tonight on "nightline," nature's might. it's the monster storm with 65 million americans in its sights. tonight, evacuations from north carolina to new york city, as hurricane irene takes aim at the eastern united states. missing mom shocker. a stunning twist in the disappearance of susan powell. tonight, police search her husband's home, after he speaks to abc news and his own father makes shocking claims about his wife. >> susan was very sexual with

me. and bush's 9/11. for the first time, president george w. bush talks about the attacks of september 11th. >> first reaction was anger, you know? who would do that to america? >> and his reaction to the news of osama bin laden's death. >> announcer: frfr the global resources of abc news,ith terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," august 25th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. well, we're looking at a historic weather event now. it's rare that storms this big and this violent take aim at major american cities along the eastern seaboard, but that is what's apparentry happening with hurricane irene, now a category 3 hurricane, with winds of 115 miles per hour. irene blew past flolorida todayn its way toward landfall in the carolinas, sometimes early

afternoon saturday. the big question, where does it go from there? here's abc's matt gutman for our coverage of hurricane irene. >> reporter: hurricane irene rumbled over the bahamas today, bending palms like rubber, toppling trees and ripping boats right out of the water. mike tice caught the brunt of it in nassau this morning. >> wind gusts around 75 or 80 miles an hour and this wind and rainin combined is absolutely ferocious to stand outside in front of. >> reporter: and even before making landfall in the u.s., the storm was menacing enough for the second fleet to order ships to evacuate its norfolk base including the "uss enterprise," steaming out to sea to avoid damage from the piers. and the threat of what's being called a once in a generation storm has emptied out tourist havens in north carolina.

tonight, irene is emptying the cozy beach towns of the outer banks, chasing away 145,000 tourists. we met these folks having breakfast in our hotel. by show of hands, who is planning to leave today? is that everybody? you guys are leaving? everybody here plans on leaving today? wow. all right. >> we were told to. >> reporter: you were told you had to? they've come all the way from -- >> chicago. >> reporter: maryland. germany? emergency managers are openly nervous. >> people are aware. i think they are listening. but we want them to take this warning very, very seriously. >> reporter: now, calling on 33,000 low cams to evacuate dare county, loading their cars. and they are drilling in boards, protecting what they can. and one woman, out of a very special night. >> everything from a caterer to

a cake, all the details i've been working on and this wedding i planned and dreamed about here in the outer banks, no idea what we're going to do. >> reporter: melissa cook's wedding was scheduled for saturday and planned for a year. >> we were relaxing last night and the tv showed the mandatory evacuation and i burst into tears. >> reporter: this is not your first brush with a hurricane. >> no, this is it. last year, when my boyfriend at the time proposed we were here on the outer banks on august 28th and four days later we were evacuated. >> reporter: the storm's already swanning a treacherous undertoe, forcing dozens to be rescued today in the carolinas and helping others achieve some serious air. >> the storm is going over the islands here. >> reporter: this nasa picture shows the hurricane sprauming across the north caribbean. about 1,200 miles at its widest. seven states have already declared states of emergency as

irene creeps towards the northeast. >> there are dozens of models that we showw the variations tht could happen. i have not ever seen these models go over new york city like this. but if you get street level, down toward the big empire state building here, you can look above the sky and some of these forecast models would take the center irene directly over new york city. >> i'm always worored about storms. this going to go through one of the most populated areas on the east coast. we're very concerned. >> reporter: concerned about the very big cities. 4.5 million in boston. 6 million in philadelphia. and 19 million in the new york metro area. >> what we have to do is assume the worst, prepare for that and hope for the best. >> reporter: but if the storm continues on its current path, some 2727000 new yorkers will be required to evacuate storm night. the elderly and those living in the most prone areas to flooding. the city has boats and helicopters ready to rescue the

stranded and is preparing to shut down the city's subway system, the large nest the world, if need be. >> new york city is surrounded by water. boston is on a shoreline. incredible waves, 20, 25, 30-foot waves. >> reporter: in massachusetts, coastal towns are moving boats from the water. and back here, in north carolina, we found another couple, john fleming and heather huber. this one, unwilling to give up on their dream wedding, but willing to compromise on the date. >> one day earlier than we planned but going to be a hard day to forget. >> reporter: tonight, they'll wipe away the tears of joy, celebra celebrate. tomorrow, they'll hop in the car and join the thousands headi to higher ground. for "nightline," matt gutman, kitty hawk, north carolina. >> you can find a detailed hurricane tracker at abcnews.com/nightline and a new estimate of the track of this hurricane is going to be released at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow and "good morning america" will have all the details on that.

all right, just ahead now, a missing mom and now police search the home of her husband and his father, who makes a stunning revelation about a dark family past. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. it gets stuffed up and that means i stay up all night. good mornings? not likely! i've tried the pills, the sprays even some home remedies.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> years can pass in a missing persons case and then suddenly major new activity. and that's what's happening in the search for a missing utah mom, susan powell. her husband, josh powell, is the only known person of interest in this case, and today, police made their move, serving a search warrant on his home. police were reportly looking for

journals that susan kept her entire life. josh tells his side of the story, for the first time, to abc's abbie boudreau. >> reporter: after 20 months of accusations and rumors, josh powell is finally telling his side. breaking his silence about his wife, susan, who one day just disappeared. did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife? >> no. >> reporter: nothing? >> nothing. >> reporter: the story began on a snowy day in december 2009. susan powell, a wife and mother of two young sons, suddenly vanished have a peaceful salt lake city suburb. her husband, josh, is the only known person of interest in her disappearance. i see you're still wearing your wedding band. >> yeah. >> reporter: you still love her? >> yeah. >> reportete powell told police he took his boys on a winter camping trip, the sunday night

his wife went missing. he claims they left their home after midnight and drove to a camp site two hours away in the bitter cold. he says when they got back the next day, his wife was gone. susan's cell phone and wallet for found in the home, but there was no trace of where she might be. why take your two young sons camping after midnight, freezing cold temperatures? >> well, we just go out and do things that are fun. >> reporter: but it's after midnight. you know? shouldn't your sons be sleeping? >> people that know me no that time is hard for me to keep track of. >> reporter: to this day, investigators say josh refuses to cooperation in the investigation. and to make things more difficult, he moved 900 miles away to a small town near seattle. almost two years have gone by and susan's disappearance has family members choosing sides.

even josh's now estranged sister rallies against her own brother. >> he kidnapped her, he killed her -- who knows? >> reporter: just this week, in an effort to clear his name, josh, with his dad stephen, released portions of susan's private diaries from her childhood. they claim that some of these entries reveal possible reasons for her disappearance. that she was mentally unstable. had even contemplated suicide throughout her life. >> she has walked outhe front door in her underwear and walking down the street. and at the time, when all this stuff was happening, it was mortifying to me. >> reporter: josh says he thinks susan may still be alive and says he believes she may have run off with another man. why do you think that's possible? >> she's a very sexual person. >> there was really a disconnect between the susan who was a faithful, loving wife and the susan who was a very

flirtatious, sexual being. >> reporter: josh's father, stephen powell, even made the bizarre claim he had first-hand knowledge of what he calls susan's sexual side. >> she would regularly come into my office after taking a shower and she would, you know, bend over my lap to let me smell her hair or she would come in and said, i just waxed my legs, feel my thighs, how smooth they are.. seriously this is the kind of thing susan seemed to enjoy doing. >> reporter: stephen says josh knew about his so-called sexual relationship with susan. and you knew about this? >> she's a very flirtatious person. that's just her personality. >> reporter: do you think josh was jealous of you? >> no, not at all. josh is not a jealous person. >> reporter: susan powell's father, chuck cox, spoke out against stephen powell's claims on "good morning america." >> that's completely false and i'm very -- it's very surprising that steve powell would come out

with this. >> reporter: andndn the small town where both sue sap and josh's families live only miles apart, public shouting matches between inlaws. >> how is your standing at our neighborhood markeke heheing? >> reporter: stephen powell says when susan powell turned up missing, police searched his home for her. he says he doesn't know what happened to her. >> i really don't believe she's dead. i haven't felt that way. >> reporter: and josh says he has that same feeling. >> i don't know where she is at this point. >> reporter: what would you want to say to her, if she's watching? >> i would tell her that i love her. she's got two boys who love her. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm abbie boudreau in seattle. ♪ i'm a film star. well, i'm a film, eft behind by a floor cleaner i thought was going to take me places. wait! now life is dull... darling!

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former president george w. bush has mostly shunned the spotlight since leaving the white house. but now, as the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 nears, president bush is talking about the devastating attack that shaped his presidency. it was a day that changed the country, and it changed him. >> september the 11th was a momomental day in our nation's history. significant day and it was obviously -- it changed my presidency. >> reporter: he was in florida heading for a school in sarasota when he got the strange news from new york, a plane had crashed into the world trade center. >> first i thought it was a light aircraft. and my reaction was, man, either the weather was bad or something extraordinary happened to the pilot. >> reporter: so, george w. bush walked into that classroom. he would emerge from it

transformed. >> the president of the united states. >> good morning. the classroom wawafull of kids. who were reading. >> read this. ready? >> and i felt a presence behind me. and andy card's massachusetts accent was whispering in my ear, "a second plane has hit the second tower. america is under attack." >> reporter: watching that moment today, ten years later, he looks so young, so stunned. >> my first reaction was anger, you know? who the hell would do that to america? and then i immediately focused on the children. and the contrast between the

notion of an attack and the innocence of children clarified my job. and that's to protect people. >> reporter: hundreds of miles away, new york and washington were under attack. >> obviously i was horrified like everybody else. but unlike everybody else, i had a job to do at that moment. >> today, we've had a national tragedy. two airplanes have crashed into the world trade center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. a lot of times the president is placed in a bubble or in a kaps yule. in this case, i was able to see the reactions of our fellow s citizens, the shock, the concern. the horror. the worry. >> reporter: with theountry reaming and reports of more hijacked planes coming in, he boarded air force one to return to the white house. but it would be many hours before he got there. >> we're headed to washington, i feel the plane bank.

and andy card, head of secret service came in, said, you're not going back to washington. i said, what the hell l u talking about? i'm the president of the united states, we're going back. i need to be there. >> reporter: the secret servivi simply did not want to bring the president back to a city under attack. he flew on, staying away from the white house for ten hours. >> most powerless i felt was when i was watching people jump to their death on tv and there was nothing i could do about it. >> reporter: finally, he overruled the secret service. >> i'd had it. i said, i need to get home. it was important to wrap the day up with a presidential speech assuring people that the governrnnt was functioning and responding and that we would take the appropriate actions necessary to protect our country. and i damn sure wasn't going to give it from a bunker in

nebraska. i wanted to give it from the oval office. we will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. >> reporter: 9/11, the day, was done. but that night in bed, he knew nothing would be the same. >> i couldn't sleep. i was thinking about the images, thinking about what i i eded to do. thinking about the day. thinking about the next day. >> reporter: he would be president for 2,6 89 more days. but it was a day this year that finally brought some closure. >> i was in a restaurant in dallas, eating dinner with laura, secret service told me i had a phone call from the white house coming in. and president obama called me, told me that osama bin laden had been killed. >> the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. >> and so i was grateful. i didn't feel any great sense of