm is moving into florida. And the entire east coast is affected. A front that stretches from maine to florida. Bringing upwards of two inches of rain with this. Strong winds, as well. We have ice jam concerns and flooding in the northeast, all up and down the i95 corridor. But the worst of it is taking place in the southeast. Raleighdurham airport. An 86mileperhour wind gust there. So, strong winds throughout the evening. Not to mention the possibility of a few tornados. Weve already had reports of some funnel clouds down to the south. And, chris, we cant forget the northwest tonight. Tens of thousands without power because of the storm moving in there. A monster storm. One we like to call, with teeth, david, is moving into the pacific northwest. Winds there gusting 60 Miles Per Hour or better. And the snow is a problem. In the cascades, up to two feet. So, we have some serious issues going on in that part of the country. Chris knowles with us tonight. Chris, thank you. And from the weather, now, to the other major headline this saturday night. Hes out. A record suspension, tonight, for baseball star alex rodriguez, over his use of performanceenhancing drugs. Tonight, the long fall for the onetime golden boy of baseball, the highestpaid player in the sport. Seeming arod is reacting to the suspension. The biggest and some say the final blow to his career. Here, tonight, abcs ryan smith. Reporter alex rodriguez, fighting for his baseball life. An independent arbitrator slapping him with an 162game ban for violating the leagues drug policy. And for allegedly interfering with the biogenesis investigation. He could have been the Michael Jordan of baseball. Reporter rodriguez, once the golden boy of baseball, featured on magazine covers. Taking flak from critics for what some describe as an awkward bromance photo with himself. Not one to shy away from the limelight, dated stars like cameron diaz, kate hudson, and the Material Girl herself. This twotime mvp now reveals his frustration with the ruling. In a Statement Issued through his publicist, arod says, quote, the number of games, sadly, comes as no surprise. As the deck has been stacked against me from day one. If rodriguez doesnt play, hell be almost 40 when he returns. That, coupled with multiple hip surgeries, will make his comeback difficult. He will be very motivated to come back. Whether his body at that point allows him to do so is anybodys guess. Reporter no matter what happens, the yankees still owe rodriguez 61 million on his contract that runs through 2017, making him the leagues highestpaid player whether he plays or not. And ryan smith is with us now. And in classic arod fashion, hes expected to fight back . Hes going to fight this. Hes not going away quietly. Hes going to bring this into federal court and hopefully stop this suspension. But in the meantime, the suspension applies to the games. He can go to spring training and is expected to be there. Ryan, great to see you on abc news and espn. See much more of you to come. Next, to the dangerous scene still playing out in West Virginia this evening. The Chemical Spill leaving more than 300,000 people with no running water. And fear, now, that this spill is already making some very sick. Abcs susan saulny is right there tonight. Reporter today, hundreds of thousands of desperate residents are finally getting clean water. Fema trucks rolling in overnight, carrying 1 million liters for a region thats been ordered to turn off its taps. Have you had trouble getting cases of water . This is the third place weve been to this morning. We were lucky to get a case today. We have six people in our house. Reporter state officials now estimate 7,500 gallons of a chemical used to process coal leaked out of a storage tank at a Chemical Plant upstream from a Water Treatment station serving nine counties. Do not drink it. Do not cook with it. Do not wash clothes in it. Do not take a bath in it. Reporter before the warning went out, some people did just those things. Debbie took a bath. And instantly broke out with a rash. I couldnt figure out what in the world was going on. Reporter five people have been hospitalized. 73 have sought treatment at the e. R. For symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Residents here now want to know why freedom industry took hours to report the leak and why it happened in the first place. This should have never happened. No matter how you look at it. Reporter Health Officials say they know very little about the longterm effects of exposure to this chemical. And it could be days until the Public Water System here is declared safe. What people really want to know tonight, david, is information. Susan saulny in West Virginia. Susan, thanks. Next to the growing flu fears across the country. The number of cases so high, some hospitals are taking extreme measures. Tents set up in the parking lot. Heres abcs chief medical editor, dr. Richard besser, now. Reporter Emergency Rooms in texas most of the people that come into the e. R. Have not gotten the flu shot. And their symptoms are pretty severe. Reporter california significant increase in the amount of flulike illness patients walking into our emergency department. Reporter new york people may say its just the flu. But ive seen people die from just the flu. Reporter this year, flu is not just a danger for the very young and the very old. More than 60 of hospitalized flu patients are between the ages of 18 and 64. Thats almost twice as many as last year. Like this mother of three. Healthy and so young. Just 29. She had a cough and runny nose and everything like that. Reporter both alice jones and her husband, darell, came down with the flu last week. He recovered. She ended up in the hospital, short of breath, convulsing. And monday, dying. My youngest, she asked me, when are we going to go pick up mommy . Reporter theyre just two of the thousands who the flu has infected. Look at google flu trends for this week. 37 states with high flu activity. H1 flu viruses affect younger people more than older people, compared with other types of flu viruses. This is just heartbreaking. Dr. Besser with us now. Rich, a lot of people are going to look at this and wonder how a 29yearold healthy mom can die of the flu. Its so sad. It makes the point that anyone at any age can die from the flu. Healthy, young adults tend not to get as vaccinated as frequently. They werent around the last time a virus like this was circulating in the community. So, they dont have existing immunity. She believes behind three children. You were telling me that one of them has been diagnosed with the flu. One has the flu. The others have been vaccinated. Its a point for everyone watching tonight. If the flu is in your community, its not too late to get vaccinated. And this particular vaccine covers this strain . It covers this strain. It will take two weeks to be fully protected. Within a matter of days, youll have some protection. All right. Still get the shot. Rich, our thanks to you, tonight. And now, to the growing fallout for new jersey governor Chris Christie. Tonight, new details on how much his aides new about that massive traffic jam on the George Washington bridge. And the warning that the plot could put drivers at risk. Abcs gio benitez. Reporter tonight, new documents show officials loyal to governor Chris Christie were warned on day one that the massive september traffic jam, that it was possibly lifethreatening. And one of the key architects of the jam, christies Port Authority appointee, david wildstein, went to the bridge himself to witness the standstill on the first day. Christies aides have said, the fourday jam on the worlds busiest bridge was part of a traffic study. But it appears it was political payback, after ft. Lee, new jerseys, democratic mayor, would not support christies 2013 reelection. Christie aide, bridget anne kelly, writing in an email, time for some traffic problems in ft. Lee. Wildstein replying, got it. Christie apologized thursday, denying any involvement. That should have been a ringing phrase that he blames himself. Rather than playing the victim that his own people betrayed him. Reporter christie openly mocked the jam in december with reporters. I worked the cones, actually. Reporter the documents also show that those close to christie went out of their way to make that traffic jam look like a traffic study. They even made a powerpoint presentation. But tonight, david, there is no evidence directly linking christie to that traffic jam. All right, gio benitez in the shadow of the g. W. Gio, thanks. Consumer alert and word that it wasnt just target. Now, another Major Department store saying credit card information was stolen there, as well. And it happened before christmas. So, why are customers just learning about this now . Heres abcs aditi roy. Reporter tonight, another major retailer hit by holiday hackers. Neiman marcus says it is investigating a Security Breach involving stolen credit card information from its customers. The retailer, based in texas, says it first learned back in middecember reports of fraudulent activity on customers credit cards. Leading some analysts to question, why the luxury retailer waited weeks to reveal the news. It seems to me, that they didnt want to ruin their Christmas Shopping season. Reporter in a statement, the company says, quote, we have begun to contain the intrusion. And have taken significant steps to further enhance information security. The news comes out after retail giant target disclosed its massive data breach over the holidays may have involved up to 110 million customers. Weve been making sure theres no unusual transactions. Reporter the personal information stolen from target customers, included names, phone numbers and addresses. Its a race against time for the bad guys. It can be three weeks to three months or more or less until the card numbers are changed. Reporter the target theft could end up being the largest data breach on record for a retailer. As for neiman marcus, they say its still not sure of the size and scope of its Security Breach. David . All this as shoppers say, not again. Aditi, thank you. Overseas tonight, a teenager in an extraordinary sacrifice. 17yearold aitzaz hasan gave his life, tackling a suicide bomber who targeted his school. His picture sits on his classroom chair among the boys whose lives he saved. All of pakistan now calling him a National Hero tonight. Also overseas this evening, the passing of a world leader. Former israeli Prime Minister ariel sharon. He was a warrior and a statesman, who spent the last eight years hospitalized and in a coma. Abcs alex marquardt, looking back. Reporter ariel sharon made his name as a cunning military commander. He was also found responsible for allowing christian militants in beirut, in 1982, to slaughter hundreds of palestinian refugees. As a politician, sharon was a rightwing hawk, the father of the settlement movement. But in august 2005, a move that stunned the country. Sharon ordered 10,000 Israeli Settlers out of the gaza strip. Allies on the right labeled him a traitor. A democratic palestinian state reporter ever a tactician, sharon saw a peace deal as vital for israels future. But in january 2006, sharon had a massive stroke, putting him in a vegetative state for eight years. His sons say his eyes would open and he would move his fingers when asked to. There is, perhaps, no israeli that provoked more conflicting emotions than sharon. Alex marquardt, abc news, beirut. Alex, thank you. Theres still much more ahead on this saturday night. Stunning images over the mojave desert. Richard bransons dream to take others into space. The closest yet to coming true. What they have now pulled off. And a special anniversary, tonight. They were married in 1948. Theyre going back to the famed waldorf astoria where they went for their honeymoon. And what we learned about that honeymoon suite tonight. Were back in just two minutes. Raise your rate cd a that wont trap me in a rate. Thats correct. Cause im really nervous about getting trapped. Whys that . Uh, mark . Go get help i have my reasons. Look, you dont have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. If our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. Oh that sounds nice. Dont feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. Ally bank. Your money needs an ally. In controlling yournow Overactive Bladder symptoms. The new oxytrol for women patch. The first and only over the counter treatment for Overactive Bladder. Put the control back in your go with new oxytrol for women. Now in the feminine care aisle. Theyre about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. 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Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Does breathing with copd weigh you down . Dont wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. Now, to the dramatic pictures playing out over california. The closest to space, yet, in a dream to find a way to take the rest of us to new heights. Heres abcs muhammad lila. Three, two, one. Reporter this is spaceship 2, the worlds first commercial space liner. On a test flight, more than 71,000 feet into the air. Thats more than double the height of a normal airplane. Enough to see the roundness of the earth and the darkness of space above. We want this program to be the beginning of a whole, new commercial era for space travel. Reporter its the brainchild of billionaire richard branson, hoping to launch the flights on his company, virgin galactic, later this year. We get this right, we believe theres literally millions that want to go into space. Reporter but the flights wont come cheap. At 200,000 a pop, branson says nearly 700 people have already signed up. All for the chance to feel weightless for a while in outer space. And a bit more weightless in the wallet, as well. Muhammad lila, abc news, new york. So close. When we come back here tonight, the honeymoon surprise for one couple returning to the famed waldorf astoria 66 years later. What was waiting for them . In the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. It actually caught me by surprise. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. If you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of me