this is "nightline." >> tonight -- banned and shamed. a stunning punishment for one of the richest and most powerful moguls in l.a. called racist after rants to his alleged ex-mistress caught on tape. now, shocking allegations from another woman who claims donald sterling says she could destroy anyone who dared to oppose him. >> there it is. >> plus on a dangerous journey to snake island. >> probably be more cautious. >> overrun with lethal vipers. >> super paranoid now. >> whose venom can burn through

human flesh. >> she is getting extreme. >> who is stealing them and why? >> no end in sight. >> back up, turn around. >> killer tornados leave dozens dead in just days and wreaking havoc again tonight. >> god help us. >> with millions in their deadly path. our extreme weather team is on the scene. >> let's go! >> but first, the "nightline" five. which starts right now. >> it is macy any mother's day sale. get her dresses. $79.99 to $99.99. save 30% to 50% plus 10% on fine jewelry. take 30%, 40% off handbags and wallets. save 30% on sleep wear. wallets. save sofa... desk...ar. you know what? yogurt.n't you go get some frozen yogurt. i got this. you're so sweet. you got this, right? i do got this.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, astonishing new details emerging abe ing ing about one richest men in los angeles, donald sterling. a racist rant caught on tape by an alleged former mistress got him banned for life from the nba today and now another woman's description reveals even more shocking details about sterling. here's abc's ryan smith. >> reporter: the decision came down like a slam dunk. >> effective immediately i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers organization or the nba. >> reporter: donald sterling embattled billionaire owner of the los angeles clippers caught

on tape making a racist rant and setting off a national firestorm of outrage is out. >> the views expressed by mr. sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. >> reporter: in a bombshell press conference today, nba commissioner adam silver announced the harshest punishment ever handed down to a professional sports team owner. banned from attending nba games. banned from the clippers' practice facilities. banned from any say in the team's decisions. and banned from contacting the players. >> i am also fining mr. sterling $2.5 million. the maximum amount allowed under the nba constitution. >> reporter: the stunning announcement after a league investigation confirmed the voice making those racist remarks in the recording is in fact donald sterling. [ indiscernible ] >> -- broadcast. >> the league decision met with widespread praise across the

basketball world. >> we all started clapping because he handled it the right way. >> after initial outrage, disappointment, sadness, i think today is a very proud moment. >> he did a wonderful thing today. we love this diverse game. and hopefully, the clippers can -- can begin the healing process. >> reporter: the celebratory mood is in stark contrast to the fierce outrage when those recordings first surfaced over the weekend. a recordings of donald sterling worth $1.9 billion speaking to alleged former mistress earlier this month after she posted a photo of herself and hall of famer magic johnson on instagram. >> don't put him on instagram so the world sees it and don't bring him to my games. >> do you know you have a whole team that is black that plays for you? >> do i know. i support them and give them food and clothes and cars and

houses. >> pictured here today riding roller skates outside her home in los angeles said through her attorney that she never had a sexual or remandate romantic r with sterling and she is not the type of person that everyone says. still no word from sterling himself. he was last seen leaving a steakhouse in l.a. with his estranged wife sunday night when asked if her husband is a racist. >> no, of course not. >> i am looking at it like i look at other investments. >> sterling who bought the clippers in 1991 for $12 million has a long history of racial controversy, sued for racial discrimination over alleged refusal to rent apartments to minorities and relationships with other women that also ended up in court. according to 2003 court documents uncovered by abc news he allegedly repaid the tenderness of one woman with belittling scorn. according to the woman, i cooked meals for him, chauffeured him,

acted as his confidant. according to sterling, she wanted to have sex as much as possible because she felt she could get paid every time. the woman also said, he often boasted about his ability to destroy any one who dared to oppose him. they later settled the case privately. that hot water back then, nothing compared to the boiling rage he faced this week. this from magic johnson. >> he has the got to give up the team. if he doesn't like african-americans and you are in a league that is over 70% african-americans. >> charles barkley who called for the nba commissioner to suspend him on tnt's halftime report. >> you can't have this guy making statements like that. he has to suspend him and fine him immediately. we cannot have an nba owner discriminating against a league that, we are a black league. >> even president obama weighed in. >> when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do

anything. you just let them talk. >> as for the clippers, a silent protest. players removing their warm-up jackets wearing their shooting shirts inside out to hide the clippers' logo. >> you know, i think fans are stunned. clipper fans are thinking "hey this is our first year that we can be rel vanlevantrelevant." a chance to go to the championship. now they have to deal with the cloud of controversy. >> reporter: the miami heat turned their jerseys inside out before the game last night against the charlotte bobcats. as the pressure mounted on the nba to act, the basketball world watched with baded breath as the commissioner took podium under a white hot spotlight months into his tenure delivering a message loud and clear. sterling is not fit to own an nba team. >> the views expressed by mr. sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. we stand together in condemning mr. sterling's views. they simply have no place in the

nba. >> reporter: and he wants to force him to sell it. >> i will urge the board of governors to exercise its authorities to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to ensure that that happens. >> now it is up to the other nba team owners. >> i will 100% support commissioner silver on this. >> owners like this man who recently bought the sacramento kings and as an indian american is a minority himself. >> i came here at age 16, 17, with $50 in my pocket. i have never encountered any kind of racism. and the nba is color blind. they have received me with open arms. >> reporter: he says owners like sterling are the exception. >> my experience with the owners has been that they're amazing people. they are color blind. they recognize that basketball is a global sport. the sport of the 21st century. and that, there is a code of conduct that is expected.

>> legendary player shaquille o'neal part owner of the sacramento kings stand by the commissioner. >> there is strong evidence now, especially after hearing mr. sterling on the tapes, and you know the way mr. silver handled it was, a beautifully done. >> reporter: according to the league's constitution, the commissioner will need 75% of owners to help force sterling out. other reactions to the league's unprecedented decision have been flooding in. >> adam silver today was fantastic. personally, i thought he -- he made a decision that really was the right one. >> former nba great kevin johnson representing all the players said this ugly episode should serve as a warning. >> i hope that every bigot in this country sees what happened to mr. sterling and recognizes that if he can fall so can you. >> a great day for the nba. a great day for all people of all races. but especially, you know,

african-americans. >> as the the clippers took the court tonight, the fans were celebrating what seems to have become the new clippers' motto. "we are one." for "nightline," ryan smith in los angeles. ♪ can you see >> when we come back, destination snake island. they're deadly and they're everywhere. what were we thinking? a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach-area pain and swelling.

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imagine a tropical island overrun by poisonous snakes whose venom can kill within minutes. add to that danger a true mystery. why on earth are the lethal

creatures disappearing? tonight we are taking another look at a place where not many in their right mind would dare set foot. here is my "nightline" co-anchor dan harris. >> we are heading some where you are not supposed to go, a speck of land off the coast of brazil with a supremely foreboding nickname. there it is. looming into view. snake island. i feel like there should be like ominous music that is cued as soon as you see it. a place teeming with golden lancehead pit vipers one of the deadliest snakes on the planet. your mind almost doesn't want to believe it is real like something out of jurasic park. >> there are so many lethal snakes here that normally it is illegal to visit.

>> snake island. but we found one guy who has a perm permit. >> this says you are not allowed to come on here. >> yeah. >> willing to take me and my producer. >> we have to use snake chaps. >> they can bite through my sneaker? >> probably. we should probably be more cautious than everybody else. he is a man on a mission. >> even though we don't see snakes. you are saying there are snakes here. for century the sea has put a distance between the killer snakes and the rest of us. now he is convinced somebody is actually stealing the snakes from the island. and he wants to know who and why. >> super paranoid right now. everything start to look like a snake. about ten minutes into our hike

we spot one. >> oh, snake. >> yeah, look at that. want few use a snake tong to capture the snake. you see how fast they can be. see. wow. wow. very fast. >> there we go. >> reporter: and we are transfixed as we watch him coax the beast into the tube to run some tests. >> 71.5. >> reporter: the golden lancehead lives here on this island. rogerio monitors the population regularly. it declined by half in the past 15 years. >> that its not a happy face. now that we locked eyes with one of the creepy little creatures. we are simultaneously terrified and mesmerized. and despite their recent decline, it won't be hard to find more. we are entering snake alley. scientists estimate that almost anywhere you set foot a gruesom

three feet away. golden lanceheads thrive here because they have no predator. their fast acting venom will literally burn through your flesh and cause you to bleed to death. one of the riskier on-camera things i have done. if one of these were to bite us, we would have six hours to get off the island. >> yeah. >> to a hospital. >> up to. >> up to. we could die at 2:45. >> yeah, probably. it's up to six hours before you die. >> keep an eye behind me. >> reporter: at this point, my producer, nick demand reinforcement. it's getting close. i don't like that. >> she is getting extr xting ex.

>> reporter: come here, snaky. it is scary just filming these snakes. get some shots here. watch this. in is hard to imagine who would be crazy enough to steal them. >> oh. she just got a bite. >> reporter: we got venom on the camera. you don't want to touch that. why would you steal a snake? >> pet market. >> reporter: people keep these for pets? illegal buyers will pay upward of $15,000 for a single snake. and there is another reason for

the steep price tag, their venom which is used to create valuable pharmaceuticals. >> snake. >> reporter: oh, yeah. get it? >> yeah, they are very fast. >> reporter: took a swing at you. the golden lancehead is now critically endangered. which has made rogerio fiercely pro ttective of this species whe deadly venom may one day actually benefit us. >> so if you lose the species you are losing the chance to save human lives. there are more things related to you than you can imagine. >> reporter: as our journey ends and i take off my snake chapz. -- chaps. i am not sure i have become a crazy snake lover like rogerio over there. i see these are extraordinary animals and glad they exist on an island away from everyone

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killer tornados are carving a path of destruction across much of the southeast. destroying homes and tearing families apart. and tonight, as survivors begin the painful process of recovery, others still face danger on the horizon. abc's steve osunsami is on the ground. tonight, 72 hours in death and destruction continues in the tornado zone. >> the road is getting littered now with debris from houses. this is houses all over the road. >> reporter: thousand of homes destroyed. at least 34 lives lost across six states. now, as families dig through the tornado's rubble, there is insult added to injury for some. >> we have had a lot of stuff already. >> reporter: really? people have stolen stuff? >> yeah. just from last night.

>> reporter: late this afternoon tornados were firing up over north carolina and illinois. >> all this right here was the dining room. >> reporter: some families are starting to recover and beginning to rebuild. others planning funerals for sons and daughters. one of them, 21-year-old, he was taking shelter in his basement when a retaining wall fell on top of him. >> touchdown has been confirmed. >> reporter: meteorologist matt lubin was live on the air telling view touers to run for r and demanding his 35 co-workers do the same. >> i tell people at home at that point get to your safe place. what kind of example are we setting if we don't go? >> let's go! >> reporter: reports show the deadly tornado that struck monday was an ef-2, the highest wind near 135 miles an hour. damaging or destroying 2,100 homes. the may family's home was one of those destroyed in the tornado.

>> we were in here in the pantry. >> reporter: all of you in the pantry? >> yes. >> reporter: this ain't that big. >> no. we were crowded for sure. >> how many of you were in here? >> six and a dog. >> reporter: with one story of the family's house here, and another story shred to pieces across the road, they're thankful to be alive. for "nightline," steve osunsami in mississippi. >> with a long road ahead. thank you for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always, we are online at abcnews.com. good night, america. hey! welcome home! hey mom! woah, this kitchen looks beautiful. it's bigger! it's great, right? give him the tour. let me show you! quartz countertop, soft-close drawers, farm sink, r cabinet lighting, look at this spice rack. where's my room? right there where it's always been! we had to take just a little bit for the kitchen. just slide right in!

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